Hong Kong: CE mourns Robin Chan

Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau today expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Robin Chan, an esteemed entrepreneur and philanthropist.

Mrs Lam noted that over the years, Mr Chan had been promoting the steady development of Hong Kong's insurance industry, commanding the respect of the business sector.

Under his steer, his conglomerate had been dedicated to charitable causes by shouldering social responsibilities as well as providing financial and other support to social-purpose organisations and social enterprises in Hong Kong.

Also, he wholeheartedly promoted the exchange and cohesion among the overseas Chinese, championed the Chinese culture and fostered the unity of clansmen, with dedicated and meritorious contributions made to the community.

Mr Chan was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2018.

Mrs Lam recalled that in 2012, Mr Chan gave her a copy of his biography. She pointed out that the stories about his growth and business career, as well as his deeds in serving the nation and the overseas Chinese, were deeply admirable.

The passing of Mr Chan is a great loss to the overseas Chinese and the business community, she emphasised.

I am saddened by the passing of Dr Chan. On behalf of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to his family.

The commerce chief was also saddened to learn of the passing of Mr Chan and lauded him for being a successful entrepreneur with great achievements.

He was the Chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, making outstanding contributions, and was held in high regard in the sector.

Meanwhile, he devoted himself to philanthropic initiatives. Under his leadership, his conglomerate has been dedicated to various charitable causes and has made meritorious contributions to the community.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr Chan for his contributions to society, and extend my deepest condolences to his family, Mr Yau added.

This story has been published on: 2022-04-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
French agricultural engineer: Here is where I enjoy my ideal life

09:32, April 20, 2022 By Yang Wenming ( People's Daily

Its still a little chilly outside at this time of year, but in the blueberry seedling greenhouses of Martin Dabilly, spring is everywhere.

A blueberry seedling workshop of Martin Dabilly

Dabilly is a French agricultural engineer who came to southwest Chinas Yunnan province 16 years ago. He once planted raspberries in the province and now runs a berry plantation in Longyuan village, Songyang township, Songming county of Kunming, capital of Yunnan.

On a business trip to China in 2006, Dabilly found raspberry, a fruit that was very common in Europe, was rarely sold in China. Therefore, he planned to bring the fruit to the Chinese market.

The great climate and ecology in Yunnan attracted me, he said, explaining the growing condition of raspberries is very demanding. The fruit needs sufficient sunlight, comfortable temperature and clean air, and thats why the man chose Songming county. Whats more important is that the local government attaches high importance on sustainable development, which conforms to his development philosophy.

Huang Jianwei, deputy director of the Songyang neighborhood committee, Songming county, told Peoples Daily that the local government, with the aim to promote the philosophy of green development, has provided multifaceted policy and capital support for farmers to help them renew production mode.

Today, more and more greenhouses in the neighborhood have started using degradable films and organic fertilizers. Besides, the local government has constantly advanced water environment treatment, covering the banks of rivers with paddy fields as a natural way to improve water quality. It is also launching regular monitoring on soil and irrigation water to ensure safety.

Our blueberry seedlings are mainly aimed at the winter market, Dabilly told Peoples Daily as he checked the growth of the seedlings in a blueberry seedling workshop. We have potential customers in these places, he said, pointing to several contiguous green dots on a Yunnan map.

Martin Dabilly checks the growth of blueberry seedlings.

According to data released by Yunnans provincial department of agriculture and rural affairs, Yunnan province has become a core producer of berry fruits in China. The province planted 101,200 mu (6,747 hectares) of blueberries in 2020, or 9.5 percent of the countrys total. The output stood at 35,000 tonnes, accounting for 17.5 percent of the total production of China.

Dabillys company has been recording increasingly better performance since it was established. Last year, he applied patents for six blueberry varieties he nurtured, which gained him a number of partners. Now, the partners total planting area of blueberries has exceeded 6,000 mu.

I see this as not only a job, but also a pursuit of mine, the man said.

Now Dabillys plantation hires more than 30 local villagers, who were vegetable farmers before working for the French man. To help them gain berry planting skills as quickly as possible, Dabilly always gathered them for instruction. Soon the villagers could identify the maturity of fruits, as well as pick and pack the fruits quickly. They are now semi-experts in berry picking, Dabilly said.

Longyuan village, while developing crop farming, has also attempted to build featured industries in the past decades. It has enhanced its support for enterprises and products that have potential, so as to drive local economic development.

Martin Dabilly checks blueberries.

The sound industrial development has led to better livelihood. Many families in the village used to live in houses built with mud and dirt, and villagers always came to the office by foot. But now most of them have built new houses and bought cars. Im glad to have witnessed all these changes, Dabilly said.

The French man is a biking enthusiast. Every week he would go biking in the forests surrounding Longyuan village together with his friends. He loves the mountains, trees, greenness and vitality there. Here is where I enjoy my ideal lifestyle, he told Peoples Daily.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
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Big changes are coming to the Lebanon Fire District.

Two long-time veterans are leaving the district in May: Battalion Chief Nick Tyler, 43, and Division Chief Jason Bolen, 47. The two have a combined 48 years of fire service experience.

Fire Chief Joseph Rodondi said in a news release announcing the departures he was proud of both men and the way they served the Lebanon community.

Heading home

Tylers last day will be May 6. Later in May, hell be stepping up as fire chief of Sweet Home Fire & Ambulance District. Tyler will be replacing outgoing Chief Dave Barringer.

The thing Im most looking forward to about returning to Sweet Home Fire is being home, Tyler said in an email. Being given the opportunity to lead my home town department is very special to me. The members of Sweet Home Fire are amazing firefighters, EMTs and paramedics. I feel very fortunate and humbled for this next chapter in my career.

Tyler moved to Sweet Home in 1991 and has been with the Lebanon Fire District since 2007. He said he always wanted to be in public service and after serving in the Navy, he enrolled at Linn-Benton Community College for the schools criminal justice program.

He started in Sweet Home as a volunteer firefighter and within a year was a part of the districts intern program. He was later hired full time.

After about three months of being a volunteer firefighter, I fell in love with it, Tyler said. I talked to my wife and switched gears and started pursuing my degree in Emergency Medical Services to become a paramedic.

In 2007, Tyler decided to join Lebanon Fire District where he was hired as a firefighter/medic. He later worked as an engineer/medic, and in 2015 was promoted to lieutenant. In 2017, he was promoted to battalion chief.

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What attracted me to Lebanon was the ability to gain more experience as a firefighter, he said. Being a larger organization in a larger community, there was more opportunity to work on a fire engine, run more calls and develop as a firefighter.

A defining moment in his career, Tyler said, was when he was promoted to lieutenant and put in charge of a multimillion-dollar federal grant. He said this opportunity helped him to grow professionally and improve his leadership skills.

Now, hell take those leadership skills to a new job closer to home. But hell remember his years in Lebanon fondly.

I will miss the people of Lebanon Fire District the most, he said. I have spent the last 15 years working and living with them. They are like family to me.

A new challenge

Bolen is moving a little farther away from home: Hes heading to Bend where he has accepted a deputy chief role with Bend Fire & Rescue. Hell be the departments new fire marshal. His last day with LFD is May 5.

Stepping up into a larger department (although it is the same role) is going to be challenging for me, Bolen said. If you're not challenging yourself, you kind of get stagnant and, not that I'm stagnant here, but I want to I want to continue to push I've been like that my whole life.

Bolen grew up in Santa Barbara, California, and moved to Lebanon to live with his parents when he was 19. He was on academic probation at the time and lost his financial aid at the college he was attending. He joked that its hard to go to school on the beach.

Within a few weeks of living in Oregon, he had started volunteering as a firefighter with LFD in 1994.

No day is ever the same here, Bolen said. And then you can help people in some of their worst times,  so that was appealing to me. Doing something good for my community was appealing to me.

Bolen rose through the ranks over the last two decades. He started working part time for $4.25 an hour. After completing his EMT and other trainings, he was hired full time. He tested at multiple fire departments all over the state but ended up right where he already was.

He said Lebanon has been a great place to learn and grow. During his time in Lebanon, he also served as a city councilor. He met his wife in Lebanon and has raise their two kids here too. The city means a lot to him both personally and professionally.

Whether it were fires, traffic accidents or medical issues, hes seen it all. And now, hes taking more than 20 years of experience with him to his next endeavor.

It was slow at first and then all of a sudden, you blink your eyes and you're one of the old guys, he said. You go from asking questions to having people ask you questions.

Bolen was promoted to engineer/medic in 2005, to lieutenant in 2009 and to his current position as division chief of fire and life safety in 2016. He also serves as fire marshal.

Although hes moving to a bigger city, hes not going to forget the impact this small town had on him any time soon.

I was 19 years old when I came here and didn't know what I wanted to do and didn't know what my life had in front of me, Bolen said. And I never would have guessed it would have been this. So little Lebanon has given me a lot.

"And I'm really thankful for it.

Going forward

According to the news release from LFD, a replacement process for Tyler's position is being developed and Deputy Fire Marshal Ken Foster will serve as interim fire marshal. Engineer Candace Hedding will be interim deputy fire marshal as of May 1.

The fire district will have a combined farewell event for Tyler and Bolen from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, May 5 p.m. at the MBVA Event Room, 550 Main St., Lebanon. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

Maddie Pfeifer covers public safety for Mid-Valley Media. She can be contacted at 541-812-6091 or Madison.Pfeifer@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter via @maddiepfeifer_

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JOHNSON LAKE  Multiple area fire departments responded to a wildfire that broke out between Johnson Lake and Plum Creek Canyon during the afternoon of Tuesday, April 19.

At 2:26 p.m.  the Lexington Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched near the intersection of Road 750 and Road 425 for the report of a grass fire that had broken out.

The area was between Johnson Lake and Plum Creek Canyon, near the Dawson Gosper County border. Immediately after the initial call, the fire departments from Elwood, Cozad and Eustis were dispatched to the scene.

The National Weather Service  Hastings had issued a hazardous weather outlook for a majority of their warning area, including Dawson and Gosper counties due to the sustained south winds at 25-30 mph, with some gusts possibly reaching 40-45 mph.

Relativity humidity values were around 25-40 percent, contributing to the near-critical fire conditions. The ongoing drought has also contributed to dry grasses and fields.

On scene, smoke was being blow north rapidly across Road 751 as the fire was progressing northwest, burning through ditches and fields. Multiple fire units from Lexington, Cozad and Eustis sped down Road 425 toward the fire.

Local farmers with their tractors and discs and businesses with water tanks arrived on scene to help.

The fire departments were assisted on scene by the Dawson County Sheriffs Office and the Nebraska State Patrol.
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Candidate forum addresses local issues

Bonner

Candidates running for a position on the Lufkin City Council or Lufkin school board spoke Tuesday at a community forum organized by the Angelina County Progressive Voters League.

We are always excited when citizens come together and receive information they need to make informed decisions, league president Patricia McKenzie said.

The goal of the forum was to give voters a chance to ask candidates important questions and to learn more about each one before voters head to the polls. The forum also was livestreamed on the groups Facebook page.

The voters league is a community organization established to promote participation in governmental activities in the local community and statewide if the opportunity arises, McKenzie said. The league believes citizens should participate in the decision-making process, especially because local leaders make decisions that impact residents day-to-day lives, she said.

Lufkin school board

The first to speak were those running for the Lufkin school board: Joe Ceasar, Allyson Langston and Delphina Maxie. The three are vying for the two open seats on the board. The race is citywide.

Ceasar is from Houston but moved to Lufkin about eight years ago as he sought to serve as a preacher. He stopped in Hemphill where he served communities who needed a minister, and this is where he met his wife, he said.

He graduated from Eisenhower High School and later from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a degree in American politics. He served as an officer and was deployed in 2003 to Iraq and Kuwait, where he was proud to bring his entire battalion home with no casualties. He then received a degree in business and administration from the University of Houston.

He wants to serve on the school board because he thinks education is the way out of poverty and that education has been denied to his people for a long time.

Langston is from Illinois, but her parents are Texas natives, she said. She went to public school her entire life and her family was involved in education her whole life. She graduated from Baylor University, where she learned to love Texas, as well, she said.

She studied secondary education with a focus on English and French. She met her husband, Lufkin native Kevin Langston, at Baylor. They have lived in Lufkin for 26 years.

Langston received a masters of arts and English and has taught most grades between fifth and up through university-level. She now teaches upper-level education at Stephen F. Austin State University.

She originally ran for school board because there were no mothers of current students or educators, she said.

Maxie is a registered nurse at Woodland Heights Medical Center and has served in multiple roles across the spectrum of care in her 38 years of experience. Those roles included being a critical care nurse, an intensive care unit nurse, an emergency room director and receiving chest pain accreditation. She now works as a case manager, helping patients go home and take care of themselves after discharge.

She has been married to Tommy Maxie for 27 years and they have four children, including one who is a freshman at Lufkin High School.

Maxie thinks she has a lot to offer and that education is the key. If children are not educated, they will continue to be lost, and someone should hold the schools, teachers and districts accountable. She wants to make sure the children are a top priority.

The candidates were given one question: What solutions do you propose to help our African American students, who, according to TEA scorecard, are scoring last in math, reading and science among all the races and nationalities of all the children attending LISD?

Ceasar said this is something the board discussed internally.

Youre only as good as the weakest link, he said. If Black students are suffering, then the whole district is suffering and requires attention.

There is a new generation of students, and the old methods of reaching students are no longer effective, so teachers must be culturally competent, and the district needs more teachers of color, he said. There are outstanding white and Hispanic teachers, but they dont know how to reach the Black students. This is an issue that will require a relationship with students and their families as well as cultural sensitivity training.

Langston said this is a top priority, and the district is trying to recruit Black teachers to Lufkin. They go to Black universities to recruit, but even in her class of 26 students, only four are African American  two are dance majors, one is a choir major and the other is a theater major, she said.

The teacher shortage is real and in our backyard, she said.

But cultural responsiveness is something being pushed at the university level, as is the encouragement to connect with families and give them an avenue to reach out. Students who think their teachers are not invested do not perform, she said.

Maxie thinks that for a culturally diverse district, kids need to see Black people in leadership, not just as teachers but as administration. She pointed to the Grow-Your-Own program, though said she did not know if it was still being used.

But she believes this is the key to diversifying the districts educators as well as creating a city that encourages Lufkins students to return home from college and establish their careers in the area.

Lufkin City Council Ward 3

Brent Watkins and Roshin Rowjee are each vying for the Ward 3 seat on city council. This ward has for the last few years been represented by Lynn Torres, the Lufkin ISD superintendent.

Rowjee said he moved to Lufkin with his family in 1978, and they have been in the business of hospitality, specifically the hotel/motel business. Where most grew up in homes with white picket fences, he grew up in a business where he was required to attend to the needs of customers regardless of the time, he said. Business is a part of his DNA and is the experience he would bring to the city council.

The candidate has a bachelors and a masters degree, his medical research has been published in European countries and he has taught as an adjunct professor in several areas including New York, he said.

Rowjee has run unsuccessfully to be a congressman and Lufkin mayor and said he should have started at the council position and worked his way up. But he was concerned about the lack of conversation around redistricting. His goal as a council member would be creating jobs and ending the decades of job loss in the Pineywoods.

Watkins did not grow up in Lufkin but is from a small town north of Longview. His parents worked their way to pay for him to go to Texas A&M, where a friend convinced him to go to law school. He moved to Lufkin to work for the Zeleskey Law Firm and eventually created a new firm with his partners.

He is married to Tara Watson-Watkins, the president and CEO of the Lufkin/Angelina County Chamber of Commerce, and they have an 8-year-old daughter. He has served on chamber committees and as a board member at Harolds House, the Family Crisis Center of East Texas and Crime Stoppers.

He wants to give back to the community and sees running for a seat on city council as a way to do so and to be a voice for Ward 3. As a businessman, he thinks he can help the city grow and help residents of the ward to make it to city council.

The candidates were given three questions to answer.

The first was: What do you feel is the most important issue in your ward that needs immediate attention?

Watkins believes the government is here to provide two things: service and infrastructure, not to run day-to-day life. A part of this is making sure the city retains good personnel from the bottom to the top of the ladder and to increase the number of people working for the city to handle its ever-growing needs. The goal of the city council should be to work together and to work with outlying communities to make sure local voices are heard statewide in hopes of bringing bigger opportunities to town.

Rowjee said he has a lot of good ideas but that in the end the city is run by a close circle of influential people who promise new industry and new business growth. He asked where the jobs were, though. And he said he did not mean those jobs at a gas station or a restaurant.

The goal of the council should be to establish quality, sustaining jobs because Lufkin has lost so many, he said. Everybody needs to get on the same page to bring new industry to the area, and this will be his No. 1 issue, he said.

The second question was: If elected to serve the next term as representative of Ward 3, how will you develop a strategic plan to have continued improvement in the community?

Rowjee said he has been going to every neighborhood and talking to everyone, door-to-door, asking what they want. He wants a budget and to prioritize what is most important to each of the wards and the county.

Watkins said he would be one person on the council and that city strategies require a unified effort by the council. His job is to take what Ward 3 residents find important and make sure their needs are a part of that plan. He thinks the council has to work together to make sure the city has opportunities and then together decide which are the most important.

The third question was: If you were elected of the office, how would you effectively communicate with residents?

Watkins said this was an easy question. He can be found in his office at the corner of Chestnut Street and the loop. Residents can walk in, say they are there to see him about the city, and if he is available at the moment, he will come talk, but he is usually at the office. Beyond that, his phone number and email are easy to find and he said to give him a call.

Rowjee said he is always accessible, whether by email, telephone or social media. But the most important thing is to talk in person and speaking to residents one-on-one has been his goal.

Lufkin City Council Ward 1

Incumbent Guessippina Bonner and the Rev. Lynn Hargrow are each vying for the Ward 1 seat on city council.

Bonner said that when people get to be her age, they start thinking about their past. She was thinking about her two uncles who worked at Lufkin Industries when she was a girl. They didnt miss a day of work, and she liked to go see them walk across the railroad track  this was character-building, she said.

She also came from the best of two worlds, she said. One set of grandparents were college educated and instilled the understanding of how important education is to growth; the others were not college educated but taught her character and instilled many of her core values, like service.

Bonner has multiple degrees because she did not want anyone questioning her qualifications. It was a way for her to get in the door, she said.

Hargrow was born in Alabama and raised in Illinois. He served as director of a Title XX day care center and a director of a homeless prevention program. As an educator, he taught at every level from third grade to the college classroom. He has 37 years of pastoral care and community service and 22 years of leadership and service as an officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.

He decided to run because he is a servant and has been very involved in the community, he said. He has heard people talk about how their voices do not count and because the person they put in office does not listen to them. He promised to be accountable to the residents he represents and to own up if something is his fault or if there is an issue he cant resolve.

The two were asked four questions. The first was: How will the citys comprehensive plan and Lufkin Forward program help the development of Ward 1?

Bonner said the Lufkin Forward project was developed for Lufkins downtown area; the 4B board gave the Lufkin Economic Development Corporation money to enhance the downtown area to attract more people, especially young people. The project was an addendum to the comprehensive plan.

The comprehensive plan is still being developed, she said. It is imperative for residents to participate in its development. She said there was a priority of looking at history, but downtown was the only historical thing included in the plan. She has been working on adding the parts of North Lufkin that were thriving at the same time downtown was being developed.

Hargrow said the comprehensive plan and Lufkin Forward have to be done with equity. Lufkin Forward is primarily for downtown but its execution must be equitable; if it is successful it will inspire more resources for the city and those resources must be equitable, he said.

The second question was: What will you do to maintain the quality of the area with all the new industry coming?

Hargrow said there was a meeting about Jefferson where the mayor addressed some of those concerns.

He said the city cant force an industry to build what it wants, especially when the industry is buying private property. But the city has a responsibility to make sure whatever business coming in maintains the required levels of pollution and protects the air and water. The city should be policing the industries and continuing to make the community safe.

Hargrow also said if the plant is in an area, 60% of the jobs should go to those residents. He does not want residents from the south end of Lufkin driving to work while nobody near the plant works there.

Bonner said a community meeting came as a result of the residents of Keltys expressing concerns about Jefferson Enterprise Energy LLCs expansion into Lufkin. She arranged the meeting, and interim city manager Kevin Gee, Lufkin Mayor Mark Hicks and herself attended.

The group is waiting to have a meeting with the Jefferson plant owners at Keltys and said residents need to be ones who stay on it

The third question was: What changes will you make to housing conditions in North Lufkin and what changes will you make to ensure community safety without over policing?

Bonner said she supports the Lufkin Police Department. Not everyone is perfect, and not all the agency does is perfect, but there is a process to demand answers from the agency, and the agency is needed as crime increases nationwide. She is worried about Lufkin and wants to see the creation of forums for residents to become more comfortable with local police.

On the issue of housing, she said she is looking at ways to bring in grant funding to improve houses in the ward, but a big issue is residents walking away from properties and leaving them for the city to demolish. This leaves those properties to be taken by developers, she said. Residents should be trying to maintain their properties and to improve them.

Hargrow said he is not sure if the council has authority to make those changes. He suggested they clean up neighborhoods and develop a program to upgrade or enhance homes. The city needs to develop a sense of equity, and he said the houses in Wards 5 and 6 look different from those in Wards 1 and 2.

He also sees crime monitoring as an issue and said residents should try to monitor their own neighborhoods and work with the police.

The last question was: What good reason can you give me as to why the African American city council members appear not to be working together to benefit the citizens who you represent?

Hargrow said he thought it was a loaded question and he is not a council person yet. He does have a good relationship with Councilman Robert Shankle, he said. He said he would work with the citizens because it is what has to be done and that labels should be put aside and everyone should work together regardless of race or party.

Bonner said what she thought was being perceived may not be true; she and Shankle have different perspectives on how to achieve the same goal and she is committed to stay in her lane. When he has something he is working on, she does not try to butt in but encourages him to go ahead and said she believes he feels the same.

She also encouraged residents to check in with what is really going on and check their assumptions.
Subscriptions have seeped into nearly every consumer industry, from TV to tacos. There are even services that help subscribers cancel all their subscriptions. But one industry has notably lagged: travel.

That could be changing.

The market for travel subscriptions has started to expand and includes cheap flights, airport lounges, luxury accommodations and high-end credit cards.

Subscription models can add a lot of predictability to an industry that can be very spiky, says Amy Konary, vice president at the Subscribed Institute by Zuora, a think tank focused on the subscription economy .

Travel purchases tend to be one-off and transactional. Airline and hotel loyalty programs aim to promote loyalty and benefits, but only those travelers who travel (and pay) a lot can reap the rewards. Subscriptions could turn this concept on its head by offering these benefits upfront.

The subscription model lets you get access to those premium perks by paying directly, Konary says.

Will customers take to this idea? Travel brands are rushing to find out.

SUBSCRIPTIONS TAKE OFF

Alaska Airlines dipped a toe into the subscription waters in March with the launch of its  Flight Pass. For a price that starts at $49 per month, subscribers can book one round-trip main cabin flight every two months for one penny plus about $15 in fees. The catch? The flights must be direct, booked within a limited time frame and, most importantly, fly between particular airports in California, Nevada and Arizona.

Confused?

Communication has been the big challenge, says Alex Corey , managing director of business development and products at Alaska Airlines. Its been hard for people to appreciate that this might not be designed for them. If I went to my favorite store and it didnt meet my needs, Id be like, Hey, make this this way.

Instead of trying to be everything for every traveler, Alaskas subscription has focused on a narrow niche: younger Californians with plenty of wanderlust and schedule flexibility. So far, just under half of subscribers are millennials or Generation Zers, according to Alaska.

Its a niche product, to be sure, but Alaska is confident that it can appeal to a particular kind of West Coast traveler.

Californians travel 3.5 times more within their own state than residents of other states do, says Corey, explaining why the airline chose the state as the proving ground for its idea.

And Alaska focused on the lowest-cost entry point possible, starting at $49 per month to make a flight subscription seem feasible to almost anyone.

We wanted to compete with an Uber ride or a bar tab, Corey says.

CATERING TO NOMADS

On the other side of the price spectrum, the luxury travel platform Inspirato offers a subscription service for vacation rentals and high-end hotels starting at $2,500 per month .

Thats $30,000 per year for the opportunity to book high-end accommodations around the world. That might seem like a huge bill for a vacation budget, but its potentially more reasonable for remote-working nomads looking to travel as much as possible.

Yet Inspiratos subscription, too, comes with a long list of caveats and exceptions. Pass holders may book just one trip at a time, bookings are on a first-come, first-served basis and many rooms and homes are available only during off-peak seasons.

Less spendy digital nomads can choose Selina, a co-living and coworking subscription service that combines the cost of accommodation, office space and dependable Wi-Fi into one monthly bill. Subscribers can bounce between Selinas global destinations and take advantage of surfing lessons, yoga classes and other wellness activities.

These services offer one benefit to potential customers that is difficult to quantify: simplicity. Rather than searching through hundreds of vacation rental listings, subscribers can make one payment per month and choose from a range of vetted options.

Yet simplicity alone wont cut it, Konary says. Consumers are wary of adding another monthly bill to their long list of active subscriptions and need to know theyre getting a good deal.

As weve become more familiar with these models, we have a high bar for what we expect in terms of value, Konary says.

WHATS OLD IS NEW AGAIN

Travel subscriptions arent a new idea. JetBlue Airways introduced an All You Can Jet unlimited flying pass way back in 2009. The promotion received plenty of attention but didnt translate into a sustainable business model.

And successful travel subscription services already exist. Premium travel credit cards offer perks to travelers such as airport lounge access for a yearly fee. And services like TSA PreCheck and Clear let flyers bypass normal security lines.

But a new wave of subscriptions is coming to travel with one big difference  specificity. Instead of trying to be the Netflix of travel, with something for everyone, new services are providing niche offerings to specific demographics.

Not everyone wants to fly within California every other month or take surfing lessons in Belize at a coworking space. But for those who do, these subscriptions could offer a valuable way to travel without the hassle. Or they could go the way of MoviePass.

I do think what were doing is unique, Corey says. I hope it catches on.

This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Sam Kemmis is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: skemmis@nerdwallet.com.

RELATED LINK:

NerdWallet: Is the Alaska Flight Pass even a good deal? https://bit.ly/nerdwallet-is-alaska-airlines-flight-pass-a-good-deal

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
HAMMOND  Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Thomas McDermott Jr. is celebrating Wednesday's high holy day for marijuana aficionados by releasing one of the most audacious campaign ads in Indiana political history.

The first sound you hear is a lighter sparking. And then, just three seconds into the nearly two-minute video, McDermott deeply inhales  twice  from a marijuana cigarette before passing it to a friend on the left.

"The legalization of cannabis is important in this campaign," McDermott says in the ad. "Veterans deserve this. Some of the people I served with (in the U.S. Navy) use it medicinally for anxiety and PTSD-related issues.

"Here's the bottom line: We need to legalize marijuana on the federal level. We need to also legalize cannabis in Indiana as well, so that Hoosiers can get the health and the economic benefits of cannabis. That's the future we all deserve."

McDermott is the second Democratic U.S. Senate candidate to smoke marijuana in a campaign ad this year after Gary Chambers in Louisiana first did it in January.

But no candidate for statewide office in Indiana ever has allowed himself to be recorded using cannabis and then released that video to try to cut across traditional party lines and appeal to the more than 8 in 10 Hoosiers that polls show favor legalization of either medicinal or recreational marijuana.

"Hoosiers are going in droves over the borders in Michigan and in Illinois, on a daily basis, to buy cannabis," McDermott said. "Then they return home and they're doing so at risk that if they are pulled over they can be charged with a felony  they can be charged with a crime, they could be thrown in jail, they could lose their job  to buy something that's completely legal in 37 out of the 50 states.

"It's not right."

Indeed, McDermott and his friends shown talking about the benefits of marijuana in the ad, including two attorneys, a physician, a professional distiller, and Hammond City Councilman Dave Woerpel, traveled one mile into Illinois, where marijuana is legal, to light up and record the commercial.

McDermott said the marijuana he consumed was purchased at Mission Dispensary in Calumet City, Illinois, located just west of Hammond, the city of nearly 80,000 residents he's led as mayor since 2004.

"None of us did anything wrong. We purchased a product in Illinois. We consumed it there. Everything was done legally," McDermott said. "We're in the dark ages in Indiana still worried that we're going to get arrested for having it. It's time for it to come to an end.

"So many people are intimidated about talking about cannabis, and I'm going to break that stereotype. I'm a very successful person and I've used cannabis before."

McDermott said if he was serving in the U.S. Senate right now he would vote in favor of advancing to the president's desk the House-approved Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, which currently is stalled due to a Senate tradition requiring a 60-vote supermajority to pass most measures.

The landmark legislation, backed by U.S. Reps. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, and Andre Carson, D-Indianapolis, would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, establish procedures for expunging previous marijuana convictions from people's records and impose a tax on the sale of cannabis products.

That, in theory, could lead to marijuana being legalized in Indiana, where Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb and Statehouse Republicans repeatedly have said they will not consider any marijuana legalization proposals while the drug still is classified by the federal government as an illegal controlled substance.

McDermott said Indiana is losing out on cannabis-related manufacturing, retail and agricultural jobs, as well as millions of dollars of marijuana-related economic growth and health benefits, by not already legalizing marijuana under a nonprosecution policy initially adopted by the U.S. Justice Department in 2013.

He observed that about 70% of the vehicles in the parking lot at Mission Dispensary have Indiana license plates, and Mission is just one of many dispensaries operating near Indiana's borders.

"We're passing up opportunities to reduce veterans' dependence on opioids, and peoples' dependence on opioids altogether, using cannabis as an alternative," McDermott said. "I've seen dozens of people die of overdose deaths as Hammond mayor and never once have I seen anyone overdose on cannabis."

McDermott emphasized that his position in favor of marijuana legalization applies only to adults and only in appropriate circumstances.

For example, he and his friends had a designated driver to bring them back to Indiana after filming the commercial where they used marijuana in Illinois.

"I approach it like alcohol. If you're going to use it, use it in appropriate situations," McDermott said. "Just because weed would be legal doesn't mean we'd advocate people driving with it or we'd advocate kids having it. They shouldn't. You don't do it at work. You don't do it before work. It's all the same rules that apply to alcohol."

McDermott also said he's only focused on legalizing cannabis. He's not looking to legalize any other drugs because none are as comparatively safe as cannabis, he said.

"The most dangerous thing about marijuana, in my opinion, is obtaining it," McDermott said in reference to states like Indiana where cannabis remains illegal. "The actual product itself is not that harmful."

In addition to the risks of obtaining marijuana in Indiana's unregulated marketplace, McDermott said he saw in his past work as a public defender the negative and uneven effects of marijuana arrests on individuals nabbed for possessing the drug.

He said marijuana arrests tend to target racial or ethnic minorities, and individuals with low incomes, who often lack the resources to obtain an attorney and get their criminal cases either thrown out or reduced to a significantly lesser charge.

"A lot of times people just plead to the charge and it just goes on their record and it keeps them from a good college, it keeps them from good jobs. Some people can get fired for it," McDermott said. "Why should anybody have to worry about losing their job over this issue? It's a plant."

It's not yet known what effect McDermott's enthusiastic embrace of marijuana legalization will have in his Nov. 8 general election contest against U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., for a six-year year term representing Indiana in the U.S. Senate.

The Young campaign, when asked by The Times for the senator's position on marijuana legalization, pointed to a statement Young made as a 2014 U.S. House candidate that medicinal marijuana should remain a state-level decision.

"We need to respect the state prerogative here," Young said. "I suspect, though, that this is an area that will continue to evolve in the law, and we'll have to adapt accordingly."

For his part, McDermott said while marijuana isn't the most important issue Hoosiers are facing right now, it's the best way for him to show Indiana voters who he is and how he'll lead if they elect him to the Senate.

"This is how I feel. This is no political BS, no political calculation. This is how I feel. That's why I'm doing it," McDermott said.

"The only way I'm going to win this race is to be 100% authentically Tom McDermott, and that's what I'm doing. I'm not going to BS people. I'm not going to freaking lie. I'm just going to be honest and tell people how I feel. We're all adults, we can talk about this issue. Obviously people smoke marijuana. I mean, I did it, it was in Illinois, and it was completely legal. It's fine."

In addition to the marijuana ad, McDermott is beginning a "Weed Tour" of the Hoosier State on Wednesday alongside other marijuana legalization advocates, including Indiana secretary of state candidate Destiny Wells and Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears.

The four-day, seven-stop tour will highlight the economic and health care opportunities associated with marijuana legalization that Indiana is giving up by being among the last states to take that step.

"We have seen the impact that recreational and medicinal cannabis use has made on the states around us, and not only are Hoosiers contributing to neighboring states economies, Indiana is now on the verge of losing out altogether," said Mike Schmuhl, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party.

"It's unfortunate to see Indiana Republicans have no plan on cannabis, and instead, see them oppose this common sense policy due to partisanship. Democrats have taken the lead on this effort because its a win-win for the states economy and for Hoosiers altogether. Legalizing cannabis will also fulfill Democrats consistent promise of creating a better future for our families."

The Democrats' Weed Tour kicks off in Indianapolis, and features stops in Fort Wayne and South Bend on Thursday, Lafayette and New Albany on Friday, and Terre Haute and Evansville on Monday.
An Arizona man and convicted heroin dealer who was caught with fentanyl pills in Dane County was sentenced Tuesday to 8 years in federal prison, the office of U.S. Attorney Timothy M. OShea reported.

Jason Jordan, 36, of Mesa, Arizona, was sentenced by Judge James D. Peterson for attempted distribution of fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Jordan pleaded guilty to the charges on Jan. 25, OShea said in a statement.

On Jan. 21, 2021, a parcel mailed from Mesa, Arizona, to an apartment in Madison was intercepted by U.S. Postal Service inspectors, who executed a federal search warrant on the parcel and found 1,000 blue pills that were monogrammed with an M on one side and a 30 on the other side and appeared to be legitimate oxycodone pills. However, the pills were sent to a laboratory and tested positive for fentanyl, OShea said.

The subsequent investigation determined that Jordan mailed the pills to Madison from Arizona.

On May 16, Jordan was arrested by police officers in McFarland and a search of his vehicle found 700 blue pills that appeared consistent with the pills seized by the postal inspectors. The pills were sent to a laboratory and tested positive for fentanyl, OShea said.

Peterson noted at Jordans sentencing that he was on probation for heroin trafficking at the time of his arrest in May, and that he has a substantial criminal history, including previous felony convictions for heroin trafficking, felon in possession of a firearm, and substantial battery, OShea said.

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A Madison man was sentenced to four years in federal prison Tuesday for firing a gun in Brittingham Park when people were present in July 2020.

Tyrone L. Jackson, 55, of Madison, plead guilty on Jan. 24 to possessing a firearm in a school zone. Chief U.S. District Judge James Peterson sentenced him Tuesday for the charge. He was within 1,000 feet of One City School's campus when he had the gun.

On July 6, 2020, Jackson showed up at Brittingham Park, leaned over another man's car and pointed a black handgun at him, the man told Madison police.

Multiple people on scene told police they heard a gunshot. A parking enforcement officer said six to eight people scattered to different vehicles after the shot, according to the state Department of Justice.

Officers found a loaded handgun under bushes in the area, and DNA on the matched Jackson, the DOJ said.

It was illegal for Jackson to have a firearm because of prior felony convictions, the DOJ said. He was also on probation at the time of the incident.

Peterson cited Jackson's criminal history, including a history with firearms, in determining his sentence. He said it was dangerous to use a gun to intimidate someone.

Jackson will spend one year on extended supervision out in the community after his four-year sentence, Peterson ruled.

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A 61-year-old man from Beloit died Wednesday at the hospital more than a week after he was injured in a motorcycle crash in the town of Beloit, authorities said.

Carl R. Disrud died from injuries he suffered in the April 10 motorcycle crash, according to preliminary autopsy results, the Rock County Medical Examiner said.

The crash was reported around 8:40 p.m. in the 600 block of Newark Road, the medical examiner said. Disrud was taken to the hospital, but he died after 10 days.

The town of Beloit Police Department and the Rock County Medical Examiner's Office are continuing to investigate the death.

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Madison East High School students in a college prep program geared toward low-income students raised nearly $30,000 from the community in 24 hours to pay for a trip to Washington, D.C., for Juneteenth.

East High teacher Cesar Martinez told his students in the AVID program two years ago that if they all got into college, he would take them on a field trip to Washington, D.C., for their senior year trip. In December, acceptances began to roll in from colleges and universities across the country, and as of this month, all 16 of Martinezs seniors have been accepted into higher education institutions.

But as of Tuesday afternoon, they had raised only $500 of the $20,000 needed to cover transportation and lodging for the class of 16, through a GoFundMe page, after COVID-19 threw a wrench into Martinezs fundraising plans.

Four hours after the Wisconsin State Journal reported on the effort, the Madison community responded with an outpouring of support, praise and money, and the students met their $20,000 fundraising goal. Twenty-four hours later, the amount they have raised continues to rise.

It was amazing  they were in shock  just to see the numbers going up, they were speechless and excited and definitely motivated to finish strong, Martinez said of his students on Wednesday.

A number of area businesses and companies also reached out to Martinez to help set up tours for the students while in the nations capital, he said.

Martinezs students plan to take part in Juneteenth celebrations scheduled in the city and to immerse themselves in history by visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Museum of African Art, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Mary McLeod Bethune House and the Lincoln Memorial.

The students are thinking of different ways to show their appreciation for the community, including sending thank you packets and cards to the donors, and the class plans to put together a thank you video to share on the GoFundMe page once May 1, National Decision Day  the deadline for students to let a college or university know that they plan to join the school  is in the rearview.

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Before moving to Madison for middle school, East High School senior Gordon Allen grew up on the South Side of Chicago, where abandoned buildings, potholed streets littered with garbage and overdose deaths were common parts of daily life.

Nothing was being done about it, said Allen, now one of two student representatives on the Madison School Board and Stanford University bound. Thats not the only area in this country that has that same condition, even internationally you can really see the effects of poverty.

Allens upbringing has motivated him to seek out ways to effect change at East and has helped form his career goal: to eventually seek a seat in Congress, where he hopes to be a champion for those in communities like the one where he grew up.

Allens mother moved their small family to Madison in 2016, halfway through his sixth-grade year in search of more opportunities in education for her children. Allen, his 11-year-old brother and his mother currently live on Madisons North Side.

When I came here, my classes were more diverse, there was a lot more freedom in terms of what you wear, how you walk in the hallways. I would say Madison schools were definitely a place where you could be yourself more, and youre able to explore more, he said.

That freedom has inspired Allen to seek out as many co-curricular opportunities as possible.

At East, he is student body president and a student adviser on the Madison School Board, and he helped organize protests in October that sought to address the lack of sexual violence education and reporting at the school. After the protests, East administration committed to working with students to meet their demands.

That was my first-ever protest, he said. It was remarkable to see people outside of Door 1, outside of the Castle (what students call the Collegiate-Gothic style facade that faces East Washington Avenue) all together coming as one. We actually made change from it.

The protests were organized in response to what students saw as an inadequate response by the school administration regarding an alleged sexual assault during Homecoming weekend. Easts principal, Sean Leavy, has since left his position for a job in the districts administrative office and the schools interim principal, Mikki Smith, has worked with students to meet their concerns.

Now you can go in East and you see all of these posters up about how to report and what the process is in terms of sexual violence. You see more people adopting consent culture, he said. Its like we finally came together and our demands were met.

Allen is part of the schools investment club, the Black Student Union, and is a youth representative on the Dane County Board Personnel and Finance Committee.

He is also the co-chair of the school boards ad hoc committee on student safety and wellness, where he made a concerted effort to ensure students were a part of the group tasked with figuring out how to make schools safer following a number of high-profile altercations on or near East grounds at the start of the school year.

Allen, who supports the boards June 2020 decision to remove police officers from the districts four main high schools, said he would like to see the district work to connect with the community surrounding East to get ahead of and mitigate possible conflicts on school grounds, and to provide students with access to school-based mental health services.

School board president Ali Muldrow has worked with Allen for all three years she has served on the board so far and said hes acted as her moral compass in the decisions shes made as a part of the districts governing body.

Ill miss him a lot, she said about his approaching departure for Stanford.

He really elevates the voice of other students, and was key in the boards conversations about what was going on at East this year, she said. Hes a natural born leader in every arena he spends time in.

What motivates Allen is a desire to grow leadership skills and to advocate for folks who may not be able to advocate for themselves, like his younger brother who has special needs.

When I see a problem, I like to be the one to help, take part in addressing the problem, he said. I know how it feels to feel unheard.

Allen recently received a full-ride scholarship to Stanford University in California through the QuestBridge program, which aims to expand access to college and universities for first-generation and low-income students. The scholarship covers tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies as well as travel expenses. Allen will be the first member of his family to attend university.

I feel optimistic, he said about his future at Stanford.

He plans to double major in economics and political science, and he hopes to minor in international relations if the additional coursework is OKd by his college adviser.

Once he graduates from college, Allen said he plans to seek out work in finance, but his end goal is to get into politics and run for Congress. He hopes to bring sustainability, jobs, social and mental health supports to areas that have been consistently underserved.

I cant be just another person complaining without actually trying to do something to leave an impact, he said.

I think its good for Stanford. Theyre really lucky to have him, Muldrow said. Were all really proud of Gordon, and hes got an incredibly bright future.

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Students in the Madison School District will see an additional 90 to 120 minutes of online-only learning tacked on to each Monday until June 6 to make up lost learning time during the extended winter break.

In January, the district extended its winter break by three days due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in Dane County fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant.

The surge led to staffing shortages at many schools and severely limited the availability of COVID-19 tests and personal protective equipment, forcing students to remain home for the first three days after classes were due to resume, with a return to online-only learning on Thursday and Friday of that week. The sudden about-face angered many parents, who had to find last-minute child care arrangements or give up a weeks worth of wages.

The district appealed to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to waive the three missed days, but DPI rejected the request.

In order to avoid extending the school year three days and also meet state requirements for the number of hours of instruction, the district will require students in grades K-12 to learn online for 90 to 120 additional minutes each Monday after early release from April 25 through June 6. May 27, previously scheduled as a staff professional development day, will be a full day of online-only student learning.

In a letter explaining its decision, DPI determined the district had enough time before the end of the school year to adjust the school calendar to make up for the three days lost in January. Four other school districts in Wisconsin had requested similar waivers from DPI for the 2021-22 school year. Three of those four were also denied, and the last is still under review.

The district is working with after-school programs to ensure they are able to support students additional online learning time on Mondays, and it is working with libraries and other community partners to provide learning supports for students who need learning assistance on May 27, the full online-learning day, Superintendent Carlton Jenkins said in an email sent to families and staff on Wednesday.

Lessons and coursework will be prepared ahead of time and will be available in the districts online learning apps, Seesaw and Google Classroom, along with paper copies of the learning materials. Coursework for elementary and middle school students will encompass literacy and mathematics, while high school students will focus on college and career readiness, Jenkins said.

Those lessons and coursework are to be worked on independently by students and may take the form of an online reading program, reading assignments with questions to answer or ACT prep for high schoolers, district spokesperson Tim LeMonds said.

Families can expect more information from their students schools with additional details about the make-up time, he said.

Parents upset

Jackie Douglas, a full-time working parent of a Hawthorne Elementary student, said she is frustrated with the districts decision-making on the matter.

She regularly has three or four students from her neighborhood come over to her house after school each day for supervision before their parents return from work. Now shes anticipating acting as a teacher for those students during the 1 to 2 hours of online learning.

I do not have a degree in teaching, and teachers do a great job, she said. My kid is fed up with me and doesnt want me to be her teacher anymore.

School Board President Ali Muldrow said the board discussed the waiver sent to DPI during the boards regular meeting in February.

We knew when we were requesting a waiver that that waiver could be denied and we also know that if the waiver is denied then you have to make up the minutes, Muldrow said. I was aware this was a possibility and that navigating it through asynchronous learning was one of the best options we had.

As a parent of three children, Muldrow said she sympathized with families who felt the decision had come out of the blue.

Its hard for me to keep track of when my kids have parent-teacher conferences let alone how many minutes are missing from their school year, she said. Its been a challenging couple of years, and I think people want stability and normalcy so much.

Mike Jones, president of local teachers union Madison Teachers Inc., faulted DPI for its last minute conveyance of the waiver rejection, which was sent to the district by letter on Tuesday.

Why offer a waiver if youre going to reject all of them anyways? he said. And why do it in late April when were seven weeks away from finishing an already traumatic year?

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Ed Manydeeds has decided against running for another term as president of the UW Board of Regents, creating an opening for the boards top spot that he supports being filled by board Vice President Karen Walsh.

Board presidents are elected to one-year terms but typically serve for two years, making Manydeeds decision slightly unusual. The last time a president served just one year was in 2012.

Manydeeds said that juggling the job of leading the 18-member board with his work as a practicing attorney has been difficult. He started his own Eau Claire-based law firm last year with his nephew and he said that board responsibilities have taken away from his practice and family life. He said he will remain on the board until his term expires in 2026.

Manydeeds tenure has included supervising the two highest-profile searches in the University of Wisconsin System. The board in January hired Jay Rothman as the Systems next president and a search committee that he chairs is interviewing candidates to be the next UW-Madison chancellor, with finalists expected to be named this month.

Am I doing justice to my practice and to the board? he said in an interview. I think I did but it was difficult. One year as president in this case feels like it equates to two with the time Ive put in.

Manydeeds said no one pressured him about the decision and he informed the board about it on Wednesday. WisPolitics first reported on Manydeeds decision.

Manydeeds endorsed Walsh, who joined the board in 2019 and has been vice president for the past year, to succeed him. He called her more than capable and a step up from me. Both Manydeeds and Walsh were appointed Regents by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

The former assistant dean for external relations in the College of Engineering at UW-Madison, Walsh is director of the BerbeeWalsh Foundation, a family foundation dedicated to human and animal health and welfare.

The election takes place at the boards June meeting on the UW-Milwaukee campus.
After years of rejecting efforts to legalize medical and recreational marijuana, several Republican lawmakers on Wednesday promoted a medical cannabis measure  but with session over, theres almost no chance legislators pass the bill this year.

Rallying in support of full legalization for years, some Democrats said the legislation doesnt go far enough to legalize a drug that most Wisconsinites want to see accessible and regulated. No Democrats have formally signed on to support the bill.

The Republican bill, SB 1034, is only meant for people with serious conditions, bill author Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, said before the Senate Insurance, Licensing and Forestry Committee hearing. She referenced a 13-year-old girl whose serious medicinal condition could be ameliorated with medicinal marijuana.

It breaks my heart that we sit here and deny her a possible cure, she said.

The measure would extend to people with conditions including Crohns disease, glaucoma, cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

It was the first time in Wisconsin that a Republican-majority Legislature granted a public hearing for a marijuana bill. Its also the first time since 2009 that a marijuana bill received a public hearing.

A 2022 Marquette Law School Poll found 61% of Wisconsinites, including 51% of Republicans, want marijuana to be fully legalized. A 2019 Marquette Law School Poll found 83% of Wisconsinites said medical marijuana should be legal.

But the hearing came after the legislative session ended for the year because Republican leadership said the bill was introduced too late, Felzkowski said. Felzkowski and bill author Rep. Patrick Snyder, R-Schofield, said they would reintroduce the bill in January regardless of who the governor is.

The measure would permit only non-smokable forms of marijuana. A patient seeking eligibility in the program would need a written recommendation from a physician, physician assistant or certified advanced practice nurse prescriber.

We cannot settle for half-baked, insufficient legislation that is nothing more than a political ploy to give folks false hope on the prospects of cannabis legalization here in Wisconsin, Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison, said in a statement. We must put our efforts behind full cannabis legalization.

Felzkowski said recreational marijuana was a different issue that would require a separate measure.

This is a starting framework, she said, adding that she is open to amending the bill to include more medical conditions.

Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, thanked the Republican authors for the measure but said the legislation saddens her because it doesnt propose full legalization, a tool that she said could lower incarceration rates for Black Wisconsinites. One of every 36 Black Wisconsinites is in prison, the highest rate in the nation.

Under the measure, people convicted of controlled substance offenses would not be able to grow, transport or distribute cannabis.

In Wisconsin, I know that the most dangerous thing about cannabis is the fact that it remains illegal, Agard said at the hearing, adding that the bill doesnt address racial disparities.

Felzkowski said racial disparities need to be addressed but that her medical marijuana bill is not the place to address them.

GOP compromise

The measure marks a step toward compromise for Republicans, who removed legalizing recreational and medical marijuana from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers 2021-23 budget proposal.

Everything that we move forward is a win. Its not a loss.  Getting this going right now is a win, Felzkowski said later in the hearing.

Opposed to the bill, the Wisconsin Medical Society in a statement said research into marijuanas properties was sparse and that the legislation is unfortunately premature at this time.

If passed, the bill would put Wisconsin together with 37 states that permit medical marijuana, including states with Republican legislatures and governors and neighboring states Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.

In the past decade, Republican lawmakers have rejected several Democratic bills that would have legalized recreational marijuana.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said in April 2021 that hes not comfortable with Wisconsin becoming a rogue state, legalizing marijuana before the federal government does.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, who indicated his support for medical marijuana in the past, may also be on board.

Ive always been supportive of medical marijuana when done the right way, he said in January.

The public hearing fell on April 20, an unofficial holiday for cannabis consumption, something Felzkowski previously claimed she didnt know. The date is a reference to 4:20, the time of day a group of California students in the 1970s would meet to smoke weed, which over the years caught on as marijuana slang.

I was totally clueless on what 420s reference was, Felzkowski said before the hearing. Maybe that shows my age. My staff said, Yes, we thought you knew. Im just a little bit older and not up on the reference.

Bill regulations

Federal laws prohibit medical and recreational marijuana, though legislation known as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment has prohibited the Justice Department from spending money to interfere with the implementation of state medical cannabis laws.

Under the bill, a Medical Marijuana Regulatory Commission would regulate the medical marijuana program.

Under the program, medical marijuana patients would then be able to access cannabis products stocked by wholesalers who would be subject to a 10% state excise tax. It would be available to some minors.

The bill would require licensed producers, processors and laboratories to operate in an enclosed, locked facility, and they could not have past drug convictions. It would also require them to sell directly to medical dispensaries  not directly to patients  a requirement that would likely close the door on small-time producers as well as patients producing marijuana for their own use.

Under current state law, first-time marijuana possession is punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail, while local governments are allowed to establish their own penalties for possessing small amounts of the plant. Subsequent offenses are a felony.

Madison has decriminalized possessing small amounts of marijuana in private and most public spaces, though dealing the drug is still subject to penalties.

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A person of color will lead the Dane County Board for the first time, marking a new direction for the most diverse board on record, which is set to take up ongoing efforts at criminal justice reform and expanding affordable housing.

Sup. Patrick Miles, 34th District, defeated incumbent Analiese Eicher, 3rd District, for the boards top post during its organizational meeting Tuesday night. Miles, a 16-year supervisor from McFarland, has led some of the boards most influential committees, touting himself as a leader who can find common ground on the 37-member board.

I would be very proud to be the first person of color elected to the County Board chair, to help us put a new face on county government and send a message to the community that we are stepping up and ready to address all the issues of disparity and inclusivity, Miles said before Tuesday nights leadership vote.

A development services specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Administration, Miles, who is Asian, spoke during the meeting about his upbringing as the youngest of five children with a single mother who struggled to access social services.

Looking back on those difficult times, I recognize now very profoundly that the things that we do, the support we provide, the services that we prioritize have a profound effect on peoples lives, Miles said.

Miles won Tuesday nights secret ballot by a 20-17 vote.

Eicher had led the board since January 2020, stewarding it through the COVID-19 pandemic and the calls for criminal justice reform that sprouted from the protests after the police killing of George Floyd. Her tenure on the board saw the passage of a 21-part criminal justice reform package, the creation of a broadband task force and the distribution of COVID-19 stimulus funds to businesses and nonprofits.

Newcomer to the board Sup. Dana Pellebon, 33rd District, said in her statement to nominate Miles as chair that he had been one of the first officials to meet with her after she announced her candidacy.

As a first-time candidate for anything, I was nervous about running, unsure of the election process, and quite frankly wary of how I as a Black woman would be received in these spaces, Pellebon said. Supervisor Miles sat with me and allayed my fears.

Yet the boards most liberal members did not manage to elect one of their own as vice chair, the boards second-highest post which plays a key role in whipping votes. Sup. Andrew Schauer, 21st District, defeated Sup. Elizabeth Doyle, 1st District, for the post on a 19-18 vote.

Schauer, a staff attorney for the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, had been supported for vice chair by Eicher.

Sup. April Kigeya, 15th District, a newly elected supervisor, went unchallenged to serve as the boards second vice chair.

The boards most pressing issues include the ongoing county jail expansion and consolidation project, alleviating the countys housing crunch and supporting litigation against PFAS manufacturers.

The board approved a $16 million compromise plan earlier this year to close a funding gap for the jail project. Some supervisors criticized the plan as a last-minute effort to deny a critical vote on the jail to new supervisors.

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  Federal authorities are taking to the airwaves to call attention to unsolved homicide and missing person cases on the largest Native American reservation in the U.S. as several states are starting to funnel more resources and investigators toward solving such cases.

The FBI on Tuesday announced it's running a 60-second radio ad in the Navajo language to call attention to what family members and advocacy groups have described as a crisis that is affecting Indian Country.

Airing twice a day on an AM radio station broadcasting from the Navajo capital of Window Rock, Arizona, the spot features a plea from the mother of Lee Michael Pahe, who was found fatally shot last summer in Naschitti, New Mexico.

You dont have to understand Navajo to feel the emotion of the mother who speaks about the loss of her son in this ad, Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda of the Albuquerque FBI Division said in a statement. Violent crime affects everyone the same way, and everyone deserves justice."

The radio spot comes as New Mexico implements legislation adopted earlier this year to ensure more effective coordination among law enforcement agencies when it comes to missing Native Americans or unsolved homicides. State Attorney General Hector Balderas has met with victims regarding obstacles to reporting, investigation and other issues that they have experienced.

From Arizona to Wisconsin, many states are taking action to address the crisis. In Washington, for example, officials there recently created a first-in-the-nation statewide alert system.

On the Navajo Nation, which spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, federal authorities hope listeners will come forward if they have any information about Pahe's case or the others the FBI and Navajo Nation law enforcement are investigating.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible for his killing.

Pahe's mother, Sharon Lee-Begay, said her son was married and was a father and that she's relying on the compassion of fellow Navajos in hopes of solving the case.

In March 2020, the FBI field offices in Albuquerque and Phoenix began issuing posters in the Navajo language asking for information about more than a dozen unsolved homicide and missing person cases. They began including audio clips in Navajo with the posters starting last February.

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Three sailors from the USS George Washington aircraft carrier were found dead in less than one week, the Navy said, as the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and local authorities investigate the deaths.

One sailor was found unresponsive on board the carrier last Friday, while two other sailors were found at off base locations on April 9 and 10.

"While these incidents remain under investigation, there is no initial indication to suggest there is a correlation between these tragic events," said Cmdr. Reann Mommsen, a Navy spokeswoman.

The Navy did not provide a cause of death for any of the three, but the ship did bring on board a Special Psychiatric Rapid Intervention Team. These teams are intended to provide short-term mental health support after a traumatic event, such as a loss of life.

The Navy identified the sailor found deceased on April 9 as Retail Services Specialist 3rd Class Mikail Sharp. The Navy identified the sailor found deceased on April 10 as Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Natasha Huffman.

The Navy did not identify the third sailor who was found unresponsive on board the ship on Friday and died.

"Our thoughts and condolences are with the family, friends, and shipmates of our Sailors," Mommsen said.

The USS George Washington is a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. It is currently in Newport News, Virginia, where it is undergoing a refueling and complex overhaul, a one-time process to replace the ship's nuclear fuel and refit the ship for future operations. The ship has been at Newport News since August 2017.

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RICHMOND  Crash fatalities reached a 14-year high on Virginias roadways last year, according to statistics released Tuesday by the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Last year, 968 people died in crashes on Virginia roadways  a 14.3% increase over 2020 and the highest number of annual fatalities since 2007 (1,026 fatalities).

According to the DMVs Highway Safety Office, fatalities increased across a number of categories, such as speed-related and commercial motor vehicle-involved, and fatal wrecks involving motorcyclists, pedestrians, bicyclists, teen drivers and mature drivers.

The most dramatic percentage increase was among bicycle fatalities, which doubled from 2020-21. Teen driver fatalities also rose significantly.

Vehicles and roadways are safer than they ever have been, yet we continue to lose lives to senseless crashes, lamented Linda Ford, acting DMV commissioner, who serves as the governors highway safety representative.

Virginias increase in overall crash fatalities mirrors a national trend, DMV said. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 31,000 people died in crashes in the first nine months of 2021, a 12% increase over the same time period in 2020 and the highest number of fatalities during the first nine months of any year since 2006.

The full report on 2021 U.S. crash statistics will be available later this year.

So far this year, 245 people have been killed in crashes on Virginia roadways, a 12% increase over 2021.

Do your part to help, Ford urged Virginia drivers. Slow down, buckle up, focus on the task of driving and never drive impaired. It truly is that simple.
On Tuesday, Marion City Council agreed to help a new housing project get started in a place that once was a troubled and crime-ridden neighborhood.

During the regular meeting, the City Council heard a report from Neil Gurney with the Gateway Wellness Foundation. He talked about the planned housing project at the former Johnny Banks mobile home park property on Ridge Road, which previously had a bad reputation for substandard housing and criminal activity.

In 2019 and 2020, property owners were contacted by various agencies including Duke Energy, the state of North Carolina and McDowell County Sheriffs Office, about issues at the park including illegal power connections, water well issues, trash dumping and other crime, according a McDowell News county commission report from August 2020

These problems were not addressed by the property owners and the condition of the homes in the park continued to deteriorate, County Manager Ashley Wooten said at the time. Most of the mobile homes on the property were abandoned over the last several months due to lack of electricity and other factors.

That year, county staff started a process under the Abandoned Mobile Home Ordinance to remove the homes left behind.

The Gateway Wellness Foundation purchased this land and now plans to construct 26 new homes on the 5.9-acre site. This new neighborhood is intended to provide good, affordable housing for working families. These houses will have two bedrooms and three bedrooms.

The Gateway Wellness Foundation asked both the city of Marion and McDowell County for assistance with the sewer installation. The foundation is asking each local government to provide $20,000 a year for three years to assist with the cost. At their Monday, April 11 meeting, the county commissioners voted unanimously to approve this very reasonable request.

On Tuesday, Gurney made a similar request to the Marion City Council. City officials approved it unanimously.

Affordable homesthats the key, said Little. Theyre beautiful. Theyre well-built and they are affordable.

Thats something we can work into the water and sewer budget for next year, said City Manager Bob Boyette.

In other business, the Marion City Council:

Approved the consent agenda, which consisted of the April 5 regular City Council meeting minutes, the budget ordinance amendments, policies for the American Rescue Plan funding and an ordinance for American Rescue Plan funds.

Approved a revised conflict of interest policy for city employees.

Approved a request from the McDowell Chamber of Commerce for use of the Community Buildings basement. Ballroom dance classes will take place there.

Voted to reappoint ABC Board chairperson Robert Ayers to another term. Amy Stevens was reappointed to the Tree Board. Planning Board members Bob Elledge and John Morrow, and Planning Board alternates Gary Walker and Marc Cook were reappointed to another term. Board of Adjustment members Gary Walker and Marc Cook and Board of Adjustment alternates Bob Elledge and John Morrow were reappointed to another term.

Heard a report about the local economy from Boyette. McDowells unemployment rate for the month of February was 3.3%, which is below the state average. Theres plenty of jobs available, he said. We need people.

Heard a report about the citys open house which will be held Friday, May 6. This is the day when third-grade students from all over McDowell and the public tour the city of Marions facilities. The city facilities that will be open during the event are: City Hall on North Main Street, the Fire Department on Logan Street, the Police Department on South Main Street, the Public Works facility on Rutherford Road, the water filter plant on Old Greenlee Road and the water treatment plant on N.C. 226 South. It is returning after a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19.

Heard an update about the Joseph McDowell Historical Catawba Greenway. The goal is to have the entire greenway open again by June 1.
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain has ratified and promulgated a law on the Future Generations Reserve Fund, following its approval by the Shura and Representatives Councils, Trade Arabia reports, citing state-run news agency.

Per the new funds law, Bahrain News Agency notes, the amount of $1 shall be deducted from the price of each exported barrel of crude oil when the price is between $40 and $80 for two consecutive fiscal years.

Also per the law, the deducted amount shall increase to $2 when the price of a barrel of crude is between $80 and $120, and to $3 when it exceeds $120.The monarch according to the agency has mandated the cabinet to implement the provisions of this law which takes effect at the beginning of the first fiscal year after its promulgation.
Cote dIvoire has a new Vice-president: central banker Tiemoko Meyliet Kone was appointed on Tuesday by Head of State Alassane Ouattara to the post, which has been vacant for nearly two years, while Prime Minister Patrick Achi was reappointed.

Governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) since 2011, Mr Kone is a brilliant economist and an outstanding technocrat, according to Alassane Ouattara who announced his appointment before the parliamentarians gathered in Congress  National Assembly and Senate  in the political capital Yamoussoukro.

He is a man of consensus and probity who has my full confidence, added the head of state. The parliamentarians gave him a standing ovation and Mr Kone went up to the podium to shake hands with the president. He is expected to be sworn in the coming days.

Born in 1949, this little-known economist will leave the BCEAO, where he has been governor since 2011 and where he oversaw the ongoing reform of the CFA franc. Before becoming governor of the BCEAO, he had a long career within the institution.

He also had a short political career in Cote dIvoire: he was chief of staff to Prime Minister Guillaume Soro between 2007 and 2010, Minister of Construction, and then special adviser to President Alassane Ouattara, responsible for economic and monetary issues.

This is a personality who has demonstrated his personal and professional qualities in all the high positions he has held in the public administration, the Ivorian government and outside Cote dIvoire, added the head of state.

The post of vice president, enshrined in the last constitutional reform of 2016, had been vacant since July 2020 and the resignation of Daniel Kablan Duncan for personal convenience.

The appointment of a vice president had been expected for several days, after the resignation of the government last Wednesday, which foreshadowed a reshuffle of the executive. The outgoing Prime Minister Patrick Achi was finally reappointed six days after resigning.

It is to take into account the global economic situation and the need to reduce state spending that the government that will be put in place this week will be tightened. Mr. Prime Minister, you have my instructions to this effect, said Alassane Ouattara, addressing Patrick Achi, to thunderous applause. The latter must now propose a government team of about thirty names against forty currently.
Dakar airport has been hit by a shortage of kerosene due to unfavourable international conditions and its operator is calling on airlines landing there to ensure their own fuel supply for return flights.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine at the end of February, oil prices have soared on world markets, fuelling a sharp rise in fuel prices in many countries.

The kerosene supply system is severely disrupted because of unfavorable international conditions combined with unprecedented tensions on the prices of certain raw materials, said a statement from the Blaise-Diagne International Airport in Dakar (AIBD) issued on Monday night.

The handling company of aviation fuels (SMCady), owned by several foreign oil groups, indicates that the refueling operations of aircraft can no longer continue from Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at midday, for a temporary period of two weeks.

Faced with this situation, the AIBD, whose operation has been entrusted by the Senegalese state to two Turkish companies, Limak and Summa, calls on airlines to take the necessary measures () to ensure the fuel autonomy of return flights.

The national airline Air Senegal was keen to reassure its customers on Tuesday. It announced in a statement the normal conduct of its usual flight program with the same schedules, despite the shortage of kerosene.

According to the local press, the State has taken measures to ensure that priority in the supply is given to Air Senegal and the army.

Following this situation, our Dakar-Paris flights are making a stopover in Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands, for refueling, an Air France spokesman in Paris said Tuesday.

Several motorists said they had difficulty finding diesel fuel in Dakar over the weekend (Monday was a holiday), and sometimes had to go through several pumps before being able to fill up.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Two recent studies supported by the National Institutes of Health Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Tech program demonstrate how widespread distribution of COVID-19 at-home antigen tests can be used as an effective public health strategy to reduce the spread of the disease.

Both studies were posted on the preprint server medRxiv and have not yet been peer reviewed.

"It's clear that at-home rapid antigen tests are useful, and they have tremendous value at an individual level in terms of how people decide to live their lives in the pandemic, but also provide invaluable information to experts at a population health level," said Apurv Soni, MD, Ph.D.'21, assistant professor of medicine and principal investigator on the studies.

The first study evaluated the impact of the Say Yes! COVID Test program in Michigan, in which 500,000 free at-home rapid antigen tests were distributed in the summer of 2021 to residents of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, two municipalities in Washtenaw County. Each household that participated received 25 at-home tests.

Researchers compared trends in COVID-19 infection rates during and after the distribution period in the two cities versus the rest of the county, which did not receive free at-home tests.

COVID-19 infection rates were similar between the two cities and the county during the intervention period, but two months later, as the delta variant surged, infection was significantly lower in the cities that had received the free at-home tests, according to data provided by Washtenaw County Health Department medical director and study co-author Juan Marquez, MD, MPH.

"The number of cases that were decreased in communities that received the free tests is on average 40 cases per day, which is pretty substantial," said Dr. Soni.

Soni said the trend was consistent in the two intervention communities, even though Ann Arbor had a higher-than-average vaccination rate and Ypsilanti's vaccination rate was lower than the county average.

Researchers found that households that received the 25 free tests used a handful of them in the intervention period between June and August but held onto the rest and started using them more when the delta surge began.

"Overall, we're seeing that people are responsible users," said Soni. "They have a stockpile of rapid antigen tests, and they know to use them when cases are rising, and not to use them when COVID-19 cases are low."

The second study, which analyzed data from the Say Yes! COVID Test program in six communities across the country, found that people were more likely to report to local health departments the results of their home antigen tests if they were given a financial incentive to do so.

It also found in all cases that negative test results were more likely to be reported than positive test results, a finding that Soni said researchers were investigating further.

The study looked at use of a digital assistant developed by the company CareEvolution, through which people could order at-home rapid antigen tests and have the option to log their results on the app or to report them to the health department.

Most communities in the Say Yes! COVID Test program were strategically chosen by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from those with lower vaccination rates and socioeconomic status. The six included in the study of optional digital assistant use and reporting results were: Louisville, Kentucky; Marion County, Indiana; Fulton County, Georgia; O'Ahu, Hawaii; Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, Michigan; and Hamilton County, Tennessee.

A $25 gift card incentive was offered throughout the entire intervention in Indiana and Kentucky if participants reported at least one test result through the digital assistant. The incentive was also offered in Georgia and Hawaii, but not implemented until partway through the intervention.

The study found that of the 178,785 households that ordered test kits through the digital assistant, 8.5 percent overall opted to log their test results on the platform. Further, 75 percent of these logged tests were also reported to the state health department.

Reporting of test results differed significantly by state and was highest in Kentucky and Indiana (more than 90 percent of tests logged were reported to public health officials), which were the states with full incentives for reporting.

"We need to do better in terms of incentivizing or campaigning for the reporting of test results, especially when they're positive," said Soni.

"These are people at home doing their normal routine," said Nathaniel Hafer, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular medicine and lead investigator of the RADx Tech Clinical Studies Core Logistics Team. "There are a lot of strengths in these real-world studies, as opposed to the very controlled studies that don't necessarily give us a real picture of people's behavior."

More information: Apurv Soni et al, Association of Mass Distribution of Rapid Antigen Tests and SARS-CoV-2 Prevalence: Results from NIH-CDC funded Say Yes! Covid Test program in Michigan (2022). Apurv Soni et al, Association of Mass Distribution of Rapid Antigen Tests and SARS-CoV-2 Prevalence: Results from NIH-CDC funded Say Yes! Covid Test program in Michigan (2022). DOI: 10.1101/2022.03.26.22272727 Carly Herbert et al, If you build it, will they use it? Use of a Digital Assistant for Self-Reporting of COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test Results during Large Nationwide Community Testing Initiative (2022). DOI: 10.1101/2022.03.31.22273242
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

New Edith Cowan University (ECU) research has identified a crucial link between arthritis and the risk of serious liver disease in people with Australia's most common genetic condition.

An estimated 100,000 Australians carry the high-risk genotype for Hemochromatosis, a condition affecting people of northern European descent which sees the body accumulate too much iron.

It can lead to many complications, one of the most serious being advanced hepatic fibrosis, which affects the liver and can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

However, early detection of advanced hepatic fibrosis can assist clinicians in identifying those most at risk and reducing the impact or occurrence of future complications.

ECU researchers collaborating with colleagues at the QIMR Berghofer Institute for Medical Research have discovered arthritis is a strong predictor for development of clinically important liver problems in people with Hemochromatosis.

Published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, the research studied 112 people with Hemochromatosis.

Of the 19 people with advanced stage 3-4 liver fibrosis, 84 percent also had arthritis.

However, of the 65 subjects without arthritis, only 5 percent had advanced hepatic fibrosis.

Senior author Professor John Olynyk said these results had many implications for those living with Hemochromatosis, or at risk of developing it.

"Since hepatic fibrosis improves with treatment, it is important to accurately determine the presence or absence of advanced hepatic fibrosis when patients are evaluated," he said.

"We recommend people with hemochromatosis who present with arthritis be properly evaluated for the presence of advanced hepatic fibrosis."

Professor Olynyk said the study could also save many people from undergoing unnecessary procedures.

"Those with hemochromatosis, but who do not have arthritis at diagnosis, are highly unlikely to have advanced hepatic fibrosis, which may negate the need for an initial liver biopsy," he said.

"Instead, they can be monitoried for the development of fibrosis via non-invasive methods."

Professor Olynyk said the link with arthritis could help diagnose more people with Hemochromatosis, which can often be difficult due to many symptoms being relatively non-specific and common in the general population.

"People of the correct background presenting with arthritis or liver disease should always be evaluated for potential Hemochromatosisespecially when it is not clear as why the problem exists," he said.

"Arthritis Prediction of Advanced Hepatic Fibrosis in HFE Hemochromatosis" was published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Explore further HFE hemochromatosis may up risk for liver cancer in men

More information: Lauren Andersson et al, Arthritis Prediction of Advanced Hepatic Fibrosis in HFE Hemochromatosis, Mayo Clinic Proceedings (2022). Journal information: Mayo Clinic Proceedings Lauren Andersson et al, Arthritis Prediction of Advanced Hepatic Fibrosis in HFE Hemochromatosis,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2022.02.017
An early generation prototype of the tympanometer device that can modulate pressure, generate sound, and measure the reflected sound from the tympanic membrane. Credit: Duke University

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 60% of childhood hearing loss could be avoided through prevention measures. Preventable childhood hearing loss also disproportionately affects underserved populations and has lifelong consequences for language development, school achievement, and future employment opportunities.

Samantha Robler, AuD, Ph.D., from Norton Sound Health Corporation and Susan D. Emmett, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Head and Neck Surgery and Audiology and Associate Professor of Global Health at Duke University, have been researching childhood hearing loss in remote and rural areas of Alaska. Their work identified a gap in the screening tools that can be used to identify children with hearing loss.

Current tympanometers, used for identifying middle ear disease, such as ear infections, are available but they are expensive and require trained audiologists, like Robler, to use and interpret the results. Including a tool that can identify middle ear disease is important for screening programs in underserved populations, where there is often a high prevalence of infection-related hearing loss. However, screening programs today don't commonly include this tool due to cost and the need for an audiologist to conduct the test.

Robler and Emmett saw a need for an affordable and accessible tympanometer that could be used in schools and by community health workers and clinicians, particularly those in remote locales, to screen children for hearing loss. "Tympanometry is an essential tool for evaluating infection-related hearing loss, but a mobile and lay-friendly tympanometer to support mass screening programs just doesn't exist," said Robler.

Robler and Emmett approached Mark Palmeri, MD, Ph.D., a Professor of the Practice in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering and Director of the BME Design Fellows program, about the potential for developing an innovative solution to make tympanometry accessible, affordable, and easy to use. A new collaboration was formed bringing together the clinicians, engineers, data scientists, and Alaska-based Norton Sound Health Corporation, to build a solution.

The team applied for funding from Duke MEDx (Medicine + Engineering) and received a grant in 2020 to jump start the project.

"MEDx has helped to find a home for this project through seed funding. The project truly has been a labor of love and through the support of MEDx, we were able to get this project off the ground," said Palmeri.

Palmeri and his team, including Duke graduate students and undergraduate BME Design Fellows, have developed a novel mobile health (mHealth) tympanometer with a machine learning interface. The team believes that their mHealth tympanometer will have broad applicability and has the potential to improve diagnoses in community health settings, where access to a specialist can be limited. Teachers, school nurses, and frontline healthcare providers, could use the mHealth tympanometer for school- and community-based screening to identify children in need of ear and hearing care.

Machine learning is an integral part of this platform that allows a layperson to acquire the data and then have the device interpret the data to guide clinical decisions. Funding from the Duke Global Health Institute enabled development and evaluation of the utility of machine learning for automating a mHealth tympanometer. Felix Jin and Ouwen Huang, students in the Medical Scientist Training Program students who are pursuing Ph.D.s in Pratt, took on this part of the project with guidance from Palmeri and team.

Palmeri's engineering team has developed a hardware prototype that can be used with a smartphone. Duke student engineering teams demonstrated "proof-of-concept" of the prototype, showing that it meets the requirements of low cost, ease of use, that it is comfortable when placed in a child's earworking quickly enough to be an effective screening tool.

"This project has given me and my peers an opportunity to use our individual skills and watch the project come together," said Alexander Chen, Duke biomedical engineering undergraduate student. "I specifically found a passion for electronic computer-aided design after working with Dr. Palmeri and other students to find functional components in the project for testing and improving designs. The project is for a greater cause that gives us hands-on experience in supporting life changing innovation."

Currently, the multidisciplinary team is working on the subsystems of the device to fine-tune specifications and find creative ways to drive down cost. By the end of 2022, the team expects to have the device ready to hand off for beta testing in volunteers. They aim to start incorporating the device in clinical trials in 2023.

"Right now, there isn't a tool that is available and competitive in the market like the tympanometer we have developed," said Palmeri. "COVID at-home testing has really accelerated the desire for these accessible and cost-effective tests. The long-term goal would be to implement this in our communities and clinically, and then be able to offer these screening tests as an option for parents and caregivers to purchase and use at home."

The team believes that the mHealth tympanometer could benefit children across the world and ensure they are equally able to reach their full potential.

"Our innovative approach that combines low-cost mHealth technology with machine learning represents a great leap forward to address childhood hearing loss in underserved populations globally," Emmett added. "It is exciting to see this new collaboration, supported by MEDx, make significant progress on such an important public health issue."

Explore further Screening memory clinic patients for hearing loss helps to manage risk factor for dementia
Overlapping and distinct networks represent novelty and exploration. Credit: University of New Mexico

People make countless choices every day. It may be a difficult, complex choicewhether to take the job in a new city or stay in a current positionor be as simple as choosing between visiting a new restaurant or going to an old favorite. Decision-making shapes our knowledge and our perceptions of the world around us.

These simple and complex choices are generally between something familiarwhere we mostly know what to expectand trying something new, where the outcome might be unknown to us. But what happens inside our brain when we make one choice or the other?

Jeremy Hogeveen, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, details his search for answers in a new article published in the journal Neuron. The research was a collaboration between The University of New Mexico and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), and involved looking at modeling data of rhesus macaques, and observational data of humans using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) technology.

The article, "The neurocomputational bases of explore-exploit decision-making," looks at activity in the brain when primates and humans are presented with a choice between one option that maximizes information (explore) and one that prioritizes a known reward (exploit).

"This is the 'explore-exploit tradeoff,' and despite exploration being essential for healthy decision-makinga long-standing mystery in the field is why an animal might choose to explore something new and forego a familiar reward," explains Hogeveen. "We were hoping to determine the brain computations that help motivate explore-exploit decisions."

By "brain computations," Hogeveen is referring to the calculations our brains make through a complex system of neurons, which communicate like circuits on a computer's motherboard. The team is askingwhat is the level of tolerance for uncertainty? Do these brain circuits value an immediate and known reward, or do they prefer to activate motivation to investigate something new?

Using computer modeling of explore-exploit decision-making processes through simulated tests, the team established that for both human adults and rhesus macaques, the estimation of future benefits motivates the choice to try the new options. The multi-disciplinary model, called a POMDP (partially observable Markov decision process) model, can assess numerous real-world situational decision-making processes.

The next step was to collect fMRI data from macaques at OHSU, and humans at UNM and the Mind Research Network as they performed decision-making tasks. The subjects were presented with three choices, with limited opportunities to learn the value of each choice, and a random replacement of one of the choices over time. Uncertainty always accompanied the new choice because its reward value could not be predicted, and the only way to learn about the choice was to explore it.

Using these methods, Hogeveen and his team were able to merge the computational model with the fMRI data to visualize a partially overlapping, partially distinct network that communicated and calculated the value of exploring versus exploiting, effectively mapping out the decision-making processes of the entire brain.

"Interestingly, this involved distinct encoding of different value signals in brain regions that are highly evolved in primates like the lateral prefrontal cortex, which were more activated during exploration than exploitation," Hogeveen says.

Basically, newer areas of the brain (evolutionarily speaking) such as the lateral prefrontal cortex, activated more when an unfamiliar choice was made while older brain systems including the amygdala and the orbitofrontal cortex showed increased activation while weighing the value of explorations vs. exploitation. This suggests that both the newer and older circuits in the brain worked together during the decision-making, process rather than against each other as was previously thought.

Hogeveen and his team took advantage of the research and data analysis resources at the UNM Center for Advanced Research Computing (CARC) for this project. CARC was instrumental in providing time-saving assistance, including the ability to run multiple datasets at once rather than one at a time. By taking advantage of CARC's parallel computing capabilities (available to all UNM researchers), Dr. Hogeveen was able to obtain his results in just over a day instead of the 1025 days it would have taken if the data had been run on a single, stand-alone computer.

This project has promising future paths in cross-species primate research as well as bench-to-bedside interventions in clinical settings. In addition, according to Hogeveen this kind of explore-exploit decision-making research is crucial for understanding and treating brain disorders with circuit-specific pharmaceuticals or transcranial neural stimulation when decision-making process may be compromisedin people with traumatic brain injuries, for example. But to understand how impaired brains work, scientists first must understand how typical brains function.

"Explore-exploit decision-making is impaired in brain disorders that have a significant public health impact," says Hogeveen. "In my view and based on the thinking of lots of others in the field, overly-exploratory and overly-exploitative decision-making traits are likely to play a role in the challenges faced by many patients with psychiatric, neurological, or neurodevelopmental disorders."

Explore further Brain imaging expertise supports new discoveries on decision-making process

More information: Jeremy Hogeveen et al, The neurocomputational bases of explore-exploit decision-making, Neuron (2022). Journal information: Neuron Jeremy Hogeveen et al, The neurocomputational bases of explore-exploit decision-making,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.03.014
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Over the past decade, marijuana use, both recreational and medicinal, has grown as state governments across the U.S. have legalized its use. But while it might be legal for adults to light up, the question of whether it is harmful or helpful in many cases remains unanswered.

Researchers say the truth is complicated.

Though it has been studied for decades, much remains unknown about how marijuana, or cannabis, affects heart and brain health. And there are significant challenges to finding clear answers.

"The evidence that has been emerging from animal models show ramifications in the brain and in the heart, but the data for humans is more murky," said Dr. Fernando Daniel Testai, a neurologist at the University of Chicago Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation. Testai was lead author on an American Heart Association scientific statement last year that detailed what's known, and not known, about marijuana's effects on brain health.

"So many things factor into the equation," said Staci Gruber, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston. She oversees the Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND) program at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, which studies the effects of medical marijuana on clinical and cognitive measures, as well as brain structure and function and quality of life.

Differences in how people use marijuana, concentrations of the products they use, the active ingredients they contain, how often they use them and for how long, as well as age all may play a role in determining how health is affected, Gruber said. It's up to researchers to drill down in each of these areas, but legal, ethical and other hurdles make it difficult to do so.

More than 48 million people in the U.S. over the age of 12 reported using marijuana in 2019, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. That's roughly 18% of the population, which is up from 11% two decades ago.

Also known as pot or weed, marijuana can be used recreationally or for medicinal purposes, such as to reduce nausea or ease chronic pain in people with cancer. It can be smoked in cigarette form or through pipes or water pipes, vaped, or infused into baked goods, gummy candies or drinks. Its compounds can be extracted to make oils and concentrates, which can also be vaped or smoked. Little is known about the safety of one method compared to another, though there is evidence the combustion from smoking marijuana can be harmful.

Gruber said some of the confusion stems from what people mean when they use the word "marijuana." Marijuana refers to the dried flowers, leaves, stems and seeds of the cannabis plant, which contains more than 100 chemical compounds. The two most recognized are tetrahydrocannabinolTHCresponsible for the plant's mind-altering effects, and cannabidiolCBDwhich does not produce a "high" but has been used to treat pediatric seizure disorders, anxiety, pain and inflammation.

"We often use the terms 'marijuana' or 'cannabis' to describe anything that comes from the plant, but different compounds from the plant have different effects," Gruber said.

When discussing health impacts, it's also important to distinguish between recreational and medicinal use, she said. "Recreational users tend to look for high THC content in the products they use. Medical users may or may not. They don't typically want to get high, but want to alleviate symptoms so they can do everyday things like go to the store and remember why they are there."

Some studies suggest chronic, heavy recreational use can harm cognitive functionespecially if that use begins during adolescence. But research shows adult medical cannabis patients may experience some cognitive benefits. Gruber was the senior author of a study published 2018 in the Frontiers of Pharmacology journal that showed people who used medical cannabis experienced improvements in executive function over time, with no deficits in verbal learning or memory.

There also are differences in how different types of use affect heart health.

Though the high levels of THC exposure from recreational use may cause a rise in blood pressure, said Gruber, a study last year in Israel found people age 60 and older who used medical marijuana for three months had a reduction in blood pressure. A 2020 scientific statement from the AHA said observational studies have linked marijuana use to an increased risk of heart attacks, atrial fibrillation and heart failure, but acknowledged its impact on the heart and blood vessels was not well understood due to a lack of adequate research.

A study that directly compares the effects of medical marijuana use to recreational use would help, Testai said. As would a clearer definition of what chronic, heavy recreational use really means.

"Most studies measure exposure to marijuana based on self-reported use," he said. "There's no objective data for how much people are consuming."

Another challenge is people who use it recreationally may use other drugs or substances, such as cigarettes or other mind-altering drugs. That makes it difficult to tease out which impacts come from which substances, Testai said.

How often a person uses marijuana, how much they use and for how long matters, Gruber said. For example, people may initially experience a rapid heart rate, called tachycardia, from products containing THC. But consistent use may result in tolerance to that effect, often after a few days or weeks.

In clinical studies, researchers measure and control what people are consuming. But because the federal government still classifies marijuana as a schedule 1 substance, meaning it is considered to have a high potential for abuse, researchers face tough restrictions on the products they can give study participants.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse Drug Supply Program provides marijuana for research purposes, Gruber said. But research-grade marijuana isn't what people are consuming in their homes.

"Unlike alcohol, which is pretty straightforward, cannabis is many different things," she said. She asks people who use recreational marijuana in her observational studies to submit samples of the products they use most often so they can be analyzed to better measure what's going into their bodies.

Age also plays an important role, Gruber said. Evidence suggests using marijuana during key periods of brain development may harm cognition more than it would if use began in adulthood.

Testai said researchers face another obstacle: the inability to assign a control group to placebo.

"The most fundamental or clear way to practice research is a randomized study with placebo," he said. But with marijuana, "there is no way you can actually mask its effect. Doing high-quality research in this field is confounded by the way marijuana works, not to mention the ethics."

Until there's a better solution, said Gruber, researchers "have to be creative thinkers. We have to try to capture observational data as closely and rigorously as we can as well as conduct empirically sound clinical trials."

Explore further 1 in 5 medicare patients use medical marijuana: Survey
Raagini Rameshwar, left, and Jie Fu at WPI in 2021. Credit: WPI

Inspired by healthcare needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, Assistant Professor of Robotics Engineering Jane Li is leading a team of researchers on a project to develop advanced remote-controlled humanoid nursing robots that can help medical workers care for patients who are in quarantine or isolation.

The researchers, who expect to begin testing a new prototype this summer, are aiming to develop a user-friendly robot that can perform nursing-related tasks in settings where a high risk of contagion or infection threatens the health of nurses.

Although medical robots are used in major hospitals today, Li says, they are difficult to learn to use and difficult to operate, which often increases nurses' workloads.

To solve this challenge, Li is continuing development of a Tele-Robotic Intelligent Nursing Assistant (TRINA), a mobile, humanoid robot that has arms equally strong and gentle to transport medications or infectious samples, help patients adjust their positions, and even lift and carry a patient. TRINA was developed at Duke University in 2016; Li was a postdoctoral researcher on the project.

According to Li, TRINA could benefit patients as well as healthcare staff who are dealing with an aging American population and a persistent nursing shortage.

"I understand the heavy workloads and the stress that nurses encounter, and their fear of being exposed to infectious diseases as they care for patients," says Li, who is principal investigator (PI) on the project and director of WPI's Human-Inspired Robotics Lab. "These TRINA robots can relieve physical and emotional stress on healthcare workers. We are hoping this will revolutionize patient care, a benefit that can extend to in-home care and clinics."

Nurse shortage

COVID-19 has emphasized the ongoing need for technologies that can assist healthcare workers. Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, healthcare workers have been straining under long work hours, heavier workloads, and the fear of contracting the virus themselves. Over the past two years, more than 1 million U.S. healthcare workers were infected with COVID-19 and more than 4,000 of them died, according to the CDC.

Even before the pandemic, a shortage of nurses plagued the medical field. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment projections, there will be an average of 194,500 registered nurse job openings in the United States each year over the decade ending in 2030. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who retire, transfer to different occupations, or exit the labor force.

To help ease these situations, Li is working on the project with co-principal investigator Cagdas Onal, associate professor of robotics engineering and director of the WPI Soft Robotics Lab. Onal is creating haptic gloves, which are wearable devices that will enable the nurse operating the robot to feel what the robot senses and to better control the robot's movements. The haptic gloves will enable nurses to direct the robot's hand movements in real time.

Onal, whose research has focused on creating strong, but soft, robotics, says the haptic gloves are designed for high-accuracy of mirrored movements, enabling the robot to replicate the nurse's hand gestures in real time.

"It will enable the nurses to feel as though they are doing these tasks in person, while avoiding being in potentially dangerous conditions," he says.

Li adds that nurses typically do not learn how to operate robots in nursing school, "so it needs to feel natural for them to want to use a robot. We're designing the system so they will feel the robot is acting as if it's an extension of their own body. At the same time, they can feel what the robot is touching."

Instead of operating the robot using a keyboard or game controller, nurses would wear headsets that would enable them to see what the robot sees.

Human-robot interaction

Li also is working with co-principal investigator Jie Fu, assistant professor at the University of Florida, who is designing a user interface that is easier to understand, along with learning methods to make it easier for novice users to handle and learn the interface. (Fu was a faculty member in the WPI Department of Robotics Engineering when the NSF-CDC grant was awarded and is continuing to work on the project through a subaward.)

Fu's work is focused on developing adaptive controls for the nursing robot to enable both expert and novice users to easily direct it. Using game theory, which applies mathematical models to strategize interactions, Fu is working to offer a better user experience, to enhance the robot's performance, and to enable the robot to better learn from repeated operations. The system is being designed so a caregiver could be trained to operate the robot within two hours.

"The system is more than just the physical robot," Fu says. "It's also about an autonomous system that interacts with the nurse running it."

The system will enable the robot to learn repeated tasks. Once a robot has repeatedly performed a task, such as removing a blanket from the patient's bed or retrieving specimens, it will be able to do these tasks without being given step-by-step instructions. The robot also is being designed to help new users learn to work with itgiving users messages about next steps needed to perform specific tasks or how to move their hands appropriately with the haptic gloves.

Explore further Potential for social connection between humans and robots
Seizure initiation typically occurs in regions characterized by more active excitatory cells (crimson) before spreading to regions dominated by inhibitory neurons (green). Contour lines indicate the relative timing of seizure activity in initiation (orange-red) and propagation (blue) zones. Credit: Dr. James Niemeyer.

New evidence from a zebrafish model of epilepsy may help resolve a debate into how seizures originate, according to Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian investigators. The findings may also be useful in the discovery and development of future epilepsy drugs.

In the study, published Feb. 23 in Brain, the researchers were able to track the activities of neurons throughout the entire brains of larval zebrafish during seizures. They showed that the seizures originated from an excess of "excitatory" over "inhibitory" brain cell activity in relatively confined regions of the brain and spread only when they overcame strong inhibitory activity in surrounding regions.

Neurons in the brain come in two broad categories: excitatory neurons whose activity stimulates the activity of other neurons, and inhibitory neurons whose activity quiets other neurons. Some recent studies have indicated that surges in the activity of inhibitory neurons can paradoxically trigger seizures. The new findings suggest otherwise.

"What's really nice about the zebrafish model is that we can image every brain region, and in this model, for the first time, we were able to distinguish and track the activity of both excitatory and inhibitory neurons," said first author Dr. James Niemeyer, a postdoctoral associate in neurological surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. "So, this is a good starting point for examining the nuanced roles of these cell types during seizures."

Dr. Niemeyer is a member of the laboratory of co-senior author Dr. Theodore Schwartz, who is the David and Ursel Barnes Professor of Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery and vice chair for clinical research at the Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center at Weill Cornell Medicine and a neurosurgeon at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The other co-senior authors of the study are Dr. Hongtao Ma, associate professor of neuroscience research in neurological surgery, and Dr. Emre Aksay, associate professor of physiology and biophysics, both at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Epilepsy is common, afflicting roughly fifty million people around the world at any one time. But how it originates has never been entirely clear. On the one hand, there is evidence that seizures arise from zones in the brain that favor excitatory neuron activity over the usual restraining influence of inhibitory neurons. On the other hand, several recent studies have suggested that excessive activity in inhibitory neurons may trigger seizuressome researchers have observed earlier seizure activity in these cells. This has left a gap in understanding of the different roles of excitation and inhibition in seizures.

"The issue has been hard to resolve, due to the challenges involved in distinguishing and tracking excitatory and inhibitory neuron activity across multiple brain regions in an awake animal," said Dr. Schwartz, who is also a professor of neurological surgery and of neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medicine.

With the zebrafish, the researchers were able to surmount those challenges. Using special fluorescent probes, electrical recordings and a technique called two-photon microscopy, they simultaneously distinguished and tracked excitatory and inhibitory neurons' activity across the brain, before and during seizures induced by a standard chemical method.

They observed that seizures in this model tend to originate in the midbrain, at sites with a heavy imbalance of excitatory over inhibitory neuronal activity. Surrounding zones were much more weighted towards inhibitory activity, and evidently for this reason were able to resist, at least briefly, the spread of seizure activity from the initiating zone.

Prior studies that pointed to inhibitory neurons as seizure triggers may in some cases have detected only these highly inhibitory propagation zones rather than the initiating zone, the researchers suggested.

"We did find overactive inhibitory neurons in the propagation zones, but the advantage of our approach is that we can image across all brain regions to determine where the seizure originates," said Dr. Aksay, who is also associate professor of computational neuroscience in computational biomedicine in the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Institute for Computational Biomedicine at Weill Cornell Medicine.

The team plan to use their zebrafish model for epilepsy drug screening and hope to confirm their findings in future experiments looking across multiple brain regions in a mouse model.

Explore further Inhibitory interneurons in hippocampus excite the developing brain

More information: James E. Niemeyer et al, Seizures initiate in zones of relative hyperexcitation in a zebrafish epilepsy model, Brain (2022). Journal information: Brain James E. Niemeyer et al, Seizures initiate in zones of relative hyperexcitation in a zebrafish epilepsy model,(2022). DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac073
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)  Legislation aimed at expanding patient access to medical marijuana in Louisiana was advanced Tuesday by a state House committee.

Tuesday's votes in the House Health and Welfare Committee sent the bills to the full House for debate.

The News-Star reports that the legislation would change the agency that regulates the medical marijuana industry, and adds the University of Louisiana at Monroe to the list of institutions that can do research on medical marijuana.

Lawmakers said current law allowing only 10 licenses for regional marijuana pharmacies can be a hardship on patients who have to travel. Bills advanced by the committee address that criticism in different ways.

Rep. Joe Marino, an independent from Gretna, won approval of a bill that would expand the number of licenses from 10 to 25 with 30% of the new licenses set aside for minorities and women.

Republican Speaker Pro Tempore Tanner Magee of Houma pushed a bill that would keep the number of licenses at 10, but allow those pharmacists licensed to open second locations within their regions when their patient counts hit 5,000. A currently unissued 10th license would go to Jefferson Parish.

Magee's legislation also would shift regulation of the state medical marijuana program from the state Department of Agriculture to the state Department of Health. And it would require medical cannabis pharmacies to make home deliveries at least once a month.

The fastest growing demographic of patients is the elderly, Magee said. They often need the medicine delivered to them.

Another bill approved, by Rep. Travis Johnson, a Vidalia Democrat, would allow nurse-practitioners to write recommendations for the drug.

None of the bills that advanced increases the number of growers, now limited to the LSU and Southern agriculture centers, according to the News-Star.

For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, The News-Star.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Bidens administration has been working for months to prepare people to rethink their personal risk calculations as the nation gets used to the idea of living with an endemic COVID-19.

But that measured approach disappeared abruptly when a federal judge on Monday threw out the federal requirement to mask up when using mass transit. The ruling added to the urgency of the messaging challenge as the administration tries to move past the virus in the lead-up to midterm elections.

After the government last month eased indoor mask-wearing guidelines for the vast majority of Americans  even in schools  masking on planes was one of the last redoubts of the national COVID-19 restrictions. Now, as the policy falls, the administration turns to accelerating its efforts to provide the best advice for millions making their own personal safety decisions in the still-dangerous pandemic.

It's both a public health imperative and an important shift in emphasis for Biden's political future.

There is an opportunity now, instead of saying this is a disappointing ruling, they could say this is a good time to have a conversation about how we move forward in this pandemic about risk calculation, said Dr. Amesh Adalja an infectious disease physician and a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

With COVID-19, I think were at a point with immunity from prior infections, vaccines, home tests and treatments that we can start to manage this the way we manage other infectious diseases, he said.

Biden himself went all-in on flexibility Tuesday when asked if Americans should mask up on planes.

Thats up to them, Biden declared during a visit to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. But his own White House nonetheless continues to require face coverings for those traveling with him on Air Force One, citing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The shift toward less formal regulation was actually previewed in a 100-page plan released by the White House coronavirus response team in February. Back then, administration officials had hoped that children under 5 would be eligible for vaccination by now  a move that would have eased the concern of millions of parents and provided the umbrella of protection to nearly everyone in the U.S. who wanted it.

Monday's court order lifting the mask mandate came at a crossroads in the nations pandemic response, just shy of a year to the day from when all American adults were eligible for vaccination against COVID-19. The ruling sent government agencies and the White House scrambling to comply, but that didnt stop momentary confusion among travelers as airlines and airports dropped their mask requirements  in some cases mid-flight.

The administration stressed that Americans should still comply with CDC recommendations to wear face coverings, even in the absence of the mandate. Biden's press secretary, Jen Psaki, said as much just an hour before his up to them comment.

The CDC continues to advise and recommend masks on airplanes. Were abiding by the CDC recommendations, the president is, and we would advise all Americans to do that, she said.

On Tuesday, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said officials believe that the federal mask order was a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. He said it was an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve.

But he said the department would only appeal the ruling if the CDC determined that the mask mandate was still necessary for public health. As of Tuesday evening, the agency hadn't made a determination, officials said.

Psaki on Tuesday indicated that while the administration was disappointed with the ruling, it didnt rank with Congress inability to reach a compromise on additional COVID funding to purchase booster shots and antiviral treatments.

Those are our biggest concerns, she said.

Face-covering requirements, which have proven to lower the risks of infection, have grown increasingly political in the U.S. over the last year, particularly as cases and severe outcomes have fallen.

The lingering mandate for public transit and air travel served as a daily reminder for many people that the pandemic they badly wanted to be over was still affecting their lives, even if vaccinations and antiviral treatments had dramatically lowered their risk. For others who are still fearful of the virus, each roll-back of pandemic restrictions has sparked fresh disquiet  and in some cases criticism of the Biden administration.

There are still a lot of people in this country who still want to have masks in place  either they have immunocompromised relatives, they have kids under 5, whatever it may be, said Psaki.

Mondays court ruling hastened an outcome that was likely coming in weeks anyway. Many administration officials believed that last weeks 15-day extension of the mask order to May 3 would be the last. The public health agency had asked for the additional time to monitor whether a recent rise in infections would result in increased hospitalizations or deaths. So far it hasnt.

The courts order caught the administration by surprise and left it struggling to grasp its impact  both on the requirement's end and on CDCs authorities going forward.

CDC scientists had asked for 15 days to make a more data-driven durable decision, Dr. Aashish Jha, the new White House COVID-19 coordinator, tweeted on Tuesday. We should have given it to them."

The uptick in cases and a recent spate of positive cases in Bidens orbit  including second gentleman Doug Emhoff and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi  was a potent reminder that the virus isnt going away.

Biden, 79, was never identified as a close contact under CDC guidelines, the White House said, and officials emphasized that he is strongly protected against the virus by being vaccinated and twice-boosted.

Controlling the virus that has killed 986,000 Americans has been a priority for Biden since taking office. The U.S. now averages about 35,000 confirmed cases per day, down from a high of more than 806,000 during Januarys omicron surge, but up slightly from lows of about 26,000 a month ago. Those figures are surely an undercount since many people dont report the results of at-home tests to public health authorities.

Associated Press writers Chris Megerian in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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The U.S. is experiencing a labor shortage that's partly fueled by a drop-off in immigration, which ground to a halt during the coronavirus pandemic. By some estimates, the U.S. now has an 2 million fewer immigrants than it would have if the pace had stayed the same. That's helped lead to a desperate scramble for workers in many sectors, from meatpacking to homebuilding. It's also contributing to supply shortages and price increases. Just 10 miles from the Rio Grande, Mike Helle's farm in Texas is so short of immigrants that he's replaced hundreds of acres of labor-intensive leafy greens with crops that can be harvested by machinery. He's also increased pay for his workers, who are almost exclusively immigrants.
The owner of a construction company in the Flathead Valley was sentenced on Tuesday for defrauding multiple customers and using their money for personal expenses.

Craig M. Draper, 55, pleaded guilty in December to wire fraud. He was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Draper, of Las Vegas, is also ordered to pay $543,859 in restitution.

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy presided.

Court documents say Draper moved to the Flathead Valley in 2017 and started a company called ADI Builders. Draper took money from 25 people for construction materials, but failed to get said materials or complete any projects, a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The victims included customers, vendors and former employees, some of whom experienced financial hardship because of Draper's schemes, the news release said.

He bid on several jobs, including building pole barns, shops and residential remodels. On numerous occasions, Draper would invoice customers for specific expenses associated with their construction projects.

One customer received a $59,002 invoice from Draper, which included $8,000 in charges for siding. The customer wired Draper the full amount but never received siding from his company.

Draper is accused of using those funds on personal expenses unrelated to the project, including paying a company in Iowa for trophies for the winners of car races, paying an outfitter in Utah and making cash withdrawals. He also paid $9,500 to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to lease their racetrack.

Judge Molloy dismissed nine other wire fraud counts and two money laundering counts under the terms of a plea agreement reached by the defense and prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Racicot prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI.

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For the first time in more than a year, the Bureau of Land Management will hold an oil and gas lease sale in Montana this June, with 10 parcels nominated in the far eastern part of the state.

BLM announced the June 28 lease sale on Monday. The public land parcels are spread across Fallon, Powder River, Richland, and Roosevelt counties. Another 13 parcels are in North Dakota.

Combined, the acres offered between the two states are 3,405.8. BLM had announced the resumption of oil and gas lease sales in nine states, mostly in the West, with 144,000 total acres up for lease. The area is only 20% of what was expected. The scaled-down sale, combined with an increased royalty rate of 18.75%, up from 12.5% received some praise from environmentalists, but angered politicians.

Todays announcement is good news. It shows that Secretary (Debra) Haaland and her team at Interior are listening to Westerners and working in the best interest of taxpayers. By limiting the upcoming sale to areas with existing oil and gas infrastructure, Interior will prevent speculators from locking up public lands with little or no potential for future production, said Aaron Weiss, Center for Western Priorities deputy director in a press release. Raising the royalty rate ensures taxpayers will get a fair share from oil produced on these parcels.

Montana politicians, who have railed against the more than one-year federal pause on leasing, responded to the announced sales with a stream of invectives directed at President Joe Biden.

"They've got an 80% reduction in acres, available for leasing. They're increasing the royalty rates. I think the problem this administration has, one of many, is they are letting the far left green woke groups run the administration, and it's dangerous. It's dangerous," U.S. Sen. Steve Daines said Monday. "The green groups got ahold of the political agenda in Europe and it's put Europe in a very, very dangerous position, as we see today."

Daines, a Montana Republican, serves on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Similarly, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, of Wyoming, accused Biden of doing all it can to restrict leasing on federal lands. The ranking Republican on Senate Energy said Biden was making American energy more expensive and harder to produce, a reference to the higher royalty rate and reduction in lease acres for sale.

But the new federal royalty rate is comparable to Montana's 16.67% rate and Wyoming's 16.66% for oil and gas leases on state land. Last month, the all-Republican Montana Land Board celebrated a $1.1 million March lease sale, an eight-year high. Though half the acres leased for $2 or less, the top Montana sales fetched $285 an acre, with some of the better valued sales located in Roosevelt County. Roosevelt is also included in the BLM sale.

Its been years since Montana had more than one active drilling rig in the state during any given month, according to the Baker Hughes rig count. Montanas minimal activity predates the Biden administrations January 2021 suspension of lease sales by almost a decade.

The Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation reports that oil production has steadily declined from 29.6 million barrels a year in 2014 to 18.9 million barrels in 2020.

Most oil production in the United States doesnt take place on federal land. About 7% of the oil produced in the United States comes from federal land, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

In September 2021, The Department of Interior reported that there were 9,600 drilling permits for oil and gas on public lands, which had been approved by BLM, but werent being put to use. Interior noted that the oil industry considered surplus leases and permits necessary for a successful business model.

When land is under contract for potential oil and gas activity, the shared public lands cannot be managed for other purposes, such as conservation or recreation, DOI reported.

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TOKYO (AP)  Japan enacted a law on Wednesday formally revoking Russia's most favored nation trade status over its invasion of Ukraine, as Tokyo steps up sanctions amid revelations of Russian military atrocities against civilians.

The stripping of Russias trade status is Japan's latest move against Moscow and is part of a list of sanction measures Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced last month that also include a decision to expel eight Russian diplomats and trade officials.

The revocation of Russias trade status by Japan's Parliament, which takes effect later this month, and other sanctions collectively imposed by other countries, are expected to intensify pressure on Russia, but the moves could also prompt reprisals from Moscow.

The revocation of the trade status applies to tariffs on most imports from Russia, allowing Tokyo to impose higher duties on such products. The measure, however, does not affect imports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas, as well as palladium, a type of rare metal, which had no tariffs before Russia joined the World Trade Organization in 2012 and gained the most favored nation status.

It followed a decision along with the U.S. and other members of the Group of Seven industrialized nations to do so.

Wednesday's parliamentary decision also included a revision of a foreign exchange law to prevent the transfer of virtual currency held by those subject to asset freezing.

Japan is taking a greater role in the international effort against Russia because of its concerns about the impact of the invasion in East Asia, where Chinas military has grown increasingly assertive.

Japan has also frozen the assets of hundreds of Russian individuals and groups and banned new investment and trade, including the export of goods that could be used for military purposes. Japan also announced plans to phase out imports of Russian coal.

On Wednesday, the eight Russian diplomats and officials subject to expulsion traveled from the Russian Embassy in Tokyo on a bus to the city's Haneda International Airport, where they took a Russian government plane home. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed the departure of the eight and their families.

Japan has already faced reprisals from Russia. Moscow recently announced the suspension of talks on a peace treaty with Tokyo that included negotiations over Russian-held islands that the former Soviet Union seized from Japan at the end of World War II.

Japan's trade with Russia is relatively small but has been growing swiftly in recent years, with exports in the fiscal year that ended in March up nearly 40% and imports up almost 70%.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Hard-core kokanee salmon anglers who fish Georgetown Lake celebrated after a vote Tuesday by the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission to reinstate 2021 regulations that set no daily or possession limit for the fish.

Two of those ice-fishing kokanee connoisseurs, Lon Dale and Ben Krakowa, were among those who protested vigorously when the regulations changed. In October, the Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a daily limit for kokanee of 20 fish and a 40 fish in possession limit. The new regulations took effect March 1.

For many anglers on Georgetown Lake, especially those targeting trout and not kokanee, the new limit stood to have little impact. But anglers like Dale, Krakowa and Peter Dayton specialize in kokanee fishing, which they say requires specific strategies. Kokanee devotees say the small, land-locked salmon can be delicious after smoking and other preparation.

During the commission meeting Tuesday, Fish, Wildlife and Parks acknowledged the agency erred by not communicating more effectively with stakeholders like Dale, Krakowa and Dayton and members of the Anaconda Sportsmens Club before changing the regulations.

Chris Marchion, a member of the sportsmens club and a board member of the Montana Wildlife Federation, addressed the Fish and Wildlife Commission during its Tuesday meeting.

Marchion said the club is disappointed in the way this happened. He said the Georgetown Lake fishery is healthy.

Pat Saffel, a Fish, Wildlife and Parks fisheries biologist, said in March the decision to seek a daily limit for kokanee followed data that suggested the typically-small fish was increasing in size and age  which could mean the population was shrinking.

He said the population characteristics seen in sampling during the fall of 2020 and winter of 2021 were cause for concern.

The standard limit was seen as a cautionary step while the kokanee population adjusted, Saffel said.

He acknowledged that photos posted on Facebook of an angler who had caught what appeared to be a hundred or more kokanee at Georgetown Lake were also a consideration.

Krakowa said in March that an apparently brief uptick in the size of the fish could be linked to other variables, including an over-full lake in 2019 that spurred erosion, washing extra nutrients into Georgetown Lake.

Marchion said the kokanee in Georgetown tend to be 6 inches to 10 inches long.

Saffel said Wednesday the kokanee population at the lake has changed since Fish, Wildlife and Parks proposed the standard limit of 20 of kokanee daily and 40 in possession. He said it appears the kokanee population is trending back towards the condition it had been for 30-plus years.

He added, As a result, from a biological perspective, there was flexibility between re-instating the no limit or keeping the standard limit. We will know more about the kokanee population trend after netting this year.

In a letter to the commission dated last week, Dayton predicted if the daily limit was not eliminated, effective immediately, that Georgetown Lake will quickly become overpopulated with stunted kokanee.

During Tuesdays meeting, Commissioner Jana Waller, who lives in the Bitterroot Valley, told commissioners she had talked to Saffel about the kokanee controversy. She said he had told her eliminating the kokanee limit at Georgetown Lake would not damage the fishery.

Waller made the motion to return to no limit, effective immediately. And a commission majority agreed.

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After a Republican state senator in Michigan accused a Democratic legislator of supporting attempts to groom and sexualise children in a campaign fundraising email, state Senator Mallory McMorrow took her response to the floor of the state capitol.

I sat on it for a while wondering, Why me? And then I realised  I am the biggest threat to your hollow, hateful scheme, she said in remarks on 19 April. You cant claim that you are targeting marginalised kids in the name of parental rights if another parent is standing up to say no.

In an email soliciting donations to her campaign on 18 April, Senator Lana Theis heaped together a list of right-wing tropes that have dominated GOP campaigns in 2022, alleging that our children are under assault in our schools from gender-bending indoctrination and race-based education promoted by their political opponents.

She also lashed out at Senator McMorrow, claiming she is among a group of progressive social media trolls who are outraged they cant teach, cant groom and sexualise kindergarteners or that 8-year-olds are responsible for slavery, without pointing to any such evidence, as GOP officials and right-wing personalities invoke baseless smears against LGBT+ people and their allies relying on the same language.

In furious five-minute remarks that went viral across social media on Tuesday, Senator McMorrow condemned the attacks and placed them within a broader, toxic national campaign to distort concepts like critical race theory and LGBT+ people for political leverage.

I am a straight, white, Christian, married suburban mom, who knows that the very notion that learning about slavery or redlining or systemic racism somehow means that children are being taught to feel bad and hate themselves because they are white is absolute nonsense, Senator McMorrow said.

She added: No child alive today is responsible for slavery. No one in this room is responsible for slavery. But each and every single one of us bears responsibility for writing the next chapter of history.  We are not responsible for the past. We also cannot change the past. We cant pretend that it didnt happen, or deny people their very right to exist.

Story continues

Following the advancement of what opponents have called Dont Say Gay legislation and bills banning transgender student athletes from school sports, right-wing media figures and Republican officials have characterised opposition to their agenda as groomers or pedophiles.

Grooming refers to the emotional manipulation of a child for sexual abuse, though the latest wave of allegations attacks LGBT+ teachers, the parents of transgender children, and opponents of legislation that LGBT+ advocates have warned will cause widespread harm.

Senator McMorrow was among a group of Democratic legislators who walked out of a legislative session last week after Senator Theis claimed in a prayer that children are under attack because of forces that desire things for them other than what their parents would have them see and hear and know.

Michigan Republicans are mulling a version of Floridas recently passed Parental Rights in Education Act, which prohibits instruction of sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through the third grade and any such discussion that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in other grades.

The broadly written law  the subject of a federal lawsuit claiming violations of federal antidiscrimination statutes  could freeze classroom speech involving LGBT+ people and issues, from civil rights history lessons to discussion of LGBT+ students, school staff and their families, according to opponents.

Senator Lana Theis accused me by name of grooming and sexualizing children in an attempt to marginalize me for standing up against her marginalizing the LGBTQ community...in a fundraising email, for herself.



Hate wins when people like me stand by and let it happen. I won't. pic.twitter.com/jL5GU42bTv  Mallory McMorrow (@MalloryMcMorrow) April 19, 2022

Republian state legislators also are advancing dozens of propsals aimed at eliminating critical race theory from classrooms, though educators and school officials have repeatedly denied that high-level academic theories about the legacies of racism in US institutions are not part of any grade-level curriculums.

The term has served as a catch-all phrase to encompass teachings on the history of slavery, racism and civil rights movements, among other topics, with legislation broadly aimed at censoring classroom speech, while GOP officials argue that such concepts or teaching materials are not directly discussing the theory but are derived from it.

People who are different are not the reason that our roads are in bad shape after decades of disinvestment, or that healthcare costs are too high, or that teachers are leaving the profession, Senator McMorrow said in her remarks on Tuesday.

She added: I want every child in this state to feel seen, heard and supported, not marginalised and not targeted because they are not straight, white and Christian. We cannot let hateful people tell you otherwise to scapegoat and deflect from the fact that they are not doing anything to fix the real issues that impact peoples lives.

Senator McMorrow said hate will only win if people like me stand by and let it happen.

I hope it brought in a few dollars, she said, appearing to reference the email from Senator Theis campaign. I hope it made you sleep good last night.

The Independent has requested comment from Senator Theis campaign.
When whistleblowers tried to expose conditions in a Saudi womens prison and advocate for human rights reforms, Twitter suspended their accounts. Thats the kind of problem Elon Musk can solve.

The Tesla CEO offered $43 billion to buy Twitters stock and take the company private last week, writing that he believes in the social media companys potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe.

While Musk has plenty of supporters, an outsize share of American pundits regard his overtures with skepticism. By Easter weekend, dismissive hot takes and ponderous thinkpieces flooded the internet. Musk doesnt understand content moderation, the naysayers argue, and a free speech-friendly Twitter would embolden bigots, spread misinformation and foment a digital dystopia. Writing for The Guardian, Robert Reich, a former U.S. labor secretary, suggested Musks malign influence might even erode democracy.

Such shrill alarmism from latter-day Chicken Littles doesnt merit a response. Its the thoughtful writers capable of nuanced critiques who really disappoint, betraying their failure of imagination and parochial view by centering the debate on conservative claims that Twitter shows favoritism to the political left.

Tweaking the terms of service and rewriting moderation algorithms would certainly show up on Musks to-do list, and perhaps some American right-wingers banished from the bird app for breaking its rules would see their access restored. Those changes pale in comparison to the worldwide impact of a communication channel that follows Musks free speech absolutist philosophy.

Like other U.S. tech titans, Twitter cooperates with government censors in the foreign countries where it does business. Its in bed with repressive regimes that imprison people for criticizing heads of state or challenging the state-sanctioned religion. Thats a problem several orders of magnitude greater than how much latitude U.S. users have to spout conspiracy theories or badger their political rivals.

The human rights organization Freedom House documents the Saudi prison reform advocates account suspensions in its Freedom on the Net 2021 report, which assigns Saudi Arabia an abysmal 24-out-of-100 score for online free expression.

Saudi dissidents and political activists who post content critical of the Saudi government from outside the country have reported incidents where platforms like Facebook and Twitter have removed content or blocked access to their accounts, the Freedom House report states.

Surely, its just a coincidence that Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is a major Twitter shareholder, and that he wasted no time in publicly opposing Musks offer. In a canny retort, Musk asked bin Talal to describe the kingdoms view on journalistic free speech.

Jamal Khashoggis permanent silence is the only answer we need.

The most brazen authoritarians and theocrats abuse their cozy relationship with social media executives to flag content far outside their jurisdictions. In December 2018, Twitter emailed Toronto Sun columnist Anthony Furey to warn that his tweets broke Pakistans blasphemy laws.

Furey rebuffed the advisory, and fellow North American users might laugh off such impotent overreach from the safety of our shores. But if convicted of blasphemy, a Twitter user in Pakistan faces the death penalty.

In Silicon Valley, obliging propagandists and censors is regarded as a necessary trade-off in order to access foreign markets. If a company wants to operate an office in another country or maintain servers there, it must abide by the local laws.

What if a digital disruptor came along and shattered that conventional wisdom?

If anyone can find a workaround, its probably an American billionaire with a private space company at his disposal. When Russia invaded Ukraine and sought to disable internet access, Musks SpaceX launched satellites into orbit to provide its Starlink broadband service to the Ukrainian resistance.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise deployed the International Space Stations first data center in February 2021. Keeping content out of authoritarians clutches might call for a server farm in outer space.

Infamous for its suppression of dissent, China currently blocks access to Twitter within its borders. Imagine if cutting-edge engineering could evade such terrestrial barriers and give 1.4 billion Chinese citizens access to a worldwide network of uncensored news and information.

Elon Musk is uniquely positioned to make Twitter a transformative tool that advances free expression around the globe. If that makes speculation about whether hed reinstate @realDonaldTrump seem small-minded, well, it should.

Corey Friedman writes on political conflicts from an independent perspective. Follow him at twitter.com/coreywrites.
If you came of age sometime between the two Bush presidencies, chances are you've had  or still have  strong feelings about Abercrombie & Fitch, the retailer whose logo T-shirts were once ubiquitous in high-school cafeterias.

Perhaps you aspired to the brand's narrow definition of cool. Perhaps you resented the company's exclusionary identity. Perhaps both. But you simply couldn't be a young person in the late 1990s and early 2000s and avoid Abercrombie.

Now, a new Netflix documentary examines the brand and its legacy, arguing that Abercrombie's corporate culture was even more noxious than the cologne its employees dispensed with zeal at malls across the country.

"White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie" explains how the company, founded in the 1800s as a purveyor of sporting goods for elite adventurers, became the hottest label of the "TRL" era under the leadership of Chief Executive Michael Jeffries, who made billions in profits by aggressively going after the cool kids  and who once proudly declared, "A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes], and they can't belong."

The strategy worked for a time, but it was unsustainable: nothing that burns white hot can last forever. Especially when the brand is built on exclusion.

"This is a story that everyone can locate themselves in," said director Alison Klayman. "People immediately start talking about their personal experiences with the brand. It cuts quickly into something about identity, about childhood, about fitting in."

The film recounts the innovations that propelled the company's ascendance in the '90s, including A&F Quarterly, a racy catalog/magazine shot by famed fashion photographer Bruce Weber, and store employees who were hired because of their looks rather than their customer service skills. The Abercrombie vision flowed directly from Jeffries, who dictated every aspect of the company's image, down to the jewelry and hairstyles worn by employees. (Dreadlocks and gold chains were forbidden.)

The company's popularity was crystalized in the 1999 hit "Summer Girls" by the second-tier boy band LFO, which played in heavy rotation on MTV: "I like girls that wear Abercrombie & Fitch," went the chorus.

But "White Hot" also traces the controversies that ultimately turned the tide of opinion against Abercrombie and contributed to Jeffries' ouster in 2014, including racist merchandise, allegations of discriminatory hiring practices that resulted in a landmark Supreme Court case and allegedly predatory behavior by Weber toward the company's young male models.

Klayman said she was drawn to make a film about Abercrombie because she thought it was "the perfect story to make seemingly abstract forces really concrete. It shows you how bias in society is actually formally enforced in a top-down way. How do you explain systemic racism? Well, how about people from corporate headquarters coming to your store and telling a 20-year-old who they should hire and fire?"

The filmmaker grew up in suburban Philadelphia during the retailer's heyday. She preferred thrift-store finds to Abercrombie's casual preppy styles and felt intimidated by the store at the local King of Prussia Mall. "I wasn't skinny or blond, so I knew it wasn't for me," she said. "I received the message that this is what was cool. And I also received the message that it wasn't for me." (The documentary, while comprehensive, doesn't have time to rehash all of Abercrombie's controversial moves, like the thongs marketed to preteen girls with the words "eye candy" on them or the decision for many years not to make women's clothes over a size 10.)

"White Hot" is likely to conjure complicated emotions in the millennials who grew up under the Abercrombie influence  nostalgia for mall culture, the pre-social media era and the brands we yearned for as adolescents, tinged with disgust over the pervasive racism, misogyny and homophobia that seemed perfectly acceptable in the not-so-distant past. (Some viewers will also feel very old when malls are explained as "an online catalog that's an actual place.")

The documentary arrives at a moment when pop culture is caught in a Y2K time warp. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are engaged, Britney Spears is pregnant and low-rise jeans are back in style. TV has offered sympathetic portrayals of women once treated as media punching bags like Spears, Janet Jackson, Monica Lewinsky, Brittany Murphy and Pamela Anderson. "America's Next Top Model," a show that debuted nearly 20 years ago, has been the subject of journalistic exposes and countless outraged Twitter threads.

And the recent Hulu docuseries "The Curse of Von Dutch: A Brand to Die For," told the wild story behind another clothing company strongly identified with the early aughts. Much as yuppies endlessly relived the 1960s throughout the 1980s and 1990s, millennials and younger Gen X are looking back at their youth and wondering: Why did we ever put up with this?

"Pop culture was so much more hegemonic in that era  it was more of a monoculture. There were plenty of people who thought [Abercombie] was ridiculous from the beginning, but it was the dominant culture and they weren't going to drown that out," said Klayman, who has spent several years thinking about this time period: Her previous film, "Jagged," focused on 1990s pop star Alanis Morissette, and she's also working on a documentary about the WNBA, which was founded in 1996.

"White Hot" features interviews with journalists who covered the retailer at the height of its influence, as well as former models and employees disillusioned by the company's exclusionary policies. (A model named Bobby Blanski jokingly describes himself as "armpit guy" because of a famous ad featuring his likeness.)

As an undergraduate at Cal State Bakersfield 20 years ago, Carla Barrientos applied for a job at an Abercrombie store at the nearby Value Plaza Mall. She loved their clothes, and was devoted to a pair of low-rise jeans with tiny pockets on the front. "I am not sure what they were supposed to hold," said Barrientos, laughing during a recent video chat. "At the time, everything I wore was low rise, everything was tight. If I could show my belly button, it was a great day."

Though Barrientos, who is Black, noticed the lack of diversity at the store, she figured, "They're looking for all-American, and I'm all-American." She worked at Abercrombie for a few months but was soon phased out with little explanation. When she learned another friend, who was white, was still working 20 hours a week, she began to piece it together. But she didn't immediately take action. "I looked at it like, racism has to be blatant  almost like the KKK, right? I wasn't called a racial slur, I wasn't run out of the store." she said.

"I think part of me didn't want it to be about race," she continued, "because there's nothing I can do about that. I'm very proud of being a Black woman. How can I fix that?"

Barrientos, now 38, ultimately joined a class-action lawsuit against the retailer in 2003, alleging that the company's hiring practices excluded people of color and women. The case resulted in a 2005 consent decree that required the company to promote diversity in its workforce but was largely nonbinding. After the settlement, Abercrombie found a cynical workaround: If it reclassified the employees who worked in the front of the store as "models," it could continue to hire them based on looks. In a separate case a decade later, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a young Muslim woman, Samantha Elauf, who was refused a job at Abercrombie because of her headscarf.

The experience at Abercrombie "opened my eyes to what discrimination looks like" and how quietly insidious it can be, said Barrientos, who appears in "White Hot." She is heartened to see the changes at Abercrombie, whose website now features models with an array of body shapes and skin tones. A banner on the home page reads, "Today  and every day  we're leading with purpose, championing inclusivity and creating a sense of belonging."

"It's so refreshing and beautiful to see how inclusive the world is these days, and how people want to know you because you're not like them, not because you fit this box of what's cool," Barrientos said. "I'm so glad that we are where we are, but I think you've still got a long way to go."

Though she credits social media and the rise of a new generation "that wasn't willing to be spoon-fed" with accelerating Abercrombie's fall from its turn-of-the-millennium heights, Klayman also sees less inspiring forces at work: falling profits and changing consumer habits. "It's really hard to be on top of the youth market for many, many decades. Abercrombie had a formula that worked, but it didn't change."

In other words, the brand suffered the fate of every fad. The cool kids grew bored with it.



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Butte police reports

Resisting arrest

On Tuesday night, Jordan Ellis Pederson, 30, homeless, had been told several times by employees and later, officers, to leave Safeway, 2500 Massachusetts Ave.

Pederson complied but went right back to the store after officers left. The police then returned to the scene and when an officer attempted to arrest him, he resisted.

He was jailed for the misdemeanor offenses of resisting arrest and criminal trespass to property.

Felony, misdemeanor

Samuel James Long, 35, homeless, was taken into custody near St. James Healthcare at around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. According to the police report, while Long had refused medical treatment, he also wouldnt leave the area.

That refusal brought him a ride to the jail where he allegedly had in his possession prescription medication and a syringe. He was jailed for felony possession of dangerous drugs and the misdemeanor offense of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Gate damaged

It was reported Monday morning that a gate was damaged at a Butte-Silver Bow County facility.

Car break-ins

Sometime Monday morning, several items  including sunglasses, a Bluetooth headset and camping utensils  were taken from a car parked in the 3000 block of Nettie.

A car parked near Galena and Colorado streets was broken into late Monday afternoon. Items taken were a gym bag with workout clothes and a knife.

On Tuesday afternoon a wallet was taken from a car parked in the parking lot at Butte High School.

Arguing loudly

Early Monday night, a person living in the 3000 block of Wharton Street called to complain about the neighbors arguing loudly. When officers arrived, the man and woman promised to settle down for the night

Truck vandalized

A resident living in the 2800 block of Ottawa Street discovered Monday night that his truck was deliberately scratched and dented, and the tailgate was damaged. In addition, the perpetrator took the Chevy emblem off the truck.

SUV stolen

It was discovered Tuesday morning that a white 2020 Jeep Cherokee was taken from Butte Auto, 3883 Harrison Ave.

Report filed

A report was filed Tuesday afternoon that a generator, chainsaw, fly rods and a barbecue were stolen from Fairmont RV Resort.

Ride requested

Late Tuesday afternoon, some juveniles requested a ride from a taxi and when they were close to their destination on ONeil Street, they jumped out without paying and ran down the alley.

Angry man

At around 7 p.m. Tuesday, a man attempted to pick up a money order at Safeway, 310 W. Front St., but because he had no identification, he could not receive the money order. The unidentified man then got angry and with a chain, he proceeded to break a window. When officers arrived, however, he was gone. The case is under investigation.

On a mission

An unidentified woman was on a mission as she headed to Pearl Street Tuesday night. With brick in hand, she damaged a parked vehicle and put several scratches on the exterior. She was nowhere to be found when officers arrived.

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Watercraft with engines no larger than 10 horsepower will be able to navigate between the mouth of the Boulder River in Sweet Grass County upstream as far as Natural Bridge from April 1 through Sept. 30 each year.

The Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously approved the new rule at its Tuesday meeting in Helena.

The decision came almost two years after about 50 landowners along the stream petitioned a commission composed of different members to ban all motorized craft on the Boulder. That commission eventually approved a motorized watercraft ban on the Shields River in nearby Park County.

Opponents had criticized the Boulder and Shields petitions as ways for landowners to restrict public use of rivers, chipping away at the states stream access law.

When an almost completely new commission was appointed by Gov. Greg Gianforte, Commissioner Brian Cebull recommended the creation of a citizens advisory group to reconsider the Boulder River motorized ban. By December 2021, the advisory group recommended the 10 horsepower rule to the commission.

Its been a long process, and one thing I am happy to report is that we will be done with it today, said Clayton Elliott, of Montana Trout Unlimited.

Although praising the process, Elliott said his organization came down on the side of habitat protection.

Its a difficult topic because theres no easy answer in places like this, especially as we face years like what appears to be coming in terms of record drought, said Commissioner Pat Byorth, who participated with Cebull in the working groups deliberations. And allocating the resources really is going to be a challenge more and more every year.

Fisheries manager Eileen Ryce had earlier provided the commission with a drought update that was grim. She noted 2021 was an unprecedented year with more fishing restrictions than any other year, the longest duration of restrictions and the most ever in place at one time.

The Shields and the Yellowstone rivers are currently in very bad shape, Ryce said. Were likely to see restrictions on the Shields going in as early as mid-May.

The Jefferson, East Gallatin, Gallatin, Beaverhead, Big Hole and Ruby rivers are all showing the likelihood of restrictions, Ryce added.

Canyon Ferry, Fort Peck, and Hebgen reservoirs are unlikely to fill this year, she said. FWP is already working with NorthWestern Energy to lower the flows out of Hebgen Dam. Even with this early action, Ryce said its possible the Madison River below Hebgen could see restrictions this summer as well.

The Smith (River) is also looking bad, and will likely need restrictions during the summer, she said.

The bright spots are along the Rocky Mountain Front and west of the Continental Divide, Ryce added.

Right now, Crooked Creeks boat ramp is unusable at Fort Peck, but more could be affected later in the summer, Ryce said. Water levels on Fresno and Nelson reservoirs, located on the Hi-Line, may also be too low for boat ramps to be usable as the summer goes on.

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We are at war at home and abroad. Constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe stated, We face an existential threat from a movement openly contemptuous of democracy and willing to use violence to achieve its ends. No self-governing society can survive such a threat by denying that it exists. It requires Americans to work together to ensure its success and our future. It means amplifying truth over lies, courage over fear, and country over party. We need to stop treating our fellow Americans and neighbors as the enemy. As former Republican Stuart Stevens says, legitimizing hate is like a war: it is easier to begin than stop. We can disagree about policy issues because thats what vibrant democracies do. But the threats are apparent.

Several threats have metastasized from the Big Lie through misinformation and propaganda. Based on this misguided voter fraud talking point, Republican-controlled states, like Montana, are passing laws to suppress voter turnout. For example, college students can no longer use their student IDs to vote. This law will substantially reduce these young adults' ability to vote. And to what end? According to David Pepper in the Laboratories of Autocracy, this doesnt improve the voting process; it is an intentional effort to reduce young voter turnout because younger educated people don't vote Republican. Other threats include gerrymandering congressional districts, restrictive voter IDs, vast amounts of dark money, and burgeoning propaganda that has become a cottage industry. Montana Republicans are trying to diminish the independence of our state supreme court, which is a constitutional check upon the legislature. Combined with an unwillingness to seek a compromise on matters vital to Americans, extremists in Congress  like our very own Matt Rosendale supported the insurrectionists by voting against certifying the election after MAGA forces stormed the U.S. Capitol Building to overturn a free and fair election.

Part of the war at home comes from media personalities such as Tucker Carlson, featured on Russian State News for repeating Russian disinformation. And like Donald Trump, many Republicans have nothing but praise for autocrats like Putin. The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event is sponsoring an official conference in Hungary to support Viktor Orban, the strongman ruler who has destroyed democracy in his country.

To Putin, truth is the enemy. State media constantly floods Russians with propaganda and disinformation with each imperialistic action he takes. First was Georgia, then Crimea, then east Ukraine and Belarus, and now war crimes in Bucha. According to Russian propaganda, these areas wanted Russia to liberate them from the Nazis. As history teaches us, the atrocities we see in Ukraine are a typical result of corrupt autocracies. It is a brutal lesson of whats at stake in our world and our own country. Helping Ukraine defend itself from autocratic Putin is one way to fight. But many Republicans, such as our own Matt Rosendale and Steve Daines, voted against sending aid to Ukraine. The lies and performative antics of Republicans like Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, and Ted Cruz are becoming the mainstream of their party. For them, truth is irrelevant. Getting Twitter clicks and spots on Fox News is the aim. America, under President Biden, has resumed a leadership role to strengthen and support democracies worldwide since WWII; yet, many in the GOP support Putin and Orban.

The hate and lies are alive and well in our world and communities. To survive as a democracy, we need to elect people who believe in democracy and truth. When Republicans defend the January 6th Insurrection as a legitimate political discourse or punish those who seek the truth in their party, it should give any party member reason to reconsider their loyalty to a leader and party who thrives on hate.

David James of Eureka is a retired history/political science teacher with 40 years of teaching experience.

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The Justice Department said Tuesday it will not appeal a federal district judges ruling that ended the nations federal mask mandate on public transit unless the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the requirement is still necessary.

In a statement released a day after a Florida judge ended the sweeping mandate, which required face coverings on planes and trains and in transit hubs, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said officials believe that the federal mask order was a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. He said it was an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve.

Coley said the CDC had said it would continue to assess public health conditions, and if the agency determined a mandate was necessary for public health, the Justice Department would file an appeal.

As of Tuesday, the agency hadnt made a determination, officials said.

The federal judge's ruling did away with the last major vestige of federal pandemic rules and led to a mishmash of new locally created rules that reflected the nations ongoing divisions over how to battle the virus.

Major airlines and airports in places like Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City quickly switched to a mask-optional policy. Los Angeles County dropped its mandate for mass transit and a train conductor in New Jersey told commuters of their masks Tuesday: Feel free to burn them at will."

New York City, Chicago and Connecticut, however, continued to require masks for travelers.

The ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber announced on their websites Tuesday that masks will now be optional while riding or driving.

Even Walt Disney World in Florida on Tuesday announced it was lifting its mask requirement for its monorail, buses and sky gondola.

For many, the news was welcome. A video showed some passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight cheering and applauding as they removed masks upon hearing the announcement they were now optional. One man happily twirled his mask on his finger.

However Brooke Tansley, a television producer and former Broadway performer, was incensed after boarding a flight with her 4-year-old and 8-month-old baby neither old enough to be vaccinated  only to learn the mask mandate had ended mid-flight.

Very very angry about this, she said in a tweet, noting her baby was too young to wear a mask.

President Joe Biden went all-in on flexibility Tuesday when asked if Americans should mask up on planes.

Thats up to them, Biden declared during a visit to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. But the White House continues to require face coverings for those traveling with him on Air Force One, citing CDC guidance.

In Portland, Oregon, transit employees immediately began taking down mask required announcements and signs, but said it would likely take several days to remove everything.

The city joined Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Kansas City, Missouri, and two of Alaska's largest cities, Anchorage and Juneau, in making masking optional on mass transit.

Some passengers at Chicagos Union Station said the rules were confusing. Amtrak dropped its requirement. The Chicago Transit Authority and Metra, the regional commuter rail service, kept the requirement at first but dropped it late Tuesday.

Its like this patchwork of different rules and enforcement of it, said Erik Abderhalden, who wore a mask as he waited for a Metra train to his home in suburban Naperville. I mean, its like Swiss cheese ... theres no uniformity and it seems pretty laissez-faire.

Subway rider Cooper Klinges was pleased that New York Citys public transit system wasnt following the trend and planned to keep its mask requirement in place. As he waited at a Brooklyn train station, he said he canceled a flight earlier this year over concerns about the virus.

I dont think we are out of the woods yet, said Klinges, a teacher, citing concerns about the BA.2 omicron subvariant of the coronavirus. It is still around. We have to still stick it out.

The CDC had recently extended the mask mandate, which was set to expire Monday, until May 3 to allow more time to study the subvariant, which is now responsible for the vast majority of U.S. cases. But the court ruling puts that decision on hold.

After a winter surge fueled by the omicron variant that prompted record hospitalizations, the U.S. has seen a significant drop in virus spread in recent months that led most states and cities to drop mask mandates.

But several Northeast cities have seen a rise in hospitalizations in recent weeks, leading Philadelphia to bring back its mask mandate.

Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas, and Crawford from Chicago. Associated Press writers David Koenig in Dallas, Michael Balsamo and Will Weissert in Washington and Karen Matthews in New York contributed to this report.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
State and county food inspectors have cited Iowa restaurants and grocery stores for hundreds of food-safety violations in the past month, including undercooked burgers and moldy rib sandwiches.

One eastern Iowa eatery was cited for 14 serious, risk-factor violations, with inspectors noting that large ants had invaded a bulk container of sugar and food was being stored at unsafe temperatures. In western Iowa, inspectors cited a fast-food establishment for undercooked chicken strips, the storage of clean utensils in stagnant water, and grime that was present throughout the establishment.

The findings are reported by the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, which handles food-establishment inspections at the state level. Listed below are some of the more serious findings that stem from inspections at Iowa restaurants, stores, schools, hospitals and other businesses over the past four weeks.

The state inspections department reminds the public that their reports are a snapshot in time, and violations are often corrected on the spot before the inspector leaves the establishment. For a more complete list of all inspections, along with additional details on each of the inspections listed below, visit the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals website.

Kentucky Fried Chicken, 2515 Park Ave., Muscatine  During an April 12 visit, an inspector cited the restaurant for failure to have a currently certified food protection manager on staff, and for a lack of hot water at either of the two designated handwashing sinks.

The inspector also noted that all of the thermometers in the walk-in coolers and freezers were not functioning; the chicken-breading station was vulnerable to splashing water from an adjacent handwashing sink; wiping cloths used for cleaning were stored in a bucket of heavily soiled sanitizing solution; the fryer equipment was heavily soiled; restroom fixtures were heavily soiled; the floors and walls in several areas  including the kitchen, the drive-through window, the entrance of the restaurant, the dining room, and a storage room  were all heavily soiled.

In addition, there were several missing floor tiles observed throughout the kitchen; the most recent inspection report was not posted; and there was no valid food license posted. The visit was in response to a complaint about the lack of hot water, as well as the overall facility cleanliness. The complaint was considered verified, but the visit was categorized as a routine inspection.

All-American Diner, 2300 Park Ave., Muscatine  During an April 12 visit, an inspector cited the establishment for failing to have a certified food protection manager; failing to ensure that employees properly washed their hands and avoided bare-hand contact with food; failing to clean food-contact surfaces as necessary; and failing to avoid cross-contamination in the storage and reheating of food.

The inspector noted that there was pasta sauce holding at 71 degrees for at least an hour, and many food items  including pasta, tomatoes and cooked meats  that were not date marked. Also, the deli meat slicer was soiled with dried bits of food debris, and the surface of cooking equipment was soiled with food debris and grease. In addition, there was no mop sink on the premises, there were unfinished walls in the middle of the kitchen, and a large accumulation of grease was dripping from the ventilation hood and fixtures.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter and at iowacapitaldispatch.com.

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Justice Dept. to appeal order voiding travel mask mandate

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Justice Department is filing an appeal seeking to overturn a judges order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs. The notice came minutes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision handed down by a federal judge in Florida earlier this week. A notice of appeal was filed Wednesday in federal court in Tampa. The CDC says it is its continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health.

Russia's Chernobyl seizure seen as nuclear risk 'nightmare'

CHERNOBYL, Ukraine (AP)  When Russian forces invaded and occupied the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, they dug trenches in one of the worlds most radioactive places. Experts fear that they were, in effect, digging their own graves. Thousands of tanks and troops rumbled into the Chernobyl exclusion zone at the start of the war, churning up soil contaminated by the world's worst nuclear disaster. As the anniversary of the April 26, 1986, accident approaches and Russias war continues, it's clear that Ukrainian authorities were never prepared for this scenario. Russias invasion marks the first time that occupying a nuclear plant was part of a nation's military strategy.

'Days or hours left': Russia tightens the noose in Mariupol

KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russian forces are tightening the noose around the defenders holed up in a mammoth steel plant that is the last known Ukrainian stronghold in in the besieged city of Mariupol. A fighter apparently on the inside issued a video plea for help. He said the defenders may have only a few days or hours left. With the holdouts punished by new bombing attacks, another attempt to evacuate civilians trapped in the city has failed because of continued fighting. Separately, the governor of Ukraine's Luhansk region says Russian forces now control 80 percent of it. It is one of two regions that make up the Donbas in eastern Ukraine.

Israel, Gaza militants trade fire as Mideast tensions mount

JERUSALEM (AP)  Palestinian militants have fired several rockets into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip as Israeli aircraft hit Gaza militant sites in response to a previous rocket strike. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the rockets and airstrikes fired late Wednesday into early Thursday. It was the second rocket attack from Gaza this week. Israeli-Palestinian tensions have soared in recent days. The Islamic militant group Hamas that rules Gaza had issued vague threats earlier Wednesday over a planned march through Jerusalem by Israeli ultra-nationalists. But Israeli police blocked roads and prevented the marchers from reaching dense Palestinian neighborhoods, after a similar event nearly a year ago helped trigger an Israel-Gaza war.

Parachute demo at Nats Park causes brief Capitol evacuation

WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. Capitol was briefly evacuated Wednesday evening after police identified an aircraft that they said posed "a probable threat. But the plane was actually carrying members of the U.S. Army Golden Knights, who then parachuted into Nationals Park for a pregame demonstration. The alert from the U.S. Capitol Police sent congressional staffers fleeing from the Capitol and legislative building around 6:30 p.m. The incident suggested a stunning communications failure between the military and the Capitol Police, all the more remarkable because of Washingtons focus on improving security since the January 6, 2021, attack on the building by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.

Michigan lawmaker's forceful speech rebuts 'grooming' attack

LANSING, Mich. (AP)  A Michigan lawmaker, mother and LGBTQ rights supporter who was accused by a Republican colleague of wanting to groom schoolchildren says her impassioned response resonated because people are sick of such attacks. Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow's remarks went viral after Republican Sen. Lana Theis attacked her in a fundraising email. McMorrow had criticized Theis for giving an invocation in which she claimed children are under attack by forces that want to indoctrinate them with ideas not supported by their parents. The salvos are among the latest to draw attention as conservatives push to make education a political wedge issue.

Scholar uses trash as treasure to study life in North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  A South Korean scholar has turned to a different way of collecting information about secretive North Korea as pandemic restrictions make it harder for outsiders to find out what's life like for North Koreans. Professor Kang Dong Wan from Dong-A University has been combing the beaches of South Korean border islands for North Korean trash. He's collected about 2,000 pieces of trash, ranging from snack bags, juice pouches, sweet wrappers and drink bottles to seasoning sachets. He says his findings confirm North Korean state media reports that the country has been producing a variety of consumer goods on the orders of leader Kim Jong Un. People's tastes have grown and there's even a bigger industrial design sector to meet the demand for goods.

Southwest wildfires force evacuations, tighten resources

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP)  An Arizona wildfire more than tripled in size as relentless winds pushed the flames through neighborhoods on the outskirts of a college and tourist town, forcing out hundreds of residents and destroying more than two dozen homes and other structures. The wind-whipped fire on the outskirts of Flagstaff ballooned to more than 30 square miles by Wednesday afternoon. Forest Service officials say flames as high as 100 feet quickly scorched dry vegetation. Weather conditions improved, but the National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for Thursday citing strong winds. Elsewhere in Arizona, firefighters battled a wildfire in a sparsely populated area of national forest south of Prescott. Crews also were busy trying to corral fires in New Mexico and Colorado.

A gun, a phone cord spur heated talk at Kardashian trial

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Former reality television star Blac Chyna testified that she was joking when she put a phone cord around the neck of her then-fiance Rob Kardashian, and later grabbed his unloaded gun. The incidents from 2016 were at the center of testimony Tuesday by Chyna, who is suing Kardashian's mother and sisters for $100 million, alleging they forced the cancellation of her show Rob & Chyna" and ruined her TV career. The lawsuit says that Kardashian's mother Kris Jenner and three of his sisters including Kim Kardashian falsely spread word that she was physically abusive. All four women were in court watching the testimony.

Wright resigns as Villanova coach, Neptune takes over

PHILADELPHIA (AP)  Jay Wright shocked college basketball Wednesday night with his immediate resignation at Villanova, the Big East program he led to two national championships and four Final Fours in a Hall of Fame career. The 60-year-old Wright guided Villanova to titles in 2016 and 2018 and just led the Wildcats to the Final Four, where they lost to national champion Kansas. He went 520-197 in 21 seasons at the school and 642-282 overall, also coaching Hofstra from 19942001. Kyle Neptune, who served on the Villanova coaching staff before accepting the head coaching position at Fordham in 2021, returned to replace Wright. Wright will remain at Villanova and stay involved in fundraising, advising, education and more.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Senate Republicans passed legislation that would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work unsupervised in child care facilities, and establish staff-to-child ratios.

Under the bill, child care centers could operate with one worker to every seven 2-year-olds, and one worker to every 10 3-year-olds.

Because Senate Republicans amended HF 2198, it goes back to the House for approval there once again.

Senate Republicans said the legislation is designed to help address a shortage of child care workers by giving child care centers the flexibility to employ younger workers. Democrats argued the legislation will not help address the child care workforce shortage, and that 16- and 17-year-olds should not be allowed to work unsupervised in a child care setting.

SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE: The deadline to apply for the 2022 Robert D. Blue Scholarship is May 10. To be eligible for this years award, applications must be completed in their entirety and submitted online at www.rdblue.org/.

The Iowa Centennial Memorial Foundation awards the scholarship. Graduates of any Iowa high school who plan to attend an Iowa college or university in the 2022-23 school year are eligible to apply, including high school and postsecondary students. Awards are based on financial need, an original essay, academic achievement and recommendations. The winners will be announced this summer.

COSTLY WEATHER: The state Executive Council consisting of the governor, secretaries of state and agriculture, treasurer, and auditor approved payments of $710,000 Monday, with about a quarter of that for repairing weather-related damage.

Among the items approved were payments for the Department of Public Safety  $53,000 for weather damage to the tower lighting system on the Waterloo Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System communication tower and about $45,000 for repair costs to various communication towers as a result of tornado/wind damage. The Board of Regents and University of Iowa received payments of $25,000 and $18,000 for repair costs to the maintenance building and roof repairs at Macbride Nature Recreation Area as a result of snow and ice damage, and about $33,000 for repair costs to the Pappajohn Business Building as a result of water damage.

The council also approved about $123,000 to Public Safety for repairs to a conference room at the Iowa State Patrol District 8 in Mason City as a result of a roof leak.

VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION: The 2022 Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame members will be inducted by Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the Capitol. He also will present the Excellence in Mentoring awards to two individuals.

Being selected for the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame is the most prestigious state-level honor volunteers can receive as recognition of extraordinary donations of service to their communities. The 2022 inductees are: Tabinda Cheema, Davenport; Greg Fier, Clinton; Herbert Hazewinkel Jr., Peosta; Steven Meyer, Sioux City; Pam Schoffner, Polk City; Edna Schrandt, Decorah; Tom Townsend, Dubuque; VaxDSM Project, Des Moines; Kathy Waychoff, Fairfax.

The Excellence in Mentoring Awards gives Iowa MENTOR certified programs the opportunity to recognize outstanding longtime youth mentors. The recipients of the 2022 Excellence in Mentoring Award are Matt Guess, West Des Moines; and Mike Leerar, Garner.

For comprehensive profiles of the award winners, visit www.volunteeriowa.org/hof and www.iowamentoring.org.

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Wise Move launches its first online moving platform in South Africa after gaining massive global traction.

Wise Move is an online moving companies platform that was recently launched in South Africa  the first of its kind in the country  completely online, independent and geared toward the customer.

Wise Move has been operating internationally and has gained massive global traction. The company is excited to expand its services to South Africans who are looking to move locally or internationally.

The company can provide you with instant moving quotes at a fraction of what traditional movers charge, and allows you to book your move with just one click.

Their platform aims to save users time and money, whilst ensuring that your move will be handled by reputable movers who have been carefully vetted by the Wise Move team.

With the aim of putting an end to the hassles associated with moving in South Africa, Wise Move is simplifying how we interact with moving companies.

Their easy-to-use marketplace allows movers to bid and compete for work while they optimize their loads and routes.

The platform has helped people save up to 75% on the cost of their upcoming moves through a network of verified and trusted moving companies across South Africa.

The online booking system allows users to receive and compare quotes from multiple movers as well as book, pay for and manage their move online.

After each move, users can leave reviews for movers based on their experience. You can access the service here.

In an industry where some movers still charge customers in cash, we are giving you the power to make informed decisions when choosing your mover.

We want to create a more transparent, efficient and fair moving industry, said company CEO, Mr. Gediminas

You can now compare and book a mover fast and easily, thanks to this innovative online moving platform.

Wise Move launched recently in South Africa after gaining massive global traction for its innovative approach to an industry that is worth more than $86 billion globally.

In South Africa, moving is the second most stressful life event following divorce  choosing the right mover can mean the difference between a smooth move and a complete disaster.

This is why Wise Move places such emphasis on quality control through its unique partner selection process and customer feedback system.

As leaders in the moving industry, we understand the importance of understanding the customers needs.

This is why Wise Move provides a platform that allows customers to provide detailed feedback and ratings so that fellow movers can make informed decisions.

By choosing quality and transparency, we aim to make sure that everyone gets the right mover for their needs.

We also have a wealth of information in our moving guide section that is there to help you with every aspect of your move, added Mr. Gediminas.

In the moving guide section, youll find tips and advice on how to plan your move, packing methods that are effective and safe, how to choose the best mover for you, what questions to ask when hiring movers in South Africa and much more.

Our vision at Wise Move is to make moving easier for South Africans by providing a secure, simple, and user-friendly platform where they can connect with reliable movers in just three steps  Get Quotes, Compare and Choose!

Dubbed as the Uber of moving, its clear why users are already loving the Wise Move platform.

Why youll love Wise Move

As an independent platform that connects users with trusted and vetted movers in South Africa, Wise Move is aimed at improving the clients overall experience.

This means they dont receive any referral fees or commissions from any of the movers on the platform, which ensures impartiality.

What we loved the most is that they actually check out each mover before theyre approved on the platform!

With thorough background checks on all movers, the platform helps you make the easiest decision when it comes to choosing a reputable mover.

This is just another way Wise Move aims to add a layer of trust between you and your mover.

We asked Wise Move why theyre better than their competitors  youll love their response

Wise Move is 100% client-oriented. We believe that when we put the client first, everyone does better.

Happy clients mean more work, more referrals, optimised loads and less pollution to the environment.

Well keep pursuing this business model as it has served us well internationally. When our clients win (and they do!), we win.

Were also here for our clients. We know how important it is for everyone involved during this stressful time which is why we offer 24/7 support from start to finish  so no question goes unanswered or concern unaddressed when planning such an important life event like moving house or office space?

How does it work?

Wise Move is very simple to use. First-time users will be guided through a quick and easy quote request form. Once completed, moving companies can then view the request and bid for the work.

You will then receive only the top quotes to review  this simplifies the entire process. You can also review each companys profile, read customer reviews and request additional quotes from specific moving companies if you wish.

Once you have decided which moving company you would like to use, all you need to do is book online and the moving company will contact you to confirm your booking.

When your move day arrives, sit back and relax while the professionals take over.

You can then complete our feedback form so that we can make sure Wise Move continues to provide professional, reliable services for our clients.

Simple as 1-2-3!

Why use Wise Move?

The online platform enables movers to post a job and receive quotes from moving companies.

Moving companies are recommended based on the communitys experience with them.

Wise Move helps you save money by enabling multiple movers to quote on your move.

With optimised loads, your move is at less of a cost to the environment too  everyone wins.

What services does Wise Move offer?

Wise Move offers four services that can help you plan, organize and execute your move:

Free Quotes  Wise Move connects you with reliable moving companies that have been pre-vetted to ensure theyre the best people for the job.

Calculate your move  The moving volume calculator will help you determine exactly how much space you need for your move.

Moving Blog  Their helpful blog has regular updates on moving tips and packing tricks, so make sure you visit often for new ideas on how to make your move easier!

Wise Move isnt limited to household moves either. You can now find movers for anything from motorcycle to cars.

What are the advantages of using the online platform?

You get the convenience of having a number of quotes from multiple moving companies at your fingertips, allowing you to choose the quote that best suits your needs;

You can save money by comparing and choosing the most cost-effective quote;

You get peace of mind knowing that your goods are being handled by a reputable and capable moving company;

Wise Move only works with reputable moving companies that are registered and insured in South Africa, giving you quality assurance.

Moving is hard, lets make it easy South Africa!

It takes more time and energy than most of us have available to put together a massive move  heck even a small move has challenges in South Africa.

Enter Wise Move, compare quotes and book your move in just a few clicks. By connecting customers with movers and packers, Wise Move is able to give its clients total peace of mind that theyre getting the best deal when booking their move.

You can start your journey today on www.wisemove.co.za or connect with them on Facebook or Twitter for exciting updates and special offers!
With a superb cast of local actors, UpStage Napa Valley theater company is set to perform Dead Mans Cell Phone for three weekends in May.

This edgy play by renowned playwright, essayist, and professor Sarah Ruhl explores the paradox of technology's ability to both unite and isolate those who are attached to it.

Dead Mans Cell Phone was awarded the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play in 2008. A nonstop ringing cell phone in a cafe, a woman at the next table who takes a chance and answers it, and a dead man with a dodgy past propel the dark humor.

A beguiling comedy  a hallucinatory poetic fantasy that blends the mundane and the metaphysical, the blunt and the obscure, the patently bizarre and the bizarrely moving, writes New York Times theater critic Charles Isherwood of Dead Mans Cell Phone."

There are two themes running through the play: isolation and secrecy. In the script, the playwright calls for a set reminiscent of realist American artist Edward Hoppers paintings of a solitary figure in a room or public place, which evoke feelings of isolation. Like the paintings of Hopper, the play shocks the viewer into the recognition of strangeness in familiar surroundings. The underlying current that every person keeps a deep secret within them is evocative of Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities.

Dead Mans Cell Phone reveals nuanced layers of intrigue, mystery, crime, and the afterlife. UpStage Napa Valleys Artistic Director Sharie Renault has risen to the challenge of bringing each actor to the full expression of their character.

The surreal aspect of the play invites unique directing techniques, said Renault. To help the actors deeply explore their roles, each person chooses and identifies with a specific animal  such as a grizzly bear, a black panther and a vulture  to create stylized characters.

This play is biting, funny, dark, touching, poignant, intriguing, and thought-provoking, as it also pushes you to consider what might exist after death, said actor Barbara Barling.

Members of the cast are Carlet Langford (playing Mrs. Gottlieb); Shannon McDermott (Jean); Aisha Rivera (Hermia, Gordons widow); Alan Schneider (Gordon, the dead man): Barbara Barling (the other woman and the stranger); and Matthew Holland (Gordons brother Dwight). Stage manager is Deborah Todd.

As with all Upstage Napa Valley plays, the actors and director will hold an open discussion with the audience at the conclusion of the performance.

UpStage Napa Valleys Dead Mans Cell Phone performance opens Friday, May 6 and continues May 7 and 8; May 13, 14, and 15, and May 20, 21, and 22. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:30. All performances are held at Grace Episcopal Churchs Newton Hall, 1314 Spring St., St. Helena. Masks are recommended although not required. For online tickets visit UpStageNapaValley.org or reserve at will-call: 341-3278. Tickets: $25 for general admission and $15 for students.
Bel Canto, Napa's vocal chamber ensemble, presents "The Return of Song," on Friday, April 29, at 7:30 p.m., at Napa Methodist Church on Fifth and Randolph streets and on Sunday, May 1, at 4:30 p.m., at Mont La Salle on Redwood Road.

Tickets are $25 general and $10 students. To purchase advance tickets, visit belcantonv.org.

Vivaldi at PUC

Pacific Union College violin and viola major James Woodward presents his senior violin recital on Sunday, April 24, at 4 p.m. The repertoire will include two of the most famous Baroque era pieces, "Fall" and "Winter" from Antonio Vivaldis "The Four Seasons." This event is free and open to the public.

Accompanying Woodward on the Vivaldi are top Bay Area Baroque musicians: Jon Mendle on plucked strings; Caitlyn Koester on harpsichord improvised continuo; Rocio Lopez Sanchez on cello; Anna Washburn on violin; and Rachelle Berthelsen-Davis on violin.

Woodward has been a student of Berthelsen-Davis for the past several years while studying music at Pacific Union College. He will be playing on a violin fitted with Baroque-style gut strings, using a Baroque-style bow.

For information about music at PUC, visit puc.edu/music, email music@puc.edu, or call 707-965-6201.

'The Judgment' at Jarvis

The Jarvis Conservatory presents "The Judgment," part of their International Film series, on April 23 at 3 and 7 p.m.

A Dutch TV journalist finds himself challenging the police, courts and media as he attempts to uncover the truth about a controversial murder case.

Tickets are $15. The Jarvis Conservatory is at 1711 Main St., Napa. For information, visit jarvisconservatory.com.

A conversation with Peter Coyote

Napa Valley Writers hosts author, actor and narrator Peter Coyote in a Zoom conversation with Kymberlie Ingalls on Sunday, April 24, at 2 p.m. .

The link for the meeting is us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CbkhYdCVT7G3lkvuLtmTcg.

"Tongue of a Crow," published in 2021, is Coyote's first book of poetry. Written over several decades, his poems take readers on a whirlwind tour of his eclectic and exciting life as an actor and Zen Buddhist priest, meandering from love affairs to marriage to divorce to the '60s to psychedelic spirituality.

He also published "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Meet Buddha," an intersection of performance and Zen, in 2021. His earlier works were best-selling memoirs, "Sleeping Where I Fall" and "The Rainmans Third Cure. "He is working on another book, Vernacular Zen, which will be released in 2022.

Coyote won an Emmy award for his narration of the 10-part PBS series "The Pacific Century." He has also narrated eight Ken Burns documentaries, including The Roosevelts for which he won a second Emmy.

For more information, visit

'Romeo and Juliet' postponed

The opening of the Napa Valley College production of "Romeo and Juliet" scheduled to open for a two-weekend run on April 22, has been postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak. It will now open on April 29 and run for one weekend only.
The city of Napa has been slowly filling a staffing hole thats persisted throughout the pandemic.

Despite steady progress on hiring, the city still has 57 vacancies as of the end of March, according to a presentation to the Napa City Council on Tuesday. But thats a considerable improvement from the 85 identified in April last year, or the 92 vacancies in September 2021.

Employers across the country have had a tough time searching for workers for roughly the past year. Job openings in recent months have remained near record levels, according to reporting from the New York Times. U.S. Department of Labor data also indicates that workers whod stayed out of the workforce earlier in the pandemic have been returning. The unemployment rate in Napa County fell to 3.2% last month, and the number of leisure and hospitality jobs in Napa County rose 38.4% compared to a year ago, according to previous Register reporting.

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The city of Napa  and other cities in Napa County  have been battling through the tough hiring environment, according to Human Resources director Heather Ruiz. That coincided with a plan in the current budget year to hire for 60 positions that were previously kept vacant at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in preparation for an expected financial downturn.

The labor market is just in flux right now, Ruiz said at the meeting. Ive been in public sector recruitment for over 20 years, and this is the strangest job market Ive seen. Everyone is experiencing it.

Even though the city has steadily recruited new people, the number of vacancies has varied  and occasionally increased  because of retirements and the loss of staff to job openings elsewhere, according to Ruiz. Thats essentially still continuing, she said. Though the reports lists that employee turnover decreased significantly to only three in the first three months of the year, 10 employees have either left the city or given notice that they will leave in April, Ruiz said.

The best way I can describe it is its just a lot of churn, Ruiz said at the Tuesday meeting. On a whole across the city were getting good quality lists, but were also losing people. So we are part of that churn. Other agencies are benefitting from our loss just as were benefiting from theirs.

Ruiz added that city is anticipating unfreezing some vacancies in the budgeting process for the next fiscal year. The city currently has 17 frozen vacant positions, she said, which means the citys vacancy count including those positions is 74. The city is also looking initiatives to help retain employees and reduce turnover, and part of that effort is being informed by a citywide engagement survey that was carried out this month, Ruiz said.

Other Napa County cities have faced similar staffing difficulties throughout the pandemic. Calistoga, for example, recently made a move to ramp up hiring efforts in the hopes of smoothing city operations amid increasing demand for services, The Calistoga City Council early this month approved that proposal, to fill eight positions, at the recommendation of city manager Laura Snideman, according to reporting from The Weekly Calistogan.

Taking a vacation hasnt really been too much of an option. It does frighten me a little bit. I dont want burnout, Snideman said, according to the Calistogan. I want to make sure we have a smoothly functioning internal operation, particularly around our budget.

The Calistoga effort will include two new positions and six reclassified and currently vacant positions.

Weve known for a very long time that we are understaffed, said Calistoga councilmember Lisa Gift at the meeting. We (as a council) can sit and make decisions all we want but if we dont have the staff to complete the projects, are we really even doing what our constituents want.

Julie Baldia, deputy director of Human Resources in Yountville, said the town had about eight positions that were really hard to fill from March 2021 to the end of last year. People would still apply to the positions and go through the entire hiring process, she said, but finding enough applicants to get to the end of that process was a huge challenge.

Yountville is currently having difficulty hiring part-time seasonal employees, she said, but is okay in regard to full-time staffing.

People just arent applying as they were, Baldia said. Right now were okay, but getting to this point was a real struggle and challenge, it took longer than it has historically taken to fill these positions.

Angela Cotton, St. Helena's human resources manager, said the city has also had a problem of not having enough applicants.

Our biggest issue is our recruitments remaining competitive in a market where were not seeing a lot of applicants, Cotton said. Its just really a tough market right now. Whenever we post a recruitment its one or two applications. Were lucky to get five.

Cotton said she hasnt seen a big shift recently with people leaving the city for work elsewhere, but it takes an incredibly long time to fill positions when someone does leave. Sometimes people leave because there isnt room for advancement, she said, but the citys generally done a good job at retaining employees.

Some jobs, such as operator positions at the citys wastewater treatment plant, have been especially difficult to fill, she said.

Ive been with the city for a year and those positions were posted when I first started and theyre still not filled, Cotton said.

Were such a small city, so there may not be room for advancement because of the longevity of employees in those positions, Cotton said. Its just that we do have a vacancy it takes forever to fill. But I think weve been pretty good as far as retaining employees goes.

You can reach Edward Booth at 707-256-2213.

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The mirror withdrawal of troops was a big tactical mistake on our part, and it was first mentioned on May 27. I resigned hours later. Former Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian told reporters this at Freedom Square, commenting on the question on the mirror withdrawal of troops.

"There were theoretical talks about [Armenia-Azerbaijan border] delimitation, demarcation, and I expressed my opinion; my opinion was negativeI find that this mirror withdrawal was a very big tactical mistake on our part because, if you remember, there were targeted statements until May 27, and the last statement was made by the US State Department, and it was a very harsh statement," Aivazian said. He added that before that, France, the EU, Canada, India, and Iran had made statements.

To the question whether it is possible to find effective solutions in the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issue with the removal of Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and these authorities, Ara Aivazian expressed a conviction that it is possible to correct the situation through diplomacy.

"Geopolitical adventurism is a very dangerous thing for us now," he added, in particular.

Answering the question on the normalization of Armenia's relations with Turkey, Ara Aivazian said that it is necessary to have a dialogue between the two countries in some way, but not in the language of preconditions.

"And if the regional and extra-regional countries are interested in peace, stability in this region, then they must abandon the categories of winner and loser. I do not see today that Turkey and Azerbaijan, the forces that serve and support them, think that way," he said.

In response to the remark that there is a public fear among Armenians that the so-called "Zangezur corridor" is a precondition for concluding a peace agreement with Azerbaijan, Ara Aivazian said that he does not participate in the talks, and therefore cannot say.

And to the question whether there was such a conversation during his tenure as Armenias FM, he answered: "At least the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not have, did not receive any documents, any ideas during my tenure. Only, I regularly heard the Azerbaijani side was saying that they had proposed peace. But other than that, I did not have any documents or talks.

And when asked whether he is in favor of PM Nikol Pashinyan leaving power, Ara Aivazian said that he expressed his position on this issue by resigning from the post of Foreign Minister.
Ursula von der Leyen travels to Hungary to persuade Orban to support sanctions on Russia

NEWS.am digest: Armenia marks May 9, Shushi liberation; Azerbaijan opens fire on Sotk gold mine

Ursula von der Leyen says unanimous vote on key areas of EU policy no longer makes sense

Resistance movement marches through central streets of Yerevan

US First Lady meets with Slovak President

North Korea urges citizens to strictly adhere to antiviral measures in connection with COVID-19

Armenian TV host dies after falling into river

Javelin manufacturer to double production of anti-tank missile systems

Sri Lankan Prime Minister submits his resignation to the President

Marukyan: There should have been half million people on streets now if people really wanted change of power in Armenia

Russia envoy to Armenia: Everyone should avoid steps that could aggravate situation

Oil prices drop in Saudi Arabia after COVID-19 outbreak in China

Armenia army general staff ex-deputy chief: I will say its a lie if someone says it was possible to win 44-day war

Georgia condemns presidential elections in South Ossetia

ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party official says authorities plan to divide Armenian diaspora

Azerbaijan continues attempts to appropriate Armenian Dadivank Monastery

Bitcoin is trading at a low since the summer of 2021

Armenia ambassador-at-large: Whoever says 'they want Artsakh to be part of Azerbaijan' probably wants it

Turkeys Erdogan to attend Teknofest in Azerbaijan

System Of a Down members welcome opposition Resistance Movement actions in Armenia (PHOTOS)

Journalist attacked in Baku

19 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia in past 5 days

Novak: Russia has already started selling oil to a number of new buyers

Putin: NATO countries did not want to hear Russia

Two Chinese ships enter Japanese territorial waters

China assures Australia of peaceful intentions in cooperation with Solomon Islands

Holy Etchmiadzin clergy visit Victory Park memorial in Yerevan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let us live for new victories

Armenia ex-defense minister: Wedding at Mountains ideologically impossible after change of power

NATO Secretary General urges Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine

Karabakh negotiation process did not fail under Armenia ex-President Serzh Sargsyan, says Seyran Ohanyan

Armenia ex-defense minister: Resistance Movements breakthrough moment already passed

Karabakh President visits Stepanakert Memorial on May 9 anniversaries

Armenia Investigative Committee chief on including PM Pashinyan as defendant: We have just accepted proceedings

Heavy snowfall recorded in Armenia rural community, in May!

Karabakh President: Shushi is in captivity again, Artsakh must always be Armenian and impregnable

Armenias Pashinyan to Russias Putin: Memory of great past obliges us to strengthen our inherited friendly ties

Armenia PM arrives at Victory Park accompanied by enhanced security

Armenia ex-President Serzh Sargsyan: For stateless servile creatures, cost of peace is homage paid to enemy

Azerbaijanis desecrate Armenian church in occupied Togh village of Artsakh (VIDEO)

Armenia PM: Blood of our martyrs who gave their lives to Motherland should not be forgotten

Armenia premier, president, others are at Victory Park

Armenia marks May 9

Armenia PM visits Yerevan military pantheon

Zelenskyy and German Parliament Speaker discuss heavy weapons supply to Ukraine

Bloomberg: Hungary continues to block EU oil sanctions against Russia

Israel to abolish mandatory PCR testing at airport as of 20 May

US and G7 countries introduce new package of sanctions against Russia and Belarus

Syrian President visits Iran

Canada PM visits city of Irpin in Ukraine

Armenia's ex-president Serzh Sargsyan is on France Square

Ukrainian media report on US First Lady's visit to Uzhhorod, Ukraine

Marine Le Pen still hopes to defeat Macron in parliamentary elections

German Parliament Speaker arrives in Kiev

German media reports Russian hacker attack on German government website

Resistance Movement rally in Gyumri ends: next rally will take place tomorrow in France Square

Armenia Ombudsman's Office to monitor rallies also in Gyumri

Media: IS militants fire seven rockets at Tajik Armed Forces

Rally of Resistance Movement in Gyumri

Germany registers steepest rise in diesel prices among EU countries since February

Minute of silence declared in Artsakh on 9 May in memory of those killed fighting for homeland

Bloomberg: G7 leaders to discuss possible new sanctions against Russia

Ex-security chief John Lee named new leader of Hong Kong

Xi Jinping Delivers a Keynote Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022

Resistance movement heads to Gyumri with car march

Andy Warhol's portrait of Marilyn Monroe breaks all records at auction in New York

Ancient Roman 2,000-year-old relic bought in US for $35

Ferrari bans Justin Bieber from buying its sports cars

St. Kirakos Armenian Church in Diyarbakir reopened seven years later

NATO chief warns of further escalation of Ukraine situation in coming weeks

Azerbaijan intensely firing toward Armenias Sotk gold mine, 1 wounded

Iran FM discusses nuclear talks in Vienna with UN Secretary General

Yerevan.Today: Azerbaijani journalists are in Armenia

Candidate with Turkish citizenship and served in Turkey army is nominated for US Senate

Opposition Yerevan rally participant remanded in custody

Armenia Investigative Committee comments on cases of blocking streets with trucks

Resistance Movement holding rally in Vanadzor

US accuses Russia of using chemical weapons in Syria

Women kick off march in downtown Yerevan

Man found dead under Yerevan bridge

Armenia Judge Boris Bakhshiyan released from custody

Armenia President meets with Security Council secretary

Biden demands to stop leaks of US intel sharing with Ukraine

At least 22 dead in explosion at 5-star hotel in Cuba

Newspaper: Armenia PM had arrangement with ruling political teams parliament faction

G7 leaders to discuss possible new sanctions on Russia

Armenia Security Council chief: No talk of withdrawing Russian peacekeepers from Artsakh

Resistance Movement heading towards Vanadzor by motorcade

Newspaper: Armenia consumer market inflation was 2.3% in April compared to March

Pentagon announces additional $150M in aid to Ukraine

Sri Lanka's president declares state of emergency amid mass protests

Austria needs several years to give up on Russian gas

Biden to sign new arms package for Ukraine worth at least $100 million

Armenia's third President Serzh Sargsyan in France Square

Armenia parliament speakers mother spits at protesters

Resistance Movement to hold rally tomorrow in Vanadzor, women's march to take place in Yerevan

2nd Chamber of Istanbul Regional Court dismisses appeals by lawyers in Hrant Dink case

European Parliament: Ankara deliberately 'destroyed' its chances of joining EU

NEWS.am digest: Large scale protests continue in Yerevan, people forcibly arrested

Scholz to take part in G7 Ukraine discussion with Zelenskyy
We will continue the boycott, we will not participate in any parliamentary sitting. Taguhi Tovmasyan, an MP of the opposition "With Honor" Faction in the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia and Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs, told this to reporters Wednesday at Freedom Square in downtown Yerevan.

"We will continue our actions at Freedom Square. We are taking a temporary break from legislative work," she added.

To the remark that in that case there will be no opposition in the parliament to the authorities, including to the prime minister, Tovmasyan said: "We will oppose from Freedom Square. And if the need arises, we can return to parliament at any time. We do not give up the mandates of the NA MP for that purpose, as well as for the purpose that the possible change of power will definitely be through the parliament, and the MPs will be needed. The National Assembly is not dissolved by giving up the parliamentary mandates. If it had been so, we would have taken that step long ago."

As for the fact that the "With Honor" Faction is mainly at Freedom Square, the opposition lawmaker assured that their actions are coordinated with the opposition "Armenia" Faction in the NA.

"There has never been a parliamentary opposition in Armenia that works so synchronously. We work in cooperation with each together. This is our part of the struggle, the Armenia bloc will do its part, and we will join at some point," Taguhi Tovmasyan added.

Earlier, Armenian News-NEWS.am reported that Artur Vanetsyan, the leader of the opposition "With Honor" Faction of the National Assembly and chairman of the opposition Homeland party of Armenia, announced on April 17 the start of protestsand with no term or endat Freedom Square in downtown Yerevan. Sometime thereafter, Nver Kirakosyan and Artur Avagyantwo participants of the 44-day Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war in the fall of 2020announced an indefinite hunger strike, and they came to Freedom Square Monday morning to start this hunger strike.
Freedom House has published its Nations in Transit 2022 report, which reflects on Armenia, too.

This year, for the first time in the 21st century, the prevailing form of governance in the Nations in Transit region is the hybrid regime. Four democracies have fallen into this gray zone since the unbroken period of democratic decline began in 2004: Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. During the same period, three authoritarian regimes made democratic strides and joined the ranks of hybrid regimes: Moldova, Kosovo, and now Armenia, as per the essays on this report.

The countries that have moved from authoritarian to hybrid forms of governance present a somewhat more promising picture, though they still fall short of democratic standards. In Armenia, for example, citizens used a protest movement in 2018 and a series of competitive elections, most recently in 2021, to decisively end the Republican Partys multidecade reign. The incumbents were replaced with a new generation of politicians who, despite notable flaws, possess a basic commitment to democracy and the public interest, the essays added.

Back in 2002, scholar Thomas Carothers argued that most of the postcommunist world had already found itself in the middle ground between full-fledged democracy and outright dictatorship. Going by Nations in Transit data, however, this middle ground only became the regions predominant political condition last year, with Armenias reclassification as a hybrid regime, the essays noted.

During this period, Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia flirted with liberal democracy, while Armenia and Moldova weathered authoritarian episodes, but all returned to hybridity by 2021. A total of 11 countries are currently categorized as hybrid regimes in Nations in Transit, the essays said.

Instead, advocates for genuine democratic rule must draw strength from a new generation of politicians. It is no coincidence that recent electoral breakthroughs in the Nations in Transit region were powered by new parties like Armenias Civil Contract, Moldovas Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), and Ukraines Servant of the People; none of these parties are even a decade old, the essays stated.

One-party dominance is typified by so-called legislative turbo mode, as seen in Ukraine and elsewhere. Here, an insurgent party like Servant of the People rides an antiestablishment wave and earns a parliamentary majority or supermajority only to govern adventurously, without meaningful opposition or civil society input. To some extent, this behavior is also on display in Armenia and Moldova, both of which feature postauthoritarian single party-dominated parliaments, as per the essays.

Lastly, as hybrid regimes proliferate in this region, so have firewall elements of civil society that serve as a last layer of accountability where antidemocratic actors have warpedbut not dismantledthe crucial elements of democracy. Such firewalls often coalesce in countries where a single ruling party governs in the absence of meaningful legislative scrutiny. For example, in Armenia, local civil society groups were able to prevent the ruling party from pushing through a bill that would have placed its Human Rights Defenders Office under greater government control, the essays said.

Ilham Aliyev succeeded his father as president of Azerbaijan in 2003, and its already low score in Nations in Transit has fallen by half since then, as the regime moved to crush opposition parties, independent media, and civic activism. In 2020, Aliyev launched a military offensive against Armenian forces in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, killing thousands of people and displacing many more. The conflict, which seriously destabilized the regions security arrangements, also yielded territorial gains for Baku, bolstered the presidents political position, and provided a pretext for further smothering of free expression. In this repressive environment, persistent social problems have continued to grow worse, the essays said.
In the 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Russia, our relations have developed very dynamically. Russia and Armenia are strategic partners and allies. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia stated this Wednesday during his meeting in Moscow with chairperson Valentina Matviyenko of the Russian Federation Council.

He added that the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Russia is a very good opportunity to analyze the work that Yerevan and Moscow have done during this period.

"Many dramatic events have taken place during this period. We need to analyze everything and see where we have achieved the results we wanted to achieve and where we have not achieved so much, and, against this backdrop, to plan our future work, joint projects, and the further development of our relations. In this context, interparliamentary relations play a key role," Pashinyan stressed.

According to him, Russia and Armenia successfully cooperate within the framework of the EEU and the CIS.

"Even in the most effective formats, it is important to think about how to increase work efficiency, as more and more new challenges are emergingespecially in the 21st century. We need to collaborate very closely," added the Armenian PM.
There will be no hearings in the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia on the draft NA statement "On Conceptual Provisions of Armenia-Turkey Relations" that were scheduled for Thursday.

The draft was tabled by the opposition "Armenia" Faction, and the invitation to these hearings was posted on the NA website a few days ago.

"The requirements provided by law were met, and the leadership of the National Assembly had given permission to hold hearings. But at the last moment they argued that the technical staff was not in Yerevan, they could not serve. Despite our urgings that we will provide the technical part and there will be a live broadcast, we received a refusal, "Armenia" Faction MP Gegham Manukyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

They have proposed to hold the hearings another day after April 24 [i.e., the Armenian Genocide commemoration day]. Perhaps the National Assembly of Armenia avoids organizing any public event on the Armenian-Turkish relations in the parliament until April 24, so as not to anger the Turkish authorities and Azerbaijan, which are talking to them as if without preconditions," Manukyan added.
YEREVAN.  Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan of Armenia on Wednesday held a phone conversation with FM Wang Yi of China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs off Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The interlocutors referred to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and China, emphasizing the tangible world carried out through that period for the establishment and development of bilateral relations in political, trade and economic, humanitarian and other directions. The sides expressed their readiness to resolutely strengthen and deepen the Armenian-Chinese relations.

The utilization of the potential in the field of economic cooperation, the promotion of investments, development of infrastructures and addressing of logistic challenges was underlined. In this regard. The need for the process of unblocking transport and economic infrastructures was highlighted.

Presenting Armenias position on the establishment of peace and stability in the region, Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the importance of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in different directions, as well as the role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship in the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict. The viability of the internationally accepted existing format, as well as promotion of the peace process was emphasized.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the issues of mutual interest within international and regional agenda.
Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news as of 20.04.22:

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin released a joint statement following their meeting on Tuesday in Moscow noting that they agreed to deepen interstate relations.

Touching upon the Artsakh issue, the sides noted the decisive contribution of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to the provision of security of Nagorno Karabakh and creation of favorable and safe living conditions for the population.

The sides highlighted the importance of using the potential and experience of the institute of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, in accordance with its international mandate.

Putin said Russia is ready to help rebuild railways in Armenia.

The two agreed to hold joint events in their countries to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

In this context, it was agreed to hold events marking Days of Armenian Culture in Russia and the Days of Russian Spiritual Culture in Armenia, and to lay the foundation of an Armenian-Russian friendship monument in Yerevan.

Pashinyan and Putin welcomed the extension of the term of operation of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (Metzamor) and expressed their intention to work on the construction of new power units.

Within the framework of the official visit of Nikol Pashinyan to Russia, six documents were signed between the two countries Tuesday.

And on Wednesday, Pashinyan met with Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin, State Duma chairman Vyacheslav Volodin as well as Russian Federation Council chairperson Valentina Matviyenko.

During the meeting, the Armenian leader noted that Armenia and Russia should collaborate very closely within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union and the CIS and calls for more active use of national currencies in Russia-Armenia trade.

The Russian peacekeeping contingent in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) neutralized an artillery position in the area of Chartar village during its engineering works Tuesday.

It is stated that two cannon and 60 shells were destroyed in that position.

The Russian peacekeeping forces have been deployed in Artsakh in accordance with a trilateral statement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020.

On the eve of the visit of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to Moscow, the internal political situation in the country escalated. On April 17, the leader of the opposition parliamentary faction I have the honor Artur Vanetsyan began a sit-in strike in the Freedom square in Yerevan. Another opposition force of the National Assembly, the Armenia faction did not join this initiative, but announced that it had developed its own program to overthrow the current authorities.

Artur Vanetsyan, the leader of the I Have the Honor opposition faction and the leader of the Motherland party, announced that he was starting a sit-in during a live broadcast on his Facebook page. He stated that he is not going to go home because a critical moment has come when neither articles, nor posts on social media or speeches achieve anything.

At the same time, in the same square where Vanetsyans action is taking place, two young people who took part in the 2020 Karabakh war went on an indefinite hunger strike. They say that their goal is to protect Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, and for this they intend to wake up the youth from a deep sleep.

During the meeting, Aliyev noted that Baku has high hopes for Brussels in normalizing relations with Yerevan.

Aliyev noted that he considers the last trilateral meeting (Aliyev-Pashinyan-Michel) in Brussels on April 6 as a "starting point" for the development of the negotiation process.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani leader has accused Armenia of delaying the process of opening regional communications.

Aliev said he told European Union President Charles Michel about the railway that they have already built 60-kilometer part of 100 kilometers in the Azerbaijani territory and will complete the construction next year.

"Unfortunately, they have not even started technical and economic argumentation of this work in Armenia and this shows that the process may be delayed, he noted.

Aslin and Shaun Pinner, another British fighter captured in Ukraine by Russian forces, appeared in footage aired on Russian state television on Monday and called for PM Boris Johnson to help orchestrate their release in exchange for the freeing of pro-Kremlin politician Viktor Medvedchuk by Kyiv.

Boris Johnson, in turn, has urged Russia to treat a British fighter humanely and compassionately, adding that he had served in the Ukrainian army for some time and was not a mercenary.

The UNs refugee agency (UNHCR) says that more than five million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion.

More than half of those who have left, about 2.8 million, fled to Poland.

An estimated seven million people have also been displaced within Ukraine amid Moscows offensive.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a step closer to being extradited to the United States following an order by a United Kingdom court.

With Assange supporters gathered outside, the Westminster Magistrates court in London formally issued an order on Wednesday to extradite the Australian to the US to face spying charges for publishing a trove of classified information more than 10 years ago.

The order will now go to UKs Home Secretary Priti Patel, who will decide whether to approve the extradition.
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], April 20 (ANI/PRNewswire): An India-based environment monitoring technology solutions provider, Oizom has established a new project in Bhagalpur Smart City, Bihar, with its smart, affordable and accurate Air Quality Monitoring system. The Government launched the 100 Smart Cities program in 2015, for which Oizom has pioneered in providing robust, accurate and compact solutions for air quality monitoring. The innovation-led company installed 129 Smart air quality monitors across 9 smart cities in India. According to the 2020 census, 34.93% of the population of India resides in Urban cities. Commenting on the importance of an ambient air quality monitoring system, Vrushank Vyas, the COO of Oizom, stated,"For fulfilling the vision of a smart city, it is necessary to monitor the air quality levels. This is where Oizom has put time and effort into making Polludrone, a compact and affordable solution to suit the needs of smart cities." Oizom's Polludrone can monitor all the critical ambient environmental parameters related to air quality, noise, odour, weather, and radiation. It measures the concentrations of ambient pollutants in an urban environment like PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO, NO2, SO2, & O3. Oizom initiated its installation in Kakinada Smart City in 2017, and eventually expanded to 8 other cities over 5 years such as Varanasi, Gandhinagar, Surat, Itanagar, Davangere, Imphal, and Agra. What makes Polludrone special is its in-house patented technology of 'e-breathing', where the device breathes in the air as a human nose, but detects and categorizes the different particles, gaseous substances, and even the temperature and humidity of the place. Its real-time data monitoring capability is extremely helpful for the local authorities to probe into the environmental concerns and make a decisive action plan. Smarpit Garg, the India Sales Head at Oizom, added,"Polludrone comes with capabilities of displaying the data on an LED. This feature helps create awareness of air quality among the citizens on a real-time basis." Oizom saved 50% of the project cost for Kakinada smart city by deploying its Ambient Air quality monitoring system. Oizom has also established its products in various Smart City projects across the world. Some of its major Smart City projects include Kyiv - Ukraine, Doha - Qatar, Istanbul - Turkey, and Baku - Azerbaijan. With more than 1,000 devices installed across the globe, Oizom aims to make air quality monitoring affordable, scalable, and accessible. Oizom's flagship products for Environmental solutions also include Odosense - Odour Monitoring System, Dustroid - Ambient Dust Monitor, Weathercom - Automatic Weather Station, and Envizom - Data visualization & analytics software among others. Oizom is a Smart Air Quality Monitoring solutions company offering data-driven environmental solutions for better decision-making. Using our sensor-based hardware, we monitor various environmental parameters related to air quality, noise, odour, weather, and radiation. Oizom has deployed more than 1,000 monitors across 47 countries. This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)
New Delhi [India], April 20 (ANI/Oswaal Books): The Joint Entrance Examination, JEE Main is an entrance examination in India for students who want to study engineering, architecture, or planning at the undergraduate level. The JEE Main 2022 exam is conducted in two sessions this year, with application deadlines in the first week of April and June respectively. The application has been reopened for the 1st Session since April 18th, 2022, and the students can apply till April 25. The exam dates are reopened for all the students who were unable to register prior. Mistakes to Avoid: As known JEE Main is one of the most essential exams for the students, so, one cannot miss on all the aspects. And, to help you with the same given below are the must know details before you fill the form for JEE Main 2022: 1. The process of the form completion of JEE Main has been eased and merged into three easy steps, (a) Enrolling for the exam, (b) Providing the details in the form, and (c) Processing the payment. This needs to be done by every student willing to appear for the exam. 1.1 Fill Personal Details: While registering the candidate needs to fill in his or her personal details, academic details, permanent address, and present address. 1.2 Create Password: Also, it is advised that the student should create a strong password. 1.3 After the compliance of the necessary details the student's admission number will be generated. 1.4 Fill Application form: After doing so, the student needs to fill in the application form with all the required details as displayed on the screen. It is to be clearly noted that the photographs of all the documents in the scanned form. Furthermore, if you face a problem while uploading, it is advised to recheck the dimensions and do the needful again. 1.5 Payment Process: Thereafter, the student needs to deposit the fees through online or net banking. Also, if the transaction is not getting processed it is advised to wait and process the payment afterwards, it might be due to poor network connectivity. 1.6 Take out the Print out: Lastly, it is always advised to take out a printout of the application form for better transparency and to avoid any last-minute confusion. Common Mistakes Generally Happens: JEE Main 2022 2. The OTP received on the registered mobile number or email id should be mentioned while enrolling for the exam, for the proper completion and compliance of the registration process. 3. The selection of centre location will primarily be based on the housing details entered by the student, so, it is advised to mention everything carefully. 4. One should ensure that they have all the documents required for successfully registering themselves for the exam. 5. The fees are payable only through online medium. 6. The fees for general or unreserved category men (male strata) are INR 650 whereas for the unreserved category females, reserved category, transgender it is INR 325. 7. The photograph attached in the registration form must include the date and signature of the student. Also, the dimensions should be accurate, provided which only the form will get submitted. Is there any scope for correction in the application JEE Main form? Yes, NTA opens the window for corrections in the JEE Main application form, wherein it is permitted to edit the details in certain columns. For doing the needful, the student needs to login their credentials and get the necessary edits done. Also, this is allowed just one time so should be done with utmost clarity and thoughts. It's just a month is left for the JEE Main 2022 Students, and they are advised to practice more with sample papers. Sample papers help in reviewing difficult areas of improvements. Students can also go with Oswaal JEE Main Mock Test Sample Paper | Physics Chemistry Mathematics |for Exam 2022. Students will get ease of chapter-wise preparation and learning tactics: * Latest JEE (Main) Four Question Paper 2021- Fully solved * Previous Years' (2019-2020) Exam Questions to facilitate focused study * Mind Map: A single page snapshot of the entire chapter for longer retention * Mnemonics to boost memory and confidence * 15 Sample Question Papers based on the latest pattern with detailed explanations * QR Codes: Easy to scan QR codes for online concept-based content * Subject-wise - Appendix available in QR format. * Trend Analysis: Chapter-wise Here is the recommended link for JEE Main Mock Test Sample Paper | Physics Chemistry Mathematics |for Exam 2022, Click here https://bit.ly/3xFQfyA Lastly, we wish you good luck for your exam, success is all yours! JEE Main 2022 -Eligibility, Admit Card, Exam Date, Requirements and Much More! This story is provided by Oswaal Books. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/Oswaal Books)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 20 (ANI/PRNewswire): Coca-Cola, Wella Company, Johnson & Johnson, Flipkart, Nestle and Ecott led a cross industry collaboration of India's most successful companies and leaders at House of Rose Professional's (HORP) 2022 India edition of Break the ceiling touch the sky - the success and leadership summit (virtual) for women here on May 19, 2022. Leaders from across industries shared best practices for diversity & inclusion, leadership and success. The 2022 India Edition is part of the 2022 World tour of Break the ceiling touch the sky (R). "Focus on specific actions and goals. For example - gender pay parity, creating an organization culture that is inclusive, working on unconscious bias for both men and women, good personal role modelling are some of the specific things I am proud we as a Company have consistently focused on and the results show," shared Neeraj Garg, Chief Executive Officer, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. "Step up, get out of your comfort zone and take up challenges coming your way. Build your network and your social capital. Have the confidence in yourself and people will have confidence in you. Think - it's not about who is going to let me but who is going to stop me," shared Nishi Vasudeva, former Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited. "Develop a thick skin. Communicate. Be compassionate to other women. Keep moving forward to whatever your goal is. That is for you to define," shared Richa Arora, Managing Partner & CEO - ESG Stewardship Services, ECube Investment Advisors. "Don't underestimate yourself. Don't judge your capabilities. Look for role models and mentors," advised Sarthak Ranade, Managing Director, Janssen India Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. "Upskill. Learn, relearn and relearn. Value your career as much as you value anything else," shared Hemant Badri, SVP and head of Supply Chain, Flipkart Group. "Persevere in your aspirations. Never give up," added Vartika Shukla, Chairman & Managing Director, Engineers India Limited. "Be respectful. Respect for ourselves. Respect for others. Create an ecosystem of care for women with regards to policies which help create a healthy and safe environment for women," shared Anurag Patnaik, Director, Human Resources South Asia Region, Nestle. "Be confident. Never hesitate to speak up," advised Manos Nikolakis, General Manager, BIC Cello. "Express yourself and communicate your needs so that your organization may work to support you in different life stage needs of women," added Manish Bhagat, General Manager, South Asia, Wella Company. "Invest in yourself. The biggest brand you manage is yourself.," added Kalpesh Parmar, Country General Manager, Mars Wrigley India. "Take the time to connect one on one, and listen. Make time to understand different cultures and spend time on one on one meetings with members of the team. Only when we listen, can we understand," shared Pramod Agarwal, former CFO Global Hair Care, The Procter & Gamble Company. The day began and ended with passion and purpose centre stage. "You have to find your passion. Because it may not be where you think it will be," commented Dr Lois Lee, Founder & President, Children of the Night shared. Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World, ended the day reminding each participant of the need to be the change. "Let us use the influence and abilities we have wisely, to do better business by doing good." Break the ceiling touch the sky - the success and leadership summit for women is inspired by the book "Break the ceiling touch the sky: success secrets of the world's most inspirational women" (2014) by Anthony A. Rose, Chairman and CEO, House of Rose Professional, who led the day as host. Since 2014 House of Rose Professional has enabled over 30000 leaders to greater success via its global services in the Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 20 (ANI/PRNewswire): Coca-Cola, Wella Company, Johnson & Johnson, Flipkart, Nestle and Ecott led a cross industry collaboration of India's most successful Companies and leaders at House of Rose Professional's (HORP) 2022 India edition of Break the ceiling touch the sky - the success and leadership summit (virtual) for women here on May 19, 2022. Leaders from across industries shared best practices for diversity & inclusion, leadership and success. The 2022 India Edition is part of the 2022 World tour of Break the ceiling touch the sky (R). " Focus on specific actions and goals. For example - gender pay parity, creating an organization culture that is inclusive, working on unconscious bias for both men and women, good personal role modelling are some of the specific things I am proud we as a Company have consistently focused on and the results show," shared Neeraj Garg, Chief Executive Officer, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. "Step up, get out of your comfort zone and take up challenges coming your way. Build your network and your social capital. Have the confidence in yourself and people will have confidence in you. Think - it's not about who is going to let me but who is going to stop me," shared Nishi Vasudeva, former Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited. "Develop a thick skin. Communicate. Be compassionate to other women. Keep moving forward to whatever your goal is. That is for you to define," shared Richa Arora, Managing Partner & CEO - ESG Stewardship Services, ECube Investment Advisors. " Don't underestimate yourself. Don't judge your capabilities. Look for role models and mentors," advised Sarthak Ranade, Managing Director, Janssen India Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. "Upskill. Learn, relearn and relearn. Value your career as much as you value anything else," shared Hemant Badri, SVP and head of Supply Chain, Flipkart Group. "Persevere in your aspirations. Never give up," added Vartika Shukla, Chairman & Managing Director, Engineers India Limited. "Be respectful. Respect for ourselves. Respect for others. Create an ecosystem of care for women with regards to policies which help create a healthy and safe environment for women," shared Anurag Patnaik, Director, Human Resources South Asia Region, Nestle. "Be confident. Never hesitate to speak up," advised Manos Nikolakis, General Manager, BIC Cello. "Express yourself and communicate your needs so that your organization may work to support you in different life stage needs of women," added Manish Bhagat, General Manager, South Asia, Wella Company. "Invest in yourself. The biggest brand you manage is yourself.," added Kalpesh Parmar, Country General Manager, Mars Wrigley India. "Take the time to connect one on one, and listen. Make time to understand different cultures and spend time on one on one meetings with members of the team. Only when we listen, can we understand," shared Pramod Agarwal, former CFO Global Hair Care, The Procter & Gamble Company. The day began and ended with passion and purpose centre stage. "You have to find your passion. Because it may not be where you think it will be," commented Dr Lois Lee, Founder & President, Children of the Night shared. Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World, ended the day reminding each participant of the need to be the change. "Let us use the influence and abilities we have wisely, to do better business by doing good." Break the ceiling touch the sky - the success and leadership summit for women is inspired by the book "Break the ceiling touch the sky: success secrets of the world's most inspirational women" (2014) by Anthony A. Rose, Chairman and CEO, House of Rose Professional, who led the day as host. Since 2014 House of Rose Professional has enabled over 30000 leaders to greater success via its global services in the areas of Training, Talent and Transformation. House of Rose Professional will now host the 2022 Africa Edition of Break the ceiling touch the sky on June 2, 2022. This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PR Newswire)
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 20 (ANI/Target Media): Thiru Ma. Subramanian, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu today inaugurated an 250 litres per minute Oxygen Generation Plant at St. Isabel's Hospital, Mylapore, Chennai. The ceremony took place in the august presence of Dr N Ezhilan, member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from the Thousand Lights Constituency, Thiru Dha Velu, member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from the Mylapore Constituency, and Dr J. Radhakrishnan, Health Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu. Another Oxygen Generation Plant will be commissioned at St. Thomas Hospital, Chetpet, Tiruvannamalai District, next week. Speaking on the occasion the Health minister Thiru Ma. Subramanian said, "I appreciate the work undertaken by ActionAid Association during the Covid-19 period. Especially a lot of efforts were undertaken by the organization to provide relief to the most affected, oxygen concentrators both to government and mission hospitals, distributing medical equipment, providing oxygen cylinders and now in setting up this Oxygen Generation Plant (OGP) in St. Isabel's Hospital, Chennai. This will greatly benefit in treating the most needy and vulnerable population. I want to thank both ActionAid Association and St. Isabel's Hospital for undertaking this effort to install the OGP plant during this crucial time.' Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Dr Abel George, CEO, St. Isabel's Hospital and Sr. Jessy Varghese, Vice President, St. Isabel's Hospital. This is part of a distribution campaign supported by GiveIndia and operationalised by ActionAid Association aimed at saving lives and futures by strengthening medical capacities across Tamil Nadu and India. Starting from June 10, 2021, 1000 oxygen concentrators with a capacity of generating five litres per minute (lpm) and 100 oxygen concentrators with a 10 lpm capacity have been distributed to primary health centres, community health centres and public hospitals in Tamil Nadu. Across India 1,640 10 lpm oxygen concentrators and 4,750 5 lpm oxygen concentrators have been distributed across 164 districts in 13 states. GiveIndia had launched the India COVID Response Fund (ICRF) on April 10, 2020, a fund that is better described as a giving collective that enables both individuals and organizations to respond together to COVID. In 2020, ICRF raised 220+ crores, impacting the lives of 56L+ people in India. Working with grassroots-based social organisations, foundations, corporates, hospitals and local administration, ActionAid Association has been striving to strengthen medical capacities and response to provide care to COVID patients across 20 states and 2 union territories. In 2020 the focus was in distributing relief in terms of food and sanitation material and 77 lakh people were supported. In 2021 a large effort went into supporting infrastructure and providing medical equipment, especially oxygen plants and concentrators, and helping to run COVID Care Centre. Once vaccines were available ActionAid Association has been working with district administrations to deal with vaccine hesitation and help reach out to remotely located communities. Vaccine promotions efforts are underway currently across the country including in Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu, ActionAid Association is working with district administration in four districts to ensure that no one is left out of the vaccination cover. Livelihood promotion is also being done to help economically deprived sections to build resilience and face the uncertain times. Sandeep Chachra, Executive Director, ActionAid Association says: "I am extremely grateful to community volunteers for helping ActionAid Association serve people in India in this dire situation. We are also grateful to district administrations to give us this opportunity to work with them. We are extremely grateful for the tremendous support we have received from GiveIndia to strengthen medical capacities across the country." "The COVID pandemic has exposed the need for responsive public services, including the need for a strong public health system that can be accessed by all and serves everybody. A positive fallout of this horrific tragedy, would be if we emerge with strong and functional public health infrastructure, built on community-based interventions, a wide network of primary health centres, community health centres and referral hospitals." Esther Mariaselvam, Associate Director, ActionAid Association and leading the team in Tamil Nadu says: "ActionAid Association's COVID response in Tamil Nadu includes providing much needed authentic information, spreading awareness, distributing rations and relief kits and strengthening medical capacities across the state. I am grateful for GiveIndia for supporting us in the drive to distribute these oxygen concentrators. This will surely help the medical infrastructure in the State to deal with the current crisis, and be better prepared to face the future." Atul Satija, Founder and CEO, GiveIndia says: "ActionAid Association has extensive experience working on the ground to help communities in distress and during disasters. We are happy to support their efforts to provide oxygen to public health centres in underserved districts of Tamil Nadu and across India. It is imperative to build a robust medical system in preparation for current and future needs, especially in rural areas, and we are in solidarity with ActionAid Association for taking up this initiative." GiveIndia exists to alleviate poverty by enabling the world to give. Established in 2000, we are the largest and the most trusted giving platform in India today. We enable individuals and organisations to raise and donate funds conveniently to any cause they care about, with offerings including crowdfunding, corporate giving, cause marketing and philanthropy consulting. Our community of 2M+ donors and 250+ partners have supported 2,000+ verified non-profits, serving 15M+ people across the country.www.giveindia.org ActionAid Association is an organisation working for social and ecological justice. ActionAid has been engaged with the most marginalised communities in India since 1972. In 2006, ActionAid Association was registered as an Indian organisation, governed by an independent General Assembly and a Governing Board. Together with supporters, communities, institutions and governments, we strive for equality, fraternity and liberty for all. ActionAid Association works in 24 states and two union territories, with several partners and allied organisations. ActionAid Association is part of a global federation and a full affiliate of ActionAid International that has presence in over 40 countries worldwide.www.actionaidindia.org This story is provided by Target Media. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/Target Media)
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], April 20 (ANI/PNN): Ahmedabad-based Sankalp Life Care, a leading manufacturer of nutraceuticals, and Mumbai-headquartered Vaishali Pharma Ltd., a leading manufacturer and exporter of pharma formulations, have come together to form a unique partnership that will help both companies grow faster. As per the agreement between the two companies, NSE-listed Vaishali Pharma Ltd. will take over the entire domestic and international marketing of Sankalp Life Care's portfolio of nutraceutical products. "This is a perfect partnership. Sankalp Life Care's core strength is in manufacturing the best quality nutraceutical products, and Vaishali Pharma has a wide global presence in the Indian and multiple markets and specializes in marketing. The partnership will allow us to leverage Vaishali Pharma's marketing reach and focus on our expertise. It is a win-win for both companies, and we look forward to growing together and offering the highest-quality nutraceutical products to customers in India and around the world," said Dimple Goenka, Director, Sankalp Life Care. "This agreement between Vaishali Pharma and Sankalp Life Care is the first-of-its-kind in the Indian Pharma Industry. Vaishali Pharma will handle the complete domestic and international marketing operations of Sankalp Life Care and make Sankalp Life Care's 100+ innovative products available in more than 40 countries. The unique agreement builds on the strengths of the two companies and will be mutually beneficial," said Atul Vasani, Managing Director, Vaishali Pharma Ltd. Sankalp Life Care is a leading nutraceuticals company and has set up the 5th largest nutraceuticals facility in the country at Bavla, Ahmedabad. A range of tablets, capsules, powders, sachets, gummies, liquid and effervescent tablets, among other products, are made at the zero-discharge facility, which is fully operational now and has been designed as per standards defined by World Health Organisation. It is also designed as per USFDA standards, and the company has already made an application for USFDA approval for the facility. Vaishali Pharma, which manufactures and exports pharma formulations in a wide spectrum of dosage forms & therapeutic segments, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), surgical products, nutraceutical, and oncology products, is one of the fastest-growing and most versatile companies in the industry. It has a strong presence in both the domestic and export markets and is currently a supplier to all leading Indian and multinational pharmaceutical companies. The company has been catering to semi-regulated and non-regulated markets across the globe. www.vaishalipharma.com This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)
New Delhi [India] April 20, (ANI/NewsVoir): Casa Decor, a reputed Indian home decor brand with a huge consumer base across the globe, is empowering the artisans of the country while touching lives as well as hearts, one decor item at a time. With their penchant for identifying and nurturing talent, the company has created numerous employment opportunities for artisans to facilitate their livelihood earning efforts while improving their standard of living. Today, Casa Decor has a team of more than 5,000 efficient artisans at different bases of the company at Jaipur and Jodhpur in Rajasthan, and Moradabad in UP. Driven by their core philosophy, the brand pays a heartfelt tribute to artisans across the globe with a renewed commitment to enhance their lives in every way possible. Casa Decor, which caters to the needs of consumers across the globe, strives to spread the aesthetic beauty of Indian crafts worldwide. Rooted firmly in the belief that this goal can only be accomplished by supporting Indian artisans, it has developed a robust policy for their welfare. The policy, which has a fair wage system at its core, is strictly adhered to at all levels. Male and female artisans are paid equally according to their work and skill set. This equal wage model gives financial stability and encourages them to put their creativity to good use. Niraj Johri, Founder, Casa Decor elaborates, "A truly Indian brand, Casa Decor, has an unwavering trust in the talent of Indian artisans and a deep respect for Indian craft. With our products reaching far and wide, the artisans get to enjoy a global reputation. Casa Decor aspires to offer them a conducive atmosphere and a powerful system to enhance their status globally. We take care of all their needs and requirements so that they can concentrate on their craft and contribute toward the finest quality output. We conduct policy reviews regularly to ensure artisans' growth and well-being. Consequently, our company receives association requests from artisans residing all across India every day." Casa Decor leaves no stone unturned to provide the handicraft artists a great working environment which stimulates them to give their best. The globally recognized brand lays special emphasis on the well-being of artisans and promotes their overall health. In keeping with this core principle, Casa Decor has developed a supportive atmosphere with a culture of mutual trust and respect. This principle is all-pervasive and influences everything from mental well-being to the productivity of artisans positively. Senior officials of the company communicate with them regularly to understand their problems, and an effective system of reward and recognition keeps them motivated. Owing to such favourable practices, Casa Decor maintains a high retention rate. "Casa Decor has been providing a thriving environment to artisans. The company gives us creative freedom and allows us to bring out our creativity to be able to create decor items for the global market. We are thankful to Casa Decor officials for the constant support they provide us," shares Abdul Rehman, a Moradabad-based artisan associated with Casa Decor. Furthermore, the company pays special attention to the growth of artisans. Casa Decor not only revises the pay at regular intervals, but also supports those who wish to start their own business and stores. The company offers them every possible support including strategy development to penetrate the highly competitive market. Many artisans who have worked with Casa Decor now run successful businesses of their own. The artisan-centric approach of the company makes it a popular choice for consumers across the globe. Casa Decor is a brand that has its heart in the right place. The company truly honours indigenous art by embracing the crafts of specific regions and allowing artisans to infuse their unique cultural flavour into their creations. Ingrained with a deep respect for Indian art and crafts, the brand strives to provide employment opportunities to artisans from across the country while promoting the beauty of Indian handicrafts. A loyal supporter of 'Make in India', Casa Decor has its roots firmly planted in the Indian soil as it continues to support local talent while serving global customers. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
New Delhi [India], April 20 (ANI/NewsVoir): Aseem Chawla, a renowned practicing tax & business lawyer, has launched his new book, "Supreme Court on Company Law" (Compendium of Cases) (1950-2021), published jointly by Bloomsbury and Corporate Law Adviser. The Compendium brings together all the significant judgments rendered by the Supreme Court of India on matters arising under the Companies Act, 1913/1956/2013. Aseem Chawla's work will prove to be a useful tool for litigants, lawyers, judges, and the academic community. Compendium covers judgments from 1950 to 2021 and are available in three volumes. All judgments have been arranged in ascending order, beginning with the first volume, cataloged from 1950 onwards. The book provides a complete understanding of the legalities involved in the chapter index and relevant paras within the judgment that have been highlighted for easy reference, as well as a nominal index, all of which add to its utilitarian quotient. Chawla explains that, in these times, no writing or publication is complete unless it addresses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He further adds, "The Central Government has undertaken proactive steps in relation to the decriminalization of several provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and a high-powered committee has been constituted to look into numerous compliances enjoined, pursuant to the rules, to alleviate and provide some respite precipitated by the pandemic in the present challenged macro-economic situation. A balanced and rational outlook on compliances sought would help strike the right balance between corporate governance and the burden/cost of compliance." Justice V Ramasubramanian, Judge, Supreme Court of India in his Foreword applauds the publication and termed it as "classic reflection of Aseem Chawla's scholarship, passion for law, industry and meticulous preparation". "This is a book that should find a place on the bookshelf of every busy practitioner, adjudicator and, all those, who wish to carry out an in-depth analysis, inter alia, of aspects swirling around the birth, functionality and demise of a company," he added. "While this publication was in press, the Supreme Court rendered another headline grabbing decision in Devas Case, affirming the NCLAT (Appellate Tribunal) decision, however, my publisher rightly reminded that my brief was to report the Apex Court decisions till the year 2021 and contained my effervescent enthusiasm. The above noted seminal decision and the path breaking judgement rendered in the case of Tata Consultancy Services Limited vs. Cyrus Investments Private Limited, both have been authored by Hon'ble Mr. Justice V. Ramasubramanian, Judge, Supreme Court of India and it is a matter of great privilege to have his encouraging Foreword to this Compendium," penned author in the note from curator's desk. This Compendium is a one-stop shop for all those looking for leading Judgements of the Supreme Court rendered during the period from 1950 to 2021 on all matters arising under the Companies Act, 193/1956/2013. In his descriptive testimonial, Hon'ble Justice Rajiv Shakdher, Judge, High Court of Delhi describes "the highlights and the quantity of material". He explains, "That the material that has been captured shows the meticulous effort that has gone into putting together the Compendium. The finest aspect of the Compendium is that it not only lists resolved instances, but it also relates to numerous company statutes passed over time, beginning with the Indian Companies Act of 1913. For the syllable of the compendium, it is a gold mine for attorneys, judges, academics, and researchers concerned in questions of corporate law." Several new concepts also find a place in the 2013 enactment, such as One-Person Company, Independent Directors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Women Directors and filing of Class action suits by the shareholders. This Compendium puts together all the significant judgments rendered by the Supreme Court on matters arising under the Companies Act, 1913/1956/2013. The Compendium comes in three volumes covering judgments from 1950 till 2021. The judgements have been placed in ascending order, beginning from 1950, cataloged first volume onwards. The book is available to purchase at www.claonline.in/sccl_2022.aspx Aseem Chawla, the curator of the publication is a well-known and accomplished lawyer, who is a Member of Bar Council of India and Fellow Chartered Accountant & certificate holder of "Comparative Tax Policy & Administration" from Harvard Kennedy School & "Vienna Certificate in Double Tax Treaties" from the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria. He has several authorships to his credit, including the recent publication on the Indian contemporary tax landscape titled, "Finding a Straight Line Between Twists and Turns: Imperfect, yet Honest Reflections on the Indian Tax Landscape", which has received encouragement from the leading international tax practitioners and Hon'ble Esteemed Members of judicial fora. He is an accredited Trust & Estate Practitioner and Member of Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners, (STEP), UK. and is well regarded for estate planning, including advising large families & corporate houses on governance aspects. He was nominated by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, as Non-Executive Independent Director of Board of one of the largest State-Owned General Insurance Companies. He is Visiting Faculty with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) on International Taxation, Economic Offences & Money Laundering Laws. Corporate Law Adviser (CLA) is a 33 years old Fortnightly Journal on Corporate/SEBI/Insolvency and Business Laws. CLA along with CLAonline covers Latest Case Laws from Supreme Court, all High Courts, NCLT/NCLAT, SAT, Competition Commission, etc with unmatched head notes along with reference of Para numbers in the head note for easy reference and provides a complete digital online law library on Company/SEBI/Insolvency and Bankruptcy/FEMA/Competition and Other Laws since 1950. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
In his defamation trial against former wife Amber Heard, actor Johnny Depp took the stand in a Fairfax, Virginia court, saying he has never "struck any woman" in his life. "Truth is the only thing I'm interested in. Lies will get you nowhere, but lies build upon lies and build upon lies. I'm obsessed with the truth," Depp said in the court on Tuesday. During the testimony, the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star acknowledged that he and Heard had arguments during their relationship but he never reached "the point of striking Ms Heard in any way nor have I ever struck any woman in my life," CNN reported. Depp and Heard were married in February 2015 and confirmed their split in May 2016. After filing for divorce later that month, Heard filed a domestic violence restraining order against Depp and brought photographic evidence of the alleged abuse she suffered, as per US magazine. Depp originally filed the USD 50 million lawsuit in March 2019, but it was postponed due to the pandemic. Back in November 2020, Depp lost his highly publicised U.K. libel lawsuit case against British tabloid The Sun for calling him a "wife-beater." In his latest trial, Depp also spoke about the beginning of his relationship with Heard. "She was attentive. She was loving. She was smart. She was kind. She was funny. She was understanding," he said. He added that they shared a common interest in blues music and that Heard would often take his boots off when he returned home. But within a year and a half, he said, "it was as if she had become another person almost." Depp's testimony will continue on Wednesday. The trial is set to run through the end of May, and Heard will also have an opportunity to testify in her defence.(ANI)
Ukrainian president proposes to extend martial law again

Xinhua) 09:35, April 20, 2022

KIEV, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday submitted to the parliament a bill to further extend martial law in the country, the parliament press service said in a statement.

If lawmakers pass the bill, according to a report released by The Kyiv Independent, the martial law will be extended for two months, until June 24.

Kiev imposed martial law after Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine on Feb. 24.

On March 15, the Ukrainian parliament voted to extend the martial law till April 25.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Tony's Fresh Market in Berwyn on April 20, 2022. The specialty grocery chain, with 18 locations in the Chicago area, is being purchased by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Tonys Fresh Market, a specialty grocery chain with 18 locations in the Chicago area, is being purchased by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management.

Tonys has been family-owned and operated since its founding in 1979, when Italian immigrants Tony Ingraffia and Domenico Gambino opened the first location at Fullerton and Central Park avenues with a handful of employees.

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It just felt like we needed and wanted a partner that can help us get to the next level, said Frank Ingraffia, the CEO of Tonys and Tony Ingraffias son. We think we have a good thing going here, and weve done well over the course of 43 years, but when you bring on a partner like Apollo it kind of takes you to the next level.

Ingraffia, who began bagging groceries and pushing carts for the family business as a preteen, said Apollo would bring an improvement from the customers standpoint.

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The New York-based private equity giant has made prior investments in the grocery sphere, putting down $1.75 billion in Albertsons Companies Inc. in 2020. Albertsons owns grocery chains including Safeway and Jewel-Osco. The company has also invested in Sprouts Farmers Market, The Fresh Market and Smart & Final.

Grocery sales have taken off during the pandemic, with 2020 becoming the first year Americans spent more on food eaten at home than food eaten outside the home since 2008 during the Great Recession, the U.S. Department of Agriculture found.

The family will remain involved both in management roles and as shareholders at Tonys following the Apollo deal. Tony Ingraffia will be a shareholder and board member, said Andrew Jhawar, a partner at Apollo. Tony and Frank Ingraffia as well as some other family members will have a significant equity investment in the company, Jhawar said, though he declined to disclose their share. Gambino is retiring, the company said, though his family will continue to be involved in the business. The parties declined to comment on financial details of the transaction.

Joanna Reiss, partner and co-lead of impact investing at Apollo, said the company views the acquisition very much as a partnership.

She said Apollo was hoping to work with the family to drive more opportunity and more access to the incredible assortment that Tonys offers across the Chicagoland area and hopefully beyond that.

Reiss praised Tonys assortment of healthful, affordable and culturally relevant foods, as well as its donations to local food banks, and said Apollo was focused on tackling issues of access to quality foods in underserved communities.

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Apollo representatives said customers can expect expansion, but declined to comment on the number of potential new stores or where they would be located. Tonys has six locations in Chicago, most of which are located on the citys Northwest Side. Suburban stores include locations in Niles, Prospect Heights, Berwyn and Burbank, among others.

Jhawar said growth could potentially include merger and acquisition opportunities.

Ingraffia said three new stores were in the pipeline, including one in Chicago and one store each in Joliet and Schaumburg.
Actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who has established himself as the tour de force of content cinema in India by treating viewers with diverse projects, has completed 10 years in Bollywood today. Ayushmann, who made his Bollywood debut with the 2012 film 'Vicky Donor', feels that "being an unhinged risk-taker" of scripts and roles is the key to his soaring success. Celebrating 10 years in the Indian film industry, Ayushmann took to his Instagram account and shared a rehearsal shot from the sets of 'Vicky Donor' featuring himself and director Shoojit Sircar. The picture was clicked when the team was shooting the bank sequence. Ayushmann has mentioned that the picture is from Day 1 of the shoot. Along with the candid shot, Ayushmann wrote, "Day 1. First Scene. Rehearsal shot! It's been 10 years already?! Deluge of fond memories gushing towards me, reminding me of my days of struggle, exasperation, determination, small joys and big successes." He added, "Thank you my guru @shoojitsircar da, @ronnie.lahiri and @thejohnabraham for trusting a rookie like me and making me believe that I can be a Hindi film hero! #10YearsOfVickyDonor." The plot of 'Vicky Donor' was based on sperm donation and infertility. The unconventional film along with Ayushmann, also starred Yami Gautam, Annu Kapoor, Dolly Ahluwalia, among others. Ayushmann, who has delivered smash hits like 'Shubh Mangal Saavdhaan', 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha', 'Badhai Ho', 'Bala', 'Article 15', 'Dream Girl', 'Andhadhun', to name a few, in his decade in cinema, said, "It has been an exhilarating decade in cinema for me. For someone with absolutely no connection, no in-roads in the Hindi film industry, I find myself grateful today that I found quality mentors who believed in me more than I believed in myself at the start of my career and guided me to where I'm today." He added, "If I had to describe my decade in cinema, I would say that being a purist to my craft, being an unhinged risk-taker worked for me because I walked the path less-travelled. Today, when I look back at my body of work, I'm deeply proud of my decisions. I think I have always been adamant about finding the best films and that decision has been the most rewarding one for my career." 'Vicky Donor' presented a new brand of heroism that was deeply relatable, and flawed yet had the willpower to rise up against the odds to present a strong moral compass. Talking about the film, Ayushmann said, "Today, I'm reminded of filming Vicky Donor, a film that became my calling card to the industry about the movies that I would like to back. I'm thankful to Shoojit da, Ronnie Lahiri and John Abraham for trusting a rookie like me to headline a project that is now being called a generation-defining film. I'm slightly emotional about today and feeling very nostalgic." He added, "I think audiences have a certain expectation from my brand of cinema today and I hope to entertain them thoroughly throughout my career in movies. I thank every filmmaker who took a punt on me. I'm who I'm today because of them and all the films that I have done." Ayushmann has a stellar lineup of films in 2022. He will be next seen in Anubhav Sinha's 'Anek' that releases on May 27, Anubhuti Kashyap's 'Doctor G' and filmmaker Aanand L. Rai's 'An Action Hero' being directed by debutant Anirudh Iyer. (ANI)
He laid the foundation stone in the presence of the Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO).

Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) will be the first and only global outpost centre for traditional medicine across the world. It will emerge as an international hub of global wellness.

PM Modi is on a three-day visit to Gujarat. Earlier in the day, he dedicated to the nation a new dairy complex and potato processing plant at Diyodar, Banaskantha district, built at a cost of over Rs. 600 crores. (ANI)
The Crime Branch of Delhi Police had moved a remand application seeking his custody to unearth a 'larger conspiracy'.

Imam is one of the prime accused in the case, who allegedly provoked the mob to pelt stones on a procession taken out in the area on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti on April 16.

The police said that he will be interrogated to find out if he had backing of some organisation or political party.

Imam was arrested by the Special Staff of the north-west district police on Monday. During interrogation, the accused disclosed that he had fired through his pistol near Kushal Chowk during the clashes.

A video of Imam wearing a blue kurta opening fire during the riots went viral on social media.

--IANS atk/arm

( 168 Words)

2022-04-19-20:42:03 (IANS)
A 21-year-old girl slashed the throat of her would-be husband as she did not want to marry him. The girl attacked her fiance A. Ramunaidu after closing his eyes to present him a gift. After tying her 'dupatta' around the victim's eyes, she slashed his throat and escaped. The shocking incident occurred at Amarapuri village under Butchayyapeta mandal of newly-formed Anakapalli district on Monday. Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunil said on Tuesday that they have taken Vijayapu Pushpa into custody and questioned her. She admitted to attacking the man with a knife. Police booked the accused for attempt to murder and produced her before a magistrate, who sent her to judicial custody. According to police, Ramunaidu's marriage with Pushpa was scheduled to be held on May 20. The couple went out on a scooty on Monday. She asked him to stop the scooty in front of a shop at Vaddadi and went inside saying she wanted to buy something for him. She did not reveal what she bought for him and asked him to take her to Vishwashanti Jyotirmoy Ashram. After reaching there she asked him to close his eyes and when kept his palms on his eyes, she told him that he had not properly closed the eyes and tied her dupatta on his eyes. She then slit his throat with a knife she had brought with her. Locals shifted a profusely bleeding Ramunaidu to a hospital. He told police that Pushpa told him before leaving the spot that she did not want to marry him and since her parents would not have agreed to this she attacked her. The girl told police that she did not want to marry anybody as she wanted to spend the life of a devotee at Om Shanti Ashram. Ramunaidu, who also hails from the same district, is doing PhD from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) in Hyderabad. He is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Anakapalli and his condition is now stated to be better. --IANS ms/pgh ( 354 Words) 2022-04-19-20:44:02 (IANS)
MNS party chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday held a meeting of leaders from Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and other divisions regarding his visit to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. According to MNS leader Nitin Sardesai, the MNS chief decided to perform 'Maha aarti' at their local temples across the state, on May 3, using loudspeakers, on the occasion of Akshaya Tritya. "We are planning. We have visited Ayodhya before. We saw what could happen if a large number of office-bearers came," Thackeray told the mediapersons. On May 3 ultimatum to remove loudspeakers from mosques, he said, "A meeting of the ministers will be held on the background of the 3rd. Let's see what they decide. It is not appropriate to talk until the government rules come, we will talk later." "Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers will perform 'Maha aarti' at their local temples across the state, on May 3, on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. The 'aarti' will be performed using loudspeakers," said MNS leader Nitin Sardesai. In wake of the ongoing loudspeaker row in the state, Thackeray had on Sunday said that the Muslims in the country should understand that "religion is not above law and country" while also asking them to take down loudspeakers from mosques. "We don't want riots in Maharashtra. No one has opposed the offering of prayers. We want the loudspeakers that are put up in the mosques and are illegal in the entire country should be taken down. If you do it on loudspeaker, then we will also use loudspeakers for it. Muslims should understand that religion isn't bigger than the law. After May 3, I will see what to do," Thackeray said. The MNS chief asked the Hindus to "wait till May 3" and play Hanuman Chalisa thereafter in front of the mosques that "don't take down the loudspeakers"."I only have to say to the Hindus across India to wait till May 3. And after that, play Hanuman Chalisa in front of all such mosques that don't take down the loudspeakers," he said. Amid the ongoing loudspeaker row in the state, Thackeray will hold a meeting with the party's top leaders at his residence on Tuesday, said party sources. According to sources, in today's meeting, a strategy will be prepared on the issues of the May 3 ultimatum to remove loudspeakers from mosques, a party meeting scheduled to be held on May 1 in Aurangabad and his upcoming Ayodhya visit in June. After the MNS chief reiterated his warning to take down loudspeakers from the mosques by May 3, the state Home Department on Monday stated that the use of loudspeakers at the religious sites will only be allowed with due permission. (ANI)
Even as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of West Bengal Police probing the mysterious death of student leader Anis Khan at Amta in Howrah district on February 19 submitted a progress report to the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday, the victim's father, Salem Khan, remained adamant on a CBI probe into the matter. "I have no faith in any probe by the state police, as two of their own personnel murdered my son. I want a CBI inquiry and if necessary, I will knock the doors of Supreme Court for that," Salem Khan said. A civic volunteer and a home guard have already been arrested in connection with Anis' murder. Both of them are in judicial custody now. However, the family members of the victim have alleged that the arrests were just eye wash and senior police officers were involved in the crime. In the 82-page progress report submitted to the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday, the SIT claimed that the probe is in its final stage. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for April 25. Meanwhile, Justice Rajasekhar Mantha, in whose court the matter is being heard, took cognisance of some disparaging comments made by Salem Khan that are doing the rounds on social media. Expressing displeasure over the comments, Mantha recused himself from hearing the case. However, he agreed to hear the matter following the persuasion of the advocates. Mantha later directed Salem Khan to submit an apology in the form of an affidavit. --IANS src/arm ( 266 Words) 2022-04-19-21:02:04 (IANS)
Congress legislators attending pujas or functions organised by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not be entertained in the future, Goa Congress president Amit Patkar said on Tuesday. Patkar issued the diktat, weeks after his party's first-time MLA Rajesh Phaldesai attended a puja at the state BJP headquarters on the occasion of the political outfit's founding day earlier this month. Phaldesai, Patkar said, had been censured for his actions. "We have spoken to him and we have told him that next time, not to repeat such mistakes," Patkar told a press conference in Panaji on Tuesday. Phaldesai's presence at the BJP do had caused a stir, considering the exodus of Congress legislators to the BJP from 2017-2022. Between 2017-2019 In the first two years alone 13 out of the party's 17 MLAs had quit the party to join the BJP. Patkar claimed that Phaldesai visited the ruling party's office out of a sense of naivete. "We have spoken to him and you also have to understand. 8 of them are newly elected MLAs and they did not know. He only went for a puja, which is why he went," Patkar said. --IANS maya/pgh ( 209 Words) 2022-04-19-21:52:07 (IANS)
Seven others were injured in the mishap, who have shifted to the BDK Hospital in Jhunjhunu.

As per the locals, around 18 members of a family had gone to immerse the ashes of an elderly family member who passed away recently when their vehicle overturned.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured persons from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

"Anguished by the tragic accident in Jhunjhunu. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. Rs 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of the deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted quoting Modi.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has called a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the rising cases of road accidents in the state.

BJP national President J.P. Nadda, former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje and Congress leader Sachin Pilot have also expresses their grief over the tragic accident.

--IANS arc/arm

( 224 Words)

2022-04-19-22:28:06 (IANS)
Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday said that Bhutan has shown a keen interest in adopting the Delhi government's Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum (EMC) framework in their schools. An orientation meeting with officials from Bhutan's education department was held on Tuesday in the presence of dignitaries from the nation. Speaking about the collaboration with Bhutan, Sisodia said, ''It is good to see that a movement to integrate an entrepreneurship mindset among school students is gaining momentum. It is a matter of great pride for the Delhi Government that the Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum will now reach students beyond the borders of India." Sisodia also said that the collaboration will further strengthen the bilateral relationships between the two countries and will give Delhi an opportunity to learn from the revolutionary ideas of Bhutan's Education department in the field of student assessment, inclusive education and curriculum design, as well. The Deputy Chief Minister further added that the Delhi Government has been learning a lot from Bhutan ever since the launch of the Happiness Curriculum. "We are deeply inspired by the Bhutan Government and the importance that they give to the happiness of Bhutan residents. Drafting of the EMC was the second step of our Happiness Curriculum with a goal to develop a happy and economically sound nation,'' he said. The officials of the Bhutan Education Department said that they have recently launched Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum in their schools in 2021. According to the officials, they saw a great opportunity to learn from the model of the Delhi Government's EMC and the world's largest student-led startup program Business Blasters. Impressed with the EMC framework, the Officiating Director of the Department of Curriculum and Professional Development in the Ministry of Education of the Royal Government of Bhutan, Wangpo Tenzin said, ''COVID has been devastating for all of us and has taught us lessons of uncertainties. In such a situation it is important for us to teach our children to become professionally sound and prepare them to beat any challenge in life." With a belief that a curriculum like EMC will help Bhutanese students to improve their skills, thought processes and ideas such that they can support themselves and the country, Tenzin said, "Adoption of the Delhi Government's framework for EMC will make our children economically well-informed. I strongly believe that this collaboration will be an opportunity for Bhutanese teachers to learn about pedagogical practices to successfully inculcate an entrepreneurship mindset among students in the country.'' During the orientation meeting with the education department officials of Bhutan, Director Education Himanshu Gupta presented an overview of the EMC framework and explained the model of Business Blasters. The 'Business Blasters' programme was launched for Delhi government school students of classes 11 and 12 in September 2021. Its purpose is to inculcate the belief in children that whatever work they do, they should do it with an entrepreneurial mindset. (ANI)
Sugar production in the current sugar season 2021-22 is expected to be 13 per cent higher than the previous sugar season, the government said on Tuesday. "As per the revised estimates, production of sugar in the current sugar season 2021-22 is estimated to be about 350 Lakh Metric Tonne (LMT) (after discounting diversion of 35 LMT of sugar to ethanol) against estimated domestic consumption of about 278 LMT. There was carry over stock of about 85 LMT at the beginning of the sugar season 2021-22," officials from the Ministry of Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution said. Even after likely export of about 95 LMT, the closing stock for the current sugar season at the end of September 2022 is likely to be more than 60 LMT. "The availability of sugar in the country is sufficient to meet the domestic requirement. As such, there will be smooth availability of sugar and the sugar prices in the domestic market are expected to remain stable at reasonable levels," the officials said. Earlier in the day, a virtual meeting in this regard, was held under the chairmanship of Secretary (F&PD) with the Principal Secretaries (Sugar) and Cane Commissioners/Directors (Sugar) of vatious state governments to assess area under cane cultivation, sugarcane and sugar production for Sugar Season 2021-22 (October-September) as well as export of sugar & diversion of sugar for production of ethanol here. The government is also encouraging sugar mills to divert excess sugarcane to ethanol, which is blended with petrol, which not only serves as a green fuel but also saves foreign exchange on account of crude oil import. "In last three sugar seasons 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 about 3.37 LMT, 9.26 LMT and 22 LMT of sugar was diverted to ethanol. In the current sugar season 2021-22, about 35 LMT of sugar is estimated to be diverted & by 2024-25 about 60 LMT of sugar is targeted to be diverted to ethanol, which would address the problem of excess sugarcane as well as delayed payment issue as farmers would get timely payment," the Ministry claimed. From Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2013-14 (Dec-Nov) to ESY 2020-21, about Rs 53,000 crore revenue has been generated by sugar mills/distilleries from sale of ethanol to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). In the current ESY 2021-22, more than Rs 18,000 crore revenue is expected to be generated by sugar mills from sale of ethanol to OMCs. In the previous sugar season 2020-21, out of cane dues payable of Rs 92,938 crore, about Rs 92,480 crore cane dues were paid to farmers, as on April 18, thus, 99.5 per cent cane dues of previous sugar season are cleared. In current sugar season 2021-22, out of total cane dues payable of Rs 91,468 crore, about Rs 74,149 crore have been paid to farmers as on Monday, which is more than 80 per cent, officials said, adding: "It is expected that in the current sugar season, cane price payment of more than Rs 1,00,000 crore would be made by sugar mills to farmers. Increase in export & diversion of sugarcane to ethanol has expedited cane price payments to farmers." --IANS niv/pgh ( 534 Words) 2022-04-19-22:36:02 (IANS)
Dr. Scott Eggener, seen at the University of Chicago on April 19, 2022, recently published a paper arguing that a low-level form of prostate cancer should no longer be identified as cancer. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

A University of Chicago Medicine doctor is arguing that one of the most common types of cancer in men sometimes shouldnt be called cancer at all  a stance that some say could save many patients from invasive, unnecessary treatments but others say could put patients at risk.

About one out of every eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The severity of prostate cancer is measured on whats called a Gleason scale, with 6 being the lowest level and 10 being the highest.

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Dr. Scott Eggener argues in a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on Monday that Gleason 6 prostate cancer should no longer be labeled as cancer.

Gleason 6 does not cause symptoms or spread, he said. But the word cancer in the diagnosis likely scares some men into seeking unnecessarily aggressive treatments, such as prostate removal or radiation, he said. Having a diagnosis of cancer can also cause anxiety among patients and family and lead to trouble getting life insurance, he said.

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The word cancer has a lot of implications for the man, for the health system, for society, said Eggener, a University of Chicago Medicine urologist and professor of surgery. The patient now sees (himself) as a cancer patient. Many men still choose to get aggressive treatments that can have short-term or life-altering side effects.

Radiation or prostate removal can sometimes lead to urinary and sexual dysfunction.

Instead of getting radiation or surgery, patients with Gleason 6 can undergo whats called active surveillance, which consists of regular blood tests, exams and occasional biopsies. Now, more than half of patients with Gleason 6 nationwide choose active surveillance, rather than radiation or surgery, Eggener said.

If the word cancer is removed from the diagnosis, patients would not seek radiation or surgery or even need active surveillance, he said. Rather, they would undergo regular screenings  which are less time-consuming than active surveillance  because they would be considered cancer-free.

Patient Howard Wolinsky, 74, of Flossmoor, said the change is long overdue. When Wolinsky was diagnosed with Gleason 6 in 2010, a doctor recommended he have his prostate removed that week.

But Wolinsky, a health care journalist who has done freelance work for the Tribune, had researched the diagnosis, and he wanted a second opinion. He saw Eggener, who recommended active surveillance.

He said, Yeah, you could benefit from surgery, but frankly I think youre the poster boy for active surveillance, Wolinsky said. It was clear that I could benefit from this. I took the leap of faith.

In the following years, Wolinsky underwent regular blood tests, exams and biopsies. No cancer was found on any of his other biopsies, he said. Wolinsky is a co-author on the paper published Monday, along with experts from hospitals in New York, California and Toronto.

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Dr. Gopal Gupta, a urologic oncologist at Loyola Medicine, said Eggeners argument is right on point, noting that patients and other people who are not familiar with prostate cancer are still swayed by this word cancer. Gupta worked on a previous paper with Eggener about Gleason 6.

Not everyone, however, agrees Gleason 6 should no longer be called a cancer. Its been a topic of debate for 10 or 15 years, and many doctors feel it should still be classified as cancer, said Dr. William Catalona, a professor of urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

It is not like normal tissue, Catalona said. He said removing the cancer label would be a big mistake.

One reason is that many men who are diagnosed with Gleason 6 prostate cancer are later found to have more severe forms of prostate cancer, he said. Part of that may be because initial biopsies miss the more severe forms, he said. Though biopsies are the most accurate way to diagnose prostate cancer, theyre not perfect, he said.

When a urologist biopsies a patients prostate, the urologist will typically take about a dozen samples that are about an inch long and as thick as dental floss.

If you had a haystack and took 12 pieces of hay out and looked at it, theres still a lot of hay in there you havent looked at, Catalona said.

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Though active surveillance can help to catch a more severe form of cancer later on, if a patient is told he doesnt have cancer, he may be less inclined to have those regular, follow-up biopsies, Catalona said.

Calling it cancer, which is what it really is, does give the patients an incentive, if they dont undergo treatment right away, to at least be actively surveilled, Catalona said.

If someone said were going to tell all these men this is not cancer, that would really be very harmful to the whole concept of active surveillance, he said. I think a greater percent of them would slip through the cracks, and I think more men would eventually suffer from metastatic prostate cancer and die of prostate cancer.

Some men also prefer to have surgery or radiation rather than have to spend years getting additional tests and biopsies to make sure they dont have more severe forms of prostate cancer, he said.

Dr. Scott Eggener, a University of Chicago Medicine urologist and professor of surgery, seen at the University of Chicago on April 19, 2022. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Eggener acknowledged that treatment might make sense for some men with Gleason 6, such as those who are very young or those whove had multiple family members with aggressive forms of prostate cancer, but theres still way too many men that race into treatment.

He also acknowledged that some men may initially feel anxiety about getting a diagnosis of Gleason 6 but not undergoing treatment for it. He believes that initial anxiety is something that can be managed through explanation and by sharing long-term data.

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That, almost for all men, allays their anxiety, he said.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated on Monday that innocent persons have not been arrested in connection with the violent incidents that rocked Hubballi on Saturday night. Speaking to mediapersons in Sringeri, Bommai refuted former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's allegations in this regard . "No innocent person has been arrested. All arrests have been made based on evidence," Bommai said. Reacting to a video inciting to kill a Congress leader, which has gone viral, Bommai said the Police Commissioner would take action in the matter. When queried about opposition leaders accusing him of turning the 'Ram Rajya' into a 'Ravan Rajya', Bommai remained defiant. "They are entitled to their own interpretations. It is not important as to what the opposition leaders say, it is the opinion of the people that matters," Bommai said. Responding to the opposition's view that the Chief Minister has adopted a soft stand, Bommai said, "We have acted tough on the Hubballi, Shivamogga incidents. FIR have been registered in the Santhosh Patil suicide case. Action has been taken in the Dharwad fruit vendor case. There was no delay in any of these cases. Even in the police recruitment case, we have initiated action. What more do you want?" "I have come to have a darshan of Sringeri Sharadamba and will pray for the welfare of the state," he added. --IANS pvn/arm ( 235 Words) 2022-04-19-22:54:03 (IANS)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday chaired a meeting with Power Minister R.K. Singh, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav to access the supply of coals to the thermal powers situation following reports of coal shortage reported by many states. The meeting was held in the Home Ministry in the North Block to review the power situation and supply of low ash coal to various thermal power plants in the country, the officials said. In an hour-long meeting, the Ministers reportedly discussed the availability of coal to power plants and the current power demands because the temperature has gone up early this year in April itself . This move came after in the wake of many states have reported about the low stocks of coal with the thermal powers, the officials, aware of this development said. As many as 12 states such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Jharkhand and Haryana which are facing nominal power cuts now a days because of less coal supply. The thermal power companies are facing shortage of low ash coal because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as they were unable to get coal loads from Russia. It was learnt that the Railways Minister has been directed to rush coal loads to the thermal power plants whose coal stocks are on minimum level. Meanwhile, it was also learnt that the government is mulling to explore the possibility of cheap coal from other countries to meet the shortage that arose after the Russia Ukraine war. Earlier in October last year, a similar meeting was also held to meet out the coal shortage in the country. During the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, CMD of Naveli Lignite Corporation, and higher officials of the Coal Ministry were also present. --IANS ams/pgh ( 309 Words) 2022-04-19-22:58:02 (IANS)
Plastic pollution is a key environment hazard in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), according to Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar, who said that keeping track of plastic pollution is a challenge for the Indian Coast Guard. Kumar was speaking at the ongoing National Marine Pollution Exercise in Goa. "The Indian Ocean is one of the fastest growing regions of the world. However, today, all these activities happening around the Indian Ocean have also made it one of the most polluted oceans in the world. A recent study by the World Bank states that the Indian Ocean Region is today the second most polluted region in the world," Kumar said in his address at the event. "We are here focused on oil spills, which is so relevant both because this region is increasingly becoming a source of oil exploration as well as because so much of oil is transiting through this region. I have been told today that the Indian Coast Guard has graduated to a level where it can handle oil spills of the range of 700 tonnes and above, which only few countries in the region and in the world are capable of," the Defence Secretary said. Quoting a study, the bureaucrat said that nearly 15 million tonnes of plastic finds its way into the Indian Ocean. "But I would also like to mention that the response to pollution is equally large with respect to plastics in the ocean. According to a study, nearly 15 million tonnes of plastic is making its way into the Indian Ocean Region. Every year, we have nearly 1.5 trillion pieces of plastic, some of them coagulated into islands, threatening our various ecologically sensitive coral reef regions, which poses massive environmental threats," he said, adding that the plastic pollution threat is a key challenge for the Indian Coast Guard. --IANS maya/arm ( 318 Words) 2022-04-19-23:00:04 (IANS)
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice on a contempt plea against the construction of a permanent structure, a Tehbazari kiosk on the pavement along the wall of Ajmal Khan Park in the Karol Bagh area of the city. The Division Bench of Justice Mukta Gupta and Justice Neena Krishna Bansal was hearing the contempt petition moved by Adv Amit Sahni, in which the petitioner stated that the kiosk would cause hindrance to the free flow of pedestrian movement in utter violation of the order passed by the court in 2018. Issuing notice to the commissioner, Dy Commissioner, Addl Dy Commissioner, and Zonal Superintendent in the matter, the court observed that such kind of encroachment cannot be permitted and restrained further construction carried out in the area. As per the petitioner Adv Sahni, he had issued a legal notice earlier and after that, the authorities had put on hold the construction of kiosks for some time, however, they have now permitted construction on the pavements in violation of the earlier order. The plea said that in pursuance of a tender, the authorities had on November 26, 2021, issued instructions for shifting the covered tehbaaris (vendors) from Bhagwati Marg around Bank Street Parking to the wall of Ajmal Khan at Ajmal Khan Road, that is -- the respondents/contemnors had directed to construct the booths/ kiosks over the pavement. The high court, in its March 2018 order, had said "at the moment most of the pavements appear to have completely encroached. An appropriate enforcement action to ensure that minimum pedestrian use is available at any given point of time and at all times shall also be ensured. Likewise, monitoring is directed on a day-to-day basis". --IANS jw/pgh ( 302 Words) 2022-04-19-23:06:04 (IANS)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday reconstituted an expert panel formed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to oversee the compensatory afforestation along with other mitigation measures for the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway. A bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said that C.P. Goyal, Director-General of Forests in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, will be the chairperson of the expert committee. It will also include Anil Prakash Joshi, founder of Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO), and environmentalist Vijay Dhasmana as additional members. The apex court's ruling came on a plea filed by an NGO -- Citizens for Green Doon -- challenging the NGT order, which paved the way for Delhi-Dehradun Expressway construction, after the constitution of an expert panel. The NGT had directed the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand to head the expert panel. The bench clarified that its direction should not be seen as an expression of lack of confidence on the part of the Uttarakhand Chief Secretary. The top court added that the committee's reorganisation was only to ensure that broad understanding is enabled in the implementation process. The NGO, represented by advocate Ritwik Dutta, contended that the panel comprised Central and state government officials, and there was no independent person on the panel. Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, representing the Centre, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing NHAI, agreed that independent members could be added to the panel. The NGO alleged that there was also conflict of interest on the part of the Wildlife Board of India, and suggested the names of independent members on the committee, which was sought by the apex court. The NGO suggested the names of Bibhash Pandav, faculty of the Wildlife Institute of India, Vijay Dhasmana and M.K. Singh. The AG objected to Pandav's name saying he is junior to the Director of Wildlife Institute of India and suggested the name of Joshi, a Padma Bhushan awardee. The bench disposed of the appeal while leaving the question of law open. On April 8, the top court had told the NGO that it can raise its grievances before an expert committee. The NGT gave go-ahead to the Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor Expressway, which is expected to reduce travel time by four hours. --IANS ss/arm ( 381 Words) 2022-04-19-23:06:05 (IANS)
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who is leading a 13-member Indian Parliamentary delegation to Vietnam on a three-day visit, on Tuesday held bilateral meetings with President of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chairman of National Assembly of Vietnam Vuong Dinh Hue. In his meeting with the President Phuc, Birla said that the two countries have transformed their relationship into a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership". Birla mentioned that the comprehensive strategic partnership includes political ties, trade and investment treaties, energy cooperation, development partnership, and defence and security cooperation. He noted that India and Vietnam have a long tradition of mutual cooperation in challenging global circumstances. He expressed happiness that two nations have helped each other in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic. Birla further said that economic relations between India and Vietnam have gained momentum over the years. He added that despite the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic, bilateral trade between the two countries stood at over $13 billion last year. He mentioned that the defence partnership between the two countries, which has grown significantly based on common interests, has expanded into new areas including defence industrial and technical cooperation. He hoped that the strong bilateral defence cooperation between India and Vietnam will contribute to international peace, regional security and prosperity. During the day, Birla also called on Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh and held wide ranging discussion on bilateral matters. Speaking about economic and trade cooperation, Birla said that Indian investors have keen interest in Vietnam and urged the Prime Minister to create favorable conditions for them in order to encourage more investment. Birla also noted that India and Vietnam have cooperated with each other in taking up global issues as non-permanent members in the UN Security Council. He added the two countries have been working closely with ASEAN towards a free, open, peaceful, prosperous, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific region. He further remarked that peace and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region has increased through the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative (IPOI) and ASEAN's Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). Emphasising on regular bilateral parliamentary exchanges, Birla observed, that regular visits between countries provide opportunities to share views and strengthen legislative cooperation. He added that for this purpose, India-Vietnam Friendship Group is being formed to provide a new dimension to the mutual relations between the Parliaments of the two countries through regular mutual exchange. --IANS miz/pgh ( 411 Words) 2022-04-19-23:26:02 (IANS)
In wake of the recent incidents of communal clashes across India, the Maharashtra cyber cell has proposed to block 22 accounts on different social media for propagating communal disharmony. Of these 22 accounts, 20 are on Twitter, while Instagram and Facebook have one each. In an exclusive interview with ANI, Maharashtra Cyber Cell Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjay Shintre said on observing the current atmosphere (of the country), 48 police stations under the department are actively filtering out accounts that post objectionable and defamatory content. "Maharashtra Cyber has sent a proposal to block 22 accounts. Many have been blocked too...In the wake of the atmosphere at present, we started looking for accounts propagating communal disharmony content..." he said. Shintre informed that several accounts on different social media belong to fake organisations and individuals who are using morphed photos, lots of editing and deep fake technology to spread communal disharmony. Walking ANI through the process of removing accounts, the SP said, "We start with serving notices to intermediaries about the possibility of communal disharmony through such accounts. These intermediaries include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and others. They act immediately by taking down such content and then deleting it." In the past two years, as per Shintre, the Maharashtra Cyber cell has identified about 12,000 objectionable posts defaming dignitaries, of which 6,000 were deleted by intermediaries. "Although Maharashtra Cyber is active every day, in the last one month, considering the political developments, the cyber cell has been very proactive," he added. (ANI)
Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury on Tuesday slammed the K Chandrashekar Rao-led Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for its inaction against the son of a TRS councillor who was arrested in a gang-rape case. "The son of the TRS Councillor is in police remand in gang-rape case. What is the TRS government doing about it? Why is it that they are not taking any action? What are they waiting for?" Seeking action against the accused, Chowdhury, asked the state Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) to respond over the matter concerned. Slamming the silence of minister KT Rama Rao over the matter, she said, "What is KTR doing? He tweets everything, why is it not considered a crime in Telangana? I demand that the girl should be given security because there may be a threat to her life for identifying the criminal." Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) Councillor's son is the alleged accused of the rape case that happened in Kodad. A 20-year-old woman was allegedly raped multiple times for three days by two men, including a local TRS leader's son, after being offered a sedative-laced drink in Telangana's Suryapet district, police said on Monday. In the matter, Chowdhury has demanded a probe against the alleged accused and security for the Kodad rape victim, by the state government. The Congress leader further alleged that Congress workers are being framed in false rape cases in Telangana. "False cases have been put on the Congress workers in the state. Despite the court's directions to remove cases, rowdy sheets have been opened against them," Chowdhury told ANI. "We have reported it to the minority commission and human rights as well. We are living in a rowdy state and the Goondaism in the name of uniform and power ministers is usual," she added. Adding further, she also said that it (Goondaism) is a sad reflection and sad travesty of the constitutional rights and democratic freedom in this country. Judicial orders are not being implemented in the state. (ANI)
According to the statement, the officials acted upon a specific input about a substantial quantity of cannabis also known as Ganja being transported by one person on a truck bearing the UP registration en route the National Highway (NH)-16 from Anakapalle towards Hyderabad via Vijayawada.

"The DRI sleuths from Visakhapatnam Regional Unit proceeded in the early hours of 17 April 2022 (Sunday) and found the said truck in accident-met and abandoned condition in a trench abutting NH-16 near Gobburu, Anakapalle District," read the statement.

It further said," On preliminary examination, the truck was found laden with the contraband concealed under the bales of old Empty Gunny bags. The officers crane-lifted and then shifted the truck along with its contents."

After the due procedure, 1169.30 Kilogram of Cannabis, worth Rs 2.33 crore (2,33,00,000) was recovered and confiscated along with the truck and cover goods, said the statement.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)
Amid the unabated violence in West Bengal, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) think tank member Anirban Ganguly supported demands for the CBI investigation into the recent rape cases, saying that the common people in the state have lost their faith in the police. "The situation is such that every victim's family wants a CBI investigation. We are seeing so many cases --Anees Khan case, the Rampurhat case, where people were charred to death, the Hashkhali rape case. They are all demanding the CBI investigations. People in West Bengal have lost faith in the police", he said while speaking to ANI. Ganguly further alleged the TMC of pressurizing the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to not carry out the probes fairly. He said, "The SIT is never successful in the investigations because TMC is pressurizing them to not do the investigation properly. In most of the cases, the TMC panchayat member, the municipality councillor and local leaders are involved. They exploit the people on party orders. It is said that the SIT is investigating but in actuality they do nothing and the people have understood it now." A five-member fact-finding committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had previously submitted its report to party chief JP Nadda on March 30 on the incidents of arson in Rampurhat. Nadda had formed a five-member fact-finding committee comprising West Bengal state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, Rajya Sabha MP and former Uttar Pradesh DGP Brajlal, Lok Sabha MP and former Mumbai Police Commissioner Satya Pal Singh, Rajya Sabha MP and former IPS KC Ramamurty and BJP spokesperson and former IPS Bharati Ghosh. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had sought a detailed report from the West Bengal government over the arson incident. The move came after a nine-member delegation of BJP MPs from West Bengal met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and sought his intervention and action against the perpetrators involved in the crime. As many as eight people were killed in the Rampurhat area of West Bengal's Birbhum on Tuesday after a mob allegedly set houses on fire following the killing of TMC leader Bhadu Sheikh. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the probe of the Birbhum violence case following the Calcutta High Court order. Meanwhile, a 14-year-old girl died after she was allegedly gang-raped in Hanskhali in Nadia district earlier this month. The victim's family has accused the son of a Trinamool Congress panchayat leader in the case. Calcutta High Court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the Hanskhali rape case. (ANI)
In 1982, Conan the Barbarian enticed audiences with a poster promising four phases of a rough mans rough life: Thief. Warrior. Gladiator. King.

The Northman, which wanders narratively but, as cinema, basically eats Conan for breakfast, follows what might be considered a similar career path: Prince, followed by Slave, then Viking Marauder, and finally Newly Sensitized Lover and Potential Family Man.

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Alexander Skarsgard takes the title role, as well as taking a fair bit of on-screen punishment en route to a climactic battle at the Gates of Hel (one l in this hell, for the record). There, at Hel, Amleth, played by Skarsgard, wields his mighty sword against his kingdom-usurping uncle (Claes Bang) surrounded by rivers of flaming molten lava. Theyre nude, discreetly silhouetted, and as in much of The Northman the scenes melding of digital and practical effects and design strategies doesnt lead to the usual fantasy generica. Robert Eggers creates worlds that used to be, or never were, but thanks to his chosen medium, there they are, vivid and alive.

Warning: The movie is not for stubbornly mainstream tastes or the eccentricity-resistant. This is director Eggers third feature, following his exquisite debut The Witch (2016), set in the 1630s, and the late 19th-century odd-couple nightmare The Lighthouse (2019). Shot in Ireland and Iceland on a large budget, The Northman put Eggers through a new set of paces, involving test screenings and studio input and the pressure to deliver.

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I cant speak to its commercial prospects, which is a euphemism for leave that to Variety. Eggers and his co-screenwriter, the Icelandic poet and novelist Sjon, have made a movie that reminds you of many other movies, from The Vikings to Spartacus, and myths, and even plays: Shakespeares Hamlet comes from the same medieval Scandinavian legends as The Northman does.

Young prince Amleth, played in the early going by Oscar Novak, has a bright future. His father-king (Ethan Hawke) has returned from the sea, and while his mother-queen (Nicole Kidman) may be dogged by the occasional rumor of messing around with the kings brother (Claes Bang), all seems well for a bit.

Then the bit passes; the usurping uncle kills his brother, kidnaps the queen and the boy, outwitting his would-be assassins, escapes and is presumed dead. The Northman jumps ahead a generation and picks up with Amleth, enslaved and then, in short order, a Viking marauder with a heart of cold iron. He remembers who he used to be, but only because he is driven by dreams of avenging his fathers death.

Alexander Skarsgard plays a 10th-century prince turned marauding Viking warrior in "The Northman." (Aidan Monaghan / HANDOUT)

From there the film, which is outlandishly gory in some unexpected ways, becomes a romance tinged with mysticism, in between calmly composed shots of entrails leaving a soldiers stomach. Anya Taylor-Joy, who starred in The Witch, returns here as the Slavic slave woman who becomes Amleths partner in scheming, long-term planning and true love. This leads to a reckoning for the brutish hero. Amleth is told by the Seeress, played by Bjork with dont-doubt-me intensity, that Amleth must keep his eye on his destiny, take care of business with his uncle and rescue his mother.

The Seeress sees more than shes telling, as it turns out, and from there The Northman combines plotting that rewrites Hamlet with more familiar Viking genre satisfactions and leaps into the supernatural.

The reason I like The Northman more than any number of other big-budget period bloodbaths, from Conan the Barbarian to Braveheart, lies in Eggers sly juggling of an audiences rooting interests. Temperamentally, Eggers really isnt into rooting interests as a story driver. The downside of that can be detected in Skarsgards fierce but narrow performance, which is limited by the conception of the character as a pure revenge machine, complicated, later, by his humane awakening. But the movies baked-in macho violence feels different here  a little more skeptical, with fewer triumphal kills than usual.

Its a hearty stew of influences and rewards and, yes, some gristle. Once too often, probably, Eggers bores in on Amleth in glowering, half-crazed Kubrickian close-up. But hes a director who knows how, and when, to move a camera, and how long a shot should be sustained, and where our perspective should be in relation to a harsh act or fleeting glimpse of violence. The Northman fills out its widescreen canvas, carefully and meticulously. Yes, a different co-writer mightve helped Eggers create a more propulsive new-style epic, instead of the trancelike vision of the 10th and early 11th centuries we have here. But these days, does anyone really want a Viking fantasy of power, revenge, spilled blood and hot lava thats all fake realism and no genuine magic?

A prince turned slave turned avenging warrior (Alexander Skarsgard) befriends a cunning slave with magical powers (Anya Taylor-Joy) in "The Northman." (Aidan Monaghan / HANDOUT)

The Northman  3 stars (out of 4)

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MPAA rating: R (for strong bloody violence, some sexual content and nudity)

Running time: 2:20

How to watch: Premieres in theaters Thursday evening April 21.

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

mjphillips@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @phillipstribune

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Big screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the family of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activist, who died by suicide in the Khammam district of Telangana. Shah, in a telephonic conversation with the family of the deceased, expressed condolences and assured justice. BJP activist Sai Ganesh died by suicide allegedly due to harassment by a state minister. Telangana BJP's Core Committee Member and Tamil Nadu Co-Incharge Sudhakar Reddy along with other BJP leaders visited the residence of Ganesh and provided financial assistance. He arranged a call with the Union Home Minister and made the family speak to him. Shah also instructed Telangana BJP leaders to assist the family in getting justice by taking up the matter to the High Court if needed. He told the family that they will stand and fight for the family. Reddy, in a tweet, alleged that the BJP activist died by suicide due to harassment he faced from state Trasport Minister Ajay Kumar Puvvada. "Met family members of beloved Kayakarta, Sai Ganesh, at their residence Khammam, TS & assured his grandmother of all possible assistance besides getting justice for him. Did my part by providing financial help. Ganesh committed suicide due to the atrocities of Ajay Kumar Puvvada," Reddy said. "Also connected the family telephonically with Union Minister Amit Shah Ji who extended full party support & assured that jointly, we will fight until justice is delivered. It was a very kind gesture on part of Amit Shah Ji and we are thankful for his support," he added. The BJP leaders who accompanied Reddy alleged that Ganesh "clearly mentioned in the dying declaration that TRS Minister Puvvada Ajay is responsible for his death." However, they claimed that the police didn't file an FIR on the issue. The BJP leaders demanded the state minister's resignation. Tensions gripped Khammam after Ganesh allegedly died by suicide, citing "unable to bear torture from police". Ganesh was admitted to the hospital and spoke to the media where he stated that after a BJP meeting, he installed a flag post in the "no objection area" and alleged police officers broke it. He alleged that police tortured him and filed around 16 cases against him. Ganesh had claimed that "his self-esteem was hurt and consumed poison due to being unable to bear the torture from police." (ANI)
A day after the Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting on the coal and power crisis in the country, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that only eight days of coal stocks are left in the country. Rahul said, "Eight years of big talk has resulted in India having only eight days of coal stocks." He asked the "Centre to switch off the bulldozers of hate and focus on the power plants in order to prevent the loss of small scale industries leading to more job losses". "Modi Ji, stagflation is looming. Power cuts will crush small industries, leading to more job losses. Switch off the bulldozers of hate and switch on the power plants!" tweeted Gandhi. The Congress leader also shared a picture quoting PM Modi's announcement on June 18, 2020, to auction 41 coal mines for commercial mining in order to make India self-reliant in energy by reducing imports. He compared it with the current coal crisis situation in the country. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held a meeting with Power Minister RK Singh, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav amid reports of ongoing coal and power situation across the country. The meeting was held in the wake of several states warning of a possible power crisis due to the shortage of coal supply to power plants, officials said. There are reports of depleting coal inventory of domestic thermal power plants in 12 states like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Jharkhand and Haryana which are facing power cuts ranging from 3 to 8.7 per cent. In the first fortnight of April 2022, domestic power demand reportedly hit a 38-year high for the month. While there was a 1.1 per cent power shortage in October 2021, this shot up to 1.4 per cent in April 2022. Union Power Minister R. K. Singh has blamed the steep rise in the prices of imported coal on the Russia-Ukraine war. This is because of the inadequate availability of railway wagons to transport coal. (ANI)
Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered to maintain a "status-quo" on the demolition drive conducted by North Delhi Municipal Corporation in Jahangirpuri in the national capital. The court said it will hear tomorrow the petition challenging the special joint encroachment removal programme in Jahangirpuri of the civic bodies including the NDMC and the PWD. A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana hearing the submission of Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave ordered status quo in the present situation and said the petition would be listed before an appropriate bench. The court''s order came even as bulldozers started razing structures in the area as per orders of the BJP-controlled North Delhi Municipal Corporation and amid heavy police presence. The "encroachment removal action programme" was scheduled to take place on Wednesday and Thursday after the area witnessed violence on April 16 during a religious procession In the hearing senior Advocate Dave mentioned that "unconstitutional, unauthorised demolition" was taking place in Jahangirpuri where riots took place. Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave also apprised the court that the demolition drive, which was scheduled to be carried out in the afternoon had begun in Jahangirpuri at 9 am today. Meanwhile, senior Advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the plea filed by Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind''s plea against employing bulldozers to raze houses of persons suspected to be involved in crimes. Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind moved the Supreme Court against employing bulldozers to raze down the houses of persons suspected to be involved in criminal incidents such as violence. Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind has urged the Supreme Court to issue appropriate direction to the Centre and state governments that no lasting precipitative action be taken against any accused in any criminal proceedings and issue directions that residential accommodation cannot be demolished as a punitive measure. In its petition Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind said that there has recently been an increase in the incidents of demolition of residential and commercial properties by government administration in several states as a punitive measure towards persons purportedly involved in criminal incidents such as riots. "In response to alleged acts of violence, the administration in several states has been employing bulldozers to raze down the houses of persons suspected to be involved in such acts/ incidents. A number of ministers and legislators, including the Chief Minister and the Home Minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh, have made statements advocating such acts and especially threatened the minority groups with the destruction of their homes and commercial properties in case of riots," the petition read. According to the petition, resorting to such measures/ actions is clearly against our constitutional ethos and the criminal justice system, as also in violation of the rights of accused persons. "Such measures by the governments undermine the criminal justice system of our country, including the important role of the courts. The legal process, including the pre-trial and trial stage, is hindered by these acts of the state, therefore, immediate action is needed to prevent such incidents from repeating," the petitioner said, urging the top court to step in to stop the situation from escalating any further and also prevent such acts from being repeated in other states as well. Therefore, Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind has sought directions that any commercial propertycannot be demolished as a punitive measure. It also sought to issue directions to provide training to police personnel in handling communal riots and situations where populations become restive. The petitioner also urged to issue directions that ministers, legislators and anybody unconnected with the criminal investigation should be restrained from apportioning criminal responsibility regarding criminal action publicly or through any official communication until a determination by a criminal court publicly or any official communication until a determination by a criminal court. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation Wednesday had scheduled an "encroachment removal action programme", wherein illegal construction in the Jahangirpuri area will be removed on Wednesday and Thursday (April 20-21). (ANI)
The Centre extended the ceasefire agreement with three Naga insurgent groups for one more year, informed the Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday. In a press release, the Ministry said that Ceasefire Agreements are in operation between the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-NK (NSCN-NK), National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Reformation (NSCN/R) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland K-Khango (NSCN K-Khango). "It was decided to extend the Ceasefire Agreements for a further period of one year with effect from April 28, 2022, to April 27, 2023, with NSCN-NK and NSCN-R and from April 18, 2022, to April 17, 2023, with NSCN K-Khango. These agreements were signed on April 19, 2022," said the statement. Earlier on September 8, the Centre entered into a Ceasefire Agreement with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (K) Niki Group for a period of one year upon which the Ministry said that the initiative is fulfilling the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "insurgency free and prosperous North East" and is a significant boost to the Naga peace process, under the guidance of Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah. (ANI)
During the investigation, it was found, that some other names were also mentioned as anti-social elements in State Intelligence Dept (SID) letter which was sent to the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Home for phone tapping that's why the ACS gave the permission for the same, Mumbai police said.

Police informed that the phone of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Eknath Khadse was tapped for 67 days while that of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut was tapped for 60 days.

Reacting to the matter, Raut said both leaders were falsely labelled by then SID commissioner Rashmi Shukla.

"The then SID commissioner Rashmi Shukla falsely labelled all of us whose phones were tapped as anti-social elements during government formation in 2019," Raut said.

"Our privacy was breached. Centre giving protection to such police officers who are working for one party," he added.

Earlier in the second week of the month, the Mumbai Police recorded the statement of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in the illegal phone tapping case against senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla. (ANI)
The DDMA on Wednesday held a meeting over the prevailing COVID-19 situation.

Sources said that it has been decided to make wearing masks mandatory and also reinforce the Rs 500 penalty for defying the norm.

Nearly three weeks ago, when Delhi witnessed a dip in the daily infections, the DDMA had issued an order removing the fine for not wearing masks. However, it had advised people to continue using them in crowded places.

Schools will continue to remain open, sources said, adding that standard operating procedures would be issued after consultation with experts.

The officials of the DDMA have also called for ramping up testing, sources said.

Over the past few days, the daily COVID-19 infection has been on the rise. According to yesterday's bulletin, Delhi recorded 632 fresh cases. For the third consecutive day, the national capital reported over 500 daily infections.

The positivity rate however dropped to 4.42 per cent from 7.72 per cent on Monday. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to list for hearing a plea seeking directions to redress the situation of workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MNREGA) in the country claiming that their pending wages are piling up along with negative balances in funds of most of the states. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana agreed to list the matter after advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing for petitioner NGO Swaraj Abhiyan mentioned the matter for urgent listing. Bhushan asked the bench to list the matter for hearing as MGNREGA workers are not getting paid. "I will list it," said the CJI. Swaraj Abhiyan had filed an application seeking direction from the Central government to ensure that all pending wage, material and administrative payments pending is cleared within 30 days. The plea said crores of workers were in a crisis as funds-starved states had run up wage dues of Rs 9,682 crore under the Centre's flagship 100-day job scheme MGNREGA which has witnessed an increase in beneficiaries because of the pandemic. It said as of November 26, 2021, the state governments were facing cumulative wage dues of Rs 9,682 crore and 100 per cent of the funds allocated for the financial year had been exhausted. The plea claimed that wage dues were piling up under the MNREGA as most states had not received adequate funds under the scheme. The shortage of funds that was being cited was a gross violation of the law, added the plea. The NGO sought urgent directions from the court to provide 50 additional days of employment a year under the MGNREGA to each household, accurately allow registration of demand for work directly on the NREGA Soft website and issue dated receipts, automatically calculate and pay unemployment allowance at 1/4th the wage rate, and pay for delay in disbursal of wages to workers. The plea said that the lockdown and the subsequent closure of industries caused massive unemployment in urban areas and this led to large-scale reverse migration to the rural areas and demand for work under the NREGA, putting strain on the village economy. It said according to government estimates, more than 32 lakh migrants returned to six states -- Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. Some other estimates suggested that the figure was 45 lakh, the NGO submitted. It cited a top court judgment in 2016 on Swaraj Abhiyan's petition that non-payment of NREGA wages was a violation of Article 23 of the Constitution, which deals with forced labour and prohibition of trafficking. In its verdict, the apex court had directed the Centre to ensure the payment of wages under the MGNREGA within 15 days and see to it that no beneficiary was deprived of food grains under the National Food Security Act. (ANI)
One police personnel was killed and three others were injured after an escort vehicle of Chief Executive Member (CEM) of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR)'s convoy met with an accident in Assam's Tamulpur district on late night of Tuesday. The deceased police personnel was identified as Raju Kalita. CEM of BTR, Pramod Boro expressed grief over the incident and told that the incident took place in 11 Mile area near Tamulpur while they were coming from Majbat. "In a very unfortunate incident, one of our escort vehicles met with an accident at midnight yesterday in which PSO Raju Kalita succumbed to his injuries on the spot and three others were seriously injured and hospitalized. Extremely anguished at this unfortunate incident," Boro tweeted. He further said, "I don't know in what condition the vehicle met with the accident. It is a very sad incident." The convoy of Pramod Boro, CEM of BTR was en route to Rangia from Tamulpur. On the way, an escort vehicle of the convoy lost control and fell into the ditch. However, CEM Pramod Boro did not suffer any injuries. (ANI)
With no significant surge in the number of Covid 19 cases in the State, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Wednesday that the situation is 'under control' in Maharashtra. While addressing the media persons, Tope said "My Tuesday's survey on Covid situation in the state revealed that the state's covid count remained at 135, while 85 were from Mumbai alone. I had a discussion with the concerned officials, a necessary step will be taken accordingly." "Although the rise in the Covid cases is nominal, there is no such need to panic. However, we suggest to people to wear the face mask and take necessary precautions," he said. He further added, "We have been vaccinating the children under age group 12-15 years and 15 to 18 years. We have been continuously encouraging people to get themselves and their children vaccinated." Talking about the booster dose, Tope said that the dose is not a mandate yet, but the ones who wish can get a jab of the booster dose from private hospitals. According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the daily case positivity rate has seen a rise from 0.31 per cent (on Tuesday) to 0.49 per cent (on Wednesday). The weekly positivity rate saw an uptick from 0.34 per cent (on Tuesday) to 0.38 (on Wednesday). As many as 1,547 COVID patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries since the beginning of the pandemic to 4,25,13,248. The recovery rate currently is 98.76 per cent. Meanwhile, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote to the governments of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Mizoram, on Tuesday, over the increasing positivity rate and cases and urged States, Union Territories to continue monitoring the spread of infection. (ANI)
A three-member team, including a Delhi Police Crime Branch official, arrived in West Bengal's East Midnapore to investigate the links of the accused in Delhi's Jahangirpuri violence case. Delhi Police Crime Branch ASI Suresh Kumar and the team went to the Sutahata police station from where they were taken to accused Dilshad's home in Golapchak village which comes under the Sutahata police station. The officials interacted with the villagers and enquired about the accused. Later, they visited Hiatpur, the home of another accused Zakir who was arrested in connection with the violence. Speaking to ANI, ASI Suresh Kumar said that the West Bengal police are extending support in the investigation. However, he did not reveal anything about the investigation. "We are getting proper support from Bengal police. The investigation is going on. But I can't say anything about the investigation. After completion of the investigation, our senior officer will say everything," Suresh Kumar said. A relative of Zakir said that the team enquired about whether the accused belongs to Bangladesh or West Bengal. "They asked if he was from Bangladesh or a resident of this place. He is not residing here, nor he is from Bangladesh, he stays in Delhi all the time but he comes here sometimes. This is not his house, but his brother's house. He got married and his in-laws' house is 10 mins away from here, whenever he comes, stays there," she said. Earlier in the day, the Delhi court sent accused Gulli and Dilshad to 3-day police custody. They were presented before a Delhi court for the first time today, said Rakesh Kaushik, lawyer of one of the accused persons in the Jahangirpuri violence case Meanwhile, National Security Act (NSA) was on Tuesday imposed against five culprits involved in the clashes, top government officials said. NSA has been imposed against Ansar, Salim, Imam Sheikh alias Sonu, Dilshad and Ahir for their involvement in the Jahangirpuri violence, officials said. The situation turned tense in the north-west Delhi's Jahangirpuri soon after stone-pelting and chaos ensued following clashes between members of two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in the evening. (ANI)
Now 58, with nearly 100 film credits since he was Brads bud in Fast Times at Ridgemont High in 1982, Nicolas Cage has handled a lions share of money grabs in a career distinguished by a gratifying number of movies worth seeing, often just for him. Good material, bad material, big-budget studio clangers, low-budget indies on wry: The man does not coast.

The central gag in the occasionally funny action-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent imagines Cage, playing a variation on himself named Nick Cage at a career impasse.

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Divorced, with a tenuous, tetchy relationship with a (fictional) teenage daughter played by Lily Mo Sheen, the movies version of Cage has run up a $600,000 tab at a fancy Los Angeles hotel and needs a job. His agent, Fink (Neil Patrick Harris), comes through with a prospect: For a cool, gallingly easy million, his client is to attend a superrich Cage fans birthday party on the island of Mallorca, Spain. There Cage will be the special guest star, required only to small-talk about his career, get some sun and sweat his future.

Jovial, star-struck Javi, the Cage fanatic played by a movie-improving Pedro Pascal, has been identified by CIA operatives played by Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz (both sold short by the plot) as an international gunrunning murderer in a known family of criminals. Cage becomes a double agent of sorts, helping out the American intelligence experts while getting to know, and genuinely like, his host, who happens also to have an idea for a Cage screenplay.

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You could get a good, brash lark out of that premise. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is roughly 38% good, and not brash or satiric enough. The bits that got me laughing had nothing  and I mean nothing  to do with the increasingly dominant action-thriller machinery. My favorite is a sidewinding minute or two with Nick and Javi, tripping on LSD, sitting on a bench staring, paranoid, at two people eating ice cream. Its a familiar setup: drug-fueled panic leads to a ridiculous outcome. But watching Cage and Pascal play off each other is a treat. Theres a sweetness to their relationship that makes up for whole sections of a routinely shot, awkwardly edited project.

Cowritten (with Kevin Etten) and directed by sophomore feature filmmaker Tom Gormican, Unbearable Weight name-checks like a maniac, dropping one-liners about Cages nutty resume (Con Air and Guarding Tess) while having the boy-men played by Cage and Pascal discuss the action-movie compromises theyll have to make in the screenplay theyre writing. That joke feels like an apology for the film; self-referentiality without a twist is just settling for less. Comedies need the courage of their convictions, and the guts to forego anything that doesnt add to the fun.

I suppose the films sincere bid to address the fictional Cages better-late-than-never awakening as a father gives Unbearable Weight some emotional ballast. But is it any more necessary than the beatings, shootings, climactic chases and accumulation of corpses? Thats dead weight, not ballast.

Through it all, Cage gives his all, which hardly needed saying. He takes on two roles, plus a cameo, playing himself; a pushy, digitally de-aged 90s version of himself, named Nicky; and a peppy, aged Italian crime boss with terrible fashion sense. Cage never stops trying things, whether its eccentric physical details (such as his wrist-spin on his juicy pronunciation of the name Javi) or idiosyncratically timed punchlines. He has no interest in breaking his no-laziness streak, especially in his own little Being John Malkovich. I suspect the Cage fans who will enjoy this movie wont care if its fundamentally sloppy and lazy moviemaking. The star of the show is neither.

Pedro Pascal, left, and Nicolas Cage in a scene from "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent." (Katalin Vermes / AP)

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent  2 stars (out of 4)

MPAA rating: R (for language throughout, some sexual references, drug use and violence)

Running time: 1:47

How to watch: Premieres in theaters Thursday evening April 21

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Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

mjphillips@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @phillipstribune

Big screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here.
He was arrested in connection with the Maharashtra Transport Department workers' protest outside the residence of the NCP chief in Mumbai on April 8.

Mumbai police was seeking his custody again to confront him with a fresh arrested accused in the case but Court rejected the police's demand. Sadavrte to remain in judicial custody.

However, Sadavarte has filed a bail plea in the Mumbai Sessions Court and it will be heard on April 21.

Earlier, Mumbai Police seized a money counting machine from the residence of accused Sadavarte.

The attack on Sharad Pawar's residence took place on April 8, when a group of state transport workers tried to enter his residence and held a protest by hurling stones and slippers at his place.

The protest came a day after the Bombay High Court asked the striking workers of the transport corporation to resume their duty by April 22.

MSRTC staffers have been agitating since late October demanding a merger of the corporation with the state government, that would give them better salaries and greater job security. (ANI)
The properties were claimed to be earned from the illegal trade of drugs.

A spokesperson from Haryana Police informed that the competent authority in New Delhi had ordered to freeze of the movable and immovable property of the accused.

The accused have been identified as Sukhander Singh aka Mander Singh, Deep Singh aka Babbi, Daljit Singh, Jaspreet Kaur and Chinderpal Kaur, all residents of village Panniwala Morikan in Sirsa district.

Police have requested the competent authority to freeze the property of the above peddlers including agricultural land, house, vehicles and cash deposit in a bank worth Rs 2.42 crore.

The accused Deep Singh was arrested in connection with the recovery of 5 quintals of poppy husk and is still lodged in jail.

According to the current valuation from the Revenue Department, the value of the frozen property has been estimated at around Rs.3.50 crore.

The action was initiated under the provisions of the relevant section of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act so that the peddlers would not be able to sell their property to anyone, informed the officials. (ANI)
"Gulli and Dilshad have been sent to 3-day police custody. They were presented before a Delhi court for the first time today," said Rakesh Kaushik, lawyer of one of the accused persons in the Jahangirpuri violence case.

Gulli was arrested on Tuesday by Delhi Police for allegedly giving a pistol to an accused in the Jahangirpuri violence.

Violent clashes broke out in Delhi's Jahangirpuri on April 16 between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession that left nine people injured, including eight police personnel and a civilian.

Notably, National Security Act (NSA) was on Tuesday imposed against five culprits involved in the clashes, top government officials said.

NSA has been imposed against Ansar, Salim, Imam Sheikh alias Sonu, Dilshad and Ahir for their involvement in the Jahangirpuri violence, officials said.

According to Delhi Police, 24 people have been arrested and two juveniles detained in connection with the incident so far.

Meanwhile, bulldozers rolled into Jahangirpuri for a demolition drive by North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) on Wednesday morning.

Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled NDMC scheduled an "encroachment removal action programme", wherein illegal construction in the Jahangirpuri area was to be removed. However, the demolition drive was halted after the Supreme Court order.

The apex court had asked the registry to communicate the status quo order to NDMC Mayor, North DMC Commissioner and Delhi Police commissioner and halted the demolition drive. (ANI)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fact-finding committee on Hanskhali gangrape and death case submitted its preliminary report to party chief JP Nadda on Wednesday. The five-member committee constituted by Nadda includes BJP MP Rekha Verma, Uttar Pradesh Minister Baby Rani Maurya, Tamil Nadu MLA Vanathi Srinivasan, Khusbu Sunder and West Bengal MLA Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury. "We have submitted a preliminary report to BJP national president JP Nadda about whatever we observed on the ground. We held a discussion over it and he took a first-hand knowledge over the matter. We will submit a larger comprehensive report and submit it to him as soon as possible," Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury, one of the panel members told ANI. "In this case, all the evidence has been erased from the victim's house to the crematorium by the administration. Police are not working and there is an atmosphere of fear among the people of the village. The family members of the deceased do not even know whether she has been burnt or not. Family members are being threatened by the accused side," Chaudhury said. The BJP MLA is hopeful that the truth will come to the fore following the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe. Asked about Bengal Global Business Summit that is being held in Kolkata, Chaudhury said, "Law and order situation is very bad. Girls are not safe. Violence is happening every day. In this scenario, who will participate in this summit?" Earlier this month, a 14-year-old girl died after she was allegedly gang-raped in Hanskhali in Nadia district. The victim's family accused the son of a Trinamool Congress panchayat leader in the case. The case is now probed by CBI after Calcutta High Court's order. (ANI)
In view of the rising COVID-19 cases in the national capital over the past few days, the Delhi government on Wednesday made the wearing of masks mandatory at public places, said Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal. Sources said that it also imposed Rs 500 penalty for defying the norm. However, the schools will continue in offline mode but the management has to ensure that COVID-19 protocols are strictly followed, said sources. Lieutenant Governor, in a series of tweets, informed that the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), in its 36th meeting today, decided to come up with a separate Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for schools in consultation with experts. "It was also emphasised that in consultation with experts standard operating procedures for prevention and management of COVID-19 should be laid down for schools and their strict enforcement by school management should be ensured," he said. "In the larger interest of students, in case of non-compliance or violation of SOPs penalty as deemed appropriate should be imposed for creating a deterrent effect. Advised all the agencies to remain vigilant and work in coordination to tackle the situation as it emerges," the Governor added. As per the expert's advice, it was decided to enhance testing, focus on vaccination coverage of the targeted population and ensure strict enforcement of COVID appropriate behaviour. The meeting was chaired by Lieutenant Governor to review the COVID-19 situation in Delhi along with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Minister Revenue Kgahlot, Chief Secretary, Dr Randeep Guleria-Director AIIMS, Dr SK Singh-NCDC and other senior officers. Nearly three weeks ago, when Delhi witnessed a dip in the daily infections, the DDMA had issued an order removing the fine for not wearing masks. However, it had advised people to continue using them in crowded places. Over the past few days, the daily COVID-19 infection has been on the rise. According to yesterday's bulletin, Delhi recorded 632 fresh cases. For the third consecutive day, the national capital reported over 500 daily infections. The positivity rate, however, dropped to 4.42 per cent from 7.72 per cent on Monday. (ANI)
As per an official release, all government and private schools in the state would have summer vacations from April 24 to June 14.

Endline assessment of a few subjects has been scheduled for April 25 for which students who voluntarily wish to attend can complete the tests on the scheduled dates.

After the assessments, the schools will open for the next academic session on June 15, informed the officials from the education department.

The said order will be applicable in government and private schools. (ANI)
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday announced that the under-construction Shivamogga airport will be named after former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. The state Cabinet has already taken a decision in this regard. Speaking to the media after inspecting the works at the airport, Bommai said, "The airport would be ready for inauguration in December. Measures would be taken to complete all the work before that to dedicate the airport to the people. The proposal for naming the airport after BS Yediyurappa would be sent to the Union Civil Aviation Minister and the necessary orders would follow after getting the approval. The project has been taken up under the Udaan programme. Modern ATC equipment would be installed and the airport would have night landing facilities." The Chief Minister further said that the airport, once completed, would give a big boost in the development of Shivamogga. "The airport would give a big boost for education, health services and industrialisation of Shivamogga. The airport would have the longest runway of 3,299 metres after the Bengaluru airport. It would be an airport or international standards where airbus could land," Bommai said. Recalling the keen interest shown by Yediyurappa to build an airport in Shivamogga, Bommai said that the former Chief Minister has brought many infrastructure projects to the city. "He had drawn up the plans way back in 2006-07 and the real work was started in 2020. Yedyurappa has brought many infrastructure projects to Shivamogga including the airport. It would become one of Karnataka's proud airports," he said. (ANI)
Kejriwal will also hold a meeting with the party state unit leaders in view of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state next year, according to the sources.

The Delhi Chief Minister will attend a convention of farmers, women, and youth at the National College Ground in Bengaluru tomorrow.

Notably, the Aam Aadmi Party is looking to spread its reach beyond the Hindi heartland and to mark its presence in the southern states. Kejriwal will hold the meeting with the party leaders in this regard. (ANI)
"I have never seen a Political Party in India which is more Communal than Congress Party. There's no difference at all between Congress Party & Muslim League or Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen," Rijiju tweeted.

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi had taken to Twitter to hit out at the BJP government for the demolition and said that the party must "bulldoze the hatred in their hearts instead".

"This is a demolition of India's constitutional values. This is state-sponsored targeting of poor & minorities. BJP must bulldoze the hatred in their hearts instead," Gandhi tweeted.

Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) scheduled an "encroachment removal action programme", wherein illegal construction in the Jahangirpuri area was to be removed.

Later, The Supreme Court on Wednesday had asked the registry to communicate the status quo order to North Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor, North DMC Commissioner and Delhi Police commissioner and halted the demolition drive.

Earlier, an altercation between two groups erupted during a religious procession in Delhi's Jahangirpuri on April 16 that left nine people injured including eight police personnel and a civilian. (ANI)
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the deadline for the completion of the Jal Jeevan Mission till March 31, 2026, in the larger interest of the public. Gehlot said that in the initial days, the pace of the mission was very slow due to the lockdown from March 2020 to July 2020. Even in 2021, the work of the mission was partially affected from March 2021 to July 2021 due to COVID-related circumstances. In his letter to Prime Minister Modi, Chief Minister Gehlot wrote that the demand for the components of the project has increased significantly due to the ongoing work of the missionacross the country. The demand especially of steel, DI and HDPE pipes has increased rapidly. As a result, there has been instability in the supply of components, and it has slowed down the progress of JJM projects. The Chief Minister said that Rajasthan is the largest State in the country in terms of areaand it has very odd geographical conditions and scattered settlements. Twothird part of the State is desert and the southern area is hilly. Earlier the time limit for the projects in such difficult areas was 30 to 48 months, but now it has been reduced to 12 to 24 months. Due to this, it has become very challenging now to achieve the target. Gehlot through the letter apprised of the possibility of completing the work within 24 months is very less of big projects such as Parwan Akawad Water Supply Project of Baran, Jhalawar and Kota, Rajasthan Rural Water Supply and Fluorosis Mitigation Project (Phase-II), Narmada Canal based project in Barmer district, Project for supply drinking water from Chambal River to 648 villages of Chittorgarh, Isarda-Dausa Drinking Water Supply Project, Naunera Water Supply Project and Water Supply from Chambal River. The Chief Minister said that there has been an unexpected increase in the prices of many items due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. Difficulties are being faced in the implementation of these works. Looking at all these situations, Chief Minister Gehlot has requested the Prime Minister to extend the deadline of the mission till March 31, 2026, so that each family can get benefit of this mission. Started in August 2019, Jal Jeevan Mission is aimed at providing safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India. According to the central government, only 3.23 crore households were connected to supply water till 2019. Since the inception of Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019, 9.40 crore households have been connected with the supply water facility. Around 1.5 lakh villages in 107 districts in the country have benefitted from Jal Jeevan Mission. 17.39 lakh schools and Anganwadi Kendras are connected with the drinking water supply. For drinking water management in villages, 4.82 lakh water committees are constituted. Around 9.69 lakh women in villages are trained, to check the quality of water. More than 4 lakh villages have the facility to test the water quality at the local level. (ANI)
When David Douglass and Ellen Hargis first set upon their lifes passion  historically informed performances of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music  they walked a lonely road. But for nearly 50 years now, the husband-wife team has walked it together.

So, it should come as no surprise that theyre embarking on their latest journey together. After leading the Newberry Consort together for almost 13 years, Douglass and Hargis are stepping down from leadership of the early music ensemble. Douglass and Hargis formally hand off the reins to Liza Malamut, a specialist in historical trombone performance, with Four Queens and a Joker (April 23-24), a semi-staged romp through Baroque-era card games and the music they inspired.

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When I began doing research about card games and board games in the 17th and 18th centuries, I realized, Oh, my gosh, theres so much here, Hargis says. We have tons of artifacts and tracts on playing these games, and theres painting after painting of people playing cards, women playing cards, people cheating at cards  One of them (La civetta, or The Little Owl) appears to have been a physical game, like tag or blind mans bluff.

David Douglass and Ellen Hargis, the longtime husband-wife team behind the Newberry Consort, step down as directors of the organization in concerts April 23-24. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

The backbreaking forensics involved in recreating something as esoteric as long-lost Italian card games would make most musicians blanch. But for historically informed performance specialists like Hargis and Douglass  who adopt the instruments, tunings and performance practices contemporaneous to whatever repertoire they play  its an irresistible puzzle and an endless thrill. The couple happily recounts afternoons spent ruffling through the Newberry Librarys medieval music manuscripts, or e-spelunking the digital holdings of the Vatican Library.

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That passion  and their relationship  came about by happy accident. A violinist, Douglass matriculated at Oakland University, outside Detroit, in the early 1970s. He planned to dutifully follow his parents advice and become a chemist. He had no idea Oakland was, at the time, the only school in the U.S. with an undergraduate early music program.

Probably in my first few weeks there as a freshman, I went to a Collegium performance of an English masque, Lord Hays Masque. I had never heard anything so amazing and different and beautiful, Douglass says. There was really no turning back.

A few years later, a high school-aged Hargis sat in on a concert by the same Collegium, not knowing her future husband, now a viola da gamba major, was playing in the group. At the time, she was more focused on the sounds she heard than the bright-eyed gambist onstage.

I was just blown away, Hargis remembers. I had taught myself how to play the recorder in high school. I thought, Well, maybe I can join in on the fun.

She did, enrolling at Oakland and briefly overlapping with Douglass in the Collegium. Oaklands trailblazing HIP program eventually petered out, but Douglass and Hargiss obsession with early music did not. They kicked off their freelancing careers in Boston  long a stronghold for HIP specialists in the U.S.  then got married in 1979.

Douglass started freelancing with the Newberry Consort a few years later, playing in its first formal concert in 1986. At the time, the Consort was a resident ensemble at Newberry Library, as it would remain until it became an independent entity in 2007. Douglass took over the ensembles leadership from founding director Mary Springfels the same year; Hargis joined him as co-director two years later.

Those years could have been debilitating ones for the ensemble, especially one as niche as the Consort. The recession buffeted all manner of small-to-mid-sized arts organizations, and the Consort navigated some confusion surrounding its affiliation with the Newberry Library after spinning out. (The library allowed the Consort to retain the Newberry name and supported it fiscally during its transition into a nonprofit.)

But under Hargis and Douglasss leadership, the Newberry Consort blossomed from a commuter ensemble  often flying in the hyper-specialized talent necessary to present many centuries worth of performance styles  to one deeply rooted in a core band of Chicago-based HIPsters. That local base owes much to the Newberry Consort, and especially to Douglass and Hargiss fleet-footed leadership, which sustained the ensemble when it struck out independently.

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Things have grown. Since Ellen and I have been here, people have been moving to Chicago because of the scene that we created here. We bring in fewer people now than we used to, Douglass says.

But is it not their final act. Hargis and Douglass will stay onboard the Consort as advisers and continue teaching at early music programs around the country  happily plentiful in comparison to the slim pickings of their youth.

Even now, sometimes were exploring issues of performance practice that are totally unknown. The only way you can find out anything about it is by trying it, Douglass says. Its been a lifelong learning experience.

8 p.m. April 23 at the International House at the University of Chicago, 1414 E. 59th St., and 3 p.m. April 24 at the Galvin Recital Hall at Northwestern University, 70 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston; tickets $50. For more information, visit newberryconsort.org.

Hannah Edgar is a freelance writer.

The Rubin Institute for Music Criticism helps fund our classical music coverage. The Chicago Tribune maintains complete editorial control over assignments and content.
Punjab CM addressed the police personnel from the digital platform of Punjab Police.

"There will be no interference in the work of Punjab Police. Families of soldiers martyred on duty in Punjab Police will get a relief amount of one crore," said Mann.

The allocation of funds for a relief amount of Rs 1 crore was earlier assured by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during his tricolour yatra in Pathankot.

An increment in Police Welfare Fund has also been announced. The fund has increased from Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crores. (ANI)
He said that the Central Government is working tirelessly for global wellness following the vision of 'One Earth One Health'

"Visited Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad with WHO DG Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Minister Sarbananda Sonwal. Bapu's thoughts and ideals continue to guide us as we're working tirelessly for global wellness following our vision of 'One Earth One Health," Mandaviya informed in a tweet.

WHO Director-General is on a three-day visit to India.

Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Dr Tedros and discussed ways to further strengthen the health sector.

PM Modi also laid the foundation stone of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

PM Modi laid the foundation stone in the presence of the Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and WHO chief Tedros.

Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) will be the first and only global outpost centre for traditional medicine across the world. It will emerge as an international hub of global wellness. (ANI)
The Police further said that legal action will be taken against those providing internet if such wifi or hotspot usage is by criminals, terrorists and their associates.

"It is requested to all internet users not to provide wifi or hotspots to strangers, subversive elements, criminals. Keep hotspots or wifi with strong passwords. Legal action will be taken on those providing internet, if such wifi or hotspot usage is by criminals, terrorists and their associates," police said in a tweet.

Earlier on Monday, one Railway Protection Force personnel succumbed to death and another was injured by terrorists in a terror attack in the Kakapora area of South Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Several incidents of terrorist attacks have been reported in the past few days. Many terrorists have also been gunned down in encounters.

According to Kashmir Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar, 45 terrorists have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir since January this year. (ANI)
As per DCP East Priyanka Kashyap, police have recovered important evidence from the crime scene.

"Local BJP leader Jitu Chaudhary was shot dead in Mayur Vihar phase-3 around 8:15 pm this evening. A few empty cartridges and other important evidence have been recovered from the crime scene," Kashyap said.

The accused are absconding, and the search for eyewitnesses and CCTV footage is underway.

The victim had gunshot injuries and was declared "brought dead" at the hospital.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)
After around nine years, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) will hold a Chintan Shivir in Rajasthan's Udaipur, tentatively from May 14 to 16, said Congress sources. They confirmed that veteran leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi will attend the camp. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has already toured Udaipur in this regard and will undertake another tour to review the arrangements, they added. Sources said that Sonia Gandhi has recently met poll strategist Prashant Kishor to discuss his strategies for the next Lok Sabha polls and Ashok Gehlot with other veterans is in Delhi for the next rounds of Kishor's presentation. Once all the leaders are on the same page, the strategies will be discussed at the Chintan Shivir. The reason behind organising this Chintan Shivir is the forthcoming Gujarat Assembly elections. Also, the recent Congress defeat in five states will be discussed, informed Congress workers. Gehlot was the in-charge for the last Gujarat assembly polls. This time, Raghu Sharma, another Rajasthan leader and former Health Minister from the desert state, has been made in-charge of the Gujarat polls. Sources said that although Raghu Sharma is in charge of Gujarat in this election, Gehlot will remain the chief strategist and this could be one of the reasons why the camp is being organised in Udaipur. In the 2017 elections, the Congress got 77 seats and the BJP got 99 seats. The Congress in fact got 16 seats more than what it grabbed in 2012 and the BJP at the same time lost 16 seats. The vote share of the Congress was 41.4 per cent which was an increase of 2.5 percent over 2012. Earlier in January 2013, the Congress's Chintan Shivir was held in Jaipur. --IANS arc/bg ( 308 Words) 2022-04-20-19:04:02 (IANS)
The exhibition brings forth independent projects by 15 artists whose investigations are rooted in the ecologies of co-existence as well as the enigmatic life of objects and materials beyond and autonomous from human perception.

The four-panel watercolour painting of Lahore-based artist Ali Kazim is executed in subdued shades and presented on a scale that overwhelms the viewer. It is inspired by the artist's visit to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation excavation site near the Ravi river, and the ruins of culture it preserves.

Anindita Bhattacharya's acutely crafted lines of lushly detailed organic clusters and foliage in earthy hues, executed in the tradition of Mughal miniature painting, prompt the viewer to find the hidden and intricate patterns in nature.

The idea of traversing lesser-travelled terrains and vast expanses is explored in Shalina S. Vichitra's landscape with a thousand white flags, inspired by Tibetan Buddhist dictums and the spiritual harmony that they seek with respect to the primordial laws and spirits of nature.

Astha Butail's take on ancient methods of archiving and the tradition of carrying oral histories through Vedic myths and metaphors marks a meticulous installation with minuscule prototypes of book-like objects.

Other artists participating in the exhibition include Nibha Sikander, Reena Saini Kallat, Shambhavi Singh, Debasish Mukherjee, Rajendar Tiku, Rathin Barman, Dilip Chobisa, Kishor Shinde, Vibha Galhotra, Rahul Kumar, Chetnaa, Seher Shah and Randhir Singh.

--IANS sukant/arm

( 273 Words)

2022-04-20-19:18:02 (IANS)
'Festivals From India', an India-UK initiative for art and culture and the first digital platform created to showcase hundreds of Indian art and culture festivals for culture-seekers across the globe, was launched on Wednesday. Made possible by the British Council and designed and developed by ArtBramha (a sister concern of the Art X Company), the platform will celebrate arts, cultural diversity and the coming together of communities. The platform hosts festivals from across a range of genres including art and craft, design, dance, films, folk arts, food and culinary arts, heritage, literature, interdisciplinary and/or multi-arts, music, new media, photography, theatre and visual arts, among others, across locations and languages. The platform also hosts a range of hidden gems, select LGBTQIA+ festivals as well as online versions of festivals live-streamed for audiences worldwide. "Festivals From India aims to be a window to India's dynamic cultural festival universe. For an art lover, it will showcase the treasures of India's aesthetic largesse along with all the relevant information they need to make the journey to these festivals a wholesome and fulfilling experience. For artists and arts managers, it will curate the resources, information and opportunities needed for them to feel empowered to build a career in the festival sector in this space," says Rashmi Dhanwani, Partner, ArtBrahma, and Founder and CEO, Art X Company. "We have made possible the Festivals from India platform with ArtBramha in India and the Audience Agency in the UK to develop new audiences and showcase the huge variety of arts and culture festivals here; develop business skills of festival managers with UK and Indian experts and grow international partnerships and networks with the UK and beyond. Backed by research, this new platform is a repository of guidance for families wanting to find a festival and for festival organisers wanting to make their event more accessible or find a job," added Jonathan Kennedy, Director, Arts India, British Council. --IANS sukant/arm ( 329 Words) 2022-04-20-19:22:06 (IANS)
A Mumbai court on Wednesday extended, by 14 days, the judicial custody of advocate Gunratan Sadavarte, who was arrested for the April 8 attack at the home of Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar. Girgaum Court's Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate J.C. Yadav declined the prosecution plea to send him back to police custody for investigations into how he had allegedly splurged the monies collected from Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC). Simultaneously, Sadavarte's lawyers have moved the sessions court seeking bail for him and the application is expected to be heard on Thursday. On Tuesday, Special Public Prosecutor Pradip Gharat had made revelations before the court on the manner in which Sadavarte collected money from many of the 95,000 MSRTC employees whose case he had claimed to fight free of cost. Gharat said that Sadavarte had collected over Rs two crore and then blown it off by purchasing two properties in Mumbai and an expensive luxury car costing Rs 23 lakh. Besides, the police have recovered a currency note counting machine, a green register detailing the modus operandi of the fund collection from 250 bus depots, and sought Sadavarte's police custody for further investigations into these new developments. Following the extension of judicial remand, a Kolhapur police team was granted permission to arrest and take him to face certain complaints there, even as over a dozen other complaints are pending against him with police stations in different districts of Maharashtra. Continuing the probe, the Mumbai Police have arrested more 118 persons, a majority of them MSRTC employees, for the violence outside Pawar's home in Silver Oak bungalow. In a relief to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, Transport Minister Anil Parab on Wednesday said that nearly 90 percent of the employees - who were on strike since October 28 - have returned to duties till now, in compliance with the Bombay High Court orders. "We are confident that the remaining employees shall also return before the court deadline of April 22. We shall not take any punitive action against the striking employees. I urge all to dedicate themselves to recover the huge losses suffered by MSRTC in the past nearly five months," Parab appealed. The Minister also slammed Sadavarte, saying the lawyer completely "misled" the MSRTC employees on the issue of the transport undertaking's merger with the state government which was not possible. --IANS qn/vd ( 407 Words) 2022-04-20-20:12:04 (IANS)
JD-U MLC Gulam Rasool Balyavi took a dig at BJP firebrand leader and union minister Giriraj Singh and said that his statement looks like he is insulting the eternal religion of the world. Following communal violence in some parts of the country during Hanuman Jayanti, Giriraj Singh said that the Hindu community is under threat in the country. "He is a firebrand leader and minister in the union government but neither he nor any members of his family participated in the religious march. Keeping this in view, how could he say that Hindu community is under threat," Balyavi said. "I believe none of the religions in the country is under threat. The post of some people is under threat. Their government is under threat and hence those people have religion under threat," Balyavi said. "In every religious march, we should observe how many leaders or their family members are involved in it. They are provoking people through poisonous statements to create religious disturbance in the society," he said. "In the last few days, some people had created communal tension in the country but no incident of violence took place in Bihar. The Bihar government is capable of treating those elements if they create a communal ruckus here," Balyavi said. "The people of the country understand the politics of these leaders. In the last few days, some leaders are doing politics over Azan, Hanuman, Ram and Loudspeaker. The basic idea is to divert attention from the real issues of unemployment, price rise of commodities, fuel prices etc," he said. --IANS ajk/bg ( 274 Words) 2022-04-20-20:22:04 (IANS)
After Meghalaya, Assam and its neighbouring state Arunachal Pradesh on Wednesday decided to form District Level Committees for resolving the boundary disputes between the two states in a time-bound manner. The decision was taken during the second Chief Minister level meeting between both states held at State Guest House, Koinadhora in Guwahati on Wednesday in presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is now focusing on settling the border dispute issue with its neighboring state Arunachal Pradesh. "We have decided to form district-level committees in both the states to resolve the issue in a time-bound manner. The district committees will undertake joint surveys in the disputed areas to find tangible solutions to the long-pending issue based on historical perspective, ethnicity, contiguity, people's will and administrative convenience of both the states. We have also finalized the terms of reference of the committees," Sarma said. Assam Border Area Development Minister Atul Bora, Assam Chief Secretary Jishnu Baruah, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar and other senior officials from both states were present in the meeting. In August last year, the Assam Chief Minister told the state assembly that, both states have about 1,200 disputed spots along their 804 km boundary. Last month, Assam and Meghalaya governments signed an agreement to resolve their 50-year-old pending border dispute. The governments of Assam and Meghalaya had come up with a draft resolution to resolve their border disputes in six of the 12 "areas of difference" along the boundary. (ANI)
A federal lawsuit accuses cannabis companies of running a Chicago cartel that colludes to keep prices high in Illinois  but industry participants say the allegations are groundless.

The suit was filed by True Social Equity in Cannabis, which includes consumers, workers and potential competitors in the industry. The group held a news conference Tuesday to get the state to drop limits on cannabis licenses and legalize any amount of cannabis. Member Anna Rose Li-Epstein said that would help marginalized people get into the business, and the state would make more money.

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Defendants in the case are Akerna Corp., Green Thumb Industries Inc., ILDISP LLC, Verano Holdings Corp. and Surterra Holdings Inc. The complaint alleges violations of anti-trust law under the Clayton Act, specifically that officers from some of the firms serve on the boards of their competitors.

Anna Rose Li-Epstein holds a sign on March 29, 2022, during a rally outside the Thompson Center by the group True Social Equity in Cannabis demanding broader decriminalization of marijuana in Illinois with no lottery or caps on business licenses. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

The suit notes that some of the companies sell each others products. But Illinois law requires that cannabis dispensaries sell competitors products. The complaint also notes that GTI and Verano share a shell company that manages both a GTI Rise dispensary in Effingham and a Verano Zen Leaf store in Charleston.

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The suit, filed by attorney Mark Lavery, seeks to stop all the companies from selling marijuana and divest them of all assets.

Michael Sampson, a prominent cannabis industry attorney who has represented one of the defendants, but has no connection with this case, called the suit head-scratching.

There are a lot of general outlandish unsupported allegations, he said. This type of name-calling harms the entire industry. Im not sure this would survive a motion to dismiss.

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Edie Moore, a founder and legislative co-chair of Chicago NORML and a cannabis business license applicant, called the suit crazy talk, saying it was vague and nebulous.

She acknowledged that the Illinois cannabis market is restricted by law to 21 licensed growers, but said the solution is for the state to issue pending licenses. Those licenses have been held up in court, primarily hurting Black and Latino social equity applicants.

People who keep suing dont do anything but slow it down, she said. It doesnt help anyone.

Akerna, which sells software to track data in the cannabis industry, issued the following statement: The document has multiple inaccuracies, including but not limited to the fact that we are not a plant-touching operator. As a public company, our shareholders and board of directors are a matter of public record. Our legal team is preparing their response.

The suit noted the industry involvement of the Pritzker family, the Wrigley chewing gum family, and Jim Beam fortune heir and GTI founder Ben Kovler, but did not specify what role if any they played in the allegations.

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Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said he is not involved with cannabis operations, and his administration issued the following statement: From the very beginning, the Pritzker administration has prioritized equity and accessibility in establishing the legal cannabis industry. While the issuance of new licenses currently remains on hold due to a court order, the administration remains committed to helping applicants from diverse backgrounds enter and remain part of the states cannabis industry and we are hopeful the courts will allow us to move forward with issuing licenses soon.

Other defendants did not comment.
Understanding that certain comments by senior Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member, Saugata Roy and the party's state general secretary, Kunal Ghosh are sending wrong signals about the party leadership to the public, the disciplinary committee of the party has decided to censor both these leaders. A senior Trinamool Congress leader, who did not wish to be named, told IANS that Roy has already been asked to meet the members of the party's disciplinary committee within the next seven days. "However, since he is an extremely senior leader and MP, no disciplinary action will be taken against him. He will be just be asked to refrain from making any comment that causes inconvenience for the party leadership," the leader said. Recently, at a public programme, Roy referred to the recent rape of a minor girl, who died later at Hanskhali in Nadia district of West Bengal and said that such an incident is a matter of shame in a state with a woman as the chief minister. Soon after that a number of party leaders opposed him claiming that such an incident is unfortunate irrespective of the gender of the chief minister of the state concerned. Meanwhile, party sources said that although Kunal Ghosh is yet to receive a call from the party's disciplinary committee, a section of the party leadership is strongly in favour of censoring him for subsequent statements causing embarrassment to the leadership. Recently, Ghosh held former state education minister, Partha Chatterjee (currently the commerce & industries minister), answerable for the recent recruitment irregularities scam in the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). Ghosh retorted after transport minister Firhad Hakim challenged Ghosh's authority to raise questions on cabinet issues. --IANS src/bg ( 297 Words) 2022-04-20-20:40:02 (IANS)
After African Swine Fever cases were reported in a breeding farm in Sepahijala district, the Tripura government on Wednesday decided to go in for mass culling of infected pigs at the farm. Animal Resource Development Department Minister Bhagaban Das on Wednesday said that the department had taken the decision of mass culling of the pigs infected with African Swine Fever in Tripura's government-run breeding farm located at Devipur in Sepahijala district. "The carcasses of the dead pigs had been dumped in a confined location. Those who are still alive have been quarantined," he said. . Asked about the volume of losses, the Minister said, "Over hundred pigs have died already in the farm. The losses would be close to Rs 20 to 22 lakh. All our senior officials have been in Gujarat for a programme. They are reaching soon and we will decide our future course of action accordingly." The Minister informed that pigs that are being reared in private capacity would also be culled in lieu of proper compensation decided by the Government of India. (ANI)
The group of dissidents in the Congress -- G-23 -- seems to be upset after not being consulted for the ongoing discussions on the proposals given by political strategist Prashant Kishor as roadmap for the 2024 general elections. On Wednesday, two Congress CMs, Ashok Gehlot from Rajasthan and Bhupesh Baghel from Chhattisgarh, were called to Delhi to discuss the proposals. While a host of Congress leaders were present for the discussions, ever since the formal consultations began on the proposals, G-23 leaders were not made party to them, including one of the senior most leaders of the Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad. However, one of the signatories of the letter written to Sonia Gandhi by the G-23 leaders, Veerappa Moily, has said that it is a welcome move to rope in Kishor. Meanwhile, Gehlot said that "Kishor is a brand now", hinting that the party is keen to induct the political strategist into its fold. According to Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala, the party will decide within 48 hours about the proposals and the possible induction of Kishor into the Congress. The Congress is now more focused on Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, which will go to the polls later this year, as success in state polls will be crucial going to the general elections in 2024. In total, there are six big state elections ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. During the three meetings with Kishor held since Saturday, those present included Sonia Gandhi, Ambika Soni, A.K Antony, Jairam Ramesh, K.C Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala, among others. "Prashant Kishor has given a detailed presentation for the 2024 elections and the Congress President has deputed a small group to look into it and report to her within a week. A final decision will be taken after that," Venugopal had said. According to sources, Kishor said during Saturday's meeting that the Congress must target 370-400 seats and work on alliances wherever the party is weak. --IANS miz/arm ( 336 Words) 2022-04-20-21:14:02 (IANS)
Moscow [Russia], April 19 (ANI/Sputnik): Russia has decided to expel 15 dutch diplomats from the country, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry mentioned that the Dutch ambassador was summoned on Tuesday over The Hague's decision, made in late March, to expel 18 Russian diplomats from the Netherlands. "The ambassador was handed a note from the ministry, in which, as a response to the unfriendly actions of The Hague, 14 employees of the Dutch embassy in Moscow and one employee of the consulate general of the Netherlands in St. Petersburg were declared personae non gratae. They were ordered to leave the territory of the Russian Federation within two weeks," the ministry said in a statement. (ANI/Sputnik)
While religious intolerance has been deeply entrenched in Pakistan society for decades, the recent wave of political intolerance where the public appears to have developed a blind faith in their leaders, making them into some cult figures, has polarised the society to extreme levels, reported local media. This wave of political intolerance has seeped into all segments of the public, often taking a violent form and has raised fear among the experts that the situation will continue to deteriorate amid increased use of social media, reported the Dawn newspaper. According to experts, the situation is further aggravated as the political leaders avoid peddling negative narratives to their followers as people tend to be more attracted towards such sentiments. Demonstrating this polarisation is the example of a seven-year-old girl Fatima Maqbool whose father Maqbool Ahmed told how in his daughter's class, the followers of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have started sitting separately. "It was shocking for me that seven-year-old children have also been developing friendships based on political affiliations. I tried to convince my daughter that she should treat all her class fellows equally and not discriminate against students on a political basis, but all in vain," the media outlet quoted Ahmed as saying. Acknowledging the rise of intolerance in Pakistani society, psychologist Farah Zulqarnain blamed it on social media all kinds of information are bombarded and the people consume it based on personal beliefs without verification. "I would blame social media for it as people have been receiving a plethora of information without understanding what is correct and what is wrong. Resultantly, people accept information that they consider correct and that matches their affiliations and beliefs," the media outlet quoted her as saying. "Idealising personalities pushes people towards 'mental retardation' and they stop using their minds. I fear this state of affairs will worsen in the coming days and lead to violence. I suggest leaders stop giving double messages to their followers as people get more attracted towards negative statements," she added. Further, a large number of people in Pakistan have started taking part in political debates which often become heated and lead to physical brawls. Verifying this is the example of a man who killed his friend over a political debate. Meanwhile, human rights activist and senior PPP leader Farhatullah Babar blamed former prime minister Imran Khan for this intolerance, saying the biggest disservice the PTI chairman did to the society was promoting a herd instinct, cultic culture and intolerance in an already deeply polarised society. "Worse still, Imran's cultic culture is based on totally false narratives -- ranging from bringing back the country's looted money to the foreign conspiracy against [his government]. Our society is divided, both vertically and horizontally, and there are divisions among families, public servants, teachers and even school and college students cutting across other divisions in society. Cult followers refuse to see the other side; they are impervious to the patent falsehood of their leaders' narratives and cock and bull stories. As a result, intolerance towards views other than those of their leader has increased enormously. There is nothing more dangerous than cultism and intolerance, which Imran is promoting," the media outlet quoted him as saying. However, PTI leader Ali Awan said that injustice is the only reason for intolerance in society. "Unfortunately, people have lost hope in the system due to which they have been trying to take things into their own hands. People feel frustrated when they see a party that was embroiled in corruption a few months ago has suddenly become honest and clean," he said, according to the media outlet. (ANI)
PM Modi today laid the foundation stone of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar, Gujarat. PM Modi laid the foundation stone in the presence of the Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and WHO chief Tedros.

"Always a delight to meet @DrTedros and exchange notes on further strengthening the health sector. He always cherishes the influence of Indian teachers on his life. And today, he got a lot of praise for his Gujarati skills too!" PM Modi tweeted.

"India is proud of be home to the @WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine. At a time when traditional medicine is picking popularity, this Centre will go a long way in merging the traditional with modern in the quest for a healthier planet," he said in a subsequent tweet.

Separately, PM Modi also interacted with Mauritius Prime Minister in Jamnagar today. "Glad to have interacted with my friend, PM @KumarJugnauth of Mauritius. His coming to Jamnagar today is a remarkable gesture," he said.

Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) will be the first and only global outpost centre for traditional medicine across the world. It will emerge as an international hub of global wellness. (ANI)
The United States is expected to announce that it will provide a new military aid package to Ukraine this week for the ongoing war between Moscow and Kyiv, Sputnik News Agency reported citing US media on Tuesday (local time). The new package will be similar in size to the latest one worth USD 800 million and will include both more artillery and tens of thousands of artillery rounds, the report said, citing Biden administration officials. Earlier, US President Joe Biden had said that his administration will provide Ukraine with an additional 800 million US dollars' worth of military aid including heavy artillery as Washington anticipated a "wider assault" by Russia in eastern Ukraine. "The United States will continue to provide Ukraine with the capabilities to defend itself," Biden said in a statement after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "Will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine," Biden had said. "These new capabilities include artillery systems, artillery rounds and armored personnel carriers. I have also approved the transfer of additional helicopters," he said, adding that the United States will continue to facilitate the transfer of significant capabilities from its allies and partners around the world. The United States has committed 1.7 billion dollars in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia began its "special military operation". However, White House on Monday (local time) said that President Biden has no plans to visit Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "There are no plans for the President to go," White House spokesperson Jen Psaki has said. She also has informed that Washington has sent four planes loaded with security assistance to Ukraine over the weekend and made one more delivery on Monday. The United States remains the largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine. Washington has committed more than USD 3.2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. Approximately USD 2.6 billion of the total amount was approved since the beginning of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine at the end on February, according to the Defense Department. On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested help to defend them from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. (ANI)
Officials from the United States, Australia, Japan and New Zealand on Tuesday (local time) expressed concerns about a proposed security framework between the Solomon Islands and China and its "serious risks to a free and open Indo-Pacific." As per a White House statement, National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink have convened a meeting in Honolulu with US Navy Adm. John C Aquilino, Commander, US Indo-Pacific Command and senior officials from Australia, Japan, and New Zealand on developments in the Pacific Islands on April 18. "In Honolulu, the officials reaffirmed the four countries' enduring and shared commitment to the Pacific Islands," a white House statement said. According to the statement, the US resolved to intensify its engagement in the region to meet 21st-century challenges, from maritime security and economic development to the climate crisis and COVID-19. "We will do this in ever-closer partnership with Pacific Island nations, including through a united Pacific Islands Forum; and together with like-minded countries, within and beyond the region, including in Europe," the statement read further. "Officials from the four countries represented also shared concerns about a proposed security framework between the Solomon Islands and the People's Republic of China (PRC) and its serious risks to a free and open Indo-Pacific," it added. The meeting was part of regular and extensive US consultations with allies and partners on the Indo-Pacific and is part of the announced senior administration travel this week to Hawaii, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. China and Solomon Islands on Tuesday (Beijing time) signed a framework agreement on security cooperation that neighbours of the South Pacific archipelago fear could open the door to a Chinese naval base in the country. Speaking at a press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that the two countries had formally signed a framework pact on security cooperation. Australia said that China has intentions to build a naval base in the Solomon Islands to intimidate the continent. The United States last week expressed concern over the security pact between China and the Solomon Islands, saying this agreement will open the door for the deployment of Chinese military forces to the Pacific nation. "We believe that signing such an agreement could actually increase destabilisation within the Solomon Islands and could set a concerning precedent for the wider Pacific Island region," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told a press briefing. (ANI)
Beijing's aspiration to become a great cyber power is reflected in its policies directed at competing with the West in next-generation technology and as part of this effort, it is trying to strengthen its influence in international standards development groups. China has lobbied hard for key positions in foreign SDO bureaucracies in an attempt to persuade the international standards process aimed to eventually regulate the use of key strategic technology, according to Tibet Press. Beijing has considerably improved its ability to secure approval for its initiatives and to reject those that it does not support using a variety of strategies. The purposeful strategy is to strengthen China's influence within international standards development groups. Notably, the Belt and Road Initiative has garnered considerable attention, along with the Asia Society Policy Institute's (ASPI) "Navigating the Belt and Road" series, the Digital Silk Road (DSR), which supports the export of Chinese telecommunication technologies as well as other high-tech systems, had gotten far less. The process of standard-setting, according to China's authorities, is a sign of a leading technical power. As per Tibet Press, Beijing's quest for the dominance of the international standards arena is centred on increasing economic and geopolitical power, as well as resolving vulnerabilities and lapses in the existing governance structure by adjusting the standard-setting process in the state's favour. Reports say that the Chinese government came up with the "China Standards 2035" project as a result of this since they understood the importance of technical and technological standards in terms of both politics and economics. The notion is that developing nations that have positioned themselves in the technology sector have had to operate under the cover of Western rules and regulations. Controlling significant technologies is a fundamental push for China's participation in the standards process. In terms of telecommunications, the Chinese have had to pay significant sums of money to get patent licenses for networking technology produced by major hardware manufacturers such as Qualcomm and Cisco. This put China's telecommunications industry at a disadvantage. However, by licensing patents linked to 5G technology, Huawei has reaped tremendous economic gains for both the private and the government sectors, Tibet Press said. Media reports said that China has been leveraging its technological prowess and geopolitical heft to shape the global technological environment and standards to serve its commercial and strategic interests, to achieve Xi Jinping's goal of making the nation a "major power with pioneering global influence" by 2049. China propagates its technological standards in project host states by signing agreements with BRI partner governments, establishing dependencies that bind these countries to Chinese vendors and standards. Beijing's actions, according to the report, are focused on establishing global standards for next- generation technologies, as well as gaining control over critical technologies such as the Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Big Data, 5G, and artificial intelligence, Tibet Press reported. The report suggested that international organizations must be mindful of these manoeuvres in order to prevent Beijing from acquiring a monopoly over the world's future-shaping technologies by dominating global technological standards, it added. (ANI)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met Mary Schapiro, vice chairman of the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) on Tuesday (local time) and spoke about her vision of developing GIFT City, India's First Operational Smart City. According to the Indian finance ministry, Schapiro who is also the former chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission concurred that it is an opportune time for India to play a leadership role in shaping global climate finance trends. "Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman met Ms. Mary Schapiro, Vice of the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) and the first woman to serve as @SECGov Chair, in Washington D.C., today," the Indian finance ministry said in a Tweet. In a series of Tweets, the ministry said: "Ms Shapiro discussed the success in India with respect to building robust renewable energy markets and concurred that it is opportune time for India to play a leadership role in shaping global #ClimateFinance trends." "Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman spoke about her vision of developing @GIFTCity_#IFSC as centre for attracting global capital for #sustainable #finance and asked CFLI to work closely," it added. Earlier in the day, Sitharaman attended a panel discussion at the Atlantic Council, a US-based think tank. She said that India is one of the six countries to have fulfilled most of the commitments made at the Paris Climate Summit in 2015 and remains committed to fulfilling its renewable energy targets. Sitharaman is in Washington on an official visit to attend the Spring Meetings at the World Bank, the G20 Finance Ministers meeting and the Central Bank Governor Meeting (FMCBG). The Union Finance Minister also talked about the Indian economy, the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said that the welfare schemes of the government and India's recovery plan from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during the almost an hour-long session. Sitharaman also met South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in Washington DC and discussed enhancing bilateral ties between the two countries. "Union Finance Minister @nsitharaman (Nirmala Sitharaman) met Godangwana Enoch, South Africa Finance Minister @TreasuryRSA on the sidelines of IMF-WB (International Monetary Fund-World Bank)Spring Meetings, at Washington D.C., today, to exchange views on issues of #Mutualinterests," Ministry of Finance said in a tweet. "Both Ministers discussed enhancing #Bilateral ties and #EconomicPartnership and exploring opportunities to increase bilateral #investment and #trade," the ministry added. In the series of tweets, Finance Ministry further informed that the Union Finance Minister acknowledged South Africa's revenue collections for the fiscal year 2021-2022. Sitharaman highlighted India's performance in the digital world and the government's efforts to build the digital infrastructure framework over the last decade, stressing the increase of the digital adoption rate in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. The IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgiev lauded India's well-targeted policy mix that has helped the Indian economy remain resilient. Notably, once the meetings conclude in Washington, Sitharaman will head to San Francisco on April 24, where she will engage with business leaders and will also interact with the faculty and students at Stanford University. She will depart for India on April 27. (ANI)
WARSAW, Poland  After spending weeks with no electricity or water in the basement of her familys home in Ukraine, Viktoriya Savyichkina made a daring escape from the besieged city of Mariupol with her 9- and 14-year-old daughters.

Their dwelling for now is a huge convention center in Polands capital. Savyichkina said she saw a photo of the home in Mariupol destroyed. From a camp bed in a foreign country, the 40-year-old bookeeper thinks about restarting her and her childrens lives from square one.

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I dont even know where we are going, how it will turn out, Savyichkina said. I would like to go home, of course. Maybe here, I will enjoy it in Poland.

With the war in Ukraine approaching eight weeks, more than 5 million people have fled the country since Russian troops invaded on Feb. 24, the U.N. refugee agency reported Wednesday. When the number reached 4 million on March 30, the exodus exceeded the worst-case predictions of the Geneva-based office of the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.

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The even bigger milestone in Europes biggest refugee crisis since World War II was reached as Russia unleashed a full-scale offensive in eastern Ukraine that will disrupt and end more lives.

The millions of people who left Ukraine because of the war have left behind their homes and families, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi tweeted Wednesday. Many would do anything, and some even risk going back, to see their loved ones. But every new attack shatters their hopes. Only an end to the war can pave the way for rebuilding their lives.

Ukraine had a pre-war population of 44 million, and UNHCR says the conflict has displaced more than 7 million people within Ukraine along with the 5.03 million who had left as of Wednesday. According to the agency, another 13 million people are believed to be trapped in the war-affected areas of Ukraine.

Weve seen about a quarter of Ukraines population, more than 12 million people in total, have been forced to flee their homes, so this is a staggering amount of people, UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told The Associated Press.

Refugees from Ukraine stay inside a vast accommodation center set up at the Global EXPO exhibition hall in Warsaw, Poland, on April 19, 2022. (Czarek Sokolowski/AP)

More than half of the refugees, over 2.8 million, fled at least at first to Poland. They are eligible for national ID numbers that entitle them to work, to free health care, schooling and bonuses for families with children.

Although many of have stayed there, an unknown number have traveled on to other countries. Savyichkina said she is thinking about taking her daughters to Germany.

We hope we can live there, send children to school, find work and start life from zero, she said inside the vast premises of the Global EXPO Center in Warsaw, which is providing basic accommodations for about 800 refugees.

If everything goes well, if the children like it first of all, then we will stay. If not..., Savyichkina said.

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Further south, Hungary has emerged as a major transit point for Ukrainian refugees. Out of more than 465,000 who arrived, some 16,400 have applied for protected status, meaning they want to stay. Many are members of the ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine.

Hungarys government says it has provided around $8.7 million to several charitable organizations and is giving subsidies to companies that employ Ukrainians granted asylum.

In March, a non-governmental organization, Migration Aid, rented an entire five-story building in Budapest, a former workers hostel, to provide temporary accommodation for people escaping the war in Ukraine. It has helped some 4,000 refugees so far.

Tatiana Shulieva, 67, a retired epidemiologist who fled from Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine and wants to travel on to Egypt, said the night she spent in the hostel was like a fairytale after having sheltered in a basement for weeks to escape constant shelling.

Neighboring Romania has received over 750,000 refugees from Ukraine. Oxana Cotus, who fled the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv with her four small children, initially decided to go to Denmark but ended up in Bucharest because she speaks Romanian and didnt want to be far from Ukraine.

She praised the help she received from the International Red Cross in helping her relocate and get settled.

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The European nations hosting refugees say they need international help to manage the challenge, especially now as Russia has intensified attacks in Ukraines eastern Donbas region.

If we have a second wave of refugees, then a real problem will come because we are at capacity. We cannot accept more, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski told The Associated Press.

About 300,000 war refugees are in the city of some 1.8 million, most of them staying in private homes, Trzaskowski said. Warsaw residents expected to host refugees for a few months, but not indefinitely, he said.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was in Lviv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, visiting a refugee center made of mobile modules that the governments of Ukraine and Poland jointly built to house displaced individuals who do not want to leave Ukraine.

Organizations for refugees say the best help would be for the war to stop.

Unfortunately, without an immediate end to the fighting, the unspeakable suffering and mass displacement that we are seeing will only get worse, UNHCRs Mantoo said.

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Data from Poland show that some 738,000 people have crossed back into Ukraine during the war. Some of them shuttle back and forth to do shopping in Poland, while others return to Ukraine to check on relatives and property, electing to either stay or depart again depending on what they find.

More than half of the refugees from Ukraine are children, according to UNHCR. Thousands of civilians, including children, have been killed or wounded in shelling and air strikes.

Mantoo called the outpouring of support and the generosity shown to arriving Ukrainian refugees has been remarkable.

But what is important is that it is sustained and that it is channelled across to ensure that refugees are enabled to receive that support while the fighting continues, while they are unable to return home, she said.

Amer Cohadzic in Sarajevo, Justin Spike in Budapest and Nicolae Dumitrache in Bucharest contributed to this report.
The US State Department in a statement offered condolences to the Afghan families and said the perpetrators must be brought to justice

"The United States joins the international community in expressing outrage at today's heinous attacks on the Mumtaz Education Center and the Abdul Rahim Shahid school in Kabul, Afghanistan. We offer sincere condolences to the families and other loved ones of those killed in these cowardly acts. The perpetrators must be brought to justice," US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

"All Afghan children deserve to pursue their studies safely and without fear of violence," he added.

On Tuesday, two educational institutions were targeted by blasts in the Dasht-e-Barchi area in the west of Kabul city.

The first blast targeted Abdul Raheem Shaheed school. Another blast occurred as students were coming out of the school, TOLOnews reported.

The attack was condemned by Afghan politicians, humanitarian groups and Kabul-based diplomatic missions. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The UN mission in Afghanistan also condemned the "heinous attack" on schools in Kabul.

"UNAMA unequivocally condemns heinous attack on schools in Kabul today. Those responsible for the crime targeting schools and children must be brought to justice. @UN envoy @DeborahLyonsUN extends deepest sympathies to victims' families and wishes for speedy recovery for the wounded," UN tweeted. (ANI)
"In response to the situation in Ukraine, Toshiba group will donate a total of 100 million yen [$774,000] to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) and Japan Platform, a non-profit organization, to provide humanitarian aid to those affected," Toshiba said in a statement.

"In addition, Toshiba Group has suspended order taking and investments in Russia. We will continue to monitor the situation, and strongly hope for an early end to the conflict," it said.

Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics for protection against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation, which targets Ukrainian military infrastructure, aims to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine. Moscow has said it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. Western nations have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia. (ANI/Sputnik)
As high-level US officials begin their visit to the Solomon Islands, Chinese media said this visit to the South Pacific archipelago is an attempt to nullify the already signed security pact. China and Solomon Islands on Tuesday signed a framework agreement on security cooperation that neighbours of the South Pacific archipelago fear could open the door to a Chinese naval base in the country. "After Australia failed to sway the Solomon Islands to thwart the security agreement with China, senior US officials plan to travel to the country this week in an attempt to nullify the already signed security pact, which will be a rare high-level visit with pressure by the superpower," the Chinese state media outlet Global Times said in a report. China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced the security agreement, saying the deal would involve China cooperating with Honiara on maintaining social order, protecting people's safety, aid, combating natural disasters and helping safeguard national security, Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. Speaking at a press briefing, Wenbin defended the signing of security cooperation with the Solomon Islands, saying the agreement "does not target any third party." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that the two countries had formally signed a framework pact on security cooperation. The cooperation represents normal exchanges between two sovereign and independent states, and constitutes an important part of their comprehensive cooperation, he said. Officials from the United States, Australia, Japan and New Zealand on Tuesday expressed concerns about a proposed security framework between the Solomon Islands and China and its "serious risks to a free and open Indo-Pacific." This statement was issued after the high-level US officials convened a meeting in Honolulu with senior officials from Australia, Japan, and New Zealand on developments in the Pacific Islands on April 18. "We will do this in ever-closer partnership with Pacific Island nations, including through a united Pacific Islands Forum; and together with like-minded countries, within and beyond the region, including in Europe," the White House statement read. "Officials from the four countries represented also shared concerns about a proposed security framework between the Solomon Islands and the People's Republic of China (PRC) and its serious risks to a free and open Indo-Pacific," it added. The meeting was part of regular and extensive US consultations with allies and partners on the Indo-Pacific and is part of the announced senior administration travel this week to Hawaii, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. (ANI)
Pakistan Acting President Sadiq Sanjrani on Tuesday administered the oath to the 34-member council of ministers of the newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Although the oath was taken by 33 lawmakers, a notification issued by the country's Cabinet Division carried the names of 26 federal ministers and two ministers of state, Dawn newspaper reported.

Several members of the cabinet, from the PML-N, were still under consideration, the Pakistani daily reported citing a source in the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

The report said the two main parties of the ruling coalition -- Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) -- are at odds over the selection of their members for the cabinet and distribution of portfolios.

Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday had congratulated his cabinet members, urging them to work hard for the betterment of the people. "The federal cabinet was formed after thorough consultations with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and the government's coalition allies," the Pakistan prime minister said in a tweet.

"It is my fervent hope that federal ministers, ministers of state and advisers will provide leadership, and resolve the problems of the people. Work, work and only work is our motto," he tweeted further.

Reacting to PM Sharif's cabinet selection, the former ruling PTI alleged that most newly inducted ministers were facing corruption charges and were on bail.

Pakistan's former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry said: "24 members of the federal cabinet including the prime minister are accused and on bail."

"A clear message to the world would have been given if IG (inspector general) jails would have administered oath to the cabinet members instead of chairman senate," he added. (ANI)
"The police requested the public not to get involved in any activities likely to sabotage the fuel transportation system in the country as it would, in turn, affect the supply chain," said senior police spokesperson and SDIG Ajith Rohana, according to Daily Mirror.

Rohana said that the incidents which were reported on Tuesday were likely to harm the fuel carrying bowsers and that some of those were damaged and vandalised.

Earlier, Sri Lanka police imposed a curfew in the Rambukkana Police Division until further notice following unrest in the country with the clash between protesters and police in the city.

This comes after one person died and 24 people were injured by the gunshot after the protesters and police clashed in Rambukkana town of Sri Lanka on Tuesday afternoon.

The protesters were agitating in Rambukkana against the decision of increasing the fuel prices again, Daily Mirror reported.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices and power cuts affecting a large number of the people, resulting in massive protests over the government's handling of the situation.

The economic situation has led to huge protests with demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. (ANI)
Pakistan struck the Afghan provinces of Khost and Kunar on Saturday, leaving more than 40 dead.

Pakistani airstrikes prompted a series of protests across the country. Protestors and authorities in Afghanistan said these strikes violated the country's sovereignty.

While the Taliban Deputy Prime Minster Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar questioned Islamabad's decision to carry out airstrikes inside the Afghan territory, Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoub, Deputy Defence Minister Mullah Fazl and the Chief of Army Staff Maulvi Fasihuddin Fitrat insisted on a stern response to Pakistan.

However, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Higher Education Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani maintained that Kabul should engage in a dialogue with Islamabad to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, Pakistan, claiming that seven Pakistan Army soldiers were killed in North Waziristan in an attack on April 14 carried out by terrorists operating from Afghanistan, asked the Taliban to secure the Pak-Afghanistan border region on their side and take action against those involved in terrorist activities against Pakistan.

Border skirmishes, airspace violations and artillery firing across the Durand Line have been on the rise in recent months.

Earlier, a Pakistan Army helicopter was shot at on April 7 by the Afghans along the Durand Line in Nimroz Province, while the Pak Military fired 56 artillery shells on April 14 across the border in Kunar and Nuristan Provinces. (ANI)
Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, who is on an 8-day visit to India, on Wednesday called India the pharmacy of the world and expressed gratitude to the country for sending Ayurvedic medicines during COVID-19 pandemic. "India is the pharmacy of the world. We're grateful to India for sending Ayurvedic medicines during the COVID pandemic. In Mauritius, the practice of AYUSH is popular, and we have embraced the notion that traditional medicines compliment modern medicines," Jugnauth said in his address at the Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit at Gandhinagar on Wednesday in the presence of WHO DG Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Mauritius PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth. Besides the WHO DG and Mauritius PM, Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel and Union AYUSH Minister Sarbananda Sonowal were present at the ceremony. "It is my privilege and honor to participate in the inaugural session of AYUSH investment and innovation summit," Jugnauth said. On this occasion, Jugnauth said, India is showcasing its official recognition of therapies originating from traditional medical systems by hosting the first-ever WHO-Global Center for Traditional Medicine. "Traditional medicine has been an integral resource for health for centuries in communities around the world and the use of traditional complementary or alternative medicine is especially widespread in settings where access to conventional medications is limited," he said. He further said that the socio-cultural practice and biodiversity and heritage of traditional medicine are invaluable resources to evolve inclusive, diverse sustainable development. Mauritius Prime Minister highlighted that the World Health Organization estimates that 80 per cent of the world population uses traditional medicine of various origins. "The knowledge of traditional medicine, treatments and practices must not only be respected but must also be preserved and promoted," he noted. Jugnauth continued by saying that for PM Modi the whole world is a "family". "The initiation of this project by PM Modi translates into reality, his vision to offer to the world a new way of healing the suffering of people. For PM Modi the whole world is a family, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," he said. He further congratulated Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendrabhai Patel for the successful groundbreaking ceremony for the setting up of the WHO Global Center for traditional medicine. Talking about Mauritius and India ties, he said, "Mauritius and India share the same ancestral values and the practice of AYUSH forms an integral part of nourishing traditions. Moreover, in Mauritius, the practice of AYUSH is popular and fully recognized as a good mix of science and tradition and also as a form of alternative medicine." Jugnauth highlighted that Mauritius has embraced similar medical philosophies, recognizing that traditional medicine does complement scientific medicine and represents a way of healthy living and treatment with established medical concepts on the prevention of diseases and the promotion of good health. "Indeed, in Mauritius, the practice of Ayurveda is rooted in our history. The practice is blossoming and growing more vibrant, every day," he said. He noted that Mauritius is one of the rare countries outside India, where the practice of Ayurvedic medicines is governed by a legal framework, the Ayurveda and other traditional medicine act. (ANI)
A blazing fire at Mohammad Daryani Chandio village of Dadu district killed 9 children on Monday evening, injured about 20 villagers, and burned down almost 50 houses. The fire spread from the kitchen of a thatched house to the rest of the houses carried by strong winds, setting ablaze, almost the entire village, reported Dawn newspaper. Some of the injured villagers were transferred to government hospitals while others were admitted to private ones in the district of Mahar and Larkana. Apparently, they are in a critical condition. Senior Superintendent of Police, Irfan Ali Samoo confirmed the death of nine children, post which their charred bodies were taken to the Mahar Taluka Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Over 150 cattle also perished in the fire. The villagers also suffered heavy losses of about 15,000 maunds of wheat, rice, and grains along with the loss of several other personal belongings. The villagers said that although the district administration and the town committee were informed about the fire which started at about 9 p.m., the firemen reached the scene, the next day at about 8 in the morning. Also, no district official or any elected representative visited the village, they added, reported Dawn newspaper. Three more fire accidents had also been reported in the Dadu district on Tuesday. (ANI)
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has departed for London where he is expected to meet former Pakistan Prime Minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif to discuss the current political situation in the country. "The main purpose of meeting Nawaz Sharif is to congratulate him on the coalition government and discuss the current political situation," PPP Secretary-General Farhatullah Babar told The News International. However, the Pakistan media report said that there was some issue in the coalition between Shehbaz Sharif's government and he wanted to resolve it first. The Pakistani newspaper said Bilawal wanted to discuss major issues with Nawaz Sharif for an amicable solution. They said Bilawal also wanted to take up the non-inclusion of the ANP, BNP (Mengal) and Moshin Dawar in the cabinet with Nawaz Sharif. Merely a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a 33-member federal cabinet, bitterness among the ruling alliance emerged over the allocation of key portfolios. Pakistan Acting President Sadiq Sanjrani on Tuesday administered the oath to the 34-member council of ministers of the newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Although the oath was taken by 33 lawmakers, a notification issued by the country's Cabinet Division carried the names of 26 federal ministers and two ministers of state, Dawn newspaper reported. Several members of the cabinet, from the PML-N, were still under consideration, the Pakistani daily reported citing a source in the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The report said the two main parties of the ruling coalition -- Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) -- are at odds over the selection of their members for the cabinet and distribution of portfolios. Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday had congratulated his cabinet members, urging them to work hard for the betterment of the people. "The federal cabinet was formed after thorough consultations with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and the government's coalition allies," the Pakistan prime minister said in a tweet. "It is my fervent hope that federal ministers, ministers of state and advisers will provide leadership, and resolve the problems of the people. Work, work and only work is our motto," he tweeted further. (ANI)
As the Chinese city of Shanghai continues to reel under the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, "anti-epidemic supplies" including 100 tonnes of dried yak meat and 3,000 tonnes of drinking water were transported there from Tibet. Shanghai on Tuesday reported 2,494 cases and 16,407 local asymptomatic infections, Xinhua reported. The supplies that were transported on April 10, were given under the direction of the "TAR Party Committee and Government". A total of 5,000 tonnes of drinking water were transferred to China's Jilin province, Tibet Rights Collective reported. Chinese state media claimed that these supplies are being sent "to show its support for the eastern metropolis and the northeastern province battling a COVID-19 resurgence". Tibet was "donating" the supplies, claimed the CGTN news outlet. Such a donation in the name of an intensely Buddhist religious people who would refrain from such a large-scale killing of animals was meant to be a deliberate affront to them, according to Tibetan Review. During the previous surge in COVID-19 cases, donations of Tibetan herbal medicine were sent to affected areas in China during the first wave of the pandemic. This report comes as China is continuing its repression of the Tibetan culture and identity. Rights experts say the Chinese administration has been introducing more draconian laws and restrictions to accomplish the task. (ANI)
Ald. Daniel Solis speaks while Alexander Gourlay of Walgreens and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel listen at a news conference June 18, 2018, at the old post office in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez on Wednesday asked a federal judge to consider the rampant and unchecked corruption of his predecessor, Ald. Daniel Solis, when weighing the unprecedented deal Solis has been offered by federal prosecutors in his bribery case.

Sigcho-Lopezs two-page victim impact statement was sent to U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood in the form of a letter, not a formal filing in the case against Solis, who pleaded not guilty to a bribery count last week as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. attorneys office.

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In the letter, Sigcho-Lopez stopped short of asking Wood to reject the deal, which will likely leave Solis with a clean slate in three years if he continues to cooperate with the government. Instead, he urged the judge to consider scaled and appropriate penalties that reflect the seriousness of Solis conduct.

Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the "Resurrection Project's Casa Durango" housing in Chicago on Sept. 16, 2021. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

If former Alderman Solis is not held accountable/charged, we feel that our hard work to reform will be undone, Sigcho-Lopez wrote. Our community cannot move forward if public sentiment in our institutions wane. We hope you consider these appeals, and that justice can be served so that my community can leave behind this terrible and harmful chapter and strive for a brighter future.

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Sigcho-Lopez also sent a copy of the letter to the U.S. attorneys office and Solis attorney, Lisa Noller.

Wood, meanwhile, is scheduled to take up the issue during a status hearing in Solis case on Thursday.

Victim impact statements are typically part of a defendants sentencing hearing. But if Solis is never convicted, its unclear what, if any, weight the judge would give to Sigcho-Lopezs comments.

Still, the letter marked another strange twist in Solis legal saga, which began in 2016 when he secretly agreed to wear a wire for federal investigators and helped build racketeering cases against Ald. Edward Burke and then-House Speaker Michael Madigan, two of the longest-serving and most powerful politicians in the state.

The deferred prosecution deal was signed by Solis on the day after Christmas 2018 and kept secret for nearly 3  years before the U.S. attorneys office on Tuesday finally put it on the record.

As part of the deal, Solis was charged in a one-count criminal information with corruptly soliciting campaign donations from a real estate developer in exchange for zoning changes in 2015, when Solis was head of the City Council Zoning Committee.

At Solis arraignment last week, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu told Wood hed learned the city may want to intervene in Solis case as a victim. Bhachu said that while the U.S. attorneys office always invites the participation of victims in criminal cases, he thought it was doubtful that the city would legally qualify as a victim given the facts of the Solis case.

Hours later, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who has been highly critical of Solis deal, issued a statement that called him out for violating the public trust in profound ways but stopped short of any seeming attempt to derail the deferred prosecution.

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Instead, Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, said she had instructed the Law Department to file a victim impact statement with the court.

Because of all of the crimes that have been put on the public record, Solis victimized the residents of his ward and residents in the entire city, all of whom were deprived of the integrity and honesty that should be sacrosanct with all public officials, the mayor said. No one is above the law and Chicago residents expect that their elected officials will be held accountable.

It was not the first time Lightfoot has been critical of Solis. After the Tribune reported on Solis collecting his pension after leaving office in 2019, Lightfoot said she was confident he will face a moment of reckoning.

What that will be, when that will be, that is not under my control, Lightfoot said that fall.

She has since publicly and privately criticized the deal prosecutors reached with Solis, calling it unconscionable that he might not face a conviction or lose his pension.

In his letter, Sigcho-Lopez detailed a number of ways in which he says Solis corrupt zoning practices allegedly have harmed his ward, from displacing thousands of low-income residents in Pilsen to letting politics trump the public interest in development projects in Chinatown.

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The harm caused by this corruption is generational, the letter stated. The people of the 25th Ward continue to feel the aftermath.

He also touched on the pending cases against Burke and Madigan, who have both pleaded not guilty. In particular, Sigcho-Lopez said lobbyists connected to the alleged corruption schemes will continue to be rewarded with public contracts without any accountability, if convicted parties are perceived to be let off the hook. 

Noller could not immediately be reached for comment. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney John Lausch also could not be reached.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

rlong@chicagotribune.com
Moscow [Russia], April 20 (ANI/Sputnik): Russia has warned Sweden and Finland about consequences of joining NATO via bilateral diplomatic channels, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. "We have issued all our warnings both publicly and through bilateral channels. They [Sweden and Finland] know about it, they will have nothing to be surprised about, they were informed about everything, what will it lead to," Zakharova told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster. (ANI/Sputnik)
She will be accompanied by a business delegation, the Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi said in a statement.

Norway cooperates with India on the ocean, clean energy, climate and the environment, among other things.

Both countries have an increasing and extensive business collaboration. In addition, Norway and India are together in the UN Security Council, the statement said.

"Norway and India share common ambitions on climate and environment. To fulfill India's goals in this area, largescale development of renewable energy and hydrogen production is required, for which the country needs foreign investment and international technology," said Huitfeldt.

"This opens up great opportunities for Norwegian business and industry and therefore a number of Norwegian companies will participate during the visit," Huitfeldt added.

In addition to participating in the Raisina Dialogue, India's annual geopolitical conference, she will also hold bilateral talks.

Norway aims to increase cooperation with India to contribute to strengthened multilateral cooperation, a strengthened international trade system and legal order, the statement said. (ANI)
The 23rd EU-China Summit, which took place from March 31-April 1, exposed the existing fault lines between the two parties. President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, accompanied by High Representative Josep Borrell, representing the EU, met Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang in the morning and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the afternoon. The EU and China discussed extensively Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, which is endangering global security and the world's economy, as well as food and energy security. "As major global powers, the EU and China must work together on stopping Russia's war in Ukraine as soon as possible. We have a common responsibility to maintain peace and stability, and a safe and sustainable world," said Charles Michel, President of the European Council. The EU and Chinese leaders also discussed the state of bilateral relations and areas of shared interest such as climate change, biodiversity and health, as well as ways to ensure a more balanced and reciprocal trade relationship. The EU highlighted that its key priority is to stop Russia's unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, emphasized the importance for Russia to allow humanitarian access and safeguard humanitarian corridors, and refrain from targeting the civilian population and infrastructure. The EU called on China to support efforts to bring about an immediate end to the bloodshed in Ukraine, consistent with China's role in the world as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and its uniquely close relations with Russia. The EU pointed out that the international sanctions against Russia were imposed with the sole purpose of stopping Russia's aggression and despite a significant economic impact on the EU and its partners globally. "Any circumvention of the effects of the sanctions or any aid provided to Russia would prolong the bloodshed and lead to even greater losses of civilian lives and economic disruption," the EU said. In contrast to what EU leaders said, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the EU to form its own perception of China, adopt an independent China policy, and work with China to promote the steady and sustained growth of China-EU relations and to add stabilizing factors to a turbulent world. Xi stressed that China and the EU should act as two major forces upholding world peace, and offset uncertainties in the international landscape with the stability of China-EU relations. The Chinese president also pointed out that China and the EU should act as two big markets promoting shared development, and deepen economic globalization through open cooperation. China will stay committed to deepening reform and further opening up. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, several European countries have asked Beijing to align with US and allies in condemning Moscow's actions. While refusing to sanction Russia, China accused the US of fuelling the Ukraine crisis. Despite booming trade, the EU-China ties have become strained over the last two years, with a long-negotiated investment deal between the two sides under hiatus. Experts believe that China-EU trade could see some strains over Beijing's stance on the Ukraine war. China surpassed the US to become the EU's largest trading partner in 2020-21 due to strong demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. (ANI)
Taking to Twitter, Rajapaksa urged the protestors to engage in their civic right with equal respect and honour.

"Deeply distressed following the tragedy in Rambukkana. I have every confidence that a strict, impartial investigation will be carried out by @SL_PoliceMedia who've always served #lka with utmost honor. I urge protesters to engage in their civic right with equal respect & honour," Rajapaksa tweeted.

Sri Lanka police imposed a curfew in the Rambukkana Police Division until further notice following unrest in the country with the clash between protesters and police in the city.

"Police curfew has been imposed in the Rambukkana Police Division until further notice," Police spokesperson said.

This action comes after one person died and 24 people were injured by the gunshot after the protesters and police clashed in Rambukkana town of Sri Lanka on Tuesday afternoon.

The protesters were agitating in Rambukkana against the decision of increasing the fuel prices again, Daily Mirror reported.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices and power cuts affecting a large number of the people, resulting in massive protests over the government's handling of the situation.

The economic situation has led to huge protests with demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. (ANI)
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to arrive in India on Thursday for a two-day visit to deepen the long-term partnership for peace and prosperity with a fellow leading democracy. Johnson will begin from Ahmedabad in Gujarat on April 21 to meet with leading business group leaders and discuss the UK and India's thriving commercial, trade and people's links. This will be the first time a UK Prime Minister will visit Gujarat, India's fifth-largest state and the ancestral home of around half of the British-Indian population in the UK. On Friday morning, Johnson will attend a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan and later a wreath-laying at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi. The UK Prime Minister will then travel to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Modi on April 22 where the leaders will hold in-depth talks on the UK and India's strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership, aimed at bolstering close partnership and stepping up security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. UK Prime Minister will also hold talks with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar. On the same afternoon, the two sides will issue a press statement at around 1 pm at Hyderabad House. According to the British High Commission statement, Johnson will use the visit to drive progress in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations launched earlier this year as a deal with India is predicted to boost UK's total trade by up to 28 billion pounds annually by 2035 and increase incomes across the UK by up to 3 billion pounds. Last year, Johnson and PM Modi agreed on a UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, announcing more than 530 million pounds in investment into the UK and committing to a deeper bilateral relationship across trade, health, climate, defence and security, and connecting our people. India was also identified as a priority relationship for the UK in the 2021 Integrated Review and was invited by the UK as a guest to last year's G7 in Carbis Bay. (ANI)
"We condemn these inhuman terrorist attacks in the strongest possible terms," said the Turkish Foreign Ministry, reported Khama Press.

The statement also wished speedy recovery to those wounded while expressing deep condolences to the families of the victims of the blasts.

The Qatar Foreign Ministry statement rejected violence against civilians, especially when it targeted educational institutes, teachers, and students.

Such attacks will also affect the economy, development, and the human rights situation in Kabul as well, it further said.

Qatar also expressed condolences to the kin of the victims, the interim government of Afghanistan, and the entire people of the country, reported Khama Press.

On Tuesday, April 19, Kabul witnessed three back-to-back explosions in Police District 18 at a secondary school and an educational center, causing the deaths of about 6 children, and injuring 24 others.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack as of yet. (ANI)
A London Court in a hearing on Wednesday issued the extradition order for WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange to the US and now he is set to be tried there on Espionage Act charges for his role in publishing thousands of classified documents that shed light on the atrocities committed by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. If put on trial and convicted in the US, Assange may be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison. The court issued the extradition order, leaving UK Home Secretary Priti Patel to rubber-stamp his transfer to the US after a years-long legal wrangle. Assange is able to appeal the decision. The hearing was held in a virtual manner. Assange joined the hearing from the high-security Belmarsh Prison in London, where he has been held since being dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London three years ago, reported CNN News. Assange has been on remand at the Belmarsh maximum-security prison in southeast London since October 2020, after serving an 11-month sentence for breaking bail conditions. In January 2021 court gave a ruling that the Australian journalist cannot be extradited to the US due to health issues and the inhumane conditions he might face in the US prison system. However, overturning the earlier ruling, the London High Court in December 2021 ruled in favour of the US appeal to extradite Assange. (ANI)
Lawmakers from Balochistan on Tuesday raised slogans against the Former Prime Minister Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government and the security forces in the Pakistan National Assembly for carrying out 'agenda' killing of Baloch people. This comes in the context of the April 16 heart-wrenching incident in Chagai district in Balochistan when the security forces opened fire on unarmed and oppressed Baloch people in which six persons were killed and many others injured. Pakistani forces allegedly forced several drivers from the ethnic minority areas of Balochistan to abandon their vehicles and march through the desert to their homes in the Chagai district near the border with Afghanistan. The BNP-M member regretted that the Baloch people had been the victim of extrajudicial killings since 1947 and this was happening even today. In the absence of PM Sharif from the house, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif responded to the protesting BNP-M lawmakers, stating that the Balochistan issue had been there since the 1960s. He admitted that excesses had been committed with the people of Balochistan and agreements with them were violated. Taking the floor, JUI-F leader Mohammad Jamaluddin also alleged that women and children of Waziristan had been killed during the bombing in Khost, the border town of Afghanistan some three days back, reported Dawn. "Are our agencies so weak? They (terrorists) visit our areas regularly. They come here dancing on horses carrying Kalashnikovs after travelling 40 to 50 kilometres. Don't they (agencies) see them (terrorists)?" he asked, while also "condemning" the incident. Drawing attention to the human rights violations and the 'bombing attacks', the JUI-F leader said that if there are Taliban or terrorists in the area, then the security forces must take action against them. He termed such "bombing attacks" on tribal people a violation of human rights and Pakistan's Constitution. He also stressed that while the security forces are conducting operations against the terrorists, innocent people should not be harmed or targeted, as per the newspaper. The lawmakers also targeted Imran Khan for allegedly polluting the political atmosphere by inciting the youth to violence and use of abusive language. They sought action to prevent him from spreading anarchy. (ANI)
Brussels [Belgium], April 20 (ANI/Sputnik): The European Union supports the UN secretary-general's appeal to cease hostilities in Ukraine during the Orthodox Easter celebration this week, EU foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a four-day humanitarian pause in Ukraine beginning on Holy Thursday and running through Orthodox Easter Sunday, April 24, and appealed to the sides to the conflict to "open a window for dialogue and peace." "We do, of course, support the call from the UN secretary-general and we in the EU would repeat our call to have all military operations and, indeed, the Russian aggression brought to a halt, and not only for Easter but forever," Stano told a briefing, adding that there are "no reasons to not cease hostilities now and permanently." A humanitarian pause suggested by Guterres entails launching humanitarian corridors for the civilians to leave the embattled areas of Ukraine and enabling humanitarian convoys to reach the cities of Donetsk, Luhansk, Mariupol and Kherson. (ANI/Sputnik)
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has called upon the masses to come to Minar-e-Pakistan to attend the PTI's protest rally on Thursday, April 21, if they wish to see an independent Pakistan. Taking to social media, the ousted Prime Minister recorded a video message before the Minar-e-Pakistan rally saying, "I invite all Pakistanis to join this struggle. On Thursday, I'm going to hold the largest rally in the history of Pakistan at Minar-e-Pakistan," as reported by Ary News. He added that Minar-e-Pakistan was the place where the Pakistan Resolution was passed in 1940, and the Muslims of India decided to live in an independent country called Pakistan. He urged the citizens to join their struggle for the real freedom of the country from Minar-e-Pakistan itself. The ex-Prime Minister said that "corrupt slaves are being imposed on us by external conspiracy." According to Ary News, Imran Khan cited that Pakistan was built in the name of La ilaha illallah, meaning there is no god but Allah, adding the fact that they bow down only before Allah, and no one else. The former Prime Minister insisted that people from all walks of life should attend this meeting. Following the ouster of ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan, on April 10, through a no-confidence vote, The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) took out protests in several cities of Pakistan chanting slogans in the former Prime Minister's favour. (ANI)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot shakes hands with Shaad Syed while attending an iftar, a breaking of the fast dinner during Ramadan, at the Muslim Community Center of Chicago, April 19, 2022. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Lori Lightfoots high-profile and controversial effort to hand out 50,000 gas cards and 100,000 CTA transit fare cards narrowly cleared an important City Council hurdle Wednesday even as aldermen expressed concerns the initiative was more about politics than helping citizens.

Lightfoots plan, dubbed Chicago Moves, came just weeks after onetime political supporter and now potential mayoral opponent Willie Wilson used his own money to buy more than $1 million in free gas at Chicago stations in March as prices at the pump have soared in recent months. With Lightfoot weighing a bid for a second term, the mayors proposal called for spending $12.5 million in city money for the gas and public transit cards.

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The councils Budget Committee approved the plan by a 15-12 vote, sending the measure to the full City Council for consideration next week.

The passage came after Lightfoot was forced to tweak her initial proposal to ensure most of the recipients of the citys largesse came from either lower-income households or high mobility hardship areas, mostly on South and West sides.

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Still, even some council members who backed the plan said they did so reluctantly.

Southwest Side Ald. Mike Rodriguez, 22nd, said he would rather the funds go to a pilot universal income program for poor residents. He nonetheless voted in favor of the Lightfoot gas-and-transit card program because at its core, we are redirecting money to working-class people.

A council member from the other side of the city, Northwest Side Ald. Ariel Reboyras, 30th, voted yes because he said he understands Chicagoans are hurting and the Chicago Moves program is a way to help some of them. But Reboyras added he wished the plan could be applied to give aid to more people.

The criticism irked some council members who are supportive of the initiative.

During the committee debate, West Side Ald. Jason Ervin, 28th, said his colleagues who opposed the measure were voting against those who need the most help making ends meet and finding affordable ways of traveling throughout the city.

This is a small way to help some of our most challenged residents, Ervin said.

Since Lightfoot announced the plan, more than 10 months before the mayoral election in early 2023, several aldermen have greeted it with skepticism. Theyve grumbled that using $12.5 million in city money to give away 50,000 prepaid gas cards worth $150 each and 100,000 passes that will cover $50 worth of CTA bus and train fares would only help a small percentage of citizens while providing lots of publicity for the incumbent mayor.

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Coming after Wilson staged his own gas giveaway before announcing his mayoral campaign, some dismissed the Lightfoot move as a political ploy. Wilson is planning another gas giveaway on Saturday, which has raised eyebrows about the two-time failed mayoral candidate repeatedly providing handouts to potential voters.

Still, the concerns about Lightfoot playing politics were amplified by the fact that a prototype of the gas card the city will issue to residents featured Lightfoots name on it.

Mayor Lori Lightfoots push to hand out up to 150,000 Chicago Moves gas cards and CTA transit fare cards cleared a City Council hurdle April 20, 2022, despite ongoing concerns from aldermen whose approval she needs to launch it. The council Budget Committee approved the $12.5 million outlay by a 15-12 vote. The full City Council is set to consider it next week. (City of Chicago)

There are many questions in terms of where this program came from, if it was inspired by Dr. Willie Wilsons gas giveaway, said Northwest Side Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th. Ive heard from some constituents whove said they feel this is the mayor trying to prove that she has the biggest gas hose. So to me, I think that I really do not like that this has the mayors name prominently on the gas card.

But Budget Committee Chair Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd, told her colleagues to focus on the low-income Chicagoans theyre trying to help.

In terms of the mayors name on everything, lets not be petty, Dowell said. The mayors name is on everything. You get off a plane, youre coming into Chicago, it says Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Your check says Mayor Lori Lightfoot. That is a nonissue, and really very, very petty.

Another criticism of the plan from council members centered on the income guidelines the mayor initially set for eligibility.

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Facing pushback, Lightfoot amended her initial plan to direct the cards to lower-income households, from $140,000 to $93,200 for a family of four, and make sure three-fourths of the $7.5 million in gas cards go to people from high mobility hardship neighborhoods mostly on the West and South sides.

Of the roughly 1 million households in Chicago, about 500,000 would be eligible for one of the 150,000 total cards, according to Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett. About one-third of the households are within the high mobility hardship areas, Huang Bennett said.

The cards would be distributed via lottery if more eligible households apply than the number of cards that are available.

Although Lightfoot earlier this week defended the program as a public policy move that was not tied to her reelection campaign or a reaction to Wilsons giveaways, it failed to convince several members of the council committee.

Noting food insecurity is a more pressing concern of many residents, South Side Ald. Leslie Hairston, 5th, said, there are so many more needs we have in this city.

Ald. Derrick Curtis, 18th, lamented that residents in his Southwest Side ward wouldnt see many of the cards because of the income and geographic hurdles.

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If everyone cant get a slice of the pie, no one should, he said.

Ald. Sue Sadlowski Garza of the Far South Sides 10th Ward said the $12.5 million should go for something more sustainable, such as paying for mental health services.

I dont think this is a good move, Sadlowski Garza said. Youve got a car, youre filling it up twice and its over.

jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
Iran has refused to accept the political representatives of the Taliban government until the Taliban gets recognized by the world, said a media report. "The new government and the new political system in Afghanistan must be recognized so that the Islamic Emirate will be able to send new representatives," ToloNews quoted Saeed Khatibzadeh, a spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as saying. In a presumable reference to a demonstration held outside the Iranian embassy in Herat, Khatibzadeh called on the Taliban to identify the perpetrators of the "attack" on the political representatives of Iran in Afghanistan. Saeed Khatibzadeh, a spokesman of Iran's foreign ministry, called on the current Afghan government to identify the perpetrators of an "attack" on the political representatives of Iran in Afghanistan, presumably referring to a demonstration held outside the Iranian embassy in Herat. Meanwhile, a delegation of the Islamic Emirate is scheduled to travel to Tehran in the near future to address current challenges. "A delegation of (the Islamic Emirate) will travel to Iran to assess the situation of Afghan refugees. The exact date of this trip is still unknown," the media outlet quoted Taliban deputy spokesman Bilal Karimi as saying. Further, according to a statement from the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahianin discussed the situation of Afghan refugees in Iran, as well as other political and economic issues, in a telephone conversation. Notably, nearly eight months have passed since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in mid-August but they have not been recognized by any country yet. However, Russia, Pakistan, Qatar, China, and Turkmenistan have accepted the presence of Taliban diplomats working in Afghan embassies and diplomatic missions while not recognizing the current government, reported the media outlet. Taliban, who are desperate to seek international recognition, and have time and again been reminded that respect for women and human rights, establishing an inclusive government, not allowing Afghanistan to become a safe haven of terrorism are the preconditions for the recognition set by the international community. (ANI)
Pakistan President Arif Alvi is likely to face an impeachment motion as Pakistan People's Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari met leaders from the ruling coalition to discuss the removal of the President, reported local media. Zardari met the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman and the Baloch National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal here in Islamabad to discuss Alvi's impeachment, reported Business Recorder. In the meeting, the JUI-F chief told Zardari that his party is bringing their candidate for the next president. However, the BNP-M chief advised the former president to check the numbers before making their decision, adding that the coalition should stay united when making decisions. According to sources, President Arif Alvi had earlier decided against resigning from his office after consultation with the PTI leadership that advised him to continue discharging his constitutional duties. Moreover, he had also refused to administer the oath to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his 34-member federal cabinet, according to the media outlet. Following this, Sharif and his cabinet were administered the oath by Pakistan Acting President Sadiq Sanjrani. Meanwhile, President in Pakistan can be removed through impeachment on the ground of physical or mental incapacity or on a charge of violating the Constitution or gross misconduct. The resolution for impeachment will be moved if half of the total membership of either House gives the Speaker of the National Assembly notice of its intention to impeach the President, with the notice containing particulars of the President's incapacity or of the charge against him, reported the media outlet. (ANI)
Both sides discussed the benefits of the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) to the company which will propel New Delhi's vision to boost the Electronic Vehicle (EV) industry.

Taking to Twitter, Barry O'Farrell wrote, "Australia is supporting India's ambitions in the EV industry. Outlined practical benefits of #IndAusECTA - including the elimination of duties on critical minerals - to @HimadriLimited, a leading Indian manufacturer of #lithium ion battery material. #Kolkata #WestBengal."

ECTA is the first trade agreement of India with a developed country after more than a decade and provides for an institutional mechanism to improve trade between the two countries.

Australia is the 17th largest trading partner of India and India is Australia's 9th largest trading partner. The ECTA is expected to almost double the bilateral trade from USD 27.5 bn (2021) to about USD 45 to USD 50 Billion in the next five years.

The agreement is expected to create new employment opportunities, raise living standards and enhance the overall welfare of the people of both countries. Additional employment generation is expected to be 10 lakhs within the next five years. (ANI)
Berlin [Germany], April 20 (ANI/Sputnik): Germany supports the countries of Eastern Europe in supplying Soviet-made weapons to Ukraine amid Russia's special military operation, but believes that such deliveries do not make the country a party to the conflict, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday. "We support those partners who can promptly supply Soviet-made weapons. In this case, we guarantee compensation [for the weapons] so these countries can deliver supplies quickly. At the same time, I want to make it clear that we, in the government, are unanimous that supplies of weapons will not make us a party to the conflict," Baerbock said at a press conference in Riga, broadcast by the German Foreign Ministry. On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. Western countries had been arming Ukraine for months prior to the Russian operation. Ukraine has now asked the European Union and the United States for more weapons, including air defense and anti-missile systems, fighters, mortars, and automatic weapons. (ANI/Sputnik)
In a bid to address Chinese repression of Uyghurs, a Uyghur human rights advocate has called upon brands to remove materials that come from China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) from every level of their supply chains, according to a media report. The Chinese government has profited enormously from the forced labour of the Uyghur people and if brands and retailers stop sourcing goods from the Uyghur region, it would help end this widespread repression, writes Jewher Ilham, who is also a part of the "Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region", in an opinion piece published in CNN. Notably, approximately 20 per cent of the world's cotton is produced in Xinjiang, where Uyghurs are forced to pick it by hand, which in turn means that cotton garments on the global market are at high risk of being made with Uyghur forced labor. Thus, companies agreeing to free their supply chain of any material coming from Xinjiang will be a demonstration against the Chinese government's human rights abuses. Despite the difficulty in shifting operations and removing Xinjiang from the supply chain, Ilham believes that it is the only way companies can ensure not being a part of Uyghur forced labor as the Chinese government's surveillance campaign makes it impossible to perform due diligence in the region. Ilham, whose father has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Chinese government for standing up for Uyghurs, opines that the situation has worsened since her father's detention in 2013. The government has rapidly accelerated its campaign of oppression with forced sterilization, forced labor, constant surveillance, and other abuses making it impossible for Uyghurs to survive in China, she writes. According to a 2020 Chinese government white paper, around 1.29 million people in Xinjiang were subject to vocational "training" annually between 2014 and 2019. However, the Chinese government has advocated its campaign against the Uyghurs as "poverty alleviation" and preventing terrorism, describing detention centers as "vocational training centers" where Uyghurs are educated and given the skills to thrive economically. With China's "training centers" subjecting Uyghurs to indoctrination and the renunciation of their language and religion, it is clear that the Chinese government's vision of re-educating Uyghurs is premised on the erasure of their culture and the denial of their basic human rights, according to Ilham. (ANI)
Berlin [Germany], April 20 (ANI/Sputnik): Germany is committed to providing long-term support to Ukraine's defensive capabilities, which will span months and even years, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday. "We are talking not only about three weeks, but we are talking also about three months, three years. Germany can make a greater contribution here, that is why we have allocated one billion euros [USD 1.09 billion] to ensure that Ukraine can buy more advanced systems that can [give a long-lasting boost to Ukraine's defense] and for which we can provide appropriate training," the minister said at a press conference in Riga. Baerbock also noted that Germany was avoiding making rash promises and remained grounded in its real abilities when pledging support to Ukraine. "We should be truthful about what can be done at the moment, be creative in supporting others, so that we do what we can with unwavering conviction and up to our full potential not just in the weeks to come, but in the months and even years ahead," the minister said. On Wednesday, Baerbock traveled to Riga to meet with her Baltic counterparts. The foreign ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Germany discussed the conflict in Ukraine and the shifting security situation in Europe. On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. In response to Russia's operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow, which includes airspace closures and restrictive measures targeting numerous Russian officials and entities, media, and financial institutions. (ANI/Sputnik)
A new government in Pakistan after Imran Khan's ouster can give impetus to normalisation of ties between the two neighbours, a media report said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is neither a demagogue nor a megalomaniac who lives in an alternate reality, like his predecessor Imran Khan, the report in Asian Lite said, adding, Sharif is an experienced politician who understands the imperatives of improving relations with India. This time, Sharif will also have the support of the Pakistan Army in any initiative or outreach he makes toward India, the report said, adding that, the Pakistan Army seems to have realised that the unending state of hostility is dragging Pakistan down and creating existential problems. For its part, India, while being cautious in engaging Pakistan, may not be averse to be willing to reciprocate any move made by Pakistan, the report said. While the congratulatory message of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's response was nothing out of the ordinary, the report said, even this gesture is something of a change from the toxicity that defined the relations between the two countries during Imran Khan's regime. Going forward, it is to be expected that diplomatic decorum and decency, which had been thrown to the winds by the vituperative Imran Khan, will once again become the norm, the report said, adding that this alone would help in reducing the tensions and bitterness in the bilateral relations. The time has come for both the countries and in some ways Pakistan more than India, to distinguish between outstanding issues and existential issues that are threatening the very existence of that state, the report said referring to territorial disputes between the two countries. Pakistan's economy is on the brink of failure. It is caught in a debt trap and is staring at default, the report said, adding that, opening up to India -- trade and connectivity -- would only help Pakistan get back on its feet. Other issues like radicalism and terrorism are common challenges. Cooperation between the two countries will enable them both to get rid of the menace of terrorism and defeat radicalism. If they were to work together, their negotiating position would increase vastly and they can resist being buffeted by the pulls and pressures of Great Power politics, the report further said. With both the civil and military authorities in Pakistan on the same page as far as an outreach to India is concerned, there is now an opportunity before both India and Pakistan to try and reset their bilateral relationship. If they grasp this opportunity, it can change not just the face of South Asia but also the dynamics of international politics, the report concluded. (ANI)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's visit to India beginning Thursday is expected to give momentum to negotiations on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries. The third round of negotiations will begin next week and the two sides are keen to double bilateral trade by 2030. The two countries are also exploring the possibility of an interim agreement to provide quick gains for benefitting businesses on both sides. The United Kingdom is also looking to increase its footprint in defence production in India. India and UK launched Free Trade Agreement negotiations in January this year. Sources said the two countries have cleared some of the issues in the first two rounds of negotiations and some major issues around market access are expected to figure in the third round of negotiations. They said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and PM Johnson would be keen to encourage and give momentum to those negotiations. While some big announcements are not expected, the two leaders are expected to give a strong signal. The sources said the aim is to try and do the negotiation this year if possible and there is quite a bit of ambition on both sides. India was the second biggest contributor to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the UK in 2020. The two countries have strong links in the healthcare sector and the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is manufactured in India as Covishield. The issue concerning financial fugitives from India may come up during talks. The United Kingdom's position is that executive processes have been followed but there are legal proceedings that continue and it is for the judiciary to take a view. The UK is seeking an increase its presence in the defence manufacturing sector in India the issues related to the transfer of technology are expected to come up in talks. The cooperation between India and the UK in the maritime domain is expected to become stronger in the coming years. PM Johnson has been absolutely determined to come to India with UK keen to turn the Compressive Strategic Partnership into something real and long-lasting. The sources said the visit to India is a big deal for PM Johnson and the trip has been one of his top priorities. His visit to India was "cancelled" twice due to the situation created by COVID-19. PM Johnson knows India well and it will be his first visit to the country as Prime Minister During the visit, PM Johnson and Prime Minister Narendra will review the implementation of the Roadmap 2030 and set their vision for further intensifying cooperation across the full spectrum of bilateral ties. They will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. The sources said the UK looks at the next 25 years to further enhance bilateral cooperation. Johnson's two-day visit will begin with Gujarat, a state that is home to a large number of Indian diaspora in the UK including the family of UK Home Secretary Priti Patel. The visit comes almost a year after the two countries held the India-UK Virtual Summit in early May last year in which PM Modi and PM Johnson adopted the India-UK Roadmap 2030 to steer cooperation for the next ten years. The two leaders also launched an 'Enhanced Trade Partnership' (ETP) to tap into the full trade potential between the two countries by the way of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to achieve the target of more than doubling the bilateral trade by 2030. PM Johnson will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan and he will hold bilateral consultations with PM Modi on April 22. India and the United Kingdom have a long and historical relationship which was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the India-UK Virtual Summit in 2021. (ANI)
PM Modi inaugurated the Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar in the presence of the Mauritius Prime Minister and Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO).

The Mauritius Prime Minister is on an eight-day visit to India to strengthen bilateral ties.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that PM Modi and the Mauritius Prime Minister reviewed the progress of the Metro Express Project and the proposal for an AYUSH Centre of Excellence in Mauritius.

"United by history, kinship, culture, language & the shared waters of the Indian Ocean PM @narendramodi held a bilateral meeting with PM @KumarJugnauth of Mauritius at Gandhinagar, Gujarat following the inauguration of the #GlobalAyushSummit," he said in a tweet.

"Leaders discussed the ongoing development partnership and cooperation in defence, capacity building, people to people exchanges & #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav celebrations. Reviewed progress of the Metro Express Project and the proposal for an AYUSH Centre of Excellence in Mauritius," he added.

In his remarks at the inauguration of the Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth praised India and Gujarat for their contribution in the field of traditional medicine. He also noted India's support in the health sphere in his country. (ANI)
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday met with Brazilian Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque in Delhi and emphasised on greater cooperation on the usage of Ethanol and reducing carbon emissions across various sectors to strengthen the economies of both the countries. Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Gadkari, interacted with a Brazilian business delegation, led by Brazilian Minister of Mines and Energy Bento Albuquerque, comprising of Brazilian industry representatives from the Sugar, Ethanol and Automobile industries along with the representatives from the Indian Automobile Industry. Earlier on March 20, Nitin Gadkari urged the sugar producers to reduce the production of sugar and shift to the conversion of sugar into ethanol, in line with the realities of changing times and the needs of the nation. In Mumbai, the Minister, while addressing the Sugar and Ethanol India Conference (SEIC) 2022, organized by Chini Mandi, a news and information portal for the sugar and allied industries, said that it is good for our future to reduce the production of sugar and increase production of ethanol as we are rice-surplus, corn-surplus and sugar-surplus. If sugar production goes ahead as it does now, it will be harmful to the industry in times to come, he said. The Minister said that the economics of ethanol is superior to that of vehicles run by diesel or petrol. He informed that the Government of India has decided to open biofuel outlets for citizens to fill ethanol and that cars, scooters, motorcycles and rickshaws can be available on flex engines. He asked the ethanol manufacturing sugar factories to open ethanol pumps in their factories and other areas that can bring in 100% ethanol-run scooters, auto-rickshaws and cars and thus increase ethanol consumption, reduce pollution, and bring down imports and also provide jobs to people in villages. "Ethanol is a green and clean fuel; we are producing 465 crore litres of ethanol at present. However, when the E-20 programme gets completed, our requirement will become around 1,500 crore litres. Moreover, in the coming five years, when flex engines get ready, ethanol requirement will become 4,000 crore litres," said the Union Minister. The Minister said India has promised that it will stop the sugar export subsidy after December 2023. To get a reasonable price for sugar, we must discourage sugar production. The Minister further said that the government is thinking of ways to increase the use of ethanol in the aviation sector and in the Indian Air Force. (ANI)
Ex-Speaker Michael Madigans campaign fund paid $4 million last month to the legal firm defending him in his federal racketeering case, nearly doubling the total amount hes sent to the firm over the last four years.

The Southwest Side power brokers political fund gave $2 million on both March 1 and March 2, the day before and the day of his indictment, newly released state records showed, although those records can sometimes be out of sequence.

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The Friends of Michael Madigan campaign now has spent nearly $8.5 million on legal fees to the Katten Muchin Rosenman firm since January 2018, according to newly filed campaign records.

The total in Madigans Friends of Michael Madigan account dropped from $10.5 million to $6.49 million in the first quarter of 2021, according to the state report.

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Madigan, who turned 80 on Tuesday, has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to a sweeping 22-count indictment alleging his far-reaching political and governmental operations represented a yearslong criminal enterprise.

House Speaker Michael Madigan at the State Capitol in Springfield in 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

The charges arise from the bribes-for-favors case in which Commonwealth Edison agreed to pay a $200 million fine and acknowledged it hoped to get favorable consideration on its legislative agenda by hiring Madigan cronies for jobs that required little or no work, stuffing its internship program with college kids from his 13th Ward and putting Madigan favorites on its board of directors.

The dethroned speaker also faces allegations that he helped orchestrate a land transfer from the state to the city in hopes of raking in property tax work for his law firm from would-be developers in Chinatown.

Though the land deal never was consummated, its been a source of continued interest for federal investigators, who in 2020 subpoenaed Madigans office for records and communications hed had with key players.

Madigans legal bills are over $10 million since January 2018 counting what hes spent on other issues, ranging from an election fight over sham candidates to a sexual harassment case involving a top aide.

With review of the extensive discovery just beginning, that tally is sure to climb as the case moves forward. Madigans lead attorney, Sheldon Zenner, told the judge at Madigans arraignment last month that he and his team would need additional time to pore over millions and millions of documents expected to be turned over by prosecutors.

Id be surprised if the total amount isnt easily double whats already out there, said Kent Redfield, a campaign finance expert in Illinois.

Zenner had no comment Tuesday.

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The Illinois Supreme Court ruled this year that politicians are allowed to use political funds for a legal defense, standing behind a State Board of Elections position. Though the court noted it should be allowed for customary and reasonable expenses tied to an elected officials performance of his public duties, it opened the door for a review on a case-by-case basis.

The high courts decision arose from a complaint brought by Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, the successor to 25th Ward Ald. Danny Solis, whose cooperation with federal authorities has led to indictments against Madigan and 14th Ward Ald. Edward Burke, who has also spent millions from his own defense fund.

Sigcho-Lopez had challenged Solis use of campaign funds to pay for defense lawyers while authorities had him under investigation.

Indicted along with Madigan last month was Michael McClain, who already faced a corruption case with a top ComEd executive and two lobbyists. McClain has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

Madigan and McClain, 74, of Quincy were accused of conspiring to participate in bribery and extortion schemes from 2011 to 2019, a period when ComEd experienced great success in Springfield.

Attorneys for both Madigan and McClain have accused prosecutors of trying to criminalize legal political actions such as job recommendations in a quest to bring down the once-powerful speaker. McClains earlier case is set for trial in September.

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The charges against Madigan are the latest in his stunning downfall, the longest-serving leader of any legislative chamber in the nation.

He was dethroned as speaker in early 2021 as the investigation swirled around him, and soon after resigned the House seat hed held since 1971 and the chairmanship of the state Democratic Party hed held since 1998.

rlong@chicagotribune.com

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
"With regard to the prospects for the Russian-Ukrainian negotiation process, the immutability of the principled Russian position was confirmed: the outcome of the negotiations depends entirely on Kyiv's readiness to take into account our legitimate demands," the ministry said.

Cavusoglu expressed gratitude for the assistance provided by the Russian special forces in releasing the hostages held by militants in a mosque in Mariupol.

Lavrov and Cavusoglu discussed possible joint steps between the foreign and defence ministries to ensure the security of civilians in Ukraine, including foreigners.

In addition, Lavrov, in a conversation with Cavusoglu, said that "the responsibility for the difficult humanitarian situation in the combat areas lies with the Ukrainian right-wing radical nationalist battalions, which use the civilian population as a 'human shield' and refuse to use the humanitarian corridors regularly provided by the Russian military." (ANI/Sputnik)
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng on Monday said that no matter how the international situation evolves, China will jointly safeguard the common interests of Beijing and Moscow. "No matter how the international situation evolves, China will, as always, strengthen strategic coordination with the Russian side, achieve win-win cooperation and jointly safeguard the common interests of both sides," Le said. Le made his remarks while meeting with the Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov. They exchanged views on bilateral relations, as well as multiple international and regional situations, reported China.org.cn, the government portal site for China. He pointed out that under the leadership of the two leaders, China-Russia's comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has continued to develop at a high level and cooperation in various fields has been deepened. According to the Chinese vice Foreign Minister, in the first quarter of this year, the bilateral trade volume between China and Russia reached USD 38.2 billion, an increase of nearly 30 per cent. This fully demonstrated the great resilience and endogenous dynamics of cooperation between the two countries, Le added. He also called on the two sides to jointly promote the building of a new type of international relations and building a community with a shared future for mankind. Denisov said that Russia has always regarded the development of relations with China as a diplomatic priority. Russia is willing to further deepen the comprehensive strategic coordination and all-around practical cooperation between the two countries in accordance with the direction indicated by the two heads of state, so as to continuously benefit the two peoples and safeguard international justice and equity, he added. (ANI)
"Russia properly notified the US under its New Start treaty obligations that it planned to test this ICBM," Kirby said.

The test launch was routine and not surprising, and the United States does not deem it a threat, the official reportedly noted. (ANI/Sputnik)
Pakistan Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Wednesday revealed that the former premier Imran Khan's helicopter commute from his Bani Gala home to the PM secretariat cost the national exchequer 550 million Pakistani rupees in three years and eight months, reported local media. Notably, the former prime minister used a helicopter to travel to his office almost every day when he was in power, and the said money was spent on the fuel consumed by the helicopter, reported Samaa TV. Shortly after coming to power, Khan had also faced criticism for using a helicopter for his daily commute. However, the then information minister Fawad Chaudry had defended Khan by claiming that the commute merely cost PKR 55 per kilometer. However, refuting Chaudhry's claims, Ismail said he had the documentary evidence to back up his statement, reported the media outlet. The finance minister also said that the former Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government has left a huge circular debt in the power sector and had created PKR 400 billion circular debt in the natural gas sector. Meanwhile, the capping of oil prices, amounting to a subsidy of PKR 150 billion per month, by the Imran Khan government towards the end of its tenure has also become a major concern for the present government that sees it as a trap to sabotage the Shehbaz Sharif-led administration, reported The News International citing an official source. According to the source, the oil prices have become Hobson's choice for the government as no budgeting could possibly be done with an over PKR 150 billion subsidy on oil alone, however, raising the oil prices as per international market rates will invite a strong public reaction. (ANI)
Amid changing equations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the airstrikes by Islamabad in Kabul that killed at least 40 people, including children, have worsened relations between the two countries. Both Afghanistan and Pakistan are witnessing growing distrust, often leading to each other's criticism. Anti-Pakistan rallies were held in Afghanistan as well as other parts of the world. Disappointed with Pakistan, the Taliban condemned the Pakistan government and warned it of "undesired consequences". Islamabad too responded in harsh words blaming Afghanistan for sheltering terrorists. Notably, the relationship between both the countries has seen a paradigm shift from the brotherhood post-US pull-out period to animosity now. In September 2021, the Taliban had opened fire on Afghani people for protesting against Pakistan. In order to ensure cordial relations, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen had called Pakistan "extremely important" while Pakistani Minister Sheikh Rashid had called Islamabad "custodian" of the Taliban, according to Policy Research Group. However, the relationship began to fall apart soon. The border conflict is driving the wedge between the two countries. In February this year, five Pakistani soldiers were killed in firing by the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) militants from Afghanistan. Now, the latest Pakistani airstrike has made things worse. People are protesting in Afghanistan as well as in France and the UK against Pakistan targeting the civilians. Pakistan struck the Afghan provinces of Khost and Kunar on Saturday, leaving more than 40 dead. They are infuriated over the deaths of innocents, mostly women and children. Border skirmishes, airspace violations and artillery firing across the Durand Line have been on the rise in recent months. Earlier, a Pakistan Army helicopter was shot at on April 7 by the Afghans along the Durand Line in Nimroz Province, while the Pak Military fired 56 artillery shells on April 14 across the border in Kunar and Nuristan Provinces. (ANI)
Washington [US], April 21 (ANI/Sputnik): The United States is imposing visa restrictions on 635 Russian nationals for alleged activities that threaten Ukraine as well as on three Russian officials for purported involvement in human rights abuses in Donbas, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday (local time). "The United States is imposing visa restrictions on 635 Russian nationals who are involved in suppressing dissent in Russia and abroad, who have been involved in activities that threaten the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and who have been involved in human rights abuses in prison facilities and places of unofficial detention in Russia-controlled areas of the Donbas region of Ukraine," the press release said. The US State Department in coordination with the Treasury Department is also placing visa restrictions on 17 individuals allegedly responsible for undermining democracy in Belarus, the press release also said. The State Department is expected to soon release a statement with further details on the restrictions. (ANI/Sputnik)
On Wednesday, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb announced that the federal cabinet gave the final nod for the reduction in prices of sugar and flour.

The government has slashed the price of 10kg flour bag from Rs550 to Rs400 in Punjab till Eid and per kilogram price of sugar from Rs75 to Rs70, Daily Pakistan reported.

Aurangzeb, who was flanked by Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail, said the decision was taken in the federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The premier directed price reduction of basic commodities, Marriyum said, adding that the subsidized flour will be available everywhere in Punjab.

Earlier, PM Sharif announced a massive relief package for public and private employees soon after taking the charge.

In Imran Khan's regime, the Pakistan government had decided to put up the entire sugar stock for sale in the market amid the sugar price crisis in the country.

The former Prime Minister had claimed his government is taking all possible steps to reduce the burden on the poor and has introduced several schemes, including the Ehsas Ration programme, Kamyab Pakistan programme, Kissan Card, and other programmes. (ANI)
At least two of the three Navy shipmates found dead in Virginia in less than a week died by suicide, including a 23-year-old newlywed who never showed his pain, family members and officials said Wednesday.

Retail Services Specialist 3rd Class Mikail Rayshawn Sharp died by suicide off-base in Portsmouth on April 9, said his mother, Natalie Jefferson.

Image: Mikail Rayshawn Sharp (U.S. Navy via Natalie Jefferson)

Sharp, 23, joined the Navy about two years ago, following in the footsteps of several relatives, including a great-grandfather. He had just gotten married last year and had plans to buy a house and start having children with his wife, whom he was over the moon about, said Jefferson, 43.

He was the life of the party, Jefferson said, adding that it never dawned on her that her son was struggling. I would have never thought that it would hit so close to home like this.

On April 10, Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Natasha Huffman was found dead off-base in Hampton, the Navy said. The state chief medical examiners office confirmed Wednesday that the cause of death was suicide.

Five days after Huffmans death, a sailor was found unresponsive aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, where they all served, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Robert Myers said in a statement. The sailors identity and cause of death havent been released.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service and local authorities are investigating all three deaths, the Navy said. It offered no additional comment Wednesday following confirmations of both suicides.

The news comes less than three years after similar back-to-back Navy suicides. In 2019, three sailors who served on the USS George H.W. Bush, an aircraft carrier, died by suicide within a week in separate instances off-base, the Navy said at the time.

In 2020, the most recent year for which full data are available, 580 military members died by suicide, a 16 percent increase from 2019, when 498 died by suicide, according to the Defense Department.

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The Pentagon said it didnt see a statistical change in suicide rates from 2020 to 2019 or 2018 that would indicate a Covid-19-related increase.

"No two individuals are identical, and no two life experiences are identical," Army Maj. Gen. Clement S. Coward said in the 2020 report. "So we are working to address a range of risk factors and enhance protective factors for members of our Armed Forces.

In 2020, 19 out of every 100,000 sailors died by suicide compared to members of the Army, who had the highest rate, at about 36 per 100,000, Pentagon statistics show.

Jefferson, who lived with Sharp in Norfolk, Virginia, said she didnt think she had any reason to worry about her sons mental health. When he wasnt dancing, playing pool or holding his beloved dog, Sharp loved being in the Navy and learned a lot from his service, his mother said. He had proposed to his girlfriend as soon as he got home from boot camp with an engagement ring his mother helped him pick out.

Jefferson said her son must have hidden his struggles every day he came home from work. He never showed his pain, she said.

But she wishes he had. Jefferson urged other military members to seek out help, whether from family and friends, other shipmates or military resources.

Dont be afraid to talk to anybody, she said, because the last thing any parent wants to do is bury their child.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
The external fund manager backed by Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger, Li Lu, makes no bones about it when he says 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. As with many other companies A2B Australia Limited (ASX:A2B) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. However, a more common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

Check out our latest analysis for A2B Australia

What Is A2B Australia's Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at December 2021 A2B Australia had debt of AU$6.64m, up from AU$1.93m in one year. However, it does have AU$15.0m in cash offsetting this, leading to net cash of AU$8.35m.

A Look At A2B Australia's Liabilities

The latest balance sheet data shows that A2B Australia had liabilities of AU$58.7m due within a year, and liabilities of AU$16.9m falling due after that. On the other hand, it had cash of AU$15.0m and AU$52.7m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling AU$8.00m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

Given A2B Australia has a market capitalization of AU$165.0m, it's hard to believe these liabilities pose much threat. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time. Despite its noteworthy liabilities, A2B Australia boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load! There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is A2B Australia's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. So if you're keen to discover more about its earnings, it might be worth checking out this graph of its long term earnings trend.

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In the last year A2B Australia had a loss before interest and tax, and actually shrunk its revenue by 16%, to AU$110m. We would much prefer see growth.

So How Risky Is A2B Australia?

Statistically speaking companies that lose money are riskier than those that make money. And in the last year A2B Australia had an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss, truth be told. And over the same period it saw negative free cash outflow of AU$9.2m and booked a AU$19m accounting loss. With only AU$8.35m on the balance sheet, it would appear that its going to need to raise capital again soon. Overall, we'd say the stock is a bit risky, and we're usually very cautious until we see positive free cash flow. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for A2B Australia you should know about.

At the end of the day, it's often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It's free.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Harmeet Dhillon, a former California GOP official, plans to sue a state school district, claiming two teachers "tricked a 12-year-old girl into believing she was transgender and bisexual." Dhillon is shown at the 2016 Republican National Convention. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

Why is the GOP so hellbent on linking discussions about sexual preference and gender identity to pedophilia and child molestation?

And why has the party embraced the word groomer as a slur for people who think its important for educators to be able to talk about those issues at school, even with young kids.

The simple answer, of course, is that its a scare tactic to rile the base and raise money.

When did our public schools, any schools, become what are essentially grooming centers for gender-identity radicals? Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked last month.

In an email blast Tuesday morning, attorney and former California Republican Party official Harmeet Dhillon pleaded for money to fund a lawsuit against a small California school district and two teachers who, she claims, indoctrinated a sixth-grader into believing she was transgender and bisexual.

Well hold these teachers accountable for brainwashing and grooming their young students, Dhillon vowed.

In an article about what the Washington Post has dubbed groomer discourse, Vice News earlier this month interviewed Terry Schilling, president of the conservative American Principles Project, who defended the misuse of the word.

Maybe its a little bit different from a pedophile specifically grooming a child for their own sexual gratification, but this is a form of grooming. ... Grooming children to be sexually active at the youngest ages, Schilling said, And its crazy to me.

What a perverse and cynical misuse of a word that, in the context of child sexual abuse, has a real meaning, which has nothing to do with frank discussions about sexuality and gender.

Theres a blurring of all this, and an impugning of LGBTQ activity, said Kenneth Lanning, a retired FBI child sex crimes expert who is credited with popularizing the concept of grooming over the course of his two decades as a profiler in the bureaus Behavioral Sciences Unit.

Grooming, he told me, is essentially a method of one person convincing another to have sex with them without using violence, like a gun or a knife. Grooming is for the purposes of the adult to manipulate the child, to get the child to cooperate with sexual activity. In my opinion, it does not constitute child sexual abuse to discuss gender identity.

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Conflating sex ed with encouraging sexual behavior is one of the oldest tricks in the GOPs puritanical anti-sex, anti-birth-control, anti-woman playbook.

As any observant parent knows, children do not have to be taught to be sexually active, they are sexually active, even our youngest little angels. And theres not much parents can or should do about it.

Twenty-five years ago, when my daughter was a toddler, I would sometimes walk into her bedroom and see her humping away on a pillow or a blanket.

Im doing my rash, shed announce, without an ounce of embarrassment.

No one taught her that touching herself felt good; like most kids, she discovered that all on her own. (Now 29, she is studying to become a nurse practitioner and gave me permission to share this. I have no idea what she calls masturbation these days.)

There is a wealth of resources out there for parents and educators interested in learning how to discuss sexuality or gender identity in age-appropriate ways. Muzzling educators, as Florida and other states are doing, may be great for revving up the base, but its a lousy way to treat kids and teachers.

And there is certainly room for a calm discussion about how teachers and schools can support children who experience gender dysphoria or believe they are gay.

Its preposterous to assume that these things should boil down to schools vs. parents, as if schools have no interest in a students health and well-being.

Middle-school kids, after all, are famous for experimenting with different identities. Now that gender and sexuality are discussed so openly, its no wonder that some kids might try on the idea that they are bisexual, transgender, gender-fluid or non-binary.

Ive seen it in my own life. My 12-year-old niece attends school with kids who openly and unabashedly identify as bisexual and/or non-binary. Will that change as they get older? Maybe, maybe not. And that is OK.

I have no doubt that in the zeal to be allies, some educators may overstep. Dhillon, on behalf of the Center for American Liberty, has filed a complaint against a Salinas Valley school district, claiming that two radical activist teachers tricked a 12-year-old girl into believing she was transgender and bisexual. Dhillon also claims the school created a gender support plan and instructed the faculty to use her new male name and pronouns  all without her mothers knowledge.

If true, that's a sad scenario.

But children have legal rights of their own, including the right to privacy about their sexuality or gender identity. A school cannot out a child to a parent without the childs express permission. When educators are accused of withholding information from parents in cases such as these, they are most likely respecting the childs right to privacy.

In any case, families are often the ones not accepting children who question their gender or sexuality. Ten years ago, the Human Rights Campaign surveyed 10,000 LGBTQ youth between the ages of 13 and 17 and asked them to describe their biggest problems. The top three: unaccepting families, school bullying and the fear of being open about their identity.

Mangling the meaning of the word "groomer" may help score a few political points for conservatives who are in a panic about gay and trans rights. But it slanders people who actually care about the healthy sexual development of children and trivializes the very real phenomenon of child sexual abuse.

@AbcarianLAT





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
In-orbit construction of Chinas space station to be completed in 2022

09:37, April 20, 2022 By Yu Jianbin ( People's Daily

The in-orbit construction of Chinas space station is expected to be completed this year, during which the country plans to carry out six launch missions, according to a press conference on the latest developments in Chinas space station construction held on April 17.

A life-size model of the Tianhe core module of Chinas space station. (Peoples Daily Online/Long Wei)

One day earlier, three Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship sent to orbit for the construction of Chinas space station returned to Earth safely after their six-month stay in space, completing the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceflight mission successfully.

The construction of Chinas space station consists of tasks in two stages: verification of key technologies and in-orbit construction, said Hao Chun, director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO), at the press conference.

Since 2020, China has successfully implemented six spaceflight missions, including the maiden flight of Chinas carrier rocket Long March-5B, Tianhe core module of its space station, the Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13 manned spacecraft, and the Tianzhou-2 and Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft, all of which helped the country achieve the goal of verifying key technologies for space station construction and laid a solid foundation for the completion of tasks during the next stage of in-orbit construction, according to Hao.

During the stage of key technology verification, breakthroughs have been made in many technologies, including those concerning astronauts long-term stay and health care in space, regenerative environmental control and life support system, Hao pointed out.

The Shenzhou-13 crew's flawless completion of all scheduled duties demonstrates that China is fully capable of supporting astronauts long-term stay in space.

A model of Chinas space station built to a scale of 1:10. (Peoples Daily Online/Long Wei)

The Tianhe core module of the space station has been in orbit for almost one year, during which it completed smoothly the rendezvous and docking with two manned spacecraft and two cargo spacecraft, Yang Hong, chief designer of the space station system of the China Manned Space Program, said at the press conference.

The core modules regenerative life support system has provided a optimal environment for astronauts metabolism needs in orbit during the three-month stay of the Shenzhou-12 crew and the six-month stay of the Shenzhou-13 crew, Yang added.

Large-scale flexible solar cell wings have been supplying energy to the core module and the combinations of it and other spacecraft, and provided sufficient energy for tasks requiring a great amount of energy, such as extravehicular activities, rendezvous and docking, and a transposition test of the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft using the space stations robotic arm, with their power generation capacity exceeding design expectations.

The robotic arm has also played an important role in tasks during the whole stage of key technology verification. It has completed tasks including assisting astronauts with their extravehicular activities, transposition of cargo spacecraft, and extravehicular status inspection.

As the key technology verification stage of the space station project has been completed, the project has officially entered the in-orbit construction stage, according to Hao.

China has planned six spaceflight missions for this year, including the launch of the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft in May, the Shenzhou-14 manned spacecraft in June, the lab module Wentian in July, the lab module Mengtian in October, the Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft and the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft, Hao said.

The Shenzhou-14 crew will consist of three astronauts, who will stay in orbit for six months, according to Hao, who disclosed that three more astronauts will be sent into space aboard the Shenzhou-15 spaceship near the end of the Shenzhou-14 mission. Crew members of Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 missions will spend a week together on board the space station during their rotation, after which the Shenzhou-15 crew members will work and live in space for six months.

Chinas Long March-5B Y2 carrier rocket carrying the Tianhe core module of the countrys space station blasts off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south Chinas Hainan province at 11:23 a.m. on April 29, 2021. (Peoples Daily Online/Wang Chenglong)

The core module Tianhe and the lab modules, Wentian and Mengtian, will form a T shape to complete the in-orbit construction of Chinas space station, Hao said.

Research and development of the Wentian and Mengtian lab modules are progressing smoothly. Upon completion of the space station, the three modules will have a combined living space of more than 110 cubic meters.

With six sleeping areas and two sanitation areas, the space station will be able to support long-term stays by three astronauts and short-term stays by six astronauts of two crews.

There will be more room for activities in the space station if counting that to be provided by manned spaceship and cargo spacecraft that will dock with the space station.

After the in-orbit construction of the space station is completed this year, the space station project will enter a new stage of application and development spanning more than 10 years, according to Hao, who added that the initial plan is to send two manned spaceships and two cargo spacecraft into space every year.

Meanwhile, astronauts will stay in orbit for an extended period of time to carry out space scientific and technological experiments and maintain the space station, he said.

China will also develop new-generation carrier rockets and manned spaceships so as to significantly enhance the country's manned space program's overall capabilities and technological level, Hao said.

During the new stage of application and development, astronauts will use the science lab cabinets in the space station modules and large payload facilities outside the modules to carry out larger-scale space research experiments and tests of new technologies in fields including space life science and human body studies, microgravity physics science, space astronomy and Earth science, as well as new space technology.

While carrying out research and development tasks for the construction of the space station, we have also pursued breakthroughs in key technologies for a manned lunar landing and deliberated on the plan for the mission, said Hao, adding that the focus of Chinas manned spaceflight missions will be shifted from the exploration of terrestrial space to that of cislunar space and then deep space.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Community activists Raul Montes Jr., left and Frank Coconate, right, speak about the red-light camera scandal at the corner of 22nd Street and Route 83 in Oak Brook, Ill. on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Mike Mantucca / Pioneer Press)

Days after former Oakbrook Terrace Mayor Anthony Ragucci was charged in a red-light camera bribery scheme, two longtime self-styled community activists held a news conference to protest the cameras in front of the red-light cameras at Kingery Road and 22nd Street.

Federal prosecutors alleged that, Ragucci directly accepted $12,500 cash from an official of the red-light camera firm as contracts were renewed, unaware that the official was secretly working with federal investigators on a wide-ranging corruption probe. Those charges dropped on Monday after a two-year federal investigation.

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[READ MORE] Former Oakbrook Terrace mayor pleads not guilty to fraud charges in wide-ranging red-light camera bribery case 

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On Wednesday, Raul Montes Jr. and Frank Coconate, both longtime opponents of red light and speed cameras, argued the city, the county, the state and every community that uses the cameras should get rid of them, or at least pause all camera programs for the time being.

The men argued the cameras hurt taxpayers, poor people and are tied to numerous fraud and corruption scandals like the Ragucci case across the state. They say the camera programs are too easy for political and business leaders to abuse and they add no value to public safety.

He took money and was paid out money based on how much these red-light cameras generated, Montes said of Ragucci. Its not about safety. Its about getting money and ruining peoples lives.

Even among political leadership, the cameras arent always popular. In Oakbrook, local officials opposed the red-light cameras at the intersection when they were first proposed in 2017. Even the state highway safety officials didnt like the cameras  at first.

Oak Brook officials during a March Village Board meeting discussed whether there is further action they can take in the red light dispute.

The intersection, though busy, is relatively safe and was not then a cause for accidents. Indeed, the Illinois Department of Transportation  the final authority in whether or not to allow the cameras along a state highway  initially rejected the plan because, they said, the intersection was too safe. However, IDOT changed its tune and overruled local objection, allowing the cameras to fine motorists.

A red light camera sign notifies motorists at the corner of 22nd Street and Route 83 in Oak Brook, Ill. on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Mike Mantucca / Pioneer Press)

But the IDOT reversal came coincidentally after two powerful state senators intervened on behalf of SafeSpeed, a camera ticket company. The Tribune has previously reported that, before dying of COVID-19 in 2020, Sandoval admitted to accepting bribes from the SafeSpeed official, Omar Maani, who at the time was secretly working with federal investigators. Cullerton later admitted to taking part in a ghost payroll scheme.

SafeSpeed and its CEO, Nikki Zollar, have denied any wrongdoing, saying that any bribes offered by Maani occurred without the companys knowledge.

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Montes said this proves the cameras arent intended to improve traffic safety.

Its all concocted to make money, said Montes. Its not about safety.

These havent been the only officials tied up in bribery stings associated with SafeSpeed. Former Crestwood Mayor Lou Presta admitted to taking a cash-stuffed envelope from a SafeSpeed representative and he faces years in prison.

Montes said he wasnt surprised. The cameras may earn a few bucks from red-light scofflaws, but the programs give the green light to bribery.

The people dont want it, he said of the cameras. Its a domino effect and what it leads to is corruption. If you drive down south on Kingery Road, there are four more cameras and people are sick of this.

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Coconate echoed that.

How many more people will be indicted for taking money at the expense of the taxpayers, Coconate asked.

Coconate said both he and his wife get automated tickets at least once a month for minor infractions, including going just a few miles over the speed limit. Public safety doesnt improve, but its the political leaders and the camera companies that are the winners here.

The elected officials arent paying for this, Coconate said. Its the taxpayers. Its the poor. And its disgusting.

When is it going to stop?

Both Montes and Coconate would like to turn the cameras into a larger public referendum that inspires public protest, marches and eventually repeals. Wednesdays news conference had none of that though  aside from the two men, only a handful of media were present in the chilly, windy morning outdoor conference  but Montes said he hopes to inspire public awareness and protest.

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What were trying to do at this point is continue the struggle and to raise awareness, Montes said. We want marches, and were planning that, but this is the beginning to raise awareness to ban red light and speed cameras.

Editors note: This story has been updated to correct information about the involvement of SafeSpeed LLC in the federal investigation.

Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

(Reuters) - Billionaire investor William Ackman liquidated a $1.1 billion bet on Netflix on Wednesday, locking in a loss of more than $400 million as the streaming service's stock plunged following news that it lost subscribers for the first time in a decade.

Ackman's hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management made an abrupt U-turn, selling the 3.1 million shares it had bought just three months ago as Netflix' shares tumbled 35% to $226.19.

In January, the investor funneled over $1 billion into the streaming service just days after a disappointing forecast for subscriptions pushed the share price lower. Now a second bout of negative news about subscribers - the company said it had lost 200,000 - prompted the fund manager to turn his back on a company he had showered with praise only weeks before.

In a brief statement announcing the move, Ackman said proposed business model changes, including incorporating advertising and going after non-paying customers, made sense but would make the company too unpredictable in the short term.

"While Netflix's business is fundamentally simple to understand, in light of recent events, we have lost confidence in our ability to predict the company's future prospects with a sufficient degree of certainty," he wrote.

Pershing Square, which now invests $21.5 billion, buys shares in only about a dozen companies at a time and needs a "high degree of predictability" in its portfolio companies, Ackman said.

Rather than wait around for things to improve at Netflix, Ackman locked in losses that are calculated to be more than $400 million, people familiar with the portfolio said. After the sale, Pershing Square's portfolios are off roughly two percent for the year, Ackman said.

Netflix said it had lost 200,000 subscribers in its first quarter, falling well short of its modest predictions that it would add 2.5 million subscribers. Its decision in early March to suspend service in Russia after it invaded Ukraine resulted in the loss of 700,000 members.

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Profitable hedges helped Pershing Square survive the early days of the pandemic in 2020 and then again in recent months as interest rates began to rise. The last three years have been among the best in the hedge fund's lifetime, including a 70.2% gain in 2020.

But Ackman also acknowledged in his statement on Wednesday that he had learned from leaner times when his fund backed Valeant Pharmaceuticals, a disastrous bet that cost the hedge fund billions in losses.

"One of our learnings from past mistakes is to act promptly when we discover new information about an investment that is inconsistent with our original thesis. That is why we did so here," he wrote.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss with additional reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Bernard Orr)
Apr. 20EAST COBB  Boosters of a new city of East Cobb have for months pointed to the proposed city's feasibility study as the reigning evidence of the future city's success, should the voters give it the go-ahead next month.

The 60,000-resident area would enjoy public safety services on par with Cobb County's, promising local self-determination and a budget surplus of nearly $3 million. And, all importantly, with no new taxes.

In a Tuesday night debate with cityhood opponents, hosted by the East Cobb Business Association and attended by over a hundred viewers, the feasibility study came to resemble a Rorschach test more than holy writ.

Where cityhood advocates say the Georgia State University study is conservative, underestimating the city's revenues, the anti-cityhood East Cobb Alliance called it "aggressive" and "flawed." The study overestimates the cash the city would bring in, while waving away the costs that would quickly mount, they argue.

On many questions, panelists indicated they didn't have a crystal ball  for opponents, the feasibility study was too vague. For supporters, they said they couldn't answer questions that would be decided by the future city council.

They largely debated the brass-tack policy questions of cityhood, downplaying the political tensions that have bubbled to the surface in recent months.

Concerns over density and affordable housing remained a major point of discussion, each side claiming the mantle of keeping east Cobb as it is.

As one undecided attendee, Dan Henak, saw it, "That's the one thing about East Cobb is, we don't have any room. We live in Indian Hills and every day, I'm seeing another house being bulldozed down, and a McMansion coming up. I don't know people can even afford this (stuff)."

Mindy Seger of the anti-cityhood contingent argued Cobb County affords ample opportunities for residents to make their voices heard on land use decisions. New cities, meanwhile, come to need high-density development to support their ballooning budgets.

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"Cities tend to create affordable housing programs to support workforce housing and their local businesses. We've seen this in local communities around us. We've seen this in Roswell, we've seen this in Sandy Springs, we've seen this in other suburban cities. ... When you form a city, these things come with it," Seger argued.

Rebutted cityhood proponent Cindy Cooperman, "There have been several alarming decisions that have been made on the number of projects that are coming in towards the boundaries of east Cobb. It's just a matter of time.

"And yes, you can engage with your Cobb County Commission. But do you really want to have to whip up a Facebook post and an activist group every time you disagree with a decision?"

Further policy-heavy talk circled the public safety issue. East Cobb is unique among the four cityhood proposals in the county in that it proposes to create its own police and fire services, in part by taking over existing county facilities.

Though Cobb County government officials have warned incorporation could increase fire and police response times, Cooperman said those estimates were "rudimentary." In all likelihood, the new city could work out arrangements with surrounding jurisdictions to match the current level of service.

Anti-cityhood speaker Bob Lax countered that in only one city created in the last two decades  South Fulton  has the fire department reached the ISO 1 rating, the premier level of service for fire response.

Tuesday night's discussion largely remained civil, even sedate. Tensions flashed, however, when a question was posed about East Cobb Alliance's call to "follow the money" of the real estate developers funding the cityhood initiative.

Craig Chapin of the East Cobb Cityhood Committee called the insinuation "categorically false," a "conspiracy theory," and a "fear tactic."

"You look online, there's been really a cancel culture against those that have been for the city (with) over-aggressive attacks. And it just makes you wonder what's really driving it," Chapin said.

"It is not a conspiracy theory, but rather a question that the community has been asking us and is asking the committee to answer  what is the expected return on investment?" said Seger, saying 11 of the 14 cityhood committee members have ties to commercial real estate.

Cooperman shot back, "It's been the sweat of this man, myself, and the rest of the committee members who have been doing it. Attacking someone because they work in the real estate industry or they're a developer, it's just ridiculous. Again, what evidence does anyone have that these people are up to something up to no good?"

One attendee, who came into the debate leaning in favor of cityhood but still undecided, enjoyed the to-and-fro of the discussion, to a point.

"What I didn't like is they kept saying go read, go read, go read  I want to know the truth," said Erin Tallant. "It's like, he said, she said. Give me the truth  what is the law? What is the rule? What will happen? Not maybe. What will happen?"

Forces for and against cityhood will convene again May 4 at Pope High School, in the second debate hosted by the East Cobb Rotary Club.
DAKAR (Reuters) - Air France said on Wednesday that flights from Senegal's capital Dakar to Paris will make refuelling stops in Spain's Las Palmas, due a refined products shortage in the West African nation that has also seen motorists queue for fuel.

Senegal is facing what the Energy Minister Sophie Gladima called a "tense supply situation," due to difficulties getting supplies from the global market, but she insisted the country has not ran out of fuel.

Gladima told state television RTS on Tuesday evening that Senegal was expecting the arrival of a supply ship with at least 1,000 tonnes of jet fuel on Wednesday.

Senegal's airport authorities on April 18, warned airlines at Dakar international airport that they are required to make arrangements to have enough fuel for return flights.

The warning came after the airport's jet fuel supplier said in an internal memo that it would not be able to refuel flights for two weeks, until the end of April, due to difficulties it was facing getting supplies from the market.

Air France in an email response to Reuters said its Dakar-Paris flights are currently making a technical stopover in Las Palmas in Spain for refuelling until further notice.

A Reuters reporter saw motorists queuing at petrol stations in Dakar, while several others had ran out of fuel.

Senegal's 27,000 barrels-per-day SAR refinery has been offline since November for a scheduled maintenance. It is expected to resume production by the end of April.

(Reporting by Diadie Ba and Ngouda Dione; Additional reporting by Tassilo Hummel in Paris; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Two more lawsuits have been filed against Amazon and the companies that oversaw the construction of the Amazon warehouse where six people died in a tornado in December in Edwardsville.

A wrongful-death lawsuit was filed on behalf of Deon January, the mother of the late DeAndre Morrow, according to a news release on Tuesday from the attorneys for January.

Morrow, 28, died when the warehouse walls and roof collapsed in an EF3 tornado packing winds of up to 150 mph on Dec. 10. The building is on Gateway Commerce Drive near the intersection of Interstate 255 and Interstate 270.

A previous wrongful-death lawsuit was filed earlier this year on behalf of Alice and Randy McEwen, the parents of 26-year-old Austin McEwen, who died in the tornado.

The attorneys for Morrows family include Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney from Tallahassee, Florida, who is known nationwide for representing the family of George Floyd in its civil suit against the city of Minneapolis.

Representatives from Amazon and the other defendants could not be reached for comment Tuesday night on the Morrow lawsuit. The other defendants are Contegra Construction Co., which has offices in Edwardsville and St. Charles, Missouri; Tristar Properties of St. Louis; Stock & Associates Consulting Engineers Inc. of Chesterfield, Missouri; St. Louis-based Gray Design Group; and McNealy Engineering of St. Louis.

Along with the 34-page lawsuit filed on behalf of Morrows mother, the attorneys said they filed a 37-page lawsuit against the same defendants on behalf of four delivery drivers who worked for Amazon contractors.

The drivers are Jamarco Hickman of Godfrey, Evan Jensen of Alton, Deontae Yancey of Godfrey and Jada Williams of Glen Carbon.

This lawsuit cites counts of negligent infliction of emotional distress and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Jensen wanted to leave the warehouse before the storm hit but was threatened with termination if he left the warehouse, the lawsuit alleges. Williams also wanted to leave but she also was threatened with termination if she left, according to the lawsuit.

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All of the lawsuits have been filed in Madison County Court.

Fire marshals tornado report

Lawyers for all of the plaintiffs have cited a report by a fire marshal from St. Louis County who went to the scene on Dec. 10 to make sure it was safe for first responders to enter the damaged building.

Fire Marshal Dan Bruno of the West County EMS and Fire noted in his report that columns appeared to be ripped or torn from the base. He said that the International Building Code requires columns to be secured against uplift from wind loads

Looking at the base of the columns more closely, I could find no weld or bolted connection at the base of any column, but only a bead of what appeared to be some sort of caulk around the column at the finished floor line, Bruno wrote.

Last week, Contegra released a four-page statement to dispute statements by an attorney for the McEwen family that Brunos report suggests the warehouse was not built to code.

Edwardsvilles city code requires buildings be able to withstand 90 mph winds. The engineering firm that designed the warehouse does not design structures to withstand EF-3 tornadoes, according to Contegra.

Contegras statement included the following points:

 The columns were welded into metal sleeves embedded in a concrete foundation. This design is very commonly applied in warehouse construction and is an alternative to a bolted or welded baseplate connection.

 The columns were ripped from their sleeves as the result of tremendous tornadic wind forces.

Bruno noted in his report that, Any statements made in this narrative concerning the design of the structure are advisory only and will require further analysis by other professionals before any conclusions could be reached.

Lawsuit allegations

The lawsuits for Morrows family and the four drivers were filed by Crump and Patrick King of Alton and Robert Hilliard, Michael Richardson and Benjamin OConnor of Hilliard Martinez Gonzales LLC of Corpus Christi, Texas.

Amazon had numerous warnings and opportunities to put their employees safety first, but they chose their bottom line instead, Crump said in his news release. As a result, six people needlessly lost their lives and many others suffered injury and mental anguish that will likely last a lifetime. Amazon required their employees to work just moments before the tornado destroyed the fulfillment center, despite their pleas to seek shelter at home with their loved ones.

While an Amazon representative couldnt be reached for comment Tuesday, Kelly Nantel, the companys director of national media relations, previously has made the following points:

 Amazon employees are fully trained on safety procedures and emergency preparedness.

 The Edwardsville warehouse had a designated area for sheltering in place during a storm. However, Nantel has said this area was not built any differently than the rest of the building and that it was not a shelter.

 Managers began moving people into the designated sheltering in place area when tornado sirens sounded shortly after 8 p.m. on Dec. 10, 2021.

 Quick action by managers helped save a lot of lives. The company welcomes all investigators to review what happened.

Crump made these arguments about Amazon in his news release about the allegations in the lawsuit:

 Failed to timely inform individuals at the subject fulfillment center that a tornado was approaching so those individuals had adequate time to properly shelter or evacuate.

 Failed to have a basement shelter or actual shelter.

 Failed to implement proper safety procedures in the event of an evacuation or natural disaster and follow procedures while the natural disaster was unfolding.

 Failed to properly monitor inclement weather prior to the tornado hitting the fulfillment center.

The four other persons who died in the tornado were Clayton Lynn Cope, 29, of Alton; Etheria S. Hebb, 34, of St. Louis; Larry E. Virden, 46, of Collinsville; and Kevin D. Dickey, 62, of Carlyle.

BND reporters Kelsey Landis and Teri Maddox contributed information for this article.
Rapper A$AP Rocky, a.k.a Rakim Mayers, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) early Wednesday morning, the Los Angeles Police Department announced.

The arrest was in connection to a shooting on Nov. 6 that had not previously been reported in the media. According to the LAPD, "an argument between two acquaintances" around 10:15 p.m. on that date "escalated" to the point of a gun firing, which resulted in a minor injury for the victim. Detectives eventually identified Mayers, 33, as a suspect and arrested him at LAX on Wednesday for "assault with a deadly weapon."

LAPD News: Arrest of Shooting Suspect (NR22111ll) pic.twitter.com/fkrNxLZGS8  LAPD PIO (@LAPDPIO) April 20, 2022

A$AP Rocky

Michael Kovac/Getty Images A$AP Rocky, a.k.a. Rakim Mayers, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on April 20, 2022.

According to NBC News, Mayers arrived to LAX on a private plane after vacationing with his pregnant girlfriend Rihanna in her native Barbados. He was taken into custody by LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Representatives for Mayers did not immediately respond to EW's request for additional comment.

In 2019, Mayers was convicted of assault in Stockholm and served a month in a Swedish detention center.

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SOLOMONS-POLITICS-UNREST-PARLIAMENT

The streets of downtown Honiara, Solomon Islands, on Dec. 6, 2021the day Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare faced a no-confidence vote as the city braced for political rioting. Credit - MAVIS PODOKOLO/AFP via Getty Images

China announced Tuesday night that it had signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands. The agreement, Beijing says, is to promote peace and stability and runs parallel and complimentary to existing cooperation arrangements with the Solomonsan archipelagic country of almost 1,000 tropical islands and atolls, situated between Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

News of the pact came a day after the U.S. said it would send a delegation of senior officials to the South Pacific nation to convince it to scrap the deal. Led by assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, and the National Security Councils (NSC) Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell, the delegation had hoped to make the case that the U.S. could deliver prosperity, security, and peace across the Pacific Islands and the Indo-Pacific.

Concern is now mounting that the newly signed pact will give Beijing a foothold in the region. Last week, Australias Pacific minister, Zed Seselja, visited the Solomons and asked its leaders to consider not signing the agreement. He made the trip even though his government is preparing to fight a general electionby convention, a time when diplomatic outreach is suspended.

Read More: The U.S. and China Are Battling for Influence in Latin America

Its rare that the South Pacific attracts such diplomatic courting. The U.S. closed its embassy in the Solomons capital Honiara 29 years ago, but in February this year pledged to reopen it. That same month, Antony Blinken became the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit Fiji in almost 40 years.

Behind the activity is the fear a new front has now been opened in the geopolitical rivalry between China and the West.

An unverified draft of Chinas security agreement with the Solomons began circulating online late last month, causing a furore over its purported terms, which included the potential deployment of Chinese security forces to maintain social order in response to requests from the government of the Solomons.

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Regardless of the documents veracity, the response to it reflects deep-rooted concern over the future balance of power in the Pacific. As Dr Anna Powles, the New Zealand security academic who circulated the document, said on Twitter: If it isnt authentic, it still provides some interesting insights into how geopolitical dynamics are playing out.

Tarcisius Kabutaulaka, an associate professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, tells TIME that the manner and timing of the announcement are significant. Beijing unilaterally announced the signing just ahead of the U.S. delegations visit to Solomon Islands, he tells TIME. I think that is not a coincidence.

Heres what to know about the agreement.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang holds a welcoming ceremony for Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare ahead of their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 9, 2019. Sogavare is paying an official visit to China. /Xinhua via Getty) (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei via Getty Images) Pang XingleiXinhua News Agency/Getty Images

Why is there concern over the Solomon Islands pact with China?

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on April 18 that the agreement left open the door for the deployment of Chinas military forces to the Solomon Islands and set a concerning precedent for the wider Pacific Island region.

After the signing, an NSC spokesperson told Reuters the agreement follows a pattern of China offering shadowy, vague deals with little regional consultation in fishing, resource management, development assistance and now security practices.

Neither Price nor the NSC official cited the text of the agreement, which has not been made public.

New Zealand and Australia have also expressed concern over the partnership, because it might allow for a Chinese military presence in a region they have historically considered their sphere of influence.

Australias foreign affairs minister Marise Payne told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that there was a lack of transparency in relation to this agreement.

New Zealands leader Jacinda Ardern echoed the sentiment. We see such acts as a potential militarization of the region and also see very little reason in terms of the Pacific security for such a need and such a presence, she told Radio NZ.

READ MORE: COVID-Free Pacific Nation Opened Its Border a Crack. The Virus Came Rushing In

But Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare of the Solomon Islands has criticized such responses. In an address to parliament on March 29, he said We find it very insulting to be branded as unfit to manage our sovereign affairs, or [to] have other motives in pursuing our national interests.

He added that the country would not allow China to build a military base, but at the same the Solomon Islands needed to diversify its relationships with other partners.

Canberra, which has a bilateral security agreement with the country, said earlier that it would continue to cooperate with the Solomon Islands, even if the pact with China was signed. But Prime Minister Scott Morrison faced criticism on Wednesday for not dispatching the more senior Payne to woo Honiara instead of Pacific minister Seselja. Penny Wong, the opposition partys shadow minister for foreign affairs, told ABC News that it was the worst Australian foreign policy blunder in the Pacific since the end of World War Two.



Kabutaulaka says that the security agreement demonstrates that the balance of power in the region has been disrupted. China is a power that is here to stay, at least in the foreseeable future, and has disrupted Western countries dominance of the region.

Flames rise from buildings in Honiara's Chinatown on November 26, 2021 as days of rioting have seen thousands ignore a government lockdown order, torching several buildings around the Chinatown district including commercial properties and a bank branch. Charley PiringiAFP/Getty Images

Why does the Solomon Islands want a security pact?

In 2019, the Solomon Islands switched diplomatic recognition to China from Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province. Since then, China has been boosting economic ties, involving the Solomons in its signature Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, and promising to build a multi-million dollar stadium in the country ahead of the Pacific Games next year. Direct investment has also taken off.

Chinese businesses dominate nearly every sector of Solomon Islands economy, from natural resource extraction to retail businesses and increasing assistance to the Solomon Islands government, although Australia is by far the largest donor, says Kabutaulaka. In order to understand Chinas growing influence, one must understand the flows of Chinese capital.

The response to China has been mixed in the Solomons. Last November, protesters demanded Sogavare step down for the 2019 decision to end ties with Taipei. The protests escalated, resulting in violence that saw several Chinese-owned businesses burned down.

The prime minister is sticking to his guns, however. Speaking on Wednesday, Sogavare said the agreement was necessary to cover critical security gaps and improve the ability of the authorities to deal with future instability. He added that the Solomon Islands entered the deal with eyes wide open.

From the Archives: Why America Is Losing Asia

Development plays a large part in the rapprochement between Beijing and Honiara. Tess Newton Cain, the Pacific Hub project leader at research center the Griffith Asia Institute, says that Sogavare believes Chinese infrastructure and investment are essential to the countrys economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hes very much made it clear that thats what he sees as the economic path, or a significant part of the economic path, and theres no question that China is very much the principal player in economic development of Solomon Islands, she says.

Meg Keen, a professor at Australian National University (ANU), says that Pacific island countries see security and development issues as intertwined. They want to see strong commitment from their development partners on the full range of security issues, she tells TIME, which include climate change, human security, resource security, as well as traditional security.

Anti-government messages seen on a burnt-out building in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on Nov. 27, 2021, as a tense calm returned after days of intense rioting. CHARLEY PIRINGI/AFP via Getty Images

What are the implications of the pact?

While the pact undoubtedly gives Beijing greater presence in the Pacific, Keen points out the signed agreement remains secret so the full implications are hard to judge. Newton Cain believes there maybe a domestic backlash. The issue of lack of transparency is a concern in Solomon Islands as has been the case in relation to other decisions by the Sogavare government, including the switch in 2019, she tells TIME. Already, a senior opposition figure in the islands, legislator Peter Kenilorea Jr., is warning that the pact will further inflame emotions and tensions.

Read More: What Happens Next With the U.S.-China Rivalry At the same time, the fact that the U.S.delegation to the Solomons is going ahead, Newton Cain says, is a positive sign that Sogavare is maintaining communication and is available to hear from partners as to what their concerns are. Kabutaulaka says that the pact will spur greater Western engagement with Pacific Islands countries, already being seen in such initiatives as Washingtons Pacific Pledge, Australias Pacific Step-Up, New Zealands Pacific Reset, and the U.K.s Pacific Uplift. The reopening of the U.S. embassy in Honiara is part of the same drive to counter Chinese influence.

It is however unclear whether that will diminish Chinas growing influence in the region, says Kabutaulaka. So far, it hasnt.
Ukrayinska Pravda

ROMAN PETRENKO - MONDAY, 9 MAY, 2022, 10:45 The flying display part of the parade in Moscow has been cancelled allegedly due to the weather. Source: Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by the Kremlin media Details: On the morning of 9 May, before the start of the [annual military Victory Day] parade, it became known that there will be no flying display in Moscow this year.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Australias prime minister and his opposition rival clashed heatedly over the country's tumultuous relationship with China on Wednesday in the first leaders' debate ahead of elections on May 21.

The opposition center-left Labor Party has accused Prime Minister Scott Morrisons conservative government of Australias biggest foreign policy blunder in the Pacific since World War II after China and the Solomon Islands announced this week they had signed a bilateral security pact.

The pact has raised fears of a Chinese naval presence on the Solomon Islands, only 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) off the northeast Australian coast.

Morrison said China was to blame for the new threat, not Australia, which is the Solomon Islands' main security partner.

It is a very serious issue, but what I found interesting today was that ... the Labor Party said that this was a policy failure. No, this has happened because China is seeking to interfere in the Pacific, Morrison said.

He said it was odd that the Labor Party was saying it was Australia's fault instead of acknowledging that China was interfering in the region.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese described that accusation as an outrageous slur.

This isnt so much a Pacific step up. Its a Pacific stuff up. This is a major foreign policy failure by Australia, Albanese said. The Labor leader was referring to Australias policy of increased engagement with its island neighbors, which the government describes as its Pacific step up.

The truth is we all know that China has changed. China has changed its posture. Its more aggressive, its more active in the region and we need to understand that and respond to it, Albanese added.

The government has described Labor as weak on China and argues that a Labor government would bend to Chinese economic coercion.

With China imposing official and unofficial trade sanctions against Australia in recent years, the government argues that Beijing wants Labor to win the election.

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A conservative lobby group is running ads on the side of trucks depicting Chinese President Xi Jinping casting his vote for Labor.

Labor takes credit for thwarting the governments plan in 2014 to sign an extradition treaty with China. Bilateral relations have since deteriorated, and the government now warns that Australians risk arbitrary detention if they visit China.

Morrison on Wednesday said Labor had accused him of being too strong against China, pointing out to other world leaders how China was attempting to coerce Australia. Morrison said he had also been accused of racism for demanding an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus and for banning flights from China early in the pandemic.

Several experts say both parties are largely united on national security issues and that the government is fabricating differences on China.

Labor has been leading the government in most opinion polls in recent months. The government is seeking a rare fourth three-year term.

Wednesdays debate was hosted by News Corp. in the city of Brisbane in pivotal Queensland state in front of an audience of 100 people who have yet to decide who they would vote for. Albanese was voted the debate winner by 40 audience members, 35 gave it to Morrison and 25 were undecided.
There's no doubt that money can be made by owning shares of unprofitable businesses. By way of example, Bannerman Energy (ASX:BMN) has seen its share price rise 135% over the last year, delighting many shareholders. Nonetheless, only a fool would ignore the risk that a loss making company burns through its cash too quickly.

So notwithstanding the buoyant share price, we think it's well worth asking whether Bannerman Energy's cash burn is too risky. For the purposes of this article, cash burn is the annual rate at which an unprofitable company spends cash to fund its growth; its negative free cash flow. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.

Check out our latest analysis for Bannerman Energy

How Long Is Bannerman Energy's Cash Runway?

A cash runway is defined as the length of time it would take a company to run out of money if it kept spending at its current rate of cash burn. In December 2021, Bannerman Energy had AU$9.2m in cash, and was debt-free. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through AU$5.8m. Therefore, from December 2021 it had roughly 19 months of cash runway. While that cash runway isn't too concerning, sensible holders would be peering into the distance, and considering what happens if the company runs out of cash. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

How Is Bannerman Energy's Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

Bannerman Energy didn't record any revenue over the last year, indicating that it's an early stage company still developing its business. Nonetheless, we can still examine its cash burn trajectory as part of our assessment of its cash burn situation. The skyrocketing cash burn up 163% year on year certainly tests our nerves. That sort of spending growth rate can't continue for very long before it causes balance sheet weakness, generally speaking. Clearly, however, the crucial factor is whether the company will grow its business going forward. For that reason, it makes a lot of sense to take a look at our analyst forecasts for the company.

Can Bannerman Energy Raise More Cash Easily?

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While Bannerman Energy does have a solid cash runway, its cash burn trajectory may have some shareholders thinking ahead to when the company may need to raise more cash. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future growth. We can compare a company's cash burn to its market capitalisation to get a sense for how many new shares a company would have to issue to fund one year's operations.

Bannerman Energy's cash burn of AU$5.8m is about 1.4% of its AU$433m market capitalisation. That means it could easily issue a few shares to fund more growth, and might well be in a position to borrow cheaply.

How Risky Is Bannerman Energy's Cash Burn Situation?

On this analysis of Bannerman Energy's cash burn, we think its cash burn relative to its market cap was reassuring, while its increasing cash burn has us a bit worried. Cash burning companies are always on the riskier side of things, but after considering all of the factors discussed in this short piece, we're not too worried about its rate of cash burn. Separately, we looked at different risks affecting the company and spotted 5 warning signs for Bannerman Energy (of which 2 don't sit too well with us!) you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies insiders are buying, and this list of stocks growth stocks (according to analyst forecasts)

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
LVIV, Ukraine (AP)  The authorities in Belarus have conducted a new wave of searches and arrests of union activists and independent journalists, a leading human rights group said Wednesday.

At least 16 people have been arrested in Minsk, Grodno, Borisov and other Belarusian cities, according to the Viasna human rights center.

Alexander Yaroshuk, the president of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions and another top union leader, Alexander Bukhvostov, were among those arrested. The accusations against them haven't been made public.

Belarusian authorities have declared several unions as extremist organizations shortly before the arrests.

Siarhei Cherachen, a former presidential candidate, said that security officers dressed in black uniforms broke doors into the union office and kept those who were inside standing against the wall for several hours during the search.

It's a new mopping-up operation against civil society, he said.

The Belarusian Association of Journalists said that Aksana Kolb, the editor of the independent Novy Chas newspaper, was also detained on Wednesday.

The Belarusian authorities have conducted a relentless, multi-pronged crackdown on dissent following the massive anti-government protests that erupted after President Alexander Lukashenko was handed a sixth term, after an August 2020 presidential vote that was denounced as rigged by the opposition and the West.

Belarusian authorities responded with a wave of repression that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police. At least 1,127 people currently behind bars have been designated as political prisoners by human rights groups.

Lukashenko has held on to power amid bruising Western sanctions, relying on support from his main ally and sponsor Russia, which used Belarusian territory to launch an invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

"Lukashenko is using repression to try to keep the situation under control as he faces growing discontent over the involvement in the war in Ukraine and a quick drop in living standards due to the sanctions," Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the main opposition candidate in the 2020 vote, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. But the Belarusians are continuing to protest even in these conditions.
An educational partnership between China and South Africa on Tuesday brought Chinese tea culture to Cape Town's Groot Constantia, the oldest South African wine farm, to promote exchanges of cultures and celebrate UN Chinese Language Day.



Making tea and wine share similarities that they both need dedication, hard work and craftmanship, therefore the Confucius Institute for Chinese Medicine at University of Western Cape holds a tea event at a winery to boost exchanges of the two cultures, said the institute's director Zeng Liren, while making Chinese green tea for visitors.

The UN Chinese Language Day is observed on April 20 every year since 2010, celebrating the language's contribution to the world while encouraging more people to learn it.

April 20 marks the Guyu, Grain Rain or "Rain of Millet" in Chinese. The Guyu is sixth of the 24 solar terms in the traditional lunar calendar, the day when farmers start sowing.

Zeng, who is also a tea expert, explained that tea farmers in China produce one of the highest quality green tea around Grain Rain, which is another reason for the tea event.

The organizer provided Chinese tea of five major categories, including fresh green tea, and also introduced tea knowledge and the programs the institute offers. It also showcased ethnic costumes during the event.

"You can taste tea here today or go for lovely wine tasting, or have lovely food paring here, so it just adds to culture experience. I think it is a good idea," the winery's marketing assistant Karen Woodcock told Xinhua.

It's a lovely culture event, she said, adding that the linkups between the east and west as well as South Africa and China has been centuries.

The long-serving staff member of Groot Constantia said the wine farm, established in 1685, wants to keep itself authentically South African, but would like to add knowledge of the Chinese culture, which is part of its history, as its manor house has a lot of Chinese furniture and artifacts.

She also hoped more wines from the winery to be exported to China.

"During tasting it (tea) they told us about additional values, quality, background history and I found it was very interesting. And I think it reflects everything on Chinese culture as well, so I must say the whole experience, the tea tasting, is lovely, absolutely divine," said 21-year-old Dylan Matthew Smith from University of Stellenbosch, outside Cape Town.

Across South Africa, various activities have been planned for this year's Chinese Language Day. They were hosted by Chinese Embassy in South Africa and organized by Chinese language organizations.
Munich-based sales agency Beta Cinema has closed sales to several major territories for stylish comic-book adaptation Diabolik, which is among the leaders in the race for Italys top film awards  the David di Donatello Awards  with 11 nominations. Beta Cinema will kick off presales on the films sequels in Cannes.

Diabolik has been acquired by buyers in France (Metropolitan), Spain (Flins & Piniculas), and Latin America and Portugal (Sun Distribution Group). All rights have also been sold to Canada (Mongrel Media), South Korea (Contents Gate), Taiwan (AV-Jet International) and the former Yugoslavia (Discovery).

More from Variety

Filming on the two sequels wrapped in March, with Giacomo Gianniotti (Greys Anatomy, Marvels Avengers) in the role of the charming master thief Diabolik. Based on the highly popular comic-book series, which has sold more than 150 million copies worldwide, the story is again set in the fictional city of Clerville in the 1960s.

Diabolik - Credit: Courtesy of Antonello and Montesi

Courtesy of Antonello and Montesi

The stylish crime films are written and directed by Marco and Antonio Manetti, who made their directorial debut in 1995 with an episode in the film De Generazione. Their movie Zora la Vampira was released in 2000, followed by Piano 17, Paura 3D and LArrivo di Wang. In 2013, they garnered acclaim from critics and public alike with Song of Napoli. In 2017, their film Love and Bullets was presented at the Venice Film Festival, and won the David di Donatello Award for best picture, among other honors.

Diaboliks nominations for the David di Donatello Awards include best lead actress for Miriam Leone, best actor in a supporting role for Valerio Mastandrea, best production design for Noemi Marchica, best costume design for Ginevra de Carolis, best original song for Manuel Agnelli, and best score for Pivio and Aldo De Scalzi. The awards ceremony will take place on May 3.

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The Biden administration is expected to announce in the coming days another package of military assistance for Ukraine that will follow an $800 million package announced last week.

CNN and NBC News reported that the administration was putting together another $800 million weapons package for Ukraine.

A congressional source told The Hill that a weapons package was being considered but that there were no further details.

Asked about the report, the State Department said, We have nothing to announce at this time. The Pentagon referred questions on the report to the National Security Council.

The expected package would come about a week after Biden unveiled an $800 million weapons package for Ukraine, which included howitzers, counter-artillery radars and Mi-17 helicopters originally earmarked for Afghanistan. The U.S. has provided more than $3.2 billion security assistance to Ukraine since President Biden took office, including $2.6 billion since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Biden signaled that more aid was coming during a trip to New Hampshire on Tuesday, answering yes when asked if Washington would send Kyiv more artillery.

Biden held a video conference with allies and partners on Tuesday, during which providing more ammunition and security assistance to Ukraine was discussed, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

The package comes as Russia launches its massive offensive in the eastern region of Ukraine after retreating from the capital city of Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Monday that Russia had begun its assault for the Donbas, saying in a video address that a very large portion of the Russian army is focused on the effort.

A European official briefing reporters said Mariupol, a southern port city in Ukraine, could fall within days. The city has become a main objective and is key to Moscow being able to establish a land bridge between Crimea and the Donbas.

The official added that military assistance to Ukraine is delivered case by case and that, from a military perspective, the calculations are a balance between what the Ukrainians are asking for and what will be easy to provide in a short time frame.

The official stressed that avoiding actions that provoke Russia and that could escalate the conflict is very, very important, with the fear that Moscow would use chemical or nuclear weapons and that the first victims would be in Ukraine. Ukraine would be the first one to be damaged by this.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden convened U.S. military leaders on Wednesday in an annual White House gathering taking on special significance as the war in Ukraine enters a risky new phase and Washington plans more weapons assistance.

A "variety of topics" were set to be discussed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and senior military leaders, a National Security Council spokesperson said. The event includes a formal West Wing meeting as well as a dinner in the president's residence with leaders' spouses afterward.

While the annual military policy meeting rarely makes news, weighty issues are on the agenda this year, topped by a conflict in Ukraine that officials fear could imperil European security for years to come.

Russia has said it has entered a new stage of its operation and is methodically seeking to "liberate" the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Western allies anticipate Russia's campaign could last many months, grind to a stalemate and test the battlefield capabilities of Ukrainian fighters.

Opening the meeting, Biden touted the toughness of the Ukrainian military and said that NATO's unity has shocked Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"They're tougher and more proud than I thought; I'm amazed what they're doing with your help," Biden said. "I don't think that Putin counted on it being able to hold us together."

The United States is expected to announce another military aid package for Ukraine in coming days that could match the $800 million pledged last week.

Russia says it launched what it calls a "special military operation" on Feb. 24 to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine. Kyiv and its Western allies reject that as a false pretext.

U.S. forces are not fighting in Ukraine but are indirectly engaged, arming, training and financing Kyiv's forces.

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A lengthy clash could also test U.S. public support for Washington's backing of Ukraine. Last month, Biden asked Congress for record peacetime spending on the military for the upcoming fiscal year.

The meeting comes amid questions about the future of NATO forces in Europe, including whether to install a permanent presence on the defense alliance's eastern border with Russia.

During a brief portion of the meeting open to reporters, Biden also expressed pride that women represented three of the senior officials included in the gathering.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Heather Timmons and Cynthia Osterman)
Bill OReilly is in hot water after being caught on camera berating an airline worker over a delayed flight.

Youre going to lose your job, the former host of Fox News The OReilly Factor told the JetBlue worker after his flight Sunday to the Turks and Caicos Islands was delayed for hours at New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Bill O'Reilly was caught spewing threats and insults at an airline employee. (Photo: Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

Bill O'Reilly was caught spewing threats and insults at an airline employee. (Photo: Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

The video showing the conservative commentator chastising and arguing with the employee was captured by another passenger.

In the video, the exchange escalated into an argument before OReilly demanded that the employee track down a manager over the situation.

We need to know what youre going to do, OReilly says in the video. Its three hours late now.

When the employee began to respond, OReilly held up a hand to shut him down. No, no, no, he said, pointing a finger at the mans chest. Youre going to find out.

The incident grew more tense when OReilly stepped closer to the employee to read his name tag before saying, Youre lucky I dont put my fist through it.

The workers response can barely be heard, but OReilly then said, You fucking scumbag, dont talk to me like that.

The JetBlue employee responded, Youre threatening me with violence, man, which OReilly denies before saying, Youre the one  I dare you? I dare you? Is that what you said to me?

Although OReilly was seen berating and threatening the worker, he denies any wrongdoing and blames the employee.

After DailyMail.com released the video of the confrontation, OReilly posted an explanation on Twitter.

The character assassins on social media completely lying about my interaction with a JetBlue guy who misled passengers during a five-hour delay. Weve covered on BillOReilly.com. I expected this, he wrote in the post.

The character assassins on social media completely lying about my interaction with a JetBlue guy who misled passengers during a five-hour delay. We've covered on https://t.co/rryWmyXe7C. I expected this.  Bill O'Reilly (@BillOReilly) April 19, 2022

OReilly isnt known for his calm. The former conservative TV host made headlines in the early 1990s after he exploded on camera over a teleprompter malfunction during an Inside Edition broadcast.

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The incident and his words Fuck it! Well do it live went viral in 2008 when a user uploaded a video of the debacle.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

Related...
Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12.

Bitcoin miner Bit Digital (BTBT) filed a prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the sale of up to $500 million in equity from time to time, also known as an at-the-market (ATM) offering.

The equity offerings may include ordinary shares, preferred shares (including convertible preferred shares), warrants and units comprised of any combination thereof, according to the filing.

The company said the proceeds would be used for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures, buying new mining equipment, other potential acquisitions and general working capital.

H.C. Wainwright will act as the underwriter if Bit Digital sells ordinary shares and will offer to sell about 181.8 million shares, implying a roughly 241% increase in outstanding shares, if all of the $500 million worth of shares are sold.

That being said, the prospectus is a shelf registration, meaning there is no present intention to immediately sell all the securities being registered.

Bit Digital migrated all of its bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs in North America from China last year amid Chinas sweeping ban of the industry. Almost 40% of its machines have came online in North America as of March 16.

The rest of the miners that are awaiting installation in the U.S. are expected to be installed at sites operated by Compute North and/or at the new facilities to be operated by Digihost and Blockfusion in upstate New York this year, the company said in the filing.

Bit Digitals offering comes shortly after one of the largest bitcoin miners, Riot Blockchain (RIOT), filed a similar prospectus to sell up to $500 million shares in an ATM offering. And another miner, Mawson Infrastructure (MIGI), also announced this month it was looking to raise up to $500 million in equity offerings.
By Samuel Indyk and Julien Ponthus

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron has a more than 90% chance of winning Sunday's presidential runoff vote against far-right challenger Marine Le Pen, the odds offered by UK political bookmakers showed on Wednesday.

Macron has seen his lead in opinion polls edge higher over the past few days to over 55% on average against 45% in favor of his rival whom he will face in a debate later on Wednesday.

The websites of William Hill and Paddy Power gave odds implying a 90.9% chance for the incumbent, while the Betfair Exchange had 92.6% and Ladbrokes 94.1%.

High odds in favor of a political event are, however, no guarantees of the outcome. In 2016, for instance, bets were overwhelmingly in favour of Britain voting to stay within the European Union in the June 23 referendum vote. On the day of the vote, Betfair gave the 'remain' vote 88.5% odds of winning, but the outcome went the other way.

While French financial markets have experienced some volatility ahead of the first round of the election when Le Pen captured 48.5% of voter intentions in an opinion poll, Macron's current lead has reassured investors.

The euro has steadied below the $1.10 levels, above a pandemic low of around $1.0650, while the widely watched French and German bond yield spread has settled around 45 basis points, well below the highs of above 80 basis points seen before the previous election in 2017.

Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at Barclays, warned against complacency among investors.

"A late shift cannot be discounted given the high number of undecided voters", he wrote in a note, adding the results would likely be tighter than in 2017, when Macron won about two-thirds of the vote.

"A Le Pen win would mean material uncertainty for France and the EU, so we see risks as asymmetrically skewed to the downside, as the risk premium around the French election embedded in markets at the moment feels relatively small to us", Cau said.

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The debate between Macron and Le Pen, which starts at 1900 GMT, will be the only one between the two candidates.

Centrist Macron and Le Pen are seeking to attract voters who backed far-left leader Jean Luc Melenchon after he came third in the first round, with about 22% of the vote.

Melenchon has not given any specific voting instructions for the runoff but urged his followers not to vote for Le Pen.

(Reporting by Samuel Indyk and Julien Ponthus; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
Authorities say a 61-year-old Buffalo, Minn., man was the victim of a fatal shooting that west metro authorities have blamed on road rage.

According to the Hennepin County medical examiners office, William Floyd Haire died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen last weekend.

Police said the shooting took place around 3 p.m. Sunday after one person shot at Haires vehicle in the course of a dispute in the area of Hennepin County Road 30 and Garland Lane North. Officers found the injured Haire in a car off the roadway near Interstate 94 and Maple Grove Parkway.

He died at North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call police at 763-494-6246.

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MILTON  A Bay County man who deputies have identified as their top suspect in the disappearance and death of Navarre woman Cassie Carli was transported to the Santa Rosa County Jail on Sunday night, according to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office.

Marcus Spanevelo, 34, of Panama City Beach, was arrested in Tennessee after allegedly impeding the investigation into Carli's late March disappearance.

Carli, 37, was reporting missing after she failed to return from a March 27 custody exchange with Spanevelo, an ex-boyfriend with whom she shared a 4-year-old daughter. Carli's vehicle was found abandoned at the meeting point with her purse still inside.

Marcus Spanevelo

Spanevelo arrest: Cassie Carli's ex-boyfriend arrested in Tennessee on charges related to her disappearance

Tragic ending: Cassie Carli's remains found in Alabama; ex-boyfriend will be charged

After a nearly week-long search effort spanning multiple states and involving numerous agencies, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson announced April 3 that Carli's body had been discovered buried in a barn in Alabama. Johnson noted that Spanevelo had ties to the property, though he did not disclose their exact nature.

The same day Carli's remains were located, Spanevelo was arrested in Tennessee on charges related to tampering with false evidence and giving false information to a law enforcement officer. Johnson claimed Spanevelo took Carli's phone and basically "got rid of it."

Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson and Assistant State Attorney Mark Alderman address the public on April 3 about the death of Cassie Carli.

Spanevelo has not been charged with Carli's death, though Johnson heavily implied it was only a matter of time until he was.

"I think (Spanevelo) is either going to spend the rest of his life in prison or he's going to get the needle," the sheriff said at an April 3 press conference. "Hopefully the needle."

Related: Cassie Carli Foundation forms to help domestic violence victims find safe housing

More: Cassie Carli honored at Navarre Beach vigil: 'I know my sister will make a difference.'

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Cassie Carli, 37, is pictured in this image provided by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office.

Johnson said he believed there is a strong case against Spanevelo and more information likely would be released upon the completion of an autopsy. On Monday, a spokesman for the Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office said the autopsy results are still pending.

Direct file charging documents from the State Attorney's Office list Spanevelo's bond at $15,000 for the tampering charge and $5,000 for the false information charge. However, Spanevelo has pending "holds" that will prevent him from being released until they are addressed, among them is one stemming from law enforcement in Saint Claire County, Alabama.

In the event Spanevelo is released from custody, the State Attorney's Office documents list the conditions, alongside the bond requirements, as GPS monitoring, no contact with witnesses or Carli's family, no possession of weapons and no travel outside of Bay, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa or Walton counties.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Cassie Carli's ex Marcus Spanevelo of PCB held in Santa Rosa jail
AccuWeather

Pakistan and neighboring India have been sweltering amid an intense heat wave that has led to weeks of dangerous air quality and rampaging wildfires. Now, the early-season heat is to blame for causing the rapid melt of the Shishper Glacier in northern Pakistan, which led to destructive flooding downstream. The Hassanabad Bridge in Pakistan's Hunza Valley was completely destroyed on Saturday as the melting glacier sent torrents of water coursing through area streams in a phenomenon known as a gla
As the world commemorates the annual United Nations (UN) Chinese Language Day on Wednesday, Ugandan youths are gearing up to learn Chinese. They see the language used in the second largest economy as a tool with which they can access a broader future.

Under the shade of trees at the Confucius Institute at Makerere University, students were gathering in small groups to practice Chinese. They share a clear target: to tap opportunities from China's increasing economic influence on the global stage.

Vianney Nsubuga, a freshman pursuing a bachelor's degree in Chinese and Asian studies, told Xinhua that Africa's continuous interactions with China have brought numerous employment opportunities, such as jobs in the transport and energy infrastructure sectors.

China has financed major energy and transport infrastructure projects in Uganda as part of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, including the Entebbe International Airport in Kampala, the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway, the 183 MW Isimba Hydropower Plant, and the 600 MW Karuma Hydropower Plant still under construction.

"By learning Chinese and mastering the language, it is going to help me in my life," said Nsubuga, who hopes to work as an interpreter, translator, or a Chinese language teacher after graduation. "By knowing it (Chinese) or teaching it to the young people, you are making connections with the world," the freshman added.

Jedrine Nasuna, a sophomore pursuing a bachelor's degree in Chinese and Asian studies, said she had decided to learn Chinese after her mother told her about China's increasing role in global affairs and its relations with her country.

"I wanted to study mass communication but my mum advised me to learn Chinese," she said. "China is working hand in hand with Uganda -- building roads, power plants. Most of the things that are happening in Uganda, the Chinese are taking part in."

The cooperation features mutual benefits, she said, as some Chinese companies that have set up business in Uganda or in other parts of Africa are also having their employees learn about the local culture to ensure smooth business operations.

As China and the world have been reaching out to each other, learning different languages and cultures are playing a critical role in cementing ties with others, said Wang Xiaojuan, a Chinese language instructor at the Confucius Institute.

Some students may work as diplomats in China in the future, while Chinese people learning the local languages in Uganda will also strengthen their friendship with locals, Wang said.

The Ugandan government has taken measures to facilitate the education of the Chinese language in schools, so as to prepare its young talents for future cooperation with China both at bilateral and multilateral levels.

In 2019, Uganda adopted the Chinese language into its ordinary-level secondary school curriculum. Nowadays, many government schools have set up Chinese courses with the assistance from the Confucius Institute, and have been training more and more Chinese language teachers.

Xia Zhuoqiong, the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute, said discussions are underway for the inclusion of Chinese into the advanced-level secondary school curriculum.

"While teaching the Chinese language, Chinese teachers are also working hard to learn local languages, such as Luganda and Lusoga," Xia said. "By learning these languages, we really understand their culture and really understand how to communicate with them. The distance between our hearts and their hearts is getting closer and closer."
A sign for the Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office, at 2610 Hospital Blvd. in Corpus Christi, is pictured on March 18, 2022.

One week after he was arrested as a result of a months-long investigation into his office, Nueces County commissioners voted to accept Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Adel Shaker's resignation effective Wednesday.

Commissioners during a Tuesday special meeting then appointed Shaker's predecessor, Dr. Ray Fernandez, to serve as the interim chief medical examiner until a replacement takes the reins.

Shaker announced his retirement in February. That came weeks after he fired his deputy chief medical examiner, Dr. Sandra Lyden, who was accused of practicing medicine without the proper license from the Texas Medical Board.

That accusation, which arose in January when the results of an autopsy performed by Lyden were called into question, sparked an investigation into the medical examiner's office by the Nueces County District Attorney's Office and the Texas Rangers.

More: Affidavit: Shaker, county employees knew former deputy medical examiner was not licensed

Shaker's attorney, Chris Gale, told commissioners during the public comment period of the meeting that Shaker had intended to work through to his retirement  which commissioners voted to accept in February  to help the office transition to new leadership.

Gale was not immediately available for comment after the commissioners voted to accept Shaker's resignation Tuesday evening.

Commissioners voted for county officials to negotiate with Fernandez, who has held a part-time position with the Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office since he retired as the chief medical examiner in 2020, about his compensation while in the role. That will come before the court for consideration during its regular meeting next week.

Commissioners tabled until next week a discussion about the county's human resources director, who was reportedly aware that Lyden was not licensed, according to an arrest affidavit sworn by the investigating Ranger.

Shaker has worked at the medical examiner's office since 2014 and was promoted to chief medical examiner in 2019, according to county human resources documents obtained by the Caller-Times.

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Commissioners during their last regular meeting voted unanimously to offer the chief medical examiner position to Dr. Timothy Fagen, an employee at the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office in Austin who has practiced medicine in the U.S. for 17 years.

Whether Fagen has accepted the offer was not discussed during the Tuesday meeting.

Charges against Shaker, Lyden are pending

The court's decision to appoint Fernandez comes as a months-long criminal probe into the Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office resulted in the arrest of Shaker and the second arrest of Lyden last week.

Dr. Adel Shaker, the Nueces County chief medical examiner, was arrested by Texas Rangers on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.

Gale said Lyden is not required by law to have a license to practice in Texas. That is only required for chief medical examiners, not their deputy chiefs, he said.

"Dr. Shaker has not been indicted for anything. All you have is a charge against him. When you're looking at the affidavit in support of the arrest in this case, the entirety of the affidavit concerns the licensing of Dr. Lyden, and all we can say is that that was an unnecessary thing," Gale said. "Whether somebody didn't get the license or otherwise is just simply irrelevant. You don't have to have one. So everyone remaining concerned about that is going down the wrong trail."

A sworn arrest affidavit penned by the Ranger and obtained by the Caller-Times contends Shaker criminally delegated authority to a physician, Lyden, knowing the act was in violation of the Texas Occupations Code. That violation stems from his knowing Lyden was not licensed, according to the affidavit.

The Ranger's investigation contends Shaker knowingly misled others in the county, going as far as to produce a reportedly false temporary provisional license number for Lyden. The Ranger was unable to verify that six-digit license number on the Texas Medical Board website, according to the affidavit.

More: Affidavit: Shaker, county employees knew former deputy medical examiner was not licensed

Shaker was arrested on a warrant charging him with 17 counts of practicing medicine in violation of that code on April 12.

Lyden was arrested March 7 on a warrant charging her with tampering with a government record with intent to defraud or harm. That charge stemmed from Lyden allegedly lying on her application for a license from the Texas Medical Board, according to an arrest affidavit.

Dr. Sandra Lyden, the former Nueces County chief deputy medical examiner, was arrested by Nueces County District Attorney's Office officials on Monday, March 7, 2022.

Lyden was arrested a second time on the same day Shaker was arrested. She was charged with 14 counts of practicing medicine without a license causing financial harm, six counts of tampering with a government record with intent to defraud or harm and one count of misrepresentation regarding entitlement to practice medicine.

She remained in the Nueces County Jail as of Tuesday afternoon, according to jail staff. Her bond amount totals $550,000.

Commissioners delay discussion of employee named in affidavit

Commissioners considered Tuesday taking action regarding an employee who was named in one of the Ranger's affidavits.

The Ranger wrote that Shaker and two county employees  Human Resources Director Julie Guerra and an employee at the medical examiner's office  knew Lyden was not licensed to practice during his investigation.

The Caller-Times is not naming the second employee because it was not immediately clear whether they faced disciplinary action.

Nueces County Human Resources Director Julie Guerra sits with attorney Stephen Byrne at the Nueces County Commissioners Court meeting in Corpus Christi, Texas, on April 19, 2022.

According to the affidavit, Guerra and the employee knew Lyden was not licensed because she was hired and employed for 40 days  conducting autopsies on 15 of those days  with no medical license on file at the medical examiner's office or human resources department.

Before commissioners discussed the item, in the public comment period, Nueces County Tax Assessor/Collector Kevin Kieschnick, Sheriff J. C. Hooper, Precinct 3 Constable Jimmy Rivera, Justice of the Peace Joe Benavides and Justice of the Peace Robert Gonzalez spoke in defense of Guerra.

The speakers, who all lead offices and departments of various sizes, told commissioners that department heads, not the human resources director, are solely responsible for hiring suitable employees.

"I am going to defend someone who does their job wonderfully," Rivera, speaking of Guerra, told commissioners.

Commissioners ultimately decided to table the item until the next meeting.

It was not immediately clear if allegations against the second employee will be discussed as well.

Chase Rogers covers local government and industry in South Texas. Contact him at chase.rogers@caller.com or on Twitter @chasedrogers. You can support local journalism with a subscription to the Caller-Times.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Chief medical examiner resigns; interim appointed amid investigation
BANGKOK (AP)  With its ground troops forced to pull back in Ukraine and regroup, and its Black Sea flagship sunk, Russia's military failings are mounting. No country is paying closer attention than China to how a smaller and outgunned force has badly bloodied what was thought to be one of the world's most powerful armies.

China, like Russia, has been ambitiously reforming its Soviet-style military and experts say leader Xi Jinping will be carefully parsing the weaknesses exposed by the invasion of Ukraine as they might apply to his own Peoples Liberation Army and his designs on the self-governed island of Taiwan.

The big question Xi and the PLA leadership must be asking in light of Russian operations in Ukraine is whether a military that has undergone extensive reform and modernization will be able to execute operations that are far more complex than those Russia has undertaken during its invasion of Ukraine, said M. Taylor Fravel, director of the security studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Russia's armed forces have undergone an extensive process of reform and investment for more than a decade, with lessons learned in combat in Georgia, Chechnya, Syria and its annexation of Crimea helping guide the process. The Ukrainian invasion, however, has exposed weaknesses from the top down.

Experts have been collectively stunned that Russia invaded Ukraine with seemingly little preparation and lack of focus  a campaign along multiple, poorly-coordinated axes that has failed to effectively combine air and land operations.

Soldiers have been running out of food, and vehicles have been breaking down. With losses mounting, Moscow has pulled its bloodied forces away from the capital, Kyiv, to regroup. Last week, the guided-missile cruiser Moskva sank after Ukraine said it hit the ship with missiles; Russia blamed the sinking on a fire on board.

It's very hard to see success at any level in the way that Russia has prosecuted the campaign, said Euan Graham, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies based in Singapore.

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President Vladimir Putin, who has been closely involved in Russia's military reform, did not even appoint an overall commander for the operation until about a week ago, apparently expecting a quick victory and grossly misjudging Ukrainian resistance, Graham said.

It's a very personal war on his part, Graham said. And I think the expectation that this would be a cakewalk is obviously the biggest single failure.

Putin's decisions raise the question of whether he was given accurate assessments of the progress of military reform and Ukrainian abilities, or was just told what he wanted to hear.

Xi, also an authoritarian leader who has taken a personal role in Chinas military reform, could now be wondering the same, Fravel said.

Xi specifically may also wonder whether he is receiving accurate reports about the PLAs likely effectiveness in a high intensity conflict, he said.

China has had no recent major conflict by which to gauge its military prowess, having fought its last significant engagement in 1979 against Vietnam, said David Chen, a senior consultant with CENTRA Technology, a U.S.-based government services firm.

The wakeup call for (Chinas) Central Military Commission is that there are more unknown factors involved in any such campaign than they may have anticipated, Chen said.

Russias experience in Ukraine has shown that what may seem plausible on paper at the Academy of Military Science or National Defense University becomes much more complicated in the real world.

Xi, the son of a revolutionary commander who spent time in uniform himself, began undertaking military reforms in 2015, three years after assuming leadership of the Central Military Commission.

Total troop strength was reduced by 300,000 to just under 2 million, the number of officers cut by a third and a greater emphasis given to non-commissioned officers to lead in the field.

Chinas military has a tradition of respect for initiative from lower-ranking soldiers dating from its revolutionary origins, said Yue Gang, a Beijing-based military analyst. By contrast, Russian forces in Ukraine have shown weaknesses where decisions have had to be made on the front lines, he said.

Chinese soldiers are encouraged to put forward their thoughts and views when discussing how to fight, Yue said.

China's seven military districts have been reorganized into five theater commands, the number of group armies reduced and the logistics system reorganized to boost efficiency. The ratio of support to combat units was increased and a greater emphasis placed on more mobile and amphibious units.

Xi has also sought to end rampant corruption in the military, going after two former top generals shortly after taking power. One was sentenced to life in prison and the other died before his case was concluded.

China's military is highly opaque and outside the purview of civilian judges and corruption investigators, so it's difficult to know how thoroughly the organization has been exorcised of practices such as the selling of commissions and kickbacks on defense contracts.

For Xi, the military's primary mission remains to protect the ruling Communist Party, and he has followed his predecessors in fighting back hard against efforts to have the military shift its ultimate loyalty to the nation.

Xi's overriding political focus could mean the lessons he draws from the Ukraine conflict are off base, Graham said.

Xi Jinping will always apply a political solution because he's not a military specialist or an economic specialist, Graham said. I think the military lessons have to go through a political filter, so I'm not sure that China will take the lessons that are abundant and on show for everyone to see.

The stated goal of China's military reform is to fight and win wars against a strong enemy  a euphemism widely understood to refer to the United States.

China has pumped huge amounts of money into new equipment, has initiated more realistic training exercises with force-on-force scenarios, and sought to reform its fighting doctrine by studying American engagements in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo.

Gen. David Berger, the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, said in a forum in Australia last week that Beijing would be watching the Ukraine conflict closely.

I don't know what lessons they will learn but ... they're focused on learning, without a doubt, because they've been doing that for the last 15 years, he said.

Berger stressed the need for strong coalitions in the Pacific as a way to keep China's ambitions toward Taiwan in check.

China claims Taiwan as its own, and controlling the island is a key component of Beijings political and military thinking. In October, Xi again reiterated that reunification of the nation must be realized, and will definitely be realized.

Washingtons longstanding policy has been to provide political and military support for Taiwan, while not explicitly promising to defend it from a Chinese attack.

Like Putins assessment of Ukraine, Xis China does not appear to believe that Taiwan would try to put up much of a fight. Beijing routinely blames its problems with the island on a small group of hardcore independence advocates and their American supporters.

The entirely state-controlled Chinese media, meanwhile, draws on the imagined narrative that Taiwan would not willingly go to battle against what it describes as their fellow Chinese.

Now, the quick response by many nations to impose tough, coordinated sanctions on Russia after its attack on Ukraine, and the willingness to supply Ukraine with high-tech weaponry could make Xi rethink his approach to Taiwan, Fravel said.

With the rapid response by advanced industrialized states, and the unity they have demonstrated, Xi is likely to be more cautious over Taiwan and less emboldened, he said.

Conversely, the Ukraine experience could prompt China to accelerate its timetable on Taiwan with a more limited attack, such as seizing an outlying island, as a real-world test of its own military, Chen said.

A sensible course would be to mature the PLA's joint institutions and procedures through ever more rigorous exercises, Chen said.

But as the world has witnessed, a central leader with a specific ambition and a shortening timeline may short-circuit the process in reckless fashion.
Chinese millennials say it's not just a lack of love that's keeping them from marriage, but also the financial cost of tying the knot in a modern, competitive China. WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images

China's marriage rate is hitting record lows, and Beijing is struggling to stop the freefall.

As China modernizes, more women are rejecting marriage in pursuit of financial freedom.

That's led to a decline in birth rates, which has Chinese authorities concerned.

Last October, a Chinese Communist Party writer proposed a radical project to the people of Hunan province's Xiangyin county.

He called it "operation warm the older men's beds."

It seemed women in Xiangyin weren't interested in staying in their hometowns and were moving away to build new lives in nearby cities. In the villages they left behind, a host of rural bachelors were worried the world had forgotten them.

Jiang Wenlai of the party-affiliated news site Red Net, felt this was a grave matter. He wrote that it was "necessary" for Xiangyin to adopt new tactics to keep its rural men happy and "revitalize" the countryside.

Enter: "operation warm the older men's beds."

Jiang highlighted a four-pronged solution originally outlined by a local government also fearing a marriage problem. It suggested a blind-date matchmaking service, simplified paperwork for starting families in villages, more high-paying rural job opportunities, and propaganda campaigns promoting "marriage and childbearing" while playing down China's tradition of expensive dowries.

Chinese social media users promptly ridiculed the "operation." They tore into Jiang's argument, asking why Xiangyin's women should be seen as a "solution" for its men.

The outrage may have shut down Jiang's plans to fix marriages, but Xiangyin's population problem underscores a nationwide crisis for China  a marriage rate that's declined for eight straight years to a 36-year low, according to official statistics.

A former construction worker with his wife in their house in the village of Shuangxi, Hunan province in 2013. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images

Yet that hasn't stopped China from attempting to ratchet up its marriage rates. Across the country, social commentators and local governments have, like Jiang, publicly blamed the crisis on single women and pushed them toward marriage. Communist party youth wings launched their own matchmaking services this year, helping singles connect via ice-breaker games at official events.

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But many women in China say they're no longer interested in tying the knot; they see marriage as a potential roadblock to achieving economic independence. In a Communist Youth League survey of 2,905 unmarried youths last year, 44% of urban women aged 18 to 26 said they had no plans to get married, with 25% of men answering the same.

That, coupled with a gender imbalance wrought by its cultural preference for boys and the enormous cost of raising a family nowadays, has led the country into an era where China's millennials are pursuing the financial freedoms of singlehood despite societal pressure to marry.

Marriage as a financial risk

Thirty-five-year-old Chen Yu, a single woman from Guangdong province, is used to friends expressing worry that she hasn't started her own family yet.

"My parents and relatives are anxious," she told Insider. "They all think I should have a household at this age. Many, many Chinese people have this mindset."

But Chen, who works as a doctor in a hospital, says she's happy. She owns a 1,000-square-foot apartment in Zhangjiang city, where she sometimes hosts her younger sister and nephews when her brother-in-law is away on work trips.

Owning property is a major sticking point for Chinese millennials considering marriage. Not having the deed to an apartment or house can be a dealbreaker for some couples amid China's surging real estate prices, Insider previously reported.

Still, even though Chen has her own city apartment, she said finding a spouse isn't one of her life goals.

"The norm that people here feel pressured to stick to is that the woman stays home and cares for the family while the husband leaves and sends money back," she said.

"When I'm single, I have freedom. I have more time," Chen said. "The relationships I have, the places I go, I'm not tied down by anyone else. I haven't found a man I would give that up for."

Chen is not alone. Many single Chinese women are concerned that marriage will require them to sacrifice their financial freedom, said Allison Malmsten, a marketing director at Hong Kong-based Daxue Consulting.

"Over the last two decades, we've seen Chinese women become more affluent," Malmsten told Insider. "They're spending more money on themselves rather than just on family. There's an uptick in things like jewelry for fashion rather than for marriage or symbols of relationships, and more women making big purchases like cars or real estate."

"For some women, their life being single is so good and of such high quality, and they know that getting married might risk that," Malmsten added.

An anchor promotes clothes through an online live broadcast just before Singles' Day, China's biggest online spending festival. Yuan Bing/Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Assistant Professor of Sociology Mu Zheng from the National University of Singapore said there's a "double pressure" for women in China to simultaneously be successful career women and devoted homemakers.

"More highly-educated women are delaying or forgoing marriage to stay away from the pressures," she told Insider.

Malmsten pointed to a 2021 survey by Chinese job search site Zhaopin Recruiting, which found that 43.5% of unmarried women respondents were hesitant to get married because they worried it would reduce their quality of life.

Meanwhile, 53.6% of men surveyed said their main reason for staying single was they believed they lacked the financial security to support a family.

Esther Zhong, 40, told Insider her singlehood keeps her free to pursue her career and take overseas postings. The senior finance manager, who's now based in Guangzhou and earns 50,000 RMB ($7,845) a month, previously worked in Sydney and Singapore.

"Many of my colleagues working in international companies, if they have an opportunity to work overseas or in another province in China, they have to think about their family, how to make arrangements for their children," she said.

In the meantime, Chen and Zhong both say they're seeing more female friends and colleagues sticking to singlehood past their early 30s  seen by many Chinese people as a cut-off point for when one should tie the knot.

"Yeah, you might think that when you get to a certain age, you need to turn into a wife or husband or parent," Zhong said. "But have you asked yourself if you're ready to do that in your twenties? To play this role in your life?"

A perfect storm of low marriage and fertility rates, and an aging population

A declining marriage rate alone isn't necessarily a cause for alarm, but it's among the key issues spelling social trouble for China, said Professor Stuart Gietel-Basten, who teaches social science and public policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

"If you put everything together, just the number of people getting married is not such a big deal. It's the whole package: We have very low marriage rates, very low fertility rates, [and] a population that's aging very rapidly if this is sustained," Gietel-Basten said.

A rapidly aging society has become a population emergency for China  a shrinking workforce, fewer qualified professionals, and millions of elderly in need of healthcare. But while other Asian countries like Japan and South Korea have been working on cushioning the impact of their aging population for years, China only launched its national strategy to address the issue in 2021.

"Compared with before, China is going to see low savings, low labor participation, [and] low fertility," Professor Yuan Cheng of Shanghai's Fudan University told Insider. "No quick-acting policy is available for the government. It is a long, suffering process."

China also has a very real gender imbalance problem. It has an excess of 30 million more men than women, with 111.3 boys for every 100 girls born, The South China Morning Post reported. The natural sex ratio is around 105 boys to 100 girls.

Mu said this is one of the main drivers for a falling marriage rate  an imbalance between the number of men and women in each socioeconomic rung of modern China.

There's a "persistent norm for women to marry up to more socio-economically established men," she said.

Social sciences professor Gietel-Basten said this means that as the average woman in China becomes more affluent, the poorest men in China will start finding it harder to snag a spouse, while the wealthiest women will meet fewer men whom they want to marry.

That gap explains why rural counties like Xiangyin have more keenly felt the hit.

"What happens to these guys at the bottom? In Taiwan and South Korea, they would marry foreign brides," Gietel-Basten said, noting that China is a much harder sell for single women in the region. "But in the case of China, that's not going to be enough. If your husband is a poor farmer in Gansu province, and you're moving there from Southeast Asia, your life is not gonna be much better."

Choosing dogs and cats over children

While some have shunned the pressure to tie the knot, several Chinese women told Insider they would consider marriage if they decide to have children.

"Chinese people mostly want to have their own children. They want to have some continuation of their lineage," Chen said. And since it's still verboten in China to have a child out of wedlock, marriage inevitably becomes part of any decision to have children.

"In the English-speaking world, the relationship between marriage and child-bearing is much more fluid," Gietel-Basten said. But in Asia, "you can't really have children without being married. The process is quite linear," he continued.

Raising a child to college age in Beijing costs 23 years' worth of the average salary in the city, Malmsten said. Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Zhao Qi, 31, has been dating her boyfriend for over five years. Both work as live streamers and share a 1,000-square-foot apartment in Kunming, Yunnan province.

"I don't think there's much of a need to get married. Mostly we would make the decision only if we want to have a kid," Zhao told Insider. "But it's hard to tell if you're financially ready for it."

China has struggled to entice couples to bear more children, even after overturning its infamous one-child policy in 2016. In 2021, it further relaxed its restrictions to allow families to have up to three kids. And the government made further attempts to boost reproduction with baby bonuses and extended maternity leave. But data released in January shows the birth rate reached a record low in 2021.

"The cost is just so high," Zhong, the finance manager in Guangdong, said. "People want high quality for their children, like with education. But the resources for these things are limited."

Chinese media reports estimate the cost of raising a child until they're of college-age in a big city like Shanghai to be around 1.99 million CNY ($309,025). (In the US, the average cost of raising a child to 18 is $233,610, according to the US Department of Agriculture.)

For Zhao, many of the millennials she knows have adopted cats or dogs instead, which unmarried couples can do without enduring social stigma for getting pregnant out of wedlock.

"They want to have the happiness of raising a child, but they may not be ready for the financial responsibility to pay for the kid's needs, like if they get sick and need treatment, or when the cost of living is high," she said. "I think most young people don't have the capacity to do that."

Finding China's solution

Ultimately, China's marriage problem may not be that different from the one faced by much of the world, particularly in countries that have seen the same rapid urbanization.

"The age of marriage is increasing. This happens all over the world. The age at which your parents would have married, when their parents would have married, probably would be much earlier than the age that you and your friends might marry," Gietel-Basten said.

World Bank data shows that the global average age of marriage jumped by one year from 1995 to 2015. And from the 1950s to 2021, the average age of newlyweds in the US rose from 20 to just over 28 for women and from 24 to 30 for men.

Thirty-five new couples participate in a staff group wedding held by Zhengzhou Trade Union on October 16, 2021 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province. Wang Wei/VCG via Getty Images

So as China becomes more modern, the nation is starting to "catch up" to that postponement of marriage, driving the marriage rate even lower, Gietel-Basten said.

China also exited a phase when it had a sky-high marriage rate, Yuan said. "China had a very high marriage rate in history, maybe the highest in the world, which was very China, but definitely not normal, at least to some degree," he said. The country's number of marriages had climbed to a peak of 23.8 million in 2013, before diving consistently lower each year.

"It is correct if we say the marriage rate in China is plummeting if we use old China as the reference. But, if we use Singapore, Japan, or South Korea as the reference, China is converging at the normal rate," Yuan added.

To his point, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan recorded 5.2, 4.2, and 4.3 marriages per 1,000 people in 2020, respectively. On the other hand, China reported 5.8 marriages per 1,000 people in 2020, down from 9.9 in 2013.

The inevitability of China's falling marriage rate means it will have to dive deeper than matchmaking to repair the core issues surrounding why people won't tie the knot, Gietel-Basten said.

"You need to go back to the things that have made marriage rates so low," he said. "If women are feeling: 'This is such a bad move for my career or my life that I'm going to push it back as long as possible,' then maybe that's a symptom of other challenges, blockages, or malfunctions in society."

Yuan pegs the issue on "unhealthy urbanization" in China, which he said favors acquiring wealth over living well. "The falling marriage rate is only part of China's sad story of its 'shining and grand' urbanization," he said.

"The luckiest Chinese can get married, but they cannot get a full-sized married life due to all kinds of stress," he said. "Less lucky Chinese need to compromise more, like delaying their marriage, like getting married but living separately. The unlucky Chinese may have to surrender marriage altogether."

Read the original article on Insider
Both Disney and Twitter have been invited by Colorado to relocate there after Florida governor Ron DeSantis issued threats toward both companies for allegedly woke behaviour.

Taking to Twitter, Colorado governor Jared Polis invited the two companies to move to the Centennial State following threats issued by the Republican on Tuesday.

Floridas authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector are driving businesses away, Mr Polis wrote, inviting both companies to move to his state. In Colorado, we dont meddle in affairs of companies like Disney or Twitter.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr DeSantis attacked Twitter after its board activated a poison pill plan to block a $43bn (32bn) takeover bid from Tesla founder Elon Musk, who he alleged was a liberator.

Were gonna be looking at ways the state of Florida potentially can be holding these Twitter board of directors accountable for breaching their fiduciary duty, the Republican politician said of the takeover, which has been seen as hostile. The state of Florida and our pension system, we have shares of Twitter.

The Republican also directed Floridas legislators to terminate unique privileges held by Disney World in Orlando on Tuesday because of the companys criticism of an anti-LGBT+ law known as Dont Say Gay.

The state legislature had already been due to consider congressional redistricting plans this week before Mr DeSantis acted on earlier threats to strip Disney World of its special zoning status for being woke, as The New York Times reported.

Floridas authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector are driving businesses away. In CO, we dont meddle in affairs of companies like @Disney or @Twitter. Hey @Disney were ready for Mountain Disneyland and @twitter were ready for Twitter HQ2, whoever your owners are https://t.co/r7Vcvu20eb  Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) April 19, 2022

Floridas governor said Disney crossed the line in recent weeks after its CEO Bob Chapek voiced support for repealing his Dont Say Gay bill, which limits LGBT+ issues from being discussed in schools.

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The company has also reportedly stopped funding for Republicans who supported the bill  including Mr DeSantis himself. He is widely seen as a possible 2024 presidential contender.

Mr Polis added on Tuesday: Hey Disney were ready for Mountain Disneyland and Twitter were ready for Twitter HQ2, whoever your owners are.

The Independent has approached Disney for comment.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), speaking with Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), is the subject of persistent doubts about her mental well-being and capacity to do her job. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

In a perfect world, the sun would always shine  except when we needed rain.

Everyone would eat their vegetables, clean up after their pet, regularly brush and floss, and cross the street only when the signal allows.

Which brings us once more, in a roundabout way, to Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the recent report in the San Francisco Chronicle raising doubts about the California Democrats mental well-being and capacity to keep doing her job.

California faces a choice between a geriatric senator who some describe as half gone and a younger senator who would be gone half the time.

Not great options. But there you have it.

Ideally, Feinstein would still be the force she once was: the history-making political pioneer who shattered glass ceilings and became an accomplished lawmaker whose record includes major environmental and gun control legislation.

Alternatively, Feinstein would have bowed to age and its toll and stepped aside rather than seek reelection in 2018. That would have allowed one or more of the states many would-be U.S. senators to step up and make their case to voters on why they deserved to take her place.

That whole representative democracy thing.

Instead, California has a senator turning 89 in June, who, like many her age, experiences good and bad days. Some of them, apparently, very bad.

The Chronicles Tal Kopan and Joe Garofoli reported last week that four senators  including three fellow Democrats  and a Democratic House member said Feinsteins memory was rapidly deteriorating and she could no longer fulfill her duties without aides doing much of her work. Several ex-staffers agreed.

The article renewed calls for Feinsteins immediate resignation, even though she continues to work on legislation, tend to constituent needs, and as recently as last month appeared lucid and perfectly capable, as she was during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The real question is whether Im still an effective representative for 40 million Californians, and the record shows that I am, Feinstein said in a statement responding to the Chronicle, her hometown newspaper.

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While I have focused for much of the past year on my husbands health and ultimate passing, I have remained committed to achieving results and Id put my record up against anyones, she added.

To be clear: There is no question that when or if Feinstein can no longer execute her responsibilities as senator, she should resign without delay. (Catch that italicized emphasis?)

A Senate seat is not a birthright, a lifetime appointment or an achievement award presented like a gold watch for meritorious service.

It was sad and shameful watching South Carolina Republican Strom Thurmond serve in the Senate  using the word serve in a most generous fashion  until he was 100, then seeing the ailing West Virginia Democrat Bob Byrd desperately cling to his seat until he died in office at age 92.

That said, if Feinstein were to quit now, her replacement would be chosen by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has already appointed Californias junior U.S. senator, Alex Padilla.

That would mean one individual selecting both U.S. senators on behalf of 40 million Californians.

Newsoms pick would then almost certainly spend much of the time between now and the November 2024 election campaigning and raising the tens of millions dollars needed to win a full six-year term.

Even someone with a ton of youthful energy would find it exceedingly difficult to do that and be a full-time senator.

It is not as though Feinsteins age and health werent issues when she sought reelection at age 85. Her chief rival at the time, former state Senate leader Kevin de Leon, pledged to bring fresh leadership to Washington, which was not a terribly subtle way of pointing out the incumbents elderly vintage.

As Feinstein campaigned, it was clear she had lost more than a few steps. Speaking in the Bay Area to a large gathering of Democratic activists a month before the election, the senator seemed heavily scripted and controlled by staff, and leaned on others to answer questions during a limited give-and-take, several in attendance noted afterward.

Still, Feinstein won a clear-cut victory.

There have been numerous accounts since of her failing memory and receding faculties, invariably followed by calls for her to step down. (Much of the agitation has come from the far left, a foe of Feinstein going back decades to her time as San Franciscos mayor.)

Is her condition getting worse? That would take an expert to say, and there is no system for testing senators mental acuity, much less for forcing them from office if they fail to meet a certain threshold.

Maybe in a more perfect world.

Barring the senators obvious incapacity, one individual shouldnt have the power to pick Californias two senators.

Whoever wants to replace Feinstein could start running now, the way Marin County Rep. Barbara Boxer set out in 1992 to challenge Sen. Alan Cranston. Instead of facing his fellow Democrat and other primary opponents, Cranston served out his term and retired.

If, foolishly, Feinstein decides to run again in 2024, there will doubtless be plenty of candidates eager to take her on. Then voters can be the ones to choose Californias next senator.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Right now, families are already dealing with the worst inflation in decades. Some businesses worry they may soon have to raise their prices even higher if credit card companies go through with plans to increase swipe fees.

In a bipartisan letter, four federal lawmakers stated they believe an increase in these fees would impact small businesses and families that are already dealing with high prices.

The group told specifically Visa and Mastercard to withdraw those plans because your profits are already high enough.

This shows that this is an issue that crosses political lines. This is about the card industry continuing to profit on the backs of Main Street merchants and hard-working American families at a time when they can least afford it, said Anna Ready Blom, a member of the Merchants Payments Coalition Executive Committee and director of government relations at the National Association of Convenience Stores.

The Merchants Payments Coalition represents retailers, online shops, supermarkets, gas stations and convenience stores nationwide.

The group says swipe fees are the highest operating cost for more small businesses after labor.

With every dollar of inflation, the fees the merchant pays goes up and what that means for us as consumers is it multiplies the problem with inflation for all of us, said Doug Kantor, general counsel at the National Association of Convenience Stores. As fees go up, the merchants have to keep chasing that loss of revenue, and make sure their prices are high enough, so they dont go out of business.

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A Mastercard spokesperson said the changes will affect a select group of credit interchange rates. The company added that some businesses will notice a decrease in costs.

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But some retailers say they arent convinced.

A single store gas station, for example, wont qualify for the so-called cuts that the credit card companies are talking about, said Kantor. And theyve set it up so that the little business has to know about these cuts, and contact Visa or Mastercard and say, Please let me have these lower rates, they could just cut peoples rates, but instead they want to hide it and use it as a PR tool, rather than actually cutting anybodys costs.

A Visa spokesperson said its lowering in-store and online consumer credit interchange rates by 10% for many American businesses.

Full statement from Mastercard:

Electronic payments play a critical role every day and have proven even more valuable since the start of the pandemic. And thats why were seeing merchants encouraging their customers to use electronic forms of payment due to the significant value that they receive in return  a safe, convenient experience and a guaranteed payment.

But, lets be clear  the changes that will be made to a select group of credit interchange rates are the first such changes in more than a decade. Our changes include some increases and some decreases. For example, were decreasing costs for all merchants with transactions below $5. As people are living increasingly on-the-go digital lives, were looking to help support merchants in providing their customers the best choices and shopping experiences possible.

Full statement from Visa:

Since the start of the pandemic, Visa has taken a series of actions to support American businesses, including a number of reductions in interchange rates since the start of the pandemic. We are now taking an additional step to help U.S. small businesses compete and grow by lowering key in-store and online consumer credit interchange rates by 10% for more than 90% of American businesses.

Visa will also implement previously announced interchange modifications that had been originally planned for April 2020 but were delayed during the pandemic. Any rate increases are largely avoidable and apply to transactions that are sent to Visa with insufficient data, are coded incorrectly, carry increased risk or are processed without using a Visa EMV payment token. These rates are designed to maintain high data quality and integrity across our network to prevent fraud.
A Georgia district attorney announced Wednesday that he will not pursue criminal charges against the deputies involved in the narcotics search warrant in Woodbine last year that resulted in the death of Latoya James.

The Camden County Sheriffs Office said it was serving a drug-related search warrant in the early morning hours of May 4, 2021, when gunfire was exchanged between two deputies and Varshawn Brownthe resident of the home and James cousin.

James, 37, was shot and killed. Brown was also struck and taken to hospital.

RELATED: Body camera video released in Camden County deputy-involved shooting

Following the incident, investigators released a portion of the body camera video from the deadly incident. Deputies could be heard announcing their presence, Sheriffs office; search warrant; come to the door! and entering the home when their calls went answered.

Seconds later they are heard shouting, Get on the ground! Get on the ground!

The GBI identified the deputies involved as Downy Casey and Michael Blaquiere.

Family members raised several red flags when the video was released in May last year.

Pastor Mack Knight said he was concerned about the video being partially blocked by the officers shield, and what couldnt be seen. He also asked why officers were serving the drug warrant at about 4:45 in the morning.

I need answers to those types of questions. So what I would like to see moving forward is more transparency, Knight, who is Browns cousin, told Action News Jaxs Robert Grant last year.

Action News Jaxs Law and Safety Expert Dale Carson said its normal to serve a warrant in the early morning hours, when the residents of the home are asleep

District Attorney Keith Higgins said in a statement that he met privately with a handful of community leaders and members of James family to announce his decision. While any loss of life is always tragic, the officers use of force in this instance was justified to protect their lives.

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The DA said it intends to pursue criminal charges against Brown.

He faces three counts of aggravated assault against a peace officer, two counts of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

The body camera video can be viewed here. *Warning the video contains profanity and graphic content*

Were at the intersection of Kinlaw Road & US 17. This is as close are we are able to get to the scene of the officer-involved shooting here in Camden Co.  You can see police have it blocked off & drivers have to take an alternate route. @ActionNewsJax  pic.twitter.com/GjSg1IWrkN  Courtney Cole (@CourtneyANJax) May 4, 2021

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Erenhot, the largest land port on the China-Mongolia border, has seen robust growth in China-Europe freight trains in the first quarter of this year, according to the local railway authorities.



From January to March, the port handled a total of 734 China-Europe freight trains, up 25.7 percent year on year.

As of April 17, the port had handled 863 such trains and 89,536 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers, with imported and exported freight weighing more than 3.1 million tonnes.

The port in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region now serves 57 China-Europe freight-train routes, connecting over 60 overseas destinations across more than 10 countries.
The Florida Senate approved a repeal of six special districts in the state Wednesday, including the Reedy Creek special district that gives Disney immense authority to govern itself.

The House is expected to vote to send the bill to the governor Thursday.

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While this bill has been grabbing national headlines, its not clear how serious lawmakers are about punishing Disney in this way.

Theyve at least left themselves an escape hatch if repealing Reedy Creek turns out to be too big a lift.

Theyll have more than a year to revisit the issue before anything actually changes.

RELATED: Move against Disney shows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis clout

Well, I think Disney has to recognize theyre a guest in the State of Florida, said State Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay).

Fine is carrying the bill in the House.

He said Disney shouldnt be surprised by the legislature seeking retaliation.

RELATED: Florida lawmakers special session expanded to target Disney, possibly end its self-governing power

The company halted campaign donations to Florida Republicans and publicly denounced the states new law limiting classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools.

It prohibits instruction on the topics in grades K-3 and requires instruction to be age-appropriate thereafter.

When you take advantage of special privileges that youre given to attack the views of the overwhelming majority of Floridians I think you should expect there to be issues, said Fine.

RELATED: Gov. DeSantis fires back at woke Disney after CEO opposes Parental Rights in Education bill

Fines bill would dissolve the Reedy Creek special district, which essentially allows Disney to govern itself.

Its a power Fine says extends further than many may realize.

Disney has the right to create a nuclear power plant if they want without anyone elses permission. Theyre not subject to FDOT rules. They get to do their own zoning. They can change the borders of their own government without anyone elses permission, said Fine.

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RELATED: Gov. DeSantis to lawmakers on Disney: Reevaluate any special privileges

The bill doesnt take effect until next year.

Sponsors have said thats to give the legislature time to examine what a dissolution of Reedy Creek would really involve.

We could also do that without this bill, said State Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) on the Senate floor Tuesday.

RELATED: Dont Say Gay bill signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Brandes questioned Senate sponsor Jennifer Bradley (R-Orange Park) as to why lawmakers want to move ahead without knowing the full consequences.

A deadline will encourage discussion, said Bradley.

With the legislature essentially kicking the can down the road a year, State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) said she believes the bill may be aimed at drumming up headlines, rather than true retribution against Floridas largest employer.

RELATED: Disney in balancing act as some workers walk out in protest

Its smoke and mirrors but it also is trying to essentially weaponize government as a tool of punishment towards those who just express their constitutional rights, said Eskamani.

Whether Reedy Creek stays or goes could come down to whether Disney submits to Republican lawmakers wishes.

I think if youre gonna ask for special treatment and special consideration, I certainly know with my children I expect pretty good behavior, said Fine.

The bill would also dissolve five other special districts formed before the ratification of Floridas 1968 constitution, including the Bradford County Development Authority here in North Florida.

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New York Attorney General Letitia James and Donald Trump Associated Press

Donald Trump accuses NY AG Letitia James of "publicity stunt" threats in court filing Tuesday night.

James wants Trump held in contempt for failing to turn over years of personal business documents.

Trump counters that 10 documents he's already turned over are all he has to give her.

Donald Trump is pushing back against New York Attorney General Letitia James, insisting in new court papers that he has turned over each and every personal business document she has asked for in her 3-year investigation into his real estate business.

Trump has, to date, personally turned over only 10 of his own business documents, both sides agree. For his failure to turn over a single page more, James wants a Manhattan judge to hold Trump in contempt and fine him $10,000 a day.

But whatever he hasn't personally turned over is "in [the] possession, custody or control of the Trump Organization," Trump argues in the new filing  essentially shifting responsibility almost entirely to his company.

Further, the Office of the Attorney General  the OAG for short  should have known better than to think Trump would independently turn over stacks of his own paperwork, the papers say.

"Despite feigning surprise and outrage in its motion papers, the OAG was fully aware that [Trump] was unlikely to be producing any responsive documents but, rather, would permissibly rely upon the Trump Organizations's production," Trump attorney Alina Habba writes in her 27-page filing.

Some 900,000 documents have been turned over by the Trump Organization, both sides also agree.

"The OAG's main gripe with [Trump's] subpoena response seems to be the lack of documents that were independently produced" by Trump, Habba continues.

"While this result may be to the OAG's dissatisfaction, the fact is that a diligent search was performed and found that [Trump] is not in possession of any of the requested documents.

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"Further, as was expressly stated in the Subpoena's instructions, [Trump] was not obligated to produce documents in the possession, custody or control of the Trump Organization," she writes.

The AG has said in her own previous filings that the personal Trump documents she seeks had been stored, as hard-copy originals, in file cabinets in Trump Tower, as described to her office in a deposition last summer by Trump Organization lawyer Alan Garten.

But Trump, his lawyers, and "numerous aides, representatives, co-counsel, and others" have all looked for anything else he needed to turn over, Habba says. And nothing's there  not a single page.

"The search failed to identify a single document in the possession or custody of [Trump] that was responsive to the OAG's requests," Habba writes, "at least none that were required to be separately produced by [Trump.[]

James has sought Trump's personal business documents for two years, first through a broad subpoena of The Trump Organization, and later, since December, through a separate subpoena of Trump himself.

Trump and James are also warring over a separate set of the Attorney General's subpoenas, which seek to compel testimony from Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump, Jr.

In Tuesday night's response, Habba calls the proposed fine a "coercive" and "excessive" remedy.

"The [Office of the Attorney General's] request for a daily fine of $10,000 is a grossly excessive amount," the papers argue.

James' $10,000-a-day contempt motion  and an accompanying "barrage of press statements"  came "without warning," blindsiding Trump and creating a "public spectacle," Habba says.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, James' office went "so far as to refuse [Trump's] counsel's request for a simple phone call," Habba complains.

"Given the OAG's recalcitrant behavior, it is fair to question the OAG's motive in bringing the [contempt request], which appears to be little more than a contrived publicity stunt."

James' office has until Friday to respond to Habba's papers. They will be in court in Manhattan on Friday before New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron to hash things out further.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Nathan Frandino

OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) -Walking into the Good Hop craft beer bar in Oakland, California, Alison Heller looks like any other patron thirsting for happy hour.

But instead of heading to the bar, she goes straight to the bathroom, opens her backpack and pulls out a plastic bag with fentanyl test strips. She puts 25 strips in a jar for anyone to take for free.

"If you're going to use drugs here, you can test them," said Heller, a co-founder of the harm-reduction nonprofit FentCheck.

Strips to test drugs for the presence of the deadly synthetic opioid are becoming more commonplace in bars, restaurants and venues as the country grapples with the opioid epidemic and soaring death toll.

Fentanyl has flooded U.S. streets and contributed to nearly 500,000 U.S. opioid overdose deaths over two decades, with the COVID-19 pandemic worsening the situation. Fentanyl, which is 100 times more potent than morphine, produces effects similar to other opioids, like sedation, drowsiness and nausea. Overdosing can cause respiratory failure leading to death.

Fentanyl overdoses are now the top cause of death among U.S. residents ages 18-45, surpassing suicide, car accidents and COVID, according to an analysis of federal data by opioid awareness organization Families Against Fentanyl https://www.familiesagainstfentanyl.org.

To prevent such deaths, Heller, FentCheck co-founder Dean Shold and a team of volunteers regularly visit a network of businesses in Oakland, San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia to replenish stocks of the test strips.

"We're done with dead kids. We're done with accidental overdoses. We are also serving people who are struggling with drug addiction," Heller said. "They cannot make it to rehab, they cannot make it to the next step in their sobriety if they die that night."

FentCheck staples the strips from Canadian company BTNX to simple instructions for users to test their drugs. The results show up  like a pregnancy or COVID-19 test  with lines indicating positive or negative.

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"They are cheap, they are super easy to use and read and they give you a yes or a no that you can then use," said Dr. Kathleen Clanon, medical director of Alameda County Health Care Services, which supports the distribution of fentanyl test strips and funds.

"They are very sensitive, meaning that the comparison tests have shown that they are likely to show fentanyl if it's there and I'm comfortable with that as a community test."

Melissa Myers, owner of the Good Hop, called it a "no brainer" to offer the strips to her customers and train her staff to use naloxone, a medicine that rapidly reverses the effect of opioid overdoses.

"We fought to stay alive through COVID and I want them to be able to keep coming here, not die on the street or die at home because they've decided to try some new drugs," said Myers.

Some cities have gone even further in the fight against drug overdoses. One of the nation's first supervised drug-injection sites opened last year in New York City, allowing users to inject drugs under the supervision of trained staff.

Critics say the strips enable drug users. Some states treat them as illegal drug paraphernalia. Legislation to decriminalize the strips is underway in Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee, among others.

Dr. Joey Hensley, a state senator and physician who runs a private practice in Tennessee, voted against the bill there.

"I just don't think it's a good policy to make it easier for people addicted to drugs to use drugs," he said.

Hensley doubts that providing fentanyl test strips would affect drug users' behavior. "If there are studies that show differently, maybe I would change but I just didnt think that was a good policy," he said.

Jason Lujick, owner of The Legionnaire, where test strips sit out on the bar, said lawmakers need to face the facts.

"If you actually care about your constituents and if you actually look at the data that your health departments are throwing out there and you actually care one iota, grow up," he said.

(Reporting by Nathan Frandino; Writing by Richard Chang; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Douglasville police believe they have found a way to point them toward potential gang activity and they said that in turn can help them slow the growing trend of teen crime in their community.

On Tuesday night, Police Chief Gary Sparks and his staff met with youth pastors from 13 different churches in the city to explain how lyrics in rap songs can help police and the pastors identify potential conflicts before they actually happen.

Sparks said Drill music is a form of a rap song and is something his investigators believe is becoming popular among gang members. Sparks explained that when someone in a gang commits a crime, they will often talk about it in the form of a rap song. His officers say the songs often spark wars and retaliation.

Our mission is to try to eradicate gangs in our community, Sparks said.

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Channel 2s Justin Carter spoke to pastor Richenda Magruder at the event Tuesday night. Magruder said she knows young kids well and she knows the things they often will talk about.

Its so easy to be able to miss a lot of stuff, Magruder said. So as long as you keep yourself informed, its easier to help and be effective with our young people.

Chief Sparks pointed to a New Years Eve incident that has five teenagers sitting in the Douglas County jail. They were arrested after a shooting incident at a Douglasville home that took the life of a 15-year old boy. Police said the group showed up at a party they were not invited to when a shootout happened. The 15-year-old was shot and killed in the crossfire.

We are trying to save their lives, Sparks said. To keep them out of prison.

Until we step up as adults to be able to show them something different, Magruder said. I think we would have a much less gang activity.

TRENDING STORIES:

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Sparks wants anyone thinking about committing a crime in his community to hear clearly.

If you are going to come out and commit crimes, you are going to do the time, said Sparks. We feel like if youve got that mentality, if you want to be, we say you gonna be. So weve got to be proactive.

The chief said he is trying to hold these type of community meetings monthly. He said the idea is to help get pastors aware of potential gang behavior and crimes before they happen so that the pastors can get down to the root of the problem.

Another way the police department has tried to be proactive is by creating a basketball league for teens. The league will have games every Tuesday night during the summer. They are also heavily involved in local schools and after-school programs, all with the intent of having preventive conversations with kids while they are still young.

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India is tapping a new energy source that promises to help clean up smog-choked cities and is already providing a vital revenue stream for poor Indian farmers: truckloads of bovine manure.

Cows are venerated as sacred creatures by the country's Hindu majority. They also have pride of place in India's rural communities, where they are still regularly used as draught animals.

Rural households have long burned sun-dried cattle droppings to heat stoves, a practice that continues despite government efforts to phase it out with subsidised gas cylinders.

Villages on the outskirts of the central Indian city of Indore are now being handsomely rewarded for handing over their mounds of bovine waste in a pilot project to help meet the city's power needs.

"We have a very good quality dung, and we keep the dung clean to ensure it fetches the best price," farmer Suresh Sisodia told AFP.

The 46-year-old has sold nearly a dozen truckloads of fresh manure at the equivalent of $235 per shipment -- more than the monthly income of the average Indian farming household.

Sisodia's farm has 50 head of cattle and, in the past, occasionally offset costs by selling manure for fertiliser. Now, he is hopeful for a more reliable revenue stream.

- 'Dung money' -

"The farmers pick it up once every six or 12 months and there are seasons when they don't -- but the plant could give us a steady income," he said, adding that his farm generates enough manure to fill a truck every three weeks.

His family are one of the many beneficiaries of "Gobardhan" -- literally "dung money" in Hindi -- since the inauguration of a nearby biomass plant by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February.

Sisodia's cattle droppings are carted to the plant, where they are mixed with household waste to produce flammable methane gas and an organic residue that can be used as fertiliser.

Eventually, the plant is slated to work through 500 tonnes of waste, including at least 25 tonnes of bovine faeces, each day -- enough to power the city's public transit system, with plenty left over.

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"One half will run Indore buses and the other half will be sold to industrial clients," plant boss Nitesh Kumar Tripathi told AFP.

The Gobardhan pilot programme has faced its share of logistical hurdles, with decrepit rural roads making it hard for the plant's dung-carrying trucks to reach farms.

Farmers have also been sceptical of what appears to be a get-rich-quick scheme and required careful "assurances of quick and regular" payments before signing on, said Ankit Choudhary, who scouts villages for potential suppliers.

The Indian government, however, has high hopes for the initiative, with Modi pledging waste-to-gas plants in 75 other locations since the Indore facility began operations.

Cultivating alternative energy sources is an urgent priority in India, which burns coal to meet nearly three-quarters of the energy needs of its 1.4 billion citizens.

Its cities regularly rank among the most smog-choked urban centres in the world as a result. Air pollution is blamed for more than a million deaths in India annually, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

- Sacred strays -

The project is also guaranteed to appeal to Hindu nationalist groups -- Modi's most important political constituency and vocal advocates of cow protection.

Under their watch, "cow vigilantes" have run Muslim-owned abattoirs out of business and lynched people accused of involvement in cattle slaughter.

But bovine-centric religious policies have led to unintended consequences, with stray cows now a common sight in villages and even on busy roads in big cities.

Government acolytes such as Malini Laxmansingh Gaur, a former Indore mayor and member of Modi's party, hope that scaling up the biogas project will incentivise farmers to keep their cows even when they are too old to give milk or help till fields.

"This extra income will both clean villages and help tackle the strays," she told AFP.

bb/gle/aha/jfx/qan
By Sergiy Karazy

KYIV (Reuters) -European Council President Charles Michel pledged European solidarity with Ukraine during a surprise visit to Kyiv on Wednesday and said justice must be done for alleged Russian war crimes.

Michel, the head of the European Council, which represents the European Union's 27 member states, visited the town of Borodianka northwest of Kyiv before holding talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the capital.

Ukraine suspects that Russian troops carried out atrocities in Borodianka and Bucha, another town near the capital. Moscow denies targeting civilians and has described the allegations as fabricated by Kyiv to justify more sanctions against it.

"There are no words ... to explain what I feel. These are atrocities, these are war crimes. It must be punished. It will be punished," Michel told a joint news conference with Zelenskiy in Kyiv.

He said separately on Twitter: "History will not forget the war crimes that have been committed here. ... There can be no peace without justice."

Michel's trip followed visits this month to Kyiv by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.

"You are not alone," Michel said, praising the courage of the Ukrainian people. "We are with you and will do everything which is possible to support you and to make sure that Ukraine will win the war."

ZELENSKIY SEEKS OIL AND GAS EMBARGO

Michel said the EU had already provided Ukraine with 1.5 billion euros ($1.63 billion) of military equipment as well as imposing sanctions on Russia, but would look for more ways to respond to Russia's Feb. 24 invasion.

"I am convinced ... that sooner or later we will target oil and gas," he said, without giving details.

EU states have been divided over whether to impose an embargo on Russian oil or gas, with Germany among countries that are heavily dependent on energy imports from Russia.

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Zelenskiy welcomed the "political signal" Michel had sent by visiting Borodianka, but urged Brussels to strengthen sanctions pressure on Russia and called for a "complete energy embargo including imports of oil and gas."

He welcomed a sixth package of sanctions being prepared by the EU, but added: "Oil should be part of the sixth package. Without it this package will be empty, will not be powerful enough."

Zelenskiy said he and Michel had also discussed answers that Ukraine has provided to a questionnaire on compliance with EU criteria which is considered a starting point for Ukraine in its drive for EU membership.

($1 = 0.9223 euros)

(Reporting by Kyiv newsroom; Additonal reporting by John Chalmers in Brussels; Writing by Timothy Heritage; Editing by Leslie Adler)
The president of the European Council vowed on Wednesday that history will not forget the war crimes that were committed in Ukraine.

In Borodyanka. Like Bucha and too many other towns in #Ukraine History will not forget the war crimes that have been committed here, European Council President Charles Michel wrote on Twitter. There can be no peace without justice. @ZelenskyyUa

Borodyanka and Bucha, which are situated close to the capital city of Kyiv in Ukraine, are among some of the most devastated areas of the country since Russia began its invasion into its neighbor more than 50 days ago.

Cities in the east, where Russia is launching a renewed offensive after remaining unsuccessful at capturing the capital, have also seen much destruction, including in Mariupol.

A European official said on Tuesday that they were concerned that the situation in the besieged port city could be even worse than that of Bucha.

My fear is that its going to be worse than Bucha, the official said regarding Mariupol.

The governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, painted a grim picture of the city, telling CNN in an interview last week that Mariupol has been wiped off the face of the earth.

Mariupol is projected to fall within days, the European official said on Tuesday. A group of Ukrainian forces are situated in a steel plant as the last remaining forces defending the city. An ultimatum to leave the area on Wednesday was given to Ukrainians by Russia.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
You are here: China

Senior Chinese lawmakers met on Tuesday during the country's ongoing legislative session.

The meeting of the Council of Chairpersons of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee was presided over by Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.

The meeting heard reports on the deliberations of bills and suggestions for revisions to the normative documents under review. Based on the deliberations, revisions have been made to some of the draft normative documents, and draft legal decisions have been prepared.

The meeting also heard reports on bills related to deputy qualifications and personnel matters.

The meeting decided to submit the bills, revised drafts and draft decisions to the ongoing session of the NPC Standing Committee for review.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich cautioned in a video released Tuesday that Americans may kiss our democracy goodbye if former President Donald Trump and his allies succeed in their plan to overthrow the government in a slow-motion coup.

Trump ultimately failed to overturn the 2020 election, thanks to the resistance of election officials, mainly secretaries of state, who held the United States rickety democracy together by certifying President Joe Bidens victory, explained Reich, who was a member of President Bill Clintons Cabinet.

But if the quiet movement led by former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon succeeds with Trump loyalists taking over the machinery of democracy, then all bets are off, Reich warned.

We cannot allow our democracy to be overtaken like this, he said.

Watch the video here:

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

Related...
The legal fallout from Ezra Miller's recent behavior is continuing to unfold.

Miller made an appearance in a Hawaii courtroom on Tuesday, stemming from an arrest last month over aggressive behavior at a karaoke bar.

The court hearing came just hours after the actor was arrested for the second time in as many months over violent or aggressive behavior.

Minutes from the court hearing show Miller, best known for the role of the Flash in the DC Comics movies and Credence Barebone in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, appeared via Zoom in Hawaii district court, waiving the right to a bench trial.

Instead, as part of a plea agreement, Miller pleaded no contest to one count of disorderly conduct.

In exchange, a second count of harassment was dismissed against the actor. Court records also show a judge on Tuesday dismissed a March 19 police citation against Miller for obstructing a roadway after prosecutors decided not to proceed with that case.

The court's judgment shows Miller was fined $500 and ordered to pay an additional $30 crime victim fee.

Miller, 29, was first arrested in Hawaii shortly after midnight on March 28 after officers responded to a report of a "disorderly patron" at a bar hosting a karaoke night in the town of Hilo on the island of Hawaii.

Police said in a statement that they determined that Miller became agitated while patrons at the bar began singing karaoke.

Miller was accused of yelling obscenities at a 23-year-old woman who had been singing karaoke, before lunging at a 32-year-old man who had been playing darts.

Hawaii Police Assistant Chief Kenneth Quiocho told local station KITV that Miller had become enraged at the Margarita Village bar when the woman began singing the Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper song "Shallow" from A Star Is Born.

"The bar owner asked Miller to calm down several times to no avail," police said in their statement.

Per the criminal complaint against the actor, Miller subjected the singing woman to "offensively coarse behavior or abusive language which was likely to provoke a violent response and did intend to cause substantial harm or serious inconvenience and/or persisted in disorderly conduct after reasonable warning or request to desist."

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Miller was only released from jail after paying $500 bail.

But Miller was again arrested less than a month later on April 19, on the island of Hawaii.

Police said they were called to a private residence where Miller had been asked to leave a late-night gathering, only to become irate and throw a chair, which hit a 26-year-old woman on the forehead.

The woman suffered a half-inch cut, but police said she declined medical treatment.

The actor was arrested shortly after during a traffic stop nearby.

Miller was subsequently charged with second-degree assault, before being released from custody, pending further investigation.

Quiocho with the Hawaii police told KITV that prior to the March arrest Miller had been the subject of 10 calls to police for minor incidents.

These allegedly included filming people at a gas station, refusing to leave the sidewalk area of a restaurant, and arguing with people.

According to Rolling Stone, DC and Warner Bros. executives last month decided to "hit pause on any future projects involving Miller" because of the actor's recent behavior.

Representatives for the actor did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday or Wednesday, and neither did a spokesperson for DC. A Warner Bros. representative said, "The studio is declining to comment."

The studio's latest Fantastic Beasts film premiered last week in the US starring Miller, but without its former star Johnny Depp.

Instead, Depp's role as Gellert Grindelwald was recast with Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen.

Depp has also been in court this week as part of his defamation lawsuit in Virginia against ex-wife Amber Heard, accusing her of harming his reputation and career with an op-ed in which she said she had been a victim of abuse.

Ezra Miller
The family of a woman who has been accused of killing a man in east Charlotte said she is not a monster.

Instead, family members said they believe Courtney McKoy may have been struggling with mental illness.

She was a loving person, real quiet. Soft-spoken. Very smart. Graduated with a 4.4 GPA., Keisha Reel, McKoys mother, said.

McKoy has been charged in connection with the murder of 54-year-old Clarence Lee Ardrey.

It crushes my heart, you know, no parent wants to see their child like that way, Reel said.

Channel 9s Glenn Counts spoke with Courtneys mother and father, Curtis McKoy.

ALSO READ: Woman charged with killing man in east Charlotte has lengthy record, documents show

They said they believe Courtneys criminal justice issues stem from her problems with mental health.

They said she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and anxiety, and these issues started to surface around seven years ago.

We tried to get her help through mental health. We would take her and it was like they would send her right back home, Reel said.

The family said they hoped the courts would step in, especially after Courtney kept getting arrested.

According to court documents, since 2019 Courtney has been arrested or cited for either threatening or attacking another person with knives at least five times. The last two times, Courtney was able to get out of jail due to a pretrial release.

Following the second release, police said Courtney stabbed Ardrey to death on April 8.

Charlottes Hidden Crisis: County-by-County mental health resource guide

We could not understand how she kept getting back out of jail after all the charges and the seriousness of the charges that were brought to her, Reel said.

When Channel 9 asked the agency how McKoy qualified for release, they issued the following statement:

Criminal Justice Services accepts individuals for pretrial supervision based upon release conditions set by judicial officials. Those conditions are based upon a variety of factors which include, but are not limited to the nature and circumstances of the offense charged. Criminal Justice Services cannot comment on specific cases.

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Shes not a monster. She just needed help, and I feel like the court system let her down, Reel said.

Reels said the Ardreys lost their loved one, and now she feels like she has lost her daughter.

Just from my family to theirs, we are so sorry that this happened. We send our deepest, deepest condolences to the Ardrey family.

(WATCH BELOW: 27-year-old woman charged with killing man in east Charlotte had lengthy record, documents say)
It's a battle of the luxury paper bags in locked-down Shanghai. Weibo

Residents in locked-down Shanghai have found a way to show off their wealth  using shopping bags.

These bags are hung on front doors, containing residents' Covid tests for health workers to collect.

Many are using paper bags from the likes of Prada and Hermes to decorate their doors.

Shanghai may be under a strict lockdown, but the city's well-heeled has still found a way to show off their wealth and status  using paper bags.

In recent weeks, it appears that paper shopping bags of luxury brands have become more coveted than the actual designer handbags themselves  and can be seen hanging outside apartment doors all across the city.

Residents are using the bags for their Covid antigen rapid self-test kits, which are collected daily by health workers as part of efforts to minimize contact, per Chinese luxury news outlet Jing Daily.

While residents could have used any old plastic bag to do the same, many have chosen to whip out their paper shopping bags from fashion houses such as Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Hermes.

Hundreds of photos of the trend have circulated on China's Twitter-like platform Weibo, drawing laughter and mockery from other internet users.

"Covid tests are so small, and these bags are huge. Are there 20 people living in that apartment?" one person said in response to a picture of a large Chanel paper bag hanging on a door.

Others commented how the trend is proof that residents of Shanghai  a wealthy financial hub of 26 million  live different lives from those in the rest of China. "They're in their own materialistic world," another Weibo user commented.

Since late March, the city has been under a strict and indefinite lockdown amid a surge of COVID-19 cases. Public anger has been mounting over the authorities' handling of the situation, with people across the city claiming that they are running out of food  and patience.

On Tuesday, the city recorded 2,494 symptomatic Covid cases and 16,407 asymptomatic cases, according to the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission.

Read the original article on Insider
Suleyman Kerimov was sanctioned by the EU and UK on March 15. The EU said that Kerimov is "a member of the inner circle of oligarchs" close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Osman Uras/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images, Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

A Fijian high court has granted an order to restrain a superyacht linked to Suleyman Kerimov.

But a US warrant to seize the vessel hasn't yet been registered, a Fiji government spokesperson said.

Kerimov has been sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU. The EU said he was close to Putin.

A $325 million superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleyman Kerimov will not be allowed to leave Fiji's waters after the country's high court granted a restraining order against the vessel.

The US is seeking to seize the Amadea, which arrived in the Pacific nation on April 13 after an 18-day voyage from Mexico. Fiji's director of public prosecutions (DPP), Christopher Pryde, filed applications with the high court on Tuesday "seeking orders (i) that the motor yacht Amadea be restrained from leaving Fijian waters until the finalization of an application to register a warrant to seize the property and (ii) that a US warrant to seize the Amadea be registered."

A spokesperson for Pryde told Insider on Wednesday: "The DPP received an Authority to Proceed from Fiji's Attorney-General after Fiji received a formal request for mutual legal assistance from the US government."

The spokesperson said that the high court in Suva, Fiji's capital, had on Tuesday granted the order to restrain Amadea. They said that "the issue of registration of the US warrant will need to be determined at a later date" with a next court hearing on the matter scheduled for Thursday. Legal ownership of the Amadea was "still subject to investigation," the spokesperson added.

Western countries have placed sweeping sanctions on Russia after President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine. As well as targeting Russian businesses, finances, and industry, the West has been sanctioning Russian elites to put pressure on the country to stop the invasion.

Kerimov, a member of the Russian Federation Council, was sanctioned by the EU and UK on March 15. The EU said that Kerimov is "a member of the inner circle of oligarchs" close to Putin and that he had attended a meeting of oligarchs with Putin at the Kremlin in late February to discuss the impact of Western sanctions.

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Kerimov had already been sanctioned by the US in 2018, who said that he had been accused of both money laundering in France and failing to pay 400 million euros ($432 million) in taxes on villas.

Kerimov is worth around $14.3 billion, per estimates from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He owns Nafta Moscow, a financial and industrial group in Russia, and his family owns a controlling stake in Polyus Gold, which claims to be Russia's biggest gold producer.

France, Italy, and Spain are among the nations seizing assets belonging to sanctioned oligarchs, including their private jets, superyachts, and property. The first yacht to be seized under the latest US sanctions was the $90 million superyacht Tango  believed to belong to sanctioned Russian oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg  which was detained by authorities on the Spanish island of Mallorca on April 4, following a request from the US Department of Justice.

Some Russian elites have been moving their yachts, private jets, and shareholdings  seemingly to avoid sanctions. Kerimov's vessel, the Amadea, docked in Lautoka, Fiji's second largest city, on April 13 after sailing from Mexico's Pacific coast, data from vessel-tracking site Marine Traffic shows. Fiji hasn't imposed sanctions on Russia.

An official at the National Police Command and Control Centre previously told Reuters that the yacht's captain had been questioned by police, who said that the vessel had arrived in Fiji without customs clearance.

Kerimov's son, Said Kerimov, owns the superyacht ICE, thought to be worth around $170 million.

Insider has requested comment from the US Treasury and Department of Justice, as well as the US Embassy in Fiji.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Russias neighbor Finland appears closer to joining NATO Wednesday after parliamentary groups reportedly showed support for becoming part of a military alliance in response to Moscows bloody invasion of Ukraine.

Eight out of 10 group leaders during a debate in Finnish Parliament indicated they were in favor of joining NATO or at least aligning itself militarily, according to Reuters.

"It is evident that Russia's actions have brought Finland several steps closer to military alignment being necessary," Antti Lindtman, the leader of Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democrats, was quoted by the news agency as saying.

RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE: LIVE UPDATES

"The Centre Party group... is ready for all decisions Finland's security requires, including applying for a NATO membership," its leader, Juha Pylvas, reportedly said.

But Left Alliance leader Jussi Saramo said the idea of Finland joining NATO should be taken up in a wider discussion, as submitting an application to do so would ratchet up border tensions and possibly make Finland a potential target in any future conflict between the alliance and Moscow.

Marin last week said that Finland will decide on NATO membership in "weeks rather than months," according to Euro News.

"The difference between being a [NATO] partner and being a member is very clear, and will remain so. There's no other way to have security guarantees than under NATO's deterrence and common defense as guaranteed by NATO's article five," Marin said. She called NATO "an important part of Europe's political and security architecture."

Marin stressed that there was no set timeline but that "everything has changed with Russia's invasion of Ukraine."

Recent polls in Finland discovered national attitudes on the issue shifted dramatically, with support to join NATO jumping from 26% in 2021 to 60% following the invasion  the first time support breached the 50% threshold since Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA started collecting data in the 1980s.

Fox News Peter Aitken contributed to this report.
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland inched closer to joining NATO on Wednesday after its major parliamentary groups expressed support for some form of a military alliance as a response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Finnish Parliament on Wednesday began debating the possibility of Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, joining NATO.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democrats stopped short of mentioning NATO in their addresses but nevertheless voiced support for an idea of a military alliance.

"It is evident that Russia's actions have brought Finland several steps closer to military alignment being necessary," Social Democrat group leader Antti Lindtman told fellow parliament members.

Finland is a close partner with NATO, but has maintained a militarily non-aligned status. Now, however, its defence and security needed strengthening, and a decision on whether to apply for NATO membership could be taken within weeks, Marin has said.

The government has also indicated public support for joining the alliance could be gauged through a parliamentary vote instead of a referendum, though no date for such a vote has been set yet.

Social Democrats' largest ally in Finland's five-party coalition government, the Centre Party said it was ready to support a NATO decision.

"The Centre Party group...is ready for all decisions Finland's security requires, including applying for a NATO membership," group leader Juha Pylvas said.

Eight parliamentary group leaders out of 10 expressed support either for joining NATO or aligning itself militarily, while Left Alliance leader Jussi Saramo said this should not be a "rubber stamp" decision and called for a wider discussion.

The Left Alliance, which has 16 seats in the 200-seat parliament and is part of Marin's government coalition, has traditionally opposed NATO, but said it would not leave the government if a parliamentary majority supported membership.

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Saramo said NATO membership application would increase tensions on the Finnish-Russian border and could make Finland a potential target of the first strike in a war between NATO and Russia.

A nationalist lawmaker who represents a group with just one parliamentary seat, was the only one to voice direct opposition to Finland's potential NATO membership bid.

(Reporting by Essi Lehto and Anne Kauranen; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
Fire ripped through a home in east Orange County Wednesday morning.

Around 5:45 a.m., firefighters responded to a neighborhood west of State Road 417 and north of East Colonial Drive after the residence caught fire.

READ: Heres what dissolving Disneys Reedy Creek could mean for taxpayers

WFTVs Drone 9 captured flames shooting from the home along Lakewood Pointe Dr.

Orange County Fire Rescue crews appeared to have the flames knocked down around 6:30 a.m.

Officials have not said how the fire started or if anyone was hurt.

READ: Seminole County bride, caterer charged after drugs found in wedding food, making guests sick

First responders shut down Trevarthon Road in the area of the fire.

WFTV has a crew on scene and will continue monitor this breaking news.

Stay with WFTV.com and watch Eyewitness News for updates on this developing story.

READ: DeSantis announces major changes to in-state tuition, tenure policies for college professors

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
MarketWatch

Answer: The first thing to know is this: Federal student loans and about half of private student loans provide a death discharge, which cancels the remaining debt upon death of the borrower, says Mark Kantrowitz, author of Who Graduates From College? To find out if your private student loan could be erased in case of death, youll need to call your servicer and inquire about their policies. Have a question about getting out of student loan or other debt?
Ezra Miller can't seem to stay out of trouble in Hawaii.

The actor, who plays The Flash in Warner Bros. DC Extended Universe, was arrested on Tuesday morning in Hawaii, according to a release from the Hawaii Police Department.

Miller (who uses they/them pronouns) was taken into custody on the Big Island at around 1:30 a.m. local time following an altercation at a gathering at a private residence in Pahoa. The police report notes that Miller, 29, "became irate after being asked to leave and reportedly threw a chair, striking a 26-year-old female on the forehead, resulting in an approximate half-inch cut." The victim refused treatment for the injury.

Miller was arrested during a traffic stop shortly after, but released pending further investigation. It remains an active investigation. Representatives for Miller did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

Related video: Restraining order filed against actor Ezra Miller after Hawaii incidents

This is the star's second bout of legal trouble in Hawaii in less than a month. They were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct in late March following an incident at a Hilo karaoke bar. And that was allegedly one of numerous complaints made against them since the beginning of March.

According to the Associated Press, they were the source of at least 10 calls to Hilo police since March 7. Each call was reporting small offenses, including filming people at a gas station, refusing to leave the sidewalk area of a restaurant, and arguing with people.

When it came to the disorderly conduct charge, authorities said, "Miller began yelling obscenities and at one point grabbed the microphone from a 23-year-old woman singing karaoke." They then "lunged at a 32-year-old man playing darts," which earned them a harassment offense.

They were also the subject of a restraining order, which was filed but later withdrawn. A couple had alleged Miller, whom they'd allowed to stay with them at their hostel, had burst into their bedroom, threatened them, and stole some of their belongings, including a passport and wallet.

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Miller was previously the subject of scrutiny in 2020 when video surfaced of the actor at the bar Priki Kaffihus in Reykjavik, Iceland where they appeared to grab a woman by the throat and throw her to the ground.

In addition to their role in the DCU, Miller is a major player in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. They play Credence, a.k.a. Aurelius Dumbledore, in the series' three films including in latest release The Secrets of Dumbledore. Miller is only one of the controversies Warner Bros. has had to navigate with its Harry Potter IP, given the backlash over Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling's comments on trans people and the decision to replace Johnny Depp with Mads Mikkelsen in the role of Gellert Grindelwald.

Related content:
You are here: China

Chinese lawmakers on Wednesday voted to adopt a law on futures and derivatives to better protect investors' interests and develop the futures market in favor of the real economy.

The law, to take effect on Aug. 1, 2022, was approved at a session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

China's financial derivatives market, one of the largest in the world, requires a law specifically made for its regulation, said Li Zhengqiang, a researcher at the University of International Business and Economics.

China's futures market posted record-setting trading volume and turnover in 2021, which stood at 581.2 trillion yuan (about 90.8 trillion U.S. dollars) and over 7.5 billion lots, respectively, data from the China Futures Association showed.
A Florida man pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to threatening to kill Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.

According to a plea agreement, David Hannon, 67, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, sent an email to Omar in July 2019, after Omar and three other members of Congress held a televised news conference criticizing then-President Trump.

Hannon entered a guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher P. Tuite to a single count of threatening a federal official with the intent to intimidate and impede Omar and retaliate against her for performing her official duties. The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a $250,00 fine.

Prosecutors said Hannon sent an email to Omar threatening violence against her and two congressional colleagues of color, whom he referred to as radical rats, because of Omar's comments at a news conference that specifically repeated quotes containing curse words from then-president Trump regarding social issues involving women and minorities, according to the plea agreement.

No one should fear violence because of who they are or what they believe, U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg of the Middle District of Florida said in a statement Tuesday. Unlawful threats against our elected officials are an assault against our democracy, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to seek justice in these cases.

The emails subject that read [Youre] dead, you radical Muslim, and in it Hannon wrote that he was going to shoot the lawmakers, including Omar, in the head.

He added that Omar better get more security, or within a week you and the other three radical rats will be six feet under.

This is not a threat but fact, Hannon wrote, asking whether Omar, who is Muslim, is ready to die for Islam and ready to get out of our country.

Days before, Trump, who made the group of lawmakers a target of his attacks as he campaigned for re-election, had launched a tirade on Twitter asserting that progressive women in Congress should go back and try to fix the crime infested places they originally came from before they criticize how the U.S. government handled its problems.

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According to the plea agreement, Omars staff immediately contacted federal investigators over fear that Hannon would carry out violence. Hannon wrote the email from his personal account, investigators said.

Hannon's lawyer, Michael Perry, defended his client's record since the 2019 email threat: Outside of that one incident, theres been no follow-throughs with any of the threats that he made, theres been no further threats, nothing at all, he said.

Omar's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Omar was sworn into office in 2019, making history as the first African refugee elected to Congress after she fled conflict in Somalia in 1995. Omar is also the first woman of color to represent Minnesota and one of the first two Muslim American women elected to Congress.

Threatening to kill our elected officials, especially because of their race, ethnicity or religious beliefs, is offensive to our nations fundamental values, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement. All elected officials, regardless of their background, should be able to represent their communities and serve the public free from hate-motivated threats and violence.
foreign portfolio investment

Foreign portfolio investment, or FPI, is any financial asset that you hold from outside of your country. For example, if an American investor buys shares on the London Stock Exchange, they hold a foreign portfolio investment. This can refer to any form of financial product, such as stocks, bonds, funds or currencies. Foreign portfolio investment does not refer to ownership of non-securitized assets. So, for example, it does not refer to buying real estate in a foreign country or directly buying a portion of a business.

Want help investing outside of the United States? Consider working with a financial advisor.

If a company has issued shares and you purchase them, then you have bought securities and now hold a foreign portfolio investment. If a company has not issued shares, but instead you just buy a portion of the business directly, then you do not hold a foreign portfolio investment because you did not buy any securitized assets.

Don't miss out on news that could impact your finances. Get news and tips to make smarter financial decisions with SmartAsset's semi-weekly email. It's 100% free and you can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up today.

Who Buys FPIs?

Anyone can invest in foreign portfolio investments.

Historically this is a market which has been limited to professional investors, because theyre the only ones who had practical access to global markets. Retail investors, working through newspapers and stock brokers, had little exposure to this market. Even if they could access foreign assets it would typically have been prohibitively expensive.

The advent of online trading has changed all that. Today, most major trading platforms offer at least some access to global markets. It isnt hard for an American investor to buy stocks from Europe and Asia, and vice versa.

The upshot is that foreign portfolio investments have become increasingly commonplace for individual investors as well as the companies and professionals who have historically made up most of this market.

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What Are the Benefits of FPIs?

foreign portfolio investment

The main benefit of foreign portfolio investments is diversity. The important thing to remember is that FPIs are not a single asset class. This is a catch-all term which refers to any financial product sold from outside of your country. If you are a trader in the United States, the term foreign portfolio investment refers equally to shares in a Parisian tech startup and Brazilian sovereign debt.

By investing in global markets, you can access the performance of different business environments. This brings entirely different risks and rewards. Not only that, but you can shift your money into multiple different economies. When your money is spread across multiple nations you are at much less risk from a single economic downturn. You can also create more opportunities to capitalize on any given economys success.

You also get side-access to global currency markets. By holding foreign securities assets, you functionally hold assets that are priced (and therefore can be sold) in a foreign currency. If, for example, you buy European bonds, then you effectively have access to a pool of euros based on the coupon payments and sale price for those bonds. All of this provides a new set of opportunities and hedges compared with keeping your money entirely local.

What Are the Risks of FPIs?

The risks of FPIs are the same as the benefits. By increasing the diversity of your portfolio, you also increase its exposure to potential risks.

As with all securities, the risk/reward profile of each investment is based on the asset class and the individual product. This risk is doubled with foreign portfolio investments, since you also need to evaluate risk and reward based on your investments nation of origin. Sovereign debt, for example, might be an excellent investment or it might be a relatively high-risk choice depending entirely on the nation issuing the bonds. Shares of stock might be a well-known asset, or they might be subject to the whims of local government.

These risks have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

This is particularly true when it comes to legal and jurisdictional issues. Most investors have an intuitive sense of how their own economy works, what formal and informal rules it obeys. This is not the case once you begin investing across borders. Its harder for you to understand the rules of another countrys system, so theres a much greater chance that youll be taken by surprise when a legal or political issue interferes with your investment.

You need to be careful of domestic legal issues as well. Investing globally can raise a host of potentially complicated issues when you try to bring your money back home. This can include tax complications, disclosure forms and even anti-money laundering laws. At worst, you can inadvertently invest in a product or asset that violates a domestic law, in which case you might be forced to divest all of your gains.

This last is a very low risk unless you are looking for exotic products. So long as you invest through mainstream brokerages you are generally quite well protected from assets that raise issues of legality. However if you make significant foreign investments, you should at least consult a tax professional.

The Bottom Line

foreign portfolio investment

Foreign portfolio assets is a term that refers to any financial product from outside of your home country. These can be an excellent way to diversify your portfolio and gain exposure to foreign currencies, just be sure you understand the economy in which youre investing first.

Investing Tips

If youre interested in this form of diversification, the next step is to start looking for a market. Read on to see how you can start investing in international markets.

Investing is hard no matter what country youre working in, and a financial professional can help you make the best decisions for you. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesnt have to be hard. SmartAssets free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If youre ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

Photo credit: iStock.com/primeimages, iStock.com/Yudram_TA, iStock.com/martin-dm

The post Foreign Portfolio Investments: 2022 Guide appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.
(Reuters) -Leaders of the party founded by Eric Zemmour, the extreme-right candidate who was knocked out of France's presidential election in the first round, have called for right and far-right political parties to ally ahead of parliamentary polls in June.

The executive vice-presidents of Zemmour's Reconquest party said in Le Figaro newspaper they were open to coalition talks with the National Rally party of Marine Le Pen, who will challenge President Emmanuel Macron in a second round run-off, as well as The Republicans and Debout La France.

"This choice does not call into question the singularity of our line and our strategy, which cannot be found anywhere else in the political spectrum," said Marion Marechal, Guillaume Peltier and Nicolas Bay in a joint statement.

They said they were concerned the election was "being played out on left-wing positions".

Zemmour, who had proposed if elected to deport unemployed immigrants and block remittances, saw support crumble in the polls after Russia invaded Ukraine and far-right voters rallied around Le Pen, who had also faced Macron in the 2017 runoff.

Speaking on BFM TV, Marechal, who is Le Pen's niece, said that electing Le Pen prime minister should Macron win the presidential vote was "an option".

Marechal officially joined Zemmour's campaign last month - a blow to Le Pen's campaign, which had already seen several defections.

Macron's polling lead has widened ahead of Sunday's runoff, but a victory for him is not guaranteed. Both candidates are courting voters who backed far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon in the first round, many of whom could abstain or leave their ballot papers blank.

Melenchon on Tuesday urged voters to elect him as prime minister in June's National Assembly vote, after he came in a narrow third in the first round of the presidential election, with 22% of the vote to Le Pen's 23%.

(Reporting by Sarah Morland; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Catherine Evans)
Christian Eppinger, a gang member accused of shooting an Atlanta policeman six times, has been released on bond.

Eppinger, 22, reportedly shot an officer six times in an altercation outside Colonial Square Apartments in Atlanta, Georgia, as the police were serving an arrest warrant. The suspect was denied bond immediately after the shooting, but a new ruling on Tuesday reversed that decision. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis hosted a press conference Wednesday with Police Chief Rodney Bryant to address the bond agreement. Willis stated that despite the judge's decision, Eppinger wouldn't be released from jail.

"It is the position of the state that that individual should not have been given bond, based on his history  based on where he was in the process here at Fulton County," said District Attorney Fani Willis at a Wednesday press conference. "And so, it is something that has upset my law enforcement partners, and me as the district attorney."

INDIANA COP WOUNDED IN SHOOTING; SUSPECT NABBED, THE OTHER ON THE RUN

"Eppinger has a long history of violence in our community," she continued, adding that Eppinger's previous convictions and sentences have been exceptionally lenient.

Officer David Rodgers, who has been with the department since 2011, was pursuing Eppinger, wanted for an October 2021 aggravated assault and robbery, at an apartment complex on Old Hapeville Road on Monday around 1:15 p.m. An 11-year veteran officer of the Atlanta Police Department, Rodgers was hit six times while executing the warrant.

Rodgers survived the flurry of gunshot wounds but not much is known about his injuries.

After Eppinger allegedly opened fire on Rodgers, another officer began returning gunfire. Eppinger was not hit.

Eppinger then fled into the apartment complex, where police located and arrested him "in short order," according to Schierbaum.

"He will have a long road of recovery before him," Deputy Chief Darin Schierbaum said of Rodgers during a February press briefing. "What happened today is the challenge that we are against here in Atlanta and in cities across this country, where individuals are heavily armed  and are released into our communities. It causes harm to police officers, who are being assaulted at record levels across the country and placed in communities with imminent harm."

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As a result of breaking probation ahead of this incident, Eppinger will not be allowed out of jail, Willis assured the public.

"Mr. Eppinger is not getting out of jail. There is a hold on him from the Fulton County jail as a result of [his parole infractions.] So he is not getting out of jail," Willis told listeners.

She concluded, "We want to make sure that, in my lifetime, he never sees society again."

The downtown skyline in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., on Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Eppinger's warrant stems from an October 2021 incident in which he and another suspect approached victim Darius Smith in a park and demanded he hand over his "chain," according to an Oct. 12 police report. He is reportedly a member of "Young Slime Life"  a street gang brandishing Y-S-L tattoos and emblems inspired by high-fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent.

"The victim stated that one suspect had his firearm pointed against his head while the other had his weapon pointed against his ribs. The suspects then stole his diamond earrings, diamond and gold necklace, two iPhones, and his car keys" before fleeing, the police report states.
BERLIN (Reuters) - The foreign ministers of Germany and the Baltic states said they strongly condemned the arrest and sentencing of Russian human rights activists and called on Russia to release them immediately, according to a joint statement issued on Wednesday.

"In parallel to its war, Russia has further intensified suppression of free speech, punishing its own citizens for their opposition to violence and repressing pro-peace protesters," the ministers of Germany, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said in the statement.

"The Ministers strongly condemn the arbitrary arrest and sentencing of Russian human rights defenders and peace activists, such as Vladimir Kara-Murza, and call for their immediate release," they said.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, vice-president of the Free Russia Foundation, a Washington-based non-profit organisation, was one of around 200 people detained by Russian police at a meeting of independent and opposition politicians in Moscow last month.

(Reporting by Maria Sheahan, editing by Thomas Escritt)
Gas pipeline in Germany

Germany is moving "as fast as possible" to end its reliance on Russian energy, but it will take time, the country's finance minister has said.

"We have to be patient," Christian Lindner told the BBC.

By contrast, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had earlier said Germany would end oil imports by the end of the year, with gas following.

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky has criticised Germany for failing to curb Russian energy imports.

He described energy payments as "blood money".

Proceeds from the sale of Russian oil and gas amount to around $1bn (770m) a day, undermining international efforts to put economic pressure on President Vladimir Putin to end the war.

The US has already banned Russian oil imports and the UK plans to phase them out by the end of the year.

But EU countries are more heavily dependent on Russian energy, with Germany currently buying around 25% of its oil and 40% of its gas from Russia.

Mr Lindner told the BBC that his country was working to implement an embargo on Russian energy but that he preferred using sanctions which "hurt [Putin] more than us".

He said a sudden halt to Russian energy imports could see the physical shutdown of German producers such as manufacturers and carmakers.

Earlier this week, German economic institutes warned that immediately halting Russian imports would spark a sharp recession in Europe's biggest economy by 2023.

"We are willing to stop all energy imports from Russia, it's just a matter of time," said Mr Lindner, who is leader of the liberal Free Democrats, one constituent of Germany's coalition government.

He insisted that any calculation on Vladimir Putin's part that Germany would continue to rely on Russian energy was "wrong".

"In the end, we don't want to have any further business with Putin," he said.

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However his stance was at odds with statements made by Germany's foreign minister, Ms Baerbock, a prominent Green politician and former co-leader of the party.

Ms Baerbock said Germany would halve Russian oil imports by the summer and eliminate them altogether by the end of the year, to be followed quickly by a reduction in Russian gas imports.

Analysis box by Faisal Islam, economics editor

Germany's finance minister was keen to sound tough on Russia and appears acutely aware of the criticism levelled at his country for dragging its feet over a full energy embargo on the Kremlin.

His basic message was - it is coming, but not quite yet, because it is impossible to enact immediately and would probably lead to shutdowns of large swathes of the German economy.

President Zelensky used a BBC interview last week to demand an immediate embargo on Russia's lucrative oil trade, accusing those sending euros and dollars to Kremlin-controlled oil giants of "trading in blood". He singled out Germany alongside Hungary for blocking EU action.

Mr Lindner said Germany would move as fast as possible, but did not confirm that would be within a year.

In Berlin this issue appears to be putting some stress on the three-party governing coalition. Mr Lindner leads the free market FDP, not the normal bedfellows for the Social Democrats and Greens.

Meanwhile Green Party leader Annalena Baerbock, also the foreign minister, said dependence on Russian oil would definitely finish by the end of the year. The Chancellery under Olaf Scholz appears to be the most cautious on this issue.

Germany has already called off the opening of Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in response to the war, a project pursued by previous governments of different political stripes.

But Mr Lindner said he was concerned about the macroeconomic effects an overnight shut-off of Russian energy would cause.

"I don't fear [the] economic costs [of buying less Russian energy]. I fear the physical scenario, if you have to stop the supply, for a complete production line, this causes more than economic costs," Mr Lindner told the BBC.

"I think it's preferable to have sanctions, which we can stand for months, for years," he said.

Mr Lindner said Russia's invasion of Ukraine was the root cause of growing geopolitical and economic risks including inflation, food shortages and a debt crisis for low income countries.

But he also criticised the approach of previous Berlin governments of relying on Russia for oil and gas.

"It was a strategic miscalculation from German governments, over the last two decades, and now we have to work on energy diversification," he said.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Berlin has chosen not to make public all the weapons it has sent to support Ukraine, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, adding that Germany would help Kyiv maintain more advanced weapons systems it might buy and train soldiers to use them.

"We have delivered anti-tank missiles, Stingers and other things that we have never spoken about publicly so these deliveries could happen quickly," she said at a news conference in Riga with her Latvian counterpart.

Asked whether Germany would be sending its Panzerhaubitze 2000 artillery system - which some experts say Ukraine needs to mount a counterattack against Russian forces in its Donbass region, she said Germany would train Kyiv's soldiers on using and maintaining more advanced systems which it might obtain from other allied countries or buy outright.

"If partners deliver artillery that we can no longer deliver, we will help with training and maintenance," she said.

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt, editing by Emma Thomasson)
Rep Debbie Lesko says over one billion people have been apprehended at the US-Mexico border in six months (Getty Images)

A Republican congresswomans math skills are being questioned after she claimed US border officials had stopped over a billion migrants.

Border Patrol agents have apprehended more than 1,000,000,000 migrants at our southern border in just 6 months, Rep Debbie Lesko of Arizona tweeted on Tuesday. President Bidens open border policies are fueling this crisis!

Ms Lesko appeared to have added three too many zeroes to that figure. According to US Customs and Borders Protection, 1,013,513 migrants were apprehended or expelled at Americas southern border in the past six months.

If border agents had apprehended over a billion people, it would be an astonishing feat. That would mean theyd arrested about one eighth of the worlds population, and almost eight times the population of Mexico.

On Twitter, people were quick to point this out.

You honestly believe that nearly 13 percent of the worlds entire population attempted to cross the border between Mexico and the United States in a six-month period? one user asked.

This is what happens when you ban the math books, another jibed, referring to Florida Republicans recent rejection of several math textbooks.

Tell me Debbie, are the 1,000,000,000 migrants with us in the room right now? someone else asked.

Others took issue with Ms Leskos logic, wondering how Americas borders could be open if agents there were arresting billions of people.

Uhm, are we just ignoring the fact that if that many are apprehended they are doing a good job, which is the exact opposite of her tweet? one reader queried.

What exactly is your complaint here? another asked. That Border Patrol agents shouldnt be arresting them? If that many immigrants are getting arrested, how can you claim that the border is open?

Two possibilities, someone else theorized. (1) ONE BILLION MIGRANTS have tried to cross our border in just 6 months, or 230,000 PER HOUR, which is more than the population of Des Moines, Iowa every 60 minutes, - or - (2) Debbie doesnt know how many zeroes are in a million.

The Independent has reached out to Ms Leskos office for comment.
Reuters

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that he was in favour of a new type of "political European community" that would allow countries outside the European Union, including Ukraine and Britain, to join the "European core values." Speaking to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Macron called his re-election last month a signal that the French had wanted more Europe. But he made clear that Ukraine's desire to join the bloc would take several years and as a result needed to be given some hope in the short-term.
Two Republican senators have urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to reopen the U.S. embassy in Kyiv to "symbolically affirm" Washingtons commitment to Ukraine.

In a letter obtained by Fox News Wednesday, Sens. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Steve Daines of Montana reasoned that Russia has withdrawn its troops from the area after failing to take the capital city.

"With Ukraines successful defense of Kyiv and Russias subsequent withdrawal of forces from the areas surrounding the capital, we encourage you to fully open the United States embassy without delay," the senators wrote. "Americas restored diplomatic presence in Kyiv will enhance cooperation with a democratic partner as it wages an existential defense and symbolically affirm our nations commitment to Ukraines territorial sovereignty."

UKRAINE MARINE COMMANDER MAKES LAST-DITCH PLEA FOR EVACUATION FROM MARIUPOL

At least 17 nations have reopened their embassies in Kyiv after Russian troops withdrew from areas to the north and east of the capital late last month, according to a report by Foreign Policy.

Spain announced this week that it will join nations like Austria, Belgium, France, the Czech Republic, Italy, Turkey, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Portugal and the European Union in re-establishing its diplomatic missions in Ukraine.

Moran and Daines noted that the threat Russia continues to pose in Ukraine is significant but argued the U.S. had maintained working embassies in war-torn nations before.

Firefighters douse the fire in the Retroville shopping mall after a Russian attack on the northwest of the capital Kyiv on March 21, 2022. - At least six people were killed in the overnight bombing of a shopping centre in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images

BLINKEN PLEDGES RUSSIAN ACCOUNTABILITY 'ONE DAY, ONE WAY,' UKRAINE PLEADS FOR FASTER NATO AID

Moran told Fox News Digital that as a member of the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, he takes "seriously" the safety of embassy staff. But the senator noted he had the opportunity to meet with embassy staff on a recent trip to the Ukrainian-Polish border, and said he "was very impressed by their dedication and patriotism."

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"As we see France, Italy and other allies move to reopen their embassies in Kyiv, our nation and the Ukrainian people will be well-served with our own diplomatic return to the embassy in Ukraines capital," he added.

The senators called on Blinken to provide a plan on staffing details and how the U.S. will "restore" pre-war level embassy operations.

"Our continued absence in Kyiv, no matter how prudent up to now, signals a lack of confidence in Ukraines ability to defend itself and the diplomatic missions under its protection," the duo wrote the letter sent to Blinken Tuesday evening. "Resuming normal embassy operations at once will reinforce the importance of diplomacy and Americas full support for a Ukraine whole and free."

The State Department did not immediately return Fox News Digitals questions on reopening the embassy in Kyiv.


Speakers:

Hao Chun, director general of the China Manned Space Agency

Yang Hong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, chief designer of the space station system of the China Manned Space Program (CMSP), and researcher at the China Academy of Space Technology

Huang Weifen, chief designer of the astronaut system of the CMSP and researcher at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center

Sun Jun, chief designer of the space station mission at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center

Zhong Hong'en, deputy chief designer of the space utilization system of the CMSP and researcher at the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Chairperson:

Shou Xiaoli, deputy director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and spokesperson of the SCIO

Date:

April 17, 2022

Shou Xiaoli:

Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO). Yesterday, Shenzhou-13's return capsule touched down safely, marking the complete success of the Shenzhou-13 manned mission. Today, we are delighted to have with us Mr. Hao Chun, director general of the China Manned Space Agency; Mr. Yang Hong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, chief designer of the space station system of the China Manned Space Program (CMSP) and researcher at the China Academy of Space Technology; Ms. Huang Weifen, chief designer of the astronaut system of the CMSP and researcher at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center; Mr. Sun Jun, chief designer of the space station mission at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center; and Mr. Zhong Hong'en, deputy chief designer of the space utilization system of the CMSP and researcher at the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. They will introduce China's progress on the construction of its space station and answer your questions.

Next, I will give the floor to Mr. Hao.

Hao Chun:

Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, good afternoon.

It is a great pleasure to meet you, and I would like to thank you for your attention and support of China's manned space program. Yesterday, Shenzhou-13's return capsule safely touched down at the Dongfeng landing site and the crew returned to Beijing in the afternoon. Entrusted by the general headquarters of the space station phased mission, today we will report to you about the Shenzhou-13 manned mission and the progress in the construction of China's space station and answer your questions.

First, let me briefly review the Shenzhou-13 mission: On Oct.16, 2021, the Shenzhou-13 manned spacecraft took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, and later docked with the space station core module. After the docking, the three astronauts entered the core module and began their stay in space. During the mission, the crew took care of and maintained the facilities and equipment of the space station as planned, performed extravehicular activities (EVAs) twice, conducted a number of scientific and technological experiments, and carried out a series of science popularization and education activities such as two "Tiangong Class" lectures. The crew of Shenzhou-13 stayed at the space station for a total of 183 days, setting a record for the country's longest single-flight space mission. At present, the trio are in good health and are recovering following their return to Earth at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.

The construction of China's space station includes two phases, which are the key technology verification phase and construction phase, respectively, with six missions planned for each phase. Among them, the main objectives of the key technology verification phase is to make breakthroughs in and comprehensively master key technology related to the construction and operation of the space station. Since 2020, we have successfully carried out six missions: the maiden flight of the Long March 5B launch vehicle, the launch of the space station's Tianhe core module, the Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13 manned spacecrafts, and the Tianzhou-2 and Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecrafts. All of the missions achieved complete success and accomplished the mission objectives in the key technology verification phase, laying a solid foundation for the construction phase.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has paid great attention to the manned space program. General Secretary Xi Jinping has visited the mission site many times to take command and cordially met representatives of the space scientists and engineers who participated in the research and experiment. The general secretary also took part in a "space-Earth" talk with the crew. All members of the program have always kept in mind the care, trust and expectations of General Secretary Xi Jinping, and made every effort to tackle key problems, overcome the impact of COVID-19 on the development, experiments and flight missions, and achieved consecutive victories. The implementation of the mission has received strong support and full participation from relevant ministries and commissions of the central and local governments at all levels, as well as relevant forces. Here, on behalf of the mission headquarters, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all sectors of society for their concern and support, and journalists for their attention and reports.

According to the mission arrangements, we will complete the construction of the China's orbital space station in 2022. A total of six missions are planned, which are as follows: in May, the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft will be launched; in June, the Shenzhou-14 manned spacecraft carrying three astronauts will be launched and the crew will also stay in orbit for six months; in July, the Wentian lab module will be launched, followed in October by the Mengtian lab module. The three modules of the space station will form a T-shaped space station. Then, we will launch the Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft and the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft. The crew of Shenzhou-15 will also be composed of three astronauts. These three astronauts will take over from their Shenzhou-14 predecessors, living and working in orbit for six months.

The year 2022 will mark the decisive victory of the construction of the space station and the 30th anniversary of the initiation and implementation of China's manned space program. The construction of China's space station and national space laboratory is an essential objective in the "three-step" development strategy and an important sign of the country's enhanced strengths in aerospace and science and technology in general. We deeply understand our glorious mission and great responsibility while embarking on a new journey in a new era. Throughout the program, we will firmly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's instructions and requirements, be meticulous with the preparation, organization, and implementation, and ensure that all tasks are completed successfully, thus paving the way for a successful 20th CPC National Congress.

Now, we start taking questions. Thank you!
The Jacksonville Beach community rallied around the family of a local father who was shot and killed two months ago.

No one has been arrested for the murder of Jared Bridegan.

RELATED STORY: Somebody out there knows something: widow reaches out for help in husbands murder case

On Tuesday night, family, friends and community members came together for a vigil.

His widow, Kirsten Bridegan, said she has felt lost and alone since her husband was murdered, but the community that gathered for the vigil is helping her to get through her pain.

He was a great dad. The best dad. Were gonna miss him, Kirsten said.

After 33-year-old Jared Bridegan was murdered, his wife was not sure where to turn. She had been left alone with her two-year-old daughter who watched Jared Bridegan get shot.

Well, she has ups and downs. Shes strong though. Shes the strongest girl I know and shes only two, Kirsten said.

Tonight, surrounded by candlelight and worship, the community gathered together to honor the legacy of Jared Bridegan.

It has given me a sense of strength that Im not alone, Kirsten said.

RELATED STORY: Total reward for information on father killed in Jacksonville Beach now stands at $18K

The vigil was planned by three women who didnt know Kirsten and Jared. They felt a calling to support their community.

The three of us bonded together after that and decided we were going to take action and support a stranger, said Erin Frauenheim, one of the organizers.

Jareds siblings echoed the emotion Kirsten felt.

Its amazing to see the community rally around to help bring him justice, said Adam Bridegan, Jareds brother.

They wanted the vigil to send a message.

Theres still a killer out there in our community, Adam said.

The Jacksonville Beach police have been searching for leads for two months now. So far, no answers have been found.

I have a lot of faith in the detectives working this, Kirsten said. Its just frustrating that things take time. This is not a TV show. Things dont get solved in 60 minutes. It takes time and thats hard.

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RELATED STORY: Jacksonville Beach police looking for Ford F-150 that may be connected to fathers killing

The family wants justice for Jared, his wife and his four kids.

Not only was he murdered in a terrible instance but his daughter was present and she was alone. Its horrifying, Adam said.

There is one thing Kirsten said is getting her through.

Jared. It might sound weird to people but I feel him with me. And I think thats the only reason why Ive been able to talk to so many people, she said.

Something Kirsten made clear is that she believes multiple people were involved and she wants the message out there so answers can be found.

STAY UPDATED: Download the Action News Jax app for live updates on breaking stories
Actors Rio Hackford and Helen Mirren attend the 2015 premiere of "Trumbo" in Beverly Hills. (Jason LaVeris / FilmMagic)

Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford released a joint statement Tuesday mourning actor and bar owner Rio Hackford, who died Thursday at age 51.

The son of director Taylor Hackford and stepson of actor Mirren was known for his work in films such as "Jonah Hex," "Raising Helen," "Swingers" and "Fred Claus." He most recently appeared in the Hulu series "Pam & Tommy," as well as Disney+'s "The Mandalorian."

In a statement to People magazine, Hackford and Mirren confirmed that Rio Hackford died of uveal melanoma, "a very aggressive and rare form" of eye cancer.

The "Dolores Claiborne" director and the "Queen" actor told People they "are both inspired by the life of our son and stepson, Rio Hackford, and heartbroken by his loss."

"His life showed us how to live in generosity and community," they said. "He shared his life's journey with so many who now mourn him, and at the same time, celebrate their fortune in knowing him."

In addition to "Pam & Tommy" and "The Mandalorian," Rio Hackford had recurring TV roles on "American Crime Story" and "Treme." He also collaborated with Mirren on her comedy documentary series "When Nature Calls."

On top of his acting career, Rio Hackford made a name for himself as a business owner on the nightlife scene in New Orleans, San Francisco and Los Angeles. In 2011, Hackford assumed ownership of Monty, a trendy dive bar in Westlake.

"We would beg everyone reading this to get their eyes tested at least once a year, which might save their loved ones from this cancer," Mirren and Taylor Hackford continued in their statement.

In 2007's "Fred Claus," Rio Hackford starred opposite Vince Vaughn as Leon. Vaughn  who also worked with the late performer on 1996's "Swingers" and other projects  told Rio Hackford's father and stepmother he was "as loyal and funny as anyone could be."

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"Rio was the best ever," Vaughn added in a tribute shared with Mirren and Taylor Hackford, according to People. "Truly one of a kind."

On Instagram, screenwriter D.V. DeVincentis remembered his friend as "a superfan of enumerable scenes" who was "simply obsessed with movies."

"Worthy experience isnt everywhere. But Rio knew the closest to you at any given moment, and keeping track of these precious possibilities for you was his most fluent language of love," DeVincentis added. "Rio was the apex curator of experience, it was his oxygen, his life."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Hong Kong opposition activist was jailed for 40 months on Wednesday after the city's first sedition trial since its handover from British to Chinese rule nearly 25 years ago.

Sentencing politician and former radio host Tam Tak-chi in the District Court, judge Stanley Chan said he could not ignore the "social-political reality" of Hong Kong given the protracted protests and violence that rocked the city in 2019.

Noting Tam's offences took place in the first half of 2020, Chan said in his judgement that "the court could not take away the social and political reality as the background for sentencing, which also allowed a better understanding of the seriousness of the defendant's crime and its political purpose."

He sentenced Tam on 11 charges that included uttering seditious words, public disorder and incitement to take part in an unauthorised assembly. Tam was also fined HK$5,000 ($638).

Tam was arrested in July 2020 - weeks after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the city.

While the charges involved existing offences that pre-dated the new law, his case was dealt with by judge Chan, part of a new panel selected by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam to handle national security cases.

Judge Chan earlier accepted the prosecution's argument that Tam's public use of the protest slogan, popular in 2019, "liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times", carried pro-independence connotations.

Tam's defence lawyers said in court that he had long been passionate about politics and social issues and wanted change for society, not his own benefits.

Legal scholars have said the colonial-era sedition offence had not been used for decades, but is likely to be used more after the security law was imposed.

Other activists have since been jailed for sedition offences after Tam's arrest.

Western governments and other critics say the national security law has put freedoms at risk with tough bail provisions and expanded police powers under a legal regime that punishes subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.

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Hong Kong and Chinese officials say the law was vital to ensure stability after the 2019 protests, and say prosecutions are not political.

Tam said on his Facebook page on Wednesday that he would appeal, saying "my sentencing will affect Hongkongers' freedom of speech".

($1 = 7.8428 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reporting By Greg Torode and Jessie Pang; Editing by Kim Coghill)
A Houston dollar store employee is charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a man who attempted to shoplift from the business, police said Tuesday.

Houston police on Sunday responded to the Family Dollar in the South Park neighborhood of the city and found Antonio E. Batres, 21, had shot a 49-year-old-man. The victim has not been identified.

Investigators said store employees confronted him when he tried to shoplift. Batres and the man got into a physical altercation, and when the man turned his back, Batres shot him several times with a pistol, police said.

The man was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Batres is being held at the Harris County Jail on $75,000 bond. He is due in court on Monday, jail records show. It is unclear if he has a lawyer.
Ukrayinska Pravda

Alyona Mazurenko - Saturday, 7 May 2022, 22:09 Russian aggressors have "announced" the shelling of gatherings in Lviv and Volyn Regions with Tochka-U missiles on 8 May. Source: Joint Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation Quote: "On 8 May, which is marked as the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation in Ukraine, the 'Kyiv regime' plans to carry out another subtle provocation causing the death of civilians in the western regions of the country, so that Russia's Armed Forces can subseq
The body of a 37-year-old East St. Louis woman was found by police early Wednesday morning.

Troopers with the Illinois State Police Pubic Safety Enforcement Group responded to a reported shooting at 6:50 a.m. at 27th and Louisiana Boulevard, where they located the body.

St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. confirmed the woman had been shot. He could not, however, immediately confirm her identity.

Police are still investigating the shooting death. No suspects have been identified.

Police are asking anyone who may have information about the shooting to contact Illinois State Police at 618-346-3990 or Crime stoppers at 314-371-TIPS (8477).
A 68-year-old Japanese mother surrendered herself to the police shortly after murdering her bedridden daughter.



Fumiko Yamada, of Naka, Ibaraki Prefecture, suffocated her 46-year-old daughter, Megumi, by wrapping cellophane over her face and strangling her with a rope while she was sleeping on the morning of April 13.



Yamada, identified by some reports as Ayako Yamada, then rode her bicycle to the police station and turned herself in at around 2 a.m.



I'm tired of taking care of her. I killed my daughter, she reportedly told the police.



During the police investigation, Megumi was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead. Yamada, who lived alone with her daughter, said that Megumi had been bedridden since April.



The authorities arrested and charged Yamada with murder and are currently investigating her case.

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Authorities said two men pleaded guilty on Monday to federal crimes for being involved in a political contribution scheme.

According to a Department of Justice statement, John Keeler, former vice president and general counsel of gaming company New Centaur LLC, pleaded guilty to creating false statements on the casinos corporate tax return by concealing contributions to a local political party as deductible business expenses.

Darryl Brent Waltz, former Indiana state senator and a 2016 congressional candidate, pleaded guilty last week to making and receiving illegal conduit contributions through sham donors and making false statements to the FBI as well.

Authorities said that Keeler funneled $41,000 of his corporate funds to Kelley Rogers, a Maryland-based political consultant, and an entity under his control to contribute funds toward multiple local GOP committees.

Keeler used his company to falsely report political contributions to the IRS as a deductible business expense, according to court documents.

Waltz allegedly funneled up to $40,500 in illegal conduit contributions to his congressional campaign, noting that Rogers and Waltz directed corporate funds from Keelers company into Waltzs campaign through several straw contributors and through Waltz himself.

Waltz also lied and misled federal authorities who were investigating the matter, court documents said.

Waltz, 48, faces a possible 10-year prison sentence for the crimes he committed, and Keeler, 72, faces a three-year prison sentence.

Both men will be sentenced at a later court date, the statement noted.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday he wanted a thorough investigation of alleged breaches of rules for issuing palm oil export permits after the government's policy failed to help contain surging cooking oil prices.

Indonesia's Attorney General a day earlier launched a corruption probe, naming four suspects including a senior Trade Ministry official and three palm oil executives.

Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin said evidence showed a ministry official had issued export permits to companies that not met rules to sell part of their palm oil output at home.

"I ask that this case be thoroughly investigated so we can find out who is playing a game here," said Jokowi, as the president is widely known, according to a statement issued by the palace.

Indonesia is the world's top palm oil producer, but after soaring global prices of the edible oil pushed up local cooking oil prices authorities brought in rules from late January to March requiring companies to sell a portion of their planned exports at home.

Jokowi noted that despite the various efforts of the government, including giving subsidies to producers, retail prices of cooking oil had remained stubbornly high.

Bulk cooking oil is currently being sold above a retail price cap of 14,000 rupiah ($0.98) per litre set by the government.

"We want prices to be near normal levels," he said.

The three other suspects named by the Attorney General were executives at three palm oil companies - Permata Hijau Group, PT Wilmar Nabati Indonesia and Musim Mas.

Wilmar Group said in a statement it had "complied with all applicable regulations related to export approvals and we will always cooperate in supporting government policies."

Musim Mas representative Rapolo Hutabarat said the company was "shocked" by the allegation since it had met export requirements, pledging to cooperate with the legal process.

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In a separate statement, Musim Mas said it supported the efforts of the government to ensure an adequate supply of affordable cooking oil and had "wholeheartedly complied with the DMO (domestic market obligation) requirements".

Permata Hijau did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

($1 = 14,350.0000 rupiah)

(Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe, Stanley Widianto; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Ed Davies)
Bitcoin illustration Getty Images

Ireland wants to ban political parties from accepting crypto donations, according to the Irish Independent.

Darragh O'Brien, Ireland's Local Government Minister, cited the threat of Russian election interference.

States like California, Oregon and Michigan have also passed legislation banning digital asset political donations.

Ireland wants to ban political parties from accepting donations through cryptocurrencies to combat potential Russian election interference as the Kremlin continues its war on Ukraine.

Darragh O'Brien, Ireland's Local Government Minister, wants to amend the Electoral Bill 2022 to enact a ban, telling the Irish Independent that Russia's continued disinformation effort shows the "fundamental threat faced by all democracies."

Ireland's Electoral Commission will also issue take-down notices to social media sites and clarify its rules on misinformation.

Ireland isn't the first government body to move to ban cryptocurrency donations made to political parties. States like California, Oregon and Michigan have all passed legislation banning political donations made via digital assets.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government has embraced crypto donations in recent months amid its ongoing war with Russia. Ukraine even has an official website where users can donate 16 different cryptocurrencies.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Italy on Wednesday penned a deal with Angola to ramp up gas supplies from the southern African country as it urgently scrambles to break away from Russian gas over the Ukraine war.

A declaration of intent was signed to develop "new" natural gas ventures and to increase exports to Italy, a statement from the Italian foreign minister announced.

"Today we have reached another important agreement with Angola to increase gas supplies," Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said in the statement.

"Italy's commitment to differentiate energy supply sources is confirmed," said Di Maio at the end of a two-and-half-hour long visit to Luanda.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi wants to add Angola and Congo-Brazzaville to a portfolio of suppliers to substitute Russia, which provides about 45 percent of Italian gas.

"We do not want to depend on Russian gas any longer, because economic dependence must not become political subjection," he said in an interview with the Corriere della Sera daily published on Sunday.

"Diversification is possible and can be implemented in a relatively short amount of time -- quicker than we imagined just a month ago," he said.

Draghi was due to go himself but after testing positive for Covid-19 sent Di Maio and Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani in his place.

Cingolani described the deal as "an important agreement that gives impetus to the partnership between Italy and Angola in the fields of renewables, biofuels, LNG (liquefied natural gas) and training in technology and environment".

The two ministers, accompanied by Claudio Descalzi, chief executive of Italian energy giant ENI, also met President Joao Lourenco. They were later headed to neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville where they are expected to meet President Denis Sassou Nguesso on Thursday.

"This is a race against time to make sure we stock gas and oil for the next winter season," said Francesco Galietti, head of Rome-based consultancy Policy Sonar.

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Angola's Foreign minister Tete Antonio described the signature as "very important".

A similar declaration will be signed in the Republic of Congo.

The foray follows the clinching of agreements with Algeria and Egypt in recent weeks.

Algeria is currently Italy's second-largest supplier, providing around 30 percent of its consumption.

ENI said the deal with Algeria's Sonatrach would boost deliveries of gas through the Transmed undersea pipeline by "up to nine billion cubic metres per year" by 2023-24.

Transmed only had spare pipeline capacity of 7.8 billion cubic metres per year in 2021 -- though it has said it is ready to expand.

Italy has also been in talks with Azerbaijan over the expansion of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

- 'Fanciful' -

The Egypt accord could result in up to three billion cubic metres of liquefied natural gas (LNG) being bound for Europe and Italy in particular this year, ENI said.

Italy is looking into buying or renting two floating storage and regasification units (FSRU) to allow it to import more LNG.

Diversification will not be cheap, warn experts, who foresee extra taxes passed on to businesses and families.

Davide Tabarelli, head of energy think tank Nomisma Energia, said Rome was rightly exploiting the "excellent relationships" that ENI has built up over 69 years in Africa, where it is the sector leader in terms of production and reserves.

But the idea of replacing Russian gas "in the short term" was "fanciful", he told AFP. "It will take at least two or three years."

The government said it expects to get the floating regasification units into place within 18 months.

It has also talked of kick-starting stalled projects for two onshore regasification plants, which would take some four years to build.

- 'Operation thermostat' -

Italy is one of Europe's biggest guzzlers of gas, which currently represents 42 percent of its energy consumption, and it imports 95 percent of the gas it uses.

The government hopes to reduce that by accelerating the investment in renewables and has vowed to cut red tape on wind and solar farms.

Draghi has called for a collective sacrifice, asking Italians this month: "Do we want to have peace or do we want to have the air conditioning on?"

His rallying cry was met with some grumbling in a country feeling the effects of global heating, which science shows is driven by humans burning fossil fuels.

Undeterred, the government is readying so-called "operation thermostat", which could see the public sector turn down heating in schools and offices by one degree, and the equivalent for air conditioning in the summer.

The rule would apply to private households and companies too, though it would be difficult to police.

It could save some four billion cubic metres of natural gas a year -- or around 14 percent of the total gas imported from Russia, according to La Stampa newspaper.

ide/ar/sn/rlp/imm
When I was a special education teacher at Myrtle Grove Elementary School in Miami in 2010, my colleagues and I recommended that a Black girl receive special education services because she had difficulty reading. However, her mother disagreed. When I asked her why, she explained that she, too, was identified as having a learning disability when she was a student.

She was put in a small classroom away from her other classmates. She remembered reading books below her grade level and frequent conflicts between her classmates and teachers. Because of this, she believed she received a lower-quality education. She didnt want her daughter to go through the same experience.

Ultimately, the mother and I co-designed an individualized education plan  known in the world of special education as an IEP  for her daughter where she would be pulled out of class for only an hour a day for intensive reading instruction.

When compared to white students with disabilities, students of color with disabilities are more likely to be placed in separate classrooms. This may lead to lower educational outcomes for students of color in special education, as students with disabilities perform better in math and reading when in general education classrooms.

Researchers, such as University of Arizona education scholar Adai Tefera and CUNY-Hunter College sociologist of education Catherine Voulgarides, argue that systemic racism  as well as biased interpretations of the behavior of students of color  explains these discrepancies. For example, when compared to students with similar test scores, Black students with disabilities are less likely to be included in the general education classroom than their non-Black peers. To curb this, teachers can take steps toward being more inclusive of students of color with disabilities.

As a Black feminist researcher who focuses on the intersection of race and disability, here are three recommendations I believe can help teachers to better support students of color with disabilities.

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1. Inform families of their rights

Federal law requires that schools provide parents and guardians with Procedural Safeguards Notices, a full explanation of all the rights a parent has when their child is referred to or receives special education services. These notices need to be put in writing and explained to families in language that is easily understandable.

However, research shows that in many states, Procedural Safeguards Notices are written in ways that are difficult to read. This can make it harder for families, especially immigrant families, to know their rights. Also, families of color report facing greater resistance when making requests for disability services than white families do.

When meeting with families, teachers can take the time to break down any confusing language written in the Procedural Safeguards Notice. This can assure that the families of students of color are fully aware of their options.

For example, families have the right to invite an external advocate to represent their interests during meetings with school representatives. These advocates can speak on behalf of the family and often help resolve disagreements between the schools and families.

Educators can tell families about organizations that serve children with disabilities and help them navigate school systems. The Color of Autism, The Arc and Easterseals are striving to address racial inequities in who has access to advocacy supports. These organizations create culturally responsive resources and connect families of color with scholarships to receive training on how to advocate for themselves.

2. Talk about race and disability

Despite the growing diversity within K-12 classrooms, conversations around race are often left out of special education. This leaves a lack of attention toward the issues that students of color face, like higher suspension rates and lower grades and test scores than their white peers in special education.

When teachers talk about race and disability with their colleagues, it can help reduce implicit biases they may have. Also, dialogue about race and disability can help to reduce negative school interactions with students of color with disabilities.

Arizona State University teacher educator Andrea Weinberg and I developed protocols that encourage educators to talk about race, disability, class and other social identities with each other. These include questions for teachers such as:

Do any of your students of color have an IEP? Has a student with disabilities or their family shared anything about their cultural background that distinguishes them from their peers? Are there patterns of students not responding to instruction?

The protocols also encourage educators to consider their own social identities and how those may shape how they interpret students behaviors and academic needs:

Who do you collaborate with to help you better understand and respond to students diverse needs? In what ways are students and teachers benefiting from the diversity represented in the classroom?

Educators using these questions in the Southwest, for example, say they help a mostly white teacher workforce understand their role in disrupting inequities. One study participant said, These things are not addressed, and theyre not talked about among faculty.

3. Highlight people of color with disabilities in the classroom

Often, classroom content depicts disabled people  especially those of color  as people at the margins of society. For example, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson, a Black character with a physical disability, is killed after being falsely accused of a crime. Teachers can incorporate thoughtful examples of disabled people of color in their lesson plans to help students better understand their experiences.

When teaching about Harriet Tubman, educators can mention how she freed enslaved people while coping with the lifelong effects of a head injury. Tubmans political activism provides a historical example of disabled people of color who helped improve society for all.

Art teachers can highlight Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and how she boldly addressed her physical disabilities in self-portraits. Disabled peoples experiences are frequently shown from the perspective of people without disabilities. In her art, Kahlo displayed herself with bandages and sitting in a wheelchair. Her portraits featured her own reactions to having disabilities.

Physical education teachers can discuss current events, such as recent news about Olympian Simone Biless attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and anxiety. Her openness has sparked international conversations about less noticeable disabilities.

Teaching students about the contributions that disabled people of color make to our society emphasizes that neither race nor disability should be equated with inferiority.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Mildred Boveda, Penn State.

Read more:



Mildred Boveda does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Jada Pinkett Smith is getting ready to talk about it.

Nearly a month after husband Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in the face after the comedian told a joke about her shaved head at the Oscars ceremony, Jada Pinkett Smith said Wednesday the incident would be discussed on an upcoming episode of her talk show Red Table Talk.

Considering all that has happened in the last few weeks, the Smith family has been focusing on deep healing. Some of the discoveries around our healing will be shared at the table when the time calls, a statement before the beginning of the most recent episode read.

Until then... the table will continue offering itself to powerful, inspiring and healing testimonies like that of our incredibly impressive first guest. Thanks for joining us, Jada.

Will Smith, who won the best actor award shortly after the incident, said he reacted emotionally in an apology he issued the day after. The joke about Jadas [alopecia] was too much for me to bear, he said.

Red Table Talk airs on Facebook Watch.
Apr. 20Pay raises for most employees of the Joplin School District will soon be in effect after the Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously approved updated agreements with the district's employee bargaining units.

The agreements with Joplin National Education Association and Joplin Education Support Professionals each call for increases in pay for all employees covered by the groups. JNEA is the bargaining unit for teachers, counselors and librarians. JESP is the bargaining unit for full-time and regular part-time custodians, building engineers, bus drivers, bus aides, maintenance employees and food service department employees, excluding supervisors and guards.

Under the new agreements, the amount of an employee's pay raise will be determined by their position and their step on salary schedules. Representatives of the two unions said they were happy with the updated contracts.

"We want to be a district of choice for all teachers looking at opportunities to grow; we want them to come to us and grow," said Crystal Stokes, a teacher and president of JNEA. "With this CBA, this collective bargaining agreement, we have that, and we also have that with our new salary schedule."

Teams from each union met with district officials in March for negotiation. They told the board Tuesday that they appreciate the "open-door policy" that the district takes when meeting with them, and each group said its members provided positive feedback on the new agreements.

Administrators said the new contracts will be beneficial to the school district.

"We do have good relationships with both unions that we want to continue to foster," said Justin Crawford, director of educational support and human resources. "We feel like the better environment we can create for our employees and be the district of choice, the better it is for our stakeholders and our students because if we can have better benefits, better efficiency and (keep) costs down, then we can transfer that on into raises and salaries."

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In other business Tuesday:

New members David Weaver and Donnie Greenlee were sworn in after having won their two seats in the April 5 election. They succeed Sharrock Dermott and Michael Joseph, who did not seek reelection.

Board members returned Jeff Koch to the position of president. The vote was 4-3, with Koch, Derek Gander, Brent Jordan and John Hird supporting the nomination.

The remaining three votes, from Rylee Hartwell, Weaver and Greenlee, supported Hartwell for president.

The board voted 4-3 to name Gander as the vice president over Hartwell, with votes split the same way.

An update was presented on the construction of Dover Hill Elementary School, where work such as framing, masonry, waterproofing and roofing is underway. The school is projected to be complete in time for classes to begin there in January 2023 after the holiday break.

"Progress is going very well," said Aaron Hight, with Crossland Construction. "Construction is moving along perfectly on schedule."

The board approved the $481,250 purchase of Chromebooks for the seventh and ninth grades.

The board also approved a bid from Play By Design Inc. in the amount of $418,360.52 for playground equipment, basketball goals, shade structures and turf at two locations at the new Dover Hill Elementary School; and a bid from Open Systems of Cleveland in the amount of $123,333 for networking equipment for Dover Hill.
Former Rochester pawn shop owner Devin Tribunella, convicted of a multimillion-dollar scheme that victimized drug addicts, is now facing charges on a separate matter in Pennsylvania.

#PawnShopCase

As he awaits sentencing for using drug addicts in a multimillion-dollar pawn shop scheme in Rochester, Devin Tribunella is being restricted in his movements. Specifically, he must stay out of casinos. That edict was imposed by a U.S. District Court judge here after Tribunella was accused of keeping $6,300 in erroneous payments from Pennsylvania's Mount Airy Casino. According to State Police records there, Tribunella received the money in error March 12 at the casino and refused to return it. His sentencing in the Rochester pawn-shop case was scheduled for this week but is on hold until his case is resolved in Pennsylvania, where he faces charges of theft and harassment.

#BusDriverAccused

A school bus driver in Rochester accused of inappropriately touching a 13-year-old girl on a school van last month is facing several federal charges. According to a criminal complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court, Tomas Rosario, 74, inappropriately touched the young girl several times and had inappropriate sexual discussions with her on the way to and from school on March 10, when they were the only two people in the van. He was fired by Monroe School Transportation after the company received a complaint about him.

#MaskMandateUpdate

New York states mask mandate for public transit will remain in place for the short term, despite a Florida judge voiding a federal mask mandate, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday. Her comments came after a U.S. District Court judge issued an order saying the federal mandate, which requires masks on airplanes and other public transit, exceeded the authority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In New York, people still will be required to wear masks on buses, trains and airplanes as well as in indoor public transit settings, according to Hochuls comments. Early Wednesday afternoon, the Rochester airports Twitter account wrote that based on Hochuls announcement, people will have to wear masks there.

See you Thursday.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Judge to ex-pawn shop owner: Stay out of casinos
Oxygen

Single mother Kelli Underwood survived brain tumors, divorce, and depression, but an ill-fated love triangle would be the death of her. Underwood was born and raised in Mesquite, Texas, just east of Dallas. She married young but it wouldnt last, nor would her second marriage. As a single mother of three, she struggled to balance work and family. When it came down to it she was always a very positive person. Anybody that met her said that her smile would light up a room. Thats just the type of
The Daily Beast

Lauderdale County SheriffThe former lawyer for Casey White, who pulled off a spectacular escape with his jailer Vicky White from the Lauderdale County Jail in Alabama last week, is concerned about his one-time clients state of mind.Dale Bryant, who was Whites public defender in his appeal against 2019 convictions for a slew of violent crimes, told local news outlets that in his mind White could be drawn into a firefight with police if he is not on his meds. When Casey is on his medication and
Airlines and other public transportation no longer need to require passengers to mask up, based on a Monday ruling by Florida native Federal Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle.

Less than two years after her appointment, Kimball Mizelle has upended the travel industry as airlines, buses, subways and rideshare companies scramble to change their rules. Here's what we know about the Lakeland-raised judge.

Florida Middle District Judge Kimball Mizelle was confirmed to the lifetime position of federal judge by the Republican-controlled Senate in the weeks after President Donald Trump lost his bid for reelection. She was named to the bar in 2012. At age 33, she was the youngest Trump-nominated federal judge.

Related: Federal judge voids US mask mandate for planes, public transportation

Federal Court Judge and Lakeland native Kathryn Kimball Mizelle with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, for whom she clerked.

During the nomination process, the nonpartisan American Bar Association declared her to be not qualified, citing her lack of experience in court.

The Republican senators who voted for her pushed back against the assertion, lauding her work as a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice and in the private sector at law firm Jones Day, which at the time was representing the Pennsylvania Republican Party against private lawsuits and a suit from the Democratic Party regarding voting rights. The law firm later represented Trump in a suit seeking to overturn election results.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., voted for Kimball Mizelle, while Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., did not vote as he was quarantining after a COVID-19 exposure.

More: Airlines have dropped their mask mandates. But where are masks still required?

And: Mask mandate and Southwest Florida airports: What you need to know

Education

Kathryn Kimball Mizelle graduated at the top of her class in 2012 from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Kimball Mizelle graduated from Lakeland Christian School in 2005 first in her class. In 2009, she attained her bachelor's from Covenant College, a private Christian liberal arts college on Lookout Mountain in Dade County, Ga. She then earned her law degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, graduating in 2012, again first in her class.

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Kimball Mizelle went on to clerk for several judges, including Judge James S. Moody Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida  where she now serves as a judge herself in Tampa  and for Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court from 2018 to 2019.

She also served as a prosecutor in the tax division of the Department of Justice, counsel to the Associate Attorney General and special assistant to the U.S. Attorney in Northern Virginia. Kimball Mizelle went on to practice private law at Jones Day in Washington, D.C., from 2019 until her appointment to the bench in 2020.

Her lifetime position of federal judge comes with a $223,400 salary.

Washington, D.C., attorney Kathryn Kimball Mizelle was nominated by President Donald Trump to become a U.S. district judge in the Middle District of Florida. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in late 2020. Mizelle is Trump's youngest nominee to the federal bench.

Kimball Mizelle has been a member of the conservative Federalist Society since 2012, the year she was admitted to the Florida Bar and is listed as a contributor on its website.

I joined the Federalist Society upon graduation because I wanted to continue to have the opportunity to grow as a lawyer by being exposed to events where speakers would advocate for opposing views, she said in a written statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearings.

The Federalist Society was founded in 1982 as a group of conservatives and libertarians" dedicated to promoting limited, constitutional government; and the rule of law in protecting individual freedom and traditional values.

Kimball Mizelle is married to Chad Mizelle, another Florida native. Mizelle, who at the time of their marriage served as acting general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, joined law firm Jones Day's Government Regulation Practice department in January 2021. He is based in the D.C. and Miami offices.

Before she worked for DHS, Mizelle served as associate counsel to Trump from 2018 to 2019 and as counsel to the deputy attorney general at the Department of Justice from 2017 to 2018.

In other Florida locations:

Appointment

Before her appointment to the bench, Kimball Mizelle had never tried a case in court as a lead attorney and had only eight years of experience as an attorney, which led the nonpartisan American Bar Association to declare her not qualified for the position.

The ABA wrote in a Sept. 8 letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that a nominee to the federal bench ordinarily should have at least 12 years experience in the practice of law." It added that Kimball Mizelle "was admitted to practice law in Florida on September 27, 2012. This represents a rather marked departure from the 12-year minimum.

The ABA did point out that of Kimball Mizelles four distinguished federal clerkships, one, a one-year clerkship, was in the trial court.

That year, plus her 10 months at a reputable law firm and approximately three years in government practice translates into five years of experience in the trial courts. We have taken into account the nominees experience in federal grand jury proceedings, which are non-adversarial and do not take place before a judge. In each instance those proceedings resulted in the defendants agreement to a plea of guilty with no trial, the letter read.

A substantial majority of the Standing Committee has determined that Ms. Mizelle is Not Qualified'," the organization wrote.

In response to her questions from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., then-ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kimball Mizelle said she had tried only two cases to verdict, once serving as co-lead counsel in law school on a case as a certified legal intern at the State Attorneys Office and as associate counsel to the lead counsel in the other.

She told Feinstein she had appeared in court approximately 40 times over the course of her career as an attorney, arguing on behalf of the Department of Justice.

However, she never served in civil or criminal court as lead or co-counsel.

According to Matthew Cimento, a spokesman for the ABA, which typically helps administrations vet candidates, it was rare during the Trump administration for the ABA to oppose a nominee. Just 10 of the 326 Trump nominees came back not qualified.

Kimball Mizelle told the Senate Judiciary Committee, however, that her work in the government and in private practice had provided her with sufficient experience.

"While at Jones Day, I have represented companies in both high stakes civil litigation as well as significant criminal defense cases, including the defense of two companies in a $3 billion healthcare fraud prosecution," she wrote in her response to the questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee. "These experiences, along with my service in the Associate Attorney Generals Office and as a law clerk at every level of the federal judiciary, have prepared me to be a fair and effective federal district court judge.

In materials provided to the committee prior to her confirmation hearings, she declined to answer questions put forth on her opinions regarding the federal government's ability to regulate businesses in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"As a judicial nominee, it would be improper for me to offer my personal view on any issue that is likely to come before a court, including the authority of the federal government to impose safety standards on businesses," she wrote.

President Donald Trump in September 2020 nominated Kathryn Kimball Mizelle to be a U.S. District judge in the Tampa-based Middle District of Florida. The Lakeland native was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Kimball Mizelle's nomination was put before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020 by Trump. She was confirmed in a 49-41 vote along party lines.

Rubio applauded her appointment to the bench, calling her a "highly qualified nominee" and lauding her service "in various legal roles both in the public and private sector."

LOGGED NEW SENATE VOTE (00239)

Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, of Florida, to be United States...https://t.co/it8juXbmYJ pic.twitter.com/9CH5nSkeD4  CATargetBot (@CATargetBot) November 18, 2020

Mask ruling

Kimball Mizelle on Monday declared the Biden Administration's mask mandate for airline and other public transit travelers an overreach by the Centers for Disease Control.

The mask mandate passed by the Biden Administration in January 2021 required people to wear masks in airports and on certain modes of public transportation, including many trains, airplanes and intercity buses, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The mandate was based on a 1944 Public Health Services Act that declared the director of the CDC could issue regulations "as in his judgment are necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases."

The disease caused by the coronavirus mainly travels through microscopic droplets and particles exhaled by infected persons, according to the CDC; wearing a mask traps those droplets and reduces risk of infection in others.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the White House stood in opposition to the ruling. "This is obviously a disappointing decision," she said. "The CDC continues recommending wearing a mask in public transit."

The mask mandate had been set to expire Monday but the CDC announced last week that it would keep it in place until May 3. The delay would allow more time to study the BA.2 omicron subvariant of the coronavirus that is responsible for the majority of cases in the country.

It was the mask mandate's fifth extension despite repeated requests from airlines and other travel industry officials to ease restrictions.

Basing her ruling on the definition of cleaning, Kimball Mizelle concluded that the CDC could require or order cleanings, fumigations or more, but not preventative sanitary measures.

"Wearing a mask cleans nothing," Kimball Mizelle wrote in her ruling. As such, she concluded, "the Mask Mandate falls outside of" federal regulations.

Every major U.S. airline has now made face masks optional for passengers and employees. That includes Delta, United, American and Southwest as well as Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant, and newer airlines like Breeze and Avelo.

Kimberly C. Moore and Gary White of the Lakeland Ledger contributed. USA TODAY also contributed.

Kate Cimini is an investigative journalist covering Florida. Share your story at (239) 207-9369 or email kcimini@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Federal judge CDC mask mandate: Kathryn Kimball Mizelle from Florida struck down mandate
Chris Bryant has recused himself from any investigation into whether Boris Johnson misled Parliament.

MPs will vote Thursday over whether to refer the matter to the privileges committee, which Bryant chairs.

The committee has the power to sanction Johnson if he is found to have breached the ministerial code.

Prominent Labour MP Chris Bryant has recused himself from any potential investigation into whether Boris Johnson misled Parliament over partygate, to avoid any suggestion that it could become a partisan affair.

MPs will decide on Thursday whether the Commons' privileges committee should carry out a probe into the Prime Minister's actions, handing MPs the power to compel the release of reports, documents and photos.

Should the committee be granted the right to investigate, it could "recommend an individual be found in contempt, and sanctions can include a range of measures," including suspension or expulsion.

Given the Conservatives' mammoth majority, the motion is not expected to pass. However some Tory backbenchers have told Insider they may abstain, meaning Johnson  who will be out of the country on a visit to India  is not out of the woods.

Pre-empting the vote Bryant, the committee's chairman and a senior Labour MP, published a letter to colleagues saying he would not take part.

He said: "I would do everything in my power to ensure our inquiry was fair, consensual and evidence-based. I hope I have shown that scrupulousness in other proceedings of the Standards Committee, including one inquiry concerning the prime minister, when the Committee disagreed with the Commissioner.

"However, it is also important that the House be seen to proceed fairly without any imputation of unfairness and that the whole House have confidence in the Committee of Privileges' proceedings. I have therefore decided that if the motion to refer is carried tomorrow I will recuse myself from any consideration of the matter, just as Sir Bernard Jenkin recused himself from the Standards Committee inquiry on Owen Paterson.

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"I will still chair the Committee of Privileges and the Committee on Standards for all our other business, but it will be for the rest of the Committee to decide who should chair proceedings on this inquiry and how it should proceed."

Bryant has been outspoken in his criticism of the Prime Minister's conduct throughout the affair, having recently described him as a "proven liar".

He has also said Johnson "broke the law, repeatedly lied to parliament and refused to correct the record", which he described as "a threefold breach of the ministerial code."

On Tuesday, the first day back after receiving a fine during the Easter recess, Johnson gave an statement in which he apologised "unreservedly" to MPs, but insisted it was a mistake.

During the two-hour session, which also acted as an update on Ukraine, Bryant quizzed the Prime Minister about Russia, having previously said he would not be commenting on the possible probe.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Las Cruces resident Jeff Koza smokes cannabis Tuesday, June 29, 2021, the first day recreational cannabis became legal in New Mexico.

LAS CRUCES - Residents and businesses are gearing up to celebrate the first 4/20 since retail cannabis sales, and personal consumption, became legal. But the City of Las Cruces is reminding residents there are still restrictions on where they can smoke or consume cannabis.

State law prohibits public consumption of cannabis, and licensed cannabis consumption areas within city limits must be indoors only. The city said some businesses have expressed interest in hosting events to celebrate the commonly known cannabis-smoking holiday on Wednesday, but the city stresses all businesses and residents must adhere to state and local laws.

Events: Here's how the Mesilla Valley is recognizing 4/20

A prerolled joint and cannabis flower are pictured at Organ Mountain Cannabis, a new dispensary on Lohman Avenue in Las Cruces, on April 1, 2022, the first day of recreational sales in New Mexico.

Smoking or consuming cannabis is only allowed in a private residence or in a licensed consumption area. Violations of the rules could result in a $50 fine and a misdemeanor charge.

"Special events may permit celebrations with music, food and vendors, but sales and consumption must occur in a licensed and secured area as determined by state regulators," the city said in a Tuesday press release.

Personal possession and consumption in private residences became legal June 29, 2021 in New Mexico. At the beginning of April, licensed retail sales of cannabis began statewide.

More cannabis news:

Michael McDevitt is a city and county government reporter for the Sun-News. He can be reached at 575-202-3205, mmcdevitt@lcsun-news.com or @MikeMcDTweets on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: 4/20: Las Cruces reminds residents not to smoke weed in public
The National Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (NAPALSA) has called on University of Pennsylvanias Carey Law School to suspend and investigate professor Amy Wax following her recent appearances on television and podcasts.



The student-led organization, along with the National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA) and the North American South Asian Law Students Association (NASALASA), denounced Waxs hateful rhetoric in a joint statement released to their social media accounts. A tenured professor at the Carey Law School, Wax has a history of sparking outrage for criticizing the abilities and attitudes of minority groups in America.



In 2018, Wax was banned from teaching first-year courses following a comment she made about the academic ability of Black students.



I don't think I've ever seen a black student graduate in the top quarter of the [Penn Law School] class and rarely, rarely in the top half, she stated during a lecture in 2017.



In December of last year, Wax then made a guest appearance on The Glenn Show podcast in which she said, The United States is better off with fewer Asians and less Asian immigration.



Her anti-Asian immigrant remark led the Dean of Penns Carey Law School Theodore Ruger to organize a faculty review to sanction the tenured professor.



Most recently, on April 8, Wax appeared on Fox News show Tucker Carlson Today and stated that Blacks and non-Western groups have a tremendous amount of resentment and shame against Western peoples for [their] outsized achievements and contributions. She also specifically called out Brahmin Indian immigrants and referred to India as a sh*thole.



The national law student organizations wrote in their statement that the fact Wax has continued to be permitted to teach, supervise, and ridicule minority law students for over twenty-one years is alarming.



Waxs view of western exceptionalism is rooted in white supremacist ideology; the illogical and racist assumption that the very existence of persons of color lacks merit or quality, their statement reads. Minority law students belong in the spaces they occupy. In the face of bigotry and racism, our national organizations will continue supporting minority law students to succeed in the study and practice of law.



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A post shared by NAPALSA (@napalsa)











The organizations have deemed Wax unfit to continue as a member of an academic staff and suggest that the law school must suspend Wax and prohibit her from socializing with students, while they investigate whether her behavior complies with University Behavioral Standards by no later than August 15.



They have also asked for transparency into the Law Schools tenure requirements, the Universitys Behavioral Standards regarding faculty conduct, and the mechanisms by which students and the University can take action against professors who violate these standards by no later than May 20.



Lastly, they have called on the school to ensure that there are alternative professors to teach the courses taught by Wax.



For UPenn Law to finally pull the trigger and remove Wax from the school, I believe, would mean a great deal to the minority students at the school. Often, silence and slow action can be deafening, NAPALSA President Dillon Yang told NextShark. Along with the normal challenges of adjusting to law school, many minority law students additionally feel the rhetoric that they are less than or do not belong.



To have a professor at your school continually reaffirm those feelings is more than problematic, he added. The fact that Amy Wax is still a professor at UPenn Law has implications beyond their campus  students around the nation hear her patterned demeaning remarks and see those remarks justified by UPenns inaction.







Featured Image via Program on Constitutional Government at Harvard

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Memorial Sign for Deputy Bruce Lee is Vandalized in California

'You and your people': Iowa senator's 'compliment' towards Korean American judge ignites stereotype debate

Ukrainians filmed attempting to block Russian tanks sparks comparisons to Tank Man of Tiananmen Square

Korean American Rap Group Drops Powerful 'Viral' MV on Contagious Racism
VILNIUS (Reuters) - Lithuania's parliament on Tuesday voted to ban public displays of the letter "Z", the black and orange ribbon of St George, and other symbols seen as expressing support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian military vehicles in Ukraine are prominently marked with the letter "Z", and it has started appearing on social media and on clothing elsewhere in support of the war.

Meanwhile the ribbon of St George, first introduced as an honour by Catherine the Great, has gained significance in the Russian-speaking world since separatists in eastern Ukraine adopted it as a symbol of their support for Russia in 2014.

To an earlier ban on public displays of Soviet and Nazi symbols, parliament added a provision for "the symbols of totalitarian or authoritarian regimes used in the past or currently use to promote military aggression, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed or perpetrated by them."

Lawmakers also approved that fines for breaching the ban should be raised to 900 euros ($827) for persons and up to 1,500 euros for companies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine on what he calls a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine. Ukraine and the West say Putin launched an unprovoked war of aggression.

The Lithuanian decision comes after similar bans in Latvia and Moldova. Germany was also considering such ban.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in March called for a universal ban of the political use of the letter "Z," saying it signified "Russian war crimes, bombed out cities, thousands of murdered Ukrainians."

($1 = 0.9193 euros)

(This story corrects headline to clarify the ban is a protest against Russia and not a show of support)

(Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
Apr. 19A New London man was sentenced Friday to four years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for a firearm offense, Leonard C. Boyle, U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced Tuesday.

Terrence Beddoe, 42, pleaded guilty on Dec. 16 to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. He is out on a $50,000 bond and is required to report to prison on May 13.

Beddoe had an argument with someone at a bar on Bank Street in New London in the early morning of Oct. 11, 2019, according to court documents and statements in court. As Beddoe was driving away, shots were fired in the direction of the person, who was standing outside the bar with two other men.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said a witness saw the shots being fired from the car Beddoe was driving, the victim identified Beddoe as the shooter and police found a spent shell casing in Beddoe's car during a court-authorized search.

Beddoe has nine felony convictions, including ones stemming from his stabbing someone 12 times, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case, in addition to New London and Waterford police.

e.moser@theday.com
The George H. Mahon Federal Building in downtown Lubbock.

A 48-year-old man arrested for threatening his ex-wife, firing at police and sparking a daylong standoff with police on Thanksgivings Day at the National Guard Armory faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty on Monday.

Gene Garcia Solis stood before U.S. Magistrate Judge D. Gordon Bryant and entered a plea of guilty to a count of interstate threatening communications.

Solis has been held at the Lubbock County Detention Center since his Nov. 26 arrest.

Man arrested in daylong standoff in North Lubbock facing federal charges

Solis admitted to calling a Lubbock police officer the day before and telling him he planned to kill his ex-wife and anyone who tried to stop him, saying he was going to make the officer "put a bullet in his head," court records state.

Officers set up surveillance in the area of Solis' ex-wife's north Lubbock residence, but Solis fled in a vehicle and officers chased after him. However, the vehicle chase was canceled when it threatened public safety, according to a police news release.

Federal court records state Solis was armed with an AR 15-style rifle.

Solis reportedly called the officer again, saying the officer could find his body in Hale Center. Police there found Solis and another vehicle pursuit ensured, court documents state.

The chase ended at the Texas National Guard Armory parking lot in the 300 block of East Regis Street, where Solis hit a spike strip and crashed in the parking lot.

Solis exited the vehicle, fired several rounds from his weapon and ran into the armory.

The officer who had been speaking with Solis told investigators that Solis exited the armory and fired two rounds at him and two other police officers. The officers said they could sense the bullets fly over their heads, according to a police affidavit in a search warrant.

Negotiators with LPD and the FBI worked through the night and into morning on Nov. 26 until they were able to convince Solis to surrender, the release states.

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Mr. Solis's actions endangered the life of his ex-wife, the law enforcement officers who responded to multiple scenes and the public at-large, said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno. Together with our law enforcement partners, the FBIs priority is to protect and keep the communities we serve safe from harm.

Solis will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix after the completion of a pre-sentencing report.

Solis also faces a state felony charge of aggravated assault against a public servant.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock man in Thanksgiving standoff pleads guilty in federal court
LONDON  Ukraines port city of Mariupol is facing its last days, if not hours, a commander in the besieged city revealed this week as Russian forces gave Ukrainian soldiers until noon on Wednesday to surrender  a deadline the Ukrainians let expire.

Thousands of civilians and Ukrainian troops are sheltered in a steel plant, the last remaining stronghold of the city. However, the building is surrounded by Russian forces, leaving the people inside with no access to normal supplies of food and water, an adviser for the citys mayor said.

A woman stands near her destroyed apartment building in Mariupol on Tuesday. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to 1, Serhiy Volyna, a commander from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. We appeal and plead to all world leaders to help us. We ask them to use the procedure of extraction and take us to the territory of a third-party state.

In recent days, Russian forces have intensified their push in the Donbas region, claiming the city of Kreminna in a new offensive to take eastern Ukraine. Russia has been trying to take full control of Mariupol since Feb. 24, when it launched its invasion. Taking control of Donbas would mean Russia would have a southern land corridor to the annexed Crimean Peninsula, which has been occupied by Kremlin forces since 2014.

Russian military vehicles in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces near Mariupol on Monday. (Alexei Alexandrov/AP)

According to Reuters, thousands of Russian troops, backed by artillery, are attempting to advance in what has been coined the Battle of Donbas. Moscow intends to seize the two eastern provinces that had already been claimed on behalf of separatists.

On Tuesday, the Azovstal steel plant, believed to be the last major pocket of resistance in Mariupol, was a target of Russian airstrikes. Footage released from Mariupols City Council appeared to show the aftermath of a strike on the devastated plant. This led to Ukrainian troops accusing enemy forces of bombing a hospital that was sheltering 300 people  including wounded soldiers and children. The deputy commander of the Azov regiment alleged that Kremlin-led forces had dropped bombs on the steel plant where the improvised hospital was.

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Smoke rises above Azovstal Iron and Steelworks in Mariupol in this image posted on social media on Tuesday. (Mariupol City Council via Reuters)

Ukraine hopes to evacuate some 6,000 civilians from Mariupol on Wednesday, the citys mayor, Vadym Boichenko, said. He said 90 buses were waiting to depart from the devastated city but cautioned that a safe-corridor agreement with Russia was not yet final. We plan to send buses to Mariupol, but for now it is only a preliminary agreement, Boichenko said on Ukrainian television. We have managed to get a preliminary agreement on a humanitarian corridor for women, children and elderly persons, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram.

Russia has blocked previous safety passages in and out of Mariupol, including one that the International Committee of the Red Cross requested at the end of March. In his address, Boichenko added that at least 100,000 civilians remain in Mariupol and that tens of thousands have been killed. The Kremlin has denied intentionally targeting civilians.

Children in a bunker said to be in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, according to Ukraines Azov Battalion, in an image released on Monday. (Azov Battalion/Handout via Reuters)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video on Tuesday that the situation in Mariupol remained severe. The Russian army is blocking any efforts to organize humanitarian corridors and save our people, he alleged in his nightly address. Meanwhile, according to Russian state TV, about 120 civilians living next to the steel plant left via humanitarian corridors. This report has not been independently verified.

_____

What happened last week in Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out.
Associated Press

The lone survivor of a 2009 plane crash that killed 152 other people is expected to attend the trial of Yemen's main airline which is opening Monday in Paris. At just 12 years old, Bahia Bakari clung to floating debris from the plane for 11 hours in the Indian Ocean before being rescued. Now 25, she recently told France 3 television she would attend the trial with both apprehension and relief.
Happy Thursday, people of Houston! Let's get this day started off right. Here's what's going on in town today.

First, today's weather:

Low clouds, then some sun. High: 85 Low: 71.

Are you a local business owner or marketer? We can help you effortlessly run effective ads that reach customers in Houston. Click here to learn more.

Here are the top five stories today in Houston:

1. Median home prices increased as much as 39% in The Woodlands area ZIP codes from March 2021 to March 2022, according to Corcoran Ferester Realty. The highest number of homes sold in February were in the $200,000-$399,999 price range in the 77386 ZIP code, similar to previous months. (Community Impact News)

2. The inaugural Houston Art Bike Parade is set for Saturday, May 21, according to a news release from the Houston Parks Board. Born out of the spirit of the Art Car Parade, the free day-long celebration will feature a parade of art bikes created by more than 3,000 students from more than 100 Houston ISD schools, according to the news release. (The Leader)

3. Judge Natalia Cornelio of the 351st Criminal Court filed her recusal on Tuesday from the criminal case involving three of Judge Lina Hidalgo's senior staffers, who are accused of steering a nearly $11 million COVID-19 vaccine outreach contract to a small Houston-based firm. Each of the staffers has been indicted on one count of misuse of official information and one count of tampering with a government record. (ABC 13)

4. An arrest has been made by police in connection with a shooting at the Galleria over the weekend that was caught on video that went viral. In a press conference Wednesday with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Police Chief Troy Finner, it was announced the suspect was arrested earlier that morning. (KHOU 11)

5. Houston airports and public transportation are no longer requiring travelers and employees to wear masks after a federal lawsuit said the government overstepped its authority to enforce masks. George H.W. Bush Intercontinental Airport and Hobby Airport made separate announcements Monday night, and METRO Houston announced its policy change midday Tuesday. (Houston Patch)

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Today in Houston:

Protect Your Privacy With Document Shredding at Frost. (9:00 AM)

HAIS Theater Collective at Houston Academy for International Studies. (3:30 PM)

Pilates at Discovery Green. (6:30 PM)

The Riot Comedy Show Presents "Off the Dome." (7:30 PM)

Billy Strings in Concert at City of Houston. (8:30 PM)

From my notebook:

Honoring the memory of legend Jackie Robinson , 3 Houston locals met at Minute Maid Park. Chief Troy Finner, Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker and former Colt 45 player JC Hartman . (Facebook)

Join the Astros and Chick-fil-A Houston for Faith & Family Night with Micah Tyler on Saturday, April 23. (Facebook)

 The Hermann Park Conservancy train is a must for kids 12 and under looking for a fun day in Houston. The train runs Monday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Facebook)

Gov. Abbotts Task Force on Concert Safety found permitting and lack of risk assessment, among other themes, contributed to the loss of 10 lives in November at Astroworld. (Facebook)

More from our sponsors  thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

Online discussion for specialists in the field of alcohol rehab In Kemah, Tx (May 9)

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My Response re: Upper KIrby Apts. (Details)

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You're officially in the loop for today. I'll see you around!

 Carlos Hernandez

About me: Hello my name is Carlos Hernandez and I am a food writer with over 10 years of experience in the industry. I write the food blog Carlos Eats (http://www.carloseats.com) and also contribute to several newspapers and magazines with food-related blogs and articles.

This article originally appeared on the Houston Patch
EXCLUSIVE: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is raising concerns about President Bidens formal commission of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court before Justice Stephen Breyer formally vacated his seat on the bench, warning that the Biden administration is "continuing to erode norms and our institutions."

The president formally signed the commission papers appointing Jackson to the Supreme Court earlier this month  though Justice Stephen Breyer still remains on the bench.

Breyer earlier this year announced his intent to retire from the Supreme Court at the end of the 2022 term, which is expected by the end of June.

WHITE HOUSE CELEBRATES CONFIRMATION OF JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON TO SUPREME COURT

Jackson, while confirmed by the Senate, and formally appointed by the president to the court, cannot perform duties as a justice until she takes the oath.

Typically, a new justice is sworn in almost immediately after the president signs the commission.

"President Biden seems to think that Stephen Breyer and Ketanji Brown Jackson are both duly appointed associate justices occupying one seat simultaneously. Obviously that is false. And the Biden Department of Justices slapdash memorandum raises more questions than it answers," McConnell told Fox News.

McConnell was referring to a memo released earlier this month from the Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel that states: "If the Senate votes to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, the president may complete her appointments to the Supreme Court by signing her commission before Justice Breyers resignation takes effect."

"Whether this is just incompetence or some hair-brained scheme, the same president who set up a court-packing commission is continuing to erode norms and our institutions," McConnell said.

McConnell added that "the president, the attorney general and the chief justice should publicly clarify that the court has eight associate justices and one chief justice, notwithstanding the administrations claims."

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"The Biden administrations continued attacks on norms and institutions will have a cost," McConnell said.

Republican aides argued that a reason for Biden to have formally appointed Jackson could have been to "intentionally confuse" the public on the number of justices on the Supreme Court  hinting at left-wing aspirations to pack the Supreme Court.

GOP aides also told Fox News that, technically, there are now 10 justices on the Supreme Court, with the commission of Jackson.

One GOP aide warned that appointing Jackson prior to Breyer's formal retirement could create "a new class of justice-in-waiting" before the actual vacancy exists.

The White House responded by saying that Jackson will not formally become a justice of the Supreme Court until she takes the oath of office following Breyers formal retirement.

"Following her bipartisan confirmation, Judge Jackson remains on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and will become an associate justice on the Supreme Court when Justice Breyer steps down at the end of this term and she takes the oaths of office," White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told Fox News. "Unless Sen. McConnell knows something we do not, none of the other eight justices have announced that they plan to retire."

Bates added: "The president has not and will not name additional Supreme Court nominees unless that changes."

The White House further pointed to the OLC opinion, citing a memo written by William H. Rehnquist, who served in the 1970s as an assistant attorney general in the OLC and would ultimately become a GOP-appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court.

The OLC makes clear, though, that Jackson "will not" "assume the office of associate justice until Justice Breyers resignation is effective."

"Once his resignation is effective, she would then take the oaths as prescribed by the Constitution and statute," the OLC opinion reads.

Justice Stephen Breyer holds up a copy of the Constitution as he announces he will retire at the end of the court's current term on Jan, 27, 2022. Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

The OLC also points to "historical practice" which it says "supports the presidents authority to make prospective appointments of judicial officers.

"The presidents signing of Judge Jacksons commission would complete her appointment, bringing to an end the presidents and the Senates role in the process," the OLC opinion reads. "The completion of the appointment, however, does not mean that Judge Jackson assumes the office of associate justice. Rather, her entry on the duties of the office remains contingent on Justice Breyers resignation becoming effective. Justice Breyer, as a judicial officer with life tenure, cannot be displaced from his office by the presidents appointment of a successor."

BIDEN SUPREME COURT COMMISSION VOTES TO SEND PRESIDENT REPORT TAKING 'NO POSITION' ON COURT-PACKING

As for concerns of court-packing, the White House last year created a bipartisan commission of 36 members that held public meetings to evaluate court reforms. The panel had 180 days from its first meeting to complete its report on the pros and cons of potential court reforms.

Biden picked two chairs to lead the commission: New York University School of Law Professor Bob Bauer, the former White House counsel under President Barack Obama, and Yale Law School Professor Cristina Rodriguez, a former Justice Department official and clerk to former Justice Sandra Day OConnor.

The other members were scholars, lawyers, retired members of the judiciary and advocates, including Caroline Fredrickson, the past president of the American Constitution Society, a progressive legal organization; Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; and Adam White, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and member of the conservative Federalist Society.

"The first pro-court-packing administration in 85 years appears to be claiming that before any vacancy exists, they can nominate, confirm, and irrevocably appoint a 'Justice-in-waiting' that neither any future Senate nor any future President could claw back," charged a Republican aide familiar with the situation. "If they actually mean it, this is a radical claim that points toward wildly uncharted territory for the confirmation process."

Biden has expressed opposition to expanding the Supreme Court.

In December, the commission sent a report to the president, rejecting the idea of court packing.

"No serious person, in either major political party, suggests court packing as a means of overturning disliked Supreme Court decisions, whether the decision in question is Roe v. Wade or Citizens United," the report stated. "Scholars could say, until very recently, that even as compared to other court reform efforts, court-packing is especially out of bounds. This is part of the convention of judicial independence.

"The commission takes no position on the validity or strength of these claims," the reports summary added. "Mirroring the broader public debate, there is profound disagreement among commissioners on these issues. We present the arguments in order to fulfill our charge to provide a complete account of the contemporary court reform debate."
WASHINGTON (AP)  Michelle Obama will deliver the keynote address at a democracy summit sponsored by a national, nonpartisan voting organization she helped create, the group announced Wednesday.

The former first lady's June 13 remarks to When We All Vote's inaugural Culture of Democracy Summit in Los Angeles will be her first in-person appearance before a large audience since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers said. She last addressed When We All Vote in person in 2018 before the midterm elections.

We need to talk about the state of our democracy and the ways we can protect it right from our own communities, Michelle Obama said in a tweet announcing the upcoming speech.

Conversations during the June 10-13 summit will center around protecting democracy, combatting voter suppression and ensuring equal access to the ballot box for this fall's November midterm elections and political contests beyond, organizers said.

Artists, athletes, academics, grassroots organizers and technology, civic and corporate leaders are among the 1,500 people expected to participate.

Democracy isn't just a box we check every four years," said Stephanie Young, executive director of When We We All Vote. Voting must be embedded in all aspects of our culture.

President Joe Biden invited global leaders to his own Summit for Democracy last year to pledge his commitment to democracy worldwide, even as the United States faces its own challenges in meeting the democratic ideals of its founders.

Former President Donald Trump and his allies continue to stoke lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Republican-led states have used his false claims of election fraud to justify new voting restrictions. Supporters of the Republican former president who deny that Biden, a Democrat, was legitimately elected are running for election administration roles in several states.

In 2018, Mrs. Obama used the considerable influence she had built up as first lady to launch When We All Vote to help register eligible voters in the United States.

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That fall, she released her memoir, Becoming, which became a bestseller, and embarked on a worldwide book tour that drew thousands of people to her appearances.

Her last big in-person appearance before the pandemic was a February 2020 conversation with Oprah Winfrey in New York that was part of a wellness tour by the former TV talk show host.

Mrs. Obama isolated during the pandemic and, apart from the book tour, has kept a relatively low profile since leaving the White House. She appeared on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show this week.

The former first lady leads When We All Vote with an all-star group, including actors Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Kerry Washington and Tracee Ellis Ross, Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, television producer Shonda Rhimes, singers Janelle Monae, Jennifer Lopez and H.E.R. and professional athletes Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and Megan Rapinoe, among others.
A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for his role in several violent carjackings in the Twin Cities in 2020, one of which left a St. Paul newspaper deliverer seriously injured.

Jeremiah Lee Ironrope, 25, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay more than $49,000 in restitution, the Minneapolis office of U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger announced Tuesday.

This disturbing wave of carjackings throughout the Twin Cities is eroding our overall sense of safety and security, Luger said in a statement after the sentencing by U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz. The U.S. Attorneys Office is working in close coordination with all levels of law enforcement to bring this trend to an end.

Ironrope and his accomplice, Krisanne Marie Benjamin, 26, of Minneapolis, often physically assaulted the drivers before taking their vehicles, according to authorities.

Last September, Ironrope pleaded guilty to one count of carjacking and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Two days earlier, Benjamin pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting carjacking. In January, she was sentenced to eight years in prison.

According to court documents, on Aug. 28, 2020, Benjamin and Ironrope drove a maroon SUV to a parking lot in Richfield, where they parked near a 2017 Audi. Ironrope approached the driver of the Audi and pointed a shotgun with a sawed-off barrel at the driver and demanded the car keys. Benjamin kept watch from the SUV as Ironrope started the Audi. She followed when he drove away.

The Minnesota State Patrol used GPS data to track and locate the stolen Audi. When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, Ironrope drove away at a high rate of speed, cutting across multiple lanes of traffic, swerving between cars and driving through red lights. At one point, Benjamin got out of the vehicle and fled on foot while Ironrope continued fleeing in the Audi. Law enforcement located the vehicle running and unoccupied in Minneapolis.

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As part of their guilty pleas, Ironrope and Benjamin also admitted perpetrating multiple carjackings in 2020 in Maple Grove, St. Louis Park and St. Paul.

On Aug. 7, 2020, in St. Paul, a 64-year-old newspaper deliveryman was left with broken bones around his left eye, his cheekbone and jawbone. Three of his teeth were knocked out in the assault in the Highland Park neighborhood; his shoulder, foot and arm were broken and both ankles were severely sprained.

Carjacking is a borderless, flagrant crime that can affect anyone at any time. These violent carjackings terrorized the Twin Cities and instilled fear in our communities, FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Paul said in Tuesdays statement. Todays sentencing underscores that those who commit these senseless acts of violence will face significant penalties for their actions. The FBI is committed to our ongoing work with our law enforcement partners to take these criminals off the streets.

The case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI; police in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Maple Grove, Richfield, Edina and Roseville; and the State Patrol.

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Tanya Los was washing the dishes at home in her southern Ukrainian village Mala Tokmachka on Sunday, her daughter Anastasia by her side, when a Russian rocket crashed into her kitchen.

By what she called a "miracle", both women survived unscathed.

But the Los household was not the only civilian infrastructure hit by Russian forces in Mala Tokmachka in recent weeks, as Moscow intensifies attacks on Ukraine's south and east.

Rockets have been raining down on the village, which lies around 60 kilometres (40 miles) southeast of regional hub Zaporizhzhia.

One of the village schools was hit, as was the building housing its teachers. A rocket blasted a hole in the facade of the local cultural centre.

A village resident who now leads the local territorial defence group, Yuriy, told AFP that several houses were hit by Russian air strikes on Sunday.

One of the houses only has its walls left standing, and seems to have been taken over by cats. Half a dozen tomcats reigned in the yard of the abandoned home.

The Los home was far luckier.

A corner of the kitchen, which is isolated from the main body of the house, was pierced by a rocket.

A plastic screen now covers two sections of the wall in the room and the floor has been damaged.

- Constant shelling -

"If it wasn't for the fridge, my daughter would have been killed," Tanya Los said.

The 59-year-old mother said the pair were "protected" by an Orthodox icon in the room, where a religious calendar still hangs.

Anastasia, 24, was too shaken to speak to AFP.

The remnants of the rocket still lay in the family's kitchen, and it is hard to comprehend how the women survived the strike.

The almost two-meter silver rocket had broken in two as its tail fins came off during the strike. It should not have left the mother and daughter any chance of surviving.

"It's a miracle," Tanya said.

Based on the serial number on the wreckage and using the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment's online archive, AFP found that the rocket was likely fired from a Soviet-designed BM-27 Uragan missile launcher.

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The weapon that hit the Los household would have dispersed submunitions in flight before crashing into the small brick house.

"Now every time we hear the sound of bombardment, we run to the basement," Tanya said.

"The problem is that in the last two days it never stops. Day and night."

During the hour and a half that AFP was in Mala Tokmachka, the roar of heavy weapons was constant.

It often came from nearby as the Ukrainian army launched outgoing fire. Russian forces responded from a distance.

AFP found the same in the town of Orikhiv, a dozen kilometres away.

"In the last two or three days, the shelling has been more intense," said Dmytro Malyovanysk, a fire brigade deputy chief, whose men intervened Tuesday after a supermarket and doctor's office where damaged by Russian rockets.

- Suitcases ready -

"A week ago, we could hear some sounds of war, but they came from afar," said Ira Pelechko, the owner of a shop plunged into near darkness most of the day due to power cuts.

"Now, when it comes from the Russian side, the houses shake and it is much more frequent," one of her clients, Vitaly Dovbnia, said.

He said he keeps a packed suitcase in his car, ready to flee at any moment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday evening announced that Russia had renewed its offensive in the east of the country.

But on the southern front the increase in attacks appears to have started earlier.

Artur Kharlamov fled Russian-occupied Melitopol north to Orikhiv on Tuesday.

He claimed to have seen Russian troops digging trenches in three different places during his journey.

Fresh Ukrainian trenches are also visible on the Ukrainian side.

Tanya and Anastasia Los remained stuck in the grey zone between the two camps.

They were almost alone in their village, with Mala Tokmachka emptying and a little more destroyed with every day.

Tanya Los said two cows they own are their only wealth. One of them is going to calve soon.

"I can't leave her," she sighed softly, as heavy weapons roared nearby.

jf-oc/del/yad
Joseph Mejica, 42, whose remains were found last month (Oakland Police Department )

A man whose mummified remains were found behind a wall at Oaklands Kaiser Convention Center last month has finally been identified.

The Alameda County Coroners Bureau said the man whose body was found on 9 March by a construction worker was Joseph Edward Mejica, 42, of Oakland.

Mejica was last seen alive on 22 August 2020 and according to Oaklands Police Department was a known visitor to homeless camps in the city.

A spokesperson for the coroners bureau told the San Francisco Chronicle on Monday that a cause of death for Mejica was still unknown, however. That is despite law enforcement not suspecting foul play and the identification of the remains.

It was suggested that Mejica could have fallen from a height inside the building, which was abandoned in 2005 before renovation work began last month, and become stuck between an inner and outer wall.

Over time, the weight of his body went down in between the wall, sinking slowly down the wall as it began to decompose, said Alameda County Sheriffs Lt Ray Kelly.

When his remains were located last momth, police initially believed Mejica was a victim of a homicide before coroners suggested the remains could have been there for up to five years, according to reports.

Mejica was found two years after he was reported missing, with his family offering a $5,000 (3,829) reward for information leading to his whereabouts at the time.

Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern told the Chronicle that authorities were fortunate to make an identification and that This is a very unique investigation for us, in that the person was listed missing and found well over a year [later].

A key piece of evidence in the identification was a prosthetic device inserted in Mejicas ankle in 2005 after he had an alert cation, which was reportedly found in the wall.
Six Metro Nashville school board members are endorsing current board member John Little's opponent in this year's District 4 race.

Board chair Christiane Buggs and five of her colleagues announced their support for Democratic candidate Berthena Nabaa-McKinney Tuesday ahead of the May 3 county primary.

"As current school board members, we know firsthand the importance of having board colleagues who understand the unique strengths and opportunities for MNPS," the board members wrote in a statement. "We previously worked with Dr. B when she last served on the board and in her time there, she was a fierce advocate for the Donelson, Hermitage, and Old Hickory communities."

Berthena Nabaa-Mckinney, candidate for Nashville School Board, District 4

Vice chair Rachael Anne Elrod and board members Sharon Gentry, Emily Masters, Gini Pupo-Walker and Abigail Tylor also signed off on the endorsement.

Meet the District 4 candidates: Incumbent John Little faces advocate, former appointed member in school board District 4 primary

Nabaa-McKinney, a former Metro Nashville Public Schools educator and current Parent Advisory Council member, served on the board for three months in 2020 after the Metro Council temporarily appointed her to fill the seat left vacant by the unexpected death of Anna Shepherd in June 2020.

District 4 school board incumbent John Little speaks during a listening session at the Hermitage Branch Nashville Public Library in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, March 21, 2022.

Little was elected to the board during a special election in November 2020 and has since often served as a voice of opposition when it comes to charter schools or even siding with parent protesters compared to his colleagues.

At least 16 Metro Council members and the Metro Nashville Education Association's political action committee also have endorsed Nabaa-McKinney.

The board's full endorsement statement of Nabaa-Mckinney:

"As current school board members, we know firsthand the importance of having board colleagues who understand the unique strengths and opportunities for MNPS. This is why we are proud to announce our support for Dr. Berthena Nabaa-McKinney for School Board in District 4. We previously worked with Dr. B when she last served on the board and in her time there, she was a fierce advocate for the Donelson, Hermitage, and Old Hickory communities. Dr. B is a longtime MNPS educator with deep ties to the community. Her experience as well as her personal background as a mom and guardian of 6 children, all of whom either attended or currently attend MNPS schools, show her dedication to this district that we all love. This is why we are supporting Dr. B for School Board in District 4!"

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Stay up-to-date on Tennessee's top education news by signing up for our new weekly newsletter, School Zone. Sign up here.

Want to read more stories like this? A subscription to one of our Tennessee publications gets you unlimited access to all the latest news throughout the entire USA TODAY Network.

Meghan Mangrum covers education for the USA TODAY Network  Tennessee. Contact her at mmangrum@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville school board members endorse District 4 incumbent's opponent
The U.S. Navy launched an investigation after three of its sailors assigned to the USS George Washington died in the span of one week, NBC News reported.

First, two sailors were found dead in what Navy Lt. Cmdr. Robert Myers said were separate incidents on April 9 and 10. The first was identified as Retail Services Specialist 3rd Class Mikail Sharp, and the second was Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Natasha Huffman.

USS THE SULLIVANS, WHICH FOUGHT IN WWII, PARTIALLY SINKS IN BUFFALO

Both were off base when they were found.

A third sailor was then found on the ship Friday, while it was situated in Newport News, Va., Navy Lt. Cmdr. Robert Myers told the outlet. The sailor was then pronounced dead at a local hospital.

US NAVY INTENDS TO DECOMMISSION SOME OF ITS NEWEST WARSHIPS

"The Navy is cooperating with NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) and local authorities where these incidents have occurred to determine the facts," the Navy said in a statement.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters that the Navy was not "aware of any indications" that the deaths were connected.

"That's what they believe right now and I think we need to give them time to properly investigate these deaths," he said.
The USS George Washington in 2017. USS George H.W. Bush / Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The U.S. Navy is investigating the deaths of three sailors assigned to the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, the Navy told CBS News on Tuesday. All of the sailors died within a week of each other.

The USS George Washington is docked at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, as it undergoes a refueling and complex overhaul.

The Navy said one sailor, whose name has not been released, died April 15 on the ship. They were found unresponsive, and later died at a hospital in Newport News. Two other sailors assigned to the USS George Washington were found dead offsite on April 9 and April 10; they have been identified as Retail Services Specialist 3rd Class Mikail Sharp and Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Natasha Huffman.

There is no initial evidence suggesting that the deaths are related, the Navy told CBS News, adding that chaplains, psychologists, and counselors have been made available to support the USS George Washington's crew.

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The sinking of Russia's flagship might be a bad sign for the U.S. Navy

84 percent of GOP voters say the world would be better off if Biden weren't in office. 83 percent say the same of Putin.

Russia's sunken flagship Moskva is literally irreplaceable, its loss shrouded in questions
LAGOS (Reuters) -Nigeria's ruling party All Progressives Party (APC) has set its presidential primaries for May 30-31, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will step down after serving two four-year terms following a Feb. 23, 2023 ballot.

The country's political parties are due to pick presidential candidates by June 3. Official campaigning will begin in September, according to the country's electoral commission.

Current Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and former Lagos state governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu are frontrunners in the race to be the next candidate.

The primaries for governors, state house assembly, national house of representatives and the senate are slated to run from May 18 to 24.

(Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Julia Payne; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Kate Lamb

(Reuters) - East Timor's Jose Ramos-Horta survived an assassination attempt when he was president in 2008 but that has not put him off wanting to lead his fractious country again, with a promise to end instability and foster a climate of cooperation.

The Nobel laureate secured a decisive election win with results from Tuesday's polls showing he had 62.09% of the vote, far ahead of incumbent president Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres, on 37.91%, after all votes were counted, according to electoral agency data.

"What matters to me is dialogue with all the parties that sit in parliament to try to create a new climate of cooperation that is healthier for parliament's own image in the eyes of the electorate," Ramos-Horta, 72, told the Lusa news agency as the votes were being tallied on Wednesday.

Ramos-Horta is one of East Timor's best-known political figures, and served as president between 2007 and 2012, when he survived the assassination attempt by rebel gunmen.

Born in the Dili in 1949 to a Timorese mother and Portuguese father, who had been deported from colonial power Portugal for rebelling against the Salazar dictatorship, Ramos-Horta spent decades as the exiled spokesperson for East Timorese guerrillas fighting occupation by neighbouring Indonesia.

Forced into exile several times due to his role in the independence campaign, in 1996 he was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace prize with Catholic priest Carlos Belo for their work to bring a peaceful resolution to the conflict in East Timor, also known as Timor Leste.

When the half-island nation of 1.3 million people became fully independent in 2002, after a brief period of U.N. administration, Ramos-Horta became foreign minister, a post he held until 2006 when he was appointed prime minister.

Part of a coterie of East Timor's so-called guerrilla generation of independence leaders, in 2007 he was elected as the country's second president.

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A year later, Ramos-Horta survived an assassination attempt in which he was critically wounded when ambushed by rebels while returning to his residence.

He recovered and served out the rest of his term.

Ramos-Horta has said that he felt compelled to stand for president this year, saying former guerrilla fighter Lu Olo had "exceeded his powers" by refusing to swear in more than half a dozen ministers following the last parliamentary elections in 2018.

That decision sparked a political impasse. Ramos-Horta has said the country can expect a "political earthquake" if he was elected and he would consider using presidential powers to dissolve parliament and call an early general election.

East Timor has for years grappled with bouts of instability, political regeneration and the challenge of diversifying its oil and gas-dependent economy.

(Reporting by Kate Lamb in Sydney; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor and Robert Birsel)
China's Xi'an to lift restrictive measures against COVID-19

Xinhua) 09:38, April 20, 2022

XI'AN, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The northwestern Chinese city of Xi'an will lift temporary restrictive measures against the COVID-19 epidemic from Wednesday, local authorities said Tuesday.

The lifting of the measures comes after the city reported no local cases in communities for seven days in a row, Zhang Bo, deputy director of the municipal health commission, told a briefing.

The city had registered a total of 41 confirmed local cases and 12 asymptomatic local cases in its latest COVID-19 resurgence that started on April 2.

Regular anti-epidemic measures will remain in place as the epidemic situation is still grave and complex, Zhang added.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus that led to record surges of cases in nearly every country around the world came about because of mutations to the virus that were discovered in South Africa. Experts say more mutations will occur as long as much of the world remains unvaccinated.



"Until we get the world vaccinated, we're going to continue to see variants arise," said Dr. Anna Durbin, a professor at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Global Health, in an interview published by Johns Hopkins.

Dr. Andrew Freedman said the same in an interview with CNBC: "Until the whole world is vaccinated, not just rich Western countries, I think we are going to remain in danger of new variants coming along, and some of those could be more virulent than Omicron."

More funding is desperately needed. Two dozen countries still have less than 20% of their populations vaccinated. Most of those countries are poor, and many are conflict-ravaged. Syria, where multiple countries and local militias have been warring for years, is just 8% vaccinated.

The United States, for that matter, despite no foreign militaries occupying it and a huge head start in hoarding vaccine supply, has a relatively low vaccination rate compared to other wealthy countries. At just 66%, the U.S. has still not met the 70% target it hoped to reach last year.

Funding vaccination campaigns around the world "isn't altruism or aid or anything; this is the global escape strategy from something that we're all suffering together," said Danny Altmann of Imperial College London.

Yet the United States  which was one of the worst-hit countries by Omicron  has recently cut funding for vaccinating the world.

The bill passed by the U.S. Congress only funds $10 billion for the pandemic response after more than $20 billion was requested by U.S. President Joe Biden. Stingy American legislators cut funding for treating uninsured U.S. citizens infected by COVID-19 as well as funding for global vaccine programs. USAID will not be able to fund any more vaccines in Africa after July.

The tight-fisted decision to undermine the global vaccine campaign is as short-sighted for Americans as it is greedy. During America's Omicron outbreak in January, the U.S. experienced multiple daily 1 million COVID-19 transmissions. Sixty thousand people died.

But cutting funding is in keeping with a U.S. antagonism towards foreign aid. The neo-conservatives have always resented foreign countries who don't follow the U.S. foreign policy interests in every case for needing aid. They have often demanded every country the U.S. aids vote with the U.S. in the United Nations.

In 2011, House Republicans proposed cuts to funding for programs addressing HIV/AIDS and malaria in Africa and USAID writ large. Global health has never been their highest priority.

Things have gotten worse since Donald Trump took over the Republican Party and won the presidency in 2016. The ID of Trump's toxic politics is "America First." In practice, it shows how mean and closed-minded one can be.

It is about a lack of caring, not just for the people of the world with darker skin than Trump and his fellow Republicans, but also a lack of care for one's fellow citizens. The Republicans cut funding for all kinds of social services, veterans' healthcare, opioid and drug addiction programs, infrastructure, and many other things that benefit Americans directly.

It is a twisted, cruel reversal of terminology that leaves America  and the world  vulnerable to the next variant and the next COVID-19 surge.

Mitchell Blatt is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/MitchellBlatt.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn.
WSB Cox articles

While cellphones and other electronic devices have become an everyday part of most adult lives and childrens lives, in many cases, they have become a distraction for some. This week, Fulton County Schools announced some updates to their Code of Conduct and their Student Handbook for the 2022-23 school year. Among the changes are several restrictions on the use of Personal Communication Devices within their schools.
A former Ohio middle school teacher and high school girls track coach has been sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for multiple sex crimes involving underage girls, according to local media reports.

Daniel Carlson, who taught at Mayfield Middle School in Cleveland, pleaded guilty on March 11 to multiple charges, including pandering sexually-oriented material involving a minor, illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, compelling prostitution, extortion, importuning and tampering with evidence, according to Cuyahoga County court records.

Carlson is accused of coercing kids, some of whom were his students, into sending him naked photographs, according to Cleveland.com.

In some cases, Carlson posed as a teenager online to initiate chats with the girls, according to the news outlet.

He paid some of his victims thousands of dollars to send explicit photos and videos and also offered to pay some of them for sex, though prosecutors say they dont believe he ever met the minors for sex, according to WJW.





When some of the girls said they wanted to stop interacting with Carlson, he threatened them and said he would post their explicit photos online, according to Cleveland.com.

In all, prosecutors say he spent more than $39,000 in cash and gift cards to solicit material from the children, according to Cleveland.com

Police identified eight girls ranging in age from 14 to 17 as victims, according to WOIO.





Carlson was sentenced on April 19 to 10 to 13 1/2 years in prison and register as a sex offender upon his release, according to WJW.

According to Mayfield City School District board records Carlson, who taught math at the middle school, resigned on June 2, 2021.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) met with recently ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on her maiden visit to the country on Wednesday.

Omar, who is one of the few Muslim members of Congress, met the recently removed prime minister at his at his home in Islamabads Bani Gala district where they discussed Islamophobia and related issues.

In a tweet shared by a member of Khans political party PTI, Omar was quoted as expressing her admiration for the political leader and for his position on and work against Islamophobia globally.

The tweet added that Khan also appreciated her courageous and principled position on issues.

Their meeting comes just weeks after the leader, who was removed from his position via a no confidence motion, alleged that Pakistans opposition partys no-confidence motion against him was the result of a foreign conspiracy because of his independent foreign policy.

Khan had previously alleged that Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in the Department of State was involved in the foreign conspiracy to topple his government.

However, State Departments principal deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter said at a press briefing in April that there is absolutely no truth to the allegations.

When asked about Khans claims, she said, Let me just say very bluntly there is absolutely no truth to these allegations. Of course, we continue to follow these developments, and we respect and support Pakistans constitutional process and rule of law. But again, these allegations are absolutely not true.

While in Pakistan, Omar also met with Pakistans President Arif Alvi and newly appointed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

In a statement released after Omars meeting with Alvi, the government said, Pakistan values its long standing relationship with the United States of America and expressed the hope that the constructive engagements between the two countries would promote peace and development in the region.

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Omar was quoted in the statement as saying she appreciated the role played by Pakistan against Islamophobia, particularly towards the adoption of UN resolution in this regard.

Sharif also praised Omars courage of convictions and her political struggle in a separate statement shortly after the meeting.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Get on up, Sacramento! It's Thursday, so let's get you started with everything you need to know going on in town today.

First, today's weather:

Cloudy, a little rain; cooler. High: 61 Low: 47.

Here are the top stories in Sacramento today:

Sacramento County officials say the first Safe Stay Community will be built at the corner of Power Inn and Florin roads. The site is being reviewed and is pending approval by the Board of Supervisors on April 26. The new concept community will serve as a temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness. It will include 24-7 security, case management services, and on-site sanitation and food services. Up to 100 sleeping cabins, along with bathrooms and communal gathering spaces, will be housed at the site. Construction is expected to start next month, with the county anticipating opening the site in late summer or early fall. (CBS Sacramento) In a recent report on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors handling of the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Sacramento County grand jury determined that the supervisors ignored the public health officer for five months prior to engaging in dialogue about the countys COVID-19 activities and the pandemics impact on its residents. It was recommended by the grand jury that the Board of Supervisors, the county executive and the county Office of Public Health work together to establish a public health emergency response plan to approach future public health orders and best ensure the safety of county residents. District 5 County Supervisor Don Nottoli, said that the Board of Supervisors will, in the near future, present a formal, written response to the grand jurys findings, as well as a response to the grand jurys recommendations. Nottolis District 5 encompasses more than 650 square miles and includes the Galt, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta communities. (The Galt Herald) Two incidents of BB gunfire aimed at unsuspecting people were reported to West Sacramento Police during Easter weekend and are part of a concerning national trend. West Sacramento police said the incidents were likely part of the "Orbeez Challenge" on TikTok encouraging people to do drive-by-style shootings of unsuspecting bystanders with small water or gel pellets known as Orbeez shot by a BB or an airsoft gun. The dangerous prank has gained steam on TikTok and has forced police agencies across the country to send out warnings to their communities. Law enforcement agencies are warning communities the prank isn't fun and games; it's illegal. Under California state law, the act is punishable with up to a year of jail time. Police say if you fall victim to this prank to report it. (ABC10) A Sacramento grocery store owner at the center of an FBI drug trafficking investigation is accused of using his store as a front and partnering with one of Mexicos most ruthless cartels. Customers at La Victoria were shocked to hear the grocery store is allegedly connected to a ruthless drug cartel and being used as a front to traffic cocaine. Jose Manuel Chavez Zepeda, the owner of the market, was arrested on federal drug charges, including the distribution of cocaine. The FBI believes the Mexican cartel Jalisco New Generation supplied the cocaine to Chavez. (CBS Sacramento) A four-member majority on the Citrus Heights City Council on Thursday spoke out against a proposed five-year moratorium on new drive-thru restaurants, saying such a move isnt needed and would send the wrong message to the business community. Vice Mayor Tim Schaefer had initially brought up the possibility of a moratorium in January. Particular concern had arisen after a new Raising Canes drive-thru opened on Greenback Lane, resulting in long lines of traffic. Mayor Porsche Middleton said she was concerned about mandating more policy for area businesses, saying she would be reluctant to have the city get really down to the nuts and bolts and telling business how and where they should be operating. (Citrus Heights Sentinel/ subscription may be required)

Today in Sacramento:

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Each month, the Official Rogue Book Club brings together readers, art-lovers, and special guests to discuss books that inspire readers to look at art and life in new, unexpected ways. Presented by the Crocker Art Museum , online. (6:00 PM)

Join Paints and Pints for a fun evening at New Helvetia Brewing ! Relax and enjoy a beer while you create your masterpiece. (6:00 PM)

The City of Sacramento is very excited to announce that the next Community Conversation will take place in person at the Roberts Family Development Center at 766 Darina Ave. During this meeting there will also be a special presentation from members of the Measure U Community Advisory Committee. (6:00 PM)

Join Revival and The Sawyer for a movie night under the stars as they screen the Sacramento classic, Lady Bird. (8:00 PM)

From my notebook:

Here are some of the summer camps available for children in the Sacramento area! From STEM to Outdoor Activity focus, the region's got it all covered! (KCRA Sacramento)

Heavy mountain snow will impact mountain travel through Friday morning . Mountain travel is HIGHLY DISCOURAGED during this time. If you do travel, be prepared for chain controls, travel delays, & near whiteout conditions at times. (Facebook)

Sacramento Beer Week starts this Friday. The hoppy-est week of the year returns April 22-May 1. Follow @SacramentoBeerWeek (Instagram)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Thursday off right. I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow with another update!

 Jeri Karges

About me: Jeri Karges has been living in and loving the Sacramento region for over 30 years. Her passion is finding new and unique ways to enjoy the city and surrounding areas. On weekends, you can find her pestering her friends to sample the restaurant that doesn't have silverware, or try their hand at throwing an axe. Jeri also enjoys writing about retirement planning at https://rockinretirement.subst...

This article originally appeared on the Sacramento Patch
In the immediate aftermath of Patrick Lyoyas shooting death in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on April 4, Dieudonne Arahama finished his shift at an Erie plastics plant, went home and made a telephone call, seeking answers that could cut through his confusion.

Arahama reached out to Peter Lyoya, Patricks father, who lives in Lansing, Michigan.

A screen capture from a video released from the Grand Rapids Police Department on April 13, 2022, shows the initial traffic stop involving Patrick Lyoya in Grand Rapids on April 4, 2022, that resulted in a shooting that fatally wounded Lyoya.

The two men are lifelong friends who grew up in the same village in the eastern portion of the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.

Arahama said Peter Lyoya is like a brother to him and he considers Patrick Lyoya his nephew. Both men brought their families to the U.S. within the last decade to escape civil unrest.

During that telephone call, Arahama asked Peter Lyoya if reports about Patrick being shot and killed by police during a traffic stop were true.

Police shooting:Patrick Lyoya escaped violence in Congo for the 'safe haven' of the US. Then police killed him.

Patricks father responded, I dont know what to do right now. My mind is not where its supposed to be, said Arahama, 51, speaking through an interpreter during a recent interview. He said Our son has been killed, and its the police that killed our son.

Patricks father explained that the trouble he got into and the punishment he got, it doesnt go together, Arahama said. He wasnt supposed to die.

The death of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Grand Rapids resident and father of two who often visited his family in Lansing, is the latest high-profile case of a Black man being killed by a white officer during an encounter with police.

The killing has sparked protests and outrage in Grand Rapids, a city of about 200,000 people that is roughly 150 miles northwest of Detroit.

Grand Rapids:Protests continue in police shooting

Police in Grand Rapids have thus far declined to release the name of the police officer involved in the shooting. Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom has said he will only do so if the officer is charged in the shooting, which followed a brief foot chase and a struggle over the officer's Taser.

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Grand Rapids police have released video footage of the incident, which took place near the intersection of Griggs Street and Nelson Avenue SE in that city.

Authorities have released video of the altercation from several angles, captured by body-worn police cameras, an in-car video, a neighbors doorbell video and cellphone video recorded by the passenger in Lyoya's car.

That video footage shows that Lyoya was facedown on the ground when an officer shot him in the back of the head while straddling Lyoya.

The officer had stopped Lyoya for driving with a license plate that didn't belong to the vehicle. The officer can be heard repeatedly ordering Lyoya to "let go" of his Taser, at one point demanding: "Drop the Taser!"

Family members and others in the Grand Rapids community have urged police to identify the officer.

During a recent news conference, Peter Lyoya said: "I'm asking for the law to release his face, his image and his identification because I would love to know the person who has killed my son. I have the right.

Peter Lyoya has also said his son, the eldest of the Lyoya's six children, was killed "like an animal" by police. Patrick Lyoya had worked in an auto parts manufacturing plant, according to his father.

An independent autopsy confirmed that Patrick Lyoya was shot in the back of the head by the officer while facedown on the ground, lawyers for his family said on Tuesday. Civil-rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who has been involved with several cases of high-profile killings of Black Americans in recent years, is representing Lyoya's family.

No charges have been filed in Lyoyas death. Michigan State Police are investigating, and a state prosecutor will determine whether the officer will face any charges.

Arahama said his family, along with many of the several hundred refugees from African nations now living in Erie, are mourning Patrick Lyoyas death and trying to make sense of it all.

Patrick Lyoyas funeral is set to take place in Grand Rapids on Friday, with the Rev. Al Sharpton delivering the eulogy.

He was a kid who listened to his parents and is very attentive, Arahama said of Patrick Lyoya. What I would like to ask is for justice to be served and justice to do what its supposed to do.

Eugene Kakule, a friend of Arahamas, said through an interpreter of Patrick Lyoyas killing: It was cold. We dont know for what reason or what purpose.

Shooting death:Lawyer, family members speak out

The Rev. Mlongeca Malongo is pastor of Harvest Family Church, 501 W. 31st St., whose congregation includes Arahamas family and many Erie-area immigrants from African nations.

Malongo, also speaking through an interpreter, said he would like to see police agencies across the U.S. embrace additional training that would help improve their interactions with new Americans and people of color.

Diversity initiatives are important. Police should come to our community (so) we can sit and talk with them, Malongo said. As pastors, we teach that the life of a person is very important.

We dont hate the police. We dont want to fear the police, Malongo said. We should have that good communication with them, which is very important.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Patrick Lyoya shooting: Erie refugee mourns, asks for justice
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Chinese Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe on Wednesday, the first call between the two officials since the start of President Joe Biden's administration more than a year ago.

Relations between China and the United States have been tense, with the world's two largest economies clashing over everything from Taiwan and China's human rights record to its military activity in the South China Sea.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the two talked about relations between the countries and "regional security issues, and Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine."

Despite the tensions and heated rhetoric, U.S. military officials have long sought to have open lines of communication with their Chinese counterparts to be able to mitigate potential flare-ups or deal with any accidents.

Austin, despite multiple attempts, had been unable to talk with Chinese military leaders until Wednesday.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition anonymity, said the call, which lasted about 45 minutes, did not have any major breakthroughs but Austin reiterated the importance of Beijing not arming Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

A statement from Beijing said that Wei told Austin that Taiwan was a part of China and no one could change that.

"If the Taiwan issue were not handled properly, it would have a damaging impact on Sino-U.S. relations," Wei added, according to statement published by the defense ministry.

The United States has no formal relations with self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, but is its most important international backer and arms supplier.

Taiwan has been heartened by the U.S. support offered by the Biden administration, which has repeatedly talked of its "rock-solid" commitment to the democratically governed island.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has also put Taipei on alert for any possible moves by Beijing to use the Ukraine crisis to make a move on the island. The government though has reported no sign that China is about to invade.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Nick Macfie)
WASHINGTON  The Pentagon is pursuing the reauthorization and expansion for programs meant to boost small business participation in defense research, set to expire Sept. 30, a lead official said Wednesday.

Even as the Biden administration wants to boost small businesses in the defense-industrial base, as an economic and innovation engine, both the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs are due to run out.

Among the Pentagons legislative proposals for the annual defense policy bill, it wants to raise the ceiling for SBIR Phase II awards from $1.5 million to $5 million, said the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, Heidi Shyu, who oversees SBIR.

I have specifically requested that I have a higher dollar amount within SBIR so I can have the ability to fund multiple tranches of SBIR, Shyu said Wednesday at an event hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association. Right now, if you hit the $1.5 million ceiling and you didnt finish developing your prototype, youre kind of screwed. Thats a stupid thing to do.

SBIR has been extended and reauthorized several times since its initial enactment 40 years ago. In 2016, it and the STTR program were extended through Sept. 30, 2022, by the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.

By and large, SBIR has three phases, but the Pentagon is asking Congress to authorize a pilot program for the Pentagon to award a third tranche of Phase II funding. That dovetails with Shyus previous public comments that, to help bring technologies to fruition, she would like Congress to form a Phase IIa, Phase IIb and Phase IIc.

Shyus comments Wednesday came after she hosted a roundtable with the CEOs of 11 small companies last week, part of a larger effort where she is opening up my calendar to engage with more small business CEOs  once again, to hear their perspectives and provide a Q&A session for them.

Shyu also teased that she will announce a new coordinator for small businesses and said her office is revamping its website so its more user-friendly for companies seeking business with the Defense Department. The online changes are expected within days.

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One thing that drove me nuts, talking to small companies, I realized that DoDs this giant fortress. They dont know where the door is, Shyu said. I wanted to create this R&E website so that theyre able to navigate through this maze.

Mike Brown, the director of the Defense Innovation Unit, which transitions commercial technologies to the Pentagon, said the departments efforts to work with new entrants would be more successful if it stopped dictating contract requirements and instead issued problem statements, as DIU does. He said the push for Pentagon officials and Capitol Hill to embrace efforts at innovation are not met with the right amount of urgency.

Honestly, were not seeing enough improvement. We are evangelizing. I think were raising awareness of the issues, but now were not seeing enough uptake, Brown said Wednesday at the C4ISRNET Conference. Were in a tech race with China. And if we dont fix this, our defense capabilities are going to be significantly eroded relative to how fast theyre moving.

The comments come weeks after the Biden administration released a report aimed at promoting competition in the defense-industrial base. One recommendation was to lower barriers for small businesses, which shrunk in the defense-industrial base by more than 40% over the last decade.

The Pentagons Office of Small Business Programs is also readying the DoDs first small business strategy since 2019.

The Pentagons incoming undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, Bill LaPlante, said during his confirmation hearing that the Pentagon needs to help small businesses, which could in turn spark competition and innovation within the large primes.

We want the widest amount of competition possible, LaPlante said last month. If in fact theres a new entrant, small business or a startup that can do your job, you will be competitive with them, and its going to drive better behavior.
Apr. 19VALDOSTA  A Valdosta man was arrested Sunday after firing shots at a convenience store, police said.

At 7:48 p.m., officers responded to a store in the 1300 block of North Troup Street after an employee called E911 to report someone shooting at the store, according to a Valdosta Police Department statement.

The store clerk said a customer tried to take merchandise without paying, starting an argument between the customer and the clerk. Before driving out of the parking lot, the customer shot at the store several times, the statement said. No injuries were reported.

Officers shared a description of the suspect and another officer remembered talking with him at an apartment earlier in the day. The suspect was found at the apartment complex and detained without incident, police said.

The suspect, a 35-year-old Valdosta man, is charged with felony aggravated assault.

"We are grateful no one was seriously injured during this incident. These officers did a great job sharing information and working together which led to this offender being quickly identified, located and arrested," VPD Capt. Scottie Johns said in a statement.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.
 Flash

Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang has warned against using the Ukraine crisis as an excuse to mess up U.S.-China relations, saying that doing so serves no good to anyone now or in the future.

In the signed article published in The National Interest magazine on Monday, Qin said while the bilateral relationship between China and Russia has achieved great progress in the last three decades, the two countries are not allies, and their relationship doesn't target third countries.

The U.S.-Russia relations, however, "are sliding into a new Cold War," Qin said, "which is not in the interest of either China, the United States, or Russia, and is not what China wants to see."

"After all, a worse Russia-U.S. relationship does not mean a better China-U.S. relationship, and likewise, a worse China-Russia relationship does not mean a better U.S.-Russia relationship, either. More importantly, if the China-U.S. relationship is messed up, that does not augur well for Russia-U.S. relations or the world," he said.

"Disturbingly, as the crisis continues, some people are wielding the stick of sanctions against China to coerce the renunciation of its independent foreign policy of peace. Some are clamoring about a 'Beijing-Moscow Axis' in a dangerous misinterpretation of China-Russia relations, asking China to bear responsibility for the crisis. Some are linking Taiwan to Ukraine and playing up the risks of a conflict across the Taiwan Strait. Still others, for all the lessons that should be learned, are fanning up misunderstanding, confrontation and insecurity in Asia-Pacific, without a modicum of care if this region might follow in the footsteps of Europe. These words and actions are not helpful to resolving the crisis or ensuring the stability of China-U.S. relations. Dragging everyone down does no good to our future generations," the ambassador said.

"Differences in perception of the crisis do not justify groundless accusations or pressure and should not hinder our joint efforts to end the crisis," Qin said, calling on China and the United States to "take a long-term view and have pragmatic and constructive dialogue, coordination, and cooperation for what comes our way outside and after the crisis."

"In this way, we can bring about an arrangement for lasting peace and stability in Europe acceptable to all parties; properly resolve other global hotspots; prevent and address the crisis' impact on the global economy and trade, finance, energy, food, and industrial and supply chains; and minimize the losses for the economy and people's livelihood," the diplomat said.

Ending the unwanted conflict as soon as possible "is more important than everything else" now, Qin said of the situation on the ground in Ukraine, adding that "there must be not only an end to this war, but also a fundamental answer to lasting peace and stability in Europe."
Authorities in Petersburg and Hopewell have arrested suspects in two separate murders that occurred within hours of each other earlier this month.

In Petersburg, Sha-Ron Parham, 18, has been charged with felony homicide and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for the death of 15-year-old Tyjuan Creshaw. And over in Hopewell, Demonte Jones was picked up by U.S. Marshals on charges of second-degree murder and three weapons charges for the death of Willie J. Studivant Jr..

Jones was arrested within a day of the Marshals Service offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information that would lead to Jones' arrest.

The killings of Crenshaw and Studivant happened within a six-hour period between the night of April 2 and the early morning of April 3.

Petersburg Police said Crenshaw was shot sometime before 8:30 p.m. April 2 at the Lieutenant's Run Apartments complex off Johnson Road in the city's Walnut Hill area. Officers responding to a call of shots fired found his body in the breezeway of a building on Crestfall Court within the complex.

While police were at the scene, a second juvenile arrived at Bon Secours Southside Medical Center in Petersburg with a head injury that investigators believe is related to the murder.

Chester robbery: Petersburg man faces charges in March armed robbery of Chester convenience store: Police

Highway death: State police: West Petersburg man shot and killed Easter morning while driving on Interstate 85

Several hours later, around 2:50 a.m. April 3, authorities in Hopewell said Studivant was shot to death outside the Wawa convenience store on Colonial Corner Drive in the southern part of the city. Witnesses told investigators that Studivant was seen arguing with a person matching Jones' description near the gas pumps when the shots were fired. When officers arrived, Studivant had already died, and the suspected shooter was nowhere to be found.

Jones was picked up with the assistance of the USMS Central Virginia Regional Fugitive Task Force, according to Hopewell Police. Hopewell Police Lt. Cheyenne Casale said Jones apparently surrendered to the marshals at the urging of an acquaintance who had spoken with them.

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Petersburg Police said the task force also factored into Parham's apprehension.

Both Parham and Jones are being held at the Riverside Regional Jail in Prince George County pending court appearances.

More news from The Progress-Index: 'He lived and breathed hat making': Petersburg artist Ignatius Creegan dies from cancer

More news from The Progress-Index: Prince George teacher opens artisan shop in Hopewell this summer: Fun store name reveal

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is a journalist and daily news coach for USA TODAY' Network's Atlantic Region which includes Virginia. He is based in Petersburg, Virginia. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg, Hopewell police make arrests in two early April murders
Atlanta police are searching for two suspects accused of stealing a mans car at gunpoint in the Grant Park neighborhood.

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A man told officers he was at the Exxon gas station at the intersection of Boulevard Drive SE and I-20 around 12 a.m. March 16 when two suspects with guns walked up and demanded his keys.

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The two suspects sped away in the victims vehicle. The car was later recovered.

On Wednesday, police released photos of two people they say are the suspects and a third that may be able to help identify them.

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The first suspect is pictured wearing a blue jacket with a hood and a face mask on. The second suspect is wearing a black hoodie with a graphic on the front.

Anyone with information on the identity of the suspects or the person seen accompanying them in this case should contact 911 or Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or online at www.StopCrimeATL.com .

Callers do not have to give their name or any identifying information to be eligible for the reward of up to $2,000 for the arrest and indictment of the suspects.
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio  A brother of the former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, Maj. Gen. Bill Cooley, testified here Wednesday against the two-star in the third day of his court-martial for sexual assault.

The witness described his hurt and confusion in the weeks following the alleged incident in August 2018, when Cooley is said to have forcibly kissed and groped his sister-in-law while the two were alone in a car.

How could Bill do this to us? How is this possible? his brother, a civilian Air Force employee, said he thought at the time.

Air Force general's sister-in-law describes alleged sexual assault in day 2 of court-martial

Efforts by the woman and her husband to reconcile with the general faltered because they felt Cooley was minimizing the situation in his apologies. The two-star accused them of blackmail for their continued attempts to address it further.

I wanted to move past this, with him owning what he had done and truly apologizing, the defendants brother said on the stand. It was impossible  if he didnt take responsibility.

Cooleys sister-in-law has agreed to be publicly identified by her relationship to the defendant, but not by name. Air Force Times does not publish the names of alleged sexual assault victims without their permission to protect their privacy.

Maj. Gen. Cooley is now trying to shift blame and publicly justify his actions as a consensual kiss, his brother said. The officer on Monday pleaded not guilty to abusive sexual contact, with three specifications, for allegedly kissing and groping the woman against her will while visiting Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Two-star Air Force general faces judge, not jury, in sexual assault trial

Lawyers for the defense pointed out that Cooleys brother did not witness the alleged misconduct firsthand, and characterized the situation as an elaborate setup to get revenge for the two-stars pass at his sister-in-law. The plaintiff has rejected that version of events.

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The defendant and his brother were competitive and werent as close as other siblings, Cooleys brother said. They regularly discussed their jobs but had their differences in opinion.

On the night in question, Cooleys brother stayed home while his wife and the general went for a short drive during which the alleged assault occurred. The brother said his wife hadnt been flirting with Cooley earlier in the day, and he didnt notice anything amiss with his wife as she and Cooley exited the car when they returned or at bedtime.

Defense lawyer Dan Conway said that indicated Cooleys sister-in-law was not as upset that night or the next day as she claimed.

Fired two-star research lab commander charged with sexual assault

This is the most traumatic thing Ive endured, the woman said. When asked why she attended a work meeting the next day, she said: I am a professional and I coped.

That stress also caused her to leave out some details about Cooleys alleged actions when telling her husband and in her interview with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, she said. She later filled in that information for them.

The defense also argued the womans husband blamed her for the alleged incident; both Cooleys brother and his sister-in-law deny that accusation happened. The defendants brother didnt know where to direct his anger about the claim, the brother said.

When I was in the interview with OSI, I gave a full accounting of all of the thoughts I was trying to process when I learned of this, the defendants brother said.

He trusted his wife but didnt want to believe his brother would do such a thing. I was angry  livid when Cooley acknowledged the situation and apologized in person soon after, the brother said.

Hello, and welcome to day 3 of Maj. Gen. Bill Cooley's court-martial at @WrightPattAFB, where his sister-in-law is accusing him of sexually assaulting her in her car in 2018. Cooley claims their interaction was consensual. https://t.co/DcdHZKH8rz  Rachel S. Cohen (@rachelkaras) April 20, 2022

He and his wife ultimately decided not to press charges, but changed their minds when they failed to resolve their differences.

I love him, and I did not want to be here, Cooleys brother said of the escalation to litigation.

Cooleys bench trial marks not only the Air Forces first time moving through court-martial proceedings against a general, but also the first time sexual assault charges have led to criminal prosecution for someone so high up in the chain of command.

He entered active duty service in 1990 and has worked in a variety of military space, missile defense, research and other positions.

As the head of AFRL, he managed a $2.5 billion Air Force-led science and technology portfolio plus another $2.3 billion in research funded outside the military. He oversaw a workforce of around 6,000 people.

Budget hang-ups slow sexual assault prevention reforms

Cooley was removed from that job in January 2020 amid an OSI inquiry and charged with violating Article 120 of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice, which forbids sexual assault. He now serves as an assistant to Air Force Materiel Command boss Gen. Arnold Bunch, advocating for the services science and technology plans.

Legal counsel for both parties have frequently compared statements gathered for the OSI report to this weeks testimony, though the investigation report is not a formal piece of evidence.

He could face up to 21 years behind bars  seven years for each specification of the sexual assault charge against him. Cooley could also lose his pay alongside dismissal from the Air Force, service spokesperson Derek Kaufman said.

A guilty verdict could land him in the national sex offender database as well. There is no minimum sentence and he may avoid punishment altogether.

Conway told reporters Cooleys team would make a game-time decision on whether he should testify.
12 May 1937  Coronation of George VI King George VI, right, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on the day of his coronation with the then Queen Elizabeth, the future Queen Mother, second left, and their children, the princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, front. (Central Press/AFP/Getty)



On the day of George VI and Queen Elizabeth's coronations, the future Queen Mother (2nd-L), her daughter Princess Elizabeth (4th-L, future Queen Elizabeth II), Queen Mary (C) , Princess Margaret (5th-L) and King George VI (R), pose at the balcony of the Buckingham Palace. (Central Press/AFP/Getty)

Queen Elizabeth II is set to turn 96 on 21 April - and Britain's longest-serving monarch has led the nation through 70 years of highs and lows.

The nonagenarian mother-of-four, grandmother-of-eight and great-grandmother-of-12 has been active in public life for more than seven decades, displaying great strength and resilience throughout the ups and downs of her reign.

Throughout the years, the Queen has appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony on numerous occasions, waving to crowds who have gathered to catch a glimpse of the monarch.

As Britons turned to the Queen for reassurance and guidance through difficult times  including the death of Princess Diana and the COVID pandemic  nowhere has she been more prominent in our public life than on the balcony of her world-famous central London residence.

But it has also been on happy and celebratory occasions  including at Trooping the Colour and royal weddings  that Elizabeth has taken to the balcony with a broad smile on her face.

In 2021, the Queen faced one of her most difficult periods after her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh  who she was married to for 73 years  died at the age of 99.

In recent months she has pulled out of several events because of mobility problems  including at the recent Easter Sunday service at Windsor.

And while there will be a huge celebration in June to mark her Platinum Jubilee and 96th birthday, the Queen will reportedly be spending her birthday on Thursday at the Sandringham farmhouse where her beloved husband lived after his retirement.

Her Majesty is expected to fly by helicopter to her 20,000-acre Sandringham estate and stay at Wood Farm until early next week.
Alice Chuvnik, left, and Robin Boon have shared the story of their harrowing escape from Ukraine. (Photo courtesy of Chuvnik and Boon)

Like many Ukrainians, Alice Chuvnik knew a Russian attack was possible but thought it very unlikely  until it happened.

The day the invasion started, I woke up to explosions, Chuvnik, 24, says via WhatsApp from Europe, while recounting a treacherous journey for Yahoo Life. In the following days, she recalls, stories of Russian forces infiltrating the city spread quickly, and fear and panic were palpable.

It was clear the war had begun. Chuvnik, who has autism, was considering fleeing the country for safety. But there was one problem: She is a transgender woman, and her passport still says male.

With all able-bodied Ukrainian men between 18 and 60 required to stay and be ready to fight, that meant Chuvnik, who has lived as a woman for nearly five years, could have to take up arms alongside men who, she felt, would view her as less than and could potentially place her in more danger.

In general, it's confusing for other people to deal with, which makes us a target of direct and clear aggression, Chuvnik says of transgender life in Ukraine, where some anti-discrimination laws are in place for LGBTQ people, but cultural acceptance of trans people is still a slow burn. Its like being second or third-class.

She adds, I had to get out of Ukraine. But there was still the matter of her passport  which she had yet to get updated to F, despite having updated her birth certificate after undergoing the required psychiatric evaluation and receiving a physician-signed document that classified her as living with gender-identity disorder (officially labeled "F64"). Adding to the complication, though, was that her birth certificate is Russian (one of her parents is Russian), despite being born in Ukraine.

But time was running out.

I decided to get a train ticket, she says, and go to the Polish border.

Meanwhile, over 1,200 miles away

At the same time, in the Netherlands, Chuvniks long-distance partner, Robin Boon, 29, had been texting Chuvnik about her decision to leave the country with a great deal of concern.

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Boon, who uses they/them pronouns, also lives with autism, which at times limits their speech. They also deal with severe anxiety that requires daily medication. The couple had met on a dating app over a year ago and forged a deep connection despite not yet having met in person.

Boon and Chevnik together in Ukraine. (Credit: Rain Dove)

Out of concern for Chuvniks safety, Boon, who, like Chuvnik, rarely leaves their apartment in order to avoid overstimulation, bravely decided to make the trip to the Ukraine-Poland border, innocently assuming that Chuvnik would cross into Poland and join them to drive back to the Netherlands. Because they don't have a drivers license, they had to convince two friends to drive them. So, with a limited supply of medication and plenty of fear, Boon and their friends set off on the 25-hour trip to the border.

Over in Ukraine, Chuvnik was starting to realize the gravity of her situation.

Meeting at the border

The railway station was so full of people that I had to go to the very edge of the platform, squeezing through the crowd with my bags, Chuvnik recalls of her arrival in Kyiv. The train never came, and air raid sirens were getting more deafening as Chuvnik began to weigh other options. She was advised to try the bus station instead, but when she got there, she found that no buses were heading out. Her only hope then was to hitch a ride to the border checkpoint.

When she got as close as she could to the border, though, there was a [13-mile] long line of cars attempting to enter Poland, she explains. Chuvnik says she walked up the entire line, and that, every once in a while, passengers would see her struggling and invite her into their cars to heat up for a few minutes.

I was told to ask anyone to give me their child, Chuvnik remembers. To have a child sit on my knees and pretend I was their mom or sister, which I did."

When she finally reached the checkpoint, on foot, she says border agents failed to recognize her passport and additional documents  including her physician-signed F64 document and updated birth certificate  and told her to turn back. This left her with little hope of reaching Boon, who was in their own precarious situation.

In Poland, Boon, who has a Netherlands passport, had been receiving text updates from Chevnik and was considering crossing into Ukraine to assist her, thinking it could help her case if a second person were to vouch for her in front of border agents. That idea wasnt sitting well with Boon's friends.

One of my friends completely freaked out and pulled a knife on me, Boon says, clarifying that it was out of fear for their safety. The scene escalated quickly, and police ended up temporarily detaining the friend  allowing the other friend to see an opportunity. This is your chance, they told Boon, who made a run for it toward the checkpoint, leaving behind their two friends, who soon after drove back to the Netherlands.

Rain Dove, left, pictured with Robin Boon and volunteers at a temporary refugee holding site in Budomierz, Poland. (Credit: Rain Dove)

Boon made it into Ukraine safely, where Chuvnik was waiting with an extra layer of fear. Now my girlfriend is in a war zone, she recalled thinking. "But at least we were together."

It was the first moment they met in person, and also the first time Chuvnik told Boon she loved them, to which they replied, I think its clear that I love you, too.

They thought I was a Russian spy

With a short supply of daily medications, clothing and food, Chuvnik and Boon spent the next two weeks hitchhiking to various checkpoints along the Ukraine-Poland border. Each time they attempted to cross, Chuvnik says border agents failed to recognize her documents and turned her away.

Says Boon, I wasnt going to leave her.

By day four, things were starting to take a turn for the worse. Both had run out of their medication, causing Boon to experience minor seizures and Chuvnik to have moderate anxiety attacks as they slept in various refugee camps.

We went to greenhouses [temporary tent housing set up by local organizers] and refugee centers to sort of make sense of what was happening, and to plan our next move, Chuvnik remembers of those cold nights. It was during this time, she adds, while they were laying on trash bags on the floor of a greenhouse, that they shared their first kiss.

The couple ended up connecting with queer refugees on the ground and on social media, who connected them with Rain Dove, a nonbinary model and American activist who was leading efforts to get LGBTQ and other vulnerable people out of Ukraine through their organization Safebow. Dove had been on the ground for a couple of weeks when they connected with Chuvnik and Boon in Lviv, at which point the couple had been off their meds for at least 10 days.

They had been traveling so much and things were not great," Dove tells Yahoo Life. "It was becoming a dire situation for them.

Dove says they made the risky decision to accompany Chuvnik, Boon and a few other LGBTQ refugees to the Polish border as an individual, and not as a representative of Safebow. But, as with all other attempts, Chuvnik says border agents failed to recognize her legal documents. At one point, because her updated birth certificate was issued in Russia, she was even accused of being an enemy.

They thought I was a Russian spy, recalls Chuvnik, who was detained by border agents while Boon and the rest of the group were interrogated by police, as heard in recordings shared with Yahoo Life.

Chuvnik was forced to separate from the rest of the group, staying the night in Yavoriv while the others crossed into Budomierz, Poland. As they started plotting their next move via text message, things took an ugly turn when Russian bombs began to drop in Yavoriv.

A harrowing escape

Following the bombings, the group weighed the risks and legalities before coming up with an escape plan: Chuvnik and another person Dove was in touch with, a gay man who was with Chuvnik in Ukraine, would pass the Yavoriv military base and attempt to cross the forest and river into Poland  where Boon, Dove and others would be waiting to lead them inland.

Boon lovingly carries Chuvnik on their shoulders, days after the pair managed to escape Ukraine into Poland. (Credit: Rain Dove)

Chuvnik and Boon say they were well aware of the risks before agreeing to the escape attempt, which included Chuvnik and her male companion having to hold hands and pretend they were a straight couple at one point and, at another, hearing barking dogs and seeing armed guards nearby.

When she arrived at the river, Chuvnik started having a panic attack. I lost all ability to speak for several seconds, she says. Dove says Boon, who was with them on the other side of the river, leaped in to help Chuvnik. Dove followed, and helped lead them out of the water.

I remember someone grabbing me, Chuvnik says. My vision was rather blurry and I wasn't able to see. I remember that Robin hugged me and was, like, pushing me to the ground to [tell me I was OK] because I was feeling very panicked. I was breathing really fast and it was really cold.

Once over the river, the group says they hiked nearly two miles before Boon waved down a car  which turned out to be that of a Polish border patrol officer, who drove them back to the checkpoint.

Dove says the Polish border patrol placed each member of the group into solitary confinement, and that Boon wound up having a minor seizure in their jail cell. Chuvnik, though, says that Polish officers were very respectful and took pity on them after hearing their story and realizing they were both living with mental health challenges, allowing Dove to sit in the cell with Boon to calm them down.

Chuvnik and Boon, pictured mid-April 2022, are now living together in Europe. They say they want their story to help others. (Photo courtesy of Chuvnik and Boon)

In the end, Boon, who'd never been convicted of a crime before, was sentenced to two years probation, meaning another crime committed in Europe could get them sentenced to eight years in prison. Chuvnik received one year of probation.

Dove, who is also on a two-year probation following the events, says that Chuvnik and Boons love story highlights issues that are often overlooked in the refugee crisis.

Disabled people are being disproportionately disenfranchised by this crisis, Dove says. In a lot of cases, [mentally disabled people] are being told they are not fit for the military, and yet they are not allowed to leave the country because of martial law, They lost their entire lives, they say. Theres no jobs for them, theres no housing for them. Where are these people going to go?

For now, at least, Chuvnik and Boon are safe in Europe, though theyve chosen to not disclose their location out of safety concerns.

Earlier this month, they became engaged to be married.

Im happy to be alive, Chuvnik says.

She emphasizes that the reason she chose to share her story is to keep others from attempting such a dangerous escape. I decided, if this is going to help at least a single person, she says, I should talk about it.

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Associated Press

Russia's ambassador to Poland was splattered with red paint thrown at him by protesters opposed to the war in Ukraine, preventing him from paying respects on Monday at a Warsaw cemetery to Red Army soldiers who died during World War II. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denounced the attack, saying on her messaging app channel that we wont be scared while the people of Europe should be scared to see their reflection in a mirror.
A group of 26 Republican governors is launching a multi-state partnership to secure the southern border as the number of migrants being detained and appearing at the border continues to increase.

The American Governors Border Strike Force will target cartels and criminal groups by increasing collaboration, improving intelligence, combating human smuggling, and stopping drug flow among each of the participating states, according to a group memorandum outing its mission.

UNIVISION AIRS SEGMENT ON TEACHING MIGRANTS HOW TO SWIM ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE RIVER

Immigrant men from many countries are taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border on December 07, 2021, in Yuma, Arizona. Governors from 26 states have formed a strike force to address the crisis at the border. John Moore/Getty Images

"President Biden has failed to secure the border, and it has deteriorated into a warzone that is threatening all of our communities," South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem told Fox News. "South Dakota has sent the National Guard to the border. Republican Governors are launching a Border Strike Force to secure our communities and partner together to protect our people."

The initiative is modeled after the Arizona Border Strike Force launched by Gov. Doug Ducey in 2015. That program has resulted in the seizure of 801 pounds of heroin and 985 pounds of fentanyl, among other drug seizures, since it started, Ducey's office said.

"What were doing in Arizona works," he said in a statement. "But this is not just an Arizona issue, its a national issue. If our entire southern border isnt secure, our nation isnt secure. As dangerous transnational criminal organizations continue to profit from holes in the border and fill our communities with drugs, its no coincidence that were seeing historic levels of opioid-related deaths."

The other states involved in the effort are: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

The move comes as President Biden prepares to end Title 42, the Trump-era a Trump-era public health order which has been used since March 2020 to expel a majority of migrants at the border to curb the spread of COVID-19.

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In March, the number of migrants encountered at the U-S.-Mexico border increased past 220,000, according to border officials.

The number is bigger than last year's high of 213,953 in July and is the third time under Biden that there have been more than 200,000 migrants at the border  which only occurred in two months at the height of the 2021 surge.

Fox News' Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
Two Senate Republicans are calling on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to reopen the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv as Russia appears to be shifting its military forces away from the capital city.

Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Steve Daines (D-Mont.) penned a letter, obtained by Politico, to Blinken on Wednesday urging him to fully open the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, arguing that such a move would enhance cooperation with a democratic partner and symbolically affirm Americas commitment to Ukraines territory.

They said they are pressing for the reopening because Russia has pulled its forces from areas around Kyiv.

With Ukraines successful defense of Kyiv and Russias subsequent withdrawal of forces from the areas surrounding the capital, we encourage you to fully open the United States embassy without delay, the senators wrote.

Ukraine faces enormous military, economic, and humanitarian challenges as a result of this war. Americas restored diplomatic presence in Kyiv will enhance cooperation with a democratic partner as it wages an existential defense and symbolically affirm our nations commitment to Ukraines territorial sovereignty, they added.

Blinken announced in mid-February, before Russias invasion began, that the U.S. was temporarily relocating its embassy operations in Kyiv to Lviv as Moscow was ramping up its aggression against Ukraine.

The State Department then confirmed on Feb. 24, the first day of the invasion, that embassy operations had been suspended after the Ukrainian government declared an emergency. A department spokesperson said the core team that had been working in Lviv was temporarily working from Poland.

Russian forces targeted Kyiv earlier in the invasion, working to seize control of the capital city. Its efforts, however, stalled because of staunch Ukrainian opposition, prompting Moscow to reposition its efforts to the eastern portion of the country.

Following the apparent shift in strategy by Russia, the European Union and Italy signaled that their diplomatic operations in Kyiv would resume. Additionally on Monday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain would reopen its embassy in Kyiv in the coming days.

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Moran and Daines said in the new letter that the U.S.s absence in Kyiv signals a lack of confidence in Ukraines ability to defend itself and the diplomatic missions under its protection.

Resuming normal embassy operations at once will reinforce the importance of diplomacy and Americas full support for a Ukraine whole and free, they added.

The senators also noted the historical significance of embassies remaining open during times of conflict.

The United States historically has maintained embassies in nations at war, including those capitals under direct attack, they wrote.

The diplomats and all who serve at our Kyiv embassy will continue a long tradition of advancing Americas relationships even under duress, they added.

The Hill has requested comment on the senators letter from the State Department.

Updated at 8:46 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Rrrainbow / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Swayed by the low cost of living, a supportive health care system, wonderful weather and excellent tax incentives, Portugal has long been a destination for retirees the world over. Add in the countrys safety and friendly reputation, it is no wonder that it has increasingly become a haven for many Americans over the last few years as well.

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Read: Jaw-Dropping Stats About the State of Retirement in America

The total of U.S. residents in Portugal is now 6,921, which represents a 45% hike from last year. Influenced by the favorable factors above, Portugal is a popular retirement target because its resident visa requires less income than many of its European counterparts. Portugal offers various visas, but Americans who plan to move there usually get either the Golden Visa program (if theyre high-net-worth individuals) or the residence D7 visa from the Servico de Estrangeiros e Frontieras (SEF).

U.S. expatriates are a very small but growing population in Portugal. Numbering less than the expat demographics from Brazil, the UK, Cape Verde, China, India, Italy and others, more and more Americans have been looking to the Mediterranean treasure. Of Portugals 10.2 million population, 60,000 are from other countries, 11% of which are from the U.S. The American communities are not well-established, but that might be one of the tipping points for bringing you to Portugal in the first place.

One of the most appealing aspects of spending time in Portugal is its affordable living costs. And consumer prices with rent are about 40% lower than in the U.S., according to Numbeo, the worlds largest cost-of-living database. Not surprisingly, the more you go outside of the main cities, the living costs are cheaper, with capital city Lisbon more expensive than just about anywhere else in Portugal. Public transport options outside the cities are also cheap and efficient.

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Portugals Non-Habitual Resident tax regime (NHR) is a huge incentive to move to Portugal and offers tax exemptions on foreign pensions and other incomes. In addition to the non-existence of wealth tax, or of inheritance/gift tax for close relatives, the NHR regime essentially grants qualifying individuals the possibility of becoming tax residents whilst legally avoiding or minimizing income tax on certain categories of income and capital gains for a minimum period of ten years.

Health care is available to all foreigners and is virtually free. U.S. health insurance and Medicare will not cover you in Portugal, however, so most Americans buy private insurance, which is cheaper than in the U.S. and provides better access to doctors and services than its public counterpart. Premiums will cost between $55 and $320 a month, but you must make sure you buy what you need as some policies do not cover pre-existing health conditions.

Common sense dictates that if you are in a foreign country with its own language, you should beware of people trying to take advantage, especially in complex negotiations, and of fraudsters. Towns and regions have different degrees of complexity to their bureaucratic processes. It could be a breeze, or it can be maddening to an outsider (even one who has lived there for years).

But these warnings are not unique to Portugal and if you are planning to uproot intercontinentally and take in all that a permanent move to Portugal has in store, you will be up for any Portuguese adventure that gets thrown at you.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Retiring to Portugal? Heres What You Need to Know
Russian central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina said most Russian banks and 52 foreign organisations from 12 countries had access to the country's alternative to Swift. Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters

Some Russian banks have been banned from the SWIFT banking system due to the Ukraine war.

Russia is now urging the use of its alternative System for Transfer of Financial Messages.

Russia's central bank said it will stop revealing the names of those participating in its alternative to SWIFT.

Russia's central bank will stop disclosing the names of those participating in its alternative to the SWIFT payment system, according to Reuters.

Some Russian banks have been banned from the SWIFT banking system as part of the sweeping sanctions against the country over the Ukraine war. The ban has hampered cross-border transactions for Russia's trade and financial systems, isolating the country economically.

But Russia has been touting its alternative payment system  the System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS), which was set up in 2014.

"Under the current conditions we have made the decision not to reveal the list of organisations connected to SPFS. Still, this list is available for users of the system," the Russian central bank told Reuters in an email. The institution used to publish a list of SPFS users on the website but recently stopped the practice, per Bloomberg.

Most Russian banks, as well as 52 foreign organizations from 12 countries, have access to SPFS, Russian Central Bank governor Elvira Nabiullina said on Monday, per Reuters.

Banks from the Germany, Switzerland, France, Japan, Sweden, Turkey, and Cuba were among those connected to SPFS, according to a March report from Coface, a French credit insurer.

"Until there was such a threat of being cut off from SWIFT, foreign partners weren't in much of a rush to join, but now we expect their readiness to be greater," Nabiullina said of SPFS, according to Bloomberg.

The Indian government was considering a Russian proposal to use the SPFS for payments in rubles, Bloomberg reported in March. India has been buying cargoes of cheap Russian oil amid international sanctions and boycotts of products from the energy powerhouse. Russian oil accounted for just 2% of India's total imports in 2021.

Read the original article on Business Insider
 Flash

The Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles confirmed to Xinhua on Tuesday that a rollover accident occurred in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, 300 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles, and one Chinese student died and three others got injured.

The Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles has been in contact with the victims' families and will provide all necessary assistance to their handling of the aftermath, a spokesman for the consulate said.

The spokesman did not disclose the dead student's personal information, citing no authorization from the family.

According to a report of the Los Angeles Times, the deceased, 29, is a third-year graduate student from China studying in the Chapman University. As a cinematographer, he participated in several film shorts that were recognized by film festivals and worked on the Los Angeles Film Awards best drama short "Daemon" in 2020.

A California Highway Patrol (CHP) spokesman said Monday that the accident occurred last Friday when an off-road vehicle carrying a group of young filmmakers rolled over.

"All of those on board were wearing their safety harness apart from the deceased," CHP officer Arturo Platero said. "The individual suffered fatal injuries in the rollover."
(Reuters) - Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in a phone call on Wednesday that the outcome of talks with Ukraine completely depended on Kyiv's readiness to take into account Russia's demands.

Russian foreign ministry also said Lavrov and Cavusoglu discussed the situation in Ukraine's port of Mariupol and possible measures aimed at providing safety to civilians, including from foreign countries.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Alec Baldwin's ill-fated movie "Rust" was hit Wednesday with the maximum possible fine by state safety officials in New Mexico for violations on the set that contributed to the death of a cinematographer.

A report released by the state Occupational Health and Safety Bureau blasted "Rust" producers for "plain indifference" and noted they "willfully violated" known industry safety protocols in imposing a nearl$137,000 fine for firearms safety failures. During a hasty rehearsal last October, actor and producer Baldwin discharged a replica Colt that killed 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.

In particular, the report indicates that the young armorer on the set, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, was not given the chance to perform her job. Reed was not in the church on the Old West set when the gun was handed to Baldwin and then went off.

"Rust did not provide staff responsible for ensuring firearms safety with sufficient time to inspect ammunition received to ensure that no live rounds were present," the report said.

'I just felt so angry': Halyna Hutchins' husband wanted Alec Baldwin to accept responsibility

An aerial photo of the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on the set of a Western being filmed at the ranch, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutcins.

On Wednesday, Gutierrez Reed's lawyer said the incident could have been averted. "Had anyone from production called Hannah in back into the church before the scene to consult with her, this tragedy would have been prevented," her lawyer Jason Bowles told USA TODAY in a statement.

The scathing narrative of safety failures included testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set prior to the fatal shooting. The bureau also documented gun safety complaints from crew members that went unheeded and said weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training.

"What we had, based on our investigators' findings, was a set of obvious hazards to employees regarding the use of firearms and management's failure to act upon those obvious hazards," Bob Genoway, bureau chief for occupational safety, told The Associated Press.

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'Rust' lawsuit: As Alec Baldwin faces a lawsuit, all eyes are on the gun that killed Halyna Hutchins

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died on Oct. 21, 2021, in New Mexico after Alec Baldwin discharged a prop firearm on the set of "Rust." She was 42.

The accidental shooting immediately shuttered the set of the low-budget Western and launched a series of lawsuits that have yet to be resolved. The OSHA ruling is likely to factor into the ongoing litigation, experts say.

"This investigation confirms what we have heard previously about the 'Rust' set, that it was in chaos and that there were almost no safeguards regarding gun safety," said personal injury lawyer Miguel Custodio of the Los Angeles-based firm Custodio & Dubey, who is not involved in the case. "When there is a completely separate government agency that has determined that this production company was negligent with regard to their safety protocols, it makes it easier for plaintiffs to gain ground in their lawsuits and for the DA to justify criminal charges."

Neama Rahmani, former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, said the report means the case "just went from a layup to a slam dunk and is really now an ironclad case. ... If you don't take care of firearms, youre playing Russian roulette with peoples lives.

Rust Movie Productions said it would dispute the findings and sanction.

"While we appreciate OSHA's time and effort in its investigation, we disagree with its findings and plan to appeal," said production spokesperson Stefan Friedman. Any appeal would be heard initially by the state's occupational health and safety commission.

An attorney for Baldwin was not immediately available.

Why wasn't anyone criminally charged in Brandon Lee's death? Those involved look back

Alec Baldwin and the producers of "Rust" are facing multiple lawsuits in the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.

The tragedy unfolded early at a well-known movie ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021. Shortly after a lunch break, Baldwin went to rehearse inside a small church and soon found himself pointing a gun at Hutchins.

Baldwin said in a December interview with ABC News that he was directing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction on the set of the Western film when it went off without his pulling the trigger.

The OSHA report confirms that a large-caliber revolver was handed to Baldwin by an assistant director, David Halls, without consulting on-set weapons specialist Gutierrez Reed during or after the gun was loaded.

Regulators note that Halls also served as safety coordinator and that he was present and witnessed two accidental discharges of rifles on set, and that he and other managers who knew of the misfires took no investigative, corrective or disciplinary action. Crew members expressed surprise and discomfort.

"The safety coordinator was present on set and took no direct action to address safety concerns," the report stated. "Management was provided with multiple opportunities to take corrective actions and chose not to do so. As a result of these failures, director Joel Souza and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were severely injured. Halyna Hutchins succumbed to her injuries."

'It's infuriating': Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie and other celebrities react to 'Rust' shooting

The state fine applies to a film with a budget of about $7 million. Baldwin was assigned a salary of $250,000 as an actor and producer and may have put some of that money back into the production.

At least five lawsuits have been filed over the shooting, including a wrongful death suit brought by Hutchins' family against Baldwin and the movie's other producers. The lawsuit filed on behalf of widower Matt Hutchins and his 9-year-old son alleges a "callous" disregard in the face of safety complaints on the set.

James Kenney, secretary of the Environment Department that oversees occupational safety, said the agency dedicated 1,500 staff hours to its investigation, examined hundreds of documents and conducted at least a dozen interviews with cast and crew members.

Investigators found production managers placed tight limits on resources for a small team that controlled weapons on set and failed to address concerns about a shotgun left unattended twice.

Armorer Gutierrez Reed, the daughter of a sharpshooter and consultant to film productions, was limited to eight paid days as an armorer to oversee weapons and training, and was assigned otherwise to lighter duties as a props assistant. As her time as an armorer ran out, Gutierrez Reed warned a manager and was rebuffed.

Gutierrez Reed is both a plaintiff and a defendant in lawsuits seeking damages in the fatal shooting.

Safety investigators also note that the production company did not develop a process to ensure live rounds of ammunition were not brought on set, in violation of industry safety protocols. Safety meetings were conducted, but not every day weapons were used, as required.

Kenney said the separate investigations into possible criminal charges are still underway. The Santa Fe County sheriff and local prosecutors had no immediate comment. He said his agency received no direct safety complaints from cast or crew prior to the fatal shooting, even though anonymity is offered.

"This tragedy, this loss of life, it could have been prevented, and we want people to say something," he said.

Kenney was appointed in 2019 by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a staunch advocate for the film industry who increased a state cap in industry incentives shortly after taking office.

New Mexico competes with non-Hollywood production sites in states such as Georgia, Louisiana and New York. Film productions have flocked to New Mexico in recent years to seize on its diverse outdoor scenery, moderate costs and generous state incentives, including a rebate of between 25% and 35% of in-state spending for video production that helps filmmakers large and small underwrite their work.

Contributing: Morgan Lee, The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Rust' gets max fine in Alec Baldwin shooting for gun safety failures
The office of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, received a threatening email from Sarasota County resident David G. Hannon, 67, who pleaded guilty in U.S. Middle District Court Tuesday to one count of threatening a federal official.

A 67-year-old Sarasota County man pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to threatening U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota via email.

David G. Hannon, 67, entered the plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher P. Tuite to one count of threatening a federal official.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.

According to information entered at the plea hearing, Hannon, a registered Republican, sent an email on July 16, 2019, to U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, threatening to kill her.

Another threat from a local: Sarasota County man sentenced for making threatening phone calls to members of Congress

Watchdog: Threats against Congress have doubled in 2021 as lawmakers grapple with how to improve security

Hannon, who lives in unincorporated Sarasota County, south of Sarasota, sent the email following a televised press conference held by Omar and three other U.S. Congresswomen.

In his email, which had a subject line that read, (Youre) dead, you radical Muslim, Hannon referred to Omar and the other Congresswomen of color as radical rats, and asked Omar if she was prepared to die for Islam. The email further stated that Hannon was going to shoot the Congresswomen in the head.

Threatening to kill our elected officials, especially because of their race, ethnicity or religious beliefs, is offensive to our nations fundamental values, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division said in a prepared statement.

The Justice Department will not hesitate to prosecute individuals who violate federal laws that prohibit violent, hate-motivated threats. All elected officials, regardless of their background, should be able to represent their communities and serve the public free from hate-motivated threats and violence.

In the same statement, Handberg added, No one should fear violence because of who they are or what they believe.

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Unlawful threats against our elected officials are an assault against our democracy, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to seek justice in these cases.

The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the U.S. Capitol Police, and prosecuted by Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel and Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Claire Favorit for the Middle District of Florida.

This marked the second time a Sarasota County man has been found guilty of threatening Omar.

On March 29, Frank Anthony Pezzuto, 73, a registered Democrat, was sentenced to serve 15 months in federal prison in connection with threatening members of Congress. Pezzuto, who lives in unincorporated Sarasota County between South Venice and Englewood, was found guilty of transmitting in interstate commerce a communication containing a threat to injure the person of another, following a two-day trial in the U.S. District Court, Tampa Middle District, on Nov. 9, 2021.

He made threatening phone calls to the offices of Omar, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-California and U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California in early 2020.

Earle Kimel primarily covers south Sarasota County for the Herald-Tribune and can be reached at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: David G. Hannon pled guilty to sending email threat to U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar
A man leaving a Queens pawn shop got into a shootout during a chance encounter with a rival police said Wednesday.

Surveillance video shows the men exchanging words, a parked white SUV between them, outside Ez Pawn on Jamaica Ave. near 194th St. in St. Albans before the pawn shop customer opens fire about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. His target, who was with a third man, fires back.

The pawn shop customer drove off in a double-parked silver Honda Accord, but not before squeezing off another shot. His rival fled in a double-parked black Acura driven by somebody else.

The customer briefly returned to the scene to retrieve a bag he had dropped in the street, the video shows.

Nobody is believed to have been struck but the white SUV was left shot up.

Police said the gunmen know each other and have been at odds. Cops are asking the publics help identifying them and tracking them down.

Anyone with information about the suspects is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
(Bloomberg) -- Sequoia Capital India and Prosus NV have backed a $170 million funding round for Saudi Arabian food and beverage technology startup Foodics, as global investors increasingly seek to back fast-growing firms in the Middle East.

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Riyadh-based Foodics will use the proceeds to boost its services and expand into new countries, Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Al Zaini said in an interview. The company is also looking at potentially acquiring rivals to help it grow and will expand into fintech after receiving a license from the Saudi central bank, he said.

Sanabil, wholly-owned by Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund and focused on start-up investing, co-led the fundraising with Prosus. STV, a $500 million Saudi venture fund, also participated in the deal.

The funds will also help Foodics explore merger and acquisition opportunities around the region, Al Zaini said, declining to comment on the companys valuation.

Sequoia made its first investment in Saudi Arabia in January, leading a funding round for Lean Technologies. It has been deepening its presence in the Middle East after recently backing companies from Turkey to Egypt. The venture capital firm is among the global investors eager to seize on the spread of financial technology and e-commerce in the region as local economies emerge from the pandemic.

Foodics, which offers restaurant management software, digital payments and micro-loans, last raised $20 million from investors in early 2021. The firm probably has enough funding to keep it going for the next two to three years, and would consider an initial public offering after that time, Al Zaini said.

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(Adds that fundraising was co-led by Sanabil and Prosus in third paragraph.)

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The BBC has been told of fresh efforts to relocate entire communities in areas of Shanghai as Chinese authorities enforce extreme measures to try to stop a new wave of Covid.

An official notice from local Communist Party officials in an area in the north of the city details orders to transfer residents to quarantine facilities more than 100 miles (160km) away.

The plan is to move people from their homes in Pingwang to the neighbouring province of Zhejiang, where they will stay for at least a week. Young children, the elderly and those with disabilities could be excluded, according to the notice.

It said only those who tested negative could go - it's not clear why people with negative tests are being moved. Officials are under great pressure to cut the risk of transmission and reduce cases to zero.

Shanghai is now in its fourth week of lockdown

It comes just days after authorities moved people out of their homes and evacuated much of the population in another area of Shanghai.

At least 1,000 people were forced to leave the small town of Beicai and move to temporary accommodation so officials could disinfect the area on the outskirts of the Pudong area in the east of the city.

An official notice issued to residents told them to pack their belongings and leave their wardrobe doors open. They were also told to leave open the front door of their home. Images on social media of people queuing with packed suitcases at night-time showed the scale of the operation.

The notice from the town's Epidemic Prevention Office also included this order: "You cannot bring your pets with you during this evacuation, but we will arrange for them to be taken care of."

In most of Shanghai people are still relying on deliveries of food

It's a renewed sign of the extreme lengths to which China is willing to go to stop the spread of Covid in Shanghai, which has recorded about 400,000 cases during this outbreak. Most of the city's 25 million population remain under a strict lockdown which is now in its fourth week.

This week officials in the city have recorded 17 people who died after contracting Covid. Nearly all were elderly, unvaccinated residents with underlying health problems.

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Video has emerged on social media showing health workers in full PPE walking through Beicai spreading lime powder in the streets and pavements to try to kill any remaining remnants of the virus. Local government officials had earlier denied claims that up to 8,000 people there had tested positive, dismissing it as "false information".

Residents were reportedly moved to several quarantine centres or quarantine hotels. One 33-year-old woman, who was sent to a school that had been requisitioned, posted on social media: "I had enough, just arrived last night but I already want to go back home!!!"

Quarantine zones have been set up but have struggled to keep pace with infections

Others said the conditions in the temporary hospitals they'd been moved to were an improvement. One domestic worker who is in her 40s said she was among 100 people taken to a facility where she said the food was better. In an earlier post she'd complained about the government supply of "two carrots, one rotten pumpkin and two ears of corn".

The decision to relocate a large number of the town's population appears to have come immediately after a visit by a very senior Communist Party official. Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who is in charge of day-to-day measures to counter the spread of Covid across China, went to see for herself the extent of the problem the day before the evacuation took place.

On the same day - 16 April - she visited a nearby area of Shanghai and instructed officials that there should be "no exemptions", adding "all infected people should be treated, all close contacts should be isolated".

The BBC has tried repeatedly to contact officials in the area via the public phone number. The official notice handed out to residents ended by saying: "In the face of the sudden epidemic, the only way we can overcome the difficulties together is to work together and return to normal life as soon as possible."

This is not the first time that authorities in China have moved the entire population of a town to try to stop the virus spreading.

Earlier this year around 9,000 residents of two compounds in nearby Hangzhou were moved out en masse to what was described as "centralised isolation sites" after an outbreak of the Omicron variant.

In January last year around 20,000 people living in more than a dozen towns in Hebei - a province near Beijing - were transferred in an effort to contain the virus.
Sofia Richie and her boyfriend, Elliot Grainge, are engaged.

The 23-year-old model, who's the daughter of music icon and "American Idol" judge Lionel Richie, announced the happy news Wednesday alongside two pics of her and Grainge on Instagram.

One photo showed Grainge down on one knee proposing to his bride-to-be outside with dozens of candles all around them. Another pic showed the pair sharing a sweet kiss.

"Forever isnt long enough," the model gushed in her caption.

Grainge, the son of Universal Music Group Chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge, shared the news on his Instagram page next to another photo of him and Richie smooching.

"She said yes," he wrote in his caption, adding three heart emoji.

Richie responded in the comments, "I love you."

Richie's Hollywood pals congratulated the couple on their happy news.

Richie's sister, actor and designer Nicole Richie, shared a pic of the couple's proposal in her Instagram story along with a second image showing her and her sister posing together. "Can't wait to find ways to make this about me," joked the former "Great News" star.

Nicole Richie's husband, Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden, congratulated Sofia Richie in the comments of her announcement post.

"My heart is full," the musician wrote alongside several red heart emoji.

And Nicole Richie's former "The Simple Life" co-star Paris Hilton cheered for the couple as well, writing, "Congratulations, sis!! So happy for you two! Love you!"

Sofia Richie went Instagram official with Grainge in April 2021 when she shared a gallery of photos that included one of the couple being affectionate.

Prior to dating Grainge, Sofia Richie was in a relationship for several years with former "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star Scott Disick.
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's high court has agreed to extradite to the United States a Turkish citizen suspected of smuggling to Iran equipment that can be used in making missiles, circumventing an arms embargo, court documents showed on Wednesday.

Spanish police arrested Murat Bukey in the Barcelona airport in September at the request of U.S. prosecutors, who suspect him of importing from the United States and selling in Iran fuel cells that can be used in powering ballistic missiles and biodetection in 2012 and 2013, the court said.

Iran was then under a UN arms embargo that banned imports of missile components and technologies. The embargo expired in 2020, but Iran remains under U.S. economic sanctions.

In its ruling the court said Bukey had "falsely declared the material wouldn't be exported to Iran". He is also accused of money laundering.

During the extradition hearing, Bukey's lawyers argued the U.S. statute of limitations had run out on the alleged offences and that they had been allegedly committed while he was in Turkey, not in the United States.

Still, his lawyer, Llorenc Caldentey Morey, said he was not appealing against the decision. Bukey will remain in custody pending the approval of the extradition by the Spanish government.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro, editing by Andrei Khalip and Alex Richardson)
By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) - Starbucks Inc on Wednesday filed complaints with a U.S. labor board accusing a union organizing cafe workers across the country of bullying and intimidating workers and customers in violation of federal law.

Starbucks in two complaints filed with the National Labor Relations Board said the union, Workers United, engaged in unlawful conduct during demonstrations at stores in Phoenix, Arizona and Denver, Colorado.

Workers United has filed petitions to represent Starbucks workers at about 200 U.S. locations, and has won about two dozen elections since December.

Starbucks in the complaints said union organizers have blocked store entrances and exits, made threats and yelled profanities during demonstrations.

"The conduct of Workers United and their agents ... has jeopardized physical safety, caused severe emotional distress, and unlawfully interfered with business operations," the company said in the complaints.

Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, said in a statement that the complaints are a reflection of Starbucks' desperation as an increasing number of workers seek to form unions.

Workers United has filed more than 80 complaints with the NLRB accusing Starbucks of illegal union-busting tactics, including threatening and firing pro-union workers. Starbucks has denied wrongdoing.

Rossann Williams, Starbucks' executive vice president, in a letter to employees obtained by Reuters said the company filed the complaints "to protect the physical safety and emotional wellbeing of our partners and to make it very clear that the behavior we're seeing from some union organizers is not acceptable and we won't tolerate it."

The nationwide campaign to unionize Starbucks stores is part of a larger surge in union election petitions filed over the last six months in the United States. Unions are also organizing Amazon.com Inc warehouse workers and Apple Inc retail employees for the first time.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Stephen Coates)
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Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs Joao Gomes Cravinho said Tuesday that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

In a tweet, the minister said his symptoms are "very mild" and he will spend the week on telework.

"It serves as a reminder that the virus is still with us, and that we must remain vigilant," he tweeted.

To date, Portugal has recorded more than 3.7 million COVID-19 cases.
(Bloomberg) -- Starbucks Corp. filed two complaints with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board alleging unfair practices by labor organizers toward workers and what it calls an increase in nefarious behavior.

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The coffee chain says individuals associated with Workers United, which is leading unionization efforts, limited access to stores in Arizona and Colorado and threatened workers for not supporting the labor drive. They also yelled profanities, surrounded stores and pounded on windows, according to the complaints and a letter from Rossann Williams, the companys North American president.

These incidents we believe have crossed the line and we have filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB, Starbucks said in an email.

Starbucks appears to be taking a more aggressive approach to the broadening unionization effort across the U.S. after founder Howard Schultzs return as interim chief executive officer. The union has also filed dozens of NLRB complaints against the company alleging illegal behavior, which Starbucks has denied.

Some of the unions accusations have advanced, and labor board prosecutors plan to formally accuse Starbucks of illegally firing a group of activists whove been trying to unionize their store in Memphis, Tennessee, unless the company first settles the case.

Starbucks said the employees were punished because they let off-duty staff and non-employees, including reporters, into their store when it was closed, and violated numerous safety rules -- not because they were labor activists.

In an email, Workers United said the charges are a continuation of Starbucks war against its own partners and a sign of desperation as the company loses this war in battle after battle.

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Workers United is an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union.

CNBC earlier reported the complaints with the NLRB.

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Stephen Colbert has criticised Florida Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle for her ruling to drop the mask mandate on planes and public transport.

On Tuesday (19 April) nights episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the talk show host denounced the recent decision in his opening monologue.

Out of the blue, a federal judge struck down the mask mandate for planes and public transport, Colbert began.

Which is great news for anyone who ever road public transport and said this is way too sanitary, he joked.

He continued: No surprise, the ruling comes from a Tampa-based federal judge. You cant let Florida make health decisions for the entire country.

Thats not smart, the Florida food pyramid is just gator jerky and meth.

The host added: This judge claimed that the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] exceeded their legal authority by requiring masks and that their power was limited to things like cleaning property, not requiring people to take hygienic steps.

(YouTube/ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)

The judge clarified her ruling, explaining: Wearing a mask cleans nothing, at most, it traps virus droplets. Thats the masks job you dummy! he retorted.

Within hours of the ruling, several major US airlines  American, Delta, Southwest, United and Alaska Air  announced that masks will no longer be required to board their flights.

Colbert further clarified that Mizelle, the genius jurist behind the ruling, had been appointed by US former President Donald Trump after he lost the 2020 election.

At the time, Mizelle had received a not qualified rating from the American Bar Association and had never tried a criminal or civil case, he said.

Late Night with Stephen Colbert airs weekdays at 11:35pm on CBS.
Russia tightened its grip Wednesday around Ukraine's last stronghold in the besieged port of Mariupol, whose desperate defenders, holed up in underground shelters beneath a massive steel plant, pleaded for international help, declaring that they were probably facing our last days, if not hours.

Along hundreds of miles of a scythe-shaped battlefront in Ukraines east, the din of Russian bombardment echoed in cities and towns, while Moscows ground forces made a series of what Ukrainian military officials described as probing attacks that did not yield any substantial new territorial gains.

With the war about to grind into a ninth week and Western powers racing to supply Ukraine with heavier weapons, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address to the nation that nearly all of Russias combat-ready forces were concentrated on the territory of our state and just outside its borders. Moscow, he said, was deploying almost everyone and everything that is capable of fighting.

Russias Feb. 24 invasion of its smaller neighbor has triggered a refugee crisis on a scale not seen in Europe since World War II. The United Nations refugee agency Wednesday put the the number who have fled Ukraine at 5 million. More than 7 million people are internally displaced.

A woman holds an Orthodox Christian icon as she stands near a damaged apartment building in Mariupol, Ukraine. (Alexei Alexandrov / Associated Press)

As the fightings ferocity has increased  and in the weeks since gruesome evidence began emerging of Russian atrocities against civilians in the suburbs of Kyiv, the capital  diplomatic efforts have foundered. On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed Ukraine for the impasse, saying that Moscow had sent Zelenskys government a draft document with absolutely clear proposals and that Ukraine had not responded.

The ball is in their court, Peskov told reporters. In the past, Ukraine has accused Moscow of distorting what was said in negotiations.

Less than three weeks remain before May 9, Russia's annual celebration of the historic victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. Russian President Vladimir Putin is thought to be determined to notch a significant triumph by then in a military campaign in Ukraine that has been beset by setbacks for Moscow.

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The likeliest prospect of that is the capture of Mariupol, a port city on the Sea of Azov that has been nearly wiped off the map by continuous Russian bombardment. In a message recorded deep within a sprawling steelworks plant where Ukrainian forces and some frightened civilians are holed up, a Ukrainian commander said the defenders were outnumbered 10 to 1 by Russian attackers.

We are probably facing our last days, if not hours, the officer, Serhiy Volnya of the 36th marine brigade, said in the video, which was posted on Facebook. He pleaded with world leaders to arrange for Ukrainian forces remaining in the steel plant and its underground tunnels to be evacuated and taken to the territory of a third-party state.

Pro-Russia separatists walk past damaged apartment buildings in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. (Alexei Alexandrov / Associated Press)

Russia has been dropping heavy bombs on the steel complex even as it issues repeated surrender demands, promising that holdouts who give up would be unharmed. But previous ultimatums, on Sunday and Tuesday, were ignored by the Ukrainian side, as was Wednesday's. Ukraine says a Mariupol hospital where hundreds of civilians had taken shelter was also targeted Wednesday.

Officials have tried to arrange the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents who remain trapped in the city under dire conditions, without access to drinking water, food or medical supplies.

Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine's deputy prime minister, said that a plan to rescue civilians from Mariupol via a humanitarian corridor did not work as planned Wednesday and that another attempt would be made Thursday. Due to the lack of control over their own military at the place, the occupiers were unable to ensure a proper cease-fire, she said of Russia.

Mariupol, a once-thriving city of nearly half a million people, now lies in ruins, with three-quarters of its prewar population either displaced or dead. Still, it is considered a strategic prize. Capturing it would allow the creation of a land corridor linking Russian-controlled parts of the Donbas  Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland  to the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed eight years ago.

While Russia was focusing its main effort on capturing Mariupol, the Ukrainian military said Moscow's forces were also making repeated thrusts in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which make up the Donbas. Ten Russian ground attacks were repulsed in the previous 24 hours, the military said in an operational report early Wednesday.

Since both sides declared Monday that the war had entered a new phase, Russian forces have captured Kreminna, an eastern town of about 18,000 people on the front lines.

Nearby, the city of Rubizhne was the site of intense artillery fusillades.

Shelling had devastated wide parts of the city, turning Rubizhne into a landscape of smashed, scorched buildings and cratered boulevards.

Russian forces had reportedly taken much of the city, but on Wednesday, street battles were ongoing, with an especially intense skirmish around the train station.

Although some Western officials and analysts have questioned whether the Russian offensive in the east was underway in earnest, British military intelligence said in a new assessment that fighting in the Donbas was growing in intensity, with Russian forces seeking to break through Ukrainian defenses and disrupt supply lines and troop redeployment on the Ukrainian side.

Russian attacks on cities across Ukraine show their attempt to try and disrupt the movement of Ukrainian reinforcements and weaponry to the east of the country, the assessment said.

Supply and reinforcement, combined with serious morale problems, were key weaknesses in Russia's drive to capture Kyiv, an effort that Moscow abandoned a month ago. Analysts say those same issues could beset Moscows efforts in the east as well.

But vast tracts of open territory and superior firepower could favor the Russian push in the east  the main reason that Zelensky has been making near-daily pleas for more heavy weaponry from the West.

If we had access to all the weapons we need, which our partners have and which are comparable to the weapons used by the Russian Federation, we would have already ended this war, he said in his address.

The United States, Canada and Britain have promised Ukraine more artillery, and Norway is sending air-defense missiles. In addition to new sanctions on Russia that the White House says are in the works, President Biden is expected to announce a new military aid package for Kyiv in coming days.

Some allied countries, including Germany, have been name-checked by Ukrainian officials as flagging in their provision of armaments just when the need is greatest. Seemingly stung by the criticism, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday cited recent shipments of antitank weapons and Stinger antiaircraft missiles to Ukraine.

Baerbock, speaking at the start of a visit to the three Baltic states, said Germany was also providing other things that we didnt talk about in public.

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry released footage Wednesday showing the test launch of what it described as a powerful new missile that could deploy nuclear warheads at supersonic speeds. The missile is still in a trial phase, the ministry said, and would not be added to Russia's arsenal immediately. Still, Putin said the test launch should show Russia's enemies that they should "think twice" before threatening his country.

In the Ukrainian capital, Western VIPs continued to arrive despite renewed bombardment in recent days. Charles Michel, head of the European Council, on Wednesday became the latest senior European official to make a visit to Kyiv aimed at showing support for Ukraine.

After touring Borodyanka, a suburb of the capital that was heavily bombed, Michel wrote on Twitter: "These are atrocities. These are war crimes. They must be punished."

Bulos reported from Rubizhne, King from Berlin and Linthicum from Mexico City.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Authorities asked a judge to drop charges against one of three Missouri men convicted of a bungled kidnapping plot 12 years ago that led to the mistaken-identity abduction of Newton business owner Jeffrey Muller.

Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Mueller said last week that his office moved to close the case against Douglas Stangeland, citing the 58-year-old's ailing health as the reason. State Superior Court Judge Michael C. Gaus consented to the order.

Stangeland faced up to life in prison when a jury convicted him in May 2015, after a six-week trial, of conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, robbery and other charges. A day after the verdict, Stangeland suffered a heart attack, fell into a coma and was placed on life support, Mueller said. Stangeland regained consciousness in late 2018, but he was still unable to communicate.

Stangeland has been treated at the medical wing of South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton for almost seven years, but Mueller said it was agreed by doctors and staff at the prison that a transfer to a nursing home was ideal.

Douglas Stangeland, a Missouri man accused of kidnapping Newton business store owner Jeffrey Muller in January 2010, takes the stand during his trial in state Superior Court in Sussex County on April 30, 2015, in Newton.

"His prognosis is very poor. He is not ambulatory. He's non-verbal," Mueller said, adding that the likelihood Stangeland would recover in any significant way "is not just very poor, it's probably just about zero."

Stangeland was involved in a bizarre scheme set in motion by Missouri developer Roy Slates, who admitted to committing theft by extortion by agreeing to pay a fee to four men to recover $500,000 that he believed was owed to him by a New Jersey man.

Local: How hot is the real estate market? Home prices rise to $327K in Sussex, $305K in Warren

Slates, who died in May 2017, a year after being released on parole, had casually mentioned a failed real estate deal at a bar that led a group of Missouri men, including Stangeland, to drive to Bergen County to find money broker Jeffrey Muller. The three men followed orders from William Barger, and authorities said they believed, incorrectly, that they were on a mission for the Heartland Chapter of the Hells Angels, of which Barger was a founding member.

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The issue, though, was that the men  Stangeland, Lonnie Swarnes and Andrew Wadel  didn't know what Muller looked like.

Jeffrey Muller, a Newton business owner who was abducted while opening his store on January 8, 2010, gestures how his captors held a gun to him and told him that they had his wife as he testifies in state Superior Court in Sussex County during the trial of one of his alleged abductors Douglas Stangeland, of Missouri, Tuesday, April 14, 2015, in Newton.

When the trio arrived at Muller's home in Mahwah, it was empty, so they began searching other areas and wound up in Sussex County, where they found a different Jeffrey Muller who owned a pet store in Newton.

The men used a stun gun to shock Muller outside the store and stuffed him in the back seat of a car, bound and gagged him and zip-tied his ankles and wrists.

The men had planned to hand Muller off to some members in Pennsylvania to be killed, but changed plans and instead headed west 1,200 miles to Nevada, Missouri, where Slates and Barger were, according to court records.

The car eventually broke down in Lake Ozark, Missouri, and Muller was left in the car alone with Stangeland. Muller slipped his hands from the zip ties and attempted to get help from a nearby driver, but was subdued by the men before breaking free again. He ran inside the convenience store and screamed that he was from New Jersey and had been kidnapped. By chance, a parole officer was inside having coffee and told Muller he was safe and the cashier was calling the police, and the men were arrested.

Douglas Stangeland, a Missouri man accused of kidnapping Newton business store owner Jeffrey Muller in January 2010, holds back tears as his son Derek takes the witness stand in his defense in state Superior Court in Sussex County on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, in Newton.

Swarnes and Wadel pleaded guilty to their roles in the kidnapping: Swarnes was sentenced to 25 years and is eligible for parole release in November, and Wadel was sentenced to 18 years and could be paroled in 2025. Barger, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping, was paroled in September 2020 after serving roughly five years of a 12-year sentence.

The order dismissing the charges against Stangeland have purposely omitted whether they are with or without prejudice, at the request of the judge. Stangeland's attorney, Martin Morrison, consented to the provision and said it could be addressed down the line, if necessary.

Mueller said the likelihood that prosecutors would ever open the case again "is virtually zero," noting that while the charges were very serious, Stangeland's recovery is unlikely.

Muller and his wife did not oppose the application to dismiss, Mueller said.

Lori Comstock can be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Sussex County NJ kidnapping: Prosecutors dismiss charges
Adlai Stevenson, two-time candidate for president of the United States, was fond of quipping that for the Americans every question must have an answer and every story a happy ending.

In his first novel, "The Mountains We Carry," Zaid Brifkani may not have an answer to the question that is on every Kurds mindWhen will we be free? but his novel does have a happy ending!

With majestic Kurdish mountains serving as a background, the tale tackles the most consequential event in Kurdish history: their crippling encounter with a madman in Baghdad, Saddam Hussein.

He gasses them just because he can.

Hear from Tennessee's Black voices: Get the weekly newsletter for powerful and critical thinking columns.

'The tale is perennial'

Unelected Kurdish men with big guns and bigger dreams have taken on successive governments in Baghdadand other capitals, toofor the emancipation of Kurds and the liberation of Kurdistan.

They fight well but lack the tools to prevail against cruel governments that have tanks, fighter planes and poison gas in their arsenals.

Maybe that is why Brifkanis protagonist, Azad, is hellbent on acquiring an education. The real freedom, he seems to imply, is not territorial, but in the mind.

Dr. Zaid Brifkani

But that precious pursuit is interrupted when war shatters Azads known world and separates him from his family. No one should go through such an ordeal, but when poison gas saturates the air, one has to run for dear life to the higher groundsthe mountains.

The first part of the book is about Azad and his brother. They think they can run from Saddam Hussein but are caught and brought to Nizarki Fort in Dohukin the Kurdish heartlandto be bussed to the killing fields of Iraq.

On the way, they meet a 13-year-old boy, Raqeeb. He wants to know if he will be able to play marbles at their next destination.

The second part recounts what happens to the women in Azads family. It is the most riveting part of the book. With their men dead or behind bars, is Middle East safe for the female Barwaris?

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Alas, it isnt.

A note to the lovers of literature: Oscar Wilde is right, Life imitates art far more than art imitates life. Juwan, Azads fiancee, may go through hell on earth, but she outlasts death and, in her daughter, walks tall and stoops to help others as well.

A note about the author: Zaid Brifkani and his loved ones, Kurdistans exports to the United States, didnt just show up with their clothes on their backs. They also brought their Kurdish mountainssaturated with blood, pain and sufferingas their luggage.

If Kurds were free, like the Swiss, they would have turned their mountains into money making ski resorts. Unfree, the mountains have come to serve as hiding places or props in their tales.

Hear more Tennessee Voices: Get the weekly opinion newsletter for insightful and thought provoking columns.

Brifkani knows how to tell a tale

Zaid Brifkani, as my fellow Kurds are fond of saying, is our precious Kurdish gift to the people of Tennessee.

If you happen to visit Dr. Brifkani at night, you will find him writing into the wee hours of the morning on his computer. During the day, he serves the medical needs of his beloved Tennesseans.

The Volunteer State happens to host the largest Kurdish population of America.

A note to Zaid Brifkani: Thank you for being an extraordinary role model in deed as well as in person for our Kurdish youth. You turn coal into diamond and freedom into miracleshow a way out for the Kurds to rise above their less than savory predicaments.

Kani Xulam, @AKINinfo, runs the American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee author's latest book connects the history and challenges of Kurdish community
As the Republican primary in Tennessee's new-look 5th Congressional District heats up, campaigns last week reported nearly $2.7 million in cash on hand by the end of the first quarter.

The two candidates with the largest war chests have heavily invested in their own campaigns.

Nashville lawyer and retired National Guard Brig. Gen. Kurt Winstead padded his campaign coffers with nearly $500,000, while entrepreneur Baxter Lee has loaned his campaign more than $300,000, an amount exactly matching the fundraising total by the end of the first quarter.

But Lee, Morgan Ortagus and Robby Starbuck were all removed from the Republican primary ballot on Tuesday night, after the state party executive committee voted on bona fide challenges for all three.

In a statement, Ortagus said her team is "evaluating the options before us" following the removal vote. The Lee and Starbuck campaigns also slammed the party's decision.

More: Tennessee GOP kicks Trump-backed Morgan Ortagus, Baxter Lee and Robby Starbuck out of primary

PRIMARY INTENSIFIES: 5th Congressional Republican primary intensifies as state party considers bona fides challenges

FEC filings indicated no processed data for Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles, another Republican in the field, by April 19. Democrat Heidi Campbell filed a quarterly report indicating no fundraising activity, as she just launched her campaign.

The district includes parts of Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties, along with rural Lewis, Maury and Marshall counties.

The Republican and Democratic primaries are Aug. 4.

Current U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, announced he would not seek reelection following an aggressive redistricting process that shifted the district into Republican territory.

Here is how much the candidates have raised, in order of those with the most cash on hand by March 31.

Kurt Winstead

Retired Brig. Gen. Kurt Winstead has raised nearly $520,000 and loaned his campaign $480,000.

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Winstead reported minimal expenditures on website services for less than $2,000 and, with more than $999,000 in cash on hand, he led the pack at the end of the first quarter.

The majority of Winsteads fundraising occurred in Tennessee. A campaign release noted more than 70% of donations to his campaign came from counties within the newly drawn 5th Congressional District.

Baxter Lee

Lee on Friday reported $317,380 in individual contributions, which he matched with personal funds. Lee loaned his campaign $100,000 in late January and added another 217,380 on March 31.

Former U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander contributed to Lees campaign.

Lee has spent the most among 5th district candidates apart from Robby Starbuck, who announced his candidacy months ahead of his competitors.

Lees campaign spent more than $20,000 with Nashville-based political consulting firm Red Dog Media, headed by longtime Republican operative Chip Saltsman. Another $10,000 for campaign consulting went to S&S Strategies, also operated by Saltsman.

Lee reported $563,904 in cash on hand at the end of the first quarter.

Morgan Ortagus

Ortagus reported $591,418 in total contributions, the majority of which came from outside Tennessee.

The campaigns largest single reported expenditure was nearly $10,000 spent with a California-based marketing firm for postage services. Ortagus has also paid thousands for processing fees to a technology vendor for WinRed, a Republican fundraising platform endorsed by Trump.

More than $435,000 of Ortagus war chest came via WinRed, according to FEC filings.

Ortagus reported $554,054 in cash on hand at the end of the filing period.

Beth Harwell

Former Tennessee House speaker, Harwell netted more than $350,000 since announcing her candidacy in late February.

In a campaign release, Harwell said 98% of the donations came from Tennesseans.

Harwells major individual backers include former Gov. Bill Haslam and his wife, in addition to prominent Nashville businessmen like Tom Cone Sr. and Mike Hodges.

Harwell also pulled in funds from a national Republican PAC aimed at supporting female candidates.

The campaign has spent just under $17,000, including for WinRed fees and database services.

Harwell reported $343,745 cash on hand.

Robby Starbuck

Despite his early candidacy announcement last year, Starbuck is trailing the pack in fundraising.

The Starbuck campaign reported $359,593 in total receipts, including an $8,000 personal loan. More than $220,000 came via WinRed.

Starbuck has reported more expenditures than the bevy of candidates who just announced in 2022. His largest single expenditures went to a Texas-based communications and marketing firm, along with a California law firm.

He contributed $2,000 in November to a campaign account for U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, who previously endorsed Starbuck for the 5th. Starbuck also contributed to Republican congressional campaigns in Georgia, New Hampshire and New York.

Starbuck ended the quarter with $172,264 in cash on hand.

Reach Melissa Brown at mabrown@tennessean.com.

Want to read more stories like this? A subscription to one of our Tennessee publications gets you unlimited access to all the latest politics news, podcasts like Grand Divisions, plus newsletters, a personalized mobile experience and the ability to tap into stories, photos and videos from throughout the USA TODAY Network's daily sites.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 5th Congressional District candidates report nearly $2.7 million on hand
Reuters

PHOENIX (Reuters) -Laura Wilson is a mother of three who lives in the sprawling suburbs of north Phoenix, a hotly contested electoral area of Arizona that could decide which party controls the U.S. Senate after November's congressional elections. Wilson, 61, is pro-choice, voted for Democratic President Joe Biden, and knew all about the news last week that the U.S. Supreme Court is likely poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision giving women the right to an abortion. Yet Wilson said she is undecided about who she will vote for this November, and abortion rights are not a priority for her.
DETROIT (AP)  Tesla reported Wednesday that its first-quarter net earnings were over seven times greater than a year ago, powered by strong sales despite global supply chain kinks and pandemic-related production cuts in China.

The electric vehicle and solar panel company made a record $3.32 billion from January through March. Excluding special items such as stock-based compensation, the Austin, Texas, company made $3.22 per share. That soundly beat Wall Street estimates of $2.26 per share according to data provider FactSet.

Revenue for the quarter was $18.76 billion, also beating estimates of $17.85 billion. It was boosted by multiple price hikes meant to offset rising costs of lithium, nickel, cobalt and other raw materials.

It may be harder for Tesla to post similar numbers later this year. It's facing costs from ramping up new factories in Germany and Texas, as well as rising commodity prices. It's also looking at increased competition as startups and legacy automakers roll out more electric models.

But CEO Elon Musk said on a conference call with analysts that waiting lists are long even as Tesla raised prices anticipating costs that will come during the next six to 12 months. We are obviously not demand limited, we are production limited," he said.

Tesla has been spared many increases because of long-term contracts that have kept costs down, Musk said, but those contracts will expire. Some suppliers are seeking 20% to 30% price increases from last year through the end of this year, he said.

We hope we don't need to increase the pricing further, Musk said.

Tesla's lowest-priced car, the Model 3, now starts at nearly $47,000.

Tesla has also been able to control costs with manufacturing efficiencies and a new battery chemistry that has higher energy density per cell, the company has said.

The company said its weekly production for the quarter was strong, but a spike in COVID-19 cases brought the temporary shutdown of its factory in Shanghai, as well as part of Tesla's supply chain.

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Tesla seems to have dealt with parts shortages better than the rest of the industry. Musk said the Shanghai plant is operational now but lost a couple of weeks of production. He still expects Tesla to build 1.5 million vehicles this year.

Shares of Tesla closed Wednesday down nearly 5% at $977.20, but it more than regained the day's losses in extended trading, after the company released its numbers. The stock is down about 7.5% so far this year.

Musk was not asked about his $43 billion hostile bid to take over Twitter.

Despite the Chinese production and supply chain problems, Tesla reiterated its guidance of 50% annual average growth in vehicle deliveries over the next several years. The rate of growth will depend on our equipment capacity, operational efficiency and the capacity and stability of the supply chain, the company said.

Although production has started at the Texas and German factories, Tesla said the ramp up at both sites will take time. The company said its factories have run below capacity because of parts supply shortages.

Tesla also says it expects Full Self-Driving beta test software to be released to all U.S. customers who purchased the feature by the end of the year. Musk said about 100,000 owners are testing the system now, on public roads. Tesla has said the cars cannot drive themselves, despite the name, and drivers must pay attention and be ready to intervene at all times.

Tesla delivered a record 310,000 vehicles worldwide in the first quarter, up roughly 68% from the same period in 2021. It delivered 185,000 vehicles in the first quarter of last year.

Last year the company delivered a record 936,000 vehicles, an 87% increase over 2020 numbers. The company said in February that it expects 50% annual growth in sales, meaning it expects about 1.4 million vehicles to be delivered this year.
Iraq was hit Wednesday by its third heavy dust storm in two weeks, temporarily grounding flights at Baghdad and Najaf airports, as the weather phenomenon grows increasingly frequent.

The air in Baghdad was thick with a heavy sheet of grey and orange dust, while the state news agency INA cited the meteorological office as saying the latest storm was expected to lift on Thursday.

Flights were suspended at Baghdad International Airport due to poor visibility.

The airport serving the Shiite holy city of Najaf to the south also released a statement announcing flights were grounded.

Two dust storms struck the country earlier in April, leaving dozens hospitalised with respiratory problems and temporarily grounding flights at a number of airports.

"The dust is affecting the whole country but particularly central and southern regions," Amer al-Jabri, an official at Iraq's meteorological office, told AFP.

"Iraq is facing climatic upheaval and is suffering from a lack of rain, desertification and the absence of green belts" around cities, he said.

Iraq is particularly vulnerable to climate change, having already witnessed record low rainfall and high temperatures in recent years.

Experts have said these factors threaten social and economic disaster in the war-scarred country.

In November, the World Bank warned that Iraq could suffer a 20-percent drop in water resources by 2050 due to climate change.

In early April, environment ministry official Issa al-Fayad had warned that Iraq could face "272 days of dust" a year in coming decades, according to the state news agency INA.

The ministry said the weather phenomenon could be confronted by "increasing vegetation cover and creating forests that act as windbreaks".

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Ravensource Fund, an investment management firm, published its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter  a copy of which can be downloaded here. Ravensource Funds (Ravensource or the Fund) net asset value (NAV) per unit increased by 11.9% over 2021, including distributions received by investors. As the fund invests in underfollowed and unloved opportunities, Ravensources investments can be particularly exposed to temporary market losses during flights to quality. Try to spend some time taking a look at the funds top 5 holdings to be informed about their best picks for 2022.

In its Q4 2021 investor letter, Ravensource Fund mentioned Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (NYSE:SBSAA) and explained its insights for the company. Founded in 1983, Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (NYSE:SBSAA) is a Miami, Florida-based radio station operator with a $26.9 million market capitalization. Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (NYSE:SBSAA) delivered a -18.00% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 192.86%. The stock closed at $4.10 per share on April 14, 2022.

Here is what Ravensource Fund has to say about Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (NYSE:SBSAA) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

"After years of unproductive negotiations, in February 2021 we entered into the Settlement Agreement with SBS whereby we largely exited the investment. Through the Settlement Agreement, 95.1% of the value we received was in cash with the rest being a small amount of newly issued common equity. While our exit triggered a 52.4% gain over 2021, our investment generated a disappointing 3.1% annualized return over its approximate 4-year life. After a frustrating four years of attempting to negotiate a restructuring plan with the Company, the strong credit markets of early-2021 provided an offramp to our impasse. Rather than convert our preferred shares into common equity, the company raised a large amount of high yield debt and repaid us primarily in cash. While we still believed SBS enterprise value supported a recovery for the preferreds substantially above our cost, the path to realize on that value would continue to be uncertain. Between the costs, potential impact on the business and the fact that we had no sightline to a start date for a restructuring process, the Settlement Agreement was superior on a risk-adjusted basis. Critical to our investment process is ensuring a high margin of safety. Although our return on SBS was mediocre, we were able to make the most of a difficult situation by receiving such a high- quality recovery that provided a positive overall return, due in large part to the significant discount at which we originally purchased the preferred shares."

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12 Royalty Free Background Music Sites for YouTube Videos

Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock.com

Our calculations show that Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (NYSE:SBSAA) fell short and didnt make it on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (NYSE:SBSAA) delivered a -13.50% return in the past 3 months. You can find other investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2022 Q1 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he had discussed the increase of aid for Kiev with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The parties talked about the increase of security assistance to Ukraine amid the conflict with Russia and the post-war reconstruction, Zelensky tweeted.

The Ukrainian leader also said he informed von der Leyen about the provision of the completed European Union (EU) questionnaire, which is a step toward Ukraine's EU integration.

For her part, von der Leyen tweeted that in their talks, the sides touched upon financial and security assistance for Kiev, and Ukraine's replies to the questionnaire on EU membership.

On Monday, Zelensky handed over the questionnaire aimed at achieving his country's candidate status for the EU membership to the EU Ambassador to Ukraine Matti Maasikas.

Von der Leyen handed over a questionnaire to Zelensky during her visit to Kiev on April 8.
BOSTON  With his last shot at freedom dashed, convicted former Fall River mayor Jasiel Correia II will report to a New Hampshire federal prison on Friday to begin his six-year sentence. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court denied his bid for a stay pending his appeal on government corruption and fraud convictions.

After careful review of the parties' filings, in view of the standard set forth in 18 U.S.C.  3143(b), the "Defendant-Appellant's Motion for Continued Release Pending Disposition of Appeal" is denied. The self-surrender date currently scheduled remains in effect. So ordered, read the brief order filed by three judges from the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday.

Correia still has a pending appeal to either overturn his conviction from nearly a year ago or grant him a new trial.

Correia will have to self-surrender by noon on Friday to the Federal Correctional Institution Berlin, a medium security federal prison with a minimum security satellite prison camp. He's reporting 20 weeks after his initial report date, due to delays.

But his fight isn't over: Judge denies Jasiel Correia's bid to stay free pending appeal.

Former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia II leaves the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston in September with his wife, Jenny Fernandes.

This final decision on Correias continued freedom, as he was originally ordered to surrender to the federal Bureau of Prisons in early December, would have been his eighth stay out of jail free card after federal district court Judge Douglas Woodlock granted six temporary stays.

Prosecutors tell appeals court: Jasiel Correia deserves no more prison reporting delays

That ended on April 4 when Woodlock denied Correias request for a stay pending his appeal which then gave the citys youngest serving mayor the final recourse to request a permanent stay from federal appellate judges.

Jasiel Correia prison delays: What law experts and a victim say.

Appellate judges who reviewed Correias motion for a permanent stay  Sandra Lynch, Jeffrey Howard and William Kayata Jr.  did not give any other explanation for their decision as of Wednesday afternoon.

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What is it like there?: Ex-mayor Jasiel Correia headed to prison in New Hampshire.

The frequent delays have frustrated many Fall River residents who have endured initial rumors of an FBI investigation dating back to Correias first term as mayor in 2016 that then led to two indictments and arrests while he was in office first in October 2018 and again in September 2019.

The first delay was allowed to give Correia an opportunity to help out in his in-laws' restaurant and function hall, the Towne House, over the Christmas holidays. Correia, and his wife, Jenny Correia who was the restaurant manager, are no longer employed at that business.

Woodlock has granted further delays related to a COVID outbreak at FCI Berlin and to allow Correias attorneys to draft and file their appeal.

That changed for Woodlock after Correias attorneys, William Fick and Daniel Marx, filed a more than 200-page legal argument for the former mayors appeal.

Correia lost to Paul Coogan in 2019 after a grueling recall then regular election that year. Coogan ran against the now 30-year-old because of the government corruption that resulted from Correia's two terms as mayor.

"Hopefully, this is the end of a long saga or the city and we can move on from that and let people move on to make Fall River a better place to live," said Coogan. "This has been going on for a long time."

Elected in 2015 as the citys youngest mayor at age 23 after serving one term as a City Councilor, Correia was found guilty in May 2021 on 21 of 24 counts of lying on his income taxes, defrauding investors in his now-defunct smartphone app company SnoOwl, and extorting potential marijuana vendors in exchange for coveted letters of non-opposition.

During sentencing, Woodlock threw out 10 of the wire fraud and tax fraud convictions on grounds that prosecutors provided insufficient evidence for a conviction.

Correia was sentenced by Woodlock to six years in prison last September, a month after he married his then fiance, Jenny Fernandes.

Jo C. Goode may be reached at jgoode@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism and subscribe to The Herald News today!

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Jasiel Correia II to report to New Hampshire federal prison on Friday.
Apr. 20A Moveable Feast in Brunswick is using its next regular wine dinner to feature traditional Ukrainian dishes and to raise money to feed refugees from the conflict resulting from Russia's invasion of the country.

Coming from both Russian and Ukrainian heritage, Tanya Sergey, the restaurant's owner, said many of the meals on the menu are things she's quite familiar with.

"These meals are what my grandma would have made my mom, and by extension what my mom made for me," Sergey said. "This is old-world cuisine we are going to pair with some good French wine and do what we can to help refugees."

The five-course dinner starts with vareniki, handmade dumplings with beef and cabbage, followed up by traditional borscht with pampushki, a warm beet soup with garlic fritters.

The third course is kholodets, meat aspic served with brown bread and mustard sauce, and the fourth is Sergey's personal favorite, chicken Kiev, a breaded breast of chicken stuffed with butter and herbs.

It's maybe the only item on the menu her family would not have made at home, but anytime they went out to eat she would order it if possible.

Unfortunately, being a vegetarian going on 30 years rules it out as an option for her.

Closing out the meal is a sweet treat  nalisniki, handmade crepes with cheese, cinnamon and wild blueberry compote.

The reservation deadline is April 26, and prepayment is required. A meal is $95 per person, $25 from each will go to World Central Kitchen. The dinner takes place at 6:30 p.m. April 30 at A Moveable Feast, 1178 Chapel Crossing Road, Brunswick. To make a reservation, call 912-289-9464.

World Central Kitchen has fed millions of hungry refugees since the conflict in Ukraine began, Sergey said.

"They were witness to some pretty harsh attacks. They're a really brave bunch," she said.

Via a friend who works with the charity, Sergey said she learned that a $5 donation could feed a refugee family.

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For that reason, she wants to pack the house. From each $95 fee, $25 goes directly to the charity. Fifty spots are available so by her math the dinner could feed 250 families in one night.

"We're so fortunate here, seeing what's happening to families so much like our own," Sergey said. "This is one thing that I can do well and do to help."

For more information on the charity, visit wck.org.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen led a walkout of a G-20 economic meeting.

Yellen, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, and other global economic leaders left when Russian officials spoke.

The coordinated action underlines Russia's increasing isolation as it continues its war in Ukraine.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell joined top economic leaders from around the world in walking out of a G-20 meeting on Wednesday after Russian officials began speaking, underlining the increasing isolation the Kremlin faces as Russia continues its war in Ukraine.

The news of the walkout was initially reported by The Washington Post.

A source familiar told Insider that multiple finance ministers and central bank governors "walked out when Russia started talking at the G20 meeting."

"Some finance ministers and central bank governors who were virtual turned their cameras off when Russia spoke," the source added.

Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who joined the walkout, wrote on Twitter that "the world's democracies will not stand idly by in the face of continued Russian aggression and war crimes."

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Moscow's top economic official attended the conference remotely. The US sanctioned Siluanov earlier this month. Ukrainian officials addressed the gathering before the Russians started speaking.

The coordinated action was in the works before the meeting began, Reuters previously reported. An unnamed US official told the outlet that Yellen planned to avoid most sessions attended by Russian officials. An unnamed British official also said that British finance minister Rishi Sunak would also not attend some sessions.

The G-20 was founded in 1999 as a way for top finance officials and central bank leaders from the world's largest economies to meet to coordinate policy. The group later expanded to include heads of state. The smaller G-7 started in the 1970s amid global energy concerns and a recession. It grew to be known as the G-8 when Russia later joined in 1998, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but its membership was suspended in 2014 following its annexation of Crimea and the exclusive club again became known as the G-7.

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President Joe Biden and other Western leaders have called for Russia to be kicked out of the G-20 following its unprovoked war in Ukraine. The US and many of the G-20 nations have also responded by enacting severe sanctions on Russia. Biden has made clear that the US hopes to devastate the Russian economy.

Insider has reached out to the Treasury Department for comment on the walkout.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Donald Trump and Piers Morgan in New York in 2010 (Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump appeared unable to handle basic questions about the election he claims was rigged against him in November 2020 as he was shown storming out of an interview with ex-Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan.

Mr Morgan, who has joined the Rupert Murdoch-owned TalkTV to host his own Piers Morgan Uncensored programme, posted a heavily-edited, jump-cut filled clip of the interview to his Twitter page on Wednesday to promote his new show, which launches on 25 April.

In a series of shots, an irate Mr Trump is shown grimacing as Mr Morgan tells him the 2020 election  which Mr Trump lost  was free and fair and says the ex-president never produced the hard evidence, as Mr Trump tries to interject by shouting excuse me over and over again.

A final series of clips shows Mr Trump standing up and ordering cameras shut off before walking away while saying: very dishonest.

Its unclear to what extent the clips posted by Mr Morgan reflect the substance of his interview with Mr Trump, as the video on his Twitter page was heavily edited.
Donald Trumps presidential campaign must pay nearly $1.3m in legal fees to former Apprentice star and Trump administration official Omarosa Manigault Newman, The New York Times reported.

A court arbitrator ordered the sum on Tuesday after the former presidents campaign sued Ms Newman for her book, Unhinged, which the campaign said violated a non-disclosure agreement. Mr Trump had lost the case in September of last year, but both sides have disputed the size of the settlement.

The Trump campaign argued that Ms Manigault Newman, who was on the first season of The Apprentice and who worked in the administration, made bad faith arguments and should not receive legal fees. But the arbitrator said she had to pay a large sum of legal fees because of the suit.

Respondent was defending herself in a claim which was extensively litigated for more than three years, against an opponent who undoubtedly commanded far greater resources than did respondent, the arbitrator said.

Ms Manigault Newmans attorney John Phillips said the result hopefully will send a message that weaponized litigation will not be tolerated and empower other lawyers to stand up and fight.

Ms Manigault Newman was a faithful acolyte of Mr Trumps for years until she left the White House.

The settlement marks the second Trump campaign nondisclosure agreement that was invalidated in recent months. In March, the campaign was ordered to pay a former campaign aide who said Mr Trump forcibly kissed her. The judge had called the agreement vague and unenforceable.
Former President Trump told a judge that he doesnt have any documents that were subpoenaed by the New York attorney general as he fights an effort to initiate contempt proceedings in state court.

In a court filing submitted Tuesday, Trumps attorney, Alina Habba, said that the records a state court judge ordered to be turned over to the attorney generals office are all in the possession of the Trump Organization.

After conducting a diligent search and review, Respondents counsel determined that Respondent was not in possession of any documents responsive to the Subpoena and that all potentially responsive documents were in the possession, custody or control of the Trump Organization, Habba wrote.

In February, New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump, his two eldest children and his business to comply with the subpoenas from state Attorney General Letitia James (D) as part of her investigation into Trumps business practices.

Trump is appealing the order that he sit for a deposition with Jamess investigators.

Earlier this month, the attorney generals office asked Engoron to hold Trump in contempt for failing to produce any relevant documents after his lawyer assured the court that he would comply.

Jamess office is asking the judge to fine Trump $10,000 for each day that he has failed to comply.

A spokesman for James declined to comment on Trumps filing.

In the filing, Habba accused the attorney generals office of refusing to hold good faith discussions on Trumps compliance efforts.

Given the OAGs recalcitrant behavior, it is fair to question the OAGs motive in bringing the instant application, which appears to be little more than a contrived publicity stunt, Habba wrote, using an acronym for the Office of the Attorney General.

The judge has set a Monday hearing on the contempt motions.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he will visit Israel on May 24 amid increasing efforts between the regional rivals to mend ties, four years after they expelled ambassadors.

Turkey and Israel have in recent weeks been working to mend their long-strained ties, and energy has emerged as a potential area of cooperation.

President Tayyip Erdogan said last month he was "very, very hopeful" for energy cooperation with Israel, and he hoped to discuss the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

On Tuesday, Erdogan said he told his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog that he was "very upset" by Palestinians injured or killed in the West Bank and Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The two countries expelled ambassadors in 2018 and have often traded barbs over the Palestinian conflict, Turkish support of the Hamas militant group, which runs Gaza, and other issues.

Speaking to broadcaster CNN Turk, Cavusoglu said he will travel to Israel and Palestine with Energy Minister Fatih Donmez on May 24 and would discuss the appointment of ambassadors with his Israeli counterpart during the visit.

(Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
ISLAMABAD (AP)  U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar met Wednesday with Pakistani leaders in the first visit by a member of Congress since a new coalition government came into power in Islamabad last week after the ouster of former premier Imran Khan.

According to a government statement, Omar met with President Arif Alvi at his office. Omar, one of only a handful of Muslim members of Congress, met with Khan earlier at his residence in the capital of Islamabad.

Omar is a Somali-born Muslim-American immigrant who represents Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Alvi said in the statement that Pakistan values its long-standing relationship with Washington and hoped the constructive engagements between the two countries would promote peace and development in the region." Alvi emphasized the need for further improving bilateral relations between the two countries.

The statement quoted Omar as saying that both countries had "huge potential to improve and strengthen relations." It also said Omar appreciated the role played by Pakistan" in combating Islamophobia.

Pakistan says it was key to getting the U.N. General Assembly to approve a resolution setting March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. The resolution emphasizes the right to freedom of religion and belief and recalls a 1981 resolution calling for the elimination of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief.

Omar also met with Pakistan's newly elected Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

In a statement released by Sharif's office, the prime minister said he appreciated Omar's courage of convictions and her political struggle."

Sharif said Pakistan valued its long-standing relationship with the U.S. and wanted to further deepen bilateral cooperation based on mutual respect, trust and equality.

Omar also visited Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, where she met with the minister of state for foreign affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar.

Pakistan has been a key ally of the United States in the war on terror since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. But relations deteriorated last month when Khan claimed the U.S. conspired to oust his government. Washington has denied the charge.

Khan was removed from power this month through a no-confidence vote by the opposition. He has been replaced by Prime Minister Sharif, who named his Cabinet the day before.
(Reuters) - The United States, Japan, New Zealand and Australia are concerned by a security pact between China and the Solomon Islands, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Officials from the four countries represented also shared concerns about a proposed security framework between the Solomon Islands and the People's Republic of China (PRC) and its serious risks to a free and open Indo-Pacific," National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas in Los Angeles; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Daphne Psaledakis

(Reuters) -United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has separately asked Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to receive him to discuss steps to bring about peace following Moscow's invasion of its neighbor.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said separate letters were handed to the permanent missions of Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday afternoon asking Putin to receive Guterres in Moscow and Zelenskiy to receive him in Kyiv.

"The Secretary-General said, at this time of great peril and consequence, he would like to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine and the future of multilateralism based on the Charter of the United Nations and international law," Dujarric said in a statement.

Guterres on Tuesday called for a four-day Orthodox Easter humanitarian pause in fighting in Ukraine to allow for the safe passage of civilians to leave areas of conflict and the delivery of humanitarian aid to hard-hit areas.

Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the biggest attack on a European state since 1945, has killed or wounded thousands. More than 12 million people need humanitarian assistance in the country today, Guterres has said.

Since starting what it calls a special operation to demilitarize Ukraine, Russia has bombed cities to rubble and hundreds of civilian bodies have been found in towns after its forces withdrew. It denies targeting civilians and says, without evidence, that signs of atrocities were staged.

Western countries and Ukraine accuse Putin of unprovoked aggression.

European Council President Charles Michel met Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy during a surprise visit to Kyiv on Wednesday, following visits by other Western leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he does not know if he will travel to Kyiv after Ukraine's wartime leader called on him to visit.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Sandra Maler and Alistair Bell)
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At least three people were killed and 19 others were injured when an explosion hit east Nigeria's Taraba state on Tuesday, local police said.

The incident happened at a crowded restaurant in the Irawe town of the state, resulting in three deaths and injury of 19 others, said Usman Abdullahi, the police spokesperson in Taraba, at a press briefing in Jalingo, the state capital.

Abdullahi said the injured were rushed to a hospital in Jalingo, and an investigation has been launched by the police.

No group or individual has claimed responsiblity for the blast.
An Uber dash cam video captured Jerry Daniel Braun immediately after the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. The Department of Justice.

An accused Capitol rioter was arrested this month after his former Uber driver tipped off the FBI.

Dash cam footage captured Jerry Daniel Braun talking about tearing down barricades during the siege.

More than 800 people have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riot thus far.

A California man was arrested on Capitol riot charges earlier this month after the Uber driver who drove him away from the January 6 attack tipped off the FBI, according to new court documents unsealed this week.

Jerry Daniel Braun faces three charges related to his role in the insurrection, including entering and remaining in a restricted building, violent entry or disorderly conduct, and obstruction during civil disorder.

Prosecutors say a Washington, DC-area Uber driver reached out to the FBI in January 2021 to share information about an apparent rioter. The driver told investigators that a passenger acknowledged tearing down a barricade at the US Capitol immediately following the siege on January 6, 2021.

The driver, who identified the passenger only as "Jerry" at the time, said the man had a white beard and a visible injury near his right eye. The driver said Braun was picked up about a mile from the US Capitol grounds and dropped off at a hotel in Arlington, Virginia.

A portion of Braun's ride was captured on video by a dash cam in the Uber, according to court documents, during which the driver engaged Braun in conversation about the siege.

"So, has it been violent all day?" the driver asked, according to prosecutors.

"Well, it started around right when I got there," Braun responded. "I tore down the barricades."

"You did?" the driver asked. "Why?"

"Well, because, so we could get to the Capitol," Braun replied.

"Well, how'd that work out for ya?" the driver responded.

"Well, it looks like, uh, Biden's gonna be our president," Braun said.

Investigators used Braun's hotel reservation and license to confirm that he was indeed the same man in the Uber dash cam video, prosecutors said. Agents then set out to find more video and photographic evidence of Braun's conduct during the riot.

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Braun was captured on body-worn camera footage "physically struggling" with law enforcement officers using a barricade, according to court records.

In the videos, Braun is in possession of a long, wooden plank, prosecutors said. In one instance, Braun can be seen using the plank to physically strike an individual wearing a "PRESS" helmet. Prosecutors say Braun and the photographer can be seen exchanging words for a moment before Braun strikes the photographer again, both with his hand and the plank.

NBC News, which first reported Braun's recent arrest, reported that online sleuths also played a role in identifying Braun using screenshots and video evidence.

In November 2021, FBI agents searched Braun's home in South El Monte, California, according to court documents, and Braun confessed that he was present at the attack. When investigators asked if Braun had anything he wanted to say before they left, he reportedly said "guilty."

According to the affidavit, when agents asked what he was guilty of, Braun responded: "Everything."

Braun told the agents that he sustained the injury to his eye after the riot, when he tripped, fell, and "busted" his head as he walked through DC carrying a pizza upon calling his Uber ride.

Investigators also obtained Braun's cellphone records which included messages he sent after the attack referencing "hand to hand combat" and occupying the Capitol.

An attorney for Braun did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

More than 800 people have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riot, and 253 rioters have pleaded guilty thus far.

Read the original article on Business Insider
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Russia to treat a Briton who was captured in Ukraine with compassion, adding that he had served in the Ukrainian army for some time and was not a mercenary.

Asked about a video of Aiden Aslin, a captured Briton who had joined the Ukrainian marines, Johnson urged the Russian state to treat him "humanely and compassionately".

"Although... we actively dissuade people from going to that theatre of conflict, I understand that he'd been serving in the Ukrainian forces for some time and his situation was very different from that of a mercenary," Johnson told lawmakers.

"I hope that he is treated with care and compassion."

(Reporting by Muvija M and Farouq Suleiman, writing by Alistair Smout; editing by William James)
Ukraine has claimed Luhansk People's Republic leader Igor Aleksandrovich Kornet has been detained by Russian security forces. Ukrainian Defense Ministry

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry claimed Russian security forces arrested a pro-Russian separatist leader in the eastern region.

Ukraine's government said Russia's Federal Security Service arrested Igor Aleksandrovich Kornet.

The arrest, it said, was part of a "cleaning out" of leadership of the self-declared Luhansk People's Republic.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry claimed on Wednesday that Russia's domestic security forces arrested a pro-Russian separatist leader in the eastern region of Ukraine in the latest fallout over its failed invasion of the eastern European country.

Ukrainian intelligence said in a statement that Russia's Federal Security Service arrested the "Minister of the Interior Major General" Igor Aleksandrovich Kornet of the self-declared Luhansk People's Republic [LPR] in the pro-Moscow Donbas region of Ukraine, citing information it had obtained.

Kornet, 49, was allegedly being held at a pre-trial detention center in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Ukraine's eastern border, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

Ukrainian intelligence said the arrest was part of a "cleaning out" of leadership of the LPR that "serves as a testament to Moscow's inability to follow through with goals set by the current leaders of the 'LPR' in terms of waging war on Ukraine."

Insider could not independently verify that Kornet was taken into custody.

The arrest, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said, "was met with negative backlash" from the breakaway state of Luhansk People's Republic's "power structure and political leadership, who see it as a beginning to a change in the organization of power within the quasi-state."

The government agency added that Russia is trying to mobilize more troops into eastern Ukraine.

"The mobilization of personnel is to quickly replace losses suffered by the subdivisions of the Russian Federation's second army corps of the occupier forces, and to continue actions of war against Ukraine," the Ukrainian government said.

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Russia recently shifted the focus of its invasion of Ukraine to the eastern region after Russian troops failed to take the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv after weeks of sustained shelling.

"Another stage of this operation [in eastern Ukraine] is beginning and I am sure this will be a very important moment of this entire special operation," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with India Today on Tuesday, according to the state-owned TASS news agency.

Translations by Nikita Angarski and Oleksandr Vynogradov.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Motley Fool

While the American people can't count on receiving any additional stimulus funds from the federal government at current, that doesn't mean individual states have also put an end to their assistance. In fact, residents of the following four states can expect to receive additional stimulus payments in the month of May. Read on to find out the details surrounding the additional stimulus from each state and who qualifies. Golden State Stimulus I: Residents who normally receive California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) or file their taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) qualify for a one-time $600 or $1,200 payment.
More than 5 million people have fled Ukraine since Russias February invasion of the country, according to data from the United Nations, making it one of the largest refugee crises in Europe since World War II.

Refugee totals that had begun to stabilize are surging anew as Russia pushes into the countrys west, killing civilians in Lviv, a city seen as a relatively safe place for those displaced by the war but who had not yet fled Ukraine.

As we approach the two-month mark of the war in Ukraine, reaching 5 million refugees is a grim milestone of the toll Putins aggression has taken on civilians. With each day that passes, people who escape are even more vulnerable, having lived through months of conflict with no end in sight, Krish OMara Vignarajah, president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said in a statement to The Hill.

Five million refugees represents 11 percent of the Ukrainian population  meaning nearly 1 in 8 people has now fled the country.

More than half of fleeing Ukrainians have settled in nearby Poland. But hundreds of thousands have also landed in Romania, Hungary and Moldova, while more than a half a million Ukrainians have been pushed into Russia.

It shows how quickly displacement can happen and is reflective, I think, of the violence against civilians by Russia, said Sunil Varghese, policy director at the International Refugee Assistance Project.

The bulk of those leaving  at least 90 percent, according to the U.N.  are women and children, as men aged 18 to 65 have been barred from leaving Ukraine.

The refugee totals have now surpassed figures first forecasted by U.S. intelligence agencies, which predicted a Russian invasion of Ukraine could lead to anywhere from 1 million to 5 million refugees.

While the majority are expected to remain in Europe, President Biden has committed to taking in 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, a goal that would be met over many years rather than the immediate future.

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The U.S. has also offered temporary protected status from deportation to Ukrainians already in the country  a move expected to aid 60,000 Ukrainians.

The Biden administration has also not subjected them to Title 42, which allows for quick expulsion of migrants at the U.S. border without allowing them to seek asylum.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The 74

It has been obvious since his presidential campaign that President Joe Biden is not a supporter of charter schools. The reason has never been clear to me. Does he oppose the movement for philosophical reasons, or does he believe it is the most politically advantageous path to travel? No matter what his reasons are, his []
DAKAR (Reuters) -The United Nations is "extremely concerned" that Mali has prevented its investigators from visiting a town where local troops and suspected Russian fighters allegedly killed hundreds of civilians, the world body said on Wednesday.

At least 300 men are believed to have been summarily executed during a March 27-31 raid on Moura, a town of about 10,000 inhabitants infiltrated by Islamist militants, according to a Human Rights Watch report.

Survivors said white mercenaries suspected to be Russians took part in the massacre that sparked international uproar and prompted the U.N. to open an investigation.

Mali has denied the allegations, saying it had conducted a professional operation to attack insurgents in Moura, and that it would carry out its own assessment.

"We are extremely concerned that Malian authorities have still not granted UN human rights investigators access," U.N. spokesperson Seif Magango said in a statement.

"Time is of essence to ensure accountability and prompt, effective justice for victims," he added.

Magango said unconfirmed sources suggest the death toll could be as high as 500, mostly civilians.

Soldiers also reportedly raped, looted and arbitrarily detained a number of Moura's inhabitants, the statement said.

The United Nations mission in Mali said separately on Wednesday that it was concerned by reports of more human rights violations committed by the Malian army, accompanied by a group of foreign military during a weekly market in Hombori in northern Mali on Tuesday.

The mission said on Twitter that it has opened an investigation and plans to visit the scene soon.

Mali is struggling to stem violent groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that have gained ground and increased attacks over the past decade, spreading south and to bordering countries in West Africa's arid Sahel region.

A junta that toppled Mali's government in a 2020 military coup has sought the help of private fighters belonging to Russia's Wagner Group, accused of committing abuses in other countries and sanctioned by the European Union.

Story continues

Both Mali and Russia have previously said they are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment purchased from Russia.

The Russian government denies ties to Wagner.

(Reporting by Bate Felix; Writing by Sofia Christensen, Editing by William Maclean and Grant McCool)
The government announced plans in 2019 to give workers rights to flexible working in the UK. Photo: Getty

Unions and campaigners in the UK urged the government on Thursday to introduce a long-awaited bill to boost workers' rights to flexible employment, and action on zero-hour contracts when used abusively.

Trades Union Congress (TUC) general Secretary Frances O'Grady, Zero Hours Justice founder Julian Richer and Living Wage Foundation director Katherine Chapman have written a letter to prime minister Boris Johnson to "include an employment bill" in May's Queens Speech.

In 2019, the government announced an employment bill to "encourage flexible working and consult on making it the default unless employers have good reasons not to", an issue which has become more pressing since the pandemic.

Delivering a boost to workers rights "was an urgent task in 2019, when a bill was first announced, and "is even more so today" given the impact of the pandemic, the letter states.

The Living Wage Foundation warned that households are "struggling" due to a "lack of hours" as the cost of living crisis deepens.

"We know low pay is affecting millions during this cost of living crisis, but the other side of this coin is insecure work," said Chapman.

"Million more workers and families are struggling to make ends meet due to a lack of hours, with many faced with uncertain shift patterns provided at short notice" she added. "This makes it impossible for people to plan their lives, and often comes with additional costs."

Read more: BT hands workers biggest pay rise in 20 years but unions reject offer

The government also said it would introduce legislation to "tackle shameful tipping practices and ensure all tips go to workers" in September last year.

The letter warns that "failing to bring forward an employment bill would leave the government without an effective vehicle to make the necessary reforms to the workplace".

It comes after reports that the government has shelved the employment bill, more than two years since the legislation was first promised.

Story continues

The TUC warned insecure work has become "endemic" in Britain, estimating that 3.6 million people are in insecure work, including over one million on zero-hours contracts against their will, the union body said.

Meanwhile, the Living Wage Foundation found that 32% of workers are given less than a weeks notice of their shifts.

Read more: P&O Ferries: Grant Shapps orders operator to rehire 800 sacked staff

The calls follow ferry operator P&O Ferries' controversial decision to sack 800 seafarers last month without notice.

OGrady said: "Working people cant wait. They need the employment bill now.

"One million workers are on zero-hour contracts, more than three million are in insecure work, and the size of the gig economy has almost tripled in the past five years.

"After P&O, the need to upgrade workers rights has never been more urgent."

The letter concludes that "businesses do best when they treat their workers well". However, it states this "cannot be achieved without an employment bill", urging the government to reconsider its alleged plans.

"In my lifetimes experience of businesses, both large and small, I have found a well-treated workforce is crucial to their success," Richer said.

Watch: Criminal inquiry into P&O Ferries launched
Matheus Obst/Shutterstock

United Airlines will allow some of the 1,000 previously banned passengers to fly on its planes again.

The passengers were forbidden from flying the carrier due to mask-related unruly behavior.

The move comes after a federal judge in Florida struck down the Biden Administrations' mask mandate.

United confirmed to Insider on Wednesday that it will start allowing passengers who were previously banned for mask-related incidents back onto its planes.

The Federal Aviation Administration received about 4,300 mask-related reports from airlines in 2021, with nearly 800 reported so far in 2022.

The federal mask mandate was set to expire on March 18, but the US Transportation Security Administration extended it to April 18, and then again to May 3. However, a federal judge in Florida struck down the policy on Monday, forcing the TSA to stop enforcing the rule. The agency noted that the CDC still "recommends that people continue to wear masks in indoor public transportation settings."

Now that the mandate is thrown out, US carriers have been updating their policies to make face coverings optional, with United going as far as to welcome some passengers banned during the pandemic back on board.

"On a case-by-case basis, we will allow some customers who were previously banned for failing to comply with mask-related rules to fly United again," the airline told Insider.

United did not specify the criteria to be taken off its internal "no-fly" list other than "ensuring their commitment to follow all crewmember instructions" when on its aircraft. According to the company, it forbid 1,000 people from flying during the span of the mask requirement.

Airlines and crew members are happy that the mandate is lifted, with many flight attendants silently rejoicing the TSA's decision.

"We've dealt with so many passengers who saw the mask mandate as an excuse to become violent verbally towards us," a flight attendant of seven years for a major US airline told Insider. "Personally, I'm just happy I can go back to focusing on my other safety-related duties."

Story continues

The crew member spoke on condition of anonymity to protect his career, but Insider verified his identity and employment.

While airline workers are moving forward, the FAA said it will maintain its "zero-tolerance" policy for unruly behavior on planes, which imposes hefty fines and potential criminal prosecution for such disruptions, CNBC reported. Before the pandemic, the agency would issue warnings or counseling in lieu of harsher punishments.

Since January 2021, 80 cases have been referred to the Justice Department, according to the FAA, and fines up to $82,000 have been sent to passengers.

"Behaving dangerously on a plane will cost you; that's a promise," acting FAA Administrator Bill Nolen told CNBC. "Unsafe behavior simply does not fly and keeping our Zero Tolerance policy will help us continue making progress to prevent and punish this behavior."

Read the original article on Business Insider
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Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday conducted their fifth prisoner exchange since the start of the conflict, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

As a result of the swap, 76 Ukrainian prisoners-of-war, including 16 civilians, returned home following their release by Russian forces, Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram.

Of the 60 Ukrainian military personnel released, 10 were officers, she said.

Vereshchuk gave no details on how many Russian captives were exchanged during the swap.

Ukraine and Russia conducted their first prisoner exchange on March 24.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen joined Ukraines walkout of a G-20 meeting when Russian officials began to speak, according to a report.

Ms Yellen, a member of Joe Bidens cabinet, was joined in the protest by a string of international finance ministers and centreal bank governors, reports The Washington Post.

She had indicated before the G-20 finance meetings that she would skip some meetings in protest at Moscows brutal and unprovoked assault on Ukraine.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also joined Ms Yellen in leaving the meeting, two sources told the newspaper.

US Treasury officials said on Monday that Ms Yellen intends to urge the International Monetary Fund and World Bank members to ramp up the pressure on the Kremlin.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, who has been sanctioned by the US government over Vladimir Putins atatck on Ukraine, which began on 24 February, was expected to attend the conference remotely.

NEWS: Ukrainian, U.S. officials including Janet Yellen walked out of the G-20 meeting this morning when Russian officials began to speak, per people familiar. Story TK  Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) April 20, 2022

Ms Yellens decision to skip some meetings at which Russian officials would be present undercores the Biden administrations view that Russia should be banned from global financial institutions, the official added.

The G-20 was founded in 1999 as a forum for finance officials and central bank leaders from the worlds largest economies to meet and coordinate policy. It was later expanded to include the heads of state as well.

It is the first meeting of the G-20 since Russias invasion of Ukraine, and will also be attended by a string of countries, such as China, who have refused to condemn Mr Putins actions.

Mr Biden has previously called for Russia to be thrown out of the G-20 over the invasion.

Ms Yellen is due to meet with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who has traveled to Washington DC for the event.
A former Ohio doctor was acquitted of murder Wednesday after he was accused of hastening the deaths of 14 critically ill patients by ordering large doses of the powerful painkiller fentanyl.

William Husel faced one count of murder for each patient. He was found not guilty on all counts.

Upon Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Holbrook's reading of the verdict, Husel hugged one of his attorneys, Diane Menashe, who wiped away tears.

In a statement, Franklin County prosecutors said the case against Husel, 46, was "carefully tried and prepared" and that they accepted the jury's decision.

Jurors deliberated over seven days in a trial that lasted about two months. It was one of the biggest cases of its kind against a health care professional in the U.S., tying together themes of medical treatment and ethics and what amount of opioids is suitable in end-of-life comfort care.

Husel, whose medical license was suspended in January 2019, faced life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years if he were found guilty of even one count of murder. The jury was also allowed to consider a lesser charge of attempted murder, which carries a sentence of several years in prison.

Jurors had to weigh whether Husel was acting as permitted under Ohio law when, prosecutors say, he ordered 10 times the amount of fentanyl that expert witnesses said was the norm in nonsurgical settings. Most of the ICU patients who received 1,000 micrograms of fentanyl were in their 70s and 80s and needed help breathing on ventilators, although a few were as young as their late 30s.

The patients, whom Husel treated from 2015 to 2018, were rushed to the Mount Carmel Health System in the Columbus area with a variety of ailments, including cancer, pneumonia and organ failure.

Prosecutors called more than 50 witnesses, including medical experts, family members of the patients who died and Husel's former colleagues.

"Even if their death is assured as the sun is going to rise in the morning, if you hasten that along, you caused their death in the eyes of the law," Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor David Zeyen said in closing arguments.

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Husel's defense team, led by high-profile attorney Jose Baez, argued that no maximum doses of fentanyl are considered illegal under state law and that his client was trying to give comfort care to people who were dying or near death.

"Why will this man risk his family, his career, 17 years of trying to be a doctor, every single thing he has worked for, to hasten someone's death or to kill them?" Baez said.

Husel, who did not testify, has not spoken publicly or given media interviews since the allegations arose in a series of lawsuits families filed in early 2019.

Baez told reporters Wednesday following the verdict that he was "saddened" that Husel was charged in the first place and that he took the case because of a belief that doctors have the right to take care of their patients' pain appropriately.

"I think this was the only verdict that justice could have given," said Baez, whose clients have included NFL player Aaron Hernandez, Florida mother Casey Anthony and Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

"This verdict speaks to not only William but all of those doctors and nurses out there who are attempting their best to give comfort care in a very difficult situation," he added. "They don't need to be looking over their shoulders wondering if they're going to be charged with a crime."

In the wake of the allegations against Husel in 2019, Mount Carmel's CEO stepped down after he said the hospital had made "meaningful changes throughout the system," and it fired almost two dozen employees, including nurses, physicians and members of the pharmacy management team.

Mount Carmel declined Wednesday to comment specifically on the trial. It said in a statement that "it's never been our role to determine whether the defendant's actions in these cases were criminal."

A hospital spokesperson said that after the amount of fentanyl Husel had ordered was discovered, Mount Carmel took action "regarding our concerns with the doses" and that it shared the information with local authorities and families.

"We have extensive measures in place designed to prevent anything like this from ever happening again in our health system," the spokesperson said.

About 35 families filed wrongful-death lawsuits against Husel, the hospital and other staff members; several of the families settled for a total of about $13.5 million.
When the Vikings re-signed Jordan Berry last month to a one-year deal for the minimum of $1.12 million and with no guaranteed money, that provided an indication of how they feel about their punting situation.

So its no surprise sources have said the Vikings want to bring in competition for Berry in training camp. They could select a punter in the NFL draft from April 28-30 or they might look to sign an undrafted free agent from what is a deep class of punters.

I wouldnt be surprised, NFL Network draft analyst Charles Davis said of the possibility of the Vikings drafting a punter. The surprise would be, you got to tell me what round.

The top punter available is San Diego States Matt Araiza, who Davis says is a rock star at the position. He has been projected by some to be drafted as early as the third round. The Vikings spoke to Araiza at the combine and attended his pro day.

Two other punters have a good chance to be drafted on Day 3 of the draft  Penn States Jordan Stout and Georgias Jake Camarda.

The Vikings might be more inclined to sign an undrafted free agent. One who could fit that bill is North Carolina States Trenton Gill, whom a source said has been in contact with Minnesota special-teams coordinator Matt Daniels.

Other notable punters who might not be drafted are Ryan Stonehouse of Colorado State, Blake Hayes of Illinois, Ben Griffiths of USC and John Haggerty of Western Kentucky.

The Vikings last drafted a punter in 2013, when they selected UCLAs Jeff Locke in the fifth round.

COUSINS LEADERSHIP

New Vikings coach Kevin OConnell has been impressed by the leadership quarterback Kirk Cousins has shown during the week and a half of the offseason program.

Obviously, in a new system, somebody has got to take charge out there, OConnell said. For us, thats Kirk. Hes sitting front and center in every meeting, is asking questions, both in the quarterback room and in front of the unit.  I think Phase One (of the program) is really set up for someone like Kirk to come out and take the reins and run with it.

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The offseason program began for the Vikings on April 11, although OConnell and other coaches cant work with players on the field until Phase 2 starts next week. OConnell knew Cousins well before he took the job, having been his quarterbacks coach with Washington in 2017.

EVALUATING MOND

OConnell will learn much more about second-year quarterback Kellen Mond when he works with him on the field. He did like what Mond showed at Texas A&M before he played sparingly last season as a rookie with the Vikings.

Hes got some real athleticism, OConnell said. And I think hes a really accurate passer. Now, what will that look like in our offense? Thats really up to Kellen and the rest of our guys to make it go. Im excited to get on the grass with him next week.

BRIEFLY

OConnell said defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman, who was on the non-football injury list throughout his rookie season, after being shot four times last June in his native Washington D.C., is doing well in the offseason program. He joins a group of a lot of good young players who have a chance to really ascend, OConnell said.  With the Vikings having a new coaching staff and a new general manager in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, tackle Christian Darrisaw said theres great vibes around the TCO Performance Center. I feel like you can see the energy coming into the building every day, he said.  OConnell said star defensive end Danielle Hunter, who missed the final 10 games last season with a torn pectoral muscle, looks great, is moving around great.

Related Articles
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ  Violent incidents including an inmate death, a sexual assault and a pair of fires have recently taken place within the Essex County prison system, despite an ongoing review of the local jail, a police union says.

In December, authorities announced that an independent review of the Essex County Correctional Facility was being launched in the wake of a vicious beating and the stabbing death of an inmate. The violence caused officials to take yet another hard look at the prison, which has seen staunch criticism for alleged health and safety risks over the years.

With advocates, family members and staff demanding changes, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said the county was launching an "independent review" of the facility, which is located in Newark and is paid to house inmates from Union County. Read More: Essex County Promises New Review Of Prison As Pressure Mounts

But according to Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 106  which represents sergeants, lieutenants, captains and investigators within the Essex County Department of Corrections  violent acts have continued to take place involving inmates in the county's custody.

Recent incidents include:

Feb. 22 - Garrison Bryant died while in custody. He was an inmate at Delaney Hall, a facility adjacent to the jail run by the GEO Group, which contracts with the Essex County Correctional Facility.

March 10 - A fire started by an inmate prompted the temporary evacuation of more than 60 prisoners from a housing unit. Two sergeants were sent to the hospital as a precaution for smoke inhalation and released later that night.

March 11  Two separate "one on one" fights between inmates took place. One fight was between inmates from Essex County and Union County. The other was between two inmates in a quarantine unit. No weapons were used, and no inmate was hospitalized.

March 12  An Essex County inmate was sent to University Hospital at approximately 1:30 a.m. with a laceration to his back. An internal investigation determined there was no evidence of inmate-on-inmate violence.

March 13  A county prisoner allegedly threatened suicide if he wasn't released as part of the state's COVID-19 credit program. He was released from custody the same day.

March 13  An inmate at the Essex County Correctional Facility allegedly attempted to hang himself.

March 15 or 16  An inmate started a small fire in a housing unit. It was put out immediately; nobody was injured or taken to the hospital. The inmate was transferred to another facility.

Story continues

In addition to the above incidents, an inmate-on-inmate sexual assault was reported sometime during the period, the union said.



It isn't only inmates who are at risk, union spokespeople say.

Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 106 previously told Patch that during the first six months of 2021, at least 21 officers were assaulted by inmates at the prison, sending 14 of them to a hospital emergency room.

Over the same period, 81 staff members were reported being exposed or assaulted with a prisoner's bodily fluids. The latest such incident took place on March 13, when an officer assigned to a detention unit was assaulted with a yellow liquid, possibly urine. The inmate was "charged accordingly," officials said; the officer declined medical attention.



As prison staff become more worried about their own safety amid the violence, administrators have been warned  but haven't acted, the union alleged in December.



"We have been alerting everyone from Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr., to the Essex County Board of Commissioners, and beyond for at least a year that there were serious issues with the current jail administration," union spokespeople told Patch in a joint statement.

"These ranged from conflicts of interest to what we knew were  and are  imminent threats to the physical safety of prisoners and staff," they continued. "All of our warnings went unheeded."

'KEEPING THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN'

When reached for comment about the recent incidents at the prison, Essex County Chief of Staff Phil Alagia said the county appreciates the hard work that correctional police officers do every day at a difficult job.

Keeping the lines of communication open with our officers and staff is important to continue the effective operation of our facility, Alagia told Patch.

Alagia said the county has made several investments during the last two years to improve safety at the prison, including:

Purchasing Chemical Detection Machines that can find traces of illegal substances in mail. This cost about $150,000 and has helped keep illegal substances, such as narcotics, out of the jail.

Purchasing eight Cell Sense Machines at a cost of about $160,000 to help prevent hidden objects from being smuggled into the jail.

Investing in purchasing and fitting new protection vests for corrections officers after the suggestion was made during a town hall meeting.

Installing several new security cameras to enhance the safety of officers and inmates.

Investing over $2 million in new technology this year to expand video courts and online communications for inmates, all with the goal of keeping the facility safe.

Overstaffing the facility to ensure manpower is not an issue. We currently are operating over our budgeted staffing levels and anticipate bringing on another 50 new officers by the end of May.

The Essex County administration and leadership at the Essex County Correctional Facility take seriously our responsibility to provide a safe and secure atmosphere for the employees and the inmates at the ECCF, Alagia said. This is displayed by the fact that the ECCF has been accredited by the American Correctional Association since 2013.

It should be noted that this high standard of operation is only earned to a select few facilities in the world, Alagia said. Our ACA auditor estimated that just 12 percent of correctional facilities in the world have this designation.

Alagia continued:

In addition to the periodic inspections by the ACA, and other accrediting agencies, Essex County has taken the initiative to conduct a self-evaluation. During the pandemic, the county executive created the first-ever Civilian Task Force in the state of New Jersey to address systemic issues affecting the ECCF. This independent body has held numerous public and private meetings, and conducted both scheduled and unannounced visits to tour the facility. After a recent homicide at the jail, we realized a comprehensive review of policies and operational standards was necessary and retained the highly respected Ambrose Group to conduct a thorough review. We look forward to all recommendations by the Civilian Task Force and the Ambrose Group to make or facility even better.

Alagia said the coronavirus pandemic may also be contributing to the ongoing violence at the prison. He said:

COVID-19 created many unforeseen challenges in all aspects of our daily lives, which includes operations at our correctional facility. While we did exemplary work to minimize the impact of the virus on the population in our facility, we have seen other consequences created by the pandemic. One byproduct has been an increase in the number of violent incidents; this is happening across the country and not just at the ECCF. To prevent the spread of the virus, we instituted a number of social distancing initiatives which resulted in the suspension of visitation, recreation, in-person religious services and programs; this also resulted in meetings between inmates and their attorneys more difficult. In addition, the suspension of court operations meant legal cases stalled and inmates were being held for longer periods of time, thereby causing frustration among the inmates. We believe this is one of the major reasons for the increase in violence across the country during the last two years.

>> Read More: Essex County Ends Controversial Prison Contract With ICE

>> Read More: Task Force Could Protect Inmates At Essex County Prison

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Sign up for Patch email newsletters. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site.



This article originally appeared on the Newark Patch
Chef Jae Lee let guests infuse dessert themselves. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Chef Jae Lee partnered with Razo of Drip Lab to host a dinner party on April 20, 2021, celebrating cannabis.

I went to the ticketed event to see what a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-infused meal is like.

Three out of seven courses on the menu were infused with THC, and cocktails were infused with CBD.

THC dinner parties aren't new, but they're usually done in secret.

Lee's Highly Recommended Dinner Party was happening right out in the open. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

On March 31, 2021, New York became the 15th state to legalize cannabis.

The legislation means that New Yorkers over the age of 21 can possess and smoke marijuana, but sales are still illegal and not expected to start until mid-to-late 2022.

Though possession was illegal up until the end of March, weed dinner parties have been happening in New York City for years. They've typically been labeled as "underground" or "covert" in the same style of Prohibition-era speakeasies.

Since the new usage law came into effect, Jae Lee, chef and owner at the East Village restaurant Nowon, decided to take a risk in the name of 4/20 and culinary innovation. He partnered with CBD and THC company Drip Lab to create a weed-infused menu for ticketed restaurant guests.

"In Korea, weed is very very illegal," Lee said. "So being Korean, I wanted to be one of the first Korean chefs to dive into this because I do smoke weed and I don't think it's harmful at all."

According to Bloomberg, South Korea legalized medical marijuana in 2018, but recreational use is still illegal. The Korea Times reported in 2018 that South Koreans who used weed in other countries where recreational use is legal could still be punished under South Korean law.

"I wanted to start this movement," Lee added. "I wanted to do it because I really believe in it and I don't want to be secretive about it."

I started my journey on the East River, ready for the adventure ahead.

I embraced the weather and my natural surroundings in my choice to take the ferry. Rachel Askinasi/Insider.com

I bought my ticket and headed uptown to the East Village via the NYC Ferry.

Story continues

While I have eaten at Nowon before, I had no idea what to expect from this event. Lee warned me the day before that although I wouldn't be high to the point of not being able to move, I would likely feel high at some point during the meal.

He was right.

The setup at Nowon looked like business as usual, but it had an even lighter, more fun atmosphere.

Nowon offered two seating options for this event. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Nowon is set up with two types of outdoor seating  only the booths were open for this event.

They had also reopened their indoor dining in accordance with city regulations, so I sat at a table right next to a floor-to-ceiling window that was pulled wide open so we could enjoy the beautiful weather.

Nothing felt "underground" about the approach Lee took.

Even the playlist was on theme for this evening.

The CBD playlist was a nice touch. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Sitting at the table, still a bit unsure of what was to come, comforting tunes came through the speaker system. The playlist set a relaxing but upbeat tone and I later found out the staff was streaming Razo's playlist called "CBD" specifically for this occasion.

Everyone was getting into the 4/20 spirit.

The menu consisted of THC-infused foods and CBD-infused cocktails.

CBD is known to offset some negative effects of THC. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

The menu had three items infused with THC  cucumbers, Korean fried chicken, and doughnuts  and four cocktail options infused with CBD, which Razo said was designed to offset the negative effects of the THC.

According to the National Institute of Health, CBD can counteract the undesirable effects of THC like cognitive impairment, anxiety, and paranoia.

While I can't speak for everyone, I can say that after sipping on two of the CBD cocktails and consuming 15 milligrams of THC all over the course of two hours, I  someone who lives with pretty intense anxiety daily  felt none of the adverse effects.

I also realized at the end of the meal that I  someone who consistently gets significantly tipsy after two cocktails  did not feel drunk at all.

Our first THC dose came with the marinated cucumber course.

The olive oil added robust flavor without taking away from the overall taste of the dish. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

The first dish to come to the table was crunchy cucumbers in tahini. It was also our first course with THC.

Lee was using an infused olive oil from Drip Lab that had 10 milligrams of THC per teaspoon. He used it as a finishing oil  meaning it wasn't cooked  in this dish.

I've tried many different CBD products in the past, and there has always been a strange, off-putting aftertaste, so I half-expected the same from a THC infusion. I couldn't have been more wrong.

The oil was delicious. It tasted like the finishing oil I keep in my cabinet for when I want to top a soup or pasta dish in my own kitchen.

Then we had a mix of infused and non-high-inducing food.

The chicken was drizzled with THC oil and the rice cakes were not. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Nowon's chopped cheese rice cakes and Korean fried chicken arrived at our table at the perfect moment. We had eaten our weed-drenched cucumbers and started to feel the first wave of a high.

The plate of fried chicken was drizzled with oil that was equivalent to 10 milligrams of THC, though I didn't know it until I spoke with the chef two days later.

Had I never eaten Lee's food before, I may have thought the intense reaction to the flavors I was having was because of the THC. But I made the same moans of joy the first time I tasted his Korean fried chicken, too.

It was fascinating to gradually get higher and higher while sitting at a restaurant having truly delicious food rather than whatever bodega snacks you'd usually pick up when using the drug recreationally at home, one would assume.

The team served honey butter tots with a sprinkle of dried cannabis flowers.

Honey butter tater tots (left) and Nowon's legendary cheeseburger (right). Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Honey butter tots were next to show up at the table. This time, rather than being topped with the finishing oil, Lee and Razo chose to sprinkle the potatoes with cannabis flower for garnish.

My cucumber and fried chicken high lasted no more than 10 minutes, so I was relatively sober when I started eating the tots and the burger that showed up just moments after.

Lee told me that the flower was used for flavor rather than to induce a high, but I couldn't distinguish the taste of the bud from the honey butter.

Most of the meal was served family-style, which added to the fun.

We dished out portions of the spam and kimchi fried rice. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

The Korean fried chicken, rice cakes, burger, tots, and spam and kimchi fried rice were all served family-style.

My table of two shared it all and even took home some leftovers.

Eating family-style allows for movement, conversation, and creates an atmosphere of invitation. Razo, Lee, and other staff members continued to walk around and check in with guests to see how everyone was feeling.

I think it created an environment that truly felt like a dinner party. We were all experiencing this somewhat new thing together, and that felt exciting.

The vibe of the restroom added to any high I was already feeling.

The bathroom was decked out for a party. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Midway through the meal, I took a little trip to the back of the restaurant.

I walked in expecting a space where I could freshen up but was hit with dim lights and a disco ball. If I wasn't high when I walked in, I was definitely a little affected when I walked out.

Razo, the co-founder of Drip Lab, made his rounds to "level up" anyone who wanted an extra THC boost.

THC-infused olive oil (left) and THC-infused honey (right). Rachel Askinasi/Insider

The Drip Lab co-owner carried a small pitcher of THC-infused olive oil offering extra drizzles to anyone who wanted a bit of a boost in their high.

He also allowed diners to taste his THC-infused honey from the cutest little crystal dish I ever did see!

While it's true he was promoting his product, it didn't feel like a sales move to me. It felt more like a share-the-wealth moment  more like, "Hey, let's all enjoy this day and this time together, what's mine is yours."

He also handed out free, pre-rolled joints.

Razo walked around the restaurant handing out free joints. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

When Razo came around with free joints like they were breath mints, I truly felt like I was at the most fun and love-filled party in the neighborhood.

"Are you just giving these away to guests?" I asked.

"Yeah!" he said. "They're like party favors."

I've never seen someone so happy to be giving out gifts.

We ended the meal with a self-infused doughnut.

Oil exploded out the top of the doughnut hole. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Dessert came around and it was a choose-your-own-adventure situation. There was a bulb sticking out of each yuja doughnut hole filled with oil containing 5 milligrams of THC.

He said this self-infusion option allows guests to choose how they want to end their night. If they're done with the high, they can remove the bulb. If they want to continue the party, they can pipe all 5 milligrams inside.

I went about halfway with mine  I was still working after all  and loved how the olive oil flavor complemented the yuja citrus.

Naturally, I was itching to dive into the leftovers as soon as we got home.

I dove right into the leftovers as soon as I got home. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Eating a meal while "microdosing," as Razo called it, helped keep our hunger at bay throughout the dinner party experience. I felt satisfied with the food that kept appearing in front of me and didn't feel the need to get more food on the way home.

We did end up taking home some leftovers, but they didn't make it more than 10 minutes on my kitchen counter before we dove in. The munchies phenomenon is real, after all.

Looking back on the experience, I saw that it really was a trial run for THC dinner parties of the future. While at the table, servers told us we were being given 10 milligrams each with the cucumbers and that the Korean fried chicken had no THC in it. But after checking in with Lee in the days following, I discovered we were actually given 5 milligrams each with the cucumbers and that the fried chicken had 10 milligrams of THC drizzled on top.

If you're someone who wants to be 100% certain of how much THC you're taking in, I would recommend checking in with the chef specifically.

All in all, we were each served 15 milligrams total throughout the two-hour seating. The highs came in waves. At first, after eating the cucumbers and fried chicken, I got a pretty intense wave for around 10 minutes. For me, it was a light, happy, head high similar to the one I've experienced when smoking weed. But my dinner date said she experienced more of a body high that reminded her of ingesting oil (It's important to remember that the THC can affect everyone differently). I felt another small wave toward the end of the dinner, but that only lasted one or two minutes.

The night made me both excited and hopeful for more restaurants to host similar experiences, something Razo told me is likely to happen soon.

"I'm happy I did it," Lee told me the day after the event. "It meant a huge step forward [in terms of] just breaking the stigma," which he said is even more prominent in the Asian community. "I feel like the black sheep doing this, but I'm confident [in my decision to] host an event like this."

Lee and Drip Lab are hosting the event again this year on April 20 with tickets for sale on Resy.

Read the original article on Insider
Vancouver, British Columbia --News Direct-- Western Magnesium Corporation

Western Magnesium Corporation

WASHINGTON, D.C.  TheNewswire  April 20, 2022  Western Magnesium Corporation (TSXV:WMG.V) (OTC:MLYF) (Frankfurt:3WM) (Western Magnesium or the Company) is pleased to announce that the final engineering field inspections are being conducted at the Companys commercial pilot plant. These engineering inspections are a critical step in the construction process and will help to ensure the accuracy of all processes and protocols.

Successful engineering sign-off of this detailed analysis allows Western Magnesiums operations team to proceed with the final phase of commissioning and reach the Companys end goal of commencing green magnesium production operations.

Magnesium is critical to the production of aluminum, which is used in everything from cars and airplanes to computers and appliances. For decades now, America has outsourced the production of domestic magnesium to China, in large part because the past ways of mining this mineral have had extremely high environmental costs.

Western Magnesium is on the cusp of returning magnesium production to North America with a new, environmentally sound process that will boost U.S. national security and create thousands of jobs. Production is slated to begin at the end of May.

Executive Chairman, Ed Lee, stated, I am confident in the successful outcome of these final inspections at the commercial pilot plant this week. This is vital to our overall mission as we move closer to bringing production of green magnesium back to the United States with our proprietary technology.

Chief Technology Officer, Paul Sauve, stated, The success of these detailed inspections will allow us to maintain our project timeline and proceed with exciting and unprecedented next steps in plant commissioning, ultimately positioning us as a major player in the market that will shape production trends in the coming years.

In addition, final construction and commissioning continue at the plant and the team is proud to report no significant issues or obstacles faced to date, and our green metal production is on schedule.

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About Western Magnesium

Western Magnesium's goal is to be a low-cost producer of green, primary magnesium metal, a strategic commodity prized for its strength and light weight. Unlike outdated, costly, and highly polluting production processes, Western Magnesium intends to use a continuous silicothermic process to produce magnesium, which significantly reduces labor and energy costs relative to current methods and processes, while being environmentally friendly.

Media Relations & Corporate Communications: Ashleigh Barry | abarry@westmagcorp.com | (202) 258-4453

Investor Relations: John Ulmer | julmer@westmagcorp.com | (604) 423-2709

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains statements that involve expectations, plans or intentions (such as those relating to future business or financial results), and other factors discussed from time to time in the Companys Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These statements are forward-looking and are subject to risks and uncertainties, so actual results may vary materially. You can identify these forward-looking statements by words such as may, should, expect, anticipate, believe, estimate, intend, plan and other similar expressions. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors not within the control of the Company. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company disclaims any obligation subsequently to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described in this news release. Such securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act), or any state securities laws, and, accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of persons in the United States or U.S. Persons, as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

View our profile on SEDAR

View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/western-magnesium-announces-final-engineering-field-inspections-underway-at-commercial-pilot-plant-131349311
NEW JERSEY  White supremacists and homegrown extremists with ties to foreign organizations remain New Jerseys top threat in 2022, according to an annual report released by NJs homeland security department.

The COVID-19 pandemic and instances of civil unrest over the past few years exacerbated a threat landscape that continues to grow more diverse and innovative, New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Director Laurie R. Doran said in a statement.

In a detailed 2022 Terrorism Threat Assessment released earlier this month, the state homeland security department listed cybersecurity attacks such as ransomware, along with homegrown violent extremists and white racially motivated extremists, as New Jersey's highest-level threats.

Homegrown violent extremists (HVEs) remain a high threat to New Jersey in 2022, as they are driven to conduct attacks domestically, provide financial and messaging support, or attempt to travel overseas to fight on behalf of foreign terrorist organizations, the report reads.

While the preliminary number of identified HVEs have decreased since 2020, HVE support for foreign terrorist organizations is constant despite a decrease in arrests, the report said.

In 2021 alone, 10 HVEs were arrested, including a New York couple who attempted to board a Newark cargo ship to travel to Yemen with the prospects of joining ISIS, the assessment said. Authorities also arrested an active-duty soldier and a Tennessee-based leader of a pro-ISIS group after both allegedly provided material support to the extremist group.

But while homegrown violent extremist identification is down from last year, the rate of white racially motivated extremists (WRMEs) remains on the rise.

The demographic will likely produce personal manifestos, collect extremist literature and stockpile weapons while aspiring to conduct lone offender attacks, the state homeland security department said. In fact, a departmental review revealed that U.S.-based WRMEs conducted at least 28 attacks over the last five years, resulting in 52 deaths and 79 injuries.

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WRMEs are expected to organize as small cells or groups under separate national banners, using social media as an avenue to spread their ideology, recruit new members and communicate. Unaffiliated lone offenders may engage in isolated attacks against a specific facility or government target that they have a personal grievance toward, the assessment said.

Domestic Terrorism

In the states 2022 terrorism threat assessment, experts noted that domestic terrorists will likely return to pre-pandemic operating norms, shifting their focus toward local expansion, participating in demonstrations, and engaging in low-level criminal activity. Over the last two years, domestic extremists leveraged multiple national events to mobilize and justify violence throughout the United States.

In a breakdown of risk threats to state security, the state homeland security department classified anti-abortion extremists, anti-government extremists, anarchist extremists, Black racially motivated extremists, militia extremists and sovereign citizen extremists as moderate threats.



In fact, there are nearly 800 federal cases currently against persons involved in the Capitol Hill insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Charges have been filed against 26 people from New Jersey (22 men and four women). Most were unaffiliated with a group or ideology, and three were confirmed former military members, the assessment said.

Domestic terrorists in the U.S. will likely continue to use encrypted messaging platforms and alternative social media applications such as Telegram, Parler and Gab to amplify extremist rhetoric, communicate and coordinate among like-minded individuals, and maintain followers across platforms, the report said.

Low-level threats in the 2022 assessment include al-Qaida, animal rights extremists and environmental extremists, as well as ISIS, Hamas and Hezbollah. The report added that foreign terrorist organizations are likely to encourage U.S. attacks via cybersecurity or intellectual property theft.

Cybersecurity Threats

The overall cyber threat to New Jersey is high, according to the New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communication Integration Cell (NJCCIC). In 2021, cyber attacks affected organizations, governments, businesses and private citizens in the state via ransomware, credential theft and social engineering.

Many of those attacks highlighted supply chain issues and interdependencies that increase the vulnerability of these attacks, the report said. Over 3,100 ransomware attacks reported in the state compromised high-profile businesses such as Colonial Pipeline and JBS Foods, as well as small- and medium-size businesses, further challenging their ability to operate amid shutdowns and staffing shortages.

Read more: Risk Of Russian Cyber Attacks Is Now Much Higher, State Of NJ Warns

The 42-page assessment can be viewed here.

If someone witnesses suspicious behavior in New Jersey, experts say its imperative that it be reported.

It is important to note that the public is often our first line of defense in the fight against terrorism, Doran said. I ask everyone to See Something, Say Something by reporting terrorism-related suspicious activity to our Counterterrorism Watch Desk at 1-866-4-SAFE-NJ and tips@njohsp.gov.

This article originally appeared on the Holmdel-Hazlet Patch
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, on April 20, 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, on April 20, 2022. Credit - Mikhail Tereshchenko Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images

This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIMEs politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox.

Even before Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine in February, any long conversation with a diplomat or someone working in adjacent national-security fields eventually circled around to Russia and its enigmatic leader. The former empire and heir to the Soviet Union, Russia has been publicly preaching a gospel of cooperation with the West for the last two decades, yet no one watching truly believes Putins Russia to be a benevolent giant that spans 11 time zones. Be it his pride, his ambition, or his cruelty, Putins motives have seldom been seen as pure as the snow in Moscow.

Starting a war in Ukraine did little to comfort those who had fallen for Putins promises. Among those who have been skeptical from the start? U.S. President Joe Biden, who after decades on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and eight years as Vice President moved into the Oval Office with as much experience abroad as anyone since George H.W. Bush. And unlike his predecessors who sought new treaties, expanded economic opportunities, a partner in a war on terrorism, a reset to zero, or kompromat on a rival, Biden is fairly clear-eyed on what is possible with Russiaand, perhaps more important, what is not.

Thats why, on Tuesday, the United States circulated an outline for as much as another $800 million in military aid to Ukraine, adding to the already enormous pile of almost $14 billion sent there since fighting officially began on Feb. 24. Officials stressed that they were moving quickly, rushing to get more tools to help Ukrainians defend their country where civilians in places like Mariupol are facing increasingly dire conditions that deteriorate by hour.

Russia, meanwhile, rejected a ceasefire and, in what it calls another phase, continued shelling civilian neighborhoods, factories where Ukrainians were seeking shelter, and even a feeding site.

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For veteran diplomats, this behavior by Putin seemed tragically predictable. Their memoirs are full of stories of the longtime Russian Presidents intentional delays, direct insults, petty affronts, and even menace by a dog. Some examples, like Putins deployment of his labrador to intimidate German Chancellor Angela Merkel are famous. Others, like the off-handed denigration of top U.S. officials, are the stuff of legend in the diplomatic corps. Once, Putin kept Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice waiting for almost three hours in a Red Square holding room, only to be told that the meeting had been moved to Putins dacha 40 minutes away in Barvikha. The explanation: two members of Putins team were celebrating birthdays and wanted to avail themselves of the resorts Georgian wine cellar, according to former U.S. Ambassador to Russia William J. Burns.

The State Departments archives are full of memos assessing the Putin era and how he has sought to take advantage of the United States over-extended agenda. As Burnsa career diplomat who rose to become Deputy Secretary of State and now serves as the CIAs chiefdescribed Russias place in the new world order in a 2008 memo to Rice: For most of the Russian elite, still intoxicated by an unexpectedly rapid revival of Great Power status, the world around them is full of tactical opportunities.  From the Kremlins perspective, Russias own neighborhood looks a lot better than it did a year ago, with NATO expansion less imminent, Ukraines color revolution fading, Georgia at least temporarily sobered, and Central Asia more attractive to Russian interests.

In the Joseph Stalin era, such a condition even had its own slang: golovokruzhenie ot uspekhov, or dizziness from success.

But, as Burns warned Rice, it wasnt all as Putin put it forward in meetings with Americans. Behind the curtain, however, stands an emperor who is not fully clothed. And naked tyrants are dangerous ones.

Putin, humiliated by his countrys failure to preserve the communist system, vowed to rebuild Russia to its former glory. In ways as simple as changing the national anthem back to its tsarist tune, its easy to see Putin attempting to rewrite history to Make Russia Great Again. As TIMEs Simon Shuster wrote in a piece last year, the former Soviet nation has mastered that art.

But here in Washington, diplomats have been watching with great concern. A return to Soviet greatness could be a return to Cold War tensions. Putin already has essentially declared himself president for life and severely curbed any opposition. At least for now, Putin is Russia, and Russia is Putin. And he sees the Cold War as the Good Old Days.

The Biden team has been doing everything it can to confront Russias aggression in Ukraine without, in the Presidents own words, starting World War III. Cash and supplies have been sent, Burns is sharing intelligence with allies and the public alike, and there has been no shortage of bipartisan support for the Ukrainiansthough there is zero political interest or backing for U.S. troops to get involved.

But the U.S. seems to be sliding back into its own Cold War posture, when a firm spine against Moscow was not just necessary but patriotic. Opposing the so-called Evil Empire was as American as peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches and apple pie. Now, support for U.S. leadership had spiked in NATO countries even before the Russian invasion, according to Gallup polls in 20 of the 27 NATO nations. Merkels departure left Europe without its top truth-teller to Putin, and French President Emmanuel Macron is in his own nasty re-election bid at the moment. NATO feels revitalized after years of drubbing by ex-President Donald Trump.

That said, not all diplomats are wishing for that time travel. The Cold War brought major divisions of the globe and drained budgets. Even in not taking sides, the Non-Aligned Movement and its 120 members made a choice during the Cold War. After all, the phrase youre with us or youre against us didnt originate with George W. Bush.

If Russia continues its aggression against Ukrainians, a return to 1980s Great Powers theory that divided the globe could be in the offing. Polarity created a sense of stability, however uneasy. Smaller countries hated to be made to feel like pawns, but many fell in line to keep open economic, diplomatic, and military lines. Nothing kills national pride like having to run something past your patrons in Foggy Bottom or the Pentagon. Still, the dynamic kept the world from sliding into the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.

Washington isnt at that point just yet and is doing everything it can to end Russias war without making the United States an official party to it. Still, history can be instructive, and Russia seems plenty interested in rebuilding the Soviet-era metropole. Its coming at tremendous cost to his own people, but Putin hears the echo of the Stalinist legends. Its almost as if he is trying to create his own title: Vladimir the Great. Theres just one problem with that chase, and thats the United States that simply cannot allow Moscow to eclipse Washingtons power.

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China confirmed on Tuesday the official signing of a security pact with the Solomon Islands, and warned that any attempt to disrupt Beijing's cooperation with Pacific island countries is doomed to fail.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a daily news briefing that the foreign ministers of the two countries had officially signed an intergovernmental framework agreement on security cooperation, which is not targeted at any third party and conforms to the shared interests of the Solomon Islands and the South Pacific region.

The nature of the agreement is normal exchanges and cooperation between the two sovereign and independent states, Wang said.

He underlined that security cooperation aims at promoting social stability and long-term peace in the Solomon Islands, it follows the principles of equality and mutual benefit and it is based on respecting the will and actual needs of the Solomon Islands.

The two sides will cooperate in the fields of maintaining social order, protecting people's lives and property, humanitarian assistance and responding to natural disasters, according to Wang.

He added that Beijing is committed to helping the Pacific island nation strengthen its capacity building to safeguard national security.

Noting that security cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands is open, transparent, and inclusive, Wang said it runs parallel to and complements the existing bilateral and multilateral security cooperation mechanisms in the Solomon Islands.

China is willing to work with relevant countries to give full play to their respective advantages and form international synergy, Wang added.

The signing of the agreement comes as the White House is sending a high-level delegation to the Solomon Islands this week to discuss its so-called China security concerns, as well as to consider the reopening of the U.S. embassy in Honiara, which has been closed for 29 years.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Fiji in February, the first such visit by a U.S. secretary of state to the Pacific island nation in 37 years.

Wang called the sudden visits to the Pacific island countries into question. "Are they concerned about the island countries, or do they have other motives?"

"The Pacific island countries are not someone's 'backyard', still less a pawn in a geopolitical confrontation," he said, adding that they have actual needs in terms of diversifying their external cooperation and also have the right to independently choose their cooperative partners.

There is no audience in Pacific island countries for deliberately hyping up tensions and provoking bloc confrontation, he added.

Noting that China is always a builder of peace and a promoter of stability in the South Pacific region, Wang slammed the U.S. and other countries for smearing China, saying that it would be more appropriate to attach the label of damaging regional security to those countries.

Certain countries, including the U.S., have fostered the development of the so-called "AUKUS", a trilateral security cooperation framework among Washington, London and Canberra, that brings the risk of nuclear proliferation and a Cold War mentality to the South Pacific region, and severely threatens security and stability in the region, Wang added.

The government of the Solomon Islands has paid great attention to its cooperation with China. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told its Parliament in late March that the backlash against his country's security negotiations with China was "very insulting".
Dashay Avery, 24, is charged with murder by Columbus police as an accomplice in the Feb. 3 shooting death of Jonathan Reddy, 42, of North Linden, in the parking lot of a North Side motel.

Columbus police charged a second suspect with murder Tuesday in connection with a fatal February shooting in the parking lot of a North Side motel.

A SWAT team arrested 24-year-old Dashay Avery at a Columbus area hotel for what homicide detectives allege was her role as an accomplice in the Feb. 3 homicide of 42-year-old Jonathan Reddy, of North Linden, detectives said in a release.

Homicides in Columbus: Dispatch map of Columbus homicides since 2017

Avery's address is listed by detectives as the streets of Columbus, though court records list her as a resident of Columbia, Maryland.

Detectives previously identified 17-year-old Harrison Finklea as the gunman charged with murder in the Feb. 3 shooting death of Jonathan Reddy, 42, of North Linden.

Around 12:30 that morning, Columbus police were called to a motel in the 1000 block of East Dublin Granville Road on a report of a shooting. Responding officers found Reddy inside a vehicle suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at 12:56 a.m.

Detectives allege in court records that Finklea got into Reddy's vehicle in the motel parking lot and fatally shot Reddy after a brief altercation. Finklea then ran to the other side of the motel and got into a vehicle with a female waiting inside, and the pair drove off, detectives reported.

Police stopped Avery on East Dublin Granville Road at North Meadows Boulevard a short time later for failure to signal and for driving without a license. She failed to appear in court and a bench warrant was issued for her arrest March 22, court records indicate.

Detectives eventually determined the vehicle Avery was driving was used to flee the homicide scene and located the vehicle. They interviewed Avery, who allegedly admitted to being the driver, but denied knowing the male suspect was planning to rob and kill the victim, according to the probable cause affidavit.

However, the affidavit states further investigation by police found cellphone text messages between Avery and Finklea indicating that she was aware of the planned robbery and shooting.

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In one message to Finklea, Avery said she would park on one side and you pop him come out to the other side and well dip.

CBehrens@dispatch.com

@Colebehr_report

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Woman's texts lead to arrest as accomplice in fatal motel shooting
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other global policymakers walked out of a meeting of the Group of 20 major economies in Washington on Wednesday when Russia's finance minister began speaking, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Yellen left the session along with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and multiple other finance ministers and central bank governors once Anton Siluanov, the Russian finance minister who joined the meeting virtually, began to address the gathering, the person said. Some economic policymakers from other countries who joined virtually turned off their cameras when Siluanov began to speak, the person added.

Among the other officials who walked out were U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. Officials from Italy, France, Spain and Germany stayed put.

Yellen had said last week that the U.S. might skip some G-20 meetings if Russia attended. Senior Treasury officials said Monday that she would attend the opening session of the meeting that deals with the macroeconomic consequences of the war, in solidarity with her Ukrainian counterpart, but might skip other sessions. Yellen is set to meet privately on Thursday with Marchenko and Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, a Treasury official confirmed.

It'll be important for us to be there to stand with our partners and allies in opposition to Russia's invasion and in support of Ukraine, a senior Treasury official said. We can't let Russia stop the United States and our partners from getting important work done in this session, as well as some of the others.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said at a press briefing Wednesday morning that some countries might leave if Siluanov dialed into the meeting.

Asked about the significance of the G-20 in times of war involving its members, Georgieva said: As an institution that has 190 members I can vouch for the fact that it is more difficult when there are tensions, but it is not impossible, and important decisions are taken.

President Joe Biden has called for Russias removal from the G-20, but Indonesia, which chairs the group this year, said it planned to invite Russian officials to meetings this week that coincide with the IMF and World Banks spring meetings.

In a one-one-one meeting with Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Tuesday, Yellen firmly condemned Russias brutal invasion of Ukraine, and emphasized there will be no business-as-usual for Russia in the global economy, Treasury said.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told her counterpart from Indonesia that there will be no "business-as-usual" for Russia in the global economy given its invasion of Ukraine, the Treasury Department said in a statement on Wednesday.

Yellen told Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati during a meeting on Tuesday that the United States will continue to work with Indonesia, which currently leads the Group of 20 major economies, to advance G20 business.

"Secretary Yellen firmly condemned Russias brutal invasion of Ukraine, and emphasized there will be no business-as-usual for Russia in the global economy," Treasury said. "Secretary Yellen emphasized that the United States will continue to work in solidarity with Indonesia to advance the important business of the G20, including addressing the negative impacts of Russias invasion on the global economy."

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
SDSU Poised to Join Pell Grant Program Aimed at Fighting Recidivism

Video: Fowler Students Share 'The Best Thing Ive Done at SDSU'
Mazda Motor is planning to revive its iconic rotary engine in a plug-in hybrid car by the end of this year as it attempts to simultaneously please fans and cope with tougher environmental rules in its main markets, such as Europe.

This time, the rotary engine itself will not actually propel the car. Instead, it will generate electricity to power the electric motor and other systems in the car. Mazda aims to make all of its cars electric by 2030.

Conventional engines rely on the up-and-down motion of pistons. Mazda's rotary engine, by contrast, uses triangular rotors that spin, making the structure as a whole more compact. It also boasts high output and low vibration.

Mazda ceased producing cars with rotary engines in 2012 because of the difficulties in meeting environmental regulations. Ever since, the carmaker has been looking for a way to revitalize the iconic design.

Plans to bring back the rotary engine have been dropped or postponed several times over the past few years. Now the company says it is finally ready to release a rotary engine-equipped car in the latter half of this year -- the MX-30 SUV, sold mainly in Europe and Japan.
A Council Bluffs man was sentenced last week to more than 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to a child pornography charge.

Luke Alric Forman, 31, was sentenced in federal court on April 14 to 210 months in prison for receipt of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa. He will be placed on supervised release for an additional five years.

The Council Bluffs Police Department began investigating Forman after receiving a Cybertipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The tip linked 10 videos of child pornography that were uploaded using a chat app called Kik Messenger to Formans Council Bluffs residence.

Forman pleaded guilty on Dec. 16, 2021 after police executed a search warrant at his home, where they found a cell phone. A forensic examination of the phone revealed that Forman had distributed, received and possessed images and videos of child pornography.

Forman also engaged in numerous conversations about child pornography using the Kik Messenger app, the office said.

Council Bluffs police were assisted in the investigation by the United State Secret Service National Computer Forensics Institute, which provided training and equipment. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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Career EdVantage has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the states Future Ready Iowa Summer Youth Internship program.

The amount is double what CEV received from the program last summer.

On April 5, Gov. Kim Reynolds awarded 35 projects with a total of $2.26 million in state grants to launch valuable youth internships, according to a press release from Career EdVantage.

The states Future Ready Iowa Summer Youth Internship Program aligns directly with the work CEV does in southwest Iowa. With this grant, CEV is able to further move the needle of workforce development in the area.

Through CEVs Summer Youth Internship program, more than 100 students will be placed in paid internships this summer, the press release stated. To offer these internships, CEV partners with local businesses throughout southwest Iowa. The internships are beneficial not only for students but for businesses, as well.

We work closely with businesses to identify a workforce need that the intern can fill, said Bailey McQueen-Jones, director of strategic initiatives. Our hope is to provide positive, helpful experiences for all parties involved.

With the $50,000 grant, CEV is able to offer business partners wage reimbursement for interns, the press release stated. In addition to wage reimbursement, the grant funds will assist students with transportation and supplies needed for their employment position.

The organization has been actively seeking partnerships with various businesses and entities to ensure access for students.

Mayor Matt Walsh offered his endorsement of the program, stating, A strong, skilled workforce comes from a strong local economy. Career EdVantages mission is critical to preparing employees for our community and presents an invaluable opportunity for our local businesses to partner with them on educating our future workforce.

Brain drain is affecting southwestern Iowa as young talent moves out of the area and dries up the local talent pipeline, said Cara Cool-Trede, executive director. With CEV, high school students are empowered to explore jobs and develop career skills, restoring the talent pool and bolstering communities in the region.

CEV is an initiative of the Charles E. Lakin Foundation and is powered by Avenue Scholars. Established in 2019, CEV provides career exploration, development, internships and employment assistance for high school students in need. CEV strives to change lives by ensuring that young men and women attain the skills necessary to move into a rewarding career while filling crucial employment needs throughout southwest Iowa.

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Lewis Central Community School District students and families anxious to start summer break can relax: The district will not add days to the end of the school year to make up snow days.

The administration has determined that the district will have completed the required 1,080 hours and will be able to hold its last day of classes on June 3, as planned, Superintendent Eric Knost told the Board of Education on Monday.

Lewis Central schools were closed for three days during the current school year, Knost said. School was called off two days in December because of a power outage caused by severe weather that cut off power to some buildings. The Iowa Department of Education said those days would be considered snow days.

The third day was a snow day that also coincided with a spike in COVID-19 cases in the district, Knost said.

If we were to have a disruption were not expecting, wed have to come back and revisit this, he said.

Certified staff would technically have three contract days remaining. Knost suggested considering these flex days that could be completed either at the end of this year or before contract days begin for the 2022-23 school year, as individual teachers needed.

I think this idea of allowing these days to be flexed, at a minimum, would be appreciated, he said.

Board President Dorene Scheffel agreed.

Im sure a lot of teachers put in extra hours, she said.

Added Knost, A whole lot of our staff are showing up before they have to at the beginning of the year.

The board approved that arrangement and also took action on the 2023-24 calendar (the 2022-23 calendar has already been approved).

The proposed 2023-24 calendar showed school starting on Aug. 23 and ending on May 29, with the Friday and Monday around Easter weekend serving as spring break.

We allowed every employee an opportunity to provide input on this calendar, Knost said.

The boards discussion centered around the length of spring break and the length of the school year.

Knost said some people think the district is putting in way too many school days, since it finishes later than many other districts, but many want to have a full week for spring break.

Board member Bob Hendrix asked if the district could lengthen school days to get more hours in with fewer days.

Youre just playing with the minutes to try to get some days, Knost said. If you could add something bigger, like an hour  but we cant do that.

Kreft (Primary School) sets the days, said Dave Black, school improvement specialist. You have to go by the school with the fewest hours.

Hendrix said parents appreciate having a full spring break.

Said Knost, It seems like parents really value summer with their kids more than spring break. I received a lot of (positive) comments when we put the weeklong spring break back in, but I felt they were all negated when I got the calls in June asking why are we still in school?

The board approved the proposed calendar, though Hendrix voted against it.

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What do you love about your community? Where do you spend your time? How could the place you call home be better?

These and other questions will be raised during a series of Imagine Hour meetings sponsored by the Iowa West Foundation. The ideas people have for the community will help inform the Iowa West Foundations strategic planning process.

About every five years, the foundation reviews its strategic plan and invites the community to participate in that process, according to Nicole Lindquist, director of communications. The meetings are an effort to engage with the public before the next strategic planning process.

This is an opportunity for anyone and everyone in the community to share your thoughts on our future, said Brenda Mainwaring, president and CEO of the foundation. The hour-long, interactive sessions will engage participants in thoughtful conversations about possibilities and potential and offer attendees a fun and energizing way to provide input and ideas. We are eager to hear from community members.

Sessions will be held at the following times and places:

April 21  6 p.m., Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center, 1001 S. Sixth St.

April 25  noon, Reiver Room, Iowa Western Community College Student Center

May 5  4 p.m., Barleys Bar & Grill, 114 W. Broadway

May 19  6 p.m., The Grass Wagon, 110 S. 29th St.

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The UN Security Council holds this Wednesday a behind-closed doors meeting on the Sahara. The Council will be briefed by Minurso Chief Alexander Ivanko and UN Envoy for the Sahara Staffan de Mistura.

It is the first time that de Mistura addresses the Security Council members since his appointment as the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Sahara in November 2021.

Morocco is upbeat. Its autonomy plan offered for the Sahara under its sovereignty continues to gain international backing and recognition. The United States, the penholder on the Sahara, Germany and Spain, former colonial power, and many other European, African and Arab countries support Moroccos territorial integrity and full sovereign over its entire Saharan territory.

In a historical letter addressed to King Mohammed VI, Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez voiced support to the Moroccan autonomy plan, presented in 2007, describing it as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for the resolution of the Sahara dispute.

The move dealt a hard blow to the Algerian junta and the Polisario. UN Security Council resolution 2602 adopted in 2021 reaffirmed the pre-eminence of the Moroccan autonomy initiative for a lasting and peaceful resolution of the Sahara regional conflict.

It welcomed the serious and credible efforts made by Morocco for the settlement of the Sahara issue through its autonomy plan offered under its sovereignty, a plan supported by the international community.

The resolution also called on all parties to Sahara issue to cooperate with de Mistura and build on the momentum created by the UN-led round-table process but Algeria said it would not take part in new round-table meetings, challenging the Security Council.
Morocco is set to invest MAD 65 million ($5 million) in the outsourcing sector with the aim of creating over 5,000 new jobs by 2026 at several cities including Tangier, Fes, Rabat, Casablanca, and Agadir.

In this connection, four memorandums of understanding (MoU) relating to investment projects in the outsourcing sector were signed this Wednesday in Casablanca, at a ceremony chaired by Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, and Minister of Digital Transition and Administration Reform, Ghita Mezzour.

Under the MoUs, four international operators in the outsourcing sector will develop their activities in Morocco.

Thus, NTT DATA MOROCCO, a company specializing in computer engineering services, a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, undertakes within the framework of the MoU to create 1,000 jobs, while PHONEO, a subsidiary of the FusionBPO group, specializing in offshore outsourcing in the field of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), the Front Office and Back Office, undertakes to create 2,000 jobs

Subsidiary of Bell Canada, one of the major telecommunications companies in Canada, CNEXIA, a company specializing in customer relations, based in Fez, undertakes, for its part, to create 1,750 jobs, while EIDS Morocco, Moroccan branch of EIDS, operating in the commercial management and provision of outsourcing services, undertakes to create 300 jobs.

Speaking on this occasion, Ryad Mezzour stressed that the outsourcing sector is experiencing a real boom in this sustained industrial dynamic that continues in Morocco.

With these new investments, the sector confirms its attractiveness that it owes to the quality of its offer adapted to the needs of companies and the rise of advanced technologies, making the Kingdom one of the best technological and technical destinations, he said.

He underlined the sectors contribution to the national economy, saying it is one of the most important providers of employment for our young people and a lever for regional development.

For her part, Ghita Mezzour said that the signing of the MoU comes at the right time to encourage developments in the digital sector, which represents a key socio-economic development lever for Morocco and a provider of jobs.

Outsourcing is one of the most dynamic sectors in Morocco, which ranks among the top three outsourcing destinations in Africa, she added, noting that the Kingdom has a pool of talent with excellent training, world-class business parks, high connectivity Telecom and Internet and an attractive set of government incentives.
A maritime line connecting Morocco and Saudi Arabia will be launched in the coming weeks to give a new impetus to economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, announced Khalid Benjelloun, chairman of the Moroccan-Saudi Business Council.

The Federation of Saudi Chambers has signed an agreement with a shipping company to establish a direct line between Morocco and Saudi Arabia, said Benjelloun in a statement to MAP, at the end of the Moroccan-Saudi Business Forum held in Jeddah.

The integration provides opportunities for the economy of both countries to establish fruitful industrial partnerships and investments and create joint value added and local jobs.

Saudi Arabia is Moroccos largest trading partner in the Arab world. The total value of bilateral trade amounted to 17.2 billion dirhams in 2021 ($1.76 billion), according to data provided by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Riyad Mezzour, who led the Moroccan delegation at the forum.

In this regard, Benjelloun called for the need to relax administrative restrictions on exports and imports and the establishment of a Moroccan-Saudi investment fund to facilitate market access for small and medium enterprises, encourage partnerships between companies in both countries, and help them obtain financing.

Trade does not reflect the level of historical political and strategic relations between the two countries, he said, expressing hope that priorities and objectives are set to develop a comprehensive vision to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation.

During the Forums proceedings, investment and partnership opportunities between Morocco and Saudi Arabia and the potential of the two countries markets were reviewed, as well as the obstacles facing investors and the solutions proposed to promote investment and double the volume of trade between the two countries.

The Forum was also a platform to enhance partnership between the two countries private sectors.
Morocco reiterated, Tuesday before the African Unions Peace and Security Council (PSC), its solidarity with the states of the Great Lakes region, and called for effective cooperation and collaboration among member countries to combat and eradicate the scourge of terrorism and create an environment conducive to stability and development in the region.

Speaking at a PSC meeting on the situation in the Great Lakes region, Moroccos Permanent Representative to the AU and UNECA, Mohamed Arrouchi, reaffirmed the Kingdoms solidarity with the countries of the region, whose total population amounts to 150 million, calling on the AU Peace and Security Council to respond to their legitimate aspirations for peace and prosperity.

The Moroccan diplomat stressed the need to adopt a multidimensional peace-security-development- based approach and to associate other AU departments in the implementation of this approach.

Arrouchi, who leads the Moroccan delegation to this session, reiterated the Kingdoms commitment to ensure peace and stability in DR Congo, while recalling to this effect the contribution to troops within the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The delegation of Morocco noted that an integrated approach, combined with the firm commitment of all stakeholders, remains the only way to establish lasting peace and stability in the region and fight terrorist groups in the east of the country.

In light of the recent progress made in the implementation of the commitments under the Framework Agreement for Peace and the improvement of the climate of trust between its signatory parties, the Moroccan delegation reiterated the call to the various stakeholders to seize the current diplomatic momentum and address the challenges of peace and development in the region.

The delegation also expressed its support for the proposals made to the PSC by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DRC, namely scheduling a field visit to the East of the country, qualifying the attacks as acts of terrorism and submitting this classification to the Malabo Summit on the fight against terrorism and the UN Security Council.

The Moroccan delegation reaffirmed its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the countries of the region, stressing the imperative of respecting the principles of neighborliness and non-interference in the internal affairs of States.
The event might have a new name this year, but the competition format remains unchanged.

The Tri-Nebraska Triathlon, formerly known as the James ORourke Memorial Triathlon, is scheduled for Saturday at the North PlatteRecreation Center, 1300 McDonald Road. The name change comes after the ORourke family made the decision last year to end its association with the event after two decades.

The triathlon, sponsored by NebraskaLand Bank, was initially dedicated to ORourke, a North Platte native, former Dawson County attorney and Lincoln County judge and fitness enthusiast.

The competition remains under the format of a 500-yard swim in the centers pool  or 20 laps  followed by a 15-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run.

The event is open to either individual entrants or a team of two to three people.

Jeremy Reimer and Mandi Meredith-Dunlop were the overall top men and womens finishers respectively last year.

Meredith-Dunlop of Rapid City, South Dakota, broke the womens course record in 1 hour, 13:50 minutes. A former collegiate swimmer at the University of Utah, she also posted the fastest time of the field in the pool in 6:37.

Seventy men and women registered for the event last year and 65 finished. There were also two relay teams.

The triathlon is a two-day event overall as a kids competition is set for Friday at the Recreation Center as well.

The competition is broken down into three divisions: 14 years old and younger, 10 and younger and 8 and younger.

The triathlon is the third event this year in the Platte River Fitness Series. It follows the Light Up the Night 5K and mile, and the Kevin Kennedy CASA Hero Run 5K and mile on March 26 and April 9, respectively.

The Tyler Vanderheiden Memorial 2- and 5-mile run, the next event in the series, is scheduled for May 14 at Cody Park.

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Photo: AFP via Getty Images

Days after a Trump-appointed federal judge in Florida overturned the Centers for Disease Controls mask mandate on planes and public transportation, the Department of Justice has appealed the ruling, which had elated many travelers fed up with COVID restrictions and frustrated many others concerned with rising transmission levels of the virus.

On Monday, U.S. District Court judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled in a lawsuit filed by a conservative group opposing COVID mandates, overturning the CDCs order to require masks on planes and public transportation. The decision to appeal came only after the Biden administration signaled to the CDC that its intervention depended on the public-health agencys decision that a mask mandate was still necessary. Minutes after the CDC made one on Wednesday  describing the mask mandate as necessary for the public health despite its expiration on May 3  a DOJ spokesman announced that the department had filed to appeal.

The appeal provides some clarity after days of confusion. The initial ruling by Judge Mizelle caught many travelers off guard, with some plane crews announcing the end to the mask mandate while in flight. In the following hours, a patchwork of mask requirements began to appear: Lyft and Uber announced they would not require masks in many cities, though public-transportation authorities in major American cities including New York, Chicago, and Seattle required face coverings. Within the Biden administration, there were mixed messages as well. On Tuesday, Health and Human Services secretary Xavier Becerra said that we will likely appeal that ruling. But hours earlier, President Biden had said its up to them when asked if Americans should continue to wear masks on planes and in airports.
Is this kind of voting illegal or just too convenient? Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images

In an examination of the many, many statements Republican politicians are making these days about allegedly improper election procedures or voter conduct, the Washington Posts Philip Bump made a crucial distinction that often gets lost in all the rhetoric:

Maybe there was rampant fraud, maybe there wasnt. But everyone could agree that the election was rigged against Trump by the very elites he was trying to disempower.

One of the earliest articulations of this approach came from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). He argued that the law expanding voting access in Pennsylvania was unconstitutional, implying that this gave Biden an unfair advantage. The law, passed by Republicans, had gotten to the states Supreme Court, with the chief justice saying that even if the law was invalid, the votes werent  a preview of how many similar allegations about rigging would play out.

In other words, you didnt have to believe illegal conduct had occurred to claim that an election was rigged. Some Trump backers were using the term pretty much the same way Bernie Sanders supporters deployed it against Hillary Clinton and the Establishment Democrats behind her during the 2016 primaries: an unfair advantage baked into election laws and procedures, not a violation of them. A big difference, of course, is that Sanders supporters were alleging the system discouraged maximum voter participation, while MAGA folks allege the opposite: that pro-Democratic elites made it too easy for people to vote legally.

Trumps inner circle, of course, has used rigged in an ambiguous way. Sometimes he and his 2020 campaign staff alleged (but never substantiated) actual lawbreaking, as in the wild November 19, 2020, presser when Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell promoted all sorts of sinister, even global, conspiracy theories. But other times Team Trump simply complained about the rules themselves rather than their violation. That was the idea behind all the litigation over extended deadlines for casting ballots by mail. There was too much legal voting by the wrong people.

As Bump notes, a lot of Republicans nestle their rhetoric into that sweet spot between complaints about illegal voting and complaints about politically inconvenient (and thus unfair!) voting. This reelection ad from Alabama Governor Kay Ivy is a classic:

The fake news, Big Tech, and blue-state liberals stole the election from Trump by sending absentee ballots to everyone and their brother and allowing corrupt curbside voting, says Ivey. Does that mean she is claiming that those ballots were cast illegally? Or is it just that these practices make it too easy for Democrats to vote, which is unfair to Republicans? She doesnt tell us, and Bump thinks thats deliberate:

Curbside voting is corrupt because  why? Because of fraud? Or because its an expansion of access in more Democratic areas? That it could be perceived as either, of course, is the point. If expanding the vote in general is treated as dishonest or illegal, as above, then you can simply wave your hand at any tool for making voting easier as something to be avoided at all costs.

Expanded voting opportunities, of course, are open to Republicans as well as Democrats. And until Trump came along and began demonizing voting by mail, Republicans were as likely, and in some places more likely, to avail themselves of that and other convenience voting methods as Democrats.

What Trump understood, however, is that in nearly every state in-person votes are counted before votes cast by mail. And that meant if he could convince a disproportionate number of his own supporters to avoid voting by mail, hed very likely have an early lead on Election Night and could declare himself the victor, deeming later-counted votes illegitimate. This was the red mirage scenario some of us predicted, which is exactly what happened.

But so ingrained have Trumps dubious claims about voting by mail become in the Republican imagination that even those who dont run around touting conspiracy theories still fight to make voting harder. Mike Pence, for example, is generally though to represent the more sober and law-abiding wing of the MAGA movement. But the Freedom Agenda he recently released highlights the following election integrity proposals:

Make in-person voting the primary method of voting, encouraged and supported by all levels of government and election administration. Mail-in voting should be rare and only for a very limited set of circumstances, with clear guidelines and procedures for requesting, receiving, casting, validating, and auditing mail-in ballots.

Prohibit early in-person voting  when allowed at all  more than ten days before election day.

Is that about ending fraud? Or is it just about treating any system that isnt rigged for Republicans as rigged for Democrats? Perhaps the fairest thing to say is that an awful lot of Republicans want to have it both ways, telling the MAGA ultras that those people are breaking every election law in sight, while telling each other with a wink that whats bad for the donkey is good for the elephant.
Cora Georgia and George W. Bush

courtesy barbara bush

Barbara Pierce Bush's daughter Cora Georgia is growing up to be just like her grandpa!

In new photos shared with PEOPLE, 6-month-old Cora twins with the former President George W. Bush, 75, in a cute side-by-side that shows them both wearing sunglasses. He and the infant are an adorable duo as he gives a thumbs-up while Cora keeps her pose simple and relaxed in a bassinet.

Another snap features Barbara, 40, sweetly carrying the newborn  whose blue eyes are staring into the camera  as her husband Craig Coyne smiles while resting his hand on Barbara.

Coyne affectionately kisses Cora on the cheek in another picture that was taken during the family of three's day at the beach. Cora also shows off a cute grin in another photo of her wearing Christmas pajamas.

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Barbara joined her twin sister Jenna Bush Hager, 40, on Tuesday's episode of Today and shared more photos of Cora hanging out with her grandparents.

In one of the snaps, Laura Bush, 75, smiles while baby Cora  who wears an adorable penguin onesie  takes a nap on her chest.

Another photo features George grinning while holding Cora up for the camera. Barbara also revealed the sweet nickname that her father calls the infant. "He now calls her C. George," said Barbara. "She does take after him!"

RELATED: Barbara Bush Reveals Daughter Spent Time in NICU Named After Her Grandmother: 'It Felt Divine'

barbara bush

courtesy barbara bush

Earlier this month, Barbara chatted with PEOPLE about her little girl and why the birthplace of her daughter was so special.

The baby girl arrived "almost six weeks early" during Barbara and husband Coyne's visit to Maine  an event made even more special because Cora stayed at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at a hospital in Portland named after Barbara's late grandmother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, who died in 2018.

Story continues

RELATED: Jenna Bush Hager Says She 'Witnessed in Awe' as Her 'Toughest' Twin Sister Barbara Became a Mom

Barbara Bush with daughter Cora Georgia Coyne

Laura Foote Barbara Pierce Bush with her daughter Cora

Barbara said that what made the experience "incredibly meaningful" was visiting Cora in the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital. She said she and her husband "had no idea" that the NICU was named after her late namesake.

"I went there to go visit her and looked over on the wall, and it said Barbara Bush Children's Hospital," Barbara recalled. "So, in many ways, it felt divine that she was born in Maine near where we were married and where we have so many memories as a family. Then I felt how poignant and meaningful it was in a place that meant something to my grandmother."
Craftswoman in Guizhou pays respects to Chinas astronauts with handicraft featuring starry cosmos

People's Daily Online) 09:53, April 20, 2022

A traditional craftswoman from the Miao ethnic group in southwest China's Guizhou Province led a team to create a space-themed handicraft featuring local batik and silver ornaments in order to express her respect for Chinas astronauts.

Photo shows the distinctive artwork featuring stars in the vast cosmos as created by Pan Xue and her team. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Pan Xue, who is from Kaili city of the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou Province, teamed up with teachers and students at a batik workshop linked to a local vocational school, having worked together to make an artwork featuring stars scattered in the vast cosmos. It consists of a piece of batik representing the cosmos and a silver tree with stars hanging on it, both of which are considered types of intangible cultural heritage in the province.

Pan decided to make a space-themed artwork because she was impressed by the daughter of China's female astronaut Wang Yaping, who asked her mother onboard the country's space station to pick up a star for her while in outer space during a childrens dance show for the 2022 Spring Festival Gala.

Photo shows Pan Xue and her team members drawing a star-filled sky on a piece of cloth. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

I must make the work an exquisite one, said Pan. In choosing the fabric for the batik, Pan and He Changming, a batik teacher, spent a long time since they wanted to ensure that the cloth was going to be smooth enough. Then the team moved onto the process of designing the batik pattern, and after many trials, the team successfully painted over 1,000 stars onto the cloth, which had a width of 1.5 meters and a length of 2 meters.

Pan then created the tree using some pieces of wood. She painted the wood with silver powder and then carved out the wood to make the tree appear as if it had a real trunk. She also formed the branches and twigs of the tree using silver wires, after which she then began to make nearly 100 stars using silver sheets. It took her five days to complete the tree with all the silver stars hanging from it.

Its called a longevity tree in Qiandongnan, whose implication of hope matches Chinas burgeoning space industry, she introduced.

Photo shows Pan Xue making silver ornaments for her artwork. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Photo shows Pan Xue working on fashioning the silver ornaments for her artwork. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Photo shows Pan Xue in a local ethnic costume next to the artwork she and her team created. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
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Auburn University student Allen Li has been awarded the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship, one of 58 nationally this year.

Li, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, is an Honors College junior majoring in political science and economics with a minor in philosophy within the College of Liberal Arts.

Allens selection as a Truman Scholar is a testament to his remarkable impact on our campus community and his ability to continue influencing those around him, Interim Provost Vini Nathan said. His commitment to identifying important LGBTQIA+ issues on our campus and initiating meaningful solutions represents, in my opinion, the very best of our students.

Created in 1975 by an act of Congress, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship is awarded to approximately 60 college juniors each year based on four criteria: service on campus and in the community, commitment to a career in public service, communication ability and aptitude to be a change agent and academic talent that would assure acceptance to a first-rate graduate school.



I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Allen for receiving this prestigious award, said Ana Franco-Watkins, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts. This is an extraordinary recognition, as only a select few students are honored nationally. We are extremely proud of Allen for his commitment to excellence in public service.

The Truman Scholarship Program was established to provide scholarships to outstanding students who are committed to a career in public service. Scholars receive an award of $30,000 toward postgraduate education. They participate in leadership development programs and have opportunities for internships and employment with the federal government.



This is a richly deserved recognition of Allens role as an agent of change, said Tiffany Sippial, director of the Honors College. He has repeatedly demonstrated the power of moving toward a problem, listening to those involved, asking hard questions, being willing to take risks and then taking bold and decisive action to bring about transformative change. I am so proud of all that Allen has already accomplished and know his journey as a leader is only beginning. This is a truly outstanding honor.



Li was awarded the Truman Scholarship thanks to his work with LGBTQIA+ issues at Auburn. As a sophomore, Li developed the Inclusive Housing Project, which specifically addresses LGBTQIA+ student issues regarding the roommate matching process. Li developed a three-phase plan with SGA that focuses on prioritizing a safe space for students who may be dealing with harassment, misgendering, fear and anxiety.



It means a lot that an organization like the Truman Foundation recognizes the intersectionality of my communities and the work that I did through Auburns Student Government Association and the Human Rights Campaign, said Li. I am so excited to have a platform to magnify the work Ive done at Auburn on a bigger stage and talk about issues in the LGBTQIA+ and AAPI community with leaders all around the nation.

Li accredits his accomplishments to much of his Auburn Family, as well as his parents, friends and colleagues.

For the endless support, reassurance, application edits, interview prep and for caring deeply about the LGBTQIA+ community, much thanks must go to Alex Sauer, Honors College coordinator for scholarships and research, Li said. I also must thank Dr. Paul Harris, department chair and professor of political science with the College of Liberal Arts, for supporting me academically, giving me the opportunity to study under him about one of Trumans most influential policy decisions, connecting me with alumni that were incredibly helpful for interview prep and for being so willing to provide the space and accommodations needed for a successful interview.
#JohnnyDepp v. #AmberHeard: Keenan Wyatt, Depps friend and collaborator, testifies about the flight from Boston to Los Angeles. WATCH  (via @LawCrimeNetwork) pic.twitter.com/8X3O9zP6uS  Sierra Gillespie (@sierragillespie) April 19, 2022

HAPPENING NOW: #JohnnyDepp testifies how #AmberHeards abuse allegations have affected him, and his goals for the defamation suit. WATCH  via @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/ampzjAj2nW  Sierra Gillespie (@sierragillespie) April 19, 2022

Amber Heard looks right at Johnny Depp as he testifies that he has never struck her. #JohnnyDepp v #AmberHeard @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/eEaYmckp5k  Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) April 19, 2022

Today was Day 6 of the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial. The testimonies included the remainder of Sean Bett, a member of Depp's security team, Keenan Wyatt, another employee of Depp's, and Johnny Depp himself. Depp's testimony will go for two days, and is expected to continue tomorrow.- Bett finishes his testimony from yesterday. A text exchange is read between Depp and himself where Bett sent. He confirms that he's referring to the police, but Depps attorneys objected to this as the text was sent well after Depp and Heards relationship.- Bett says that he was never concerned for Heard during their relationship, but he was concerned for Depp.- I say another employee as his job title is a little confusing - he is listed in court proceedings as being Depps bands sound engineer, but introduced himself on the stand as a long standing Hollywood movie sound tech having done many of Depps films, including the Pirates franchise. Later on in the testimony, Wyatt confirms that Johnny Depp puts him into his contracts, and he gets perks as a result of Depps patronage.- Wyatt confirms that yes, Depp used earpieces in his films (This has been previously reported when members of his team were suing him - I wanna say in 2014?). The first time he used it was to allow him to act up against someone elses performance, then apparently he began using it to listen to music while acting.- Wyatt says that he would read lines to him, but only as Depp often re-writes his dialogue in the morning before going on set. Claims that Depp is a true professional.- He also confirms that Depp would sometimes show up 6 - 7 hours late to the Pirates 5 set. Sometimes he wouldnt show up at all.- When asked if Depp went on a drug binge with Brian Warner (Marilyn Manson), Wyatt says he doesnt recall.- He says that he never saw Depp abuse Vanessa Paradis, and that Depp was a loving father to his two kids.- Wyatt is questioned about the plane incident. Heard alleges that on a flight on Depp's private plan in May 2014, Depp accused her of having an affair with James Franco as she was filming 'The Adderall Diaries' with him. This argument is said to have ended in Depp kicking her in the back on the floor of the plane. On the plane was Keenan Wyatt, Savannah (Heards assistant), Jerry Judge, and Stephen Deuters (The husband of Gina Deuters, who was kicked off the stand for watching previous testimony last week).- When asked about Heards behaviour, he says that she was giving Johnny Depp the cold shoulder and that she was quiet and pouty. Her claims that he went up to Amber and said, to which she responded. He went back to his seat, and Depp stuck up for him.- Heards lawyer eventually asks if he said the following things to Amber - Wyatt responds to each question with. Warning, its all very vulgar.- Heards lawyer.Wyatt claims- When asked, Wyatt says that he does not recall seeing Depp kick heard on the plane. It should be noted that there are texts from Stephen Deuters apologising to Amber for this incident . There are also texts from Depp himself to Heard apologising for the incident while also berating her for doing the film, and Amber saying that she needed to do the film as 'this is her job.' There are 16 screenshots of texts between Depp and Heard on a banned source, but they can be found easily with a quick Google. Below is one of the images of a text from Depp to Amber.- Heards lawyer asks if he remembers Depp passing out at the back of the plane and moaning loudly - he doesn't recall. There is again an audio of this online on a banned source.- Depp is asked about why he started this lawsuit. He says that hisHe that hes doing it for his children, and claims that kids at his childrens school would show them the People Magazine Cover that had a bruised Heard on the cover. He says that he went from, and that Depp says that it "never had to go this way", and that he is not embarrassed because he knows hes doing the right thing.- Depp says that heor any woman in his life. Amber is staring right at him when he says this.- He talks about his abusive childhood, says his mother was abusive to him, his siblings, and his Dad. She was emotionally abusive as well as physically, and attempted suicide when Depps dad tried to leave her.- At this point it largely plays out like some kind of Inside the Actors Studio interview. He talks about his career, from a teenager all the way to the Pirates franchise.- Depp says his drug use began at age 11 when he began stealing his mothers nerve pills. However, he denies substance abuse and says it was anfor Ambers team after he told her about his past and trauma and that Heard hasher claims.- Depp claims that having been in films such as Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), it shows that hes never abused drugs theres no way he couldve been loaded and done these kinds of films. He says that he was sober from alcohol for 18 months when he did Pirates of the Caribbean in Australia - Amber immediately writes a note regarding this.- He confirms that he was at one point addicted to Roxycotin, an opiate. It began when he was prescribed the drug after injuring himself on Pirates 4. He claims that he has not taken an opiate since the island detox in 2014, and also denies that there has ever been drug use on film sets.- He claims that while filming Pirates 5 in Australia, he had been sober from alcohol for 18 months. Amber is seen writing a note about this.- Talks about having a very dark sense of humour, and enjoys Monty Python. His fans always claim that his texts to Paul Bettany about Amber about burning and violating her corpse were a Monty Python reference.- Talks about meeting Heard. They didnt have much interaction on the set until a scene where they have a kiss in the shower. He says- When asked when his romantic relationship with Heard began, he says that there was something real in that kiss. That same day, Heard came to his trailer after filming, they had a glass of wine and they kissed.- After that, nothing else romantic happened until the first day of the press junket for The Rum Diary - by this point, Heard was no longer with Van Ree, and Depp was having some "not so great situations" with Paradis as she wanted to go back to France. At this point the mic is muted briefly.- Amber was the perfect partner in a sense.. She was wonderful and too good to be true for the first year and a half, and then things started to change.- Depp talks about how when hed get home, in that first 'good' 18 months Amber would bring him a glass of wine, take his boots off, and bring him dinner. He says that one time, he took his own boots off and she saidHe says that this began to make him wonder. Depp also says that Heard would be upset if she wanted to go to bed and he didnt - Amber is seen making a note about this.- Their nicknames for each other were Slim and Steve - Depp had a tattoo of the name Slim that he changed to Scum after their divorce, and Amber's texts to him show the name Steve. It was a reference to a film he had given her to watch before filming The Rum Diary. Depp notes the age difference between the real life actors in the film who also began a relationship. He says- He compliments Heards parents and sister, Whitney. He felt that he had been welcomed and accepted into this family. He says the relationships stayed solid until just a bit after he and Heard separated.- Depp admits that he did drugs with Whitney maybe 2 or 3 times.- Talks about how he let Heards friends and family stay at the penthouses he owned at the Eastern Columbia Building. Raquel Pennington and her partner lived in Penthouse 1; as they didnt have a place, Amber had asked if it would be okay for her to move in to which Depp agreed as the penthouse was empty and didnt want to rent them out.- Sometime after, Whitney Heard also lived in Penthouse 4. Whitney lived there on and off for a couple of years, rent free. Depp speaks highly of Whitney throughout his testimony.- Ambers friend, iO Tillet Wright, was allowed to stay at a property of Depps for a year, rent free, to write his book. Johnny offered this himself.- iO Tillet Wright was actually the person that called the police during the May 2015 phone throwing incident. According to an essay he wrote in 2016, he was on the phone during Heard and Depps argument. He claims that he heard Depp sayand heard Amber scream to call 911. There is also audio of a conversation between Depp and Heard after she filed for divorce where he mentions that Heard told iO to call 911 while it was happening - this is again on a banned source. Wright also testified to this during the UK Libel trial. In the same essay, he says that he heard about Amber being abused on multiple occasions, witnessed marks on her and the aftermath of an attack from Depp, and called the police because Heard was protective of Depp and Wright knew that she never would.iO Tillet Wright is a transgender man, that Depp misgenders in his testimony repeatedly.Depp corrects himself at one point regarding iOs pronouns, but then goes right back to referring to him as she/her.- Isaac Brauch, Depps friend who he also gave a loan of $100,000 to (That Brauch has not paid back and is not expected to) lived in Penthouse 2.- Something to note as that during the second part of his testimony, Law and Crime showed it almost entirely on a split screen showing Depp testifying and Heard watching. Amber barely ever takes her eyes off him. Aside from occasionally writing notes and exchanging a glance with the lawyer next to her when prompted, she is almost entirely unwavering. Read into it how you will.That is the end of Depp's testimony, and he continues tomorrow.
Lmao

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he shot at him 4 times and all he got was his hand? now the streets know you can't shoot ASAP!!! how embarrassing

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Trash. I feel like I make this comment a lot, but it's somewhat comforting knowing even independently wealthy women have the worst taste in men/make the worst choices with them.

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I feel like famous, wealthy women have it harder finding a decent man than even regular women

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Yep. Men are weak & easily intimidated.

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I feel like women who put effort into branding themselves as tough or baddies universally have shitty taste.



Rihanna, Nicki, JLo

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You can't buy good taste in men with money

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Why is that comforting knowing that regardless of success many women still find it necessary to lower themselves for a shitty man.

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rhi, baby the universe is trying to tell you about ur mans 



Edited at 2022-04-20 05:43 pm (UTC)

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omg i never seen that emoji b4 lol

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lol i just updated last night, already abusing & overusing   

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They haven't updated on Windows 10 so I'm like "You never saw a blank square emoji???" 

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she had that saudi billionaire and that so far has been her best catch.



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What the hell is that emoji? Its cute af 

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omg new emojis!! 

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I really just got on my phone to come see the emojis in this post lmao 



I had to copy-paste the emoji I just used lmao my photo can see them but I don't have them 

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Lmaooooooo updated my phone and ran back here to see what all the fuss was about 

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It's too fucking late. She's tied to him for life via bb.

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Rihanna sis, you could have chosen anyone and you choose a dude who shits on dark skinned women and gets arrested upon entering the country

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Girl you need to leave him ASAP.

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ikr, it's getting rocky.

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They're in for a rocky relationship.

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The rock on your finger isnt worth it, girl!

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why did i think stayc's asap would start playing instead kl;sadjflkjasfdkl;

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Stayc girls....It's going down!

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Isnt it too late? Theyre having a kid lol

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wtf

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MESS

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Ooof.



I want to tell her to run but shes already proven shes the living version of that imma stick beside him meme.

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Rihanna 

Her taste in men 

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She's poop too.

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Rihanna is the one of the biggest benefactors of the halo effect ever.



Whenever she's bullied someone or supported garbage people we've excused it because she is so beautiful. This is the man, this colorist mess, that she chose to rebound with because that is the kind of person she is.



It sucks that he won't probably won't be there for the birth of his baby but here we are.







Edited at 2022-04-20 06:21 pm (UTC)

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Lmao this explains my psycho roommate

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Hi Rebecca, did you forget I had a live journal?

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F

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She needs to leave him. I have a friend who has always been into so called bad boys and it has never ended well for her. Thankfully she recognized this a few years ago and has been in a much better place since.

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she went from a billionaire to this

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what's "this"? because billionaires ain't shit either, it's been widely established through many conversations here.

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The billionaire she was dating (not ALL of them) seemed better than ASAP. Glad to see ASAP has someone rooting for him though

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Not at someone downvoting you. Imagine caping for billionaires.

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Couldn't be me.

Even if he didn't shoot that man, he surrounds himself with people who just randomly shoot at people?? tf.

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friend, Ian Connor, punched A$AP Rocky's friend, Theophilus London (the two spent the next day accusing each other of being pedophiles and rapists on Twitter And have been accused by women of the same for years) at the launch of the Virgil Abloh x Vlone collab in Paris.



https://www.complex.com/style/2016/06/theophilus-london-calls-ian-connor-rapist-twitter



And @TheophilusL You Went Broke Last Year and Started Doing Herion Plus You A Whole Child Molester and I Got Physical Proof In My Phone.  Ian Connor (@souljaian) June 23, 2016



Vlone is the label A$AP Rocky started with his friend A$AP Bari, who was arrested here in London for trying to sexually assault a woman, on camera.



https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/asap-bari-pleads-guilty-sexual-assault-asap-mob-774427/



THESE ARE HIS PEOPLE.









Edited at 2022-04-20 07:03 pm (UTC) A$AP Rocky's, Ian Connor, punched A$AP Rocky's, Theophilus London (the two spent the next day accusing each other of being pedophiles and rapists on Twitter And have been accused by women of the same for years) at the launch of the Virgil Abloh x Vlone collab in Paris.Vlone is the label A$AP Rocky started with hisA$AP Bari, who was arrested here in London for trying to sexually assault a woman, on camera.

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Heroine? Paedophilia? these people are so deranges and vile damn

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The UK is set to dominate new additions, making up 78% of all new capacity on the continent, with France and then Germany following up.

In 2022, for the first time ever, Europe is set to install more than four gigawatts of offshore wind capacity in a single year.

New offshore wind capacity additions in Europe are poised to hit a record high this year, topping 4 gigawatts (GW) for the first time and more than doubling additions seen in 2021, Rystad Energy research shows. The continents capacity additions in 2022 will hit 4.2 GW, beating the 2021 total of 1.8 GW and topping the previous annual record of 3.8 GW set in 2019.

New capacity additions are expected to grow further in the coming years, almost doubling again in 2023 to 7.3 GW and jumping to 8.6 GW in 2025. Annual capacity additions in 2024 are expected to slow down due to project timing, but high construction activity is likely to lead to the projected record-high commissioning numbers for 2025.

The record-high capacity additions will be driven primarily by UK projects that will add 3.2 GW of capacity, a new annual high for the country, beating the previous record of 2.1 GW set in 2018. The acceleration of installed capacity in the country comes from three large projects that are expected to be fully commissioned in 2022 and that will be the three most significant projects in Europe in 2022.

Europe is the worlds most mature offshore wind region, but Chinese installations have dominated global additions in recent years. Chinese projects represented 85% of all global capacity additions in 2021, with Europe only contributing 10%. But that looks set to change this year, and the continent is expected to continue ramping up capacity additions through the end of the decade, says Rystad Energy offshore wind analyst Anubhav Venkatesh.

The UKs record year is due to three large projects set to be fully commissioned in 2022, all of which top the largest projects list in Europe for the year. Orsteds 1.2 GW Hornsea One project drove the previous continental record in 2019. This year, the main driver is expected to be the Danish companys second phase of the project  the 1.4 GW Hornsea Two. That project, which is Orsteds only new addition to its portfolio in 2022, will be the largest offshore wind project in the world when operational.

Related: The Odds Of A Nuclear Deal With Iran Are Shrinking Every Day

The Moray East development  majority owned by Ocean Winds, a joint venture between Frances Engie and Spains EDP Renewables  will be the second-largest project globally when commissioned later this year. German renewable powerhouse RWE is expected to be the second-largest contributor of wind capacity additions with its majority-owned Triton Knoll in the UK and its wholly-owned Kaskasi in Germany. The 342 MW Kaskasi development will be Germanys first offshore wind farm to come online since 2020, marking a slow restart to the countrys activity.

Around the continent

Behind the UK, France will be the second-largest contributor to capacity additions in Europe this year, with the country commissioning its first commercial offshore wind project totaling 480 megawatts (MW). After adding no wind capacity in 2021, Germany is now set to restart installations, led by the 342 MW Kaskasi project. Norway is also anticipated to contribute with the commissioning of the 88 MW Hywind Tampen floating project, which will be the largest floating offshore wind installation of its kind globally. This year, Italy will commission its first offshore wind farm, the 30-megawatt (MW) Taranto project, while Spain is expected to contribute capacity additions with its floating demonstration projects.

Looking further ahead

Capacity additions up to 2025 in Europe are set to be mainly led by the UK, but other countries could also play increasingly significant roles compared to previous years. Germany, for instance, is returning to offshore wind activity, while France continues to boost capacity deployment and is expected to add around 3 GW of capacity between 2022 and 2025.

The Netherlands and Denmark are not expected to bring any new offshore wind projects online in 2022. Dutch capacity additions will resume in 2023, while Danish projects will add around 1.5 GW of capacity between 2023 and 2025. Poland is expected to commission its first offshore wind farm in 2025, contributing around 1.4 GW of Europes new capacity. As such, this record-breaking 2022 is likely to be a steppingstone for more capacity additions towards 2025.

By Rystad Energy

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Wind energy production is steadily increasing, with several innovative projects being established around the world. While some countries continue to invest in traditional wind developments others look for innovative new projects, as wind energy and other renewables appear set to overtake fossil fuels in several parts of the world within the next decade.

Wind energy production overtook coal and nuclear output in the U.S. in March, according to the Energy Information Administration. It was the first time that wind energy output surpassed both that of coal and nuclear power on the same day. Although natural gas continues to be the main electricity generation source.

Wind and solar power have both hit milestones globally in recent months, with the two energy sources contributing 10 percent of global electricity for the first time in 2021. This figure rises to 38 percent when taking into account all clean energy sources. The fastest-growing wind and solar energy markets are the Netherlands, Australia, and Vietnam, which have shifted a tenth of their electricity demand to renewable sources from fossil fuels over the last two years.

Hannah Broadbent from Ember explains the potential that renewable energy sources have, even in unexpected locations, the Netherlands is a great example of a more northern latitude country proving that it's not just where the sun shines, it's also about having the right policy environment that makes the big difference in whether solar takes off.

Rising renewable energy production is filling the gap left behind by several governments curbing their coal, oil, and gas output. As many countries pledge to shift their electricity to carbon-free over the next decade and a half, including the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada, their governments are creating policies to encourage greater investment in innovative new green energy projects, from gas to geothermal conversion projects to supersized wind turbines.

And digitalization could help the wind energy sector become smarter and more efficient in the near future. Experts believe incorporating new technologies into wind farms could help how the projects are forecasted, monitored, and managed. Some of these technologies include centralized computer centers, 5G, diagnostic analytics, proactive forecasting analytics, and automation.

Incorporating new technologies into wind systems could help operators detect faults in turbines in real-time to avoid delays in repair, as well as support several other areas of their function. In addition, data-sharing between companies and across countries could help operators to develop more robust wind turbines and manage their operations more efficiently.

Related: Mid-Cap Energy Stocks Are Outperforming Supermajors

In addition to traditional projects, now designers are coming up with innovative wind development ideas, suggesting there may be alternatives to the classic wind turbine model. Despite having battled for years for the shift away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, several environmentalists critique existing wind turbines for the negative effect they have on wildlife. In the U.S. alone, approximately 1.17 million birds are killed every year by wind turbines.

But now, several energy firms in Europe and the U.S. think they may have found the solution to producing wind energy without the negative repercussions. Companies are beginning to look at kite power as an alternative. Although large-scale projects are still just visions on paper, small versions have recently become available on the market. However, energy firms will have to prove the new kite technology is safe and will not harm wildlife before we see any larger developments.

Co-CEO and chief technology officer of German firm Kitekraft, Florian Bauer, explains Its cheaper to manufacture, cheaper to transport, and also has higher efficiency. In addition, they have a lower carbon footprint, so, if you have all those advantages, why would anyone build a conventional wind turbine? he said.

Meanwhile, in the U.K. community groups are taking energy security into their own hands with plans for a mega-turbine. Residents in a poor social housing estate in Bristol have raised $4 million for the construction of a mega wind turbine, measuring 150 meters. With a maximum capacity of 4.2MW  enough to power 3000 homes  the group hopes to sell energy to the grid, earning the group an estimated $130,000 a year.

Earnings will support community projects aimed at regenerating the area, including training people to work in the renewable energy sector and helping families experiencing fuel poverty. The project is long-awaited, as the community battled for 8 years to get government approval for the construction of the turbine. According to government research, community-owned energy provides between 12 and 13 times more social and community benefits than similar commercial developments. If successful, this project could set the example for communities across the U.K. and other countries to follow.

Several countries worldwide are speeding up investments in wind development, as one of the principal forms of renewable energy production. As a greater number of wind farms are cropping up around the globe, energy firms are searching for ways to make them more efficient and increase output through the incorporation of new digital technologies, while others look into alternative wind energy structures.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The European Union is in talks with oil-producing countries for potential deals to get quickly non-Russian oil supply as it is discussing a ban on imports from Russia, an EU source told Reuters on Wednesday.

The EU and its executive arm, the European Commission, have been considering an embargo on Russian oil as the West is looking to step up sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine and deprive Vladimir Putin of one of his key budget revenuesenergy sales.

The EU, however, continues to be split on the idea of a Russian oil embargo, with Germany leading the group opposing an immediate ban.

If Germany could be persuaded to start shifting its position on an oil banincluding by a possible proposal of a gradual phase-out in the embargothe other smaller countries that have been resisting an oil embargo could change their stance, too, according to the Reuters source.

The EUs embargo on Russian coal imports is also gradual. The ban on Russian coal imports was adopted in early April but is effective only from August, mainly because of Germanys insistence on more time to find an alternative supply.

Now the EU is working along similar lines to persuade the opponents of a Russian oil ban to agree to an embargo in the new package of sanctions against Russia.

Its not clear yet when the sixth package would be proposed by the European Commission, but some detailsaccording to Reuters sourceswould include kicking Sberbank out of SWIFT, banning more Russian media outlets, or banning the import of nuclear fuel. However, some Eastern European countries depend on Russian nuclear fuel for their Russia-designed reactors, which generate a large part of their electricity.

Oil prices could shoot up to a record $185 per barrel if the EU imposes a full immediate ban on Russian oil imports, JPMorgan says.

An EU embargo may be in the works, but drafting and preparing for such a ban would likely take several months, European officials told AFP last week.

A ban is in the works at the EU level, Frances Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday.

I hope that in the weeks to come we will convince our European partners to stop importing Russian oil, the minister told Europe 1 radio.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The volatility that we have seen in the oil markets over March will most certainly become part of history books. In the same month that saw OPEC production decline for the first time in more than a year (primarily because of Iraq), the idea of banning Russian crude became a wholly realistic scenario, spearheaded by the US going for a full-blown sanctions package. What might have set the stage for the steepest monthly increase in outright prices was eventually cooled down China going down with coronavirus lockdowns which started off as a largely innocuous manifestation of the countrys zero-COVID policy but have gradually shed almost 1 million b/d off Chinas total crude demand. All this has seen Middle Eastern producers set formula prices for May 2022 and combining weaker demand with lower physical crude availability, albeit partially offset by the US SPR release, turned out to be a much harder challenge than one could assume. Chart 1. Saudi Aramcos Official Selling Prices for Asian Cargoes (vs Oman/Dubai average).





Source: Saudi Aramco.

Having withstood the pressure coming from major importers to increase the OPEC+ monthly additions, Saudi Aramco increased all its May-loading formula prices for the second time in a row. The Asian price increases were particularly interesting. With the Dubai cash-futures (the M1-M3 spread) rising by almost $5 per barrel in March, the market anticipated huge month-on-month hikes and Saudi Aramco delivered. Consequently, the Asia-bound May OSPs of Arab Light, Arab Medium and Arab Heavy all saw increases of $4.40 per barrel each, taking the former two to premiums above $9 per barrel vs the Oman/Dubai average. This means that the Asian formula prices of every single grade was hiked to an all-time high, even higher than in the last months before the pandemic. It should be noted that March was relatively weak in terms of overall Saudi exports, the overall flow decreased by 400,000 b/d according to Kpler data, at the same time exports to Asia remained stable so there seems to be a manifest preference to keep Saudi Arabias regional clout in Asia intact.

Related: Large Crude Draw Sends Oil Prices Higher

Chart 2. Saudi Aramcos Official Selling Prices for European Cargoes (vs ICE Bwave).



Source: Saudi Aramco.

For European buyers Saudi Aramco went for price increases of $0.60-$3.80 per barrel, with the highest hikes reserved for the lightest grade. At the same time, the May OSP of Arab Medium to both NW European and Mediterranean buyers was raised by only $1.40 per barrel, arguably because the grade is the closest to Urals that the market has to offer. When it comes to the United States, it might seem that Saudi Aramco is aware that outbound flows to the USGC will be minimal in the foreseeable future. The Saudi NOC hiked all its US-bound cargoes by $2.20 per barrel, as a result of which even the heaviest and sourest Arab Heavy will wield a $4.5 per barrel premium vs ASCI in May (for reference, the Basrah Heavy-Arab Heavy will stand at a whopping $7 per barrel, unprecedentedly wide). Bluntly put, Saudi Aramco has placed the least priority on maintaining US exports, already at a low point of 200,000 b/d recently.

Chart 3. ADNOC Official Selling Prices for May 2022 (set outright, here vs Oman/Dubai average).





Source: ADNOC.

Whilst ADNOCs April pricing might retrospectively seem a great gift to the usual buyers  Murban was fixed at $93.99 per barrel in a period of triple-digit prices  the official selling price of May-loading cargoes inevitably edged up by almost $20 per barrel, to $112.48 per barrel. Whilst there has been little talk of ADNOC overall, the United Arab Emirates arguably saw the most linear upward progression over the past months. With gradually increasing production, up went UAE exports, too, marking a series of consecutive month-on-month hikes since November 2021. Total exports in March have averaged just below 2.8 million b/d, some 700,000 b/d higher year-on-year. With ADNOC already stating that it would supply full June nominations, the stage is set for a continuation of the same step-by-step production increases.

Chart 4. Iraqi Official Selling Prices for Asian cargoes (vs Oman/Dubai average).





Source: SOMO.

The real pricing policy surprise came from the Iraqi SOMO which took its time with issuing its May OSPs and only did so in mid-April. Arguably, by that point, it became evident that Chinese COVID-19 lockdowns will be a much bigger threat to regional demand in Asia than initially assumed and Baghdad took that into account by increasing its Asian OSPs by $2.30-$2.60 per barrel, almost half of what Saudi Aramco and NIOC did (even though the pricing basis, the Oman/Dubai average, is the same). In addition, the pricing moderation might have been impacted by Indias buying of Russian Urals. Given the geographic proximity and largely unmarred history of cooperation between the two countries, India has traditionally been a large buyer of Iraqi barrels and the sudden inflow of Russian will primarily hit Iraq. This would also be corroborated by Basrah Heavy witnessing the larger month-on-month increase, with Basrah Medium only hiked by $2.30 per barrel.

Related: Rosneft Holds Rare Firesale for 38 Million Barrels Of Crude



Chart 5. Iraqi Official Selling Prices for European cargoes (vs Brent Dated).



Source: NIOC.

Whilst one might argue that SOMOs Asian pricing for May replicates what Saudi Aramco did but instead keeps the increases moderate, the European prices of the Iraqi state oil marketer buck the Middle Eastern trend completely. SOMO cut the nominal May OSP of Kirkuk by 80 cents per barrel but that has very little immediate effect on the market as all the Kurdish barrels are still marketed by the regional government in Erbil. The pricing of Basrah Medium and Basrah Heavy, on the other hand, do matter and they saw their OSPs cut by $1.20 and $1.55 per barrel, respectively. Cognizant that Russian exports are squeezing its barrels out of traditional outlets, SOMO has seemingly decided to counteract the trend by pushing harder for its share of the pie in the Mediterranean (exports to NW Europe have routinely been meagre, averaging around 50,000 b/d). With Med buyers maintaining historically elevated levels of Urals buying, this will be quite difficult to pull off.

Chart 6. Iranian Official Selling Prices for Asia-bound cargoes (vs Oman/Dubai average).



Source: NIOC.

Oddly enough, Irans national oil company decided to convey an even more aggressive pricing message to the markets and increased its Asia-bound May OSPs for Iran Light and Iran Heavy by 4.50 and 4.30 per barrel, respectively. Given that Iran still sells the overwhelming majority of its exports surreptitiously, at steep discounts to the officially declared formula prices, the price has little bearing on actual developments but is a strong signal to the market, a signal of a more confident Iran. Crude flows corroborate this as January-February loadings have averaged some 800-900,000 b/d, the highest since the ultimate wind-down of sanction waivers in May-June 2019. At the same time, as time goes by, the markets faith in a viable Iranian deal continues to fade. With Teheran and Washington locked in mutual recriminations, Iranian negotiators and lawmakers have tried to reiterate the demands that have so far been unmet throughout the Vienna talks, mostly guarantees that the US does not repeat its deal departure and does not slap additional sanctions on Iranian entities.

Chart 7. Kuwaiti Official Selling Prices for Asian cargoes (vs Oman/Dubai average).



Source: KPC.

Of all main Middle Eastern producers, Kuwait has seen the most political volatility over the past weeks. The entire government led by Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah offered its resignation three months after taking office and surprisingly crude has been one of the key factors of destabilization. Despite maintaining objectives long-term goals, current production of the Kuwaiti national oil company KPC has been stagnating with the giant Burgan field marginally declining and new projects, such as joint production with Saudi Aramco in the Neutral Zone, failing to live up to the hype. Consequently, Kuwait has been searching for partners to help finance its spare capacity increases and Japan has reportedly agreed to provide $1 billion for that purpose. In terms of pricing, KPC hiked the May OSP of its flagship Kuwait Export Blend by $4.50 per barrel to a $9.30 per barrel premium vs Oman/Dubai, 10 cents higher than the Saudi m-o-m increase (bringing it to a total parity with Arab Medium).



By Gerald Jansen for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Two rival governments are sparring over the control of oil production in Libya.

Libyas prime minister-designate Fathi Bashagha has offered to help the UK replace Russian oil in return for help with post-war reconstruction, in a move seen as a direct challenge to incumbent Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

The offer comes as Libyas has seen three-quarters of its oil production shut down amid protests over the Dbeibah governments refusal to step down and clear the way for Bashagha to take over Tripoli.

On Monday, at the same time that Libyas National Oil Company (NOC) was declaring force majeure on its largest oilfields and exports terminals, taking some 800,000 barrels per day offline, Bashagha rejected the idea of transferring $6 billion in oil revenues to the Central Bank, controlled by the government in Tripoli.

Bashagha described the notion of such a transfer as wasting public money and the wealth of the Libyan state in favor of an outlaw government and reportedly ordered the NOC to freeze oil revenues, according to the Libya Observer.

Bashagha was appointed prime minister by the eastern-based parliament in March, but Dbeibah has refused to step down. The eastern-based parliament holds that Dbeibahs mandate ended when December elections failed to materialize, and a new prime minister must lead the country through new elections plans.

The two rival governments are now sparring over the control of oil production, which is predominately under the purview of eastern forces, while oil revenues are controlled by the Central Bank in Tripoli. It is this political rivalry that has led to a shut-down of production and exports.

Libyan High Council of State member Abdulrahman Al-Sweihli on Monday accused General Khalifa Haftar, House of Representatives Speaker Aqila Saleh and Bashagha of orchestrating the force majeure on oil production, calling the three power crazy. The Councilman also said that Bashagha would not be allowed to enter Tripoli.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Dbeibah called for an investigation into the oilfield closures. Referring to Bashagha and his allies, Dbeibah said, They were seeking to establish a new transitional authority, and when they failed to do so, they shut down oil exports so they could go on humiliating this great nation.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
The European Commission is considering whether a 45-percent share of renewable energy by 2030 would be achievable for the European Union, up from a previous target of 40 percent, as the bloc is looking to free itself from dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

"We are working on it full speed to take account, first of all the proposal of going from 40% to 45%, but also in the context of higher energy prices," Mechthild Worsdorfer, Deputy Director General for Green and Just transition at the European Commission, said during a meeting of EU lawmakers on Wednesday, as carried by Reuters.

Last year, the European Commission pushed up the EU-level target of 'at least 32 percent' of renewable energy sources in the overall energy mix to at least 40 percent by 2030, which would be doubling the current renewables share of 19.7 percent in a decade.

After Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the EU has signaled that doubling down on renewables was one way to cut its reliance on Russian oil and gas.

The Commission's REPowerEU plan to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030 includes diversification of gas supplies, speeding up the roll-out of renewable gases, increasing electricity generation from renewables, and replacing gas in heating and power generation.

"The quicker we switch to renewables and hydrogen, combined with more energy efficiency, the quicker we will be truly independent and master our energy system," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in early March at the presentation of the plan.

Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans said: "Putin's war in Ukraine demonstrates the urgency of accelerating our clean energy transition."

The ambitious 45-percent renewables target by 2030 will depend on future decisions by the EU member states and the European Parliament.

Industry association WindEurope said earlier this month that while electrification is the most cost-effective way to decarbonize Europe's economy, "this can only happen if power grids are optimised and expanded in a timely manner." Europe needs to double annual investments over the next thirty years to up to US$86.6 billion (80 billion euro) a year to do that, WindEurope adds.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
In Germanys most definitive statement yet regarding Russian oil and gas imports, the German Foreign Minister has pledged that the country will cease importing Russian oil entirely by the end of 2022.

While Germany will only gradually stop Russian natural gas imports, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Wednesday that by this summer, the country will halve Russian oil imports and zero them out by years end, and then gas will follow.

Thats a large commitment from Germany, which relies on Russian oil for some one-quarter to one-third of its imports and Russian gas for some 40% of its imports. Germany also is seeking to wean itself off Russian coal by the third quarter of this year.

An immediate halt to all Russian oil and gas imports would lead to recession in Germany by 2023, economists have warned.

German businesses and unions on Monday joined forces to oppose an immediate ban on Russian oil and gas.

And JPMorgan has said that such an immediate ban could push oil prices to as high as $185 per barrel.

The German Foreign Minister remained vague on plans for natural gas after 2022, and for now, a European Union ban on Russian gas is not on the table.

Germany struck a deal with Qatar for liquefied natural gas in March, which could help the country wean itself off of Russian natural gas; however, this will come at a higher price that will have an economic impact on the European Unions largest economy, Forbes reports.

The US has already banned Russian oil imports and the UK plans to phase them out by the end of the year, as well.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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In a concerted move to move away from its heavy reliance on Russia amid the Ukraine crisis, Germany authorities have finally given in and allowed gas drilling to proceed in one of its most controversial territories.

On Wednesday, a German regional authority responsible for the Wadden Sea Islands gave the green light to a Dutch company to drill for gas in the North Sea above the Wadden Islands.

Dutch firm One-Dyas says it plans to begin drilling for natural gas some 20 kilometers north of the islands as soon as possible after the German government was forced to relax its attitude about oil and gas drilling in its territories. The gas field, which contains low-calorific gas suitable for use by households, is located over 20 kilometers above the Wadden Islands in the North Sea under both the Dutch and German seabed.

"We cannot afford to ask the Netherlands for more gas and continue to refuse to extract our own gas," Minister Bernd Althusmann of Economic Affairs of the state of Lower Saxony announced on Tuesday.

Chris de Ruyter van Steveninck, director at One-Dyas, has told broadcaster NOS that the firm can supply 5% of Dutch gas demand on an annual basis. According to the director, the field and those nearby have a potential to deliver ~60 billion cubic meters of natural gas, meaning they can supply nearly half of the Netherlands 40 billion cubic meters annual consumption and Germanys 90 billion cubic meters.

Russias invasion of Ukraine has triggered widespread self-sanctioning by its western energy customers, leading to an energy crisis in the Eurozone and globally. Germany relies on Russia for ~60% of its natural gas needs.

Drilling for gas in the North Sea has been met with heavy resistance, with the mayors of the two nearby islands both opposed to the development mainly on concerns about the environmental impact. However, research by the Dutch economic affairs ministry has concluded that there would be minimal damage during both construction of the project and also during the active pumping phase.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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Crypto mining could enable sanctioned nations to evade punitive restrictions researchers the International Monetary Fund said.

Sanctioned nations could monetize domestic energy supplies, which cannot be exported abroad, by mining cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, an IMF report has revealed. While the magnitude of capital flows to sanctioned actors is relatively contained, the IMF said that it still presents risks to financial integrity.

Regulators in the United States and United Kingdom, among others, have urged firms in their jurisdictions, including the

crypto-asset sector, to increase vigilance with regard to potential Russian sanction evasion attempts, the IMF wrote in a report.

Over time, sanctioned countries could also allocate more resources toward evading sanctions through mining, the report continued. The monetization happens directly on blockchains and outside the financial system where the sanctions are implemented. Miners can also generate revenues directly from users that pay transaction fees to miners.

The IMF estimates that of total Bitcoin mining revenues, which last year reached $1.4bn, Russian miners could have captured close to 11 percent while Iranian miners captured three percent.

The comments come as regulators worldwide shine a light on the use of unregulated cryptocurrencies for sanctions evasion amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The European Union this month unveiled a fresh tranche of sanctions targeting Russia which included a requirement for firms to cease high-value crypto-asset services in the country.

By CityAM

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Rosneft is offering as many as 37.4 million barrels of the flagship Urals crude for May and June loadings, according to a tender document seen by Bloomberga sign that Russias top oil producer is racing to award spot tenders before any possible EU embargo on Russian oil comes into force.

The massive tender offer from Rosneft surprised traders in Europe and Asia, who told Bloomberg that it is not typical for the Russian oil giant to seek such short-term and large-volume sales.

The tender offer is for Urals loading and departing from Russias western ports. Rosneft has said it prefers Russian rubles as payment, although in theory, buyers could pay in U.S. dollars, euros, yuans, the UAEs dirham, or Turkish lira, according to the document seen by Bloomberg.

Rosneft also wants 100-percent pre-payment on the provisional value of the Urals cargoes.

All these stipulations from Rosneft in the firesale tender suggest that Russia and its oil giant are looking to get paid and get the crude sold before a potential EU ban on Russian oil imports.

Many buyers in the West have shunned Russian oil since Putins invasion of Ukraine, and major international traders have also said they would either cut or phase out purchases of Russias crude.

The worlds top independent oil trader, Vitol, plans to wind down its activities involving Russian crude oil by the end of this year, Bloomberg reported last week, citing a spokesman for the company.

Trade with Russian oil will diminish significantly in the second quarter as current term contractual obligations decline, the spokesman said, adding, we anticipate this will be completed by end of 2022.

Putin is confident that Russia can find new willing buyers for its oil in Asia. Buyers in Asiaespecially China and Indiaare taking some of the oil unwanted in the West. Still, logistics, high freight rates, insurance, bank guarantees, and payment hurdles prevent willing buyers in Asia from purchasing all the oil Russia has traditionally sold on the European market.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Five years after the United States became a net exporter of natural gas on an annual basis, the countrys natural gas exports both by pipeline and as liquefied natural gas (LNG) have grown by leaps and bounds.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has forecast that the United States will surpass Australia and Qatar to become the worlds top LNG exporter this year, with LNG exports continuing to lead the growth in U.S. natural gas exports and average 12.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2022.The United States currently ranks second in the world in natural gas exports, behind only Russia.

According to the EIA, annual U.S. LNG exports are set to increase by 2.4 Bcf/d in 2022 and 0.5 Bcf/d in 2023. The energy watchdog has forecast that natural gas exports by pipeline to Mexico and Canada will increase slightly, by 0.3 Bcf/d in 2022 and by 0.4 Bcf/d in 2023, thanks to more exports to Mexico.

For the first time ever, U.S. LNG exports exceeded pipeline exports of natural gas on an annual basis in 2021. Monthly LNG exports continuously set new records in 2021, and averaged 11.3 Bcf/d this winter, a good 2.2 Bcf/d higher than last winter. U.S. LNG exports reached a new high of 11.9 Bcf/d. U.S. in March 2022, thanks to the EU turning increasingly looking to the United States after Russia invaded Ukraine. But all that would not have been possible without the countrys LNG export capacity increasing in 2021 with the addition of Sabine Pass Train 6 and capacity expansions at Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi LNG export terminals.

And this trend is set to continue.

The United States is set to become the country with the largest LNG export capacity in the world once the new Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility is placed in service by the end of 2022. The EIA has predicted that a relatively high LNG demand in Asia and Europe will support continued U.S. LNG exports.

But its not just LNG thats seeing massive growth. The U.S. exports by pipeline also increased in 2021 as Mexico continued to expand its domestic pipeline network.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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LVIV, Ukraine  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian troops in southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world Sunday to respond.

Torture chambers are built there, Zelenskyy said in an evening address to the nation. They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities.

Zelenskyy said humanitarian aid has been stolen, creating famine.

In occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, he said, the Russians are creating separatist states and introducing Russian currency, the ruble.

Intensified Russian shelling of Ukraines second-largest city, Kharkiv, has killed 18 people and wounded 106 in the last four days alone, Zelenskyy said.

This is nothing but deliberate terror. Mortars, artillery against ordinary residential neighborhoods, against ordinary civilians, he said.

He said a planned Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine will begin in the near future.

Zelensky again called for increased sanctions against Russia, including its entire banking sector and oil industry. Everyone in Europe and America already sees Russia openly using energy to destabilize Western societies, Zelenskyy said. All of this requires greater speed from Western countries in preparing a new, powerful package of sanctions.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:

 Russia strikes Ukraine's big cities, bears down on Mariupol

 Elderly mother feels lost, seeks son's body in Ukrainian town of Bucha

 Prince Harry pays tribute to Ukrainian competitors as he opens the Invictus Games

 We pray for you: Ukrainian Jews mark Passover, if they can

Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

WASHINGTON -- Ukraines foreign minister is describing the situation in Mariupol as dire and heartbreaking and says Russias continued attacks there could be a red line that ends all efforts to reach peace through negotiation.

Dmytro Kuleba tells CBS Face the Nation that the remaining Ukrainian military personnel and civilians in the port city are basically encircled by Russian forces.

He says the Ukrainians continue their struggle but that the city effectively doesnt exist anymore because of massive destruction.

Kuleba says his country has been keeping up expert level talks with Russia in recent weeks in hopes of reaching a political solution for peace. But citing the significance of Mariupol, he echoed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in saying the elimination of Ukrainian forces there could be a red line that stops peace efforts.

WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden says hes praying on Easter for those living in the dark shadow of war, persecution and poverty.

Biden released an Easter message Sunday in which he says hes also praying for peace, freedom and basic dignity and respect for all of Gods children.

Biden didnt say which war he had in mind, but the president has been deeply involved in trying to force an end to Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The American president says hes grateful that the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed many people around the world to celebrate by attending religious services and in-person family gatherings. He also acknowledges that the holiest day on the Christian calendar falls on heavy hearts for those who have lost loved ones and those among us living in the dark shadow of war, persecution and poverty.

KYIV, Ukraine  A regional official in eastern Ukraine says at least two people have been killed by Russian shelling.

The Luhansk regions governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said that at least four others were wounded Sunday when Russia forces fired at residential buildings in the town of Zolote.

Zolote is located near the front line in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas, where the Russian forces are preparing for a massive offensive.

WASHINGTON  Ukraines prime minister says the besieged city of Mariupol hasn't yet fallen to Russia and the Ukrainian forces there will fight to the end.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal appealed during a Sunday appearance on an American television broadcast for help for the approximately 100,000 Ukrainians who remain trapped in the eastern city without food, water, heat and electricity.

He says some regions of Mariupol remain under Ukrainian control, and that Russia doesn't have full dominance over the city.

Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to Russian forces Sunday after seven weeks under siege. The Russian military gave a deadline for surrender to a few thousand Ukrainian fighters who were providing the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol, but the Ukrainians didn't submit.

Shmyhal told ABC News This Week that Ukrainian forces are still fighting, including in the Donbas region, but we do not have intention to surrender.

The prime minister says Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy, if possible. Shmyhal says surrender isnt an option, adding that we will not leave our country, our families, our lands, so we will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war.

KYIV, Ukraine  A Ukrainian health official says that at least five people have been killed in the Russian shelling of Kharkiv.

Maksym Haustov, the head of the Kharkiv regional administrations health department, said that another 13 residents were wounded by Sundays shelling of Ukraines second-largest city.

Rescuers have been working to help survivors after the shelling that hit residential and administrative buildings and caused fires. Officials said the center of Kharkiv came under shelling by multiple rocket launchers.

KHARKIV, Ukraine  Multiple rockets struck the center of the eastern city of Kharkiv on Sunday, according to AP journalists in the city.

The barrage slammed into apartment buildings and left broken glass, debris and part of at least one rocket scattered on the street. Several apartments caught fire, with firefighters and residents scrambling to douse the flames.

At least two bodies were seen, and four other people were injured, though the scale of the attack suggested the casualty toll could rise further.

MOSCOW  The Russian military has warned that Ukrainian troops refusing to surrender in the besieged port of Mariupol will be destroyed.

The Russian Defense Ministry gave the Ukrainians at Mariupols giant Azovstal steel mill until 1 p.m. Sunday (1000 GMT) to surrender, saying that those who put down their weapons will be guaranteed to keep their lives.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the Ukrainian military command had banned its troops from surrendering. He said the Russian military received the information from intercepted communications.

Konashenkov warned that all those who will continue resistance will be destroyed.

He claimed that along with Ukrainian troops, there are about 400 foreign mercenaries encircled at Azovstal, most of them from European countries and Canada, communicating in six languages, according to intercepts. Konashenkovs claim couldnt be independently verified.

VATICAN CITY  In an Easter Sunday message aimed at the world but heavily focused on Ukraine, Pope Francis raised two worries  the risk of nuclear warfare and that other armed conflicts on the globe will go unnoticed.

In a speech from the balcony of St. Peters Basilica, the pope quoted a declaration from scientists in the 1950s in which they posed the question: Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?

The pope has repeatedly made anguished pleas for a cease-fire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. In his Easter message, Francis lamented that so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing.

He expressed hope that the war in Europe will also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow in situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget. Among the places he cited were Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. He singled out Yemen, suffering from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims.

MILAN  Italian Premier Mario Draghi is calling Ukraines resistance to Russias invasion heroic, depriving Russia of what it expected to be a rapid victory and setting the stage for a prolonged war.

Draghi told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published Sunday that what awaits us is a war of resistance, prolonged violence with destruction that will continue. There is no sign that the Ukraine population can accept a Russian occupation.

Draghi noted that Italy remained close to the Ukrainian people, with the reopening of its embassy in Kyiv. The ambassador returned to the capital on Friday, and the embassy is expected to be fully operational on Monday.

Draghi, who spoke to Putin before the war broke out and again at the end of March, said he has come to believe that speaking with the Russian leader is just a waste of time.

Draghi said: I have the impression that the horror of the war, with its carnage, with what they have done to children and women, is completely independent of the words and the phone calls.

KYIV, Ukraine  Ukraines deputy defense minister says that the key port of Mariupol is holding despite the continuing Russian attacks.

Hanna Malyar said Sunday that the defenders of the key Sea of Azov port have tied up significant Russian forces besieging the city. She described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine that prevents the Russian troops encircling the city from advancing to other areas of the country.

Malyar said that the Russians have continued to hit Mariupol with air raids and were possibly preparing an amphibious landing to beef up their forces in the city.

LONDON  In his Easter sermon, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw in Ukraine.

The leader of the Anglican church said Easter is a time for peace and not blood and iron.

Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week  the week leading to Easter  he said let this be a time for Russian cease-fire, withdrawal and a commitment to talks.

Welby said God hears the cry of the mothers in Ukraine, he sees the fear of boys too young to become soldiers, and he knows the vulnerability of the orphans and refugees.

MOSCOW  The Russian military has told Ukrainian troops in the besieged port of Mariupol that if they lay down their weapons they will be guaranteed to keep their lives.

The Russian Defense Ministry made the announcement early Sunday. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said that the Ukrainians encircled at the giant Azovstal steel factory were given until 1 p.m. (1000 GMT) to surrender.

It was the latest such offer to the Ukrainian defenders of the key Sea of Azov port during a siege that has lasted for more than 1 months. Capturing Mariupol is a key strategic goal for Russia, allowing it to secure a land corridor to Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014. The fall of Mariupol would also free the Russian forces involved in the siege for a planned offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas.

The giant Azovstal steel mill that covers an area of more than 11 square kilometers (over 4.2 square miles) is the last major section of Mariupol still under Ukrainian control.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Saturday that about 2,500 Ukrainian troops remain at Azovstal, a claim that couldnt be independently verified. The Ukrainian officials didnt mention any numbers for the city defenders.

MOSCOW  The Russian military says it has struck a military plant on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital with missiles.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Sunday the military has used precision-guided air-launched missiles to attack the ammunition plant in Brovary outside Kyiv overnight.

He said that other Russian air raids also destroyed Ukrainian air defense radars near Sievierodonetsk in the east and several ammunition depots elsewhere.

The strikes were the latest in a series of Russian attacks on Ukraines weapons factories, air defense assets and other facilities as Moscow prepares for a massive offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas.

SOFIA, Bulgaria  Bulgaria has banned Russian-flagged ships from entering its Black Sea ports as part of expanded EU sanctions, the countrys Maritime Administration announced on its website on Sunday.

All vessels registered under Russian flag, as well as all vessels that have switched their Russian flag, or flag or maritime register registration to any other state whatsoever after Feb. 24, are forbidden access to Bulgarian maritime and river ports, the authority said.

Exceptions will be made only for ships in distress or seeking humanitarian assistance, or ships transporting energy products, food and pharmaceuticals to EU countries.

KHARKIV, Ukraine  Russias bombardment of cities around Ukraine on Saturday included an explosion in Kharkiv that destroyed a community kitchen.

Associated Press journalists at the scene recorded the immediate aftermath of the apparent missile attack. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said three people were killed and 34 wounded by missile strikes Saturday in that city alone.

The kitchen was set up by World Central Kitchen, which is run by celebrity chef Jose Andres to establish feeding systems in disaster and war zones. Andres tweeted that the non-governmental organizations staff members were shaken but safe.

The organization says it has now reached 30 cities across the country, providing nearly 300,000 meals a day. Andres said the attack in Kharkiv shows that to give food in the middle of a senseless war is an act of courage, resilience and resistance and that his groups chefs will keep cooking for Ukraine.

KYIV, Ukraine  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke Saturday with the leaders of Britain and Sweden about how best to help those defending Mariupol and the tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside the besieged city.

Mariupols fate can be decided either through battle or diplomacy, he said.

Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said in his nightly video address to the nation. Or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive.

NEW YORK  A Russian general whose troops have been besieging the Ukrainian port of Mariupol was buried on Saturday in St. Petersburg after dying in battle, the governor said.

Maj. Gen. Vladimir Frolov was deputy commander of the 8th Army, which Russian media identified as being among the forces battering Mariupol for weeks.

Gov. Alexander Beglov released a statement saying Frolov died a heroic death in battle without saying where or when he was killed. Photographs on Russian news websites showed his grave at a St. Petersburg cemetery piled high with red and white flowers.

Ukraine has claimed that several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed during the war.

WASHINGTON  Austrias chancellor said after meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow this past week that the Russian president is in his own war logic when it comes to Ukraine.

Karl Nehammer told NBC in an interview that he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war. Nehammer was the first European leader to meet Putin in Moscow since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24. He said we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine.

Before arriving in Moscow last Monday, Nehammer had visited Bucha, Ukraine, the town outside of Kyiv where graphic evidence of killings and torture has emerged following the withdrawal of Russian forces.

Nehammer told Meet the Press that he confronted Putin with what he had seen in Bucha, and it was not a friendly conversation.

He said Putin said he will cooperate with an international investigation, on one hand, and on the other hand, he told me that he doesnt trust the Western world. So this will be the problem now in the future.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP)  Heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist town Tuesday, ripping through two-dozen structures and sending residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee.

Flames as high as 100 feet (30 meters) raced through an area of scattered homes, dry grass and Ponderosa pine trees on the outskirts of Flagstaff as wind gusts of up to 50 mph (80 kph) pushed the blaze over a major highway.

Coconino County officials said during an evening news conference that 766 homes and 1,000 animals had been evacuated. About 250 structures remained threatened in the area popular with hikers and off-road vehicle users and where astronauts have trained amid volcanic cinder pits.

The county declared an emergency after the wildfire ballooned from 100 acres (40 hectares) Tuesday morning to over 9 square miles (23 square kilometers) by evening, and ash rained from the sky. The fire was moving northeast away from the more heavily populated areas of Flagstaff, home to Northern Arizona University, and toward Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, said Coconino National Forest spokesman Brady Smith.

Its good in that its not headed toward a very populated area, and its headed toward less fuel, Smith said. But depending on the intensity of the fire, fire can still move across cinders.

Authorities wont be able to determine whether anyone was injured in the wildfire until the flames subside. Firefighters and law enforcement officers went door to door telling people to evacuate but had to pull out to avoid getting boxed in, said Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll.

He said his office got a call about a man who was trapped inside his house, but firefighters couldnt get to him.

We dont know if he made it out or not, Driscoll said.

Various organizations worked to set up shelters for evacuees and animals, including goats and horses.

The scene was all too familiar for residents who recalled rushing to pack their bags and flee a dozen years ago when a much larger wildfire burned in the same area.

This time was different, right there in your backyard, said Kathy Vollmer, a resident.

She said she and her husband grabbed their three dogs but left a couple of cats behind as they faced what she described as a wall of fire.

We just hope they are going to be OK," she said.

Earlier in the day, the wildfire shut down U.S. 89, the main route between Flagstaff and far northern Arizona, and communities on the Navajo Nation. The high winds grounded aircraft that could drop water and fire retardant on the blaze.

Arizona Public Service Co., the state's largest utility, shut off power to about 625 customers to keep firefighters safe, a spokeswoman said.

About 200 firefighters were battling the flames, but more are expected as a top-level national management team takes over later this week.

The fire started Sunday afternoon 14 miles (22 kilometers) northeast of Flagstaff. Investigators dont know yet what caused it and have yet to corral any part of the blaze.

Ali Taranto rushed to Flagstaff from Winslow, where she works at a hospital, on Tuesday to check on a property she owns that was threatened by the wildfire. She also was getting messages to check on a neighbor who she found didnt have access to oxygen while the power was out and didnt have the strength to manually open her garage door to evacuate.

Taranto said the neighbor was disoriented and gasping for air when she reached her. Firefighters in the area helped get the garage door open and the neighbor to the hospital, she said. Taranto was looking for a shelter for the neighbors two dogs.

By the time Taranto left the area, the highway into Flagstaff was shut down and she had to drive an extra two hours back home. At least two other neighbors didnt evacuate, she said.

To see flames several yards away from your property line and to hear the propane tanks bursting in the background, it was very surreal, Taranto said. Ash falling down. It was crazy.

The wind is expected to be a challenge the rest of the week, along with warmer-than-average weather and low humidity, the National Weather Service said.

I dont see any significant decreases in wind, I dont see any big bump ups in humidity and, at this point, were not really expecting any precipitation either, said meteorologist Robert Rickey.

Red flag warnings blanketed much of Arizona and New Mexico on Tuesday, indicating conditions are ripe for wildfires. Residents in northern New Mexicos Mora and San Miguel counties were warned to be ready to evacuate as wildfires burned there amid dry, warm and windy conditions.

The National Interagency Fire Center reported Tuesday that nearly 2,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel were assigned to more than a dozen large wildfires in the Southwestern, Southern and Rocky Mountain areas. Scientists say climate change has made the U.S. West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

Elsewhere in Arizona, firefighters battled a wildfire in a sparsely populated area of the Prescott National Forest about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Prescott.

Cory Carlson, the incident commander with the Prescott National Forest, said late Tuesday afternoon the high winds have been the biggest challenge, sending embers into the air that sparked new spot fires near State Route 261, along with the demand for crews at other fires.

We do have a lack of resources," he said. Theres a lot of fires in the region.

Some areas were evacuated, and a shelter was set up at Yavapai College. Carlson appealed to residents to abide by evacuation orders.

The cause of the 600-acre (2.4 square-kilometer) wildfire was under investigation.

In southern Arizona, a principal highway route between Bisbee and Sierra Vista reopened Tuesday after being closed for about eight hours due to a brush fire in the hills overlooking Bisbee.

Associated Press writer Paul Davenport in Phoenix, Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Three weeks before Nebraskas primary election, State Sen. Tony Vargas and mental health practitioner Alisha Shelton met on an Omaha debate stage Tuesday to make their pitch to Democratic voters.

The two are competing to be their partys nominee for Nebraskas 2nd District House seat. The debate was sponsored by the Omaha Press Club and the League of Women Voters of Greater Omaha and was livestreamed by WOWT.

The 2nd District includes Saunders County, western Sarpy County and all of Douglas County, including Omaha.

The primary is on May 10, but many voters have already received their ballots in the mail. The winner of the Democratic primary will move on to face incumbent Rep. Don Bacon, who is the favorite to win the Republican primary.

Vargas and Shelton both had plenty of criticism for Bacon during the debate, but in her closing statement Shelton took aim at Vargas as well.

Shelton said she didnt like what she called shady politics, saying politicians like Bacon and Vargas vote for one thing in an election year but then reverse course and vote differently at other times.

Shelton said Vargas has supported school choice, yet in this election year he sided with public school advocates by introducing Legislative Bill 960, which was intended to help address the teacher shortage by removing the basic skill and content test requirements for entry-level teachers.

Shelton said voters need someone like her who is consistent, whether it is an election year or not.

We need some consistency in Washington and that will come from an everyday person, not someone whos playing party politics, Shelton said.

Vargas responded by noting his experience as a public school teacher and an Omaha Public Schools board member, and his endorsement from the Nebraska State Education Association.

We need leadership thats going to start from day one and somebody that recognizes where the opponent lies  where Congressman Bacon has not stood up for us, Vargas said. Ive led with civility and principled leadership my entire career.

The two candidates were asked by WOWTs Brian Mastre, the debate moderator, about the recent mass shootings across the country and what could be done about them.

Shelton said she grew up in Omaha feeling fear and anxiety because of heavy gang activity and not knowing what was going to happen next. Shelton said she also became a gun owner after being attacked in her own home while in graduate school.

I do more to maintain my drivers license than to maintain my gun, Shelton said.

Shelton said she would like more legislation around guns, but says prevention is also key especially when it comes to mass shootings in schools. Shelton said every school needs a mental health staff to support and help students.

Vargas said he supports the Second Amendment but also supports reasonable gun control that focuses on universal background checks.

He favors gun education and a ban on assault weapons, and highlighted his recent opposition to a bill in the Legislature that would have allowed Nebraskans to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

Vargas also called for more investments in neighborhoods and communities before mass shootings happen.

Vargas has been beating Shelton in one category: fundraising.

Campaign finance reports for the first quarter of 2020, from January through March, were due to the Federal Election Commission last week. During that time frame, Vargas raised more than $325,000 to Sheltons nearly $123,000.

Heading into the final 40 days of the primary campaign, Vargas had $529,746 in the bank to Sheltons $112,693.

Bacon raised more money than the two Democrats together. His campaign finance report shows he collected just shy of $475,000 during the quarter, bringing the congressmans total cash on hand to more than $1.1 million.

Steve Kuehl, Bacons lone opponent in the Republican primary, filed his first fundraising report since entering the race. He raised $5,141 but spent $6,533, leaving him $1,392 in the red.

Randall Adkins, a political science professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said he didnt see any surprises in the latest fundraising reports.

Adkins said its unsurprising that Vargas has been able to raise more money than Shelton. Vargas has run two winning legislative campaigns; Shelton ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate.

Adkins said its also unsurprising that Bacon, as the incumbent, would have the biggest war chest. Without a serious challenger in the primary, Bacon likely wont have to spend as much money getting to the general election.

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russian forces tightened the noose around the defenders holed up Wednesday in a mammoth steel plant that represented the last known Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol, as a fighter apparently on the inside pleaded on a video for help: We may have only a few days or hours left.

With the holdouts coming under punishing new bombing attacks, another attempt to evacuate civilians trapped in the pulverized port city failed because of continued fighting.

Meanwhile, the number of people fleeing the country topped 5 million, the Kremlin said it submitted a draft of its demands for ending the war, and the West raced to supply Ukraine with heavier weapons to counter the Russians' new drive to seize the industrial east.

With global tensions running high, Russia reported the first successful test launch of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sarmat. President Vladimir Putin boasted it can overcome any missile defense system and make those who threaten Russia think twice," and the head of the Russian state aerospace agency called the launch out of northern Russia a present to NATO.

The Pentagon described the test as routine and said it wasn't considered a threat.

On the battlefield, Ukraine said Moscow continued to mount assaults across the east, probing for weak points in Ukrainian defensive lines. Russia said it launched hundreds of missile and air attacks on targets that included concentrations of troops and vehicles.

The Kremlin's stated goal is the capture of the Donbas, the mostly Russian-speaking eastern region that is home to coal mines, metal plants and heavy-equipment factories. Detaching it would give Putin a badly needed victory two months into the war, after the botched attempt to storm the capital, Kyiv.

The Luhansk governor said Russian forces now control 80% of his region, which is one of two that make up the Donbas. Before Russia invaded on Feb. 24, the Kyiv government controlled 60% of the Luhansk region.

Gov. Serhiy Haidai said the Russians, after seizing the small city of Kreminna, are now threatening the cities of Rubizhne and Popasna. He urged all residents to evacuate immediately.

The occupiers control only parts of these cities, unable to break through to the centers, Haidai said on the messaging app Telegram.

Analysts say the offensive in the east could devolve into a war of attrition as Russia runs up against Ukraine's most experienced, battle-hardened troops, who have fought pro-Moscow separatists in the Donbas for eight years.

Russia said it presented Ukraine with a draft document outlining its demands for ending the conflict  days after Putin said the talks were at a dead end.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the ball is in their court, were waiting for a response. He gave no details on the draft, and it was not clear when it was sent or if it offered anything new to the Ukrainians, who presented their own demands last month.

Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy said he had not seen or heard of the proposal, though one of his top advisers said the Ukrainian side was reviewing it.

Moscow has long demanded Ukraine drop any bid to join NATO. Ukraine has said it would agree to that in return for security guarantees from a number of other countries. Other sources of tension include the status of both the Crimean Peninsula, seized by Moscow in 2014, and eastern Ukraine, where the separatists have declared independent republics recognized by Russia.

In devastated Mariupol, Ukraine said the Russians dropped heavy bombs to flatten what was left of the sprawling Azvostal steel plant, believed to be the city's last pocket of resistance.

A few thousand Ukrainian troops, by the Russians estimate, remained in the plant and its labyrinth of tunnels and bunkers spread out across about 11 square kilometers (4 square miles). Zelenskyy said about 1,000 civilians were also trapped there.

A Ukrainian posted a video plea on Facebook urging world leaders to help evacuate people from the plant, saying, "We have more than 500 wounded soldiers and hundreds of civilians with us, including women and children.

The officer, who identified himself as Serhiy Volynskyy of the 36th Marine Brigade, said: This may be our last appeal. We may have only a few days or hours left." The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified.

The Russian side issued a new ultimatum to the defenders to surrender, but the Ukrainians have ignored all previous demands.

All told, more than 100,000 people were believed trapped with little if any food, water, medicine or heat in Mariupol, which had a pre-war population of over 400,000.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the latest effort to open a safe corridor for women, children and the elderly to escape failed because the Russians did not observe a cease-fire. Many previous such agreements have fallen apart because of continued fighting.

A Zelenskyy adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter that he and other Ukrainian negotiators were ready to hold talks without any conditions to save the lives of trapped Mariupol defenders and civilians. There was no immediate response from Russia.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned of horrors yet to be revealed in Mariupol, given the death and destruction left behind in Bucha, near Kyiv, after the Russians retreated.

We can only anticipate that when this tide also recedes from Mariupol, were going to see far worse, if thats possible to imagine, he said.

Mariupol holds strategic and symbolic value for both sides. The scale of suffering there has made it a worldwide focal point of the war. Mariupols fall would deprive Ukraine of a vital port, complete a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, and free up Russian troops to move elsewhere in the Donbas.

As Russia continued to funnel troops and equipment into the Donbas, Western nations rushed to boost the flow of military supplies to Kyiv for this new phase of the war, which is likely to involve trench warfare, long-range artillery attacks and tank battles across relatively open terrain.

U.S. President Joe Biden was set to announce plans Thursday to send more military aid to Ukraine, according to a U.S. official.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Biden will detail his plans to add to the roughly $2.6 billion in military assistance the administration has already approved. Canada and the Netherlands also said they would send more heavy weaponry.

Also, a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon's assessment of the war, said the training of Ukrainian personnel on American 155 mm howitzers has begun in a European country outside Ukraine, and the first of 18 promised such weapons began arriving on the continent.

Putin, meanwhile, boasted that the Sarmat missile has no equivalents in the world. The Sarmat is intended to eventually replace the Soviet-built missile code-named Satan by NATO as a major component of Russia's nuclear arsenal.

It will make those who, in the heat of frantic, aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country think twice, the Russian leader said.

Looking for a path to peace, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requested meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy in their capitals to discuss how to stop the fighting. The U.N. received no immediate response.

Associated Press journalists Mstyslav Chernov and Felipe Dana in Kharkiv, Ukraine; Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine; and Robert Burns and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report, as did other AP staff members around the world.

Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
LINCOLN  The Nebraska Legislature wrapped up its 2022 session Wednesday afternoon with some departing words from Gov. Pete Ricketts and 13 outgoing senators.

The governor, who is term limited and in his final year in office, praised lawmakers for all they had accomplished on behalf of the state of Nebraska.

I have just one word for the session and this body, he said. Wow! Wow, what fantastic work you have done in this short, 60-day session. Historic work that will have generational impact.

Ricketts led off the list of legislative accomplishments with the most significant tax relief bill in Nebraska history. The package of income tax rate cuts, Social Security tax exemption and expanded property tax relief is projected to be worth nearly $900 million when fully implemented.

Next, he pointed to investments in public safety, including expansion of the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center and the State Patrol Crime Laboratory, policies to attract and keep law enforcement officers and $175 million set aside for building a potential new prison.

Ricketts cited two major water initiatives launched by the Legislature. One is the development of a 7-mile long lake along the Platte River between Omaha and Lincoln that has been touted as enhancing recreation and flood control. The other is building a $500 million canal-and-reservoir system in eastern Colorado and western Nebraska to ensure Nebraska can claim its full allotment of South Platte River water.

Finally, the governor hailed the passage of legislation spelling out how the state will use its $1.04 billion in federal COVID-19 recovery funds. He said a sizable portion of the money will go toward revitalizing North and South Omaha and other high-poverty areas.

Any one of these by themselves would be historic, Ricketts said. But you have accomplished all four and many others.

Wednesday was the last day for 13 lawmakers who either are term limited or opted not to seek reelection. Each of them took the podium to give thanks to their families and staff, and to reflect on their time in office.

Several senators also offered guidance for future legislative sessions.

State Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln said the Legislature needs to find a way to take better care of its staff.

Though Hansen did not reference it, tumult surfaced in the Legislature in February when it emerged that former Sen. Mike Groene had taken pictures of a female staff member. Groene, an outspoken and at times gruff conservative lawmaker, resigned within days of the news breaking. Ricketts appointed Mike Jacobson of North Platte to serve the term vacated by Groene.

In a report published earlier this month, an attorney hired by the Legislature to investigate the incident made six recommendations for improving workplace harassment and other personnel policies. The topic will likely factor into future work at the Legislature.

Others encouraged their colleagues to look beyond the Capitol when weighing priorities.

Sen. Curt Friesen of Henderson, while pleased lawmakers approved recovery efforts in North and South Omaha, encouraged lawmakers in future sessions to consider improvements for rural Nebraska.

We have to think of the whole state, Friesen said.

Sen. John McCollister of Omaha urged senators to vote for bills based on their merit, rather than their political party, and encouraged more negotiating across party lines.

Compromise isnt a dirty word, McCollister said.

Just before adjourning, Speaker of the Legislature Mike Hilgers of Lincoln stood to praise lawmakers for their accomplishments this year. He said he initially never wanted to serve as speaker  a role he considered one of the worst jobs in the building  but was excited to do it for the 107th legislative session because of the people he got to work with.

Id come back for you, Hilgers said.

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Martha Stoddard Martha Stoddard keeps legislators honest from The World-Herald's Lincoln bureau, where she covers news from the State Capitol. Follow her on Twitter @StoddardOWH. Phone: 402-670-2402 Follow Martha Stoddard Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
BLOOMINGTON  Aroma Indian Restaurant & Bar, 716 S. Eldorado Road in Bloomington, is this week's pick for Eats of the Week.

Aroma, owned by Siva Busa, opened in December 2017. Busa moved from Andhra Pradesh in Southern India to the United States in 2001, and has been in the Bloomington-Normal area ever since. The cooks at Aroma are from India, too, Busa said, in order to keep the food authentic and consistent.

Aroma's location used to be home to the Taj Mahal restaurant, which was Bloomington's first Indian restaurant.

"I've always had a passion for food," Busa said. "Indian food is not very popular in the Midwest, so I saw an opportunity."

Aroma's name refers to the smell of Indian spices and flavors used in the food.

The most popular menu items include biryani and dosa. Biryani is a mixed rice dish made with Indian spices and either meats, eggs or vegetables, and is one of the most popular dishes in South Asia. Dosa is a thin, flat bread originating from South India, made from fermented batter usually consisting of lentils and rice.

Aroma has a big kitchen with a tandoor, a cylindrical clay or metal oven where food is cooked over charcoal. It is used to cook naan bread and various meats, and the oven can get up to 300 or 400 degrees.

Aroma is known for its buffets, including a lunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; a dinner buffet on Thursdays from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.; and a weekend buffet on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"Our buffets are the backbone of the business. We offer an extensive amount of varieties," Busa said. "Indian street food is very popular and much different than Indian cuisine."

The restaurant also offers baked goods, which are delivered from Busa's sister's bakery, Sweet Connections Bakery, in Chicago.

Busa said a typical Indian meal is coursed and includes curry, rice, bread, soup and yogurt. Aroma offers vegan and vegetarian options as well.

The restaurant also has a full-service bar with Indian beer, wine and whiskey.

"I love this place, this is my hometown," Busa said. "Bloomington is a very nice place, people are very nice and there is large Indian population here."

Busa said he would like to thank community for helping Aroma stay in business during the pandemic. He added that his local customer base increased as a result.

Busa plans to do a one-week Indian street food festival in the future.

Aroma Indian Restaurant & Bar is open daily from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., but closed on Tuesdays. They offer dine-in, DoorDash delivery, takeout and online ordering services.

Contact Olivia Jacobs at (309)-820-3352. Reach out with questions.

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MONROE, Ga.  Opponents trying to derail a $5 billion, 7,500-job electric truck plant in Georgia dominated a state meeting this week that was meant to gather suggestions on how to design the plant to mitigate any impact on the environment.

The state assumed oversight over the Rivian Automotive project after opponents overwhelmed Morgan County planning and zoning officials. The plant was announced by the company and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in December, and is the biggest single industrial project in state history. The first meeting of one of the oversight committees was Monday in the city of Monroe.

Rivian employs roughly 5,000 people at its facility in Normal, where it manufactures the R1T electric truck and R1S SUV, as well as custom delivery vans for Amazon, an investor in the company.

The Irvine, California-based electric vehicle manufacturer announced last year that it would build the facility on a 2,000-acre site in Morgan and Walton counties about 45 miles east of Atlanta along Interstate 20. It plans to produce up to 400,000 vehicles a year there. Rivian said it hopes to break ground as early as this summer and begin production in 2024.

The state panel, led by John Eunice, deputy director for the state Environmental Protection Division, did not get much cooperation from a hostile crowd that gathered at Athens Technical College in Monroe, news outlets reported. Opposition to the plant has been heavy from Rutledge-area residents who say the plant will spoil their rural quality of life.

Residents criticized the meeting as a sham, saying it's impossible to make meaningful suggestions when there's not yet a plant design and saying the state is only working to get the plant built.

"I was sitting at home and I saw my governor get on TV and say Rivian, 2,000-acre plant, coming to Rutledge, Georgia and it's a done deal," said Pam Jones.

Many speakers Monday voiced concerns about possible well-water contamination, light pollution, and the disruption of wildlife habitats and farmland for heavy industry.

"I don't understand why you are sitting on that side of the table, which is the Rivian side of the table and why you're not sitting over here asking Rivian and Gov. Kemp to explain this environmental project and how it's a disaster," said Edwin Snell of Oconee County.

A Rivian executive was present via video conference but did not speak during the hearing.

A spokesperson for Rivian said the meeting was a valuable opportunity for the company to gather input and that the company is committed to sharing details of their plans for the site once they are complete and "meet our own high design and environmental standards."

The plant is a subject of contention in Georgia's Republican primary for governor, with former U.S. Sen. David Perdue attacking Kemp for agreeing to the Rivian location without support from neighbors.

Eunice said he does not know when Rivian will file for environmental permits needed to build the facility. He said the division will take public comment on the permits. Monday's meeting was the first of four planned for the site design and environmental committee. The state plans four meetings each with three other committees tasked with examining quality of life, workforce and local business engagement issues.

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NORMAL  The Heartland Community College Board of Trustees has given final approval to and accepted a bid for a new agriculture facility to be built for a total cost of up to about $23 million west of existing buildings on the Normal campus.

The agriculture facility has been in the works for two years since the board approved an expansion of Heartland's agriculture program in 2020. Planning for the new facility started in December 2020 with Legat Architects.

The new complex and the expanded programming it will allow are necessary for the college to serve the community, President Keith Cornille said.

If you think about businesses and industries that really drive Central Illinois and our communities in particular, agriculture is right there alongside insurance and education, he said. This is a major sector and business need within our community, and its what keeps our community strong.

The board passed a resolution on Tuesday during its monthly meeting allowing spending up to $24 million. The board approved the construction bid from River City Construction of East Peoria for an amount not to exceed around $19.4 million.

The 5% construction contingency, soft costs like furnishings and information technology systems and architectural and engineering fees bring the total to $23.4 million. That is just $182,150 over the original budget, largely due to increased construction costs, said Letisha Trepac, vice president for finance and administration.

The bid includes the main facilities along with four alternatives not part of the base bid. The alternatives include a south parking lot, two plazas and a road connection. The alternatives add $833,000 to the base bid of $18.56 million.

The complex includes indoor and outdoor learning areas, collaborative spaces and test plots. The building will be meet net zero energy standards, using solar and geothermal energy.

Getting more people ready for jobs in agriculture is essential, Cornille said.

There is a significant gap in the jobs that are needed to keep our economy strong and our (agriculture industry) growing in central Illinois and the people that are qualified to meet those demands, he said.

So far, more than $19 million has been dedicated and raised for the project, accounting for around 80% of the total that will be needed, Trepac said.

The project is being funding through college resources, including a bond issuance, and donations to the Heartland Community College Foundation.

Of the $20 million bond issuance, $14 million is going to the project, along with $3.25 million in donations so far, Trepac said. Another $2 million is coming from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation through a grant for net zero buildings.

The bond issuance was timed so as to not increase Heartland District 540s property tax rate.

On Tuesday the board also accepted a bid for $951,500 from Catalyst Construction of Bloomington for renovations to the Workforce Development Center to create a Testing Center to allow for increased college and community proctored tests. The renovations include expanding space for testing with accommodations as well, Cornille said.

One new member joining the board Tuesday night was the new student trustee, Rodney Billerbeck. He is an agriculture student and has been at Heartland for the past 1 years. He was elected by students last month as part of student government elections.

The board recognized several Heartland employees and students for their accomplishments, including recipients of this year's Outstanding Faculty awards.

Nicola Burrmann was recognized as this years Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Member and Gina Leffers was recognized as this years Outstanding Part-time Faculty Member.

Burrmann teaches chemistry and has served on various committees within the college.

Leffers teaches math and received the 2021 Impact Award for her focus on student success. She missed Tuesdays meeting due to teaching a class at the same time.

Trustee Thomas Whitt also shared good news out of the state budget signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker earlier Tuesday. The fiscal 2023 budget includes a 5% increase in funding for community colleges and a $122 million increase in the Monetary Award Program, which helps students pay for college.

Contact Connor Wood at (309)820-3240. Follow Connor on Twitter: @connorkwood

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CHICAGO - Chicago businessman and mayoral candidate Willie Wilson announced he will be giving away another $1 million in gas this Saturday, a move that will provide some relief for city motorists but also, once again, raises thorny questions about Wilson providing handouts to potential voters.

In March, Wilson gave away $1.2 million in free gas over two events at several city and suburban gas stations. Citing skyrocketing gasoline prices in recent months, Wilson  who has a history of practicing sometimes unorthodox, grassroots philanthropy  said he is just trying to help struggling residents.

But this most recent gas giveaway announcement on Tuesday comes just one week after Wilson formally declared his intention in 2023 to succeed Lori Lightfoot as Chicagos mayor, the third time Wilson will be a Chicago mayoral candidate.

Four years ago, state election officials cleared Wilson of violating election law after he was accused as a mayoral candidate of improperly mixing politics and charity work when he handed out tens of thousands of dollars to potential voters at a South Side church.

On Tuesday, Wilson said he wasnt worried about anyone raising similar claims this time around because hes been consistent about giving money to those in need for more than 25 years. Those who might have an issue with his philanthropy leading up to and during elections in which he is a candidate should look at themselves, he said.

Go out there and help those people who are homeless, that dont have food, that are still sick with COVID-19, he said. Go out there with the people who cant get to work, who cant get to a babysitter. Go out there and tell those people you stopped giving because of some political season. Im not that way.

Vote-buying is illegal, but candidates and political figures are generally allowed to give away money or other resources as long as it isnt explicitly tied to politics.

Wilson came under scrutiny after in 2018 he handed out more than $200,000 in cash and checks to people at a South Side church for an event he attended with then-Gov. Bruce Rauner.

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, a watchdog organization now called Reform for Illinois, filed a complaint with the Illinois State Board of Elections that alleged Wilson violated state law by not reporting the money he gave away at the church as an in-kind contribution to Wilsons mayoral political committee.

While the Wilson campaign maintained the nonprofit Dr. Willie Wilson Foundation is a separate organization from his political operation, the political reform group noted the two groups used the same spokesman and that scenes from the July 2018 event were shown on the Wilson for Mayor political campaigns Facebook page.

The elections board eventually rejected the complaint, agreeing with the Wilson campaign that the church giveaway was part of a long-established practice by Wilson and unrelated to the campaign.

Alisa Kaplan, Reform for Illinois current executive director, said voters can draw their own conclusions about the ethical implications of gas or cash giveaways during an election, regardless of whether theyre properly disclosed.

You could certainly see where reasonable observers might think it comes close to vote-buying, but theres nothing in the law that prohibits it if its properly disclosed and candidates arent pretty explicitly soliciting or influencing votes, Kaplan said. And of course elected officials do things like turkey giveaways under the umbrella of charity. You couldnt blame anyone, especially people in need, for taking advantage of these events, but they certainly raise ethical questions about the use of charity and giveaways to boost the candidates electoral chances.

The ability to give away large sums of money is yet another advantage the wealthy have in electoral politics, and the interplay between charity and campaigning may become a bigger and bigger problem, Kaplan said.

Brian Pryor, a spokesman for the state elections board, said the board cant provide legal advice but can give out general guidelines.

In order to avoid problems, our campaign disclosure staff suggests the charitable giveaway should be kept separate from political activities. The recommendation is that there should be no campaign signs, campaign speeches or other advertising related to Mr. Wilsons candidacy, as well as no appeals to vote for him, Pryor said. The same would go for promotion of the giveaway event.

Southwest Side Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, who has also announced his candidacy for mayor in the 2023 elections, said Wilsons philanthropy is well known and didnt take issue with this weeks announced gas giveaway.

To say you have a problem with it now would be politics in and of itself, Lopez said this week. I know Dr. Wilson has helped our wards, our city, with his efforts, most notably during the pandemic when he donated masks to the city of Chicago. Nobody questioned if it was politics.

In the 2018 case, a state hearing officer, James Tenuto, said the church cash giveaway event didnt violate state law for various reasons, including that there were no political speeches at the event, there was no requirement recipients be registered voters, people in attendance werent urged to vote and suburban taxpayers made up 25% of the recipients.

Most significantly, Willie Wilson has a 30-year history of charitable donations throughout the country, Tenuto said.

Wilson celebrated the election boards favorable ruling by promising to do it again and criticizing then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was not party to the complaint.

I dont usually curse, but these guys, Rahm Emanuel, (this) lawyer guy here, theyre a bunch of a------- (for) even thinking of doing something like this, Wilson said.

Former state senator and paid Wilson adviser Rickey Hendon also defended Wilson by denying that he was buying votes.

Theyve accused this man of buying votes, and I just have to say it  buying votes on the West Side, South Side, votes about $5, $10, said Hendon. So if Willie Wilson is giving somebody $3,000, as an adviser, Id be like, youre overpaying by 1,500%. Because if we wanted to buy votes, its 5, 10 bucks on the West Side and South Side, so lets just be real about that.

After Wilsons first gas giveaways, Lightfoot followed by proposing $12.5 million in city funds be used for 50,000 prepaid gas cards worth $150 each as well 100,000 passes that will cover $50 worth of CTA fares. The plan still needs to be approved by the City Council, and she denied her move was a reaction to Wilson.

In announcing his latest gas donation, Wilson said a list of participating gas stations would be made available on his Facebook page. He also called on city and state leaders to temporarily waive taxes on gasoline and asked gas station owners to lower their prices during Saturdays giveaway so that more people can benefit.

It saddens my heart to see people who cannot get to work because of gasoline, Wilson said. Im going to go this Saturday, and were going to pump some more gas like we did last time.

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The Ghana Education Service is designing a framework to coordinate and harmonise the operations of non-governmental organizations in the education sector to enable them to assess their impact and efficiency



Mr Edward Opoku Manu, Human Resource Manager at the Ghana Education Service (GES) Greater Accra Regional Office said the framework will also help synchronise the activities of the NGOs, CSOs and Faith based organizations operating in the schools.



The Greater Accra GES regional office organized a days sensitization programme for selected NGOs and CSOs to discuss the framework and also solicit input from the participants.



Reverend Patrick Banafo, the Greater Accra School Health and Education Programme (SHEP) coordinator who is also coordinating the NGOs working in the educational sector in Greater Accra, in a presentation, said there were about 700 NGOs and CSOs operating in the educational sector across the country, however, there is inadequate data to reflect their contribution.



This has also made it difficult to assess the number of resources going into the education sector in Ghana, he said.



Rev. Banafo said the GES framework or guidelines for NGOs, CSOs and Faith based organizations operating in the sector will help improve the work being done in the educational sector.



The framework will also help minimize duplication of activities and ensure that the work is aligned and harmonised with public sector strategy and materials and maintain a database on their operations.



He commended the NGOs and the private sector organizations working in the educational sector, saying, Government cannot do it alone



NGOs, CSOs and Faith based organizations have increasingly become key stakeholders in the development of the educational sector across the globe, Rev. Banafo said calling for greater cooperation and collaboration to enhance their work and ensure the needed impact.





Source: GNA









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The Ghana Printers and Paper Converters Association (GPPCA) has raised a red flag over attempts by some publishers, in connivance with local printers, to source the printing of government textbooks to printers outside the country.



The association says there is evidence that some foreign printers are already in the country, contacting publishers and printers with juicy packages to take up the printing of the books in their countries.



In an interview with the Daily Graphic on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 the Executive Director of the GPPCA, William Turkson, reiterated the need for the government to step up its control mechanisms to ensure that publishers contracted to get the textbooks printed locally did not sneak out of the country to execute the job.



Context



Last year, the government announced its commitment to cede 100 per cent of the printing of its textbooks locally to help grow the printing industry.



For pre-qualification, all local publishers were directed to present their documents, which must include signed contracts with local printers.





The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, warned that publishers without agreements with local printers would not be considered in the offer.



Taskforce



Mr Turkson proposed that a task force, made up of officials from the Ministry of Education, the National Security, the Ghana Publishers Association, an industry expert and the GPPCA, be set up to police the printing of the books locally.





He charged publishers and printers to demonstrate good faith, as shown by the government, to ensure that the entire contract was executed locally to help grow the printing industry and also create jobs for the youth.



He said some of the publishers had already been given the green light for the commencement of the printing, while others were still waiting for their turn.



He indicated that if care was not taken, with the kind of packages being thrown at publishers and some printers, it was possible some of them would find ways of taking their contracts to print outside, even though they had signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with local printers.



Monitoring



Mr Turkson said the GPPCA, on its part, would monitor its members who signed MoUs with publishers to ensure that the printing was fully done locally.



"The association alone cannot enforce the printing of the textbooks locally because a publisher can work his or her way out without the involvement of the local printer, and this is where the ministry's role in such a task force is crucial.



"The ministry is in a better position to tell which publisher has been selected and given the green light to begin printing, the volume of books assigned to that publisher and which local printer is executing the contract," he explained.



Foreign infiltration



Some of the printers the Daily Graphic contacted confirmed that they had been contacted by foreign printers within the last three weeks with offers to enable them (foreigners) to take up the printing on their behalf.



But the President of the GPPCA, James Appiah-Berko, warned that the association would expose and sanction any member who connived with a publisher to print the books outside the country.



He described the attempt as "unpatriotic", saying that the government had confidence in the local printing industry, which explained why it decided to cede the entire printing of its textbooks locally.



Required information



Touching on the call for the setting up of a task force to monitor the printing to ensure that the intention of the government to grow the industry and also create jobs would be realised, Mr Appiah-Berko said it was critical that the volume of books assigned to each publisher and printer be made known to the task force.



"With such information, we will be able to interrogate the contract delivery during the monitoring," he said, adding that without that information, the work of the task force would be in vain.



He further indicated that with such information, there would be no need for the inclusion of the National Security "because we will have had all the needed information to monitor and interrogate".



He said during interactions with members of the association, only two of them confirmed that their publishers had been given the green light, adding that it was the expectation of the association that it would be expedited.



Mr Appiah-Berko expressed the hope that the rest of the publishers would also be given the green light early enough, so that their printers could also start work.



He said every effort should be made to ensure that the printing was done locally, insisting that the local printing industry had come of age and its output could compare competitively and even better than what was done outside.









Source: graphiconline.com









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A deputy Minister of Education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has expressed the governments commitment to provide adequate infrastructure to accommodate all newly enrolled senior high school (SHS) students.



He explained that the government had initiated 1,132 infrastructure projects in second cycle institutions across the country between 2017 and 2022.



"Out of this number, some 734 has since been completed and handed over. The rest are at various stages of completion and we are poised to ensure their timely completion, he said.



Visit



Rev. Fordjour made this known when he paid a visit to the St John's Grammar Senior High School to inspect a newly-built girls dormitory intended to house newly enrolled students.



The visit was also to assess measures put in place by the school management to ensure the smooth take-off of the academic year for new entrants.



We paid a surprise visit to St Johns Grammar SHS to ascertain how enrolment of the fresh students are going and also inspect a new dormitory which is completed. We also went to their store room and dining hall to check if there was adequate food for the student, Rev. Fordjour told journalists after the inspection.



After being satisfied with the quantity of food items in the schools stores, Rev. Fordjour proceeded to dine with the students and was served Jollof rice and fish, by a Form One student table head, Patricia Quarshie.



He commended the school management for the good work done, while assuring them that the government was poised to address whatever challenges they may face in the enrolment process.



Free SHS



He said that at the end of the ongoing SHS enrolment, some 2.2 million students would have benefited from the government's free SHS and technical, vocational education and training (TVET) programme.



The picture is not as bad as it is being portrayed; it is very positive. Where there is a challenge we will come in to help but in many of our schools, this is the picture we see with many enrolment going on with many first year students warmly received and taken care of by the school management, he noted.



Rev. Fordjour thanked all stakeholders for making it possible for the smooth placement and enrolment process in most of the schools across the country.



We are interested in ensuring that the successes that we have received and chalked up in the free SHS policy are sustained and consolidated; that is why we have seen to the timely completion of infrastructural projects, he said.



Enrolment



The Headmaster of St John's Grammar SHS, Dr Edmund Fianu, informed the Deputy Minister that as at the time of his visit the school had enrolled a total of 1,158 new students and was expecting more students to report in the coming days.



He said the school had adequate food in stock to cater for all the students for the entire semester.



Dr Fianu, however, noted that the school needed a minimum of 150 beds to accommodate students in the new girls' dormitory to which Rev. Fordjour gave the assurance to provide the needed logistics and resources, including beds for the new dormitory to enhance teaching and learning.









Source: graphiconline.com









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Home to the latest and trending topics in healthcare, from news and views on Health, Fitness, Biotechnology, and Alternative Medicine; we aim to keep you informed and up to date.



We've designed this web portal to provide you with accurate information on a wide range of medical conditions and treatments. Our news is updated weekly, so you can be confident that the latest developments in healthcare will be put right at your fingertips. For your convenience, our website is user-friendly, informative, and easily accessible from any location.



We are also part of a growing online community where you can contribute to discussions about your health, treatment options, and techniques for staying healthy.





The website for Ghana's novel telehealth service provider Ahotor.com is an initiative by DEMEZEUS, a technology startup support firm based in Ghana, covering both Ghana and West Africa with plans to expand to other parts of Africa and beyond.



Visit www.ahotor.com to learn more.

Source: peacefmonline.com









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Landlords and occupants of residential and office facilities who fail to clean their frontage will be prosecuted in accordance with the newly passed sanitation bye-laws, Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, has cautioned.



According to him, the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) would not shield any individual or group that do not comply strictly with the Operation Clean Your Frontage bye-laws aimed at improving sanitation in the region.



Mr Quartey (third from right ) being assisted by other dignitaries to cut the tape to open the secretariat Photo Victor A. Buxton

He said the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the region have been empowered by the passing of the bye-laws, and expressed confidence that enforcement would be intensified in the various areas.



Mr Quartey was speaking in Accra yesterday during the inauguration of the Operation Clean Your Frontage at the Secretariat.



He explained that the secretariat was necessary to promote effective monitoring of activities under the Operation Clean Your Frontage campaign.



The Secretariat would be a one-stop shop for all activities under the campaign and would include a Regional Call Centre as well as the Regional Office of the City Response Team, he stated.



The Regional Call Centre, the Regional Minister said, was a centralised office that would receive sanitation-related complaints and reports, and relay same to all 29 MMDA call centres for redress.



He said the RCC in collaboration with the National Service Scheme (NSS) had developed application software which would enable designated officers at various levels of operations to receive complaints and dispatch same to relevant officers for immediate action.



Mr Quartey said 1,000 members of the city response taskforce who had undergone one-month training would pass out on April 26 this year.



He indicated that the personnel would be deployed to the various MMDAs to support traffic management, education on good waste management and sanitation practices and the enforcement of the bye-laws.



We are moving into a full implementation of the bye-laws immediately after the passing-out. I entreat all residents of the region to cooperate by giving maximum support to the taskforce, he added.



The Minister further reiterated calls on traders operating at unauthorised places to move to designated areas or be prosecuted.



Mr Osei Assibey Antwi, Executive Director of NSS, noted of his outfits readiness to offer support to the Regional Coordinating Council in realising the objectives and plans of the RCC.



The scheme, he said, was training service personnel who would be posted to the secretariat to run the call centres to make them effective.



Chief Executive of Ablekuma West Municipal Assembly, George Cyril Blay, stated that the Secretariat was critical to achieving the objectives of the campaign and pledged the support of the Assemblies in the region to enhance sanitation.

Source: The Ghanaian Times









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A Rwandan court has sentenced a Chinese national for torture after a video showed him beating men tied to a tree.



The court on Tuesday sentenced Sun Shujun to 20 years in prison, a journalist who attended the court session told the BBC.



A Rwandan man said to be his employee was also sentenced to 12 years in jail for abetting torture.



The victims are reported to have been former workers at a mine operated by Shujun in Rutsiro district and who were allegedly linked to theft.



Shujun said he had previously warned thieves after his belongings were repeatedly stolen.



In August 2021, the three-minute video went viral in Rwanda and led to the arrest of Shujun - who was later released on bail.



The video was taken by angry workers and shared on social media.



The Chinese embassy in Kigali condemned unlawful acts in the video, local media reported.



Witnesses told the court that Shujun had erected a cross where those suspected of stealing from him were tied and whipped.

Source: BBC









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Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
Nabegmado Inampi, a Togolese man, who abducted his three-year-old baby girl has been arrested with his accomplice.



Nabegmado and his accomplice abducted the baby from Dambai in the Krachi East Municipality and were arrested at Kanyinta, a farming community in the Nkwanta South Municipality, all in the Oti region, enroute to Togo.



Mr Emmanuel Donkor and other residents of Kanyinta suspected the movements of the two and subjected them to questioning and found their answers to be unsatisfactory and subsequently handed them over to the Police.



They told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that, at about 1200 hours, they received a call from the victims mother to be on the lookout for suspected kidnappers who abducted her baby girl from her room on Saturday.



He said their vigilance led to the arrest of the two.



Madam Alice Koryaja, mother of the victim had identified one of the suspects to be the biological father of the baby, who always threatened to take the baby from her.



Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Alhassan Abdul-Razak, Krachi East Divisional Crime Officer, who confirmed the incident to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said the two were in custody but one of the suspects was on admission for ill health.



He said the Police have commenced investigations into the matter while awaiting the suspects discharge from the hospital.





Source: GNA









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Some unidentified persons last Thursday vandalized a 200KVA pole-mounted transformer belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana Limited (ECG) at Ahiabukorpe, a community in the Ga West Municipality in the Greater Accra region, plunging the entire area into darkness



The destruction of the transformer is the second time such an incident was recorded in the municipality in two weeks.



Thieves had earlier stolen copper windings in a newly installed transformer at Dunyo, another community in the Ga West Municipal Assembly after bringing down the pole-mounted transformer.



The General Manager of ECG Accra West region, Ing. Ebenezer Ghunney, has expressed shock at the acts of vandalism and thievery, and admonished the public to help protect electricity installations in their communities.



As a power distribution company keen on ensuring that we provide safe and reliable electricity supply to our customers, we have heavily invested in getting adequate materials at vantage points in all communities to enhance the power that we supply, he pointed out.



He said, the cost of replacing expensive materials like transformers which are often rendered useless after such thefts, affect the Companys operations and investments made.



Ing. Ghunney, therefore,charged the public to report any suspicious persons or activities around any of ECGs installations to the nearest police station or ECG office.



The estimated cost of 200KVA transformer is about GHc39,000.



The incident has since been reported to the Pokuase police station.

Source: daily guide









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The former Director-General of Ghana Health Service and now Director of Health at the Presidency, Dr.Anthony Nsia Asare, has indicated that plans are far advanced for decentralized medical education to enable teaching hospitals to train specialists on the job to address the low patient to doctor ratio.



He stated that it is not acceptable that in this modernity the five teaching hospitals in the country cannot train nurses, nephrologists, technicians and dentists and ensure continuous human development on their own.



I do not see how our teaching hospitals cannot train specialists. The five teaching hospitals can have centres where they can do the renal transplant, for instance, and train more nephrologists. The Bank of Ghana Hospitals Renal Centre, for instance, should be training more renal nurses, nephrologists, technicians and other experts who will care for dialysis patients across the country.



This is very important and I believe that this is a way of decentralizing medical education, nursing education and health professional education, he said.



He stated that while the nations five teaching hospitals  Korle-Bu, Komfo Anokye KATH), Tamale, Cape Coast and Ho Teaching Hospital are all doing very well with their current role in training medical students from the University Of Ghana Medical School UGMS, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology School of Medical Sciences (SMS), Cape Coast University School of Medical Sciences, among the others. These can be expanded for the hospitals to take on students which will then give room for more students to get the opportunity to enter the health professional space.



Dr. Asare reiterated that when this is done, both undergraduate and postgraduate medical health education will be decentralized for people to be trained on the job after the students have had their initial basics in the various universities.



Since the hospitals are all state-of-the-art from scratch, what medical students need is first after the basic sciences in the universities, get posted to these hospitals to come and do their clinical work, postgraduate work, and to be trained professionals and fellows, he added.



Touching on health infrastructure, he emphasized that continuously the country is doing very well in the area of primary health care with the establishment of the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compound, and now with agenda 111 every district is about to get a functional health facility.

Furthermore, he iterated that by learning from COVID-19, the government is committed to strengthening the healthcare system  both infrastructure-wise and through human capital development training.



The presidential adviser also called on private organizations to take advantage of the opening up of the health sector to invest in institutions that will provide both medical treatment and education just as the situation is in South Africa and India.



In Ghana, the government is employing the majority of the health professionals and the best for that matter, but it should be government competing with the private sector as is done in South Africa. The private sector should be focusing on medical tourism and education because there is a lot of investment potential in this part, he concluded.













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The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu Ekuful, gave her keynote address to climax the National Girls in ICT programme, on the Techiman Campus of the Valley View University in the Bono East Region.



In her address, she said, The quest of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation to develop community ICT centres and cell sites across the country will ensure that most Ghanaians will have access to mobile networks. According to research, there are about 3.5 million Ghanaians without mobile connectivity. By the end of next year, this group of people will heave a sigh of relief.



She explained that the establishment of more than two thousand centres and sites is in progress and on track to make this a reality.



We have made it our focus to construct ICT centres and rural telephony sites across the country to aid in the teaching and learning of ICT courses for our girls and the youth in general. This will provide an opportunity for girls and young women in the country to gain knowledge and exposure to technology. As previously mentioned, the theme for this year is, Access and Safety.



To address the access issue in Ghana, the Ministry through GIFEC, is implementing our Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project, which forecasts the construction of more than two thousand sites for connectivity nationwide. Since 2020, over seven hundred sites have already been built and many communities have been connected. By the end of next year, all sites would have been completed.



Since the beginning of the girls in ICT programme in 2012, this is the first time that five regions are celebrating the programme separately within a year. A development the minister describes as exceptional.



One hundred girls from all the eleven districts in the Bono East Region, received laptop rewards while others received cash awards and some incentives for their schools including coding clubs, fully furnished ICT laboratories among others. She urged the Regional Coordinating Council to take ownership of the facilities and ensure their proper maintenance.



Some best performing teachers and regional officers also received laptop rewards for their efforts.

The Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports, Eric Mensah Bonsu re-emphasized the importance of technology in the economy and urged the beneficiaries to be empowered by their training.



Afua Brown-Eyeson went through some sections of the Cyber security Act, Act 2020, with the children. She entreated them to stay away from unfriendly people on the internet, so that they will not become victims of their demands.

The Deputy Minister for Education in charge of TVET, Gifty Twum Ampofo, encouraged the participants to study hard and take advantage of some government initiatives like the Free Senior High School Initiative.



She also emphasized on the need to study beyond the classroom to enrich their minds and develop a global perspective. The world is becoming a global village she mentioned, One needs to make use of technology to make progress. She encouraged the girls to take research seriously, both in and out of school. She also admonished them to make the most of their training and the presidents Free Senior High School programme.



At the event, certificates were also presented to all one thousand beneficiaries from the region. Madam Ursula Owusu-Ekuful together with the Bono East Regional Minister Kwasi Adu Gyan announced the Bono Regional Representatives as the next host of the Girls in ICT programme. The programme is expected to begin in a few days.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









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The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has welcomed the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) report, describing it as a constructive analysis of the governance of the country.



According to the Party in a statement issued in Accra today, this is because objective analysis extends the democratic tenets of free speech and provides perspectives capable of informing policy reform.



The Party noted that the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) has a record of reviewing Ghanas governance systems, especially potential political outcomes. To buttress its prediction of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) winning the Presidential election and the Parliamentary elections by a slim margin in 2024, the EIU touts its record of successful predictions over the years.



The EIU hangs its prediction on the usual assumption. That presidential power has been rotating over eight-year periods in the 4th Republic is a fact so far. If NDC wins, it will not be news. But if the NPP wins, it would be a remarkable achievement that would demonstrate the coming of age of electoral politics in Ghana. In other words, an NPP victory in 2024, popularly dubbed breaking the 8 would be a more unusual event than an NDC victory based on the history of elections in the 4th Republic



However, EIU introduces a new and significant double-edged factor into the eight-year cycle.

That is the quality of leadership. EIU implies that former President Mahamas record of leadership is so poor that if he becomes the candidate, the NDC predicted win goes up in smoke.



This is a huge boost o the NPP effort of breaking the 8 since we are confident that the NPP Candidate will have a better governance record based on the cumulative achievements of the NPP in the 4th Republic



The Communications Director of NPP, Yaw Buabeng Asamoah in the statement expressed further that the EIU cites slow governance progress as another reason for the change, in 2024.



Unemployment, Infrastructure,e, and Anti-Corruption. The cumulative record of the NPP in the 4th Republic is better on all these factors than the NDC. But more importantly, NDC has not demonstrated any policy capacity capable of turning out better and faster outcomes in the areas listed. Indeed, the tendency is for the NDC to set the country back in respect of these factors whenever the eight-year cycle kicks in. The NPP builds and the NDC destroys the statement noted.



It added that Political stability is also a product of the NPPs quiet yet hard work on the security front. Notwithstanding increased threats of regional instability spilling over into Ghana, piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, a and sometimes very extremist talk from anarchic elements, the EIU predicts without hesitation that there will be political stability over the next violence-free plus for free, fair, and violent free elections.



Finally, the economy. No country is immune to the twin scourges of Covid-19 and the Russia/Ukraine conflict. The NDCs solution to the economic difficulties driven by these factors is to seek solace in the IMF. Abandon their leadership to the excuse of the IMF and feed off the crumbs of the harsh austerity measures that would roll back all the socially sensitive policies Ghanaian is sustaining to cushion the Ghanaian.



Needed to ride over this difficult phase is a strong bureaucratic commitment to efficiently and effectively implement the expenditure cuts and revenue measures outlined by the Government. Given an impetus by increased the elections on the e-levy, reliance on the external debt will gradually reduce, leading to increased growth by 2024.



It further narrated that Unfortunately, the EIU does not tell us how the NDC will come by its slim majority in Parliament. But given that Mahama is already the putative candidate, the EIU can comfortably say we told you so when the NPP breaks the eight with quality leadership and a strong policy performance that continues to deliver employment, increased infrastructure, and a higher profile against corruption.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has reacted to the latest report on Ghana by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which predicts that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is in pole position to win the 2024 presidential election with a fresh candidate.



The former president, John Mahama, is reportedly considering running again, but we expect the opposition NDC to try to revitalise its prospects with a fresh candidate.



Our baseline forecast is that ongoing public dissatisfaction with the slow pace of improvements in governance  such as infrastructure development, job creation and easing of corruption  will trigger anti-incumbency factors and push the electorate to seek a change, the EIU said. The NDC, therefore, stands a reasonable chance of winning the 2024 elections.



In response, the national communications director of the NPP, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, said: The EIU hangs its prediction on the usual assumption. That presidential power has been rotating over eight-year periods in the Fourth Republic is a fact so far.



If NDC wins, it will not be news. But if the NPP wins, it would be a remarkable achievement that would demonstrate the coming of age of electoral politics in Ghana. In other words, an NPP victory in 2024, popularly dubbed Breaking the Eight, would be a more unusual event than an NDC victory, based on the history of elections in the Fourth Republic.



Below is the statement by Yaw Buaben Asamoa in full:



The New Patriotic Party (NPP) welcomes constructive analysis of the governance of the country. This is because objective analysis extends the democratic tenet of free speech and provides perspectives capable of informing policy reform.



The Economic [sic] Intelligence Unit (EIU) has a record of reviewing Ghanas governance systems, especially potential political outcomes. To buttress its prediction of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) winning the Presidential election and the Parliamentary elections by a slim margin in 2024, the EIU touts its record of successful predictions over the years.



The EIU hangs its prediction on the usual assumption. That presidential power has been rotating over eight-year periods in the 4th Republic is a fact so far. If NDC wins, it will not be news. But if the NPP wins, it would be a remarkable achievement that would demonstrate the coming of age of electoral politics in Ghana. In other words, an NPP victory in 2024, popularly dubbed breaking the 8 would be a more unusual event than an NDC victory based on the history of elections in the 4th Republic.



However, EIU introduces a new and significant double-edged factor into the eight-year cycle. That is, the quality of leadership. EIU implies that former President Mahamas record of leadership is so poor that if he becomes the Candidate, the NDC predicted win goes up in smoke. This is a huge boost to the NPP effort of breaking the 8, since we are confident that the NPP Candidate will have a better governance record based on the cumulative achievements of the NPP in the 4th Republic.



The EIU cites slow governance progress as another reason for change in 2024. Unemployment, Infrastructure and Anti-Corruption. The cumulative record of the NPP in the 4th Republic is better on all these factors than the NDC. But more importantly, NDC has not demonstrated any policy capacity capable of turning out better and faster outcomes in the areas listed. Indeed, the tendency is for the NDC to set the country back in respect of these factors whenever the eight-year cycle kicks in. The NPP builds and the NDC destroys.



Political stability is also a product of the NPPs quiet yet hard work on the security front. Notwithstanding increased threats of regional instability spilling over into Ghana, piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and sometimes very extremist talk from anarchic elements, the EIU predicts without hesitation that there will be political stability over the next five years. A plus for free, fair and violence free elections.



Finally, the economy. No country is immune to the twin scourges of Covid-19 and the Russia/Ukraine conflict. The NDCs solution to the economic difficulties driven by these factors is to seek solace in the IMF. Abandon their leadership to the excuse of the IMF and feed off the crumbs of the harsh austerity measures that would roll back all the socially sensitive policies the NPP is sustaining to cushion the Ghanaian.



Needed to ride over this difficult phase is a strong bureaucratic commitment to efficiently and effectively implement the expenditure cuts and revenue measures outlined by the Government. Given an impetus by increased collections on the e-levy, reliance on external debt will gradually reduce, leading to increased growth by 2024.



Unfortunately, the EIU does not tell us how the NDC will come by its slim majority in Parliament. But given that Mahama is already the putative candidate, the EIU can comfortably say we told you so when the NPP breaks the eight with quality leadership and a strong policy performance that continues to deliver employment, increased infrastructure, and a higher profile against corruption.



SIGNED



Yaw Buaben Asamoa, ESQ.



(National Communications Director)

Source: asaaseradio.com









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Pollster and Managing Editor of the Daily Dispatch, Ben Ephson, has urged former President John Dramani Mahama to ditch his 2020 running mate, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, if he wants to win the 2024 elections.



According to him, failure on the part of the former president to heed his advice will see him face difficulties in the next elections.



Speaking on Accra-based Joy FM, the pollster opined that John Mahama lost the 2016 elections as a result of stepping on the toes of prominent factions within the National Democratic Congress.



He added that the former president should choose a different running mate for the 2024 elections.



Mr. Ben Ephson was commenting on a recent EIU report that said the NDC stands a greater chance of winning the 2024 elections if it presents a different candidate besides John Mahama to revitalise its base.



In the aftermath of President Mills' death, Mahama in his anxiety to also set up his own factionweve got the Rawlings faction, weve got the Mills factionstepped on toes of people who had been known to be at the forefront of the Rawlings factions and the Mills faction.



So by 2015, there had been a lot of disagreements between Mahama and leading members of these factions. Clearly, if Mahama wins the NDC flagbearership slot and he is not going to change his running mate, hes going to have difficulties in 2024, he said.



This is not the first time there have been calls for the change or criticisms directed at the 2020 running mate of the opposition NDC.



Dr. Obed Asamoah, a former Chairman of the party, indicated that she did not add anything to the fortune of the party in the 2020 elections.



The lady who is a running mate to Mahama lost the Central Region in the last election, lost a whole constituency, he said in an interview with Joy News in March.



Former National Organizer of the NDC, Yaw Boateng Gyan also described Naana Opoku-Agyemang as a monumental flop.



The decision to make Naana Jane Opoku Agyeman as our running mate was very poor. She was a bad choice. She added nothing to our fortunes. I would say she was a monumental flop as running mate to President John Mahama, he said.







Source: graphiconline.com









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The New Patriotic Party has said the prediction by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on the 2024 Election favours their party rather than the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).



According to the NPP, they are better placed in all the indicators mentioned in the report by the EIU on which political party can win the next General Elections in the country.



The EIU cites slow governance progress as another reason for change in 2024. Unemployment, Infrastructure and Anti-Corruption. The cumulative record of the NPP in the 4th Republic is better on all these factors than the NDC.



But more importantly, NDC has not demonstrated any policy capacity capable of turning out better and faster outcomes in the areas listed. Indeed, the tendency is for the NDC to set the country back in respect of these factors whenever the eight-year cycle kicks in. The NPP builds and the NDC destroys, National Communications Director, Yaw Buaben Asamoa disclosed in a statement seen by the Starrfm.com.gh



He continued Political stability is also a product of the NPPs quiet yet hard work on the security front. Notwithstanding increased threats of regional instability spilling over into Ghana, piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and sometimes very extremist talk from anarchic elements, the EIU predicts without hesitation that there will be political stability over the next five years. A plus for free, fair and violence free elections.



Meanwhile, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has projected that the National Democratic Congress will have a better chance of winning the 2024 polls if they are led by a new candidate.



The EIU however notes that it aware former President John Mahama who led the NDC unsuccessfully in 2016 and 2020 is aiming to run again.



The next parliamentary and presidential elections are due in 2024. Under constitutionally mandated term limits, the incumbent president, Mr Akufo-Addo, cannot run for a third term. The former president, John Mahama, is reportedly considering running again, but we expect the opposition NDC to try to revitalize its prospects with a fresh candidate, the latest report of the EIU said.



It added: Our baseline forecast is that ongoing public dissatisfaction with the slow pace of improvements in governancesuch as infrastructure development, job creation and easing of corruptionwill trigger anti-incumbency factors and push the electorate to seek a change. The NDC, therefore, stands a reasonable chance of winning the 2024 elections.



The development comes in the wake of reports that former Governor of the Central Bank who is also a former Finance Minister Dr Kwabena Duffuor is lacing his boot to contest in the flagbearer race of the opposition party.













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The London-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has beset the National Democratic Congress (NDC), throwing the opposition party into disarray for suggesting that ex-President John Dramani Mahama, who led the party three times with two unsuccessful election campaigns in 2016 and 2020, is now a spent force.



According to the research and analysis division of the Economist group, even though the NDC stands a reasonable chance of winning the 2024 general election, it can only achieve that with a new candidate to revitalise its prospect, thereby igniting what critics called a time bomb.



The latest EIU five-year forecast for Ghana, which was released on April 13, 2022, indicated that under constitutionally mandated term limits, the incumbent President, Mr. Akufo-Addo, cannot run for a third term.



The EIU said its baseline forecast is anchored on the ongoing public dissatisfaction with the slow pace of improvements in governance  such as infrastructure development, job creation and easing of corruption  will trigger anti-incumbency factors and push the electorate to seek a change.



The report pointed out, however, that Ghanaians do not believe Mr. Mahama, who is considering to run again, represents the change they are looking for, and called on the NDC to try to revitalise its prospects with a fresh candidate.



The EIUs proposal for the NDC to change its presidential candidate to guarantee wide support for the party, has beset the opposition party, whose national executives thought they had overcome their political crisis after the Supreme Court debacle over the election petition.



Already, the NDC Deputy General Secretary, Peter Boamah Otokunor, has discredited the report of the EIU, describing it as unscientific and one which does not deserve attention.



I have maintained that you do not use guess work and conjectures in analysing political situations or economic situations. I have my own position about the EIU reports, I think they are not credible enough and they do not provide any credible recommendations for any political strategist to apply, he told 3FM.



For Otokunor, the report is only a rehash of public knowledge on how governments change hands every eight years in Ghana, intimating that a suggestion by the EIU for the NDC to present a new candidate is laughable.



I have seen the aspect on the Election Watch and I think it is most ridiculous to suggest that we could win 2024 if we change our candidate, the NDC Deputy Chief Scribe stressed.



He said he would advise the NDC to select Mr. Mahama to lead it in 2024 since he stands very tall among all the people gunning for the flagbearership slot.



Kojo Bonsu



Before the EIUs report, a contender for the NDC flagbearership, Kojo Bonsu, had indicated that former President Mahamas reputation had been soiled beyond repair with numerous allegations of corruption and women affairs.



He said he stood a better chance to wrestle power from the ruling NPP than Mr. Mahama since he (Kojo Bonsu) was clean with his reputation intact.



Duffuor



While the NDC is in the spin over the EIUs proposal to drop ex-President Mahama, a Political Communications lecturer, Dr. Kobby Mensah, is projecting former Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, as an alternative, describing his recent Ahotor Project as novel and fantastic party gesture.



He said all political parties need such projects to resource their parties base, and urged the NDC to outline the modalities for the project being undertaken by Dr. Duffuor, who has declared his intention to lead the opposition party in 2024.



He has already been trying to make it a dead heat for ex-President John Dramani Mahama, who enjoys better footing in the crucial race.



Dr. Duffuor seems well poised to dislodge Mr. Mahama from the seat by reviving his campaign and preparing to launch his NDC Ahotor Project for Grassroots, whose pilot phase came off on Thursday, April, 7, 2022, at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region.



He earlier on received a delegation of NDC constituency chairpersons from the Greater Accra Region, led by Tony Afenyo, the constituency chairman, at his office at the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) at the Airport Residential Area in furtherance of his presidential bid.

Source: daily guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Aspiring National Youth Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Prince Kamal has paid a courtesy call to his grandfather, the overlord of Dagbon Yaa-Naa Abubakari Mahama II to officially inform him about his intent to lead the NPP youth.



Kamal made his intentions public to run for the position of National Youth Organizer of the NPP when nominations are opened some months ago.



He has been tipped by political pundits to win the position  others also believe his hard work will help Break The 8 with a united youth front.



Prince Kamals visit to the Northern Region was to seek spiritual blessing from his grandfather, the Yaa Naa who has vowed to support his ambition.



Speaking at the private meeting, the overlord of Dagbon advised that the future belongs to the youth. Your decision when your win power must be in the interest of this country and the generation to come.



He added, I will bless you with a victory crown but stay away from my wife [Princes grandmother].



Prince Kamal also called on the Mion Lana, his highness Abdulai Mahamadu as well as his highness the Yoo Naa Abdulai Yakubu Andani V to seek their blessings.



Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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National Communications Director of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Yaw Buaben Asamoa says his party has no intention to respond to Russia after refusing to accept that their invasion of Ukraine is harming Ghanas economy.



We [NPP party] dont have time to argue on this, he said on NEAT FMs morning show, 'Ghana Montie'.



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia have both said that the war ensuing between Russia and Ukraine has a direct effect on Ghanas economy and all other sectors.



But Russia says Ghana cannot blame it for its current economic challenges in spite of the global meltdown due to the Vladimir Putin-led attack on Ukraine.



The Russian Embassy in Ghana in a series of tweets on Tuesday, 19th April 2022 said that Ghana is responsible for its own economic problems.



The Embassy took notice of the increased number of news articles somehow or other accusing Russia of all negative trends in agricultural markets, gloomy prospects in terms of access of food and huge losses of farmers, the embassy tweeted.



The Embassy wishes to shed some light on the roots and drivers of this crisis and provide a comprehensive and objective analysis without emotions and political prejudice. Food prices started rising in mid-2020 and reached an all-time high in February 2022.



This is a real market shock caused by high demand and rising prices on food, raw materials and transportation services, including freight in the post-COVID recovery period, it added.



When asked to comment on the issue, Yaw Buaben Asamoa said the NPP will not intervene in diplomatic issues between the two countries.



Its a state-to-state affair so the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will respond to them [Russia] accordingly. It is not the responsibility of the party to respond, he told host, Akwasi Aboagye.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Member of Parliament(MP) for North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, says President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been playing hide-and-seek with him in his quest to expose his profligate traveling lifestyle at the expense of the poor taxpayer.



According to him, he has never been in the good books of the President since he started unraveling his luxurious lifestyle of jetting around the world like a monarch, a Russian oligarch or an Arabian king.



Speaking in an interview on Okay FMs Ade Akye Abia morning show, he further accused the President of failing to defend his conduct and resorting to playing hide-and-seek with him since he committed to exposing his profligacy.



This is all about greater comfort, luxury. The President wants to be able to take a shower in the air when he is traveling just like the Minister of Defense said. He wants to have a master bedroom and a private cinema room. Look, all these things is for him to live like a Russian Oligarch, an Arabian King or a British aristocrat at the same time. But for a developing country, for a country with all of our challenges, is that something you should be doing?"



Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa had ealier accused the President of adopting a meet-me-there approach in his use of private jets for his foreign travels.



The President on the back of his constant campaign against his use of luxurious private jets, left Ghana for a trip to the United States and the United Kingdom with a commercial airline.



He, however, noted that the President, upon his arrival in Washington had his favourite luxurious $18,000 an hour LX-DIO private aircraft waiting for him.



Watch Video Below





Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has in a recent facebook post asked the ruling government to abort any dream of buying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner Presidential Jet on sale by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.The Member of Parliament for North Tongu constituency said since "the ultra-luxury Presidential Jet has all the features President Akufo-Addo craves in an aircraft", the government might purchase it to satisfy the "recently acquired flying taste in vulgar opulence".He, therefore, made the following demands:1) That the sovereign Ghanaian people strongly caution President Akufo-Addo not to entertain any thought of approaching the Mexicans to buy their Presidential Jet considering that his government had earlier announced and defended plans to buy a new so-called fit for purpose presidential jet, and particularly seeing that the Mexican configuration is similar to what he has become addicted to in his infamous sky bath charters;2) That the Parliament of Ghana serves notice that any such Ghana-Mexico Presidential Jet Purchase Agreement will not be ratified;3) That Mexico is herein advised not to entertain any bid from Ghana  particularly as aside having our own Presidential Jet in pristine condition, albeit not of Akufo-Addos oligarchic standards, our mismanaged economy makes us unlikely candidates to meet their financial terms.

Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline/[email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Former Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan, has jabbed the opposition National Democratic Congress for downplaying the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) survey that the party can only win the 2024 elections if they drop their favourite candidate, former President John Mahama.



The EIU says the NDC has a high probability of winning the 2024 elections with a new candidate.



Edudzi Tamakloe, an aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, says Mr. Mahama is the obvious choice for the party going into the 2024 elections.



Speaking on Metro TV's 'Good Morning Ghana', Mr. Tamakloe argued; If you put these two together [Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Alan Kyerematen] and you put them on a ballot paper. This will be their first time for any elections. Now come to think of the NDC and in the case of H.E John Dramani Mahama, its not a matter opened up for debate. All that we pray for is God to grant him long life and good health. The person who has had the benefit of contesting in any elections nationally, he had appeared on ballot paper, you say look, jettison this one and go for a fresh candidate.



With the greatest of respect to the London research think tank, even for a researcher, you start from the known to the unknown. Im yet to see a proper social scientist start a conversation from the unknown to the known.



Often times you start from the known to the unknown. If this is anything to go by, you want a candidate who is nationally marketed, a candidate who in the midst of the militarization of our electoral process in the 2020 elections, arguably pulled over 6.2 million votes, and you say go for someone who has never appeared on a national poll before . . . I mean we wont take that risk, he added.



But to Kwamena Duncan, EIU is correct about the chances of Ex-President John Mahama in winning the 2024 elections.



Speaking on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', Kwamena Duncan played back the track record of Mr. Mahama stressing his government was characterized by corruption which cannot simply be eroded from the minds of Ghanaians.



To him, the NDC electing Mr. Mahama as their flagbearer is "an indictment that the NDC must go into their hiding and cry over because, since 2012, the face of the NDC has been President Mahama all through".



Borrowing statements from former Mayor of Kumasi, Kojo Bonsu, regarding the former President, Kwamena Duncan was without a shred of doubt that NDC can never triumph over the NPP, come 2024.



''Do you know the man called Kojo Bonsu? In one of his interviews, it was aired about two or three months ago. He said NDC will make a mistake of their life should they bring back former President Mahama because he has soiled himself . . . There is no dispute that, in our political landscape today, the President that if we should give a list of corrupt practices and, you see, the mentality he has about Ghanaians is that Ghanaians have a short memory. So, he holds that deceived perception," he said.





He also dispelled any allegations of corruption against the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration, hence daring any person who thinks otherwise to show evidence.



''...I will ask can anybody come up with the highlights of the corrupt practices of this government? Mention them for me; mention them! It is so easy to say corruption but I am charging you to give me those corrupt practices, those highlights that these are the corrupt practices of the Akufo-Addo government. For others, we can point to them seamlessly!''



The former Minister promised Ghanaians the Akufo-Addo government will make Ghana better, stressing ''this government is bent on getting the economy back on track'' from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the repercussions of the Russia/Ukraine war which, he noted, have gravely affected the progress of the nation.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A former Finance Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffuor has urged the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to work to restore the authority and effectiveness of traditional rulers for national development.



According to him, the NDC must include the empowerment of chiefs and traditional rulers in their manifesto to show how serious they take the institution as partners in development.



I, therefore, propose to the NDC that the restoration of the authority and responsibility of our chiefs should have top priority in a future NDC government, and this should be clearly encapsulated in the manifesto we will be putting before the people at the next election.



The next NDC government should enter into a renewed partnership with our nations chiefs and give them a fraction of all revenue generated from their communities, so they have the opportunity to care for their people, community institutions and infrastructure while also being answerable to the state government, the former Governor of the Central Bank wrote in an article



He continued: Giving our chiefs back their status as well as sustainable income for the development of their local communities and its institutions would incentivize them to make sure that their communities prosper, as the communitys success is their own success and vice versa.



Dr Duffuor said chieftaincy institutions had long been at the forefront of governance before the arrival of the Europeans in the 15th century.



This institution emerged from the peoples need to come together for security and protection. Thus, a chief was enjoined to protect and add value to the community through civic engagement with his people.



Today, we are witnessing inadequate interaction between customary and modern local governance with the constitutional sidelining of chiefs which has led to a progressive weakening of the chieftaincy institution with its attendant national crisis.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Former General Secretary of the Convention People's Party (CPP), James Kwabena Bomfeh, has shot back at the Russia Embassy for absolving the Russian government of any blame for the current economic challenges, bringing the global food value chain to its knees.



Both President Nana Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia have blamed Russia and Ukraine for Ghana's economic crises as they claim the conflict between the two countries coupled with the global COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted Ghana's progress.



Russia Is Part Of Our Problems



Dr. Bawumia, in his address on the state of the economy at the National TESCON Training and Orientation Conference on April 7, stated the increase in commodity prices has been exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Russia and Ukraine together account for 30% of global wheat exports; the longer the conflict ensues, the greater will be the disruption to global food supplies. The conflict is also likely to slow down global growth.



According to the AfDB, the price of wheat has shot up by 62% since the war began, the price of fertilizer is up by 300%, and the price of maize is up by 36%. Here in Ghana, some 60% of our total imports of iron ore and steel are from Ukraine; Russia accounts for some 30% of Ghanas imported grains, 50% of flour, and 39% of fertilizer.



So we are directly affected by the Russian-Ukraine war. Unfortunately, we do not know when it would be over, he added.



Don't Blame Us For Your Problems



But in a tweet by the Russian Embassy on Monday, it stated it cannot be blamed for the current price hikes.



The current situation in the food markets is not a result of two months of this year, but a steady trend of at least two years. Food prices started rising in mid-2020 and reached an all-time high in February 2022.



This is a real market shock caused by high demand and rising prices on food, raw materials, and transportation services, including freight, in the post-Covid recovery period, the Embassy tweeted.



Kabila Scolds Russia



Reacting to the Embassy's reply, James Kwabena Bomfeh, a.k.a Kabila, has asked the Embassy to stop defending Russia.



According to him, whether Russia likes it or not, it is part of the world's problems affecting most countries with Ghana not an exception.



During a panel discussion on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme, he argued that the President and Vice President are right to blame the Russia/Ukraine war for the economic woes confronting Ghanaians, asserting that, "whether Russia likes it or not, your activities in Ukraine, even in NATO, have repercussions on the world. Whether you like it or not, it is".



''Even Putin has said such things in many places where he admits that the things they are doing, it is going to have a telling effect on the economics and world affairs," he added and asked the Russian embassy ''why any denial?''





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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American rapper, Rick Ross, over the weekend sent special shout-outs to some African celebrities for their good works.



Among them were actresses Zynnell Zuh, Angela Okorie, musicians: Black Sherif, Kwesi Arthur, and Quamina MP.



According to Rick Ross, he feels its not enough for American musicians to support African artistes, and for that reason, he woke up in Africa, feeling to share the love with those who present his brand in Africa.

I feel its not enough [the way] American artistes are shedding light on Africa, supporting African artistes. So, what I want to do is wake up, Im going out to the city, the slums, places that the police dont even what to go, he said in a viral video before mentioning their names.



Rick Ross was in Nigeria on Thursday to perform at a concert, and has since made a lot of headlines.



The rap artiste, via stories posted on his Instagram page, did not only enjoy the African hospitality, but was also amazed by the plethora of talents that abound in the country.



The Maybach Music boss later left Nigeria for Angola to perform at another show.



According to Nigeria media reports, he promised to sign two African acts to his record label in America.

Source: daily guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Actor, Prince David Osei, spent the Easter festivity lending a supporting hand to the needy in society.



On Saturday, the award-winning actor donated some items worth hundreds of Ghana cedis to orphans at Potters Village at Dodowa.



Items donated included bags of rice, cartons of soft drinks, water, gallons of cooking oil, and soap, among others.



The activity was followed by distributing food to underprivileged persons on the streets of Accra on Sunday.



He and his team shared food, water, and soft drinks with both children and adults on the street.



Among the recipients were porters at the Tema Station in Accra, and deprived persons at Circle, a suburb of Accra. The team also made a stop at Nima to share food in the evening, after folks there broke their fast.



The charity activity was made possible by Prince David Oseis PDO Foundation, in collaboration with the charity arm of the National Lottery Authority, with support from Verna Mineral Water.



The Easter activity was dubbed, Operation Feed The Street, and it was the third of its kind in Easter. It is the actors way of giving back to society.



Over 2,000 children and adults were feted as part of the Easter charity.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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" " Smoke billows over a crowd of thousands of people as they smoke at 4:20 p.m. during 420 celebrations on April 20, 2016 at Sunset Beach in Vancouver, Canada. Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images

Each year on April 20, at 4:20 p.m., a gentle haze of marijuana smoke wafts through many corners of the world, in pungent celebration of weed's unofficial holiday. Marijuana aficionados (called stoners in some circles) regard it as a moment to bond with others who partake in this hazy pastime. But few of them probably know much about the origins of 4/20 (or 420) lingo.

First, let's dispel with some of the incorrect notions about 420 (spoken as "four-twenty" instead of "four hundred and twenty"). It has nothing to do with any sort of police codes regarding marijuana usage or possession. It's also not at all related to justice system penalties for weed-related offenses. And although 4/20 was Adolf Hitler's birthday, no self-respecting substance would ever be associated with that guy. Nor does it have anything to do with any famous rock star deaths, like those of Janis Joplin or Jim Morrison.

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Appropriately, there's no truly concrete proof of 420's history, as it's been lost in the fog of time and more than a little jumbled by its what-were-we-just-talking about oral traditions. However, the most repeated story traces back to San Rafael High School, which is located just north of San Francisco.

There, in the early '70s, a group of five friends slowly started a new routine. During the school day, they'd utter their secret phase, "420 Louis," indicating that they'd be gathering near the school's statue of Louis Pasteur to light up and celebrate the end of yet another school day.

The five friends became known as the "Waldos" in reference to the wall where they hung out. One of their first adventures, which they called "safaris," revolved around an abandoned marijuana patch near Point Reyes  they were hellbent on finding the secret plot so that they could score some free bud. Alas, their stoned quests came up empty-handed, but you can bet that they had plenty of fun along the way.

Little did they know their secret catchphrase would become permanently intertwined with the counterculture. At the time, The Grateful Dead was becoming more and more popular in the Marin County area and at least two of the "Waldos" had friend-of-a-friend connections to the band. It's easy to imagine how an oft-repeated secret code might begin proliferating through the raucous clamor of concerts and backstage gatherings.

Throughout the years, other groups have tried to take credit for giving rise to marijuana's most famous "secret" slang. The Waldos, however, are the only ones who have letters and notes from the '70s that reference their inside jokes, including the ubiquitous 420. Once journalists for the cannabis culture magazine High Times got their resin-coated fingers on the term, it became a staple of their writing, helping propel 420 to everlasting fame.

NOW THAT'S INTERESTING In Colorado, one of the pioneers of the marijuana legalization movement, state officials finally gave up replacing the often-pilfered 420 mile marker on Interstate 70. That marker now reads 419.9.

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Originally Published: Apr 19, 2019
Green Gabon: The small Central African country is a rare jewel90 percent of its area is covered by forest

The lush green canopy stretches over the Akanda National Parkone of the many forest jewels that Gabon is fighting to conserve.

But those living in poverty in the shadow of the park are ambiguous.

They see the forests less as a global treasure to be cosseted and more as a resource that they need to use to survive.

A bank employee, making his arduous daily commute to the nearby capital Libreville, glanced up at the immense trees almost with hostility.

"I've lived here for two years and I can tell you that I have no electricity and no water," said the man, dressed in a business suit as he walked along an earthen road to get to work.

"Gabon's forests are a source of national pride, but you can't be proud and live without a roof over your head."

Last week, Norway announced a $150-million (137-million-euro) contract with Gabon to reduce its carbon emissions.

The initiative comes under the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), a UN-launched scheme aimed at encouraging Western help for cash-strapped forest custodians.

But the fight against climate change spurred little enthusiasm among local people who spoke to AFP.

A retired cook, Luc Boudzanga, said he had no pension. To get by, he had to grow food on land where such activities are banned.

"We eat thanks to the forest," Boudzanga says before heading off along the edge of the park, machete in hand. "Otherwise, how would we survive?"

Lee White, Gabon's forestry ministry, after being appointed in June 2019

High-wire act

It is not just poor people who eye the forest as a resourceloggers and miners, too, argue that the trees and the mineral-rich land below deserve to be used, a position fiercely opposed by green campaigners.

Faced with these competing pressures, the government has to perform a tightrope act.

Under the 10-year deal signed on September 22, Gabonwhich is still almost 90 percent covered in forestwill become the first African country to be paid for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change.

Norway will pay Gabon $10 for every ton of carbon not emitted, relative to the Central African country's annual average between 2005-2014, and up to a maximum payout of $150 million over 10 years.

The country's forestry minister is British-born Lee White, who rose to prominence as a feisty environmental campaigner, and then as a spell as former director of the national parks.

He took office after a scandal erupted over a huge, illegally-logged haul of kevazingo, a rare tropical hardwood.

The Norway agreement is a reward for Gabon's environmental efforts, White said in an interview with AFP in New York.

"They will pay us because we have not deforested, and because we've managed logging responsibly, and reduced emissions linked to logging," said White, a British and Gabonese national, speaking in French.

Gabon's government has to juggle between competing demands to conserve the forests and exploit them

Logging practices

White said the emphasis is to encourage smarter, greener practices among forestry companies that he says produce 80 percent of Gabon's carbon dioxide emissions.

"If we can reduce the width of roads, cut trees in a direction that minimises damage, reduce the size of bulldozer tracks, and boost forestry rotation periods, we can take lots of steps to reduce emissions," he said.

Lee stressed enforcing the law to "wipe out illegal exploitation" of the forests.

But, in an olive branch to loggers, he said that seized stocks of kevazingo, a highly expensive wood prized by furniture makers, would be auctioned.

After that, White said, he hoped to re-authorise legal logging of kevazingo as early as next year, or in 2021.

Measures to deal with illegal logging have been boosted by the Gabonese Agency for Space Studies and Observation (AGEOS), which since 2015 has been linked up with the satellites of several other agencies with eyes on the forest.

Explore further Gabon minister hails country's responsiblity after historic forest deal

 2019 AFP
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Despite what many first-time parents may wish for, kids don't come with instruction manuals. Even seemingly straightforward developmental milestones, like when to introduce solid food, can vary across countries. And when it comes to language development, things get even more complicated. It can be challenging to gauge what is just a child's creativity, and what may be cause for concern.

Parents in search of assurance will likely turn to the experts, who use screening tools and tests to determine the best path forward. The problem is, these tools and tests aren't equally effective for all children, and children from marginalized populations often don't have their language-related developmental skills accurately assessed because of it, explained Andrea MacLeod.

"We have fewer tools we can turn to when we're looking at families that speak different languages or are from different backgrounds," said MacLeod, professor in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine and former Canada Research Chair in Bilingual Acquisition and Communication Disorders.

One prevalent challenge is that many screening tools are developed in English, and adapting them to other languages is more complex than mere translation, explained MacLeod.

For example, "You have to think about what are the common words in that language, what are the common sentence structures for young children and what are familiar contexts for the child."

Additionally, many of the common screening tools don't take cultural context into account. For example, one family may grow concerned if their child isn't always looking adults in the eye when they speak to them. Another family may view it as a completely appropriate demonstration of respect in their culture.

Community involvement is key

Though first-time parents, or parents who are new to Canada, may look to experts for guidance, it's actually the community around a child that is the key to better supporting children of all backgrounds and making these screening tools more universally applicable, MacLeod noted.

"Some of the really promising strategies involve working with communities to do smaller-scale research to understand what expectations are, and to review the tasks used in screening," said MacLeod. "Getting that local community-based input is really important."

That community-first focus is much different from the commonly recommended "wait and see" approach, in which a child is left to develop naturally for a period without bringing in additional intervention. This approach disproportionately affects children from marginalized communities, and it can cause issues with accessing the appropriate services when it's eventually decided that intervention is needed.

"Many services provided, such as speech language pathology, start diminishing significantly by about Grade 2," said MacLeod, who is also a member of the Women and Children's Health Research Institute. "If you wait until the child is seven or eight years old, they often have a very short period where they can access really robust services."

Finding ways to involve the community and intervene earlier with children who need added support gives them the tools and skills to enter school with their "best foot forward."

"Language and language abilities are part of our identity. They're part of how we communicate and participate in society," said MacLeod.

Explore further A tool for more inclusive autism screening
A squall line of dust near Kaolak, Senegal on June 27, 2021. Credit: Karen Coker / Penn State

A beautiful sunset over the Atlantic off the Florida coast, or an orangey glow in the Texas sky at dusk may be caused by dust from West Africa, according to researchers who are looking at the paths of particulate matter in the skies over the Sahara desert and the semi-arid Sahel.

"We are looking at how much dust is being transported into West Africa in the winter and across the Atlantic in the summer," said Gregory S. Jenkins, professor of meteorology and atmospheric science, geography, and African studies, Penn State. "In the winter, it is low in the atmosphere and in the summer, it is higher in the atmosphere. Dust has an impact, especially on health."

Jenkins and Moussa Gueye, research professor, University of SIne Saloum El-Hadj Ibrahima NIASS, Dakar, Senegal, modeled annual particulates less than 10 microns (PM10) from 1960 to 2016.

"We showed that there is a simulated annual downward trend in surface PM10 concentrations in Senegal and Cabo Verde after the 1980s, which is similar to earlier findings," the researcher report in Atmospheric Environment. However, the data for summers suggests that there was an increase in dust over the Western Sahara that was transported to Cabo Verde suggesting that this Eastern Atlantic dust continued on toward the U.S. and the Caribbean.

The researchers can measure the amounts of dust that reach the Western Atlantic near Miami, Barbados and Puerto Rico for example, because there are ample meteorological and other measurement stations in those areas, but in West Africa and places like Cabo Verde, there are few ground-based measurement facilities to measure the dust reaching there.

Dust over town in Cabo Verde in February 2022. Credit: Gregory Jenkins / Penn State

Researchers must then rely on satellite-based measurements, which cannot provide measurement at night. The data collected by ground-based and satellite instruments is used as the basis for models that estimate the paths and amounts of dust hitting West Africa in the winter and the Atlantic and Caribbean in the summer. However, there are so few measurement stations in Africabecause the stations require electricity, cell phones, internet and someone to maintain themthat the models are somewhat incomplete.

"With the very limited measurements we have from West Africa compared to our measurement, we run the models and provide estimates," said Jenkins. "We know that the model timing is correct, but we don't know how much the few stations we have are biasing our results."

According to Jenkins, currently, the best system is in Nigeria where the stations are 25% less costly, but they still need reliable electricity and internet. He notes however, that Cabo Verde does have reliable Wi-Fi and he would like to put particulate matter stations on each of the islands.

According to Jenkins, the model simulations reproduce the trends seen in the past, however, none of the models simulate the dust correctly. Knowledge of exactly where the dust is going at any time and how much dust exists at the ground level is important. Estimates suggest that West Africa will have a population of a billion by 2070. Because this dust in the air can cause respiratory problems and may carry pathogens, knowing when to stay out of the dust is important.

Squall line approaching Kaffrine, Senegal on June 27, 2021. Credit: Riad Kawar

"The dust will have lots of impact in West Africa," said Jenkins. "But in the U.S., we also want to know what happens in the future. I think there is good reason to say there will be more dust in the future."

Jenkins would like to build a particulate matter system across Africa so that there are sufficient data to refine the models. The system would also be able to warn people with, for example, asthma, when to stay inside.

One concern of the researchers is that they know that this Saharan dust transport may change because of climate change in the future.

Explore further Air quality research could improve public health in West Africa

More information: Gregory Jenkins et al, Annual and early summer variability in WRF-CHEM simulated West African PM10 during 19602016, Atmospheric Environment (2022). Journal information: Atmospheric Environment Gregory Jenkins et al, Annual and early summer variability in WRF-CHEM simulated West African PM10 during 19602016,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2022.118957
Lithobates sylvaticus found in southern Quebec. Credit: Wikipedia/CC BY 3.0

When it comes to mating wood frogs, it turns out that sound matters.

After emerging from their winter hideouts in early spring, wood frogs move to ponds to breed. Hundreds of male frogs group together in "armies" at the thawing pools. They sing in large choruses with the hope of attracting female frogs.

Some of those choruses are low pitch. Some of them are high. There can also be a mix of pitches within a chorus.

"A chorus of wood frogs can sound a lot like the chaotic gobbling from a group of rowdy turkeys," says Ryan Calsbeek, an associate professor of biological sciences and lead author of a new study on the role of chorus and individual singing on amphibian mating.

It is thought that females seeking a mate may associate certain male body types with low- or high-pitched songs. Males, in turn, may choose which other males to hang around with depending on how that influences their ability to find a mate.

The research challenge, according to Calsbeek, is how to make sense out of all that tangled sound.

"No one has figured out a way to extract the voice of one individual from a chorus to understand how membership in a group influences that individual's chance at getting a mate," explains Calsbeek.

Researchers used an acoustic camera to separate individual frog songs from their choruses. In this video, heat maps showing the location and audio frequency of each song were overlayed onto images of the breeding pond. Credit: Video by Calsbeek Lab/Dartmouth College. Photo by Ryan Calsbeek

But Calsbeek's study, co-authored by Laurel Symes, Guarini '13, may have come closer to solving the problem.

The research team used an acoustic camera to separate the individual songs from the frog choruses. The camera's array of directional microphones pinpointed the source of each song. Calsbeek and Symes then overlayed heat maps of the sounds onto videos of breeding ponds near Hanover, N.H., and Norwich, Vt., and matched them against the locations of eggs.

"Being able to focus in on individuals within the group is critical to understanding how choruses are structured," says Symes, now assistant director of the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "It also shows us how group membership influences individual chances of attracting a mate."

It turns out from the research that the female frogs may not be so interested in the individual male songs. But they do seem to be attracted to group choruses featuring low-pitch "voices" and with little variation in pitch.

The males didn't favor a voice type for their overall chorus or immediate neighbors, but they did time their songs to nearby chorus members.

"It seems that the chorus calls are used to attract the female wood frogs to a breeding site," says Calsbeek. "The individual songs play a role in positioning the male frogs within that site, but it then becomes a physical showdown to decide who mates."

The study, published in Ecology Letters, is believed to be the first investigation into how individual songs contribute to group singing dynamics and the resulting mating opportunities in populations of pond-breeding amphibians. It's also believed to be the first use of acoustic camera technology to study breeding behavior in animals.

"The camera allowed us to analyze individuals calls as well as group dynamics," says Symes. "This is the audio equivalent of picking out the trees from the forest."

Explore further Zebra finch males sing in dialects and females pay attention

More information: Ryan Calsbeek et al, Individual contributions to group chorus dynamics influence access to mating opportunities in wood frogs, Ecology Letters (2022). Journal information: Ecology Letters Ryan Calsbeek et al, Individual contributions to group chorus dynamics influence access to mating opportunities in wood frogs,(2022). DOI: 10.1111/ele.14002
A Pied Avocet. Credit: Robert Blanken

Protected areas such as national parks have a "mixed impact" on wildlife, according to the largest ever global study of their effects.

The findings show that managing parks to protect species and their habitats is crucialand without such management, parks are more likely to be ineffective.

Next month world leaders will gather in China to set the agenda of global conservation efforts for the next decade. Plans to formally protect 30% of the Earth's surface by 2030 are gathering pace, but the study's authors say this alone will not guarantee the preservation of biodiversity. They are arguing that targets need to be set for the quality of protected areas, not just the quantity.

The study focussed on waterbirds, examining the impact of 1,500 protected areas (in 68 countries) on more than 27,000 waterbird populations, but the findings are likely to have wider relevance to conservation.

The study was led by the universities of Exeter and Cambridge and is published in the journal Nature.

"We know that protected areas can prevent habitat loss, especially in terms of stopping deforestation," said lead author Dr. Hannah Wauchope, of the Center for Ecology and Conservation on Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall.

Black Tailed Godwit. Credit: Robert Blanken

"However, we have much less understanding of how protected areas help wildlife.

"Our study shows that, while many protected areas are working well, many others are failing to have a positive effect.

"Rather than focussing solely on the total global area protected, we need more focus on ensuring areas are well-managed to benefit biodiversity."

The study uses a "before-after-control-intervention" methodcomparing waterbird population trends before protected areas were established with trends afterwards, and also comparing the trends of similar waterbird populations inside and outside protected areas.

This provided a much more accurate and detailed picture than previous studies.

"We are not saying protected areas don't work," Dr. Wauchope said.

"The key point is that their impacts vary hugely, and the biggest thing this depends on is whether they are managed with species in mindwe can't just expect protected areas to work without appropriate management.

A Pied Avocet. Credit: Robert Blanken

"It also appears that larger protected areas tend to be better than smaller ones."

The study focussed on waterbirds because they are well studied and found in many locations worldwide, and their mobility means they can quickly colonize or leave a location based on the quality of the conditions.

The research team included Wetlands International and the universities of Bangor, Queensland, Copenhagen, and Cornell, and the research relied on the efforts of many thousands of volunteers across the world to collect the data on waterbird population numbers.

Professor Julia Jones from Bangor University, a co-author of the study, said "To slow biodiversity loss, we need a much better understanding of which conservation approaches work, and which don't. This analysis gives really useful indications of how conservation can be improved to deliver better outcomes for species."

A Ruddy Shelduck. Credit: Imran Shah

Data on waterbirds in North America came from the National Audubon Society. The research team included Wetlands International and the universities of Bangor, Queensland, Copenhagen, and Cornell, and the research relied on the efforts of many thousands of volunteers across the world, organized by the Christmas Bird Count (National Audubon Society) and the International Waterbird Census (Wetlands International), to collect the data on waterbird population numbers

The paper is entitled: "Protected areas have a mixed impact on waterbirds, but management helps."

Explore further Protected areas help waterbirds adapt to climate change

More information: Hannah Wauchope, Protected areas have a mixed impact on waterbirds, but management helps, Nature (2022). www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04617-0 Journal information: Nature Hannah Wauchope, Protected areas have a mixed impact on waterbirds, but management helps,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04617-0
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

There is much disinformation surrounding the preventative measures that have been implemented across the globe in order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and deaths from the disease it causes COVID-19. However, the research suggests that many of the measures, including social distancing, lockdown, face-covering mandates, and vaccination, all help reduce infection rates, hospitalizations, and deaths regardless of the disinformation.

Writing in the International Journal of Mathematics in Operational Research, a team from Brazil and the UK looks at the case of Brazil and shows, using two levels of evidence, how social distancing through lockdown measures led to a significant reduction in COVID-19 in those states that adopted this approach to controlling the disease. Political disagreement between state and the federal government over the implementation of different measures and different levels of flexibility in those measures in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that there were significant differences between the approaches taken by the 27 Brazilian states.

Rafael de Freitas Souza, Luiz Paulo Favero, and Hamilton Luiz Correa of the University of Sao Paulo, and Michel Ferreira Cardia Haddad of the University of Cambridge, explain that in a lethal pandemic, the decisions made by policymakers can mean the difference between life and death for many people.

"Within the context of political battles where science is constantly questioned by populism, such as the one experienced in Brazil, then the adherence to social isolationeven partially implementedis considerably more effective compared to the lack of such measures," the team writes. Their conclusion is supported by their analysis as well as evidence from a number of independent studies, they add.

Latin America was hit by the pandemic later than many other regions, but it was hit harder than some. Given that we are still in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic with its emerging variants and outbreaks, despite measures taken and the development of vaccines and treatments, it is important that policymakers are presented with evidence-based information rather than disinformation so that the right decisions can be made regarding how we approach the ongoing pandemic and how we address the problems that the next pandemic will bring.

Explore further Online tools power students and young jobseekers in a pandemic

More information: Rafael De Freitas Souza et al, Multilevel evidence on how policymakers may reduce avoidable deaths due to COVID-19: the case of Brazil, International Journal of Mathematics in Operational Research (2022). Rafael De Freitas Souza et al, Multilevel evidence on how policymakers may reduce avoidable deaths due to COVID-19: the case of Brazil,(2022). DOI: 10.1504/IJMOR.2022.122218
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

One in five children in English schools do not count English as their mother tongue, and a lack of English proficiency can hinder children's overall academic performance. Teachers of all subjects need to know their pupils' English proficiency. Trustworthy and reliable assessment of English as an Additional Language (EAL) is an indispensable part of high-quality teaching for these pupils.

To help address this, Professor Constant Leung from King's has led the development of an EAL assessment framework designed to improve the way teachers assess and support children with EAL so each pupil can reach their full potential. Thousands of teachers in the UK have been using it successfully, and English-medium international schools operating outside the UK have also recognized its usefulness.

Stretching over 20 years, his work began by documenting how mainstream classroom activities and assessment practices in English are a factor contributing to the lower attainment levels of EAL learners.

"These children are expected to participate in the regular classroom activities, like all the other pupils in the school, but many of them find the experience quite daunting and don't learn effectively. Meanwhile, there is very little systematic, curriculum-based provision for their development of the English language," says Leung.

Prof Leung's work supports teachers' assessment of their pupils' EAL proficiency as part of the teaching and learning activities in classroom contexts, and for them to identify their students' English language development needs.

Providing teachers with accurate assessment tools for EAL learners

Prof Leung, with colleagues at the University of CambridgeDr. Michael Evans, Dr. Neil Jones and Dr. Yongcan Liuled the development of the Assessment Framework for Schools (AFfS) for EAL. The research and development was funded by the Bell Foundation, an education charity that aims to enable speakers of EAL to overcome disadvantage through language education.

Drawing on an analysis of more than 12,000 teacher judgements of EAL proficiency, this is the first framework to be underpinned by theory and validated by long-term empirical research, for assessing EAL language learning available for use by UK schools.

"The Assessment Framework provides teachers with a set of descriptors to make informed judgments about the different levels of language proficiency that can coexist in their classroom. The different bands of proficiency give teachers a kind of roadmap to help teachers decide what to do to bring the students at a higher level of proficiency. So it's a framework designed for assessment but it also informs teaching, it's a formative assessment framework."Prof Constant Leung

The School of Education, Communication & Society has been strongly associated with the research, development and promotion of formative assessment in school education, as an important addition to summative assessments (which evaluate students' learning at the end of a program, rather than throughout the learning process).

A 'game-changer' for educators

In January 2017, the Bell Foundation published the AFfS on their website, along with relevant educational principles and guidance for its practical implementation in schools and classroom resources for primary and secondary teachers (also developed by Prof Leung and his colleagues). The web-based platform is free for teachers working in the UK, who can access and download the resources to use them with their students. In 2020 alone, the AFfS was downloaded 31,582 times.

Introducing The Bell Foundation EAL Assessment Framework. Credit: The Bell Foundation

The Bell Foundation also extended access to the AFfS to a global audience in 2019; in just a few months, 475 international schools and other educational organizations had downloaded the Framework from across 82 countries.

The Assessment Framework has supported teachers to set appropriate targets for their learners. Echoing the overwhelmingly positive feedback, an England-based EAL coordinator explained: the AFfS "has helped the EAL department show real progress [by] our students, as opposed to tracking them against the National Curriculum. Using the old system, we couldn't see the progress as much but with The Bell Foundation assessment we can share the results with the students and parents to show real progress."

The AFfS is transforming EAL learner assessment and support in the UK: it has been showcased as best practice by the Department for Education (DfE), the Education Policy Institute, and the National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum (NALDIC); referenced in official Scottish and Welsh curriculum guidance documents; and recommended by the Ethnic Minorities and Travelers Achievement Services to be used in all schools.

"And the work has not stopped. We've been working on various projects related to the extension of the Framework, and also its application in different educational environments. So the project is ongoing, and we'll be reporting our progress from time to time," says Leung.

Explore further NYU scholar makes recommendations to end disparities in stem for English learners
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season will see 17 to 21 named storms forming in the Atlantic basin, according to researchers at North Carolina State University. The Atlantic basin includes the entire Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

The number of named storms predicted is above the long-term average, according to Lian Xie, professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences at NC State. The long-term (1951 to 2021) average of named storms is 11.

Of the predicted 17 to 21 named storms, seven to nine may grow strong enough to become hurricanes (the historical average is six), with the possibility of three to five storms becoming major hurricanes.

The Gulf of Mexico will see an active hurricane season, though one more in line with historical averages, as Xie's data indicate the likelihood of three to six named storms forming in the region, with two to five of them becoming hurricanes, and one to two becoming a major hurricane. Historic averages for the Gulf are three named storms and one hurricane.

Xie's methodology evaluates more than 100 years of historical data on Atlantic Ocean hurricane positions and intensity, as well as other variables, including weather patterns and sea-surface temperatures, to predict how many storms will form in each ocean basin.

NC State postdoctoral researcher Xia Sun and graduate student Luke Friedman also contributed to the research.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.

Explore further East Coast should expect active hurricane season, researchers say
A cartoon depiction of the light-induced ferromagnetism that the researchers observed in ultrathin sheets of tungsten diselenide and tungsten disulfide. Laser light, shown in yellow, excites an excitona bound pair of an electron (blue) and its associated positive charge, also known as a hole (red). This activity induces long range exchange interactions among other holes trapped within the moire superlattice, orienting their spins in the same direction. Credit: Xi Wang/University of Washington

Researchers have discovered that lightin the form of a lasercan trigger a form of magnetism in a normally nonmagnetic material. This magnetism centers on the behavior of electrons. These subatomic particles have an electronic property called "spin," which has a potential application in quantum computing. The researchers found that electrons within the material became oriented in the same direction when illuminated by photons from a laser.

The experiment, led by scientists at the University of Washington and the University of Hong Kong, was published April 20 in Nature.

By controlling and aligning electron spins at this level of detail and accuracy, this platform could have applications in the field of quantum simulation, according to co-senior author Xiaodong Xu, a Boeing Distinguished Professor at the UW in the Department of Physics and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

"In this system, we can use photons essentially to control the 'ground state' propertiessuch as magnetismof charges trapped within the semiconductor material," said Xu, who is also a faculty researcher with the UW's Clean Energy Institute and the Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute. "This is a necessary level of control for developing certain types of qubitsor 'quantum bits'for quantum computing and other applications."

Xu, whose research team spearheaded the experiments, led the study with co-senior author Wang Yao, professor of physics at the University of Hong Kong, whose team worked on the theory underpinning the results. Other UW faculty members involved in this study are co-authors Di Xiao, a UW professor of physics and of materials science and engineering who also holds a joint appointment at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Daniel Gamelin, a UW professor of chemistry and director of the Molecular Engineering Materials Center.

The team worked with ultrathin sheetseach just three layers of atoms thickof tungsten diselenide and tungsten disulfide. Both are semiconductor materials, so named because electrons move through them at a rate between that of a fully conducting metal and an insulator, with potential uses in photonics and solar cells. Researchers stacked the two sheets to form a "moire superlattice," a stacked structure made up of repeating units.

A top-view image, taken by piezoresponse force microscopy, of stacked layers of tungsten diselenide and tungsten disulfide, forming what is known as a heterostructure. Triangles indicate the repeating "units" of the moire superlattice. Credit: Xi Wang/University of Washington

Stacked sheets like these are powerful platforms for quantum physics and materials research because the superlattice structure can hold excitons in place. Excitons are bound pairs of "excited" electrons and their associated positive charges, and scientists can measure how their properties and behavior change in different superlattice configurations.

The researchers were studying the exciton properties within the material when they made the surprising discovery that light triggers a key magnetic property within the normally nonmagnetic material. Photons provided by the laser "excited" excitons within the laser beam's path, and these excitons induced a type of long-range correlation among other electrons, with their spins all orienting in the same direction.

"It's as if the excitons within the superlattice had started to 'talk' to spatially separated electrons," said Xu. "Then, via excitons, the electrons established exchange interactions, forming what's known as an 'ordered state' with aligned spins."

The spin alignment that the researchers witnessed within the superlattice is a characteristic of ferromagnetism, the form of magnetism intrinsic to materials like iron. It is normally absent from tungsten diselenide and tungsten disulfide. Each repeating unit within the moire superlattice is essentially acting like a quantum dot to "trap" an electron spin, said Xu. Trapped electron spins that can "talk" to each other, as these can, have been suggested as the basis for a type of qubit, the basic unit for quantum computers that could harness the unique properties of quantum mechanics for computation.

In a separate paper published Nov. 25 in Science, Xu and his collaborators found new magnetic properties in moire superlattices formed by ultrathin sheets of chromium triiodide. Unlike the tungsten diselenide and tungsten disulfide, chromium triiodide harbors intrinsic magnetic properties, even as a single atomic sheet. Stacked chromium triiodide layers formed alternating magnetic domains: one that is ferromagneticwith spins all aligned in the same directionand another that is "antiferromagnetic," where spins point in opposite directions between adjacent layers of the superlattice and essentially "cancel each other out," according to Xu. That discovery also illuminates relationships between a material's structure and its magnetism that could propel future advances in computing, data storage and other fields.

"It shows you the magnetic 'surprises' that can be hiding within moire superlattices formed by 2D quantum materials," said Xu. "You can never be sure what you'll find unless you look."

First author of the Nature paper is Xi Wang, a UW postdoctoral researcher in physics and chemistry. Other co-authors are Chengxin Xiao at the University of Hong Kong; UW physics doctoral students Heonjoon Park and Jiayi Zhu; Chong Wang, a UW researcher in materials science and engineering; Takashi Taniguchi and Kenji Watanabe at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan; and Jiaqiang Yan at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Explore further Simple materials offer a peek into the quantum realm

More information: Xiaodong Xu, Light-induced ferromagnetism in moire superlattices, Nature (2022). www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04472-z Xiaodong Xu, Light-induced ferromagnetism in moire superlattices,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04472-z Tiancheng Song et al, Direct visualization of magnetic domains and moire magnetism in twisted 2D magnets, Science (2021). DOI: 10.1126/science.abj7478 Journal information: Nature , Science
In a recent paper by the Penn Wharton Budget Model, authors Efraim Berkovich, director of computational dynamics; Daniela Costa, economist; and Austin Herrick, senior analyst, account for the differences between immigrants and nonimmigrants to investigate the macroeconomic effects of immigration to the U.S.

The research, titled "Immigration and the Macroeconomy," models policies that change the size and composition of the immigrant population and analyze implications for government spending and tax revenues.

"The model we use at Penn Wharton [Budget Model] incorporates a very rich microsimulation of demographics along with a detailed macro-economic model," Berkovich says. "This approach is especially fruitful for researching policy areas such as immigration."

The researchers investigate the impact of immigration through two main channelsthe number of newly arriving authorized immigrants, and changes to the legal status of existing immigrants.

"In the first case, our modeled scenarios increased (or decreased) legal immigrant inflows for a five-year period in the 2020s, and in the second case, we legalized different portions of the unauthorized population," Herrick says. "In both cases, we projected changes to the population dynamics resulting from these policiesbirth rates, marriage rates, size of the workforce, and other characteristics of the population."

The main findings of the study are that temporary increases in legal immigration rates lead to long-term fiscal benefits.

"The main channel through which larger inflows of legal immigrants bring about fiscal benefits in the long run is by increasing the working age population, which contributes to the production of the country, raising tax revenues," Costa says "As the newly admitted immigrants retire and collect Social Security benefits, it leads to an increase in federal expenditures, but, in the long-run, there is still a net revenue increase when children of immigrants decrease the old-age dependency ratio of the economy when they grow up."

Increased legal immigration policies produce long lasting, multi-generational effects, as the children of new immigrants enter the workforce. According to the study, a six-year increase in legal immigration by 25% is predicted to lead to a 0.08% increase in per capita gross domestic product [GDP] and a 0.41% decrease in total government debt in 2032. By 2052, the policy increases per capita GDP by 0.30% while government debt is 1.34% lower than in the baseline.

The research paper found that policies which legalize unauthorized immigrants imply a tradeoff between higher wages for newly legalized workers and increased government debt through additional spending on social programs for those same immigrants.

"On the one hand, labor income for newly legalized workers increases due to access to formal labor markets," says Costa.

Costa also explains that on the other hand, newly legalized workers are less educated, hence, earn less than the average worker and, when granted legal status, are more likely to remain in the country and collect Social Security benefits to which they are entitled.

"These two effects dominate and, in the long run, increase the government's debt burden," she says.

The researchers hope the findings in the paper trigger a conversation on the insights, and that their framework will help policymakers estimate the potential impacts of immigration scenarios.

Explore further Study: Temporary work visas could deter illegal immigration of Mexican migrants

More information: Immigration and the Macroeconomy: Immigration and the Macroeconomy: budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/  ues/2022/1/5/w2022-1
Supercell storm outside of Harrisburg, Nebraska, that produced severe storms and multiple tornadoes. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and severity of weather-related events, from wildfires to hurricanes. Credit: Shutterstock/Cammie Czuchnicki.

Climate changes. It has done so, often dramatically, over the course of Earth's geologic timescales, measured in hundreds of thousands and millions of years. Some of these changes might have caused a phenomenon called snowball Earth, a period in which the entire planet froze over. Other changes have taken the planet in the opposite direction.

As science gets better at measuring and deciphering evidence from those atmospheres of the past, researchers are discovering that large climatic episodes are linked to mass extinction events, when much of life on Earth died off.

So, if the climate does change and has tended toward the drastic in the past, why the kerfuffle when we talk about climate change, today?

One of the main points of contention among remaining skeptics, and the point most climate scientists agree onas well as scientists from many other fieldsis whether human activities are the main drivers of rapid climate change.

What once took those long geologic periods to melt glaciers or transform lush tropical forest to dry savannah is now happening on the scale of a human lifetime, or even faster.

We call this anthropogenic, or human-driven, change.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are working to sort out the details and provide a clearer understanding of climate change.

They are involved, for example, in profiling day-to-day changes in wind, temperature and humidity to assist in accurate weather forecasts. They have developed groundbreaking models that predict future hazardous conditions, like wildfires, drought and tropical storms. And they use those models to help communities make better decisions on how to locate or support critical infrastructure needed to deliver electricity, gas and communications.

One such researcher is Scott Collis, an atmospheric scientist specializing in thunderstorms. A public voice on the issue of climate change, Collis has tried to make scientific information accessible to audiences on broadcasts ranging from PBS to Fox.

Outlining the broader picture of climate change is easy, suggests Collis, it's in the finer pointsthe interactions of ocean currents, heat and clouds, for examplewhere things start to get complicated. But that doesn't mean that the main ideas are hard to understand.

So, let's break it down.

Weather or not

A good place to start is to define the difference between weather and climate, a common sticking point for many people.

Video overview of Argonnes work to combat climate change. Credit: Argonne National Laboratory

You may hear someone say that it's colder than it should be at a certain time of year, or we're getting more snow in places that typically aren't known for snow.

For some, this is evidence that climate change doesn't exist or that it defeats the idea of global warming. But it's not that simple.

In a nod to a former Argonne mentor, Collis said climate is what you expect, weather is what you get.

While weather changes all the time, over the long term there are consistent patterns. If you live in or around Chicago, for example, you've likely experienced several seasons in one day (thus the maxim, "if you don't like the weather in Chicago, wait 15 minutes").

Yet, Midwesterners expect that the summer will be warmest in August, and January will most always bring cold temps, angry winds and slick roads.

This repeated and consistent cycle of weather over a given region and an expanse of time is called climate.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) keeps track of both weather and climate. Every 10 years, it releases climate normals, or averaged weather observations collected from weather stations across a region, a continent or the globe.

Each 10-year report is based on 30 years' worth of weather observations and helps scientists predict what temperatures and other conditions might look like over the next 10 years. The most recent climate normal report includes the two hottest decades on record, globally, from 2000 to 2019.

"The latest climate normal showed not only a massive increase in temperatures, but interesting changes in precipitation as well," said Collis.

These changes in precipitation are driving larger, more severe stormsyes, even snowand piquing the interest of scientists like Collis.

So that's weather and climate. Now, here's why scientists call current events anthropogenic climate change.

Understanding the cause

Just as climate is an accumulation of weather, climate change is caused by the over-accumulation of certain gases in the atmosphere.

Increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide and methane, produced by transportation, and industrial and farming processes, are the primary drivers of human-driven, or anthropogenic, climate change. Credit: NASA-JPL/Caltech

Some of these gases, like carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), are important for capturing the sun's infrared radiation, which can harm ussunburns and skin cancerand keeping our planet from getting too cold. But too much can cause a greenhouse effect that traps heat in the atmosphere and really starts to warm things up.

"Carbon dioxide gets really excited when it gets hit by infrared radiation," explained Collis. "It absorbs that energy and reemits it. But instead of sending it back out to space, it sends some back to Earth."

Collis likened this to the inside of a car on a hot day. The windows of a car act just like CO 2 , letting in visible radiation, but blocking the heat trying to escape; we feel it immediately when we get into a car that's had its windows rolled up on a hot day.

Our planet is becoming that vehicle, and the gases we put into the atmosphere are the culprits.

How do we know this?

There is a direct correlation between the increased levels of CO 2 in the atmosphere and current temperature increases. Scientists date this connection to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Europe and the United States in the 1800s, when societies witnessed the large-scale conversion to coala large contributor of CO 2 to advance manufacturing.

Scientists make this relationship using historical weather records and CO 2 measurements taken from ice core and ocean sediment samples, tree rings and coral reefs, all of which capture such data going back 150 years, in some cases, millennia.

From such evidence, we know that temperatures have increased as greenhouse gases did. And as humans began to record changes in their environment, whether through scientific instruments or photographs and videos, we began to witness the effects as they occurred.

Coal remained the prominent source of energy production until the arrival of cleaner nuclear energy in the late 1950s, and the slow but increased use of renewables since the 1970s. But the United States, and nations around the world, continue to release huge amounts of CO 2 and other potent greenhouse gases, like methane, from many other sources that drive life as we know it.

Transportation, for example, accounts for over one-quarter of CO 2 emissions released in the United States, while power generationcoal, oil and gasis responsible for just slightly less. Industry accounts for about 20% and agriculture adds 10%.

But agricultural practices, farming cattle in particular, release more methane than any other form of industry. And while CO 2 is more abundant, methane is a more potent greenhouse gas. In fact, as long-frozen land, or permafrost regions, near the Arctic Circle begin to thaw, scientists are worried about the release of large amounts of stored methane that could further exacerbate the problem.

To better understand the relationship between humans, the release of greenhouse gases and climate change, scientists use the latest, greatest tools available to them. For example, Collis points to NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2, a satellite which tracks the release of CO 2 across the globe, whether from natural or human sources.

Research facilities around the world also use simulations, or models, to confirm ideas about past climate and CO 2 levels, and predict future scenarios.

"At Argonne, we run simulations about temperature and weather and we get one value, one that might reflect the pre-industrial era," described Collis. "Then we add more CO 2 , the amount we're producing, and get another value. And then we do things like put in huge amounts of CO 2 to see what happens. And, yeah, science tells us it's us."

According to NASA's climate Web page, the amount of CO 2 in today's atmosphere, measured in parts per million (ppm), has nearly doubled since 1850considered pre-industrialto about 415 ppm. "This is more than what had happened naturally over a 20,000-year period (from the Last Glacial Maximum to 1850, when the level raised from 185 ppm to 280 ppm)," the site notes.

You can find more numbers about this relationship between greenhouse gases and rising temperatures from any number of research facilities, but the most compelling argument for human-driven climate change is observation.

Record-breaking heat, increased frequency and severity of storms, melting glaciers and rising sea levels are hard to ignore.

Harder still are the droughts and wildfires that plague not only the western United States, but regions as far away as Siberia, leaving millions of acres of land barren.

Some still might argue that this is just the natural course of things, but research suggests otherwise. An article in the science journal Nature reported that the record-breaking heat in the United States and Canada was 150 times more likely to occur because of climate change than pure chance, and would begin to happen more frequently as temperatures rise.

Hard to ignore negative feedback

As temperatures increase and become consistent over time, the Earth begins to develop something called a feedback loop in many different ecological systems.

For example, the reason scientists care about losing snowpack and ice cover in regions like the Antarctic and Greenland is that the white of the ice reflects heat back toward the sky, while the dark waters surrounding them absorb it.

So, heat melts the ice and snow, leaving less of it to reflect heat back. This opens larger areas of the surrounding ocean to absorb more heat, further melting the ice caps and keeping heat trapped on the planet.

In addition to rising temps from this process, the other concern is rising sea levels. Ice doesn't just disappear; it adds to the volumes of oceans and changes tides, displacing people along already precarious shorelines, from New Orleans to Bangladesh.

Another, perhaps more immediately noticeable, effect of the feedback loop is the occurrence of more severe storms.

"The greenhouse gas that might surprise some people is water vapor," exclaimed Collis. "It also presents some very interesting feedback issues. To simplify a complicated physics equation that we use, the warmer the air, the more water vapor there is in the atmosphere. This leads to greater rainfall and larger storms and hurricanes."

As evidence for this phenomenon, recall 2021's massive floods in parts of Europe and China, many of which occurred in areas not known for receiving heavy rains.

"We get these severe sorts of feedback cycles because things aren't happening on geologic timescales. They're happening many orders of magnitude faster," said Collis. "Instead of having adaptation, we get migration. Places that were once farmable no longer are, sea level changes are pushing people out, species are searching for cooler latitudes. Things are happening much too quickly for species, humans and plants to adapt."

Despite these forebodings, all is not grim, just as Scrooge acknowledges during the last of his ghostly visitations in "A Christmas Carol": "But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change." In our story, the future will be decided by those of us who make environmentally conscious choices in our daily lives; by governments and industries that strive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and by research institutions, like Argonne, that are at the forefront of innovations for a cleaner planet.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Despite the seismic changes that have convulsed media communications and journalism since the turn of the millennium, the mainstream media remains a formidably relevant force, including at election time.

Data on where people get their news make this clear. In 2021, about 61% of Australians accessed television news in an average week, and 47% used online news platforms.

These are dominated by the established media organizations. The top ten digital news titles over the 12 months to December 2021 were all mainstream media.

At the top was news.com.au, followed by the ABC, nine.com.au, The Sydney Morning Herald and 7News. All except the Daily Mail (which lost ground heavily) showed year-on-year growth.

While just 20% of people used print-based media, reflecting the decline of newspapers since the digital revolution really got going in 2006, the data from Roy Morgan Research indicate the slide might be slowing, at least in some markets.

The data are preliminary, but they show a quite remarkable 10.4% growth in The Australian's print audience, growth of 8.2% in the Daily Telegraph's and 3.1% in The Sydney Morning Herald's.

There was growth too in the print audiences of the Courier-Mail in Brisbane (2.3%), the West Australian (5.5%) and the Adelaide Advertiser (0.4%).

Notably, however, the print audiences of the two main Melbourne papers, The Age and the Herald Sun, continued to decline, The Age's by 1.3% and the Herald Sun's by 1.9%.

A striking feature of these figures is the growth in audiences of the News Corporation newspapers across the country, except in Melbourne.

This raises interesting questions about the kind of news Australians seem to want.

News Corporation makes no bones about using its news reporting to push its own agendas. Its internal code of conduct states:

"Comment, conjecture and opinion are acceptable in reports to provide perspective on an issue, or explain the significance of an issue, or to allow readers to recognize what the publication's standpoint is on the matter being reported."

So much for impartiality in news reporting and for separating news from opinion principles that are explicitly required by the codes of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review, by the editorial policies of the ABC, and by The Guardian, whose magisterial former owner-editor C. P. Scott's enduring dictum was, "Comment is free but facts are sacred."

For decades, surveys have shown Australian media consumers prize impartiality in news reporting very highly, rating it second only to accuracy as the attribute they value most in news content.

A report for the Australian Communications and Media Authority in 2020 cited a Morgan survey from 2018 showing the attributes people considered most important when deciding which news media to trust. The top two were accuracy in reporting (93%) and impartiality (90%).

So is this changing?

Is it possible people's extensive exposure to social media and their use of it as a source of news is altering their taste in news and their assessment of which attributes matter?

After all, at 52%, social media is now the second most accessed source of news for Australians, not far behind the 61% for television.

Or could it be that in an age of intense political polarization, people prefer news that promotes the perspectives of their tribe at the expense of impartiality?

Social media news content, much of which comes nowhere near meeting journalistic standards of impartiality, unquestionably provides this, creating the well-established phenomena of filter bubbles and echo chambers.

At the same time, the feedstock for social media news content is to a significant extent drawn from the mainstream media. This is especially so in an election campaign, where the media "pack" traveling with each of the main parties' leaders is comprised of mainstream mediait is they who are given the accreditation and direct access to the leaders.

Social media takes this raw material and gives it various treatmentsmemes, altered contexts and distortions of multiple kindsto entertain, enrage or mobilize.

In this way, mainstream news influences what goes on in social media, adding to mainstream media's reach and relevance yet along the way commonly losing the attributes of accuracy and impartiality that people say they value.

Contradictions abound.

People say they base their trust in media on whether the reporting is accurate and impartial. Trust in mainstream media remains higher than trust in social media as a source of news, yet social media has grown in importance as a source of news while mainstream media, especially newspapers, has been declining.

It would be a heavy irony indeed if a recovery in the audience reach of mainstream media was driven by their aping social media, abandoning the impartiality that people say is a cornerstone of their trust.

Not just an irony, but a disaster for democracy.

For one thing, democracy depends on voters having a bedrock of reliable, accurate and impartial information on which to base political, social and economic choices. A focus on gaffes and political theater, of the kind we have seen in this campaign so far, does not deliver that.

For another, highly partisan news media help drive the polarization that is undermining the democratic consensus, the consequences of which were shown by the assault on the Capitol in Washington on January 6 2021.

Yet the audience growth of the News Corp newspapers, as indicated in the Morgan data, shows that abandoning impartiality in news reporting might be a successful corporate business strategy.

It might also be a successful corporate political strategy as its mastheads barrack hard for a return of the Morrison government.

Mainstream media is certainly not dead as a force in elections and the form its journalism is taking, with its impact on Australia's democratic processes, are large and important questions for the country's future.

Explore further Mainstream news more reliable than social, alternative media for accurate health information

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Phobos solar eclipse taken from the Martian surface. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/SSI

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has captured dramatic footage of Phobos, Mars' potato-shaped moon, crossing the face of the Sun. These observations can help scientists better understand the moon's orbit and how its gravity pulls on the Martian surface, ultimately shaping the Red Planet's crust and mantle.

Captured with Perseverance's next-generation Mastcam-Z camera on April 2, the 397th Martian day, or sol, of the mission, the eclipse lasted a little over 40 secondsmuch shorter than a typical solar eclipse involving Earth's Moon. (Phobos is about 157 times smaller than Earth's Moon. Mars' other moon, Deimos, is even smaller.)

The images are the latest in a long history of NASA spacecraft capturing solar eclipses on Mars. Back in 2004, the twin NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity took the first time-lapse photos of Phobos during a solar eclipse. Curiosity continued the trend with videos shot by its Mastcam camera system.

But Perseverance, which landed in February 2021, has provided the most zoomed-in video of a Phobos solar eclipse yetand at the highest-frame rate ever. That's thanks to Perseverance's next-generation Mastcam-Z camera system, a zoomable upgrade from Curiosity's Mastcam.

"I knew it was going to be good, but I didn't expect it to be this amazing," said Rachel Howson of Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, one of the Mastcam-Z team members who operates the camera.

NASAs Perseverance Mars rover used its Mastcam-Z camera to shoot video of Phobos, one of Mars two moons, eclipsing the Sun. Its the most zoomed-in, highest-frame-rate observation of a Phobos solar eclipse ever taken from the Martian surface. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/SSI

Howson noted that although Perseverance first sends lower-resolution thumbnails that offer a glimpse of the images to come, she was stunned by the full-resolution versions: "It feels like a birthday or holiday when they arrive. You know what's coming, but there is still an element of surprise when you get to see the final product."

Color also sets this version of a Phobos solar eclipse apart. Mastcam-Z has a solar filter that acts like sunglasses to reduce light intensity. "You can see details in the shape of Phobos' shadow, like ridges and bumps on the moon's landscape," said Mark Lemmon, a planetary astronomer with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, who has orchestrated most of the Phobos observations by Mars rovers. "You can also see sunspots. And it's cool that you can see this eclipse exactly as the rover saw it from Mars."

As Phobos circles Mars, its gravity exerts small tidal forces on the Red Planet's interior, slightly deforming rock in the planet's crust and mantle. These forces also slowly change Phobos' orbit. As a result, geophysicists can use those changes to better understand how pliable the interior of Mars is, revealing more about the materials within the crust and mantle.

Scientists already know that Phobos is doomed: The moon is getting closer to the Martian surface and is destined to crash into the planet in tens of millions of years. But eclipse observations from the surface of Mars over the last two decades have also allowed scientists to refine their understanding of Phobos' slow death spiral.

Explore further Curiosity captured two solar eclipses on Mars

More information: For more about Perseverance: For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Communication seems natural to us, but there are plenty of situations where background noise makes it hard for us to understand each other. In those moments, gesturing can come in handy, particularly if conversations in your native language are taking place in the background. This has been shown in research by psycholinguist Veerle Wilms in cooperation with Susanne Brouwer and Linda Drijvers. Their paper is published on 19 April in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.

Suppose you want to order a drink in a busy pub or you are trying to explain something on a noisy train. You cannot always do this by just talking. Brouwer's research has already shown that background speech influences intelligibility. Drijvers has also concluded in earlier research that iconic gesturesgestures that carry meaning and where the shape of the gesture indicates what you are talking aboutare useful for making yourself clear in noisy environments.

Wilms combined these findings in a new experiment. She recorded 180 videos in which an actress says a short sentence in Dutch, such as "He is ready to pray," or "She is very good at swimming."

"The last word was always an action verb; this verb was sometimes spoken by itself, or combined with an iconic gesture. The Dutch participants saw various videos with and without gestures. In the background, you could hear people speaking in Dutch or French, or nothing at all," Wilms says.

Listener benefits

Wilms wanted to test the extent to which gestures actually help with understanding words and sentences while conversations are taking place in the background, and whether it makes a difference whether the mother tongue (Dutch) or a foreign language (French) is heard in the background.

"Participants understood the verbs better when they were combined with a gesture than when no gesture was shown," says Wilms. "Furthermore, participants found words easier to understand when there were French conversations in the background, rather than Dutch ones." That is because the participants were familiar with Dutch and because the Dutch sentences and Dutch background noise are very similar. That is not the case with Dutch sentences and French background noise.

Whether in cafes, restaurants, or shops, there are a lot of situations in which this knowledge is useful. "Both speakers and listeners can benefit from this: speakers by gesticulating and listeners from paying attention to their interlocutor's hands, particularly where conversations taking place in the background are in your mother tongue."

More information: Veerle Wilms et al, The Effects of Iconic Gestures and Babble Language on Word Intelligibility in Sentence Context, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research (2022). Veerle Wilms et al, The Effects of Iconic Gestures and Babble Language on Word Intelligibility in Sentence Context,(2022). DOI: 10.1044/2022_JSLHR-21-00387
Passive shimming research based on magnetic sheet array. a) Magnetic sheet array; b) Implementation platform and results. Credit: SIBET

Benchtop Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) instruments have huge application scenarios in the fields of food safety; on-line rapid component analysis in pharmaceutical, biological, and chemical laboratories; drug detection, education and teaching.

The dipolar cylindrical Halbach magnet as a high-performance magnet structure has become the main magnet structure for benchtop NMR spectroscopy equipment because of its high material utilization and magnetic field homogeneity. However, due to its complex structure, various errors in processing leads to poor magnetic field homogeneity, which seriously affects the signal quality of magnetic resonance and limits the development of benchtop magnetic resonance spectrometer equipment based on Halbach magnets in China.

The Benchtop Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Group led by Yang Xiaodong from the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology (SIBET) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has recently proposed a passive shimming method for Halbach magnets. Results were published in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance.

Based on the decomposition and construction of spherical harmonic function, the researchers designed the shimming magnetic sheet array generating each harmonic within the 3rd order and constructed the field diagram analysis of shimming array with different sizes and positions to achieve fast magnetic field compensation.

They also described the practical operation and test results of this method on Halbach magnets.

"In the 0.5T-Halbach passive shimming experiment, the magnetic field homogeneity was improved by two orders of magnitude compared with the initial field, and the homogeneity was improved to 4.7 ppm," said Yang.

In another set of 0.93T-Halbach magnets, the homogeneity was also improved by an order of magnitude, verifying the effectiveness and repeatability of the proposed method to improve the magnetic field homogeneity.

The passive shimming magnetic sheet array proposed in this work achieves efficient compensation of the magnetic field homogeneity of Halbach magnets.

"The results provide strong support for the independent development of high-resolution permanent magnetic resonance spectrometer in China," said Yu Yingcong, president of Wenzhou People's Hospital and also a corresponding author of the study.

The team has built a high-resolution magnetic resonance platform based on the 0.5T-Halbach magnet after passive shimming. "We will conduct experiments for related applications next to promote the development of the research results in relevant applications," said Wang Ya, first author of the study.

Explore further Visualization of the origin of magnetic forces by atomic resolution electron microscopy

More information: Ya Wang et al, A passive shimming method for Halbach magnet based on magnetic sheet arrays, Journal of Magnetic Resonance (2022). Ya Wang et al, A passive shimming method for Halbach magnet based on magnetic sheet arrays,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.jmr.2022.107210
Artists reconstruction of the feathered pterosaur Tupandactylus, showing the feather types along the bottom of the headcrest: dark monofilaments and lighter-colored branched feathers. Credit:  Nicholls 2022 Copyright Bob Nicholls

An international team of paleontologists has discovered remarkable new evidence that pterosaurs, the flying relatives of dinosaurs, were able to control the color of their feathers using melanin pigments.

The study, published in the journal Nature, was led by University College Cork (UCC) paleontologists Dr. Aude Cincotta and Prof. Maria McNamara and Dr. Pascal Godefroit from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, with an international team of scientists from Brazil and Belgium.

The new study is based on analyses of a new 115-million-year-old fossilized headcrest of the pterosaur Tupandactylus imperator from north-eastern Brazil. Pterosaurs lived side-by-side with dinosaurs, 230 to 66 million years ago.

This species of pterosaur is famous for its bizarre huge headcrest. The team discovered that the bottom of the crest had a fuzzy rim of feathers, with short wiry hair-like feathers and fluffy branched feathers.

"We didn't expect to see this at all," said Dr. Cincotta. "For decades paleontologists have argued about whether pterosaurs had feathers. The feathers in our specimen close off that debate for good as they are very clearly branched all the way along their length, just like birds today."

The team then studied the feathers with high-powered electron microscopes and found preserved melanosomesgranules of the pigment melanin. Unexpectedly, the new study shows that the melanosomes in different feather types have different shapes.

Artists reconstruction of the feathered pterosaur Tupandactylus, showing the feather types along the bottom of the headcrest: dark monofilaments and lighter-colored branched feathers. Credit: Copyright Julio Lacerda

"In birds today, feather color is strongly linked to melanosome shape," said Prof. McNamara. "Since the pterosaur feather types had different melanosome shapes, these animals must have had the genetic machinery to control the colors of their feathers. This feature is essential for color patterning and shows that coloration was a critical feature of even the very earliest feathers."

University College Cork (UCC) Professor Maria McNamara holding tiny samples of the pterosaur feathers. Credit: UCC

University College Cork (UCC) Professor Maria McNamara. Credit: UCC

Thanks to the collective efforts of the Belgian and Brazilian scientists and authorities working with a private donor, the remarkable specimen has been repatriated to Brazil. "It is so important that scientifically important fossils such as this are returned to their countries of origin and safely conserved for posterity" said Dr. Godefroit. "These fossils can then be made available to scientists for further study and can inspire future generations of scientists through public exhibitions that celebrate our natural heritage."

Explore further Hollow fossil melanosomes suggest earliest appearance of brilliant iridescent color in bird feathers

More information: Maria McNamara, Pterosaur melanosomes support signalling functions for early feathers, Nature (2022). www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04622-3 Journal information: Nature Maria McNamara, Pterosaur melanosomes support signalling functions for early feathers,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04622-3
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Star Wars turned into real life? A NASA doctor appeared as a hologram at the International Space Station for a telemedicine visit with an astronaut in Oct. 8, 2021, according to a recent release from NASA.

The "holoportation", a word made from hologram and transportation, features a life-like visual and audio connection between the space center and those back on Earth.

Dr. Josef Schmid and his crew were holoported to the ISS using the Microsoft Hololens Kinect camera and a personal computer with custom software Aexa, according to an April 8 release from NASA. Schmid had a virtual conversation with astronaut Thomas Pesquet as part of a 3D telemedicine visit.

"We'll use this for our private medical conferences, private psychiatric conferences, private family conferences and to bring VIPs onto the space station to visit with astronauts," Schmid said.

The technology allows users to interact with remote participants in 3D as if they were physically in the same space.

"It is a brand new way of human exploration, where our human entity is able to travel off the planet. Our physical body is not there, but our human entity absolutely is there."

Explore further SpaceX's next crew arrives in Florida for Earth Day launch

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Credit: Liverpool Hope University

Social media networks need to introduce more colors for their emoticon graphics to stop users "misleading" each other, a specialist has warned. The claims stems from new research by experts from Liverpool Hope University, UK, and Joshibi University of Art and Design, Tokyo, Japan.

Emoticons are traditionally rendered in yellowafter American commercial designer Harvey Ball created his "smiley" as a distinctive yellow button back in 1969. But a new study has revealed how an emoticon's color might affect the emotional, or nonverbal, impact of the message.

Researchers found cheerful "smileys" were perceived as "happier" when rendered in yellow or orange, while "angry" emoticons conveyed stronger emotion when presented in red. "Sad" emoticons were "sadder" when rendered in blue or "cyan" turquoise, and "neutral" emoticons came across best when rendered in gray.

But, on the flip side, "angry" emoticons rendered in cool colorsand "sad" and "neutral" emoticons in warm colorsrevealed higher chances of being misinterpreted.

The results have been published in the journal i-Perception.

Lead author Professor Galina Paramei, of Liverpool Hope University's Department of Psychology, warns about the risk of "misinterpretation of the context, the tone of the message, or the sender's attitudebe it a negative bias, flaming the interaction, or a positive bias with spurious peace-makingbut ultimately impacting the efficiency of communication."

And she adds: "The present findings can be useful in developing communication tools in social networking sites to improve the 'emotion catch-ball' in digital communications by using emoticons with congruent color variations instead of conventional yellow emoticons."

Prof Paramei and her research colleagues, Ph.D. student Songyang Liao at Kanagawa University and Professor Katsuaki Sakata at Joshibi University, in Japan, suggest the phenomenon could be related to how humans are hardwired to perceive the color of expressed emotions in real human facesaka "biologically engrained face coloration."

Prof Paramei, a respected color vision scientist, explains: "Specifically, approach-oriented emotionsanger, happiness, surpriseevoked by challenge elicit vasodilation, facilitate blood flow to skin areas, with the face becoming redder and yellower.

"Conversely, avoidance-oriented emotions, such as disgust, fear, sadness and triggered by threat, elicit vasoconstriction, reduce blood flow to the face and, hence, incur bluer or greener facial coloration."

The new research saw Prof Paramei and her colleagues putting around 50 participants based in Japan through a series of four laboratory-based experiments and one online experiment. The volunteers ranged in age from 18 to 23 years old and were both male and female.

Each test centered on a set of 40 different emoticons representing four basic emotions"Angry," "Sad," "Surprised," and "Happy," and a "Neutral" expression, which were each rendered in eight different colors, running from red through to orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple and light gray.

The bulk of experiments in the series saw participants assessing the affective meaning of different colored emoticons before deciding whether the image was "Not Angry or Angry," "Not Sad or Sad," "Not Neutral or Neutral," "Not Surprised or Surprised" and "Not Happy or Happy."

The results were more or less consistent throughout both the lab and the online experiments.

Prof Paramei says: "As is apparent, "angry" emoticon was perceived as "angrier" in warm colors, particularly in red and orange.

"Red 'angry' emoticon had higher angry affective meaning than in all other colors, and orange 'angry' emoticon was 'angrier' than in light gray.

"'Happy' emoticon, as expected, was judged 'happiest' in yellow: the corresponding affective meaning was higher than when it was rendered in purple and light gray or red, cyan, and blue. 'Happy' emoticon was also judged rather 'happy' in orange, with happy affective meaning higher than when it was rendered in cyan, blue, purple, or light gray. In green, happy affective meaning was greater than in light gray.

"Conversely, 'sad' emoticon was perceived as 'sadder' in cool colors, cyan and blue; in both colors, sad affective meaning was higher than when it was rendered in red, orange, yellow, or green.

"It is worth noting that purple 'sad' emoticon evinced a sad affective meaning estimate that was only marginally lower than when rendered in either cyan or blue.

"'Neutral' emoticon was judged as most 'neutral' in light gray, with the corresponding affective meaning significantly higher than in red, orange, or yellow.

"Finally, 'surprised' emoticon appeared to slightly better-convey the intended emotion when rendered in red, higher than in blue, in accord with findings for realistic face images."

For the Japanese respondents, Professor Paramei and her colleagues found that, on average, the color of the emoticon accounted for a third of the meaning of the emotion attributed to it.

Explore further Women seen as happy and men as angry despite real emotions

More information: Songyang Liao et al, Color Affects Recognition of Emoticon Expressions, i-Perception (2022). Songyang Liao et al, Color Affects Recognition of Emoticon Expressions,(2022). DOI: 10.1177/20416695221080778
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

In 2016, the first ever World Humanitarian Summit brought together 9,000 participants from across multiple sectors and civil society, with the aim of creating meaningful change for the world's most vulnerable. Over 3,500 commitments were made, including the need to put survivors of natural disasters at the center of the disaster response and ensure no one is left behind.

A team of King's researchers have worked with humanitarian organizations, their local partners and disaster survivors to put this commitment into practice. By identifying the shortcomings of the previous top-down approach, they have developed new working practices that are transforming the international humanitarian sector.

As a result, countries are now seeing faster responses, improved management of disaster funds and greater autonomy for survivors to drive how their communities are to be rebuilt. The Kenya Government, for example, has since updated its Disaster Risk Management policy and formally recognized the role of local organizations in disaster response.

From top-down to survivor-led response

In the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster, the response is generally localized with neighbors often providing the first response. Very often, and especially in poorer countries, as the immediate response shifts to reconstruction, it quickly becomes managed and led by international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

This international humanitarian response is needed due to a lack of local capacity, especially in local and national government. However, by taking leadership roles in the often-chaotic post-disaster period, the humanitarian sector can miss the opportunity to build upon local ambitions and risk creating a culture of dependence on external leadershipmarginalizing survivors from their own recovery. It also encourages survivors to see themselves and be seen by external agencies as little more than beneficiaries of charity, potential employees or sources of local knowledge for project design.

To address this, King's researchers analyzed disaster responses from the viewpoint of survivors, speaking directly with them to understand how they were affected. They then created a frameworkknown as the "Survivor-Led Response"that lists the top priorities the humanitarian sector should support local people, their local governments and organizations with. These are:

immediate livelihood support (not simply disaster relief), e.g. in the form of microcredits or income-generating activities psychological support to enable crisis survivors to 'bounce back' better support for community cohesion and effective communication between survivors support for effective communication between the community and implementing organizations coordination of activities with local government from the outset to ensure long-term community resilience a forum for confronting the root causes of vulnerability and advocating for change

"The Survivor-Led Response hands control back to the people whose lives have been affected by disasters. It allows them to rebuild their communities and lives in the way that they know is best. In the past, well meaning, international organizations tended to take control of response and recovery relegating local leaders to the position of aid beneficiaries or at best employees. Putting local people and organizations at the center of coordinated response and recovery improves the quality and long-term consequences of the response for individual well-being, growth and local capacity through which recovery can Build Back Better for long lasting change," says Professor Mark Pelling, project lead and Professor of Geography

Transforming the humanitarian sector

The "Survivor-Led Response" framework was tested in low-income countries (Myanmar and Kenya) and in high-income countries (Sint Maarten), before being adopted by Christian Aidthe first NGO to institutionalize it and make it a priority for its Humanitarian division.

As a result, Christian Aid found that in Myanmar they could build on local leadership and organizational capacities and respond quicker to natural disasters. This is in part because harnessing the networks of community-based organizations made it possible "to reach minority ethnic groups who we would not have reached otherwise, and who would have had only limited humanitarian relief," said Country Director of Myanmar.

Meanwhile, Christian Aid found that in Gaza, working with community groups allowed more local control over fundsdirectly improving the well-being of 73,700 people. The NGO has also found that that in Kenya, the framework has proven to reduce existing tensions by bringing together local NGOs, communities and government for the first time.

"The inclusion of 'survivor-led response' is significant because our core humanitarian priorities set out our overall approach, structure priorities and govern how local branches of Christian Aid operate," says the Christian Aid director.

As more and more NGOs and other organizations around the world adopt the approach, there is a chance for communities to build back better in the wake of devastation.

Explore further Disaster survivors feel more prepared for the next one but are often left out of planning
The Hell Gap archaeological site in eastern Wyoming is one of the sites included in a new study that supports the hypothesis that humans first arrived in the Americas by at least 14,200 years ago in Beringia and by about 13,000 years ago in the temperate latitudes of North America. Credit: Todd Surovell

A new analysis of archaeological sites in the Americas challenges relatively new theories that the earliest human inhabitants of North America arrived before the migration of people from Asia across the Bering Strait.

Conducted by University of Wyoming Professor Todd Surovell and colleagues from UW and five other institutions, the analysis suggests that misinterpretation of archaeological evidence at certain sites in North and South America might be responsible for theories that humans arrived long before 13,000-14,200 years ago.

The researchers' findings appear today in PLOS ONE, a journal published by the Public Library of Science. The paper is the latest development in the debate over the peopling of the Americas, in which some are now questioning the long-held consensus that the first Americans were hunter-gatherers who entered North America from Asia via the Beringia land bridge up to 14,200 years ago, and then dispersed southward between two large glaciers that then covered much of the continent.

The conclusions of Surovell and colleagues are based on an analysis of buried archaeological deposits, using a new statistic called the Apparent Stratigraphic Integrity Index they developed. While the stratigraphic integrity of early archaeological sites in Alaska is highproducing strong evidence in support of unambiguous human occupationthe sites in more southern locations pointing to possible earlier human occupation show signs of artifact mixing among multiple time periods.

"If humans managed to breach the continental ice sheets significantly before 13,000 years ago, there should be clear evidence for it in the form of at least some stratigraphically discrete archeological components with a relatively high artifact count. So far, no such evidence exists," Surovell and colleagues wrote. "(Our) findings support the hypothesis that the first human arrival to the New World occurred by at least 14,200 years ago in Beringia and by approximately 13,000 years ago in the temperate latitudes of North America. Strong evidence for human presence before those dates has yet to be identified in the archaeological record."

Specifically, the new analysis compared the stratigraphic integrity of three sites argued to contain evidence of earlier human occupationtwo in Texas and one in Idahowith the integrity of sites in Alaska, Wyoming and Pennsylvania. The three sites claimed to be older than 13,000 years ago all showed patterns of significant mixing, while the others did not.

The researchers were unable to obtain detailed information about some other sites in North and South America purported to contain evidence of human occupation before 13,000 years ago.

"Sites claimed to be older than 13,000 years ago are few, and data supporting their status as sites have been poorly disseminated," Surovell and colleagues wrote. "Given the status of available data regarding these sites, we must question whether there are any sites in the Americas south of the ice sheets that exhibit an unambiguous and stratigraphically discrete cultural occupation with sufficient numbers of artifacts of clear human manufacture."

The paper doesn't completely rule out the possibility that humans colonized the Americas at an earlier date. "But if they did, they should have produced stratigraphically discrete occupation surfaces, some of which would be expected to have large numbers of artifacts.

"That they did so in Beringia but failed to do so south of the continental glaciers suggests that either there was something fundamentally different about pre-Clovis human behavior and/or geomorphology south of the ice sheets, or that the evidence indicating the presence of humans south of the ice sheets has been misinterpreted," the researchers wrote. "At a minimum, it shows that, when stratigraphically discrete occupations are not present, additional studies must be performed to demonstrate that stratigraphic integrity of association between artifacts and dated strata exist."

Joining Surovell in the research were UW colleagues Sarah Allaun, Robert Kelly, Marcel Kornfeld and Mary Lou Larson; Wyoming State Archaeologist Spencer Pelton; Barbara Crass and Charles Holmes, of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks; Joseph Gingerich, of Ohio University and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History; Kelly Graf, of Texas A&M University; and Kathryn Krasinski and Brian Wygal, both of Adelphi University.

Explore further Humans may have reached the Americas 15,000 years earlier than previously thought

More information: Todd A. Surovell et al, Late date of human arrival to North America: Continental scale differences in stratigraphic integrity of pre-13,000 BP archaeological sites, PLOS ONE (2022). Journal information: PLoS ONE Todd A. Surovell et al, Late date of human arrival to North America: Continental scale differences in stratigraphic integrity of pre-13,000 BP archaeological sites,(2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264092
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Left panel shows the spatial distribution of bird and turbine locations in the study area between Cadiz and Tarifa (southern Spain). Red asterisk in the top right inset marks the location of the study area. Right panel shows bird flight headings in comparison to turbine locations in a small section of the study area (square in the left panel). Hill shading was added as a background to illustrate the interaction between bird space use and topography. The data used to illustrate hill shading was retrieved from a publicly available digital elevation model (https://lpdaac.usgs.gov). Credit: Scientific Reports (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10295-9

In the race to avoid runaway climate change, two renewable energy technologies are being pushed as the solution to powering human societies: wind and solar. But for many years, wind turbines have been on a collision course with wildlife conservation. Birds and other flying animals risk death by impact with the rotor blades of turbines, raising questions about the feasibility of wind as a cornerstone of a global clean energy policy. Now, a pair of animal tracking studies from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the University of East Anglia, UK, has provided detailed GPS data on flight behavior of birds that are susceptible to collision with energy infrastructure. The first, a large-scale study of 1,454 birds from 27 species, has identified hotspots in Europe where birds are particularly at risk from wind turbines and power lines. The second zoomed in on how birds behave when flying near turbines, revealing that individuals will actively avoid turbines if they are within one kilometer. By tracking the movement of birds with high precision GPS devices, both studies provide the detailed biological data needed to expand renewable energy infrastructure with minimal impacts to wildlife.

Wind energy generation has been increasing over the past two decades with the global commitment to transition to renewable energy from carbon-emitting fossil fuels. European onshore wind energy capacity is projected to grow nearly fourfold by 2050, and countries in the Middle East and North Africa, such as Morocco and Tunisia, also have targets to increase the share of electricity supply from onshore wind.

"We know from previous research that there are many more suitable locations to build wind turbines than we need in order to meet our clean energy targets up to 2050," said lead author Jethro Gauld, a Ph.D. researcher in the School of Environmental Sciences at University of East Anglia. "If we can do a better job of assessing risks to biodiversity, such as collision risk for birds, into the planning process at an early stage we can help limit the impact of these developments on wildlife while still achieving our climate targets."

Pinpointing collision hotspots in Europe

An international team of 51 researchers from 15 countries, including the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany, collaborated to identify the areas where these birds would be more sensitive to onshore wind turbine or power line development. The study, published in Journal of Applied Ecology, used GPS location data from 65 bird tracking studies to understand where they fly more frequently at danger heightdefined as 10 to 60 meters above ground for power lines and 15 to 135 meters for wind turbines. "GPS tracking provides very accurate data on location and flight height, which cannot be obtained from direct observation, particularly from large distances," says Martin Wikelski, director at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and co-author on the study. "This study represents the first time GPS data from so many species has been pooled to create a comprehensive picture of where birds are at risk.

The resulting vulnerability maps reveal that the collision hotspots are particularly concentrated within important migration routes, along coastlines and near breeding locations. These include the Western Mediterranean coast of France, Southern Spain and the Moroccan Coastsuch as around the Strait of GibraltarEastern Romania, the Sinai Peninsula and the Baltic coast of Germany. The GPS data collected related to 1,454 birds from 27 species, mostly large soaring ones such as white storks. Exposure to risk varied across the species, with the Eurasian spoonbill, European eagle owl, whooper swan, Iberian imperial eagle and white stork among those flying consistently at heights where they risk collision. The authors say development of new wind turbines and transmission power lines should be minimized in these high sensitivity areas, and any developments which do occur will likely need to be accompanied by measures to reduce the risk to birds.

How birds behave near turbines

As well as providing location and flight height, GPS loggers open up an additional frontier in efforts to better plan energy infrastructure. "With GPS tracking we are able to understand exactly how birds behave as they fly close to the turbines," says Carlos Santos, an Affiliated Scientist of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and an Assistant Professor at the Federal University of Para, in Brazil. "Knowing how close they fly, and whether or not wind or other factors influence their flight behavior, is very important to mitigate collision rates as it can help better planning of wind farms."

A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the University of East Anglia focused their attention on the black kite, a very common soaring bird that migrates through the Strait of Gibraltar, the narrow straight between southern Spain and North Africa. "The Strait of Gibraltar is the main migratory bottleneck for birds in western Europe but it's also a hotspot for wind farms," says Santos. "We wanted to see how soaring birds behave in this area, which represent a serious threat during their migration to Africa."

This study, published in Scientific Reports, looked at GPS information from 126 black kites as the birds approached wind turbines. The data showed that birds avoided flight paths straight to turbines as they flew closer to them. The birds started to deviate from turbines one kilometer away, but this effect was even more pronounced within 750 meters and when the wind was blowing towards the turbines. "This means that they recognize the risk of the turbines and keep a safe distance from them," says Santos.

The authors say collecting GPS data from the interaction between birds and turbines is extremely difficult. Says Santos: "You need to tag many animals to increase the chances of recording their behavior near the turbines. This is why our dataset is so uncommon. Fortunately, GPS tracking studies are becoming more common and hopefully in the near future we will be able to gather data of this sort for other soaring bird species." The authors stress that understanding how the birds perceive wind turbines and which factors attenuate or exacerbate their perception is critical to learn where to place turbines and to develop effective deterrents.

Explore further Collision hotspots for migrating birds revealed in new study

More information: Carlos D. Santos et al, Factors influencing wind turbine avoidance behaviour of a migrating soaring bird, Scientific Reports (2022). Carlos D. Santos et al, Factors influencing wind turbine avoidance behaviour of a migrating soaring bird,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10295-9 Jethro G. Gauld et al, Hotspots in the grid: Avian sensitivity and vulnerability to collision risk from energy infrastructure interactions in Europe and North Africa, Journal of Applied Ecology (2022). DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14160 Journal information: Journal of Applied Ecology , Scientific Reports
Artistic illustration of radial pressure distribution in water excited by a short 9-ns laser pulse. The probe beam sensing the effects is illustrated in red. Credit: Mikko Partanen, Aalto University

An international group of researchers has measured how much a laser beam tugs on the water it shines through.

Since light constitutes an electromagnetic wave phenomenon, a laser beam shining through water is known to interact with it via process termed electrostriction, which implies the water being compressed towards the laser beam axis. This phenomenon is akin to squeezing a toothpaste tube; the paste is pushed inwards, which also moves it along the tube, forcing some toothpaste out of it.

Now, an international team of researchers has measured the force density exerted by laser light within a water column as it passes through it. "This is the first time the force density exerted by the light within matter has been measured; earlier experiments only measured the forces at the interface of different materials, or the net forces exerted on small particles," says Nelson Astrath from the Universidade Estadual de Maringa.

The same analogy helps explaining how the researchers managed to measure the tiny force exerted by light. By closing the ends of the water-filled tube with glass plates, they effectively put the cap back onto the toothpaste tube. "This way, the transient compression could no longer force the water out along the path of the laser, thus making the electrostriction-generated elastic waves traveling away from the laser beam the dominant effect," says Tomaz Pozar from the University of Ljubljana. After measuring the properties of that wave, the researchers could calculate the forces involved.

Elastic waves caught between cuvette walls

The experiments, which were carried out in Brazil, had to control for other interactions which could swamp out this effect. "For example, lasers also heat water up a tiny amount for a brief moment, causing it to expand," said Mauro Baesso and Gabriel Flizikowski from the Universidade Estadual de Maringa. To avoid this, the team had to use ultra-pure water, with nothing in it that would heat up by absorbing more electromagnetic energy than the pure water itself. The laser wavelength was also carefully controlled to minimize absorption.

Temporal evolution of the pressure distribution in water and cuvette walls under pulsed excitation shown by the initial green beam of light. Credit: Mikko Partanen, Aalto University

"Electrostriction implies the atoms group closer to each other, increasing the density. This constriction is the opposite of the thermal expansion that normally follows electromagnetic absorption at room temperature. Because of this, the compression can only be measured in materials that have very little electromagnetic absorption," says Mikko Partanen of Aalto University.

"Bulk and boundary optical forces in the liquid can be observed in the convoluted optical signal due to the resulting spatiotemporal pressure distribution. The pressure perturbation is related to compressibility thus signifying the electrostriction Helmholtz force. This force has been historically difficult to measure and accurately model," says Iver Brevik from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. "We are also able to distinguish between the radiation-induced thermal and nonlinear Kerr effects, thus consider these findings to be an important contribution to light-induced pressure perturbation experiments in dielectric fluids," says Daniel Razansky from the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich.

"The experiment is a significant leap forward in formulating an exact time- and position-dependent optical force theory, which is theoretically and experimentally verified in an unambiguous fashion. In particular, the experiment quantitatively verifies the axial component of the optical force density for an optical beam. What still remains to be experimented with is the measurement of the longitudinal force component," says Stephen Bialkowski from the Utah State University.

In addition to the experiments, the researchers produced a theoretical model to explain their results. "Further work is needed to properly understand different aspects of the model from the special theory of relativity point of view," Bruno Anghinoni and Luis Malacarne added.

The study expands on Nobel Prize winner Arthur Ashkin's findings, which he used to develop optical tweezers for manipulating tiny particles of matter with light. "The new research promotes our understanding of how an optical field produced by the tweezers affects the deformable matter being manipulated," Nelson Astrath and Tomaz Pozar added.

"The research could be employed in biology or medicine, among other potential applications. If optical electrostriction can be used to control the mechanical properties of matter, it could potentially be utilized in optical microelectromechanical systems," says Jukka Tulkki from the Aalto University.

The study, "Unveiling bulk and surface radiation forces in a dielectric liquid," has been published in Light: Science & Applications.

Explore further When light loses symmetry, it can hold particles

More information: N. G. C. Astrath et al, Unveiling bulk and surface radiation forces in a dielectric liquid, Light: Science & Applications (2022). Journal information: Light: Science & Applications N. G. C. Astrath et al, Unveiling bulk and surface radiation forces in a dielectric liquid,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00788-7
GLENS FALLS  Riders of the Greater Glens Falls Transit system will have to continue wearing masks for the time being.

There has been a request from Gov. Kathy Hochuls office to keep the mask mandate in place for public transportation, according to Scott Sopczyk, transportation director with GGFT.

Thats what were going to stand by at this point, he said.

A federal judge in Florida struck down the national mandate for masks on public transportation on Monday.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it would still require masks to be worn by all riders. The MTA operates subways and buses in New York City, the Staten Island Railway, the Long Island Railroad and the Metro-North Railroad.

The MTA cited a determination from the state Department of Health made on March 2 for its decision.

Masks are available for riders on any of the eight GGFT buses currently in operation, as they have been throughout the entirety of the pandemic.

GGFT has 18 total buses that are all operational during the summer, but at this time only eight are currently running routes.

Sopczyk said he is aware some people see the masks as an inconvenience, but said that masks have been working for GGFT.

Since the start of the pandemic there has not been a single GGFT driver who tested positive for the virus, according to Sopczyk.

There are a lot of things that go into that, he said. People are using the bus. Our passengers have been by and large very compliant.

He said that they have been living with masks for a while, and they can do it for a few more months if they have to.

If drivers start to contract COVID-19, Sopczyk said it is possible that the GGFT could be forced to reduce its services. There are a total of 11 full and part-time bus drivers employed with the GGFT, according to Sopczyk.

Theres always a small percentage (of riders) that have some issues with it (the mandate), but its really for everybody, including the driver who has to be on the bus all the time. Its to safeguard everybody, he said.

Along with masks, Sopczyk said he attributes the good air flow on the buses with keeping drivers and passengers COVID-free.

Richard Whitcomb, a bus driver with GGFT, said he feels masks are still necessary on public transportation.

You see people talking about it on the bus, he said. My granddaughter wont take it (the mask) off. Shes 10 years old.

Whitcomb said the mask requirement has gone over pretty smoothly on the bus.

He said riders sometimes influence others to have their mask on to get the bus moving.

Most people dont give us a hard time. The other people want to get to where they have to go, so they just want them to put the mask on or get off the bus, he said.

Passengers who normally take a bus with GGFT dont seem to mind wearing a mask while hitching a ride. One rider who did not wish to be named said it makes sense to wear a mask on the bus with a lot of people in one enclosed space.

But he feels its contradictory to be required to wear a mask on the bus but not in a crowded restaurant.

Nick Harris rides the bus about once a day.

He said he prefers not to wear a mask but doesnt have an issue with wearing one while riding the bus.

They provide you with one every time, so at least they give you that, so I respect the rules, Harris said.

Jay Mullen is a reporter for The Post-Star covering the city of Glens Falls, Warren County and crime and courts. You can reach him at 518-742-3224 or jmullen@poststar.com.

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MOREAU  It was standing room only inside Town Hall on Tuesday evening. Filling the meeting area and spilling into the hallway were residents opposed to the Saratoga BioChar Solutions facility proposed for the Moreau Industrial Park.

The room buzzed with chatter until Planning Board Chairman Peter Jensen called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.

Unfortunately, on his way here, one of our board members decided to injure himself and is now headed to the hospital. I need four members to hold a public meeting, Jensen said, motioning to the two men on his left.

Only three members of the board were present, causing Jensen to cancel the meeting.

We will reschedule, I just dont know when. We will send out public notices like last time, he said.

The mention of mailed notices sparked comments from the crowd still seated in disbelief.

People called out, claiming notices were never received, to which the towns lawyer responded: We are not discussing that now.

Residents attended the meeting to speak out against the proposed business moving into the town after learning about the negative impacts the first-of-its-kind in New York facility could have on neighbors and land.

Tracy Frisch, founder of the Clean Air Action Network of Glens Falls, has been researching the process involved in refining municipal sewage sludge into agricultural fertilizer for over a year.

While Frisch is not a Moreau resident, she is an active voice leading the opposition to the plant.

She is most concerned with the harmful chemicals that can be left behind when the sewage sludge is burned into charcoal.

According to the EPA, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are widely used, long-lasting chemicals, components of which break down very slowly over time. The EPA website also states that scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals.

Frisch cited an ongoing lawsuit in Maine involving farmland that has been contaminated and can no longer be used, destroying the livelihood of the farmers.

A March article in The Guardian, the British daily newspaper, explains that use of biosolids, or sewage sludge, in the fertilizer spread on the soil of Songbird Farm in Maine has resulted in soil, drinking water, irrigation water, crops, chickens and blood (being) contaminated with high levels of the toxic chemicals.

Frisch expressed concerns over the lack of knowledge the Moreau town and planning boards have regarding PFAs and the potential long-term negative impacts.

Matt Boucher, superintendent of Putnam Central Schools and a Moreau resident of eight years, attempted to educate his neighbors and the properties surrounding the industrial park of the potential dangers the facility could pose.

The comments at the last Planning Board meeting I attended were that the plant will release less methane and produce less of a smell than a landfill, to which I responded, Well, we dont currently have a landfill, Boucher said.

Boucher said he believes the project has been pushed forward by town Supervisor Todd Kusnierz.

They have clients that would be less dangerous to put in the park, but the supervisor has been pushing hard for this, he said.

Boucher and Frisch met with representatives of Saratoga BioChar via Zoom and discovered the companys research was based on modeling on paper or controlled laboratory experiments.

There are no other facilities like this in New York. There is one in New Jersey, but when they tried to build a second one, the residents came out to fight it and it did not receive approval, Boucher said.

Boucher said the biggest community concerns revolve around trucking in sewer waste and the smell and the toxic levels of chemicals.

We have septic systems in Moreau. Why would they think we want to haul in other towns waste? Boucher asked.

He said Saratoga BioChar cited the sparse population that wouldnt be as affected as a reason for choosing Moreau for the project.

However, Boucher said 1,000 new apartment units have been constructed in the area since the application has been under review.

The Planning Board has not set a new date for the public hearing. Residents who wish to attend are now required to do so in person after town officials ended livestreaming of meetings at the end of March.

Jana DeCamilla is a staff writer who covers Moreau, Queensbury, and Lake George. She can be reached at 518-742-3272 or jdecamilla@poststar.com.

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A late-season storm dumped six inches (15 centimeters) or more of heavy, wet snow on parts of Pennsylvania, upstate New York and northern New England on Tuesday.

The storm snapped tree limbs and interrupted power to more than 350,000 utility customers in New York alone, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Some higher-elevation areas in that region had 14 inches (35 centimeters) of snow by morning, although accumulations were less for lower-lying areas, according to the National Weather Service in hard-hit Binghamton, New York.

Most of that event occurred between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. So people woke up in darkness, the alarms didnt go off, and realized that they were in for perhaps a long haul without having their critical power, Hochul said at Tuesday evening press conference.

The storm also brought strong gusts that lashed New England, topping at 142 miles per hour (229 kph) on Mount Washington, New Hampshire, and 83 mph (134 kph) at Matinicus Rock off Maine, the National Weather Service reported.

New York officials said power restoration would be a multi-day effort due to the nature of the spring storm and its heavy, wet snowfall. The snow fell on budding trees and bushes, but began melting by midday in some areas.

All roads in the Binghamton area had reopened and a travel ban was lifted in the late afternoon by Broome County Executive Jason Garnar. Still, he discouraged people from driving as crews continued to remove tree limbs and downed wires.

The number of New York utility customers without power was down to around 164,000 by 7 p.m. Outages stretched from the Southern Tier to the Adirondack Mountains.

At one point, around 47,000 customers were without power in northeast Pennsylvania. Most of the 39,000 outages in New England were in Maine and Vermont, where some parts of the state received six inches of snow or more.

Work crews had reduced the number of outages by late afternoon. But Green Mountain Power, Vermonts largest electric utility, said new outages were expected as the snow continued to fall and gusty winds enter the region.

We want everyone to be alert to the changing weather conditions and always stay far away from any downed lines or trees as they could still be energized, the utilitys director of operations, Eric Lemery, said in a statement.

Associated Press writers Wilson Ring in Montpelier, Vermont, and David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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He said the city should be willing to spend more to ensure the quality of life for residents, including additional spending on enforcement of local ordinances, suggesting an increase of $100,000 this year.

City revenue is up, both because of increased property values and because of other revenue, including $1.4 million from a tax on hotel rooms and $1.7 million from parking meters. Cape May has a separate budget for beach tag fees, which are expected to bring in $2.6 million in 2022.

We think its time to actually spend some of that money. That may come as a shock to some folks, because taxpayers associations dont often come to microphones and say please spend more money, Crowley said.

The comments came at a public hearing on the citys $22 million budget, a required step before the final vote.

Council unanimously approved the budget, which did not increase the tax rate compared to last year.

The budget includes a local purpose tax rate of 36.3 cents per $100 of assessed value. That means the owner of a property assessed at $500,000 would owe $1,815 in city taxes, in addition to school and county taxes.

According to city finance officials, the city is in good shape going into summer, with an anticipated surplus of $3.4 million. The city expects a solid summer this year, a projection echoed in beach towns along the coast.

At the meeting Tuesday, Crowley praised the citys work on finding additional revenue sources.

Weve looked at this budget, and its an extremely effective, competent and carefully done budget, he said. We congratulate the city on it. It hangs together nicely and it shows careful fiscal management and a conservative approach to our resources.

Council members seemed willing to increase spending but did not amend the budget for the final vote.

Additional spending could be accommodated by budget transfers later in the year.

Cape May County passes 2022 budget with no tax increase CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE  The county Board of Commissioners passed its 2022 budget unanimously 

While Crowley was not specific about what rules and ordinances required additional enforcement, Council member Stacy Sheehan mentioned code enforcement, suggesting the city consider having an enforcement official work weekends.

In Cape May, code enforcement falls under the Police Department. Officers also enforce other quality-of-life issues, such as noise complaints.

Dennis, if you want to spend more money, Ill spend it, police Chief Dekon Fashaw said at the meeting. Obviously responsibly.

We put all these new ordinances in place, and what good are they if were not going to enforce them? said Sheehan. That includes restaurant seating and other issues.

City Manager Mike Voll said code enforcement did work weekends last year. He promised to work with Fashaw on areas of improvement.

We stay on top of it to give the quality of life that people are accustomed to in this community, Voll said. I think at this time, were providing a good, clean and safe community. Well continue to work on it.

Cape May introduces $5M bond for new police station CAPE MAY  With work underway on a new firehouse on Franklin Street, City Council on Tuesday

Mayor Zack Mullock said the budget already included funds to hire two new police officers.

At the same meeting, Voll said the city tries to work with property owners, rather than immediately issuing summonses.

I think it also takes manpower, though, Sheehan said.

Ideas under consideration included hiring additional staff, either part time or full time, or increasing overtime for current employees. Mullock suggested more discussion with Voll, with a report to council at a future meeting.

We want to spend a significant enough amount of money so that you can hire people and create a real enforcement capacity within the city government, Crowley said.

Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill

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ATLANTIC CITY  With little discussion or fanfare Tuesday, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority approved the planning application for what could be the citys first recreational cannabis business.

It seems unlikely to be the last.

Sonraj LLC received a variance to allow a recreational cannabis dispensary at 2415 and 2417 Pacific Ave., now the site of a vacant storefront set between two parking lots a block from the Boardwalk.

The company will still need a permit from the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission before it can begin operations.

The company plans to operate under the name The Healing Side. City Council approved an application for the business earlier this year.

Lance Landgraf, director of planning and development for the CRDA, told the board the company already had the approval of council and the Mayors Office, or it would not have appeared before the board.

How marijuana use has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic As the U.S. dealt with various changes in response to the COVID-19 virus, there were also significant changes in the cannabis landscape.

The site includes a former cash-for-gold shop and a closed Papa Johns, set between Delilahs Den and a corner liquor store.

The property has been vacant for so long that the CRDA has no documentation on its prior use and the applicant is still waiting for documents the city has on archive, reads a description of the proposal on the CRDA website, part of the business planning application. The CRDA functions as the planning board for Atlantic City within the Tourism District.

Documents filed with the CRDA indicate the business is woman- and minority-owned.

The application is for a Class 5 micro dispensary for the sale of recreational cannabis.

Landgraf told the board the company will limit sales to 1,000 pounds a year, and no consumption will be allowed at the site.

We can support the board granting this use variance today, he said.

CRDA to consider weed store for Pacific Avenue in Atlantic City ATLANTIC CITY  As New Jersey gets ready for the first legal recreational cannabis sales thi

No one from the public commented on the application, which was discussed in a meeting held over the phone.

The five owners of the business include Nisha Shah, who immigrated to the United States and whose background is in medicine; Chintan Shah, a pharmacist; Cady Riley Weingand, who has worked as the general manager at The Botanist; Dave Patel, a licensed pharmacist; and Rajendra Singh, also a pharmacist, according to the application filed with the CRDA.

Several of the principals live in Atlantic County, but the main business address is in Camden and the office is shown as in Paramus, Bergen County, according to information filed with the CRDA. Chintan Shah is a pharmacist and owner of the Trenton Avenue Pharmacy, according to details filed with the CRDA.

The city has discussed cannabis as a potential draw for tourism and conventions.

There is one site selling legal cannabis in the city to those with medical marijuana cards, but that will not be one of the sites to open to recreational sales Thursday.

Council has decided to keep recreational sales off the Boardwalk, the site of one of three medical marijuana dispensaries operated by The Botanist, a subsidiary of Acreage Holdings.

Attorney general memo: Under NJ law, police officers cannot be punished for off-duty cannabis use TRENTON  With the first taxed and legal cannabis sales in the state set to start Thursday, 

Starting at 10 a.m. Thursday, recreational cannabis sales to adults are set to begin at the companys sites at 100 Century Drive in Egg Harbor Township and 2090 Black Horse Pike in Williamstown, with the site at 13th Street and the Boardwalk remaining a medical marijuana-only facility.

In all, 13 locations in the state will be able to sell legal cannabis under seven licenses approved this month.

We expect 13 locations for the entire state will make for extremely busy stores, said Jeff Brown, executive director of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. The dispensaries have assured us that they are ready to meet the demand without disrupting patient access, and with minimal impact on the surrounding communities, but patience will be key to a good opening day.

In addition to The Botanist locations, South Jersey sites including Columbia Care locations at 1692 Clements Bridge Road in Deptford, Gloucester County, and 1062 Delsea Drive in Vineland are set to open for recreational customers after 5 p.m., and two Curaleaf locations are set to open in Bellmawr, Camden County, and Edgewater Park, Burlington County.

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission said customers cannot buy more than an ounce at a time and called on them to keep their weed away from children. Laws against intoxicated driving apply to weed, and the commission reminded out-of-state customers that bringing cannabis across state lines is illegal.

The first suggestion was to be patient and expect delays for those planning on buying cannabis on opening day.

New Jersey to start recreational marijuana sales April 21 Recreational marijuana sales in New Jersey for those 21 and older will begin April 21. That's according to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. The governor's announcement in a tweet comes just three days after state regulators green lighted permits for seven facilities that already sell medical cannabis to begin retailing recreational marijuana. The news comes about a year after the states regulatory commission started operating, and a year and a half after voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot question to permit recreational marijuana for people 21 and older. New Jersey is one of 18 states, along with the District of Columbia, that have legalized recreational marijuana.

We encourage everyone to be safe  buy only from licensed dispensaries and start low and go slow, Brown said.

There was no discussion at the Tuesday CRDA meeting about when the new cannabis site could open. The buildings will need work, and so far, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission has only approved licenses for existing medical marijuana sites to sell to the recreational market.

When the commission began accepting applications for retail dispensaries in March, it received 172 applications by 4 p.m. the first day.

Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill

Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill

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VINELAND  The city will plant the seeds of a new beautification initiative next week.

Main Street Vineland will host a tree-planting ceremony at 1 p.m. April 29 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of Arbor Day, according to a news release issued Tuesday.

The event will take place in the southeast mini-park at Landis Avenue and the Boulevard and will be held in conjunction with the Vineland Environmental Commission. The tree will be planted with the help of the fourth-grade class from Gloria M. Sabater Elementary School.

Environmental Commission member John Pedersen, who is also a former chair of the Main Street Vineland Design Team, will be a special guest. City, county and state officials also are expected to attend.

After the ceremony, people are welcome to help plant flowers along the 600 block of Landis Avenue.

CRDA approves Atlantic Citys first recreational cannabis business ATLANTIC CITY  With little discussion or fanfare Tuesday, the Casino Reinvestment Developme

The Arbor Day commemoration is the start of Vinelands Neighborhood Preservation Program, a beautification and greenification initiative. The release said the ceremony will serve as the springboard for more trees to be planted in the downtown and surrounding areas. Donata Dalesandro, chair of the Main Street Vineland Organization Team, is the coordinator of the project.

J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska City, Nebraska, founded Arbor Day in the United States in 1872 at the annual meeting of the Nebraska state Board of Agriculture. About 1 million trees were subsequently planted in Nebraska on April 10 of that same year, the release said, reflecting what is written in an article on the Arbor Day Foundation website.

While planting a tree for Arbor Day is a regular event in the city, some leaders in Main Street Vineland believe the event will lay the groundwork to beautify the entire downtown.

Trees add shade and coolness and we have many trees to replace, Main Street Vineland Executive Director Russell Swanson said. This is the time to get started.

Contact Chris Doyle cdoyle@pressofac.com

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CAPE MAY  The only place for Coast Guard recruits to receive basic training in the United States is the training center in Cape May, set between Cape May Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean.

In an average year, 4,000 recruits go through the 53-day training program at the base before moving on to assignments from Kodiak, Alaska, to Key West, Florida, or many, many other locations.

In the coming years, the Coast Guard intends to increase its number of enlisted personnel. That will mean Cape May needs to start getting ready, including with upgrades to the buildings on base.

We will need to train 5,000 recruits here for the year, said Capt. Sarah Kathy Felger, the commanding officer of the training center.

Plans include expanding the training center capacity and more rooms for recruits. The federal government has already appropriated $55 million for the first step, starting with the replacement of one of the four barracks buildings at the center.

That starts the ongoing process, Felger said Monday. In phases, the plans are to replace the barracks that house the recruits and replace other buildings at the training center. We cant recapitalize everything at once. Its going to take a long-term effort.

Owner cited after boat sinks off Cape May Authorities cited a boat owner after his vessel sank last week off Cape May, resulting in 10

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew said he voted for an authorization act that includes $120 million for new barracks at the training center and an increase in capacity. If signed into law, that would authorize the first two phases of the project, expected to continue over four phases.

Van Drew, R-2nd, said Tuesday he worked with representatives of both parties in the House and Senate to secure the funding. He also met with Coast Guard Commandant Karl Schultz, he said. The congressman serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and is a member of the Coast Guard subcommittee.

The bill is named in honor of U.S. Rep. Don Young, who led the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for many years. Young died in March at 88.

The legislation has not yet been voted on in the Senate, according to a congressional website that tracks legislation.

It calls for modernizing cutters and includes provisions to prevent sexual violence in the maritime industry. There also is a provision to allow the Coast Guard to keep Russian vessels out of U.S. waters during the war in Ukraine.

The training center, on a stretch of land known as Sewell Point in east Cape May, was the site of an amusement park more than a century ago. In 1917, the U.S. Navy used some of those buildings when it took over the spot as a section base, but had to rebuild after a fire in 1918.

Somers Point clears path for state ban on plastic bags SOMERS POINT  City Council adopted an ordinance repealing its local bag ban Thursday, but t

The base was adapted to house dirigibles after World War I, but plans for using the lighter-than-air ships were abandoned by the Navy after deadly crashes.

The Coast Guard established a presence there in the 1920s, with cutters assigned to intercept rum runners during prohibition. In 1946, the Navy handed the base over to the Coast Guard. By 1948, it was being used as a training center, and in 1982, the Coast Guard consolidated all enlisted training at the center, according to a history posted on the Coast Guards website.

Some of the buildings date from the Navy days, Felger said, while others were built in the 1950s and 60s. She said it is time to upgrade.

Our barracks are not up to modern habitation standards and modern training standards, she said. The project also will require new galleys, new support facilities, new recreation areas and more.

The plans also will better accommodate women. The existing buildings have been retrofitted for men and women serving together, but Felger said they were built when the service was primarily male.

Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock welcomed plans for expansion at the training center. He said the Coast Guard works closely with the community, including with the local police and fire department.

"The Coast Guard and their families are part of the fabric of our community. Their children are part of our school and all of our community events," he said. "Any expansion would be a welcome and important step for the future of our city."

Operations must continue while the long-term project is underway, Felger said. The first barracks will be built on an empty area, with the existing buildings remaining in use. After that, older buildings will be demolished as the new buildings open.

The first round of funding is for five years. That will include finalizing plans and contracting for the work, Felger said.

Were not expecting shovels in the ground until 2024, she said.

That means Felger will not be there to see the project begin. She is set to be transferred to Washington, D.C., where she has served before, with Capt. Warren Judge in line to take over in a change-of-command ceremony July 22.

Judge served in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and worked on the White House communications team during Barack Obamas presidency, which included having his own seat on Air Force One. Last year, he was presented with the Black Engineer of the Year Stars and Stripes award, according to information from the Coast Guard.

Felger took command at the training center in 2019.

She had been in Cape May before, serving as the executive officer on the Coast Guard Cutter Dependable homeported in Cape May from 2010 to 2012. In addition to the cutters homeported in Cape May, the harbor is home to a small boat station and other Coast Guard commands in addition to the training center.

Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill

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Commentary: Moscows countermeasures sparked by Wests extreme pressure campaign targeting Russia

10:20, April 20, 2022 By Sun Zhuangzhi ( People's Daily Online

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has a complex historical context and realistic factors, among which the long-term geopolitical confrontation between Russia and the West and the extreme pressure the U.S. and Western countries have exerted on Russia since 2014 are external factors that cannot be ignored.

The first is security pressure. The U.S.-led NATO alliance has pursued five rounds of eastward expansion since the 1990s, and has seen Russia as its imaginary enemy, giving rise to Russias unease about its own security. Russian President Vladimir Putin once hoped to build good relations with the West when he had just came into power, evidenced by his support for the U.S. and NATOs counter-terrorism actions in Afghanistan at the beginning of this century and by Russia having joined the G7 as a member (to make it the G8), as well as conveying the countrys willingness to even join the NATO alliance itself.

Despite these gestures, the U.S. and the West showed no trust and respect for Russia, leaving the country with a shrinking strategic space. If Ukraine follows in the footsteps of the three Baltic states and joins NATO, Russia will lose an important barrier to NATO encroachment on its borders.

The second is economic pressure. The U.S. and its allies around the world have imposed hundreds of rounds of economic sanctions on Russia focused on many different areas since 2014 over the Crimea crisis, causing setbacks in relations between both sides. These expanding sanctions led to a decrease in the trade volumes between Russia and Western countries, as well as less foreign investment and an economic downturn in Russia, directly impacting the livelihood of the Russian people. The situation had been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and which has accelerated the countrys economic recession and social rifts.

The third is political pressure. The U.S. and the West supported opposition parties in Russia and openly rebuked Putins policies. In 2020, after constitutional amendments in Russia, the U.S. and Europe accused Russia of poisoning opposition leader Alexey Navalny, and then launched another round of sanctions on Russia under the pretext of Navalnys arrest at the start of the following year. As Russia took some of its own countermeasures, confrontation between both sides began to escalate. There were also ongoing diplomatic frictions between Russia and Western countries. Both the U.S. and Russia refused to send ambassadors to each others respective posts for a long time, further deepening the geopolitical divide.

The fourth is public opinion pressure. By harnessing their absolute advantages in international media, the U.S. and Western countries have continued demonizing Russia and its leaders, including derogating their images in the international community. Besides, the U.S. accused Russia of meddling in its presidential election and hyped up Russias cyberattacks on the West. With regards to the COVID-19 vaccine that Russia took the lead in launching, Western countries disseminated disinformation about deaths caused by Russian COVID-19 vaccines, furthering hostilities between both sides. Statistics published by Russia Today shows that 96 percent of U.S. reports on Russia were negative in 2020.

Pushed by the West, Russia has less room for compromise and countermeasures. Marked by the new version of its national security strategy as approved in July 2021, Russia has adjusted its strategies and decided to seek a national revival even through the use of its military forces. From the perspective of Russia, the basic features of the worlds current military and political situation involves the formation of new global and regional power centers, including an intensified rivalry focused on spheres of influence. Russia believes in the growing importance of military forces as a way to realize each countrys geopolitical goals. This reveals that Russia, which cannot recover its economic status in the short term, has chosen to move back to a conventional footing. After that decision, Russia started to make preparations to reveal its true hand to the U.S. and countries in the NATO alliance.

In December 2021, Russia put forward a list of security guarantees, identifying its red lines in the area of geopolitics and began joint military exercises in places such as Belarus. These actions showcased Russias firm determination in safeguarding its own strategic interests and hopes that the U.S. and Western countries will pay attention to its concerns. That is to say, NATO must stop expanding eastward and deploying offensive weapons in places such as Ukraine. Russia has expressed on many occasions that it was willing to reach binding agreements with the U.S., but received no positive responses.

Under this backdrop, and by means of deploying its military forces and brandishing its nuclear deterrence capabilities, Russia aims to let the international community know that NATO and its unlimited expansion have already put Russias security at risk, and so Russia is prepared to take actions to fight back resolutely. On this view, then, Russias launch of a special military operation in Ukraine is actually a strong countermeasure against the Wests policy of containment toward Russia.

(Sun Zhuangzhi is the Director of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European & Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
A teacher of the Confucius Institute for Chinese Medicine at University of Western Cape introduces Chinese tea to visitors at Groot Constantia wine farm in Cape Town, South Africa, on April 19, 2022. An educational partnership between China and South Africa on Tuesday brought Chinese tea culture to Cape Town's Groot Constantia, the oldest South African wine farm, to promote exchanges of cultures and celebrate UN Chinese Language Day. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

CAPE TOWN, April 19 (Xinhua) -- An educational partnership between China and South Africa on Tuesday brought Chinese tea culture to Cape Town's Groot Constantia, the oldest South African wine farm, to promote exchanges of cultures and celebrate UN Chinese Language Day.

Making tea and wine share similarities that they both need dedication, hard work and craftmanship, therefore the Confucius Institute for Chinese Medicine at University of Western Cape holds a tea event at a winery to boost exchanges of the two cultures, said the institute's director Zeng Liren, while making Chinese green tea for visitors.

The UN Chinese Language Day is observed on April 20 every year since 2010, celebrating the language's contribution to the world while encouraging more people to learn it.

April 20 marks the Guyu, Grain Rain or "Rain of Millet" in Chinese. The Guyu is sixth of the 24 solar terms in the traditional lunar calendar, the day when farmers start sowing.

Zeng, who is also a tea expert, explained that tea farmers in China produce one of the highest quality green tea around Grain Rain, which is another reason for the tea event.

The organizer provided Chinese tea of five major categories, including fresh green tea, and also introduced tea knowledge and the programs the institute offers. It also showcased ethnic costumes during the event.

"You can taste tea here today or go for lovely wine tasting, or have lovely food paring here, so it just adds to culture experience. I think it is a good idea," the winery's marketing assistant Karen Woodcock told Xinhua.

It's a lovely culture event, she said, adding that the linkups between the east and west as well as South Africa and China has been centuries.

The long-serving staff member of Groot Constantia said the wine farm, established in 1685, wants to keep itself authentically South African, but would like to add knowledge of the Chinese culture, which is part of its history, as its manor house has a lot of Chinese furniture and artifacts.

She also hoped more wines from the winery to be exported to China.

"During tasting it (tea) they told us about additional values, quality, background history and I found it was very interesting. And I think it reflects everything on Chinese culture as well, so I must say the whole experience, the tea tasting, is lovely, absolutely divine," said 21-year-old Dylan Matthew Smith from University of Stellenbosch, outside Cape Town.

Across South Africa, various activities have been planned for this year's Chinese Language Day. They were hosted by Chinese Embassy in South Africa and organized by Chinese language organizations. 

Teachers of the Confucius Institute for Chinese Medicine at University of Western Cape introduce Chinese tea to visitors at Groot Constantia wine farm in Cape Town, South Africa, on April 19, 2022. An educational partnership between China and South Africa on Tuesday brought Chinese tea culture to Cape Town's Groot Constantia, the oldest South African wine farm, to promote exchanges of cultures and celebrate UN Chinese Language Day. (photo by Francisco Scarbar/Xinhua)

A teacher of the Confucius Institute for Chinese Medicine at University of Western Cape prepares Chinese tea for visitors at Groot Constantia wine farm in Cape Town, South Africa, on April 19, 2022. An educational partnership between China and South Africa on Tuesday brought Chinese tea culture to Cape Town's Groot Constantia, the oldest South African wine farm, to promote exchanges of cultures and celebrate UN Chinese Language Day. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP  The future of waste disposal in Atlantic County was up for discussion Tuesday  but residents hoping for news about a controversial plan for a waste transfer station in Pleasantville will have to wait for an update.

The Solid Waste Advisory Council of Atlantic County met Tuesday night to hear updates primarily from ACRR Transfer LLC and the Atlantic County Utilities Authority.

ACRR Transfer is working to develop a waste transfer station for construction and demolition debris off West Washington Avenue in Pleasantville and is awaiting a review by the solid waste council.

Council members are awaiting a response from the developer to a letter in July that the county had sent asking questions about the project.

James DiNatale, who is leading the development project, said at the Tuesday meeting he had never received the county letter.

The issue of the waste transfer station drew several questions from residents, who were attending both in person at the Anthony Tony Canale Training Center and virtually.

Kathleen Spaeth, of Linwood, expressed frustration about why the county had not sent another letter to DiNatale to get a response. While she said she appreciated the work being done by the council, she said the matter of the transfer station was too important for county residents to go months on end without an update.

I dont think its fair to the public who are anticipating a SWAC hearing (on the proposed transfer station), Spaeth said. We would like to move this process along.

County officials said they would send another letter to DiNatale to accelerate the process.

Council Chairperson Franz Adler, while showing appreciation for residents interest, underscored that the pace at which the council could analyze a project was limited by how quickly other parties responded.

Jason Howell, an organizer with the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, asked whether DiNatale could be given the letter immediately, given he was attending in person Tuesday. County officials said they did not have a copy on hand.

Cristian Moreno-Rodriguez, an immigrants rights advocate with family in Pleasantville, asked that the council publish a document that makes clear what further authorization is needed for the project. He said he believes signage near the project and some preliminary government actions had misled some residents into believing the project had already been fully authorized.

The discussion about the waste-transfer station was preceded by conversations about how the ACUA plans to handle waste disposal over the next several years.

ACUA President Rick Dovey discussed the impending closure of its landfill in Egg Harbor Township, which is expected to reach capacity by 2028. He said the ACUA was exploring several options to handle waste, including a shared-service agreement with other county agencies in South Jersey. The Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority and the Cumberland County Improvement Authority are among the waste-management agencies that could enter into a solid-waste agreement with Atlantic County. There also are landfills available in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem counties, although none of the relevant management agencies in those counties have held discussions with the ACUA.

Dovey said there was particular potential for a reciprocal deal with the Cape May County MUA, which currently sends its sludge waste to Atlantic County. Any such deal would be referred to the council for review.

Another option Dovey outlined was a five-year deal with a private waste-management company. Dovey said the ACUA was planning to bid out for a private company to handle solid-waste transportation and disposal starting in 2024.

Some maintain that with the ACUA landfill closing, the transfer station will be necessary to handle waste. Dovey has refuted that, saying the options he laid out again Tuesday would obviate the need for the project.

Opponents of the transfer station argue the lot on which the station would be built is too small and that the resultant noise and odor would be nuisances to the projects neighbors, while worsening traffic congestion.

Atlantic County commissioners won't investigate ACUA finances NORTHFIELD  Atlantic County commissioners voted Tuesday not to investigate the finances of 

Supporters argue the project is necessary due to capacity constraints faced by the ACUA. DiNatale in particular has disputed objections to the project, citing similarly sized waste transfer stations elsewhere in New Jersey that handle comparable waste loads without creating odor or noise problems. He also argues that the stations use of the nearby rail line would actually reduce surrounding traffic caused by trucks transferring waste.

The project has attracted some support from local officials. Pleasantville Mayor Judy Ward has expressed support for the project, saying it is a valuable ratable that could generate $400,000 in revenue for the city in fees.

The ACUA has been the principle opponent of the transfer station, spending thousands of dollars on its Stop the Dump campaign. Dovey has said the campaign is needed to keep residents informed about the project.

If the transfer station were built, the ACUA projects it would lose $9 million annually. To recoup its losses, the ACUA would raise rates on municipalities, which in turn could force municipalities to raise property taxes.

There is still a series of hurdles the transfer station has to clear before it can move forward. After the solid waste council reviews the project, the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners would have to vote on whether to support it. If it does obtain the commissioners support, the project would then need approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Contact Chris Doyle cdoyle@pressofac.com

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PATERSON  Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday again pledged his support for gun safety in New Jersey, calling on state lawmakers to pass a comprehensive legislative package introduced last April.

The bills that I introduced one year ago are basic measures that will keep guns out of the wrong hands, help law enforcement apprehend the perpetrators of gun violence, and hold the gun industry accountable for its deceptive and dangerous practices, Murphy said in a statement. I hope to work with my legislative partners to continue making New Jersey a national leader in gun safety and prevent the meaningless violence and loss of life that results from the gun violence epidemic.

Murphy revitalized his push for tougher gun-control laws in the state in a speech at Saint Luke Baptist Church in Paterson. He appeared alongside state and federal lawmakers, some of whom have joined in the governors call for enhanced gun-safety measures.

If passed by the Senate and Assembly and signed by Murphy, it would be the third wide-ranging gun safety package signed by the governor since he began his tenure, Murphys office said Tuesday.

Murphys package would require gun owners who recently relocated to New Jersey to obtain a firearm purchaser identification card and register their weapons within 60 days of moving to the state. Nearly 80% of guns used in crimes in New Jersey are purchased in another state, Murphys office said.

Additionally, Murphys package would require that a person be 21 years old to acquire a firearms purchaser identification card for buying shotguns and rifles.

With the surge in gun violence there are steps we should take to keep our communities safe and protect residents from senseless gun crimes, said Sen. Joseph Cryan, D-Union, who sponsors some laws in Murphys package. There are also actions we can take that will help prevent the tragedies of accidental shootings and gun suicides. The secured storage of firearms is one of the most effective ways of preventing gun deaths, requiring those who move to New Jersey to abide by our gun laws is a matter of common sense, and increasing the age to 21 to purchase shotguns and rifles will make life be safer for young people.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-9th, said this year should be the year to act, given a rise in violent crimes involving firearms. He said hes worked toward making communities safer, bringing federal dollars from Washington to Paterson to support law enforcement.

I joined our governor in Paterson today because cities in North Jersey want comprehensive gun safety reform, Pascrell said in a statement Tuesday. Our neighbors are tired of living in fear. They are tired of thoughts and prayers. They want action.

Murphys fresh call for action was made a week after a shooting on a Brooklyn subway left almost a dozen riders injured.

Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin

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One witness spent most of the day on the stand Tuesday in the involuntary-manslaughter trial underway in Scott County.

Prosecutors rested their case against James Thiel Sr., of Pleasant Valley, shortly after 3 p.m., leaving enough time for the defense to call three witnesses.

The case is expected to go to the jury Thursday or Friday.

Thiel faces two felony and two aggravated misdemeanor charges in the deaths of Anita Pinc, 52, and Craig Verbeke, 61, both of Moline. The pair died as a result of the injuries they sustained in a collision between Verbeke's 19-foot Bayliner and Thiel's 35-foot Triton.

Thiel was not driving his boat but is accused of aiding and abetting the 15-year-old who was behind the wheel on Aug. 16, 2020.

The state's 33rd and final witness was Iowa Department of Natural Resources, DNR, conservation officer Travis Graves, who led the investigation into the fatal boat crash off the LeClaire riverfront.

Jurors saw an interview Graves conducted with Thiel on the night of the crash, which was recorded on Graves cell phone. In it, Thiel told the officer that Verbekes boat was coming at us as the 15-year-old driver of Thiels boat headed downstream just past the LeClaire levee.

Hes coming at us. He came right into us, Thiel said in the recording. He came right at us, and he hit us.

Graves then testified to the results that emerged from inspections of both vessels, a crash reconstruction and the onboard data stored by Thiels boat.

Graves reiterated what other DNR and Department of Criminal Investigation witnesses have said: Verbekes boat was struck from behind by Thiels boat; the hull of the Triton had paint transferred to it from Verbekes boat, showing the larger boat rode over the top of the Bayliner; the Triton was traveling at a high rate of speed.

A so-called black box on the Triton revealed a speed just before or at the time of the collision of about 57 mph, according to previous testimony.

"The Triton was operating too fast for the conditions," Graves said, referring to the number of boats in the area and its proximity to a public boat launch. "It was not safe."

Graves also explained a computer-generated 3D image, showing the boats point of impact. It depicted the front of Thiels boat striking the left rear of Verbekes boat.

The minor driver on Thiel's boat erred, he said, when he saw Verbeke's boat and veered left. Both boats are to veer right to avoid a collision.

"The Verbeke boat made the correct decision to turn right," Graves testified.

Also during Graves testimony, video was shown of an interview with Ethan Mahler, whose jet boat the state and witnesses have said was racing with the Triton just prior to the crash.

Describing the events leading up to the crash, Mahler told Graves, I was to the side of em (Thiels boat). We were running, not even, but close to even.

When Mahler took the stand last week, however, he told jurors he never was side-by-side with Thiels boat. He said he was well ahead of the Triton and never was racing with the boat.

The minor driver of the Triton also denied racing with Mahler and said the boats were not side-by-side.

Prosecutors have called 12 eyewitnesses who testified that the boats were side-by-side as they passed the busy public boat launch on the LeClaire riverfront, just upstream of the crash site.

Several said the Thiel and Mahler boats were flying by, which caught their attention. Several also said they saw Thiels boat drive over the top of Verbekes Bayliner.

While several investigators have said they detected a strong odor of alcohol on Thiel, he refused a breathalyzer. Verbeke's blood-alcohol content was measured at the hospital, though, and it showed he was above the .08 legal limit for driving with a .102.

Graves was asked Tuesday what factor Verbeke's blood-alcohol level may have had in the collision, and he replied, "It had no factor in the collision. The Verbeke boat made the correct decision to turn right."

Thiel's attorney, Leon Spies, had time to call three witnesses.

Ronald Johns, a former neighbor of Thiel's, said he also was on the river that day and said he noticed Verbeke's Bayliner in the hours prior to the crash.

"The boat almost hit the rock pile on the lateral dam," he said. "I felt like the boat was a hazard at that time. It sits low in the water, making it hard to see."

Though Johns said he was made aware of the crash the night it happened, he did not make a statement about seeing the Bayliner until March 30, 2022, which was less than two weeks before the trial started.

He said he was "absolutely certain" it was Verbeke's Bayliner, but he could not say what color the boat was and referred to Verbeke and Pinc's black lab as "goldenish."

Giles Verheeck, of LeClaire, said his family happened to be at the Candlelight restaurant in Clinton when Thiel's boat arrived early on the day of the crash. He also saw the boat enter the sand pits near Cordova, and the 15-year-old was driving.

"It was amazing to watch," he said of the young captain's ability to maneuver the large boat.

Lastly, Karen Woomert, chief of the Princeton volunteer fire department, said she responded to the boat launch in LeClaire after a mutual-aid call. At the dock she saw Thiel, who had blood on his face.

He told her the blood was from performing CPR on Verbeke.

Asked whether Thiel expressed concern about the couple, Woomert said, "I don't recall."

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DES MOINES  Mobile homeowners leasing the land on which they live would get an extra months notice of a rent increase or when a landlord cancels their agreement under a proposal that received final approval Tuesday by state lawmakers.

But advocates say the proposal does not go nearly far enough in increasing protections for mobile homeowners, and thus does little to address the recent proliferation of out-of-state companies that have purchased mobile home lots and parks and increased rent and fees on tenants.

In 2019, nearly half of mobile home lots in Iowa  45.6 percent of the lots identified by the states nonpartisan legal and fiscal analysis agency  were owned by out-of-state companies, according to an analysis by The Gazette.

(The proposal) surely does do some good things for homeowners, Zach Wahls, leader of the Iowa Senate Democrats from Coralville, said during debate Tuesday. But those improvements are so common-sense that to try to sell them to this body as a material improvement is an insult to the people who need more protection.

In 2019, an out-of-state owner of several parks in Iowa increased rents 24 to 69 percent, and tenants reached out to elected officials  including Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who at the time was running for president  for help.

Wahls has worked on legislative proposals designed to give more protections to mobile home residents since that time. He at one point became emotional during debate, closing by saying, We can do better than this.

Speaking to reporters, Wahls said in passing the bill, Senate Republicans sided with the manufactured housing industry and landowners over the mobile homeowners.

Among lobbying groups, the proposal was supported only by the Iowa Manufactured Housing Association, which represents the states manufactured housing builders and retailers, according to state lobbying records. No other group is registered in support of the bill.

The problem here is Republican leadership is listening more to the manufactured housing association, the landlords, than they are to the residents who are crying out for our support, Wahls said.

Sen. Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, said the legislation attempts to strike a balance between the rights of mobile homeowners and landowners of mobile home lots and parks.

Were striking the balance between those two classes of property owners, Sinclair said during debate. I understand that it might not be everything that everybody wants, but sometimes striking that balance means not everybody gets everything they want.

Two groups are registered in opposition to the proposal: the Iowa Attorney Generals Office and the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, a federation of more than 500 unions representing more than 50,000 Iowa workers.

The state Attorney Generals Office opposes the proposal because it does not limit the amount or number of rent increases allowed, does not constrain a landlords ability to charge extra fees, and does not require a landlord to provide a legitimate reason for terminating a tenancy, according to a memo from the office.

The office also had requested legislators give the attorney general enforcement authority under state consumer fraud law.

Democrats in the minority introduced amendments that would have put those into the proposal; they were rebuffed by majority Republicans. Wahls noted that many Senate Republicans had approved legislation in 2019 and 2020 that contained some of those provisions.

The proposal, House File 2562, is headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her consideration after it passed out of the Senate on a party-line, 32-16 vote Tuesday, with all Republicans supporting and all Democrats opposing. Previously, it passed the House, 60-37, with Democratic Reps. Lindsay James, of Dubuque, and Kenan Judge, of Waukee, joining Republicans in support.

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As a state legislator (2007-2011), I was honored to represent 30,000 Cedar Valley constituents and Iowas 3 million citizens while in a leadership position with the Board of Parole (2011-2014). To me, people always came before party.

It perplexed many of my fellow legislators when I supported my constituents values and went against the party line. Now, Im perplexed by the actions of Iowa Republicans who are supposed to represent our wishes in Washington, D.C.

In 1972, then Iowa House of Representative Chuck Grassley voted for Iowa to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Now, as a U.S. Senator, hes not carried that banner forward; hypocrisy prevails in his demeanor.

In 2021, the U.S. House passed legislation to remove the ERA ratification deadline and make the ERA the 28th Amendment to our Constitution. Iowa GOP Reps. Ashley Hinson, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Randy Feenstra voted no. We can only interpret they must want sexual discrimination to remain in America.

Republicans are stonewalling any forward action on the ERA, despite 78% of Americans favoring the ERA. When was the last time four out of five adults agreed on anything?

When discussing a bill requiring women to register for the military draft, Sen. Ernst said, Because we have opened up every position to women in the military, I think its imperative that women say we want to be treated equally. Two words  treated equally  appear to be of importance to Sen. Ernst. Yet hypocrisy reigns when she and Sen. Grassley ignored requests by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women to participate in a round-table discussion regarding ratification of the ERA. Silence speaks volumes, doesnt it?

The Paycheck Fairness Act would help women receive equal pay for equal work plus address bias and discriminatory workplace practices. Who voted against the bill that would cut the poverty rate for women by 50% and add nearly $5 billion to Americas GDP? Iowas three Republican Representatives  Hinson, Miller-Meeks and Feenstra  lemmings to their partys dictum.

Across America, women only earn 82 cents on average for every dollar a man makes for doing the same job. In Iowa, women earn 77% of what men earn, ranking Iowa as 37th for pay equality.

With the actions  and non-actions  by Iowas GOP delegation on the ERA and Paycheck Fairness Act, its obvious they want women to remain at a lower caste than men. Maybe our Republican legislators feel America should be a patriarchal society where women succumb to and are controlled by men. Discrimination abounds by their representation.

Its safe to say our Republican delegation doesnt know, or i ignoring, that 70% of all Iowa female-head of households are struggling to make ends meet. I can only surmise they are purposely ignoring what the World Bank calls investing in women as smart economics.

Research reveals economic growth for women has a critical multiplier effect. Women share their personal economic gains with their families and community, reinvesting 90% of their income in food, healthcare, home improvement and schooling for themselves and their children.

Lets face it. Womens progress is societys progress.

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), reflecting on the ERA and womens rights, said we cant be silent about things that matter. I concur.

We can no longer elect candidates to public office who do not support womens equality. On Tue., Nov. 8, lets vote to end sexual discrimination in America by electing supporters of the ERA and Paycheck Fairness Act.

Doris J. Kelley is emerita Iowa House of Representatives and emerita Iowa Board of Parole chair, vice-chair and executive director.

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An empty lot on 44th Street between 4th and 5th avenues in Rock Island is set to host groups of food trucks, providing a central location for customers and the chance to reach new audiences for businesses.

Krystall and Chavaras Trice, owners of Mom and Pop Ups, opened the Rock Island Food Truck Park on April 17. Chavaras Trice said they'd seen other lots in Texas and other areas like the one they started and decided to bring the idea to the Quad-Cities.

"Not only is it nice to have (food trucks) all in one spot because they'll play off of each other's customers but also because it will provide some consistency for the customer and for the food trucks," Chavaras Trice said.

The location is ideal because of the residential and business areas that are within walking distance of the lot. Food trucks and trailers can pay for parking time slots, ranging from one hour to one week and beyond. Businesses interested in the park can reach out to Mom and Pop Ups at 309-721-8226.

Food truck The Big Cheese was the first to park in the food truck park on Sunday, where they sold out in just a couple of hours, Chavaras Trice said. In addition to trucks sharing their stops, the food truck park social media account will let the Quad-Cities know who's stopped at the park that day.

"Before we even got a chance to reach out, we've been contacted by most of the businesses that surround that particular area," Chavaras Trice said. "So we've coordinated with them for their lunch breaks and their employees and things of that nature. We've kind of almost got the customer base before we got the food trucks."

For more information about trucks making a stop in the lot, visit the Mom and Pop Ups Facebook page.

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One of the defendants in a million-dollar banking scheme to defraud the federal government has been fined $500 for her role.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose on Tuesday sentenced Susan McLaughlin of the now-shuttered Valley Bank in Moline to time served on a felony conviction of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and imposed a $500 fine and $100 special assessment.

McLaughlin was one of several individuals indicted for a scheme through which Valley Bank attempted to defraud the Small Business Administration of millions of dollars.

Larry Charles Henson of Davenport, the former president and chairman of the bank, allegedly led the effort to shift millions in potential losses from the bank to the SBA, according to court records. Prosecutors alleged that Henson and others  including Michael Barry Slater of Des Moines, who was the founder and president of Vital Financial Services in Clive  engineered those loans so that it appeared the borrowers qualified for SBA guarantees.

To do this, according to court records, they completed loan-guarantee applications that included false statements about both the borrowers eligibility to receive the loans and the eventual disbursement of the loan proceeds.

As part of the scheme, Henson and Valley Bank Vice President Andrew Erpelding instructed McLaughlin, also a bank vice president, to alter the banks loan-payment reports. McLaughlin complied, according to court records, changing one borrowers payment history to eliminate any evidence of past-due payments.

In March, Henson was sentenced to nine months in prison and ordered to pay $4.5 million in restitution after being charged with wire fraud. Slater and Erpelding have yet to be sentenced for their role in the matter.

Before McLaughlins sentencing, prosecutors argued for a one-year term of supervised release, saying that her criminal actions caused substantial damage. Such a sentence, they argued, would deter future criminal acts and would also emphasize the seriousness of the offense, promote respect for the law, and provide well-deserved and just punishment.

Defense attorney: McLaughlin was a whistleblower

McLaughlins public defender, Melanie S. Keiper, argued for the sentence that was imposed, telling the court that McLaughlin, now 68, carried out Hensons orders under the threat of being fired.

She wishes she would have been strong enough to stand up to Larry Henson and risk losing her job, Keiper told the court. She ultimately lost it anyway, along with the value of her employee stock ownership plan, due to Hensons repeated actions that caused the banks failure.

Keiper characterized McLaughlin as a whistleblower who had provided documents to investigators and showed auditors where to look.

Her reward for such behavior is a felony indictment and conviction, Keiper said, adding that her client, although a bank vice president, was literally the lowest cog in the machinery that was constructed to defraud the SBA. Keiper described McLaughlins role as nothing more than data entry.

A pre-sentence investigation report on McLaughlin, cited by Keiper, stated that McLaughlin did not appear to participate in the planning or organizing of the scheme and did not exercise any decision-making authority.

Henson was the undisputed leader, mastermind and dictator, Keiper told the court. Even though no bodily injury was verbalized, she still felt threatened."

Attorney: Banks lawyer had conflict of interests

In arguing for the lesser sentence, Keiper told the court that her client and other bank employees were provided legal advice by attorney Jeff Lang of the Davenport law firm Lane & Waterman, which was a customer and a vendor of Valley Bank.

It was either the bank, or the banks holding company, that paid for those legal services, Keiper told the court, adding that Lang had assured McLaughlin the authorities were interested only in pursuing a case against Henson.

In 2014, Keiper said, McLaughlin told the investigators everything she knew and provided them with the evidence that would later be used against her.

Lang had a conflict of interest with every one of those employees that he certainly should have been aware of as a former United States Attorney, Keiper told the court. He represented Valley Bank and also advised Ms. McLaughlin and numerous others on the same criminal matter in which they were adversarial parties and in which he was being paid by the bank.

Keiper alleged that the faulty legal advice given to Ms. McLaughlin by Lang resulted in her providing statements and the documentation to incriminate herself, and (which) subsequently led to this prosecution.

"While I cannot comment on confidential details, it is clear this case should never have been charged by the U.S. Justice Department," Lang said in a statement. "And the allegations concerning an improper conflict of interest are simply not accurate."

According to Lane & Waterman, in addition to spending more than 15 years as the assistant or interim U.S. Attorney for the Central District for Illinois, Lang was once an FBI agent and now leads the law firms white-collar criminal defense practice.

For more information,visit iowacapitaldispatch.com.
A Davenport man on probation until 2023 was charged with robbing a convenience store on Thursday.

Ryan Christopher Peterman, 35, is charged with one count of second-degree robbery.

The charge is a Class C felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of 10 years.

According to the arrest affidavit filed by Davenport Police Officer Eric Long, on 3:15 p.m. April 14, officers were sent to the Mother Hubbards Cupboard convenience store at 3636 Hickory Grove Road to investigate a robbery.

Peterman entered the store and assaulted the clerk, shoving her with his left forearm. He then opened the cash register himself and stole $278 before fleeing the business.

There were no reports of serious injuries.

A warrant was issued for Petermans arrest, and he was taken into custody Monday on one count of second-degree robbery and two probation violation offenses.

Peterman refused to be seen both Tuesday and Wednesday for a first appearance in Scott County District Court.

A hearing is scheduled for Thursday in District Court.

Peterman was being held Tuesday night in the Scott County Jail on cash-only bonds totaling $10,000 for the probation violations and without bond on the robbery charge.

Peterman is on probation in Iowa until Aug. 25, 2023.

On Nov. 6, 2020, Peterman was arrested on a Class D felony charge of gathering in a house where controlled substances are used. On March 26, 2021, he pleaded guilty to the charge and on Aug. 25, 2021, he was sentenced to two years on probation.

On Nov. 2, 2021, Peterman violated his probation after he was arrested on a Class C felony charge of possession with the intent to deliver no more than 100 grams of heroin.

Prosecutors instead filed a charge of possession of a controlled substance  heroin-first offense, a serious misdemeanor. He pleaded guilty to the charge and on March 11 was sentenced to one year on probation.

Prosecutors allege Peterman violated his probation when he was charged in connection with the robbery of the Mother Hubbards Cupboard.

Peterman has recently served a term in prison.

On Dec. 1, 2017, Peterman pleaded guilty to Class D felony charges of eluding and operating while under the influence-third offense, and an aggravated misdemeanor charge of assault on persons in certain occupations causing bodily injury.

He was sentenced to two years on probation. However, he violated his probation and on Aug. 17, 2018, he was sentenced to concurrent terms of five years for the eluding and operating while under the influence charges and a concurrent term of two years for the assault charge.

His prison sentence ended May 7, 2019, and he was placed on work release until Aug. 14, 2019. He then was placed on parole which ended May 7, 2020.

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JERUSALEM, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Ministry of Health on Wednesday reported 12 cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown etiology in children.

Hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver, is a disease of the digestive system and its main symptoms are fatigue, weakness, pain, vomiting and loss of appetite.

The 12 children have been admitted to two hospitals in Jerusalem and the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva.

Spokespersons for the two hospitals told Xinhua that the 12 children's ages range from less than a year to 11 years, and 10 of them previously recovered from coronavirus.

On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a significant increase in severe acute hepatitis in young children in Britain, with an occasional link to COVID-19.

After Britain, about five cases of acute hepatitis were reported in Ireland, and three more in Spain, according to WHO.

Following the WHO announcement, the Israeli ministry instructed all hospitals and health maintenance organizations in the country to report each acute hepatitis case of unknown etiology, leading to the latest statement about the 12 cases.

Israel's state-owned Kan TV news reported that the health ministry is examining whether the 12 cases are related to post-coronavirus syndrome, mainly the Omicron BA.2 variant. 
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Nebraska Child Abuse Prevention Fund Board (NCAPF), the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation (NCFF), and Bring Up Nebraska Partners encourage all Nebraskans to get in involved in their communities to highlight the need to prevent child abuse.

In Chadron, CAPstone provides a safe environment for abused youth to speak about incidents, and is a valuable asset to law enforcement.

CAPstone Executive Director Monica Shambaugh explained the program is for child advocacy, which is mandated by state law to be utilized by law enforcement and Child Protective Services (CPS) when young people allege serious physical abuse or neglect, or sexual assault. Other situations that call for CAPstone are youth being in a drug-endangered environment, being witness to a violent crime including domestic abuse or recovered in a kidnapping.

Shambaugh further explained CAPstone has specially-trained forensic interviewers to do the youth interviews for law enforcement and CPS. Once the interviews are completed, its the responsibility of officers and CPS to make the case against the alleged abuser and submit that information to the county attorneys office.

CAPstone opened the advocacy center in Scottsbluff in 2000, and the Chadron location was established between 2009 and 2010.

We didnt want kids to have to travel that far, Shambaugh said. We were having kids from Gordon and Big Springs who would travel two hours one way to talk about an abuse allegation. We didnt want that to happen, so we added satellite offices in Chadron, Alliance and Sidney between 2008 and 2010.

When CAPstone is called to do an interview, its not always a simple matter of bringing the victim in and talking to him or her. One of the biggest barriers, Shambaugh said, is those youth who have been told by parents or guardians that theyre not supposed to talk about what goes on in their homes.

Working with young people in our environment here to let them know theyre safe and theyre not the ones in trouble is probably one of the biggest barriers we have. She added there are always mental blocks, which is why the interviewers have gone through special training and utilize different methods such as body part inventories or having a victim write things out rather than talk about them.

A body part inventory, Shambaugh explained, is a clarification piece that uses a drawing to see what names a child might have for different body parts.

There are some situations in which, no matter what the interviewer tried, the child did not want to communicate. In those cases, Shambaugh said, they go back home. We cant make them talk, and some kids just will not say whats going on.

Interviewers further encourage them to talk to someone they trust, when they feel comfortable enough to do so, in which case they would come back to CAPstone.

The whole idea of an advocacy center, Shambaugh said, was we were getting away from law enforcement and CPS interviewing kids in school, and getting the best interview we could the first time.

When interviews are completed and the situation is being handled by CPS and law enforcement, what happens to the youth depends on the allegation. If it involves someone in the home, CPS will work with the non-offending caregiver to determine safety for the child.

Sometimes law enforcement puts a child on a 48-hour hold, Shambaugh said, until things can get straightened out. Children might also be placed in foster care until CPS can work with the family to make sure they are returning to a safe environment.

If the non-offending caregiver in the home is protective, the kids will go home.

The Chadron satellite office also covers locations in Sheridan and Sioux counties. In 2021, the office saw 101 young people. Across the Panhandle, CAPstone saw 525 youth. The average, Shambaugh said, is about 80-85 in each of the Chadron and Alliance offices, 50-60 in Sidney and more than 300 in the Gering office.

As to the increase, Shambaugh said, I think law enforcement and Child Protective Services like using us. I think they like the interviews they get from us. She further added in 2019 people were really reporting what they saw, but when COVID hit in 2020 there was a large decline. There was, she said, more youth involved in domestic violence situations.

We promote everybody in the state of Nebraska as a mandatory reporter. If they see child abuse or neglect, they need to be calling the Department of Health and Human Services Hotline, 1-800-652-1999. People can report anonymously if they choose, though Shambaugh would prefer they give a name.

Beyond the forensic interviews, CAPstone also provides training to agencies and individuals who work with children. For more information, or to make a report, call 308-632-7274.

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The Human Relations Commission/Mniluzahan Okolacipiyapi Ambassadors will host a discussion on how racial prejudice affects the Rapid City economy Monday night.

Representatives from Elevate Rapid City, the Lakota Nation Invitational, Black Hills Powwow, NDN Collective, Oglala Sioux Tribe and others will speak during the 5:30 p.m. forum at the Western Dakota Tech event center.

HRC-MOA Chair Karen Mortimer said the groups guiding principle is to bridge cultures, educate, advocate and model respect.

I think this forum does all of those things, she said. Were bridging cultures where weve got some broken bridges, its primarily about educating and thats the bottom line goal. Were advocating for our community to be a better place, and of course modeling respectful behaviors is the bottom line.

Mortimer said the organization began hosting learning events in June 2021 and hopes to create a series of learning forums. She said the idea behind it is the more you know, the better we do.

The more the community knows, the better well be as a community, she said.

Mortimer said the group invited a variety of viewpoints to educate the public. She said this isnt a debate or an argument, its a learning opportunity. She said the Lakota Nation Invitational and the Black Hills Powwow are two of the three highest grossing events in the area, so it has a great economic impact. She also said theres at least a quarter of the citys population that is Native American at any given point in time.

I hope people walk away with a better understanding of the economic impact of the Native American community on all of us, in a good way, she said.

Mortimer said the Human Relations Commission deals with discriminatory event cases on a daily basis, and its time the community learns about this. She said she doesnt anticipate solutions to come from the forum, but believes this would help move the community toward solution-based decision making.

She said the HRC/MOA originally wanted a forum discussing racism, but its a broad topic. She said its been on everyones mind since the racist comments were made from the Grand Gateway Hotel ownership following a shooting involving two Native American men where one died.

We wanted to make something that was manageable in terms of a chunk of information, Mortimer said. Were not done with the topic. We thought wed choose this one because its on people's minds.

Mortimer said the HRC/MOA hopes to have more learning forums in the future and will be planning for events to educate people on the cultural differences in the community.

 Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@rapidcityjournal.com 

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Health care professionals in western South Dakota are alarmed by a dramatic spike in syphilis cases in the state.

The sexually transmitted disease that can infect adults and newborns increased by 1,877% in 2021 when compared to the states five-year median, according to the Department of Health.

This has been an increase in cases across the state, region and country. It is very concerning, Dr. Meghan OConnell, a medical epidemiologist with the Great Plains Tribal Chairmens Health Board in Rapid City, said Wednesday.

In March, the health care organization reported that South Dakota saw 668 cases of syphilis in 2021 compared to a median of 21 cases in the previous five years.

Dr. Brook Eide, the chair of Emergency Medicine at Monument Health, called it a public health crisis.

The fact is this is a disease we worked really hard to and nearly eradicated, and now were really seeing it come back and it can have significant effects on peoples health, he said.

There are two types of syphilis  primary, which is sexually transmitted, and congenital, which the mother passes on to a newborn that if left undetected can lead to a number of serious conditions that includes blindness, deafness and death.

While there are more cases among adults, it is much more life-threatening to children. So, we are most concerned about congenital cases, OConnell said.

Eide said he is aware of several babies delivered at Monument Health with congenital syphilis, while the emergency department mostly encounters primary syphilis from uninsured patients who seek primary care there.

Weve always had some syphilis here in Rapid City, he said. But now were seeing a lot of syphilis throughout the state.

According to the most recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 33 states reported an increase in syphilis cases in early 2021. The number of cases for women had increased 34% to 10,620, 9% for men to 36,614 cases and 6% to 2,268 cases in newborns.

OConnell, who said Nebraska and Iowa have also seen a spike in syphilis cases, does not know what is driving the nationwide outbreak.

The answer is no, she said. I wish I did.

Eide speculated that since doctors are prescribing fewer antibiotics than in the past, patients who may have had syphilis and were asymptomatic were treated for it while receiving penicillin for colds and other common viruses. He also suggested the pandemic that left many people home bound could have played a role in the surge.

Im sure its gone up for several different reasons but whatever the reason, what were seeing is definitely a surprise, he said.

Testing is key to slowing the spread as the infected are often asymptomatic for weeks after getting exposed through sexual contact or in the birth canal. Safe sex can also prevent the spread of the infection.

Eide said most adults wont experience symptoms for at least three weeks when small, painless lesions appear on the skin, which then usually disappear three to six weeks later. A few weeks after that, a rash typically appears on the palms and soles of the feet and fevers and body aches occur.

Years later, Eide said, from 15% to 30% of those not treated will likely experience the third and most serious stage of the infection, which can damage eyes, organs, the heart and brain.

OConnell said Great Plains health is now working to encourage everyone and especially pregnant women to get tested.

We are trying to be aggressive about providing information to the public so they will hear about it and get tested, she said, adding the expectant mothers should get tested three times before their due date with the first one being around the 28-week mark.

If we catch it early, it is really easy to treat. A single dose of penicillin can treat it, Eide said. If it gets into the later stages, it takes prolonged antibiotics and there could be some penicillin resistance.

The Department of Health, meanwhile, told the Journal in an email that it "is working with the Indian Health Service and health care providers throughout the state to encourage testing for sexually transmitted infections, especially among pregnant women and high-risk patients." 

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As the desire to leave the urban congestion behind them, South Dakota, and especially the Black Hills has been experiencing a huge influx of people moving here from all over the United States. I understand why they would want to relocate from places that are becoming undesirable to live and raise a family. However, because of the influx of people moving here and purchasing property and homes, we are experiencing a huge increase in our property tax assessments.

This impacts all of us and in some cases, for those folks are on a fixed income, it could actually tax them out of their homes!

So, obviously, the elephant in the room is increased property taxes. My husband always asks, how do you eat an elephant? The answer is one bite at a time!

So, this past legislative session my first bite, was focused on HB 1039: A Grassland Tax Relief bill for the ranchers. Because of a proposed soil survey done by the Department of Revenue in conjunction with the South Dakota State University, ranchers could have been facing an increase in their property taxes of up to 300%. HB 1039 made it through the House but was defeated in the Senate Taxation Committee. My colleague, Representative Chaffee presented a campion bill, HB 1325. In this bill, the assessors were given the ability to reassess up to 20% of Class 4 soils per year and soil types would be established using the USDA and NRCS soil reports. This was a huge win for our ranchers and was successful because of the public outcry and the momentum garnered by HB 1039. HB 1325 passed through the House and the Senate and was signed into law by Governor Noem.

Second bite? This past legislative session we also raised the limits on the income level and property values for the elderly and disabled to qualify for a property tax freeze. The bill was signed into law by Governor Noem.

So, you might ask, whats the third bite? Bite number three is a pretty big bite, property taxes for residential, business property, ranches, and farms. As many of you know, I am on the Executive Board and during the interim between sessions, the Executive Board conducts summer studies that delve deeper into issues facing the state. Each year legislators are asked to submit suggestions for the interim studies. Last year for example, we conducted studies on workforce housing and marijuana. There was some great legislation introduced as a result of those studies. This year I requested that we conduct a study that looks into the property tax issue. The topic was approved by the Executive Board, and I have been nominated to chair the study. We will be meeting in Pierre next week to clarify the topic, the scope of the study and assign legislators to participate in the statewide the study.

South Dakota has never faced growth like this in the history of our state.

With this growth, there are going to be new issues that arise that we will have to face and solve. Right now, increased property tax is the critical issue facing our citizens, and one that needs to be addressed. I am anxious to roll up my sleeves and get to work for you!

Representative Trish Ladner, District 30

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The French hosting program is underway through Corvallis Middle School where families host visitors providing a Montana experience.

The program lasts for two weeks with 20 students ages 14 to 17 and two adults from Troyes, France, which is 60 miles southeast of Paris. Some of the kids are older as they missed the opportunity to travel in 2020 due to COVID. Rather than cancel, their trip was postponed.

CMS educator Craig Clairmont said the program was started in 1995 and continued every other year, taking a break in 2020.

The program brings culture to our kids, families and community, Clairmont said. It is a good diplomacy program that is very rewarding. I enjoy seeing the reactions, communication and lifelong relationships that are developed with students, families and French students.

Any CMS student can participate in the hosting program.

It is open, they dont have to be in French class, but for the most part Ive had fifth graders in the French exploratory class, Clairmont said. These are kids that are familiar with me.

This is the 13th time CMS families have hosted and this is chaperone Francois Cordons fifth visit with the program.

It is a cultural exchange, Cordon said. They are here during vacation time in France. I was not an English teacher, but a teacher, and when I retired, I wanted to work with the program because it is so interesting to travel to the states with young students.

He said Montana is his favorite state in America.

Ive traveled to all of the states, he said. Ive traveled 38 times with youngsters, and I really like this program with Clairmont. I like the mountains, the people and everything.

French student Theodore Jeannot, 15, said he signed up for the trip to see America.

I came to improve my English, see Americans cool function and discover Montana, he said. It is very beautiful here. I enjoy my host family, it is a very good experience. They have four dogs, two horses and one donkey.

In France, he has an Australian Shepherd named Pablo who is a family pet, not a working dog.

French student Sarah Bourlier, 17, said she loves America and has been to many states.

Ive been in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Montana, she said. This is my second time to come to Montana, last time I came it was warmer. I just like to be here, it is a very nice people. I love nature so it is really good to be here.

Bourlier said traveling here is good for practicing English and enjoying more rural experiences. She plans to attend college, possibly in Paris, to study Engineering.

The program for students has a vigorous itinerary for studying the culture and history of Montana while here. Field trips include visits to the University of Montana, Smokejumper Visitor Center, Big Hole Battlefield, Ninepipes Museum and Three Chiefs Cultural Center.

Last Tuesday they visited the Ravalli County Museum to learn about the history of the area and were fascinated with early tools and toys. The students enjoyed the museums exhibit about buffalo.

For Corvallis students who want to visit France, Clairmont will be leading a group of 18 students to France, Italy and Spain next year, though not through the CMS host program.

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Victor School is holding a school election this spring for two trustee positions, both three-year terms.

The candidates are incumbents Tommy Doberstein and Paul Rosen and the challengers are Daniel Nixon, Ron Wirth and Ron Miller. The two that receive the most votes will be selected as trustees.

The candidates responses to these questions are below: Why are you running for school trustee? What specific challenges do you see for your school? How would you address them?

Tommy Dobberstein, 66, retired volunteer fireman, retired music educator, currently self-employed in agriculture

Why Im running: I have a varied background that allows me to see many sides to the various problems that schools face. I graduated from Victor High School in 1974 and have spent my life working in the Bitterroot Valley. The education I received from Victor allowed me to have a successful life here. I want to do what I can to see that our students at Victor continue to receive a quality education that allows them to enter the workforce and be successful.

Challenges: Schools are facing a plethora of challenges that need to be met. The ever-changing landscape of education is always a challenge. Maintaining the quality of education. I think there are times when in the rush to get students to a pre-determined level to pass a test that a solid grounding in the basics can be overlooked. Funding in Montana is always an issue. Montana needs to come up with another funding model that isnt so dependent on property taxes. The recent rounds of grants are helping however, that money will soon run out and we need to make sure we can continue to operate when it is gone. Convincing students that a good well-rounded education will enable them to be successful in the real world when they graduate seems to be more and more of a challenge. Our students need to have more access to trade school curriculum. The job market is demanding more skilled labor in the trades. We need to expand our industrial arts programs.

Paul Rosen, 52, produce manager at the Good Food Store for 25 years

I am seeking reelection to the Victor School Board. I have served as chair of the board for the last six years. My three sons all graduated from Victor, so my family feels a close connection to the school and its staff. Over the years, I have served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations and I currently serve as treasurer of Congregation Har Shalom. I want to continue on the school board because I believe in lifelong learning, citizenship and service. I have cultivated good working relationships with both our administration and our teachers.

I take time to listen to parents in our community and hear their concerns about our school. Parents need to be seen, heard and respected. I make sure there is ample time for public comment at all our open meetings. I have seen folks attend meetings to give comments and then end up volunteering with the booster club or even on committees of the school board.

My goal is to provide a safe orderly school environment where all our Victor kids can thrive. Our school needs to help develop our kids into informed citizens. Our administration secured a generous grant to improve student literacy, and that has been a focus for professional development within our faculty.

With our limited resources, I believe that funding will become a bigger challenge in the future. Right now, we have a bit of flexibility because of our literacy grant, as well as some remaining COVID relief funding. But those funds have a time limit. Right now, we are determining the best way forward with some much-needed energy-saving improvements to lower our expenses.

I pledge to serve our community school that has been so important to my family, to the best of my ability. Go Pirates!

Daniel Nixon, 75, 1/Lt. U.S. Army Infantry retired, RNC, ICU nurse, retired nursing instructor

Preparing children for personal life success as they advance through our educational system is of the utmost importance to me. I hope to facilitate ongoing programs that include personal honor, dignity and a broad view of the many opportunities for growth and success available in the adult world. Challenges of meeting the expectations of the teaching staff, parents and students, balanced between multiple diverse needs and the community's ability to maintain a balance will be a challenge. Keeping good teachers and top-notch programs are never easy in a public school district.

It is not my intent to change the school system, but rather to help mediate the flow of wants, needs and unplanned difficulties that arise associated with students, parents and educators. With cooperation and understanding no problem is unsolvable.

Ron Wirth, 72, retired from ranching

I am running for Victor School Trustee to advocate for parents' rights regarding what and how their children are being taught, and for parents to have a say in it. I want to encourage the entire community to be involved with the schools and the school board to ensure that all graduates are productive citizens.

One of the challenges at the Victor Schools is getting parents involved at the school board level where they believe that their voices can be heard. I plan on making that happen when I am elected.

Challenger Ron Miller did not send his photo or answers to our questions sent to him via email and phone.

***

Ballots will be mailed out on April 15 and the deadline for returning ballots is May 3. The polls will not be open. Ballots can be returned by mail or in-person to Ravalli County Elections Office, 215 S. 4th St., Suite C, Hamilton.

To ease the travel for voters living in the north valley, on Election Day only ballots can be dropped off at the Florence-Carlton School Administration Building, 5602 Old U.S. Highway 93, in Florence.

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Petersburg police announced Tuesday that an arrest was made in connection with the death of a 15-year-old boy who was shot and killed at an apartment building.

On April 2 around 8:30 p.m., officers responded to the 300 block of Crestfall Court for reports of shooting in the Lieutenants Run Apartment complex.

At the scene they discovered a child whod been struck by gunfire located in the breezeway of the building. The victim  who was later identified as Tyjuan Crenshaw II, 15, of Petersburg  was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Petersburg Bureau of Police and U.S. States Marshals Fugitive Taskforce assisted in locating and arresting Sha-Ron Parham, 18, of Petersburg for his potential involvement in this crime.

Parham faces several felony charges including use of a firearm and homicide. Officials say hes being held in custody pending his court date.
RAMALLAH, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Palestinians have condemned Israeli settlers' entry into Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem and Ibrahimi Mosque in the West Bank, amid rising violence and conflicts between the two sides.

NEW WAVE OF VIOLENCE

Palestinian eyewitnesses told Xinhua that Israeli settlers performed religious rituals and prayers to celebrate the Jewish festival of Passover at Ibrahimi Mosque in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs, under the protection of the Israeli army while Palestinians' movement at the mosque was impeded by Israeli soldiers.

Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem also said that hundreds of Israeli settlers entered Al-Aqsa Mosque and performed religious rituals and prayers to celebrate Passover under tightened security measures.

Over the past weeks, tension between Israelis and Palestinians has flared up in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, especially after Passover began on Friday during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Some 200 Palestinians have been injured in the recent wave of clashes in East Jerusalem, mainly at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which is holy to both Muslims and Jews, while scores of Israeli also died in a spate of deadly attacks in Israel.

Director of Al-Aqsa Mosque Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani told Xinhua that Israeli police arrested three Palestinians at the mosque and fired teargas and sound bombs at Palestinian worshipers.

Rafiq Al-Jabari, Hebron governor's deputy, warned of the danger of keeping the Ibrahimi Mosque closed, noting that the Israeli government continues imposing restrictions on the residents of and visitors to the old city of Hebron, "which makes the living condition in the city very difficult."

Hussein Al-Sheikh, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, condemned the Israeli government for permitting Jewish settlers to enter the Ibrahimi Mosque and Al-Aqsa Mosque compounds.

INT'l WORRIES

The rising violence has raised concerns among the international community, with global leaders and officials calling for calm and de-escalation.

Following the clashes on Friday, UN Secretary-general Antonio Guterres called on leaders on all sides to help ease the deteriorating situation, and insisted that "provocations" on the Holy Esplanade must stop immediately.

The status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem, he said, must be upheld and respected, according to a message released by Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesperson for Guterres.

On Tuesday, Shadi Othman, a European Union (EU) communication official in Jerusalem, told reporters that the EU was following the situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and working with all parties "to avoid more escalation and more tension."

He urged Israel "to fulfill its commitments under international law and the signed peace agreements," and also allow worshiping at Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim month of Ramadan.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has contacted several world leaders over the violent clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

On Tuesday, Abbas discussed with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on phone about the current tension, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Abbas explained to Blinken that dozens of Israeli settlers broke into the compound of Al-Aqsa Mosque every day, which "is a flagrant violation of the historical and legal situation of the mosque."

Blinken said that Israel should be informed to be committed to the historical situation of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the freedom and safety of Muslim worshipers at the mosque, adding that his country rejects the settlers' violence, according to the report. 
Anthony Mijares is a small business owner in Richmond whos dabbled in a few businesses including restaurants such as Burger Bros., a marketing and signage store called Richmond Signscapes and most recently a 7,000-square-foot seed-to-sale dispensary on Hull Street called Old Manchester Hemp Co.

Mijares, like many others, sought to become a cannabis grower after Virginia lawmakers moved to introduce medicinal use of marijuana in March 2017, expanded it in 2018, decriminalized it in 2020 and then legalized it in 2021.

Although the medicinal industry has shown growth and the retail sale of marijuana is scheduled to begin in 2024, additional legislation is already coming forward that could drastically change the industry.

Today in Virginia, adults ages 21 and above are allowed to possess up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use. Virginians can also share up to one ounce with another adult who is at least 21 as long as the exchange is gifted and not sold, cultivate up to four plants per household and participate in the medical cannabis program, which allows purchasing from dispensaries.

Public consumption, possession, consumption in a motor vehicle, selling or purchasing cannabis or cannabis products outside of said dispensaries is still illegal. Legal retail sales are permitted only by dispensaries licensed by the state.

Those companies are Cannabist, Columbia Care, GLeaf, RISE and Jushi. While these large companies dominate medical sales, small growers like Mijares are trying to carve their own stake in the industry by growing hemp.

Growing hemp in Virginia requires only a license from the State Department of Agriculture. The license and regulations for hemp products differ from cannabis plants because they contain lower amounts of THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana that gets people high.

The next step for cannabis and civil rights activists is to push legislators to allow small growers such as Mijares to be able to sell products alongside the big medicinal distributors, but a majority of measures involving cannabis in the commonwealth were killed in the General Assemblys regular session this year, leaving Mijares and others on the bench while larger companies play ball.

Were not going to get everything at once, Mijares told The Times-Dispatch. I think of it as micro and macro steps. At least we have something now and Im hopeful adult-use products are around the corner.

Before becoming a hemp agriculturist, Mijares served eight years as a combat medic in the Army. Originally from Walton Beach, Fla., Mijares settled in Richmond after multiple tours and sought medical assistance from Veterans Affairs to treat the physical and mental ailments he received during his service.

When you go to the VA they give you a pill for every problem you had, Mijares said. Whether you had trouble sleeping, trouble eating, PTSD, whatever it was, they had a pill for it and they just didnt work for me.

It wasnt until Mijares tried a medicinal hemp product that he received the pain relief he needed. Since then, Mijares has been a vocal advocate for the medicinal cannabis industry which has seen exponential growth in the commonwealth as evidenced by the number of people who are registered to use and purchase medicinal marijuana.

Since medical marijuana was introduced to the commonwealth, the Virginia Board of Pharmacy has issued 47,015 personal medical cannabis licenses from July 2020 to March 2021  which excludes open applications according to the boards FOIA officer.

The number of applications have also steadily risen over that 21-month period with an average of 2,709 applications a month, according to data obtained by The Times-Dispatch.

However in April, Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed into a law a bill from the General Assembly that removes the requirement that Virginians register with the states Board of Pharmacy in order to be approved to buy cannabis products from approved sellers. The law goes into effect the first of July.

Patients are still required to register with the state and receive a written verification from a health care physician to purchase from medical dispensaries. Mijares sells products to registered medicinal users alongside products that follow state and federal guidelines. Some products such as grinders, rolling papers and smoking objects like vape cartridges can be sold to anyone over 18. Other products are still limited to users over 21.

To the naked eye, he and the large distributors appear to offer the same service, but theyre very different according to the states regulatory process.

We get clients that come in who have pain from cancers or other ailments and were able to blend and mix things more than those other companies can, Mijares said. We really take an open approach.

Mijares said he hopes to sell both medicinal products and recreational items once Virginia moves forward with legal sales and grants him a business license to do so.

The plants currently grown in his warehouse now are all lower in THC and classified as hemp products, but he hopes to transition to growing higher-grade cannabis as well.

Businesses interested in doing the same and applying for business license to sell cannabis can do so in 2023, according to the states Cannabis Control Authority.

However recently, the commonwealth has taken a turn on its stance on cannabis products and decriminalization.

Youngkin has outlined his framework for cracking down on materials that contain the substance known as Delta-8  a material found in cannabis plants that used commercial products and were sold in Virginia dispensaries and are currently unregulated.

As the General Assembly mulls over bills to plug this industry loophole thats grown in popularity among consumers, Youngkin has also proposed amendments to a piece of legislation that aims to restrict the potency of synthetic edibles made from hemp and sold in retail stores.

These amendments would create new criminal misdemeanor penalties for people with more than 2 ounces of marijuana, The Times-Dispatch reports.

Mijares said he supports regulation of these substances to a degree, but hopes Virginia lawmakers wont take any step backward when it comes to decriminalization legislation.

Cannabis policy experts and activists are equally hopeful, but differ to some degree on strategy. JM Pedini, executive director of Virginia NORML, said going into 2022 the organizations strategy was to submit multiple, small bills to pass through the legislature.

As a person who serves as a policy expert to the legislative body that governs us, I will tell you that, what we expected and then what happened this year is pretty close to our expectations, Pedini said. We advised having important portions of legislative objectives parceled out into separate bills. Thats not the decision that the caucus made.

Pedini said their organization is hopeful that leading voices will emerge in the House on cannabis rights as the special session commences and that in order for new cannabis legislation to pass, some compromises may have to take place in a divided caucus, as opposed to the united, Democratically controlled state that passed legislation in 2020 and 2021.

We need to read the room, Pedini said. Weve got to deal with the reality of the political arena of Virginia and understand that, you know, the time to do all these far reaching and progressive things, that was 2021. Now youve got a divided government.

As Pedini looks for compromises among lawmakers and legislation, the Marijuana Justice Teams Executive Director Chelsea Higgs Wise continues to push for the vision set forth in 2020 and 2021  to legalize marijuana under a social equity lens that includes small, Black and minority-owned small business, and criminal expungement at the forefront.

The champions of the 2021 legislation need to really stand firm on being champions for what they proposed versus changing their tune when we dont have the leadership, Higgs Wise said Were hoping that there are legislators who will answer the call to carry an equity bill next year, even if they know this will be a long haul.

Higgs Wises organization administration is also calling to prevent large cannabis companies from establishing an early market. Instead Higgs Wise is calling on legislators to focus on resentencing and reuniting families, according to a letter endorsed by 40 like-minded organizations.

Higgs Wise said if medicinal operators are able to sell exclusively before small operators then the opportunity for growth for small business owners will diminish as will the chance to develop an equitable market.

To create a legal market that is equitable and has opportunities for everyone on Day One, when those medical operators and big folks get to sell [marijuana legally], that means Virginia has to do the work to allow [the small operator] to also be ready to sell as well, Higgs Wise said.

As Pedini and Higgs Wise work toward completing their objectives, business owners such as Mijares are left to wonder what happens next.

At this point Im not worried yet. I think Virginia is still going to go through with making hemp and cannabis legal for adults, Mijares said. When I first started doing this, there was a lot of trial and error and it feels like thats whats happening now; trial and error.
The Richmond Ambulance Authority is seeking $3.5 million in new annual funding from the city administration to help retain and hire more emergency medical technicians and paramedics.

A few City Council members are seeking to add the funding through budget amendments in the next two weeks. City administration officials, however, say they want an independent review of the authoritys finances and operations before considering more money for it.

Ambulance authority CEO Chip Decker said he welcomes the scrutiny, but that emergency service could suffer if hes unable to increase employee wages and hire 40 more people to get the ambulance system back to full strength in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Otherwise, somebodys going to die, he said in a council budget work session on Tuesday night. I think that without this, youre going to see us in the news more.

The Richmond Ambulance Authority, founded in 1991 after a prior ambulance service encountered significant financial problems and complaints about lack of service in certain neighborhoods, is a quasi-governmental agency that responds to emergency 911 calls and provides non-emergency medical transportation services.

The authority is meant to operate as a public service and is governed by a board of directors which includes two city administration officials and nine city appointees. The citys subsidy helps cover the cost of providing emergency care to uninsured and indigent patients, but billing for non-emergency services also helps offset the authoritys operational costs.

Unlike fire and rescue departments in the Richmond area that are managed by their localities, RAA operates as a business with its own professional staff, spending about $20 million each year on operational expenses.

The citys budget for this year includes $4 million for the ambulance authority.

The requested 88% funding increase comes a year after the city slashed funding for the ambulance authority by $1 million. At the time, administration officials noted that the authority ended the previous year with a $1.9 million surplus, and urged its leaders to lease new fleet vehicles rather than buy them as a way to save money after the budget cut.

Richmond Chief Administration Officer Lincoln Saunders, a member of the ambulance authoritys board of directors, said Tuesday that both 911 and non-emergency responses and transports have declined in the past two years. He also said that annual personnel expenditures have come in under budget by about $1 million to $3 million each year since 2018.

Saunders said that and other budget projections and assumptions raise questions about whether the ambulance authority is seeking money for personnel alone.

Decker in an interview after the meeting said some of the additional funding is needed for capital expenses and equipment, but underscored the need to improve pay to retain and attract staff, particularly as the city is preparing to give wage increases of at least 10% for all sworn police officers and firefighters and 5% for all other city employees.

He also noted during the meeting that the authority last year shifted to a 42-hour work week from 48 hours in order to improve staff morale.

Its necessary to give them enough downtime to unwind from the stresses of working EMS or health care, Decker said.

He said thats helped a bit, but has created a need for more staff in order to adequately provide emergency services and the non-emergency trips that bring in more revenue.

Sabrina Joy-Hogg, the citys deputy administrative director for finance and administration, said in Tuesdays meeting that the ambulance authority should try to maximize its revenues before seeking additional funding from the city.

I would say this to any non-departmental agency, she said. City subsidies should not be seen as the first string.

She went on to say that the city could potentially provide the funding, but that she and other administration officials remain wary of doing so because they still have outstanding questions about the authoritys operations and finances.

Its sort of like our public utilities. They are supposed to be self-sufficient. However, if theres a problem there, well step in. The city will back this, she said. We need to see whats happening to understand the service model.

Councilwoman Reva Trammel, who is seeking to co-sponsor a budget amendment to add the $3.5 million for the authority, took issue with the idea of charging patients more for emergency services.

I want to make sure that I that Im not hearing someone say in this room, go and collect from the poorest of the poor. Ill be damned if we are, she said. How do you do that?

Joy-Hogg said Wednesday that she does not want to the ambulance authority to squeeze indigent patients for more money.

We want to ensure that revenues from the insured, self-pay customers, Medicaid, and Medicare are being maximized, she said. We recognize there are formulas for each of these and now may be the appropriate time to review those formulas to make sure the RAA is using billing and collections best practices.

The Richmond City Council will meet for a work session Friday to continue budget deliberations.

In addition to the ambulance authority funding, council members are seeking dozens of additions to the proposed budget, including $1 million to help GRTC maintain zero-fare bus service next year and $6.2 million to increases pension payments for retired city employees.
Members of a state board that reviews all jail deaths met Wednesday without giving public notice or posting the meeting on the agencys website  violations of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

A Board of Local and Regional Jails committee meeting was listed for 9 a.m. Thursday on two separate state websites.

But the board met Wednesday without public notice at Department of Corrections headquarters in Richmond.

I apologize for the wrong date being there, said boards executive director, Ryan McCord. Im not sure why that happened.

He added that it was a typo and said the board members next month will consider cases they took action on Wednesday to ensure public notice is provided.

The Thursday meeting notice was posted on a state website called Commonwealth Calendar and on a second state website called Virginia Regulatory Town Hall.

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act says every public body must give notice of the date, time, and location of its meetings in a variety of ways, including posting notice on its official government website. The Board of Local and Regional Jails does not post notice of upcoming meetings on its website.

McCord said the boards Jail Review Committee met Wednesday in closed session.

Even when a public body goes into closed session, it still convenes first in open session and publicly states and votes on the reasons for the closed session. At the end of the closed session, the public body convenes in open session and votes to certify that it only discussed what it said it would.

Department of Corrections obstructed Virginia's jail death investigator during power grab When the high-profile jail death of Jamycheal Mitchell in 2015 exposed a systemic lack of ac

The jail board is tasked by law with reviewing all deaths in Virginia jails and looking for violations of policy or law that may been factors or need to be addressed. Board members are appointed by the governor. Board staff  for administrative purposes  are employees of the Virginia Department of Corrections.

The attorney generals office represents the Board of Local and Regional Jails. Victoria LaCivita, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Jason Miyares, did not respond to an email Wednesday asking if he had any comment on the board holding a meeting without public notice.

The board has struggled with staff turnover and heavy control by the Department of Corrections. Last year, the boards jail death investigator resigned under pressure after the Department of Corrections backed McCord for the executive directors job, and officials then obstructed the investigator.

The Department of Corrections also denied repeated requests by the boards former executive secretary to be properly paid for duties that were added to her workload, and threatened to fire her. She retired Jan. 1.
(Image: The Malaysian Reserve)

This years Ramadan is certainly looking more festive than the last two, now that families and friends can celebrate the joyous occasion with fewer restrictions as Malaysia transitions to the endemic phase.

With the easing of Covid-19 measures, Muslims who observe this fasting month, or anyone who indulges in a wide array of delicacies, now have various options to dine at hotels and savour all-you-can-eat buffets. Think of the succulent roasted mutton, chicken rendang, fish head curry, satay, and the delightful spread of mouth-watering desserts that perfectly complements your feast.

In this special month, various banks are rewarding their credit and debit cardholders with a host of discounts on Ramadan buffets. Available at renowned hotels and restaurants across Malaysia, heres a round-up of banks that offer Ramadan buffet discounts that you can take advantage of.

Affin Bank

Exclusively available to its credit and debit cardholders, Affin Bank returns with special Ramadan buffet discounts at selected hotels in the Klang Valley. With discounts of up to 20%, you can enjoy buffets at notable hotels, such as Pullman KLCC, Eastin Hotel, Corus Hotel, and Royale Chulan Damansara. To enjoy the sweet deals, youll simply need to pay for the buffet with your Affin credit or debit card in a single receipt.

You can browse the participating hotels here and, if you like, quickly make a reservation before the seats are all snapped up. Note that the discounts and promotion periods vary across the hotels, so make sure that you check the details.

Alliance Bank

From now till 1 May 2022, Alliance Bank is rewarding its credit cardholders with a 20% discount on the Selera Warisan buffet at Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre.

If oxtail asam pedas, bubur lambuk, ketam bakar percik, and kambing golek richly infused with spices tickle your fancy, make a reservation, and pay with your Alliance bank credit card to enjoy the discount.

AmBank

AmBank, too, is offering substantial discounts on Ramadan buffets for its credit and debit cardholders. You can enjoy up to 35% off the Ramadan buffets at various hotels in the Klang Valley, Kota Kinabalu and Johor Bahru, and even a 1-for-1 dining deal if youre an AmBank Visa Infinite cardholder!

You can look through all AmBanks Ramadan buffets here.

Bank Islam

If youre planning an iftar around the Klang Valley, Bank Islam is offering a 10% discount on the Santapan Warisan buffet at Corus Hotel, Sajian Dendang Perantau buffet at Premiera Hotel, and Citarasa Nipah buffet at EQ Hotel.

As usual, youll have to pay with a Bank Islam credit or debit card-i to enjoy the discount on any of the selected buffets.

Bank Rakyat

Bank Rakyat credit or debit cardholders are also in for a treat as the bank is currently offering a 10% discount on the Ramadan buffet at Impiana Hotel Ipoh, Perak, until 2 May 2022. Served ala bazaar, the specially curated buffet features over 180 iconic Malaysian traditional cuisines, including gulai kawah, rendang tok and kenduri-style nasi minyak.

Simply pay for the buffet with your Bank Rakyat credit or debit card-i to take advantage of the discount. You can find out more about the terms and conditions of the offer here.

Citibank

(Image: The Courtyard, Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur)

Citibank credit or debit cardholders, too, can enjoy Ramadan buffets at discounted prices. These include a 15% off the Ramadan buffet at Berjaya Times Square Hotel, and a 10% discount on the Ramadan buffet at Corus Hotel.

Browse the list of the participating hotels, and pay for the buffet with a Citi credit or debit card in a single receipt to secure the discount.

CIMB

(Image: Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur)

CIMB credit, debit and prepaid cardholders can also rejoice as the bank is generously giving discounts of up to 30% on Ramadan buffets at various locations in the Klang Valley. You can, for instance, choose to have the Warisan Bonda buffet at Pacific Regency Hotel Suites, the Nikmat Selera Kampung buffet at Pullman KLCC, or the Buka Puasa Buffet by Chef Wan at De.Wan 1958 by Chef Wan.

You can check out the complete list of the offers here, and if you find any of them appealing, go ahead and make your reservation.

HSBC

(Image: Avillion Cameron Highlands)

Those planning to break their fast in Melaka, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Pulau Pinang, or the Klang Valley can also get up to 15% discounts on Ramadan buffets at selected hotels when they pay with their HSBC debit or credit card/-i in a single receipt.

Click on this link, and then tap on the Raya Offers menu to view the participating hotels and discounts that await you.

Maybank

Maybank or Maybank Islamic cardholders can also savour sumptuous buffets with discounts of up to 25% at reputable hotels, including Hilton Kuala Lumpur, Doubletree Resort by Hilton Penang, Four Points by Sheraton Desaru, and Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu.

Bring your family and friends along as the offers are valid for up to 10 diners in a single receipt. Click here to look through the participating hotels, and as usual, call or email the hotels of your choice if youd like to make a reservation.

Standard Chartered Bank

Standard Chartered credit card and debit card-i members can also enjoy discounts on Ramadan buffets of up to 20% at the participating hotels in the Klang Valley and Kota Kinabalu. To enjoy the offers, youll simply have to pay for the buffet with your Standard Chartered credit or debit card.

Click on this link to view the 15 hotels that you can choose from.

RHB

(Image: Hilton Hotel Petaling Jaya)

If you own a credit or debit card/-i by RHB, youll be happy to know that the bank is offering discounts of up to 20% on Ramadan buffets at selected Hilton hotels in a few states, including Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Pulau Pinang, Melaka and Johor.

To qualify for the discounts, youll need to pay for the buffet with your RHB credit or debit card/-i. Note, however, that holders of corporate MyDebit card/-i are not eligible for the discounts.

Look through the participating Hilton hotels here, and contact the numbers provided to make a reservation at the hotel near you.

Public Bank

Last but not least, Public Bank is offering discounts of up to 20% on Ramadan buffets to its Mastercard credit cardholders. With 12 hotels to choose from, you can have the buffet at the Klang Valley, Negeri Sembilan or Pulau Pinang.

The bank is also going a step further by rewarding its principal MasterCard credit cardholders with 10% cashback on top of the buffet discounts, with a total of RM30,000 allocated for the entire campaign. Offered on a first-come, first-served basis, eligible cardmembers can earn the cashback by spending a minimum of RM350 at any of the participating merchants during the campaign  which is slated to run until 2 May 2022.

Check out the full list of participating hotels, and be sure to read the terms and conditions on how to enrol in the campaign and earn the additional 10% cashback.

Use your bank cards to your advantage

If youve been craving for a good Ramadan buffet, why not use your bank cards to your advantage and save some money along the way? Our extensive list of Ramadan buffet promotions by banks covers some of the most popular Ramadan buffet places in Malaysia, so you can enjoy them wherever you are.

With 13 days left before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, take this opportunity to treat yourself to a Ramadan buffet, and save more when you use your credit or debit card.

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Freshman state delegate Wren Williams, R-Patrick  one of the youngest members of the General Assembly  has taken some guff in this space. In fact, hes taken guff from media outlets nationally and even internationally.

Much of that guff he absolutely deserved, especially for his wrongheaded proposal to make the teaching of divisive concepts in schools a criminal offense  but he also deserves loud praise for his push to bring a hospital back to Patrick County, a bit of legislation that began as a modest effort to explore possibilities but has taken an astonishing turn that raises the prospect of a triumphant conclusion.

Also, a welcome change. Patrick County hasnt had a hospital or emergency room since 2017 and its been devastating for our community, Williams said in response to questions sent to him by the editorial board.

Though Pioneer Community Hospitals parent company had been in bankruptcy proceedings since March 2016, the September 2017 announcement of the 25-bed hospitals closure came so suddenly that emergency room patients had to be turned away as they arrived and patients staying in the facility for treatment had to be discharged or relocated.

In the years since, anyone in the 17,700-population county coping with a dire health emergency has faced a 30- to 45-minute ambulance ride.

The consequences hurt county residents and surrounding localities in more ways than the already debilitating lack of health care. Its also hurt our local economy, because businesses and especially manufacturers are very hesitant to open up here if theres no hospital, and not even an emergency room, Williams said. These things have a ripple effect.

The new ripples in the water, though, carry hope with them.

Earlier this month, multiple sources reported that Foresight Healthcare Investment Group, a Chicago-based firm, has purchased the vacant hospital with intent to reopen it as a health care center. Further details remain vague, so its probably wise to temper any high expectations with caution, but mere months ago even the notion that the county could reestablish any sort of emergency facility seemed a long shot.

Williams has declined to discuss any details of this sale, not even naming the firm that purchased the building. But as for the promise of a hospital reopening in Patrick County, this is long overdue. Having local emergency care and local health care providers is vital for the well being of our residents and essential for local jobs and businesses.

The original version of House Bill 1305 that Williams introduced sought funding for a feasibility study, to explore whether reopening the hospital was possible, and if not, what the alternatives might be. Williams worked with Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association in pursuit of this legislation, which passed the House with a unanimous bipartisan vote.

As that was underway, something unexpected and wonderful happened. We generated a lot of buzz around Patricks hospital, and began to hear from interested providers. When that happened, we wanted to amend our bill from investigating Whats viable? to making our hospital more attractive for providers and cutting the red tape, Williams said.

He further elaborated on what cutting the red tape entailed. Virginia has license laws that act as a barrier to groups opening, expanding or moving health care services. Approval for the required certificate of public need can take years.

The content and aim of Williams bill changed from investigating the feasibility of reopening a hospital to authorizing the reopening of a hospital. Its that version of the bill that unanimously passed the Senate and received a signature from Gov. Glenn Youngkins pen on April 7.

In its form that became law, Williams bill guarantees that if a provider comes in to reopen our hospital and emergency room, the licensing is already in place, he said, which is a crucial first step to getting our hospital reopened.

He emphasized that many more steps will necessarily follow. Right now were talking with potential providers who are interested in coming in to reopen the hospital, he said. They would need to evaluate everything from getting the building up to code, hiring the personnel (doctors, nurses, administrators, etc.) to staff it. Its going to take a sizable investment from a provider.

Bravo to Williams that his worthy endeavor has found purchase in the soil so quickly. May it bear plentiful fruit.
SANAA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Heavy clashes erupted between the Yemeni government army and Houthi militia on Wednesday in the government-held province of Marib despite a UN-backed truce, the Media Center of Yemeni Armed Forces said.

The clashes broke out in the al-Balak al-Sharki mountain, a few km to the south of Marib city, capital of the province, the army's media center said on Twitter.

The army repelled a series of attacks by the Houthi militia against its positions in the mountain, it added.

According to residents of the city, the artillery fire and heavy machine guns were heard from dawn to noon.

The Houthi militia has made no comment on the claim yet, but its media channels reported alleged breaches by the pro-government army on several frontlines including those in Marib, giving no further details.

The Houthi militia has lost several strategic districts in central Yemen in the oil-rich provinces of Shabwa and Marib during the past three months.

The UN-brokered cease-fire, meant to last two months, came into effect on April 2.

The truce includes the halt of all ground, aerial and naval offensives across Yemen and its borders.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa.

The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of famine. 
Our production of Twelfth Night definitely has a unique feel to it, and with the slapstick comedy we employ, it comes from a specific place of inspiration. That place, according to McKinnon, is found with early Hollywood comics.
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" " Most people will see a face in this tree stump. Melinda Podor/Getty Images

The world is full of faces. Faces in wall outlets. Faces in lamp switches. Faces in cheese graters. Sometimes these faces have religious significance, like the women who found an image of the Virgin Mary in her grilled cheese (and then sold it for $28,000), or the Cheeto that looks convincingly like Jesus.

The phenomenon of seeing faces where they're not supposed to be  in clouds, on buildings, in tacos  is so common and widespread that it has a name: pareidolia. In Greek, pareidolia translates as "beyond form or image," and it means finding meanings or patterns where there aren't any, like hearing a heartbeat in white noise or believing that a seat cushion is mad at you.

It's easy to dismiss pareidolia as a fun optical illusion, or worse, as a psychotic delusion. But some scientists now believe that our uncanny ability to find faces in everyday objects points to a new understanding of how our brains process the outside world. Instead of taking in visual cues and then making sense of them as an apple, a tree or a face, it might be the other way around. What if our brains are actually telling our eyes what to see?

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We Are Programmed to See Faces

Kang Lee is a professor of applied psychology and human development at the University of Toronto. In addition to giving a popular TED Talk on how to tell if kids are lying, Lee has spent decades studying how infants, children and adults process faces.

"As soon as we're born, we start to look for faces," says Lee, explaining that it's a product of millions of years of evolution. "One reason is that our ancestors needed to avoid predators or find prey, all of which have faces. And a second reason is that humans are very social animals. When we interact with each other, we need to know if the other person is a friend or foe."

" " This rock formation along the Dalles of the St. Croix River in Minnesota bears an uncanny resemblance to a man's face. Marcia Straub/Getty Images

Evolution might explain pareidolia, too. Since the ability to quickly recognize and respond to different faces could be a matter of life and death, there's a much higher cost for not seeing the lion's face in the underbrush than for mistaking an orange-and-black flower for a lion's face. The brain is better off making a "false positive" (pareidolia) if it means that you're primed to recognize real danger, too.

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Which Comes First, the Eyes or the Brain?

It's clear that evolution has programmed our brains to prioritize faces, but how exactly does it all work under the hood? That's what Lee wanted to find out.

The conventional wisdom is that the eyes take in visual stimuli from the outside world  light, colors, shapes, movement  and send that information to the visual cortex located in a region of the brain known as the occipital lobe. After the occipital lobe translates the raw data into images, those images are sent to the frontal lobe, which does the high-level processing. Is that a rock outcropping or is it a giant head?

That conventional model is what Lee calls "bottom-up" processing, in which the brain's role is to passively take in information and make sense of it. If the brain sees faces everywhere, it's because the brain is responding to facelike stimuli  basically any cluster of spots and spaces that roughly look like two eyes, a nose and a mouth.

But Kang and other researchers began to question the bottom-up processing model. They wondered if it wasn't the other way around; a "top-down" process in which the brain is calling the shots.

"We wanted to know whether the frontal lobe actually plays a very important role in helping us to see faces," says Lee. "Instead of the face imagery coming from the outside, the brain generates some kind of expectation from the frontal lobe, then goes back to the occipital lobe and finally to our eyes and then we see faces."

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'Seeing Jesus in Toast'

That question is what made Lee think about pareidolia. He'd read those stories of people seeing images of Jesus, Elvis and angels in their toast and tortillas, and wondered if he could build an experiment around it.

" " This is the 10-year-old cheese sandwich that sold for $28,000 in 2004. The seller, Florida resident Diana Duyser, said after taking a bite she saw the Virgin Mary staring back at her. She said she had done nothing to preserve it but keep it in a plastic box. AFP via Getty Images

So, Lee recruited a bunch of regular people, hooked them up to an fMRI scanner, and showed them a series of grainy images, some of which contained hidden faces and some of which were pure noise. The participants were told that exactly half of the images contained a face (not true) and were asked with each new image, "Do you see a face?" As a result of this prodding, participants reported seeing a face 34 percent of the time when there was nothing but static.

What was most interesting to Lee were the images coming back from the real-time fMRI scan. When participants reported seeing a face, the "face area" of their visual cortex lit up, even when there was no face in the image at all. That told Lee that another part of the brain must be telling the visual cortex to see a face.

In a paper provocatively titled, "Seeing Jesus in toast: Neural and behavioral correlates of face pareidolia," Lee and his colleagues reported that when the brain was properly "primed" to see faces, then the expectation to see a face was coming from the frontal lobe, specifically an area called the inferior frontal gyrus.

"The inferior frontal gyrus is a very interesting area," says Lee. "It's related to generating some kind of idea and then instructing our visual cortex to see things. If the idea is a face, then it would see a face. If the idea is Jesus, I'm pretty sure the cortex is going to see Jesus. If the idea is Elvis, then it's going to see Elvis."

The "Jesus in toast" paper won Lee a 2014 Ig Nobel prize, a cheeky award handed out by the humorous science magazine Annals of Improbable Research, but Lee says the pareidolia experiment proved that top-down processing plays a critical role in how we experience the world around us.

"A lot of things we see in the world aren't coming from our sight, but are coming from inside our minds," says Lee.

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Friend or Foe?

Lee has also run research on babies and racial bias. He found the very youngest babies were able to recognize differences between faces of all races but lost that ability as they grew older. By 9 months, they could only differentiate between faces that were their same race. The rest started to blur together. The reason is that they had only been exposed to same-race faces (in most cases, mom and dad) for the first nine months of their lives.

From his research, Lee now believes racial biases aren't biological; we simply learn to trust people that look like the faces we saw when our brains were first developing. Unfortunately, this can develop later into different kinds of biases based on societal messaging and stereotypes.

"The reason there are racial biases is because of early experiences," says Lee. "If we created a diverse visual and social experience for children, then they would be less likely to have biases."

The good news is that parents and educators can combat racial bias by exposing infants and toddlers to faces of all races and identifying them as "Jill" or "Derek," not as a "white person" or a "Black person."

Now That's Cool If you can't get enough images of inanimate objects making funny faces, check out the "Hello Little Fella!" groups on Facebook and Flickr.
Professor Michael Chi Kong Tse. Credit: HKIAS

, the Chair Professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering (EE) at the City University of Hong Kong (CityU), presented an online talk as part of theon 12 April 2022, titled " Challenges of Modern Power Grid in the Midst of Deepening Power Electronics Penetration and Increasing Renewable Energy Use". Professor Ron Chen, Chair Professor of the EE, was the moderator. Closed to 300 scholars and students across the world joined the virtual event.

The penetration of power electronics into power generation and distribution systems has deepened in recent years, as prompted by the increasing use of renewable sources. In the talk, Professor Tse discussed the impact of power electronics penetration into power grids and the implications for the stability and robustness of power networks.

According to Professor Tse, the increased use of power electronics for controlling power flows in power systems, interactions of power electronics systems, and conventional synchronous machines' dynamics would inevitably cause stability and robustness concerns. He pointed out the impact of the penetration of power electronics in power systems has been profound and has drawn strict attention from power system engineers.

Subsequently, Professor Tse examined the current progress of research in power systems amidst the extensive deployment of power electronics. He introduced two distinct angles of examination corresponding, namely, bottom-up (local) and top-down (global) views of the grid.

After reviewing the analytical methods, Professor Tse summarized the challenges of power electronics in four main areas, namely, multi-timing, diversified dynamical behavior, defining appropriate measures for robustness assessment, and control design and conflicts.

For the future research direction in power systems, he concluded that by combining the top-down and bottom-up approaches, it is possible to build better models that can incorporate increasing power electronics devices into the grid model, hence providing realistic assessments of the risk and robustness of the grid.

Professor Tse currently is the Associate Vice-President (Strategic Research) at CityU. His research interests cover power electronics, nonlinear systems, and complex network applications. He was the recipient of various international awards, including Prize Paper Awards by IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics in 2001, 2015, and 2017, two Gold Medals at the International Inventions Exhibition in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2009 and 2013, a Grand Prize and Gold Medal at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival in 2019.

In addition, he has been appointed to honorary professorship and distinguished fellowship by three universities, including the Chang Jiang Scholar Chair with the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Honorary Professor of Melbourne University, and Distinguished Professor-at-Large with the University of Western Australia.

Besides, he is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Institution of Engineers Australia.

This lecture is supported in part by the Kwang Hua Educational Foundation.

More information about the lecture, please click here.

END

About Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study (HKIAS)

The Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study (HKIAS), which was launched on 22 November 2015, aspires to be an international centre of excellence for the advancement of technology and innovation by bringing together an interdisciplinary team of world-renowned scholars and researchers, including Nobel laureates and academicians, to contribute to the solutions of pressing real-world problems. Conferences, symposiums, workshops, and lectures will be organized to facilitate exchange of ideas among academic communities locally, regionally and internationally.

About the HKIAS Distinguished Lecture Series on Electronics and Photonics

HKIAS Distinguished Lecture Series on Electronics and Photonics is another lecture series of excellence initiated by HKIAS in 2022. This series is committed to showcase the top-notch research and to develop innovative applications at various levels from electronic/photonic materials to devices and systems. The five lectures focus on discussing the latest advances in electronics and photonics for computing systems, covering topics from Nanotechnology and Nano devices, Antenna Design, Photonics, Power Electronics and Systems, Terahertz and Millimeter Waves, Wireless Communications, etc.

For upcoming lectures, please click here.

Provided by Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study
FLORENCE  Elizabeth Pettigrew Durant Childrens Center is a safe place for children of abuse and is referred to as the house where healing begins.

The staff at Durant Childrens Center advocate for children. It is where victims of child abuse receive multiple services from law enforcement, Social Services, medical professionals, as well as victim advocates, all in one place.

Abuse can be physical, sexual or emotion in nature or neglect, said Gloria McClary, Durant Childrens Center program director.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which cast the spotlight on child abuse, but in reality, child abuse is a real concern 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The theme this year is It Is Your Business.

Pinwheels scattered throughout the city of Florence and others are a visible reminder that child abuse is a concern for all.

In 2008, Prevent Child Abuse America introduced the pinwheel as the new national symbol of child abuse prevention because by its very nature, the pinwheel connotes playfulness, joy and childhood.

It serves as a physical reminder of the great childhoods we want for all children, McClary said.

Statistics show that a report of child abuse is made in the United States every 10 seconds.

McClary said the problem of child abuse was made worse by COVID.

Some people tend to look away as though the problem doesnt exist. Others simply dont want to get involved. She said everyone needs to make it their business to recognize this problem and to act.

It is up to grownups to protect children she said.

McClary said child abuse and neglect are preventable, and every child deserves a safe, stable, nurturing environment.

According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at least 1-in-7 children have experienced child abuse and/or neglect in the past year and this is likely an underestimate

The Elizabeth Pettigrew Durant Childrens Center was established in 1994 as the second childrens advocacy center in South Carolina. It is a program of the Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault.

It is an assessment and treatment center for suspected cases of child abuse and neglect and was named for Joe B. Durant of Florence in memory of his wife Elizabeth Pettigrew Durant, a teacher who had a great affinity for children.

In the event of child abuse, there are onsite services at the Durant Childrens Center provided by the Department of Social Services, law enforcement, the Solicitors Office; medical and mental heal professionals and victim advocates.

Durant Childrens Center offers 24-hour Crisis Intervention; medical examinations, diagnosis, treatment, forensic interview, individual and group counseling, legal advocacy, military partnership program and community education and training.

Satellite Centers are located in Florence, Darlington and Sumter counties.

Throughout the month of April, Pee Dee Coalition and Durant Childrens Center are hosting events and activities to increase awareness, reach out to victims and demonstrate how the community can help and get involved. Pee Dee Coalition serves eight counties in the Pee Dee  Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Marion, Marlboro, Williamsburg and Sumter (Durant Childrens Center only). See a list of activities in the eight Pee Dee counties on Pee Dee Coalitions website www.peedeecoalition.org or www.durantchildrencenter.org

McClary said community members and businesses are encouraged to display pinwheels to show support for child abuse prevention or wear/display a teal ribbon to signify support of local efforts to end sexual assault.

National Child Abuse Prevention Month was first observed in 1983.

If you suspect a child is being abused or if a child tells you of an abusive situation, contact law enforcement, a school counselor, a nurse or a physician. These individuals are all mandated by law to report child abuse to the proper authorities.

If you see something, say something, McClary said.

For more information about the Durant Center contact McClary at 843-664-4357 or gmcclary@durantchildren.org

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FLORENCE, S.C.  A federal grand jury in Florence returned an indictment in connection with drug-related charges against two former correctional officers with the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

Joseph Corey Bailey, Jr., 29, and Xavier Kaseem Capers, 28, both of Ridgeland, were charged with conspiring to distribute at least 50 grams of methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute at least 50 grams of methamphetamine. Bailey and Capers were correctional officers at Ridgeland Correctional Institution when SCDC staff found approximately 400 grams of methamphetamine inside the prison in a bag previously handled by the two men.

We work routinely with our partners at SCDC and DEA to ensure that there is no safe harbor for those violating federal laws in South Carolina, said U.S. Attorney Corey F. Ellis. This office will investigate and prosecute federal crimes regardless of who commits those crimes.

Correctional officers who break the public trust need to be held accountable, said Bryan Stirling, director of SCDC. We are grateful to our partners for their hard work in this case.

Correctional officers are held to a higher standard and are entrusted to ensure a safe environment by supervising inmate behavior and enforcing regulations such as keeping contraband - in this case 'meth' - out of prisons, said Robert J. Murphy, special agent in charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. It is alleged that these officers chose to violate their oath by allowing illicit drugs to enter a prison. If so, they will be held accountable for their actions. DEA would like to thank its law enforcement partners who made this case a success.

Bailey and Capers each face a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in federal prison if convicted.

The case was investigated by the DEA and SCDC. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Holloway is prosecuting the case.
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The letter, which was spearheaded by the advocacy group The Weldon Project, includes signatures from celebrities such as Drake, Killer Mike, Deion Sanders, Al Harrington and Kevin Garnett. Kazan will also participate in a live-streamed event today airing on Vimeo and moderated by Politico reporter Mona Zhang, at 11:00 a.m. PT to discuss the letter and reinforce the case to provide clemency to all federal nonviolent marijuana offenders.

"The harms of incarceration are obvious, but the pains of federal marijuana convictions transcend prison walls, making it more difficult for someone to get a job, access affordable housing, and receive an education. A conviction can forever limit an individual's constitutional rights and can put the American dream further out of reach for an entire family. Enough is enough. No one should be locked up in federal prison for marijuana. No one should continue to bear the scarlet letter of a federal conviction for marijuana offenses," the letter says, noting that three-quarters of the states have now abandoned the federal government's blanket criminal ban in favor of safe, regulated legal access to marijuana for adults and/or those with qualifying medical conditions.

The request to U.S. President Biden comes at a time when an overwhelming 68% of U.S. adults support the federal legalization of cannabis, and 1 in 3 Americans live in states where cannabis is legal for adults to use. Thousands of individuals are currently incarcerated in the United States for nonviolent cannabis-related crimes, while countless others have had their rights and livelihoods stripped away because of prior arrests and sentences....

The letter to President Biden points out that a full pardon of federal marijuana offenders is consistent with the Constitution and past practices of presidents from both political parties. "In 1974, President Ford established a program of conditional clemency for Selective Service Act violators. In 1977, President Carter issued a categorical pardon to all Selective Service Act violators, closing the book on a costly and painful war. President Biden has the power to do the same for the federal war on marijuana. Through his act of constitutional grace, a general clemency will send a clear and powerful message that our country is truly taking a new course on criminal justice policy and practice." In December of 2020, Angelos was fully pardoned by President Trump.

The stories of those who would be helped by a pardon are compelling: Drake, Meek Mill, Lil Baby, Killer Mike, and dozens of other hip-hop artists, for example, signed on in support of their friend and fellow rapper Ralo, who is facing 8 years for a nonviolent cannabis offense. "I appreciate my friends and peers in the hip-hop community, especially Drake, supporting my clemency because it's just not right that corporations are allowed to violate federal law and become millionaires while people like myself go to prison for years," Ralo said. "This is hypocrisy. I hope that Joe Biden honors his campaign promise and grants us clemency without delay, so I can return to my family and community."
BEIRUT, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Wednesday condemned Israeli raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and its worshippers, according to a statement issued by Lebanon's presidency.

Israel's "systematic attacks on the sanctities of the holy places in Jerusalem will not change the identity of the holy city; rather, these attacks are a cry out to the international community's conscience to put pressure to stop them," Aoun was quoted as saying in the statement.

The Lebanese president also expressed his solidarity with Palestinians.

The tension between Israelis and Palestinians has flared up in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the past weeks, especially when the Jewish festival of Passover began on Friday during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

On Friday, clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police forces at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem left more than 160 people wounded.

Clashes continued on Sunday after Israeli police stormed the compound. 
 Highlighting just some of the notable US executions scheduled for the next few weeks | Main | "Punitive Restoration" 

The question in the title of this post is prompted by this lengthy New York Post article headlined "Ahead of 4/20, pot prisoners push Biden to honor campaign pledge to free them." I recommend the piece in full, and here are excerpts:

On the eve of the 4/20 cannabis holiday, federal inmates again are wondering if and when President Biden will make good on his 2020 campaign pledge to free everyone locked up on marijuana charges. About 2,700 inmates are behind federal bars on pot-related charges  even though 18 states and DC now allow recreational use of the drug and two-thirds of Americans support legalization.

They include Pedro Moreno, 62, who is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to distributing weed imported from Mexico from 1986 to 1996. I will die in prison for marijuana unless I receive executive clemency, Moreno told The Post....

Clemency advocates recently met with White House staff and believe Biden may eventually intervene. But that it may not happen anytime soon as other initiatives take priority, such as commuting the sentences of people released temporarily from prison due to the COVID-19 pandemic....

Luke Scarmazzo, 41, has served 14 years of a 22-year sentence for running a medical marijuana operation in California and told The Post that hes also struggling to maintain hope. When President Biden made those statements on the campaign trail, my family and I were very hopeful that our nightmare was finally coming to an end, Scarmazzo said. We are now nearly two years into President Bidens term and were wondering when he will make good on his promise.

Donald Fugitt, 37, noted how the country has changed in the decade since he was arrested in 2013. Another 4/20 and everybody is smoking and making money, but Im still in a COVID-19-infested prison, said Fugitt, a North Texas native who gets out in 2024 unless Biden reduces his sentence. Ive accepted responsibility for my participation in a marijuana conspiracy. Everyone on my case is home except me. This was my first offense.

Federal pot inmates include Lance Gloor, 43, who has two years left of a 10-year sentence for running dispensaries in Washington that he says sold state-legal medical marijuana, though federal prosecutors disagreed. Gloors mother, Tracie Gloor Pike, says he had a severe case of COVID-19 last year and suffers rare complications....

Biden said on a debate stage in 2019: I think we should decriminalize marijuana, period. And I think everyone  anyone who has a record  should be let out of jail, their records expunged, be completely zeroed out. But Biden hasnt yet used his clemency powers to release anyone from prison....

Weldon Angelos, a former federal marijuana inmate and co-founder of the group Mission Green, helped craft a rubric that would ensure only non-violent prisoners are released and told The Post he has been involved in talks with the White House. Candidate Biden promised to use his pardon power to free those still incarcerated federally for cannabis offenses, which gave a lot of hope to many, Angelos said. We have had a number of conversations with the White House of this topic and believe that Biden will keep his campaign promise. When that happens is another matter entirely, but we are encouraged....

Amy Povah, founder of the CAN-DO Foundation, which advocates for clemency for non-violent offenders, told The Post, Im not sure why we are still waiting for President Biden to free all the pot prisoners. Povah said, however, that Im encouraged to see there is a new pardon attorney, Elizabeth Oyer, who will vet clemency paperwork. [Oyer is] a former public defender. She is a refreshing choice since previous pardon attorneys have typically been prosecutors who often have a punitive mindset toward applicants, Povah said....

In January 2021, then-President Donald Trump commuted the sentences of seven people serving life terms for marijuana  including two men who were given life without parole under the three-strikes provision of the Biden-authored 1994 crime law.

Michael Pelletier, a 65-year-old wheelchair-bound paraplegic, was among those released by Trump. He had a life sentence for smuggling Canadian pot into Maine before both legalized recreational markets.

I thank President Trump every day that I wake up in a comfortable bed in a beautiful home in Florida surrounded by loving family, rather than the screeching sound of the PA system announcing another lock down due to violence, Pelletier said. It breaks my heart knowing there are still people serving life without parole for cannabis. I hope Biden will free all pot prisoners because I personally know several people who voted for him based on that campaign promise alone.
SIRIUS MANAGEMENT CONSULTING

The Data Center Construction Market to reach $51 billion in 2021 from $73 billion by 2027.

Chicago, March 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the latest research report, the data center construction market to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% during 2021-2027. $350+ billion will be cumulatively spent on data center construction and its associated infrastructures worldwide during 2022-2027, with hyperscale self-built data centers contributing to around 30%.



Data Center Construction Market Report Scope

REPORT ATTRIBUTES DETAILS MARKET SIZE (2022) $51 billion MARKET SIZE (POWER CAPACITY) 9,719 MW (2027) CAGR 5.9% BASE YEAR 2021 FORECAST YEAR 2022-2027 GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Nordics, Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, and APAC MARKET PARTICIPANT COVERAGE Key Company Profiles - 38  Support Infrastructure Providers, 38  Construction Contractors, 59  Data Center Investors, 59  New Investors

Click Here to Download the Free Sample Report

Rising Adoption of Hyperscale Self-Built Data Centers

Hyperscale data centers are large mission critical facilities designed to support robust, scalable applications, and they are often associated with big data-producing companies efficiently and effectively. Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon Web Services, and Apple are the major hyperscale companies involved in development and operations of these data centers. Hyperscale data centers require high investments, which vary from region to region. Regular investments or expansion projects by hyperscale service providers are likely to boost the market.

Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services, and Facebook are the leading investors contributing to the hyperscale development in the US. These operators invested in around 19 facilities collectively in 2021. In 2021, several hyperscale operators announced the expansion or development or acquisitions of additional lands for future data center growth.

Story continues

Important Facts to Know!

In 2021-2022, prominent data center destinations would include the Americas (Mexico, Chile, & Colombia), EMEA (Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kenya, & Nigeria), and APAC (Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, & New Zealand).

APAC data center investments will cross $100 billion from 2022-to 2027. China, India, Australia, Singapore, & Japan will contribute to 70% of the investments.

In 2022, key data center trends will be the procurement of renewable energy, the design of data centers to support the installation of liquid immersion and direct-to-chip cooling, and edge data center deployments in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities worldwide.

In 2022, the data center market to witness a strong rise in mergers & acquisitions (M&A) and Joint Venture activities. The due diligence process in identifying the target location of data center development will increase.

Efficient infrastructure procurement will increase with an increased focus on modern technologies and a modular-design approach during the forecast period.



For free sample report click: https://www.arizton.com/request-sample/3308

Key Offerings:

Market Size & Forecast by Revenue | 20212027

Market Dynamics  Leading trends, growth drivers, restraints, and investment opportunities

Market Segmentation  A detailed analysis by facility type, infrastructure, electrical infrastructure, mechanical infrastructure, cooling systems, cooling technique, general construction, tier standards, and region

Competitive Landscape  9 key support infrastructure vendors, 30 other prominent support infrastructure vendors, 8 key construction contractors, 30 other prominent construction contractors, 11 key data center investors, 48 other prominent data center investors, and 13 new data center investors

Data Center Construction Market Vendors Analysis

Key Support Infrastructure Vendors

ABB

Caterpillar

Cummins

Eaton

Legrand

Rittal

Schneider Electric

STULZ

Vertiv



Other Prominent Support Infrastructure Vendors

Airedale International Air Conditioning

Alfa Laval

Asetek

Assa Abloy

Carrier

Condair

Daikin Applied

Data Aire

Delta Electronics

EAE

Generac Power Systems

Green Revolution Cooling (GRC)

HITEC Power Protection

Honeywell International

Johnson Controls

KOHLER

KyotoCooling

Mitsubishi Electric

Munters

Nlyte Software

Panduit

Piller Power Systems

RIELLO ELETTRONICA (RIELLO UPS)

Rolls-Royce

Siemens

Trane (Ingersoll Rand)

Yanmar

ZincFive

3M



Key Construction Contractors

AECOM

DPR Construction

Holder Construction

Jacobs

M+W Group

Bouygues Construction

Turner Construction

Mercury-based

Other Prominent Construction Contractors

Arup

Aurecon Group

BENTHEM CROUWEL ARCHITECTS

Cap Ingelec

Corgan

Dar Group

Deerns

DSCO Group

Edarat Group

Faithful+Gould

Fluor Corporation

Fortis Construction

Gensler

Gilbane Building Company

HDR

ISG

Kirby Group Engineering

Laing ORourke

Larsen & Toubro (L&T)

Linesight

Mace

Morrison Hershfield

Mortenson

NTT Facilities

Red

Royal Haskoning

Sterling and Wilson

Structure Tone

Syska Hennessy Group

Winthrop Engineering and Contracting

Key Data Center Investors

Apple

Key News

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

CyrusOne

Digital Realty

Equinix

Facebook (Meta)

GDS Holdings

Google

NTT Communications

ST Telemedia Global Data Centres

Vantage Data Centers

Other Prominent Data Center Investors

21Vianet Group

Africa Data Centres

AIMS Data Centre

Airtel

AirTrunk Operating

Aligned

AtNorth

Beyond.pl

Big Data Exchange

Canberra Data Centers

Chayora

Chindata

CloudHQ

ClusterPower

Cologix

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Last Wednesday in Stockholm, the prime ministers of Sweden and Finland, countries where neutrality and military non-alliance are deeply woven into their cultures, shocked the world by issuing a joint statement that, thanks to Russias invasion of Ukraine, they were considering applying for membership in NATO.

There is a before and after Feb. 24, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told reporters in reference to Russias latest military incursion in Ukraine. The security landscape has completely changed.

We have to be prepared for all kinds of actions from Russia, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said, adding that Finland would decide about applying to NATO in a matter of weeks.

While both countries had already closed off their skies to Russian air traffic, the announcement about NATO membership further risked the wrath of the Kremlin, which has repeatedly threatened both against joining the 30-member military alliance.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin. (John MacDougall/Pool via AP)

Over the last week in Sweden, radios, portable generators and camping stoves are flying off shelves as its 10.4 million citizens begin stocking up on canned food, water, flashlights and matches in preparation for anticipated acts of Russian sabotage. In Finland, where the government has stockpiled enough grains and fuels in strategic reserves to last at least five months, theyre expecting more cyberattacks like those that hit the ministries of defense and foreign relations on April 8, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Finnish Parliament via video. Like the Swedes, the 5.5 million residents of Finland believe that Russia will soon target its infrastructure, including the internet and electrical grid, and Russian violations of the airspace in both countries are already on the rise.

In response to their public declarations of interest in NATO membership, Moscow has renewed its threats to retaliate and bolster nearby ground and air forces, deploying significant naval forces in the Gulf of Finland, according to Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russias Security Council. "There can be no more talk of any nuclear-free status for the Baltic [Sea], Medvedev added, a threat dismissed by analysts in the region as saber rattling, since tiny Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on the Baltic, is widely believed to already hold nuclear weapons.

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If youre talking about large nuclear weapons, it doesnt really matter if the bases literally are in the Baltic Sea or the Gulf of Finland, if it is in Kaliningrad or if theyre 500 miles away, Charly Salonius-Pasternak, security and defense analyst at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs in Helsinki, told Yahoo News.

The addition of Finland and Sweden to the Western military alliance would not only expand NATO territory by 300,000 square miles toward the northeast  in blatant defiance of Putins demands last December to shrink NATOs footprint  but it would also roughly double NATO's borders with Russia to nearly 1,600 miles. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who called Sweden and Finland our closest partners, said in early April that he expected all NATO allies will welcome them. He added, We know that they can easily join this alliance if they decide to apply.

These are two really capable military powers, who are far more capable than the size of the countries would suggest, Ivo Daalder, former U.S. ambassador to NATO, told Yahoo News with regard to Sweden and Finland. And they would also boost military capabilities in the Baltic Sea, home to three small NATO countries  Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania  whose defense has always posed a problem for the alliance, Daalder said.

The likely accession of Finland and Sweden is a really big deal for NATO as well as Finland and Sweden themselves, Daalder added.

Sweden has been neutral or [militarily nonaligned] since 1814, he noted. And Finland, which became independent from Russia over a century ago, has never wanted to be part of any alliance since it became independent in 1917. ... But for the invasion of Ukraine, this wouldnt have happened.

Indeed, even three months ago the prospect of Sweden and Finland joining NATO didnt appear in the cards. Finnish Prime Minister Marin said in January that her country was very unlikely to join NATO under her watch, a sentiment that was echoed by Swedens defense minister. Two weeks ago, however, Marin did an about-face, proclaiming that Russia is not the neighbor we thought it was.

On Monday a few thousand people gathered in Senaatintori Square in Helsinki, Finland, to show their support for Ukraine. (Alessandro Rampazzo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The fact that Russia seems willing to invade, on completely false pretenses, its neighbors that dont belong to NATO sparked a realization among Finns, who have long tried to placate the Kremlin, Salonius-Pasternak said.

Specifically, when the citizens of Finland, which fought the Soviet Union after it invaded in 1939, watched Russias savage attacks unfold in Ukraine, something fundamental changed in their logic. After Russias atrocities in Bucha became clear earlier this month, Finnish public support for joining NATO soared to 68%. Local thinking, Salonius-Pasternak said, switched from If we join NATO, Russia may get annoyed and do something bad to us to They may do something bad anyway, so why not seek a form of deterrence that is completely unavailable to them?

What happened, Salonius-Pasternak added, was the Finnish population drew some conclusions which forced the hand of the Finnish political elite, and thereby also the Swedish.

Gunilla Herolf, senior associate research fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs in Stockholm, agreed that Finland is blazing the trail toward NATO membership. Finland has been taking the lead, she told Yahoo News. After public support for NATO went up so much in Finland, people in Sweden started to realize that its very likely that Finland will join, and that made public opinion go up in Sweden as well. The two countries have a very close relationship, she added, which only intensified in 2014 when Russia invaded Ukraine the first time, annexing Crimea.

The Swedish army participates in a military exercise in the Artic Circle, Norway, on March 25 in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Yves Herman/Reuters)

Herolf expects that the extensive cooperation of Sweden and Finland with NATO, with which they often perform joint military exercises and whose forces they fought alongside in the Balkans and Afghanistan, will help speed up the process of applying for membership.

But theres a risk: While Finland and Sweden are expected to apply in the coming weeks, their acceptance into the military alliance depends on unanimous agreement from all 30 of NATOs current members, a process that could take months.

That invitation needs to be ratified by all 30 current members, and that means that the U.S. Senate will have to ratify it, and 29 parliaments will have to ratify it, said Daalder. While he doesnt foresee any problems, he added, you never know  maybe a parliament gets dissolved and therefore theres no parliament to ratify it.

Until their membership is ratified, Finland and Sweden will remain vulnerable. If Russia attacked either before they were admitted to the alliance, neither could invoke Article 5, the NATO clause that states that an attack on one member is an attack on all.

Another potential snag is the upcoming presidential election in France. Right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen, currently trailing incumbent President Emmanuel Macron by at least 7 points, has vowed to cut Frances military involvement with NATO.

French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. (Julien De Rosa/AFP via Getty Images)

While the ratification process among the 30 NATO members could happen quickly," said Daalder, the problem is it needs to go quickly in 30 countries. The real question is, what do you do in the meantime? Once Finland and Sweden are officially invited to apply to NATO, Daalder said, even before their membership is approved by member countries, the president of the United States should make clear that until such time as these countries are formally part of NATO, that we, the United States, hopefully with partner countries, are committed to defending their security.

In the meantime, both Finland and Sweden are boosting their armed forces and ramping up annual spending on civil defense and arms. The Finnish government in February ordered 64 F-35s from Lockheed Martin, with a price tag of over $9 billion. Sweden, where the 2021 defense budget was around $7 billion, is expected to raise that amount to about $11 billion, roughly the 2% of GDP required of NATO members.

_____

What happened last week in Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out.
Vladimir Putin has blocked his elder daughter from travelling abroad amid fears she did not intend to return to Russia, according to reports from Moscow.

Scientist Dr Maria Vorontsova wanted to fly to a friendly country for a tropical beach vacation to mark her 37th birthday next week, it has been claimed.

She planned the romantic getaway with Yevgeny Nagorny, 33, her partner since the breakup of her marriage, according to the General SVR Telegram channel which claims to have inside knowledge from the Kremlin

Putin responded with a categorical refusal, strengthening the security protection of Maria, said the report on the Russian outlet.

According to our information, the presidents eldest daughter did not plan to return to Russia.

The report did not say if the reason for her alleged plan to abscond was her fathers bloody war in Ukraine.

Maria - who has been sanctioned by Western countries due to her family links to Putin - has a half-Dutch son, now eight, by her ex-husband Jorrit Faassen.

Yevgeny Nagorny (Roma Khlyustov/CelebrateIt)

She is now banned from travel to major Western countries but had been a regular visitor to Europe prior to the sanctions.

Pictures previously showed Maria with Nagorny attending a wedding near Salerno, Italy in 2019. She appeared at the time to be pregnant.

Maria is Putins daughter by his ex-wife Lyudmila, the former Russian first lady. She is an expert in rare genetic diseases in children and is a leading researcher at the National Medical Research Center for Endocrinology of the Ministry of Health of Russia.

Her sister Katerina, is deputy director of the Institute for Mathematical Research of Complex Systems at Moscow State University, and is likewise from Putins previous marriage.

Their half sister is allegedly Luiza Rozova, a 19-year-old heiress also known as Elizaveta Krivonogikh, from a previous relationship with cleaner-turned-multimillionaire Svetlana Krivonogikh, 45, now a part-owner of a major Russian bank.

All three have remained silent on the war with Ukraine, and their opinion on the conflict is not known.

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Speculation that he has a family with rhythmic gymnast turned media mogul Alina Kabaeva, 38, have been met with official denials, but the rumours persist.

Putin has previously said: I have a private life in which I do not permit interference. It must be respected.

He deplored those who with their snotty noses and erotic fantasies prowl into others lives.

Kabaeva is on record as saying she had met a man who I love very much, adding: Sometimes you feel so happy that you even feel scared.

It was not immediately possible to verify the General SVR claims.
              3.9%2736     21490       2.9915.2% 59 228010%  22 55 2530 2407  
KYIV, Ukraine  Russia assaulted cities and towns along a boomerang-shaped front hundreds of miles long and poured more troops into Ukraine on Tuesday in a potentially pivotal battle for control of the country's eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.

If successful, the Russian offensive in what is known as the Donbas would essentially slice Ukraine in two and give President Vladimir Putin a badly needed victory following the failed attempt by Moscow's forces to storm the capital, Kyiv, and heavier-than-expected casualties nearly two months into the war.

The eastern cities of Kharkiv and Kramatorsk came under deadly attack. Russia also said it struck areas around Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro west of the Donbas with missiles. Explosions were heard early Wednesday in the southern city of Mykolaiv, the regional governor said. A hospital was reported shelled earlier in the nearby town of Bashtanka.

In Mariupol, the now-devastated port city in the Donbas, Ukrainian troops said the Russian military dropped heavy bombs to flatten what was left of a sprawling steel plant and hit a hospital where hundreds were staying.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Moscow's forces bombarded Ukrainian military sites, including troop concentrations and missile-warhead storage depots, in or near several cities or villages. Those claims could not be independently verified.

In what both sides described as a new phase of the war, the Russian assault began Monday along a front stretching more than 300 miles from northeastern Ukraine to the country's southeast. Ukraine's military said Russian forces tried to "break through our defenses along nearly the entire front line."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian military was throwing everything it has into the battle, with most of its combat-ready forces now concentrated in Ukraine and just across the border in Russia.

"They have driven almost everyone and everything that is capable of fighting us against Ukraine," he said in his nightly video address to the nation.

Despite Russian claims of hitting only military sites, they continue to target residential areas and kill civilians, he said.

"The Russian army in this war is writing itself into world history forever as the most barbaric and inhuman army in the world," Zelenskyy said.

Weeks ago, after the failed Russian push to take Kyiv, the Kremlin declared that its main goal was the capture of the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years.

A Russian victory in the Donbas would deprive Ukraine of the industrial assets concentrated there, including mines, metals plants and heavy-equipment factories.

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Russians added two more combat units in Ukraine over the preceding 24 hours. That brought the total number of units in the country to 78, all of them in the south and the east, up from 65 last week, the official said.

That would translate to about 55,000 to 62,000 troops, based on what the Pentagon said at the start of the war was the typical unit strength of 700 to 800 soldiers. But accurately determining Russia's fighting capacity at this stage is difficult.

A European official, likewise speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia also has 10,000 to 20,000 foreign fighters in the Donbas. They are a mix of mercenaries from Russia's private Wagner Group and Russian proxy fighters from Syria and Libya, according to the official.

The U.S. official said the offensive in the Donbas has begun in a limited way, mainly in an area southwest of the city of Donetsk and south of Izyum.

Justin Crump, a former British tank commander now with the strategic advisory company Sibylline, said the Ukrainian comments could, in part, be an attempt to persuade allies to send more weapons.

"What they're trying to do by positioning this, I think, is  focus people's minds and effort by saying, 'Look, the conflict has begun in the Donbas,'" Crump said. "That partly puts pressure on NATO and EU suppliers to say, 'Guys, we're starting to fight now. We need this now.'"

President Joe Biden is expected to announce a new weapons package in the coming days that will include additional artillery and ammunition, according to a U.S. official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said his country will send heavy artillery to Ukraine. And Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told Zelensky that the Netherlands will send more heavy weapons, including armored vehicles.

Western arms have played a key role in enabling the outgunned Ukrainians to hold off the Russians.

Associated Press journalists in Kharkiv said at least four people were killed and three wounded in a Russian attack on a residential area of the city. The attack occurred as residents attempted to maintain a sense of normalcy, with municipal workers planting spring flowers in public areas.

An explosion also rocked Kramatorsk, killing at least one person and wounding three, according to AP journalists at the scene.

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"From Hollywood With Love" by Scott Meslow; Dey Street Books (432 pages, $27.99)



Who doesn't enjoy a good romantic comedy? Grumps and cynics, maybe. But for the rest of us, rom-coms have been providing comfort viewing and distorted ideas of how love is supposed to work since long before Harry Burns met Sally Albright.

The rom-com has evolved quite a bit over the last three-plus decades thanks to titans of the genre like Nora Ephron, Nancy Meyers and even Judd Apatow. As dismal box-office showings suggested that interest in rom-coms was waning, newer hits like "Crazy Rich Asians" and the Netflix rom-com boom of the last few years have proven there will be always be space in audiences' hearts for cheesy, life-affirming tales of love.

Anyone who calls themselves a rom-com fan has probably heard about "From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy." Writer and critic Scott Meslow published this essential rom-com tome earlier this year and spends nearly 400 pages thoroughly chronicling the genre's history, interviewing some of its seminal figures and dissecting its most well-worn tropes.

"From Hollywood with Love" is so committed to these films that it recreates the feeling of watching a rom-com with its zippy pace and obvious infatuation with its subject matter. It's not all sunshine and roses, though. Meslow doesn't pull punches when it comes to some of the genre's problematic tendencies and its darker stories.

For Meslow, a rom-com is any movie in which the central plot is focused on at least one romantic love story and "the goal is to make you laugh at least as much as the goal is to make you cry." Even if you quibble with his definition, it's a concise formula and remains consistent.

Meslow's book is organized around 16 rom-coms that he believes represent notable junctures in the genre's modern history. His narrative begins with 1989's "When Harry Met Sally" and runs through 2018's "To All the Boys I've Loved Before." Though he acknowledges many other rom-coms along the way, some readers will be disappointed that favorites are glossed over or not mentioned at all.

Each chapter contains in-depth breakdowns of each movie's development process, creative choices and impact on rom-com lore. In each chapter, Meslow peppers shorter anecdotes in boxes with their own titles and fonts. They tend to break up the flow and force the reader to backtrack, but they generally feature something interesting.

In between each chapter is an essay about a specific actor or two who has contributed significantly to the rom-com landscape. They include tributes to and interviews with folks ranging from Hugh Grant to Drew Barrymore to Mindy Kaling. The sidebars usually only take up a few pages and add yet another enjoyable element to an entertaining and enlightening read.

There's a clear methodology behind the movies Meslow chose for this project. He uses 1990's "Pretty Woman" as an example of the link between rom-coms and fairy tales, 1994's "Four Weddings and a Funeral" to illustrate a rom-com that doesn't "reflexively focus on the lighter side of the circle of life," and "There's Something About Mary" and "Knocked Up" as standard-bearers of the "raunch-com."

Hollywood's view of rom-coms has ebbed and flowed with the times. Meslow explains how the genre went from women-centered films in the 1990s to the Apatow era of R-rated rom-coms that focused more on its male leads in the 2000s. The 2010s rom-com lull was quickly followed by the runaway success of "Crazy Rich Asians" and Netflix ushering in the age of "the rom-com franchise."

Although he undoubtedly loves these movies, the author expresses his displeasure with how homogenous  both in terms of race and class  the genre has become. In his essay on Will Smith, Meslow describes Hollywood and rom-coms as "an industry and a genre that defaults to whiteness." He also chastises studios for not doing more for Black moviegoers after 1995's "Waiting to Exhale" proved there was an audience for such films.

One of the more fascinating celebrity interviews Meslow includes is with "Knocked Up" star Katherine Heigl, who candidly discusses how difficult it has been to shake off the bad reputation she gained after daring to criticize that movie's male-dominated perspective. It serves as a great reminder that the real world is often far messier than the fantasy lives depicted in rom-coms.

Even at its most serious, though, "From Hollywood with Love" is still a relatively light affair and a quick read for film enthusiasts. Like most rom-coms, it ends on a hopeful note, that the genre "seems to have an unusually bright future on the horizon" thanks to its resurgence in the streaming era.

If you already enjoy settling in at night with a glass of wine and your favorite rom-com, this book will evoke the same sensation of fun escapism. Who knows if Meslow did that on purpose or if it was just a happy accident.

Either way, I'll have what he's having.

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John Roberts is heading a Supreme Court in crisis. The chief justice has already ordered an investigation into the unprecedented leak this week of a draft of a major abortion opinion. What comes next could further test Roberts leadership of a court. The addition of three conservative justices during Donald Trumps presidency means there are now five conservative justices to Roberts right who no longer need his vote, and perhaps his moderating influence, to prevail in a case. The abortion decision could be another example of that, with the courts other conservatives prepared to go further than Roberts. He's said repeatedly that he prefers decisions where the court comes to a broad agreement on narrow grounds.
WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Two methane explosions at a coal mine in southern Poland killed five people and injured more than 20 early Wednesday, the Polish prime minister said. Seven others were missing.

The first blast took place shortly after midnight about 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) under the surface at the Pniowek mine in Pawlowice, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters outside the mine's office building.

Morawiecki said a rescue operation was launched immediately, but a second explosion occurred about three hours after the first, and communication was lost with some of the rescuers.

The operation was suspended due to the resulting fire and dangerous conditions. Experts were evaluating the possibility of resuming the rescue mission.

The mine, close to the Czech border, is operated by the Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa, or JSW, mining company. Prosecutors have opened an investigation.

More than 20 people, including rescuers, were hospitalized with severe burns, the prime minister said. Doctors at the Siemianowice Slaskie hospital, which specializes in treating burns and victims of mining accidents, said some of the patients have life-threatening injuries, including burns to their lungs and large areas of their bodies.

Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said that one of the 5 dead had been among the 11 injured who were brought to the Siemianowice hospital in most serious condition. Other injured people were taken to other hospitals in the region.

Rescue workers were are among the victims of the explosions, Morawiecki said.

A tragedy happened here today, he said as he offered sympathy to the families and stressed the dangerous nature of coal mining work.

Poland relies on its own and imported coal for almost 70% of its energy, drawing criticism from the European Union and environmental organizations concerned about CO2 emissions and climate change.

Most coal mines are located in the southern Silesia region. Many are at risk of explosions from the sudden release of methane.

The government recently announced it would end coal imports from Russia by May. The action is part of Poland's drive to wean off dependence on Russian energy sources, but also comes in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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SIOUX CITY -- Siouxland Habitat for Humanity is kicking off its second annual "Habitats for Habitat" fundraiser on Thursday.

This online auction will last until 1 p.m. April 30, with all proceeds going back to fund the building in Siouxland.

This year, some of the "habitats" up for auction, include an outdoor gazebo, a kid's playhouse, storage shed, lots of birdhouses and more. In a new addition to the auction, there is a "For Your Habitat" section featuring items for inside your home, including handcrafted charcuterie boards, refurbished furniture, a beautiful quilt, stylish decor pieces and more.

In total, there are 40 items in this year's auction.

Interested bidders can view the items in-person at either the Siouxland Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 1150 Tri-View Ave., in Sioux City, or at the Centre Mall, 251 N. Main St., in Sioux Center, Iowa. All bids will be placed online, with a link available at siouxlandhabitat.org.

"We had a lot of great feedback from last year's fundraiser, so we knew it was absolutely something we wanted to bring back this year," said executive director Anne Holmes. "I think there is something for everyone in this year's auction."

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ANKARA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that his country will continue to support the Palestinian cause even as the government is developing ties with Israel.

"The steps we take for our political-economic relations with Israel ... are different" from the Palestinian cause, Erdogan told his lawmakers at parliament.

Turkey will not abandon its support for Palestinians because of its political, cultural and economic relations with Israel, he explained.

"This does not mean that we will turn a blind eye to the occupation in Jerusalem and other Palestinian territories," the Turkish president said.

The effective way to defend the Palestinian cause is to have a "reasonable, consistent and balanced" relationship with Israel, Erdogan added.

The tension between Israelis and Palestinians has flared up in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the past weeks, especially when the Jewish festival of Passover began on Friday during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In a phone call with his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog on Tuesday, Erdogan urged Herzog not to allow "provocations and threats" against the status and spirituality of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, according to a Twitter post by Erdogan.

Turkey and Israel have been trying to mend ties in the past few months.

The relations between the two countries were strained in 2010 when a Turkish-led flotilla attempting to break Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip clashed with Israeli forces, leaving 10 Turks on board killed.

In a more recent spat in 2018, Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador after Israeli forces killed Palestinians during protests on the Gaza border against the opening of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem. 
SAC CITY, Iowa -- A third man has been arrested and charged in connection with a string of burglaries at rural Sac County homes.

James Becker, 33, of Wall Lake, Iowa, was arrested Saturday at his home and booked into the Sac County Jail on charges of ongoing criminal conduct and two counts of third-degree burglary. His bond was set at $65,000.

According to court documents, Becker participated in burglaries and thefts at three locations from Dec. 1 through March 4. Property stolen from one of the houses was found in his room at John Bogue's home. Becker is accused of stealing copper piping and wiring and other household items.

Becker also had an outstanding warrant for possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, failure to affix a drug tax stamp and possession in a drug-free zone. He also was wanted in Boone County for a probation violation.

John Bogue, 34, and Nick Bogue, 41, both of Lake View, Iowa, were arrested last week and charged with burglarizing the homes and setting a fire that destroyed a house and two outbuildings. Authorities executing search warrants at properties owned by the two men found property, copper wiring and tubing that had been reported stolen. Video of the fire also was found on Nick Bogue's phone, court documents said.

Kennedie Ford, 26, of Lake City, Iowa, was previously arrested in connection with at least three of the burglaries. She has pleaded not guilty to ongoing criminal conduct, criminal mischief and several counts of burglary and theft.

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A jury in January found Matthew Carter, 31, guilty of one count of possession of child pornography. Carter was ordered to pay $13,000 in restitution and must serve five years on supervised release after completing his prison sentence.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, while Carter was jailed in January 2021, he called his father and directed him to retrieve some property that Carter had hidden above the ceiling tile in his bathroom. An officer listening to the call went to Carters home and found a computer hard drive above the ceiling tile. A forensic examination of the drive revealed 60 video files containing child pornography.
CARROLL -- On Saturday, Randy Feenstra, the Republican Congressional representative, will be serving breakfast with former Vice President Mike Pence to convention delegates for Iowa's Fourth District.

According to a press release, the party convention itself starts at 10 a.m. at Carroll High School (2809 N. Grant Road) with the breakfast being served at 9:30 a.m.

"We are excited to welcome Vice President Pence back to Northwest Iowa for the 4th District Convention," Feenstra was quoted as saying in the release. "As he likes to say: Hes a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican - in that order. Those values represent the fabric of the folks of the 4th District, and I am eager to host him in Carroll to advance our conservative vision for Iowa and America."

In that same release, Pence was then quoted as saying: "Congressman Randy Feenstra has been a champion for Iowa, his district, and the conservative movement." Pence previously appeared at Feenstra's Family Picnic in Sioux Center in 2021 and has endorsed the former state senator from Hull's re-election bid.

For the 2022 campaign, Feenstra is set to take on Ryan Melton, a Nevada Democrat, and Bryan Jack Holder, a libertarian from Council Bluffs. Melton, an Iowa State University graduate, works at Nationwide in Des Moines. Holder ran as a Libertarian candidate in 2020 in Iowa's 3rd congressional district, finishing with 3.4% of the vote in a race in which Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne narrowly defeated Republican David Young.

Feenstra won his first U.S. House term in 2020 in a landslide against Sioux City Democrat J.D. Scholten in a staunchly Republican district. Feenstra advanced after beating longtime incumbent Steve King in a crowded GOP primary. Scholten, who narrowly lost to King in the 4th District race in 2018, is running this year for a state House District seat.

Jared McNett is an online editor and reporter for the Sioux City Journal. You can reach him at 712-293-4234 and follow him on Twitter @TwoHeadedBoy98.

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SIOUX CITY -- Students from 17 Siouxland schools had a chance to get a crash course from Iowa's longest-serving U.S. senator and a federal judge about the judicial system.

On Wednesday morning, Sen. Chuck Grassley and Chief U.S. District Judge Leonard Strand talked to around 75 students gathered in a third floor courtroom of the Northern District about the ins and outs of the nominating process, what daily work is like and how the courts have changed in their lifetimes.

The "Federal Judiciary Youth Summit" was the third event since Grassley started it in 2018, and the first held in Sioux City. The ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee started off the event by telling the people gathered he had a hand in getting Strand into his judgeship and that he had to give a lot of thought to it.

"Were talking about a lifetime appointment, its very important you give cost to that," Grassley said.

Process, work, change

According to Grassley, when Democrat Tom Harkin was still his Iowa colleague in the Senate he would defer to Harkin on recommendations for a possible appointment if the sitting president was a Democrat. If it was a Republican president, Harkin would defer to Grassley's suggestion.

"We might send three names to the president of the United States and let the president pick from those three names," Grassley said. He then noted he had just recently made a recommendation to President Joe Biden regarding a judicial vacancy in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Biden nominated Judge Stephen Henley Locher of Mason City, who will have a confirmation vote in the Senate.

When it comes time to interviews for federal positions, Strand said the questions get more to qualifications.

"I didnt ever get the sense that they were trying to screen my political views," he said. Grassley then added: "We want a judge who is going to leave their personal views and political views out of making a decisionThats the way it should be."

During his own time before the students, who came from as far away as Algona, Strand, a Sioux City West graduate, shared his early hopes about getting into the legal profession.

"I knew early on that I wanted to be a lawyer and I dont know whytheres no reason to think that I would be a judge in this building," Strand, the son of a Sioux City firefighter and a former Younkers employee, said.

As for what his work entails, Strand says he hears a lot of criminal cases which keep his office busy.

"Its a busy job but a fantastic job and I appreciate that I have the opportunity to do it," Strand said.

Over the course of his time in the profession, Strand told students he hasn't noticed many major changes in the way things are done. Grassley's opinion, which focused on the Supreme Court, veered from Strand's response.

"The Supreme Court, maybe 25 years ago, said that were going to give great discretion on the interpretation of law to various executive branch agenciesI think the courts made the wrong decision there," Grassley said in reference to what's known as "Chevron deference."

Q&A

Once the main event had wrapped, Grassley took additional questions from local media which included one about whether or not the courts have become more partisan.

"You might accuse me of being naive but I think it's overblown," Grassley said. "Whether they're a Democrat justice on the Supreme court, or a Republican, appointed by a Republican president, I think they're doing the job just the way they should do it."

At the tail-end of the back-and-forth, Grassley touted the "Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act" he's worked on with Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). Grassley suggested the current system makes it difficult for Midwestern cattle feeders to negotiate prices on a daily basis and said the bill he's pushing would make contract prices more known.

"We want to be able to get a fair price for the farmer," he said.

Jared McNett is an online editor and reporter for the Sioux City Journal. You can reach him at 712-293-4234 and follow him on Twitter @TwoHeadedBoy98.

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DES MOINES -- On Thursday, Siouxland orthopedic surgeon Dr. Steven Meyer will be recognized by the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame, as a part of its 2022 class, for a quarter-century's work as the founder of Siouxland Tanzania Educational and Medical Ministries.

For the ceremony, Meyer, who also works with MercyOne, will be inducted by Lt. Governor Adam Gregg at the Iowa State Capitol building at 2:30 p.m. along with seven other individuals and the "VaxDSM" project.

"I dont do what I do to get awards or pats on the back, I just get so much joy from seeing peoples lives change through education and operation," Meyer said over the phone on Tuesday afternoon. "It means a lot to be recognized by your peers and I wouldnt want to live anywhere else in the whole world."

STEMM, an interdenominational Christian ministry, offers medical, educational, spiritual and humanitarian assistance to children in need. It was founded in 1996 and organized in 1997 by Meyer, Rev. Jon Gerdts, Mike Boose, Lazaro Nyalandu and Dana Meyer, who led a group of 10 Siouxland residents on the first trip to Tanzania in 1997.

Meyer has said previously STEMM provides each child up to $500 to cover the costs of transportation to and from school, school uniforms, test fees and more. He's also said that STEMM has mentorship and leadership clubs in 28 schools in the country and has sent more than 12,00 kids to high school and college. In 2021, a student mentored by STEMM, graduated from high school with the top academic score in the entire East African country.

"It is through this support my life changed. STEMM gave me an opportunity and hope for my future," Leocadia Mbukilo Kayandakamo wrote in a letter provided to The Journal at the time.

In 2017, 35 people were killed in a school bus crash near Karatu, Tanzania. Three children survived the crash and were flown to Sioux City where CNOS doctors operated on them at MercyOne Medical Center. The children, nicknamed "Miracle Kids," were able to return to their homes in three months. They have since graduated from high school, according Meyer. In June, Meyer said the Miracle Kids are returning to Sioux City and going to school at Briar Cliff.

With the 25th anniversary of STEMM, Meyer said the organization is looking to raise $2.5 million for an endowment that would work to support the program well into the future. He said the plan is to get a hashtag campaign going to raise awareness, raise funds and get folks talking about the work that's been done and how's it impacted people.

Jared McNett is an online editor and reporter for the Sioux City Journal. You can reach him at 712-293-4234 and follow him on Twitter @TwoHeadedBoy98.

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Here's a look at a few of the trending topics for today, April 19.

NJ Catholic diocese

A New Jersey Catholic diocese has agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle claims involving clergy sex abuse with some 300 alleged victims in one of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic church in the United States.

The agreement between the Diocese of Camden, which encompasses six counties in southern New Jersey on the outskirts of Philadelphia, and plaintiffs was filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Camden on Tuesday.

The settlement must still go before a U.S. bankruptcy judge. Find out more here:

Blac Chyna

A jury has been seated and opening statements are set to begin Tuesday afternoon in a trial that pits model and former reality television star Blac Chyna against the Kardashian family, who she alleges destroyed her TV career.

After a selection process that saw many prospective jurors air their disdain for the Kardashians and the world of reality television, the two sides settled on a panel of eight men and eight women.

Kris Jenner and her daughters Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, are the defendants in the case. All were in court Monday and Tuesday, and all are expected to take the stand. Read the details here:

Johnny Depp

Actor Johnny Depp told jurors Tuesday that he felt compelled to sue his ex-wife Amber Heard for libel out of an obsession for the truth after she accused him of domestic violence.

My goal is the truth because it killed me that all these people I had met over the years ... that these people would think that I was a fraud, he said.

Depp flatly denied ever hitting Heard, calling the physical and sexual assault allegations against him disturbing, heinous and not based in any species of truth. Read more here:

Earth Day

Earth Day falls on April 22, which also coincides with National Parks Week (April 16-24). If youre not out there experiencing all that our national parks have to offer, there are still ways to explore and learn from the comfort of your home, with a variety of streaming programming celebrating our national parks, offering education about our natural world and urgently calling for action to preserve life on planet Earth. Read some suggestions here:

Travel mask mandate

A federal judges decision Monday to throw out a mask requirement on public transportation did away with the last major vestige of federal pandemic rules and led to a mishmash of new locally created rules that reflected the nation's ongoing division over how to battle the virus.

Major airlines and airports in places like Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City quickly switched to a mask-optional policy. New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Connecticut continued to require them on mass transit. But a host of other cities ditched their mandates, even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continued to recommend masking on transportation. Read on:

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Russia pours in more troops and presses attack in the east

KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russia assaulted cities and towns along a boomerang-shaped front hundreds of miles long and poured more troops into Ukraine on Tuesday in a potentially pivotal battle for control of the country's eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.

If successful, the Russian offensive in what is known as the Donbas would essentially slice Ukraine in two and give President Vladimir Putin a badly needed victory following the failed attempt by Moscow's forces to storm the capital, Kyiv, and heavier-than-expected casualties nearly two months into the war.

The eastern cities of Kharkiv and Kramatorsk came under deadly attack. Russia also said it struck areas around Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro west of the Donbas with missiles. Multiple explosions were heard early Wednesday in the southern city of Mykolaiv, the regional governor said. A hospital was reported shelled earlier in the nearby town of Bashtanka.

In Mariupol, the now-devastated port city in the Donbas, Ukrainian troops said the Russian military dropped heavy bombs to flatten what was left of a sprawling steel plant and hit a hospital where hundreds were staying.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Moscow's forces bombarded numerous Ukrainian military sites, including troop concentrations and missile-warhead storage depots, in or near several cities or villages. Those claims could not be independently verified.

EXPLAINER: How Russia's eastern push in Ukraine may unfold

Russia's massive, new offensive in eastern Ukraine reflects Moscow's hope to reverse its battlefield fortunes after a catastrophic seven weeks of war.

Russian forces have sharply intensified artillery barrages and airstrikes on Ukrainian positions in the industrial heartland known as the Donbas.

A look at the war in Ukraine so far:

A FALTERING START

Russian troops rolled to the outskirts of the capital of Kyiv days after invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, but the offensive was quickly stymied by staunch resistance.

Feds will appeal mask ruling only if mandate still needed

The Justice Department said Tuesday it will not appeal a federal district judges ruling that ended the nations federal mask mandate on public transit unless the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the requirement is still necessary.

In a statement released a day after a Florida judge ended the sweeping mandate, which required face coverings on planes and trains and in transit hubs, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said officials believe that the federal mask order was a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. He said it was an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve.

Coley said the CDC had said it would continue to assess public health conditions, and if the agency determined a mandate was necessary for public health, the Justice Department would file an appeal.

As of Tuesday, the agency hadnt made a determination, officials said.

The federal judge's ruling did away with the last major vestige of federal pandemic rules and led to a mishmash of new locally created rules that reflected the nations ongoing divisions over how to battle the virus.

Moving beyond masks: Biden toils to put pandemic behind him

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Bidens administration has been working for months to prepare people to rethink their personal risk calculations as the nation gets used to the idea of living with an endemic COVID-19.

But that measured approach disappeared abruptly when a federal judge on Monday threw out the federal requirement to mask up when using mass transit. The ruling added to the urgency of the messaging challenge as the administration tries to move past the virus in the lead-up to midterm elections.

After the government last month eased indoor mask-wearing guidelines for the vast majority of Americans  even in schools  masking on planes was one of the last redoubts of the national COVID-19 restrictions. Now, as the policy falls, the administration turns to accelerating its efforts to provide the best advice for millions making their own personal safety decisions in the still-dangerous pandemic.

It's both a public health imperative and an important shift in emphasis for Biden's political future.

There is an opportunity now, instead of saying this is a disappointing ruling, they could say this is a good time to have a conversation about how we move forward in this pandemic about risk calculation, said Dr. Amesh Adalja an infectious disease physician and a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Massive flames force evacuation of hundreds of Arizona homes

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP)  Winds kicked up a towering wall of flames in rural northern Arizona on Tuesday, tearing through two-dozen structures and forcing the evacuation of more than 700 homes.

Coconino County declared an emergency Tuesday as the fast-moving wildfire outside of the Northern Arizona University college town of Flagstaff ballooned to over 9 square miles (23 square kilometers) Tuesday, Sheriff Jim Driscoll said during a news conference.

County officials said 766 homes and 1,000 animals have been evacuated. More than 2,000 people live in the area, officials said.

A couple of hundred homes are still threatened as smoke billowed into the air in an all-too-familiar scene. Residents recalled scrambling to pack their bags and flee a dozen years ago during a much-larger wildfire burned in the same area.

Driscoll said the sheriffs office got a call saying a man was trapped in his house, but that firefighters couldnt get to him. They do not know if he survived.

For Russian diplomats, disinformation is part of the job

As governments and social media companies have moved to suppress Russia's state media and the disinformation it spreads about the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin's diplomats are stepping up to do the dirty work.

Russian embassies and consulates around the world are prolifically using Facebook, Twitter and other platforms to deflect blame for atrocities while seeking to undermine the international coalition supporting Ukraine.

Tech companies have responded by adding more labels to Russia's diplomatic accounts and by removing the accounts from its recommendations and search results. But the accounts are still active and are disseminating disinformation and propaganda in nearly every nation, in part because their diplomatic status gives them an added layer of protection from moderation.

With hundreds of social media accounts on every continent, Russias diplomatic corps acts as a global network for propaganda, in which the same claims can be recycled and tweaked for different audiences in different nations. And, so far, steps to substantially curtail that effort have fallen short.

Each week since the beginning of the war these diplomats have posted thousands of times, gaining more than a million engagements on Twitter per week," said Marcel Schliebs, a disinformation researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University. He has tracked more than 300 social media accounts linked to Russian embassies, consulates and diplomatic groups.

Energy shift creates opening for 'world's largest batteries'

LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP)  Sprawled like a gigantic swimming pool atop a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan is an asphalt-and-clay pond holding enough water to produce electricity for 1.6 million households.

It's part of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant, which uses simple technology: Water is piped from a lower reservoir  the lake, in this case  to an upper one, then released downhill through supersized turbines.

Supporters call these systems the world's largest batteries" because they hold vast amounts of potential energy for use when needed for the power grid.

The hydropower industry considers pumped storage the best answer to a question hovering over the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy to address climate change: where to get power when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing.

I wish we could build 10 more of these. I love 'em," Eric Gustad, community affairs manager for Consumers Energy, said during a tour of the Ludington facility.

Johnny Depp on stand: Ex-wife Heard's allegations 'heinous'

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP)  Actor Johnny Depp told jurors Tuesday that he felt compelled to sue his ex-wife Amber Heard for libel out of an obsession for the truth after she accused him of domestic violence.

My goal is the truth because it killed me that all these people I had met over the years ... that these people would think that I was a fraud, he said.

Depp flatly denied ever hitting Heard, calling the physical and sexual assault allegations against him disturbing, heinous and not based in any species of truth.

Nothing of the kind ever happened, Depp said in court.

Alluding to the fall his career has taken since Heard levied abuse allegations against him, the former Pirates of the Caribbean star said, its been six years of trying times. Its very strange when one day youre Cinderella, so to speak, and then in 0.6 seconds youre Quasimodo.

Netflix shares drop 25% after service loses 200K subscribers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  Netflix suffered its first subscriber loss in more than a decade, causing its shares to plunge 25% in extended trading amid concerns that the pioneering streaming service may have already seen its best days.

The companys customer base fell by 200,000 subscribers during the January-March period, according to its quarterly earnings report released Tuesday. It's the first time that Netflix's subscribers have fallen since the streaming service became available throughout most of the world outside of China six years ago. The drop this year stemmed in part from Netflix's decision to withdraw from Russia to protest the war against Ukraine, resulting in a loss of 700,000 subscribers.

Netflix acknowledged its problems are deep rooted by projecting a loss of another 2 million subscribers during the April-June period.

If the stock drop extends into Wednesdays regular trading session, Netflix shares will have lost more than half of their value so far this year  wiping out about $150 billion in shareholder wealth in less than four months.

Netflix is hoping to reverse the tide by taking steps it has previously resisted, including blocking the sharing of accounts and introducing a lower-priced  and ad-supported  version of its service.

Dede Robertson, wife of religious broadcaster, dies at 94

NORFOLK, Va. (AP)  Dede Robertson, the wife of religious broadcaster Pat Robertson and a founding board member of the Christian Broadcasting Network, died Tuesday at her home in Virginia Beach, the network said in a statement.

Robertson was 94. The statement did not provide her cause of death.

Robertson became a born-again Christian several months after her husband found his faith. The couple, who met at Yale University in 1952, embarked on a journey that included living in a roach-infested commune in New York before Pat Robertson bought a tiny television station in Virginia that would become the Christian Broadcasting Network.

He later ran for president of the United States in 1988, with his wife campaigning by his side.

Mom was the glue that held the Robertson family together," said Gordon Robertson, one of her four children, and the president and CEO of CBN. She was always working behind the scenes. If it werent for Mom, there wouldnt be a CBN.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Russia pours in more troops and presses attack in the east

KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russia is attacking cities and towns in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland and pouring more forces into the country. It intensified assaults along a front hundreds of miles long Tuesday in what officials on both sides described as a new phase of the war. After a Russian push to overrun the capital failed, the Kremlin declared that its main goal was the capture of the eastern Donbas region. Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces there for eight years. If successful, that offensive would give President Vladimir Putin a vital piece of Ukraine and a badly needed victory in the now 7-week-old war.

EXPLAINER: How Russia's eastern push in Ukraine may unfold

Russias new offensive in eastern Ukraine reflects Moscows hope to reverse its battlefield fortunes after a catastrophic seven weeks of war. Russian forces have intensified artillery barrages and airstrikes on Ukrainian positions in the industrial heartland known as the Donbas. Ukrainian officials said the push began Monday, with Russia trying to press the offensive along an arc-shaped front line for more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) from the northeast to the southeast. In what appeared to be a sharp increase in bombardment Tuesday, Russia said that in the last 24 hours, it struck 60 Ukrainian military facilities with its warplanes and 1,260 with its artillery, while attacking 1,214 troop concentrations. The claims could not be independently confirmed.

Shanghai allows 4 million out of homes as virus rules ease

BEIJING (AP)  A health official says 4 million more people in Shanghai have been allowed to leave their homes as coronavirus quarantine rules ease. The official, Wu Ganyu, said a total of almost 12 million people have been allowed to leave their homes as Chinas largest tries to contain virus outbreaks. Authorities confined most of Shanghais 25 million people to their homes starting March 28 following a surge in infections. Chinas case numbers in its latest infection surge are relatively low, but the ruling Communist Party is enforcing a zero-COVID strategy that has shut down major cities to isolate every case.

Feds will appeal mask ruling only if mandate still needed

The Justice Department says it will not appeal a federal district judges ruling that ended the nations federal mask mandate on public transit unless the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the requirement is still necessary. A judge in Florida on Monday ended the sweeping mandate, which required face coverings on planes and trains and in transit hubs. Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said Tuesday that officials believe the federal mask order was a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. The CDC continues to assess public health conditions, and if the agency determines a mandate is necessary, the Justice Department will file an appeal.

Moving beyond masks: Biden toils to put pandemic behind him

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Bidens administration has been working for months to prepare people to rethink their personal risk calculations as the nation gets used to the idea of living with an endemic COVID-19. That measured approach disappeared abruptly after a federal judge threw out a federal requirement to mask up when using mass transit. The ruling adds to the administrations messaging challenges as it tries to move past the virus in the leadup to midterm elections. The Biden administration is accelerating its efforts to provide the best advice for millions making their own personal safety decisions on the still-dangerous pandemic. Its both a public health imperative and an important shift in emphasis for Bidens political future.

For Russian diplomats, disinformation is part of the job

Governments and social media companies have moved to restrict the ability of Russia's state media to spread disinformation about the war in Ukraine. That has prompted the Kremlin's diplomats to step up to do the dirty work. Russian embassies around the world control hundreds of accounts on platforms including Facebook and Twitter. Those two companies have added labels to their posts and tried to limit their reach. But research shows these diplomatic accounts are still disseminating pro-Russian propaganda and conspiracy theories, including ones suggesting Russia has been framed for recent attacks that killed civilians. The Russian Embassy in the U.S. hasn't returned a message seeking comment.

Energy shift creates opening for 'world's largest batteries'

LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP)  A question is hovering over the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy such as wind and solar: What happens when the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine? The hydropower industry says the answer is developing more pumped storage plants. They function like giant batteries, pumping water from a lower reservoir to an upper one. When power is needed, the water is released downhill through turbines. The U.S. has 43 pumped storage plants but only one has been built since the 1990s. Cost, regulatory and logistical problems have hampered new construction. The industry is lobbying for tax breaks and streamlined permitting. But some say pumped storage causes environmental problems and better technologies may emerge.

Johnny Depp on stand: Ex-wife Heard's allegations 'heinous'

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP)  Actor Johnny Depp told jurors that he felt compelled to sue his ex-wife Amber Heard for libel out of an obsession for the truth after she accused him of physical and sexual assault. Depp on Tuesday flatly denied ever hitting Heard, calling the allegations against him disturbing, heinous and not based in any species of truth. Depp says Heard falsely accused him of domestic abuse when she wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post. The trial in Fairfax, Virginia, began last week but, prior to Tuesday afternoon, the jury had only seen Depp sitting silently with his lawyers. Heard is scheduled to take the stand later in the six-week trial.

Netflix shares drop 25% after service loses 200K subscribers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  Netflix suffered its first subscriber loss in more than a decade, causing its shares to plunge 25% in extended trading amid concerns that the pioneering streaming service may have already seen its best days. The companys customer base fell by 200,000 subscribers during the January-March period, and it now expects to lose another 2 million subscribers during the April-June period. Netflix is hoping to reverse the tide by taking steps it has previously resisted, including blocking the sharing of accounts and introducing a lower-priced  and ad-supported  version of its service.

Massive flames force evacuation of hundreds of Arizona homes

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP)  Winds kicked up a towering wall of flames in rural northern Arizona on Tuesday, tearing through two-dozen structures and forcing the evacuation of more than 700 homes. Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll said during a news conference that the county declared an emergency Tuesday as the fast-moving wildfire outside of Flagstaff ballooned to over 9 square miles. Forest Service officials say flame lengths are as high as 100 feet. County officials said 766 homes and 1,000 animals have been evacuated. A couple of hundred homes are still threatened as smoke billowed into the air in an all-too-familiar scene. Elsewhere in Arizona, firefighters battled a wildfire in a sparsely populated area of the Prescott National Forest south of Prescott.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday held a conversation with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan over phone.

During the phone conversation, Wang said that China and Armenia are good friends of mutual trust and good partners of sincere cooperation.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 30 years ago, the relations between the two countries have stood the test of changing international situation and always kept to the right direction, with fruitful results achieved, Wang said.

The Chinese side is satisfied with the outcomes of bilateral cooperation and full of confidence in the prospect of bilateral relations, he said.

The two sides should take the opportunity of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties to continue to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and push forward the sustained development of bilateral relations, Wang said.

China will, as always, respect Armenia's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and support the development path chosen by the Armenian people in light of their national conditions, Wang said.

China believes that Armenia will continue to firmly support China's position on issues concerning China's core interests, adhere to the one-China policy and oppose any form of "Taiwan independence," Wang said.

China welcomes Armenia's early accession to the Global Development Initiative, Wang added.

Mirzoyan congratulated on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, and appreciated China's firm support for Armenia's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

The Armenian foreign minister stressed that Armenia will continue to pursue the one-China policy and fully support China in safeguarding its core interests.

Armenia attaches great importance to developing relations with China, Mirzoyan said, noting that Armenia is ready to deepen exchanges and cooperation with China in all areas, strengthen communication and coordination on international and regional affairs and push for greater progress in bilateral relations. 
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russian forces tightened the noose around the defenders holed up Wednesday in a mammoth steel plant that represented the last known Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol, as a fighter apparently on the inside pleaded on a video for help: We may have only a few days or hours left.

With the holdouts coming under punishing new bombing attacks, another attempt to evacuate civilians trapped in the pulverized port city failed because of continued fighting.

Meanwhile, the number of people fleeing the country topped 5 million, the Kremlin said it submitted a draft of its demands for ending the war, and the West raced to supply Ukraine with heavier weapons to counter the Russians' new drive to seize the industrial east.

With global tensions running high, Russia reported the first successful test launch of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sarmat. President Vladimir Putin boasted it can overcome any missile defense system and make those who threaten Russia think twice," and the head of the Russian state aerospace agency called the launch out of northern Russia a present to NATO.

The Pentagon described the test as routine and said it wasn't considered a threat.

On the battlefield, Ukraine said Moscow continued to mount assaults across the east, probing for weak points in Ukrainian defensive lines. Russia said it launched hundreds of missile and air attacks on targets that included concentrations of troops and vehicles.

The Kremlin's stated goal is the capture of the Donbas, the mostly Russian-speaking eastern region that is home to coal mines, metal plants and heavy-equipment factories. Detaching it would give Putin a badly needed victory two months into the war, after the botched attempt to storm the capital, Kyiv.

The Luhansk governor said Russian forces now control 80% of his region, which is one of two that make up the Donbas. Before Russia invaded on Feb. 24, the Kyiv government controlled 60% of the Luhansk region.

Gov. Serhiy Haidai said the Russians, after seizing the small city of Kreminna, are now threatening the cities of Rubizhne and Popasna. He urged all residents to evacuate immediately.

The occupiers control only parts of these cities, unable to break through to the centers, Haidai said on the messaging app Telegram.

Analysts say the offensive in the east could devolve into a war of attrition as Russia runs up against Ukraine's most experienced, battle-hardened troops, who have fought pro-Moscow separatists in the Donbas for eight years.

Russia said it presented Ukraine with a draft document outlining its demands for ending the conflict  days after Putin said the talks were at a dead end.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the ball is in their court, were waiting for a response. He gave no details on the draft, and it was not clear when it was sent or if it offered anything new to the Ukrainians, who presented their own demands last month.

Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy said he had not seen or heard of the proposal, though one of his top advisers said the Ukrainian side was reviewing it.

Moscow has long demanded Ukraine drop any bid to join NATO. Ukraine has said it would agree to that in return for security guarantees from a number of other countries. Other sources of tension include the status of both the Crimean Peninsula, seized by Moscow in 2014, and eastern Ukraine, where the separatists have declared independent republics recognized by Russia.

In devastated Mariupol, Ukraine said the Russians dropped heavy bombs to flatten what was left of the sprawling Azvostal steel plant, believed to be the city's last pocket of resistance.

A few thousand Ukrainian troops, by the Russians estimate, remained in the plant and its labyrinth of tunnels and bunkers spread out across about 11 square kilometers (4 square miles). Zelenskyy said about 1,000 civilians were also trapped there.

A Ukrainian posted a video plea on Facebook urging world leaders to help evacuate people from the plant, saying, "We have more than 500 wounded soldiers and hundreds of civilians with us, including women and children.

The officer, who identified himself as Serhiy Volynskyy of the 36th Marine Brigade, said: This may be our last appeal. We may have only a few days or hours left." The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified.

The Russian side issued a new ultimatum to the defenders to surrender, but the Ukrainians have ignored all previous demands.

All told, more than 100,000 people were believed trapped with little if any food, water, medicine or heat in Mariupol, which had a pre-war population of over 400,000.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the latest effort to open a safe corridor for women, children and the elderly to escape failed because the Russians did not observe a cease-fire. Many previous such agreements have fallen apart because of continued fighting.

A Zelenskyy adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter that he and other Ukrainian negotiators were ready to hold talks without any conditions to save the lives of trapped Mariupol defenders and civilians. There was no immediate response from Russia.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned of horrors yet to be revealed in Mariupol, given the death and destruction left behind in Bucha, near Kyiv, after the Russians retreated.

We can only anticipate that when this tide also recedes from Mariupol, were going to see far worse, if thats possible to imagine, he said.

Mariupol holds strategic and symbolic value for both sides. The scale of suffering there has made it a worldwide focal point of the war. Mariupols fall would deprive Ukraine of a vital port, complete a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, and free up Russian troops to move elsewhere in the Donbas.

As Russia continued to funnel troops and equipment into the Donbas, Western nations rushed to boost the flow of military supplies to Kyiv for this new phase of the war, which is likely to involve trench warfare, long-range artillery attacks and tank battles across relatively open terrain.

U.S. President Joe Biden was set to announce plans Thursday to send more military aid to Ukraine, according to a U.S. official.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Biden will detail his plans to add to the roughly $2.6 billion in military assistance the administration has already approved. Canada and the Netherlands also said they would send more heavy weaponry.

Also, a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon's assessment of the war, said the training of Ukrainian personnel on American 155 mm howitzers has begun in a European country outside Ukraine, and the first of 18 promised such weapons began arriving on the continent.

Putin, meanwhile, boasted that the Sarmat missile has no equivalents in the world. The Sarmat is intended to eventually replace the Soviet-built missile code-named Satan by NATO as a major component of Russia's nuclear arsenal.

It will make those who, in the heat of frantic, aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country think twice, the Russian leader said.

Looking for a path to peace, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requested meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy in their capitals to discuss how to stop the fighting. The U.N. received no immediate response.

Associated Press journalists Mstyslav Chernov and Felipe Dana in Kharkiv, Ukraine; Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine; and Robert Burns and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report, as did other AP staff members around the world.

Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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LONDON (AP)  A British judge on Wednesday formally approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges. The case will now go to Britains interior minister for a decision, though the WikiLeaks founder still has legal avenues of appeal.

The order, which brings and end to the years'-long extradition battle closer, comes after the U.K. Supreme Court last month refused Assange permission to appeal against a lower courts ruling that he could be extradited.

District Judge Paul Goldspring issued the order in a brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court, as Assange watched by video link from Belmarsh Prison and his supporters rallied outside the courthouse, demanding he be freed.

Home Secretary Priti Patel will now decide whether to grant the extradition.

The move doesn't exhaust the legal options for Assange, who has sought for years to avoid a trial in the U.S. on charges related to WikiLeaks publication of a huge trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.

His lawyers have four weeks to make submissions to Patel, and can also seek to appeal to the High Court.

Assange lawyer Mark Summers told the court that the legal team had serious submissions to make.

The U.S. has asked British authorities to extradite Assange so he can stand trial on 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse. American prosecutors say Assange unlawfully helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.

Supporters and lawyers for Assange, 50, argue that he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment protections of freedom of speech for publishing documents that exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. They argue that his case is politically motivated.

A British district court judge had initially rejected a U.S. extradition request on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. U.S. authorities later provided assurances that the WikiLeaks founder wouldnt face the severe treatment that his lawyers said would put his physical and mental health at risk.

In December, the High Court overturned the lower courts decision, saying that the U.S. promises were enough to guarantee that Assange would be treated humanely. The Supreme Court in March rejected Assange's attempt to challenge that ruling.

Assanges lawyers say he could face up to 175 years in jail if he is convicted in the U.S., though American authorities have said the sentence was likely to be much lower than that.

Assange has been held at Britains high-security Belmarsh Prison in London since 2019, when he was arrested for skipping bail during a separate legal battle. Before that, he spent seven years inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault.

Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed.

Last month, Assange and his partner Stella Moris married in a prison ceremony.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday spoke with his Chinese counterpart for the first time since becoming Pentagon chief more than a year ago, breaking a communications impasse that American officials saw as increasingly dangerous amid concern that Beijing might provide military support for Russia's war in Ukraine.

Austin, who calls China the U.S. military's leading long-term challenge but has been forced to focus heavily on Russia this year, requested the telephone conversation with Gen. Wei Fenghe after months of failed effort to speak with Gen. Xu Qiliang, the highest ranking uniformed officer in the Communist Party military structure.

Austin wanted to talk to Xu because, as deputy chairman of the party's Central Military Commission, which controls the Peoples Liberation Army, Xu is more influential than Wei. But Beijing insisted on sticking to protocol and having Austin talk to Wei, who officially is his counterpart as defense minister but ranks below Xu in the hierarchy and has less military operational clout.

Austin's predecessors had typically spoken with Wei, mostly recently on Aug. 6, 2020, when then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper raised with him a U.S. request for greater transparency on the origins of COVID-19 and other issues.

Austin had no expectation of a major breakthrough on key issues with Wei when he made the call on a secure telephone link that was established by the Pentagon and China's Ministry of National Defense in 2008, according to a senior defense official who was involved in the arrangement and spoke on the condition of anonymity in advance of the call.

In a brief statement after the call, the Pentagon said Austin and Wei discussed U.S.-Chinese defense relations, regional security issues and Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. It offered no details.

The defense ministry in Beijing provided a slightly more detailed account. It said Wei expounded his solemn position on the Taiwan issue and stressed that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. It is a fact and reality that no one can change.

The two men exchanged views on maritime and air security issues, the ministry said, adding that Wei conveyed to Austin that China demands that the United States stop military provocations at sea and not use the Ukrainian issue to discredit, frame, threaten and pressure China.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported that Wei told Austin that China hopes to establish sound and stable relations. It quoted Wei as saying the United States should not underestimate China's determination and capability.

Austin intended the call, which lasted about 45 minutes, as a follow-up to President Joe Biden's video call with President Xi Jinping on March 18 in which he laid out stiff consequences the Chinese would face if they provided military or economic assistance for Russias war in Ukraine. The White House gave no indication that Biden received any assurances from the Chinese leader.

For years Washington has portrayed China as seeking to reshape the international order to better assert its national interests and to build enough military strength to eventually supplant the United States as the dominant power in Asia.

In Wednesday's phone call, Austin echoed Biden's messages on the importance of managing U.S.-Chinese strategic competition, including in the nuclear, space and cyber arenas, and improving crisis communications between the global powers, the senior defense official said.

Austin also raised U.S. concerns about what Washington views as Chinese military provocations against Taiwan, the island democracy that Beijing has insisted must ultimately be united with the Chinese mainland, the official said. He also expressed U.S. concerns about Chinese activities in the South China Sea and the East China Sea and raised U.S. worries about North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The long-strained U.S.-China relationship may have reached a new low with the Russian invasion. At times, Beijing has sought to distance itself from the conflict but avoided directly criticizing Moscow. At other moments, Beijings actions have been provocative, including amplifying unverified Russian claims that Ukraine ran chemical and biological weapons labs with U.S. support.

American officials have expressed concern at the prospect of a Moscow-Beijing alliance of authoritarian states. In February, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the friendship between their counties has no limits, although it remains to be seen whether the subsequent Russian invasion of Ukraine has cooled Xi's interest in closer ties.

The Biden administration's first high-level meeting with Chinese officials came in March 2021 when Secretary of State Anton Blinken and Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, met in Anchorage, Alaska, with their Chinese counterparts, who surprised their American hosts by complaining about a litany of issues.

Since then, there has been a succession of phone and video calls between Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi but relatively few in-person meetings. Those calls have been dominated largely by issues of the day including the situation in Afghanistan, Russias invasion of Ukraine, North Korea and Iran. Blinken has yet to visit China, and the most senior U.S. diplomat to travel to the country has been Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington and AP writer Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show the Chinese generals name is Fenghe, not Fenge.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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State-run media reports that Yemens internationally recognized presidential council has been sworn in in the southern port city of Aden. The swearing-in took place Tuesday before the parliament in a ceremony attended by foreign ambassadors and the U.S. and U.N. envoys to Yemen. Aden serves as the interim seat of the internationally recognized government since the Houthi rebels seized the capital of Sanaa in 2014, setting off Yemens long-running civil war. The presidential council was appointed earlier this month after former President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi stepped aside. It came amid concerted international and regional efforts to end the conflict.
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP)  Actor Johnny Depp scoffed at the notion during court testimony Wednesday that his constant quarrels with ex-wife Amber Heard would ever prompt him to hit her, and insisted on cross-examination that her allegations devastated his career.

Violence isn't necessary, Depp said from the stand during his libel lawsuit against Heard, his second day of testimony. Why would you hit someone to make them agree with you?

Heard has accused Depp of physically and sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions before and during their brief marriage. The former Pirates of the Caribbean star sued after Heard, who is also an actor, made an indirect reference to those accusations in an op-ed piece she wrote for The Washington Post.

Depp addressed Heard's accusations in detail Wednesday. Heard has said the first time she was assaulted was when Depp slapped her in 2013 after she made fun of a tattoo he had  one that used to say Winona Forever when he was dating the actress Winona Ryder that he altered to Wino Forever after they broke up.

It didn't happen, he said of the alleged assault. Why would I take such great offense to someone making fun of a tattoo on my body? That allegation never made any sense to me.

Later, he addressed an alleged assault on a private plane flight in 2014 from Boston to Los Angeles. Heard has said Depp became blackout intoxicated and assaulted her on the plane ride.

Depp testified he took two oxycodone pills  an opiate to which he admits he was addicted at the time  and locked himself in the plane bathroom and fell asleep to avoid her badgering.

Depp testified he drank only a glass of Champagne as he boarded the plane. But according to evidence introduced at a similar trial in England where Depp sued a British tabloid  a lawsuit he lost  Depp texted his friend, actor Paul Bettany, and referenced drinking half a bottle of whiskey, a thousand Red Bull vodkas and two bottles of Champagne before the flight.

Depp also discussed a violent argument in 2015  shortly after they were married  in Australia that resulted in the tip of his middle finger being cut off. He said Heard was irate that Depp's lawyers had asked her to sign a post-nuptial agreement.

He said she threw two vodka bottles at him, the second of which exploded where he had placed his hand on a basement bar, severing the finger to the point where bone was exposed.

I dont know what a nervous breakdown feels like, but thats probably the closest Ive ever been, he said.

Depp said he began to write on the walls in his own blood to recount lies in which he had caught Heard.

Depp told hospital doctors he had injured himself, and contemporaneous text messages introduced as evidence refer to Depp injuring himself. Depp testified he lied about the cause of the injury to protect her. Heard's lawyers have said the laws of physics don't support Depp's story and they will introduce evidence to prove that.

Depp also gave a graphic description of a final fight as the couple drifted toward divorce, accusing Heard and her friends of pretending that he was assaulting her. Soon after, Heard sought a restraining order and was photographed with marks on her face.

He testified that Heard was on the phone with a friend shouting, Stop hitting me Johnny! even though he was standing nowhere near her.

The fight had started as Depp said hed realized it was time for the couple to split. The argument intensified, he said, as Depp accused her of leaving human fecal matter on his side of the bed in the penthouse theyd shared. He said Heard kept denying it, blaming it on their small dogs, but he was convinced she was lying.

Depp met Heard on the 2011 film The Rum Diary. The two married in 2015 and she filed for divorce a year later.

Depp said things began to change in his marriage when he felt that he was suddenly just wrong about everything in Heards eyes.

Violence would often ensue, sometimes with a slap or a shove from Heard or his wife throwing a television remote control or a glass of wine in his face, Depp said.

There were times when I would just go and lock myself in the bathroom or a place where she couldnt get to, Depp said.

Depp said he used drugs and drank alcohol as a way to cope with Heards abuse and said she was also a heavy drinker. Depp said he at one point stopped drinking to try to save the relationship, but Heard refused to abstain.

Depp sued Heard after she wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post in which she referred to herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse.

She never mentioned Depp by name, but Depp's lawyers said it was a clear reference to accusations Heard made in 2016 when she sought a restraining order against him.

Depp said the accusations and the article contributed to an unfairly ruined reputation that made him a Hollywood pariah and cost him his role in the lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise.

He said he was pulled from the franchise just days after the Post piece ran. On cross-examination, Heard's lawyer pointed to evidence that Disney made that decision months before the article's publication.

Heard's lawyers say the article is accurate and doesn't defame him. They say Depp's ruined reputation is due to his own bad behavior.

Depp was cross-examined only briefly at the end of the day Wednesday. Cross-examination will continue Thursday.

Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  New Mexico workplace safety regulators on Wednesday issued the maximum possible fine of nearly $137,000 against a film production company for firearms safety failures on the set of Rust where actor and producer Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in October.

New Mexicos Occupational Health and Safety Bureau said Rust Movie Productions must pay $136,793, and distributed a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set prior to the fatal shooting. The bureau also documented gun safety complaints from crew members that went unheeded and said weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training.

What we had, based on our investigators' findings, was a set of obvious hazards to employees regarding the use of firearms and managements failure to act upon those obvious hazards, Bob Genoway, bureau chief for occupational safety, told The Associated Press.

At a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021, Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins inside a small church during setup for the filming of a scene when it went off, killing Hutchins and wounding the director, Joel Souza.

Baldwin said in a December interview with ABC News that he was pointing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction on the New Mexico set of the Western film when it went off without his pulling the trigger.

The new occupational safety report confirms that a large-caliber revolver was handed to Baldwin by an assistant director, David Halls, without consulting with on-set weapons specialists during or after the gun was loaded. Regulators note that Halls also served as safety coordinator and that he was present and witnessed two accidental discharges of rifles on set, and that he and other managers who knew of the misfires took no investigative, corrective or disciplinary action. Crew members expressed surprise and discomfort.

The Safety Coordinator was present on set and took no direct action to address safety concerns," the report states. Management was provided with multiple opportunities to take corrective actions and chose not to do so. As a result of these failures, Director Joel Souza and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were severely injured. Halyna Hutchins succumbed to her injuries.

Rust Movie Productions said through a spokesperson that it would dispute the findings and sanction.

While we appreciate OSHAs time and effort in its investigation, we disagree with its findings and plan to appeal," said Stefan Friedman. Any appeal would be heard initially by the state's occupational health and safety commission.

Baldwin issued a statement from his attorney, asserting that the safety investigation exonerates Mr. Baldwin."

An attorney for Halls was not immediately available.

The state fine applies to a film with a budget of about $7 million. Baldwin was assigned a salary of $250,000 as an actor and producer and may have put some of that money back into the production.

At least five lawsuits have been filed over the shooting, including a wrongful death suit brought by Hutchins family against Baldwin and the movies other producers. The lawsuit on behalf of widower Matt Hutchins and his 9-year-old son alleges a callous disregard in the face of safety complaints on the set.

James Kenney, secretary of the Environment Department that oversees occupational safety, said the agency dedicated 1,500 staff hours to its investigation, examined hundreds of documents and conducted at least a dozen interviews with cast and crew members.

Investigators found production managers placed tight limits on resources for a small team that controlled weapons on set and failed to address concerns about a shotgun left unattended twice.

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the daughter of a sharpshooter and consultant to film productions, was limited to eight paid days as an armorer to oversee weapons and training, and was assigned otherwise to lighter duties as a props assistant. As her time as an armorer ran out, Gutierrez Reed warned a manager and was rebuffed.

Gutierrez Reed is both a plaintiff and a defendant in lawsuits seeking damages in the fatal shooting. In a statement Wednesday, her attorney highlighted findings that the armorer was not provided adequate time or resources to conduct her job effectively.

Safety investigators also note that the production company did not develop a process to ensure live rounds of ammunition were not brought on set, in violation of industry safety protocols. Safety meetings were conducted, but not every day weapons were used, as required.

Kenney said the separate investigations into possible criminal charges are still underway. The Santa Fe County sheriff and local prosecutors had no immediate comment.

Kenney said his agency received no direct safety complaints from cast or crew prior to the fatal shooting, even though anonymity is offered.

This tragedy, this loss of life, it could have been prevented, and we want people to say something, he said.

Kenney was appointed in 2019 by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a staunch advocate for the film industry who increased a state cap in industry incentives shortly after taking office.

New Mexico competes with non-Hollywood production sites in states such as Georgia, Louisiana and New York. Film productions have flocked to New Mexico in recent years to seize on its diverse outdoor scenery, moderate costs and generous state incentives, including a rebate of between 25% and 35% of in-state spending for video production that helps filmmakers large and small underwrite their work.

This story has been updated to correct the state workplace safety fine to $136,793 instead of $139,793.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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WASILLA, Alaska  Sarah Palin isn't used to sharing the spotlight.

In the nearly 14 years since she burst onto the national political scene, the former Alaska governor has appeared on reality television programs, written books, spent time as a Fox News contributor, formed a political action committee in her name and been a rumored White House contender. She more recently revived her status as a conservative sensation with an ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit against The New York Times.

Now, the first Republican female vice presidential nominee is vying for what could be considered a less glamorous role: a member of the U.S. House.

Palin is among 48 candidates running for Alaska's lone House seat following the death last month of Republican Rep. Don Young, who'd held the job since 1973. If successful, Palin would be one of 435 members in a chamber where ambition runs deep but legislating is tough, in no small part because of the populist politics that took hold in the aftermath of the 2008 election.

Given those dynamics, it would be easy to dismiss Palin's candidacy as the latest headline-grabbing twist in an unconventional career. Some of her critics have sought to cast her as an opportunist seeking to bolster her brand. The opinion section of the website of Alaska's largest newspaper is dotted with letters to the editor urging Alaskans to reject her run. They remind readers she left the last major job she had in politics, as Alaska's governor, with about 16 months left in her term.

But in a recent interview with The Associated Press, Palin rejected such critiques. She insisted her commitment to Alaska has not wavered and those who suggest otherwise "don't know me." She said she is serious about seeking the House seat and doesn't need a "launching pad for anything else."

If anything, she said her unique place in American politics would put her in a stronger position in Washington. Unlike other freshmen lawmakers, she said, she could "pick up the phone and call any reporter and be on any show if I wanted to, and it would be all about Alaska."

"I love to work, and anyone who is around me, they know," she said. "What I'm doing is applying for a job, for Alaskans, saying, 'Hey, you guys would be my boss. Do you want to hire me? Because if you do, I'll do a good job for you, and I won't back down.'"

There's only one former governor who is currently a member of the House  Democrat Charlie Crist of Florida. Palin faces several hurdles to getting there.

One is navigating elections that will unfold in rapid order. A June 11 special primary will be the first statewide by-mail election. The four candidates who get the most votes will advance to an Aug. 16 special election, in which ranked choice voting will be used. The winner will serve the remainder of Young's term, which expires in January. There also will be an August primary and November general election to determine who will serve a two-year term starting in January.

Some voters question her decision to leave the governor's office, a move she has attributed to an onslaught of records requests and ethics complaints she said were frivolous. She has spent time out of the state but maintains a home in Wasilla, her hometown and where she got her start in politics.

"Well, I'm sorry if that narrative is out there because it's inaccurate," she said of the perception she had left Alaska behind. She said Alaska is her home and that she was "shoveling moose poop" in her father's yard on a recent sunny day before calling a reporter.

She has regularly voted in state elections since leaving office, according to the Division of Elections.

"I'm still all about Carhartts and steel-toed boots and just hard work," Palin said, referring to a popular brand of outerwear. "I just have been blessed with opportunities and a platform to get out there and tell and show other people the beauty of being an Alaskan."

She mentions Alaskans' hunting lifestyles and the importance of responsibly developing the state's oil and gas resources. She said she plans to attend events including this week's state Republican party convention.

The contest in Republican-leaning Alaska will do little to change the balance of power in Washington. But the election is being closely watched as a barometer of former President Donald Trump's connection to the GOP's most loyal voters.

In Wasilla, Trump 2020 or Trump 2024 banners fly from several homes, the few political signs seen so far this election year. Palin said if Trump runs for president in 2024 and asks her to be his running mate, she'd consider it, though she said he could choose anyone and they haven't had such a candid conversation.

Palin said Trump was among those who contacted her after Young's death asking if she would be willing to run. She said this is a good time in her life to seek a return to office, politically and personally. Her family life has changed, she noted, with her four older children grown. Her youngest, Trig, is in middle school. Palin was divorced from Todd Palin, her husband of more than 30 years, in 2020.

She said she feels like she has "nothing to lose" in running. After having her political and personal lives in the media glare for so long, "what more can they say?" she said, and later added: "To me, it's freedom."

Tim Burney, who lives in Wasilla, said he supports Palin. He said she resigned "for the good of the state" after her detractors "came at her with guns ablazing."

"She just lives right down the road here, and, you know, she grew up here," he said while smoking a cigarette outside the Mug-Shot Saloon after finishing lunch on a recent day.

"Her heart's here in Alaska, and I think that she's good for Alaska," he said.

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Passersby helped save the life of a Nebraska deputy whose cruiser caught fire in a crash Monday morning.

The Nebraska State Patrol, in a statement, credited the public with saving the life of Scotts Bluff County Deputy Josh Ruzicka, 39, of Gering.

The crash occurred at about 7:20 a.m. Monday. Ruzicka was driving on Nebraska 71 in Scottsbluff when he apparently suffered a medical episode and lost control of his cruiser. The vehicle left the roadway, struck an embankment and caught fire, the state patrol said.

Witnesses pulled an unconscious Ruzicka from the cruiser. He was taken to Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, where he is in good condition.

Our entire department is very grateful for the quick actions taken by the witnesses, said Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Mark Overman.

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WAHOO  Hailey Nice had just met the young couple who had moved from Lincoln.

She'd noticed Kayla Matulka and Kolton Barnes unloading boxes at the old Malmo schoolhouse converted into a home May 1, 2020, as she and her kids delivered May Day baskets around the Saunders County town.

But the pandemic had kept them from meeting until July 12, a Sunday.

By then, Matulka's 11-year-old son and Nice's 7-year-old son had started hanging out together, riding bikes around the small town 6 miles northwest of Wahoo.

That Sunday, Nice said she and her husband shared a couple of beers with Matulka and Barnes while the kids played on a trampoline and swing set nearby.

The couple seemed so happy, Nice would tell the dispatcher three days later, after she discovered Matulka dead in her bedroom and called 911.

At Barnes' murder trial Tuesday, Nice wiped tears as she listened to audio of the call, where she'd told the dispatcher as she waited for deputies to arrive that Kayla's leg was cold to the touch, and she just wanted "to go hug her babies."

Nice recounted how the couple had talked that Sunday about plans for an October wedding and about work on the house.

Then, at about 9:30 a.m. the next Wednesday, Matulka's son, Jayden, and her 6-year-old daughter, Kinsley, came over, saying they couldn't find their mom or Kolton. Nice made them breakfast, turned on a movie and called their mom. When Matulka didn't answer, Nice left a voicemail and a text to say where the kids were.

A half-hour later, she said, Jayden wanted to see if his mom and Barnes were back yet, so he rode a scooter home and came back about 10 minutes later looking sad.

"What did he say?" Assistant Attorney General Sandra Allen asked Nice.

"That his mom was dead," she said.

Nice thought maybe she'd misheard him, so she asked him to repeat it.

Nice took the kids to her mom's home nearby, then went to check the house at 236 Bowen Ave., hoping the boy was wrong about what he'd seen.

There was evidence the garage door had been kicked in, and when she got to the bedroom, something blocked the door. Inside, she saw the mattress wasn't fully on the bed like it should be.

"And then Kayla was on the ground between the bed and the dresser," Nice said. "She was gone."

Deputies found the couple's dog, Diesel, dead in the room, too, stabbed to death like Matulka, who also had been strangled.

In opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors painted Barnes as a controlling fiance who wouldn't take no for an answer when his bride-to-be tried to break it off that night.

He'd texted her, threatening to kick down doors if she wouldn't let him in.

"What went on after these texts? That's the crux of this case," Assistant Attorney General Corey O'Brien said. "And the state will contend the only person capable of doing what happened to Kayla is Kolton Barnes."

He said Barnes initially denied going inside after returning from the Malmo bar, but a camera at the house across the street showed him coming and going several times, and during a break in an interrogation, he could be heard saying under his breath: "Dear God, please forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt her."

Barnes' attorney, Matt McDonald, of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, said when the state was giving its theory of the case, "they don't know. They were not there."

He described a chaotic relationship where Matulka struggled with mental health problems and self-medicated with illegal drugs. He said she died with methamphetamine in her system, along with clonazepam, marijuana, alcohol and MDMA, and she'd huffed laughing gas that night.

McDonald said when Barnes came home he found Diesel dead and Matulka in a corner, "crazed out of her mind" with a knife in her hand.

"And she comes at him," the defense attorney said. "Kolton did not have time to think. He reacted."

Barnes is accused of first-degree murder and six other felonies, including two counts of child abuse, cruelty to an animal, tampering with evidence and two weapons charges.

The trial is set to continue Wednesday.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSpilger

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)  Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts touted the tax cuts lawmakers approved this year as they wrapped up their session Wednesday.

Ricketts said the $900 million package of income and property tax cuts that the Legislature approved this year delivered the most significant tax relief bill we have ever had in the state of Nebraska. He signed the bill last week.

Lawmakers took care of their business quickly Wednesday because Ricketts didn't veto any of the bills they sent to him this week.

Ricketts also praised bills the Legislature passed that will lay the groundwork for a canal project to divert water out of Colorado and study the creation of a major new lake along the Platte River between Lincoln and Omaha.

Lawmakers also made plans to spend more than $1 billion in federal pandemic relief money including a package of $335 million to help economic recovery in parts of Omaha and other high-poverty areas in the state.

And Ricketts said the legislature also made important investments in public safety including improvements at the state law enforcement training center and setting aside money for a potential new state prison.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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UNITED NATIONS, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Wednesday strongly condemned Tuesday's terrorist attack against a school and an education center in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

According to the statement issued by council president for the month of April, Barbara Woodward, the council members condemned "in the strongest terms" the horrendous terrorist attack against the Abdul Rahim-e Shahid High School and Mumtaz Education Center in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of Kabul, Afghanistan.

The attack, which took place during the month of Ramadan, resulted in several killed and dozens injured, including students.

The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims, and they wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured.

They reaffirmed "the right to education for all Afghans and its contribution to the achievement of peace and security."

They expressed grave concern about the significant implications of attacks against schools on the safety of students and their ability to enjoy their right to education, the statement said.

"The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. They urged all states, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard," the statement said. 
Yankton Press & Dakotan. April 18, 2022.

Editorial: AGs Impeachment: A Winding Road Ahead

Last weeks impeachment of South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg in connection with a fatal 2020 highway accident produced a couple of new wrinkles in this protracted, twisted, tragic and frustrating story.

The vote came one week after a House select committee recommended that impeachment charges not be filed against Ravnsborg, arguing essentially that he wasnt actually acting in his role of attorney general when the accident happened and when he was subsequently providing sometimes-conflicting information to investigators.

The vote also came hours after the attorney general sent out two letters on the eve of the House decision in which he urged the lawmakers to vote against impeachment.

In a few hours, your vote will set a precedent for years to come, the attorney general wrote. No state has ever impeached an elected official for a traffic accident.

He also criticized Gov. Kristi Noem, who injected herself into the scenario by calling for his resignation, by releasing video of Ravnsborgs interrogation and by working to sway lawmakers to file impeachment charges against the AG.

It was all dramatic stuff, and the 36-31 House vote to impeach last week set the stage for a trial June 21-22 that will be one of the most watched legal proceedings this state has seen in many years.

At this juncture, the closeness of the House vote, which required only a simple majority, may bode well for Ravnsborg. The Senate needs a two-thirds majority of 24 votes to convict the attorney general. If the House vote is any indication, that higher threshold could be difficult to reach.

Also, it will be interesting to watch what happens between now and mid-June. As weve already seen (and as Ravnsborg alluded to in his letters), the governor has not been shy in voicing her preference on this matter, so it stands to reason that she  or others acting in her interest  will apply pressure to sway senators prior to the trial. (While that may not sound appropriate, this is, on one level, a political battle, and that aspect will almost certainly come into play.)

An intriguing sidebar is that Ravnsborg is seeking reelection, and the Republican State Convention, which will nominate the partys attorney general candidate, will take place in Watertown two days after the trial is scheduled to end. Former AG Marty Jackley  who is, like Ravnsborg, a Republican  has already announced his desire to return to the job. Ravnsborgs conviction would likely settle the outcome, but an acquittal would put the matter in a different light. If Ravnsborg is acquitted and then denied re-nomination, what message would that send? Of course, the same may be asked if he is acquitted and then re-nominated after all thats happened the past 18 months.

Last weeks impeachment vote merely sets up the final act in this political drama. But we still have a long, winding road ahead until the end is reached.

END

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Two people were arrested Thursday after a traffic stop on Interstate 80 turned into a foot pursuit and two-hour search that led deputies to hundreds of ecstasy pills, according to the Seward County Sheriff's Office.

The ordeal began at about 11 p.m. Thursday when deputies attempted to stop a Chevrolet Cruz on suspicion of multiple traffic violations in the westbound lanes of I-80, near mile marker 388, the sheriff's office said in a news release.

Upon stopping, both occupants fled the vehicle, the sheriff's office said.

The vehicle's passenger, 23-year-old Destiny Burnett of North Carolina, returned to the scene a short time later and turned herself in to deputies, according to the news release.

But deputies didn't find the car's driver, 33-year-old Steven Townsend of South Carolina, for another two hours. The Nebraska State Patrol deployed its helicopter to assist in the search effort, according to an agency spokesman.

Townsend ultimately crawled out of a culvert from underneath the interstate and surrendered to troopers without further incident. He was evaluated at a Seward hospital after he'd spent an extended period of time partially submerged in cold water, according to the news release.

Burnett and Townsend were arrested on suspicion of possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a schedule 1 drug and obstructing a police officer after a search of the Chevy turned up "hundreds of ecstasy pills," the sheriff's office said.

They were taken to the Seward County Jail.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com. On Twitter @andrewwegley

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The prime ministers of Sweden and Finland, Magdalena Andersson and Sanna Marin, both signaled last week that they will likely be applying for membership in NATO.

The "prospect" is most "welcome," says The Washington Post: "Finland and Sweden Should Join NATO."

The editorial was titled "A Way to Punish Putin."

Before joining the rejoicing in NATO capitals, we might inspect what NATO membership for these two Nordic nations would mean for the United States.

Finland is a nation the size of Germany, but with a population only 4% of that of Russia and a border with Russia that is 830 miles long.

Should Finland join NATO, the United States, under Article 5 of the NATO treaty, would be obligated to go to war with the world's largest nuclear power to retrieve Finnish lands that an enraged Russia might grab.

Moscow has already indicated that, should Sweden and Finland join NATO, Russia will introduce new nuclear weapons into the Baltic region.

Why is it wise for us to formally agree, in perpetuity, as NATO is a permanent alliance, to go to war with Russia, for Finland?

Given the war in Ukraine and concomitant crisis in Eastern Europe, it is understandable why Stockholm and Helsinki would seek greater security beneath the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

But why would we voluntarily agree to give Sweden and Finland these war guarantees? Why would we commit to go to war with Putin's Russia, a war that could, and likely would, escalate to the use of tactical nuclear weapons, especially if Russia were losing?

Finland was neutral during the Cold War. Sweden has been neutral since the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century.

How did we suffer from their neutrality?

In Helsinki and Stockholm, the benefit of a U.S.-NATO commitment to go to war for Finland or Sweden is understandable.

But how does it benefit our country, the USA, to be obligated to go to war with a nation that commands the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons -- over some quarrel in the Baltic Sea or Gulf of Finland that does not affect us?

Asked for his view on Sweden and Finland's campaign to join NATO, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had a note of warning:

"We have repeatedly said that the (NATO) alliance remains a tool geared towards confrontation and its further expansion will not bring stability to the European continent."

Should Putin's Russia clash with Finland or Sweden today, the U.S. is free to respond, or not to respond, as it sees fit, depending on our own assessment of risks and rewards.

Why not keep it that way? Why surrender our freedom of action in some future collision involving our main adversary?

History holds lessons for us here.

In March 1939, six months after Munich, when Czechoslovakia disintegrated into its ethnic components, Britain issued an unsolicited war guarantee to Poland, then negotiating with Germany over the port city of Danzig taken from Germany by the victorious Allies after World War I.

When Germany, on Sept. 1, 1939, invaded Poland, Britain was obligated to declare war on Germany over a matter that was not a vital interest of Great Britain or its worldwide empire.

Lest we forget, it was the Bucharest Declaration of 2008, opening the door to membership in NATO for Ukraine and Georgia, that led to the recent crises in Eastern Europe and the current war.

The Russia-Georgia War of August 2008, the U.S.-backed coup in Ukraine in 2014, and Putin's annexation of Crimea and claiming of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine all proceeded from NATO's decision in 2008 to open the door to membership for Georgia and Ukraine.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine today is partly due to the U.S. and Ukraine's refusal to rule out NATO membership for Kyiv.

No NATO nation today has a border with Russia nearly as long as that of Finland. If Finland joins NATO, will we put U.S. boots on the ground along that 830-mile border with Russia? Will U.S. warplanes fly in and out of Finnish airfields and air bases up to the border of Russia?

Collective security is said to be a good idea.

But the core of NATO security is provided by U.S. war guarantees, while most of the collecting is done by our 29 NATO allies, which could become 31 by summer's end.

Otto von Bismarck predicted that the Great War, when it came, would be ignited by "some damn fool thing in the Balkans."

And World War I was indeed triggered by the assassination of the Austrian archduke in Sarajevo in June 1914. The Germans came in in part because the kaiser had given Austria a "blank check" for war.

What enabled America to stay out of both world wars for years after they began was our freedom of "entangling alliances" when they began.

But today we not only lead an alliance of 30 nations, but we are adding two more members, one of which has a border of 830 miles with Russia.

How long does our luck last?

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The Legislature, once again, failed to address the states most pressing problem when it killed LB920, a bill aimed at cutting Nebraskas nation-leading prison growth and overcrowding.

The bill, which was based on a data-driven study led by the Crime and Justice Institute, which resulted in 21 proposals for reform, 17 of which received consensus support from the study panel of lawmakers, the administration of Gov. Pete Ricketts and the states court system.

Taken as a whole, the proposal would have cut the states inmate growth, reducing Nebraskas 2030 prison headcount by 1,000 from the current projections.

But its intent to cap minimum sentences to provide incarcerated people more time on parole supervision, make possession of very small amounts of drugs a misdemeanor and set standards for when judges would sentence those convicted of more than one crime to consecutive sentences garnered opposition from law enforcement and conservative senators waving the "soft on crime flag.

Instead, Lincoln Sen. Suzanne Geist offered a proposal that included the 17 unanimously approved initiatives. But her plan would have only reduced the current project by no more than 150, essentially doing nothing to seriously address overcrowding.

Much of LB920s failure, in fact, lies at the feet of Geist, who led the filibuster effort and refused to allow first-round passage of the bill to create time for more negotiations between senators and with Ricketts, who opposed the sentencing measures.

Given the spirit of cooperation  Ricketts had agreed to talk about the sentencing measures  the negotiations could have resulted in the passage of a compromise bill in the Legislatures final days.

It also appears that the rejection of LB920 will turn out to be one of the most expensive, short-sighted votes in the Legislatures history.

With the state projected to add 1,300 more people to its incarcerated population of 5,500 between now and 2030, the state will have to build not one new $270-million-plus prison, as Ricketts has proposed, but two.

Why dont you stand up and say Im for two prisons, a frustrated Sen. Steve Lathrop, LB920s primary sponsor, asked during the debate.

There were, of course, no claims of favoring two prisons. Nor, because of the intransigent opponents, was there an effective effort at negotiations on or off the legislative floor that might have resulted in a significant cut in the number of those in and going to prison.

Instead, the filibustering senators, including Sens. Mike Hilgers and Rob Clements, who represent Lancaster County, again kicked the can down the road, with Geist promising to address the issue again next year.

But with the likelihood of an even more conservative Legislature in 2023, this rejection may well have killed the opportunity for meaningful prison reform  unless it is ordered by courts in future cases.

And, that failure to address prison reform will cost taxpayers more than $270 million, as the Legislature apparently aims to do the impossible and build its way out of the corrections crisis.

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On this day exactly three years ago, Mike Clements found himself in need of an ego boost. It was my 50th birthday and I was feeling kind of old, he told me. So he decided to post his drivers license on Reddit.

Why would sharing his license with a bunch of strangers do anything for his mood? Well, Clements had a hunch that the people in r/trees, the sites section for marijuana enthusiasts, might appreciate his birthdate: April 20, 1969.

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He was right. The post eventually earned more than 50,000 upvotes of approval and landed Clements on the websites coveted front page. I think somebody on Reddit called me Weed Jesus,  recalled Clements, who works at a games store in North Carolina.

In case it needs spelling out, his post was a hit because his birthdate combines two of the most celebrated numbers on the internet: 420, or April 20, is the informal weed holiday, and 69 is a slang term for a sex position that has achieved immortal status, so much so that nearly everyone knows one must pay tribute to it by always responding with a Nice.

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Clements isnt the only one who recognizes his luck. People always say its the coolest birthday ever, said Michael Johnson, a housing case worker in Federal Way, Washington, who was also born on April 20, 1969.

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In my reporting, however, I discovered it wasnt always so cool. For much of her life, Gabrielle, a tech worker in Seattle and fellow 4/20/69 baby, wished she had a different birthday. (Gabrielle declined to use her last name to keep any association with weed out of her search results.) It wasnt a good birthday, she said. A lot of bad stuff has happened on it, like Columbine. You know its Hitlers birthday? So a lot of bad people just utilized it as a date to do crappy stuff.

People are going, No, no, youre lying. I have to pull my ID out, be like, Here you go. Look.   Michael Johnson

Plus, my birthday often falls during Passover, which meant that as a child I couldnt have birthday cake, she said.

But Gabrielle said she noticed the connotation of her birthday starting to change about 20 years ago: The first time I remember someone else laughing at it was when I went to a dispensary in Seattle, and when I showed them my ID at the dispensary, this woman was just like, Well this isnt real, right? This is what we put for, like, fake things when were creating data for the store. 

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When I was younger, 420 was a thing, but just the time, not the date, Gabrielle added. This was probably in the early 2000s that I realized, Oh, this has become a thing,  Gabrielle said.

Clements credits technology with taking 420 from schoolyard lore to practically a legit holiday: Im pretty sure the internet proliferated that, he said. It was a meme before memes.

These days, Gabrielle likes her birthday much better: Its sort of nice that it was reclaimed as a fun thing, she said. When I have to give my birthday, I used to say April 20, 1969. Like, I used to say it so it wouldnt sound that like that. Now I completely lean into it because its so funny, and I always watch to see if people respond.

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Just how rare is the distinction of a 4/20/69 birthday? While the Social Security Administration said it could not provide numbers for me (I tried!), you can roughly extrapolate that there are probably fewer than 10,000 Americans with that birthdate: There were 3.6 million babies born in 1969, or about 9,800 a day. However, that doesnt account for April 20 being one of the more unpopular birthdays on the calendar: Studies have ranked it 310th and 328th most common. Nor does it account for the people born that day who are no longer living.

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Is there anyone famous in the 4/20/69 club? Good question. The most well-known person born that day is Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian stunt-jumper who holds a Guinness World Record for being the first person to break the sound barrier in free fall. His team did not respond to my email requesting comment, perhaps unsurprisingly: They style their dates differently in Europe.

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While the 4/20/69 kids I spoke to all get a kick out of their birthday, all have also had the experience of people thinking they must be full of it.

Most of the time I dont get believed, Johnson said. People are going, No, no, youre lying. I have to pull my ID out, be like, Here you go. Look. 

Ive been refused alcohol many times, especially when I was younger, because I look very young for my age, said Clements. It came up once when he was apartment-hunting: I was gonna rent an apartment and they wanted another picture ID. I was like, Its really my birthday. 

But just as often, its come with some perks: Ive gotten pushed to the front of lines at bars, Clements said. I think Ive gotten tickets to concerts before. Once, hes pretty sure, it helped him land a job: I was working at a music store. They just loved it. It just really broke the ice.

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Obviously at a dispensary anyone will laugh, and then theyll often give me a discount, Gabrielle said.

The 4/20/69-ers said the variety of people who are amused by their birthday tends to vary. While some internet users have lamented that anyone born in 1969 would be too old to appreciate how special the birthday is, Gabrielle and Clements said they both find that people their age are in on the joke.

Younger people get the 420, the older set might get the 69 part, Clements said. People probably in their 40s to 50s like I am probably get both of them.

You would think it would be just young people, but I just went to the optical place at Costco, and there was like, I dont know, a 60-year-old guy helping me, and he laughed when he saw my ID, Gabrielle said. She added that her kids also find their moms birthday really, really funny.

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On the other hand, one 19-year-old I contacted because he posted online about 4/20/69 being his mothers birthday declined to put me in touch with her because he didnt think she would understand the reference. Itd probably mean having to explain to her what 420 and 69 stand for, and explaining to a boomer modern slang would be real awkward, he told me. (People born in 1969 are not technically boomers, of course, but that might be a losing battle.) Another son of a 4/20/69-born mother I got in touch with said his mother gets the joke, but actively dislikes it: She hates that the only reason her son remembers her birthday is because its a weed holiday.

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To be fair, weed isnt for everyone. In fact, its mostly not for Gabrielle or Clements, despite a birthday that makes them pothead royalty.

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I dont remember the last time I smoked it, Gabrielle confessed. I must have been in my 20s. Shell take a gummy to combat anxiety when she flies, but for her birthday, I dont do anything to recognize the 4/20 of it all.

Clements, who also said he hasnt smoked in years, knows that his not being very into weed can disappoint people: They want to hang out with the guy with the 4/20/69 birthday, he said.

Johnson, for his part, has no such hang-ups: He usually gets high on his special day, and hes always thought its the perfect birthday for him. It fits my personality in a lot of ways: easygoing, laid-back, doesnt really stress out too much about things.

Theres still hope for Clements: When we spoke a few days ago, he said he was considering giving weed another try this year. I might actually get a friend to reintroduce me to smoking just to see what its like nowadays, he said. Whatever happens, I wish him, Johnson, Gabrielle, and the rest of their cohort a very happy 53rd birthday.
At least 26 states will ban most or all abortions if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade this summer, as it appears poised to do. Many blue states have strengthened abortion rights in the run-up to Roes potential demise. But few are planning for red states campaign to punish abortion providers and patients in places where it remains legal.

Connecticut, however, will not be caught off guard. On Tuesday, the states House of Representatives passed a bill spearheaded by Rep. Matt Blumenthal that would transform Connecticut into a sanctuary for legal abortion. The measure, H.B. 5414, bars state courts from enforcing another states penalties against someone who performed or facilitated an abortion thats legal in Connecticut. It allows people sued under vigilante abortion bans, like Texas S.B. 8, to countersue in Connecticut court, collecting both damages and attorneys fees if they prevail. And it broadly prohibits state authorities from complying with another states request to investigate, penalize, or extradite individuals for providing or facilitating reproductive health services.

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In short, H.B. 5414 fights fire with fire. It is the gold standard for pro-choice legislation in the post-Roe era. If it becomes lawand it probably willH.B. 5414 will be the blueprint for every other state legislature that wants to fortify its own abortion laws against the coming red-state attacks.

In the run-up to the end of Roe, state legislators face a fundamental problem: States, as a general rule, enforce the judgments of other states courts. If a Texas court issued a $100,000 judgment against a defendant who flees to Connecticut, it will expect a Connecticut court to carry out that judgment. If the defendant wont pay up, Texas might even expect Connecticut authorities to take coercive legal actionby, for instance, seizing the defendants property in the state. Similarly, if a Texas court convicts a criminal defendant who flees to Connecticut, it will demand that Connecticut extradite him back to Texas.

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Some legislators are already plotting to exploit these principles of interstate comity to punish abortion providers (and abettors) far beyond their own borders. A Missouri proposal, for instance, would allow private citizens to sue anyone who performed or facilitated an abortion on a Missouri resident, even if they did so in another state. Oklahoma passed a criminal law that subjects physicians to 10 years imprisonment and a $100,000 fine for ending a pregnancyand would undoubtedly direct other states to extradite those accused or charged with violating this prohibition.

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By enshrining the principle of fetal personhood, states like Oklahoma are treating abortion as the same as the murder of a human being.

H.B. 5414 uses every tool at Connecticuts disposal to fight back. Its overarching goal is to bar penalties against anyone who performed, facilitated, or obtained an abortion thats legal under the states own (liberal) laws, even if the abortion occurred in another state. Consider, for example, Texas S.B. 8, which allows strangers to sue abortion providers and abettors for a minimum of $10,000 plus attorneys fees. Under H.B. 5414, no arm of the Connecticut government could investigate an individual accused of violating other states abortion restrictions, like S.B. 8, as long as they adhere to Connecticut law. If a red state like Missouri tried to punish Connecticut doctors for providing abortions to Missouri residents, they would be foiled. In fact, Connecticut authorities would even be barred from issuing subpoenas that relate to reproductive health care thats legal in Connecticut.

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Targets of anti-abortion lawsuits could also fight back. H.B. 5414 counters bans like S.B. 8 by creating a new cause of action: Anyone sued for providing reproductive services in Connecticut could turn around and file a countersuit. In other words, vigilantes seeking to collect a bounty from someone who performed or facilitated an abortion in Connecticut would open themselves up to legal liability. The target of the suit could collect the same damages that were levied against them by another states anti-abortion law. This provision applies with equal force to any individual who abets an abortion, like a mother who takes her daughter to Connecticut to terminate a pregnancy. The new crop of vigilante laws would subject that mother to private lawsuits. Under H.B. 5414, she could countersue in Connecticut court. If she prevails, she can collect damages and attorneys feesnot only the fees spent defending herself in her home state, but also the fees spent bringing suit in Connecticut.

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Then there is the nonextradition clause, a necessary but chilling analog to free-state efforts to shelter fugitive slaves before the Civil War. This provision bars the governor from extraditing an individual to another state for performing or abetting reproductive health services that are lawful in Connecticut. To see why this safeguard is necessary, recall that an increasing number of states are establishing fetal personhood and recasting abortion as homicide. If a citizen of Oklahoma were murdered in Connecticut, Oklahoma could prosecute the killer and ask Connecticut to extradite him for trial. But what if the victim is a fetus, and the killer is an abortion provider? H.B. 5414 bars Connecticut from participating in any aspect of Oklahoma investigation or prosecution, and bars the governor from extraditing the abortion provider, as well as anyone who allegedly abetted them.

The ultimate aim of todays anti-abortion movement is to outlaw abortion across the country. As a result, the next phase of the abortion wars will test the limits of red states ability to stretch their abortion bans into other jurisdictions in a bid to shutter, bankrupt, and imprison providers across the country. Connecticuts new legislation stops them before they can get the chance. Given the stakes, more blue states will need to copy Connecticuts playbook or risk opening their residents up to anti-abortion persecution after Roe falls.
Both are accused of serious criminal offences.

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The National Criminal Agency (NAKA) has detained former interior minister Robert Kalinak, who served in the post during the three governments led by Smer chair Robert Fico.

It also arrested lawyer Marek Para, known for defending, among others, convicted mobster Marian Kocner, the Dennik N daily reported.

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Kalinak has been charged with establishing a criminal group, together with Fico. However, Fico has not been arrested yet because he is an MP, meaning the police must first seek permission from parliament to detain him.

Apart from them, also former police chief Tibor Gaspar and Nitra-based oligarch Norbert Bodor have been charged in the operation labelled as Sumrak (Twilight). The name is probably linked to the address of the Smer headquarters, the Sumracna Street.

Kalinak, Fico, Gaspar and Bodor have been charged with the crime of a threat towards trade secret, bank secrecy, secrecy of correspondence, telecommunications secrecy and tax secrecy, the SITA newswire reported.

The case is reportedly linked to the Ocistec (Purgatory) case. As part of this operation, the police detained and charged several people, including former top police representatives like Gaspar or former NAKA head Peter Hrasko.

The police will provide more details in due course.

Fico and Kalinak will be represented by lawyer David Lindtner, a former judge who is himself also accused of corruption.

Fico: This is political vengeance

Fico dismissed the charges as political vengeance and an attempt to get rid of him, saying that they are a response to criticism by him and his colleagues of the government and the president. According to Fico, everything was organised with the consent of top ruling officials.

Corruption investigation goes on. Investigators come close to Smer Read more

They literally made up a story in the accusation that I allegedly created a criminal group that was to harm [former president Andrej] Kiska, [Igor] Matovic and [Boris] Kollar, Fico said, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

As for the charges against Kalinak, who is now a lawyer, and Para, he said that they are an obvious attempt by both the National Criminal Agency (NAKA) and the Special Prosecutors Office to destroy the defence of suspects facing corruption-related charges, including Nitra-based oligarch Norbert Bodor, ex-police chief Tibor Gaspar and tycoon Miroslav Vyboh.
Investor Penta denies that a lack of nurses is behind the delay.

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Financial group Penta will completely open its new hospital in Bratislava's Bory district only in autumn next year, about two years later than originally planned.

Svet Zdravia (Health World), the network to which the new hospital will belong, says that a slowdown in work during the Covid pandemic is behind the delay. Penta has denied that a shortage of nurses is a factor.

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Bory will become the 17th hospital in the Svet Zdravia network. As of May 1, Lubos Lopatka will officially became its chair. He was previously head of the Socialna Poistovna social insurer during the government of Iveta Radicova (2010-2012).

After the last parliamentary election in May 2020, he became managing director of MH Manazment, a state company that belongs under the Economy Ministry led by Minister Richard Sulik (SaS).

Spring turned to autumn
PARIS, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The Permanent Delegation of China to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO held events on Wednesday at the headquarters of UNESCO to celebrate the 2022 United Nations (UN) Chinese Language Day.

In his speech, the president of the 41st UNESCO General Conference Santiago Mourao said that Chinese is the most ancient script still in use.

"When we celebrate the Chinese language, we also celebrate its contribution to cultural diversity, to intercultural dialogue, to lasting peace," he added.

Tamara Siamashvili, chairperson of the Executive Board of UNESCO, said that Chinese is not only "one of the six official languages of the United Nations, but also a contributor to "the world culture."

Representatives from some 80 permanent delegations to UNESCO and the Chinese staff of UNESCO participated in the celebration co-organized with China Media Group.

Since 2010, the United Nations has marked Chinese Language Day on April 20 over the language's contribution to the world while encouraging more people to learn it. 
KAMPALA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- As the world commemorates the annual United Nations (UN) Chinese Language Day on Wednesday, Ugandan youths are gearing up to learn Chinese. They see the language used in the second largest economy as a tool with which they can access a broader future.

Under the shade of trees at the Confucius Institute at Makerere University, students were gathering in small groups to practice Chinese. They share a clear target: to tap opportunities from China's increasing economic influence on the global stage.

Vianney Nsubuga, a freshman pursuing a bachelor's degree in Chinese and Asian studies, told Xinhua that Africa's continuous interactions with China have brought numerous employment opportunities, such as jobs in the transport and energy infrastructure sectors.

China has financed major energy and transport infrastructure projects in Uganda as part of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, including the Entebbe International Airport in Kampala, the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway, the 183 MW Isimba Hydropower Plant, and the 600 MW Karuma Hydropower Plant still under construction.

"By learning Chinese and mastering the language, it is going to help me in my life," said Nsubuga, who hopes to work as an interpreter, translator, or a Chinese language teacher after graduation. "By knowing it (Chinese) or teaching it to the young people, you are making connections with the world," the freshman added.

Jedrine Nasuna, a sophomore pursuing a bachelor's degree in Chinese and Asian studies, said she had decided to learn Chinese after her mother told her about China's increasing role in global affairs and its relations with her country.

"I wanted to study mass communication but my mum advised me to learn Chinese," she said. "China is working hand in hand with Uganda -- building roads, power plants. Most of the things that are happening in Uganda, the Chinese are taking part in."

The cooperation features mutual benefits, she said, as some Chinese companies that have set up business in Uganda or in other parts of Africa are also having their employees learn about the local culture to ensure smooth business operations.

As China and the world have been reaching out to each other, learning different languages and cultures are playing a critical role in cementing ties with others, said Wang Xiaojuan, a Chinese language instructor at the Confucius Institute.

Some students may work as diplomats in China in the future, while Chinese people learning the local languages in Uganda will also strengthen their friendship with locals, Wang said.

The Ugandan government has taken measures to facilitate the education of the Chinese language in schools, so as to prepare its young talents for future cooperation with China both at bilateral and multilateral levels.

In 2019, Uganda adopted the Chinese language into its ordinary-level secondary school curriculum. Nowadays, many government schools have set up Chinese courses with the assistance from the Confucius Institute, and have been training more and more Chinese language teachers.

Xia Zhuoqiong, the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute, said discussions are underway for the inclusion of Chinese into the advanced-level secondary school curriculum.

"While teaching the Chinese language, Chinese teachers are also working hard to learn local languages, such as Luganda and Lusoga," Xia said. "By learning these languages, we really understand their culture and really understand how to communicate with them. The distance between our hearts and their hearts is getting closer and closer." 
Interview: Malaysia must seize opportunities to upgrade trade ties with RCEP members: Malaysian expert

Xinhua) 12:45, April 20, 2022

KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia must seize opportunities to upgrade trade ties with major partners like China following the country's ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement in January, which came into force for the Southeast Asian nation on March 18, said a renowned expert in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Among the opportunities for the country are diversification away from goods to services especially with regard to Malaysia's biggest trade partner China, Oh Ei Sun, principal adviser for Malaysia's Pacific Research Center, told Xinhua in an online interview.

Oh pointed out that volumes of commodity trade between China and Malaysia are already huge, therefore both sides should put more effort into improving the quality, upgrading bilateral trade in services and the use of digital tools to boost trade through RCEP.

Speaking of trade in services, he highlighted the cooperation and exchanges in education sector between the two countries. "I'm happy to see that, for example, over the past few years, there are more and more Malaysian students going to study in China and Chinese students coming to Malaysia to study."

Oh also said the COVID-19 pandemic had been an effective lesson for many countries, including Malaysia in demonstrating the importance of digitalization and the need to change mindsets and attitudes to take advantage of RCEP and new trade opportunities.

He said while Malaysia was no stranger to international trade, the Southeast Asian nation must strengthen its basic trading mechanisms and institutions, for foreign investors who are trying to invest in Malaysia, to take advantage of RCEP provisions.

"Traditionally, I think Malaysian businesses, even though we do a lot of foreign trade, but sometimes we are more reactive. When there are foreign traders who would like to do business with us, we would react to them. But we need to (act) more proactively, and when travels are allowed, go to other markets within the RCEP framework to try to explore new business opportunities there. We must make the first steps ourselves instead of reacting to others' proposals," he said.

Oh also noted that with China's economy in a full upswing, Malaysia and other RCEP members stood to make their own gains and fuel the post-pandemic recovery of their respective economies and to further deepen the economic integration among member states.

Under the framework of RCEP, economic development in one member state could also has its trickling down effects on other economies, Oh said, adding that as China is picking up its pace in booming its economy, some of these other RCEP member states, Malaysia included, but more broadly, the Southeast Asian countries could be deeper, broader and closer partners to China.

Signed in November 2020, the RCEP groups the 10 members of the ASEAN, as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, covering roughly 30 percent of the world's gross domestic product and population.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
KIGALI, April 20 (Xinhua) -- A RwandAir plane veered off the runway after landing in Entebee International Airport, Uganda, early Wednesday, but all passengers and crew deplaned safely afterward, the airline said in a statement.

No injuries were reported in the so-called "runaway excursion" that occurred "as a result of bad weather," the statement said.

According to reports, there were about 60 people aboard RwandAir flight WB464.

A runaway excursion happens when an aircraft skids off the runway during take-off or landing. Runway excursions include runway overruns, where an aircraft is unable to stop before it reaches the end of the runway; they can happen because of pilot error, poor weather, or a fault with the aircraft.

"We are working closely with the local authorities, including the Ugandan Civil Aviation Authority, who will investigate the circumstances around the incident," RwandAir said in an updated statement.

The Rwandan flag carrier resumed flights to Uganda-Entebbe in September last year following several months of travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

RwandAir now offers services to 25 destinations across 21 countries throughout Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. 
ABUJA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a blast in a local market in Nigeria's northeastern state of Taraba on Tuesday has risen to six, the police said on Wednesday.

Usman Abdullahi, a spokesman for the police in Taraba, told reporters in Jalingo, the state capital, that three persons among the 19 injured victims died while receiving treatment at a hospital.

The explosion from a device occurred at a crowded cattle market in Iware town of the state on Tuesday, killing three instantly, said Abdullahi at an earlier press briefing.

An investigation has been launched by the police, he added.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the blast. 
Lake Norman Medical Group, Heart and Vascular Statesville welcomes Jessica Prevette, MSN, FNP-C. She is joining Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Jeff Neal in the Statesville practice.

Prevette is a board-certified nurse practitioner, focusing on cardiology. Her medical education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Appalachian State University in Boone and a Master of Science degree in nursing-family nurse practitioner from Frontier Nursing University in Hyden, Kentucky.

She manages acute and chronic illnesses and complete and multi-system disease processes for a diverse population of adults through geriatric patients, and she focuses on health maintenance, health promotion and reduction of risks and patient education.

Prevette is accepting new patients. For more information, visit LakeNormanMedicalGroup.com. To schedule an appointment, call 704-878-2058. Lake Norman Medical Group, Heart and Vascular Statesville is located at 1424-D Fern Creek Drive, Statesville.
A suspect in the murder of a surgical physicians assistant in New York was arrested during a traffic stop in Washington County and is being held at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Abingdon.

Jacob Klein, who is reportedly from Virginia, worked in New York also as a physicians assistant. He was taken into custody without incident Friday night in Washington County, Virginia, according to Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.

Klein, 40, is wanted on murder charges in New Scotland, New York, for allegedly killing 35-year-old Philip Rabadi.

According to published reports, its alleged Klein traveled to the town near Albany, New York, by plane, where he is suspected of killing Rabadi, the husband of Kleins former girlfriend, in a gruesome scene with multiple stab wounds.
Expect to see your School Board representatives out and about a bit more this spring in Washington County, Virginia.

At a recent meeting, Washington County Schools Superintendent Brian Ratliff encouraged School Board members to get out to as many graduation ceremonies this spring as possible when addressing the board.

School ends on May 20 in Washington County, Virginia, Ratliff said at the April 11 School Board meeting in Abingdon, Virginia.

Wow. Thats only a month!

Graduation ceremonies are being held during that week at schools across the county, Ratliff announced.

In turn, more school functions are expected to be held this year than last, due to COVID-19 restrictions being lifted  despite nearly 1 million deaths in little more than two years in this country  and more large gatherings taking place.

If last year was a trickle, this years events may come around like a fire hose, Ratliff said.
Kelso School District closed its COVID-19 testing site amid a drop in new cases among students, though schools still are offering tests when needed and have readily available at-home test kits.

In the last month alone weve had, wait for it, five student cases that have been reported, Don Iverson, director of student services, told Kelso School Board members Monday night.

Iverson said students will not be required to get vaccinated following a unanimous vote April 14 by the Washington state Board of Health, but they still are waiting to see whether the state Department of Labor and Industries will require a COVID-19 vaccination for school staff.

The board also heard updates to the student discipline policy, as well as policies regarding student restraint and isolation.

The main change to student discipline is Kelso school deans now will be able to suspend students. Otherwise, updates mostly clarified language to make the discipline procedure more transparent for school staff, Iverson said.

This is a working document, he said. So after today, once we approve it, there probably could be more changes ... We tell parents and families that the last update is always online.

Heather Ogden, director of special programs, said they also worked to redefine restraint, isolation and use of force disciplines in the district.

According to school board documents, proposed changes include updating the definition of reasonable force on a student to prevent or minimize imminent bodily harm to self or others, or if de-escalation or other positive behavioral interventions fail or are inappropriate, to protect district property, where there is an imminent likelihood of such serious harm occurring.

Restraint and use of force on students also was designated as a last-resort method only if de-escalation does not work, Ogden said.

You would never do this just to correct a behavior, Ogden said.

Facedown restraint clearly was prohibited in the new policy, though Ogden said that type of restraint is not taught in their training. Trauma-informed and culturally relevant trainings also were included in the updated discipline policy.

Board members Monday approved the 2022-23 rights and responsibilities handbook, but did not yet take action on the restraint policy updates.

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When it comes to the financial side of the local congressional election, Jaime Herrera Beutler and Joe Kent remain far ahead of the rest of the field.

Candidates for Washingtons Third District House race filed their quarterly campaign finance reports with the Federal Election Committee on Friday. Republicans Herrera Beutler and Kent reported more than double the fundraising totals of the next-closest candidate in the race and are the only two campaigns that have more than $1 million in cash on hand.

Herrera Beutler retained her overall fundraising advantage during the quarter. Her campaign raised $604,000 during the first quarter of 2022, compared to $457,000 raised by Kent, and entered April with just over $2 million on hand. More than $1.6 million of the funds came from individual donors and $1.2 million came from Political Action Committees.

Jaime is pleased to have the resources needed to run a successful campaign based on her record of focusing on Southwest Washingtons priorities, a spokesman for Herrera Beutler told The Daily News on Tuesday.

Kent had the slight edge when it came to recent individual donations. His campaign brought in $372,200 from individuals and sources other than PACs last quarter, compared to the $362,200 Herrera Beutler took in, and he has received a total of nearly $1.5 million from individuals.

Kent told the Daily News Tuesday that he was deliberately avoiding major donations from PACs so far. Once you get big money in politics, from corporations and special interest groups, its a quick way to owe people that are not your constituents, Kent said.

Other candidates

The next-closest candidate in terms of fundraising is Heidi St. John, who brought in $222,600 during the first quarter of the year and ended March with $280,000 on hand. All of St. Johns campaign donations this quarter came from individuals.

On the Democrats side of the race, Marie Glusenkamp Perez and Brent Hennrich ended the quarter neck-and-neck. The two of them and Republican Leslie French each have raised between $67,000 and $77,000. Perez was the newest entry into the crowded field when she declared her candidacy in February, so the entirety of her fundraising was limited to one and a half months.

The other major name among the candidates is Republican state house Rep. Vicki Kraft, who raised $12,700 during the first quarter and a total of $25,100 since entering the race, though her campaign had less than $5,000 on hand at the end of March.

The Cowlitz County Republican Central Committee is holding an in-person straw poll vote at the party headquarters in Kelso through April 23.

Washingtons primary elections take place Aug. 2.

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The National Weather Service calls for a rainy, windy Wednesday in the Lower Columbia River Valley with the possibility of hail.

Meteorologists say a brief, weak tornado could hit Willamette Valley, but such hazards are not predicted as far north as Cowlitz County.

The National Weather Service reports south and southeast winds could increase up to 17 mph early Wednesday in Cowlitz County, followed by gusts up to 28 mph with a 100% chance of precipitation and a chance of hail in the afternoon. Up to a quarter inch of new precipitation could fall.

Thunderstorms are possible before 8 p.m., with another half inch of new precipitation possible throughout the night.

Meteorologists predict rain will completely subside by Saturday.

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I shook my head as I unavoidably inhaled the acrid exhaust of a pickup lined up in front of me at Fibre Federal Credit Union.

I typically only use drive-up lanes when the branch or main office is closed, and I always shut the car down and move forward only when two spaces open between me and the car ahead.

On this particular day, the wait was more than 20 minutes long. And most of the cars in line gurgled hot wastes into the air the whole time. The owners literally were burning money and needlessly contributing greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Ive recently witnessed other egregious examples of this waste: a running car parked at The Home Depot with NO ONE IN IT. I assume the car was locked and the owner had a separate key to get back in.

The way so many people are wasting fuel, youd think gas prices were at record lows instead of record highs and there was peace in Ukraine.

What does the war have to do with idling engines at a bank or restaurant drive-up lane? Well, Russias war against Ukraine has helped bloat gas prices. One of the best methods to wage economic war against the Putin regime is to cease importing Russian oil. The U.S. doesnt import much Russian oil, but our allies do, and in March President Biden banned importing Russian oil. Anything we do to reduce consumption relieves pressure on gas prices and supplies  and takes money out of Putins pocket.

This is no idle matter. Several years ago, a physics professor writing for wired.com estimated U.S. cars burn 400,000 gallons of gas a day in restaurant drive-up lanes alone. Thats nearly 150 million gallons a year. The estimate did not include gas burned idling in drive-up lanes for banks, pharmacies and other venues. And the waste most likely has increased because the COVID-19 pandemic increased pick-up and take-out.

The numbers sound impressive, but they represent only a tiny fraction of U.S. gas consumption. (Drivers in Washington alone consume about 3 billion gallons of gas annually.) So one could assert that its not worth worrying about, especially since there are benefits to drive-ups  safety and access for the disabled among them. (Even though some cities are banning them.)

However, making an effort to reduce fuel consumption is good for the environment  and keeps the war in Ukraine in front of us.

More than anything, we must fight news fatigue about the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin no doubt hopes the West loses interest and turns attention away from Ukraine. News burnout indeed could become Putins strongest ally  perhaps his only one  in a prolonged war. In fact, I bet he is counting on it.

So its important to keep reminding ourselves about the conflict  and finding small ways to combat it. Saving gas and energy is among them, through some of these methods:

Avoid using drive-up lanes if you can. If you need to queue up, shut the engine down if youre going to idle more than 10 seconds. Move forward after two or three cars ahead of you have moved up. Then shut down again.

Slow down. This probably would save more gas than avoiding drive-up lanes, For light-duty vehicles, for example, every 5 mph you drive over 50 mph is like paying $0.18 more per gallon of gas (based on the price of gas at $2.63 per gallon), according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Reducing highways speeds by 5 to 10 mph improves fuel economy by 7%14%, the agency says.

Carpool. Take public transit. Combine car trips. Make a plan to avoid all use of your car at least one day a week (not just on a day you wouldnt have driven anyway).

Walk or bicycle.

Turn down the heat in your home and wear a sweater. Even in homes heated with electric, reduced kilowatt consumption allows clean Northwest hydropower to be sold elsewhere as a substitute for fossil fuels.

Use a clothesline. Mine saves me the cost of a couple tankfuls of gas a year.

As consumers, we have power to help make the oil embargo against Russia stick and less painful to ourselves and Europeans. And theres plenty of room for savings: A Stanford University study released last week concluded that Americans use four times  thats not a misprint  more energy than is needed to sustain healthy and happy lives.

Since and including Vietnam, Americans in general have not been asked to sacrifice to wage war, even by paying higher taxes. Old World War II rationing cards I inherited from my mother are a reminder that, in one way or another, all of America shared in the cost of fighting that conflict.

If you genuinely want to support freedom and democracy  both in Ukraine and around the world  some sacrifice is necessary. Clicking the sad and angry emojis on Facebook posts about the war will not defeat Putin. Think of the hardships Ukrainians now are enduring before you grouse about the rising cost of fuel and this call to conserve.

Do it for Ukraine. Do it for humanity. Do it for our planet.

Andre Stepankowsky retired in August 2020 after a 41-year career as a reporter and city editor at The Daily News. He has won or shared in many prestigious journalism awards, including the staffs 1981 Pulitzer Prize for coverage of Mount St. Helens. His column will appear on the editorial page every other Wednesday.

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Besides the realme 9, realme Malaysia also launched the realme Pad mini. Since the product was launched before, here is everything you need to know about the pricing, sales and availability.

The realme Pad mini will come in three different variants. Firstly, there are two 3GB + 32GB models that are WiFi or LTE versions at the price of RM699 and RM749 respectively. For its first sale on 25 April 2022, both models will be priced at RM599 and RM699 respectively and exclusively at Shopee Malaysia. On the other hand, the 4GB + 64GB (LTE) model will only be available at physical realme stores for RM799.

A quick recap of the tech specs, the realme Pad mini is an entry-level tablet featuring a Unisoc T616 processor. Despite that, it has some redeeming qualities such as a 6400mAh battery with an 18W quick charge technology, an 8.7-inch display and a UFS 2.1 flash storage. The tablet is quite thin too, measuring 7.59mm with an aluminium alloy body.

So what do you think of this tablet? Let us know in the comments below and if you want to know the full tech specs, you can visit our news coverage about it here. Stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

China's demand for coal imports, including from Australia, will drop significantly by 2025, according to new modeling led by researchers at The Australian National University (ANU).

The researchers examined China's plans for decarbonisation as well as investment in domestic railroads in order to reduce dependence on seaborne coal imports and increase the country's energy security.

Their purpose-built model shows China's thermal imports could fall by at least 26 per cent, from 210 megaton to 155 megaton per year, between 2019 and 2025. If China follows through on ambitious climate policies, thermal coal imports could fall as low as 115 megaton per year in 2025a decline of 45 per cent.

Lead author of the study Dr. Jorrit Gosens said the modeling shows major coal exporters like Australia would feel the biggest losses from the changes.

"Our findings are clear; Beijing's plans for rapid decarbonisation and energy security signal the end for Australia's current coal export boon," Dr. Gosens said.

"And this isn't going to happen far off into the future; it is imminent. Our modeling predicts Chinese demand for Australian thermal coal will fall to between 30 and 40 megaton in 2025, down from about 50 megaton in 2019.

"When it comes to coking coal imports, Australia is the country that stands to lose the most. Australia's coking coal exports to China are expected to fall to between 20 and 22 megaton, down from close to 30 megaton in 2019."

According to the researchers, in normal years around a quarter of both Australia's thermal and coking coal exports are destined for China. Dr. Gosens warns Australian businesses and political leaders can't rely on an increase in demand for Australian coal, even if the recent ban on imports is lifted.

"Our results mostly show that China's investments in coal transport infrastructure have greatly reduced the cost for China to cut imports, whether to impose punitive trade embargoes or to prop up domestic mining sector demand and employment," Dr. Gosens said.

"Even if Australia were to reconcile its current political differences with China, it should expect Chinese demand for its coal to be well below pre-conflict levels and to keep falling from that level.

"Any Chinese reduction in demand matters, even if the Chinese embargo on coal imports from Australia remains in place. Such reductions would free up the current suppliers to China to find new customers in the global seaborne market, where they would push out Australian suppliers.

"China has been investing heavily in coal transport infrastructure for many years, precisely to reduce dependency on foreign energy. The recent turmoil in global energy markets will only strengthen Beijing's resolve to decrease its dependency on them."

Study co-author Professor Frank Jotzo said the changes would have long-lasting impacts on the Australian economy as well as political debates about climate change.

"Our findings illustrate how energy security concerns, a fracturing global security and trade landscape, combined with climate action are putting the squeeze on coalnot in the distant future but imminently," Professor Jotzo said.

"Governments and investors would be wise to consider these findings in their medium to long-term outlook, more than the short-term gains from the current energy market volatility.

"Our findings should be of high concern to the coal industry and to Australian governments. Coal will be on the way down. We need to foster alternative economic futures. Australia's resource and energy industries have every opportunity to prosper in a low-emissions world."

Explore further China govt to help run coal power plants at full capacity

More information: Jorrit Gosens, China's decarbonization and energy security plans will reduce seaborne coal imports: results from an installation level model, Joule (2022). www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(22)00135-0 Journal information: Joule Jorrit Gosens, China's decarbonization and energy security plans will reduce seaborne coal imports: results from an installation level model,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2022.03.008
SYDNEY, April 20 (Xinhua) -- As the world struggles through the third year of the pandemic, leaders of countries such as Australia are encouraging a "living with COVID-19" mindset, a seemingly relaxed attitude which could prove deadly, according to a prominent scientist.

Professor Adrian Esterman, chair of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of South Australia, told Xinhua on Tuesday that such an approach to the highly contagious disease is especially dangerous for older and frail people and, as such, should not replace proven safety measures such as high vaccination rates, mandatory wearing of face masks and social distancing.

"Even old people who are fully vaccinated are still at high risk of serious infection if they get infected," Esterman said, adding that although the Omicron variants were much milder than Delta, "a small percentage of people will get severely ill and die ... even those who are very fit and young."

The long-term symptoms of COVID-19 are another major concern that Esterman believes may impose heavy burdens on victims of the illness and the healthcare system.

"We don't know an awful lot about long COVID," he conceded. "There are so many symptoms that people get: brain shrinkage, brain fog, severe headaches, severe fatigue, problems within nervous system, problems with their heart, problems of the respiratory system ... the list just goes on."

"It's way worse than viruses like influenza; there's such a lot of people ending up with long-term problems and a wide variety of symptoms."

With so much at stake, Esterman is concerned that countries such as Australia and Britain are prematurely easing essential safety measures which he believes is a "retrograde step."

"It's just a populist move to say 'COVID-19 is no longer here, let's forget about it, let's get back to our normal lives.'"

"Unfortunately, the virus doesn't know that, the virus is still there. It's still infecting people, killing people and putting people in hospital."

"This is what it's like now in Australia. There are very few public health restrictions. The state and territory governments and the federal government have left people to fend for themselves. I think that's a terrible shame because one of the first jobs of any government is to protect the public."

His prognosis appears well-founded given the latest national COVID-19 figures which show that as of Monday, 6,786 people had died of the illness in Australia since the start of the pandemic with 4,547 of those deaths having been in 2022.

Regarding the COVID-19 situation in Shanghai, Esterman said he believed Chinese health authorities faced an uphill battle given the high infectiousness of the Omicron variant.

Esterman believes the authorities need to ensure a high rate of vaccination, along with the other proven safety measures including adequate ventilation systems.

"I think China can still control the numbers and ensure that the hospital system doesn't get swamped. Just dampen down the number of cases so the health systems can manage well." 
India is tapping a new energy source that promises to help clean up smog-choked cities and is already providing a vital revenue stream for poor Indian farmers: bovine manure.

India is tapping a new energy source that promises to help clean up smog-choked cities and is already providing a vital revenue stream for poor Indian farmers: truckloads of bovine manure.

Cows are venerated as sacred creatures by the country's Hindu majority. They also have pride of place in India's rural communities, where they are still regularly used as draught animals.

Rural households have long burned sun-dried cattle droppings to heat stoves, a practice that continues despite government efforts to phase it out with subsidised gas cylinders.

Villages on the outskirts of the central Indian city of Indore are now being handsomely rewarded for handing over their mounds of bovine waste in a pilot project to help meet the city's power needs.

"We have a very good quality dung, and we keep the dung clean to ensure it fetches the best price," farmer Suresh Sisodia told AFP.

The 46-year-old has sold nearly a dozen truckloads of fresh manure at the equivalent of $235 per shipmentmore than the monthly income of the average Indian farming household.

Sisodia's farm has 50 head of cattle and, in the past, occasionally offset costs by selling manure for fertiliser. Now, he is hopeful for a more reliable revenue stream.

Villages on the outskirts of the city of Indore are now being rewarded for handing over their mounds of bovine waste in a pilot project to help meet the city's power needs.

'Dung money'

"The farmers pick it up once every six or 12 months and there are seasons when they don'tbut the plant could give us a steady income," he said, adding that his farm generates enough manure to fill a truck every three weeks.

His family are one of the many beneficiaries of "Gobardhan"literally "dung money" in Hindisince the inauguration of a nearby biomass plant by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February.

Sisodia's cattle droppings are carted to the plant, where they are mixed with household waste to produce flammable methane gas and an organic residue that can be used as fertiliser.

Eventually, the plant is slated to work through 500 tonnes of waste, including at least 25 tonnes of bovine faeces, each dayenough to power the city's public transit system, with plenty left over.

"One half will run Indore buses and the other half will be sold to industrial clients," plant boss Nitesh Kumar Tripathi told AFP.

Cattle droppings from Suresh Sisodia's farm are carted to the plant, where they are mixed with household waste to produce flammable methane gas and an organic residue that can be used as fertiliser.

The Gobardhan pilot programme has faced its share of logistical hurdles, with decrepit rural roads making it hard for the plant's dung-carrying trucks to reach farms.

Farmers have also been sceptical of what appears to be a get-rich-quick scheme and required careful "assurances of quick and regular" payments before signing on, said Ankit Choudhary, who scouts villages for potential suppliers.

The Indian government, however, has high hopes for the initiative, with Modi pledging waste-to-gas plants in 75 other locations since the Indore facility began operations.

Cultivating alternative energy sources is an urgent priority in India, which burns coal to meet nearly three-quarters of the energy needs of its 1.4 billion citizens.

Its cities regularly rank among the most smog-choked urban centres in the world as a result. Air pollution is blamed for more than a million deaths in India annually, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

Eventually, the plant is slated to work through 500 tonnes of waste, including at least 25 tonnes of bovine faeces, each day -- enough to power the city's public transit system.

Sacred strays

The project is also guaranteed to appeal to Hindu nationalist groupsModi's most important political constituency and vocal advocates of cow protection.

Under their watch, "cow vigilantes" have run Muslim-owned abattoirs out of business and lynched people accused of involvement in cattle slaughter.

But bovine-centric religious policies have led to unintended consequences, with stray cows now a common sight in villages and even on busy roads in big cities.

Government acolytes such as Malini Laxmansingh Gaur, a former Indore mayor and member of Modi's party, hope that scaling up the biogas project will incentivise farmers to keep their cows even when they are too old to give milk or help till fields.

"This extra income will both clean villages and help tackle the strays," she told AFP.

 2022 AFP
Harold Adams, Texas A&M Class of 1961 who was an A&M architecture professor and distinguished alumnus, died April 12 at age 82 after a short illness.

Adams, a Palmer native, graduated from A&M with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1962. He was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of A&M in 2011 and joined A&Ms College of Architecture in 2018 as a Professor of Professional Practice. Adams received an honorary doctorate of letters from A&M, endowed four professorships and one scholarship with the College of Architecture, and served as a member of its College Development Advisory Council.

After graduating from A&M, Adams began working on building projects in Washington, D.C, including on Lafayette Square. He worked on several projects for President John F. Kennedy and his family, including an addition to Robert Kennedys house in Virginia, renovations of homes at the Kennedy compound in Massachusetts, and discussed possible sites for Kennedys Presidential Library and Museum. Adams was the project manager for Kennedys gravesite memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.

Adams joined RTKL in 1967 and later became president, CEO and chairman. RTKLs projects during Adams tenure included rebuilding the Pentagon after 9/11; the United States Capitol Visitor Center; the renovation of Bancroft Hall at the U. S. Naval Academy; the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, D.C.; the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum; and master planning for Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

The American Institute of Architects awarded Adams with two of its highest honors, the Edward C. Kemper Award. He served as chancellor of the College of Fellows in 199798. In 2014, he received the College of Fellows highest honor, the Leslie N. Boney Spirit of Fellowship Award. Adams was one of the first Americans to hold a first-class Kenchikushi license from Japans Ministry of Construction and also belonged to the Royal Institute of British Architects.

A celebration of Adams life was held at A&Ms All Faiths Chapel last Saturday. A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. April 28 at the Adams Family Farm in Needmore, Pennsylvania. In lieu of flowers a remembrance is asked to be sent in Adams name to The Texas A&M Foundation, College of Architecture: Harold Adams Interdisciplinary Program/Professorships.
HOUSTON  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is facing mounting pressure from former Trump administration officials to immediately declare a migrant invasion at the U.S.-Mexico border, under a constitutional provision that would allow local law enforcement and National Guard troops to stop migrants at the border and send them back to Mexico.

The federal government is responsible for enforcement of immigration laws. But a pandemic rule that has blocked more than 1.7 million migrants attempting to enter the U.S.  Title 42  is scheduled to be lifted May 23 by the Biden administration.

Abbott and other officials have said that could cause a spike in migration, with up to 18,000 migrants arriving at the border daily. Already the number of migrants at the southern border increased 33% last month from February to 221,303, according to figures released Monday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Thats 28% more migrants arriving than March 2021. Several thousand migrants are waiting to claim asylum in camps just across the border from Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Former Trump officials at the Center for Renewing America, a conservative think tank based in Washington, are pushing Republican governors in border states to act soon to prevent those migrants from entering the U.S. and to deter others from making the journey. Officials have reached out to Arizona and Texas leaders, arguing that under the Constitutions invasion clause and states self-defense clause, states are entitled to define what they consider an invasion and defend themselves by expelling migrants.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, released a legal opinion supporting the plan this year, arguing, The violence and lawlessness at the border caused by transnational cartels and gangs satisfies the definition of an invasion under the U.S. Constitution, and Arizona therefore has the power to defend itself.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has demurred, stressing steps hes already taken to secure the border. On Tuesday, he announced a border strike force agreement with 25 fellow Republican governors, including Abbott, to combat cartels and other border crime. Texas leaders also have yet to respond publicly to the plan, but local officials say theyre considering it.

The Trump administration was actually trying to protect the state against the invasion, while the Biden administration has made it worse, said Ken Cuccinelli, a former Homeland Security official under Trump, now a senior fellow at the Center for Renewing America and one of the plans main proponents.

It wouldnt be the first time states used the invasion clause to confront the federal government over immigration. In the mid-1990s, half a dozen states, including Arizona, California and Texas, sued the federal government alleging its failure to stop illegal immigration violated the invasion clause. But federal courts rejected the claims, ruling they were political questions.

Simply because the courts didnt decide the issue doesnt mean a governor has the power to declare a migrant invasion and start enforcing federal immigration law, said Emily Berman, an associate professor who teaches constitutional law at the University of Houston.

Theres nothing that gives the governor authority to invoke the invasion clause, Berman said. It would be a stretch to think that it was up to a governor to unilaterally determine the existence of an invasion.  Even a common-sense interpretation of the word invasion does not describe what is happening. Russian tanks are not rolling over the border. Thats what an invasion looks like.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Abbott did not respond to requests for comment about the plan this week.

Don McLaughlin, mayor of the south Texas city of Uvalde, said hes been in regular contact with Abbotts and Paxtons offices and believes that in coming days, the governor will invoke the invasion clause.

I have a sneaking suspicion maybe well see that within the next week or 10 days, McLaughlin said last week, based on conversations Ive had with different people that hes going to invoke that clause.

McLaughlin, who is nonpartisan but leans Republican, said he supports using the invasion clause because, Its going to give us more powers as citizens and law enforcement in our own state.

He said migrants have been increasingly breaking into local ranches, damaging fences and prompting high-speed chases.

I think were all going to be forced to make a stand. In Texas, I think thats coming, he said. We are going to enforce the law, even if the federal government wont.

Invoking the invasion clause would be most significant in Texas, the busiest stretch of the border for illegal crossings for years. Abbott, a former Texas attorney general running for a third term as governor, has stepped up border security in recent weeks and promised at border briefings to take unprecedented actions.

At a briefing in the Rio Grande Valley last week, Abbott faulted the Biden administrations plan to lift Title 42 and said, It has left Texas to come up with strategies to secure our border.

We are going to do what is necessary to ensure we have safe and secure borders, he said.

During the last year, Abbott has taken increasingly dramatic and costly steps to show hes tough on border security. He erected a state-funded border fence and launched Operation Lone Star, deploying more than 10,000 state troopers and guard troops to arrest and jail about 3,500 migrants on state trespassing charges at a cost of about $2 billion. This month, Abbott bused migrants to Washington and increased security checks on traffic at the border, prompting massive delays.

But right-wing critics  including challengers Abbott faced in a competitive primary last month  insist he hasnt done enough to stop the flow of migrants to Texas.

Operation Lone Star  that sounds so cool, but it doesnt stop anything. Theyre just looking busy, said Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general who unsuccessfully ran for governor there in 2013, calling the operation window dressing.

There is zero evidence it has done anything to slow the flow across the border of migrants, he said. Until you are returning people into Mexico reliably and regularly, you will not slow the flow.

Expelling migrants from Texas and Arizona would probably send them toward New Mexico and California, pressuring Democratic governors in those states to act too, Cuccinelli said. But he said Abbott needs to act soon to prevent migrants from making the journey, which often takes weeks.

You have to be delivering deterrence messaging weeks before. The only deterrence that works is some commitment to stopping people from entering the country, he said.

For Abbott, showing hes willing to go further than other governors on border security could help him win reelection by the large margin he needs if he wants to run for president in 2024, said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston. But it also risks providing ammunition to Abbotts opponent, former Texas Rep. Beto ORourke, a Democrat who would probably attack the policy as racist.

The more you push the envelope, the more you run the risk of Democrats using your policies to turn out more Latinos, particularly younger Latinos, in November, Jones said.
Century Square in College Station will host Wellfest from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The event includes outdoor fitness classes and activities, live music, vendors and more. Tickets are $30 through Friday and $35 on Saturday at the event. For ticket information, visit go.theeagle.com/wellfest.

WEDNESDAY

EVENTS

Salvation Army food distribution, beginning at 9 a.m. at 2506 Cavitt Ave. in Bryan. Food will be distributed to those in need until supplies run out.

Dart tournament, 7 p.m. at Bottlenecks, 1789 F.M. 60 in Deanville.

Pool tournament, 8 p.m. at Bottlenecks, 1789 F.M. 60 in Deanville. $10 entry fee.

Story time for Babies and Toddlers, 10 a.m. at Clara B. Mounce Public Library, 201 E. 26th St. in Bryan. A musical, puppet-filled story time for children ages 3 and under.

Ready to Read story time, 10:30 a.m. at Clara B. Mounce Public Library, 201 E. 26th St. in Bryan. Longer stories geared toward children ages 4 to 6 years old.

Tween Craft Hour, 4 p.m. at Larry J. Ringer Library, 1818 Harvey Mitchell Parkway in College Station. For ages 8 to 12. Registration is required. Email earthur@bryantx.gov for information.

Exploring History Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. at Larry J. Ringer Library, 1818 Harvey Mitchell Parkway in College Station. College Stations Historic Preservation Committee and Parks and Recreation Department present monthly lectures on the communitys history. This months lecture will be on the Bush Presidential Library and Museum by Warren Finch. Attendance to the presentation is free; the reservation deadline for the lunch has passed.

Blood drive, noon to 5:45 p.m. at St. Pauls Lutheran Church, 305 W. Third St. in Brenham. Email jmsstok@hotmail.com for more information.

LIVE MUSIC

Wayne Johnson, 6 p.m. at Casa Do Brasil, 1665 Greens Prairie Road in College Station.

Johnny and Lise McNally, 7 to 9 p.m. at Luigis Patio Ristorante, 3975 Texas 6 in College Station.

COVID-19 TESTING

St. Teresa Catholic Church, 201 Hall St. in Bryan, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. On-site registration accepted. curative.com.

Kohls parking lot kiosk, 1509 Texas Ave. in College Station, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Rapid PCR testing. On-site registration accepted. curative.com.

Blinn College, 651 Blinn Blvd. in Brenham, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. On-site registration accepted. curative.com.

Rudder Plaza kiosk, 275 Joe Routt Blvd. on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For Texas A&M students, faculty and staff members. Appointments required.

Mays Plaza kiosk, 210 Olsen Blvd. on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For Texas A&M students, faculty and staff members. Appointments required.

A.P. Beutel Health Center, 311 Houston St. on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For Texas A&M students, faculty and staff members. Appointments required.

EXHIBITS

Oceans of Plastic at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station. A collection of art made from plastic pollution acquired from beaches along the Texas coast. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $9 for adults, and tickets must be purchased at bush41.org/visit/admission.

The Art of Gemology, through July 9 at the Arts Council of Brazos Valley, 4180 Texas 6 in College Station. A collection of work by Neena Buxani. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m.

Painting My Legacy, through May 31 at the Arts Council of Brazos Valley, 4180 Texas 6 in College Station. A collection of work by June Dudley. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m.

Texas on Paper, through May 29 at the J. Wayne Stark Galleries in the Memorial Student Center on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station. The exhibit examines the growth and popularity of printmaking among artists and an exploration of various paper media. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. tx.ag/paper.

Space: Now You See It, through May 15 at the J. Wayne Stark Galleries in the Memorial Student Center on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station. The exhibit explores how floral art installations inhabit and alter perceptions of space and depth of field. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. tx.ag/floralspace.

Fire and Earth, the Story of Ceramics, through May 28 at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History, 3232 Briarcrest Drive in Bryan. Exhibit highlights include the origins of ceramics, current uses and the future of the material. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults.

Unexpected Treasures on the Texas A&M campus, through Friday at the Cushing Memorial Library and Archives. The exhibit includes rare and unique items from campus collections. It is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz are finding themselves increasingly at odds as they try to shape the next Republican majority in the Texas House, splitting their endorsements in a host of primary runoffs in which candidates appear to differ on school choice.

In recent days, Cruz has endorsed five opponents to Abbott-backed candidates in primary runoffs for the state House, all within a couple weeks after the governor announced his endorsement in each race. Cruz already had endorsed a challenger to an Abbott-backed incumbent before the primary, tallying six total runoffs in which they are now on opposite sides.

The dueling endorsements are raising eyebrows since Abbott and Cruz tend to align politically. But both are ambitious Republicans  each has left the door open to running for president in 2024  and Cruz appears to be flexing his well-documented affinity for candidates who support school choice, a term Republicans have used for several years to describe programs that give parents state money to send their kids to schools outside of the states public education system.

Sen. Cruz believes that school choice is the most important domestic issue in the country, Cruz spokesperson Steve Guest said in a statement. He doesnt hesitate to endorse and support candidates in primaries that will fight for school choice across Texas.

Most notably, Abbott and Cruz are on opposite sides of two runoffs in which incumbents  state Reps. Kyle Kacal of College Station and Glenn Rogers of Graford  face challengers who would be reliable votes for school choice. Abbott has backed the incumbents while Cruz has endorsed Ben Bius, who is challenging Kacal, and Mike Olcott, who is running against Rogers.

In a sign of how important the runoffs are to school choice advocates, a national group called the School Freedom Fund is launching TV ads Wednesday against both Kacal and Rogers. The 30-second spots bash Kacal as the most liberal Republican in the Texas House and tell voters that Rogers is beholden to education union bosses working against you, referring to his support from groups like the Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers.

The School Freedom Fund  a super PAC affiliated with the Club for Growth, a national conservative group  said it is spending $220,000 in the Kacal-Bius runoff and $92,000 in the race between Rogers and Olcott. Its airing the ads on Fox News and radio stations.

Standing against school choice is standing on the wrong side of history, School Freedom Funds president, David McIntosh, said in a statement.

Also driving the tension is the fact that two of the runoff candidates that Abbott has backed  Justin Berry in House District 19 and Barron Casteel in House District 73  were endorsed in January by the Texas AFT, a union that school choice advocates see as an obstacle to their cause. Cruz has endorsed both of their opponents  Ellen Troxclair, who is running against Berry, and Carrie Isaac, who is running against Casteel.

Cruz has spoken openly about his thinking when it comes to endorsements. In January, he said that if someone voted against school choice, the chances of them getting his endorsement are essentially zero. And if someone supports school choice, Cruz added, he will consider engaging and engaging hard.

Abbotts runoff endorsement strategy is not as obvious and his picks have left some school choice activists frustrated. He has generally supported the concept and, earlier this year, he predicted that in the next legislative session Texans will see a stronger, swifter, more powerful movement advocating school choice than youve ever seen in the history of the state of Texas.

Abbotts picks in the runoff are largely seen as the more mainstream Republicans in each matchup. And they come after Abbott weathered more than a year of nagging criticism from his right  over his pandemic response and his legislative agenda  that ultimately culminated in a decisive March primary win.

Governor Abbott supports the best candidates for office who will fight for the people of Texas, defend our conservative values and secure the future of our state for generations to come, Abbott campaign spokesperson Renae Eze said in a statement for this story.

The broad concept of school choice is popular among Texas Republicans. In the March primary, 88% of voters approved of a ballot proposition that asked voters whether they agreed with the statement, Texas parents and guardians should have the right to select schools, whether public or private, for their children, and the funding should follow the student.

But the issue divides Republican lawmakers when it comes to school voucher programs, which would let parents use public money for private school education. Rural Republicans are often the most outspoken opponents, voicing concerns that such initiatives would hurt the public schools that are the lifeblood of their tightly knit communities.

The Texas House has long been a firewall against voucher proposals. During the last regular legislative session, the chamber voted 115-29 on a budget amendment to ban school vouchers, with a majority of Republicans siding with Democrats.

Still, school choice advocates took encouragement during the last regular session from the passage of a bill that expanded grants allowing special-needs students whose schools closed due to the pandemic to seek support services elsewhere. And some believe Republicans growing focus on increasing parental involvement in the classroom  whether it be over determining COVID-19 policies or curriculum on race and gender  also has been helpful for the cause.

They may still not have the numbers in the House, but school choice groups such as the American Federation for Children scored a victory last year when Brian Harrison, a former Trump administration official, defeated former state Rep. John Wray, a Republican of Waxahachie, in a special election for his old House seat in rural North Texas. Cruz had endorsed Harrison.

AFC also picked up another ally several weeks later when San Antonio Republican John Lujan won a special election runoff for a previously Democratic-held seat.

We do see that school choice and parental freedom and empowerment is a driving issue in these [runoffs], said Mandy Drogin, AFC director in Texas. We see that parents now more than ever are engaged across the spectrum.

The runoff debate over school choice was on full display during a forum Monday between Casteel and Isaac in the Hill Countrys House District 73. Abbott supports Casteel for the open seat, while Cruz has endorsed Isaac.

Minutes after the event started, Casteel took a question about the Texas AFT endorsement, and he promptly disavowed it. He said the local congressperson, Chip Roy, had brought the endorsement to his attention and he immediately went to their website, where it is clear that I cannot even remotely begin to agree with a number of the things they propose. Casteel said he contacted them and asked them to take back their endorsement.

Isaac and Casteel offered slightly different answers when asked about school choice. Isaac gave an answer broadly approving of education freedom, saying she supports the right for parents to choose the best education for their children. Casteels answer was more careful, focused on public charter schools as the main alternative for parents.

I think that we need to continue to allow for more options, more accountable options, and I will continue to work for that, he said.

While he repeatedly distanced himself from Texas AFT, Casteel boasted his Abbott endorsement, saying he was proud to have the support of the most conservative governor in the United States.

Abbott is not without high-powered allies in his runoff endorsements. House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, also has endorsed Casteel and Harris. As the leader of the chamber, Phelan can be expected to defend incumbents Rogers and Kacal.

Phelan said in a statement he was supporting candidates who have proven records of championing conservative values and being trusted leaders in their communities.

The relationship between Abbott and Cruz spans at least two decades. As attorney general, Abbott gave Cruz a high-profile job in making him solicitor general in 2003. Cruz stood by Abbott through the intraparty heat he faced in his latest primary, saying he would be a disloyal jackass if he did not support his former boss.

This election cycle is not the first time the two have been on opposite sides of a state House primary runoff. Cruz also endorsed an opponent to Rogers in 2020, when he was running for an open seat with Abbotts support. Rogers defeated the opponent, Jon Francis, by a small margin.
PHNOM PENH, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has made a right decision to choose China as the strategic supplier of COVID-19 vaccines, which have enabled the country to achieve strong herd immunity very early, Cambodian scholars said.

The southeast Asian nation launched a national vaccination drive against COVID-19 in February 2021, with most of the vaccines being Sinovac and Sinopharm, and reached full herd immunity just in eight months.

Kin Phea, director-general of the International Relations Institute at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said vaccines have protected people's lives, stabilized health system and helped restore the kingdom's economy.

"The royal government of Cambodia has made the correct decision to choose China as a strategic supplier of COVID-19 vaccines so that's why Cambodia has enough vaccines for its people," he told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Phea said Chinese vaccines have enabled Cambodia to fully resume its socio-economic activities and to reopen its borders to vaccinated travelers without quarantine since last November.

The kingdom has administered one dose of COVID-19 vaccines to 14.86 million people, or 92.9 percent of its 16-million population, the health ministry said, adding that of them, 14.12 million, or 88.2 percent, have been fully vaccinated with two required shots.

Also, some 8.12 million, or 50.8 percent, have taken the third dose, and 1.24 million, or 7.7 percent, have got the fourth jab, the health ministry said.

Thong Mengdavid, a research fellow at the Phnom Penh-based Asian Vision Institute, said great success in vaccinations has allowed Cambodia to focus more on boosting trade, investment and tourism.

"Tourism is recovering. Sooner, there will be a gradual rise in garment industry, real estate and construction, as well as trade activities as the country has been fully opened to all foreigners," he told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at the BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh, said with its high vaccination rate, Cambodia's economic and trade activities have returned to full swing, with growth projected to be robust this year and next year.

"The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade pact, and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement, which both took effect on Jan. 1, 2022, are the key contributors to boosting Cambodia's economy and international trade during and after the pandemic," he said.

Citing an Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s economic report, Matthews said Cambodia's economy will likely grow by 5.3 percent in 2022 and 6.5 percent in 2023.

Cambodia registered 27 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, all of which were confirmed to be the Omicron variant, with one new fatality, the health ministry said, adding that to date, the country has reported 136,117 cases with 132,825 recoveries and 3,056 deaths.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said Wednesday that the kingdom has the lowest number of COVID-19 cases among the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"Now, Cambodia has become the country in ASEAN with the lowest number of people infected," he said in a speech during the inauguration of flood prevention and drainage system improvement achievements in Phnom Penh. 
Gov. Pete Ricketts has signed the Nebraska Career Scholarship Act into law.

A representative from state Sen. Ray Aguilars office reported to The Independent that the bill was signed by Ricketts on Tuesday afternoon.

LB902 was passed by the Nebraska Legislature on March 12 with a 48-0 vote.

Introduced by Aguilar in January, LB902 funds scholarships of $10,000-$25,000 per year as part of a cohort program that aims to retain interns after the completion of their studies to help address area workforce needs.

Were really excited because this is going to do great things for Grand Island, and any other community that chooses to use it, he told The Independent on March 12. I know some of the business owners are quite anxious to get started with it and we have some college students that are just as anxious, as well.

The bill appropriates $6 million to the University of Nebraska, $3 million to state colleges and $4 million to the Department of Economic Development for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce has partnered with Wayne State College for the unique cooperative internship program.

Students in the program will get career scholarship funding for their first three years of study, and for the fourth year, spent in Grand Island, they would also get a stipend that would support them being housed locally.

The programs first students will be selected this fall and graduate in 2025 after developing their skills and talents exclusively in Grand Island.

Michael Keibler, Wayne State executive director of cooperative education, said it took a lot of effort and support for the legislation to succeed.

Its a great step forward for educating our students, bringing young professionals into the market and into Grand Island, Keibler said. It provides a pathway to retain and educate our students in Nebraska.

Recruitment will start for the first students to begin the program in fall 2024.

GIACC President Cindy Johnson called LB902 get final approval a victory for Grand Island.

Most times, when legislation happens, its not easy, she said. Thats a win when youre able to come out of those tough discussions with an end-product that gives everybody something. In our case, it gets us 15 interns this year, 30 the following year, and increasing that up to 75 in four years.

Mayor Roger Steele was instrumental in bringing attention to the need for such a program in Grand Island, Johnson told The Independent.

Steele said the program will help Grand Island retain interns by helping them to stay in central Nebraska and by providing access to high-paying jobs.

We do not have a college that offers four-year degrees in Grand Island, he said. This is a win for us because were getting something very similar. Were getting college students who, when theyre freshmen, they have to identify that theyre interested in coming to Grand Island, and then theyre put on a course of study that will make that happen when theyre seniors.

He added, It helps to keep us competitive when it comes to attracting knowledge-workers.

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The Central Platte Natural Resources District is looking for volunteers to serve as classroom guides at the upcoming Nebraska Childrens Groundwater Festival on Tuesday, May 17, at Central Community College and College Park.

Classroom guides work for four-hour shifts and are matched with one of the 37 fifth-grade school groups attending the festival. Classroom guides lead their designated group to the classrooms on their schedule.

Each school group participates in six in-depth classes and a stage show that reinforce groundwater quality, groundwater quantity, natural resources and wildlife education taught by more than 50 water and natural resources professionals. Approximately 100 people from surrounding communities and businesses volunteer for the event.

An optional classroom guide training is planned for 4 p.m. Monday, May 16, at CCC-Grand Island. Coordinators will help volunteers walk through their schedule to become familiar with the campuses.

If volunteers are unable to attend training, they also may arrive 20 minutes prior to their schedule to familiarize themselves with the campuses.

Volunteers receive complimentary doughnuts, coffee, water, lunch and T-shirts. Twenty-nine activities will take place on the college campuses. Some of the activities at this years festival include:

Awesome Aquifers, presented by the U.S. Geological Survey. Learn how surface water and groundwater interact and how external factors like pumping and contamination affect them.

Consequences of Unpurified Water, presented by Stuhr Museum. Historical-based activity. Students act as pioneers who travel along the trail and encounter different drinking water choices.

Critter Cube Count, Grand Island Izaak Walton League / Students role dice to identify macroinvertebrate, then use math to calculate the health of a stream and how if aects groundwater.

Green/Gray Relay, Nebraska Extension. Students compete in a green/gray relay race to learn the relationship of non-point source pollution to the surface and groundwater interaction.

Gooey Garbage, Upper Big Blue NRD. Students create a model landfill to discuss precipitation, percolation and leachate to learn how important it is to protect groundwater from contamination.

How Wetlands Work, Ducks Unlimited. Students create their own wetland and learn how they help people every day by preventing ooding, pollution and replenishing groundwater supplies.

Mime, Masks & the Magic of Groundwater Stage Show, Fax Gilbert performs skills of mime, magic, masks and comedy to teach and inspire students about groundwater.

Soil is the Skin of the World, USDA/NRCS State Soil Scientist. Students will get their hands in the dirt to build their own Soil Profile Card with live demonstrations and real soil visual aides.

To volunteer contact Marcia Lee at 308-385-6282, email lee@cpnrd.org or visit the Central Platte NRD website at www.cpnrd.org/education.
Country

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Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
HARRISBURG  Southern Illinois Healthcare released its 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment Tuesday morning at Southeastern Illinois College.

The CHNA, which was conducted in 2021, includes Franklin, Gallatin, Hardin, Jackson, Johnson, Perry, Pope, Saline, Union, White and Williamson counties.

The purpose of the assessment is to identify the most important community health traits, set programming and implementation priorities, align work efforts with community partners and garner support and assistance, and meet new requirements to address health equity, reduce disparities and improve community health.

There's no doubt that our area, as is the case for areas all over the country, faced numerous issues that detract from health, wellness and well-being. And we can only solve those issues when we work together, Don Hutson, SIH vice president and administrator of Harrisburg Medical Center, said.

Hutson told those gathered they would learn about the issues and the actions that will address them.

SIH President and CEO Rex Budde explained how the CHNA fits into SIH.

The mission of SIH is that we're dedicated to improving the health and well-being of all the people in the communities we serve. And the key word in there is all. Thats one of the driving forces behind the analysis for the community health needs assessment. It helps point our vision to where we need to go to get things taken care of and focus our attention, Budde said.

To complete the CHNA, officials collected local, state and national data, surveyed the community in the 11 counties, and surveyed physicians, healthcare providers and leaders.

SIH System Director of Community Health Angie Bailey the community health needs assessment helps identify the most important health issues in Southern Illinois.

So, we look at data. This community health needs assessment helps us set priorities, because there's so much to do, Bailey said.

She added that 92 to 96% of inpatient and outpatient visits at the four SIH hospitals come from the 11 counties listed, which is why they are targeted.

The team working on the CHNA chose three priority health issues. Those are: Social determinants of health, including access to care, hunger and access to food, housing and poverty; behavioral health, including mental health and substance misuse; and chronic disease prevention, management and treatment.

Angie Hampton, CEO of Egyptian Health Department, has partnered with area health organizations to screen for social determinants and get people to the care they need.

I'd like to bring your attention to one of the reasons why we know that we need for this work to occur and focus more on social determinants of health than ever before. Our population living in poverty in our region is much higher than the state percentage and the across the country as well, Hampton said.

She added that many times basic needs are causing barriers for individuals to access health care.

Dr. Naaem Qureshi, medical director, SIH Behavioral Health, talked about mental health and the stigma of mental illness.

We don't want to be late. We don't want to find people on demand. You want to meet people where they are to improve their situation. So it's removal of stigma, Qureshi said.

Dr. Matthew Winkleman, family practice doctor at SIH Primary Care Harrisburg, talked about chronic health conditions.

You know, there are things we can't change our genetics and some of the things that we just can't do anything about, but a lot of these conditions are directly attributed to and impacted by lifestyle factors, he said.

Winkelman added that we need to meet people where they are and move them toward better health.

For more information about the 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment, visit sih.net or call 618-457-5200, ext. 67834.

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Dan Bush has seen a resurgence in downtown Davenport over the past months. Recovering from historic flooding and learning to handle multiple waves of a pandemic, the co-owner of Analog Arcade Bar, Armored Gardens and Devon's Complaint Department has watched as customers have started coming out again, bringing some life back to the area.

With river cruises set to dock just a few blocks away, Bush said he's expecting even more foot traffic to give downtown a boost.

"Downtown has never felt more alive, and the addition of these cruises is just going to be really helping that growth," Bush said.

More river cruise line passengers than ever will start stopping in the Quad-Cities this summer, as Viking Cruise Lines joins American Cruise Lines in docking in Davenport starting in June.

Other river cruises making a stop or a home in the Quad-Cities include American Queen Voyages, Riverboat Twilight and Celebration Belle.

"It seems like it's a while away, but it's right around the corner," Visit Quad Cities President and CEO Dave Herrell said. "We're going to have probably one of the most activated years in our history in the Quad-Cities for river cruises."

Visit Quad Cities is in the final stages of creating a river cruise lines strategy, Herrell said, to expand on the work it does with cruise lines and local organizations to provide a portfolio of excursions and other opportunities for visitors.

The organization's new Tourism Ambassador Program will use guides to interact with people coming off the boats, providing information for those who need it.

As of now, national river cruises will make 54 stops in the Quad-Cities between late June and early November, according to a schedule provided by Visit Quad Cities. American Cruise Lines and Viking Cruise Lines will dock at River Heritage Park in Davenport, and American Queen Voyages will stop at the Isle Casino Hotel Bettendorf.

Riverboat Twilight and Celebration Belle, operating out of LeClaire and Moline, respectively, are regional cruises.

Herrell stressed the schedule is prone to fluctuation, as cruises can be affected by weather, flooding and other events. He expects to see more stops added to the roster, and residents will see boats stopped at the park every few days, at least. American and Viking are set to share the Davenport dock once this season, on Oct. 11.

Riverfront Improvement Commission Executive Director Steve Ahrens said construction and planning were right on schedule for boats to make their way to River Heritage Park in the coming months. They're waiting for the weather to clear up some before finishing seeding and other tasks, as well as coordinating logistics with the cruise lines.

Showcasing all the Quad-Cities has to offer to river cruise passengers does more than just help local businesses in the moment, Ahrens said. If people are impressed by the area in the few hours they have here, they could decide to visit again, or invest in the area. The cruise lines monitor how passengers respond to different stops, to see if they should dedicate more time or trips, or cut back.

"We're already looking at next year, and they're increasing those stops," Ahrens said. "They book like a year or better out, they've taken reservations now for 2023. And so they add dates based on how fast they fill, and  what people's reaction are, and that includes the stops that are made and that and the communities and the attractions and stuff that they encounter. So it all matters."

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A federal judge, a congressman, a business leader and a firefighter are being honored for their service.

Orangeburg County Council has decided to honor individuals each year who have made contributions to the community in the areas of justice, community, government and as first responders.

The public was asked to nominate individuals who have proven influential in those four sectors.

The names of the inaugural honorees were revealed at Monday's Orangeburg County Council meeting. They are being honored by having their names placed at the Orangeburg County Courthouses Martin Luther King Jr. Monument.

The honorees are:

Justice

In the field of justice, the county is honoring the late Karen Johnson Williams, chief judge of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Williams was the first female judge for the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

She was recommended by the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond and nominated to the bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1992. The court hears cases from the district courts in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland.

Williams died in Nov. 2013 at the age of 62.

According to the nomination, Williams served in the soup kitchen at First Baptist Church in Orangeburg, was a member of the Orangeburg Rotary Club, and former director of the Orangeburg County Retardation Board and the Regional Medical Center Hospital Foundation.

Community

The late Rep. Earl Middleton was honored for his work in the community.

Middleton trained with the famed Tuskegee Airmen in Alabama at the beginning of World War II. He finished his military service in the South Pacific, witnessing a portion of the Japanese surrender at war's end.

Returning to Orangeburg, he began an entrepreneurial career with ownership of Coldwell Banker Middleton and Associates Realtors and The Middleton Insurance Agency.

From 1975 to 1984, he was in the South Carolina General Assembly as a representative from District 95 in Orangeburg County. Middleton was the county's first African-American elected representative since Reconstruction.

Middleton was credited with encouraging young individuals in the community to pursue careers in public service and county government, as well as encouraging minorities to become active in politics and run for state offices.

A life member of Trinity United Methodist Church, Middleton was also a former Scoutmaster and recipient of the Boy Scouts Silver Beaver Award.

Middleton died at the age 88 in 2007.

I know he would be proud, Middleton's son, Kenneth, said about the recognition. He certainly loved Orangeburg and the people of Orangeburg.

He represented them for quite a while through the legislature and worked hard on an ongoing basis for the betterment of Orangeburg and Orangeburg County, he said. That is an honor to be one of the inaugural chosen.

Government

Sixth District Congressman James Clyburn, the House majority whip, is being recognized in the area of government.

Clyburn is a graduate of South Carolina State University who participated in sit-ins during desegregation and was a former teacher, employment counselor and director of several community development programs.

Clyburn also served on staff of Gov. John West as the first non-white member to reach such a position in state government. He also served as the South Carolina Human Affairs Commissioner from 1974 to 1992.

He was the first African American to address the joint session of the General Assembly and the first African American to become House majority whip.

First Responders

Clinton Metts, a lifelong resident of the Canaan community, is being recognized for his service as a first responder.

Metts has served as the chief of the Canaan Fire Department for 37 years and has served as the information technology coordinator and volunteer.

Metts also served as part of the departments dive team, which performs body recovery and evidence recovery from Lake Marion, the Edisto River and local ponds.

In the mid-1990s, he was one of several people who helped start Orangeburg Countys fire service.

Metts worked for Albemarle for 36 years, where he received firefighting, emergency response and hazardous materials experience.

He is also a member of the Canaan Baptist Church.

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by Naim-Ul-Karim

DHAKA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Dhaka University student Sabrina Sultana Liza looked quite confident as she recited Jing Ye Si (Thoughts On A Still Night) in front of audiences Wednesday in Dhaka.

For a foreigner, it takes a lot of courage to recite a poem in a foreign language before audiences.

The show saw 16 acts of presentations, including vocal solo, duet and group performances, staged by students from top leading educational institutions in Bangladesh and China.

Excited Liza said she was happy that so many people told her that they liked her recitation.

"I practiced a lot to make my Chinese poetry recitation flawless," said Liza, a student of the Confucius Institute at the University of Dhaka.

She also tried her best to understand the theme of the poem by Li Bai, a famous Chinese poet of Tang Dynasty.

"I did it finally."

The idea of staging the poetry recitation event is aimed at celebrating the UN Chinese Language Day which is observed annually on April 20. On this day, the contribution of Chinese literature, poetry and language to the world culture is highlighted.

As part of its efforts, the Confucius Institute at the University of Dhaka organized the event under the sponsorship of the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh.

Academicians from leading Dhaka University, the Confucius Institute at the North South University, among others, also joined the event held virtually with students speaking and presenting fluently in Chinese language.

Another student from the Confucius Institute at the University of Dhaka Israt Jahan Ripa said she was always interested in this kind of program.

"After participating in this program I could understand further the beauty of Chinese poetry both ancient and modern," she said, adding "I've enjoyed participating in this event. It would be nice if the Confucius Institute arranges this kind of program every year. I would love to attend this kind of program again."

Nowadays, she said, more and more Bangladeshi students are learning Chinese language.

"They are not only learning Chinese language, but also knowing about the Chinese culture. It helps students to be closer to China. We can learn more about China and also can represent our country," she said.

Md Shariful Islam, who already passed the HSK Level 5 exam with a score of 227, also participated in the poetry recitation.

"I feel very good because this event gives me some new experience. I recited a Chinese poem -- Guan Ju," he said.

He hoped that such events will help promote Chinese language and culture in Bangladesh and contribute to the development of Bangladesh-China relations.

Momena Akter, a first-semester master student at the Chinese Language and Culture Department of Dhaka University, said she is very happy to be part of this event.

"I enjoyed some ancient and modern Chinese poems. The students recited poetry very well. Their level of Chinese is high," she said.

She believes that such events will inspire students to learn Chinese.

If students learn Chinese, it will be helpful to promote the Bangladesh-China relations as well, she said.

Yang Hui, director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Dhaka, said she is proud of the Bangladeshi students who keep studying Chinese language with dedication and participate in different programs to better understand the Chinese culture.

The event, Yang said, will help the Bangladeshi people better understand traditional and modern Chinese poetry and appreciate the charm of the Chinese language and culture. 
By EMMA CRABTREE (EXPRESS)

A BRITISH GENERAL has warned that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is not prepared for a war against Russia.

General Sir Richard Barrons gave his warning during a hearing of the UK parliamentary defence committee. The former head of the Joint Forces Command was asked on Tuesday to explain at what point NATO would have no choice but to fight Russia.

Members of the alliance have been providing aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict through providing weaponry, finance, and other key supplies, but have made a concerted effort to avoid direct action in the conflict.

NATO was set up in the aftermath of the Second World War and its 30 members have all agreed to mutual defence in the event of an attack from a non-member country.

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The formation of the alliance based on defence means that with the invasion of Ukraine, a non-member country, NATO has no place directly defending the nation without escalating the conflict.

General Barrons stated that the organisation will have a call to make in the event that Russian forces begin to succeed on a larger scale and target larger parts of Ukraine.

He added: And that call would be easier if we had made any preparations at all to act in those circumstances at the speed required, and we have not.

The General was asked what other scenarios in relation to the conflict in Ukraine would lead to NATO involvement.

He said: The second aspect would be if whatever happens in Ukraine causes President Putin to escalate it for his own purposes into other parts of NATO.

Then its a very much easier question because we will be dealing with a breach of Article 5 [NATOs mutual defence pact].

Mr Barrons continued: My overall concern in answering that question is that the main reason we are keen to avoid a war between Russia and NATO is that NATO isnt ready.

And we should be ashamed of that.

Sweden and Finland share borders with Russia and have expressed their interest in joining NATO, despite a warning from Putin of the dangers of escalation in the event of their membership.

President Putin labelled the alliance as a tool geared towards confrontation and noted that the membership of Sweden and Finland will not bring stability to the European continent.

During NATOs summit in the summer, the General said that the priority should be to reset the balance of power with Russia in terms of military capability so Moscow no longer thinks it can set the terms of debate with NATO.

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By Camilla Turner (TELEGRAPH)

Boris Johnson on Tuesday night accused the BBC and the Archbishop of Canterbury of being more critical of the Rwanda migrants plan than Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Johnson told Conservative MPs that the BBC and the Archbishop were less vociferous in their criticism of the Russian president than they were of plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Addressing Tory backbenchers at a private meeting, he said the Rwanda deal was a good policy and claimed it had been misconstrued by the BBC and senior members of the clergy.

The Archbishop led the Church of Englands attack on the policy, saying it raised serious ethical questions and cannot stand the judgment of God or carry the weight of our national responsibility as a country formed by Christian values.

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In the sermon, the archbishop said sub-contracting out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well, like Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God who himself took responsibility for our failures.

He also used his sermon to call for a Russian ceasefire, withdrawal and a commitment to talks, adding that this is a time for resetting the ways of peacelet the darkness of war be banished.

He did not mention Putin by name, but said dictators who rule by fear, violence and cruelty will lose.

On the same morning, the Archbishop of York joined the Archbishop of Canterbury in criticising the plan to send migrants to Rwanda.

In his Easter Sunday sermon at York Minster, Stephen Cottrell said he had found it so depressing and distressing this week to find that asylum seekers fleeing war, famine and oppression from deeply, deeply troubled parts of the world will not be treated with the dignity and compassion that is the right of every human being, and instead of being dealt with quickly and efficiently here on our soil will be shipped to Rwanda.

Former prime minister Theresa May on Tuesday said she does not support the policy of sending migrants who arrive by unauthorised means 4,000 miles to East Africa.

And she questioned the legality, practicality and efficacy of the widely-criticised plans.

But senior Tory Dame Andrea Leadsom criticised as absolutely abhorrent and inexplicable criticism from people like Mr Welby.

Meanwhile, addressing the Prime Minister after his speech, the Tory MP for Colne Valley, Jason McCartney, was heard accusing Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer of a whipping up of hysteria and of using language that showed a visceral hatred of the Prime Minister.

Mr Johnson replied that there had been a coarsening of the debate that does our politics no favours.

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Cheyenne police have issued an arrest warrant for a man suspected of involvement in a shooting that hospitalized one person last month.

Authorities suspect Jesus Franco-Ortiz, 30, may have fled to Mexico following the shooting last month.

The warrant is tied to a March 29 shooting that took placed about 3:45 a.m. near the 100 block of West Fifth Street. Police say they later identified Franco-Ortiz as a suspect.

Investigators applied for a search warrant on April 1 on charges of attempted murder.

The victim, a 32-year-old man, is still hospitalized.

Police are asking anyone with information about Franco-Ortizs whereabouts to contact Det. Pendleton at 307-633-6666 or jpendleton@cheyennepd.org.

Information can be provided anonymously at 307-638-TIPS or at silentwitnesslaramiecounty.com.

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AS INFLATION rates climb throughout the Caribbean, Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Cleviston Haynes is cautious about wage adjustments to match it.

A wage adjustment to match inflation is really not the first best option for us, Haynes said at an inflation discussion hosted by the Central Bank of Barbados on Thursday night.
BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The Russia-Ukraine conflict continued Wednesday as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced Tuesday that the second phase of the special military operation in Ukraine has begun. The following are the latest developments:

The operation in eastern Ukraine is aimed at "completely liberating" the populations of Donetsk and Lugansk, Lavrov said during an interview with India Today.

According to a report from Russia Today, Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, said Tuesday that Russian forces once again offer militants and foreign mercenaries at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol to "cease hostilities and lay down their arms."

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Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday conducted their fifth prisoner exchange since the start of the conflict, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

As a result of the swap, 76 Ukrainian prisoners-of-war, including 16 civilians, returned home following their release by Russian forces, Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram.

Of the 60 Ukrainian military personnel released, 10 were officers, she said, giving no information about the number of Russian captives exchanged during the swap.

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday slashed global growth forecast for 2022 to 3.6 percent amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, 0.8 percentage points lower than the January projection, according to its newly released World Economic Outlook report.

The Ukraine crisis unfolds while the global economy is "on a mending path" but has not yet fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said, noting that global economic prospects have worsened "significantly" since the forecast in January.

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Leaders from the Group of Seven countries, the European Union, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization agreed in a video conference on Tuesday to increase pressure on Russia and reduce imports of Russian oil and gas, the Italian government said in a statement.

A "broad consensus" was expressed over "the need to increase pressure on the Kremlin, including through the adoption of further sanctions, and to increase Moscow's international isolation," the statement said, adding that the leaders also reaffirmed the "common commitment to diversify energy sources thus reducing dependence on Russian supplies."

- - - -

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday submitted to the parliament a bill to further extend martial law in the country, the parliament press service said in a statement.

If lawmakers pass the bill, according to a report released by The Kyiv Independent, the martial law will be extended for two months, until June 24.

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Russia has declared 15 diplomats from the Netherlands, an unspecified number of diplomats from Belgium, and four diplomats from Austria "personae non gratae" in a tit-for-tat response, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

The ambassadors of the three countries were summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry in protest over their decisions to declare dozens of Russian diplomats working in these countries "personae non gratae," the ministry said in separate statements.

The Dutch diplomats will need to leave Russia within two weeks, the Belgian diplomats were ordered to leave before the end of the day on May 3, while the Austrian diplomats must leave Russia before the end of the day on April 24. 
SOME assault victims are choosing to profit from their situations by making deals with cri
Within days of being appointed Minister of Public Utilities in August 2020, Marvin Gonzales declared the transformation of the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) to be his number one priority.

In the 21 months since then, Minister Gonzales has gone through two acting CEOs, an executive director and is now on a third acting CEO at WASA. In an environment of turbulence, successive deadlines for implementing WASAs long-promised plan transformation has been missed.
Russia assaulted cities and towns along a boomerang-shaped front hundreds of miles long and poured more troops into Ukraine on Tuesday in a potentially pivotal battle for control of the countrys eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.

If successful, the Russian offensive in what is known as the Donbas would essentially slice Ukraine in two. In Mariupol, the now-devastated port city in the Donbas, Ukrainian troops said the Russian military was dropping heavy bombs to flatten what was left of a sprawling steel plant and hit a hospital where hundreds were staying.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Moscows forces bombarded numerous Ukrainian military sites, including troop concentrations and missile-warhead storage depots, in or near several cities or villages.

Those claims could not be independently verified.

In what both sides described as a new phase of the war, the Russian assault began Monday along a front stretching more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) from northeastern Ukraine to the countrys southeast.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian military was throwing everything it has into the battle, with most of its combat-ready forces now concentrated in Ukraine and just across the border in Russia.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:

 Russian forces are attacking along broad east front, Ukraine says

 Displaced people from across Ukraine seek shelter in Lviv apartment building

 Yellen to see Ukraine PM, avoid Russians at global meetings

 Global finance meeting focuses on war-driven food insecurity

 UN chief urges 4-day Easter pause in fighting in Ukraine

Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

UNITED NATIONS  U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling for a four-day halt in fighting in Ukraine, starting Thursday to coincide with Orthodox Christians Holy Week observances.

Noting that Orthodox Easter is coming amid an intensifying Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, the U.N. chief said Tuesday that the need for a humanitarian pause is all the more urgent.

Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya called on Russia to heed Guterres call.

But Russian deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said Tuesday he was a bit skeptical about the idea.

Guterres said the goal is to allow for evacuating civilians from current or expected areas of confrontation and or getting more humanitarian aid into desperately needy places such as Mariupol, Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson. More than four million people in those areas need assistance, Guterres said.

The proposal comes after the U.N. recently helped to foster a two-month truce in Yemens civil war, halting fighting as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began.

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden is expected to announce a new security assistance package in the coming days that will include additional artillery and ammunition, according to a U.S. official.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said details of the latest package are being finalized.

Last week, in anticipation of Russias offensive in eastern Ukraine, Biden approved an $800 million package including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery. The U.S. has sent about $2.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russian invaded.

Asked by reporters whether hed be sending more artillery, Biden said Yes.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said providing more ammunition and security assistance to Ukraine was discussed by Biden and other allied leaders during a video call on Tuesday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italy Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson took part in the more than 80-minute call.

 Aamer Madhani contributed to this report from Washington.

OTTAWA, Ontario  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will send heavy artillery to Ukraine.

Trudeau says hes been in close contact with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Canada is very responsive to what Ukraine needs. He says there will be more details on the pledge in the days to come, and that Ukrainians have fought like heroes.

Canadas government has also hit 14 more Russians with sanctions for their close ties with President Vladimir Putin, including his two adult daughters.

BERLIN  The International Atomic Energy Agency says direct phone communications between the decommissioned Chernobyl power plant and Ukraines nuclear regulator have been restored.

Ukraine informed the Vienna-based U.N. nuclear watchdog on March 10 that it had lost direct contact with the plant, the site of the 1986 disaster. Russian forces seized Chernobyl at the beginning of the invasion on Feb. 24 and withdrew on March 31.

The IAEAs director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said Tuesday that this was clearly not a sustainable situation, and it is very good news that the regulator can now contact the plant directly when it needs to.

Grossi plans to lead a mission of IAEA experts to Chernobyl to conduct nuclear safety and radiological assessments, deliver equipment and repair the agencys own remote monitoring systems there.

WASHINGTON  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged world finance leaders Tuesday to get concrete as they look for ways to combat a global crisis over food insecurity that's getting worse due to Russias war in Ukraine.

This threat touches the most vulnerable people the hardest  families that are already spending disproportionate amounts of their income on food, Yellen told fellow finance leaders during a food security meeting convened with members of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. People on every continent are impacted.

Failure to feed the worlds population risks not only starvation, but also social unrest and cross-border political upheaval. Among the proposed solutions: reducing export restrictions, relieving price controls and subsidizing small farmers.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday issued a carve-out to sanctions against Russia to allow agricultural transactions and trade related to humanitarian aid and access to communications.

Russia and Ukraine produce a third of the worlds wheat supply. The loss of commodities due to the war has resulted in soaring food prices and uncertainty about the future of food security globally, especially in impoverished countries. With fertilizer and natural gas costs exploding, leaders expressed concern that countries could turn inward and restrict trade to protect their populations, indirectly hurting more vulnerable countries that face even worse food problems.

David Malpass, president of the World Bank, said his organization will provide $17 billion per year to strengthen food security, and develop a 15-month crisis response package of $170 billion, that will address the pandemic, refugee resettlement and other issues alongside food supply.

KVIV, Ukraine  Russia is assaulting cities and towns across Ukraines eastern industrial heartland in a new phase of the war after losing about 25% of the combat power it sent into Ukraine, according to Pentagon estimates.

Capturing the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region would give President Vladimir Putin a badly needed victory, slicing Ukraine in two and depriving it of key industrial assets.

The Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said air-launched missiles destroyed 13 Ukrainian troop and weapons locations while artillery hit 1,260 Ukrainian military facilities and 1,214 troops concentrations over the last 24 hours. The claims could not be independently verified.

WASHINGTON  The U.S. militarys assessment of Russias renewed offensive in the Donbas region of Ukraine is that it has begun in a limited way, mainly in an area southwest of the city of Donetsk and south of Izyum.

When people say the offensive has begun, thats what theyre referring to, and were not pushing back on that notion, a senior U.S. defense official said.

The official said the Russians are taking actions to improve their ability to sustain combat operations in the Donbas and to prepare for what we believe will be larger offensives in the future.

The U.S. estimates that the Russian military has lost about 25% of the combat power it sent into Ukraine at the start of the war, so theyre refitting ground combat units for insertion into Ukraine. The official said the Russians added two more battalion tactical groups in the past 24 hours, for a total of 78. Thats up from 65 last week.

 AP Military Writer Robert Burns contributed to this report.

BERLIN  Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany will continue to enable weapons deliveries to Ukraine, with one possibility being systems from eastern European nations that would be easily and quickly usable.

Scholz has faced increasing pressure from within his own governing coalition and the main opposition party to deliver heavy weapons such as German Leopard tanks.

But Scholz said Germany and its partners in the Group of Seven industrial nations have concluded it makes more sense to send in systems already used in Ukraine, such as the Soviet-era weapons some NATO partners still have.

Western partners would help those countries with replacements.

After conferring with U.S. President Joe Biden and other Western leaders on Tuesday, Scholz said all of us will continue to support Ukraine, financially and also militarily.

The Kremlins diplomats are doing more online dirty work as governments and social media companies try to suppress Russias state media and the disinformation it spreads about the war in Ukraine.

Russian embassies and consulates are prolifically using Facebook, Twitter and other platforms to deflect blame for atrocities while seeking to undermine the international coalition supporting Ukraine.

With hundreds of social media accounts on every continent, Russias diplomatic corps acts as a global propaganda network, tailoring claims for each nations audience.

Tech companies have responded by adding warning labels and removing Russias diplomatic accounts from its recommendations and search results. But they remain active, as their diplomatic status provides more protection from moderation.

Each week since the beginning of the war these diplomats have posted thousands of times, gaining more than a million engagements on Twitter per week, said disinformation researcher Marcel Schliebs at the Oxford Internet Institute.

PRAGUE  Czech authorities have launched a preliminary investigation into possible war crimes committed in Ukraine during the Russian invasion.

Pragues High Public Prosecutors Office that oversees the investigation said Tuesday that the initial information from Ukraine shows signs of war crimes, according to international law.

The office said the purpose of the investigation is to secure evidence from witnesses and victims who have arrived to seek refuge in the Czech Republic. The Czechs coordinate their effort with the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation.

The investigators are focusing on suspected use of banned and illegal means and methods of warfare.

KHARKIV, Ukraine  Associated Press journalists in Kharkiv say at least four people were killed and three others wounded in a Russian attack on a residential area.

The attack on Tuesday happened as residents attempted to maintain a sense of normalcy in the eastern city, with municipal workers planting spring flowers in public areas.

Kharkiv is near the front lines and has faced repeated shelling from the Russian forces. Earlier on Tuesday, a regional governor in Kharkiv said 5 civilians had been killed and 17 wounded in the past 24 hours.

Also on Tuesday, an explosion rocked the eastern city of Kramatorsk killing at least 1 person and injuring 3, according to AP journalists at the scene.

 By Mstyslav Chernov in Kharkiv; Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine

MOSCOW  Russia said Tuesday it is expelling 15 diplomats from the Netherlands and an unspecified number of Belgian embassy staff in response to the expulsion of Russian diplomats by those countries.

The Russian Foreign Ministry says it has ordered 14 employees of the Dutch embassy in Moscow and one from the consulate in St. Petersburg to leave the country.

We expected Russia to take reciprocal measures. Nevertheless I regret this step. We are now going to see what the consequences are of the fact that so many colleagues have to leave Moscow and Petersburg, Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Wopke Hoekstra said.

That follows the Netherlands expelling Russian diplomats last month. Dutch authorities said they expelled 17 and alleged they had been using diplomatic cover to work as spies. The Russian Foreign Ministry said a total 18 people with diplomatic status were expelled from its embassy in The Hague, a trade mission in Amsterdam and the Russian representation at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which is based in the Netherlands.

The ministry added that the Belgian ambassador had been notified that embassy staff would have to leave by May 3, without saying how many people were affected. The ambassador of Luxembourg was summoned for an official protest after the small Western European nation expelled a single Russian diplomat this month.

LONDON  British officials say the next phase of the war in Ukraine is likely to be an attritional conflict that could last several months.

A senior U.K. national security official briefed the Cabinet on Tuesday, as Russia ratcheted up its battle for control of the eastern Donbas region.

Prime Minister Boris Johnsons spokesman said the official told ministers that Russias greater number of troops was unlikely to be decisive on its own against fierce Ukrainian resistance.

The official told Cabinet that there are signs Russia has not learned the lessons from previous setbacks in northern Ukraine, with evidence of troops being committed to the fight in a piecemeal fashion and some soldiers and units refusing to fight.

Johnsons spokesman, Max Blain, said the prime minister had told Cabinet that Ukraines position remained perilous, with Russian President Vladimir Putin angered by defeats but determined to claim some sort of victory regardless of the human cost.

MOSCOW  The Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya says he is certain that the Russian forces will uproot the last remaining pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the key port of Mariupol within hours.

Ramzan Kadyrov said on a messaging app channel that the Russian troops will finish off the Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol on Tuesday and take full control of the giant Azovstal steel mill, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the city.

Ukrainian troops have defended the strategic port on the Sea of Azov for seven weeks despite the Russian blockade and relentless barrage that flattened most of the city.

The Azovstal plant, which covers the territory of about 11 square kilometers (over 4 square miles), offered Ukrainian defenders a strong fighting position thanks to its sprawling network of underground tunnels and depots.

Kadyrov, whose forces have taken part in the fighting in Mariupol, has repeatedly made blustery comments about the citys inevitable fall.

ANKARA, Turkey  Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says he plans to speak with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts as part of Turkeys efforts to halt the conflict.

Cavusoglu told reporters that Turkey was also talking to P5 nations  the United States, China, France, Russia and the U.K.  and other countries about possible security guarantees for Ukraine, adding that Kyivs request for guarantees similar to Article 5 of the NATO treaty hadn't found support, especially among Western countries.

If there can be no guarantees (similar to) NATOs Article 5, then what options are there? We are taking care of such these details, Cavusoglu said. We must be prepared for the possibility of a cease-fire.

He was speaking during a joint news conference with Hungarys foreign minister in Ankara.

NATO-member Turkey, which has maintained its close ties to both Russia and Ukraine, has hosted a meeting between the two countries foreign ministers as well as talks between the two negotiating teams last month.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said he hopes to bring the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to the negotiating table.

MOSCOW  Russias defense minister has accused the U.S. and other Western nations of supplying Ukraine with weapons so that it continues fighting until the last Ukrainian.

Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday at a meeting with the top military brass that Washington and its allies are doing all they can to drag out Russias special military operation in Ukraine.

He noted that the growing supplies of foreign weapons clearly signal their intention to provoke the Kyiv regime to keep fighting until the last Ukrainian.

Shoigu said that the Russian military has consistently implemented the plan to fully liberate the Donetsk and Luhansk peoples republics.

Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years in the mostly Russian-speaking region eastern industrial heartland, Donbas, that includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. They have declared two independent republics that have been recognized by Russia.

SOFIA, Bulgaria  Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says security for his country also means security for Bulgaria and all other Black Sea countries.

We are fighting not only for our safety," Kuleba said after talks Tuesday with his Bulgarian counterpart, Teodora Genchovska. "We are fighting for you too, so that you never have to face the tragedy of Russias attempts to affect and damage your country.

Kuleba expressed understanding that many in Bulgaria have emotional and historic links to Russia.

But now its different  destroying, killing, torturing, raping," he said. "This is not a Russia that deserves sympathy and understanding. I want everyone to understand that.

No details of the talks have been disclosed, but media reports alleged that Kuleba may ask for a stronger engagement of Bulgaria in Ukraines defense from Russias aggression. Along with Hungary, Bulgaria is the only EU member that has so far been reluctant to send weapons to Kyiv.

During his unofficial visit to Sofia, Kuleba will also meet Bulgarias President Rumen Radev and Prime Minister Kiril Petkov.

MOSCOW  The Russian foreign minister says that Moscows campaign in Ukraine is entering a new stage.

Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Indian television broadcast Tuesday that the operation is continuing, and another phase of this operation is starting now.

Lavrovs statement follows Ukrainian statements that Russia on Monday launched an offensive in the countrys eastern industrial heartland, Donbas. Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years in the mostly Russian-speaking region and have declared two independent republics that have been recognized by Moscow.

Lavrov emphasized that the Russian operation is aimed at the full liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics.

AMSTERDAM  Automaker Stellantis says it is suspending production in Russia because of the impact of sanctions and logistical problems.

Stellantis was making vans in Russia under the Peugeot and Citroen brands at a factory in Kaluga which it shared with Mitsubishi. The Japanese manufacturer suspended its production there earlier this month.

Stellantis said Tuesday it wanted to ensure full compliance with international sanctions and protect its employees by suspending production. The company had previously warned the Kaluga factory was running low on parts. Many automakers with operations in Russia have struggled to import the components they need since the invasion of Ukraine began.

Based in the Netherlands, Stellantis is the worlds fourth-largest automaker with brands including Chrysler, Jeep and Fiat. It previously stopped vehicle shipments to and from Russia last month.

Russian authorities have criticized companies which shut down their operations, and warned they could take steps to put production facilities under state control.

MOSCOW  The Russian military has made a new demand to the Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol to lay down their arms.

Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev gave the Ukrainian troops holed up at the giant Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol until midday (0900 GMT) Tuesday to surrender.

He said that those who surrender will keep their lives.

Ukrainian troops who have defended the city for seven weeks have ignored such previous offers. The Azovstal plant, which covers the territory of about 11 square kilometers (over 4 square miles) is the last major Ukrainian pocket of resistance in Mariupol, a strategic port on the Sea of Azov.

Earlier Tuesday, Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the Russia-backed separatists in the Donbas region, said that assault groups had moved into Azovstal in a bid to uproot the Ukrainian troops following bombing and artillery barrage.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Sometimes you just need something quick, simple, and sweet.

This Mexican-style chocolate cake ticks the boxes. And, if its important to you, its a vegan cake with a vegan icing option.

Two of my favorite neighbors did a kindness for me the other day, and I wanted to bake a little something to thank them. Shes a vegan, hes not and neither am I. But I certainly wanted to give them something they could both enjoy.

Chances are that you have everything you need for the cake in your pantry. Most of us keep flour, sugar, a few basic spices, and vegetable oil on hand, after all.

The cake relies on the simple chemical reaction of baking soda plus vinegar for its leavening. You wont taste the vinegar, I promise. As leavenings go, however, this one isnt the most stable so its important to get the batter into the prepared pan and into the oven quickly. Its also important to allow the cake to cool completely before you goof around with it  its crumb is surprisingly delicate, especially when still warm.

Bake it in a traditional square or round pan, and it looks like a regular cake. I often bake mine in a loaf pan, so it looks more like a tea loaf  not too tall, with nice rectangular slices.

While I dont typically keep margarine in the house  I prefer grass-fed butter in my kitchen  I was happy to pick some up for this cakes icing. Knowing that Im likely to bake for these neighbors again, the remainder of the package went into the freezer for another day.

I like this cake with chile powder and unabashedly cinnamon-y because I find its like chocolate gingerbread this way. If youd prefer a more subtle flavor, back off on the chile powder.

By the way, in the name of clarity, youll want to use chile powder  simply ground chiles  not chili powder, which has cumin, oregano and several other ingredients. If you dont have chile powder, substitute cayenne pepper.

If keeping the cake vegan isnt important to you, use butter in the icing. I generally do so. Sometimes I use molasses or sorghum syrup instead of agave syrup or maple syrup, just to vary the flavor some.

But just as often as not, if Im baking for myself, I skip the icing entirely and dust the cooled cake with drifts of confectioners sugar. The cake alone is sweet enough that it doesnt need much in the way of additional sugar.

If youd like to bake this cake to have on hand in the future, it freezes well once its cooled. Wrap it well in wax paper and then put it in a big zip-top bag or overwrap it with freezer wrap. Save the final touches until you thaw it  itll take about 24 hours in the refrigerator to thaw completely. But because its so quick and easy to bake, I dont generally fool around with freezing it.

All in all, this is a flexible, easy cake to bake for a quick treat. Whether its for you or for gifting is up to you.

Mexican chocolate cake with chocolate icing

Makes about 8 servings

This cake is vegan if you use margarine in the icing. If that doesnt concern you, use the recommended butter. Or, if youre lazy, as I sometimes am, just dust the finished cake with confectioners sugar when its fully cooled.

Ingredients

1 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground chile powder

1 cup cold water

5 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon cider or white vinegar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the icing:

1 cup cocoa powder

 cup butter, softened (vegan option: stick margarine)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup agave or maple syrup

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9-inch-square or -round cake pan, or a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, and chile powder and stir. Add the cold water, vegetable oil, white vinegar, and vanilla and stir until just combined.

Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. A loaf pan may take a little longer, up to 45 minutes.

While the cake bakes, combine all icing ingredients in a food processor or blender and whiz until well-blended. Pour the icing into a bowl and refrigerate for later use.

When the cake tests done, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a rack. Frost with the icing or skip the icing and dust with confectioners sugar.

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A new documentary looks back 30 years to the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium, honoring the dynamic Queen vocalist. Netflixs cult-favorite Russian Doll returns, with Natasha Lyonne tripping through time. Smithsonian Channel celebrates the first birthday of Miracle Panda Xiao Qi Ji, born at D.C.s National Zoo during the pandemic. The Conversations with a Killer docuseries returns with audio recordings of notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

Documentary Premiere 8/7c

They came to praise the powerful lead vocalist of Queen in song, with a message of raising AIDS awareness and combating prejudice and fear. A new documentary revisits the famed Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium, staged 30 years today, with new interviews from bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor and rehearsal and concert footage including such superstars as Elton John, George Michael, David Bowie, and Annie Lennox. Other performers including The Whos Roger Daltrey, Def Leppards Joe Elliott, and Lisa Stansfield recall the last years of Mercurys life and share stories about this memorable event.

Season Premiere

The question for Season 2 of the trippy fantasy isnt what is Nadia (star-creator-director Natasha Lyonne) now up to? Its when? Four years have passed since she was trapped in a fatalistic time loop in the rear-view window, and now she and similarly unmoored pal Alan (Charlie Barnett) board a literal crazy train that becomes a portal through time. Seeing herself as more of a time prisoner than traveler, Nadia discovers the way out of this latest mind-bending dilemma may have something to do with unfinished family business involving stolen South African Krugerrands, a search that leads her to the 1980s-era East Village. (Look for Schitts Creeks Annie Murphy in a surprising role.)

Special 8/7c

The August 2020 birth of giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji at D.C.s Smithsonian National Zoo was a bright light during a dark time. A highlight of this weeks many Earth Week specials, this documentary goes behind the scenes as the zoo prepares to celebrate the pandas first birthday, shedding light on the 50-year collaboration between experts in the U.S. and China to help save the still vulnerable species from extinction. Bonus: The adorability factor.

Season Premiere

From Joe Berlinger, who gave us access to The Ted Bundy Tapes, a new installment of Conversations is a grim three-part study of the notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy, a part-time clown who was deadly serious about his secret mission to murder young men and boys, at least 33 in all between 1972 and 1976. Combing through 60 hours of unearthed audio between Gacy and his defense team, the docuseries explores how Gacy got away with his crimes for so long, including interviews with key participants in the investigation and testimony from one of his survivors.

Inside Wednesday TV:

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Subscriptions have seeped into nearly every consumer industry, from TV to tacos. There are even services that help subscribers cancel all their subscriptions. But one industry has notably lagged: travel.

That could be changing.

The market for travel subscriptions has started to expand and includes cheap flights, airport lounges, luxury accommodations and high-end credit cards.

Subscription models can add a lot of predictability to an industry that can be very spiky, says Amy Konary, vice president at the Subscribed Institute by Zuora, a think tank focused on the subscription economy .

Travel purchases tend to be one-off and transactional. Airline and hotel loyalty programs aim to promote loyalty and benefits, but only those travelers who travel (and pay) a lot can reap the rewards. Subscriptions could turn this concept on its head by offering these benefits upfront.

The subscription model lets you get access to those premium perks by paying directly, Konary says.

Will customers take to this idea? Travel brands are rushing to find out.

SUBSCRIPTIONS TAKE OFF

Alaska Airlines dipped a toe into the subscription waters in March with the launch of its  Flight Pass. For a price that starts at $49 per month, subscribers can book one round-trip main cabin flight every two months for one penny plus about $15 in fees. The catch? The flights must be direct, booked within a limited time frame and, most importantly, fly between particular airports in California, Nevada and Arizona.

Confused?

Communication has been the big challenge, says Alex Corey , managing director of business development and products at Alaska Airlines. Its been hard for people to appreciate that this might not be designed for them. If I went to my favorite store and it didnt meet my needs, Id be like, Hey, make this this way.

Instead of trying to be everything for every traveler, Alaskas subscription has focused on a narrow niche: younger Californians with plenty of wanderlust and schedule flexibility. So far, just under half of subscribers are millennials or Generation Zers, according to Alaska.

Its a niche product, to be sure, but Alaska is confident that it can appeal to a particular kind of West Coast traveler.

Californians travel 3.5 times more within their own state than residents of other states do, says Corey, explaining why the airline chose the state as the proving ground for its idea.

And Alaska focused on the lowest-cost entry point possible, starting at $49 per month to make a flight subscription seem feasible to almost anyone.

We wanted to compete with an Uber ride or a bar tab, Corey says.

CATERING TO NOMADS

On the other side of the price spectrum, the luxury travel platform Inspirato offers a subscription service for vacation rentals and high-end hotels starting at $2,500 per month .

Thats $30,000 per year for the opportunity to book high-end accommodations around the world. That might seem like a huge bill for a vacation budget, but its potentially more reasonable for remote-working nomads looking to travel as much as possible.

Yet Inspiratos subscription, too, comes with a long list of caveats and exceptions. Pass holders may book just one trip at a time, bookings are on a first-come, first-served basis and many rooms and homes are available only during off-peak seasons.

Less spendy digital nomads can choose Selina, a co-living and coworking subscription service that combines the cost of accommodation, office space and dependable Wi-Fi into one monthly bill. Subscribers can bounce between Selinas global destinations and take advantage of surfing lessons, yoga classes and other wellness activities.

These services offer one benefit to potential customers that is difficult to quantify: simplicity. Rather than searching through hundreds of vacation rental listings, subscribers can make one payment per month and choose from a range of vetted options.

Yet simplicity alone wont cut it, Konary says. Consumers are wary of adding another monthly bill to their long list of active subscriptions and need to know theyre getting a good deal.

As weve become more familiar with these models, we have a high bar for what we expect in terms of value, Konary says.

WHATS OLD IS NEW AGAIN

Travel subscriptions arent a new idea. JetBlue Airways introduced an All You Can Jet unlimited flying pass way back in 2009. The promotion received plenty of attention but didnt translate into a sustainable business model.

And successful travel subscription services already exist. Premium travel credit cards offer perks to travelers such as airport lounge access for a yearly fee. And services like TSA PreCheck and Clear let flyers bypass normal security lines.

But a new wave of subscriptions is coming to travel with one big difference  specificity. Instead of trying to be the Netflix of travel, with something for everyone, new services are providing niche offerings to specific demographics.

Not everyone wants to fly within California every other month or take surfing lessons in Belize at a coworking space. But for those who do, these subscriptions could offer a valuable way to travel without the hassle. Or they could go the way of MoviePass.

I do think what were doing is unique, Corey says. I hope it catches on.

This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Sam Kemmis is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: skemmis@nerdwallet.com.

RELATED LINK:

NerdWallet: Is the Alaska Flight Pass even a good deal? https://bit.ly/nerdwallet-is-alaska-airlines-flight-pass-a-good-deal

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Two people were arrested after detectives found the body of a homeless woman on their property earlier this month on Tucsons south side.

On April 14, the Arizona Department of Public Safety served a search warrant related to a homicide investigation on two adjoining properties, located at 5590 E. Klafter Road and 8505 S. Craycroft Road, where they found the body of Patricia Belen Gonzales, 29, a news release from AZDPS said.

Gonzales was homeless in the Tucson area, the news release said.

Detectives arrested Glorya E. Smith-Lee, 47, and Kenneth Edward Neece, 43, on suspicion of first-degree murder, kidnapping and tampering with physical evidence, the news release said.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call 88-CRIME or 520-882-7463.

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An inmate at the United States Penitentiary Tucson died on Monday following an altercation.

On Saturday, April 16, at 8:50 a.m., Austin Carlin, 26, was found unresponsive after an altercation and was taken to a local hospital for life-threatening injuries, a news release from the Bureau of Prisons said.

Carlin was pronounced dead on Monday, the news release said. A second inmate was also medically assessed and treated at the facility.

No staff or other inmates were injured, the news release said.

Carlin was sentenced in the Southern District of Texas to a 262-month sentence for kidnapping a minor for transport by instrumentality of interstate commerce for purpose or benefit, the news release said. He had been in custody at the Federal Correctional Complex Tucson since Sept. 26, 2018.

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BERLIN, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Susanne Hennig-Wellsow, co-leader of Germany's Left party (Die Linke), announced her resignation on Wednesday following sexism allegations within the party that were made public last week.

Last Friday, Der Spiegel magazine reported allegations of sexual violence in the Left party in the federal state of Hesse. The party's other co-chairwoman, Janine Wissler, has yet to comment.

"The handling of sexism in our own ranks has exposed glaring deficits in our party," Hennig-Wellsow said in a statement. "I apologize to those affected and support all efforts that are now necessary to make the Left a party in which sexism has no place."

Hennig-Wellsow also cited personal issues and problems within her party as reasons for her resignation. "Renewal is necessary, and the party needs new faces to be credible," she said.

In the September 2021 federal election, the Left party narrowly failed at the required 5 percent hurdle and remained in Parliament only because it won three "direct mandates" in the electoral districts. 
Three tribes want a federal judge to stop the ongoing work of Hudbay Minerals Inc. in grading and land-clearing on the west slope of the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson.

Filed late Tuesday, the tribes request for a temporary restraining order seeks to prevent Hudbay from continuing its work toward building mine tailings and waste rock disposal facilities until a judge can rule on a request for a long-term injunction barring construction.

The Tohono Oodham, Pascua Yaqui and Hopi tribes filed the request, and received support from conservation groups.

Hudbay began work on its private land on the west slope on April 14 as a step toward building its Copper World project there. When complete, Copper World also will include five open pits, a processing plant, a heap leach pad and settling and stormwater ponds, the companys map of the area shows.

The tribes attorney, Stu Gillespie. said in a legal filling that the tribes have already suffered, and continue to suffer, irreparable harm due to Rosemont Coppers grading and clearing of the Copper World site. Rosemont Copper is an Arizona subsidiary of Toronto-based Hudbay.

On or before April 14, 2022, Rosemont started bulldozing the ephemeral streams braided across the property, discharging fill material into these waters, the tribes motion said of the streams, which carry water only after rains.

These ephemeral tributaries are of unique importance to the tribes as they convey storm flows down from the Santa Rita Mountains to the Santa Cruz River that flows across the Tohono Oodhams San Xavier Reservation, the motion said.

Hudbay and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, named as defendants in the restraining order request, hadnt filed formal responses as of mid-afternoon Wednesday. U.S. District Judge James Soto has ordered all parties to attend a status conference on the request Friday morning at the federal courthouse at 405 W. Congress St.

The Corps declined to comment on the restraining order request. Agency spokeswoman Dena O'Dell said, "We can't comment on pending litigation."

But in a statement to the Star, the mining company called the tribes request a legal maneuver, nothing more than an attempt to get around procedural rules blocking them from filing a related federal lawsuit for 60 days after giving notice.

That lawsuit, once filed, will allege the mining companys grading violates the federal Clean Water Act. the tribes said in their notice of intent to use, filed on April 4. Environmental groups filed a notice last Thursday.

The federal agencies have the primary responsibility for enforcing the Clean Water Act and they have not indicated any concerns about what we are doing, Hudbay said.

Also, the legal filings we received last night contain numerous mischaracterizations and are based on extremely strained legal theories and we look forward to explaining this to the court, Hudbays statement said.

Hudbay particularly took issue with the tribes calling Copper World an expansion of the companys proposed Rosemont Mine on the Santa Ritas east slope, a project thats been stalled for nearly three years by an injunction that Soto issued. Copper World is an alternative mine plan, Hudbay said.

Replying to Hudbays first criticism, Gillespie said this restraining order request has an entirely difficult legal foundation than the notices of intent to sue. The notices allege violations of the Clean Water Act while the restraining order request alleges violations of separate federal laws, the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, Gillespie said.

The Corps has failed to carry out a mandatory duty to prepare a supplemental environmental analysis under the environmental policy act before deciding whether to reissue, revoke or modify the Clean Water Act permit the agency issued to Hudbay in 2019 for the Rosemont Mine site, he said.

They needed to do that before construction activity occurred. They didnt. That violates NEPA right now, said Gillespie, using a common abbreviation for the National Environmental Policy Act.

He said Hudbays clearing and grading violates the National Historic Preservation Act because tribes werent consulted. He said this was needed for full consideration by the Corps to decide on whether to revoke, reinstate or modify its Clean Water Act permit for Rosemont, which he said covers part of the area Hudbay plans to grade on the west slope.

Defending the description of Copper World as an expansion of the Rosemont Mine, Gillespie noted that both projects will depend on the same utility corridor to deliver water and electricity.

Also, Rosemont has described in a news release the synergies across the mines, their functional overlap, and efforts to develop the Copper World deposit in conjunction with the Rosemont deposit, Gillespie wrote in a memorandum to the court explaining the tribes restraining order request.

Copper World is functionally, economically, and physically an interdependent part of the larger Rosemont Mine, he wrote.

Hudbay said it took the time to survey the area for threatened and endangered species, historic artifacts, and prehistoric archeological sites and relocated all special status plants prior to clearing, even though those activities arent legally required.

Our activities have not impacted any prehistoric archaeological features, Hudbay said.

Gillespies memo contended Hudbays Copper World work will destroy an ancient Hohokam village site and other areas eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

While the Hohokam site is in an area Hudbay has pledged not to grade until the Corps acts more fully on the Clean Water Act permit, theres no question theyre going to have to do it eventually, because it lies in the utility corridor needed for both mines, the tribes attorney said.

Contact reporter Tony Davis at tdavis@tucson.com or at 520-349-0350. Follow him on Twitter@tonydavis987.

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PHOENIX  Attorneys for three elected officials told a judge Wednesday he has no legal authority to keep their names off the 2022 ballot, regardless of any roles they may have played in planning and promoting the Jan. 6 rally that turned into a riotous invasion of the U.S. Capitol.

Lawyer Jack Wilenchik, who represents state Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, does not dispute that Congress enacted a provision of the 14th Amendment in the wake of the Civil War that says anyone who has taken an oath to support the U.S. Constitution cannot serve in public office if they have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.

But he told Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury that only Congress can authorize how that provision is enforced.

And as we sit here today, Congress has not authorized any enforcement other than through a criminal proceeding and a conviction, which we do not have here, Wilenchik said.

That, he said, precludes the lawsuits that are trying to keep Finchem from running for secretary of state and Arizona Republican U.S. Reps. Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs from seeking reelection due to the Jan. 6, 2021, events.

Alexander Kolodin, who represents Gosar, said theres a separate problem with the challenge to the candidates: a lack of any proof of criminal action.

Attempts to subvert the existing structure of government cannot, in and of themselves, become a crime, he said. Instead, Kolodin said the activity only becomes criminal if it was carried out through unlawful means such as the invasion of the rights of others through force or violence.

It is absurd to claim that a sitting member of the United States Congress advocated for the overthrow of the United States government, he said. In fact, there are not even any specific allegations as to Congressman Gosar to that effect.

Nor, said Kolodin, is there a claim that Gosar incited the riot.

In fact, hes not alleged to have called for violence at all except in some speech before the Capitol riot where he said, A civil war is coming. We just havent started shooting yet,  Kolodin said. He said that doesnt fit any definition of incitement.

But Jim Barton, representing Free Speech for People, the organization that is trying to get the judge to disqualify the trio from running, said the lack of a criminal conviction is legally irrelevant.

Were not alleging anyone committed a crime, Barton told the judge. Were alleging they were involved in something, were engaged in something that was an uprising against the federal authority of the United States and targeting a core constitutional function of the United States.

He said that includes claims they helped plan and promoted the rally outside the White House and supported the mob that went to the Capitol.

Finchem was part of that crowd, though he insists he never entered the Capitol.

The lawsuits say that Gosar and Biggs, who were inside the Capitol that day trying to block the certification of Joe Bidens presidential election, also were involved in the planning of what occurred outside.

Barton conceded he may not have all the evidence he needs to prove his claims, at least at the moment.

Weve been trying to get discovery, get the communications that will give us more information about it, he told Coury. That includes attempts to question them under oath, he said.

We intend to elicit testimony from the representatives on this topic, Barton said. So when it comes time to prove our allegations, we are prepared to do that.

It remains unclear, however, whether Coury will give Barton a chance to do that.

Coury first needs to decide whether there is even a legal basis for the lawsuit. And the judge made it clear he has questions.

One is that Barton filed his claims under a section of state election laws that is designed to let judges remove people from the ballot who are not legally qualified to run. Under ordinary circumstances, reasons for that can range from the failure to submit enough qualified signatures, to things like not being old enough or not living within the proper legislative district.

Barton is arguing that the law applies here, too. He told the judge that anyone who participates in an insurrection, as defined in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, also lacks the qualifications to run for office.

No, no, no, Coury responded. Youre not reading the law correctly.

The judge said the statute in question allows any Arizona voter to challenge the ability of someone who is not qualified as prescribed by law to be on the ballot. But the judge said he doesnt see anything in that law that allows someone to be disqualified from running based on whats in the U.S. Constitution.

Barton said the judge is reading the Arizona statute too narrowly.

Your honor, prescribed by law is not limited to prescribed by Arizona law,  he told Coury. The 14th Amendment, Section 3, is the law that establishes qualification.

The judge countered him. That is a disqualification, is it not, not a qualification? Coury asked of the 14th Amendment. He said qualifications, the issue that allows challenges to be brought under state election law, refers to those to run for public office in the Arizona Constitution.

Barton refused to concede the point. Arizona has an interest in making sure that the candidates on the ballot are not frivolous or fraudulent candidates, he said.

Biggs and Gosar have another legal argument about why Coury cant keep them off the ballot. Kolodin said the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the sole authority to decide the qualifications of its members.

Coury did not say when he will rule. He does have a deadline: Unless he throws out the case, he has scheduled three days of hearings on the merits of the claims starting Tuesday, April 26.

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Mentors fill a gap and help enrich the lives of many kids who are growing up in an environment with few resources, said executive director Mary McGuire.

The organization got its start in 1995 when it was created by Don McNeil as One on One Partners. One on One Partners later became One on One Mentoring, and in 2006, McNeil connected with Phoenix's Mentor Kids U.S.A. to help launch a faith-based program in Tucson.

In January 2019, McNeil retired as executive director of both organizations, passing the torch to McGuire. In 2021, the board of directors decided to consolidate the programs to one, with Mentoring Tucson's Kids remaining.

Kids who participate in the program face risk factors in their lives, including coming from a single-parent or group home; having a parent in jail or prison or police or court contact themselves; evidence of substance use issues; struggling or having dropped out of school; living below the poverty line; having a history of physical, emotional or sexual abuse; or struggling with low self-esteem, anxiety or depression.

Studies show that young adults with a mentor are 55% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and 130% more likely to hold leadership positions, according to Mentor, a nonprofit advocate and resource for mentoring in the United States.

Mentor's website says young adults who face an opportunity gap but have a mentor are 55% more likely to attend college than those who did not have a mentor. Also, studies show that kids with a mentor are 46% less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to start drinking, according to Mentor.

"Now, the need is even more so, with everything kids have navigated over the past two years with COVID and all the changes," McGuire said.

The program pivoted a bit during lockdown to accommodate mentors or mentees who were unable to meet in person, but the great thing about one-on-one mentoring, McGuire said, is the ability to social distance.

"Tucson may be a little hot, but there's a lot of stuff you can do outside and socially distance," she said.

Now that the pandemic is waning or becoming an accepted part of daily life, the group is working to get the word out to schools and other community groups and providers that they're here and ready to support kids through mentoring.
Here's a look at a few of the trending topics for today, April 19.

NJ Catholic diocese

A New Jersey Catholic diocese has agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle claims involving clergy sex abuse with some 300 alleged victims in one of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic church in the United States.

The agreement between the Diocese of Camden, which encompasses six counties in southern New Jersey on the outskirts of Philadelphia, and plaintiffs was filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Camden on Tuesday.

The settlement must still go before a U.S. bankruptcy judge. Find out more here:

Blac Chyna

A jury has been seated and opening statements are set to begin Tuesday afternoon in a trial that pits model and former reality television star Blac Chyna against the Kardashian family, who she alleges destroyed her TV career.

After a selection process that saw many prospective jurors air their disdain for the Kardashians and the world of reality television, the two sides settled on a panel of eight men and eight women.

Kris Jenner and her daughters Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, are the defendants in the case. All were in court Monday and Tuesday, and all are expected to take the stand. Read the details here:

Johnny Depp

Actor Johnny Depp told jurors Tuesday that he felt compelled to sue his ex-wife Amber Heard for libel out of an obsession for the truth after she accused him of domestic violence.

My goal is the truth because it killed me that all these people I had met over the years ... that these people would think that I was a fraud, he said.

Depp flatly denied ever hitting Heard, calling the physical and sexual assault allegations against him disturbing, heinous and not based in any species of truth. Read more here:

Earth Day

Earth Day falls on April 22, which also coincides with National Parks Week (April 16-24). If youre not out there experiencing all that our national parks have to offer, there are still ways to explore and learn from the comfort of your home, with a variety of streaming programming celebrating our national parks, offering education about our natural world and urgently calling for action to preserve life on planet Earth. Read some suggestions here:

Travel mask mandate

A federal judges decision Monday to throw out a mask requirement on public transportation did away with the last major vestige of federal pandemic rules and led to a mishmash of new locally created rules that reflected the nation's ongoing division over how to battle the virus.

Major airlines and airports in places like Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City quickly switched to a mask-optional policy. New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Connecticut continued to require them on mass transit. But a host of other cities ditched their mandates, even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continued to recommend masking on transportation. Read on:

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Justice Dept. to appeal order voiding travel mask mandate

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Justice Department is filing an appeal seeking to overturn a judges order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs. The notice came minutes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision handed down by a federal judge in Florida earlier this week. A notice of appeal was filed Wednesday in federal court in Tampa. The CDC says it is its continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health.

Russia's Chernobyl seizure seen as nuclear risk 'nightmare'

CHERNOBYL, Ukraine (AP)  When Russian forces invaded and occupied the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, they dug trenches in one of the worlds most radioactive places. Experts fear that they were, in effect, digging their own graves. Thousands of tanks and troops rumbled into the Chernobyl exclusion zone at the start of the war, churning up soil contaminated by the world's worst nuclear disaster. As the anniversary of the April 26, 1986, accident approaches and Russias war continues, it's clear that Ukrainian authorities were never prepared for this scenario. Russias invasion marks the first time that occupying a nuclear plant was part of a nation's military strategy.

'Days or hours left': Russia tightens the noose in Mariupol

KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russian forces are tightening the noose around the defenders holed up in a mammoth steel plant that is the last known Ukrainian stronghold in in the besieged city of Mariupol. A fighter apparently on the inside issued a video plea for help. He said the defenders may have only a few days or hours left. With the holdouts punished by new bombing attacks, another attempt to evacuate civilians trapped in the city has failed because of continued fighting. Separately, the governor of Ukraine's Luhansk region says Russian forces now control 80 percent of it. It is one of two regions that make up the Donbas in eastern Ukraine.

Israel, Gaza militants trade fire as Mideast tensions mount

JERUSALEM (AP)  Palestinian militants have fired several rockets into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip as Israeli aircraft hit Gaza militant sites in response to a previous rocket strike. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the rockets and airstrikes fired late Wednesday into early Thursday. It was the second rocket attack from Gaza this week. Israeli-Palestinian tensions have soared in recent days. The Islamic militant group Hamas that rules Gaza had issued vague threats earlier Wednesday over a planned march through Jerusalem by Israeli ultra-nationalists. But Israeli police blocked roads and prevented the marchers from reaching dense Palestinian neighborhoods, after a similar event nearly a year ago helped trigger an Israel-Gaza war.

Parachute demo at Nats Park causes brief Capitol evacuation

WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. Capitol was briefly evacuated Wednesday evening after police identified an aircraft that they said posed "a probable threat. But the plane was actually carrying members of the U.S. Army Golden Knights, who then parachuted into Nationals Park for a pregame demonstration. The alert from the U.S. Capitol Police sent congressional staffers fleeing from the Capitol and legislative building around 6:30 p.m. The incident suggested a stunning communications failure between the military and the Capitol Police, all the more remarkable because of Washingtons focus on improving security since the January 6, 2021, attack on the building by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.

Michigan lawmaker's forceful speech rebuts 'grooming' attack

LANSING, Mich. (AP)  A Michigan lawmaker, mother and LGBTQ rights supporter who was accused by a Republican colleague of wanting to groom schoolchildren says her impassioned response resonated because people are sick of such attacks. Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow's remarks went viral after Republican Sen. Lana Theis attacked her in a fundraising email. McMorrow had criticized Theis for giving an invocation in which she claimed children are under attack by forces that want to indoctrinate them with ideas not supported by their parents. The salvos are among the latest to draw attention as conservatives push to make education a political wedge issue.

Scholar uses trash as treasure to study life in North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  A South Korean scholar has turned to a different way of collecting information about secretive North Korea as pandemic restrictions make it harder for outsiders to find out what's life like for North Koreans. Professor Kang Dong Wan from Dong-A University has been combing the beaches of South Korean border islands for North Korean trash. He's collected about 2,000 pieces of trash, ranging from snack bags, juice pouches, sweet wrappers and drink bottles to seasoning sachets. He says his findings confirm North Korean state media reports that the country has been producing a variety of consumer goods on the orders of leader Kim Jong Un. People's tastes have grown and there's even a bigger industrial design sector to meet the demand for goods.

Southwest wildfires force evacuations, tighten resources

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP)  An Arizona wildfire more than tripled in size as relentless winds pushed the flames through neighborhoods on the outskirts of a college and tourist town, forcing out hundreds of residents and destroying more than two dozen homes and other structures. The wind-whipped fire on the outskirts of Flagstaff ballooned to more than 30 square miles by Wednesday afternoon. Forest Service officials say flames as high as 100 feet quickly scorched dry vegetation. Weather conditions improved, but the National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for Thursday citing strong winds. Elsewhere in Arizona, firefighters battled a wildfire in a sparsely populated area of national forest south of Prescott. Crews also were busy trying to corral fires in New Mexico and Colorado.

A gun, a phone cord spur heated talk at Kardashian trial

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Former reality television star Blac Chyna testified that she was joking when she put a phone cord around the neck of her then-fiance Rob Kardashian, and later grabbed his unloaded gun. The incidents from 2016 were at the center of testimony Tuesday by Chyna, who is suing Kardashian's mother and sisters for $100 million, alleging they forced the cancellation of her show Rob & Chyna" and ruined her TV career. The lawsuit says that Kardashian's mother Kris Jenner and three of his sisters including Kim Kardashian falsely spread word that she was physically abusive. All four women were in court watching the testimony.

Wright resigns as Villanova coach, Neptune takes over

PHILADELPHIA (AP)  Jay Wright shocked college basketball Wednesday night with his immediate resignation at Villanova, the Big East program he led to two national championships and four Final Fours in a Hall of Fame career. The 60-year-old Wright guided Villanova to titles in 2016 and 2018 and just led the Wildcats to the Final Four, where they lost to national champion Kansas. He went 520-197 in 21 seasons at the school and 642-282 overall, also coaching Hofstra from 19942001. Kyle Neptune, who served on the Villanova coaching staff before accepting the head coaching position at Fordham in 2021, returned to replace Wright. Wright will remain at Villanova and stay involved in fundraising, advising, education and more.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Russia pours in more troops and presses attack in the east

KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russia is attacking cities and towns in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland and pouring more forces into the country. It intensified assaults along a front hundreds of miles long Tuesday in what officials on both sides described as a new phase of the war. After a Russian push to overrun the capital failed, the Kremlin declared that its main goal was the capture of the eastern Donbas region. Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces there for eight years. If successful, that offensive would give President Vladimir Putin a vital piece of Ukraine and a badly needed victory in the now 7-week-old war.

EXPLAINER: How Russia's eastern push in Ukraine may unfold

Russias new offensive in eastern Ukraine reflects Moscows hope to reverse its battlefield fortunes after a catastrophic seven weeks of war. Russian forces have intensified artillery barrages and airstrikes on Ukrainian positions in the industrial heartland known as the Donbas. Ukrainian officials said the push began Monday, with Russia trying to press the offensive along an arc-shaped front line for more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) from the northeast to the southeast. In what appeared to be a sharp increase in bombardment Tuesday, Russia said that in the last 24 hours, it struck 60 Ukrainian military facilities with its warplanes and 1,260 with its artillery, while attacking 1,214 troop concentrations. The claims could not be independently confirmed.

Shanghai allows 4 million out of homes as virus rules ease

BEIJING (AP)  A health official says 4 million more people in Shanghai have been allowed to leave their homes as coronavirus quarantine rules ease. The official, Wu Ganyu, said a total of almost 12 million people have been allowed to leave their homes as Chinas largest tries to contain virus outbreaks. Authorities confined most of Shanghais 25 million people to their homes starting March 28 following a surge in infections. Chinas case numbers in its latest infection surge are relatively low, but the ruling Communist Party is enforcing a zero-COVID strategy that has shut down major cities to isolate every case.

Feds will appeal mask ruling only if mandate still needed

The Justice Department says it will not appeal a federal district judges ruling that ended the nations federal mask mandate on public transit unless the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the requirement is still necessary. A judge in Florida on Monday ended the sweeping mandate, which required face coverings on planes and trains and in transit hubs. Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said Tuesday that officials believe the federal mask order was a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. The CDC continues to assess public health conditions, and if the agency determines a mandate is necessary, the Justice Department will file an appeal.

Moving beyond masks: Biden toils to put pandemic behind him

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Bidens administration has been working for months to prepare people to rethink their personal risk calculations as the nation gets used to the idea of living with an endemic COVID-19. That measured approach disappeared abruptly after a federal judge threw out a federal requirement to mask up when using mass transit. The ruling adds to the administrations messaging challenges as it tries to move past the virus in the leadup to midterm elections. The Biden administration is accelerating its efforts to provide the best advice for millions making their own personal safety decisions on the still-dangerous pandemic. Its both a public health imperative and an important shift in emphasis for Bidens political future.

For Russian diplomats, disinformation is part of the job

Governments and social media companies have moved to restrict the ability of Russia's state media to spread disinformation about the war in Ukraine. That has prompted the Kremlin's diplomats to step up to do the dirty work. Russian embassies around the world control hundreds of accounts on platforms including Facebook and Twitter. Those two companies have added labels to their posts and tried to limit their reach. But research shows these diplomatic accounts are still disseminating pro-Russian propaganda and conspiracy theories, including ones suggesting Russia has been framed for recent attacks that killed civilians. The Russian Embassy in the U.S. hasn't returned a message seeking comment.

Energy shift creates opening for 'world's largest batteries'

LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP)  A question is hovering over the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy such as wind and solar: What happens when the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine? The hydropower industry says the answer is developing more pumped storage plants. They function like giant batteries, pumping water from a lower reservoir to an upper one. When power is needed, the water is released downhill through turbines. The U.S. has 43 pumped storage plants but only one has been built since the 1990s. Cost, regulatory and logistical problems have hampered new construction. The industry is lobbying for tax breaks and streamlined permitting. But some say pumped storage causes environmental problems and better technologies may emerge.

Johnny Depp on stand: Ex-wife Heard's allegations 'heinous'

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP)  Actor Johnny Depp told jurors that he felt compelled to sue his ex-wife Amber Heard for libel out of an obsession for the truth after she accused him of physical and sexual assault. Depp on Tuesday flatly denied ever hitting Heard, calling the allegations against him disturbing, heinous and not based in any species of truth. Depp says Heard falsely accused him of domestic abuse when she wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post. The trial in Fairfax, Virginia, began last week but, prior to Tuesday afternoon, the jury had only seen Depp sitting silently with his lawyers. Heard is scheduled to take the stand later in the six-week trial.

Netflix shares drop 25% after service loses 200K subscribers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  Netflix suffered its first subscriber loss in more than a decade, causing its shares to plunge 25% in extended trading amid concerns that the pioneering streaming service may have already seen its best days. The companys customer base fell by 200,000 subscribers during the January-March period, and it now expects to lose another 2 million subscribers during the April-June period. Netflix is hoping to reverse the tide by taking steps it has previously resisted, including blocking the sharing of accounts and introducing a lower-priced  and ad-supported  version of its service.

Massive flames force evacuation of hundreds of Arizona homes

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP)  Winds kicked up a towering wall of flames in rural northern Arizona on Tuesday, tearing through two-dozen structures and forcing the evacuation of more than 700 homes. Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll said during a news conference that the county declared an emergency Tuesday as the fast-moving wildfire outside of Flagstaff ballooned to over 9 square miles. Forest Service officials say flame lengths are as high as 100 feet. County officials said 766 homes and 1,000 animals have been evacuated. A couple of hundred homes are still threatened as smoke billowed into the air in an all-too-familiar scene. Elsewhere in Arizona, firefighters battled a wildfire in a sparsely populated area of the Prescott National Forest south of Prescott.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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The oldest son of former President Donald Trump has met with the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. That's according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private session. The interview with Donald Trump Jr. took place Tuesday. He's one of nearly 1,000 witnesses interviewed by members of the House committee as they work to compile a record of the worst attack on the Capitol in more than two centuries. He's the second of Trumps children known to speak to the committee. His sister Ivanka Trump sat down with lawmakers for eight hours in early April.
Tucson Medical Center and the Pima County Health Department are offering free talks for the public via Zoom about COVID-19 and some of the long-term effects of the virus.

The first one will be on the sign, symptoms and treatment options for those with long COVID, which are medical problems that continue weeks or months after being infected with COVID-19. The talk will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 20.

The next one, on cognitive and exertional deficits after a COVID-19 infection, will be held via Zoom at noon on Wednesday, May 4. The last one is on dysautonomias, which are medical problems caused by issues with the autonomic nervous system, as well as chronic fatigue after COVID-19. It will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 22.

People can register for the events at www.thecoretmc.com.

Contact reporter Patty Machelor at 806-7754 or

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PHOENIX  The Arizona Supreme Court is being asked to decide if the public has the right to know the names of jurors deciding criminal cases.

At a hearing Tuesday, an attorney representing a Cochise County publisher urged the justices to overturn lower court rulings and court rules that now keep those names secret, not only during a trial but afterward. The First Amendment guarantees the right of the public to know how justice is being administered, and by whom, said the attorney, Evan Steele.

But Justice Clint Bolick said he isnt buying the argument that constitutional amendment specifically requires the disclosure of the names.

He told Steele there are conflicting issues.

We have a privacy clause in our (state) constitution, Bolick said. And it seems to me that the state has very, very significant interests in protecting privacy. Its not simply a First Amendment issue.

Steele conceded the point. For example, he said a judge might conclude it would be dangerous to make juror names public, such as in a trial where jurors are deciding the guilt or innocence of a member of a criminal drug cartel.

But he said the presumption should be that the information is public unless a trial judge has a specific reason, and states it on the record, why it should be withheld.

The lawsuit stems from two criminal trials in Cochise County where judges used an innominate jury, meaning one where jurors are publicly identified only by number but whose names are provided to the parties.

In both cases, the public was permitted to attend jury selection and the trials. But the judges refused a request by David Morgan, publisher of the Cochise County Record, to disclose the names publicly.

Morgan had no better luck with the Court of Appeals, leading to Tuesdays hearing at the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Robert Brutinel said he reads legal precedent as favoring public disclosure when it relates to the functioning of government.

Im kind of struggling with the idea of how juror names, how does giving access to the names of private individuals relate to the functioning of government,  he asked.

Steele said it starts with the voir dire process where the lawyers get to question prospective jurors. Whos going to be serving on the jury, and whos going to be making the decision in criminal cases, whos going to be sending people away for years, he said.

The judge sends people away for years, Brutinel responded. The jury makes determinations of fact.

Other justices expressed their own doubts about the arguments.

You can sit there and watch, said Justice Bill Montgomery. Access to voir dire hasnt been denied.

Steele, however, said having a name allows the public or the media to reach out to jurors for interviews.

Theres no right to interview a juror, Montgomery responded.

Steele said there is a particular need for openness in criminal cases. He said that interest goes beyond that of the defendant in getting a fair trial and the victims interests in the outcome.

The public has an interest, and a recognized interest, according to the (U.S.) Supreme Court, in seeing justice done, Steele said.

The case has drawn some national attention, with a brief in support of Morgan filed by The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Attorneys for the group argued, as did Steele, that the names of jurors and prospective jurors have historically been open to the press and general public.

Access to juror names allows the press to perform the close observation and searching inquiry necessary to ensure fairness and the appearance of fairness, wrote attorney Andrew Fox.

The news media can, for instance, publicly verify that jurors and prospective jurors have truthfully answered the questions put to them during voir dire, he wrote. Similarly, news reporting made possible by access to juror names can raise public awareness about patterns and practices in the jury selection process, including implicit bias or potential discrimination.

That last argument did not impress Montgomery. He noted there are people whose surnames come from those who marry and may not reflect their actual ethnic or racial background.

No date has been set for a ruling.

Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on Twitter at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com .

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PHOENIX  Efforts to adopt at least a basic state budget for the coming fiscal year ran aground Wednesday as two Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee refused to go along, leaving it short of votes.

Rep. Michelle Udall, R-Mesa, sided with the Democrats on the committee in saying there is no reason for state government, with what could be a $5 billion-plus surplus, to leave all that money sitting around while priorities arent funded.

This is not paying attention to the revenues, not paying attention to what the needs of this state are, Udall said.

There are a lot of things missing from this budget that are vital to our state in the coming year: water, border security and immigration, some education matters, she said. Also left out, she said, are smaller priorities like dealing with an operating shortfall at the Arizona State Hospital.

Udalls defection by itself would not have killed the plan. That still left seven Republicans supporting it on the 15-member panel.

But Rep. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, also declined to go along, albeit for vastly different reasons. He derided the claim that the $13 billion proposal to simply continue existing state programs is somehow a skinny budget.

We have a $5.3 billion surplus, Hoffman said. That doesnt mean were doing a great job. That means that were overtaxing the people that we represent.

Hoffman said he was afraid the $13 billion plan would not be the last word.

I dont want a shadow budget where we pretend like were passing a skinny budget, doing our constitutional obligation, then we come through (later) and we pass a bunch of garbage spending bills, inflating that skinny budget to something much larger, he said. Without a commitment not to do that, Hoffman said he was unwilling to approve even this baseline.

Its not just the Democrats and some Republican lawmakers who want more spending. The Republican governor made it clear Wednesday he was not interested in signing a spending plan in his last year in office that simply keeps things the way they are.

Nobodys talked to me about a skinny budget, Gov. Doug Ducey told Capitol Media Services. We have a $5.2 billion surplus. And we have real needs right now, including our border, wildfires that are happening across the state and the Arizona state water commission, he said.

The creation of what would be called the Arizona Water Authority has been a top priority of Duceys as the state, in the middle of a historic drought, looks for ways to supplement its water supply and not be forced to curtail growth. The authority would have the right to obtain and even own water, with the possibility of desalinating water from the Gulf of California.

It also would need $1 billion over three years to get off the ground  money that was not in the proposed skinny budget. That made the budget veto bait, Ducey said.

I presented the budget that I wanted the week after the State of the State speech he gave in January, he said. And I still want that budget, which proposes $14.25 billion in spending.

Hoffman, by holding out his vote, and preventing the measure from advancing to the full House, may have effectively dealt himself out of future negotiations.

We offered an opportunity for the cheapest budget we can get, House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, told Capitol Media Services after the Wednesday vote. And so, well just have to go by ear now and see what we can come up with.

Rep. Regina Cobb, R-Kingman, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, said doing nothing is not an option. She pointed out that the Arizona Constitution gives the Legislature just one mandatory duty: adopt a spending plan for the next fiscal year.

Also, it isnt like Congress, where a voice vote can approve a continuing resolution to keep government operating. If there is not a final budget approved by the House and Senate and signed by Ducey by July 1, state agencies shut down.

Cobb said Wednesdays vote gave her some insight into what has to happen next  meaning, starting again with what was in the baseline budget and then putting in what we need to put in.

There are 31 Republicans in the 60-member House.

So without Udall and Hoffman, and potentially other Republicans, Cobbs only choice is to seek Democratic support to come up with a majority. And Democrats on the panel made it clear Wednesday they have things they need added to the spending plan to get their votes.

I would call it a woefully inadequate budget, said Rep. Kelli Butler, D-Paradise Valley. With the $5 billion-some in excess funds, keeping spending at current levels is austerity being continued absolutely needlessly, she said.

She cited, for example, funding needs for the developmentally disabled and those needing long-term care. Butler also noted the budget adds no money to the Department of Environmental Quality despite a finding last year by the Auditor Generals Office that the agency has filed to perform many required tasks in monitoring groundwater for pollution.

Hoffman defended torpedoing the skinny budget plan. He said Wednesdays vote was little more than a ruse to strip transparency out of the budget process, saying it appears it was always the intent to later add billions in wasteful spending.

Leadership and Cobb have known for weeks that unless they committed to not doing a shadow budget many Republican members would not be on board, Hoffman said. Unfortunately, they refused to make that commitment.

Cobb said the goal now likely becomes finding the middle ground that adds enough to the spending plan to pull in the necessary votes from Democrats without losing more Republicans.

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An iconic name in pianos is bringing its brand to Brookside.

Steinway & Sons has opened Steinway Piano Gallery Tulsa at 3402 S. Peoria Ave. Hours are from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and Sunday and Monday by appointment.

The new store joins a network of Steinway-authorized, regional galleries owned and operated by the Saliba family, who have been part of the Steinway history since 1979. The Tulsa location is an extension of the familys four established Texas locations: stores in Houston, Plano and Fort Worth and Steinway Hall Dallas.

We were seeing an increasing number of customers driving down from the Tulsa area to visit our Texas showrooms, Casey Saliba, vice president of sales and marketing of the Tulsa venue, said in a statement. So when the opportunity came for us to represent Steinway in this market, we were happy to accept it.

As a factory-authorized dealer, Steinway Piano Gallery Tulsa handles sales and service for the entire line of Steinway pianos, from concert grands to traditional uprights to the Steinway Spirio, a high-resolution player piano.

The 1,800-square-foot showroom also offers Steinway-designed Boston and Essex pianos and a performance area for special events.

Were very excited to build on the success we have had in Texas and to bring this energy to the Tulsa market, Saliba said.

Tulsa has a vibrant community of performing artists, piano teachers and music lovers, and this gallery will be an important hub for anyone in the area who loves piano music. Our ties to Tulsa are strong; one of our representatives, Derek Lynch, is the son of a piano tuner who has been active in Tulsa for more than 30 years. We look forward to many years of service in Tulsa.

Steinway & Sons was founded in 1853 by German immigrant Henry Engelhard Steinway in a Manhattan loft.

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Primary elections in Ohio have set the stage for a more competitive phase of the midterm primary season, with closely watched races in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia scheduled for later this month. In Ohio on Tuesday, Hillbilly Elegy author JD Vance, buoyed by Donald Trump's endorsement, won the contentious Republican Senate primary. Vances win ends a bitter contest that, at one point, saw two candidates nearly come to blows on a debate stage. Ohio was seen as a test of Trump's hold on his party. The former president has staked his reputation as a GOP kingmaker on his ability to pull his chosen candidates across the finish line.
A Tulsa man, described by prosecutors as a child rapist, who boasted on social media of a preference of dating underage girls, was found guilty of enticing a minor to have sex and related child porn crimes.

A jury deliberated for about four hours Wednesday before it found Alexander Nicholaus Sweet, 28, guilty of all seven counts he faced in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Sweet, 28, faces a minimum of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in Tulsa federal court.

Alexander Sweet targeted and groomed a vulnerable teenager struggling with the loss of two loved ones and a difficult childhood, said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson, in a statement.

This week, she showed tremendous courage when she faced him in a federal courtroom. This predator thought he was above the law but has now been convicted and sits behind bars where he can no longer victimize another child.

A grand jury named Sweet in a superseding indictment filed Nov. 1 that charged him with one count of coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity, one count of receiving child pornography, one count of possessing child pornography and four counts of production of child pornography.

The FBI said in court testimony that it began investigating Sweet in 2019 after receiving a tip that he was in an intimate relationship with a girl who was 15 years old at the time and that he possessed sexually graphic videos of child pornography.

The FBI said search warrants that targeted the teens school laptop and email accounts associated with Sweet turned up graphic videos and still photos that led to the charges he faced today.

The FBI arrested Sweet in July on a warrant in Tulsa after they stopped a vehicle in which he and the now-17-year-old were riding.

The girl had dyed her hair blond and cursed FBI agents during Sweets arrest, an FBI agent testified.

Inside Sweets 2003 red Ford Focus, investigators found a wallet with about $1,000 and citizenship papers for Poland, Sweets ancestral homeland.

The phrase Just Married was written on the back window of Sweets vehicle, an FBI agent testified.

Testimony indicated the couple was married in Arkansas just prior to Sweets arrest when the girl was 17.

The teens aunt, who was her legal guardian at the time, testified that she tried to prevent Sweet from having contact with her niece.

The aunt said she was able to block one attempt at the pair marrying in 2021 in Payne County before they married weeks later in Arkansas, under what prosecutors said was improper consent to marry granted by her biological parents, who werent her legal guardians at the time.

During the trial, the prosecution painted Sweet as a child predator who groomed the girl for sex after her only two male father figures died.

Why did he want to marry her? Assistant U.S. Attorney Ed Snow asked the jury before answering: To shut her up.

Snow noted that Sweet did not try to marry the teen until he learned that the FBI was investigating him.

His love must have blossomed when the FBI was closing in, Snow said, adding flatly, How romantic.

The teen testified that she was 15 when she first met Sweet online after he sent her a nude photo of herself that he claimed to have found online. The source of the photo was unclear.

The teen said the two talked online about animals, church and their families, adding that Sweets messages to her were very uplifting at the time.

The two began seeing each other in person in early 2021, according to court testimony.

The girl testified that she had sex with Sweet multiple times, sometimes after Sweet gave her alcohol and a powdered drug that left her feeling vacant.

The teen said Sweet sometimes objected to what she wore.

Asked by Snow how Sweet liked her to look, the teen replied, Like a doll.

Asked what kind of doll, the teen replied, Like a Barbie.

During the trial, jurors watched three videos that depicted the couple participating in sex and self-stimulation.

The videos and related still photos were shown only to jurors and trial participants.

Asked why she participated in the videos with Sweet, the girl replied, I wanted acceptance.

Sweet, who represented himself for parts of the trial, cross-examined the victim.

At one point, Sweet asked the girl if she believed their marriage would continue outside the courtroom if possible.

Under no circumstances, the now-18-year-old replied.

During closing arguments, John Campbell, Sweets standby counsel during the trial, cast doubt on prosecutors claims that Sweet was planning to leave the country when he was arrested.

He said it was unlikely Sweet could have managed to get to Poland with the cash he had with him when he was arrested, sarcastically suggesting he could have driven possibly considering all the COVID-19 restrictions at the time on foreign travel.

Campbell also suggested prosecutors had not proven that Sweet knew there was child porn found on Internet cloud servers associated with Sweet.

Campbell also criticized the thoroughness of the investigation, noting that a claim by the teen that Sweet raped her with a handgun after they were married was barely investigated.

Campbell noted that the girl still supported Sweet for about two months after his arrest until she sent him a picture of another person that she described as her boyfriend while he was in jail.

They are hoping you will be outraged by the things you saw, Campbell said before asking jurors to look at the evidence and find Sweet innocent.

Prior to his arrest, Sweets social media posts regarding underage females garnered enough attention to cause the formation of a public Facebook group titled, Tulsans Against Alexander Sweet.

The group, which had more than 6,000 likes when he was arrested, now has about 7,000 likes now.

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A Tulsa police officer has been arrested by the Muscogee Nation on a charge of child abuse, the Tulsa Police Department said in a news release.

Michael Bell, who has been an officer since 2019, is being investigated by the Muscogee Nation after an alleged incident that occurred while he was off-duty in Jenks, police said.

Because Bell is a tribal citizen, the Muscogee Nation is handling the investigation, but the federal government may also add additional charges.

Bell was booked into Tulsa County jail on Tuesday, police said.

Prior to being arrested, Bell was placed on administrative leave and relieved of his duties pending the investigation.
Oklahoma voters had their first chance to hear from all five candidates running for state superintendent in 2022 at an online forum Tuesday evening.

April Grace, Jena Nelson, John Cox, Ryan Walters, and William Crozier are running to succeed State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, who is term-limited and in the fall announced that she was changing her party registration to launch a bid for governor.

Sponsored by the Oklahoma PTA and moderated by the League of Women Voters of Oklahoma Trustee Mary Jane Lindaman, Tuesdays forum touched on the states chronic teacher shortages and the level of per-pupil spending, the candidates philosophies on local control, opinions about rural school consolidation, and their own experience as educators.

Walters is Gov. Kevin Stitts appointed secretary of education and works as chief executive officer at Every Kid Counts Oklahoma, an education reform outfit, while teaching one class for McAlester Public Schools. He was a finalist in the 2016 Oklahoma State Teacher of the Year contest.

Walters said our education outcomes are 49th in the nation and thats not good enough.

What current problems need to change to improve those outcomes?

Parents are in the drivers seat of their childs education; we dont have any kind of a liberal indoctrination in our schools and we dont have any liberal agenda in our system, Walters said.

Walters called the Oklahoma State Department of Education a bureaucratic mess that is not properly using its funding to support districts and teachers and said, We havent had a state leader focused on individual student outcomes and parent choice.

Nelson, the only Democrat in the race thus far, teaches English composition and academic enhancement classes at Deer Creek Middle School in Edmond and was the 2020 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year.

Nelson said the pandemic permanently altered the future of how education is delivered and collaborative conversations at the local and state levels and a reduction in politicized rhetoric are needed to determine the way forward.

We are not going back to February 2020, said Nelson, who said she is running to elevate the voices of todays public school educators, parents and students. Right now we are at a critical point in education in our state, and I want to lift up those voices.

Cox, the Peggs Public Schools superintendent, and Grace, the Shawnee Public Schools superintendent, are registered Republicans, though Cox previously ran as a Democrat for the same office and lost to Hofmeister, then a Republican, in 2014 and 2018.

Cox said he is running because as a school superintendent, I live the mandates that are passed down by the (state) Legislature and the federal government right here at my desk every day.

He wants to see the state Department of Education become focused on service to local schools rather than regulation and compliance, to do away with state tests that take away instructional time at the end of each year, and lead an overhaul of Oklahomas school report card system.

Before Oklahoma started seeing chronic teacher shortages, it was common for Cox to have 75-100 resumes on his desk from teachers interested in working in his small school at any given time, but today, he has just two.

Grace said the state needs to incentivize experienced teachers to remain in the profession at five-year intervals beginning after a teachers fifth year.

Nelson said she is currently working with other former state teachers of the year from across the country on ideas to address the teacher shortage.

One idea she is pursuing is having a teacher cadet program in every high school to recruit students into college teacher prep programs and to offer new support and incentives to students in Oklahomas teachers college programs.

As for Oklahomas current level of per pupil state spending, which the moderator said currently ranks 46th in the U.S., Cox, Grace and Nelson all said they think more strategic investments are needed to improve academic achievement.

We cannot just throw a bunch of money (one time) and then cut for 10 years and then throw a bunch of money (again) and then cut for 10 years  I dont know if we have the adequate funding to do what we need to be (in the) top 10, Grace said.

All four candidates in attendance were aligned on one issue  they all expressed opposition to forced consolidation of schools in rural Oklahoma.

Grace joked that there are two C words no one ever wants to discuss  cancer and consolidation.

She and Walters both said state Department of Education resources need to be redirected to create more direct support for educators in smaller districts who lack local resources. Walters said the department could also help small districts identify budget efficiencies.

Cox, president of the Oklahoma Rural Elementary Schools organization, said Ive been fighting consolidation for 20-something years.

Not appearing at Tuesdays forum was Crozier, a Union City resident, and perennial candidate, having run in 1972 in the 4th District congressional race, and multiple times for state superintendent.

He is best known for a 2006 race against then-incumbent Sandy Garrett, in which Crozier said school safety could be improved by the creation of bulletproof textbooks that children could use to defend themselves in the event of a school shooting.

Jerry Griffin of the Tulsa school board recently announced he would be running for state superintendent, but he did not end up registering as a candidate during last weeks three-day filing period.

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In debating a $698 million incentive package to lure a $3 billion to $5 billion electric vehicle battery factory to Pryor, no one in the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Tuesday really disputed the claim that such a project would bring arc-bending change to the community, the region and even the state.

The arguments were about whether change is good or bad, and whether the state should be involved in such things at all.

I cant get past the question, why are we giving ... hard-earned tax money away ... and give it to a corporation that doesnt need it? said Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, whose district includes Pryor and the Mid-America Industrial Park, where the plant would be built.

It is immoral to give taxpayer money to a corporation that doesnt need it or has a business model that doesnt work.

One of the Houses most austere conservatives, Gann said the people of the area do not want the proposed plant and neither do other MAIP tenants  a claim proponents of the project disputed.

Rep. Wendi Stearman, R-Collinsville, answered promises of jobs, growth and economic diversification by saying, I dont want Oklahoma to change, and the majority of my constituents do not want Oklahoma to change.

But Gann and Stearman were among a small minority. By a vote of 81-17, the incentive program  in the form of House Bill 4455  was sent to the Senate Tuesday morning.

Gov. Kevin Stitt hopes to have the bill by Friday.

Speaker Pro Tem Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, who presented the bill, said legislators had to decide whether they are really want to diversify the states economy or consider it "something we just talk about on the doorstep" when campaigning.

If we pass this bill and land this deal, the future of the automotive industry runs through Oklahoma, Hilbert said. The future of technology is running through Oklahoma.

Every other commercial on the Super Bowl was an electric vehicle commercial, he continued. Whether you support electric vehicles, whether you oppose electric vehicles, whatever your stance is on that, it doesnt matter. Thats where the industry is going.  The electric vehicle industry is growing, and we have a chance to be at the front and center.

A common complaint, even among those who voted for HB 4455, is the secrecy surrounding the deal.

HB 4455, entitled the Large-scale Economic Activity and Development Act, calls for a 3.4% state rebate on qualified capital expenditures with a minimum investment of $3.06 and a maximum of $4.5 billion. The rebates also require meeting certain employment minimums and other conditions over five years.

A $4.5 billion minimum investment would result in rebates totaling $613 million, Hilbert said later Tuesday.

The remaining $85 million would be available to an unnamed second, separate establishment, referred to as Player 2 in explanations of the program. Player 2 would have to invest $500 million to be eligible.

The LEAD program would be limited to the initial $698 million, which would come from state reserve funds and placed in a segregated account. Anything left after 10 years would return to the general fund.

Any additions to the program would have to go through the Legislature.

Hilbert said the $698 million total is a bump of $198 million over what the two target companies would qualify for under the states existing 2% capital refund program.

In its final form, the incentive package differs from the request outlined by Stitt Monday afternoon, hours before HB 4455 was introduced in legislative committees.

Stitt had asked that the rebate rates for Quality Jobs  a program that reimburses 5% of payroll for qualifying jobs  and capital investment be increased.

Instead, the Legislature created LEAD, which requires capital investment and job creation but calculates rebates based solely on the capital investment.

The target businesses apparently could also qualify for Quality Jobs, which on the $250 million annual payroll mentioned over the past two days works out to as much as $12.5 million a year for 10 years.

Separately, the Legislature is also considering a phase out of the states corporate income tax, which, if adopted, would be another perk.

Hilbert said he understands total incentives from all sources for the project are around $1 billion.

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An overlooked side effect of the pandemic and ramped up anti-public education rhetoric is a possible mass exodus of superintendents.

Critics of administrators may take this as a good sign. Its not. Trends that shrink the pool of leadership in any industry has devastating consequences. Inconsistency in school administration directly affects student learning.

Nationally, about one-fourth of superintendents plan to leave their jobs soon, according to a RAND survey out earlier this month. Half said they would leave in the next few years or were unsure how long they would remain.

This is on top of the 13% who resigned this past school year, which is average.

Our data signal that superintendent turnover could increase in the near future, the report states. Superintendent turnover can potentially harm district functioning in that it can disrupt longer-term and systemic school reforms, which typically take five or more years.

This comes after a February report from ILO Group showing 37% of the largest 500 districts in the U.S. had superintendent turnover since the pandemic began in March 2020. It noted that most superintendents are men and white, reflecting a lack of diversity at the administrative levels.

This superintendent exit has already hit our Texas neighbors.

The Fort Worth-Star Telegram reported this week its superintendent search joins 10 others in north Texas, including Dallas. Its board hired a Chicago-based national search firm to find candidates. Other high-profile districts on the hunt are Boston and Minneapolis.

These are tough, 24/7 jobs with a significant amount of scrutiny and criticism. Finding qualified candidates is challenging and expensive.

Oklahoma isnt experiencing any uptick in resignations, according to Oklahoma State School Boards Association Executive Director Shawn Hime. Though, he noted, there are an usual number of superintendent vacancies in the Tulsa suburbs.

Since 2017, the state has averaged about 45 first-year superintendents annually, according to the state Education Department.

Four Tulsa-area districts experienced superintendent resignations this school year: Broken Arrow, Owasso, Catoosa and Coweta. Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist has been on the job seven years, outlasting many in urban district leadership.

Its been particularly grueling for school administrators.

During the pandemic, they were in a lose-lose situation regarding decisions like school closures and mask precautions. What should have been public health and data-led discussions turned into political debates  as if the COVID-19 virus was Democrat or Republican.

No matter the choice, people got upset.

This was added to the unprecedented challenges of distance learning. Teachers were not trained in how to effectively make this switch, and a significant percentage of students initially did not have online access. Concerns over societal issues like hunger and mental health were compounded.

Many superintendents dealt with deaths and severe illnesses of staff, students and their family members from the virus.

Before the pandemic, superintendents reported working an average week of 59 hours. That jumped to an average of 67 hours weekly, according to the RAND survey. About 70% of superintendents say they work more hours now than before the pandemic.

The working conditions have become even more difficult as the culture wars have targeted public educators. Lawmakers are taking aim at wokeness with warped perceptions of whats happening in classrooms, whether thats the misunderstood social-emotional learning perspective or nonexistent critical race theory.

Oklahoma lawmakers have attempted to punish librarians for books they dont like and restrict counselors from helping students.

In the meantime, Oklahoma is in the middle of a youth suicide epidemic. Mental health and education advocates have been trying to get attention and resources into literally saving the lives of children and youth.

Teachers are resigning at twice the rate that colleges are graduating new teachers, and many of those graduates leave for other states. Most new Oklahoma teachers leave within five years.

Little state effort has gone into getting more students into teaching degree programs. Even if that were to launch now, it would take four to five years to realize any benefit. Solutions to the existing shortage have been expanding adjunct teacher hours and setting new records annually in emergency certified teachers.

Oklahoma sits at 46th in per-pupil funding, a reflection of the classroom environment.

This is the backdrop for school administrators. Oklahoma public education needs champions and districts need consistent leadership. The alternative is too costly for our future workforce.

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Actor Johnny Depp testified on Tuesday that he never struck his ex-wife Amber Heard and was challenging her accusations in a $50 million defamation case to correct the public's perception and stand up for his children.

Speaking softly and slowly for nearly three hours, Depp said in a Virginia courtroom that it was a "complete shock" about six years ago when Heard "made some quite heinous and disturbing" allegations that he became violent during their relationship.

"Never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms. Heard in any way, nor have I ever struck any woman in my life," said Depp, who wore a dark suit with his hair in a ponytail.

"I felt it my responsibility to stand up not only for myself in that instance but stand up for my children," the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star said. His two children from a previous relationship were in high school at the time.

Sean Bett, a security guard for actor Johnny Depp, testifies during a hearing at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse as Depp's defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard continues, in Fairfax, Virginia, U.S., April 19, 2022. Jim Watson/Pool via Reuters

"It's very strange when one day youre Cinderella so to speak, and then in 0.6 seconds youre Quasimodo," added Depp, who is set to return to the witness stand on Wednesday, when he is expected to face a cross-examination from Heard's legal team.

Depp, 58, alleges Heard, 35, defamed him when she penned a December 2018 opinion piece in the Washington Post about being a survivor of domestic abuse. He filed a $50 million lawsuit against Heard in 2018.

The article never mentioned Depp by name, but Depp lawyer Benjamin Chew told jurors it was clear Heard was referencing the Hollywood leading man.

Actor Amber Heard arrives at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse as the defamation case brought against her by her ex-husband Johnny Depp continues, in Fairfax, Virginia, U.S., April 19, 2022. Jim Watson/Pool via Reuters

Attorneys for Heard, also an actor, have argued she told the truth and that her opinion was protected as free speech under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. In opening arguments, Heard's attorneys said Depp physically and sexually assaulted her while abusing drugs and alcohol.

A state court judge in Fairfax County, Virginia, is overseeing the trial, which is in its second week and is expected to last for six weeks.

On Tuesday, Depp's lawyers asked him about his movie career and his early interactions with Heard on the set of 2011 film "The Rum Diary." Depp described her at that time as sweet, intelligent and funny.

The actor also detailed his parents' tumultuous relationship.

Depp said his parents frequently argued and his mother physically abused her children. Depp said his father never fought physically with his mother but punched a wall as many as three times, once breaking his hand. His father left the family when Depp was 15, the actor said.

Actor Johnny Depp testifies at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse as his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard continues, in Fairfax, Virginia, U.S., April 19, 2022. Jim Watson/Pool via Reuters

By that time, Depp had "done all the drugs I was aware of," he said. He said he became addicted to opiates after he was injured on the set of the fourth "Pirates" film but recovered from that dependency.

Depp said Heard "grossly embellished" his substance use. "A lot of it is just plainly false," he said. "I think it was an easy target for her to hit."

Heard watched the testimony with little expression while Depp spoke, occasionally tilting her head or jotting notes.

Less than two years ago, Depp lost a libel case against The Sun, a British tabloid that labeled him a wife beater." A London High Court judge ruled he had repeatedly assaulted Heard and put her in fear for her life.

Actor Amber Heard speaks to her attorney at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse as the defamation case brought against her by her ex-husband Johnny Depp continues, in Fairfax, Virginia, U.S., April 19, 2022. Jim Watson/Pool via Reuters

In the U.S. case, Depp and Heard both submitted long lists of potential witnesses they may call, including Heards ex-boyfriend and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk and actor James Franco.

Depps lawyers have said they filed the case in Fairfax County, outside the District of Columbia, because the Washington Post is printed at a facility there. The Washington Post is not a defendant in the case.

The United States is a difficult forum for libel plaintiffs, especially public figures like Depp, who must prove by clear and convincing evidence that Heard knowingly made false claims.

Heard, known for roles in "Aquaman" and "Justice League," has brought her own libel claim against Depp, saying he smeared her by calling her a liar.

Heard's counterclaim, seeking $100 million in damages, will be decided as part of the trial.
Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha Om Birla and his high-ranking delegation arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday, commencing a three-day official visit to Vietnam aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.

This is Birlas first visit to Vietnam since his election in 2019, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

The trip, running from April 19 to 21, aims to further strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and India and implement cooperation activities under the agreement signed between Vietnams National Assembly and Indias Lok Sabha in December 2016.

It also takes place on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the two countries diplomatic relationship.

Following a welcome ceremony in the capital city on Tuesday afternoon, the Indian official joined talks with Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

Despite the adverse impacts from COVID-19, both sides have maintained and reinforced important cooperation mechanisms, and implemented the Action Plan for the 2021-23 period to make bilateral ties more practical and effective, chairman Hue said at the meeting.

The speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha recalled the success of the Vietnamese top legislators official visit to India in last December, and suggested that the two parliaments discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in areas such as social welfare and issues related to the people.

Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha Om Birla attend a ceremony for Vietjets new direct routes to India in Hanoi, April 19, 2022. Photo: Vietjet

Birla proposed that both sides strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, science, technology, service, and digital transformation, and make information technology and service the strategic sectors in bilateral partnership.

The two leaders also discussed a number of international and regional issues of mutual concern, including the East Vietnam Sea issue and the situation in Ukraine.

They emphasized the need for compliance with international laws and welcomed efforts made for dialogue and negotiations.

Following the talks, they attended the ceremony during which Vietjet announced its new direct flight services between Vietnam and India.

The four routes, namely Hanoi - Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City - Mumbai, Phu Quoc - New Delhi, and Phu Quoc  Mumbai, mark the airlines post-pandemic return and continued expansion in India.

Birla also met with Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on the same day.

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A Vietnam court handed down sentences of three to 13 years in prison to 12 defendants who were members of an overseas terrorist organization acting to overthrow the Vietnamese government.

The Peoples Court of Ho Chi Minh City on Monday handed down judgments on 12 defendants, aged 34 to 73, on charges of conducting acts aiming at overthrowing the peoples administration, under Article 109 of the Vietnamese Penal Code.

Among those convicted, Tran Thi Ngoc Xuan, 53, a local resident, got the heaviest sentence of 13 years of imprisonment, followed by Nguyen Thanh Xoan, 50, with 12 years.

The ten other defendants received their jail terms from three to 11 years, depending on their crimes.

They were members of the terrorist organization titled Provisional National Government of Vietnam, which was founded in 1990 in the U.S. and led by 70-year-old Dao Minh Quan, a Vietnamese man living in the country.

Quan is the self-proclaimed Prime Minister of the so-called government, which has conducted many propaganda activities advocating armed riots against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Under the instructions of this organization, the defendants have enticed others to join and conducted a referendum to elect Quan as the President of the third Republic of Vietnam.

In Ho Chi Minh City, Xuan joined the organization, through an introduction to one of its key members, and she regularly used Facebook to live stream contents calling for registration and participation in the referendum.

From March to June 2018, Xuan enticed six people, including her husband, two children and three acquaintances, to join the organization.

During this period, Xuan received multiple documents containing distorted information against the State of Vietnam from the group and disseminated them via Facebook.

On February 19, 2019, Xuan brought along five printed sets of such documents when she visited households in Ho Chi Minh Citys Thu Duc City, and then handed them to three households there.

During the time working for the organization, Xuan was gifted a mobile phone, along with the sums of US$300, CA$400 (US$317.9), and VND3 million ($129.7).

Like Xuan, after being lured to become a member of the terrorist group, Xoan spread false information and also enticed and guided four others to vote in the referendum.

Xoan discussed with Xuan about ways to print and popularize their groups materials.

Along with disseminating 172 books of the so-called Constitution of the third Republic of Vietnam and Biography of President Dao Minh Quan on his personal Facebook page, Xoan printed and distributed such materials to other defendants in this case as well as to people inside and outside Vietnam.

Ten other defendants had taken part in various activities of this terrorist organization at different levels in multiple localities including Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai, An Giang, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Lam Dong, Phu Yen and Kon Tum Provinces.

Among these activities was the creation of the groups flag, whose design consists of three horizontal red stripes on a yellow background.

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Read what is in the news today:

Politics

-- Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha Om Birla and his entourage arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday, starting a three-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

COVID-19 Updates

-- Vietnam reported 13,500 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, putting the countrys total at almost 10.5 million.

-- A batch of 1.7 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from the U.S. arrived in Hanoi on Monday, bringing the total number of COVID-19 vaccines given to Vietnam by the States to nearly 40 million doses, according to the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam.

Society

-- Doctors in Ho Chi Minh City have warned people of the rise of dengue fever cases among children, with many of them suffering critical conditions.

-- Nguyen Xuan Anh, director of the Institute of Geophysics, predicted on Tuesday that earthquakes with a magnitude of 5-5.5 on the Richter scale could occur in Kon Tum after 20 back-to-back earthquakes had struck the Central Highlands province in the past four days.

-- The Peoples Committee of Hanoi held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to announce its decision to halt the sale of 600 villas built before 1954 in the capital city thanks to suggestions from the press and local people.

Business

-- Gasoline prices are projected to increase VND700-800 per liter in line with the global trend on Thursday unless regulators provide subsidies using the fuel price stabilization fund. (US$1 = VND22,957)

Education

-- This years national high school graduation exam is set to take place on July 6, 7 and 8, according to the Ministry of Education and Training.

Lifestyle

-- Officials held a ceremony on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday night to celebrate the first Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day, which is observed annually on a national scale on April 21 under a government decision issued last year.

Sports

-- Hay Toa Sang (Lets Shine), the official song of the delayed 2021 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games hosted by Vietnam, has been broadcast on official channels of the event.

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Two workers were killed following an explosion that occurred during the repair of a ship in Hai Phong City, northern Vietnam on Tuesday.

The accident took place at Hop Tien Thanh Company in Hop Thanh Commune, Thuy Nguyen District, a commune official confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper later the same day.

Preliminary information showed that a group of workers were repairing the Truong Nguyen 68 vessel at the firm on Tuesday when a gas explosion occurred at the compartment of the ship.

Two people who were working at the compartment were severely injured following the incident.

The victims were rushed to Thuy Nguyen District General Hospital for emergency treatment but they failed to survive.

The two workers were later identified as N.V.T, 40, residing in Hop Thanh Commune, and N.V.K., 51, who lived in Quoc Tuan Commune, An Duong District.

The Truong Nguyen 68 ship is designed with a deadweight of 5,000 metric tons.

The blast occurred at one of the ships two compartments.

The repair of the ship was nearly finished when the tragedy took place.

Competent authorities have examined the vessel to determine the cause of the accident.

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Rangers in Ho Chi Minh City received on Monday a rare, endangered monkey that a resident of Binh Chanh District had raised at their home for a decade.

Dinh Minh Canh, living in Tan Quy Tay Commune, Binh Chanh, handed over the pig-tailed macaque to the Ho Chi Minh City forest protection bureau, whose officials then anesthetized and transported it to the Cu Chi Wildlife Rescue Station in the namesake district for further care in accordance with regulations.

The male primate, weighing about nine kilograms, is classified as a rare, endangered forest animal.

Canh said that a relative of his began keeping the monkey about ten years ago.

After the relative passed away, he took care of the wild animal without acknowledging its roots.

A ranger watches a pig-tailed macaque caged at the house of Dinh Minh Canh in Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, April 18, 2022. Photo: Ngoc Khai / Tuoi Tre

While Canh let the monkey out of his cage to clean the cage on April 11, it bit his leg several times.

Canh affirmed that the monkey had never bitten anyone before that time.

After treating his wounds, Canh decided to hand over the primate to authorities.

A person asked to buy the monkey but I didnt agree, Canh said.

I want to send this monkey to the authorities so it can live better.

A ranger carries a tortoise handed over by a resident of Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, April 18, 2022. Photo: Ngoc Khai / Tuoi Tre

After spending time at the Cu Chi Wildlife Rescue Station, the monkey will be released into the wild.

On Monday, the Ho Chi Minh City forest protection bureau also received another three-kilogram long-tailed macaque and a 19-kilogram tortoise from residents.

On the occasion, forest protection officials warned people against raising wild animals at home without approval from authorities.

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The first Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day opened on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday night.

Officials held a ceremony on the pedestrian street to celebrate the commemorative day, which is observed annually on April 21 under a government decision issued last year.

A series of activities promoting reading culture are scheduled to take place from now through April 24.

In the first-of-its-kind-run, the event has attracted more than 20 publishing houses throughout the country.

There are also exhibitions featuring copies of rare books, which are kept at the General Sciences Library of Ho Chi Minh City, and digital books and audio books.

In addition, many exhibitions of childrens books, books on primary teaching methods, business books, Nobel prize-winning books, limited edition books, and special editions will also take place during the event.

Below are photos of the opening ceremony of the first Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City:

People shop for books at the opening ceremony of the first Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, April 19, 2022. Photo: L. Dien / Tuoi Tre

People shop for books at the opening ceremony of the first Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, April 19, 2022. Photo: L. Dien / Tuoi Tre

Delegates attend the opening ceremony of the first Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, April 19, 2022. Photo: L. Dien / Tuoi Tre

A performance at the opening ceremony of the first Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, April 19, 2022. Photo: L. Dien / Tuoi Tre

Children read books at the opening ceremony of the first Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, April 19, 2022. Photo: L. Dien / Tuoi Tre

A performance at the opening ceremony of the first Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, April 19, 2022. Photo: L. Dien / Tuoi Tre

People visit the opening ceremony of the first Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, April 19, 2022. Photo: L. Dien / Tuoi Tre

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Nine News Adelaide failed to broadcast locally last night with the network forced to screen a Melbourne bulletin instead.

Due to a major technical malfunction, we were unable to bring you our bulletin at 6pm, Nine told viewers on social media.

We will back as usual tomorrow  thank you for your patience.

Nine News at 5 was also disrupted, switching to Hello SA before the 6pm Melbourne bulletin.

Back in 2016 Nines Mosart system, was behind a string of tech problems, most recently in May 2021 when Sydney viewers saw a fleeting item from Melbourne.

We have been experiencing some technical issues stick around, anything can happen, Cameron Williams told Sydney viewers at the time.
Tech-savvy farmers work smart

Xinhua) 13:11, April 20, 2022

CHENGDU, April 19 (Xinhua) -- From the comfort of his own home, and with a few taps on his smartphone, Li Chunlai, who runs a farming cooperative in southwest China's Sichuan Province, can manage the temperature and humidity of cold storage full of Sichuan peppers.

The app has proved crucial to Li's business, especially when he had to make prompt inventory management decisions when pepper prices hit a volatile patch.

"When copious freshly-harvested Sichuan peppers hit the market last year, the price slumped to 56 yuan (about 8.8 U.S. dollars) per kg. By properly managing our inventory, we waited for the better price of 68 yuan," said Li, who, along with his partners, manages a 2,600-mu field (about 173 hectares) of peppers in the city of Dazhou in Sichuan.

Li's cooperative made a profit of over 1 million yuan last year despite the weak market.

Similar to Li, new technologies are being quickly picked up by farmers across the country, as they aim to grasp a competitive edge in what was once a largely labor-intensive sector. Gadgets like smartphones, offer timely information about policies, technology, prices, weather, and inventories, helping producers to make smart decisions.

In 2020, Chinese authorities released a guideline on the promotion of digital technologies in rural areas; one initiative among many to modernize agriculture, liberate manpower and improve efficiency.

The guideline encouraged the use of big data, artificial intelligence, remote intelligent agricultural machinery, and agricultural drones in rural areas.

The "No. 1 central document" for 2022, the first policy statement released by China's central authorities this year, called for even greater efforts going forward to develop digital villages and push smart agriculture.

Soon after becoming a farmer in Dazhou eight years ago, Yang Qiang lost about 300,000 yuan after failing to sell his products due to a lack of experience and resources.

Tentatively, Yang posted a video online promoting his chickens. Surprisingly, the folksy video shot on a muddy village road drew an outpouring of support from viewers and helped him sell all his chickens and eggs.

Inspired by the initial success, Yang began to live-stream his life on the farm with his wife. Today, he almost entirely relies on e-commerce platforms to find customers.

"I have installed nearly all the e-commerce applications on my phone," said Yang. "I also share my experience with my fellow farmers."

Experts believe mobile technology has played a big part in promoting intelligent agriculture in rural areas, especially in the country's western regions where digital infrastructure has yet to be fully developed.

"With their high popularization rate, smartphones have helped accelerate the digital transformation in the rural areas," said Chen Duan, director of the Digital Economy Integration Innovation Development Center of Central University of Finance and Economics.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Anne-Marie Slaughter will be the speaker at this year's University of Dayton School of Law graduation ceremony.

The ceremony is set for Saturday, May 7 at 9 a.m. at UD Arena.

Dr. Slaughter is the CEO of New America and the Bert G. Kerstetter 66 University Professor Emerita of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. From 2009-2011 she served as the director of Policy Planning for the United States Department of State, the first woman to hold that position. Prior to her government service, Dr. Slaughter was the Dean of Princeton Universitys School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School) from 20022009 and the J. Sinclair Armstrong Professor of International, Foreign, and Comparative Law at Harvard Law School from 1994-2002.

Dr. Slaughter has written or edited seven books, including The Chessboard and the Web: Strategies of Connection in a Networked World, Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family, and The Idea That Is America: Keeping Faith with Our Values in a Dangerous World." She is also a frequent contributor to a number of publications, including The Atlantic, the Financial Times, and Project Syndicate. In 2012, she published Why Women Still Cant Have It All, in The Atlantic, which quickly became one of the most read articles in the history of the magazine and helped spark a renewed national debate on the continued obstacles to genuine full male-female equality.

Dr. Slaughter will join an illustrious list of School of Law graduation speakers including Microsoft President Brad Smith, Ray McGuire, who was Citis Global Head of Corporate and Investment Banking and a New York City mayoral candidate, and Ohio Supreme Court Justice Melody Stewart.
By Grace DiPierro

Jordan Seitz '15

Throughout the years, the Honors Program has had many notable students pass through the program. One such student is Jordan Seitz 15 who graduated from UD with a degree in History as well as a BSE in Adolescent to Young Adult Education with a Social Studies concentration. While he was a student at UD, Seitz was also part of the Honors Program. His experiences in multiple Honors humanities courses, the CORE program, and his Honors Thesis earned him the Honors with Distinction diploma.

Today, Seitz is a high school Social Studies teacher in Hamilton, Ohio, where he teaches AP US Government, World History and Current Events. Seitzs involvement in the Honors Program helped inform his life after graduation by shaping his perspective on the world into one that is more broad and analytic, which he relays to his students in the classroom.

Seitzs work as a Fulbright English teacher was another key experience made possible by some of his Honors professors at UD. As a Fulbright recipient, Seitz was able to live and work in Malaysia. Seitz reflected on his time abroad by saying that my experiences teaching in Malaysia pushed me one step further in my pursuit of diverse perspectives and nuanced context.

Looking ahead, Seitz is excited to welcome his daughter into the world sometime in May. Additionally, Seitz is working toward a Masters degree in History Education from Xavier University and is expected to graduate in 2022. His goal is to one day pursue a doctoral degree in History and work in higher education in some form.

Amanda Dee '16

Both Seitz and Amanda Dee 16 were in the CORE program and the Honors Program, but Dee took her education in a slightly different direction. Majoring in English and journalism at UD, Dee completed an Honors Thesis that examined the implications of calling UDs Student Neighborhood The Ghetto over time, from the first reference in Flyer News, UDs student-run newspaper, through her last year at UD in 2016.

Now Dee works in medical research communications at Northwestern Universitys medical school. She has created podcasts and social media posts, but is now learning how to construct and write content for websites. When she is not at this job, she is completing her MFA in creative writing at Northwestern and publishing fiction for TriQuarterly, Northwesterns literary magazine.

Like Seitz, Dee uses what she learned in the CORE Program in all her creative and professional work. The knowledge she gained from CORE helped her see and process the world in a new way, and was also part of her inspiration for pursuing journalism. All of her experiences writing and interviewing for Flyer News as well as for her Honors Thesis prepared her to accept opportunities that pushed me socially and intellectually beyond where I was comfortable.

Dee hopes to write and publish works that blend various genres and mediums. Further in the future, she hopes to edit literary publications and help other writers as they start their own writing careers. Lastly, Dee hopes to work in a position where she can advise new storytellers as they learn how to mold and shape their own stories.
Accenture Research study indicates that 77% of Asia Pacific youth aspire to work in the green economy within the next 10 years

SINGAPORE, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Three out of four young people in Asia Pacific aspire to get a green job within the next decade, outpacing youth elsewhere in the world in gravitating towards careers  and organisations  that have an environmentally sustainable agenda, according to Youthquake Meets Green Economy, a new research report by Accenture (NYSE: ACN).

Three out of four young people in Asia Pacific aspire to get a green job within the next decade, outpacing youth elsewhere in the world in gravitating towards careers  and organisations  that have an environmentally sustainable agenda, according to Youthquake Meets Green Economy, a new research report by Accenture.

In a landmark study of 29,500 youth aged between 15 and 39, in 18 countries, 77 percent of respondents in Asia Pacific said they aspire to work in the green economy in the next decade; a little more than half (54%) even think they will accomplish that goal within five years.

"There is every indication that the region's youth are especially enthusiastic about making a positive environmental impact and working for organisations that demonstrate a real commitment to sustainability. The challenge is now for companies to move quickly enough to appeal to this talent and design jobs that allow youth to make a lasting difference," says Gianfranco Casati, CEO for Growth Markets at Accenture.

According to Accenture's modelling of job creation, it is estimated that the number of green jobs in Australia, China, India, Indonesia and Japan could grow by 62%, reaching 32.6 million, by 2030. More than 12 million jobs are expected to be in the area of transportation, and almost 10 million more jobs will come from increasing the supply of low-carbon electricity, especially in the form of renewable energy.

"Many companies have started by making public commitments to sustainability. Now they have to execute by prioritizing green economy activities: the kind that has a primary purpose of protecting or restoring the environment while creating new employment opportunities," Mr Casati added.

As the demand and supply of green jobs continue to grow, companies need to be aware of three imperatives:

Story continues

Flip the script -- for your future's sake : Discerning and critical, young people are highly sensitive to superficial attempts at "greenwashing". Conversely, companies that demonstrate a genuine commitment to a green-economy transition can have a strong appeal for young people. Here are two suggestions: First, create new green businesses that are decoupled from legacy businesses, and second, build internal capabilities for sustainability across all business divisions, which could include introducing and tracking new sustainability KPIs.

Deliberately design "green collar" jobs to spark innovation : Today's sustainability challenges demand fresh, hybrid solutions. Companies need to bring in a mosaic of talent profiles into new types of teams to build these solutions faster. Expertise will be required in unusual combinations such as chemical engineering-plus-innovation and climate science-plus-AI. Simply building this talent pool won't sufficethe most innovative companies will go one step further by offering them the creative freedom to bring their ideas to life with the latest instruments such as advanced data platforms, analytical tools and new technologies.

Make everyone part of the green transition: Not all green jobs require advanced degrees  a large portion of green skills will be needed in entry-level roles and require vocational qualifications. Based on our research, youth in the region are eager to receive the specialised training these jobs require. For companies, this creates unique opportunities to invest in upskilling or reskilling these aspiring young workers.

Companies that rise to the challenge of meeting these imperatives will not only create the jobs that young people aspire to, but also secure their own place in the green economy.

Methodology

Youthquake Meets Green Economy is based on three streams of research aimed at surfacing the aspirations of young people; where the opportunities lie for green job creation; and how companies are attracting young people into the green economy of the future.

Youth survey: Accenture surveyed 29,500 young people aged 15 to 39 in 18 countries: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.

Job-creation modelling: With Australia, China, India, Japan and Indonesia as its focus, Accenture modelled jobs that will be needed to accelerate transition to a green economy across 4 pathways, by 2030. We measured these jobs in two categories: those that will be created by the expansion of "greening" activities in existing sectors, especially through investment in green infrastructure, and those that will be created as new industries or technologies emerge.

Qualitative interviews: Accenture conducted 30 in-depth interviews with business leaders and thought leaders from innovative private start-ups and smaller public companies in Asia Pacific, and hosted an Accenture Roundtable with 15 senior business leaders from large companies across the region.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services  all powered by the world's largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 699,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at accenture.com.

Disclaimer: This document is intended for general informational purposes only, does not take into account the reader's specific circumstances, may not reflect the most current developments, and is not intended to provide advice on specific circumstances. Accenture disclaims, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, all liability for the accuracy and completeness of the information in this blog and for any acts or omissions made based on such information. Accenture does not provide legal, regulatory, audit or tax advice. Readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel or other licensed professional.

Copyright  2022 Accenture. All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and Let There Be Change are registered trademarks of Accenture

SOURCE Accenture
Russia issued fresh threats to Sweden and Finland on Wednesday over the possibility of joining Nato. (Getty)

A growing majority of Swedes are now in favour of joining Nato despite threats of retribution from Russia, new polling has revealed.

On Wednesday, research by Demoskop and commissioned by the Aftonbladet newspaper showed 57% of Swedes now favoured Nato membership, up from 51% in March.

Sweden, along with neighbouring Finland, has moved towards dropping decades of military neutrality in the face of Putin's bloody invasion of Ukraine.

The March poll was the first to show a majority of Swedes in favour of joining the alliance. In January, a month before the invasion, just 37% were in favour of Nato membership.

Prompted by Putin's attack on Ukraine, Sweden is currently in the midst of a review into its security policy, which will conclude at the end of May.

Swedish PM Magdalena Andersson speaks in Stockholm as her nation increases its support to join Nato. (Getty)

Some reports have suggested Sweden's prime minister Magdalena Andersson wants the country to join the transatlantic alliance by June.

Momentum has also been growing in Finland, which shares an 830-mile land border with Russia, with the country expected to apply for Nato membership at a similar time to Sweden.

On Wednesday, Finland inched closer to joining the alliance, after the country's major parliamentary groups all expressed support for some form of military alliance.

Read more: Putin officials 'increasingly worried' he could unleash limited nuclear weapon

The move came during a debate in the Finnish parliament, discussing the possibility of Nato membership.

Prime minister Sanna Marin's Social Democrat party voiced support for a military alliance, but stopped short of directly mentioning Nato.

"It is evident that Russia's actions have brought Finland several steps closer to military alignment being necessary," Social Democrat group leader Antti Lindtman said.

Putin has spent decades viewing Nato as a threat, and Moscow has been clear that it opposes any chance for the alliance to get larger.

Click on this image to see all Yahoo News UK's latest content on the Ukraine crisi

The Kremlin issued a fresh threat to Finland and Sweden on Wednesday.

Story continues

Maria Zakharova, spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry, said both nations have been informed "what it will lead to" if they abandon their neutrality agreements.

"We have issued all our warnings both publicly and through bilateral channels," she told the Rossiya 24 state media channel.

"They know about it, they will have nothing to be surprised about, they were informed about everything."

Watch: Russia's nuclear capability 'concerning' - as Putin launched invasion to 'stay in power'

Finland has been officially neutral since signing a pact with Russia in 1948, agreeing to never join a military alliance hostile to Russia, or allowing its territory to be in an attack against Russia.

Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said last week Nato allies would welcome Finland and Sweden into the alliance if they decided to join.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has previously said that joining the alliance would not bring any further security to Europe.

He said the bloc "is not that kind of alliance which ensures peace and stability, and its further expansion will not bring additional security to the European continent".

Sweden has not been at war since the time of Napoleon and has built its security policy on "non-participation in military alliances".

Swedish PM Magdalena Andersson and Finnish PM Sanna Marin pictured in Stockholm. (Getty)

But like Finland, the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation", has forced a radical rethink.

Both countries are now seen as highly likely to join the 30-nation alliance.

Putin's troops continued their assault on Eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, with fighting intensifying in the southeastern Donbas region.

Ukrainian forces clung on to the besieged city of Mariupol, where a Russian ultimatum to to surrender or die expired on Wednesday afternoon with no mass capitulation.

More than five million people have now fled Ukraine since the start of the conflict, the United Nations refugee agency said.
Five University of North Georgia (UNG) faculty members and roughly a dozen students participated in the first United Forsyth Orchestra Day at the Forsyth County Arts and Living Center, where more than 200 string students from 22 schools across the county performed on stage together.

While faculty directed high school and middle school orchestras, ran sectionals, and clinics, UNG students were on hand to assist wherever they were needed, and most were members of UNG's chapter of the collegiate branch of the National Association for Music Education.

"Working with younger students is always refreshing, especially the elementary school students," Dr. Esther Morgan-Ellis, associate professor of music history, said. "Some of the kids had a really special experience, maybe even life-changing."

Morgan-Ellis said the day was a great opportunity for UNG students, as most of those who participated want to become music educators.

"Some of them had eye-opening first experiences with what it is really like to work with large groups of young kids," she said. "I can tell you from my own experience that it is both exhilarating and exhausting."
Three University of North Georgia (UNG) students have been selected for Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) scholarships. Grants were renewed for three additional students for travel this year. That gives UNG six of the 119 FEA scholars.

"This means 5% of all FEA awards in 2022-23 are UNG students," Dr. Anastasia Lin, assistant vice president of Academic Affairs and director of the Nationally Competitive Scholarships office, said.

Lin said FEA scholarships are geared toward supporting underrepresented students studying abroad.

"FEA makes life-changing, international experiences accessible to all by supporting students of color, community college, and first-generation college students before, during, and after they participate in education abroad programs," according to the FEA website.

Among the newly-awarded recipients are Melena Appling, a first generation sophomore pursuing a communications degree with a public relations concentration, and Anh Tran, a junior pursuing a marketing degree, who will both spend fall of 2022 in the United Kingdom, and Alejandro Canela, a junior pursuing a degree in biology, who will spend the 2023 summer semester in Japan.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the date of the funeral service. It is Saturday, April 30.

A funeral service April 30 will honor the life of Cullen Smith, who is being remembered this week for his decades as a leading attorney, city council member and civic leader in his native Waco.

Smith, who died Saturday at the age of 96, was involved in many community causes over the years, from meeting with North Vietnamese leaders over the fate of U.S. prisoners of war in the 1970s to helping the city of Waco battle upstream dairy pollution in the early 2000s.

I think he is a model citizen who used his time and talent to benefit the city, said Stephen Sloan, who has recorded hours of interviews with Smith as the director of Baylor Universitys Institute for Oral History. To see just how civic-minded he was is pretty inspirational.

Smith, a 1950 graduate of Baylor Law School, joined what is now Naman Howell Smith & Lee in 1953 and eventually served as managing partner, president and chairman, remaining of counsel until his death. He was also president of the State Bar of Texas from 1978 to 1979.

Attorney Roy Barrett of Naman Howell Smith & Lee said Smith was a mentor to him and many others.

He was the best lawyer I have ever seen at client relations, Barrett said. He was an innovator and creative thinker regarding the practice of law.

Barrett said that as early as the 1960s Smith was an early adopter of management techniques needed to handle the complexity of modern litigation.

But he was also a savvy persuader, Barrett said.

When Coryell County landowners filed suit to stop Fort Hood from confiscating their land in the 1970s, Smith filled two Boeing 727 planes with the landowners and flew them to Washington, D.C., where they met with congressional leadership and ended up on national news. The Army backed off on its plans to take the property.

Smith grew up on Trice Avenue in Waco and attended Waco High School, where he graduated in 1943 in the middle of World War II. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps, which he served as a second lieutenant until his honorable discharge in 1946. In 1948, he married Laura Risher Mickey Dossett of Waco and graduated from Baylor University.

Over the years, the couple would be involved in establishing the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, Vanguard Preparatory School and Art Center Waco, according to an obituary from the Smith family.

Smith was involved in the early 1960s effort to quietly desegregate public facilities in Waco, and he advocated for minority advancement in the professional world of Waco, according to the obituary.

He was also an important player in Urban Renewal, a local-federal partnership that was intended to redevelop blighted parts of the inner city, especially along the Brazos River, with new streets, infrastructure and housing.

One of his most ambitious endeavors was an attempt to persuade North Vietnamese leaders to reconsider their treatment of American prisoners of war. He was the chair of a group called the Waco Dozen who traveled to Paris in 1971 to meet with those leaders as the Vietnam War raged on.

In a rare concession to American concerns, the leaders agreed to meet with three of the group, including Smith, Karl May and Tribune-Herald Editor Harry Provence. Through a translator, they inquired about the condition of several Central Texas prisoners of war.

One of the things we said to them is that if they were willing to let us going into North Vietnam to see the conditions of the prisoners, we would let them see the prisoners of the U.S., and if they were treating them as they say they were, we would let the U.S. know so that it might improve their world image, Smith said in a 2012 Tribune-Herald interview.

The outcome of the meeting was uncertain, but the community effort was widely celebrated and ultimately commemorated in the Freedom Fountain constructed in 1973 at what is now the Waco Convention Center.

Smith served on the Waco City Council from 1983 to 1985, including a term as mayor pro tem. Also in 1985, Smith proposed to the city council an event that would become the Waco Wild West Bicycle Tour.

Smith officially retired from Naman Howell Smith & Lee in 2002 as his eyesight degenerated, but he remained a regular presence at the firm and began lending his expertise to the city of Waco on a volunteer basis.

Mayor Linda Ethridge recruited Smith to help the city fight for regulations to rein in pollution from dairy farms along the North Bosque River watershed upstream of Lake Waco. Smith accompanied city leaders to meetings with state and federal regulators to argue for new rules on waste disposal.

When Waco needed someone to step up on something like the watershed issue, he was always there, said Wiley Stem, a retired Waco city manager who was part of the citys battle with the dairies in the early 2000s.

Cullen knew Waco, and he knew the issues, and he could lay out Wacos position better than anybody, Stem said.

A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. April 30 at Oakwood Cemetery.

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Once treading water financially, the YMCA of Central Texas will get a $4.7 million makeover including a cardio theater, karate and dance studio, extra space for classes and a nearly $300,000 swimming pool upgrade.

The goal is to increase membership at the Y complex on Harvey Drive, which last year merged with the YMCA of Greater Williamson County, an entity with a much larger geographic footprint that enjoyed revenues totaling $30 million last fiscal year, Y spokesperson Laura Arredondo said.

McLennan County commissioners did their part Tuesday to expedite the project, giving tax-exempt status to a $3 million loan from Extraco Banks. The vote was a legal formality, and no county money is going to the Y.

Arredondo said the proposed Y refresh faces hurdles before a potential kickoff in October. The Waco City Council and the Oglesby City Council must give approval as the Y board formally defines project scope.

County Administrator Dustin Chapman said the Texas Health & Safety Code requires that a cultural facilities corporation get involved in issuing debt for projects such as this. The nearest such corporation is based in Oglesby, in Coryell County. The corporation could not authorize a tax-exempt loan without approval by McLennan County commissioners and Waco City Council.

Bidding for an architect and then a contractor will ensue, Arredondo said. But the Y is not dawdling in the meantime, already installing a new $300,000 roof, a $220,000 chiller and setting aside $292,000 for pool repairs.

She said a $500,000 operating surplus made possible the early start.

Left on the basic list is $543,000 in repairs to the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, Arredondo said. The rest will be what she called more exciting upgrades. She said the YMCA of Greater Williamson County pursued the merger knowing the local Ys 80,000-square-foot home needed work.

Other goodies appearing on the drawing board include a gymnastics studio; an internal child care center called Child Watch, where parents can leave youngsters as they exercise; Group X, meaning more designated exercise spaces, some using the Les Mills choreographed routines popular at other Y locations; and Cardio Theatre, which allows users to view movies as they use treadmills, elliptical devices and exercise bikes, Arredondo said.

Arredondo said improvements will materialize within existing confines, that new construction is not planned. She said research and interviews with members pinpointed underused space and attractions.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Wacos Y counted 3,800 members. Today it has about 2,400 and a goal to raise that number, Arredondo said. Waco operations contributed about $2.8 million to the YMCA of Greater Williamson Countys $30 million recent revenue stream, she said.

The Williamson County Y system in November, when Waco joined, included facilities in Burnet, Cedar Park, Hutto, Georgetown and Round Rock.

Arredondo said the Y also sees the need to give the Waco Y a fresh exterior, and to spruce up the lobby, adding tables and chairs to accommodate social gatherings and members hanging out between workout sessions. The locker rooms will receive attention, as will areas where members circulate. Stationary bikes in the spin room will take users through simulated courses. The fitness floor will have pods for free weights and cardio machines.

Local YMCA President and CEO Rodney Martin resigned in 2020, and at least one board member resigned last year. Michelle Cornelissens, who previously was employed at the Williamson County Y, now serves as the Waco Y director.

Cornellissens referred comment to Arredondo on Tuesday.

The Y on Harvey Drive now serves as the organizations only location in Waco.

The city of Waco last year announced it would buy the Doris Miller YMCA facilities, 1020 Elm Ave., on the former Paul Quinn College campus, with plans to convert it to a community center replacing the Bledsoe-Miller Community Center about a mile away.

That move gave the Ys presence in Waco financial breathing room.

There is one location in Waco now, and we want to be clear, this location is to serve East Waco as well. This is for Waco and all surrounding cities, Arredondo said. Were looking at promoting programming and opportunities that may impact staffing, may mean hiring. Our search will be citywide.

Arredondo said members will not necessarily pay higher monthly membership fees due to nearly $5 million in upgrades. She said the Y occasionally raises fees to cover increased operational costs, including pay increases, for example.

She said the local Y and others nationally receive financial assistance from individuals and from philanthropic organizations.

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HONOLULU (AP)  Ezra Miller was arrested on suspicion of assault early Tuesday, the second time the actor known for playing the Flash in Justice League films has been arrested in Hawaii in recent weeks.

Miller became irate after being asked to leave a get-together at a Big Island home and threw a chair, hitting a woman in the forehead, according to a news release from the Hawaii Police Department.

The woman refused treatment for a half-inch (1.3-centimeter) cut on her forehead, police said.

Miller, described by police as a 29-year-old visitor from Vermont, was arrested during a traffic stop and released pending further investigation.

About twelve hours after Miller's arrest, the actor appeared via Zoom for a court hearing for an arrest last month at a Big Island karaoke bar.

Miller pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct and was ordered to pay a $500 fine and stay away from Margarita Village in Hilo.

Miller was also charged with harassment after police said the actor grabbed a mic from a singing woman and lunged at a man playing darts.

Miller was aggravated by a rendition of the Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper ballad Shallow, Hawaii Police Assistant Chief Kenneth Quiocho said.

As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped the harassment charge, along with an unrelated traffic charge.

Miller received a traffic citation after police were called to a dispute in downtown Hilo last month where Miller was uncooperative, refused to leave the area and obstructed a sidewalk, Quiocho said.

Millers Hawaii attorney didnt immediately return a message seeking comment on the latest arrest. Another lawyer and a Miller representative also didnt immediately respond to messages requesting comment.

There was no mention of the latest arrest during the court hearing.

Big Island attorney Francis Alcain had requested Tuesdays court hearing, previously scheduled for next week, be moved up. Alcain said in a court filing his client has various time sensitive work obligations in California and/or New York, and needs an earlier hearing to resolve this matter.

The day after Miller was released on $500 bail for the karaoke bar arrest, a Big Island couple filed a petition for a temporary restraining order, claiming the actor burst into their bedroom and threatened them. A judge dismissed the case last week after an attorney for the couple requested it.

William Dean, an attorney for the couple, declined to say why his clients no longer wanted to pursue a restraining order against Miller.

Judge M. Kanani Laubach applied Miller's bail to the $500 fine, leaving a $30 fee to pay.

Miller also has a key role in the third installment of the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

This story has been corrected to show that the injured woman refused treatment for a cut.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Each year the appraisal district will send out thousands of notifications informing property owners that their appraisals have increased. Its easy to understand why many Texas homeowners and businesses are rightfully worried about these appraisal increases and the subsequent tax increases. As a member of the Corsicana City Council, I hear from constituents on a regular basis who are frustrated with paying more and more in property taxes each year and dont fully understand who is responsible or where that money goes. Its crucial for taxpayers to have clarity and transparency on the process and recognize how so many different entities play a part.

One common myth is that the state of Texas collects property taxes. Texas does not have a state property tax system but allows local governments the choice to collect them. Because of Texas law dating back to 1979, the property tax system is intentionally broken: it allows local governments to continuously shift blame for rising property taxes  the appraisal district points to cities, counties, and schools, for their rates and those same entities then point the finger right back at the appraisal district for their rising appraisals. This broken system was designed to give local governments cover to continue collecting higher property taxes while always having a way to shirk accountability to taxpayers. The buck must stop somewhere, and the fact is that tax rates set by schools, counties and cities are the ultimate reason your property taxes go up. I doubt youll hear this from any of your local elected officials.

Local government entities set a tax rate, which is then applied to your appraisal. School districts typically take the largest piece of your tax pie, often accounting for 40-50% or more of your tax bill (which is why school board races are so important). City, county and school taxes, and bonds (a softer way of saying increased tax burden), have the most direct impact on your everyday life as well as your pocketbook, yet elections for these critical positions are largely skipped by the very people they impact. What most people dont know is that every local taxing entity is free to set the property tax rate to $0.00. Every local government could abolish property taxes, like the city of Stafford has done.

Each year, the county tax assessor-collector must publish a tax rate that would collect the same dollar amount (not accounting for growth) as the previous year  called the no new revenue rate (formerly known as the effective rate). Every city councilman, county commissioner and school board trustee knows prior to voting which rate will not increase your out-of-pocket tax bill. You will hear every year from schools, cities and counties: We kept the rate the same as last year. But the fact is simple: If the tax rate passed is higher than the no new revenue rate, your taxes were increased.

This is a prevalent talking point permeated throughout the local government network as a way to collect more money but convince voters that you didnt raise taxes (this trick is taught to all newly elected city officials who attend the Texas Municipal League orientation  I witnessed it myself). If you are concerned over the continuous growth of your property tax bill and do not feel like you have seen the increased local services to justify the amount, it is your duty to vote in local elections for city and school positions (typically held in May). However, when it comes to your tax bill, the tax rate is only the first part of the equation.

The appraisal district assigns a value to your property that, in theory, should reflect about 95% of your propertys market value. The appraisal district must also notify the property owner if the valuew increases over a certain amount from the previous year. What many people dont know is that value is not set in stone immediately; you have a right to protest the appraisal districts assessment. Protesting your appraisal is a task most people forget about, but it can have a tremendous impact on if, or how much, your property tax bill increases. Business owners can protest their business personal property appraisal (commonly referred to as the inventory tax) as well. Every individual has a right to protest these appraisals, and there are professional services available to help guide you through the process if needed.

A great mentor of mine, the late Congressman Ron Wright, masterfully understood the property tax system and taught me a great deal about it. He summed up the issue neatly in an op-ed for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2016: Appraisal districts, tax offices and local elected bodies should work together to provide as much honesty and transparency in the property tax system as possible. Blaming value alone for higher taxes should stop. Property owners should also do their part. Learn more about the taxes you have to pay and engage your elected officials.

Taxpayers have two powerful, tangible tools at their disposal to keep property taxes in check, yet sadly many forget about them. The first is to participate in local elections for city council and school board elections. These are traditionally low turnout elections in May that have a greater impact on your daily life than congressional or presidential elections. The second is to protest your appraisals, and exercise your right to check the appraisal districts assessment. Actively participating in both sides of the conversation gives you and your community the best opportunity to bring property taxes under control, and ensure your dollars are wisely spent on the services you care most about.

Until our state legislature and governor commit to abolishing the property tax system, no Texan will truly own property  we are all tenants sending a rent check to the government each year.

Chris Woolsey is a commercial real estate advisor and property tax consultant with The Means Companies. He is currently serving his second term on Corsicana City Council. He can be reached at cwoolsey@corsicanatx.gov.
ASHLAND  The investigation continues into a fire that burned a local landmark.

On April 12, the historic Beetison house burned in a fire of still undetermined origin.

An investigator from the State Fire Marshals office was on scene as Ashland Volunteer Fire Department members were extinguishing the blaze. But the fire began in the middle of the night and was reported at 2:20 a.m., so it was still dark as the flames were being doused.

Ashland Police Chief Ryan Brady said he spoke with the investigator on Friday and was told the investigation will take some time, in part because the scene is still too dangerous to do a thorough investigation.

The fire gutted the 19th century building, which was constructed out of hand-chiseled limestone quarried in South Bend and Louisville. The buildings framework was made of thick timbers that were destroyed by the fire.

The heat, along with the water applied to put out the flames, did significant damage to the limestone, creating large cracks in the stones that are still standing.

Brady said city officials are working with the property owner to erect safeguards to keep people away from the site. Trespassing could not only be dangerous, but could also impede the investigation, he added.

The site cannot be razed because doing so could also destroy clues to the fires origin.

The investigation is at such a point that nothing can be done with the structure itself because it could ruin evidence, Brady said.

There have been reports on social media that items have been stolen from the ruins, but Brady said no reports had been filed with APD as of Monday afternoon.

On Sunday, Beetison family members Kim Streich and Krista Sender said on Facebook that corbels had been stolen from the house where their grandparents formerly lived.

My family was hoping to get those corbels, as it was the only thing precious to us, Streich posted.

Streich and Sender are descendants of Israel Beetison, who built the house in 1874. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Brady said the state fire marshals office is making this case a top priority.

They are following up on several leads actively, Brady said.

That includes canvasing the neighborhood, knocking on doors to talk to neighbors and reviewing security camera footage that has been turned in.

But they are looking for more leads, especially surveillance video. To submit video or other tips, contact the Nebraska State Fire Marshals office call 888-992-7766. Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Tips can also be submitted to the Ashland Police Department, Brady said.

The parcel of property that includes the Beetison house is owned by a company called Iron Horse Ridge with a Bellevue address. In last weeks issue, the Gazette incorrectly identified the owner as The Land Company, which is owned by Hubbell Realty Company. Hubbell Realty purchased phases 1 and 2 of the Iron Horse development from The Land Company, which was formerly Boyer Young Development, but not the third phase, which includes the Beetison house, according to Joey Taylor-Moon of Hubbell Realty Co.

The Beetison house has been vacant since the land was originally purchased by Boyer Young in 1999.

Suzi Nelson is the managing editor of The Ashland Gazette. Reach her via email at suzi.nelson@ashland-gazette.com.
WAVERLY  Within the next month, a Waverly landmark and eyesore will be stripped down to nothing.

Phil Durst, the new owner of the Shakers Gentlemans Club property, told Waverly city officials last week that he plans to raze the building, once and for all.

Shes going to go down, he said.

The decision is a slight course reversal for Durst, who also owns the adjacent Lincoln Auto Auction and Durst Motor Company. He said he had always planned to have the building demolished after he bought the property in February, but said he said there was no hurry.

That was until severe weather ripped through Waverly and eastern Nebraska on the evening of April 12, tearing two new holes in the former strip clubs roof and causing leaks inside. Durst decided there was no use for the building to stand.

After he made the decision, Durst said his first call was to notify the City of Waverly.

We were very glad to hear that that was going to happen, said City Administrator Stephanie Fisher.

The Shakers building was erected in 1966 and operated as a strip club from the 1990s until the pandemic forced its closure in 2020. Its exterior has been painted maroon, bright pink and now gray and has long been a thorn in the side of Waverlys city council.

The demolition comes as the City of Waverly is in the early stages of extending a water and sewer line west to reach the Lincoln Auto Auction. The lack of water infrastructure in that area has stymied development along Highway 6 near Waverlys southwest boundary.

Durst said when he bought the property that his intention was to eventually develop the site, but he said he has no concrete plans at the moment.

My son put it best on Wednesday, Durst said. The building was a piece of (expletive) when we bought it. And now that we own it, its still a piece of (expletive). And people know I own it. I dont like that.

Durst said he hired Pershing Demolition to level the building.

Everybodys going to be happy, hopefully within a month, Durst said.

Sam Crisler is a reporter for The Waverly News. Reach him via email at samuel.crisler@wahoonewspaper.com.
WATERLOO - A Waterloo woman has pleaded to using a COVID-19 relief program to steal money from the government.

Chrishandia Michael White, 32, pleaded to one count of first-degree fraud on Monday in Black Hawk County District Court. Sentencing will be at a later date.

Investigators with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals allege White used a made-up name to register as a landlord account to receive funds from the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act rent relief program.

Eleven applications were submitted for tenants who were seeking rental relief for properties the landlord allegedly operated in Cedar Rapids. Investigators determined the properties were owned by other people, and the paycheck stubs submitted by the alleged tenants were also bogus, according to court records.

White allegedly submitted $33,070 in false claims and received $20,000 in payments through the scheme, court records state.

She was arrested in September.

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WATERLOO  The University of Northern Iowa and its partners officially launched a national Industry 4.0 technology initiative Tuesday after receiving $10 million in funding for the effort.

President Mark Nook told those gathered at a Courtyard Marriott conference room that the work is funded through a competitive federal bid process UNI entered into with Youngstown (Ohio) State University and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining.

Their focus will be to increase the number of small-to-midsize manufacturers using advanced technologies like robotics, artificial intelligence and 3-D printing in the metal casting business. UNIs Foundry 4.0 and Metal Casting centers are working with Youngstown States Excellence Training Center and America Makes, an NCDMM-operated additive manufacturing business in Youngstown.

The funding is for the first 18 months of the initiative, said Jerry Thiel, director of the two UNI centers. More federal dollars could be available over 54 months if further funding is received.

Nook said the assistance provided to hundreds of businesses every year will help them to improve efficiency and stabilize the supply chain.

Those small and medium-sized businesses really do need to upgrade to the next set of processes, he said. Such changes are expected to create jobs and strengthen the defense manufacturing industry, which the businesses help to supply.

This really does impact the defense supply chain, said Nook.

Yet, were seeing hesitation in adopting Industry 4.0 technologies, said Andrew Morse, chief of staff in UNIs office of governmental relations. So officials saw an opportunity to blend the expertise in the universitys Foundry 4.0 and Metal Casting centers with its business services through the initiative.

This is a fantastic opportunity, said Jerry Thiel, director of the two centers. The difference we can make in a company with less than 100 people, less than 500 people is tremendous by bringing in technology. ...

This facility and the resources we have for the foundry industry are unique, he said later during a tour of the UNI Foundry 4.0 Center at the neighboring TechWorks building. Were working with basic manufacturing, teaching skills that are needed now.

Jackie Ruller, director of the Excellence Training Center at Youngstown State, said her organization trains and upskills people for jobs at those small and medium-sized companies. Its also involved in research and finding ways to commercialize products.

The mission of the center is basically perfectly aligned with this project, she said. With the help of the grant funding, we are going to install a foundry and a post-processing facility in the center.

Its efforts will be enhanced, Ruller noted, by working in partnership with local organizations like the Youngstown Business Incubator and America Makes.

Thiel said it was natural to work with NCDMM, America Makes and Youngstown State on this initiative because theyd already forged a partnership years ago. His center had been in contact with America Makes when UNI was preparing to install its large 3-D sand printer at TechWorks. Once that was up and running, the organization suggested Youngstown State would be a good partner and theyve been working together since 2014-15.

This project really speaks to the impact we can have, Morse said. This is exactly the type of work that institutions like UNI, like Youngstown State ought to be doing.

He noted that small-to-midsize manufacturers are 100,000 strong across the nation and responsible for more than $1 billion in economic output each year, comprising the bulk of the supply chain.

He acknowledged the assistance of Iowas congressional delegation in securing the funding and the universitys partnerships with John Deere, Hawkeye Community College and Grow Cedar Valley.

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CEDAR FALLS  Local officials will join scholars to participate in a conference at the University of Northern Iowa exploring a number of issues related to election administration and trust.

The Conference on Election Administration and Integrity will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Friday, featuring election officials from Black Hawk and Grundy counties. They will explain how elections are carried out, how results are verified, and how people can assure that their vote is properly cast and will count.

Students and faculty involved with UNIs Panthers Vote will discuss how students can register to vote and will talk about activities planned for the fall to encourage student voter turnout. UNI is a national leader in student voting and civic engagement. In 2020, 73.1% of the universitys students voted, up seven percentage points from 2016.

Finally, UNI scholars will be joined by David Kimball, professor of political science at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, to discuss what factors shape popular attitudes about and trust in our elections. Kimball will deliver the keynote address Understanding Public Beliefs About Voter Fraud, which will begin at 3 p.m.

The event, in Maucker Union Ballroom C, is open to the public. It is free for all students, faculty and staff and costs $15 for members of the public. Lunch is included. Register at bit.ly/UNIElectionIntegrity.

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CEDAR FALLS  To help promote classroom literacy, Target Corporation has once again awarded Cedar Falls Public Safety a grant to sustain an annual reading program with area elementary schools. The grant money is used to purchase a book for every kindergarten student in Cedar Falls.

Cedar Falls officers will visit classrooms through April 29 to do a storytime reading of the book, "A Day in the Life of a Police Officer" by Richard Scarry, before presenting each student with their own copy.

This is not only an opportunity to promote the importance of reading and education for young students but it is also a chance for them to connect with officers, said Cedar Falls Captain Jeff Sitzmann. It provides a positive experience for them and builds that vital trust and familiarity that they can take with them as they grow.

The grant is part of ongoing efforts by Target to strengthen families and communities. Since opening its doors, Target has given five percent of its income to organizations that support education, the arts, safe families, and communities. This five percent translates into more than three million dollars per week.

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WASILLA, Alaska (AP)  Sarah Palin isn't used to sharing the spotlight.

In the nearly 14 years since she burst onto the national political scene, the former Alaska governor has appeared on reality television programs, written books, spent time as a Fox News contributor, formed a political action committee in her name and been a rumored White House contender. She more recently revived her status as a conservative sensation with an ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit against The New York Times.

Now, the first Republican female vice presidential nominee is vying for what could be considered a less glamorous role: a member of the U.S. House.

Palin is among 48 candidates running for Alaska's lone House seat following the death last month of Republican Rep. Don Young, who held the job for 49 years. If successful, Palin would be one of 435 members in a chamber where ambition runs deep but legislating is tough, in no small part because of the populist politics that took hold in the aftermath of the 2008 election.

Given those dynamics, it would be easy to dismiss Palin's candidacy as the latest headline-grabbing twist in an unconventional career. Some of her critics have sought to cast her as an opportunist seeking to bolster her brand. The opinion section of the website of Alaska's largest newspaper is dotted with letters to the editor urging Alaskans to reject her run. Some remind readers she left the last major job she had in politics, as Alaska's governor, with about 16 months left in her term.

But in a recent interview with The Associated Press, Palin, 58, dismissed such critiques. She insisted her commitment to Alaska has not wavered and those who suggest otherwise don't know me. She said she is serious about seeking the House seat and doesn't need a launching pad for anything else.

In fact, she said, her unique place in American politics would put her in a stronger position in Washington. Unlike other freshmen lawmakers, she said, she could pick up the phone and call any reporter and be on any show if I wanted to, and it would be all about Alaska.

I love to work, and anyone who is around me, they know," she said. "What Im doing is applying for a job, for Alaskans, saying: Hey, you guys would be my boss. Do you want to hire me? Because if you do, Ill do a good job for you, and I wont back down.

Palin attended the opening of her campaign office in Anchorage on Wednesday evening, accompanied by the youngest of her five children, son Trig. She stopped to talk to reporters before entering the building, which had been the headquarters for Donald Trump's presidential campaign. She said jobs for Alaskans from the states rich natural resources would be her first priority if elected, calling the state a Fort Knox for the nation.

Inside, Palin posed for photos with supporters and chatted with several before cutting and serving a cake that featured her campaign slogan, Sarah for Alaska."

There's only one former governor who is currently a member of the House  Democrat Charlie Crist of Florida. Palin faces several hurdles to get there.

One is navigating elections that will unfold in rapid order. A June 11 special primary will be the first statewide by-mail election. The four candidates who get the most votes will advance to an Aug. 16 special election, in which ranked-choice voting will be used. The winner will serve the remainder of Young's term, which expires in January.

There also will be an August primary and November general election to determine who will serve a two-year term starting in January. Palin is one of 16 candidates so far to have filed for the regular primary.

Some voters question Palin's decision to leave the governor's office, a move she has attributed to an onslaught of records requests and ethics complaints she said were frivolous and had become distractions.

She has spent time out of the state but maintains a home in Wasilla, her hometown and where she got her start in politics.

Well, I'm sorry if that narrative is out there because its inaccurate, she told the AP of the perception she had left Alaska behind. She said Alaska is her home and that she was shoveling moose poop in her fathers yard on a recent sunny day before calling a reporter.

She has regularly voted in state elections since leaving office, according to the Division of Elections.

Im still all about Carhartts and steel-toed boots and just hard work, Palin said, referring to a popular brand of outerwear. I just have been blessed with opportunities and a platform to get out there and tell and show other people the beauty of being an Alaskan.

She mentions Alaskans hunting lifestyles and the importance of responsibly developing the states oil and gas resources. She said she plans to attend events, including this weeks state Republican Party convention.

The contest in Republican-leaning Alaska will do little to change the balance of power in Washington. But the election is being closely watched as a barometer of Trump's connection to the GOP's most loyal voters.

In Wasilla, Trump 2020 or Trump 2024 banners fly from several homes, the few political signs seen so far this election year. Palin said if Trump runs for president in 2024 and asks her to be his running mate, shed consider it, though she said he could choose anyone and they havent had such a candid conversation.

Palin said Trump was among those who contacted her after Youngs death asking if she would be willing to run. She said this is a good time in her life to seek a return to office, politically and personally. Her family life has changed, she noted, with her four older children grown. Her youngest, Trig, is in middle school. Palin was divorced from Todd Palin, her husband of more than 30 years, in 2020.

Palin said she feels like she has nothing to lose in running. After having her political and personal life in the media glare for so long, what more can they say? she said, adding later: To me, its freedom.

Trump has endorsed Palin and has made the state's senior U.S. senator, Lisa Murkowski, one of his top targets this year after she criticized him and voted to convict him during his second impeachment trial.

Even if Palin doesn't win the election, she could emerge as a high-wattage critic of Murkowski, who faces voters later this year. Palin said she disagrees with Murkowski on some of her positions, including her vote to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial. But on issues like resource development in Alaska, Palin said she believed they would be on the same sheet of music.

Palin has perhaps the highest profile among a list of candidates that includes current and former state legislators, a North Pole city council member whose legal name is Santa Claus, and Republican Nick Begich, who got into the race last fall and has been working for months to rack up conservative support.

Begich said he considers the Matanuska-Susitna region, a conservative hotbed that includes Wasilla, as one of his strongest areas. He said he is unaware of any of his supporters defecting since Palin joined the race.

"Everyone that has come to support me remains fully supportive, and thats a strong statement because a lot has changed," he said.

Tim Burney, who lives in Wasilla, said he supports Palin. He said she resigned for the good of the state" after her detractors came at her with guns ablazing.

She just lives right down the road here, and, you know, she grew up here, he said while smoking a cigarette outside the Mug-Shot Saloon after finishing lunch on a recent day.

Her hearts here in Alaska, and I think that shes good for Alaska, he said.

Joe Miller, a former Republican and now Libertarian whom Palin endorsed in two of his unsuccessful Senate races, said Palin would be no ordinary House freshman and would have an extraordinary platform she could use to help Alaska. He said she's the only anti-establishment, truly conservative candidate in the race and that she could be the natural repository for voter angst over economic and other issues.

Holly Houghton, who works as a pharmacy tech, is willing to hear Palin out. Houghton, who was eating a take-out lunch with her son outside a restaurant in Wasilla recently, said she has mixed feelings about Palin and is also considering Begich.

Houghton said she doesnt like how Palin has carried herself in her personal life but also thought she was an excellent governor.

Houghton said she thinks of the Begich family as Democrats and wants to look more closely at Begich. Begich's grandfather, Democrat Nick Begich, held the House seat before Young. His uncle Mark was a Democratic U.S. senator and his uncle Tom is the state Senate's Democratic leader.

Jesse Sumner, a member of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly, said he thinks Begich is a good candidate. Sumner filed to run for the House seat as a joke at the filing deadline, on April Fool's Day. He later withdrew.

He said he doesn't see Palin around town much and that Palin's run seems to be more like it's about the Sarah Palin show than about Alaska.

Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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DES MOINES  Snow, high winds, and continued cold conditions limited Iowa farmers to 2.8 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending Sunday, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. Farmers have been applying anhydrous and fertilizer, spreading manure, tilling fields, and planting oats where possible while preparing to plant row crops.

Iowa saw a mix of winter and spring weather last week. While severe storms swept through parts of the state leaving behind isolated damage, rain and Easter snowfall provided additional subsoil moisture, said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. Soil temperatures are still hovering in the upper 30s and low 40s, but outlooks point to warmer temperatures for the week ahead.

Topsoil moisture condition rated 7% very short, 22% short, 66% adequate and 5% surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 11% very short, 33% short, 54% adequate and 2% surplus.

As of Monday, no corn or soybeans were planted, the report stated. Twenty-nine percent of the expected oat crop has been planted, 8 days behind last year and 3 days behind the 5-year average. Oats are beginning to emerge across the state.

Pastures were still mostly dormant although there were reports of some starting to turn green. Livestock conditions were generally good, with many new calves arriving.

Severe weather returned early last week with eight tornadoes reported across northern Iowa, the strongest having winds of up to 135 mph, according to Justin Glisan, state climatologist with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

While rainfall accompanied the disturbance that produced these strong thunderstorms, much of eastern and northwestern Iowa observed drier than normal conditions. Overall temperatures were also warmer than the previous reporting period, though up to eight degrees below normal in the northwest; the statewide average temperature was 42.1 degrees, 6.2 degrees below normal.

Weekly precipitation totals ranged from no accumulation at several northwest Iowa stations to 4.50 inches at St. Ansgar. The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.41 inch while the normal is 0.79 inch. Little Sioux (Harrison County) reported the weeks high temperature of 90 degrees on April 12, 29 degrees above average. Primghar (OBrien County) and Sioux City (Woodbury County) reported the weeks low temperature of 16 degrees on April 16, 20 degrees below normal.

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4 Oct (3) 20 Sep - 27 Sep (2) 13 Sep - 20 Sep (1) 6 Sep - 13 Sep (3) 30 Aug - 6 Sep (5) 23 Aug - 30 Aug (6) 16 Aug - 23 Aug (1) 9 Aug - 16 Aug (1) 2 Aug - 9 Aug (3) 26 Jul - 2 Aug (2) 19 Jul - 26 Jul (1) 12 Jul - 19 Jul (5) 5 Jul - 12 Jul (6) 28 Jun - 5 Jul (4) 21 Jun - 28 Jun (7) 14 Jun - 21 Jun (5) 7 Jun - 14 Jun (2) 31 May - 7 Jun (5) 24 May - 31 May (3) 17 May - 24 May (5) 10 May - 17 May (3) 3 May - 10 May (1) 26 Apr - 3 May (1) 19 Apr - 26 Apr (5) 12 Apr - 19 Apr (5) 5 Apr - 12 Apr (2) 29 Mar - 5 Apr (1) 22 Mar - 29 Mar (5) 15 Mar - 22 Mar (9) 8 Mar - 15 Mar (6) 1 Mar - 8 Mar (10) 22 Feb - 1 Mar (5) 15 Feb - 22 Feb (5) 1 Feb - 8 Feb (2) 25 Jan - 1 Feb (1) 18 Jan - 25 Jan (4) 11 Jan - 18 Jan (1) 4 Jan - 11 Jan (3) 28 Dec - 4 Jan (3) 21 Dec - 28 Dec (3) 14 Dec - 21 Dec (4) 7 Dec - 14 Dec (2) 30 Nov - 7 Dec (3) 23 Nov - 30 Nov (3) 9 Nov - 16 Nov (3) 2 Nov - 9 Nov (5) 26 Oct - 2 Nov (3) 19 Oct - 26 Oct (8) 12 Oct - 19 Oct (6) 5 Oct - 12 Oct (3) 28 Sep - 5 Oct (5) 21 Sep - 28 Sep (4) 14 Sep - 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Complaints of a less serious nature or those that appear to be isolated incidents are monitored and taken into consideration during future inspections to help identify potential problems at a production plant, the FDA added.

General Mills, the manufacturer of Lucky Charms, told AARP, Food safety is our top priority. We take the consumer concerns reported via a third-party website very seriously.

Through its own internal investigations, General Mills has not found evidence of illness linked to eating Lucky Charms. However, it encourages consumers to share any concerns directly with the company to ensure they can be appropriately addressed. General Mills toll-free consumer hotline is 800-248-7310.

Cereal recalls

General Mills has not issued a recall for Lucky Charms cereal. The last time a major breakfast cereal was recalled for making people sick was in June 2018, when Kelloggs Honey Smacks were recalled due to salmonella contamination that resulted in 135 reported illnesses and 34 hospitalizations.

Most people who experience diarrhea or vomiting recover with few long-term consequences. However, either diarrhea or vomiting can cause serious dehydration and loss of minerals if sick people are unable to drink enough fluids to replace what they have lost through illness.

Infants, young children and people who are unable to care for themselves, such as the disabled or elderly adults, are at greater risk of dehydration from loss of fluids. Those who are immunocompromised are also at risk for dehydration because they may experience more vomiting or diarrhea, requiring treatment at a hospital, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Interested in digging into your family tree? Amateur historians have a new online resource to explore that may shed light on what their recent ancestors were up to after World War II. The National Archives has published digital images of the 1950 U.S. census that anyone can access for free.

In April 1950 some 144,000 enumerators went knocking door-to-door across the nation to conduct the 1950 census  a tabulation of the population required each decade under Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution.

The census takers recorded the information by hand on paper sheets (19 by 22 inches in size) that the U.S. Census Bureau collected for the enumeration. The documents (roughly 7 million) were recorded on microfilm and kept confidential for a required 72-year period, after which the National Archives and Records Administration releases them to the public.

In addition to the 48 continental states, the 1950 census included the territories of Hawaii and Alaska and Indian reservations. The census also included American Samoa, Guam, the Panama Canal Zone, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as Canton, Johnston, Midway and Wake islands.

Through the pandemic, census workers digitized the microfilm records. The images were then scanned using an optical character reader to translate the handwritten names into computer-readable fonts, to create a searchable database for the public.

It is a big job, Jay Bosanko, chief operating officer of the National Archives and Records Administration, said in a video statement.

The result is a treasure trove of information of particular interest to historians and genealogists.

The 1950 census reflected the continuing population shift from rural to urban areas and the rise of suburbs around major cities. Its the first census after World War II, and its the first census of the baby boom generation, Bosanko said.
To determine public views on older workers, age discrimination, and the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA), AARP conducted a survey of older voters in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nevada, North Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming.

Key findings from this survey show:



Between one in four and one in three older voters report that they or someone they know has recently experienced age discrimination in the workplace.



Between eight in ten and nine in ten older voters say it is important for Congress to take action and restore workplace protections against age discrimination.

Across party and ideological lines, older voters support the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA).

More than eight in ten older voters want their Member of Congress to support POWADA.

The survey was conducted for AARP by Woelfel Research Inc. in March and April 2014 with a random sample of registered voters age 50 and over in each state.



For more information, contact S. Kathi Brown at skbrown@aarp.org.

Suggested citation:

Brown, S. Kathi. Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act: A Survey of Voters Age 50+. Washington, DC: AARP Research, March 2014.
EMS-FORSTER-PRODUCTIONS / Getty Images

En espanol

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Wednesday that it will appeal the ruling that overturned the longtime COVID-19 mandate that face masks be worn on public forms of transportation and in transportation hubs.

Federal Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Florida had ruled on Monday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mask-wearing mandate was an overreach of the agencys authority and dismissed the mandate as unlawful.

The DOJs move came at the request of the CDC, which said in a statement: It is CDCs continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health. It added, CDC will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine whether such an order remains necessary. CDC believes this is a lawful order, well within CDCs legal authority to protect public health.

In response to Mondays decision, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is no longer enforcing the longtime mask rule, which applied to passengers and workers on planes, trains and buses, as well as in U.S. airports. It may do so again, however, if the DOJ moves to block the judges order.

Last month the CDC announced that most people were safe to go maskless in many other indoor settings, but recommended that everyone ages 2 years and older should properly wear a well-fitting mask indoors in public in areas where the COVID-19 Community Level is high, regardless of vaccination status. The agency maintains a color-coded, county-by-county map to track COVID-19 data, including hospital capacity and the number of new COVID-19 cases in an area. (Most of the country is now at a green, or low, level, despite a slight uptick in new infections.)

What this means for travelers

Though some travelers cheered when the mask news was announced by some pilots mid-flight on Monday, travelers are likely to face a patchwork of requirements, depending on where and how they are traveling.

Its still up to individual airlines, bus lines, transit agencies and other transportation entities to decide whether to keep their mask mandates in place  but many, including Amtrak, Lyft and Uber, dropped them soon after the ruling. Both Uber and Lyft also announced that passengers can again ride in the front seat, which was banned during the pandemic.

The Washington, D.C., Metro system has dropped its mask requirement, but New York City is still mandating face coverings on its subways, buses and trains. Philadelphia International Airport is also requiring masks inside its terminals.

All major airlines announced within hours that passengers and employees no longer need to wear face masks. Delta added that they may continue wearing masks if they so choose. The airlines chief health officer, Henry Ting, M.D., said, Wearing a well-fitting mask  such as a KN95  protects the wearer, even if others around them are not wearing masks. Other medical experts have agreed.

Delta also acknowledges the confusion this new ruling may cause, as people may be receiving this information at different times. The company therefore asks passengers to remember to show understanding and patience with others who may not be aware enforcement is no longer required.


Outstanding PFS for Silumina Anodes Project

Perth, April 20, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Altech Chemicals Ltd ( ASX:ATC ) ( FRA:A3Y ) is pleased to announce the outstanding results from a Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) for the development of a 10,000tpa silicon/graphite alumina coating plant, in Saxony, Germany.The plant would be constructed by Altech Industries Germany GmbH (AIG), (ownership: 75% Altech, 25% Frankfurt stock exchange listed Altech Advanced Materials AG (AAM)), and would produce high capacity silicon/graphite battery anode materials "Silumina AnodesTM" under exclusive license from Altech. Silumina AnodesTM products are targeted to supply the burgeoning European electric vehicle market.Highlights- Highly positive preliminary feasibility study for 10,000tpa Silumina AnodesTM project- Low capital cost (US$95 million) with outstanding economics- Pre-tax Net Present Value (NPV8) of US$507 million- Attractive Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 40%- Site in Saxony, Germany already purchased- Green accredited project using renewable energy- European high quality graphite and silicon supply- Pilot plant engineering for product qualification underway- NDA executed with two German automakers and one European battery makerWith a capital investment of US$95 million, the Company estimates a project net present value of US$507 million (NPV8), with net cash of US$63 million per annum generated from operations. The internal rate of return is estimated at 40%, with investment capital paid back in approximately 3.1 years. Total annual revenue at the 10,000tpa full rate of production is estimated US$185 million per annum.Managing Director, Mr Iggy Tan, stated "Whilst Altech's top priority continues to be financing its Johor HPA project, the Silumina AnodesTM project represents an exciting downstream opportunity to utilise its HPA coating technology in silicon/graphite battery materials. We are pleased and excited about the results of the 10,000tpa Silumina AnodesTM PFS. Due to the attractive economics of the study, a decision has been made by the AIG board to immediately progress to a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the project. AIG has already purchased land in Germany suitable for the project, and the plan is for the AIG team in Saxony to immediately commence DFS work. We believe that the production of Silumina AnodesTM materials could be a game changing technology for the lithium-ion battery industry".Tesla, a global leader in the electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery industry, has declared that the required step change to increase lithium-ion battery energy density and reduce costs is to introduce silicon in battery anodes, as silicon has ~ten times the energy retention capacity compared to graphite. Silicon metal has been identified as the most promising anode material for the next generation of lithium-ion batteries.However, until now, silicon was unable to be used in commercial lithium-ion batteries due to two critical drawbacks. Firstly, silicon particles expand by up to 300% in volume during battery charge, causing particle swelling, fracturing and ultimately battery failure. The second challenge is that silicon deactivates a high percentage of the lithium ions in a battery. Lithium ions are rendered inactive by the silicon, immediately reducing battery performance and life. Industry has been in a race to crack the silicon barrier.Through in-house research and development, Altech announced late last year that it has cracked the "silicon code" and successfully achieved 30% higher energy retention in a lithium-ion battery, with improved cyclability and battery life. Higher density batteries result in smaller, lighter batteries and substantially less greenhouse gases, and are destined for the EV market. To achieve its breakthrough, Altech successfully combined silicon particles that had been treated with its innovative and patented alumina coating technology, with alumina coated battery grade graphite, producing the Silumina AnodesTM product. So far, the major drawbacks outlined above for using silicon in lithium-ion battery anodes, have been substantially overcome with Altech's Silumina AnodesTM product.The European graphite and silicon feedstock supply partners for AIG's plant in Saxony will be SGL Carbon GmbH (SGL) and Ferroglobe Innovation S.L. (Ferroglobe), respectively. The project has already received green accreditation from the independent Norwegian Centre of International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO). To support the development, AIG has commenced construction of a pilot plant in Germany, at a location adjacent to the proposed site of 10,000tpa plant. Product from the pilot plant will be provided to potential buyers, such as automakers, to fast-track the Silumina AnodesTM product qualification process. AIG already has non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in place with two German automakers, as well as with a European based lithium-ion battery manufacturing company.*To view full details of the PFS, please visit:About Altech Chemicals Ltd

Altech Chemicals Limited (ASX:ATC) (FRA:A3Y) is aiming to become one of the world's leading suppliers of 99.99% (4N) high purity alumina (Al2O3) through the construction and operation of a 4,500tpa high purity alumina (HPA) processing plant at Johor, Malaysia. Feedstock for the plant will be sourced from the Company's 100%-owned kaolin deposit at Meckering, Western Australia and shipped to Malaysia.



HPA is a high-value, high margin and highly demanded product as it is the critical ingredient required for the production of synthetic sapphire. Synthetic sapphire is used in the manufacture of substrates for LED lights, semiconductor wafers used in the electronics industry, and scratch-resistant sapphire glass used for wristwatch faces, optical windows and smartphone components. Increasingly HPA is used by lithium-ion battery manufacturers as the coating on the battery's separator, which improves performance, longevity and safety of the battery. With global HPA demand approximately 19,000t (2018), it is estimated that this demand will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30% (2018-2028); by 2028 HPA market demand will be approximately 272,000t, driven by the increasing adoption of LEDs worldwide as well as the demand for HPA by lithium-ion battery manufacturers to serve the surging electric vehicle market.


Strong Copper Results Support Resource Expansion Potential

Perth, April 20, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Eagle Mountain Mining Limited ( ASX:EM2 ) ( OTCMKTS:EGMMF ) is pleased to provide an update on its 100% owned Oracle Ridge Mine Project ("Oracle Ridge", "Project") in Arizona, USA.Assays have been received for 15 drill holes, comprising 11 resource extension holes and four resource infill holes. Figures 1 and 2* illustrate the location of significant new results while Tables 1 and 2* summarise key intercepts.Eagle Mountain Mining CEO, Tim Mason, commented:"These impressive results come as I'm finally spending time with our team in Arizona, after a disruptive few years caused by COVID. What really shines through is their professionalism and excitement at potentially restarting underground mining operations. The Arizona team's enthusiasm and hard work have been key contributors to our success so far and there are plenty more prospective targets that we are keen to drill test as soon as possible.Resource extension drilling at the Talon zone is really delivering the goods, including the spectacular intercept of 55 metres at 2.16% copper which is outside the recently updated MRE. Significantly, this broad intercept also included strong gold grades. This intercept, along with others, is within the Wave zone which is interpreted to extend 250 metres south to the historic Leatherwood mine.The discovery of an elevated molybdenum zone within the Talon is an exciting development. This discovery raises the opportunity to unlock further value from Oracle Ridge and identify prospective new target areas.We have now received 34 new hole results since the updated MRE was released last month. That update saw an increase of 36% more contained copper with the addition of 59 new holes. As we receive drill results and revise our geologic model, we will undertake Mineral Resource Estimate updates more frequently to be confident in launching our preliminary feasibility study."Accelerated JORC MRE UpdateDrilling rates with two surface rigs are progressing very well and assay turnaround times have vastly improved since the Company's new core saw was installed in November last year. These excellent operational results, along with a continuous stream of strong assays results, have contributed to the Company's decision to accelerate the timing of the next mineral resource update to the July-September 2022 quarter (Q3) from the previously announced October-December 2022 quarter (Q4). The next MRE update is expected to include approximately 100 new holes.The Company is focused on building sufficient mineral resources in the higher confidence categories (Measured and Indicated). These latest results will contribute to the next JORC MRE update which will be another key step towards providing a Resource base for a Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS). Drilling is planned to continue after the updated MRE to further build and update resources while a Preliminary Feasibility Study is undertaken in parallel.Resource Expansion ResultsResults for 11 resource expansion holes have been received (Table 1, Attachment 1*) which continue to support potential further extensions and growth of the recently updated MRE at a 1% copper cut-off grade. Key observations from the new drill holes include:- Drilling in the southern Talon (WT-22-94) intersected extensions to strong mineralisation in previously reported holes (WT-21-31, WT-22-80). The zone is at least 150 metres long in a north south direction and is interpreted to dip very steeply to the east (Figure 1, Figure 3*). Preliminary interpretation suggests that this rich zone is controlled by local stratigraphy and proximity to the Leatherwood-Sediments contact. New drilling supports the interpretation that a second Wavelike structure is present in this area. Elevated molybdenum grades of 0.038% Mo were also received in drill hole WT-22-94. Molybdenum had not been routinely assayed by previous owners and its spatial continuity is not well understood. Skarn expert Dr Larry Meinert has been engaged to assist with evaluating the latest results including the elevated molybdenum and how this can assist in vectoring toward areas of further mineralisation. Molybdenum is common in other copper skarns and can be a valuable co-product from mines. WT-22-94 also included a 55.3 metre interval at an average of 0.54g/t gold which is more than two times the MRE gold grade at a 1% copper cut-off grade.- WT-21-67 and WT-21-64 were drilled along the northern extension of the second Wave feature interpreted at the southern Talon (see WT-22-94 discussion above, Figure 1, Figure 5*). While the Wave itself is less defined in this area, mineralised thicknesses show a strong increase from east to west, towards the contact with the Leatherwood Q-Sill's eastern limb.- Several reported results are from holes drilled to the south of the main mine area (WT-21-66, WT-21-71, WT-21-77, WT-22-84, WT-22-86, WT-22-91 - see Figure 2 and Figures 7-10*) and continue to indicate stacked mineralised lodes with thicknesses decreasing from north to south. Several assay results are still outstanding in this zone.- WT-21-65 was drilled in the northern Talon area and successfully extended known mineralisation to the west (Figure 1, Figure 6*). This area is the northern extension of the main Wave feature.- WT-22-85 was drilled in the Talon area, testing the potential for mineralisation west of the main Wave. The drill hole intersected four thin mineralised zones (Figure 1*). While the results can be considered a technical success only, it is encouraging that mineralisation has been encountered to the west of the wave and further drilling is planned to assess the full potential of this zone.Resource Infill ResultsThe results for four resource infill holes have been received (Table 2, Attachment 1). These holes were drilled at a nominal Inferred spacing of 50 metres within the footprint of the recently updated MRE at a 1% copper cut-off grade. These holes are designed to improve resource confidence as part of a program to upgrade resource categories. Key observations from the results of resource infill holes include:- WT-21-68 was drilled in the northern Talon area and confirmed previous drill results nearby. Extensions to mineralisation in WT-21-68 were drilled by WT-21-65 which showed an increase in grade and continuity to the west (see Resource Expansion section Figure 1, Figure 6*).- WT-21-70 was drilled in the southern main mine area and confirmed the overall extent and grade of the Resource in this area (Figure 2, Figure 10*).- WT-21-72 was drilled in the southern Talon area and confirmed the overall extent and grade of the Resource in this area (Figure 1, Figure 4*).- WT-21-93 was drilled in the central mine area and confirmed known mineralisation while localised assays returned over 10% copper. The lower part of the hole confirmed significant mineralisation is present to the west and east of the Leatherwood Q-Sill (Figure 2, Figure 9*).Assay results for 42 holes are currently pending from the mine area. Assays have been received for 11 holes from the maiden drill program at Golden Eagle and are currently being interpreted.*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Eagle Mountain Mining Limited

Eagle Mountain Mining Limited (ASX:EM2) (OTCMKTS:EGMMF), is a copper-gold explorer focused on the strategic exploration and development of the Oracle Ridge Copper Mine and the highly prospective greenfield (Silver Mountain) project, both located in Arizona, USA.

Arizona is at the heart of America's mining industry and home to some of the world's largest copper discoveries such as Bagdad, Miami and Resolution, one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the world.
PHOENIX  Arizona remains on track, at least for now, to use the death penalty for the first time in nearly eight years in an execution in which a condemned prisoner is being given the option of being put to death by the gas chamber  a method that hasnt been used in the U.S. in decades.

Clarence Dixons warrant for execution sets a Thursday deadline for deciding whether he will be put to death with an injection of pentobarbital or with hydrogen cyanide gas for his murder conviction in the 1977 killing of Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin. Lethal injection is the default method if Dixon doesnt make a choice.

The last gas chamber execution in the United States occurred in 1999 in Arizona before the country rejected the brutal nature of the deaths.

The execution is scheduled for May 11, though prosecutors have said it will likely be delayed if a judge goes forward with a May 3 hearing to determine whether Dixon is mentally fit to be executed.

One of Dixons legal efforts failed Monday when a judge dismissed his lawsuit that challenged the current makeup of the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency, arguing the boards makeup violates a law that lets only two people from the same professional discipline serve on the board. Three board members worked previously in law enforcement.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Hopkins concluded Dixons lawyer used an extremely broad definition of professional discipline and pointed out the relevant law doesnt use the words job or employment in context of the boards membership.

The judge wrote Dixons lawyer failed to show there are more than two people on the board from the same discipline, explaining the three members who were previously employed in law enforcement had worked in different disciplines within the field.

Mr. Dixon is entitled to a fair clemency hearing before an impartial Clemency Board that complies fully with state law, not one that is illegally stacked with law enforcement officials, Joshua Spears, an attorney for Dixon, said in a statement. We are reviewing our options to appeal the Superior Courts ruling.

In a separate lawsuit, Dixons lawyers say he is mentally unfit to be executed, arguing their clients psychological problems keep him from rationally understanding why the state wants to end his life.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovichs office has asked the state Supreme Court to call off the competency hearing in Pinal County.

Prosecutors, who said in court papers that the competency hearing would likely delay the execution, are seeking to throw out the order that concluded defense lawyers had shown reasonable grounds for planning a hearing over Dixons psychological fitness.

Authorities have said the 21-year-old Bowdoin, who was found dead in her apartment, had been raped, stabbed and strangled. Dixon had been charged with raping Bowdoin, but the charge was later dropped on statute-of-limitation grounds. He was convicted, though, in her death.

Officials in Arizona have declined to say why they secretly refurbished the gas chamber at the prison in Florence, southeast of Phoenix, in late 2020. However, the move came as states find it increasingly difficult to secure lethal injection drugs as manufacturers refuse to supply them.

Its unclear whether any of Arizonas death-row prisoners have expressed a preference for the gas chamber.

Lethal-gas execution laws remain on the books in Arizona, California, Missouri and Wyoming. Arizonas gas chamber refurbishment is again being condemned internationally, including coverage in Israel and Germany drawing parallels to Holocaust atrocities.

The last time Arizona used the death penalty was in July 2014, when Joseph Wood was given 15 doses of a two-drug combination over two hours in an execution that his lawyers said was botched.

States, including Arizona, have struggled to buy execution drugs in recent years after U.S. and European pharmaceutical companies began blocking the use of their products in lethal injections. Last year, Arizona corrections officials revealed that they had finally obtained a lethal injection drug and were ready to resume executions.

Arizona has 112 prisoners on death row.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

Authorities say a 37-year-old wearing makeshift body armor was armed with three guns when he was shot to death by deputies during a lengthy standoff earlier this month in the South Valley.

Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office Capt. Nicholas Huffmyer said Tuesday that deputies Cutter Pryde, Alfred Duchaussee, Gustavo Araujo and Micah Barker, a longtime SWAT member with one prior shooting, exchanged gunfire with Taylor Crabb on April 1.

The incident began with a 911 call about people stripping a car, but Huffmyer couldnt say if Crabb had committed a crime prior to deputies arrival. He said BCSO did not know where the convicted felon got the guns.

It was the second time someone had fired at BCSO deputies in a five-day stretch and one of eight times local authorities have shot, or shot at, someone so far this year. Six of those shootings were fatal.

Sheriff Manuel Gonzales said the agency has major concerns about the uptick in violence toward his deputies.

They couldnt believe this person stopped in the middle of the street, which isnt normal, and just started shooting at them, he said. Were seeing a change in behavior of the criminal, which is emboldening these people if theres no consequences.

Huffmyer pointed out that, in 2012, Crabb was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

You may be doing the math in your head and thinking well, were still within that. Why is he out in the public? And thats a great question that, unfortunately, our office cant answer, Huffmyer said, referring questions to the Department of Corrections.

DOC spokesman Eric Harrison said Crabb earned good time, was paroled in Aug. 2020 and released in July 2021.

Less than a year later, he was shot by deputies.

Around 7 a.m., a woman reported an SUV being stripped on her property in the 200 block of Saavedra SW, near Isleta and Bridge. Lapel video showed deputies arrive 10 minutes later and Crabb got into a Cadillac.

A deputy pulled out a gun and Crabb rammed the other deputys vehicle before driving away. The agency did not release full video of the incident, as is custom for other agencies, but edited segments showing various interactions with Crabb.

Huffmyer said this was done so as to not reveal tactics used to immobilize Crabbs car.

BCSO showed a timelapse of the pursuit, which reached 80 mph, and ended near Arenal and Lopez. Another video began when Crabb allegedly fired at BCSO and one deputy got out of his SUV as his gun jammed.

The deputy joined two others behind the SUV as he tried to reload, and Crabb can be heard firing another shot. A deputy yelled driver, put your (expletive) hands up before Duchaussee, Araujo and Pryde returned fire.

We have one occupant inside the vehicle, unknown if hit, we are still taking fire, a deputy said into his radio.

Huffmyer said an hour and a half passed as SWAT was called and Crabb refused to surrender, rolling down the windows and smoking a cigarette.

Drone video, taken at 9:06 a.m., showed Crabb fire three shots into the window toward the drone and a home before Barker fired back several times.

Huffmyer said that, 45 minutes later, deputies found Crabb  who may have been hit by earlier gunfire  dead inside the car.

Also in the car were two pistols, one with an extended magazine, a sawed-off shotgun and drug paraphernalia. He said Crabb was wearing a bulletproof plate and fitness weight, apparently as body armor.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

International District youngsters will have plenty to do this summer as congressional funding floods the neighborhood and its surrounding areas.

U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury celebrated the funding, partly aimed at New Mexico Black Leadership Council youth programs, with the groups leaders, Albuquerque Public School officials, and principals during a Tuesday news conference at Emerson Elementary School.

Anything that invests in our young people, especially in communities that have not had resources allocated to them historically, is so crucial to the future of these kids, Stansbury said.

The NMBLC, a local nonprofit based in the neighborhood dedicated to inclusive opportunities for Black and other communities of color, received $125,000 to fund programs and assist students in the Highland High School cluster, which includes Emerson, Wherry and Whittier elementary schools and Van Buren and Wilson middle schools.

The money, NMBLC founder and director Cathryn McGill said, will be used to hire staff to keep youth programs going and to help school, district and community leaders meet and put their heads together to work on solutions to educational problems like reading and math proficiency.

In the Highland High School cluster, according to Public Education Department data, math and reading proficiency average 9% and 14%, respectively, numbers McGill called brutal facts that need to be faced to make any progress.

It helps us elevate the concern and get more work done, she said. Part of it is convening the groups to say  we know they can learn, so how can we do that, one kid at a time?

Among the programs on the menu for the funding is the Roots Summer Leadership Academy, a visual and performing arts program integrated with math designed to teach students self-esteem and leadership skills while theyre out of school for the summer.

In March, Stansbury detailed $10 million in community project funding across a continuum of investments in community well-being. The funding came from the 2022 omnibus spending bill, Stansbury said.

Stansbury, who represents New Mexicos 1st Congressional District, said this year legislators were able to request funding for specific, community-based projects, and that she submitted 10 in total, seven of which ultimately got the green light.

The biggest slice of the pie, $5.25 million, went to upgrades to a roughly 60-year-old fire station in Moriarty. The University of New Mexico received $1.5 million for health research facilities and equipment, and over $1 million went to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Centers opportunity center.

Another $1 million was allocated to Albuquerques new trauma recovery center, $850,000 went to the New Mexico-based Youth Development Inc., and $750,000 was set aside for upgrades to Daniel Webster Park, near the International District, to serve youngsters with disabilities.

So things that would help to lift up and transform the lives of people inside our communities, to address safety issues and the ability of our communities to protect themselves and to invest in fundamental, core needs, Stansbury said.

Emerson principal Renee Gallegos said the federal money would help students who needed it most to excel.

Instead of Albuquerque happening to them, theyre going to happen to Albuquerque, she said.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

LAS VEGAS, N.M.  Bob Phillips said hes been in pain since he was 19.

Thats how old he was when he was badly injured while serving in the Air Force. Now, at age 66, he has two prosthetic knees, several rods, screws and pins in his legs, back and feet. He lives in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and sees a health care professional several times a month.

Not by choice, I see a lot of doctors, he said. I have physical injuries from my military days that get substantially worse as you get older.

Phillips was one of about 20 veterans who met with Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., at a VFW post in Las Vegas to talk about how they would be affected by a proposal to shut down four VA outpatient clinics across northern New Mexico. If such closures happen, many veterans will likely have to seek care in Albuquerque, which is almost two hours away.

With leg and back issues, driving to Albuquerque and back multiple times a month is a challenge, he said. Its a pain. Literally.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is recommending that VA outpatient clinics in Las Vegas, Raton, Espanola and Gallup be closed, in part because of a decline in patient volume in the last five years and projected declines for the rest of the decade. The clinics served between 816 and 1,495 patients in fiscal year 2019.

Heinrich, as well as Sen. Ben Ray Lujan and U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, who represents northern New Mexico, have spoken against the proposed closures.

Dont feel like you need to convince me that (the VA clinic) needs to stay open, Heinrich said at the start of a listening session with veterans on Tuesday evening. What I need from you is to arm me with the stories of what its like to live in a community and to need help where you are, and why its unreasonable to have to drive to Albuquerque.

The VAs recommendations are found in an Asset and Infrastructure Review report released last month.

The report marks the first step in what could be a yearslong process during which plans could be altered several times, Heinrich said. That will include a review by members of Congress and a presidentially appointed AIR Commission, which will hold public hearings.

The AIR report says that at least three of those northern New Mexico clinics have seen a decline in unique patients in the last five years  Las Vegas by 55%, Raton by 28% and Espanola by 2.1%. Additionally, the report says that in the next nine years, patient enrollment in the counties where those clinics are located is projected to continue to decline.

Heinrich pointed out that although unique patients may be on the decline, many veterans in northern New Mexico are elderly and require regular checkups and appointments.

James F. Gonynor, an 89-year-old Navy veteran, said he probably averages about 13 visits to the doctor every year. And although he is still driving, he said many veterans his age cant drive.

An hourslong round-trip visit to see a doctor in Albuquerque could require a veterans family member to take a day off work, he said. And he scoffed at the idea of some kind of virtual doctors visit.

Im not computer literate. Im barely able to use a cellphone for Christs sake, he said.

The report is also recommending that the Northwest Metro VA clinic in Rio Rancho be closed and instead services be expanded at the VA clinic in Albuquerque. The report says patients in Sandoval County are projected to increase. The Rio Rancho clinic has reached capacity and cant be expanded, the report said.

VA came to these recommendations by asking ourselves one question above all else: whats best for the veterans we serve? Because that is our number one goal, today and every day, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in a statement.

Heinrich is the chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies.

So I can hear first hand what they go through to get the care that they earned, Heinrich said when asked why he met with the veterans. I think its very important to hear those stories first hand for me to be able to make the case that we need to change course.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

A resurgence of the coronavirus, in its latest, more contagious form, could hit New Mexico within the month, but its impact is likely to be blunted by the availability of oral antiviral pills that can keep higher risk people out of the hospital, a top state health official said Tuesday.

While the COVID-19 BA.2 subvariant has led to a rise in cases in some eastern U.S. cities and a return to indoor mask requirements in Philadelphia, state acting Department of Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase predicted relatively low case counts in New Mexico will start to climb in several weeks.

BA.2 is trending higher on the East Coast, and also on the West Coast, Scrase told the Journal. Were kind of thinking well have our run of it in late April, early May, not long from now.

The DOHs latest report states that COVID-19 cases have dropped since March, with 120 new cases reported Tuesday. Hospitalizations continue to be low, with 55 people hospitalized and 11 new deaths reported by the DOH on Tuesday. Roughly one-fourth of New Mexicos population has tested positive for the coronavirus.

According to the New York Times, the BA.2 subvariant of omicron is from 30% to 80% more transmissible than the original version of omicron. Early evidence suggests the subvariant doesnt make people more sick, and may be less severe than the delta variant.

As the virus evolves, it appears to be more resistant to monoclonal antibody treatments, and more resistant to vaccines, said Scrase, a physician who also serves as secretary of the New Mexico Human Services Department.

But the emergency authorization late last year of two COVID-19 oral antiviral pills for those considered at-risk of developing serious symptoms is a very important change, Scrase said.

When taken within five days of symptom onset for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults, Paxlovid and Lagevrio seem to be pretty effective, Scrase said.

Scrase said the state has enough of the more effective of the two medications, Paxlovid, to last 15 weeks under current case counts. The Lagevrio supply is estimated at about 40 weeks, but Scrase said the supplies are coming up pretty quickly.

Those deemed eligible, who include those 65 and older and those with underlying health conditions who arent hospitalized, must first obtain a prescription from a health provider.

Thats going to reduce your risk of hospitalization and death, Scrase said.

A new initiative of the Biden administration aims to speed up the process of getting COVID drugs for high-risk patients who need to start the treatment quickly for it to work.

As of Tuesday, at least six sites in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe area were offering online appointments for Test to Treat COVID-19 care, according to a U.S. Health and Human Services website. The locations reporting inventories of the medications in the past two weeks can be found at: covid-19-test-to-treat-locator-dhhs.hub.arcgis.com.

The new program allows eligible people to get tested for the coronavirus, obtain an antiviral prescription if they are positive and have their prescription filled at one location.

In Albuquerque and Santa Fe, high-risk patients with COVID-19 symptoms can sign up online for appointments at six CVS Minute Clinics, the HHS website shows. Other Test to Treat locations listed on the website are the Gallup Indian Medical Center, the Northern New Mexico Medical Center, and Plains Regional Medical Center Pharmacy in Clovis, but there was no online appointment access for those three locations on the HHS site.

People whose at-home tests show they have COVID also can use a Test to Treat location to receive a prescription from a qualified health provider and treatment on the spot if eligible. The Test to Treat website shows listings for locations where such prescriptions can be filled.

Under the program, COVID-19 tests are free, as is the medication, the HHS website states.

Millions of chronically ill, disabled, and older Americans are eligible for the treatments, federal officials say.

Scrase said he isnt expecting any public health restrictions will be enacted as a result of the anticipated rise in cases.

Our sense is kind of in general, the public likes being in the individual responsibility mode for pandemic decision-making now rather than the government responsibility (mode), he said. I think the intent of the state is to try to be more advisory moving forward, giving good advice but not necessarily mandating things.
JERUSALEM  Palestinian militants fired several rockets into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip early Thursday and Israeli aircraft hit militant targets in Gaza, part of an escalation that was eerily similar to the run-up to last years Israel-Gaza war.

The cross-border strikes came against the backdrop of Israeli-Palestinian tensions that have been boiling in Jerusalem.

On Wednesday, hundreds of flag-waving Israeli ultra-nationalists marched toward predominantly Palestinian areas around Jerusalems Old City, a demonstrative display of Israeli control over the disputed city seen as a provocation by Palestinians.

Police closed the main road leading to the Damascus Gate of the Old City, the epicenter of last years unrest preceding an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas. After some pushing and shoving with police, the marchers rallied near the barricades, waving flags, singing and chanting.

A hilltop shrine in the Old City is the emotional ground zero of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a flashpoint for previous rounds of violence. Known to Muslims as the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, it is the third holiest site in Islam. It is also the holiest site in Judaism, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, the site of their biblical temples.

For Palestinians, the mosque compound, administered by Muslim clerics, is also a rare place in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem where they have a measure of control. Palestinians seek east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as a future capital.

Palestinian militant groups in Gaza  the ruling Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad  have positioned themselves as defenders of the Jerusalem holy site. On Wednesday, Hamas said Israel would bear full responsibility for the repercussions if it allowed the marchers to approach our holy sites.

Several rockets were fired from Gaza overnight. Four rockets fired early Thursday were intercepted by Israel, the military said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and no one claimed the rocket strikes. Israel holds Hamas responsible for all rocket fire.

Early Thursday, Israeli warplanes conducted a series of airstrikes in the central Gaza Strip, local media reported. Social media posts by activists showed smoke billowing in the air. The Israeli military said the airstrikes were aimed at a militant site and an entrance of a tunnel leading to an underground complex holding chemicals to make rockets.

The military later said its planes attacked another Hamas compound after an anti-aircraft missile was fired from Gaza during the initial airstrikes. It said the missile failed to hit its target and no injuries or damage were reported.

Tensions have surged in recent weeks after a series of deadly attacks inside Israel, Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank and repeated clashes between Israelis and Palestinians at the Al Aqsa compound.

Last May, Palestinian militants in Gaza fired rockets toward Jerusalem as a much larger group of thousands of Israelis held a flag march to the Old City following weeks of protests and clashes in and around Al-Aqsa. Those events led to an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli nationalists stage such marches to try to assert sovereignty over east Jerusalem, which Israel seized in 1967, along with the West Bank and Gaza, and annexed in a move not recognized internationally. The Palestinians seek an independent state in all three territories and consider east Jerusalem their capital.

___

Associated Press writer Joseph Krauss in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
KYIV, Ukraine  Russian forces tightened the noose around the defenders holed up Wednesday in a mammoth steel plant that represented the last known Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol, as a fighter apparently on the inside pleaded on a video for help: We may have only a few days or hours left.

With the holdouts coming under punishing new bombing attacks, another attempt to evacuate civilians trapped in the pulverized port city failed because of continued fighting.

Meanwhile, the number of people fleeing the country topped 5 million, the Kremlin said it submitted a draft of its demands for ending the war, and the West raced to supply Ukraine with heavier weapons to counter the Russians new drive to seize the industrial east.

With global tensions running high, Russia reported the first successful test launch of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sarmat. President Vladimir Putin boasted it can overcome any missile defense system and make those who threaten Russia think twice, and the head of the Russian state aerospace agency called the launch out of northern Russia a present to NATO.

The Pentagon described the test as routine and said it wasnt considered a threat.

On the battlefield, Ukraine said Moscow continued to mount assaults across the east, probing for weak points in Ukrainian defensive lines. Russia said it launched hundreds of missile and air attacks on targets that included concentrations of troops and vehicles.

The Kremlins stated goal is the capture of the Donbas, the mostly Russian-speaking eastern region that is home to coal mines, metal plants and heavy-equipment factories. Detaching it would give Putin a badly needed victory two months into the war, after the botched attempt to storm the capital, Kyiv.

The Luhansk governor said Russian forces now control 80% of his region, which is one of two that make up the Donbas. Before Russia invaded on Feb. 24, the Kyiv government controlled 60% of the Luhansk region.

Gov. Serhiy Haidai said the Russians, after seizing the small city of Kreminna, are now threatening the cities of Rubizhne and Popasna. He urged all residents to evacuate immediately.

The occupiers control only parts of these cities, unable to break through to the centers, Haidai said on the messaging app Telegram.

Analysts say the offensive in the east could devolve into a war of attrition as Russia runs up against Ukraines most experienced, battle-hardened troops, who have fought pro-Moscow separatists in the Donbas for eight years.

Russia said it presented Ukraine with a draft document outlining its demands for ending the conflict  days after Putin said the talks were at a dead end.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the ball is in their court, were waiting for a response. He gave no details on the draft, and it was not clear when it was sent or if it offered anything new to the Ukrainians, who presented their own demands last month.

Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy said he had not seen or heard of the proposal, though one of his top advisers said the Ukrainian side was reviewing it.

Moscow has long demanded Ukraine drop any bid to join NATO. Ukraine has said it would agree to that in return for security guarantees from a number of other countries. Other sources of tension include the status of both the Crimean Peninsula, seized by Moscow in 2014, and eastern Ukraine, where the separatists have declared independent republics recognized by Russia.

In devastated Mariupol, Ukraine said the Russians dropped heavy bombs to flatten what was left of the sprawling Azvostal steel plant, believed to be the citys last pocket of resistance.

A few thousand Ukrainian troops, by the Russians estimate, remained in the plant and its labyrinth of tunnels and bunkers spread out across about 11 square kilometers (4 square miles). Zelenskyy said about 1,000 civilians were also trapped there.

A Ukrainian posted a video plea on Facebook urging world leaders to help evacuate people from the plant, saying, We have more than 500 wounded soldiers and hundreds of civilians with us, including women and children.

The officer, who identified himself as Serhiy Volynskyy of the 36th Marine Brigade, said: This may be our last appeal. We may have only a few days or hours left. The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified.

The Russian side issued a new ultimatum to the defenders to surrender, but the Ukrainians have ignored all previous demands.

All told, more than 100,000 people were believed trapped with little if any food, water, medicine or heat in Mariupol, which had a pre-war population of over 400,000.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the latest effort to open a safe corridor for women, children and the elderly to escape failed because the Russians did not observe a cease-fire. Many previous such agreements have fallen apart because of continued fighting.

A Zelenskyy adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter that he and other Ukrainian negotiators were ready to hold talks without any conditions to save the lives of trapped Mariupol defenders and civilians. There was no immediate response from Russia.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned of horrors yet to be revealed in Mariupol, given the death and destruction left behind in Bucha, near Kyiv, after the Russians retreated.

We can only anticipate that when this tide also recedes from Mariupol, were going to see far worse, if thats possible to imagine, he said.

Mariupol holds strategic and symbolic value for both sides. The scale of suffering there has made it a worldwide focal point of the war. Mariupols fall would deprive Ukraine of a vital port, complete a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, and free up Russian troops to move elsewhere in the Donbas.

As Russia continued to funnel troops and equipment into the Donbas, Western nations rushed to boost the flow of military supplies to Kyiv for this new phase of the war, which is likely to involve trench warfare, long-range artillery attacks and tank battles across relatively open terrain.

U.S. President Joe Biden was set to announce plans Thursday to send more military aid to Ukraine, according to a U.S. official.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Biden will detail his plans to add to the roughly $2.6 billion in military assistance the administration has already approved. Canada and the Netherlands also said they would send more heavy weaponry.

Also, a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagons assessment of the war, said the training of Ukrainian personnel on American 155 mm howitzers has begun in a European country outside Ukraine, and the first of 18 promised such weapons began arriving on the continent.

Putin, meanwhile, boasted that the Sarmat missile has no equivalents in the world. The Sarmat is intended to eventually replace the Soviet-built missile code-named Satan by NATO as a major component of Russias nuclear arsenal.

It will make those who, in the heat of frantic, aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country think twice, the Russian leader said.

Looking for a path to peace, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requested meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy in their capitals to discuss how to stop the fighting. The U.N. received no immediate response.

___

Associated Press journalists Mstyslav Chernov and Felipe Dana in Kharkiv, Ukraine; Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine; and Robert Burns and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report, as did other AP staff members around the world.

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Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
VENICE, La.  A Louisiana hunting guide has pleaded guilty to harassing duck hunters and shooting their decoys.

The 32-year-old local guide from Buras was trying to make the other duck hunters leave public land in Venice so he could hunt there, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement spokesman Adam Einck said in an email on Tuesday.

It is public land, so it is first come first serve and the duck hunters he harassed were already set up in that area, Einck wrote.

A judge sentenced the man on April 12 to pay a $1,075 fine, a $200 civil penalty to the department, and restitution for the decoys, the department said in a news release on Tuesday.

He was arrested on Dec. 26, 2021, and pleaded guilty April 12 to illegal discharge of a firearm, criminal damage to property, and harassment of persons lawfully hunting, the statement said.

Agents arrested him after getting a complaint from duck hunters in Venice on Dec. 26. They also were given a video of the man driving his boat at high speed into a decoy spread, verbally harassing the hunters and pulling a loaded pistol and shooting the decoys.

In addition to the fines and restitution, the man was ordered to take anger management classes and placed on one-year active probation and one-year inactive probation. He also was barred for one year from acting as a hunting guide on land owned or administered by the Plaquemines Parish government.
COLUMBUS, Ohio  An Ohio doctor accused of ordering excessive amounts of painkillers that led to multiple patient deaths at a Columbus-area hospital was acquitted of 14 counts of murder Wednesday following a weekslong trial.

Dr. William Husel, 46, was accused of ordering the drugs for patients in the Mount Carmel Health System. He was indicted in cases that involved at least 500 micrograms of the powerful painkiller fentanyl.

Prosecutors said ordering such dosages for a nonsurgical situation indicated an intent to end lives. Husels attorneys argued he was providing comfort care for dying patients, not trying to kill them.

Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook told jurors before the start of deliberations that they could also consider lesser charges of attempted murder. They deliberated for six days.

Husel would have faced a sentence of life in prison with parole eligibility in 15 years had he been found guilty of just one count of murder.

Prosecutors presented their case beginning Feb. 22 and put on 53 prosecution witnesses before resting on March 29. Those witnesses included medical experts who testified that Husel ordered up to 20 times as much fentanyl as was necessary to control pain.

Husel gave enough fentanyl to some patients to kill an elephant, testified Dr. Wes Ely, a physician and professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University.

Other prosecution witnesses included medical experts, Mount Carmel employees, investigators, and family members of all 14 patients.

By contrast, defense lawyers called a single witness  a Georgia anesthesiologist  to testify that Husels patients died from their medical conditions and not Husels actions. The defense rested on March 31 after one day.

The age of the patients who died ranged from 37 to 82. The first patient death was in May 2015. The last three died in November 2018.

During closing arguments April 11, David Zeyen, an assistant Franklin County prosecutor, told jurors that regardless of how close a patient is to death, its illegal to speed up the process.

Husels attorney Jose Baez during a remote news conference after the verdict repeated his assertion that prosecutors didnt produce a shred of evidence to back up their claims. He called Husel an incredible doctor who with his family are incredibly relieved the nightmare is over.

Im deeply saddened William had to go through this, Baez said.

The Franklin County Prosecutors Office released a brief statement that concluded: We accept the jury verdict.

Husel was fired by the Mount Carmel Health System. It concluded he had ordered excessive painkillers for about three dozen patients who died over several years. He was initially charged with 25 murder counts, but the judge agreed to dismiss 11 of those counts in January.

Husels colleagues who administered the medications werent criminally charged, but the hospital system said it fired 23 nurses, pharmacists and managers after its internal investigation and referred various employees to their respective state boards for possible disciplinary action.

Mount Carmel has reached settlements totaling more than $16.7 million over the deaths of at least 17 patients, with more lawsuits pending.

One patient, 82-year-old Melissa Penix, was given 2,000 micrograms of fentanyl and died a few minutes later. Dr. John Schweig of Tampa Bay General Hospital testified for the prosecution that Penix definitely was not terminal, nor was continuing medical care futile.

She was a fighter, said Penixs daughter, Bev Leonhard, of Grove City, according to The Columbus Dispatch. She didnt deserve to die the way she did.
A Downtown Albuquerque apartment complex now has a new owner.

Brinkman Real Estate, a Denver-based real estate acquisition group, announced the purchase of Cascade Crossing Apartments on Tuesday.

The 52-unit apartment complex, located at 3308 Fourth NW, is the companys first purchase in New Mexico, according to a news release announcing the acquisition.

Albuquerque is a perfect example of a high-growth secondary market we are looking to quickly scale up in, Brett Silverstein, chief acquisitions officer, wrote in the news release.

Brinkman Real Estate declined to comment on the price of the acquisition, but said the company has closed three investments totaling nearly $70 million this year including the Cascade Crossing Apartments and complexes in Ogden, Utah, and Salem, Oregon.

Last year Brinkman Real Estate executed nearly $160 million in transactions, and is working on deals in high-growth exurbs within the mountain states, according to the release.

Brinkman Real Estate is planning to enhance the property by replacing flooring, lighting, and fixtures; adding washers and dryers to every unit; adding smart home packages; and building a fitness facility, company spokeswoman Stephanie Ashley said.

Upgrades to individual apartments will happen on a rolling basis as units are turned over, and the company will evaluate our current rents against the comparable communities, she said.

Currently, a 620-square-foot studio at Cascade Crossing rents for $895 per month, while a two-bedroom unit costs up to $1,375 monthly, according to Apartments.com.
NOTICE OF RULEMAKING

The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (Department or NMDWS) hereby gives notice that the Department will conduct a public hearing in the conference room of the Human Rights Bureau located at 1596 Pacheco Street Suite 103 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87505 on May 25, 2022 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. The public comment hearing will also be conducted virtually. The link to participate in the virtual meeting is:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/

84742085534?pwd=ODlhVHpJd2ozOVQ5Y2trcWNDOW9EQT09

Passcode: 654694

Or One tap mobile :

US:

+13462487799,,84742085534#,,,,*654694# or +16699006833,,84742085534#,,,,*654694#

Or Telephone:

Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

US: +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 436 2866 or +1 301 715 8592

Webinar ID: 847 4208 5534

Passcode: 654694

The purpose of the public hearing will be to obtain input and public comment on proposed amendments to the regulation governing the public works policy manual, NMAC 11.1.2.

Summary: The proposed amendment will ensure the Public Works Manual regulations in NMAC 11.1.2 comport with the statutory requirements of NMSA 13-4-11. Specifically, the proposed amendments will change the timelines for predetermination of wage rates from July 31 to May 31 to allow the director to determine the rates no later than October 1. The amendments will remove the provision of NMAC 11.1.2.17 that stays decisions of the director pending appeals to district court. The amendments will align the regulations with the governing statutes in regards to timelines for investigations and the implementation of penalties assessed if a violation is determined.

Under Section 9-26-4, NMSA 1978, the Workforce Solutions Department is responsible for the administration of the labor relations division which oversees setting the prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates. Pursuant to Section 13-4-11, NMSA 1978, the director shall issue rules necessary to administer and accomplish the purposes of the Public Works Minimum Wage Act.

Interested individuals are encouraged to submit written comments to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, P.O. Box 1928, Albuquerque, N.M., 87103, attention Andrea Christman prior to the hearing for consideration. Written comments must be received no later than 5 p.m. on May 24, 2022. However, the submission of written comments as soon as possible is encouraged.

Copies of the proposed rule may be accessed online at https://www.dws.state.nm.us/ or obtained by calling Andrea Christman at (505) 841-8478 or sending an email to Andrea.Christman@state.nm.us. The proposed rule will be made available at least thirty days prior to the hearing.

Individuals with disabilities who require this information in an alternative format or need any form of auxiliary aid to attend or participate in this meeting are asked to contact Ms. Christman as soon as possible. The Department requests at least ten (10) days advance notice to provide requested special accommodations.

Journal: April 20, 2022
PUBLIC NOTICE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

The State of New Mexico is seeking office space for approximately 5,172 leasable square feet for the Department of Corrections within the city limits of Roswell, NM: This is official notice that the State of New Mexico intends to release a Request for Proposal (RFP) on or about Monday, April 25, 2022.

This RFP will be available for free download Monday, April 25, 2022 and can be found online at:

https://bids.sciquest.com/

apps/Router/

PublicEvent?CustomerOrg=StateOfNewMexico&tab=PHX_NAV_SourcingOpenForBid&tmstmp=1467214109161; potential Offerors must be registered at: https://solutions.sciquest.com/apps/

Router/RegistrationChecklist or at the following location: General Services Department, Facilities Management Division, 2542 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502. This RFP contains all conditions governing this procurement for agency leased space requirements and architectural program, along with the rating and ranking process. All contact regarding this RFP shall be made to Facilities Management Division Leasing

Specialist, Sarah Gano at 505-629-9577 or sarah.gano@state.nm.us

Journal: April 17-23, 2022
dentsu X, the integrated media agency from the house of dentsu India, has won the digital media mandate for Dabur India, following a multi-agency pitch.

Commenting on the new mandate, Rajiv Dubey, Head-Media, Dabur India, said, Over the past few years, the world has increasingly evolved towards digital transformation. As a result, digital marketing has now emerged as the go-to solution for brands and companies. Dabur has been ramping up spends on digital exponentially in the past few years, with brands creating special digital-only content. We are happy to join hands with dentsu X - an agency that has been responsive to Daburs needs and appreciative of our brand vision and way of working. Their appreciation and deployment of data make them champions at maximising the potential of digital platforms.

Divya Karani, CEO - South Asia Media, dentsu, said, We are ecstatic to partner with Dabur, a brand that invokes implicit trust in the minds of its consumers. Dabur is synonymous with impeccable quality and omnipresent across Indian households.

Roopam Garg, CEO, dentsu X India, added here, It is the people, tech and tools of dentsu X that address and answer the why beyond the what. We are extremely excited and look forward to a deep partnership with Dabur, to drive business outcomes in the short and long term.
Indias leading D2C home to baby brand, Haus & Kinder has announced leading actor Kalki Koechlin as its brand ambassador. As part of the partnership, Kalki Koechlin, a celebrity mom will be promoting Haus & Kinder products across multimedia platforms.

Along with Kalki, Haus & Kinder has launched a digital campaign film, #YourBeautifulNewWorld. The campaign, focused on millennial moms, introduces the secret to Your Beautiful New World and communicates how Haus & Kinder inspires millennial moms to build their beautiful home, experience easy parenting and create beautiful moments with their family.

Haus & Kinders campaign, Your Beautiful New World encompases a womens self fulfilling journey and the new beginnings.

While Kalki brings her style quotient & individuality to the campaign, she also inspires a confident Mumhood which resonates with Haus & Kinders philosophy of an unshy, fearless mumhood where the mom is not trapped with mom guilt. The brand believes that being a good mom is about being her best self. H&K Mumhood is all about a mom celebrating her mum-wins, having fun and focusing on her happiness along with her familys.

Haus & Kinder products include bedsheets, towels, baby swaddles, diaper bags and more.

Entrepreneur Duo, Kanupriya Anand & Saket Dhankar introduced the brand in 2018 with a vision to disrupt the home and baby category with a design-led lifestyle brand. Today, Haus & Kinder promises to deliver trendy home and baby essentials at a fair price, at a click of a button. The brand is present on Indian marketplaces like Amazon, Firstcry, Flipkart and has its own website (hausandkinder.com), it has grown 10X in the last two years to become market leader in online sales of home & baby essentials.

Kanupriya Anand, Co-founder, said the actor brings with her the style & chicness that is synonymous with their brands design philosophy Modern, Elegant and Chic.

We are thrilled to welcome Kalki Koechlin to the Haus & Kinder family. With award winning performances and her thoughtfully written book, Kalki has created a strong fanbase for herself as a new age mom. Her motherhood resonates with Haus & Kinders mumhood inspiring moms to be unshy, fearless and to be in the spotlight.

Kalki Koechlin said,  I'm very excited to be a part of Haus & Kinder. The brand offers quality products in beautiful designs. I am thrilled to work with a brand that understands the modern mums, their passion, intellect, opinions, choices and encourages easy parenting.
Adgully is back with a new edition of its annual feature  TRENDING NOW  where we present the strategies and views of a cross-section of industry leaders as they go about reclaiming lost time and market opportunities and build for a stronger future, armed with the lessons of the pandemic period.

Over the last few weeks, Trending Now has been bringing insights from industry leaders on how their organisations are geared up to seize the opportunities in 2022, break through the Covid disruptions and find growth and remain resilient.

In conversation with Adgully, Neeloy Roy Chowdhury, Head of Sales and Partnerships India, Medix Global, speaks about the emerging trends in the Healthcare sector in 2022, the post-pandemic road to recovery, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, and more.

What are the trends that you expect to dominate in your sector in 2022?

We shall continue to see an evolution of health and wellness V2, with even more reliance on preventive healthcare, personalisation, a combination of digital and human interventions and increasing breadth and reach of the Indian healthcare ecosystem and its partners, which have also been our focus at Medix. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, innovative start-ups, and applications of new age technologies for improving health outcomes are the key drivers of these trends.

What are the challenges and new opportunities that you see emerging in the year ahead?

The continuing challenges in doctor to population ratio and the sheer geographical spread of India are great opportunities for the healthcare industry in India in 2022 and beyond. As the focus shifts from COVID-19 to other diseases, which have been more or less pent-up for the past 2 years, there are clear gaps for healthcare providers for innovative solutions across devices, technologies, and consulting. Acknowledgment and the need for health insurance, mental wellness, a shift towards preventing disease rather than treating it and personalised health journeys are areas to tap into.

How is this years turnout expected to be in this sector as compared to the last two years? How strong will the recovery be?

Over the last two years, healthcare has been focussed mainly on COVID-19 and the resulting response across multiple waves and vaccination drives. We are already seeing recovery signs in terms of the activities under Indias Digital Mission and the resulting digital transformation, acceptance of remote consultation, focus of telecom companies and other partners in offering healthcare experiences, rise of unique start-ups and a reset and recovery of the other ecosystem constituents and partners. With growing awareness and reliance on better health across India, it is expected to have accelerated growth.

What are the changes that have happened in your sector in the last two years?

As mentioned before, acceptance of online consultations and transactions, personalised experience, digital transformation and mindset of stakeholders, and an amalgamation of Information and Communication Technology in the healthcare space for better outcomes and experience, are the major trends seen.

How strong will this sectors growth be compared to the last two years as well as the pre-Covid period?

Healthcare is one of the few verticals, besides telecom and e-commerce, that has been buoyant in the COVID period  the organic growth in the pre-COVID times has metamorphosed into exponential growth thereafter. The devastation and toll of the pandemic has resulted in people in India and worldwide to embrace health resilience and vigilance. Preventive and personalised approach, access to worldwide resources, government initiatives and industry activities are combining to show ongoing growth and innovation in the healthcare vertical.
China adopts law on futures and derivatives

Xinhua) 13:28, April 20, 2022

BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese lawmakers on Wednesday voted to adopt a law on futures and derivatives to better protect investors' interests and develop the futures market in favor of the real economy.

The law, to take effect on Aug. 1, 2022, was approved at a session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

China's financial derivatives market, one of the largest in the world, requires a law specifically made for its regulation, said Li Zhengqiang, a researcher at the University of International Business and Economics.

China's futures market posted record-setting trading volume and turnover in 2021, which stood at 581.2 trillion yuan (about 90.8 trillion U.S. dollars) and over 7.5 billion lots, respectively, data from the China Futures Association showed.

(Web editor: Liang Jun, Hongyu)
The behavior of Iran's religious government is incomprehensible to many. For example, why isnt the Iranian regime trying to reach a nuclear deal? And why doesnt it seize the moment and step up sales of Iranian oil and gas when energy-hungry Europe is seeking to replace Russian oil and gas due to the latters invasion of Ukraine? In the background, the nation is in upheaval as its population explodes with extreme poverty and unemployment, and its loss of capital and the brain drain of educated Iranians continues unabated.

The mullahs' regime has allocated billions of dollars to fund its war agenda in the Middle East while the majority of Iranians live in poverty. As regime officials have admitted, if the regime fails to wage wars outside Iran, it will have to fight for its survival inside the country.

Iran's current foreign minister calls the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) a "hero," despite its terrible history of torturing and killing the citizenry. Inexplicably, all the Iranian regime's efforts in the Vienna talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal are aimed at removing IRGC from the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist groups.

This is an ominous sign that the Iranian regime will not give up its intent to exert regional influence and terrorize its neighbors. As Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in his Nowruz speech, Being present in regional issues is our strategic strength; it is a means in itself to strengthen the system and increase the power of the regime. How can we lose this ambition when we can and should continue to do so?

Irans President Ebrahim Raisi, in his Nowruz speech, praised the Grand Mosque of Khorramshahr in southern Iran as a symbol of the Iran-Iraq war for being the first city to fight in the war. "We are not trading the interests and security of the people for anything," Raisi said. "Everyone saw that we prioritized increasing the country's defense capabilities because the country's security is a priority."

Tehran is already setting up the necessary facilities and equipment to manufacture and launch missiles.

Building the atomic bomb

The Iranian regime has no intention of stopping its construction of nuclear weapons. In a message to members of the Assembly of Experts on March 23, 2022, Khamenei said that some tell him: Sir, put the nuclear issue aside. The nuclear issue has created a lot of sensitivity and problems.

But the leader insisted that if the people had been allowed to ban the weapons, Iran would be in great danger today.

The central question is a scientific question, it is our future scientific and technological progress, Khamenei said. Soon we will be needing the products of our nuclear energy. None of the branches of power should be cut in favor of another, he said. We have no right to cut off one of these elements of power on the grounds that, for example, it conflicts with another. No, everything has to go hand in hand. It's really embarrassing if we are suggested to lower our defense so that our enemies are not disturbed, Khamenei concluded.

According to official media, the construction of an atomic bomb impacted the Iranian economy to the tune of $2 billion (1 dollar = 0.92 euro). Consequently, Khamenei does not carry out a policy that goes in the direction of the national interest but, instead, it favors what he calls "Islamism" or "Velayat-e-Faqih." That is to say, it supports the export of terrorism under a religious dimension, which in reality guarantees its survival.

In contrast, if the regime intended to place Irans national interests over its Islamism, the regime would renounce its plans to build nuclear bombs.

The fate of the regime will not be decided by the still-unrevived 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). If the regime has tried to use all sorts of excuses since the start of the second round of negotiations to obtain the enriched uranium needed to build nuclear weapons, Iran's Supreme Leader is well aware that his acceptance or refusal will have little effect on the fate of the regime.

The experience of the 2015 JCPOA agreement shows that despite the influx of billions of dollars into Iran, the nations poverty received no relief and the people rose up against the regime in 2018 and 2019.

This time, the expansion of the Resistance Units, like France in the time of Vichy, will push the discontent to the point of explosion.

Resistance Units

These units carry out various anti-regime activities, including burning images of icons of terror and violence. Destruction of the regime's symbols -- including defacing posters of Khamenei, posting anti-regime graffiti, and inciting people to revolt against the clerical government thus serve as an initial spark for widespread uprisings. They are the guiding spirit and the engine of the uprisings.

The Resistance Units organize demonstrations and uprisings and also work fervently to ensure that these resistance measures against the regime's brutal repression continue. Therefore, the pursuit of bold actions is one of the main tasks of the Resistance Units. This strategy calls for regime change in Iran with the aim of creating active units within society and a permanent link between the organized opposition and the various social sectors. This idea is rooted in the firm belief of the Iranian resistance that any change in Iran must come from within and must be initiated by the Iranian people themselves.

There have been several nationwide uprisings that have shaken the foundations of the regime, including the November 2019 uprisings, in which the clerical regime brutally massacred more than 1,500 demonstrators in the streets. Demonstrators have been unbowed and repeatedly and openly warned Khamenei and other officials that the uprisings will not cease.

In recent months, the Resistance Units have demonstrated great capacity and efficiency. In January 2022, Resistance Units burned the statue of Qassem Soleimani, the icon of regional interference, known in Iran as the torturer of children (Syrians) in the Kurdish city of the province of Charmahal-Bakhtiari. Later, Resistance Units infiltrated Iranian state radio and television networks and broadcast the slogan, "Down with Khamenei, Long Live Rajavi.

Although many Resistance Units have been arrested and subjected to the most brutal forms of torture or execution since 2016, their beliefs have steadily grown. They believe in the separation of religion and state as well as gender equality.

Whether or not the Iranian regime reaches the desired agreement in the JCPOA has absolutely no bearing on its fate. The explosion of Iranian society is inevitable, and the wide and growing presence of the Resistance Units will lead this nation to great changes.

The resistance of a small number of Ukrainians against the occupation of their country has shown that victory belongs to those who have chosen to resist at all costs.

Image: Pixabay
The popular Egyptian daily newspaper and website al-Masry al-Youm (the Egyptian Today) recently published a fatwa titled What Is the Ruling on Selling Food to Infidels during the Daylight [Hours] of Ramadan? The fatwa concluded that, no, it is not permissible for Muslims to sell food, even if the purchaser and consumer is a non-Muslim.

As discussed here, because the daily newspaper that published this fatwa, al-Masry al-Youm, has long been seen as a progressive, reformist newspaper -- one that thrives on exposing and combatting Islamist intolerance -- its readership, which includes not a few Coptic Christians, responded with an uproar. Hours later, the online version of the paper deleted the fatwa, suspended its editor, and issued an apology.

Most instructive regarding this entire episode -- especially for non-Muslims unfamiliar with the minutia of Islam -- was the focus of the apology. No one was upset at, and al-Masry al-Youm did not apologize for, the fatwas conclusion (many Egyptian Christians, out of consideration, already know to refrain from handling food in public). Rather, the point of contention was that the fatwa utilized -- and, worse, the paper published -- the word kafir (usually translated into English as infidel) to refer to all non-Muslims.

As the daily newspaper explained in its apology, This fatwa applied the term kafir to those who are of a different religion. This is a term that al-Masry al-Youm never uses and completely rejects, as this term draws upon a negative framework that has long afflicted many in Egyptian society.

Some context is needed to appreciate the significance of all this. In the Koran, the Arabic word for those who disbelieve its message and messenger (Muhammad) -- that is, all non-Muslims -- is kafir (in the singular; kuffar or kafara in the plural). Accordingly, all throughout history and in their writings, whenever Muslims referred to non-Muslims, they referred to him as kuffar. This remains evident in the fact that many older English translations of the Koran rendered the words kafir/kuffar as non-Muslim(s) or disbeliever(s).

The problem, however, and what few apologists for Islam want to admit openly, is that the word kafir is chock-full of decidedly negative associations. To Muslim ears, it connotes enemies, evil-doers, and every vile human attribute.

In short, Islams sacred scriptures present the kuffar -- meaning all non-Muslims -- in the most negative terms possible.

Thus the Koran refers to non-Muslims as inherently guilty and unjust (10:17, 45:31, 68:35); terror is to be cast into their hearts (3:151); they are the vilest of beasts (8:55, 98:6), comparable to cattle, and devoid of understanding (47:12, 8:65); they are natural-born enemies to Muslims (4:101), disliked and accursed by Allah (2:89, 3:32, 33:64), who further declares himself their implacable enemy (2:98).

Again, this is how the Koran describes non-Muslims, even if they have never once spoken against or harmed Islam.

Unsurprisingly, then, sharia mandates hostility for the kuffar -- unremitting jihad, with all the attendant death and destruction that has always followed it when Muslims are strong; deception and smooth-talk when they are weak and in need of biding time for a more opportune moment.

Thus, according to Koran 9:5, Muslims must slay those non-Muslims who reject Islams political authority, wherever you find them -- seize them, besiege them, and make ready to ambush them!

What about ahl al-kitab, the so-called people of the book, a phrase the Koran sometimes applies to Jews and Christians? Are they kuffar or not? Although Islams apologists regularly argue for the latter, ahl al-kitab is ultimately a subcategory of kafir.

Certainly, the rules governing them are less severe: instead of being enslaved or killed outright, Christians and Jews, on payment of tribute (jizya), are allowed to live, but only as second-class citizens (who, according to Koran 9:29, must feel themselves subdued and humbled). That said, any Jew or Christian who refused to pay monetary tribute and/or refused to submit to being treated as a second-class citizen, instantly defaulted back to their status as kuffar -- meaning, they too became existential enemies to be warred on, enslaved, or killed (see the Conditions of Omar).

From here one begins to understand the scandal that the popular and supposedly progressive newspaper al-Masry al-Youm created by publishing a fatwa that referred to non-Muslims -- of whom there are at least ten million in Egypt, known as Coptic Christians, many of whom subscribe to the daily -- as kuffar.

For more on this topic, including as it pertains to Egypt, see my 2011 exchange with Sheikh Ali Gomaa, back when he was Grand Mufti of Egypt.

Raymond Ibrahim, author of the new book, Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam, is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute.

Image: Pixabay
During this season of holiness -- the Resurrection for us Christians, Passover for Jews (and the festivals are related) -- my prayer is that God may spare us from the idiotic histories that pervade the media.

The chief lie is that Islam has any claim at all to the Temple Mount.

MOHAMMED NEVER SET FOOT IN JERUSALEM DURING HIS LIFETIME

The official version of Islams history admits that Islam never approached Jerusalem during Mohammeds lifetime. Soon after Mohammeds death, Islam went into the Ridda wars (Wars of Apostasy). Islam had not even stabilized at that point.

Jerusalem was under the control of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. They would not have tolerated mosques in Jerusalem, had Islam even bordered Jerusalem, which it did not. Invading Arab armies did not arrive inside Jerusalem until 637AD -- five years after Mohammeds death.

This is admitted to by all sources: Christian, Jewish, secular, and even Islamic histories.

AL-AQSA IS A FRAUD

How in the world could Mohammed have taken a midnight ride on a horse with the face of a woman -- called the Isra and Miraj, from whence we get the word: mirage -- to the furthest mosque (Al-Aqsa), if there was no mosque to visit in Jerusalem during his lifetime?

In 638 AD, Masjid [Mosque] al-Aqsa was built in the place of Bayt al-Maqdis [the Temple Mount] after Quds [Jerusalem] was conquered during the caliphate of Hz. Umar. -- Questions on Islam (An Islamic site)

Even the term Bayt Al-Masqdis is derived from the Hebrew Bet HaMiqdash [Holy Temple], indicating a Hebrew priority. It is a loan word.

The past week has seen riots in Jerusalem all connected to a preposterous Muslim claim that could be dismissed with a mere five minutes of study.

Now, to be fair, religious frauds are not unique to Islam.

I am reminded of Martin Luthers frustration when he started the Reformation. He was so upset about the bogus traffic in relics, and false claims to burial sites, that he said: There are twelve apostles and seventeen of them are buried in Spain.

Dont even get me started on the idiocy of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Saint James is not buried there. But there must be money in it because now even Protestants have built a retreat center for a buried saint who isnt there! Luther must be rolling over in his grave.

But the world is not threatened with war over Santiago in Galicia, Spain.

The Muslim claim to Al-Aqsa has all the authenticity of UFO sightings over Los Angeles, and maybe not even that. Some questionable videos of the saucers have surfaced, which is more than can be said for Mohammed flying a horse with the face of a woman.

Does anyone in the media even bother to fact-check?

ISLAM HAS NO CONNECTION TO THE HOLY LAND AT ALL

Islam did not get up to Israel during Mohammeds lifetime. (See Map, blue area)

Jesus, the Apostles, and the Hebrew people and prophets can be placed in the Holy Land. Islam cannot. It did not arrive until after Mohammed died.

BUT DONT THE ARABS CALL IT AL-QUDS?

Jerusalem in Hebrew is Yerushalayim, and can be understood to mean the abiding place of peace, though its etymology is debated.

But al-Quds (which means the Holy [Place]) is just a cognate of the Hebrew Qdsh (Qadosh), which means Holy. The Arabs did not even give the city a competing name. It would be akin to calling London The Foggy, without any further elaboration.

NATIVES ARE NOT NECESSARILY ABORIGINES

Now, I am not one to deny that many, if not most, of the Palestinians have been in the land for centuries. I do not subscribe to Joan Peters view that a massive migration to the land occurred after the Jewish Aliyahs (return to the land) started in the 1880s.

Yes, some Arabs migrated in, but not as many as claimed. Rather I subscribe to the views of the right-wing Jewish Zionist, Zeev Jabotinsky, who accepted that the Palestinians were natives.

I repudiate this conception of the Palestinian Arabs... They feel at least the same instinctive jealous love of Palestine, as the old Aztecs felt for ancient Mexico The Iron Wall -- Jabotinsky.org

Jabotinskys Zionist credentials were impeccable, and if he was willing to concede that the Palestinians are a native people, so can I. However, nativity does not imply aboriginal. However long the Arabs were in the Holy Land -- and it may be quite a long time -- the Jews predated them.

At the end of the 17th century, the Dutch Protestant, Adriaan Reland, did a survey of Palestine and found that the place names were not Arabic.

Most of the settlement names originate in the Hebrew, Greek, Latin or Roman languages. In fact, till today, except to Ramlah, not one Arabic settlement has an original Arabic name. Till today, most of the settlements names are of Hebrew or Greek origin, the names distorted to senseless Arabic names. There is no meaning in Arabic to names such as Acco (Acre), Haifa, Jaffa, Nablus, Gaza, or Jenin and towns named Ramallah, El Halil and El-Kuds (Jerusalem) lack historical roots or Arabic philology. In 1696, the year Relandi toured the land, Ramallah, for instance, was called Betallah (From the Hebrew name Beit El) and Hebron was called Hebron (Hevron) and the Arabs called Mearat HaMachpelah El Chalil, their name for the Forefather Abraham. -- Palestine Israel Conflict

Nablus (mentioned above) derives its name from Flavia Neapolis [Flavius New City], after emperor Flavius Vespasian. The Arabs cannot pronounce the letter P, and so Neapolis became Nablus.

We see the same process in America. Minnesota is Sioux in etymology. Chicago came from an Algonquin word: shikaakwa, which was mispronounced by a French explorer as Chicagou

No white American would claim aboriginal status, yet this is what the Palestinians do.

JESUS WAS A JEW, NOT A PALESTINIAN

Jesus claimed a Jewish identity.

You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. -- Gospel of John 4:22

Yet, some Palestinians now claim that Jesus was Palestinian, and this idiocy is tolerated.

I may not agree with all of Israels policies, but I try to be a stickler when it comes to history, and Muslim Palestinian history is an outright lie.

This is not even an attack on religion, per se. Who cares what the Arabs believe? But hold them accountable for their history.

The Roman Catholic Church claims that St. Peters bones are buried underneath the Vatican. True or not, the Roman Catholic Church at least admits that the area was one of the seven hills of Rome, Hill Vaticanus, and originally had a pagan burial ground.

We must insist that Islam be equally honest.

Whether one is Jewish or not -- and I am Christian -- the Temple Mount is historically Jewish, and no one, even Jesus, who admitted to being Jewish, would deny it.

Mike Konrad is the pen name of a writer who wishes he had paid more attention in his Spanish class, lo those many decades ago.

Image: Ray in Manila
The border crisis is now a personal matter between the President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as "AMLO," and the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott.

Yesterday, the matter of extra border inspections came up at the presidential news conference in Mexico.

Believe it or not, AMLO has one of these press conferences every morning.

Unlike President Biden, he takes tough questions and the Mexican "conejo," or bunny, does not stop him from controversial topics. Love or hate him, AMLO goes one-on-one with the Mexican media and it makes for good TV.

This is from Reuters:

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday criticized the Texas government over its imposition of enhanced commercial truck inspections earlier this month, which disrupted trade at the Mexico-U.S. border. "Legally they can do it, but it's a very despicable way to act," Lopez Obrador said at a regular news conference.

President Lopez-Obrador also criticized the governors who signed border agreements with Texas.

Honestly, he may be right in saying that a state can not do an agreement with another foreign state.

The larger point is that we are in this mess because of President Biden and President Lopez-Obrador.

The fellow at The White House is afraid of standing up to immigration activists, while the guy in Mexico City has probably lost his country to criminal elements -- the kind who have grown rich off human smuggling fees and drug trafficking.

It would be very easy for Mexico to stop the human flow. They could shut down their own southern border, namely, that it shares with Guatemala, and arrest people in caravans. It would send a message to everyone involved that Mexico is no longer a corridor for human trafficking. The whole thing would stop in "un minuto" as my late mother used to say.

Based on my unscientific survey or conversations with Mexicans in Mexico, most people would welcome such a shutdown. The caravans come into the country, walk through highways, expose innocent people to risks and give criminal elements the business opportunity of the century.

It's such a good business there is a cartoon going around of the cartels naming Joe Biden the employee of the month. I guess humor always has a way of expressing the truth. Leave it to the comics to do what F. Chuck Todd will not do!

The extra inspections are over now, so your Mexican produce won't be late after all. The governor of Texas made his point, the president of Mexico made his, and Beto is flip-flopping on Title 42. As usual, the criminal elements will move more people and get ready for naming President Biden as employee of the year.

Not even Rod Sterling would have come up with a better story than this!

P.S.: Click for my videos and podcasts at Canto Talk.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
Last week, Fox News carried a report about the charitable donations made by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2021.

It was revealed that Joe and Jill Biden reported $610,702 in income for 2021, and paid $183,925 in federal and state income taxes. They donated $17,394 to charity -- i.e., roughly 2.8%.

Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff earned $1,655,563 in 2021 and paid $523,371 in federal income taxes. They donated $22,100 to charity i.e., roughly 1.3%.

According to 2016 data from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, American families making between $500,000 and $2 million donate around 3.1% of their earnings.

Hence, the Bidens paid 0.3% less than the average charitable deduction; for the Harrises, it was a significant 1.8% less than the average charitable deduction for Americans.

How much an individual donates to charity is strictly their personal affair. The spending habits of individuals, even public figures, should be no concern of any third party, unless the pursuits are illegal. In a free society, people must be allowed to spend as they desire. They can splash all their money on the luxuries of life or donate copiously to charity.

The sole reason that the scant charitable donations from the Bidens and Harrises deserve scrutiny is to verify if they follow the principles they relentlessly advocate.

Both Harris and Biden have complained that the rich do not pay their fair share.

Income inequality is on the rise  made worse by the Trump tax cut that was a giant giveaway to the super-wealthy. Weve got to rebuild the backbone of this country  the middle class.



That starts by rewarding work, not just wealth.  Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 1, 2019

The gap between the rich and the poor continues to grow. Tackling income inequality is one of the most pressing issues of our time. It must be addressed through living wages, equal pay for equal work, and access to quality, affordable education.  Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) March 21, 2018

The Biden administration claimed that lessening the disparity in income between the wealthiest and the rest of the populace has been among its top priorities. They prescribed two solutions: The first was to heavily tax the wealthiest within the U.S. The second was to provide welfare payments to regular people via their $1.9 trillion relief package.

Let me be clear: The wealthy dont need another tax cut, the middle class does. The hardworking Americans who get up every day and make this country run.



Were going to pass a historic middle class tax cut  paid for by making those at the top pay their fair share.  President Biden (@POTUS) September 15, 2021

Do they not realize that if the rich are taxed heavily, they will have no incentive to invest in U.S. companies? They will merely transfer their businesses and finances to business-friendly countries. The result is higher unemployment within the U.S. This has been happening for ages with manufacturing jobs being shipped abroad.

Providing welfare benefits to the needy is worthy, e.g., a single mother who is in poor health deserves government support to feed her family. However, if the government pays able-bodied people just because they are from a specific income bracket, there is no incentive to work. The workforce is reduced and businesses, especially small businesses, struggle.

The only way to reduce income inequality is to remove gratuitous regulations and reduce taxes. This causes investors to have more money to invest in businesses, resulting in job creation. It causes consumers to have more money to spend. This is exactly what President Trump did and he caused enrichment and empowerment of groups from all demographics. It even enriched the government i.e. the prosperity increased the number of taxpayers which is infinitely better than extracting more from a small group of taxpayers.

Tackling income inequality has been a Democrat idea since the 60s, perhaps even before that. In 1963, President Kennedy initiated planning for what became the War on Poverty to resolve income inequality. Subsequent Democrat Presidents such as Johnson, Carter, Obama, and now Biden frequently talk about this need to lessen the gap between incomes.

Back in the 1990s, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher exposed the mindset of the left when its denizens talk about income disparity.

The Democrats could have been excused if they were sincere. But like all Democrat utterances, these are empty words; virtue signaling to feign concern for the less fortunate. The Democrat base is not, as they would like you to think, lower-income individuals, it is in fact the very wealthy from Corporate America, Big Tech, and Showbiz.

This explains why most Democrat pet issues have nothing to do with the empowerment or upliftment of regular people and lessening the income gaps.

Open borders cause an influx of illegal immigrants who often work for very low wages and no benefits. The beneficiaries are big businesses that need cheap seasonal fruit pickers in their orchards. Regular working citizens are either rendered unemployed or suffer a depression in wages.

What about climate change or Obamacare? The result of overregulation or government-mandated insurance is small businesses have to waste their capital to meet gratuitous standards rather than invest in growth and adding more employees. The result is their profits either dwindle or they cannot sustain themselves and shut down causing unemployment. Who benefits, from this? Big businesses, which can afford to survive despite over-regulations.

What about law and order? Violence due to Democrat misgovernance or calls for defunding the police cause instability. The result is existing businesses are destroyed and investors refrain from investing in local businesses. When a small business shuts down, it causes local unemployment. The customer base is transferred to big businesses.

The draconian lockdowns for prolonged periods of time hurt regular people. Small businesses suffer losses and could be compelled to close forever. The Democrats in government who made these lockdown rules and the Democrats in media who promote these rules have the luxury of working from home. Big businesses can also tolerate losses.

The vaccine mandates also have compelled regular people to quit their jobs causing strain on small businesses.

Hence, contrary to their claim, every item on the Democrat agenda causes losses for small businesses and unemployment for the working class. The result is income inequality.

This has prompted people to wonder if it is all purposeful -- to create a permanent underclass and Democrat voting bank.

To return to the Biden and Harris matter: If they really want the rich to pay their 'fair share,' they could have become the change they claim to want and donated a significant portion of their income and savings. This would have brought them closer to regular Americans.

Despite never making any tall claims to virtue, it was President Donald Trump who donated his salary to various initiatives of national significance. The first $100,000 went to the National Park Service. Subsequently, he donated to various federal departments. Trump donated the last two-quarters of his 2019 salary and the first quarter of his 2020 salary to the Department of Health and Human Service specifically for COVID-19 and the U.S. opioid crisis.

The real goal behind this relentless Democrat talk about inequality is to cause class warfare that results in resentment, bitterness, and jealousy which they direct at Republicans.

Vilifying the rich and talking about punishing taxes is their way of making people vote on Schadenfreude, i.e., some Democrat voters may derive pleasure from the thought that the rich will suffer. In reality, nothing of the kind occurs because the Democrats are the party of the super-rich donors.

Biden and Harriss paltry charity donations should be another wake-up call for voters regarding Democrat hypocrisy. Judge them solely by what they do, not by what they claim, and vote them out.

Image: Twitter screen shot
The moment U.S. District Court Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle issued her order holding that the CDCs mask mandate exceeded its statutory authority and ignored mandatory procedural requirements, the mask-loving left went on the attack. They didnt attack the legal case she made (and it was a damn good one); instead, they attacked her. They did this by turning to the fact that the American Bar Association, when Mizelle was being considered for her seat on the Court, gave her a not qualified rating. Had the leftists bothered to read beyond the headline, they would have been embarrassed to tout that ABA rating.

The first thing I did this morning was to check my own Facebook page to see what the leftists in my world (friends from my youth in San Francisco) had to say about Judge Mizelles ruling ending the mask mandate. Two highly neurotic people were panicking about their increased COVID risk. I thought about sending them an article pointing out that mask mandates made no difference whatsoever but realized that theyd never believe anything, including hard data, from a conservative publication.

Others, though, unwilling, and certainly unable, to challenge the legal grounds on which Judge Mizelle reached her ruling, broadcast the fact that the American Bar Association concluded that Mizelle was not qualified for a position on the United States District Court. These tweets are representative of that attitude:

Since 1989, the American Bar Association has assessed federal judicial nominees for consideration by the Senate.



Of the 1,400 or so nominees assessed, just 22 have been rated "not qualified".



Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who just struck down the flight mask mandate, is one of them.  Charlotte Clymer  (@cmclymer) April 19, 2022

Judge Kathryn Mizelle has been serving as a fed judge in FL for more than a year. Notably, the Senate vote confirming her to the lifetime appointment came in mid-November 20 after @POTUS election. She had been given a "not qualified" rating by ABAhttps://t.co/hEG9VqZOem  ARIAN   (@arian_alb) April 20, 2022

The same people who said Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was unqualified with her extensive resume will be praising Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who was nominated by Trump when she was 33 years old and was rated not qualified by the American Bar Association. https://t.co/zmnQ0sTgaS  Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) April 19, 2022

(Regarding Ketanji Brown Jackson, conservatives didnt say she was unqualified despite her resume. Instead, they said she was unqualified because of her resume, which showed a deeply disturbing solicitude for child pornographers and other sex offenders. Jackson also seemed dimwitted when she professed herself incapable of defining a woman. And yes, I know it was a political call to refuse to define the term but it still made her look as dumb as a rock.)

Image: Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle (cropped). Public domain.

There are many more triumphant tweets in this vein and each reveals that no one actually bothered to read the ABA rating for Judge Mizelle. Well, almost no one. William A. Jacobson, the founder of Legal Insurrection, did read the ABAs statement about its rating and he discovered something surprising: Its very favorable, which is unusual when the ABA rates judges whom Republican presidents nominate. Indeed, the not qualified rating was a basically formulaic rating based on the fact that Mizelle did not have the preferred 12 years of experience under her belt:

A substantial majority of the Standing Committee has determined that Ms. Mizelle is Not Qualified, and a minority of the Standing Committee is of the opinion that she is Qualified to serve on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Our rating is based on the Standing Committees criteria as set forth in the Backgrounder. The Backgrounder provides that a nominee to the federal bench ordinarily should have at least 12 years experience in the practice of law. The Backgrounder further provides that in evaluating the professional qualifications of a nominee, the Standing Committee recognizes that substantial courtroom and trial experience as a lawyer or trial judge is important. The nominee was admitted to practice law in Florida on September 27, 2012. This represents a rather marked departure from the 12 year minimum. A nominees limited experience may be offset by the breadth and depth of the nominees experience over the course of her or his career. Nominees with fewer than 12 years but with substantial trial or courtroom experience and/or compensating accomplishments in the field of law, can be and have been found qualified by our Committee. Ms. Mizelle has a very keen intellect, a strong work ethic and an impressive resume. She presents as a delightful person and she has many friends who support her nomination. Her integrity and demeanor are not in question. These attributes however simply do not compensate for the short time she has actually practiced law and her lack of meaningful trial experience.

One more point: The case before Judge Mizelle was not an evidence-heavy case as one would find, for example, if she were trying a bank robbery or a complex contractual dispute. In those types of cases, because of the evidentiary matters and, if a jury trial, the issue of jury instructions, a bit more trial experience might be useful. The matter of the CDCs mask mandate, however, was fundamentally a question of pure law and one that someone with Mizelles experience, especially her Supreme Court clerkship, was eminently qualified to handle.
Prosecutors and police are supposed to be a team working together to stop crime and bring criminals to justice. Only thats not what is happening in St. Louis. There, prosecutors would rather go after the police officers than the criminals.

"Its almost expected that (St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner is) going to blame police every time something happens, and say we didnt provide the right evidence, we didnt do the right thing," said Jay Schroeder, president of the St. Louis Police Officers Association.

In the most recent example of this, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office refused to file charges against an armed robbery suspect who tried to steal a marked police car. In addition, the suspect, 27-year-old Allen Robinson, allegedly pointed a gun at an officer.

St. Louis police officers responded to a report of gunshots around 3 a.m. The officers said the man stepped in front of their marked police car as they were moving. They stopped and the man pointed a gun through the passenger window in an attempted carjacking. He reportedly ran off after realizing he was trying to carjack a police vehicle. Police later apprehended him in a restaurant parking lot.

The arrest went without trouble, and police have a video of Robinson confessing to attempting to steal the car. He was charged with first-degree robbery, armed criminal actions, and resisting arrest.

The Circuit Attorneys Office not only refused to prosecute the case, but it also claimed the police made up the story.

The Circuit Attorneys Office is victimizing the victims, said Brian Millikan, who is representing the two officers in question. These are victims of a crime, and theyre being victimized again personally and professionally by that office,

The Circuit Attorneys Office said it based its decision on a security video that not only has a blocked view of the crime but what it does show doesnt dispute the officers stories.

The St. Louis police union and Ethical Society of Police, an organization that represents mainly Black police officers, is supporting the officers version and asking why the Circuit Attorneys Office didnt present Robinsons confession and additional body camera footage, which "fully and completely decimate the fairy tale narrative spun in today's press conference."

Police and prosecutors are supposed to work hand-in-hand to apprehend criminals and defend the law. The police respond to crime, investigate, and make arrests. The prosecutors work with them to investigate and take the cases to court. This seems more like the prosecutors are working with the criminals.

I dont know what it is, but it just seems like we dont get much from her office when a police officer is the victim of a crime, Schroeder said.

Many believe the problem begins with St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner. She was elected on a 'woke' platform to not prosecute many misdemeanors and felonies, police have criticized her office for failing to take on more cases. She recently sued the police for racism, but the case was dismissed, according to the Daily Mail. The New York Post also claimed she was being investigated for misconduct.

The office has only prosecuted a small fraction of the number of felony cases brought to it by the police department. Granted, this could be because the office is short-staffed, but much of that is self-inflicted. Many of the lawyers are leaving the office to go into private practice.

Meanwhile, the police, who are also short staffed, are still out there working and doing their jobs only to have it fall apart because the Circuit Attorneys Office wont take the case.

The St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office is at best ignoring the evidence, and at worst, trying to help criminals. This will erode the relationship between police and prosecutors, which may be what the leftist attorneys office wants. If the police cant trust the prosecutors to do their jobs and not come after them, then the police know they might as well not do their jobs. It wont matter. Its catch and release. Its frustrating. Its wrong.

Michael A. Letts is the CEO and Founder of In-VestUSA, a national grassroots non-profit organization helping hundreds of communities provide thousands of bulletproof vests for their police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs.

Image: Pixabay
Tucker Carlson gained a lot of attention for a video segment he did about declining testosterone levels in American males. In fact, the matter is more important even than he realizes because empathy, a necessary emotion in a healthy society, is tied to healthy testosterone levels.

The purpose of empathy in the human creature has always been to protect the weak. And a major purpose of masculinity was, in part, to express empathy by protecting weaker dear ones. It was the guy with testosterone who was supposed to get out there in front of his rampaging barbarian counterparts to protect his family. However, the only way we know this today is by watching old movies.

That this male hormone led to wars is undeniable but it also led to quick conflict resolution. Men not only fought each other but, to survive, then went to the bargaining table as quickly as possible to avoid more losses. All sorts of rituals developed to avoid or end warstreaties, state dinners, mutual defense organizations, backdoor channels, and the exchange of daughters in marriage to cement relationships.

Our modern derogation of testosterone-related masculinity has reduced the effectiveness of negotiating mechanisms, leaving us with chaos and handwringing in the face of threats and violence. Without the effects of testosterone on anger levels, there are fewer ways to staunch conflicts.

Victory has been taken off the table, leaving only the suffering of the defeated, which nobody in power seems ever to notice. Promises and agreements made during negotiations can no longer be enforced because there is insufficient rage available when betrayal occurs.

So, the expectation and acceptance of betrayal increase as blood levels of testosterone decrease. To reverse the anomie and chaotic behavior of a failing social system, takes the injection of energy. And a source of that energy wanes with reduced testosterone and its associated righteous indignation against duplicity.

The problem of unanticipated consequences dogs those who are certain of their righteousness and are, therefore, unwilling to deal with the results that arise from their testosterone-killing policies. Everyone then becomes a victim or potential victim of the system without a biological source of empathymost significantly, the purveyors of this policy that decreases testosterone.

Image: Boys fighting in a schoolroom back when men were expected to fight, 1907. Library of Congress.

Peace, they have yet to learn, is different from passivity. Passivity quickly racks up victims. The first victims were those who were those the testosterone-haters most easily dismissed, such as Blacks killing each other in the nations ghettos, but soon other classes were added to the to-be-ignored list: Businessmen, Christians, Jews, sex slaves, fetuses (aka babies), the homeless, school-age children, taxpayers and, finally, the largest group of victimsanyone not working for the government or selected corporations. Perfection for the few; inanition for the many.

Sooner rather than later everything will rot. The blood of which Jefferson spoke has always been taken to be that of citizen-soldiers reasserting the norms of a Republic. However, it is more likely to be the stinking blood of the victims of that rotting dysfunctional government because, as the victim list grows, the society will cease to function.

Many have asked themselves the following vital question: What problem does allowing millions of economic refugees to enter the United States solve? The problem that has been solved temporarily by economic refugees is that our current American workers have become pacified and no longer need to work to keep their families alive. The American workers have been used up by the system that degraded them. These imported workers will gladly apply their virgin testosterone to their new jobs while also voting for their saviors for at least one generation. But they too will have their turn at being pacified, at which point they will be discarded as well.

The self-sacrifice of the testosterone-laden soldiers, whistleblowers, family men, workers and, yes, dedicated mothers is unfortunately needed for civilization to survive. Without their hormone-driven sacrifices, our psychopathic leaders will conquer each successive generation and, smiling at each other, will feel just fine for having done so.

With enough government-imported Fentanyl, the final blow of the hammer will occur when robots without testosterone or estrogen will do the bidding of our leaders, while all the unblessed extra people will fade away without an audible whimper; they will not have had any children, so there will be no one to cry or to mourn aloud for their passing.
The Washington Post attacked Libs of TikTok (LOTT), not because it wants to debate the merits of the leftist-made videos the Twitter account exposes to a wider audience, but because it wants to silence the anonymous woman who runs it. Ironically, in a new form of the Streisand effect, the Washington Post seems to have exposed LOTTs material to literally hundreds of thousands more people.

The current saga of LOTT can be summed up quickly.

LOTT locates videos that leftists voluntarily place on social media about race, gender, and other forms of wokism and then republishes the same material on the LOTT account. Ive been following the account for months now, maybe even a year, because its a window into the core leftism that underlies the Biden administration, the media, academia, and much of K-12 education across America.

The account started acquiring extra traction when Floridas Parental Rights Act (aka The Anti-Groomer Bill; aka the Dont Say Gay bill) became a matter of national news. For those trying to make the point that bad things are happening in classrooms, LOTT was a goldmine.

And again, LOTT did not create material, did not fake material, and did not dox people. Instead, what LOTT did was republish material that others had already placed in the public domain. Material like this:

If your parents dont accept you for who you are, f*** them. Im your parents now - Oklahoma middle school teacher



This teacher was let go last week after complaints of grooming and this tiktok + others containing questionable content were brought to the principals attention. pic.twitter.com/eBgAWCW3K7  Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) April 11, 2022

5th grade teacher shows her lesson plan for teaching gender and sexuality. pic.twitter.com/iFYdiigFMD  Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) April 15, 2022

Im a man but when I was a baby the doctors told my parents I was a girl



I talk to my students about what it means to be trans all the time



These are 6 year old kids. pic.twitter.com/9CEOVvCdI5  Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) April 11, 2022

Why would a preschool fly a transgender flag from the front of their building? pic.twitter.com/wFn7ZDsJXW  Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) February 7, 2022

We shouldnt define the word woman because gender is a system of oppression pic.twitter.com/KYbtCeynpr  Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) April 18, 2022

The schools are obsessed with sexualizing and grooming kids pic.twitter.com/AFYxIo9Ci7  Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) March 16, 2022

Twitter twice tried to shut down the LOTT account but was forced to walk it back because all it did was rebroadcast videos and photos that were already availableand considered acceptableon multiple social media forums. And so, Plan B was put into place.

Plan B meant putting Taylor Lorenz on the trail. Lorenz calls herself a journalist but shes not. Shes an outer. That is, she outs people for daring to have political viewpoints different from hers and shell punish anyone close to those she seeks to destroy.

Because she disagrees with Pamela Gellars politics, Lorenz outed Gellars daughters, who had developed their own popular, non-political Instagram accounts. She also went after KellyAnne Conways daughter. And speaking of Gellar, some people have noted that Lorenz seems to have a real issue with Jews. (LOTT 's proprietor is Jewish.)

Lorenz has also made a big deal about the horrors of being doxed, claiming that people have harassed her because she dared to expose them. She can dish it out but she cant take it. Ultimately, Lorenz is an utterly disreputable excuse for a human being.

And theres no doubt that Lorenz doxed LOTT, revealing not only her name but also publishing her real estate license, which contains all sorts of identifying information. The WaPo eventually deleted that license...and then lied about it:

I sincerely hope that LOTT sues both Lorenz and the WaPo (along with the individual editors involved) and that she gets Nick Sandmann rich off them. Lorenz is a trust fund kid and the WaPo is Jeff Bezos private political playground, so there are some mighty deep pockets there. The public should also deride, shame, and shun Lorenz and the WaPo.

But heres the biggest punishment of all, and its a natural consequence of WaPos doxing hit piece: Although the purpose was to silence LOTT, it dramatically increased her reach. I dont know how many followers LOTT had before she was doxed, but I noted about 630,000 on Tuesday morning after the numbers had already begun accruing. As of now 11:45 P.M Eastern Time on Tuesday, the account is at 800,000 followers and its increasing, as best as I can tell, by around 2,000 new followers every ten minutes.

This is the Streisand effect on steroids, a term that refers to Barbra Streisands attempt to suppress a photo of her Malibu property only to draw massive attention to the photo. With LOTTs expanded audience, the account had better start going back to its core activity, which was showing to the wider world the bizarre, creepy, even dangerous materials leftists freely promote about themselves.

Update from Thomas Lifson:

Tucker Carlson began his show on April 19 with a long segment on Taylor Lorenz and her doxxing of LOTT's proprietor. He revealed that Taylor Lorenz did not do the sleuthing work to uncover the identity, but rather got the information from software developer Travis Brown, whose work is supported by the nonprofit Prototype Fund, which is, in turn, supported by the German government.

Image: Libs of TikTok meme.
Finland and Sweden are on the brink of applying for NATO membership, despite Russian president Vladimir Putin's warning that such a move could result in the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war. Finland's European Union minister told Sky News that it is "highly likely" that Finland will join NATO in the near future. Polls show that a majority in both countries favor joining NATO. Russian spokesmen reacted by threatening to deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles near those Scandinavian countries and strengthening Russia's land, naval, and air forces in the Baltic Sea.

Meanwhile, American politicians and others are criticizing the Biden administration for not doing more to help Ukraine "defeat" Russia in the war. Retired U.S. general Ben Hodges, who commanded the U.S. Army in Europe, says America needs to be "all in to win" in Ukraine. He told CBS News, "We have exaggerated the potential for a so-called World War III." Hodges's sangfroid notwithstanding, the statesmen of Europe and the United States may be sleepwalking us into a Third World War.

In 2013, British historian Christopher Clark, in The Sleepwalkers, explored the events that led to the First World War. The book's title reflects the author's view that the European statesmen of that time almost blindly led their nations and empires step by step into what George Kennan rightly called the "seminal catastrophe" of the 20th century. Clark's European "sleepwalkers" realigned Bismarck's European order, mobilized armed forces, dreaded appearing "weak" on the international stage, and transformed a terrorist incident in June 1914 in Sarajevo into a European conflagration that unleashed the demons of the 20th century. Clark told NPR that the most troubling thing about the outbreak of World War I was that "none of the individuals who brought about [the] war, none of the civilian leaders who were really responsible for it, actually wanted war, and certainly none of them wanted the war that actually happened between 1914 and 1918."

Today's "sleepwalkers" include Vladimir Putin, who started the war by invading Ukraine and, like his 1914 predecessors in Europe, miscalculated both the resistance of Ukrainians and the reaction of the international community. (In this respect, Putin is not unlike the rulers of Austria-Hungary, who thought they could attack Serbia without grave European repercussions, though, just in case, they secured the infamous "blank check" from Germany.) After all, this same international community did nothing when Putin seized Crimea in 2014. This same international community did nothing when Russia waged war in Syria in 2015, in Georgia in August 2008, and in Chechnya in the 1990s.

But Putin is not the only leader sleepwalking toward a broader European war. The roots of the Russia-Ukraine war go back to assurances by Western statesmen in 199091 that NATO would not expand eastward  not "one inch eastward," secretary of state James Baker told Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev during negotiations for unifying Germany. In 1993, President Bill Clinton's secretary of state, Warren Christopher, told Russian president Boris Yeltsin that the United States was promoting an inclusive "partnership for peace" rather than NATO expansion. Yet, only a year later, Clinton told Yeltsin that NATO would be expanding. And NATO kept expanding  closer and closer to Russia's borders. And Russia in the wake of its defeat in the Cold War was powerless to do anything about it.

As Brookings Institution scholar James Goldgeier has written, "for many Russians, most importantly Vladimir Putin, the 1990s were a decade of humiliation, as the United States imposed its vision of order on Europe ... while the Russians could do nothing but stand by and watch. In 2008 in Georgia and in 2014 in Ukraine, Putin made clear there were red lines he would not allow NATO and the European Union to cross." Goldgeier wrote those words in November 2019. They resonate even more today.

Now Finland, which shares an 830-mile-long border with Russia, and Sweden, which is Finland's eastern neighbor, threaten to join NATO. Should that happen, we should expect Putin to further escalate tensions with NATO, perhaps even, like Nikita Khrushchev, raising the specter of nuclear war, as some of Putin's spokesmen have already done. And the fact that Russia is having more trouble than it expected in subduing Ukraine does not diminish the specter of escalation. Indeed, should Russia suffer "defeat," as U.S. leaders publicly call for, and should Finland and Sweden join NATO, Russia's "humiliation" and its extreme nationalism will likely intensify with consequences that nobody can predict.

Like in 1914, the statesmen of the last four decades realigned the world order after the Cold War's end  pushing NATO ever eastward despite the assurances and understandings of the early 1990s. Like in 1914, a regional war involving a great power and a smaller country threatens to escalate with unpredictable consequences. Like in 1914, a European great power miscalculated the resistance of its target country's population and the reaction of the international community. Like in 1914, European statesmen  including Putin, Ukraine's President Zelensky, and more recently the leaders of Finland and Sweden  appear to be sleepwalking toward a precipice instead of seeking an imperfect negotiated settlement.

As Clark and other historians have noted, none of the European statesmen in 1914 thought the war they unleashed would last more than four years and cause more than 40 million military and civilian casualties, including more than 16 million deaths. Should our sleepwalkers of today unleash a broader European war  with the possibility of nuclear exchanges  the casualties could be greater. Let us hope that in this instance, history does not repeat itself.

Image: World Economic Forum via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
On October 9, 1623 Ferdinand Verbiest was born in the town of Pittem (present-day Belgium). Of his early years it is only known that he studied humanities, philosophy and mathematics in Bruges, Cortrique and Louvain. On September 2, 1641 he entered the Society of Jesus, which sent him to Seville to study theology. In the Spanish city he was ordained a priest in 1655 at the age of 32. In Rome he completed his training by studying astronomy.

Ferdinand wanted to be a missionary in Central America, but the Society had other plans for him. Protestantism was thinning the ranks of Catholics in Europe and the Church set its sights on the Far East to keep adding to its numbers. So on April 4, 1657, he embarked from Lisbon for China, accompanied by 35 other missionaries and the Portuguese viceroy of the Indies.

The instruments created by Verbiest at the Beijing Imperial Observatory. Photo: Thomas Childe/Wikimedia

When the ship arrived in Macao on July 17, 1658, only ten of the passengers, including Ferdinand, were still alive. From that date until 1660 he was in charge of the Shaanxi mission. In that year he was appointed assistant to Father Johann Adam Schall von Bell, who was director of the Peking Astronomical Observatory. However, the following year the political situation led to the persecution of the Jesuits, who were forced to go into exile in Canton, where von Bell died.

In 1669 the Kangxi Emperor, who was 15 years old, was informed that serious errors had been found in the calendar for 1670, drawn up by the Chinese astronomer Yang Guangxian (one of the main opponents of the Jesuits). So he called a public test to compare the merits of Chinese and European astronomy, in which Yang and Verbiest were to face each other.

Ferdinand Verbiest.

The test consisted of predicting three things: the length of the shadow cast by a gnomon at noon on a given day; the absolute and relative positions of the Sun and planets on a given date; and the exact time of a predicted lunar eclipse. Verbiest prevailed in all three, thanks mainly to his access to the Rudolphine Tables (the stellar catalog and planetary tables published by Kepler in 1627) and the use of telescopes.

The emperor appointed Ferdinand Verbiest director of the Peking Astronomical Observatory, and the exiled Jesuits were allowed to return to their missions. Verbiest corrected the calendar, to which Yang had added an extra month unnecessarily to hide other errors and to align the lunar months with the solar year.

From there he became the emperor's teacher, teaching him geometry, philosophy and music, and accompanied him on his frequent expeditions throughout the empire. Verbiest devoted himself to numerous projects. He translated the first six books of Euclid into Manchu, built an aqueduct, cast 132 cannons for the imperial army, and even designed a chariot.

The Verbiest instruments at the Beijing Astronomical Observatory. Photo: Wellcome Images/Wikimedia

He also created new star charts, which allowed the emperor to know the time at night, and compiled a table of all solar and lunar eclipses for the next 2,000 years. He then worked to rebuild and improve the Astronomical Observatory, work on which was completed in 1673.

Estimating that all the observatory's instruments were obsolete, he moved them to a museum and designed six new ones:

An altazimuth mount for telescopes, which allows the position of celestial bodies to be measured in relation to the celestial horizon and the zenith.

A celestial globe of two meters in diameter, used to map and identify celestial objects.

An ecliptic armillary sphere also about two meters in diameter, used to measure the difference in ecliptic longitude and latitudes of celestial bodies.

An equatorial armillary sphere of equal size, used to measure true solar time and the difference in right ascension and declination of celestial bodies.

An altazimuth quadrant, two meters in radius, to measure altitudes or zenith distances of celestial bodies.

And a sextant with a radius of 2.44 meters, to measure the angle of elevation of a celestial object above the horizon.

All these instruments were very large, made of brass and lavishly decorated with oriental motifs, with huge bronze dragons as supports. Despite their size and weight, they were easy to manipulate, demonstrating Verbiest's great skill in mechanical design.

Some of the instruments created by Verbiest are still on top of the Ancient Astronomical Observatory in Beijing. Photo: pfctdayelise/Wikimedia

He is also known to have experimented with steam to propel ships, and around 1672 he designed a steam-powered vehicle as a toy for the emperor. He describes it in his manuscript Astronomia Europea (completed in 1681 and published in Germany in 1687), where Verbiest uses for the first time in history the term engine with its current meaning.

As he wrote, with a single filling of coal the vehicle was capable of moving more than an hour. Although due to its small size of just 65 centimeters long it was not designed to transport passengers, it was the first vehicle capable of moving by the force of an autonomous motor.

Since the steam engine had not yet been invented, Verbiest based his design on the aeolipile of Heron of Alexandria, the 1st century AD Greek mathematician. Steam was generated in a ball-shaped boiler, and exited through a tube at the top from where it headed to a simple turbine that powered the rear wheels.

The Verbiest Steam Vehicle. Photo: Wikimedia

However, it is unknown whether Verbiest's design was ever built, as no other source mentions it, nor have any authentic drawings of it come down to us. Had it been so, and Verbiest had Chinese metalworkers capable of building precision instruments at its disposal, it would be the first self-propelled vehicle in history.

Ferndinand Verbiest spent the rest of his life in Peking, dying on January 28, 1688, of injuries sustained in a fall from a horse. He was buried in the Zhalan Jesuit Cemetery, near his friend and teacher Johann Adam Schall von Bell. He was the only Westerner in the entire history of China to be granted a posthumous name by an emperor: Nan Huai Ren.

In 1988 the Chinese government donated an exact replica of Verbiest's celestial globe to the University of Louvain (Belgium), which can now be seen outside the institute that bears the Jesuit's name. It weighs 3,850 kilograms and has a total of 1,888 stars and celestial bodies etched in bronze, the number known when Verbiest created it.

The replica of the celestial globe outside the Verbiest Institute of the University of Leuven. Photo: FrDr/Wikimedia

This article was originally published in La Brujula Verde. It has been translated from Spanish and republished with permission.
Netflix is considering pulling the breaks on widespread password sharing to boost revenues. The streaming giant is in damage control mode after losing subscribers for the first time in a decade. Netflix recently sent a letter to its shareholders explaining the likely reason for the unprecedented decline.

Netflix estimates that there are roughly 100 million additional households using the platform in addition to the 222 million households that actually pay for the service. Around 30 million of the additional households are from the U.S. and Canada. This comes in the wake of the platform bumping up its subscription prices.

Account sharing as a percentage of our paying membership hasnt changed much over the years, but, coupled with the first factor, means its harder to grow membership in many markets  an issue that was obscured by our COVID growth, the letter read (via The Verge).

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In a video discussing the quarterly earnings, Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings said they are working on monetizing account sharing. You know, weve been thinking about that for a couple years. But you know, when we were growing fast, it wasnt the high priority to work on. And now were working super hard on it. Remember, these are over 100 million households that already are choosing to view Netflix. They love the service. Weve just gotta get paid in some degree for them, Hastings said.

Netflix is testing a sub accounts feature in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru

If youve got a sister thats living in a different city, you want to share Netflix with her, thats great, Netflixs chief operating officer and chief product officer Greg Peters said.

Were not trying to shut down that sharing. But were going to ask you to pay a bit more to be able to share with her so she gets the benefit and the value of the service but we also get the value of the revenue associated with that viewing.

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Regions like Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru are currently part of a test wherein subscribers can add sub accounts for two people at reduced costs. But since its still an experiment, we cant tell if this will help solve Netflixs problems. Regardless, the streaming platform would want to come up with a solution sooner rather than later.
(ANSA) - ROME, APR 20 - Premier Mario Draghi on Wednesday conferred by phone with Angolan President Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco on energy cooperation amid the Ukraine war, the premier's office said.

The conversation took place in view of the mission to Luanda by Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani to agree a deal to help Rome cut its reliance on Russian gas.

The conversation, the premier's office said, confirmed the common will to boost the bilateral partnership in all sectors of mutual interest, with particular regard to the energy ambit, the office said.

The two leaders voiced the hope they will meet in the near future. (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, APR 20 - Germany has given Ukraine important arms, German Ambassador to Rome Viktor Elbling told an ANSA Forum Wednesday.

"Germany is doing an awful lot for Ukraine," Elbling said.

"We have supplied important arms, for those who know German history it was a very important turning point, we have directly supplied Stingers and other equipment to Ukraine and other weapons".

Kyiv on Wednesday voiced disappointment that Berlin had decided to stop giving it arms after the German army said it needed all its heavy weaponry for itself.

Elbling added that giving up Russian gas would be damaging.

"We can't get out of this relative reliance on Russian gas from today to tomorrow, both Germany and Italy, it would be very damaging, but I'm sure that already this year we will take an important step to significantly reduce this dependence, and in the next few years we want to cut this dependence to zero.

"Italy is well-positioned in energy diversification, it has regassification plants already in place. We are working on it, a lot will happen in the coming years". (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, APR 20 - Italian police on Wednesday seized weapons from three Italians living near Vicenza who want to go and fight in Ukraine, two for Russia and one for Ukraine.

Arms and munitions were also seized from a Ukrainian citizen, also resident in the province of Vicenza.

More people may be involved in the case, the Giornale di Vicenza newspaper reported Wednesday.

One of the Italians is a 40-year-old security guard, police said. (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, APR 19 - An Italian woman was killed in a Luxembourg restaurant she worked in over the weekend, sources said Monday.

The body of Sonia Di Pinto, 46, from Molise, was found in the eatery's cellar on Easter morning.

It bore the signs of a violent blow to the head.

Police think she may have been the victim of a robbery gone wrong.

Her home town of Petacciato, an Adriatic seaside town, went into civic mourning.

Di Pinto welcomed clients and supervised waiters in the restaurant.

Her boyfriend Sauro Diogenici told ANSA on the phone: "I don't think it was murder. She was a tranquil person, she had no enemies.

"She did her job and she did it well, they didn't show her to me, they only told me her head was caved in by a big blow".

(ANSA).


Slovenia: Agriculture minister resigns over hotel bill Podgorsek was in charge since 2020

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, APR 20 - The Slovenian Agriculture Minister Joze Podgorsek resigned today over a payment of a weekend stay at an upscale hotel in Bohinj in January, the Slovenian news agency STA reported on Wednesday.



The Slovenian media portal Necenzurirano reported that Podgorsek and his wife stayed at the hotel, owned by a Slovenian businessman, but did not pay a 800-euro bill, doing so only after being asked for comment this month. Necenzurirano "suggested the payment of the bill may have to do with KZK, a company which owns farmland in Gorenjska and was until 2019 partly controlled by the hotel owner, who has since severed all formal ties with it", STA wrote today. "I am resigning exclusively due to the late payment of the bill," Podgorsek said today, quoted by STA.



Podgorsek, 48 years old, was named Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food in 2020 after holding the position of State Secretary in the same ministry. (ANSA).





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ROME - Tunisian artist Safia Farhat's artwork will be on display at the 59th International art exhibition - Venice's Biennale, which is opening on April 23 and runs until November 27. Farhat will be present with a piece called 'Gafsa & ailleurs' (Gafsa and elsewhere, 1983) a monumental tapestry (diptych, 320 x 294 cm e 293 x 167cm) on display at the Arsenale.

Chosen by Cecilia Alemani, curator of Biennale Arte 2022 for this year's theme, Il latte dei sogni (the milk of dreams), comes from the museum dedicated to the artist, hosted from 2016 in the Centre des Arts Vivants (Center of Arts) in Rades (9 km south-east of the capital, Tunis), her native city. With bright colors, geometric and figurative motifs, zoomorphic signs and anthropomorphic figures, fabrics with tinted, hand-woven wools, 'Gafsa & ailleurs' is inspired by Tunisian artisanal crafts while introducing elements of modernity.

Born in 1924 in Rades and a pioneer of visual arts in Tunisia, Safia Farhat was an eclectic artist: designer, painter, ceramist, weaver and decorator, she dedicated her life to the valorization of traditional techniques and to Tunisia's cultural heritage, as well as to teaching art.

She was the only woman, in 2949, to be part of the Ecole de Tunis (school of Tunis), an art movement mainly of European origin born in the 1930s, which included Italian painters like Moses Levy (Tunis, 1885-Viareggio, 1968) and Antonio Corpora (Tunis, 1909 - Rome, 2004).

The Venice Biennale hosts 213 artists coming from 58 nations.
BEIRUT - The Russian air force on Wednesday morning carried out air raids against the positions of pro-Turkish militants in the Syrian region of Idlib, violating a truce in place between Moscow and Ankara since 2018, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports. The UK-based monitoring group said the Russian air raids targeted areas south-west of Idlib, in the mountain zone of Jabal az Zawiya, which has been for years the stronghold of anti-government local militias supported by Turkish forces.

It is the third air violation by Russian jets since the beginning of April. The truce signed between the two countries in 2018 is part of the division process of northern Syria by Russia and Turkey with the consent of the United States that deployed soldiers in the north-east and support anti-Turkish militants of the PKK party.
Tunisian artist Safia Farhat's artwork at Venice Biennale Universal exhibition to take place from April 23 until Nov. 27

(ANSAmed) - ROME, APRIL 20 - Tunisian artist Safia Farhat's artwork will be on display at the 59th International art exhibition - Venice's Biennale, which is opening on April 23 and runs until November 27. Farhat will be present with a piece called 'Gafsa & ailleurs' (Gafsa and elsewhere, 1983) a monumental tapestry (diptych, 320 x 294 cm e 293 x 167cm) on display at the Arsenale.



Chosen by Cecilia Alemani, curator of Biennale Arte 2022 for this year's theme, Il latte dei sogni (the milk of dreams), comes from the museum dedicated to the artist, hosted from 2016 in the Centre des Arts Vivants (Center of Arts) in Rades (9 km south-east of the capital, Tunis), her native city. With bright colors, geometric and figurative motifs, zoomorphic signs and anthropomorphic figures, fabrics with tinted, hand-woven wools, 'Gafsa & ailleurs' is inspired by Tunisian artisanal crafts while introducing elements of modernity.



Born in 1924 in Rades and a pioneer of visual arts in Tunisia, Safia Farhat was an eclectic artist: designer, painter, ceramist, weaver and decorator, she dedicated her life to the valorization of traditional techniques and to Tunisia's cultural heritage, as well as to teaching art.



She was the only woman, in 2949, to be part of the Ecole de Tunis (school of Tunis), an art movement mainly of European origin born in the 1930s, which included Italian painters like Moses Levy (Tunis, 1885-Viareggio, 1968) and Antonio Corpora (Tunis, 1909 - Rome, 2004).



The Venice Biennale hosts 213 artists coming from 58 nations.



(ANSAmed).




TUNIS - Greenpeace has urged Tunisian authorities to intervene urgently to prevent an environmental disaster off Gabes, where on Saturday a tanker carrying 750 tons of fuel sank.

Greenpeace recommended to accelerate the implementation of a plan to eliminate oil leaks and highlighted the importance of communicating data on the quantity of fuel that leaked to prevent a disaster. The Gulf of Gabes in fact numbers some 34,000 fishermen and has been suffering for decades the consequences of relevant chemical pollution coming from the presence of some factories working on phosphates along the coast. Greenpeace moreover stressed the importance of the international community's intervention to help Tunisia in the event of fuel leaks, in case Tunisian authorities are unable to deal with the situation.




Doubt on route of fuel-laden ship sunk off Tunisia, probe opened Ship allowed to enter Tunisian waters without document controls'

(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, APRIL 20 - Investigators are looking into the route of the Equatorial Guinea-flagged tanker Xelo, which sank last Saturday off Gabes in Tunisia carrying 750 tons of diesel fuel. While Tunisian authorities have opened an investigation and questioned seven crew members, the network Reseau Tunisie Verte, which includes about 100 NGOs active in defending the environment, expressed "surprise for the behavior of Tunisian authorities, which allowed the tanker Xelo to enter Tunisian territorial waters on April 4, 2022 to carry out the necessary reparations in the port of Sfax, without verifying the authenticity of documents, despite suspicions around it regarding the lack of respect of security procedures, given that the ship was repeatedly seized".



Officially, the Xelo, which is allegedly owned by a Turkish businessman, sank along the route taking it from the port of Damietta in Egypt to Malta. But port authorities in Damietta said "the port was not the point of departure for the journey of the merchant ship that sank in the Gulf of Gabes".



Mabrouk Korchid, a former Tunisian minister and secretary of State charged with state property affairs in the government of Youssef Chahed, a lawmaker in the electoral college of Medenine, a few days ago told a Libyan news outlet that that "the Turkish ship" that sank in the Gulf of Gabes was carrying Libyan oil smuggled from the city of Zauia and travelling to Malta.



(ANSAmed).




Jerusalem: tension in Old City, police on alert Jewish nationalists to challenge police in the afternoon

(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, APRIL 20 - Another day of tension was recorded in Jerusalem, where over 2,500 police officers have been deployed to maintain order in the holy site known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, and along the roads close to the walls of the Old City.



On Wednesday morning, police intervened in Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) to protect the entrance of hundreds of Jewish pilgrims celebrating Passover.



Also on Wednesday, as in previous days, Palestinian demonstrators tried to prevent these visits by hurling stones.



According to police, a molotov cocktail was also launched from inside the al-Aqsa mosque. A carpet caught fire but the fire was immediately extinguished. Meanwhile thousands of Jews were assisting at the traditional priestly blessing.



In the afternoon, new tensions are expected when far-right Jewish militants will try to organize a march with Israeli flags around the walls of the Old City to protest against attacks launched over the past few days by Palestinian demonstrators who threw stones at Israeli buses. Police denied permission for the nationalists' march but they said they are determined to demonstrate anyway. (ANSAmed).




Lecce to host 'European film days' starting on April 27 Three nights open to the public, five screenings for students

(ANSAmed) - BARI, APRIL 20 - The Puglia city of Lecce will host the 'Giornate del Cinema Europeo' (European film days) during which the finalists of the Lux Award of the public 2022 will be presented. The award was created by the European Parliament "to promote European cinema and strengthen connections between politics and citizens, inviting European spectators to become active protagonists by voting their favorite films", said the association Art Promotion organizing the event, in cooperation with the European Parliament.



The event is an anticipation of the 23rd edition of the European Film Festival which is scheduled to take place in Lecce in the fall. Film screenings will be held at 8:30 at the cinema Massimo in Lecce next Wednesday, April 27, with "Quo vadis Aida?", by Jasmina Zbanie; on May 4, with the screening of "Great Freedom" by Sebastian Meise; on Wednesday, May 11, with the screening of "Flee", by Jonas Poher Rasmussen.



Five events will be open to high school students, including five schools from the Bari area, who will watch and judge the same movies, all inspired by real events. Organizers said the movies "speak about vulnerabilities and divisions as well as the healing power of tolerance and compassion".



The public following the event will be allowed to contribute to the choice of the winner by voting on the platform https://luxaward.eu/it#voting until May 25, 2022. Voters will have the possibility of winning a ticket for the ceremony of the LUX award to be held on June 8, 2022 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. (ANSA).




ISTANBUL - A prison guard died after the explosion of a handmade bomb detonated while a bus carrying prison guards passed in the Osmangazi district in Bursa (northwest), the city's prefect, Yakub Canbolat, was quoted as saying by the Anadolu news agency.

The bomb was detonated with a remote control, according to the same source.

Four prison guards were also wounded, including one who is in serious condition.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu confirmed that the bomb was detonated remotely and that security forces are working to find the attackers.
Former prime minister Theresa May has warned that the housing system is broken and letting down the next generation.

The backbench Tory MP said the problem can be traced back to a lack of action from governments of all colours, with the crisis beginning not because of a blip lasting a year or a parliament, but because not enough homes were built over many decades.

Speaking at a conference on social housing hosted by the charity Shelter, Ms May said for too long the Tories have been seen by many as the party only of home ownership.

Indeed, dare I say it, our policies have too often made it seem that way, she said.

But she argued the Conservatives are in fact the party of decent homes for all.

Theresa May argued the Conservatives are in fact the party of decent homes for all (Andy Buchanan/PA)

Ms May called for processes to be put in place support the building of more social housing.

We know our housing system is broken, but the housing crisis in this country began not because of a blip lasting a year or a parliament, but because not enough homes were built over many decades, she said.

Under governments of all colours we simply havent given enough attention to social and affordable housing.

It is undeniable that the housing system is letting down the next generation. Fixing the housing crisis will let so many more people get on in life.

She added: In line with our commitment to deliver 300,000 homes per year by the mid-2020s, we need to put in place processes to support the building of more social housing.

The former PM said there is no single green paper or white paper that is going to solve the problem.

She added: Its still too hard to build social homes and too easy to be an irresponsible landlord.

We need to harness the momentum that I think we now have and use the levelling up agenda as an opportunity to spur further change.

I think, and I say to the Government, next months Queens Speech does give an opportunity to bring forward the measures that require primary legislation, including those reforming regulation for private rental and social tenants, that will tip the scales in favour of fairness.

It comes after MPs warned earlier this month that safe housing is too often out of reach for private renters, who face a complex and costly redress system that is unfit for purpose.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said local authorities are constrained by a lack of support from central government, as they attempt to navigate a fragmented and disempowered regulatory system, made worse by piecemeal interventions.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has been approached for comment.
Boris Johnson has indicated that a post-Brexit trade deal with India will include accepting Delhis demands for an increase in migration to the UK.

The Prime Minister said he was hopeful that a free trade agreement (FTA) can be struck by the end of the year, as he headed to India for talks with his counterpart Narendra Modi.

Mr Johnson vowed to press for a reduction of fossil fuels from Vladimir Putins Russia, amid concerns Mr Modi has not been critical enough of the invasion of Ukraine.

The two-day trip was coming amid the fallout from Mr Johnson being fined for breaching coronavirus laws with a gathering for his 56th birthday in 2020.

While he is out of the country, MPs will vote on Thursday on whether to open a Commons investigation into whether he lied to Parliament.

Downing Street had not expressed confidence that a trade deal with India would be brokered this year, saying we dont want to sacrifice quality for speed.

But, in an interview with journalists flying with him to Gujarat, Mr Johnson said: Were aiming to get an FTA by the end of the year.

On immigration Ive always been in favour of talented people coming to this country. We have a massive shortage in the UK, not least in IT, in programmers, were short to the tune of hundreds of thousands in our economy.

We need to have a progressive approach, and we will. But its got to be controlled.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said the deal needs to be fair and reciprocal while being consistent with the points-based immigration system launched after departure from the EU.

Boris Johnson greets Indias prime minister Narendra Modi at Cop26 (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Mr Johnson vowed to bring up human rights concerns with Mr Modi, who is accused of damaging Indias democracy and of whipping up anti-Muslim sentiment.

I will of course bring up all the issues between us in the way that friends and partners do, Mr Johnson said.

He also said he would raise concerns that India is becoming increasingly reliant on Moscows fuel.

I will make the argument that everybody needs to move away from dependence on Putins hydrocarbons, Mr Johnson said.

Mr Johnson was determined to push on with the trip despite the Commons vote and slowly increasing calls from his own Tory MPs for his resignation.

His plans to visit have twice been cancelled, first over the UKs winter wave of Covid infections and then in April last year in response to a new variant hitting India.
Kid Cudi has told fans he is not cool with rapper Kanye West, despite them appearing on a new song together.

The Grammy award-winning artist, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, used social media on Tuesday to air his opinion on West, 44, following their public falling-out last year.

The 38-year-old rapper will feature alongside West on Pusha Ts new album with a track named Rock N Roll, but said the song will be their last collaboration together.

Hey! So I know some of you heard about the song I got w Pusha. I did this song a year ago when I was still cool w Kanye. I am not cool w that man. He's not my friend and I only cleared the song for Pusha cuz thats my guy. This is the last song u will hear me on w Kanye -Scott  The Chosen One : I  YOU FRESHIE 4EVER (@KidCudi) April 19, 2022

In a tweet to his 2.8 million followers, he wrote: Hey! So I know some of you heard about the song I got (with) Pusha.

I did this song a year ago when I was still cool (with) Kanye. I am not cool (with) that man.

Hes not my friend and I only cleared the song for Pusha cuz thats my guy.

This is the last song u will hear me on (with) Kanye  Scott

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West (Ian West/PA)

The ongoing feud between the rappers began last year after Cudi was dropped from Wests then-unreleased Donda 2 album due to his friendship with the Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson.

Davidson, 28, is currently dating reality star Kim Kardashian, 41, who filed for divorce from West in February 2021 after almost seven years of marriage.

Kardashian and West have four children: North, eight, Saint, six, Chicago, four, and Psalm, two.

The split has not been amicable and West has made a string of online attacks on Davidson, leading to his Instagram being temporarily locked.
Model and actress Lily Cole has likened the Governments plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to something youd see in a dystopian film as she joined a protest on the Thames.

Cole was among celebrities, refugees and campaigners who gathered on a boat which sailed past the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday to send a message to MPs to vote to protect not punish refugees as the Nationality and Borders Bill was set to be voted on in the Commons.

Speaking to the PA news agency, Cole said she was so shocked to hear of the plan.

She said: It felt to me surreal and something youd see in a dystopian film, not actual policy today, and so not representative of the sentiment of goodwill that I know exists in this country, where there are so many people in the British public that believe the UK should be offering sanctuary to those seeking refuge.

The idea that wed be punishing refugees and criminalising them feels like it belongs in a book, not reality.

We need to make sure they dont pass the most draconian aspects of this Bill.

Actress Juliet Stevenson joined the convoy with the Ukrainian refugee family she is hosting at her home in London.

She said people who have bombs falling on their homes and are desperate to escape would not have time to find a government programme to get out.

Its brutal and unrealistic, she told PA.

We wanted to send a message to our MPs. So weve gone somewhere they cant ignore   The Borders Bill is cruel. Today MPs must vote to #ProtectNotPunish. Tag your MP & retweet if you agree. pic.twitter.com/7gGxWiVnTq  Together With Refugees  (@RefugeeTogether) April 20, 2022

Stevenson, 65, is backing changes to the Bill called for by Together With Refugees, a coalition of almost 500 national and local charities across the UK which spearheaded the event.

The group wants the UK to commit to resettle at least 10,000 refugees from around the world every year and to scrap a clause which would punish refugees who have not arrived in the country through official routes.

It also wants to see immediate measures to enable Ukrainian refugees to get to the country safely without having to apply for visas first.

Cole said: Youre dealing with people fleeing from war and persecution and they often dont even want to be here. Theyre not choosing to leave their homes and the idea of criminalising them feels completely awful.

Thats why I wanted to come here and hold a moral line that says no, theres some lines that cant be crossed and this is one of them.

Stevenson added that she often simplifies it for others by saying: What if it were you? What if it were one of us?

Juliet Stevenson (Together With Refugees/PA)

She said democracy is not a spectator sport and called for people to protest against the proposals that she said were not representative of the British public.

Stevenson and her husband have offered one of their adult childrens bedrooms to a Ukrainian mother and her six-year-old daughter, who moved in last month.

Dartsia, the Ukrainian mother, said: The people in the world who experience it know its hell. You can only run and you dont have time to seek formal help.

I am so happy and I consider myself the luckiest person in the world to have met Juliet and have her support.

Dartsia and her daughter Orysia desperately want to return home to Kyiv, where the husband and father has remained to fight, Stevenson said.

She added: I check my phone as we all do to see whats come in on Instagram and Dartsia is checking to see if her mum and dad are still alive. Its a big reality check.

Dartsa found safety in the UK after fleeing Ukraine  British people have opened their hearts & homes to refugees like Dartsa. But this govt plans to deny other refugees the chance to find safety & punish those who try. That's wrong. Today MPs must vote to #ProtectNotPunish pic.twitter.com/KtiYUReg3U  Together With Refugees  (@RefugeeTogether) April 20, 2022

Hundreds of thousands of people have offered their homes and I dont think this law or the Rwanda scheme is representative of people in this country that want to help. They just need refuge for now  even Dartsia is desperate to get home.

Also at the protest was Sabir Zazai, chief executive of the Scottish Refugee Council.

Mr Zazai, who arrived from Afghanistan 17 years ago, said that if he arrived under these circumstances, he would not have his family or be a part of society.

He said: People arrive here in the UK to seek protection, not Rwanda, where they are sent as a group of people to be forgotten about.

Its not for the UK to use vulnerable human beings who are fleeing war to be put on a plane, re-traumatised and dumped in another country.

We cant shut the door on people when they need help most.

People come from all backgrounds and they bring their unique gifts, talents, courage and resilience which contributes to the UK. We shouldnt be missing out on that, we should be harvesting and investing in it.
Rachel Zegler says it was really hurtful having to face questions about the claims of sexual assault levelled at her West Side Story co-star Ansel Elgort.

The award-winning actress said it was wildly disappointing to be held accountable by the public for accusations that had nothing to do with her.

In 2020 Elgort, 28, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2014, when she was 17 and he was 20  allegations he has denied.

Zegler and Elgort played the lead roles of Maria and Tony in Stephen Spielbergs 2021 reimagining of the hit West End musical.

west side story is out in theaters december 10, 2021. pic.twitter.com/n66qCROHTB  rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) September 16, 2021

Speaking to Elle magazine, Zegler recalled being asked questions about the controversy in press junkets for West Side Story ahead of the films release, alongside female co-stars Ariana DeBose and Rita Moreno.

It was a real gut-punch, honestly, she said.

I reverted back to this brain space I was in [back in] June of 2020, when the accusation surfaced.

We were in the middle of the first wave of lockdown, and there was nothing to do but doom-scroll. Those days were some of the worst mental health days Ive ever had.

I was sitting there having just turned 19, on the precipice of what was promised to be the biggest moment in my life, and was being held accountable [by the public] for accusations that not only had nothing to do with me but were made about a situation that was said to have occurred [five] years prior to when I had met and worked with this person.

Ansel Elgort was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2014, when he was 20 and she was 17. He was denied the allegations (Matt Crossick/PA)

With no thought to the fact that I was also 17 when I met this person, 17 when I worked with them, 17 and 18 when I had to do love scenes.

Zegler said she had been devastated by the news of the accusations.

[There is] inherent discomfort that comes with that realisation that there are tons of people who think that you have to answer for the actions of an adult male who can speak for himself, she told Elle.

It is so wildly disappointing at every turn, no matter how you slice it.

No matter how many times Ive tried to justify peoples concern when it comes to me in my brain, but then realising that it comes from a place of me having to answer for that, and not them actually caring about whether or not I was okay, was really hurtful.

West Side Story was nominated for seven Academy Awards, with DeBose winning the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role as Anita.
Ireland is facing a challenging situation amid efforts to house Ukrainian refugees, the Taoiseach has said.

The Irish premier held an hour-long meeting with the Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Wednesday afternoon at Shannon Airport in Co Clare.

The two leaders discussed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, with Mr Shmyhal touching down briefly in Ireland before continuing his journey to Washington.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Martin said that he had received a first-hand account of the horrors being waged by Russia against Ukraine and the objectives of the Ukrainian Government.

The meeting came two weeks after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a historic virtual address to the Irish parliament.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin (left) with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal (Government Information Services/PA)

Mr Martin told reporters that the pair had discussed the possibility of a further round of EU sanctions against Russia.

The Taoiseach said that he had stressed the unwavering Irish support for Ukraines bid to join the EU.

The strategy of the Putin regime is not just killing people, but also causing huge international instability about energy and food, he said.

Mr Martin also admitted that Ireland was under pressure, due to the arrival of 25,000 Ukrainian refugees in the weeks since the war began.

He said that the Government wanted to accelerate the processing of offers of accommodation for refugees.

He also said that the country was close to requiring mass accommodation centres for Ukrainian refugees, with questions asked about the potential use of the Millstreet Arena in Co Cork.

I think we are close.

I think facilities like that will be deployed as numbers continue to come into the country.

The situation is very challenging indeed but we have to do everything we possibly can on all fronts to be of assistance and help the people fleeing Ukraine.

Mr Martin said it was impossible to predict how many refugees might need to be housed in emergency accommodation.

There is a deliberate strategy, on behalf of Putin, to bomb people out of Ukraine.

It is a shocking and scandalous sort of approach by the Russian Federation to deliberately try to create that terror.

On Tuesday, Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney told the UN Security Council that world leaders must do all they can to secure an urgent peace in Ukraine, amid an all-out Russia offensive in the Donbas region.

Mr Coveney also accused Russian forces of showing an utter disregard for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will meet aid workers who have returned from helping the humanitarian effort in Ukraine, Kensington Palace has said.

William and Kate will visit the London headquarters of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) on Thursday, to learn more about its ongoing appeal to support people affected by the conflict in the eastern European country.

The appeal has raised more than 280 million, including 25 million matched by the Government, with donations from companies, trusts, arts institutions, community groups, schools and individuals.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena at Buckingham Palace in 2020 (Jonathan Brady/PA)

DEC charities and their local partners are in Ukraine and neighbouring countries providing food, water, shelter and medical assistance to support the four million people who have fled the country and seven million who are internally displaced.

William and Kate will have the opportunity to speak with recently returned aid workers and, on a video call, with those on the ground in Ukraine, to learn more about the work the funds are helping to support and the human impact of the conflict.

Kensington Palace said the conversations will also touch on the wider context and how events unfolding in Ukraine threaten to exacerbate existing humanitarian crises elsewhere in the world.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assanges extradition to the United States has edged a step closer after magistrates formally issued an order paving the way for him to face espionage charges.

Home Secretary Priti Patel will now be responsible for deciding whether to approve the extradition after a protracted legal battle.

An extradition order was issued by chief magistrate Paul Goldspring during a seven-minute hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Julian Assange appeared in court by video-link (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Mr Goldspring said: In laymans terms, I am duty bound to send your case to the Secretary of State for a decision.

Outside the court, scores of supporters gathered, holding placards reading Dont extradite Assange.

The extradition may yet be further delayed by an appeal.

Assange, 50, was not present in court physically, although he watched the administrative proceedings by video-link from Belmarsh Prison.

He appeared to form a heart shape with his hands during part of the hearing.

Julian Assanges wife, Stella, arrives at Westminster Magistrates Court (James Manning/PA)

He is wanted in America over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following WikiLeaks publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

His legal team claimed the publication of classified documents exposed US wrongdoing and were in the public interest.

They said the prosecution was politically motivated and that he faces up to 175 years in jail.

Assange, who married his fiancee, Stella Moris, last month, has been held in Belmarsh prison for three years since being dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joins supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (James Manning/PA)

Mrs Assange was in the public gallery for the hearing.

Noise from the supporters could be heard outside the courtroom.

Among them was former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who told those assembled: Hes done absolutely no more than telling the truth to the world.

We will carry on campaigning.
Boris Johnson is expecting to seal new collaborations on defence and green energy in India as he seeks to reduce the countrys dependence on Russian fossil fuels and military equipment.

The Prime Minister will leave on Wednesday for two days in India during which he also hopes to help progress a post-Brexit free trade deal.

But the trip takes place amid the tumult caused by Mr Johnson being fined by police for breaching his own coronavirus laws with his 56th birthday celebration in 2020.

He will on Thursday miss a Labour-led vote on whether to refer him to the Commons Privileges Committee for an investigation into whether he intentionally misled Parliament with his denials.

In Delhi, Mr Johnson is expected to encourage Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to loosen ties with Vladimir Putins Russia in response to Moscows invasion of Ukraine.

But No 10 has been cautious to stress he will not seek to lecture Mr Modi, despite concerns that the Indian leader has not been strong enough in condemning the war.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: We will be looking to secure new partnerships on trade, technology and defence on the visit that will include significant new investment on jobs announcements and science partnership.

In Delhi well be announcing a new collaboration on defence and green energy.

Boris Johnson with Narendra Modi (Phil Noble/PA)

Mr Johnson was determined to push on with the trip despite the Commons vote and slowly increasing calls from his own Tory MPs for his resignation.

His plans to visit have twice been cancelled, first over the UKs winter wave of Covid infections and then in April last year in response to a new variant hitting India.

The trip is not directly linked to the Ukraine crisis, but Mr Johnsons spokesman said it will of course be a topic of discussion.

Downing Street expressed an ambition that a post-Brexit free trade deal with one of the worlds largest economies could be brokered this year, but did not seem overly confident.

The official spokesman said: We dont want to sacrifice quality for speed and our ambition is to reach it by the end of the year, but we recognise negotiations can take longer if youre seeking to secure the best possible deal for both sides.

He said the deal needs to be fair and reciprocal while being consistent with the points-based immigration system launched after the EU departure.

Asked if he was ruling out reducing visa fees for those in India or a working holiday agreement for its young people, the spokesman said: Im conscious that I cant get too much into the detail of ongoing negotiations.

The point Im trying to make is immigration is not routinely a formal part of trade talks and our broad position on this is that any agreement will have to be consistent with a points-based immigration system.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has suggested military alliances like Nato could build up greater danger in the world and should ultimately be disbanded.

Mr Corbyn acknowledged the transatlantic alliance was not going to be scrapped immediately but added that people should look at the process that could happen at the end of the Ukraine war.

He said he did not blame Nato for Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine but questioned: Do military alliances bring peace?

The Islington North MP said he wanted to see some kind of much deeper security discussion, as indeed Nato was having a security discussion with Russia until last year.

Mr Corbyn, a long-standing critic of Nato, told Times Radio: I would want to see a world where we start to ultimately disband all military alliances.

The issue has to be whats the best way of bringing about peace in the future? Is it by more alliances? Is it by more military build-up?

Or is it by stopping the war in Ukraine and the other wars that are going on at the present time, which are also killing a very large number of people?

And ask yourself the question, do military alliances bring peace? Or do they actually encourage each other and build up to a greater danger?

I dont blame Nato for the fact that Russia has invaded Ukraine, what I say is look at the thing historically, and look at the process that could happen at the end of the Ukraine war.

(PA Graphics)

The ex-opposition leader lost the Labour whip over his response to the equalities watchdogs report into antisemitism in the party.

Although he was reinstated as a Labour member after a suspension, Sir Keir Starmer has refused to readmit him to the parliamentary party.

I think its a wrong, totally unjustified decision, Mr Corbyn said.

He declined to rule out starting a breakaway party, possibly based on his peace and justice project.

I dont know what the future is going to bring. I am focused on representing my constituency, being a Member of Parliament and on saying to the Labour Party: to win the next election, you have to appeal to people.

And you have to appeal to people on the basis of economic justice and changes in the power structures within our society.

Abandoning policies that would achieve that, particularly public ownership, is not going to excite people.
FILE - Ezra Miller attends the 15th annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund event at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Nov. 5, 2018, in New York. The actor known for playing "The Flash" in "Justice League" films was arrested at a Hawaii karaoke bar and is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, April19, 2022, on charges of disorderly conduct, harassment and obstructing a highway. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

HONOLULU (AP)  Ezra Miller was arrested on suspicion of assault Tuesday, the second time the actor known for playing the Flash in Justice League films has been arrested in Hawaii in recent weeks.

Miller became irate after being asked to leave a get together a Big Island home and threw a chair, hitting a woman in the forehead, said a news release from the Hawaii Police Department.

The woman was treated for a half-inch cut on her forehead, police said.

Miller, described by police as a 29-year-old visitor from Vermont, was arrested during a traffic stop and released pending further investigation.

It's unclear how Miller's arrest affects an arraignment scheduled for later Tuesday for the actor's arrest last month at a Big Island karaoke bar. Miller was charged with harassment and disorderly conduct after police said the actor grabbed a mic from a singing woman and lunged at a man playing darts.

Miller was aggravated by a rendition of the Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper ballad Shallow, Hawaii Police Assistant Chief Kenneth Quiocho said.

Miller is also scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in a separate traffic case. Police were called to a dispute in downtown Hilo last month where Miller was uncooperative, refused to leave the area and obstructed a sidewalk, Quiocho said.

Miller's attorney didn't immediately return a message seeking comment on the latest arrest.

Attorney Francis Alcain had requested Tuesday's court hearing, previously scheduled for next week, be moved up. Alcain said in a court filing his client "has various time sensitive work obligations in California and/or New York, and needs an earlier hearing to resolve this matter.
A recent decision by parent company Warner Bros. Discovery will make it difficult to add viewers to CNN+.

Warner Bros. Discovery has decided to suspend external marketing for the recently launched subscription streaming-news service, according to a person familiar with the venture, making the task of luring new subscribers exponentially more difficult. CNN and Warner Bros. Discovery declined to make executives available to discuss the matter, which was previously reported by Axios.

And yet, life continues apace for the anchors and correspondents tasked with producing the programs for the new venue, which launched three weeks ago and was seen as CNNs stab at bringing younger, cord-cutting audiences under its massive news umbrella at a time when more viewers are migrating to streaming video. None of the CNN+ shows have been canceled, according to three people familiar with the matter. A program for Audie Cornish, the celebrated NPR journalist who jumped to CNN for the launch, continues to be in production, these people said. At a recent meeting with CNN employers, Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav is said to have told anchor Kate Bolduan that he was impressed by Five Things, a new morning series on CNN+ that offers viewers a rapid-fire look at five big news items (and one small one).

Even so, the mood at CNN among some of the talent assigned to CNN+ is unsettling, said one of the people familiar with the venture. Warner Bros. Discovery has issued no edict or command to CNN regarding its streaming-video outlet, these people say, even as reports continue to surface that its executives want to pursue a different strategy. Indeed, CNNs business is, like many parts of the former WarnerMedia empire, under review, according to two people familiar with the process, with JB Perrette, the head of the new companys streaming operations, and Chris Licht, the new CEO of CNN, sifting through the units operations. But leaks about a potential change in direction have left anchors and correspondents fretting over their roles.

There are reasons for concern. CNN lured a passel of big names in recent months, poaching Kasie Hunt from NBC News and Chris Wallace from Fox News Channel to start new CNN+ programs. In addition to Cornish, CNN struck a deal with Eva Longoria to lead a documentary series; with business professor Scott Galloway; and with commentators Jemele Hill and Cari Champion, among others. Anchors including Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow and Brian Stelter have all been given new shows to launch as well. In the services earliest days, one person says, Bolduans Five Things, Stelters Reliable Sources Daily and Wallaces Whos Talking to Chris Wallace appear to have gained traction with the current subscriber base.

At CNN, executives have been encouraged with early results. The service has lured around 100,000 to 150,000 subscribers in its first three weeks, a rate that would put the service on target to make its first-year goals, according to two people familiar with the venture. The company never expected to launch an outlet with the scope of Disney+ or Netflix. Instead, CNN+ was aimed at the modern news user, who could tune in for a series of live weekday programs, documentary-style programming available on demand and an increasing series of pop-up reports on breaking news items.

Warner Bros. chief Zaslav hasnt been shy in past weeks about his desire to combine all of the new companys streaming assets into a single property. There is impetus to do so. Wall Street is demanding to see robust increases in streaming usage from media companies and the only way to get there, seemingly, is for companies like Warner, Paramount Global and Disney to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into the production of new content. Meanwhile, Discovery+, the standalone streaming outlet launched by the former Discovery in 2020 and 2021, has not been seen as a powerhouse by media buyers on Madison Avenue. Zaslav has articulated a plan that would combine Discovery+ with HBO Max. There is some hope among CNN staff that the new CNN+ shows might continue, with Warner executives eager for new content even if they arent dazzled by the new platform.

Executives at CNN seem sanguine about the situation. If Warner Bros. Discovery wants to shut CNN+ down, some of these people say, all the company has to do is to say it in public fashion.

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The Biden administration continued its student loan cancellation effort on Tuesday by announcing that 40,000 borrowers would see their student loans become eligible for discharge under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and 3.6 million more will move closer towards forgiveness.

The Education Department will give borrowers retroactive credit for "forbearance steering," where student loan servicers have pushed borrowers into unnecessary interest-accruing forbearance. In another move that could help many other borrowers, the department will also take greater care to accurately track monthly payments for borrowers on income-driven repayment  which allows people who make less money to make smaller payments.

The two moves bring millions of borrowers closer to forgiveness on government repayment programs.

Student loans were never meant to be a life sentence, but its certainly felt that way for borrowers locked out of debt relief theyre eligible for, said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a press release.

"We wanted to act as quickly as possible to address these problems, but we expect these figures to only grow as we continue to analyze and implement these solutions," Education Undersecretary James Kvaal said on a call with reporters.

Recent report of systemic problems with IDR

A former Obama-era Education Department official last week highlighted the problematic income-driven repayment program as one reason for broad-based student debt forgiveness.

"We ... were very focused on trying to improve income-driven repayment plans and our hope was in the Obama administration that income-driven repayment would help address the student debt crisis," former Education Secretary John King, who is running for governor in Maryland, said. "But the reality is, it hasn't."

A recent investigation by NPR revealed how over the years, loan servicers struggled to implement income-driven repayment, and ended up systematically mismanaging the portfolio. Some providers were not clearly tracking payments and did not know when borrowers qualified for forgiveness.

U.S. President Barack Obama walks with John B. King Jr., (L) who he has appointed to be the next U.S. Secretary of Education upon the resignation of current secretary Arne Duncan in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington October 2, 2015. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

The mismanagement caused many to miss out on debt relief.

According to past research from the National Consumer Law Center, despite millions of student debtors qualifying for forgiveness under income-driven repayment terms stipulating that borrowers who pay for 20-25 years can their debt forgiven, only 32 borrowers have actually had their debt cancelled.

The government's efforts to reform the system piece by piece instead of broad-based forgiveness has chipped away at the $1.7 trillion in outstanding student loan debt held by 41 million Americans.

Overall, the Biden administration has cancelled more than $17 billion in debt for 725,000 borrowers, from fixing Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program to addressing the borrower defense backlog.

GREENSBORO, USA - APRIL 14: US President Joe Biden delivering remarks on his Administrationas efforts to make more in America, rebuild our supply chains here at home, and bring down costs for the American people as part of Building a Better America in Greensboro, NC, on April 14, 2022. (Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

According to the announcement on Tuesday, the Education Department is addressing two major problems. It's acknowledging people who have loans in forbearance and accrued huge levels of interest payments, and it's also helping borrowers who have had their income-driven payments miscounted.

On forbearance, the department noted that loan servicers have in the past placed borrowers into forbearance even when debtors could have qualified for an income-driven repayment plan that would have allowed them to make $0 payments. Forbearance causes borrowers' interest to capitalize and their debt to grow substantially.

The department will address this by conducting a one-time adjustment where it will count forbearance of more than 12 consecutive months and more than 36 months cumulative towards forgiveness under income-driven repayment or Public Student Loan Forgiveness.

It will also increase oversight of servicers' usage of forbearance.

The Education Department will also conduct a one-time revision of income-riven payment counts for all Direct Loans and federally managed Federal Family Education Loan Program loans. Any months where debtors have made payments will count towards income-driven repayment, regardless of payment plan, and consolidation status.

And importantly, any borrower who hits the 20- or 25-year mark for monthly payments after this revision will have their loans canceled automatically, the department stated.



Aarthi is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. She can be reached at aarthi@yahoofinance.com. Follow her on Twitter @aarthiswami.

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Portland, Oregon - March 29, 2011: Kaiser Permanente Prescription Bottle. Kaiser Permanente is a health care provider creating a network of physicians and medical professionals for the use of their members.

Cigna's (CI) Evernorth unit and Kaiser Permanente are joining forces to creatively serve a more remote workforce in a broad, five-year agreement announced Tuesday.

The deal gives Kaiser plan members access to the national insurance giant's PPO provider network while traveling outside of Kaiser's service area and makes Evernorth's specialty pharmacy, Accredo, Kaiser's preferred external pharmacy.

Evernorth president and CEO Eric Palmer told Yahoo Finance the pandemic-generated "new normal" helped forge the relationship.

"I think the opportunity for us to help Kaiser with a workforce that's increasingly nomadic ... is an opportunity for us to help make sure they can provide service for their customers, and its an opportunity for Evernorth to bring its services to more lives overall," Palmer said.

Dr. Arthur Southam, executive vice president of health plan operations and chief growth officer for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, said the partnership is complimentary to its existing services.

Though Kaiser Permanente already serves eight states and Washington, D.C., the $93 billion revenue not-for-profit care delivery system and health plan partnered with Cigna to give traveling members access to covered urgent or emergency care.

The partnership is an easy one for Kaiser to plug into, as Cigna has built a reputation as being a brand-agnostic partner, compared to its competitors in the health insurance space. That was first evident when it acquired Express Scripts, which maintained relationships with competing plans.

"I think from a technology orientation perspective, I'll say we are working to be set up to have what I call an open framework and open architecture to be able to connect to all sorts of different players and partners throughout the industry," Palmer said.

Portland, Oregon - March 29, 2011: Kaiser Permanente Prescription Bottle. Kaiser Permanente is a health care provider creating a network of physicians and medical professionals for the use of their members.

"The health care ecosystem's got a long way to go, of course, but working to take friction, to take handoffs, and to make that more seamless is part of our orientation from a platform perspective," Palmer added.

Specialty pharmacy is an important cost driver and is why the relationship with Accredo is also important. Southam said that Kaiser already had a relationship with Accredo, but the new agreement helps it expand.

"Kaiser Permanent runs a very large pharmacy operation (including) PBM, mail order, in hospital and other. Our relationship (with Accredo) will help facilitate the availability of specialty pharmaceuticals, it will help control costs and therefore contributes to our shared objective for affordability," Southam said.

While the relationship benefits existing Kaiser members who are temporarily outside the coverage area, it will not apply to those who move out permanently, Southam said. Meaning, workers who are 100% remote outside the coverage area.

"For our core product, we, today, for regulatory reasons, do not write coverage for people who live permanently outside of that defined service area," Southam explained.

"I think the idea that we might, over time, have the opportunity to collaborate with Cigna on people who permanently reside outside our area, could be a possibility, but not today," he added.

"We've focused on the two main areas, specialty pharmacy and the out of area network, but we're just embarking on the broader discussion of where mutually beneficial opportunities are across the Evernorth portfolio," Southam said.

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The man who pleaded guilty to killing prominent Southern California philanthropist Jacqueline Avant was sentenced Tuesday to 150 years to life behind bars.

In March, Aariel Maynor, 29, pleaded guilty to the Dec. 1 killing.

Avant, the 81-year-old wife of music kingmaker Clarence Avant, was gunned down in her Beverly Hills home during a robbery attempt around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 1.

Aariel Maynor was sentenced to life in prison.





Aariel Maynor was sentenced to life in prison.

Investigators quickly tied Maynor to the crime. He was found that same morning suffering from a gunshot wound at a different home in the Hollywood Hills, having accidentally shot himself in the foot trying to commit another robbery. Maynor was formally charged with murder five days later.

In March, Maynor pleaded guilty to all the charges he was facing: murder for killing Avant, attempted murder for shooting at a private security guard, possession of a firearm by a felon and two counts of burglary.

Jacqueline Avant, left, and Clarence Avant appear at the 11th Annual AAFCA Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 22, 2020.





Jacqueline Avant, left, and Clarence Avant appear at the 11th Annual AAFCA Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 22, 2020. (Mark Von Holden/)

At his sentencing hearing, prosecutors played a jailhouse recording of a Maynor phone call in which he laughed off the crime and expected to only get a 25-year sentence, according to KABC.

Maynor was sentenced to 150 years to life because of Californias three-strikes law for violent offenders, the Los Angeles Times reported. He had been convicted of violent robberies in 2013 and 2018 as well.

This is a de facto sentence that will result in Maynor spending the rest of his life in prison, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon told the paper.

Jacqueline Avants death shocked celebrities nationwide and led to an outpouring of support from Bill Clinton, Magic Johnson and many others.

Cookie and I are absolutely devastated at the loss of one of our closest friends, Jackie Avant, Johnson said. This is the saddest day in our lives.

Clarence Avant is one of the most influential people in music, a man who kick-started the careers of iconic Black musicians like Bill Withers, Antonio LA Reid, Kenneth Babyface Edmonds and Sean Diddy Combs. He was the subject of a Netflix documentary, The Black Godfather, released in 2019.
Julian Assanges extradition to the United States is expected to move one step closer today.

Westminster Magistrates Court is formally expected to issue an order to extradite the WikiLeaks founder after years of legal toing and froing.

It will then be down to Home Secretary Priti Patel to approve, although defence lawyers may yet appeal to the High Court.

The administrative hearing is expected to be brief, and Assange may not attend in person.

Julian Assange has previously appeared by video link in court (Liz Cook/PA)

Assanges supporters said they plan to protest outside.

Assange is wanted in America over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following WikiLeaks publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

He has always denied wrongdoing.

Assange, who married his fiancee Stella Moris last month, has been held in Belmarsh prison for three years since being dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
Prince Harry was just 12 years old when his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, died in 1997. But almost 25 years later, but he still feels her presence in his life  and hes making sure her presence lives on for his children, too.

Harry explained how he does that when he spoke to TODAYs Hoda Kotb while in the Netherlands for the 2022 Invictus Games.

Very much so, the Duke of Sussex said when asked if he tells his son Archie, 2, about Diana. I dont tell him all the stuff that happened, but certainly, This is Grandma Diana, and (I) brought a couple photos up in the house.

Diana and Harry (Georges De Keerle / Getty Images)

Harry, 37, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, 40, also have a daughter, Lilibet, who is 10 months old. Harry said he feels Diana continues to guide him as he navigates parenthood among young children.

For me, (her presence is) constant, he explained. It has been over the last two years  more so than ever before.

Prince Harry, the former Meghan Markle, Archie and Lilibet pose for the family's 2021 Christmas card. (Alexi Lubomirski / Courtesy Archewell Foundation)

He went on to say that he believed his late mother played a similar role for his brother, Prince William, in his early years of his parenthood, too.

"Its almost as though shes done her bit with with my brother and now shes very much back to helping me," Prince Harry noted. "Got him set up, now shes helping me set up. Thats what it feels like, you know? Hes his kids. Ive got my kids. You know, circumstances are obviously different. But I feel her presence in almost everything that I do now."

He added, "She's watching over us."

And when Hoda mentioned that his mother would be proud of him, Harry chuckled and agreed, saying, "Im sure she is."
Alice Chuvnik, left, and Robin Boon have shared the story of their harrowing escape from Ukraine. (Photo courtesy of Chuvnik and Boon)

Like many Ukrainians, Alice Chuvnik knew a Russian attack was possible but thought it very unlikely  until it happened.

The day the invasion started, I woke up to explosions, Chuvnik, 24, says via WhatsApp from Europe, while recounting a treacherous journey for Yahoo Life. In the following days, she recalls, stories of Russian forces infiltrating the city spread quickly, and fear and panic were palpable.

It was clear the war had begun. Chuvnik, who has autism, was considering fleeing the country for safety. But there was one problem: She is a transgender woman, and her passport still says male.

With all able-bodied Ukrainian men between 18 and 60 required to stay and be ready to fight, that meant Chuvnik, who has lived as a woman for nearly five years, could have to take up arms alongside men who, she felt, would view her as less than and could potentially place her in more danger.

In general, it's confusing for other people to deal with, which makes us a target of direct and clear aggression, Chuvnik says of transgender life in Ukraine, where some anti-discrimination laws are in place for LGBTQ people, but cultural acceptance of trans people is still a slow burn. Its like being second or third-class.

She adds, I had to get out of Ukraine. But there was still the matter of her passport  which she had yet to get updated to F, despite having updated her birth certificate after undergoing the required psychiatric evaluation and receiving a physician-signed document that classified her as living with gender-identity disorder (officially labeled "F64"). Adding to the complication, though, was that her birth certificate is Russian (one of her parents is Russian), despite being born in Ukraine.

But time was running out.

I decided to get a train ticket, she says, and go to the Polish border.

Meanwhile, over 1,200 miles away

At the same time, in the Netherlands, Chuvniks long-distance partner, Robin Boon, 29, had been texting Chuvnik about her decision to leave the country with a great deal of concern.

Boon, who uses they/them pronouns, also lives with autism, which at times limits their speech. They also deal with severe anxiety that requires daily medication. The couple had met on a dating app over a year ago and forged a deep connection despite not yet having met in person.

Boon and Chevnik together in Ukraine. (Credit: Rain Dove)

Out of concern for Chuvniks safety, Boon, who, like Chuvnik, rarely leaves their apartment in order to avoid overstimulation, bravely decided to make the trip to the Ukraine-Poland border, innocently assuming that Chuvnik would cross into Poland and join them to drive back to the Netherlands. Because they don't have a drivers license, they had to convince two friends to drive them. So, with a limited supply of medication and plenty of fear, Boon and their friends set off on the 25-hour trip to the border.

Over in Ukraine, Chuvnik was starting to realize the gravity of her situation.

Meeting at the border

The railway station was so full of people that I had to go to the very edge of the platform, squeezing through the crowd with my bags, Chuvnik recalls of her arrival in Kyiv. The train never came, and air raid sirens were getting more deafening as Chuvnik began to weigh other options. She was advised to try the bus station instead, but when she got there, she found that no buses were heading out. Her only hope then was to hitch a ride to the border checkpoint.

When she got as close as she could to the border, though, there was a [13-mile] long line of cars attempting to enter Poland, she explains. Chuvnik says she walked up the entire line, and that, every once in a while, passengers would see her struggling and invite her into their cars to heat up for a few minutes.

I was told to ask anyone to give me their child, Chuvnik remembers. To have a child sit on my knees and pretend I was their mom or sister, which I did."

When she finally reached the checkpoint, on foot, she says border agents failed to recognize her passport and additional documents  including her physician-signed F64 document and updated birth certificate  and told her to turn back. This left her with little hope of reaching Boon, who was in their own precarious situation.

In Poland, Boon, who has a Netherlands passport, had been receiving text updates from Chevnik and was considering crossing into Ukraine to assist her, thinking it could help her case if a second person were to vouch for her in front of border agents. That idea wasnt sitting well with Boon's friends.

One of my friends completely freaked out and pulled a knife on me, Boon says, clarifying that it was out of fear for their safety. The scene escalated quickly, and police ended up temporarily detaining the friend  allowing the other friend to see an opportunity. This is your chance, they told Boon, who made a run for it toward the checkpoint, leaving behind their two friends, who soon after drove back to the Netherlands.

Rain Dove, left, pictured with Robin Boon and volunteers at a temporary refugee holding site in Budomierz, Poland. (Credit: Rain Dove)

Boon made it into Ukraine safely, where Chuvnik was waiting with an extra layer of fear. Now my girlfriend is in a war zone, she recalled thinking. "But at least we were together."

It was the first moment they met in person, and also the first time Chuvnik told Boon she loved them, to which they replied, I think its clear that I love you, too.

They thought I was a Russian spy

With a short supply of daily medications, clothing and food, Chuvnik and Boon spent the next two weeks hitchhiking to various checkpoints along the Ukraine-Poland border. Each time they attempted to cross, Chuvnik says border agents failed to recognize her documents and turned her away.

Says Boon, I wasnt going to leave her.

By day four, things were starting to take a turn for the worse. Both had run out of their medication, causing Boon to experience minor seizures and Chuvnik to have moderate anxiety attacks as they slept in various refugee camps.

We went to greenhouses [temporary tent housing set up by local organizers] and refugee centers to sort of make sense of what was happening, and to plan our next move, Chuvnik remembers of those cold nights. It was during this time, she adds, while they were laying on trash bags on the floor of a greenhouse, that they shared their first kiss.

The couple ended up connecting with queer refugees on the ground and on social media, who connected them with Rain Dove, a nonbinary model and American activist who was leading efforts to get LGBTQ and other vulnerable people out of Ukraine through their organization Safebow. Dove had been on the ground for a couple of weeks when they connected with Chuvnik and Boon in Lviv, at which point the couple had been off their meds for at least 10 days.

They had been traveling so much and things were not great," Dove tells Yahoo Life. "It was becoming a dire situation for them.

Dove says they made the risky decision to accompany Chuvnik, Boon and a few other LGBTQ refugees to the Polish border as an individual, and not as a representative of Safebow. But, as with all other attempts, Chuvnik says border agents failed to recognize her legal documents. At one point, because her updated birth certificate was issued in Russia, she was even accused of being an enemy.

They thought I was a Russian spy, recalls Chuvnik, who was detained by border agents while Boon and the rest of the group were interrogated by police, as heard in recordings shared with Yahoo Life.

Chuvnik was forced to separate from the rest of the group, staying the night in Yavoriv while the others crossed into Budomierz, Poland. As they started plotting their next move via text message, things took an ugly turn when Russian bombs began to drop in Yavoriv.

A harrowing escape

Following the bombings, the group weighed the risks and legalities before coming up with an escape plan: Chuvnik and another person Dove was in touch with, a gay man who was with Chuvnik in Ukraine, would pass the Yavoriv military base and attempt to cross the forest and river into Poland  where Boon, Dove and others would be waiting to lead them inland.

Boon lovingly carries Chuvnik on their shoulders, days after the pair managed to escape Ukraine into Poland. (Credit: Rain Dove)

Chuvnik and Boon say they were well aware of the risks before agreeing to the escape attempt, which included Chuvnik and her male companion having to hold hands and pretend they were a straight couple at one point and, at another, hearing barking dogs and seeing armed guards nearby.

When she arrived at the river, Chuvnik started having a panic attack. I lost all ability to speak for several seconds, she says. Dove says Boon, who was with them on the other side of the river, leaped in to help Chuvnik. Dove followed, and helped lead them out of the water.

I remember someone grabbing me, Chuvnik says. My vision was rather blurry and I wasn't able to see. I remember that Robin hugged me and was, like, pushing me to the ground to [tell me I was OK] because I was feeling very panicked. I was breathing really fast and it was really cold.

Once over the river, the group says they hiked nearly two miles before Boon waved down a car  which turned out to be that of a Polish border patrol officer, who drove them back to the checkpoint.

Dove says the Polish border patrol placed each member of the group into solitary confinement, and that Boon wound up having a minor seizure in their jail cell. Chuvnik, though, says that Polish officers were very respectful and took pity on them after hearing their story and realizing they were both living with mental health challenges, allowing Dove to sit in the cell with Boon to calm them down.

Chuvnik and Boon, pictured mid-April 2022, are now living together in Europe. They say they want their story to help others. (Photo courtesy of Chuvnik and Boon)

In the end, Boon, who'd never been convicted of a crime before, was sentenced to two years probation, meaning another crime committed in Europe could get them sentenced to eight years in prison. Chuvnik received one year of probation.

Dove, who is also on a two-year probation following the events, says that Chuvnik and Boons love story highlights issues that are often overlooked in the refugee crisis.

Disabled people are being disproportionately disenfranchised by this crisis, Dove says. In a lot of cases, [mentally disabled people] are being told they are not fit for the military, and yet they are not allowed to leave the country because of martial law, They lost their entire lives, they say. Theres no jobs for them, theres no housing for them. Where are these people going to go?

For now, at least, Chuvnik and Boon are safe in Europe, though theyve chosen to not disclose their location out of safety concerns.

Earlier this month, they became engaged to be married.

Im happy to be alive, Chuvnik says.

She emphasizes that the reason she chose to share her story is to keep others from attempting such a dangerous escape. I decided, if this is going to help at least a single person, she says, I should talk about it.

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Netflix has revealed it lost subscribers for the first in 10 years at the start of 2022, sending its shares crashing.

The streaming pioneer has stumbled in the face of increased competition from the likes of Disney, Amazon Prime and the reopening of cinemas.

The US firm has seen its shares cut in half over the past six months as investors have grown increasingly concerned by the companys change in fortunes.

The PA news agency has looked at the challenges facing Netflix and what the company is likely to do next.

 What are Netflixs issues?

The main issue for Netflix is simply that it lost viewers over the start of the year while its biggest rivals made gains.

Netflix revealed on Tuesday that it lost 200,000 users over the first three months of 2022, falling well short of predictions it would add 2.5 million subscribers.

In the UK, the pressure on streaming firms has become apparent as customers look to reduce their number of subscriptions as they witness soaring energy and goods bills during the cost-of-living crisis.

Experts at Kantar said earlier this week that around 1.5 million subscriptions have been axed in the UK since the start of 2022.

Days until: Anatomy of a Scandal = 1Better Call Saul S6 Ep1&2 = 5Russian Doll S2 = 6Heartstopper = 8 Selling Sunset S5 = 8Ozark S4 Part 2 = 15Grace & Frankie: The Final Episodes = 15Stranger Things S2 Vol 1 = 43The Umbrella Academy S3 = 69Stranger Things S4 Vol 2 = 78  Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) April 14, 2022

Netflix said the challenging economic backdrop, war in Ukraine, slowing rollout of broadband in some countries and the large number of subscribers sharing their account details with non-paying households have all contributed to the decline.

The companys withdrawal from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine meant it immediately lost its 700,000 customers in the region, but the firm would have still seen figures significantly below expectations without the intervention.

As customer spending comes under pressure, the group faces increased demand for high quality content in order to justify peoples subscription fees.

The firms key challenge in recent years has been to ensure a strong roster of original series and films as many previous partners, such as Disney, withdrew their content to start up their own platforms.

 How bad could the subscriber exodus get?

The key reason shares dropped so sharply on Tuesday was because bosses warned shareholders that the situation was going to get worse before it got any better.

Netflix predicted that another two million users will leave in the three months to July.

The company said its profits dropped 6% over the latest quarter and the downbeat outlook could suggest an even sharper profit decline could be on the cards.

Freetrades Paul Allison said the predicted drop in users is a worrying sign at a time when the firm is raising prices across the board to generate enough cash flow (which is currently negative) to maintain an entertaining line-up of shows.

Undated handout photo issued by Netflix of the Stranger Things. The latest series is due for release at the end of May (Netflix/PA)

The streaming firm will hope that its recent heavy investment in fresh content and franchises will quickly bring rewards.

Last year, the company announced multimillion-pound deals to buy the works of Roald Dahl and the rights to the upcoming Knives Out sequels.

It will also hope that the return of top performing series  such as Stranger Things next month  will halt customers thinking about axing their subscriptions.

 What could they do next?

Bosses at the company said on Tuesday that they are considering a number of significant changes which could improve customer numbers and profitability.

They said they are now open to adding advertising to the service, in return for a cheaper subscription.

Reed Hastings, co-founder and chairman of Netflix, has long been opposed to introducing commercials to the service but could make the move to add another revenue stream.

The company could also clamp down on customers sharing their accounts with other households.

Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings (Netflix/PA)

Netflix started a crackdown in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru on people sharing passwords and is considering expanding the scheme.

The company said in its latest financial report that it believes it is being shared with 100 million extra households alongside the 222 million paying for the service.

 Rivals?

When Netflix first U-turned from DVD-rental to home streaming the company had very few competitors, but has seen a flurry of competition grow in recent years.

People have signed up to numerous subscriptions in recent years but are now starting to reduce the number they pay for as they tighten their belts due to the cost-of-living crisis, creating more competition.

Disney+ has been a particular winner over the past year, with the firm attracting more customers than initially expected as families signed up during the pandemic.

Netflix also continues to face competition from Amazon, which acquired James Bond studio MGM last month in an 8.5 billion dollar (6.5 billion) deal to build a library of content for subscribers.

However, one of the groups biggest competitors is also the desire from customers to spend any time away from screens.

Reed Hastings infamously said that Netflix saw the human need to sleep as a bigger competitor than Amazon and HBO as it takes up a very large pool of time, saying it benefits from viewers staying up late because they get addicted to a series.
Radu Lupu in recital at Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2006, his last appearance in Los Angeles. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

I dont know how Radu Lupu did it. No one else does either. But Ive got a couple of theories.

The incomparable Romanian pianist, who died Sunday, was admired not only by a large public he kept enthralled but also by the leading pianists of his day, even legendary ones such as Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim and Murray Perahia. On the occasion of Lupus 70th birthday in 2015, pianist Kirill Gerstein described Lupu in a New York Review of Books tribute as far more than a great pianist, one who took the listener deep below and far above the surface of music. Andre Previn once told me that Lupu was the most magical pianist he had ever worked with.

You will hardly find a review of Lupu, mine included, that doesnt comment on his gruff, bear-like appearance. Bearded, a little wild-looking, he cheerlessly walked onstage, barely if at all acknowledged the audience, sat down on the ordinary wooden chair he preferred to a posh piano bench. The first notes, be they by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann or Brahms, were unlike anything youd ever heard. You were instantly transported.

We dont know much about Lupu beyond the standard program bios and a Wikipedia entry. He avoided interviews. He did not allow his concerts to be recorded or broadcast. He shooed away photographers and journalists There is very little video (one Mozart concerto is pretty much it). Put Lupus name in a books search on Amazon and all that comes up is an issue of the academic Journal of Romanian Studies. He stopped making commercial records in the last two decades of his concertizing, which ended in 2019. As for social media: Youve got to be kidding.

Thats partly how he did it. Music in the moment, the meaning of lived, not virtualized, was everything to Lupu. His presence was extraordinary.

He walked onstage looking like an early 20th century anarchist. And he played like one, like a musician enraptured with a vision of utopian society. Famous for his lyricism, he spun Schubertian melody into a spellbinding web. He brought fiery passion to a Brahms rhapsody. He made you listen with a zeal you didnt know you had in you, but it was also a communal zeal, the zeal of the idealistic anarchist who believes in the inherent goodness in people to look out for each other.

Lupu didnt particularly like the recording studio but he did make records for three decades, nearly all for the British label Decca Classics (originally released as London in the U.S.), and in every single one of them, he succeeds in somehow conveying what shouldnt be possible to convey. They are beautifully produced, allowing the uniquely Lupu-ian range of colors and textures to magnificently come through even without Decca bothering to remaster any in hi-res.

On hearing of Lupu's passing, I put on his recordings of Brahms' late piano pieces, Opp. 117, 118 and 119, which he recorded as a young man. I was instantly, yes, transported. It is absolutely true that his depth, his capacity to impart beauty and a meaning, goes beyond understanding. If truth, in fact, has a sound, this is it.

Fortunately, we got to hear quite a bit of Lupu. He appeared often with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He was a favorite of Zubin Mehta (who recorded the Beethoven piano concertos with Lupu and the Israel Philharmonic), Carlo Maria Giulini (who was one of the first conductors to champion Lupu in America and whose 1980 performance of Schumann's Piano Concerto was unusually broadcast) and Previn (of course). Lupu was also the soloist for a memorable performance of Schumanns concerto in one of Esa-Pekka Salonens most personal concerts, one that included the premiere of Franco Donatonis Esa (in Cauda V), the dying Italian composers tribute and farewell to his famous pupil, Salonen. Hearing Lupus ethereal yet palpably substantial Schumann afterward captured that place between being and non-being.

Lupu has left us just enough to know what he was. There are around 25 hours of recordings but many of his most remarkable pieces  Beethovens last piano sonata, Opus 111, key among them  are gone with him. But his range of music was considerably broader than what we have. He never recorded the Bartok or Janacek works, in which he was amazing at his last L.A. concert in 2006 at Walt Disney Concert Hall. When it comes down to it, we have less documentation of Lupu than of any other contemporary musician of his stature.

But in the age of every living moment captured on someones cellphone and posted online somewhere, in an era where life is less lived than postponed, Lupu has left us just enough brilliance to excite our imaginations. We must conjure him as we must great persons whose voices we can no longer hear, and presence we no longer experience. Very often, and for that very reason, they can be the ones who inspire us the most. Not knowing how may actually serve to keep Lupu alive for us.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Schoolchildren were among those killed and injured in another series of deadly blasts in Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul, Tuesday morning.

At least six people were killed and over ten injured, Khalid Zadran, acting spokesman of the Taliban Kabul police wrote on Twitter, adding that security forces were on the scene and an investigation was launched into the attack. Unofficial reports indicate a higher number of casualties.

PHOTO: Taliban fighters stand guard at the site of an explosion near a school, in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 19, 2022. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

No one has immediately claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack.

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan condemned the "heinous" attack in a tweet saying, "those responsible for the crime targeting schools and children must be brought to justice."

United Nations envoy Deborah Lyons extended deepest sympathies to victims' families and wished for a speedy recovery for the wounded, in the same tweet.

The blasts happened at the entrance of Abdul Rahim Shahid high school located in a Shia Hazara neighborhood of the city. Hazaras are an ethnic/religious group that has been the target of attacks in the past. Most of the previous attacks in the same neighborhood were claimed by ISIS affiliates. Tuesday's blast was the first attack in this neighborhood after the Taliban takeover in August.

MORE: Afghans struggle with humanitarian crisis, millions on brink of starvation

Shi'a Hazaras are historically the most discriminated ethnic minority group in Afghanistan and have long faced violence and discrimination, according to Minority Rights International. according to Minority Rights International.

PHOTO: An Afghan woman cries after an explosion in front of a high school in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 19, 2022. (Reuters)

Save the Children's country director in Afghanistan, Chris Nyamandi, issued a statement condemning the attack.

PHOTO: Medical staff move a wounded youth by stretcher outside a hospital in Kabul, April 19, 2022, after two bomb blasts rocked a boys' school in a Shiite Hazara neighborhood killing several. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images)

"Save the Children calls for safe access to education at all times for children in Afghanistan and for perpetrators of grave violations against children to be held to account," the statement reads.

Today's blasts follow Pakistani military airstrikes in the eastern Afghanistan provinces of Khost and Kunar which killed 47 civilians, mainly women and children, and left many wounded.

ABC News' Aleem Agha and Guy Davis contributed to this report.

Children among victims of blast at entrance of school in Kabul, Afghanistan originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
FILE - This Jan. 15, 2020, still image from dashboard camera video released by the Connecticut State Police shows Trooper Brian North after discharging his weapon and fatally shooting Mubarak Soulemane following a high-speed chase. North was arrested Tuesday night, April 19, 2022, in connection with the shooting, state police said. (Connecticut State Police via AP, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)  A Connecticut state trooper who fired seven gunshots into a car and killed a man in 2020 after a high-speed chase has been charged with manslaughter after a more than two-year investigation found the shooting not to be justified, officials said Wednesday.

Trooper Brian North turned himself in to the state inspector general at the state police barracks in Bethany on Tuesday evening, state police said. Officials said North was released after posting $50,000 bail, was placed on paid administrative leave and his police powers were suspended.

North fatally shot 19-year-old Mubarak Soulemane in January 2020 as Soulemane sat in the driver's seat of a car in West Haven, where the chase ended and police boxed in the car.

Soulemanes family, the NAACP and other groups said North, who is white, should not have shot Soulemane, who was Black, because police had him surrounded and he could not get away. Soulemane had a knife, but police should have attempted to deescalate the situation, they said.

"The family of Mubarak Soulemane is very happy that, after 2+ years, Trooper Brian North, who murdered Mubarak in West Haven in January 2020, may be brought to justice," Mark Arons, a lawyer for Soulemane's family, said in a statement. "Its a long road ahead. But this is a good day.

North did not return an email seeking comment, and a message was left at a phone listing for him. A message also was sent to his lawyer, Jeffrey Ment. North is scheduled to be arraigned in Milford Superior Court on May 3.

In a report released Wednesday morning, Inspector General Robert Devlins office said the shooting was not justified.

At the time Trooper North fired his weapon, neither he nor any other person was in imminent danger of serious injury or death from a knife attack at the hands of Soulemane, the report said. Further, any belief that persons were in such danger was not reasonable.

The report also includes a lengthy statement by North on the shooting. He said Soulemane was holding the knife in an aggressive manner and appeared to be preparing to attack other officers who were outside the car.

Based on these circumstances, I believed that (the other officers) were at imminent risk of serious physical injury or death, and could have been stabbed in the neck or face as they attempted to enter the vehicle and remove the suspect. As a result, I discharged my duty firearm to eliminate the threat.

The Connecticut State Police Union said in a statement that it was disappointed the inspector general's office, which investigates police use of deadly force, decided to prosecute North. The union defended North's actions.

The union said North was forced to make a split-second decision during these dangerous and rapidly evolving circumstances. Trooper North was risking his own life while trying to fulfill his oath of office to protect the lives of others.

On the day of the shooting, Soulemane, whose mental health appeared to have deteriorated in the days before he was killed, tried unsuccessfully to steal a cellphone from a store in Norwalk and fled in a Lyft car he summoned, Devlin's report said.

The driver began driving away as officers were arriving at the scene but stopped, got out and pulled his gun on the teen who had slapped him in the head after he was refused the driver's phone, the report said.

As the driver tried to get an officer's attention, Soulemane got into the driver's seat of the car and led police on a chase of nearly 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Norwalk to West Haven that reached speeds of 100 mph (161 kph) on Interstate 95, the report said.

Norwalk police at one point stopped pursuing Soulemane because of the dangers, but state troopers including North resumed the chase after Soulemane had reportedly struck several vehicles.

In West Haven, state police said Soulemane took an exit, rear-ended a civilian's vehicle and was immediately boxed in by police.

State police body camera videos show a West Haven officer smashing out the passenger door window of the stolen car before another trooper shoots Soulemane with a stun gun, which didnt work.

North then fired his handgun seven times through the drivers door window when Soulemane displayed the knife, state police said.

Soulemanes family, who said he was a community college student who had schizophrenia, has protested the shooting, along with the NAACP and other groups.

North is the third Connecticut police officer to be arrested for a fatal shooting.

New Milford officer Scott Smith pleaded guilty to negligent homicide and was sentenced to two years probation for the 1998 fatal shooting of 19-year-old Franklyn Reid. Authorities said Reid was lying on his stomach when Smith put a foot on Reids back and shot him in the back. Smith said the shooting was self-defense. Smith killed himself in 2013, officials said.

Hartford officer Robert Lawlor was charged with manslaughter but was later acquitted in the 2005 shooting death of an unarmed man, Jashon Bryant.

In a non-fatal shooting in 2019, Hamden officer Devin Eaton was arrested and pleaded no contest to felony assault in January. Police say Eaton fired his gun 13 times at an unarmed couple's car and wounded a woman and another officer, who both survived. Eaton awaits sentencing and faces up to 18 months in prison under his plea agreement.
FILE - This Jan. 15, 2020, still image from dashboard camera video released by the Connecticut State Police shows Trooper Brian North after discharging his weapon and fatally shooting Mubarak Soulemane following a high-speed chase. North was arrested Tuesday night, April 19, 2022, in connection with the shooting, state police said. (Connecticut State Police via AP, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)  A Connecticut state trooper who fired seven gunshots into a car and killed a man in 2020 after a high-speed chase has been charged with manslaughter after a more than two-year investigation found the shooting not to be justified, officials said Wednesday.

Trooper Brian North turned himself in Tuesday evening to the state inspector general at the state police barracks in Bethany, state police said. North was released after posting $50,000 bail, was placed on paid administrative leave and his police powers were suspended.

North fatally shot 19-year-old Mubarak Soulemane in January 2020 as Soulemane sat in the driver's seat of a car in West Haven, where the chase ended and police boxed in the car. North told officials he feared Soulemane was going to attack other officers with a knife.

Soulemanes family, the NAACP and other groups said North, who is white, should not have shot Soulemane, who was Black, because police had him surrounded and he could not get away. Soulemane had a knife, but he was inside the car by himself and police should have attempted to deescalate the situation, they said.

Thank God Trooper Brian North was arrested, Soulemane's mother, Omo Mohammed, said in a statement provided by her lawyers. "I now want to see him convicted and sent to jail.

Soulemane was a community college student who had schizophrenia, his family said. Mohammed has a pending wrongful death lawsuit against North and other officers who were at the scene.

"The family of Mubarak Soulemane is very happy that, after 2+ years, Trooper Brian North, who murdered Mubarak in West Haven in January 2020, may be brought to justice," Mark Arons, a lawyer for Soulemane's family, said in a statement. "Its a long road ahead. But this is a good day.

North did not return an email seeking comment. A message was left at a phone listing for him. A message also was sent to his lawyer, Jeffrey Ment. North is scheduled to be arraigned May 3 in Milford Superior Court.

In a report released Wednesday morning, Inspector General Robert Devlins office said the shooting was not justified.

At the time Trooper North fired his weapon, neither he nor any other person was in imminent danger of serious injury or death from a knife attack at the hands of Soulemane, the report said. Further, any belief that persons were in such danger was not reasonable.

The report also includes a lengthy statement by North on the shooting. He said Soulemane was holding the knife in an aggressive manner and appeared to be preparing to attack other officers who were outside the car.

Based on these circumstances, I believed that (the other officers) were at imminent risk of serious physical injury or death, and could have been stabbed in the neck or face as they attempted to enter the vehicle and remove the suspect. As a result, I discharged my duty firearm to eliminate the threat.

The Connecticut State Police Union said in a statement it was disappointed the inspector general's office, which investigates police use of deadly force, decided to prosecute North. The union defended North's actions.

The union said North was forced to make a split-second decision during these dangerous and rapidly evolving circumstances. Trooper North was risking his own life while trying to fulfill his oath of office to protect the lives of others.

On the day of the shooting, Soulemane, whose mental health appeared to have deteriorated in the days before he was killed, tried unsuccessfully to steal a cellphone from a store in Norwalk and fled in a car he stole from a Lyft driver, Devlin's report said.

Soulemane led police on a chase of nearly 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Norwalk to West Haven that reached speeds of 100 mph (161 kph) on Interstate 95, the report said.

Norwalk police at one point stopped pursuing Soulemane because of the dangers, but state troopers, including North, resumed the chase after Soulemane had reportedly struck several vehicles.

In West Haven, state police said Soulemane took an exit, rear-ended a civilian's vehicle and was immediately boxed in by police. Police said the officers ordered him out of the car, but he refused.

State police body camera videos show a West Haven officer smashing out the passenger door window of the stolen car before another trooper shoots Soulemane with a stun gun, which didnt work.

North then fired his handgun seven times through the drivers door window when Soulemane displayed the knife, state police said.

North is the third Connecticut police officer to be arrested for a fatal shooting.

New Milford officer Scott Smith pleaded guilty to negligent homicide and was sentenced to two years probation for the 1998 fatal shooting of 19-year-old Franklyn Reid. Smith killed himself in 2013.

Hartford officer Robert Lawlor was charged with manslaughter but was later acquitted in the 2005 shooting death of an unarmed man, Jashon Bryant.

In a non-fatal shooting in 2019, Hamden officer Devin Eaton was arrested and pleaded no contest to felony assault in January. Eaton awaits sentencing and faces up to 18 months in prison under his plea agreement.
By Nathan Frandino

OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - Walking into the Good Hop craft beer bar in Oakland, California, Alison Heller looks like any other patron thirsting for happy hour.

But instead of heading to the bar, she goes straight to the bathroom, opens her backpack and pulls out a plastic bag with fentanyl test strips. She puts 25 strips in a jar for anyone to take for free.

"If you're going to use drugs here, you can test them," said Heller, a co-founder of the harm-reduction nonprofit FentCheck.

Strips to test drugs for the presence of the deadly synthetic opioid are becoming more commonplace in bars, restaurants and venues as the country grapples with the opioid epidemic and soaring death toll.

Fentanyl has flooded U.S. streets and contributed to nearly 500,000 U.S. opioid overdose deaths over two decades, with the COVID-19 pandemic worsening the situation. Fentanyl, which is 100 times more potent than morphine, produces effects similar to other opioids, like sedation, drowsiness and nausea. Overdosing can cause respiratory failure leading to death.

Fentanyl overdoses are now the top cause of death among U.S. residents ages 18-45, surpassing suicide, car accidents and COVID, according to an analysis of federal data by opioid awareness organization Families Against Fentanyl.

To prevent such deaths, Heller, FentCheck co-founder Dean Shold and a team of volunteers regularly visit a network of businesses in Oakland, San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia to replenish stocks of the test strips.

"We're done with dead kids. We're done with accidental overdoses. We are also serving people who are struggling with drug addiction," Heller said. "They cannot make it to rehab, they cannot make it to the next step in their sobriety if they die that night."

FentCheck staples the strips from Canadian company BTNX to simple instructions for users to test their drugs. The results show up  like a pregnancy or COVID-19 test  with lines indicating positive or negative.

"They are cheap, they are super easy to use and read and they give you a yes or a no that you can then use," said Dr. Kathleen Clanon, medical director of Alameda County, which supports the distribution of fentanyl test strips and funds.

"They are very sensitive, meaning that the comparison tests have shown that they are likely to show fentanyl if it's there and I'm comfortable with that as a community test."

Melissa Myers, owner of the Good Hop, called it a "no brainer" to offer the strips to her customers and train her staff to use naloxone, a medicine that rapidly reverses the effect of opioid overdoses.

"We fought to stay alive through COVID and I want them to be able to keep coming here, not die on the street or die at home because they've decided to try some new drugs," said Myers.

Some cities have gone even further in the fight against drug overdoses. One of the nation's first supervised drug-injection sites opened last year in New York City, allowing users to inject drugs under the supervision of trained staff.

Critics say the strips enable drug users. Some states treat them as illegal drug paraphernalia. Legislation to decriminalize the strips is underway in Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee, among others.

Dr. Joey Hensley, a state senator and physician who runs a private practice in Tennessee, voted against the bill there.

"I just don't think it's a good policy to make it easier for people addicted to drugs to use drugs," he said.

Hensley doubts that providing fentanyl test strips would affect drug users' behavior. "If there are studies that show differently, maybe I would change but I just didnt think that was a good policy," he said.

Jason Lujick, owner of The Legionnaire, where test strips sit out on the bar, said lawmakers need to face the facts.

"If you actually care about your constituents and if you actually look at the data that your health departments are throwing out there and you actually care one iota, grow up," he said.

(Reporting by Nathan Frandino; Writing by Richard Chang; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Ezra Miller, shown in 2018, was arrested on an assault charge Tuesday in Hawaii. (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press)

"Fantastic Beasts" and "The Flash" star Ezra Miller was arrested again in Hawaii on Tuesday after allegedly throwing a chair at a woman's head.

The actor was taken into custody at 1:30 a.m. for second-degree assault following an incident at a home in Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii, according to a media release from the Hawaii Police Department.

Miller, who is nonbinary, was identified as a 29-year-old visitor from Vermont and was arrested after being located during a traffic stop nearby.

Patrol officers responded to a report of an assault at 1:10 a.m. that occurred at a get-together at a private residence in the Leilani Estates subdivision in lower Puna, authorities said.

"During the course of their investigation, police determined that the individual, later identified as Ezra Miller, became irate after being asked to leave and reportedly threw a chair, striking a 26-year-old female on the forehead, resulting in an approximate half-inch cut," the release said.

The victim refused treatment for her injury.

"After conferring with the County Prosecutors Office, at 4:05 a.m. on Tuesday morning Miller was released pending further investigation. This is an active investigation," the statement continued. Miller's new mug shot was posted online Tuesday on the police department's website.

Millers lawyer, Francis Alcain, did not immediately respond Tuesday to The Times' request for comment.

The "Justice League" star has had a number of run-ins with the law during their time in Hawaii. Miller is facing charges in a separate case involving a traffic violation in Hilo and another case that allegedly took place at a karaoke bar.

Police had been called to a dispute in downtown Hilo on March 19 where Miller was allegedly uncooperative and refused to leave the area and continued to obstruct the sidewalk, Hawaii Police Department Asst. Chief Kenneth Quiocho told the Associated Press. Miller was cited for obstructing a highway.

In the karaoke-bar incident on March 28, Miller allegedly became agitated when people at a Margarita Village bar began singing karaoke. Miller allegedly yelled obscenities and at one point grabbed the microphone from a young woman who was singing. Miller later lunged at a man who was playing darts, according to the Hawaii Police Department.

Miller was briefly taken into custody and released on $500 bail.

Last week, a judge dismissed a temporary restraining order against the actor that was requested by a Hawaii couple at the couple's request, scrubbing one of a handful of criminal proceedings that The Flash star has been involved in as of late.

In that case, Miller was accused of harassment and theft after allegedly barging into the couple's bedroom and threatening them at a hostel in Hilo, the same Big Island town where the actor was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and harassment in one of the March incidents.

Their attorney requested last week that a hearing be postponed to April 26 because Miller and prosecutors are in what Alcain described as pre-negotiations for an agreement on the two outstanding cases.

Hawaii News Now reported that Miller is scheduled to be in court Tuesday to enter a plea on the harassment and disorderly conduct charges.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
FILE - Israeli police are deployed in the Old City of Jerusalem, April 17, 2022. A group of Israeli ultra-nationalists said it is determined to go ahead with a flag-waving march around predominantly Palestinian areas of Jerusalems Old City, brushing aside a police ban of an event that served as one of the triggers of last years Israel-Gaza war. Israeli police said Wednesday, April 20, 2021, that a large number of officers were deployed around Jerusalems historic Old City during the Jewish holiday of Passover and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

JERUSALEM (AP)  A group of Israeli ultra-nationalists said it is determined to go ahead with a flag-waving march around predominantly Palestinian areas of Jerusalem's Old City on Wednesday, brushing aside a police ban of an event that served as one of the triggers of last year's Israel-Gaza war.

In a sign of the already heated atmosphere, a small group of Palestinian protesters threw rocks at police while hundreds of Jewish visitors entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.

The hilltop shrine in Jerusalems Old City is the third holiest in Islam, while for Jews it is their holiest site, where two temples stood in antiquity. It is the emotional ground zero for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a flashpoint for previous rounds of violence.

Amateur video from the scene appeared to show police using sponge-tipped plastic projectiles intended to be non-lethal as the protesters barricaded themselves inside the mosque. Police said a firebomb thrown by one of the protesters set a carpet outside the mosque on fire, but it was quickly extinguished. No injuries were reported.

Israeli police said a large number of officers were deployed around Jerusalem's historic Old City, home to religious sites for Jews, Christians and Muslims, out of concern that confrontations could further ignite an already tense situation in the city during the Jewish holiday of Passover and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

At this stage the police are not approving the protest march under the requested layout, the police said in a statement, without elaborating. They could not be reached for comment Wednesday on whether the march would be banned altogether, or just on the proposed route past the Damascus Gate.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, said Wednesday that Israel bears full responsibility for the repercussions if it allows the march to approach our holy sites, but didnt specify what actions it would take or what its red lines would be.

Several nationalist Israeli politicians said they would be attending the march, including ultra-nationalist parliament member Itamar Ben Gvir, a disciple of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane and a frequent provocateur in sensitive Palestinian neighborhoods of east Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement that he would bar Ben Gvir from attending the rally. I dont intend to allow petty politics to endanger human lives, he said.

In a similar situation last May, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets toward Jerusalem as Israeli nationalists holding a flag march were making their way to the Old City. The events set off an 11-day war between Israel and the militant group Hamas that rules Gaza.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions have surged in recent weeks after a series of deadly attacks inside Israel, followed by military operations in the West Bank. On Monday, Palestinian militants fired a rocket from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel for the first time in months, and Israel responded with airstrikes. These followed days of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians at the flashpoint holy site in Jerusalem.

Noam Nisan, one of the organizers of the planned march, told Kan public radio that it would proceed as planned on Wednesday. A Jew with a flag in Jerusalem is not a provocation," he said.

He said that the demonstration was a response to buses being stoned earlier this week while driving to the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray, located in Jerusalem's Old City.
A maskless ticket agent helps passengers at Delta Airlines Terminal 2 at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday, a day after a Florida federal judge voided the federal mask mandate in airports and on planes, trains and buses. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Among those who were alarmed at a federal judge's decision this week to lift the mask mandate in airports and on planes, trains and buses are immunocompromised people and their families.

Many medically vulnerable people are now questioning whether to go through with plane trips and are worrying how to navigate public transportation after a federal judge struck down the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's order requiring masks on public transportation.

The decision, which the Justice Department is appealing, troubled disability advocates, who said it has dire implications for a broad group that relies more heavily on transit.

"Many disabled people  including myself  do not drive," said Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Assn. of People With Disabilities. "We either have to take public transit to get around or ... we rely on someone else to get us from place to place. And the only way that we can do that safely right now is if mask mandates are in place."

The court ruling will mean "two realities": Some disabled people who are at high risk from the coronavirus will be forced to stay home to protect their health, while others who go to work in grocery stores, shops or other jobs where they cannot work remotely will be forced to face an increased risk of getting infected on public transit, Town said.

"We have fought so hard for the right to exist in our community," she said, "and now to have these mask mandates fall, which will make it even harder for us to do so, is just infuriating."

In Los Angeles, Paul and Angie Cibis used to enjoy trips to far-flung spots like Istanbul and Copenhagen before the pandemic descended  and they had hoped to do so again in the future. Now, that idea seems much riskier.

"It's tough having to see those dreams deferred for another who-knows-how-long," said Paul Cibis, 42, who is immunocompromised because he received a kidney transplant and takes medication that suppresses his immune system.

If he wears a mask in an enclosed space such as an airplane but hundreds of other people do not, "it ceases to be as effective," he said. "You're sitting there, stewing in everything that everyone else is breathing out."

The couple also lives a short walk from a Metro stop, but "it just seems like too much of a risk for me at this point," Cibis said. In Southern California, Metrolink and L.A. Metro are among the transit operators that have said they're making masks optional for passengers. Cibis said he is fortunate to be able to work remotely, but he worries about those who cannot.

To Angie Cibis, who has been cautious about her own exposure to protect her husband, the Florida court ruling feels like "confirmation that people really don't care."

Many people say they do, but abandoning a safety measure and taking a step "that really endangers the lives of other people  it just kind of blows my mind," she said.

"People really want this to be over and trust me, we do too. But I think there is a lot of denial ... that even a mild case has severe implications for anybody, and particularly the immunocompromised."

In West Virginia, Emily Whittington has been waiting to learn whether her 4-year-old son, Jeremy, will get a chance for a coveted form of intensive therapy in Texas. Her child was born with a rare genetic mutation that affected his brain and causes epilepsy.

He is too young to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and sensory issues make it difficult for him to effectively wear a mask, which often slides off his nose because he tugs at it and opens his mouth wide.

After airlines rolled back their mask rules, Whittington and her husband began trying to figure out whether they could make a 17-hour drive to Texas if a spot opened for Jeremy. It could be hard for her husband to take time off work, she said, and making the drive alone with Jeremy might be onerous. She wonders whether they will have to turn down the opportunity.

"I don't even want to think about how to say no," she said, "but we're in a position where maybe we'll have to say no."

"If no one else is masking, he's just completely vulnerable," Whittington said of her son.

And in Seattle, Shannon Reynolds had been planning to take her 2-year-old son, Haddon, to Germany for a chance to get him vaccinated against COVID-19.

Haddon takes medications that suppress his immune system to treat an inflammatory condition, which makes him especially vulnerable to the coronavirus, his mother said.

With few treatments available for very young children, Reynolds had been eager to get him COVID-19 shots, which have been given "off label" to younger children by some physicians in Germany.

"But we can't get there without a plane," Reynolds said, "so we probably won't be doing that."

Rolling back mask rules on public transit, in turn, leaves her worried about getting to one of the hospitals where her son goes for appointments. Reynolds said she may opt for telehealth appointments instead, even though the care will be less thorough.

"They can't check his heart. They can't check his circulation or anything like that," she said. "But it makes me feel safer that he won't be exposed to a lot of people."

When she saw the news about the ruling, "I felt my stomach drop," Reynolds said.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
At least 10 mass shootings rocked the U.S. during Easter weekend this year  a sign that gun violence continues to soar across the country after hitting a high during the first year of the pandemic.

In Pittsburgh, two high school students were shot dead and at least eight others were injured at a house party on Sunday. The day before, at a mall in Columbia, S.C., 10 people were shot and two others were injured after at least one person opened fire. These shootings rounded out a holiday weekend that left eight dead and dozens more injured.

The 36th Street subway station in Brooklyn, N.Y., in the aftermath of a mass shooting there on April 12. (Armen Armenian/via Reuters)

In Brooklyn, N.Y., last week, a man opened fire on a subway train, leaving 10 people shot and others injured in the chaos, while in Sacramento, Calif., earlier this month, six people were killed in gang-related violence that saw more than 100 rounds fired, officials said.

In the first four months of 2022 alone, more than 12,000 people died from guns in the U.S., a number that includes both homicides and suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The pandemic did little to reduce gun violence in America. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that more Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2020  45,222  than in any other year on record. That startling statistic included a record number of gun murders and a near-record number of suicides.

One way to address gun violence  particularly mass shootings  is whats known as threat assessment, which Mark Follman, the national affairs editor for Mother Jones magazine, breaks down in his new book, Trigger Points.

He describes the method of behavioral threat assessment as the tool used to prevent planned attacks  shootings in which the attacker cultivates and plans out the attack over a period of time.

Thats really the core of the work of threat assessment, is looking at the behaviors and circumstances that lead up to those kinds of attacks, of planning, threatening communications, other forms of behavioral warning signs and identifying patterns within that, to try to then intervene and prevent those kinds of acts from occurring, Follman told Yahoo News.

A short-term rental property where police say a mass shooting took place in Pittsburgh early Sunday morning. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

Follman said he started researching mass shootings in 2012 and was startled by the lack of data he could find. It was the same year that a gunman opened fire in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater, leaving 12 dead  including a 6-year-old girl  and 70 others injured. In December of that year, another 26 people, 20 of them children, died in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

I started analyzing these cases, Follman said. And within a few months, I had started to see a pattern in the cases that ... theres often a trail of behavioral warning signs that are patterns that are detectable.

Follman noted that in 2013, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder commented to the gathering of the nations police chiefs that there was a team at the FBI that had stopped more than 100 mass shootings that year. And that just really turned my head. You know, what is that all about? That sounds really thick.

A vigil near a theater where 12 people were killed on July 20, 2012 in Aurora, Colo. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)

He said mass shootings can be very different in nature, with attacks like New Yorks subway shooting being characterized as ones that are thought about and planned.

There's this popular theme, this idea that these are crazy people who are just snapping, and going out and committing an attack like that as if it's an impulsive act. But that's not true at all, that's not the case, Follman said.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer who faces a difficult challenge as crime surges, released a blueprint in January to address the city's gun issue.

Gun violence is a public health crisis that continues to threaten every corner of our city, the mayor said. We pray for all the victims of violence and their families who are suffering, but we are going to do more than pray  were going to turn our pain into purpose. Public safety is my administrations highest priority, which is why we will remove guns from our streets, protect our communities, and create a safe, prosperous and just city for all New Yorkers.

Suspected NYC subway shooter Frank James is escorted by FBI and NYPD officers after being arrested on April 13. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

In California, lawmakers in a state judiciary committee on Tuesday held a hearing on a bill that would allow state citizens to sue gun manufacturers for negligent practices.

One of the bills sponsors, Democratic state Assembly member Phil Ting, told the committee: I think its unfair that the toy industry has a lot more liability than the gun industry.

Nationally, President Biden announced on April 11 that the Department of Justice will crack down on so-called ghost guns  firearms that lack a serial number, are untraceable and can be assembled at home. The White House said there were approximately 20,000 suspected ghost guns reported to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives last year  which the Biden administration said was a 10-fold increase from 2016  that were recovered by law enforcement during criminal investigations.

President Biden announcing a new firearm regulation aimed at reining in ghost guns. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

In Trigger Points, Follman said he focused on the pervasive problem of school shootings. In one case, he said, a student who was planning a mass shooting was treated with support instead of contempt.

They determined hes a pretty serious risk. And so what they do is they extend a lot of close personal support to him very quickly. The idea is to be constructive in the prevention work, especially in a school setting, where I think the opportunity to do that is probably in some ways the most, has the greatest potential.

When it comes to addressing mass shootings, he said the biggest tool is threat assessment and that its not just up to law enforcement but a community effort.

How do you catch someone like the New York City subway shooter before its too late? Here's a guy who, from what we can tell, was living in pretty serious isolation, was kind of a loner moving around. And yet there were people around him who were unsettled by his behavior. Neighbors that we saw reporting on ... family members who were estranged from him. You know, those are the people who are in a position to see warning signs. Then the question becomes, who do they turn to? Or where do they know to get help?

Cover thumbnail photo: Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images
The Justice Department on Wednesday announced the arrest of 21 people, including seven in California, for alleged COVID-19 aid fraud totaling nearly $150 million. (Associated Press)

The Justice Department on Wednesday announced the arrest of 21 people, including seven Californians, for alleged COVID-19 aid fraud totaling nearly $150 million.

Those charged in the investigation include medical business owners and executives, physicians and marketers, as well as multiple alleged manufacturers of fake COVID-19 vaccination cards. The individuals were arrested in California, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.

The Justice Department said it has reclaimed $8 million so far.

"Throughout the pandemic, we have seen trusted medical professionals orchestrate and carry out egregious crimes against their patients all for financial gain, said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBIs Criminal Investigative Division in a statement. These healthcare fraud abuses erode the integrity and trust patients have with those in the healthcare industry, particularly during a vulnerable and worrisome time for many individuals."

In the Central District of California, two owners of a clinical laboratory, Imran Shams, 63, and Lourdes Navarro, 63, both of Glendale, have been charged with a scheme aimed at defrauding Medicare of over $214 million for laboratory tests, including more than $125 million in false and fraudulent claims during the pandemic for COVID-19 and respiratory pathogen tests. No pleas have yet been entered in the case. Navarro's attorney declined to comment. Shams' charges do not yet appear in the federal court records, and it was unclear whether he had an attorney.

Artur Chanchikyan, 54, of Los Angeles, is also being charged in the Central District with wire fraud, theft of government property, and money laundering offenses in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud the United States of approximately $345,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. Chanchikyan's charges also do not yet appear yet in federal court records, and it was unclear whether he had an attorney.

The other four Californians are charged in the North District of California. Three were accused in the same scheme to offer fake cures for COVID-19 known as homeoprophylaxis immunizations and distribute fake COVID-19 vaccination record cards. Juli Mazi, the woman at the center of that scheme, pleaded guilty on April 6 to wire fraud and making false statements related to healthcare.

Jason Costanza, 46, of El Campo, Texas, was charged with conspiracy and making false statements related to healthcare. He worked for Mazi. Costanza's attorney did not immediately return a request for comment.

Jaimi Jansen, 40, of Santa Cruz was charged with making false statements related to healthcare. She is accused of helping Mazi distribute the fake cure and fake vaccination cards. Meanwhile, pharmacist Ranna Shamiya, 41, of Ukiah, Calif., was charged with making false statements related to healthcare and is accused of providing Mazi with legitimate lot numbers for FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines to be used for fake vaccination records. Court records do not yet list attorneys for Jansen or Shamiya.

In a separate case, Jason Nielsen, 53, of Scotts Valley, Calif., was charged with securities fraud. He is accused of defrauding investors and potential investors in Arrayit, a publicly traded medical technology company. Nielsen was a large Arrayit shareholder, and allegedly deceived Arrayit investors by communicating false and misleading information in order to induce other investors to purchase Arrayit securities and drive up the stocks price. Court records do not yet list an attorney for Nielsen. Arrayit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Russia said Wednesday it had successfully conducted the first test launch of its new intercontinental ballistic missile as Russian President Vladimir Putin said it would give countries that "threaten" Moscow something to think about.

Appearing on Russian television, Putin boasted that the missile, which has been under development for years, is capable of overcoming Western anti-missile defense systems.

"This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia's security from external threats and provide food for thought for those who, in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country," Putin said, according to Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin watches the test launch in Moscow on Wednesday. (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via Reuters)

The Pentagon said Russia had "properly notified" the United States ahead of the launch, adding that it saw the test as routine and not a threat to the U.S. or its allies.

"It was not a surprise," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

In a statement, Russia's Defense Ministry said the Sarmat ballistic missile was fired from Plesetsk in the country's northwest and hit targets on the Kamchatka Peninsula, about 3,700 miles to the east.

"Sarmat is the most powerful missile with the longest range of destruction of targets in the world, which will significantly increase the combat power of our country's strategic nuclear forces," the statement read.

The Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile is launched in a test in Russia, in an image from a video released on Wednesday. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)

The test launch comes during Russia's ongoing invasion in Ukraine, now in its eighth week.

On Monday, Ukrainian officials said Russia had launched its long-feared, full-scale ground offensive to take control of the eastern flank of the sovereign nation.

Ukrainian forces in Mariupol are refusing to give up the strategic port city, but military officials warn that without assistance from the West they may have "only a few days or even hours left."

"The situation in Mariupol is worsening," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday. "I would like to say that everything will be easy and we will have tomorrow ... but I cannot say this."
The Supreme Court building. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

The Supreme Court justices, hearing arguments Wednesday in a Los Angeles case, sounded ready to shield police from civil lawsuits for failing to provide Miranda warnings to suspects.

The case  arising from a 2014 confrontation between a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy and a hospital nursing assistant  seeks to answer for the first time whether officers who don't provide a Miranda warning can be sued for violating a suspect's constitutional rights. Such lawsuits would be in addition to having any coerced confessions thrown out of court.

The court's conservatives agreed Wednesday that the landmark 1966 Miranda decision bars forced confessions from being used in court. But they were skeptical of "extending" it to allow damage suits against officers who don't advise a suspect of the right to remain silent or consult a lawyer.

The outcome could have an effect on everyday encounters between police and people they question, some legal experts warn, if officers cannot be held liable for violating the Miranda rules.

At issue before the court Wednesday was the long-running debate over how to understand the Miranda decision and its required warnings.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Amy Coney Barrett both noted that while the court had repeatedly upheld Miranda, it had always stopped short of describing the warnings as a "constitutional right."

Instead, they were described as rules or guidelines that protect a person's constitutional right against self-incrimination. Justice Clarence Thomas has long argued that Miranda should not be viewed as "a code of police conduct."

When Chief Justice Earl Warren handed down the ruling in Miranda vs. Arizona, it was lauded as a major new protection against forced confessions. But judges have been divided over whether the Miranda warnings are a constitutional right in themselves.

The Los Angeles case could finally provide clarification.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Carlos Vega was called to County-USC Medical Center in 2014 to investigate a patient's complaint that an orderly had sexually assaulted her. The officer said nurses told him that Terence Tekoh had transported the heavily sedated patient to her room.

Vega said he took Tekoh to a private room to talk, and the orderly admitted he had "made a mistake" and agreed to write out a full confession.

Tekoh told a very different story, describing an hourlong confrontation. He said the deputy closed the door, accused him of groping the patient and falsely claimed the abuse had been captured on video.

Tekoh said that he asked to speak with a lawyer but that the deputy refused, blocked him from leaving and dictated a confession that he was required to write out and sign.

Tekoh was charged with a sexual offense, and his confession was introduced as evidence at his trial. Even so, the jury found him not guilty.

The orderly then sued Vega in federal court, accusing the deputy of violating his rights by not advising him of his rights and forcing him to confess to a crime.

A federal judge said Tekoh must prove the confession was coerced because the deputy's failure to give the Miranda warnings alone did not violate his right against self-incrimination. The civil jury ruled for Vega.

Lawyers for Tekoh appealed and cited a 2000 Supreme Court ruling by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist that said the Miranda decision was a constitutional ruling that could not be overturned by Congress.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed and said Rehnquist's opinion "made clear that the right of a criminal defendant against having an un-Mirandized statement introduced in the prosecution's case in chief is indeed a right secured by the Constitution."

And since federal civil rights law authorizes individuals to sue state and local officials who violate their "rights secured by the Constitution," Tekoh could sue Vega for a Miranda violation in a new trial, Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw said in a 3-0 decision.

In January, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Vega's appeal. He argued that while the Miranda decision was designed to protect the right against self-incrimination, it does "not itself create a constitutional right." Therefore, Vega and other police officers may not be sued for failing to give Miranda warnings, his lawyers said.

A Justice Department attorney also urged the court to throw out the suit against the officer.

"Miranda recognized a constitutional right, but it's a trial right concerning the exclusion of evidence at a criminal trial," said Vivek Suri, an assistant to the U.S. solicitor general. "It isn't a substantive right to receive the Miranda warnings themselves. A police officer who fails to provide the Miranda warnings accordingly doesn't himself violate the constitutional right."

Paul Hoffman, the Hermosa Beach attorney who represented Tekoh, said the officer violated the "core Miranda right." The officer questioned the orderly without advising him of his rights and pressured him to sign what he said was a false confession that was used against him in court. "What remedy does he have" if he cannot sue the officer? he asked.

Lawyers for police organizations urged the court to shield officers from being sued over the questioning of potential suspects.

But Charles Weisselberg, a UC Berkeley law professor, said he fears police will be given an incentive to pressure people who refuse to talk.

"If the court rules for Deputy Vega, there will be no penalty for violating Miranda in this way," he said. "There will be zero incentive for officers to cease questioning."

In the 1990s, California police were sometimes urged to question people "outside Miranda," he said. They did so, he said, because they could learn details about a crime, the location of weapons or evidence that could be used against an uncooperative defendant.

That practice ended, Weisselberg said, only when the 9th Circuit Court ruled police could be held liable for violating Miranda rights.

The court has been criticized in recent years for a series of rulings that gave police a "qualified immunity" from being sued for violating the rights of people they searched or arrested. The decision in Vega vs. Tekoh may add to that list.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Residents walk past a tank destroyed during heavy fighting in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine. (Alexei Alexandrov / Associated Press)

Russia delivered what it said was a last-chance surrender ultimatum Wednesday to Ukrainian forces in the besieged port of Mariupol, whose desperate defenders, pleading for international help, declared that they were probably facing our last days, if not hours.

Along hundreds of miles of a scythe-shaped battlefront in Ukraines east, the din of Russian bombardment echoed in cities and towns, while Moscows ground forces made a series of what Ukrainian military officials described as probing attacks that did not yield any substantial new territorial gains.

With the war about to grind into a ninth week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address to the nation that nearly all of Russias combat-ready forces were concentrated on the territory of our state and just outside its borders. Moscow, he said, was deploying almost everyone and everything that is capable of fighting.

Russias Feb. 24 invasion of its smaller neighbor has triggered a refugee crisis on a scale not seen in Europe since World War II. The United Nations refugee agency Wednesday put the total of those fleeing Ukraine at 5 million. More than 7 million people are internally displaced.

A woman holds an Orthodox Christian icon as she stands near a damaged apartment building in Mariupol, Ukraine. (Alexei Alexandrov / Associated Press)

As the fightings ferocity has increased  and in the weeks since gruesome evidence began emerging of Russian atrocities against civilians in the suburbs of Kyiv  diplomatic efforts have floundered. On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed Ukraine for the impasse, saying that Moscow had sent Zelenskys government a draft document with absolutely clear proposals and that Ukraine had not answered.

The ball is in their court, Peskov told reporters. In the past, Ukraine has accused Moscow of distorting what was said in negotiations.

Less than three weeks remain before the symbolically crucial date of May 9, when Russia annually celebrates the historic victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. Russian President Vladimir Putin is thought to be determined to notch a significant triumph by then in a military campaign in Ukraine that has been plagued by setbacks for Moscow.

The likeliest prospect of that is the capture of Mariupol, a port city on the Sea of Azov that has been nearly wiped off the map by continuous Russian bombardment. In a message recorded deep within a sprawling steelworks where Ukrainian forces and some frightened civilians are holed up, a Ukrainian commander said the defenders were outnumbered 10 to 1 by Russian attackers.

We are probably facing our last days, if not hours, the officer, Serhiy Volnya of the 36th Marine Brigade, said in the video, which was posted on Facebook. He pleaded with world leaders to arrange for Ukrainian forces remaining in the steel plant and its underground tunnels to be extracted and taken to the territory of a third-party state.

Pro-Russia separatists walk past damaged apartment buildings in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. (Alexei Alexandrov / Associated Press)

Russia has been dropping heavy bombs on the steel complex as it issues repeated surrender demands, promising that holdouts who give up would be unharmed. Ukraine says a Mariupol hospital where hundreds of civilians had taken shelter was also targeted. But previous ultimatums, on Sunday and Tuesday, were ignored by the Ukrainian side, as was Wednesday's.

Mariupols mayor, Vadym Boichenko, said on national television Wednesday that Ukrainian officials hoped to bring out 6,000 women, children and elderly people from the city, but said the arrangement with Russia to allow safe passage was a preliminary one. Tens of thousands of residents remain trapped in the city under dire conditions, without access to drinking water, food or medical supplies.

Mariupol, a once-thriving port city of nearly half a million people, now lies in ruins, with three-quarters of its prewar population either displaced or dead, but is still considered a strategic prize. Capturing it would allow the creation of a land corridor linking Russian-controlled parts of the Donbas  Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland  to the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed eight years ago.

While Russia was focusing its main effort on capturing Mariupol, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces were also making repeated thrusts in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which make up the Donbas. Ten Russian ground attacks were repulsed in the previous 24 hours, the military said in an operational report early Wednesday.

Since both sides declared Monday that the war had entered a new phase, Russian forces have captured Kreminna, an eastern town of about 18,000 people on the front lines.

Nearby, the city of Rubizhne was the site of intense artillery fusillades as Russian forces fought to chip away at the easternmost points under Ukrainian government control.

Shelling had devastated wide parts of the city, turning Rubizhne into a landscape of smashed, scorched buildings and cratered boulevards.

Russian forces had reportedly taken much of the city, but on Wednesday, street battles were ongoing, with an especially intense skirmish around the train station.

Although some Western officials and analysts have questioned whether the Russian offensive in the east was underway in earnest, British military intelligence said in a new assessment that fighting in the Donbas was growing in intensity, with Russian forces seeking to break through Ukrainian defenses and disrupt supply lines and troop redeployment on the Ukrainian side.

Russian attacks on cities across Ukraine show their attempt to try and disrupt the movement of Ukrainian reinforcements and weaponry to the east of the country, the assessment said.

Supply and reinforcement, combined with serious morale problems, were key weaknesses in Russia's own drive to capture Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, an effort that Moscow abandoned a month ago. Analysts say those same issues could plague Moscows efforts in the east as well.

But vast tracts of open territory and superior firepower could favor the Russian push in the east  the main reason that Zelensky has been making near-daily pleas for more heavy weaponry from the West.

If we had access to all the weapons we need, which our partners have and which are comparable to the weapons used by the Russian Federation, we would have already ended this war, he said in his overnight address.

The United States, Canada and Britain have promised Ukraine more artillery, and Norway is sending air-defense missiles. In addition to new sanctions on Russia that the White House says are in the works, President Biden is expected to announce a new military aid package for Kyiv in coming days.

Some allied countries, including Germany, have been name-checked by Ukrainian officials as flagging in their provision of armaments just when the need is greatest. Seemingly stung by the criticism, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday cited recent shipments of antitank weapons and Stinger antiaircraft missiles to Ukraine.

Baerbock, speaking at the start of a visit to the three Baltic states, said Germany was also providing other things that we didnt talk about in public.

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry released footage Wednesday showing the test launch of what it described as a powerful new missile that could deploy nuclear warheads at supersonic speeds. The missile is still in a trial phase, the ministry said, and would not be added to Russia's arsenal immediately. Still, Putin said the test launch should show Russia's enemies that they should "think twice" before threatening his country.

In the Ukrainian capital, Western VIPs continued to arrive despite renewed bombardment. Charles Michel, head of the European Council, on Wednesday became the latest senior European official to make a visit to Kyiv aimed at showing support for Ukraine.

After touring Borodyanka, a suburb of the capital that was heavily bombed, Michel wrote on Twitter: "These are atrocities. These are war crimes. They must be punished."

Bulos reported from Rubizhne, King from Berlin and Linthicum from Mexico City.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
FILE - This undated photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Correction shows inmate Oscar Smith. Tennessee's governor said Tuesday, April 19, 2022, that he will not intervene in the scheduled execution later this week of Smith, convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife and her sons decades ago. Attorneys for the 72-year-old asked Republican Gov. Bill Lee for clemency, citing problems with the jury in his 1990 trial. Smith is set to receive a lethal injection on Thursday, April 21. (Tennessee Department of Correction via AP, File)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Tennessee's governor said Tuesday that he will not intervene in the scheduled execution later this week of an inmate convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife and her sons decades ago.

Attorneys for 72-year-old Oscar Smith had asked Republican Gov. Bill Lee for clemency, citing problems with the jury in his 1990 trial. Smith is set to receive a lethal injection on Thursday.

Lee issued a one-sentence statement declining to step in.

After thorough consideration of Oscar Smiths request for clemency and an extensive review of the case, the State of Tennessees sentence will stand, and I will not be intervening, Lee wrote.

Smith was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting Judith Smith and her sons, Jason and Chad, 13 and 16, at their Nashville home on Oct. 1, 1989. A Davidson County jury sentenced him to death the following year.

Smith has maintained that he is innocent. His attorneys were denied requests to reopen his case after a new type of DNA analysis found the DNA of an unknown person on one of the murder weapons.

The state has not put any inmates to death since February 2020, when Nicholas Sutton died in the electric chair. Executions were put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A police car and a firefighters' truck before the Pniowek coal mine in Pawlowice, southern Poland, on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, where two underground methane explosions killed five people and injured more than 20 early Wednesday. (AP Photo) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Two methane explosions at a coal mine in southern Poland killed five people and injured more than 20 early Wednesday, the Polish prime minister said. Seven others were missing.

The first blast took place shortly after midnight about 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) under the surface at the Pniowek mine in Pawlowice, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters outside the mine's office building.

Morawiecki said a rescue operation was launched immediately, but a second explosion occurred about three hours after the first, and communication was lost with some of the rescuers.

The operation was suspended due to the resulting fire and dangerous conditions. Experts were evaluating the possibility of resuming the rescue mission.

The mine, close to the Czech border, is operated by the Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa, or JSW, mining company. Prosecutors have opened an investigation.

More than 20 people, including rescuers, were hospitalized with severe burns, the prime minister said. Doctors at the Siemianowice Slaskie hospital, which specializes in treating burns and victims of mining accidents, said some of the patients have life-threatening injuries, including burns to their lungs and large areas of their bodies.

Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said that one of the 5 dead had been among the 11 injured who were brought to the Siemianowice hospital in most serious condition. Other injured people were taken to other hospitals in the region.

Rescue workers were are among the victims of the explosions, Morawiecki said.

A tragedy happened here today, he said as he offered sympathy to the families and stressed the dangerous nature of coal mining work.

Poland relies on its own and imported coal for almost 70% of its energy, drawing criticism from the European Union and environmental organizations concerned about CO2 emissions and climate change.

Most coal mines are located in the southern Silesia region. Many are at risk of explosions from the sudden release of methane.

The government recently announced it would end coal imports from Russia by May. The action is part of Poland's drive to wean off dependence on Russian energy sources, but also comes in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Marysville, CA (95901)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning. A few showers developing during the afternoon. Thunder possible. High 62F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Near record low temperatures. Low 42F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.
MOSCOW, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. Russia is specially focused on the agreements reached by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia regarding the unblocking of economic and transport connections in South Caucasus, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

I am sure that the creation of new infrastructure routes will ensure stable development of the region and will contribute to strengthening of peace and stability for the benefit of all countries in the South Caucasus. Russia will continue providing humanitarian assistance to Armenia, PM Mishustin said.

Mishustin added that thanks to the Russian Rapid Response Center, conditions are now being created in Nagorno Karabakh for the return of residents to their home as well as restoration of infrastructures.
YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. The President of the European Council Charles Michel announced during his visit to Kyiv that the European Union will provide additional military assistance of 1.5 billion euros to Ukraine, ARMENPRESS reports Reuters informed.

However, the agency did not specify what kind of military assistance will be provided.
The Ukraine issue is expected to be discussed in great detail

New Delhi/London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not want to lecture India on its ties with Russia in the context of the Ukraine war that will come up at his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his two-day visit to the country beginning Thursday, sources said Wednesday, adding that both sides understand each others position. In what will be the first-ever visit by a British PM to Gujarat, Mr Johnson will begin the visit in Ahmedabad on Thursday, after which he will travel to New Delhi on Friday for talks with Mr Modi, when the entire gamut of bilateral ties will be discussed, including the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

In Ahmedabad, the British PM is likely to announce major investments in key industries in both the UK and India, boosting jobs and growth at home, as well as new collaborations on cutting-edge science, health and technology. Mr Johnson will also meet leading businesses and discuss the UK and Indias thriving commercial, trade and people links. Gujarat is the ancestral home of around half of the British-Indian population in the UK, and so the visit will be important from that point of view too.

In London, Mr Johnson told the House of Commons on Thursday: I will be travelling to India to deepen the strategic trade, defence and people- to-people ties between our countries, building on India's involvement in the Carbis Bay G-7 summit. I will be seeing Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi in Delhi, meeting Indian business people investing in the UK and visiting British investments in India.

The British PMs official spokesperson told reporters in London: This visit is not framed on the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Obviously, that is really important but this is a visit we have planned for a very long time. India is an incredibly important partner. The Prime Minister has been wanting to make this trip to build our partnership across trade, investment, security and defence, and green energy.

We will be discussing all those issues and it is expected that the Russia-Ukraine issue will be on the agenda. But we won't be seeking to sort of lecture India or try and persuade them into one position or another. We will be seeking to work together constructively as an important international partner. Obviously, Russia-Ukraine is a huge priority for the UK at the moment and for the world. It's a global issue that has destabilised the economy, the oil markets and international security. So, it would absolutely be on the agenda.

The New Delhi talks on Friday between the two PMs will focus on boosting economic, defence, security and technology co-operation in the face of shared global challenges. Mr Johnson will use the visit to drive progress in the FTA negotiations started earlier this year. Sources said the forthcoming talks would encourage and give momentum to the negotiations. The two leaders are also expected to review the progress in implementing the India-UK Roadmap 2030 adopted during the virtual summit between both leaders last year.

The British PM will also hold talks with Mr Modi on the UK and Indias strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership, aimed at bolstering our close partnership and stepping up security co-operation in the Indo-Pacific. The British PM is visiting India as part of Britains Indo-Pacific tilt.

The Ukraine issue is expected to be discussed in great detail. Mr Johnson was recently quoted as saying: As we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together. India, as a major economic power and the worlds largest democracy, is a highly valued strategic partner for the UK in these uncertain times. My visit to India will deliver on the things that really matter to the people of both our nations -- from job creation and economic growth, to energy security and defence.

Mr Johnsons visit follows that of his foreign secretary (minister) Liz Truss to New Delhi. Just last month, Mr Modi also had held a detailed discussion on the phone with Mr Johnson on the Ukraine conflict. India has not publicly criticised Russia but called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and dialogue between the warring sides to resolve the issue. The West, however, wants India to take a much stronger stand against Russia publicly, which New Delhi is reluctant to do due to its time-tested ties with Moscow.
by Arundathie Abeysinghe

Amid a worsening crisis, Sri Lanka meets with International Monetary Fund, while India continues to provide financial assistance. Meanwhile, anti-government protests show no sign of abating with demonstrators blocking roads and railways.

Colombo (AsiaNews)  Sri Lanka has asked India for assistance to secure approximately US$ 3 billion in bridging finance as the island nation negotiates with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week for a bailout programme to deal with its current severe economic crisis.

Last week, Sri Lanka announced that it would default on its external debt until a bailout is received from the IMF. Economic analysts told AsiaNews that the move was attributed to the countrys extremely low foreign exchange reserves. They are of the view that this is the first time Sri Lanka announced a debt default during the post-independence era.

According to political analysts, during a meeting with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last week, Sri Lankas High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda expressed his gratitude to India for its provision of US$ 2.4 billion in credit lines for essential goods such as food, fuel and medicines, including a debt waiver for the first quarter of this year.

During the meeting, India emphasised the possibility of helping Sri Lanka gain international support to secure bridging finance and also for the economic adjustment programme through bilateral and multilateral partners.

India is also exploring the possibility of enhancing as well as restructuring some of the assistance it has already provided, such as credits for essential commodities and fuel as well as balance of payment support.

According to political analysts, Ms Sitharam was concerned about the humanitarian cost of the economic crisis and said that India would stand by Sri Lanka to overcome its challenges.

Ms Sitharaman and her Sri Lankan counterpart, Finance Minister Ali Sabry, are expected to hold a tete-a-tete on the sidelines of the IMF meetings in Washington this week.

High Commissioner Moragoda also discussed having economic cooperation supervised by both Indian and Sri Lankan teams, including members of Sri Lankas Presidential Advisory Group on Multilateral Engagement and Debt Sustainability, the secretary to the Ministry of Treasury, and the governor of the Central Bank along with Indian Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran and Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth.

As Moragoda pointed out, India was the first country to provide Sri Lanka with assistance in these challenging times. This has included several shipments of fuel and wheat flour worth up to US$ 1.5 billion under two lines of credit it extended in January this year. The Reserve Bank of India also cleared a currency swap arrangement of US$ 400 million.

The Indian government has agreed to a long-pending request to defer Sri Lankas debt repayment for the first quarter of 2022, while Sri Lanka has requested a further period of debt moratorium, which New Delhi is considering but has not yet decided.

The island nation of 22 million has been hit by its worst economic crisis with power cuts and fuel shortages which have brought protesters out onto the streets, including the Galle Face Green, Colombo. This has resulted in mounting pressure on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

In the past two weeks, protests against the Rajapaksa administration have spread across the country. Many roads were blocked yesterday, especially in major towns with protesters demanding concessions.

Trains on the main railway line were also delayed yesterday morning as demonstrators blocked tracks. Buses on several routes were also unable to operate because of blocked roads.

Meanwhile, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) increased the price of fuel on Tuesday.
by Shafique Khokhar

Lahore High Court convicted 88 people in connection with the death of Sri Lankan-born factory general manager killed by a mob. Six defendants get the death penalty. For Pakistani human rights groups, this is an Important step, but those unjustly jailed for blasphemy deserve justice.

Lahore (AsiaNews)  The Lahore High Court convicted 88 of the 89 people on trial for the lynching of Priyantha Diyawadanage, the general manager of a factory in Sialkot, originally from Sri Lanka.

Six defendants were sentenced to death, nine to life in prison while the rest received sentences ranging from two to five years. Although happy with the convictions, human rights groups in Pakistan remain opposed to the death penalty.

Diyawadanage was attacked and beaten to death on 3 December 2021 after he was accused of blasphemy.

In coming to its decision, the court relied on videos of the attack from the mobile phones of 55 defendants, as well as the statements from a number of witnesses placed under court protection.

According to Mariyam Kashif Anthony, a social activist from Karachi, the verdict and the quick trial are a good thing. Now We expect victims of blasphemy [accusations] will be brought to trial just as quickly, she said. Many people are still in jail because of this type of accusation.

Naveed Walter, president of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), has reservations about the death penalty; still, he acknowledges the courageous decision to bring the guilty to justice.

For him, this decision is a clear message that false charges of blasphemy damage Pakistans image and people suffer from extreme violence for crimes they have not committed.

To further this, We demand that pupils in schools and madrasas be sensitised and that fundamentalist mindsets be changed.

He also wants the authorities to ban speech that praises blasphemy murderers as heroes so that young people are not encouraged to act the same way.

With respect to blasphemy, mob violence must be stopped and the law should guarantee the rights of those accused of blasphemy to prevent incidents like the one in which Priyantha Kumara lost his life.
A measure intended to ease tensions in Jerusalem's holy sites, the scene of clashes between police and Muslim. The opposition accuses Bennett of giving in to extremists. The reply: a measure similar to those taken in the past by Netanyahu. Regional diplomacy moves to favour a de-escalation. First violence in months from the Gaza Strip.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - For the last days of Ramadan, the Islami choly month of fasting and prayer that ends in early May with the feast of Eid al Fitr, the Israeli police will block access to the Al-Aqsa Mosques, in Jerusalem, to Jewish believers and tourists. A measure taken in these hours, in an attempt to avert new tensions and violence between security forces and Muslim believers after last week's clashes that caused hundreds of injuries.

Meanwhile, parliamentarians and far-right groups accuse Naftali Bennett and his government, increasingly fragile and precarious, of capitulating in front of the rioters and "delivering a reward in the hands of the enemy.

However, the Prime Minister's party recalls that this practice was also adopted by predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu in the past, during the most tense phases. Tomorrow is scheduled a meeting with police chief Kobi Shabtai to decide the starting date of the ban, usually is in force in the last 10 days of Islamic holidays. A sensitive period, during which many believers visit and stop in the night in the square in front of the places of worship.

The movements linked to the Temple - an umbrella organization that brings together several radical Jewish groups who want to overturn the status quo and claim sovereignty over the area, identified as the Temple Mount - say that the government wants to close access for 12 days. In the past, the attack continues, it was customary to block off the area only during the last three or four days of Ramadan. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, of the Religious Zionist Party, affirm that "closing the Temple Mount to Jews, the holiest place for the people of Israel, is a victory for Hamas, for terrorism, for the riots unleashed by our enemies". In a note, the premier's party, Yamina, replies that the decision is taken only on the basis of "security considerations" and "recommendations" arrived from the Defense. "Last year - the statement continues - Netanyahu closed the Temple Mount for 19 days under pressure from Hamas."

The escalation of tension and clashes at holy sites in Jerusalem is souring relations between Israel on the one hand, and the United Arab Emirates and Jordan on the other after progress on the level of diplomatic relations in the last period. The Israeli government attacked Jordan's prime minister yesterday after Bisher al-Khasawneh extolled the Palestinians' uprising at the Esplanade and clashes with the Israeli Security Forces. Amman also summoned the Israeli ambassador - replaced by the deputy because he was out of the country - for consultations.

Previously it was the Hashemite King Abdullah II himself to launch an appeal to Israel to "put an end to illegal provocative measures" in the area. The Israeli authorities, added the monarch, must respect "the status quo" in its historical and legal terms and cooperate in an attempt to defuse the growing conflicts in the area.

On April 17, a long telephone conversation took place between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas, during which they expressed "firm condemnation" for the raids and "provocations" of the Jewish state. Ankara's leader then spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, with the latter urging them not to listen to "rumors" that only want to sow discord and "act responsibly for calm" in these days of celebration.

However, the effects of the escalation in Jerusalem can already be seen on the ground with the first violence recorded in the Gaza area. Yesterday, the fighter planes with the Star of David carried out some raids in the Strip - the first in months - in response to the launching of rockets from the Palestinian enclave towards the south of Israel, where alarm sirens resounded for a long time. On the night of April 18-19, Hamas fired several rockets, which were neutralized by the Israeli defense system or crashed into the sea off the coast of Tel Aviv.
Today's headlines: one person killed in Sri Lankan protests; Mariupol could fall soon; Solomon Islands' agreements with China worry regional neighbours; Hong Kong activist convicted under a colonial law; South Korea to rethink how they calculate age .

AFGHANISTAN

At least six people are dead after an attack on a Kabul boys' school in the city's Hazara district. No group has claimed the three explosions, although Islamic State militiamen had struck the area before. The devices were placed in backpacks, according to a local official.

MYANMAR

Myanmar's Government of National Unity has said it will offer rewards to soldiers who desert the ranks of Burma's military junta with their military assets. Defectors will be given between 0,000 and 0,000. According to some officials, however, the idea is impractical and unrealistic.

SRI LANKA

At least one person was killed and a dozen were injured yesterday after Sri Lankan police attempted to crack down on people's protests against the caravan. Clashes broke out in the central city of Rambukkana. Authorities had asked protesters to move away from a railway that had been blocked for hours.

SOUTH KOREA

Koreans could gain a year in age: President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol would like to do away with the traditional Korean method of calculating one's age, according to which a child at birth is already one year old and gains an extra year after each New Year. In South Korea there are also two other systems but abandoning the tradition is difficult because age is an element of primary importance for life in society.

CHINA - SOLOMON ISLANDS

According to Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, the new cooperation pact with China will not undermine regional security. In contrast, the United States, Japan, New Zealand and Australia expressed concern about the security pact "and its grave risks to a free and open Indo-Pacific," the White House said.

HONG KONG

A Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy activist Tam Tak-chi, 50, who had already been in prison for a year, to 40 months. The radio host was convicted of "sedition" under a colonial-era law. City authorities are using a wide range of tools in addition to the Beijing-imposed national security law to restrict the rights of Hongkongers.

RUSSIA

Moscow is doubling its efforts to conquer Mariupol by stepping up attacks on Ukraine's eastern regions. Russia last night issued a new ultimatum enjoining Mariupol fighters to surrender and "end their senseless resistance" from 2 p.m. today.
At today's general audience, which has returned to St. Peter's Square, the Pope returned to his reflections on old age. "Please do not turn away the elderly and if they are in a nursing home bring the children to them." The greeting to a group of pilgrims from Myanmar and the invitation to continue to pray for the families who suffer because of wars in the world.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - After last week's reflection on Easter, Pope Francis returned to talk about old age this morning at the general audience, continuing the cycle of Wednesday catechesis. There were about twenty thousand faithful today in St. Peter's Square, coming from Italy and from all over the world, to listen to the Pope's words.

In his address- which centered on "Honor your father and mother: the love of life lived" - the pope analyzed the fragility of the elderly, marked in a special way by the experiences of loss and despondency, loss and abandonment. "How often have we said these old people are a nuisance or how often have we wanted to distance the old from us," Francis said. Yet the revelation of the Gospel points to a different path: that of "returning love," the path of honoring those who have gone before us.

"This special love that paves the way in the form of honor - tenderness and respect at the same time - intended for the elderly is sealed by God's commandment: Honor your father and mother," the pontiff continued. It is a solemn commitment, the first of the "second table" of the Ten Commandments, which refers not only to parents but also to the generations before us.

Pope Francis explained how to translate this gesture into practice, "To honor father mother and to honor the elderly is to recognize the dignity they have." Indeed, even the very care of the sick or the guarantee of sustenance can lack honor. "Honor is lacking when the excess of confidence, instead of declining as delicacy and affection, tenderness and respect, turns into roughness and prevarication," he said.

This can happen anywhere, between domestic walls, in nursing homes, in offices or in the open spaces of the city, and the very serious effects of this attitude of contempt can produce horrible things. The pope recalled the recent news episode that saw two boys set fire to the blanket of a "homeless man," seen by them as "a human waste." Such episodes are only the tip of an iceberg, "of the contempt for a life that, far from the attractions and impulses of youth, already appears as a life of waste." "We think so many times that the old are the discard - he denounced -. This contempt, which dishonors the elderly, actually dishonors all of us."

In this regard, Pope Francis cited an episode related to the story of Noah, when after drinking a few too many drinks, he lay decomposed. "The sons, in order not to make him wake up in embarrassment, delicately cover him, with a lowered gaze, with great respect - said Francis - . This text is very beautiful and says everything about the honor due to the elderly man: to cover his weaknesses, so as not to make him feel ashamed."

He then made an open-hearted appeal: "Please don't turn away the elderly and, if you can't keep them at home and the only solution is a nursing home, at least visit them and take the children with you." Recounting a personal anecdote, the pope went back to the time when he was a priest in Buenos Aires and often visited homes for the elderly: "A lady one day told me that she had four children - each with a family - and that they always went to visit her.

Instead, later the nurse told me that this was not the case and that her children hadn't come for six months." Instead, caring for the elderly must be everyone's job, as "love for the human that is common to us, inclusive of honor for the life lived, is not a matter for old people," but must become everyone's ambition. "May the wisdom of God's Spirit grant us to open the horizon of this true cultural revolution with the necessary energy," the pope said.

With his heart always turned to the peoples of the world in difficulty, Francis at the end of the audience greeted the faithful from Myanmar and blessed the generosity of the Polish people for welcoming Ukrainian refugees. Without forgetting to renew his invitation to prayer: "Let us pray for peace and for the comfort of all the families who suffer because of wars in the world."
In 2004 she set up an organisation with her retirement money to provide legal aid and protection for migrant workers. In recent years, she fought against sexual slavery and human trafficking. Her work was recognised in Asia and the United States.

Singapore (AsiaNews)  Activists and human rights groups in Singapore and across Asia are mourning the death of Bridget Tan, a leading advocate for migrant workers and founder of the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME).

A prominent Catholic figure in the city-state, Tan died on Monday at the age of 73, seven years after a stroke that left her paralysed for two months in intensive care in 2014

Bridget was an untiring advocate and champion of the rights of migrant workers, HOME said in a statement.

Her first public appearance after her illness was in December 2014, during the celebrations for HOMEs 10th anniversary.

More recently, she closely followed its activities, which include support for domestic workers victims of abuse, skills training programmes, as well as legal and job counselling for migrant workers.

Tan was a real friend and ally of the migrants; she always lent a listening ear and gave a helping hand to people in need, HOME also said.

In addition to helping migrant workers in Singapore, she also spent time in Batam, Indonesia, working for a local NGO.

Bridget Tan was born in 1948, the third of four children. Her father was a physician and her mother a housewife.

Educated at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) in Katong, a Catholic girls' secondary school, she worked in human resources in the private sector until her retirement at 55. She had two children, a son who is a doctor and a daughter who is a psychologist, as well as six grandchildren.

After her retirement, she continued to volunteer, starting with Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ACMI), which she chaired.

She set up HOME in 2004 with her retirement money in order to provide services, assistance and legal aid to migrants.

That same year, she created another organisation in Indonesia, the Yayasan Dunia Viva Wanita (World Foundation for Women).

For her work, Tan was honoured over the years by the Asia Society, the US State Department, and the governments of Thailand and the Philippines.

Her deep connection with the Catholic faith emerges not only from her works, but also from her public statements.

In a 2011 interview, she said she felt God's call when Father Altamirano urged her to join the commission. In the latter, she was behind food, housing and training programmes.

In recent years, HOME has expanded its activities to include support for victims of sexual slavery and human trafficking.

In 2010 she was nominated for the Reader's Digest Asian of the Year award, and received an honourable mention. Five years later, she was inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame.
by Steve Suwannarat

Police recapture more than 300 people who broke out early this morning, possibly because of tensions with camp guards. Four adults and two children died as they tried to cross a motorway.

Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews)  At least four adults and two children, all ethnic Rohingya, have died during an attempted escape from a temporary detention centre in Sungai Bakap (Penang).

In the early hours of this morning, 528 migrants held at the facility broke through the gates and part of the fence; apparently, relations with camp guards had become tense.

Among those who fled, two men, two women and two children, a boy and a girl, were run over by cars and killed crossing a motorway about eight km from the camp.

Malaysian immigration officials reported that at least 362 Rohingya were recaptured, while the others are still on the loose. The facility held 664 refugees, including 137 children.

Police are investigating the reasons for the tensions that led to the mass escape attempt.

For Rohingya refugees, life in Malaysia is tough. To reach the country, they travel by sea for weeks, even months in some cases.

Malaysia opened its doors to the Rohingya who, like a majority of Malaysians, are Muslim.

About 103,000 have reached the Southeast Asian country fleeing military repression in Myanmar or discrimination in Bangladesh where they receive the strictest minimum and are not allowed to integrate.

In 2020 Bangladesh interned thousands of them in overcrowded detention centres, ostensibly to control the spread of COVID-19.

Some 181,510 refugees are present Malaysia as of last January, this according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. They include some 52,000 people from Myanmar from other ethnic minorities who fled Myanmar due to military persecution and the ongoing civil war that broke out after the coup of 1 February 2021.

Like other migrants who lack proper papers and are unable to obtain protection based on international standards, the Rohingya in Malaysia also end up being exploited as cheap labour, in the construction industry for example.
Exports from Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and Vietnam are way down. Western sanctions against Russia weigh heavily. Conversely, imports from Russia are up, mainly because of higher gas, oil and grain prices. The same goes for China.

Tokyo (AsiaNews)  The war in Ukraine has dramatically reduced Asian exports to Russia, a situation that goes beyond the countries that have signed up to Western sanctions against Moscow.

According to Nikkei Asia, sanctions and some logistical problems are driving down Asian sales to Russia.

Japans Ministry of Finance today reported that the value of Japanese exports to Russia in March fell by 31.5 per cent in one year, while total exports jumped by 14.7 per cent.

Following Russias invasion of Ukraine, Japan imposed punitive measures, including a ban on the sale of semiconductors and other high-tech products to Russia.

Singapore also adopted sanctions against Russia, blocking the transfer of military equipment and high-tech assets to Russia and freezing Russian assets held in its banks. As a result, exports to Russia fell by more than 85 per cent last month.

The same goes for two other US allies in the Western Pacific: South Korea and Taiwan. South Korean exports to Russia dropped by 55.6 per cent in March, roughly the same as Taiwans.

Vietnam also reported an 84 per cent decline in exports to Russia with whom it has always had close ties.

Although Indonesia has been careful not to take sides on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, it too saw its Russia-bound exports drop by about 50 per cent.

Conversely, while direct exports to Russia are way down, the same cannot be said about imports. Japans have increased by 89.6 per cent.

Notwithstanding the impossibility of quickly replacing Russian energy supplies, analysts note that the real factor in rising Asian imports from Russia is the soaring cost of oil, gas and wheat.

High energy prices also explain higher Chinese imports from Russia (+26.4 per cent in March). However, the growth of trade between Beijing and Moscow is slowing down.

Last month Sino-Russian trade rose by 12.8 per cent year-on-year, about half that of February (25.7 per cent), when Vladimir Putin launched his military attack against Ukraine.
Xinjiang shares information on social, economic development with Omani guests

Xinhua) 13:43, April 20, 2022

URUMQI, April 20 (Xinhua) -- China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Tuesday held a video conference jointly with the Chinese Embassy in Oman to share information on the region's social and economic development with its Omani guests.

At the conference held in the regional capital of Urumqi, Nurem Simayhan, deputy chairman of the regional government, said that no terrorism case has been reported for five consecutive years in Xinjiang. He said that the sense of fulfillment, happiness and security of people of all ethnic groups has been continuously enhanced.

Chinese Ambassador to Oman Li Lingbing delivered a video address. He said that certain Western anti-China forces trying to label Xinjiang as a region of "genocide," "forced labor" and "religious oppression" intend to use Xinjiang to split China and hinder China's development and progress.

Cotton farmer Reheman Yunus in Yuli County said via video link that with the aid of a large-scale seeding machine, he was able to sow seeds and lay plastic mulch and drip irrigation tubes on his 530-mu (about 35.3 hectares) cotton field in just two days. After the cotton sprouts, the village cooperative regularly sends drones to spray pesticides, he said.

"Last year my cotton yield was more than 430 kilograms per mu, and my total income exceeded 1.1 million yuan (about 172,000 U.S. dollars)," he said.

Abduhabir Tursongmamat is the imam of a mosque with a history of more than 900 years in Hotan County. He said via video link that in recent years, the government has renovated the mosque, equipping it with air conditioning, firefighting facilities and drinking water, and reconstructing the washing rooms and installing flushing toilets.

The mosque has been expanded to an area of nearly 3,200 square meters and can accommodate hundreds of worshippers, he said.

Abduhabir Tursongmamat said that during the ongoing Ramadan, Muslims in Xinjiang carry out traditional religious activities such as fasting and praying.

We warmly welcome everyone to visit Xinjiang and experience its harmony, stability and vigorous development, Nurem Simayhan said.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
On April 19th, 2021, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter wrote history. The four-pound (1.8-kg) aircraft took to the skies in the thin atmosphere of Mars, demonstrating that controlled flight is possible on another planet. Now, a year later, Ingenuity has clocked more than 46 minutes aloft, proving that it is capable of pushing its limits every time.

7 photos
Aviators call aircraft invisibility stealth. That would be the machines ability to avoid being detected by enemy radar and some other technological means. The key word here is avoid, as no aircraft ever made is totally invisible to technology.The idea of making planes less visible, physically, first popped up in the minds of engineers in the days of the Second World War. The Germans are the ones credited to have come up with the notion of using a cellulose acetate on their planes to reduce their visibility, but actually, that had the exact opposite effect, as the stuff reflected sunlight, and made planes beacons of light in the sky.The Germans didnt give up and came up with something called Horten H.IX prototype, which was supposed to be undetectable by Britains Chain Home radar system. The plane, shaped not unlike some modern aircraft, like a simple flying wing, never came to be made though.The first true stealth aircraft is considered to be the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk , first flown in 1981, and officially retired from active duty in 2008. Presently, the worlds fleet of stealth aircraft is not that diverse, only including the usual suspects, namely the American F-22 and F-35, the Chinese J-20, and the Russian Sukhoi Su-57.On the bomber front, no flying weapons platform of this kind is as visible on the world stage as the B-2 Spirit . First in the air in 1989, the Northrop Grumman bird has been serving Americas needs, undetected, ever since.The plane is a constant presence in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) releases of impressive photographs, and the one we have here, by playing the shadow game, seems to want to make us understand what Americas enemies are feeling when they know a bomber is out there, but they cant actually see it.The plane is deployed with the 509th Bomb Wing, as is pictured here as it was about to take off at the beginning of April from the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
Full Self-Driving

FSD

When @elonmusk is wrong he always resorts to insults, remember the pedo guy? FSD is the worst trash software ever shipped by a respectable company. Green Hills Software is the operating system for B1-B nuclear bombers, F-35 fighter jets and Boeing 787s: https://t.co/QVSlI7mD5D  Dan O'Dowd (@RealDanODowd) January 17, 2022

As controversial as both Tesla and Musk are, there is no denying the impact of both. And both have passionate defenders, who happen to outnumber and silence critics. This self-professed billionaire wants to be the exception: a critic, a hater, a truth-teller who is willing to risk it all to shut Tesla down. A billionaire, too, which comes in handy.That person is David ODowd and hes running for Senate in California on an anti-Tesla campaign. Out of all the things to pick a fight with and turn it into a running platform, ODowd is choosing Tesla. The idea sounds ridiculous, but ODowd tells Politico that hes dead serious : his campaign is a one-issue one, and will hopefully see Teslas  and FSD suite from Tesla)  banned nationwide.If the ODowd name rings a bell, its because its been in the headlines before. Earlier this year, ODowd took a full ad on the first page of the Sunday Times to shill for something called the Dawn Project . Dawn Project aimed to bring Software from the Dark of Night to the Light of Day, because ODowd believes all computers are hackable and all the more dangerous if theyre in cars.Just in case youre wondering what the catch might be, why yes, ODowd is the founder and CEO of a software company, Green Hills. He claims they make the only software in the world that hackers cant break into, though Musk would rather describe the product as trash.Back to the campaign, ODowd is making his Tesla beef political. Asked whether hes not trying to shield himself under the first amendment for his Tesla attacks by pretending to run for Senate, he insists the run is real. This isnt about profit and isnt about bringing Tesla down so he could have higher revenue; this is about keeping pedestrians and drivers safe . Which they are obviously not when a Tesla runs on, as he shows in his first $2 million ad called Unsafe at Any Speed.ODowd tells Politico that FSD is bad and fails all the time, therefore it is his duty as an American to get it off the road. This isnt about competition, its about keeping our families and our communities safe from defective software that simply doesnt work, he says. He is funding the campaign out of his pocket.
SUV

The anniversary vehicle is a Dacia Duster Extreme , the latter being a limited edition variant of the. Instead of being sold, it will be placed in the future Dacia Museum, along with other landmarks for the brand, such as its first electric vehicle, its first Logan, and its first 1300.Manufacturing at the Dacia plant began in 1968, using completely knocked down kits of the Renault 8, which was sold locally as the Dacia 1100 As a fun fact, around the same time, Bulgaria, Romania's Southern neighbor, had its version of the Renault 8 manufactured under the Bulgarrenault name. It did not catch on, and production stopped in early 1970. Dacia , on the other hand, pushed forward with another Renault license, the R12, which was marketed as the Dacia 1300 in Romania. The model started being built in 1969 in Romania, while the last iteration of the design was built and sold in 2004.At the time, Dacia was already partly owned by Renault, and the Logan was about to be introduced, but that did not stop the Romanian brand from selling its most affordable model up until the its 35th anniversary.All of Dacia's 1300 , 1310, and their derivatives managed to add up to about 2.3 million units in just over 35 years of manufacturing, as the pick-up version of the model was sold up until 2006. In comparison, the Duster, which was introduced in 2010, has already reached 2,1 million units, and it is still an incredibly popular product in the range.The first million of cars was a milestone that was reached in 1985, while the second million was reached back in 1998. Things got sped up after Renault invested heavily in the plant, and the fifth millionth unit rolled off the assembly line in 2014. In other words, Dacia has built and sold more vehicles from 2014 to 2022 than it did from 1968 to 2014.There is a reason for the latter, and it is not just industrialization and the use of robots in manufacturing, as well as modern methods. Since Renault took full control of the brand, Dacia vehicles have been made in countries like Morocco, Algeria, and China.The bulk of the production was handled by the main facility back in Mioveni, Romania, but the two plants in Morocco do a bit of heavy lifting themselves. As a reference, though, the Mioveni facility celebrated building seven million vehicles on January 19, 2022.Currently, the best-selling Dacia model is the Sandero , along with its Sandero Stepway crossover derivative, which has added up to 2,6 million units made. That is a lot of Sanderos, but only a handful were driven by James May. Someone needs to do something about that, if you ask us.
There are several reasons why these apps come in handy, and it often comes down to a mix of up-to-date maps and new-generation features like the incident reporting engine available on Waze.Toyota knows that offering advanced navigation is a major challenge, so the company has joined forces with Mapbox specifically to build a solution that would make switching to Google Maps, Waze, or Apple Maps pretty much unnecessary.The new system, which will be available in Toyota and Lexus cars, will rely on the Mapbox Maps software development kit, and it essentially comes with two major benefits.First and foremost, Toyota designers will be able to change the look and feel of the navigation experience just the way they want with the help of Mapbox Studio, therefore shipping new updates that would further refine the way the navigation solution works.But more importantly, Mapbox allows Toyota to push updates in real-time, which means that the navigation experience overall will be updated more frequently than in the case of traditional pre-loaded software. How often this is going to happen is something that comes down to Toyota, but hopefully, the company will understand that it needs to ship updates at a fast pace if it wants to compete with the likes of Google Maps and Waze.The new navigation capabilities will include the essential feature package, such as turn-by-turn navigation. The OTA updates, however, are the ones making a huge difference, as long as Toyota plays its cards right.In the meantime, most Toyota models can already be fitted with Android Auto and CarPlay, so if users want to switch to Google Maps and Waze, the whole thing is extremely straightforward, as long as a mobile device is around.
Luxury business jets are still in high demand, judging by the fact that Gulfstream had to expand completion operations. In addition to Savannah and Appleton, Wisconsin, the aircraft manufacturer has started outfitting large-cabin interiors in Dallas. The first Gulfstream G600 to be outfitted here was proudly delivered, according to a recent announcement.Seats with an award-winning design, 14 panoramic oval windows, 100% fresh purified air, and best-in-class altitude are some of the highlights of the G600s cabin. Its flexible design allows for a configuration with four living areas for 19 passengers or one with three living areas for 13 passengers. Either way, the cabin is custom-made, featuring handcrafted cabinetry, furnishings, and finishes.This bespoke interior is perfectly suited for an aircraft that still demonstrates impressive performance , even if the next-generation G400 and G800 are gearing up to take center stage. The G600 has more than 35 city-pair speed records under its belt. It can fly for 6,600 nautical miles (7,595 miles/12,223 km) at Mach 0.85 (652 mph/1,049 kph).In addition to its award-winning interiors, it also claims the most extensive use of touch-screen technology in the business aviation sector. The next-generation Symmetry Flight Deck features an active control sidestick, while the Enhanced Flight Vision System is just one of its premium safety features. Gulfstream is also boosting its customer service operations. It recently announced a new service in Mesa, Arizona, for customers on the U.S West Coast, and it will open a sustainable service center at Fort Worth Alliance Airport in Texas later this year. The first G600 to be completed at its Dallas facility joins more than 70 G600 jets that have been delivered so far all over the world.
In 1969, John E. Herlitz was tasked to design a completely new Barracuda that would abandon any link to the plebian Valiant that served as the base for the previous two generations. The result was a timeless piece of muscle car art built on a shorter, wider version of Chrysler's existing B platform, called the E-body, which was shared with the more upscale Dodge Challenger.The new body featured an aggressive sunken grille that incorporated a pair of round headlights, a long, wide hood, a shorter deck, and beautifully contoured quarters that ascended to meet the B-pillars, giving the car its distinctly muscular look.For the first time in model history, the fastback style was gone, and customers could choose between two-door coupe or convertible bodies.At the time of its release in 1970, the Barracuda was available in three distinct trims: a base model, a somewhat high-end variant dubbed Grand Coupe, and the performance-oriented Cuda. Mid-model year, Plymouth also introduced a low-end version simply called Coupe, but due to poor sales, it was discontinued a year later.Engine choices for the Coupe, base model, and Grand Coupe included a couple of Slant-6 units, as well as four different V8s. The sportier Cuda ditched the straight-sixes and could only be had with a V8 under the hood, the most capable of which being the 426-ci (7.0-liter) HEMI , which was conservatively rated at 425 hp.Nicknamed the Elephant engine, this humongous unit traced its roots to a completely new NASCAR project. It was used in the Plymouth Belvedere racing cars that finished first, second, and third at the Daytona 500 in 1964.Tamed to comply with emission standards, the street version had a lower compression ratio, more conventional internals or manifolds, and dumped the dry-sump lubrication system for a regular wet sump.When fitted inside the engine bay of the Cuda, it transformed it into a fearsome straight-line performer . This made the model extremely desirable among speed addicts but also a lot more expensive. One of these thoroughbred muscle cars had a sticker price of around $4,000, nearly two times more than the base model. This meant that only 780 HEMI Cudas were sold from 1970 to 1971 when the engine option was discontinued.Apart from the coupe, Plymouth also offered a convertible version of the HEMI Cuda. Initially, fitting a high-output V8 inside of a convertible body posed a real challenge since the lack of a roof reduced the rigidity of the chassis. To solve the problem, engineers strengthened the unibody at key points, a process that increased the price even more.Thus, only 14 HEMI-powered convertibles were sold in 1970, and seven more left dealerships in 1971. People were staying away from this model because of its price tag, but little did they know that its value would reach seven-figure sums in the following decades.In 1971, one of these ultra-rare Cudas made its way to France, where it was brought by Jean Teyssier, a local muscle car enthusiast.The only convertible to be finished in Winchester Gray Metallic, it was ordered with exterior features such as a black Shaker-scooped hood, an optional black top, matte black HEMI billboard graphics, body-color side mirrors, and Rallye wheels wrapped in Goodyear Polyglas GT tires.For the interior, the owner opted for the high-back bucket seats , a Rallye dash, woodgrain center console, trims made from the same material, a three-spoke steering wheel, power windows, and a special Euro-spec speedometer.The HEMI engine was mated to a four-speed manual (one of two 71s with this option), complete with a Hurst pistol grip shifter. All that raw power was transferred to the rear wheels through a Dana 60 Sure Grip differential with a 3.54 final gear ratio.In addition, the car received the A33 Track Pak, which gave it a 26-inch radiator, seven-blade viscous fan, and a sturdier suspension setup.Teyssier took great care of his precious ride and only racked up close to 90,000 km (55,923 miles) for the next twenty years. In 1993, he decided to sell it and shortly received a call from an American who ended up buying it. About six years after returning to the U.S., the gray Cuda was sold again to its current owner, Tom Lembeck, who has preserved it in its original state.Last year, it was put on the auction block at a Mecum event , with the highest bid reaching a whopping $4.8 million. To put it into perspective, that kind of money could get you a Bugatti Chiron or not one, but two low-mileage Ferrari F40s. Despite the eye-watering sum he was offered, the owner refused to sell as he reportedly wanted close to $6 million.The rare 1970-1971 Plymouth HEMI Cuda convertibles are unquestionably some of the greatest, rarest muscle cars ever built. But are they really worth their current value?Let us know what you think in the comments section, and make sure to check out the YouTube video below by Lou Costabile, who gets a chance to ride shotgun in the most valuable Cuda convertible of them all.
Amadea is one of the newest and most spectacular builds from luxury shipyard Lurssen. At an estimated cost of $325 million, it is also a very expensive one, and the fact that its owned by Suleiman Kerimov makes it controversial as well. Kerimov, who has been subject of international sanctions before, in 2014 and 2018, is now on the sanctions list in the EU, U.S. and the UK, which means that all his possessions can be seized by local governments if not on friendly ground.A friendly port is exactly what Kerimov sought for Amadea. Last month, the megayacht left Mexico and started on a Pacific Ocean crossing that was dubbed unusual by trackers and industry publications. Presumably, Kermov wanted to take the 348-foot (106-meter) five-decker to the Russian port of Vladivostok, where no international sanction could reach it. On the way there, it stopped in Fiji, where authorities detained the crew.That was just the first step toward getting the vessel impounded, Reuters reports. Local and U.S. authorities are working together to establish the identity of Amadeas owner (as most oligarchs yachts , this one too is registered in the Caymans), which would allow them to impound it. Meanwhile, Fijis director of public prosecutions, Christopher Pryde has filed an application with the High Court, asking that the motor yacht Amadea be restrained from leaving Fijian waters until the finalization of an application to register a warrant to seize the property and that a US warrant to seize the Amadea be registered. In other words, Amadea is not going anywhere anytime soon.Soon after the crew was detained , a superyacht agent for Amadea denied to the media that the owner was Kerimov or, for that matter, anyone associated with President Vladimir Putin. On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine, and one of the responses of NATO country members and other nations has been to establish and enforce sanctions lists against oligarchs known for their ties with the Russian President.If the ownership between the so-called gold king and the Lurssen megayacht is established, this will be among the biggest catches internationally, since the sanctions list went into effect.
One of the first measures Europe and the world took against Russia, in response to its aggression against Ukraine, was to close the skies. As of March 1, no Russian plane is allowed to fly in the airspace of no less than 36 countries, including 27 EU members. And that poses serious challenges when it comes to retrieving diplomats that keep getting expelled.Last week, for instance, both Spain and Greece did that, and for these guys to travel by land from either back to their homeland was out of the question. As usual, Russia sent planes to fetch its people, and it received permission from both nations to enter their airspace.No permission was granted by the other European regions the planes would have had to fly over, and that caused the staged flight to take a very long detour. How long? As per Flight Radar , long enough to come close, combined, to the current worlds longest flight, between Singapore and New York, which was in the air for over 15,300 km (over 9,500 miles) and more than 17 hours.More to the point, the Russians had to fly for 15,163 km (9,421 miles), departing from Moscow for Madrid, but having to go around the entire Europe, doubling the distance they usually would have had to cover.From Madrid, the plane departed for Athens, on a relatively more direct route this time, as it had to fly over North Africa and the Mediterranean, only needing to dodge Italian and Maltese air spaces. From Athens, it departed for Moscow, on a route that took it over Turkey, which still has its skies open to the Russians.As per Flight Radar, the plane in question is an Ilyushin Il-96-300, and even if it didnt cover the record distance in a single run, the comparison only goes to show how much a nation is affected if the others decide to cut it off from the world.
ICE

EV

If Tesla was willing to admit it, it would just call these suppressions for what they are: measures to deliver as many EVs as it can produce. The companys advocates praised it for its engineering edge of approving chips that would take ages for other automakers to use. The issue is that they conveniently forget that there is a reason for them to take so long to be approved: tests. Shortcuts to get things into production lines frequently charge a heavy price, mostly from customers.The latest example of these measures to keep production going at all costs seems to be using engineering samples in ICEs  Teslas multimedia computers. The Model S and the Model 3 used MCUs, which presented serious problems with eMMC flash memory chips and were replaced by ICEs in the latest refresh of these two models.We have already written everything we know about these engineering samples, but it is important to raise awareness as much as possible. According to GreenTheOnly , thecomes with a Quectel AG525R-GL modem chip with the inscription engineering sample in all Model S Plaid, Model 3, and Model Y units with AMD chips, regardless of where they are manufactured. Why would a production car have engineering sample components in it if not due to a lack of production chips? We have contacted Quectel to try to understand the situation.Independently of the answer, the deal is that Tesla is cutting or changing multiple components to keep its assembly lines running while other automakers are simply stopping them. Not because they want or are not putting enough effort into finding solutions but because their vehicles have to follow minimum quality standards. They also can afford to do that, which leads us to ask if thats also the case for Tesla.Elon Musk frequently asks Tesla employees to make an effort to present high production and delivery number by the end of each quarter. He even asked Tesla advocates to show up at Tesla Service Centers to help deliver cars with no compensation other than a pat on the back and a good job. As most of these guys are also Tesla shareholders, rising stock prices may be all they want in return.If sales numbers fell down due to supply issues, that sort of goodwill could start to vanish. People could also realize they are receiving cars with less content for the same price. These vehicles delivered in a rush also present poor build quality, which helped coin the inside joke within specs. Thats what Tesla customers hear whenever they complain about uneven panel gaps, paint issues, and a long etcetera.Curiously, a recent interview from RJ Scaringe helps to shed light on why Tesla is so reluctant in admitting the supply chain crisis is also affecting it. The Rivian CEO told Automotive News he would not worry about production now because he did not conceive his company focused on next week. Scaringe said that Rivian is sufficiently capitalized not to fear for its financial viability. What about Tesla? Musk has said more than once that themaker could have gone bankrupt on multiple occasions. When he joked about that on April 1, 2018 , it was an attempt to dismiss a well-founded concern. Teslas resistance to stopping production when it lacks the components to keep going feeds similar worries. On top of that, it also delivers vehicles that may damage the companys reputation in the long run.The Tesla CEO said the company cut mobile connectors with new cars because statistics said people didnt use them. Nobody bought that. There is no explanation yet for the engineering samples. If Musk stopped downplaying peoples intelligence and was just candid about the companys difficulties and struggles, he would inspire a lot more confidence than by pretending real issues are just a joke  or an engineering opportunity for solutions no serious automaker would ever adopt.
Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Sunny with gusty winds developing this afternoon. High 66F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

A clear sky. Low 39F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
Pashinian discussed with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin ways of increasing Russian-Armenian trade and launching joint economic projects on the second day of his official visit to Russia.

We are certainly interested in expanding bilateral cooperation and launching new joint projects in areas such as energy, mining, transport infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, agro-industrial complex, digital economy, high technology, and innovation, Mishustin told Pashinian.

The Russian and Armenian governments should speed up preparations for the signing of a new program of bilateral economic cooperation, he said in his opening remarks at the talks.

I think that we are facing common challenges in the current situation, Pashinian said, for his part. But there are also opportunities which ... we should try to use.

I am sure that in the future we will continue to cooperate very effectively and find new ways and solutions for the further growth of mutual trade, he added.

The volume of Russian-Armenian trade grew strongly in 2021 and in January and February this year, solidifying Russias status as Armenias number trading partner. But it reportedly shrunk in March following the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting Western sanctions imposed on Russia.

Visiting Moscow last week, Armenian Economy Minister Kerobian said the two governments should work together to urgently eliminate the causes of the decline and restore growth. He also announced that Armenia has started paying for Russian natural gas in rubles.

Citing the illegal sanctions, Mishustin called for a greater use of the Russian as well as Armenian national currencies in mutual commercial operations.

Pashinian and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the impact of the sanctions during their meeting held outside Moscow on Tuesday. In a joint declaration issued after the talks, they criticized the use of unilateral restrictive measures by a number of countries. They also pledged to jointly overcome the challenges caused by these measures.

Because of its close economic links with Russia, Armenia is expected to be significantly affected by the Western sanctions. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have forecast that economic growth in the South Caucasus country will slow down considerably this year.
The TJX Companies, Inc. Announces New Global Environmental Goals, Including a Plan to Achieve Net Zero Emissions in its Own Operations by 2040
Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. High 67F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low around 45F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Prosecutors called witnesses to testify about blood stains and the presence of DNA on rope as the Bakersfield 3 trial entered day six of testi
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The Justice Department said Tuesday it will not appeal a federal district judges ruling that ended the nations federal mask mandate on public transit unless the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the requirement is still necessary.

In a statement released a day after a Florida judge ended the sweeping mandate, which required face coverings on planes and trains and in transit hubs, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said officials believe that the federal mask order was a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. He said it was an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve.

Coley said the CDC had said it would continue to assess public health conditions, and if the agency determined a mandate was necessary for public health, the Justice Department would file an appeal.

As of Tuesday, the agency hadnt made a determination, officials said.

The federal judge's ruling did away with the last major vestige of federal pandemic rules and led to a mishmash of new locally created rules that reflected the nations ongoing divisions over how to battle the virus.

Major airlines and airports in places like Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City quickly switched to a mask-optional policy. Los Angeles County dropped its mandate for mass transit and a train conductor in New Jersey told commuters of their masks Tuesday: Feel free to burn them at will."

New York City, Chicago and Connecticut, however, continued to require masks for travelers.

The ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber announced on their websites Tuesday that masks will now be optional while riding or driving.

Even Walt Disney World in Florida on Tuesday announced it was lifting its mask requirement for its monorail, buses and sky gondola.

For many, the news was welcome. A video showed some passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight cheering and applauding as they removed masks upon hearing the announcement they were now optional. One man happily twirled his mask on his finger.

However Brooke Tansley, a television producer and former Broadway performer, was incensed after boarding a flight with her 4-year-old and 8-month-old baby neither old enough to be vaccinated  only to learn the mask mandate had ended mid-flight.

Very very angry about this, she said in a tweet, noting her baby was too young to wear a mask.

President Joe Biden went all-in on flexibility Tuesday when asked if Americans should mask up on planes.

Thats up to them, Biden declared during a visit to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. But the White House continues to require face coverings for those traveling with him on Air Force One, citing CDC guidance.

In Portland, Oregon, transit employees immediately began taking down mask required announcements and signs, but said it would likely take several days to remove everything.

The city joined Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Kansas City, Missouri, and two of Alaska's largest cities, Anchorage and Juneau, in making masking optional on mass transit.

Some passengers at Chicagos Union Station said the rules were confusing. Amtrak dropped its requirement. The Chicago Transit Authority and Metra, the regional commuter rail service, kept the requirement at first but dropped it late Tuesday.

Its like this patchwork of different rules and enforcement of it, said Erik Abderhalden, who wore a mask as he waited for a Metra train to his home in suburban Naperville. I mean, its like Swiss cheese ... theres no uniformity and it seems pretty laissez-faire.

Subway rider Cooper Klinges was pleased that New York Citys public transit system wasnt following the trend and planned to keep its mask requirement in place. As he waited at a Brooklyn train station, he said he canceled a flight earlier this year over concerns about the virus.

I dont think we are out of the woods yet, said Klinges, a teacher, citing concerns about the BA.2 omicron subvariant of the coronavirus. It is still around. We have to still stick it out.

The CDC had recently extended the mask mandate, which was set to expire Monday, until May 3 to allow more time to study the subvariant, which is now responsible for the vast majority of U.S. cases. But the court ruling puts that decision on hold.

After a winter surge fueled by the omicron variant that prompted record hospitalizations, the U.S. has seen a significant drop in virus spread in recent months that led most states and cities to drop mask mandates.

But several Northeast cities have seen a rise in hospitalizations in recent weeks, leading Philadelphia to bring back its mask mandate.

___

Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas, and Crawford from Chicago. Associated Press writers David Koenig in Dallas, Michael Balsamo and Will Weissert in Washington and Karen Matthews in New York contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  More than 50 Republicans who once joined a lawsuit claiming the House's pandemic-era proxy voting was unconstitutional have themselves voted by proxy this year, remotely without showing up.

Across the aisle, Rep. Kai Kahele, a working Hawaiian Airlines pilot as well as a Hawaii congressman, has used proxy votes on all but five of this years 125 roll calls. Three of his Democratic colleagues have used the proxy procedure for every vote.

Theyre among 303 lawmakers of both parties  more than two-thirds of the House  who have cast votes by proxy at least once this year, according to an Associated Press look at records that reflect how partisan divisions over voting from somewhere else have moderated.

The AP numbers show that overall, 191 Democrats, nearly 9-in-10, and 112 Republicans, just over half, have used proxy votes this year, cast by colleagues present in the chamber. While Democrats had previously used proxies heavily, just a handful of Republicans did so in 2020, the year the procedure began.

Of the House Republicans who've voted remotely this year, 54 had signed onto a 2020 lawsuit that asserted it was simply impossible to ignore the Constitutions requirement that lawmakers vote in person.

Congress "has never before flinched from its constitutional duty to assemble at the Nations Capital and conduct the peoples business in times of national peril and crisis," the GOP filing stated, citing the War of 1812 torching of the Capitol, the Civil War, the 1918 Spanish flu and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. So it was for more than two centuries. Until now."

That litigation was brought by 160 House Republicans led by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California. McCarthy later told colleagues that if they vote remotely they should not be plaintiffs, and ultimately just one remained on the suit with him, Chip Roy of Texas.

The Supreme Court refused to hear the case in January without comment after it was dismissed by lower courts.

As for Democrat Kahele, his congressional website says he is an active commercial airline pilot with Hawaiian Airlines, flying domestic and international trips on Airbus A330 widebody aircraft.

In a statement, aides said Kahele has piloted three flights this year. Like everyone voting by proxy, he's submitted required letters attesting he was unable to physically vote at the Capitol, citing the ongoing public health emergency.

Due to the threat of COVID-19, Kahele, 48, is concerned for the health and safety of his communities and family, with whom he lives in a multigenerational home, the statement said. A freshman whos expressed interest in running for governor, Kahele has curtailed his travel to the Capitol but not missed a vote and maximizes his time back home by meeting constituents, it said.

The House approved proxy voting on a near party-line vote in May 2020, as the deadly COVID-19 virus began upending activities everywhere. Democrats called the move a way to keep Congress functioning safely, while Republicans disparaged it as an abandonment of its work.

That first year, 175 Democrats but just seven Republicans used it, according to data compiled by the nonpartisan Brookings Institution. And while GOP participation has grown, proxies remain more heavily utilized by Democrats.

Of the 125 House roll calls so far this year, Republicans who've voted by proxy have done so an average of 19 times each, the AP figures show. Democrats have averaged 28 apiece.

McCarthy has repeatedly expressed a goal of ending proxy voting should Republicans win the House majority in Novembers elections, saying its time for lawmakers to show up to work. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., most recently extended the procedure until May 14.

The 100-member Senate, far smaller than the House, has not adopted proxy voting.

The procedure has helped Pelosi manage her party's narrow majority by making it less likely Democrats will miss votes. Pelosi called the GOP's failed lawsuit a sad stunt that threatened to recklessly endanger the health of colleagues" and congressional workers.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, who's now running for state attorney general, has cast 61 proxy votes this year, the most among Republicans who had joined McCarthy's lawsuit. Aides did not return messages seeking comment.

Also evolving are the reasons lawmakers use the process, initially created to reduce their risks of getting or spreading COVID-19.

Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, cast proxy votes while taking paternity leave after the birth of his second child in Spring 2021. Around the same time, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, voted from home after emergency eye surgery.

Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., attended a June 2021 campaign event in his state with President Joe Biden and voted remotely. No. 3 House GOP leader Elise Stefanik of New York used the procedure while taking maternity leave last fall and while at a Florida fundraising event with former President Donald Trump in January.

These are the rules of the House. We don't agree with them, but we'll follow the rules of the House, said Stefanik spokesperson Ali Pardo.

Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota was among several Democrats at a racial justice demonstration in her state in April 2021 while voting by proxy. That February, Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., was in a group of hard-right lawmakers who voted by proxy while at a conservative political conference in Florida that Trump attended.

Cawthorn criticized proxy voting in July 2020, tweeting, Leaders show up no matter how uncertain the times are. The Democrats are cowards for hiding and not showing up to work.

Cawthorn has voted 57 times by proxy so far this year, the AP's count showed. He did so 69 times in 2021, according to Brookings, his first year in Congress. An aide declined to respond to questions.

Three Democrats have used proxies for every 2022 vote: Reps. Al Lawson of Florida, Lucille Roybal-Allard of California and Albio Sires of New Jersey.

Roybal-Allard's nearly 77-year-old husband is immunocompromised, a statement provided by an aide said. It said the 80-year old congresswoman was in her Washington office this month but did not vote in the House chamber because of the recent omicron surge and the House's abandonment of its requirement for mask-wearing there.

Spokesperson Erica Daughtrey said Sires, 71, has remained in New Jersey this year, citing health concerns including his age, his wife's surgery and his own upcoming knee replacement.

Lawson aides did not return messages seeking comment.

Roybal-Allard and Sires are not seeking reelection in November. Lawson's district has been redrawn by Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis under a plan expected to be finalized this week that would make Lawson's reelection considerably harder.

The 77 proxy votes so far this year by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., are the most among Republicans. In a statement, she said she is an only child and main caretaker for her 86-year-old mother, who became ill last year.

"Without knowing how much time we have left together I want to be there for her, Salazar saod.

Kahele, the lawmaker and pilot, serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which oversees aviation issues. He is a co-sponsor of the bipartisan Fair and Open Skies Act, which would curb the ability of foreign carriers to fly in the U.S.

Kaheles office provided an email exchange in which his aides were advised by House Ethics Committee staff that outside employment was allowed if it didn't interfere with his congressional duties and his earnings met outside income limits.

The email exchanges show Kahele was advised he can vote on issues in which he doesnt have a direct personal or pecuniary interest.

Pressed about the propriety of serving on a committee that oversees airline policy, aides sent a statement citing his experience as a military and commercial pilot and his advocacy for the rights of all aviation workers and union members. Kahele has been a member of the Air Line Pilots Association.

Kahele has earned $2,862 this year for flying three flights lasting about 14 hours, his office said. It said he earned $29,152 last year, his first in Congress, when the outside income limit was $29,595.

His financial disclosure report for 2020, before he was elected, says he earned $119,685 that year from Hawaiian Airlines. His spouse reported $22,552 in earnings as a flight attendant with the airline and they reported Hawaiian Airlines 401(k) accounts worth from $365,000 to $800,000.

The Honolulu Civil Beat, a nonprofit news organization, first reported in depth about Kaheles voting and airline job.

___

AP data reporter Aaron Kessler contributed to this report.
A federal judge has given final approval to a $34 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit against a plastics company over toxic chemical contamination of soil and groundwater in a southern Vermont community.

Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation will pay $26.2 million into a fund to compensate Bennington area property owners for alleged damages and $6 million for a program to monitor the health of those exposed to perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA, under the settlement approved Monday. VTDigger first reported on the final approval.

The settlement agreement provides significant monetary compensation to the owners of approximately 2,365 residential properties in Bennington and North Bennington contaminated with PFOA by the plants, according to Emily Joselson, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.

It also, for the first time in Vermont, establishes a 15-year medical monitoring program that will allow more than 500 class members who unknowingly drank PFOA-contaminated water and have above background-levels of PFOA in their blood to be monitored yearly for the earliest signs or symptoms of medical conditions associated with PFOA, Joselson said by email.

I think this is going to be very significant for the community," David Silver, another attorney for the plaintiffs, said Tuesday. It also gives the community a sense of closure and the ability to go on but also very important is the remedy of medical monitoring, which was really groundbreaking,

PFOA was traced to exhaust emissions from two former ChemFab Corp. factories, which had been bought by Saint-Gobain, the Bennington Banner has reported. The state and the public learned of the contamination in 2016 and the lawsuit was filed in May of that year. Saint-Gobain later paid more than $40 million to comply with state consent orders to extend municipal water lines and provide clean drinking water to homes with contaminated wells, Joselson said by email. The settlement resolves all plaintiffs' claims alleged against Saint-Gobain.

Saint-Gobain said in a statement the company is pleased Judge Geoffrey Crawford granted final approval of our settlement in Vermont and that this case has been resolved.

Bill Knight, whose well was contaminated, said he will seek property damages and medical monitoring after an earlier blood test showed he had elevated levels of PFOA. He said lawyers worked tirelessly for a good settlement and he was very pleased it.

We are encouraging people to file a claim, Knight said. Claims can be filed through Aug. 22.

The Vermont Legislature has passed a bill that codifies that in Vermont people exposed to toxic chemicals can sue the polluter for medical monitoring. Gov. Phil Scott is expected to sign the legislation into law, after vetoing two other previous medical monitoring bills.

PFOA is one of a group of contaminants often called forever chemicals because they last so long in the environment. PFOA is known to cause kidney, testicular, and other cancers and diseases.
Jose Luis Magana/AP

AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  A Texas judge on Wednesday pushed back the first jury trial over how much conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay the families of Sandy Hook victims after his Infowars company sought bankruptcy protection this week.

The delay ordered by state District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble comes days after Infowars and two other companies tied to Jones filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Texas.
BOWMAN, N.D. (AP)  State and energy officials held a ceremony in Bowman Wednesday to mark the completion of a carbon dioxide pipeline used to help recover more crude from older oil fields.

Plano, Texas-based Denbury Resources pipeline runs through Slope and Bowman counties to old oil fields along the Montana-North Dakota border. The carbon dioxide is injected underground to force oil to the surface.
WASILLA, Alaska (AP)  Sarah Palin isnt used to sharing the spotlight.

In the nearly 14 years since she burst onto the national political scene, the former Alaska governor has appeared on reality television programs, written books, spent time as a Fox News contributor, formed a political action committee in her name and been a rumored White House contender. She more recently revived her status as a conservative sensation with an ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit against The New York Times.

Now, the first Republican female vice presidential nominee is vying for what could be considered a less glamorous role: a member of the U.S. House.

Palin is among 48 candidates running for Alaskas lone House seat following the death last month of Republican Rep. Don Young, who'd held the job since 1973. If successful, Palin would be one of 435 members in a chamber where ambition runs deep but legislating is tough, in no small part because of the populist politics that took hold in the aftermath of the 2008 election.

Given those dynamics, it would be easy to dismiss Palins candidacy as the latest headline-grabbing twist in an unconventional career. Some of her critics have sought to cast her as an opportunist seeking to bolster her brand. The opinion section of the website of Alaskas largest newspaper is dotted with letters to the editor urging Alaskans to reject her run. They remind readers she left the last major job she had in politics, as Alaskas governor, with about 16 months left in her term.

But in a recent interview with The Associated Press, Palin rejected such critiques. She insisted her commitment to Alaska has not wavered and those who suggest otherwise dont know me. She said she is serious about seeking the House seat and doesnt need a launching pad for anything else.

If anything, she said her unique place in American politics would put her in a stronger position in Washington. Unlike other freshmen lawmakers, she said, she could pick up the phone and call any reporter and be on any show if I wanted to, and it would be all about Alaska.

I love to work, and anyone who is around me, they know, she said. What Im doing is applying for a job, for Alaskans, saying, Hey, you guys would be my boss. Do you want to hire me? Because if you do, Ill do a good job for you, and I wont back down.

Theres only one former governor who is currently a member of the House  Democrat Charlie Crist of Florida. Palin faces several hurdles to getting there.

One is navigating elections that will unfold in rapid order. A June 11 special primary will be the first statewide by-mail election. The four candidates who get the most votes will advance to an Aug. 16 special election, in which ranked choice voting will be used. The winner will serve the remainder of Youngs term, which expires in January. There also will be an August primary and November general election to determine who will serve a two-year term starting in January.

Some voters question her decision to leave the governors office, a move she has attributed to an onslaught of records requests and ethics complaints she said were frivolous. She has spent time out of the state but maintains a home in Wasilla, her hometown and where she got her start in politics.

Well, Im sorry if that narrative is out there because its inaccurate, she said of the perception she had left Alaska behind. She said Alaska is her home and that she was shoveling moose poop in her fathers yard on a recent sunny day before calling a reporter.

She has regularly voted in state elections since leaving office, according to the Division of Elections.

Im still all about Carhartts and steel-toed boots and just hard work, Palin said, referring to a popular brand of outerwear. I just have been blessed with opportunities and a platform to get out there and tell and show other people the beauty of being an Alaskan.

She mentions Alaskans hunting lifestyles and the importance of responsibly developing the states oil and gas resources. She said she plans to attend events including this weeks state Republican party convention.

The contest in Republican-leaning Alaska will do little to change the balance of power in Washington. But the election is being closely watched as a barometer of former President Donald Trumps connection to the GOPs most loyal voters.

In Wasilla, Trump 2020 or Trump 2024 banners fly from several homes, the few political signs seen so far this election year. Palin said if Trump runs for president in 2024 and asks her to be his running mate, shed consider it, though she said he could choose anyone and they havent had such a candid conversation.

Palin said Trump was among those who contacted her after Youngs death asking if she would be willing to run. She said this is a good time in her life to seek a return to office, politically and personally. Her family life has changed, she noted, with her four older children grown. Her youngest, Trig, is in middle school. Palin was divorced from Todd Palin, her husband of more than 30 years, in 2020.

She said she feels like she has nothing to lose in running. After having her political and personal lives in the media glare for so long, what more can they say? she said, and later added: To me, its freedom.

Palin has perhaps the highest profile among a list of candidates that includes current and former state legislators, a North Pole city council member whose legal name is Santa Claus, and Republican Nick Begich, who got into the race last fall and has been working for months to rack up conservative support.

Begich said he considers the Matanuska-Susitna region, a conservative hotbed that includes Wasilla, as one of his strongest areas, and said he is unaware of any of his supporters defecting since Palin joined the race.

Everyone that has come to support me remains fully supportive, and thats a strong statement because a lot has changed, he said.

Tim Burney, who lives in Wasilla, said he supports Palin. He said she resigned for the good of the state after her detractors came at her with guns ablazing.

She just lives right down the road here, and, you know, she grew up here, he said while smoking a cigarette outside the Mug-Shot Saloon after finishing lunch on a recent day.

Her hearts here in Alaska, and I think that shes good for Alaska, he said.

___

Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)  Legislation to abolish the death penalty in Louisiana was voted down 5-1 Tuesday in a state Senate committee.

Sen. Katrina Jackson sponsored the bill, which was rejected by the Senate Judiciary C Committee.

Jackson argued that the state shouldnt have the power to take a life. And she said there is no way of knowing how many innocent people have been executed.

We cannot, as a state, ever give someone their life back, said Jackson, backed by Catholic and Episcopal officials and prominent death penalty opponents including Sister Helen Prejean.

Bill Quigley, a Loyola law professor, said the various costs involved in maintaining the death penalty system in the state  including higher costs of keeping inmates on death row and the public cost for defense and prosecution over a series of trials and appeals  comes to more than $15 million annually.

Defenders of the death penalty said it is appropriate and just in some instances.

If you take that option away from our constituents, that's something I can't do, said Sen. Bodie White, a Republican from Central, who told Jackson he has seen horrific crime scenes. He expressed confidence that the state has taken steps to prevent unjust convictions.

John Sinquefield, a longtime prosecutor in Baton Rouge, said the death penalty is now used in Louisiana for the very worst of the worst.

The state hasn't carried out an execution since 2010, amid litigation and controversy over the availability of drugs used in lethal injection.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (standing, left) and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (standing, right) attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Oct. 9, 2019.

China and the Solomon Islands have both confirmed they signed a controversial security pact that has sparked concerns about Chinas rising influence in the Pacific region.

The confirmation came as a U.S. delegation led by Kurt Campbell, Indo-Pacific coordinator for the National Security Council, was heading to Honiara to discuss regional security issues.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told parliament on Wednesday that the agreement with China was to help with the countrys internal security situation, referring to recent unrest that saw businesses and buildings burned and looted.

The prime minister said the decision will not adversely impact or undermine the peace and harmony of our region.

Hours before that, a Chinese government spokesman said that the pact is part of normal exchanges and cooperation between two sovereign and independent countries and does not target any third party.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Solomon Islands counterpart, Jeremiah Manele, officially signed the document the other day.

China did not offer an explanation about whether the signed document is the final agreement.

Neither party has revealed any details of the deal, with Sogavare saying it would be disclosed after a process.

Kurt M. Campbell, the Biden administrations coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, is pictured at the China Development Forum in Beijing, March 23, 2019. At the time, Campbell was chairman and CEO of a consultancy, the Asia Group. [Reuters]

Lack of transparency

Solomon Islands neighbors Australia and New Zealand have repeatedly voiced concerns since a copy of the draft agreement was leaked online in March.

On Tuesday, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Pacific Minister Zed Seselja issued a joint statement saying Australia is deeply disappointed by the signing of the pact.

We are concerned about the lack of transparency with which this agreement has been developed, noting its potential to undermine stability in our region, the statement read.

Seselja traveled to Honiara last week to urge the Solomon Islands prime minister not to sign the deal with Beijing, without success.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said her country was saddened that the Solomon Islands had made the pact.

The U.S. also expressed concern over the lack of transparency in Chinas security pact with the Solomon Islands, calling it part of a pattern of Beijing offering shadowy deals to countries, Reuters news agency reported.

Two top U.S. officials for the Indo-Pacific region  Campbell and Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs - are currently in Fiji before traveling to Honiara to meet with the island nations leaders.

Campbell said in January that the U.S. has enormous moral, strategic, historical interests in the Pacific but had not done enough to assist the region.

Their trip has been criticized by China as having ulterior motives.

Several senior U.S. officials now fancy a visit to some Pacific island countries all of a sudden after all these years, said Chinese Foreign Ministrys Wang Wenbin, pointing out that the U.S. Embassy in Solomon Islands has been closed for 29 years.

This February, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Fiji to meet with Pacific island leaders, and announced that the embassy in Honiara would be reopened.

Chinas national flag flies outside the Chinese Embassy in Honiara, Solomon Islands, April 1, 2022. A security alliance between China and the Solomon Islands has sent shudders throughout the South Pacific, with many worried it could set off a large-scale military buildup or that Western animosity to the deal could play into Chinas hands. [AP Photo]

Military presence

China has maintained that Pacific island countries need to diversify their cooperation with other countries and have the right to independently choose their cooperation partners.

China is always a builder of peace and a promoter of stability in the South Pacific region, Wang said.

A draft copy of the security pact leaked onto social media in late March suggested there would be Chinese logistical hubs or bases in the island nation.

One of the clauses says: China may, according to its own needs and with the consent of Solomon Islands, make ship visits to, carry out logistical replenishment in, and have stopover and transition in Solomon Islands.

The security pact would allow Beijing to set up military bases and deploy troops in the Pacific island nation, marking the start of a much sharper military competition than anything weve seen in the region for decades, David Capie, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, told Radio Free Asia (RFA), the parent company of BenarNews.

Capie said that the agreement would allow the Peoples Republic of China to deploy police and military personnel to Solomon Islands with the consent of the host government, and potentially provide for refueling and support of Chinese ships.

Earlier this week, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the U.S. was concerned that the agreement leaves the door open for the deployment of Chinese forces on the Solomon Islands.

We believe that signing such an agreement could increase destabilization within the Solomon Islands and will set a concerning precedent for the wider Pacific island region," Price added.

Analysts say a presence of Chinese troops in the Solomon Islands could raise the risk of confrontation between China and the U.S. and its allies, as well as challenge the U.S.-led vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
This handout photo shows American President Joe Biden (center) taking part in the ASEAN-U.S. Summit on the sidelines of the 2021 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summits held online, during a live video conference in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, Oct. 26, 2021.

Updated at 7:26 p.m. ET on 2022-04-20

President Joe Biden, keen to showcase American interest in Southeast Asia, has secured a date to celebrate 45 years of U.S. ties with the far-away region, but not all of ASEANs leaders are coming to the party.

Myanmars junta chief, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, wont be welcome because of the military coup he launched a year ago.

And Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who leaves office in June, is also expected to be a no-show. He has not visited Washington during his six years in office that have been characterized by turbulent relations with the United States.

The May 12-13 summit between the U.S. and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is an opportunity for Biden to forge a closer bilateral partnership with ASEAN and counter Chinas influence in the region. The White House is keen to advance its vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The summit will mark U.S.-ASEAN relations, which began in 1977. It will be only the second such summit with Southeast Asian leaders hosted by an American president in the United States. Barack Obama welcomed ASEAN leaders to the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in February 2016.

While next months meeting will therefore carry heavy symbolic value, it will make for some unusual diplomatic bedfellows for Biden.

Cambodias foreign ministry says that Prime Minister Hun Sen  whose government has faced U.S. sanctions for its suppression of democracy  will be there. Cambodia is the current rotating chair of the 10-nation bloc.

Of course, Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen, as the ASEAN rotating chair, will co-chair this summit with the president of the United States, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Chum Sounry told Radio Free Asia (RFA), the parent company of BenarNews.

He was using the honorific adopted by Hun Sen, who has ruled for 37 years. It translates roughly as glorious, supreme prime minister and powerful commander.

But officials indicated that Min Aung Hlaing  who recently awarded himself two of Myanmars highest honors for services to his country despite the current, violent chaos there  wont be invited to Washington.

The consensus among ASEAN is (that) Myanmar should be represented by a non-political representative, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah of Indonesia, which is the blocs coordinator for U.S.-ASEAN ties. He told BenarNews on Tuesday that Indonesian President Joko Widodo plans to attend.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah confirmed that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri will also join the summit. He further noted: I don't think Myanmar should be represented. I am not so sure if Washington invited Myanmar.

However in Bangkok, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the prime minister and ex-junta chief, was considering the journey to the U.S. capital.

In Washington on Wednesday, a State Department spokesperson said President Biden looked forwarding to welcoming ASEAN leaders for the special summit.

"The United States supports ASEANs decision to invite non-political representatives from Burma to high-level ASEAN events. We similarly have decided to invite a non-political representative from Burma to the summit. The regime has failed to make meaningful progress on ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus and should be held accountable," the spokesperson told Radio Free Asia.

ASEAN has been grappling with a 14-month-old crisis in Myanmar, where the Burmese juntas forces have bombed and burned swathes of the country to quell resistance to the militarys overthrow of an elected government in February 2021.

In late March, the junta blocked ASEAN envoy Prak Sokhonn, who is Cambodias foreign minister, from meeting with deposed Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, setting back efforts to forge a political resolution  and backtracking on a commitment the junta chief made to ASEAN to allow access to all stakeholders in the country. That commitment was part of a so-called Five-Point Consensus that ASEAN leaders and the Burmese junta chief agreed to during an emergency summit in Jakarta last April to discuss the post-coup crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN later excluded Min Aung Hlaing from its summit at the end of 2021 because of the junta's failure to deliver on its commitments to the consensus.

On Tuesday, the spokesman for the Myanmar military council said that Myanmar had not been invited so far to the Washington summit, and they would only attend anyway if they had equal representation.

If, as in the past, we could only attend with someone who does not hold political office, we absolutely would not attend any meeting. Our position is to engage only at equal rank, the spokesman, Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun, told RFA.

Myanmar has been subject to U.S. asset seizures and sanctions since the coup  including restrictions levied against Min Aung Hlaing himself.

No such restrictions are faced by Duterte. The Philippines is a U.S. treaty ally, meaning the two nations are committed to each others defense if they come under attack. The U.S. is bound to Thailand by a similar treaty.

But Duterte, who has sought closer relations with China despite recurring disputes in the South China Sea, has sworn repeatedly that he will never go to the U.S. At one time he even called America lousy.

BenarNews asked an aide to Duterte whether that position has changed in view of the upcoming summit, and was told it had not. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment to media about it.

Theres another reason for the Philippine leader to skip the Washington summit: The two-day meeting falls just three days after May 9 elections in the Philippines. It is customary for any Filipino leader to avoid foreign travel during an election season, particularly when the election is for the position they will be vacating.

Jason Gutierrez in Manila, Tria Dianti in Jakarta, Nontarat Phaicharoen in Bangkok, Nisha David in Kuala Lumpur, and the Cambodian and Myanmar Services of Radio Free Asia contributed to this report.
A broken fence is visible at an immigration detention facility in northern Malaysia after hundreds of Rohingya escaped, including six subsequently killed as they tried to cross a highway, April 20, 2022.

Hundreds of Rohingya detained for two years in northern Malaysia escaped Wednesday following a pre-dawn riot, but six were killed by vehicles as they tried to cross a highway, in a tragic turn of events highlighting conditions at the countrys secretive immigrant detention centers.

Close to 400 people had been recaptured by evening, officials said, while human rights groups called for a probe into what had provoked the unrest. They also demanded to know how many detention centers, where immigrants are held indefinitely and incommunicado, were operating across the country.

I have instructed the Royal Malaysia Police and the Immigration Department to conduct a detailed investigation of what caused them to act in such a way, Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin said of the escapees late Wednesday. Multiple agencies from two states were working to track down more than 100 people still at large, he said.

All 528 detainees who escaped were ethnic Rohingya refugees transferred from a camp in Langkawi after being arrested for trespassing in Malaysian waters and violating the Immigration Act in 2020, he said. Langkawi is an island group in the Strait of Malacca, off the coast of the northern Kedah state.

Police in Bandar Baharu, Kedah were alerted to a riot and escape at the Sungai Bakap Temporary Immigration Depot at around 4 a.m., according to the state police chief, Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad.

Prior to the riot, 664 people were housed there  430 men, 97 women, and 137 children, he said.

He told reporters that no serious injuries were reported during the riot and that its cause was under investigation. Detainees smashed a door and fence at the depot before making a run for it, he said, adding that the 23 security personnel on duty were quickly overwhelmed.

Because there were so many of detainees in a cramped space, things got out of control and the detainees took the opportunity to break out, he told a press conference in Kedah.

The fatal accident involving the escapees happened about six to seven kilometers from the depot. Two men, two women, and two children (a boy, and a girl) were killed after being hit by vehicles when they tried to cross a highway while fleeing, he said.

Villagers living near the immigration facility said they were afraid to leave their homes with escapees still at large.

The detainees were everywhere, running out from the depot, and they headed to our village before they went into the bush, a man who gave his name as Hashim told BenarNews.

Another villager, Ahmad Husin, said they could be hiding in nearby palm oil plantations.

Earlier, some of them came to us looking for water because they were thirsty but no one dare to give them any because they were afraid of any untoward incident, he told BenarNews.

The Kedah police chief warned residents of nearby villages against helping the escapees, saying to do so was an offense punishable by law.

Traumatizing

Tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and other countries to escape persecution in Myanmar, their home country, and dire living conditions in cramped refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Malaysia, however, does not recognize refugee status. Since 2020, the country has rounded up thousands of refugees and housed them in crowded detention centers, in what the authorities say are measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.

An estimated 180,000 UNHCR cardholders currently live in Malaysia, much higher than the estimated 38,000 in 2013.

Jerald Joseph, a member of Malaysias Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), called on the countrys immigration authorities to allow representative from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to meet with the detainees.

The Immigration Department has to give access to UNHCR so they can determine whether the ones detained were really Rohingyas. If so, they should be freed like the 150,000 Rohingyas who are here in the country, he said.

For its part, Amnesty International Malaysia demanded the government fully and transparently investigate the events including the desperate circumstances within Sungai Bakap immigration detention center that led to detainees trying to escape, resulting in the loss of six lives.

Suhakam should investigate how many temporary immigration detention centers are in existence across the country, Katrina Jorene Maliamauv, executive director of Amnesty International Malaysia, said in a statement.

Conditions at these immigration detention centers should be documented, given past incidences of human rights violations in immigration depots in Malaysia, she said. She called indefinite detention traumatizing.

The government therefore needs to answer not only on the deaths of the six individuals but also why so many refugees, including children, are being detained, she said.

Yusof Ali, chairman of Kedah Rohingya Association, also appealed to the Malaysian government to look into the Rohingya issue detained at the Immigration Depots in the country.

Asked why the breakout occurred, he said, Maybe because they have been in there far too long. Some of them have temporary documents and UNHCR cards, but when they showed it to the authorities, the office in charge will arrest them and allege that the document or the card are fake.

No other countries want to accept our ethnic group. It is now up to the Malaysian governments discretion, he said.

Zul Suffian in Penang, Malaysia and Iskandar Zulkarnain in Kedah, Malaysia contributed to this report.
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Russian forces are tightening the noose around the defenders holed up in a mammoth steel plant that is the last known Ukrainian stronghold in in the besieged city of Mariupol
Managing editor for innovation

Larry Parnass joined The Eagle in 2016 from the Daily Hampshire Gazette, where he was editor in chief. His freelance work has appeared in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant, CommonWealth Magazine and with the Reuters news service.
An internal investigation by Pittsfield police finds that the officer who shot and killed city resident Miguel Estrella on March 25 followed use of force guidelines and that Estrella posed an immediate threat as he came at an officer at a fast pace with a raised knife.
NORTH ADAMS  He has a city bench in his honor, and soon, a bridge may also bear his name.

Almost a year after Billy Evans death, state Rep. John Barrett III has filed legislation to rename a bridge on Route 2 over the Hoosic River the William F. Evans Memorial Bridge.

The whole intent was just to honor him so that it wont be forgotten, said Barrett, D-North Adams. It shouldnt be forgotten, that day in Washington, D.C., when a young man who grew up in North Adams and Clarksburg gave his life protecting our democracy. Thats what it came down to.

On Tuesday, the Joint Committee on Transportation held a hearing to solicit written testimony on the legislation. Barrett said he expects the measure to be adopted by the end of the legislative session at the end of July.

Evans, 41, a North Adams native, died last April when an attacker drove a car into him at a barricade outside the U.S. Capitol, where he worked as a police officer for 18 years.

I checked around with a lot of people and they said we cannot let this be forgotten and (we must) keep his memory alive for future generations, Barrett said.

Barrett said he got permission from Evans family to file the legislation. One of the reasons was he attended Greylock Elementary School, Barrett said. He lived in the close by neighborhood and thats where he grew up.

Barrett was friends with Evans father and watched him grow up, he said. I gave him his diploma when he graduated from high school.

In an interview last year, Evans family remembered him as a dedicated dad to his kids and a person who loved board games, cherished memories of time with his children, and enjoyed bantering with tourists and officials outside the Capitol where he worked.

My brother was at the wrong place at the wrong time, Julie Kucyn told The Eagle last year. But ultimately he knew that was a risk of the job, and he accepted that risk. And we, regretfully, had to accept that risk with him.

The bill, if passed, directs the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to install markers on both sides of that bridge and a plaque that reads: On April 2, 2021 United States Capitol Police Officer William Billy Evans completed his final watch defending the United States Capitol Building.

The bridge, which Barrett says is in dire need of help, will soon be replaced. A $17.8 million MassDOT project is estimated to start in 2023, according to the department.

This would not be the first public site to permanently honor Evans.

A bench in North Adams was dedicated to him last year, and recently in Washington, D.C., a plaque honoring Evans at a new security checkpoint was unveiled at the Capitol.
The chart shows the concentrations of COVID-19 virus particles found in wastewater in the city of Pittsfield since early February. It shows increases detected in recent weeks, a finding that has historically predicted rising numbers of confirmed infections.
Committed to supporting in-demand academic programs, Bowling Green State University has received a new $1.4 million grant from the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) to help students in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine (STEM) programs achieve their educational goals with scholarship opportunities through the Choose Ohio First (COF) Scholarship program.

With the COF Scholarship program, BGSU is focusing the full grant total toward creating new scholarship opportunities for incoming students. Offered through ODHE, the COF Scholarship program aims to recruit high-achieving students who intend to major in STEM-related fields. The initiative also provides students with unique educational and advising experiences for their academic and career success. Last year, the University received $4.3 million through the program.

"With support from the Ohio Department of Higher Education, BGSU is able to address and support Ohio's workforce needs in STEM-related fields through the Choose Ohio First Scholarship program," said Betsy Johnson, director of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships at BGSU. "The grant also allows the University to continue investing in comprehensive opportunities for students from all backgrounds, including females and those from underrepresented populations. Through the program, BGSU students will graduate as leaders in their fields while helping to drive the state's economic vitality."

Selected new, first-time students will receive a $3,000 scholarship for the upcoming 2022-23 academic year. Recipients will also receive intensive academic assistance, career counseling and the opportunity to conduct research and gain related work experience as undergraduates at BGSU. The COF scholarship can be renewed for up to three additional years, or six semesters.

Launched in 2008, the COF Scholarship program serves as a way to increase the number of Ohio students enrolling in and successfully completing STEM programs at the state's public and independent colleges and universities. BGSU was among the first Ohio universities to receive funding. Since then, the COF Scholarship program has helped more than 500 students at the University succeed in programs like nursing, engineering, mechatronics and more.



BGSU is one of 45 colleges and universities in the state to receive a grant.
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, don't know much about history.

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Sanofi to invest $973 million over five years across two global sites to bring advanced digital and modular vaccine production capabilities to the Asia region

On 20 April 2022, Sanofi launched Evolutive Vaccine Facility (EVF) in Singapore. A first-of-its-kind, the EVF is a fully digitalised, modular vaccine manufacturing facility, with the ability to produce vaccines on a large scale for Asia.

The launch was graced by the presence of Singapores Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Heng Swee Keat, and Sanofis Executive Vice President, Head of Vaccines, Thomas Triomphe.

Sanofi is investing $973 million over five years to create two new EVFs globally  one in Singapore and one in France. These EVFs will pave the way for future vaccine innovation across the world. These factories of the future are designed to enable more agile and flexible manufacturing of multiple vaccines and biological platforms, including mRNA, enzymes and monoclonal antibodies.

Chairman, Singapore Economic Development Board, Dr Beh Swan Gin said Sanofis decision to locate one of its two EVFs in Singapore will strengthen our biopharmaceutical industry and more broadly, our manufacturing sector. Critically, the EVF in Singapore will also play a key role in ensuring future pandemic preparedness in Singapore and the region.

Adaptable to current and future public health needs, Singapores EVF is designed around a central unit that is comprised of several fully digitised modules, which can produce up to four vaccines simultaneously, regardless of the vaccine technology used (protein, mRNA etc.). The EVF will also be able to quickly switch its configuration towards one vaccine process to boost supply levels and adapt quickly to evolving public health emergencies, such as during a pandemic. This helps to strengthen production capacity to meet ever-growing regional and global demands for vaccines and ultimately ensures faster access to the most innovative vaccines and treatments.

Thomas Triomphe, Executive Vice-President, Head of Vaccines at Sanofi further described, We are embarking on a technological and industrial transformation with the EVF in Singapore, which will be the first facility of its kind in Asia.

This new bioproduction facility will drastically reduce both resource consumption and waste production with the use of solar panels and green electricity purchase, minimising the environmental impact of the facility.

Singapores EVF is set for completion by the end of 2025 and represents an opportunity to develop the much-needed skills in ensuring healthcare sustainability in the region, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, bioinformatics, process innovation. As announced in 2021, the EVF is expected to create up to 200 local jobs.
The MoU will strengthen the integrated human-centric preventive health screening ecosystem in India

India Health Link (IHL), a digital health and medical device start-up, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with U GRO Capital, a listed MSME lending fintech platform to expand the deployment of their first-of-its-kind human-centric phygital healthcare ecosystem, and to strengthen the human-centric preventive health screening ecosystem and to expand its footprint in India.

IHL has collaborated with U GRO Capital to ease the adoption of its integrated healthcare screening ecosystem under the RBI lending programme so that the doctors and hospitals dont have to upfront the entire cost. Owing to this lending facility, preventive healthcare delivery will reach the maximum number of people who are deprived of the accessibility of primary and preventive care in the remotest part of India.

U GRO has received Term Lending support from State Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank & Canara Bank for onward lending under this scheme of RBI.
Time taken to cover the distance to the diagnostic centre reduced by more than half

Anamaya, the Tribal Health Collaborative an initiative of Piramal Foundation, piloted automated drones for faster transportation of sputum samples for screening and diagnosis in hard-to-reach areas of Kalahandi district, Odisha. The pilot implemented in March 2022 in collaboration with Redwing Labs, saw a significant time reduction to cover the distance to the diagnostic centre. Anamaya worked closely with the District Collector, Chief District Medical Officer, Civil Surgeon, frontline workers and the staff of the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) to ensure seamless operations.

The drone pilot was implemented in three blocks - Kesinga, Narla, and Bhawanipatna of Kalahandi district, to explore ways of accelerating pace of transportation to enable early diagnosis. The Anamaya team looked after the end-to-end project management, coordinated with the local government to arrange necessary permits and support. They also worked closely with the frontline workers to ensure timely sample collection at the source location.

With the deployment of drones, a distance of 36 kilometres of remote, hilly, uneven and forest-covered terrain which usually takes ~55 minutes by road, was covered in half the time, around 20 minutes. Redwing team customised the drones to suit the specific needs of this pilot and ensured operational efficiency of the drones. The drone used had a capacity to transfer two to three kilograms weight. 34 samples, in total, were collected from two villages during one flight each.
The SmartNRP tool will be used for training the health workers in Tamil Nadu

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) researchers are working with National Health Mission of Tamil Nadu to improve newborn and maternal health. An IIT-M team at the Centre of Excellence on Virtual Reality (VR) and Haptics, called Experiential Technology Innovation Center (XTIC), identified that skill training of the health workers was a major challenge that India was facing, specifically at the primary health centres in rural settings.



Dr Darez Ahamed, Mission Director, National Heath Mission Tamil Nadu, released the SmartNRP project IIT Madras fealthcare workers to reduce Maternal Mortality Rate (NMR) in India in the presence of Prof V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, Prof Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), IIT Madras, Prof M Manivannan head of XTIC, Dr J Kumudha, expert Neonatologist and other stakeholders.



Using VR, Gaming Technologies, cloud, and AI/ML, the SmartNRP tool will be used for training the PHC health workers in Tamil Nadu under National Health Mission (NHM) to take the technologies forward. This will be scaled subsequently to other states in India where NMR is very high.



Dr Darez Ahamed released the SmartFHR project to reducing Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR). It is aimed at monitoring foetal health using smartphones anywhere and anytime without clinical assistants. This project also will be scaled subsequently to other states where MMR is very high.






Independent Amsterdam-based creative agency Cloudfactory has joined international independent agency network by The Network, which was founded by Per Pedersen, former global creative chairman of the Grey Group.

Image supplied

Creativity in crisis

The shared vision

Cesar Garcia, creative director at Cloudfactory, says: At the heart of our agency stands creative activism, which means defending the belief that creativity is the answer to most challenges clients are facing these days. In our global world, brands are struggling to find a voice, a purpose or even a reason to exist; and we believe creativity, more than ever, is the answer to those challenges.Julio Alvarez, creative director at Cloudfactory, adds: Through embracing the indie spirit at a global scale and putting creativity at the centre, Per and by The Network are working to eliminate everything that typically dilutes creativity within a traditional agency network. Cloudfactory and by The Network both see creativity as a culture, not a department. Becoming part of by The Network is a matter of shared principles and values  we couldnt be more alike.Each of us brings years of experience from some of the biggest ad agencies in the world, but with the personal approach of a lean boutique agency holding its own brand of activism. Activism for something at the core of our business, and something in need of saving now more than ever: creativity! It's about bringing back the focus more on the art of seduction than the science of stalking, adds Sandeep Chawla, managing director at Cloudfactory.As someone said recently, creativity is in crisis mode and everyones looking the other way. Especially in these turbulent times, when many clients are looking at creativity as a risk, we urge them to embrace it, now more than ever, to take that leap of faith with us.To us, success with by The Network will be through business and intellectual growth  not just through the calibre of new assignments this partnership will generate, but also through the energy and inspiration emanating from our creative exchanges.Per Pedersen comments: I had a dream about starting something new and different from the big corporate networks I had been a part of for decades. Creativity suffers big time in the big corporate systems. We are an industry led by CFOs and suits where it should be creatives in charge. And I wasn't alone with this dream. So when we launched back in October 2020 we were 17 independent creative agencies determined to build a new kind of global network driven and owned by creatives. I felt liberated!We've put our bet on Cloudfactory as our Netherlands-based agency partner, because of the team's passion and creative ambitions that fit perfectly with the spirit of by The Network. A couple of years ago, I introduced Pussy Riot on stage in Cannes with the purpose of inspiring the industry to think and act more like activists. I love that Cloudfactory has made it their mantra, as it will lead to different kinds of ideas that dont look, feel, or sound like conventional advertising.Both Cloudfactory and by The Networks broader goal is to do great work, and that ambition will never end. Thats the beauty and curse of being driven by creativity: a never-ending urge to do better. We dont measure our success in short-term results. We are in this to make a positive, hopefully remarkable, dent in the advertising and branding universe  and to inspire others to do the same.
Eskom chief executive Andre de Ruyter has dismissed any suggestion that the South African power grid is in immediate danger of a total system blackout. This as the power utility was forced to implement Stage 4 load shedding on Tuesday following significant breakdowns at six generation units at power stations across the country.

Source: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters

Capability to restart the grid

De Ruyter told journalists during an update on problems besetting the power utility that any talk of a total system failure is unrealistic and causes unnecessary panic.We have this tool [load shedding] at our disposal. We have significant buffer capacity in the load shedding system before we approximate even close to a total system blackout. We are currently sitting at Stage 4, the load shedding system provides for a further reduction in load as low Stage 8. We still do have headroom in the system to allow us to avoid a total blackout.So I would caution against speculation in this regard. I would caution against fear-mongering and stoking of speculation and fear in this regard. We do have plans in place. We have the capability of recovering, and we do not anticipate this as a credible risk at this point in time, he said on Wednesday, 20 April.De Ruyter emphasised that in the highly unlikely event that a total blackout does occur, the power supplier has the capability to restart the grid.Once the total electricity supply is lost, restoring the supply is a gradual task that requiresblack start capability. Our pump storage facility plays a very important role in that. We also have black start capability at our Kendal power station as well as at Tutuka power station. These facilities are regularly inspected [and] maintained as part of our compliance to the national grid, he said.The chief executive acknowledged that Eskom is in need of additional generation capacity and said the power utility is doing all it can in this regard.We are also taking other steps. In particular, the making available of additional grid access to investors who wish to make use of the less than 100MW dispensation for embedded or own generation.We are aware that our grid access unit needs to do more to expedite applications. We are streamlining those applications, De Ruyter said.
The Top 10 finalists for the 2022 GreenPitch Challenge have been chosen. These green economy innovators will now be preparing to pitch to a panel of judges on 5 May, at an event hosted by GreenCape in partnership with the City of Cape Town's Invest Cape Town and The Business Hub. The pitch event will be attended in person by invite only, and will be streamed via Zoom Webinar. Register for the Zoom Webinar here.

Rudi Kriel (electric mobility)  GoMetro



Warren Barnard (plastic alternatives) - MushNet Mycelium Packaging



Rich Sibusiso Hlatshwayo (circular economy) - Me2you (a food sharing solution)



Farai Dziike (water) - Waste water treatment technology



Chris Nganga Kimaru (water, sewer and storm water networks) - Manhole Protector Grid (MPG)

Tshepo Mangoele (bio-economy, circular economy) - NatUVcare [By LignOrganic (PTY) Ltd.]



Jon Kornik (energy) - Plentify



Luvo Gugwana (energy, agriculture)  Aquaponics franchise



Thulani Khumalo (water, service delivery) - Preventing leaks smart polymer manhole covers



Leslie Wallace (circular economy) - Mobile crushers, locally manufactured

The 2022 GreenPitch Challenge Top 10 finalists, chosen from ~150 inspiring entries, in no particular order, are:The Top 10 stand to win prizes to the value of ~R400,000 sponsored by RMB, BioCiti Labs, LaunchLab, SAREBI, and Enlit Africa, with more to be confirmed. A selection of entries who did not make Top 10 will be given the opportunity to apply for a Learner Management Programme, facilitated by The Innovation Bridge Portal The winners will be selected by a judging panel on the day of the event. Their decision is final. Terms & Conditions apply.Sponsors and prizes  Read more here
Mid-Level Digital Designer

Remuneration: negotiable depending on experience Location: Johannesburg, Craighall Park Remote work: Not Applicable Education level: Matric Job level: Mid Own transport required: Yes Travel requirement: Occasional Type: Permanent Reference: #VMMD Company: Vetro Media

Job description

Clients we love working with (and have a good relationship with)

Brands, services and products we believe in

Clients we feel we can really add value to

Assisting with concept development in relation to design and creative outputs

Ensuring that design and creative projects are delivered on time

Provide quality control over your design outputs and production

Working with other team members to deliver projects against brief and deadline

Basic copy-checking of designed artwork

Delivering high-end digital concept and design that is on brief

Running UX/UI analysis on business requirements and systems

Providing solution design, interface design, proof of concepts and mock-ups

Storyboarding, mapping user journeys, wire-framing and prototyping designs

Working collaboratively with key team members to deliver high-quality artwork for clients

Previous experience in an agency environment is essential

At least two years' experience in a mid-level role

Proven track record in creating excellent brand and design work from concept to production

Experience in digital design & UX is a necessity

Design principles and processes

Web/UI principles and design implementation process

UX best practices

Solution design prototyping and wire framing

Responsive and mobile interface design

Dynamic creative and HTML 5 banner solutions

Adobe products: XD, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and After Effects

The ability to articulate and defend design decisions

Being able to work on multiple projects simultaneously

Great verbal and written communication skills

Pro-active

Information management

Organising and planning

Attention to detail

Initiative

Reliability

Experience with programs like Figma/Sketch/ Proto

DTP and print experience

Company Description

We are looking for ato join the design team of a fast-growing, hugely ambitious agency headquartered here in Craighall, Johannesburg. Vetro is a growth agency working primarily in digital, with plans and ambitions that see us expanding our presence globally. For all of our work, the end goal is always to create positive ROI for our clients. We help them grow. We partner with our clients. We don't just provide services, which is why it's important the clients are the right fit for us, and us for them. We get involved from beginning to end so for us it's important to bring on the right clients that fit our business, the way we work and that we feel we can offer them real value. Our clients (new and old) all fit the following mould:We believe that when we're a good fit for our clients and likewise them for us, it makes for a better alignment and better output of work and ultimately the results. We work as both a retained agency and also as a campaign agency.We are looking for a hardworking, dedicated and passionate designer who is a team player. The successful candidate will be a strong designer who is able to push design boundaries, while still delivering on Brand CI. The design role will require that you have digital design experience and are proficient in the full design Adobe suite (Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator/In Design/ Adobe Acrobat). You will be required to be proficient/have a working knowledge of UX, design conceptualisation and creation. Your role will be as a designer on websites as well as graphic design briefs, you will need to take full initiative on all design work briefed to you across a variety of clients and industries. A deep understanding of UX/UI, storyboarding, wireframes and mapping user-journey will be necessary for the role.Please ensure you send a portfolio of work along with your CV when applying to showcase your design proficiency.Should you not have heard back from us within 6 weeks please consider your application unsuccessful.At Vetro, we believe great experiences build exceptional brands. Our agency is built on a passion for all aspects of digital marketing and we have an appetite for narrating a story in a distinctive yet unfailing manner.In results we trust  we execute concepts and campaigns based on solid data, effective communication tools and creative design to make brands stand out from their competitors, while effectively relaying the right messaging to the right audience. Posted on 20 Apr 13:54, Closing date 19 Jun
Junior-Mid WordPress Developer

Remuneration: market-related Location: Johannesburg, Craighall Park Remote work: Not Applicable Education level: Matric Job level: Junior Type: Permanent Reference: ##VMWD Company: Vetro Media

Job description

Clients we love working with (and have a good relationship with)

Brands, services and products we believe in

Clients we feel we can really add value to

Design of website collateral, including mock ups, web layouts and wireframes, and implementation after sign off

New build and changes to existing WordPress websites, including management of version control

Problem-solving any issues that arise from new and existing builds of websites

Monthly maintenance of WordPress sites.

Installation of plug-ins and Google tracking codes.

Interpreting briefs and client requirements.

Requirements

Comfortable building and maintaining WordPress websites

Must be able to install Google tracking codes into websites

Existing knowledge on how to optimise a WordPress website for Search Engines

Solid working knowledge of SEO optimisation

Working knowledge of technical SEO use

Ability to design web layouts and wireframes

Well-versed in front-end WordPress theme customization

Using plugins to extend a site's functionality

Understand database management and migration

Familiar with responsive design principles and implementation of responsive best practices for building mobile-friendly websites

Coding Skills required, PHP Javascript / Jquery CSS  Flexbox SASS HTML/ HTML5/ CSS3

Have a good understanding of UI/UX design

Carry out final functional tests to ensure quality is maintained

Ability to research emerging technologies and identify new techniques

Company Description

We are looking for ato join the development team of a fast-growing, hugely ambitious agency headquartered here in Craighall, Johannesburg.Vetro is a growth agency working primarily in digital, with plans and ambitions that see us expanding our presence globally.For all of our work, the end goal is always to create positive ROI for our clients. We help them grow.We partner with our clients. We dont just provide services, which is why its important the clients are the right fit for us, and us for them. We get involved from beginning to end so for us its important to bring on the right clients that fit our business, the way we work and that we feel we can offer them real value.Our clients (new and old) all fit the following mould:We believe that when were a good fit for our clients and likewise them for us, it makes for a better alignment and better output of work and ultimately the results. We work as both a retained agency and also as a campaign agency.We are looking for a talented WordPress website developer with an eye for design, a high problem solving skillset and the technical skills to match. You must have at least 6 months experience in WordPress website development and are able to create responsive WordPress themes from scratch. You will be responsible for the build of new and existing WordPress sites across the dev team, including monthly maintenance plans and clients briefs. This role requires a high level of attention to detail and pixel-perfect precision.We are a ground-breaking digital company re-imagining what the world believes to be mobile & digital marketing. Our team is comprised of a bunch of overachieving perfectionists who will stop at nothing to deliver only the best and nothing less. Posted on 05 Apr 09:56, Closing date 4 Jun
SEO Content Writing Internship

Remuneration: R1000 - R11500 per month basic salary Benefits: Fully remote company, birthday leave, on-the-job training workshops Location: Cape Town Remote work: Only remote work Education level: Diploma Job level: Junior/Mid Type: Permanent Reference: #SEO_Internship Company: Travel Tractions Pty Ltd

Job description

Good communicator and works well in a team

Writing, editing, SEO, design, or social media experience

Attention to detail

Not afraid to ask questions

Quick-learner who is curious about the bigger picture

A fast-thinker who can work well under pressure

A go-getter who understands that deadlines need to be met

Problem-solving skills. Someone not afraid of researching solutions and troubleshooting issues

Research

Fact-checking

Data capturing

Content creation

Copywriting

Design

Editing

Proofreading

Link building

Emailing

Meeting deadlines

Administrative and other editorial tasks

Requirements

At least 2 years of work experience in any field

Strong writing ability with a good grasp of grammar and spelling (this will be tested)

A degree/diploma in Journalism/English/Communications/Marketing/Media Studies (advantageous but not essential)

Copywriting, SEO, design or social media skills

Accustomed to a fast-paced environment

A positive, can-do attitude

A hardcore work ethic and a serious interest in getting the most out of this experience

Great time management

Use the word banana in your application about why this position is good for you

Understanding of SEO (advantageous but not essential)

Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook experience (advantageous but not essential)

A structured multi-tasker

Sound research skills

Company Description

Travel Tractions and The Marketing Mill are looking for a talented, content-focused individual to join our fast-growing team. We offer internship positions teaching various areas of online marketing, through structured courses, feedback, and mentorship with the possibility of freelancing and further employment,Depending on your experience, skills, time availability, ability to provide value, and pace of learning, the financial incentives will start at R1 000  R11 500 per month (performance-based), with full-time and part-time positions available after the internship.Traits we are looking for:Your typical duties and responsibilities will include:If you think you are the correct person for the position, please use the link on our website, traveltractions.com, to apply for the position. No applications will be accepted via email.Should you not have received a reply from us in two weeks, please be advised that your application was unfortunately unsuccessful.Travel Tractions was born from a necessity to offer a better SEO and digital marketing service, and actually help businesses. Having been a travel SEO marketer and consultant for 10 years, Matt found there was no specific travel SEO service that explained exactly what they offered and delivered. Fiverr, Freelancer and Upwork became tiresome to manage, with flakey freelancers and expensive mistakes. Fed up with paying other peoples school fees, Travel Tractions was created. Posted on 20 Apr 09:25, Closing date 19 Jun
FBI, State Department Announce $5 Million Reward for Fugitive Semion Mogilevich

Semion Mogilevich is described as a white male, 56 to 57, 290 pounds, balding, with gray hair and green eyes. He was born on June 30, 1946, in Kyiv, Ukraine, but also uses July 5, 1946, as an alias date of birth. Mogilevich has Russian, Ukrainian, and Israeli passports. His current residence is believed to be in Moscow, Russia.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Justice Departments Organized Crime and Gang Section (OCGS) of the Departments Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

Individuals with information on Mogilevich that could be helpful to investigators are asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, via WhatsApp (neither a government-operated nor government-controlled platform) at 215-839-6844, or online at tips.fbi.gov. All identities are kept strictly confidential.

This story has been published on: 2022-04-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Chinese envoy says early conflict resolution key to ending humanitarian crisis in Ukraine

Xinhua) 13:54, April 20, 2022

UNITED NATIONS, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The fundamental way to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is to put an early end to the conflict, China's permanent representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun said on Tuesday.

"We call on Russia and Ukraine to adhere to the general direction of dialogue and negotiation, continuously narrow differences, and accumulate conditions for a ceasefire," Zhang told the Security Council meeting on the humanitarian issue of Ukraine.

On the protection of civilians, Zhang said that every effort must be made to reduce the harm to civilians caused by conflict.

"China once again calls on all parties to the conflict to exercise maximum restraint, strictly abide by international humanitarian law, protect civilians and civilian facilities, and facilitate evacuation and humanitarian assistance operations," said the envoy.

"The parties concerned should strengthen communication on humanitarian issues, and conduct coordination and cooperation on issues such as opening humanitarian corridors and organizing the safe evacuation of personnel," he added.

China appreciates the fact that the neighboring countries of Ukraine have provided "safe havens and humanitarian assistance," he said.

Speaking about sanctions, the envoy said, "We must pay attention to and eliminate the negative impact of sanctions."

"The vast number of developing countries that are not parties to the conflict have paid a heavy price for it. This is neither fair nor reasonable. The international community should strengthen coordination to keep food and energy supplies and prices stable, and avoid unnecessary export restrictions," Zhang said.

He pointed out that "arbitrary freeze of foreign exchange reserves of other countries also constitutes a violation of sovereignty, and is tantamount to weaponizing economic interdependence."

He called for an early end to such practices as they "undermine the foundation of world economic stability and bring new uncertainties and risks to international relations."

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
HANAMKONDA: Inquiries by Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences unveiled a loophole using which private medical colleges have been minting crores of rupees.

According to university authorities, private colleges are blocking postgraduate seats saying merit and all India quota students have applied for them. But facts are different. Private managements wait till all phases of counselling for PG admissions are over. There is a provision that in case students do not join the college even after getting selected, private managements can fill these seats under management quota. This way, managements are allegedly selling each PG seat for  2 crore.

There are 33 medical colleges under the University of Health Sciences. Nine of them are run by government, four by minorities and 20 by private managements. Admissions are going on for these colleges, including for PG courses.

While checking up the ongoing admission process, Kaloji Narayana Rao University registrar D. Praveen Kumar found some discrepancies in the merit list with regard to 45 applicants who had applied for counselling for admission into PG courses offered by respective private medical colleges. He wrote letters to those students asking whether they had applied for admissions into postgraduate courses. Most students replied in the negative.

Suspecting involvement of private medical college managements in the affair, Praveen Kumar brought the issue to notice of health minister T. Harish Rao. The minister asked the registrar to lodge a complaint against the private medical colleges in the respective police stations.

Speaking to media persons, the registrar explained that there are total 2,295 PG seats in 33 medical colleges under the KNR University of Health Sciences. Of these, 1,090 seats are under convener quota, 512 are under All India quota and 693 seats under management quota.

Irregularities have taken place for admission into more than 40 of these seats under the quota of private managements, which block the seats utilising the Stay Vacancy option. A complaint has been registered with the police commissionerate here, Praveen Kumar said.

A medical college student union leader said merit students as well those from outside the state can apply for management quota seats. Middlemen and managements of private medical colleges collude with regard to counselling for such seats. This year, after the last phase of counselling, 58 seats remained vacant with students who had applied not joining the respective colleges.

It is alleged that managements deliberately block seats in the name of merit students and those from outside the state. They then create an impression that the students have not joined the college. They then sell these seats to the highest bidder.

Student representatives have demanded a transparent re-counselling for the left over 58 PG medical seats.
The first public hearings on the proposed Pandemic Treaty are closed, with the next round due to start in mid-June.

Weve been trying to keep this issue on our front page, entirely because the mainstream is so keen to ignore it and keep churning out partisan war porn and propaganda.

When we  and others  linked to the public submissions page, there was such a response that the WHOs website actually briefly crashed, or they pretended it crashed so people would stop sending them letters.

Either way, its a win. Hopefully one we can replicate in the summer.

Until then, the signs are that what scant press coverage there is, mostly across the metaphorical back-pages of the internet, will be focused on making the treaty strong enough and ensuring national governments can be held accountable.

An article in the UKs Telegraph from April 12th headlines:

Real risk a pandemic treaty could be too watered down to stop new outbreaks

It focuses on a report from the Panel for a Global Public Health Convention (GPHC), and quotes one of the reports authors Dame Barbara Stocking:

Our biggest fear [] is its too easy to think that accountability doesnt matter. To have a treaty that does not have compliance in it, well frankly then theres no point in having a treaty,

The GPHC report goes on to say that the current International Health Regulations are too weak, and calls for the creation of a new independent international body to assess government preparedness and publicly rebuke or praise countries, depending on their compliance with a set of agreed requirements.

Another article, published by the London School of Economics and co-written by members of the German Alliance on Climate Change and Health (KLUG), also pushes the idea of accountability and compliance pretty hard:

For this treaty to have teeth, the organisation that governs it needs to have the power  either political or legal  to enforce compliance.

It also echoes the UN report from May 2021 in calling for more powers for the WHO:

In its current form, the WHO does not possess such powers []To move on with the treaty, WHO therefore needs to be empowered  financially, and politically.

It recommends the involvement of non-state actors such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organisation and International Labour Organisation in the negotiations, and suggests the treaty offer financial incentives for the early reporting of health emergencies [emphasis added]:

In case of a declared health emergency, resources need to flow to countries in which the emergency is occurring, triggering response elements such as financing and technical support. These are especially relevant for LMICs, and could be used to encourage and enhance the timely sharing of information by states, reassuring them that they will not be subject to arbitrary trade and travel sanctions for reporting, but instead be provided with the necessary financial and technical resources they require to effectively respond to the outbreak.

It doesnt stop there, however. They also raise the question of countries being punished for non-compliance:

[The treaty should possess] An adaptable incentive regime, [including] sanctions such as public reprimands, economic sanctions, or denial of benefits.

To translate these suggestions from bureaucrat into English:

If you report disease outbreaks in a timely manner, you will get financial resources to deal with them.

If you dont report disease outbreaks, or dont follow the WHOs directions, you will lose out on international aid and face trade embargoes and sanctions.

In combination, these proposed rules would literally incentivize reporting possible disease outbreaks. Far from preventing future pandemics, they would actively encourage them.

National governments who refuse to play ball being punished, and those who play along getting paid off is not new. We have already seen that with Covid.

Two African countries  Burundi and Tanzania  had Presidents who banned the WHO from their borders, and refused to go along with the Pandemic narrative. Both Presidents died unexpectedly within months of that decision, only to be replaced by new Presidents who instantly reversed their predecessors covid policies.

Less than a week after the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza, the IMF agreed to forgive almost 25 million dollars of Burundis national debt in order to help combat the Covid19 crisis.

Just five months after the death of President John Magufuli, the new government of Tanzania received 600 million dollars from the IMF to address the covid19 pandemic.

Its pretty clear what happened here, isnt it?

Globalists backed coups and rewarded the perpetrators with international aid. The proposals for the Pandemic treaty would simply legitimise this process, moving it from covert back channels to overt official ones.

Now, before we discuss the implications of new powers, lets remind ourselves of the power the WHO already possesses:

The World Health Organization is the only institution in the world empowered to declare a pandemic or Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

The Director-General of the WHO  an unelected position  is the only individual who controls that power.

We have already seen the WHO abuse these powers in order to create a fake pandemic out of thin airand Im not talking about covid.

Prior to 2008, the WHO could only declare an influenza pandemic if there were enormous numbers of deaths and illness AND there was a new and distinct subtype. In 2008 the WHO loosened the definition of influenza pandemic to remove these two conditions.

As a 2010 letter to the British Medical Journal pointed out, these changes meant many seasonal flu viruses could be classified as pandemic influenza.

If the WHO had not made those changes, the 2009 Swine flu outbreak could never have been called a pandemic, and would likely have passed without notice.

Instead, dozens of countries spent millions upon millions of dollars on swine flu vaccines they did not need and did not work, to fight a pandemic that resulted in fewer than 20,000 deaths. Many of those responsible for advising the WHO to declare swine flu a public health emergency were later shown to have financial ties to vaccine manufacturers.

Despite this historical example of blatant corruption, one proposed clause of the Pandemic Treaty would make it even easier to declare a PHEIC. According to the May 2021 report Covid19: Make it the Last Pandemic [emphasis added]:

Future declarations of a PHEIC by the WHO Director-General should be based on the precautionary principle where warranted

Yes, the proposed treaty could allow the DG of the WHO to declare a state of global emergency to prevent a potential pandemic, not in response to one. A kind of pandemic pre-crime.

If you combine this with the proposed financial aid for developing nations reporting potential health emergencies, you can see what theyre building  essentially bribing third world governments to give the WHO a pretext for declaring a state of emergency.

We already know the other key points likely to be included in a pandemic treaty. They will almost certainly try to introduce international vaccine passports, and pour funding into big Pharmas pockets to produce vaccines ever faster and with even less safety testing.

But all of that could pale in comparison to the legal powers potentially being handed to the director-general of the WHO (or whatever new independent body they may decide to create) to punish, rebuke or reward national governments.

A Pandemic Treaty that overrides or overrules national or local governments would hand supranational powers to an unelected bureaucrat or expert, who could exercise them entirely at his own discretion and on completely subjective criteria.

This is the very definition of technocratic globalism.
The neo-conservative 'Institute for the Study of War (ISW) releases daily 'Russian offensive campaign assessments. A lot of people in Washington DC seem to read them.

They are of course pure propaganda only slightly aligned with the actual tactical situation in the Ukraine. I confess that I read them once a while purely for my amusement.

Their main source seems to be the Ukrainian defense ministry which is of course lying left and right about the state of the war.

This for example is from their assessment from Sunday, April 17:

Russian forces continued to amass on the Izyum axis and in eastern Ukraine, increasingly including low-quality proxy conscripts, in parallel with continuous  and unsuccessful  small-scale attacks. Russian forces did not take any territory on the Izyum axis or in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts in the past 24 hours. Russian forces deploying to eastern Ukraine reportedly continue to face significant morale and supply issues and appear unlikely to intend, or be able to, conduct a major offensive surge in the coming days. Deputy Ukrainian Minister of Defense Anna Malyar stated on April 17 that the Russian military is in no hurry to launch an offensive in eastern Ukraine, having learned from their experience from Kyiv  but Russian forces continue localized attacks and are likely unable to amass the cohesive combat power necessary for a major breakthrough.

I have no idea how anyone could have come to those conclusions.

"appear unlikely to intend, or be able to, conduct a major offensive surge in the coming days"

and

"the Russian military is in no hurry to launch an offensive in eastern Ukraine"

and

likely unable to amass the cohesive combat power necessary for a major breakthrough

What are these guys smoking?

Yesterday evening heavy artillery attacks on Ukrainian frontline positions announced the launch of the expected offensive.

Belatedly ISW took note of that:

ISW @TheStudyofWar - 23:40 UTC  Apr 18, 2022

#Donetsk and #Luhansk Oblasts Update:

#Russian forces likely began large-scale offensive operations in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts on April 18. These offensive operations are unlikely to be dramatically more successful than failed operations around #Kyiv.

Today the start of phase two of the Russian operation was officially announced:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow was starting a new stage of what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine which he predicted would be a significant development. "Another stage of this operation (in eastern Ukraine) is beginning and I am sure this will be a very important moment of this entire special operation", Lavrov said in an interview with the India Today TV channel.

After the heavy artillery preparations last night several offensives were launched into multiple directions.
The Pentagon announced Tuesday Ukraines military had received additional aircraft as well as parts for repairs to get damaged aircraft flying again. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby did not offer details on which countries provided aircraft, but acknowledged new transfers.

They have received additional aircraft and aircraft parts to help them get more aircraft in the air, Kirby told a news briefing. We certainly have helped with the trans-shipment of some additional spare parts that have helped with their aircraft needs, but we have not transported whole aircraft, he added.

Apparently, the Pentagon did not take Ukraines military authorities into confidence before making the announcement, because the official Twitter account of Ukraines air force tweeted Wednesday: Officially, Ukraine did not receive new aircraft from partners! With the assistance of the US Government, @KpsZSU received spare parts and components for the restoration and repair of the fleet of aircraft in the Armed Forces, which will allow to put into service more equipment.

Despite the denial, nobody, not even Ukraines principal patron, the United States, deem preposterous claims made by Ukrainian sources credible, because Kyiv is known to have given exaggerated casualty counts and inflated figures of damage inflicted by the war in Ukraine in order to mount a disinformation campaign against Russia.

Privately, US officials recognized that Ukraine had an incentive to give only information that would bolster their case for more aid, more arms and more diplomatic assistance, CNN reported Tuesday.

It's a wareverything they do and say publicly is designed to help them win the war. Every public statement is an information operation, every interview, every Zelensky appearance broadcast is an information operation, said a source familiar with Western intelligence.

Another reason Ukraines military authorities want to keep aircraft transfer under the wraps is that previously Russian forces claimed to have destroyed an S-300 air defense system that Slovakia transferred to Ukraine in a Kalibr cruise missiles strike hitting a hangar on the southern outskirts of the city of Dnepropetrovsk.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu boasted last month that 123 of Ukraine's 152 fighter jets had been destroyed, as well as 77 of its 149 helicopters and 152 of its 180 long- and medium-range air defense systems, while its naval forces had been totally eliminated.

As demilitarization of Ukraine, alongside denazification and liberation of Donbas, was one of the principal objectives of Russias month-long military campaign lasting from late February to late March, therefore Russian forces would never allow vital military assets, especially air defense systems and fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, to remain in the possession of Ukraines air force. Ukraines aircraft are safe only as long as they remain grounded and concealed from Russias advanced air surveillance systems.

Although the Pentagon spokesman refused to identify the country that delivered the aircraft to Ukraine due to secrecy of the shady transfer deal, the only NATO member state that was in talks with Washington and Kyiv to transfer its Soviet-era fleet of a dozen MiG-29 aircraft was Slovakia.

Reportedly, a batch of Ukraines highly skilled pilots traveled to Slovakia last week, took the delivery of the aircraft and then flew them all the way to concealed air force hangars at military airports in Kyiv while maintaining low altitudes in order to avoid detection by Russias advanced air surveillance systems. The Pentagon that has deployed extensive ISR, or intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, assets along Ukraines borders fully coordinated the entire clandestine operation of transferring the aircraft.

After the scuttled aircraft-transfer deal that wouldve seen Poland handing over its fleet of 28 Soviet-era MiG-29s to Ukraine in return for the United States backfilling the Polish Air Force with American F-16s last month, Slovakia was in talks with NATO about an arrangement that could allow Bratislava to send fighter jets to Ukraine, Prime Minister Eduard Heger told reporters on April 11.

Eduard Heger said his government wanted to move away from reliance on the Soviet MiGs in any case. This is equipment that we want to finish anyway, because were waiting for the F-16s, he added, referring to US-made jets that Slovakia was scheduled to receive in 2024, though Bratislava could receive American fighter jets earlier as it has now delivered on the pledge of transferring the dozen MiG-29 aircraft Slovakia was reported to have to Ukraine.

In early March, Poland made a similar offer of transferring its fleet of 28 Soviet-era MiG-29s to Ukraine in return for receiving American F-16s, but the Pentagon rejected the proposal due to apprehensions over direct confrontation with Russian forces in Ukraine.

The prospect of flying combat aircraft from NATO territory into the war zone raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance, the Pentagon said on March 9. It is simply not clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for it, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby added.

But considering that Slovak aircraft have already been delivered to Ukraine, it seems plausible that the Polish proposal of transferring its aircraft might also be reconsidered by the Biden administration and Ukraine could receive additional Polish MiG-29 aircraft in the coming weeks.

In addition to transferring the aircraft to Ukraine, Slovakia also struck a deal with NATO earlier this month for transferring its Soviet-era S-300 air defense system to Ukraine in return for the transatlantic military alliance delivering four Patriot missile systems to Slovakia.

I can confirm that Slovakia donated the S-300 air defense system to Ukraine based on its request to help in self-defense due to armed aggression from the Russian Federation, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger announced on April 8.

Although NATO has provided over 25,000 anti-aircraft MANPADS to Ukraines security forces and allied neo-Nazi militias, those were portable shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, whereas S-300 air defense system, equivalent in capabilities to American Patriots, is a vehicle-mounted advanced system that could practically enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraines airspace, a longstanding demand of Ukrainian politicians, within the range of the battery. The Slovak army website said its version of the S-300 battery had a range of 75 km and could strike targets up to 27 km above ground.

Negotiations for the transfer of S-300 air defense system to Ukraine had been going on for weeks before the announcement by the Slovak prime minister that Bratislava had generously donated its Soviet-era S-300 air defense system to Ukraine in return for the transatlantic military alliance delivering four Patriot missile systems to Slovakia.

The Dutch government announced on March 18 it would send a Patriot missile defense system to Sliac, Slovakia, as part of NATO moves to strengthen air defenses in Eastern Europe. The worsened safety situation in Europe as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine makes this contribution necessary, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said in a statement. In addition, Germany also sent two Patriot missile systems to Slovakia.

Along with the Patriot batteries, the Dutch also announced sending a contingent of 150-200 troops, who would operate and also train Slovak forces in operating the American air defense system, as the security forces of Slovakia as well as Ukraine are only trained to operate Russian-made military equipment, which many NATO countries that are former Soviet states possess.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austins trip to Europe in mid-March included not only NATO headquarters in Brussels, but also stops in Bulgaria and Slovakia  countries that own S-300s and SA-8s  before he headed back to Washington.

Previously, Slovakias defense minister said on March 17 that the country was willing to give Ukraine its S-300 surface-to-air missile defense systems if it received a proper replacement. Speaking at a press conference in Slovakia alongside US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said Slovakia was discussing the S-300s with the US and Ukraine. Were willing to do so immediately when we have a proper replacement. The only strategic air defense system that we have in Slovakia is S-300 system, he added.

Lloyd Austin declined to say whether the United States might be willing to fill the gap. I dont have any announcements for you this afternoon. These are things that we will continue to work with all of our allies on. And certainly, this is not just a US issue. Its a NATO issue, Austin said while diplomatically evading confirming the barter deal for which he had traveled all the way from Washington to Eastern Europe.

NATO member Slovakia had one battery of the S-300 air defense system, inherited from the Soviet era after the break-up of Czechoslovakia in 1993. Following the Slovakia visit, Lloyd Austin also visited Bulgaria on March 18. Bulgaria has S-300 systems, but the country made it clear it had no plans to send any to Ukraine.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev prudently said that any arms supplies to Ukraine were equivalent to the country being dragged into war. Ultimately, he said, such an issue should be decided by the parliament. He also said that Bulgaria needed its S-300 for its own air defense, particularly for the Kozlodui nuclear power plant.

Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said Slovakia would receive additional equipment from NATO allies to make up for the transfer. Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad subsequently announced that Slovakia would receive a fourth Patriot missile system from the United States a week after the announcement of the deal.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the United States would place one Patriot system in Slovakia in the coming days and it would be operated by US troops. Their deployment length has not yet been fixed, as we continue to consult with the Slovakian government about more permanent air defense solutions, Austin said in a statement.

As the Russian military repositions for the next phase of this war, I have directed my administration to continue to spare no effort to identify and provide to the Ukrainian military the advanced weapons capabilities it needs to defend its country, President Joe Biden said while thanking Slovakia for sending its S-300 system to Ukraine.

Acknowledging President Bidens gratitude, Russian forces claimed they had destroyed the S-300 air defense system that Slovakia transferred to Ukraine in a Kalibr cruise missiles strike hitting a hangar on the southern outskirts of the city of Dnepropetrovsk.

In his regular briefing on the military operation in Ukraine on April 11, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov claimed the barrage of sea-launched Kalibr missiles destroyed four S-300 launchers and as many as 25 Ukrainian troops in the precision strike. The Russian official also reported destroying an S-300 targeting radar in a separate airstrike near Uspenovka.

The Pentagon revealed last week that the United States had committed more than $3.2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration, including approximately $2.6 billion since the beginning of Russias unprovoked assault on February 24.

As of April 14, United States security assistance committed to Ukraine includes:

Over 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft systems;

Over 5,500 Javelin anti-armor systems;

Over 14,000 other anti-armor systems;

Over 700 Switchblade Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems;

18 155mm Howitzers and 40,000 155mm artillery rounds;

16 Mi-17 helicopters;

Hundreds of Armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles;

200 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers;

Over 7,000 small arms;

Over 50,000,000 rounds of ammunition;

75,000 sets of body armor and helmets;

Laser-guided rocket systems;

Puma Unmanned Aerial Systems;

Unmanned Coastal Defense Vessels;

14 counter-artillery radars;

Four counter-mortar radars;

Two air surveillance radars;

M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel munitions;

C-4 explosives and demolition equipment for obstacle clearing;

Tactical secure communications systems;

Night vision devices, thermal imagery systems, optics, and laser rangefinders;

Commercial satellite imagery services;

Explosive ordnance disposal protective gear;

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear protective equipment;

Medical supplies to include first aid kits.

Despite making Ukraine an ordnance depot of NATO powers on Russias western flank, CNN reported Tuesday the US had few ways to track the substantial supply of anti-tank, anti-aircraft and other weaponry it had sent across the border into Ukraine, a blind spot thats due in large part to the lack of US boots on the ground in the countryand the easy portability of many of the smaller systems pouring across the border.

We have fidelity for a short time, but when it enters the fog of war, we have almost zero, said one source briefed on US intelligence. It drops into a big black hole, and you have almost no sense of it at all after a short period of time.

Trucks loaded with pallets of arms provided by the Defense Department were picked up by Ukrainian armed forces, primarily in Poland, and then driven into Ukraine, Kirby said, then it's up to the Ukrainians to determine where they go and how they're allocated inside their country.

In making the decision to send billions of dollars of weapons and equipment into Ukraine, the Biden administration factored in the risk that some of the shipments may ultimately end up in unexpected places, a defense official said. But right now, the official said, the administration views a failure to adequately arm Ukraine as a greater risk.

Although NATO powers did provide caches of anti-aircraft Stingers to Afghan jihadists that helped turning the tide in the Soviet-Afghan war in the eighties, since then, despite providing anti-tank munitions and rest of weapons to militant groups in the proxy wars in Libya and Syria, Western powers have consistently avoided providing MANPADS to proxy forces, because such deadly anti-aircraft munitions could become a long-term threat not only to military aircraft but also to civilian airlines.

In the sheer desperation to inflict maximum material damage on Russias security forces, however, NATO appears to have breached its own long-standing convention of curbing the proliferation of anti-aircraft munitions. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 7, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley revealed that US and NATO countries have collectively provided over 60,000 anti-tank weapons and 25,000 anti-aircraft weapons during NATOs weapons for peace program to Ukraine since Russias invasion on Feb. 24.

Who would be responsible for the myopic and self-destructive policy of providing anti-aircraft munitions to Ukraines security forces and allied ultra-nationalist militias once the war ends and those MANPADS are found in black markets, notably in thriving weapons markets of Eastern Europe, posing grave risk to military aircraft as well as civilian airlines across the globe?

In fact, Russia alluded to the mortal risk posed by the proliferation of anti-aircraft munitions in its diplomatic demarche to the United States last week. The document, titled On Russias concerns in the context of massive supplies of weapons and military equipment to the Kiev regime, was forwarded to the State Department by the Russian Embassy in Washington, in which Russia accused NATO powers of violating rigorous principles governing the transfer of weapons to conflict zones, and of being oblivious to the threat of high-precision weapons falling into the hands of radical nationalists, extremists and bandit forces in Ukraine.

About the author:

Nauman Sadiq is an Islamabad-based geopolitical and national security analyst focused on geo-strategic affairs and hybrid warfare in the Middle East and Eurasia regions. His domains of expertise include neocolonialism, military-industrial complex and petro-imperialism. He is a regular contributor of diligently researched investigative reports to alternative news media.
By inviting an Azov fighter to address Greeces parliament, Zelensky opened the countrys historic wounds and triggered angry demonstrations that have shaken its pro-US government.

Solidarity with the Ukrainian people is a given. But the Nazis cannot have a say in parliament. These are the words of Alexis Tsipras, the former PM and leader of Greeces left-liberal Syriza Party.

Tsipras was reacting to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys attempt to legitimize the Azov Battalion, an umbrella of far-right and fascist fighters trained by the US to battle Russians in Ukraine, as he toured foreign capitals to appeal for direct and indirect military support.

Zelensky stirred controversy with his April visit to Greek parliament in an effort to win support for his countrys anti-Russian war effort. Mariupol, home to a significant number of ethnic Greeks who have faced persecution from the neo-Nazi Azov Brigade, was a particular area of concern in Athens.

During his visit to parliament, Zelensky played a video featuring an Azov fighter who claimed that his relatives had fought the German Nazis in the Second World War. This was seen as a cynical attempt to whitewash the fascist organization. It was particularly painful for Greeks still haunted by the ghosts of World War II, when the country boasted a strong left that resisted the Third Reich.

Once the Nazis had been defeated and the British empire weakened, the US moved in to Greece with full-force to transform it into an anti-Soviet hub, terrorizing the Greek left and absorbing the nation into NATO. Since then, the Pentagon has viewed Greece and its neighbor Turkey as a strategic bulwark. Both countries act as logistical bridges between the pro-US Europe and the oil-rich Middle East.

NATOs ongoing proxy war against Russia has brought these strategic interests into stark relief, triggering union strikes against the offloading of weapons headed for Ukraine and stirring a wave of public anger against Zelensky and his Greek hosts for their provocative publicity stunt in parliament.

The outrage has emanated directly from painful memories of Nazi occupation and the CIAs sustained assaults on Greeces post-war democracy.

 The Greek blocking weapons from being sent to Ukriane "STOP fueling a war, go home NATO" pic.twitter.com/F8zQnbyxRG  Sphithiphithi Evaluator (@_AfricanSoil) April 8, 2022

The CIA guides Greeces post-war plan to kill the communists

In 1936, Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas became a pro-Nazi dictator with the support of King Georgios II. Metaxas death in 1941 bolstered the Greek Communist Partys (KKE) anti-Nazi resistance. The KKE had established ELAS, the Peoples Liberation Army, to fight the occupying Nazis. Until 1943, ELAS was initially trained by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), a top-secret unit designed to train European paramilitaries. Indicative of the power of Greek leftism, ELASs political wing, the National Liberation Front (EAM), boasted 2 million members.

The British Foreign Office fought to restore Georgios II, explicitly citing his anti-left credentials. Working with Cypruss fascist battalion X, the Brits set up a new army unit, the Hellenic Raiding Force, to hunt and kill ELAS members. The Syntagma Square demonstrations in 1944 against the British and fascists ended in a massacre of 25 protestors, including a young child. A year later at the Yalta/Crimea Conference, Stalin agreed to allow Britain and the US to occupy Greece in exchange for Bulgaria and Romania. In 1947, Britain asked the US for support to purge leftist ideologies from the Greek publics mind.

28 unarmed protestors were massacred by the Greek police and British army in Athens on December 3, 1944.

The Holy Bond of Greek Officers (IDEA) received help from the CIA and its predecessors, which worked with the FBI to send information on leftists to the Greek Embassy. In his book on post-War, US collaboration with Nazis, Blowback, Christopher Simpson reported that secret Pentagon papers revealed how the US poured millions of dollars into IDEA  in order to create what it termed the Secret Army Reserve made up of selected Greek military, police, and anti-Communist [officers]. Typical of the US imperial mindset, the left included everyone from right-wing republicans to religious minorities.

General Napoleon Zervas, the so-called Minister for Public Order, told US General William Livesay that the goal was to kill the Communists. US Ambassador Lincoln MacVeagh warned PM Dimitrios Maximos that US public opinion opposed rightist excesses against non-subversive political opponents, such as the imprisonment of 36,000 suspected leftists, including thousands of women  some of whom were nursing their babies. However, the US charge, Karl Rankin, considered such measures to be quite necessary.

Dwight Griswold, the director of the USAID precursor known as the American Mission for Aid in Greece, described mass state child abduction from detained parents as an unusually effective psychological warfare device, particularly against the Slavic minority. With the left crushed, IDEA teamed up with NATO when Greece became a member in 1952.

America is an elephant, Cyprus is a flea. Greece is a flea.

In 1953, the CIA laid the foundation for Greeces National Intelligence Service, the KYP, furnishing the outfit with computer-style technology to track the population. The KYP was so cozy with the CIA that the future CIA station chief in Athens, James M. Potts, referred to the Greek intelligence liaison, Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos, as my son.

Next, the CIA launched Operation (Red) Sheepskin, a subversive operation initiated through a mutual cooperation agreement between US General Lucian Truscott and his counterpart, Chief of Staff Konstantinos Davos. Over the course of a decade, Sheepskin and the KYP provided weapons and guerrilla warfare training to stay-behind rightist cells to pave the way for the coup that brought a military junta to power in April 1967.

Greece is important to the United States because of its strategic location, its proximity both to the Soviet Bloc and to the Near East, says a National Security Council (NSC) report from 1957. Also important is its membership in NATO, and its ties to Yugoslavia through the Balkan Pact  Greece forms a land barrier to Soviet access to the Mediterranean.

While granting the US and NATO basing rights, Greece was spending a third of its national budget on militarism. From the end of the war until 1958, US taxpayers had invested a whopping $1.1 billion to supply Greece with arms  around $11 billion in todays money.

Under the NSC doctrine, the Greek Armed Forces were modernized with units inspired by the US Delta Force and the British Special Air Service. Daniele Gansers unparalleled history of NATOs secret armies documents how, under the command of Field Marshall Alexander Papagos, the Hellenic Raiding Force (LOK, mentioned above) worked with the CIA to clear a path for NATOs enduring presence in Greece.

Cyprus became a crucial issue. Given its close proximity to the Middle East, the US and Britain also used the island as a base. Turkey, a US ally whose population also suffered from clandestine NATO operations, lay claim to Cyprus. The Lyndon Johnson administration proposed splitting Cyprus to appease the Greeks and Turks. When the Greek poet and diplomat, Alexander Matsas, objected, Johnson infamously replied: Fuck your parliament and your constitution. America is an elephant, Cyprus is a flea. Greece is a flea. If those two fellows continue itching the elephant, they just may get whacked.

Three years later in 1967, Greek elites were paralyzed by worker strikes, averaging 24 per month. Four weeks before the presumed center-left political victory, LOK implemented NATOs Plan Prometheus II: the rounding up of suspected communists culminating in the Generals Coup.

CIA to Greek military: Shoot the motherfucker

The Minister of Coordination under the Center Union government ultimately deposed by the military coup, Andreas Papandreou, happened to be the ex-CIA son of PM Giorgios Papandreou. US intelligence considered Andreas to be too soft on the leftists in the coalition. Gustav Avrakotos, a CIA agent, advised his Greek military colleagues of Papandreou the younger: shoot the motherfucker because hes going to come back to haunt you. Andreas claimed that he knew nothing of the existence of the CIAs IDEA until they moved to seize power.

President Johnsons National Security Advisor, W.W. Rostow, warned a committee in February 1967 that, against the interests of the US, the Papandreou-Center Union would likely win the forthcoming election. The main coup plotters were linked to the KYP  the CIA-run intelligence agency. A main coup plotter, one Brigadier Hadjipetrou, was head of the NATO base in Crete. Under the pretext that the Soviets had invaded Czechoslovakia, US defensive arms exports to Greece resumed.

Three years into the junta, the Nixon administration (whose campaign received money from the KYP regime) also reversed the US ban on weapons to Greece. The New York Times reported that the Greek military Government will receive tens of millions of dollars worth of heavy weapons (sic), such as tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery and possibly jet planes, that have been withheld from them under a selective embargo.

Despite PR-friendly words and timid actions to make it look as though Washington cared, the junta shored up Americas military installations. Listing numerous US and NATO air bases, an academic study notes that [t]he advent of dictatorship  did not hinder the USs base policy. On the contrary, it strengthened the presence of the bases, especially following the signing of the 1973 agreement on the homeporting facilities of the [Navys] Sixth Fleet in the bay of Elefsina, in the south. Between 1967 and 69, the junta received over $100 million-worth of weapons, which circumvented Congressional export rules because the arms were supposedly surplus.

The junta terrorized the public with the usual atrocities: murder, disappearances, torture, and control over the national media. Despite the state terror, leftist and other progressive groups continued to struggle for democracy. Dedicated protests, the global energy crisis, and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus converged to weaken the generals grip on power. The regime collapsed in 1974.

The CIA transforms an unreliable and troublesome partner into a dependable ally

An undated US State Department review stated that if the right-wing New Democracy party won the 1981 elections, Greece would remain stable and its Western ties would be consolidated. If, however, Papandreous Panhellenic Socialist Movement won, Greece would  become an unreliable and troublesome partner for the US. Papandreou won but, to the relief of the US, followed a pro-Washington course.

By decades end, the CIA could tolerate its former employee, writing that despite the rhetoric, Papandreou reached an agreement on continued US basing and that his promised radical Socialist solution ended with austerity and fiscal restraint. A Congressional Research Service report notes that, Although his previous tenure (1981-89) was noted for its anti-American rhetoric, Papandreou has said that he wants good relations with the United States.

The US-Greece Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement 1990 allowed for the formal training of Greek forces by the US. Throughout the 90s, Greek forces benefited from Americas multimillion dollar International Military Education and Training Program.

According to the US Navy, during the 1990-1991 Gulf War, Greek Navy warships operated in the strait of Tiran alongside ships of the US, French, and Spanish navies to enforce the strangulation of Iraq. In 1999, President Bill Clinton issued a kind of apology for his predecessors support for abuses.

In the same year, NATO bombed Serbia  the junction of an energy pipeline  under the pretext that an ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians was taking place. Indicative of Greeces logistical importance to the US, forces were transported from Germany through the Eastern Swing Route rail lines down to Thessaloniki, Greece[,] and back up to Skopje, Macedonia.

Fifty years of US-British post-War terror failed to break the popular spirit. Ordinary Greeks protested the prospective involvement of their armed forces, blocking British trucks and pelting service personnel with rotten food.

After 9/11, Greece contributed to the ISAF mission, the so-called International Security Assistance Force that occupied Afghanistan, as well as to Operation Active Endeavor; one of the US-NATO post-9/11 naval projects in the Mediterranean. By 2003, however 94 percent of Greeks were opposed to the US-led invasion of Iraq, so direct participation by their leaders was ruled out. But through NATO, the US continued to modernize Greeks military.

For instance, the 7th Army Training Command has a Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) in Germany, which is broadly part of the US Special Operations Command Europe. These commands oversee the International Special Training Center for NATO member states. Annual training included evaluating urban terrain, shooting through window glass, as well as climbing and establishing hides in buildings.

The culmination of efforts by the US military to turn Greece into a hub of anti-Russian operations

After backing a coup in Ukraine in 2014, the US initiated Operation Atlantic Resolve: an EU-wide rotation of 7,000 personnel and weapons, including Apache, Blackhawk, and Chinook helicopters, Abrams, Bradley, and Paladin tanks, and a host of logistical equipment. Five years later, the US Army and Navy began dredging the Greek seaport in Alexandroupoli, in the east, in preparation for Atlantic Resolve. In 2021, Greece and other nations joined the US Special Operations Commands International Division.

That year, the port in Alexandroupoli enabled the movement of hundreds of U.S. Army equipment items for [Atlantic Resolve]. According to Pentagons Europe Command (EUCOM), the 598th Transportation Brigade, Surface Deployment and Distribution Command and the 21st Theater Sustainment Command offloaded nearly 400 vehicles and containers  to include tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and a variety of support equipment. Col. Joshua D. Hirsch, Commander of the 598th said: The current operation represents the culmination of all the efforts that the U.S. Army, along with our interagency partners at the U.S. Embassy, our allies in Greece and our industry partners, have put in place to leverage the capabilities of this tremendous port.

At years end, Larissa Air Base in eastern Greece hosted F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft from the 336th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, as part of Operation Castle Forge. The Operation is designed to provide a dynamic, partnership-focused environment that raises the U.S. commitment to collective defense in the Black Sea region while enhancing interoperability alongside NATO allies. Gen. Jeff Harrigian, Commander of the US Air Force Europe-AFRICA and NATO Allied Air Commander, described the area as an absolutely critical region.

In March, US Special Operations Europe tweeted that the 7th Special Forces Group and Naval Special Warfare Task Unit conducted a Joint Combined Exercise Training with Greek Special Warfare units in Athens.

Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis (lower left) watches as a neo-Nazi Azov Battalion fighter addresses the Greek parliament in a video segment after Zelenskys speech

Zelensky brings Nazis to Greece for a historic sham

This March, the Greek Communist Party (KKE) announced that its 15 lawmakers would boycott Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys speech to the 300-seat Bouleterion (parliament). The parliaments Vice President, Georgios Lambroulis, and one of Greeces elected representatives at the European Union, Sotirios Zarianopoulos, had already been barred from Kiev for backing the Ukrainian Communist Party, which Zelensky has banned and whose Youth Leaders, brothers Mikhail and Alexander Kononovich, are currently imprisoned

As The Grayzone reported, Zelenskys SBU security services have escalated its campaign of terror against political opposition since war with Russia erupted, arresting, torturing and even occasionally assassinating officials, human rights activists and leftists considered pro-Russian or overly critical of Kievs objectives. Like the Greek KYP, the Ukrainian SBU has been trained by the CIA.

With Zelenskys arrival to Greeces parliament, the communist KKE denounced what it called a reactionary government [in Ukraine] backed by the US-NATO-EU camp and like Russia is responsible for the drama of the Ukrainian people.

Unlike the KKE, the leftish (but in reality, liberal) Syriza party initially welcomed Zelensky. Yet the screening of a video featuring a self-professed ethnic Greek Azov fighter spouting about how his grandfather fought the Third Reich was too much even for Syriza.

Former PM Tsipras of the Syriza party tweeted: The speech was a provocation and an historic sham. Meanwhile, Syrizas former Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, who quit/was fired in 2015 for opposing his ruling partys privatization and austerity agenda, issued an impassioned condemnation of the spectacle: By bringing Nazis into the video call in front of the Greek parliament to speak on behalf of his government and by failing to make any comment on the Cyprus issue, i.e. Turkeys invasion, Zelensky insulted the parliaments and the peoples of our countries.

A majority of the Greek public joined the left leaders in expressing revulsion at Zelenskys performance. Asked by pollsters this April for their impressions of the Ukrainian presidents speech before parliament, 50% of respondents described it as very bad, 15% called bad, while 16% said they were neutral. Only 11% of Greeks described Zelenskys speech as good or very good.

From a poll by Greeces Public Issue, April 2022.

Anti-NATO protests and massive public opposition to arming Ukraine shake Greek government

In October 2021, Greece and the US amended their Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement to deepen[] and expand[] on [their] partnership to maintain strong, capable, and interoperable militaries. Soon after, Greek media reported: A large number of helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles , tanks, cannons, and artillery are expected to reach the Greek port near the border with Turkey in the weeks to come as part of an extensive military shipment that is of unprecedented scale.

From Bulgaria and the German-based 21st Theater Sustainment Command, the US sent by rail forty-four M117 Guardian Armored Safety Vehicles to Greece, which arrived in November. The Safety epithet is propaganda. Janes reports that the vehicles were to be fitted with machine guns. It was expected that over one thousand vehicles would be delivered by April, half of which are meant for the Greek military. We are left to assume that the other half will go to Ukraine. The arrival of the US Army one month prior brought total US forces in Europe to 100,000: a number not seen since 2005, says Stars and Stripes.

PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis of the ruling New Democracy, the old CIA favorite, recently authorized lethal military equipment to Ukraine, declaring to parliament: There can be no equal distances. You are either with peace and international law, or against theminternational law meaning support for US-British violations of international law. But the rhetoric has fallen flat.

Despite a barrage of pro-NATO propaganda that has ensured that 75 percent of Greeks condemn Putin, 60 percent are also critical of Zelensky.

Citing opinion polls, cultural professor Nikos Marantzidis commented: Greek public opinion has a Russophile dimension, friendly feelings linked to history, a common culture based on Orthodoxy and for some, mistrust towards the West. Given the history, its not hard to understand the roots of the latter.

More recent Greek polls suggest that 66 percent to 29 percent oppose their governments decision to send weapons to Ukraine. Further, an overwhelming majority of Greeks believe their country should maintain a neutral role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The decades of torture, both physical and psychological, inflicted on Greece by the US and its fascist and quasi-fascist, post-War partners have insulated a large sector of the Greek citizenry against NATOs propaganda. Instead of making the public cower and internalize their imperial subjection, Greeks have retained their traditional anti-war mentality.

As Athens brushes aside Greek popular opinion to join NATOs war party, some Greek citizens are taking direct action to signal their disgust and concern over being used as pawns in the great game of power rivalry.

This April 10, Thessaloniki-based rail workers at the TrainOSE company launched a strike to protest the transportation of US military vehicles. Workers and the 12 unions backing them wrote: We will not become complicit in the passage of the war machine through the territories of our country.

With the popularity of PM Mitsotakis and his pro-US New Democracy party plunging since Zelenskys speech, his government has reportedly announced a halt to arms shipments to Ukraine.

The US may be attempting an end-around by sourcing Russian-made weapons from Cyprus. Local media report: Americans specifically asked for Cypriot anti-aircraft weapons, as well as attack helicopters.
In the remand report, the police stated that seven accused persons indulged in harassing a real estate businessman, G. Santosh and his family members. (Representational Image: PTI)

Hyderabad: The six TRS members, who are accused in coercing and abetting the suicide of a real estate businessman and his mother, and had surrendered before the police, were produced before the court in Kamareddy by the police today.

The accused are Ramayampet municipal chairman Palle Jitender Goud, Market committee chairman S. Yadagiri, V. Prudvi Raj, Thota Kiran, K. Krishna Goud and S. Swaraj.

Later, the six accused were shifted to judicial custody at the Nizamabad jail. The police, however, did not file any petition seeking police custody of the accused in connection with the case.

The police officials said that the seventh accused, T. Nagarjuna Goud, is still absconding. Nagarjuna Goud is a police officer who has been absconded since the incident in which G. Santosh Kumar and his mother Padma died by suicide after self-immolation at a hostel in Kamareddy.

Kamareddy Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Somanath confirmed that the police had produced the six accused before court today.

We did not file any petition seeking police custody of the accused. We will take a decision on Thursday to file such a petition before the court, he said.

Special teams have been formed to trace the absconding police officer Nagarjuna Goud, he confirmed.

In the remand report, the police stated that seven accused persons indulged in harassing a real estate businessman, G. Santosh and his family members. Some business activities took place between Santosh and his friends.

Palle Jitender Goud and other accused were involved in harassing Santosh, including attempting to extort money by demanding partnership in the business.

Based on video footage, police have charged police officer Nagarjuna Goud for harassing Santosh, by asking him to come to the police station and illegally detaining him inside the police station.

Jitender Goud and Yadagiri influenced police in harassing Santosh and his family members by registering false cases. Police have recorded statements of the accused in connection with the crime.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala government has been sending out COVID-19 data regularly since 2020, said Health Minister Veena George rejecting the Centre's claims of not providing daily COVID reports.

The state health minister called the claims "absolutely wrong". George explained that state government only stopped publishing daily bulletin in the state but has been sending it out to National Surveillance Unit in the format suggested by the Centre.

The Centre on April 18 wrote a letter to the Kerala government stating that it is reporting COVID data after a gap of five days, which has impacted and skewed the status of India's key monitoring COVID indicators like the number of cases, deaths and positivity rate.

"Allegations that Kerala government is not giving COVID data to the Centre are absolutely wrong. We've been sending data since 2020, and continue to do so. It's just that we have stopped publishing daily bulletin in the state; have been sending mails," George said a day after the letter was sent by Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal to Kerala's Principal Secretary of Health Rajan N Khobragade.

Terming the claims as "unfortunate", George said, "We are giving daily (COVID) report to National Surveillance Unit in the format suggested by Union Government; quite unfortunate that a responsible person from Union Government is sending a letter to Principal Secretary stating that Kerala is not giving data to the Centre."

"Daily and diligent reporting of data is critical to arrive at a meaningful understanding of the pandemic in districts, state and national level and ensure that any anomalies, surge or emerging trends can be captured in a timely manner," Agarwal stated in the letter.

"It has been observed that Kerala has reported its state-level COVID-19 data after a gap of five days (since April 13). This has impacted and skewed the status of India's key monitoring indicators like cases, deaths and positivity. India has reported a 90 per cent increase in new cases and 165 per cent increase in positivity in a single day," he also said.
Telangana State government on Wednesday issued an order to remove restrictions pertaining to government order (G.O.) 111, dated March 8, 1996. (DC file photo)

Hyderabad: The Telangana State government on Wednesday issued an order to remove restrictions pertaining to a government order (G.O.) 111, dated March 8, 1996.

The restrictions were removed, subject to the condition that the water quality of these Osmansagar and Himayatsagar, would not be impacted in any manner.

The TRS-led government had earlier on April 12 released another GO, numbered 69, which would be applicable for 84 villages (1.32 lakh acres), which are under the purview of GO 111.

The state government, in its new order today, said that considering the fact that Hyderabad citys drinking water requirements were no longer dependent on Osmansagar and Himayatsagar reservoirs, which was the underlying reason for the issuance of GO 111, it was no longer relevant.

The government said that the GO 111, dated March 8, 1996, was issued to prohibit polluting industries, major hotels, residential colonies and other establishments that generate pollution in the catchment area of Osmansagar and Himayatsagar reservoirs, up to 10 kms from the full rank level (FTL), covering 84 villages with an area of nearly 1.32 lakh acres.

This was done with an objective of protecting the catchment area of these two reservoirs which were the main source of drinking water to Hyderabad city at that time.

However, as per the details furnished by the HMWSSB, these two reservoirs are now accounting for 27.59 per cent of installed capacity of drinking water, when the GO 111 was issued.

However, since the total installed capacity of drinking water for Hyderabad has grown up from 145 Mgd to 602 Mgd, and an additional 344 million gallons a day (MGD) is also under execution, as a result drawals dependability of these reservoirs is less than 1.25 per cent.

These two reservoirs are no longer the source of drinking water supply to Hyderabad city. Citing this as the reason, the government removed the restrictions on GO 111.

With the restrictions removed, the government would now be able to take up installation of a decentralised sewerage treatments plants (STPs) at various locations.

The government can also undertake the construction of diversion channels for carrying treated water, without letting it into these two reservoirs, as long as it can maintain groundwater quality, minimise pollution through agricultural surface run-off into these two reservoirs and any other measures as deemed appropriate to ensure the quality of water.

The government has constituted a committee, headed by Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and special chief secretary Arvind Kumar, special chief secretary (finance) K. Ramakrishna Rao, special chief secretary (I&CAD) Rajat Kumar, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) and others.

The Terms of Reference (ToR) of the committee are to suggest measures for protection and preventions of pollution to these two reservoirs, to suggest broad guidelines for zoning including earmarking of green zones.

The panel will also suggest modalities for development of trunk infrastructure in this area, and suggest means to mobilise resources for taking up trunk infrastructure i.e., roads, major drains, STPs, diversion drains etc., among others.

Taking these factors into consideration, the government has asked the committee to submit a report at the earliest.
Following last weeks blizzard, community advocates are calling for a more robust emergency response plan to ensure Brandons most vulnerable population is cared for when extreme weather events strike.

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Following last weeks blizzard, community advocates are calling for a more robust emergency response plan to ensure Brandons most vulnerable population is cared for when extreme weather events strike.

The City of Brandon has a program in place in case of emergencies, including extreme weather. It consists of two distinct segments: emergency response and public preparedness information. Both parts work to include government, business and the general public in response based on a co-ordinated community approach to public information, an early warning and response training.

Upon receiving notification a major weather event was on the way, the emergency response control group  which includes all city departments  worked quickly to prepare, said Tobin Praznik, the citys emergency manager. Advanced notice of the storm provided ample opportunity to communicate with partners and plan a response.

"It highlighted the importance of not only resiliency but also additional plans in case the first one doesnt work," Praznik said.

During the snowstorm, the city made calls to community partners to better understand the resources needed.

"We have to find out if there is anything we can help with. Were very fortunate with our community partners and groups in our downtown area that do an excellent job for our vulnerable population and community," Praznik said. "We become that extension and support. If there is something that they dont have or are not prepared for then well look at the necessary steps needed to support them."

The city works to stay in regular contact with community partners to prepare for extreme events and identify gaps in service and establish what potential responses could look like.

To better understand the needs of some of the citys most vulnerable during times of extreme weather, the John Howard Society of Brandon spoke with clients during the storm. Executive director Ross Robinson said those in the downtown area who visit John Howard highlighted the adversity unhoused people face when living on the street during a wet and cold snowstorm.

When someone gets cold and wet, they stay cold and wet because it is difficult to warm up and dry off. Many clients were searching for shelter from the wind and to warm up when the blizzard was at its worst.

"The citys put a lot of things together to help out, theres been a lot of work between agencies to get us where we are at, but there are some significant gaps still and there always will be," Robinson said.

John Howard learned from the storm that Brandon needs more and better facilities where people can access resources during extreme weather events, but it is hard to visualize what this would look like. Robinson said having non-profits available like the Blue Door Project drop-in centre has been a tremendous benefit to the downtown community.

Working together with other agencies remains critical, he said. For example, the Community Wellness Collaborative plays an important role in breaking down walls between organizations and bringing groups together to solve problems.

Unofficial snowfall amounts released by Environment Canada after last weeks storm indicate areas of southwestern Manitoba saw between 20 to 80 centimetres of snow. Brandon saw about 12 centimetres of snowfall Wednesday.

"It was just a lot of heavy snowfall, a lot of ice around town, and it did definitely impact the clients and the patrons that come to our centre," said Amanda Bray, the program co-ordinator for the Helping Hands Centre of Brandon.

"A storm like this comes up and its said, hunker down, get supplies and stay home. What if you dont have a place to go? What if you dont have the money to purchase food? What do you do?"

Helping Hands prepared as best as it could for the storm. Those who visit the soup kitchen typically eat and then leave, but during the storm they stayed longer to escape the elements.

Helping Hands is open from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. It typically serves around 120 people each day and saw this number drop to around 80 on Wednesday and 91 on Thursday.

Helping Hands established an "on the fly" partnership with other local organizations, including the Blue Door Project, to provide food for the drop-in and also made sandwiches for Brandon Bear Clan to hand out.

"With this weather, or not, people need to eat and we didnt want people starving because of it," Bray said. "It was really heartwarming, to be honest, to see how many people came together to do our best to provide for the most vulnerable population in Brandon."

An extreme weather response plan is needed not just for Brandons vulnerable population, but for the city as a whole, said community advocate Kim Longstreet.

She praised the work of local agencies for collaborating and working to ensure they were able to meet the challenges brought on by the storm. However, she cautioned this adds to the pressure on the daily work these organizations already do and puts a financial burden on them because more of their resources are being used.

"I dont think that should fall to the non-profits and the service providers in the community," Longstreet said. "I do believe that the city needs to have a plan as Winnipeg has where it is clearly lined out."

Longstreet is referring to "Extreme Weather Response: A homeless-centred plan for keeping Winnipeggers safer," an action plan created by End Homelessness Winnipeg that directs different services providers in a time of crisis.

The plan was established in December 2016 following the death of Windy Sinclair. End Homelessness Winnipeg worked with stakeholders to co-ordinate a cross-sector response during extreme weather to help protect the life and safety of the unhoused and those vulnerable to exposure.

"We made it through the storm; now, lets get prepared for the next one," Longstreet said.

Antoinette Gravel-Ouellette, co-chair of the Community Wellness Collaborative, praised meteorologists for providing warning well in advance off the storm, giving non-profits time to organize and pull together to provide for vulnerable populations.

Looking at the wellness of a community largely comes down to how well people are connected, Gravel-Ouellette said.

"I really think that in the community, connection is the medicine that will heal," Gravel-Ouellette said. "Its about all of the organizations working together and supporting that as a mechanism."

 ckemp@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @The_ChelseaKemp
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn't going to provide more details about his government's pledge to send a new round of military aid to Ukraine  at least not yet.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks about housing after meeting privately with two families in Kitchener, Ont. on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn't going to provide more details about his government's pledge to send a new round of military aid to Ukraine  at least not yet.

The prime minister said Wednesday that he doesn't want to outline the specifics of what will be sent, and where the government is getting it from, because of security concerns.

Trudeau said he wants to be careful about what he publicizes about the delivery of military equipment in the context of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

He said he hopes to share more in the coming days about what is being sent to Ukraine.

"People understand that delivery of military equipment in the context of an illegal war by Russia is something that we have to be a little bit careful about  what we broadcast and publicize and what we're doing," Trudeau said during a media availability in Kitchener, Ont.

"But in the coming days, I certainly hope to be able to share more about what is being sent and what was sent."

Trudeau first announced Tuesday that Canada will send heavy artillery to Ukraine in response to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's request.

Earlier this month, Zelenskyy released a list of equipment he said the Ukrainian military needed to fight Russia, including 155-millimetre heavy artillery guns and ammunition.

"If we had access to all the weapons we need, which our partners have and which are comparable to the weapons used by the Russian Federation, we would have already ended this war," Zelenskyy said in the text of an address posted online Tuesday.

The Liberal government has previously dipped into the Canadian Armed Forces inventory to provide lethal aid to the Ukrainian military as it fights a Russian invasion that started in late February and has so far killed thousands of people.

But Defence Minister Anita Anand has suggested the military's spare inventory is tapped out, and that the government  which set aside $500 million in military assistance for Ukraine in its latest budget  planned to buy equipment from vendors.

Trudeau said that while the government was pledging more equipment for Ukraine, it would ensure the Canadian military could contribute fully to NATO operations in Europe.

"As we support Ukraine, including with military equipment and munitions, we are also making sure that Canada continues to have the capacity to operate  not just to defend Canada but to participate fully in NATO operations as well," he said.

Trudeau spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden and other NATO allies on Tuesday, one of several meetings this week focused on the war in Ukraine, including one for G20 finance ministers and central bankers.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tweeted Wednesday afternoon that Canada and "a number of our democratic partners" walked out of the G20 meeting when Russia, which is a member of the group of nations, "sought to intervene."

Among those in the picture put out from Freeland's feed were U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem, Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, and Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank.

"This weeks meetings in Washington are about supporting the world economy  and Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine is a grave threat to the global economy. Russia should not be participating or included in these meetings," Freeland tweeted.

"The worlds democracies will not stand idly by in the face of continued Russian aggression and war crimes."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2022.
He has a gift for the gothic. Whether you want to share in it is up to you and your nervous system. Hes relentless.

It was vigorously demonstrated in his first two features  The Witch (2015), a gruesomely persuasive tale about the workings of black magic on a family of puritans in 17th century New England, and The Lighthouse (2019), which puts Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe in a lighthouse on a wintry stretch of the Nova Scotia coast and has them set about driving one another crazy.

His new film, The Northman, is his biggest yet. Its a 10th century Viking saga starring a bulked-up Alexander Skarsgard as Amleth, the Nordic warrior whose revenge legend was Shakespeares inspiration for Hamlet. But dont expect any of Hamlets doubting and dithering.

At the age of nine, Amleth watches his father being butchered by his brother and barely manages to escape with his life. From that moment, hes obsessed with the need to see his uncle die as painfully as possible.

He survives by finding a handy rowing boat and fetching up among a ferocious but understanding tribe who ensure that he acquires all the skills necessary for reaching adulthood. He can run, jump and hack somebody to death with a single stroke of his broadsword. What more can you ask?

As it happens, he does need one more attribute, and it doesnt come easily. He is forced to become acquainted with patience as well as having to feign humility since his only way of getting to his uncle, Fjolnir (Claes Bang), is to become a slave.
China has expanded the capacity of rail lines between its domestic coal fields and its industrial heartland so quickly it will be able to cut imports by 25 per cent by 2025, dealing a serious blow to Australian exporters, analysis has found.

Our findings are clear; Beijings plans for rapid decarbonisation and energy security signal the end for Australias current coal export boom, said Australian National Universitys Dr Jorrit Gosens, who built the modelling forecast with his colleague Professor Frank Jotzo.

A worker shovels up coal on a freight train in Huaibei, Anhui province, in January. Credit:HUANG SHIPENG/Future Publishing via Getty Images

This isnt going to happen far off into the future; it is imminent. Our modelling predicts Chinese demand for Australian thermal coal will fall to between 30 and 40 million tonnes in 2025, down from about 50 million tonnes in 2019, Gosens said.

China has been reliant on imported coal during its boom over recent decades because it did not have the infrastructure to move its own coal around the country quickly and cheaply enough to meet demand.
While Prince Harry was supporting the Invictus Games, his wife was busy with a side hustle of her own. Meghan is patron of the Label Games, that fascinating sport, played predominantly (though not exclusively) by women whose goal is to assert their status through their wardrobe. Think of it as a bit like Top Trumps, only with Chanel as the jack.

On day one, Meghan wore a white pant suit from Valentino. Credit:Getty Images

Her detractors have been quick to condemn this tone deaf, Marie Antoinette-ish approach. This is predictable, but also rather naive. Meghan is never going to be a woman who rocks up to a public appearance wearing Next shoes and a shift dress from the M&S sale rail. Wars may  and do  rage, and she would still dress for the life she has, not the life her detractors wish her to have. Like Reese Witherspoon or Kim Kardashian, Meghan is a multi-hyphenate, a duchess/actress/author/producer whose many disparate roles require a wardrobe whose subtle coda ensures it appeals to a broad church. The Duchess of Cambridges neat, box-ticking, crowd-pleasing version of a princess is not expansive enough for the many messages Meghan needs to convey. Hence why she played the Label Games.

Day One started off predictably enough, with that tried and tested grand entrance formula beloved of modern brides and Bianca Jagger at Studio 54, the white trouser suit. Meghans was by Valentino, teamed with an off-white Valentino bag for extra emphasis. Still, she couldnt help but add a talking point, in the form of a 234 (A$400) kitten mitten (thats hand jewellery, to you and me) by indie Brooklyn jewellery brand Catbird. This deliberately off-kilter note is pure Meghan: she loves to play against type, as in 2019, when she appeared at an official engagement with bare legs, despite royal convention suggesting women should wear hosiery. In the same vein, Day Two saw her wear an ultra-conservative 2400 (A$4200) Celine jacket, gold buttons and all, with a gilt-chained Celine bag, demure Chanel pumps and  here comes the off-kilter note  a pair of low-rise jeans by little-known label Moussy Vintage.

Giving a speech at the games Opening Ceremony, Meghan wore a A$1000 Khaite bodysuit. Credit:Getty Images

As the trip rolled on, it became clearer and clearer that Meghan didnt want to be pigeonholed, but was instead determined to express through her wardrobe as many facets of her multi-hyphenate identity as she could. On the morning of Day Two, she dressed like a duchess, a modern royal in a symphony of soft beige tones that included a simple roll-neck, wide-leg MaxMara trousers and a 4281 (A$7500) Ralph Lauren coat. It was the quintessence of stealth wealth  an outfit worthy of Shiv Roy in season one of Succession, before the plot required her to express her inner turmoil by wearing Ted Baker. By evening, when she gave a speech at the games Opening Ceremony, she had finessed her look into more of a Netflix power executive vibe, in wide-leg navy trousers and a 620 (A$1000) Khaite bodysuit.
Loading Eighty per cent of the 1990 voters surveyed by YouGov believed mental health should be a key priority for the next federal government and one in five said mental health was one of their top two election issues. However, to the frustration of Orygen executive director Professor Patrick McGorry, mental health is yet to be a focus of the federal election campaign. I find it a puzzling paradox that the public would be supportive of governments that took more decisive action here, like they were with the NDIS, but governments have not actually seen it as a political opportunity, McGorry said. One in five Australians experience a mental health condition in a given year.

Loading So what do experts think the incoming federal government could do to help fix the mental health crisis? Address the missing middle The missing middle describes people who fall through the cracks because their mental illness is too severe to be treated by a GP, headspace centre or 20 Medicare-subsidised sessions with a mental health professional. However, they are not sick enough to qualify for state-funded crisis mental health services.

Alternative services, such as private psychiatrists or private hospitals, may be inaccessible because of long waiting lists or very high out-of-pocket costs. The 2020 Productivity Commission inquiry into mental health assessed that the missing middle primarily reflects a lack of community mental health services. Orygen executive director Professor Patrick McGorry. McGorry said there needs to be specialist community-based services to treat more severe mental illnesses such as psychosis, eating disorders, borderline personality disorder, substance use disorders and complex mood disorders. Otherwise, were going to continue to see young people flood into emergency departments in very desperate situations in large numbers.

Loading McGorry said that 10 years ago the Australian government funded services for young people with early psychosis, linked with headspace centres and local GPs, in six regions of Australia. The government announced last month this would be expanded to two new hub sites in the ACT and Tasmania. However, McGorry said services for early psychosis and other complex disorders should be available for young people and adults across the nation. National online waiting list Unlike many other health conditions, there is no nationally aggregated mental health waiting list.

We do not know who is waiting, how long they have waited, what is their level of need and whether the service they receive is the right one, with the right impact. We are blind, says a policy paper prepared by the Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney. Professor Ian Hickie, the centres co-director, is calling for a nationally coordinated waiting list that would be implemented regionally. Professor Ian Hickie Credit:Steven Siewert He said the waiting list could tell you there were no interventions for eating disorders or complex drug and alcohol problems in your area, for example, or that you could see someone tomorrow but you would be $100 out of pocket. This would require co-operation between the state and federal funded agencies and the public and private sectors: At the moment we have different state initiatives that are not coordinated with the Commonwealth initiatives.

Increase the mental health workforce Australia had 3615 psychiatrists, 24,111 mental health nurses and 28,412 psychologists in 2019 according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Loading In the last two years, calls to mental health support lines have skyrocketed, emergency department presentations for self-harm have risen and one in five psychologists have been forced to close their books. Australians for Mental Health  an advocacy organisation focused on mental health reform  is calling for the capacity of this workforce to be doubled, including psychiatrists, psychologists, digital services and peer workers who are employed because of their lived experience of mental illness.

Campaign director Chris Raine said the federal government should lead the way by investing in such things as making it easier for overseas clinicians to practise in Australia and increasing commonwealth-supported places for clinical psychology at university. Mental Health Australia chief executive Dr Leanne Beagley said barriers to care can include a lack of specialist mental health services in the regions, people having to pay extra on top of Medicare rebates, stigma and waiting lists. Chris Raine Credit:Jennifer Soo We want to see services accessible to all Australians despite their postcodes. What do the parties say?

Loading The Coalition said a re-elected Morrison government would continue to prioritise the transformation of mental health support and suicide prevention. It points to the establishment of a national network of adult head to health centres and child mental health hubs and expansion of the headspace network to 164 locations. Labor says it would restore affordable telehealth psychiatric consultations for people living in regional and rural Australia. The Greens say it would make appointments with psychiatrists or psychologists free by ensuring mental healthcare was fully covered under Medicare.
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Wednesday left for Delhi, amidst the ongoing NEET row between the Raj Bhavan and the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government that had even prompted a black flag demo against him.

Ravi, who was shown black flags by DMK allies VCK and the Left among others during a visit to Mayiladuthurai district on Tuesday, left for the national capital by a private aircraft.

There was no official communication over the Governor's visit, even as Raj Bhavan sources remained tightlipped about his itinerary.

Incidentally, he had visited Delhi earlier this month and met among others, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The ruling DMK-piloted Assembly bill seeking exemption for Tamil Nadu from the ambit of the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) has become a bone of contention between the government and the Raj Bhavan, with Ravi returning the original bill adopted by the House in September last year in February 2022. The House once again resolved on the matter days after. Some other Assembly bills are also pending with the Governor's office.

The DMK and its allies had boycotted the Tamil New Year 'At Home' reception organised by Ravi last week. Chief Minister M K Stalin had said on Monday that participation would have meant hurting people's sentiments and further eroding the dignity of the House, as the anti-NEET Bill was stuck in the Raj Bhavan and lying unattended.
A mother whose plight with the NDIS prompted the Prime Minister to remark that he was blessed to not have children with disabilities has criticised Scott Morrison for the comment.

But Catherine Yeoman said she was more concerned that Morrison had failed to address the concerns that she and other parents have over NDIS funding cuts.

Catherine Yeoman, her son Ethan, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

The Brisbane woman, whose four-year-old son Ethan has autism, used the first leaders debate on Wednesday night to ask Morrison about issues with the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

In response, Morrison told Yeoman and the audience - and those watching on television - that he and wife Jenny were blessed to have two children who dont, havent had to go through that [autism] .

It was a poor choice of words and I do believe every child is a blessing, Yeoman said today. I dont want this comment to overshadow the intent of the original question.

Morrison and his staffer approached Yeoman after the debate and took her details, she said.

He did live up to his promise. He came directly to me ... I have had a phone call first thing this morning very early from the PMs office and theyve invited me to call again, she said.

Labor seized on Morrisons reference to being blessed to have children who did not have autism, sparking a debate on social media.

Read the full story.
Police are hunting for a man who threatened a woman with a knife outside a Western Sydney shopping centre on Wednesday before stealing her car, which was later found crashed.

At 10.20am, police were called to Jordan Springs Shopping Centre near Penrith after reports a man had threatened a woman with a knife and then stolen her blue Hyundai i30.

Police have released this image of the man they want to speak to over the carjacking and crash. Credit:NSW Police

The woman was not injured, but the man escaped before police arrived.

About 1pm, the stolen car with registration HER30N, was involved in a crash at North Parramatta.
It is hardly the most original political observation, but the campaign trail is a study in contrasts.

Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese. Credit:John Shakespeare

What is more unusual is that each leader is taking a leaf out of the opposing partys playbook.

Thus Prime Minister Scott Morrison is enthusiastically paying homage to The Greatest (Political) Showman Peter Beatties book on campaign pomp and spectacle, chalking up photo ops alongside BMX bikers, Bunnings shoppers and robots that would make the former Queensland Labor leader (whose publicity stunts included famously swimming with sharks) proud. Given the full-scale implosion gripping the NSW Liberal Party after the preselection of graceless antediluvian Katherine Deves due to her controversial anti-trans stance, Morrisons look-at-the-hand caper is a desperate attempt at distraction. They dont call him Scotty from marketing for nothing.

At the same time, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese appears to be drawing inspiration from an unlikely source. Hes doing a Turnbull, its all half days reports CBD political editor Tamara Kingston-Manuka who was able to return to her Brisbane hotel by 11.15am on Wednesday. A day earlier, Albo campaign festivities had wrapped by 1pm. And on the holiday Monday, it was a casual arvo of beers and pizzas at the Newstead Brewery. Not that wed ever begrudge relaxation on an Easter Monday!
Overlooked in all the excitement over Anthony Albaneses shocking start to the election campaign was how awful it has been for Scott Morrison. Albaneses mistakes were spontaneous, damaging and inexcusable. Morrisons performance was typically Morrison  disciplined, rehearsed and also damaging.

Morrison was kept alive, just, thanks to Albaneses bloopers, a well-targeted budget, an ability to keep talking confidently while everything crumbles around him and a few media rat packers determined to even up the contest. Even though they reeked of workshopping and gotcha, the journalists questions to Albanese were legitimate.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese couldnt recall the unemployment rate on day one of the campaign. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Unable to spit out the answers, his confidence shattered, he slid into a spiral of mistakes on costings and border protection triggering saturation coverage. Whatever Albanese imagined would happen in that first week was obliterated by the demoralising reality. He had succeeded in taking Morrison to the brink of destruction only to then inflict harm on himself.

Nothing went as expected, leading those close to him to recall boxer Mike Tysons famous quote that: Everyone has a plan til they get punched in the mouth. They trusted the hits would bring out Albaneses inner street fighter. They felt better about the way he began the second week. Helped along by days in Queensland with his Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers beside him, Albanese came out swinging, drawing Morrison into a bare-knuckle slugfest.
The agreement will give Beijing its first major security stake in the Pacific and give it the power to protect its investments in the region. Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said the pact with China was dual purpose, which means that China is able  if they follow this through  to set up a military base there. That is a very bad day for Australia, he said. We dont want our own little Cuba off our coast. Our eyes wide open Sogavare told parliament in Honiara on Wednesday the deal had been signed to protect critical national infrastructure in the poor and divided country. Chinese armed forces will now be allowed to protect Chinese investments by force if necessary. The deal is the first of its kind for billions of dollars worth of Chinese investment abroad.

We entered into an arrangement with China with our eyes wide open guided by our national interest, Sogavare told parliament. Sogavare said he would dispatch foreign minister Jeremiah Manele to countries in the region to allay their fears about a Chinese naval base in the Pacific. The Australian government, which was initially blindsided by the details of the draft agreement, said it had made its concerns clear. Our consistently stated view, including from the perspective of Australias national interests, remains that the Pacific family is best placed to meet the security needs of the region, Payne and Seselja said in a joint statement.

Labor attacks blunder Albanese used his mornings campaign press conference in Brisbane to condemn what he described as Australian government inaction. This deal between China and the Solomons was foreshadowed last August, the government was warned. Yet, only in recent days did the government bother to send a junior person across to the Solomons, he said. Mark Cubit, the director of the Australian International Development Network, said Australias aid and diplomacy had been left wanting. What is the most important thing for the Australian foreign minister to be doing at this point in time? The Solomons, he said. It matters when a foreign minister makes the journey. We have gone for a really softly, softly approach. We just dont have a voice in foreign diplomacy anymore, and I really dont understand why.

Labors foreign ministry spokeswoman Penny Wong said the security agreement was the worst Australian foreign policy blunder in the Pacific since the end of World War II. This is our region, it goes directly to Australias national security and [Morrison] should have taken responsibility, she said. Morrison said the claim that Solomon Islands was somehow under the control of Australia was offensive. They are a sovereign nation, he said last week. I respect their independence, and they will make their own decisions about their own sovereignty.

Solomons says it needs the extra security Sogavare, who is serving as Solomons Prime Minister for the fourth time and survived a no-confidence motion in December, has refused to say when the final text of the deal would be publicly released. People walk through the looted streets of Chinatown in Honiara in November. Credit:AP His government has denied claims by Solomons Opposition Leader Matthew Wale that China paid MPs $30,000 each to vote against the no-confidence motion. He said extra security was necessary after the anti-government riots in 2019 and 2021. The capital was looted, with properties and lives lost, he said. We intend to beef up and strengthen our police capability and capacity to deal with any future instability.

He quoted Chinas foreign policy stance as friends to all, enemies to none, saying the Solomons was committed to the principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of another member state  a policy mantra inserted by China into its treaties around the world. The signing of the security co-operation with China is done in the best interest of the country, Sogavare said. It both complements original and bilateral peacekeeping arrangements with respect to the original security partners that we collectively trust to maintain peace and stability of the region. Liberal MP Phillip Thompson, who served with the Australian 1st Battalion in the Pacific, accused Honiara of a cash grab. Loading

Weve always been the big brother of the Pacific with all Pacific nations. We spent a lot of time in the Pacific, in Tonga, the Solomon Islands. We do a lot as soldiers do, and we help out the communities there, he told the ABC on Wednesday. This is what I believe to be a clear kind of money grab from the Solomon Islands. Australia is the Pacifics largest provider of aid, but Cubit said it was not enough given Australia was the wealthiest country in the region. We spent $9 billion over nine years housing refugees in their backyard, he said. So they know that weve only really given them token assistance over the years. The draft agreement released last month contained clauses that could allow China to request its navy ships be allowed to dock and refuel less than 2000 kilometres off the Australian coast.

A Chinese security presence in the region would drain Australian navy resources and threaten shipping lanes from the east coast of Australia to Asia in the event of a conflict. US slams serious risks to the Pacific Sogavare has maintained he would not allow China to establish a navy base in the country, but those assurances have not been enough for the White House. US Indo-Pacific chief Kurt Campbell is due to arrive in Honiara in the next two days. The announcement that the deal has been signed now appears to have scuttled any last-minute push to overturn the agreement. Campbell met on Wednesday in Hawaii with US Navy Admiral John Aquilino and senior officials from Australia, Japan and New Zealand, where officials slammed the pact for its serious risks to a free and open Indo-Pacific. His visit was intended to be the final part of a month-long campaign from Australian, US and New Zealand intelligence and national security services to warn Honiara against the deal. Sogavare dismissed the claims as nonsense.
Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese dragged each other to a nil-all draw on Wednesday night in an election debate where both leaders played it so safe that neither was able to gain an edge.

A sharp exchange on national security was the only moment with any real heat because it gave the Labor leader a way to attack the prime minister over the deal between Solomon Islands and China and its implications for the governments Pacific Step-Up policy.

There were no goals scored in Anthony Albanese and Scott Morrisons first debate. Credit:Jason Edwards

This isnt so much a Pacific Step-Up, its a Pacific Stuff-Up, said Albanese, delivering the most memorable line of the night.

Morrison fired back by remarking that Albanese was blaming the government when the problem was China and its interference in the region.
Labors Penny Wong was correct when she accused the government of the worst failure of Australian foreign policy in the Pacific in almost 80 years, after the Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China.

An agreement that could pave the way for Beijing to establish a military presence in a country less than 2000 kilometres from Cairns is a national security failure on Scott Morrisons watch.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison with the Solomons Islands leader Manasseh Sogavare. Credit:ninevms

A lot of criticism has been levelled at Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne for their apparent inaction. Wong on Wednesday criticised the government for sending Minister for the Pacific Zed Seselja, who she labelled a junior woodchuck, to the country last week.

Morrison hit back at the criticism, saying sending a high-profile minister such as Payne would not have been appropriate and that we were very aware of where that agreement was up to.
Guide Dogs Victoria will investigate why its chief executive appeared in Liberal Party election pamphlets endorsing Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in his inner-Melbourne seat of Kooyong.

As soon as it became aware of the flyer, the organisations board asked Frydenberg to stop circulating it, aware the charities commissioner had warned against endorsing political candidates and parties at the May 21 federal election.

Guide Dogs Victoria chief executive Karen Hayes appered on Liberal Party pamphlets endorsing Josh Frydenberg. Credit:

The pamphlet featured Guide Dogs Victoria chief executive officer Karen Hayes, holding a puppy, with the headline Why I am supporting Josh Frydenberg.

Time and time again, Josh has shown his genuine care for Guide Dogs Victoria and the people with low vision and blindness we serve, the flyer quoted Hayes saying.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Theres a phrase that has floated around the social media zeitgeist in the past few years, steadily becoming more and more common. Intriguingly, while the phenomenon has been widely reported by social media users, its actual existence is hard to confirm. Its shadow banning. It most recently popped when Palestinian-American supermodel Bella Hadid accused Instagram of shadow banning her, after she shared footage at the weekend of the Israeli-Palestine conflict to her feed. But its also something that Republicans have reported occurring on Twitter, and black creators have called out TikTok for the same thing. All around the world, on all sides of the political spectrum, shadow banning is getting a bad rap. What is it? Credit:Artwork: Kathleen Adele, Getty What is shadow banning? Shadow banning is a moderation technique allegedly used by social media platforms to censor content. That content could be anything from an individual post, a users account, a hashtag or an entire community.

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If a user is shadow banned, their posts are shown to none, or very few, of their followers or potential new audiences. And theyre never told its going on, hence the shadow. Social media companies do readily censor content if they dont follow standard guidelines  such as praising terrorist groups, impersonating others, sharing sexual content involving minors, or abuse and harassment. But its the secrecy that is the difference between typical moderation like that and shadow banning. Its when social media platforms hide, censor or moderate content without making it clear why theyre doing it that makes it a shadow ban. (Social media companies say they do not shadow ban; more on that later.) Users who say they have been shadow banned  which they will typically notice through a decline in viewership or engagement  will not be told by the platform or be given a reason why. So, what are some examples of shadow banning? On TikTok, the #shadowbanned hashtag has been viewed more than 17.9 billion times. Users claim that after posting particular content, their videos no longer come up on TikToks For You Page, the sites discovery feed, which is vital for growing audiences on the app. A Vice article reported in 2018 that Twitter had limited the visibility of certain Republicans in search results. The article found that when typing particular Republicans names into the search bar, the account would not show up.

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Caitlyn Jenner, the Olympic medallist who appeared on Australias Big Brother VIP celebrity series, said that she was shadow banned by Twitter after signing up as a contributor for Fox News in March. My engagements went down dramatically, and I was absolutely shocked. Comedian Ari Shaffir claimed he was shadow banned from Instagram in 2019. Dear @instagram, I know youve said shadow banning is not a real thing but I have clearly been shadow banned, Shaffir wrote in a caption beneath this post, below, which shows him searching for and not finding his account on the platform. In 2021, a research article reported Instagrams history of censoring women. Throughout 2019 and 2020, Instagram used shadowbans to hide pictures and videos they deemed inappropriate without deleting them, preventing freelancers, artists, sex workers, activists, and largely, women, from reaching new audiences and potentially growing their pages, the article reported. What do the social media companies say about it? Despite the wide reporting of shadow banning from users, most social media companies deny using the practice.

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When Donald Trump accused Twitter of shadow banning Republicans in 2018 after Vices article, Twitter published a blog post. Titled Setting the record straight on shadow banning, Twitter said that they outright do not shadow ban. You are always able to see the tweets from accounts you follow (although you may have to do more work to find them, like go directly to their profile). And we certainly dont shadow ban based on political viewpoints or ideology, the blog post wrote. That same year, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri followed suit and said that shadow banning was not a real thing. The closest admission to using shadow banning was in 2020, when TikTok apologised to its black users, after it was reported that content surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement was being under-prioritised by its algorithm (the complicated automated process that ranks and organises content). A technical glitch made it temporarily appear as if posts uploaded using #BlackLivesMatter and #GeorgeFloyd would receive 0 views, they said. We acknowledge and [apologise] to our Black creators and community who have felt unsafe, unsupported, or suppressed, TikTok wrote in a blog post. But glitches aside, social media platforms say that its their algorithms that make particular content perform poorly.

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Lets go back to Bella Hadid. Because Instagram is algorithm-based, users feeds are ordered by how likely they are to interact with that post. So, by this line of argument, the reason that Hadids posts had a 1 million drop-off in engagement was because the algorithm decided that users were unlikely to engage with these recent posts she was sharing, rather than Instagram blocking the content. Why is it complicated? Before AI and algorithms, content moderation relied on users reporting posts that were inappropriate. It made moderation passive in nature  the assumption was that unless users reported the content, it was acceptable. With algorithmic censorship, social media platforms can intervene and suppress any content that their algorithm deems as inappropriate  before its reported by users. Loading Jennifer Cobbe, a senior research associate at the University of Cambridges Department of Computer Science and Technology, says in a research article that because of social media platforms increasing responsibility to act as intermediaries between users and the content published, they are increasingly adopting automated approaches to suppressing communications that they deem undesirable. So, whether or not shadow banning is a real practice used by social media platforms, the answer to the problem is best answered by Instagram CEO himself: We need to be more transparent about why we take things down when we do, work to make fewer mistakes  and fix them quickly when we do  and better explain how our systems work.

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Latest News Labor might consider limiting clawbacks Party to review system if it wins government

What's happening with property investment in Australia? ABS reveals all

Aggregator Finsure is pushing for a 50/50 split of women and men in its broker network.

Finsure has increased its recruitment of female brokers and the appointment of women to many of its key leadership roles, after launching the Women in Finsure program five years ago.

When we launched the program, it was a harsh realisation of the percentage of females to males within our industry, said Finsure NSW state manager and Women in Finsure chairwoman Noushig Megerditchian (pictured).

Finsure was only five years old at the time and was still in its growing stages, so it was an unexpected realisation.

Read more: What does it take for brokerages to achieve growth?

Megerditchian said the program empowered female brokers and female staff by providing a confidence boost.

Our message is you are not alone, we are here to support and empower you, she said.

The group began with 10 women drinking coffee in a coffee shop, while the most recent event held featured more than 100 women in attendance.

We are committed to holding four events per year across Queensland, NSW and Victoria, and we are launching in Adelaide and Perth in May and June, Megerditchian said.

Many female admin staff attend our events too. Sometimes they will come to me later and say they want to become a broker. They have the knowledge and talent, sometimes they just need that female encouragement to take that step.

Megerditchian said in her opinion women made exceptional brokers.

Sometimes they might just need that yes, you can do it boost, she said. At Finsure, we believe in gender equality, and we want to celebrate female talent by providing a trusted group to rely on.

Finsure CEO Simon Bednar said the group was strongly committed to workplace equality.

He said female broker recruitment had grown since establishing the program, with 50% of its head office team being women.

Read more: Simon Bednar appointed CEO of Finsure

Over the past 12 months, one in three of the brokers Finsure has recruited have been female, with 200 women recruited over the past 12 months, Bednar said.

Out of a total broker network of more than 2200 brokers, 555 are women, compared to 214 in 2018. I want to see the day where its at least a 50/50 split between males and females in the Finsure network, and Im determined to achieve this.

Bednar said Finsures female recruitment push was even more important following recent data released from the MFAA, which showed the proportion of women in the mortgage broking industry had dropped to 25.6%, the lowest level since the MFAA started collecting data in 2015.

We will be working hard at Finsure to reverse this trend and as our broker network continues to grow, we have been appointing women to key leadership roles in the group, Bednar said.
Except for lands which were involved in court cases, the government was expediting resurvey of all other plots of land in the villages. (Representational image: PTI)

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government proposed to complete resurvey of lands by December 2023, revenue special chief secretary G. Sai Prasad, the chief commissioner of land administration, said here on Tuesday. The exercise had been completed in 430 villages so far, he said.

Speaking to mediapersons, Sai Prasad ruled out the removal of any cultivator from possession of land during the resurvey. He said even borders of the land holdings were not being redrawn.

He said the last resurvey was done some 100 years ago; the Survey and Boundary Act says that it should be done once in 30 years. Except for lands which were involved in court cases, the government was expediting resurvey of all other plots of land in the villages.

Explaining about the resurvey, Sai Prasad said that officials take up purification of land records followed by classification of holdings. Once this is complete, the officials would prepare village-wise maps with the help of a survey taken up using drones, and identify land markings.

The official said that they would match the map prepared with the help of drone survey with the previous old map.

Sai Prasad said the government would introduce auto mutation in two months. Officials had appointed magistrates to go to the spot to resolve claims and objections pertaining to resurvey of lands.
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is inducting trainee after a gap of two years and is across functions as it ramps up operations.

"Our current efforts are broad based and cover several functional roles. We have also commenced operations to various new domestic destinations post the pandemic. At these locations we are for airport operations, customer service and security functions. We have also commenced hiring for our cargo business as it continues to grow. Further we are hiring for roles across corporate functions such as digital, IT, finance, HR and sales," said in a statement.

IndiGo, which is the country's largest airline, is operating around 1,500 flights daily. While it has added several new domestic routes, it plans to commence service to Muscat and Kuala Lumpur in May and Istanbul in June.

The airline's average aircraft utilisation is around 11 hours a day compared to 13.5 hours in 2019. But with the increase in flights, aircraft utilisation will increase and this would increase the requirement of .

In February, inducted 25 trainee for its Airbus A320 aircraft.

While the airline hired pilots for its ATR aircraft fleet (largely to replace the expatriate commanders) during the pandemic, there was no recruitment on the Airbus fleet. Induction of junior first officers too was put on hold as the airline curtailed operations.

The junior officers that are being absorbed now are selected from a cadet pilot programme which the airline runs in partnership with flying training organisations in India and overseas.

"We have started inducting trainee pilots. Our intention is to continue inducting them for several months," said an airline source. The airline has also started command upgrade training for first officers and each month it is training 20-30 first officers for the post of commanders.

Also, for the first time IndiGo has introduced a culture training programme for its junior first officers. This is to improve interdepartmental connect and build a culture of trust and respect among the staff. As a part of the drill, junior pilots are being asked to spend time at check-in counters or visit the engineering department to know their work processes, it is learnt.

The airline did not comment on the induction of trainee pilots and culture training modules.

However in a statement it said "At IndiGo, we have established a strong culture of managing our talent in support of expansion, growth and succession planning. Our training centre iFly in Gurgaon has been preparing crew members and other employees with the most extensive and evolving training program spread across 99 days. IndiGo is known for the longest training programme across the globe."
Japanese auto major on Wednesday said it is discontinuing brand in India, nine years after the company kicked off the marque's global relaunch in the country.

Having failed in its ambitious global relaunch of Datsun, had in 2020 discontinued the brand in Russia and Indonesia, the other two countries along with South Africa and India which were marked as key markets targeting the entry level car segment.

Confirming the move to discontinue the brand, India in a statement said, "Production of redi-GO has ceased at the Chennai plant (Renault Nissan Automotive India Private Ltd). Sales of the model still continue (till the stock lasts)."



The company further said, "We can reassure all existing and future Datsun owners that customer satisfaction remains our priority, and we will continue to provide the highest levels of after-sales service, parts availability, and warranty support from our national dealership network."



The company had already stopped production of two other models under the Datsun brand entry level small car Go and compact multi purpose vehicle Go+.

The discontinuation of the Datsun brand is a part of Nissan's global transformation strategy which was announced in 2020.

"As part of Nissan's global transformation strategy, Nissan is focusing on core models and segments that bring the most benefit to customers, dealer partners and the business. In India, this includes the all-new, locally produced Nissan Magnite with over 100,000 customer orders to date," Nissan India said in the statement.

Under the global transformation plan, Nissan had said it would exit the Datsun business in Russia and streamline operations in some markets in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region. It had also announced the stopping of manufacturing operations in Indonesia.

In July 2013, the Japanese auto major had globally relaunched Datsun with the launch of entry level hatchback 'Datsun Go' in India, reviving the brand 32 years after it was discontinued.

In the following year Datsun launched two more models -- redi-GO and compact multi purpose vehicle Go+. However, the brand failed to make its mark in the highly competitive Indian mass market of compact car segment dominated by the likes of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai.

When it was relaunched, the then Nissan Motor Co President and CEO Carlos Ghosn had pinned hopes on Datsun to play a big role in the company increasing its market share to 10 per cent in India by 2016, up from 1.2 per cent in 2013.

However, the brand failed to live up to the expectations and Ghosn's departure from the company accelerated its demise.

Before it was phased out in 1986 for the first time, the brand was sold in 190 countries.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Masks are back, weeks after their use was made voluntary. The national capital on Wednesday said that wearing masks is mandatory, and violations would attract a fine of Rs 500.

Covid-19 cases seem to be rising across the country. A Business Standard analysis showed that 233 districts (out of the total 727) recorded a rise in positivity rate between April 16 and April 19.

As cases spike in the national capital region (NCR), the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) held a meeting on Wednesday and decided to bring the mask-rule back. It allowed schools to continue physical classes, and there is yet no ban on social gatherings.

Between April 11 and 18, Delhi witnessed a nearly three-fold rise in the number of daily Covid cases, thereby raising concerns. In fact, on Monday, the positivity rate in Delhi breached 7.7 per cent, which came down to 4.4 per cent on Tuesday (632 fresh Covid cases) but went up to 5.7 per cent on Wednesday as fresh cases rose to 1,009.

Delhi still accounts for 20 per cent of the countrys cases, but Covid-19 infections elsewhere have been rising as well.

A Business Standard analysis found that 10 states had more districts recording an increase in positivity rate than those which were reporting a status quo or a decline. In Uttar Pradesh, for instance, positivity had increased in 36 of the 75 districts. In Kerala, 10 districts had reported a rise in positivity compared to four that had recorded a fall. In West Bengal, 14 districts had recorded a rise in positivity.

Further analysis shows that the number of districts with over 5 per cent positivity had increased from 34 to 36 between April 16 and April 19. While Delhi had only one district reporting a positivity of more than 5 per cent on April 16, on April 19, four districts from the national capital had reported a positivity rate of over 5 per cent. Seven districts in the country had reported an increase of 3 percentage points or higher between April 16 and April 19.

Mumbai, too, has seen a recent rise in cases. After one and a half months, daily fresh cases in Mumbai crossed the 80-mark on Tuesday. And on Wednesday, it recorded 98 fresh cases, the highest since the first week of March.



Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner, said that while there was no reason to panic, ward offices have been asked to step up the vigil  keep a close watch on testing, surveillance, contact tracing and quarantining.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is also writing to a central institute seeking clarity on the lineage of the sample that the civic body had concluded to be of the XE variant. On April 6, the BMC had said that one sample, of a woman from South Africa, had been found to be infected with the XE variant. Hours later, the Union health ministry dismissed the claim.

Later, the BMC sent the sequencing data to the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, and now an analysis shows that the above-mentioned variant is a combination of BA.1 and BA.2. The BMC is thus planning to seek advice on the lineage.

Another man from Gujarat, who had allegedly tested positive for XE, had travelled to Mumbai. None of his contacts have tested positive for XE, which is considered to be more transmissive than the Omicron variant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus.

The Union health secretary wrote a letter to Maharashtra, Mizoram, Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday highlighting that positivity rates in these states are on the rise. The Union health ministry has urged these states to monitor the spread of infection and take prompt actions wherever required.

The silver lining is that so far hospitalised patients are not requiring medical oxygen support, physicians point out. Nor is there demand for ICU beds at the moment. Most patients are managed well at home. Therefore, even if the cases go up, we do not expect the situation to spiral out of control, said Bishnu Panigrahi, group head, medical strategy and operations, Fortis Healthcare, and member of FICCIs Covid group.
For the first time in the last 11 days, the curfew in Madhya Pradesh's riot-hit Khargone city was relaxed for six hours in one go on Wednesday morning, officials said.

The local administration has been relaxing the curfew every day either in the morning or in two shifts since April 14, but this is for the time when the relaxation is granted from 10 am to 4 pm on Wednesday.

In the past couple of days, the curfew was relaxed in two shifts from 8 am to 12 noon and from 3 pm to 5 pm as the situation improved in the city.

The curfew was clamped after communal clashes erupted in Khargone city on Ram Navami on April 10 during which shops and houses were damaged, vehicles torched and stones hurled.

On Wednesday, post offices and banks will be allowed to remain open during the relaxation of curfew. Vehicles will not be allowed on roads and only the stores selling milk, vegetables, medicines, and barber's shops among others are allowed to remain open.

A government order (GO) said that people can purchase essential items from shops located in their neighbourhood as vehicles are not allowed on roads.

Petrol pumps will remain closed and the sale of kerosene will remain suspended at the fair price shops, it added.

Police have so far arrested 153 people and 65 First Information Reports (FIRs) registered in connection with the communal violence, a police officer had said.

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Congress Chief Ministers and are scheduled to visit the national capital on Wednesday to hold a discussion with party interim president .

According to sources, both Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh's chief ministers are scheduled to meet at 12:30 pm in regarding the political situation in the states.

Both the Chief Ministers will be giving the details of the political situation of their states and the future road map will be discussed in the meeting.

The series of meetings starting on Wednesday is being held on 10 Janpath for the upcoming few days.

Gearing up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, many senior leaders including Prashant Kishore, Ambika Soni, AK Antony, Kamal Nath, Mukul Wasnik, Digvijay Singh, KC Venugopal, Jai Ram Ramesh and Randeep Surjewala were present at the meeting that was held on Tuesday.

More such meetings are scheduled in the coming days, sources said.

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Health services in government hospitals of were affected for the second consecutive day on Tuesday in the three-day agitation by government doctors.

Members of the in-Service Doctors' Association (NIDA) have taken mass casual leave to press their demand for increase in the superannuation age of government medical practitioners from 60 to 62 years.

The demand is in line with the promise Prime Minister Narendra Modi made in 2016, NIDA claimed.

The agitation has mainly affected services in the out patients' department (OPD) in government hospitals and health centres across the state, but the emergency department and ICUs were open.

Meanwhile, chief secretary J Alam held a closed door meeting with NIDA officials here in the presence of administrative officers of the directorate of health and family welfare.

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Finance Minister on Wednesday said India is one of the six countries to have fulfilled most of the commitments made at the Paris Climate Summit in 2015 and remains committed to fulfilling its renewable energy targets.

Sitharaman made the remarks while answering a question during a panel discussion at the Atlantic Council, a US-based think tank.

"We are one of the six countries who have fulfilled most of the commitments made in Paris," Sitharaman said.

"One calculation we had in our mind was the transition would be filled with natural gas, that the transition will be enabled by natural gas. But unfortunately, what has happened, because of the recent developments is not only that the crude, a fossil fuel from which we want to move out, has shot up, (but) natural gas, which is a transition fuel we wanted even that's gone up and it's also in short supply," she added.

She was asked if India's commitment to its environmental goals has changed in light of recent geopolitical disturbances as a result of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Finance Minister elaborated that the use of natural gas has been spread throughout the country with government schemes like 'Ujjwala Yojna'.

"So when the price of such a fuel which is a transition fuel goes skyrocketing, your calculations get upset," Sitharaman said.

Talking about India's transition from coal, Sitharaman said that given the recent developments, the timeline of India reducing its dependence on coal will be "challenged".

"So your dependence on coal will ideally be coming down and if we pegged the coming down to a certain period, now because of the transition gas becoming much more in price and availability becoming a bit difficult, the dependence on coal and the speed with which we wanted to get out of it will be challenged... so that's what is the big problem before us," Sitharaman said.

Talking about India's future commitments, Sitharaman made it clear that India's commitment to achieving its environmental goals remains even as the timeline under which the transition would take place would have to be "relooked".

"Our commitments will be fulfilled as regards renewable energy... our commitments to refashion our energy basket remains intact, but I suppose the time that it's going to take (will) probably have to be relooked. However, the commitments made by our PM in COP26 in Scotland is something we have taken seriously, and we are moving forward to fulfilling it," she said.

Sitharaman talked about the Indian economy, the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the welfare schemes of the government and India's recovery plan from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during the almost an hour-long session.

Sitharaman is in Washington on an official visit to attend the Spring Meetings at the World Bank, the G20 Finance Ministers meeting and the Central Bank Governor Meeting (FMCBG).

The visit will also include several bilateral interactions, including with Indonesia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and South Africa as well as a high-level meeting with World Bank President David Malpass.

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India's effective reproduction number (R) for Covid, an indicator of how quickly the infection is spreading, has increased to over one for the first time since January, estimates a researcher from Chennai's Institute of Mathematical Sciences.

The country's R-value, steadily increasing over the last few weeks, is 1.07 for the week between April 12-18, according to Sitabhra Sinha. In the preceding April 5-11 week, it was 0.93.

The last time the R-value was above 1 was in the week between January 16-22, when the value was 1.28, Sinha said.

"This increase in R-value is not just because of Delhi but also Haryana and Uttar Pradesh," the mathematician, who has been tracking the R number for India since the beginning of the pandemic, told PTI in an email interview.

An R-value of over 1 indicates that the number of active cases has increased. R should be contained below 1 to control the pandemic. An R number lower than 1 indicates that the disease will stop spreading as there aren't enough people being infected to sustain the outbreak.

The total cases in India are indeed increasing exponentially. Of course, this being a very large country, this national rise is primarily being driven by a few regions - one cluster in the north (Delhi, Haryana, UP) and the other in the south (Karnataka), Sinha said.

"It is interesting that the major cities of Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru also have R above 1, suggesting that urban areas may be showing an increasing number of cases even though at the level of the entire state such an increase may not yet be apparent, he noted.

Delhi and Uttar Pradesh have an R-value above 2. Data for Kolkata was not available, Sinha said.

The estimated R-value in the week ending April 18 is 2.12 for Delhi, 2.12 for Uttar Pradesh, 1.04 for Karnataka, 1.70 for Haryana, 1.13 for Mumbai, 1.18 for Chennai and 1.04 for Bengaluru.

Among the major states, Kerala and Maharashtra have an R-value less than 1, with values of 0.72 and 0.88 respectively.

Karnataka also has R over 1 currently, possibly because of the rising cases in Bengaluru, Sinha explained.

The value for India we have estimated at the present is roughly what the R-value was (1.08) between February 14-March 11 last year - i.e., just before the onset of the second wave in India when it rose to 1.37 on March 9-April 21, 2021, before decreasing to 1.10 (April 29-May 7) and finally decaying to values below 1 by May 9 (R: 0.98).

At the height of the Omicron wave R had risen to its maximum value so far (for India) of 2.98 (December 30, 2021-Jan 10, 2022). Contrast this with the next highest value of R during the beginning of the first wave, 2.51 (March 14-April 5, 2020), he added.

Asked about the implications of the increase in R-value for Covid trajectory, Sinha said it can go either way.

Going forward, whether this leads to another huge increase in cases depends on prompt actions taken by the public at large which seems to have stopped adopting basic precautions like wearing masks and avoiding crowds, he added.

We need to again insist that everyone wears masks, practice basic hygiene (like washing hands and avoid touching one's face,eyes), physical distancing as much as possible, etc.

With 2,067 new infections being reported in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,30,47,594 (4.3 crore) while active cases increased to 12,340, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

An increase of 480 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.49 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.38 per cent, according to the health ministry.

On Tuesday, Delhi recorded a nearly 26 per cent jump in fresh Covid cases but positivity rate dropped to 4.42 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department on Tuesday.

While 632 fresh Covid cases were reported, the positivity rate was 4.42 per cent. The city had on Monday recorded 501 cases and zero death while the positivity rate stood at 7.72 per cent.

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In view of a spike in cases in the national capital, the government on Wednesday decided to make the wearing of masks mandatory again in public places and impose a fine of Rs 500 in case of a violation.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), which also decided not to shut schools and come up with separate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in consultation with experts for them.

Lt Governor Anil Baijal in a series of tweets shared details of the DDMA meeting and said,"it was decided to make the wearing of masks mandatory in public places."



The government is expected to issue an official order regarding the mandatory use of masks soon. Fine on not wearing a mask was lifted by the government on April 2 after the decline in COVID cases in the city.

The DDMA meeting emphasised strict enforcement of the SOPs for schools by the school management concerned.

"In the larger interest of students, in case of non-compliance or violation of SOPs, a penalty as deemed appropriate should be imposed for creating a deterrent effect," Baijal tweeted.

Officials said authorities have been asked to keep a close watch on social gatherings and ramp up testing in the national capital.

They said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is closely monitoring the situation and instructions have been issued to officials to ensure the implementation of steps to check the spread of the virus and preparations for the treatment of COVID patients.

In the DDMA meeting, emphasis was also laid on early vaccination of eligible groups as it will help keep in check the impact of the pandemic, officials said.

Several participants asserted that there was no need to panic since the number of hospitalisations was low despite a rise in COVID cases, they said.

It was highlighted that the trends of hospitalisation needed to be closely monitored for the next fortnight as well as conducting genome sequencing of all positive samples, put through the RTPCR test.

It was also decided to increase the number of tests being done with the focus on people with symptoms, they said.

The DDMA meeting, chaired by Baijal, was also attended by Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, and other top officials and experts.

The LG advised all the agencies to remain vigilant and work in coordination to tackle the situation as it emerges.

According to official figures, there are 9,735 beds for COVID patients in Delhi hospitals and just 80 (0.82 per cent) of them were occupied.

The health department said 632 fresh cases were reported on Tuesday and the positivity rate was 4.42 per cent.

The number of daily COVID-19 cases in Delhi had touched the record high of 28,867 on January 13 this year during the third wave of the pandemic. The positivity rate had soared to 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the third wave.

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The government is not planning to impose a fine for not wearing face masks in Delhi, Deputy Chief Minister said on Tuesday while addressing media persons at Thyagaraj Stadium, during the launch ceremony of the Delhi Education Song (Delhi Shiksha Geet).

Sisodia mentioned, "We need to learn to live with Covid-19 as it will stay longer; we will take strict actions if the cases spike more."

"As of now, there is no need to panic as there are lower counts in the cases, and a meeting has been scheduled with the experts and the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on April 20, for knowing how do they see the ongoing Covid-19 situations," he added.

However, the song launched by the Delhi government has been composed by Alok Srivastava and sung by Shaan and Sneha Shankar. This is the first-ever education song from the national capital; it is intended to emphasize the need for education for society's welfare.

Addressing the launch ceremony Sisodia said, "Everything that is written in the 68-page New Education Policy, we have mentioned in our song. The song contains the dreams that any parent would see for their child."

Adding further, he said, "We intend to do something more than just fancy school buildings and great results. We want the children and their parents to listen to the song every morning so that they get to know the real idea and intention behind the song," he added.

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Almas A.H., a second PUC (Class 12) student from Udupi Girl's Pre-University College, one among the six girls who started a protest on in which went on to become a major crisis in the state, has said that it was not 'just to deny' education for a piece of cloth.

Her post, written on Tuesday, has again raised a debate on in the state.

"Being Education Minister, is it just for you to deny education for a piece of cloth?" Almas has questioned Education Minister B.C. Nagesh on social media. She further stated that she had been preparing for her exams since long and all that would go in vain.

Almas underlined: "Don't do this injustice to us sir. Allow us."

However, the government is all set to conduct the second PUC exams (Class 12) without allowing students to wear . Karnataka High Court Special Bench has dismissed the petitions submitted by students, including Almas to permit hijab in classrooms.

Almas had earlier slammed the state government on its decision of not allowing hijab protesters to write exams. She had questioned Minister Nagesh, asking, "Tell me Nagesh sir, who made us miss our exams? I have missed my practical exams, your decision is not only gonna shatter my dreams but also I am starting to lose hope in the system. Where is the justice sir? Why do you want us to suffer?" she said.

The court has also stated that wearing of hijab is not an essential part of Islam. The Muslim organisations gave a bandh call for business establishments against the High Court order. Hindutva organisations later called for banning Muslim vendors from temples and religious fairs. The entire matter has taken a communal turn, resulting in unrest type situation in the state.

"I felt so disheartened after I heard the hijab verdict, felt as if my dignity, my identity was being snatched. I had least expected the judiciary to mock. I'm really at a loss of words right now. But, one thing I know is I'll continue to fight for my hijab, in spite of all hurdles to come," She had commented after the judgment on hijab by Karnataka High Court Special Bench.

Education Minister Nagesh has stated that not only students wearing hijab, but the staff, including invigilators clad in hijab won't be allowed inside the exam centers. Including Almas, the other students who started the agitation at Udupi Pre-University Girl's College have missed their practical exams insisting on hijab.

Muskan Khan, a student from Mandya PES College, who was praised by the Al-Qaeda global terrorist Ayman Al-Jawahiri for raising the slogan of 'Allahu Akbar' has also missed her exams due to the hijab verdict. However, the majority of students from the minority community have attended the recently concluded SSLC (Class 10) and practical exams of II PUC without hijab.

Karnataka government is all set to hold the II PUC examinations from April 22 to May 18 in the state. As many as 6,84,255 students have enrolled for the examinations.

--IANS

mka/dpb

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The on Wednesday asked the to file a status report on steps taken to bring back Unitech Ltd home buyers' money amounting to Rs 5000 crores which has been siphoned off and stashed in a tax haven like .

The top court also appointed former Judge AM Sapre to look into the policy and finalization of standard operating procedure for monetization of project land assets and non-project land assets of Unitech.

A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah told Additional Solicitor General Madhavi Divan, appearing for (ED), to file a status report about steps that could be taken to liquidate the attached properties, so that the funds could be utilised in the construction of stalled projects.

Divan submitted that since the new board of management of Unitech has highlighted a fund crunch, the assets which have been provisionally attached as proceeds of crime have a book value of Rs 380 crores and market value of Rs 1000 Crore and on the direction of the court it could be liquidated and funds could be used for construction of the stalled project.

The bench said that it cannot interfere or take over the powers of the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court and all it can do is expedite the hearing in these matters.

You have to follow the due process of law. These properties cannot be appropriated like this. We cannot pre-judge that these are proceeds of crime. You have to move the PMLA court. The attachment has been done as per the due process of law and it has to be dealt with further as per the procedure, the bench said.

The bench said that there are certain things that the can do while exercising jurisdiction under Article 142 and there are certain things that it cannot do.

You (ED) file a status report indicating the steps which have been taken to bring back the money which has been stashed abroad in tax havens like and also the steps which could be taken to ensure liquidation of attached properties as per the due process of law, the bench said.

Dealing with the monetization of project land assets and non-project land assets, the bench said that it would be appropriate if a former judge of this court oversee the policy and formulate a standard operating procedure.

We accordingly appoint former (apex court) Judge AM Sapre to assist the board of management under the auspices of this court in the finalisation of the policy and standard operating procedure. The proposed SOP which is formulated shall be placed before Justice (retd) AM Sapre for his scrutiny and modifications if any in his regard be considered, the bench said.

The top court said that appointment of a former judge would ensure transparency and realise the best possible price of the assets which would fund the construction of Units for home buyers.

On March 25, the top court had conditionally allowed former Unitech promoter Sanjay Chandra's wife Preeti, lodged in Tihar Jail in a money laundering case, five hours out of the prison on March 26 or April 5 to attend her maternal grandmother's funeral.

On March 23, the top court had asked the ED to file its response on a plea filed by Preeti seeking interim bail to take part in the last rites.

The ED had expressed apprehension that she may leave the country if granted bail and said "it is better to be safe than be sorry."



The ED had recently filed a fresh charge sheet before a court here in connection with its money laundering probe against realty group Unitech, its ex-promoter brothers Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra, and others.

The ED had made a startling claim in November last year that it had unearthed a secret underground office here which was being operated by erstwhile Unitech founder Ramesh Chandra and visited by his sons Sanjay and Ajay when on parole or bail.

Both Sanjay and Ajay, in jail since August 2017, are accused of allegedly siphoning off home buyers' money.

On November 10 last year, the top court had said that it is a sorry state of affairs in Tihar Jail which has become a den of criminals, and murders are happening there.

It had directed the Home Ministry to take immediate steps on prison reforms and enhance management.

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Beginning his two-day India trip from on Thursday, UK Prime Minister is likely to take out a roadshow from the airport to his hotel in the morning sans Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

While the order of events could not be confirmed, sources stated that Johnson, the first British PM to visit Modi's home state, might be meeting Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and might also host a private dinner later in the day for the who's who of industry before heading for Delhi.

chief minister Bhupendra Patel is set to welcome Johnson at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) on Thursday morning, followed by a visit to Sabarmati Ashram. As is the tradition, Johnson will be visiting Mahatma Gandhi's personal chambers and try his hand at spinning the 'charkha'. Other heads of nations such as Japan's Shinzo Abe, China's Xi Jinping, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and Canada's Justin Trudeau too have visited the Ashram.

Among other things, accompanied by government and business delegates like JCB chairman The Lord Bamford DL, Johnson is also likely to travel to Vadodara for the launch of JCB's exports-focused plant at Halol.

Like Trudeau, Johnson is also likely to make a trip to Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar even as the state government confirmed his visit to the Gujarat Biotechnology University which is being set up at a project cost of Rs 200 crore at GIFT City.

According to a Gujarat government statement on Thursday, Patel along with state education minister Jitubhai Vaghani would be accompanying Johnson to the university where the British Prime Minister will be interacting with experts, lab technicians and faculty during his visit to GBU. "Johnson's visit to the university is focused on co-operation between the two nations in the areas of education, health and technology," the statement read.

By Wednesday afternoon, welcome banners featuring Johnson flanked by Modi and Patel were up across major stretches in Ahmedabad where his cavalcade will pass through.

Meanwhile, confirming his visit to India, Johnson said on Sunday that it was "vital" for democracies and friends to stick together amid threats to their peace and prosperity from "autocratic states".
British Prime Minister will offer to help India cut reliance on Russian oil and defence equipment when he begins a two-day visit this week that will test his diplomatic skills and provide brief respite from a row raging at home.

On his first trip to India as prime minister, starting on Thursday, Johnson will discuss strengthening security co-operation in meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a spokesperson for the British leader said.

In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Western allies have called for India to speak out against the war. India, which is the world's biggest buyer of Russia's weapons and imports its oil, abstained in a United Nations vote condemning the invasion and has not imposed sanctions on Moscow.



Modi has expressed concern over the killings of civilians.

U.S. President told Modi earlier this month that buying more oil from was not in India's interest. Johnson will not lecture Modi on the matter, his spokesperson said.

Uday Bhaskar, a director at the Society For Policy Studies in New Delhi, said the Indian government would listen carefully to Johnson's message if it was made respectfully, but there was little Britain could do in practice to replace as a strategic ally.

"The problem is Britain can't solve India's dependence on . It doesn't have enough oil or the right type of military equipment to sell," Bhaskar said.

Even though India has grown closer to the West in recent years, the country still depends on Russia for more than half its supply of weapons amid a Himalayan border standoff with China and perennial tensions with Pakistan.

Johnson will arrive in India with an eye still on matters in London where he has been accused of deliberately misleading parliament about parties in Downing Street that broke his own coronavirus lockdown restrictions. He will miss a vote on Thursday over whether he should be referred to a parliamentary investigation.

FREE TRADE TALKS

Johnson's trip begins in Modi's home state of Gujarat, where he is expected to announce investment and new collaboration in science, health and technology.

The British government said this would be the first time a British prime minister has visited the sprawling coastal state famed for its spirit of entrepreneurship and the ancestral home to about half of the British-Indian population.

From there, Johnson will visit New Delhi for talks on Friday with Modi, where the two leaders will discuss a new defence partnership and a free trade agreement which the two countries began discussing at the start of the year.

Britain was India's third largest trading partner at the start of this century, but slipped to 17th last year, India government figures show. India's biggest trading partners are the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates.

India's longstanding demand for easier access to British visas for students and skilled workers in any trade talks will also prove politically difficult for the British government.

Unlike on recent British prime ministerial trips to India, there will not be a large accompanying business delegation, emphasising that the focus for this trip is around politics.

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)

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India has asked the US to enable it to provide maintenance and repair facilities in Indian for American naval vessels present in the region, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said on Wednesday.

He said a team of US officials will soon visit Indian to assess this possibility. Responding to a question from reporters on the sidelines of the launch of submarine INS Vagsheer, Kumar said this matter was discussed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his US counterpart Lloyd J Austin III during the 2+2 dialogue held in Washington earlier this month. We requested the US side to enable us to provide maintenance and repair facilities (of their vessels) which are present in this region. The US has agreed to send a team to talk to our and work out the feasibility in this regard. We expect this team will be here shortly. They will be visiting other shipyards, but they will (also) be visiting Mazagon Dock (in Mumbai), he added. Asked whether similar discussions are being held with other countries too, Kumar said Indian shipyards have been talking to a number of nations across different geographies - in South America, Africa and Asia, particularly West Asia and the ASEAN region.

in some countries we are already in the process of supplying various kinds of naval boats and patrol vessels. In some other countries, we are in discussion, the senior bureaucrat said. Narayan Prasad, Chairman and Managing Director, Mazagon Dock Shipyards Ltd (MDL), said this issue came up for discussion during the visit of Admiral Michael Gilday, US Chief of Naval Operations, in October last year.

He, however, cited logistical issues at state-run MDL for maintenance of large vessels. The length, breadth of the US amphibious platforms, landing platform docks, support vessels is above 220 meters and their displacement is above 25,000-30,000 tonnes, Prasad said. The length and breadth of the draft of the ships they are trying to entrust the repairs with very few shipyards have the capacity of dry docks (to accommodate the ships). We have said we can completely take care of those ships whose length is less than 200 metres, the MDL chief had said during an interaction with reporters last week. The Cochin Shipyard has capabilities to deal with such huge amphibious platforms, Prasad said, adding the work can be done jointly along with the Mumbai Port Trust. India and the US had inked the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies as well as provide for deeper cooperation.

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Edu-fintech Financepeer has mopped up USD 31 million (about Rs 235 crore) in Series-B led by US-based venture capital fund QED Investors, domestic investor Aavishkaar Capital and Ardent Ventures.

This is the second for the city-based startup, which is the industry leader with over 40 per cent externally-funded education fee market.

Over 10,000 educational institutions are registered on its platform, which is home to around 4 million students. The Google-incubated had its first round of in 2020 when it raised USD 3 million.

The USD 31-million funding round was led by the Virginia-based venture capital fund QED Investors, Mumbai-based Aavishkaar Capital and US-based edutech investor Ardent Ventures, Financepeer cofounder and chief executive Rohit Gajbhiye told PTI on Wednesday.

The current round also saw participation from DMI Sparkle Fund, DMI, 9Unicorn, LC Nueva AIF and Maxar VC, he said.

Financepeer was cofounded in 2017 by IIT/IIM/Stanford alumni Rohit Gajbhiye, Sunit Gajbhiye, Naveesh Reddy and Debi Prasad Baral to help make quality education accessible to all by funding tuition fees.

Rohit Gajbhiye said the firm will deploy the fund to enhance its technology platform and offerings, expand and strengthen its education-institution partnerships, and deepen its reach in rural areas to enable more students, especially the girl students, get easy access to quality education.

The has partnered with over 10,000 educational institutions spanning 100 cities delivering affordable fee financing solutions, content, and fee payment solutions. The institutions it has tied up range from pre-schools, K-12, colleges, universities, offline test prep, edutech and skilling.

Gajbhiye said Financepeer has processed over USD 100 million worth of fees on its platform since its inception in 2017, helping hundreds of thousands of students get quality education.

He said the private education fee market in the country is more than USD 216 billion annually spent by over 362 million students.

While it has served over 3 million students so far, Gajbhiye said over 1.3 lakh students are still live customers and hopes to take the numbers of students covered to 1 million by the end of this fiscal year.

In 2021, it added over 6,000 institutions against 4,000 in 2020 with 1.4 lakh students, to its platform taking the number to over 10,000 and with a student population of 3.5-4 million students. And he hopes to service 1 million students this fiscal.

When asked about profitability he said on a unit price basis, it is profitable as they are still in customer acquisition pace, where to add a new student it has to spend around Rs 250 and to retain one spends around Rs 200.

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Prime Minister on Wednesday said that to promote the traditional medicine industry, India will soon launch ' mark' which will give authenticity to quality products made in the country.

Speaking of "Heal in India", he also announced that a special visa category will be created soon for those who want to travel to the country to avail of therapies.

Modi was speaking after the inauguration of the three-day Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit at Mahatma Mandir here in the presence of Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and Director General of the World Health Organization Dr Tredos Ghebreyesus.

'AYUSH' denotes Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy. India has a central ministry dedicated to these alternative medicine systems. India will soon introduce the AYUSH mark, which will give authenticity to quality AYUSH products of the country. The mark will be given to products vetted using the latest technology. This will give confidence to people of the world that they are purchasing quality AYUSH products, Modi said. "Traditional medicine helped increase tourism in Kerala. This power is in the whole of India, in every corner of India. 'Heal in India' can become a big brand of this decade. Wellness centers based on Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, etc., can be very popular," the prime minister said.

The special "AYUSH visa" will help those who wish to seek traditional treatments in India, he said.

The possibilities of investment and innovation in the field of AYUSH are limitless with the country having witnessed unprecedented growth in the production of AYUSH medicines, supplements and cosmetics, the prime minister said. "Before 2014, the AYUSH sector was less than USD 3 billion. Today it has also crossed USD 18 billion," he said. There are also possibilities of investment and innovation in supply chain management, AYUSH-based diagnostic tools and tele-medicine, Modi said. The Union Ministry of AYUSH has also taken steps to encourage start-up culture in the field of traditional medicine, and an incubation center developed by the All India Institute of Ayurveda was inaugurated recently, he noted. "In India, this is an era of unicorns. In 2022, so far 14 start-ups from India have joined the unicorn club. I am sure unicorns will emerge from our AYUSH start-ups very soon," Modi said.

India of the 21st century wants to move ahead by sharing its experience, knowledge and information with the world, the prime minister said.

"The main reason for the prosperity of Ayurveda has been its open source model. Ayurveda has developed through open source tradition. Even today, we should learn from our ancestors to work with intellectual openness," Modi said.

The government is also working on the modernization and expansion of AYUSH e-market portal to connect farmers with companies which make AYUSH products, he said, noting that medicinal plants can be a good source for increasing farmers' income.

"It has a large scope for employment generation. But we have seen that the markets for such plants and products are limited and specialized. It is very important that farmers involved in the production of medicinal plants get the facility to easily connect with the market," he said.

The new category 'AYUSH Aahar' introduced by the FSSAI last week in its regulations will help the producers of herbal nutritional supplements, Modi said.

The AYUSH Export Promotion Council, set up recently, will encourage exports and help find foreign markets, the prime minister added. The government is going to create a network of AYUSH Parks to encourage research and provide a new direction to AYUSH manufacturing, he said. The COVID-19 pandemic led to increase in the export of turmeric which was seen as immunity-booster, Modi noted.

During the same period, modern pharmaceutical companies developed made-in-India COVID-19 vaccines in a very short time, showing "how amazing they were when they got investment at the right time," he said. "Who could have imagined that so soon we would be able to develop a made-in-India corona vaccine? Innovation and investment increase the capacities of any sector. Time has come to increase investment in the AYUSH sector as well, and this summit is a wonderful launch of the same," Modi said.

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India is keen to finalize a trade pact with Britain by October and will seek easier access to visas for skilled workers and students when U.K. Prime Minister visits the country later this week, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Johnson, who kicks off a two-day visit starting Thursday, will discuss lowering import duty on British whiskey and scotch in his talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the person said, asking not to be identified as the discussions arent public. The two leaders are likely to set a deadline for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, the person added.

The British prime ministers trip comes just weeks after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss visited New Delhi in a bid to convince the Modi government to condemn Russias invasion of Ukraine and join efforts to economically isolate Moscow. The two heads of state are expected to discuss the issue, apart from bolstering trade ties, the person said.

India and Britain launched negotiations for a free trade agreement in January, with an aim to double the trade by 2030. Total trade between the two nations stood at over $16 billion in 2021-22, according to Indian government data.

The talks started in January are progressing well, Johnsons spokesman Max Blain told reporters on Wednesday, while declining to share details. An email sent to Indias trade ministry spokesperson was not immediately answered.

While India wants duty concessions for other goods as well, including textiles, it will also explore deeper integration of value chain in the automobiles and auto parts segment. The U.K. is keen for greater access for its companies in Indias accounting and legal services sector -- a red line given the massive push back from domestic players.

The agreement is likely to be much more broad-based than the previously discussed interim deal, the person said. Two rounds of negotiations have already been held while the third round is scheduled next week.

The trip is Johnsons first since becoming prime minister in 2019. He was originally due to visit the country in April 2021, but that trip was canceled after Covid-19 cases surged in India.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt will visit India from April 25-27 during which she would take part in the and hold talks with the Indian leadership to strengthen .

Announcing the visit, the Norwegian Embassy here said the Nordic country cooperates with India on issues concerning the oceans, clean energy, climate and environment, among others.

Both countries have an increasing and extensive business collaboration, and in addition, they are together in the UN Security Council, it noted.

Norway and India share common ambitions on climate and environment. To fulfil India's goals in this area, large-scale development of renewable energy and hydrogen production is required, for which the country needs foreign investment and international technology. This opens up great opportunities for Norwegian business and industry, and therefore a number of Norwegian companies will participate during the visit, Huitfeldt was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Embassy.

In addition to participating in the -- India's annual geopolitical conference -- she will also hold political talks, the statement noted.

Norway aims to increase cooperation with India in contributing towards a strengthened multilateral cooperation, international trade system and legal order, it said.

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The appointment of Abdul Qadir Patel as Pakistan's new Health Minister on Tuesday came under sharp criticism, with opposition party members highlighting the criminal cases against him as well as his qualification to head the crucial ministry.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's 34-member Cabinet was sworn in on Tuesday after several days of delay. The Cabinet includes 31 ministers and three ministers of the state.

Qadir Patel, 53, a Peoples Party (PPP) Member of National Assembly, was entrusted with the portfolio of National Health Services.

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British Prime Minister on Tuesday offered what he said was a wholehearted apology for attending an illegal party during lockdown but insisted he didn't knowingly break rules or mislead Parliament, and brushed off calls to resign.

Johnson told lawmakers in the House of Commons that it simply "did not occur to me that the birthday gathering, complete with a cake, was a party.

That excuse was greeted with derision by opposition politicians and some among the governing Conservatives who have called with increasing frustration for Johnson to quit since stories began to circulate late last year of parties in the prime minister's office and other government buildings in 2020 and 2021, when millions in the country were barred from meeting with friends and family or even attending funerals for their loved ones.

Opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer branded the apology half-hearted and a joke."



Last week, Johnson was fined 50 pounds ($66) for attending his own surprise birthday party in 10 Downing St. in June 2020, making him the first British prime minister ever found to have broken the law while in office.

Speaking as the House of Commons returned from an 11-day Easter break, Johnson acknowledged people's hurt and anger, but added that it did not occur to me then or subsequently that a gathering in the Cabinet Room, just before a vital meeting on COVID strategy, could amount to a breach of the rules.

Starmer said that excuse would ring hollow with ordinary people who understand that the rules apply to all of us, and he challenged Conservatives to bring an end to this shameful chapter and jettison Johnson.

He knows he's dishonest and incapable of changing," Starmer said. "So he drags everybody else down with him."



Starmer was told off by House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle for accusing another member of dishonesty a breach of parliamentary rules. Minutes later, Labour lawmaker Karl Turner also was chastised by the Speaker after branding Johnson a liar.

I withdraw the word liar,' Mr. Speaker," Turner said. But the electorate will already have decided.

Labour has not given up on trying to get lawmakers to censure Johnson over the partygate scandal. Speaker Hoyle said he would allow Labour to hold a Commons debate and vote Thursday on whether Johnson should be investigated for allegedly misleading Parliament. Ministers found to have done that knowingly are generally expected to resign.

Johnson is due to be out of the country Thursday on a visit to India, and the big Conservative majority in Parliament means the measure is unlikely to pass. But the vote will force Tory lawmakers uneasy with the prime minister to publicly back him or criticize him.

Johnson insisted Tuesday that he was contrite, but argued it would be wrong to change leaders while faces crises including the war in Ukraine and a cost-of-living squeeze driven by surging energy and goods prices.

Johnson's grip on power had appeared to be on a knife-edge earlier this year amid police and civil service investigations into the parties, and the departure of several top aides.

Allies feared partygate could become a tipping point for a divisive but resilient leader who has weathered a series of other storms over his expenses and his moral judgment. Some Conservative lawmakers were openly calling for a no-confidence vote in Johnson.

But Johnson has hung on, partly because Russia's invasion of Ukraine has seized public and political attention.

Johnson's image, battered by Britain's messy exit from the European Union under his leadership, has been revived by his firm military, political and moral support for Ukraine. Johnson traveled to Kyiv earlier this month to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Johnson's troubles are not over and he could still face more fines. London's Metropolitan Police force is investigating a dozen events, including bring your own booze office parties and wine time Fridays, and Johnson is reported to have attended several of them. So far at least 50 tickets have been handed out, including those to Johnson, his wife Carrie and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak.

If Johnson is sanctioned again, calls for a no-confidence vote could grow among Conservatives. For now, many are biding their time, and looking to see whether public anger translates into losses for the party at local elections across the country on May 5.

Conservative lawmaker Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said his colleagues were withholding their judgment and waiting to see what happens.

But fellow Conservative Mark Harper, a former government chief whip, said Johnson broke the laws that he told the country they had to follow and hasn't been straightforward about it.

I'm very sorry to have to say this, but I no longer think he is worthy of the great office that he holds," Harper said.

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police imposed a curfew in the Rambukkana Police Division until further notice following unrest in the country with the clash between protesters and police in the city.

"Police curfew has been imposed in the Rambukkana Police Division until further notice," Police Spokesman said.

Earlier, One person died and 24 people were injured by the gunshot after the protesters and police clashed in Rambukkana town of on Tuesday afternoon.

The protesters were agitating in Rambukkana against the decision of increasing the again, Daily Mirror reported.

According to the publication, in the videos, the protestors were seen carrying the wounded people and rushing them to the hospital.

A protestor, in a video, also blamed the police for this incident. They have surrounded the Rambukkana Police Station and are hurling stones at the building, as reported by Daily mirror.

Earlier, Sri Lankan police had shot tear gas at the protesters to disperse them after the 15-hour protest against the fuel price hike, the report added.

On Monday, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPP) decided to increase . A litre of petrol 92 octane has been increased by Rs 84 while a litre of petrol 95 octane by Rs 90, a litre of Auto Diesel by Rs 113 and a litre of super diesel has been increased by Rs 75.

Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung called for restraint and calm after reports of violence emerged from the town.

"I am deeply saddened by the horrible news coming out of Rambukkana. I condemn any violence - whether against protesters or police - and call for restraint and calm from all sides. A full, transparent investigation is essential and the people's right to peaceful protest must be upheld," Ambassador Chung tweeted.

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Billionaire entrepreneur tweeted a series of dashes for a missing word followed by "is the Night", days after he offered to buy Inc for $43 billion.

The offer from Musk, who has hinted at the possibility of a hostile bid, has prompted the social media company to adopt a "poison pill" to protect itself.

Musk, who is also the chief executive of electric-vehicle maker Inc, on Saturday tweeted "Love Me Tender", an Elvis Presley song, after opted for a plan to sell shares at a discount to prevent any attempt by shareholders to amass a stake of more than 15%. Musk currently has a 9.1% stake.

The New York Post on Tuesday reported Musk was willing to invest between $10 billion and $15 billion of his own money to take private, citing two sources familiar with the matter.



The billionaire, who is Twitter's second-biggest shareholder, is planning to launch a tender offer in about 10 days and has tapped to raise another $10 billion in debt, according to the report.

Musk may also be willing to borrow against his current stake if necessary, a move that could possibly raise several billion additional dollars, according to the New York Post report.



Twitter declined to comment. did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment from Musk.

More private-equity firms have expressed interest in participating in a deal for Twitter, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday without naming the firm.

The interest emerged after Thoma Bravo, a technology-focused private-equity firm, contacted the social media platform last week to explore a buyout that would challenge Musk's offer.

Apollo Global Management Inc is considering ways it can provide financing to any deal and is open to working with Musk or any other bidder, the sources told Reuters.

Many investors, analysts and investment bankers expect Twitter's board to reject Musk's offer in the coming days, saying it is inadequate.

(Reporting by Sonia Cheema, Yuvraj Malik and Akriti Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Shounak Dasgupta)

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Russia's massive, new offensive in eastern Ukraine reflects Moscow's hope to reverse its battlefield fortunes after a catastrophic seven weeks of war.

Russian forces have sharply intensified artillery barrages and airstrikes on Ukrainian positions in the industrial heartland known as the Donbas.

A look at the war in Ukraine so far:



A FALTERING START



Russian troops rolled to the outskirts of the capital of Kyiv days after invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, but the offensive was quickly stymied by staunch resistance.

The Russian military incurred heavy personnel and equipment losses, and the failed Kyiv offensive boosted the morale of the Ukrainian forces, allowing its leaders to rally vast support and secure more weapons from the West. That raised the costs of war for Moscow.

Russian President switched the focus to the Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian government forces since 2014, after the Kremlin's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

After the retreat from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and other areas in northeastern Ukraine, Russian forces pulled back to the territory of Moscow ally Belarus, as well as areas in western Russia to be rearmed and resupplied for the new offensive.

Gen. Alexander Dvornikov was named the new commander for the campaign. At 60, Dvornikov is one of Russia's most experienced officers, credited with leading Moscow's forces to success in Syria in a ruthless campaign to shore up President Bashar Assad's regime in a civil war that saw whole cities flattened and millions displaced. His appointment is seen as reflecting the Kremlin's awareness to quickly improve poor coordination among various forces that hampered previous efforts



THE NEW OFFENSIVE



Ukrainian officials said the push began Monday in the Donbas, with Russia trying to press the offensive along an arc-shaped front line stretching for more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) from the northeast to the southeast.

In what appeared to be a sharp increase in bombardment Tuesday, Russia said that in the last 24 hours, it struck 60 Ukrainian military facilities with its warplanes and 1,260 with its artillery, while attacking 1,214 troop concentrations. The claims could not be independently verified.

The Pentagon described the stepped-up campaign as shaping operations setting the stage for a broader offensive.

Justin Crump, a former British tank commander who leads Sibylline Ltd., a defense consultancy, said the Russians had escalated bombardments and appeared to be moving gradually to take chunks of territory, focusing mostly on the destruction of Ukraine's most capable forces in the Donbas.

They are hoping to destroy effectively the largest part of the Ukrainian prewar regular army, the best Ukrainian forces, Crump told The Associated Press.

THE RUSSIAN BATTLE PLAN



Ukrainian and Western experts expect Russia to try to encircle Ukrainian forces with a pincer movement by advancing from Izyum in the north and Mariupol in the south. Once Russian forces crush the last remaining pocket of Ukrainian resistance at a giant steel mill in Mariupol, they expect that will allow those forces to be freed up to enable the offensive to gain its full tempo.

Some predict Russia also may try to use its forces north of Crimea to try to capture the industrial hubs of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro on the Dnieper River, effectively cutting Ukraine in half.

During the eight years of fighting the separatists, the Ukrainian government forces have built multiple rows of trenches along the line of contact that the Russians have failed to penetrate. But Crump and other experts noted that Ukraine was running out of weapons and supplies.

They are firing through a lot of supplies, he said. And part of the Russian strategy at this point is to keep probing, to keep searching for ways, keep shaping the battlefield, to get Ukraine to fire the missiles, to use things up, to fire its artillery so they have less supplies left when the bigger blows start to fall sequentially.

Ukraine has pleaded with the West for warplanes, long-range air defense systems, heavy artillery and armor to counter the massive Russian edge in firepower. The Western allies have increased arms supplies and started providing heavy weapons, but it could take time for these to reach Ukrainian troops, which must then learn how to operate them.

New equipment is great, really helpful in many ways, but the problem is you've got to learn how to use it, Crump said, adding that Ukraine may put the new weapons in areas away from the fighting to give troops some practice with them and redeploy Soviet-era weapons to the eastern front.

CHALLENGES FOR THE RUSSIANS



The Russian offensive will probably face the same logistical challenges its troops encountered early in the war.

During the botched attempt to storm Kyiv, Russian convoys stretched along highways to the capital, becoming easy targets for Ukrainian artillery, drones and scouts. The operations in the east could be equally hard, especially as foliage sprouts with the arrival of spring and provides natural cover for guerrilla attacks.

Crump said the Russians appear to have learned from their earlier mistakes and tried to avoid long supply lines. They also sought to ensure using railways instead of trucks to carry the bulk of their supplies.

While the terrain in the east is flatter and easier for the Russians, Crump noted that rain has made it difficult for off-road movement, constraining maneuvering.

That makes it very hard to be unpredictable and to use tanks to their advantage, Crump said, adding that Ukrainian defenses will be stretched as the ground dries, offering Russian armor more options to maneuver.

While the Russians appeared to be making better use of their assets than at the start of the campaign, he said, they've still got morale problems and many units "have been pushed together with little training.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said that while Russian forces may be able to gain ground through the heavy concentration of artillery and larger numbers, its eastern campaign is unlikely to be dramatically more successful than previous major offensives around Kyiv. It probably will be hampered by the same poor coordination, the inability to conduct cross-country operations and low morale that impeded prior offensives, it said.

A PIVOTAL MOMENT



After the botched beginning, Putin badly needs a victory in the east to boost the Russians' morale and to try to negotiate an end to hostilities on his terms.

Bruised by Western sanctions, Russia lacks financial resources for a long fight. A protracted conflict will multiply the already heavy economic damage and fuel social tensions, eroding the Kremlin's base of support.

Russia already has put its most capable combat units in action, and continued fighting will likely force it to mobilize reservists and send fresh conscripts into combat moves that could bring broad public discontent.

Putin probably hopes that routing Ukrainian forces in the east will allow him to force Kyiv to accept key Kremlin conditions for a halt in fighting the acknowledgement of Moscow's sovereignty of Crimea and the recognition of the independence of the eastern separatist regions, including areas that had been under Ukrainian control before the war.

I think we're at this pivotal point where we find out whether we're going to get a peace, a pause or a protracted conflict, Crump said.

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Fault lines within the came to the fore at a meeting convened to discuss the response to airstrikes conducted by on Afghan soil that left more than 40 dead.

struck the Afghan provinces of Khost and Kunar on Saturday, leaving more than 40 dead.

Pakistani airstrikes prompted a series of protests across the country. Protestors and authorities in said these strikes violated the country's sovereignty.

While the Deputy Prime Minster Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar questioned Islamabad's decision to carry out airstrikes inside the Afghan territory, Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoub, Deputy Defence Minister Mullah Fazl and the Chief of Army Staff Maulvi Fasihuddin Fitrat insisted on a stern response to .

However, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Higher Education Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani maintained that Kabul should engage in a dialogue with Islamabad to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, Pakistan, claiming that seven Pakistan Army soldiers were killed in North Waziristan in an attack on April 14 carried out by terrorists operating from Afghanistan, asked the to secure the Pak- border region on their side and take action against those involved in terrorist activities against Pakistan.

Border skirmishes, airspace violations and artillery firing across the Durand Line have been on the rise in recent months.

Earlier, a Pakistan Army helicopter was shot at on April 7 by the Afghans along the Durand Line in Nimroz Province, while the Pak Military fired 56 artillery shells on April 14 across the border in Kunar and Nuristan Provinces.

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The Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that it has asked cash-strapped to restructure its huge foreign debt before a bailout programme could be finalised as anti-government protests escalated across the island.

is reaching out to several nations for bilateral credit as a comprehensive aid package from the Monetary Fund may require about six months.

India is providing every conceivable assistance, Foreign Minister GL Peiris told reporters at a briefing in Colombo on Wednesday, adding that he will be meeting the Chinese ambassador on Thursday. is also seeking help from Japan, Oman, Qatar and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

But a full package will need about six months and we need to find bridging finance.

Meanwhile, the Fund said discussions with Sri Lanka on a potential loan programme were at an early stage and any deal would require adequate assurances that the island countrys debts can be put on a sustainable path.

In a statement emailed to Reuters, Sri Lanka Mission Chief Masahiro Nozaki said that Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva discussed lending options and policy plans with a Sri Lankan delegation on Tuesday.

An IMF-supported program should be designed to resolve Sri Lankas acute balance of payments problems and put the back on a sustainable growth path as early as possible, Nozaki said.

But he noted that IMF staff had determined last month in an annual economic review that Sri Lankas public debt was unsustainable, and the country needs to take steps to restore debt sustainability prior to any IMF lending, including the emergency Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI).

Such restoration of debt sustainability typically requires a restructuring or reprofiling of public debts, which in Sri Lankas case would require cooperation from China, one of its largest bilateral creditors.
on Tuesday (local time) stressed on the importance of the United Nations Guiding Principles of Humanitarian Assistance and reiterated its call for immediate cessation of violence and hostilities in .

Speaking at the (UNSC) meeting on Ukraine's humanitarian situation, India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, R Ravindra said: "Humanitarian action must always be guided by the principles of humanitarian assistance. i.e., humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. These measures should never be politicized."

He further said that continues to remain deeply concerned at the worsening situation and reiterates its call for an immediate cessation of violence and hostilities.

"We have emphasized right from the beginning of the conflict the need to pursue the path of diplomacy and dialogue. When innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option," the country's Deputy Permanent Representative said at UNSC.

Furthermore, supported calls urging for guarantees of safe passage to deliver essential humanitarian and medical supplies including through the establishment of permanent humanitarian corridors.

"We hope the community will continue to respond positively to the evolving humanitarian requirements," R Ravindra said.

India has been sending humanitarian supplies to and its neighbours, which include medicines and other essential relief materials.

"We are providing more medical supplies to in the coming days ahead," Ravindra said.

The impact of the situation is being felt beyond the region with increasing food and energy costs, especially for many developing countries. It is in our collective interest to work constructively, both inside the United Nations and outside, towards seeking an early resolution to the issue.

India also noted the findings of Secretary-General's Antonio Guterres's Global Crisis Response Group Task Team issued last week and welcomed their recommendation for exempting purchases of food by World Food Programme (WFP) for humanitarian assistance from food export restrictions with immediate effect.

India also said that the energy security is equally a serious concern and needs to be addressed through cooperative efforts.

Speaking about the safe return of about 22,500 Indians from Ukraine, India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN noted that the country India has ensured the safe return of about 22,500 citizens from Ukraine.

"We initiated Operation Ganga involving 90 flights. We have also assisted nationals from 18 other countries in that protest. We are deeply appreciative of the facilitation rendered by the authorities of Ukraine and its neighbouring countries in ensuring their safe return," he said.

India continued to emphasize to all member tides of the UN that the global order is anchored on law, UN Charter and respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states.

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British Prime Minister said on Wednesday that his two-day visit to India, starting in Gujarat on Thursday, will deepen the strategic trade, defence and people-to-people ties between the two countries.

Addressing the House of Commons for his weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) on the eve of his visit, Johnson said the trip to Ahmedabad and New Delhi will build on India being invited as a guest country for the hosted by the UK in Cornwall in June last year.

"I will be travelling to India to deepen the strategic trade, defence and people- to-people ties between our two countries, building on India's involvement in the Carbis Bay G7 summit," Johnson told members of Parliament.

"I will be seeing Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi in Delhi, meeting Indian business people investing in the UK and visiting British investments in India, he said.

Prime Minister Modi had addressed the at Carbis Bay virtually as his travel plans were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The two leaders met in person later in the year, when Modi travelled to Glasgow for the COP26 climate summit in November. This followed Johnson's planned visits to India in 2021 being cancelled twice due to the pandemic situation in either country.

This week, it is expected that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will feature prominently during the bilateral talks between the leaders when Johnson is in New Delhi on Friday.

Downing Street has stressed that the UK would not look to "lecture" India over its neutral stance in the United Nations or its decision to hike Russian oil imports.

"This visit is not framed on the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Obviously, that is really important but this is a visit we have planned for a very long time. India is an incredibly important partner," Johnson's official spokesperson, who is accompanying him to India, told reporters at Downing Street.

"The Prime Minister has been wanting to make this trip to build our partnership across trade, investment, security and defence, and green energy. We will be discussing all those issues and it is expected that Russia-Ukraine will be on the agenda. But we won't be seeking to sort of lecture India or try and persuade them into one position or another. We will be seeking to work together constructively as an important partner, the spokesperson said.

Asked if the issue is likely to dominate the closed-door discussions between the two Prime Ministers, the spokesperson asserted that it would be one of many topics.

"Obviously, Russia-Ukraine is a huge priority for the UK at the moment and for the world. It's a global issue that has destablised the economy, the oil markets and security. So, it would absolutely be on the agenda," the spokesperson said.

Downing Street has reiterated the position that "different countries are in a different position" when it comes to energy security and that the UK accepts that dynamic in relation to levels of Russian oil imports, whether it is in Europe or in India.

Meanwhile, with the third round of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations scheduled in Delhi for next week, Johnson's first visit to India as Prime Minister is also expected to push forward trade talks towards an end of the year agreement timeline.

"Both countries have set out an intention to reach an agreement by the end of this year. It's not a fixed deadline, we won't rush it. We would take as long as it takes to reach a good deal for both countries," his spokesperson said.

Thursday, the first day of the visit, will be focused on trade and investment and commercial matters in Ahmedabad, involving a visit to a university and a new business as well as some cultural sightseeing.

In New Delhi on Friday, the UK Prime Minister is scheduled for a ceremonial day of greetings and meetings with Modi and business leaders. Unlike previous prime ministerial visits, he is not accompanied by a business delegation from the UK.

The visit coincides with a crucial vote in the House of Commons on Thursday, when MPs will decide if Johnson should be referred to the Committee of Privileges over whether he knowingly misled Parliament over the partygate scandal involving lockdown-breaching parties at Downing Street.

Downing Street dismissed the notion that there was any itinerary reconsideration around the Parliament vote clash with the India visit, which they said has been in the making for some time now and reflects the "importance of the bilateral relationship with India".

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Xbox's head of research and design, Chris Novak, who has been at for nearly 20 years, is leaving the company.

According to his LinkedIn, in his current role, which he's had for more than five years, he led the user experience for things like Game Pass, Cloud Gaming, and Live, reports The Verge.

At Microsoft, he also held the roles of design architect and design director.

"I have loved my time with Xbox," Novak said in a post on LinkedIn.

"Building end-to-end experiences for gamers is a privilege. There are very few things one gets to work on in life which evoke such passion in people around the world. I adore listening to gamers and envisioning that next moment of unexpected delight. Gaming is amazing. Xbox will always be with me," Novak added.

Novak shared more about his career at the company in an interview with Polygon published Tuesday, which I recommend you read in full.

" has been where I've gotten to learn in the crucible of gaming, from the world's best across the industry," Novak was quoted as saying to Polygon.

"I've got to see it in its best times and its worst times. And that learning process, I tremendously treasure," Novak added.

--IANS

vc/dpb

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is racing to secure funding for his $43-billion bid to buy .

The Tesla boss is willing to invest between $10 billion and $15 billion of his own money to take private, the New York Post reported on Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The billionaire, who is Twitters second-biggest shareholder with a 9.1 per cent stake, is planning to launch a tender offer in about 10 days and has tapped Morgan Stanley to raise another $10 billion in debt, according to the report.

Morgan Stanley has been calling banks and other potential investors to shore up financing for the offer, four people with knowledge of the situation said. Musk is first focussed on raising debt and has not yet begun to seek equity financing for his bid, one of the people said.

Musk is evaluating various packages of debt, including more senior debt known as preferred debt and a loan against his shares of Tesla, the electric carmaker that he runs, two of the people said. Apollo Global Management, an alternative asset manager, is among the parties considering offering debt financing in a bid for . The equity he needs is likely to be sizable.

A deal for Twitter, if structured as a traditional leveraged buyout, would potentially be the largest such deal in at least the last two decades and would be difficult to finance for any buyer. Thats because Twitter does not have the financial profile that is typical of debt-fuelled acquisitions.

In most leveraged buyout deals, have large and steady cash flows. But Twitters business has been inconsistent, with revenue growth slowing. Its earnings excluding costs such as interest total only about $1 billion a year, and financiers are generally loath to pile on too much debt with that generate earnings of that size.

There are also obstacles particular to Musk. In 2018, Musk tried to take Tesla private and tweeted funding secured, propelling Tesla shares higher. He did not have financing prepared for such a deal. The Securities and Exchange Commission later filed a securities fraud lawsuit against him, accusing him of misleading investors. Musk paid a $20 million fine and agreed to step aside as Teslas chairman for three years.

It is unclear if Musks efforts will be successful, but they go toward addressing a key question about his Twitter bid. Last week, Musk, the worlds wealthiest man, made an unsolicited offer for the social media company, saying that he wanted to take it private and that he wanted people to be able to speak more freely on the service. But his offer was regarded sceptically by Wall Street because he did not include details about how he would come up with the money for the deal.

While Twitters board has not rejected Musks offer, it responded days later with a defensive tactic known as a poison pill. A poison pill would effectively prevent Musk from owning more than 15 percent of Twitters shares. The 50-year-old had been building up a stake in the company.

Musk, whose net worth has been reported at $255 billion, did not respond to a request for comment. On Tuesday, in what appeared to be a veiled allusion to Twitter, he tweeted his thoughts about social networks and their policies.

Some investors are wary of getting involved in financing Musks Twitter bid, concerned about the risks of teaming up with the mercurial billionaire and a company as politically contentious as Twitter, one person with knowledge of the situation said. For banks, offering a loan against Tesla stock is also risky, given the stocks volatility.

Musk has not publicly articulated his business plan for Twitter, though he has spoken about reversing Twitters moderation policies and providing additional transparency about how its algorithms work. He has made clear that profit is not his focus, potentially complicating efforts to invest with traditional Wall Street financiers.

This is not a way to sort of make money, Musk said in a TED interview. My strong intuitive sense is that having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important.


appears to be making final-stage preparations for a parade involving a large number of troops ahead of another key anniversary next week, according to satellite imagery reported by US news outlets on Wednesday.

More than 12,000 troops were seen gathering at a plaza of Mirim Airfield in earlier this week, Radio Free Asia (RFA) said. It cited commercial satellite imagery provided by Planet Labs, Yonhap news agency reported.

The area is known as the secretive North's traditional parade training venue with the replica of Kim Il Sung Square, where such an event highlighted by goose-stepping soldiers and a show of major weapon systems is actually staged. The satellite imagery was taken on Sunday, a week before the North celebrates the 90th founding anniversary of the North Korean People's Revolutionary Army (KPRA), the anti-Japanese guerrilla force.

What is noteworthy is a large crowd spotted at Kim Il-sung Square, which indicates that the North's parade preparatory work is in the last stage.

Many people were seen there, with makeshift tents set up on April 17-18, RFA said.

The Voice of America also carried a report based on satellite photos taken on April 17-18 that show a large crowd of people making formations with red flowers at the square.

The imagery showed a parking space of the parade training ground of the airport packed with vehicles, it added.

South Korea's and intelligence authorities are paying attention to the odds of a massive parade around next Monday. They do not rule out the possibility of a nighttime event.

If held, the North could use it as a chance to again show off its strategic weapons, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).

An informed source in Seoul expected the North to mobilize more than 20,000 troops for a parade this time, with tracked vehicles like armored cars and transporter erector launchers (TELs) already on the move.

On the weekend, the North test-fired what it claims to be a new tactical guided weapon.

Last Friday, celebrated the 110th birth anniversary of its late founder Kim Il-sung with fireworks and a mass dance performance but without staging a parade.

--IANS

int/shs

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The PML-N led government in has announced plans to impeach President Arif Alvi, who has recently emerged as a major obstacle to the smooth sailing of the new government and blocked Pak Punjab Chief Minister-elect Hamza Shehbaz Sharif's oath-taking among other things, Samaa TV reported.

The possibility of impeachment was first raised by Pak Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and then elaborated by Senator Afnanullah Khan.

Aurangzeb said that Alvi must know that he is the president of and not the PTI. "If he wants to indulge in politics, he must leave the office of the president," she said at her press conference.

Under the Constitution of Pakistan, the president could be impeached only by the two-thirds majority of the joint session of the National Assembly and Senate.

Later, PML-N's Senator Afnanullah said that a total of 290 votes in a joint session were required to remove the president, and all parties in the ruling coalition have only 265 votes -- 25 short of the required number.

Afnanullah said that the ruling coalition will reach out to dissident PTI members to remove Arif Alvi, who he said has become PTI's president.

last week announced that the PTI would withdraw all its lawmakers from the National Assembly. Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, from the PTI, accepted the resignations of 123 PTI members. However, experts claim that the resignations were not given in handwriting as the rules required and may be rejected by the ECP.

--IANS

san/dpb

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New Delhi, April 20: said on Tuesday that it has started a new stage of its 'special military operation' in and intends to "completely liberate" the territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.

The announcement was made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had stated during his overnight video address that the "battle for Donbas" had begun.

"It can now be stated that Russian troops have begun the battle for Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time. A very large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive," said Zelenskyy.

Analysts told Russian newspaper Izvestia that the second phase of the military operation will focus on an attack on the Armed Forces of (AFU) grouping in the Donbas and "air superiority" will play an important role in it.

The contested territories of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, colloquially referred to as Donbas, have been at the centre of conflict between the two countries for a long time now. In his address just three days before the launch of operation in Ukraine on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin had accused the "Kiev strategists" of running a "terrorist underground movement" in the region "with the assistance of the international community on favourable terms for Ukraine".

In Moscow, at a meeting of the Russian Defence Ministry held at the National Defence Control Centre on Tuesday, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the country's army is "fulfilling the tasks" set by Putin.

"The plan for the liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics is being consistently implemented, and measures are being taken to establish a peaceful life," the minister said.

Praising the courage and heroism of the Russian servicemen participating in the operation, Shoigu accused the United States and "controlled Western countries" of "doing everything to delay" the operation as much as possible.

"The growing volumes of supplies of foreign weapons clearly demonstrate their intentions to provoke the Kiev regime to fight to the last Ukrainian," he added.

also said on Tuesday that it has "reliable information" about the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) "preparing another provocation" to accuse the servicemen of the Russian Federation "of so-called war crimes with the mass destruction of civilians" in the Odessa region.

Releasing an "emergency statement" of the Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine, Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, the head of Russia's National Centre for Defence Control, issued a warning to "the countries of the civilized West led by the United States" in advance that the Kremlin has an "operational evidence base" about what is being planned by the Kiev regime.

"To this end, in the near future it is planned to dress one of the SSU units in the uniform of Russian servicemen and make a demonstrative shooting of local residents. Photo and video footage of this action with alleged 'Russian atrocities' will be published by Ukrainian and Western news agencies to immediately promote fakes," Mizintsev said on Tuesday.

He also called on the "militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries" holed up in the Azovstal metallurgical plant in the devastated port city of Mariupol to cease any hostilities and lay down their arms.

"Once again, we call on the official authorities of Kiev to show prudence, to give appropriate instructions to the militants about ending senseless resistance and leaving the hotbed of resistance. However, realising that they will not receive such orders and commands from the Kiev authorities, we urge them to make such a decision on their own and lay down their arms," said Mizintsev, adding that all those who lay down their weapons are "guaranteed the preservation of life".

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

--indianarrative

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Interview: Boao Forum for Asia to kickstart key discussions on post-pandemic recovery: Malaysian expert

Xinhua) 13:55, April 20, 2022

KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The 2022 Annual Conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) will kick-start key discussions on post-pandemic recovery and boost efforts by countries that are emerging from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, said a renowned Malaysian expert in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Drawing attention to this year's theme "The World in COVID-19 &Beyond: Working Together for Global Development and Shared Future", Oh Ei Sun, principal adviser for Malaysia's Pacific Research Center, said the theme accurately captured the sentiments of many countries including Malaysia, which are just recovering and adapting to the post-pandemic world.

He also said the BFA comes at a particularly advantageous time as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has come into force, giving participating economies the opportunity to tap into China's vast market to accelerate their own economic recovery and growth.

"The Boao Forum for Asia traditionally has been a forum for both policymakers as well as business communities, as well as some of those think tanks, intellectuals ... to come together, to come up with suggestions and proposals so that each of these participating countries would be able to better coordinate their economic policies," he said.

Oh said this is especially important for countries among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, some of which are on a low-tide of economic development but are now keenly aware of the benefits of rapid digitalization, having drawn important lessons from the pandemic.

He also noted that this renewed interest would see Chinese e-commerce platforms play a greater role in regional trade and Chinese companies have an invaluable opportunity to better understand Southeast Asian markets, consumers and to localize their products to tap into these consumers.

"Most of us during the lockdown period in our respective countries during the pandemic would have made use of these electronic commerce platforms. There are various major Chinese electronic platforms, which are performing and also trying to establish themselves in Southeast Asia," he said.

"And most of them have met with quite a resounding success but I think when they work together with some of their local counterparts, that would add in local ingredients and local contents to their offerings. And very often, that would make sure that your business takes off even further," he added.

Oh, who will deliver a speech at BFA 2022, said that the interaction between RCEP and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would be a hot topic, as many RCEP members are also BRI partners who are longing for a faster post-pandemic recovery.

Oh believed that RCEP would bring a new momentum to the development of BRI as both complemented each other by promoting the free flow of capital, facilitating trade, improving communication and transportation, and increasing people-to-people exchanges.

"A large number of Southeast Asian countries benefited from the initial projects of the Belt and Road Initiative. And now that RCEP has entered into force, we would look forward to learning more (about) how the BRI and RCEP would interact with one another and hopefully that could bring new momentum to how the Belt and Road Initiative continues to connect China with the rest of Southeast Asia," he said.

The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) will hold its annual conference from April 20 to 22 in Boao, a coastal town in southern China's island province of Hainan. Attendees will gather and discuss the post-pandemic development agenda for Asia and the world.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Amid growing concerns over the economic growth risks in China due to the COVID-19 lockdown, American electric vehicle and clean energy company resumed production at its plant on Tuesday, as per Chinese media.

About 8,000 employees have returned to work in the US carmaker Tesla's factory so far, Xinhua News Agency reported citing the company.

Affected by the latest COVID-19 resurgence in Shanghai, the Gigafactory had suspended production for over 20 days.

"We have full confidence in China's economy," said Tao Lin, vice president of Tesla, as per Xinhua News Agency, adding that "from the process of the current production resumption, we have seen China's ability to cope with challenges and we believe that normality will soon return."

Tao said that several government departments have worked almost round the clock to help enterprises resume work and production as quickly as possible.

The factory will need three to four days to boost its production gradually to full capacity, according to Song Gang, the factory's manufacturing and operation director, Xinhua reported.

According to the news agency, Tesla said it is promoting the resumption of production at more than 100 parts manufacturers with the help of relevant government departments.

Some provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Delta region have also been very supportive of Tesla's production resumption. Taizhou city in the neighboring Jiangsu Province has assisted local Tesla supply chain enterprises in their production resumption.

All factory employees will have to take an antigen test and a nucleic acid test each day. The company said that its production and office areas are subject to strict disinfection procedures and epidemic prevention measures are being carried out to ensure safe production.

Tesla's Gigafactory is the first wholly foreign-owned car manufacturing enterprise in China. Deliveries from the Shanghai Gigafactory stood at 484,130 vehicles last year, an increase of 235 percent from 2020 and accounting for 51.7 percent of Tesla's global production capacity in 2021, according to Xinhua.

On Tuesday, meanwhile, China reported 3,297 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. While lockdowns in cities are triggering cascading effects with Beijing staring at a national crisis.

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has said that the Turkish military operation in its semi-autonomous Kurdistan region is a threat to the country's national security and a violation of its sovereignty.

The latest Turkish military operation into the Iraqi frontier without coordinating with the Iraqi federal government is unacceptable, said a statement by the Presidency on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The pending security issues in the border areas could be resolved through further coordination between the two countries and the Iraqi sovereignty must be respected, it added.

On Monday, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said in a statement that the Turkish forces launched a new ground and air cross-border operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern .

Turkish forces regularly carry out ground operations, airstrikes, and artillery bombardments against the positions of PKK militants in northern Iraq, especially the Qandil mountain range, where the main PKK bases are stationed.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the .

--IANS

int/sks/dpb

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A British judge on Wednesday formally approved the extradition of to the to face charges.

The case will now go to Britain's interior minister for a decision, and the founder still has legal avenues of appeal.

The order comes after the UK Supreme Court last month refused Assange permission to appeal against a lower court's ruling that he could be extradited.

A judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court issued the order in a brief hearing. Home Secretary Priti Patel will decide whether to grant the extradition.

The move doesn't exhaust the legal options for Assange, who has sought for years to avoid a trial in the US on charges related to WikiLeaks' publication of a huge trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.

His lawyers have four weeks to make submissions to Patel, and can also seek to appeal to the High Court.

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has received additional aircraft and spare parts to increase its fleet size amid the conflict with Russia, US Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday (local time).

"They have received additional platforms and parts to be able to increase their aircraft fleet size," Kirby said during a press briefing, adding that "platform is an airplane in this case. They have received additional aircraft and aircraft parts to help them get more aircraft in the air."

Kirby also said that the United States has not delivered any whole aircraft to .

According to White House spokesperson Jen Psaki, US has said that it will continue to provide them more ammunition and military assistance.

"We will continue to provide them more ammunition as we will provide them more military assistance," Psaki said in a statement.

She added: "There's obviously more money we can provide from the approved drawdown package, and the specifics of that are being worked through with the Department of Defense and our national security team."

urged the United States to abandon its "futile policy" of blockade and sanctions in foreign policy, the Russian Embassy in Washington said on Tuesday (local time).

The diplomatic mission's comment was timed to the announcement of a new round of high-level dialogue between the United States and Cuba on migration on April 21. The Russian Embassy welcomed the step.

"Dialogue is always better than its absence. It is high time for the #US to abandon the futile policy of blockade and sanctions in foreign affairs," the embassy tweeted.

Earlier, there were reports that the US is looking at designating as a state sponsor of terrorism."We're taking a close look at the facts. We're taking a close look at the law," US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during an interview with CNN on Monday.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged US President Joe Biden to impose the designation on that would impose some of the most significant sanctions at the Biden administration's disposal, Sputnik News Agency said citing media reports.

Notably, US President Joe Biden has no plans to visit Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as per White House.

The US earlier had announced to provide with an additional 800 million US dollars' worth of military aid including heavy artillery as Washington anticipated a "wider assault" by Russia in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden will hold a video call with US allies and partners on Tuesday to discuss providing support for Ukraine and restrictions on Russia, as per White House.

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Two days before the opening of migration talks between and the United States, which have been paralysed for four years, a high-ranking Cuban official lamented Washington's incoherent and differentiated migration policies, and exhorted Washington to comply with current agreements.

The migration meeting will take place amid a dramatic increase in arrivals of Cubans at the southern border of the United States.

We are noticing, and now much more these days, that there is a differentiated and incoherent approach by the United States toward the migratory issue, Deputy Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal told a small group of journalists on Tuesday.

The U.S. is financially helping "many countries in the region in order to reactivate their economies, to help them create jobs, including supporting health and education projects, said Vidal. Washington's policy is exactly the opposite with Cuba, where it is applying maximum pressure to the economic order and through coercive measures.

Cuba's Foreign Ministry said on Twitter that the meeting will be held in Washington Thursday and its delegation will be headed by deputy minister Carlos Fernndez de Cossio.

The last of these meetings which according to agreements between both countries must be held twice a year took place in July 2018, under the administration of then President Donald Trump.

Trump ended the policy of rapprochement between both nations that his predecessor, Barack Obama, had begun.

Trump increased sanctions against the Caribbean island, from the cancellation of permits to send remittances or cruise ships, to penalties for companies from third countries that operate in Cuba, to limitation of flights and punishment of oil tankers bound for .

These measures and the pandemic contributed to an economic crisis in Cuba, with shortages of basic products, power outages and the respective queues and rationing.

Trump withdrew embassy staff in 2017. Thousands of people were left with incomplete family reunification processes or were prevented from traveling unless they carried out visa procedures through Guyana. U.S. President Joe Biden did not relax the tough measures, despite his campaign promises.

We do not see any justification for not giving all visas to Cuban emigrants in Havana and forcing the majority of Cubans to travel (to Guyana), with the costs that this implies, added Vidal, who was the head of negotiations for the historic rapprochement with the U.S. in 2014. The talks concluded with the reopening of diplomatic offices and Obama's trip to the island.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in the last six months Cubans were stopped 79,800 times at the southern U.S. border, a little more than double that number seen in the entire 2021 fiscal year and five times more than in 2020.

On Tuesday, Vidal presented a gloomy picture. Cuban authorities have said that in the last five years Washington has failed to comply with the part of a bilateral agreement that establishes the delivery of 20,000 visas per year.

Sea crossings have also increased, either in rustic boats or at the hands of traffickers. From October to date, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted 1,257 Cubans, compared with 838 in 2021.

As the figures stand, the number of departures is higher than during the so-called rafter crisis of 1994 when some 30,000 people arrived through the Straits of Florida and half of those who did so in the Mariel exodus in 1980, when some 124,000 Cubans left.

Vidal said there is a historical regularity with how these dramatic migratory peaks occur when the U.S. fails to comply with agreements, increases sanctions or puts obstacles to a more or less normal processing of visas.

Furthermore, the United States is exerting pressure on countries in the region to establish specific requirements for Cubans in transit, which creates additional obstacles, she said.

Vidal refused to reveal the agenda will bring to the talks, but indicated that this issue will be among those mentioned.

In recent months, Panama and Costa Rica announced that they would require transit visas from Cubans, a different position of Nicaragua -- an ally of Cuba -- which lifted this requirement and since November became the new point of departure of Cubans heading to the United States.

Cuba has held migratory talks with countries such as Canada, Belize, and less than a month ago with Mexico, which is seeing more Cubans at its borders.

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The is expected to announce that it will provide a new military aid package to Ukraine this week for the ongoing war between Moscow and Kyiv, Sputnik News Agency reported citing US media on Tuesday (local time).

The new package will be similar in size to the latest one worth USD 800 million and will include both more artillery and tens of thousands of artillery rounds, the report said, citing Biden administration officials.

Earlier, US President had said that his administration will provide Ukraine with an additional 800 million US dollars' worth of military aid including heavy artillery as Washington anticipated a "wider assault" by Russia in eastern Ukraine.

"The will continue to provide Ukraine with the capabilities to defend itself," Biden said in a statement after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"Will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine," Biden had said.

"These new capabilities include artillery systems, artillery rounds and armored personnel carriers. I have also approved the transfer of additional helicopters," he said, adding that the will continue to facilitate the transfer of significant capabilities from its allies and partners around the world.

The United States has committed 1.7 billion dollars in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia began its "special military operation".

However, White House on Monday (local time) said that President Biden has no plans to visit Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"There are no plans for the President to go," White House spokesperson Jen Psaki has said.

She also has informed that Washington has sent four planes loaded with security assistance to Ukraine over the weekend and made one more delivery on Monday.

The United States remains the largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine.

Washington has committed more than USD 3.2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since President took office in January 2021. Approximately USD 2.6 billion of the total amount was approved since the beginning of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine at the end on February, according to the Defense Department.

On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested help to defend them from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops.

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A U.S. Senate delegation on Tuesday urged Serbia to join the rest of Europe and impose sanctions against Russia for its bloody campaign in Ukraine.

We understand Serbia has a long cultural and economic history with Russia, said Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) after the three-member bi-partisan delegation met Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic.

But this is a moment where there is great risk if we, as a democratic community, don't send a united message about the consequences of Russia's behavior in Ukraine, he told reporters. And our hope is that we will be able to stand with Serbia in the coming weeks and months to send that clear message to Russia.

Although Serbia voted in favor of three United Nations resolutions condemning the Russian aggression against Ukraine, it has not joined sanctions against Moscow.

Serbia, which is formally seeking membership, depends almost entirely on Russian energy supplies. Vucic has said that imposing sanctions against traditional Slavic allies in Moscow would be disastrous for Serbia.

I think we made the case that as the president (Vucic) has said, the future of Serbia lies with the rest of Europe, lies in the West, and he has been moving in that direction, (with) trade ties, business investment. said Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). And as we pointed out, if that's the intent, then certainly looking at the foreign policy that's currently in place by the EU is very important.

The senators also said that if Serbia really wants to join the EU, it should reconsider on rapidly arming itself with Russian and Chinese weapons.

In in the long run, I think every country needs to make a decision about whether their security interests are best aligned with China, Murphy said. If Serbia is intent on being a member of the European Union, then it's probably not in their long-term interests to have a security relationship with China.

Serbia's rapid military buildup in the region that was at war in the 1990s has worried its neighbors and raised fears in the West of new possible bloodshed in the Balkans.

Earlier this month, China delivered a sophisticated air defense system to Belgrade despite earlier U.S. warnings that if Serbia wants to join Western integrations it should align its military with Western standards.

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The economic sanctions approach that the West has adopted towards the regime in after its takeover of Kabul in August last year is neither helping the humanitarian situation in the country nor will reform the outfit in its outlook on society, a report has said.

The dilemma that faces the West when it comes to deciding whether or not to aid is that if 40 million Afghans are not to blame for what is happening, should they be allowed to suffer because disapprove of leadership which those people have not explicitly chosen, the report in Europe Asia Foundation asks.

After the chaotic withdrawal of US-led forces from Afghanistan, abandoning even thousands of their Afghan helpers and handing over huge caches of weapons to the Taliban, the attention of the west turned to the principal non-military means of excluding transgressors from mainstream global society, the financial system.

Prior to August, aid accounted for three-quarters of Afghan government spending but this was halted overnight, causing a severe liquidity crisis, the report said.

The USD 1.8 billion for humanitarian aid pledged since August by the global community is simply not getting through efficiently, and more than half of all Afghans go hungry. The World Food Programme is struggling to find donors to fund its USD 4.4 billion plans.

Economic isolation has coincided with a severe drought. Hunger is likely to kill more Afghans in the years to come than died in 20 years of war, the report said citing Rescue Committee (IRC).

A government that was seriously worried about its place in the panoply of nations would be concerned about this situation, but there is little sign that the regime will bend to the whim of the global community, the report said citing the ban on girls' education over grade six under the regime, even after promises of last year by the outfit saying that girls' education would not be banned.

The report goes on to say that there is little evidence to show that the European Union's (EU) magnanimity or the US' pledge to unfreeze some assets (at some unspecified time) has helped buy any influence in Kabul, the report said.

We have learned too often that ignoring those whose missions are not compatible with democratic norms rarely encourages them to go away, the report adds.

Making sure that all regional partners are on board, with common goals, has not worked hitherto. Having Pakistan better deliver the values it espouses, such as gender equality, than it has previously is crucial to future success in Afghanistan, the report concluded.

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The World Bank is ready to provide emergency support to and protect the vulnerable people amidst the unprecedented in the country, a media report on Wednesday quoted a senior official of the global lender as saying.

Sri Lanka, which is on the brink of bankruptcy, is grappling with an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948.

World Bank Vice President Hartwig Schafer held talks with Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ali Sabry in Washington on Tuesday, the Colombo Gazette reported on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Sabry is in the US for the annual spring meetings of the Monetary Fund IMF and the World Bank.

Schafer said they discussed actions to address the economic crisis, support stabilisation and recovery, and protect the vulnerable people, the report added.

Schafer said that the World Bank is deeply concerned about the impact of the crisis on the poor and vulnerable and stands ready to provide emergency support for essential medicines and health-related supplies, nutrition, and education, the report said.

The Finance Minister also had talks with the Monetary Fund (IMF) and India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Washington on Monday.

The IMF has commended the steps already taken by the Finance Minister to mitigate the present financial situation in Sri Lanka, the report said.

The IMF has also assured their fullest support to and a positive response has also been received to expedite the process to strengthen the support extended towards .

As the island nation is experiencing its worst in history, massive anti-government protests are being held throughout the country against the government's failure to tackle the crisis.

With long lines for fuel, cooking gas, essentials in short supply, and long hours of power cuts, the public has been suffering for months.

With the and the shortage of forex, an Indian credit line of USD 500 million for fuel imports provided a lifeline to the island nation.

India recently announced to extend a USD 1 billion line of credit to Sri Lanka as part of its financial assistance to the country to deal with the economic crisis following a previous USD 500 billion line of credit in February to help it purchase petroleum products.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has defended his government's actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic driven with the island nation's tourism revenue and inward remittances waning.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shares of Coal India (CIL) hit an over two-year high of Rs 205.55, up 4 per cent on the BSE in Wednesdays intra-day trade, surging as much as 10 per cent in the past three trading days on expectation of strong earnings.

The stock of state-owned mining company traded at its highest level since January 2020. In past three months, the stock has rallied 25 per cent, as compared to a 5.4 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex.

Amid the spiraling power generation, CIL has raised its supplies to thermal power stations by 14.2 per cent during the first half of April 2022 compared to same period last April. The company had accelerated its production to 26.4 million tonne (MTs) during the first half of April 2022 registering 27 percent year-on-year growth. The company is headed for its highest April production ever. Output expansion in volume terms was 5.7 MTs, CIL said in a press release.

For Q4FY22, CIL reported coal offtake of 180 MTs, up 9 per cent YoY, 4 per cent QoQ. For the quarter, the brokerage firm ICICI Securities expects CIL's consolidated topline to increase 16 per cent YoY and 9 per cent QoQ to Rs 31,080 crore. Consolidated EBITDA margin is likely to come in at 27.5 per cent for Q4FY22 compared to 23.9 per cent in Q4FY21 and 24.0 per cent in Q3FY22. For Q3FY22, the brokerage expects CIL to clock an EBITDA/tonne of Rs 475/tonne compared to Rs 387/tonne in Q4FY21 and Rs 393/tonne in Q3FY22.

We expect renewed buying in stocks like CIL that has been consolidating for a couple of weeks after a sharp up move was seen in commodity prices. The open interest in CIL has been declining gradually in the last couple of months. It has come down to the lowest in the current series since June 2021 while the stock has been trading with a positive bias, analysts at ICICI Securities said in Quant Pick.

The brokerage firm believes short positions are out of the system and fresh longs are likely to be seen from here onwards, which should lead to a swift further up move in the stock towards Rs 230 level. The delivery Z-Score has again started to move into the positive territory since March 2022 as the stock is witnessing fresh accumulation in the delivery segment, the brokerage firm said March 28, 2022 report.
Bank of Maharashtra rose 1.68% to Rs 18.20 after the bank said that a meeting of the board of directors will be held on Thursday, 28 April 2022, to consider fund raising plans.

The funds would be raised either via follow-on public offer (FPO) or rights issue or qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue, preferential issue or any other mode or combination thereof and/or through issue of Basel-III bonds or such other securities as may be permitted under applicable laws.

On the same day, the bank's board will also consider approve the financial results for the quarter and year ended 31 March 2022.

Bank of Maharashtra is a public sector bank in India. The Government of India held 90.97% stake in the bank as of 31 December 2021.

The state-run bank's net profit rose 110.70% to Rs 324.63 crore on 8.70% increase in total income to Rs 3,893.23 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020.

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The domestic equity barometers traded with strong gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty marched towards the 17,150 mark. Oil & gas, auto, FMCG and IT shares advanced.

At 13:22 IST, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex rallied 615.4 points or 1.09% to 57,078.55. The Nifty 50 index rose 187.75 points or 1.11% to 17,146.40.

Ultratech Cement (up 3.35%), Reliance Industries (up 3.30%), BPCL (up 3.26%), Shree Cement (up 3.11%) and Asian Paints (up 2.94%) were the top Nifty gainers.

Bajaj Finance (down 2.40%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (down 0.86%), Tata Steel (down 0.84%), Larsen & Toubro (down 0.77%) and ONGC (down 0.71%) were the top Nifty laggards.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.56% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.63%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,829 shares rose while 1,471 shares fell. A total of 138 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its growth forecast for India for FY23 by 80 basis points to 8.2%, warning that Russia's invasion of Ukraine would hurt consumption and hence, growth, by way of higher prices.

"Notable downgrades to the 2022 forecast include Japan (0.9 percentage point) and India (0.8 percentage point), reflecting in part weaker domestic demand - as higher oil prices are expected to weigh on private consumption and investment - and a drag from lower net exports," the IMF said in its World Economic Report, released on 19 April 2022.

Earnings Impact:

ACC jumped 6.84% to Rs 2198.60. The cement maker's consolidated net profit dropped 29.66% to Rs 396 crore on a 2.58% increase in net sales to Rs 4,322 crore in Q1 March 2022 over Q1 March 2021.

Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI) tumbled 6.04% to Rs 5155. The company reported 4.1% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 637.50 crore on 4% increase in revenue to Rs 4301.60 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q3 December 2021.

Tata Steel Long Products slumped 5.62% to Rs 754.55. The company reported 82.5% drop in net profit to Rs 59.62 crore in Q4 FY22 from Rs 339.85 crore in Q4 FY21. Net sales during the quarter increased by 16.3% YoY to Rs 1,799.40 crore.

Mastek shed 0.93% to Rs 2782.10. The company reported 5.7% rise in net profit to Rs 88.2 crore on a 5.4% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 581.5 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q3 FY22.

Global markets:

European stocks opened around the flatline, with some positive bias on Wednesday as investors monitor developments in Ukraine and assess the IMF's latest global economic forecasts.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has entered a second phase in which fierce fighting has begun in the east of the country.

Ukraine said on Monday that Russia's offensive in the eastern Donbas region had begun, with a top official describing it as the second phase of the war. The eastern city of Kreminna fell to Russian forces on Tuesday, its regional governor said, marking the first city to be captured in this phase of the war.

On Tuesday, the IMF cut its global growth projections for 2022 and 2023, saying the economic impact from Russia's invasion of Ukraine will propagate far and wide.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks traded mixed on Wednesday as China defied expectations by keeping its benchmark lending rate unchanged.

China on Wednesday kept its one-year loan prime rate unchanged at 3.7%, while also holding steady on the five-year LPR at 4.6%.

Investors have been watching for signs of policy support from Chinese authorities as the mainland continues to grapple with its worst Covid outbreak since the initial shock of the pandemic in 2020.

US stocks surged on Tuesday on the back of stronger-than-expected corporate earnings, but bleak forecasts on global economic growth pushed bond yields up and drove oil down.

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HDFC rose 1.43% to Rs 2,169.25 after the company said it will sell 10% stake in HDFC Capital Advisors (HCAL) to an affiliate of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for around Rs 184 crore.

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) will sell 2,35,019 equity shares, or 10% equity, or HCAL at Rs 7,841.49 per equity share.

India's largest private mortgage lender will continue to hold the balance 90% stake in HCAL post the stake sale that values the private equity real estate firm at over Rs 1,840 crore.

The sovereign wealth fund owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi is also the primary investor in the alternative investment funds managed by HCAL.

HCAL reported revenue of Rs 66.81 crore in FY21. Set up in 2016, HCAL is the investment manager to HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Funds 1, 2 & 3; and is aligned with the Government of India's goal to increase housing supply and support the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - 'Housing for All' initiative. HDFC Capital manages an approximately $3 billion funding platform which has recently been rated as one of the world's largest private finance platforms focused on development of affordable housing.

HCAL is the investment manager to HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund 1 (H-CARE 1), HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund 2 (H-CARE 2) and HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund 3 (H-CARE 3), which are registered with SEBI as a Category II Alternative Investment Funds. These funds combine to create a $ 3 billion platform targeting the development of affordable and mid-income housing in India.

Deepak Parekh, chairman - HDFC, said: "This investment by ADIA will enable HDFC Capital to leverage ADIA's global expertise and experience to further propel HDFC Capital towards becoming a leading investment platform for global and local investors across multiple strategies and asset classes in the real estate and technology ecosystem."

Mohamed AlQubaisi, executive director of the real estate department, ADIA, said: "This agreement builds on our successful investments in the H-CARE funds and underlines our belief in the positive long term outlook for affordable and mid-market housing in India."

HDFC provides home loans for affordable housing and continues to have the largest number of home loan customers at over 270,000 who have availed benefits under the government's Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme.

The housing finance company's standalone net profit rose 11.44% to Rs 3,260.69 crore on 0.65% increase in total income to Rs 11792.21 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21.

Shares of HDFC tumbled 11.85% in the past three sessions.

HDFC and HDFC Bank on 4 April 2022 announced merger, in which shareholders of HDFC will receive 42 shares of HDFC Bank, for 25 shares held in HDFC. As a result, HDFC Bank will be 100% owned by public shareholders and existing shareholders of HDFC will own 41% of HDFC Bank.

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Tata Steel Long Products tumbled 4.59% to Rs 762.75 after the company reported 82.5% drop in net profit to Rs 59.62 crore in Q4 FY22 from Rs 339.85 crore in Q4 FY21.

Net sales during the quarter increased by 16.3% YoY to Rs 1,799.40 crore.

Total expenditure increased by 55.9% to Rs 1,635.06 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21, due to higher raw material costs (up 68.5% YoY) and higher other expenses (up 28.6% YoY).

Profit before tax in Q4 FY22 stood at Rs 85.43 crore, down by 77.7% from Rs 383.17 crore in Q4 FY21. The company wrote back taxes aggregating to Rs 6.42 crore during the period under review.

Tata Steel Long Products recorded a 13.6% rise in net profit to Rs 649.79 crore on a 43.2% increase in net sales to Rs 6,801.69 crore in FY22 over FY21.

The company's board has recommended a dividend of Rs 12.50 per equity share for the Financial Year ended 31 March 2022.

Tata Steel Long Products is one of India's largest integrated special steel and merchant direct reduced iron (sponge iron) player.

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Tata Consultancy Services announced that it is now a Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services partner.

TCS will combine its deep industry knowledge and experience as a leading transformation partner for BFSI clients, with its Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services solutions, and its large talent pool of Microsoft-certified consultants to enable clients to innovate, and reimagine their businesses to meet evolving market, customer and regulatory needs.

TCS will combine its deep industry knowledge and experience as a leading transformation partner for BFSI clients, with its Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services solutions, and its large talent pool of Microsoft-certified consultants to enable clients to innovate, and reimagine their businesses to meet evolving market, customer and regulatory needs.

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Streaming giant saw its stock tumbling by 20 per cent after it reported a loss of 2 lakh paid subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 -- its first subscriber loss in over a decade.

Moreover, forecasts a global paid subscriber loss of 20 lakh for the second quarter (Q2) of 2022.

The decline has brought Netflix's subscriber base to 221.6 million, down from 221.8 million in the previous quarter.

"The suspension of our service in Russia and winding-down of all Russian paid memberships resulted in a 7 lakh impact on paid net adds; excluding this impact, paid net additions totalled 5 lakh," the company said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The company told its shareholders that it expected to add 2.5 million net subscribers during the first quarter, compared with 4 million in the same quarter a year ago.

The main challenge for membership growth, said Netflix, is continued soft acquisition across all regions.

informed that in addition to its 222 million paying households, it estimates that the streaming service is being shared with over 100 million additional households.

"Account sharing as a percentage of our paying membership hasn't changed much over the years, but, coupled with the first factor, means it's harder to grow membership in many markets - an issue that was obscured by our Covid growth," the company noted.

Netflix said it is making good progress in APAC "where we are seeing nice growth in a variety of markets including Japan, India, Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan".

Its revenue in the first quarter reached $7.78 billion. The net cash generated by operating activities in Q1 was $923 million.

--IANS

na/dpb

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A flagship scheme of the Digital India campaign, the ambitious BharatNet project launched to connect Indias gram panchayats with high-speed broadband has long been marred by delays.

It was started in 2011 as the National Optical Fibre Network and was later renamed in 2014 as BharatNet when the Narendra Modi government came to power.

And in 2012, Bharat Broadband Network Limited or -- a special purpose vehicle -- was set up to implement the project. But, over the years, it has earned a dubious reputation for missing several deadlines set by the government.

In the first phase, BharatNet was to connect 1 lakh village councils by 2013. The target was instead achieved four years later, in December 2017.

The government aimed to connect the remaining Gram Panchayats by March 2019 in the second phase using a mix of state-led, CPSU-led and private-led models. But the deadline was again pushed.

Now, the government has set a revised target to connect all the 6.4 lakh villages spread in 2.6 lakh gram panchayats across the country by 2025 with a minimum broadband speed of 100Mbps.

The government recently informed Rajya Sabha that it had connected just 27% of the villages till March this year.

Of the 33 states/union territories for which data is available, 15 had a connectivity rate of less than 20%. Only Chandigarh and Punjab had achieved over 90% coverage. And just eight states/UT had been able to make over 60% of their villages service ready.

The cost of laying the optic fibre has also been escalating. In 2020-21, the government spent Rs 6.9 lakh to lay one kilometre of optic fibre cable which increased to Rs 13.6 lakh in 2021-22. The total approved outlay for the BharatNet project is now Rs 61,109 crore.

The government last month cancelled a Rs 19,000 crore tender to lay cables for the project in 16 states under the Public Private Partnership model after it failed to attract any private bidder. Over 50 showed interest, but none came forward eventually.

After the failed tender, the government decided to merge with the loss-making state-run telecom company . In the past, the performance of in implementing BharatNet projects under the CPSU-led model had been poor because of its financial condition.

CMD PK Purwar, when asked about the probability of meeting the 2025 rural broadband deadline, sought government hand-holding while emphasizing that its not a commercial venture.

BharatNet is funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), which gets part of private telcos money in a revenue-sharing arrangement. BSNL, as the custodian of the USO Fund corpus of over Rs 58,000 crore, said it would ensure that all such assets are made available to all service providers on arms-length principle.



Another industry expert told Business Standard on the condition of anonymity that realistic plans and budgets may improve implementation on the ground.

He said the merger could work conceptually but BSNL will face challenges in running a high-technology customer-facing service competently post the merger.

With experts being skeptical, it is anyones guess as to whether the merger would lead to BharatNet programme being implemented in a better way.
The SIIS 2022 conference would be held in Hong Kong from April 23-24 expanding on 4 topics of social impact investment, ESG, carbon neutrality and Metaverse & NFT, discussing and highlighting actions and solutions from business and industry, globally renowned capital management institutions, private investment, NGOs and the high-end technology community in more than 12 panel discussion, all available online through global streaming.

Not long ago, a plan of action containing 17 goals for people, planet and prosperity is announced in the UN headquarter.

We can be the first generation to succeed in ending poverty; just as we may be the last to have a chance of saving the planet. The world will be a better place in 2030 if we succeed in our objectives. Said the plan dated 2015.

With 2030 is only 8 years away, it is high time to revisit the SDG17. More importantly, in view of the changing world landscape in 2022, we have all agreed to set the theme of the Social Impact Investment & Sustainability Conference 2022 as solidarity and action, said Dr. Luo Xiang, Co-chair of Social Impact Investment & Procurement Foundation, Former Country Director (China) of United Nations Office for Project Services(UNOPS).

As former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, unfortunately we have only one planet. We are now at a critical point, more than ever, we anticipate and welcome global solidarity and action. It is our hope that the prospective, empowering and down-to-earth panel discussions in our summit would be an inspiration for action, said Luo.

The audience could be expectant of a rare combination from the international political circle, business, industry, NGO and even artists, including keynote speakers such as BAN Ki-moon, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Yukio HATOTYAMA, 93rd Prime Minister of Japan, and YANG Yuanqing, Chairman and CEO, Lenovo Group; MA Weihua, Member of UNDP SDG Impact Steering Group, Chairman of China Global Philanthropy Institute, Chairman of SusallWave Digital Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. and WANG Shi, Founder of Vanke Group, Founder of Destone Group and Chairman of Vanke Foundation, just to name a few.

Sustainable & collaborative investments

Sustainable investing continues to attract large amounts of capital as investors want to contribute to positive change, such as reversing climate change, promoting social justice, and advocating for better governance. According to Bloomberg, assets under management (AUM) that are invested globally in sustainability funds and portfolios could reach $53 trillion by 2025, accounting for more than one-third of projected total AUM of $140.5 trillion.

Although seldom touted, United Nation is one of the leading actors in sustainable investment and collaboration by the UN, government, civil society, and private sector investors. The UN Joint SDG Funds footprints in five nations include a development impact bond in Kenya, the investments include a platform that encourages healthy sexual and reproductive habits, and HIV prevention; Madagascar will use a variety of financial instruments, including a newly established sovereign fund, to finance renewable energy projects, and expand access to affordable, sustainable energy; North Macedonias newly created Green Financing Facility will help finance a transition to renewable and efficient energy for underserved households and businesses.

Meanwhile, Suriname will implement an innovative guarantee facility to ease access to credit, a business incubator, and a farmer-owned cooperative, to develop a sustainable and resilient value chain for the countrys pineapple industry.

And with a focus on empowering women and youth participation, Zimbabwe is set to launch a renewable energy fund to initiate the development of the countrys renewable energy system and infrastructure.

The portfolio is expected to leverage $5 billion toward the SDGs across the 10 countries involved.

Another heavy weight investor inside the UN system is the UN jointed pension fund of nearly $100 billion, and the representative of the Secretary-General, United Nations for Jointed Staff Pension Fund Pedro Antonio Guazo Alonso would talk about Principal of ESG investment driving the UN jointed pension fund. Dr. Jan MATTSSON, Former Under-Secretary- General of the United Nations, Chief Strategic Advisor of Social Impact Investing and Procurement Fund would speak about ESG Model of Impact Investing in the Emerging Markets.

Chinas untapped potential in carbon neutrality

In the fight against climate change and carbon neutrality, emerging countries are often faced with difficulties of lacking financial means, technology and talents, in which China could have some good practices to share. SIIS2020 has invited Dr. Tang Min, Chairman of Youcheng Foundation, former Chief Economist of Asian Development Bank, Ms. Ma Jinru, Vice President of Goldwind Science & Technology, a world-renowned wind turbine manufacturer, Ms. Wang Yang, President of Newlink, which is an energy industry of things (IoT) company with an aim of carbon-zero, Mr. Hu Haiping, Chairman of Hui Yang New Energy, which focuses on lithium battery, and Mr. Zhang Xiangdong, Founder of Zhenggu Organic Food, an advocate of zero-carbon consumption.

On the subject of carbon technology investment and the synergy of carbon trading and carbon tariff, SIIS 2022 has invited Mr. Li Junfeng, who was the first Director of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation and is currently the Chairman of Carbon Fund Sequoia Capital Fund; Mr. Zhang Xiaohua, Chief representative of China region of Climateworks Foundation; Oumar Sylla, Acting Director of the Regional Ofice for Africa UN Habitat; Professor Wang Dong, director, Shenzhen International Low Carbon Development among others.

To discuss impact investing and ESG, the panel speakers range from Eddie Chen, senior partner of Eurazeo Group, a French private equity fund with early exposure to China and currently managing a 1 billion Sino-French fund, to Fang Yujin, Managing partner, Fang Fund Partners, Oliver Niedermaier, Founder, Chairman and CEO of TAU Investment. Justin Kulla Partner at TZP Group CEO of BusinessBlocks and Mr. Wang Guangyu, Founder & President China Soft Capital Group,a private equity fund focusing on sustainable technology development in the Asian region, among others.

The discussion on ESG and social responsibility was organized by Satya S. Tripathi, Secretary-General, Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet & the Former UN Assistant Secretary-General, Fang Ke, Director General of Implementation Monitoring Department, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) , an intergovernmental regional multilateral development institution in Asia; Jaap Van Hierden,United Nations Resident Coordinator in Micronesia, including five Pacific Island countries; Mark Yeh, Head of China Asian Venture Philanthropy Network, Verna Lin from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a joint initiative of CERES and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Angelene Huang, founder of AFI, a non-governmental impact investment consortium, discussed how to balance the economic and social returns of global impact investment.

Start the discussion of governance on Metaverse

The metaverse session features global figures from investment, technology, virtual-real symbiosis scenarios and organisational models. The various technological innovations brought about by metaverse will certainly change the paradigm of economic growth, and it will have a significant impact on individual countries as well as industries to rethink their economic growth models.

It will also have very positive implications for the international community to seek common ground and view technological advances from a developmental and progressive perspective on the way people work, live, interact and organise themselves.

The forum will discuss the future of blockchain, Web 3.0 and artificial intelligence. The same challenges of sustainability is also viable in metaverse, such as carbon neutrality, clean energy and impact investment. The forum will focus on how impact investment can help the metaverse to develop in line with the goals of carbon neutrality and clean energy, and how to ensure the healthy and sustainable development of the metaverse.

About the SIIS 2002:

The conference consisted of one main forum and three high-end roundtable dialogues, covering ten topics including ESG, carbon neutral and metaverse related to government management, environment, social responsibility, investment and finance, manufacturing and production, research and technology, certification and trading, green consumption, sustainable procurement and global collaboration.

Time: 9:00-18:00 23-24 April 2022 Saturday & Sunday (UTC+8)

Format: Live Global Online Conference + Hong Kong On-site (subject to Social Distancing Measures)

About the organizer:

The Social Impact Investment and Procurement Foundation (SIIP) is dedicated to providing special purpose fund-raising, social impact investment, sustainable public procurement and technical support with experience, knowledge, management expertise to support the United Nations, international organizations and other partners in achieving the 17 global sustainable development goals within the framework of the United Nations sustainable development agenda.
An aerial photo taken on May 5, 2020, shows the Baidu Cloud Computing center in Yangquan city, Shanxi Province. Photo: VCG

Data /

Five things to know about Chinas mega East-West data center plan

China has long been known to undertake ambitious projects that seek to move resources right across the country to develop areas critical to the economy.

Typical of this is the West-East Electricity Transfer Project, which transmits electricity generated in hydropower plants in western China to its southern, central and northern regions. The project has generally been seen as a success, laying the foundation for Chinas rapid economic expansion in the early 2000s.

Looking to replicate its early successes, Beijing has initiated a similar national resource channeling project. This time around, it is targeting data centers, which are seen by Beijing as critical infrastructure for todays increasingly digitalized economy.

FINANCE & ECONOMY

Futures /

China to scrutinize foreign businesses in the new futures market

Foreign businesses will have to obtain regulatory approval to market, promote and sell futures products in China, according to an updated draft of the countrys first law governing the futures and derivatives market.

The draft law on futures and derivatives was submitted Monday to the National People's Congress Standing Committee, the national legislatures top decision-making body, for a third reading by lawmakers, usually the final step before a legislation is passed. The new law is expected to take effect by the end of the year.

Fintech /

Ant Group to acquire Singaporean payment platform 2C2P

Ant Group Co. Ltd. plans to acquire a Singaporean payment platform as the Chinese fintech giant looks to boost growth in the promising Southeast Asian market while its efforts to get back into domestic regulators good graces near completion.

The deal with 2C2P Pte. Ltd., announced Monday, will make Ant Group its majority shareholder upon completion. No figure was given for the cost of the acquisition. 2C2P operates in Asian markets including Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

FDI /

Chart of the Day: Foreign investment into China grew 25.6% in first quarter

Chinas foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow increased 25.6% year-on-year in the first quarter, in what the Ministry of Commerce described as a stable beginning for the year.

The Chinese mainland attracted 380 billion yuan ($60 billion) in FDI in the period, Shu Jueting, a Commerce Ministry spokesperson, said Thursday at a press conference. The indicator excludes foreign investment in banking, insurance and securities.

Quick hits /

Chinas central bank pledges support for businesses amid Covid

China GDP forecast cut at UBS, Barclays and Standard Chartered

Opinion: China is still investible, but skills needed to succeed have changed

BUSINESS & TECH

Employees stock the shelves of a supermarket in Shanghai's Fengxian district on April 12. Photo: The Paper

Shopping /

Shanghai supermarkets begin to reopen, though Covid curbs keep many staff at home

After weeks of food shortages in one of Chinas wealthiest metropolises, supermarkets and grocery stores in Shanghai are gradually returning to business, even as pandemic controls prevent them from being properly staffed.

As of Friday, 1,011 major grocery outlets in Shanghai have resumed operations, Liu Min, the deputy director of the citys commerce commission, said Saturday at a press conference. Liu said the city has been pushing forward the resumption of operations since April 8.

The announcement came as the financial hub enters its fourth week of lockdowns. Shanghai reported more than 20,000 local infections for 12 consecutive days until the daily caseload dipped just under that threshold Monday.

Academic library /

Chinas top science academy scraps subscription to biggest research database over high prices

Several research institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) sent internal emails saying that theyre suspending the use of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the countrys biggest academic online library, Caixin learned.

The institutes are instead using the research databases of Wanfang Data and CQVIP in CNKIs place, according to the emails seen by Caixin.

Autos /

Top automaker SAIC moves to resume production in Shanghai

Shanghai-based automobile assembly and parts manufacturing units of SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd. started stress tests to resume production after nearly three weeks of disruption caused by a citywide Covid lockdown, the countrys largest automaker told Caixin Monday.

SAIC Motor and its units including SAIC Volkswagen, SAIC General Motors Corp., Huayu Automotive Systems Co. Ltd. and SAIC Anji Logistics Co. Ltd. started preparing to restart operations, focusing on measures to ensure personnel and supply chains under closed-loop management with virus-control measures, SAIC Motor said.

Quick hits /

China meets with foreign chambers as lockdowns hit business

Chinas coal and gas boom may help ease global energy crisis

Tech Insider /

Ant buys Singapore fintech, Didi sets delisting vote date

GALLERY

Guangzhou middle school pupils go back to school

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The U.S. Department of Justices (DOJ) China Initiative, launched on Nov. 1, 2018, was designed to identify, investigate, and counter threats to U.S. national security posed by China. The announcement marked a broader change by the Trump Administration in enforcement actions against Chinese companies and individuals. More specifically, the China Initiative was meant to address threats to U.S. national security arising from the unlawful (and lawful) transfer of U.S. intellectual property  especially technology  via economic espionage, hacking, theft of trade secrets, and other unlawful actions. While many of the ten points under the Initiative were not new, the focus of a criminal justice and enforcement initiative on a single country was unprecedented, and many argue this directly led to some of the failings of the Initiative that came later.

Under the Initiatives umbrella, DOJ initiated more than 75 cases, accusing defendants of a variety of crimes including fraud, economic espionage, trade secret theft, and corruption. However, contrary to China Initiatives stated purpose, only around 30% of the cases involved allegations against PRC government agents, while many others instead targeted professors, engineers, and other professionals who retained ties to Chinese companies or academic institutions while working in the United States. An investigation conducted by the MIT Technology Review in December 2021 pointed out that the China Initiative had deviated from its original purpose of preventing illicit technology transfer to China, and instead increasingly focused on individual academics and researchers of Chinese descent in cases involving no allegation of theft or illicit transfer of intellectual property. These individual prosecutions raised widespread public skepticism about the Initiatives effectiveness and actual purpose, with some critics suggesting that the China Initiative was tantamount to blatant racial profiling and reflected bias within the U.S. Government against Asian-Americans and Chinese nationals. Some compared the China Initiative to notorious racist episodes such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the mistreatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, and McCarthyism.

Among all these doubts, the critiques from academia have been especially fierce. As of June 2021, DOJ has brought 23 criminal cases against university professors and researchers, only two of whom were accused of economic espionage. The remainder were prosecuted for not disclosing their connections with Chinese academic institutions or other entities on certain application materials submitted for U.S. government funding. As an example, DOJ accused Anming Hu, an associate professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, of hiding his interactions with Beijing University of Technology when he sought government funding for a nanotechnology project funded by NASA. After the trial began in February 2020, DOJ posted Hus case on its website as a victory for the China Initiative, and Hu was subsequently fired by the University of Tennessee. In September 2021 though, Hu was acquitted of all charges. There was no evidence presented that the defendant ever collaborated with a Chinese university in conducting NASA-funded research, or used facilities, equipment or funds from a Chinese university in the course of such research, wrote Judge Thomas A. Varlan in his opinion, which held that no rational jury could find Hu guilty and set Hu free.

Hus case is not an exception. China Initiative cases frequently ended in failure and its focus has been sharply criticized by university faculties and Asian-American advocates as ensnaring innocent researchers in investigations and prosecutions that damage both individual reputations as well as academic and scientific collaboration between the two countries. In September 2021, a group of 177 Stanford faculty members sent an open letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland calling for an end to the China Initiative because it had disproportionately targeted researchers of Chinese origin. Indeed, if proven, this alone would raise constitutional issues in all China Initiative cases.

After widespread criticism and repeated failures in court, DOJ announced in November 2021 that it would conduct an internal review of the China Initiative. Soon after, 20 China Initiative cases were abruptly removed from the DOJ website without explanation. On February 23, 2022, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, the new head of the DOJ National Security Division, announced that the China Initiative was not the right approach to counter U.S. national security threats, adding that the failed cases created an absolutely unacceptable perception that the government applies undue scrutiny to people who are ethnically Chinese or have ties to the PRC.

With the end of the China Initiative, AAG Olsen announced a new Nation-State Threats Strategy as an alternative approach to address threats from not just one nation, but rather from a range of countries to include China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The new Nation-State Threats Strategy will be informed by three strategic imperatives:

1. Defend core national security interests and protect sensitive information and resources. DOJ will continue to investigate and prosecute espionage, export control and sanctions violations, and interference with U.S. critical infrastructure.

2. Protect U.S. economic security and prosperity, including key technologies, private information about Americans, and supply chains.

3. Defend U.S. democratic institutions and values.

To achieve these goals, the DOJ will take several actions, including:

1.DOJ will use all the legal tools to investigate and prosecute crimes sponsored by hostile governments and their agents. This includes prosecuting state agents for espionage, hacking campaigns against our government and the private sector, and the repression of critics, as well as efforts to manipulate public discourse in the U.S.

2.In addition to the criminal enforcement, DOJ will apply civil and administrative tools to mitigate threats from foreign investment activity and foreign interests that seek to secretly influence public opinion in the U.S.

3.DOJ will support broader whole-of-government efforts  which include diplomatic engagement, the use of economic tools, and resilience building in communities within the United States and abroad  to address these threats.

It is worth noting that the end of the controversial China Initiative will not be the end of U.S. enforcement actions focused on Chinese individuals and companies. Far from it. The new Nation-Threat Strategy still regards the PRC threats as more brazen and more damaging than ever before. AAG Olsen maintains that the PRC government and its agents remain a long-term law enforcement priority, accusing the PRC government of threatening U.S. security through espionage, theft of trade secrets, malicious cyber activity, transnational repression, and other tactics.

Many of the enforcement trends seen in the past five years involving China will continue and perhaps even expand. Compared to the China Initiative, which focused on protecting intellectual property and trade secrets, the nascent Nation-State Threat Strategy significantly expands its enforcement scope to broader economic and ideological interests. Although the Nation-Threat Strategy is alleged to be focused on the actions of the PRC (and other governments) and their agents  not persons of Chinese citizenship or Chinese descent  employees of government-owned companies and scholars from PRC universities have often been accused of being agents of the Chinese government. Moreover, in the past few years, the U.S. government has used many government tools outside of criminal prosecution, for example by adding many Chinese companies to various restrictions lists, such as the Entity List, on the grounds that U.S. interests are being threatened. Chinese companies and individuals on these sanctions and export control lists could face additional scrutiny from U.S. enforcement officials and be considered as potential enforcement targets of the Nation-Threat Strategy. Considering DOJs previous mistakes in the China Initiative, other Chinese companies or Chinese citizens, even those with no ties to the PRC government, could be falsely targeted for various types of enforcement actions as the Nation-Threat Strategy expands and develops.

On the other hand, the China Initiative mainly used criminal prosecution as law enforcement tool, while the Nation-State Threat Strategy would have a broader and more powerful arsenal of law enforcement tools. Another trend of the past few years that will continue is joint U.S. law enforcement actions across multiple federal agencies (e.g., Treasury, Commerce, DOJ etc.) and across multiple jurisdictions both inside the U.S. and globally. This redoubled emphasis is in line with the Biden Administrations policy focus, which has repeatedly emphasized the importance of strengthening interdepartmental and intergovernmental collaboration in anti-corruption and other law enforcement areas. Key Administration officials have stated on multiple occasions that, to maximize U.S. interests and the effect of U.S. enforcement actions, the U.S. government will use diplomatic tools to drive U.S. allies to cooperate with the U.S. enforcement actions. As the Nation-State Threat Strategy includes economic and diplomatic tools in its enforcement toolbox, the U.S. government will have the ability to attack potential threats from wider perspectives and in more regions, which will bring greater risks to China and Chinese companies. Arguably, this approach will be more effective than the old China Initiative under the Trump Administration which often acted unilaterally and without any form of global coordination. Now, Chinese companies targeted by the U.S. can expect a much greater likelihood that they will simultaneously face similar restrictions and enforcement from the EU, the U.K., and even Asia-Pacific allies of the U.S. This trend of global coordination is of course a key piece of the sanctions imposed by so many nations against Russia in recent weeks.

Because of the recent Russia-Ukraine war, NATO member countries are to some extent shifting their attention to Russia. It is foreseeable that Russia and its associated entities will be the first targets under the Nation-State Threat Strategy. As the U.S. government has repeatedly warned, it is highly concerned that Chinese entities will help Russia to evade sanctions. If a Chinese entity or person with U.S. ties is found to have aided actions to evade U.S. sanctions, the U.S. government may criminally prosecute not only the companies, but also may target individuals deemed to have been responsible and directly involved. This may include a Chinese company that simply imports products of U.S. origin or clears a U.S. dollar transaction via a U.S. correspondence bank. As the Ukraine situation intensifies, the U.S. government is reportedly watching very closely those non-U.S. entities that continue interacting with parts of the Russian economy that have been sanctioned by the United States, or deal in those U.S. exports that have been banned from Russia. Chinese companies are surely no stranger to the various measures the U.S. government has adopted to enforce its sanctions and export control programs, given the high-profile enforcement against ZTE and Huawei, as well as the aborted extradition of Meng Wanzhou, in relation to their alleged roles in violations of Iran sanctions.

In the current stage of U.S. sanctions against Russia, the enforcement focus has already been directed at companies related to the Russian supply chain. According to the Russia Foreign-Direct Product Rules issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Feb. 24, any party with the knowledge that a foreign-produced item being produced with U.S. content will ultimately be reexported to Russia, may be punished if done without an exporting license administrated by U.S. Commerce Departments Bureau of Industry and Security; the focus is on whether the item is a direct product of restricted U.S. software and technology or produced by a complete plant or major component of a plant that itself is the direct product of such U.S.-origin technology or software. Given the expected focus on Russia and Russia-related entities, Chinese entities should evaluate very carefully their potential risks regarding their Russian-related businesses.

There is a broad consensus among U.S. politicians that China is and will be the greatest threat to long-term U.S. interests, and the Russia-Ukraine war will not reverse the current PRC-centric enforcement trend in the U.S. This will cross multiple regulatory regimes in the U.S. government, including a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States of Chinese inbound investment, evolving export controls on technology, sanctions enforcement, and strict enforcement of any violations of these regimes. Even Chinese companies without Russian-related business must not relax their vigilance. Indeed, there may be little change except for the re-focus on Chinese companies and company executives rather than individual professors and researchers. And the enforcement actions taken now may be ultimately much more effective and damaging for the targets due to the multilateral and targeted approach of this Administration as described above. The Nation-State Threat regime continues to target China as an enforcement priority alongside other nations, but not so prominently as to cause constitutional and societal skepticism within the U.S. In conclusion, Chinese individuals and entities with ties to the U.S. should take advantage of the short breathing space as one initiative dies but another comes to life and take precautions to prevent future risks. As the old saying in the United States goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Wade Weems, a former prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, and Chang Liu are both lawyers specializing in government enforcement defense from Kobre & Kim LLP, a global law firm with exclusive focus on international disputes and investigations. Kairu Huang is a specialist analyst at Kobre & Kim LLP.

The views and opinions expressed in this opinion section are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the editorial positions of Caixin Media.

If you would like to write an opinion for Caixin Global, please send your ideas or finished opinions to our email: opinionen@caixin.com

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Photo: The Canadian Press Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes a long-term care announcement at the Golden Age Club in Dalhousie, N.B. during a post-budget tour on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Canada will send heavy artillery to Ukraine, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday as he praised the embattled country's fight for democratic values.

Trudeau said he has been in close contact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and "were very responsive to what it is that they need most specifically."

He promised more details on the pledge in the days to come.

Ukrainians have "fought like heroes" against Russian invaders, Trudeau said in Dalhousie, N.B., where he made a long-term care funding announcement.

"Theyre fighting for the values that underpin so many of our free, democratic societies," he said. "Which is why the world needs to continue to step up, why Canada is continuing to stand with Ukraine  to stand against Russia, but also ensure that this conflict doesnt escalate to elsewhere."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a tweet Tuesday that his country will be supplying armoured vehicles to Ukraine, following a call with Zelenskyy. "Along with allies, we are looking into supplying additional heavy materiel," Rutte wrote.

Trudeau spoke with NATO and European leaders Tuesday at a virtual meeting organized by U.S. President Joe Biden.

The group discussed its ongoing support for Ukraine and economic sanctions against Russia, and committed to continue working with and through the EU, G7 and NATO, according to the White House.

Canada imposed sanctions Tuesday on another 14 Russians with close ties to President Vladimir Putin, including his two adult daughters, Maria Vorontsova, 36, and her 35-year-old sister Katerina Tikhonova.

The federal government says they face sanctions as close associates of Putin who are complicit in Russia's unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine.

"This Russian regime and its associates need to continue to be held accountable for their actions," Trudeau said.

Global Affairs Canada said in a news release that a report delivered by Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe experts last week "confirmed that the Russian forces are committing serious atrocities and human rights violations in Ukraine, including war crimes and likely crimes against humanity."

The United States and European Union have targeted the sisters and other Putin family members, saying they believe the Russian leader has hidden assets with them.

Putin is extremely private about his personal life, avoiding mention of his children in public.

I never discuss my family with anyone, Putin told reporters at a 2015 news conference, according to the BBC.

Putin married Lyudmila Shkrebneva in the 1980s when he was a KGB agent and she was an Aeroflot flight attendant. They divorced three decades later.

Oldest daughter Maria is a medical researcher and reportedly a businesswoman and developer.

Younger daughter Katerina was a competitive dancer turned tech developer, appearing publicly at performances and in occasional tech conferences.

So far, sanctions have not been imposed on the woman named in news reports as Putins longtime romantic partner. Photos from public appearances document years of Putin beaming at Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast.

Kabaeva became a lawmaker in the Duma and later a board member of a Russian national media company, whose news outlets have promoted Russias invasion of Ukraine. As British tabloids noted, Kabaevas photo and name recently disappeared from the website of the National Media Group as sanctions on Putins intimates neared.

Following Russia's attack that began Feb. 24, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 700 individuals and entities from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Last week, sanctions targeted organizations that have provided support to the Russian military  directly or indirectly  including the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Integral SPB and Shipyard Vympel JSC.

The EU has introduced a series of sanctions as well, targeting Russias lucrative energy industry with an embargo on coal imports, along with a transaction ban on four key Russian banks representing 23 per cent of market share in the Russian banking sector.

The 27-nation bloc also banned vessels registered under the Russian flag from EU ports, with an exception for agricultural and food products, humanitarian aid and energy.

Since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, Canada has levied sanctions on more than 1,100 individuals and entities.
Photo: Pxfuel

The federal government is seeking feedback from the public as it considers regulations on loud watercraft.

While federal regulations require all power boats to have a muffler, there are no specific standards for the performance of that muffler or engine noise emission limits.

These gaps have led to concerns that vessel engine noise sometimes exceeds acceptable levels, said Transport Canada.

Police have also noted that its hard to enforce the current requirements as they lack the technical expertise needed to identify whether a muffler is properly equipped or not.

The federal Lets Talk Transportation website is accepting opinions on the subject until May 13.

The government is proposing one of five options, each with their own advantages and drawbacks.

Make no changes

Clarify and modernize existing requirements

Introduce performance standards for manufacturers to follow

Introduce performance standards for vessel operators to follow

Introduce performance standards for manufacturers and vessel operators to follow

You can register to share your opinion here.
Photo: Canadian Armed Forces

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn't going to provide more details about his government's pledge to send a new round of military aid to Ukraine  at least not yet.

The prime minister said Wednesday that he doesn't want to outline the specifics of what will be sent, and where the government is getting it from, because of security concerns.

Trudeau said he wants to be careful about what he publicizes about the delivery of military equipment in the context of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

He said he hopes to share more in the coming days about what is being sent to Ukraine.

"People understand that delivery of military equipment in the context of an illegal war by Russia is something that we have to be a little bit careful about  what we broadcast and publicize and what we're doing," Trudeau said during a media availability in Kitchener, Ont.

"But in the coming days, I certainly hope to be able to share more about what is being sent and what was sent."

Trudeau first announced Tuesday that Canada will send heavy artillery to Ukraine in response to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's request.

Earlier this month, Zelenskyy released a list of equipment he said the Ukrainian military needed to fight Russia, including 155-millimetre heavy artillery guns and ammunition.

The Liberal government has previously dipped into the Canadian Armed Forces inventory to provide lethal aid to the Ukrainian military as it fights a Russian invasion that started in late February and has so far killed thousands of people.

But Defence Minister Anita Anand has suggested the military's spare inventory is tapped out, and that the government  which set aside $500 million in military assistance for Ukraine in its latest budget  planned to buy equipment from vendors.

Trudeau said that while the government was pledging more equipment for Ukraine, it would ensure the Canadian military could contribute fully to NATO operations in Europe.

"As we support Ukraine, including with military equipment and munitions, we are also making sure that Canada continues to have the capacity to operate  not just to defend Canada but to participate fully in NATO operations as well," he said.
Re. Thomas James McLuskey's letter Keep refugees in Europe (Castanet, April 20)

In response to Thomas McLuskey about keeping refugees in Europe, I would like to say this as he asked for feedbackmost refugees do want to stay in Europe because they hope to go back home one day.

Others want to come to Canada to be with other families already here and some want to come because they know we are a safe, free country that, so far, has not seen war on our land and they see a future here.

The Canadian government has given them two-year visas with the hope they will really want to go back home. Ukraine has been fighting off the Russians, especially in the east since 2016.

In 1956, when the Russians rolled their tanks into Budapest, Hungary in an invasion, my in-laws, with just the clothes on their backs, a three-year-old and a 18-month-old (my now husband) walked to Italy to a Red Cross camp. The horror stories of Russian brutality they told haunt me forever.

Canada took in 40,000 refugees at that time. The U.S. and Australia took refugees as well. They chose the line to come Canada. They made a great life in Canada, but in their case, could not go back to Hungary for many years as they would have been thrown in jail or killed as traitors for fleeing by the then Communist-controlled Hungary.

So, if Russia wins (the war), those Ukrainians could face the same reality and as a Canadian, I welcome them (here with) safe haven.

We need to have compassion for refugees as we can all trace our ancestry to either an immigrant or refugee. That is what makes Canada great, our unique diversity, as each person brings a different culture and perspective and gratefulness to be in a safe, free, country to fulfill their dreams for themselves and their children, just like we do as Canadians.

I would not have my loving husband of 45 years, my two beautiful daughters or my two awesome grandsons if my in-laws stayed in Europe.

And for that I am grateful Canada took them in.

Carole Kormendy
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The twenty one General Councils are presented here in their chronological order. Several General Councils were held in the same places at different times and so are named first, second, etc., after the particular place where they were held. Of necessity only a very general statement can here be made of the various actions of the Councils and we limit this to the more important doctrinal questions.

The First Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) This Council, the first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church, was held in order to bring out the true teaching of the Church as opposed by the heresy of Arius. It formally presented the teaching of the Church declaring the divinity of God the Son to be one substance and one nature with that of God the Father. There were twenty canons drawn up, in which the time of celebrating Easter was clarified and a denunciation of the Meletian heresy made, also various matters of discipline or law were dealt with and several decisions advanced. From this Council we have the Nicene Creed.



The First Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381) Again the true faith was maintained against the Arians. Answer was also given against the Apollinarian and Macedonian heresies. In answering the latter which denied the Godhead of the Holy Spirit, the dogma of the Church was again stated and the words inserted into the Nicene Creed declaring the truth that the Holy Spirit proceeded from both the Father and the Son.



The Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431) The third General Council of the Church defined the Catholic dogma that the Blessed Virgin is the Mother of God and presented the teaching of the truth of one divine person in Christ. The Council was convened against the heresy of Nestorius.



The Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) Held twenty years after the third General Council, this was to answer the Eutychian or Monophysite heresy and affirm the doctrine of two natures in Christ. This followed as a result of the growing controversy among the early theologians who were being led into error by a confused idea of the one divine person being both God and man or that there are two natures, human and divine, in the one person of the Word.



The Second Council of Constantinople (A.D. 553) This Council is sometimes referred to as the Council of the Three Chapters because its chief work was to condemn the writings and teaching of Theodore of Mopsuestia, the erroneous portions in the writings of Theodoret, and the letters of Ibas. It reaffirmed the dogmas stated by the third and forth General Councils.



The Third Council of Constantinople (A.D. 680) This Council gave the definition of two wills in Christ as the true teaching against the Monothelite heresy which claimed only one will.



The Second Council of Nicaea (A.D. 757) Here was defined the veneration due to holy images, that we give honor only to those they represent and not to the image itself as such; it presented the answer to the image breakers or iconoclasts. It also gave twenty-two canons regarding the clergy.



The Forth Council of Constantinople (A.D. 869) This was a disciplinary Council to heal the threat of schism which was separating the East and Rome. This was done by deposing the usurper, Photius, and restoring the patriarch, Ignatius. The Greeks finally refused acknowledgment of the Council.



The First Council of the Lateran (A.D. 1123) The Lateran is the Cathedral Basilica of Rome. This was the first General Council held in the West. It was convened to confirm the peace between the Church and State and to give final settlement to the problem of Investiture between Emperor Henry V and the Holy See. It was agreed that the Church has all rights to choose and consecrate prelates and invest them, and Church goods were restored to the Church.



The Second Council of the Lateran (A.D. 1139) This Council took disciplinary action and excommunicated Roger of Sicily who championed the anti-pope. Anacletus II, and imposed silence on Arnold of Brescia. Canons against simony, incontinence, breaking the "Truce of God," dueling or group feuding were advanced, and regulations concerning clerical dress were given.



The Third Council of the Lateran (A.D. 1179) After forty years again the General Council took actions against simony and abuses of the clergy. Also defense of the true teaching was made in answer to the Albigenses and Waldenses.



The Forth Council of the Lateran (A.D. 1215) Besides disciplinary action the seventy decrees of this Council answered prevailing heresies, gave pronouncements in favor of the Crusades, prescribed the duty of annual confession and Easter Communion, offered additional definitions on the absolute unity of God, and presented definition of the doctrine of the Church regarding sacraments, and in particular that the bread and wine, by transubstantiation, become the Body and Blood of Christ.



The First Council of Lyons (A.D. 1245) This Council was called to bring disciplinary action against Emperor Frederick II and at the same time sentence of the solemn renewal of excommunication was passed on the emperor.



The Second Council of Lyons (A.D. 1274) Effort was made at this Council under Pope Gregory X to bring about union between the East and West. It also defined that the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son. The discipline governing the election of the pope was formulated.



The Council of Vienne (A.D. 1311 and 1312) The purpose of this Council was to settle the affair of the Templars, to advance the rescue of the Holy Land, and to reform abuses in the Church. The doctrinal decrees of the Council were: condemnation that the soul is not "in itself the essentially the form of the human body",; that sanctifying grace is infused into the soul at baptism; and denial that a perfect man is not subject to ecclesiastical and civil law.



The Council of Constance (A.D. 1414 - 1418) This Council can be regarded as ecumenical only in so far as it was in union with the pope. The heretical teaching of John Huss and Wyclif were answered. It was here that communion to the laity under one species was prescribed as a cure to the make it understood that the entirety of Jesus Christ is present under both or either species. In transubstantiation all of the bread is changed into the body, blood, soul and Divinity of Christ and all of the wine is changed into the body, blood, soul and Divinity of Christ and reception of either species was reception of the total; body, blood, soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.



The Council of Ferrara-Florence (A.D. 1438 - 1439) This was convened to unite the Greeks and other oriental sects with the Latin Rite. It was defined that "the Holy Apostolic See and Roman Pontiff hold the primacy over all the world; that the Roman Pontiff is the successor of Peter, prince of the Apostles; that he is the true vicar of Christ, the head of the whole Church, the Father and teacher of all Christians."



The Fifth Council of the Lateran (A.D. 1512 - 1517) It defined the Pope's authority over all Councils and condemned errors regarding the human soul, namely, that the soul with its intellectual power is mortal.



The Council of Trent (opened under Pope Paul III in 1545, continued under Pope Julius III, and concluded under Pope Pius IV (A.D. 1563) The doctrine of original sin was defined; the decree on Justification was declared against the Lutheran errors that faith alone justifies and that the merits of Christ; the doctrine of the sacraments of Penance and Extreme Unction was defined; decrees relating to the censorship of books were adopted; the doctrine of Christian marriage was defined and decrees on Purgatory and indulgences adopted. Besides many refutations against the so called reformers were given and measures of true reform advanced.



The First Vatican Council (opened under Pope Pius IX in 1869 and adjourned on October 20, 1870) This General Council was never closed officially, but was suspended. Technically, it continued until it was closed by Pope John XXIII. Of this council the most important decree was that of the primacy of the pope and of papal infallibility.



The Second Vatican Council (opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962, it continued under Pope Paul VI until the end in 1965) Several important constitutions and decrees were promulgated, the most far reaching being the Constitution on Sacred Liturgy.

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Peruvian cement market expands 8% in March

ICR Newsroom By 20 April 2022

Cement dispatches in Peru increased eight per cent YoY to 1.173Mt in March 2022, according to the countrys cement association, Asocem. In March 2021 dispatches were at a level of 1.089Mt.



Domestic cement production by Asocem members advanced 11 per cent YoY to 1.121Mt in March 2022 when compared to 1.006Mt in March 2021. Clinker production increased by a third to 939,000t from 708,000t over the same period.



The countrys cement output was supplemented by 50,000t of cement imports in March 2022, down 62 per cent YoY from 133,000t. Of this total, 44,000t was shipped from Vietnam and an additional 6000t from neighbouring Chile.



Clinker imports decreased 39 per cent to 156,000t in March 2022 from 256,000t in the equivalent period of 2021.



Cement exports from Peru saw a 14 per cent YoY uptick to 18,000t in March 2022 from 16,000t in March 2021 while clinker exports declined by 58 per cent to 30,000t from 70,000t.



January-March 2022

In the first quarter of 2022 domestic cement dispatches increased 3.345Mt, a 4.1 per cent advance when compared with the equivalent quarter of the previous year when dispatches reached 3.212Mt. Of this total, Asocem members delivered 3.131Mt, up 5.7 per cent from 2.963Mt in the 1Q21.



Production by Asocem members increased 6.7 per cent to 3.228Mt in the 1Q22 from 3.023Mt in the 1Q21.

In addition, the market absorbed in the 1Q22 a total of 148,000t of cement imports, down 44.8 per cent when compared with a cement import volume of 268,000t in the 1Q21. Clinker imports during the January-March 2022 period decreased by 43.7 per cent to 348,000t from 618,000t in the equivalent period of the previous year.



Cement exports saw a 10.9 per cent uptick to 51,000t in the first three months of 2022 from 46,000t in the 3M21. Clinker export volumes improved by 43.4 per cent to 152,000t in the 3M21 from 106,000t.

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Dozens of Future Syria Party members gathered to make a statement by party leader Ibrahim Al-Qaftan.

Its text stated: "The Turkish occupation state is still continuing its hostile and aggressive approach to northeastern Syria. For several days, the Turkish occupation has intensified its attacks on the areas of Tal Tamr and Zarkan in northeastern Syria, taking advantage of the world's preoccupation with the Russian-Ukrainian war. It is also working to promote a new military operation towards our regions."

The statement pointed out, "The Turkish escalation falls under one framework, which is to strike any democratic experiment wherever it is found, as it fears these models. Therefore, for several days it has been carrying out intense air bombardment and ground attack on the legitimate defense areas in the Kurdistan region of Iraq with the aim of occupying the north of Iraq to annex it to Turkey and extend its control." The region and its expansionist Ottoman ambitions, thus violating all human and moral values, working to sever ties between the peoples of the region, in clear cooperation with the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and pressure on the Iraqi government to build the isolation wall around the Shingal region.

He explained, "Turkey's goals are the same in both Iraq and Syria, and this has become clear through the Turkification in Afrin, Jarablus and Al-Bab in northern Syria, and it has worked to transform the leaders of the Syrian opposition into mercenaries to act with them as it pleases, thus eliminating the Syrians' dream of achieving freedom and dignity.

The statement added, "its blatant interference in Iraq and the Kurdistan region comes with the aim of striking security and stability in the region and extending its control and hegemony in the Middle East."

He stressed, "We in the Future Syria Party appeal to all the peoples of the region and the world powers to be one hand against the Turkish army's attacks in northeastern Syria and northern Iraq."

He called "the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq not to be drawn into the agendas of the Turkish occupation state, and we also appeal to the United Nations and human rights organizations to pressure the Turkish occupying state to curb its colonial policies in the region and the world."

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Choral Arts of Chattanooga and East Lake Expression Engine, a Chattanooga-area children's choir, will present an evening of Hispanic American Folk Music on May 5 at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be held at Second Presbyterian Church, 700 Pine St.

The centerpiece of the concert will be Ariel Ramirez Misa Criolla, supported by Latin American choral love songs by varied composers. East Lake Expression Engine will perform several Spanish and other international songs. Choral Arts collaborative pianist Jason DuRoy will perform "Tangos Brasileiros" by Ernesto Nazareth and the romantic Goyesca No. 3, "El Fandango de Candil," by Enrique Granados as a prelude to the concert.

Tickets are available at the door and online. Adult admission is $15 and student admission is $10. Those under 10 years of age are admitted free.

Visit ChoralArtsofChattanooga.weebly.com for tickets and season information.






Parkridge Medical Center staff, supporters and survivors met with Donate Life representatives to honor those touched by organ donation for National Donate Life Month. According to Donate Life Tennessee, seven organ donors provided 20 life-saving commitments at Parkridge Medical Center in 2021. More than 500 lives were enhanced from three dozen tissue donors as well.Parkridge Medical Center is committed to supporting organ donors and their families through this difficult process, said Deborah Deal, chief nursing executive for Parkridge Health System.We are proud to work alongside Donate Life to provide life-saving donations to people in our community and around the region. We encourage others to register as donors and consider living donation as well.The Health Resources and Services Administration estimates every nine minutes a person is added to the national transplant waiting list.Find out more about organ donation in Tennessee by visiting donatelifetn.org.
Mainstreet Clevelands 8th Downtown Dine Around is set for Thursday, May 5 from 5-8 p.m.

"Its time for another helping of delicious food from downtown restaurants," organizers said. "Its your opportunity to taste great foods from 13 locally owned establishments.



"Downtown boasts locally owned and operated restaurants of variety and quality ranging from fine dining to a quick bite, from new businesses to historic locations. To showcase these delicious dining options 'Downtown Dine Around' offers an opportunity to check it all out for one low price. Enjoy food samples at each of 13 locations all within easy walking distance."



Participating locations include Biskit NV, Cleveland Coffee & Market, Cafe Roma, Catch Bar & Grill, CBC Cleveland, Caesars Catering at the Elks Lodge, Fork and Spoon, Lasaters Coffee & Tea, Little Diner on 1st, The Press, Stack Southern Bistro, Mash & Hops and 5 Point Cafe. Little Diner on 1st will be in a pop-up location near the Courthouse bandstand.



Live music fills the air with performers located on Ocoee Street, 1st Street, Broad Street and at First Street Square.



This is one of the favorite events of the year, as patrons enjoy a stroll through downtown while sampling foods at these great restaurants, said Sharon Marr, director of Mainstreet Cleveland. Downtown is thriving and Its exciting to have a record number of 13 locations on the ticket.



Retail stores are open for the evening and offering specials, including AR Workshop Cleveland, Billies Sweet Treats, Boutique Collective with - a first anniversary celebration, Hardwick & Co., Healing Springs Gifts, Hyderhangout Quilt Fabric & More, Isbill Floral Gallery, Moss Rose Art, Ocoee Cigar Lounge, Memory Wicks Candle Bar, Prior Attire, Project Free 2 Fly, Rebelle Beauty Bar & Boutique, Style Bar Boutique, Terra Running Company, The Bench Jeweler and The Small Town Girl Boutique.



Tickets are on sale for $30, and available at Cafe Roma, Catch Bar & Grill and Bank of Cleveland Main Office. This is a rain or shine event.



For more information on ticket delivery call Mainstreet Cleveland at 479-1000 or visit the Mainstreet Cleveland Facebook page, or on the web at www.mainstreetcleveland.com.
American Rivers on Tuesday named the Mississippi River one of Americas Most Endangered Rivers of 2022, highlighting the threats that habitat destruction and pollution, combined with climate impacts, pose to millions of people across the basin.

Nearly 40 percent of land in the continental United States drains into the Mississippi River, which faces urban and agricultural runoff, habitat loss and intensifying storms. The climate crisis is compounding these threats  more frequent and severe floods carry excess sediment and pollution off the land and into the river.

American Rivers and its partners called on Congress to pass legislation authorizing a new federal Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative to coordinate and increase resources for restoration and resilience opportunities up and down the Mississippi River corridor. The bill was introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota and original co-sponsors Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01), Rep. John Yarmuth (KY-03), Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (MS-02).

Just as the bills cosponsors represent the rivers extensive geography, so do the groups lining up to support it.

Organizations in each of the ten riverfront states are rallying behind this, said Kelly McGinnis, the national Mississippi River Network executive director. MRN is a lead organization in a collaborative effort, already 50 groups strong, backing the initiative.

To address the multitude of inter-related environmental issues along the Mississippi River, we need a coordinated, holistic approach, said Olivia Dorothy, American Rivers restoration director in East Moline, Il. At the moment, the restoration and resilience programs on the Mississippi River are disjointed and poorly coordinated.

"Other iconic water bodies have federal programs that support comprehensive restoration efforts, but not the Mississippi River, said Ms. Dorothy. The Mississippi River is Americas most famous and culturally significant river, and it is degrading due to climate change, habitat loss, invasive species and water pollution. This has real impacts on local economies, public safety and quality of life.

If passed, the MRRRI Act would authorize an estimated $300 million or more annually in funds to federal, state, tribal and community agencies and organizations to improve water quality, restore habitat and natural systems, reduce aquatic invasive species and build local resilience to natural disasters in and along the Mississippi River.

At least 25 percent of annual funding would be directed to projects in communities of color or low-income communities disproportionately impacted by ecological degradation, with an additional 10 percent directed to communities that experience persistent poverty.

Proponents cannot yet point to specific projects that the new federal initiative will support. And this, they say, is a good thing.

People from throughout the 10 river states and tribal nations will make these decisions together, said McGinnis.

While the bill calls for the Environmental Protection Agency to helm the new headwaters-to-Gulf program, it is not a regulatory program. MRRRI requires the EPA to work closely with other federal agencies, state and local decision-makers, scientific advisors, communities and the public to craft an action plan that guides investments according to publicly expressed and research-backed priorities.

According to the National Park Service, the Mississippi supports 879 wildlife species, and roughly 18 to 20 million Americans rely on it for drinking water. Green Lands Blue Waters researchers working throughout the Mississippi River Basin estimate that Delta wetlands, forests, coastal areas and agricultural lands provide flood and hurricane protection, fishery and recreation services worth anywhere from $12 to $47 billion annually in the Delta area alone.

The annual Americas Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.

The Mississippi River has previously appeared in this report in 1992, 1994 through 1996, 2001, 2004 and 2011. Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include the Upper Mississippi River (2019 and 2021), Lower Missouri River (2021), Big Sunflower River (2018 and 2020), Mississippi River Gorge (2018) and Buffalo National River (2017 and 2019).

Americas Most Endangered Rivers of 2022

#1 Colorado River

State: CO, UT, AZ, NV, CA, WY, NM, Mexico

Threat: Climate change, outdated water management

#2 Snake River

State: ID, WA, OR

Threat: Four federal dams

#3 Mobile River

State: AL

Threat: Coal ash contamination

#4 Maines Atlantic Salmon Rivers

State: ME

Threat: Dams

#5 Coosa River

State: TN, GA, AL

Threat: Agricultural pollution

#6 Mississippi River

State: MN, WI, IL, IA, MO, KY, TN, AR, MS, LA

Threat: Pollution, habitat loss

#7 Lower Kern River

State: CA

Threat: Excessive water withdrawals

#8 San Pedro River

State: AZ

Threat: Excessive water pumping; loss of Clean Water Act protections

#9 Los Angeles River

State: CA

Threat: Development, pollution

#10 Tar Creek

State: OK

Threat: Pollution


The store manager at Walgreens, 2104 McCallie Ave., told police that a black male came into the store and put four 16-oz. cans of Steel Reserve beer into his backpack, walked out of the store and left the scene on foot. Police were also informed that the man has prior history of shoplifting beer from this location.

* * *

A woman on Mountain Creek Road told police a Schwab investment transaction went through on her savings account with 1st Horizon Bank and then another transaction hit her savings account for $9,280 for CitiCard. She said she has not given her banking information to anyone. She said the bank will be returning the money to her account, but they are requesting a police report over these illegal transactions.

* * *

Officers responded to the 2500 block of Tunnel Boulevard in reference to a single-car traffic crash. Officers noticed a single vehicle that left the roadway and was in a ditch. The vehicle was a white Chevy Cavalier bearing TN tag. The driver refused medical attention or a wreck report, and had her own tow started.

* * *

A homeowner on Thornton Avenue told police that overnight someone ransacked their unlocked vehicle, but took nothing.

* * *



A woman on Calhoun Avenue told police she was in jail for six months, and while there, someone stole the TN tag off of her 2007 Chevrolet Suburban, which was parked in her yard the entire time.

* * *

A person on Vance Circle told police that someone, who appeared to be living in their car, was parked in a neighbor's yard and was walking around the residence. Police spoke to and identified the man, who said he was hired to do work on the residence. Police confirmed this with the homeowner.

* * *

While on routine patrol at 6000 E. Brainerd Road, police observed a man standing on the center concrete divider holding a cardboard sign. The man is aware it is illegal to panhandle and obstruct the traffic at this major intersection. The man apologized and had a casual conversation with the officer after he was checked for active warrants. He was given a choice of options for the violation, in which he asked to be cited to Sessions Court. After the conversation, police ultimately gave him a warning and explained he could not be at the intersection panhandling any further or police action would take place.

* * *

A woman called police to report that while driving her 2018 VW Passat on Highway 153, a truck owned by Fryar Trucking #44 had a rock fly from it and strike her vehicle. She said the rock did not cause any damage.

* * *



An employee at a business on Tennessee Avenue told police that a man was there and was scaring his employees with his presence. The employee said he gave the man a verbal trespassing warning. The man left the scene without issue.

* * *

A woman told police that her boyfriend was driving her vehicle (silver Volvo XC90, TN tag) when he stopped at a friend's house on Lake Haven Drive. She said when her boyfriend came back outside, the vehicle was gone. She said the vehicle was left running, with the key in the ignition. She said there was no damage, no dents and no stickers on the vehicle. The vehicle was entered into NCIC.

* * *

A loss prevention employee at Walmart, 8101 E Brainerd Road, told police two women stole $12 worth of items. The employee decided to not press charges. The women were trespassed from the property.

* * *

An employee at a jewelry store on E. Brainerd Road, told police that around 3 p.m. a white female wearing a mask and toboggan was looking at some items. When the clerk stepped away to get a measurement, they left the items sitting on the counter. The woman grabbed a one-carat diamond 18-carat gold ring ($5,500) and a 10-carat Herringbone gold necklace ($2,800) and ran out the door to a grey sedan.
A graduating student at Georgia Northwestern Technical College says her college career has also been an education for her daughter.Kristin Johnson, 33, started classes at GNTC in 2010; she previously earned phlebotomy technician and certified nursing assistant certifications from GNTC and will graduate in May with her associate degree in business healthcare technology specializing in compliance and reimbursement. She has attended classes on the Walker County Campus in Rock Spring.I did this for my six-year-old daughter, to show her it is never too late to complete a goal or to go back to school, she said.I have a long career in healthcare.I worked as a CNA for eight years and as a phlebotomist for two years, she said, adding that she had originally intended to become a registered nurse, but discovered the career wasnt the right fit for her while juggling her full-time job and attending CNA classes full-time.She was working in retail when she lost her job during the COVID-19 pandemic.Her instructors at GNTC pointed out she had a natural aptitude for medical coding, she said. When GNTC Instructor of Business Health Care Technology Gina Stephens told her about a job opening at Comprehensive Medical Solutions Inc. (CompMed), she leapt at the opportunity to work for the medical billing service.Medical coding is a much tougher field than many people realize, Ms. Stephens said. The conventions and guidelines just for diagnostic coding are 150 pages of rather dry reading. In addition, experienced coders must be able to defend their code selections in cases of audits, so communication skills are important.Coders must show attention to detail, have good computer skills, solve problems and be team players who can work with billers, physicians, patients and insurance companies, Ms. Stephens said.Becoming skilled at medical coding requires curiosity and a willingness to research incorrect codes. Kristin has shown herself willing to do the hard work necessary to master this challenging field, she said.Ms. Stephens characterized her teaching style as emphasizing knowledge over grades. She prefers that students make mistakes in the learning process, rather than negatively affecting patients by making the mistakes on the job.Falling down is part of learning, but not getting back up is failing, Ms. Stephens said.Ms. Johnson said since joining the CompMed team in December 2021, she has grown to love her coworkers and her job in which she follows up on denied medical claims to learn why they were denied and what documentation may need to be resent, recoded or adjusted. She said she cannot code until she completes her associate degree, but once she completes the degree, she will be coding full-time.This desire to keep learning and improving impressed CompMed so much that Ms. Johnson was named Team Member of the Month in March.Kristin is very driven. She wants to do things correctly and accurately, CompMed Director of Operations Valerie Sisson said. She wants to know when she makes a mistake so that she can make it right.Ms. Sisson expects Ms. Johnson will apply the same dedication and superior job performance when she starts coding.You will not fail if you keep trying, Ms. Johnson said.Ms. Johnson said she looks forward to coding full-time because as she handles that responsibility, she will learn in what area she wants to specialize within the coding field.Ive worked hard the last three years, she said, Im excited about graduating and actually becoming successful, getting a career for myself and creating a secure life for my daughter.One of my favorite quotes is that it is attitude, not aptitude, that determines altitude, Ms. Stephens said. It is especially gratifying when a student has both aptitude and a positive attitude as Kristin does, and it is paying off. I am eager to see what altitude she reaches as she is on the rise.
The ribbon cutting for a new playground in Red Bank beside the Community Center was held on Monday afternoon. The commissioners each praised the citys public works department for their help to build the playground that was made possible by a donation last year, from the Red Bank/ Soddy Daisy Charitable Foundation. Commissioner Ruth Jeno said that it fulfilled the vision of the late past Mayor Joe Glascock who sketched out the park 13 years ago. The play area is ADA compliant for children with disabilities.

The city received more grant money this year than usual, said Finance Director John Alexander. It was enough to trigger the need for a single audit that is required by the state of Tennessee when the value of grant expenditures exceeds $750,000 a year. We rarely trigger the need for this audit, he said. The commissioners authorized an agreement with Johnson, Murphey and Wright for the annual audit in the amount of $37,500 and additional $5,850 for the single audit.

The 2021 operating budget that started July 1, 2021 and that will end June 30, 2022 was amended Monday night to appropriate unbudgeted expenses and grant funding in the amount of $1,459,877. Mr. Alexander said this will account for the citys latest round of TDOT projects done with transportation improvement program (TIP) grants which pay 80 percent when the city agrees to match it with 20 percent of the cost of the project. TIP grants are a good buy, said Mr. Alexander. Several annual grants were also received by the police department this year that were 100 percent funded and needed no match from the city.

Another budget amendment was approved that will appropriate carry-over encumbrances and grant funding from the last fiscal year. The balance is available to spend until the money is all used, he said.

Red Bank also will receive $3,513,087 from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to help municipalities recover from the effects of the COVID pandemic. The council voted to accept the spending strategy for the money that was developed by the financial director and city manager with input from all the department heads. The first use of the money is planned for giving employee bonuses, however Mr. Alexander said that before actually spending it, the city would prefer to get a formal approval from the state, that the planned uses are acceptable for the conditions this money comes with.

In his report, City Manager Martin Granum said since October, the city, with help from MTAS (Municipal Technical Advisory Services) has been doing a wage and compensation study for Red Bank. That has been completed and Mr. Granum said that information will help to create the citys new budget that will include competitive wages. The city will also be updating its personnel manual this year. Mr. Granum attended the Tennessee City Manager Association meeting recently and said he learned of the importance of staying stay vigilant about how state level decisions will affect Red Bank. He said there is a need to stay engaged with organizations such as the small cities coalition, the Tennessee Municipal League and Tennessee City Manager Association to be aware of information that affects small cities. Red Bank is already taking steps to increase engagement with the community, he said, citing the recent open house held at city hall and the new monthly newsletter available to residents.

The city manager is renegotiating the cell tower lease and when it is presented to the commissioners, he said that it will include a new user. He announced that the planning commission meeting planned for Thursday has been cancelled due to the lack of issues ready for action.

The Red Bank Jubilee will be held Saturday, May 7, from 3-8 p.m. Commissioner Pete Phillips said there will be 42 vendors and five food trucks and there is room for more of each. There will be live music throughout the afternoon and evening, childrens activities, and a good time for all. The commissioner thanked all department heads for putting in so much time to benefit the city. He said they are who do the well-thought-out work, and the commissioners only approve it. He also thanked the public works department for helping build the new playground and for ordering a beautiful day for the ribbon cutting to open up the park.

In her report, Mayor Hollie Berry said voting locations on election day may be different than in the past. There are three in Red Bank, the Joe Glascock Community Center, 3620 Tom Weathers Dr., Calvary Baptist Church, 5201 Dayton Boulevard and the Disabled American Veterans building at 619 Memorial Drive.

She said the next food pantry will be Thursday at Red Bank United Methodist Church.

Vice Mayor Stefanie Dalton invited citizens of Red Bank to join in the city-wide cleanup day from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday. Food and coffee will be available for the volunteers.
The past days have witnessed accelerating events, especially in Southern Kurdistan, North and East Syria and Shengal, where the Turkish occupation state, with the participation of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, launched large-scale attacks against the legitimate defense areas in Southern Kurdistan. This attack was planned in advance, as the Foreign Relations Committee in the KCK revealed, on March 26, provided information about the existence of a joint plan between the Turkish occupation state and the Kurdistan Democratic Party to launch an attack on the legitimate defense areas.

The Turkish attack on April 18 began with intense bombing by planes on the village of Camoran located in the Jumanak district of Dohuk governorate, Tal FM and the vicinity of Sargul located in the Zap region.

The Turkish air attack was followed by a ground attack from the Turkish bases in Basur Kurdistan, and the transfer of soldiers from those bases and by planes to the legitimate defense areas, with the participation of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and the Peoples Defense Forces HPG responded to the joint attacks and as a result violent clashes took place there.

In conjunction with the attacks on the legitimate defense areas, the Turkish occupation army intensified its attacks against NE Syria, specifically against the areas of Tel Tamer, Zarghan and Ain Issa. In addition to the mobilization of mercenaries along the border strip between the occupied areas and the areas of northern and eastern Syria.

And after the joint attacks against the legitimate defense areas, ISIS mercenary cells moved in north and east Syria, where unknown persons (believed to be ISIS cells) detonated an explosive device in a car belonging to the Raqqa Military Council on April 18, while it was on patrol near the Roman road, east of Raqqa city, during which two fighters were injured and taken to the hospital and their health condition is stable, and the sleeper cells of ISIS mercenaries also moved in al-Hol Camp, and they killed 3 women

An IED was also found at the Kongra Star Center in Al-Darbasiyah district in Al-Hasakah canton, yesterday, Tuesday.

In a related context, ISIS mercenaries issued an audio version in which they announced the announcement of the so-called revenge operation for its leaders, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and al-Qurashi, who were killed in the previously occupied areas in Syria, under the name "The Battle of the Two Sheikhs".

Yesterday, Tuesday, the Special Forces of the Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria arrested a leader of ISIS mercenaries, who was carrying out kidnappings and planning attacks and assassinations in the al-Hol area, and was seized with documents and technical equipment in addition to weapons.

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They are going to have to have the Hamilton County Fair on the McDonald Farm this year and

it's

really going to be hard to get on to Highway 27 with all the traffic, said Knox. Commissioner Bill Hollin added later in the meeting that on Wednesday the state legislature is looking at voting on a measure that would give $2 million to counties that are in bad need of road repair from an excess in last

year's

gas tax. The House Bill 1915 sponsored by Rick Eldridge from Morristown and co-sponsored by Rep Ron Travis of Dayton in the House and Senator Ken Yager in the Senate, appropriates excess state tax revenues from fiscal year 20212022 to the Department of Transportation to be used to make grants

in the amount of

$2 million to each county highway department for the construction,

repair

and improvement of county roads. According to the fiscal note attached to the bill, a onetime transfer of $190,000,000 will be made to the highway fund for this grant.
The Tennessee Supreme Court on Wednesday held that the standard of appellate review for an alleged speedy trial violation is de novo with deference to the trial courts factual findings. The Court also concluded that the trial court committed reversible error in allowing improper impeachment of a key defense witness at trial.

In December 2017, Defendant William Eugene Moon was involved in a physical altercation with a police officer. The details of the tussle are disputed, but the officer stated that he believed Defendant tried to use deadly force against him, and consequently, the officer shot Defendant. Defendant was transported to a hospital for medical treatment, and upon his release the following month, he was served an arrest warrant.

In April 2018, a Coffee County grand jury indicted Defendant for attempted first-degree murder and unlawful employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, among other charges. At a court appearance on May 9, 2018, Defendant requested a trial date, and later that month, he received one. The trial was originally scheduled for November 2018; however, at the States request, the court moved the trial date to February 2019 due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict with another case.

At trial, the defense called eyewitness Larry Woods who described observing the altercation from close range. Mr. Woods testified that he did not observe Defendant holding a gun. On cross-examination, the State sought to impeach the witness by questioning him about whether he sold methamphetamine out of his trailer. Mr. Woods invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

The jury convicted Defendant of the lesser-included offense of attempted second-degree murder and of the unlawful employment of a firearm, and he received a sixteen-year sentence. Defendant appealed his conviction asserting, among other things, that he had been denied the right to a speedy trial and that the trial court erred by allowing the improper impeachment of Mr. Woods. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the judgments of the trial court.

The Supreme Court granted Defendants application for permission to appeal to consider whether the Court of Criminal Appeals applied the proper standard of review to Defendants claim that he was denied a speedy trial, to address the merits of his speedy trial claim, and to determine whether the trial court committed reversible error in allowing improper impeachment of a defense witness. First, the Court explained that a speedy trial violation claim is, by nature, a mixed question of law and fact, and consequently, it held that the standard of review is de novo with deference to the trial courts findings of fact unless the evidence preponderates otherwise. The Court then considered the merits of Defendants speedy trial claim and determined that, even when viewed under this standard, the Defendant was not denied a speedy trial.

The Supreme Court next considered Defendants argument that the Court of Criminal Appeals, after concluding that the trial court erred in allowing the State to impeach Mr. Woods by prior bad acts, should not have found that the error was harmless. The Supreme Court agreed that the impeachment was improper. However, the Court disagreed with the intermediate courts harmless error analysis. The Court concluded that the improper impeachment of Mr. Woods more probably than not affected the judgment. It, therefore, reversed the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals, vacated the judgments of the trial court, and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings.

To read the unanimous opinion in State v. William Eugene Moon, authored by Chief Justice Roger A. Page, visit the opinions section of TNCourts.gov.
The Chattanooga Community Kitchen has chosen Baron King to be the new CEO of the organization.

Mr. King recently served as executive director for Liberty Ministries, Inc, a large nonprofit prison ministry in Schwenksville, Pa. Prior to Liberty, he served as the director of health and counseling services, as well as clinical supervisor and adjunct professor in the graduate counseling program at Cairn University.

The chair of Community Kitchens board of directors, Kent Davis, said, The executive board

of the Community Kitchen is pleased to welcome Baron King to the position of CEO.

We believe

that his experience has uniquely prepared him to lead the Community Kitchen forward in this

post pandemic environment. We look forward to working with Baron to positively affect

homelessness both now and in the future.

Mr. King will be officially starting his role as CEO on May 16 and is passionate about working

with underserved populations and providing services that meet their bio-psycho-socio-spiritual

and vocational needs. Some of his other leadership experiences include numerous short-term

mission trips to Nepal, Kashmir, Philippines, France and Katrina relief efforts.

Bill Wilkerson, board member and chair of the CEO search committee said, We are excited that

Baron is joining us. His combination of experience and compassion is the perfect fit for our

mission."
When a Ukrainian former college student who had fled to Poland reached out to Takeo Suzuki to describe just how dire the situation was in her home country, Mr. Suzuki knew he had to act.



Shes 20-something, and we see 20-somethings over here all the time. Thats why I thought, Theres something we can do about assisting students overseas, said Mr. Suzuki, executive director for the Center for Global Education at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.



That thinking led to the creation of the UTC Global Response Assistantship, opening doors to international students impacted by the crisis in Ukraine.



The program offers two selected students paid tuition, free room and board and a $600 monthly stipend while they pursue a masters degree in public administration, business administration, computer science or engineering management at UTC from August 2022 through May 2024.



The students undergraduate degrees should be in majors similar to the masters degree concentration.



Preference will be given to students who are Ukrainian citizens living in or who once lived in the affected areas.



Mr.

Suzuki said, "Battered Ukrainian university campuses are among the rubble and devastation seen nightly on TV newscasts. The UTC program will equip the students for the vast reconstruction necessary in their devastated home country.I think its going to really open doors for the participants after the war. When they decide to go back home to help rebuild the country, what they learn from this masters program and the experience they gain at UTC will enable them to make an impact in the community redevelopment. At the same time, they will be building bridges between Chattanooga, Ukraine and beyond."Recognizing the need for opportunities and helping create them for the good of society is why universities exist.This is about adding to the body of human knowledge and, through it, new solutions or improvements to existing solutions. Im excited about what student recipients of this assistantship will be able to add to their fields of research and about what I believe they will add to UTC. Moreover, UTC students and our campus community will build authentic learning and applicable processes by hosting these Ukrainian students."Advocacy for the new program also came from an engaged, impassioned UTC Student Government Association," official said.Members of the Student Government Association authored and passed a resolution calling for this kind of University support for students affected by the war in Ukraine, Mr. Suzuki said. They used their voices in an inspiring manner, and they made an impact. I am so glad to see these students recognize the opportunity they have to use their platform as campus leaders to bring awareness and help bring action to address such important concerns.Also, I believe that making a way for the exceptionally well-qualified students who will be selected for this opportunity to reach their full potential as student-scholars is the right thing to do, and it makes me very proud to be part of UTC.Application deadline for the assistantship is May 14.For consideration, applicants must have sufficient English language proficiency to successfully complete the programs academic requirements. Additional requirements are available at utc.edu/global Requirements:Proof of English proficiency (Minimum requirement TOEFL IBP=79. IELTS=6.0. Duolingo=100);Most recent transcript or proof of completion of bachelors (undergraduate) degree;Copy of passport ID page;Copy of I-20 or DS2019 (If you are currently in the U.S. with an F1 or J1 student visa);Essay: What makes you really happy? (Maximum 800 words); andVideo: Tell us about yourself and explain how your current situation was caused or impacted by the war in Ukraine; how you and your family have been affected. Describe your career goals.

Apply here.


The Chattanooga Hamilton Place Rotary Club presented Hamilton County Sheriffs Office Law Enforcement Chaplain Jonathan Parker its prestigious Service Above Self in Law Enforcement Award at their monthly luncheon held at the Metro Tab Church.Each year, the Chattanooga Hamilton Place Rotary Club takes the opportunity to recognize members of their local law enforcement community who have gone above and beyond to serve the needs of their respective communities and embody their organizations motto of Service Above Self.Chaplain Parker is the HCSOs Senior Law Enforcement Services Chaplain and oversees both the Law Enforcement Chaplains Program and the Employee Health and Wellness Program.Chaplain Parker began his career with the HCSO as a School Resource Deputy (SRD) in 2017. Prior to his employment with the HCSO, he served as a School Resource Officer (SRO) for the City of Chattanooga. In 2019, he was selected to serve as the HCSOs Senior Law Enforcement Chaplain and given operational oversight of the HCSO Law Enforcement Chaplains Program. HCSO Law Enforcement Chaplains serve not only the spiritual and emotional needs of HCSO personnel, but the citizens to which they serve. HCSO Chaplains assist victims and family members with death notifications, immediate spiritual needs at critical incidents, and help comfort those who are hurting and in need of assistance.In 2021, Chief Deputy Austin Garrett cast the vision for the HCSO to adopt an Employee Health and Wellness initiative in order to focus on supporting our personnel holistically. Due to his personal ministry and training, Chaplain Parker was designated to lead the development and implementation of the HCSO Employee Health and Wellness Program. The program focuses on the physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing of our personnel and offers education, counseling, and peer-support based services to employees in need.Chaplain Parkers values and selflessness embodies the true definition of a servant leader. His dedication, service and commitment to his family, the HCSO, and the citizens to which he serves exemplifies the Rotarys motto of Service Above Self, said Chief Deputy Austin Garrett.Under Chaplain Parker, both the Law Enforcement Chaplains Program and the Employee Health and Wellness Program have become extremely successful and support the needs of not only HCSO employees, but the spiritual and emotional needs of our community. In his private life, Chaplain Parker serves as the Senior Pastor of COP Church where he ministers to the public. His diverse congregation at Cop Church includes a large number of our communitys law enforcement personnel and their families.On behalf of the Hamilton Place Rotary Club, we are pleased to be able to honor Chaplain Parker with this award. Law Enforcement Officers do so much to help others in our community and do not receive the recognition they deserve for their service, said Jim Glass, President of the Hamilton Place Rotary. We created this award as a way to say thank you to the Law Enforcement Community and we hope that this will be a small step in the right direction to recognize the service they provide every day, he said.
High school graduates and college students who have an interest in a career in medicine may now apply for the Future Docs Leadership Program offered by the Chattanooga Hamilton County Medical Society, Medical Foundation of Chattanooga, and the University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga. The program will be held June 20-30.

The two-week summer program gives students up to 40 hours in a medical setting observing specialties in which they are interested and some specialties they may have not already known.

The program is designed to:

- Provide students the opportunity to learn more about life as a physician and inspire them to pursue a career in medicine;

- Provide students and local physicians with a community-based mentoring/teaching experience; and

- Assist with efforts to increase the pipeline of health care providers in Southeastern Tennessee.

Students must complete an application and submit two recommendations which can be from a teacher, principal, guidance counselor, or other individual who is familiar with the students educational background and interests. Applications must be received by the Medical Society by May 13. Applications and complete information are available at www.chattmd.org.

This program is a great way to educate students on the realities of the field of medicine, said Mark Brzezienski, MD, past president of the Medical Society and Medical Foundation and founder of the organizations youth mentoring initiative. We aim to inspire these talented young people to pursue a career in the field.

The students will hear from outstanding speakers and observe a variety of medical procedures. It will give them a very unique behind-the-scenes look at a career in medicine. Students will have the opportunity to rotate through various clinical services at Erlanger, including Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Orthopaedic Surgery, Radiology, Surgery, and other subspecialties.

"We engage help students to explore various fields in health care. In addition, we encourage them to develop skills in team work, communication and networking, said Dr. Mukta Panda, Assistant Dean of UTCOM Chattanooga and a Medical Society board member. Students will visit several hospital departments assigned to them each week, attend lectures on various topics and participate in discussions and individual and group reflection."

Applicants must submit the application, three essays, two letters of recommendation, proof of GPA (typically 3.5 or higher). Only complete applications will be considered. All participants are expected to maintain a professional manner, undergo mandatory training, and follow hospital regulations. Negative TB skin tests and proof of COVID vaccination is required to participate in the program.

The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society is an advocate for physicians and for the continual improvement of community health. Founded in 1883, the 1,100-member Medical Society is affiliated with the Tennessee Medical Association and works closely on an array of issues that impact the practice of medicine in Tennessee. Patient advocacy and the protection of the patient-physician relationship are primary goals. The Medical Society partners with the Medical Foundation of Chattanooga on public service projects, including the Southeast Tennessee Project Access health care program; the Future Docs Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine and the Medical Exploration Program; and the LifeBridge Physician Well-Being Initiative.
Dave Grohl had a profound first meeting with Paul McCartney. It was so deep, in fact, that Grohl doesnt even remember what happened exactly. At the moment, he was too excited to stock the memory away in his head for later. However, Grohl does remember what he did when he got back to his hotel room that night. He called his mother and listened to The Beatles Blackbird.

Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl | Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Dave Grohl said meeting Paul McCartney was like experiencing a supernatural event

In 2002, Grohl met George Harrisons son, Dhani, after a Foo Fighters show in London. Dhani gave Grohl a copy of Georges newly released posthumous record, Brainwashed, and invited him to Concert for George. It was there that Grohl got to meet Paul.

After the emotional concert, an attendant showed Grohl and the group to the VIP room. Grohl doubted whether they were in the actual VIP lounge. However, when he saw Ravi Shankar and The Beatles producer, George Martin, he knew they were in the right place. This was rock and roll ground zero. We had arrived, Grohl wrote on his blog, Daves True Stories.

Grohl felt unworthy of being around such rock n roll royalty. However, he definitely didnt feel worthy of being in Pauls presence. Seeing him in person was like experiencing a supernatural event.

I noticed Paul McCartney out of the corner of my eye, chatting away with friends, and I couldnt help but stare. There. He. Was.

Grohl continued, I dont know what it feels like to see a UFO. I dont know what it feels like to see a ghost. I dont know what it feels like to see Bigfoot, but I know what it feels like to see Paul McCartney, and if thats not a supernatural event, then I dont know what is.

Then, Grohl tried to avert his eyes, but it was no use. I was mesmerized.

Someone came up to Grohl to tell him that Paul wanted to meet him. Grohl nearly choked. My heart doubled its tempo, the lights seemed to dim in a bizarre, twilight tunnel fashion, he continued.

What happened next will forever remain a blur, Grohl wrote. I dont recall exactly how Paul and I were introduced, what was said, or how long we talked, but I do remember putting on my best this is not the most incredible thing ever to happen to me face while trying to keep from making a fool of myself.

RELATED: Paul McCartney Said He Felt Like Harry Potter When Queen Elizabeth II Knighted Him

Grohl had to call his mother and listen to The Beatles Blackbird after meeting Paul

The Foo Fighters frontman was beside himself while meeting Paul. He described it as having an out of body experience, living a moment that will surely be revisited in my final hours. I would not be standing there that night, much less writing this today, if it werent for this man.

Grohl continued, Like so many who have made lives as musicians, his music had been a teacher when I needed instruction. A friend when I felt alone. A father when I needed love. A therapist when I needed guidance, and a partner when I needed to belong.

When Grohl hazily returned to his hotel room that night, the first thing he did was call his mother. She was the only person he knew would understand what he was feeling at that moment. She cried tears of joy, knowing that all my years of struggle and faith had led to this profound, life changing night, Grohl wrote.

Grohl told the story during his special on the BBCs Radio 2 Beatles. He said he had to call his mother and then play The Beatles Blackbird after meeting Paul.

But of course, as I left the venue, I think the first thing I did was call my mother and tell her I just my Paul McCartney, Grohl said. And then, I listened to the song Blackbird, which I used to sit in my room, listening to over and over and over again because to me, its one of the most beautiful songs ever written.

I eventually learned how to play it on guitar, and believe me; this is not a three-chord rock song. So whenever I think of that first meeting with Paul, I think of the song Blackbird.'

RELATED: Paul McCartney Said George Harrison Scolded Him for Writing Too Many Songs During The Beatles Trip to India

Grohl thinks of his mother when he listens to The Beatles Two Of Us

Another Beatles song reminds Grohl of his mother, Let It Bes Two Of Us.

This song reminds me of a trip I took with my mother and sister to Ireland in 1992, the week before Nirvana was headlining the Reading Festival, Grohl explained on the radio special. My mothers side of the family has Irish heritage, and she had never been. So I thought my mother and sister and I would rent a car and just drive.

One of the cassettes that we had in the car was the Let It Be record. It got a lot of play that week, and theres nothing like driving through rolling hills down little stone roads listening to this song Two Of Us. Its a great traveling song.

Grohl has a lot of memories associated with Beatles songs. The first rock song he ever heard was Hey Jude, and the song he and his childhood sweetheart chose as theirs was Eight Days a Week. Thanks to his daughter, Violet, he fell in love with Hey Bulldog again.

Now, Grohl is family friends with Paul. He must have to pinch himself every once in a while.

RELATED: Paul McCartney Was Annoyed by How He Was Portrayed in Two Beatles Biopics
Some know Lin-Manuel Miranda for creating Hamilton or for his role in composing Disneys Encanto. Mirandas love for musical theater started while he was still a teenager, with this songwriter creating the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical In the Heights as a teenager.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is the artist behind In the Heights

Actor/playwright/composer Lin-Manuel Miranda and playwright/lyricist Quiara Alegria Hudes speak on stage before In the Heights screening | Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

According to Usnavi de la Vega, Washington Heights is a magical place filled with even better people. Fans met this character in the Broadway musical In the Heights  the inspiring story of a close-knit community living in New York City.

This show was created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who even acted as Usnavi for some live performances.

The production snagged several Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Choreography, Best Orchestrations, and Best Score. Eventually, In the Heights was made into a feature film, starring Miranda as the piragua guy. HBO Max added this adaptation to their streaming library.

The original motion picture soundtrack became available on most major streaming platforms, with songs Blackout, 96,000, and In the Heights earning over 10 million Spotify plays. This production debuted on Broadway in 2008, with Miranda dreaming up the story several years prior.

Lin-Manuel Miranda started writing In the Heights when he was a teenager

Music has been a large part of Mirandas life, with this composer dreaming up his first musical as a teenager. During one video interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the host noted that Miranda was only 19 years old when he began writing In the Heights.

I honestly  I just knew I wanted a life in musicals, Miranda said. I directed West Side Story my senior year of high school, and I knew that was kind of it for Puerto Rican guys in musical theater. Thats all that existed.

I love that show, but it was a long time ago, he added. And I just kind of was writing what was missing. And I wanted to write musicals starring Latinos, telling different stories, and here we are 20 years later.

Miranda is the mastermind behind Hamilton and the Encanto soundtrack

In the Heights wouldnt be the only musical created by Miranda. This artist later wrote and starred in the Broadway musical Hamilton, a rap and hip-hop-inspired production telling the story of the Founding Fathers. This musical earned several Tony Awards and nominations, even snagging the win for Best Musical.

Miranda later created songs for Disney animated films. That includes the 2016 production Moana, where Miranda lent his voice for We Know the Way. Inspired by the music and culture of Colombia, Miranda wrote the soundtrack for Encanto.

Miranda even had an acting role in the Disney spinoff Mary Poppins Returns. He performed songs (Underneath the) Lovely London Sky, A Cover is Not the Book, and Trip a Little Light Fantastic.

RELATED: Why Lin-Manuel Miranda Pitched We Dont Talk About Bruno From Encanto as a Gossip Number
Like all the other members of Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood found unprecedented levels of success after releasing their self-titled album. Suddenly, the band could lean into the rock star lifestyle, filling their lives with cocaine, champagne, and private jets. Fleetwood made several expensive purchases during this time. He says that his most indulgent purchase did not work out well for him. As a result of it, he lost a considerable amount of money.

Mick Fleetwood | Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images

Mick Fleetwood once got in trouble for overspending as Fleetwood Macs manager

Fleetwood is a founding member of Fleetwood Mac and served as the bands manager for a time. After the Tusk tour, he was terminated from this position because the band made significantly less money than they expected. The tour was massively expensive, with the band drinking the finest alcohol, flying in drug dealers, and traveling by private jet. At the end, they couldnt account for millions of dollars.

After a brutal meeting in which Fleetwood explained that the bands lifestyle was the culprit, they fired him as manager.

We've finally found our #festival look for 2022: @MickFleetwood for Annie Leibovitz in Rolling Stone, 1978 pic.twitter.com/0WztJzt2rd  Rhino Records (@Rhino_Records) April 13, 2022

Now I was off the throne, Fleetwood later said, per the book Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks by Stephen Davis. It was the democratization of Fleetwood Mac. Ever since, weve had review by committee  managers, lawyers, accountants. The Gang of Four.

Though the band comforted him afterward and said they werent mad, he could no longer be the manager.

One of his biggest purchases did not pan out for him

Clearly, Fleetwood Mac was known for its embrace of exorbitance, and Fleetwood was no different. He gave insight into the most indulgent purchase he ever made.

I bought a thousand-acre farm in Australia in the early 1980s, he told Rolling Stone. It was this whimsical decision to start a whole new life. The property had about eight houses on it and a fishing lake. I cashed out about 3 million bucks and bought it. I actually immigrated to Australia and gave up my green card.

He was hopeful about the purchase, but it didnt end up working out for him.

I thought it was a great place for all my friends and family, but it was also a pipe dream that literally took me to the poorhouse, he explained. I went broke.

Still, he doesnt necessarily regret his decision.

It was beautiful, and I dont bemoan the fact that I did it, he said. I also dont bemoan that Im not sitting there right now getting eaten by toxic spiders.

Fleetwood Mac bandmate Stevie Nicks threatened to sue Fleetwood until he was penniless

Fleetwoods bandmate Stevie Nicks once threatened to also put him in a difficult financial position. When he was writing his memoir, she warned him not to include any details that might upset her or shed sue.

I told him, Mick, if you slander me, babe, Ill bury you. I will write down everything that you have ever done and put it out,' Nicks told Us Magazine, per The Nicks Fix. Weve been laughing about this for a week, because his books coming out in about three months, and he still hasnt let one person in the band see it. Its turned into kind of a joke at this point. But it will not be a joke if this book comes out and I dont like whats in it. So I simply told him, Well, Ill sue you. Ill just sue you for everything that you have, and then youll just be poor and penniless again, and youll be sorry. Im laughing the whole time that Im saying this and hes laughing, but were really very serious.

Luckily, she did not sue and asked why Fleetwood didnt include more details about her in the book.

RELATED: Fleetwood Mac: Are Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood Friends?
After stepping down as senior royals in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved to America and eventually made Montecito, California their home. In a new interview, the Duke of Sussex talks about how the U.S. feels more like home now than the U.K. But when asked about leaving his family and if he misses his brother, Prince William, and father, Prince Charles, Harry refused to answer those questions.

Heres more on that interview and how Harry dodged questions about William and Charles.

Prince Harry looks on during a medal ceremony at Invictus Games | Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images for Invictus Games The Hague 2020

Prince Harry admitted that his relationship with his father and brother hasnt been good

Before the Sussexes stepped down there were reports of friction between Prince Harry and Prince William. The Duke of Sussex spoke about being on a different path as his older brother during the documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey in 2019. Then in March 2020, Harry confirmed their rift telling Oprah Winfrey: As I said before, I love William to bits. Weve been through hell together and we have a shared experience, but we are on different paths. The relationship is space at the moment and time heals all things, hopefully.

In that same primetime special with Oprah, Harry revealed that things with Prince Charles werent good either. Two months later during Dax Shepards Armchair Expert podcast, Harry took a shot at how the Prince of Wales was a parent.

Before arriving in the Netherlands for the Invictus Game in April 2022, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stopped in England and had a brief visit with Prince Charles. According to Daily Mail, the visit only lasted 15 minutes and was described as edgy. William was not in England at the time as he was on a ski trip in France for his childrens spring break.

Harry dodges questions about Prince William and Prince Charles

.@hodakotb sat down with Prince Harry at the Invictus Games for an exclusive interview about his new mission, new life, fatherhood, reuniting with his grandmother and much more. pic.twitter.com/g5tq7xXrvd  TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 20, 2022

Today show co-anchor Hoda Kotb chatted with Harry while he was at the Invictus Games. The British prince, who spent most of his life in England, admitted that America is more his home now.

Home for me, now, for the time being, is in the States, he said. And it really feels that way, as well. Weve been welcomed with open arms and have got such a great community up in Santa Barbara.

Kotb also asked Harry about his family and if he misses his father and brother but instead of answering that, the duke dodged the question.

For me, at the moment, Im here focused on these guys and these families and giving everything I can, 120% to them to make sure that they have the experience of a lifetime, he said of the Invictus Games which he founded for wounded military veterans.

The Duke of Sussex did say his mission remains the same

Prince Harry cheering at swimming finals during Invictus Games | Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images

The royal stated that no matter where he and Meghan call home their mission is still the same.

From my wifes point of view, this is a life that she signed up for, and we committed to doing [it] together as a couple forever, Harry said. Because of the circumstances, weve now moved that life of service to the States, and well continue to do what we were doing before. So, no, nothings changed for us. Its just a little bit more complicated to have to sort of restart.

RELATED: Prince William Refused to Interact With His Brother When Prince Harry Attempted to Engage Him During Princess Dianas Statue Unveiling, Body Language Expert Says
Sperm whale stranded in Zhejiang released back to sea

(People's Daily App) 14:01, April 20, 2022

Fishermen found a stranded sperm whale in the waters in Xiangshan county, East China's Zhejiang Province, on Tuesday Morning.

Rescuers came to the scene, kept splashing water onto the whale to keep its skin moist, and waited for the rising tide to tug it back to deep waters.

At dawn on Wednesday, rescuers successfully released the whale back to the sea.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
The Harbin Z-20 medium-lift helicopter of China has been compared to the US Navy's Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, which is thought to be a perfect copy. But as things stand, the Chinese had made improvements to this US platform that may include enhancements. Helicopter images have circulated on Chinese social media and are now in widespread service.

Chinese Harbin Z-20 a Copy of US Army's Aircraft

Sources say that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been developing this 10-ton helicopter started in 2006 and flew on December 23, 2013, reported View60s.

According to some sources, China has begun developing this type of helicopter in the early years of the 21st century. The first exhibition of these choppers was at the 2019 Tianjin Chinese Air Show, where they were shown several units.

Visitors to the show thought the Z-20 was a complete copy of the UH-60, which is the most used medium-lift helicopter in the US.

When Hong Kong was returned to China, there were S-70 Sikorsky helicopters in the Hong Kong search and rescue operations. Access to the S-70 Sikorsky, a demilitarized version of the Black Hawk that is the staple of the US army, cited Air-Force Technology.

It has more range to fly to Nepal than other PLA helicopters cannot do; the Z-20's mission is to search and rescue and transport. The Harbin Z-20 is supposed to be able to fly as far as Nepal, something that few Chinese helicopters have been able to do so far.

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Another story is the People's Liberation Army Air Force got 24 S-70-C2s that were used in 1984, they should have been copied, but it was a violation of the sale. It is expected to be part of the PLAAF.

China's Z-20 Difference With UH-60 Blackhwak

The People's Liberation Army Navy will use this medium helicopter for naval use and mounted as an anti-submarine platform.

The engine exhaust and the Chinese character on the fuselage are different, and the main rotor is five blades compared to the four on the original. A five-bladed rotor allows it to fly at higher altitudes and better lift overall; fairing on engine exhausts and tail spine are antennas for the BeiDou satellite navigation system, noted Military Wiki.

Powered by a China-made WZ-10 turboshaft engine with 2,145 horsepower over the older GE T700-701D. A new transmission system with Eurocopter's help enables ops at 4000 meters.

It has the same configuration as the UH-60, including the twin-engine including the main and tail rotor setup. Weapons armed are machine guns, rockets, and missiles with FLIR on the nose.

Another version planned is the naval version of the multi-use helicopter in development, which can be used on destroyers and aircraft carriers. Another copter called the Harbin Z-9 is a copy of the Eurocopter for other warships, but the Black Hawk clone is better or as good as the original.

The Harbin Z-20 is more than a reverse engineer version with improved avionics and systems, making it more than a copy.

Related Article: Xian H-20: China's New Stealth Bomber Built To Match America

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During a new Today interview with Hoda Kotb, Prince Harry discussed his recent visit with Queen Elizabeth and he mentioned his desire to protect his grandmother. His comment has drawn plenty of criticism from royal experts, with one critic calling it a gross insult.

Prince Harry | Samir Hussein/WireImage

Prince Harry discussed his visit with Queen Elizabeth

Prince Harry sat down with Todays Kotb in an interview that aired on April 20. He was asked about visiting the queen when he and Meghan Markle were on their way to the 2022 Invictus Games in the Netherlands.

Harry shared some vague details of their tea with his grandmother. Being with her, it was great, he said. It was just so nice to see her. Shes on great form. Shes always got a great sense of humor with me.

It was really nice to catch up with her, the Duke of Sussex said.

Prince Harry also remarked that he wants to ensure his grandmothers protection. Im just making sure that shes, you know, protected and got the right people around her, he explained.

Body language expert called Prince Harrys comment sinister

Body language expert Judi James called Prince Harrys claim sinister, writing about his Today interview in a piece for the Mirror.

She noted his body language indicated he was more upbeat and fun-looking but called out his sinister claim.

His body language showed a keenness to talk, which makes his astonishing claim about the 96 year-old queen that he is making sure she is protected and has the right people around her sound even more sinister by contrast, James noted. The phrase is not delivered as a throw-away, either.

James pondered how Prince Harry could effectively provide protection. He also reminds us that he now sees the U.S. as his home though, presumably leaving us wondering how he can possibly protect the queen long-distance and if we should be worried about her and these people around her? she added.

Another royal expert shared how contradictory the claim is

During a discussion about Harry on GB News, host Eamonn Holmes noted how contradictory Harrys claim sounded. Harry talks about being surrounded by the right people, either to protect the queen from him or does he want his right people? It is quite an arrogant and contradictory piece of advice, surely.

Royal commentator Robert Jobson replied, Well, its narcissism to the extremes, isnt it. This is the guy that has already not seen his grandmother for a couple of years and well for a while since the funeral  and that was only fleeting.

Jobson continued, I mean, I think actions speak louder than the words, and Prince Charles, in particular, has been stepping up and supporting his mother with actions  Sophie Wessex and Camilla have been pretty much there all the time behind the scenes as has Prince William.

He added, So I think for him to sort of waltz in leaving his Netflix crew just at the door and then start talking about protecting his grandmother is slightly bizarre, to be honest.

Other experts criticized Prince Harry for his gross insult and delusional claim

Other royal experts also had their say about Prince Harrys mention of protecting the queen.

Royal expert Angela Levin, who wrote the book Harry: Conversations with the Prince, shared her thoughts on Harrys claim. Harrys comment on U.S. TV about him checking the queen is protected is a gross insult to Prince Charles and William. Hes underlined even more that he doesnt deserve to attend the Jubilee celebrations and be on the balcony, she tweeted.

Journalist Peter Ford called the comment delusional.

Prince Harry says hes making sure the queen is protected and has the right people around her! Yet he was nowhere to be seen at Prince Philips memorial. He was busy talking to Oprah when Prince Philip was on his death bed! Hes delusional, Ford tweeted.

RELATED: Prince Harry Is Emotionally Needy and His Whole Personality Changed Because of Meghan Markle, Royal Author Says
JUBA, South Sudan, April 20, 2022 (Morning Star News)  A church in Sudan long harassed by Islamic extremists was attacked on April 10, with three people assaulted including the pastor  who was then charged with disturbing the peace.

During worship at the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) in Al Hag Abdalla, about 85 miles southeast of Khartoum in Madani, Al Jazirah state, three Muslim extremists disrupted worship, led by one known as Banaga who punched the pastor, tore his shirt and assaulted two women, the pastors attorney said. The other two assailants tore Bibles and broke chairs.

When Pastor Stephanou Adil Kujo and others went to police to file a complaint, however, he was charged with disturbing the peace and public disturbance, said attorney Shanabo Awad. Awad said Banaga faces the same charges.

It is surprisingly strange that the pastor is accused and charged, Awad told Morning Star News.

Of the two women attacked, one suffered cuts to her mouth, and the other sustained hand injuries. Both are church members who required medical treatment. The assailant pushed one of them, Saida Lual, more than 50 years old, onto her back, and she continues to suffer back pain, Awad said.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported that the previous Sunday, April 3, extremists had prevented church members from entering the church building, and Awad said they claimed it belonged to Muslims. Area church leaders say the facility belongs to the Catholic Church, which makes it available to the Christian community for worship and other activities.

Local extremists from the strict Wahhabi branch of Sunni Islam have harassed the church since 2019, according to CSW.

Incidents include the positioning of sound systems outside the building to criticize the church and the filing of complaints against church leaders, accusing them of disturbing the peace and disturbing people of other faiths in the area, according to CSW.

Leaders of the church were detained and questioned in February after Muslim extremists upset about the presence of their worship building locked it shut on Feb. 21. Dalman Hassan, an SCOC evangelist arrested on Feb. 27 and released along with the church pastor later that day, said the Muslims accused church members of hostility toward Islam by holding gatherings on Fridays, the Muslim day of mosque prayer.

Church member Kotti Hassan Dalman said the hardline Muslims also charged the church with providing food to children to win them to Christianity and with taking their land for the worship building.

Following two years of advances in religious freedom in Sudan after the end of the Islamist dictatorship under former President Omar al-Bashir in 2019, the specter of state-sponsored persecution returned with a military coup on Oct. 25, 2021.

After Bashir was ousted from 30 years of power in April 2019, the transitional civilian-military government managed to undo some sharia (Islamic law) provisions. It outlawed the labeling of any religious group infidels and thus effectively rescinded apostasy laws that made leaving Islam punishable by death.

With the Oct. 25 coup, Christians in Sudan fear the return of the most repressive and harsh aspects of Islamic law. Abdalla Hamdok, who had led a transitional government as prime minister starting in September 2019, was detained under house arrest for nearly a month before he was released and reinstated in a tenuous power-sharing agreement in November.

Hamdock had been faced with rooting out longstanding corruption and an Islamist deep state from Bashirs regime  the same deep state that is suspected of rooting out the transitional government in the Oct. 25 coup.

Persecution of Christians by non-state actors continued before and after the coup. In Open Doors 2022 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Sudan remained at No. 13, where it ranked the previous year, as attacks by non-state actors continued and religious freedom reforms at the national level were not enacted locally.

Sudan had dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in six years when it first ranked No. 13 on the 2021 World Watch List. The U.S. State Departments International Religious Freedom Report states that conditions have improved somewhat with the decriminalization of apostasy and a halt to the demolition of churches, but that conservative Islam still dominates society; Christians face discrimination, including problems in obtaining licenses for constructing church buildings.

The U.S. State Department in 2019 removed Sudan from the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) that engage in or tolerate systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom and upgraded it to a watch list. The State Department removed Sudan from the Special Watch List in December 2020. Sudan had previously been designated as a CPC from 1999 to 2018.

The Christian population of Sudan is estimated at 2 million, or 4.5 percent of the total population of more than 43 million.

If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit http://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.

If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at https://morningstarnews.org/donate/?

Article originally published by Morning Star News. Used with permission.

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Phototreat, this is a stock photo.
Standing outside a Coptic church in Cairo, I saw a mosaic that sent me back to a college hermeneutics class. In the images foreground, a man lay slumbering as an angel hovered over him, pointing. I followed the finger to a horizon dotted with pyramids. And I recognized the Bibles second Joseph and Egypt story, which recounts the holy familys flight from Herods persecution.

The image reminded me of how Id wrestled with a passage from Matthews Gospel: Out of Egypt I called my son (2:15). The passage was suggesting that when the toddler Jesus returned from the land of pyramids, he had fulfilled, in Matthews words, a vision from the prophet Hosea: When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son (11:1). Yet Hosea, for his part, wasnt issuing a prediction about the coming Messiah. He was thinking back to an event he knew from Israels history: Gods deliverance of his people from Pharoahs yoke.

For years I struggled to see how the holy familys return from Egypt truly fulfilled Hoseas prophesy. But then my hermeneutics professor explained that Matthew was using fulfilled to mean something closer to epitomized, or filled to the full in meaning. In modern parlance, we might imagine Matthew saying, Talk about calling your Son out of Egypt!

When we try shoehorning a prediction into our reading of Hoseas vision, my professor said, we end up distorting it. Instead, he argued, we should treat Matthews choice of language as an exercise in literary layering. In other words, he was drawing on earlier biblical motifs to amplify his point.

I thought of that lecture often as I read Aimee Byrds new book The Sexual Reformation: Restoring the Dignity and Personhood of Man and Woman. Byrd is probably best known for a previous book, Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, which raised many questions about how evangelicals speak of manhood and womanhood within the church. In this latest release, she diagnoses the churchs broken handling of human sexuality and points to a solution in Scripture. But her interpretive framework is open to question.

Word and meanings

To summarize Byrds argument: Weve allowed views of gender to emerge from teachings of some church fathers who were more rooted in Aristotle than Genesis. We have held up June Cleaver as the ideal woman rather than the one in Proverbs 31, whos out making real estate deals (v. 16) amid other vigorous tasks (v. 17). When weve stood strong on truth, weve often sacrificed grace. Or vice versa. And weve barred the front door against feminism while leaving the back door wide open to the kind of misogyny that resulted in the #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements.

Byrds proposed solution is looking at Song of Songs through a specific interpretive lens. She sees the Song as revealing a typology in Gods design of man and woman, one that unfolds throughout the canon of scripture. She describes this approach as reading the Song Christianly, which means looking for its divine authorial intent rather than the intent of its human author.

Throughout her book, Byrd shows how she prefers this method to a variety of alternative approaches. For centuries, rabbis have seen it as an allegory of love between God and Israel. The early church read it as an allegory of the relationship between Christ and the church. More recently, many scholars have taken it at face value as poetry that extols human love as a gift from God.

Responding to this later interpretation, Byrd warns, We cannot flat-foot the Song as a horizontal love-and-sex manual and We cannot flat-foot our sexuality under the weight of cultural conventions. And shes right that the Song is far more than a guide to great marital sex. Indeed, while some have seen the Song as a chronological guide through courtship, love, and marriage, such an understanding has problems beyond flawed methods of Bible interpretation. Courtship, for one thing, was virtually nonexistent at the time the Song was written (or its poetry collected). And a chronological reading misses some of the distinctive elements of Hebraic literary structure, which wasnt bound by the sort of beginning-middle-end conventions that wouldnt exist until hundreds of years later.

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Many will agree with Byrds assessment that the church needs to reform its understanding of Gods design for men and women. But the path she takes from problem to solution is another story. Sadly, Byrds typological method of interpreting Song of Songs leads her to some conclusions that run contrary to basic rules of word usage.

Describing the bride in the Song, Byrd points out that she has doves eyes (1:15), an image the woman applies to her husband later in the book (5:12). Noting that the bride finds peace in her lovers eyes (8:10), she argues, The dove is clearly a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Clearly?

Then, reflecting on the prominence of lilies in the book (2:12, 16; 4:5; 5:13), Byrd says they remind us of Gods people, the church. About the brides references to myrrh (5:1, 5, 13) she writes, Myrrh is the perfume of the temple. Its as if she is saying that we, the collective church, are on [the lovers] lips!

Yet none of these interpretations is anywhere near as straightforward as Byrd suggests. On what basis of authority does she make them? Readers never get a clear answer. The question of authorial intent, Byrd argues, is not given to us. Its a Song.  So why would we spend our energies probing into that when the typo-symbolic reading is the plainer reading? Which only raises the question: Plainer to whom?

At one point, Byrd notes a parallel between the king in the Song being bound by the beloveds hair (7:5) and Jesus being bound when he is arrested, as recorded by John (18:24). Now, in this example, the author of the fourth Gospel does use literary layering as he borrows words and images from the Song. But seeing the bound Savior in the original reference to the brides hair? It reminds me of the oft-quoted scene in one of the Alice in Wonderland books, in which Humpty Dumpty tells Alice that when he uses a word, it means just what I choose it to meanneither more nor less. In response, Alice wonders aloud whether you can make words mean so many different things.

Byrd warns of misguided interpreters who read with modern metaphysical and critical methods, believing they are being faithful to the plain sense of the text. She suggests that their good intentions have not taken into account the providence of God in divine authorship. But allowing words to have so many meaningsisnt that relying too much on human imagination?

Its true that by exalting sexual love, the Song points to Gods good gift of physicality. We know from Paul in Ephesians 5 that marriage is a picture of Christ and the church, and from Revelation 19 that a great wedding awaits the church, which is Christs bride. So, in human love and consummation we see the future of redeemed humanity foreshadowed.

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But we can make this connection confidently only because the future event remains rooted in the meaning of the earlier, which has its own meaning in its original context. After all, what meaning has a fuller truth without an original meaning of its own on which to build an analogy?

A different path

In The Sexual Reformation, Byrd has diagnosed well. Indeed, the church has a problem, and a lot of wrong pathways have led us to where we are. Byrds prescription is to look to the Bible for help. And on this we can agree. She notes, As weighty as these issues are, we are addressing symptoms without getting to the root: what our longings are created for, where our desires should be oriented, what the meaningfulness of our sex is, and what we are living for. Yes, and amen.

Byrd is on firmer ground, too, when she makes observations from the text of Song of Songs itself without seeking to interpret it. For example, she notes, The womans voice is so free in the Song. Astonishingly, in its patriarchal context, the female voice is dominant.  It immodestly begins the Song and closes us out. Female voices make up more than 60 percent of the Song. And yet Im less interested in the sheer quantity, but in the freedom, boldness, playfulness, intensity, and truth of what the bride speaks. She initiates over and over, starting in the beginning, declaring her desire for the kisses of her Grooms mouth. Observations like these can aid the church in reforming as they help readers see new possibilities for talking about men and women, love, marriage, and sex.

Most of Byrds readers will endorse her call for a small-r sexual reformation and acknowledge that the Bible is the place to look for help. But when it comes to how we understand Scriptures counsel, I suspect most readers will find themselves on a different path. Because before one can do something like make an analogy based on Egypt, such a place with sand and pyramids must actually exist.

Sandra Glahn is a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. She is the editor of Sanctified Sexuality: Valuing Sex in an Oversexed World and Vindicating the Vixens: Revisiting Sexualized, Vilified, and Marginalized Women of the Bible.
City rejects atheist group's demand to remove crosses from mountain

A city embroiled in a church-state battle with a national atheist group over a display of three crosses has rejected demands to remove them.

The city attorney for Elizabethton, Tennessee, Roger Day, issued a statement last week saying that the crosses on nearby Lynn Mountain do not violate the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on establishing a religion, despite the atheist group's assertions.

The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) had previously called for the city to remove the crosses that have been in place since the 1950s when neighborhood boys created them as an Easter project.

Day cited the 2019 U.S. Supreme Court decision, American Legion v. American Humanist Association, in which the high court ruled 7-2 that a 40-foot-tall cross on public property in Maryland did not violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

I agree with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in American Legion which held that long standing monuments, symbols, and practices with religious associations have a presumption of constitutionality,' he wrote.

Day said that, according to the ruling, a religious symbol on government property doesn't violate the Establishment Clause if it has taken on a secular meaning.

As such, it is my opinion as City Attorney of the city of Elizabethton that the three crosses can remain on Lynn Mountain on city-owned property, he continued.

Days statement is the first public remark made by a city official on the debate over the Lynn Mountain crosses since the issue was first raised in 2018, according to local media outlet WJHL.

FFRF, an atheist organization that often files legal complaints against perceived violations of the separation of church and state, claimed that the crosses were unconstitutional.

The organization sent a letter of complaint to the city in 2018 on behalf of two residents, with the atheist group suspecting that the crosses are being funded by the city because, at times, they have been renovated, as well as lit up at night.

I dont know the facts of the funding and everything, but we did in 2018 look at land surveys to confirm that [the crosses] are on city property, and that certainly has not been argued, said FFRF legal fellow Karen Heineman in an interview with The Christian Post earlier this month.

Our concern is we have these three Latin crosses, which are ... defined as being religiously associated with Christianity. And we suspect at least some city funds are going to maintain them, lighting them up. And thats our concern. We feel the Constitution says otherwise, that thats not OK.

While FFRF opposes the crosses, the First Liberty Institute, a conservative law firm that engages in religious liberty-centered litigation, supports the display.

Roger Byron, a senior counsel for First Liberty, told CP that the religious symbols are not unconstitutional because of their location on public property.

When you have an established display or established monument like the three cross display there in Elizabethton, Tennessee, it is presumed to be constitutional, Byron said. Its strongly presented as constitutional; unless it can be proven otherwise. And to prove it unconstitutional is a very difficult thing to do.

If a Latin cross as a central component of the county seal is constitutional, then certainly the cross display in Elizabethton, Tennessee, is constitutional, he added.
Cuba sentences pastor to 8 years in prison for participating in peaceful protest: report Regime failed to notify pastor and his family for months after sentencing

A Protestant pastor has reportedly been sentenced to eight years in prison for participating in peaceful protests against Cubas communist regime, bringing renewed attention to the governments harsh crackdown on religious activities and peaceful demonstrations.

Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo was detained without trial for over two months following protests in Cuba last summer, which were said to be the largest in decades amid ongoing shortages of medicine and food during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United Kingdom-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide recently reported that the Cuban government notified the United Nations in March that Rosales Fajardo, a pastor for 20 years who leads the nondenominational Monte de Sion church in Palma Soriano, was sentenced to eight years in prison for charges including disrespect and public disorder."

The sentencing occurred in late December. However, the government's March letter in response to a joint communication from five U.N. special procedures states that the "parties" had not been notified of the sentencing, according to CSW.

In the letter, Cuban government officials reportedly claimed Rosales Fajardo does not belong to a recognized church." The government also claims that Rosales Fajardo was part of a violent attack on the Cuban Communist Party headquarters in Palma Soriano last July that left several Black "agents of order" and one civilian wounded.

Video and images from the incident, however, showed agents from the Black Beret paramilitary force attacking unarmed protesters and Rosales Fajardo being held in a chokehold, according to CSW.

CSWs Head of Advocacy Anna Lee Stangl said international efforts to free the pastor continue even amid what appears to be a much broader crackdown against Christians and pro-democracy and pro-reform movements.

We have had numerous reports of Christian leaders being summoned by state security, interrogated and threatened, with some being forced into exile, Stangl told The Christian Post.

One recent report involved a Christian couple who are high-profile pastors in the Las Tunas region. The couple was summoned, interrogated and threatened for six hours, according to Stangl, because of their involvement in organizing a prayer service for political prisoners and highlighting the case of Rosales Fajardo, whose wife was also threatened.

These crude intimidation tactics demonstrate how much the Cuban government fears the influence of Christian leaders and ironically, considering the atheistic ideology held by most Cuban Communist Party officials, their recognition of the power of prayer, said Stangl.

The Cuban government has long scrutinized the islands religious groups  the vast majority of which are Christians  due to their ability to mobilize large groups of people. Stangl thinks public statements made last year by Christian leaders and other religious groups condemning the governments actions may have antagonized the governments stance toward Christians.

The number of explicit statements from religious leaders and groups in the second half of 2021, condemning the government's use of violence against peaceful protesters and affirming the fundamental right to protest peacefully, was something we have not seen since 1959, and marked what many thought might be a new era in terms of religious groups' willingness to speak out publicly despite government threats, she said.

But since then, Stangl says the government has released a number of new draft laws for public consultation, many of which have drawn criticism from Christian leaders.

That trend could indicate their willingness to speak out will not fade even if they are subject to continued intimidation tactics.

The government, under the leadership of the Cuban Communist Party, seems to be intent on taking the country backwards to a more repressive and controlling system, she said. However, many Christian leaders appear to be just as resolute that they will not accept this.

The Madrid-based watchdog group Prisoners Defenders warned last December that the number of political prisoners in Cuba increased five-fold in 2021 as the government cracked down on protesters demonstrating for various reasons, including a shortage of medicine and food during the pandemic.

The U.S. State Department has placed Cuba on its "Special Watch List" of countries with severe violations of religious freedom.

The Christian persecution watchdog ministry Open Doors USA, which monitors persecution in over 60 countries, ranks Cuba as the 37th-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution on its annual World Watch List. The organization warns that religious freedom conditions in the country continue to worsen.

"The continued rise is the result of highly restrictive measures against churches deemed to be opponents of the regime  especially non-registered Protestant churches," an Open Doors fact sheet states. "The COVID-19 crisis has been used as a pretext to hinder church and community activities, monitor church leaders, make arbitrary arrests, confiscate private property and impose extortion fees. Christian leaders from different denominations were among those arrested during anti-government demonstrations in July."
Dede Robertson, wife of televangelist Pat Robertson, dies at age 94

The wife of televangelist Pat Robertson, who with her husband was involved in the leadership of the Christian Broadcasting Network and Regent University, has died at the age of 94.

Adelia Dede Robertson, who married Pat Robertson in 1954, died at her home in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on Tuesday, according to an obituary posted by Regent University in Virginia.

In addition to her husband of nearly 70 years, Dede is survived by four children  Timothy Robertson, Elizabeth Robinson, Gordon Robertson and Ann LeBlanc  14 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.

My mom was a rock, said Ann LeBlanc in a statement. She was a rock throughout our childhood. Dad had to travel a lot, but Mom was always there for us kids.  That gives great security to children.

Gordon Robertson, who recently took over lead anchor duties for the long-running CBN program The 700 Club, said his mother was essential for both the Robertson family and their parachurch efforts.

Mom was the glue that held the Robertson family together. She was always working behind the scenes. If it werent for Mom, there wouldnt be a CBN, Gordon Robertson said.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1927, Dede Elmer attended Ohio State University and Yale University School of Nursing, where she received a master of nursing and met her future husband, Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson.

While not a notable on-screen figure like her husband, Dede Robertson was a board member for CBN, Regent University and Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation.

A prominent Christian media organization, CBN has studios that operate in Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Jerusalem, with broadcasts that reportedly reach people in over 170 countries and territories.

She also authored two books during the 1980s, titled My God Will SupplyandThe New You. She also wrote a monthly column for Christian Life Magazine.

In 1982, she was appointed the principal U.S. delegate to the Inter-American Commission of Women, working to elevate the status of women in Latin America. According to her obituary, Dede Robertson was selected Christian Woman of the Year in 1986.

Dede Robertson also actively campaigned for her husband during his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988, visiting over 52 cities from 1987 to 1988.

Dedes passing comes months after her husband stepped down as the host of The 700 Club after leading the conservative Christian program for 60 years.

Last October, Pat Robertson announced he would no longer be the show's regular host, handing that responsibility over to his son Gordon Robertson, who served as co-anchor for more than 20 years.

During his time hosting the series, Robertson interviewed many prominent faith and political leaders. He also garnered controversy at times for some things he and or his guests had said.
Pastor Stovall Weems steps down from Celebration Church after filing lawsuit

Nearly two months after filing a lawsuit over who controls the 12,000-member Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Florida, founding pastor Stovall Weems announced Monday that he has resigned from every role he had with the church but will continue to pursue legal action against the churchs board of trustees and officers.

In a letter shared on Instagram with his nearly 14,000 followers, Weems, who founded the church in 1998, said he was resigning from his roles as senior pastor, president and CEO, chair and member of the board of trustees, as well as a registered agent of Celebration Church Jacksonville.

I have spent much time in prayer and received counsel from other pastors here in the city, the region, and around the world, Weems wrote. The Trustees actions leave me and my family with no choice but to legally separate from CCJ and continue our ministry elsewhere, placing ourselves under the proper accountability and oversight of a council of apostolic pastors and elders in our city, nation, and world that understand and model biblical governance.

In the Feb. 23 lawsuit filed by Stovall and Kerri Weems, the former pastor claims he was illegally ousted from his role as senior pastor by the churchs board of trustees earlier this year when he tried to address financial abuse involving one of the trustees.

The church, in turn, filed a motion to dismiss the Weems lawsuit on March 10. The church claims the lawsuit is the latest chapter in a campaign of deception, manipulation, distraction, and abuse of power by Stovall and Kerri Weems against Celebration.

Having founded Celebration, the Weemses over time came to act like they owned the church and could do with it what they wanted without the management and oversight required by Florida law and the churchs governing documents, the churchs filing said. When the current board of trustees discovered that the Weemses had engaged in a series of questionable financial transactions without board knowledge or authorization, they requested an investigation.

The churchs filing contends that trustees analyzed the churchs financial position in December 2021 and discovered that the Weemses made several large financial transactions earlier in 2021 without notice to or authorization from the board.

These transactions included multiple large transfers to new for-profit entities that the Weemses intended to manage going forward. The motion claims that the church had purchased a parsonage for $1.2 million that a company owned by Stovall Weems had purchased four months earlier for $855,000.

Additionally, the board took issue with the advancement of nine months salary to Kerri Weems and seven months salary to Stovall Weems" in violation of Florida statute and church policies despite neither Stovall nor Kerri Weems performing the duties of the offices that purportedly justified those salaries.

The couple was also accused of using $1 million worth of Paycheck Protection Program loan funds improperly to purchase a speculative digital currency known as TurnCoin.

In a statement to News4JAX, Sara Brady, a spokesperson for the Weemses, denied any wrongdoing.

No PPP funds were utilized in the Turn[C]oin investment. The Churchs 2020 audited financials certifies that the Church utilized the PPP funds in accordance with their legally allowed purposes. Administration of the Churchs PPP funds was controlled by the Churchs CFOs. The 2021 PPP funds were completely used up by the Churchs payroll, Brady said.

Neither the PPP funds nor the Turn[C]oin investment also had anything to do with Pastor Stovalls salary advance. Pastor Stovall invested approximately $100,000 in Turn[C]oin, an SEC approved investment, for the purpose of creating a retirement fund for long-time Celebration Church employees, she added.

Currently, that investment is worth more than $1.5 million. Pastors Stovall and Kerri never intended to receive any money from this investment. The restricted usage of these funds is documented with the Churchs Human Resources department.

In their farewell message to the church now led by Pastor Tim Timberlake, the Weemses expressed love for the members of the church they founded and said they plan to continue working in Jacksonville.

We look forward to seeing many of you since we will remain in Jacksonville where we will continue to pastor, preach and minister Gods Word. We are excited about all that is to come for THE CHURCH (Big C) in our city, region and around the world! they said. Keep watching this space because in the coming days we will begin announcing details about what the new looks like for us. We cant wait to see you and we look forward to continuing the work of the Kingdom alongside you!
Pastors wife pleads guilty to asking lover to murder husband, explains why

Kristie Evans, the 48-year-old widow of David Charles Evans, who led the Harmony Freewill Baptist Church in Oklahoma before he was found dead in his home in March 2021, has pleaded guilty to asking her lover to murder him and now wants the public to know why.

The widow entered her guilty plea at Pontotoc County Courthouse last week. Her sentencing hearing is set for August.

Joi Miskel, the attorney for the widow, told NBC News that Evans, who is now facing a potential life sentence, understands there has to be accountability for her actions, and shes prepared to serve whatever sentence is handed down.

At the same time, she wants the court and the public to know the reasons behind her actions, Miskel said, adding that her client at least now has some control and say so in her life that she didnt have before  as twisted as that may sound.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that just after 1 a.m. on March 22, 2021, officers from the Ada Police Department responded to a 911 call in the 1400 block of Northcrest in Ada. They found the 50-year-old David Evans severely wounded. Paramedics would later pronounce him dead at the scene. His wife was also in the home.

It was later alleged in court documents that David Evans was a swinger and his widow confessed to plotting his murder with a man she spent three nights with while he was in Mexico on a mission trip. The man charged with the shooting was identified as 26-year-old Kahlil Deamie Square. A lawyer for Square said that his client is pleading not guilty to the murder charge, according to NBC News.

Kristie Evans told investigators that she and her husband led a secret life as swingers and met Square for sex at a Super 8 motel "on more than one occasion" months before her husband was killed.

"On one of those occasions, Kristie secretly dropped her phone number on the floor for Kahlil," an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent reported in arresting documents obtained by The Oklahoman. "Kristie continued to communicate by phone daily with Kahlil without David's knowledge."

She reportedly asked him to kill her husband and even provided him with a gun and bullets. She also allegedly left the back door of their home open on the night of his murder.

In a recent interview with NBC News from jail, Kristie Evans alleged that her husband abused her for years and was the one that pressured her to have sex with other men.

Private Facebook messages spanning four years between the late pastor and his wife reviewed by NBC News showed the pastor pushing his wife to engage in sex acts with other men.

At one point, the pastor reportedly accused his wife of being a frigid b***h for not having sex with other swinger couples. Christie Evans painted her late husband as financially controlling and physically abusive in ways that didnt leave any marks, according to NBC News.

She claimed that they were planning for a divorce and that one month before her husband was killed, he held a gun to his chin as she spoke with their daughter over the phone. The widow contends the action was a tactic to control how she discussed their separation.

Shortly after the murder of the pastor last year, Harmony Freewill Baptist Churchs Executive Director Mike Wade told KXII that David Evans, who left behind three adult children, was a driven pastor who would do anything he could for his ministry and the church.

He was always a very outgoing guy, Wade said. He always had a smile on his face, always looking out for the needs of others.

The church did not immediately respond when contacted by The Christian Post for comment on the case on Wednesday.

While some relatives say they were aware of some of the abuse Christie Evans was facing, the pastors mother told NBC News that "she could have gone to a new city or a battered womens shelter.
Historians report that an ancient Roman financial crisis rocked Rome, just like what happens in modern times. Despite the arguments and debates about how it happened in 44 BCE (before the common era) when fluctuations happened. Hard evidence, according to scholars, is the coins that were minted during these historic times.

Ancient Roman Coins

Scholars claim that Roman statesman and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero mentioned that coins with fluctuating value were mentioned in 44BCE, reported Science Alert.

It took centuries to settle the historical puzzle seen in the coins. According to the archeologist Kevin Butcher from Warwick University, historians had long disagreed on what the statesman and scholar meant when he said, "the coinage was being flung around so that no one could know what he had, cited Warwick.

In 91 BCE, the Roman state was on the verge of bankruptcy due to the Social War against their Italian allies, noted DOI.

They wanted to vote in the elections of Rome in 89 BCE, but there was a crisis and what Cicero wrote is the currency was not fully supported and the denarius as well.

According to Butcher, Cicero described how the Roman tribunes approached the college of praetors to remedy the dispute before Gratidianus claimed sole credit for the collective effort.

Financial Crisis in Ancient Rome

The Gratidianus has fixed the exchange rate between silver and bronze denarius. Another is that he provided a system for detecting fraudulent denarii, regaining trust in the currency after the ancient Roman financial crisis.

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Although the account of Cicero was not very clear and hard to understand, one idea about what he wrote was to report what a Roman magistrate did to take advantage of others' efforts.

They studied the composition of the coins issued during these years as part of a larger investigation.

The coins were produced using invasive sampling methods to avoid destroying the priceless silver treasures that bear the heads of gods and Roman kings.

It was first used as coinage in 211 BCE, and it was worth ten bronze asses coins. Before 90 BCE, experts believed the denarius was made entirely of silver, but that percentage dropped by 10% only five years later.

Archeologist Matthew Ponting from Liverpool University added that a drop in the denarius dropped its value to 86 percent, which indicates a financial crisis.

The devaluation of the currency coincides with other evidence of financial conflicts, such as the state's unusual measure of selling public land to purchase grain in 89 BCE.

Fighting an Ancient Monetary Crisis

In 90 BCE, coin manufacturing increased dramatically, with 2,372 dies the molds used to create the coins compared to 677 the year before and 841 the year after.

This was most likely due to Rome's financial difficulties during the Social War.

When Pompey and Julius Caesar fought a civil war, the coin was revalued, and Rome looked to more conquests and taxation to keep its finances afloat.

However, this debasement was not as severe as that experienced by coins struck in 87 BCE.

Butcher remarked that Cicero's said the devaluation was done because the currency denarii might be fake; the Gratidianus edict allowed the restoration of Roman money.

This ancient Roman financial crisis was resolved but caused arguments settled by Roman coinage from archaic Rome.

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UMC high court affirms decision to strike down attempt to allow non-celibate LGBT clergy

The United Methodist Churchs highest court has affirmed the striking down of parts of a resolution passed by a regional body that called for the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals.

The UMC Dakotas Annual Conference narrowly passed a resolution last year that, among other things, demanded that the Board of Ordained Ministry ignore the denominations rules against ordaining individuals in same-sex romantic relationships.

In a decision released Monday, the United Methodist Judicial Council upheld a Bishops Decision of Law that concluded the resolution was partially in violation of the UMC Book of Discipline.

The Judicial Council upheld parts of the resolution, considering them aspirational rather than being statements that called for overt defiance of the Book of Discipline rules on ordination.

Specifically, the high court considered the resolution's call for the UMC to invite and welcome LGBTQ+ persons at all levels of leadership to be null and void given the stance of the Book of Discipline.

However, the resolution statement urging local United Methodist Churches in the Dakotas Conference to welcome and include LGBTQ+ members in full participation within the local church was labeled aspirational and thus was acceptable under Church law.

Last June, the UMC Dakotas Annual Conference held its 28th session, in which delegates passed Resolution 1.2 in a vote of 179 to 172.

Also known as A Vision for a More Just Church, the resolution claimed that the UMCs current stance on gay ordination was harming the LGBT community.

Therefore, be it resolved, we urge the Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church to intentionally invite and welcome LGBTQ+ persons at all levels of leadership, stated the resolution, in part.

Be it further resolved, we urge the Board of Ordained Ministry to not consider a candidates sexual orientation in evaluating qualifications for ordination.

Resolution 1.2 also urged the bishop to refrain from conducting clergy trials related to ordinations of LGBTQ+ persons or same-sex marriages.

Be it further resolved, we respect our clergys faithful discernment regarding whom they will and will not marry  knowing that some will choose to marry same-sex couples and others will not, it added.

Over the past several years, the UMC has been embroiled in increasingly divisive debate over whether to change its official stance affirming the traditional definition of marriage and labeling homosexuality a sin.

Although efforts to change the official stance at General Conference has failed over and over, many progressives in the UMC continue to oppose the rules, at times refusing to enforce them.

This has led a growing number of conservatives within the UMC to conclude that it would be best to simply leave the mainline denomination and launch their own new denomination, known as the Global Methodist Church.

Earlier this month, the Bulgaria-Romania Provisional Annual Conference voted unanimously to leave the UMC and join the Global Methodist Church when it officially launches in May.
Youth For Christ raises over $169K to help staff displaced in war-ravaged Ukraine

The parachurch ministry organization Youth For Christ has raised nearly $170,000 to help support staff and volunteers who were forced to flee their homes amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

YFC volunteers, staff and others have donated, as of April 4, a little over $169,500 to help 75 people associated with Youth For Christ Ukraine who were driven from their homes.

Joe Beckler, director of communications and change management at YFC, told The Christian Post on Monday that the funds will be sent to YFC Internationals European regional office for distribution, oversight and stewardship.

The initial goal, according to Beckler, was to raise $135,000, which would support 75 people over three months, with the understanding that $20 per day provides food and shelter for one YFC Ukraine staff or volunteer who is displaced in Slovakia.

We made an appeal to all staff, volunteers and giving partners across the United States. Their generosity was remarkable. As of April 4, weve raised $169,615.50, and the gifts continue to come in, said Beckler.

In addition to financially supporting the displaced personnel, Beckler told CP that they hope to use some of the funds to later rebuild their ministry efforts in the Eastern European nation.

Beckler spoke highly of Youth For Christ Ukraine, explaining that the ministry group has a faithful history of providing services to children and youth.

Their ministry includes several teen centers in the capital city, where youth come for safety, meals, fellowship, and support through trauma, he continued.

A few days into the invasion of Ukraine, we began to receive reports regarding our YFC Ukraine team. We were concerned and eager to provide any support possible. We consider all YFC teams, across the globe, as family and were eager to lean in and help.

Beckler hoped that others would join us in praying for peace and protection in Eastern Europe. While the world is caught up in crisis, we are confident that our hope remains solely in Jesus Christ.

Since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in late February, many churches and ministries in the United States have sought to help those directly affected by the conflict.

Gateway Church, a multisite megachurch based in Texas, recently helped relocate around 400 Ukrainian refugees through cooperation with ministry partners in the country.

God loves and has not forgotten about the people of Ukraine, said Lawrence Swicegood, spokesperson for Gateway, in an earlier interview with CP. We believe as Christians that we should be proactive in helping people in their time of need.

War has devastated so many, but it has not crushed the spirit and hope of Ukrainian people.
Facebook bans LifeSiteNews after reporting deaths from US gov't vaccine database

A nonprofit pro-life news website has been permanently booted from Facebook after the social media giant accused it of publishing false information about COVID-19 that could contribute to physical harm over an article citing United States government information on people who died after receiving the vaccine.

LifeSiteNews reported Tuesday that its Facebook account appears to have been permanently unpublished for violating the social media platforms community standards on misinformation that could cause physical harm.

The social media platform says that it removes pages that post content that discourages vaccinations. In justifying the ban, Facebook cited an April 9 article with the headline COVID vaccines can be deadly for some.

That particular article highlighted an open letter that Dr. Hooman Noorchashm sent to the Food & Drug Administration and Pfizer warning about the dangers of administering COVID-19 vaccines to people who have or have had the disease.

The doctor argued that those who have or recently had the disease have viral antigens present in the endothelial lining of blood vessels and other tissues. If such antigens are present, the doctor argues that immune response will be triggered by the vaccination and target the tissues, inflaming and damaging them. He argued that a result could be the formation of blood clots that might result in significant complications.

His immunological hypothesis appeared to be bolstered by recent data showing that the side effects from the vaccine were three times more likely to be seen in those who previously had the virus.

The Telegraph reported Sunday that the figures came from King's College ZOE app, which has logged details from over 700,000 vaccinations and found those with a prior infection were far more likely to report side effects than people who have not had the virus.

The LifeSiteNews article lists the information of several anecdotal cases of middle-aged and elderly people whose deaths were tabulated in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) as contracting the coronavirus and dying soon after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

However, the LifeSiteNews article doesnt specify if the vaccine caused the deaths in question.

The report also mentioned that local news reporting shows other cases of people who earlier contracted the virus and died after receiving the vaccine. One example was a 36-year-old who died from multi-system inflammatory syndrome. One doctor cited in an article linked to by LifeSiteNews cautioned against tying the 36-year-old's death to the vaccination, calling such an observation preliminary.

We are working with the CDC to see how vaccines can play in all directions, Dr. Stephen Threlkeld told WREG Memphis. We dont have any data to suggest the vaccine has any effect in either direction.

The Christian Post reached out to Facebook for comment on the action taken against LifeSiteNews. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed that it removed the page for "violating our COVID-19 policies.

Facebooks COVID-19 and Vaccine Policy states that the platform seeks to protect people from harmful content and new types of abuse related to COVID-19 and vaccines.

Based on input from experts in health communication and related fields, Facebook says that it is also taking additional steps amid the pandemic to reduce the distribution of content that does not violate our policies but may present misleading or sensationalized information about vaccines in a way that would be likely to discourage vaccinations 

In a lengthy segment about how some Americans have died after receiving the COVID shot on his Fox News show Wednesday, Tucker Carlson observed how differently the public officials and the press are treating this vaccine rollout and the risks associated with it versus previous public health responses.

He noted that in 1976, the U.S. government vaccinated 45 million people with a swine flu vaccine, and 53 people reportedly died after receiving that shot. That program was stopped because of it as authorities deemed it too risky, he said.

Contrast that with what is happening now, Carlson said. This time, our health authorities have reserved their energy for anyone who dares to question vaccines. LifeSiteNews, a nonprofit news organization, just found itself permanently banned from Facebook. Why? Because it reported government numbers from the VAERS database.

Carlson further added that popular podcaster Joe Rogan was criticized in the media for asking whether young, healthy people should receive the COVID vaccine.

If American citizens are going to be forced to take this vaccine or any other medicine, they have an absolute right to know what the effects of it might be. And they have an absolute right to ask that question without being silenced or censored or mocked or given the finger, Carlson said. No amount of happy talk or coercion or appeals to false patriotism can change that.

The Facebook ban is not the first time LifeSiteNews has been banned from a major social media platform because of its content on COVID vaccines.

Earlier this year, video streaming platform YouTube closed LifeSiteNews channel on similar grounds.

Despite disagreeing with LifeSiteNews' presentation of the science and ethics surrounding the COVID-19 vaccines, National Catholic Bioethics Center bioethicist Edward Furton slammed the move.

YouTube is not staffed by scientists, but by engineers and technicians who understand little to nothing about scientific matters, he said in a February interview with Catholic News Agency.

Far worse, they favor a liberal ideology that supports abortion not only here at home but throughout the world. They believe that there is a universal right to kill the unborn. Such a view revokes their claim to moral superiority over others.

Censorship by big tech is one of the greatest threats to the principles of democracy that we have seen in decades, he added. This is done solely for the purpose of controlling information and preventing the free discussion of ideas among their fellow citizens.

A leaked video from July 2020, months before the U.S. government approved a COVID-19 vaccine, shows Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressing concern about the safety of COVID vaccines.

But I do just want to make sure that I share some caution on this [vaccine] because we just don't know the long-term side effects of basically modifying people's DNA and RNA, he said, according to journalist Sharyl Attkisson. [B]asically the ability to produce those antibodies and whether that causes other mutations or other risks downstream. So, there's work on both paths of vaccine development.
Twitter threatens news outlet with permanent ban for showing photo of baby illegally aborted

Twitter has again been accused of leftist censorship, this time for threatening to permanently ban the account of a pro-life news outlet that showed an image of a full-term baby it suspects was illegally aborted at a clinic in the nation's capital.

Life News announced on its Twitter account Monday that the social media giant "locked our account and threatened to permanently ban it for posting a picture of one of the five full-term babies aborted in our nations capital, even though we followed Twitter rules by marking it sensitive.

The website provided a screenshot of the notice it received from Twitter, which read, Hi LifeNews.com, Your account @LifeNewsHQ has been locked for violating the Twitter Rules.

BREAKING: Twitter locked our account and threatened to permanently ban it for posting a picture of one of the five full-term babies aborted in our nation's capital, even though we followed Twitter rules by marking it sensitive.



This is the leftist censorship that has to stop. pic.twitter.com/4kJTQd3dcq  LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) April 18, 2022

The notice cited violating our rules against posting media depicting gratuitous gore as the reason for locking Life News account. Twitter's rules prohibit users from sharing excessively graphic media (e.g., severe injuries, torture) because exposure to gratuitous gore can be harmful, especially if the content is posted with intent to delight in cruelty or for sadistic pleasure.

Please note that repeated violations may lead to a permanent suspension of your account. Proceed to Twitter now to fix the issue with your account.

The notice included a screenshot of the April 5 tweet that led to Life News being locked out of its account. It said: This is one of five babies killed in legal late-term abortions at an abortion center in our nations capital, whose body was recently discovered. This baby isnt a clump of cells. This baby is a human being whose life was snuffed out before he was born."

This is one of five babies killed in legal late-term abortions at an abortion center in our nation's capitol. whose body was recently discovered.



This baby isn't a clump of cells.



This baby is a human being whose life was snuffed out before he was born.



We MUST end abortion. pic.twitter.com/mOgqtguRgp  LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) April 5, 2022

In the second part of its Twitter thread posted Monday, Life News asked, If aborted babies are just clumps of cells, why is Twitter so afraid of people seeing pictures of them?

Allegations of censorship on the part of Twitter over its response to the tweet extended beyond Life News. Lila Rose, the founder of the pro-life group Live Action, took to Twitter to lament what she viewed as the website going after the pro-life news organization.

The babies found in waste buckets outside DC abortionist Cesare Santangelos Surgi-Clinic deserve justice, she said. Five of them were infants, approx. 21 to 32+ weeks old, with lacerated or dismembered bodies. Why is @Twitter going after the news groups reporting on them?

Pro-life activists Terrisa Bukovinac and Lauren Handy, who are affiliated with the group Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, first discovered a container filled with the remains of more than 100 aborted babies marked for disposal when they intercepted a bio-hazard waste truck outside the Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, D.C. The driver of the vehicle, employed by Curtis Bay Medical Waste Services, allowed the pro-life activists to take the container after they informed him of their intentions were to provide the babies with a proper burial and a funeral.

Upon opening the hazardous waste container, Bukovinac and Handy discovered 110 babies aborted during the first trimester of pregnancy and five full-term babies, one of whom was pictured in the tweet that got Life News locked out of its account.

Earlier this month, the duo joined other pro-life advocates in hosting a press conference announcing their findings and calling for an investigation into Santangelo for possible violations of the Born Alive Infant Protection Act and the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.

The latest allegations of censorship directed at Twitter come as Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of the electric car company Tesla, has expressed an interest in purchasing the social media giant. After buying a 10% stake in Twitter, Musk offered to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash last week.

I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy, he said. However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.

Before purchasing a stake in Twitter, Musk described the social media platform as the de facto town square before warning that failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. He shared the results of a non-scientific poll he conducted in which he found that Twitter does not rigorously adhere to the principle that free speech is essential to a functioning democracy before asking, Is a new platform needed?

Life News is not the first media outlet to find itself unable to take advantage of the full benefits of Twitter in recent weeks. Twitter notified The Christian Post via email last month that it has blocked this news outlet from posting articles after reporting that Biden administration official Rachel Levine is a man.

Twitter contended that the tweet violated its hateful conduct policy.

Critics of Twitter allege a pattern of censorship directed at conservatives and posts that state biological facts instead of kowtowing to the latest far-left ideology.

CP reached out to Twitter for comment on this story, but a response was not received by press time.
Viral pastor reveals what took place before singing worship on airplane, responds to backlash

A video posted by Pastor Jack Jensz Jr. of his ministry team worshiping aboard an airplane in mid-flight has amassed over 35 million views online  but the reason they were on the plane in the first place is the real star of the show.

The clip posted on April 6 of people from Kingdom Realm Ministries and other churches worldwide singing How Great Is Our God during a commercial flight out of Poland gained traction after Muslim U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., posted the clip on her Twitter page Saturday. She included the caption, "I think my family and I should have a prayer session next time I am on a plane.

I think my family and I should have a prayer session next time I am on a plane. How do you think it will end? pic.twitter.com/5696Erwsl5  Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 17, 2022

Her comments were criticized by some Republican politicians, such as Vernon Jones, a former Democrat who is running to represent Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives, who suggested Omar's comments were hateful toward Christians.

Others criticized the worshippers, claiming the event was invasive and forced everyone else on board to listen to music praising God against their will.

Jensz said the impromptu worship moment was not a part of a political agenda at all.

I didn't post it to stir anything up, the Australian-born pastor shared in an interview with The Christian Post. It was actually just a post to share with our friends and encourage our friends that have been following our journey.

When she posted that, I just looked at it and I didn't really give it too much thought. I didn't really enter into any political debate, he continued. For us, we just came to share the love of God, we came just to reveal to people that Jesus loves them so much, and that's our focus. Our focus wasn't a political agenda at all.

The minister captioned the video, We are taking this flight over for Jesus!

The video showed a guitar player leading a group of people in worship to the popular Chris Tomlin song. Many passengers joined in and filmed the event that lasted a few minutes as others sat in silence.

The song came on the heels of Jensz and his team being spiritually high because of what they saw God do while serving at the Ukrainian border. He said the plane ride came after their time in Ukraine, and it was their way of keeping hope going.

"We were with our team. We're flying away from Ukraine to another place to have a meeting. We had 10 members of our team on the plane, and we've been worshiping and praying for people all over the place, he explained. We decided, 'How awesome would it be if we could just bless these people with a song and bring hope and joy to this flight as so many people are in such a devastating place in pain and suffering?'"

They approached the air host and shared what they were doing in Ukraine and asked permission to sing worship music in an attempt to keep morale high even while in the air. Jensz said they would not have done the video if they weren't granted permission because they believe in honor, we believe in respecting authority.

After asking the air host if they could sing the song, Jensz said, "she took a step back, and she was so surprised and so happy."

She's like, 'Oh, wow, really? This would be so beautiful.' So she went to the pilot and asked the pilot, the pilot was in agreement, and everyone was in agreement," he stated. "Then she jumped on the intercom and goes, 'Hey, passengers, we have guests from all around the world who have been serving in Ukraine and helping the beautiful Ukrainian refugees, and they want to sing one song, just to bring joy and hope to you in this time.'

"As she announced that, everyone clapped, a bunch of smiles on the plane, and we stood up to our feet with our team and we sang How great is our God, which is a beautiful song, Jensz continued.

As we sang it, we saw people smiling, some people even crying, they were touched. We had people filming on their phones. It was a real joyful moment on the plane. Then we shared with them. We said, 'Hey, this might be the most interesting plane flight that you've ever been on in your life. But we're here to bring joy and happiness and just to tell you, God loves you and He's with you.

Jensz said many Ukrainian refugees were on that flight, and it's why they felt compelled to do what they did.

No one said anything negative, no one stood up [against it], everyone was there enjoying, he shared. It was just a beautiful time, and it seemed like everyone was truly blessed.

After the clip went viral, it created an uproar online. People had varying opinions about what took place.

For Jensz and his team, however, it was another miraculous ministry opportunity for them as they saw God move in a significant way during their entire trip.

The founder and president of the Philadelphia-based Kingdom Realm Ministries testified of what God did leading up to that worshipful moment that has caught the world's attention.

"Ukraine is in the midst of a great war, and this is devastating to see. So on the second day of the war, our teams from all over the world were like, 'Hey, let's go to the Ukrainian border and minister to the people, love the people and help the people," Jensz recalled.

He said his ministry affiliates came from all over the world to do "four different types of ministries."

"The first thing that we did is we did a border ministry, where we went to the Ukrainian border, and we came with supplies, humanitarian aid, we came with medical supplies, food, blankets, you name it. Just helping the immediate needs of these beautiful refugees," he said.

The stories he heard were heartbreaking. He recalled seeing people waiting in line to cross the border for three or four days by car. Others were standing in line waiting to get in for hours upon hours.

He even heard reports of refugees suffering from frostbite because they were standing so long in the cold.

"I've never seen anything like this! Walking down the lines, you have people throwing their children at you saying, 'Please take them,' and they're just filled with great fear, he described. These people have driven days to get to the border. These people are leaving war-torn areas where they've even seen their houses bombed. They've had to send their sons and fathers back in to fight the war, and so it's just so devastating."

Jensz said it is essential for churches to pray, but he and his team felt called not only to pray but to action.

He shared how they went to refugee centers to pray with various refugees and help them get connected with family members throughout Europe. Jensz credited the ministry Awakening Europe for helping to coordinate everything for his team during their time in the region.

"It's amazing because when you hand humanitarian aid to these beautiful people, they say thank you, they're so kind and so happy that we're there to help from all around the world, Jensz noted. But when you sit and you tell them, 'Hey, can I just share with you that God loves you so much. Even though you're going through this, know that Jesus is with you.' They begin to just melt, they cry, they get so touched.

Ukraine is known as a predominantly Christian nation. A 2018 survey conducted by the Razumkov Centre think tank found that 71.7% of the population declared themselves believers.

The pastor said that telling the people that God loved them meant the world to them.

"So it's not pushing religion down their throat at all. It's actually something that's so dear to their heart, and it moves them, he clarified.

"We also went to the train stations, where all these refugees are jumping on trains to go throughout Europe to find family members. We were there with humanitarian aid, with food, we gave candy to the kids, make the kids smile and have joy in the midst of this crazy war. Then we just share the beautiful Gospel, Jensz continued.

"We are not ashamed of the Gospel. The Gospel has the power to save and transform."

Jensz saw the transformative power of Jesus Christ in his own life.

He was brought up in an abusive home and saw God intervene by changing his mother's life and his own life, setting them on a course of hope and fulfillment.

We believe that Jesus is the answer. Obviously, we don't want to shove that down their throat. We wait for the opportunity for God to open it up. But these people were so open to receiving the good news of God," Jensz assured.

"We actually saw healings and miracles. Multiple people received healing in their bodies, and it was beautiful. It's like God was kissing them, saying, 'I'm with you and I'm for you and I love you' by healing their body. It was incredible!

While their worship video has gone viral, Jensz wants all the attention to bring glory to God.

"From a Christian perspective, I just hope that the Church rises up and realizes that the Gospel is powerful. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. ... We have a call to action to love people more, a call to action to serve people more. We have a call to action to share the Good News more. That's really my heart, he concluded.

When asked if worship on a plane should be encouraged in the future, Jensz said he's been on several plane rides where other beliefs have expressed their faith.

"I've been on different flights, and I have friends that have traveled to different countries where there are different religions that are widely spread there. I've been on flights where you have a Muslim or Islamic person come up, and they'll share and they'll pray. I've been on flights where they pray before we take off, even had Jewish people that will stand up and they'll pray, he described.

"It happens quite often. I think that we just shook the ground a little bit because it was a worship song. So it's very out there in that sense. But I think that if you ask for permission and it's granted and what you have to say is encouraging and uplifting and brings hope and light, sure! ... We live in a beautiful, free country, and we're free to express what we believe and what we stand firm on in our heart and if that's bringing life."

The pastor believes the criticism he and his team have received is whats expected as a follower of Christ.

"They persecuted Jesus and persecuted the disciples. This is just what we laid our life down for. This is the cost, Jensz maintained.
DeSantis signs bill providing $25 million to help foster parents

As part of Florida's stated mission of "putting families first," Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Tuesday to provide $25 million in additional support for foster parents.

DeSantis praised lawmakers for passing Senate Bill 7034 with no opposition earlier this year. In a statement, DeSantis said, my administration is committed to supporting our most vulnerable children and Florida has already added 4,000 more licensed foster parents than we did in 2019.

Not only does this bill allow us to expand our support for foster parents, but it also creates more opportunities for foster children, he added. Including our work on early literacy and fatherhood, Florida is a national leader in setting young children up for success.

At a signing ceremony at Miami Dade Colleges Wolfson Campus Tuesday, DeSantis cited the legislation as an example of the states commitment to the proposition that every life counts." He added: "All these kids deserve an opportunity and were going to do what we can to make sure that their dreams and hopes and aspirations can become reality in a loving home.

Florida Stands with Foster Parents and Kids https://t.co/h7QhcezD4B  Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 12, 2022

The bill will allocate $19 million to stipends for relatives or family friends of foster children. It also delegates $25 million to give $200 in monthly payments to foster parents caring for children ages 5 and younger to help with childcare expenses.

Through this funding, more than 7,000 parents and foster caregivers will receive this subsidy for the children that are in their care, the governor said.

DeSantis added that the bill also increases the money foster children receive for room and board at state universities and tuition and fee waivers at colleges, universities and workforce programs.

For foster parents taking care of children ranging in age from newborns to 5 years old, the bill increases the monthly stipend for room and board from $457.95 to $517.94. The monthly room and board rates increase from $469.68 to $531.21 for foster parents of children ranging from 6 to 12 years old and from $549.74 to $621.77 for foster parents of children between 13 and 21 years of age.

DeSantis' signing of Senate Bill 7034 came one day after he signed a separate bill into law providing financial incentives to encourage fathers to take an active role in the upbringing of their children, which also received unanimous support from the Florida Legislature.

That legislation authorizes $70 million in funding for mentorship programs for at-risk youth and grants for nonprofit organizations that help fathers meet their obligations.

In a post on social media, DeSantis added: A commitment to pro-life policy does not end at birth, but shares equal vigor regardless of age, race, religion, or creed.

While some of the initiatives listed in the graphic in DeSantis' post received unanimous support from the Florida Legislature, the votes on other bills reflected the partisan divide surrounding hot-button issues. Specifically, House Bill 5, a 15-week abortion ban that DeSantis signed into law Thursday, passed the state Legislature on a near party-line vote, with only one Democrat in either chamber joining Republicans in supporting the legislation.

DeSantis is widely considered a candidate for the Republican Partys presidential nomination in 2024. A straw poll taken at this years CPAC, an annual gathering of grassroots conservative activists, found former President Donald Trump leading DeSantis by 59% to 28% in a hypothetical primary matchup. Should Trump decline to run, DeSantis would receive 61% among participants in the straw poll, finishing far ahead of other potential candidates whose support was measured in the single digits.
Prosecutor asks to withdraw death penalty for murderer at center of Supreme Court prayer case

A district attorney in Texas filed a motion to withdraw the death penalty for an inmate at the center of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed him to have a Baptist minister lay hands on him during his execution.

Last Thursday, Nueces County District Attorney Mark A. Gonzalez filed a motion in district court requesting the withdrawal of the order setting [John Henry] Ramirezs execution date and recall the death warrant.

In 2008, Ramirez was found guilty of brutally murdering 46-year-old Corpus Christi convenience store worker Pablo Castro in 2004. Ramirez reportedly stabbed the clerk around 30 times and was apprehended in Mexico over three years later. He was recently issued an execution date for this coming October.

The undersigned District Attorney for Nueces County has the firm belief that the death penalty is unethical and should not be imposed on Mr. Ramirez or any other person while the undersigned occupies the office in question, read the motion.

The Assistant District Attorney who most recently moved for an execution date in this cause was not aware of my desire in this matter and did not consult me prior to moving for an execution date.

Ramirez's attorney, Seth Kretzer, was confident that the death penalty will be withdrawn. He told local media outlet KRIS 6 News that if the moving party no longer wants that result, it would seem to be very unusual that a judge says, Oh no, you must have it.

Ramirez filed a complaint last year when he was denied a request to have a pastor pray audibly and lay hands on him while being executed via lethal injection.

In March, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in favor of Ramirez, reversing an earlier ruling and remanding the case for further legal proceedings to find a solution that respects his beliefs.

Given the current record, respondents have not shown that a total ban on audible prayer is the least restrictive means of furthering their asserted interests, wrote Chief Justice John Roberts for the majority.

Roberts also rejected the governments rule that clergy inside cannot be allowed closer than three feet from a prisoner being executed in the name of preventing interference.

We do not see how letting the spiritual advisor stand slightly closer, reach out his arm, and touch a part of the prisoners body well away from the site of any IV line would meaningfully increase risk. And that is all Ramirez requests here, Roberts continued.

We think that preventing accidental interference with the prisons IV lines is a compelling governmental interest. But we also think it is one reasonably addressed by means short of banning all touch in the execution chamber.

Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, arguing that Ramirez has manufactured more than a decade of delay to evade the capital sentence lawfully imposed by the state of Texas.

This Court now affords yet another chance for him to delay his execution," wrote Thomas. "Because I think Ramirezs claims either do not warrant equitable relief or are procedurally barred, I respectfully dissent."

Before being heard before the nation's high court, Ramirez's case received the backing of several faith groups, including the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the National Association of Evangelicals and the Seventh-Day Adventist General Conference, among others.
New York subway shooter called on Jesus to kill all white people in online rant

The online rants of a suspect who wounded more than 20 people in a mass shooting at a New York subway station last week show that he was obsessed with a race war and even called on Jesus to kill white people.

Frank R. James, a 62-year-old suspect who called the police hotline to turn himself in amid a citywide manhunt, was found to have posted a meme that said, O black Jesus, please kill all the whiteys, according to reports.

James' online posts also appear to show that he liked watching CNN and supports communism and Fidel Castro. He also adheres to a racist ideology of black supremacy, which was earlier identified as black identity extremism." The FBI told the New York Post that the ideology no longer exists even though the man who killed six people and injured over 60 others at a Christmas parade and the suspect who killed a Capitol Hill police officer last April both espoused the same supremacist beliefs as James.

James, who detonated a smoke grenade before firing 33 shots on the Manhattan-bound N train on April 14, posted material on social media linked to the ideology, the Post added.

White people and black people, as we call ourselves, should not have any contact with each other, he says in a YouTube video under the user name prophetoftruth88.

James also believed a race war would follow Russia's war in Ukraine, according to a rant shared by The Post Millennial.

James was arrested in Manhattans East Village neighborhood last Wednesday with the help of tip-offs given to police by the public, along with the suspect himself notifying police about his exact location.

Five people who provided critical information that helped lead to James' arrest will share a $50,000 reward, police said, according to The Guardian.

James was spotted by bystanders, and he, too, called the NYPD, telling them that he wanted to turn himself in, ABC 7 reported, citing a police source. I think youre looking for me, the caller allegedly said. Im seeing my picture all over the news and I'll be around this McDonalds.

However, James had disappeared by the time police reached the location. The police received more calls from the public, who told them they thought the suspect was down the block. The police were able to spot James and arrested him without incident.

ABC 7 also said that James was known to the NYPD and had a rap sheet that spanned from 1992 to 1998 with nine prior arrests.

James also supported Black Lives Matter and claimed he had a mental illness and that the citys mental health service was a horror show, according to The Post Millennial, which added that he believed humanity would be exterminated due to the damage done to the environment.
Parent dressed as Easter bunny distributed condoms to elementary school students in Texas

A Texas elementary school has distanced itself from a parent who dressed up as the Easter bunny and passed out condoms to students last week.

Tammy Thompson, the principal of Gullett Elementary School in Austin, Texas, sent a letter to parents informing them that a parent dressed as an Easter bunny passed out condoms to children during dismissal time Thursday.

Fox 7 Austin obtained the letter, which read: This afternoon during dismissal, a Gullett parent visited campus dressed as the Easter Bunny and handed out plastic eggs. Some of those eggs contained candy, and some students were also given unopened condoms.

Please know that this was not a planned event, nor sanctioned by the school, and we have spoken with the parent about the inappropriate nature of their activity," Thompson added. "We value parent participation and always request that you work with campus staff to best support our students."

Located in northwest Austin, Gullett Elementary School serves more than 500 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, according to the Austin Independent School District website.

A school district spokesperson told local news outlet KXAN that the district is "working to review our safety protocols to ensure this does not happen again." The spokesperson characterized the occurrence as an incredibly careless and inappropriate action of a parent.

Although the parent was told to leave the school campus, the individual continued to give out the Easter eggs on a nearby public sidewalk.

While Austin Independent School District maintains that the distribution of condoms was an accident, other school districts in large U.S. cities have strived to make condoms available to young children as part of sex education.

In 2020, the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education passed a policy requiring schools to make condoms accessible to students as young as fifth grade.

Under the policy, all but a dozen of the districts 600 schools would have condoms on campus, including several that educate small children.

Conservative groups criticized the policy in Illinois largest city.

Maryanne Mosaz of the sexual risk avoidance advocacy group Ascend stressed that children are not cognitively, emotionally or physically ready to handle these kinds of acts."

Meg Kilgannon of the Family Research Council agreed that children can never meaningfully consent to sex acts.

In addition to Austin ISD, a much smaller school district made headlines for what it asserted was the accidental exposure of young children to condoms.

In 2019, Sullivan County Schools in Tennessee sent a flyer advertising a three-day clinic providing free birth control including implants, IUDs, pills, condoms, and more home with second-grade students.

The school district assured concerned parents that it did not realize that the flyer, which advertised free dental, medical and vision services on the other side of the sheet, contained a second page promoting free birth control.

The distribution of Easter eggs containing unopened condoms to elementary school students comes when some public schools in the U.S. face intense pushback for embracing sexual education curricula that some parents feel are inappropriate for young children.

Austin Independent School District is not immune to the controversy.

Earlier this year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to Austin ISD contending that district violated state law by holding a Pride Week encouraging schools to plan activities that engage, educate and inspire students concerning LGBTQIA+ issues.

Paxton wrote that Texas law requires that [b]efore a student may be provided with human sexuality instruction, a school district must obtain the written consent of the students parent.

Today, I sent a letter to @AustinISD for their curriculum and lesson plans that constitute human sexuality instruction governed by state law.



The Texas Legislature has made it clear that when it comes to sex education, parentsnot school districtsare in charge. pic.twitter.com/pVZ4Sj8GMF  Texas Attorney General (@TXAG) March 22, 2022

By hosting Pride Week, your district has, at best, undertaken a week-long instructional effort in human sexuality without parental consent, he maintained. Or worse, your district is cynically pushing a week-long indoctrination of your students that not only fails to obtain parental consent, but subtly cuts parents out of the loop. Either way, you are breaking state law.

In response to Paxtons letter, AISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde posted a message on Twitter stating, I want all our LGBTQIA+ students to know that we are proud of them and that we will protect them against political attacks. Throughout the week, the district added several pictures of elementary schools participating in Pride Week festivities to its Twitter feed.

I want all our LGBTQIA+ students to know that we are proud of them and that we will protect them against political attacks. https://t.co/fNGiaoNM3q  Dr. Stephanie S. Elizalde (@AustinISDsupt) March 23, 2022
Commissioning of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv) Mk. III by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is the latest variant that should shore up the kinks of earlier models. Previously the Indian Navy had the earlier variants, which had problems that did not sit well. The rotorcraft is the latest helicopter made in India that will find domestic use over foreign models.

Service in the Indian Navy

This version of the Mark I and II had some problems in technical, performance, and design flaws that could be fixed in the newest variant, reported by the Eurasian Times.

Development of the Dhruv Mk. III was backed by the government to develop it, with the ALH that is adapted for India's coasts, said Coast Guard officials.

The version developed by the Maritime Reconnaissance and Coastal Security (MRCS) version made by the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is the newest version.

Standard Equipment

The latest electronics and avionics are equipping the helicopter-like nose-mounted Radar, optic pod, searchlights, medical suite, homing beacon, loud hailer, and door mount medium or heavy machine gun on it, cited Kaypius.

In May 2022, three ALH Mk-III as the first units and ten more will be in service by May 2022. The HAL contract is for a total of 16 helicopters with the Self-Reliant India Mission, noted Naval News.

The Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv) Mk. III is a dual engine, multi-use next-gen helicopter at 5.5 tons; it has skid and wheel versions as options.

Read Also: Donald Trump Children: What You Need to Know About the 5 Trump Kids

According to Indian government agencies dealing with the acquisition of these units responsible for the US-made MH-60R Romeo Multi-Role Helicopter (MRH) and ongoing Naval Utility Helicopter (NUH) programs.

The former will succeed the aging Sea King 42 Alpha/42 Bravo. The latter will supplant the equally old but dependable Chetak (rechristened from the original French make as the Alouette III).

HAL deal

Ecuador reportedly agreed to buy Dhruv choppers from HAL worth $45.2 million. This was regarded as a significant accomplishment for India's military industry.

Dhruv, an Indian utility helicopter, is a low-cost alternative to Western utility helicopters. Despite facing stiff competition from Elbit, Eurocopter, and Kazan, Ecuador purchased helicopters from HAL.

However, success proved short-lived as four of the seven Dhruv advanced light helicopters crashed in different incidents, leading Ecuador to ground the remaining aircraft and terminate the agreement, mentioned Hindustimes.

It was initially for the Indian Army as the Mk. I 2003, that saw several technical problems from an underpowered engine with other issues plaguing it, remarked said Commander KP Sanjeev Kumar (Retd), a former test pilot.

This kept the navy from going in for more and enabled the Chetaks to continue flying. The helicopter was judged inadequate in terms of being able to function from and fit onto warship decks, which is a basic navy need.

IN pilots have long criticized the HAL for poor work, sloppy engineering, poor maintenance standards, and outright denial of responsibility. But other pilots say that HAL needs more advanced projects.

The helicopter was developed mainly for the Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF). Both are satisfied with it, with the former used in advanced high-altitude outposts in Ladakh for complicated medical evacuation and disaster relief operations.

Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv) Mk. III will be serving in units and using a homegrown unit for operations.

Related Article: China's Harbin Z-20 Medium Lift Helicopter Almost a Perfect Copy of the UH-60 Black Hawk

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Cultural Christianity isn't the problem

Its now a felony to perform an abortion in Oklahoma. Pro-life movement, take note: This is how we win.

In case you missed it, last week, April 12, the state of Oklahoma took a giant step for America when Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law new legislation that essentially outlaws all abortions. The bill takes the necessary step of criminalizing the act of providing an abortion, by making it a felony for anyone to perform or attempt to perform an abortion, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

This bill is being lamented by its opponents as the most restrictive abortion ban in the nation since the advent of Roe v. Wade in 1973. Good. Anyone in possession of their right moral mind should want to ban abortion.

The bill, SB612, prohibits the performance of an abortion or attempt to perform an abortion except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency. It passed both the Oklahoma House and Senate earlier this year with overwhelming support and was positively welcomed by the Republican governor.

During the signing ceremony, Gov. Stitt celebrated the new law as a massive win for the unborn. Surrounded by supporters holding signs that read, Life is a Human Right, he unapologetically proclaimed, We want to outlaw abortion in the State of Oklahoma.

Amen to that, Gov. Stitt. Amen. Not only should abortion be unconscionable, but it should also be illegal.

In a follow-up tweet, Stitt reminded Oklahomans, As Governor, I promised to sign every piece of pro-life legislation that hit my desk. Today I kept that promise by signing SB 612 into law, once again showing the world that Oklahoma is the most pro-life state in the country.

He will have a chance to continue providing this fearless leadership, as more pro-life pieces of legislation are headed his way from the Oklahoma state legislature in the coming weeks.

For many who have been involved in the pro-life movement over the years, the successful passage of this bill into law rightly inspired rejoicing. Even as millions of pro-life activists await the Supreme Court decision in the Dobbs case, which may go all the way and overturn Roe, state efforts like this show what a post-Roe world might  positively  look like. Of course, that is, in states politically controlled and led by legislatures and governors who respect the fundamental right to life of all human beings  born or not. Other states, like Colorado, California, and even Maryland, seem to be racing in the opposite direction and trying to secure the ability for women to kill their children without consequence up until the moment of birth. They might as well be hanging up signs at their borders that read, Welcome to our state  we worship Molech here.

The divide in America is real and growing. If youre an unborn baby, and you hope to make it out of the womb alive, you better hope youre conceived in the Heartland  somewhere like, say, Oklahoma.

Because if we have any hope of ending the national shame of legalized infanticide that is the abortion regime in the United States, it will only be through courageous political leadership, like that demonstrated by Gov. Stitt and the Oklahoma state legislature.

Christian conservative activist and Standing for Freedom Center author Reagan Escude Scott praised Gov. Stitt in a tweet that highlighted how serious this bill is in contrast to other efforts throughout the year. She said: Oklahoma has now officially declared the American genocide of children a felony. Thank you, @GovStitt, for putting an end to abortion in your state rather than regulating murder as many Republicans resolve to do. Praying that more states will follow OKs lead.

And John Wesley Reid, senior editor for the Freedom Center, celebrated how both Oklahoma and its southern neighbor, Texas, are leading the way in protecting life. He wrote, Oklahoma, like Texas, is setting the bar for life, courage, and moral legislation. While its a grievous reflection of American culture to even need a dont kill babies law, Im glad OK is taking that step and hoping other states will follow this lead.

This brings me back to my opener  recognizing that this is how we win. We win the fight for the rights and lives of the unborn not by half measures or negotiated settlements. We do it by criminalizing abortion and abortion providers. We do it cheering on government actors, at any level, when they fulfill their most basic duties before God to protect the value of mankind as image-bearers of the Creator and to bear the sword as Gods servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer (Romans 13:4).

Some people argue that we should first focus on changing hearts and minds. While I agree thats an important piece of this overall effort, that is no reason to delay taking the just and necessary, legal steps to end abortion now. Yes, abortion should be unthinkable. But first, it must be outlawed  regardless of what anyone thinks. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think thats pretty important.

This law in Oklahoma might not make the Planned Parenthood operators love unborn children, but it sure can stop them from aborting those precious babies, and I think thats pretty important. Clearly, Oklahoma Republicans do too. For that, they deserve our respect and our prayers.

But lets not stop with the Sooner State. We dont only want abortion outlawed in Americas Heartland, we want to see it outlawed from sea to shining sea. And when that day comes, it will really be a win worth celebrating.

Originally published at Standing for Freedom Center.
Christians in India arrested during Maundy Thursday service

Police in northern Indias Uttar Pradesh state arrested dozens of Christians celebrating Maundy Thursday in their Evangelical church after a mob of radical Hindu nationalists surrounded the building and locked the doors in retaliation for the alleged forced conversions of Hindus to Christianity.

At least 36 Christians were arrested from a church belonging to the Evangelical Church of India denomination in Hariharganj area of Fatehpur City based on a police complaint under Uttar Pradesh states anti-conversion law filed by a member of the Hindu nationalist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council), the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christians Concern reported.

This is a perfect portrayal of Jesus suffering 2000 years ago. We know Jesus endured, and we will, ICC quoted a member of the congregation as saying. Maundy Thursday is an occasion when Christians gather to celebrate Jesus final Passover with His disciples, His commandment to love one another, and His service to others through the washing of feet.

According to Indias PTI news agency, the arrests were made over allegedly illegal religious conversions of 90 people in the last 40 days in the [Fatehpur] district.

Sadly, Uttar Pradesh is one of the harshest states in India regarding religious freedom violations, ICC President Jeff King said. When the Indian authorities validate the actions of a violent mob by jailing the mobs victims, they are sending a message that criminal activity is approved by the authorities whenever it targets religious minorities. This type of legal posture only worsens the religious freedom climate and further increases the vulnerability of Christians to more violence.

The VHP, the group that filed the complaint, is known for attacking minorities, including Christians.

Anti-conversion laws are inherently subjective, and perception-based, therefore completely restricting the rights of Christians to public expressions of their faith, King added.

While Christians make up only 2.3% of Indias population and Hindus comprise about 80%, the countrys anti-conversion laws presume that Christians force or give financial benefits to Hindus to convert them to Christianity.

Some of these laws have been in place for decades in some states. Radical Hindu nationalist groups frequently use the laws to make false charges against Christians and launch attacks on them under the pretext of an alleged forced conversion.

For Indias Christians, 2021 was the most violent year in the countrys history, according to a report by the United Christian Forum, which recorded at least 486 violent incidents of Christian persecution in the year.

The UCF attributed the high incidence of Christian persecution to impunity, due to which such mobs criminally threaten, physically assault people in prayer, before handing them over to the police on allegations of forcible conversions.

Police registered formal complaints in only 34 of the 486 cases, according to the UCF.

Often communal sloganeering is witnessed outside police stations, where the police stand as mute spectators, the UCF report states.

Hindu extremists believe that all Indians should be Hindus and that the country should be rid of Christianity and Islam, an Open Doors fact sheet explains. They use extensive violence to achieve this goal, particularly targeting Christians from a Hindu background. Christians are accused of following a foreign faith and blamed for bad luck in their communities.
Uganda: Muslims abduct teacher, burn him inside mosque for praying in Christs name

In Uganda, a Christian teacher was abducted from his home and dragged inside a mosque where he was beaten and burned by his colleagues at an Islamic school who planned to kill him for praying in Jesus' name.

The victim, Yusufu Mwanje, converted to Christianity earlier this year after hearing a Christian businessman who supplied equipment to the school praying to Jesus in his office. Before he lost his job after being outed as a Christian following the April 2 attack, Mwanje had led the Ibunbaz Primary School in Bugiri, Morning Star News reported.

I wanted to keep my faith in Christ secret and began missing Friday prayers as I attended evening prayers at the church, Mwanje said. Some Muslim teachers noticed my absence and reported to the school management board.

Mwanje told the school leadership he had been praying from his house.

At around 3 a.m. on April 1, an unnamed staff person overheard Mwanje praying in Christs name and recorded him. The following morning, the staffer gathered other schoolteachers to eavesdrop on him.

As I finished the prayers at 4:45 a.m. and began preparing to go to the mosque to pray, I heard a knock at the door, Mwanje said. As I opened the door, there were people outside my door. They began shouting, Allah akbar [Allah is greater]! Allah akbar! Allah akbar! This is a kafir [infidel], this is kafirThey grabbed me and took me inside the mosque and started beating me badly and accusing me of heading a Muslim school, yet I had converted to Christianity. Others shouted, A liar, a liar, a liar. ... He deserves the death penalty.

Mwanje continued, I remembered [the supplier] telling me that in times of persecution, I should call on the name of Jesus. As I mentioned the name Jesus in a low voice, one attacker said, Azab Azab, meaning punishment in Arabic. Immediately, two Islamic teachers named Ustaz Hamudan and Hashim Sajabbi brought two old jerry cans and lit them with fire and started burning me with them. It was too painful. I fainted.

An elderly Islamic teacher named Alhaji Bruhan intervened and ordered the men not to kill Mwanje because Allah would kill him. He instructed some to take me to the school clinic for treatment, he said. I then realized that Jesus had come to save me.

Mwanje later called the Christian supplier who took him to a church where he was treated for five days before being transferred to Iganga Hospital, where he is now receiving treatment.

Last month, in a separate attack on a Christian convert in eastern Uganda, a Muslim woman attempted to murder her husband by adding rat poison to his food. Hiire Sadiki had been an Islamic teacher before converting to Christianity, unbeknownst to his wife. After he refused to participate in Ramadan and then overheard him praying in Christ's name, she plotted with other Muslims to kill him by adding poison to his food.

Sadiki is still recovering in a hospital in Butaleja District, Morning Star News reported,

Even though Uganda has a higher percentage of Catholics and Anglicans than Muslims, there are regions where Islam is the dominant religion.

The Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project estimates that about 11.5% of Ugandas population is Muslim, mostly Sunni. Armed attacks and murders of converts are not uncommon in the region.

Radical Islams influence has grown steadily, and many Christians within the majority-Muslim border regions are facing severe persecution, especially those who convert from Islam, a Voice of the Martyrs factsheet notes.

Despite the risks, Evangelical churches in Uganda have responded by reaching out to their neighbors; many churches are training leaders on how to share the Gospel with Muslims and care for those who are persecuted after they become Christians.
Melissa Francis is joined by Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Investment Management, to discuss her views on Twitter, Tesla, and disruptive innovation.



Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Investment Management, joined host Melissa Francis, former CNBC, MSNBC, Fox Business, and FOX News anchor, to discuss her views on Tesla, Twitter, and Disruptive Innovation.

To watch the full interview with Cathie Wood, in addition to interviews with Jeffrey Gundlach, Kyle Bass and Tim Seymour, check out Magnifi by TIFIN.

Melissa Francis: Welcome everyone today. We're here to talk about Magnifi by TIFIN, a marketplace where you can harness real time proprietary data to help individual investors and financial advisors find, compare and buy investment products like stocks and ETFs mutual and model portfolios to grow and preserve your wealth. I'm Melissa Francis. I know just a little bit about this subject matter. I'm a former CNBC MSNBC Fox business and Fox news anchor. And you will remember if you've watched us before we talked about the best crypto investment strategies with Anthony Scaramucci, the best bond with the bond king himself, Jeffrey Gundlach and the best private equity strategies with Marty Nesbitt. Now we have a very special guest that I am super excited about to talk about stocks, um, and everything hot out there, Kathy wood. She's the CEO of arc. She is a board member of TIFIN, which is Magnifis parent company.

Melissa Francis: Cathie, thank you so much for being here. I wanna drill down on your latest blog because there were so many good nuggets in there, and I found some of them kind of counterintuitive. So I wanna get into those, but first, if I could take you to the hot story of the day, which of course is Twitter. And I wanted to ask you, um, looking at where things stand today, and I know as fast moving, it keeps changing, but, um, if you were Elon Musk, what would your next move be? What would you do from here?

Cathie Wood: Well, he's got a $54, I guess it's $54 and 20 cent offer out there. So I think he'll buy it his time. It will be interesting to see if other bidders, uh, show up. Uh I'm uh, I'm hearing that there are some, so, so let's see. Not, not quite sure it's still quite fluid, right?

Melissa Francis: Yeah, no. And he says that if this doesn't work, he has plan B. What do you think that is?

Cathie Wood: Goodness, I don't know if it would be something a little more hostile. Just I have no idea, you know, uh, Elon Musk is, is, has his own mind and, and, and is, uh, and I'm sure thinking very creatively about this,

Melissa Francis: If he does succeed and you, or him again, what would you do with the company? What do you think that they need to correct?

Cathie Wood: Well, one of the things that, uh, I think has hampered Twitter is its advertising model and this is what scares, uh, uh, analysts out there. Oh my gosh. You know, uh, he's going to upend the advertising model, uh, because advertisers don't like to be, uh, to have their ad shown next to questionable content, which is something different for everyone, right? Uh, and so this idea of perhaps a subscription service is a possibility or a tipping service, uh, but certainly open sourcing. The algorithm will be the first thing he'll do, uh, so that, uh, there's transparency associated with what is and is not censored.

Melissa Francis: So do you think that's a good or a bad thing for the company? I mean, it might be a good thing for freedom of speech or however, may you, you may look at it politically, but if you were a shareholder, is it a good idea for him to get that out there? So everybody knows how the algorithm really works?

Watch the full interview with Cathie Wood HERE

Cathie Wood: Well, I think even Jack Dorsey thought that Twitter was beginning to tie itself in knots over the censorship. And, so he was trying to figure out what can we do to overcome this monster really? And, uh, so I think they do need to do something. Um, uh, many people would describe what's happened to Twitter as, uh, becoming a cesspool. Now we don't think that we use Twitter. Uh, it's, it's become quite important to our business as have other social media, uh, platforms. Uh, and so we know that we can unfollow someone, uh, that is hampering our research or our ability to engage with others in a civil way. Um, but I, I think that, um, I think that even Jack was saying, okay, we need a change. We have to change what we're doing. And I think he and Elon probably are aligned, uh, and this idea of an open source algorithm, a shift away from the advertising model towards something, uh, more or subscription based and, you know, more transparency. I mean, uh, ARKK is radically transparent. Everything we do, uh, is transparent and it has done nothing but help our business. Sure. You've got, uh, people out there who are, um, denigrating our work. Uh, but we know those people as, as we drill into what they're saying, they're not doing any research. We're really interested in engaging with people who are doing real research. Uh, and I think transparency, uh, would make that make, uh, our experience with Twitter even better.

Melissa Francis: Yeah. The fact that you're not afraid to engage like that and to, you know, hear from those who might oppose you shows how confident you are about what you're doing. You have to wonder about a company that wants to hide what they're doing. Let me ask you though, on, on the Twitter front, um, so what do you think the company's worth? I mean, I know I wanna talk to you about your Tesla target, but as you look at what Elon's willing to pay, um, what do you think if you had to put a price target on the stock two years down, or four years down the road, what would you say?

Cathie Wood: Well, I think there's so much uncertainty right now that I couldn't give you one. Based on their existing model, our compound annual rate of return expectation, uh, for Twitter is, uh, roughly 25%. Now, their model's going to change. There are going to be a lot of dislocations. We have a lot of very short term oriented shareholders who are probably now have moved into Twitter to make a fast buck, 54, uh, 20, $54 and 20 cents. Uh, but the model's going to change. And so we will revisit once we understand what's going on, we will revisit the upside to the model. And we do think that, uh, uh, a lot can be done to improve the model. So, it may take more time than even our five year investment time horizon.

Watch the full interview with Cathie Wood HERE

Melissa Francis: So, if Elon Musk does get control of the company, would you adjust that upward? Do you think it has more potential with him in charge or would it be more of a wait and see, how would you feel?

Cathie Wood: We probably would have more confidence in the platform, uh, would want to hear what Elon, um, uh, has in mind in terms of perpetuating the platform. Uh, I'm sure he does not want to run it as a charitable or organization or a nonprofit. So we'd like to see how he thinks it could become a, a, a, a very transparent, but also self-sustaining, uh, model. And, you know, he's very creative and I think that it is our global town square and, and that a lot of people would miss it. Uh, so, uh, I think there would be a lot of people, very supportive and very open to his ideas.

Melissa Francis: So putting politics aside entirely, and just thinking about pure money as a shareholder, you would be in favor of Elon Musk taking over.

Cathie Wood: Well, I do think that, uh, the route Jack was going, which we supported, was opening up the algorithm or open sourcing it in some way. Um, and, and so I think this is a continuation of that. We also think one of the reasons we have held Twitter is because we believe, uh, it is a verification platform, you know, the little blue check, and we believe that it could become a verification platform for NFTs as well. Uh, and so, you know, there are a few call options here, and, uh, there are verification algorithms we think are well respected out there. And, uh, so I think, uh, Elon would also build on that.

Melissa Francis: Wow, fascinating stuff. That's great. I'm sure you just made some news there without question before we stray too far from Elon, cuz he is such a fascinating character. I know that you put a 20, 26 target on Tesla of $4,600. How did you work that math and how do you feel about that call?

Cathie Wood: Yes. Well we, as we have been building out the Tesla model for years, of course, and uh, each year we publish, uh, uh, our five year projection. We started doing this, I believe in 2019, uh, when we believe Tesla so misunderstood. And uh, I think our projections were so much closer to the mark, uh, for, for 20 22, 23, 24, uh, that, um, we, we, we felt that open sourcing it and, and continuing to, um, update people would help them understand number one, how much share, uh, Tesla has and is keeping in the electric vehicle space. How, uh, how, um, capital efficient the company is, we're even shocked at how capital efficient it is, uh, more efficient than any other, uh, company out there. Uh, we keep, uh, a constant, um, um, eye on batteries and battery costs and, and battery technology. So we like to update that, but I think our biggest assumption changes over the last few years have been market share, keeping a lot more than we expected ability to scale.

Watch the full interview with Cathie Wood HERE

Cathie Wood: Uh, uh, in fact, Elon is saying, he's now a manufacturer of factories. That's one of their core competencies. And we agree with that. Um, capital efficiency, we've been shocked at how good it is and you know, uh, uh, their ability to increase their gross margins over time, much, much higher than I think most people might have anticipated. And in our five year forecast, whereas, uh, last year we, we had a 50 50, uh, shot at autonomous being a now, as you can see from the model, we put a 25 percentile, 75 percentile, uh, probabilities, and we have price targets associated with those sort of the, the, the low end and the high end. Uh, we know now that autonomous is possible because cruise automation is autonomous in San Francisco. A big city, Waymo has done it in Arizona. So it is possible. Uh, we no longer have to answer that.

Melissa Francis: Yeah, I can't wait to not drive my kids around, but I hear you. I, I wanna ask you specifically about a, so tell us a little bit about the people you have working for you. I find it really fascinating.

Cathie Wood: We give our research away, uh, not because we are altruistic, although we do want to educate not just investors, but parents and grandparents about how the world is changing and how rapidly is it's changing and how to keep their children and grandchildren on the right side of change. And even for adults, how to retrain so much is going to change because of the five innovation platforms, genomic sequencing, adaptive robotics, energy storage, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology. And those platforms themselves, they're all growing at exponential rates and they are converging. So it's one S curve feeding another S-curve. And we want people to understand that we want not just investors and registered investment advisors, uh, but also as I mentioned, uh, the sell side and the buy side, you know, they're used to very short term time horizons and they haven't until recently been as focused on these new technologies, they've been much more focus on benchmarks and how to beat benchmarks. They haven't been thinking as much about the future and, uh, and the technologies that are going to transform the future. So we give our research away because we want to engage with and become a part of the communities that are innovating. And I feel like we've done that. So, yes,

Melissa Francis: If I could just jump in, I mean, cuz this has been a very successful strategy for you, especially during the pandemic and the lockdown economy. Um, it's been tougher obviously more recently and you know, you've seen a lot of correction within the portfolios and you know, you've taken a lot of criticism from the outside. I would ask you, first of all, is there any part of the criticism that you feel like you're receiving that rings true?

Cathie Wood: So let me put in perspective what has happened over the past five years, we have a five year investment time horizon. So we'll start with the past five years and then we'll look forward at the next five years. The past five years as we, uh, as we stated in, in one of our, um, research pieces recently, and fund pieces, um, very few active managers have CLICK HERE to watch the rest of this interview at Magnifi by TIFIN

TWTR shares fell $0.11 (-0.24%) in after-hours trading Tuesday. Year-to-date, TWTR has gained 6.80%, versus a -6.01% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

About the Author: Gary Kaminsky

Gary Kaminsky is a Senior Advisor to Morgan Stanley Global Wealth Management and the Co-Host of "Wall Street Week." Formerly the Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, Gary joined Morgan Stanley in April 2013. Throughout the last 25 years, Kaminsky was CNBC's Capital Markets Editor, Co-Creator and Co-Host of "Strategy Session" and a regular contributor to "Squawk Box" and "Squawk on the Street."

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A major milestone in the coronavirus pandemic was reached on Monday when the Biden administrations policy for requiring masks on public transportation was ruled "unlawful" by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle for the Middle District of Florida.

Effective immediately, mask requirements on airplanes, trains, buses, etc. were dropped for the first time since the federal mandate was put into place by the CDC in February 2021.

It was also clarified that TSA will not be enforcing mask-wearing policies in airports and on airplanes.

Heres what this means moving forward.

Airlines have independently released statements on how they will handle the new ruling

Even though the federal mandate was lifted, independent airlines and companies can still make mask-wearing policies mandatory for travelers if they so choose.

Delta Airlines has ruled that masks will be optional for all employees, crew members and flyers in airports and onboard domestically, noting that this policy also applies for most international flights, provided the countries being flown in and out of dont have their own mask policies at play.

The airlines statement was edited on Tuesday after the company caught major flack for its original wording that referred to Covid as a seasonal virus.

Related: Fauci Says It Might Be Time to Relax Indoor Mask Requirements

"We are relieved to see the U.S. mask mandate lift to facilitate global travel as COVID-19 has transitioned to an ordinary seasonal virus," Delta's original statement said. "Thank you for your support in complying with the federal mask mandate and keeping each other, and our customers, safe during the pandemic."

Delta joins United Airlines, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, Spirit Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines, which have all released statements stating that mask-wearing will be optional domestically but selectively required internationally.

Most airlines encouraged customers to check mask and pandemic-related travel requirements in the countries that they will be traveling to and from outside of the U.S.

Certain regional airports will still keep the mask mandates enforced in accordance with state guidelines

Major New York City-area airports LaGuardia Airport and JFK will still require passengers to wear masks while walking around the transportation hubs.

Philadelphia International Airport and San Francisco International Airport are also continuing to enforce mask mandates at this time.

Passengers are encouraged to check their local airports policy before arriving.

Statewide public transportation systems are continuing to enforce mask mandates

New Yorks MTA system will continue to enforce mask mandates for passengers. This includes the subway, New York City buses and the two train lines that operate out of New York City, the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North.

New York is joined by the CTA in Chicago, the BART system in the San Francisco area and the LA Metro system in Los Angeles.

New Jersey will not require masks on its public transportation system, New Jersey Transit, however, nor will the WMATA system based in Washington, D.C.

Amtrak has also dropped mask requirements for travelers aboard its trains.

Rideshare companies are also adjusting their policies

Uber announced that it would remove mask requirements for riders in an email sent out to customers on Tuesday. The company will also change its no front seat policy, which has prohibited passengers from sitting in the front seat of Uber vehicles since the pandemic began.

Lyft followed shortly thereafter by also dropping mask requirements and once again allowing riders to sit in the front seat.

For both companies, the policy is in play for both riders and drivers.

Copyright 2022 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
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BEIJING (AP)  Shanghai allowed 4 million more people out of their homes Wednesday as anti-virus controls that shut down China's biggest city eased, while the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast of Chinese economic growth and warned the global flow of industrial goods might be disrupted.

A total of almost 12 million people in the city of 25 million are allowed to go outdoors following the first round of easing last week, health official Wu Ganyu said at a news conference. Wu said the virus was under effective control for the first time in some parts of the city.

Under the latest changes, more than 4 million people are included in areas where the status shifted from closed to controlled, said Wu. He said some are not allowed to leave their neighborhoods and large gatherings are prohibited.

Meanwhile, the IMF reduced its forecast of Chinese growth this year to 4.4% from 4.8% due to the shutdowns of Shanghai and other industrial centers. That is down by almost half from last year's 8.1% growth and below the ruling Communist Party's 5.5% target.

Chinas case numbers in its latest infection surge are relatively low, but the ruling party is enforcing a zero-COVID strategy that has shut down major cities to isolate every case.

On Wednesday, the government reported 19,927 new cases in Chinas mainland, all but 2,761 of which had no symptoms. Shanghai accounted for 95% of the total, or 18,902 cases, of which 2,495 had symptoms.

The Shanghai city health agency reported seven people who had COVID-19 died Tuesday but said the deaths were due to cancer, heart disease and other ailments. All but two were over 60.

Shanghai shut down businesses and confined most of its population to their homes starting March 28 after a spike in infections. That led to complaints about lack of access to supplies of food and medicine. People in Shanghai who test positive but have no symptoms have been ordered into quarantine centers set up in exhibition halls and other public buildings.

Official data this week showed economic growth in the first three months of this year declined compared with the final quarter of 2021.

The lockdowns in China "will likely compound supply disruptions elsewhere and might add to pressure for inflation to rise, the IMF said in a report.

The ruling party has promised tax refunds and other aid to businesses but is avoiding large-scale stimulus spending. Economists say that strategy will take longer to show results and Beijing might need to spend more or cut interest rates.

Chinese leaders have promised to try to reduce the human and economic cost of anti-disease controls by shifting to a dynamic clearing strategy that isolates neighborhoods and other smaller areas instead of whole cities. However, many areas appear to be enforcing more stringent controls after Shanghai officials were criticized for not acting aggressively enough.

Also Wednesday, the Ministry of Agriculture ordered local officials to avoid any measures that might interfere with spring planting by farmers who feed China's 1.4 billion people. The order followed warnings that production of wheat and other crops might be disrupted, which would boost demand for imports and push up already high global prices.

The government reported 26,760 people who tested positive but had no symptoms were released Wednesday from observation. That included 25,411 in Shanghai, where some residents of quarantine centers have complained they are unsanitary.

Other industrial and trading centers including Changchun, Jilin and Shenyang in the northeast, the port of Tianjin east of Beijing and Shenzhen and Guangzhou in the south have closed businesses, imposed travel restrictions or told told residents to stay home.

Global automakers and other manufacturers reduced or stopped production because suppliers couldnt deliver.

This week, Volkswagen AG announced its Changchun factory resumed production and the automaker was considering when its Shanghai facility would reopen. BMW AG said its factory in Shenyang reopened.

While some cities were easing controls, the the government of Harbin, a city of 5.3 million in the northeast, suspended bus and subway service on Wednesday and barred the public from moving between districts.
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FAIRFAX, Va. (AP)  Actor Johnny Depp scoffed at the notion during court testimony Wednesday that his constant quarrels with ex-wife Amber Heard would ever prompt him to hit her.

Violence isn't necessary, he said from the stand during his libel lawsuit against Heard. Why would you hit someone to make them agree with you?

Heard has accused Depp of physically and sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions before and during their brief marriage. Depp sued after Heard made an indirect reference to those accusations in a 2018 op-ed piece she wrote for The Washington Post.

Depp began to address Heard's accusations in detail Wednesday. Heard has said the first time she was assaulted was when Depp slapped her in 2013 after she made fun of a tattoo he had  one that used to say Winona Forever when he was dating the actress Winona Ryder that he altered to Wino Forever after they broke up.

It didn't happen, he said of the alleged assault. Why would I take such great offense to someone making fun of a tattoo on my body? That allegation never made any sense to me.

Later, he addressed an alleged assault on a private plane flight in 2014 from Boston to Los Angeles when he was filming the movie Black Mass. Heard has said Depp became blackout intoxicated and assaulted her on the plane ride.

Depp testified he took two oxycodone pills  an opiate to which he admits he was addicted at the time  and locked himself in the plane bathroom and fell asleep to avoid her badgering.

He took great lengths to explain the difference between falling asleep on opiates and blacking out on alcohol, and insisted throughout his testimony that he was never addicted to booze.

Depp testified that he only drank perhaps a glass of Champagne as he boarded the plane. But according to evidence introduced at a similar trial in England where Depp sued a British tabloid  a lawsuit he lost  Depp texted his friend, actor Paul Bettany, and referenced drinking half a bottle of whiskey, a thousand Red Bull vodkas and two bottles of Champagne before the flight.

Depp also discussed a violent argument in 2015  shortly after they were married  in Australia that resulted in the tip of his middle finger being cut off. He said Heard was irate that Depp's lawyers had asked her to sign a post-nuptial agreement. Depp said he retreated to a basement bar and started pouring himself shots of vodka, which further enraged her.

He said she threw two vodka bottles at him, the second of which exploded where he had placed his hand on the bar, severing the finger to the point where bone was exposed.

I dont know what a nervous breakdown feels like, but thats probably the closest Ive ever been, he said.

Depp said he began to write on the walls in his own blood to recount lies in which he had caught Heard.

Depp told hospital doctors he had injured himself, and contemporaneous text messages introduced as evidence refer to Depp injuring himself. Depp testified he lied about the cause of the injury to protect her. In opening statements, Heard's lawyers said the laws of physics do not support Depp's story and they will introduce evidence to prove that.

Most of his Depp's Day 1 testimony in Fairfax County Circuit Court focused on his descriptions of a difficult childhood, his rise to fame as an actor after an aborted music career and his early relationship with Heard after meeting her on the 2011 film The Rum Diary. The two married in 2015 and she filed for divorce a year later.

Taking the stand for a second day, Depp said things began to change in his marriage when he felt that he was suddenly just wrong about everything in Heards eyes.

Depp said that Heard made little digs at him to demean him. The insults escalated into full-fledged circular arguments from which there was no way in or out, Depp said.

Ms. Heard was unable to be wrong," he said.

He said he was constantly being told about how wrong he was about various aspects of his life, including his 30-year acting career.

Violence would often ensue, sometimes with a slap or a shove from Heard or his wife throwing a television remote control or a glass of wine in his face, Depp said.

There were times when I would just go and lock myself in the bathroom or a place where she couldnt get to, Depp said.

Why did I stay? I stayed I suppose because my father stayed (with my mother)  I didnt want to fail, Depp said. I wanted to try to make it work. I thought maybe I could help her. I thought maybe I could bring her around.

Depp said he used drugs and drank alcohol as a way to cope with Heards abuse and said she was also a heavy drinker.

Depp said he at one point stopped drinking to try to save the relationship. But Depp said Heard refused to abstain, even when he asked her to help him in his sobriety.

Depp sued Heard after she wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post in which she referred to herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse.

She never mentioned Depp by name, but Depp and his lawyers said it was a clear reference to accusations Heard made in 2016 when the couple divorced and she sought a restraining order against him.

Depp said the accusations and the article contributed to an unfairly ruined reputation that made him a Hollywood pariah and cost him his role in the lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise.

Heard's lawyers say the article is accurate and does not defame him. They say Depp's ruined reputation is the result of his own bad behavior, including drug and alcohol abuse.

___

Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia.
If youre gonna face a jury for a crime youve already confessed to  and even explained how you did it  youd better have something going for you besides a not guilty plea.

The real-life character of Britain's Kempton Bunton, an amiable sexagenarian taxi driver who was acquitted of stealing a national art treasure in 1961, definitely did. He had charm, he had wit, and he had a good story.

The same could be said for what British director Roger Michell, who died last year at 65, brings to The Duke. He imbues his last film with so much charm, wit and good storytelling that he, too, cannot help but win.

One of Michells talents was to pick the right cast and let the chemistry shine. After all, this is the man who directed Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant in the classic rom-com Notting Hill.

The Duke  named after the Goya portrait of the Duke of Wellington that was famously stolen from the National Gallery  is no rom-com. Jim Broadbents Kempton is a portly man who struggles to hold down a job (as a cab driver, he talks too much) and writes plays that don't get produced. Helen Mirrens Dorothy is his subdued wife, who cleans houses and suppresses sadness over a family tragedy. But their touching chemistry does the trick, and Broadbent  who has much more to do in the film  is darned near perfect as a man whose Robin Hood-like principles won out in the most unlikely of scenarios.

Of course, it was those principles that got Bunton into trouble in the first place. (Reader, please note: The script takes some liberties from the real story, which itself contains a huge twist, but to describe all that here would spoil much of the fun. Youll learn the truth by the end. Also, theres Google.) Briefly put, Bunton was passionate about free access to television, particularly for the OAP, meaning old-age pensioners  many of whom couldnt afford the governments mandatory license fees for the BBC.

It was access to television, Bunton felt, that connected the elderly to the outside world. And so, soon after we meet him, hes spending a couple weeks in prison for refusing  on principle  to pay his own licensing fee.

Wife Dorothy is thoroughly embarrassed by her husbands social activism, which also finds him campaigning in the streets. And she has little patience for his copious playwriting. (One of his plays, he tells a woman in the shops, imagines Jesus as a woman and is called The Adventures of Susan Christ.) We learn through one of the couples two sons, Jackie, that the playwriting is a coping mechanism to deal with their daughters death in a bicycle accident, a tragedy Dorothy refuses to discuss.

Kempton promises Dorothy that after a two-day trip to London to launch a final push for his social causes  AND his plays  he'll settle down and find steady work. But in London, nobody wants to listen. Dejected, he sits down and sees a newspaper on the ground. It tells of that portrait of the duke, for which the government has paid a huge sum, tantamount to millions today, to avoid losing to an American collector. Imagine how many seniors could get free TV licenses for that sum?

And soon, presto, the painting is gone  slipped out through a washroom window of the National Gallery in the middle of the night.

Kempton and son Jackie (an appealing Fionn Whitehead) quickly build a fake wall for the bedroom cupboard. After all, even more frightening than the police finding the hot painting is the prospect of Dorothy finding out. As for the hapless police, they quickly announce that the theft is likely the work of a sophisticated gang of international art thieves. Watching Broadbents Kempton nearly choke to death on his biscuit when he hears the police, on TV, refer to the culprit as almost certainly a trained commando is pretty priceless.

But its the balance between humor and pathos that makes this film work, and the trial scenes are the high point, with the bewigged judge and prosecutor clearly unprepared for the sympathetic response Bunton will receive. (Matthew Goode also impresses as an impossibly suave defense attorney  when Bunton first meets him, he says he feels like hes about to be offered a gin and tonic.)

Speaking of suave, and of cocktails, theres also a sly appearance here from Sean Connery as James Bond in Dr. No, which, in case you don't recall, happened to feature the very same portrait of the Duke of Wellington. The humor in Broadbent and Mirrens faces here, and elsewhere, is one of the many joys of this delightful and poignant film, a fitting punctuation mark to its directors career.

The Duke, a Sony Pictures Classics release, has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for language and brief sexuality. Running time: 96 minutes. Three stars out of four.

MPAA definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Follow AP National Writer Jocelyn Noveck on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/JocelynNoveckAP
Celine Sciammas  Petite Maman  couldnt be more different in scope and scale from Portrait of a Lady on Fire. There are no castles, or corsets or waves crashing up against craggy cliffs. There is no sex or lust or desire. Yet emotionally, the quiet, restrained and exceptionally tender Petite Maman is on equal footing. And from one angle, theyre both ultimately about goodbyes.

Women and girlhood are also at the heart of this latest endeavor, which runs a slim 72 minutes. But instead of a rapturous relationship, the lens here is the whimsical notion of what it might be like for an 8-year-old to spend time with her mother at age 8.

There are so many traps and pitfalls when it comes to depicting young girlhood. Movies can overromanticize, infantilize or instill incongruously adult wisdom in young characters. Sweetness becomes saccharine and nostalgia a crutch. But Sciamma is able to bring to life essential truths of what it is like to be that strange age and the sometimes frightening, sometimes wonderful vastness of a limitless imagination. And she even does it without a background score to manipulate our tear ducts.

Her heroine here is Nelly (Josephine Sanz), who has just lost her beloved grandmother. We meet her in the nursing home where she and her mother Marion (Nina Meurisse) are collecting her things. Nelly, who like many 8-year-old girls is a bit of an old soul, methodically and respectfully goes from room to room to bid farewell to the fellow residents. Marion meanwhile is distracted by grief and the daunting check list that follows the death of a parent, especially when that death was not exactly a surprise but not entirely expected either. Shed been ailing but not enough for anyone to know to say their final goodbyes. Its this that haunts Nelly, and her mother is not quite succeeding at convincing her otherwise on their long drive to the grandmothers country home, where more clean-up and clear out awaits.

Marion and Nelly arrive quite late to her childhood home, as does Nellys father (Stephane Varupenne). They talk about the scary shadows that still come through the window in Marions old room and fall asleep together on the couch. But in the morning, Marion is gone. It was just too much for her to stay. Its in this void that Nelly ventures into the woods, in search of the fort her mother made when she was her age that shed heard so much about. There she finds a young girl (Gabrielle Sanz) that looks just like her and learns that her name is Marion, too. Nelly becomes fast friends with her small mother and though she understands whats happening, she doesnt reveal it to Marion for quite some time.

Josephine Sanz and Gabrielle Sanz are identical twins and inspired casting. Not only are they both naturals in front of the camera, but their real life bond and similarities add a complex blend of warmth and eeriness to the minimalistic film. Its not an impossibility that Marion was once a spitting image of Nelly, but it also lends to the idea that this is all in the imagination of Nelly, who wants nothing more than to know her mother better  her fears, her dreams, her joy and her sadness. This is the only way she can think to do it.

Petite Maman may be short and stripped down, but its layers are many and I imagine it's a film that will be more rewarding on subsequent viewings. It's easily one of the best ever made about mothers and daughters.

It is a tall order to follow up a rapturously received period romance like Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Sciamma was not only up to the task but is also clearly cementing her status as one of the most essential and exciting filmmakers working today.

Petite Maman, a Neon release in theaters Friday, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for some thematic elements and brief smoking. Running time: 72 minutes. Four stars out of four.



MPAA Definition of PG: Parental guidance suggested.

-

Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr
Several major airlines in the United States no longer require passengers and personnel to wear facial covers on domestic and certain international flights.

The ruling came just hours after a US judge dismissed a federal government mandate requiring passengers wear face masks. Following the court verdict, the Transit Security Administration (TSA) announced that it would no longer require passengers on aircraft, trains, and other public transportation to wear masks, for now, Bloomberg reported.

Which Airline Still Require Wearing of Face Mask?

Major US airlines-- Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and JetBlue--announced Monday that masks are now optional on their aircraft, according to a CNN report.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) announced that wearing a mask is optional for their passengers. It also warned travelers about possible "inconsistent enforcement" in the next 24 hours due to "broadly communicated" news.

DAL said: "Given the unexpected nature of this announcement, please be aware that customers, airline employees, and federal agency employees -- such as TSA -- may be receiving this information at different times."

United Airlines (UAL) stated that "masks are no longer required at United on domestic flights, select international flights (dependent upon the arrival country's mask requirements)" or at airports within the US.

Read Also: Democrats Question Biden Administration's Decision To Lift Trump-Era Immigration Rule; ICE Set To Release 600K Immigrants by September

Alaska Airlines announced that face masks are now optional for passengers. It also posted an advisory on its website reminding passengers to be "kind to one another and that wearing a mask while traveling is still an option."

It added that some people who were barred from flying with Alaska Airlines during the mask policy's tenure will still be forbidden from flying with the airline in the present.

American Airlines (AAL) stated that "face masks will no longer be required" for their passengers and personnel at "US airports and on domestic flights." Though it advised that "face masks may still be required based on local ordinances, or when traveling to/from certain international locations based on country requirements."

Southwest Airlines, meanwhile, posted on its website that passengers and employees have the option "whether they would like to wear a mask." The company urged individuals to "make the best decision" to protect their health.

The airline went on to say that it would continue to ensure the comfort of individuals who travel with it by providing additional layers of security.

JetBlue (JBLU) announced on Twitter Monday that mask-wearing would be optional within the United States, and "customers and crewmembers may continue wearing masks" in its terminals and onboard its aircraft.

On the ground, Amtrak has announced that passengers and personnel will no longer be required to wear face masks.

Policy Under Review

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) extended the mask mandate until May 3 last week. That changed when Judge Mizelle overturned the mandate.

"The agencies are studying the decision and assessing potential future measures," a White House administration spokesperson said on Monday. In the meantime, the court decision means CDC's public transit masking order is not in effect per NBC 5 Chicago.

Related Article: White House Official Urges Americans Over 60 To Get Second COVID-19 Booster Shot Amid Rising 'Stealth' Variant Cases

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
FAIRFIELD  Downtown Fairfield might have a little more buzzing, or maybe whirring, after the selectmen agreed to join a pilot program that would make dozens of electric scooters available for people to borrow in town.

Mark Barnhart, the towns director of community and economic development, said officials had been looking at the program with Bird Rides Inc. for some time and spoke with other communities about their experience with having electric scooters in town.

The contract, which the Board of Selectmen approved this week, allows Bird Rides to operate in Fairfield for 12 months. That would give the town the opportunity to evaluate consumer demand, as well as assess any operational issues, Barnhart said at the recent BOS meeting.

We have been looking at Bird for some time now, he said. One of the things with Bird is that they provide a local fleet manager that is responsible for overseeing the fleet. Bird is also more responsible to smaller communities in providing smaller fleets that are more appropriate for communities of this size.

Barnhart said his office proposed an initial fleet of 50 to 75 electric scooters that would be available for the public to rent. Last month, Ansonias Board of Aldermen approved a similar contract to bring the scooters there.

A local supervisor would be in the area to make sure the scooters are maintained, charged relocated when they need to be, Barnhart said.

There is not cost to the town. The agreement actually includes modest profit sharing, Barnhart said

They will provide the standard insurance and identification requirements consistent with our requirements, he said.

Kupchick said her administration was skeptical at first, and asked Barnharts office the same question she was sure the public would.

Do we need these? Weve all read articles and probably seen on the news. In some places theyve been you just hear about them being dumped and left and they become a bit of a nuisance, she said. We asked all those questions when it was first proposed to us.

Kupchick said officials felt like it would be an interesting thing to try after Bird Rides answered their questions.

Barnhart said his office had talked to other communities in this program as far away as Kansas or North Carolina and as close to home as New York and Connecticut about their experiences.

Weve gotten favorable comments and reviews in terms of Birds responsiveness, he said.

He also noted both Police Chief Robert Kalamaras and Fairfields Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee support trying the program.

Barnhart said a pilot would be a great way for the town to try it out without making a long-term commitment.

Selectwoman Nancy Lefkowitz said she has both a healthy optimism and skepticism of the program.

Im supportive of it, because I think we wont know until we try it, she said. Ive been in communities where theyve had successful programs and Ive used the product, and I think its something that we should try to see  because why not? If it doesnt work, hopefully weve lost nothing but time and the investment of some energy and some resources.

joshua.labella@hearstmediact.com
Over the last several years, 420 seemingly went from stoner joke to nationally celebrated holiday gone mainstream, as evidenced by the slew of cannabis-themed specials youll see on Houston bar and restaurant menus today.

The term 420 is slang that alludes to marijuana consumption. Its origins are murky, but its most often attributed to a group of teenagers in 1970s California who began lighting up at 4:20 p.m., spreading the ritual across the country. Eventually, 420 came to symbolize all things cannabis culture, and April 20 evolved into the substances unofficial holiday.

Today in Houston, one of many special 420 events will be held at Wild, a newly opened cafe in the Heights that integrates hemp-infused products into coffee, cocktails and baked goods. Partnering with Bayou City Hemp, the largest hemp manufacturer in Texas, Wild is selling pastry edibles and discounted hemp products, but with a different angle than other places in town: The event is a bake sale for the Last Prisoner Project (LPP), a nonprofit dedicated to cannabis criminal justice reform.

Today, the business of cannabis is booming. A total of 15 states have legalized recreational marijuana, and hemp-derived cannabinoids such as CBD reached $4.7 billion in sales in the U.S. in 2021.

Meanwhile, more than 40,000 people are currently incarcerated for marijuana-related offenses. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Black people are almost four times as likely to get arrested for marijuana than white people, despite using the substance at the same rate.

LPP was founded in 2019 out of the belief that if anyone is able to profit and build wealth in the legal cannabis industry, those individuals must also work to release and rebuild the lives of those who have suffered from cannabis criminalization, said Stephen Post, LPPs campaign strategist.

Wilds baked sale features brownies, Rice Krispies treats, sticky buns, lemon bars, cookies, cupcakes and macaroons, all infused with hemp-derived Delta-8 or CBD. They plan to donate 10 percent of the proceeds from April 20 to LPP.

The teams behind both Bayou City Hemp and Wild have worked to educate people on the benefits of hempwhich was legalized in Texas in 2019while removing the stigma around its consumption. Ben Meggs, co-founder and CEO of Bayou City Hemp, says they decided to add a fundraising aspect to the baked sale because they see a need for criminal justice and drug policy reform.

I think the responsibility falls on us as business owners, said Adyson Alvis, co-owner of Wild. At the new cafe and his first location, Grinders Coffee Bar, the emphasis has been on educating people about how CBD and hemp can improve their lives, but Alvis adds that it should also translate to taking care of people who are wronged by those policies and are behind bars.

Wild

Post at LPP says they are partnering with about 20 organizations on April 20, one of their busiest times of the year, but there are countless other small businesses and individuals who have fundraisers benefitting the nonprofit.

Its difficult to gauge what the impact of these small 420 donation campaigns, such as Wilds baked sale, have on the larger movement for criminal justice via the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana. But Post says they are important to their mission.

LPP gives direct commissary payments to incarcerated people and reentry grants for those who are released, among other resources and tools the nonprofit offers to individuals affected by the war on drugs. Donations of any amount allow LPP to provide that support.

Anyone profiting from or freely engaging in the legal cannabis industry has a moral imperative to work towards restorative justice, said Post. We must hold the government and cannabis businesses accountable to investing as much money and effort into restoring the full freedom of people imprisoned for cannabis as was invested in their criminalization.

There are other ways businesses such as Bayou City Hemp and Wild can monetarily support LPP year-round, beyond the 420 holiday. The organization offers the opportunity for companies to become Partners for Freedom, which invites them into various program events and volunteer opportunities, and enroll in the Roll It Up For Justice program, which encourages patrons to donate to LPP at checkout.

Even by just sharing a post on social media, these companies can utilize their networks to spread awareness and support our cannabis criminal justice reform work, said Post.

LPP also offers a budtender program and tools for letter writing to people who are in prison. Theyre also doing their own fundraising and awareness campaigns on April 20, including one that asked people incarcerated for cannabis what 420 means to them.

One of them, Edwin Rubis, has been in prison since 1998, serving a 40-year sentence in federal prison for a non-violent marijuana offense.

This year, cannabis enthusiasts will celebrate 4/20 around the world, Rubis wrote. In America, thousands will toke up with their friends in their respective states where cannabis is legal. Marijuana businesses will take advantage of the holiday to sell and market their products.

Not me.
Alan Powdrill/Getty Images

New Houston rules require certain businesses to install security cameras and flood lights in an effort to reduce violent crime.

City Council passed the new ordinance in a 15-1 vote Wednesday. The mandate applies to all bars, nightclubs, sexually-oriented businesses, convenience stores and game rooms inside city limits, according to Nora Mishanec of the Houston Chronicle. Those businesses will be forced to hold security footage for 30 days and turn it over to police within 72 hours of their request. The move is part of Mayor Sylvester Turner's One Safe Houston initiative to combat 2022's rise in crime.
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP)  The second of four men accused in a failed plan to build a biotechnology plant in Vermont using tens of millions of dollars in foreign investors money raised through a special visa program was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to 18 months in prison.

William Kelly, 73, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, also was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $.8.3 million in restitution.

He pleaded guilty last June to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of concealment of material information. As part of the plea deal, eight other charges were dropped and he agreed to cooperative with the government.

Kelly was indicted in 2019 on multiple fraud charges along with Miami businessman Ariel Quiros, the former owner of Jay Peak and Burke Mountain ski resorts in northern Vermont, and former Jay Peak president William Stenger. Kelly was an advisor to Quiros.

The indictment accused the men of conspiring to devise a scheme between 2011 and 2016 to defraud foreign investors in the AnC-Bio project in Newport. The EB-5 visa program encourages foreigners to invest in U.S. projects that create jobs in exchange for a chance to earn permanent U.S. residency.

Prosecutors said the project was designed to raise $110 million from 220 immigrant investors to build and operate a biotechnology facility in Newport, according to court records and proceedings. Approximately 169 investors put in about $85 million between 2012 and 2016, as well as paid about $8 million in administrative fees but the fundraising was never completed and project was never built, prosecutors said.

Stenger was sentenced last week to 18 months in prison, after pleading guilty last August to providing false documents. Quiros faces sentencing later this month. A fourth man, Jong Weon (Alex) Choi, a businessman in South Korea, remains at large, according to the federal court.
ATLANTA (AP) 

Democrat Stacey Abrams' campaign asked a federal judge on Wednesday to shut down unlimited contributions to a committee controlled by Republican incumbent Brian Kemp.

The filing is yet more litigation over the constitutionality of a 2021 Georgia law that allows certain top elected officials and party nominees to create leadership committees that can raise campaign funds without limits and coordinate spending with campaigns.

The judge earlier denied a request by Abrams to start taking unlimited amounts before she clinches the Democratic nomination on May 24.

Kemp narrowly beat Abrams in 2018, and they would match up again if Kemp survives a Republican primary challenge from former U.S. Sen. David Perdue and others.

The law allows the governor and lieutenant governor, opposing major party nominees, and both party caucuses in the state House and Senate to form leadership committees. Donors can give as much as they want, while they cant directly give candidates for statewide office more than $7,600 for a primary or general election and $4,500 for a runoff election. Opponents say the law unconstitutionally favors incumbents over challengers, because they can raise limitless sums for years ahead of an election.

Abrams' new move is hardly a surprise. U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen told her lawyers during an April 11 hearing that the right route to challenge the Georgia law was to go after Kemp's Georgians First committee. Days later, Cohen rejected the campaign's request to allow Abrams to raise unlimited money through her One Georgia committee before the May 24 primary, even though Abrams is unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Cohen on Wednesday quickly agreed to to include Georgians First in the suit, with Abrams saying Cohen should ban the Kemp committee "from soliciting or accepting contributions unless and until Gov. Kemp is formally selected as the Republican Partys nominee for governor of Georgia, or alternatively, until plaintiffs are permitted to raise and spend campaign funds through One Georgia on the same terms as Georgians First.

A spokesperson for Kemp declined to comment.

During the April 11 hearing, Abrams' campaign manager, Lauren Groh-Wargo, contributed $25 to Kemp's committee online to prove to Cohen that the group was still taking money. That could now become one of the last contributions until after Kemp becomes the nominee.

Perdue already sued over the law, saying it was unfair that Kemp could raise and spend unlimited sums in the Republican primary while Perdue could not. Because there are additional candidates, the Republicans might not determine a nominee until after a June runoff.

Cohen ruled in February that Kemp could not spend any more money from the committee on his primary campaign. But he said the committee could continue to receive contributions and spend money in support of other public officials in accordance with campaign finance laws. Kemp has appealed the ruling.

During the April 11 hearing, Cohen said it would have made more sense if Abrams had sued to shut down the incumbents ability to raise money.

Why are you not asking me to shut down Kemps leadership committee? the judge asked, outlining the path Abrams took Wednesday.

Despite a sworn statement from Democratic Party of Georgia chair Nikema Williams that the party already considers Abrams to be its standard-bearer, Cohen ruled that state law says she cant be the nominee until after May 24.

This court will not rewrite Georgia law to enable One Georgia to stand in the same shoes as a leadership committee that, in plaintiffs view, is operating in violation of the First Amendment, Cohen wrote in his order. He said Abrams' request to be allowed to raise money under a law that she contends is unconstitutional was an untenable option.
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TWIN BRIDGES, Calif. (AP)  In a California forest torched by wildfire last summer, researcher Anne Nolin examines a handful of the season's remaining snow, now darkened by black specks from the burned trees above.

Spring heat waves had already melted much of the year's limited snowfall across California and parts of the West when Nolin visited in early April. But she and her colleague are studying another factor that might've made the snow vanish faster in the central Sierra Nevada  the scorched trees, which no longer provide much shade and are shedding flecks of carbon.

The darkened snow is primed to absorb all that sunlight and melt faster, said Nolin, who researches snow at the University of Nevada, Reno.

As climate change fuels the spread of wildfires across the West, researchers want to know how the dual effect might disrupt water supplies. Communities often rely on melting snow in the spring to replenish reservoirs during dryer months. If snow melts earlier than normal, that would likely leave less water flowing in the summer when its most needed, Nolin said.

Multiple studies indicate that snow in a burned forest disappears up to several weeks sooner than snow in a healthy forest because of the lack of a shade canopy and carbon shedding from trees that intensifies the absorption of sunlight.

Water forecasting factors in variables including snow density, soil moisture and air temperature. Although dark accumulation on snow isn't widely measured, Tim Bardsley, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service, said it is a contributing factor to the timing of snowmelt and is worth considering incorporating into supply forecasting.

Dust, ash and soot similarly affect snow by causing it to absorb more light in whats known as the albedo effect. But California officials are increasingly worried about carbon, which absorbs even more.

It was like, OK, we really need to understand this. This is the new norm, said David Rizzardo of the California Department of Water Resources.

In some fire-damaged areas, state officials are beginning to map snow from planes with cameras that measure albedo and have plans to upgrade remote sensing stations as well.

Already, a warming climate is leading to earlier snowmelt and leaving places more vulnerable to wildfire, said Noah Molotch, who researches water and snow cycles at the University of Colorado, Boulder. A burned area exacerbates the impact of drought by leading to even dryer conditions in hotter months, he said.

Nolin and graduate student Arielle Koshkin hiked into the El Dorado National Forest for one of their final measuring trips earlier this month when the region typically has the most snow accumulation. Little remained when they arrived in part because of unusually hot temperatures this spring and a long streak of cloudless days.

Late-season storms have since blanketed the carbon-coated snow with several inches of fresh powder, which Nolin said could help slow the melt.

Meanwhile, the Caldor Fire that burned the area and more than 200,000 acres last year has left nearby communities scrambling over more immediate water worries.

About 40 miles southwest from where Nolin surveyed the snow, the town of Grizzly Flats is working to fix a water pipeline damaged in the fire. The pipeline diverts snowmelt into a reservoir but burned trees keep falling and puncturing it.

Its not yet clear exactly how the charred trees might disrupt their future water supply. So far this year, water managers said runoff from snowmelt appears normal. But officials dont know for sure since the gauges in the stream melted in the fire.

Jodi Lauther, general manager of the local water agency, said she's concerned about the fire's lasting effects. For now, she said, we are in survival mode."

___

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of APs environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/environment
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP)  Oil cleanup continues after a gas station fire in Medford last week, state officials said.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said Tuesday that the agency and NEXGEN Logistics had collected and disposed of most of the recoverable oil in and around Bear Creek.

The agency says more than 20,000 gallons of petroleum products  primarily lube oil  were released during the blaze April 12 that spread from the fueling station to adjacent buildings.

EPA spokesman Bill Dunbar told the Mail Tribune the estimate of spilled oil increased to over 20,000 gallons after cleanup crews inspected above-ground tanks containing gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products and determined they were down more.

DEQ and NEXGEN don't have an estimate of how much oil entered Bear Creek through storm water systems and how much the fire consumed. NEXGEN operates the Pacific Pride fuel depot in Medford that burned and is paying for incident response including wildlife rescue and recovery efforts, DEQ said.

Some oiled Canada geese and mallard ducks have been taken in by International Bird Rescue for care, DEQ said. The state Department of Fish & Wildlife urges people not to approach or pick up any oiled wildlife and to instead notify trained experts.

Occasional sheens along the creek likely will be seen over the next several weeks to months, officials said.
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Daniel Pierce, University of Richmond

(THE CONVERSATION) It would be quite appropriate for a college professor to assume students know that a tree is alive and a rock is not.

Or would it?

For several summers, I have had the pleasure of teaching biology to Tibetan Buddhist monks exiled in India. This program, called the ETSI (Emory-Tibet Science Initiative), was sparked by discussions the Dalai Lama had with Emory University researchers in the 1990s and has blossomed into a way for monks of all ages to learn about science in the decades since.

The differences between modern biology and traditional Buddhist understandings of nature can seem significant  even in their definitions of what is living. Biologists understanding of life incorporates animals, plants and bacteria. Traditional Tibetan monastic teachings, on the other hand, base life on the idea of consciousness. Bacteria and animals, including humans, are recognized as having consciousness, and therefore are considered living beings. Plants, according to these traditional teachings, do not have consciousness and are thus nonliving.

But differences like these have led me to understand what I take for granted in my teaching at the University of Richmond and how much richer learning can be when we step back to explore the most basic  yet biggest  questions together. Thinking about how I would present various topics to the monks has given me concrete lessons to take back to my classroom in Virginia.

Looking at life up close

I study the relationship between bacteria and plants. In most introductory biology courses, college students bring an intuitive sense for what science defines as life, one they have built since kindergarten. But what if educators dont assume that students know what defines a living thing  or, better yet, what if we used assumptions to spark inquiry?

Developing a definition of a living thing can be an effective way to introduce scientific inquiry. Through an activity in which students place something in living/nonliving/once-living categories, students can explore questions at the edges. For instance, is a virus a living thing? How about artificial intelligence? How would we decide when we discovered extraterrestrial life? These philosophical discussions about life spark interesting discussions across both cultures.

In both educational settings, we can use students observations of pond water under a microscope to discuss how scientists have built their concept of life, based on the following characteristics: something that is made of cells, has the capacity to reproduce, grows and develops, has evolved, uses energy, responds to stimuli and maintains homeostasis  a way to maintain an appropriate level of all sorts of chemicals and large molecules.

Different biologists will include or exclude some of these properties, and discussing whether to include them in our classrooms definition can be an exciting process for students. In addition, we often extend this conversation to discuss how the definition of life has changed throughout human history and consider what questions biology may not be able to field, such as the notion of a soul or the Tibetan Buddhist concept of consciousness.

Asking questions

There are seeming contradictions between scientists and monks perspectives on other topics, as well. For example, traditional Buddhist teachings affirm spontaneous generation  the idea that life can arise from nonlife  which biologists rejected in the 19th century, based on experiments by Louis Pasteur and others.

According to Tibetan Buddhist perspectives, some life, like worms and bacteria, can be created through dampness. In the monks view, too, all animals are sentient, meaning that they have consciousness, as opposed to plants, which do not. This has traditionally been how Tibetan Buddhism forms a definition of life.

To explain the biologists view, we ask ourselves: How can biologists truly show what makes something living?

The key is the scientific method, based on testing and analysis. At the monastery, science instructors approach questions about spontaneous generation or sentience through the methods series of questions: What experiments could you perform that could test your hypothesis that life arises from nonlife? What controls would you include to be confident in your results? How do you increase your confidence in the conclusions?

These conversations highlight that the foundation of modern science, this scientific method, is extremely compatible with the Buddhism the monks practice.

In part, this is because debate is central to their monasticism. Like the scientific method, debate requires that the participants approach ideas with skepticism and request proof. Tibetan Buddhists practice debate for hours daily. As one monk challenges another, they volley a religious idea back and forth to develop a deeper understanding of the concept.

While scientists dont practice formal debate, we exercise similar muscles when we try to build a deeper understanding of the processes of life through theory, experimentation and challenging one anothers ideas.

Where science and religion meet

As we go further in any kind of classroom  at the monastery, or at a university  teachers and students sometimes find questions for which biology does not have especially satisfying answers: What are the origins of life? What is the purpose of sleep?

As teachers, we can use those to spark students curiosity, along with additional questions about how religion and biology intersect. Though some may bristle at the idea of theological questions entering a biology course, raising them can engage students by integrating science with deep questions they may have about their lives. What does biology have to say about the evolution of religions? How does what we learn in biology influence the concept of a soul? If we believe in the idea of souls, what organisms have them?

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For the monks, this last question is critical, as Buddhism teaches that all life is sentient and sacred. When working with the monks, visiting teachers are very careful not to dispose of the microorganisms we inspect using a microscope as I would at the University of Richmond. Out of respect for their views, we simply pour the microorganisms outside in the grass. The monks have given me a new perspective on experimentation, including reconsidering the necessity of using certain organisms in research and teaching.

Scientific inquiry truly crosses cultures. And when we engage our differences head-on, with openness and compassion, it can prompt more meaningful learning for teachers and students alike.

I would like to thank Geshe Sangpo la for insights into Tibetan Buddhism that helped guide this article.

The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. The Conversation is wholly responsible for the content.
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BANGKOK (AP)  With its ground troops forced to pull back in Ukraine and regroup, and its Black Sea flagship sunk, Russia's military failings are mounting. No country is paying closer attention than China to how a smaller and outgunned force has badly bloodied what was thought to be one of the world's most powerful armies.

China, like Russia, has been ambitiously reforming its Soviet-style military and experts say leader Xi Jinping will be carefully parsing the weaknesses exposed by the invasion of Ukraine as they might apply to his own Peoples Liberation Army and his designs on the self-governed island of Taiwan.

The big question Xi and the PLA leadership must be asking in light of Russian operations in Ukraine is whether a military that has undergone extensive reform and modernization will be able to execute operations that are far more complex than those Russia has undertaken during its invasion of Ukraine, said M. Taylor Fravel, director of the security studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Russia's armed forces have undergone an extensive process of reform and investment for more than a decade, with lessons learned in combat in Georgia, Chechnya, Syria and its annexation of Crimea helping guide the process. The Ukrainian invasion, however, has exposed weaknesses from the top down.

Experts have been collectively stunned that Russia invaded Ukraine with seemingly little preparation and lack of focus  a campaign along multiple, poorly-coordinated axes that has failed to effectively combine air and land operations.

Soldiers have been running out of food, and vehicles have been breaking down. With losses mounting, Moscow has pulled its bloodied forces away from the capital, Kyiv, to regroup. Last week, the guided-missile cruiser Moskva sank after Ukraine said it hit the ship with missiles; Russia blamed the sinking on a fire on board.

It's very hard to see success at any level in the way that Russia has prosecuted the campaign, said Euan Graham, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies based in Singapore.

President Vladimir Putin, who has been closely involved in Russia's military reform, did not even appoint an overall commander for the operation until about a week ago, apparently expecting a quick victory and grossly misjudging Ukrainian resistance, Graham said.

It's a very personal war on his part, Graham said. And I think the expectation that this would be a cakewalk is obviously the biggest single failure.

Putin's decisions raise the question of whether he was given accurate assessments of the progress of military reform and Ukrainian abilities, or was just told what he wanted to hear.

Xi, also an authoritarian leader who has taken a personal role in Chinas military reform, could now be wondering the same, Fravel said.

Xi specifically may also wonder whether he is receiving accurate reports about the PLAs likely effectiveness in a high intensity conflict, he said.

China has had no recent major conflict by which to gauge its military prowess, having fought its last significant engagement in 1979 against Vietnam, said David Chen, a senior consultant with CENTRA Technology, a U.S.-based government services firm.

The wakeup call for (Chinas) Central Military Commission is that there are more unknown factors involved in any such campaign than they may have anticipated, Chen said.

Russias experience in Ukraine has shown that what may seem plausible on paper at the Academy of Military Science or National Defense University becomes much more complicated in the real world.

Xi, the son of a revolutionary commander who spent time in uniform himself, began undertaking military reforms in 2015, three years after assuming leadership of the Central Military Commission.

Total troop strength was reduced by 300,000 to just under 2 million, the number of officers cut by a third and a greater emphasis given to non-commissioned officers to lead in the field.

Chinas military has a tradition of respect for initiative from lower-ranking soldiers dating from its revolutionary origins, said Yue Gang, a Beijing-based military analyst. By contrast, Russian forces in Ukraine have shown weaknesses where decisions have had to be made on the front lines, he said.

Chinese soldiers are encouraged to put forward their thoughts and views when discussing how to fight, Yue said.

China's seven military districts have been reorganized into five theater commands, the number of group armies reduced and the logistics system reorganized to boost efficiency. The ratio of support to combat units was increased and a greater emphasis placed on more mobile and amphibious units.

Xi has also sought to end rampant corruption in the military, going after two former top generals shortly after taking power. One was sentenced to life in prison and the other died before his case was concluded.

China's military is highly opaque and outside the purview of civilian judges and corruption investigators, so it's difficult to know how thoroughly the organization has been exorcised of practices such as the selling of commissions and kickbacks on defense contracts.

For Xi, the military's primary mission remains to protect the ruling Communist Party, and he has followed his predecessors in fighting back hard against efforts to have the military shift its ultimate loyalty to the nation.

Xi's overriding political focus could mean the lessons he draws from the Ukraine conflict are off base, Graham said.

Xi Jinping will always apply a political solution because he's not a military specialist or an economic specialist, Graham said. I think the military lessons have to go through a political filter, so I'm not sure that China will take the lessons that are abundant and on show for everyone to see.

The stated goal of China's military reform is to fight and win wars against a strong enemy  a euphemism widely understood to refer to the United States.

China has pumped huge amounts of money into new equipment, has initiated more realistic training exercises with force-on-force scenarios, and sought to reform its fighting doctrine by studying American engagements in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo.

Gen. David Berger, the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, said in a forum in Australia last week that Beijing would be watching the Ukraine conflict closely.

I don't know what lessons they will learn but ... they're focused on learning, without a doubt, because they've been doing that for the last 15 years, he said.

Berger stressed the need for strong coalitions in the Pacific as a way to keep China's ambitions toward Taiwan in check.

China claims Taiwan as its own, and controlling the island is a key component of Beijings political and military thinking. In October, Xi again reiterated that reunification of the nation must be realized, and will definitely be realized.

Washingtons longstanding policy has been to provide political and military support for Taiwan, while not explicitly promising to defend it from a Chinese attack.

Like Putins assessment of Ukraine, Xis China does not appear to believe that Taiwan would try to put up much of a fight. Beijing routinely blames its problems with the island on a small group of hardcore independence advocates and their American supporters.

The entirely state-controlled Chinese media, meanwhile, draws on the imagined narrative that Taiwan would not willingly go to battle against what it describes as their fellow Chinese.

Now, the quick response by many nations to impose tough, coordinated sanctions on Russia after its attack on Ukraine, and the willingness to supply Ukraine with high-tech weaponry could make Xi rethink his approach to Taiwan, Fravel said.

With the rapid response by advanced industrialized states, and the unity they have demonstrated, Xi is likely to be more cautious over Taiwan and less emboldened, he said.

Conversely, the Ukraine experience could prompt China to accelerate its timetable on Taiwan with a more limited attack, such as seizing an outlying island, as a real-world test of its own military, Chen said.

A sensible course would be to mature the PLA's joint institutions and procedures through ever more rigorous exercises, Chen said.

But as the world has witnessed, a central leader with a specific ambition and a shortening timeline may short-circuit the process in reckless fashion.
British ministers have been told that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is heading into a new phase, which will most likely be an "attritional conflict" in the Donbas area.

A senior national security officer briefed ministers that this stage of the fight "may take several months," according to a readout of the UK government's cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Russian Forces Intensify Attacks on Donbas Region

Russia would "seek to leverage its soldier number advantage," albeit this was unlikely to prove crucial in the fight on its own, according to the senior official, who was not identified in the readout. Insider talked with a separate UK official about how the violence in Donbas would affect the humanitarian situation in the region. The person was offered anonymity to speak candidly about the British government's view of the situation.

They told Insider that they expect more people to migrate westward from the region to "considered safer parts of Ukraine." According to a senior US military official, Russia's fresh strikes in eastern Ukraine are a precursor to a massive offensive in the Donbas region

The strikes, which took place southwest of Donetsk and south of Izyum, came as Russia continues to beef up its soldiers in Ukraine and resupply those already there, according to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence findings.

The Russians infiltrated two battalion tactical groups into Ukraine on the last day, bringing the total number of battalions in Ukraine to 78, according to the official. The strength of Russian battalions ranges from 800 to 1,000 soldiers, as per USA Today.

Officials from both Ukraine and Russia admitted on Tuesday that the war had reached a new phase. "The occupiers attempted to break through our fortifications along practically the whole frontline," Ukraine's military claimed, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the goal was "complete liberation" of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The Russian invasion, which began on February 24, has met with fierce and efficient opposition from Ukrainian forces, with Vladimir Putin's battle army losing nearly a quarter of its strength, according to the official. The source said Russian ground forces were assisted by artillery in the resumed battle in eastern Ukraine, and around 80% of Russia's artillery forces were ready for the conflict.

The Ukrainians will not be easily beaten in the east, despite being outmanned and outgunned. According to the official, the Ukrainians are familiar with the terrain and have adequate supply lines as well as the capacity to reinforce and restock their men.

Read Also: Boris Johnson Is Set To Deny Breaking COVID-19 Lockdown Rules Despite Partygate Police Penalty

Ukraine Allies Vow Weapons

Meanwhile, Ukraine's allies reacted quickly to Russia's latest onslaught in the east. During a 90-minute video conversation on Tuesday, they promised to deliver artillery, anti-tank, and air defense help to Kyiv.

Per BBC, President Joe Biden of the United States, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and the leaders of France, Italy, Japan, and Germany, among others, attended the virtual meeting. In addition to weaponry, the leaders decided to impose further sanctions on Moscow. As the struggle for the Donbas area reached a crucial point, there were battles along a front line extending hundreds of kilometers.

While this fresh onslaught was predicted after Russia failed to conquer Kyiv, it might significantly impact the war's outcome. That's because if Russia conquers the Donbas, President Vladimir Putin will be able to claim some sort of victory from the assault.

However, Tuesday's confrontations demonstrated that Ukraine's soldiers could still maintain their own, and President Volodymyr Zelensky swore to "not give up anything Ukrainian" about the east.

Related Article: Russia Gives Ukraine 2 Hours To Surrender Azovstal Plant as Battle of Donbas Rages

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REED CITY  The Crossroads Recreation Connection, a group of residents tasked with bring a splash pad to Reed City, presented their plans to the city council during a special meeting last week.

The group requested the support of city council in submitting an application for a Michigan Economic Development Corporation Community Development Block Grant for $1 million to fund the project.

During the meeting, the city council agreed to a match of city funds of $100,000 to help fund the project, which was necessary to apply for the MEDC Community Development Block grant.

The plans, drawn up by Fleis and VandenBrink engineering, calls for the renovation of an empty lot along Chestnut Avenue next to Pompeiis Pizza, and creation of a pocket park, which will include a splash pad, benches, a warming station, a movie screen, a stage and other amenities at an estimated cost of $1.15 million.

Our group started out with plans to just put in a splash pad, but Rick Stout with Fleis and VendeBrink met with us and took our idea and just went with, CRC member Chris Mund said. This is an all-encompassing, four seasons type of thing.

Stout, who has been working with the MEDC grant program for many years, suggested they incorporate the splash pad and add other amenities to make it all season, which is more appealing to the grant committee, she added.

Because it is incorporating all four seasons, and we are a low economic community, he is really optimistic about our chances, she said. The grant deadline was April 15, and we should know something by July.

City manager Rich Saladin said the project will bring much needed economic growth and vitality to the downtown area and will help beautify that piece of property.

It is on the main drive, so everybody will see it driving through the area, he said in a previous interview. It will be a multi-seasonal location incorporating the ice rink in the winter and the fireplace. It will include new parking and other things that make it a real community center.

Mund added that they are looking at having many different events at the newly established park.

There is a stage where we can have concerts or performances, there is a screen to show movies, there will be benches for people to sit, she said. Students can have talent contests on the stage, they can have a picnic. It is a free field trip. Because we have the ice rink, there will be a fire pit and the empty building will be converted into restrooms and a space to have birthday parties.

If we get the $1 million, we will need to fundraise $150,000, Mund said. Our goal and our hope is that we will fundraise enough so that the city doesnt have to put in anything.

The group raised $4,700 in donations to hire Fleis and VandenBrink engineering to draw up the necessary design plans for the application submittal.

Mund said they plan to continue to fundraise throughout the planning and construction phases of the project and will contribute any monies they are able to get to the project.

Fundraising events that are potentially in the works include running the kids carnival during the Great American Crossroads Celebration, from which one-half of the proceeds will be returned to them.

Someone reached out to us about doing the rodeo, as well, and we are talking about and end of the school year bike rodeo and ice cream social, Mund said.

Of course, she added, and individual donations would be greatly appreciated as well.

NONPROFIT APPLICATION

In addition, Mund said, they have applied for and are awaiting designation as a 501(c)3 non-profit, which will enable them to apply for many other grant opportunities.

DTE Energy contacted us to say that as soon as we receive it (nonprofit designation) to let them know, Mund said. Spectrum Health said as soon as we get it to let them know. They gave to the Hemlock Park Project. The Community Foundation and General Mills give out all kinds of grants and they all require the nonprofit designation.

As soon as we receive our nonprofit designation, we can market to local businesses and residents, and whether it is $5 or $50, all of it helps, she said.

Mund said anything they raise that is not used for the splash pad/park project will be put toward other future projects the group plans to work on.

We arent going anywhere, she said. This group is dedicated to bringing more opportunities for outdoor activities for residents and visitors of all ages. This is our first project, the splash pad, which has turned into an immaculate park area for our city. The next one we will look at will be the Mountain Bike Trail. We are also looking at a skate park and pickle ball courts similar to what Big Rapids is doing, but on a smaller scale and one step at a time.

She added that there is also the possibility of doing more than one project at a time, depending on the availability of funding.

The Crossroads Recreation Connection started with a Facebook post by Ellen Finkbeiner about bringing a splash pad to Reed City, has developed into a dedicated group hoping to bring more activities and more people to the city, Mund said.

We were silly enough to respond to Ellens Facebook page, Mund said. Ellens excitement just drew us all in, and we are glad she did. There are 10 or so of us that were born and raised her or have been here for 20-plus years. We are just trying to do something to bring more people to our downtown.

We are always looking for more members and more donations, she said. Im excited, our group is excited. If we get the grant, the timeline we are looking at is to have this (splash pad) up and running by summer of 2024.

Anyone interested in becoming a member of the group or donating to the projects can reach out on the Crossroads Recreation Connection Facebook page.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Twenty-one people have been charged in the past nine days as part of a nationwide enforcement push to root out those who exploit the pandemic through health care fraud schemes, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

The cases resulted in about $150 million in alleged false billings and theft from federal pandemic assistance programs. The DOJ seized over $8 million in cash and other fraud proceeds.

Some defendants are accused of offering COVID-19 testing to get people to provide their personal identifying information and a saliva or blood sample. That information and the samples were then allegedly used to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for unnecessary, far more expensive tests or services.

In Colorado, federal agents went through a man's trash to uncover an alleged scheme to produce and sell fake vaccination record cards. In Maryland and New York, owners of medical clinics are accused of using information from people who sought COVID testing at drive-thru sites to submit fraudulent claims for lengthy office visits that never occurred.

Todays enforcement action sends a very clear message that we will stop at nothing to root out COVID-19 related health care fraud, wherever it may be found, said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite. The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the American people and the critical health care benefits programs that assist them during this national emergency. And most importantly, we will hold those who exploit those programs accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

Imran Shams and Lourdes Navarro, both 63, of Glendale, California, were indicted in an alleged scheme to defraud Medicare. They're accused of owning a laboratory that allegedly submitted nearly $144 million in false and fraudulent claims for COVID and respiratory pathogen tests. The tests were ineligible for reimbursement and procured through kickbacks and bribes, and Shams and Navarro concealed their roles in the lab because of prior health care fraud convictions, according to the indictment.

Navarro's attorney, Mark Werksman, said Wednesday his client denies the charges and looks forward to her day in court to show she did nothing illegal in connection with her lab work. Werksman said he may make a special appearance in court for Shams, who doesn't have a lawyer yet.

Other defendants are accused of exploiting telehealth policies put into place during the pandemic, misappropriating money intended for frontline medical providers and manufacturing and distributing fake vaccination record cards.

The DOJ led a similar nationwide enforcement push nearly a year ago that involved 14 defendants and a total of roughly $143 million in false billings. Numerous federal and local law enforcement agencies participated in both enforcement actions.

The Justice Department named a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud last month, Kevin Chambers, following through on President Joe Bidens State of the Union promise to go after criminals who stole billions in relief money.

___

McDermott reported from Providence, Rhode Island.
LUDINGTON  Sprawled like a gigantic swimming pool atop a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan is an asphalt-and-clay pond holding enough water to produce electricity for 1.6 million households.

It's part of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant, which uses simple technology: Water is piped from a lower reservoir  the lake, in this case  to an upper one, then released downhill through supersized turbines.

Supporters call these systems the world's largest batteries" because they hold vast amounts of potential energy for use when needed for the power grid.

The hydropower industry considers pumped storage the best answer to a question hovering over the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy to address climate change: where to get power when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing.

I wish we could build 10 more of these. I love 'em," Eric Gustad, community affairs manager for Consumers Energy, said during a tour of the Ludington facility.

But the utility based in Jackson, Michigan, has no such plans. Environmental and logistical challenges and potential costs in the billions led Consumers to sell another would-be site near the lake years ago. It's now upgrading the existing plant with co-owner DTE Energy.

Constructing a new one doesn't make financial sense," Gustad said. Unless we get some help from the state or federal government, I don't see it happening any time soon."

STUCK IN NEUTRAL

The company's decision illustrates the challenges facing pumped storage in the U.S., where these systems account for about 93% of utility-scale energy in reserve. While analysts foresee soaring demand for power storage, the industry's growth has lagged.

The nation has 43 pumped storage facilities with a combined capacity of 22 gigawatts, the output of that many nuclear plants. Yet just one small operation has been added since 1995  and it's unknown how many of more than 90 planned can overcome economic, regulatory and logistical barriers that force long delays.

Three projects have obtained licenses from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, but none are being built. Developers of a long-planned Oregon facility expect work to begin in 2023. A Montana company that got a license five years ago needs a utility to operate the plant and buy its storage capacity before construction starts.

By contrast, more than 60 are being built worldwide, mostly in Europe, India, China and Japan.

The permitting process is crazy, Malcolm Woolf, president of the National Hydropower Association, complained during a January hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, saying it involves too many agencies.

Although FERC permits new facilities and relicenses existing ones, other federal, state and tribal offices have roles, spokesperson Celeste Miller said. Every project is unique. All have various case-specific issues, she said.

The industry is lobbying for an investment tax credit similar to what solar and wind get. President Joe Bidens Build Back Better plan includes the tax break but is stuck in Congress.

Pumped storage dates from the early 1930s. But most systems were built decades later to warehouse excess electricity from nuclear plants and release it when needed.

The storage facilities also serve as a safety net in sudden power interruptions. When a New England nuclear unit tripped offline in 2020, Woolf said, the lights in Boston didn't flicker because two pumped storage stations provided backup power.

While nuclear, coal and natural gas plants can operate continuously, wind and solar can't  so the market for reserve power likely will grow. National Renewable Energy Laboratory models show U.S. storage capacity may rise fivefold by 2050.

Were going to bring hundreds of gigawatts of clean energy onto the grid over the next few years and we need to be able to use that energy wherever and whenever its needed, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said last year.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Using computer mapping, Australian National University engineers identified more than 600,000 potentially feasible pumped storage sites worldwide  including 32,000 in the U.S.  that could store 100 times the energy needed to support a global renewable electricity network.

But the study didn't examine whether sites would meet environmental or cultural protection standards or be commercially viable. Its website acknowledged, Many or even most ... may prove to be unsuitable."

Environmentalists are cool toward pumped storage because reservoirs typically are formed by hydropower dams, which block fish pathways, damage water quality and emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Also, most plants continuously draw water from rivers.

But recent designs envision closed-loop systems that tap a surface or underground supply, then repeatedly cycle that water between reservoirs. Water would be added only to make up for evaporation or leaks.

The Hydropower Reform Coalition, representing conservation groups, says it might support such projects under very limited circumstances.

Yet some are drawing resistance, including the Goldendale Energy Storage Project in Washington state. It would pipe water between two 60-acre (24.3-hectare) reservoirs on opposite sides of a hill.

The facility could power nearly 500,000 homes for up to 12 hours, according to Rye Development, spearheading the project. It's seeking FERC licensing and is scheduled to go online in 2028 but still needs a state water quality permit.

Environmental groups fear harm to wetlands and wildlife habitat, while tribes say the project would encroach on a sacred site.

What are we willing to sacrifice to get this technology online?" said Bridget Moran, an associate director of American Rivers.

Developers say the project would include cleanup of the polluted lower reservoir area.

The U.S. Department of Energy has launched a web-based tool to help developers find the best locations.

A recent Michigan Technological University study identified hundreds of abandoned U.S. mines that could host pumped storage, with upper reservoirs at or near the surface and lower ones below ground.

They are close enough to transmission and distribution infrastructure and to solar and wind generating facilities, the report says.

All these holes in the ground are ready to go," said study co-leader Roman Sidortsov, an energy policy associate professor.
FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP)  A former Massachusetts mayor convicted of corruption charges is set to report to prison after a court rejected his request for a delay.

Former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia II will report to a federal medium security prison in New Hampshire on Friday to begin a six-year sentence after a federal appellate court refused his request for a delay on Wednesday. Correia's date of imprisonment had already been put off several times.
Record-keeping failures by the federal government may have left thousands of Americans saddled with student debt that should have been automatically canceled through a benefit for low-income borrowers, according to a new federal study.

In a scathing report released on Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office faulted the Education Department for sloppy oversight of its income-driven repayment program  a collection of plans that offer reduced monthly payments and carry a promise to erase all remaining debt after 20 or 25 years of payments.

The study, requested by Congress, , identified 7,700 federal student loans that appear to meet the conditions for loan forgiveness but had yet to be canceled as of September 2020. The loans were held by 3,000 borrowers and amount to a combined $49 million.

It was released a day after the Education Department announced changes to fix what it called historical failures of the program. Those changes are expected to help some borrowers get their loans discharged more quickly.

Investigators said they couldn't verify why the loans hadn't been forgiven  gaps in the Education Department's data made it impossible to know for sure. But they suggested it could be the result of poor record-keeping.

Before 2014, the report said, the department failed to make sure borrowers' monthly payments were being tracked. That in turn has prevented the agency from tracking borrowers' progress toward loan forgiveness, leaving some repaying loans longer than they should have.

So far, only 157 loans have been forgiven through income-driven plans, according to the study.

The Department of Education has had trouble tracking borrowers payments and hasnt done enough to ensure that all eligible borrowers receive the forgiveness to which they are entitled, the GAO said. We found thousands of borrowers still in repayment who could be eligible for forgiveness now.

The report details a host of other shortcomings in the income-driven repayment program.

Education officials have failed to make the requirements clear to borrowers, including what types of payments count, the report said. When borrowers pause their payments through the forbearance process, for example, that time generally doesn't count toward forgiveness. But that wasn't clearly explained, the GAO found.

It also blamed the agency for failing to tell borrowers that they can request an update on their progress toward loan forgiveness.

Created in 1994, the income-driven repayment program was meant to provide a safety net for people who struggle to repay student loans. The program now offers five repayment options that provide reduced monthly payments based on income and family size. The balance is supposed to be automatically forgiven after 20 or 25 years, depending on the plan.

Among more than $1 trillion in student debt held by the federal government, about half is being repaid through those plans.

The number of loans eligible for forgiveness through the program is expected to balloon in coming years, according to the GAO . By 2030,the office estimates, up to 1.5 million loans held by 600,000 borrowers could meet the conditions for forgiveness.

In a response to the report, Education Department officials acknowledged the failures of the program and promised improvement. They also acknowledged the need to act quickly.

"We recognize that it is important to get payment counting correct now, as the number of loans that have been in repayment long enough to qualify for loan forgiveness will only grow over time, wrote Richard Cordray, chief operating officer for Federal Student Aid, the office that oversees student loans.

He added that the program has long been a source of confusion and frustration for many borrowers."

Cordray agreed to a list of changes recommended by the GAO. He said his agency will identify and correct record-keeping errors, and will create a system to let borrowers check their progress toward loan forgiveness online, among other changes.

Under the department's new action, borrowers in income-driven plans will get all of their past monthly payments counted toward loan forgiveness, even if they weren't in an eligible repayment plan at the time. Borrowers who had long stretches in forbearance will also get that time counted toward forgiveness, even though it typically is excluded.

The department called it a one-time revision to correct for data problems and past implementation inaccuracies.

Borrower rights advocates applauded the changes but also called for broader improvements to the program, which has long been criticized for being overly complex. Democrats in Congress have urged the department to replace existing income-driven repayment plans with a single, more generous plan.

Among those calling for an overhaul is Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., who leads the House education committee and requested the GAO investigation. In a statement, he said the report confirms serious problems with the management of the program.

I am pleased that the Biden-Harris Administration announced steps to fix the problem, he said. I continue to stand ready to work with the Department of Education to improve the Income-Driven Repayment program.

The latest action is part of the Biden administration's piecemeal attempt to reduce the burden of student debt. The Education Department has taken action to make it easier to get loan forgiveness through other programs, including one for public servants and another for students who are defrauded by their colleges.

This month the administration also suspended student loan payments through August, extending a freeze that has allowed millions of Americans to postpone their payments during the pandemic.

But President Joe Biden also faces mounting pressure to enact sweeping student debt forgiveness for all borrowers, which was one of his campaign promises. Some Democrats have pressed Biden to cancel $50,000 for all student loan borrowers, saying it would jumpstart the economy and address racial inequities.

Biden previously said he supports canceling up to $10,000, but said it should be done by Congress. Last year he asked for a review on the legality of using executive action to erase student debt. No decision has been announced.
NEW YORK (AP)  Andrea Elliott's Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City, an in-depth portrait of New York and the struggles and achievements of a Black girl from Brooklyn, has won the Gotham Book Prize for outstanding works about the city.

Elliott, whose book expands upon her investigative series which ran in The New York Times in 2013, will receive $50,000.

I often felt during the years of reporting this book that New York City was a central character in the story" she said during a recent interview. "Any New Yorker knows this is many cities in one city. But I think 'Invisible Child' also shows it's one city."

Earlier this week, Invisible Child received the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism, a $15,000 honor presented by the New York Public Library.

The Gotham Prize was established in 2020 by businessman-philanthropist Bradley Tusk and political strategist Howard Wolfson, who are funding the award themselves and have committed to it for at least 10 years. James McBride's novel Deacon King Kong, set in Brooklyn in the late 1960s, won the prize in 2021.

"Last year, the jury picked an outstanding novel but one that could have come out at any time," Tusk and Wolfson said in a statement Wednesday. "By picking Invisible Child, the jury not only showed its willingness to embrace nonfiction, it also clearly wanted to add a spotlight to the extremely difficult issue of homelessness, which has gotten even worse over the past several years. Were hopeful that Andreas success here incentivizes other writers to go deep into the public policy issues that matter so much to our city.
MIAMI (AP)  A Florida man has been sentenced to seven months in federal prison followed by a year of home confinement for his part in a scheme to smuggle illegally harvested Florida turtles to China, Japan and other places.

Michael Van Nostrand, 55, of Davie, was sentenced Tuesday in Miami federal court, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in November to conspiring to illegally traffic wildlife. Van Nostrand also must pay $100,000 to a congressionally authorized fund that pays for the care, treatment and rehabilitation of wildlife. Van Nostrand's company, Strictly Reptiles Inc., must pay $150,000 to the same fund.
Meijer shoppers in Michigan no longer need to walk into a store to use their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

The retail giant announced Monday that Michigan stores are allowing customers with SNAP benefits to pay for Meijer Pickup or Home Delivery orders using an Electronic Benefits Transfer card.

"We believe all customers should have access to personalized, convenient, digital shopping services and understand the added benefit this new payment capability provides," Derek Steele, Vice President of Customer Strategy for Meijer, said in a Monday press release.

The change came the same day Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced all Michigan families who are eligible for food assistance benefits will continue to receive at least an additional $95 monthly payment in April to help lower the cost of groceries. The additional assistance will help approximately 1.31 million Michiganders in more than 700,000 households, according to the state.

"We will continue collaborating with our federal partners to get things done by lowering out-of-pocket food costs and put money in people's pockets with our proposals to roll back the retirement tax, triple the Earned Income Tax Credit and lower the cost of gas," Whitmer said in a Monday press release.

Meijer Pickup is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Meijer Home Delivery is available from 7 a.m. to midnight daily. To use an EBT-SNAP card as a payment method for these services place an order on Meijer.com. The Meijer app does not accept them, according to the company's website.

The pickup service, which is free on orders more than $35, does not require membership, offers the same pricing available in-store and includes access to all weekly sales and discounts.

Customers can order through Meijer Pickup, keep track of their total basket, use mPerks rewards and coupons, note any preferences and choose an available time for pickup, Meijer stated in the release. Customers paying with EBT-SNAP on Meijer.com can purchase non-eligible items with a debit or credit card on the same order.

Meijer's same-day home delivery service gives shoppers the flexibility to shop for everything they need, from fresh produce and grocery items to everyday essentials and have a personal shopper hand-select the items and deliver them to their home within a few hours, Meijer stated in the release.

Additionally, Meijer is offering $15 off the first three pickup or home delivery orders of $75 or more by using the code SAVEBIG at checkout.

"Providing SNAP recipients with access to Meijer Pickup and Delivery will make shopping for affordable, fresh groceries and essentials a little easier for parents and families across the Midwest," Steele said in the release. "We hope the new capability brings convenience and access to all our customers when ordering groceries online."

Meijer plans to allow customers to pay with an EBT card in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Kentucky in the coming weeks.
DETROIT (AP)  A group of Detroit corporate and community leaders has come together to provide support services to refugees from Afghanistan and other nations as they resettle in the city.

Samaritas, a statewide health and human services organization that operates one of Michigans largest refugee resettlement programs, announced the launch of the Detroit Refugee Network on Wednesday.

The network's formation comes at a key time, as refugee resettlement agencies and nonprofits nationwide gear up to help Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. They have already been hard at work trying to help tens of thousands of asylum-seeking Afghans who fled last years Taliban takeover.

When world events started to occur, we knew we had to respond  and respond boldly and quickly, Kelli Dobner, chief advancement officer for Samaritas and co-chair of the Detroit Refugee Network, said at a news conference in Detroit.

The network will serve the clients of three resettlement agencies  Samaritas, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants and Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan. It is working to raise more than $1 million to provide refugees in Detroit with a full range of services, including housing, education, transportation, legal support and utility assistance.

Everyone wants opportunity. And in Detroit, we are here to help them and those who want to pursue that American dream," Dr. Sonia Hassan, the network's co-chair and wife of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, said at the event, which was held in the courtyard of an apartment complex that houses resettled Afghan refugees.

More than 650 Afghan refugees have come to southeastern Michigan since 2021 via the three resettlement agencies, with more than 250 planning to settle in Detroit.

Said Urahman, an Afghan who worked as a translator with the U.S. government, arrived in Detroit last year along with his wife, brother and two children. His wife and he since have added to their family  a third child was born three weeks ago.

The 31-year-old said it was a very difficult decision because he had to leave homeland, friends (and) family behind.

Now, he works for the city government's human resources department and lives in the apartment complex.

I'm taking it easy, step by step. And I'm already integrated in society, Urahman said.
WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Two methane explosions at a coal mine in southern Poland killed five people and injured more than 20 early Wednesday, the Polish prime minister said. Seven others were missing.

The first blast took place shortly after midnight about 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) under the surface at the Pniowek mine in Pawlowice, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters outside the mine's office building.

Morawiecki said a rescue operation was launched immediately, but a second explosion occurred about three hours after the first, and communication was lost with some of the rescuers.

The operation was suspended due to the resulting fire and dangerous conditions. Experts were evaluating the possibility of resuming the rescue mission.

The mine, close to the Czech border, is operated by the Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa, or JSW, mining company. Prosecutors have opened an investigation.

More than 20 people, including rescuers, were hospitalized with severe burns, the prime minister said. Doctors at the Siemianowice Slaskie hospital, which specializes in treating burns and victims of mining accidents, said some of the patients have life-threatening injuries, including burns to their lungs and large areas of their bodies.

Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said that one of the 5 dead had been among the 11 injured who were brought to the Siemianowice hospital in most serious condition. Other injured people were taken to other hospitals in the region.

Rescue workers were are among the victims of the explosions, Morawiecki said.

A tragedy happened here today, he said as he offered sympathy to the families and stressed the dangerous nature of coal mining work.

Poland relies on its own and imported coal for almost 70% of its energy, drawing criticism from the European Union and environmental organizations concerned about CO2 emissions and climate change.

Most coal mines are located in the southern Silesia region. Many are at risk of explosions from the sudden release of methane.

The government recently announced it would end coal imports from Russia by May. The action is part of Poland's drive to wean off dependence on Russian energy sources, but also comes in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Patrick Lyoya died instantaneously earlier this month after he was shot in the back of the head by a police officer in Grand Rapids, Michigan, according to an independent autopsy.

Dr. Werner Spitz, who was engaged by the legal team defending Lyoya's family, led by attorney Ben Crump, performed the autopsy. "[Lyoya] was aware and knew that a firearm was being held to the back of his head. When the gun went off, death was quick," according to the report.

Autopsy: Patrick Lyoya Was Shot in Head

The Kent County medical examiner's autopsy and toxicology results have yet to be released. According to Crump, Spitz has worked on a number of high-profile cases, including the murder of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

On April 4, Lyoya was stopped for a driving violation. The Grand Rapids Police Department released four videos last week, including one from a dashcam and another from a cellphone, showing Lyoya and the officer grappling on the ground, with Lyoya attempting to grab possession of the officer's stun gun.

Lyoya was eventually restrained with his knee to his back by the police, who then shot him while he was face down on the ground, NBC News reported.

Lyoya's killing has angered his family and many others who have seen footage of the officer-involved shooting. During a traffic stop, the officer, whose identity has not been revealed, was overheard saying that the license plate on the automobile didn't match. Per CBS News, Lyoya refused to get back into the car as requested, resulting in a brief foot pursuit.

Crump described it as a "classic case" of racial profiling - "driving while Black," noting that the officer's patrol vehicle footage shows him backing out of a garage in a private area and following the car for a few yards. License plates are not required to be displayed on the front of automobiles in Michigan.

Lyoya was "resisting," not fighting, the police, according to attorney Ven Johnson. State police will report their findings to the Kent County prosecutor, who will decide whether or not to file charges. Lyoya's funeral is set on Friday at Grand Rapids' Renaissance Church of God in Christ. The National Action Network, led by the Rev. Al Sharpton, has pledged to assist cover the costs. He'll give the eulogy.

Read Also: Hunter Biden Shows Up at White House Easter Egg Roll After Keeping Low Profile Amid Investigation Over Laptop Scandal

Suspect's Identity Won't Be Released Until Charges Filed

Lyoya might have lived until his early 80s and had a "long and successful life," according to Crump. A lawsuit has yet to be filed, though Johnson hinted that one was in the works, as per CTV News.

Crump has been engaged in multimillion-dollar settlements between cities and the families of Black individuals slain by police in the United States. His legal team has claimed that the high-stakes bargains should motivate police departments to reform their policies and increase public accountability.

The officer's patrol car is seen backing out of a house in a quiet area to follow the car for a few streets, according to video supplied by the Grand Rapids Police Department. Crump said it looked to be an instance of racial profiling - "driving while Black."

License plates are not required to be displayed on the front of vehicles in Michigan. Jennifer Kalczuk, a police spokesperson, declined to comment. Johnson reiterated his demand that the officer's name be made public, despite the fact that he knows who he is.

The identity will not be released until charges are filed, according to Police Chief Eric Winstrom. State police will present their findings to Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker, who will decide whether or not to press charges. He has warned the people not to hold their breath for a quick conclusion.

Related Article: Brooklyn Subway Shooting: Person of Interest Frank James Has Ties to Milwaukee; $50,000 Reward Offered for Any Info to Arrest the Suspect

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HELENA, Mont. (AP)  Montana lawmakers have rejected an attempt to call a special legislative session to investigate the state's election processes amid continued false claims by former President Donald Trump and his supporters that the 2020 election was stolen.

A poll of 149 lawmakers found just 44 approving a special session by Tuesday's deadline, short of the 75 needed. The secretary of state's tally showed 60 lawmakers rejected the special session and another 45 didn't return their ballots, which counts as a no vote. One legislative seat is vacant.
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SEATTLE (AP)  A surge in robberies at licensed cannabis shops  including a pistol-whipping, gunshots and killings in Washington state last month  is helping fuel a renewed push for federal banking reforms that would make the cash-dependent stores a less appealing target.

It makes absolutely no sense that legal businesses are being forced to operate entirely in cash, and its dangerous  and sometimes even fatal  for employees behind the register, Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.

Although 18 states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and 37 allow its medical use, it remains illegal under federal law. Because of that, big banks and credit card companies have long been reluctant to work with the industry, leaving the businesses heavily reliant on cash and making them attractive marks for robbers.

On the annual 4/20 marijuana holiday Wednesday, Murray held a news conference at Salal Credit Union to say she will prioritize marijuana banking reform as part of her work as a key negotiator on a conference committee that is ironing out differences in House and Senate versions of a major federal competitiveness and innovation bill.

Cannabis industry activists said they consider her announcement an important signal that after years of work, the banking issue might finally get resolved this year, allowing financial institutions to handle marijuana money in states where it is legal without fear of federal prosecution, loss of their federal deposit insurance or other penalties.

There recently has been a massive spike in the robberies for reasons that aren't entirely clear. Dozens of cannabis businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area were hit last fall in a wave of attacks that sometimes appeared coordinated. Industry trackers in Washington state have reported at least 80 so far this year, mostly in the Puget Sound region.

While dispensaries are frequent targets for robberies, the spate in Washington is helping drive the national conversation about banking reform. Last month, a suspect shot and killed an employee at a cannabis store in Tacoma; an ID checker shot and killed a robber in Covington; Seattle police shot and killed a suspect following a robbery in Bellevue; and a robber pistol-whipped a worker at an Everett shop.

In the last few days, police have arrested a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy in the killing of employee Jordan Brown, 29, at Tacoma's World of Weed. Authorities said the pair were responsible for at least 10 other armed robberies, including several at pot shops.

The number of these robberies is shocking, said David Postman, the chairman of the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board.

The board in the past month has held public safety discussions with retailers, recruited law enforcement to talk to retailers about best practices, and worked with state financial regulators to highlight local banks and credit unions that work with the industry as well as third-party vendors that cannabis retailers can use to conduct cashless phone transactions.

Marijuana shops that can afford it have hired private security guards, sometimes at costs of more than $50,000 a month for a round-the-clock detail, said Adan Espino, executive director of the Craft Cannabis Coalition, which represents more than 60 retail stores in Washington. Some of the businesses have tried to hire guards, only to find that security companies are completely booked, he said.

Espino said he's pushing for state lawmakers to give tax credits to cannabis stores that have to shell out money for security.

Mary Mart, a cannabis outlet in Tacoma, hired armed security in March after it was robbed twice in two months  including, police say, by the two teens who days later killed Brown. Budtender Amara Barnes, who was not present for either robbery, said she and other employees had their hours cut to help offset the cost.

It's scary. I had worked here for four years without any kind of incident, Barnes said. To have a couple kids come in and do that, it really shakes the confidence."

Officials and industry advocates say hiring security and training employees on best practices won't solve the problem the way federal approval of cannabis banking would.

Colorado Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter introduced the SAFE Banking Act in 2013 soon after Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize the regulated sale of marijuana. The bill would keep federal regulators from penalizing banks that work with licensed cannabis businesses.

The House has passed it half a dozen times with bipartisan support, but it has never passed the Senate, where it has 42 co-sponsors, including nine Republicans. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, has insisted that he would prefer to see federal legalization of marijuana, along with measures to redress harms caused by the war on drugs, before addressing banking.

Schumer, however, recently announced that his marijuana legislation would not be ready to introduce this month as originally planned.

Supporters of fixing the banking problem first now see an opportunity, especially with Murray announcing that she will prioritize it in her work. David Mangone, director of policy and government affairs for The Liaison Group, a Washington, D.C.-based cannabis lobbying firm, called news of Murray's statement a reasonably big deal.

In a letter to Schumer and other senators Tuesday, Perlmutter cited the robberies and deaths in Washington state in support of approving banking reform as soon as possible. He called the banking reform an immediate solution to get cash off our streets and ensure state-legal, legitimate businesses can operate like any other type of business."

____

This story has been updated to correct the location of the news conference.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Rapper A$AP Rocky was taken into custody Wednesday morning at Los Angeles International Airport in connection with a shooting in Hollywood last year, authorities said.

The performer, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was detained on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement Wednesday.

Mayers, 33, was wanted in connected with a Nov. 6, 2021 shooting after an argument escalated, authorities said. Mayers is accused of firing a handgun at an acquaintance, who sustained a minor injury and later sought medical treatment, police said.

Mayers and two other men ran after the gunfire, police said.

Mayers' RCA Records publicist and attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

TMZ and NBC News first reported the arrest and details of the 2021 shooting.

Mayers had been photographed days earlier in Barbados with Rihanna. The high-profile celebrity couple announced in January that they were expecting their first child together. They haven't revealed the due date.

Mayers released his last studio album four years ago and like Rihanna has become as known for fashion trendsetting as he is for music. He was the focus of international attention in 2019 after being detained for nearly a month in Sweden following a street brawl. He was found guilty of assault and given a conditional sentence that meant no additional time in jail.

__

Associated Press Writer Ryan Pearson in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)  A Malaysian man with a mental disability is to be hanged next week in Singapore after losing a final appeal, rights groups said Wednesday, but his Malaysian lawyer mounted a new bid to halt the execution.

Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam has been on death row since 2010 for attempting to smuggle less than 43 grams (1.5 ounces) of heroin into Singapore. His scheduled hanging last November sparked widespread criticism, including from the European Union and British business magnate Richard Branson, because he is believed to be mentally disabled with an IQ of 69  a level internationally recognized as an intellectual disability.

A Singapore court ruled that Nagaenthran knew what he was doing by violating Singapores harsh anti-drug laws. Nagaenthran lost his final appeal on March 29.

Nagaenthrans Malaysian lawyer wrote an immediate letter to Singapores attorney general seeking a halt to the execution on April 27.

Lawyer Surendran Nagarajan said Singapore Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon has presided over various appeals by Nagaenthran. Menon was attorney general when Nagaenthran was convicted in 2010, raising the issue of a conflict of interest with him presiding over the appeals, Surendran said.

Our client is constitutionally entitled to a rehearing of the matters heard and decided by Justice Sundaresh Menon, he said in the letter, posted on his Facebook page.

The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network and Transformative Justice Collective also called for a halt to the execution. They said the Singapore government has not given Nagaenthran any independent psychiatric assessment and dismissed his disability solely on feedback from the prison department.

To provide Nagaenthran with an independent psychiatric assessment at this stage would cause no prejudice" to Singapore but demonstrate it has given a person with a disability the right to exercise his legal rights, they said.

Nagaenthran and several other recent death row cases have put the spotlight on Singapores policy of capital punishment for drug-related offenses. Singapores home affairs ministry has said the country has a zero-tolerance stance against illicit drugs and that the death penalty is made clear at its borders.
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP)  A former prime minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico is facing criminal charges along with his ex-interior minister, police said Wednesday.

Police didn't provide any other details. The two men have been charged with creating a criminal group, their lawyer, David Lindtner, said.

Fico denied any wrongdoing.

It's a clear political revenge, Fico said, adding that the case against him and his former interior minister, Robert Kalinak, was designed to liquidate the political opposition.

Fico is currently a lawmaker for his leftist opposition Smer-Social Democracy party. Police so far havent asked parliament to waive immunity rules and allow his detention.

Kalinak currently works as a lawyer.

Prime Minister Eduard Heger said he hoped the decision to charge Fico and Kalinak was supported by evidence. He said that it was an autonomous decision by law enforcement authorities.

The current four-party coalition government made the fight against corruption a key policy issue. Since it took power after the 2020 general election, a number of senior officials, police officers, judges, prosecutors, politicians and business people have been charged with corruption and other crimes.

Fico, considered a populist politician, served as the prime minister during 2006-2010 and again from 2012 to 2018.

He resigned after the 2018 slayings of an investigative journalist, Jan Kuciak, and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova.

Kuciak had been investigating possible government corruption when he was killed. The killings prompted major street protests unseen since the 1989 Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia and a political crisis that led to the governments collapse.
CHISHOLM, Minn. (AP)  A person was fatally shot early Wednesday during an encounter with law enforcement in northeastern Minnesota, according to sheriff's officials.

The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office said the person who died in the Iron Range city of Chisholm was wanted in connection with a recent felony in Morrison County.
MANISTEE  Several Great Lakes freighters and other smaller vessels wade through the Manistee River Channel each year to bring materials to factories along Manistee Lake.

Of these, the following are among the most frequent visitors to the area, according to data from boatnerd.com.

Sam Laud

The first large freighter to open the shipping season in Manistee on April 12, the M/V Sam Laud is a diesel-powered vessel owned and operated by the American Steamship Company. This 634-foot long vessel was built in 1975 at Bay Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

The Sam Laud utilizes self-unloading technology, according to the American Steamship Company website.

The vessel uses a conveyor system below its cargo holds to transport cargo to an inclined conveyor system that elevates the cargo to the deck-mounted boom conveyor, part of the website states.

For maneuvering down the Manistee River Channel, the vessel is equipped with 1,000 HP bow and 600 HP stern thrusters.

Manitowoc

The Manitowoc is the next vessel scheduled to visit the city, according to Chris Franckowiac who operates Manistee, MI Vessel Traffic, a Facebook group which focuses is shipwatching in and around Manistee.

The nearly 630 foot cargo vessel is due to arrive around April 27 bearing coal for Tondu Energy Systems - Filer City station, according to Franckowiac.

The Manitowoc was named to honor the Manitowoc River in Manitowoc, Wisconsin which is located on Lake Michigan. The word "manitowoc" is reported to mean "dwelling of the great spirit" and is derived from the Anishinaabe language.

Its previous names are the Paul Thayer, from 1973 to 1994; the Earl W. Oglebay from 1994-2007; and the Earl W. from 2007-2008.

The vessel was rechristened the Manitowoc shortly after its purchase by Rand Logistics in 2008.

The Manitowoc is designed to carry a variety of cargo types including grain, iron ore, coal, aggregates, salt and other bulk commodities, reads documents from Rand Logistics.

The Manitowoc has a sister ship in the companys U.S. flagged fleet, the M/V Calumet  another frequent Manistee visitor  and the M/V Robert S. Pierson with the companys Canadian flagged fleet.

The Manitowoc, like many freighters and bulk carriers on this list, is classified as a River Class vessel, meaning it is capable of traversing smaller channel-based ports like the one in Manistee.

Great Republic

Among the youngest vessels on this list, the Great Republic was launched in 1981 as the American Republic, owned and operated by the American Steamship Company.

The two propellers are housed in special housings called Kort Nozzles which can be rotated like rudders, according to former Manistee County Historical Museum director, Steve Harold.

In addition there are eight rudders, four at each propeller. Diesel engines provide 3,600 horsepower to each propeller, Harold wrote previously in the News Advocate.

With these eight rudders, bow and stern thrusters and twin diesel engines on the Great Republic, Boatnerd.com author Todd Davidson calls this over 634-foot vessel the most nimble and maneuverable ship in the world.

Unlike traditional freighters, all the accommodations are at the stern of the vessel which puts the pilot house six decks above the main deck. From there the captain can see the entire deck from the wheel house and can also look down at the propellers and the rudder action at the stern, Harold wrote in 2020.

In the summer of 1996, the Great Republic carried the Olympic Torch.

A large cauldron was placed upon her deck on top of hatch 4, and at 10:15 a.m. on July 6, amidst a heavy downpour, the Olympic torch was brought about the ship and the cauldron was lit, reads part of an article on boatnerd.com. Arriving shortly before 8 p.m., the American Republic, with a huge Olympic banner on both sides of her bow, finally made her dock at the Rock-n-Roll museum waterfront.

After 30 years the American Republic was sold to Key Lakes management, which rechristened it the Great Republic. The vessel was repainted in Great Lakes Fleet colors in early 2014. The Great Republic continues to be an active member of Great Lakes Fleet, Inc. serving the iron ore, coal and stone trades, according to the Duluth ships and places wiki.

Calumet

A sister vessel of the Manitowoc, the Calumet is also owned by Rand Logistics, Inc. and operated by its subsidiary Grand River Navigation Company.

The Calumet is a 630-foot self-unloading bulk freighter designed to carry a variety of cargo types including grain, iron ore, coal, aggregates and salt, according to documents from Rand Logistics, Inc.

Built in 1973 as the William R. Roesch, this vessel was renamed after it was purchased by Rand in 2008. It was renamed Calumet after the original Calumet, built in 1929 for U.S. Steel, which was scrapped in 2007.

The Calumet is actually registered as the Calumet 3 to keep the name active in the fleet after the retirement and subsequent scrapping of the Calumet 2 prior to the purchase of the new Calumet, reads part of the Rand Logistics website.

The River Class vessel has a 260 foot unloading boom and has an unloading rate of 5,000 tons per hour.

On Oct. 21, 2021 the Calumet ran aground near the Lake State Railway swing bridge across the Saginaw River in Bay City, but was freed by tugs.

Undaunted/Pere Marquette 41

The Pere Marquette 41 is a 403-foot barge that is mated with the tug Undaunted. This pair of vessels have visited the city of Manistee since 1998, carrying diverse cargoes such as stone for break walls, iron, scrap and other materials that traditional self-unloaders cannot, according to a profile on boatnerd.com.

With a capacity around 5,000 tons, the Pere Marquette 41 - Undaunted is a unique articulated-tug barge that has been referred to as one of the hardest-working Great Lakes vessels, according to boatnerd.com.

Construction on the Pere Marquette 41 began in 1940, when the then carferry was called the City of Midland 41.

The Undaunted, an auxiliary tug, was built for use in World War II, where it was used for the salvage and service of U.S. war ships. At the time, it was armed with one single 3/50-gun mount and two twin 40mm gun mounts.

The two vessels were acquired in late 2020 by Interlake Holding, Co.
PHOENIX (AP)  Arizona may lose the authority to oversee its own workplace safety program because of a pattern of ignoring federal directives involving COVID-19 protection, employer penalties and other issues, the Biden administration said Wednesday.

The U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration is threatening to take the first step in revoking federal approval of Arizona's plan for monitoring and protecting private, local and state employees.

Assistant U.S. Labor Secretary Doug Parker, who leads the agency, said a Federal Register notice proposing that Arizona's approval be reconsidered will be published Thursday. The notice opens up a 35-day public comment period. The state could request a hearing at that time. After that, OSHA would issue a final decision.

OSHA is asking Arizona OSHA to address the litany of issues that the agency has identified over the past decade, Parker told reporters in a conference call. And I just want to be clear, this isnt about a single instance.

The Industrial Commission of Arizona, Arizona's agency, said it disagreed with the federal decision.

Arizona has always, and will continue to, implement occupational safety and health standards in accordance with our mutually agreed upon State Plan and Arizona law., the agency said in a statement.

The reconsideration of Arizonas State Plan status is a serious overreaction by OSHA, the statement continued. Despite this distraction, the Industrial Commission of Arizona remains committed to protecting Arizonas workforce and will continue to uphold Arizonas State Plan.

OSHA notes that Arizona is the only state that refused to implement a temporary emergency standard related to COVID-19 last June, according to OSHA. The standard included ensuring there was enough personal protective gear for health care workers, room for 6 feet (2 meters) of social distancing and other mitigation measures. Agency officials say they worked in good faith and warned the Arizona regulators in October about the potential loss of approval.

At the time, Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, called revocation talk nothing short of a political stunt and desperate power grab.

After OSHA warned Arizona in October, the commission issued a fiery news release in November that it had the sole authority to issue such rules.

The Industrial Commission said OSHA officials also took two months to tell the state that its existing wage and hour laws were not sufficient.

Parker declined to comment on those criticisms but said people should give input based on the facts.

If they raise substantial objections, well hold a hearing, Parker said.

The state has long been in the crosshairs of the federal agency, with repeated warnings over its reported failure to issue adequate maximum fines for worker injuries and deaths. The agency, during former President Donald Trump's presidenc y, warned Arizona about lowering fines issued to employers and operating outside its legal authority by reclassifying violations.

The Biden administration has been at odds with other Republican-controlled states like Utah and South Carolina the past several months. Safety measures for workers at health facilities that care for people with COVID-19 and paid sick time for those who contract the virus or need to get vaccinated were points of contention last year.

OSHA has given up its authority to enforce workplace safety laws and regulations for the private sector in 22 states, including Arizona. In exchange, the states must adopt rules that are as effective or better than the federal regulations at protecting workers. Arizona's plan has been in place since the 1980s.

___

Associated Press reporter Bob Christie contributed.
Midland Health

More than 100,000 people are currently on the wait list for a transplant in the United States. In Texas, More than 10,000 people are waiting for a transplant with someone added to the list every nine minutes. According to donatelifetexas.org approximately 17 people die every day waiting for a transplant. Just one donor can save as many as eight lives.

National Donate Life Month was established in 2003, and each year in April we recognize those individuals who gave the precious gift of life through organ, eye and tissue donation. In 2021, Midland Memorial Hospital had a total of seven donors. Out of those seven donors, 24 organs were transplanted, and 15 recipients received tissue donation.
Former Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis, best known for her 13-hour filibuster of a 2013 abortion bill, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging Texas recent abortion law. The suit claims the law is blatantly unconstitutional and written to make a mockery of the federal courts.

The law, which went into effect in September and empowers private citizens to bring civil lawsuits against anyone who aids or abets in an abortion after fetal cardiac activity is detected, has led abortion clinics to stop providing the procedure after about six weeks of pregnancy.

Meanwhile, abortion funds  nonprofit advocacy groups that help pay for abortions and related expenses  have seen increased demand from pregnant Texans seeking care outside the state. This financial support has put these funds in the crosshairs of abortion opponents, who have claimed on social media and in legal filings that abortion fund donors, employees and volunteers are susceptible to lawsuits and criminal charges.

Davis, who was the Democratic nominee for Texas governor in 2014 and unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2020, donates to and works with the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity, an Austin-based abortion fund, according to the lawsuit. She claims in the suit that these threats against donors and volunteers "have had a chilling effect" and stop her from associating with "like-minded people to express her views and achieve her advocacy goals."

Accordingly, she intends not to make any additional donations to Texas abortion funds until the Court provides clarity on this issue, the lawsuit said.

She is joined in the suit by the Stigma Relief Fund, an abortion fund associated with abortion provider Whole Womans Health, and Marva Sadler and Sean Mehl, who both work for Whole Woman's Health and serve on the board of the Stigma Relief Fund. Sadler and Mehl say in the suit that they have stopped donating to abortion funds "until the Court clarifies whether and to what extent [they] can face liability for doing so."

They are suing state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, and three private citizens who have made efforts to bring lawsuits against abortion funds. Cain recently sent cease-and-desist letters to all the Texas abortion funds, accusing them of criminal conduct.

The lawsuit claims that the law violates the plaintiffs rights to due process and free speech and asks the court to declare both this law and Texas older abortion law unenforceable.

We are asking the courts today to stop the unconstitutional harassment of abortion funds by confirming S.B.8 cannot be used to silence donors with bogus threats, Davis said in a statement. More than that, we are asking the courts to stop the nightmare S.B.8 has created for Texans if they need abortion services."

Legal background

In recent months, abortion opponents have accused abortion funds of both civil and criminal impropriety, and the abortion funds have brought their own legal challenges to block the law.

The chief architects of Texas new abortion law have asked a state district judge to allow them to depose the leaders of two abortion funds, seeking to better evaluate the prospects for legal success in potential lawsuits over illegal abortions.

Anti-abortion advocacy groups including the Thomas More Society have also tweeted at different abortion funds, claiming their donors could face lawsuits. The law specifies that paying for a prohibited abortion constitutes aiding and abetting, and someone can be sued regardless of whether the person knew or should have known that the abortion would be performed or induced in violation of the law.

Last month, two abortion funds filed federal lawsuits against the anti-abortion advocacy groups that had threatened to bring lawsuits against them.

Recently, Cain claimed that the abortion funds could also face criminal charges under a Texas abortion statute that was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973. Cain claimed in his cease-and-desist letter that the law, which was never repealed by lawmakers, was recently reaffirmed when the state passed the new abortion law.

Davis lawsuit asks the judge to affirm that the old criminal statute is unenforceable and that the newer law is unconstitutional.

The current law seeks not only to strip Texans of their fundamental right to make decisions about their pregnancies based on their individual circumstances and religious beliefs, but also to make a mockery of the federal courts, the lawsuit said.

In December, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out most of the arguments brought by abortion providers to challenge the law, and though a state judge found the law to be unconstitutional, he allowed it to remain in effect.

We cant wait to welcome you in person and online to the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival, our multiday celebration of big, bold ideas about politics, public policy and the days news  all taking place just steps away from the Texas Capitol from Sept. 22-24. When tickets go on sale in May, Tribune members will save big. Donate to join or renew today.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
United States President Joe Biden's administration on Tuesday announced that it was restoring parts of a bedrock environmental law that would once again require that climate impacts are considered and local communities have input before approval of various projects.

The new order would require federal agencies to comply with the law whenever they want to get approval for highways, pipelines, and other major infrastructures. The administration has resurrected the requirements of the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that former United States President Donald Trump removed.

Biden Reverses Trump on Environmental Law

The Republican businessman complained that the policy slowed down the development of mines, road expansions, and other similar projects. The final rule was announced Tuesday and will mandate federal agencies to first conduct an analysis of the greenhouse gases that could be emitted over the lifetime of a proposed project and how climate change might affect new highways, bridges, and other infrastructure.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality will be responsible for enforcing the rule that will take effect in 30 days. It would also work to ensure that agencies give communities directly affected by projects a greater role in the approval process, as per the New York Times.

The law was first signed by President Richard Nixon and enacted in 1970 and supporters of the order argue that it is essential in protecting the environment from climate change. They argued that it also ensures that federal agencies coordinate with communities to consider alternatives if the proposals pose too great of a risk.

Read Also: Major US Airlines Ditch Face Mask Requirement: Here's What You Need To Know

The chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Brenda Mallory, said in a statement that the restoration of basic community safeguards would provide regulatory certainty, reduce conflict, and ensure that projects are built right the first time around. She added that patching these gaps in the environmental review process will help them get built faster, be more resilient, and provide greater benefits to people who live nearby.

Effect on Infrastructures

According to USA Today, many environmental groups expressed their agreement with the Biden administration's Tuesday announcement. They said that they were hoping the Democrat will go further in restoring policies that former President Trump rolled back.

The recent announcement underscores how Biden is searching for ways to push forward with his climate agenda amid the rising concerns about cost increases in the economy. On Friday, the Democratic administration announced that it would resume issuing oil and gas leases, a move triggered by a court order and due to pressure to increase energy supply, a decision that drew ire from climate activists.

Furthermore, the Biden administration is working to implement a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill that passed last fall. On the other hand, Biden's Democratic allies in Congress praised the White House for undoing another Trump-era environmental rollback.

The chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Raul M. Grijalva said that he was glad the Biden administration recognized how egregiously wrong the Trump administration's actions were. He praised Biden for his restoration of protections that would help protect our environment while also promoting sustainable development for decades, the Washington Post reported.



Related Article: Democrats Question Biden Administration's Decision To Lift Trump-Era Immigration Rule; ICE Set To Release 600K Immigrants by September

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Conservative activist Steven Hotze on Wednesday was indicted on two felony charges related to his alleged involvement in an air conditioning repairman being held at gunpoint in 2020 during a bizarre search for fraudulent mail ballots that did not exist, according to his attorney, Gary Polland.

Hotze, 71, was indicted by a Harris County grand jury and faces one count of unlawful restraint and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Court filings in the case were not available Wednesday evening.

The charges stem from Hotzes hiring of more than a dozen private investigators to look for voter fraud in Harris County ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

One of the investigators, former Houston police captain Mark Aguirre, was arrested in December 2020 and charged with aggravated assault. Prosecutors said Aguirre used his vehicle to run an air conditioning repairman off the road before dawn on Oct. 19, 2020.

Aguirre then detained the repairman at gunpoint and ordered an associate to search his truck, according to court filings. When a Houston police officer happened upon the scene and stopped to investigate, Aguirre said the truck contained 750,000 fraudulent mail ballots prepared by Democrats.

The truck contained only air conditioning parts and equipment. Hotzes investigators have not produced any credible evidence to support allegations that Democrats orchestrated a wide-ranging mail ballot scheme in Harris County during that election.

Polland said the charges against Hotze are outrageous and his client had no knowledge of the roadside incident until he read media reports of Aguirres arrest. He said Aguirre asked Hotze for funds to investigate alleged election fraud, Hotze agreed, and that was the extent of his involvement in Aguirres affairs.

All I know is Hotze didnt aid or abet this in any way, Polland said. The donation of funds was for a righteous activity of rooting out ballot fraud.

Grand jury subpoenas in Aguirres case show that Hotze paid Aguirre $266,400. Most of that sum, $211,400, was paid to Aguirre on the day after the alleged holdup.

Aguirre remains free on bond awaiting trial. One of his conditions of release is that he no longer work for Hotze.

Hotze, however, plans to continue monitoring election activity in Houston. At a Freedom Gala fundraiser Hotze hosted on April 2 with Attorney General Ken Paxton, Hotze said donations would be used to investigate voter fraud in Texas.

Also attending the event was Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO who has promoted the baseless theory that former President Donald Trump was the rightful winner of the 2020 presidential election.

Polland said Hotze does not plan to alter his plans because of the indictments.

We cant wait to welcome you in person and online to the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival, our multiday celebration of big, bold ideas about politics, public policy and the days news  all taking place just steps away from the Texas Capitol from Sept. 22-24. When tickets go on sale in May, Tribune members will save big. Donate to join or renew today.

Correction, April 20, 2022: Due to an editing error, Steven Hotze's name was previously misspelled in the headline. It's Steven, not Stephen.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/20/steve-hotze-houston-indicted-voter-fraud/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
Having family in Plainview and vicinity, I read The Plainview Herald article: "Early 20th century cemetery center of maintenance debate" (April 15 issue).

The article noted a cemetery in the section of land north of the Seth Ward community which contains the buried remains of early pioneers and others. Sadly, over the decades the cemetery fell into neglect and disrepair. Tall weeds would grow, tombstones would crack or get knocked-over and crumble. Before long, the identity of those people buried there --once cherished-- soon became an "unknown but to God". This is a terrible shame to have such neglect. In my lifetime, I have personally cleaning gravestones and pulled weeds and overgrowth away from tombstones in Kansas and Nebraska. In one instance I bet I cleared away weeds obscuring 40 flat markers before I came to the relative whose grave I wanted to pinpoint the most. The County does need a "historical marker" there at the cemetery near the Seth Ward Community, but it also needs workers whether volunteers from civic groups such as the Boy Scouts, VFW or whomever -- or else use a portion of tax levies to pay hired workers to mark, clean, and regularly mow the grass so the cemetery is kept in neat order. That is the least that should be done to honor the memory of those who have gone on before us.
Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News

Tech Port Center + Arena, San Antonio's newest high-tech event center, will play host to a summit meant to advance more high-tech projects like the venue. Here's what you need to know.

San Antonio leadership, events and research agency ZPryme, and the Austin Smart City Alliance will host the Smart Cities Summit at the Tech Port Center at 3331 General Hudnell Drive on April 28 and April 29 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to a news release. Smart Cities Summit will feature research and tech demos from industry leading companies to help bridge the digital divide in cities and advance technology.
NEWTOWN, CONN.  A Texas judge has ordered Alex Jones and his companies to pay $1 million in legal fees to the parents of two slain Sandy Hook children and a Norwalk native falsely accused of being the shooter in a Florida high school massacre.

The order is from the same Texas judge who is overseeing two upcoming trials to determine damages from defamation lawsuits Jones lost to Sandy Hook parents, and comes one day after three Jones-controlled businesses filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

According to the order by Travis County District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, Jones and his businesses have 30 days to pay the attorney fees and expenses for Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of slain Sandy Hook first-grader Jesse Lewis; for Lenny Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, the parents of slain first-grader Noah Pozner; and for Marcel Fontaine, a Norwalk native who was falsely accused on Jones InfoWars site as the perpetrator behind the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla., in 2018.

Meanwhile Guerra Gamble has scheduled a conference on Wednesday to discuss whether the first trial to award defamation damages will begin as scheduled on April 25. The question is complicated even though a bankruptcy filing automatically delays a civil proceeding, because neither Jones himself nor his Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy protection. Both Jones and Free Speech Systems are defendants in the lost defamation suits.

In Connecticut, where Jones lost a third defamation lawsuit to an FBI agent and eight families whose loved ones were slain in the Sandy Hook massacre, Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis called off a conference planned for Wednesday after learning Jones had filed a separate motion in bankruptcy court which appears to remove the entire case, including the plaintiffs' claims against the other defendants.

Therefore, this court will take no further action unless and until all or part of this matter is remanded back by the bankruptcy court, Bellis wrote.

The first hearing in Texas Western Bankruptcy Court is on Friday.

If it seems like Jones has been in the news a lot recently, he has.

Jones made national headlines when he refused to attend court-ordered pretrial depositions and was sanctioned in Connecticut with heavy escalating daily fines, only to fly into the state the following week for two days of testimony in Bridgeport, where Jones spoke out both days against the system.

Jones, who called the massacre of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School staged, synthetic, manufactured, a giant hoax, and completely fake with actors, has been saying publicly for the last several years that he now believes the massacre happened and that he has a right to be wrong under the First Amendment.

Jones also made headlines recently when he offered the 19 people involved in the three defamation cases he lost in Texas and Connecticut $120,000 each to settle, and they refused.

At the same time, Jones was the subject of a new lawsuit brought by the parents in the two Texas defamation cases that accused him of transferring millions of dollars from his fortune to shield assets from them at the damages trials.

On Sunday, Jones made national news again when three entities he controls  InfoWars, IWHealth, and Prison Planet TV  sought Chapter 11 protection in federal bankruptcy court, which automatically stayed the lawsuits where those entities are defendants.

The same tactic was used by Remington in 2020 after eight families that filed a wrongful death lawsuit won a string of pretrial victories against the former gunmaking giant. Remington was eventually sold off, and its insurance carriers settled with the Sandy Hook families for $73 million.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342
On Wednesday of last week, Fox News was the first publication to publish an article on Rep. Michelle Steel, an Orange County Republican in a swing district, accusing Democratic Party challenger Jay Chen of racism for mocking her accent. Steel and Chen are both running to represent California's 45th Congressional District.

The video contains a 13-second YouTube video in which Chen says of Steel, "Just had another town hall the other day, and it's tough. Like, weve transcribed it. You kind of need an interpreter to figure out exactly what shes saying. The more she speaks, the better for us."

Chen's remarks came at an April 7 event, and the very short video clip was uploaded to YouTube by an account called "Democrat Tracking." The account has other unlisted videos of remarks made by Democratic congressional candidates.

The Fox News story contained comment from a Steel spokesperson stating, "These despicable, racist comments from Jay Chen have absolutely no place in our community. Chen owes everyone an explanation," as well as comment from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who called on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to disavow Chen.

In a statement sent to both Fox News and SFGATE, Chen said, "My parents traveled to this country from Taiwan in search of the American Dream. Here, my father became an entrepreneur after it became clear that, as an Asian immigrant, he would never get the promotion he deserved. Its disgusting that Michelle Steel and Kevin McCarthy are slinging false and hateful attacks to distract from their own lies."

Democrats closely watching the race have raised questions about the video, its context as well as the timing of the release of an op-ed Steel wrote in the Orange County Register titled, "Jay Chen should know better than to mock immigrants like me," just two days after the publication of the Fox News article.

Because the video includes no preceding context and cuts off quickly after Chen makes his remarks, the DCCC has branded the video as deceptive. The DCCC also accused McCarthy of hypocrisy over his reluctance to take action against Rep. Lauren Boebert over allegations of anti-Muslim bigotry, and Rep. Paul Gosar for attending a conference hosted by individuals with white nationalist ties.

"This is just more gaslighting and deception from the man who has handed over the keys to his caucus to white supremacists and advocates of racist replacement theory," DCCC spokesperson Madison Mundy said in a statement.

Steel's campaign and Fox News meanwhile, point to other videos of Chen in which he says that Steel is "incoherent" and that "all she does is rely on Republican talking points fed by her husband" to argue he does not deserve the benefit of the doubt.

The Steel campaign declined to answer SFGATE questions regarding the timing of the release of the videos, Fox News article and Orange County Register op-ed, or whether the campaign knows of where longer videos with more complete context could be found.

The DCCC, meanwhile, declined to offer further comment on the other short videos of Chen, or whether, if Chen's remarks had been made by a Republican, the Democratic Party would have been similarly outraged.

The Cook Political Report rates the race as a "Republican toss up," meaning Steel is slightly favored to win re-election in November. Steel and Chen, with the institutional support of their respective parties, are all but guaranteed to place first and second in the June 7 primary and advance to the general election against one another.
A Harris County judge has voluntarily recused herself from presiding over the criminal cases against two current and one former aide of Judge Lina Hidalgo. Hidalgo chief of staff Alex Triantaphyllis, deputy policy director Wallis Nader and former aide Aaron Dunn were indicted in relation to a vaccine outreach contract investigation, according to court documents.

Democratic Judge Natalia Cornelio of the 351st Criminal Court signed an order of voluntary recusal Tuesday. Cornelio states in the document that she made the decision so that the public would "maintain trust in the judiciary" and to "avoid any appearance of impropriety."

Dunn, Nader and Triantaphyllis were indicted last week by a grand jury on charges of misuse of official information and tampering with a government record. They are being investigated for allegedly steering a near $11 million COVID-19 vaccine outreach contract to Houston-based Elevate Strategies.

Cornelio was randomly assigned to the cases on April 11. She maintained that she would have been "able to render a fair and impartial judgment" despite the decision, according to court documents. The Administrative Judge of the Felony Division will assign a judge to replace Cornelio.

Cornelio's recusal follows an article published by The Texan on April 13 pointing to the judge's connections to Hidalgo and others related to the investigation. The article alleges Cornelio previously received a $100 donation from Elevate Strategies owner Felicity Pereyra as well as a $1,000 donation from one of the vendors Pereyra subcontracted to manage the vaccine outreach contract.

Hidalgo has issued statements defending her staff following their indictments. Last week, the Democratic leader in an interview dismissed any concerns about the "flimsy, unsubstantiated" case, saying that it was going forward with a "fundamental misunderstanding of the facts."

In a statement shared on Twitter, Hidalgo said she does not plan on firing the staff members involved. "I've held myself to the highest ethical standards and that's reflected in my unprecedented commitment not to accept money from anybody who does business with the county," Hidalgo wrote. "The people I choose to serve in my office understand that code of ethics."

Hidalgo's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the time of this writing.
ZZ Top pulled into the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium Wednesday evening for a rocking performance. The band has been together for over five decades and sold over 30 million records across 15 studio albums. The loss of long-time bassist Dusty Hill in 2021 did not stop the band as his spot o
The South African government has deployed personnel to begin restoration efforts after the region was devastated by disastrous flooding that has killed at least 440 people in the KwaZulu-Natal province.

On Monday, a week after the beginning of the torrential rains, the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) said that it was instructed to activate 10,000 troops for tasks that include mop-up work and transporting aid to affected residents. The agency would also provide medical support and helicopters that will conduct rescue and reconnaissance missions.

Devastating South African Floods

The powerful floods have left thousands of people in the region without a home, knocked out power and water services in the region, and disrupted operations at one of the nation's busiest ports, Durban. President Cyril Ramaphosa said that his Cabinet had already declared a national state of disaster due to the floods and extreme weather that rocked several other provinces.

The official's order would allow federal agencies and personnel to conduct a more effective response to the crisis. Ramaphosa said that the nation's finance minister would approach parliament over further spending to add to the $67 million that was immediately available, as per Reuters.

Officials reported that the flooding and resulting mudslides have displaced more than 40,000 residents and destroyed nearly 4,000 homes. They added that more than 40 people remain missing and 600 schools have been damaged costing a total of roughly $28 million.

Read Also: Solar Storm Set To Hit Earth Soon: When and How Big Is Its Impact?

Authorities also ordered the distribution of water tankers to areas where access to clean water has been disrupted and teams were struggling to restore electricity. Two weeks ago, South Africa lifted its national state of disaster over the COVID-19 pandemic that has been in effect since March 2020.

According to Fox News, on Monday, President Ramaphosa said that there would be no room for corruption, mismanagement, or fraud of any sort in the government's response. The remark comes after the state's Special Investigating Unit uncovered widespread corruption in state funds that were supposed to assist in the country's response to the coronavirus health crisis.

Rescue Efforts

A professor of physical geography at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, Jasper Knight, said that South Africa and other developing countries were victims of insufficient funds when it came to protecting the poorest of their societies.

Many of the victims of the recent flooding were living in settlements of flimsy shacks that were constructed by people who could not afford stable housing. Some of the death and destruction occurred in communities of small, cube-like homes that sat in valleys near rivers or clung to hillsides.

Images throughout eThekwini, the municipality that includes Durban and many surrounding suburbs, showed the devastation of the rains and mudslides. Ramaphosa noted that on top of rescue missions, another critical effort was the provision of water, food, and shelter to people in badly damaged communities.

While the floods in Durban are considered one of the country's deadliest natural disasters to date, part of the reason so many residents died is believed to be man-made. Some argue that it is the nation's failure to deal with a longstanding housing crisis to blame for some of the fatalities, the New York Times reported.



Related Article: The Atacama Super Quake From 3,800 Years Ago Kept Humans Away From Ancient Sea Coasts in Chile for Over a Millenia

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A recent bird flu outbreak has resulted in the death of roughly 1.4 million avians in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a first in the last four decades where a highly contagious strain of avian flu was detected in the region.

The incident forced authorities to order the establishment of a quarantine zone that encompassed a large portion of the county. The disease was first discovered at an East Donegal Township facility that was owned and operated by Kreider Farms, which is a family-owned dairy, egg, and poultry enterprise.

Bird Flu Outbreak

Kreider Farms manages more than 3,000 acres in Lancaster, Lebanon, and Dauphin counties and employs roughly 450 workers. In a statement, the company's vice president of operations, Tom Beachler, said that the company was cooperating with state and USDA officials to reduce the risk of further spread of avian influenza.

Beachler said that the loss of birds at the Lancaster site represented about 15% of Kreider Farms' egg layers. He added that it was fortunate that they were still able to fill customer egg orders using other remaining locations that have all tested negative for the virus, as per LancasterOnline.

Officials added that there were another 160-plus poultry operations surrounding the farm on Colebrook Road that were subjected to increased scrutiny and testing requirements. The affected areas are all located under a 10-kilometer-diameter quarantine zone.

Read Also: Methane-Breathing Microbes as Alternative Energy Sources To Be Used as Organic Power Stations

The precautions are all part of an effort to further mitigate the possible spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The state Agriculture Secretary, Russell Redding, described the virus as a threat to Pennsylvania's $7.1 billion poultry industry where a large part of which is located in Lancaster.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, in a statement, Redding said that the heart of the poultry industry in Pennsylvania was in Lancaster County. Fortunately, experts said that the bird flu outbreak posed no imminent threat to human beings.

Effects on the Economy

The Department of Agriculture provided an update on what the outbreak of the avian flu meant for The Commonwealth. Officials said that the HPAI did not make poultry and eggs that were currently in circulation unsafe to eat as long as they were cooked properly beforehand.

Assistant Director of the State's Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services, Alex Hamberg, said that, unlike past bird flu incidents, officials were far better prepared this time around to identify cases. The official said that Pennsylvania's three animal health laboratories were able to analyze nearly 200,000 samples of Avian Influenza last year.

Hamburg added that laboratories that made up the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratories System had the capacity to test many more samples if needed. Redding warned that the primary problem that the outbreak brings would be at grocery stores.

"If you start pulling birds out, production out, meat, eggs, all of that, there's clearly, there's only so many chickens, right, there's only so many eggs, there's only so much poultry," said Redding. He added that the situation could cause already-high prices that are observed in various grocery stores to go even higher, WJACTV reported.



Related Article: Bird Flu Outbreak in the US: Scientists Issue Major Warning as Virus Affects 27,000,000 Poultry

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After nearly 10 years at JetBlue, where he served as chief digital and technology officer, Eash Sundaram recently took on a new role: operating executive at Tailwind Capital, a private equity firm that focuses on mid-market companies in the business and industrial services markets.

I have always loved the CIO turned private equity executive career trajectory, as it has all the diversity of consulting, but from the vantage point of an investor. So, I was excited to talk to Sundaram (for the fourth of our articles together over the years) about his experience in the role.

Martha Heller: Please describe your role as operating executive at Tailwind.

Eash Sundaram: Broadly speaking, my role is focused on helping transform Tailwinds portfolio companies through the adoption of technology and technology talent, which is a core tenet of Tailwinds value creation model, known as Accelerate Change.

I serve as an advisor, deeply engaged across the portfoliobringing subject matter expertise in technology, including supply chain, customer engagement and overall digital strategy to our companies. A key focus here is to help the portfolio company management teams articulate a vision for transforming the business. Since I work with multiple companies across the portfolio, I can bring a broader perspective than they have on their own.

I also serve as a board member for multiple companies within the portfolio, and I evaluate companies that we are thinking about buying to understand the technology opportunity and risks.

A critical part of my role is to identify the right digital and technology leadership to help run our portfolio companies.

How has technology impacted private equity?

Private equity has historically unleashed synergies through consolidation. Funds would buy multiple companies, drive up the value by putting those companies together, and then sell the larger company at a profit. The model was buy low, consolidate, and sell high. But those companies were often not properly integrated, which became an issue for the next owner.

But over the last few years, the purchase price for companies has really increased, so private equity cannot get the same returns by just putting a few companies together. Today, value comes only from true transformation. And since most transformation is driven by technology, the role of the technology leader has become much more important to PE firms. Additionally, buyers are more focused on integration of M&A, which is not possible without the appropriate technology investments.

Five years ago, the majority of PE firms did not have technologists on their teams. Their managing directors had financial or operations backgrounds, and they would leave technology strategy to the portfolio companies themselves. Today, PE firms are taking on senior technology leaders, since technology strategy has become as important or even more important than financial considerations.

While not Tailwinds strategy, I am also starting to see a trend where some PE is investing in early-stage startups more often than they did in the past. Startups make decisions fast, prove a concept quickly, and they can mature a product without a lot of overhead. This can give PE firms a quicker return on their investment than with larger, older companies.

What are the skills you are look for when identifying a CIO for a newly acquired portfolio business?

I look for people who have a technology background, but they think like a business unit leader, which is different from having business acumen. Business acumen is understanding business drivers, performance, and markets. Business unit leadership is the ability to change the business model of a $500M company. CIOs of portfolio companies have to think about running a business, not running a department.

Lets say we buy a traditional distribution company and see the opportunity to transform it into an e-commerce business. The CIO of that company has to drive a strategy that transforms the entire business at once, rather than automate HR or supply chain. Its a complete channel shift, not a business process change.

What are trends in technology that youre seeing across the portfolio?

Data science is driving a lot of change especially with capabilities like dynamic pricing. In most companies, product pricing has been static and based on looking backwards, because market pricing data was very expensive; those datasets were hard to get. Today, if your e-commerce is running on AWS, you can easily see how the market is pricing a product globally and match it to your own price. Small manufacturing companies can now do dynamic pricing, based on consumer demand, and dramatically improve their margins.

Data science is also behind the second big trend that Im seeing, which is in supply chain. If youre in a midmarket industrial company that buys products from China, you now have access to services that can track and trace products from start to finish. You dont have to go to five different sources for that information. As with dynamic pricing, only larger companies used to have those capabilities, but due, in part, to cloud adoption, this technology is available to companies with more modest budgets.

The third trend is increased access to labor in the gig economy. Weve been able to recruit great people to our portfolio companies by thinking innovatively about leveraging a shared ecosystem to attract global talent. In my experience, people love working in the midmarket where they can really impact the growth trajectory and value propositions of these platforms.

What advice do you have for CIO of companies that are taken private?

When PE buys a company, they are focused on speed to market. Their ownership timeline is typically three to four years; they dont have time to wait to see what the market is going to do. So as CIO, dont expect to set a 12-month budget and stick to it. You have to think more dynamically than that.

You also have to think about yourself as a chief integration officer, working across the company to create dramatic change. In large public companies, CIOs create change incrementally, department by department. In PE-owned companies, CIOs have to think out of the box about the new company they are creating.

That is why this is such an exciting time for experienced public company CIOs to move into private equity, whether at the fund level or in one of the portfolio companies. It is a chance for CIOs to work in a smaller company environment, create real value, and have a much greater impact.
While CISOs and other security leaders in government and business in the Middle East have challenges specific to the region, such as concerns about operational technology used in the oil and gas sector, regional and global knowledge sharing is increasingly seen as an important way to fight cybercrime.

With a yearly growth rate of 15%, global cybercrime damages are predicted to cost up to $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, up from $3 trillion in 2015, according to Cybersecurity Ventures.

Middle Eastern countries are not immune to cybercrime. In its State of Ransomware 2021 report, Sophos reported that that 38% of the UAE tech executives polled said they were attacked with ransomware during the past year.

Countries in the region are fighting back. End-user spending on security and risk management in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is forecast to total US$2.6 billion in 2022, showing an increase of 11.2% compared to last year, Gartner has forecast.

Prime targets of hacker attacks are medical and government institutions, as well as the retail sector, oil and gas companies and critical infrastructure.

The issue of countering cybercrime is on the agenda of governments worldwide, and the UAE along with the rest of the Middle East is no exception.

In 2019 the UAE came up with its new three-year national cybersecurity strategy that among other initiatives calls for implementing a legal and regulatory framework covering all types of cybercrime. It also aims to train 40,000 cybersecurity professionals and protect the UAEs critical assets in nine sectors, including energy, ICT, government, electricity and water, finance and insurance, emergency and health services, transportation, and food and agriculture.

The UAE joins the global fight

The UAE is developing local and global partnerships to jointly fight cybercrime, according to Dr. Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti, head of cybersecurity for the UAE Government. Cybersecurity is not the responsibility of one entity, one person or one country  it is a collaborative job and shared responsibility across all, he says.

We are partnering not only with hackers, government and private entities, but also academia, and even school kids. They all work to secure safe digital lifestyle and environment. We are also actively working with international consortia, Al-Kuwaiti says.

In fact, we have just finished the biggest [virtual] cyber exercise [Cyber 193] where we had more than 140 countries working with us to train and share information in cybersecurity. We are also working with the UN and ITU.

The UAE was ranked fifth worldwide in the International Telecommunications Unions Global Cybersecurity Index 2020 for its advanced cybersecurity infrastructure, jumping from number 47 previously, Al-Kuwaiti says.

Cybercrime is dangerous to the countrys critical infrastructure, such as water and electricity, aviation, and healthcare. If any of these get hacked or disrupted it can wreak havoc, as in the case of cyberattacks on hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, Al-Kuwaiti says, referring to last years two ransomware attacks on hospitals in one week in France.

Interpol starts to work with GCC

Stephen Kavanagh, the executive director of Police Services for Interpol in France, says that his organisation is currently talking to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) authorities and particularly to the UAE to set up a cyber-desk for the Middle East region.

We cant deal with all of the cyberthreats from Lyon in France. We want to be able to work with regions and the Middle East is one of them. We are talking about how we can set up a cyber-desk for the Middle East so we can break down the threat vectors that are taking place and can look at the gateway partners, Kavanagh says.

Data on threat vectors exist globally, but no one single law enforcement agency has all that information so there is need for new relationships and partnerships. The GCC can help Interpol bridge that gap and respond to the needs of businesses and individuals.

Instead of just defending ourselves what we need is to be able to get back on the front foot and start arresting some of those cyber criminals and putting them [behind bars], Kavanagh says.

UAE tests, collects threat assessment data

Hassan Abdullah, director of Security Systems at Dubai Electronic Security Centre (DESC), said his organisation, which was established in 2014, is forming a bigger team together with the Dubai Digital Authority to fight cybercrime.

It is a common thing for cybercriminals to try and test your networks but we have a very good defence system, while entities are mature and thanks to Dubai Cyber Index the response time is very high now from entities, he says.

Dubai Index was set up in part to monitor compliance with government cybersecurity requirements.

We measure the response time and the resolution of (test attacks) and if there is a malware on a computer. That has dramatically increased the response time of government entities, Abdullah says.

With new technology increasingly being implemented throughout the region, the number of cyberattacks is expected to increase, but Abdullah is optimistic because there is more awareness now about cyberthreats.

We work together hand-in-hand with international organisations as well as GCC entities to share information, he added.

Challenges remain, however. Despite the fact that the UAE is witnessing an increase in tech talent, there is still a lack of experts in the field, Abdullah says.

In UAE we need at least 3,000 cybersecurity experts in the next two years, he says.

Efforts to groom talent continue; Dubai Cyber Innovation Park, the research arm of DESC, was officially launched during this years GISEC Global cybersecuirty event held in Dubai in March.

Healthcare particularly vulnerable

The healthcare sector is the most vulnerable to cyberattacks and is targeted more often than other sectors by cybercriminals, according to some cybersecurity experts.

Cyberattacks on hospitals are particularly dangerous, says Sultan Owais, digital lead at the UAE Prime Ministers Office.

We definitely need skills in many critical sectors. We also need technologies and norms and practices to meet this challenge, Owais says.

Healthcare organisations have equipment that has been used for 20-25 years and it is not meant to be maintained from an IT perspective and updated. Such specialist equipment has unique weaknesses that commercial laptops bought from a shop dont have, he explains.

Maintaining this equipment is its own sort of challenge that requires its own set of practices, Owais says. Thats why health regulators are setting priorities for the industry across the globe, he adds.

Cyberattacks on healthcare industry are especially dangerous because they dont just deal with money but the health patients, notes Ramakrishnan Natarajan, vice president of IT at Emirates Hospital.

Ransomware attacks compromise health records, including backups, and can make it impossible to get them back. And when health records are compromised, no one knows how they may be utilised, Natarajan says.

There are a lot of steps CISOs can take to fight these attacks. First of all, one needs to get the basics right, Natarajan says. The most important thing is that employees should be trained on healthcare safety and information security. In fact, this sort of training should be tied to their KPIs (key performance indicators), he suggests.

Healthcare organisations are top ransomware payors

Abdullah Marghalany, cybersecurity chief officer at the Ministry of Health, General Directorate of Health Affairs in Medina, Saudi Arabia, says that the healthcare system is the sector most attacked by cybercriminals and is the biggest payer of ransom money.

Every attack costs healthcare organisations $7 million on average and last year there were cyberattacks worldwide every 40 seconds, he says, adding that some 37% of all the cyberattacks in 2020 were on healthcare systems.

Last year it cost the world $6 trillion of ransom money paid to cybercriminals. If we compare this money to countries economies, it would be the third largest economy in the world after the US and China, he says.

Also, there are hidden costs. There are costs related to shutting down systems after a cyberattack, Marghalany says. Organisations, especially in the healthcare system, need to invest more in new technologies and also people to help confront cybercrime, he says.

The National Cybersecurity Authority of Saudi Arabia (NCA) compels every organisation and every CISO both in the public and private sectors to have a cybersecurity strategy and comply with NCA guidance, Marghalany notes.

In fact, the NCA audit organisations twice a year to check the compliance, he adds.

Saudi Arabia was ranked second after the US in the International Telecommunications Unions Global Cybersecurity Index 2020 for its cutting-edge cybersecurity infrastructure, up from the previous years 40th place, he says.

OT a critical issue for critical infrastructure

The main challenge in protecting critical infrastructure from cyberattacks is OT (operational technology), according to a GCC-based oil and gas production cybersecurity expert, who did not want to be named. Most solution providers focus on IT rather than OT.

The existing solutions require the shutting down of production to put new applications in place, but that is difficult to do: oil must be pumped continually. Its a very big problem, the expert said.

His views are echoed by a number of other industry experts.

In IT the main security issue is data. But OT includes physical assets, plants, equipment, and all kinds of hardware, which present countless attack vectors. So OT is easier to attack, said Jad H. Abdulsalam, CISO at Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden).

Thats why priorities and methodologies are different for OT. The challenge on the OT side is that organisations have legacy infrastructure, as most plants were built at a time when todays cybersecurity issues were not prevalent. This is the reason why most facilities do not have up-to-date security systems and controls. It requires some time for a complete upgrade of a plant or production line, Abdulsalam explains.

Some of the solutions require a complete upgrade, which is expensive, and if the upgrade requires suspension of a production line, it will cause huge financial losses and interruptions.

It will in turn affect the companys reputation, commitments, and ability to deliver, Abdulsalam, says.

Attacks on OT on the rise

There has been an increase in cyberattacks on OT in the last five years and the impact of such attacks can be disastrous. OT security technology was designed back in 1980s and 1990s, while more recent industrial OT solutions have been developed in the last three to four years.

Currently, there are hundreds of OT technologies in the world that need to be evaluated with new security systems. It will take time, Abdulsalam says.

It is one of the biggest challenges in our region because in our case in general, in OT, one of the main things that you need to have is the right level of visibility on the infrastructure otherwise you will not be able to identify and catch the threats, Abdulsalam says.

However, we are starting to see a good number of companies delivering solutions, but still it requires some time to bring it the right way and also for an organisation to go along with this new technology to be mature enough to reach the right level, he added.

Shaik Abdulkhader, who up until recently was CISO at Qatar Petrochemical Co. (QAPCO), said because of the relative lack of maturity of OT security solutions, cybercriminals are committing crimes without getting caught.

A lack of information sharing in the region adds to the problem, he says.

Apparently, while international cooperation on security is ramping up, more work remains to be done.
Africa has come a long way in developing new digital payment and banking services, mainly thanks to mobile money products, and the new offerings have helped alleviate problems related to financial exclusion  many people on the continent still do not have traditional bank accounts.

Some experts, however, believe that there has not been enough innovation and deployment of emerging technology to expand digital finance beyond basic withdrawals and deposits. While there has been some innovation across a wide variety of finance-related services, deployment and usage have not taken deep roots.

Most financial institutions have launched digital products that enable companies and individuals to initiate and receive payments. Clients have also grown accustomed to paying in digital format, especially through mobile money payment options. But services such as digital insurance, virtual bank accounts, digital investment products and e-commerce are undergoing a slow shift.

While the growing digitization of financial services products in Africa, especially in the banking sector, is in line with global technology trends, other financial services including insurance and regulation technology, are not seeing as much growth, according to Deloittes African Financial Industry Barometer.

Large-scale financial services projects have failed

In some cases, projects to expand the use of digital payment systems have failed. A classic example is the botched plan to digitize the transport system in Kenya. There have been several attempts in persuading public transport players to adopt digital payments but the efforts have failed.

In 2014, banks were licensed to produce transport payment cards, which could be topped up by mobile money or over the counter. In the end, the product did not appeal to the industry, despite its clear advantages.

Digital payment in mass transit has failed in Kenya, said Victor Malu, a financial services consultant and chairman of the Digital Finance Practitioners Association of Kenya. You have a mobile and bank account in your hand but no usefulness in the transport market.

Legacy banks slow to innovate

One of the growing trends, especially with young people, is increasing use of online payments in global marketplaces like e-commerce sites. South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are advanced in terms of using debit/credit cards online. However, some banks will still insist you either call them or set up a maximum payment amount if you want to use your cards online.

Sending money across borders has also been an issue with banks. To fill the gap in such services, fintech companies such as Chipper, MFS Africa, Bitsika have moved into this sector.

While conditions across Africa are ripe for digital finance adoption, there are signs some traditional banks are missing the moment, according to Africas Fintech Transformation, a report from digital financia platform developer CR2. To meet the moment and hedge disruption, traditional African banks need to pursue just the right product innovation to grow (and not lose) digital finance market share to fintech ventures, the report said.

Preference for cash creates hurdles

The preference for cash by both users and some merchants is the number one hurdle in innovating financial products despite the efficiency of digital services. Compared to mobile money payments (which require at minimum the purchase of a phone), using cash is free for users, leading to many having a preference for it, Malu says.

Despite the uptake of mobile money, most transactions in Africa are offline. Online mobile money payments have not taken off as expected despite developments around APIs.

Safaricoms MPesa, for example, has a full-fledged API enabling businesses to take up online payments. Some of the companies and organizations that use its API include Kenya Revenue Authority, online e-commerce site Jumia and payment gateways Flutterwave and DPO Payments.

Due to growing cybersecurity risks, though, most traditional businesses seem to still keep open doors for offline and cash-based payments.

The trial run of the cashless transport payments in Kenya showed distrust in the system, with many bus-system managers citing reversal of cash payments by riders once they disembark from the vehicle.

Banks should start to listen to their customers to find out where their pain points and concerns are, in order to find innovative ways to address their issues, says Kuldip Paliwal, managing director of First Alliance Bank, Zambia.

Financial system interoperability has been on top of the wish list for most users of mobile money in Kenya, he says. The industry needs to find a way to inculcate a culture that leads to the development of different mobile money products that can communicate with each other, for the benefit of the customer.

Customers are always waiting for the right solutions, Paliwal emphasizes.

Banks urged to partner with fintech companies

Banks can fast track innovation across their products by collaborating with fintech start-ups who have a faster way to the market than established financial institutions, according to Paliwal.

Over 40% of African dont have banking accounts and identity (verification) is still manual, Paliwal says, explaining the extent of the challenge the banking sector faces in Africa. Some fintech start-ups such as Kudabank are already providing virtual bank accounts for 1.4 million Nigerians.

At least some fintech organisations agree that banks should accelerate innovation and partnering with start-ups is a prime way to do so.

Africas banks shouldnt make this journey alone, however. Partnering with fintech start-ups and technology partners can accelerate their route to success, said the CR2 Africa Fintech Transformation report.

There are a variety of success stories in Africa that prove the point. For example, Amole, a payments and money transfer service set up by Ethiopias Dashen Bank and Addis Ababa-based Fintech Moneta Technologies, has more than 3 million users. And in Nigeria, the countrys open banking regulatory framework, launched last year, has helped give birth to tens of start-ups, making banking easier through the use of open APIs.

Despite the growing number of partnerships between banks and start-ups , some big financial establishments have opted to innovate on their own terms, creating smaller units within their business to work on innovative products.

Absa Banks chatbot, Abby, is bringing banking services to the population of millennials and Gen-Z on chat platforms that they are familiar with. Via Abby, users can access their banking information including balances and short mini-statements.

Whether through partnerships or in-house led innovations, financial institutions have a myriad of opportunities to make their services useful to consumers and other clients. Listening to customers and finding out how they would like to interact with banking or financial products appears to hold the key to extending these services.
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LGB Alliance has returned the money to the London Community Foundation (LCF) after its grant was suspended last week, but will challenge the decision.

The LGB Alliance was one of over 700 voluntary and community organisations to be awarded a share from a 4.58m fund from Arts Council England, which aimed to make creative events part of this Junes jubilee celebrations.

However, LCF, which was the distributing partner that awarded the funding to LGB Alliance, suspended the grant when it became aware of concerns about the charity.

Last week LCF said: As of 11 April 2022, we have become aware that the charitable status of the organisation is being questioned. In line with our usual practice where a grantee is under investigation or review this grant is suspended.

LGB Alliance today said it has returned the funding, but will challenge the decision.

In a statement, Kate Barker, managing director of LGB Alliance, said she was absolutely thrilled when the LCF awarded it funding.

We wanted to make a film, Queens, to celebrate the Jubilee, which would record the experiences of older gay men. We had started to produce a moving, thoughtful and important piece chronicling the lives of those who have endured the toughest of times, she added.

Shocked and disappointed

LGB Alliance was registered as a charity in April 2021, despite inflammatory language, with the Charity Commission publishing a detailed explanation about its decision.

This decision is being challenged at the Charity Tribunal by Mermaids, with support from the Good Law Project. A full hearing is scheduled for September.

LGB Alliance disagreed with the LCFs interpretation that this means its charitable status is being question.

Barker said: We were shocked and disappointed when we were told the funding was being withdrawn and the money must be sent back.

The LCFs social media post claimed our charitable status was being questioned but this is untrue. Instead it is the regulatory body, the Charity Commission, who awarded us our charity status who are being taken to a tribunal by complainants who disagree with their decision.

Biased and discriminatory outcome

Barker claimed that withdrawing the funding was discriminatory and said LGB Alliance will challenge the outcome.

Today, the London Community Foundation has asked that we return the money and, of course, we have done so, she said. But we will be seeking to reverse their decision.

We want to make our film, and I would ask that our supporters are patient as we challenge, rigorously, what we believe to be a biased and discriminatory outcome.

I hope you will agree that we must continue to say to the gay men who came forward to appear in Queens that their stories are worth telling. We want them to hear that their lives truly are remarkable.

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Another US community is joining the ranks of communities throughout the country that have put aside funds to provide regular stimulus checks to certain of its people over a prolonged period of time.

This time, the city is Palm Springs, California. Its city council has set aside just about a quarter million dollars to give $900 payments for up to 18 months. Residents who identify as transgender or nonbinary would be among the recipients, according to BGR.

California Has Its Own Stimulus Check Program

Importantly, there would be no strings linked to the payments, making this another basic income experiment. That's another another way of expressing what amounts to a steady stream of stimulus funds. That is over the period of several months. In recent days, the Palm Springs City Council decided unanimously to put aside $200,000 to cover the payments, which will only be distributed to those who fall below a certain poverty level.

According to Fox News, the taxpayer-funded reimbursements will be distributed to 20 Palm Springs homeowners. DAP Health, an advocacy-based health facility, and Queer Works, an LGBT advocacy group, will also be in charge of this initiative. The city's initial financial contribution, according to the latter of the two organizations, would enable both groups to investigate best practices of successful programs around the country, according to a press release.

The national agency Mayors for a Guaranteed Income is also providing pilot design help to the groups. Following the collapse of support in the Senate at the end of 2021, stimulus check payments at the federal level stopped, and these types of projects at the city level have developed as a form of replacement.

Several cities around the country have been exploring with their own versions of this. For example, in Newark, New Jersey, a basic income program was recently expanded to 400 residents. Over the course of two years, each member will receive a total of $12,000. The participants are low-income and must demonstrate some sort of hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another example is Los Angeles' new "Breathe" guaranteed income program. Participants will receive $1,000 each month for three years in this one. Participants are free to use the money as they like. Residents in some states may be eligible for supplementary economic incentives before the national tax-filing deadline.

While the third batch of economic stimulus payments was sent to eligible Americans last year, those who did not receive one may be able to apply for one before the April 18 tax-filing deadline. Furthermore, several states have passed laws that would offer citizens with additional financial compensation when their taxes are submitted on Monday.

Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia approved a measure in March that will offer additional economic payments to qualified Georgia residents once they file their taxes. The state's department of revenue will issue additional credit whenever a taxpayer submits their taxes for 2021, according to the announcement.

Couples will receive $500, while single taxpayers will receive $250. According to the governor's office, a taxpayer who is designated the head of the home will get a $375 stimulus payment.

Read Also: Biden Administration To Cancel 40,000 Student Loans Amid Renewed Pressure; Here's the List of Qualification

These States Provide Payment After Filing Taxes

Similar legislation was approved in Indiana, where Governor Eric Holcomb declared that residents who file their taxes in 2021 will get a "125 Automatic Taxpayer Refund."

Residents of New Mexico may be eligible for a tax return after submitting their taxes on Monday, according to legislation approved by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in March. Single taxpayers will get a $250 one-time tax rebate, while married taxpayers will receive a $500 one-time tax rebate.

After filing their 2021 taxes in New Jersey, certain households may be entitled for up to $500 in tax refunds. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and the state legislature earlier passed a budget that provided $500 tax refund cheques to about 1 million families.

Murphy added another one-time $500 refund check in his budget last month for anyone who file their taxes using a taxpayer ID number rather than their social security number. Prior to that, Idaho Governor Brad Little approved a law allocating $350 million in tax rebates to qualified people, as per Newsweek.

Related Article: Stimulus Check Update: Eligible Americans May Claim Up to $2,000

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On Tuesday morning, A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times, announced that Joseph Kahn would succeed Dean Baquet as the papers executive editor in June. Kahn, fifty-seven, is a former international and managing editor of the paper, and also a Pulitzer Prizewinning former China correspondent. A profile in New York magazine describes Kahn as the ultimate inside man at the Times, someone for whom being named to the top job was almost a foregone conclusion. But some believe his status as a longtime company man could make it difficult for him to navigate the political and cultural challenges the paper faces.

Kyle Pope, editor and publisher of CJR, wrote in a piece about Kahns appointment that the choice of a new executive editor has drawn even more scrutiny than usual. The residue of the Trump years, and fears that the former president will return for another campaign, have put the Times in the bulls-eye of the journalistic debates over objectivity and both-sides coverage, Pope wrote. In picking Kahn, he argued, the paper has sent a clear message that it has no plans to rethink its approach. Sulzberger described the papers approach to its coverage of Trump and other related topics in 2018, saying: We wont be baited into becoming the opposition. And we wont be applauded into becoming the opposition.'

What those within the paper see as a commitment to independence is seen by some outside the Times as a failure to address reality. Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at NYU, responded to that Sulzberger comment in 2018, writing that some longtime Times readers want Times journalists to see what they seean assault on democratic institutions, the corruption of the American Republic. Inside the Times, however, Rosen says, these kinds of people are perceived as a threat. The papers own piece on Kahns appointment says the Times is grappling with shifting views about the role of independent journalism in a society divided by harsh debates over political ideology and cultural identity. Rosen suggested this passage should instead read: The Times is struggling with a model of political coverage that assumes a rough symmetry between the two parties at a time when one of the two has turned anti-democratic.

ICYMI: The misguided obsession over Trumps endorsements

Dan Froomkin, editor of Press Watch, likened Kahns take on the objectivity question to Baquets, based on a speech Kahn gave in 2017, when he was assistant managing editor. At the Australian Broadcasting Corporations annual gala, Kahn said some of the papers readers want us to more forcefully confront a president they see as a threat to democracy and American power, but that the managers of the Times have decided it is not in our journalistic or business interest to do that. For those kinds of decisions, Dan Gillmor, who runs a journalism lab at Arizona State University, said the Times will be remembered as a great news organization that willingly served the people who hated the American republic.

Prior to Kahns appointment, Nikole Hannah-Jones, the creator of the Times award-winning 1619 Project, said on Twitter, Ive been thinking more and more that newsrooms need to hold an all-staff meeting where they invite democracy experts & historians in & really do a massive reset of how we are covering whats happening in our country right now. Its not about partisanship but covering reality. She added that she believes we will look back and be appalled at the failures of journalism in this period of clear and, in my lifetime, unprecedented, attacks on freedom of speech and our democratic institutions.

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The commitment of the Times and other newspapers to the principle of objectivity has come under fire in recent years, including from Wesley Lowery, a Pulitzer-winning Times reporter, in a widely shared opinion piece published in 2020. Since American journalisms pivot many decades ago from an openly partisan press to a model of professed objectivity, Lowery wrote, the mainstream has allowed what it considers objective truth to be decided almost exclusively by white reporters and their mostly white bosses. The contours of acceptable debate, he said, have largely been determined through the gaze of white editors. The views and inclinations of whiteness are accepted as the objective neutral.

In his piece on Kahns appointment, Pope noted that recent decisions by the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post to fill their own open executive-editor positions with people from outside their organizations (and outside a succession of white men) led some to hope that the New York Times might also look to break with tradition in that regard, but it clearly chose not to do that. One reason for this decision, Pope argued, could be that things seem to be going so well for the paper of late, at least from a business perspective: Ultimately, it was the Times financial and editorial successes under Baquet, Kahn, and their colleagues that mitigated the need for a leadership gambit.

Sulzberger acknowledged as much in his note to Times staff on Tuesday, when he said that some will interpret this promotion as a sign of confidence in our current path, and then added emphatically, Thats true. Under Dean and Joe, the Times has grown stronger in virtually every way. Whether those strengths include the ability to put aside a doctrinaire approach to objectivity and consider the threats to democracy on its doorstep remains to be seen.

Heres more on the Times:

Sturdy : In New York magazine, Shawn McCreesh describes how two former executive editors of the Times Howell Raines and Jill Abramsonself-destructed spectacularly in public after losing the faith of the Sulzberger family, but says that this fate seems unlikely for Kahn . He is the ultimate inside man, so sturdy, disciplined, and reverential to the mission of the Times that the very notion of him self-destructing seems improbable. Kahn, writes McCreesh, is a fabulously wealthy Bostonian who, superficially at least, seems more akin to Bill Keller, the son of a Chevron CEO.

Steel : After returning to New York in 2008 from China, Kahn helped launch the Times  Chinese-language website, a large financial investment at a difficult time for the company. In 2012, the site published an investigation into the hidden wealth of Chinas ruling class, and the Chinese government blocked access to the site from within the country. (It remains blocked today.) Sulzberger told the Times the episode was an illustration of Kahns commitment to journalistic independence. It was a really remarkable moment where you learned a lot about the steel in that guys spine, the publisher said.

History: In 2019, Amber ALee Frost wrote for CJR about Why the Left Cant Stand the New York Times. The paper, she said, is the flagship publication for liberal triumphalism; it holds the line of Francis Fukuyamas End of Historythe notion that all serious ideological conflict crashed to a halt with the suspension of the Cold War, with very little at stake in future political disputes beyond regional trade accords and fine-tuning of currency regimes.

Other notable stories:

CNN+, the news networks new streaming digital service, appears to be doomed, according to a report from Axios . Warner Bros. Discovery has suspended all external marketing spend for CNN+ and has laid off CNNs longtime chief financial officer as it weighs what to do with the subscription streaming service moving forward, Sara Fischer reported, based on interviews with five unnamed sources. Executives at the news network are said to be frustrated that new leadership is moving quickly to dismantle what they see as an eventual lifeline for the cable network.

Taylor Lorenz, who covers digital culture for the Washington Post , revealed the identity of the woman behind a far-reaching right-wing account called Libs of TikTok, which, she writes, has emerged as a powerful force on the Internet, shaping right-wing media, impacting anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and influencing millions by posting viral videos aimed at inciting outrage among the right. Following her storys publication, Lorenz was criticized by a number of commentators, including Glenn Greenwald and Ben Shapiro, for doxing, or revealing the identity of, the woman without her permission.

The media still havent learned how to cover the GOP threat to democracy, Jennifer Rubin, a columnist for the Washington Post , argues in a recent column . Multiple news outlets have dedicated themselves to covering democracy, yet coverage has not changed much. Days can go by without national newspapers or cable TV programming mentioning the coup attempt or voting suppression. By way of an example, Rubin notes that not one of the five major Sunday talk shows mentioned the revelation that Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) had supported efforts to overturn the 2020 election despite no evidence of fraud.

Latvian Public Broadcasting interviewed Kirill Martynov , the editor of Novaya Gazeta Europe , an independent publisher that was forced to leave Russia and now publishes on a site based partially in Latvia. A ban on the professional activity of journalists has been introduced in Russia, Martynov told the Latvian news outlet. Therefore, although we in Russia have not closed but suspended our work, we thought it would be helpful to set up a parallel platform in which we could now talk freely about important and worrying topics.

Mike Chinoy writes for CJR about how former president Richard Nixons visit to China in 1972 changed both the political and the media landscape. The coverage was arguably almost as important as the details of the diplomacy, he writes. It transformed American and international perceptions of China, generated the public support Nixon needed to change US policy, and laid the groundwork for the Chinese governments gradual moves to open the country to greater coverage by American media. But while the outlines of the Nixon trip are familiar, the story of how that momentous event was covered is much less well-known.

A US appeals court has ruled that scraping of websitescopying publicly available data, something often done by journalists and other researchersis not a breach of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, TechCrunch reported . The ruling came in a long-running case launched by LinkedIn, which wanted to stop a rival company from pulling information from public profiles on LinkedIn. The case reached the US Supreme Court last year but was sent back to the original appeals court. TechCrunch called the ruling a major win for archivists, academics, researchers and journalists.

Nieman Journalism Lab writes about the first investigative report from the newly formed Redaccion Regional collaborative project in Central America. The project, whose name means regional newsroom in Spanish, was formed to produce journalism that examines how Central American governments are attacking their own democracies, Nieman says. Its made up of four newsrooms: La Prensa Grafica in El Salvador, Contracorriente in Honduras, No-Ficcion in Guatemala, and Divergentes in Nicaragua, along with Dromomanos, a production company that works with newsrooms.

Letizia Battaglia, a photographer who chronicled years of Sicilian Mafia bloodshed in Palermo, Italy, died on Wednesday at her home in Palermo, the New York Times reported . She was eighty-seven. Ms. Battaglia went to work for the Palermo newspaper LOra in the 1970s, during the turbulent years known as the second Mafia Wars, when mobsters from the town of Corleone muscled in on Palermo crime gangs, the Times wrote. The gangland war felled hundreds of Mafiosi but also law enforcement officers, prosecutors and politicians. Ms. Battaglia and the photographer Franco Zecchin, her companion in life, were often first on the scene because they had an illegal police scanner.

New from CJR: The fake-news kingpin of Brazil

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Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg.
JOHANNESBURG (AP)  Declaring a national state of disaster, South Africa has allocated $67 million to help those hit by floods that have killed at least 443 people in the eastern city of Durban and the surrounding KwaZulu-Natal province.

Nearly 4,000 homes have been destroyed and more than 40,000 people displaced by the floods caused by prolonged heavy rains, provincial officials said Tuesday. More than 400 people remain missing and about 600 schools have been hit with damages estimated at about $28 million, according to officials.

South Africas military has deployed 10,000 troops in Operation Chariot to deliver food, water, and clothing to flood victims, help with search and rescue efforts, and rebuild collapsed roads and bridges. Water tankers have been sent to areas where access to clean water has been disrupted and teams are working to restore electricity to large areas.

Visiting some of the flooded areas last week, South African President Cyril Ramophosa blamed climate change for the unprecedented rains, the heaviest in at least 60 years. Announcing the state of disaster in a televised address Monday night, Ramaphosa pledged that government funds for the flood victims will not be lost to corruption.

There can be no room for corruption, mismanagement or fraud of any sort, said Ramaphosa.

Learning from the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are drawing together various stakeholders to be part of an oversight structure to ensure all funds disbursed to respond to this disaster are properly accounted for and that the state receives value for money, he said.

Ramaphosas remarks come after widespread graft was uncovered by the states Special Investigating Unit in state funds that were supposed to help the nation respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Former Health Minister Zweli Mkhize resigned after the investigation found that businesses linked to his family benefited from inflated COVID-19 contracts from his department.

Despite Ramaphosas pledge, many South Africans are skeptical that government funds for flood relief will not be diverted by corruption. Several businesses, prominent South Africans and charities have pledged money to private organizations.

South African businessman Patrice Motsepe, Ramaphosas brother-in-law, has made one of the biggest donations pledging about $2 million to Gift of the Givers, a South African-based disaster relief organization. The University of Johannesburg said it will also donate funds directly to Gift of the Givers.

South African-born Hollywood actress Charlize Theron has also appealed for funds for flood relief through her Africa Outreach Project.

South Africa had been in a national state of disaster over COVID-19 since March 2020 until it was lifted two weeks ago, but it has now been reinstated in response to the Durban floods.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Derrick Monet and his wife, Jenna, were driving on an Indiana interstate in 2019 when their Tesla Model 3 sedan operating on Autopilot crashed into a parked fire truck. Derrick, then 25, sustained spine, neck, shoulder, rib and leg fractures. Jenna, 23, died at the hospital.

The incident was one of a dozen in the last four years in which Teslas using this driver-assistance system collided with first-responder vehicles, raising questions about the safety of technology the worlds most valuable car company considers one of its crown jewels.

Now, U.S. regulators are applying greater scrutiny to Autopilot than ever before. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has the authority to force recalls, has opened two formal defect investigations that could ultimately lead Tesla Inc. to have to retrofit cars and restrict use of Autopilot in situations it still cant safely handle.

A clampdown on Autopilot could tarnish Teslas reputation with consumers and spook investors whose belief in the companys self-driving bona fides have helped make Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk the worlds wealthiest person. It could damage confidence in technology other auto and software companies are spending billions to develop in hope of reversing a troubling trend of soaring U.S. traffic fatalities.

It could also bring long-simmering tensions between Washington and Tesla to a boil. The iconoclastic Musk has already derided NHTSA as the fun police and chafed at President Joe Bidens unwillingness to lavish the pioneering company with praise. Hes not shy about lambasting lawmakers and regulators on Twitter, the social media platform he has offered to purchase for $43 billion.

Tesla, which reports earnings later this week, has lately had an aura of invincibility. As larger rivals were hobbled by the global chip shortage and other pandemic disruptions, the electric-car maker managed to substantially increase production. A modestly funded, slow-moving government agency is one of few obstacles threatening to throw it off course.

Musk and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. Making our vehicles safer is foundational to our company culture and how we innovate new technologies, Rohan Patel, Teslas senior director of public policy and business development, wrote in a March letter to lawmakers.

A crackdown from NHTSA would follow repeated pleas from the National Transportation Safety Board, the independent accident-investigation agency, to tighten oversight of automated vehicles. The NTSB, which doesnt have the power to compel carmakers to follow its recommendations, has suggested Tesla embrace automated-driving system safeguards that General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. have adopted for their systems. Tesla hasnt responded to the NTSBs guidance and instead continued its riskier approach.

We essentially have the Wild West on our roads right now, Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the NTSB, said in an interview. She describes Teslas deployment of features marketed as Autopilot and Full Self-Driving as artificial-intelligence experiments using untrained operators of 5,000-pound vehicles. It is a disaster waiting to happen.

Light Touch

Musk has taken advantage of a light-touch approach in the U.S. to regulating self-driving technology. Within days of Tesla releasing a software update that enabled Autopilot in October 2015, YouTubers posted videos of themselves ignoring the companys warnings against taking their hands off the wheel. One nearly auto-steered off the road; the other almost veered into an oncoming car.

Two months before a Tesla driver in Florida died when his Model S on Autopilot plowed into an 18-wheel trailer in May 2016, NHTSA said existing laws in the country posed few barriers to driver-assistance systems. Then-Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said weeks after the crash that NHTSA would release guidelines, rather than rules, for the technology. Congress hasnt enacted any laws specifically addressing oversight of vehicle automation.

Musk alluded to this regulatory permissiveness in March when he was asked when Europeans will get to test Full Self-Driving, or FSD, a set of beta features available in the U.S. Contrary to the name, FSD doesnt render Tesla cars capable of driving themselves.

In the U.S., things are legal by default, Musk said. In Europe, theyre illegal by default. So we have to get approval beforehand, whereas in the U.S., you can kind of do it on your own cognizance, more or less.

Teslas approach to automated-driving features contrasts with that of legacy automakers GM and Ford, whose systems use cameras behind the steering wheel to monitor whether drivers are paying attention. The companies also restrict use of the systems to highways their engineers have mapped and tested out before deploying the technology to drivers.

Tesla sticks out like a sore thumb, said David Friedman, who was deputy and acting administrator of NHTSA from 2013 to 2015. And it has for years.

NHTSA has repeatedly reminded the public  including in comments provided for this story  that no commercially available vehicle can drive itself. The agency has opened 31 special investigations into crashes involving driver-assistance systems, 24 of which involved Teslas. But the company keeps hawking FSD  and charges $12,000 for it.

Theres growing discomfort with this state of play in Washington.

I really dislike a lot of what Tesla has done, and at the top of the list in bright, bold letters, is Elon Musks habit of making false public claims, and using his podium in a way that creates safety risks, Heidi King, a deputy and acting administrator of NHTSA during the Trump administration, said in an interview.

We all admire his visionary attributes, King said of Musk. But visionary exaggerations about a consumer product can be very, very dangerous.

Growing Scrutiny

King was one of several acting heads of NHTSA during what has been a five-year leadership vacuum. The last Senate-confirmed administrator left the post in January 2017. A vote to permanently place Bidens pick to run the agency, Steve Cliff, in the position is being held up indefinitely.

Impermanent leadership  along with a tight budget and modest headcount  may have prolonged Autopilots free ride. But a series of moves NHTSA has made over the last 10 months suggest it may not last much longer:

In June, NHTSA ordered automakers to report crashes in which automated-driving systems are activated

In August, NHTSA opened the defect investigation related to first-responder crash scenes

In September, NHTSA sought documents from a dozen Tesla competitors about their automated systems

In October, NHTSA grilled Tesla over why it neglected to do a recall when it deployed a software update to improve emergency-vehicle detection, and sought information about expanded availability of FSD

In November, Tesla recalled a version of FSD

In February, Tesla conducted another FSD-related recall to disable a setting that allowed vehicles to roll through stop signs, and NHTSA opened a second Autopilot defect investigation

Former safety officials are encouraged by the growing scrutiny on Autopilot, seeing it as long overdue. They are calling for NHTSA to put its recall authority to use and seek additional powers and resources from Congress that would allow it to modernize safety standards.

NHTSA is empowered with robust tools and authorities to protect the public, to investigate potential safety issues, and to compel recalls when we find evidence of noncompliance or an unreasonable risk to safety, a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement. NHTSA has collected data and conducted research, developed test procedures and measured their effectiveness, which are all necessary requirements before a safety standard can be developed.

Two Democratic Senators  Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal  have called for the Federal Trade Commission to probe whether Tesla has deceptively marketed Autopilot and FSD. FTC Chair Lina Khan told the lawmakers in September she couldnt reveal information regarding any non-public investigations.

Recall Options

In the event NHTSA determines from either of its investigations there are defects pertaining to Autopilot, it can order Tesla to conduct recalls. Those could take a variety of different forms, because Tesla is permitted by law to choose how exactly it responds to such an order.

Addressing a defect could be as simple as beaming an over-the-air update to Tesla cars using their internet connection, much in the way smartphones receive software updates. Tesla has already carried out several recalls this way, and could update Autopilots software to keep the system from operating in certain domains its not yet able to safely navigate.

But pricier fixes may end up being needed. One example: Tesla could determine it needs to install cameras behind its steering wheel to monitor whether drivers are paying attention while using its systems, as other automakers do.

While the company has put cabin-facing cameras in its cars for years, theyre positioned over the rear-view mirror, rather than directly in front of the driver. Musk has said the cameras are meant for a robotaxi service that doesnt yet exist.

Its unlikely Tesla would opt for the most expensive outcome of all: replacing vehicles entirely. But a third option for manufacturers to remedy vehicles theyre forced to recall is to issue refunds, which also would be costly. Tesla has steadily increased the price of FSD, and used to charge thousands of dollars for Autopilot before making it a standard feature in 2019.

Tesla will have had it coming if NHTSA does take action on Autopilot, according to Friedman.

The NTSB has been pointing out since that 2016 crash  where the Tesla literally couldnt see the broadside of an 18-wheeler  that there are serious concerns, Friedman, who is now vice president of advocacy for Consumer Reports, said in an interview. How is it that an automated vehicle cant safely maneuver around an emergency vehicle? Thats literally one of the first things you learn in drivers ed: if theres an emergency vehicle, you dont run into it.

Taking the Mantle

When NHTSA first investigated more than five years ago whether Autopilot was defective, it found that the driver of the Tesla Model S that crashed into a trailer in Florida had ignored his Teslas warnings to maintain control. In a report stating it found no defect and was closing its probe, NHTSA said Tesla supplied data that showed Tesla vehicles crash rate dropped almost 40% after installation of Autosteer, an Autopilot feature.

Two years later, a data-analysis company issued a report calling that finding into question. Quality Control Systems, a firm that sued the Transportation Department to obtain the mileage and crash figures NHTSA studied, found the data were incomplete and criticized the company and regulator for making tenuous safety claims.

NHTSA never, ever, ever, should have just taken Tesla at their word, Friedman said. Its NHTSAs responsibility to do high-quality analysis, and dot their is and cross their ts. In this case, it doesnt look like they did either.

An agency spokesperson said NHTSA made no claim in its report regarding the effectiveness of Autosteer, and that it lacked critical information to do so.

NHTSA will have a fresh advantage in its latest probes of Autopilot: Now that other companies have followed Tesla to market with automated-driving features, the agency has other systems to compare against.

Friedman likens the situation to decades ago, when it wasnt unusual for carmakers to put gas tanks behind or hovering over the rear axle. When manufacturers started moving tanks inboard, and Ford didnt with its Pinto model  rendering the car prone to catching fire  the agency deemed the design an unreasonable safety risk.

Only NHTSA knows their intentions relative to this, Friedman said of the agencys Autopilot investigations. But it is certainly great to see NHTSA spending more time doing its core job when it comes to putting safety first.

With assistance from Alan Levin and Dana Hull.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
The insurer first said it would pay to repair a breezeway at a student housing complex that partially collapsed during a Saturday night student party.

Then it said it wouldnt, and sent the policyholder a confusing and deceptive denial letter that didnt explain its change of course and misstated the terms of the policy, according to an appellate court ruling.

A four-year court battle ensued, culminating on Monday with a split appellate panel decision that adds $800,000 to the amount of damages that Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. must pay for damages to a Elon, North Carolina apartment complex.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 panel decision, affirmed a District Court judges decision in favor of the apartment complexs owner, but also ruled that the Tokio Marine unit must pay treble the amount of damages for violating the North Carolinas Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

While the district court never addressed whether Philadelphias denial letter constituted a substantial aggravating circumstance accompanying its breach of contract, we conclude it was, the panels opinion says. The district court rightly determined the letter was deceptive.

A second-store breezeway at the The Crest apartments gave way in the early hours of Jan. 14, 2018 when partygoers began jumping, according to court documents. Most of the breezeway dropped about a foot and stopped, but parts of it fell to the ground one floor below. All 12 four-bedroom units in the apartment complex had to be vacated until the breezeway was repaired.

The owner of The Crest apartments, DENC, leases the property to Elon University for student housing. DENC submitted a claim asking Philadelphia to pay for repairs as well as the cost of temporary housing.

DENC received a Jan. 25, 2018 letter from a senior claims examiner that said Philadelphia had issued or will be issuing payment for the loss. But on the following Feb. 19, it received a letter from a senior property claim specialist that stated the insurer had determined the collapse had been caused by water damage and was not covered by the policy.

The denial letter was confusing in many ways, District Court Judge Catherine C. Eagles wrote in an order. It did not mention, much less rescind or explain, its earlier letter saying it would provide coverage. The letter repeated verbatim several pages of what purported to be policy excerpts, thenwithout explaining how these policy excerpts apply individually or in combinationnoted Philadelphia would deny coverage for a reason not mentioned by those cited policy excerpts.

DENC filed a lawsuit and a jury trial was scheduled, but then cancelled. After mediation, the parties stipulated that DENCs contract damages amounted to $400,007.

Still, the parties could not come to terms. DENC demanded $1.5 million; Philadelphia offered a third as much. Eagles wrote in a footnote to her order that settling the claim shouldnt have been so hard.

Indeed, this is a case study for how unreasonable behavior during settlement negotiations can unnecessarily increase everyones litigation costs, she wrote.

The judge ruled that Philadelphia should collect its contract damages plus $221,455 in attorney fees. After all, Philadelphia had written a deceptive denial letter and engaged in an unwarranted refusal to settle, she said.

But Eagles refused DENCs request to be awarded treble damages because of the insurers deceptive trade practices. Both DENC and Philadelphia appealed the decision.

The 4th Circuit panel majority rejected Philadelphias argument that Eagles had erred in finding the damage was covered under its policy. The insurer contended that the damage occurred before its policy incepted because it was caused by a construction defect when the complex was built in 2004. That caused water seepage to slowly erode the support for the breezeway. The court said it will decline to characterize the loss in a way that precludes an entire category of coverage, a stance that would render policy terms meaningless.

The panel also was unpersuaded by Philadelphias argument that DENC was not required to provide temporary housing for the displaced students. The company could have lost its relationship with Elon University if it had taken that stand, the opinion says.

The panel majority said the insurer never gave the policyholder a clear explanation of why it was denying the claim.

Instead, it left DENC to decipher a morass of largely inapplicable policy language with no clear connection to Philadelphias factual investigation, the opinion says.

The panel remanded the case to the trial court with an order to enter judgment for treble the contract damages.

Circuit Judge Allison Jones Rushing dissented to that part of the ruling. Although she concurred with the finding that Philadelphia was liable, she said that the carrier had reasonably explained its reasons for denying the claim, even if its letter of explanation was not a model of clarity.

About the photo: The Crest apartment complex in Elon, North Carolina is shown in this photo posted on Apartments.com.
Lying flat detrimental to global anti-pandemic efforts

By Gao Qiao (People's Daily Overseas Edition) 15:59, April 20, 2022

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently stated that the COVID-19 pandemic is still a public health emergency of international concern, and that countries should continue to always be ready to cope with it. The WHO statement again shows that although the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths has steadily declined, all countries must remain vigilant against the pandemic and be fully prepared to deal with the pandemic worldwide.

However, some Western countries have chosen instead to lie flat. Multiple localities across the U.S. have lifted their mask mandates, relaxed epidemic control measures, and closed a number of COVID testing sites. The UK has ended all COVID restrictions across the country and has stopped providing free COVID tests for the majority of its citizens. Germany has dropped all of its COVID-related protective measures. Meanwhile, Switzerland and other countries have also decided to drop all their COVID restrictions, and the Swedish government never once enforced a lockdown or closed any of the enterprises operating within its territory since the COVID-19 pandemic began over two years ago in 2020.

The COVID situations in these countries have been grim due to inadequate preventive measures against the pandemic. A report recently published by U.S. public health experts has indicated that of all the 20 wealthy countries in the world, the average life expectancy in the U.S. saw the biggest drop over the past two years. While the average life expectancy in the other 19 wealthy countries, after dropping slightly in 2020, rebounded in 2021, all while the average life expectancy in the U.S. dropped for two years in a row.

Statistics released by UKs Office for National Statistics earlier this month indicated that an estimated one in every 13 people in the UK has had a coronavirus infection, which is 20 times higher than the average level recorded previously.

By lying flat, some countries have not only exposed their own domestic populations to greater health risks, but have also negatively affected global anti-pandemic efforts. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently expressed his concern that many countries are drastically reducing COVID-19 testing, inhibiting the ability of public health professionals to monitor the trends of coronavirus.

The resurgences of COVID as a result of the inadequate preventive measures taken by Western countries has placed greater pressure on developing countries. Carissa F. Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization, said that vaccination gaps will put Latin America in a dangerous situation when the next wave of the pandemic hits.

Over two-thirds of Africans may have contracted COVID-19, said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, citing a WHO report. The coronavirus is still spreading all over the continent and it could continue to mutate, which includes the potential for more deadly strains. Therefore, African countries must accelerate the speed of carrying out vaccinations.

Relevant studies have shown that the fatality rate for the Omicron strain of COVID-19 has been lower compared to that of the Delta strain, and yet the number of deaths caused by Omicron is higher than that of Delta during the same period. The Omicron variant is still dangerous, and it poses a serious threat to special populations such as elderly patients and patients with severe underlying diseases. Therefore, timely nucleic acid testing, effective prevention and control measures and equal access to vaccination are still measures that should be taken.

As the WHO pointed out, countries should continue to use evidence-informed and risk-based public health and social measures and be prepared to scale up public health and social measures rapidly in response to changes in the virus and based on the populations level of immunity.

To cope with the dramatically increasing number of confirmed COVID cases, some countries have partially reinstituted their epidemic control and prevention measures. On April 13, the U.S. federal government extended the countrys coronavirus public health emergency. Meanwhile, Germany dropped its voluntary quarantine plans and said that it will not end mandatory isolation requirements for most people in the country who catch COVID-19.

Confronted by a once-in-a-century pandemic, which will affect the future of humanity, the countries and regions of the world are not each floating along separately in 190 or so small boats, but are rather all stuck inside a giant ship on which our shared destiny hinges. Only by jointly taking scientific approaches, and staying firmly committed to fighting the pandemic can all countries walk out from under the shadow of the pandemic and secure a final victory against COVID-19.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
On Tuesday, China acknowledged that it had signed a highly monitored security deal with the Solomon Islands, claiming that it was designed to promote peace and stability.

According Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, the treaty "does not target any third party" and is "parallel and complementary to the Solomon Islands' existing bilateral and multilateral security cooperation structures."

US Expresses Concern Over China-Solomon Islands Pact

China pledged to support the Solomon Islands in strengthening its capacity building to preserve its own security, Wang added, citing areas of cooperation as maintaining social order, securing people's lives and property, humanitarian assistance, and natural disaster response.

Although there has been speculation that the arrangement may allow China's navy, police, and armed forces to deploy in the nation, Wang did not give any information about military cooperation. The Solomon Islands has previously said that a Chinese military base would not be permitted there, as per SCMP.

The Solomon Islands originally announced its intention to create a security agreement with Beijing in March, alarmed the US and its allies Australia and New Zealand. The confirmation came as Washington warned that the agreement would destabilize the region and said it would dispatch top officials to the Solomon Islands this week.

Australia, which has a security relationship with the Pacific island nation, has also attempted to persuade its neighbor to distance itself from Beijing.

Following an announcement in February that it would open an embassy in the Solomon Islands, the White House announced on Monday that Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council's coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs, and assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink would be sent there.

The US, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia have all expressed worry over a security arrangement negotiated between China and the Solomon Islands that allows Beijing's warships to dock there. It is the first agreement of its sort signed by China's Communist dictatorship with a Pacific Ocean nation. However, White House National Security Council spokesman Adrienne Watson responded to the announcement by saying that China's presence in the Solomon Islands posed "severe concerns" to the Indo-Pacific's free and open characteristics, Republic World reported.

Read Also: Russia-Ukraine War Heading Into Next Phase With "Attritional Conflict" in Donbas, Says UK Ministers

Solomon Islans Defends Security Pact With China

The pact was signed by China and the Solomon Islands on Tuesday. However, authorities from the South Pacific islands first appeared to indicate that the signature was still pending, according to reports. Chinese officials will visit next month to sign the deal, according to Douglas Ete, chairman of Parliament's public accounts committee.

Manasseh Sogavare, the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, stated that a military base will not be included in the security pact with China. However, Ete stated that the agreements with China will mostly focus on commerce, education, and fisheries cooperation.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands confirmed Wednesday that his government had signed a new security agreement with China, but he assured lawmakers that it would not "undermine the peace and harmony of our region," as the opposition and countries such as the United States and Australia had feared.

Last month, a copy of the deal was posted online, and China's Foreign Ministry declared Tuesday that it had been signed "the other day" while Sogavare said it had been signed "a few days ago."

Last week, Australia dispatched Sen. Zed Seselja, the minister for international development and the Pacific, to meet with Sogavare and persuade him not to sign the pact. Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council's Indo-Pacific coordinator, and Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, are scheduled to visit the nation for discussions this week, as per AP News via MSN.

Related Article: China Condemns US Officials' Visit to Taiwan, Warns 'It's Going Down a Dangerous Path'

@YouTube

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A London court approved the extradition order for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, moving him closer to being transferred to the United States, where he will be tried under the Espionage Act.

After a year-long legal battle, the court issued a formal extradition order on Wednesday, leaving UK Home Secretary Priti Patel to authorize his transport to the United States. According to a CNN report, Assange has the right to appeal the ruling.

Following Wikileaks' publication of thousands of confidential documents and diplomatic cables in 2010, he is wanted in the United States on 18 criminal counts. If found guilty, Assange could be imprisoned for up to 175 years.

Assange participated in the hearing remotely from London's Belmarsh Prison, where he has been detained since being dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy three years ago.

Assange's Mental Health Considered

Since his arrest, which occurred after Assange requested diplomatic asylum in the embassy for seven years, his extradition has been the topic of countless court hearings. A magistrates' court judgment in January 2021 determined that extraditing Assange would be "oppressive" due to his mental condition.

In December, however, the High Court overruled that decision, ruling that Assange might be transferred to the United States based on guarantees from the US government concerning his safety there.

It includes assurances that Assange would not face "special administrative measures" or be incarcerated in a maximum-security prison pre or post-trial.

The legal counsel for Assange now has four weeks to present their submissions to Patel, as per EuroNews. They may take their case to the High Court of the United Kingdom. Mark Summers, Assange's lawyer, told the court that his client's team of lawyers had "serious" appeals to present.

Read Also: Patrick Lyoya Killing: Autopsy Confirms Instant Death After Gunshot to the Back of the Head

Alleged Sex Crimes And Marriage

Since his arrest in 2019 for skipping bail during a separate court struggle, Assange has been incarcerated at Britain's high-security Belmarsh Prison. He had previously spent seven years at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, attempting to evade extradition to Sweden, where he was accused of rape and sexual abuse.

The sex crimes investigations in Sweden were terminated in November 2019 due to much time had elapsed.

According to the Department of Justice, Assange has been charged with 17 counts of espionage and one count of computer usage. Per Fox News, the charges stem from allegations that he assisted Chelsea Manning, a former Army computer analyst, in obtaining secret US records unlawfully.

In 2010, Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison following his arrest. However, President Barack Obama shortened Manning's sentence, allowing him to be released the same year.

The founder of WikiLeaks married his fiancee, Stella Moris, at Belmarsh prison in London last month, CNN reported.

The couple announced their engagement in November 2021. They were granted permission by the governor and prison officials to conduct their marriage ceremony in prison after months of negotiations.

According to the WikiLeaks media team, "only four guests and two witnesses" were allowed to attend the rites. The guests left the event immediately even though it was held "during normal visiting hours."

Related Article: Flash Actor Ezra Miller Arrested for the Second Time in Less than 4 Weeks After Throwing Chair to a Woman

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In what has been described as a "scene from a horror movie," Ukrainians returning to Kyiv found a trail of death as Russian forces withdrew from the city. Civilians were found lying on the streets, slain with their hands bound. Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, described the attacks on civilians as proof that Russia is committing "genocide" in Ukraine.

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict rages on, volunteers from The Art of Living and the International Association for Human Values (IAHV) have reached out to the refugees crossing borders into various European countries, offering shelter and basic amenities like food and water.

"At this hour of crisis, I appeal to students and their families to not give up hope," said Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of The Art of Living and IAHV. "All the help is being made available, and our volunteers from all across Europe are there by your side, who will provide you with food, water, and other essential items."

According to Kushal Choksi from International Association of Human Values (IAHV), "Art of Living Centers for Peace and Meditation around Europe have been opened up for Ukrainian refugees. The refugee relief centers are now operational in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Germany. Our volunteers provide them with basic amenities-food, water, and housing. We also have a large group of volunteers in Ukraine who are doing all they can to help the situation."

Ukrainian residents have been trying to evacuate to safety ever since the Russians began the invasion of Ukraine. As Russian bombs and missiles kill hundreds of civilians, they have also destroyed the central TV tower in Ukraine, cut off electricity in parts of the country, and left innocent people shivering in the cold, forcing them to face shortages of medicines, food, and essential supplies.

"The volunteers are mobilizing medical equipment and supplies. These are being sent directly to Ukraine," says Choksi. "We have mobilized buses that can transport immigrant refugee students from the Ukraine border to nearby airports, from where they can board the plane arranged for them by the Government of India. We have facilitated safe passage for nearly 700 students."

Art of Living volunteers have assisted Ukrainian refugees with food, water, shelter, and other essentials. They have also provided beds for 500 Indian refugees in Hungary, and 500 more for people in Poland.

"Our volunteers across Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary have opened their homes to house refugee families," says Choksi. "Hundreds of such families with infants, pregnant mothers, and sick people have been helped, having taken care of their basic needs."

Earlier in February, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar gave the Republic Media Network a statement. He said, "Our volunteering team in western and eastern Europe are being mobilized, and that is what our Prime Minister had requested me to do-to connect our volunteers with the Embassies. We have done that in Romania, Poland, and Hungary. In Hungary, a place for 500 Indian students was made immediately available in just half an hour. Today, we are ready to welcome any number of youth coming from Ukraine and its neighboring countries. On top of this, we have a large group of volunteers in Ukraine itself ready and willing to help the students shoulder-to-shoulder and keep them in safer places, so we need not have to worry about it. This is a trying time, and we will come out of this."

Art of Living has set up a 24-hour helpline, whereby volunteers help arrange necessities for refugees who have crossed the Ukraine border and assist with their further passage.

"Today, Europe is going through tremendous pressure," said Shankar. "Such a crisis it has not seen since WWII. There is distress, fear and anxiety everywhere. I appreciate the spirit of service displayed by Art of Living volunteers. Let us all join our hands and help the people in need."

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Department of Justice announced on Monday, April 18, that a former gaming executive once connected to Terre Haute's casino aspirations pleaded guilty to federal offenses in connection with illicit campaign contributions.

Former Executive of an Indiana Casino Tried to Cheat IRS

According to Tribune-Star, former vice president and general counsel of gaming company New Centaur LLC, John Keeler 72, of Indianapolis, pled guilty to defrauding the casino firm by misrepresenting payments to a political party as deductible business costs on its federal tax return.

Prosecutors say Keeler paid $41,000 in New Centaur company to a middleman, Maryland-based political consultant Kelley Rogers, and told him to send $25,000 to a local political party committee in Marion County to help it with its efforts.

The idea, as per Daily Journal, was to transfer thousands of dollars from New Centaur's accounts to Rogers, who would then send the funds to a 2016 congressional candidate's campaign.

Rogers is accused of fabricating invoices and agreements to make it look as though he was delivering services for New Centaur, as well as recruiting straw donors to contribute $2,700 each to Waltz's campaign.

To hide the true nature of the transaction, Keeler had the $41,000 payment to Rogers included as a deductible business cost on New Centaur's federal tax return submitted with the Internal Revenue Service.

Read More: Take Care of Your Tax Filing NOW: Tax Returns, Extensions, and More Tips for Your 2021 Taxes

The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana, who was joined by officials from the Justice Department, FBI, and IRS.

Prosecutors agreed to drop five other charges against him as part of the plea arrangement.

Daily Journal reported that Keeler was charged with one count of making illegal corporate contributions, one count of obstruction of justice; one count of conspiracy to make illegal corporate contributions, false statements and to obstruct justice and one count of making false statements related to the scheme.

Former Congressional Candidate Brent Waltz Pleaded Guilty Last Week

Brent Waltz, 48, of Greenwood pleaded guilty on April 11 to felony counts of making and receiving conduit contributions, as well as making false statements to the FBI.

The former Indiana State Senator and 2016 candidate for U.S. Congress was arrested and charged with one count of obstruction of justice; one count of conspiracy to make conduit contributions, false statements and to obstruct justice; one count of making and receiving conduit contributions; and two counts of making false statements related to the scheme.

According to the plea agreement filed in court, Waltz's remaining charges will be dismissed as part of his plea agreement.

Keeler might be sentenced to three years in prison, while Waltz could be sentenced to ten years. The majority of sentences are shorter than the maximums.

The Department of Justice said that both defendants will face sentencing at a later date.

Related Article: Intuit Accused by Sen. Warren for Blocking Americans From Free Tax Filing Software Access
Victims of wildfires in Colorado may soon get more immediate and substantive help from insurance companies under statutory changes the Colorado legislature approved Wednesday.

If signed into law, House Bill 1111 would increase the amount of lost property insurance providers have to cover upfront and extend the timeframe victims have to rebuild their homes. The proposed changes would only apply to future declared fire disasters, which would not help victims of recent wildfires.

Lawmakers are tackling a slew of wildfire legislation months after Coloradans suffered the states most destructive wildfire in history in December, the Marshall fire, which destroyed more than 1,000 Boulder County homes. The legislation has been in the works since before the Marshall fire, inspired by the East Troublesome fire, which burned 193,812 acres in Grand County in October 2020 and is the second-largest wildfire in state history.

Theres no question there are going to be more. Thats the unfortunate reality, said Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, who sponsored the bill. This is something that, unfortunately, is not going to provide much relief to those who have already gone through these horrible disasters. But it is something that many of us have learned from those disasters that we can apply to right the policy and make it a better situation for those in the future.

Under the bill, insurance providers would be required to cover at least 65% of the value of lost property upfront. Current law only requires 30% to be covered without the victims creating an inventory of their lost property, a process victims called unnecessarily difficult and traumatizing.

During public comment sessions for the bill, dozens of wildfire victims said they were forced to document every item in their homes  including every items age, condition, cost, where they were purchased and proof of purchase  only to be offered a fraction of what the items were worth after months or years of negotiating.

In 2020, there were four major wildfires in my district, said Sen. Bob Rankin, R-Carbondale, who also sponsored the bill. The next year ... we started to hear these stories about people who were in temporary living arrangements and they were still, a year later, trying to build the inventory of their personal contents.

The bill would also require insurance companies to provide 36 months for wildfire victims to rebuild their homes, instead of the current 12 months. Victims could also rebuild in a different location or buy a new home instead.

Bob Hughes, a consultant of the Grand County Builders Association, called the current 12-month time limit virtually impossible due to shortages of housing, contractors and building materials in communities hit by wildfires. Hughes said not one home out of the 366 destroyed in Grand County was rebuilt in 12 months.

The state Senate passed the bill in a 29-5 vote on Wednesday, following the Houses 54-9 approval in March. All 14 lawmakers who opposed the bill are Republicans, some arguing the bill would raise insurance rates or not properly address issues wildfire victims face.

The bill will now be sent back to the House to approve changes made by the Senate, and then to Gov. Jared Polis for final consideration.
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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced that its Perseverance rover has reached an ancient river delta as it continues its mission on Mars.

The said river delta is located on the floor of the Red Planet's Jezero Crater. The Mars rover is expected to look for evidence of past microscopic life while in the area. Samples collected by the Perseverance will be sent back to Earth.

NASA's Perseverance Rover Arrives at Ancient River Delta

NASA's Perseverance rover has reached an important milestone as the space agency has announced that it has arrived at an ancient river delta on Mars. The river delta is located in the Jezero Crater

"Dubbed 'Three Forks' by the Perseverance team (a reference to the spot where three route options to the delta merge), the location serves as the staging area for the rover's second science expedition, the 'Delta Front Campaign,'" reads the the statement posted on the official website of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL).

Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator of its Science Mission Directorate in Washington, says in the same statement that this particular Jezero Crater river delta is one of the best locations on the Red Planet to look for any evidence of past microscopic life.

Related Article: 10 Things to Know About NASA's Perseverance Rover

The Delta Front Campaign

As previously mentioned, the Perseverance Rover's arrival at the river delta is part of its second science expedition called the Delta Front Camapign. According to NASA JPL, the campaign officially started on April 18.

A report by Space states that the Mars rover will spend the next week exploring a certain area of the river delta. Available data suggests that the deposits that the Perseverance is meant to focus on is located around 130 feet above the crater floor.

Two route options are being considered for the the Perseverance to take. The first of which is a region known as "Hawksbill Gap," which the report says can be reached within a shorter amount of time. Should that route not be as safe for the Mars rover to take, it may opt to take the second route option known as "Cape Nukshak."

The Mars Sample Return Campaign

So what exactly is the Perseverance rover meant to do at the river delta?

According to NASA JPL, "Using a drill on the end of its robotic arm and a complex sample collection system, Perseverance is gathering rock cores for return to Earth."

In fact, this is the first part of another one of the space agency's campaigns, which is known as the Mars Sample Return campaign. NASA is intending to launch the campaign sometime later in the decade along with European Space Agency (ESA), per the report by Space.

Read Also: NASA's Perseverance Rover Successfully Collects Its 7th Sample
The STRAT Hotel, Casino & Skypod, as it name suggests, offers more than your run-of-the-mill hotel. From its restaurants, bars, and lounges to its casino and observation deck, there is much to do when you're at The STRAT.

However, if you think that what we just mentioned is not enough, you have seen nothing yet. Why? Let's say you feel like going on some thrill rides while in Las Vegas. When you are at The STRAT, you do not have to go to another theme park to find some.

It has its own thrill rides.

The STRAT's Thrill Rides

The STRAT has a total of three rides, which are as follows:

Big Shot

Ever wondered what it is like to be blasted high up into the sky? If you are ready for the thrill and possibly a lot of fear it will bring, you should try the Big Shot.

According to the official website of The STRAT, 16 thrill seekers should "prepare to be shot 160 feet in the air at 45 miles per hour as you overlook the majestic Las Vegas Valley."

"In a matter of seconds, the Big Shot thrill ride catapults 16 riders from the 921-foot high platform up the SkyPod's mast to a height of 1,081 feet and down again," the website adds.

Insanity

If the feeling of possibly falling from multiple storeys above ground is your idea of a thrill, then the hotel's Insanity ride is perfect for you.

Insanity is pretty much a mechanical arm that extends out to around 64 feet from the edge of The STRAT's SkyPod. Riders are then propelled up to 70 degrees, which causes everyone on the ride to be looking down below.

Suspended at around 866 feet up in the air, this thrill ride then spins its passengers at speeds that can reach three Gs.

Related Article: [Viral Video] Would You Be As Scared As This Man In A Virtual Reality Roller Coaster?

X-Scream

X-Scream's space theme might be enough to delight a number of guests but for thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies, in particular, what this offers is so much more.

According to The STRAT's website, riders of X-Scream are propelled head first over the edge of the SkyPod. Riders are left to dangle for a few seconds before they are pulled back. If you think that is the end of it, you thought wrong as the ride will do a repeat and propel rides over the edge once more.

Safety Precautions for Riders

While these rides seem to be just what the doctor ordered for those who are into thrill rides, there are still a number of safety precautions to be followed to keep all riders safe.

For example, each ride has a height requirement. Big Shot requires riders to be at least 48 inches tall. Insanity and X-Scream has a taller height requirement at 52 inches.

Read Also: Disney's Splash Mountain Ride History: From 'Song of the South' to 'Princess and the Frog'
Apure.gob.ve scored 41 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team

This CoolSocial report was updated on 19 Dec 2012, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.

The total number of people who shared the apure homepage on StumbleUpon. The total number of people who shared the apure homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the apure homepage on Twitter + the total number of apure followers (if apure has a Twitter account). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the apure homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if apure has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the apure homepage on Delicious.

Basic Information

PAGE TITLE Gobernacio n del Estado Apure DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS



The title found in the head section of the homepage. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage.

Domain and Server

DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Strict CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 DETECTED LANGUAGE Spanish Spanish SERVER Apache/2.2.16 (Ubuntu) (PHP/5.3.3-1ubuntu9.5) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux

Character set and language of the site. The language of apure.gob.ve as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Operative System running on the server. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Type of server and offered services.

Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world.

Referring domains for apure.gob.ve by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines.

Facebook link

FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND

The URL of the found Facebook page. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The type of Facebook page. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file.

Twitter account link

TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND
Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, center, poses with the winners of the "Hana Artverse" drawing contest hosted by the banking group during a ceremony at its headquarters in central Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Hana Financial Group



By Yi Whan-woo



Hana Financial Group awarded the winners of its special drawing contest, "Hana Artverse," aimed at supporting and nurturing talented artists with developmental disorders to mark Korea's National Day of People with Disabilities, Wednesday.



The National Day of People with Disabilities is observed in Korea on April 20 of each year to deepen public understanding of people with disabilities while fostering an environment for their rehabilitation.



It is similar to the U.N. International Day of Persons with Disabilities celebrated every Dec. 3 to promote the rights and well-being of individuals with disabilities in all walks of society.



The banking group hosted the contest to help the fields of art and culture recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, during which career opportunities have diminished even more for artists who have physical, cognitive, language or behavioral development impairments.



More than 120 artists nationwide submitted their drawings during the contest that ran for six weeks from January, with a total of 30 drawings making the final qualification list.





Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, fourth from left, takes a look at the award-winning drawings of the "Hana Artverse" contest in the lobby of the firm's headquarters in central Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Hana Financial Group
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The Bible makes no mention of a chalice at the Last Supper, and nor does religious artwork. If Jesus did drink from a chalice that night, that wouldn't make it magic like the legends say. Catholics believe that every single reenactment of the Last Supper is magic, transforming wine to blood and renewing Jesus' sacrifice, and yet they believe the original supper was notthat first supper was just Jesus announcing what would happen and telling the disciples how to remember him.

Some versions of the legend say that biblical guy Joseph of Arimathea used this same chalice to catch Jesus' spilled blood during the crucifixion. It's unclear why he would use that exact chalice for that purpose or how he got it, but even if he did that, that would just make the grail a nice relic to own, not magic, going off Christian rules. Yes, Jesus' blood grants eternal life, but it's eternal life after death, the "blood" is Jesus' sacrifice rather than fluid preserved from his dead body, and (again) we can make all the blood we want every day in church.

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Still, Nicolas Cage spent years reading up on the grail to try to track it down. His research took him to Glastonbury in England, where a well is said to taste like blood because the Grail once lay here. Cage noted that the taste really came from iron in the water. His research also led him to Newport, Rhode Island, where an old stone tower is said to predate recorded European presence in America because it was made by the Knights Templar, guardians of the grail.

"What I ultimately found," said Cage, upon finding no physical evidence of the Grail, "is: What is the Grail but Earth itself? The metaphor for me is the earth. The divine object is Earth." This is the sort of profound, mature statement that means absolutely nothing.

He also bought some property in Rhode Island. It seemed like a nice place.
KDB Life Insurance headquarters in central Seoul / Courtesy of KDB Life Insurance



By Anna J. Park



Korea Development Bank (KDB) has canceled the pre-arranged sale of its life insurance subsidiary to JC Partners which had been signed back in December 2020.



According to KDB on Wednesday, KDB Consus Value (KCV) PEF  a private equity fund created jointly by KDB and Consus Asset Management  notified JC Partners that it would cancel the stock purchase agreement (SPA) between the two parties.



KCV PEF and JC Partners agreed in late 2020 on the sale of a 92.73 percent stake in KDB Life for 200 billion won ($160 million). The grounds for the breaking of the deal lies in the state-owned bank's judgment that the private equity firm is now no longer able to pass the assessment process by the Financial Services Commission (FSC), which aims to evaluate whether JC Partners is qualified to take over KDB Life.



JC Partners applied for the assessment last June, but the FSC still hasn't given the private equity firm the green light, on the grounds that the company failed to follow through with its plan to secure the necessary capital for the takeover.



Now the chances of the private equity firm passing the test are near zero, as JC Partners is a major shareholder of MG Non-life Insurance, which the FSC designated as insolvent earlier this month. Being the major shareholder of an insolvent financial company is one of main disqualifying reasons for any takeover qualification assessment, according to the related law.



Now that the deal is off, KDB Life has to find a new buyer from scratch.



"KCV PEF will strive to raise the corporate value of KDB Life, and will look into the option of selling the company, considering market conditions," the state-owned company said.



KDB acquired Kumho Life Insurance in 2009 as part of a restructuring process of Kumho Group, and injected more than 1 trillion won of public funds. Yet the life insurer's deteriorated condition only led to three failed attempts to sell the company. In late 2020, JC Partners was finally tapped to be the only preferred bidder to take over the company.



JC Partners responded to the FSC's assessment by filing an administrative lawsuit. The private equity firm said on April 18 that it had filed for an injunction to suspend the effects of the financial regulator's designation of MG Non-life Insurance as an insolvent company, as well as filing a lawsuit against the FSC.






Korea will set up a task force to deal with its potential participation in a U.S.-led economic framework, as the United States has accelerated preparations to launch the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), Seoul's trade ministry said Wednesday.







The Joe Biden administration has sought to launch the IPEF for deeper cooperation with partner nations in the Asia-Pacific region on digital trade, supply chains and other major emerging trade issues amid an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry.







The Seoul government is positively reviewing participation in the IPEF and has had consultations with concerned nations, while assessing its potential impact on domestic companies and the broader economy, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.







As related discussions have picked up pace in Washington and elsewhere recently, the Seoul government decided to set up a new task force under the trade ministry, which will focus on four major parts of the envisioned framework  fair and resilient trade, supply chains, clean energy and anti-corruption, it added.







"Now is high time to enhance cooperation among regional partners in such new trade fields as supply chains and digital," Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said while presiding over the trade promotion committee meeting.







He added that the framework would help ensure stable supply chains and create new business opportunities.







The U.S. and 15 Asia-Pacific nations, including Korea, Japan, India and the ASEAN nations, account for 33 percent of the world's total population, 41 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) and 28 percent of the world's total trade volume, according to government data. (Yonhap)


When a significant vulnerability like Spring4Shell is discovered, how do you determine if you are at risk? Insurance or verification services might require you to run external tests on web properties. These reports often show spurious exposures that may or may not lead to more issues on your website. You must research false-positive reports and inform management whether the item found is acceptable risk.

Ive seen false positives on external scans due to an open port and associating that port with a known issue even if the service is not run on that port. Whenever you have a pen test or vulnerability scan, know that you can disagree with the findings and explain to the researcher how the item in question is not making you insecure. However, these processes take time away from other security duties, and sometimes we agree with the findings and find workarounds and mitigations as that may be faster than arguing with the auditor.

Is Spring4Shell a real risk?

Case in point: Spring4Shell appeared to initially be of grave concern, but Ive not seen much on it having a significant impact. Microsoft has included additional protection to its Azure web application firewall for Spring4Shell exploits CVE-2022-22963, CVE-2022-22965 and CVE-2022-22947.

When I want to assess the impact of a vulnerability, I either reach out to others I trust to make security decisions or review the information that is reported on the issue. In this case the headlines appear to be more hype than actual risk.

Heres what Microsoft said about Spring4Shell:

On March 31, 2022, vulnerabilities in the Spring Framework for Java were publicly disclosed. Microsoft is currently assessing the impact associated with these vulnerabilities. This blog is for customers looking for protection against exploitation and ways to detect vulnerable installations on their network of the critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability CVE-2022-22965 (also known as SpringShell or Spring4Shell).

 The Spring Framework is the most widely used lightweight open-source framework for Java. In Java Development Kit (JDK) version 9.0 or later, a remote attacker can obtain an AccessLogValve object through the frameworks parameter binding feature and use malicious field values to trigger the pipeline mechanism and write to a file in an arbitrary path, if certain conditions are met.

Therein lies the problem: These certain conditions appear to be so unusual that Im not seeing many actual exploits. Statements from researchers such as Will Dormann suggest this may not be as big of a deal as the headlines make it out to be. As he notes, a few affected applications on the web are by default impacted, including Red Hat JBoss Fuse 7. While it does have the vulnerable Spring library, the public exploit code out on the web does not work on it.

Trend Micro has reported that Spring4Shell has been used in targeted attacks in Singapore to allow attackers to then use the Mirai botnet malware on systems. Its unclear if there is code unique to these web servers in Singapore or if this is merely a test for a wider attack.

Best overall response to new vulnerabilities

Whats a security team to do? Panic and patch without testing? Rip out the potentially impacted software? First, always review what resources you have to put something between you and the internet. Even for web-facing assets, every device or resource should have something that filters or looks for patterns. A web application firewall (WAF) in front of your assets, for example, will look for unusual patterns or strings. Most web application vendors can quickly add rulesets to WAFs to detect potential attacks or probes looking for vulnerable software.

Best response to the Spring4Shell risk

In the case of Spring4Shell, maintain a disallow or blocklist in the WAF to block strings that contain values such as "class.*", "Class.*", "*.class.*", and "*.Class.*"

Next, review if you have the have the vulnerable code in your systems. You may not be using the vulnerable versions of Java or the Tomcat server. Spring4Shell appears to impact the following configurations:

Spring Framework versions before 5.2.20, 5.3.18, and Java Development Kit (JDK) version 9 or higher

Apache Tomcat

Spring-webmvc or spring-webflux dependency

A Spring parameter binding that is configured to use a non-basic parameter type, such as Plain Old Java Objects (POJOs)

Deployable, packaged as a web application archive (WAR)

JAR based deployments

Finally, keep reviewing resources and information. If you do not have your own internal discussion groups to flesh out the facts of the vulnerability, you can learn the nuances and more information in such sites as Reddit and security blogs. They often they bring up additional questions or even workarounds that you and your team members may not have thought of. If you have external security resources, reach out to auditors and pentesters and get their advice and resources.

Bottom line: Take Spring4Shell seriously but assign resources appropriately. Dont get caught up in a headline when you may not be at risk.
Ransomware plagues financial institutions as they face increasingly complex threats over previous years owing to the changing behavior of cybercriminal cartels, according to VMware's latest Modern Bank Heists report.

This has happened as the cybercrime cartels have evolved beyond wire transfer frauds to target market strategies, take over brokerage accounts, and island-hop into banks, according to the report.

For the report, VMware surveyed 130 financial sector CISOs and security leaders from across different regions including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Central and South America, and Africa.

Report findings were consistent with observations by other security experts. "The Secret Service, in its investigative capacity to protect the nation's financial payment systems and financial infrastructure, has seen an evolution and increase in complex cyber-enabled fraud," says Jeremy Sheridan, former assistant director at the US Secret Service. "The persistent, inadequate security of systems connected to the internet provides opportunity and methodology."

Conti ransomware reported as most prevalent



Ransomware continues to plague companies, with 74% of the surveyed security leaders reporting that they experienced one or more attacks in the past year, and 63% saying they ended up paying ransom. Conti ransomware was found to be the most prevalent.

Sixty-three percent of the respondents acknowledged experiencing an increase in "destructive attacks" in which cybercriminals destroy data and evidence of their intrusion. This was a 17% jump from the last year. These attacks involve malware variants that destroy, disrupt or degrade victim systems by taking actions such as encrypting files, deleting data, destroying hard drives, terminating connections, or executing malicious code.

Although 71% of the survey participants noted increased wire transfer fraud in their organizations, many said that cybercriminals have moved on from activity related to wire transfers and access to capital, to targeting non-public market information. Two out of three (66%) financial institutions experienced attacks targeting data related to market strategies.

"The market strategies that are most targeted are long-term portfolio positions, confidential merger and acquisition information, and IPO filings," says Tom Kellermann, head of Cybersecurity Strategy at VMware. "Modern market manipulation aligns with economic espionage and can be used to digitize insider trading."

Additionally, security leaders in 63% of the financial institutions polled said they experienced an increase in brokerage account takeover, up from 41% last year. Attackers are increasingly leveraging compromised login credentials to move freely in the network and gain access to the brokerage accounts.

Survey respondents also said they observed Chronos attacks, a term borrowed from the Greek god of time, which involve manipulating time stamps on security trades. Sixty-seven percent of financial institutions reported Chronos attacks and 44% of such attacks targeted market positions.

"Although the damage radius of Chronos attacks isn't large, manipulating time undermines safety, soundness, trust, and confidence in the financial sector," says Kellermann. "Financial institutions need to keep a close eye on the clock and ensure that security teams are prepared to protect the integrity of time."

Island hopping has emerged as one of the most threatening attack trends and was reported as affecting 60% of the financial institutes polled, a 58% jump from the last year. In island hopping, cybercriminals study the interdependencies of financial institutions and understand which managed service provider (MSP) is used. This, in turn, allows them to target these organizations in order to island hop into the bank.

Cryptocurrency exchanges have emerged as a bigger concern over the years and about 83% of respondents expressed concerns over their security.

Top defenses for financial firm CISOs

The report has recommended a few top defenses for CISOs and security leaders to defend against these attacks:

Integrating NDR with EDR: network detection and response (NDR) needs to integrate with endpoint detection response (EDR) for real-time, continuous monitoring of systems to detect and investigate potential threats.

Apply micro segmentation: restrict lateral movement by enforcing trust boundaries will improve detection.

Deploy decoys: utilize deception technology to divert the intruder.

Implement DevSecOps and API security: introduce security early in the life cycle of application development.

Automate vulnerability management: prioritize risk to focus on high-risk vulnerabilities.

"Investments in API security and workload security are necessitated, and increased dialogue between the surveillance department and information security departments must occur to thwart digital front-running," says Kellermann. "The CISO must also report to the CEO and regularly brief the Board in order to ensure a smooth flow of discussion and transparency."
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  Adora Perez spent four years in prison for the death of her stillborn child after prosecutors in California's Central Valley charged her with murder for using drugs during her pregnancy.

Tuesday, California lawmakers advanced a bill that would let people like Perez sue prosecutors for charging them with those crimes  crimes that the state's Attorney General has said do not exist under state law.

California already has laws preventing the prosecution of mothers who deliver stillbirths because of drug use or other pregnancy-related reasons. But that hasn't stopped some prosecutors from brining murder charges against some women in high-profile cases.

State law generally protects prosecutors from liability. In California, victims wrongly accused of crimes can apply to the Victim Compensation Board, where they are eligible for $140 for each day in prison and pre-trial custody.

But the bill moving through the California Legislature would let pregnant people sue prosecutors for erroneously charging them with a crime related to a pregnancy loss. District Attorneys offices could get hit with a $25,000 fine and other damages as determined by a judge or a jury  a provision aimed at convincing prosecutors not to bring these charges in the first place.

We want to make sure to stop these prosecutions before they even start, said Farah Diaz-Tello, senior counsel for If/When/How, a reproductive justice advocacy group that is co-sponsoring the legislation.

In Perez's case, she agreed to plead no contest  the same effect as a guilty plea but without admitting guilt  to a manslaughter charge in 2018 to avoid a much longer prison sentence for murder. A judge sentenced her to 11 years in prison.

In March  four years after her plea  another judge overturned Perez's sentence, ruling there is no crime in California of manslaughter of a fetus. The judge sent the case back to the Kings County District Attorney's office, which is now pursuing a murder charge. Perez is out of jail on bail while the case is pending. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for next month.

A representative from the Kings County District Attorney's office did not respond to a phone message or an email message seeking comment.

State governments across the country are racing to pass new abortion laws ahead of an expected U.S. Supreme Court ruling this summer that could overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that prevented states from outlawing abortions. California and other Democrat-led states are trying to increase access or strengthen protections around abortions while Republican-led states are passing bans and restrictions.

As of 2018, at least 38 states had laws declaring the victim of a crime can include a fetus, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. But most of those laws prevent charging pregnant women with crimes. California could become the second state, after Illinois, that lets pregnant people sue prosecutors for erroneous charges related to pregnancy loss, according to Diaz-Tello, the lawyer for If/When/How.

The bill  which cleared the Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday  would also clarify that people cannot be liable for civil or criminal penalties based on their actions or omissions" with respect to a perinatal death due to a pregnancy loss." Perinatal is not defined in the bill, but it usually includes up to seven days after birth, according to a legislative analysis of the proposal.

That has stoked fears from anti-abortion advocates that the bill would let people kill children in the first seven days after birth and face no consequences  including women suffering from post-partum depression.

The intention is people use this as another form to terminate their pregnancy, even after the baby has been alive, said Jennifer Sterling, one of hundreds of people who traveled to the California Capitol on Tuesday to speak against the bill during a public hearing.

But the bill would not allow that. Dr. Selina Sandoval, an obstetrician/gynecologist, testified the bill would only apply to deaths that occurred because of something that happened during the pregnancy.

This bill would not prevent police from investigating fetal deaths that occurred as a result of a crime committed against a pregnant person, or from investigating infant deaths that occurred as a result of an act or omission that took place after delivery, said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, a Democrat from Oakland who authored the bill.

Wicks testified she is the mother of two children who has also had a miscarriage.

In California today, we have women who are being prosecuted for having miscarriages, and that is not OK, Wicks said. We have to send a message to the rest of this country that you cannot be criminalized for pregnancy-related losses.
HARTFORD  The addresses of about 200 employees in the state Attorney Generals office would be protected from public disclosure, under legislation that passed the House of Representatives Wednesday.

The bill, which passed 111-33, next heads to the Senate, including a rare instance in which a liberal Democrat, Rep. Peter Tercyak of New Britain, voted with conservative Republicans led by Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco of Wolcott, the top GOP lawmaker on the Government Administration & Elections Committee, who voted against the bill.

There is no reason for the state of Connecticut to make this information public, said Rep. Dan Fox, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the GAE Committee. During a recent public hearing, Attorney General William Tong testified that his staff often represents Department of Correction Officers in court and are subject to the same kind of threats from prison inmates.

The office of the attorney general is no different from us here, Mastrofrancesco said of fellow House members, whose addresses are readily available in various state records.

***

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved legislation to allow some towns to enter into agreements to fix assessments on property or air space. The bill, which passed 131-12 after a brief vote, next heads to the Senate.

In communities where legislative bodies are a town-meeting-style of government, the local board of selectmen, if allowed by local ordinance, could participate in the fixed assessments.

According to an analysis of the legislation, current law limits such agreements to the legislative bodies, which sometimes meet only once a year. Fixed assessments would be fixed for up to 10 years for long-term improvements, including offices, manufacturing, retail uses, multi-family housing and parking.

***

People in possession of plastic gift cards worth five dollars or less would be allowed to exchange them for cash under a consumer-friendly bill that was approved Wednesday by the state Senate.

The current maximum amount that can be redeemed for cash is $3. The legislation, which next heads to the House, would not include gift certificates sold below face value to non-profits; paper gift certificates, or retailer gift cards that do not have a retail establishment in the state.

State Sen. Patricia Billie Miller, D-Stamford, co-chairwoman of the Banks Committee introduced the legislation, starting an hour-long debate over the difference between a donated card or one that was purchased outright. She said that retailers would decide whether they were straight-up gift cards or charitable donations.

"Instead of having a gift card with a small balance sitting in your drawer, Connecticut residents will be able to redeem that remaining low balance and put it toward something else they may need, Miller said after the vote.

The bill would also eliminate the requirement to provide the proof of purchase or a gift receipt.

Republicans led by Sen. Paul Formica, a restaurateur from East Lyme, said the bill seemed to be confusing, and questioned whether it would create problems for retailers who had given away cards for charities. It is so fuzzy to me right now, said Sen. John Kissel of Enfield. The bill passed 24-9.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
ATLANTA (AP)  U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is appealing a federal judge's ruling allowing a challenge to her eligibility to run for reelection to proceed.

A group of voters last month filed the challenge with the secretary of state's office alleging that Greene helped facilitate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that disrupted Congress' certification of Joe Bidens presidential election victory. They say that violates a part of the 14th Amendment and makes her ineligible to run for reelection.

Greene says the law that the voters are using to challenge her eligibility is unconstitutional, and she filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to prohibit state officials from enforcing it. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg on Monday ruled that the challenge can proceed. Greene on Tuesday filed an appeal with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The provision of the 14th Amendment cited in the challenge says no one can serve in Congress who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same. Ratified shortly after the Civil War, it was meant in part to keep representatives who had fought for the Confederacy from returning to Congress.

Greene has denied aiding or engaging in an insurrection.

The challenge, which was filed on behalf of the voters by a group called Free Speech for People, is set for a hearing before an administrative law judge Friday. The administrative law judge must then present his findings to the secretary of state, who then must determine whether Greene is eligible to appear on the ballot.

Georgia's primary election is set for May 24.




Foreign Minister nominee Park Jin met with a visiting U.S. nuclear envoy Wednesday to discuss ways to coordinate North Korea policy under the incoming government of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, according to Park's office.







Park, a four-term lawmaker of the People Power Party, sat down with U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim amid concern that Pyongyang could stage major provocations, including a nuclear test, ahead of Yoon's May 10 inauguration. Kim is on a five-day trip here that will last through Friday.







The nominee said Pyongyang's recent missile launches pose a serious threat to regional peace and stability and underscore the need for close coordination between Seoul and Washington against any rising threat from the North, according to a press release.







With consultations underway for a summit between Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden in the near future, Park said the new government will closely communicate and cooperate with Washington from Day 1 for the allies' "watertight" posture, it read.







Kim was quoted as saying that the Biden administration has high expectations for working with the Yoon administration on issues related to the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap)






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WASHINGTON (AP)  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Ukraine's Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko walked out of a Group of 20 meeting Wednesday as Russia's representative started talking.

Several finance ministers and central bank governors also left the room, according an official familiar with the meetings, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the event was not public. Some ministers and central bank governors who attended the meeting virtually turned their cameras off when Russian President Vladimir Putin's representative spoke, the person said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of Yellen's walkout, Certainly we support her steps and its an indication of the fact that President Putin and Russia has become a pariah on the global stage.

The incident came amid the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings, in which finance leaders try to tackle the world's most pressing issues. The brutal effects of Russias war against Ukraine have taken center stage, and Treasury Department officials said earlier this week that Yellen would try to avoid contact with Russians who plan to attend some G-20 virtually.

President Joe Biden has said that Russia should not remain a member of the G-20, an international body of the world's biggest economies that promotes economic cooperation between countries. Indonesia is the host country for G-20 summit in November.

The Group of Seven  which does not include Russia  released a statement late Wednesday saying: International organisations and multilateral fora should no longer conduct their activities with Russia in a business-as-usual manner. ... As such, we regret participation by Russia in international fora, including G20, International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings this week. Russia was once part of what was then called the Group of Eight, but its membership was suspended in 2014 after its annexation of Crimea.

Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia's finance minister, when asked about Russia's participation in the G-20 and the about the walkout, said that the multilateral forum is a place to express the views of all members and invitees."

Psaki reiterated the administration's position that "we cant have business as usual at the G-20 and other international forums when it comes to Russia.
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GUILFORD  Walmart announced Tuesday the retail chain will close its Shoreline Plaza location at 900 Boston Post Road next month.

A regional spokeswoman for Arkansas-based Walmart said the store will closed on May 20. All of the 98 Walmart employees who work in the Guilford store will be eligible for transfer to other stores, the company said.

Even with the Guilford store closing, Walmart still employs hundreds of people in six Walmart stores in the immediate area. The closest locations to Guilford are in Branford, Old Saybrook and New Haven.

There are 33 Walmart stores and one Sams Club warehouse club location in Connecticut. Walmart owns Sams Club, which is named after Walmart founder Sam Walton.

Prior to Tuesdays announcement, the most recent Connecticut Walmart closing occurred in Derby in July 2016. Sams Club closed stores in Orange and Manchester in January 2018.

Guilford First Selectman Matt Hoey said he first heard of the Walmart closing from State Rep. Sean Scanlon, D-Guilford.

Obviously, were disappointed, Hoey said. The Walmart was an asset to the entire community  the place to conveniently shop, affordably shop for a variety of things that may not necessarily be available in elsewhere in town. Im in there at least once a week myself so Ill have to revise some of my shopping habits.

He said the next step for town officials is to meet with the management of Shoreline Plaza about options to fill the vacant space in the shopping center. Brooks Properties of Branford is listed in town records as the landlord for Shoreline Plaza.

Walmarts departure from Shoreline Plaza will leave 84,100 square feet of space to fill. The store opened in October 2002, according to Walmart officials.

Hopefully, well wind up with another retailer in there at some point, Hoey said. Well be happy to work with the management company to find a suitable tenant or replacement tenant.

A variety of factors could have prompted Walmarts decision, according to David Cadden, a professor emeritus at Quinnipiac University's School of Business.

Even with an increase in the minimum wage, they might be finding it difficult to get people to work there, he said.

The size of the Guilford Walmart could also have had an impact on the comopanys decision to close the store, Cadden said. The size of the Guilford location is less than half of the size of the average Walmart, which is 180,000 square feet, he said.

Shoreline communities between New Haven and the Connecticut River have a dearth of discount retailers. Neither Target, Costco nor BJs Warehouse Club has any stores in that part of the state. The dearth of discounters in those well-heeled Shoreline communities may be a reflection of the areas demographics, Cadden said.

The perception for those stores, particularly Walmart, is that they are for the lower middle class or for the working class, he said.

On the other side of the price spectrum, Whole Foods also does not have any locations in those towns  pehaps because of the relatively low density of the population.

The decision to close the Guilford store could be a recognition by Walmart officials that their initial market analysis regarding how many of its stores the shoreline can support may no longer hold true, according to Cadden.

Because of the level of success they have achieved as a company, it may have been difficult for them to admit they had made a mistake, he said.

Sue Braden Hull contributed to this story.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
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NEW HAVEN  Dr. Amy Chai will run against longtime U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, on the Independent Party line  also with the Libertarian Partys endorsement  in what is shaping up to be among the busiest elections DeLauro has seen since first taking office in 1991.

I will be on the Independent ticket because Im not running to represent a party. Im running to represent you, Chai said at a campaign announcement at mActivity on Nicholl Street in the citys East Rock section. I am running to represent the 50 percent of American voters who do not feel comfortable with either major party.

We are the majority. We are the people, she said after being introduced by Independent Party State Chairman Mike Telesca, and it is time to take our power back from big money and corrupt, partisan politics.

Chai, whose website is at www.docchai2022.com, said she would be honored if youd give me the opportunity to work for you.

The congressional 3rd District includes Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Branford, Derby, Durham, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, part of Middletown, Milford, Naugatuck, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Prospect, Seymour, part of Shelton, Stratofrd, Wallingford, part of Waterbury, West Haven and Woodbridge.

Chai, a registered Libertarian who took time off from her medical career to homeschool her two children through middle school and high school  and consequently won a U.S. Presidential Teacher award from the Obama administration in 2011  said maintaining the status quo is not good enough.

If America were my patient, I would be very concerned, because our nation is not well, she said. We have an epidemic of mental health problems, the opioid crisis, children in failing schools, violence, crime, social unrest and an economy that is spiraling out of control.

Meanwhile, the two major parties have no real solutions to offer, Chai said. All they ever seem to do is demonize the other side. That, my friends, is not a solution. That is part of the problem. We are blindly following last centurys political dinosaurs all the way to our own extinction. But its not too late to turn around.

The solution begins when we stop listening to the hate industrial complex and start putting the united back into the United States, she said. We need to build community with each other again. ... Our republic, if we can keep it, is having a crisis of trust. In order to rebuild that trust, we need real leadership.

The entry of Chai, 58, a medical doctor who specializes in addiction medicine and is a married mother of two who lives in North Haven, into the race brings the total number of candidates vying to represent the district to at least four.

Republican former college professor Lesley DeNardis of Hamden  daughter of the late congressman and University of New Haven President Lawrence DeNardis, who held the 3rd District seat from 1981-83  also is running, as is Green Party candidate Justin Paglino of Guilford.

Paglino, also an M.D., ran against DeLauro in 2020.

Chai earned her bachelors degree in biology at Johns Hopkins University, her M.D. at Indiana University, did her residency in Internal Medicine at University of Michigan and did a fellowship in the care of complex patients at University of Virginia, where she also earned a masters degree in epidemiology.

She is married to Toby C. Chai, chief of urology at Boston Medical Center, who previously was professor of urology and obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at Yale University School of Medicine. They have a son, 28, who also is on his way to becoming a doctor, and a daughter, Hannah, 25, who was present at the announcement.

Chai has hired former state Rep. Jason Bartlett, a Democrat who represented the 2nd District from 2007-11 and later served as New Havens youth director during the administration of former Mayor Toni Harp, to serve as her chief political strategist. Bartlett said later that he still is registered as a Democrat.

Chai offered five main concepts in which she believes: freedom, unity, tolerance, excellence in science education, and sustainability.

She said the American health care system is broken. You cant have a healthy body without a healthy mind and patients are not widgets, Chai said. Its for reform.

Chai was supported at the annoucement announcement by Cynthia Jennings, the Independent Party candidate for Secretary of the State, who endorsed Chai.

Amy is a very, very special candidate, Jennings said. We really dont get candidates like this all the time. I absolutely endorse Amy, 100 percent. ... We need to put this individual into office.

mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com
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EAST HAVEN  Police charged four men, and are still looking for another, after finding several firearms and drugs in two cars in East Haven Tuesday, according to the police department.

An East Haven police officer was on routine patrol Tuesday when he noticed an equipment violation on a Lexus GS 300. The officer stopped the car near Main Street and Boston Avenue. The driver of the car, who police did not identify, provided the officer with identification and agreed to get out of the car to speak with him, police said in a release Wednesday.

The driver walked toward the back of the car, then he ran west on Main Street. Police chased him through several backyards on Harrington Avenue before losing sight of him near Boston Avenue, police said.

Officers continued to search the area, bringing in Enzo, a police dog, to track down the driver. Enzo found a black firearm in the backyard of a Harrington Avenue home. The firearm, a .45-caliber Glock, was later determined to be stolen out of Hamden in July 2021, police said.

Police later searched the Lexus and found marijuana, a large amount of cash and bullets matching the rounds in the Glock. The passenger, identified as 23-year-old Gary Gibson of New Haven, was taken into custody, according to police.

Police started to saturate the side streets surrounding Harrington Avenue. Two detectives noticed a maroon Honda Accord that sped south on Harrington Avenue once it saw officers behind it and believed it contained the fleeing suspect, police said.

Police chased the car into New Haven. The Honda was later disabled after it struck a New Haven Fire Department vehicle near Willow and State streets. There were no reported injuries from this incident, police said.

Police searched the Honda and found two 9mm semi-automatic ghost guns, an extended magazine, a large drum magazine, ammunition, drugs, a large amount of cash and several fake license plates, according to the police department.

The three occupants of the Honda were taken into custody. The driver of the Lexus who fled on foot was never found. Police said they will apply for an arrest warrant affidavit and charges will be forthcoming.

The driver of the Honda, identified as Tyzhon Denby, 21, of New Haven, was charged with engaging police in a pursuit, reckless driving, second-degree reckless endangerment, two counts of carrying a pistol without a permit, possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent o sell, two counts of having a weapon in a motor vehicle, interfering with an officer, two counts of illegal possession of a large capacity magazine, improper use of a marker plate, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, insufficient insurance and theft of a marker plate. Denby was released on a $150,000 bond.

A passenger in the Honda, identified as Armani Salcedo, 22, of New Haven, was charged with two counts of carrying a pistol without a permit, possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to sell, two counts of having a weapon in a motor vehicle, interfering with an officer and two counts of illegal possession of a large capacity magazine. Salcedo was later released on a $150,000 bond.

Elder Mellado, 22, of New Haven, was also a passenger in the Honda, police said. Mellado was charged with two counts of carrying a pistol without a permit, three counts of criminal possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to sell, two counts of having a weapon in a motor vehicle, interfering with an officer and two counts of illegal possession of a large capacity magazine. Mellado was released on a $150,000 bond.

Gibson, the passenger of the Lexus, was charged with possession with intent to sell and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. Gibson was released on a $2,500 bond.

Denby, Salcedo, Mellado and Gibson are scheduled to appear in court in New Haven on April 27.
NEWTOWN  A Texas judge has ordered Alex Jones and his companies to pay $1 million in legal fees to the parents of two slain Sandy Hook children and a Norwalk native falsely accused of being the shooter in a Florida high school massacre.

The order is from the same Texas judge who is overseeing two upcoming trials to determine damages from defamation lawsuits Jones lost to Sandy Hook parents, and comes one day after three Jones-controlled businesses filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

According to the order by Travis County District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, Jones and his businesses have 30 days to pay the attorney fees and expenses for Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of slain Sandy Hook first-grader Jesse Lewis; for Lenny Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, the parents of slain first-grader Noah Pozner; and for Marcel Fontaine, a Norwalk native who was falsely accused on Jones InfoWars site as the perpetrator behind the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla., in 2018.

Meanwhile Guerra Gamble had scheduled a conference on Wednesday to discuss whether the first trial to award defamation damages will begin as scheduled on April 25. The question is complicated even though a bankruptcy filing automatically delays a civil proceeding, because neither Jones himself nor his Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy protection. Both Jones and Free Speech Systems are defendants in the lost defamation suits. On Wednesday, Guerra Gamble postponed that trial.

In Connecticut, where Jones lost a third defamation lawsuit to an FBI agent and eight families whose loved ones were slain in the Sandy Hook massacre, Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis called off a conference planned for Wednesday after learning Jones had filed a separate motion in bankruptcy court which appears to remove the entire case, including the plaintiffs' claims against the other defendants.

Therefore, this court will take no further action unless and until all or part of this matter is remanded back by the bankruptcy court, Bellis wrote.

The first hearing in Texas Western Bankruptcy Court is on Friday.

If it seems like Jones has been in the news a lot recently, he has.

Jones made national headlines when he refused to attend court-ordered pretrial depositions and was sanctioned in Connecticut with heavy escalating daily fines, only to fly into the state the following week for two days of testimony in Bridgeport, where Jones spoke out both days against the system.

Jones, who called the massacre of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School staged, synthetic, manufactured, a giant hoax, and completely fake with actors, has been saying publicly for the last several years that he now believes the massacre happened and that he has a right to be wrong under the First Amendment.

Jones also made headlines recently when he offered the 19 people involved in the three defamation cases he lost in Texas and Connecticut $120,000 each to settle, and they refused.

At the same time, Jones was the subject of a new lawsuit brought by the parents in the two Texas defamation cases that accused him of transferring millions of dollars from his fortune to shield assets from them at the damages trials.

On Sunday, Jones made national news again when three entities he controls  InfoWars, IWHealth, and Prison Planet TV  sought Chapter 11 protection in federal bankruptcy court, which automatically stayed the lawsuits where those entities are defendants.

The same tactic was used by Remington in 2020 after eight families that filed a wrongful death lawsuit won a string of pretrial victories against the former gunmaking giant. Remington was eventually sold off, and its insurance carriers settled with the Sandy Hook families for $73 million.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP)  A Las Vegas man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a federal charge that he conspired in the 2018 kidnapping of a man later found shot to death in a snowbank in the Vermont town of Barnet.

Aron Lee Ethridge, 42, answered a series of questions from U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford before he entered the plea. Ethridge was ordered held pending a detention hearing for next week.

Ethridge's defense attorney Mark Kaplan confirmed his client was from Las Vegas, but had no additional comment following the hearing.

Prosecutors allege that Ethridge conspired with Jerry Banks to kidnap Gregory Davis from his home in Danville, Vermont. Banks, who was also charged with kidnapping earlier this month, allegedly posed as a U.S. Marshal who told Davis he had a warrant for his arrest on a racketeering charge when he arrived at his Danville home. The two went away together on Jan. 6, 2018.

Davis' body was found the next day in a snowbank in Barnet.

Although Banks is not charged with Daviss murder, the complaint affidavit contains allegations that Banks murdered Davis, the office of the U.S. attorney in Vermont said in a news release earlier this month.

Prosecutors have not disclosed any potential motive for the kidnapping.

Investigators linked Banks to the kidnapping and death of Davis through a cellphone that Banks is alleged to have purchased in Pennsylvania.

The indictment of Ethridge says Banks called Ethridge on Jan. 7, 2018, to inform him that Davis had been successfully kidnapped and murdered."

Banks was indicted last week on the kidnapping charge. It is unclear when he will be returned to Vermont to face the charge.

Banks' Vermont attorney did not return an email Wednesday seeking comment.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Ethridge is 42, not 41.
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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP)  Heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist town Tuesday, ripping through two-dozen structures and sending residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee.

Flames as high as 100 feet (30 meters) raced through an area of scattered homes, dry grass and Ponderosa pine trees on the outskirts of Flagstaff as wind gusts of up to 50 mph (80 kph) pushed the blaze over a major highway.

Coconino County officials said during an evening news conference that 766 homes and 1,000 animals had been evacuated. About 250 structures remained threatened in the area popular with hikers and off-road vehicle users and where astronauts have trained amid volcanic cinder pits.

The county declared an emergency after the wildfire ballooned from 100 acres (40 hectares) Tuesday morning to over 9 square miles (23 square kilometers) by evening, and ash rained from the sky. The fire was moving northeast away from the more heavily populated areas of Flagstaff, home to Northern Arizona University, and toward Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, said Coconino National Forest spokesman Brady Smith.

Its good in that its not headed toward a very populated area, and its headed toward less fuel, Smith said. But depending on the intensity of the fire, fire can still move across cinders.

Authorities wont be able to determine whether anyone was injured in the wildfire until the flames subside. Firefighters and law enforcement officers went door to door telling people to evacuate but had to pull out to avoid getting boxed in, said Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll.

He said his office got a call about a man who was trapped inside his house, but firefighters couldnt get to him.

We dont know if he made it out or not, Driscoll said.

Various organizations worked to set up shelters for evacuees and animals, including goats and horses.

The scene was all too familiar for residents who recalled rushing to pack their bags and flee a dozen years ago when a much larger wildfire burned in the same area.

This time was different, right there in your backyard, said Kathy Vollmer, a resident.

She said she and her husband grabbed their three dogs but left a couple of cats behind as they faced what she described as a wall of fire.

We just hope they are going to be OK," she said.

Earlier in the day, the wildfire shut down U.S. 89, the main route between Flagstaff and far northern Arizona, and communities on the Navajo Nation. The high winds grounded aircraft that could drop water and fire retardant on the blaze.

Arizona Public Service Co., the state's largest utility, shut off power to about 625 customers to keep firefighters safe, a spokeswoman said.

About 200 firefighters were battling the flames, but more are expected as a top-level national management team takes over later this week.

The fire started Sunday afternoon 14 miles (22 kilometers) northeast of Flagstaff. Investigators dont know yet what caused it and have yet to corral any part of the blaze.

Ali Taranto rushed to Flagstaff from Winslow, where she works at a hospital, on Tuesday to check on a property she owns that was threatened by the wildfire. She also was getting messages to check on a neighbor who she found didnt have access to oxygen while the power was out and didnt have the strength to manually open her garage door to evacuate.

Taranto said the neighbor was disoriented and gasping for air when she reached her. Firefighters in the area helped get the garage door open and the neighbor to the hospital, she said. Taranto was looking for a shelter for the neighbors two dogs.

By the time Taranto left the area, the highway into Flagstaff was shut down and she had to drive an extra two hours back home. At least two other neighbors didnt evacuate, she said.

To see flames several yards away from your property line and to hear the propane tanks bursting in the background, it was very surreal, Taranto said. Ash falling down. It was crazy.

The wind is expected to be a challenge the rest of the week, along with warmer-than-average weather and low humidity, the National Weather Service said.

I dont see any significant decreases in wind, I dont see any big bump ups in humidity and, at this point, were not really expecting any precipitation either, said meteorologist Robert Rickey.

Red flag warnings blanketed much of Arizona and New Mexico on Tuesday, indicating conditions are ripe for wildfires. Residents in northern New Mexicos Mora and San Miguel counties were warned to be ready to evacuate as wildfires burned there amid dry, warm and windy conditions.

The National Interagency Fire Center reported Tuesday that nearly 2,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel were assigned to more than a dozen large wildfires in the Southwestern, Southern and Rocky Mountain areas. Scientists say climate change has made the U.S. West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

Elsewhere in Arizona, firefighters battled a wildfire in a sparsely populated area of the Prescott National Forest about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Prescott.

Cory Carlson, the incident commander with the Prescott National Forest, said late Tuesday afternoon the high winds have been the biggest challenge, sending embers into the air that sparked new spot fires near State Route 261, along with the demand for crews at other fires.

We do have a lack of resources," he said. Theres a lot of fires in the region.

Some areas were evacuated, and a shelter was set up at Yavapai College. Carlson appealed to residents to abide by evacuation orders.

The cause of the 600-acre (2.4 square-kilometer) wildfire was under investigation.

In southern Arizona, a principal highway route between Bisbee and Sierra Vista reopened Tuesday after being closed for about eight hours due to a brush fire in the hills overlooking Bisbee.

___

Associated Press writer Paul Davenport in Phoenix, Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. Capitol was briefly evacuated Wednesday evening after police identified an aircraft that they said posed "a probable threat  but the plane was actually carrying members of the U.S. Army Golden Knights, who then parachuted into Nationals Park for a pregame demonstration.

The alert from the U.S. Capitol Police sent congressional staffers fleeing from the Capitol and legislative building around 6:30 p.m.

The incident suggested a stunning communications failure between the military, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Capitol Police, all the more remarkable because of Washingtons focus on improving security since the January 6, 2021, attack on the building by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blamed the FAA in a statement Wednesday night, saying its apparent failure to notify Capitol Police of the pre-planned flyover Nationals Stadium is outrageous and inexcusable. The FAA did not respond to a request for comment.

Kelli LeGaspi, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, which was behind the Golden Knights demonstration, released a statement saying, We are reviewing all aspects of the event to ensure all procedures were followed appropriately to coordinate both the flight and the parachute demonstration.

Many who work on Capitol Hill have remained on edge more than a year after hundreds of pro-Trump rioters pushed their way past overwhelmed police officers, broke through windows and doors and ransacked the Capitol as Congress was voting to certify Joe Bidens electoral win.

In Wednesday's incident, the aircraft, a twin-engine plane, took off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and had been circling inside heavily restricted airspace close to the Capitol when the alert was sent. Radar tracking data shows the plane, a De Havilland Twin Otter, remained clear of the prohibited airspace over the Capitol Building and other government complexes at all times. Air traffic control recordings capture the army plane coordinating its flight with the control tower at nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Investigators were still working to determine why the event wasn't properly coordinated with law enforcement officials in Washington, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Multiple federal agencies began scrambling officials as the plane circled overhead.

The capital region is defended by several surface-to-air missile sites, as well as military aircrews on round-the-clock alert. It did not appear that any of those systems were scrambled.

Officials believe, based on a preliminary review, the pilot may have not properly reported taking off or had appropriate clearance, the people said. They were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Pelosi said, Congress looks forward to reviewing the results of a thorough after-action review that determines what precisely went wrong today and who at the Federal Aviation Administration will be held accountable for this outrageous and frightening mistake.

The plane landed back at Andrews around 6:50 p.m. after the parachutists descended into the middle of the field at Nationals Park. The stadium, home of the Washington Nationals baseball team, is a little more than a mile away from the U.S. Capitol.

One witness to the chaos at the Capitol was Eireann Dolan, the wife of Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle. I was walking the dogs past the Dirksen Senate Office Building," Dolan tweeted. People started streaming out all at once. They told me to turn around and get away as fast as possible. Some people were calm but many were genuinely panicked. I know I was."

Buildings on the Capitol complex were reopened a little after 8 p.m.

__

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Alan Fram contributed to this report.
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)  Swedens government suspects that actors from abroad incited violent riots in several Swedish cities last week, according to the country's justice minister.

Crowds threw rocks and burned cars and trash cans after a Danish far-right provocateur announced plans to hold meetings in Sweden. Rasmus Paludan has burned copies of the Quran at events in Denmark where he also bashes Islam, and the news he wanted to do the same in Sweden sparked anger.

Paludan, who holds dual Danish-Swedish citizenship, seems for some reason to hate Sweden and try to harm Sweden. I do not understand why Justice Minister Morgan Johansson said.

In an interview with Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet published Wednesday, Johansson referred to online claims that surfaced earlier this year about Swedish social service agencies allegedly kidnapping Muslim children.

There are many signs that they have been running here as well, campaigning and supporting this in various ways," the minister said.

The Foreign Ministry in Stockholm posted a Twitter thread in February devoted to what it termed a disinformation campaign. A Swedish agency established to counter misinformation said the kidnapping allegations could be traced to an Arabic-language site whose creator expressed support for the Islamic State group.

We see how the image of Sweden is set by some of these actors in the Middle East," Aftonbladet quoted Johansson as saying. "It is also addressed by a couple of governments, in Iraq and in Iran.

After word of Paludan's planned stunt reached Iran and the United Arab Emirates, the governments in Tehran and Dubai summoned Swedish diplomats to protest.

A total of 26 police officers and 14 other individuals  protesters or other people  were injured in the riots, and 20 police vehicles destroyed or damaged, officials have said.

The latest violence broke out Sunday night in Malmo, Swedens third-largest city, as an angry crowd of mainly young people set fire to tires, debris and garbage cans in an neighborhood known for high crime.

Unrest and violent clashes were reported in several other Swedish cities. Three people were hurt in Norrkoping on Sunday as they were hit by ricochets when police fired warning shots.

Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson is set to visit Norrkoping and Linkoping, another city that saw rioting, on Wednesday.

National police officials said Monday that they suspected some of the rioters were linked to criminal gangs that intentionally target police.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Tennessee Republican officials have removed three congressional hopefuls from the GOP primary ballot, including one candidate backed by former President Donald Trump.

The late Tuesday night decision by the Tennessee Republican Party was a long awaited result of months of debate over Morgan Ortagus, Trump's former State Department spokesperson, entering Nashville's open 5th Congressional District race.

Even with Trump's endorsement, some Republicans criticized the selection after pointing out that she had just recently moved to the state and did not know the region or its voters.

Tennessees Republican-controlled Legislature had sought to nudge Ortagus and others off the ballot by imposing residency requirements on most U.S. House and Senate candidates. However, that attempt fizzled after the state's election office told The Associated Press the legislation  which Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee allowed to go into effect without his signature earlier this month  would not apply retroactively to candidates who had already met the qualifications.

That left the decision up to the state Republican Party, who had received challenges over the voting records of Ortagus, as well as video producer Robby Starbuck and small business owner Baxter Lee. Party officials had until Thursday to decide whether to keep the candidates on the August primary ballot. Tennessee GOP chairman Scott Golden confirmed the three were removed in a text to the AP on Wednesday.

In a statement, Ortagus said she was deeply disappointed in the GOP executive committee's decision.

"As I have said all along, I believe that voters in Middle Tennessee should pick their representative  not establishment party insiders, she said. Our team is evaluating the options before us.

Trump has not responded to the state party's move. He had announced his endorsement via email in January, before Ortagus had officially filed to run, saying she would have his Complete and Total Endorsement."

Meanwhile, Starbuck tweeted out a short video with dark music that simply said war shortly after the party's decision was revealed.

In Cuba they have sham elections where the party decides which candidates are allowed to run. Thats what we have in Tennessee now thanks to the State Executive Committee, he later said in a Wednesday statement. My family didnt come from Cuba just to watch America become Cuba. Not without a fight. Freedom matters.

In a longer statement posted Wednesday, Starbuck promised to use all available legal options to fight this disgusting outcome" and said he believed his campaign would win in court.

Chip Saltsman, Baxter Lee's campaign manager, described the decision a headscratcher and said Baxter Lee was a Republican through and through.

Saltsman said Baxter Lee was kicked off the ballot because the candidate had not voted in three of the last four Tennessee primary elections. However, Saltsman pointed out that Lee had voted in 10 of the last 12 GOP primaries while giving nearly $100,000 to Republican candidates.

Meanwhile, Republican state Sen. Frank Niceley  they key sponsor of the legislation that sought to boot Ortagus and others off the ballot  told NBC News that only Jewish members of Trump's family will care about Ortagus getting kicked out of the primary. Ortagus is Jewish.

I dont think Trump cares one way or the other, Niceley said, who is supporting former House Speaker Beth Harwell in the open congressional race. I think Jared Kushner  hes Jewish, shes Jewish  I think Jared will be upset. Ivanka will be upset. I dont think Trump cares.

Niceley had recently sparked national criticism after seemingly praising Adolf Hitler on the Senate floor while discussing a homelessness bill.

Ortagus responded that Niceley should be ashamed of his repeated anti-Semitic rhetoric.

I will condemn anyone who traffics in this hate-mongering, she said in a statement. Senator Niceleys repulsive words could not be more clear in disparaging the Jewish people. This racism cannot stand.

Niceley claimed his words were taken out of context.

"Attempting to construe my off-hand comments about the Trump family as antisemitism is unfair and inaccurate, he said Wednesday.

The deep Republican field for the 5th District now includes Harwell, Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles and retired National Guard Brig. Gen. Kurt Winstead.

The flurry of candidates have set their sights on Tennessees freshly drawn 5th District after Republican redistricting this year. The seat became open after Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper announced he would not seek reelection rather than run in a district that carved up Nashville, favoring Republicans in each of the three seats and making it impossible for him to win any of them, in his view.

On the Democratic side, state Sen. Heidi Campbell is seeking the 5th District seat.
BeiDou boosts tech support for Chinese smartphone industry

Xinhua) 16:46, April 20, 2022

BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- China-developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is boosting the country's mobile phone industry by enhancing product performance.

Mobile phones equipped with the BDS-3 short message communication function will soon be available in the consumer market. It will help expand the application and function of smartphones and effectively ensure the safety of people's lives and property, according to the China Satellite Navigation Office.

This also demonstrates BDS' ability to deeply integrate with a variety of other industries, such as telecommunication, transportation, disaster prevention and mitigation, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and power supply.

BDS has achieved a comprehensive breakthrough in mass consumption represented by its extensive application in smartphones and smart wearable devices, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

In 2021, the number of China-made smartphones with BDS application support reached 324 million units, accounting for 94.5 percent of the country's smartphone shipment that very year, showed statistics from the NDRC.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)




BEIJING  A Taiwanese cable TV network has issued an apology for broadcasting an improperly edited image of the South Korean national flag in a recent broadcast.







TVBS, the Taipei-based broadcaster, posted an apology Tuesday in both Chinese and Korean on its official website for having recently aired the graphic of the Taegeukgi, the South Korean national flag, with a supposed image of the COVID-19 virus superimposed over it.







"We want to relay our sincerest apology to the South Korean people for the improper handling of the program," the station said. It added the image has been deleted and the company has engaged in an internal review.







The image was aired on a recent broadcast of the network's "Focus Global News" program. The apology was made after several South Korean media outlets pointed out the questionable editing of the Korean flag. (Yonhap)






The United States will soon dispatch a team of working-level officials to Seoul to prepare for a likely May summit between incoming South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden, an official with the transition team said Wednesday.







"The U.S. officials will be here to go over items on (the summit) agenda, rather than to discuss specific policies," said Kim Sung-han, a key member of the transition team's foreign policy subcommittee, adding he himself doesn't plan on meeting those delegates.







According to diplomatic sources, the U.S. delegation is scheduled to arrive here around Saturday.







While the working-level officials and their Seoul counterparts are expected to discuss the time and place for the summit, more senior diplomatic officials will likely discuss key details of an agreement between the two leaders.







Seoul and Washington are apparently in talks to set up a summit on May 20 or 21 in South Korea, with Biden already scheduled to be in Japan for a security meeting later that month. If realized, the summit would come just days after Yoon takes office on May 10, making it the earliest-ever South Korea-U.S. summit following a South Korean president's inauguration. (Yonhap)


For many UO students like first-year architecture major Zachary Leonard, the beginning of spring term marked the first time they were able to see their peers and professors unmasked indoors.

When I got back from spring break, no one was wearing a mask, and I thought wow! Ive gotta get used to this, Leonard said. Its been really nice.

Oregon lifted its indoor mask mandate on March 12, while UO, opting to finish out the term with masks, followed a week later. The decision came just weeks after the end of the devastating surge of the Omicron variant, which propelled Oregon and Lane County to record case numbers and briefly led to certain UO classes being offered remotely during winter term. For some, masking up again during the next surge already seems inevitable.

Im not really wearing my mask right now, at least not until the next surge, UO freshman Amanda Ngo, an economics major, said. But to be honest, Im surprised there hasnt been a giant breakout yet.

Ngo would prefer to keep wearing masks in lectures but feels its pointless when shes already potentially exposed to others in her bubble.

I was really diligent about masks before the mandate [ended], Ngo said. But I share a room with two people who dont mask, and at this point I feel like it would just come off as virtue-signaling.

Others are still concerned about COVID-19, even in between surges. Journalism Professor Justin Francese feels the mask mandate was lifted too soon  and worries that it could further endanger students who are vulnerable or have medically fragile relatives.

Thinking about my classroom, when that room is full, 200 students are packed shoulder-to-shoulder. That means that on a given day, theres a decent chance there could be one positive case, Francese said. I think the university could have made the decision to prolong the minor inconvenience of requiring masks in the classroom until we were sure that we were in a much safer place.

Thus far, UO has largely followed the guidance of the Oregon Health Authority in determining its COVID-19 protocols. In a March 3 statement, UO Chief Resilience Officer Andre Le Duc noted that UO will continue to rely on science and recommendations from the public health authority as we make decisions  and, thus far, neither the OHA nor UO has ruled out reinstating the mandate. If that change happens, however, some might not be receptive.

I think if youre sick or you have symptoms, you should definitely wear a mask in the future, Leonard said. But I think if theres another pandemic or another wave a lot of people will not be interested in putting them on.

For Leonard, who is deaf and uses a cochlear implant, the end of the mask mandate has additional value. By muffling voices and obscuring the lower half of the face, masks have made it harder for him to read lips or understand others speech.

Cloth masks reduce the tone in your voice, and a lot of people will be enunciating or mumbling, which can make it difficult, Leonard said. For deaf people who dont have a cochlear implant, Im sure they have been even more frustrating.

Francese continues to wear a mask when teaching in the classroom. In doing so, he said he hopes to create a safe environment for students who also prefer to wear theirs.

Some of the students Ive talked to have said, you know, they still feel very uncomfortable with all of this, Francese said. As a professor, my goal first is to make sure that everyone whos in the classroom feels accepted. I dont want to create any barriers if people are uncomfortable.

Ngo said many students have already resigned themselves to the possibility of getting sick, simply as a product of being on a large campus.

I think at a big public college like this its hard to instate and maintain a mask mandate, Ngo said. I think the most popular sentiment floating around is if we get COVID, we get COVID.

Masks are still required in healthcare settings, including the Health Center and for MAP testing. Free KN95 masks are available at various sites on campus.
Opinion: As the spring sun draws Vitamin-D deficient students outside, it becomes increasingly important to remind people not to litter.

----------

As Earth Day approaches this week, many may feel called to show appreciation for this planet we call home. After all, nature is a beautiful, wondrous thing. It is difficult to look at sparkling, winding rivers or evergreen mountain slopes and not feel ones heart dip in awe of this worlds existence. The beauty of the outdoors is both magnificent and baffling. Its triumphant and ancient. Its pure and calm and clean. Until, of course, it isnt.

Last Earth Day, Keep America Beautiful released the largest study on litter in the United States. They found that with over 50 billion pieces of trash littered, each American square mile could house 2,000 pieces of trash. Littering has extensive and disastrous effects on the environment. Beyond being an eyesorish stain on the brilliant canvas we call life, trash is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and kills entire ecosystems.

In recent years, the growing Eugene litter problem has notably become a discussion topic in both KVAL and Eugene Weekly. Some may recall the recent, particularly sunny day here in Eugene, April 7. It was a Thursday, and the temperature reached as high as 74 degrees Fahrenheit. While many found themselves enjoying the sunshine on campus, others enjoyed it at a dirt patch along the Willamette River trails by Autzen Footbridge. There, the usual river chaos ensued, and when the sun eventually began to descend, the students packed up their towels and beer pong tables and headed out. Left behind, though, were their discarded bottles, cans, boxes and loads of other trash.

It was terrible. So many people were going out of their way to throw cans into bushes and even the river, student Chris Engel, who video recorded and posted the trash to his Snapchat story that day with the caption I hope none of these people post for Earth Day, said. While Engel attempted to intervene and pick up visible trash, the damage had largely already been done. Students walked away from their party spot without picking up after themselves, care and consequence-free.

College students are typically among the age demographic most likely to litter. Despite being raised in the era of sustainability and eco-conscious conversations, Gen Z and millennials are not immune to the pitfalls of being a no-good littering fart. As hippie as our rep may be, Oregon students are similarly disappointing culprits of litter. The evidence can be seen across Eugene and also in Lake Shasta. Yes, that specific event was six years ago now, but it was horrific. Plus, plastics can live up to 500 years, so thats about how long I think people who litter should be shamed.

I dont know how to stop people from littering, but I think shaming is a pretty good tactic. So, while were advocating for people to pick up their trash, perhaps we should also advocate for shaming those who do not.

Another thing I dont know is why people litter. I guess were all a bit lazy, and sometimes trash cans arent readily available. But, seriously, its not that hard! When you have trash in your hand, dont drop it and leave it there. Better yet, if you see trash on the ground, pick it up! I refuse to believe people are too lazy to simply not litter. To me, the act of leaving trash out is less indicative of how lazy people are and more of how inconsiderate and selfish humans can be.

Taking the environment for granted seems to be human nature. Despite decades of climate change and pollution warnings, humanity has failed time and time again to make the lifestyle changes necessary to ensure a future for our planet. Some systemic and major shifts may be more difficult for one person to achieve, but the solution to littering? Thats on you.

A wise man once said, Look around, look at life. This suggestion, while simple, is quite powerful. The Earth has given us everything. Eons of orbit and the unknown has brought you not just into existence, but into a unique position to understand and appreciate the natural beauty of existence itself. Vast, mesmerizing oceans and star-sequinned skies. Lions and tigers and bears. Roses red, violets blue. You see these trees, man? You see this water? Yes, Lil Yachty, I do. I do see it, and its beautiful.

I dont know about you guys, but Id like to keep it this way.

As we choose to spend more time outside with better weather, lets keep in mind the devastating impacts of litter. We cannot keep treating the Earth we call home with such blatant disrespect. Keep it clean, pick up your trash.
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Australian Dollar Outlook:

AUD/JPY rates have hit their highest level since June 2015, keeping intact a buy the dip mindset.

AUD/USD rates have been weaker in recent days, but todays rebound at former resistance turned support suggest that more gains are ahead.

According to the IG Client Sentiment Index AUD/ JPY has a bearish bias while AUD/ USD has a neutral bias.

Aussie Still Well-Positioned

Improving risk appetite in global financial markets, if only modestly, is helping the Australian Dollar perk up after several days of relatively weaker trading results. Base metal prices are back on the rise, and with measures of volatility subsiding, US equity markets have started to climb from their monthly lows despite weaker results from some notable tech companies. And with the Reserve Bank of Australia not yet having raised rates  but are expected to do so quite rapidly once federal elections pass next month  the best days may still be ahead for the Australian Dollar.

AUD/USD RATE TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: DAILY CHART (February 2021 to April 2022) (CHART 1)

AUD/USD rates had fallen over -4% from their monthly high to their low this week prior to the rebound over the past two days. But after returning to former resistance in two multi-month technical patterns  the descending parallel channel in place since the end of June 2021 and the descending trendline from the February 2021 and May 2021 highs  AUD/USD rates have rebounded meaningfully. With former resistance now support, and AUD/USD rates back above their daily 21-EMA, it stands to reason that the April low has been found. The first target to the upside is the 76.4% Fibonacci retracement of the 2018 high/2020 low range at 0.7502.

IG Client Sentiment Index: AUD/USD RATE Forecast (April 20, 2022) (Chart 2)

AUD/USD: Retail trader data shows 55.17% of traders are net-long with the ratio of traders long to short at 1.23 to 1. The number of traders net-long is 1.85% lower than yesterday and 7.61% higher from last week, while the number of traders net-short is 3.98% higher than yesterday and 7.91% lower from last week.

We typically take a contrarian view to crowd sentiment, and the fact traders are net-long suggests AUD/USD prices may continue to fall.

Positioning is less net-long than yesterday but more net-long from last week. The combination of current sentiment and recent changes gives us a further mixed AUD/USD trading bias.

AUD/JPY RATE TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: DAILY CHART (December 2020 to April 2022) (CHART 3)

Unlike their AUD/USD counterpart, AUD/JPY rates have not experienced a setback in April thanks to the ongoing weakness seen by the Japanese Yen. Hitting a fresh 2022 high and their highest level since June 2015, AUD/JPY rates retain a bullish technical posture that warrants a buy the dip mentality for the foreseeable future. The pair remains above its daily 5-, 8-, 13-, and 21-EMA envelope, which is in full bullish sequential order. Daily MACD is above its signal line and is on the verge of issuing a fresh bullish crossover, while daily Slow Stochastics have reentered overbought territory. The next significant level higher is the May 2015 high at 97.03.

IG Client Sentiment Index: AUD/JPY Rate Forecast (April 20, 2022) (Chart 4)

AUD/JPY: Retail trader data shows 33.79% of traders are net-long with the ratio of traders short to long at 1.96 to 1. The number of traders net-long is 19.88% higher than yesterday and 39.16% higher from last week, while the number of traders net-short is unchanged than yesterday and 3.94% lower from last week.

We typically take a contrarian view to crowd sentiment, and the fact traders are net-short suggests AUD/JPY prices may continue to rise.

Yet traders are less net-short than yesterday and compared with last week. Recent changes in sentiment warn that the current AUD/JPY price trend may soon reverse lower despite the fact traders remain net-short.

--- Written by Christopher Vecchio, CFA, Senior Strategist




By Kang Seung-woo







Shin Sang-tae, a retired Army captain, has been elected to head the Korean Veterans Association (KVA), becoming the association's first president in its 70-year history who, at the time of his retirement, did not possess the military rank of star.







According to the KVA, Shin, who also served as the vice president of the KVA, earned 252 votes from its 359 representatives to dethrone incumbent chief Kim Jin-ho with 102 votes in an online poll on April 13.







The 70-year-old took the helm, Friday, and will lead the KVA for the next four years.







Shin, a native of Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, is a graduate of the Korea Army Academy at Yeongcheon and led the KVA's Seoul branch from 2009 to 2015. Before joining the military academy, he majored in public administration at Konkuk University in Seoul, where he also earned a master's degree in real estate and a Ph.D. in business administration. He is currently running a small company.







Shin vowed to revamp the KVA, which is now struggling with financial issues.







"Through intensive reform, we will overcome the financial crisis at an early stage and maximize the capabilities of the KVA, the world's largest security group, so as to restore the pride of the nation's 10 million veterans," Shin said in his victory speech.







In his inaugural address, Friday, Shin also stressed the need to bolster solidary to revive the KVA's past reputation, restore healthy and stable finances and unite veterans as one.






The country had demanded genuine contrition, humility and an apology for his failings over Partygate.

And, in the Commons after being fined for attending a lockdown-busting bash in Downing Street, that's what Boris Johnson delivered, saying he 'bitterly regretted' the episode. And so he should.

While millions stuck fastidiously to the draconian Covid rules he introduced, he broke them.

Boris Johnson delivered, saying he 'bitterly regretted' the episode. And so he should.

But let's retain a sense of perspective. Does anyone seriously believe he knew he was doing wrong when people he worked with all day sang Happy Birthday? Scotland Yard's decision to penalise him seems disproportionate and authoritarian.

Why, just look elsewhere. Did Nicola Sturgeon get fined for not wearing a mask? No. Sir Keir Starmer for enjoying a beer and pizza with work chums? No.

The blunt truth is, some of the confected outrage by his political opponents (invariably Remainers) verges on deranged.

Britain faces plenty of problems, and they dwarf whether or not someone had a slice of cake in No 10: Energy security, the cost of living and war in Ukraine.

We must escape from the tangle of low political chicanery and let Boris turn his attention to what really matters.

Axe the green taxes

For one compelling reason why Mr Johnson must be allowed to focus on running the country, not trivialities such as cake, look no further than the Commons business committee.

Energy bosses warned yesterday that when the cold, dark nights of autumn hit, the cost of heating and lighting homes will be 'truly horrific'. Indeed, four in ten families face fuel poverty  including many in Middle England.

Of course, it sticks in the craw that the energy giants suggest wealthier households subsidise those struggling with bills. Funnily, these fat cats usually recoil at socialism.

But with such hardship on the horizon, the Government must soften the blow.

For a start, ministers could consider axing green levies, which add 153 to fuel bills.

Yes, these fund a range of initiatives  from renewables to household insulation. But many of these taxes, introduced by Labour, have been running for years. A review of their effectiveness is overdue. They were hard to justify even in boom times.

Today, when families are suffering the biggest price shock for decades  and many face the choice of eating or heating this winter  they are wholly indefensible.

Back the lionhearts

Humiliated by his thwarted attempt to conquer all of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is now trying to take control of the country's eastern region.

With customary disregard for human life, the war criminal launched a long-awaited Blitzkrieg of the Donbas by land and air.

Yet it's not likely to be a pushover. Compared to Ukraine's lionhearts, Russia's troops are an inept, poorly equipped, cowardly rabble of rapists and murderers.

The conflict is entering a grislier, attritional phase. After giving President Zelensky so much military, humanitarian and moral support, the West cannot step back.

Mr Johnson deserves plaudits for  once again  leading the democratic world and supplying Ukraine with more weapons to defend its homeland. Our allies must match that courage and commitment.

At the same time, they must face the cold truth. No matter how many arms shipments are delivered, Russia will stagger on as long as the EU keeps purchasing one billion euros of gas a day from the Kremlin.

Yes, Germany and others want to keep their lights on. But it finances a madman's war. They must turn off the taps  or risk the forces of darkness triumphing.
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Russia has three main advantages over Ukraine after launching the second phase of its invasion in the Donbas region  including its heavy armour and artillery being more suited to the terrain, a military expert said today.

Justin Bronk, a research fellow at London's Royal United Services Institute, said Ukrainian forces will still have the edge when defending towns and cities, but not in the countryside  especially if attempting counterattacks.

He added that Vladimir Putins forces could also have an advantage in local control of the air, with many of Ukraine's mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems taken down during heavy fighting in the East so far.

The third advantage for Russian forces in Donbas is better coordination and potentially logistics support than over the previous weeks of the war, because they are now concentrated on only a few major areas of advance.

Mr Bronk added that one of the key remaining questions now is whether Russia can successfully concentrate enough of the forces it has assembled in the Donbas against key Ukrainian strongpoints.

In addition, he will be studying whether Ukraines forces can be kept supplied with sufficient artillery and anti-tank firepower and ammunition, and whether Russian tactical and operational coordination will improve.

Explaining how the outcome of the Donbas offensive is crucial to the whole war, here is Mr Bronk's analysis:

The second phase of Russia's invasion of Ukraine appears to have begun in Donbas, with large scale artillery barrages and air strikes reported by Ukrainian units in multiple important sectors, and initial offensive pushes by Russian Ground Forces units.

The fighting has been particularly intense around Russia's northern staging point in Donbas  the town of Izyum  where around 22 of the estimated 76 Russian battalion tactical groups (BTGs) have been concentrated.

Attacks have also been launched against Ukrainian forces holding the city of Severodonetsk, and against the eastern town of Popasna and in the south Russian forces are continuing their ruthless efforts to destroy the remaining Ukrainian forces defending the Azovstal steel works in the long-besieged city of Mariupol.

Both Ukrainian and Russian officials have declared that the next critical phase of the war is now underway.

Russia has several major advantages in Donbas which are likely to contribute to its units putting up a far more respectable performance than they did during the disastrous attacks against Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv in the north and Mykolaiv in the south west during the first phase of the invasion.

The first of these is the terrain. Whereas the terrain the north of Ukraine is largely forests, towns and cities, Donbas has far more large open spaces.

The Ukrainian Army has large numbers of regular, reservist and volunteer light infantry units equipped with shoulder-fired anti-tank missiles and man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS), but has fewer units able to concentrate tanks and heavy artillery.

By contrast, Russian ground forces have displayed notably poor infantry tactics and suffered from limited and poorly motivated manpower.

However, Russia still has far more tanks and artillery assets than Ukraine. This has implications for the coming battles in Donbas.

Light infantry with shoulder-fired weapons are ideal for defending forested or urban areas, but in the more open terrain of the Donbas the heavy armour and artillery of Russian forces are more suitable and easier to use effectively.

A Ukrainian soldier walks past a Russian tank yesterday after recent battles at the village of Moshchun close to Kyiv

Rescuers work at a residential block damaged during the Ukraine-Russia war in the southern port city of Mariupol yesterday

Ukrainian forces will still have the edge when defending towns and cities, but will be at a disadvantage in the countryside  especially if attempting counterattacks.

One variable here is the weather, since heavy rains may make vehicles very hard to use off-road in the deep mud.

This would threaten to canalise Russian advancing columns and make it harder for Russia to supply the large quantities of fuel, ammunition and spares required to keep large numbers of armoured formations on the move for sustained offensive operations.

The second potential Russian advantage is local control of the air. Despite their success in continuing to contest its airspace over much of the country, Ukraine's mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems have been steadily attritted during heavy fighting in the East since the start of the invasion.

The short ranged SA-8 SAM units in particular have suffered significant losses from ambushes and artillery fire due to having to be close to the frontlines to offer protection to Ukrainian troops.

Russian military vehicles travel on a road in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces near Mariupol on Monday

A view shows buildings damaged during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol yesterday

This has allowed Russian fighters and attack aircraft to operate more freely at high and medium altitudes near the frontlines.

Furthermore, continued missile strikes against Ukrainian airbases and regular high-altitude fighter patrols on the edge of Russian and Belorussian airspace have eroded the ability of the Ukrainian Air Force to conduct large scale operations in the Donbas or around Mariupol.

Therefore, it will be more difficult for Ukraine to conduct airstrikes with fast jets or TB2 drones in the Donbas.

However, Russian fighter pilots also suffer from significant limitations which will probably prevent them from inflicting enough damage on Ukrainian Army vehicles and troop positions, despite their local air superiority.

A man tries to extinguish a fire following a Russian bombardment at a residential neighborhood in Kharkiv yesterday

A local resident walks along a street past burnt out buses during the Ukraine-Russia war in Mariupol yesterday

Their jets do not have access to targeting pods or large numbers of relatively cheap precision-guided bombs and missiles like Western fighters use for close air support.

Their pilots also get relatively few flying hours to train, and do not have access to modern simulators to help make up for this  meaning that they will struggle with the complex task of attacking battlefield targets close to friendly forces.

To reliably spot battlefield targets and hit them accurately enough with unguided bombs and rockets, Russian jets would have to fly low over enemy forces by day, which will bring them into the effective range of ground-fire and MANPADS like the Igla-S and Stinger which Ukrainian forces have in large numbers.

The third advantage that Russian forces will have in the Donbas compared to in the previous phase of the invasion is better coordination and potentially logistics support.

Local civilians walk past a tank destroyed in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol yesterday

Servicemen of the Donetsk People's Republic militia walk past damaged vehicles during heavy fighting in Mariupol yesterday

When Russia initially invaded, it spread its forces out over multiple lines of advance in multiple parts of the country and under seemingly different command structures.

JUSTIN BRONK is a research fellow in airpower and technology at the Royal United Services Institute in London

This not only allowed Ukrainian forces to engage them piece by piece, but also greatly worsened the impact of poor Russian logistics support.

In Donbas, Russian forces are now being controlled by the commander of the Southern Military District and concentrated on only a few major axes of advance.

Therefore, they are likely to be better coordinated and the remaining Russian logistics capacity can be concentrated more easily where it is needed most.

In the coming days and weeks, the key questions are likely to be:

Can Russia successfully concentrate enough of the forces it has assembled in the Donbas against key Ukrainian strongpoints?

Can Ukrainian forces be kept supplied with sufficient artillery and anti-tank firepower and ammunition to hold out?

Will Russian tactical and operational coordination between tanks, artillery and infantry will be noticeably better than in the first phase?

Can Ukrainian counter-offensives around Kherson in the south and east of Kharkiv force Russian forces and supplies to be diverted away from the main effort in the Donbas?

Russia has few usable reserves left without declaring full scale national mobilisation, but Ukraine is still heavily outgunned in the Donbas. The outcome of this offensive will be crucial to the course of the whole war.
Do you miss your brother and your dad?

A simple question for any loving family man, who had relied heavily on his closest relatives since the death of his mother as a child, you would think.

But not Prince Harry.

In fact, on the latest round of his royal-bashing, American breakfast tell-all telly tour, where he trashily traded off information about the Queen to build his US brand, expressing even the slightest hint of positivity towards Prince Charles and Prince William was the one personal area he avoided.

When pressed by purring NBC Today Show host Hoda Kotb, willing the Duke of Woke to do the right thing and prove his Be Kind credentials arent as meaningless as a Twitter hashtag, Harry wouldnt offer even the slightest hint of an olive branch.

Perhaps no surprise, given hes thought to be saving his sharpest criticism of the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge for his grossly timed autobiography later this year.

Deflecting, he answered Hodas question about his dad and brother by icily responding: 'For me at the moment, I'm here focused on these guys [Invictus Games athletes] and these families and giving everything that I can, 120 per cent to them to make sure they have the experience of a lifetime. That's my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family who I miss massively.'

How tragic.

Harry has gone so far down the rabbit hole of bitterness and conspiracies around Megxit that he doesnt even regard Charles and Wills as part of his family anymore.

When pressed by purring NBC Today Show host Hoda Kotb, willing the Duke of Woke to do the right thing and prove his Be Kind credentials arent as meaningless as a Twitter hashtag, Harry wouldnt offer even the slightest hint of an olive branch, writes Dan Wootton

In fact, in another disgraceful moment in the interview he hinted the Queen needed the right people around to protect her  the clear implication being that he doesnt think the two heirs to the throne are doing that job currently.

Harry is so delusional he doesnt compute the complete hypocrisy of making such a statement when he hasnt bothered to visit his 95-year-old gran for the past nine months because of a pathetic row with the British government over security.

No wonder royal courtiers fume: What the hell would he know?

Nope, for the Duke of Woke and King of Saving the World from a Montecito mansion, the distinct lack of kindness from him towards his relatives helping to tear the Royal Family apart isnt his problem.

Nor is confirmation of the fact he still might deprive the Queen of meeting the great grandchild named after her nickname Lilibet (without permission) because he wont be granted the same security he would have received as a working royal at the Platinum Jubilee.

Harrys lack of self-awareness has become embarrassing.

It makes it more obvious than ever that he is surrounded by nodding-dog Hollywood yes men who allow him to buy into these fantasies on a daily basis.

So who is Harrys family now? Meghan and the kids, I guess.

Its an us-against-the-world mentality that has seen them cut off virtually every old friend and every blood relative (Meghans mum Doria and the Queen being the two notable exceptions).

But I had one overwhelming impression watching this interview: Harry is so obviously deeply unhappy.

Prince Harry and the Queen are seen attending the annual Chelsea Flower show at Royal Hospital Chelsea on May 18, 2015 in London

Hoda kept trying to remind him of his cheeky chappy reputation and draw out a bit of fun, but he couldnt even bring himself to rise to the act.

Reinvented as a social justice warrior on the other side of the world, his previously irresistible spark has disappeared faster than his hair, replaced by a dead-behind-the-eyes misery.

Whether she actively attempted to or not  and as the journalist who has broken more stories than anyone about the couple, I certainly have my suspicions  Meghan has fundamentally changed Harry.

He has been so indoctrinated by the hippy dippy woke philosophies of his Californian social climbing wife, who has managed to convince him they are genuinely saving the world by, er, signing multi-million-dollar deals with mega corporations like Netflix and Spotify

It would be hilarious if it wasnt so tragic.

DAN WOOTTON: I had one overwhelming impression watching this interview: Harry is so obviously deeply unhappy

What was truly tragic is that Harry appears to have replaced the support structure provided in the pre-Meghan years by Charles, Harry and the Royal Family, with the spiritual presence of his late mother Princess Diana.

Tellingly, Prince Harry revealed he had felt more connected to Di in the past two years  the exact period from which he has effectively cut contact with his living dad and big bro.

Harry told Hoda: 'It is almost as though she's done her bit with my brother and now she's very much, like, helping me. Got him set up. And now she's helping me set up. That's what it feels like, you know?

He's got his kids. I've got my kids, you know the circumstances are obviously different. But now, I feel her presence in almost everything that I do now. But definitely more so in the last two years than ever before. Without question. So she's watching over us.'

While the sentiments of the reconnection with his mother are lovely in some ways, it feels like Harry is using it to justify the estrangement from Wills.

The one thing anyone who knew Diana has been absolutely certain of is that, above all else, she wanted her two boys to stay united.

There is no doubt if Diana is with Harry in spirit she will be urging him to find a way to patch things up with William; she knew her serious-minded eldest son would need his support as the throne grew closer.

Camilla, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry are seen leaving the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service in London in December 2017

For a man so obsessed with protecting his privacy, the revelations in the interview, once again, sat uncomfortably.

Most cringeworthy was the way he seems happy to trade off secrets of the deeply private Queen to appease American broadcasters, just like when he revealed to James Corden on the top of a double decker bus she had bought Archie a waffle maker for Christmas.

This time it was the fact she doesnt care to celebrate birthdays, one day out from her 96th.

Boasting about the closeness of their bond, Harry told Hoda: We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can't talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice peace to her. But I think she's... I think after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.'

While Harry wouldnt commit to attending her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, for which the Queen certainly cares deeply, its perhaps the way Harry turned his back on the UK as the home that will upset Her Majesty most deeply.

'Home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it's in the States. And it feels that way as well, he emphasised.

It feels like that to us Brits too; Harry, the prince we fell in love with, is far more at home in California and were all OK with that.

Just please stop making life so much harder for the Queen  and keep her damn secrets off American television.
America woke up to a new game of thrones this morning as Prince Harry sketched out an unlikely role for himself as Mighty Queen Protector, Defender of Her Realm.

From more than 5,000 miles away he is suddenly at the helm? How does that work?

Everyone knows the person the Queen is most in need of safeguarding from is Harry himself, the man who has single-handedly done the most damage to the British monarchy since Oliver Cromwell.

This includes indirectly criticising her as a bad mother, smearing her family as racists and suing her Government over security issues.

Yet here he is, as nice as sour cream pie, the smirking assassin in a polo shirt, assuring millions of viewers on U.S. television of his vital role at Her Majesty's side, which is news to everyone back in Blighty.

The shamelessness of it all! Just gasping.

The Prince was appearing in a special interview on NBC's breakfast show with its host Hoda Kotb, who had flown to The Hague to meet him at the Invcitus Games.

Prince Harry (pictured with the Queen and Meghan in 2018) spoke at an interview, during the Invictus Games, about his 'special relationship' with the Queen

The Duke of Sussex (pictured on stage during the Invictus Games opening ceremony) has been in the Netherlands as an ambassador of the international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women

Prince Harry spoke to American interviewer Hoda Kotb (pictured) about his life in America, being a father and the Royal family

The pair of them sat on fold-up chairs in an archery butt, with three targets visible behind them. Should we read anything into this intriguing choice of location? Perhaps we were supposed to imagine photographs of Charles, Camilla and William on the bullseyes. Or is that too triggering?

Certainly, Kotb had a lot of soft shots packed into her quiver of questions. Do you feel yourself peaceful? What's a Wednesday like for you? What do you love about fatherhood? Has Archie got your cheeky thing? Harry answered enthusiastically, waving his arms around to emphasise his points  and the more vacuous his point, the bigger his arm signals.

This is a new communication development for the Prince, who at times was spouting such New Age nonsense that he looked as if he were marshalling a jet or conducting an invisible orchestra of the absurd.

'Cheekiness is something that keeps you alive,' he said at one point, which is not only emotional bilge but also the kind of thing said only by someone used to being listened to without interruption or criticism.

The most awkward moment came when Kotb asked if he missed Prince Charles and Prince William. Harry's face was as blank as a sponge when he explained that his focus 'at the moment' was on the Invictus Games and later it would be on his own children.

'They are two little people, you know,' he added, kindly explaining what a child is to the NBC audience, some of whom may have been unsure.

Prince Harry said that sometimes he feels 'massively at peace' but other times he is too worried about the world to be happy

Pause it there for a second. The fact that Prince Harry couldn't find it in his heart to simply say yes, he missed his brother and his father, is surely indicative of the utterly toxic state of their relationship. And for someone who claims to find 'healing in helping others', he sure knows how to wound.

Clearly, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex only feel happy talking to these pat-a-cake U.S. celebrity hosts, whose collective attitude  to Harry in particular  seems little short of idolatry.

First Oprah, then Ellen and now Hoda, who once said interviewing Beyonce was the celebrity highlight of her career. On this occasion there was no Meghan present to hold Harry's hand and egg on his bubbling omelette of grievance, which was a shame. Yet her very absence added a frisson of excitement to the proceedings, because there was always a chance she might rush in from stage left in a 17,000 top and say something mean about Kate's Easter decorations or choice of tights.

But in this 12-minute slot, broadcast on Wednesday morning between items on the success of Bridgerton in the U.S. and the local mask mandate, there was only time for Harry. And he didn't waste a second, the sole of his desert boot pressing hard on the foot pump of fable as he inflated his status within the Royal Family into the realm of the mythic.

For he revealed he was not only the Queen's Protector, he was Court Jester and Royal Confidante, too.

'We have a really special relationship, we talk about things that she can't talk about with anybody else,' he said of his meeting at Windsor with his grandmother.

Prince Harry claims a 'special relationship' with his grandmother, saying she can talk to him about topics no one else can

What on earth could the Queen talk about with Harry that she can't talk about with anyone else? I've been racking my brains. Rescue chickens? Naked billiards? Did he bring some crystals from the Montecito New Age Store and try to realign the royal chakras?

Maybe he got her to do the weird deep-breathing thing he does every time he arrives in London, to help her cope with her grief at losing Prince Philip.

Or by claiming this special relationship, maybe he was just getting even with his big brother for all those times he was excluded from the regular kingcraft sessions William had with the Queen when they were growing up.

We are back to Game of Thrones. Behold the warfare and ancient wounds between the spare and the heir. Winter is coming, and something in their brotherly bond seems to have broken for ever.

There was the usual light sermonising about mental health issues. 'What I do know is there is a light at the end of the tunnel for absolutely everybody,' said Harry. This is patently not true, but perhaps it is something that a man with a financial stake in a company that sells mental health packages must believe.

His own mental state? He revealed that sometimes he feels 'massively at peace' but he worries too much about the world to be happy  like all millennials, even rich and royal ones, he can never not be a victim.

'My mantra now every day  and it's a dangerous one because I need to make sure I don't have burnout  but it's trying to make the world a better place for my kids, otherwise what's the point in bringing kids into this world?' he moaned.

His saviour complex blooms like a virulence, but should anyone listen to a man who can't even make the world better for his own father  and father-in-law?

Prince Harry didn't say in the interview if he misses his father and brother

Naturally he played his ace, the Diana card. Americans still can't get enough of Princess Diana, and being her son has conferred a kind of heroic status on Harry. He deploys this with the expertise of the slick Californian PR man he has become.

Yes, there are photos of Grandma Diana in the house, he revealed. And in response to a question, he told Kotb and NBC that he felt she had been watching him 'over the past two years'.

Somehow he didn't seem to mind this enquiry into his feelings about his dead mother  because it's not an invasion of privacy when it's a marketing opportunity, right?

Once more, Prince Harry has managed to snatch a defeat from the jaws of victory. Response in the UK to the interview has overshadowed all the good work he has done this week with the Invictus games  however, the truth is becoming all too clear.

Prince Harry doesn't care what anyone in the UK thinks. He doesn't care that the Palace is shocked over his latest words, that royal aides are stunned, that UK broadcasters are fuming, that British newspapers are writing of his arrogance and misplaced conceit, that his brother and father must be crushed by his words.

That's all just rhubarb, rhubarb on his path to glory in America. For his fortune and his future now depend on what Americans think of him, not what whiny Brits back home happen to be grumbling about.

He is focused on promoting himself on coast-to-coast TV, on the deals and on producing content for Netflix and others that has a monetary value, while convincing himself he is doing good at the same time.

That is why he continues to manipulate his relationship with the Queen and the Royal Family, using it as a golden emollient to grease his way up the celebrity ladder. He is giving it all he's got  because it is all he's got. And Americans are lapping it up.
The Royal Family is looking for performers to represent subcultures which have emerged throughout Her Majesty's 70-year reign at the Queens Platinum Jubilee Pageant.

The Platinum Pageant, which will take place on June 5th, will see a host of volunteer performers parade through the streets of central London in honour of the Queen's history.

The second half of the parade will tell the story of Her Majesty's reign through famous subcultures throughout the years - from Hippies to Glam Rockers and Britpop.

From dancers to hula-hoopers and rollerbladers - all types of street performers or cast members are welcome to volunteer and applications will close on May 1st.

But most importantly, each participant should represent a group which has emerged during the monarch's seven decade reign, with categories including Mods, Punks and Indie Kids.

The Platinum Pageant, which will take place on June 5th, will see a host of volunteer performers parade through the streets of central London in honour of the Queen's history

Victoria & Albert Museum chairman Nicholas Coleridge, who is co-chairing the pageant, previously said 6,500 performers would take part in the entire celebration.

The spectacular parade will take place on the final day of a series of festivities over the extended June Bank Holiday weekend to celebrate Her Majesty's impressive reign.

The second half of the pageant will tell the story of 'our transforming society' and organisers are determined to cast performers who 'live and breathe these eras and fashions'.

Successful applicants will have to wear original and authentic clothing, hairstyles and make-up and volunteers can only apply to represent one subculture from one decade.

The second half of the parade will tell the story of Her Majesty's reign through famous subcultures throughout the years - including the Mods of the 1960s

Each participant should represent a group which has emerged during the monarch's seven decade reign. Pictured, hippies at the Isle of Wight festival in 1970

To apply volunteers must supply personal details along with a headshot and photograph of themselves wearing their favourite outfit from the era.

Recruiters are particularly keen to cast performers who have personal stories linking to the Queen, which may be told on the live-broadcast of the event.

Organisers are also seeking anyone with vintage vehicles including classic British motorbikes, Vespa Scooters, ice cream vans and retro bicycles to take part in the celebration.

Which subcultures will be represented in the Queens Platinum Jubilee Pageant 1950s: Lambeth Walkers/Jivers 1960s: Mods/Hippies/Rude Boys/Girls 1970s: Two Toners/Disco Roller Skaters/Hula Hoopers/Glam Rockers/Punks/Northern Soul 1980s: Goths/New Romantics/Electro Boys/Girls 1990s: Acid Ravers/Britpoppers/ Girl Power/ Garage Heads/ Indie Kids 2000s: Festival Goers/ Garage/Emos/Metalheads/ Notting Hill Carnival/Indie Kids 2010s: Boy Blue Collaboration. The award winning UK hip-hop dance company previously participated in the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony. Advertisement

Applicants must be 16 years old or above at the time of the pageant and any cast under the age of 18 will require guardian consent to participate in the event.

Central London will come to life with colour, street theatre and dance in honour of the monarch's long reign in what has been described as 'something of a reopening ceremony for the United Kingdom'.

Details of the pageant were revealed at were revealed at the official launch in London's Victoria and Albert Museum in June last year.

Organisers, including Pageant Master Adrian Evans said the event, with a budget of between 10 and 15 million and involving participants from across the UK and parts of the Commonwealth, is expected to be one of the biggest celebratory events held on home soil for decades.

Throughout the year, the Queen and members of the royal family will travel around the country attending a range of events to mark the milestone, culminating with the Platinum Jubilee Weekend.

Buckingham Palace said 2022's extended break will run from Thursday, June 2 to Sunday, June 5 after the May bank holiday - which would have been on Monday, May 30 - was pushed back.

The four-day weekend will begin on the Thursday with Trooping the Colour, which will be staged in full for the first time since the pandemic, and a service of thanksgiving for the Queen's reign will be held at St Paul's Cathedral on the Saturday.

Sunday's pageant will comprise of three acts, with the first seeing both serving troops and veterans take part in a march along The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace.

The second act will also feature a puppet dragon larger than a double-decker bus with a wingspan the width of The Mall.

Others taking part will include a trapeze artist suspended underneath a huge balloon printed with an image of the Queen, as well as acrobats and other performers.

The specially-written fairy story There Once Is A Queen by renowned author Sir Michael Morpurgo will be brought to life through artists on the day.

Successful applicants will have original and authentic clothing, hairstyles and makeup and volunteers can only apply to represent one subculture from one decade. Subcultures featured in the parade include the New Romantics of the 1980s

Rick Witter (left) and drummer Alan Leach (right) of Britpop group Shed Seven, backstage with Suede bassist Mat Osman (centre) at the Tower Ballroom in the 1990s

Nicholas Coleridge, co-chairman of the pageant, said: 'The Platinum Jubilee weekend is an opportunity for the country to emerge re-energised and renewed, expressing optimism and confidence.

'It will be something of a reopening ceremony for the United Kingdom, following a period of uncertainty and hardship, a catalysing moment of unity and fun.

'Through the fusion of ceremonial and pageantry with razzmatazz and festival, we intend to create a spectacle that is at once energising and memorable and a fitting tribute to the Queen.'

Details of the pageant's third act, the finale, are being kept secret for now.
Labor activists speak during a press briefing in front of the presidential transition committee's office in Tongui-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, April 20. Yonhap





Three key International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions that prohibit forced labor and guarantee freedom of association went into effect Wednesday, a year after Korea completed the ratification process, according to the labor ministry.







The conventions  No. 29 on forced labor, No. 87 on freedom of association and protection of the right to organize and No. 98 on the right to organize and collective bargaining  will now have the same legal status as domestic laws, according to the ministry.







The implementation is not expected to bring a huge change as the country amended related labor laws, including the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act and the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Teachers' Unions, in line with the conventions in July of last year.







But observers say confusion could arise over differences between domestic laws and the ILO conventions.







The revised labor laws still do not fully meet the international labor standard, such as prohibition on the creation of labor unions of self-employed people or freelancers, defined as "non-workers" by law, a report from the Judicial Policy Research Institute showed.







The ILO convention on the freedom of association stipulates workers, without any distinction, have the right to establish labor unions.







On Tuesday, the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) said there are concerns that problems between labor and management may become a global issue because of the ILO conventions and negatively affect South Korean companies while increasing the possibility of trade disputes.







On the other hand, labor activists called for further amendment of labor laws to reduce the disparity with the conventions. (Yonhap)


When you get home after work do you hang up your coat, put down your bag and kick off your shoes? Or do you skip that last part, preferring to stay shod rather than get out the slippers?

Following a report by scientists proving that the soles of our shoes can carry all manner of nasty organisms into the house, this particular point of etiquette is a hotter topic than ever  especially when it comes to having guests over.

For some there's no greater insult than being asked to de-shoe at the door, while others hate having road residue tramped through their immaculate halls, or fear a stiletto heel will damage their expensive floors.

So who is right  the shoesoff brigade or the shoes-on crowd? Five brilliant writers argue their case, and an etiquette expert gives her verdict.

Stephen Webster (pictured) is very firm on his views on the matter and 'horrified' by the thought of dirty shoes traipsing through his home

Shoes off, slippers on: no discussion

Stephen Webster, society jeweller

Should a visitor be in any doubt about what to do when they arrive at my home, there's a rug at the door spelling it out  quite literally.

It reads 'shoes off' in block capitals.

That means any and all shoes: wellies, trainers, flip flops, designer heels  off.

Precious? Hardly. Along with my wife, Assia, I just happen to be baffled  I'll admit, horrified  by the idea of people tootling about my lovely clean home in shoes that have only recently bounced through puddles, muddy verges and possibly worse.

So it's rather cheering to learn that there is now some scientific back-up for our view that whatever is lingering on the soles of your shoes is best left at the front door.

To be fair, I arrived at this robust footwear stance later in life, although even growing up in Gravesend in the Sixties the notion of 'shoes off' was, if not instilled, certainly inherently understood.

And while I don't remember my mum being a stickler for the notion, she would definitely have had something to say if she saw either me or my brother head upstairs with our plimsolls on.

Were you raised in a house that let guests wear shoes or asked to take them off? (stock image)

To be honest, I didn't give the subject much thought until I met Assia 26 years ago. She's from Russia, where taking your shoes off is part of the culture, as I discovered when I visited the home of one of her friends and, for the first time, encountered a rack just inside the front door on which to put my shoes  and slippers alongside it by way of exchange.

Now, I'm resolute. Why would anyone ever wear their dirty outdoor shoes, indoors? It's not fussiness, just simple hygiene.

Through my work as a bespoke jeweller, I know that this 'shoes off' policy is shared around the world: in most of Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, a refusal to do so is a sign of disrespect.

At the offices of my gem dealers in Thailand, I even take my shoes off on the street, lining them up alongside the others.

Here in the UK of course, the whole issue is more complicated, riven with anxieties about etiquette, class and embarrassment. I have friends who seem mortified that I have taken my shoes off inside their home, clearly wondering if I think they're uptight. But I would do it anyway.

Besides, I see taking your shoes off as a lovely symbol of welcome, of shedding the world outside.

Either way, as our doormat makes clear, there are no concessions. Chez Webster, whether our visitors are rock stars  we've had members of Duran Duran, Bon Jovi and the Sex Pistols over our threshold  or women who feel incomplete without a pair of towering heels, there are no exemptions. Not even for Louboutins.

Some friends now come furnished with their own slippers  and although we have had a bit of resistance from first-time guests over the years, it only lasts as long as it takes for Assia to pop a glass of vodka in their hand and point firmly at our basket of spare slippers.

'Make yourself at home,' she tells them. Really, what could be a nicer welcome than that?

Esther Walker (pictured) is reasonably flexible when it comes to wearing shoes in the house, sometimes having a pair on while on the ground floor of her home but not upstairs

Take some house booties with you . . .

Esther Walker, writer

My mum, who is an artist, thought that dirt was healthy, so I grew up in a pretty messy house.

She had no rules about shoes off or shoes on, you did what you liked.

In my own house, while I'm more fastidious than my mum (I think it's good for you, but only up to a point), I can't say I can bring myself to mind too much about shoes.

My children automatically take theirs off as soon as they get home, flinging them in opposite corners of the hallway or kicking them under the sofa.

I take mine off before I go upstairs but, yes, I probably wear my shoes around the ground floor. Is that terrible?

I've never had to consider whether I want, say, a plumber to remove their boots before they go upstairs to fix the boiler, because I've never met one who didn't immediately take them off without being asked.

But I do think there is something very odd about arriving for a party, then being asked to take off your party shoes. They're part of the outfit!

At the very least, they should warn you when they issue the invitation.

If they don't, you could take your lead from my friend who always travels with a pair of house booties, 'just in case'.

Claudia Connell (pictured) likes to keep her home clean but could 'never dream' of asking guests to take their shoes off

Hot, sticky, bare feet disgust me

Claudia Connell, writer

A week of meal replacement shakes meant my little black dress zipped up first time. My newly highlighted hair had been blowdried and I applied my make-up with extra care.

To complete my sophisticated cocktail party look, I sported bare feet with week-old chipped nail polish and heels in desperate need of an aggressive session with a pumice stone.

That wasn't my plan, of course. I left my house wearing black Russell & Bromley heels, but they were confiscated at the door. Why? Because the party hostess was one of those wretched people who insists that guests remove their footwear before they cross her threshold.

'It's to protect the wooden floors. You don't mind, do you?' I did mind (and the floors were laminate). But everyone else was shoe-less and I didn't want to make a scene. I was wearing nude shoe-liners but they'd have looked even more ridiculous had I kept them on.

Sipping champagne in my bare feet while making small talk was awkward and embarrassing. I didn't stay long as I didn't want to have to use the bathroom. Who wants to be barefoot in someone else's loo?

Being asked to take your shoes off when you visit someone is becoming increasingly common, with house-proud homeowners caring more about their flooring than the comfort of their guests.

It's all very well, but when I visit people's homes I've generally walked from my door to the car and then to their door. No traipsing through muddy fields and cow pats. I always wipe my feet carefully and if I honestly thought my shoes were filthy, then I would slip them off.

Some even offer guests slippers to put on at the door. But unless they're buying a brand-new pair for every visitor then the idea turns my stomach. How many other hot, sticky feet have been in those slippers before me?

It hasn't happened to me yet, but there are some hosts who allow people to keep their shoes on  provided they slip those plastic covers that look like shower caps over them. Hang on a minute. Am I having a cup of tea, a biscuit and a gossip . . . or appearing in an episode of Silent Witness?

I'm always amused when the 'shoes off' homes have pet dogs. Dogs dribble and moult and drag their bottoms across the floor. I don't. What do they imagine their dogs are walking in when they let them off the lead? I can guarantee my soles are more hygienic than their mutts' paws.

There was one dinner party where the hosts had gone to great trouble with the food and table decoration. But I couldn't take any of it in, because all I could focus on was my feet not coming into contact with the bare feet of the person sitting next to me.

When it comes to my own home, I'm obsessively clean and tidy. But I'd never dream of telling guests to take their shoes off. If mud gets on the wooden floor, I'll wipe it off. If it gets on the stair carpet then I'll let it dry and whip out the Dyson.

If you care more about your carpet then your visitor's comfort, then don't have people over. Feet are ugly. Stains can be removed from flooring but I can't wipe clean the image of someone's hairy toes and yellow nails from my mind.

Libby Purves (pictured) is of the belief that the declining popularity of doormats is leading to more people asking guests to take their shoes off

Buy yourself a doormat (or two)

Libby Purves, broadcaster

Of all the investments you make in your home, among the greatest is the doormat. Ideally, two doormats, a tough bristly one outside (in the hallway if it's a flat), with a metal bootscraper in the country. Then a miraculously absorbent one beyond, to suck out all remaining moisture (Turtle Mats are great, and no, I have never had a free one, this is honest journalism).

On top of that provision, one vital lesson to instil in children  and, if necessary, partners and regular friends  is the art of wiping your feet. Not a quick, token dancefloor shuffle, but fierce, pressurised movement back and forth on the outer bristles. Then a swish on the Turtle.

Within the sacred domestic space you should be almost able to eat your dinner off the soles of everyone's shoes.

Frankly, I blame the decline of the British doormat for this fashion for demanding that every visitor goes shoeless beyond the hall, as if in an Eastern temple. Taking wellington boots off is reasonable, though it is polite to offer slippers instead.

Any decent soul will comply with the anxiety of those householders who do insist on ordinary street shoes being removed, fiddly laces and all, but it is not a hospitable necessity. And can lead to embarrassing sock-hole-toe moments, or very cold bare feet.

If you have acres of white fluffy carpet in one room, just keep the dirty-beast visitors out of it if you must.

If you have a baby crawling everywhere, remember what our grannies would say: you eat a peck of dirt before you die (a peck, by the way, is about 16 pints).

Kathy Lette asks her guests to take their shoes off, but not only for 'physical comfort' but also for the 'social ease'

Put your barest foot forward

Kathy Lette, novelist

Men are so much luckier than women. Not only do they not have to give birth, but they only require three pairs of shoes for their whole adult lives.

During a recent spring-clean I was amazed to discover that I own 58 pairs of shoes  and as I'm only 5ft 3in, most of the heels are high.

I was once invited to a party to honour Al Pacino. Desperate to impress, I wore my highest shoes.

But the razor-thin heel kept catching in the thick shag pile carpet, meaning I was reduced to walking like a dressage horse so as not to trip over.

The Hollywood star was already casting dubious looks in my direction when I suddenly succumbed to gravity and toppled face-forward onto the floor before him.

So this current trend for hostesses encouraging guests to remove their shoes is a blessed relief for me.

Not just for the physical comfort, but also for the social ease.

Kicking off shoes lowers the tone. Staid women suddenly start dancing, as barefoot bopping won't lead to bunions.

Toffs who normally send their shirts out to be stuffed casually stretch bare tootsies across coffee tables.

It's also interesting anthropologically. What I've noticed is that the better dressed a man is, the more holes in his socks, while more humble fellas' hosiery is clean and pristine.

The same goes for women. The more posh the frock  the more flaky the pedicure; the more plain the smock, the more polished the toes.

I'm now suggesting all my guests cast off their shoes and just put their best feet forward.

The etiquette expert's verdict

Liz Wyse, editor of Debrett's Etiquette

If you're too proud of your wall-to-wall white carpet or polished boards to allow shoes inside, send a subtle signal by greeting guests in slippers or socked feet.

A reasonably observant guest should note the prevailing shoes-free culture and volunteer to remove their own footwear.

If your guest remains oblivious, you can always soften the blow with a rueful apology: 'I'm sorry, I know I'm completely obsessed with the carpet (rugs/floor), but would you mind taking off your shoes? I make everyone do it!'

As for guests: always be prepared to remove your shoes in other people's houses.

That means ensuring that your feet are shod in respectable-looking socks or tights (no holes visible), that are clean and sweet-smelling.

If you are appalled by the idea of spending an evening in an unshod state, why not slip a pair of fold-up slippers or delicate ballet flats into your handbag?
A woman has fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming a mother after a text out of the blue from a distant relative, asking if she'd be interested in adopting her baby.

Kris Monsour, from Canal Winchester, Ohio, now 51, spent more than ten years trying for children and suffered two miscarriages before deciding to adopt a newborn baby.

Kris was 49 when she and her husband adopted Ainsley, now two, in March 2020, and spent $19,000 on the process.

Kris Monsour, from Canal Winchester, Ohio, now 51, fulfilled her lifelong dream and become a mother for the first time at 49 after spending more than $19,000 on adoption. Pictured: In hospital with her daughter Ainsley, who was born to a distant relative

Kris, 51, and Clay, 47, pictured with Ainsley, are not worried about their age because they say that a long life is never guaranteed no matter how young or old you are

Ainsley wearing her adoption tshirt. The couple adopted her in November 2020, after being approached by a distant relative who was pregnant

The executive insurance director said: 'During my first marriage, I really wanted children, but I suffered a miscarriage at 38.

'My ex-partner and I discussed IVF and other routes, but never went ahead with the process as our marriage ended up falling apart due to it being quite toxic.

'When I met my current husband, Clay, 47, I got pregnant very quickly, but lost the baby at the three-month mark.

'A doctor ended up basically telling me that I should just stop trying and that I was never going to be a mother.

When Kris met her current husband, Clay (pictured with Ainsley) she got pregnant very quickly, but sadly lost the baby at the three-month mark

Ainsley just after being born: Her adoptive parents spent more than $19,000 on legal fees and other expenses during the 'longwinded' process

For seven years, the desire to become a mother never left Kris' mind, and she often found herself holding out hope that there may still be a chance

When one afternoon in 2019, a distant relative text out of the blue to see if Kris and Clay, an entrepreneur, were still interested in having children and whether they would consider adoption. Now they are proud parents to Ainsley (pictured with Kris)

Kris made the decision that they were going to adopt because it felt 'absolutely right' at the time

'It was a huge gut punch, but I was determined to focus on my job.'

For seven years, the desire to become a mother never left Kris' mind, and she often found herself holding out hope that there may still be a chance.

Then one afternoon in 2019, a distant relative texted out of the blue to see if Kris and Clay, an entrepreneur, were still interested in having children and whether they would consider adoption.

Kris added: 'We made the decision that we were going to do it, it absolutely felt right.

'We adopted from the family member who reached out, as a kinship, although they don't want to be named.

They were there for the ultrasound, and at the hospital when she was born, Kris even got to cut the cord (Ainsley's ultrasound)

The couple left the hospital with Ainsley, and they brought her home before they officially adopted her in March 2020

Bonding moment: Clay and Ainsley catching some sleep during Daddy-daughter nap time

Clay, pictured feeding Ainsley. Overall adoption process cost the couple about $19,500 altogether but they have been inundated with support from their extended relatives and friends

The couple were there every step of the way during the pregnancy and the birth of little Ainsley

'We were there every step of the way during the pregnancy and the birth.

'We were there for the ultrasound, and at the hospital when she was born, I even got to cut the cord.

'We left the hospital with Ainsley, and we officially adopted her in March 2020.

'The process was longwinded as there were lots of legal fees and we had to pay social services to come and do checks.

'So the overall adoption process cost about $19,500 altogether..'

Kris received backlash on social media from trolls stating that she is too old to be a mother and that she will die before seeing Ainsley's biggest milestones

Kris said all of her extended family and close relatives have welcomed Ainsley with open arms, and she has 'so much love around her'

Kris' little family has been inundated with support from her extended relatives and friends.

But she has had backlash on social media from trolls stating that she is too old to be a mother and that she will die before seeing Ainsley's biggest milestones.

'All of my extended family and close relatives have welcomed Ainsley with open arms, and we love the fact she's got so much love around her.

'As she grows up, we hope to explain to her in an age-appropriate way that she has been adopted.

After Kris shared her story on TikTok she had a lot of trolls saying that she wasn't suitable to be a mother because of her age

On social media people said that Kris was too old to be a mother and that she was being selfish by adopted a baby

Kris said she does have some worries that she won't see some of Ainsley's achievements, but they are taking everything one day at a time

'I shared my story via TikTok and had a lot of trolls come out of nowhere saying that I wasn't suitable to be a mother, that I was too old, that I was being selfish.

'I've never seen it that way and know that a long life is never guaranteed no matter how young or old you are.

'I do have some worries that I won't see some of Ainsley's achievements, but we're taking everything one day at a time, and trying to live and thrive within every moment.

Kris shares her experiences with motherhood through TikTok and donates all her social media earnings to a charity close to her heart called the Fairfield Foster Closet which provides clothes to foster children and adopted kids for free.

A proud day! Clay, Ainsley and Kris finalising the adoption at the court house in November 2020
The Princess Royal and the Duchess of Cambridge are set to visit two midwife organisations next week together, in a rare joint public engagement.

The Princess Royal, 71, is the Patron of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) while the Duchess of Cambridge, 40, is the Patron of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' (RCOG).

In 2018, The Duchess became the patron of the RCOG and the Princess Royal has been patron of the RCM for 20 years, with both their roles previously held by the Queen Mother.

The duo will visit the RCM and RCOG's London headquarters for what will be their first ever joint engagement as a duo. The pair have only ever carried out public engagements as part of a family group.

The Princess Royal, 71, is the Patron of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) while the Duchess of Cambridge, 40, is the Patron of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)

They will hear about how the two organisations are working together to ensure women are receiving the best and safest care possible.

The Princess Royal and The Duchess of Cambridge are part of the 'New Firm' established by the Queen.

It includes The Princess Royal, The Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex who will work together more closely in-person and virtually.

The 'New Firm' was established after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they were stepping back from their roles as senior royals.

In next week's rare joint engagement, the duo will visit the RCM and RCOG's London headquarters

At next Wednesday's visit, The Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess Royal will also meet representatives from Tommy's National Centre for Maternity Improvement and learn about digital tools being used to support women with higher risk pregnancies.

The duo will also speak to representatives from the Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) collaboration about the development of a national approach for the monitoring and safety of fetal wellbeing during labour.

There will also be a roundtable discussion during the visit, where The Princess Royal and The Duchess of Cambridge with experts from the sector and new mothers.

The discussion will centre on measures being taken to tackle the inequalities in maternity care.

And The Princess Royal and The Duchess of Cambridge will meet RCM award recipients to congratulate them on their achievements and inspiring work.

Their rare joint engagement comes as Princess Anne remains one of the hardest working royals, taking on 148 official engagements in 2020.

The Duchess of Cambridge and The Princess Royal also share one of the same royal titles- The Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO), which was given to them by the Queen to highlight their service to the Royal Family.

The duo also attended many of the Olympic events together in 2012 and were pictured on a boat.

The Duchess of Cambridge is also preparing to visit the London Headquarters of the Disasters Emergency Committee with Prince William to learn more about the work being done to support people affected by the Ukraine conflict

The Duchess of Cambridge is also preparing to visit the London Headquarters of the Disasters Emergency Committee with Prince William to learn more about the work being done to support people affected by the Ukraine conflict.

The couple will visit the London headquarters of the organisation to learn more about its Ukraine appeal.

Disasters Emergency Committee's appeal has raised more than 280 million, which includes the 25 million matched by the Government.

There have been donations from companies, trusts, arts institutions, community groups, schools and individuals.

The royal couple will be able to speak to recently returned aid workers and speak to those on the ground in Ukraine to learn more about the work the funds are helping to support and the human impact of the conflict.
Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle brand goop has partnered with Celebrity Cruises for a nine-day $5,000 sail around the Med.

Goop at Sea will set sail through the Italian Riviera and France from September 24, aiming to promote all-around wellness, with offerings like workouts and mindfulness sessions on board Celebrity Beyond.

Gwyneth, 49, serves as Celebritys Well-being Advisor, curating exclusive holistic wellness programming and products for passengers.

Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle brand goop has partnered with Celebrity Cruises for a 9-day $5,000 sail around the Med

According to the goop Instagram page people can enjoy 'A conversation with @gwynethpaltrow and a top wellness expert.'

Also on offer will be 'interactive practitioner-led sessions focused on enhancing the mind, body and soul.

'Exclusive pop up experiences including tasting, product trials, massages and more.'

Many can also look forward to 'goop-curated gifts and surprises'

Goop at Sea will set sail through the Italian Riviera and France from September 24, aiming to promote all-around wellness

The cruise is offering workouts, daily yoga and mindfulness sessions on board Celebrity Beyond

According to a press release on the Celebrity Cruise website it said: 'Prepare for the ultimate getaway.

'Guests of The Retreat will have the opportunity to experience goop at Sea, an exclusive wellness journey curated by goop.

'goops founder and CEO, Gwyneth Paltrow and some of goops favorite practitioners will host interactive sessions to enhance your mind, body and soul.

'Plus, youll receive a variety of wellness-focused perks and surprises throughout your cruise. Space is limited, so book now to reserve your spot.'

Gwyneth, 49, serves as Celebritys Well-being Advisor, curating exclusive holistic wellness programming and products for passengers

According to the goop Instagram page people can enjoy 'a conversation with @gwynethpaltrow and a top wellness expert'

The cruise itinerary reads: 'Shop on Barcelona's most famous street, Las Ramblas, and visit the amazing Sagrada Familia before you come aboard.

'Go on a kayaking adventure at Cote Bleue in Provence, and discover the incredible art, architecture and culture there.

'Relax on the French Riviera's breathtaking beaches, and fall in love with Tuscany's beautiful wine country.

'Take a ferry to Capri, and explore one of Italys most exclusive islands. When in Rome, admire the Sistine Chapel's exquisitely beautiful ceilings.'

The ship, Celebrity Beyond, sets sail from Barcelona, Spain on September 24, 2022.

The Shakespeare In Love Oscar winner started goop as a lifestyle newsletter in 2008 and it has since evolved into a website which offers lifestyle advice, wellness summits, and goods and fashion for sale (pictured in 2017)

Gwyneth and some of goops favorite practitioners will host interactive sessions to enhance 'your mind, body and soul'

Paltrow's partnership with Celebrity Cruises was originally announced in January 2020 with sailing dates planned for the following summer.

But the cruise industry shut down when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

On the Celebrity Cruises website, there's a section titled goop at sea and includes details of how guests who book a luxury suite on board Celebrity Beyond can take advantage of 'mind', 'body' and 'soul' sessions sourced by the goop team.

The Shakespeare In Love Oscar winner started goop as a lifestyle newsletter in 2008.

It has since evolved into a website which offers lifestyle advice, wellness summits, and goods and fashion for sale, as well as a Netflix series.
A mother whose daughter tragically died after a year-long battle with a rare form of cancer has revealed she's going to parliament to fulfil the 10-year-old's bucket list.

During an appearance on ITV's This Morning, Charlotte Fairall, from Stubbington, Hampshire, explained that she didn't know what the symptoms of cancer were before her daughter Sophie was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma - a rare type of cancer that forms in children's soft tissue - in September 2020.

She said Sophie had been having consistent stomach pains, nausea and abnormal bleeding that are 'real red flags', but doctors suggested the symptoms could be her period.

As she began treatment, Sophie created a bucket list with the aim of creating greater awareness of cancer symptoms, more toys in hospitals and better foods for people visiting their loved ones in hospital.

The House of Commons debate on childhood cancer outcomes being held tomorrow will be the first time the subject has been discussed in parliament.

Charlotte Fairall, from Stubbington, Hampshire, reflected on the death of her daughter Sophie (both pictured) ahead of going to parliament

Charlotte said Sophie (pictured) had been a 'happy' child, before complaining of being unwell around July 2020

Charlotte (pictured) said Sophie's stomach pains, nausea and abnormal bleeding became consistent in August 2020

Charlotte explained that going to parliament next week is her way of fulfilling Sophie's final wishes.

The mother-of-three's appearance on the daytime show comes just months after she and Sophie visited the set to tick off an item from her bucket list before her death.

Presenter Holly Willoughby admitted that she felt 'lucky' to have had the opportunity to speak to Sophie.

Charlotte said: 'She was really positive, happy, always had a smile on her face. Very friendly, bubbly, full of life. She would light a room up and lots of people have said you wouldn't have forgotten her if you met her.

'She was just that sort of character.'

Charlotte revealed that Sophie began complaining about feeling unwell around July 2020, saying: 'She was complaining of stomach pains, feeling sick and struggling to eat in the morning when she woke up.

'That was on and off from July and more consistent in August. She started bleeding and we had seen the GP before that, but was told it was other things.

Charlotte told presenters Philip Schofield and Holly Willougby (pictured left) that she previously didn't know the symptoms of childhood cancer

What is rhabdomyosarcoma? Rhabdomyosarcoma is a type of soft tissue sarcoma (tumour). Fewer than 60 children are diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma in the UK each year. Most of them are younger than 10 years old. It is more common in boys than girls. Source: NHS Advertisement

'You hear that childhood cancer is rare, so as a parent you think if it's rare it's never going to happen to us.

'You think of all the other signs and symptoms, and think, "Oh it will be other things". Now I know it's one in 450 children that get childhood cancer I would've probably been different.

'She had some of the real red flags. Abnormal bleeding is definitely a red flag, stomach pain and consistent pains in the stomach was another one, and that feeling of nausea.

'We know all children feel sick but it's the persistence of it. Those were all flags but I didn't know the signs and symptoms.

'I asked lots of people, "Do you know if your child had cancer, would you know the signs and symptoms to look out for?".'

Sophie had initially hidden the bleeding, which began while staying with her grandparents for summer, because she felt embarrassed.

Presenter Philip Schofield told viewers how Charlotte took Sophie to A&E after being unhappy with her GP diganosis.

Charlotte continued: 'They asked me in the hospital, "How long has she had this lump for?" and I said "What lump?".

Charlotte said a 12cm tumour was found in Sophie's abdomen once taken to A&E, after her GP misdiagnosed her symptoms

'They found a 12cm tumour in her abdomen. Abdomen is quite a tricky area to locate.'

Philip admitted that he could not 'imagine how horrific' it would have been to see Sophie rushed into surgery.

Because covid, mother and daughter had to spend weeks away from Charlotte's other two daughters and Sophie's dad Gareth.

Charlotte said: 'They said to me it's cancer and they've managed to remove 95 per cent of the tumour but they couldn't remove it all, so then we started treatment with chemo.

'She was quite adamant that they were going to make her better. She kept saying '"Doctors make you better and I know they will for me".

'She just had that positive outlook all the way through. She painted ceramics while in hospital because she wanted more toys and activities.

'So she raised 6,000 selling ceramics.'

Charlotte said Sophie didn't want to be left alone and would question why she was being fed by the hospital

Charlotte revealed making a change for other families who have a child with cancer was the most important thing on Sophie's bucket list.

The life plan was written after Sophie underwent several surgeries, chemotherapy and radiotherapy but relapsed.

'She wanted parents to be fed and kept saying to me, "Why aren't you being fed mum, you're here and don't have a choice to be here. You're here because I'm ill, why are they not feeding you?".

'She just couldn't understand that,' Charlotte said.

Charlotte explained that the 10-year-old didn't want to be left alone, and so she didn't leave her side to get meals.

'I know there's parents out there right now who won't be eating because they won't be able to leave or they actually can't afford to eat in hospital,' she added.

Charlotte revealed what she hopes to achieve by going to parliament, saying: 'We want the way children are diagnosed quicker. A lot of children are diagnosed stage three and four.

Charlotte said she's going to parliament to campaign for quicker diagnosis of childhood cancer and a national campaign to raise awareness of symptoms

'They need to be diagnosed quicker, we know that the outcome if they are diagnosed earlier is better.

'We want a national campaign of the signs and symptoms of childhood cancer, so that the public are aware, alongside training for GPs and nurse practitioners, because once they qualify there is no current course on childhood cancer that they can access. There's a huge loophole in that.'

Charlotte admitted that she was surprised by the massive amount of people who watched Sophie's funeral online after her death on 18th September.

A tiara that Holly Willoughby previously gave Sophie was placed on top of her coffin.

Charlotte said her other daughters Amelia and Lucy are struggling with the loss following Sophie's funeral on 18th September

Charlotte explained that they had started writing a blog to keep their friends and family updated on what was happening but it spiraled much bigger.

Charlotte said: 'It gave us comfort. When I asked her about the blog, she said, "Yes, I want to be famous", and she got that but it felt for the wrong reason.

'I don't want any parent to be in our position to have to sit and watch their child die, knowing if research had happened and investment been put in for cancer.

'There has been so little change in sarcomas and brain tumours in decades and this has to start changing.'

Charlotte revealed her daughters Amelia, nine, and Lucy, 15, are struggling with the loss of Sophie.

'Amelia is probably struggling the most outwardly, it's a hard thing seeing your sister there and then they die and you live,' she added.

Viewers admitted they were 'heartbroken' by the segment as they tweeted words of comfort for Charlotte.

One person wrote: 'It's unimaginable that a 10-year-old has a bucket list. Sophie sounds like she was a wonderful little girl.'

Another said: 'To the mum talking on #ThisMornng about her beautiful daughter's fatal cancer: You and your daughter are absolute superstars. The best of luck on Tuesday in parliament.'
The Duchess of Cornwall 'threw out a hand of friendship' to Meghan Markle and 'helped' when she was having a 'difficult time' with her father, a royal expert has claimed.

In recent months, reports have emerged Duchess of Sussex, 40, who is currently living in her $14 million mansion in California having stepped back from royal duty last year, never saw eye-to-eye with Camilla.

However Vanity Fair's Katie Nicholl has now revealed how the 'family-orientated' Duchess of Cornwall attempted to help Meghan during her time as a senior royal.

An insider speaking to the royal expert commented: '[The Duchess] she threw a hand of friendship out to Harry and Meghan at various points. When Meghan was going through a difficult time with her own father, Camilla helped navigate things.'

The Duchess of Cornwall 'threw out a hand of friendship' to Meghan Markle and 'helped' when she was having a 'difficult time' with her father, sources told Vanity Fair's Katie Nicholl

They continued: 'It was Camilla who told Charles that walking Meghan up the aisle was the right thing to do.

'Shes a very family-oriented woman, and she really wanted to help.'

Camilla's own family was described by Nicholl as her 'nucleus', who said her 'family first motto' has rubbed off on Prince Charles.

Sources explained how the Duchess of Cornwall had been 'instrumental' in trying to help heal the 'fractured relationship' between the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry.

An insider speaking to Vanity Fair said 'family-orientated' Camilla has reached out to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at 'various points'

One insider added: 'I know that Camilla did her best and was a tremendous sounding post and support for Charles, who was deeply troubled.'

The comments have emerged after Princess Diana's biographer Tina Brown claimed the Duke of Sussex 'can't stand' Camilla and might deepen his rift with the royal family by 'going after' her and Prince Charles in his upcoming memoirs.

Speaking to the Telegraph Magazine ahead of the release of her new book, The Palace Papers, Brown, 68, said the Duke had never made his peace with Prince Charles and Camilla's relationship, and does not want Camilla to become Queen.

Meanwhile royal biographer Tom Bower has also claimed Meghan was branded 'that minx' by the Duchess of Cornwall, who thought she was 'a self-seeking troublemaker'.

The source said Camilla 'helped navigate things' when Meghan was going through a difficult time with her own father

The commentator, who is currently working on a biography of Meghan, has said Camilla was long 'suspicious' of the Duchess' intentions.

Earlier this year, he told The Sun the duo never got along, explaining: '[Camilla] found it hard to believe that Meghan would sacrifice her career and independence to serve silently as a team player devoted to the monarchy.'

However he added that the Duchess remained 'tight lipped' about her dislike for Meghan.

Tom said that Camilla acted as a 'comfort' to Prince Charles after the Sussexes gave a series of explosive interviews last year.

He added: 'During those inevitably endless, tortured and inconclusive conversations, Camilla is the sort who would refer to Meghan as 'that minx'  the self-seeking trouble- maker whose antics will always end in tears.'

Meanwhile the royal biographer suggested the Duke and Duchess' silence over the Queen's declaration that Camilla would one day by Queen Consort was 'Meghans way of declaring war.'
Princess Leonor of Spain proved she has inherited her parents' penchant for important discussions as she carried out an engagement by herself today.

The royal, 16, presided over a conference on youth and cybersecurity - marking another official outing without her mother Queen Letizia, 49 and father King Felipe VI, 54.

For the occasion, organised by the National Institute of Cybersecurity (INCIBE), she chose a simple embroidered floral white blouse and some light pink jeans.

Spain's Crown Princess Leonor attended a conference on youth and cybersecurity titled 'Enjoy the Internet Safely' at Julio Verne high school in Leganes, Madrid

The outing was a solo excursion which she attended without her parents, Queen Letizia and King Felipe VI

An exciting day! The young royal looked confident as she arrived at the conference and was greeted by officials

The conference, dedicated to youth and cybersecurity, was titled 'Enjoy the Internet Safely' and was held at Julio Verne high school in Leganes, Madrid, Spain.

Princess Leonor cut a stylish figure in the light pink cropped jeans, which she coordinated with a pair of understated white lace-up plimsols.

The heir to the throne wore her blonde locks in a simple middle parting style which cascaded past her shoulders, and opted for no jewellery.

Looking confident, the teenager was perfectly poised as she talked with attendants during the conference and waved to the panel as she was addressed.

For the occasion the heir to the throne wore her long blonde tresses in a loose style that cascaded over her shoulders

Leonor seemed in high spirits as she talked with attendants during the conference and smiled with the audience

The royal teen chose an embroidered white blouse for the occasion which she paired with light pink jeans a white plimsolls

Princess Leonor later took part in a round table discussion with several other students during the conference.

Her solo outing comes after her first joint outing with sister, Sofia of Spain, 14, last July, when they took part in 'A Tree For Europe' campaign.

They planted trees in the protected forest area of Hayedo de Montejo in Madrid, along with around 35 other teenagers aged between 14 and 16.

The event was part of the A Tree For Europe initiative, made in honour of World Environment Day.

They two royals were tasked with planting a tree in an already-made pit while their group mates poured soil in to the hole and watered the plant.

Crown Princess Leonor took part in a round table with several students during the conference on youth and cybersecurity

Beaming! Leonor was all smiles as she left the conference and talked with an official of the event

Princess Leonore is currently back in Spain on her half term break from her boarding school in Wales.

Dubbed Hippie Hogwarts, UWC Atlantic College, based at the 12th century St Donat's Castle on the country's south coast, has played host to a parade of European royals, including Princess Elisabeth of Belgium and King Willem Alexander of The Netherlands.

Leonore began her two-year 67,000 course in the summer of 2021.

Much to discuss! The teen royal talked with other students who attended the conference about online security

Leonor smiled for photos as she left the conference, while wearing a high waisted pair of pink jeans

Princess Leonor obtained admission to the school anonymously, taking several tests before being accepted, the royal household said.

Leonor, who already speaks five languages, has become her father's 'hand-right girl,' taking to her royal duties with 'enormous eagerness,' according to King Felipe.

Having grown up in the spotlight since her father inherited the throne from King Juan Carlos in 2014, she's learned to keep calm under pressure and has already adopted the polished style of her royal mother, Queen Letizia.

Just like her father, who first spoke publicly as a young prince in 1981, she made her first public speech at just 13 at an event marking the 40th anniversary of the Spanish constitution in 2018.
The Queen has arrived at her beloved late husband's home at Sandringham ahead of her 96th birthday tomorrow.

The monarch travelled by helicopter from Windsor Castle to the Norfolk estate and will stay at Wood Farm  the 'modest' farmhouse that Prince Philip made his home following his retirement from public life  until early next week.

It is expected she will be visited by family and friends over the next few days to celebrate her birthday in a typically 'low-key' way.

It comes after an eventful Easter break that saw the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit her at Windsor.

Quiet celebrations: The Queen has arrived at her beloved late husband's home at Sandringham ahead of her 96th birthday tomorrow. Pictured, the Queen arriving at Wood Farm

A royal homecoming: The Queen was driven from the helicopter through the gates of Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate. She will remain in Norfolk for several days

Leaving Windsor: The Queen travelled to the Norfolk estate by helicopter this morning

Fond memories: The Queen will stay at Wood Farm  the 'modest' farmhouse that Prince Philip made his home following his retirement from public life  until early next week. Pictured, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in a photo released to mark his 99th birthday in June 2020

Harry has said his grandmother was 'on great form' when they met before he and wife Meghan travelled to Holland for the Invictus Games.

But he pointedly added he wanted to make sure she was 'protected' and had 'the right people around her', but did not elaborate in the NBC's Today show interview whether he was referring to palace aides or the royal family.

While in Norfolk, the Queen is likely to spend time visiting her Royal Stud and being driven around her 20,000-acre estate, which was extensively modernised by Philip and more recently Prince Charles, who has taken over its running.

Buckingham Palace is not planning any kind of major public engagement to mark her birthday but there will be tributes from family members and the organisations she has been involved with.

Getting away: The Queen left Windsor Castle this morning, pictured, after an eventful Easter break that included a visit from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex

Time for reflection: The Queen, seen leaving Windsor, will spend time at Home Farm on the Norfolk estate. She previously joined Prince Philip there in his retirement

Her short holiday will be taken as an encouraging sign given her recent health and mobility issues which have seen her forced to pull out of a string of engagements.

She has no major confirmed engagements in her diary and is not even sure what events to mark her Platinum Jubilee in June she will be in a position to commit to.

The Queen has strong emotional ties to Sandringham, which was adored by her late father George VI.

She would often join the Duke of Edinburgh, who lived at the farmhouse from 2017 after retiring, enjoying quiet time away from the spotlight as a relatively ordinary married couple.

Fastest route: The Queen's helicopter could be seen taking off above Windsor Castle today

Taking flight: The helicopter above Windsor Castle as the Queen made the journey to Norfolk

The prince lived in the five-bedroom property, which he modernised and added a new kitchen to, from 2017 after retiring from public life.

Although the arrangement seemed strange to some, the Queen felt strongly that her husband had earned his freedom and privacy after decades of dutiful royal service.

And it made the time they spent there all the more precious.

The Queen is the longest reigning British monarch in history and the longest serving female monarch in the world.
The latest US new anchor to interview Prince Harry is Hoda Kotb, the co-anchor of NBC's morning show Today, a former war correspondent and breast cancer survivor who has interviewed Oprah twice.

The Egyptian-American mother-of-two, 57, has been hosting the Today show with Savannah Guthrie since January 2018, when she was named as the replacement for disgraced on-air personality Matt Lauer, who was fired by NBC amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

Her promotion to anchor came after a 20-year career at NBC, which she began as a correspondent on Dateline, a role that saw her reporting from war-torn areas across the world, including Iraq and Burma, as well as covering major disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in South East Asia.

In her role as anchor and podcast host, she's interviewed dozens of A-listers, with recent interviews including Kim Kardashian, Bob Odenkirk and Oprah Winfrey.

The latest US new anchor to interview Prince Harry is Hoda Kotb, the co-anchor of NBC's morning show Today, a former war correspondent and breast cancer survivor who has interviewed Oprah twice

The Egyptian-American mother-of-two, 57, has been hosting the Today show with Savannah Guthrie (pictured together) since January 2018, when she was named as the replacement for disgraced on-air personality Matt Lauer, who was fired by NBC amid allegations of sexual misconduct

Her promotion to anchor came after a 20-year career at NBC, which she began as a correspondent on Dateline, a role that saw her reporting from war-torn areas across the world, including Iraq and Burma, as well as covering major disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in South East Asia. She is seen with Prince Harry

Speaking in October on Hoda's Making Space podcast, Oprah said he doesn't 'have a lot of friends' and has hardly 'expanded that circle' since meeting Gayle King and Maria Shriver more than four decades ago.

'So, I don't have a lot of friends. Everybody knows Gayle [King]. There's Gayle, there's Maria, there's Bob [Greene]. And that's  that's about it, you know?' Oprah said.

'Gayle and Maria I met around the same time,' she added. 'And I never really expanded that circle. Until recently, I've become friends with a couple of people in my later adult life, in the past five years.'

While Hoda's interview with Prince Harry is understood to mark the first time the two have spoken on-air, the Today anchor did spoke with Oprah again about her bombshell interview with the Sussexes last year - during which the couple made several explosive and damaging allegations about the royal family.

Two months after the March 2021 sent shockwaves around the world, Harry aired further accusations about his family in an Apple TV+ series about mental health, which he co-created with Winfrey.

In that show, the Duke accused his father, Prince Charles, of making him 'suffer' as a child and alleged that the royal family tried to silence him and Meghan.

In her role as anchor, she's interviewed dozens of A-listers, with recent interviews including Kim Kardashian, Bob Odenkirk and Oprah Winfrey. Pictured with Camilla Cabello

While Kotb's interview with Prince Harry is understood to mark the first time the two have spoken on-air, the Today anchor did spoke with Oprah again about her bombshell interview with the Sussexes last year - during which the couple made several explosive and damaging allegations about the royal family. She is pictured at the 50th annual Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame Awards gala earlier this month

When asked about the ramifications of both on-air appearances by Hoda, Winfrey defended the couple's decision to speak out, telling the Today anchor that the Sussexes 'deserve' to 'not be intruded and invaded upon', but claiming that this shouldn't mean they are unable to speak out about their experiences.

In his latest interview today, the Duke of Sussex told Hoda he talks with the Queen 'about things she can't talk about with anybody else

He also placed doubt over whether he would attend his grandmother's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London in June amid the ongoing security row with the UK's Home Office, adding: 'Home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it's in the States. And it feels that way as well.'

Harry also spoke about his mantra of 'trying to make the world a better place for my kids' while explaining his fears that he could face 'burnout' while working from home at his 11million mansion in Montecito, California.

He praised the Queen's 'sense of humour' and spoke of their 'really special relationship' following their surprise meeting at Windsor Castle last Thursday where he had tea with her and his wife Meghan Markle.

In 2007, Kotb was named as the host of Today's fourth hour - the morning show's most light-hearted segment. She is pictured interviewing Prince Harry

The award-winning journalist - who is a breast cancer survivor - has documented much of her own life on the fourth hour of the show, including her decision to adopt two daughters, her engagement to financier Joel Schiffman, and their recent split (pictured togehter)

In 2007, Hoda was named as the host of Today's fourth hour - the morning show's most light-hearted segment.

During the fourth hour, hosts are known to sip on wine while discussing a variety of lifestyle topics, opening up about their personal lives, and interviewing celebrities in soft sit-downs.

The award-winning journalist - who is a breast cancer survivor - has documented much of her own life on the fourth hour of the show, including her decision to adopt two daughters, her engagement to financier Joel Schiffman, and their recent split.

Hoda initially co-anchored the segment alongside Kathie Lee Gifford, who then was replaced by former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager - daughter of George W. Bush - in April 2019.

Kotb initially co-anchored the segment alongside Kathie Lee Gifford, who then was replaced by former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager - daughter of George W. Bush - in April 2019. She is pictured with her co-host Savannah Gutherie on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

Hoda Kotb celebrated Easter with her daughters, Haley (left) and Hope (right), and her mother, Sameha Kotb (centre). She shared photos from their weekend on Instagram on Sunday

Hoda adopted her two daughters with her ex-fiance Joel. This Easter marked the family's first major holiday since their breakup, where she shared snaps from the celebrations with her sister.

The journalist announced on the Today show on January 31 that she and Joel had split after eight years together, saying they were 'better as friends and parents' to their daughters.

Hoda revealed their relationship had come to an end after her co-host Jenna Bush Hager pointed out that she wasn't wearing her engagement ring on the show.

'Joel and I have had a lot of prayer and meaningful conversations over the holidays and we decided that we are better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple,' she said.

Hoda revealed it was her mother's birthday, and in a separate post, she shared a snapshot of Sameha right before she blew out the candles on her cake

The family was also joined by Hoda's sister, Hala Kotb (far left), who posed on the couch with them while they took a selfie

'So we decided we are going to start this new year on our new path as loving parents to our adorably delightful children and as friends.'

Hoda insisted there was no bad blood between them, saying: 'It's not like something happened. They say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason, a season or a lifetime, this was for a season.'

She admitted that it felt 'weird and awkward' to talk about it publicly, but she wanted to focus on the 'joyous moments' they had together.

'A lot of women know what this feels like to be changing course in life I feel really breathe in this moment which is a strange feeling to feel. Sometimes in your life, you have to say the truth,' she said.

Hoda and Joel met in 2013 at a book signing that he attended as a fan, and they hit it off right away. Afterward, they reconnected through someone who was running the event and eventually started dating. They went public with their relationship in 2015.

Hoda, who was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 42 years old, came out of treatment unable to conceive. She was originally nervous to bring up the topic of adoption with Schiffman, but she resolved to have the emotional conversation. She is pictured on the Today show

Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb are pictured on the Tonight Show - she's picked up plenty of A-list pals

In February 2017, they adopted baby girl Haley Joy, after the journalist spent years thinking that parenthood wasn't in the cards for her.

Hoda, who was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 42 years old, came out of treatment unable to conceive. She was originally nervous to bring up the topic of adoption with Schiffman, but she resolved to have the emotional conversation.

'I remember when I went to speak to Joel about it my heart was pounding. I think I was afraid of the answer, to be honest. But I knew I had to say something, I had to ask,' she exclusively told DailyMail.com in 2018.

'When I went to speak to him, he could tell there was something up, and I think he was just thinking, "What is happening?"'

When Kotb told him she wanted to pursue adoption with him, she made it clear that he should feel free to take as much time as he needed to ponder that possibility.

Hoda Kotb is pictured during a Today show segment in New York at Rockerfeller Plaza

The last photo Hoda shared of Joel on Instagram showed them toasting to the new year

'Take a day, a month, a year, whatever you need to think about it, and you can just let me know when you're ready,' she said, recounting the conversation. 'And he just looked at me and said, "I don't need a day."'

Hoda was overwhelmed by Joel's immediate commitment.

'I could have died,' she said. 'I was crying so hard, I soaked his T-shirt. It was incredible. And they have an amazing relationship.'

Two years later, they adopted their second baby girl, Hope Catherine.

Joel, a financier, proposed to Hoda in November 2019 while they were enjoying a romantic getaway in Mexico, but they had to cancel their wedding twice due to the pandemic.

The couple was supposed to say 'I do' in a beachside ceremony in Mexico in August 2020, but like many people that year, they had to postpone their nuptials because of COVID-19.

They then moved the wedding to November 2020  marking the one-year anniversary of their engagement  but that also had to be pushed back.

That same year, Hoda opened up about her and Schiffman's desire to adopt a third child together in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com.

'Sometimes I do think speaking something out loud sort of wills it into existence, weirdly,' she said of her wish to grow her family. 'You know, its almost like if you have a secret desire or dream you can even just whisper it. And if you do, theres a chance youre just giving it validity.

The former couple, who were together for eight years, adopted five-year-old Haley in 2017 and three-year-old Hope in 2019

Hoda shared the news of their split just weeks after they celebrated Christmas in matching pajamas with their daughters, as well as her mother and sister

'And, [then] again, you dont want to say something out loud because what if it doesnt happen. We dont know what will happen.

'I mean, we hope, we pray, we want it to, and we feel like we have enough love and room. You know, so far, our family is just getting better.'

However, nine months later, in July 2021, she revealed that the process was taking a lot longer than she expected. At the time, she said it was because of the pandemic.

'You know what's funny about the adoption stuff that's going on now? Apparently, it's really slow during this time, during COVID,' she said during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live. 'I thought that it would be a different game.'

Joel proposed to Hoda in November 2019 during a romantic getaway to Mexico. They had to postpone their nuptials twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic

When announcing their split on the Today show on January 31, Hoda explained that they are 'better as friends and parents than they are as an engaged couple'

'They said that people who maybe normally would feel like it would be something they would want to do  have a child and then give it to someone to raise because they couldn't  are holding onto things because they don't have anything in that moment,' she explained. 'That's what I've heard from our agency, that everything is slow.'

Hoda insisted at the time that they were not giving up the hope of expanding their brood, but they were waiting for the right time.

'They say wait wisely and just be. So we're just going to be,' she said.

Hoda shared the news of their split just weeks after they celebrated Christmas and New Year's with their daughters.
Tiara is based on Queen Mary's Fringe Tiara famously worn on her wedding day

Barbie is releasing a limited edition Queen doll to mark Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee.

US toy manufacturer Mattel, which creates the popular dolls, has unveiled a miniature figure of Her Majesty based off a portrait commissioned to mark her 60th year on the throne in 2012.

The Barbie, which will be available from today, the Queen's 96th birthday, depicts the Queen in an elegant ivory gown and blue riband adorned with decorations of order.

As Her Majesty celebrates 70-years on the throne, Mattel has launched a limited-edition Barbie doll inspired by the Queen

The Queen wore a similar outfit when she welcomed Donald and Melania Trump to Buckingham Palace in June 2019

Her tiara is based on Queen Mary's Fringe Tiara  famously worn by the monarch on her wedding day - while the miniature medallions on her ribbons are inspired by the Royal Family Orders.

The pink ribbon was given to The Queen by her father George VI, and the pale blue by her grandfather George V.

The silver brooch pinned underneath the sash represents the Garter Star Brooch, the insignia of the highest order of chivalry in the United Kingdom, the Order of the Garter.

The doll is part of Barbie's Tribute Collection, which launched last year to celebrate visionaries for their incredible contributions, impact and legacy as trailblazers.

Her tiara is based on Queen Mary's Fringe Tiara  famously worn by the monarch on her wedding day - while the miniature medallions on her ribbons are inspired by the Royal Family Orders

The Barbie is presented in a box inspired by the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace and printed with a badge commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.

Historian and Professor Kate Williams, author of 'Our Queen Elizabeth' said: 'Queen Elizabeth II's reign has been one of extraordinary impact, holding a position that few women have.

'The longest reigning British monarch, and the first to reach a Platinum Jubilee, The Queen has dedicated herself to service and duty and seen the world change immeasurably.

'In 1952, when she came to the throne, women were not encouraged to work and politicians expressed doubts about a young female monarch - but she showed them wrong, proved herself an adept leader and diplomat.

A vailable from select retailers on April 21st, the doll is instantly recognisable as Her Majesty, wearing an elegant ivory gown and blue riband adorned with decorations of order

The Barbie is presented in a box inspired by the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace and printed with a badge commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne

'As Her Majesty celebrates this milestone jubilee it is wonderful to see an iconic brand like Barbie share important historical female figures impact as leaders, creators and pioneers to new generations'.

Throughout the year, Her Majesty and members of the royal family will travel around the country attending a range of events to mark the milestone, culminating with the Platinum Jubilee Weekend.

Buckingham Palace said 2022's extended break will run from Thursday, June 2 to Sunday, June 5 after the May bank holiday - which would have been on Monday, May 30 - was pushed back.

The four-day weekend will begin on the Thursday with Trooping the Colour, which will be staged in full for the first time since the pandemic, and a service of thanksgiving for the Queen's reign will be held at St Paul's Cathedral on the Saturday.
Kim Chang-hoon, a senior official at the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities / Courtesy of the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities









By Ko Dong-hwan







A man who has been helping fellow people with disabilities find employment was honored with the country's "Person with Disability of the Year" award on April 20, the National Day of People with Disabilities in Korea.







Kim Chang-hoon, a senior official at the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities, received the presidential award on Wednesday. During the 21 years since he started working at the state-run organization in 2000, Kim has helped 527 people with disabilities get hired  338 of whom were significantly handicapped. Among those who found employment, 115 were hired by large private companies and 96 by state-run firms.







The 26th annual award also acknowledged that Kim contributed to financially supporting disabled workers so that they could continue working over the long term, as well as developing and improving their vocational skills.







"I got lots of love from my family members and friends," Kim said. "Thanks to their support, I had the dream of becoming a rehabilitation expert for people with disabilities. I want people with disabilities to have their own dreams and make those dreams come true just like I did. I will keep doing my best in my profession to realize an ideal society for people with disabilities."







Kim, 45, gets around by wheelchair because he has progressive muscular dystrophy, a rare disease that weakens the muscles gradually and is difficult to treat. He developed the disease when he was three years old. He has been categorized as having a first-class physical disability  the most serious  by Korea's standards for people with disabilities.







Because of his disability, as a teenager he couldn't attend school without the help of his mother, teachers and friends. When he entered university, he and his mother moved closer to the school in order for him to get to class more easily. Apart from that, he also had to endure the country's underdeveloped infrastructure that was inadequate for people with disabilities, as well as society's biases and prejudices against them.







People with disabilities and those advocating for them hold a protest in front of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's headquarters at the Government Complex in Sejong, April 19, demanding that the central government repeal discriminatory policies against people with disabilities. Yonhap





Kim eventually graduated from university with a degree in human rehabilitation. After that, he earned licenses to become a social worker, a vocational consultant and a lecturer to raise public awareness of people with disabilities.







Since getting hired by Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities, he has worked tirelessly to achieve social acceptance of disabled people as regular workers.











Despite Kim's efforts and now recognition through the award, Korea is divided on  and far behind major advanced countries in  the protection of the rights of people with disabilities.







A group of people with physical disabilities from across the country has been demanding since last month that the presidential transition committee and the incoming administration of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol invest more in improving public spaces and public transportation to be fully accessible to the disabled.







One of their methods of protest  occupying a section of the subway platform in several metro stations in Seoul during morning rush hour  aroused complaints from some non-disabled people. The main opposition conservative People Power Party Chairman Rep. Lee Jun-seok came under fire for his open criticism of the group. He said the group had been "holding morning commuters hostage" due to their daily protests and called them "uncivilized." The politician's comments led to an uproar among other members of the public and the group, which called for Lee to "stop dividing the country from people with disabilities."







The protesters suspended their occupying of subway platforms late last month, and instead will continue raising public awareness of the country's insufficient awareness of disability rights. In addition, they began shaving their heads on a subway platform inside Gyeongbokgung Station on Seoul Metro Line 3. Fourteen people shaved their heads until April 18 in order to express the urgent need for the incoming Yoon administration to acknowledge and protect their mobility rights.







Park Gyeong-suk, left, who represents a group of people with disabilities in the country, meets the former chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Song Young-gil, as the group protests the presidential transition committee in order to safeguard their mobility rights, in Yeouido, Seoul, April 20. Yonhap





On Tuesday morning, the group's leader, Park Gyeong-suk, who also uses a wheelchair, held a rare press conference to advocate for the improvement of conditions for disabled people. During his appearance, he intentionally jammed his wheelchair's wheel between a subway train and the platform of Dongguk University Station on Seoul Metro Line 3, keeping the subway door open and delaying the train for 10 minutes.







"It's not about us deliberately sticking our wheelchairs between the subway train and the platform. It's about how people with disabilities' wheelchairs  or their legs  can get stuck here and accidentally put them in danger," Park said. He also said that he had decided to join the action to "show Rep. Lee how a person who is wheelchair-bound can easily get into a dangerous situation inside a metro station."







Park said that his group will wait until the end of Wednesday for the presidential transition committee's response to their demands. If they don't respond, he said his group will organize larger-scale public protests.







On Wednesday, President Moon Jae-in said on Facebook, "We (as a society) must blame ourselves for our own indifference and for not being more considerate of the mobility rights of disabled people." Writing in commemoration of Korea's 42nd National Day of People with Disabilities, he continued, "A world without discrimination, transcending prejudice, is the path we should all walk together."







Moon added that the pace of each person  disabled and non-disabled  going through life and reaching their prime is different. "We need to build a world where we can wait for the slow," he said.


The First Minister opened up about motherhood, miscarriage and menopause with the Loose Women panel on Wednesday

Scotland's famously tough-talking First Minister offered a hint of a softer side during an appearance on ITV chat show Loose Women today.

After a robust defence over why she didn't wear a facemask in a barbershop at the weekend, dismissing it as a 'momentary lapse' to the show's panelists, Sturgeon then touched on more personal subjects including menopause, motherhood and her own miscarriage.

The 51-year-old Scottish leader told hosts Christine Lampard, Judi Love, Carol McGiffin and Gloria Hunniford that she's currently 'in the foothills' of menopause, and admitted she doesn't feel comfortable discussing the life change because it's so 'intensely personal'.

Sturgeon, wearing a bold scarlet red trouser suit with matching red suede heels and a red lip, told Christine Lampard that she was 'nervous' about having such conversations.

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The First Minister of Scotland, 51, admitted she found it 'intensely personal' to talk about her own menopause, which she told the show she's currently 'in the foothills of' during her appearance on the daytime show on Wednesday

Opening up to hosts Christine Lampard, Judi Love, Carol McGiffin and Gloria Hunniford, the 51-year-old Scottish leader said she and husband Peter Murrell, who she wed in 2010, had discussed fostering a child

She told the programme: 'Its not the kind of thing I feel instinctively comfortable about because its so intensely personal and theres still a lot of stigma round it.

'Even for people like me, who know I have a platform and know how important it is to talk about, I still feel uncomfortable.

She added that she was in 'the foothills' of the menopause, saying: 'Ive been quite anxious about it, given the public nature of my job.

How am I going to cope with the impact of that? It suddenly struck me theres nobody I know of that I can go and read what it was like for them.'

The First Minister also told the show that she hasn't ruled out fostering a child with her husband of 12 years, after the couple suffered a miscarriage in 2011.

She said: 'Circumstances have meant I havent had children. Obviously I had a miscarriage and spoke about thatit is important to open up these conversations.

Wearing a scarlet red trouser suit matched with red heels and a red lipstick, the First Minister said it was important to discuss issues affecting women - but admitted she was 'nervous' about sharing her own story

Showing a softer side? The Scottish leader cut a glamorous figure as she strode out onto the set of Loose Women on Wednesday

The First Minister also defied calls for her to quit over a weekend gaffe at a barber's shop as she appeared on the forthright ITV magazine show

Her admission that she hadn't worn a mask while in the hair salon was a 'momentary lapse', she said

On the prospect of taking care of a young person, she said: 'The fostering thought has actually come about more because Ive done a lot of work with young people.

'Ive seen the transformational effect that good care can have on a young persons life You have to do something like that for the right reasons. You shouldnt do it to fill a gap in your own life. It should be about the young person.'

Earlier, the First Minister had defied calls for her to quit over the weekend gaffe at the barber's shop.

Ms Sturgeon was investigated by Police Scotland after being seen without a face cover during an SNP local election campaign event on Saturday.

While England dropped its mask mandate weeks ago, Scotland only removed the law requiring face coverings on Monday.

But the force later revealed that officers had not issued a penalty, but spoken to the First Minister 'to remind her of the importance of wearing a face covering when there is a legal requirement to do so'.

Pressed by McGiffin over whether she would step down, like she had demanded of the Prime Minister, she said: 'I don't think they are equivalent.

'I was in the street, I was called into a barber shop. Just for a few seconds I forgot to put my mask on - it was in my pocket.'

Ms Sturgeon also suggested she would resign if the SNP was able to hold a second independence referendum, but was unable to win it.

Loose Women is on weekdays from 12:30pm on ITV and ITV Hub
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A new portrait of The Queen with two of her beloved fell ponied has been released to mark her 96th birthday, as she quietly celebrates the landmark occasion in Sandringham.

Taken in the grounds of Windsor Castle last month, the glorious photograph shows the monarch standing with two of her own favourite fell ponies, Bybeck Nightingale and Bybeck Katie, in front of a huge magnolia tree in full bloom of early spring.

The image has been released by the Royal Windsor Horse Show, which the Queen has attended every year since 1943 and was taken by Henry Dallal, who was commissioned to take an official portrait of her to mark her 90th birthday.

The monarch, who turns 96 Thursday, travelled to Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk today, where Prince Philip spent his retirement before his death aged 99 last year.

A new portrait of The Queen with two of her beloved fell ponied has been released to mark her 96th birthday, as she quietly celebrates the landmark occasion in Sandringham

The Queen, then still known as Princess Elizabeth, was an expert on all thing equine. Pictured representing the King at Trooping the Colour in 1951

This year the Royal Windsor Horse Show will mark the Platinum Jubilee with A Gallop through History, a spectacular equestrian display showcasing horses from across the globe.

It has been billed as a 'personal tribute to our monarchy' and will feature more than 500 horses and more than a thousand performers taking the audience on a journey from Elizabeth I to the Queen.

On the Queen's left is the pony Bybeck Nightingale and on her right is Bybeck Katie in the new image, and both animals will feature in A Gallop through History.

Her love for the equine world is something she shared with her mother, and she has been breeding and racing horses for more than 60 years.

Thoroughbreds owned by the Queen have won four out of the five flat racing classics - the 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas, the Oaks and the St Leger - with only the Derby eluding her.

Derby day this year will see the Queen and her family in the royal box at the Epsom Downs Racecourse as part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, with three of her horses in contention to be picked for the international event.

The monarch, who turns 96 Thursday, travelled to Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk today, where Prince Philip spent his retirement before his death aged 99 last year. She is pictured rising in 2020

Princess Elizabeth out riding at the Royal Lodge, Windsor in April 1940 - Her Majesty has long been a fan of horse riding

Her horse Dunfermline, ridden by jockey Willie Carson, gave the Queen her most famous victory, triumphing in the Oaks and St Leger in her Silver Jubilee year, 1977.

In recent years the Queen made sporting history when she became the first reigning monarch to win Royal Ascot's Gold Cup, with her thoroughbred Estimate in 2013.

Her Majesty already received birthday wishes from Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, and gun salutes will be fired in her honour on Thursday.

Although she has not been able to ride for several months due to mobility issues, he Queen has ridden horses since the age of three and is passionate about everything equestrian.

Elizabeth (accompanied by her Stud Groom Terry Pendry) seen horse riding in the grounds of Windsor Castle on April 17, 2006

The Queen loved horses, and was especially fond of horse racing. She would showcase very candid reactions to wins and losses during racing event, like this time she was photographed cheering a horse on on June 8 1978

Royal aides have indicated she cannot yet commit to any of the events planned to mark her 70 historic years on the throne.

But it is understood that staff are 'moving heaven and Earth' to ensure she can attend the most prestigious race meet of the year - the Epsom Derby.

This includes changing the route of her official car so that it can pull up directly outside the Queen's stand, leaving a short walk of a few yards to the lift straight up to her seat.

A source said the monarch 'really is absolutely determined to attend'. The Derby on Saturday, June 4 is one of the official national celebrations over the four-day jubilee weekend and one that has a particular personal significance for the Queen. The race is the only one of the five 'Classics' she is yet to win, having finished second with Aureole in 1953  just four days after her Coronation.

The Monarch kept on riding horses well into her 90s. Pictured Riding a grey and white horse on the grounds of Windsor Castle in June 2006, when she was 80

Legendary royal jockey Willie Carson, 79, said it would be a 'fairytale' for her to finally win the Derby. 'You never know, him upstairs might just think it's about time she had a Derby winner,' he said at Epsom racecourse this week.

She will be greeted at the race meet by a guard of honour formed on the track by 40 jockeys who have ridden for Her Majesty.

The Monarch's love for horses has been well-documented throughout her reign, whether it was breeding them, attending horse races or riding them around Windsor Castle.

In 2020, Vanity Fair reported that the Queen, then 94, was 'riding everyday' around Windsor Castle while isolating with the late Prince Philip during the Coronavirus crisis.

She also personally named the horses who draw her carriages, such as Cleveland Bays and Windsor Greys, who are used for official engagements such as audiences, royal processions and the state opening of Parliament.

The Queen's birthday comes as her grandson Prince Harry said she's 'not looking forward' to the milestone - in another interview with US television.

The Duke of Sussex, 37, spoke in glowing terms about the Monarch - following his 'surprise' visit to Windsor Castle last week.

When asked about the Queen's upcoming birthday in his interview with NBC Today presenter Hoda Kotb, Prince Harry appeared to suggest that the Queen was 'bored' of the celebrations.

Speaking to the broadcaster, he said: 'I think she's -- I think after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.

Ms Kotb replied: 'You think she's bored of her 96th?' 'I think so,' responds Prince Harry. But the Duke then appeared to change tack when asked if the Queen will be 'bored' for her jubilee.

He replied: 'No. I don't think so. She's had a few jubilees now and every one is slightly different. Im sure she is looking forward to it.'
A former cheerleader is warning parents of the hidden dangers of the sport after one failed backflip almost killed her, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down.

Laura Jackson, 33, from Northville, in Michigan, was trying out for her school's cheerleading team at age 14 when she attempted a back tuck and landed on her head, instantly breaking her neck and being starved of oxygen.

Nearly two decades later, she still relies on 24-hour ventilation and a neck brace to keep her alive after the 'devastating' split-second fall that left her quadriplegic in 2003.

Laura Jackson, 33, from Northville, in Michigan, was left paralyzed from the neck down after she attempted a back tuck during high school cheerleading tryouts and fell on her head

Laura was just 14 when the 'devastating' split-second fall instantly broke her neck and left her quadriplegic in 2003. She is pictured before (left) and after the accident (right)

The marketing professional has shared her story on TikTok to 'educate others about the dangers of cheerleading' and also inspire other people with disabilities

The marketing professional has dedicated her life to maintaining a positive mindset and hopes her TikTok videos will inspire other people with disabilities.

In her videos, Laura opens up about learning to live life to the fullest after her accident, recalling how she went from being a cheerleader to fighting for her life in a matter of seconds.

'I had been a cheerleader since I was in the third grade. Three out of my four sisters were cheerleaders and it was an important part of our life,' she said. 'I went in to do the tumbling portion of tryouts and decided I was going to do a back tuck. I landed on my head.

'I'm not sure exactly what went wrong but the next thing I knew I was on the ground and unable to breathe,' she explained. 'I remember thinking that I had knocked the wind out of me. I just remember lying there looking up at people mouthing the words "I can't breathe" over and over.

Laura said she started cheerleading in the third grade and it was an important part of her life

Laura's heart stopped seven times after her accident because her bones were pinching her brain stem. She is pictured with her parents and sisters in the hospital

'Eventually, I passed out from lack of oxygen. I was not given CPR until the paramedics came about seven minutes after I broke my neck.'

Lara was driven to a local hospital and was then airlifted to another, where she stayed for seven months.

'I broke my neck on Tuesday. By Thursday, my heart had stopped seven times because my bones were pinching my brain stem and they decided to do surgery on Saturday,' she said. 'I was given a 50 percent chance of survival.

'They told my parents that I was paralyzed from the neck down the night I was there.'

Laura went through a grueling 14-hour surgery to save her life and was forced to have a feeding tube fitted that she still uses for liquids 19 years later.

Laura, pictured with her sister Jenna Jackson, was given a 50 percent of survival when she underwent a grueling 14-hour surgery to save her life

Laura was forced to have a feeding tube fitted that she still uses for liquids 19 years later. She also relies on 24-hour ventilation and a neck brace to keep her alive

'I am fully paralyzed from the neck down and require a ventilator 24 hours a day,' she explained. 'I have a nurse, caregiver, or family member with me at all times'

She recalled how the difficult news made it hard for her to see a future, but she is now committed to staying positive, despite relying on 24-hour care from family and caregivers at home.

'It was devastating and unfathomable to hear that news at 14. I had a hard time imagining what my future and life would and could look like,' she said. 'They did a spinal fusion, tracheotomy, and added a gastrostomy tube (G-tube).

'I am fully paralyzed from the neck down and require a ventilator 24 hours a day. I have a nurse, caregiver, or family member with me at all times in case the ventilator comes off as I cannot breathe on my own.

'I have gained a little bit more movement in my neck than in the beginning, but my condition has pretty much stayed the same over the years.

Laura managed to graduate from high school on time, despite spending the first semester of her freshman year in the hospital

The marketing professional shared that she is 'incredibly thankful' to have had the support of her family and friends over the years

Laura lives with her parents, and they stay with her whenever she doesn't have a nurse or a caregiver available

'Almost 19 years later I realize you don't have to breathe to have moments that take your breath away.'

Laura didn't let her accident stop her from achieving her goals, and she managed to graduate from high school on time, despite spending the first semester of her freshman year in the hospital.

'I took summer classes and everything to catch up,' she explained. 'I went on to receive my bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing and my MBA a few years later.'

Laura has had 'so many beautiful experiences' after her accident, and she aims to show her followers that 'life doesn't stop with paralysis.'

'It showed me that I was capable of facing and adapting to any situation and that even though your life might not go the way you thought it would or think it should, it can be equally as meaningful and beautiful,' she said.

Laura started making her TikTok videos 'just for fun,' thinking she 'could bring a bit of joy to someone's day,' but she is now using her platform to help others facing similar obstacles

Laura has had 'so many beautiful experiences' after her accident, and she aims to show her followers that 'life doesn't stop with paralysis'

'Even though your life might not go the way you thought it would or think it should, it can be equally as meaningful and beautiful,' she said

Laura started making her TikTok videos 'just for fun,' thinking she 'could bring a bit of joy to someone's day.'

'But as I told my story I hoped that it would be able to help others facing obstacles and struggle, educate others about the dangers of cheerleading, and show that life can be big and fun, disability or not,' she explained.

'We all face trials and tribulations in our life and they shape us into the people we are. I wanted to show that life can move forward in powerful ways despite our dark and down obstacles.'

Laura shared that she is 'incredibly thankful' to have had the support of her family and friends over the years, saying she lives with her parents, and they stay with her whenever she doesn't have a nurse or a caregiver available.

'I hope to continue speaking with children and adults about disability and my motto "move your mind,"' she added. '[I made the decision] that if I couldn't move anything, I was going to move my mind, to try to keep things positive, to set goals and achievements for myself, and to be fearlessly me.'
A comedian's viral confession that he used to steal his elementary school classmate's lunch led to him making amends more than 15 years later, but his former friend has admitted that he didn't even realize he was being bullied at the time.

Joe Erwin, 24, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, issued a public apology to Dylan Cain, 24, from Columbia, Missouri, on TikTok last month, explaining he used to take his former friend's pizza when they were in the first grade together.

'I absolutely considered him my friend, and always remember playing at recess with him,' Cain told DailyMail.com. 'I dont think I realized I was even being bullied, and thought about it more as a prank or some hazing. Perhaps I was too trusting because he was friendly toward me.'

Scroll down for video

Dylan Cain, 24, from Columbia, Missouri, opened up about his former friend's public apology for stealing his lunch when they were kids, saying he didn't realize he was being bullied

In a now viral TikTok video, Joe Erwin, 24, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, confessed that he used to grab Cain's pizza and eat it in front of him when they were in the first grade

At the start of Erwin's viral video, he posed the question: 'What's a terrible thing you did as a child that you feel really bad about as an adult?'

'I used to steal a kid's lunch every day and eat it right in front of him,' he confessed.

Erwin explained that he was friends with Cain at the time and didn't realize his actions were hurtful. He just wanted his lunch.

'We both always got pizza, and we always sat next to each other. We actually played at recess together. We were friends,' he recalled. 'But he was a little guy and  surprise  I was a fat kid. So I just I thought, "Since he's such a little guy, he doesn't get hungry like I do."'

Erwin said he would trick Cain into looking in the opposite direction, and once he turned his head, he would grab his pizza and put it on his own plate.

Erwin (left) said they were friends and used to sit next to each other at lunch, but he assumed Cain (right) didn't get hungry like he did because he was a 'little guy'

The comedian recalled how he'd trick Cain into looking in the opposite direction, and once he turned his head, he would grab his pizza and put it on his own plate

When Cain told him that he didn't like it when he stole his lunch, he would say: 'Oh, I'm sorry, man. I'm just hungry. That's all.' But he never gave him his food back.

'I'd absolutely house that pizza right in front of him, and he didn't get to eat lunch,' he said with remorse.

Erwin asked his viewers if any of them knew a guy named Dylan who went to Jenks West Elementary in Jenks, Oklahoma, and is now in his mid-20s.

'Dylan, if you're out there, I'm sorry man,' he added. 'I want to take you out to the most expensive pizza place that you could think of. I know it's not gonna completely make it right, but I at least want to say I'm sorry.'

Erwin's video has been viewed more than 9.6 million times since it was posted on March 15 and has received thousands of comments.

Erwin ended the video by issuing a public apology to Cain and offering to take him out to the 'most expensive pizza place' he could think of

In a follow-up clip, Erwin revealed that he tracked down Cain on Facebook after finding his last name in his friend's old yearbook and sent him the video to make amends

'I thought the video was amazing, and an incredibly kind gesture on his behalf,' Cain told DailyMail.com

In a follow-up clip, he revealed that he tracked down Cain on Facebook after finding his last name in his friend's old yearbook. When he messaged him, he shared his video and explained he wanted to make amends.

'This is amazing! Haha. Of course, I remember you, and Ive seen your fantasy O-line TikToks,' Cain replied. 'I remember this happening, but I had no clue it was you. Next time Im in Tulsa, pizzas on you, man!'

Cain told DailyMail.com that he has memories of his food 'getting stolen' when he was a kid, but he didn't think he told anyone about it at the time. He also didn't remember Erwin was the perpetrator until he apologized on TikTok.

'I thought the video was amazing, and an incredibly kind gesture on his behalf,' he said. 'I think everyone says and does things they dont mean when they are a kid, but for him to reach out after all these years speaks volumes about his kindness and character.'

In Erwin's most recent video, he shared that he is going to drive four hours to meet up with Dylan in Kansas City, Kansas, on May 14.

After Erwin messaged him to make amends, Cain admitted he had 'no clue' he was the one who stole his pizza every day

The old friends have made plans to reconnect in Kansas City, Kansas, on May 14

Cain added that he is 'excited to catch up with Joe after all these years'

'Im excited to catch up with Joe after all these years,' Cain said. 'Since moving to Missouri as a kid, I havent gotten the chance to catch up with too many childhood friends with the exception of a few.

'Im definitely anxious about the media attention, but I think its great to highlight a story like this!'

When asked what he advice he would give to someone who is being bullied, he noted that 'there are many people who experience much worse than this every day.'

'I cant speak to cases of more serious bullying, including violent bullying,' he said. 'But in many cases, I think its important to have patience and remember that most things get better.

'I found much more acceptance in late high school and college,' he added. 'Generally, if you treat people how they want to be treated, people will take notice and youll gain friends along the way.'
Thamlidomide, a drug used to ease morning sickness in pregnant women, was withdrawn in the UK in 1961. It had been on the market for four years, but finally it had been established that it was responsible for babies being born with deformed or missing arms or legs.

I was 11 at the time and horrified at the impact it had. After a long struggle, compensation was awarded to parents who desperately needed financial help.

Some ten years later, in 1972 and 1973, the safety or otherwise of a new drug was discussed on multiple occasions. It was called sodium valproate and had been found to be effective in controlling epileptic seizures. The committee assessing the medication found it was liable to produce abnormalities in the foetus but the risk appears to be low and not sufficient to justify stopping its use.

Women were to be prescribed the drug if necessary, not warned of any potential risk, and there would be no leaflet explaining possible side-effects in the packets. Doctors would be warned, but not the women whose foetuses might be affected.

Jenni Murray speaks about what was learned and what wasn't from the thalidomide scandal 50 years ago. The drug was given to pregnant women suffering from morning sickness but it was found to harm the foetus

Now, according to a Sunday Times investigation, 50 years after the first hints of danger to foetuses were revealed, 20,000 babies have been left with life-changing disabilities and the drug is still prescribed to women.

Was nothing learned from the thalidomide scandal? This isnt a case of one missed opportunity. In the early 1980s, reports appeared of babies, whose mothers had taken the drug, being born with abnormalities. Questions were asked in medical journals and even in the House of Commons. But nothing was done.

The Committee on Safety of Medicines asked the manufacturer, Sanofi, to write to doctors but it still stopped short of requiring doctors to tell women about the risks. (Sanofi says it has complied fully with its regulatory obligations, including the provision of product information to healthcare professionals and patients.)

In 2010, on Womans Hour, I discussed the plight of mothers who intended to sue the manufacturer over their damaged children. Their legal effort collapsed after cuts to legal aid and doctors continued prescribing sodium valproate.

Ten years later, I spoke to Baroness Cumberlege, who had been asked to carry out an inquiry into the drug. She concluded that the Government had an ethical responsibility to provide financial help to families for the cost of care. So far, no compensation has been forthcoming.

Even more unbelievably, the drug is still being handed out in a plain white box with no patient information leaflet warning of any risk. According to data published last month, sodium valproate was prescribed to 247 pregnant women between April 2018 and September 2021.

Jenni (pictured) witnessed how hard it is to raise a child damaged by thalidomide. A 17-year-old she met while reporting on the disaster in Leeds had no arms

Is the NHS really as paternalistic as it was in the 1970s, believing women are too stupid to make an informed choice and should just do what doctors tell them to do?

Patricia Alexander had no information that would give her the possibility of informed choice. She was given a pack of sodium valproate in January this year. It states on the front that if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, you must speak to your doctor about taking the medication and read the leaflet for more details. But there is no leaflet, said Patricia. There is nothing in the box but 22 tablets. It makes me so angry.

Patricia has two children and while pregnant in 2000 and 2009, was advised to continue taking a high dose of sodium valproate. Her concerns about its safety were dismissed by doctors. No wonder she is angry as she struggles to raise her children, one of whom walks with crutches, while the other cant stand or walk normally.

Years ago, I witnessed how hard it is to raise a child damaged by thalidomide. A 17-year-old I met while reporting on the disaster in Leeds had no arms. Her parents had to be cruel to be kind  they left her to struggle alone until she learned to use her feet as effectively as I could my hands. She offered us tea at her home. We assumed her mother would bring it, but no, she came through with a tray loaded with teapot, milk, cups and saucers. She carried it with one foot, not spilling a drop.

But not every severely disabled child whose limbs are damaged or who has learning difficulties or autism because of sodium valproate will achieve such independence. No parent should be left without help, emotional and financial, to raise a child who may not ever be able to help herself.

Thalidomide was banned for use in pregnancy. Compensation was paid. The victims of sodium valproate are no less deserving of exactly the same assistance, and the concerns of women with epilepsy who may become mothers must never be brushed aside. Informed consent should be the watchword of all medical care. Its time those paternalistic doctors got the point.

Canoe wife Anne should never have been jailed

Pictured: Monica Dolan as Anne Darwin and Eddie Marsan as John Darwin. Jenni says that the police, press and judiciary were not kind to Anne Darwin when the details of her husband's insurance scam were revealed in court

The police, press and judiciary were not kind to Anne Darwin when, in 2008, the details of her husband Johns insurance scam were revealed in court. She was described by police as despicable, a compulsive liar, and in the media as a bad mother.

Johns crimes  faking his own death in his canoe, hiding in the house next door until he was officially declared dead, obtaining a passport under a fake name  all to defraud the insurance company of 250,000  were treated as a bit of a joke.

The Darwins were both found guilty but Johns sentence was six years and three months, Annes six years and six months.

It was a relief to see the detailed exposition of the story in the ITV series The Thief, His Wife And The Canoe, starring Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan (pictured). Its clear the thief was John, who planned the entire fiasco. A court in 2022 would have had no doubt his wife had been bullied and coerced into breaking the law.

We now have a law that would surely have absolved her of any wrongdoing. In 2015, section 76 of the Serious Crime Actcreated the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship.

Anne Darwin was dominated psychologically by her husband. Yes, she did wrong, but surely a suspended sentence for her would have been appropriate.

Julia Roberts (pictured) has stepped back from stardom to raise her three children. But Jenni argues that she has never had to worry about paying bills

Note to Julia Roberts, who calls herself a homemaker and is proud to have stepped back from stardom to raise her three children. Its all very well, Julia, with millions in the bank, but what about those of us who need to work? Bet you never had to worry about paying the gas bill.

Dont give up your name, girls!

I'm not at all surprised that more and more couples are going for double-barrelled surnames. I was Jennifer Bailey, married Brian Murray and have deeply regretted giving up my own identity. It could get a bit complicated, though, when the Johnson-Smith kids marry the Jones-Watsons. But why should it always be the woman who is expected to compromise?

My rush to get Ukrainian family out of Lviv

Jenni now has visas and flights booked for next week for the family that she will be hosting from Lviv

I wrote last week of my Ukrainian guests, Zoryana and Ustym, living in what appeared to be the relative safety of Lviv. We now have visas and their flights are booked for next week, but on Monday night came a shocking text from Zoryana. It was a desperate day  full of emotions and fear. Five dead, 11 injured, 40 cars destroyed. They really want to destroy us  the Western part of Ukraine. I cant understand why. It is said the next two to three weeks will be the hardest. Hope everything will be OK. Just a few days left.

What could I reply except, Soon you will be here and safe. I hope Im right
Prince Harry showed off his love of animals today as he warmly greeted an adorable service dog on the fifth day of The Invictus Games.

The Duke of Sussex, 37, was seen kneeling down to warmly stroke the sweet black Labrador who was seen happily sniffing his hand and face as the royal smiled at the animal.

Harry, who has his own black Labrador at home called Pula, appeared delighted by the service dog, who was brought to The Netherlands with the Royal Dutch Guide Dog Foundation, who aim to provide information about assistance animals at the event.

The pooch, named Lasco, was one of three dogs brought to The Hague by the organisation and joined Harry and competitors Ukraine as they painted a park bench in the country's national colours this morning.

Prince Harry showed off his love of animals today as he warmly greeted an adorable service dog on the fifth day of The Invictus Games

The Duke of Sussex was seen kneeling down to warmly stroke the sweet chocolate labrador who was seen happily sniffing his hand and face as the royal smiled at the animal

Shortly after tying the knot in May 2018, Harry and Meghan welcomed a black Labrador rescue into their home - who is now living with them in Montecito, California.

Meghan also owns a beagle named Guy, who she adopted while living in Toronto

The Netherlands-based organisation, which was founded in 1935, trains guide dogs for visually impaired people, those with physical disabilities or people suffering with mental illness such as PTSD.

The foundation presented their dogs at the Invictus Games to both provide information about their organisation and to provide assistance for athletes who were not able to bring their own service animals to the event.

The organisation is the oldest and largest in The Netherlands and their pooches usually come from their own breeding programmes to be trained over the period of three years to assist their owner.

Sharing a video of the pooches at the event to their Instagram account, the non-profit wrote: 'We are there this week to make our dogs available to the participants who need them.

Harry, 37, appeared delighted by the service dog, who was brought to The Netherlands with the Royal Dutch Guide Dog Foundation

The pooch, named Lasco, was one of three dogs brought to The Hague by the organisation and joined Harry and competitors Ukraine as they painted a park bench in the country's national colours this morning

'Not every participant can bring his/her assistance dog, or has experience with the power of an assistance dog.

'It is a rewarding task, we are proud of everyone and wish our clients who take action this week some extra success!'

The appearance came after the Duke gave his latest interview on US television in which he insisted that he talks with the Queen 'about things she can't talk about with anybody else'.

He also placed doubt over whether he would attend his grandmother's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London in June amid the ongoing security row with the UK's Home Office, adding: 'Home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it's in the States. And it feels that way as well.'

This comes despite his lawyers telling the High Court in February of the UK: 'This is and always will be his home.'

The pooch belongs to a Netherlands-based organisation, which was founded in 1935 and trains guide dogs for visually impaired people

The Duke of Sussex appeared in good spirits as he warmly petted the dog at Zuiderpark on the fifth day of the Invictus Games

Lasco the service dog was seen sniffing Prince Harry's hand during day five of the Invictus Games at Zuiderpark in The Hague

The Duke also said he and his wife Meghan Markle had been 'welcomed with open arms and we have such a great community up in Santa Barbara' in California.

And Harry spoke about his mantra of 'trying to make the world a better place for my kids' while explaining his fears that he could face 'burnout' while working from home at his 11million mansion in Montecito, California.

In addition, he praised the Queen's 'sense of humour' and spoke of their 'really special relationship' following their surprise meeting at Windsor Castle last Thursday where he had tea with her and his wife Meghan Markle.

And, talking about his late mother Princess Diana, Harry told NBC's Today that he feels her 'presence in almost everything that I do now' and that he talks to his son Archie about her and there are photos of her in their home.
Norway's Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Mette-Marit wrapped up very cosy today on the first of their two-day trip to Svalbard.

Their Royal Highnesses arrived in Fylkestur in Longyearbyen this morning, where they were greeted by school children who excitedly waved their national flags during their walkabout.

The couple visit the archipelago, which is one of the world's northernmost settlements and largest inhabited area of Svalbard, every year to learn about the lives and communities of of local residents.

During the visit the couple visited the town centre, where they were seen smiling and waving as they greeted royal fans.

Norway's Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Mette-Marit embarked on the first of their two-day trip to Svalbard

Their Royal Highnesses arrived in Fylkestur in Longyearbyen this morning, where they were greeted by school children

The royal couple were seen chatting with children who excitedly waved their national flags during their walkabout in Longyearbyen, Svalbard today

During the visit the couple visited the town center, where they were seen smiling and waving as they greeted royal fans

Heir Prince Haakon, 48, who is the second child and only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja, was seen kneeling down to speak with a young royal fan during the walkabout.

Later in the day the couple visited a public library where they spoke with press and chatted with staff before paying a visit to the local youth club.

Mette-Marit, 48, wrapped up warm in a pair of black ski pants, fluffy white teddy coat patterned monochrome mittens, a grey hat and scarf teamed with a grey polo neck jumper.

Meanwhile Haakon protected himself from the elements in a black beanie hat navy blue coat, matching ski pants and a warm grey scarf.

Princess Mette-Marit appeared in high spirits as she waved to young royal fans during a walkabout in Longyearbyen, Svalbard

Prince Haakon, 48, who is the second child and only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja, was seen kneeling down to speak with a young royal fan during the walkabout

The couple seemed delighted to speak to schoolchildren during their visit to the town centre of Longyearbyen, Svalbard

Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole where the Northern Lights are visible during winter and summer brings the sunlight 24 hours a day.

Haakon is heir apparent to the throne of Norway. Despite being older, his sister Princess Martha Louise of Norway is fourth in line to the throne due to Norway's Male-preference primogeniture succession rules.

The couple has two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. Mette Marit has a child from a previous relationship, 23-year-old Marius Borg Hiby.

Mette-Marit, 48, wrapped up warm in a pair of black ski pants, fluffy white teddy coat patterned monochrome mittens, a grey hat and scarf teamed with a grey polo neck jumper

Haakon protected himself from the elements in a black beanie hat navy blue coat, matching ski pants and a warm grey scarf

Later in the day the couple visited a public library where they spoke with press and chatted with staff before paying a visit to the local youth club

Haakon, who is heir apparent to the throne of Norway, was seen chatting with staff at the local youth club in Longyearbyen, Svalbard

Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit visit the Youth Club in Longyearbyen, Svalbard

Mette Marit was born a commoner, to farmers in Norway and was a single mother by the time of her controversial engagement to Crown Prince Haakon in 2000.

She became Crown Princess after the couple's marriage in 2001. Mette Marit has spent her reign championing humanitarian projects while joining official visits.

Her first official appearance was at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony at Oslo City Hall on December 10, 2000, following the announcement of the couple's engagement on December 1.
What a surprise that yet another team of experts has decided mothers-in-law are to blame for conflict in families.

Scientists at Arizona State University have found we much-maligned women have an innate bias towards our own offspring, and that weve evolved to take their side in arguments regardless of right and wrong.

As such, their study of 300 people found that mothers had more quarrels with their daughters-in-law than their sons.

What nonsense. As a mother-in-law twice over, its certainly not true in my family. I love my sons wife as if she were one of my own daughters  except Im far more careful about her feelings than I am with the two I gave birth to.

UK-based writer Marion McGilvary argues that scientists at Arizona State University are wrong to say that women have an innate bias towards their own offspring

As far as Im concerned, shes a saint. Yes, she never answers her phone when I call or reads my texts, but she gives the best hugs and tells me she loves me more often than my son does.

Im fed up with being portrayed as a handbag-swinging harridan. Take my childrens side in every argument? On the contrary, I dont hold back from telling my four (two boys and two girls) when theyre getting on my last nerve.

Its a mothers prerogative to sometimes say things to her offspring that no one else will, and vice versa  but the girl who married my son is somebody elses baby and mine only to cherish, not criticise.

As for my daughters husband, well I treat him with respect and care, the way you do anyone who has the happiness of your loved ones in their hands (even if I might observe that those hands rarely see the inside of a dishwasher).

Most of my female friends now have married children, yet not one of us has turned into a nagging harpy.

But the mother-in-law is easy prey. Society encourages us to despise her. Its an acceptable form of sexism, clinging on in plain sight.

At best, its a lazy, knee-jerk reaction based on an outdated notion of 1950s womanhood  a person who no longer exists, if she ever did. And at worst, its just misogyny.

Frankly, Im a bloody nice mother-in-law, and am ready to take on anyone who says otherwise with my Fendi clutch.

I have an alternative explanation for the findings by Arizona State University. Based on my experience, its possible to lose ones temper with both mother and motherin-law  but arguments with your own flesh and blood are less likely to end in fury, and often feel less seismic because youve had years of practice at picking at each other and are used to each others annoying ways.

If you get into a fight with someone who doesnt know all your little flaws inside out already, well, the fallout can be more dramatic. So Ive always believed its best avoided at all costs.

The research also showed it was daughters, rather than sons, who had the biggest problem. But of course that would be the case  since men are rarely tasked with any of the emotional labour that causes friction.

Look at all we mothers-inlaw do. We are the unpaid childminders, happy to take care of our grandchildren and love them with mindless devotion.

Shes someone elses baby and not mine to criticise

Do we think that perhaps the odd chocolate button wont kill them, while their parents think sugar is akin to crack? Do we let them watch TV, kiss the dogs, and stay up a bit too late? Maybe.

Some of us are too lax for todays organic kale-snacking mothers, or too strict for the attachment parenting brigade who still have their six-year-old in the bed.

But most of us are wise enough to know that with other peoples children, we keep our opinions to ourselves, even when they stick in our throats like the damn kale crisps.

My beloved daughter-in-law came to us for a two-week holiday after meeting my son on his gap year, then stayed for several years. They later married and lived with me until they could afford to move out. I never had a cross word with her. Yes, Im sure I got on her nerves, but she never got on mine.

Heres the thing about marrying into another family  no matter how happy the marriage, its a culture shock. We each grow up in our own little tribes with our odd ways that we think are perfectly normal, then wham! You fall in love and are confronted with a whole other clan.

Yet in the first few months of my own marriage, my husbands mother said that if we ever argued she was always going to take my side. How could you not love someone so ready to fight your corner?

However, she refused to be referred to as my mother-in-law. Such are the negative connotations of the word.

Personally, I dont care. The important part is mother. We are all mothers who love our children, and normally the people they marry, too.

Marion (pictured) says one of her friend's daughters-in-law put a spy cam on her when she was watching her children, then complained she wasn't taking proper care of them

Of course, familial bliss is not always the result. Yet when things do go wrong, its often the daughter-in-law who has the power  especially where there are grandchildren  and causes the problems.

One of my friends daughters-in-law put a spy cam on her when she was watching her children, then complained she wasnt taking proper care of them. Another left the house when her husbands mother came to stay and didnt return, except to sleep, until the mother-in-law left three days later. Yet another refuses to allow her children to have any contact with their grandmother because the two dont get on.

For someone in a new relationship, it is often hard to accept that another woman is close to her partner; one who has known them for longer, in ways they never can, and to whom they have obligations.

Who wants to share a husband or even a wife with their mum? Naturally there are adjustments.

But why this has to end with the demonisation of the mother, just because some people dont know how to share their toys, is beyond me.

I actually have a non-relationship with the partner of one of my children. They live far away and we just dont know each other. I always worry she doesnt like me, but shes devoted to my son.

So Im resigned to the fact we wont be friends  but friendly is enough. As long as my son is happy, I am. We cant all be braiding each others hair and singing Kumbaya.

Meanwhile, my other daughter has kept her latest boyfriend secret for a year, which means he probably thinks Im Medusa in a headscarf. Still, there are advantages to being feared instead of loved, especially if things go wrong in their relationship.

Im a nice mother-in-law, but hurt my babies and youve crossed a line. The previous chap is still terrified of me.
I am walking through the genteel town of Henley, Oxfordshire, wearing a purple velour tracksuit from Juicy Couture.

Posh old ladies are looking at me with disdain. Two men in a white van unashamedly stare at the word juicy emblazoned across my bottom. I swear a shop assistant sniggers. My teenage daughter is doing everything she can to disassociate herself from me.

Its a very different look to the ubiquitous athleisure worn by the other fortysomething mothers in the vicinity. They are all sporting unobtrusive, sleek Lycra in flattering dark colours.

I bump into some friends who appraise my outfit. Its a hard no from me, says the first, through fits of laughter. The other simply raises her eyebrows in horror, lost for words.

UK-based writer Rosie Green pictured in the noughties favourite Juicy Couture x GANNI tracksuit

This tracksuit, I explain to them, is a collaboration between early2000s mega-brand Juicy Couture and Ganni, the cool Scandi label favoured by the fashion crowd, including models Rosie HuntingtonWhiteley and the Hadid sisters. I tell them Ganni has brought Juicy Couture into 2022  making the sizing inclusive and the fabrics sustainable.

At this reveal, I see a flash of recognition in my friends eyes. They are thinking, If Ganni has sanctioned Juicy, then maybe there is something in it?

For my 15-year-old daughter, there is no question its covetable. The moment the tracksuit arrived, she wrestled it from me, threw it on and looked instantly and effortlessly cool. It worked because her insouciance, youth and beauty counter the Barbie vibe.

And on me? Well, we will get to that later...

For now, lets discuss the fact the Noughties are back in fashion, on the catwalks and on social media. The decade that, to many people, style forgot is now feted by designers and sported in the coolest clubs.

Right now, thousands of young people are in their bedrooms scouring the internet for original pieces from that era. Think slip dresses, kitten heels, handkerchief tops and bumster jeans.

Rosie says that she is loving the fact that noughties are back, on the catwalks and on social media

Im not going to lie, Im loving it. I adored the fashion of that decade. Back then, I was beauty director of Elle magazine, styling some of the worlds most famous faces (Britney Spears, Cameron Diaz, Sarah Jessica Parker) and with access to all the most fabulous clothes of the era.

I wore low-slung jeans (mybottom was basically on display for a decade). I wore that green Versace dress  the one J-Lo made mega famous. I favoured labels such as Chloe, Marni and Joseph  from sample sales, mind, I was on a meagre fashion mag salary.

I did not, however, wear Juicy Couture. The brand was created in Los Angeles in 1997 by Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash (fun fact: shes now married to Duran Durans John Taylor).

Soon, it was beloved of Paris Hilton, Britney, J-Lo and co and was making more than 450million in sales. The clothes werent cheap  tracksuits retailed at about 120, and that was 20 years ago.

However, Rosie that she didn't get much positive feedback on her outfit from family, friends or the wider public

Eva Longoria wore them on hit TV series Desperate Housewives as well as in real life. It was the archetypal LA look  one Elle colleague interviewed Eva at the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard and she was resplendent in burgundy Juicy Couture.

But despite their success, the style crowd rebuffed it. Certainly we did here in London.

We were snobbish about Juicy. We thought the LA look was a bit, well, naff. You wouldnt catch Kate Moss in Juicy Couture and Kate Moss was the icon.

No, we were all about McQueen, McCartney and Tom Ford. Sleek, strict lines and moody colours. We were channelling French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld in spike heels and pencil skirts.

The front row might be wearing trainers now, but back then, that was career suicide.

Nobody on a fashion magazine would have entertained turning up to the office in head-to-toe velour. Let alone teaming it with Uggs. (The then-ubiquitous furry boots were, in fact, banned by our editor along with cooking smelly ready meals in the office kitchen microwave.)

Theres something intriguing and joyful about a cool brand like Ganni linking up with a berated one

Whats more, the king of fashion did not approve of tracksuits  Sweatpants are a sign of defeat, decreed designer Karl Lagerfeld.

But like the best films that are panned by the critics but make millions, Juicy Couture went global and spawned a million rip-offs. It became the uniform of Wags and reality stars, enjoying incredible success until it reached saturation point and burnt out.

By 2014, Juicy Couture stores had closed their doors and the clothes ended up in the discount bin. It had become fashion Kryptonite. The end. Or was it?

Now, thanks to the Noughties revival, Juicy Couture is back. And this time around, Im sorely tempted. The truth is, as soon as I saw the Juicy x Ganni collaboration, I knew it was an itch that needed to be scratched.

Perhaps its nostalgia. Maybe its feeling bored by all the sleek lines in fashion  the muted colours and the playing it safe. But Im feeling I want to shake things up a bit. And if that means wearing purple velour and shocking the elderly ladies of Henley, then so be it.

Plus post-pandemic, Im all about dressing for comfort and laid-back luxury. And a 300-plus tracksuit is definitely that. Oh, and its fun. Theres something intriguing and joyful about a cool brand linking up with a berated one. See also the current collaborations between Manolo Blahnik and Birkenstock, or Balenciaga and Crocs.

By 2014, Juicy Couture stores had closed their doors and the clothes ended up in the discount bin

The first thing that happens when I try the tracksuit on is that Im transported back to my worst VPL (visible panty line) days. Because believe me, that velour is unforgiving. So then I need to dig out another early-2000s fashion item I thought I had put to rest for eternity  the thong.

The second thing I realise is that a Juicy Couture x Ganni tracksuit is a hard look to pull off for a real person (that is, anyone without Hadid as their surname). You know, someone with hips and a BMI above 20. That fabric adds pounds, as does the lurid colour.

Then theres the shoe issue. I could wear slides  but I dont have any and its only 15 degrees outside. My trusty Veja trainers just dont look right, so I opt for some white Nike Airs.

When I finally make it downstairs, I oscillate between feeling like Katie Price (the Jordan years) and a super-cool style disrupter.

As my daughter scoffs, I loftily inform her shes just uncomfortable seeing me in a new look. I tell her that every time we move on sartorially, it is a challenge and it can be unsettling. When I first wore skinny jeans, I remember my friends recoiling in horror. Ditto mohair jumpers. She rolls her eyes.

The truth is I dont get much positive feedback from my outfit from family, friends or the wider public. And because its a serious investment  155 for the trousers, 175 for the hoodie  Im starting to feel slightly sick that Ive made a serious mistake.

But I reason I will wear them separately. The bottoms with a vest in high summer. The hoodie with jeans. And they will be shared by me and the teen. Which we all know means she will have primary custody of them  and look next-level fabulous.
CNN's Christiane Amanpour had visited plenty of war zones in her decades-long career as an award-winning journalist  but battling cancer was an entirely different challenge.

Last year, Amanpour, 64, revealed that she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and went on to have surgery and chemotherapy before entering remission.

Back at work  including reporting from Ukraine last month  Amanpour is now warning others about the 'invisible killer' that is ovarian cancer.

'I've spent my career covering genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda, wars in Afghanistan, Iraq  all really dangerous stuff. And I've survived all that. But this is very different,' she told People.

Christiane Amanpour, 64, was diagnosed with stage 2 ovarian clear cell carcinoma on May 5 of last year and is now in remission

'I've spent my career covering genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda, wars in Afghanistan, Iraq - all really dangerous stuff. And I've survived all that. But this is very different,' she said

Amanpour was getting her annual screening last April when a doctor found a grapefruit-sized cyst on her right ovary.

'I was shocked. I immediately asked if it was malignant. They told me, "You have to have an MRI, a CT scan, more blood tests. I can just tell you what we've seen,"' she recalled.

After further testing, she was diagnosed with stage 2 ovarian clear cell carcinoma on May 5 of last year.

Only 20 per cent of ovarian cancers are found early, with the disease often discovered at stage 3 or 4, leaving many women hopeless of options and with low survival rates. Amanpour was one of the few whose cancer was caught early.

Unlike breast cancer, ovarian cancer does not have a screening and can oftentimes be mistaken for small health problems, such as urinary tract infections, bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, trouble eating, menstrual pain, or pain during sex.

The award-winning journalist underwent surgery and 18 weeks of chemotherapy and has been back at work (pictured at the 2019 International Emmy Awards Gala)

Over a career spanning more than three decades, Amanpour has covered major crises in countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea

*Amanpour is stressing the importance of early detection - especially of ovarian cancer, known as a 'invisible killer'

Following surgery, Amanpour underwent 18 weeks of chemotherapy and saidshe let friends and family take care of her, which was a different experience for her.

'I allowed myself to be vulnerable and feel those normal emotions,' she said.

But she didn't have much downtime, and was already back reporting from a war zone in Ukraine in March.

She is also using her position to spread awareness about cancer screening.

'Ovarian cancer is known as the invisible killer. Get all the scans that you can. We women know better what's going on with our own bodies than anybody. We can trust ourselves. If there's something wrong, pursue it,' she said.

Embracing her good health, Amanpour added that she is now 'thinking about how I want to live the rest of my really good years.'

Amanpour revealed her diagnosis on air last summer after ungergoing surgery

Some personal news from me: pic.twitter.com/D5noRnfXfA  Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) June 14, 2021

'Two years of COVID, cancer, and chemo have cramped my style in that department. But now I have a whole new lease on life; I'm looking forward again!' she said, addining that her 'brush with mortality' has even made her want to persue dating.

She was married to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs James Rubin from 1998 to 2018.

Amanpour revealed her cancer diagnosis last June, on her CNN International show, shortly after she underwent surgery.

'I've had successful major surgery to remove it, and I am now going through several months of chemotherapy for the very best possible longterm prognosis, and I am confident,' she said at the time.

Amanpour, who lives in the UK, said she was fortunate to have health insurance through work and offered words of praise for doctors treating her through the UK's 'brilliant' National Health Service.

Ovarian cancer can disguise itself as common health problems women face frequently, including: bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, an upset stomach, back pain, and menstrual changes

'I am telling you this in the interest of transparency, but really as a shout out to most early diagnosis,' Amanpour said, urging women to get all 'regular screenings and scans,' listen to their bodies and 'ensure that your legitimate medical concerns are not dismissed or diminished.'

She reiterated the need for screenings ahead of her final chemo session in September.

'Many women  sadly, but true  are often, and too often, are kind of fobbed off as hypochondriacs,' she said on GMA. 'It's really hard to get to that first ultrasound, that first test, that can tell you sometimes if things are amiss.'

'So what I really want to say  and this is the only reason why I went public  is because I want women to understand, they must pay attention to their bodies, of whatever feels abnormal to them in what they know to be their body's normal state. And they need to pursue it,' she said on GMA.

Amanpour insisted on being checked out when she felt unwell.

'I would not be swayed when I felt a pain that was unusual and I pursued it until the very end of getting my first ultrasound, which is the benchmark for then having a baseline to know whether you've caught it early in time,' she told GMA.

'Ovarian cancer mimics some other issues, whether it's a UTI, or whether it's irritable bowel syndrome or whether it's just bloating.'

*5

Over a career spanning more than three decades, Amanpour has covered major crises in countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea.

She has won a range of TV journalism awards, including 11 News and Documentary Emmy Awards and four Peabody Awards.

She has been at CNN off and on since 1983, beginning as an entry-level desk assistant and rising through the ranks to become the cable news network's chief international correspondent, as well as the anchor of a self-titled daily interview program.

In 2010, Amanpour left CNN to ABC News, which tapped her to anchor This Week, but she returned to CNN in 2012.

In 2018, PBS announced that Amanpour permanently would replace Charlie Rose, who left amid allegations of sexual misconduct. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she has been hosting her PBS show Amanpour & Company from her home in London.
Buses are parked at a bus company in western Seoul, April 19. Yonhap



Unionized bus drivers threatened Wednesday to go on a nationwide strike next week unless companies meet their demand to raise wages.



The Korean Automobile and Transport Workers' Federation, the nation's largest bus drivers' organization, said its members in 10 major cities and provinces, including Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju and Gyeonggi Province, approved the walkout plan during a vote conducted Monday and Tuesday.



Of about 39,200 participants, more than 96 percent voted yes, the group said.



If no agreement is reached during the one-week dispute settlement period, federation members in the 10 regions will launch a stoppage next Tuesday or Wednesday, and more regions may join the action, the union said. It expects the strike will involve about 45,000 drivers.



The strike call came after bus companies and workers failed to narrow their differences despite multiple rounds of wage talks.



Hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, bus operators across the country did not raise wages last year. In recent negotiations, they rejected workers' demand for a pay hike and demanded a freeze for the second consecutive year.



In Seoul, the strike was supported by 87.3 percent of participants in the vote. If they walk out, 98 percent of buses in the city will be off the roads, the union warned.



The union in the capital is demanding a pay increase of 322,276 won ($261) per driver. The management rejected this, calling for a freeze. Wages rose 2.8 percent in 2020 but were unchanged in 2021 due to financial difficulties caused by the pandemic.



In Busan, the nation's second-largest city, 97.5 percent voted in favor of the walkout, the local chapter of the federation said. The drivers are demanding an 8.5 percent wage rise, but bus companies have also demanded a freeze.



In the southwestern city of Suncheon, drivers already walked off the job, grounding about 110 city buses on 30 lines early Wednesday. There are two bus companies in Suncheon, operating a total of 156 buses on 55 lines.



To cope with the disruptions, the municipal government deployed 44 chartered buses, mobilized non-union drivers and increased taxi operations.



A government arbitration panel in the city has proposed a 3.2 percent wage increase, but the companies and union failed to reach an agreement. (Yonhap)




Pharma giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has dropped all future sales forecasting for its COVID-19 vaccine, as sales dry up due to reputational damage suffered by both the shot itself and the company as a whole.

The move shaves $1 billion off of the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based, company's overall sales projections for the years, a setback for the world's largest pharmaceutical company.

Initial projections had the vaccine bringing in $3.5 billion in revenue this year - a 46 percent jump over 2021 - but demand for the shots has remained low as its main rivals - Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca, eat up much of the market.

It comes as yet another setback for the company, which has faced thousands of lawsuits in recent years over its talc-based baby powder, and recently paid out a settlement of nearly $100 million to the state of West Virginia over its alleged role in the opioid crisis.

Johnson and Johnson's Covid vaccine was the third approved for use in the U.S., but its roll out was slow amid concerns over blood clots. It was not recommended for the booster roll out

Although more than 65 per cent of Americans are now vaccinated, just three per cent of them have received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Countries are looking to donate their doses to other nations

Chief financial officer Joe Wolk said they were no longer publishing sales statistics on their vaccine because it was unusual to focus on a particular product.

The Johnson and Johnson vaccine was once hoped to be the main way to get the developing world inoculated against the virus.

But it was derided by a torrent of bad headlines over rare blood clot cases that led to it being paused only weekend after it received authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

At the end of 2021, a study emerged suggesting it triggered no antibodies against the Omicron variant, effectively making it useless.

Demand for the jab has plummeted in developing countries over some of these concerns, and its lack of use as a booster in first world countries has left it with little remaining market.

Pharma giant J&J pays out $99 million over allegations it worsened the opioid crisis Embattled big pharma company Johnson & Johnson (J&J) paid out another large settlement this week, this time shelling out nearly $100 million to settle a West Virginia lawsuit over the firm's role in the opioid epidemic. The payout allows the company to avoid a larger suit filed by state officials against pharmaceuticals companies it alleges played a role in the Mountain State's drug overdose crisis - which is by far the worst in the nation. J&J is alleged to have over-marketed opioid drugs in the state - allegations that follow it and many others around the country - and pushing doctors to over-prescribe the highly addictive drug. This settlement is just a small part of the turmoil the company is currently facing, with it facing nearly 40,000 lawsuits for selling baby powder products with cancer-causing chemicals and allegations that it paid doctors to perform human experiments on prisoners in past decades emerging in recent years. Advertisement

Wolk told CNBC the figures were published last year because 'we understood the Street had an expectation, or at least an excitement, around understanding how vaccine sales might play out'.

In the first three months of this year, the jab brought in $457 million in sales globally.

In the U.S. it earned $75 million, or about a quarter less than at the same time a year ago.

Johnson and Johnson has manufactured its jab on a not for profit basis.

It is the cheapest of the three approved in the U.S.  at $10 per dose.

For comparison, Moderna's Covid vaccine costs $15 per dose while Pfizer's is up to $19.50.

But to date, only three percent of inoculations in the U.S. have been from this vaccine.

Both trials and real world data for the Johnson and Johnson jab has shown it is 85 percent effective in preventing severe disease or hospitalization from Covid.

The company stopped manufacturing the vaccine at its main plant in Leiden, the Netherlands, amid a glut of supply.

Countries including the UK have donated their entire supply of this vaccine to developing nations to aid their inoculation drives.

Johnson and Johnson is currently facing almost 40,000 lawsuits related to its baby powder which is suggested to have been laced with asbestos.

Minerals in the talc-based product were pulled from the same mines as those extracting asbestos  which can trigger cancer when inhaled.

The FDA recalled the baby powder in October 2019 after traces of asbestos were found within it.
A small biotech company that saw its stock evaluation rocket after revealing it had developed a drug that could potentially reverse the cognitive decline of Alzheimer's - which would be the first of its kind - is now facing allegations of manipulating or falsifying data.

Cassava Sciences, an Austin, Texas-based company, revealed last year that its drug simufilam showed incredible promise in early trials - and it was rewarded with incredible stock growth, peaking at $135 per share after spending years under the $5 mark.

But then the skeptics arrived, with now multiple experts pointing out irregularities in published data, even making major accusations that the company and associated researchers had manipulated data.

The company is now facing an investigation from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and has had some of its trial data either rescinded or marked by journals as potentially manipulated.

This is the second major controversy to strike a newly developed Alzheimer's drug in the last 12 months, with Biogen's Aduhelm also receiving a wave of scrutiny after it received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year.

The biotech company Cassava is facing multiple allegations that it and associated researchers have manipulated data and doctored photos related to trials for its Alzheimer's drug, simufilam

Cassava's stock price experienced rampan growth after it revealed promising data from trials of its Alzheimer's drug. It has since floundered amid mounting allegations of data manipulation

The allegations are centered around two researchers, Hoau-Yan Wang of CUNY, in New York City, and Cassava's own Lindsay Burns, who had previously published two studies related to the brain.

Late last year the Journal of Neuroscience issued an 'expression of concern' regarding data published by the two researchers at the end of 2021, reports Retraction Watch.

This means that the editors of the paper have doubts over the accuracy of the data published.

Last month, another study authored by the pair that is key to Cassava's findings was hit with an 'expression of concern' from Neurobiology of Aging.

What is Alzheimer's? Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain, in which build-up of abnormal proteins causes nerve cells to die. This disrupts the transmitters that carry messages, and causes the brain to shrink. More than 5 million people suffer from the disease in the US, where it is the 6th leading cause of death, and more than 1 million Britons have it. WHAT HAPPENS? As brain cells die, the functions they provide are lost. That includes memory, orientation and the ability to think and reason. The progress of the disease is slow and gradual. On average, patients live five to seven years after diagnosis, but some may live for ten to 15 years. EARLY SYMPTOMS: Loss of short-term memory

Disorientation

Behavioral changes

Mood swings

Difficulties dealing with money or making a phone call LATER SYMPTOMS: Severe memory loss, forgetting close family members, familiar objects or places

Becoming anxious and frustrated over inability to make sense of the world, leading to aggressive behavior

Eventually lose ability to walk

May have problems eating

The majority will eventually need 24-hour care Source: Alzheimer's Association Advertisement

Last year, New York City-based law firm Labaton Sucharow filed a citizen's petition to the FDA saying it had 'grave concerns about the quality and integrity of the laboratory-based studies surrounding this drug candidate and supporting the claims for its efficacy,' Retraction Watch reports.

The law firm is representing investors who had shorted the company's stock, and would financially benefit from the company's price decreasing.

Only weeks late, PLoS One retracted five papers from Wang.

The New York Times reports that CUNY has launched an investigation into Wang, which is still ongoing.

The Wall Street Journal reported in November of last year, before the first expression of concern was issued, the the SEC had launched an investigation into the company, as it potentially defrauded investors by using manipulated trial data to inflate its stock price.

Cassava received funding from the National Institutes of Health to develop the drug, and is now facing an investigation from that agency as well, the Times reports.

The drug was apparently able to reverse the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's in two-thirds of patients. No other drug on the market is able to do that..

Only one drug may have the ability to even slow down the cognitive decline, Biogen's Aduhelm, which many also doubt even works, has been rejected for Medicare coverage in the U.S. and whose developers have also been accused of improper data practices.

Experts noticed that some fluctuations in biomarkers reported in the studies did not make sense, and cast doubts over the study's findings.

'That type of discrepancy really raises questions in terms of the rigor as well as the reliability of these results,' Dr William Hu, a neurologist at Rutgers University, told the Times.

Another study found that the drug could restore the shape of some proteins in the brain, which Dr Thomas Sudhof, a neuroscientist at Stanford University, said 'theres just no possibility, no rational way this could happen,' per the Times.

Elisabeth Bik, an expert on image manipulation who has also found other studies that have used doctored photos, reported that she had found signs of Cassava doctoring visuals in its study.

The company's stock has suffered as a result of the allegations. It was as high as $90.91 per share in early November, before the WSJ report was released, and has since cratered to $22.46 as of closing bell Tuesday.
The artist Tracey Emin has shared a graphic photo of her stoma to raise awareness about living with disabilities following her cancer battle.

The 58-year-old underwent a series of major operations in 2020 after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer during lockdown.

Medics removed her bladder, urethra, lymph nodes and parts of her intestine and vagina to prevent the tumour from spreading.

She was fitted with a stoma pouch, an opening on the abdomen, to allow urine to be diverted out of the body and disposed of via a urostomy bag.

Emin has been frank about adapting to life post-surgery and often shares candid updates about her health on social media.

In an Instagram post today, she wrote: 'This is my stoma. Most people have never seen one. It's something I'm supposed to hide forever.

'It's part of my intestine attached to the outside of my body. Without it being there and functioning correctly, I will die.'

The artist Tracey Emin has shared a graphic photo of her stoma to raise awareness about living with disabilities following her cancer battle

She was fitted with a stoma pouch, an opening on the abdomen, to allow urine to be diverted out of the body and disposed of via a urostomy bag

Emin has been frank about adapting to life post-surgery and often and shares candid updates about her health on social media. Pictured, at the GQ Men of the Year Awards, Arrivals at the Tate Modern in London on 5 September 2017

'[It's] live flesh. Fragile and delicate. Surrounded by scar tissue and swollen puffy fatty flesh.

'I have almost total muscle wastage in my core abdomen, stomach. My body will never be the same.

'To be honest I find wearing the bag quite depressing. Nothing cool about carrying a bag of p*** around with you.

'But it's life.. my life now. Many disabilities can not be seen. But I thought I'd show you mine.'

Emin's followers were full of praise and encouragement in the comments section, with Actor Russell Tovey replying: 'So much love and admiration for you always.'

What is a stoma? A stoma is an opening on the abdomen connected to the body's urinary system. It is fitted in patients to allow waste to be diverted out of the body and emptied externally. The operation is done on patients who no longer have the full use of their bladder. A removable pouch known as an urostomy bag attaches to the stoma via a tube. It collects the urine and needs to be emptied by hand. Advertisement

GQ editor Dylan Jones wrote: 'So powerful, so important, so moving x.'

While English fashion designer Alice Temperly said: 'Sending love Tracy, you're strong and beautiful.'

Last month, Emin revealed the struggles of flying abroad with a urostomy bag to her 94,000 Instagram followers.

'Traveling with a urostomy bag is a disability... You have no control of when it's going to fill up and when you need a loo,' she wrote in the self-deprecating post.

'When or if the bag comes off... It can be a disaster... the urine just sort of explodes everywhere.'

Announcing her cancer in late 2020, the artist revealed she had been diagnosed during the first coronavirus lockdown and had surgery in the summer.

Emin was diagnosed with a very aggressive squamous cell cancer, which surgeons feared would kill her in months if it spread to her lymph nodes.

As a result, a decision was made to remove not only her bladder but also her uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, lymph nodes, urethra and part of her colon and vagina.

Prior to the surgery that summer, Emin said she stayed up for 24 hours with her solicitor rewriting her will before sending an email to 70 friends breaking the news of her cancer and instructing them: 'Do not contact me'.

Emin compared her operations to having a child or gender reassignment surgery. She also revealed she had been working on a painting of a malignant lump before doctors discovered the tumour on her bladder.

Emin is one of the most well-known British artists of her generation, famous for her notorious work My Bed, Emin's record of several days spent in bed in the grip of depression.

The bed is unmade and the sheets are stained, while a variety of items such as condoms, contraceptive pills, underwear stained with menstrual blood, money, and cigarette ends are strewn on the floor.

The work was nominated for the Turner prize in 1999 and received a hugely mixed response from the public and press

She was one of the so-called Young British Artists who emerged in the 1990s, along with Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas.

Her next exhibition A Journey To Death opens at the Carl Freedman Gallery in Margate, Kent, from April 24 to June 19.
Antidepressants are no better at making people feel happier than taking no medication at all, a study claimed today.

Patients on the drugs did not have a significantly better quality of life compared to depressed people who were not on the pills, the analysis found.

Researchers looked 17.5million US adults with depression over 10 years, with around half on medication and half not.

Results showed a slight improvement in mental health in both groups, regardless of whether they were on antidepressants.

The researchers from King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, called for more long-term studies on patients on antidepressants to evaluate their impact on quality of life.

NHS doctors are already moving away from prescribing the drugs, which can cause a host of side effects.

The health service now advises that patients with mild depression be offered group therapy sessions before pills.

But independent experts said strong conclusions from the study cannot be drawn because those given the drugs were typically more depressed at the start, and therefore it was not a fair comparison.

They insisted other clinical studies have shown the drugs to improve overall quality of life.

Taking antidepressants does not make depressed people any happier than not taking the drugs, a study of 17.5million US adults found today

Around 7.3million adults  17 per cent of the adult population  took antidepressants in England from 2017 to 2018, the latest date data is available for.

Some of the most commonly prescribed are citalopram, sertraline and fluoxetine under the brand names Celexa, Zoloft and Prozac.

Some 27.6million over-18s (13.2 per cent) were taking the drugs regularly in the US between 2015 and 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates.

The latest study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, used data from people who were surveyed and given health checks as part of another study.

How do antidepressants work? It's not known exactly how antidepressants work. It's thought they work by increasing levels of chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters, which are linked to mood and emotion. While antidepressants can treat the symptoms of depression, they do not always address its causes. So they are usually used in combination with therapy to treat more severe depression or other mental health conditions. Research suggests that antidepressants can be helpful for people with moderate or severe depression. Studies have shown that they're better than placebo for people with these conditions. They're not usually recommended for mild depression, unless other treatments like therapy have not helped. The Royal College of Psychiatrists estimates that 50 to 65 per cent of people treated with an antidepressant for depression will see an improvement, compared to 25 to 30 per cent of those taking a placebo. Source: NHS Advertisement

These included all adults in the country who were diagnosed with depression that were not institutionalised.

They had an average age of 48 and were mostly women (67.9 per cent).

More than half took antidepressants, while 43 per cent were not on the medication but still had a clinical diagnosis.

Researchers checked their Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) scores when they were first identified by the database and two years afterwards.

The measure is used by the CDC as an indicator of quality of life, both mentally and physically, and is determined by patients answering survey questions about their wellbeing.

It is split into two areas: mental and physical health. Healthy people typically score around 90 on the scale.

Mental health scores increased in both groups over the two years, while physical scores declined.

For those taking the medication, mental health scores increased 2.9 per cent from an average of 40.32 to 41.50. Their physical health scores fell 1.5 per cent from 42.5 to 41.85.

Meanwhile, those not receiving antidepressants saw their mental health scores increase 2.2 per cent from 42.99 to 43.92. Their physical scores dropped from 43.86 to 43.31 (1.3 per cent).

Dr Omar Almohammed, a clinical pharmacist at the Saudi university, said there was no statistical difference between those taking the medication and those who didn't.

This suggests using antidepressants does not significantly improve quality of life over time, they claimed.

But independent experts criticised the study for not taking into account the difference in depression levels between the two groups.

Dr Gemma Lewis, a psychiatrist at University College London, said: 'In this study, the people who received antidepressants had worse quality of life, and are likely to have been more severely depressed, than those who did not.

'This type of bias is difficult to eliminate in a naturalistic study like this, which does not involve an experimental design.

'Clinical trials with experimental designs have found that antidepressants improve mental health related quality of life.'

Professor Eduard Vieta, a psychiatrist at the University of Barcelona, said: 'The major limitation of this paper is that, as is often the case with these kinds of studies, the confounder by indication.

'The inability to control for severity of depression between the two different groups is a crucial flaw and therefore there is little we can learn from this data.'
Cannabis edibles sold in 'copycat' packages that make them look like common sweets could be accidentally eaten by children, experts warn.

Researchers at New York University urged parents to keep any cannabis-infused snacks stored at home out of reach of their youngsters.

Tests also revealed the products could contain up to six times more THC  the chemical in cannabis that triggers the high  on average than permitted.

Children who eat cannabis edibles can become 'very sick', and may struggle to walk, sit up or breathe normally. Little is known about the long-term effects.

The study was released this week ahead of April 20, or '420' in colloquial terms, when cannabis-using Americans pack the streets in some states to use and celebrate the drug.

Pictured above is a 'copycat' cannabis edible being sold in Nevada. It uses the name of another product  Doritos  and only has small warning symbols that it contains cannabis

Pictured above is another product made to look like Nerds, a regular sweet, being sold in the District of Columbia. Small symbols on the side of the packet show it contains cannabis

These packets were spotted being sold in Colorado. They share the name of the common treat Gushers, but are laced with cannabis

Dr Danielle Ompad, associate professor of epidemiology at the university who led the research, said: 'At first glance, most of the packages look almost exactly like familiar snacks.

'If these copycat cannabis products are not stored safely, there is the potential for accidental ingestion by children or adults.'

Many states have not legalized the purchase of cannabis-laced treats and snacks for children and adolescents under 21 years old.

But scientists are concerned that the 'colorful' packaging on many products which 'mimics' those of regular snacks could lead to children accidentally ingesting them.

They also warn it could encourage adolescents to try the products, because they already look familiar.

What are the pros and cons of cannabis? Cannabis is legal for recreational use across 18 U.S. states, and can be taken for medical reasons in another 20. The drug is used recreationally due to the 'high' it triggers, which can make users feel relaxed and happy. But smoking it can also lead to feelings of panic, anxiety or paranoia. Scientific studies have shown the drug can alleviate depression, anxiety and stress, but heavy use may worsen depression in the long term by reducing the brain's ability to let go of bad memories. It can also contribute to mental health problems among people who already have them, or increase users' risk of psychosis or schizophrenia, according to research. Marijuana can be prescribed for medical uses in more than half of US states, where it is used to combat anxiety, aggression and sleeping problems. Researchers are also looking into whether it could help people with autism, eczema or psoriasis. Cannabis oil containing the psychoactive chemical THC, which is illegal in the UK, is claimed to have cancer-fighting properties, and one 52 year-old woman from Coventry says she recovered from terminal bowel and stomach cancer by taking the drug. Advertisement

A total of 18 U.S. states  including California, New York and Arizona  have legalized taking cannabis for recreational reasons, with 20 others allowing the drug to be used in medical settings.

In the study  published today in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence  scientists looked at 267 cannabis 'edibles' packets found through an online survey.

A total of 22  or eight percent  were deemed to be 'copycats', that could be mistaken for other non-cannabis products.

Of these, 12 were candies or sweet snacks such as fruit chews, marshmallow treats and gummies.

A further eight carried the brand name of the another product  such as Nerds and Doritos  that does not contain THC.

Five were also considered to have similar names to non-cannabis products, such as 'Stoner Patch Dummies' which was said to be close to 'Sour Patch Kids'.

'All of these edibles are copycats/lookalikes of snacks or candies that children eat,' researchers warned.

'Further, the packaging is colorful and frequently contains brand/promotional characters that may appeal to children.

'Thus, cannabis products such as these could lead to accidental dosing of children.

'In addition, children/adolescents who recognize the cannabis content may be interested in trying the product because it looks like a familiar snack or candy.'

Many states have set legal limits for the amount of THC allowed in cannabis-laced snacks.

Rules say that a portion, or dose, should not contain more than 10mg each  while a packet should not contain more than 100mg.

But the scientists found the amount in the products studied far exceeded this limit on average.

They said products had 459mg of THC per dose  about 45 times the recommended amount.

And packets contained up to 600mg of THC each  or six times the permitted levels.

The scientists warned that many products making there way onto shelves were un-regulated, leading to them containing higher concentrations of cannabis.

These packages are illegal to sell in the U.S. because they use another company's images to promote their products.

'Policies to prevent cannabis packaging from appealing to children haven't stopped copycat products from entering the market  nor have food brands taking legal action against cannabis companies for copyright infringement,' Ompad added.

'People who purchase edibles that look like snack foods should store them separately from regular snacks and out of reach of children.'

The above map shows states that have legalized recreational cannabis use (dark green) and medicinal cannabis use (light green). Others (in grey) are yet to clear cannabis for use in either of these contexts. The above map is from marijuana.procon.org

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that when young children eat cannabis-infused products they can get 'very sick', and start to struggle to walk, sit up or breathe normally.

About 2,000 of 4,000 poisoning cases in the U.S. among under-nines involved children eating cannabis products between 2017 and 2019, latest figures show.

Among under-5s, cannabis-laced products were behind 70 per cent of call outs for poisonings.

Cases included a three-year-old in New Jersey, who was admitted to hospital after swallowing a cannabis candy which 'looked identical to a Nerds Rope'.

Another youngster was admitted to hospital in the state a month later, after eating large amounts of marijuana-laced candy that looked 'almost identical' to sour skittles.

The study was published the week of 420  America's unofficial national cannabis day  when thousands will meet under a thick fog of smoke from the drug to celebrate it.

Rallies are expected across the U.S. where it is legal to use recreationally in some parts, and groups are also expected to meet in parks to indulge in the drug.

Pressure is also expected to be placed on authorities in states where the drug is yet to be made legal.

The Federal Government has also been urged to legalize the drug for recreational use nationwide.
Medics revealed she had epilepsy and was suffering from mini seizures

Annie Newcomen told she appeared to be 'covering up' she was drunk at work

A 22-year-old NHS worker learned she had undiagnosed epilepsy when a colleague urged her to see a doctor after acting 'drunk' at work.

Annie Newcomen, from Liverpool, suffered from 'episodes' that would cause sudden brain fog and memory loss multiple times a day in the lead up to her diagnosis in March.

The speech therapist wrote off her symptoms for weeks but was taken to A&E by a coworker who thought she was 'covering up that she was drunk'.

After initially diagnosing her with stress, medics eventually discovered Ms Newcomen had been experiencing mini seizures and that she had epilepsy.

She is now taking medication which has slashed the frequency of her fits from three times per day to just a few each week.

However, she can no longer drive, take a bath or swim without a lifeguard present and cannot go back to work until her seizures are fully under control.

Annie Newcomen, from Aigburth in Liverpool, was rushed to A&E after a colleague said was acting as though she was 'covering up' that she was drunk. The speech therapist had been 'feeling strange' and suffering from deja vu and a foggy brain multiple times a day  all tell-tale signs of the seizure-causing condition

Ms Newcomen told the Liverpool ECHO: 'In work I kept on feeling strange, I had a lot of deja vu experiences.

'I would feel as though I had forgotten everything, I would be on the ward and go to the office - but forget why I was there, or what I was doing.'

After weeks of suffering from these symptoms, Ms Newcomen was then taken to the emergency department by a colleague.

'I was taken to A&E that day as one of my colleagues knew something was up, they said it seemed as though I was covering up I was drunk, that's how I was presenting myself,' she said.

WHAT EPILEPSY? Epilepsy is a condition that affects the brain and leaves patients at risk of seizures. Around one in 100 people in the UK and one in 80 in the US have epilepsy. Anyone can have a seizure, which does not automatically mean they have epilepsy. Usually more than one episode is required before a diagnosis. Seizures occur when there is a sudden burst of electrical activity in the brain, which causes a disruption to the way it works. Some seizures cause people to remain alert and aware of their surroundings, while others make people lose consciousness. Some also make patients experience unusual sensations, feelings or movement, or go stiff and fall to the floor where they jerk. Epilepsy can be brought on at any age by a stroke, brain infection, head injury or problems at birth that lead to lack of oxygen. But in more than half of cases, a cause is never found. Anti-epileptic drugs do not cure the condition but help to stop or reduce seizures. If these do not work, brain surgery can be effective. Source: Epilepsy Action Advertisement

Medics told Ms Newcomen her symptoms were stress-related but she knew they had missed something.

She said: 'I didn't feel stressed, I mean, the work I do can sometimes be stressful but I wasn't stressed, everyone's job is a bit stressful.'

Ms Newcomen contacted her GP the following day, who referred her to The Walton Centre, a neurology hospital in Fazakerley, Liverpool, to see a specialist at the end of March.

While waiting for her appointment, she underwent blood tests and an electrocardiogram (ECG)  a test which checks the heart's rhythm and electrical activity.

Her results were normal but Ms Newcomen was still suffering from on-and-off symptoms. 'Some days I would be completely fine, then others I wouldn't,' she said.

On one day when she was 'feeling really bad' she called the specialist hospital and had her appointment brought forward to the following day.

Ms Newcomen told the neurologists that she was suffering from 'episodes' where 'she couldn't speak' and would get a 'foggy brain'.

'He turned around and said to me that I have epilepsy,' she said.

Epilepsy is a condition that affects the brain and leaves patients at risk of seizures.

Seizures occur when there is a sudden burst of electrical activity in the brain, which causes a disruption to the way it works.

The doctor also revealed Ms Newcomen was suffering from focal seizures, also known as partial seizures, which can cause a general strange feeling that's hard to describe, a feeling that events have happened before and stiffness or twitching in part of the body.

Some patients also experience unusual smells or tastes, tingling in their arms and legs and intense feelings of joy or fear. The seizures usually pass within seconds or minutes.

Ms Newcomen's are triggered by stress, tiredness and skipping meals.

She said: 'I was shocked, I thought epilepsy was something you could only get when you were a kid and grow up with it, I didn't think it could come on in adult life. He told me you can get it at any age.'

An epilepsy diagnosis is mainly based on a person's symptoms and ECG and MRI brain scans may be conducted, but these often fail to detect epilepsy.

Around one in every 100 people suffer from the condition, with mostly older people affected. And 1,000 people in the UK die from causes related to epilepsy every year.

The speech therapist is still waiting on the results from an ECG scan, which is due at the end of this month, but has been told that even if the test 'comes back fine' she will still have epilepsy.

She is no longer allowed to drive, have a bath or swim without a lifeguard.

She said: 'A lot of my independence has just been stripped away from me. I was having about two or three seizures a day then, for about three weeks.'

After medics initially dismissed her symptoms as stress-related, Ms Newcomen was diagnosed with epilepsy, with her symptoms actually being signs of focal seizures. Ms Newcomen is now taking medication which has slashed her seizures from two or three times per day to just a few per week

Ms Newcomen is taking medication and said the frequency of her seizures have dropped from up to three times a day to three times a week.

During the seizures, Ms Newcomen said: 'My body twitches, it is not a fall to the floor type of seizure. My eyes flicker, I completely zone out - it is as if I leave the room - I am still conscious, but my mind is not there.'

She said it takes six or seven minutes before she can speak.

Ms Newcomen said: 'I am a speech therapist, the last five years of my life have been focusing on speech and communication, and then for me not to be able to communicate, It is how I knew something was definitely not right,' she said.

'It has been a massive life change for me. I have had to come to terms with the fact that this is happening to me, rather than me treating patients - like I treat patients who have had operations for epilepsy - and now I'm the patient.

'In terms of my job, I need to wait for the time being until my seizures are under control, but work are being so supportive of me and really understanding about what is going on.'

She added: 'My whole outlook on life has completely changed. I know it is cliche but life is too short, I was petrified at first thinking that it could have been a brain tumour or anything, weird as it is to say, I am lucky it is only epilepsy, if that makes sense.

'I look at it now like, you can't take anything for granted and you have to enjoy everything that you have in life. When they're taken away from you, things like going to work or driving a car, that's when you realise how lucky you actually were.'
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Earlier this week, the courts struck down federal mask orders that apply to public transportation like planes and trains. While the move was met with jubilation, with videos of patrons cheering spreading across social media, it was met with some confusion as well.

Mask orders of transportation are one of the final Covid requirement many Americans deal with day-to-day. The orders were instituted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at the federal level, forcing all localities to abide by them.

Now with these orders removed, Americans will now only be required to follow local regulations, which can prove to be confusing for a person seeing headlines saying that masks are not needed anymore while still being asked to wear a mask some places locally.

Some cities like New York, Philadelphia and Boston will still require masks in some places, even without federal orders. Meanwhile, some cities like Washington D.C. chose to follow the federal government, and rescind orders along with the removal of the CDC order.

The striking down of mask orders comes as Covid continues to recede in the U.S. Cases have remained flat at 37,792 per day, with deaths plummeting 22 percent to 422 per day over the last seven days. The CDC also reports that only 0.5 percent of U.S. counties are considered to be of 'high' Covid risk.

In New York City, along with San Francisco and Boston, public transit users will still have to wear masks on-board. Pictured: People on the New York City subway wear masks while traveling

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority chose to keep mask orders in place this week, requiring residents of the Big Apple to still wear a mask on the subway, on busses and other forms of transit. Airports in the city, JFK International and LaGuardia will both require masks in the facility as well.

Nearby airports in New Jersey did drop the orders, though.

Residents of Boston will be required to wear masks on public trains and busses as well. San Francisco's famous BART system will also still require patrons to wear masks.

A majority of medical facilities and nursing homes in America will still require masks as well, though Reuters does report that a few systems in the Midwest have dropped the requirements.

Some colleges and universities have reinstituted mask orders in recent months as well. Four Washington D.C. area schools - American University, George Washington University, Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University - have reinstated a mask mandate of some sort this to combat rising cases on campus.

Also in New York City, Columbia University also requires students to wear a mask in the classroom after a surge of cases struck the campus earlier this month.

Mask mandates have also made a return in Philadelphia.

The City of Brotherly Love reinstated its mask mandate for all indoor public places, like schools, businesses, restaurants and government buildings, starting Monday.

Cases in the city have risen 140 percent over the past two weeks, to 273 per day. While the growth is rampant, case levels are still relatively low compared to the highs reached during the peak of the Omicron-variant fueled winter surge.

Private businesses around the country also have discretion to implement their own mask mandates - except in places where doing so is explicitly banned.

The change comes as a new version of the Omicron variant, and potentially a new threat during the pandemic, emerges around the nation.

For the first time Tuesday, the CDC included the BA.2.12.1 variant on its NOWCAST, with the strain making up 19 percent of sequenced cases in America. The sub-strain falls within the BA.2 lineage - which is in itself a sub-strain of the Omicron variant.

The BA.2.12.1 strain (red) of Omicron has now been recognized as a separate threat by the CDC, making up 19% of sequenced COVID-19 cases per the agency's most recent update

BA.2.12.1 (red) makes up more than half of Covid cases in the New York and New Jersey region, the only place where it has over taken the stealth variant as the nation's dominant strain. It was also first detected in New York last week

Little is known about this version of the virus, though it is believed to have a 27 percent growth advantage over the original version of BA.2, though there is no evidence that it is more severe than its predecessor.

This is now the third different version of Omicron - which in total makes up 100 percent of sequenced cases in the U.S. - to be categorized separately by health officials, a phenomenon that did not occur with previous versions of the virus.

The BA.2.12.1 variant was first detected by officials in New York last week. The CDC reports that the strain is now dominant in the region - which also includes neighboring New Jersey - making up 52.3 percent of cases.

Since the discovery of the variant, Covid cases in New York have begun to grow, recording a 66 percent jump of the past two weeks.

New York City is recording increases as well, with daily case figures up nearly 50 percent over the last 14 days.

The CDC designated region that includes New Jersey and New York is the only one in America to have BA.2.12.1 be the dominant strain.
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Mississippi is chlamydia and gonorrhea capital of the U.S.  while Nevada has the most syphilis cases per capita, official figures reveal.

Cases of common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) hit record highs across America during the first year of the pandemic, despite normal testing being interrupted by Covid.

The outbreak was biggest in the Magnolia state thanks to a stigma around getting tested for the diseases and admitting to an infection, an epidemiologist in its department of health told DailyMail.com.

They added that poor healthcare coverage  leading many to put off getting tested  and rising rates of drug abuse were also fueling infection levels.

In Nevada, STD prevention workers have blamed that state's growing hook-up culture leading to more anonymous sex via dating apps for higher rates of syphilis. More testing and less condom use were also considered to be attributing to the spread.

The figures for Americas 50 states come from the Center for Disease Control and Preventions (CDCs) annual surveillance report for 2020, the latest available.

Overall, cases of the three STDs detected dropped slightly to 2.4 million in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the previous 12 months. But CDC officials warned this was likely due to a drop in testing, which had masked a real-terms rise in infections across the board.

The above map shows cases of chlamydia per 100,000 people across the 50 states of the U.S. and territories. It reveals that Mississippi has the highest case count for the sexually transmitted disease out of all states

Chlamydia: Top and bottom ten states in U.S. TOP TEN STATES 1. Mississippi, 803.7 cases* 2. Louisiana, 709.8 3. Alaska, 695.8 4. South Carolina, 662.7 5. North Carolina, 616.3 6. Georgia, 589.4 7. New Mexico, 576.3 8. Tennessee, 555.1 9. Alabama, 552.2 10. Illinois, 542.3 BOTTOM TEN STATES 50. Vermont, 179 cases* 49. New Hampshire, 215.6 48. Maine, 257.8 47. West Virginia, 303 46. Utah, 326.5 45. Wyoming, 338.8 44. Idaho, 351 43. New Jersey, 356.3 42. Connecticut, 356.7 41. Massachusetts, 361.3 * The figures are given as cases per 100,000 people in each state to allow for comparison Advertisement

Gonorrhea: Top and bottom ten states in U.S. TOP TEN STATES 1. Mississippi, 462.8 cases* 2. Louisiana, 333.1 3. South Carolina, 324.4 4. Alabama, 294.2 5. Oklahoma, 283.1 6. Missouri, 274.6 7. South Dakota, 274 8. Alaska, 270.9 9. Tennessee, 270.3 10. North Carolina, 269.4 BOTTOM TEN STATES 50. Vermont, 22.3 cases* 49. New Hampshire, 33.9 48. Maine, 38.7 47. Wyoming, 67.7 46. Idaho, 82.8 45. Utah, 97.1 44. West Virginia, 99.3 43. Hawaii, 104.8 42. Massachusetts, 108.7 41. New Jersey, 113.3 * The figures are given as cases per 100,000 people in each state to allow for comparison Advertisement

The CDC report found gonorrhea cases have now hit their highest level for 30 years in the US, but officials suggest cases are likely even higher. They say most went unreported, however, because of cuts to testing as resources were redirected to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic

The above graph shows rates of syphilis across the US since 1940. It reveals that total syphilis cases (grey line) have risen to their highest level in 30 years, despite disruption triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic

Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis are all transmitted through vaginal, anal and oral sex when bodily fluids are exchanged.

Chlamydia and gonorrhea may trigger an unpleasant discharge from the penis or vaginal, or a burning sensation during urination when someone is infected  while syphilis leads to sores appearing over infected areas during the early stages.

Both chlamydia and gonorrhea can be diagnosed with a urine test, while syphilis requires a blood sample. All three can be easily treated with antibiotics.

Mississippi became the nation's chlamydia capital in 2020 for the first time in eight years, taking the dubious title from Alaska. It has had the biggest gonorrhea outbreak in the country for five years running.

Nevada has been the nations syphilis capital for the latest three years data is available for, taking the top spot from Louisiana.

Chlamydia cases in Mississippi hit record levels in 2019 before falling slightly over the following year, although this may have been due to interruptions in surveillance.

Its gonorrhea cases have now reached a record high, and in Nevada syphilis cases fell slightly compared to the previous year.

Data for Washington D.C. was excluded because it has much better surveillance than other states, with anyone on its HIV prevention program required to get tested for STDs every three months.

For chlamydia  the most common STD in the U.S.  Mississippi detected about one case for every 124 people in 2020.

Louisiana had the second-highest rate, at one in every 140, and Alaska the third highest, at one in every 143.

On the other end of the scale was Vermont with one case for every 558 people, followed by New Hampshire at one per 463 and Maine at one per 387.

For gonorrhea, Mississippi recorded one case for every 216 people  a record high. Louisiana had one case per 300 and South Carolina had one case per 308.

The states with the fewest cases of this STD were Vermont (one per 4,400), New Hampshire (one per 2,900) and Maine (one per 2,500).

Nevada had the biggest syphilis outbreak of all 50 states in during the first year of Covid with one case per 1,388 people, alongside Mississippi at one case per 1,390 people and New Mexico at one per 1,400.

Vermont (one per 27,000), Wyoming (one per 26,000) and Maine (one per 16,000) had the least cases of syphilis over the first year of the pandemic.

Mississippis state epidemiologist Dr Paul Byers told DailyMail.com that STD rates were high in the state due to a myriad of factors.

High rates in Mississippi are impact by a number of factors including social determinants of health and inadequate access to care, negative impacts on health in communities with high social vulnerability, lack of health care coverage, which may contribute to a delay in seeking care, increases in drug use, and social stigmatization of being diagnosed with an STD, he said.

Some increases may certainly have been due to the interruption in routine healthcare access over the last two years.

Mississippi is one of the least wealthy states in America, ranking at 37 out of 50 in terms of its gross domestic product (GDP) according to the Bureau of Economic Analyses. It ranks 17th for its death rate from drug overdose, figures from the CDC show.

The above map shows rates of gonorrhea across all 50 U.S. states, the district of Columbia and territories in 2020, the latest available. It reveals Mississippi had the highest gonorrhea rates

The above map shows syphilis rates across all 50 U.S. states alongside the District of Columbia and territories in 2020, the latest available. It shows Nevada has the highest rates

Syphilis: Top and bottom ten states in U.S. TOP TEN STATES 1. Nevada, 72 cases* 2. Mississippi, 71.6 3. New Mexico, 71.3 4. California, 66.9 5. Arizona, 61.3 6. Florida, 57.8 7. New York, 54.6 8. Louisiana, 53.7 9. Texas, 53 10. Georgia, 52.7 BOTTOM TEN STATES 50. Vermont, 3.7 cases* 49. Wyoming, 5.5 48. Maine, 6 47. New Hampshire, 8.8 46. Montana, 9.5 45. Idaho, 10.3 44. Utah, 10.9 43. North Dakota, 11.9 42. Nebraska, 13.9 41. Wisconsin, 14.3 * The figures are given as cases per 100,000 people in each state to allow for comparison Advertisement

Byers said more healthcare specialists trained in STDs were being recruited by the state to help limit infections, and that education programs was being expanded.

STDs are not a benign disease, we are seeing impacts with increased cases of congenital syphilis, unrecognized and untreated chlamydia can lead to infertility, certain STIs, including syphilis, can increase the risk of HIV,' he added.

Our message is: Be protected, get tested, get treated and let your contacts know if you have been diagnosed with an STD.

Nevadas outbreak of syphilis was previously blamed on more casual sexual encounters via dating apps.

Jennifer Howell, who works in STD prevention in the state, told KUNR that this takes people out of their social circle and exposes them to a new group or that has more influence on them.

She warned more cases were being reported among gay and bi-sexual men, and also blamed drug abuse in the state.

Opioid use, that brings in another component, of people injecting drugs or putting themselves in situations to have sex, to support their drug habit  survival sex, which is exchanging sex for something that they need, Howell said.

Health officials in Las Vegas have also previously blamed less testing for the disease  leading to more cases going un-diagnosed and spreading  and people using condoms less.
Pharmaceutical giant Gilead is alleging that it is the victim of a massive healthcare fraud scheme that played out in the state of Florida.

The Bay Area-based company alleges that health care clinics and pharmacies in the Sunshine State took advantage of its free distribution of the HIV prevention drug Truvada, a preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP), to illegally obtain the drug for free and sell it on the black market.

The company accuses the firms of enrolling uninsured people - and even recruiting homeless people - in the scheme to obtain the drugs.

Medication was then illegally distributed, sometimes on the black market, costing the pharma giant millions. On Wednesday, it won a court order that could order it to be repaid millions of dollars.

The massive pharma company Gilead is alleging that it program that allows uninsured people to access the HIV drug Truvada was abused as part of a wide-scale fraud scheme in Florida (file photo)

The company alleges that its 'Advancing Access Medication Assistance Program' program was abused as part of the scheme.

Gilead distributed Truvada for free to people who are uninsured and suffer a risk of contracting HIV.

The drug works by preventing the HIV virus from replicating in the body, killing infected cells and stopping the development of AIDS.

It is often used by gay and bisexual men, along with others who may have a partner that is at risk of being infected.

Those who qualify are distributed the drug for free as a part of a larger effort by the company to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS.

In 2019, the company started to notice discrepancies in the amount of the drugs being distributed in the state, the first tell that something was wrong.

After investigation, and reports from whistleblowers, the company became aware of the scheme.

Workers at pharmacies, medical labs and health care clinics across the state were recruiting homeless people and others who needed money to submit a wellness check that would qualify them for the drugs.

Gilead would then send the drugs to the pharmacy, for the person who was recruited to use.

Instead, though, the company would repackage and distribute the drugs. Either selling it themselves through the pharmacy, or illegally on the black market, the company alleges.

The company alleges that pharmacies, health care clinics, and others recruited people to take part in fraudulent checks to get the medication. Then, the fraudsters would repackage and sell the medicine, sometimes on the black market (file photo)

Gilead is seeking tens of millions in damages from 58 defendants named in a November 2020 lawsuit.

It also specifically blames some 'Kingpins', deemed to be most responsible for the scheme - and having benefited the most from it.

The company alleges that these figures purchased luxury items like cars, real estate and private jets using the money defrauded from it.

A motion to freeze all assets of these Kingpins was granted this month, and a Miami court has now demanded a full list of all of their assets.

This is the second major fraud case Gilead has uncovered surrounding its HIV drug in recent years.

In 2020, the company discovered over 80,000 bottles of one of its HIV drugs was being counterfeited and sold to pharmacies around the country.

The revelation led to a federal investigation, with law enforcement officials eventually cracking down on the counterfeiters and seizing thousands of pill bottles.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed issues in America's nursing home system that had plagued it for years, with some experts warning that the current situation is 'ineffective, inefficient, fragmented, and unsustainable'.

A report published this week by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), based in Washington D.C., cites massive underinvestment in nursing homes for decades, along with a lack of accountability and oversight for the issues plaguing the industry.

Nursing homes were struck hard by COVID-19 in particular, especially early in the pandemic, with nearly 150,000 residents dying from the virus.

The issues are much deeper than the pandemic, though, and NASEM warns that the current situation is doing a disservice to elderly Americans that may require this kind of care.

'[The system] is ineffective, inefficient, fragmented, and unsustainable,' the team who wrote the paper said.

As of February 2022, the time NASEM researchers gathered data, 149,000 nursing home residents and over 2,200 staff members had died from Covid.

These figures could be undercounts as well, with states like New York and Michigan both embroiled in controversy over the reporting of nursing home deaths early in the pandemic.

The already existing issues in nursing homes likely exacerbated the pandemic situation, and could have even caused more deaths among the residents.

A major issue is staffing, which has been a universal problem for much of the medical field for years.

The NASEM team reports that many of America's over 15,000 nursing homes are hiring unqualified staff at low numbers.

Pay and benefits is poor as well, making it hard to attract and retain quality employees. Those who are hired are often inadequately trained.

'Workers in nursing homes are often underappreciated, undercompensated, and underprepared for their roles in providing increasingly complex care,' researchers wrote, as reported by JAMA.

'Decades of evidence support the need to enhance their training, salaries, and working conditions, yet little progress has been made to improve the quality of these jobs.'

Many of these nursing homes receive federal funding through Medicare and other programs, but a lack of transparency and oversight in how those funds are used leads to severe mismanagement and corruption at the top levels.

'Underinvestment in ensuring the quality of care and a lack of accountability for how resources are allocated,' NASEM blamed for the issues.

These issues came to the forefront during the pandemic, where the highly vulnerable residents of many American nursing homes were not given adequate protection from the virus.

The writers of the report point to research from 2016, which finds that nursing homes' top deficiency was the lack of preparedness for dealing with infectious disease.

In order to fix this dire issue, NASEM writes that new protocols and more oversight needs to be put in place for any facility that receives funding through Medicare.

First, they recommend that each have an action plan as to how they would properly deliver patient care that is reviewed quarterly. Plans for medical, psychosocial, and behavioral health needs must all be outlined within the review.

They also call for nursing homes to be renovated, first to upgrade facilities, but also to build housing that allows for more social distancing incase of a future pandemic.

The biggest onus falls on the federal government, though, who must step up the oversight of nursing homes to make sure that they are properly delivering patient care, and the funding is not being misused.

NASEM also calls for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to step up its enforcement of regulations related to nursing homes, and punish nursing home owners guilty of mismanagement more harshly to prevent future issues from occurring.




Rep. Kim Eun-hye of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) and former finance minister Kim Dong-yeon are running neck and neck in a hypothetical two-way race for the governorship of Gyeonggi Province in the June local elections, a survey showed Wednesday.







According to the survey of 812 adults, conducted by Realmeter on Monday and Tuesday, Kim of the PPP led the former finance minister Kim 43.1 percent to 42.7 percent, which was within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.







In another hypothetical two-way race between the ex-minister Kim and former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min of the PPP, Kim led Yoo 40.6 percent to 36.2 percent, according to the survey. The 4.4 percent gap was also within the margin of error.







The PPP's two potential candidates for the Gyeonggi governorship  Kim and Yoo  held their final TV debate on Tuesday and the PPP candidate will be chosen on Friday by a vote of party members.







The former finance minister Kim, head of the minor New Wave Party, withdrew his candidacy in this year's presidential election to support the liberal Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung. (Yonhap)






Transport ministers have confirmed plans to update the Highway Code 'later this year' with new rules on self-driving vehicle technology, to give it the green light on UK motorways at speeds up to 37mph.

The Department for Transport said today that a dedicated section will be added to the road user's guide detailing when and how motorists should safely use these features - and will outline that insurance firms will be held liable if crashes occur when the tech is active until full legislation is put in place by 2025.

It will see a complete U-turn on a number of current regulations, including allowing motorists to watch films, check emails and surf the internet on built-in display screens inside their cars when on the move.

However, using a mobile phone, even when the self-driving mode is active, will still be banned. Ministers say this is due to the 'greater distraction risk' they pose to drivers, with tougher punishments for touching devices at the wheel introduced only last month.

You won't be allowed to use a phone at the wheel even when hi-tech cars are steering themselves: The Highway Code is set to be updated with rules around self-driving technology

Following a raft of controversial changes to the Highway Code in January, including extra priority for cyclists and pedestrians, MPs say there will be another update specifically focussed on rules for using self-driving features.

These will make clear that motorists must be ready to take back control of vehicles when needed, though while a self-driving mode is active they will be allowed to watch television programmes and films played on the car's built-in screen - as well as check emails and online shop.

However, it will continue to be illegal to handle a phone behind the wheel - whether self-driving mode is active or not - with drivers facing a minimum 200 fine and six points on their driving licence if they pick up their device when the car is moving.

The DfT says that when self-driving technology is active, a motorist will legally be allowed to watch a film or video played on the car's interior display screen

However, ministers says using a phone when self-driving tech is active will still be banned due to the 'greater distraction risk' it poses

Self-driving tech has been tested and developed on UK roads in recent years. Changes to the Highway Code will make clear that motorists must be ready to take back control of vehicles when requested

The changes to the Highway Code rules - which follow a public consultation - were described as an 'interim measure' by the Government to support the early deployment of self-driving vehicles.

Importantly, it will see insurance firms  rather than drivers  held liable for accidents when a car is in self-driving mode until a full regulatory framework is expected to be in place by 2025.

Earlier this year, the Law Commission put forwards its recommendations to Parliament for new legislation around legal responsibility following crashes involving cars with autonomous features.

It proposed that when a self-driving system is active, a human in the driver's seat should legally become a 'user-in-charge' - and would avoid prosecution if the vehicle drives itself dangerously or causes a crash.

This would mean immunity from a wide range of offences, such as exceeding speed limits and running red lights when the self-driving feature is in operation.

Instead, the company or body that obtained the authorisation for the technology's use would become an 'Authorised Self-Driving Entity' (ASDE) and be held responsible for the car's actions in the eyes of the law.

Following a collision, the ASDE would be required to work with a regulatory body, in order to avoid repeat occurrences by providing data to understand who was at fault and where liability lies.

The ADSE could also face sanctions if regulators deem necessary.

A user-in-charge would still be required to retain some duties, such as holding a driving licence, having insurance and ensuring occupants are wearing seatbelts. And they will have to remain within the drink-drive limit.

The Law Commission in January published recommendations stating that a motorist should NOT be held liable if a vehicle crashes when a self-driving system is active

If a collision occurred when self-driving system is active, the Law Commission says the company or body that obtained the authorisation for the tech's use should be held responsible

MPs first revealed plans to allow for Automated Lane Keeping Systems to be used on motorways back in August 2020

'Interim' self-driving rules introduced later this year

While there are currently no vehicles approved for self-driving on Britain's roads, the first could be given the go-ahead in 2022 following the German Government's approval of Mercedes technology on its roads and Japan giving similar 'Level 3 automation' tech in Honda models the green light last year.

The DfT announced in April 2021 it would allow hands-free driving in vehicles with lane-keeping technology on congested motorways.

Existing technology on the market such as cruise control and automatic stop-start is classified as 'assisted', meaning users must remain fully in control.

However, the arrival of Level 3 Automated Lane Keeping System (ALKS) technology - which is already available in the new Mercedes S-Class saloon as part of its Drive Pilot feature - is expected to be given the green light soon.

Changes to the Highway Code from 'later this year' will allow for these features to be used on motorways until full regulations are approved by the middle of the decade.

These interim measures mean the tech would only be accessible at speeds up to 37mph and in a single lane - such as crawling in a queue of slow-moving traffic.

Driven to distraction: Mercedes says that it will accept responsibility in self-driving accidents after German lawmakers gave the brand's Drive Pilot feature the green light on motorways

Mercedes is the first manufacturer in the world to meet legal requirements for 'Level 3' self-driving systems. Currently, it has only been signed off for use in Germany

The Mercedes system from launch will only be allowed for use within geo-fenced - a virtual perimeter covering a specific area - parts of German motorway and activate at speeds of up to 60km/h (37mph), meaning slow-moving traffic jams like the one pictured in the US

Transport minister Trudy Harrison said updating to the Highway Code will be a 'major milestone in our safe introduction of self-driving vehicles', which she claimed will 'revolutionise the way we travel, making our future journeys greener, safer and more reliable'.

She went on: 'This exciting technology is developing at pace right here in Great Britain and we're ensuring we have strong foundations in place for drivers when it takes to our roads.

'In doing so, we can help improve travel for all while boosting economic growth across the nation and securing Britain's place as a global science superpower.'

ALKS explained Automated Lane Keeping System technology would be the most advanced car automation so far seen on UK roads. When activated, the ALKS keeps the vehicle within its lane, controlling its movements for extended periods of time without the driver needing to do anything. However, the driver must be ready and able to resume driving control within seconds if prompted by the vehicle. Different manufacturers all have their own systems, but generally it involves a forward-looking camera - usually placed behind the windscreen - and a number of laser sensors, infrared sensors and radar sensors to detect if you're unintentionally drifting out of lane. When the sensors detect the car is moving out of lane, it can automatically apply braking to one side of the vehicle to correct the vehicles position in the road. Rather than subtle braking, some systems can use discreet steering interventions. ALKS is designated a Level 3 system by the UN's Economic Commission for Europe. This signifies that the person at the wheel is not driving when the automated systems are engaged, but can step in at any time and must take over at the system's request. With a Level 3 system activated, the user is allowed to do other things, such as watch a movie or even send a text message, but must retain some level of alertness to what is happening around them. There are five stages of autonomy for self-driving cars, with Level 5 being full autonomy (see graphics further down this page). While it is similar to the technology already being used by Tesla, which it calls Autopilot, the US firm's system is only deemed Level 2 - where drivers are expected to keep their full attention on traffic. Lane Keeping Assist - a function that's been available in new cars for over a decade - is also deemed to fall into Level 1 and 2 because it only alerts the driver that they are veering out of their lane and it is up to the user to steer the vehicle.

The development of self-driving vehicles could create around 38,000 new jobs in Britain and be worth 41.7 billion to the economy by 2035, according to the DfT.

Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said driverless cars 'promise a future where death and injury on our roads are cut significantly' but there is likely to be a 'long period of transition' while drivers retain 'much of the responsibility for what happens'.

He stressed the importance of changes to regulations being communicated to drivers.

'Vehicle manufacturers and sellers will have a vital role to play in ensuring their customers fully appreciate the capabilities of the cars they buy and the rules that govern them,' he said.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, added: 'Amending the Highway Code to reflect the pace of technological change will help clarify what motorists can and can't do when a self-driving feature is engaged, so promoting its safe use.

'The technology could be available in the UK later this year and, with the right regulations in place, consumers are set to benefit from safer, more efficient journeys while the UK will strengthen its position as a global leader in the deployment of self-driving technology.'

Matthew Avery, chief research strategy officer at vehicle safety and security company Thatcham Research described the changes to the Highway Code as 'another notable landmark on our journey towards safe Automated Driving in the UK'.

He told This is Money: 'Although automation will ultimately make our roads safer, accidents will still occur.

'Therefore, data must be recorded that shows who was in control at the time of a collision, however minor, and this data must be openly accessible to all stakeholders, not only the car makers.'

Mr Avery said he was happy to see the that the proposed changes will not permit mobile phone use, and instead only allow use of the vehicles infotainment system.

'This means the self-driving system can issue a warning via the display screen as required and bring the driver back into the loop promptly,' he explained.

Specific wording changes to the Highway Code will be agreed by key stakeholders including road safety groups, the DfT says.

One rule will be: A self-driving vehicles ability to drive itself may be limited to certain situations or parts of a journey. Things like the type of road, time of day, weather, location and speed may affect this.

You should follow the manufacturers instructions about when and how to use the self-driving function safely.

While a self-driving vehicle is driving itself in a valid situation, you are not responsible for how it drives.

You may turn your attention away from the road and you may also view content through the vehicles built-in infotainment apparatus, if available.

Currently, the highest level of vehicle autonomy is Level 2, such as Tesla's Autopilot system
United States authorities have launched an effort to seize a superyacht docked in the Pacific waters of Fiji which is believed to belong to Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov.

He has been sanctioned by the U.S. and the European Union as part of Vladimir Putin's inner circle and was one of the billionaires pictured with the Russian president as tanks crossed into Ukraine.

A restraining order filed on Tuesday by Fiji's director of public prosecutions showed local authorities had moved to block the $325 million Amadea from leaving its waters.

The vessel arrived in Fiji a week ago after leaving Mexico 18 days earlier and crossing the Pacific. Police are investigating.

The U.S. Embassy said it was working with local authorities.

'We continue to ratchet up the pressure on Putin's oligarchs and we are working with allies and partners to go after corrupt gains from some of the individuals closest to Putin, no matter where they are held around the world,' the embassy told the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

The Amadea arrived in at the Queens Wharf in Lautoka, Fiji, last week. Fijian authorities on April 19 applied to block the superyacht from leaving its waters

The Amadea is believed to be owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, a gold baron and confidant of Vladimir Putin who has already been sanctions by the U.S. and European Union

Kerimov is seen on the far left with Putin (center) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Moscow in 2015 at a ceremony at the Moscow Cathedral Mosque

Kerimov, 56, made his money in gold and was already under international sanctions for his role as an elected member of Russia's parliament before the invasion of Ukraine.

He is one of a string of billionaires whose assets - including luxury vessels and villas - and being targeted by the U.S. and its allies as they try to isolate Putin and his regime.

The Biden administration has signaled it is ready to impose more sanctions as it tries to make the Russian leader thing again.

Fiji's director of public prosecutions, Christopher Pryde, filed an application to the High Court seeking to prevent the Amadea from leaving Fiji.

The application requested 'the motor yacht Amadea be restrained from leaving Fijian waters until the finalisation of an application to register a warrant to seize the property and (ii) that a US warrant to seize the Amadea be registered'.

The court has not heard the application.

A superyacht agent in Fiji acting for the Amadea told Reuters last week the vessel's lawyers were contesting that Suleiman was the owner.

Registration records viewed by Reuters show the yacht is registered to a company in the Cayman islands.

Kerimov was sanctioned by the United States in 2018 and 2014 in response to Russia's actions in Syria and Ukraine.

The Biden administration last month announced a task force Wednesday to enforce sanctions and hunt down oligarchs' property.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who will head the new unit, said: 'Oligarchs be warned: we will use every tool to freeze and seize your criminal proceeds.'

Biden announced the plan in his State of the Union address.

'The U.S. Department of Justice is assembling a dedicated task force to go after the crimes of Russian oligarchs,' he told Congress. 'We are coming for your ill-begotten gains'
Three white men convicted of hate crimes for chasing and killing Ahmaud Arbery as he ran in their Georgia neighborhood in 2020 have been scheduled for sentencing this summer in federal court.

Father and son Gregory, 66, and Travis McMichael, 35, and their neighbor, William 'Roddie' Bryan, 52, were scheduled sentencing hearings for August 1.

They face a maximum penalty of life in prison for their hate crimes in connection with the 2020 killing of 26-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.

The McMichaels and Bryan are already serving life sentences in Georgia after being convicted of murder in a state court last fall.

The trio stood trial a second time in federal court in February. They were found guilty of committing hate crimes after a jury concluded Arbery's killing was motivated by race.

Citing a scheduling conflict, prosecutors asked US District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood in a legal filing Tuesday to push back the hearings until sometime after August 6.

The McMichaels armed themselves and used a pickup truck to chase Arbery on February 23, 2020, after spotting him running in their neighborhood just outside the Georgia port city of Brunswick.

Bryan joined the pursuit and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael blasting Arbery with a shotgun.

Travis McMichael (left), William 'Roddie' Bryan (center), and Gregory McMichael (right) will be sentenced for their hate crimes in the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery on August 1, US District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood said

Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed in Brunswick, Georgia, U.S. on February 23, 2020

The McMichaels armed themselves and used a pickup truck to chase Arbery on February 23, 2020, after spotting him running in their neighborhood just outside the Georgia port city of Brunswick. Bryan joined the pursuit and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael blasting Arbery with a shotgun

In the aftermath of the killing, the McMichaels told investigators they suspected Arbery was a burglar and were trying to detain him for police.

Travis McMichael said he opened fire in self-defense as Arbery threw punches and grabbed for his shotgun.

No arrests were made until more than two months after the killing, when the graphic cellphone video leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police.

In the aftermath of the killing, the McMichaels told investigators they suspected Arbery was a burglar and were trying to detain him for police

Arbery's death became part of a broader reckoning on racial injustice in the criminal legal system after a string of fatal encounters between Black people and police.

While the life sentences handed down in the state's murder case made the hate crimes trial that followed largely symbolic, federal prosecutors used the second trial to reveal how all three defendants had espoused racist views.

Travis McMichael frequently used the N-word to describe black people, including one instance on Facebook where he said 'I'd kill that f***ing n****r' in response to a video of a black man playing a prank on a white person, FBI intelligence analyst Amy Vaughan said in the February trial.

In another reply to a Facebook video showing black teenagers, he wrote: 'My Taurus .38 (handgun) says five of them would be taking a dirt nap... I say shoot all of them... f*** those g****** monkeys.'

In a text message Travis McMichael sent to a friend explaining his excitement to leave the Coast Guard and begin working as a government contractor, he said: 'Love it, zero n****** work with me,' according to the FBI.

McMichael's racist bile increased in posts about criminal activity in the Satilla Shores neighborhood in the months leading up to Arbery's murder in 2020. The assistant U.S. attorney in the February trial highlighted text messages from McMichael to friends on three separate occasions in 2019.

'Needs to change the name from Cracker Barrel to n***** bucket,' he wrote in January 2019.

Two months later, he complained about black people being at a bar where he was drinking.

'They ruin everything. That's why I love what I do. Not a n***** in sight. Zero n*****'s work for me,' McMichael wrote as he shared his excitement about leaving the Coast Guard and beginning work as a government contractor.

To back the hate crime charges, prosecutors also showed the jury roughly two dozen text messages and social media posts showing Travis McMichael and Bryan repeatedly using racial slurs in text messages and social media posts.

Defense attorneys contended the McMichaels and Bryan didn't chase and kill Arbery because of his race, but acted on their earnest, though erroneous, suspicion that Arbery had committed crimes in their neighborhood.

Arbery's death became part of a broader reckoning on racial injustice in the criminal legal system after a string of fatal encounters between Black people and police

In handing down life sentences to the McMichaels and Bryan in January, Judge Walmsley called the murder 'chilling' and 'disturbing'.

He talked about the 'terror' Arbery must have felt for the five minutes the men chased him in their pick-up trucks with a shotgun and revolver.

'As we all now know based on the verdict that was handed down in this courtroom, Ahmaud Arbery was murdered. It's a tragedy. It's a tragedy on many, many levels.

'On February 23, 2020...a young man with dreams was gunned down in this community. As we understand it, he went for a run and he ended up running for his life.'

To emphasize how long the five-minute chase must have felt for Arbery, the judge sat silently for a minute in the courtroom.

The McMichaels and Bryan were arrested more than two months after the killing, when the graphic cellphone video leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police

'That one minute represents a fraction of the time that Ahmaud Arbery was running in Satilla Shores. The chase that occurred, occurred over a five-minute period.

Arbery's parents had asked a judge to sentence his killers to life without parole, saying they 'lynched him in broad daylight' and targeted him when he felt most 'free and alive'.

The McMichaels and Bryan chased Arbery through a street in Satilla Shores on February 23, 2020.

They said they thought he was a burglar. Travis pulled the trigger, with his father nearby. Bryan filmed the entire incident on his phone.

In November, they were all convicted of murder - which carries a mandatory life sentence. Prosecutors chose not to seek the death penalty.
The warden who ran the federal jail where Jeffrey Epstein died has been allowed to quietly retire as the Justice Department continues to investigate how the high-profile inmate could have killed himself in custody.

Lamine N'Diaye - who earned $189,000 a year - retired from the Bureau of Prisons on February 26, agency spokesperson Kristie Breshears told the AP on Tuesday.

He was the warden in charge of the now-closed Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, where disgraced financier Epstein hanged himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in August 2019.

N'Diaye was replaced with an interim warden followed by Marti Licon-Vitale in January 2020.

Inmates and lawyers have complained that the prison was infested with mice, rats and roaches and that multiple inmates were forced to share dirty sinks and toilets that leaked water, urine and feces. The jail was closed for repairs in October and hasn't reopened since.

Last year, N'Diaye was named the warden at FCI Fort Dix, a low-security prison in New Jersey.

The placement was in direct contradiction of a public pronouncement from the bureau that it would delay N'Diaye's transfer to run any prison until the ongoing inquiry by the Justice Department's inspector general was finished.

The former warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan has quietly retired as the Department of Justice continues to investigate the 2019 suicide of Jeffrey Epstein

Jeffrey Epstein (left) hung himself in his cell while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges in 2019. Ghislaine Maxwell (right) was convicted of child sex trafficking last year

In December, federal prosecutors asked a judge to dismiss claims against the MCC jail guards on duty when Epstein died, Tova Noel, 33 (left), and Michael Thomas, 43 (right)

N'Diaye's salary was $189,000 a year, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

According to a 2019 indictment, MCC guards Tova Noel and Michael Thomas were falling asleep and surfing the internet instead of performing mandatory checks on Epstein's cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on August 10, the night he killed himself.

After they discovered the high-profile inmate dead at 6.30am, the officers allegedly told a supervisor they had 'messed up' and 'didn't do any checks' in the hours before he killed himself.

Guards were allegedly falling asleep and surfing the internet when Epstein hanged himself in his cell in August 2019

The two guards were required to jointly conduct institutional counts at 4pm, 10pm, 12am, 3am and 5am of the prisoners in the unit.

In December, federal prosecutors dropped all charges against the two guards after they complied with the six-month no-jail deal they agreed to last May.

An investigation into Epstein's death is still ongoing, according to a spokesperson for the Justice Department.

N'Diaye, the jail's warden at the time, was transferred to FCI Fort Dix in February 2021.

The jail, located on the grounds of the joint military base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is the largest single federal prison by population, with just under 3,000 inmates. An adjacent prison camp has 231 minimum-security inmates.

The bureau attempted to place N'Diaye in the Fort Dix job a year earlier, but the move was stopped by then-Attorney General William Barr after the AP reported the transfer.

Under N'Diaye's watch as warden, an inmate at Fort Dix was stabbed in the eyeball by a fellow prisoner, exemplifying the gruesome chronic violence that plagues the Bureau of Prisons and quickly added to calls from congressional lawmakers for the Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal to resign from his position.

N'Diaye was transferred to FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey last year. The warden's transfer had been stopped a year earlier by then-Attorney General William Barr

Epstein was found hanging in his cell (pictured) at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2019, while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. Guards were allegedly surfing the web and sleeping

Carvajal announced in January he was resigning but has remained in place while the Justice Department searches for a replacement.

A handful of Fort Dix inmates - some of whom were believed to be friends and associates of the suspected attacker - have been held in segregated housing units for more than four months and some were threatened with transfers if they didn't cooperate with the investigation into the stabbing, two people familiar with the matter told the AP.

The people could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

N'Diaye was replaced by an interim warden followed by Marti Licon-Vitale in January 2020.

The warden who replaced N'Diaye in January 2020, Marti Licon-Vitale, quit after a yearlong tenure marred by inmates' complaints about squalid conditions, a smuggled gun and another inmate's unexplained death

Vitale stepped down after a yearlong tenure marred by inmates' complaints about squalid conditions, a smuggled gun and another inmate's unexplained death.

Her abrupt departure came about a week after staff at the jail left an allegedly intellectually disabled inmate alone in a holding cell for 24 hours in violation of prison system regulations.

It also follows the mysterious September death of inmate Tony McClam, which was not related to the coronavirus, the Bureau of Prisons said, though what happened to him remains unexplained.

McClam, who was facing drug charges, was found unresponsive just two days after arriving at the facility and could not be saved, the bureau said. A lawyer for his family said they were still awaiting the results of his autopsy, but that he had complained of medical issues and didn't receive the appropriate medical attention before his death.
All 26 Republican governors launched an initiative Tuesday to help secure the southern border as the U.S. braves for a tripling in migration once the Biden administration ends pandemic-era Title 42 next month.

The American Governors' Border Strike Force, led by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, is aimed at 'fill[ing] the void created by federal inaction and work to secure the southern border by sharing intelligence, strengthening cybersecurity and improving efforts to protect children and families.'

'Today's announcement comes as the Biden administration is preparing to lift Title 42, a common-sense policy that has helped secure the border,' Ducey's office wrote of the new initiative.

Border crossing numbers skyrocketed in March to the highest point of Joe Biden's presidency with Customs and border Protection (CBP) apprehending 221,303 migrants crossing the southern border.

Since Biden took office in January 2021, CBP has encountered more than 2.4 million migrants.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced earlier this month that it is ending Title 42, which allowed for immediate expulsion of migrants without hearing asylum claims at the border during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Republicans  and even some Democrats  are warning that ending the pandemic-era will lead to a tripling in border crossings with already record-setting numbers.

A few bipartisan pieces of legislation are going through Congress right now that would prevent Title 42 from ending until the public health emergency for the coronavirus pandemic is ended in the U.S.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (left) and Texas Governor Greg Abbott (right) teamed up in December to create the American Governors' Border Strike Force, which was announced Tuesday to help secure the southern border

The number of crossings reached a two-decade high in March with CBP apprehending 221,303 migrants. When Title 42 ends next month, estimates predict the monthly crossers could triple

The American Governors' Border Strike Force was launched the day after March's border crossing numbers showed a two-decade high.

The program is based on the Arizona Border Strike Force, which was developed by Ducey in 2015, and since its inception has led to the seizure of '985 pounds of fentanyl, 13,100 pounds of methamphetamine, 1,704 pounds of cocaine and 801 pounds of heroin.'

'What we're doing in Arizona works,' Ducey said. 'But this is not just an Arizona issue, it's a national issue.'

'If our entire southern border isn't secure, our nation isn't secure,' he continued. 'As dangerous transnational criminal organizations continue to profit from holes in the border and fill our communities with drugs, it's no coincidence that we're seeing historic levels of opioid-related deaths.'

'The American Governors' Border Strike Force will serve as a force multiplier in the fight against criminal activity directly tied to our border. My thanks to my fellow governors who saw the problem and chose to be part of the solution.'

The red states where governors are joining the strike force include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

No governors of blue states are part of the effort.

While most migrants are arriving from Central America  a new influx is coming from Ukraine as asylum-seekers flee violence from Russia

When Title 42 ends, migrants will no longer be turned away when seeking asylum on the grounds of a public health emergency. Pictured: Asylum-seeking migrants walk out of the Rio Bravo river on April 13 after crossing it to turn themselves in to U.S Border Patrol agents to request asylum in El Paso, Texas

Ducey and Abbott, border state governors, first teamed up to form the collaboration in December.

Border Patrol has expressed the need for more analytical and cyber assistance  as well as more boots on the ground to help with securing the border instead of getting stuck working at processing centers.

The 26-state-wide effort includes several initiatives that will target cartels and drug and human smuggling.

'With record breaking migration leading to an overwhelming amount of apprehensions at the southern border, law enforcement is stretched too thin to effectively combat the cartels,' Ducey's office statement reads.

'This leads to more drugs entering the country, more dangerous individuals avoiding arrest, and more victims of human trafficking,' it adds.

The effort will also improve sharing of intelligence and analyses of crimes in respective states that could help with border security.
This is the moment a fiercely-paternal father goose ambushed an unsuspecting woman who got too close to its eggs in a Florida parking lot.

Victoria Willard, a employee at the Jacksonville complex where the 'goose-cannon' attacked, posted the encounter to TikTok under her handle @organizedesigncreate.

She wrote that the loose goose had been terrorizing people for days.

Her supervisor had been attacked earlier in the day, she told Storyful, and after sending an email warning other residents of the animal's foul temper, she began filming to 'see if it would happen again.'

'She doesn't even expect it,' a male voice can be heard saying in the video as another woman steps out of her white sedan.

Feet away, the goose stands by its mate sitting on the pair's nest atop a parking lot median.

Scroll down for video:

The protective waterfowl flew at a woman, who was absorbed in her phone and not paying attention. In a moment of panic, she dropped all of her belongings

A father goose who was caught on camera dive-bombing a woman who unwittingly got too close to its nest in Jacksonville, Florida had been terrorizing workers at the complex for days, said original poster Victoria Willard

The woman was unhurt, but visibly unsure how she would retrieve the items she dropped near the vicious bird

The woman is absorbed by her phone as she walks out into the lot, unaware of her imminent peril. Excitedly, a woman behind the camera whispers 'Somebody came out! Somebody came out!'

'Is she even paying attention?' another onlooker asks.

The goose comes out flapping, swooping down at the woman as the spectators cry 'no!'

The woman drops her phone and other belongings as she fled as the commentators burst into laughter. She was unhurt, but visibly unsure of how to retrieve her dropped items from the radius of the nest. She throws her arms up in exasperation.

'These daddy geese ain't playin',' a woman quips behind the camera. 'She ain't going to get nothing.'

A man comes into the parking lot as the goose looks on warily. The good Samaritan carefully sidesteps the bird's nest to get into his vehicle next to it, with the onlookers calling out 'don't get in on that side, Joseph!'

The goose honks, stepping toward the man menacingly. Meanwhile, the woman attacked by the bird earlier sidles toward her scattered items while it is distracted.

Avian stand-off: A good Samaritan intervened, pulling his car between the woman and the goose so she could gather her belongings

The man maneuvers his vehicle up between the woman and the goose, allowing her to quickly gather her effects.

'Yo, these parent geese are amazing,' a man behind the video says, laughing.

In an follow-up posted to TikTok on April 16, a tiny gosling can be seen padding alongside its proud parents in the lot.

'Finally! Now we can get to work safely each morning!' Willard captioned the update.


Jacob L. Klein, a 40-year-old physician assistant from Virginia, is charged with second degree murder

A physician assistant from Virginia is accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend for three days at her home and place of work before murdering her husband and then going on the run.

Jacob L. Klein, 40, was arrested in Virginia on Friday and is now in federal custody.

He is expected to be extradited to New York to face a charge of second degree murder.

Klein is accused of murdering 35-year-old Philip L. Rabadi, who was married to Klein's ex-girlfriend, Elana Z. Radin.

Cops said Rabadi was found 'bound and with multiple stab wounds and mutilation to his body' at his home in New Scotland, New York, near the state capital of Albany.

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said authorities and loved ones found Rabadi during a welfare check after he failed to show up for work at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany - where he also worked as a physician assistant.

Klein is accused of murdering 35-year-old Philip L. Rabadi, left, who was married to Klein's ex-girlfriend, Elana Z. Radin, right

Rabadi and Radin were married in September were married in September 2021

Apple revealed that investigators had suspicions as to why Klein was stalking the 29-year-old woman, but did not go into detail. Rabadi did not know Klein at all.

Klein is believed to have stalked his ex in the three days prior to the attack, unbeknownst to her, according to the Times-Union.

Using data and video from license plate readers, doorbell video cameras and other electronic devices including cell phone data, investigators were able to piece together a timeline of Klein's activity before and after the murder.

It showed how Klein had visited the couple's home in the days prior to the alleged murder.

Klein is believed to have stalked his ex in the three days prior to the attack, unbeknownst to her outside the couple's New Scotland home, pictured above

After Elana Z. Radin, 29, left for work on Wednesday, Klein is alleged to have made his move and killed her husband

Klein drove from Franklin County, Virginia, up to Albany, New York where he rented a car from Enterprise and allegedly stalked out the the victim's home and hospital where both Rabadi and his wife worked.

Rabadi was a surgical physician assistant and had begun working at St. Peter's Hospital in 2019.

On Wednesday morning, after his ex had already left for work, Klein walked up to the front door of the couple's home whereupon Rabadi opened it.

Surveillance camera footage shows Rabadi appearing 'to react as if a weapon was brandished.'

After the alleged murder, last Wednesday, Klein is said to have returned his rental vehicle and then drove out of New York State back to Virginia.

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, pictured, said authorities and loved ones found Rabadi during welfare check after he failed to show up for work at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany where he also worked as a physician assistant

On Thursday, his whereabouts continued to be monitored, largely based on tracking his mobile phone.

On Friday, Klein was tracked in Memphis, Tennessee before returning to Virginia.

As he approached the Virginia state line, troopers from both states together with a police helicopter stopped Klein half a mile across the border.

After staying in his car for several minutes and refusing to follow orders, Klein eventually sat for several more minutes before surrendering to police without incident.

A gun was found in the car Klein was driving when he was arrested, but investigators were still tracing the weapon.

Klein, a U.S. military veteran did not have any prior criminal history.
First Lady Jill Biden returned to a familiar charity event in Washington, D.C. Tuesday night - the annual NewsBash, which local anchorwomen started to raise money for breast cancer charities.

'I'm proud to continue our work together now that I'm first lady,' Dr. Biden said to cheers from droves of pink-clad women at the Pearl Street Warehouse, an intimate concert venue in D.C.'s Southwest Wharf neighborhood.

The first lady - who had attended the event four times, as both second lady and during the Trump years - spoke about breast cancer, but also about meeting a young cancer patient who's a refugee from Ukraine during a recent trip to St. Jude in Memphis.

First Lady Jill Biden returned to a familiar charity event in Washington, D.C. Tuesday night - the annual NewsBash, which local anchorwomen started to raise money for breast cancer charities

Attendees at the annual NewsBash for breast cancer sported pink clothing. It was held at Pearl Street Warehouse, an intimate concert venue in D.C.'s Southwest Wharf neighborhood

First Lady Jill Biden arrives onstage at the annual NewsBash for breast cancer, which was started by Washington, D.C. area television anchors to raise money for charity

During her appearance, First Lady Jill Biden spoke about meeting a young girl from Ukraine who was fighting brain cancer and whose father stayed back in the country to fight off Russian forces

One little girl - whose father stayed in Ukraine to fight off the Russian forces - had a swollen eye due to brain cancer.

Biden said she talked to the girl's mother about all the bullying her daughter received.

'It's hard to believe, right? The bullying her daughter had faced because she had this little disfigurement,' Biden said. 'And her brother was so brave and he was telling me through the interpreter how he had to stand up for his sister when kids made fun of her,' Biden recalled.

She also talked about how scared the mother was when her daughter had to pause chemotherapy treatments due to the Russian invasion.

'It just wasn't there, it wasn't available,' Biden said.

The treatments had resumed once the family made it to the United States.

'But sitting there with her, while her daughter just squeezed this little purple stuffed bunny, she said she finally had a reason to hope again,' Biden said. 'And sharing the weight of that burden with her, it was this kind of communion - it was really and truly a gift for both of us.'

'With treatments and trials, with screenings and stories, with laughter through loss, we heal each other in so many ways and one of those ways it this - tonight,' she continued.

The first lady's involvement with breast cancer charities dates back decades after four of her friends were diagnosed with the disease.

She first attended the NewsBash - formerly called NewsBabes - in 2014.

Her involvement helped prompt a change in the party's name.

'When Dr. Biden came on board last year as our featured guest, it killed me to have to use the name "Newsbabes" with her and her staff - and it was worse to actually hear her saying it,' one of the anchorwomen involved in planning the annual event told Politico in 2015.

The women involved wanted to give Dr. Biden something back now that she was reappearing as first lady - announcing a $2,000 donation to the Beau Biden Foundation as FLOTUS walked onstage.

'Gosh thank you so much for that,' the first lady said. 'I'll call Joe and tell him how kind you are,' she added.

First Lady Jill Biden visited St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee on March 25 and recalled at the NewsBash her encounter with a Ukrainian little girl who was fighting brain cancer

Dr. Jill Biden hugs a family member of pediatric cancer patients at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee in late March

Dr. Biden finished her appearance by giving a toast to the crowd - with an imaginary glass: 'May the lives we've worn light our path to purpose. May the survivors we celebrate keep our hope ever burning. May the love and laughter that fills this room echo through our times of trial. And may we heal each other and be healed in return'

The president was in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for a day trip earlier.

In February, the Biden administration relaunched the Cancer Moonshot, with the goal of cutting cancer death rates by 50 per cent in the next 25 years.

It was originally part of Vice President Biden's portfolio after the 2015 death of the couple's son Beau.

'I'll be working on finding ways - the best ways - to improve patient and family experiences and getting people caught up on their scrrenings,' Dr. Biden said.

'And I know I don't have to talk anybody here about that,' she told the crowd.

She left the raucous group by delivering a toast.

'I'd like all of you to join me in a toast - do you have glasses?' looking around the venue.

Most of those in the audience did.

'Where's my glass? I'll just pretend. OK, I'll just pretend,' Biden said laughing and toasting the air.

'May the lives we've worn light our path to purpose. May the survivors we celebrate keep our hope ever burning. May the love and laughter that fills this room echo through our times of trial. And may we heal each other and be healed in return,' the first lady said to cheers.
Woolworths has been accused of 'caving in to extreme views' after the company referred to tampon users as 'people who menstruate' rather than women.

The supermarket chain was announcing a milestone in partnering with non-profit organisation Share the Dignity, which provides free-to-access tampon vending machines.

'The 100th Dignity Vending Machine funded by Woolworths has just been installed to help people who menstruate access period care items free of charge,' the store wrote in a social media post.

Such terms have grown in popularity recently as a way to be inclusive of those who do not identify as female, including transgender and non-binary people.

Woolworths has been criticised for 'caving in to a vocal minority' by using gender-neutral language (file image)

Other examples which have commonly appeared include replacing 'breast-feeding' with 'chest-feeding' or 'mother' with 'birth parent'.

Dr Bella A'Brera, the Institute of Public Affairs director Foundations of Western Civilisation Program, said such gender-neutral language undermined biological fact.

'By caving into the extreme views of a vocal minority, Woolworths has decided to cancel women,' Ms A'Brera told The Herald Sun.

'Woolworths needs to remember that it is a supermarket. Its purpose is to sell groceries, not radical gender theory.'

The supermarket said the purpose of the post was not political but was simply in recognition of an achievement to increase access to menstrual products for those who cannot afford them.

'Our partnership with Share the Dignity has helped provide period care products to tens of thousands of women and other people who need them across Australia,' a spokesperson said.

They added the products are available to all women, girls, non-binary and transgender people, and family members collecting them on someone's behalf.

The supermarket giant was announcing a milestone in its partnership with charity Share the Dignity which provides free pad and tampon vending machines across Australia (pictured)

In June 2020, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling courted controversy when she tweeted her opinion on the term.

'People who menstruate.' I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?' she wrote.

Many LGBTQI+ groups criticised the post as transphobic.

The Body Shop quickly waded in by offering Ms Rowling a copy of the book Trans Rights by Paisley Currah.

On April 5, NSW Health issued a bulletin announcing free period products would be provided to 'any patients who need them' by health professionals funded by the government.

'For women, girls and people who menstruate, access to period products (e.g. tampons, pads) is an essential need,' NSW Health wrote.

The department listed a number of reasons why people would not have access to these products including financial constraints, communications difficulties and 'stigma around... gender identity (e.g. non-binary people, trans men) or intersex status.'
Cats will only be allowed outside their homes in Canberra if they are on a leash in new rules to protect Australian native wildlife.

The new rules are part of a 10 year plan encouraging responsible cat ownership and reduction in the impact of feral cats.

Felines were already banned from going outside in 17 Canberra suburbs, but the ACT Government will expand that rule across the entire city from July 1.

Owners will be fined up to $300 if their cat is found outdoors without a leash.

Under the ACT government's Cat Plan 2021-2031, a citywide cat containment policy will require all new cats to remain indoors from July 1

The ACT Cat Plan 2021-2031 states the new rules will 'help cats live longer and healthier lives while better protecting native wildlife'.

Transport and City Services Minister Chris Steel explained the laws will only exist to cats acquired after July 1.

Cats owned before that date do not need to be contained if their owners did not live in an existing cat containment suburb.

'Pet cats are much-loved family members for many Canberrans, and we want to see them live healthy and happy lives,' he said.

'Outside of declared suburbs, cat containment will only apply to new cats, because we understand that existing cats and their owners may not be prepared or used to containment.'

The plan, developed with cat owners and environmental groups, has an eight-step strategy addressing cat management beginning with promoting responsible ownership.

Part of the new policy includes an amendment that allows owners living in a cat containment suburb to walk their cats on a lead or harness

Owners of a new cat will be required to pay a one-off fee when they first register their pet, and then update their details annually.

Environment Minister Rebecca Vassarotti said the policy would help reduce the numbers of native animals killed by domestic cats, while also cutting the number of cats that are lost or abandoned and go feral.

'Every year, free-roaming but owned Canberra cats are estimated to prey on 61,000 native birds, 2,000 native mammals, 30,000 native reptiles and 6,000 native frogs,' she said.

'The ACT Government wants to minimise the impacts of domestic cats on native wildlife by reducing the number of feral, unowned and semi-owned cats through more de-sexing, improved domestic cat welfare and management practices, better ways to identify lost cats and reunite them with their owners.'

Part of the new policy includes an amendment that allows owners living in a cat containment suburb to walk their cats on a lead or harness.

'This will include providing advice and warnings to any cats which are found roaming by rangers and returned to their owners,' the policy states.

'Penalties will be introduced as part of the forthcoming legislation and are anticipated to reflect current fines for breaches of animal management laws.'

Canberra residents can dob in uncontained cats, though the government conceded they were 'notoriously difficult to catch'.

Sydney-based teacher Anna Kormondi regularly takes Atlas (pictured) out for walks after teaching her furry companion to walk with a harness since she was nine weeks old

Anyone who has tried walking a cat on a leash knows the difficulties, but one Australian pet owner says the animals can be taught to get used to it.

Sydney teacher, Anna Kormondi trained her cat to walk with a harness since she was nine weeks old.

Ms Kormondi decided she needed a companion when she was lonely while working from home during Covid lockdowns.

'Lockdown was difficult for me as I was away from my family and friends so I bought Atlas [a British short hair cross tabby], during lockdown in December 2020,' she said.

'I was inspired by people on social media posting videos of them taking their cats for a walk and decided to train Atlas the moment I could.

'Taking Atlas on walks gives her a taste of the outdoors and is great stimulation for an otherwise indoor cat.

'It also gives me an opportunity to meet people on our walks and was very good for my mental health during lockdown.'

Ms Kormondi said cat owners need to be well-informed, start early, and put the needs of their feline friends ahead of their own when training them to walk with a harness or on a leash

Ms Kormondi said cat owners needed to start early in training a feline to accept a leash.

'Atlas was very little and easily trained,' she said.

'Owners have to be well-informed, observant and respectful of how the animal is responding. Cats are comfortable in different environments and you have to always be conscious of their safety.'

Ms Kormondi regularly takes Atlas out for walks to the park down the street from her inner west apartment and believes the new rules would not only benefit cats but their owners too.
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol visits the National Pension Service in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, April 20. Yonhap



President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol traveled to the southwestern Jeolla provinces on Wednesday to meet with locals on a trip that is also seen as aimed at offering support to candidates running in the June local elections.



On the first leg of what will be a three-day trip, Yoon headed to Jeonju, where he visited the National Pension Service, before heading to Gwangju and Yeongam to visit industrial sites.



Through the visit, the president-elect plans to keep his campaign promise to return after the election and inspect the locals' livelihoods, his spokesperson, Bae Hyun-jin, said in a written briefing.



On his flight there, he was briefed on the development of the Saemangeum area in North Jeolla Province and viewed the reclaimed land from the air, she said.



The trip is part of a national tour Yoon began last week with a visit to the southeastern city of Daegu and the surrounding area, a stronghold of his conservative People Power Party.



This week's trip took him to the liberal Jeolla provinces and will be followed by visits to South Gyeongsang Province and Busan on Thursday and Friday.



Instead of spending the night in Jeolla on Wednesday, Yoon will briefly return to Seoul in the evening to meet with transition team chief Ahn Cheol-soo and offer his condolences over the death of Ahn's father on Tuesday, Bae said.



On Thursday, the president-elect will continue on his tour.



The visit is widely seen as an opportunity for Yoon to offer his tacit approval of his party's candidates for the June 1 local elections, including a Gwangju mayoral candidate known as one of his closest former colleagues in the prosecution. (Yonhap)




Dr Nick Coatsworth has opened up about how crippling post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) once left him unable to leave his home as he prepared to step up as the face of Australia's vaccine rollout.

The former deputy chief medical officer told Karl Stefanovic he had been pushed to the limit working for Doctors without Borders in Sudan, Chad and the Congo.

'I was in Darfur in an immediate post conflict situation,' he said.

'I think everyone has their limits in life,' Dr Coatsworth told Karl Stefanovic. 'And I kind of reached that, the security situation there was really difficult. There was the threat of assassination of people in the place where we were.

He said there were also constantly threats of kidnapping from the militia, and once an unexploded ordnance went off near the hospital.

'The militia invaded the hospital and I had to evacuate the team out the back.'

On his return home to Australia, the 43-year-old started to suspect something was 'seriously wrong' when he struggled to readjust to life and became exceedingly anxious.

'I felt like I was having these heart palpitations,' he explained.

'I was taking my pulse all the time to make sure I was still around. It was very bizarre stuff to do.

The former deputy chief medical officer told Karl Stefanovic he had been pushed to the limit working for Doctors without Borders and suffered PTSD and anxiety on his return home

'At the end of 2019 it got to the point one weekend I couldn't leave the house.

'I was lying in bed, I was so anxious that I thought it was like an agoraphobic response,' he said.

'You need to stay as safe as possible. You're lying in bed, socially paralysed.'

He also became snappy with his children and uncharacteristically angry during moments at work.

'I felt as though I couldn't go on to the wards at the hospital,' he said.

'I I was probably more snappy with the kids and with family life. Then the big signal for me was that I started getting angry, not with a lot but on occasion with some work colleagues which is something that I never, ever do.

'Then of course there was the actual moment where I couldn't actually get out of the house. When it starts interfering with your life like that, Karl that's when you know that you need help from mental health point of view. '

His wife Rebecca, a lung transplant physician, had convinced him to go and see a psychologist who prescribed medication for his anxiety.

Dr Coatsworth said he remained on medication for about a year and urged other Australians to listen to the advice of their loved ones about seeking help.

Dr Nick Coatsworth worked as a volunteer doctor in conflict zones around the world, including Sudan, Chad and the Congo. Pictured is a protester in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum

Dr Coatsworth said he remained on medication for about a year for his anxiety and urged other Australians to listen to the advice of their loved ones about seeking help

'One of the main messages is you have to listen to the people who know you. I had to listen to my wife,' he told host Karl Stefanovic.

'It took me a lot of convincing to go and see a GP, to see a psychologist to be medicated for it. I'm not medicated anymore but I know what the triggers are'.

Stefanovic said Dr Coatsworth's story was an example of how one of 'the most high-profile Australians, a smart very capable man seemingly impenetrable with confidence' could still be a little broken inside.

'We're all a little broken, I think. We have to admit that. The thing is if it starts affecting your day-to-day life that's when you need to get help,' the doctor replied.

When he returned to Australia, Dr Coatsworth suffered PTSD and crippling anxiety

'If someone who you love is telling you that you need to get help, that is not the type to be refusing or saying no. It's the time to let down your guard, admit that, like everybody you're not bullet proof.'

The former chief medical officer was still recovering from his paralysing anxiety when he landed a major role in Australia's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

'I would say I was recovering at the time. It's lucky, because it's the sort of job that floats my boat is something that has a lot of adrenaline attached to it,' Dr Coatsworth explained.

'At the same time I had to balance that with recovering from a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress.'
Australia's east coast has been warned to prepare for up to four months worth of rain over just a few days, causing yet more flooding.

Sydney, Brisbane, and much of the coast finally enjoyed a week of sunny weather after La Nina caused record rain over summer, but that all ends on Thursday.

A tropical low will make up for North Queensland's below-average wet season from Thursday through to next Monday.

Townsville, Cooktown, and Cairns were warned to prepare for between 400mm and 750mm of rain before Monday.

That would be up to four times the average rainfall for the entire month of April.

Townsville, Cooktown, and Cairns are forecast to receive torrential rain with impressive rainfall totals between 400mm and 750mm

The wild wet weather system will hit Queensland's northeast coast before moving through the outback and landing in South Australia

The brunt of the storm will strike those areas on Thursday before moving west late Saturday through to Sunday.

Brisbane will get showers as a result of the system but is not expected to have more than 3mm in 24 hours.

By Sunday afternoon, the storm will have moved from the north Queensland coast through southern Northern Territory to finish on South Australia's central coast.

Queensland's northeast coast is forecast to be battered by heavy rains through to next Monday

A lightning-filled storm hit Sydney late Tuesday night and covered 230km of NSW's coast

On Sunday night all areas in those regions will get moderate to heavy rainfall with inland Queensland copping the worst of it.

Western Australia's south coast will have light to moderate rain as a result of the system but is not expected to be drenched.

Sydney was hit by a sudden thunderstorm late on Tuesday night that occupied 230km of NSW's coastline from south Gosford to Ulladulla.

Wind speeds of 100km/h were recorded south of Sydney in Goulburn and Jervis Bay.

Sydney and much of the east coast finally had a week-long run of sunny weather, but from Thursday the unrelenting rain will return.

At least a week of rain is forecast, bringing back the prospect of flooding that devastated towns in northern NSW, southeast Queensland, and Sydney's fringe.

No severe thunderstorms are forecast, but the rain is predicted to be consistent every day for the week-long outlook and potentially beyond.

Late Tuesday night Sydneysiders were hit with a lightning-filled weather system that occupied 230km of NSW's coastline from south Gosford to Ulladulla with wind speeds of 100km/h

Showers are forecast to continue into the weekend for Sydneysiders following a lightning-filled storm on Tuesday night

In the past week Victoria has seen rainfall totals reach 100mm in some regions and an upcoming cold front will see the dreary weather continue.

Swan Hill has seen its heaviest rain recorded in over four years while Echuca received the most rain recorded on an April day in 60 years.

The majority of the rain moved out over the east coast on Wednesday morning but a cold front will see showers continue to hang around the southeast coast through to Friday.

However, Antarctic winds will bring exciting snow flurries to Tasmania from late Wednesday through to Thursday morning.

Residents in Victoria saw even more of the recent record-breaking wet weather on Tuesday

Antarctic winds will bring exciting snow flurries above 900m to Tasmania from late Wednesday through to Thursday morning

Snow is forecast to about 900m, meaning it will likely fall on Mount Wellington, 17km west of Hobart.

Darwin will continue having hot weather heading into next week with high temperatures sitting in the mid-30s and lows in the mid 20s.

The weather is staying consistent in Perth with temperatures in the high 20s and lows in the mid-teens.

Residents can look forward to a sunny weekend with a zero per cent chance of rain.

Winter is moving in on Canberra with a low of 5C forecast for Thursday and high temperatures only reaching the high teens for the rest of the week.

The city will stay cloudy heading into next week but is not forecast to see any of the rain hammering its coastal neighbours.

Adelaide is also narrowly dodging the rain system with a very low chance of rain only forecast for Sunday through to next Tuesday.
'Distressing' adverts for a Leeds burger company which joked about Madeleine McCann's disappearance have been banned for causing offence.

The Otley Burger Company suffered a huge backlash after running posts on its social media accounts over Mother's Day.

One read: 'Burgers for dinner?' above images of Madeleine and her mother Kate McCann, with further text stating: 'With burgers this good, you'll leave your kids at home. What's the worst that could happen.'

In the background a man was shown running with a smaller image of Madeleine in his hands, followed by the further line: 'Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there.'

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received three complaints that the ads were likely to cause distress and serious or widespread offence.

The ASA said it considered the nature of the content to be of such a concern that it asked the relevant social media platforms  Twitter, Instagram and Facebook  to remove the content and suspend the account pending its investigation.

A post read: 'Burgers for dinner?' above images of Madeleine and her mother Kate McCann, with further text stating: 'With burgers this good, you'll leave your kids at home. What's the worst that could happen'

The Leeds-based takeaway has around 7,000 followers on Instagram.

Responding to the complaints, The Otley Burger Company said all the ads had been removed and would not be appearing again.

Company boss Joe Scholey previously told of how he'd received 'death threats' after the 'joke' first appeared.

'I'm not taking the mick out of a missing toddler. I'm basically putting, 'Happy Mother's Day' to all the mums,' he told Leeds Live last month.

'She [Kate McCann] is a mum. Not the world's greatest mum and not the world's worst. She's a mum, there's one there.'

It is not the first time Mr Scholey has pulled a stunt of this kind, having previously also shared a Mother's Day post featuring Karen Matthews, who pretended her daughter Shannon had been abducted.

An on Father's Day, he shared a promotional image featuring Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, paedophile Jimmy Saville and serial killer Fred West.

Meta, which owns Facebook, said they had reviewed the content in the Instagram post and had removed it for violating their policies.

They also undertook a broader review of the Instagram account, removed further content and placed restrictions on the account.

Twitter said the tweet had been deleted.

The ASA noted that ads must not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence, and advertisers must not use a shocking claim or image merely to attract attention.

Company boss Joe Scholey previously told of how he'd received 'death threats' after the 'joke' first appeared

'I'm not taking the mick out of a missing toddler. I'm basically putting, 'Happy Mother's Day' to all the mums,' he told Leeds Live last month

The ASA said: 'The disappearance of Madeleine McCann had been a high-profile and long-running media story which remained widely known. We considered the images of them would be instantly recognisable to many people.

'We further considered that any reference to a missing child was likely to be distressing, and that in the context of an ad promoting a burger company the distress caused was unjustified.'

The watchdog added that the text and the image of a man running away with a superimposed photo of Madeleine 'further trivialised the circumstances surrounding Madeleine's disappearance and made light of a distressing news story concerning reports of child abduction and serious crime'.

The Mother's Day timing of the ad 'was likely to have compounded the distress of those who saw the ads, and particularly for those who may have experienced the disappearance of a child'.

The ASA said: 'For those reasons, we concluded that the ads were likely to cause unjustified distress and serious and widespread offence.'

It ruled that the ads must not appear again, adding: 'We told The Otley Burger Company to ensure they avoided causing serious and widespread offence and distress.'
A leading real estate group has named towns across Australia where property prices are predicted to jump in value thanks to the 'green mining' boom.

Both major political parties are vowing to back a net zero by 2050 climate change target in this year's federal election - a major difference to the 2019 poll.

Australia is perfectly placed to benefit from the worldwide transition to clean energy through its plentiful reserves of lithium, cobalt, copper and nickel - the key minerals needed for battery storage technology.

Then there are more common metals including aluminium and silver needed to make solar panels.

A leading real estate group has named towns across Australia where property prices are predicted to jump in value thanks to the 'green mining' boom

Both major political parties have gone to the May 21 election vowing to back a net zero by 2050 climate change target - a major difference with the 2019 poll (pictured is a fully-electric Tesla Model S recharging)

Towns tipped to benefit from green energy GREENBUSHES, Western Australia: Lithium KALGOORLIE, Western Australia: Nickel LEONORA, Western Australia: Cobalt FIFIELD, New South Wales: Cobalt PORTLAND, Victoria: Aluminium BELL BAY, Tasmania: Aluminium MCKINLAY, Queensland: Silver MOUNT ISA, Queensland: Silver, copper OLYMPIC DAM, South Australia: Copper Advertisement

As Australia relies less on coal for power generation, Ray White Real Estate listed nine towns in Western Australia, NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia that are likely to benefit as global commodity needs change.

'For areas rich in minerals required for green energy, it's likely there will be much higher demand for housing and hence a resetting of pricing,' it said in its April magazine.

'Unlike the other markets to watch, the impact on property is longer term and the areas that will be impacted are variable.'

Greenbushes, 250km south of Perth, was listed by virtue of having the world's largest lithium mine, operated by Talison Lithium.

The median house price here is still a very affordable $268,831, CoreLogic data showed.

Pilbara Minerals, Australia's biggest lithium miner, signed a deal in 2019 with Chinese car maker Great Wall Motor to supply spodumene concentrate, a key mineral for electric vehicles.

Another WA mining town, Kalgoorlie, better known for its gold deposits, was nominated for its nickel reserves. It has a median house price of $312,515.

Leonora, also in the WA Goldfields, made the list thanks to its nearby cobalt reserves. It now has houses for sale as low as $120,000.

Fifield in the NSW Central West is also cobalt rich with median house prices in nearby Condobolin at $200,667.

Better known metals used to make solar panels will also be needed in the future.

Portland in western Victoria, with a median house price of $421,371, is a town to watch thanks to its aluminium smelter, which owner Alcoa is planning to reopen in late 2022 after 13 years being idle.

As Australia relies less on coal for power generation, Ray White has named nine towns in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland that are likely to benefit as global commodity needs change. Greenbushes (pictured), 250km south of Perth, was nominated for having the world's largest lithium mine

Another coastal town - Bell Bay in northern Tasmania, located 50km from Launceston, was also nominated for its aluminium smelting operations.

The median house price at nearby George Town is $372,811.

In northwest Queensland, two towns - McKinlay and Mount Isa - were listed for their access to silver - an essential component of solar panels and electric vehicles.

Mount Isa, where houses typically sell for $300,000, had another mention for copper, along with Olympic Dam in South Australia.

The pandemic has also caused a major shift from Sydney and Melbourne to regional areas, especially by the coast.

This raised annual prices 30 per cent in places like Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour on the NSW mid-north coast as median house prices on parts of Queensland's Sunshine Coast climbed above $2.5 million.

But Ray White doesn't expect the boom in regional house prices to continue.

Another WA mining town Kalgoorlie, better known for its gold deposits, was nominated for its nickel reserves. It has a median house price of $312,515 (pictured is a three-bedroom house on the market for $239,000)

Portland in western Victoria was on the list for its aluminum smelter and the median house price in this coastal town is $421,371 (pictured is a house on the market for $485,000)

'The pandemic sparked a regional property boom, driven by a search for space, stronger demand for holiday homes, and of course changes to the way we work,' it said.

'As life slowly gets back to normal, demand for regional properties will settle down and price growth is unlikely to be so red hot.'

Ray White said better rail and road connections would make areas near capital cities, like the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast, Wollongong, and Geelong good places to invest.

'It's unlikely that price growth in 2022 will be the same as last year, however, with continued investment in livability, these areas will continue to be highly desirable for owner-occupiers, investors and renters,' it said.

But unlike the nominated green mining boom towns, these coastal areas are much pricier.
At just four, little Alisa has seen more of war than most adults as she hides in a tunnel from Russia's blanket-bombing of Mariupol.

The youngster has been living under a steel factory for 50 days with her mother, a military doctor caring for the wounded, as the last defenders of the besieged port face the final onslaught.

Intercepted radio messages reveal that Russian troops there have been ordered to 'level everything to the ground'.

Vladimir Putin's army has used bunker-busting bombs on the Azovstal steelworks, where Ukrainian fighters and 1,000 civilians are holed up in tunnels.

Alice is one of 1,000 refugees sheltering underneath the wrecked Azovstal works in Mariupol

Mariupol has been under intense shelling for seven weeks, and tens of thousands of people are feared dead from the bombing, ground fighting and even dehydration and starvation as supply chains are cut off.

A video shared online by two Ukrainian officials showed Alisa living in bunkers beneath the Azovstal plant as it came under fire  giving the lie to Russian claims that civilians are not being targeted.

Arsen Avakov, a former Ukrainian minister of internal affairs, said the four-year-old had sought sanctuary under the factory with her mother.

He said that there were many women, children and elderly people stuck in the tunnels without medicine, food or water.

In the video, Alisa is reading a book when she tells her parents she wants to be 'evacuated', go 'home' and say hello to her grandmother.

Though she is only a toddler, Alisa has seen more war - and life experience - than many adults

At least 1,000 civilians, including this family pictured on Monday, are sheltering at the works

Speaking on the video, Mr Avakov called for more heavy weapons to be sent to Ukraine, adding: 'This is how Putin's horde 'protects' Russian-speaking Ukrainians  by killing, maiming, forcing them to die of starvation and diseases.

'Alisa probably doesn't know that the name of her hope is heavy offensive weapons. But the adult civilised democratic world knows! And it must, must save Alisa!'

Officials say 95 per cent of the city has been destroyed.

Yesterday, Russian-backed fighters are said to have stormed Azovstal after the Kremlin's deadline passed for remaining Ukrainian troops to surrender.

Russia's defence ministry said those who remained in the steelworks were facing a 'catastrophic situation', adding that anyone who gave up and laid down their arms would be 'guaranteed survival'.

About 120 civilians living around the factory are thought to have escaped via a humanitarian corridor yesterday  despite Russian claims that only Ukrainian troops and mercenaries remained.

After remaining resistance fighters refused to surrender, Russian attacks resumed last night.

Militia from the nationalist Azov Regiment defending Mariupol vowed to keep fighting, but admitted they'd had many casualties and said Azovstal had been 'destroyed almost completely'.

Deputy commander Kalyna Palamar said 'super powerful bombs' were being dropped on the plant and 'a lot of people' were under the rubble.

He added: 'We will fight, we will use every cartridge we have left, but we call on the homeland to save civilians, the wounded and take away the bodies.'

In a show of strength, the regiment released a video showing a soldier blowing up a Russian armoured vehicle with an anti-tank missile.

Fighting continued elsewhere in the city, which is a significant target owing to its location on the Sea of Azov in the Donbas region.

The Azovstal steelworks has been targeted by Russian bombers despite sheltering refugees

There were unverified claims that a hospital near Azovstal had been hit by a 'heavy bomb', with about 300 people reportedly trapped in the rubble.

The plight of civilians trapped under the Azovstal factory came as further evidence of Russia's barbaric tactics were revealed.

Yesterday, Ukraine's security service released an intercepted audio recording, allegedly of a Russian commander in Mariupol revealing that aircraft were planning to 'level everything to the ground' at Azovstal.

Alisa is seen cowering under Putin's destruction despite the Russians denying civilian targets

The leader of a Russian platoon 2.5 miles from the target told comrades he was expecting some 'surprises', adding: 'Three-ton ones, from the sky.'

The recording has not been verified, but earlier this month German spies intercepted communications from Russian troops in which soldiers appeared to discuss the killing of civilians.

These were not denied by Russian officials.

Images have also shown members of the pro-Russian Donetsk People's Republic militia with dead Ukrainian soldiers in bags in a tunnel at the Illich Iron and Steel Plant in Mariupol.
China will likely move fast to cement its presence in the Pacific after signing a security pact with the Solomon Islands, according to one senior analyst.

While China has publicly declared it does not intend building a military base in the Solomons, there is a risk Beijing will establish a 'military base by stealth' over the next one to two years, Australian Strategic Policy Institute's Malcolm Davis said.

'The Chinese are a powerful player and once they get a presence, an influence in a country, it's virtually impossible to get them out,' he told the Nine Network.

'The Chinese are going to move very fast.'

Shadow foreign affairs minister Penny Wong (pictured) said the pact between China and the Solomon Islands was the 'biggest foreign policy failure since WWII on Scott Morrison's watch'

'They will want to achieve a foothold there. Principally to cut Australia off from a key sea-land communication with the United States.'

Dr Davis says the federal government should have used more urgent diplomacy to persuade the Solomon Islands and other Pacific Island nations not to accept China's overtures and instead remain aligned with Australia.

'There has been a failure in diplomacy,' he said.

'But it's important to note that whilst we attempt to support development in the Pacific Island states, the Chinese come in with bags of money and essentially buy out leadership and get what they want.'

China's security agreement with the Solomon Islands could see military bases built by Beijing within 2,000km of Australia

Labor has branded the signing of a Sino-Solomons security pact as the worst Australian foreign policy failure in the Pacific since World War II.

Foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said a nation merely 2,000km from Australia having a security alliance with China has made the region less secure.

'On Scott Morrison's watch our region has become less secure and the risks that Australia faces have become much greater,' Senator Wong told the ABC.

'The government should have acted sooner. We live in a world where the strategic circumstances we face are riskier and more uncertain than in any time since the end of World War II.'

Despite repeated assertions from the Solomon Islands that Australia remains its security partner of choice, Senator Wong says that's at odds with their China arrangement.

'What this deal signifies is that Australia is no longer for the Solomon Islands a nation to whom they turn to meet their challenges in every instance,' she said.

Senior government minister David Littleproud has hit back, saying the full extent of the deal is not yet known.

'No one has looked under the bonnet of how far it goes,' he told the ABC.

Mr Littleproud said political rhetoric risks inflaming the issue.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne added that criticism of the government doesn't recognise the 'the sovereign decisions that governments make for themselves'.

'It also doesn't recognise the strength and the engagement that Australia has made through the Pacific step up,' Senator Payne told the ABC.

'We are looking at very serious geo-strategic challenges in our region.'

China said the deal was 'public, transparent, open and inclusive, not directed at any third party' but Western officials believe the opposite (pictured Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (second from left), Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele (seated at left), Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (second from right) and Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (seated, right, in 2019)

The foreign minister expressed her deep disappointment in the signing of the security agreement when it was made public by the Chinese on Tuesday night.

Senator Payne says Australia remains concerned about the lack of transparency regarding the agreement.

'This has not been agreed in an open and transparent way - not being consulted, for example, across the region,' she said.

'Security issues have been dealt with in a Pacific-wide manner, that's the traditional approach for these issues, and that's why some Pacific partners have also raised concerns.'

Pacific Minister Zed Seselja said Australia is not considering cutting its aid spending to the Solomons in retaliation for the announcement as Canberra continues to engage with the region.
Half of Englands small GP surgeries have closed in less than a decade  with more patients forced to travel to soulless mega-practices, figures show.

Health leaders warned the move threatens the treasured doctor-patient relationship as patients are less likely to see the same medic each time.

The number of practices has fallen from 7,816 to 6,522 since the 2015 general election  pushing the average list size up from 7,294 patients to 9,441.

Small surgeries are preferred as they provide care continuity, cutting early deaths (file image)

GP practices with fewer than 5,000 patients have halved over that period, while those with more than 20,000 patients have more than tripled.

Some have been shut completely, leaving patients with no option but to travel, while others have merged with another surgery.

Small GP practices are among the most popular with patients, surveys show.

They are also associated with better continuity of care, which has been shown to cut the risk of premature death and hospitalisation.

GPs last night warned the rapid shift towards working at scale has left the profession at risk of losing its soul.

Dr Lizzie Toberty, of Doctors Association UK, told GP Online: Smaller practices have historically been very successful with this and if we lose continuity we will lose the soul of general practice.

Our worry is there is a huge push to work at scale, which loses sight of what patients really value in their care.

Cancer patients waiting twice as long as expected is now higher than during Covid (file image)

The NHS listed 7,816 GP practices in April 2015. Some 1,375 of these are no longer listed and only 80 new ones have been established.

The average list size of practices lost since April 2015 is 4,607  showing that mergers and closures have disproportionately affected smaller GP practices.

Yet practices with more than 2,000 patients skyrocketed from 86 in 2015 to 317 in 2022.

Dr Kieran Sharrock, of the British Medical Associations GPs Committee, said: We dont have enough GPs to meet the demand and for those who are still here, many are exhausted and considering leaving too.

Professor Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: The real issue is about having enough GPs... that is why the Government urgently needs to deliver on its promise of 6,000 extra GPs and 26,000 additional members of the practice team by 2024.

The number of cancer patients waiting almost twice as long as they should to start treatment is worse than at any point in the pandemic.

Of the 15,178 people having their first treatment in February, 10.7 per cent had waited more than 104 days after referral, the Health Service Journal revealed.

The target is for 85 per cent to start within 62 days.

An NHS spokesman said: The NHS is taking action to reduce the Covid-19 backlog.

Dr Rachel Ward, a GP in Oxfordshire from the Rebuild General Practice campaign, said last night: GPs want exactly what patients want - a system of general practice that provides quality care and keeps everyone safe.

Sadly the system is fractured. There simply arent enough GPs.

This is reflected in the closure of practices across the UK and its why were calling for support to rebuild general practice.
A couple's adventurous sea journey turned into a nightmare as they were marooned alone on a tiny sand island halfway to Indonesia when they were approached at night by three 'suspicious' men in an area known for pirates.

Jack Strickland and Francesca Pusceddu who run Back 2 Basics Adventures YouTube channel sailed out from Western Australia this week in search of 'pristine waters and a sense of peace that comes with being away from society'.

Their destination was a sand cay atop a reef near the midway point between the WA coast and the Indonesian island of Sumba.

However en route their small boat Salty Dingo, which was being towed behind a larger vessel, sustained large cracks down one side, leaving Mr Strickland 'starting to wonder if this was such a good idea'.

'Smashed boat and a long way from home,' Mr Strickland wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

'We hitch-hiked a ride and towed (our boat) the Salty Dingo half way to Indonesia in search of a tiny sand cay in the middle of the ocean.'

Jack Strickland and Francesca Pusceddu (pictured) sailed out from WA this week

During their 30-hour trip through rough seas their fiberglass boat's gunwale - the upper planking on the side of the ship - developed a huge crack and they were taking on water.

'The idea was that this would be our base camp for a couple of weeks until we could hitch-hike a ride home.'

'But we might've bitten off more than we could chew with this adventure.'

After nervously navigating through the dangerously shallow coral reef to get to the island - a strip of sand no longer than a couple of hundreds metres - the pair set up camp just before sunset.

The couple's destination was a tiny sand cay (pictured) in the ocean between Australia and Indonesia to find 'pristine waters and peace that comes with being away from society'

The small sand cay is off the Australian coast halfway to Indonesia (pictured)

But their problems grew as the shadowy outlines of strangers appeared on the island after night fell.

Jack armed himself with a knife and approached the trio, while Francesca went back to the boat and hid with an emergency beacon at hand.

Indonesia is well known for piracy, with a Forbes article in 2013 noting the region had overtaken waters off the coast of Somalia to 'claim the dubious honour of the most pirate attacks in the world'.

Of the 297 pirate attacks in 2012, 81 were in Indonesian waters.

'Three figures have pulled in on the beach down the other side of the sand cay and are slowly walking this way,' a nervous Mr Strickland said as he filmed himself on the sand.

'They're constantly stopping and the way they're acting is quite suspicious.'

'We're just going to see how this plays out.

'We're feeling incredibly vulnerable at this moment.

'I was always taught never to bring a knife to a fight unless you were prepared to use it and always be prepared to defend yourself if needed.'

Mr Strickland went down the beach armed with a knife to confront the figures who turned out to be Indonesian fishermen (pictured)

Mr Strickland then walks down the beach to meet the three figures reasoning it would be best to have 'the confrontation' away from the campsite.

'Hello mister. You're from Indonesia?' he asks one of the figures.

The men did not speak English, but when they replied 'trepang', Mr Strickland's mind was put at ease.

Trepang in the local word for a type of sea cucumber, and it was apparent the trio were fishermen rather than pirates and likely posed no threat.

'Good, good,' Mr Strickland replies.

After the men leave, Mr Strickland then goes back to the campsite to meet up with Ms Pusceddu.

'We've managed to calm ourselves down but the adrenaline was pumping there for a bit.'

The couple were rattled after the encounter but 'had calmed down' (pictured)

'There was three shadows that arrived at sunset, we had no idea who they were or where they were from and piracy in this area is a potential risk, so we had to be cautious.'

'But I've put the machete away as thankfully the visitors were Indonesian fishermen... but it was touch and go there for a while.'

'Hopefully things go smoother for the rest of the trip,' Mr Strickland said.

'They can't get any worse,' Ms Pusceddu added.
A British journalist filming two captured Britons who were fighting for Ukraine in a propaganda video for Vladimir Putin 'may have been committing a war crime', it was claimed last night.

Andriy Zagorodnyuk accused Moscow of breaching the Geneva Convention by broadcasting footage featuring Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, on TV.

One interview was conducted by British journalist Graham Phillips, who works as a pro-Putin propagandist. He had earlier been expelled from Ukraine having been accused of being a Russian spy.

Both Aslin and Pinner have lived in Ukraine for several years and were members of the 36th Marine Brigade.

Mr Zagorodnyuk told The Times: 'There is a very clear process in Ukraine to accept international soldiers or servicepeople. It has been fully legal, it has been official.'

He said both men had the same rights as the Ukrainians they have served beside.

The footage has caused major consternation for the men's families.

Ex-British Army soldier Shaun Pinner, 48, who is a Royal Anglian veteran, was paraded on propaganda TV in Russia in a heavily-edited clip and was told his Ukrainian commanders wanted him to be killed as he fled a factory hideout in Mariupol.

Now, his family have released a statement in response to his capture, explaining how he became involved in the defence of Ukraine against the Russian invasion while calling for Shaun's Russian captors to adhere to the Geneva Convention's regulations regarding the treatment of POWs.

'Shaun was a well-respected soldier within the British Army serving in the Royal Anglian Regiment for many years. He served in many tours including Northern Ireland and with the United Nations in Bosnia,' the statement read.

'In 2018 Shaun decided to re-locate to Ukraine to use his previous experience and training within the Ukraine Military.

'Shaun enjoyed the Ukrainian way of life and considered Ukraine as his adopted country over the last four years. During this time, he met his Ukrainian wife who is very focussed on the humanitarian needs of the country.

'He progressed into the Ukrainian Marines as a proud member of his unit. At the end of 2022 his 3 year contract is due to end and he was planning to enter a humanitarian role within Ukraine.'

The statement continued: 'We would like to make it clear he is not a volunteer nor a mercenary, but officially serving with the Ukrainian Army in accordance with Ukrainian Legislation.

'Our family is currently working with the Foreign Office along with the family of Aiden Aslin who is also being held by the Russian Army to ensure their rights as Prisoners Of War are upheld according to the Geneva Convention.

'Shaun is a funny, much loved well intentioned Husband, Son, Father, Brother and Friend to many. We are hoping for a quick resolution to allow Shaun and Aiden to return safely to their families and we ask for privacy at this difficult time.

'Our hearts go out to all those caught up in this horrific conflict.'

Shaun Pinner, who served with the Royal Anglians and enlisted in the Marines in Ukraine after marrying a woman from the country, was captured by Russian forces while he was defending the besieged city of Mariupol

The 48-year-old was interviewed by Andrey Rudenko (left) who is a pro-Kremlin journalist

Pinner, who enlisted in the Marines in Ukraine after marrying his wife Larysa who is from the country, was told he could now be seen as an anti-Putin hero by the outside world.

He is heard saying there was 'panic' as he was held after ending their siege in an industrial area of the blitzed city.

His capture comes after Russia seized 28-year-old former care worker Aiden Aslin on Tuesday. He had also been fighting in Ukraine in the same trenches outside Mariupol as Pinner.

'We were in the factory area of Mariupol,' he said in a newly released clip of an interview made in captivity.

'It was Tuesday morning. It was decided we move from the factory, but we did not know exactly where. At about 4am we left the factory.'

There was 'not much time to think,' said Pinner.

After this, his words were subtitled in Russian but his original speech was not audible.

Shaun Pinner, 48, was serving as a Marine in Ukraine, defending the key strategic port of Mariupol

Pinner served with the Royal Anglians and enlisted in the Marines in Ukraine after marrying his wife Larysa (pictured right), who is from the country

According to the subtitles, Pinner said: 'It was very dark. We took the injured with us.

'Mortar and artillery shelling began, military aviation worked. Panic began. Everyone started running in different directions.

'My commander seems to have disappeared. I still don't know what happened to those who were there with me.'

Interviewer Andrey Rudenko - a well-known Russian war reporter on pro-Kremlin state TV - claimed without citing direct evidence that his Ukrainian commanders wanted him and others killed by Vladimir Putin's forces so they could be hailed as heroes in the propaganda battle against Moscow.

'The servicemen of the 36th brigade say their command specially sent them to be killed in order to make heroes out of them later,' Pinner was told.

Rudenko told an exhausted-looking Pinner: 'You didn't have a single chance to reach this settlement Zachatovka, since Russian and DPR troops were everywhere.'

In the event, he and other defenders were captured.

He reportedly told his Russians captors that 'he doesn't want war and wants to go home'

During the interview, Pinner was told he could be seen as an anti-Putin hero by the outside world

According to the subtitles, Pinner said: 'It was very dark. We took the injured with us. 'Mortar and artillery shelling began, military aviation worked. Panic began. Everyone started running in different directions' (Pictured: Pinner with his wife Larysa)

Pinner is heard replying to the claim that his Ukrainian commanders wanted him and others fleeing the factory to die: 'I had no idea. You know more than me. I don't particularly know anything'

The report also quoted Pinner as saying - though his words were not audible in this broadcast: 'I had no idea, we were abandoned.

'I do not know who took such a decision. I do not know anything about the fate of the injured, who were left there.

'I do not know what happened to the dead bodies.'

In an earlier interview, Pinner had identified himself and said: 'I am a citizen of the United Kingdom.

'I was captured in Mariupol. I am part of 36th brigade, 1st Battalion Ukrainian Marines

'I was fighting in Mariupol for five to six weeks and now I am in the Donetsk People's Republic.'

Brit fighter Shaun Pinner has been captured by Russian forces after surrendering in Mariupol. He was paraded on Russian television looking clean-shaven with no visible wounds. He said on the broadcast: 'I am Shaun Pinner'

In another clip suggesting he is caught up in Russia's propaganda campaign against Ukraine and the West, he reportedly said that 'he doesn't want war and wants to go home'.

Pinner now faces interrogation by the Russian Investigative Committee. The committee is seen as an equivalent of the FBI and is run by Alexander Bastrykin, a university classmate of Vladimir Putin.

'This is the second Englishman caught in Mariupol.'

His fate in the hands of the Russians and the separatist authorities in Donetsk remains uncertain.

Prior to being captured in Ukraine, friends and family left well-wishes on Shaun's Facebook page, where he had snapped a selfie in which he was dressed in combat garb, adorned with the Ukrainian flag.

'Stay safe bro, love you,' read one comment from sister Cassandra.

Other well wishers commented: 'Thinking of you brother and those with you,' while another one said: 'Respect matey, stay safe, move fast keep low.'

His capture comes after Russia seized 28-year-old former care worker Aiden Aslin on Tuesday. He had also been fighting in Ukraine in the same trenches outside Mariupol as Pinner.

There is concern for his safety amid fears that he could treated as a spy by the Kremlin.

An image uploaded to his social media shows Aiden, 28, bruised, beaten and in handcuffs

A second image, posted by a pro-Russia Telegram account, was closer to captured Aiden's cut

In early March, around a week after Vladimir Putin launched his brutal invasion of Ukraine, Pinner gave a hard-hitting dispatch from near the front line, describing the situation as 'chaos'.

At the time, he said he had endured a 'week of intense fighting'.

Pinner also confirmed a number of his squad had died in the early days of the war, saying : 'We've lost a couple of guys today'.

Mr Pinner filmed the dispatch as Vladimir Putin's men laid siege to Kyiv and other major Ukranian cities. In the video he does not reveal his location for security reasons. Since then, Russian forces have pulled back from the Kyiv region to refocus their efforts on the east of the country.

The first British fighter captured in Mariupol was former care worker Aiden Aslin.

Russias state TV channels have broadcast suspect footage of Aslin being questioned by his captors after he was also forced to surrender in Mariupol.

Mr Aslin, 28, joined the Ukrainian marines four years ago. He has dual UK-Ukrainian citizenship and a Ukrainian fiancee, yet Russia appears determined to brand him an enemy agent rather than a prisoner of war.

The distinction is significant as under Russian law, those suspected of espionage face interrogation and lengthy prison sentences.

Whereas POWs are released at the end of hostilities, convicted spies may remain behind bars, perhaps until an exchange of agents can be arranged.

Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine, has seen the worst fighting of the seven-week-long war. Home to 400,000 people before Russia's invasion, the city has been reduced to rubble by Russian shelling

Experts say the fall of Mariupol, seen as strategically vital for Russian plans to attack eastern Ukraine , is inevitable. But holdouts in their underground bases hope to make conquering the Sea of Azov port as hard as possible for the attackers. Pictured: An explosion is seen in an apartment building after Russian's army tank fires in Mariupol

Service members of pro-Russian troops load rocket-propelled grenades into an infantry combat vehicle amid fighting near the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol

Mr Aslin, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, was paraded on TV with his face bruised. It is thought he is being held in a military detention facility.

Footage shows him being questioned by one of his captors off camera and he supposedly agrees with the suggestion that those who stood with you [in Ukraine], they are killers.

It remains unclear whether the recording was doctored for political purposes.

But last night Mr Aslins brother Nathan Wood said: People should not believe anything the Russians say or are making my brother say. He is being held against his will and forced to say whatever they tell him to.

Anything that comes out of my brothers mouth now, and the mouths of his Russian captors, are lies.

Both Pinner and Aslin are believed to have been captured while fighting with Ukrainian soldiers to defence Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine.

The city has seen the worst fighting of the seven-week-long war. Home to 400,000 people before Russia's invasion, the city has been reduced to rubble by seemingly indiscriminate Russian shelling.

Russian forces have in recent days made advances in Mariupol and issued a chilling warning to the final troops defending the besieged city.

Russian servicemen (pictured) on Tuesday secured Mariupol's Drama Theatre which was destroyed in a missile strike on March 16

At least 300 people died when Mariupol's drama theatre (pictured, Russian servicemen secure the destroyed building) was targeted in a Russian missile strike, despite being marked 'children'

Russia gave Ukrainian soldiers an ultimatum to 'surrender or die', urging them to lay down their arms by 6:00 am Moscow time (0300 GMT) and to evacuate before 13:00pm, on Sunday after the Russian Defence Ministry claimed their troops had cleared the urban area of the city - with only a small unit of Ukrainian fighters remaining in the giant Azovstal steelworks in the south-eastern port.

In a statement, the defence ministry said: 'The Russian Armed Forces offer the militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries from 6am (Moscow time) on April 17, 2022, to stop any hostilities and lay down their arms. All who lay down their arms are guaranteed that their lives will be spared.'

But with the last Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol refusing to surrender and accept Russia's now-expired ultimatum, the Ukrainian MP for Odesa, Oleksiy Goncharenko, told BBC News the last defenders will 'fight until the end'.

He said: 'I spoke with them yesterday, and I know that they're going to fight until the end.'

It comes as there was deadly shelling in Kharkiv over the weekend, which led to five people being killed and 13 injured, according to regional health officials.
The US Navy used its new marine surveillance aircraft to provide accurate targeting data to Ukrainian forces to sink the Russian Black Sea flag ship Moskva on April 13.

Ukraine claimed it fired two Neptun missiles at the Russian warship which was patrolling south of Odesa.

Russia initially claimed the vessel, which had more than 500 crew on board had blown up after a fire onboard.

Later, the Kremlin was forced to admit the vessel - named in honour of the Russian capital - had been taken out by hostile action.

The US Navy deployed one of its Boeing Poseidon P-8 maritime surveillance aircraft on the Black Sea coast over Romania in the hours before the Ukrainian attack on the Moskva

The Moskva sank shortly after this image was taken following the missile strike on the cruiser

According to The Times, a US marine surveillance P-8 Poseidon aircraft, was tracking Moskva in the hours before it was attacked before supplying its location to the Ukrainian military.

The Boeing-made aircraft is based upon the Boeing 737-800 jet - which is widely used by airlines such as Ryanair.

However, instead of passengers, the Poseidon is packed with state-of-the-art surveillance equipment which can track surface vessels and submarines at ranges of more than 100 miles.

According to The Times, the P-8 took off from Italy and took up station on the Romanian Black Sea coast where it attempted to locate the position of the Russian Black Sea fleet.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, a range of NATO surveillance platforms and drones have been monitoring Russian movements from the Polish coast, along the Ukrainian border and down to the Black Sea.

The Moskva, pictured leaving Sevastopol on April 10, was the main air defence asset in the Black Sea Fleet and served as its flagship

Moskva was the Russian Black Sea fleet's main radar platform, equipped with S-300 surface to air missiles to protect from air attack.

The vessel sank as tugs attempted to tow the crippled warship back to Crimea for repairs.

The Neptun is an anti-ship missile that was recently developed by Ukraine and based on an earlier Soviet design. The launchers are mounted on trucks stationed near the coast, and, according to the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, the missiles can hit targets up to 175 miles away. That would have put the Moskva within range, based on where the fire began.

According to The Times, the P-8 left US Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily on April 13, hours before the attack.

Before reaching the Black Sea coastline, the Poseidon turned off its trackers, so it could no longer be followed online.

The aircraft was 'hidden' for almost three hours before it returned to Flight Radar 24.

Aviation data analysis Amelia Smith told The Times that there were slightly more US aircraft covering the Black Sea coast on the day of the attack.

However, the US Navy refused to confirm if they assisted Ukraine with the attack by providing intelligence data.

A Defence source added: 'In keeping with our support to Natos eastern flank, we have been conducting some limited air patrols off the coast of Romania. But we will not speak to the details of operational matters.'
Ahn Cheol-soo, left, then presidential candidate of the People's Party, talks with his father Ahn Young-moo, who passed away Tuesday, at his father's home in Busan's Suyeong's District, in this April 2017 file photo provided by Ahn Cheol-soo's election camp.



By Jung Da-min



Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the presidential transition committee, is mourning the death of his father, Ahn Young-mo, 92, a doctor well-known for his lifelong dedication to community service. The younger Ahn has been participating in his father's funeral from Wednesday in Busan.



The late Ahn was a mentor to his son. After graduating from Seoul National University College of Medicine in 1963, he opened a hospital in a shanty town in Beomcheon-dong in Busan's Busanjin District. He ran the hospital for 49 years until 2012.



When treating villagers, he often charged little or nothing. His long-time community service has earned him several nicknames. "Schweitzer of Busan" is one of them.



As the first born of two sons and one daughter, the younger Ahn has said that his father was responsible for forging his values, such as serving people around him and putting honor before wealth.



Like the saying "Like father, like son," the younger Ahn also graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine. Working as a doctor, he also developed several information security programs. After seven years of working two jobs as a doctor during the day and an information security developer at night, Ahn decided to focus more on the IT business.



In 1995, he founded AhnLab, the country's first and biggest anti-virus software company. Holding numerous leadership positions in the domestic software industry, he taught at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) from 2008 to 2011 and Seoul National University Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology from 2011 to 2012.



After entering politics upon declaring his presidential bid in September 2012, Ahn served two terms as a lawmaker at the National Assembly from 2012 to 2020. But he failed three times in his presidential bids, including this year's March 9 presidential election, in which he withdrew his candidacy as the minor opposition conservative People's Party's candidate to support Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP).



His decision in November 2011 to return half of his AhnLab shares to society, which was implemented over the following years, also resembles his late father's spirit of sharing.



The younger Ahn has often talked about his father's influence in his life in media interviews, including his decision to go to medical school as his father wished.



Upon hearing that his father was in critical condition, Ahn headed for Busan, Monday, right after attending a signing ceremony for the unification of his People's Party and President-elect Yoon's PPP, which came about a month and a half after unifying their candidacy for the presidential election.


The sudden death of a 12-year-old girl is being investigated with police revealing the child had 'a number of health conditions'.

Queensland police were called to a home at Coomera on the northern Gold Coast at 8pm on Monday night.

It's believed the child's mother found the girl in an unresponsive state.

She was later declared deceased.

The girl suffered from a number of health conditions. A post-mortem will be conducted today.

A crime scene has been established at the residence and the Child Protection and Investigation Unit is investigating.

Queensland police found a 12-year-old girl unresponsive at a Coomera residence on the Gold Coast. She was later declared deceased, with police establishing a crime scene at the home

More to come
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Adelia 'Dede' Robertson, the wife of religious broadcaster Pat Robertson and a born-again Christian, died of unknown causes at 94 at her home in Virginia Beach.

Her cause of death is unknown, but her obituary thanked Trinity Hospice for the 'wonderful care they provided to Dede during the past months.'

Robertson was born on December 3, 1927, to middle-class Christian Republicans Ralph and Florence Elmer in Columbus, Ohio. She went on to get a bachelor's degree in Social Administration from The Ohio State University and eventually a nursing degree from Yale, where she met her husband televangelist Pat.

She also competed in beauty pageants and participated in the Miss Ohio State contest and did modeling work.

The mother-of-four also sat on the board for Regent University - which her husband founded - and the Operation Blessing International relief and Development Corporation, as well as the family business: The Christian Broadcasting Network.

Robertson became a born-again Christian several months after her husband found his faith. The couple, who met at Yale University in 1952, embarked on a journey that included living in a roach-infested commune in New York before Pat bought a tiny television station in Virginia that would become the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) in 1960.

Robertson would even be named Christian Woman of the Year in 1986.

Dede Robertson died in her Virginia Beach home on Tuesday. Her cause of death is unknown but her obituary thanked Trinity Hospice for the 'wonderful care they provided to Dede during the past month'

She leaves behind four children - Timothy, Elizabeth, Gordon, and Ann - 14 grandchildren, and 23 great-grandkids

Robertson's future husband was the son of a Southern Baptist, Democratic US senator. Eighteen months after meeting, they ran off to be married by a justice of the peace, knowing that neither family would approve.

He honored his wife in her obituary, saying she was a 'champion of the Gospel and a remarkable servant of Christ, who has left an indelible print on all that she set her hand on during her extraordinary life.'

Robertson's husband was interested in politics before finding religion, she told the Associated Press in 1987, and he even ran for president in 1988. She 'enthusiastically' campaigned in 52 cities on his behalf, her obituary said.

After finding faith, Pat stunned her by pouring out their liquor, tearing a nude print off the wall and declaring he had found the Lord.

Robertson sat on the board of Regent University, which her husband founded. She also helped design the school's theatre and even picked the carpeting for the university's chapel

She cut the ribbon outside one of the school's buildings, where she helped design several buildings

The university even renamed Regent Theatre after her in 2019, which is now called the Dede Robertson Theatre (pictured)

They moved into the commune in Bedford-Stuyvesant because Robertson said God had told him to sell all his possessions and minister to the poor. Robertson told AP she was tempted to go back to Ohio, 'but I realized that was not what the Lord would have me do...I had promised to stay, so I did.'

Pat Robertson later heard God tell him to buy the small TV station in Portsmouth, Virginia, which would become a global religious broadcasting network. He ran the network's flagship program, the 700 Club, for half a century before stepping down last fall.

'Mom was the glue that held the Robertson family together,' said Gordon Robertson, one of her four children, and the president and CEO of CBN. 'She was always working behind the scenes. If it weren't for Mom, there wouldn't be a CBN.'

However, in her autobiography My God Will Supply You, Robertson recalled bridling at staying at home and her husband's refusal to help around the house.

'I was a Northerner, and Northern men just generally help around the house a little more,' she said. 'I noticed the further south we moved, the less he did.'

Her attitude changed after she had her own born-again experience at a church service, she told AP: 'I began to see how important what he was doing really was.'

Robertson said that women should not work outside the home while their children are young unless they must. She reared her kids and worked as a nursing professor after they went to school.

'My mother had so many virtuesIve never heard her complain or want to give upshe was steadfast. Thats what Dad needed beside him all these years; a steadfast partner who continually read the Bible and studied the Bible. She was not too concerned about herself. She was selfless. I always saw that growing up. She would make sure we had before she had,' her daughter Elizabeth said in the obituary.

She supported her husband's wish to be in politics - prior to his enlightenment - as he campaigned for presidency in 1988 (pictured: the couple at the Republican National Convention in Texas in 1992)

She even 'enthusiastically' campaigned in 52 cities on his behalf (pictured: Robertson, Pat, and their son Tim in 1988)

Robertson watched on as her husband spoke at the 1988 caucus in Des Moines

Her daughter Ann said: 'My mom was a rock. She was a rock throughout our childhood. Dad had to travel a lot, but Mom was always there for us kids that gives great security to children.'

Robertson's son Timothy also said his parents growth was 'extraordinary' and said 'as they got older, it seemed like they were getting closer together...that was a great example for us kids to see.'

She also wrote another book called The New You and wrote a monthly column in All in a Woman's Day, a Christian magazine.

She was appointed to the US on the Inter-American Commission of Women in 1982, which was established to ensure recognition of women's human rights. She played a key role in elevating the representative of those who lived in Latin America.

Robertson also traveled frequently for CBN and Operation Blessing International, as well as Flying Hospital medical missions. She traveled extensively through Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas.

'I am really excited about [CBN's international efforts]. I have visited most of these countries and I have seen the ministry and seen them start from almost nothing. I am watching it grow. I have always had a real soft spot in my heart for China, and I am looking forward to the day that we have a big ministry in China,' she said in an undated interview with CBN.

She said she considered moving back to Ohio after her husband found faith and stunned her by pouring out their liquor, tearing a nude print off the wall and declaring he had found the Lord, but ultimately decided to stay. The pair eloped after meeting at Yale, knowing their families would never approve of their marriage

She also served on the board of Regent University, which her husband founded. She also had a heavy hand in the design of the theatre on campus and even choose the carpeting for the university's chapel.

The school also renamed Regent Theatre after her in 2019, now called the Dede Robertson Theatre.

'Robertson was an extraordinarily creative interior decorator,' her obit said.

She said one of 'most rewarding experiencing' was 'when the CBN Headquarters building was built and we had the grand opening,' and claimed the Lord help her hone her interior design skills while decorating the building.

'I remember vividly it just came over me that I had allowed the Lord to help me and to use me to decorate that building. My undergraduate degree was in Sociology, and my graduate degree was in Nursing. I don't know anything about interior design, but He does.'

Pat Robertson said in a statement that his wife 'was a woman of great faith, a champion of the gospel, and a remarkable servant of Christ who has left an indelible print on all that she set her hand to during her extraordinary life.'

She leaves behind her husband, televangelist Pat, and their four children - Timothy, Elizabeth, Gordon, and Ann - 14 grandchildren, and 23 great-grandkids.

In an interview with CBN, she said her 'greatest personal accomplishment' was 'raising four children' and she was happy they were serving the Lord.

'I am very proud of all of my children. It is wonderful to know that my children are serving the Lord and doing what He wants them to do.'
Boris Johnson has ordered Tory MPs to block a new probe into whether he lied to Parliament over Partygate, according to reports.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to jet to India today despite the trip clashing with a Commons vote tomorrow over the PM's claim from the despatch box last year that all lockdown rules were followed in Downing Street.

And Tory whips are telling MP to vote against a motion referring Mr Johnson for investigation to the Commons Privilege's Committee, reports The Times.

It comes in the wake of a swathe of dozens of 50 fines, including for the PM himself and for his wife Carrie, for breaking the Covid laws in 2020 and 2021.

The committee has the power to summon reports and documents. It means that MPs could request to see the full version of senior civil servant Sue Gray's inquiry into the Downing Street lockdown gatherings and any potential photographic evidence that exists.

While the Conservatives' 80-strong majority means that the Government will almost certainly win the vote and block the investigation, it keeps the row in the headlines at a time when the PM wants it buried by other issues.

Labour will also hope it pushes reluctant Tories furious at the lawbreaking into the open by making them abstain.

A party source earlier said: 'Any Conservative MP considering voting to block this investigation would be voting for a cover up. They should reflect on the mess they got themselves into over Owen Paterson before falling into line.'

Mr Johnson is under renewed pressure after he was told to resign by Conservative former chief whip Mark Harper, who said he was no longer 'worthy' of being Prime Minister.

That came despite Mr Johnson apologising dozens of times in the Commons and insisting he did not know he was breaching his own Covid rules after being fined by police.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to jet to India today despite the trip clashing with a Commons vote tomorrow over the PM's claim from the despatch box last year that all lockdown rules were followed in Downing Street

Tory whips are telling MP to vote against a motion referring Mr Johnson for investigation to the Commons Privilege's Committee, reports The Times. Pictured: Chief Whip Chris Heaton-Harris

Mr Johnson is under renewed pressure after he was told to resign by Conservative former chief whip Mark Harper (above), who said he was no longer 'worthy' of being Prime Minister

Sir Lindsay Hoyle approved a Labour plan for a debate and vote on Thursday over the PM's claim from the despatch box last year that all lockdown rules were followed in Downing Street.

What is the vote about? Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and other senior MPs requested the Commons vote after the Prime Minister was fined for attending his own lockdown-busting birthday party in No 10 in June 2020. They argue that Mr Johnson's previous assertions that 'the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times' in Downing Street and that 'no Covid rules were broken' misled Parliament - although those remarks in the Commons were not specifically related to the birthday gathering. Ministers normally decide what is debated and when, but in this case Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle ruled that the issue should be given parliamentary time. He said it was not up to him to decide whether there had been a contempt of Parliament, but 'my role is to decide whether there is an arguable case to be examined'. Sir Keir will table a motion for the debate and vote on Thursday. He is expected to call for the Prime Minister's conduct to be examined by the Committee of Privileges, which considers issues relating to contempt of Parliament. Mr Johnson will miss the vote as he will be on a visit to India. The Prime Minister has a working majority of 75 and it would take a massive revolt of Tory MPs to agree to refer the matter to the committee. But by forcing Tory MPs to reject an investigation into whether the Prime Minister lied to Parliament, the Opposition parties hope to gain a political weapon to use as voters head to the ballot boxes for local elections across the country in May. Advertisement

Sir Lindsay said he had received letters from a number of MPs on the issue. He said the procedure is set out in parliament's Erskine May procedural rule book, noting: 'It is not for me to police the ministerial code, I have no jurisdiction over the ministerial code even though a lot of people seem to think I have. It is not the case.

'Secondly, it is not for me to determine whether or not the Prime Minister has committed a contempt. My role is to decide whether there is an arguable case to be examined.

'Having considered the issue, having taken advice from the clerks of the House, I've decided that this is a matter that I should allow the precedence accorded to the issue of privilege. Therefore, (Sir Keir Starmer) may table a motion for debate on Thursday.'

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged Tory MPs to 'do their patriotic duty' in Thursday's vote on the Prime Minister's conduct.

He said: 'The British public have declared Boris Johnson a liar. Now it's time for Parliament to do the same.

'The country cannot afford a Prime Minister who breaks the law and lies about it, especially when families are facing a cost-of-living crisis.

'Johnson has taken the British people for fools for far too long, and it's time for Conservative MPs to show where they stand. They must do their patriotic duty and kick Boris Johnson out of Downing Street once and for all.'

But Mr Johnson denied intentionally misleading MPs in the past with his denials, including when he assured 'all guidance was followed completely' in Downing Street.

Instead, Mr Johnson apologised repeatedly for the 'mistake' of his 56th birthday gathering in No 10 in June 2020, as the police investigation into further alleged parties continues.

Government sources insisted the trip for talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi was 'definitely happening' despite pressure to cancel it so he can attend the debate.

He is set to depart after Prime Minister's Questions.

The wording of the motion being tabled by Labour and other opposition MPs was not yet clear, but was expected to refer Mr Johnson for investigation by the Commons Privileges Committee.

Tory MP Craig Whittaker, one of the Conservatives to call for Mr Johnson's resignation, urged the Prime Minister to instead refer himself to avoid taking colleagues to 'the brink'.

Noting Mr Johnson denies intentionally misleading the House, Mr Whittaker told BBC Newsnight: 'If that's the case, what I would like to see is the Prime Minister referring himself to the privileges committee so that he doesn't take all of my colleagues, including myself, to the brink on Thursday evening.'

The committee has the power to summon reports and documents, meaning MPs could request a full version of senior civil servant Sue Gray's inquiry into lockdown breaches as well as photographic evidence.

Shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire conceded the Tories may be able to amend the opposition motion, but urged Conservative MPs to 'do the right thing, listen to their constituents'.

Mr Harper revealed he had submitted a letter to the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives calling for a no confidence vote after branding Mr Johnson's actions 'indefensible'.

'I'm very sorry to have to say this, but I no longer think he is worthy of the great office that he holds,' Mr Harper told MPs.

A no-confidence vote in the Prime Minister is triggered if 1922 chair Sir Graham Brady has 54 letters from Tory MPs. The number submitted is a closely-guarded secret.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told ITV's Lorraine: 'I don't think you can say to people ''oh just move on'', I also don't accept this argument  that it is a bit like a speeding fine. It isn't like a speeding fine at all'

The Prime Minister was fined 50 for attending a rule breaking birthday party in Downing Street in June 2020

Plans for Mr Johnson to visit India have been twice cancelled in the past, first over the UK's winter wave of Covid infections and then in April last year in response to a new variant hitting India.

But a second Government source insisted there was 'no way' the latest trip will be cancelled, arguing it is 'critical for jobs, trade, investment and diplomacy'.

The Prime Minister is expected to encourage Mr Modi to loosen ties with Vladimir Putin's Russia when they meet in New Delhi on Friday.

Downing Street said Mr Johnson will not seek to 'lecture' his Indian counterpart, despite concerns within Government that Mr Modi has not been strong enough in condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Instead, No 10 said Mr Johnson will promise to work with India and other countries in a similar position to reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels and defence equipment.
Police in Syracuse, New York, were caught on camera arresting a young black boy for stealing a packet of chips.

The shocking video was caught on camera as at least four officers on the upstate force were seen dragging the 10-year-old boy, forcing him into a waiting patrol car.

The youngster appeared to be deeply traumatized by the entire incident and was crying and screaming as he had his hands placed behind his back and was frog-marched towards the waiting police car.

Syracuse Police were seen putting a young black boy in the a police car after allegedly stealing a bag of chips

The person filming the arrest could not believe what he was witnessing and screamed at officers to let the little boy go.

'What ya'll doing?' the man asked.

'Guess! Take a guess what i'm doing!' the police officer responded.

'He looks like a baby to me. I don't know what you're doing. So what's going on then?' the man continued to question.

'He's stealing stuff. If he breaks into your house' another officer said before being cut off.

'Nah man! What he stole a bag of chips so you gotta treat him like a cold-blooded f**king criminal?' the person filming responded in disbelief.

The video was shot by a local resident who appeared incredulous at how officers were treating the boy who was in tears as he was frogmarched towards a waiting patrol car

Officers responded rudely to the inquiring resident essentially telling him to mind his own business and let police do their job.

'Keep walking dude, you don't know even know what you're talking about,' one officer replied.

'I know what I just came up and see!' the man behind the camera stated. 'I know what I just came up and see!'

He asked what the youngster had done and upon being told he had stolen a snack even offered to pay for the item if it meant officers would him go.

'I see you snatching him up the butt like he's a grown-ass man - and he said it wasn't him!

'If he stole some chips, I'll pay for them. I'll pay for them! Leave him alone! He's a kid!', the man demanded.

The video ends with the child crying hysterically as he sits in the back of a police car.

The youngster could be heard screaming as he tried to get away while sitting in the patrol car

The entire incident has also sparked a furious reaction online with many social media users outraged about heavy-handed response by police on the young child.

'They traumatized that little boy over a bag of chips? Unbelievable,' wrote Jeanne Boudreau.

'Talk it over with him, take him to his parents, and have some ****ing compassion...' wrote another user.

'Not saying there shouldn't be any consequences but when people steal food it's because they're hungry. Feed him and address the stealing a different way than putting him in cuffs smh,' added another.

Officers responded rudely to the inquiring resident essentially telling him to mind his own business and let police do their job

The entire incident has also sparked a furious reaction online with many social media users outraged about heavy-handed response by police on the young child

The incident is now under investigation by the Syracuse police Department who released a statement on the matter.

'We are aware of a video being shared on social media involving several of our Officers and juveniles accused of stealing from a store on the City's northside. The incident, including the Officers' actions and body-worn cameras, are being reviewed.

'There is some misinformation involving this case. The juvenile suspected of larceny was not placed in handcuffs. He was placed in the rear of a patrol unit where he was directly brought home. Officers met with the child's father and no charges were filed.'
Dyllin Jaycruz Gogue, 27 (pictured), was arrested after starting a fire that leveled a San Jose Home Depot, causing $17,000 in damage

A man was charged with Arson Tuesday for setting a fire that gutted a Northern California Home Depot, prompting hundreds to flee and filling the sky with smoke.

Dyllin Jaycruz Gogue, 27, of San Jose, was trying to cover up a theft of tools, authorities said.

He was arrested last Friday in relation to the blaze and appeared in court Tuesday He is currently being held without bail at Elmwood Men's Jail.

Gogue is accused of setting a fire that began in the lumber section of the Home Depot in South San Jose on April 9.

He was trying to create a distraction while making off with a cart full of tools - but drove off without taking them after he was stopped by an employee, according to Mercury News.

He carried out a string of thefts that day, robbing a Bass Pro Shop before setting the fire around 5.30pm and a Macy's afterward.

The five-alarm fire damaged an estimated $17 million in inventory loss in addition to tens of millions in structural damage to the destroyed store.

'The Home Depot is pretty much a total loss, the roof is pretty much collapsed from the entire structure so it's going to take some time to get in there - if we even can - if it's going to be safe for our people to get in there,' SJFD battalion chief Brad Cloutier told KGO.

The flames, which took about 100 firefighters six hours to control, sent up a huge black plume of smoke that could be detected by weather satellites in space, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said at a news conference.

It fed on flammable materials and chemicals such as paint thinner, which made it harder to fight, Cloutier said at a briefing.

Questions have emerged over how quickly the flames consumed the 98,000 square-foot store so quickly - one passerby told KGO that he drove by the retailer and drove back 15 minutes later only to find that 'the entire building was engulfed.'

Mercury News reported that the establishment had racked up numerous fire code violations over the past two years.

A five-alarm fire broke out at a San Jose, California Home Depot on Saturday at 5pm and completely leveled the store

Fire crews doused the building in water as employees and customers evacuated the crowded retailer. No injuries were reported

Gogue, pictured on at his arraignment on Tuesday with his public defender, could face life in prison if he is convicted of all the charges against him

The fire burned near hundreds of homes, and concerns about unhealthy air prompted authorities to order people living nearby to stay inside, close their windows and turn off their air conditioning.

Luckily, the flames only damaged two residences.

City Councilman Matt Mahan, who lives near the store, told the Bay Area News Group that the air in his home smelled of chemicals and 'burning plastic.

Shelter-in-place advisories for nearby residents were lifted on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Dozens of animals were evacuated from the nearby Wagly Veterinary Hospital, which sustained water damage from firefighters trying to put out the blaze and from crews creating a barrier between the buildings, a fire department spokesman said.

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said the fire erupted on a weekend when the store was full of shoppers and he was thankful that his office 'is not prosecuting a multiple murder case today.'

'Miraculously no one was hurt,' he said. 'But it came close - far, far too close - to causing many injuries and deaths.'

Video taken by customer Philip Hurst shows the roof collapsing inside of the store as someone screams, 'Get out of the building! Get out of the building, sir!'

Thick plumes of black smoke stretched over the city on Saturday, leading officials to issue a shelter-in-place order for nearby residents that was lifted by Sunday afternoon

Concerns about unhealthy air prompted authorities to order people living nearby to stay inside, close their windows and turn off their air conditioning

The National Weather Service Bay Area office tweeted that one of its satellites detected the fire

The fire at the Home Depot at 920 Blossom Hill Road in San Jose erupted quickly

Liccardo attributed the miraculous dearth in injuries to emergency services' swift response.

'I think in many other cities, as District Attorney Rosen mentioned, this might be a multiple homicide investigation,' he said. 'Instead, it is an arson investigation.'

Rosen told CBS SF that, after leaving the Home Depot, Gogue 'went to other locations to steal items, including a Macy's in the East Bay.'

It fed on flammable materials and chemicals such as paint thinner, which made it harder to fight, Fire Battalion Chief Brad Cloutier (pictured) said at a briefing

In addition to aggravated arson, he also is charged with grand theft and petty theft involving shoplifting at six South San Jose stores - Home Depot, Office Max, Macys, Sunglass Hut, Guitar Center, and Kohls - between last October and April 2.

Gogue's criminal history in Santa Clara county kicked off this time last year, Mercury News reported.

In March 2021, he was charged with misdemeanor battery after he was arrest three months earlier in Campbell. This year on January 21, he was arrested in Sunnyvale and charged with Petty theft.

On March 5, Gogue was arrested at an REI Store in Sunnyvale. He pleaded no contest to charges of petty theft and being under the influence of a controlled substance four days later, and was ordered to stay away from the store and sentenced to a year of probation.

On March 30, he was arrested again for petty theft in San Jose.

Gogue could face a potential life sentence if convicted of all the charges stemming from the fire and his string of thefts on April 9. Rosen said that just the aggravated arson charge carries a sentence between 10 years and life in prison.

'This fire was not set at midnight in an empty store. It was set at around 5.15, 5.30 pm on a Saturday with the store full of employees and shoppers,' said Rosen.

'This was an incredibly reckless and dangerous act and I felt that the appropriate way to hold somebody accountable for this crime was the most serious charge.'

San Jose Fire Chief Robert Sapien Jr. said Tuesday that his department is still investigating whether the Home Depot's fire code violations contributed to the magnitude of the blaze.

On May 19, 2020, San Jose's Bureau of Fire Prevention reported that the store wasn't maintaining enough space between storage and their sprinkler system on the ceiling, and that there was unsecured insulation hanging from the ceiling.

That issue wasn't remedied until October 26 of last year - after fire officials re-inspected the premises 23 times, according to Mercury News.

In December of 2020, the store failed to provide documentation of fire alarm and sprinkler system inspections - the store reconciled this a month later.

The last fire safety examination of the building took place on October 5, 2021. The store was written up again for not giving electrical service equipment enough space. That violation was also remedied on October 26, 2021.
Two family members have been charged with fatally stabbing a young man at his home over the Easter long weekend.

The dead mans mum Lee-Ann Rae Forrest and her son Alex William Forrest were taken to hospital with minor injuries and discharged overnight.

Ms Forrest's 24-year-old son Cameron Paul Forrest was found dead in the Gladstone home in Central Queensland on Sunday morning.

Police have charged the mother and brother of a deceased man with murder after the pair allegedly stabbed him to death in their Gladstone home (pictured) in Central Queensland

Police responded to a welfare check on Sunday morning and found the 24-year-old man dead and his mother and brother injured

Police responded to a request for a welfare check at the Blaxland Court, Glen Eden property where they found Cameron dead and his mother and brother injured.

Neighbours told the Courier Mail that they could hear loud noises and possible screaming coming from the house on Saturday night.

One shocked neighbour said he had seen paramedics applying CPR to a person and that it was normally a 'quiet street'.

After examining the crime scene, investigators were waiting to speak to the accused pair who were admitted to hospital with injuries - the nature of which is unknown.

Police allege that Cameron died from fatal stab wounds.

Alex Forrest made no application for bail after a brief of evidence was shown to the Rockhampton Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning.

His mother is due to appear in Gladstone Magistrates Court Wednesday afternoon.
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Barry Morphew's daughters have spoken out to support him after Colorado prosecutors dropped murder charges against him in relation to his wife Suzanne's disappearance.

In a motion on Tuesday, just a week before Barry's trial was due to start in Canon City, prosecutors admitted that they did not have enough evidence to secure a conviction - but left the door open to filing new charges and said they were hopeful of finding Suzanne's body.

Barry's two adult daughters with Suzanne, Mallory and Macy, stood by his side at the hearing, hugging him and crying in relief as the judge approved the dismissal.

'We miss our mom dearly and we know our dad didn't have anything to do with it,' Mallory told the judge after he granted the dismissal, according to the Denver Gazette.

'We're thankful we can go on with our life and just take time to heal,' said a tearful Macy. 'We wish we'd been treated better.'

Tensions ran so high at the hearing that a service dog in the back of the courtroom was heard whining during the proceedings, as if to comfort those present.

Barry pleaded for help finding Suzanne after she disappeared and was reported missing on Mother's Day in 2020, but he was arrested and charged with murder and other crimes last year. He had pleaded not guilty and has always denied having any role in her disappearance.

Barry Morphew leaves a Fremont County court building in Canon City, Colorado, with his daughters, Macy, left, and Mallory, after charges against him in the presumed death of his wife were dismissed on Tuesday

Mallory and Macy stood by Barry's side at the hearing, hugging him and crying in relief as the judge approved the dismissal

Barry pleaded for help finding Suzanne after she disappeared and was reported missing on Mother's Day in 2020, but he was arrested and charged with murder and other crimes last year

Investigators have long suspected the area of the Garfield Mine as a possible location for Suzanne's body, after Morphew admitted taking a detour there around the time of her disappearance

District Attorney Linda Stanley filed the stunning motion to drop all charges just 15 minutes before Tuesday's hearing was due to start, claiming that investigators needed more time to search an area that has long been the subject of interest in the hopes of finding Suzanne's body.

The move follows Judge Ramsey Lama's decision last month to bar prosecutors from presenting most of their key witnesses, finding they repeatedly failing to follow rules for turning over evidence in his favor.

That evidence included DNA from an unknown male linked to sexual assault cases in other states, which was found in Suzanne's SUV, raising the possibility of another suspect being involved.

In a court filing, the DA said the exclusion of the prosecution's witnesses was one reason she asked Lama to allow prosecutors to drop the charges.

But she emphasized that investigators need more time to find the body of Suzanne Morphew, saying for the first time that investigators believe her body is located in an area covered deep in snow near their former home in the southern Colorado mountains.

The filing said that the search area, which was not specified, had been the target of investigation efforts 'for some time' but that winter weather had hindered search efforts.

'The People were hopeful that the search for, and the discovery of, the victims body would be concluded well before trial, but weather has complicated the efforts,' Stanley wrote in the motion, which Lama later approved.

Suzanne Morphew's siblings agree with the prosecution's request to drop the charges, she said.

Iris Eytan, center, the lead defense attorney for Barry Morphew, gets hugs from Morphew's daughters, Macy, left, and Mallory, while Barry Morphew gets ready to climb into his truck on Tuesday

Iris Eytan, the lead defense attorney for Barry Morphew, gets a hug from him before he got into a truck and drove away

'These charges were false from the beginning,' one of Barry Morphew's lawyers, Iris Eytan, said after Tuesday's hearing.

Eytan said there was no physical evidence linking Barry Morphew to the case and noted that prosecutors have never before said they needed to find Suzanne Morphew's body in order to prosecute.

David Beller, an attorney with Recht Kornfeld PC, a Denver law firm, and a former president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, told the AP that the prosecutors' dismissal request was a last minute attempt to save their case in the face of a likely acquittal.

'This is a relatively inexperienced prosecution team who brought charges in part based on community and political pressure,' he said.

A not guilty verdict would have prevented the government from ever prosecuting him again since the Constitution bars people from being prosecuted for the same crime twice.

Even though prosecutors have the ability to file new charges against Barry later, Beller did not think it was likely unless Suzanne's body was found with some kind of evidence linking Barry to her death.

He noted that other evidence supports his claims of innocence.

Barry and Suzanne Morphew are pictured with their two adult daughters. Suzanne vanished in May 2020

The former home of missing Suzanne Morphew and her husband Barry in Maysville, Colorado was located just around the bend from the area where they believe her body is buried beneath five feet of snow

The remote Garfield Mine where police believe the remains of Suzanne Morphew could be hidden. Chaffee County police say they have pinpointed a location in an area close to her former home in Maysville, Co, and are waiting for snowpack to melt before exhuming the body.

Barry Morphew, who was due to stand trial on her murder this month, has had the charges against him dropped while police search the mine. In police interviews, he admitted to making a 5am detour close to the mine on the day Suzanne was reported missing

Morphew - who has always denied having any role in his wife's disappearance - left court holding hands with his daughters.

Speaking afterwards, his attorney declared it a victory that came about because the prosecution knew they were going to lose the case.

Barry Morphew was arrested May 5, 2021

'Now they believe they need to find a body in order to proceed with any kind of charge. Today is the first day the prosecution has ever stated that that would be a consideration.

'Forever they have stated that they don't need a body, that a body is irrelevant. But you need to know in this case there has not been a single ounce of physical evidence connecting Mr. Morphew to this alleged crime.

'We were going to get him acquitted rightly, after a trial that we believed we were going to have. But all of a sudden now today, in the face of the fact that they have committed so much misconduct, they have decided to dismiss the case claiming that there is a body that they're close to finding up in the mountains that is snow covered, near where Mr. Morphew's house was

'Barry and his daughters are relieved but they want to know where Suzanne is.

'Barry Morphew loves Suzanne Morphew. He loves her and misses her and wants to know where she is,' attorney Iris Eytan said.

Prosecutors filed this motion on Tuesday saying they believe where Suzanne's body is and are 'close' to excavating it

She fumed that prosecutors had committed the worst misconduct she had seen in '30 years'.

In the motion for dismissal, obtained by DailyMail.com, Chaffee County DA Linda Stanley said police believed they were 'close to discovering' Suzanne's body but that there was no chance of recovering the remains before the trial began on April 28.

She also noted that forensic evidence discovered on Suzanne's remains could show that her killer was someone other than Morphew  or could incriminate him further.

Stanley also said that the remains, if they are discovered in the area police have pinpointed, will require testing to ensure they are those of Suzanne and not someone else.

Despite defense objections, Judge Ramsay Lama agreed to drop the case without prejudice  meaning the charges could be refiled against Morphew at a later date.

Suzanne, a mother-of-two, was reported missing when daughters Mallory and Macy were unable to get hold of her on Mother's Day 2020.

Although Morphew was arrested and charged with murder a year after she vanished, her body has never been found.

Police say they have now pinpointed a location in a 'remote, mountainous area' not far from the former Morphew home in Maysville, Colorado.

The spot could be close to the remote Garfield Mine which was mentioned in prosecution arguments during a pre-trial hearing in September 2021.

According to the prosecution, data from Morphew's truck shows a 15-minute gap between the time he left home at 5am on the morning of May 10 and the vehicle's appearance on a gas station camera in Poncha Springs at 5.14am.

The journey typically takes less than five minutes.

Both Barry and his wife were having affairs. She had been seeing Jeff Libler while he was signed up to the dating website Ashley Madison

MORPHEWS LAWYERS SET TO SPEAK: #barrymorphew and his family are choosing not to speak, his lawyers are set to comment on the case. This is Barry and his lawyer hugging after the judge accepted the prosecutions motion to dismiss the murder case without prejudice. @KOAA pic.twitter.com/Epqil01osL  Carl Winder KOAA (@CWinderKOAA) April 19, 2022

Morphew with his daughters Macy, left, and Mallory, right, at a hearing last year

In a police interview, Morphew admitted that he had taken a detour close to the abandoned lead mine after allegedly seeing some elk.

But police say they believe he was doing something else at the remote site which sits among mountains 10,289ft above sea level.

Morphew is currently living in a home in the same area, renting a property just meters away from the house he shared with Suzanne.

During previous hearings, the court heard how the Morphew's happy marriage was a sham, with Suzanne enjoying a two-year fling with married dad-of-six Jeff Libler while Barry was signed up to extramarital dating website Ashley Madison.

Suzanne's passionate affair included overnight trips to Florida and New Orleans and she regularly sent the married dad racy photos  including her final photo which showed her posing in a bikini top the day before she was reported missing.

Prosecutors say that while Morphew was desperate to save his marriage, Suzanne was equally determined to leave  a motive, they claim, for murder.

Police said Morphew was seen with multiple cuts and scratches on his arms and hands in the days after Suzanne vanished, while an empty tranquilizer dart was found in the laundry room.
An academic whose work has helped shape South Australia's response to Covid-19 has denied assaulting a university colleague with whom he had sex on a retreat.

Professor Joshua Ross insists his sexual activity with Dr Giang Thu Nguyen at the Stamford Grand Hotel in the Adelaide beachside suburb of Glenelg was consensual.

Dr Nguyen, who works with Professor Ross at the University of Adelaide, is alleging she was sexually harassed and the university failed to adequately investigate her complaint.

She is seeking $970,948 in damages, lost wages, entitlements and future expenses at the Civil and Administrative Tribunal over alleged breaches of the Equal Opportunity Act.

Professor Joshua Ross, who whose work has helped shape South Australia's response to Covid-19, has denied assaulting university colleague Dr Giang Thu Nguyen, with whom he had sex on a retreat. Professor Ross insists any sexual activity between the pair was consensual

Dr Nguyen, who works with Professor Ross at the University of Adelaide, is alleging she was sexually harassed and the university failed to adequately investigate her complaint. She is seeking $970,948 in damages, lost wages, entitlements and future expenses

Her compensation case against the university and Professor Ross began being heard by the tribunal on Wednesday, The Advertiser reported.

Dr Nguyen claims she was 'not able to consent, and did not consent' when Professor Nguyen performed sex acts on her because she was too intoxicated.

Professor Ross asserts Dr Nguyen initiated sexual contact by kissing him and was a 'willing consensual partner... cognisant and capable of consent', according to documents seen by the The Advertiser.

Professor Ross, from the university's School of Mathematical Sciences, has provided Covid modelling to SA Health which was used to inform decisions about border closures and vaccination.

Dr Nguyen, who is a senior lecturer in the same department, is also the director of gender, diversity and inclusion at the Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences.

Both academics attended a three-day retreat held by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers in late October 2019.

Dr Nguyen alleges Professor Ross had sex with her in his room at the Stamford Grand Hotel at Glenelg between 1.45am and 5am. 'Due to the level of Dr Nguyen's intoxication, she was not able to consent and did not consent to the acts of sexual intercourse,' court documents say

Dr Nguyen says in court documents she had consumed alcohol and 'became significantly intoxicated' while socialising after the conference.

A group had dined at Sammy's on the Marina then had drinks at the Moseley Bar and Kitchen and the Glenelg Pier Hotel until 2am.

'By around this time, [Dr Nguyen] was extremely intoxicated to the extent that she experienced significant memory impairment, loss of balance and coordination, slurred speech and slow decision making,' court documents state.

Dr Nguyen alleges Professor Ross had sexual intercourse with her in his hotel room between 1.45am and 5am.

'Due to the level of Dr Nguyen's intoxication, she was not able to consent and did not consent to the acts of sexual intercourse,' the court documents say.

Dr Nguyen alleges when she woke naked on a couch in Professor Ross's room and saw him asleep in his bed she vomited on the couch and crawled to the bathroom. She later made a complaint to police.

Dr Nguyen alleges when she woke naked on a couch in Professor Ross's room and saw him asleep in his bed she threw up on the couch and crawled to the bathroom. She later made a complaint to police

Professor Ross says he voluntarily provided a statement to police and was told in March 2020 detectives would not be charging him with any offence.

His response to Dr Nguyen's claim states the university said it was satisfied he had engaged in 'no serious misconduct'.

According to Dr Nguyen, the alleged assault by Professor Ross resulted in 'offence, humiliation and intimidation' due to her extreme intoxication and because she was his subordinate.

Dr Nguyen says she suffers post-traumatic stress and is unable to return to employment, and accuses the university of not providing a safe workplace.

'The university has harboured a system, culture or practice of not investigating complaints of sexual harassment with requisite seriousness,' she alleges.

The University of Adelaide stands by its findings that there was insufficient evidence to conclude a sexual assault occurred and says it would not be responsible if it did

Documents filed on Professor Ross' behalf state on the night he had sex with Dr Nguyen the pair 'sat very closely next to each other on a sofa' and she initiated a kiss on the lips.

'At all material times, Dr Nguyen was cognisant and capable of consenting to sexual activity,' Professor Ross claims. '[Dr Nguyen] was a willing consensual partner in sexual relations.'

The university stands by its findings that there was insufficient evidence to conclude a sexual assault had occurred and says it would not be responsible if it did.

It further denies Professor Ross is Dr Nguyen's supervisor and says it can ensure the two academics are never rostered on at the same time on the campus.
A Queensland couple have been left stunned after up to 50 snake skins were discovered in their attic.

Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers owner Stuart McKenzie uploaded footage of him searching for snakes in the attic of a Hunchy home on Monday.

The professional snake catcher explained the homeowners had wanted the insulation cleaned out of their roof but had noticed a few snake skins.

As a precaution, they called the expert to ensure there were no nasty surprises.

'There's a lot of snake activity up here,' Mr McKenzie is heard saying as he picks up the skin of a large carpet python from one corner.

'They're having a snake party up in this roof.'

Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers owner Stuart McKenzie found up to 50 snake skins (pictured) inside the attic of a Queensland home, as well as one live snake

Donning a head torch and face mask, the snake catcher begins to rifle through the insulation by hand in hunt for any live snakes.

He quickly spots a brown tree snake, a mildly venomous and nocturnal species, and pulls it out by the tail and places it into a bag.

At the end of the video Mr McKenzie shows off his large haul of snake skins.

He explains the skins are those of carpet pythons, brown tree snakes and some common tree snakes who had enjoyed a temporary home in the attic.

'I haven't counted them yet but I reckon there's a good 30 or 40, or maybe even 50 skins there,' the handler tells the camera.

'This is a pretty big haul of skins that we got out of the roof'.

During his search for skins the snake handler found a live brown tree snake, a mildly venomous and nocturnal species, and is seen pulling it by the tail and putting it in a bag

While most of the skins were old some were 'fresh' meaning the snakes had recently visited the attic - most likely accessing it through holes or gaps in the wall.

Social media users were quick to leave their thoughts in the comments.

'I'm glad it's not my house, imagine them slithering around in the roof while your sleeping at night, so scary,' one user wrote.

'I would move out!' another joked.

'Is that the temple Indiana Jones fell into! That's a lot of snakes,' a third wrote.

Mr McKenzie located 50 snake skins at a home in Rocksberg last May.

Mr McKenzie explained the skins are those of carpet pythons, brown tree snakes and some common tree snakes who had made a temporary home in the Queensland attic

He told Daily Mail Australia at the time it was actually quite common for snake skins to be found in people's roofs.

'Snakes spend a lot of time in roof spaces because there's lots of food up there like rodents,' he said. 'It's rare you'd get a brown snake or red belly in your roof.'

The expert assured homeowners that harmless and non-venomous snakes such as pythons and tree snakes can rid a house of rodents.

'As long as they're not making a ruckus, they're usually pretty good,' he said.

'People shouldn't be too nervous about skins in their roof but if they are concerned they can call their local snake catcher.'
President Biden is considering delaying the ending of Title 42 border restrictions which were introduced during the pandemic and are currently set to expire on May 23, according to a new report.

The Biden administration is coming under increasing pressure over the looming expiration of what was a public health order that enabled U.S. authorities to turn back most migrants, including people seeking asylum from persecution.

But the number of migrants now attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border is at its highest level in two decades - with even larger numbers expected to arrive once the pandemic-era order is lifted.

The White House is now looking for ways to buy time to avoid such a massive influx of migrants, according to Axios - including delaying the end of the controversial public health order.

The Biden administration is coming under increasing pressure over the looming expiration of what was a public health order that enabled U.S. authorities to turn back most migrants

the number of migrants now attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border is at its highest level in two decades - with even larger numbers expected to arrive once the pandemic-era order is lifted. Above, thousands of migrants camped out in Mexico near the U.S. border

Immigration authorities stopped migrants 221,303 times along the Southwest border in March, a 33% increase from a month earlier, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data released Monday.

The number of migrant encounters has gone up nearly every month since President Joe Biden took office, becoming fodder for political opponents who point to the increase as evidence that this administration is weaker on border security than its predecessor.

Some estimates from last month predict a 'mass migration event' of more than 170,000 migrants once the rules are repealed.

The number of illegal crossings, or those outside official ports of entry, totaled 209,906 in March, surpassing the previous high of Bidens presidency of 200,658 set in July, and the highest level since March 2000, when it reached 220,063.

While most migrants are arriving from Central America  a new influx is coming from Ukraine as asylum-seekers flee violence from Russia

Biden administration officials are said to have been attempting to convince Democratic allies that by keeping Title 42 in place would actually allow for less immigration enforcement, but the White House is also facing criticism of the overall perceived unpreparedness of the looming crisis from vulnerable House and Senate Democrats.

A sudden rush of immigrants coming over the border would also likely be extremely damaging to those Democrats' chances in November's midterm elections.

But it appears no matter what path Biden chooses, he is sure to face criticism from both sides.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus are set to meet next Monday, and are likely to impress upon the president that a crucial part of his party's base demographic will be hugely disappointed should Title 42 be extended.

Department of Homeland Security officials are expecting up to 18,000 migrants per day once Title 42 is lifted

Former President Donald Trump also faced a sharp increase in migrant border crossings - but the number plummeted with the start of the pandemic.

In March 2020, the previous administration invoked Title 42, a little-used public health order that gives border authorities the ability to quickly expel nearly anyone encountered along the Southwest border.

U.S. authorities have expelled migrants more than 1.7 million times under Title 42 authority, named for a 1944 public health law, using the threat of COVID-19 to deny migrants a chance to seek asylum as required under U.S. law and international treaty.

Several moderate Democrats have joined Republican leaders to call for an extension of Title 42 authority. Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat up for election this year, toured the border last week and warned that the Biden administration is unprepared for asylum restrictions to be lifted.

Human rights groups and other migrant advocates say the U.S. has a legal obligation to permit people to seek asylum and have called for the lifting of the public health order. 'The United States can and must welcome people seeking asylum because it is the law, because it is right, and because we can,' the Catholic Legal Immigration Network said in a statement Monday to mark Holy Week.

Migrants of different nationalities walk peacefully through the main avenues, in the city of Tapachula in Chiapas, Mexico, 16 April

The rapid expulsions under Title 42 are a significant component of the recent increases. Migrants are turned back without any legal consequences, and many simply try to cross again and are therefore counted more than once in the total.

CBP said the number of unique individuals encountered nationwide in March came to 159,900, a 37% increase from the prior month.

More than half of the total 221,303 stopped were quickly turned away, without being given a chance to apply for asylum, either to Mexico or their homelands, according to data supplied to a federal court in Texas as part of that state's challenge of Biden administration immigration policies.

Migrants rest in a dormitory of the Good Samaritan shelter in Juarez, Mexico, in March. The number of migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border has surged in recent weeks

CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said in a statement that the agency planned to send additional staff to the Southwest border to handle the 'likely' increase expected when Title 42 is lifted.

Most of the rest were processed under immigration authority, known as Title 8, and their ultimate fate varies. About 34,000 were allowed to remain in the U.S. under parole, which will allow them to pursue asylum or legal residency through other avenues. If they are unsuccessful, they could face deportation.

Mexicans made up the largest group by nationality of those encountered at the border, followed by Cubans. The number of Ukrainians, who are generally being allowed into the country on humanitarian parole, increased to over 200 in March from just 5 in November.
Democratic Party of Korea former Chairman Song Young-gil answers reporters' questions during his visit to a rally for disabled people's rights on Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap



Selection committee rules out ex-DPK Chairman Song Young-gil



By Nam Hyun-woo



The committee to select candidates to run for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) in the June 1 local elections has eliminated former Chairman Song Young-gil from the Seoul mayoral race.



If the decision is confirmed by the party's decision-making emergency committee, Song, who had earlier declared his bid to enter the race, will not be able to run in the Seoul mayoral election.



Song's elimination has triggered a disagreement between the party's two main factions, with the group close to Song and former presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung arguing that the selection committee has been making decisions based on "factional interests," while the other group more aligned with President Moon Jae-in has been denying such claims.



The DPK planned to confirm whether or not to eliminate Song during an emergency committee meeting late Wednesday afternoon. The interim emergency committee is the party's top decision-making body, capable of approving or rejecting recommendations proposed by the selection committee.



The news of Song's elimination from the Seoul mayoral race came out Tuesday night, when the selection committee's list was leaked to the media.



In a statement to reporters, Song strongly objected to the decision, calling it "an act of self-harm," on behalf of the party, and questioned whether the decision would be approved or not.



"Excluding me from the Seoul mayoral election is nothing more than an act of blaming former presidential candidate Lee for his defeat in the presidential election," Song said in a radio interview on Wednesday.



During a separate emergency meeting held Wednesday morning, DPK interim chief Park Ji-hyun criticized Song's elimination and accused the selection committee of using a double standard in choosing candidates.



"The committee has ruled out the former party chairman from the list of candidates, despite Song's commitment to the party during the presidential election," Park said. Park joined the DPK while helping former presidential candidate Lee's election campaign, and rose quickly to the party's leadership as its interim chief.



"On the other hand, the committee recommended a person who is responsible for policy failures in real estate  the biggest reason for our defeat in the presidential election  as the North Chungcheong governor candidate," Park said, referring to Noh Young-min, President Moon Jae-in's former chief of staff who had been selected to run for the governorship a day earlier.



Song served as the DPK's chairman from May 2021 to last month, and also served as Lee's campaign chief. After stepping down from the chairman post to take responsibility for Lee's loss in the March 9 presidential election, Song announced his bid to run for Seoul mayor earlier this month, referring to himself as Lee's successor.



Park called for an internal competition, rather a top-down decision, to select the party's candidate for the Seoul mayoral election. "We should gather up our wisdom to field a candidate who is supported by the public, not one who reflects some people's factional interests," she wrote on social media.



During the presidential campaign, the DPK saw an internal rift between factions closer to Lee and closer to President Moon. Due to this situation, there have been voices that the DPK should field former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, one of the representative figures of the pro-Moon faction, for Seoul mayor, though the former prime minister himself told reporters Tuesday that he does not plan to run.





Democratic Party of Korea interim chief Park Ji-hyun, left, speaks during the party's emergency committee meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps
A one-time politician who has copped two eye-watering $3,635 fines for driving 6km/h over the speed limit will pay just $227 for each ticket after having the total cost reduced.

Jane Agirtan, a Melbourne accountant and community advocate, told Daily Mail Australia her small, family-run business 'did not expect or appreciate' the hefty fines from Victorian road authorities.

On both occasions, first in January and again in March, Ms Agirtan had been driving up to 8km/h over the speed limit. The official reading was later reduced to 6km/h over the limit to account for potential flaws in radar equipment.

Ms Agirtan was hit by the exorbitant fine because she was driving a company car at the time of the infringements.

Drivers caught speeding in a corporate vehicle in Victoria are charged with a body corporate infringement notice, which starts at about $3,000.

Jane Agirtan revealed the extraordinary fines were reduced to just $227 after she was nominated as the driver to the Victorian government

Ms Agirtan received the expensive fine in the post, with $3,635 owed for driving just 6km/h over the speed limit

The fine is then reduced only once a company nominates the driver who was caught speeding in the vehicle.

The high cost is to discourage companies for accepting the fine and allowing their employees to escape losing demerit points.

Ms Agirtan conceded she is not being made to fork out the full lump sum. 'We have nominated the driver, yes,' she said, noting the fine has now been reduced to the standard $227 sum.

Ms Agirtan has confirmed the car in question belongs to her and that she was driving at the time. 'I'm going to cop the demerits,' she said.

Despite the initial due date of the bill being listed as April 15, Ms Agirtan said she has not yet paid the fine and that she does not believe it is due yet.

Ms Agirtan, a one-time local council hopeful, slammed the Victorian state government over the fine.

Ms Agirtan told Daily Mail Australia she has never had any interest in being involved in politics. Pictured: Ms Agirtan posing with her yard sign when she was running for local council

Many respondents in the comments section of Jane's TikTok pointed out that the exorbitant fee was due to the fact that she was driving a company car

'Victoria is anti-business and Australia's highest taxing state, where businesses are already bleeding so we certainly did not expect or appreciate a four-digit fine,' she said.

Ms Agirtan has referred to her home state as a 'communist dictatorship' and 'the People's Republic of Victoria', and frequently criticises the state's Covid response.

Last week, she posted her reaction to the infringement notice on TikTok where she received mixed feedback from viewers.

Many told her simply to not speed to avoid future fines, while others pointed out that there was a simple solution to avoid paying such a big cost - don't speed.

Ms Agirtan described her critics on the TikTok post as 'Karens' and agreed with another comments that described the fine as a 'blatant money grab'.

Ms Agirtan did not elaborate further on her description of Victoria as 'anti-business', but has referred to her home state as a 'communist dictatorship' and 'the People's Republic of Victoria', and frequently criticises the state's Covid response

When one person wrote 'seems about right', Ms Agirtan responded: 'For communist dictatorship?'

The comment appears to be a not so subtle dig at Daniel Andrews' Labor government.

Ms Agirtan frequently poses in a T-shirt with the slogan 'Dan Must Go' where his his face printed onto it. She often mocks the Labor leader on her social media pages.

In 2020 at the beginning of the Covid crisis in Australia, Ms Agirtan made a bid for local council in an attempt to represent her community as an independent.

She told Daily Mail Australia she has no interest in pursuing a career in politics.

While she was never elected, it's understood Ms Agirtan spent two years volunteering as a 'community advocate' within council and undertook local government candidate online training

In 2020 at the beginning of the Covid crisis in Australia, Ms Agirtan made a bid for local council in an attempt to represent her community as an independent

While she was never elected, it's understood Ms Agirtan spent two years volunteering as a community advocate within council and undertook local government candidate online training.

Her campaign got off to a rocky start when her old Facebook posts resurfaced almost immediately after announcing her intention to run.

Ms Agirtan shared memes targeting Indigenous Australians, same-sex parents and international students on her personal page between 2014 and 2018.

Her campaign got off to a rocky start when old Facebook posts she made resurfaced almost immediately after announcing her intention to run

She also said same-sex parents were depriving children of their right to know their biological parents.

The council hopeful issued a grovelling apology at the time and confirmed that the content had been taken down.

'I apologise unreservedly for the Facebook posts and memes in question, which I believe have been removed,' she said.

Ms Agirtan said the posts are not consistent with her current views, claiming she was going through a 'difficult personal situation' at the time.

'I deeply apologise to anyone who may have been offended,' she said.

Melburnian Jane Agirtan (pictured) posted her stunned reaction to the $3,635 fine she got in the mail to TikTok. The former local council candidate questioned the logic behind the fee, writing, 'A bit excessive, no?'
Health authorities in Queensland are weighing up whether to follow the lead of other eastern states and relax isolation requirements for household contacts of COVID-19.

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath will meet Chief Health Officer John Gerrard on Wednesday to discuss whether to take the step.

NSW and Victoria will scrap the requirement on Friday night, and Ms D'Ath says there is merit to having the same rules across the country.

'I would have liked this to be a national decision where all state and territories implement changes at the same time to avoid any confusion,' she said.

Close contacts are currently subject to a seven-day isolation period, beginning from when they last had contact with a known case.

Queensland could follow NSW and Victoria in scrapping Covid close contact requirements (pictured: Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk with Scott Morrison in March)

They are also defined by spending more than four hours with someone in the same residence.

The health minister said she was waiting for further detail on plans south of the border, including what will be required of household contacts if they're no longer confined to their homes.

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee has previously recommended a nationally consistent transition to the removal of close contact rules.

Following the peak of the Omicron wave, it said quarantine could be replaced with frequent rapid tests, masks and avoiding high-risk settings.

The briefing with Dr Gerrard is expected to include an update on pressures in a health system affected by staff who need to isolate or quarantine.

'Obviously we know lifting close contacts will help as far as getting more people back at work, both in the health system (and) in the broader community, and help businesses and the economy,' Ms D'Ath said.

Queenslanders currently have to isolate for seven days if they are deemed a close contact (pictured: Masked couple in Brisbane in November)

But the removal of the rules will inevitably result in an increase in positive cases. 'That is a given and everyone needs to be prepared ... when there (are) changes to the close contact rules,' the health minister said.

Meanwhile, Ms D'Ath admitted case numbers were probably well below the actual number of infected people in the community.

Queensland reported another 8,995 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with just under 600 people in hospital with the virus.

The health minister said data from hospitals was a more reliable indicator of how the current Omicron wave is tracking. 'That doesn't change, even if there's 10 times the number of cases out there,' she said.
A Capital rioter sobbed during a Jan. 6 Uber ride as he acknowledged that despite his best efforts Biden would become President of the United States, according to a newly unsealed FBI affidavit.

FBI agents were able to arrest Trump loyalist Jerry Braun earlier this month thanks to dashcam video of his Uber ride, which took place just after 7 p.m on January 6, 2021.

In video recorded by the driver, he admits to tearing down barricades at the US Capitol, according to court documents.

Braun now faces charges of obstruction during civil disorder, entering and remaining on restricted grounds, and violent or disorderly conduct, NBC reported.

Braun's Uber driver tipped off federal authorities last year and handed over video that appeared to show an injured and distraught Braun sob as he realized Biden was going to be confirmed.

'Well, it started around, right when I got there. I tore down the barricades,' Braun allegedly told the driver when asked if the day had been violent.

When asked why he had done it, Braun said: 'Well, because, so we could get to the Capitol.'

'How'd that work out for ya?' the driver then inquired.

'Well, it looks like, uh, Biden's gonna be our president,' Braun said, according to the affidavit by an FBI agent.

Last year, Braun said that he tripped, fell, and 'busted' his head as he walked through the city carrying pizza after confirming the Uber ride.

He was not immediately identified. After authorities reviewed his presence on social media and obtained a warrant to search his home in November, Braun allegedly told agents he was 'guilty' of 'everything.'

FBI agents were able to arrest Trump loyalist Jerry Braun earlier this month thanks to dashcam video of his Uber ride just after 7 p.m on January 6, 2021 that showed him sobbing as he realized Biden was going to be confirmed despite the rioter's violence.

Braun said that he tripped, fell, and 'busted' his head as he walked through the city carrying pizza after confirming an Uber ride on the evening of January 6

Braun's Uber driver tipped off federal authorities last year and handed video that appeared to show an injured and distraught Braun

According to an FBI affidavit unsealed Tuesday, a DC-area Uber driver tipped off the agency about Braun's remarks and agreed to be interviewed.

The driver said Brain was driven from the intersection of H and 6th Streets and was ultimately dropped off at the Holiday Inn National Airport.

Video from the car's dashcam reportedly shows Braun acknowledging he tore down a barricade at the U.S. Capitol.

At the time, Braun was only known to federal agents as 'Jerry.' Investigators knew he had a white beard, an injury near his right eye, and showed visible bleeding near the eye during the Uber ride.

After reviewing reservations records, FBI investigators came across Braun, who had registered as 'JD Braun,' with an address in South El Monte, California, into the Holiday Inn National Airport.

The affidavit states Braun checked in on January 5, 2021, and checked out on January 7, 2021.

Reviewed bodycam video from multiple Metropolitan Police officers positioned on the west side of the US Capitol grounds, also showed Braun physically struggling with law-enforcement officers using a barricade, the affidavit said.

The FBI affidavit alleges that Braun used a wood plank to threaten officers and ultimately attack a member of the press

'The officer body camera videos show BRAUN in possession of the wood plank, controlling the wood plank and maneuvering the wood plank towards law enforcement officers in an aggressive manner,' the affidavit state

Screenshots from another MPD officer's bodycam video appeared to show an individual resembling Braun holding a long wood plank, about eight feet in length.

'The officer body camera videos show BRAUN in possession of the wood plank, controlling the wood plank and maneuvering the wood plank towards law enforcement officers in an aggressive manner,' the affidavit states.

The document also alleges that Braun used the wood plank to threaten officers and ultimately attack a member of the press.

'BRAUN and the photographer appear to exchange words. BRAUN then strikes the photographer with his left hand, and subsequently strikes the photographer once more with the wood plank,' the affidavit reads.

On November 8, 2021, officers searched Braun's residence in South El Monte, California. He reportedly confirmed he was in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, and participated in the demonstrations.

Braun went on to tell officers he was on the side 'facing the Washington Monument,' which is the side 'where the rafters were.'

'BRAUN and the photographer appear to exchange words. BRAUN then strikes the photographer with his left hand, and subsequently strikes the photographer once more with the wood plank,' the affidavit reads

When asked by agents if he had anything he wanted to say before they left, Braun allegedly said 'guilty.'

He later said he was guilty of everything,' when pressed by agents, the affidavit states.

Braun said that he tripped, fell, and 'busted' his head as he walked through the city carrying pizza after confirming an Uber ride on the evening of January 6.

Agents also found messages sent from his iPhone ahead of the insurrection.

'Good to hear.Im flying to DC, on 1/5/2021 for the stop the steal rally, gonna be wild. Shopped for some body armor to protect from stabbing and all backordered. You know where I can buy some body armor?' agents said that Braun texted.

Braun is one of at least 725 people charged in connection with the January 6 riot as throngs of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed bid to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's presidential election victory.
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A towering 'wall of fire' whipped by high winds is forcing thousands to evacuate an Arizona tourist town, as Red Flag warnings for high-risk weather conditions cover much of the Southwest.

The Tunnel Fire has grown to 6,000 acres since it began under unknown circumstances on Sunday about 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff, officials said. The blaze remained at zero containment as of Tuesday evening.

Flames as high as 100 feet raced through an area of scattered homes, dry grass and Ponderosa pine trees as wind gusts of up to 50 mph pushed the blaze over a major highway.

On Tuesday morning the Coconino County Sheriff's Office began emergency evacuation operations after the blaze jumped the fireline, with more than 200 homes directly threatened.

Officials said that an estimated 2,068 people lived in the area under evacuation orders, and that 766 households had been successfully evacuated, including more than 1,000 animals.

At zero containment on Tuesday, the Tunnel Fire has grown to 6,000 acres since it began in unknown circumstances on Sunday about 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff, officials said

On Tuesday morning the Coconino County Sheriff's Office began emergency evacuation operations after the blaze jumped the fireline, with more than 200 homes directly threatened

The fire was moving northeast away from the more heavily populated areas of Flagstaff, home to Northern Arizona University, and toward Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll said that he was not certain that all residents in the evacuation area were able to make it out alive.

'We did get calls that people, one person was trapped in his house, his house was on fire and he couldn't get out,' Driscoll told reporters.

'We couldn't get back up to that area because it had burned, the fire was already in it. So we don't know if he made it out or not.'

The county declared an emergency after the wildfire ballooned from 100 acres Tuesday morning to over 9 square miles by evening, and ash rained from the sky.

The fire was moving northeast away from the more heavily populated areas of Flagstaff, home to Northern Arizona University, and toward Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, said Coconino National Forest spokesman Brady Smith.

'It's good in that its not headed toward a very populated area, and its headed toward less fuel,' Smith said. 'But depending on the intensity of the fire, fire can still move across cinders.'

The county declared an emergency after the wildfire ballooned from 100 acres Tuesday morning to over 9 square miles by evening, and ash rained from the sky

Officials said that an estimated 2,068 people lived in the area under evacuation orders, and that 766 households had been successfully evacuated, including more than 1,000 animals

More than 200 firefighters and personnel are currently assigned to battle the fire, and an investigation team is expected to arrive on Wednesday to probe what caused the blaze.

Firefighting resources currently devoted to the Tunnel Fire include five handcrews, 15 engines, and three dozers.

Air tankers were ordered on Tuesday to aid in the firefight but were diverted due to high winds that surpassed safe operating thresholds.

The Coconino County Sheriff's Office estimates about 25 structures have been lost to the fire. More than 250 structures are threatened, officials said.

A shelter has been set up at Sinagua Middle School for those effected by the evacuations.

The Coconino Humane Society is taking in large and small animals that have been evacuated from the danger zone.

Patrice Horstman, the chair of the Coconino County board of supervisors, said at a press conference that a local state of emergency had been declared.

'It's a very difficult time,' said Horstman. 'I really appreciate the efforts of the fire crews, our sheriff's depart and all of our first responders.'

'The Tunnel Fire has been fueled by high winds and dry conditions, and the county has deployed all available resources,' she added.

Smoke from a wind-whipped wildfire rises above neighborhoods on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Arizona, on Tuesday

Officials with the National Weather Service warned early Wednesday that much of the Southwest and High Plains was under Red Flag warnings for fire weather.

'Critical Risks for fire weather have been issued from Las Vegas on east across northern Arizona and much of New Mexico,' the NWS said in a flash bulletin.

'The fire weather hazards are due to gusty winds, dry fuels, and low humidity.'

Various organizations worked to set up shelters for evacuees and animals, including goats and horses.

The scene was all too familiar for residents who recalled rushing to pack their bags and flee a dozen years ago when a much larger wildfire burned in the same area.

'This time was different, right there in your backyard,' said Kathy Vollmer, a resident.

She said she and her husband grabbed their three dogs but left a couple of cats behind as they faced what she described as a 'wall of fire.'

'We just hope they are going to be OK,' she said.

Earlier in the day, the wildfire shut down U.S. 89, the main route between Flagstaff and far northern Arizona, and communities on the Navajo Nation. The high winds grounded aircraft that could drop water and fire retardant on the blaze.

Arizona Public Service Co., the state's largest utility, shut off power to about 625 customers to keep firefighters safe, a spokeswoman said.

About 200 firefighters were battling the flames, but more are expected as a top-level national management team takes over later this week.

The fire started Sunday afternoon 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff. Investigators dont know yet what caused it and have yet to corral any part of the blaze.

Homes on the outskirts of Flagstaff were being evacuated Tuesday as high winds whipped a wildfire, shut down a major highway and grounded firefighting aircraft

Ali Taranto rushed to Flagstaff from Winslow, where she works at a hospital, on Tuesday to check on a property she owns that was threatened by the wildfire. She also was getting messages to check on a neighbor who she found didnt have access to oxygen while the power was out and didnt have the strength to manually open her garage door to evacuate.

Taranto said the neighbor was 'disoriented and gasping for air' when she reached her. Firefighters in the area helped get the garage door open and the neighbor to the hospital, she said. Taranto was looking for a shelter for the neighbors two dogs.

By the time Taranto left the area, the highway into Flagstaff was shut down and she had to drive an extra two hours back home. At least two other neighbors didnt evacuate, she said.

'To see flames several yards away from your property line and to hear the propane tanks bursting in the background, it was very surreal,' Taranto said. 'Ash falling down. It was crazy.'

The wind is expected to be a challenge the rest of the week, along with warmer-than-average weather and low humidity, the National Weather Service said.

'I dont see any significant decreases in wind, I dont see any big bump ups in humidity and, at this point, were not really expecting any precipitation either,' said meteorologist Robert Rickey.

Red flag warnings blanketed much of Arizona and New Mexico on Tuesday, indicating conditions are ripe for wildfires. Residents in northern New Mexicos Mora and San Miguel counties were warned to be ready to evacuate as wildfires burned there amid dry, warm and windy conditions.

The National Interagency Fire Center reported Tuesday that nearly 2,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel were assigned to more than a dozen large wildfires in the Southwestern, Southern and Rocky Mountain areas. Scientists say climate change has made the U.S. West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

Elsewhere in Arizona, firefighters battled a wildfire in a sparsely populated area of the Prescott National Forest about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Prescott.

Cory Carlson, the incident commander with the Prescott National Forest, said late Tuesday afternoon the high winds have been the biggest challenge, sending embers into the air that sparked new spot fires near State Route 261, along with the demand for crews at other fires.

'We do have a lack of resources,' he said. 'Theres a lot of fires in the region.'

Some areas were evacuated, and a shelter was set up at Yavapai College. Carlson appealed to residents to abide by evacuation orders.

The cause of the 600-acre (2.4 square-kilometer) wildfire was under investigation.

In southern Arizona, a principal highway route between Bisbee and Sierra Vista reopened Tuesday after being closed for about eight hours due to a brush fire in the hills overlooking Bisbee.
A man has been found trapped upside down in a septic tank - and was only rescued after a dog raised the alarm.

Paramedics rushed to a home in Terrey Hills, in Sydney's north, about 12.30pm on Tuesday after receiving a call that a man had become trapped head-first inside the tank. The water inside was rising.

Fire and Rescue NSW found the man in a 'challenging' position and he was eventually removed from the tank and treated for minor head injuries at the scene.

Emergency services have freed a Sydney man who was stuck upside-down in a septic tank for 40 minutes

It took about 40 minutes for the man to be rescued. He was taken to Northern Beaches Hospital in a stable condition.

NSW Ambulance Acting Inspector Charnan Kurth said the freed man had an unlikely rescuer.

'Emergency services were alerted to the incident by a young caller, after their dog named Spot found the man in trouble,' he said.

'Had the dog not heard the man's cries, it may not have been such a good ending.'
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Orsolya Gaal, 51 (pictured) was murdered in her Forest Hills home late on Saturday night

Police investigating the murder of 51-year-old Queens mother Orsolya Gaal are now looking at multiple suspects including a 'handyman lover' who had access to her home, it has been revealed.

Gaal was stabbed to death in her home at 12.40am on Saturday morning after returning from a show at the Lincoln Center.

She was stabbed 58 times then her body was stuffed in a duffel bag and dragged half-a-mile to a sidewalk where it was dumped and discovered the next day by a walker.

Her husband Howard Klein and oldest son Jamie were out of town, and her youngest son Leo was at home but on the top level of the family's house. He was questioned by police but has not been charged.

The family has not been seen since the killing.

NBC reports that NYPD detectives are zoning in on multiple suspects, but that they believe she knew her killer.

Investigators do not believe it was a planned murder given how 'sloppy' the crime scene was.

'He left a blood trail for five blocks from the house.

'It was like a trail of bread crumbs. If you want to kill somebody, you try to make it a little cleaner, be a little more prepared.

'He didnt go with something to move her body. He took something from the house.

'Im sure with that kind of blood, theres lots of DNA there. The killers DNA has gotta be in that blood. Its not a clean scene,' a source told The New York Post.

The family's electrician, 30-year-old Arrjuna Jack, has also revealed that the house was outfitted with an advanced camera surveillance system.

Jack says he was often at the home carrying out electrical work, power-washing and painting.

He added that the house has a separate door that leads up into the kitchen or down into the basement, which is outfitted with a laundry room and what used to be the boys' playroom.

'She's a very happy, jolly person all the time.  I see her all the time jogging,' Jack said. 'They're a very beautiful, quiet family. Very happy all the time.'

Electrician Arrjuna Jack has worked in the family's house in the past. He said there is an extensive security system inside the house that would have captured a killer leaving the home

The family's electrician, 30-year-old Arrjuna Jack, said that the family's $2.2 million dollar, five-bedroom home was outfitted with a camera surveillance system

At least one unmarked police car and an NYPD van were stationed outside the Tudor-style, $2.2 million dollar home where was killed early Saturday morning

The electrician said the home had a separate entrance, pictured, that led down to the basement and up to the kitchen. Police believe Gaal's body was taken through this side door after she was killed

The suspected killer wheeling the body in a bag down 75th Avenue in Forrest Hills, Queens , on Saturday

The backyard of the home belonging to Orsolya Gaal, where neighbors saw her hours before she died. The house remains a crime scene

Gaal with her sons, 17-yearold Jamie and 13-year-old Leo, and husband Howard Klein on Christmas Eve in 2021

Gaal's 53-year-old financial advisory firm-founder husband, Howard Klein, worked from a home office there, Jack said. He and their eldest son, 17-year-old Jamie, were out of town visiting colleges on the West Coast at the time of the murder, police said.

Gaal's 13-year-old son, Leo, was in the house at the time of the murder, and underwent police questioning on Saturday. He was initially escorted from the family's home in handcuffs, but has since been released into the custody of an adult relative.

On Tuesday, friends and neighbors of the slain woman took to social media to share their grief and share tributes to the mother-of-two.

'I'll always remember how passionate you were about your boys and their education. I'm so sorry about how you left this world but I hope you find peace in the afterlife. Your boys are so luck to have you as a mom,' wrote David S. Lee.

Another woman who claims she was friends with Gaal for 15 years wrote that they were 'on the phone together just says ago speaking about colleges... No no no... My heart is broken.'

The NYPD is offering a $3,500 reward for anyone with information leading to an arrest in connection with the murder, and left posters advertising the payout around her neighborhood.

Gaal is pictured with her husband, Howard Klein, and two sons Leo, 13, and Jamie, 17, in December. Her husband and oldest son were out of town when she was killed. Her youngest son was in the home and was questioned but was released

Gaal and her husband Howard Klein had been married for more than 20 years. He was out of town with their oldest son when she was killed

On Tuesday, unnamed police sources told the New York Post that detectives were looking to question a former handyman who Gaal had an affair with after scouring her electronic correspondences.

Although police have not yet released a name of the person they're seeking, the workman is believed to have had knowledge of Gaal's home, including where she kept a spare key.

The NYPD is offering a $3,500 reward for information that may lead to Orsolya Gaal's killer

The handyman is also thought to have had a romantic relationship with Gaal at some point. The romance apparently ended - but it's unclear who broke it off.

Gaal's body was found in a duffel bag at 8:11 a.m. on Saturday, less than half a mile from the property. They followed a trail of blood back to the house.

Due to the messy nature of the crime, police sources also doubted that it was premeditated.

'[Detectives] don't think it was a planned murder,' a law-enforcement source said.

'He left a blood trail for five blocks from the house. It was like a trail of bread crumbs.

'If you want to kill somebody, you try to make it a little cleaner, be a little more prepared. He didn't go with something to move her body. He took something from the house,' the source continued.

'I'm sure with that kind of blood, there's lots of DNA there. The killer's DNA has gotta be in that blood. It's not a clean scene.'

Klein, founder of the firm RK Equity, apparently received a foreboding text before his wife was killed, according to WPIX.

'Your wife sent me to jail some years ago when you were living near Austin Street in Forest Hills,' the message read.

'I'm back, don't call the police or I will kill your family.'

No suspects have been named and the NYPD is refusing to answer questions about the ongoing investigation into her death.

Gaal's body is believed to have been taken out of the home through a side door and dragged in a duffel bag before being dumped on a sidewalk next to a busy road.

Chilling surveillance video showed a person who may have killed her, according to police sources. That person was seen on home security camera footage wheeling a duffle bag down 75th Avenue, with Gaal's body believed to be inside.
A young couple who appeared the picture of harmony on social media among images of their children and the promotion of a new online business hid a shocking secret which has emerged in court.

Brisbane man and father-of-two Lachlan Thornton, 23, was last week jailed for three months for six sickening attacks on his female Bull Arab puppy 'Oreo' over a six-week period.

Thornton's abuse was uncovered when he and partner Demi Henry, 27, surrendered the six-month-old puppy to a shelter in Victoria, claiming they could no longer care for her.

Sunshine Magistrate's Court heard the couple adopted the pet in 2018 when they were living in Victoria with Henry's family. They gave her up in early 2019.

Lachlan Thornton has been jailed for three months for a sickening attack on his Bull Arab puppy Oreo. Pictured with partner Demi Henry who was fined for failing to provide veterinary care for the animal

The couples' social media accounts show happy family moments, including photos of a dog (pictured) alongside their newborn baby. Both are now banned from owning animals

A vet at the shelter soon discovered Oreo had six untreated fractures caused by 'non-accidental blunt force trauma' on six separate occasions in the first six months of her life, effectively leaving her disabled for the rest of her life.

'This dog had suffered from multiple traumatic events, at different times, that resulted in multiple fractures in both hind legs,' RSPCA Vet Dr Rebecca Belousoff said in a veterinary report.

RSPCA prosecutor Natalie Perera told the court Oreo had to be euthanised due to a poor prognosis for quality of life.

'There were no viable treatments for the puppy who was seriously disabled,' she said.

RSPCA released x-ray images of Oreo's fractures which were deemed so horrific, there was no 'viable treatment'

Demi Cydnee Henry was fined $7,500 and disqualified from owning an animal for a decade

Defence lawyer Ricardo Balancy said the animal cruelty was a result of 'mental stress' on his client.

'He felt unable to take care of his young family and wife and reacted the way he did,' Mr Balancy said.

'He has expressed remorse and is the only one to blame for what happened to Oreo.'

Thornton, who now lives with Henry in Brisbane, was jailed for three months by Magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz for the 'heinous act'.

'Frankly the court has made very plain the inherent seriousness of the charges,' she said.

Thornton was sentenced to three months' imprisonment, a community corrections order for 18 months including 200 hours of work, a ten-year disqualification from owning any animal and a monitoring order for ten years.

Henry was fined $7,500 for failing to provide veterinary care for the dog, and disqualified for a period of ten years from being a person in charge of any animal.

The couples' social media accounts show happy family moments, including photos of a dog alongside their newborn baby.

'We finally got to hold our little boy for the first time today after five long days,' Thornton posted alongside photos of their newborn son, who was born prematurely.

Since the animal cruelty charges, the couple has set up an online candle business.

'Demi and Lachlan - founders', it says on the Our Candle Co Instagram account.

'Scents can make a memory come alive', the website says.

The young couple welcomed their first child in late 2017 before adopting the puppy in 2018

Thornton (pictured) claims stresses of providing for his family led to the animal abuse

RSPCA Victoria Chief Inspector Michael Stagg said Oreo's case was particularly disturbing and was pleased to see the seriousness of the case reflected in the sentence.

'There are no excuses for animal cruelty. However, this case was particularly disturbing given the regularity of the abuse over a long period, resulting in pain and suffering caused by the deliberate actions of the owners.

'We are pleased to see that the severity of this case was duly acknowledged by the Magistrate, with jail time deemed necessary to communicate the seriousness of the offence,' said Chief Inspector Stagg.
When Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese go head to head in their first election campaign debate tonight, there is far more at stake for the Labor leader.

Mr Albanese needs to prove himself after a disastrous first week in which he made headlines for wrongly guessing the unemployment rate and later walking away from journalists' questions after saying he wouldn't.

With Labor's primary vote slumping to 36 per cent in the latest Newspoll, another big stuff-up could be catastrophic.

When Scott Morrison (pictured) and Anthony Albanese go head to head in their first election campaign debate at 7pm tonight, there is far more at stake for the Labor leader

Anthony Albanese (pictured) must capitalise and remind Australians why Scott Morrison has been so unpopular if he wants to win the May 21 election

The Prime Minister took a swipe at his opposite number in his presser on Wednesday by saying he doesn't need to lock himself away in a room all afternoon to prepare like Mr Albanese.

The comment showed Mr Morrison is relaxed and perhaps even cocky head of the showdown.

But he should beware because the debate gives Mr Albanese a great chance to reset and gain momentum.

If it goes well it will provide him a major confidence boost and kick-start his campaign.

Mr Albanese has been careful so far not to attack Mr Morrison. Instead, he's been keen to project himself as a positive leader with a plan to improve living standards.

But tonight he will have the chance to criticise the PM's shortcomings over bushfires, Covid and broken promises.

A relaxed Scott Morrison took time out from the election campaign to go for an afternoon dip at Brisbane's Valley Pool ahead of his 7pm showdown with the Opposition Leader

Anthony Albanese (pictured with partner Jodie Haydon) has been careful so far not to attack Mr Morrison, instead keen to project himself as a positive leader with a plan to improve living standards

He must capitalise and remind Australians why Mr Morrison has been so unpopular.

Meanwhile, the PM will take every chance to talk up Australia's economic recovery which has delivered the lowest unemployment rate since 2008.

He will no doubt roll out his usual lines that Labor will threaten that recovery because it 'can't manage money', even though the Coalition has racked up $1trillion of debt which was increasing before Covid required emergency spending.

Foreign policy will be another key battleground with Labor brutally attacking the Government over China's security pact with the Solomon Islands which it failed to stop.

Scott Morrison's shortcomings over bushfires, Covid and broken promises could be raised by his rival on Wednesday night

Mr Albanese will have the chance to show he is also tough on China and put to bed the Coalition's claims that Labor is weak on national security.

And he will also spruik his health and social policies including a plan for 50 new first-aid clinics and reforms to the ailing NDIS.

The audience of undecided voters will be asking the questions, meaning there is a scope for surprises which will require both leaders to think on their feet.

There could even be some feisty clashes between the two leaders.

Mr Albanese's handlers will be urging him to stay on message and avoid rambling like he does sometimes in his press conferences.

Mr Morrison's camp is relaxed and are taking pressure off him by insisting it's always harder for incumbents to win debates.

The PM lost both audience-judged debates to Bill Shorten before the last election before going on to secure a surprise victory at the ballot box.

A loss for him tonight would not trouble his supporters but a win for the PM would set alarm bells ringing in Labor HQ.
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Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned the Russian army as 'the most barbaric and inhuman in the world' and said the country will be stained 'as a source of absolute evil for generations' as Vladimir Putin's men stepped up attacks across the country in an effort to seize bloody victory from the jaws of defeat.

Zelensky, in a late-night address to his nation, said Putin's military has been 'purposefully killing civilians' with weapons banned under international law and that once the full scope of their 'war crimes' comes to light 'a Russian passport will mean only one thing in any country: Unequivocal condemnation from all decent people.'

The talismanic president also used the speech to praise his armed forces and people for resisting the invasion as fighting enters its 55th day today, while renewing calls for Ukraine's western allies to send more weapons and faster in order to ensure the Russian army is defeated.

If Ukraine had access to the same kinds of weapons being used by Russia, Zelensky said, then 'we would have already ended this war.' Only the West is capable of providing such weapons, he added.

He spoke after the Ukrainian military said it had managed to repel numerous Russian advances in the eastern Donbas region on Tuesday, as the opening stages of what is likely to be the war's defining battle get underway.

British military intelligence said Moscow hit more than 1,200 targets with bombs and artillery across a 300-mile stretch of frontline near Donetsk and Luhansk as it tries to break through Ukrainian defences - but continues to suffer 'environmental, logistical and technical challenges' of the kind that thwarted its efforts to take Kyiv.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned Russia's military as 'the most barbaric and inhuman in the world' and said the 'war crimes' committed by Putin's troops will stain the country's reputation for 'generations'

A woman weeps over the coffin of a dead loved one as Ukrainian civilians bury their dead in a huge graveyard on the outskirts of Irpin, near Kyiv, which was previously occupied by Russian troops

Irpin suffered huge civilian casualties after weeks under Russian occupation, with horrific accounts of deliberate killings of civilians carried out by Putin's men (pictured, newly-dug graves on the outskirts of the city)

A government worker from the city of Irpin, on the western outskirts of Kyiv, places a wooden cross over the grave of a civilian killed during Russia's occupation before Putin withdrew his forces

Tamara, 71, weeps in front of a destroyed apartment building in the city of Mariupol which has been near-totally destroyed by Russian attacks that have been going on for almost two months

A woman is comforted by medics in the city of Kharkiv, north-eastern Ukraine, as medics place the body of her father into a body bag after he was killed by Russian shelling on the city

An aerial view reveals the scale of a graveyard which has been built on the outskirts of Irpin, near Kyiv, to bury the victims of Russia's attacks on and occupation of the city

Two women weep as the body of one of their relatives, killing during Russia's attack on Ukraine, is lowered into a freshly dug grave on the outskirts of Irpin, near Kyiv

Two women attend the funeral of one of their relatives, killed during Russia's war on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Kyiv

A government worker walks among freshly-dug graves in a cemetery built into the tree-line of a forest in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, which for weeks was occupied by Russian forces

A woman lowers her head on to the coffin of a loved one as their funeral takes place in Irpin, close to Kyiv, following the Russian army's occupation of the city

Government workers bury the body of a civilian killed during the Russian occupation of Irpin, alongside other freshly dug pits where more funerals are due to take place

A man walks among rows of new graves next to a freshly-dug pit that awaits the coffin of another civilian killed during the Russian army's occupation of Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv

Russia unleashed a barrage of artillery fire on eastern Ukraine overnight as its offensive in the east got underway, with troops seizing the village of Kreminna. But Ukraine has also launched counter-attacks east of Kharkiv and near Izyum to cut Russian supply lines

The UK Government department wrote: 'Russian shelling and strikes on the Donbas line of control continue to increase, with the Ukrainians repelling numerous attempted advances by Russian forces.

'Russia's ability to progress continues to be impacted by the environmental, logistical and technical challenges that have beset them so far, combined with the resilience of the highly-motivated Ukrainian armed forces.'

It continued: 'Russia's inability to stamp out resistance in Mariupol and their indiscriminate attacks, which have harmed the resident civilian populace, are indicative of their continued failure to achieve their aims as quickly as they would like.'

Briefing Cabinet ministers in the morning, Boris Johnson described Ukraine's predicament as 'perilous', with Vladimir Putin seemingly determined to claim victory 'regardless of the human cost'.

Ministers were briefed by a senior national security official who said the new phase of the war, focusing on the Donbas region, was likely to be 'an attritional conflict' which could last 'several months'.

Russia's aerial bombardment, which began in the early hours and continued throughout the day, focused on targets around Luhansk and Donetsk, the country's industrial area producing coal and steel.

Moscow's defence ministry said 'high-precision air-based missiles' had struck 13 Ukrainian positions in the Donbas, including the city of Slavyansk, where 60 Ukrainian military targets were apparently hit.

After a long and heavy bombardment, Putin's forces then captured the city of Kreminna, leaving  according to local officials  at least 200 civilians dead.

'In reality there are many more,' said Luhansk's regional governor, Serhiy Haidai.

Meanwhile in the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukrainian troops filmed Call of Duty-style footage showing them blowing up a Russian armoured vehicle with an anti-tank guided missile after the soldiers refused Moscow's ultimatum to lay down their arms.

Video shows a Ukrainian soldier from the Azov Battalion firing the missile at the Russian military vehicle and landing a direct hit, sending a black plume of smoke into the air.

The soldier, whose comrade across the street can be seen holding a grenade launcher, quickly retreats inside a building in Mariupol and can be heard shouting 'yes' after the successful hit.

The Azov Battalion posted the footage after Russia told Ukrainian troops who have been holed up in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol to lay down their arms within two hours if they wanted to live.

The Russian defence ministry called on the troops to withdraw from the steel plant between 1400 and 1600 Moscow time (1100 and 1300 GMT) 'without exception, without any weapons and without ammunition'.

'All who lay down their arms are guaranteed to remain alive,' the defence ministry added.

But the Ukrainian troops who have defended the city for seven weeks defied Moscow's demands as the video showed their continued resistance.

Kyiv on Tuesday said Russia's new offensive in eastern Ukraine will fail because Moscow's forces lack the strength to break through Ukrainian defences.

The Azovstal plant, which covers the territory of about 11 square kilometers (over 4 square miles) is the last major Ukrainian pocket of resistance in Mariupol, a strategic port city on the Sea of Azov.

Mariupol, which has been encircled by Russian troops for weeks, has seen the fiercest fighting and most comprehensive destruction since Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.

The defiant move by Ukrainian troops comes after Russia claimed it had hit more than 1,200 Ukrainian targets with missiles, airstrikes and artillery as Putin's troops launched their new offensive in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

Russian troops managed to take control of the eastern city of Kreminna after hours of relentless bombing, as gunfights between Putin's men and battling Ukrainian forces continue.

'Control over the city of Kreminna is lost, street fights are taking place,' Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai said, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had begun 'the battle for the Donbas'.

Downing Street has been warned that the battle could take 'months', with Boris Johnson telling a Cabinet meeting today that Ukraine's situation is 'perilous' with Putin intent on victory 'regardless of the human cost.'

Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday 'high-precision air-based missiles' had struck 13 Ukrainian positions in parts of the Donbas region, including the city of Slavyansk, whilst airstrikes had hit 60 military targets.

Overall, Russia claimed it had struck 1,260 Ukrainian military assets in the overnight bombardment and a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet had been shot down near Malinovka, Donetsk Region.

Video shows a Ukrainian soldier from the Azov Battalion firing the missile at the Russian military vehicle and landing a direct hit, sending a black plume of smoke into the air

Russia today issued a new ultimatum for Ukrainian troops and foreign fighters holed up in the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol to lay down their arms within two hours if they wanted to live. Pictured: Smoke rises above the steelworks in Mariupol

A damaged Russian tank is seen near a road in Zalisia village not far from Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday after Russian troops retreated from the area

Ukrainian Interior ministry sappers collect explosives in a hole to detonate them near a mine field in the village of Moshchun, close to Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday

The aftermath of last night's Russian bombing of the Mykolaiv region in southern Ukraine on Tuesday

Pictured: A damaged kindergarten in Zalisia village not far from Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday

Ukrainian servicemen sit atop an armoured fighting vehicle, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at an unknown location in Eastern Ukraine on Tuesday

Interior ministry sappers defuse mines on a mine field after recent battles with Russian troops in Irpin on Tuesday

A part of damaged Russian tank lies on a road not far from the small city of Brovary near Kyiv on Tuesday

Russia has claimed it has hit more than 1,200 Ukrainian targets with missiles, airstrikes and artillery in Ukraine. Pictured: Parts of Russian missiles have fallen on the zoo in Mykolaiv

A Ukrainian serviceman walks along a road while his comrades sit atop an armoured fighting vehicle in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday

Ukrainian authorities said on Monday that no fewer than 1,000 civilians were hiding in underground shelters beneath the vast Azovstal plant in Mariupol, adding that Russia was dropping heavy bombs onto the Ukrainian-held factory in the besieged city.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Russian forces would on Tuesday completely take over the Azovstal steel works.

'Today, with the help of the Almighty, we will... take over Azovstal completely', Kadyrov said in an audio message on his Telegram channel.

In the eastern city of Kreminna, the regional governor said Russian troops took control there after 'levelling everything to the ground'. He said Ukrainian troops had retreated to regroup and keep on fighting, as he warned the evacuation of civilians from the city is impossible.

'It simply makes no sense to stand in one place, to die for everyone, without causing significant damage to the enemy,' Governor Haidi said.

Meanwhile an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today said Russia's new offensive in eastern Ukraine is going 'very cautiously' and will fail because Moscow's forces lack the strength to break through Ukrainian defences.

Presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said Russian forces were trying to find 'sensitive spots' in Ukraine's defences but added: 'Their offensive will fail - I give you a 99% guarantee - they simply do not have enough strength.'

'The battle for Donbas, which was announced and apparently began yesterday, is under way and is going very cautiously. The battle will not go in Russia's favour,' he said on national television.

Russian forces have stepped up their all-out assault on the Donbas region, as cities and towns in eastern Ukraine were rocked by fresh explosions last night.

After weeks of having their assaults on Kyiv thwarted at every turn, Putin's commanders are now refocusing their efforts on the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk, along with other regions of Ukraine's eastern flank, in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday dubbed 'The Battle of the Donbas'.

Ukrainian media outlets and Telegram channels reported a series of explosions along the front line in the Donetsk region, with shelling taking place in Marinka, Slavyansk and Kramatorsk throughout the evening.

Local officials and media also said explosions were heard in Kharkiv in the northeast of Ukraine, Mykolaiv in the south and Zaporizhzhia in the southeast.

Kharkiv region Governor Oleh Synyehubov said on Tuesday that five civilians were killed and 17 wounded by Russian shelling.

'We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas, which they have been preparing for a long time. A large part of the Russian army is now dedicated to this offensive,' Zelensky said in his daily presidential address last night.

'No matter how many Russian soldiers are brought here, we will fight. We will defend ourselves. I am grateful to all our fighters, to all our heroic cities in Donbas, Mariupol, as well as to the cities in the region of Kharkiv that are being held.'

The coming battle is viewed as pivotal to deciding the ultimate fate of Ukraine - and perhaps of Russia as well.

Russia retreated from Kyiv more than two weeks ago after failing to seize the capital, and has spent the days since massing forces in the east in an attempt to restart its failed invasion and score its first major battlefield victory.

Most troops are gathered at Izyum, a city spanning the Donets River some 70 miles to the south of Kharkiv, for an expected push south towards Mariupol.

If Mariupol falls to Russian forces - which is expected to take place in the coming weeks - these troops are likely to begin pushing north to join up with the Izyum force in a pincer movement.

The aim is to surround Ukrainian soldiers dug into trenches along the old Donbas frontline, where they have been fighting Russian-backed separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk since 2014.

If the Russians can pull off the manoeuvre, then those troops - known as the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) and thought to comprise a large portion of the Ukrainian army - will be cut off from supplies and vulnerable to surrender.

Should Russia succeed in surrounding and forcing the surrender of JFO troops, then it would provide a huge propaganda boost to the Kremlin and one of its stated war aims - the 'liberation' of Donbas from Ukrainian control.

Depending on how many troops Russia loses in the process, the victory could also prompt Putin to reposition his forces for fresh attacks against Ukrainian cities to the west - Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and possibly Odesa and Kyiv.

Such a move would drag the war out for many months - possibly years - and put the survival of Ukraine as a sovereign state under threat.

But if Ukraine emerges victorious, it would deal a hammer blow to Russia's invasion plans and deny Putin any conceivable path to victory.

A Ukrainian serviceman rides atop an armoured fighting vehicle in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday

Burned vehicles are seen at the destroyed part of the Illich Iron & Steel Works Metallurgical Plant in Mariupol on Monday

An interior ministry sapper defuses a mine on a mine field after recent battles in Irpin close to Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday

A man looks at cars destroyed amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, after they were collected from different places, in Irpin on Tuesday

A damaged Russian tank is seen near a road in Zalisia village not far from Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday

Volunteers distribute humanitarian aid to locals in Zalisia village near Kyiv on Tuesday

A woman walks next to a damaged building after a Russian bombardment in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday

As happened with the stalled offensive around Kyiv, defeat for Russia would leave its occupying forces vulnerable to Ukrainian counter-attacks and could prompt a retreat back into rebel-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, and into Crimea.

Depending on how many troops Ukraine has left after the battle, it could also open up the possibility of attacks into those previously-occupied regions with the aim of returning them to Ukrainian control - which Zelensky has stated as one of his aims.

Such a catastrophic loss would be difficult even for Putin's regime to explain to the Russian people, and it is open to debate whether he could survive the backlash.

Meanwhile Ukraine's lead negotiator said it was hard to predict when peace talks might resume because of Russia's bombardment of Mariupol.

Kyiv and Moscow have not held face-to-face talks since March 29, and the atmosphere has soured over Ukrainian allegations that Russian troops carried out atrocities in Bucha, a town near Kyiv.

Mykhailo Podolyak, Ukraine's top negotiator, said the continuing siege of Mariupol and the repeated failure of attempts to arrange safe corridors for the evacuation of trapped Ukrainian civilians had also complicated matters.

'Obviously, against the backdrop of the Mariupol tragedy, the negotiation process has become even more complicated,' he said.

'Russia defiantly renounces any manifestations of humanity and humanism when it comes to certain humanitarian corridors. Especially when we talk about Mariupol.'

Each side blames the other for the breakdown of peace talks and the failure of negotiations on safe corridors for civilians.

Podolyak said some contacts were continuing online to 'clean up' agreements reached on future guarantees for the security of Ukraine, ensuring they were compliant with international law.

'It is difficult to say when the next face-to-face round of negotiations will be possible because the Russians are seriously betting on (making gains in) the so-called 'second stage of the special operation',' he said.

Local authorities say more than 20,000 people have been killed in the siege of Mariupol, and Russia have given the last Ukrainian defenders holed up in a steel works an ultimatum to surrender or die. Podolyak said Russia wanted to crush the last fighters in Mariupol for 'internal propaganda' purposes.

A man walks near a residential building destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 17, 2022

Interior ministry sappers prepare explosives in a hole to detonate them near a minefield, after recent battles at the village of Moshchun close to Kyiv

A Ukrainian soldier inspects a Russian tank after recent battles at the village of Moshchun close to Kyiv

Cars ride by the wreckage of a tank on a road northeast of Kyiv on April 19, 2022, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine

Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak called Russia's fresh assault 'the second phase of the war' and assured Ukrainians that their forces could hold off the offensive.

'Believe in our army, it is very strong,' he said.

Shortly before Zelensky's address, the regional governor of the eastern Luhansk region Sergiy Gaiday also announced the beginning of Russia's much-anticipated attack.

'It's hell. The offensive has begun, the one we've been talking about for weeks. There's constant fighting in Rubizhne and Popasna, fighting in other peaceful cities,' he said on Facebook.

Russian shelling killed at least eight civilians in eastern Ukraine on Monday, according to local authorities.

Gaiday said four people died as they tried to flee the city of Kreminna in Luhansk, which Russian forces captured on Monday.

In the neighbouring region of Donetsk, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said four other civilians died after Russian bombardment, while a man and a woman were also killed in Kharkiv when shells hit a playground near a residential building.

The latest Russian rockets tipped the amount of damage dealt to Ukrainian infrastructure beyond $85bn, according to the Russia Will Pay campaign - a project developed by Kyiv's School of Economics in conjunction with the Office of the President of Ukraine and the Ministry of the Economy.

'In 54 days of full-scale war, Russia has damaged Ukraine's infrastructure by $85 billion,' the statement read.

'Over the past week, the direct losses of Ukraine's economy due to the destruction and damage of civilian and military infrastructure increased by $4.45 billion,' the project declared.

Ukraine's top security official, Oleksy Danilov, said Russian forces attempted to break through Ukrainian defences 'along almost the entire front line of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions' on Monday morning, but were pushed back.

Meanwhile in Mariupol, the commander of the Azov Regiment of the National Guard, Denys Prokopenko, alleged Russian planes had began to deploy 'bunker busters' to kill the last Ukrainian fighters and civilians sheltering in a steel plant - the scene of the city's last stand against the invaders' onslaught.

Prokopenko said in a video message that the bombs, designed to penetrate thick armour and kill targets underground, are dropping despite the presence of a large civilian population in the Azovstal steel factory.

'Russian occupational forces know about the civilians, and they keep willingly firing on the factory,' he said.

Major Serhiy Volyna, commander of Ukraine's 36th marine brigade in Mariupol, appealed for help in a letter to Pope Francis, saying women and children were trapped among fighters in the city's steel works.

'This is what hell looks like on earth... It's time (for) help not just by prayers. Save our lives from satanic hands,' the letter said, according to excerpts tweeted by Ukraine's Vatican ambassador.

At least 1,000 civilians were hiding in underground shelters beneath the vast Azovstal steel plant, the city council said.

Ukraine estimates that 21,000 people have been killed in Mariupol.

A large Russian offensive in the Donbas region had been predicted by Ukraine's army for weeks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he launched the military operation to save the region's Russian-speaking population from a 'genocide' carried out by a 'neo-Nazi' Kyiv regime.

Putin recognised the independence of two self-proclaimed separatist republics in Donetsk and Lugansk shortly before the full-scale Russian invasion began on February 24.

An aerial view shows a residential building destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 18, 2022

Local residents walk in a courtyard near a block of flats heavily damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 18, 2022.

Ukraine estimates that 21,000 people have been killed in Mariupol (residents gather in a Mariupol courtyard, April 18)

A Ukrainian commander alleged that Russian 'bunker buster' bombs, designed to penetrate thick armour and kill targets underground, are dropping despite the presence of a large civilian population in the Avostal steel factory (pictured)

Russian troops move into Mariupol as they continue to try and take the city from Ukraine to free up forces for attacks in the Donbas

A large Russian offensive in the Donbas region had been predicted by Ukraine's army for weeks (Service members of pro-Russian troops drive an armoured vehicle during Ukraine-Russia conflict near the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 17, 2022)

His army's assault on the Donbas regions comes as Ukraine's armed forces declared more than 20,000 Russian troops have died since the start of the invasion.

According to the latest figures, a total of 20,600 Russian servicemen have been confirmed dead by the Ukrainian authorities, while even the most conservative Western estimates, given at the start of the month, put the Russian death toll between 7,000-15,000.

As the war entered its 54th day yesterday, Ukrainian authorities also announced that Colonel Ivan Grishin, commander of Russia's 49th anti-aircraft missile brigade, was killed amid fighting near Kharkiv.

His death pushed the number of Russia's high-ranking military commanders to have died on the frontlines to 35.

In light of Russia's startling losses and their new assault on the Donbas, the head of the infamous Wagner Group of Russian mercenaries is believed to have made the trip to Ukraine to oversee his men's deployment in the east.

Members of the mercenary group were thought to have arrived in Ukraine as early as late March, but now there are fears that around 1,000 Wagner group fighters could be stationed there.

The group, which has been used by the Kremlin as a proxy in various armed conflicts around the world, carries a reputation for brutality and human rights abuses and goes by the motto: 'Death is our business and business is good'.

Now the group's leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin - a man known as 'Putin's Chef' - is now believed to be on the ground in the Donbas to oversee operations, though the wealthy friend of Putin is not a military veteran.

'Prigozhin, who has no military experience and is the financier and organiser of Wagner Group rather than its military commander, is likely in Donbas to co-ordinate recruitment and financing of Wagner Group operations rather than to command combat operations,' said the Institute for War Studies, an American think tank.

Meanwhile, the United States military is set to begin training Ukrainians to operate howitzer artillery in the coming days, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Monday.

President Joe Biden last week announced another $800 million in military aid to Ukraine, sending heavy artillery systems to Ukraine for the first time as Zelensky's military gears up to defend the Donbas.

Kirby said the training would happen outside of Ukraine.

'I'm going to refrain right now from talking about who's going to be doing the training and exactly on what timeline,' he told reporters during a briefing.

'I think as we get closer to things, we may be able to talk a little bit more about it.

'But there is a plan now that we are beginning to execute and we think that that training can happen in the next several days.'

He said the plan was to train personnel who would then be able to take their knowledge home to then train soldiers in Ukraine.

Back in Kyiv, Zelensky met with European officials yesterday as he handed over Ukraine's answers to a questionnaire which will form a starting point for the European Union to decide on membership for Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen handed the questionnaire to Zelensky during her visit to Kyiv on April 8, pledging a speedier start to Ukraine's bid to become a member of the EU following Russia's invasion of the country.

'Today, I can say that the document has been completed by the Ukrainian side,' Zhovkva told the Ukrainian public broadcaster Sunday evening.

Zelensky was pictured handing over the questionnaire and speaking with members of the EU delegation on Monday.

The European Commission will need to issue a recommendation on Ukraine's compliance with the necessary membership criteria, Zhovkva added.

'We expect the recommendation... to be positive, and then the ball will be on the side of the EU member states.'

Zhovkva added that Ukraine expects to acquire the status of a candidate country for EU accession in June during a scheduled meeting of the European Council meeting.

The European Council is to meet June 23-24, according to the Council's schedule on its website.

'Next, we will need to start accession talks. And once we hold those talks, we can already talk about Ukraine's full membership in the EU,' Zhovkva said.
A 93-year-old 'extreme' hoarder accused of leaving his immobile daughter to die in agony in a cluttered bedroom has wept as he told a court how much he loved her.

Ralph Burdett claims he could not move Julie Burdett who the court heard died from 'dreadful' injuries after being 'surrounded by filth and squalor' because she refused medical help and was against being lifted.

He is accused, alongside his son, Philip Burdett, Julie's carer, 59, of manslaughter after the 61-year-old was found slumped dead on the floor of her bedroom, which was full of boxes and other items making it hard to squeeze more than one person into the room.

Paramedics, who arrived on January 2019 at the bungalow, reported a smell of urine and excrement in the house and so much clutter on the bed that Julie had been unable to sleep in it.

Her father said he had not noticed the smells and also told a jury at Leicester Crown Court that Julie who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis - which the NHS says reduces life expectancy by five to 10 years - did not know she was at risk of dying.

Ralph Burdett, right, is accused, alongside his son, Philip, left, of causing the death of Julie Burdett, who died in her cluttered bedroom at their home in Oakside Cresent, Goodwood, Leicester

Philip Burdett, pictured, arriving at Leicester Crown Court after his 61 year old immobile and vulnerable sister died in January 2019 in 'horrific' conditions in a bedroom after her elderly father and brother failed to care for her or call medical help, a court has heard

Mr Burdett explained how he had used his electrical engineering skills to make changes to the house in Oakside Cresent, Goodwood to allow Julie to live semi-independently, supported by her brother who also lived in the bungalow.

He added: 'All three of us loved each other. I would have done anything for that girl.

'I think Philip and I did as much as we could to help Julie in the situation.'

He also described urging Julie to let him move some of the clutter from her bedroom and get her medical help.

He said: 'I wanted to get help but to do that I would have to go against her wishes. She was so determined that I wasn't to call for help and wasn't to move anything. I said, "if we move these things we can put you in the bed".

'She said, "leave it, Dad", She wouldn't let me continue the discussion as to why. She said, "promise me, Dad, that you won't let anyone into my bedroom other than you and Philip". That's what she said.'

He said she would sometimes try to sleep on the bed but end up falling out and that Philip, who could be called to her bedroom using a pair of walkie-talkies they owned, would help her up again.

He said his daughter had an 'independent spirit' and also had a fear of going into hospital after seeing her mother die at Glenfield Hospital.

Describing his wife, Grace's, last moments, he said: 'The nurses and doctors had decided it was my wife's time to go.

'They stood between us and Grace and we watched her choke to death. It wasn't an easy thing to do.

'We could have been holding her hand but we weren't allowed to do that. It put Julie off going to hospital.'

He said his daughter was only treated as an outpatient and was given tramadol and fentanyl for the pain she suffered.

Both Ralph and Philip Burdett have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and an alternative charge of allowing the death of a vulnerable adult at Leicester Crown Court, pictured

Ralph Burdett, pictured with son Philip, told Leicester Crown Court he did not try to move his daughter because 'it would have gone against her wishes'

On the subject of clutter, he said he, his son and his daughter were all responsible for hoarding items.

He added: 'If something was not usable at all, obviously we would get rid of it. But sometimes I would repurpose things.'

The jury has heard previously how Julie Burdett weighed only 4st 10lbs when she was found dead on her bedroom floor by the paramedics on January 15, 2019.

Both Ralph and Philip Burdett have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and an alternative charge of allowing the death of a vulnerable adult.

Leicester Crown Court previously heard Julie had fallen from her bed days before her death but her father did not move her because he was 'afraid of trying and then dropping her'.

The court heard Julie died from extreme ulcerations, and an expert who examined the body said she had 'never seen such a severe level of pressure damage' in her 40-year career.

Mr Burdett told jurors he had no idea of the extent of his daughter's injuries and was 'shocked' when pictures were shown to him during the trial.

Questioning Burdett about the position Julie was found in by paramedics, defence barrister Balraj Bhatia QC said: 'Can you remember how long she had been in that position?'

'It would have been two days - a very short time,' the defendant responded.

He also said: 'I would be afraid of trying and then dropping her. I could have done more damage than good.'

Mr Burdett also said he was not aware Julie was dying and could not 'think' of a way to make her more comfortable saying he would 'have tried' if it was 'suggested'.

The trial continues.
Key meeting calls for extensive use of high tech to enhance public services Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called on Tuesday for the extensive use of digital technologies in administration and public services to further modernize the nation's governance system and capacity. While presiding over a meeting of the Central Committee for Deepening Overall Reform, Xi, the head of the committee, stressed the need to promote the digital and smart operations of the government and fully carry out the strategy to build up the nation's capacity in cyberspace. Policymakers reviewed and adopted five policy documents at the meeting, including one to reform China's fiscal system below the provincial level, a plan to enable the financial sector to better support the nation's innovation and a guideline to improve the incentive mechanism for science and technology. In stepping up efforts to build a digital government, the policymakers pledged to uphold and strengthen the Party's leadership across the board and meet the people's aspirations for a better life. It is important to develop a system of digitalized services that are more accessible, convenient, fair and inclusive, and to ensure the public can make fewer trips when accessing administrative services with the enhanced sharing of data between departments, they said. Digitalization should serve as a key factor underpinning the government's functions in economic regulation, market oversight, social management, public services and the protection of the ecology and the environment, they said. The meeting called for coordinated steps to promote integration in technology, services and data and to enable more coordinated management and services across different levels, regions, systems, departments and service providers. It stressed unremitting efforts in guaranteeing the security of data, including the development of a system that ensures data security for digital government. In reforming China's fiscal system below the provincial level, the policymakers highlighted the necessity to clearly define the fiscal power and responsibilities in terms of expenditures of governments below the provincial level, improve the mechanism for transfer payments and enable more standardized fiscal management. They said reform in the fiscal system should serve as a catalyst for breaking regional protectionism, eliminating market barriers and providing more equitable basic public services. It is important to build a long-term mechanism that guarantees the fiscal strength of county-level governments and to guarantee that authorities at various levels assume their duties in risk prevention and containment, the policymakers said. The long-term mechanism to prevent and defuse hidden debts must be refined to curb the growth of such debts, and officials taking action that raises debts in violation of laws and regulations must be held accountable, they said. China's outstanding local government debts totaled 30.47 trillion yuan ($4.77 trillion) by the end of December, according to the Ministry of Finance. The meeting called for quicker steps to develop a system for the financial sector to support innovation, highlighting the development of core technologies, the commercialization of research outcomes and support for smaller high-tech and innovative businesses as key targets. The meeting also called for the banking sector to scale up its capability in serving businesses committed to the nation's major innovation projects and the capital market to improve their direct financing functions. In improving the incentive mechanism for science and technology, the policymakers said China will prioritize teams and researchers focusing on the nation's most pressing and long-term demands and those making major contributions to scientific and technological progress, socioeconomic growth and the nation's strategic security. It is important to step up institutional reform to guarantee that science workers have sufficient time for research and to free them from unnecessary duties, they said, adding that greater incentives must be offered to young researchers to encourage them to take major responsibilities. The meeting also pledged to offer stable funding support to researchers devoted to fundamental science and research on public welfare, and take steps to improve the research funding mechanism.






Cheong Wa Dae will open to the public May 10 in line with President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's pledge to return the presidential compound to the people and relocate the presidential office, officials said Wednesday.







Officials of the presidential transition committee and the National Police Agency have decided to open the compound at 10 a.m. on Yoon's inauguration day for two-hour public tours that will take up to 6,500 visitors per tour for a total of 39,000 people a day.







From the second day, the tours will begin at 7 a.m. and end at 7 p.m., officials said.







The first series of openings will last through May 20.







Visitors should first make reservations online at www.opencheongwadae.kr.







The southern side of Mount Bukak behind Cheong Wa Dae, which was largely closed to the public after a 1968 infiltration raid by North Korean commandos who were on a failed mission to assassinate then-President Park Chung-hee, will also be open to the public during the period.







Relocating the presidential office out of Cheong Wa Dae was one of Yoon's key campaign promises.







Yoon decided to set up the new presidential office at what is now the defense ministry building in Yongsan, central Seoul, saying the relocation will help him connect better with the people. (Yonhap)






Mark McGowan has been forced into isolation after being a close contact of a family member who tested positive for Covid.

The West Australian Premier will be at home with his family for the next seven days as per the Covid safety rules in WA where both cases and close contacts in the state must isolate for a full week.

It comes as both New South Wales and Victoria announced Covid isolation rules for close contacts would end from Friday.

Mark McGowan has been forced into isolation after a close family member tested positive for Covid. (Pictured with Anthony Albanese)

Mark McGowan released a statement on Wednesday regarding his recent infection status just a week after he joined the other states in relaxing certain Covid measures.

'Yesterday, I attended Rockingham General Hospital to undergo a PCR test and my result came back negative this morning,' he said.

'I will continue to follow the health guidelines as so many Western Australians have done during this pandemic.'

'I'll be working from home for the duration of my isolation period as required,' the Labor Leader added.

The WA state government relaxed some restrictions last Thursday, but the main seven day isolation rule for cases and close contacts remains in place.

Under the latest rules, only household family members, friends and partners of positive cases will be deemed close contacts and have to isolate in WA.

An individual who was in close contact with an infected person for more than four cumulative hours in a residential setting without wearing a mask will also need to stay at home for seven days.

It means co-workers, students and those exposed to a case in a public setting will no longer be forced into isolation.

The WA state government relaxed certain restrictions on Thursday, but the main seven day isolation rule for cases and close contacts remains in place. (Pictured: Masked Perth residents)

Under the new rules, only household family members, friends and partners of positive cases will be deemed close contacts and have to isolate in WA. (Pictured: Masked-up arriving passengers at the Perth domestic airport last month)

McGowan revealed the changes only a week before he was found to be a close contact of a case.

The Premier has refused to weaken the rules any further despite pressure from the federal government to relax more measures.

WA cabinet minister Paul Papalia says the state is currently 'going through our wave of Omicron' and the government will wait for updated health advice before making any further decisions.

The state government has hinted at changes to mask rules in the coming weeks depending on vaccination rates, and a reduction in both daily infections and hospitalisations.

Western Australia recorded 8,080 new Covid cases in the last 24-hour period.

There are 244 West Australians in hospital and 10 in ICU. No deaths were reported.

The Premier has refused to weaken the rules any further despite pressure from the federal government to relax more measures. (Pictured: Prime Minister Scott Morrison)

New South Wales and Victoria have gone a step further and scrapped the seven day isolation rule for close contacts. (Pictured: Sydney residents at Randwick Races)

New South Wales and Victoria have gone a step further and scrapped the seven day isolation rule for close contacts.

The rule will be binned for residents from Friday, but close contacts and household members of infected people must regularly check their Covid status through the use of rapid antigen tests.

Those who have contracted Covid-19 will need to remain in isolation for seven days.

New South Wales recorded 15,414 cases in the last 24 hours while Victoria reported 10,628.

There were 15 Covid-related deaths in NSW and 14 in Victoria.
A British man has slammed Australian Border Force officials after his mother was detained trying to visit him.

Clare Henderson landed in Perth to visit her sons Michael and Martin and their families but instead was held for seven hours in immigration.

Michael and his three-year-old daughter were waiting at the airport for the 64-year-old from Billingham, County Durham with an adorable sign reading: 'Can't wait to see you, grandma', but she never appeared through customs.

She is now facing deportation back to the UK because the details of her vaccine exemption had changed since she made the request in November, with her family deeply concerned for her health.

Michael (pictured), a British man living in Perth, has called on Australian Border Force workers to show some 'compassion' and allow his mother to enter the country

The retired foster carer from Billingham, County Durham, has not had her jabs because she was advised against it due to having a medical condition called temporal arteritis

'We all stood on the other side. My daughter who is three-years-old had a sign waiting for her saying 'Can't wait to see you, grandma',' Michael told 6PR on Tuesday.

'This is an absolutely disgusting situation that's happening right now.'

Claire landed in Perth on Monday evening after being separated from her son and grandchild for three years due to the pandemic.

Upon arrival she was interrogated over the details of her visa, which included an exemption due to temporal arteritis, a condition that can see arteries in her head become inflamed.

She regularly takes medication for the illness, which increases risk of strokes and heart attacks - which makes certain vaccines unsafe.

Clare Henderson is facing deportation back to the UK after landing in Australia to see her family after doctors warned her against getting a jab because of her medical condition. Pictured: Clare with her granddaughter

Michael (pictured left with his Australian wife) said his mother had 'ticked all the boxes' as far as eligibility for entering the country

The family were informed seven hours after she touched down that her entry was being declined by Australian Border Force agents.

'She was interrogated three times on the record, they took her fingerprint, and they took her possessions away from her,' Michael said.

'She did everything she needed to do, she's had this trip planned for a long time,' he said. 'All the boxes were ticked.'

The issue is Claire filled out her exemption request in November, with increasing cases and reopening to the rest of the country seeing Western Australia's rules tighten.

She is now sitting in a detainee hotel room awaiting her fate, with the family running out of hope she will be reunited with them.

Michael shows a picture of his mother to people waiting outside the quarantine hotel where she is currently awaiting her fate

Clare Henderson is waiting to be reunited with her son Michael, his wife and their children

'They're saying, 'As far as we knew, the reason she wanted to enter in on an exemption was because she had a cat allergy',' Michael said.

'This is an absolute shambles, they interrogated her for over seven hours on three separate occasions, they had all of her medical exemptions in front of her. It sounds like there's a huge cover-up going on here.'

The family believe it is the fault of authorities for allowing her to board the plane in the UK despite having an exemption that had expired details.

They are calling on the ABF and Federal Government to have 'a little ounce of compassion and let Claire in.

'It's not right, it should not be happening,' Michael said.

'We're finally getting to see her after three years and they've done this, it's diabolical.'

Claire's deportation flight has been delayed until April 23, but it's expected she could potentially be allowed to serve two weeks of hotel quarantine and remain in the country.
Julie Bishop believes Foreign Minister Marise Payne should be on the next flight to the Solomon Islands following their 'deeply disturbing' security deal with China.

Labor have labelled the deal the 'worst Australian foreign policy' in the Pacific since World War II, with fears China could build a military base less than 2,000km from Australian shores.

On Wednesday, the former foreign minister said the Australian government needed to get to the bottom of what the deal entails.

'I'd be greatly concerned and I believe that our foreign minister should be on the next plane to Solomon Islands to talk with the government to see what's actually being agreed and how that impacts on the security in the region more broadly and also on Australia's security interests,' Ms Bishop told Studio 10.

She said while the details of the pact were not yet known, she found it 'deeply disturbing' considering the relationship between Australia and the Solomon Islands 'has always been very close'.

'It's the great power competition between the United States and China playing out in a region. The Solomon Islands is really close to Australia,' Ms Bishop added.

'Solomon Islands has been a great friend of the United States and now it appears that it has turned its attention elsewhere and has signed a security pact with China.

'While we don't have all the details, this could well mean there would be Chinese military bases on Solomon Islands and that really changes the dynamic and environment in our area, in our region.'

Julie Bishop believes Foreign Minister Marise Payne should be on the next flight to the Solomon Islands following their 'deeply disturbing' security deal with China

Scott Morrison has defended the decision to send Pacific minister Zed Seselja instead of Ms Payne to the Solomon Islands in an attempt to stop the deal from being signed off on.

'I'm very conscious of how visits are perceived within the Pacific. This was the right calibrated way to address this issue with the prime minister,' Mr Morrison said.

'One of the things you don't do in the Pacific is you don't throw your weight around. They're a sovereign country and we have to respect their sovereignty.

'Now with this arrangement, we need to ensure we work with them to see that Australia's interests aren't compromised ... (and) that their strength and their sovereignty is not compromised by these types of arrangements.'

Mr Morrison said the Solomon Islands government had stated it would not allow any Chinese naval bases.

Marise Payne said she was 'deeply disappointed' by the deal between China and the Solomons, adding she was concerned about the 'lack of transparency'

The pact has sparked fears China may build a military base in the Solomon Islands (pictured is Chinese vessel)

But Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce didn't rule out the possibility of a Chinese base in the Solomons.

'(It's) dual-purpose, which means China is able, if they follow through, to set up a military base there,' he said.

'That's a very bad day for Australia. We don't want our own little Cuba off our coast.'

Ms Payne in a joint statement with Mr Seselja said they were 'deeply disappointed' by the deal.

'We are concerned about the lack of transparency with which this agreement has been developed, noting its potential to undermine stability in our region,' the statement read.

'We continue to seek further clarity on the terms of the agreement, and its consequences for the Pacific region.

'We welcome recent statements from Prime Minister Sogavare that Australia is Solomon Islands security partner of choice, and his commitment that Solomon Islands will never be used for military bases or other military institutions of foreign powers.

China's security agreement with the Solomon Islands could see military bases built by Beijing within 2,000km of Australia

'We will continue to strongly encourage the Solomon Islands to engage in regional dialogue and to work with the Pacific family first, including prior to seeking security assistance from China under this arrangement.'

Foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said a nation merely 2,000km from Australia having a security alliance with China has made the region less secure.

'On Scott Morrison's watch our region has become less secure and the risks that Australia faces have become much greater,' Senator Wong told the ABC.

'Yet again Mr Morrison has gone missing and might talk a tough game, but what we are seeing on his watch is the worst Australian foreign policy blunder in the Pacific since the end of world war two.

'What this deal signifies is that Australia is no longer for the Solomon Islands a nation to whom they turn to meet their challenges in every instance.'

China said the deal was 'public, transparent, open and inclusive, not directed at any third party' but Western officials believe the opposite (pictured Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (second from left), Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele (seated at left), Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (second from right) and Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (seated, right, in 2019)

Senior government minister David Littleproud hit back, saying the full extent of the deal is not yet known.

'No one has looked under the bonnet of how far it goes,' he told the ABC.

Mr Morrison said the Australian government had spent 'countless hours' speaking with Pacific Islands leaders after a draft for the deal was leaked in March.

Labor Leader Anthony Albanese said he'd fly to the Solomons if he was elected.

The deal could mean China is allowed to dock its naval ships in the region.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute's Malcolm Davis said while China has publicly declared it does not intend building a military base in the Solomons, there is a risk Beijing will establish a 'military base by stealth' over the next one to two years.

'The Chinese are a powerful player and once they get a presence, an influence in a country, it's virtually impossible to get them out,' he told the Nine Network.

'The Chinese are going to move very fast.

'They will want to achieve a foothold there. Principally to cut Australia off from a key sea-land communication with the United States.'

Scott Morrison defended the decision to send Pacific minister Zed Seselja (pictured with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare) instead of Ms Payne to the Solomon Islands in an attempt to stop the deal from being signed off on

Dr Davis says the federal government should have used more urgent diplomacy to persuade the Solomon Islands and other Pacific Island nations not to accept China's overtures and instead remain aligned with Australia.

'There has been a failure in diplomacy,' he said.

'But it's important to note that whilst we attempt to support development in the Pacific Island states, the Chinese come in with bags of money and essentially buy out leadership and get what they want.'

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told the country's parliament the agreement, centred around domestic security, was guided by the country's national interest.

'Let me assure the people that we entered into an arrangement with China with our eyes wide open, guided by our national interests,' he said.

'We have full understanding of the fragility of peace and our duty as a state to protect all people, their property and critical national infrastructure of the country.'

China have released no details about the agreement, nor when it was agreed, but a statement from the Solomon Islands confirmed the deal had been 'initialled' on March 31 and would be confirmed later.

The Communist country said the deal was 'public, transparent, open and inclusive, not directed at any third party, and is parallel to and complementary to the existing bilateral and multilateral security co-operation mechanisms in Solomon Islands' - but US officials believes it 'leaves the door open' for Chinese aggression in the Pacific.

Kurt Campbell, the US' National Security Council Indo-Pacific Co-ordinator and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink are visiting Fiji and Papua New Guinea before arriving in the Solomons on Friday

It's expected they will encourage them to strengthen relations with Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific friends rather than China.
Russia has issued a fresh warning to Finland and Sweden over joining NATO, as the two countries draw closer to becoming part of the military alliance.

Maria Zakharova, spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry, said today that both countries have been informed 'what it will lead to' if they abandon decades-old neutrality agreements and become NATO members.

'We have issued all our warnings both publicly and through bilateral channels,' she told the Rossiya 24 state media channel. 'They know about it, they will have nothing to be surprised about, they were informed about everything.'

She spoke after a new poll in Sweden showed support for joining the alliance has risen to 57 per cent, up from 51 per cent in March, after Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said the time was right to debate the merits of membership.

Meanwhile politicians in Finland have today begun debating their own ties with NATO, after Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she expected a decision on membership to be made 'within weeks'.

Maria Zakharova, spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry, says Sweden and Finland have been informed 'what it will lead to' if they join NATO

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin is pictured arriving for a news conference in Helsinki after announcing she expected to announce a decision on joining NATO within only a few weeks

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto is shown speaking during a plenary session at the Finnish Parliament, heading a debate over whether Finland should leave behind the neutrality that has been the core of the country's foreign policy for decades

Finland has for decades been bound to neutrality that began as a pact with the Soviets, but has been forced into a re-think after Putin invaded Ukraine.

Sweden has a long-standing tradition of neutrality, but sees its national security as inseparably tied to that of its Nordic neighbour.

Both countries took a step towards joining the alliance earlier this month, when their leaders announced at a joint press conference that plans are under consideration.

Ms Marin, Finland's 36-year-old prime minister, said she expected a decision to be made before the summer.

Ms Andersson, the Swedish PM, did not set a timetable for joining but said there is 'no point' delaying the decision.

'There is a before and after 24 February,' she said, referring to the date on which Russia invaded. 'This is a very important time in history.

'The security landscape has completely changed. We have to analyse the situation to see what is best for Sweden's security, for the Swedish people, in this new situation.'

Finland and Sweden are currently NATO 'partners' - permitted to take part in joint training exercises and receive briefings - but are not full members.

Becoming a full member would mean the pair are protected under Article 5, which states an attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on every member.

The 200 MPs in Finland's Eduskunta last week received a government-commissioned 'white paper' that assessed the implications of NATO membership alongside other security options, such as increased bilateral defence agreements.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson (left) and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin (right), said last week that they will consider applying to join the alliance

The report did not make recommendations but stressed that without NATO membership, Finland enjoys no security guarantees.

It said the 'deterrent effect' on Finland's defence would be 'considerably greater' inside the bloc, while noting that membership also carried obligations for Finland to assist other NATO states.

After two decades of public support for NATO membership remaining steady at 20-30 per cent, the war sparked a surge among those in favour to over 60 per cent, according to opinion polls.

'I used to be against joining NATO but because of this situation I'm now more in favour,' said 24-year-old Sofia Lindblom, walking her dog in central Helsinki on Wednesday. 'Joining would bring a certain kind of security.'

On nearby Senate Square, Vuokka Mustonen said the invasion of Ukraine has 'utterly changed' her opinion in favour of NATO membership.

'I feel pretty safe, but quite worried,' the 69-year-old said.

Public statements gathered by Finnish media suggest half of Finland's 200 MPs now support membership, while only around 12 oppose.

Others say they will announce a position after detailed discussions.

The Finnish government said it hopes to build a parliamentary consensus over the coming weeks, with MPs due to hear from a number of security experts.

On Saturday, Finland's European Affairs Minister Tytti Tuppurainen said she believed a Finnish application was 'highly likely.'

A clear majority of Swedish people now favour joining NATO, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine (pictured, Swedish armoured vehicles on NATO exercises earlier this year)

'But the decision is not yet made,' she told Britain's Sky News.

However, the Finns 'seem to have already made up their mind and there is a huge majority for the NATO membership.'

Many analysts predict Finland could submit a bid in time for a NATO summit in June.

Any membership bid must be accepted by all 30 NATO states, a process that could take four months to a year.

Finland has so far received public assurances from Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that NATO's door remains open, and support from several members.

President Sauli Niinisto said Russia's response could include airspace, territorial violations and hybrid attacks, which Finnish NATO proponents believe the country is well prepared to withstand.

Finland declared independence in 1917 after 150 years of Russian rule.

During World War II, its vastly outnumbered army fought off a Soviet invasion, before a peace deal saw it cede several border areas to Moscow.

The Nordic nation remained neutral during the Cold War in exchange for Soviet guarantees not to invade.

After the fall of the Iron Curtain, Finland firmly aligned itself with the West, by joining the EU and becoming a close partner of NATO.

Successive Finnish leaders shied away from full membership believing that military non-alignment was the best way to maintain working relations with the Kremlin.
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Vladimir Putin's troops have threatened to shoot civilians in the besieged city of Mariupol if they do not wear white ribbons on their clothes.

Russia has been accused of forcing civilians to wear the white ribbons, a symbol of the Russian army, so that they become 'bait' for Ukrainian snipers - and in turn help Putin's men find out where the snipers are hidden.

Petro Andriushchenko, the advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol, said on Telegram: 'The occupiers no longer 'mildly' propose that civilians wear white ribbons to mark themselves out - they have turned to direct threats to open fire on anyone seen on the street without such ribbons.

'Russians are gradually turning the city into a true ghetto for Ukrainians, at the same time using civilians as bait to detect hotspots.'

The disturbing development comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today said he is ready to swap Russian prisoners of war in exchange for the safe passage of civilians and Ukrainian troops who remain in Mariupol.

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko on Wednesday urged civilians to flee Mariupol as Ukraine announced plans to send 90 buses to evacuate 6,000 people from the city, saying it had reached a 'preliminary agreement' with Russia on a safe corridor for the first time in weeks. But none of those earlier agreements have actually succeeded on the ground, with Moscow blocking all convoys.

Zelensky said the situation in the city, where 100,000 people remain, is worsening and hundreds who are understood to be wounded are not able to access medical supplies.

Ukrainian troops who are holed up in the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol, the last major Ukrainian pocket of resistance in the strategic port city, today ignored a second Russian ultimatum to surrender or die.

Serhiy Volyna, who is among Ukrainian marines defending the city from Russian advances, today warned his troops are facing their 'last days, if not hours' after they refused to lay down their arms.

Volyna said Putin's soldiers are outnumbering them ten to one and pleaded for help evacuating wounded civilians.

Thousands of civilians and troops are now barricaded in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol as Russia intensifies its offensive in eastern Ukraine.

A woman with a child talks to service members of pro-Russian troops as evacuees board buses to leave Mariupol on Wednesday

Vladimir Putin's troops have threatened to shoot civilians in the besieged city of Mariupol if they do not wear white ribbons on their clothes. Pictured: Evacuees wait before boarding a bus to leave Mariupol whilst wearing white ribbons

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko on Wednesday urged civilians to flee Mariupol as Ukraine announced plans to send 90 buses to evacuate 6,000 people from the city. Pictured: Evacuees walk to board buses leaving Mariupol on Wednesday

The disturbing development comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenenksy today said he is ready to swap Russian prisoners of war in exchange for the safe passage of civilians and Ukrainian troops who remain in Mariupol

A Russian tank with the notorious 'Z' marking is seen in front of a damaged apartment building in Mariupol on Tuesday

Residents sit on benches amid ruins in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Tuesday

Serhiy Volyna, who is among Ukrainian marines defending Mariupol from Russian advances, said Vladimir Putin's soldiers are outnumbering them 10 to one and pleaded for help evacuating wounded civilians

Thousands of civilians and troops are now barricaded in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, the last major Ukrainian pocket of resistance in the strategic port city, as Russia intensifies its offensive in eastern Ukraine. Pictured: Smoke rises from the steel plant on Tuesday

Evacuees wait before boarding a bus to leave the city during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port of Mariupol on Wednesday

Evacuees wait before boarding a bus to leave the city of Mariupol on Wednesday

Volyna, from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, urged world leaders to help the civilians - including women and children - and Ukrainian soldiers to flee and take them to safety on the territory of a third state.

An advisor to the mayor of Mariupol described a 'horrible situation' in the encircled complex and reported that up to 2,000 people - mostly women and children - are without 'normal' supplies of drinking water, food, and fresh air.

Volyna made the 'appeal for our lives' just before the deadline for Ukrainian soldiers defending Mariupol to surrender expired on Wednesday afternoon with no mass capitulation.

Moscow, in its latest ultimatum issued in its battle to capture Mariupol, demanded the city's defenders to surrender on Wednesday by 1400 Moscow time (1100 GMT). Russia's defence ministry said a humanitarian corridor would be opened for Ukrainian soldiers who laid down their arms.

Russian-backed separatists claimed five Ukrainian soldiers had laid down their arms and left the Azovstal plant and more than 140 civilians had been evacuated. There was no confirmation of this from Kyiv.

Ukrainian troops who have defended the city for seven weeks are still continuing to defend the steel plant where hundreds of civilians are seeking shelter from relentless Russian bombardment.

Mariupol, which has been encircled by Russian troops for weeks, has seen the fiercest fighting and most comprehensive destruction since Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.

Volyna said in a video: 'This is our appeal to the world. This could be the last appeal of our lives. We are probably facing our last days, if not hours.

'The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to one. They have advantage in the air, in artillery, in their forces on land, in equipment and in tanks.

'We are only defending one object - the Azovstal plant where, in addition to military personnel, there are also civilians who have fallen victim to this war.

'We appeal and plead to all world leaders to help us. We ask them to use the procedures of 'extraction' and take us to the territory of a third party state.'

Ukraine has said its soldiers barricaded in the steel plant will continue to defy Russia's demand for them to lay down their arms today.

Kyiv said Russia was hitting the steel plant with bunker-buster bombs.

'The world watches the murder of children online and remains silent,' presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said.

The deputy commander of the Azov regiment, who was among the troops remaining in Mariupol, said the Russian military dropped heavy bombs on the steel plant and hit an 'improvised' hospital.

Serhiy Taruta, the former governor of the Donetsk region and a Mariupol native, also reported the bombing of the hospital, where he said 300 people, including wounded troops and civilians with children, were sheltered.

It comes as Russia intensified its offensive in the east of Ukraine. Control of Donbas and Mariupol would allow Moscow to create a southern corridor to the Crimean peninsula that it annexed in 2014, depriving Ukraine of much of its coastline.

Ukrainian official Pavlo Kyrylenko, who oversees the Donetsk region's military administration, insisted Mariupol remained contested.

'The Ukrainian flag is flying over the city,' he said. 'There are certain districts where street fighting is continuing. I can't say the Russians are controlling them.'

Offering some respite, Kyiv said early Wednesday it had agreed with Russian forces to open a humanitarian corridor for women, children and the elderly to leave Mariupol west to the Ukraine-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia.

'We have managed to get a preliminary agreement on a humanitarian corridor for women, children and elderly persons,' Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram.

Vereshchuk told civilians to gather at 2pm (1100 GMT) for the evacuations heading to the Ukrainian-held city of Zaporizhzhia.

But she warned that 'with regard to the very difficult security situation, changes may occur during the corridor'.

Dozens of civilians managed to board a small convoy of buses in Mariupol that then departed from a planned evacuation point to Ukraine-controlled territory, two Reuters witnesses said.

Kyiv said early Wednesday it had agreed with Russian forces to open a humanitarian corridor for women, children and the elderly to leave Mariupol west to the Ukraine-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia. Pictured: Evacuees wait before boarding a bus to leave the city of Mariupol on Wednesday

Evacuees wait before boarding a bus to leave the city of Mariupol following Russian shelling on Wednesday

Dozens of civilians managed to board a small convoy of buses in Mariupol that then departed from a planned evacuation point to Ukraine-controlled territory, two Reuters witnesses said

Local residents carry belongings past a building destroyed by Russian bombs in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on Tuesday as they try to flee the city

Mariupol, which has been encircled by Russian troops for weeks, has seen the fiercest fighting and most comprehensive destruction since Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24

A man and a child cycle past burnt out buses in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Tuesday

A residential building in Mariupol has been split in half as a result of Russian shelling on Tuesday

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko urged locals to leave the city, though previous such agreements have fallen apart, with Russians preventing buses meant to pick up evacuees from entering the city or shelling escape routes.

'Do not be frightened and evacuate to Zaporizhzhia, where you can receive all the help you need - food, medicine, essentials - and the main thing is that you will be in safety,' he wrote in a statement issued by the city council.

Boychenko asked people who had already left Mariupol to contact relatives still in the city and urge them to evacuate. He said 200,000 people had already left the city, which had a pre-war population of more than 400,000.

Boychenko said buses would be used for the evacuation and one pickup point will be near the Azovstal steel mill, where a Ukrainian police official has said civilians, including children, are sheltering among the city's last known defenders.

Many previous evacuation efforts relied on civilians using private cars after efforts to bring buses from Ukraine-held territory into the city failed. But with fuel supplies and the number of such vehicles dwindling in the city, that is becoming increasingly difficult.

Vereshchuk previously said no agreement had been reached with Russia on an evacuation route on each of the past three days. There was no immediate confirmation from the Russian side.

Ukrainian politician Dmytro Gurin, who is from Mariupol, expressed his scepticism that Russia would allow civilians to leave the city.

'Of course we all want this humanitarian corridor to start working but I'm pretty pessimistic about it,' he said.

A former resident of Mariupol said that people in the city are nervous about leaving because they fear other areas of Ukraine are being bombed just as much.

'They think that what is happening in Mariupol [is] happening everywhere,' Roman Skyliarov told the BBC World Service's Newshour programme. 'They don't have full information at all because they don't have internet.'

Meanwhile, Zelenksy said on Wednesday that European Union membership is a 'priority' for Ukraine during a joint press conference with visiting EU chief Charles Michel.

'Regarding our future membership in the EU, it is a priority for our state, for the strength of our people, those who are ready to defend our land against Russian invaders even without arms,' Zelensky said.

Elsewhere on the front lines, Ukraine's defence ministry reported its troops had beaten back a Russian attack in the city of Izium, south of the partly blockaded second city of Kharkiv.

Ukrainian forces were also able to hold back attempts to advance along its 300 mile front line and managed to retake the town of Marinka in Donetsk. Kyiv said it had claimed enemy losses during the Ukrainian counter-attack near the town.

In the town of Novodruzhesk, 65-year-old resident Nadya said: 'We are bombed everywhere.'

'It's a miracle that we're still alive,' she said, her voice trembling.

'We were lying on the ground and waiting. Since February 24, we've been sleeping in the cellar.'

The governor of the eastern Lugansk region Sergiy Gaiday said Ukrainian forces were holding their ground in the face of heavy fighting.

'We have positional battles in the cities of Rubizhne and Popasna. The enemy cannot do anything though. They are losing people and equipment there,' Gaiday said.

'Our guys are shooting down drones there. Shooting down planes on the border of the Lugansk and Kharkiv regions, so they are holding on.'

In Kharkiv, at least four people were killed and three wounded in a Russian attack on a residential area of the city.

An explosion also rocked Kramatorsk, killing at least one person and wounding three.

In the southern city of Bashtanka, an unspecified number of people were wounded when Russian forces shelled the hospital, destroying the reception area and the dialysis unit, the head of the regional council, Hanna Zamazeeva, said on Facebook.

A local resident pushes a dog in a pram past a building destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol on Tuesday

A view shows buildings damaged during Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Mariupol on Tuesday

Meanwhile Ukraine received fighter jets to help resist the Russian invasion. The Pentagon said that Ukraine had recently received fighter planes and parts to bolster its air force, declining to specify the number of aircraft and their origin.

Kyiv has asked its Western partners to provide MiG-29s, which its pilots already know how to fly and a handful of Eastern European countries have.

The eastern cities of Kharkiv and Kramatorsk also came under deadly attack. Russia said it struck areas around Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro west of the Donbas with missiles.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the targets included troop concentrations and missile-warhead storage depots, in or near several cities or villages. Those claims could not be independently verified.

Russian troops managed to take control of the eastern city of Kreminna after hours of relentless bombing, as gunfights between Putin's men and battling Ukrainian forces continue.

'Control over the city of Kreminna is lost, street fights are taking place,' Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai said, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had begun 'the battle for the Donbas'.

Russian forces are now advancing to the nearby towns of Zarichne and Tors'ke and have reached the outskirts of Lozove in eastern Ukraine.

Britain's defense ministry said Russian attacks on cities across Ukraine are an attempt to disrupt the movement of Ukrainian reinforcements and weapons to the east.

While Russian air operations in northern Ukraine are likely to remain at a low level following the withdrawal of forces from the Kyiv region, there is still a risk of 'precision strikes against priority targets throughout Ukraine,' the ministry says.

In a briefing released late Tuesday, the ministry said Ukrainian forces had repelled 'numerous attempted advances' by Russian troops as shelling and attacks increased along the line of control that has separated Ukrainian and Russian-backed forces in the Donbas region for the past eight years.

'Russia's ability to progress continues to be impacted by the environmental, logistical and technical challenges that have beset them so far, combined with the resilience of the highly motivated Ukrainian armed forces,' the ministry said.

Both Ukraine and Russia have described the assault that began Monday as a new phase of the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian military was throwing everything it has into the battle, with most of its combat-ready forces now concentrated in Ukraine and just across the border in Russia.

'They have driven almost everyone and everything that is capable of fighting us against Ukraine,' he said in his nightly video address to the nation.

Despite claims that they are hitting only military sites, the Russians continue to target residential areas and kill civilians, he said.

'The Russian army in this war is writing itself into world history forever as the most barbaric and inhuman army in the world,' Zelenskyy said.

He also said the Kremlin has not responded to a proposal to exchange Viktor Medvedchuk, the jailed leader of a pro-Russia party, for the Mariupol defenders.

Weeks ago, after the abortive Russian push to take Kyiv, the Kremlin declared that its main goal was the capture of the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years.

A Russian victory in the Donbas would deprive Ukraine of the industrial assets concentrated there, including mines, metals plants and heavy-equipment factories.

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon's assessments of the war, said the Russians had added two more combat units, known as battalion tactical groups, in Ukraine over the preceding 24 hours. That brought the total units in the country to 78, all of them in the south and the east, up from 65 last week, the official said.

That would translate to 55,000 to 62,000 troops, based on what the Pentagon said at the start of the war was the typical unit strength of 700 to 800 soldiers. But accurately determining Russia's fighting capacity at this stage is difficult.

A European official, likewise speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military assessments, said Russia also has 10,000 to 20,000 foreign fighters in the Donbas. They are a mix of mercenaries from Russia's private Wagner Group and Russian proxy fighters from Syria and Libya, according to the official.

While Ukraine portrayed the attacks on Monday as the start of the long-feared offensive in the east, some observers noted that an escalation has been underway there for some time and questioned whether this was truly the start of a new offensive.

The U.S. official said the offensive in the Donbas has begun in a limited way, mainly in an area southwest of the city of Donetsk and south of Izyum.

Justin Crump, a former British tank commander now with the strategic advisory company Sibylline, said the Ukrainian comments could, in part, be an attempt to persuade allies to send more weapons.

'What they're trying to do by positioning this, I think, is... focus people's minds and effort by saying, `Look, the conflict has begun in the Donbas,'' Crump said. 'That partly puts pressure on NATO and EU suppliers to say, `Guys, we're starting to fight now. We need this now.''

President Joe Biden is expected to announce a new weapons package in the coming days that will include additional artillery and ammunition, according to a U.S. official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Canada and the Netherlands also planned to send more heavy weapons, their prime ministers said.
A so-called 'Family Sex Show' that urges children as young as five to explore 'sexual pleasure' and 'try sexual practices', and 'draw and label' male and female genitals has been cancelled following a backlash among thousands of angry and concerned parents.

Theatre company ThisEgg has complained it had been forced to scrap its shocking show, which encourages young children to explore sex and sexuality, 'before it opened' in Bristol and Norwich after nearly 40,000 parents signed a petition calling for it to be axed.

Writing on Twitter, the group, which receives funding from Arts Council England, claimed their 'freedom of expression' had been cancelled, in the face of anger over unsuitable sexual content for pre-teen children.

Parents on website Mumsnet called for the police to investigate after it emerged that participants on stage get naked for five minutes.

The Family Sex Show has openly admitted this, stating: 'There is nakedness yes. At one point in the show, everyone on stage takes their clothes off to the level they feel comfortable to. For some people, that's taking off all of their clothes and being completely naked.'

And its website contains material encouraging little children to draw and label vulvae and penises, and make them out of playdoh, and even to 'try sexual practices' with their 'sexual parts'.

It also contains 'advice' on sexuality and gender pronouns, and links to videos about how to become an 'LGBT ally'.

On Twitter, ThisEgg claimed that 'a small group of people with extremist views' had forced the Tobacco Factory in Bristol and the Norfolk & Norwich Festival to cancel its shows in May. However, an 'invite-only' performance will be held at the Egg theatre in Bath this month.

Campaigners including Laurence Fox and Dominique Samuels called the cancellations 'a win for parents protecting their children'.

A promotion shot of The Family Sex Show, performed by ThisEgg theatre company

Theatre company ThisEgg yesterday complained it had been forced to scrap its shocking show, which encourages little children to explore sex and sexuality

The website of the Family Sex Show, aimed at children, asks questions including: 'What senses do your pleasures involve?', 'What sort of things do you touch that make you feel nice and warm?', and 'Do you make enough time to experience pleasure?'

On Twitter, ThisEgg claimed that 'a small group of people with extremist views' had forced venues to cancel its show

Its website contains material encouraging little children to draw and label vulvae and penises, and make them out of playdoh, and even to 'try sexual practices' with their 'sexual parts'

Furious parents took to Twitter to celebrate the show's cancellation

'The decision has been made by venues to cancel the tour of The Family Sex Show this Spring 2022. There will be performances for an invited audience at The Egg, Theatre Royal Bath ahead of subsequent public performances in the future,' ThisEgg tweeted.

'These public performances would have offered safe and positive learning to children, young people and guardians about rights, bodies, sex and relationships, advised by safeguarding and educational specialists.

'Audiences were given information about the content before booking, so that they could make an informed decision to watch the show.

'It is regrettable that violent and illegal threats and abuse directed at the company and venues by a small group of people with extremist views has prevented families from opting to attend something that was transparent, consensual and legal.

What's in The Family Sex Show? The Family Sex Show website contains to children on exploring 'sexual pleasure' under a series of captions. Here are some examples - 'BODIES AND TOUCH' The vulva is what is commonly and mistakenly called the vagina. The vagina is only the tunnel inside the body - where you might insert a tampon. The vulva is the outside part of some people's genitals. Remember: not all women have vulvas, and not all vulvas belong to women. Have a go at drawing and labelling your own vulva! If you'd like to try and make your own playdoh and playdoh genitals, have a go with these instructions. 'LOVING OURSELVES' Have a go at drawing your favourite parts of your body. Is there a body part which feels especially nice to the touch for you? Write to a part of your body which you don't often pay attention to. If some of your pleasures are sexual, are there any sexual practices you might like to try? Advertisement

'We believe that what has happened is reflective of structural and societal attitudes towards Relationships and Sex Education as well as art, culture and who is allowed to create and what we are allowed to engage with in the UK.

'The creative team will spend the next two weeks finishing the show, ready for a time it might be able to meet a public. We also want to respond to the events of the last few weeks and how we move forward.

'Removing work that celebrates freedom of expression from stages cannot be the answer.

'For audiences who booked, or wanted to come to the show, we are sorry, we hope you will be able to soon. For venues who might want to programme the show, we hope you will.

'In the meantime, anyone who wants to explore some of the themes of the show for themselves, we have made some pages on our website to support that'.

Taking to Twitter, furious parents raged: 'I have taught sex education to primary age pupils for years following schemes designed by experts. Not one of them have talked about masturbation with five-year-olds. If I taught my class to Google masturbating animals, I'd be sacked. Quit rightly.'

Another said: 'You invited five-year-olds to this, offered free school tickers, it is utterly abhorrent that you thought you could put this 'show on' for children. I was horrified. Thank goodness it's cancelled.'

'I'm absolutely appalled,' said another. 'What on earth are you thinking? How to sexualise kids for ADULTS 101. Parents teach kids what they need to know WHEN they need to know. Leave our kids alone!'.

'Jesus. It's unbelievable that anyone gave this the green light. Everyone involved should have their hard drives checked immediately', a fourth tweeted.

Another said: 'I'm glad your show has been cancelled. Red flags aplenty. Please, do some self-reflection as to why people might think you are completely inappropriate people to be anywhere near young kids.'

One parent tweeted: 'How is having naked strangers in front of you on a stage any different to being flashed? Why do five-year-olds need to know about masturbation? Children cannot consent to this. The best way to teach children about sex is to answer their questions, when they are read'.

In a statement, Laurence Fox said: 'The producers of the show are unrepentant, claiming that the cancellation is due to illegal threats of violence and abuse from a ''few extremists''.

'Sadly, it seems as though the producers have learned nothing. There was nothing in our campaign that constituted either abuse or violent threats and we hope that any illegality has been duly reported to the police.

Nearly 40,000 parents have signed a petition demanding the show be scrapped

The website also contains 'advice' on sexuality and gender pronouns, and links to videos about how to become an 'LGBT ally'

'39,000 people is not a handful of ''extremists'' either. This was thousands of ordinary mums, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents and godparents, standing up in defence of children.

'The show was never about educating children, but prematurely sexualising them.'

Another added: 'I want to be more progressive, but this doesn't feel comfortable with me. I think a midpoint toned down version should be where you go from here more tolerable, without genitals and/or material for parents to teach this to their children themselves as it should be'.

Under a tab called 'Bodies & Touch', the website proclaims: 'The vulva is what is commonly and mistakenly called the vagina. The vagina is only the tunnel inside the body - where you might insert a tampon. The vulva is the outside part of some people's genitals.

'Remember: not all women have vulvas, and not all vulvas belong to women. Have a go at drawing and labelling your own vulva!'.

It also encourages little children: 'Now have a go at drawing a penis!.'

ThisEgg likened the outrage to censorship and insisted that the backlash was merely 'reflective of structural and societal attitudes towards Relationships and Sex Education'

Under a tab captioned 'Loving Ourselves', The Family Sex Show instructs children how to draw their 'favourite body parts' and to 'try sexual practices' and explore 'sexual practices'.

'Now have a go at drawing your favourite parts of your body. Is there a body part which feels especially nice to the touch for you? Write to a part of your body which you don't often pay attention to,' it says.

'If some of your pleasures are sexual, are there any sexual practices you might like to try?'.

In another part of the website, The Family Sex Show promotes a book called Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by Adrienne Maree Brown, which helps readers 'recognise that pleasure is a measure of freedom' and 'notice what makes you feel good'.

The show's producers have boasted that The Family Sex Show is a performance for families about sex and relationships - with parents encouraged to bring their children along.

Josie Dale-Jones from ThisEgg said: 'We wanted to make something that came at the topics of relationships and sex in a light way'

In a description, the website claims the show is a 'fun and silly performance about the painfully awkward subject of sex, exploring names and functions, boundaries, consent, pleasure, queerness, sex, gender and relationships'.

It goes on: 'Using real life bodies, personal stories, songs and movement, The Family Sex Show puts the good stuff at the forefront of conversation and imagines a future where there is no shame; but a celebration of difference, equality and liberation.'

But the show sparked a furious backlash after Mumsnet user Matthew Taylor posted: 'This show is aimed at children five years old and up. The performers get naked. The discussion with the children is on sex, sexuality and sexual pleasure.

'I cannot imagine bringing a five-year-old child to a theatre where people will tell her/him about sex and show their naked bodies to her/him. Am I the crazy one?'

One 30-year-old mother, who contacted MailOnline about the show, said: 'If this was aimed at teenagers I would have no objection but aiming this at children as young as five is a complete no-no.

'They say it is broadly in line with the national curriculum but the difference is that in schools the messages are tailored to the age group whereas this is just dumping a load of stuff onto children who are far too young to deal it.'

Another user wrote: 'If my kids teacher got naked to teach them about sexual pleasure, I would have a few choice words and be onto Ofsted faster than you could say where's my cod piece.'

Josie Dale-Jones, from production company ThisEgg, who refers to herself by her pronouns she/her, explained: 'We wanted to make something that came at the topics of relationships and sex in a light way.

'In a way that would open conversations and encourage people to ask questions to allow for that space of vulnerability and not knowing and making mistakes we hope the show adds to the more creative or alternative relationships and sex education that is out there at the moment in all different forms and we really wanted to make the show that we wish we'd had when we were younger and part of our adult selves feel like they need now.

'And mostly if we know our bodies we know our rights.'

Her colleague Allie, programming and engagement manager at Tobacco Factory Theatres, added: 'Family Sex Show is a fun and playful show for adults and children aged five and up. It offers an honest, human sex education that is feminist, queer, non-binary, inclusive and sex positive.

'This show can allow audiences of all ages to feel confident about their bodies, their boundaries and their sexual health.'
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This is the moment a grief-stricken Ukrainian mother wept over the coffin of her son who died at the hands of Russian troops, as another took one last look at her soldier son's face before he was put to rest.

Heartbreaking images of one funeral came from Irpin, a town that was occupied by Moscow's forces for almost a month after it was seized in the early days of Vladimir Putin's invasion.

Since being liberated, numerous Russian atrocities have come to light in Irpin, and a vast graveyard has been growing by the day as more bodies of civilians and soldiers killed by Russian forces are discovered.

One elderly woman was shown on Sunday in photographs wearing a red coat standing on the edge of the cemetery, her head resting on her son's coffin that was about to be lowered into an already-dug grave.

But she appeared unable to pull herself away from his coffin, that had a small bunch of red flowers placed on top of its blue covering. Her family were gathered around her, standing in solemn silence as the woman spent her final moments with her lost loved one.

After some time, she was shown standing beside the grave as the coffin was lowered into the ground. As grave diggers piled sandy earth over the coffin, the woman was shown being held by another relative as she wept, holding a handkerchief to her face while her wispy hair blew in the wind.



Such scenes have become all-too-common across Ukraine since Russian forces began their barbaric invasion on February 24, when they entered Ukraine and began besieging towns and cities on Putin's orders.

Irpin - along with the neighbouring of Bucha - is one of many sites across the country where Russian forces are accused of carrying out war crimes, indiscriminately attacking and executing civilians.

This is the moment a grief-stricken Ukrainian women wept over the coffin of a relative who died at the hands of Russian troops in Irpin, a town found on the outskirts of Kyiv, April 17, 2022

Heartbreaking images of the funeral came from a growing cemetery Irpin, a town that was occupied by Moscow's forces for almost a month after it was seized in the early days of Vladimir Putin's invasion

Pictured: The woman's family are gathered around her, standing in solemn silence as she spends her final moments with her loved one before their coffin is lowered into the ground and buried

Since being liberated, numerous Russian atrocities have been discovered in Irpin, and a vast graveyard has been growing by the day as more bodies of civilians and soldiers killed by Russian forces are found

Pictured: Graveyard workers lower the coffin into the ground at the cemetery in Irpin

As grave diggers pile sandy earth over the coffin, the woman is shown being held by another relative as she weeps, holding a handkerchief to her face and her wispy hair blowing in the wind

Pictured: Three dug graves are ready for the next funerals at the cemetery in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Around 270 miles away, another funeral was held for Ukrainian army officer Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovych Dimov, who was killed defending his homeland on April 16 in battle in the eastern Zaporizhzhia region.

On Tuesday, Vyacheslav's body was given a guard of honour as it was carried in its coffin by his fellow Ukrainian soldiers through the town of Marhanets - draped in the country's blue and yellow flag.

Pictures showed his weeping mother - Alla Dimova, also in a red coat - taking one last look at her son's face and covering him with a silk cloth before the red coffin was closed and lowered into a grave.

Zaporizhzhia, in eastern Ukraine, is one of a number of regions bracing itself for intense fighting in the coming weeks as Moscow's forces refocus their efforts to capture to Donbas region, after failing to make ground in the north of the country and being pushed back from the capital Kyiv and the surrounding regions, like Irpin.

A police official said on Monday that Ukrainian investigators have examined 269 dead bodies in Irpin, a commuter town on the outskirts of Kyiv, since the town was taken back from Russian forces in late March.

The town, which had a pre-war population of about 62,000, was one of the main hotspots of fighting with Russian troops before they pulled back from Ukraine's northern regions to intensify their offensive in the east.

Alla Dimova, mother of Ukranian army officer Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovych Dimov, who was killed on April 16 in battle in Vasylivka district of Zaporizhzhia region, cries as she covers his face during his funeral held in the town of Marhanets, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine April 19, 2022

Ukrainian soldiers carry a coffin with the body of their officer Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovych Dimov, who was killed on April 16 in battle in Vasylivka district of Zaporizhzhia region, through the town of Marhanets

Pictured: Locals watch on as Ukrainian soldiers carry the body of officer Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovych Dimov through the town of Marhanets, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine April 19, 2022. His mother and other relatives also walk behind

A Ukrainian soldier takes the knee as the body of officer Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovych Dimov is carried through Marhanets

People lower the coffin of Ukrainian army officer Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovych Dimov into the ground, April 19

At the cemetery on the outskirts of Irpin, dozens of new graves have been dug and heaped with wreaths. Under the watch of a few tearful mourners, workers hurriedly shovelled the sandy earth into one grave on Monday.

Adorned with fresh flowers and recently lit candles, dozens of new graves have emerged in the battle-scarred town since the Russians withdrew from Kyiv's outskirts. Drone footage on Monday captured row after row of fresh burials marked with dates after the start of the invasion in late February.

Among them lies the coffin of Roman Vered, 53, who his family claim was killed by Russian soldiers in the town which was the site of intense fighting in the first month of war.

His body was recently identified in Kyivs morgue and he was finally laid to rest on Monday in the growing cemetery. Since Russian troops withdrew from Irpin and other towns around the Ukrainian capital increasing evidence has emerged of war crimes including the killing of innocent civilians.

'As of now, we have inspected 269 dead bodies,' said Serhiy Panteleyev, first deputy head of the police's main investigation department, at an online briefing.

He said forensic work was ongoing to determine the cause of death for many of the victims, sharing photos of severely charred human remains.

He said seven sites in Irpin where civilians were allegedly shot have been inspected, without giving further details.

Russia denies targeting civilians and has dismissed allegations its troops committed war crimes in occupied areas of Ukraine - despite mounting evidence against them.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened an investigation against Russia, with chief prosecutor Karim Khan QC visiting Irpin's neighbouring town Bucha last week - where hundreds more bodies have been found.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the Russian army as 'the most barbaric and inhuman in the world' and said the country will be stained 'as a source of absolute evil for generations' as Putin's men stepped up attacks across the country in an effort to seize a bloody victory from the jaws of defeat.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned Russia's military as 'the most barbaric and inhuman in the world' and said the 'war crimes' committed by Putin's troops will stain the country's reputation for 'generations'

Tamara, 71, weeps in front of a destroyed apartment building in the city of Mariupol which has been near-totally destroyed by Russian attacks that have been going on for almost two months

A woman is comforted by medics in the city of Kharkiv, north-eastern Ukraine, as medics place the body of her father into a body bag after he was killed by Russian shelling on the city

A government worker walks among freshly-dug graves in a cemetery built into the tree-line of a forest in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, which for weeks was occupied by Russian forces

Russia unleashed a barrage of artillery fire on eastern Ukraine overnight as its offensive in the east got underway, with troops seizing the village of Kreminna. But Ukraine has also launched counter-attacks east of Kharkiv and near Izyum to cut Russian supply lines

Zelensky, in a late-night address to his nation, said Putin's military has been 'purposefully killing civilians' with weapons banned under international law and that once the full scope of their 'war crimes' comes to light 'a Russian passport will mean only one thing in any country: Unequivocal condemnation from all decent people.'

The talismanic president also used the speech to praise his armed forces and people for resisting the invasion as fighting enters its 55th day today, while renewing calls for Ukraine's western allies to send more weapons and faster in order to ensure the Russian army is defeated.

If Ukraine had access to the same kinds of weapons being used by Russia, Zelensky said, then 'we would have already ended this war.' Only the West is capable of providing such weapons, he added.

He spoke after the Ukrainian military said it had managed to repel numerous Russian advances in the eastern Donbas region on Tuesday, as the opening stages of what is likely to be the war's defining battle get underway.

British military intelligence said Moscow hit more than 1,200 targets with bombs and artillery across a 300-mile stretch of frontline near Donetsk and Luhansk as it tries to break through Ukrainian defences - but continues to suffer 'environmental, logistical and technical challenges' of the kind that thwarted its efforts to take Kyiv.

The UK Government department wrote: 'Russian shelling and strikes on the Donbas line of control continue to increase, with the Ukrainians repelling numerous attempted advances by Russian forces.

'Russia's ability to progress continues to be impacted by the environmental, logistical and technical challenges that have beset them so far, combined with the resilience of the highly-motivated Ukrainian armed forces.'

It continued: 'Russia's inability to stamp out resistance in Mariupol and their indiscriminate attacks, which have harmed the resident civilian populace, are indicative of their continued failure to achieve their aims as quickly as they would like.'
This is the moment a brave medic used his body to shield a wounded woman from a Russian artillery attack on the city of Kharkiv on Easter Sunday.

Denys Petrenko, a volunteer with the Kharkiv Red Cross, was helping bandage up the woman's leg which had been was torn up by shelling just moments before the footage was taken when a second barrage struck.

As fellow medics and members of the Ukrainian territorial defence scrambled for cover in a nearby building, Petrenko remained by the woman's side and used his own body to shield her from flying pieces of hot metal.

Fortunately he was not wounded and managed to get her to hospital, where she is now recovering. At least five people died and 18 were hurt in the barrage.

Denys Petrenko, a Red Cross volunteer in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, was filmed shielding a wounded woman with his own body during a Russian artillery barrage

Video shows Petrenko remaining by the woman's side even as territorial defence troops run for cover in a nearby building, as their training teaches them to do

Petrenko said he acted 'on instinct' but the video has got him into trouble with his mother, because he had assured her that he wasn't working on the frontlines

Petrenko told The Sun that he was acting 'on instinct' to protect the woman, but that his bravery got him into trouble with his mother because he had lied and told her he was a first aid trainer in field headquarters and not a frontline medic.

'My mum was really not happy,' he said. 'Everyone saw the video and they called her when she was in church.

'At first she didnt understand... then she watched it. She said, "Are you crazy! Dont you care about my nerves?".'

Petrenko had been on a mission to deliver food and drugs in Kharkiv when the shelling struck, and their van was flagged down so they could provide help.

It was at that moment the Russian artillery hit again, in a so-called 'double tap' strike, which are designed to cause maximum casualties.

The first strike leaves people wounded which then draws out troops and medics coming to their aid. The second strike is designed to kill those first responders.

Kharkiv has been under Russian bombardment since the early days of the war, and has been subjected to some of the fiercest barrages.

One of the first documented uses of cluster munitions - which are banned under international agreements - on civilian areas happened in the city.

At least eight people were killed in the bombardment of Kharkiv on Easter Sunday as Russian forces step up their attacks on Ukraine's east

Blood runs down a gutter next to an umbrella - dropped when its owner was hit by a Russian shell falling on the city of Kharkiv on Sunday

Women weep as they speak on the phone after a loved-one was caught up in Russian shelling on the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday

Russian shelling had eased as Putin's generals directed forces towards the battle of Kyiv, further to the west, but have now stepped up again after that assault failed.

Ukraine says a long-anticipated battle for Donbas - the eastern area of Ukraine comprising Donetsk and Luhansk regions - is now in its opening stages.

Kharkiv, which is one of the closest major cities to the frontlines, has come under renewed attack as a result.

Analysts do not believe that Russia is aiming to capture the city, but that the bombardments are aimed at fixing Ukrainian defenders within its limits so they cannot launch counter-attacks to the east.

Causing civilian casualties also ties up medical resources which could otherwise be dedicated to treating soldiers wounded in the fighting.

The fight for Donbas is likely to be the pivotal battle of the war and will almost certainly decide the future of the conflict.

Russia has massed thousands of troops in a city called Izyum which are expected to battle south towards Mariupol.

At the same time, troops currently battling for control of the port city - which has been holding out for almost two months against heavy attacks - are expected to march northwards once it has fallen.

Russian forces are thought to be bombing Kharkiv in order to pin Ukrainian troops inside the city, who could otherwise launch counter-attacks against their troops nearby

Russia is currently fighting to seize control of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region having failed in its assault on Kyiv (pictured, damaged cars in Kharkiv)

The aim will be to perform a pincer movement aimed at surrounding Ukrainian troops currently dug into the old frontline where they have been fighting Russian-backed rebels since 2014.

If the mission is a success, the Ukrainians will be cut off from supply routes and could be forced to surrender - taking out a large portion of the country's army.

Such a victory would be a huge propaganda boost for the Kremlin, would allow Putin to claim his first major victory, and may spur him on to renew attacks on Ukrainian cities further to the west - Mykolaiv, Odesa, and possibly Kyiv once again.

If Ukraine can hold the frontline and repel the Russian assault, it would deny Putin his easiest and possibly last shot at victory.

Having poured men into the offensive, their defeat could leave Russian defensive positions in Crimea and rebel-occupied Donbas vulnerable to counter-attack.

Should those attacks prove successful, Ukraine could start re-taking territory it lost control over during Putin's last invasion in 2014 which would spell disaster for Kremlin attempts to spin the war in its favour.

Though Putin's control over the Russian media and population is strong, such a defeat would be hard for even him to cover up and it is debatable whether his regime could survive the fall-out.
Five Brits have already caught what is thought to be the most contagious version of Omicron yet.

The BA.2.12.1 sub-strain already makes up a fifth of cases in the US, in a sign of what could come in Britain.

Little is known about the new version of the virus, though it is believed to have an up to 27 per cent growth advantage over BA.2, which was behind the latest surge in UK cases and is itself a subvariant of Omicron.

However, top scientists insist there is no evidence that BA.2.12.1 is more severe than its mild predecessor.

British experts told MailOnline they are not concerned by its emergence because of the UK's high levels of immunity following the recent domestic surge.

Little is known about the BA.2.12.1 version of the virus, though it is believed to have an up to 27 per cent growth advantage over the original version of BA.2, though there is no evidence that it is more severe than its predecessor

Data from the website covSPECTRUM, which provides variant information based on Covid samples sequenced by scientists in the UK and around the world, suggest BA.2.12 has been detected five times in the UK. It suggests the first case was detected on the week of March 21 and the latest case was on the week of April 4. The international database shows the first case was detected in Canada in the week of January 17

The BA.2.12.1 strain (red) of Omicron has now been recognized as a variant of concern by the US CDC and made up a fifth of cases sequenced nationally, according to the agency's most recent update

Covid Genomics UK Consortium (COG-UK), which analyses positive samples, says the variant was first detected from a PCR taken on March 23.

Separate data from the website covSPECTRUM, which collates variant information, shows it has been detected five times in the UK.

It suggests the first case was detected on the week of March 21 and the latest case was on the week of April 4.

But the true number of Britons infected with the sub-strain is likely to be higher.

The international database suggests the first BA.2.12.1 case was detected in Canada in the week of January 17.

BA.2.12.1 (red) makes up more than half of Covid cases in the New York and New Jersey region, the only place where it has overtaken the stealth variant as the nation's dominant strain. It was also first detected in New York last week

Only 14 U.S. counties are still considered to be an area of 'high' Covid risk, per CDC data, with nearly all being in New York - where the new strain was initially detected

Britain's Covid resurgence is now receding on ALL fronts Britain's Covid resurgence is now receding on all three fronts, according to official figures that suggest deaths have finally peaked. UK Health Security Agency bosses logged 116,227 today, with the bumper toll covering the entire Bank Holiday weekend. It means roughly 26,000 Britons are now testing positive for the virus every day, down 31 per cent on last Tuesday's rolling average. Experts say the daily counts are now 'completely irrelevant', however, because they rely entirely on testing. Meanwhile, the most up-to-date statistics show another 2,083 Covid 'patients' were admitted to hospitals across the UK last Monday, marking an 8.5 per cent week-on-week fall. And a further 482 fatalities were reported today, down three per cent on last week. But that toll is artificially high because it also covers five days. Both hospital and death figures are counts of patients who have tested positive for the virus, and don't necessarily equate to patients who have been killed or left severely ill from the illness. More than half of Covid patients in NHS wards are primarily being treated for other reasons, like a broken leg, and the virus is not the underlying cause of death in up to a third of all fatalities. Advertisement

It was then spotted in labs in Australia and Luxembourg a week later, before taking off in the US. Sequencing data also suggests it has been spotted in Israel, Denmark and Austria.

It comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday recognised BA.2.12.1 in its weekly US virus surveillance report for the first time.

BA.2.12.1 has been labelled a variant of concern in the US, where it makes up 19 per cent of cases nationally.

It is the third sub-variant of the virus to receive this categorisation.

And the strain is already dominant in a region of the country that includes New York and New Jersey, where it makes up 52.3 per cent of cases and infections have grown 66 per cent week-on-week.

However, BA.2 remains the dominant strain across the rest of the US, accounting for around three-quarters of cases.

The detection of the virus in the UK comes after gold-standard surveillance data last week suggests the latest Omicron wave had peaked.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysts believe infections in England peaked at 4.1million in the week to March 26 before dropping to 3.8million in the week to April 9.

Experts claim the latest surge was triggered by the scrapping of restrictions and the emergence of BA.2.

The detection of BA.2.12.1 comes after the UK scrapped free swabs for all on April 1, with only the elderly, most vulnerable and NHS workers able to access the tests for free. Most Britons now have to pay 2 change for a lateral flow at pharmacies.

Professor Paul Hunter, an epidemiologist based at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline it 'too early to say' whether BA.2.12.1 will take off in the UK.

He said it will come down to whether the strain is so much more transmissible than other variants in circulation that it 'reverses the current decline in the daily rate of new infections'.

'Personally I doubt that, as existing immunity following recent Omicron infections will be relatively high,' Professor Hunter added.

'But we will need to see what happens over coming weeks.'

Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, told MailOnline: 'The BA.2.12.1 sub-variant appears to be even more contagious than previous variants and is spreading rapidly in parts of the US.

UK Health Security Agency bosses logged 116,227 today, with the bumper toll covering the entire Bank Holiday weekend. It means roughly 26,000 Britons are now testing positive for the coronavirus every day, down 31 per cent on last Tuesday's rolling average. Day-to-day counts are higher today than last Tuesday because of the Bank Holiday weekend's lack of recording

Meanwhile, the most up-to-date statistics show another 2,083 Covid 'patients' were admitted to hospitals across the UK last Monday, marking an 8.5 per cent fall on the rolling daily average. The week-on-week fall was slightly higher

And a further 482 fatalities were reported today, with the overall trend being down 3 per cent on last week. But that toll is artificially high because it also covers five days. Day-to-day counts are higher today than last Tuesday because of the Bank Holiday weekend's lack of recording

'There is no evidence this sub-variant is any more virulent in terms of severe disease.

'Nevertheless, it would be wrong to assume that new variants will be less infectious and less dangerous.

'Vaccine-induced immunity wanes and current vaccines may not be as protective against these new variants.'

He said the strain 'emphasises the need for people to continue to remain vigilant and not ignore public health measures', such as wearing face masks in crowded spaces, ventilate indoor areas and focus on global vaccination.

These measures are 'vital in restricting the spread of the virus', Professor Young said.

He warned it is 'inevitable' Covid will throw up new variants as the virus continues to spread and replicate, 'particularly in populations who are under-vaccinated'.

And these variants 'will remain a continual threat even to those countries with high rates of vaccination', he added.
Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock is living with seven Ukrainian refugees and four of their dogs at his house - after quietly welcoming them in over Easter.

The West Suffolk MP, 43, decided not publicise their arrival in his constituency home last Friday, unlike other party colleagues who have done the same.

The family and their pets are understood to be relatives, with links to a British-Ukrainian family in the area, and spent the extended Easter holiday with Mr Hancock himself and girlfriend Gina Coladangelo.

It is not clear how long they will stay in the property but are understood to have been told there is room for 'as long as they need it'.

Their arrival means he is the third MP to help Ukrainian refugees with their own accommodation.

A source told MailOnline: 'Matt has not talked about this because he doesn't want to be accused of just doing it for publicity - he's not.

'He's just wanting to help a desperate family, in one of the only ways he can.

Mr Hancock and his now partner Gina Coladangelo at the 2019 Conservative Party conference

Mr Hancock has welcomed seven Ukrainians and their four dogs to his Suffolk home

Mr Hancock wished everyone a happy Easter but did not publicise his new house guests

'It's why he's not done anything on social media up to this point.'

The low-key arrival - unmentioned by Mr Hancock or on any of his social media feeds - is something of a rebuff to his critics.

In fact he even appeared to tweet when they were there, wishing everyone a happy Easter.

When he told his local radio station back in March he was taking part in the Homes for Ukraine scheme and later appeared on GMB, some accused him of a media stunt.

Sometimes-presenter Richard Madeley had suggested 'The reason you're doing this is to help rebuild your reputation after you had a bad political fall'.

At the time Mr Hancock had denied it and insisted it had been nothing of the sort.

He said it was 'the other way around' and that it was the media who had taken an interest.

The MP added: 'I was on BBC Radio Suffolk yesterday morning talking about this scheme and I was asked straight up, "You're encouraging other people to sign up, are you going to sign up?"

'I just answered the question and then your team phoned me.

Richard Madeley questioned whether Hancock's offer to house Ukrainian refugees was an attempt to 'rebuild' his reputation

Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, has become the second MP to host Ukrainian refugees, after he welcomed a three-generation family and their dog in his Hertfordshire home yesterday. Pictured: Grant Shapps, his wife Belinda and their three children

The first MP to welcome a Ukrainian refugee into their home, Robert Jenrick, 40, said that he found it emotional and humbling when he finally met the refugees on Monday 11 April

'Before going down this route, I checked with my kids and they are really enthusiastic about it.'

Over the weekend Grant Shapps took in a 'three-generation' family, as well as their dog named Max, to live with him in his Hertfordshire home.

The Tory MP previously said he was taking in a six-year-old boy, his mother and his 75-year-old grandmother.

The family will make use of one his children's bedrooms while they are away at university.

Mr Shapps wrote on Twitter: 'Whilst their country goes through the turmoil of Putin's war, our country stands resolutely with the people of Ukraine.'

The government is encouraging homeowners with space to volunteer in its scheme to temporarily house Ukrainian refugees.

Mr Hancock notably resigned from the cabinet in June last year after details of his affair with Parliamentary aide Gina Coladangelo were revealed.

CCTV of them kissing was published on the front page of The Sun newspaper, along with the revelation that he had broken strict Covid restrictions in place at the time.

News that Hancock was taking part in the The Homes for Ukraine programme prompted a gentle ribbing online.

The scheme lets individuals, charities, community groups and businesses to bring people escaping the war to safety - even if they have no ties to the UK.

Anyone with a room or home available can offer it to a Ukrainian individual or a family, though those offering will be vetted and Ukrainian applicants will undergo security checks.

Members of the public will be able to nominate a Ukrainian family to stay with them for at least six months.

Sponsored Ukrainians will be granted three years' leave to remain in the UK, with entitlement to work and access public services.

People wanting to be sponsors who do not know anyone personally fleeing the Ukraine can register their interest here: homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk.

How YOU can help refugees fleeing Putin's bloody war: From finding someone to shelter, to the government support you can expect... vital Q&A on Britain's Homes for Ukraine scheme

By Mark Duell

British householders have been urged to throw open their doors to Ukrainian refugees as the civilian death toll continues to rise in the conflict.

The UK Government has set out details of a sponsorship scheme allowing individuals and organisations to offer a home to refugees fleeing the fighting.

Communities Secretary Michael Gove announced the 'Homes for Ukraine' scheme as the Government scrambled to make it easier for people to come to the UK.

Almost three million people have fled since Vladimir Putin's Russian invasion and civilians have continued to find themselves caught up in the fighting this week.

There have been 1,663 civilian casualties since the invasion, the UK's Ministry of Defence said, citing United Nations figures - although the true statistic may be far higher. So far, 88,000 people in Britain have signed up to take in a Ukrainian.

Here, MailOnline answers some of the key questions regarding the scheme:

The UK Government has set out details of a sponsorship scheme to help Ukrainian refugees

- What is the scheme?

Here's how YOU can help: Donate here to the Mail Force Ukraine Appeal Readers of Mail Newspapers and MailOnline have always shown immense generosity at times of crisis. Calling upon that human spirit, we are supporting a huge push to raise money for refugees from Ukraine. For, surely, no one can fail to be moved by the heartbreaking images and stories of families  mostly women, children, the infirm and elderly  fleeing from the bombs and guns. As this tally of misery increases over the coming days and months, these innocent victims of this conflict will require accommodation, schools and medical support. Donations to the Mail Force Ukraine Appeal will be used to help charities and aid organisations providing such essential services. In the name of charity and compassion, we urge all our readers to give swiftly and generously. TO MAKE A DONATION ONLINE Donate at www.mailforcecharity.co.uk/donate To add Gift Aid to a donation  even one already made  complete an online form found here: mymail.co.uk/ukraine Via bank transfer, please use these details: Account name: Mail Force Charity Account number: 48867365 Sort code: 60-00-01 TO MAKE A DONATION VIA TEXT To donate 10, text HELP to 70115 To donate 20, text AID to 70115 Texts cost either 10 or 20 plus a standard network rate message. 100% of the donation goes to charity. TO MAKE A DONATION VIA PHONE Call 0300 12345 77 and follow the instructions to make your donation. A small fee will be deducted by the payment processing platforms when you pay by debit or credit card. TO MAKE A DONATION VIA CHEQUE Make your cheque payable to 'Mail Force' and post it to: Mail Newspapers Ukraine Appeal, GFM, 42 Phoenix Court, Hawkins Road, Colchester, Essex CO2 8JY TO MAKE A DONATION FROM THE US US readers can donate to the appeal via a bank transfer to Associated Newspapers or by sending checks to dailymail.com HQ at 51 Astor Place (9th floor), New York, NY 10003 Advertisement

The Homes for Ukraine programme is a sponsorship scheme allowing people and organisations in Britain to offer Ukrainians fleeing the war a home in the UK.

The scheme allows individuals, charities, community groups and businesses to bring people escaping the war to safety - even if they have no ties to the UK.

Anyone with a room or home available can offer it to a Ukrainian individual or a family, though those offering will be vetted and Ukrainian applicants will undergo security checks.

Communities Secretary Michael Gove said that initially the scheme will 'facilitate sponsorship between people with known connections' so it can be 'up and running as soon as possible'.

However, he added that it will 'rapidly' expand by working with charities, faith and community groups.

Previously only Ukrainians with family members already settled in the UK could come.

- How long can refugees stay with a family or individual?

Members of the public providing accommodation to Ukrainians must do so for at least six months.

Sponsored Ukrainians will be granted three years' leave to remain in the UK, with entitlement to work and access public services.

- What security checks will be carried out?

Mr Gove said the Government wants to 'minimise bureaucracy and make the process as straightforward as possible, while also doing everything we can to ensure the safety of all involved'.

Sponsors and all adults in their households will need to submit to security checks and possibly also safeguarding checks.

The suitability of the accommodation may also be assessed by their local council.

Ukrainians will be subject to 'standard' security checks, according to the website, with biometric checks made after they arrive in the UK to avoid delays.

Mr Gove has said steps will be taken to ensure people who might be 'intent on exploitation' are prevented from 'abusing' the new scheme.

- How are children going to be protected?

A spokesman for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said the charity did not want to see 'unnecessary barriers' built into the process, but 'it is vital child protection is built into every stage of the Government's and local authorities' response to this crisis'.

Paul Anticoni, chief executive of World Jewish Relief, said the protection of those who have had to leave their homes - many of whom are women and children - 'has to be a priority for any government or agencies that are involved in accommodation'.

- Is there any compensation for hosting - and what can you use it for?

Those offering a place to stay will receive an optional tax-free monthly payment of 350 which will not affect benefit entitlements or council tax status.

The 'thank you' payment is limited to one payment per residential address, and can be spent or saved as you wish. Hosts should not charge any rent.

Mr Gove has also said local authority areas will be entitled to more than 10,000 per Ukrainian refugee using the fresh route to the UK.

'Additional payments' will be available to support school-age children who need to be accommodated within the education system, he said.

Refugee children and their families arrive at Zahony train station in Hungary on March 12

- Do sponsors provide anything other than accommodation?

Sponsors are not expected to provide meals or cover the costs of food and living expenses for their guests, unless they wish to do so philanthropically.

- Can sponsors help refugees find work and access services?

The Government will provide information to sponsors so that they can point their guests to organisations who can help them access benefits, register with a GP and with school placements.

All refugees will be allowed to seek and take up employment, and there is nothing stopping sponsors helping them find a job.

- Who can be a host?

Sponsors can be of any nationality and any immigration status as long as they have permission to be in the UK for at least six months.

Anyone with a spare room, or separate self-contained accommodation that is unoccupied and available for at least six months can volunteer to help.

Ukrainian refugees crowd into support points at Krakow train station in Poland on March 14

- Who can be a guest?

The website says someone is eligible if they are a 'Ukrainian national or the immediate family member of a Ukrainian national, and were resident in Ukraine prior to 1 January 2022.'

The scheme is open for adults and children within family units.

- How do you apply?

If you have a named person who you wish to sponsor you should get in contact with them directly and prepare to fill in a visa application with all their details and yours.

The visa application system will go live this Friday.

- What if you don't have a name to give?

People wanting to be sponsors who do not know anyone personally fleeing the Ukraine can register their interest here: homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk.

The Government will work with charities, faith groups and universities to match potential hosts with people from Ukraine - so you can still get involved if you don't know anyone from the country.

More detailed guidance for sponsors will become available in the coming days, according to the website.

Anyone registering will receive updates on the security checks, information on the status of the arrangement and the role of the local council in providing wider support.

People who fled the Ukraine war rest inside an old train station building in Krakow on March 11

- Can you host AND employ a refugee?

There is nothing in the Government's FAQs on the scheme which say you cannot host and employ a refugee, so it would appear that you can - for example if you run a small business.

However, to be sure, MailOnline has contacted the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities for clarity on this.

- What rights will Ukrainian refugees have?

Refugees will be granted leave to remain in the UK for three years. They will be able to work and access benefits and public services  including healthcare and schooling.

- What rights will you have if there are problems?

A change in circumstances could mean that someone is then unable to continue housing someone for the full six months.

A Government source told the Daily Telegraph that the state would get involved if a refugee has to find other housing earlier than the six month period, and that this could then be taxpayer-funded.

Volunteers sort donations to help Ukrainian refugees in Przemysl, Poland, on March 12

- How many Ukrainians are expected to be helped through the scheme?

The Government is setting no limit, saying the UK will welcome as many Ukrainians as wish to come and for whom there are sponsors.

Members of the public are being urged to come forward and help if they can.

In less than an hour, 1,500 people had already registered for the scheme, Mr Gove told MPs, adding that he hopes the first Ukrainians to receive support under the project will arrive within a week.

This morning, it was revealed that 88,000 people have signed up on the website.

- What has been the response?

Shadow communities secretary Lisa Nandy said Labour was relieved to hear Mr Gove would announce the sponsorship scheme after weeks of delay, adding: 'A press release is not a plan and we are really deeply concerned about the lack of urgency.'

Ms Nandy insisted the visa application process could be simplified, telling Mr Gove: 'We could keep essential checks but drop the excessive bureaucracy.'

Mr Gove, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Academy Award-nominated actor Benedict Cumberbatch are among those who have said they might apply to the scheme, while Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Sajid Javid have indicated they will not.

The Government has faced widespread criticism for its response to the refugee crisis so far, with critics noting that unlike the UK all EU countries have waived visa requirements for Ukrainians in the short term.

The Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon told The Guardian the UK scheme was 'effectively a managed migration route, which is not suitable to use to respond to a humanitarian crisis'.

'This conflict doesn't look like it's going to end quickly. There needs to be a clear pathway to longer-term accommodations,' he said.

There have been also concerns about the tight timeframe the Government has provided, with the NSPCC in its statement calling it an 'ambitious turnaround'.

The charity said it was 'essential that the Government works closely with local authorities, the fostering community, charities and other key local partners to ensure this sponsorship scheme is ultimately safe; has appropriate levels of support for traumatised Ukrainian children who have fled bloodshed, and on-going assistance available for their sponsors'.
Rep. Min Hyung-bae / Korea Times file



A lawmaker quit the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Wednesday, in a carefully calibrated move to help the party override opposition objections and push ahead with legislation that would deprive the prosecution of its investigative powers.



After leaving the party, Rep. Min Hyung-bae was placed on the National Assembly Judiciary Committee handling the controversial legislation, becoming one of the two independents in the 18-member committee that also includes 10 from the DPK and six from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).



Min's departure was widely seen as aimed at forestalling opposition attempts to delay the legislation's passage. If the PPP stalls for time, the DPK can refer the legislation to an ad-hoc "agenda coordination committee" to speed up its passage.



Under the current makeup of the judiciary committee, the six-member agenda coordination panel should be composed of three members from the DPK, two from the PPP and one independent. The judiciary committee chairman can now name Min to join the panel as an independent so as to increase the DP's effective strength in the panel to four against the PPP's two.



Legislation approved at the coordination panel with at least two-thirds support is automatically introduced to a plenary session of the judiciary committee where the DPK holds a majority.



Min's departure underscored the DPK's determination to pass the legislation before President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol takes office because Yoon could veto it as president.



The DPK has been pushing for the set of amendments to the Prosecutor's Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act as part of efforts to reform the powerful law enforcement agency long accused of abusing its power for political and other purposes. (Yonhap)




A ban on Islamic veils in French schools saw Muslim girls get better grades and increased the likelihood they would marry someone outside of their religion, a study from the country has found.

A law introduced in 2004 fully outlawed veils from French schools, but they were first asked to ban 'ostentatious religious signs' in a 1994 government circular - or advisement.

The ban was met with heavy opposition from religious leaders, who warned that the law would persecute Muslims and lead to fundamentalism, with some arguing it went against France's constitution.

However, a study in France that compared Muslin women born between 1971-74 (and thus completing school before the 1994 circular) to those born between 1987-90, has found the law may have had some positive impacts.

The findings demonstrated that 1971-74 group were around 13 percent likely to graduate from high school than their non-Muslin peers.

For the 1987-90 group of Muslim - who would have attended school with some form of veil ban in place - the gap shrunk to just seven percent.

A ban on Islamic veils in French schools saw Muslim girls get better grade and increased the likelihood they would marry someone outside of their religion, a study from the country has found. Pictured: French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen reacts when she is confronted by a woman wearing a hijab before cameras on Friday

Co-author of the study Professor Eric Maurin told The Daily Telegraph: 'For students who wore the veil, the ban may have had a negative effect on those who were most attached to it, as it may have led them to drop out of school.

'But the ban may also have had a positive effect on students who were forced to wear the veil and on students suffering from stigmatisation and discrimination in school because of it.'

The findings of Prof. Maurin - who works at the Paris School of Economics - and his team were presented at France's 75th annual policy meeting in early April.

Speaking to the newspaper, he added that the study demonstrated a 'significant increase in educational attainment' amongst the group of Muslim women 'who attended middle school and reached puberty' after the 1994 ban.

'This increase clearly coincides with the implementation of the circular: the more years the Muslim group women spent in middle school after the circular the higher their educational attainment,' Prof. Maurin told The Telegraph.

In addition to finding the ban appeared to have a positive impact on Muslim women's education, the study also found that it improved societal integration.

Evidence, the study says, suggests that 'the 1994 circular has helped to improve the integration of Muslim group women into French society. In particular, we find that the circular coincided with a very significant increase in the proportion of Muslim group women who marry a person from the non-Muslim group.'

The release of the study's findings came ahead of the French presidential election, during which the veil has proven yet again to be a point of contention in France's politics.

Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, of the National Rally party, has in the past proposed a controversial blanket ban on the wearing of a hijab.

People gather place de la Nation, one of the Paris major crossroad on October 27, 2019, to protest against Islamophobia and media bias in France

Just last week, she called the veil a 'uniform of an ideology, not a religion.'

In addition to schools, it is currently banned in France's civil service as well, but if elected in April 24, Le Pen's proposal could see it fully banned in public.

In recent days, however, Le Pen quietly ditched her plan to ban hijabs in an attempt to win over undecided voters ahead of Sunday's deciding second-round vote.

Her campaign team have removed the policy from Le Pen's list of 'priorities' and her spokesman admitted it is a 'complex problem', marking a shift in tone and the latest attempt to convince France that Le Pen has moderated her anti-immigration party into a mainstream force.

The policy, which would see women wearing headscarves handed fines, has faced criticism for its unconstitutionality and also how it would be difficult to police.

'I'm not obstinate,' Le Pen said about playing down the importance of the measure. 'I'm very confident, and I think I am going to win.'

Her allies said a planned hijab ban would come 'little by little' and be determined by lawmakers, marking a shift in tone less than a week ahead of the final presidential vote.

The far-right core of Le Pen's programme has come under closer scrutiny as campaigning enters its final days.

A law introduced in 2004 fully outlawed veils from French schools, but they were first asked to ban 'ostentatious religious signs' in a 1994 government 'circular' - or advisement. Pictured: A woman, wearing a hijab and a protective face mask, walks at Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, May 2, 2021 (file photo)

Louis Aliot, the far-right mayor of Perpignan and former life companion of Le Pen, said in an interview with France Inter radio that the hijab ban was one of several political tools to fight 'Islamism', but that its implementation needed to come 'progressively'.

The ban should target state-run services first, he said, before being widened 'little by little'. 'There will be a debate in parliament and then the choice will be made,' he said.

Another Le Pen ally, David Rachline, the mayor of the Mediterranean town of Frejus, also on Monday appeared to soften his stance. 'We don't want to attack people... all those women wearing a hijab are not Islamists,' he said.

Le Pen has previously said that the hijab could not be viewed as the sign of a person's religious belief, but was an 'Islamist uniform' that needed to be banned from French public space.

Lawyers in France have said banning the hijab would violate the French constitution.

Le Pen on Friday looked sheepish when she was approached by a woman wearing a hijab before cameras, who told her to 'leave the Muslims alone', adding: 'We are French, we love this country'.

The following day Le Pen said she acknowledged that the issue was complex, adding that parliament would have its say on the decision and that any unwanted law could be revoked.

Emmanuel Macron, who last weekend pledged to step up his efforts against climate change as he spoke at an event in the hard left's bastion Marseille, on Monday reiterated his warnings towards progressive voters.

Emmanuel Macron is facing a much tighter race with far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen than he did in the 2017 election, polls show

'I tell all those still hesitating: There will be a clear referendum on April 24 as the candidate of the extreme right is against Europe and against climate (policy),' he told a France 5 television programme.

He has said that a ban on veils would violate France's rules on secularism, that safeguards religious freedom.

'There is no country in the world where the headscarf is banned in public. Do you want to be the first?' he asked last week. He warned that a ban would also see other religious symbols - like the kippa or the cross - banned as well.

In 2018, France's ban on the niqab was ruled a violation of human rights. In a landmark ruling the UN moved to support wearers of the full-body Islamic veil and ordered France to repay two French women convicted for wearing niqabs in 2012.

Macron is facing a much tighter race with Le Pen than he did in the 2017 election, polls show. Polls have predicted Macron will win the presidential election with 56 per cent of votes against Le Pen's 47 per cent - marking a much tighter finish than five years ago when Macron carried the vote with 66 per cent.

Emmanuel Macron Cost of living: Remove all tax on inheritance valued less than 150,000, abolish TV licence fee Immigration: Reform the asylum system to make it more efficient, long-stay permit is only given to people who pass a French language exam and are professionally successful Europe: Strengthen the EU and its armies, increase the continent's energy autonomy, fill the gap left by Angela Merkel as de facto EU leader Pensions: Raise the pension age from 62 to 65 to keep the pension system afloat. Minimum pensions would be raised to 1,100 a month Foreign policy: Took a leading role in negotiations with Vladimir Putin Advertisement
Lord Rees of Ludlow, the ex-president of the Royal Society, says a lone terrorist could engineer a pandemic worse than Covid using controversial gain-of-function experiments

'Eco fanatics' could engineer a pandemic worse than Covid, one of Britain's top scientists has warned.

Lord Martin Rees, the ex-president of the Royal Society, said technology has reached a point where malevolent groups or lone terrorists can create deadlier versions of viruses in university labs.

Speaking at the Cambridge Conference on Catastrophic Risk on Sunday, Lord Rees said the ease with which pathogens can now be manipulated was something that keeps him 'awake at night'.

His fears were brought to the fore during the Covid pandemic, which many experts have theorised may have been the result of Chinese scientists tinkering with viruses during so-called gain-of-function experiments.

Lord Rees  a cosmologist and astrophysicist  added: 'Our world is becoming more dangerous because small groups, or even fanatical loners, are so empowered by novel technology that they can trigger consequences in the cyber world, as well as in the bio world, that can cascade globally.

'We may dismiss these ideas as science fiction but given the stakes, they should not be ignored, even if deemed highly improbable.'

He said disaffected people could include 'eco fanatics' who want to reduce the world's population in the name of saving the planet.

Gain-of-function research involves deliberately mutating a virus' DNA to make them more virulent and dangerous. Pictured: Virologist Shi Zheng-li (left) works with a colleague at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, where the research has taken place

'These are my worst nightmares, because I don't really see how we're going to avoid having these events now,' he told experts.

Gain-of-function research involves deliberately mutating a pathogen's DNA to make it more virulent and dangerous.

It is done to better understand how to react to naturally occurring pathogens but is banned in the UK and Europe, and is tightly regulated in the US.

Scientists used the research on coronaviruses from bats at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China  the city where the Covid pandemic started.

Lord Rees said people around the world may have to sacrifice some privacy to prevent bioterrorists creating new pandemics, warning that current regulations may not be enough.

The technologies used in gain-of-function research is readily available in mainstream universities and academic labs, he claimed.

The threat will force world leaders into having to make difficult decisions, Lord Rees said.

He told the Telegraph: 'I think that all nations in their governance are going to have to balance attention between a few things we want to preserve: privacy, freedom and security.

'And I think privacy is going to have to give because we need to ensure that people can't clandestinely do this sort of thing.

'It's not like nuclear weapons where, of course, it can't be done without special purpose, large-scale facilities, which the IAEA [the International Atomic Energy Agency] can monitor.

'These techniques use existing equipment. And so these are my worst nightmares, because I don't really see how we're going to avoid having these events now,' he added.

Gain-of-function research involves altering a virus or pathogen in order to study the development of new diseases and their transmission.

Scientists modify naturally occurring viruses to make them more infectious so that they can replicate in human cells in a lab.

This allows the virus' potential effects on humans to be studied and better understood.

Gain-of-function research has been considered controversial due to its inherent biosafety risks.

It is heavily regulated in the West, but labs across the world continue to use the research despite the risks of accidentally leaking the modified viruses.
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At her trial, the wife of 'Canoe Man' John Darwin had insisted that she was coerced into the 680,000 fraud plot that saw her 'domineering' husband fake his own death.

But emails exchanged between the pair revealed how Anne Darwin was in fact fully embroiled in the scam that duped insurers into paying out so they could start a new life in Panama.

Darwin, a prison officer who was mired in debt, made it look as though he had died after going out to sea in his canoe near the home he shared with his wife and two sons in Seaton Carew, County Durham, in 2002.

A large-scale search involving the scouring of 62 square miles of coastline looked to have confirmed the worst, as only a single paddle and then the wreckage of his kayak was discovered.

But five years later, a bedraggled Darwin turned up at a police station in London, claiming to have no memory of anything that had happened to him.

Very quickly, it emerged that Darwin and Anne had engaged in a web of deceit that included lying to sons Mark and Anthony that he was dead so they could buy a flat in Panama.

They were ultimately convicted of fraud and sentenced to more than six years each in prison, but both were released in 2011 after serving half their terms.

After her conviction in July 2008, emails sent between Anne and Darwin showed the extent of their collusion.

In one, sent four days before she flew out to Panama, Anne bombarded her husband with typed out kisses as she spoke of her excitement and said she loved him.

In another, she told her husband she was 'missing' him already, just hours after he had left her in Panama to fly back to England and dramatically claim to police that he had lost his memory.

Meanwhile, Darwin's emails to his wife were often filled with innuendo and lewd depictions. In one, he called her a 'sexy beast' and said he was typing 'in the nudy' on the balcony in the Panama flat.

In another, he moaned about his problems sleeping and said he was 'sure' he had 'fleas', adding that he wanted his wife to 'press your spotty legs against my flea bites nd [sic] we can squash the buggers, we might even enjoy it'.

At her trial, the wife of 'Canoe Man' John Darwin had insisted that she was coerced into the 680,000 fraud plot that saw her 'domineering' husband fake his own death. But emails exchanged between the pair revealed how Anne Darwin was in fact fully embroiled in the scam that duped insurers into paying out so they could start a new life in Panama

In one, sent four days before she flew out to Panama, Anne bombarded her husband with typed out kisses as she spoke of her excitement and said she loved him

Meanwhile, Darwin's emails to his wife were often filled with innuendo and lewd depictions. In one, he called her a 'sexy beast' and said he was typing 'in the nudy' on the balcony in the Panama flat

In a third email sent by Anne to her husband, where she revealed she had sold the family home to help fund their new life in Panama, she included smiley faces.

And in a 3,200-word message home to family, the supposedly coerced wife spoke of her wonderful new life - minus the fact that her husband was secretly with her.

'I got up early this morning had breakfast on the terrace and then set about a bit of housework (in my bikini),' she wrote.

She also drew a contrast between the 'pigeons' back in Seaton Carew and the humming bird that she said 'flies over the terrace', before adding that 'it's the same every day in paradise'.

The Darwins' plot was exposed after a photo emerged online of them in the office of an estate agent in Panama, where they had gone to run an eco-resort as well as live.

For much of Darwin's missing five years, he had been living in secret in his own home in the seaside resort of Seaton Carew, where he shared a bed with his wife.

John and Anne Darwin are seen in a family photograph with their sons Mark and Anthony. The couple deceived their sons when they colluded to gain life insurance and pensions payouts

For much of Darwin's missing five years, he had been living in secret in his own home (pictured), where he shared a bed with his wife. And when family and friends visited  and his sons returned from the inquest into his alleged death  Darwin hid in a bedsit next door that was accessed through a passageway hidden behind the door of a fake cupboard

John Darwin is seen pictured left shortly after he re-surfaced following his disappearance. Right: The now 71-year-old his seen with his second wife Mercy Mae Avila Darwin

Mrs Darwin is pictured left in 2007, after she had been arrested following her return to Britain. Right: The mother-of-two is seen in March

And when family and friends visited  and his sons returned from the inquest that ruled he had died at sea  Darwin hid in a bedsit in the property next door that he and his wife also owned.

Darwin later admitted that he would carry out DIY on the front of his family home and even walked around his area disguised as an old man  even as his two now grown-up sons Anthony and Mark continued to grieve for him thinking he was dead.

At her trial, Anne used the defence of 'marital coercion', claiming that she had been bullied into cooperating with her husband. By contrast, her husband pleaded guilty.

She had claimed in an interview with the Daily Mail after her and her husband's plot had been exposed that she had truly believed he had died in a canoeing accident and was shocked and amazed when he turned up on her doorstep a year later.

In fact, as she later revealed in her 2016 book, Anne had met Darwin at the beach after he had hatched his plot to make it appear as though he had been swept away by waves and his canoe had been smashed to pieces.

She then drove him to Durham railway station, before he went on to Newcastle and then Carlisle, before she picked him up from Cumbria three weeks later and brought him back to the family home.

As she also recounted in her book, in 2004 Anne even took her sons to the spot where her husband pretended to go missing so that the family could throw floral tributes into the sea, two years on from his 'death'.

Anne was ultimately given three months longer in prison than her husband because of her not guilty plea. She was described by police at the time as a 'compulsive liar'.

In a third email sent by Anne to her husband, where she revealed she had sold the family home to help fund their new life in Panama, she included smiley faces

Shortly before Anne joins her husband in Panama, he tells her of his struggles with speaking Spanish and pleads for her to come and join him

In another email, Darwin moaned about his problems sleeping and said he was 'sure' he had 'fleas', adding that he wanted his wife to 'press your spotty legs against my flea bites nd [sic] we can squash the buggers, we might even enjoy it'

In a 3,200-word message home to family, the supposedly coerced wife spoke of her wonderful new life - minus the fact that her husband was secretly with her. 'I got up early this morning had breakfast on the terrace and then set about a bit of housework (in my bikini),' she wrote

In another email, Anne told her husband she was 'missing' him already, just hours after he had left her in Panama to fly back to England and dramatically claim to police that he had lost his memory

Her not guilty plea also led to the prosecution calling her own sons to give evidence against her. Mark branded her a 'hideous, lying b****' in an interview with the Mail on Sunday.

'I hadn't even considered that my children would be called by the prosecution,' she said in her book. 'I will never, ever forgive myself for making my sons give evidence against their own mother. It is a decision I bitterly regret.'

When he gave evidence against his mother, Anthony told how he had at first presumed that the photograph of his parents in Panama must have been doctored, before he realised he had been duped.

'It's bewildering,' said Anthony. 'They're as bad as each other. Dad told one nasty lie and disappeared and said he was dead, but she lied for six years, she was the face of the lies, she kept on lying even when the evidence was so overwhelmingly against her.

'She dragged us through hell by forcing a court case.'

Anne's trial lasted nine days and she was found guilty of deception and money laundering.

Imposing what he called 'a particularly severe sentence', the judge pointed to the duration of the offending, and in particular the grief inflicted over the years to those who, in truth, were the real victims, your own sons'.

Undated handout photo issued by Cleveland Police of CCTV from Hartlepool Police station when Anne Darwin was taken into custody

Undated handout photo issued by Cleveland Police of CCTV from Kirkleatham Police station when John Darwin was taken into custody

Canoe fraudster John Darwin leaves Teesside Crown Court in 2014. A judge previously ordered he should repay 679,073

Despite the incredible extent of her deceit, both Mark and Anthony eventually forgave their mother. They visited her in prison and remained in her life afterwards.

Anne and Darwin got divorced while they were in prison and the pair were both released on licence in early 2011, halfway through their sentences.

Darwin, now 71, lives with his 48-year-old second wife Mercy Mae in her native Manila.

Anne initially moved to sheltered housing in York and had a part-time job with the RSPCA. She now lives in a village outside Middlesbrough but did not wish to comment when she was tracked down by MailOnline.

The pair both refused to cooperate with the making of new ITV series The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe, which stars Eddie Marsan as Darwin and Monica Dolan.

Sunday's episode of the four-part series depicted the moment that Anne told her sons she was selling the family homes and moving to Panama.

She was seen showing them some of her husband's remaining possessions and telling them they could keep what they wished. Mark chose a book that had been printed in 2003, after his father had supposedly died.

Anne said he only noticed this damning fact later.

Dolan's character is seen telling her sons: 'Take whatever you want, or take nothing at all if it doesn't feel right. It is entirely up to you.'

The camera then shows a trove of possessions on the table, including three books, a tape recorder, a watch and Darwin's original passport.

A drama about John and Anne Darwin's fraud, titled The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe, is currently airing on ITV. It stars Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan (both pictured)

Unbeknown to her sons, she had already set up home with Darwin in a flat they had bought and had had the picture taken that would expose their fraud.

Writing of the moment that she told her sons she was emigrating to the country, Anne Darwin said in her book: 'Though shocked that I  supposedly a widow  was contemplating moving halfway across the world to a place in which I'd never expressed the slightest interest, Anthony and Mark both supported my decision.

'It was just another of the wicked lies I told them, which I will regret to my dying day.

'Before I left for good, I asked the boys if they would like a keepsake from their father's possessions.

'Mark chose a pair of black onyx cufflinks and his wristwatch, while Anthony opted for his pocket watch, wedding ring and passport.

'He also selected some books, one of which he later realised had been printed in 2003, long after his dad had supposedly 'died'.

'Another had an American sticker on it, and Anthony realised that it must have been bought while his supposedly deceased dad was on his travels.'
Scott Morrison has sensationally accused Anthony Albanese of 'taking China's side' following a landmark security deal between the Communist country and the Solomon Islands during the first election debate.

A group of undecided Aussie voters fired off questions to both leaders in Sky News and The Courier Mail's People's Forum on Wednesday night.

The Prime Minister said the deal between China and one of Australia's closest neighbours came after years of Chinese interference in the region and Australia wasn't to blame.

He then questioned why Labor had criticised the country's response as the 'worst foreign policy failure' since World War II.

'Why would you take China's side?' Mr Morrison said.

Mr Albanese erupted at the question, saying: 'That's an outrageous slur from the prime minister - national security shouldn't be the subject of that sort of slur'.

'This is a Pacific stuff up, not step up. We should have been on top of this issue.'

Sky News commentator Andrew Clennell described Mr Morrison's attack on Mr Albanese about China as an 'overreach'.

Earlier both leaders stumbled when asked about electric vehicles, failing to address the charging and range issues which have prevented Australians from switching away from petrol cars, including a slip up from Mr Albanese about towing abilities.

Anthony Albanese erupted at claims from the Prime Minister he 'sided' with China following their security deal with the Solomon Islands

'On EVs, the PM said during the 2019 campaign that EVs would ''end the weekend'',' Mr Albanese said.

HOW CAMPAIGNS REACTED TO THE DEBATE: Both campaigns were happy with how the debate unfolded, commentators noting neither side had landed a killer blow. Sources in Mr Morrison's camp believe debates such as this are more difficult for incumbent leaders. Mr Albanese's camp believed he put in a strong performance and may finally be able to turn the page on his gaffe where he failed to name the unemployment rate and RBA cash rate on the first full day of campaigning. Advertisement

'They said that they couldn't tow your trailer, couldn't tow your boat - it was all nonsense. We will reduce the taxes of electric vehicles.'

Electric vehicles can tow boats and caravans but it reduces the vehicle's range in half, meaning they can't travel very far.

Following Wednesday evening's debate that featured an audience of 100 undecided voters, 40 per cent backed the opposition leader while 35 per cent thought the prime minister had the better night. Twenty-five per cent still remained undecided.

The debate got off to a fiery start with the first audience member asking each leader what they would do to help Aussies get into the housing market.

The Labor leader took the opportunity to bring up a remark made earlier by Mr Morrison who told those struggling to afford rent to consider buying a house.

'I know that it's so tough now. Some of the measures the government have done are terrific but we're missing out on bits too. We're not doing anything on social ownership, which would increase supply,' Mr Albanese said.

'We also need to address the rental crisis. Rents are going through the roofs. Scott said if you're having difficulties with rent, buy a house.

'The truth is, it's much more difficult than that, and we need to address each of the issues. How do we get people into home ownership? How do we address affordable housing?'

Anthony Albanese has made the first jab during the election debate against Scott Morrison when discussing Australia's skyrocketing housing prices

LEADERS' CLOSING REMARKS Scott Morrison: This election is a choice and these processes are important to help people make their choice. But fundamentally, I really believe this election is all about the economy that you, and your family, and your communities will live in for the next 10 years. It will determine your economic opportunities, your job, your wages, all of these things and services can Australia can afford to deliver the essential services that you rely on. It all starts with managing a strong economy. Our government has proven that with a strong economic plan that has been delivering unemployment falling to 4 per cent ,a triple A credit rating, the biggest budget turnaround seen in 70 years, the future  we're heading in the right direction. Now is not the time to turn back. So I thank you for your question and I look forward to the opportunities Australia has, as we seize them, with the economic plan that we know is working, and will continue to work for you and your family, and the essential services you rely on. Anthony Albanese: I think the problem for this government is that they have been in office for almost a decade. They are shooting for a second decade in office and they haven't shown any plan ... about how you actually grow wages. How you have an economy that works for people, not the other way around. I want an economy that sees wages being lifted. I want people to enjoy a higher standard of living. I want us to aspire and to be as optimistic as as we should be as a country. I have two simple philosophies. One is that no one is left behind. That is, the Labor Party will always look after the disadvantaged. That's why we do things. We're the party of opportunity. We're the party that understands that if we're going to advance as an economy, then we need to have stronger education. And we see the economy is growing. The opportunity there is there to use clean energy to drive high value manufacturing to drive growth through the economy. If I'm prime minister, I'll accept responsibility each and every day. I'll work hard, and I'll accept responsibility, and not always seek to blame someone else. Advertisement

The pair then became caught in a heated debate over turning back boats, leaving Mr Albanese stumped.

Mr Albanese said he supported turnbacks before Mr Morrison noted that when the Labor leader was Deputy Prime Minister in 2013 that wasn't the case.

'Why is it Scott you're always looking for a division, not looking for an agreement?' Mr Albanese fired.

Mr Morrison responded cooly: 'I'm just looking for the accuracy and the truth.'

Poll Who do you think won the debate? Scott Morrison Anthony Albanese Undecided Who do you think won the debate? Scott Morrison 348 votes

Anthony Albanese 293 votes

Undecided 69 votes Now share your opinion





Later in the debate, the leaders were asked how they would combat statistics an audience member had seen which indicated 55 per cent of 18-year-olds weren't enrolled to vote.

The Labor leader said it was a matter of engaging with young people.

'We need to engage with young people, we need to engage on issues that involve them because they are our future,' he said.

But Mr Morrison put the blame on social media.

'What has happened with social media in our political debate over the last 10 years, it makes me terribly sad,' he said.

'And I think young people have been most affected by that  there are things that people would never say to each other. But they will write it in a comment and hurtful and it's destructive.'

Both leaders have come out swinging in the first election debate on Wednesday night

The prime minister dodged a question about how leaders would restore faith in their integrity from voters, instead discussing the Australian economy.

'Our economic plan is about helping Australians realise their big aspirations in life, have their kids, to raise them, to give them a good education, to buy a home, to save for their retirement, to run a business and to have choices,' he said.

His opposition said he wanted to unite the country, adding his commitment to establish a national integrity commission.

'I want to unite the country. I want to not be a prime minister whos always looking for the wedge always looking for the division,' he said.

Both leaders offered very different opening statements before the questions began.

'After everything we've been through over the last few years, I'm incredibly optimistic about Australia's future,' Mr Morrison said.

'Our economy today is one of the strongest in the first world. This election is a choice. It's a choice about how we keep our economy strong. A stronger future, and an uncertain one.'

Scott Morrison (left) and Anthony Albanese (right) will go head to head in their first debate on Wednesday night

Meanwhile the Opposition leader said he planned to create a better future for Australians if his government was elected.

'I believe we can have a better future if we have a better government,' Mr Albanese said.

'You all know the cost of everything is going up, expect your wages.

'So we need a plan. We need to make sure we have a strong economy with secure work.

'The government's been in office for a decade. The truth is, they haven't learnt from their mistakes. We must do better.'

An early question from one viewer asked if a federal anti-corruption commission would essentially be a 'toothless tiger', with Mr Morrison making a reference to former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

'We have legislation, it deals with criminal matters, it is not a 'kangaroo court'. It's not something that's trying to trial people in the media,' the PM said.

'It's not about who your boyfriend is. I've seen these integrity commissions in my own home state of NSW and I've got to say, I haven't been impressed.'

Mr Albanese defended ICAC and said it was 'essential people have faith in democratic processes'. In their closing remarks,

Mr Morrison put the focus on the economy while Mr Albanese said he wouldn't leave anyone behind.

'This election is a choice and these processes are important to help people make their choice. But fundamentally, I really believe this election is all about the economy that you, and your family, and your communities will live in for the next 10 years,' the PM said.

Mr Albanese said the government had been in power for a decade and 'hadn't shown any plan' on how to grow wages.

'I have two simple philosophies. One is that no one is left behind. That is, the Labor Party will always look after the disadvantaged. That's why we do things,' he said.
Mark Latham has slammed NSW Treasurer Matt Kean as a hypocrite over his calls for the Liberal party to disendorse Liberal federal candidate Katherine Deves from running in the seat of Warringah.

Matt Kean, who is a leader of the Liberals 'moderate' faction, has been one of the most outspoken critics of Ms Deves, a Sydney lawyer, mum and co-founder of the Protect Women's Sport organisation, which campaigns against trans women being allowed to compete against females in sport.

Ms Deves has shut down her social media and has apologised for the language she used in a series of tweets from April 2021 emerged where she described transgender kids as 'surgically mutilated and sterilised', and compared her Protect Women's Sport movement to standing up against the Holocaust.

On Wednesday night, Kean double down on his condemnation of Ms Deves, describing her language as inappropriate. Mr Kean has previously accused her of 'outright bigotry'.

But NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham lashed out at Mr Kean calling the 'green Liberal' a hypocrite in the wake of the Treasurer's sexting scandal in 2018.

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean (pictured left) has stood by his calls for a controversial Liberal candidate running in the federal election to be disendorsed

Mr Kean became embroiled in a sex scandal after a former girlfriend exposed his explicit text messages to a parliamentary colleague Eleni Petinos, telling her: 'I need to f*** you'.

'If we review some of the text messages he sent back in the day to one of his female state parliamentary colleagues... they caused his then partner to erupt and put them in the media.

'So you can, on the basis of unacceptable language, get rid of Katherine Deves, but Matt Kean would have to go with her. So you can disendorse them both,' Mr Latham told Sky News' Peta Credlin on Wednesday night.

'This guy is a hypocrite, he's a green Liberal and he's playing some weird moderate factional game on the north shore of Sydney about Deves, saying it's all about language.

'But the unfortunate thing in the NSW government is that Kean has the numbers with this left wing moderate faction and he's got Dominic Perrottet in a political coffin.

'He's got Perrottet captive with these numbers.

'And apparently Kean can go out and say whatever he likes about about any issue on any occasion, running loose and breaking all forms of cabinet solidarity and common sense inside the Liberals in the middle of a federal election campaign.'

Mr Latham claimed it was leading to a build-up enormous resentment within the Liberals backbench about the lack of control of the Treasurer.

Matt Kean double back on his condemnation on Wednesday night when he described Katherine Deves' comments as inappropriate

Ms Credlin agreed with Mr Latham's views and said it was rich of Mr Kean to be giving advice on respectful debate and good behaviour.

'If he thinks Katherine Deves' comments, for which she has apologised y,disqualify her from high office, then he should already be gone. That's the standard he needs to uphold,' she said.

Their comments were sparked by Mr Kean's earlier appearance on Chris Kenny's Sky News program where he refused to withdraw calls to disendorse Ms Deves.

'These are consistent references that have been made over a long period of time and recently,' he said.

'We can have these debates and we should have them robustly but there is a line and I think hate speech or hurtful speech is inappropriate in our public discourse.

'We can be better than that. You and I are having robust discussion Chris and that's what we want in out democracy.

'But there are ways to carry it out and I'm saying I don't think the way that individual carried out this debate was helpful or appropriate in the public discourse.'

Mark Latham (pictured) believes Matt Kean should also go if Katherine Deves is disendorsed

Mr Kean's comments put him at loggerheads with his leader Dominic Perrottet, who along with Prime Minister Scott Morrison was part committee who handpicked Ms Deves to run in former Prime Minister Tony Abbott's seat on Sydney's northern beaches.

However, Kean said he stands by his calls for Ms Deves to be disendorsed.

'I've made my position clear, the Prime Minister has made his position clear, and now it's up to the people of Warringah to make their decision on whether they think these comments are appropriate,' Mr Kean said.

Mr Perrottet has played down a disagreement with his treasurer over the issue of transwomen in sport, saying different views are welcome in the Liberal party.

Katherine Deves (pictured) has since apologised for her previous comments about transgender athletes

'Matt, like me, in the past, I have to be a bit careful now, likes having opinions,' he said.

'You want colour and you want ideas in public life.'

He added that politicians in public life have a responsibility to engage in public debate sensitively, particularly with 'incredibly delicate' topics.

Mr Perrottet's comments came after it was revealed he had texted Mr Morrison to reassure him of his backing over his approach to transwomen in sport.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a rare phone call with his Chinese counterpart who warned him that Taiwan is part of China  amid signals that Russia's war on Ukraine is impacting how planners are viewing a potential conflict.

Taiwan is a part of China and no one can change that, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said on Wednesday during a rare phone call with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, according to a statement from Beijing.

'If the Taiwan issue were not handled properly, it would have a damaging impact on Sino-U.S. relations,' Wei added, according to statement published by the defense ministry.

Wei 'expounded his solemn position on the Taiwan issue and stressed that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. It is a fact and reality that no one can change,' according to the Beijing readout.

The call comes as the U.S. has repeatedly urged China not to provide military support to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Moscow, in turn, has fired off a diplomatic letter to Washington urging the U.S. to stop arming Ukraine.

A Pentagon spokesman told DailyMail.com that Ausin requested the call 'as a follow up to the March 18 call between President Biden and Xi Jinping, and March 14 meeting between NSA Jake Sullivan and PRC Politburo Member Yang Jiechi in Rome.'

'The Secretary stressed that the United States remains committed to our one China policy, as enumerated in the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances,' according to the spokesman.

According to a readout by Pentagon spokesman Admiral John Kirby, 'Secretary Austin and General Wei discussed U.S.-PRC defense relations, regional security issues, and Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.'

Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin spoke to his Chinese counterpart by phone, according to a Beijing statement. He and other top military leaders meet with President Joe Biden at the White House Wednesday

State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe told Austin that 'If the Taiwan issue were not handled properly, it would have a damaging impact on Sino-U.S. relations,' according to Beijing

The call came after Austin had tried for months without success to arrange a call with Gen. Xu Qiliang, the top uniformed officer in the Communist Party military structure overseeing the People's Liberation Army.

China and Russia declared a 'no limits' partnership in a joint statement issued at the start of the Olympics in February following a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

That came days before Putin launched Russia's invasion of its neighbor.

The complex interlocking diplomacy and military strategy involving Russia, China, and key allies are among the 'variety of topics' likely to come up when President Joe Biden meets with Milley and top military brass at the White House Wednesday.

The annual White House gathering takes on special significance as the war in Ukraine enters a risky new phase and the United States plans more military aid.

Earlier Wednesday, Austin welcomes Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Baszczak to the Pentagon in an enhanced honor cordon ceremony. Poland is a key NATO ally that borders Ukraine, and has been closely involved in efforts to arm the Ukrainians while taking in thousands of Ukrainian refugees.

Biden will also host top military leaders for dinner in an annual tradition

Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, Gn Mark A. Milley will be attending

Taiwanese army soldiers during a Readiness Enhancement Drill, amid escalating Taiwan-China tensions, in Taiwan, January 2022. Russia's military difficulties with its invasion of Ukraine could reshape how China approaches planning for a potential invasion of the densely populated island

Ukrainian service members unpack Javelin anti-tank missiles, delivered by plane as part of the U.S. military support package for Ukraine, at the Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine February 10, 2022. The US announced another $800 million aid package last week

Military equipment is seen scattered on a street in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol under the control of Russian military and pro-Russian separatists, on April 19, 2022

Ukraine has already suffered horrendous civilian casualties in Mariupol and other areas, as Russia refocuses on the Donbas region

China and Russia declared a 'no limits' partnership in a joint statement issued at the start of the Olympics in February following a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Taiwan is a part of China and no one can change that, China's defense minister told Austin

Also joining will be General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and senior military leaders. The event includes a formal West Wing meeting as well as a dinner in the president's residence with leaders' spouses afterward. First lady Jill Biden and military spouses will attend that event.

While the annual military policy meeting rarely makes news, weighty issues are on the agenda this year, topped by a conflict in Ukraine that officials fear could imperil European security for years to come.

Russia has said it has entered a new stage of its operation and is methodically seeking to 'liberate' the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Western allies anticipate Russia's campaign could last many months, grind to a stalemate and test the battlefield capabilities of Ukrainian fighters.

The United States is expected to announce another military aid package for Ukraine in coming days that could match the $800 million pledged last week.

Russia says it launched what it calls a 'special military operation' on Feb. 24 to demilitarise and 'denazify' Ukraine. Kyiv and its Western allies reject that as a false pretext.

U.S. forces are not fighting in Ukraine but are indirectly engaged, arming, training and financing Kyiv's forces.

A lengthy clash could also test U.S. public support for Washington's backing of Ukraine. Last month, Biden asked Congress for record peacetime spending on the military for the upcoming fiscal year.

The meeting comes amid questions about the future of NATO forces in Europe, including whether to install a permanent presence on the defense alliance's eastern border with Russia.
'The Flash' star Ezra Miller has pleaded no contest and was fined $500 for disorderly conduct at karaoke bar in Hilo, Hawaii last month - just hours after being arrested for a second time within weeks.

The actor - who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns - appeared in court via video call yesterday, in an appearance originally scheduled for April 26.

A clean-shaven Miller, 29, pleaded 'no contest' to disorderly conduct following an arrest at Margarita Village Bar in Hilo, which Judge Kanani Laubach ordered them to stay away from.

'The Flash' star Ezra Miller has pleaded no contest and was fined $500 for disorderly conduct at karaoke bar in Hilo, Hawaii last month

The actor - who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns - appeared in court via video call yesterday, in an appearance originally scheduled for April 26

The judge also dismissed a charge of harassment from the karaoke bar incident as well as a charge of obstructing a public sidewalk in a separate instance on March 19 in exchange for Miller's plea, Hawaii Tribune Herald reports.

Miller was arrested on March 27 after they allegedly harassed a number of patrons with belligerent behavior at the bar.

The incident began when Miller reportedly hurled obscenities at a 23-year-old woman singing karaoke. The actor also tried to grab the microphone from her mid-song.

That same night, it was also claimed Miller lunged at a 32-year-old man who was playing darts at the bar. Police were eventually called in to deal with the out-of-control star.

A clean-shaven Miller, 29, pleaded 'no contest' to disorderly conduct from an arrest at Margarita Village Bar in Hilo

Miller appeared in court via video call yesterday. The actor was arrested on March 27 after they allegedly harassed a number of patrons with belligerent behavior at a karaoke bar

It comes as they were on Tuesday taken into custody for second-degree assault after police responded to reports of an assault in a subdivision on the archipelago's Big Island of Hawaii.

Authorities were called to the Leilani State Subdivision in Pahoa shortly after 1am yesterday, Hawaii News Now reported.

Authorities said Miller became irate after they were asked to leave a gathering at a residence and threw a chair, striking a 26-year-old woman on the forehead.

The unidentified woman was left with a half-inch cut but refused treatment, police said. The Hollywood star was arrested 20 minutes after the attack during a traffic stop at the intersection of Highway 130 and Kukula Street in Kea'au.

Miller was released at 4am pending an investigation, police said in a statement.

They were taken into custody Tuesday just hours before a scheduled court hearing in connection with disorderly conduct and harassment charges stemming from the March incident.

The actor, who plays The Flash in the DC Cinematic Universe, was also hit with a restraining order by a couple who bailed them out of jail.

The pair said Miller threatened them and robbed them while they were staying in the couple's Hawaii home. The couple has since dropped the petition for a restraining order.

The Flash star Ezra Miller was arrested for a second time in Hawaii, just weeks after they 'threw a chair at a woman's head when she asked him to leave her home' n the Leilani State Subdivision in Pahoa shortly after 1 a.m. on Tuesday

The Hollywood star was arrested 20 minutes after the attack during a traffic stop at the intersection of Highway 130 and Kukula Street in Kea'au

Miller, a non-binary actor playing The Flash in the DC Cinematic Universe, was also hit with a restraining order from the couple who bailed them out of jail

In this image taken from Hawaii State Judiciary video, Ezra Miller appears via Zoom for a court hearing on Tuesday, April 19

Warner Bros and DC executives held an emergency meeting on March 30 where they agreed to halt any future projects involving Miller, following their arrest at the karaoke bar in Hilo, sources told Rolling Stone.

Insiders told the publication that Miller, who has a history of 'meltdowns', will not be involved in any public appearances for the DC Cinematic Universe despite Miller's The Flash slated to premier next year.

Following the karaoke bar incident last month, a local couple who Miller had met at a local farmer's market and let the actor stay in their house bailed Miller out of jail on a $500 bond following the arrest, Radar reported.

Last month, Miller was arrested at Margarita Village (mugshot above) for allegedly harassing a number of patrons with belligerent behavior

Miller was arrested last month at the Margarita Village karaoke bar in Hilo Hawaii pictured. The actor was charged with harassing a 23-year-old woman and lunging at a man playing darts

The husband, who has not been publicly named, alleged that after returning home from jail, Miller had a breakdown and threatened his wife, saying: 'I will bury you and your s*** wife.'

He told police the actor then stole his wallet and his wife's passport.

The Hawaii couple dropped their petition for a temporary restraining order against Miller on April 12.

According to court documents, a judge dismissed the case after the couple requested it.

A restraining order petition had been granted as it was 'needed to prevent future harassment', according to court documents.

William Dean, a lawyer who represents the couple, has not commented on why his clients no longer want to pursue the petition that accused Miller of bursting into their bedroom and threatening them.

When contacted by DailyMail.com on Tuesday, Dean said his clients' case had been dismissed and he was not aware of Miller's arrest prior to the call.

He confirmed no further hearings will be held now that the case is dismissed.

Miller previously drew controversy in April 2020 when a video circulated that allegedly showed the actor choking a woman while at a bar in Reykjavik, Iceland, Variety reported.

Amid the recent scandal, a video resurfaced on Twitter of Miller appearing to choke a woman at a bar in Reykjavik, Iceland

In the video, Miller grabs the woman by the throat and attempts to throw her to the ground.

'Woah, bro. Bro,' the person filming says.

A source told Variety the incident took place after 'pushy fans' approached Miller and the actor lost their temper.

Miller has never publicly addressed the incident.

Miller also made headlines in January when they posted a now-deleted video on Instagram threatening members of the Ku Klux Klan operating in Beulaville, North Carolina.

Miller was seen telling members of the Klan to kill themselves with their own guns, otherwise 'we'll do it for you if that's what you want'.

Miller also had a run in with the law in 2011 where they were arrested for drug possession.

The actor, then 19, was the passenger in a vehicle in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when they were pulled over and cops discovered 20 grams of marijuana on them.

A judge would later drop the drug possession charge, but they were charged with two citations of disorderly conduct and ordered to pay a fine of $600.
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From its humble beginnings of sending DVDs to customers in the post, Netflix has gone on to become the world's largest streaming platform.

It was a success in part because of its then much larger rival Blockbuster's failure to adapt to the streaming revolution.

Its popularity surged during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, with the firm adding 36million subscribers - bringing its total to a peak of more than 220million users.

By contrast, Blockbuster's decline was swift, with its last company-owned stores closing in November 2013. Now only one, in Bend, Oregon, remains.

However, as the restrictions and lifestyle changes imposed as a result of coronavirus have subsided, so have Netflix's fortunes.

The firm announced today that its customer base fell by 200,000 between January and March this year and it could fall by a further 2million between this month and June.

Netflix said the Covid boom had 'created a lot of noise' as it blamed its slowdown on the post-lockdown return to normality.

But the firm also blamed stiff competition from rival streaming firms including Disney+, Apple TV and Now TV, as well as the cost of living crisis gripping the West, and its decision to 'quit' Russia after Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Netflix has also struggled to fend off the rise of Amazon's streaming service Prime Video, which has rocketed in popularity and currently has around 200million subscribers signed up.

From its humble beginnings of sending DVDs to customers in the post, Netflix has gone on to become the world's largest streaming platform but now faces stiff competition from the likes of Amazon, Disney Plus and Apple TV+

Netflix was founded in the U.S. in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph and began as a DVD-by-mail service.

Its website - the first ever DVD rental and sales site - was launched the following year, with a subscription service quickly following.

The firm became a publicly listed company in 2002 and had an initial market capitalisation of $6.5billion. By 2006, the firm had five million users.

In 2000, Mr Randolph had offered to sell his firm to established rival Blockbuster but the offer was rejected.

The Netflix founder revealed in his 2019 book that Blockbuster's CEO at the time of the sale offer, John Antioco, had almost laughed when a $50million price tag was mentioned.

At the time, Blockbuster was the dominant player in the DVD and video rental market. The firm reached its peak in November 2004, with 84,300 employees and 9,094 stores worldwide.

However, whilst Netflix introduced its streaming service in 2007, Blockbuster failed to adapt and its decline was swift. The firm filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010.

The following year, Dish Network bought Blockbuster's 1,700 remaining stores before the last company-owned stores closed in 2013. Blockbuster's 528 stores in Britain were among those that had to close.

From 2007 onwards, Netflix's popularity ballooned, with the firm widening its usability to the Xbox360, Blu-ray players and TV set-top boxes in 2008.

Netflix was founded in the U.S. in 1997 by Reed Hastings (pictured) and Marc Randolph and began as a DVD-by-mail service

Netflix was founded in the U.S. in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph and began as a DVD-by-mail service. Its website - the first ever DVD rental and sales site - was launched the following year

Netflix's current loss of subscribers is the first time in a decade that it has declined in popularity. Above: The firm's membership growth in 2021, compared to the current and estimated falls for 2022

This graphic shows how Netflix benefitted from the Covid boom. Between January and March 2020, business continued as it had done in 2019 and 2018, before the number of new accounts rocketed from mid-March through to May as much of the world went into lockdown. It continued expanding through 2020, but then declined in 2021

Upon news that it had shed 200,000 subscribers, Netflix's shares plunged by 25 per cent. So far this year, its shares are down about 40 per cent

In 2012, Netflix expanded into the UK, Ireland and the Nordic countries and its membership hit 25million.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings: Boston-born founder with Santa Cruz mansion, 'Olympic-sized' swimming pool and two private jets Netflix CEO Reed Hastings in the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills on October 18, 2021 Hastings was born in Boston, Massachusetts, attended Bowdoin College, and after considering serving in the armed forces as a Marine, joined the Peace Corps instead. He then got a masters in computer science from Stanford University in 1988. Before Netflix, he founded Pure Software, a software troubleshooting company in 1991. He later left the company after an acquisition to start Netflix in 1997 with colleague Marc Randolph. Netflix, which initially offered DVD rentals by mail, grew rapidly as the internet expanded and Hastings became the unchallenged boss when Randolph left in 1999. But it was when Netflix began producing its own content that the California-based company truly became a force to be reckoned with. Hastings certainly enjoys the fruits of his labour, sharing his vast home with his wife of more than 30 years, Patty Ann Quillin, and their two adult children, musician Molly and Sean. Together, they lead a lifestyle that seems an unusual blend of high-tech luxury and pastoral charm. It was previously reported that they own two private jets. The Santa Cruz mansion boasts an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a 12-person Jacuzzi. A home theatre  for Netflix binges, no doubt  has cutting edge Dolby Atmos surround sound, a system more advanced than most US cinemas. And their vast garage can house 12 cars, while the driveway has space for a further 15. Advertisement

By the end of 2013, the number of paid subscribers had hit 41.3million and by the final quarter of 2021 - the last period of consecutive membership growth before the recent slump - this figure had hit just under 222million.

In a sign of the positive impact that the coronavirus pandemic had on the firm's popularity, the number of subscribers rose from by nearly 40million between the final quarter of 2019 and the end of 2020.

The firm's in-house programming began in 2013, with shows such ass House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.

Further hits including The Crown and, more recently, Bridgerton, were to follow.

However, in recent years the firm has had to contend with rising competition, with Amazon's streaming service - its most popular rival - launching in 2011. Prime Video's membership is now just 20million below that of Netflix.

Amazon also acquired James Bond studio MGM last month in an 8.5 billion dollar (6.5 billion) deal to build a library of content for subscribers.

Disney's streaming service - Disney Plus - was launched in 2019 and already has nearly 130 million members.

Apple's platform - Apple TV+ - which was also launched in 2019, currently has only 25million members but popular choices such as The Morning Show, Ted Lasso and Slow Horses are likely to boost its popularity in the coming months.

Netflix's current loss of subscribers is the first time in a decade that it has declined in popularity. Its loss of 200,000 users fell well short of predictions that it would add 2.5million subscribers.

The US firm has seen its shares cut in half over the past six months as investors have grown increasingly concerned by the company's change in fortunes.

In the UK, the pressure on streaming firms has become apparent as customers look to reduce their number of subscriptions as they witness soaring energy and goods bills during the cost-of-living crisis.

Experts at Kantar said earlier this week that around 1.5 million subscriptions have been axed in the UK since the start of 2022.

Netflix said the challenging economic backdrop, war in Ukraine, slowing rollout of broadband in some countries and the large number of subscribers sharing their account details with non-paying households have all contributed to the decline.

The company's withdrawal from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine meant it immediately lost its 700,000 customers in the region, but the firm would have still seen figures significantly below expectations without the intervention.

As customer spending comes under pressure, the group faces increased demand for high quality content in order to justify people's subscription fees.

The firm's key challenge in recent years has been to ensure a strong roster of original series and films as many previous partners, such as Disney, withdrew their content to start up their own platforms.

The key reason shares dropped so sharply on Tuesday was because bosses warned shareholders that the situation was going to get worse before it got any better.

Blockbuster was once the dominant player in the DVD and video rental market. The firm reached its peak in November 2004, with 84,300 employees and 9,094 stores worldwide. Now, there is only one remaining Blockbuster outlet (pictured), in Bend, Oregon

Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010. The following year, Dish Network bought Blockbuster's 1,700 remaining stores before the last company-owned stores closed in 2013. Blockbuster's 528 stores in Britain were among those that had to close

Netflix's stable of original content includes racy period drama Bridgerton, which stars Phoebe Dynevor (centre) and Luke Newton (left), among others

This image released by Netflix shows Lee Jung-jae, center, Park Hae-soo, right, and Oh Young-soo in a scene from the Korean series 'Squid Game'

Amazon's original content includes The Man in the High Castle, which boasts stars including Rufus Sewell (pictured above in character as John Smith

Another popular Amazon Prime show is the Alex Rider series, which is based on the children's novels by Anthony Horowitz and stars Vicky McClure (pictured)

Netflix predicted that another two million users will leave in the three months to July.

The company said its profits dropped 6 per cent over the latest quarter and the downbeat outlook could suggest an even sharper profit decline could be on the cards.

Freetrade's Paul Allison said the predicted drop in users is 'a worrying sign... at a time when the firm is raising prices across the board to generate enough cash flow (which is currently negative) to maintain an entertaining line-up of shows'.

The streaming firm will hope that its recent heavy investment in fresh content and franchises will quickly bring rewards.

Last year, the company announced multimillion-pound deals to buy the works of Roald Dahl and the rights to the upcoming Knives Out sequels.

It will also hope that the return of top performing series - such as Stranger Things next month - will halt customers thinking about axing their subscriptions.

Bosses at the company said on Tuesday that they are considering a number of significant changes which could improve customer numbers and profitability.

The character popularly known as Baby Yoda in a scene from Disney Plus show The Mandalorian, a Star Wars spin-off series

Another Disney Plus offering is Loki, which focuses on the Marvel character of the same name. British star Tom Hiddleston stars in the lead role

This image released by Apple TV+ shows Jennifer Aniston in a scene from 'The Morning Show'. The series focuses on the competitive world of morning television in the United States

Apple TV+ also offers the new show Slow Horses, which debuted this month. It stars Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas (pictured right)

They said they are now open to adding advertising to the service, in return for a cheaper subscription.

Reed Hastings, co-founder and chairman of Netflix, has long been opposed to introducing commercials to the service but could make the move to add another revenue stream.

The company could also clamp down on customers sharing their accounts with other households.

Netflix started a crackdown in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru on people sharing passwords and is considering expanding the scheme.

The company said in its latest financial report that it believes it is being shared with 100 million extra households alongside the 222 million paying for the service.

Netflix is also grappling with increasing desires among customers to spend more time away from screens.

Reed Hastings infamously said that Netflix saw the human need to sleep as a bigger competitor than Amazon and HBO as it takes up a 'very large pool of time', saying it benefits from viewers staying up late because they get addicted to a series.
Julian Assange's extradition to the United States has moved a step closer today after magistrates issued an official extradition order - but supporters say he can still appeal before Priti Patel rubber stamps the decision.

After years of legal toing and froing, Westminster Magistrates' Court formally issued an order to extradite the WikiLeaks founder this morning.

During a seven-minute hearing at the court, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring said: 'In layman's terms, I am duty bound to send your case to the Secretary of State for a decision.'

It will now be down to Home Secretary Priti Patel to rubber stamp the 50-year-old's extradition to the US, where he is wanted on espionage charges.

However, Assange's legal team have previously said there are other parts of his appeal that had not yet been heard by the High Court.

Meanwhile, supporters say they will have four weeks to submit representations to the Home Secretary following today's order.

Not-for-profit group Reporters Without Borders, who are supporting Assange, have called on Ms Patel to 'protect journalism and press freedom by refusing extradition'.

And they say the Home Secretary has the power to reject the extradition, if she wishes.

However refusing the extradition would go against the long-standing extradition agreement between the UK and the US, and could spark a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

Julian Assange's (pictured) extradition to the United States is expected to move one step closer today

Westminster Magistrates' Court is formally expected to issue an order to extradite the 50-year-old WikiLeakers founder after years of legal toing and froing. Pictured: Assange's wife Stella Moris outside court today

Assange supporters say they will have four weeks to submit representations to the Home Secretary Priti Patel following today's order

What routes are left for Julian Assange to fight against his extradition to the US? High Court appeal Assange's legal team have previously said there are other parts of his appeal that had not yet been heard by the High Court. Last month Assange was denied permission to appeal his extradition to the US. He had asked the Supreme Court to allow him to challenge a December 2021 decision by the High Court, which ruled he could be extradited to America. The Supreme Court, the UK's highest court, denied his request to challenge the ruling as his application did not raise 'an arguable point of law'. However, responding to the judgment, Assange's legal team said: 'No appeal to the High Court has yet been filed by him in respect of the other important issues he raised previously in Westminster Magistrates' Court.' Representations to Priti Patel Now that magistrates' have issued a formal extradition order, it will be down to Home Secretary Priti Patel to rubber stamp it. Supporters say they will have four weeks to submit representations to the Home Secretary following today's order. Not-for-profit group Reporters Without Borders, who are supporting Assange, have called on Ms Patel to 'protect journalism and press freedom by refusing extradition'. And they say the Home Secretary has the power to reject the extradition, if she wishes. However refusing the extradition would go against the long-standing extradition agreement between the UK and the US, and could spark a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. The UK and the US signed the treaty in 2003. But the agreement is criticised as 'one-sided' by critics, because it allows the US to demand extradition of British citizens and other nationals for offences committed against US law - even if they take place in the UK. But there is no reciprocal right. What do experts say? Commenting on the hearing, Thomas Garner, Extradition Partner at Fladgate, said: 'Assange is notionally a step closer to extradition to the US, however there could still be additional traction in this case. Assanges lawyers have already indicated that they intend to launch a further challenge at the High Court. 'He may have another opportunity to avoid extradition as the line of challenge terminated by the Supreme Court ultimately followed a victory at first instance by Assange. In that decision, Assange won on a single point but lost on several others. 'The Magistrates decision to block his extradition was appealed by the US, but Assange did not himself make a cross appeal on the other matters. It is here that his team will focus their fire now. 'If the High Court were to refuse permission to appeal then he would reach the end of the line domestically, but if he succeeds in securing permission to appeal then his challenge could last for many months yet.' Advertisement

Today's administrative hearing was brief, and Assange did not attend in person. However he watched the proceedings by video link.

Assange's supporters, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and members of Amnesty International, held a protest outside the court in the build up to the hearing.

Supporters held banners with slogans including 'Free Assange' and 'Don't Extradite Assange'.

Assange's wife, Stella Moris, who married the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder last month, was also at the hearing and sat in the public gallery.

Assange is wanted in America over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following WikiLeaks' publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. He has always denied wrongdoing.

Assange has been held in Belmarsh prison for three years since being dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Last month he was denied permission to appeal his extradition to the US. He asked the Supreme Court to allow him to challenge a December 2021 decision by the High Court, which ruled he could be extradited to America.

However, in March the Supreme Court confirmed it had rejected Assange's appeal request.

The Supreme Court, the UK's highest court, denied his request to challenge the ruling as his application did not raise 'an arguable point of law'.

After the hearing, lawyers for Assange issued a statement and raised concerns about the reliance of the court on the US's guarantee regarding the prison conditions Mr Assange would be kept in, should he be extradited.

A spokesman for Birnberg Peirce Solicitors read: 'We regret that the opportunity has not been taken to consider the troubling circumstances in which Requesting States can provide caveated guarantees after the conclusion of a full evidentiary hearing.

'In Mr Assange's case, the Court had found that there was a real risk of prohibited treatment in the event of his onward extradition.'

The statement added: 'No appeal to the High Court has yet been filed by him in respect of the other important issues he raised previously in Westminster Magistrates' Court.

'That separate process of appeal has, of course, has yet to be initiated.'

Assange is wanted in America over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.

If convicted in the US, Assange faces a possible penalty of up to 175 years in jail, his lawyers have said.

However the US government said the sentence was more likely to be between four and six years.

It followed WikiLeaks' publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

He says the information exposed abuses by the US military, but the US say the leaks of classified material endangered lives, and so the US sought his extradition from the UK.

US authorities brought a successful High Court challenge against a January ruling by then-district judge Vanessa Baraitser that Assange should not be sent to the US, in which she cited a real and 'oppressive' risk of suicide.

Today's order comes after imprisoned Assange wed partner, Ms Moris, at Belmarsh prison last month.

Moris left the high security jail linked arm in arm with her father-in-law wearing a dress designed by Vivienne Westwood.

Assange's wife, Stella Moris, who married the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder last month, was also at the hearing and sat in the public gallery

Supporters held banners with slogans including 'Free Assange' and 'Don't Extradite Assange' outside the court today

Assange's supporters, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and members of Amnesty International, held a protest outside the court in the build up to the hearing

Stella Moris, 38, married 50-year-old Julian Assange (left) in Belmarsh Prison, south east London on March 23, just weeks before the third anniversary of his dramatic arrest when he was dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in the capital in April 2019

Fighting back tears and wearing her wedding dress, she said: 'I'm very happy but I'm very sad... I wish he were here... What we're going through is inhuman.'

She added: 'He's the most amazing person in the world and he should be free.

'But our love will carry us through.'.

Mr Assange married Ms Moris, 38, in front of four guests and two witnesses this afternoon. Two prison officers attended the ceremony, one of whom acted as official photographer.

Assange and his new wife, Ms Moris announced their engagement in November last year.

The couple, who have two children together - Max, two, and Gabriel, four - were wed by registrar inside the prison shortly after midday.

Stella Moris, centre, left HMP Belmarsh with her arms linked with her father-in-law John Shipton, left, and the Wikileaks founder's half-brother Gabriel

Ms Moris addressed supporters of the Wikileaks founder outside the court while cutting the couple's wedding cake

Ms Moris told the assembled crowd that what she and Mr Assange were going through was 'inhuman'

The couple were allowed to have four guests and two witnesses at the ceremony. Two prison officers attended the wedding, one of whom acted as photographer

South African lawyer, Moris, who works for Assange's legal team, arrived in a fossil grey dress designed by Dame Vivienne Westwood - a vocal supporter of Assange.

She complimented it with a matching longline jacket, a single pink rose attached at the neckline, and a floor-length veil embroidered with words including 'faith' and 'wilfulness'.

Assange, whose parents are of Scottish heritage, reportedly donned a kilt - also designed by Westwood.

The smiling bride clutched a bouquet of pink and purple roses as she was joined at the high-security prison by the couple's two young sons.

Moris' mother and Assange's father, John Shipton, and brother, Gabriel Shipton were also in attendance.
Vladimir Putin has allegedly grounded his daughter and prevented her from travelling abroad for her birthday amid fears she did not intend to return to Russia.

Scientist Dr Maria Vorontsova wanted to fly to a 'friendly' country for a tropical beach vacation to mark her 37th birthday next week, according to a report in Moscow.

She planned a romantic getaway with Yevgeny Nagorny, 33, her partner since the breakup of her marriage to the Dutch son of a NATO colonel, according to the General SVR Telegram channel.

'Putin responded with a categorical refusal, strengthening the security protection of Maria,' said the report on the Russian outlet.

'According to our information, the president's eldest daughter did not plan to return to Russia.'

The report did not say if the reason for her alleged plan to abscond was her father's bloody war in Ukraine.

The General SVR Telegram channel claims insider knowledge of the Kremlin, and was the first to report Putin is suffering serious illnesses including cancer, a theory now regarded as plausible.

Scientist Dr Maria Vorontsova (centre) wanted to fly to a 'friendly' country for a tropical beach vacation to mark her 37th birthday next week, according to a report in Moscow

Maria planned a romantic getaway with Yevgeny Nagorny, 33, (pictured together in 2019) her partner since the breakup of her marriage to the Dutch son of a NATO colonel, according to the General SVR Telegram channel

Maria, who has been sanctioned by Western countries due to her family links to Putin, has a half-Dutch son, now eight, with her ex-husband Jorrit Faassen.

She is now banned from travel to major Western countries but earlier was fond of going to Europe.

Pictures show Maria with Nagorny attending a wedding of doctor friends near Salerno, Italy in 2019. She appeared at the time to be pregnant.

Maria is Putin's daughter by his ex-wife Lyudmila, the former Russian first lady.

Born when the Russian president was a KGB spy, Maria is an expert in rare genetic diseases in children.

She is a leading researcher at the National Medical Research Center for Endocrinology of the Ministry of Health of Russia. She is also an expert on dwarfism.

After meeting Maria, Nagorny walked into a 90,000 a year job and was installed in a luxury high security home with three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a pantry, library, wood-burning fireplace, and a private terrace, according to an investigation by independent media outlets Meduza and Nastoyashchee Vremya.

He studied at the unfashionable customs department of the Moscow University of Finance and Law.

Nagorny later worked for a customs broker and a fertiliser company, and appeared anti-Putin, being 'interested in the opposition agenda'.

Vladimir Putin has allegedly grounded his daughter and prevented her from travelling abroad for her birthday amid fears she did not intend to return to Russia

Maria's ex-husband worked long term in Russia at Gazprombank-Invest and Stroytransgaz.

Her divorced sister Katerina, deputy director of the Institute for Mathematical Research of Complex Systems at Moscow State University, is likewise from Putin's former marriage to former Kremlin first lady Lyudmila.

Their half sister is Luiza Rozova, a 19-year-old heiress also known as Elizaveta Krivonogikh, from a previous relationship with cleaner-turned-multimillionaire Svetlana Krivonogikh, 45, now a part-owner of a major Russian bank.

All three Putin daughters have remained silent on the war with Ukraine, and their opinion on the conflict is not known.

Putin, 69, was once told by a BBC Russia reporter that it was an 'open secret' that Maria and Katerina were his children, but he declined to confirm them as his daughters.

Speculation that he has a family with rhythmic gymnast turned media mogul Alina Kabaeva, 38, have been met with official denials, but the rumours persist.

Putin has previously said: 'I have a private life in which I do not permit interference. It must be respected.'

He deplored 'those who with their snotty noses and erotic fantasies prowl into others' lives'.

Kabaeva is on record as saying she had met a man who 'I love very much', gushing: 'Sometimes you feel so happy that you even feel scared.'

It was not immediately possible to verify the General SVR claims.
President Moon Jae-in, center, speaks during a luncheon meeting with former prime ministers and government ministers, April 20, in this photo provided by Cheong Wa Dae. Yonhap





President Moon Jae-in held a luncheon meeting Wednesday with former prime ministers and government ministers who had served during his five-year term, Moon's spokesperson said.







About 50 former officials, including former Prime Ministers Lee Nak-yon and Chung Sye-kyun, attended the meeting, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a statement.







Taking a look back on his five years as president, Moon told them that his administration took utmost efforts to resolve crises, including North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, Japan's export curbs and the COVID-19 pandemic.







"We created opportunities in the midst of crises and were objectively evaluated as a pace-setting country," Moon said.







During the meeting, Moon said his "plan after retirement is not to plan."







"I said that I will live a forgotten life, but it does not mean that I will live in seclusion but that I will live as an ordinary citizen without getting involved in politics," Moon said.







The construction of Moon's private home in a rural town in Yangsan, 420 kilometers south of Seoul, was completed April 11. Moon and first lady Kim Jung-sook are scheduled to move into the house May 10. (Yonhap)






Boris Johnson put 'no pressure' on peers to clear his friend Evgeny Lebedev to sit in the House of Lords, the chamber's appointments chief told MPs today.

Lord Bew said that neither the Prime Minister nor anyone else in the Cabinet sought to ease the Independent newspaper owner's path to a peerage in 2020.

Bew, the chairman of the House of Lords Appointment Commission (Holac), was questioned over the process that led Baron Lebedev to the upper chamber.

Lebedev is the Russian-born son of a former KGB agent and Mr Johnson was accused of influencing the intelligence services after they advised against putting him in the Lords.

Facing the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee today, Lord Bew said that the security services were notified of all peerage nominations.

And while he admitted Lebedev was a 'unique case' that involved security checks, the committee had approved his peerage without interference.

'There was no pressure on this candidate - that I think is probably worth saying,' said the Northern Irish historian, who sits as a crossbencher.

Lord Bew said that neither the Prime Minister nor anyone else in the Cabinet sought to ease the Independent newspaper owner's path to a peerage.

Bew, the chairman of the House of Lords Appointment Commission (Holac), was questioned over the process that led Baron Lebedev to the upper chamber.

He said the committee had asked for more information from the security services to understand the information they shared, but denied there was any 'warning' issued to Mr Johnson about the appointment.

'We did what we often do: we said ''You told us x, you really need to tell us more'',' said Lord Bew.

'They didn't say, ''What we said in the first instance was wrong''. They said, ''Here is a bit more, here is a bit more still''.

'That's how it goes, it is an elaborative process, a process of clarification, we need to know as much as we can.'

Mr Johnson and the Conservatives faced questions over the seat in the Lords handed to the Evening Standard and Independent proprietor.

Lord Lebedev of Hampton and Siberia, 41, is the Moscow-born son of a former KGB agent. Reports last month claim the intelligence services considered his ennoblement a national security risk, and the head of MI6 refused to meet him.

He is a friend of the PM and was part of a 2020 peerages list which included the Conservative leader's close political allies, party donors and his own brother, Jo.

He moved to London aged eight to be with his billionaire father, Alexander, and has remained in the UK ever since.

In 2009, the pair bought a 65 per cent stake in the Evening Standard. A year later, he bought The Independent and launched the i newspaper.

The Prime Minister's former aide, Dominic Cummings, said he was in the room when Mr Johnson was told by Cabinet Office officials that the 'intelligence services and other parts of the deep state' had 'serious reservations' about the PM's plan to appoint the media mogul to the Lords.

But Lebedev has defended his innocence throughout. He insisted he had 'nothing to hide' as he backed the publication of all security advice linked to his appointment.

In a series of tweets the Russian-born businessman criticised the opposition for attacking him based on 'no facts and pure innuendo'.

And he revealed 'in the spirit of transparency' that party leader Sir Keir Starmer has congratulated him on his peerage in a text message in 2020.

Lord Bew acknowledged there were 'unique' features in the case of Lord Lebedev's appointment.

'In general, the business of having a protracted dialogue with the agencies is what we do,' he told MPs.

'Lord Lebedev is not the first and he won't be the last, if Holac survives. This could go on for quite a time, that is the case, that is definitely true.'

But there are 'features of this case which are unique, Lord Lebedev is a rara avis (rare bird), if I tried to tell you otherwise you would laugh'.

It was not just the Ukraine war that had led to scrutiny on Russia, he added: 'At the height when all this was going on there was major comment of one sort or another in this building and elsewhere - the ISC (Intelligence and Security Committee) report - about Russian influence.'

That meant 'everybody was very sensitive about this issue', he told the committee.
Scott Morrison has come under fire for saying he and wife Jenny are 'blessed' their children were born without disabilities with Labor MPs leading the pile on.

The Prime Minister was asked about removing funding for the National Disability Insurance Scheme during Wednesday night's Leaders' Debate on Sky News.

Katherine, mother of autistic four-year-old boy Ethan, said she had heard stories about families losing funding under the NDIS.

'I have a four-year-old autistic son, we are grateful to receive funding under the NDIS. I have heard many stories from people having their funding cut under the current government, including my own.

'I've been told that to give my son the best future, I should vote Labor. Can you tell me what the future of the NDIS looks like under your government?'

Mr Morrison replied: 'Jenny and I have been blessed. We've got two children who haven't had to go through that.

'So parents of children who were disabled - I can only try and understand your aspirations for those children.

Scott Morrison said during Wednesday's opening leaders debate that he and wife Jenny were 'blessed' their children won't born with disabilities

Mr Morrison's comments were criticised by Labor politicians as being offensive. Mr Morrison has two daughters, Lily and Abbey, who he has described as his miracles

Poll Was ScoMo's disabilities response OK? It was awkward but not offensive It was deeply offensive Was ScoMo's disabilities response OK? It was awkward but not offensive 313 votes

It was deeply offensive 165 votes Now share your opinion





'And then I think that is the beauty of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.'

Mr Morrison then went onto credit Labor prime minister Julia Gillard for shepherding the scheme through Parliament.

He said the NDIS helped people with disabilities live their best life, including his brother-in-law, who has multiple sclerosis.

'He gets support through the NDIS to ensure that he has the wheelchair he needs and the aids he needs at home to work as a call centre operator and do things like that,' the Prime Minister said.

While Katherine didn't object to Mr Morrison's comments at the time, his apparently clumsy use of language saw Twitter ignite with criticism and Sky News commentators to point it out as a moment of note.

Labor frontbenchers Senators Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher led the criticism, with Ms Gallagher pointing to the example of her own autistic child.

'I am 'blessed' to have a child with autism. She teaches me things every day. Our lives are enriched by her,' she wrote.

Ms Keneally retweeted her post, sharing her apparent outrage at Mr Morrison's choice of words.

'Unbelievably, Scott Morrison just said he was 'blessed' not to have a child with a disability. Parents of children with a disability are blessed too,' she wrote.

Bill Shorten, Labor's NDIS spokesman also weighed in, saying: 'ScoMo says he is 'blessed' to have two non disabled children. Every child is a blessing.

'The NDIS is there to help people with disability live their lives to the fullest. The Morrison Gov has slashed NDIS plans for 1000s of children around Australia. Labor will fix the NDIS.'

His comments also sparked uproar from some Twitter users who dubbed him 'clueless'.

'Jenny and I have been blessed, we have two children who haven't had to go through that. I can only understand what you go through,' he said when asked about supporting the NDIS

Labor MPs Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher were quick to pile on the PM after the comments

Anthony Albanese has made the first jab during the election debate against Scott Morrison when discussing Australia's skyrocketing housing prices

The debate saw Anthony Albanese and Mr Morrison debate matters ranging from China's security deal with the Solomon Islands to their proposals for federal corruption watchdogs and house prices in front of 100 undecided voters.

Mr Albanese started the debate by having a crack at Mr Morrison over a remark he made prior to the campaign suggesting renters consider purchasing themselves a house.

'I know that it's so tough now. Some of the measures the government have done are terrific but we're missing out on bits too. We're not doing anything on social ownership, which would increase supply,' Mr Albanese said.

'We also need to address the rental crisis. Rents are going through the roofs. Scott said if you're having difficulties with rent, buy a house.

'The truth is, it's much more difficult than that, and we need to address each of the issues. How do we get people into home ownership? How do we address affordable housing?'

The pair later became caught in a heated debate over turning back boats, leaving Mr Albanese stumped.

Mr Albanese said he supported turnbacks before Mr Morrison noted when he was Deputy Prime Minister in 2013 that wasn't the case.

'Why is it Scott you're always looking for a division, not looking for an agreement?' Mr Albanese fired.

Mr Morrison responded coolly: 'I'm just looking for the accuracy and the truth.'
The Metropolitan Police's acting boss has admitted it's not just 'a few bad apples' that have put the under-fire force into difficulty and there is a 'wider issue' within London's police service.

Sir Stephen House, who is standing in as Scotland Yard's temporary commissioner following the depature of Dame Cressida Dick, today told MPs there was a need for 'more sensitivity' from the capital's police officers.

The Met Police has been rocked by a series of recent scandals over the past year.

These included the killing of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens, the policing of a vigil for the murdered 33-year-old, a damning report into the behaviour of officers at Charing Cross police station, and the strip search of 15-year-old girl, known as Child Q.

Appearing before the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee today, Sir Stephen acknowleged that issues within the force were not just down to a few rogue individuals.

'Language is really important in this and people have talked about "a few bad apples",' he told MPs.

'Quite clearly that's not the situation at all. It's not a few bad apples.

'You can't simply say that Wayne Couzens and a couple of other people have done something wrong.

'That's been the spearhead of the problem, I would suggest.

'But there is a wider issue within the organisation which we acknowledge and we are dealing with.'

Sir Stephen House, who is standing in as Scotland Yard's temporary commissioner following the depature of Dame Cressida Dick, today told MPs there was a need for 'more sensitivity' from the capital's police officers

The Met Police has been rocked by a series of recent scandals over the past year. These include the killing of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens, the policing of a vigil for the murdered 33-year-old, a damning report into the behaviour of officers at Charing Cross police station, and the strip search of 15-year-old girl, known as Child Q

Sir Stephen told MPs that 'it's not a few bad apples', adding: 'You can't simply say that Wayne Couzens and a couple of other people have done something wrong'

Sir Stephen added that public confidence in the Met Police was 'a big issue for us', as he suggested there needed to be an overhaul of the force's attitudes.

He took over from Dame Cressida when she quit as Scotland Yard's commissioner after losing the confidence of London mayor Sadiq Khan, who was 'not satisfied' with her response to the damning report into the behaviour of Charing Cross officers.

Officers were found to have joked about rape, killing black children and beating their wives.

'It's not enough to say it's a few bad apples,' Sir Stephen told the committee today.

'There is an issue there where we need to address an attitude within the organisation of misogyny and too many officers being insensitive to race issues, to issues of gender, issues of sexual orientation.

'We need to get more sensitivity when we're dealing with that and we're working very hard with our officers.'

However, Sir Stephen insisted that the majority of Met Police officers and staff were also 'angry' about the recent controversies to have hit their force.

'They feel under siege by this,' he said.

'They feel as though everybody is criticising them and not giving credit for the decent job the vast majority are doing.

'This is why I say language is difficult, it's not a few bad apples but I am still very, very confident the vast majority of officers and staff are coming to work to do the job they swore when they joined they would do - to treat people fairly and without fear or favour.'

Sir Stephen also said it was 'wrong to say there is one culture' within the Met Police.

'The Met is made up of 43,000 people and many of them do different jobs, in different units in different ways,' he added.

'And they have different sub-cultures. What I'm looking at are the values of the organisation.

'The values of the organisation are very clear to people inside the organisation; it's about being professional, it's about having integrity, courage, compassion and treating people with respect.

'That's the common standard we demand from all of our officers and our staff.

'And if they don't live up to that standard, that's where we bring in misconduct or indeed criminal prosecution.

'I don't believe a culture across the organisation is the wrong culture, but I believe that there are challenges to the way our officers percieve the public and how they go about their job and we need to deal with that.'
Johnny Depp has told his $100million defamation trial that he has never watched Pirates of the Caribbean.

The actor, 58, who will return to the stand today to face ex-wife Amber Heard's lawyers, told the court he 'believes that the film did pretty well', referring to the first film in the series, The Curse of the Black Pearl, which grossed $654million.

Depp played swashbuckling pirate Jack Sparrow in the hit films in the 14th highest-grossing series of all time.

Asked in the Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia yesterday about how his life changed after the 2003 film, Depp said: 'Cartoon characters can get away with things we can't.

'Captain Jack Sparrow can do things that I could never do. He could say things that I could never say. So it was for me, a way to stretch the parameters of a character and take a risk in doing that.

Johnny Depp has told his $100million defamation trial that he has never watched Pirates of the Caribbean

Depp played swashbuckling pirate Jack Sparrow in the hit films in the 14th highest-grossing series of all time (pictured with Orlando Bloom as Will Turner)

'But if it panned out, and I felt I was on a pretty good mission, I thought that it might be a character who would be accepted by five-year-olds and 45-year-olds, 65-year-olds and 85-year-olds in the same way that Bugs Bunny is.'

Asked about his first reaction to the script, the actor said: 'I thought that it had all the hallmarks of a Disney film  that is to say, a kind of a predictable three-act structure.

'The character of Captain Jack was more like a swashbuckler type that would swing in shirtless and be the hero.

'I had quite different ideas about the character, so I incorporated my notes into the character and brought that character to life. Much to the chagrin of Disney, initially.'

He added: 'I didn't see it. But I believe that the film did pretty well, apparently, and they wanted to keep going, making more and I was fine to do that.

'It's not like you become that person, but if you know that character to the degree that I did  because he was not what the writers wrote, so they really weren't able to write for him

'Once you know the character better than the writers, that's when you have to be true to the character and add your words.'

'No, no, no that's my job. You don't do that, I do that,' Amber allegedly told Johnny after he had removed his own footwear

Depp was testifying in the trial in which he is suing Heard for libel over a 2018 op-ed that she wrote for the Washington Post in which she wrote about her alleged domestic abuse.

Heard, 35, is countersuing for $100 million, claiming that he smeared her when he accused her of lying.

Yesterday, Depp told a court of the moment his marriage to Heard fell apart  because he took his own boots off when he got home.

Amber, he said, had a routine that she would get him a glass of wine and remove his footwear as soon as he got home.

But one day she was on the phone, so he took his own boots off rather than wait.

'I worked quite a lot and when I came home from work I'd come in the house and she'd sit me down and give me a glass of wine and take my boots off and set them to the side,' he told the court in Fairfax, Virginia.

'I've never experienced anything like that in my life. I never experienced that and it became a regular thing, kind of routine.

Depp got emotional as he talked about how good his relationship with Amber Heard was at the beginning but how it fell apart after he took his own boots off

Depp said under oath that his wife 'became another person, almost' within 18 months of the boots incident

'One night I came home and she was on the phone, I took my boots off, suddenly Miss Heard approached with this look on her face, she just said what did you just do? What did you do?'

He asked her what she meant and she replied: 'You took your boots off.'

'Yes I did, he said he told her. You were busy.'

But Amber told him: 'No, no, no that's my job. You don't do that, I do that.

'Then she said 'Let me get you a glass of wine.' I did take pause of course, the fact she was visibly shaken or upset that I had broken her rules of routine.

'Once you notice something like that you start to notice other tidbits that come out.

'Then within a year a year and a half she had become another person, almost.'

He said in the beginning his relationship with Heard, who he met on the set of the 2011 movie The Rum Diary, was 'too good to be true'.

'She was attentive, she was loving, she was smart, she was funny, she was understanding. We had many things in common, certainly blues music, literature.

'For that year, or year and a half it was amazing.'

'From the beginning of our relationship for a good year and a half she was wonderful and then things just started to change or things started to reveal themselves is a better way to put it.'

He said he called her Slim and she called him Steve after the Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart characters in the movie To Have and Have Not.

He explained that he was the craggy Bogart and she was 'this beautiful creature, this stunning creature,' the much-younger Bacall.

He said it was during a kissing scene in The Rum Diary that he realized he had feelings for Heard, saying he 'felt something he shouldn't be feeling.'

She later went to his trailer and they kissed again.

Judge Penney Azcarate who is presiding over the sensational trial in Fairfax, Virginia

The actor told the court Tuesday that he started popping pills when he was just 11 and by the time he was 15 he had 'done all the drugs that I am aware of,' Tuesday.

He started on tablets his mother took for her nerves and progressed from there, he told the court.

'I'd bring my mum her nerve pill, I'd take one myself to escape caring so much, feeling so much  to escape the chaotic nature of what we were living through.

'Can't say I'm proud of admitting that'.

He said after taking his mother's pills he moved on to marijuana and other drugs.

He said: 'I've never taken any substance for a party. I've taken these substances on and off to numb myself of the ghosts, the wraiths that were still with me from my youth.

'Essentially self medication, one of those get-me-out-of-here moments. You want to escape from your own brain, your own head'.

Depp said that by 15 he had 'done all the drugs I was aware of' but he didn't continue at such a rate.

He said there were 'many years' he didn't even have a drink' and that he 'wasn't dropping acid every five minutes'.

And he said that his ex-wife's claims about his drug abuse were exaggerated.

He said: 'The characterization of my 'substance abuse' that's been delivered by Miss Heard is grossly embellished and I'm sorry to say but a lot of it is just plainly false

'It was an easy target for her to hit because once you've trusted somebody for a certain amount of years and you've told them all the secrets of your life that information can be used against you, especially if it's taken to a point that's teetering on impossible, teetered over impossible at times.

Depp and Heard called each other Steve and Slim after the Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall characters in the movie To Have and Have Not

Johnny Depp said ex-wfe Amber Heard always insisted she take his boots off and pour him a glass of wine when he got home

Heard and Depp in the movie The Rum Diary where they met. Johnny said he 'felt something he should not have felt' during a kissing scene in the movie

'I am not some maniac who needs to be high or loaded all the time.

'In fact before Australia I'd been off of alcohol for about 18 months,' he added referring to the time when he lost part of a finger, when, he claimed, Heard threw a bottle at him.

But he admitted that he got hooked on the painkiller Roxycontin  which he called Roxies  after getting sciatica from throwing a chair through a window in Pirates of the Caribbean 4.

'It's not like you take those pills to get high, you're taking those pills to get well or better because if you're without the pill your body will start to go into withdrawal,' he said.

Depp shook his head and smiled when asked if he had done opiates since detoxing, telling the jury: 'No I can't.

'Once you've been bit you'll be bit again.'

Depp apologized for sending his best friend vile texts about Heard saying he wanted to see her 'rotting corpse decomposing in the f***ing trunk of a Honda Civic'.

'I'm ashamed of some of the references made. I'm embarrassed that at the time the heat of the moment, the heat of the pain that I was feeling went to dark places.

He said: 'Sometimes pain has to be dealt with with humor and sometimes dark, very dark humor.

'I grew up watching Monty Python so it can tend to get into dark humor. It can tend to get intowords are used for emphasis and words are used to express what you're feeling at the time. It's just like growing up, you learn from those mistakes, you learn from those things and you move forward'.

Earlier, Depp had talked about his upbringing, saying he had been regularly abused by his mother Betty Sue Palmer, who died in 2016.

But he said he learned a lot from his parents, especially about bringing up children.

'I knew exactly how to raise children when my girl Vanessa (Paradis) got pregnant I knew exactly how to raise children which was to do the opposite of what they did.

Depp said he learned how to bring up children from his mother Betty Sue Palmer. 'Justdo the opposite of what she would do'

Depp and Heard met on the set of the 2011 movie The Rum Diary, turning up on the red carpet together for its London premiere

Depp with parents Betty Sue Palmer and John Christopher Depp and then-girlfriend Vanessa Paradis when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999

Never raise your voice in front of the children, never. Screaming out the word no to them. I never wanted to tell my kids no.

'I wanted to show them there are options  you don't have to stick the coat hanger in the electrical socket.

'Talk to them, if you understand the repercussions of something you won't go theregive this some thought. That could kill you so I'd ease them away from things of that nature with more of a conversation as opposed to a flat out don't you ever do that again, and threats.

'I did not raise my children that way.'

He told of 'verbal abuse, name calling and bullying' by his mother, who he described as 'very unpredictable.'.

She took any 'opportunity to be as cruel as anyone could be,' he said.

Depp laughed nervously as he recalled an ashtray being flung at him that hit him in the head, being beaten with high heel shoes, telephones, 'whatever's handy.'

'In our house we were never exposed to any type of safety or security, the only thing to do was stay out of the line of fire,' he said, adding, 'When she was going to get riled up and somebody was going to get it and generally it was me.'

'Physical violence, physical abuse. That was a constant. We were all somewhat shell-shocked. She'd walked past, you'd shield yourself because you didn't know what would happen,' Depp said.

He talked about how his mother gave him and his two siblings cruel names.

Johnny Depp gestures while giving testimony during the trial. He said he started popping his mother's nerve pills when he was 11 and by the time he was 15 had tried every drug he knows of

Amber Heard and her attorney Elaine Bredehoft during the trial on Tuesday. Heard is countersuing Depp for $100 million claiming he libeled her when he said she lied in a Washington Post op-ed

'My brother wore glasses so he was Four Eyes. His teeth were messed up in the front so he was Buck Tooth.'

He said his mother called his sister Violet although her real name is Christie.

'My mother despised my father's parents. Grandmother's name was Violet.

'So my mother said, come here Violet, get in here Violet. Christie, my sister, knew very well that was a deep cut psychologically, emotionally, but you had to take it.

'You just had to take the pain.'

He said he had a lazy eye, and at one stage had to wear a patch over his good eye to try to strengthen the other.

''She would call me Cock eye or One Eye, anything she could get to demean, humiliate.

'The psychological abuse was almost worse than the beatings,' Depp added. 'They were just physical pain, and the physical pain, you learned to deal with it, accept it.

'But the psychological and emotional abuse that's what kind of tore us up.'

He said his father, John Christopher Depp was a kind stoic man who never lost his temper or attacked Betty Sue, until one day when Johnny was 15 he walked out and didn't return.

Attorneys for Heard have argued she told the truth and that her opinion was protected as free speech under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment

Depp arrives at the courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, to give evidence in the trial

'When my father left I didn't realize,' Depp said. 'He left for work one morning, was packing his car and he left.

'Hours later my mom came home from work, about 3.30 in the afternoon. She walked in the door and stopped and walked around, she felt something. She said your daddy's gone. He's gone, he's gone.

'She ran into their bedroom and into their closet, she opened the door and there was his rack of clothing and all his belongings were gone. She was quite upset. I took her car and drove to my father's work and sat down in front of him at 15.

'I said, Listen, seems somebody stole all of your clothes and he said yeah, I'm done. I can't do it any more. I can't live it any more. You're the man now..

'Those words didn't quite sit well with me. I didn't feel I was ready to hear those words.'

Depp said his mother 'went into a very deep, dark depression,' after his father John walked out.

'One afternoon I had fallen asleep and woke up and walked into the living room and saw my mother very feebly, almost a slow motion, crawl.'

'I knew something was dreadfully wrong. There was drool coming out of her mouth.'

'Front door busted open, my uncle and two paramedics came in and threw her on the gurney and whisked her out the house to get her out the hospital to pump her stomach.

'She'd swallowed a multitude of pills to try to commit suicide,' he said.

'She was a firecracker of a woman but when she got out of hospital the depression was so deep she lived on the couch and weighed about 70 pounds and all that imagery spun into my head. I thought that was a cowardly way for my father to have left.

'I was deeply upset by that.'
Venice is set to bring in a 10 entry fee from June in a bid to control the number of tourists entering the historic city.

Under a six-month pilot scheme being rolled out ahead of the first full tourist season since before the Covid-19 pandemic, visitors will have to book to enter the Italian city, and pay a fee worth up to 8.30 - depending on how busy the city is on the day.

If successful, the charge could be a permanent fixtures from January next year. The scheme will also put a limit on how many tourists enter the city each day.

Venice's mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, called the scheme a 'difficult experiment' that was 'the first in the world' of its kind, according to The Guardian.

Before the pandemic put a stop to most global travel in 2020, Venice would see as many as 30 million people visit every year.

That number fell sharply when Covid-19 grounded flights and stopped the flow of tourists, but now that restrictions have all-but eased, Venice is already seeing a return to pre-pandemic levels.

Venice is set to bring in a 10 entry fee from June in a bid to control the number of tourists entering the historic city. Pictured: St. Mark's Square, seen on April 8

The city, which is slowly sinking into the sea, has faced several issues related to tourism - such as huge cruise ships entering the Venetian Lagoon and with overcrowding in the summer months.

Plans to introduce an entrance fee were first touted in 2018 as a solution to reduce the masses of tourists who visit every year.

While that figure reduced dramatically over the last two years, the recent Easter weekend saw more than 125,000 people flood back into its narrow streets and famous squares.

'Tourism in Venice is starting again, and is a breath of fresh air for [tourism] operators,' Brugnaro wrote on Twitter, but added that the return of tourists reminded the city of the need for an entry fee.

'Today, many have understood that the booking system is the right path to take for a more balanced management of tourism.'

The scheme will require day trippers to book and pay the fee ahead of their visit. The cost will range between 3 and 10, depending on how busy Venice is on the day.

Venice, which is slowly sinking into the sea, has faced several issues related to tourism - such as huge cruise ships entering the Venetian Lagoon and with overcrowding in the summer months. Pictured: A huge ferry is seen moored in Venice in March 2021

Speaking to Italian newspaper told La Repubblica, Simone Venturini - Venice's tourism councillor - said those who book will be offered discounts on things such as entry into the city's museums and other landmarks.

'To determine the access fee, we will set a maximum threshold of 40,000 or 50,000 visitors a day,' he added.

Speaking last year about the proposed entry fee, Mr Venturini told Conde Nast's Traveler Magazine: 'We want to reposition Venice as a place people don't just come to for a few hours, but experience for a few days, and with a deeper awareness of its urban, social, and cultural fabric.

'By introducing a ticketing system we can limit crowds, shift away from the 'day-tripper model' that's been so detrimental to the city, and hopefully win back the overnight guests that have stopped coming because of overtourism.'

Visitors who stay overnight will not be required to pay the fee, as they will already be paying a tourist tax included in the price of accommodation throughout the city.

Locals who live in the Veneto region of Italy will still be required to book to enter Venice, but will be exempt from paying the fee.

There will be other fee exemptions too, such as for visitors coming to the city for a funeral or to visit a relative who lives in the city.

'No Big Ships' activists - who are against cruise ships coming too close to Venice - stage a protest as the MSC Orchestra cruise ship leaves Venice, Italy, Saturday, June 5, 2021

Plans are also reportedly in the works to install entry gates at the city's main points of arrival to control the flow of tourists.

Last year, the Italian government banned cruise ships from entering Venice's lagoon, with the liners ordered at the time to dock at the city's industrial port instead.

Italy's culture minister at the time announced the decision was in response to a request from UNESCO.

The decision came after a cruise ship collided with a small tourist boat along one of Venice's canals in June 2019, injuring four tourists.

Venice has seen a number of demonstrations by locals against cruise ships coming into the city's lagoon since tourists started returning after the pandemic.

In 2020, Venice opened a new tourist 'control room' that uses mobile phone data to log where they go, what they do, and where they're from.

City officials sitting in the 2.7million nerve-centre, which opened in September 2020, are able to see how many people are congregating in different parts of the city, how fast they are moving, where they stop, and what methods of transport they are using.
An unvaccinated British grandmother is facing deportation back to the UK after landing in Australia to see her family after doctors warned her against getting a jab because of her medical condition.

Clare Henderson, 64, landed in Perth to visit her sons Michael and Martin and their families but instead was held in immigration.

She had her fingerprints taken and was questioned for more than six hours by officers before being taken to a hotel where she was told she would shortly be deported.

The retired foster carer from Billingham, County Durham, has not had her jabs because she was advised against it due to having a medical condition called temporal arteritis, which caused inflammation of her arteries.

She was granted a travel exemption as a result of her condition, but since arriving in Australia has been told the law in Western Australia has changed since it was approved in November.

Clare Henderson is facing deportation back to the UK after landing in Australia to see her family after doctors warned her against getting a jab because of her medical condition. Pictured: Clare with her granddaughter

What is temporal arteritis? The NHS says temporal arteritis (giant cell arteritis) is where the arteries, particularly those at the side of the head (the temples), become inflamed. The 'serious' condition requires urgent treatment and its symptoms include: frequent, severe headaches; pain and tenderness over the temples; jaw pain while eating or talking; and vision problems, such as double vision or loss of vision in one or both eyes. The NHS said approximately 40 per cent of people with temporal arteritis develop polymyalgia rheumatica which causes pain, stiffness and inflammation in the muscles around the shoulders, neck and hips. Source: NHS Advertisement

Michael, 33, described the situation as 'ludicrous' and said his mother had been treated like a criminal.

He told the Northern Echo: 'It doesn't make any sense.

'She arrived yesterday at 5.15pm and we were all at the airport waiting. My three-year-old was there with a sign welcoming her grandma.

'To cut a long story short after seven hours someone finally spoke to us from Border Force and said they couldn't disclose what was going on but we found out they said her exemption she had been given by the doctor was no longer valid.

'Because the condition she has causes inflammation of the arteries she's on a high does of medication and her doctor advised her not to get the vaccine.

'She got that medical exemption and she got a visa - that was confirmed. Then she got a 'good to go pass' and the last thing was a digital passport. She did everything.

'She's been told since the visa was granted federal laws have changed to that medical exemption is no longer valid in Western Australia.

'They allowed her to get on the plane. She had all of the documents with her and she arrived thinking she was going to just come through.

'She's been treated like a criminal. It's been horrific.'

Clare was told she was going to be deported and flown back to the UK last night but now a decision will not be made until Thursday.

The retired foster carer from Billingham, County Durham, has not had her jabs because she was advised against it due to having a medical condition called temporal arteritis, which caused inflammation of her arteries. Pictured: Clare with her son Michael

The trip would have been the first she saw her family in Australia since the pandemic began and the also the first time she saw her three-year-old granddaughter Florence since the youngster was a newborn.

Michael, who has lived in Australia for 13 years, has been staging a campaign outside the Holiday Inn in Perth, where she is being held.

He had hoped to take her some fresh fruit and food, as well as pictures drawn by his daughter to cheer her up but has not been allowed to deliver the parcel.

The breath work facilitator, who works with people with mental health issues, added: 'Mam is struggling with everything.

'The news today has given her some hope but the way she has been treated is horrific.

'She's 64 and just got off a long haul flight. Her legs are swollen, she's got a massive headache. It couldn't have been more traumatic.

'She's been waving from the window but she's just been crying.'
Denmark is in talks with Rwanda about setting up a scheme to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda in a copy-cat of the one announced by Britain last week.

The country passed a law last year allowing refugees arriving on its soil to be sent elsewhere, but had yet to find a partner nation to run it.

Immigration Minister Mattias Tesfaye said Wednesday that he is in talks with Rwanda about partnering on the scheme, in the wake of the UK's announcement.

Pictured: Migrants, mainly from Syria and Iraq, walk at the E45 freeway from Padborg, on the Danish-German border, heading north to try to get to Sweden on September 9, 2015 (file photo). Millions of migrants fled the middle east into Europe after conflict broke out in Syria

'Our dialogue with the Rwandan government includes a mechanism for the transfer of asylum seekers,' he told Reuters.

The deal aims to 'ensure a more dignified approach than the network of human traffickers that characterises migration in the Mediterranean today,' he added.

Denmark has not yet struck a deal with Rwanda, the minister said, but a high-level meeting on the issue will take place on Thursday next week.

It comes after the UK government last week announced plan to send so-called 'Channel Migrants' arriving on dinghies across the English Channel to Rwanda.

Details of the scheme are sparse, but the government has said any person arriving in the UK could be sent offshore depending on the 'strength of their claim' and their method of arrival.

Once sent to Rwanda, they will be subject to the immigration laws of that country and would have no automatic right to return to Britain.

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel

Home Secretary Priti Patel (pictured) has fired back at The Archbishop of Canterbury after he declared in his Easter speech this morning the UK must not 'sub-contract our responsibilities' in reference to the migrant crisis

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said 'tens of thousands' of people could be resettled 'in the years ahead', but has not put a figure on how many the government plans to send or how much the scheme will cost.

Britain will initially pay 120million as part of an 'economic transformation and integration fund', but will also be responsible for the running costs of the scheme.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has called the plan 'bold and innovative' but critics say it is ethically unsound and financially irresponsible at a time of high borrowing. Justin Whelby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has gone so far as to call it 'ungodly'.

That prompted an angry response from Ms Patel, who challenged him to come up with a better idea instead of nay-saying.

'The UK and Rwanda stand together in their efforts towards promoting a new, fairer and more effective global asylum system... she wrote in a open letter alongside Rwandan foreign minister Vincent Biruta..

'Allowing this suffering to continue is no longer an option for any humanitarian nation.'

Meanwhile Denmark has gained a reputation for its increasingly hardline policies on migration in recent years, which includes a plan to send Syrians who fled the country's civil war back home, which began in 2019.

The Archbishop of Canterbury (pictured today) blasted the government's Rwanda plan for asylum seekers as the 'opposite of the nature of God'

Human rights groups, the UN and the EU have all expressed dismay over the move, which has seen hundreds of Syrians stripped of their residency permits and placed into 'return centres'.

Denmark has not yet begun deporting the estimated 400 people in such centres, but those who are housed there cannot work, study, or cook their own meals.

While they can leave the centres, they are not allowed to remain in Denmark. It is estimated that hundreds have left the country to seek refuge elsewhere in Europe.

The government has come under pressure to return residency to those housed in the centres, saying they face torture, arbitrary detention, kidnap and sexual violence if they are returned home.

Many of those who fled Syria during the war were opponents of dictator Bashar al-Assad, who now rules the country after Vladimir Putin helped him regain control.
A voter has accused Sky News of being biased against Anthony Albanese live on-air during the first leaders debate of the 2022 election campaign.

The network hosted the debate in Brisbane on Wednesday night, which saw Scott Morrison and the Labor lead trade verbal blows.

Both leaders faced questions from the public on home ownership, nursing in aged care and the need for a federal integrity commission.

As the debate came to a close, host Paul Murray roamed the room to ask the 'undecided voters' what they thought of each leaders performance.

Murray approached one woman who immediately hit out at Sky News, claiming the network had been unfair to the Labor leader.

'I thought it was a little bit unfair that Sky News gave Scott Morrison more time to speak, and kept cutting off Anthony. So yeah, I'm a little bit disappointed with that,' the woman said.

Murray asked if she thought Sky New were 'managing the time or the questions'.

The woman replied saying she thought they allowed Scott Morrison to speak more.

Murray stumbled for a moment saying he didn't know what was happening 'behind the scenes with clocks' but said 'it's all about hearing what you think'.

He then moved on to another voter standing beside the woman.

Later, when he returned to the voter who claimed the network was bias against the Labor leader, she admitted she favoured the candidate 'on the Left', which is Mr Albanese.

Mr Albanese emerged as the narrow winner with 40 per cent of the voters in the room backing the opposition leader while 35 per cent thought the prime minister had the better night, while 25 per cent still remained undecided.

Poll Who do you think won the debate? Scott Morrison Anthony Albanese Undecided Who do you think won the debate? Scott Morrison 348 votes

Anthony Albanese 294 votes

Undecided 69 votes Now share your opinion





The debate got off to a fiery start with the first audience member asking each leader what they would do to help Aussies get into the housing market.

The Labor leader took the opportunity to bring up a remark made earlier by Mr Morrison who told those struggling to afford rent to consider buying a house.

'I know that it's so tough now. Some of the measures the government have done are terrific but we're missing out on bits too. We're not doing anything on social ownership, which would increase supply,' Mr Albanese said.

'We also need to address the rental crisis. Rents are going through the roofs. Scott said if you're having difficulties with rent, buy a house.

'The truth is, it's much more difficult than that, and we need to address each of the issues. How do we get people into home ownership? How do we address affordable housing?'

Both leaders faced questions from the public on home ownership, nursing in aged care and the need for a federal integrity commission

Host Paul Murray had an awkward encounter with an auncident member as roamed the room asking voters what they thought of the leaders performance

The pair then became caught in a heated debate over turning back boats, leaving Mr Albanese stumped.

Mr Albanese said he supported turnbacks before Mr Morrison noted when he was Deputy Prime Minister in 2013 that wasn't the case.

'Why is it Scott you're always looking for a division, not looking for an agreement?' Mr Albanese fired.

Mr Morrison responded cooly: 'I'm just looking for the accuracy and the truth.'

Later in the debate, the leaders were asked how they would combat statistics an audience member had seen which indicated only 55 per cent of 18-year-olds weren't enrolled to vote.

The Labor leader said it was a matter of engaging with young people.

'We need to engage with young people, we need to engage on issues that involve them because they are our future,' he said.

But Mr Morrison put the blame on social media.

'What has happened with social media in our political debate over the last 10 years, it makes me terribly sad,' he said.

Scott Morrison (pictured) added a personal touch to the leaders' debate by conversing with the audience members who asked questions, asking their names and about their lives.

'And I think young people have been most affected by that  there are things that people would never say to each other. But they will write it in a comment and hurtful and it's destructive.'

The prime minister dodged a question about low levels of faith from voters in the integrity of both leaders, instead discussing the Australian economy.

'Our economic plan is about helping Australians realise their big aspirations in life, have their kids, to raise them, to give them a good education, to buy a home, to save for their retirement, to run a business and to have choices,' he said.

His opposition said he wanted to unite the country, adding his commitment to establish a national integrity commission.

'I want to unite the country. I want to not be a prime minister whos always looking for the wedge always looking for the division,' he said.

Both leaders offered very different opening statements before the questions began.

'After everything we've been through over the last few years, I'm incredibly optimistic about Australia's future,' Mr Morrison said.

'Our economy today is one of the strongest in the first world. This election is a choice. It's a choice about how we keep our economy strong. A stronger future, and an uncertain one.'

Anthony Albanese (left) and Prime Minister Scott Morrison faced off in the first leaders' debate in Brisbane on Wednesday night

Meanwhile the Opposition leader said he planned to create a better future for Australians if his government was elected.

'I believe we can have a better future if we have a better government,' Mr Albanese said.

'You all know the cost of everything is going up, expect your wages.

'So we need a plan. We need to make sure we have a strong economy with secure work.

'The government's been in office for a decade. The truth is, they haven't learnt from their mistakes. We must do better.'
People can get reinfected with Covid within three weeks, scientists say.

Experts have told how a 31-year-old Spanish healthcare worker battled Delta and Omicron within a 20-day period.

Researchers believe the unidentified woman's case is the shortest reinfection gap since the pandemic began.

The woman, whose battle with the virus was showcased at a medical conference, had received her Covid booster vaccine.

Doctors in Catalonia who treated her it shows fully jabbed people 'cannot assume they're protected against reinfection'  even if they have battled the virus before.

Dr Gemma Recio, of the Institut Catala de la Salut, added: 'This case highlights the potential of Omicron to evade the previous immunity acquired either from a natural infection with other variants or from vaccines.

'In other words, people who have had Covid cannot assume that they are protected against reinfection, even if they have been fully vaccinated.'

Scientists have found a jabbed Spanish healthcare worker who caught two different Covid strains within just 20 days in a case they say highlights the point that prior infection or vaccination does not guarantee immunity against the virus (stock image)

Spain, like many European nations, experienced a surge in Covid cases in December and January driven by the new Omicron variant

Omicron sub-variant causing havoc in the US has already been spotted seven times in Britain... but leading scientists insist strain is nothing to fear Seven Brits have already caught what is thought to be the most contagious version of Omicron yet. The BA.2.12.1 sub-strain already makes up a fifth of cases in the US, in a sign of what could come in Britain. Little is known about the new version of the virus, though it is believed to have an up to 27 per cent growth advantage over BA.2, which was behind the latest surge in UK cases and is itself a subvariant of Omicron. However, top scientists insist there is no evidence that BA.2.12.1 is more severe than its mild predecessor. British experts told MailOnline they are not concerned by its emergence because of the UK's high levels of immunity following the recent domestic surge. It suggests the first case was detected on the week of March 21 and the latest case was on the week of April 4. But the true number of Britons infected with the sub-strain is likely to be higher. The international database suggests the first BA.2.12.1 case was detected in Canada in the week of January 17. Advertisement

However, she added that previous infection and jabs 'do seem to partially protect against severe disease and hospitalisation in those with Omicron'.

The woman received her Covid booster 12 days prior to testing positive for the virus in December 2021 through her work's routine swabbing programme.

Lab tests later showed her first bout of the illness  which caused her no symptoms  was with the Delta variant.

She isolated for 10 days before returning to work in January. It is not clear i she had to test negative before starting work again.

However, she soon began to suffer from the tell-tale symptoms of Covid  a cough and fever.

Another test revealed she was positive again and genetic analysis revealed she had caught the Omicron strain.

'This case also underscores the need to carry out genomic surveillance of viruses in infections in those who are fully vaccinated and in reinfections,' Dr Recio added.

'Such monitoring will help detect variants with the ability to partially evade the immune response.'

The case is being presented to the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Portugal.

Covid reinfections are not rare  hundreds of thousands of Britons have caught the virus twice since the pandemic began, data suggests.

Immunity is never perfect, meaning the virus can still slip through the defences of people who've been vaccinated and survived the virus.

Some variants, such as Omicron, carry mutations that allow it to evade the body's virus-fighting arsenal easier.

The UK Health Security Agency believes almost 800,000 Britons have caught Covid twice over the course of the pandemic.

Around 8,700 people are thought to have been infected three times, and 74 Britons have tested positive four times since the start of April 2020.

UKHSA defines a Covid reinfection as testing positive for Covid within 90 days after first testing positive.
Holidaymakers could be braced for a summer of chaos as unions are threatening the biggest rail strike in modern history in June in a row over jobs and pay.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union is considering bringing 15 train services across the country including Govia Thameslink Railway, Avanti West Coast, and West Midlands Trains to a grinding halt.

The union has blamed Network Rail's planned to cut at least 2,500 safety-critical maintenance jobs as part of a 2 billion reduction in spending on the network.

RMT has also taken aim at train operators looking to freeze pay to combat the lowest passenger numbers in over 150 years.

The ballot of the 40,000 train workers opens on April 26 and closes on May 24 so strike action could begin in June.

Families and commuters also could be hit by huge disruptions on the London Underground and some airports as unionised workers at these services also consider strikes.

Industrial action in London on the Central and Victoria lines every Friday and Saturday is ongoing after the capital was nearly shut down in March by an ongoing row over pensions.

This all comes as nearly 500,000 bins are set to not be collected as the result of strike action during April and May and Post Office workers are set for a walk-out next month.

Passengers hoping to enjoy a well earned break are not just facing travel chaos from a ballot of 40,000 train workers who are part of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union but also from some in the airline sector (Pictured: Crowds of people pour into Waterloo mainline station)

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union is considering bringing 15 train services across the country including Govia Thameslink Railway, Avanti West Coast, and West Midlands Trains to a grinding halt. Pictured: Southern Rail trains stand at Selhurst Depot, south of London

Full list of train lines that could come to halt if RMT strike goes ahead Chiltern Railways

Cross Country Trains

Greater Anglia

LNER

East Midlands Railway

c2c

Great Western Railway

Northern Trains

South Eastern Railway

South Western Railway Island Line

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) which includes Gatwick Express

Transpennine Express

Avanti West Coast

West Midlands Train

Network Rail Advertisement

The RMT this month also caused a limited service of the TransPennine Express, whose members are also considering the June walk-out, due to strikes over Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

More strikes on this service, which operate the Manchester to Edinburgh and Glasgow routes, are planned for all Sundays until June and the 16 and 17 April, 30 April and 1 May and 4 May and 5 June.

With further travel chaos in the summer looming, Tim Shoveller, Network Rail's regional director, said: 'Our railway has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, and even as passenger numbers start to recover, we know travel habits and passenger demand have changed and the industry has to change too.

'We cannot keep relying on Government handouts, and so we must work together with train operators and our trades unions to save millions of pounds and deliver a more efficient railway.

'Our modernisation programme aims to build a sustainable future that delivers for passengers and creates better and safer jobs for our people.

'We are disappointed that the RMT has taken this decision and urge them again to work with us, not against us, as we build an affordable railway fit for the future.'

Mr Shoveller added: 'We would not consider any changes that would make the railway less safe.'

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and the British rail industry, said it has faced 'unprecedented shock' to the sector since Covid.

A spokesperson for the RDG said: 'The pandemic was an unprecedented shock for the railway, with the lowest passenger numbers in over 150 years and record levels of public funding to keep it running.

'Our whole focus now should be securing a thriving future for rail that adapts to new travel patterns and takes no more than its fair share from taxpayers, instead of staging premature industrial action which would disrupt passengers' lives and put the industry's recovery at risk.'

The ballot of the 40,000 train workers opens on April 26 and closes on May 24 so strike action could begin in June. Pictured: London Bridge railway station in London

Govia Thameslink Railway (including Gatwick Express) could also be set for strikes

The RMT is considering bringing 15 train services across the country including Greater Anglia, LNER, East Midlands Railway, c2c, Avanti West Coast, and West Midlands Trains to a grinding halt as train operators are looking to freeze pay to combat the lowest passenger numbers in over 150 years (stock image)

TFL workers to be balloted for industrial action in a dispute over pensions Transport workers in London are to be balloted for industrial action in a dispute over pensions. Members of Unite employed at Transport for London (TfL) and London Underground will vote in the coming weeks on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action. The union said workers have been told that the value of their pensions will be cut and a final salary scheme will end following a central government-demanded review in return for pandemic-recovery funding. Unite regional officer Simon McCartney said: 'Our members are dedicated to keeping London moving. Now they are being told that they will be poorer in old age. 'This is an appalling way to treat a loyal and committed workforce. 'Workers are balloting for industrial action as a last resort. Despite repeated calls to management there have been no guarantees on pensions or job cuts. 'Strike action would inevitably cause severe disruption to public transport throughout London.' Unite's members at TfL are spread across different parts of the organisation including Dial-a Ride, London Underground and Croydon trams. The union said its members are also in dispute over pay and the threat of job losses. The ballot will close on 26 May. If members vote in favour of industrial action, strikes could begin by mid-June, although Unite said action is likely to be co-ordinated with other unions who also have members in TfL. Advertisement

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: 'Railway workers have had to contend with pay freezes, the prospect of losing their jobs and repeated attacks on their terms and conditions.

'Removing 2,500 safety-critical jobs from Network Rail will spell disaster for the public, make accidents more likely and will increase the possibility of trains flying off the tracks.

'The way for trade unions to effectively take on the cost-of-living crisis is to stand up for their members at work and take industrial action when employers are not moved by the force of reasoned argument.

'A national rail strike will bring the country to a standstill, but our members' livelihoods and passenger safety are our priorities.'

The ballot which opens on April 26 and closes on May 24 will be among RMT members on lines such as East Midlands Railway, South Eastern Railway, South Western Railway, Island Line, and West Midlands Trains.

RMT members employed by contractors Churchill to clean trains will also walk out from 27 April to 7 May on Govia Thameslink, Eurostar, Southeastern and HS1.

Transport for London (TfL) workers will also consider strike action while Post Office workers who are members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) will walk out on May 3.

The union said workers have been told that the value of their pensions will be cut and a final salary scheme will end following a central government-demanded review in return for pandemic-recovery funding.

The ballot will close on 26 May. If members vote in favour of industrial action, strikes could begin by mid-June, although Unite said action is likely to be co-ordinated with other unions who also have members in TfL.

Post Office workers are to stage a one-day strike in a dispute over pay.

Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) will walk out on May 3 after voting overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action.

The union said the strike is over a pay freeze for 2021 and the offer of a 2% increase from April this year, alongside a 250 one-off lump sum.

Union officials said the offer was 'exceptionally poor', especially as RPI inflation has reached 9%.

Unite members who are employed by Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) are also considering strike action (Stock Heathrow image)

Post Office workers set for walk-out in May Post Office workers are to stage a one-day strike in a dispute over pay. Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) will walk out on May 3 after voting overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action. The union said the strike is over a pay freeze for 2021 and the offer of a 2% increase from April this year, alongside a 250 one-off lump sum. Union officials said the offer was 'exceptionally poor', especially as RPI inflation has reached 9%. CWU official Andy Furey said: 'Despite this union's best attempts to avoid strike action, the Post Office has displayed no interest whatsoever in meaningful negotiations. 'As such, workers have delivered an overwhelming mandate for strike action. 'The current offer of a mere 2% pay rise over two years is nothing short of an insult to these key workers who provided exemplary services to this nation during the pandemic. 'As the cost-of-living crisis mounts, working people across the country are facing stark realities. 'This isn't any less true of Post Office employees, who deserve far better than the degrading offer currently on the table. 'Post Office management need to understand that by undervaluing these workers, they have provoked real anger across the country. 'We urge them to get round the table with us and reach a decent, fair agreement that shows respect for Britain's key workers who kept post offices open for society during the pandemic.' The dispute involves counter staff, as well as those in clerical, administration and call centres. The CWU said all so-called crown post offices will be affected by the walkout as well as smaller sub-post offices. Advertisement

The dispute involves counter staff, as well as those in clerical, administration and call centres.

The CWU said all so-called crown post offices will be affected by the walkout as well as smaller sub-post offices.

Unite members who are employed by Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) are also considering strike action.

It said 200 of its cargo handlers and truckers could also vote for strike action at Heathrow in a pay dispute and has warned airport chaos will continue if the sector does not get a grip.

Their members 'build' the freight cargos and then truck them to points at the airport for loading onto airlines such as Air China, American Airlines, Etihad, Singapore and Thai.

They also deal with unloaded cargo from passenger flights, so a strike could cause havoc not just to freight movements, but to passengers boarding and leaving aircraft.

Unite regional officer Kevin Hall said: 'WFS's rivals have recognised the current economic situation and now WFS needs to enter into meaningful negotiations.

'Any industrial action will cause chaos to the freight operations of WFS' clients, which include a number of prestige international airlines, such as American Airlines.'

Its ballot of members closes on Wednesday 27 April.

It also called off its strike action at Luton Airport over Easter as airline passengers have already endured waiting days at British airports for luggage at carousels, cancelled flights, enormous queues to check in and just get through security as the sector struggles to return post-Covid.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham also said: 'We warned the aviation sector repeatedly not to use the cover of Covid to slash jobs and pay. This would render it unable to meet demand when passengers returned.

'Now the sector is suffering from a chronic inability to attract new staff because workers are not attracted to an industry where pay is poor and conditions are lousy.

'Bargain-basement wages and insecure jobs must be consigned to the past if the sector wants to get back on track.

'It is pretty simple  if you want to thrive, treat your workers with respect and don't attack their jobs, pay and conditions.'

Added to the overwhelming number of strikes planned or being considered is also rubbish workers that deliver to nearly 500,000 households in the country.

Added to the overwhelming number of strikes planned or being considered is also rubbish workers that deliver to nearly 500,000 households in the country. Pictured: Liverpool's overflowing bins back in January

Northampton towns bin workers voted for industrial action - which could affect 94,000 homes - and could take place as early as 27 April.

A total of 220,000 homes could be affected as 200 Biffa workers go on strike from Tuesday 3 May until Friday 13 May.

There will then be a further two week strike from Monday 23 May until Friday 3 June.

Following an industrial action ballot in which Unite members voted by a majority of 98 per cent to strike in a dispute over widespread bullying within the Cardiff City Council Waste Services, waste service workers employed by Cardiff City Council will start six weeks of continuous strike from 22 April.

This will affect a total of 147,665 households.

Unite's Ms Graham said: Workers at Cardiff Council have had enough of the toxic workplace bullying.

'Unless the council urgently resolves our grievances then six weeks of strike action will start in just nine day's time.

'Our members are completely united and determined to win this fight for justice and they will receive the full support of Unite during the strike.'
By William R. Jones





Recently, I read Julia Metraux's article, "Who Looks Like a Professor?" which she wrote eight months ago. Immediately, upon reading the headline, in my mind's eye, I began to visualize former professors whose classes I attended in my school days. I imagined and contrived the appearance I preferred to stereotype. My now personal discerning and comparative mental picture may, perhaps, be oversimplified and irrational, however, it comes with much more experience and maturity as opposed to the young head on my shoulders during my freshman days.



After reading the article, I understood that the thrust was centered on the preconceived images that first-time college students have when they enter classrooms. It explored the preconceptions perpetuated by popular films. Film stereotypes often suggested the influential impact of classroom interactions.



Metraux's writing guides us to her primary resource, "Race, Gender, and Research: Implications for Teaching from Depictions of Professors in Popular Film, 1985-2005," by social psychologists Dagaz and Harger.



Acute in your perception and sound in your judgment, you immediately see there are strong cultural implications and parameters. For example, I only did see and remember well 3 (12.5 percent) of the 48 popular films that the researchers reviewed. All were American Hollywood films.



I know not if there has been additional research or surveys done. Perhaps the authors were under time constraints. Publishers did not want it perfect, they wanted it by a deadline. In spite of that, the authors admitted that their appendix list of films was not exhaustive.



Now here's the thing: how does one conceive of what a professor looks like? The researchers only considered Hollywood depictions, which were limited in gender and race. One minority exception  severely underrepresented  that Metraux mentioned was Sandra Oh, a Korean Canadian transplanted to America. She starred as the chairperson of an English Department at fictional Pembroke University (in "The Chair" comedy released on Netflix).



Clear American markers of a professor's semblance and professoriate status seem to be one's style of dress, sometimes a conservative suit and tie (tweed jackets and bowties), including hairstyle and facial hair. Accessories may include eyewear, briefcases, pocket protectors and textbooks as well, and one recent propensity that I've noticed at my university: certain profs walk about with their laptops open and on as though they are carrying a tray of food.



Anyway, I emphasize that the above-mentioned markers are sure to differ from country to country. And besides, it is not the looks but the teaching skills and competence that one should be concerned with, but how would a frosh know that? Since professors produce other professors, we would fare better to ask them who looks like a professor.



I like what P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar said: "I least believe in my looks as a professor; I utmost believe in my profession as a professor."



Nevertheless, my conception of a professor would be that of aged Harvard professor character Charles W. Kingsfeld, Jr. whose bearing and no-nonsense demeanor was masterful and imperious with his unrelenting Socratic method on his students (in the 1973 movie, "The Paper Chase").



Notwithstanding, as one not privy to any special information, my close friend's answer to the question, "Who looks like a professor?" was unexpected and universal: "Anyone."





The author (wrjones@vsu.edu) published the novella, "Beyond Harvard," and presently teaches English as a second language.








New pictures have emerged showing Russian conscripts who are believed to have died on the Moskva warship despite Vladimir Putin declaring that anyone serving under compulsory service would not be sent to war.

The young naval sailors, many of whom are 19-years-old, are missing and presumed dead after being on board the stricken flagship when it was hit by two Ukrainian missiles in the Black Sea.

Now their parents are demanding retribution for the 'war crime' and punishment for the 'scumbags' who sent them to their deaths in one of the biggest displays of Russian outrage at Vladimir Putin's war seen so far.

On March 8, Putin specifically assured Russian mothers that he will not send conscripts or reservists to fight in Ukraine and that only 'professional' soldiers were taking part in the conflict.

But Naval chief Nikolay Yevmenov, 60, admitted at the weekend that there had been conscripts on board the stricken Moskva flagship which sunk to the bottom of the Black Sea and now pictures have emerged of eight conscripts who are missing and presumed dead - despite the Kremlin's assurances.

The eight conscripts who have been pictured are: Nikita Efremenko, 19, from Priozersk, Leningrad region; Andrey Tsyvov, 19, from Crimea; Nikita Syromyasov, 20, from Crimea; Leonid Savin, 18 or 19, from Alupka; Yegor Shkrebets, 20, from Yalta; Mark Tarasov, 24, from St Petersburg; Sergey Grudinin, 21, from Amur region; and Danil Gerok, 22, from Lobnya, Moscow region.

Leonid Savin, who is 18 or 19, and Andrey Tsyvov, 19, were both conscript sailors and went missing after the Russian flagship Moskva sank

The young naval sailors, including Nikita Efremenko, 19, (left) and Danil Gerok, 22, (right) are missing and presumed dead after being on board the stricken flagship when it was hit by two Ukrainian missiles.

Angry parents have hit out at 'lies' and 'bullying' by the authorities over their conscript sons who Putin had promised would not be sent into the hot war. Pictured: Nikita Syromyasov, 20, who was on the flagship when it sank

Images have emerged which appear to show the Russian warship Moskva heavily damaged and on fire in the Black Sea shortly before it sank last week

One more conscript's name is known with no picture - Igor Kutnyak - and there are likely to be many more who perished on the Moskva, or were maimed with appalling wounds.

Angry parents have hit out at 'lies' and 'bullying' by the authorities over their conscript sons who Putin had promised would not be sent into the hot war.

Russia has still not revealed how many survived and died from the 510-strong crew in the attack on 14 April.

But horror accounts of the sinking have started to emerge from conscripts serving on board the ship, with one telling his parents that at least 40 members of the crew were killed with 'many' left missing or maimed with lost limbs after the strike. Hundreds are thought to have died as the vessel went down.

Some relatives have been warned they will not get financial 'compensation' for their loved-ones' deaths if they go to the media.

Despite this, Dmitry Shkrebets, father of Yegor Shkrebets, 20, who was a chef onboard, has vowed to find out the truth about what happened to the warship and those onboard. But he said he has been faced with a wall of obfuscation from the Russian authorities.

He has slammed the 'lies' and demanded punishment for the 'scumbags' who sent the 'boys' - forced into compulsory military service - to their deaths.

'All the guilty should be punished for what they did. Or rather, what they didn't do,' he told Current Times.

'Because these boys - 19-20 years old - should not have been there during these operations. They should have been landed in Sevastopol.

'When it all happened, yes, I found out that no one had landed them since the [start], they were on the ship the whole time.

'But if I then started making all this noise, then this would be the disclosure of secret information.'

Russia has still not revealed how many survived and died from the 510-strong crew in the attack on 14 April. Pictured: Yegor Shkrebets, 20, and Mark Tarasov, 24, who were both conscripts who went missing after the Moskva flagship sank

Sergey Grudinin, 21, conscript sailor, went missing after the Moskva cruiser sank

He stressed: 'We must open all this abscess and punish all those responsible, why the boys were not dropped off. Whatever happens, scumbags have no nationality.

'A war crime has occurred and all those involved must be punished.'

The distraught father is pleading with Russian media outlets to highlight their plight - despite the real risk of punishment by the authorities.

'Thanks to the kind people who post [our messages],' he said. 'And it doesn't matter to us what kind of media it is, because for [the state] media, neither our 'missing' children-sailors, nor, accordingly, we, their parents exist. We are not here'

None of their parents have been definitively told the fate of their children but all know in their hearts now that their sons are dead, even if they cling to desperate and unrealistic hopes.

One frantic mother, Olesya Dubinina, is demanding a rescue operation in the hope her son, Nikita Syromyasov, is still alive, trapped in a sealed air bubble in the wreck.

'We urgently need to start a rescue operation. For sure, when it sank there were still living people - wounded, unconscious. For sure, there are battened down parts of the ship that have not been flooded,' she said.

Tatyana Efremenko, mother of Nikita Efremenko, said: 'Every day I call the commander, every day I call Moscow. Nothing. No announcements. I'm going there myself tomorrow morning.

'I want to visit all the hospitals. I have a one way ticket. I don't know when I'll be back. If the defence ministry does not help, then we must go and look for them ourselves.

'The only thing they told me was that my son was on duty in the dining room at the time of the fire. I'm tired of fighting on the phone.'

She said: 'It's just scary. It's so scary that I don't understand how this was allowed. I don't understand what the conscript children were doing on the Moskvait is beyond the limit.'

Another bereft mother Tamara Grudinina told the BBC Russian service that she received a call from her son Sergey Grudinin's 'commander'.

'[The commander] said he led them out in a chain, the chain broke, and 'your son remained on the shiphe sank along with the ship'.'

She added: 'I'm telling the commander called Vakula: 'How can it be? I entrusted my son to you, how could you do it yourself, how can we live now?

'And he says . As if, you know, leave us alone. Not even regrets. As if we are some kind of dogs.'

A relative of Leonid Savin said: 'I was told he was dead. And [then] they called and said that he was missing, as if they were mocking. His brother was told that he died, when he asked what is about the funeral, they said that actually nothing is clear.

'Now he called and was told that he was missing [at sea]. I cannot understand anything now.'

The pictures seem to contradict Russian accounts of the sinking, after Moscow claimed the warship sank in choppy seas while being towed to the port of Sevastopol following an explosion on board

The parents of another conscript were told their son was 'alive', and a day later that he was missing. Next came a notification that he had died.

They pleaded: 'What's going on? Why are we being bullied like this?'

Yulia Tsyvova, mother of Andrey Tsyvov, said: 'No-one can say anything - they shrug.'

This comes amid claims that the captain abandoned the warship before securing the safety of his crew after the Russian naval vessel was hit by Ukrainian missiles.

First Rank Captain Anton Kuprin, 44, reported as dead by the Ukrainians, appears to have survived after abandoning his ship while others struggled for life on board.

He was reportedly filmed at the weekend after his escape, although footage from the Russian Defence Ministry cannot be verified.

His evident return to his loving family has infuriated parents of low-ranked sailors who cannot even get information on whether their conscript sons, who by law should not have been sent to war, are alive or maimed or, missing presumed dead or known to be dead.

Two sailors - not conscripts - now confirmed as dead are Vitaly Begersky, who was keeping watch on the starboard side of the Moskva, and midshipman Ivan Vakhrushev.

His wife Varvara Vakhrusheva said he had died while 'carrying out his duties'.

She said: 'His body was found.'

Some parents have been told by commanders that the view not to send conscripts into battle did not apply because the Moskva was hit 'in neutral waters'.

Yet the same warship - with the same crew - was active earlier in blitzing Snake Island in one of the first acts of the bloody war.

Moments earlier, Ukrainians on the island had told the captain of the Moskva: 'Russian warship go **** yourself.'
Russian soldiers have been accused of shooting dead two Ukrainian zoo workers by their shocked colleagues who revealed they discovered their corpses while evacuating animals to safety.

The employees at the Feldman Ecopark zoo in Kharkiv were reported missing on March 7, when workers at the attraction returned amid the Russian invasion to evacuate the animals to safety.

Their colleagues hoped the two workers had fled the region during the invasion, and were just yet to return to the zoo. As they worked on getting the animals to a safer part of the country, workers stayed optimistic their colleagues would return.

But a statement from the zoo on Tuesday said the workers had now been found 'shot by the enemies' - Russian soldiers - who then barricaded their bodies in a back room.

The zoo made headlines on April 5 when it was reported Ecopark was at the point of making the heartbreaking decision to destroy its lions, tigers and bears after coming under attack by Russian shelling.

A statement from the zoo said two of its workers had now been found shot dead - shot by Russian soldiers who then barricaded their bodies in a room. They were reported missing in March, and their colleagues had hoped they had fled the region amid the Russian invasion. Pictured: A still grab of a zoo employee announcing the death of his colleagues

Pictured: A view of one of the buildings at Feldman Ecopark zoo in Kharkiv. Two of the zoo's employees have been found shot dead and barricaded in a back room after they stayed behind to help the animals as Russian launched its invasion of Ukraine

Pictured: A tiger stays in a cage after its evacuation from the ruined Kharkiv Feldman Ecopark. There were fears that the park might have to euthanise its animals over fears they could escape during the Russian invasion

Amid fears Russian bombs could destroy enclosures and allow the dangerous animals to escape - and wreak further havoc in the nearby region already suffering from Moscow's invasion - the zoo came close to euthanising the animals.

'The infrastructure is down, the enclosures are down. The biggest problem is big predators,' the zoo warned at the time.

'Their enclosures still miraculously maintain integrity, but one more shelling - and the lions, tigers, bears, may end up on the will and go towards Kharkov or to nearby villages. We just can't allow this.'

Days later, however, it was reported that the zoo had been able to evacuate some of its animals out of Kharkiv, preventing a potential tragedy.

Kharkiv is Ukraine's second city, and is barely 20 miles from the Russian border to the north. As a result, it has endured some of the most intense fighting since Vladimir Putin invaded on February 24.

Earlier in the war, the zoo was heavily shelled, and three other workers were killed.

Now, just days after being able to share the good news of the evacuations with its followers, the zoo was forced to share tragic news once more - writing that two of its employees had been found shot dead, allegedly by Russian soldiers.

'War brings bad news,' the statement from Feldman Ecopark said. We have received confirmation that two of our employees who went missing in early March have died.

Amid fears that bombs could destroy enclosures and allow the dangerous animals to escape - and wreak further havoc on the nearby region already suffering from the Russian invasion - the zoo came close to euthanising its animals. Pictured: A destroyed enclosure at the zoo

Last week, a slight lull in the Russian onslaught allowed the owner of Feldman Ecopark and his staff to stage a daring escape bid, with the plan now to move animals to Odessa where they will hopefully be safer. The owner of the zoo said he will try to save 'the little jaguars' and 'little panthers' if possible. A video later showed him cuddling them in another location

'When the war started, they stayed in the Ecopark and helped to feed the animals. We arrived at the Ecopark on March 7 and did not find them there.

'We searched for them for a long time, hooked up law enforcement officers. Until the last, we had been hoping that nothing irremediable had happened, and they were able to survive.

'But yesterday we received confirmation that their bodies had been found. Our guys were shot by the enemies, and their bodies had been barricaded in the back room.

'We'll cherish the blessed memory of these wonderful and courageous people. Sincere condolences to their families and friends. We believe that inhumans who have committed this will definitely be punished!'

Last week, a slight lull in the Russian onslaught allowed the owner of Feldman Ecopark and his staff to stage a daring escape bid, with the plan now to move animals to Odessa where they will hopefully be safer.

Even as they worked to put the beasts in transport cages for the 500-mile journey through the war-raved country, the once-thriving zoo came under fire from Vladimir Putin's forces, according to the keepers.

Proprietor Alexander Feldman hailed 'another successful day for our team' as they moved the animals.

'One more shelling - and the lions, tigers, bears, distraught with fear, may be free and go towards Kharkiv or to nearby villages,' said zoo owner Alexander Feldman (pictured) - warning earlier this month that it might be forced to destroy a number of its animals because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Pictured: A destroyed residential building in northeast Kharkiv. Russia has re-supplied its troops and concentrated the offensive on the eastern part of Ukraine. Kharkiv, the second biggest city in Ukraine now under constant threat of Russian bombardment and airstrikes

'Today we managed to take five big lions out of Ecopark,' he said. 'We took two more small felines out, a jaguar and a lion cub, along with birds, a silver fox, and Arctic foxes.' But he said: 'By the end [of the day] some serious shooting began, and we had to leave.'

And he hit back at internet trolls alleging in online posts that some of the hundreds of animals would be left behind to die.

'Don't believe cruel information about animals being abandoned or not needed,' he said. 'No animal will be left behind, whether a piglet, tiger or bear.'

Feldman hailed kind-spirited Ukrainians and foreigners who helped to make the mercy evacuation possible through financial donations.

'Over the past week, almost 4,000 people have provided assistance for the evacuation, treatment and food supply of Feldman Ecopark animals,' he said.

'This is almost as many as the entire number of people who have supported us in a previous period since the beginning of Russian aggression in Ukraine.

'Donations come from all regions of Ukraine, as well as from a number of other countries.'

Footage of the evacuation showed workers standing in front of large animal crates, one of which had a yawning lion inside. Mr Feldman was seen playfully stroking its fur, keeping it calm while it was being moved.

The zoo once had more than 300 species. Mr Feldman begged for financial help to save all the animals they can from the Russian bombs. - https://feldman-ecopark.com/en/donation/.

Worryingly for the zoo, and for Kharkiv, Russia has now re-supplied its troops and concentrated the offensive on the eastern part of Ukraine. The city is now under constant threat of Russian bombardment and airstrikes.
The body of a young boy who was found in a wooded area in southern Indiana had been stuffed inside a colorful suitcase that said 'Welcome to Las Vegas', police have revealed.

Indiana Police have pleaded with the public for any information that could identify the child, who was black and thought to be around five years old.

The child's remains were found around 7:30pm on Saturday by a mushroom hunter in the heavily wooded area of Washington County, two hours away from Indianapolis.

The hardshell suitcase the child was found in has the distinctive Las Vegas design on its front and back, Sgt. Carey Huls said.

Police are yet to establish a cause of death after an autopsy was carried out on Tuesday.

The body of a young boy who was found in a wooded area in southern Indiana had been stuffed inside a suitcase, police have revealed

A Washington County resident hunting mushrooms found the body around 7.30pm Saturday

Sergeant Carey Huls with the Indiana State Police has asked for the public's help in identifying the body of a child found in a wooded area in Washington County

Police are yet to establish a cause of death after an autopsy was carried out on Tuesday.

A toll-free tip line in the case was established on Monday and has generated about 200 calls, but none of the calls have led to the identification of the boy, Huls said.

He was previously described as between the ages of five and eight years old but police now believe he is closer to five.

He is black, about 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall, with a slender build and short haircut. He is believed to have died sometime within the past week.

Huls declined to confirm the exact location or what the boy was wearing when his body was found, citing concerns that it could interfere with the investigation.

'It was a very disturbing, very shocking, very sad event... We need your help to bring justice to this young boy who didn't deserve [this],' Huls said at a press conference Sunday.

Huls also appealed to the public to provide any information about the boy, saying somebody knows who the child was or knows the names of his parents or guardians.

'There's somebody at an Easter table this weekend that maybe has somebody that's not there and were expecting to come,' Huls said.

The little boy was described as black, four-feet-tall, with a slim build and short hair. The remains were found around 7:30 p.m. Saturday by a mushroom hunter

The body was found not far from a roadway in Washington County. Huls declined to confirm the exact location or what the boy was wearing when his body was found, citing concerns that it could interfere with the investigation (File photo)

The State Police said in a Facebook post that investigators have not released an official time or cause of death as an autopsy is pending

'There's family members, friends, somebody from school perhaps, that knows maybe there were issues, that thinks this could possibly be that child... He deserves answers, he deserves our help.'

Police have contacted state and local agencies but said pending missing child reports do not match the description of the little boy found Saturday.

At the moment there is not an ongoing murder investigation, but authorities said that could change after obtaining the autopsy results.

Investigators have asked anyone with information to call the Indiana State Police in Sellersburg at 1-812-248-4374 or 1-800-872-6743.
A disabled House of Commons manager who was threatened with disciplinary action when she asked staff to stop using her specially adapted workspace has won a tribunal claim.

Alison Baker had a modified work station, including a special chair to help her manage neck and back problems, after suffering with musculoskeletal pain for more than 10 years.

But due to overcrowding in the office, managers allowed other staff to use it while she was away for short periods between June and September 2018.

An employment tribunal this week heard how the Palace of Westminster Collections Manager would have to readjust the workspace and chair after each time it was used by someone else.

When she left a 'polite' note asking staff not to sit there in her absence, bosses started disciplinary proceedings against her for what they saw as an 'unreasonable' request.

Now she is in line for compensation after the tribunal ruled Tuesday that she had been 'treated unfavourably' by bosses.

Her other claims of sex and disability discrimination and victimisation were dismissed.

The hearing in central London was told Ms Baker began working for the House of Commons Commission in 1991.

Alison Baker (pictured) had a modified work station including a special chair to help her manage neck and back problems. But due to overcrowding in the office, managers allowed other staff to use it as a 'hot desk' while she was away, an employment tribunal heard.

In 2005, Ms Baker began experiencing musculoskeletal symptoms and specialist equipment, including an orthopaedic swivel chair, was recommended to reduce the need for her to twist her neck or back. (Pictured: Offices at 7 Millbank)

What is musculoskeletal pain? Musculoskeletal pain is pain that affects the muscles, ligaments and tendons, and bones. The causes of musculoskeletal pain are varied. Muscle tissue can be damaged with the wear and tear of daily activities. Trauma to an area (jerking movements, auto accidents, falls, fractures, sprains, dislocations, and direct blows to the muscle) also can cause musculoskeletal pain. Other causes include postural strain, repetitive movements, overuse, and prolonged immobilisation. Changes in posture or poor body mechanics may bring about spinal alignment problems and muscle shortening, therefore causing other muscles to be misused and become painful. People with musculoskeletal pain sometimes complain that their entire bodies ache. Their muscles may feel like they have been pulled or overworked. Sometimes, the muscles twitch or burn. Symptoms vary from person to person, but the common symptoms are pain, fatigue and sleep disturbances. Source: Webmd Advertisement

The department is responsible for the administration of the House of Commons and the maintenance of the Parliamentary estate.

In 2005, she began experiencing musculoskeletal symptoms and specialist equipment, including an orthopaedic swivel chair, was recommended to reduce the need for her to twist her neck or back.

In 2014 Ms Baker was appointed Database Manager of the Architecture and Heritage Team at the Commons.

Her role included the 'crucial' task of arranging the care of the 'architectural fabric and decorative arts' in the Palace of Westminster.

The team moved offices within the same building at 7 Millbank, just down the road from Parliament where most desk-based staff are located, in April 2016.

In June 2018, Ms Baker fell in the street and injured her knee, which led to her being signed off sick from work for over a month.

When she returned to work in August, Ms Baker told the tribunal her equipment - including her chair, desk and workstation - had been 'drastically altered or moved'.

The tribunal heard Ms Baker took this as a 'personal threat' and a 'complete violation of her identity'.

She emailed bosses about her desk and was told: 'The desk you sit at will have been used by people hot-desking.'

Ms Baker told the tribunal she found it difficult to adjust her equipment to again make them suitable to her needs.

But her line manager, Donald Grant, told the tribunal office space was 'at a premium' at the time, and that there were 'fewer than 0.8 desks per person'.

Ms Baker, however, disputed the need for hot desking and said there were other rooms available to staff.

The following month the tribunal heard an occupational health report recommended Ms Baker's desk 'not be used as a hot desk' as she 'needs to have her own dedicated workstation'.

Ms Baker also placed a 'polite notice' on her desk asking for it not to be used when she was away.

But in September, after returning to work after a medical appointment the day before, she found her notice had been ignored and her orthopaedic chair 'altered' again.

When the Palace of Westminster Collections Manager left a 'polite' note asking staff not to sit there in her absence, bosses started disciplinary proceedings against her for what they saw as an 'unreasonable' request. (Pictured: Palace of Westminster)

At the end of the month Ms Baker was invited to a disciplinary hearing which included the allegation she had 'unreasonably' placed a note on her desk to warn colleagues against using it.

The allegation was later removed in a revised invitation, the tribunal was told.

Ms Baker again went on sick leave in October, citing workplace stress, and brought her tribunal claims in January 2019.

Employment Judge Jillian Brown has now ruled Ms Baker had been treated unfavourably after bosses took disciplinary action against her for leaving the note asking colleagues not to use her desk.

Judge Brown said: 'The House of Commons Commission had a practice of allowing hot desking on all desks.

'It accepted Ms Baker would have been put at a substantial disadvantage by this practice. Her workstation and equipment had been adapted for her needs, to prevent injury and discomfort.

'After returning to work after a one day absence, Ms Baker returned to find someone had altered her workplace-adjusted chair despite her polite notice asking colleagues not to use her desk.

'Ms Baker's polite note... was clearly something arising in consequence of her disability. The Tribunal concluded that Mr Grant initiating disciplinary action against her for leaving the note was unfavourable treatment.'

Ms Baker's claims of failure to make reasonable adjustments also succeeded - with the tribunal ruling it was 'reasonable' for Ms Baker to expect her desk to remain free during an absence of just one day.

Other claims of sex and disability discrimination, victimisation and disability discrimination were dismissed.

A further hearing to decide upon compensation will be held in due course.
Liberal candidate Katherine Deves condemned surrogacy as a 'human rights violation' while blasting a gay politician following the birth of his twins.

Deves, who is a candidate for the key seat of Warringah in the upcoming election, made the comment last year in repsonse to a picture of US politician Pete Buttigieg and his partner Chasten holding their newborns.

Buttigieg is the first openly gay Democratic presidential candidate in the US and is also the first openly gay person to be confirmed to a Cabinet post when he nominated to President Joe Biden's cabinet as the secretary of transportation.

Katherine Deves (pictured) has made headlines again after she condemned surrogacy as a 'human rights violation'. Deves, who is the Liberal candidate for Warringah, was recently in the spotlight over controversial remarks she has made about transgender people

He shared a photo on September 5, 2021 celebrating the birth of his twin children Penelope Rose and Joseph August.

'Chasten and I are beyond thankful for all the kind wishes since first sharing the news that we're becoming parents. We are delighted to welcome Penelope Rose and Joseph August Buttigieg to our family,' the politician wrote.

In an earlier post he said: 'We're overjoyed to share that we've become parents! The process isn't done yet and we're thankful for the love, support, and respect for our privacy that has been offered to us.'

Ms Deves responded to the Tweet saying: 'Surrogacy is human rights violation'.

'Women's bodies are not vehicles for a vanity project.'

It is not the first time the Warringah Liberal candidate has slammed surrogacy.

Last December, she labelled the process as 'reproductive prostitution'.

'It is egregious exploitation of women, both the woman from egg is 'harvested' and the pregnant woman who gives birth to the baby,' she wrote.

The mother-of-three wrote that surrogacy was a 'human rights violation' before saying, 'Women's bodies are not vehicles for a vanity project'

Ms Deves made the critique about surrogacy on Twitter in response to U.S. politician Pete Buttigieg's post where he was welcoming the birth of his twin children Penelope Rose and Joseph August Buttigieg with his partner Chasten via surrogacy in September 2021

It comes as a number of other controversial posts written by Deves continue to be unearthed, dividing the Liberal party over whether she should be dropped from her candidacy.

Deves, who is a strong advocate against trans women competing in women's sport, shut down her social media and apologised last week after historic tweets emerged of her describing transgender children as 'surgically mutilated and sterilised'.

She also compared lobbying to stop transgender athletes from competing in women's sport to standing up against the Holocaust and transgender rights to the Nazis and the Stolen Generation.

It is not the first time the Warringah Liberal candidate has slammed surrogacy. Last December, Deves labelled it 'reproductive prostitution'

Candidate for Warringah Katherine Deves has divided the Liberal party over her controversial comments

In April 2021, Ms Deves tweeted about a trial where a Canadian father was taken to court for not supporting his teenager transitioning.

'This will go down in history as akin to the grudge trials of the Third Reich,' she wrote.

'I do not like to invoke Nazism but the parallels are remarkable and deeply sinister.

'We can only hope that when society comes to its senses, it's redeemed by trials similar to the Nazi wife and the border guards.'

Five months later, Ms Deves slammed a decision by a Western Australia court to dismiss an appeal by parents whose transgender child was put into foster care.

'Australia has a very dark history of children being taken from their families by the state (because) bureaucrats thought they knew better,' she wrote.

'Don't we owe it to lessons of the past, such as our shameful Stolen Generation scandal, to stop the destruction of families for flawed beliefs?'

Deves has since apologised for some of her posts, saying that her comments were 'not acceptable'.

'My advocacy for the rights and safety of women and girls is well known, and I stand by my desire to ensure we protect the safety of women and girls and our entire community,' she said in a statement.

'However, the language I used was not acceptable, and for that I apologise.'
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Thousands of pilgrims from around the world gathered at the Vatican Wednesday as Pope Francis held his first weekly audience in St Peter's Square since coronavirus hit in early 2020.

The 85-year-old was met with cries of 'Long live the pope' as he arrived in his white popemobile into the square still decorated with 40,000 flowers laid out for last weekend's Easter celebrations.

The Pope was photographed shaking hands with the crowd as visitors gathered in their largest numbers in Vatican City since the pandemic.

Now restrictions are lifted, thousands of adoring Christians are able to show their appreciation for the Pope, with many traveling across Europe and the rest of the world in order to attend the general audience.

'Even if we are Orthodox, we wanted to come: God is the same for all of us, no matter what branch you are,' said Dan Stella, on holiday from Romania.

Some of the crowd waved flags from Croatia, Portugal, Spain, France - and Ukraine, a country for which the pope has repeatedly prayed since the Russian invasion nearly two months ago.

Thousands of pilgrims gathered at the Vatican on Wednesday for Pope Francis' first weekly audience in more than two years

Pope Francis shook hands with his audience for the first time since social distancing measures were lifted in Vatican city

Pope Francis is escorted by his bodyguards as he arrives in the popemobile car to St Peter's Square on April 20

One audience member from France said she was surprised by the amount of young people at Saint Peter's square at the Vatican, saying: 'It shows there is a future, a flame burning in them'

Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, pictured with thousands of tourists, is still decorated with 40,000 flowers laid out for last weekend's Easter celebrations

Francis initially delivered his audiences via video link from the Apostolic Library, before holding them in the San Damaso Courtyard in the Vatican

The pope's weekly audience has not been held in the vast St Peter's Square since February 2020, when coronavirus hit

On Wednesday, the pontiff thanked Poland for taking in the bulk of the estimated five million Ukrainians who have fled in Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II.

'May God reward you for your goodness,' he said.

The pope's weekly audience traditionally draws thousands of people but has not been held in the vast St Peter's Square since February 2020, when coronavirus hit.

Francis initially delivered his audiences via video link from the Apostolic Library, before holding them in the San Damaso Courtyard in the Vatican, where numbers could be limited.

On Wednesday, the Argentine pontiff smiled and laughed as he blessed pilgrims, although he appeared to be suffering again from the knee pain that has limited his activities in recent months.

Odile Lafarge came from France with her grandson to see him, telling AFP: 'He always has a message of peace and reconciliation. Our world really needs that.

'What struck me when we arrived is how many young people there are here.... it shows there is a future, a flame burning in them.'

The Pontifical Swiss Guard stand in front of the crowd on Wednesday, surrounding the Vatican and ensuring the Pope's safety

Audiences wave the French flag, advertising their country of departure, while others waved flags from Croatia, Portugal, Spain, France and Ukraine

The pope saluted attendees when he arrived. Ukraine is one country for which the pope has repeatedly prayed since the Russian invasion nearly two months ago

After shaking hands with the audience for the first time since social distancing measures were lifted in Vatican city, the Pope broadcasted his voice from the podium to the audience of thousands filling up St Peter's Square.

The Pontifical Swiss Guard stood in front of the crowd on Wednesday, surrounding the Vatican and ensuring the Pope's safety.

Pope Francis smiled and opened his arms wide in an embrace at the end of the general audience.

Following months without visitors, the historic collection at the Vatican Museums - housing one of the largest art collections in the world - reopened to the public in February, abandoning social distancing measures.

Vatican City is one of the few countries in the world not to have reported any deaths during the pandemic, with a total of 29 cases according to Our World in Data.

Two of Pope Francis' top advisors tested positive for Covid-19, but the Pontiff himself so far remains free of the illness.

Proof of vaccination is still required in order to enter any of the offices of Vatican city-state, for both visitors and employees.

Pope Francis' bodyguards escorted him as he arrived in the popemobile car on April 20 for the general audience.

The Pope sat close to his audience after shaking hands. Knee pain that has limited his activities in recent months

The Pope broadcasted his voice from the podium to the audience of thousands filling up St Peter's Square

The pontiff thanked Poland for taking in the bulk of the estimated five million Ukrainians who have fled in Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II
Boris Johnson has finally admitted he did break the law after being slapped with a police fine over a lockdown-busting 56th birthday bash in Number 10.

The Prime Minister has repeatedly apologised after he was forced to pay a 50 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) over the event on 19th June 2020

He has insisted it did not occur to him - at the time or later - that the gathering in Downing Street's Cabinet Room would have been a breach of Covid rules.

But, while Mr Johnson previously said he 'respected' the Metropolitan Police's decision to fine him, he has now acknowledged the 19th June gathering was illegal.

He also vowed to make public any other FPNs he might recieve as part of Scotland Yard's Operation Hillman investigation.

The PM recognised his law-breaking in a House of Commons clash with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer today - who Mr Johnson accused of being locked in 'some kind of Doctor Who time warp' by obsessing over the Partygate scandal.

Asked by Sir Keir at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) whether he actually accepted he broke the law, Mr Johnson replied: 'Yes... I've been absolutely clear that I humbly accept what the police have said.'

Boris Johnson vowed to make public any other Fixed Penalty Notices he might recieve as part of Scotland Yard's Operation Hillman investigation

Sir Keir Starmer was accused by the PM of being locked in 'some kind of Doctor Who time warp' by obsessing over the Partygate scandal

The PM also went on the attack as the Partygate scandal continues to dog his premiership.

He accused Labour of 'intellectual bankruptcy' for focussing on Downing Street Covid rule breaches while he attempts to 'deliver on our promises to the British people'.

Mr Johnson claimed the Opposition 'have no plans for energy, they have no plans for social care and they have no plans to fix the economy'.

Sir Keir had attempted to rile the PM by listing those who had resigned over the past two years as part of Covid rule controversies.

He told the Commons: 'Allegra Stratton laughed at breaking the rules. She resigned.

'The PM then claimed he was furious at her behaviour and accepted her resignation.

'Professor Neil Ferguson broke the rules. He also resigned. The PM said that was the right thing to do.

'The former health secretary (Matt Hancock) broke the rules. He too resigned.

'The PM tried to claim he sacked him. Why does the PM think everybody else's actions have consequences except his own?'

Mr Johnson, who has been accused of misleading Parliament over his previous denials of Covid rule-breaking in Downing Street, later told the Commons that MPs 'try' to tell the truth.

Plaid Cymru's Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts had asked the PM if he would support a 'lying in politics bill', which would see politicians banned from being 'wilfully misleading'.

Mr Johnson replied: 'It is well known that the rules of this House demand that we tell the truth in this House and that's what we try to do.'

The SNP's Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, called on Mr Johnson to offer his resignation to the Queen ahead of Her Majesty's 96th birthday tomorrow.

He claimed the PM was 'on borrowed time' and also took a swipe at the recent scrutiny of Chancellor Rishi Sunak's family finances.

'The UK Government is now led by a tag-team of scandal, a PM who can't be trusted with the truth, and a Chancellor who can't be trusted with his taxes,' Mr Blackford said.

In response, Mr Johnson urged Mr Blackford to explain why SNP policy was still to get rid of Britain's nuclear weapons 'at a time when we need to stand up to aggression from Vladimir Putin'.

Later during PMQs, SNP MP Richard Thomson was told to withdraw claims that Mr Johnson was a 'Pinocchio Prime Minister'.

The PM began to respond to the Gordon MP, but Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle called on Mr Thomson to withdraw the remark and 'be more moderate' in his language.
A growing number of senior Kremlin insiders are said to feel Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine was a 'catastrophic' mistake, and fear the Russian strongman could resort to using nuclear weapons as Moscow's position worsens.

The insiders said Putin is dismissing all criticism by officials who warn of the damaging political and economic cost of his war plan, which they fear could set Russia back for years amid growing military losses and crippling Western sanctions.

The ten sources, who wished to remain anonymous, told Bloomberg that they believe Putin will continue with his invasion and the move will 'doom' Russia to years of isolation and tension with other countries.

The Kremlin insiders warned Russia will be left with a crippled economy and limited global influence. They also voiced fears that Putin could turn to the drastic measure of using nuclear weapons against his enemies if his invasion of Ukraine fails.

The warning comes as Moscow suffered another devastating blow today after its force's death toll rose to 20,900, according to Kyiv estimates.

After weeks of having their assaults on Kyiv and other cities thwarted at every turn by battling Ukrainian troops, Putin's commanders retreated and are now refocusing their efforts on the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk, along with other regions of Ukraine's eastern flank.

The rare revelations from the ten Kremlin insiders came as...

Russia announced it had tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile, as Putin warned the unmatched Sarmat will make his enemies 'think twice';

Yet another Russian colonel was killed in Ukraine, with Mikhail Nagamov becoming the latest of Putin's top brass to die fighting Kyiv's forces on April 13;

Putin critic Alexei Navalny urged France to vote for Emmanuel Macron as he slammed his far-right rival Marine Le Pen over he links to Putin;

Russia issued a fresh warning to Finland and Sweden over joining NATO, as the two countries draw closer to becoming part of the western military alliance;

Putin's troops threatened to shoot civilians in Mariupol if they do not wear white ribbons on their clothes - in a bid to draw out Ukrainian snipers;

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today said he is ready to swap Russian prisoners of war in exchange for the safe passage of those left in Mariupol;

Russian soldiers were accused of shooting dead two zoo workers by their colleagues who revealed they found their corpses while evacuating animals.

A growing number of senior Kremlin insiders are said to feel Vladimir Putin's (pictured today) invasion of Ukraine was a 'catastrophic' mistake that will set Russia back for years amid growing military losses and crippling sanctions imposed by the West

The warning comes as Putin's invasion of Ukraine suffered another devastating blow after his force's death toll rose to 20,900 according to Kyiv estimates. Pictured: A damaged Russian tank near Kyiv on Tuesday

Despite mobilising a force of between 150,000 and 200,000 Russian troops at the start of the invasion on February 24, Moscow failed to anticipate anything other than weak resistance by the Ukrainian forces - likely owing to Russian intelligence failures.

Since Russia's invasion, Western countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia's corporate and financial system.

Putin has claimed Russia's economy and financial system withstood the blow from what he called the Western sanctions 'blitz' and insisted the move would backfire by driving up prices for essentials such as fertiliser, leading to food shortages and increased migration to the West.

Despite Putin's faltering invasion, which saw Russian troops retreat from Ukrainian cities and instead focus on the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, the leader said his war effort is going to plan as he vowed Russia would triumph in all of its 'noble' war aims.

But Kremlin insiders, who are fearful of speaking out, said officials have told Putin that the economic impact of the sanctions, which have targeted the Kremlin, Russian oligarchs and the financial system, will be devastating.

Yet Putin has stuck to his line and said that whilst Russia pays the cost of the sanctions, he was forced by the West to wage a war against Ukraine, the sources said.

A Kremlin insider last month said that 'no one calculated' the West's strict financial sanctions, such as the banning of Russians banks from the use of the SWIFT banking system because Putin had kept his invasion plans secret from most of the leadership.

Andrei Soldatov, an expert on the Russian security services, said frustration inside the Federal Security Service about the faltering invasion is growing. Sources said they had expected the fighting would last a few weeks. The war is now in its seventh week.

Russian military vehicles move on a highway in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces near Mariupol on Monday

Ukrainian servicemen inspect a destroyed Russian tank in Rusaniv, in the outskirts of Kyiv

Only one veteran Kremlin has quit so far. Anatoly Chubais, an economist and special envoy to international organisations for Putin since 2020, quit and left Russia with no intention to return allegedly in a protest over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Chubais has not yet said why he resigned nor where he intends to go after leaving Russia, and hung up the phone when contacted by Reuters - though sources have said he is opposed to the war in Ukraine.

But many within the Kremlin are too fearful to quit and leave their positions.

'Putin has built his regime mainly on stoking public support, which has given him the means to control the elite,' Tatiana Stanovaya of political consultant R.Politik, told Bloomberg.

'There's no room for disagreement or discussion, everyone must just get on with it and implement the president's orders and as long as Putin keeps the situation under control, people will follow him.'

The senior powerbrokers in Moscow political circles and in military, security and civil services are said to have been largely kept in the dark about Putin's invasion plans. Most are thought to have believed that the build up of Russian forces on Ukraine's borders was a bluff to force concessions, and a war would never happen.

The government was only aware that Putin planned to recognise the two Kremlin-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, formulating its economic policies on the understanding that sanctions would be relatively light.

Meanwhile on the front lines in Ukraine, Kyiv's defence ministry reported its troops had beaten back a Russian attack in the city of Izium, south of the partly blockaded second city of Kharkiv.

Ukrainian forces were also able to hold back attempts to advance along its 300 mile front line and managed to retake the town of Marinka in Donetsk. Kyiv said it had claimed enemy losses during the Ukrainian counter-attack near the town.

A Russian tank with the notorious 'Z' marking is seen in front of a damaged apartment building in Mariupol on Tuesday

Vladimir Putin's troops have threatened to shoot civilians in the besieged city of Mariupol if they do not wear white ribbons on their clothes. Pictured: A man and a child cycle past burnt out buses in Mariupol on Tuesday

In the town of Novodruzhesk, 65-year-old resident Nadya said: 'We are bombed everywhere.' 'It's a miracle that we're still alive,' she said, her voice trembling.

'We were lying on the ground and waiting. Since February 24, we've been sleeping in the cellar.'

The governor of the eastern Lugansk region Sergiy Gaiday said Ukrainian forces were holding their ground in the face of heavy fighting.

'We have positional battles in the cities of Rubizhne and Popasna. The enemy cannot do anything though. They are losing people and equipment there,' Gaiday said.

'Our guys are shooting down drones there. Shooting down planes on the border of the Lugansk and Kharkiv regions, so they are holding on.'

In Kharkiv, at least four people were killed and three wounded in a Russian attack on a residential area of the city.

An explosion also rocked Kramatorsk, killing at least one person and wounding three.

In the southern city of Bashtanka, an unspecified number of people were wounded when Russian forces shelled the hospital, destroying the reception area and the dialysis unit, the head of the regional council, Hanna Zamazeeva, said on Facebook.

Ukraine received fighter jets to help resist the Russian invasion. The Pentagon said that Ukraine had recently received fighter planes and parts to bolster its air force, declining to specify the number of aircraft and their origin.

Kyiv has asked its Western partners to provide MiG-29s, which its pilots already know how to fly and a handful of Eastern European countries have.

The eastern cities of Kharkiv and Kramatorsk also came under deadly attack. Russia said it struck areas around Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro west of the Donbas with missiles.

The Kremlin announced its military had test launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile. Putin said the unmatched Sarmat missile will provide 'food for thought for those who try to threaten Russia' and will make enemies 'think twice'.

The first launch of the missile was carried out today at the Plesetsk spaceport in northern Russia.

Russia has test launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile, its Defence Ministry announced today

Putin was shown on TV being briefed by the military that the missile had been launched from the country's northwest (pictured today)

Putin was shown on TV being briefed by the military that the missile had been launched from the country's northwest and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula in the far east.

He told the army: 'I congratulate you on the successful launch of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile.

'This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure the security of Russia from external threats and make those who, in the heat of aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice.'

But while Moscow congratulated itself for the test launch, its military lost yet another colonel on the ground in Ukraine.

Mikhail Nagamov, 41, the commander of a sapper regiment, died fighting in Ukraine on April 13, according to articles that have appeared in Russian media.

It is not clear how or where exactly Nagamov died, with reports saying only that he perished 'performing a combat mission in Ukraine'. He leaves behind a wife and child in the village of Suslonger, around 400 miles east of Moscow.

Nagamov's death is just the latest suffered among Russia's command corps, with dozens of colonels and eight generals having been killed by Ukraine.

In Mariupol, where a small pocket of Ukrainian soldiers continue to hold out against Putin's invaders, Russian troops have threatened to shoot civilians if they do not wear white ribbons on their clothes.

Russia has been accused of forcing civilians to wear the white ribbons, a symbol of the Russian army, so that they become 'bait' for Ukrainian snipers - and in turn help Putin's men find out where the snipers are hidden.

Mikhail Nagamov, 41 (left and right), the commander of a sapper regiment, died fighting in Ukraine on April 13, officials in his home village of Suslonger have said

In Mariupol, Russia has been accused of forcing civilians to wear the white ribbons, a symbol of the Russian army, so that they might be targeted by Ukrainian snipers. Pictured: A Russian soldier with a white band on his leg stands near a ruined building in the port city

Petro Andriushchenko, the advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol, said on Telegram: 'The occupiers no longer 'mildly' propose that civilians wear white ribbons to mark themselves out - they have turned to direct threats to open fire on anyone seen on the street without such ribbons.

'Russians are gradually turning the city into a true ghetto for Ukrainians, at the same time using civilians as bait to detect hotspots.'

Russian soldiers have also been accused of shooting dead two Ukrainian zoo workers by their shocked colleagues, who revealed on Tuesday they discovered their corpses while evacuating the attraction's animals to safety.

The employees at the Feldman Ecopark zoo in Kharkiv were reported missing on March 7, when workers at the attraction returned amid the Russian invasion to evacuate the animals to safety.

Their colleagues hoped the two workers had fled the region during the invasion, and were just yet to return to the zoo. As they worked on getting the animals to a safer part of the country, workers stayed optimistic their colleagues would return.

But a statement from the zoo on Tuesday said the workers had now been found 'shot by the enemies' - Russian soldiers - who then barricaded their bodies in a back room.

The zoo made headlines on April 5 when it was reported Ecopark was at the point of making the heartbreaking decision to destroy its lions, tigers and bears after coming under attack by Russian shelling.

Days later, however, it was reported that the zoo had been able to evacuate some of its animals out of Kharkiv, preventing a potential tragedy.

Pictured: A tiger stays in a cage after its evacuation from the ruined Kharkiv Feldman Ecopark. There were fears that the park might have to euthanise its animals over fears they could escape during the Russian invasion

In Russia, Putin critic Alexei Navalny urged France to vote for Emmanuel Macron as he slammed rival candidate Marine Le Pen's links to Putin.

The jailed opposition leader accused the National Rally leader, whose party received a 9million loan from a Kremlin-backed bank in 2014 of 'corruption'.

Incumbent president Macron will face off against his right-wing rival on Wednesday night in the final televised debate before France goes to the polls on Sunday in the election run-off.

Navalny said on Twitter today: 'I certainly, without hesitation, urge the people of France to vote for Emmanuel Macron on April 24.

He added he was 'shocked' that Le Pen's party received the substantial loan from 'Putin's notorious money-laundering outfit', the First Czech-Russian Bank.

'I don't doubt for a minute that negotiations with these people and deals with them included a shadowy political part as well,' 45-year-old Navalny said.

'This is corruption. This is selling political influence to Putin,' he added.

His comments came as Russia issued a fresh warning to Finland and Sweden over joining NATO, as the two countries draw closer to becoming part of the western military alliance.

Maria Zakharova, spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry, said today that both countries have been informed 'what it will lead to' if they abandon decades-old neutrality agreements and become NATO members.

The jailed opposition leader accused the National Rally leader, whose party received a 9million loan from a Kremlin-backed bank in 2014 of 'corruption' (pictured in 2017)

Putin critic Alexei Navalny has urged France to vote for Emmanuel Macron as he slammed Marine Le Pen's links to Vladimir Putin

Maria Zakharova, spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry, says Sweden and Finland have been informed 'what it will lead to' if they join NATO

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin is pictured arriving for a news conference in Helsinki after announcing she expected to announce a decision on joining NATO within only a few weeks

'We have issued all our warnings both publicly and through bilateral channels,' she told the Rossiya 24 state media channel. 'They know about it, they will have nothing to be surprised about, they were informed about everything.'

She spoke after a new poll in Sweden showed support for joining the alliance has risen to 57 per cent, up from 51 per cent in March, after Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said the time was right to debate the merits of membership.

Politicians in Finland have today begun debating their own ties with NATO, after Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she expected a decision on membership to be made 'within weeks'.

Finland has for decades been bound to neutrality that began as a pact with the Soviets, but has been forced into a re-think after Putin invaded Ukraine.

Sweden has a long-standing tradition of neutrality, but sees its national security as inseparably tied to that of its Nordic neighbour.

Both countries took a step towards joining the alliance earlier this month, when their leaders announced at a joint press conference that plans are under consideration.

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned yesterday that Putin is not considering using nuclear weapons 'at this stage' of its invasion - as Russia announced it was entering a new phase of its so-called 'special operation' that will focus on seizing the east of the country.

In an interview in which he parroted Putin's propaganda, Lavrov blamed the US, the West and NATO expansion for Moscow's brutal military actions.

When asked by India Today whether Russia had any intention of using nuclear weapons, Lavrov said: 'At this stage, we are considering the option of conventional weapons only,' according to Russia's RIA state news agency.

Russian foreign minister Russia Sergei Lavrov (pictured speaking last week in Moscow) has warned his country is not considering using nuclear weapons 'at this stage' of its invasion

Lavrov, a long-time Kremlin mouthpiece and staunch ally of Putin, said in late January that Russia would not invade its neighbour. On February 24, less a month after his comments, Putin ordered Moscow's troops into Ukraine.

Days after, Putin put Russia's nuclear forces on high alert, and threatened NATO allies with 'consequences greater than any you have faced in history' should they intervene in the Ukraine conflict.

This raised fears that the Russian leader would be prepared to use nuclear weapons in the conflict, something no country has done since the Second World War.

'The current events are rooted in the US and West's desire to rule the world,' Lavrov told the Indian English-language news publication on Tuesday.

'They wanted to show the world there would be no multipolarity, only unipolarity, and created a springboard [Ukraine] against us [Russia] at our borders. They pumped arms into Ukraine.

'The real reason [for the war] is the complacency of most countries after World War II,' he opined. 'They violated their promises to Russian leadership and started moving NATO eastward after the Soviet Union disappeared. They said it's a defensive alliance and not a threat to Russian security.'

Russia has given a variety of justifications for its invasion, such as NATO expansionism and claims that it is 'denazifying' the country - which has a Jewish president and where the far-right enjoy little to no public support in politics.

Lavrov also denied that Russian forces have committed war crimes, saying that Moscow's forces are only targeting military infrastructure - despite mounting evidence on the contrary.

'Our army has only been targeting military infrastructure and not civilians. The Ukrainian army has been using civilians as human shields.'

He added: 'The West is not paying attention to our facts. They are placing attention on false things like what they said about Bucha.

'They brought up Bucha three days after the Ukrainian mayor of Bucha proudly said the city was back under their control.'

Lavrov's claim, pushed several times by Kremlin officials since Ukrainian authorities liberated Bucha from Russia's forces, has been debunked.

Satellite imagery from commercial provider Maxar Technologies, first reported by The New York Times, proved the bodies had been there for weeks.

Since then, hundreds more have been found, and eyewitness accounts have spoken of Russian soldiers carrying out brutal rapes and executions. In some cases, civilians had their hands tied behind their backs by Russian soldiers before they were shot.

Lavrov's comments on nuclear weapons came after Vladimir Putin sent up strategic nuclear-capable bombers into the skies over Western Russia on Monday, amid huge pressure on the Kremlin over the calamitous sinking of the Moskva flagship in the Black Sea last week.

Vladimir Putin sent up his strategic bombers in the skies over Western Russia today amid huge pressure on the Kremlin over the sinking of the Moskva flagship in the Black Sea. The planes are believed to be Russian Tu-95s, known as Bears, and appeared to be flying in striking distance of Ukraine

Videos from Monday and Saturday caught four of the aircraft - used to carry nuclear bombs - over the Kaluga region, between Moscow and the Ukrainian border.

The planes were believed to be Russian Tu-95s, known as Bears, and appeared to be flying in striking distance of Ukraine. The Defence Ministry in Moscow had not immediately announced the purpose of the mission.

The Tu-95s have been used a number of times to strike targets in Ukraine with non-nuclear weapons, notably Kh-55 and Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles. The super-loud Tu-95 is the only propeller-powered strategic bomber still in operational use today, and the plane first flew 70 years ago.

Putin deployed the Tu-95s to buzz Britain at moments of high tension, for example in February this year when the Royal Air Force scrambled Typhoon fighters to escort two Bears off northern Scotland.

Russia is one of nine countries in possession of nuclear warheads, in addition to the US, China, the UK, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel.

With a believed 6,257 warheads, Russia has more nuclear warheads than any other nation. The US is the only country that comes close to Russia's numbers, with 5,550.
Tennessee's state GOP voted to remove Trump-endorsed Morgan Ortagus (pictured) from the 5th congressional district primary ballot

A Trump-backed congressional candidate in Tennessee's primary race was booted from the ballot after the local GOP voted to remove her because she had only just moved to the state.

Morgan Ortagus served as the State Department Spokesperson under former President Donald Trump and is currently a Navy Reserves officer. She was running to represent the district that encompasses Nashville, but is now unlikely to be able to continue her effort.

Trump had endorsed Ortagus in her bid to represent Tennessee's 5th congressional district.

'President Donald Trump believes I'm the best person to fight for his America First agenda and Middle Tennessee in Congress, and I'm working hard to ensure that my fellow Tennesseans, including TNGOP SEC members, understand why,' Ortagus said in a statement on the decision to remove her.

'As I have said all along, I believe that voters in Middle Tennessee should pick their representative  not establishment party insiders,' she continued. 'Our team is evaluating the options before us.'

The vote came after the GOP-controlled state legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill that requires congressional candidates to live in Tennessee for three years to qualify to run on primary ballots.

Republican Governor Bill Lee allowed the bill to become law after failing to sign it in the 10-day period.

Had the law taken effect before the April 7 filing deadline, it would have disqualified Ortagus from even filing on the primary ballot, but a spokesperson for Tennessee's secretary of state's office said it would not apply retroactively, according to the Associated Press.

Tennessee's GOP executive committee can already disqualify candidates from the primary ballot for failing to adhere to the party's bylaws. In this case, requiring a candidate to have voted in three of the last four GOP primaries and to actively participate in the state or local Republican parties.

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Ortagus in a January statement before she officially announced her candidacy

Ortagus (left) is a Navy Reserves officer and served as Trump-era spokesperson from 2019-2021 for the State Department  led by then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (right)

The state's GOP Chairman Scott Golden said in March that party leaders in specific districts could bypass the voting records rules and stop candidates from being disqualified by going to bat for them before the committee.

Ortagus' campaign is arguing that she does meet all of the state party's bylaws, including voting in enough recent GOP primaries, participating in Republican women's groups and contributing to the state party.

In a statement ahead of the committee's vote to remove her, Ortagus said she spent several weeks speaking with members of the State Executive Committee 'about my core conservative beliefs, my background serving in the Trump Administration and the U.S. Navy Reserves, and my conservative vision for our state and our country.'

Two other candidates, Robby Starbuck and Baxter Lee, were also taken off the ballot.

GOP legislators and activists were working for months to get Ortagus off the August primary ballot since she has only recently moved to the Volunteer State.

'I am deeply disappointed in the SEC's decision,' Ortagus said in a statement in reference to the GOP's State Executive Committee.

'I'm a bonafide Republican by their standards, and frankly, by any metric,' she continued. 'I'm further disappointed that the party insiders at the Tennessee Republican Party do not seem to share my commitment to President Trump's America First policies.'

Two other primary candidates, Robby Starbuck (left) and Baxter Lee (right), were also removed from the ballot

Trump's influence in the GOP is being put to the test as those within the party are breaking from the former president, claiming Republicans are fed up with his talk of 2020 election fraud.

The removal of the Trump-backed former White House official is further proof that the party is distancing itself from him.

In late January 2022, the ex-president sent out his endorsement email for Ortagus from his Save America PAC account.

'I am told the very strong and impressive Morgan Ortagus is exploring a run for Congress in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District,' Trump wrote at the time. 'I couldn't be happier because she's an absolute warrior for America First and MAGA!'

'She won't bow to the Woke Mob or the Leftist LameStream Media,' he added.
One month after a China Eastern passenger jet crashed mid-flight, killing all 132 people on board, investigators say they have not determined a cause.

A report issued Wednesday by the Civil Aviation Administration of China said no abnormalities had been found in the plane, its crew or external elements such as bad weather.

The report said investigators are still attempting to extract data from the heavily damaged black box flight data and voice recorders that might offer insight into the plane's condition and the crew's actions in the final minutes of the flight.

The US National Transportation Safety Board is helping download information from the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder.

Workers search through debris at the China Eastern flight crash site in Tengxian County in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region after the passenger jet plummeted

Chinese paramilitary police officers are photographed transferring fragments of the wreckage. All 132 people on board were killed when the passenger jet crashed in March

Both black boxes are being analyzed by US experts at a government lab in Washington, DC.

The China Eastern Boeing 737-800 went into a sudden nosedive, appeared to briefly recover, and then slammed into the ground in a mountainous area on March 21.

The crew made no report of problems before losing contact with air traffic control.

The crash left a 65-foot-deep crater in a mountainside, shattered the plane and set off a fire in the surrounding forest.

More than 49,000 pieces of plane debris were found. It took two days to find the cockpit voice recorder and six days for the flight data recorder, which was buried 5 feet underground.

Flight MU5735 with 123 passengers and nine crew members was headed from the city of Kunming in southwestern China to Guangzhou, a provincial capital and export manufacturing hub near Hong Kong in the southeast.

In addition to analysing flight data, investigators will continue subjecting wreckage to scientific tests in search of clues, the report said.

China Eastern, one of four major Chinese airlines, and its subsidiaries grounded all their Boeing 737-800s, more than 200 planes, following the crash but have since returned them to service.

The airline said the grounding was a precaution, not a sign of any problem with the planes, which are among the most relied upon by airlines worldwide.
By Carlos D. Sorreta





Among the torrent of comments over the war in Ukraine is the view that if Ukraine had retained some degree of nuclear weapons capability instead of giving it all up in 1994, it would have had an effective deterrent to prevent Russia's involvement in the Donbas, its annexation of Crimea and its recent invasion of the country.



Some argue that even just the semblance of nuclear capability would have been a sufficient deterrent. Though Ukraine never had control or even effective possession of these nuclear weapons, some believe that they could have developed their own weapons or, in the midst of the confusion during the breakup of the Soviet Union, could have squirreled away or diverted some fissile material or even a warhead or two.



This is a dangerous argument overall and particularly when it comes to the Korean Peninsula and all the hard work and sacrifice that has gone into trying to eliminate nuclear weapons in the region.



Such an argument could reinforce the resolve of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's leadership to maintain its own nuclear weapons, continue to use them as dangerous leverage and push back even further prospects for peace and stability in the region.



The DPRK's current conditions for any progress in discussions are already extremely difficult: lift all sanctions, withdraw all U.S. troops from the Republic of Korea and permanently end all ROK-U.S. military exercises. Some experts believed, however, that there may be some room for some compromise and progress. Yet all prospects for some meaningful negotiations will practically disappear if the DPRK takes to heart commentaries on Ukraine and its forlorn deterrence.



Every effort must be taken to continue to convince the DPRK that its nuclear deterrence capabilities are incompatible with meaningful peace on the peninsula. This has been no easy task.



The government and the people of the ROK have been doing a great job of trying to lessen tensions and have shown great patience and resolve in laying the groundwork for peace, even in the face of clear provocation. They have consistently moderated their rhetoric, even in the case of the DPRK's latest efforts at developing its missile capabilities, certainly something that is a concern for everyone in the region.



Though clearly frustrating at times, there is no doubt that the ROK's efforts to build confidence and foster dialogue will continue.



Comments on Ukraine's lost nuclear deterrence should also not fuel any thoughts of developing nuclear arms south of the 38th parallel. Surveys have shown that over the decades, many in the ROK believe that the DPRK will never give up its nuclear weapons. This in turn has sparked some discussion on the need for the ROK to develop its own nuclear deterrence  something that could forever foreclose any prospects of peace and bring the nightmare of a peninsula obliterated by nuclear weapons closer to reality.



The protection offered by the U.S. nuclear umbrella should be sufficient to banish all talk of the ROK developing its own nuclear deterrent. Besides, such talk, even if coming from a very small minority, is not at all helpful as it might be enough to convince the DPRK to harden its position even further.



The revival of the logic behind nuclear deterrence brought about by the war in Ukraine and how it impacts on the situation on the Korean Peninsula bring to the fore the need to broaden efforts at building security in Northeast Asia.



In this context, the recent work of the Asia-Pacific Leaders Network for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament (APLN), on Improving Security Cooperation in Northeast Asia is particularly timely and relevant. It contains specific recommendations that take into account the complex situation in the region and which hopes to tap into areas where cooperation is possible and build on these to engender greater trust and confidence.



It is also important to keep intact a more formal and legal fora as a landing pad in case of breakthroughs in political and diplomatic dialogues. While the NPT review process and the NPT itself may not serve to directly resolve the serious deadlock over the DPRK's nuclear program, it is an important forum that can support and reinforce any resolution. The DPRK must continue to be involved in the NPT review process in spite of its 2003 announcement of withdrawal from the NPT.



The war in Ukraine has definite nuclear dimensions. It seems that the concept of nuclear deterrence, particularly by a weaker state against a formidable opponent, has attracted renewed validity. This must not be allowed to happen, and any and all notions of nuclear deterrence as a legitimate part of self-defense should be discouraged.





Carlos D. Sorreta was Philippine ambassador to Russia and Ukraine and director-general of the Philippine Foreign Service Institute. He was also deputy permanent representative at the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and deputy chief of mission at the Philippine Embassy in Washington. He is a member of the Asia-Pacific Leaders Network for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament (APLN). The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Philippine Government. This article is published in cooperation with the APLN (www.apln.network).


Hoda: 'There was one woman who came up to me yesterday and she said something that totally struck me in my soul. She said the Invictus Games saved my life. How does that land for you?'

Harry: 'It feels amazing. But every single Games that I go to I hear the same thing from so many of them. And that... it feels amazing that we have managed to play a part in their recovery, but it also makes me incredibly sad to know that that's how dark it was for them.'

Hoda: 'You've spoken about obviously mental health issues: When you put that heavy backpack down, like people are lugging stuff around, when you finally put it down. Do you feel yourself like peaceful, or at peace?'

Harry: 'I think everyone ends up feeling lighter, I think is the best way to describe it. For so many people it is about management. You know the things that trigger you, therefore you try and stay away from that. But what I do know is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for absolutely everybody.'

Hoda: 'The only thing I want in my life is to feel like peaceful. You've lived in the United States for two years now. Do you feel peaceful now?'

Harry: 'I don't know how many people feel truly peaceful, you know? I feel -- at times I feel massively at peace. But with everything that is going on in the world and trying to help and trying to use the platform and the influence to try and steer people to try and help. Again, like I think like the biggest concern or the biggest issue that people wrestle with on daily basis that does provide more anxiety for me and for them is the helplessness. We as human beings are compassionate people. But when your life becomes really hard, it can be for some harder to find the compassion for other people. But what I've learned over the years is, certainly for myself, I find healing in helping others. And I think that what's we should really be focusing on.'

Hoda: 'I love that. I feel like life happens on a random Wednesday. Like here is an example. Some say oh my God I'm going to go on a vacation, my life is going to be great. And it is like exclamation points. The vacation, the graduation, the marriage, the baby. Those are all up here. The other exclamation marks are down here. It's like sad things that happen, loss, divorce, whatever. Most of life is Wednesday. It doesn't have the highs. And it doesn't have the lows. It is just Wednesday. What is a Wednesday like for you, random?'

Harry: 'What's a Wednesday like? It revolves around the kids as much as humanly possible. This whole working from home stuff is not all it's cracked up to be, certainly post-Covid. Because it is really hard when your kids and you are in the same place. It is really hard to separate the work from them. Because they kind of overlap. So I mean Archie spends more time interrupting our Zoom calls than anybody else. But he also gets us off them as well, so that's also a nice thing.'

Hoda: 'Does he have your personality? Is he kind of like you? He's got a little bit of your thing?'

Harry: 'What's my thing?'

Hoda: 'Your cheeky thing?'

Harry: 'My cheeky thing? Yeah, I think so. I always try and keep that. The cheekiness is something that keeps you alive. There is just so much to be happy about in the outside world, but there is also so much to worry about. My sort of mantra now every day, and it is a dangerous one, because I need to make sure that I don't have burnout, but is trying to make the world a better place for my kids. Otherwise what is the point of point of bringing kids into this world? It is a responsibility I feel as a parent you probably feel as a parent as well. And we can't fix everything. We know that. But what we can do is be there for each other.'

Hoda: 'You obviously made lot of news recently. You went back to the UK. You saw your grandmother. How was that?'

Harry: 'It was great. It was really nice to see her. To be able to see her in some element of privacy was nice. I hadn't had the chance to go back the UK for couple of years apart from those two times. One for my grandfather's funeral and one for unveiling a statue of my mum.'

Hoda: 'How did it feel being back, being with her?'

Harry: 'Being with her, it was great. It was just so nice to see her. You know, she's on great form. She has always got a great sense of humour with me and I'm just making sure she's protected and has got the right people around her.'

Hoda: 'You make her laugh, that's what she always says. Did you do it again?'

Harry: 'Yes I did. I had tea with her. It was really nice to catch up with her and, you know, home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it's in the States. And it feels that way as well.'

Hoda: 'Does it?'

Harry: 'Yeah. We've been welcomed with open arms. And we've got such a great community up in Santa Barbara.'

Hoda: 'So you feel like that's home more for you?'

Harry: 'Yeah.'

Hoda: 'Is that weird to say?'

Harry: 'No. But I'm sure it will become a thing.'

Hoda: 'Your grandmother is going to be 96. What is the best thing about her?'

Harry: 'Her sense of humour and her ability to see the humour in so many different things. We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can't talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice peace to her. But I think she's... I think after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.'

Hoda: 'You do, do think she's bored of her 96th. She won't be bored of the Jubilee, will she?

Harry: 'No. I don't think so. She's had a few Jubilees now and every one is slightly different. I'm sure she is looking forward to it.'

Hoda: 'Do you think you will come?'

Harry: 'I don't know yet. There's lots of things with security issues and everything else. So, this is what I'm trying to do, trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her.'

Hoda: 'Your family at home. Do you miss them?'

Harry: 'Yes. I think especially over the last two years, for most people, have they not missed their family? The ability to even get home and see them? Of course. That's -- you know, that's a huge part of it.'

Hoda: 'But do you miss your brother, your dad?

Harry: 'Look I mean, for me at the moment, I'm here focused on these guys and these families and giving everything that I can, 120 per cent to them to make sure they have the experience of a lifetime. That's my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family who I miss massively.'

Hoda: 'You do. I bet.'

Harry: 'Of course I do, they are two little people.'

Hoda: 'I was thinking about a new life. You got a whole restart. You have a whole new focus, a whole new nucleus. How does that land with you?'

Harry: 'I think the focus is very much the same'

Reporter: 'Is it?'

Harry: 'Yeah, certainly. From my wife's point of view. For the two of us, this is a life she signed up for and we were committed to doing this together as a couple forever. Because of the circumstances, we've now moved that life of service to the States and we'll continue doing what we were doing before. So in that regard nothing's has changed for us. It is just a little bit more complicated to have to sort of restart.'

Hoda: 'Sure. What do you love about fatherhood?

Harry: 'What do I love about fatherhood? All of it. The chaos, the learning, the reminder of just every element of yourself, your soul, right? When you are not a parent you can get sucked into all sort of different stuff and you can maybe sometimes forget who you are. And suddenly as a parent, especially now Archie is at the age he is at, asking all the questions.'

Hoda: 'What does he ask?'

Harry: 'Questions of the whys. He's into the why stage. Why this? Why that? Why that? And instead of just trying to move it on, I give him the most honest answer I can. And then it goes on and on and on until he's satisfied. And then that's it. It's done. Otherwise it ends up with - because the world is round and that it is the way life is.'

Hoda: 'That's just the way it goes.'

Harry: 'So it's like, I love it. I love every part of it. I've always wanted to be a dad. I've always wanted to have my own kids and now I have got two little people who I'm responsible for.'

Hoda: 'Do you tell them or tell Archie now he's old enough about your mom?'

Harry: 'Yes. Yeah, yeah. Very much so. I don't tell him all the stuff that happened. But certainly that this is, you know, grandma Diana and we've got a couple of photos up in the house.'

Hoda: 'In these moments do you ever feel your mum's presence?'

Harry: 'Yeah, no, for me it is constant. It has been over the last two years. More so than ever before. And it is almost as though she's done her bit with my brother and now she's very much, like, helping me. Got him set up. And now she's helping me set up. That's what it feels like, you know? He's got his kids. I've got my kids, you know the circumstances are obviously different. But now, I feel her presence in almost everything that I do now. But definitely more so in the last two years than ever before. Without question. So she's watching over us.'

Hoda: 'I'm sure she's proud of you.'

Harry: 'I'm sure she is.'
Hoda: 'There was one woman who came up to me yesterday and she said something that totally struck me in my soul. She said the Invictus Games saved my life. How does that land for you?'

Harry: 'It feels amazing. But every single Games that I go to I hear the same thing from so many of them. And that... it feels amazing that we have managed to play a part in their recovery, but it also makes me incredibly sad to know that that's how dark it was for them.'

Hoda: 'Youve spoken about obviously mental health issues: When you put that heavy backpack down, like people are lugging stuff around, when you finally put it down. Do you feel yourself like peaceful, or at peace?

Harry: 'I think everyone ends up feeling lighter, I think is the best way to describe it. For so many people it is about management. You know the things that trigger you, therefore you try and stay away from that. But what I do know is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for absolutely everybody.

Hoda: 'The only thing I want in my life is to feel like peaceful. Youve lived in the United States for two years now. Do you feel peaceful now?

Harry: I don't know how many people feel truly peaceful, you know? I feel -- at times I feel massively at peace. But with everything that is going on in the world and trying to help and trying to use the platform and the influence to try and steer people to try and help. Again, like I think like the biggest concern or the biggest issue that people wrestle with on daily basis that does provide more anxiety for me and for them is the helplessness. We as human beings are compassionate people. But when your life becomes really hard, it can be for some harder to find the compassion for other people. But what I've learned over the years is, certainly for myself, I find healing in helping others. And I think that what's we should really be focusing on.

Hoda: I love that. I feel like life happens on a random Wednesday. Like here is an example. Some say oh my God I'm going to go on a vacation, my life is going to be great. And it is like exclamation points. The vacation, the graduation, the marriage, the baby. Those are all up here. The other exclamation marks are down here. Its like sad things that happen, loss, divorce, whatever. Most of life is Wednesday. It doesn't have the highs. And it doesn't have the lows. It is just Wednesday. What is a Wednesday like for you, random?

Harry: Whats a Wednesday like? It revolves around the kids as much as humanly possible. This whole working from home stuff is not all it's cracked up to be, certainly post-Covid. Because it is really hard when your kids and you are in the same place. It is really hard to separate the work from them. Because they kind of overlap. So I mean Archie spends more time interrupting our Zoom calls than anybody else. But he also gets us off them as well, so thats also a nice thing.

Hoda: Does he have your personality? Is he kind of like you? Hes got a little bit of your thing?

Harry: Whats my thing?

Hoda: Your cheeky thing?

Harry: My cheeky thing? Yeah, I think so. I always try and keep that. The cheekiness is something that keeps you alive. There is just so much to be happy about in the outside world, but there is also so much to worry about. My sort of mantra now every day, and it is a dangerous one, because I need to make sure that I don't have burnout, but is trying to make the world a better place for my kids. Otherwise what is the point of point of bringing kids into this world? It is a responsibility I feel as a parent you probably feel as a parent as well. And we can't fix everything. We know that. But what we can do is be there for each other.

Hoda: You obviously made lot of news recently. You went back to the UK. You saw your grandmother. How was that?

Harry: It was great. It was really nice to see her. To be able to see her in some element of privacy was nice. I hadnt had the chance to go back the UK for couple of years apart from those two times. One for my grandfather's funeral and one for unveiling a statue of my mum.

Hoda: How did it feel being back, being with her?

Harry: Being with her, it was great. It was just so nice to see her. You know, she's on great form. She has always got a great sense of humour with me and Im just making sure she's protected and has got the right people around her.

Hoda: You make her laugh, that's what she always says. Did you do it again?

Harry: Yes I did. I had tea with her. It was really nice to catch up with her and, you know, home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it's in the States. And it feels that way as well.

Hoda: Does it?

Harry: Yeah. We've been welcomed with open arms. And we've got such a great community up in Santa Barbara.

Hoda: So you feel like thats home more for you?

Harry: Yeah.

Hoda: Is that weird to say?

Harry: No. But Im sure it will become a thing.

Hoda: Your grandmother is going to be 96. What is the best thing about her?

Harry: Her sense of humour and her ability to see the humour in so many different things. We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can't talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice peace to her. But I think she's... I think after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.

Hoda: You do, do think she's bored of her 96th. She won't be bored of the Jubilee, will she?

Harry: No. I don't think so. She's had a few Jubilees now and every one is slightly different. Im sure she is looking forward to it.

Hoda: Do you think you will come?

Harry: I don't know yet. There's lots of things with security issues and everything else. So, this is what I'm trying to do, trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her.'

Hoda: Your family at home. Do you miss them?

Harry: Yes. I think especially over the last two years, for most people, have they not missed their family? The ability to even get home and see them? Of course. That's -- you know, that's a huge part of it.

Hoda: But do you miss your brother, your dad?

Harry: Look I mean, for me at the moment, I'm here focused on these guys and these families and giving everything that I can, 120 per cent to them to make sure they have the experience of a lifetime. That's my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family who I miss massively.'

Hoda: You do. I bet.

Harry: Of course I do, they are two little people.

Hoda: I was thinking about a new life. You got a whole restart. You have a whole new focus, a whole new nucleus. How does that land with you?

Harry: I think the focus is very much the same

Reporter: Is it?

Harry: Yeah, certainly. From my wife's point of view. For the two of us, this is a life she signed up for and we were committed to doing this together as a couple forever. Because of the circumstances, we've now moved that life of service to the States and we'll continue doing what we were doing before. So in that regard nothing's has changed for us. It is just a little bit more complicated to have to sort of restart.

Hoda: Sure. What do you love about fatherhood?

Harry: What do I love about fatherhood? All of it. The chaos, the learning, the reminder of just every element of yourself, your soul, right? When you are not a parent you can get sucked into all sort of different stuff and you can maybe sometimes forget who you are. And suddenly as a parent, especially now Archie is at the age he is at, asking all the questions.

Hoda: What does he ask?

Harry: Questions of the whys. Hes into the why stage. Why this? Why that? Why that? And instead of just trying to move it on, I give him the most honest answer I can. And then it goes on and on and on until he's satisfied. And then that's it. It's done. Otherwise it ends up with - because the world is round and that it is the way life is.

Hoda: That's just the way it goes.

Harry: So it's like, I love it. I love every part of it. I've always wanted to be a dad. I've always wanted to have my own kids and now I have got two little people who I'm responsible for.

Hoda: Do you tell them or tell Archie now hes old enough about your mom?

Harry: Yes. Yeah, yeah. Very much so. I dont tell him all the stuff that happened. But certainly that this is, you know, grandma Diana and weve got a couple of photos up in the house.

Hoda: In these moments do you ever feel your mum's presence?

Harry: Yeah, no, for me it is constant. It has been over the last two years. More so than ever before. And it is almost as though she's done her bit with my brother and now she's very much, like, helping me. Got him set up. And now she's helping me set up. That's what it feels like, you know? He's got his kids. Ive got my kids, you know the circumstances are obviously different. But now, I feel her presence in almost everything that I do now. But definitely more so in the last two years than ever before. Without question. So she's watching over us.

Hoda: Im sure she's proud of you.

Harry: I'm sure she is.
A former EastEnders star who shouted 'black lives don't matter' during a drunken row outside a fish and chip shop has been sentenced to a community order.

Katie Jarvis, 30, who played Hayley Slater in the BBC soap from 2018 to 2019, got into a dispute with a group of women outside the restaurant in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, at around 7.30pm on July 31 2020.

Witnesses said she branded them 'black c***s' and continued to shout racial abuse as she walked along the seafront, before spitting at a bouncer when she was denied entry into a nearby club.

Jarvis insisted she was 'not racist' as she was sentenced to a two-year community order at Basildon Crown Court on Wednesday, with 200 hours of unpaid work and a requirement to complete 60 days of specified activities.

She spoke outside the court to apologise 'to the people in Southend that day', saying she was full of 'shame and regret' over her actions.

Cyrus Shroff, prosecuting, said tensions first flared at the chip shop after someone tried to lift an empty chair from a table with four seats where Michelle Antonio, who is black, was sitting with two others of her group of four.

He told the court that Ms Antonio had said the chair was being used, before telling Jarvis that she could not take the seat as it was needed by a fourth person in her party.

He said differing accounts have been provided over what happened next, with Jarvis claiming Ms Antonio was 'aggressive', which Ms Antonio denies.

Katie Jarvis (pictured outside court Wednesday), 30, who played Hayley Slater in the BBC soap from 2018 to 2019, got into a dispute with a group of women outside the restaurant in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, at around 7.30pm on July 31 2020.

Mr Shroff said Jarvis walked off, shouting 'black lives don't matter anyway', 'black c****' and 'I'm a celebrity'.

He said it 'appears a fight broke out between the parties'.

Mr Shroff said Ms Antonio said that Jarvis's comments made her 'feel disgusted and angry', and that she 'can't believe in 2020 these things are still being said'.

He said that at around 9.15pm bouncer Toby Groom denied Jarvis entry to the Hope Hotel, and when she returned an hour later Mr Groom again asked her to leave.

'She started shouting abuse again towards him', Mr Shroff said.

'She then spat towards him. It's right to say there's no suggestion it connected to him.

'He notified the police and soon after that at about 11pm officers arrested Ms Jarvis.'

He said that Jarvis, of Rainham, east London, told officers 'she was racially wrong and she was drunk'.

Jarvis admitted on Tuesday to racially aggravated harassment and common assault, on what was due to be the first day of her trial, and was sentenced today.

Patrick Harte, mitigating, said Jarvis 'maintains she didn't physically assault anyone that day'.

He said she was 'sorry to the people who heard her use the awful language on that day, and to Mr Groom the doorman, who was simply doing his job'.

Mr Harte said Jarvis 'drinks very rarely' and on the day in question 'had been in London  she had a number of successful interviews for films'.

'She was celebrating,' he said, 'She bumped into a friend she hadn't seen since school days. There were in high spirits.'

He said Jarvis alleges she did not use the language 'until after the argument turned physical', and that she responded 'appallingly' after a 'pile on' when four or five women jumped on her.

Witnesses said Jarvis (pictured) branded a group of women 'black c***s' and continued to shout racial abuse as she walked along the seafront, before spitting at a bouncer when she was denied entry into a nearby club

He said the 'language used isn't what she believes'.

Mr Harte read a statement from Jarvis's aunt through marriage, Sonja Gater, who is an ambassador for a charity against knives in west London, which said she 'knows for a fact' Jarvis is not racist, adding: 'I wouldn't have racist people in my life.'

Mr Harte said the incident had caused Jarvis 'enormous hardship'.

'The last movie she shot was in 2020,' he said. 'She hasn't worked in films since.

'She tried to get a job in The Range to make ends meet, she went for a four-hour shift to try out.'

He said the shift appeared to go well and she was given a uniform, but that 'the CEO got wind of her employment and she was sacked'.

Judge Samantha Leigh, sentencing, noted that Jarvis had no previous convictions as an adult and said that as she was in the 'public eye you have been subjected to abuse on social media'.

She sentenced Jarvis to a two-year community order, with 200 hours of unpaid work and a requirement to complete 60 days of specified activities.

Jarvis tearfully told the judge 'thank you' after she had been sentenced.

Speaking outside Basildon Crown Court Jarvis said she was appalled by her own 'shameful' actions.

Jarvis was sentenced to a two-year community order at Basildon Crown Court (pictured) on Wednesday, with 200 hours of unpaid work and a requirement to complete 60 days of specified activities

'When I was in the interview with the police the day after this incident occurred, I immediately accepted using the disgusting language alleged.

'I was and remain horrified by it.

'I struggle to watch the video footage, to this day. I honestly don't recognise myself in that video and I struggle to remember all the details as my emotions took over.

'But I do take full responsibility for the sickening way that I behaved.

'As is shown, I got involved in an unnecessary argument which resulted in four or five people physically attacking me.

'I reacted shamefully and in the heat of the moment I said things that I will regret for the rest of my life.

'I did not physically hit anyone at any point of that day.

'For those who know me best know that I am not a racist and I do not hold racist views.

'I grew up in a diverse part of London, a city which celebrates its diversity. As a proud Londoner I have friends and family that share a wide variety of backgrounds and over the course of my career I have been lucky enough to work with people from all walks of life.

'I have never formed an opinion of somebody, or treated them differently, based on the colour of their skin, their accent or background.

'To all the people that were present in Southend that day, who were rightly offended by my behaviour, I offer you a full, sincere apology.

'To anyone who has seen the footage online, I am truly sorry and feel nothing but shame and regret for the language that I used.'

She went on to thank friends, family and her legal team and declined to answer any questions afterwards.

The actress had also been charged with two counts of assault by beating, which she denied.

The judge instructed that one of these counts lie on the file, with a not guilty verdict recorded in respect of the second.
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Prince Harry has revealed he fears he will 'burnout' as he tries to make the world a 'better place' for his children Archie and Lilibet.

In his latest interview on US television, the Duke of Sussex said he struggles to balance working from home in his 11 million mansion in Montecito, California with parenting.

He said: 'My sort of mantra now every day is a dangerous one because I need to make sure I don't have burn out.

'I make a world a better place for my kids. Otherwise what is the point. Responsibility I feel as a parent you probably feel as well. And we can't fix everything. We know that. But what we can do is be there for each other.'

He also revealed how working from home is 'not all it's cracked up to be' and admitted that he found it difficult to 'separate' his work from Archie and Lilibet.

He said: 'This whole working from home stuff is not all it's cracked up to be. Certainly post-Covid. Because it is really hard when your kids and you are in the same place. It is really hard to separate the work from them. Because they kind of overlap.

'Archie spends more time interrupting our zoom calls than anybody else. But he also gets us off them as well, so that's also a nice thing.'

The couple bought their mansion, which boasts 16 bathrooms, in Montecito, California, last year after quitting frontline royal duties and moving to the US.

The interview was released as Harry made his latest appearance at the Invictus Games in the Netherlands today. Photos from the event show the prince carrying a water bottle with the word 'Earth' emblazoned on it.

It appears to be from the Earth Group, a Canada-based corporation that says it exists 'to provide food, water, and education to children globally'.

The company says it has a worldwide agreement with the United Nations World Food Programme to fund their school feeding programmes.

Prince Harry spoke to NBC's Today programme and praised the Queen's 'great sense of humour' during the interview

Photos from the Invictus Games show the prince carrying a water bottle with the word 'Earth' emblazoned on it. It appears to be from the Earth Group, a Canada-based corporation that says it exists 'to provide food, water, and education to children globally'.

Prince Harry revealed how working from home is 'not all it's cracked up to be' and admitted that he found it difficult to 'separate' his work from Archie and Lilibet. Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet are pictured on their Christmas card last year

Prince Harry was joined by ex-soldier David Wiseman as he attended the Games today - the pair enjoying a laugh as the duke ignored the furore caused by his latest US TV interview

Surrounded by lush green gardens and overlooking the sea, the couple's Californian home has a wine cellar, play area and a pub games room.

The home also boasts a gym, spa, cinema, separate guesthouse, tennis court, and a swimming pool.

The previous owner of the Chateau of Riven Rock  as their new home is known  was Russian businessman Sergey Grishin - who purchased the property in 2009.

Grishin is also the former owner of a different California estate - known as the Scarface mansion because it appeared in the 1983 Al Pacino movie - which sold for a similarly cut-price $12million in 2015.

The Duke of Sussex said the family will remain in the US 'for the time being' as he admitted to being happy after abandoning his birthplace of Britain.

The 37-year-old ex-Royal told how he had been 'welcomed with open arms' by the 'great' community in Montecito, Santa Barbara, since moving there nearly two years ago.

He said: 'Both Meghan and I had tea with her so it was nice to catch up with her. Home for me now is for the time being is in the States and it feels that way as well.'

Asked if it was 'weird' to say publicly, having spent more than 30 years growing up in the UK, he said: 'No, but I'm sure it'll become a thing.'

Elsewhere in the interview, he added: 'At times I feel massively at peace, but with everything that's going on in the world'

In his latest interview on US television, the Duke of Sussex also opened up about his experiences of fatherhood.

He said: 'What do I love about fatherhood? All of it. The chaos, the learning, the reminder of just every element of yourself, your soul, right?' Prince Harry said with a smile. 'When you are not a parent you can get sucked into all sort of different stuff and you can maybe sometimes forget who you are.'

'And suddenly as a parent, especially now, Archie is at the age he is at, asking all the questions,' he revealed.

'Why this? Why that? Why that? And instead of just trying to move it on, I give him the most honest answer I can,' he said. 'And then it goes on and on and on until he's satisfied. And then that's it. It's done. Otherwise it ends up with - because the world is round and that it is the way life is.

Prince Harry on secret Queen trip, how America is 'home' and whether he misses William & Charles On visiting the Queen : 'Being with her, it was great. It was just so nice to see her. You know, she's on great form. She has always got a great sense of humour with me and I'm just making sure she's protected and has got the right people around her.'

: 'Being with her, it was great. It was just so nice to see her. You know, she's on great form. She has always got a great sense of humour with me and I'm just making sure she's protected and has got the right people around her.' On the best thing about the Queen : 'Her sense of humour and her ability to see the humour in so many different things. We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can't talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice peace to her. But I think she's... I think after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.'

: 'Her sense of humour and her ability to see the humour in so many different things. We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can't talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice peace to her. But I think she's... I think after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.' On whether he misses William and Charles : 'Look I mean, for me at the moment, I'm here focused on these guys and these families and giving everything that I can, 120 per cent to them to make sure they have the experience of a lifetime. That's my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family who I miss massively.'

: 'Look I mean, for me at the moment, I'm here focused on these guys and these families and giving everything that I can, 120 per cent to them to make sure they have the experience of a lifetime. That's my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family who I miss massively.' On whether he will attend the Platinum Jubilee celebrations : 'I don't know yet. There's lots of things with security issues and everything else. This is what I'm trying to do, trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her.'

: 'I don't know yet. There's lots of things with security issues and everything else. This is what I'm trying to do, trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her.' On Archie : 'He's into the why stage. Why this? Why that? Why that? And instead of just trying to move it on, I give him the most honest answer I can. And then it goes on and on and on until he's satisfied. And then that's it. It's done. Otherwise it ends up with - because the world is round and that it is the way life is.'

: 'He's into the why stage. Why this? Why that? Why that? And instead of just trying to move it on, I give him the most honest answer I can. And then it goes on and on and on until he's satisfied. And then that's it. It's done. Otherwise it ends up with - because the world is round and that it is the way life is.' On America being his new home : 'Home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it's in the States. And it feels that way as well.'

: 'Home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it's in the States. And it feels that way as well.' On his late mother Princess Diana : 'It is almost as though she's done her bit with my brother and now she's very much, like, helping me. Got him set up. And now she's helping me set up. That's what it feels like, you know? He's got his kids. I've got my kids, you know the circumstances are obviously different. But now, I feel her presence in almost everything that I do now. But definitely more so in the last two years than ever before. Without question. So she's watching over us.' Advertisement

'So it's like, I love it. I love every part of it. I've always wanted to be a dad,' he said. 'I've always wanted to have my own kids and now I have got two little people who I'm responsible for.

However, placed doubt over whether he would attend his grandmother's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London in June amid the ongoing security row with the Home Office, adding: 'Home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it's in the States. And it feels that way as well.'

This comes despite his lawyers telling the High Court in February of the UK: 'This is and always will be his home.'

In addition, he praised the Queen's 'sense of humour' and spoke of their 'really special relationship' following their surprise meeting at Windsor Castle last Thursday where he had tea with her and his wife Meghan Markle.

And, talking about his late mother Princess Diana, Harry told NBC's Today that he feels her 'presence in almost everything that I do now' and that he talks to his son Archie about her and there are photos of her in their home.

Asked what is the best thing about the Queen, he said: 'Her sense of humour and her ability to see the humour in so many different things. We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can't talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice peace to her. But I think... after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.'

And asked about the Jubilee celebrations, he said: 'I don't know yet. There's lots of things with security issues and everything else. This is what I'm trying to do, trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her.'

But when questioned over whether he misses Charles and William, the Duke was keen to swerve the subject, telling presenter Hoda Kotb: 'For me at the moment, I'm here focused on these guys [Invictus athletes] and these families and giving everything that I can, 120 per cent to them to make sure they have the experience of a lifetime. That's my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family who I miss massively.'

In a separate interview with People magazine, Harry previously revealed that Lilibet had taken her first steps and is 'trying to keep up with her big brother Archie'.

The royal, who is currently at the Invictus Games in The Hague, added he's a 'proud papa' and that little Archie 'loved' videos of wheelchair basketball and rugby that he showed him from the Invictus Games in Sydney in 2018.

'I showed him how some were missing legs and explained that some had invisible injuries, too,' he said. 'Not because he asked, but because I wanted to tell him. Kids understand so much, and to see it through his eyes was amazing because it's so unfiltered and honest.'

He added: 'When I talk to my son Archie about what he wants to be when he grows up, some days it's an astronaut, other days it's a pilot  a helicopter pilot obviously  or Kwazii from Octonauts,' referring to a daredevil cat from a children's cartoon.

'But what I remind him is that no matter what you want to be when you grow up, it's your character that matters most, and nothing would make his mum and me prouder than to see him have the character of what we see before us today,' he added.

He also previously spoke about his drive to 'make the world a better place' for his children and said that people 'shouldn't bring children into the world' unless they're willing to improve it for them.

Speaking with the Netherlands' Kindercorrespondent reporters during the Invictus Games at The Hague, Harry said he wanted his two young children, Archie and Lilibet - known as Lili - to grow up 'in a fairer world, a safer world, a more equal world'.

'It's not going to be easy but I will never, ever, ever rest until I have as a parent at least tried to make the world a better place for them because it is our responsibility that the world is the way it is now,' the Duke told the child reporters, aged 11 and 12.

'I don't think that we should be bringing children into the world unless we're going to make that commitment to make it better for them. We cannot steal your future.'

The Queen is yet to meet her great-granddaughter, Lilibet, who was named after Her Majesty's childhood nickname. Archie - seventh in line to the British throne - is almost three months old and reports have previously hinted at the Queen's sadness at not having the chance to spend more time with him.

Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, 40, made a visit to the Queen last week and told her she will be able to hug her great-grandchildren in 'the near future' according to reports.

The Duke has a deeply strained relationship with his family  especially his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William - and missed last month's memorial service at Westminster Abbey for his grandfather Prince Philip.
Nicola Sturgeon denied her crush with Covid law was equivalent to Boris Johnson's Partygate crisis today as she faced a Loose Women grilling.

The First Minister defied calls for her to quit over a weekend gaffe at a barber's shop as she appeared on the forthright ITV magazine show with hosts Christine Lampard, Judi Love, Carol McGiffin and Gloria Hunniford.

Ms Sturgeon was investigated by Police Scotland after being seen without a face cover during an SNP local election campaign event on Saturday.

While England dropped its mask mandate weeks ago, Scotland only removed the law requiring face coverings on Monday.

But the force later revealed that officers had not issued a penalty, but spoken to the First Minister 'to remind her of the importance of wearing a face covering when there is a legal requirement to do so'.

Pressed by McGiffin over whether she would step down, like she had demanded of the Prime Minister, she said: 'I don't think they are equivalent.

'I was in the street, I was called into a barber shop. Just for a few seconds I forgot to put my mask on - it was in my pocket.'

Ms Sturgeon also suggested she would resign if the SNP was able to hold a second independence referendum, but was unable to win it.

The First Minister defied calls for her to quit over a weekend gaffe at a barber's shop as she appeared on the forthright ITV magazine show.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was reported to the police after being seen not wearing a mask during a visit to a barbers in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, on Saturday

But the force later revealed that officers had not issued a penalty, but spoken to the First Minister 'to remind her of the importance of wearing a face covering when there is a legal requirement to do so'.

She said: 'I think when Scotland next votes on independence it will vote yes.'

But pressed on what she would do if the vote echoed 2014 when Scotland decided to stay in the UK, she said: 'I suspect I would make way for someone else. But Im not contemplating that at the moment.'

A video posted on social media appeared to show her not wearing a mask during a visit to a barber's in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, on Saturday.

The SNP said the First Minister was invited into the barbers during an outdoor visit on the street.

Ms Sturgeon said: 'With Boris it's the serial breaches at a time when the rest of the country was in very, very strict lockdown.

'But it's also, to be blunt about it, when this first came to light he wasn't honest about it and he wasn't honest in the House of Commons.

'It's really important that people can trust the Prime Minister to tell the truth. There's got to be consequences for your actions.'

Ms Sturgeon said it was right that she received a 'harder time' than the average person, but added: 'Is that the same as having, I think, six parties at the strictest part of lockdown and then not telling the truth to Parliament?'

Ms Sturgeon has previously said she is confident most people will continue to wear masks after the rules ease.

People no longer have to wear face masks on public transport or in most indoor public spaces in Scotland from Monday.

The Scottish Government is still strongly recommending people continue to don them where appropriate as Covid-19 continues to spread.
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His privileged life as an A-lister is a world away from his troubled upbringing as a high school dropout with an abusive and suicidal mother, but now Johnny Depp is telling the whole world how he went from small town Kentucky to Hollywood.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star detailed a childhood defined by abuse at the hands of his mother when he took the stand in his $100 million defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard on Tuesday.

Speaking in a low voice Depp gave a measured but vivid description of what it was like living in a home where he, his three siblings, and his father were terrorized by his volatile and violent mother.

'In our house we were never exposed to any type of safety or security, the only thing to do was stay out of the line of fire,' he told lawyers from the stand. 'My mother was quite unpredictable. She had the ability to be as cruel as anyone can be with all of us,'

Depp testified that the violent home life he was brought up in taught him to never recreate the same kind of abuse in his own home later in life.

'I had a very interesting childhood. One that I thought was normal until a certain age,' Depp said.

Depp told of 'verbal abuse, name calling, bullying' by his mother Betty Sue, who he described as 'very unpredictable'. The pair are pictured together in 1990

Depp detailed his struggles with substance abuse and recovery during testimony on April 20. He began experimenting with drugs after stealing 'nerve pills' from his mother as a teenager

ASHTRAYS AND INSULTS: A VIOLENT AND VOLATILE CHILDHOOD

Depp, 58, was born on June 9, 1963, in Owensboro, Kentucky, the youngest of four to parents Betty Sue Palmer and John Christopher Depp.

Depp's father was a civil engineer and his mother worked as a waitress.

The family moved frequently throughout Depp's childhood due to his mother's restless nature.

'My mom, her feet were on fire, and she had to move, so we moved constantly,' Depp testified, 'So you were always the new kid, and that wasn't ever particularly pleasant.'

The family moved from Kentucky to Florida when Depp was seven years-old, where they lived in a motel for nearly a year before John Depp found a job.

Throughout those years Depp said the abuse from his mother was constant, unpredictable, and nobody in the house - not even his father - was spared.

'Physical violence, physical abuse. That was a constant. We were all somewhat shell-shocked. She'd walked past, you'd shield yourself because you didn't know what would happen,' Depp said.

'She could become quite violent, and she was quite violent, and she was quite cruel,' Depp said, chuckling at the memory of his mother's beatings, 'There was physical abuse, certainly, which could be in the form of an ash tray being flung at you, or you'd get beat with a high heeled shoe, or a telephone, or whatever's handy.'

Depp with parents Betty Sue Palmer (second from left) and John Christopher Depp (second from right) and his then girlfriend Vanessa Paradis when Johnny received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999

One of Depp's many childhood homes, this one located on Lexington Drive in Miramar, Florida. Depp and his family moved to Florida when he was seven years old

Depp and his sister Christie. Depp's mother Betty Sue would refer to her by her grandmother's name, who Betty Sue was known to despise. Here the two are pictured on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999

Depp's father, John Depp, supported the family as a civil engineer. He left the family in 1978 and told Johnny - then 15 years-old - 'You're the man now'

But Depp said that his mother's physical attacks were easy to handle compared to the psychological abuse she filled their home with.

'The verbal abuse, the psychological abuse, was almost worse than the beatings. The beatings were just physical pain,' the actor added. 'The physical pain, you learn to deal with. You learn to accept it. You learn to deal with it.'

Betty Sue would insult her children, needling them with comments that would tear them down, including calling Depp's sister by the name of her grandmother who Betty Sue was well-known to despise.

'Christie, my sister knew very well that was a deep cut psychologically, emotionally, but you had to take it. You just had to take the pain.'

Depp himself was born with a defect in the lens of his left eye that resulted in a lazy eye, a defect his mother latched on to.

'She would call me cock eye, one eye, anything she could get to demean, humiliate.'

'The psychological and emotional abuse that's what kind of tore us up.'

From an early age Depp watched his mother hurl her vitriol at his father, who he says was always a very 'kind man' who was non confrontational in the face of his wife's violence.

'There was never one moment, never a moment when my father lost control or attacked my mother or even said a bad thing to my mother.

He said his father remained 'stoic' when his mother would go off on a tangent.

'There were a couple of times it got too far I could see his eyes welling up as he was staring at her saying nothing. The most he would do, he would punch a wall.

Depp recalled being as young as five years old and wondering how his father remained calm in the face of his mother's insults.

'To me as a five year old boy I kept wondering "why does he take it. How does he take this? Why doesn't he leave her?" But he didn't. He was able to maintain his calm and his composure and his relationship with his children.

'He was a good man, is a good man.'

Depp attends the 76th Annual Academy Awards with his mother and his then girlfriend, Vanessa Paradis, on February 29, 2004

'YOU'RE THE MAN NOW': DEPP'S FATHER WALKS OUT

In 1978, when Depp was 15 years old, his father cracked and realized he couldn't stand the abuse any longer, packing his bags and leaving the family as he departed for work one morning.

Depp said during his testimony that he hadn't even realized his father had left until his mother came home and sensed something had happened.

'Hours later my mom came home from work, about 3.30 in the afternoon. She walked in the door and stopped and walked around, she felt something. [She said] "She said your daddy's gone. He's gone, he's gone".'

Betty Sue ran to the bedroom to find her husband's closets emptied.

Like father like son: Johnny and dad John Christopher pose at Depp's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 1999

'She ran into their bedroom and into their closet, she opened the door and there was his rack of clothing and all his belongings were gone. She was quite upset.'

Depp drove to his father's work and confronted him.

'I'm done. I can't do it any more. I can't live it any more,' Depp's father told his 15-year-old son. 'You're the man now.'

'Those words didn't quite sit well with me. I didn't feel I was ready to hear those words.'

Depp said his mother 'went into a very deep, dark depression,' after his father walked out.

'One afternoon I had fallen asleep and woke up and walked into the living room and saw my mother very feebly, almost a slow motion, crawl.'

'I knew something was dreadfully wrong. There was drool coming out of her mouth.'

Paramedics arrived and brought Betty Sue away to the hospital where her stomach was pumped.

'She'd swallowed a multitude of pills to try to commit suicide,' he said.

Johnny - full name John Christopher Depp II - was named after his father. Here the two talk at a Hollywood luncheon, 2005

Depp's parents separated in 1978. The two joined their son in 1999 when he was added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Depp said that his mother was never the same after she returned from the hospital.

'She was a firecracker of a woman but when she got out of hospital the depression was so deep she lived on the couch and weighed about 70 pounds and all that imagery spun into my head.'

'I was deeply upset by that.'

SEX, DRUGS, ROCK AND ROLL, AND THE SILVER SCREEN

As an teenager Depp began experimenting, quite literally, with sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

In a People Magazine feature in October, 1994, Depp said that he started smoking at the age of 12, lost his virginity around 13, and 'did every kind of drug there was by 14,' and during the trial he testified that as a teenager he began popping 'nerve pills' he'd swiped from his mother.

He began shutting himself off from the rest of his family and practicing guitar behind a locked bedroom door.

'I literally locked myself in a room and played guitar,' he told People Magazine.

In 1979 at the age of 16, Depp dropped out of high school to try to make it as a musician with his band 'The Kids.'

The Kids were good enough to play some opening-act shows for The Talking Heads and the B-52s, but financially Depp struggled.

Depp played electric guitar with his band, The Kids. The band would open for The Talking Heads and the B-52s. Here Depp plays on stage with the band in Florida in 1982

Depp lived out of a car and worked odd-jobs while playing with The Kids. He moved with the band to Los Angeles in 1983

He lived out of a friends car for several months, and sold pens for a telemarketing company to get by.

In 1983 he moved with his band to Los Angeles.

Once there his friend, actor Nicholas Cage, encouraged him to try out acting.

'I ended up acting by accident,' Depp said.

Cage introduced Depp to his agent, who landed him an audition with Wes Craven who was casting for Nightmare on Elm Street.

Depp said he 'somehow' landed a part on the film. He was 20 years-old.

By 22, Depp landed a leading role in the show 21 Jump Street which would help establish him as a household name as he launched to fame.

DEPP SUES EX AMBER HEARD FOR DEFAMATION

Depp and Amber Heard are squaring up in court over a December 2018 op-ed Heard penned for the Washington Post declaring herself a domestic violence survivor.

The article did not mention Depp by name but the veteran actor sued for $50 million, claiming he was booted from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise because of the 'clear implication' he was the abuser.

Depp's suit claims Heard presented the world with a 'hoax' account of the infamous May 21, 2016 dust up that brought the couple's tumultuous marriage to an end.

He further alleges that his ex-wife was the actual 'perpetrator' of the violent bouts that scarred their relationship, including a notorious incident in Australia where she allegedly severed his finger with a vodka bottle.

Depp talked about his harrowing experience overcoming addiction on his private island during testimony on April 20
Australia has been warned Chinese military troops, ships and aircraft could arrive in the Solomon Islands within weeks.

There are growing fears China will act swiftly to establish a military base less than 2,000km from Australian shores after its security pact with the South Pacific island nation was finalised on Tuesday.

Security experts expect Beijing to have 'boots on the ground' by the time Australians go to the polls next month.

The Lowy Institute's senior fellow for East Asia, Richard McGregor expects Beijing to 'move as fast as it can' to establish a physical foothold before the federal election.

He warned China's long term aim is to have a permanent military presence in the Pacific.

Solomon Islands have cemented ties with China with a new security pact finalised this week. Pictured are Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in 2019

'They would want to have boots on the ground and establish a concrete presence there  living quarters, possibly a small dock on the pretext of refuelling a supply ship,' Mr McGregor told The Australian.

'Once you have a presence there with the various leasehold arrangements, it's pretty hard to make you leave. Once you have that, if the circumstances allow, you can expand it.'

Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings believes the pact will 'absolutely' lead to a military base and that Beijing will move quickly to start to carrying out 'major projects'.

'We can expect China to seek to consolidate this development very quickly by actually moving assets there, so we should expect cargo planes to arrive and ships to arrive and they'll be unloading all manner of stuff,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

'Their model is what they've done in the South China Sea, which is to move quickly and decisively before people are able to gather their thoughts and resist.

'So I would imagine we would see something happen before we get to our election.'

China will likely have military troops (pictured) deployed to the Solomon Islands within weeks

Mr Jennings believes the agreement represented a serious policy failure for Australia.

'For decades we have over-estimated our influence in the Pacific; under-invested in promoting our security; and failed to appreciate China's strategic intent,' he wrote in The Australian.

'Australia's defence policy, released in 2020, sets three fundamental goals: to shape Australia's strategic environment; deter actions against our interests; and respond with credible military force, when required. We have failed in all three aims.'

Australian National University emeritus professor of strategic studies Hugh White believes our national defence planners face a challenge in ensuring we have the capacity to neutralise such a base if a war erupts.

'That can be done with the right kind of investments in missiles and that's the challenge, rather than to spend too much money on tanks, for example,' he told the Herald.

'Could we have prevented it? I don't think we can prevent China becoming substantially more influential in the south-west Pacific because China will simply become too big and too rich and too important for these countries to ignore.'

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said his government had signed the deal 'with our eyes wide open' but declined to say when the signed version would be made public.

His foreign minister Jeremiah Manele will travel to Pacific neighbours, including Australia to allay fears about a Chinese naval base.

A draft of the deal sent shockwaves across the region when it was leaked last month, particularly measures that would allow Chinese naval deployments to the Solomon Islands.

Pictured are the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force showing the China Police Liason Team officers training

China's security agreement with the Solomon Islands could see military bases built by Beijing within 2,000km of Australia

The pact sparked a war of words during the federal election with Labor accusing the government of the 'worst failure of Australian foreign policy in the Pacific' since WWII.

'This is a massive foreign policy failure on the Prime Minister's watch,' Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended the decision to send Pacific minister Zed Seselja instead of foreign minister Marise Payne to the Solomon Islands in an attempt to stop the deal from being signed off on.

'I'm very conscious of how visits are perceived within the Pacific. This was the right calibrated way to address this issue with the prime minister,' Mr Morrison said.

'One of the things you don't do in the Pacific is you don't throw your weight around. They're a sovereign country and we have to respect their sovereignty.

He warned Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga were under the same pressure to strike similar deals with China.

The security pact between China and the Solomon Islands could affect the South Pacific island nation's ties with Australia. Pictured is Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (left) with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right)

Ms Payne told ABC's 7.30pm Australia had been at the forefront of discussions about the geostrategic realities in the Pacific

'We understand, though, that this is a very serious decision that Solomon Islands has made,' she said.

'We are deeply disappointed that they have chosen to go down this path.'

'Ultimately, it is a sovereign decision for the Solomon Islands.'

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said it will be a 'very bad day for Australia' if China follows through with plans of setting up a military base.

'We dont want our own little Cuba off our coast,' he warned.

Former foreign affairs minister and Liberal Party deputy leader Julie Bishop called the agreement 'deeply disturbing, considering the relationship between Australia and the Solomon Islands 'has always been very close'.

'I believe our foreign minister should be on the next plane to the Solomon Islands to talk with the government to see what's actually been agreed,' she told Ten News.

'It's the great power competition between the United States and China playing out in a region. The Solomon Islands is really close to Australia.

'Solomon Islands has been a great friend of the United States and now it appears that it has turned its attention elsewhere and has signed a security pact with China.

'While we don't have all the details, this could well mean there would be Chinese military bases on Solomon Islands and that really changes the dynamic and environment in our area, in our region.'

Security experts expect Beijing to have 'boots on the ground' in the Solomon Islands before the Australian federal election on May 21
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The killer who stabbed Queens mother Orsolya Gaal left a 'sloppy' crime scene which suggests he did not plan the attack, police sources revealed.

The murderer stabbed Gaal in a frenzy in her home in Forest Hills, puncturing her neck, torso and arm 58 times before eventually killing her. He then stuffed her body in a bag and dragged it less than a mile through the quiet neighborhood where she lived, before dumping it on the side of a road to be found the next day.

It left a trail of blood that police sources followed back to her home like a 'trail of bread crumbs'.

As crime scene investigators work through the scene, processing DNA evidence and gathering tips, sources say it's likely they will find a match to the suspect through what was left in the house.

'He left a blood trail for five blocks from the house. It was like a trail of bread crumbs.

'If you want to kill somebody, you try to make it a little cleaner, be a little more prepared. He didnt go with something to move her body. He took something from the house.

These are the last known movements of Orsolya Gaal, 51, who died in the early hours of Saturday morning. She is understood to have gone to a bar in Forest Hills, Queens, after returning to the neighborhood from a show. She spent 40 minutes there then walked home where she was stabbed to death by an unknown attacker at 12.40am

'Im sure with that kind of blood, theres lots of DNA there. The killers DNA has gotta be in that blood. Its not a clean scene,' a source told The New York Post on Tuesday night.

Since the body was discovered on Saturday, the NYPD has made very few statements. All of the information has come from unnamed sources. They have revealed that;

Howard Klein, Gaal's husband, received a text message from his wife's phone that claimed to be from the killer. It read: 'Your wife sent me to prison some years ago. Now I'm back. It is also said to have warned him: 'You're next'

Investigators are probing whether Gaal was having an affair, and which men she was seeing

Gaal recently had an affair with a handyman who had access to the house and knowledge of a spare key

She was briefly reported missing by her husband in 2020 but was found safe

She told her son Leo she was going out with friends but might have been meeting a man

Leo was taken out of the home in handcuffs to be questioned but was released later into the care of a relative

Cops wish to be speak with 'multiple suspects' including the unnamed handyman

Gaal is understood to have gone to a show at the Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side in Manhattan on Friday night, then returned to Forest Hills, Queens. It's likely she took the train, getting off at Forest Hills-71 Av stop.

From there, she is believed to have gone for a drink at a local bar near her home, sitting alone in 5 Burro Cafe for 40 minutes as if she was waiting for someone, before walking home to her family's house on Juno Street.

The owner of the bar told the Post: 'Her house is a 10-minute walk.  She comes here, yknow, shes been here before. She used to come with some Russian ladies. I saw the bag, where they found it, after I left that night. I drove by it after leaving here. I couldnt believe when I heard. It smacked me when I saw her picture!'

Detectives were going to neighbors' homes on Wednesday asking them for more information. Authorities are offering a $3,500 reward

The Klein family home remained sealed off on Wednesday morning with multiple NYPD vehicles parked outside

The killer is believed to have taken Orsolya's body out the side door on Saturday. She died at 12.40am, according to police, but it was another four hours before the killer was seen wheeling her body in a bag past houses

The suspected killer wheeling the body in a bag down 75th Avenue in Forrest Hills, Queens , on Saturday

This is believed to be Orsolya Gaal's killer, dragging her body along the sidewalk after stabbing her nearly 60 times in her basement in Queens on Saturday

Authorities have not yet made any arrests for Orsolya Gaal's killing. They say that she likely knew her murderer, because there were no signs of forced entry inside the home

Gaal with her sons, 17-yearold Jamie and 13-year-old Leo, and husband Howard Klein on Christmas Eve in 2021

Gaal and her husband Howard Klein had been married for more than 20 years. He was out of town with their oldest son when she was killed

Electrician Arrjuna Jack has worked in the family's house in the past. He said there is an extensive security system inside the house that would have captured a killer leaving the home

Her son Leo was in the house on the top floor.

At around 12.40am is when she is believed to have been attacked. It's unclear when the killer entered the home or if he had been waiting for her.

The NYPD is offering a $3,500 reward for information that may lead to Orsolya Gaal's killer

Police believe he had a key or knew how to get into the property unnoticed since there was no sign of forced entry.

What exactly happened in the four hours that followed is unclear but at around 4am, Gaal's body was removed from the house in a duffel bag.

The suspect was filmed by doorbell surveillance cameras wheeling it past houses on the streets surrounding Gaal's family house.

At 8.11am, the bag was found near Metropolitan Avenue and Jackie Robinson Parkway by a dog walker.

They told police they initially thought the bag contained a mannequin. The caller then noticed black ankle-length jeans, a belt and a woman's waist.

Police followed a trail of blood left by the killer dragging the bag back to her home. That is where they are understood to have found Leo on Saturday morning.

Neighbors say he was taken away in handcuffs that morning. He was later released into the care of an unnamed adult relative.

Howard, Orsolya's husband, and their older son Jamie were visiting a college in Oregon. They returned to New York on Sunday.

Howard, who is a lithium equities advisor, had tweeted that he was out of town with his son before Orsolya was found dead.

After her body was discovered, he switched his public Twitter account to private.

He told The New York Post before he returned home last week that he was in fear of his life and the lives of his two sons.

Since then, he has not made any kind of public comment.

Although police have not yet released a name of the person they're seeking, the workman is believed to have had knowledge of Gaal's home, including where she kept a spare key.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shouted at President Joe Biden's national security adviser when he was pressed on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and said he would not help the U.S. out by pumping more oil.

The staggering decline of U.S.-Saudi relations under the Biden administration was outlined in a Wall Street Journal report that details actions the president's fury with the de facto ruler of the kingdom and the prince's infuriated response.

Last September, Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with the Saudi Crown prince, who goes by his initials MBS, at a seaside palace.

Sullivan brought up Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist who was murdered in 2018 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

MSB shouted at Sullivan in return and told him that he never wanted to speak of the matter again. And, he added, the U.S. could forget its request that Saudi Arabia increase its oil production, which the administration was pushing for to help bring down gas prices.

The White House is denying the story.

Most of this story is categorically false, including both the basic facts and the overall premise,' said Adrienne Watson, National Security Council spokesperson.

'The opening characterization of Jake Sullivan's meeting is basically made up. There was no shouting and oil production was not a topic of discussion,' she said.

'While there is work to do in any relationship, as Saudi Arabia comes under increasing threat from Iranian-backed proxy groups in Yemen and elsewhere, the United States is committed to strengthening relations with Saudi Arabia and other partners in the Gulf region. This is an iron-clad commitment from the President on down,' Watson said.

Saudia Arabia is irritated with the frosty reception it has received from the United States since Biden took office.

President Biden has refused to speak to MBS and has limited his direct conversations to the ailing and elderly King Salman, MBS' father.

'There's a lot of Middle Eastern folks who want to talk to me. I'm not sure I'm going to talk to them,' Biden said at a CNN townhall in October, which was seen as a reference to MBS.

Biden is said to see the king as his direct counterpart. But in Saudi Arabia, the king chooses his successor and Salman, 86, has handed de facto control of the country to MBS, 36.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (left) shouted at President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan (right) when he was pressed on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and said he would not help the U.S. out by pumping more oil, according to a new report

President Joe Biden has limited his conversations to elderly King Salman - Biden is seen with Salman above in 2011 when Biden was vice president and Salman was a prince

Relations have worsened since Russia's invasion of the Ukraine. The U.S. has repeatedly pushed the Saudis to pump more oil to help bring down gas prices but Saudi has refused, which is more in line with Moscow's interests.

Since relations with Washington have declined, MBS has responded by strengthening ties with Russia and China. Beijing is one of the kingdom's biggest oil customers.

The Journal noted that after it posted its report online, Adrianne Watson, a White House National Security Council spokeswoman, said Sullivan didnt discuss oil production with MBS at their September meeting and that there was no shouting.

And a Saudi official at the kingdoms Washington embassy said - after the online publication - that the relationship between the U.S. and the kingdom remains strong. He called the meeting between Sullivan and MBS cordial and respectful.

Saudi Arabia is a member of OPEC, the powerful bloc of 13 countries that together control 40% of global oil production. Russia is a member of the OPEC+.

MBS and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on Saturday, their second conversation since Putin's February 24th invasion of the Ukraine. The call came at the initiative of Saudi Arabia, the Kremlin said. The two men last spoke on March 3.

Meawhile, Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East, has been a frequent visitor to Riyadh, trying to reset the relationship that soured after Biden refused to speak to MBS.

At one point, a state visit by Biden was discussed but ulimtately ruled out. There is some concern that things have soured to a point that a personal visit by Biden would do no good.

Relations have been going down hill for months.

In March, it was reported the Saudis declined an administration request for a phone call with Biden, a report the White House denied. After the kingdom declined to talk to Biden, MBS held that March phone call with Putin.

'The crown prince ... has a very big ego and he was personally humiliated by Biden,' Yasmine Farouk, with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told NPR in late March. 'What's happening, of course, this is payback time.'

The White House, meanwhile, is working on repairing relations in the wake of sky high oil and gas prices. Prices of crude were back up on Wednesday - to $107.91 a barrel - after having declined. Gas prices are also on the rise again - the national average was $4.10 a gallon on Tuesday - after previously falling.

Biden is doing all he can to lower gas prices and ease Americans pain at the pump. He authorized the release of one million barrels a day from the Strategic Oil Reserve.

The president has blamed Russia, OPEC and Saudi Arabia for the high prices.

Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. are the only two major oil producers that can pump millions of more barrels of more oil.

But, thus far, Saudi Arabia is refusing to budge when it comes to releasing more oil, sticking to an OPEC+ supply pact with Russia and others to release more oil gradually.

The Biden administration also wants oil prices to drop to hurt Putin's pocketbook. Energy is one of Russia's biggest income generators.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was critical of kingdom; MBS has denied the charge

Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East, has been a frequent visitor to Riyadh, trying to reset U.S.-Saudi relations

As for MBS, he has a reputation for ruthlessness. In 2017, he rounded up hundreds of members of his own family and other wealthy Saudis and imprisoned them in Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton hotel on informal charges of corruption.

He wants to be recognized as the Kingdom's next ruler.

And he's warned that alienating Saudi leadership could hurt Biden.



'It's up to him to think about the interests of America,' MBS told The Atlantic in March of Biden.

Asked if Biden misunderstood him, MBS responded: 'Simply, I do not care.'

'We don't have the right to lecture you in America,' he noted. 'The same goes the other way.'

Biden has used tough words on Saudi Arabia dating back to his presidential campaign, when he called the kingdom a 'pariah.'

'We were going to, in fact, make them pay the price, and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are,' Biden said at a 2019 Democratic debate, when asked about Khashoggi's murder.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded MSB ordered the journalist's death and it was Biden's administration that released the unclassified report revealing that information.

Khashoggi was critical of the crown prince in his writings. MSB has denied he ordered the journalist's death but said he bare some responsibility since it happened on his watch.

MBS is said to want to put the Khashoggi incident behind him. He faces civil lawsuits over the killing and wants to secure legal immunity in the U.S., Saudi officials told the Journal.

Biden could facilitate that by directing the State Department to recognize MBS as a head of state, which has not happened.

The president also publicly castigated Saudi Arabia over its protracted war in Yemen and cut off the flow of some weapons Riyadh could use to target Houthis.

Yemen is in the middle of a civil war with the government fighting Iran-backed Houthi militants. Saudi Arabia is leading the fight against the Houthi and was upset when the White House no longer classified the Houthis as a terrorist organization.

Saudi Arabia Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin twice since Putin invaded Moscow - above the two men are seen together at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 1, 2018

Donald Trump, as president, made the Saudi Arabia relationship a priority - above he is seen with Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman in Juen 2019 at the G20 summit in Japan

Biden's approach to Saudi Arabia is in direct contrast to Donald Trump's. President Trump made restoring the relationship a priority, and boasted about arms sales to the Saudis.

Trump also questioned the CIA's conclusion MBS was involved in Khashoggi's murder and refused to condemn him.

And Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal that they had opposed. The Biden administration has reopened negotiations to restart the Iran deal, much to the Kingdom's frustration.
Russia has lost another colonel as Ukraine continues to inflict punishing losses on Vladimir Putin's top brass.

Mikhail Nagamov, 41, the commander of a sapper regiment, died fighting in Ukraine on April 13, according to articles that have appeared in Russian media.

It is not clear how or where exactly Nagamov died, with reports saying only that he perished 'performing a combat mission in Ukraine'. He leaves behind a wife and child in the village of Suslonger, around 400 miles east of Moscow.

Nagamov's death is just the latest suffered among Russia's command corps, with dozens of colonels and eight generals having been killed by Ukraine.

Mikhail Nagamov, 41 (left and right), the commander of a sapper regiment, died fighting in Ukraine on April 13, officials in his home village of Suslonger have said

The country's military claims to have killed almost 21,000 Russian soldiers since Putin gave the order to invade on February 24, along with hundreds of tanks and thousands of other vehicles.

Russia has also lost the warship Moskva, the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, despite Ukraine not possessing a navy.

And the bloodletting is sure to ramp up again as Putin presses his generals back into battle in Ukraine's east in an attempt to capture the Donbas region.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Russia had begun its assault on the region, amid a massive barrage of artillery along a 300-mile stretch of frontline near Donetsk and Luhansk and an uptick in fighting.

Ukraine reported battles around the city of Izyum, where Russia has massed most of its assault forces, as well as around Severodonetsk and Lysychans'k.

Kremmina, a small town to the north of Severodonetsk, was captured by Russian troops Tuesday when Ukrainian forces retreated because there was 'nothing but rubble to defend' after weeks of bombardment.

But Ukraine had counter-attacked elsewhere: Claiming to have re-taken the town of Marinka, near Donetsk, and seized towns to the east of Kharkiv - putting Russian supply lines under threat.

His death was announced just a day after the death of Alexander Chirva (left and right), captain of the Caesar Kunikov tank landing ship which was blown in in the port of Berdyansk

Ukraine hit several Russian ships with missiles as they sat in the hrabour at Berdyansk, sinking the Orsk (pictured) and damaging two other vessels

Nagamov's death was announced just a day after a captain - Alexander Chirva, commander of a large landing ship - was confirmed to have died in Ukraine.

He was commander of the large, 370 ft landing ship Caesar Kunikov, which was thought to have been damaged during a Ukrainian missile attack on the port of Berdyansk on March 24.

The Kunikov's sister landing ship the Orsk was hit and eventually sank while in port, having had its location advertised on Russian state propaganda.

It is thought that Chirva and his ship were involved in the rescue operation, with fire from the Orsk reportedly spreading to other vessels as well as an ammunition depot and a fuel terminal in the port.

The announcement follows the sinking of the Black Sea Fleet's flagship, Moskva, after it was hit by two Ukrainian Neptune missiles.

There is confusion over whether the Moskva's captain, Captain Anton Kuprin, died during the sinking or not, with Ukraine initially reporting his death but Russian state television subsequently released a video purporting to show the surviving crew including Kuprin.

But the clip appears clumsily doctored, with the same sailors seeming to appear multiple times and the tree foliage suggesting the film was made at a different time of year. Yesterday, at the risk of being censured or even arrested, desperate parents of crew members broke their silence.

They fear the death toll from the Moskva is at least 40 and could be much higher. Western military sources have suggested it could be in the hundreds.

Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles fired by Ukraine struck the ship's port side, targeting her engines and starting a propellant fuel fire.

Kyiv claims to have killed almost 21,000 Russian troops fighting in Ukraine since Putin declared the start of a 'special military operation' on February 24

Ukraine also claims to have destroyed hundreds of Russian tanks and thousands of other vehicles, putting large parts of Putin's army out of action

In the wake of disastrous Moskva sinking, the head of the Black Sea Fleet Vice Admiral Igor Osipov, commander of the Black Sea Fleet, is believed to have been suspended or detained or both.

On March 20, it became known that Deputy Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Captain 1st Rank Andrei Paliy, 51, had died in Ukraine.

He was killed during the battles for Mariupol.

The latest losses of the Russian Armed Forces in the war in Ukraine puts the number of personnel killed at breaching 20,00, and mindboggling quantities of materiel.

Russian hardware has taken a pummeling from Western shoulder-mounted anti-tank weapons such as Javellin missiles and the British-made NLAW that have been pouring into the wartorn country to help Ukraine repel the Russian aggressors.

802 tanks are claimed to have been destroyed, 169 aircraft, 150 helicopters, 158 UAVs, 386 artillery systems, and a mammoth 2063 armoured personnel vehicles.

Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed that Ukraine has lost 23,367 soldiers including mercenaries during the war.
Visitors view photos taken with Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S22 smartphone through the company's Neo QLED 8K TV during the World IT Show at the COEX convention center in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics



By Baek Byung-yeul



Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, SK Telecom, KT, Kia and other companies from Korea and abroad are displaying their new products equipped with the latest technologies at the World IT Show, the largest IT event in Seoul, which runs until Friday.



Company officials said Monday that the IT event, hosted by the ICT ministry, will be an opportunity to promote new technology as well as see how the market moves at a time when the global community is transitioning from a pandemic to an endemic as well as keeping up with the latest technological trends both at home and abroad.



The organizing committee said more than 350 large, small and medium-sized companies and public institutions took part in the event. The major exhibition items consist of non-contact technology; artificial intelligence (AI) and internet of things (IoT); digital twin and metaverse; smart devices; digital healthcare; cybersecurity and blockchain.



Given that over 32,000 people visited the event in 2021 despite the COVID-19 situation, the organizer said this year's event will attract more visitors.



"This year's exhibition will be an opportunity to confirm the technological competitiveness and market prospects of domestic and overseas tech companies in preparation for the post-COVID-19 era and promote market expansion and marketing performance of ICT companies that play a role in driving the competitiveness of exports in the Korean economy," a spokeswoman from the organizing committee of the event said.



Among the big tech firms, Samsung Electronics, the world's No. 1 smartphone and TV maker, came up with its latest gadgets including the Galaxy S22 series and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 foldable smartphones for the show.





Models promote LG Electronics' home appliances during the World IT Show at the COEX convention center in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of LG Electronics



LG Electronics showcased not only its home appliances but also robots and gadgets for the business-to-business market.



"Our robot assistant LG CLOi ServeBot greets visitors at our booth, providing hand sanitizer and working as a docent. In the smart office solution experience zone, the LG One: Quick, features a 4K touch screen, camera, microphone, speaker and electronic backboard; transparent OLED signage; 32-inch monitors for hospitals and 27-inch clinical and surgical monitors are displayed," an LG spokesman said.



Local mobile carrier KT, which is currently trying to become a digital platform company, exhibits new services such as a transportation digital twin and robots.



"KT displays various services and products such as transportation digital twin technology, a control technology for monitoring and analysis of road traffic conditions, electric wheelchairs that have a joystick with an electric motor and AI service robots including quarantine robots," a KT spokesman said.



One of the highlights of the KT booth is the AI quarantine robot, which was released this month. The robot is intended for use at hospitals and other large facilities receiving many visitors. The robots feature plasma, ultraviolet wavelength and air cleaning so that they can sterilize over 99.9 percent of viruses, while at the same time being harmless to humans.





Kia's electric vehicles  the EV6, left, and the Niro EV  are on display during the World IT Show at the COEX convention center in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Kia
Prince Harry sparked an eruption of fury from Britons on social media today who accused him of yet another snub to the UK as he fired a broadside at his homeland.

The Duke of Sussex claimed the US was now his home, and predicted the comment would 'become a thing' - suggesting it would spark fury from critics in the UK.

He made the revelation in his latest interview on American television, in which he also refused to say whether he misses his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William.

Harry told NBC's Today: 'Home for me now, for the time being, is in the States. And it feels that way as well. We've been welcomed with open arms and we've got such a great community up in Santa Barbara.'

Asked if it was 'weird' to say publicly, having spent more than 30 years growing up in the UK, he replied: 'No, but I'm sure it'll become a thing.'

The snub towards Britain sparked a backlash on Twitter, particularly as it came just weeks after his lawyers told judges in the High Court in February the UK would 'always be his home' amid his ongoing security row.

One user wrote: 'He informed the court 6 weeks ago that England will always be home. I'm sure the court & [Home Office] will be very interested in this interview.

Another said: 'In my opinion such a hit in the face for the British public. With saying my home is California, I wouldn't even think about going on that balcony.'

Prince Harry set social media alight today when he claimed the US was now his home, and that he predicted it would 'become a thing'

Number 10 hits back at Harry's claims he is 'making sure the Queen is protected' - as his war with Home Office over funding for his security rumbles on Prince Harry 's claims he has made sure the Queen is 'protected' was rebuffed by No 10 today - who said the PM was confident about her current welfare arrangements. Downing Street brushed off the Duke's concerns that Her Majesty may not be being properly looked after. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said he was confident she was - despite Harry's surprising comments. Harry - who was earlier branded 'delusional' over the assertion he was 'protecting' the Queen - is currently at the Invictus Games in The Hague. The issue of protection is a burning one for the prince, who himself is at war with the Home Office over his own security in the UK. Speaking to the Today show about his meeting with the Queen, Harry said: 'Being with her it was great, it was just so nice to see her, she's on great form. 'She's always got a great sense of humour with me and I'm just making sure that she's protected and got the right people around her. 'Both Meghan and I had tea with her, so it was really nice to catch up with her.' It comes after he and Meghan skipped Prince Philip's memorial service at Westminster Abbey last month over 'security concerns' and after the couple made a string of damaging claims, including of racism, against the Royal Family in their Oprah sit-down. Advertisement

At a hearing in February regarding police security for Harry when he visits from across the Atlantic, his barrister Shaheed Fatima QC insisted his ties to the UK remained strong.

'It goes without saying that he does want to come back to see family and friends and to continue to support the charities that are so close to his heart,' said Ms Fatima.

'Most of all, this is and always will be his home.'

The main bombshell of the interview was Harry refusing to say whether he misses Charles and William amid speculation about their ongoing feud - but he insisted that he talks with the Queen 'about things she can't talk about with anybody else'.

The duke spoke about his mantra of 'trying to make the world a better place for my kids' while also explaining his concerns that he could face 'burnout' while working from home at his 11million mansion in Montecito, California.

In addition, he praised the Queen's 'sense of humour' and spoke of their 'really special relationship' following their surprise meeting at Windsor Castle last Thursday where he had tea with her and his wife Meghan Markle.

And, talking about his late mother Princess Diana, Harry told NBC's Today that he feels her 'presence in almost everything that I do now' and that he talks to his son Archie about her and there are photos of her in their home.

Asked what is the best thing about the Queen, he said: 'Her sense of humour and her ability to see the humour in so many different things. We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can't talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice peace to her. But I think... after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.'

And asked about the Jubilee celebrations, he said: 'I don't know yet. There's lots of things with security issues and everything else. This is what I'm trying to do, trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her.'

But when questioned over whether he misses Charles and William, the Duke was keen to swerve the subject, telling presenter Hoda Kotb: 'For me at the moment, I'm here focused on these guys [Invictus athletes] and these families and giving everything that I can, 120 per cent to them to make sure they have the experience of a lifetime. That's my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family who I miss massively.'

'She's done her bit with my brother and now she's helping ME': Harry says Princess Diana 'got William set up' and is now 'watching over my family'

Prince Harry said his mother has done her bit to get his brother William set up and is now 'helping my family'.

In his latest interview on US television, the Duke of Sussex told NBC's Today that he feels Princess Diana's 'presence in almost everything that I do now' and that he talks to his son Archie about her and there are photos of her in their home.

Harry said he has felt his mother's presence more so in that last two years than ever before - approximately the same length of time since he and Meghan Markle stepped back from Royal duties in January 2020.

He said: 'It's almost as though she's done her bit with my brother and now she's very much helping me. She's got him set up and now she's helping me set up - that's what it feels like. He's got his kids, I've got my kids.

'The circumstances are obviously different but I feel her presence in almost everything that I do now. But definitely more so in the last two years than ever before, without a question. She's watching over us.'

Prince Harry told NBC's Today that he feels Princess Diana's 'presence in almost everything that I do now' and that he talks to his son Archie about her and there are photos of her in their home

The Duke of Sussex said his mother has got his brother William set up and is now 'helping my family'

When asked whether he has told his son Archie about Princess Diana, he said he has not told him 'all the stuff that happened but certainly that "this is grandma Diana".'

He also said he and Meghan Markle have a couple of photos of her up in the house and that he was 'sure' Princess Diana would be proud of him.

Royal author Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, told Sky News that Harry talking about Princess Diana shows he is 'probably still grieving for his mother'.

She added: Because people do that - and I studied this a bit when I wrote about William and Harry  in order to keep the presence of the person thats passed away, is to keep them alive by doing things that they did and wanting their approval. So Harry does sound like hes in a different sphere somehow.'

During the interview, Prince Harry refused to say whether he misses his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William amid their ongoing feud - but insisted that he talks with the Queen 'about things she can't talk about with anybody else'.

The Duke of Sussex also placed doubt over whether he would attend his grandmother's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London in June amid the ongoing security row with the Home Office, adding: 'Home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it's in the States. And it feels that way as well.'

And Harry spoke about his mantra of 'trying to make the world a better place for my kids' while also explaining his concerns that he could face 'burnout' while working from home at his 11million mansion in Montecito, California.

In addition, he praised the Queen's 'sense of humour' and spoke of their 'really special relationship' following their surprise meeting at Windsor Castle last Thursday where he had tea with her and his wife Meghan Markle.

Princess Diana carrying Prince Harry at a photocall during their summer holiday at the Spanish Royal Palace in 1987

Prince William, Princess Diana and Prince Harry during a family holiday to Lech, Austria, in March 1993

Princess Diana with Prince Harry and Prince William on a ride at Thorpe Park amusement park

Asked what is the best thing about the Queen, he said: 'Her sense of humour and her ability to see the humour in so many different things. We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can't talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice peace to her. But I think... after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.'

And asked about the Jubilee celebrations, he said: 'I don't know yet. There's lots of things with security issues and everything else. This is what I'm trying to do, trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her.'

But when questioned over whether he misses Charles and William, the Duke was keen to swerve the subject, telling presenter Hoda Kotb: 'For me at the moment, I'm here focused on these guys [Invictus athletes] and these families and giving everything that I can, 120 per cent to them to make sure they have the experience of a lifetime. That's my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family who I miss massively.'

The couple moved to the Montecito area of Santa Barbara in California following their decision to step down as senior royals in early 2020, saying they wanted a new life of personal and financial freedom.
Hoda: 'There was one woman who came up to me yesterday and she said something that totally struck me in my soul. She said the Invictus Games saved my life. How does that land for you?'

Harry: 'It feels amazing. But every single Games that I go to I hear the same thing from so many of them. And that... it feels amazing that we have managed to play a part in their recovery, but it also makes me incredibly sad to know that that's how dark it was for them.'

Hoda: 'You've spoken about obviously mental health issues: When you put that heavy backpack down, like people are lugging stuff around, when you finally put it down. Do you feel yourself like peaceful, or at peace?'

Harry: 'I think everyone ends up feeling lighter, I think is the best way to describe it. For so many people it is about management. You know the things that trigger you, therefore you try and stay away from that. But what I do know is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for absolutely everybody.'

Hoda: 'The only thing I want in my life is to feel like peaceful. You've lived in the United States for two years now. Do you feel peaceful now?'

Harry: 'I don't know how many people feel truly peaceful, you know? I feel -- at times I feel massively at peace. But with everything that is going on in the world and trying to help and trying to use the platform and the influence to try and steer people to try and help. Again, like I think like the biggest concern or the biggest issue that people wrestle with on daily basis that does provide more anxiety for me and for them is the helplessness. We as human beings are compassionate people. But when your life becomes really hard, it can be for some harder to find the compassion for other people. But what I've learned over the years is, certainly for myself, I find healing in helping others. And I think that what's we should really be focusing on.'

Hoda: 'I love that. I feel like life happens on a random Wednesday. Like here is an example. Some say oh my God I'm going to go on a vacation, my life is going to be great. And it is like exclamation points. The vacation, the graduation, the marriage, the baby. Those are all up here. The other exclamation marks are down here. It's like sad things that happen, loss, divorce, whatever. Most of life is Wednesday. It doesn't have the highs. And it doesn't have the lows. It is just Wednesday. What is a Wednesday like for you, random?'

Harry: 'What's a Wednesday like? It revolves around the kids as much as humanly possible. This whole working from home stuff is not all it's cracked up to be, certainly post-Covid. Because it is really hard when your kids and you are in the same place. It is really hard to separate the work from them. Because they kind of overlap. So I mean Archie spends more time interrupting our Zoom calls than anybody else. But he also gets us off them as well, so that's also a nice thing.'

Hoda: 'Does he have your personality? Is he kind of like you? He's got a little bit of your thing?'

Harry: 'What's my thing?'

Hoda: 'Your cheeky thing?'

Harry: 'My cheeky thing? Yeah, I think so. I always try and keep that. The cheekiness is something that keeps you alive. There is just so much to be happy about in the outside world, but there is also so much to worry about. My sort of mantra now every day, and it is a dangerous one, because I need to make sure that I don't have burnout, but is trying to make the world a better place for my kids. Otherwise what is the point of point of bringing kids into this world? It is a responsibility I feel as a parent you probably feel as a parent as well. And we can't fix everything. We know that. But what we can do is be there for each other.'

Hoda: 'You obviously made lot of news recently. You went back to the UK. You saw your grandmother. How was that?'

Harry: 'It was great. It was really nice to see her. To be able to see her in some element of privacy was nice. I hadn't had the chance to go back the UK for couple of years apart from those two times. One for my grandfather's funeral and one for unveiling a statue of my mom.'

Hoda: 'How did it feel being back, being with her?'

Harry: 'Being with her, it was great. It was just so nice to see her. You know, she's on great form. She has always got a great sense of humor with me and I'm just making sure she's protected and has got the right people around her.'

Hoda: 'You make her laugh, that's what she always says. Did you do it again?'

Harry: 'Yes I did. I had tea with her. It was really nice to catch up with her and, you know, home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it's in the States. And it feels that way as well.'

Hoda: 'Does it?'

Harry: 'Yeah. We've been welcomed with open arms. And we've got such a great community up in Santa Barbara.'

Hoda: 'So you feel like that's home more for you?'

Harry: 'Yeah.'

Hoda: 'Is that weird to say?'

Harry: 'No. But I'm sure it will become a thing.'

Hoda: 'Your grandmother is going to be 96. What is the best thing about her?'

Harry: 'Her sense of humor and her ability to see the humor in so many different things. We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can't talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice peace to her. But I think she's... I think after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.'

Hoda: 'You do, do think she's bored of her 96th. She won't be bored of the Jubilee, will she?

Harry: 'No. I don't think so. She's had a few Jubilees now and every one is slightly different. I'm sure she is looking forward to it.'

Hoda: 'Do you think you will come?'

Harry: 'I don't know yet. There's lots of things with security issues and everything else. So, this is what I'm trying to do, trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her.'

Hoda: 'Your family at home. Do you miss them?'

Harry: 'Yes. I think especially over the last two years, for most people, have they not missed their family? The ability to even get home and see them? Of course. That's -- you know, that's a huge part of it.'

Hoda: 'But do you miss your brother, your dad?

Harry: 'Look I mean, for me at the moment, I'm here focused on these guys and these families and giving everything that I can, 120 per cent to them to make sure they have the experience of a lifetime. That's my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family who I miss massively.'

Hoda: 'You do. I bet.'

Harry: 'Of course I do, they are two little people.'

Hoda: 'I was thinking about a new life. You got a whole restart. You have a whole new focus, a whole new nucleus. How does that land with you?'

Harry: 'I think the focus is very much the same'

Reporter: 'Is it?'

Harry: 'Yeah, certainly. From my wife's point of view. For the two of us, this is a life she signed up for and we were committed to doing this together as a couple forever. Because of the circumstances, we've now moved that life of service to the States and we'll continue doing what we were doing before. So in that regard nothing's has changed for us. It is just a little bit more complicated to have to sort of restart.'

Hoda: 'Sure. What do you love about fatherhood?

Harry: 'What do I love about fatherhood? All of it. The chaos, the learning, the reminder of just every element of yourself, your soul, right? When you are not a parent you can get sucked into all sort of different stuff and you can maybe sometimes forget who you are. And suddenly as a parent, especially now Archie is at the age he is at, asking all the questions.'

Hoda: 'What does he ask?'

Harry: 'Questions of the whys. He's into the why stage. Why this? Why that? Why that? And instead of just trying to move it on, I give him the most honest answer I can. And then it goes on and on and on until he's satisfied. And then that's it. It's done. Otherwise it ends up with - because the world is round and that it is the way life is.'

Hoda: 'That's just the way it goes.'

Harry: 'So it's like, I love it. I love every part of it. I've always wanted to be a dad. I've always wanted to have my own kids and now I have got two little people who I'm responsible for.'

Hoda: 'Do you tell them or tell Archie now he's old enough about your mom?'

Harry: 'Yes. Yeah, yeah. Very much so. I don't tell him all the stuff that happened. But certainly that this is, you know, grandma Diana and we've got a couple of photos up in the house.'

Hoda: 'In these moments do you ever feel your mom's presence?'

Harry: 'Yeah, no, for me it is constant. It has been over the last two years. More so than ever before. And it is almost as though she's done her bit with my brother and now she's very much, like, helping me. Got him set up. And now she's helping me set up. That's what it feels like, you know? He's got his kids. I've got my kids, you know the circumstances are obviously different. But now, I feel her presence in almost everything that I do now. But definitely more so in the last two years than ever before. Without question. So she's watching over us.'

Hoda: 'I'm sure she's proud of you.'

Harry: 'I'm sure she is.'
A friend who was FaceTiming with Rob Kardashian saw Blac Chyna hold a gun to Rob's head, the jury was told Tuesday, on the second day of the Chyna vs Kardashians trial in Los Angeles.

The bombshell claim was made by the Kardashian family's lawyer, Michael Rhodes who told the jury that there will be evidence during the trial that the friend 'saw Miss White (Chyna) put a gun to his head' but the attorney said he didn't know if the gun was loaded.

Rhodes was making his opening statement which he began by asking each of his four Kardashian clients to stand as he introduced them individually to the jury.

First he brought up Kris Jenner whom Rhodes described as 'mother and matriarch' of the family and the 'momager who manages the vast empire this family has built from scratch.'

Of Kim Kardashian he said she is 'one of the world's most famous people, an influencer' as well as the mother of four kids.

Khloe Kardashian is a 'successful businesswoman and entrepreneur in her own right,' said Rhodes.

And Kylie Jenner, he added, is also an 'accomplished businesswoman' with more than 300 million Instagram followers.

'Evidence will show that Miss White wanted something - she wanted to be one of them (the Kardashians),' said Rhodes who refused to call the reality star Blac Chyna because 'that's a stage name and this is not a stage - this is a courtroom.'

A friend who was FaceTiming with Rob Kardashian saw Blac Chyna hold a gun to Rob's head, the jury was told Tuesday, on the second day of the Chyna vs Kardashians trial in Los Angeles

Kim, Khloe, Kylie Jenner and their mother, Kris are all named as defendants in Blac Chyna's lawsuit against them

Chyna, 33, whose real name is Angela White, is seeking $108 million in damages, according to court documents

In the defamation part of Chyna's lawsuit, Rhodes, told the jury that the Kardashians 'did not defame the plaintiff.'

The attorney said that during the December 14 attack that Chyna denies, 'there is no doubt that she got physical with Mr. (Rob) Kardashian' and also put a phone cord around his neck and pulled.

Rhodes said that Chyna was 'screaming and yelling' smashed a TV and Kris Jenner's boyfriend, Corey Gamble, had to physically get between the couple and tell Rob to 'get your car keys and get out of here.'

The next day, he added, Chyna took her child and left and never lived with Rob again.

Kris and her daughters heard about the dust-up between Chyna and Rob and, added Rhodes, 'They were very upset. That is not the kind of thing they want to play out on the shows that they produce'

He told the court that it wasn't a TV or Rob's head that got broken the night of the fight, 'The thing that got broken on December 14 was their relationship.

'The relationship was over. There is no Rob and Chyna show if there is no Rob and Chyna.'

Rhodes pointed out that Chyna 'has no contract' with the Kardashians. 'Her contracts are all with E!.'

But as paid executive producers of Rob and Chyna, Kris and her daughters, cancelling the show cost them money as well.

'They were acting against their own financial interests to protect someone they love (Rob),' said Rhodes.

He added that E! paid Chyna a $100,000 cancellation fee when the first season of Rob and Chyna ended and an additional $370,000 to film more footage that could be used if Rob and Chyna did eventually come back for a second season. If that didn't happen, the footage could be used on episodes of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Blac Chyna was spotted leaving her house and heading to Los Angeles court for her trial against the Kardashians Tuesday

A lawyer for Blac Chyna accused Kris Jenner of blackmailing E! into canceling Rob and Chyna during opening statements . Above, Kris is seen at 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' on April 06

Chyna's attorney, Lynne Ciani, told the Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday that Kris Jenner told producers of Rob and Chyna that Chyna 'had attempted to strangle Rob with a phone cord.'

'But that was false,' said Ciani. 'Chyna did not beat the s*** out of his face.'

Ciani claimed that Kris Jenner threatened E! and its part company NBC Universal, that she 'would pull Keeping Up with the Kardashians if they didn't kill off Rob and Chyna.'

Chyna's attorney also said that on the night of the alleged attack, Rob and Chyna were still together and were actually celebrating the green lighting of their show for a second season.

While Chyna did rip Rob's shirt that night, it was a result of passion, not violence, as 'she was happy and she thought he was hot,' Ciani said.

Ciani told the jury that after the alleged attack, Kris sent out texts accusing Chyna of being 'drunk for three days' and calling on Rob to 'ditch the b****.'

On Tuesday, Chyna's lawyer recounted the TV star's humble beginnings growing up poor and turning to stripping before she got her big break when Drake mentioned her in a song after he came into the club she was working at.

Chyna is suing Kim, Kylie, Khloe and Kris for allegedly plotting to have her show Rob and Chyna axed. They are seen in court today in a sketch

Chyna got her big break in June 2010 when rapper Drake came into the club she was working at and later mentioned her adopted name - Blac Chyna - in a song he wrote

'[Kris Jenner] set out to have Season 2 of Rob and Chyna cancelled and she brought in her three daughters to help accomplish that,' Ciani said.

The four Kardashians had a family vote, said Ciani, to cancel season two of Rob and Chyna but nobody told Chyna, who thought her show was still very much alive.

Ciani went on to claim that Rob got wind of the family meeting and 'essentially begged' his mother and sisters to let season two go forward.

Jury selection began Monday in Blac Chyna's $108million lawsuit against the Kardashian. The trial is scheduled to last 10 days

'But they did not hold up, they went full steam ahead to get it cancelledand they succeeded.'.

Ciani began her opening statement to the jury by agreeing with the Kardashian's lawyer Michael Rhodes that both their clients come from the same world of reality TV.

But outside of reality television, the worlds of Chyna and TV's most famous family are 'very different,' she said.

Growing up as Angela White, Chyna had a tough childhood, raised by a single mom in Washington D.C., Chyna's attorney told the court.

After high school she worked at McDonalds and Taco Bell and a pizza parlor she had to walk two miles to and from, hoping to raise the money to go to college to study fashion merchandising.

She soon realized that her minimum wage job serving pizza would not be enough to pay for college so she started working as an exotic dancer, as her mother had done before her.

That gave her big break in June 2010 when rapper Drake came into the club she was working at and later mentioned her adopted name - Blac Chyna - in a song he wrote.

'That led to a notoriety she had not had before,' Ciani told the jury.

'It was a big deal that opened doors of opportunity for her.'

Modeling jobs followed and magazine covers. In August 2011 she was named model of the year at the Urban Model Awards and she appeared as singing star Nicki Minaj's stunt double in a video and as herself in a later Minaj video.

Chyna accuses the Kardashians of plotting to cancel her hit reality show Rob and Chyna

Kim, Kylie Jenner, Khloe and their mother, family matriarch Kris Jenner, are all named as defendants in the case

In September 2011, she appeared in a video with Tyga - and subsequently fell in love with the rap star, having a baby boy, King Cairo, now aged nine.

Chyna's mother, Tokyo Toni, was ordered to stay away from her daughter's courtroom battle after making 'veiled physical threats' at the Kardashian family in an online attack Monday.

Chyna's mother Toni, whose real name is Shalana Hunter, made a slew of disparaging remarks about the Kardashian family on an Instagram Live that she posted Monday, after sitting just a few feet from the billionaire family in a Los Angeles courtroom, their attorney claimed in court today.

Michael Rhodes, who is representing the Kardashians at the trial brought about by Chyna's $108 million lawsuit against them, called for her mother to be banned from the courtroom.

Hunter was sitting directly behind Kim and Khloe Kardashian, their sister Kylie Jenner and their mother Kris Jenner yesterday Rhodes told the court, and later she posted a 'rant' online in which she made 'veiled physical threats against my clients.

'She cannot be in this courtroom if this is how she is going to conduct herself.

'Miss Jenner was physically worried this morning about her safety.

'A trial like this is hard - it's a lot harder if I have to worry about my clients' safety.'

In response, Chyna's attorney, Lynne Ciani, told the court, 'I have told my client that if she cannot control her mother if she says something inappropriate, she cannot come into the courtroom.'

Chyna's mother did not show up at court on Tuesday.

In the video, Toni appears to be rolling what looks like a joint as she said the family 'looked dead' and compared Kris Jenner to a character from the horror movie Saw.

'Kris had on a f***ing crusty a** tan suit with one button,' Toni said as she began tearing the family's appearance apart, adding that she thought they looked 'homeless.'

'They look scary in real life,' she said in another part of the video, saying they had 'dips' in their faces.

She then mocked Khloe for nodding in court, saying to the camera: 'Did you have some Xanax before you got there b****?'

Toni seemingly make threats in the video when discussing who is allowed to sit next to her in court, saying 'stand the f*** up and back.'

Toni - real name Shalana Hunter - made a slew of disparaging remarks about the Kardashian family on an Instagram Live

Toni - real name Shalana Hunter - had been present at the Los Angeles court on Monday, but has now been told to stay away from proceedings

On Monday, A potential juror in Chyna's lawsuit against the Kardashians asked to be excused because he 'can't be neutral' as he has watched Kim's sex tape and 'would be replaying it in his head' during the proceedings.

Judge Gregory W. Alarcon brought in prospective jurors during jury selection on Monday.

During the afternoon session, Judge Alarcon empaneled jurors and asked their names, marital status, and occupation before attorneys for both sides grilled jurors on whether they felt they could render a fair and impartial decision in the case.

'I have never watched the Kardashian show but I have watched the Kardashian sex tape and I don't think I could be neutral in this case,' a middle-aged man said, causing laughter to break out in the courtroom.

After a break, the same prospective juror volunteered: 'I'm going to be playing that sex tape in my head and possibly not listening too closely...'

'I think we got the point,' Judge Alarcon said, cutting off the juror's detailed account.
A family has captured the terrifying moment a 'four-metre' great white shark monstered their boat while out on a fishing trip.

David Tuckfield was out on the water off the coast of Mandurah, south of Perth, last Friday with his wife Kunya and 14-year-old son when they spotted the shark lurking beneath the surface.

The great white, which Mr Tuckfield estimated to be about four metres long, swam right up to the side of the boat, opening its mouth up wide and using its razor sharp teeth to chomp down on the boat's outboard motor.

The shark continued circling the family for an hour, giving them a Good Friday they'll never forget.

A family in WA have filmed the terrifying moment a four-metre great white started to attack their boat

'I had goosebumps, I've never seen one that big ever,' Mrs Tuckfield told Nine News.

Their son Shelby had been reeling in his catch when the predator suddenly breached the surface.

'You could feel the boat move a little bit when he hit it,' Mr Tuckfield said.

David Tuckfield was out on the water off the coast of Mandurah south of Perth last Friday with his wife Kunya and 14-year-old son when they spotted the shark lurking beneath the surface

The boat's motor was left worse for wear as was the berley cage.

Mrs Tuckfield is heard screaming in shock as the shark launches into the side of the boat - but the family now say say the terrifying encounter was the highlight of their Easter weekend.

'We don't appreciate them until you see them up close and it is their playground,' Mr Tuckfield said.
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and NYC Mayor Eric Adams have been talking-up the benefits of legalized weed on '420 day.'

Last week Governor Kathy Hochul approved licenses for 52 local weed farmers to grow marijuana for adult recreational use. New York state legalized recreational weed last year, with sales expected to begin later this year.

'Legalization of adult-use cannabis is about more than a day on the calendar,' she tweeted on Wednesday. 'Its about creating jobs and opportunities. Its about supporting small businesses and farmers. Its about righting the wrongs of the past.'

On Wednesday Hochul also shared a clip of the state's first weed farm in Albany County owned by resident Phil Spinelli.

'Phil Spinelli just received one of the first cultivation licenses, and hes ready to get growing. We cant wait to see his greenhouse in action soon!' she captioned the clip.

Spinelli is one of 52 weed farmers who've been granted licenses to grow the drug.

New York hopes will generate sufficient tax revenue to substantially boost its coffers and help fund social projects which will benefit the disadvantaged - including people previously targeted by cops for weed possession.

To mark the stoner holiday Mayor Adams is set to propose that New York City spend $4.8 million to assist people from minority communities that are most affected by marijuana-related offenses to become marijuana entrepreneurs.

The funds will go towards helping them learn about the industry and set up their new small businesses - things like navigating the licensing process and obtaining financing, among other areas.

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On Wednesday Governor Hochul shared a clip of the state's first weed farm in Albany County owned by resident Phil Spinelli

Last week Governor Kathy Hochul also approved licenses for 52 local weed farmer to grow marijuana for adult recreational use

On Wednesday Mayor Eric Adams is set to propose that NYC spend $4.8 million to assist people from minority communities to become marijuana entrepreneurs

'Now is the time for our city to make proactive investments to ensure the people disproportionately impacted by the criminalization of these substances can reap the benefits of the new industry,' Adams said in a statement.

Adams has previously said that the legal marijuana industry could be a key driver for the city's post-pandemic economic recovery, along with a revival in tourism, nightlife and people returning to offices.

In New York City alone, the industry is expected to generate $1.3 billion in sales in its first year, according to estimates from City Hall.

Although weed shops have yet to open to the general public, New York already has 'clubs' which effectively provide the same service.

People become a member for the day, or longer, and can then visit to purchase weed-based products.

Adam's announcement coincides with April 20 - also known as 4/20 - America's unofficial national cannabis day.

Contrary to popular belief, the ubiquitous stoner term '420' has absolutely nothing to do with police codes  but was coined by five Northern California high schoolers in the seventies.

Back in the fall of 1971, another classmate gave teens David Reddix, Steve Capper, Larry Schwartz, Jeff Noel, and Mark Gravich a map to a marijuana garden that his brother-in-law had planted and abandoned.

The five teens made a plan to meet at 4:20 p.m. after school to search for it, and went back several times to try to find it and although they never did, they began using '420' as a code word to indicate marijuana use.

After someone started printing it on flyers passed out at Grateful Dead shows it was picked up by High Times magazine, which began publishing it.

Now five decades later the term is now used in festivals and merchandise, and April 20  written 4/20 by Americans  has become an internationally recognized weed holiday.

A man who identifies himself as Larry the Bird Man smokes marijuana in Washington Square Park as marijuana enthusiasts marked the annual but informal cannabis holiday, 4/20

Adam's announcement coincides with April 20 - also known as 4/20 - America's unofficial national cannabis day

A map of the United States showing where recreational and medical cannabis has been legalized

What are the pros and cons of cannabis? Cannabis is legal for recreational use across 18 U.S. states, and can be taken for medical reasons in another 20. The drug is used recreationally due to the 'high' it triggers, which can make users feel relaxed and happy. But smoking it can also lead to feelings of panic, anxiety or paranoia. Scientific studies have shown the drug can alleviate depression, anxiety and stress, but heavy use may worsen depression in the long term by reducing the brain's ability to let go of bad memories. It can also contribute to mental health problems among people who already have them, or increase users' risk of psychosis or schizophrenia, according to research. Marijuana can be prescribed for medical uses in more than half of US states, where it is used to combat anxiety, aggression and sleeping problems. Researchers are also looking into whether it could help people with autism, eczema or psoriasis. Cannabis oil containing the psychoactive chemical THC, which is illegal in the UK, is claimed to have cancer-fighting properties, and one 52 year-old woman from Coventry says she recovered from terminal bowel and stomach cancer by taking the drug. Advertisement

Rallies are expected across the U.S. where it is legal to use recreationally in some parts, and groups are also expected to meet in parks to indulge in the drug.

Pressure is also expected to be placed on authorities in states where the drug is yet to be made legal.

The Federal Government has also been urged to legalize the drug for recreational use nationwide.

New York legalized adult recreational marijuana a year ago for adults 21 and over. Recreational sales are not expected to start until later this year or early next year as the state sorts out regulations for what's expected to be one of the biggest legal U.S. markets for the drug.

As of April 2022 a total of 18 U.S. states  including California, New York and Arizona  have legalized taking cannabis for recreational reasons, with 20 others allowing the drug to be used in medical settings.

New York was the 16th state to legalize marijuana for adults, and the second-most populous state after California to do so.

A key theme in marijuana legalization across the county in recent years has been social equity and Adams' plan continues in that vein, suggesting the city help those most impacted by the criminalization of the drug if they now wish to become marijuana entrepreneurs.

Earlier this month congress voted to federally legalize marijuana with a vote of 220-204, mostly along party lines, sending the legislation to the Senate.

Three Republicans - Reps. Matt Gaetz, Brian Mast and Tom McClintock - voted alongside the Democratic majority, while two Democrats voted no with the GOP.

It marked the second time the Democrat-led House passed a bill to decriminalize pot, the first happening in December 2020.

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Actdecriminalizes possession, distribution and manufacture of cannabis - and no longer classifies it as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act.

Those in the cannabis industry heralded the news.

'We are very encouraged by the passing of the MORE act in the House. We continue to believe the decriminalization of cannabis is long overdue. We hope the Senate will also see that legalization of cannabis will go a long way to righting the many wrongs that have happened for many years in our country while providing all Americans the opportunity to use cannabis medically or recreationally,' said Peter Gallagher, the CEO of INSA, a leading east coast vertically integrated cannabis company.
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America' most endangered rivers have been revealed in a report, with the Colorado River - which serves 40 million people in the West - topping the list.

It is followed by the Snake River - 'once the most prolific salmon-producing river in the Columbia River Basin' - which has been pushed 'to the brink of extinction' by four federal dams and the 'haven of biodiversity' Mobile River watershed, which accounts for 14 per cent of all freshwater flowing in the U.S. and is now threatened by a leaking coal ash pond.

The bodies of water listed run through some twenty states, but the report summary from American Rivers insists that 'no matter where you live in the United States, your river and your drinking water are affected by climate change'.

The report authors said: 'America's Most Endangered Rivers of 2022 sounds the alarm that our nation's rivers and clean water are in crisis  and it shines a light on urgent solutions.

'This is not simply a report, it is a loud and clear call to action.

'Many people in the United States have imagined climate change as a problem in the future. But it is here now, and the primary way that each of us is experiencing climate change is through water. The climate crisis is a water crisis.'

Drought, flooding and species extinction have been listed as the dire consequences of rivers heating up.

Rivers were selected based on three criteria, according to the report: 'A major decision that the public can help influence in the coming year on the proposed action', 'the significance of the river to people and nature' and 'the magnitude of threat to the river and its communities, especially in light of a changing climate and/or environmental justice'.

America' most endangered rivers have been revealed in a report, with the Colorado River - which serves 40 million people in the West - topping the list

1. Colorado River described as a 'vital lifeline' for the whole country is the most endangered

Last August water levels at the largest reservoir on the Colorado River - Lake Mead - have fallen to record lows. According to the report, climate change is also expected to further reduce the river's flow by 10-30 per cent by 2050

The most threatened on the list - the Colorado River - is described as a 'vital lifeline' for the whole country, especially the Southwest, as well as Northwestern Mexico.

However there is not enough water in the river to meet all current needs. According to American Rivers, management plans relied on the 'flawed assumption' that the river carried nearly 18 million acre-feet.

One acre-foot is roughly equivalent to an eight-lane swimming pool which is 82 ft long, 52 ft wide and 9.8 ft deep.

In reality, only around 13 million acre-feet has been historically available, meaning the entire system is 'operating at a deficit'.

Last August water levels at the largest reservoir on the Colorado River - Lake Mead - had fallen to record lows.

Along its perimeter, a white 'bathtub ring' of minerals had outlined where the high water line once stood, underscoring the acute water challenges for a region facing a growing population and a drought that is being worsened by hotter, drier weather brought on by climate change.

According to the report, climate change is also expected to further reduce the river's flow by 10-30 per cent by 2050.

American Rivers called for 'bold action' in the area plagued by drought, pushing for investment in sustainable strategies, increased collaboration with Mexico and implored governments to match resources and represent Colorado River Tribes in leadership positions.

The river, which flows through nine National Parks and supports a $1.4 trillion economy - including $26 billion in recreational spending - 'is so over-tapped that it dries up nearly 100 miles from its mouth at the Sea of Cortez'.

Water levels at Lake Powell fell to its lowest point since 1969 in July 2021 and have continued to drop, dipping below a critical threshold last month, thus threatening the source of power that millions of people across seven states rely on for electricity.

2. Snake Rivers salmon population is threatened by four dams

The Snake River finds itself threatened by four dams, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1995 and 1975: Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite

The report also highlighted the Snake River, which runs through Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

It once produced 40 per cent of the Chinook salmon and steelhead in the Columbia river basin, but each year less of the salmon return from their migration.

The rivers finds itself threatened by four dams - built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1995 and 1975, called Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite - which have disrupted river flows and put species populations at risk.

While the dams have benefitted the communities they service, they pay-off has been brutal on the environment.

Wild salmon returns fell by more than 90 per cent following their construction and the dams have also turned the flowing river into a group of slow-moving, methane-releasing reservoirs.

The report said: 'By removing the four dams on the lower Snake River and replacing their services, the Northwest has a once-in-a generation opportunity to restore Snake River salmon to healthy, harvestable levels, honor our commitments and treaties with Northwest tribes, create jobs for rural economies across the region and modernize the infrastructure of the Pacific Northwest.

'The region's congressional delegation and the Biden administration must take action to develop and implement a plan to remove the dams in an expedient fashion.'

3. Mobile River threatened by decades-worth of dumping of toxic ash coal

Calling for a removal of the coal ash, the report also highlighted the Mobile River as a 'haven of biodiversity' which 'accounts for fourteen percent of all freshwater flowing in the U.S.'

The Mobile River, which flows through Alabama, has for decades faced Plant Barry dumping 21 million tons of toxic ash coal into a pit only protected from it by an 'earthen levee', meaning heavy metals and other toxics can get into and contaminate the groundwater as well as the river's watershed.

Coal ash - the concentrated by-product of burning coal - includes contaminants such as radium, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, selenium and other carcinogens.

Calling for a removal of the coal ash, the report also highlighted the Mobile River as a 'haven of biodiversity' which 'accounts for fourteen percent of all freshwater flowing in the U.S.'.

It added: 'Pollution from the coal ash pit threatens the health and well-being of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, Mobile Bay, the historic African-American community of Africatown, the City of Mobile and the Port of Mobile.

'Alabama's Department of Environmental Management and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must compel Alabama Power to follow the Coal Combustion Residuals (i.e., coal ash) rule and excavate and remove the coal ash at Plant Barry to a modern, lined landfill away from the river's edge that does not allow any infiltration of water into the coal ash or leaching of coal ash into groundwater.'

4. Maine's Atlantic Salmon Rivers' health 'urgently' needs restoration to prevent extinction of salmon species in the U.S.

Three of Maine's rivers were 'urgently' highlighted in the report as being vital to prevent extinction of Atlantic salmon from the U.S.

Three of Maine's rivers were 'urgently' highlighted in the report as being vital to prevent extinction of Atlantic salmon from the U.S.

It said: 'Four dams on the Kennebec, two dams on the Union, and at least seven on the Penobscot are preventing recovery of critically endangered Atlantic salmon.

'These dams, owned by Brookfield Renewable Partners, face upcoming hydropower relicensing decisions that will determine the fate of these river systems for decades to come.

'For many years, Brookfield's dams have been violating the Endangered Species Act by killing and impairing the migration of endangered Atlantic salmon and harming water quality.'

The report implored the state and federal agencies to use their powers to 'restore river health and connectivity on these rivers' to ensure a future for the fish, and address concerns long-raised by indigenous communities.

It added: 'Restoring passage to Maine's rivers will help save Atlantic salmon, recharge commercial marine fisheries, bring ecological and economic rebirth to the Gulf of Maine and set the stage for even more restoration efforts as native fish return or are stocked from local, conservation hatcheries.

'Rejuvenated fish runs in these rivers will also help fulfill long-ignored sustenance fishing and treaty promises made to the Indigenous people of Maine, who live off and steward these rivers.'

5. Coosa River 'pollution budget' not being utilized to save it from being 'choked' by chicken feces

American Rivers' report said the Coosa River, which is still highlighted for its importance for biodiversity and endangered species

The Coosa River, which flows through Alabama and Georgia, is being 'choked' by waste including billions of chickens' feces as a side effect of pollution from massive industrial poultry farms.

American Rivers said the river, which is still highlighted for its importance for biodiversity and endangered species, has for years had 'pollution budgets' available, as manure pollution and sewer overflow became such a dire issue.

However according to the report these are not enforced by state agencies but rather those who 'focus on protecting the industry'.

The report said: 'The waste is spread on fields, and massive industrial poultry operations discharge their wastewater into municipal sewer systems that are crumbling, where permits are inadequate to protect water quality if they are even enforced at all.'

It added: 'The sanitary sewer overflows disproportionately impact Black and low-income residents by making roads inaccessible and waterways unsafe for fishing, swimming and recreation.'

6. Mississippi River, called 'crucial economic engine', isn't checked for new sources of water contamination

Flowing through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana - this body of water 'supports millions of people and countless birds, fish and other wildlife'

The Mississippi River runs through ten states and is of incredible importance to the country, but has found itself and its habitats unprotected and gradually degraded.

Flowing through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana - this body of water 'supports millions of people and countless birds, fish and other wildlife'.

Nearly 20 million people live in the 123 counties bordering the river, with its watershed covering 41 per cent of the contiguous U.S.

The report said: 'The Mississippi watershed covers 41 percent of the contiguous United States and provides drinking water to more than 50 municipalities.

'The river is also a crucial economic engine, generating more than $400 billion in ecosystem services annually and supporting 1.3 million jobs.

'Habitat is being degraded, new sources of water contamination go unchecked, wetlands continue to be drained and lost, and flood damages are escalating.

'To respond to these threats, Congress should establish a new geographic program overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that focuses on ecosystem health, conservation and restoration of the Mississippi River through the passage of the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Act.'

7. Lower Kern River section 'dried up' thanks to 'excessive water diversions' in system of concrete-lined canals

The river isn't allowed to run along its natural riverbed freely and is instead transported to water rights holders through a system of concrete-lined canals

Flowing through California, going from the the mountains of Central California to the San Joaquin Valley and the city of Bakersfield, the Lower Kern River provides drinking water.

Most of this comes as groundwater recharged through the Kern River channel. Around 500,000 people live near the river, by Bakersfield.

However the Lower Kern isn't allowed to run along its natural riverbed freely and is instead transported to water rights holders through a system of concrete-lined canals.

It also supports federally threatened species - such as the yellow-billed cuckoo, southwestern willow flycatcher and least Bell's vireo - but decades of 'excessive water diversions for agriculture operations' dried up the last 25 miles of the lower river.

The report said: 'This denies the community access to a flowing river and harms the entire web of life, from riverside trees and vegetation to fish, birds and wildlife.'

8. San Pedro River dried up by 'poorly planned development' and 'excessive groundwater pumping'

The report said: 'In order to protect the San Pedro, the Arizona legislators must pass laws to protect groundwater supplies and the Biden administration must strengthen Clean Water Act protections'

Arizona's San Pedro River has been threatened by 'excessive groundwater pumping' which the report says is causing stretches of the river to dry up.

It adds the problems of the river, which supports one of North America's most biodiverse ecosystems, are 'exacerbated by poorly planned development that withdraws too much of the river's limited water'.

The report said: 'Additionally, rollbacks to the Clean Water Act initiated during the Trump administration have removed protections for seasonal and intermittent streams, which encompass almost 94 percent of the San Pedro River's waterways and provide the lifeblood that sustains the river.

'In order to protect the San Pedro, the Arizona legislators must pass laws to protect groundwater supplies and the Biden administration must strengthen Clean Water Act protections.'

9. Los Angeles River stakeholders must 'abandon plans that prioritize concrete'

According the report: 'As urbanization continues to impact the river's health, a number of public agencies the LA Flood Control District chief among them are considering plans that determine the river's fate'

According the report, California's Los Angeles River (LA River) 'is perhaps best known for its concrete'.

However it adds: 'Some may not even recognize the flood control channel as a river, with 95 percent of its riverine habitat already lost to urbanization. However, the river's natural heart still beats and its future is at stake.

'As urbanization continues to impact the river's health, a number of public agencies the LA Flood Control District chief among them are considering plans that determine the river's fate.

'They must abandon plans that prioritize concrete and instead embrace a vision that prioritizes river health, equitable community access and climate resilience.'

10. Tar Creek contaminated by heavy metals for decades and needs 'landscape-scale solution'

Tar Creek downstream from Picher, Oklahoma. The rusty orange color is typical of mine-water drainage and indicates a high concentration of iron and other dissolved metals

Tar Creek in Oklahoma is contaminated by heavy metals which have contaminated it for decades with 'cleanup efforts continuing to fall short'.

The Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, state of Oklahoma and tribes 'must work together to develop a comprehensive solution to clean up the pollution and safeguard public health', the report adds.

According to American rivers, 'heavy metal contamination poses a danger in two ways upstream at the source from acid mine drainage and surface runoff, and downstream from the disturbance of contaminated sediments dispersed during floods'.

The group urged for a 'landscape-scale solution'.
Angry parents protested a Pennsylvania school board meeting over plans to create a Satanist after school club for children as young as five.

'Satan is a liar and Satan will show himself as light when in fact he's not light:' said Maddie Snelbaker, who was one of the angry mob of parents who showed up at the board meeting, CBS 21 News reported.

Ultimately, the proposal to enact a Satanist's Club at Northern York Elementary School in York County was voted down 8-1 - and many local parents were happy to share their fury with a local news crew.

Before the board meeting, protestors filled the school's hallways with some parents praying, while others held signs: 'No Satan Club. Satan Club will corrupt the innocents. One Nation Under God,' in place of pitchforks and torches.

The local Satanists' Chapter has previously explained that their club will only be to promote scientific ideas and secularism. They say that if a district has approved Christian Bible study during class hours, then secularist ideas should be given a platform too.

Spokesman Lucien Greaves says the school could now be in breach of the Constitution.

Outrage parent Maddie Snelbaker was among those railing against the proposed Satanist after school club in York County, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday night

Members from the Northern York County School District voted Tuesday night 8-1 against the approval of an after-school Satan Club at the school that would have been designed for children as young as five years old. Parents gathered in attendance to express their outrage before the meeting that drew hundreds of parents and people from the community.

A group of parents from the district had asked for the Lucifer-based program, in response to the board giving the green light to a bible study group during school hours, a report said.

A young boy holds up a homemad, 'No Satan' standing in solidarity with his parents and other member of his community an opposition to a Satan-based after-school program.

Many youngsters were in attendance too. One young boy, was seen in the school's auditorium waving a sign: 'No Satan.'

Parent Laura Vangeli told the news station: 'There is a lot of evil already in this world, so to allow it to come into our school and our community is not OK.'

According to reports, a group of parents from the district had asked for the program, in response to the board giving the green light to a Bible study group during school hours.

Despite the uproar, Satanists from the Satanic Temple, explain that their teachings are not devoted to the worship of Satan, but on educating young people on rational and scientific ways of thinking.

A life-size sculpture of Satan with two children beside him sits in The Satanic Temple. Similar to bible-study class, Satanists explain, the Satan-based after-school club's goal would expose young people to rational and scientific ways of thinking that would broaden their horizons

Despite the push down on the vote, the debate appears far from over. Lucien Greaves, the co-founder of the Satanic Temple told 21 News added: 'The school board does not have the authority to decide which religious organizations they prefer holding after school clubs and which ones they dont.'

'The school board does not have the authority to decide which religious organizations they prefer holding after school clubs and which ones they dont,' Lucien Greaves, the co-founder of the Satanic Temple told 21 News, whose face had been blurred during the interview.

He added: 'The club does not support worshipping, Satan or any religion. I hope when people understand that it will be less easy for them to use these old witch-hunt methodologies that never serve a positive function.'

Religion in schools under the free exercise clause of the First Amendment, and in line with U.S. Supreme Court rulings, public schools may not prevent students from expressing or sharing religious beliefs, as long as their doing so does not disrupt the school.
A Utah man accused of killing his wife by running her over in an airport parking garage while intoxicated will remain jailed after a judge denied his request for bail.

Shawn Christopher Sturgeon, of Taylorsville, was charged with manslaughter, automobile homicide and domestic violence in the presence of a child after he allegedly killed his wife, Charlotte, following an argument on April 4.

Sturgeon, 38, reportedly had a blood-alcohol level three times the state's legal limit of 0.05 when he abruptly accelerated the family SUV and struck Charlotte, causing her to lose her balance. Witnesses said she was 'yelling and screaming' and her legs were seen 'flailing about' as he continued to reverse.

After he mowed her down, Sturgeon allegedly ordered Charlotte, 29, into the car so he could drive her to the hospital, where she later died from her injuries.

In a brief hearing Monday, a judge denied the defense's request for Sturgeon to be released after he had previously been held without bond, KJZZ reported. The judge's reasoning for denying bail was not immediately clear.

Shawn Christopher Sturgeon, 38, was denied bail on Monday after he allegedly killed his wife by running her over in an airport parking garage while intoxicated

Sturgeon was charged with manslaughter, automobile homicide and domestic violence in the presence of a child after he allegedly killed his wife, Charlotte (pictured), on April 4. A witness claimed he asked Charlotte 'why she just did that' and said 'now I have to take you the emergency room,' after striking her with the SUV

Sturgeon, who was seen for the first time during Monday's virtual hearing, said only six words during his court appearance, uttering the phrase 'yes, your honor' twice to confirm his name and date of birth.

He was charged on April 13 for Charlotte's death after having been arrested the week prior.

The couple had just returned from vacation with their child when Sturgeon hit Charlotte with their SUV in the Salt Lake City airport parking garage around 2.30pm.

Sturgeon had reportedly been yelling at his wife both inside and outside of the airport terminal before the incident.

Surveillance footage reviewed by authorities showed him place their child in the backseat of the SUV before getting into the driver's seat.

The couple had just returned from vacation with their child when Sturgeon hit Charlotte with their SUV in the Salt Lake City airport parking garage around 2.30pm. Sturgeon had reportedly been yelling at his wife both inside and outside of the airport terminal before the incident

After dragging his wife's body under the car 10 feet, he got out and placed her in the front seat and drove to the payment booths (pictured) to ask for help. She was transferred to a nearby hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries

'Charlotte appeared to be sitting in the front passenger seat and then is seen exiting the vehicle,' prosecutors said, according to KSTU.

'She walked to the rear passenger side seat of the vehicle and opened the door as Sturgeon started to reverse the vehicle. He abruptly sped up and then stopped the car. Charlotte lost her balance during this abrupt movement. The door to the vehicle was still open.'

He then accelerated forward, running Charlotte over.

'Sturgeon then exited the vehicle while yelling and flailing his arms and told Charlotte to get in the vehicle which she did shortly before succumbing to her wounds,' the prosecution added.

Sturgeon hit his wife inside the parking garage (right) and drove to the payment booths (left) to get for help. Police have set up a crime scene at both location to investigate

A witness claimed Sturgeon asked Charlotte 'why she just did that' and said 'now I have to take you the emergency room,' before he 'aggressively picked her up and pushed her towards the front passenger seat'.

He then drove the vehicle to the airport parking payment booths where he asked for help. Paramedics were called to the scene and attempted to life-saving measures in the parking garage and at the hospital, but Charlotte did not survive.

Sturgeon made several spontaneous utterances to authorities after the incident including: 'I ran my wife over,' 'I killed my wife and I accidentally ran her over,' prosecutors said.

He is expected back in court on April 25.
David Sweat, whose escape from prison led to a massive search through the woods of upstate New York in 2015, will be force fed, a judge decided Wednesday after the convicted cop killer lost more than 20 pounds during a three-week hunger strike.

And he admits he 'feels like sh*t' because of his decision to refuse food.

Sweat learned Wednesday afternoon that authorities can force-feed him to prevent possible death.

'After a hearing in which Mr. Sweat had an opportunity to be heard, the court ordered, that for the period of one year, DOCCS or any health care provider is authorized to involuntarily feed and hydrate Mr. Sweat as appropriate,' said a statement from the New York state department of corrections.

A judge sitting in upstate Fort Edward, New York, ruled after prison authorities petitioned to feed 5ft. 9 in. Sweat through a tube.

Sweat, 41, was protesting his transfer to Great Meadow Correctional Facility in nearby Comstock, because it is only a couple of hours drive from Dannemora, where he and fellow convict Richard Matt escaped.

David Sweat (pictured in 2015) is down to less than 140 pounds after a three-week hunger strike in protest at being moved to Great Meadow Maximum Security prison

Joyce 'Tilly' Mitchell (pictured in court in 2015)was hospitalized with a panic attack at the time she should have been meeting Matt and Sweat as they emerged through a manhole in Dannemora

Sweat has now been behind bars in seven of New York State's 16 men's maximum security prisons. He is on hunger strike in a bid to get himself out of Great Meadow

Paul Dano played Sweat in Ben Stiller's Showtime miniseries Escape at Dannemora

He believes many of the correctional officers at Great Meadow will have been on the team that hunted him down and will have it in for him, his girlfriend Fran Malanik told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.

'They are mad at him because they showed them up for not doing their job when he escaped. Now they just make his life as hard as possible,' said Malanik, 49.

'They talk about keeping prisoners close to their families but then they do the exact opposite.

'He never thought he would ever be moved to a prison so close to Dannemora,' Malanik added.

Since being recaptured less than seven years ago, Sweat has been sent to six different maximum security prisons. Malanik, who now lives in Buffalo, said she hasn't seen him since June last year due to Covid restrictions on prison visitors and his constant moves.

A trip to see him in Great Meadow would mean an 11-hour round trip of 650 miles.

Sweat went on hunger strike in 2017 because he claimed guards in the notorious Attica Correctional Facility were trying to poison him and he was soon moved to Wende, another prison in the system.

Prison authorities insist that move was not precipitated by his refusal to eat and say his latest strike will not result in a transfer.

'Negotiating facility placement with any incarcerated individual is a direct violation of Department of Corrections policies and procedures,' said spokesman Thomas Mailey.

He said the move from Shawangunk to Great Meadow was one of thousands of transfers made every year.

'The Department conducts regular reviews and moves incarcerated individuals to other facilities for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, security concerns, programmatic needs, medical and mental health levels,' said Miley.

Sweat was moved to Great Meadow from the downstate Shawangunk Correctional Facility on March 25 and immediately stopped eating.

An affidavit from prison doctor David Karandy, obtained by DailyMail.com says his weight went down from 163.2 pounds to 140 pounds on April 6. That 'constitutes a loss of 14.21% of his initial body weight,' wrote Karandy.

Sweat is certain to have lost more weight in the two weeks since Karandy wrote his report.

David Sweat was wearing head-to-toe camouflage when he was shot in the shoulder and arm two miles south of the Canadian border

'Mr. Sweats vital signs indicate an elevated heart rate and at times his lips and mucus membranes appear dry which indicate a state of dehydration,' the doctor wrote.

Karandy said Sweat is now in the infirmary at Great Meadow and his physical condition is monitored around the clock.

'Meals are offered to Mr. Sweat three times daily and he has continual access to running water,' added Karandy.

'Mr. Sweat continues to refuse all meals offered to him and has limited his intake of fluids.'

'Mr. Sweat clearly declares his intent to the facility physician and other medical staff members which is to engage in a hunger strike as a means of securing transfer out of Great Meadow Correctional Facility.'

Karandy said prison staff read Sweat the 'hunger strike script' on April 8. That declares that 'incarcerated individuals have no constitutional right to starve themselves to death.'

The doctor said that Sweat has been diagnosed with 'antisocial personality disorder.'

Prison psychiatrist Julio Riascos wrote that Sweat had told prison staff 'I feel like sh*t,' due to his hunger strike.

'Patient reports that his hope is "smaller every day", tells treatment team that he has been on hunger strike for 11 days and that he plans to continue on it until he is transferred from this facility,' wrote Riascos on April 7.

'He complains of not being able to see his family due to the distance from home and not having seen his 10-year-old daughter for 10 months.

Dr. David Karandy wrote in his affidavit that Sweat had lost more than 23 pounds by April 6. He said 'incarcerated individuals have no constitutional right to starve themselves to death'

Sweat and Matt made their sensational escape from Clinton on June 6, 2015 after weeks of digging tunnels through the prison system.

They emerged through a manhole in the town of Dannemora where prison employee Joyce 'Tilly' Mitchell was supposed to pick them up.

She had allegedly been having affairs with both of them and they had discussed killing her husband Lyle before running off to a new life together.

But Mitchell suffered a panic attack shortly before their rendezvous and was taken to the hospital, so once they were out the two murderers were left to fend for themselves.

Sweat and fellow convicted murderer Richard Matt (right) escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, on June 6, 2015, after tunneling through heating ducts and sewers, using tools smuggled into the lock-up by prison worker Joyce Mitchell

Clinton Correctional Facility dominates the town of Dannemora, New York, but its high walls did not stop David Sweat and Richard Matt escaping in June 2015

Cops shot Matt dead on June 26, the day after his 49th birthday when they found him at a hunting lodge in the woods. Two days later Sweat was spotted heading toward the Canadian border and was shot by State Trooper Jay Cook, hitting him in his shoulder and arm and was recaptured.

Their escape was documented in Ben Stiller's Showtime seven-part miniseries Escape at Dannemora, which starred Benicio del Toro as Matt and Paul Dano as Sweat.

Both Mitchell  who was depicted by Patricia Arquette  and Sweat claimed Stiller had got many facts wrong in the show.

Mitchell said: 'Stiller is a liar just like the rest of the world. He doesn't care about the truth. All he cares about is making millions off me. He's an idiot.'

Both Mitchell and Sweat deny they ever had sex, although Sweat says Matt and Mitchell were intimate.

Sweat wrote to Stiller from prison, telling him his version of the facts was 'fictitious' and complained that it had made his attempts to prove he was innocent of killing Broome County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Tarsia more difficult.

Mitchell, now 58, served more than five years in prison for promoting prison contraband and criminal facilitation. She was also fined more than $6,000 and ordered to repay nearly $80,000 in restitution.

Prison guard Gene Palmer was also charged with aiding the escape.
A 23-year-old woman is facing aggravated homicide, torture and child trafficking charges in Colombia after she confessed to paying $4,000 for the killing of a 37-year-old homeless pregnant woman, who was drugged before her baby boy was ripped out of the womb.

Yadira Yepes was taken into custody in Soacha, Cundinamarca, on April 9 after she walked into Mario Gaitan Yaguas Hospital with Sandra Alvarez's newborn son, claiming she had given birth.

After submitting Yepes to several medical exams, doctors at the facility were able to determine that she was lying and alerted the Soacha Metropolitan Police.

Soacha police Colonel Livio Castillo told local media outlets that Yepes appeared nervous while she was questioned and provided conflicting versions of how she came to be in possession of the baby.

'We called her family and they informed us that she was pregnant but that she suddenly had appeared with a newborn saying that the birth had happened out of the blue,' Castillo said. 'They said that is why they had taken her to the hospital because her health could be in danger.'

Yadira Yepes paid $4,000 to three men drugged and kill the pregnant Sandra Alvarez so that they could take her baby in Soacha, Colombia. The Soacha police revealed this week that she was taken into custody April 9 after she showed up a hospital claiming she had just given birth. Medical tests showed she was lying and doctors alerted authorities, who discovered her plot and placed her under arrest

Surveillance camera picked up Yadira Yepes (left) carrying the newborn baby after the child's pregnant mother, Sandra Alvarez was murdered

Authorities say Yepes hired three accomplices who took advantage of Alvarez's drug addiction and convinced her to go for a walk through the streets of rural town of Chachua on April 8.

One of the three male suspects reportedly performed a C-section on Alvarez, who was 37 weeks pregnant, and took the baby from her womb before escaping.

Area residents discovered Alvarez's corpse with the placenta and umbilical cord around 1pm on April 9.

Yadira Yepes was taken into custody in Soacha, Cundinamarca, on April 9 after she walked into Mario Gaitan Yaguas Hospital carrying the newborn son of Sandra Alvarez hours after the homeless pregnant woman had been murdered

Yadira Yepes confessed to orchestrating the murder of a pregnant homeless woman identified as Sandra Alvarez because she wanted a baby after having suffered a miscarriage

Yepes is escorted by the Soacha Metropolitan Police. She was already under home confinement for a previous murder charge

#COLOMBIA

Escalofriante.



Mujer pago $4,000 para que mataran a una habitante de calle con 37 semanas de embarazo para robarle el bebe. El hecho ocurrio en Soacha, Cundinamarca. Se encontro el cuerpo sin vida de la dama con "todos sus intestinos por fuera". #RochexRB27 pic.twitter.com/uJziHqHMIi  Noticias 507 y El Mundo (@agrimensuraferg) April 20, 2022

Surveillance footage obtained by the Soacha police showed Yepes carrying the baby in her arms after the horrific murder while an individual was riding a motorcycle beside her.

'She then ended up confessing that she had been pregnant but that after three months she had suffered a miscarriage and that is why she had begun to devise a plan to get another baby,' Castillo said.

Soacha mayor Juan Saldarriaga told W Radio that Yepes had been previously arrested for aggravated theft and was under house arrest for a separate murder.

'She has already accepted the charges and the baby is in perfect health,' Saldarriaga said.

The three men remained at large as of Wednesday.
Visitors try out KT's smart digital healthcare service during the World IT Show at the COEX convention center in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of KT



By Baek Byung-yeul



LG Electronics, KT, Naver, Kakao and other Korean companies are foraying into the digital healthcare business  including telemedicine  as the importance of healthcare has been highlighted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, company officials said Wednesday.



The officials said that companies are rushing into this business because the digitalization of healthcare is clearly seen as a lucrative opportunity for them, with the development of related technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and data analysis.



"Providing customized services to customers has become important in the healthcare business. In particular, IT companies with data processing and analysis technologies are actively entering this market," an official from a local telecommunications company said, requesting anonymity.



Data showed that the digital healthcare market will increase rapidly with the development of data processing technology. The Korea International Trade Association said that the global digital healthcare market, which was at the scale of $106.3 billion in 2019, is expected to grow sixfold to 639.4 billion by 2026.



LG Electronics expressed its willingness to pursue the digital healthcare business, as the company has added the manufacture and sale of medical devices to its articles of association. Since 2020, the company has released a series of digital healthcare gadgets, such as the Pra.L Medihair that supports hair growth and slows down male pattern balding using lasers and LED lights.



Local internet portal giant Naver is using its own hospital as a test bed for the digital healthcare business. At its office building in Gyeonggi Province, there is a hospital serving its employees.



When treating employees, the hospital uses a type of AI technology called Clova Healthcare to record medical examinations. Using the technology, patients can see the results of past examinations at a glance, while the program recommends other medical tests.



Choi Soo-yeon, the CEO of the company, told reporters on April 13 that its own hospital has doctors specializing in various fields to care for the health of the hospital's employees.



"We want to use it as a test bed for new healthcare technology. We are creating various solutions, such as preliminary interview and health examination analysis technologies," Choi said.



Another big tech firm here, Kakao, is also preparing to enter the digital healthcare business. The company already established a subsidiary for the business in December 2021 and appointed Hwang Hee, a professor of pediatrics at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, as the head.



Based on Kakao's digital capabilities and user service experience, the healthcare subsidiary plans to offer health management services to clients.



Telecommunications companies are also showing enthusiasm for the digital healthcare business as part of their efforts to find new opportunities.



Among the three major mobile carriers here, KT is probably the most active in this sector. The company recently signed an agreement with Hanoi Medical University in Vietnam to provide pilot telemedicine services for chronically ill patients. By launching the pilot program before the end of this year, the Korean company aims to expand its digital healthcare business in Southeast Asia.



Ko Hun-seok, a project manager at KT's Digital and Bio Health Business Department, said the company forged a partnership with a Vietnamese hospital to improve its capabilities in the telemedicine sector, as certain telemedicine services are prohibited in Korea due to regulations.



"Some overseas digital healthcare companies are just passing the Korean market due to regulations on telemedicine. Unlike Korea, Vietnam has no regulations on additional services such as drug prescriptions and delivery," he said.



KT also invested $5 million in the U.S.-based electroceuticals company, NeuroSigma, to develop digital drug products jointly. Electroceuticals are?a category of therapeutic drugs that treat ailments by stimulating nerves with electrical impulses.



SK Telecom spun off its healthcare business division in 2020 and established a subsidiary called Invites Healthcare. LG Uplus has cooperated with other healthcare companies to establish a healthcare management platform.


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Johnny Depp was back on the stand Wednesday to continue his testimony about how his relationship with ex-wife Amber Heard deteriorated.

The 58-year-old told the jury in his $100million defamation trial that he stayed with Heard despite the alleged abuse because he feared she would attempt suicide like his mother did when his father left her.

'I didn't want to break her heart,' Depp said Wednesday. 'When my father left, my mother - that first attempt at suicide that I woke up to and that visual in my head - that was a direct result of my father's leaving.

'Miss Heard had spoken of suicide on a couple of occasions so that also becomes a factor. That's also something that always lives in the back of your brain and you fear.

'Many times when I'd try to leave she would stop me at the elevator with the security guards crying, screaming, ''I can't live without you, I'm going to die.''

'There were a couple of times when I did escape and five minutes later she would arrive at my West Hollywood home in her nightgown screaming in the parking lot in front of my house, screaming to high heavens and it would be four in the morning. It was ludicrous. It was out of control.'

Johnny Depp was back on the stand Wednesday to continue his testimony about how his relationship with ex-wife Amber Heard deteriorated

The 58-year-old told the jury in his $100million defamation trial that he stayed with Heard despite the alleged abuse because he feared she would attempt suicide like his mother did when his father left her

Depp with parents Betty Sue Palmer and John Christopher Depp and then-girlfriend Vanessa Paradis when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999

Depp told the court that he hoped he could 'bring Amber around.'

'The Amber Heard I knew for the first year and a half was not this opponent, it wasn't my girl. She had become my opponent and everything I did just didn't fit her, she didn't accept it.'

He spoke of their blowout fights, which he said got violent.

'If I continued to try to present my version or my side of the story, when you're approached in a kind of, with such anger and hatred. It seemed like pure hatred for me. If I stayed to argue I was sure it would escalate into violence and often times it did.'

'Miss Heard in her frustration and her rage and her anger, she would strike out. It could begin with a slap, a shove, throwing a TV remote at my head, throwing a glass of wine in my face but all in all it was just a constant.

'There was a built in list of my personal experiences which I told to Miss Heard - those things were used against me as weapons, especially when it came to my kids

'The only ambition I've ever had arrived the second my first child arrived, in the instant, which was to be a good parent, to be a great father, to be the best father I could.'

Depp said that Heard would attack his parenting.

'There were several occasions where Miss Heard would tell me what a bad father I was and that I had no idea how to parent.

I 'couldn't understand how how in 52 years how I could be so wrong about everything.'

Depp said he went into a 'monumental tailspin where I could hardly go and spend time with my kids because she had to have me there at all times for her own needs, that was something that, once you realize it's happening and there are hassles between the children and her, the situation starts to get a little more grim and a little more dire.

'That I was not prepared to take, I would not hear the words you're a terrible father, you're an awful father. One can only take so much of that before bits of your brain, bits of your heart, the valve gets shut off because you can't hear it any more and you know it's not true and you know it's to slice you up, to bring you down, to bring you into a place where you start to believe there's something wrong with you.

'There's plenty wrong with mebut in all of these situations my main goal was to retreat because most important is pick your battles. If there's a battle to be fought it's grave and important that must be dealt with but small insults and kind of teenage high school tactics, this bullying if you will, it was becoming too much too take.'

Depp told the court that he hoped he could 'bring Amber around.' 'The Amber Heard I knew for the first year and a half was not this opponent, it wasn't my girl. She had become my opponent and everything I did just didn't fit her, she didn't accept it'

Depp and Heard met on the set of the 2011 movie The Rum Diary, turning up on the red carpet together for its London premiere

On Tuesday Depp told the court of the moment his marriage to Heard fell apart. Amber, he said, had a routine that she would get him a glass of wine and remove his footwear as soon as he got home.

But one day she was on the phone, so he took his own boots off rather than wait.

'I worked quite a lot and when I came home from work I'd come in the house and she'd sit me down and give me a glass of wine and take my boots off and set them to the side,' he told the court in Fairfax, Virginia.

'I've never experienced anything like that in my life. I never experienced that and it became a regular thing, kind of routine.

'One night I came home and she was on the phone, I took my boots off, suddenly Miss Heard approached with this look on her face, she just said what did you just do? What did you do?'

He asked her what she meant and she replied: 'You took your boots off.'

'Yes I did, he said he told her. You were busy.'

But Amber told him: 'No, no, no that's my job. You don't do that, I do that.

'Then she said 'Let me get you a glass of wine.' I did take pause of course, the fact she was visibly shaken or upset that I had broken her rules of routine.

'Once you notice something like that you start to notice other tidbits that come out.

'Then within a year a year and a half she had become another person, almost.

Depp got emotional as he talked about how good his relationship with Amber Heard was at the beginning but how it fell apart after he took his own boots off

Depp said under oath that his wife 'became another person, almost' within 18 months of the boots incident

Depp, 58, was testifying in the trial in which he is suing Heard for libel over a 2018 op-ed that she wrote for the Washington Post in which she wrote about her alleged domestic abuse.

Heard, 35, is countersuing for $100 million, claiming that he smeared her when he accused her of lying.

He said in the beginning his relationship with Heard, who he met on the set of the 2011 movie The Rum Diary, was 'too good to be true'.

'She was attentive, she was loving, she was smart, she was funny, she was understanding. We had many things in common, certainly blues music, literature.

'For that year, or year and a half it was amazing.'

'From the beginning of our relationship for a good year and a half she was wonderful and then things just started to change or things started to reveal themselves is a better way to put it.'

He said he called her Slim and she called him Steve after the Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart characters in the movie To Have and Have Not.

He explained that he was the craggy Bogart and she was 'this beautiful creature, this stunning creature,' the much-younger Bacall.

He said it was during a kissing scene in The Rum Diary that he realized he had feelings for Heard, saying he 'felt something he shouldn't be feeling.'

She later went to his trailer and they kissed again.

Depp and Heard called each other Steve and Slim after the Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall characters in the movie To Have and Have Not

Johnny Depp said ex-wfe Amber Heard always insisted she take his boots off and pour him a glass of wine when he got home

The Pirates of the Caribbean actor told the court Tuesday that he started popping pills when he was just 11 and by the time he was 15 he had 'done all the drugs that I am aware of,' Tuesday.

He started on tablets his mother took for her nerves and progressed from there, he told the court.

'I'd bring my mom her nerve pill, I'd take one myself to escape caring so much, feeling so much  to escape the chaotic nature of what we were living through.

'Can't say I'm proud of admitting that'.

He said after taking his mother's pills he moved on to marijuana and other drugs.

He said: 'I've never taken any substance for a party. I've taken these substances on and off to numb myself of the ghosts, the wraiths that were still with me from my youth.

'Essentially self medication, one of those get-me-out-of-here moments. You want to escape from your own brain, your own head'.

Depp said that by 15 he had 'done all the drugs I was aware of' but he didn't continue at such a rate.

He said there were 'many years' he didn't even have a drink' and that he 'wasn't dropping acid every five minutes'.

And he said that his ex-wife's claims about his drug abuse were exaggerated.

He said: 'The characterization of my 'substance abuse' that's been delivered by Miss Heard is grossly embellished and I'm sorry to say but a lot of it is just plainly false

'It was an easy target for her to hit because once you've trusted somebody for a certain amount of years and you've told them all the secrets of your life that information can be used against you, especially if it's taken to a point that's teetering on impossible, teetered over impossible at times.

Heard and Depp in the movie The Rum Diary where they met. Johnny said he 'felt something he should not have felt' during a kissing scene in the movie

'I am not some maniac who needs to be high or loaded all the time.

Depp said he learned how to bring up children from his mother Betty Sue Palmer. 'Justdo the opposite of what she would do'

'In fact before Australia I'd been off of alcohol for about 18 months,' he added referring to the time when he lost part of a finger, when, he claimed, Heard threw a bottle at him.

But he admitted that he got hooked on the painkiller Roxycontin  which he called Roxies  after getting sciatica from throwing a chair through a window in Pirates of the Caribbean 4.

'It's not like you take those pills to get high, you're taking those pills to get well or better because if you're without the pill your body will start to go into withdrawal,' he said.

Depp shook his head and smiled when asked if he had done opiates since detoxing, telling the jury: 'No I can't.

'Once you've been bit you'll be bit again.'

Depp apologized for sending his best friend vile texts about Heard saying he wanted to see her 'rotting corpse decomposing in the f***ing trunk of a Honda Civic'.

'I'm ashamed of some of the references made. I'm embarrassed that at the time the heat of the moment, the heat of the pain that I was feeling went to dark places.

He said: 'Sometimes pain has to be dealt with with humor and sometimes dark, very dark humor.

'I grew up watching Monty Python so it can tend to get into dark humor. It can tend to get intowords are used for emphasis and words are used to express what you're feeling at the time. It's just like growing up, you learn from those mistakes, you learn from those things and you move forward'.

Earlier, Depp had talked about his upbringing, saying he had been regularly abused by his mother Betty Sue Palmer, who died in 2016.

But he said he learned a lot from his parents, especially about bringing up children.

'I knew exactly how to raise children when my girl Vanessa (Paradis) got pregnant I knew exactly how to raise children which was to do the opposite of what they did.
A man accused of fatally pushing a woman in front of a New York City subway train earlier this year will be sent to a secure psychiatric facility after prosecutors told a judge on Tuesday they would not challenge a medical evaluation that found him unfit to face trial.

Martial Simon, 61, had been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Michelle Go, 40, at the Times Square subway station on January 15.

Two court-appointed psychiatrists agreed Simon was not competent to face trial last week after examining him at Bellevue Hospital Center, where he had been held since his arrest in January, according to his lawyer, Mitchell Schumann.

He has been released into the custody of the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene until he can be deemed fit for trial, suspending his case until further notice, ABC 7 reported.

Michelle Go, 40, was died after being pushed by Martial Simon, 61, who is homeless

Martial (pictured in January) will not face trial after two court-appointed psychiatrists stand he was unfit to. He will be at a psychiatric facility, where he will stay until he is deemed fit for trial

He has been released into the custody of the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene until he can be deemed fit for trial

At a brief hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney's, told the court they agreed to let Simon be confined to a psychiatric institution until he was fit for trial, if ever that day came, Schumann said. The lawyer believes Simon will be transferred to Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center on Wards Island, near Manhattan, or to Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center, which is 65 miles away from the city.

The attack also drew fresh scrutiny to the shortcomings in mental health services in New York, particularly for poor and homeless people. Earlier this month, state lawmakers expanded a law that lets judges mandate mental health treatment or confinement to a psychiatric institution if, among other criteria, they are found to be a danger to others.

Simon had been the manager of a Manhattan parking garage until his 30s, when he was first diagnosed with schizophrenia and became unemployed and homeless, Schumann said. In 2017, he was convicted of trying to rob a taxi driver and was out on parole; a drug possession charge against Simon in 2019 was also dropped because he was found unfit for trial, Schumann said.

Also in 2017, Simon reportedly told a psychiatrist at a state-run hospital that it was only a matter of time before he pushed someone on the tracks, he was released, according to The New York Times.

He pushed her onto the tracks at the 42nd Street subway station (pictured)

'I think it's hard to argue that the system has not failed him and he's left untreated on the street,' Schumann said.

Police said Schumann had harassed several other commuters that day and did not appear to target Go, who worked at Deloitte, because she was an Asian American. But her murder shook many Asian Americans, who have reported a rise in racist attacks across the country.

Hate crimes rose 96 percent overall in New York City from 2020 to 2021, with Asian Americans attacks rising 343 percent, a January report said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says serious crime remains rare on the subway, one of the largest in the world with more than three million trips taken on the average weekday this year. Police data shows felony crimes are down compared with early 2020, before COVID-19 surged in New York.

Go's murder unnerved New Yorkers amid a rise in violent crimes across the United States since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and prompted the transit authority to announce it would try installing safety barriers on some platforms.

The platform doors will be introduced at the Times Square, Third Avenue (at East 14th Street), and Sutphin Boulevard-JFK stations for the 7, L and E lines, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chair Janno Lieber announced on Wednesday.

However, Lieber has ruled out platform barriers as part of the MTA's current $51.5 billion capital improvement plan for now, since 'a lot of stations' don't have the proper engineering for the sliding doors to work.

He further explained that the three stations were selected for the experiment because they could support technology for the barriers - sliding doors between the platform and the tracks that open when the subway arrives.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams, 61, spoke at her vigil (pictured) and said the city couldn't go back to being filled with violent crime. Crime has only continued to rise since Go's death

He did not disclose the cost of the pilot program and there is no timeline for it. But a 3,000-page MTA report from 2019 found the barrier doors could work only at 128 stations  roughly a quarter of the 472 stops in the system  and would cost $7billion.

The limited number of stations is due to station structure, the design of subway cars and the need for wheelchair access.

In addition, both NYC Mayor Eric Adams, 61, and Governor Kathy Hochul, 63, said they would help increase safety for New Yorkers through homeless outreach programs and upping police presence in subways.

'Right here in Times Square, I served as a police officer, and spent many days in the early '80s wearing a blue uniform as a police officer - a transit police officer, watching where we were,' Adams told the crowd at her vigil in January.

'Swearing and committed that we would never go back.'

Transit crimes are up 66 percent and overall crime is up nearly 50 percent in the city, as of April 17

Since Go's death, violence on the subway has only gone up. As of April 17, New Yorkers have experienced almost 400 transit crimes.

Earlier this month, NYC experienced the first mass shooting on the subway in decades, wounding 10 and injuring dozens after Frank James, 62, got on an N train in Brooklyn and began setting off smoke bombs and shooting more than 30 rounds once the subway car doors closed during morning rush hour.

The worst mass shooting in New York's transit system was in December 1993, when Colin Ferguson opened fire on a Long Island Rail Road commuter train from New York City, killing six and injuring 19.
A New York couple was sentenced to prison on Tuesday for tricking a man into stealing $4 million from his boss in order to save a woman he believed was in trouble with the mob.

Candy Evans, 52, and her husband, Archie Kaslov, 55, were sentenced to 12 months and 30 months in prison, respectively, for masterminding a plot that prosecutors said included their whole family to finance their expensive spending habits that included a $300,000 Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead, Rolex watches and thousands in jewelry, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The DOJ claimed the couple had their sons, Tony John Evans, 33, Corry Blue Evans, 29, and Robert Evans, 34, pretend to be mobsters who were threatening a New York woman that the victim, from Maryland, had met online.

When Evans caught on to the investigation against her family in 2017, prosecutors claim she went into damage control, instructing family members to lie to the FBI, directing Robert's ex-wife to marry the New York woman so neither of them could testify, and having the women write confessions to try and exonerate the family.

Candy Evans, 52, and her husband, Archie Kaslov, 55, were sentenced to 12 months and 30 months in prison, respectively, for masterminding a plot that prosecutors said included their whole family to finance their expensive spending habits that included a $300,000 Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead (pictured) in 2017

The DOJ said the scheme began in early 2017, when the victim got in touch with the unnamed New York woman on the classified site Backpage, which was shutdown for running ads for prostitution.

The woman and the sons allegedly tricked the man into believing she needed to pay off debts to the mob, leading the victim to steal $4 million from his Washington D.C. employer between January and March 2017.

The U.S. Department of Justice claimed the Evans and Kaslov had their three sons and a New York woman trick a Maryland man into believing the woman was in trouble with the mob in 2017, leading him to steal $4 million form his Washington D.C. employer

'He converted the funds to cash and gold bars and delivered the money and gold bars to New York drop-off locations, including a hotel room, believing the funds were going to mobsters to whom the New York woman owed money,' the DOJ said in a statement. 'In reality, all of the funds he embezzled and delivered to New York went to members of the Evans-Kaslov family.'

Kaslov, who pleaded guilty in 2020 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, admitted he personally converted at least $2 million in gold bars to cash and drove his family around New York City's Diamond District to buy Rolex watches and spend tens of thousands of dollars on jewelry.

In May 2017, Kaslov had also traveled to Texas to purchase a Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead luxury vehicle for $300,000 cash, which he later sold at a New Jersey dealership for $120,000 following his guilty plea.

While Kaslov appeared to be leading the expensive purchases that tipped off investigators, prosecutors said it was the matriarch who was in control of the attempt to cover up the family's crimes.

Evans, who pleaded guilty to tampering with a witness by corrupt persuasion or misleading conduct in 2020, allegedly began selling out family members in October 2017, when she learned her family was under investigation by the FBI.

Two days after the agents searched the family member's homes that fall, prosecutors said Evans called one of the agents to tell them that her son Tony, Robert's ex-wife, Gina Russell, and the New York woman were the masterminds behind the scheme.

She later admitted that she lied when she claimed she, Kaslov and her two other sons were innocent.

As the FBI began interviewing the family members, prosecutors said Evans had instructed her family to lie and concocted a plan to have Russell marry the New York woman, believing that spouses could not testify against each other in court.

Evans also directed Russell and the New York woman to sign handwritten, notarized confessions to the scheme and counseling the New York woman to lie to FBI agents that the scheme never existed and was a story made up by the victim, according to the DOJ.

Along with their respective sentence, Evans and Kaslov will be remanded to supervised release for three years and pay back the swindled funds. Kaslov was ordered to pay an additional $1 million in a forfeiture money judgment.

Tony had pleaded guilty to interference with interstate commerce by extortion in September 2018, where he was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the scheme.

Robert and Russell have also pleaded guilty to the same extortion charge in 2021 and 2019, respectively, and are currently awaiting sentencing.

The youngest son, Corry, maintains his innocence and has pleaded not guilty to the extortion charges filed against him.

The DOJ did not say whether the New York woman faces charges for her role in the extortion scheme or if she remains married to Russell.
A jury on Wednesday acquitted an Ohio doctor accused of ordering excessive amounts of painkillers that led to multiple patient deaths at a Columbus-area hospital.

Dr William Husel was accused of ordering the drugs for 14 patients in the Mount Carmel Health System. He was indicted in cases that involved at least 500 micrograms of the powerful painkiller fentanyl.

Prosecutors said ordering such dosages for a nonsurgical situation indicated an intent to end lives. Husel's attorneys argued he was providing comfort care for dying patients, not trying to kill them.

Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook told jurors before the start of deliberations that they could also consider lesser charges of attempted murder. They deliberated for six days.

Husel would have faced a sentence of life in prison with parole eligibility in 15 years had he been found guilty of just one count of murder.

A jury on Wednesday acquitted Dr William Husel in the deaths of 14 hospital patients. Husel was accused of ordering excessive painkillers for patients in the Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System before being fired at the end of 2018. His license was taken away in January 2019

William Husel walks with his wife, Mariah Baird, outside court on Wednesday

Prosecutors presented their case beginning February 22 and put on 53 prosecution witnesses before resting on March 29. Those witnesses included medical experts who testified that Husel ordered up to 20 times as much fentanyl as was necessary to control pain.

Husel gave enough fentanyl to some patients to 'kill an elephant,' testified Dr Wes Ely, a physician and professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University.

Other prosecution witnesses included medical experts, Mount Carmel employees, investigators, and family members of all 14 patients.

By contrast, defense lawyers called a single witness  a Georgia anesthesiologist  to testify that Husel's patients died from their medical conditions and not Husel's actions. The defense rested on March 31 after one day.

The age of the patients who died ranged from 37 to 82. The first patient death was in May 2015. The last three died in November 2018.

During closing arguments April 11, David Zeyen, an assistant Franklin County prosecutor, told jurors that regardless of how close a patient is to death, it's illegal to speed up the process.

Husel's attorney Jose Baez said prosecutors hadn't produced 'a shred of evidence' to back up their claims.

After the verdict was shared by Judge Holbrook, the doctor's lawyer tweeted: 'Justice!!!! Not Guilty on all counts! Thank you everyone for your prayers.'

The main entrance to Mount Carmel West Hospital in Columbus, Ohio is seen in a file photo. Husel had worked for the hospital system since 2013 before being fired in 2018 and loosing his medical license just a month later in January 2019

Dr Husel's lawyer, Jose Baez, broke the news on Twitter and thanked people for their support

Pictured: 14 hospital patients that Mount Carmel Health System claims that William Husel, a critical care doctor, killed by giving excessive doses of pain medication over a four year period

Husel was fired by the Mount Carmel Health System in December 2018 and the State Medical Board of Ohio suspended his license in January 2018.

The hospital concluded he had ordered excessive painkillers for about three dozen patients who died over several years. He was initially charged with 25 murder counts, but the judge agreed to dismiss 11 of those counts in January.

Husel's colleagues who administered the medications weren't criminally charged, but the hospital system said it fired 23 nurses, pharmacists and managers after its internal investigation and referred various employees to their respective state boards for possible disciplinary action.

Dr Husel was initially charged with 25 counts of murder by a grand jury before 11 of them were dropped in January before the trial started in February

Mount Carmel has also reached settlements totaling more than $16.7 million over the deaths of at least 17 patients, with more lawsuits pending.

One patient, 82-year-old Melissa Penix, was given 2,000 micrograms of fentanyl and died a few minutes later. Dr. John Schweig of Tampa Bay General Hospital testified for the prosecution that Penix 'definitely was not terminal, nor was continuing medical care futile.'

'She was a fighter,' said Penix's daughter, Bev Leonhard, of Grove City, according to The Columbus Dispatch. 'She didn't deserve to die the way she did.'

Attorney Gerry Leeseberg, representing 17 of the victims, told DailyMail.com that Wednesday's verdict has 'no effect at all' on the three civil cases that Dr Husel is involved in.

He added that he 'fully anticipated' Husel to be acquitted of all murder charges and that 'reckless homicide' would have been the more appropriate charge as 'it would have fit the facts more accurately' due to the state's difficulty to prove he intended a criminal act.

Leeseberg even compared Husel's verdict to OJ Simpson's 1995 acquittal of the brutal murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and waiter Ron Goldman, but still had to pay a settlement of $33.5million after he lost the civil lawsuit and had to pay damages to the victims' families.

Husel will next give a deposition on May 9 before the civil case involving the 17 victims that Leeseberg is representing starts on June 29 in court.
Prince Harry's claims he has made sure the Queen is 'protected' was rebuffed by No 10 today - who said the PM was confident about her current welfare arrangements.

Downing Street brushed off the Duke's concerns that Her Majesty may not be being properly looked after.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said he was confident she was - despite Harry's surprising comments.

The Queen arriving at Wood Farm near Sandringham Norfolk on Wednesday morning. The Queen was seen arriving at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

Unlike his hair, Boris Johnson brushed off Prince Harry's concerns about the Queen's people

'Stay in the US then!': Harry sparks furious social media backlash after snubbing the UK and telling NBC, 'the States feels like home for me now...I'm sure it will become a thing' Prince Harry set social media alight today when he claimed the US was now his home, and that he predicted it would 'become a thing'. The Duke of Sussex made the revelation in his latest interview on American television, in which he also refused to say whether he misses his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William . Harry told NBC's Today: 'Home for me now, for the time being, is in the States. And it feels that way as well. We've been welcomed with open arms and we've got such a great community up in Santa Barbara.' Asked if it was 'weird' to say publicly, having spent more than 30 years growing up in the UK, he replied: 'No, but I'm sure it'll become a thing.' The snub towards Britain sparked a backlash on Twitter, particularly as it came just weeks after his lawyers told judges in the High Court in February the UK would 'always be his home' amid his ongoing security row. One user wrote: 'He informed the court 6 weeks ago that England will always be home. I'm sure the court & [Home Office] will be very interested in this interview. Another said: 'In my opinion such a hit in the face for the British public. With saying my home is California, I wouldn't even think about going on that balcony.' Advertisement

Harry - who was earlier branded 'delusional' over the assertion he was 'protecting' the Queen - is currently at the Invictus Games in The Hague.

The issue of protection is a burning one for the prince, who himself is at war with the Home Office over his own security in the UK.

Speaking to the Today show about his meeting with the Queen, Harry said: 'Being with her it was great, it was just so nice to see her, she's on great form.

'She's always got a great sense of humour with me and I'm just making sure that she's protected and got the right people around her.

'Both Meghan and I had tea with her, so it was really nice to catch up with her.'

Royal author Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, told Sky News today: 'He's brilliant when he talks about the Invictus Games but he seems to get a little distracted when he talks about anything personal.

And I think it was a very odd thing for him to say that he wanted to make sure that the Queen was protected and had the right people around her. I mean, what does he know about it, he hasn't been around? I think that it's very odd.

And then he sort of warms up - Harry seems to blow hot and cold when he's giving an interview and he becomes very enthusiastic talking about what he's doing, and he's very enthusiastic talking about his own family, and clearly he's not in a hurry to come back to his homeland.

He's very, very happy in America, he's obviously very happy with what he's doing and with his little family and sort of super protective.'

It comes after he and Meghan skipped Prince Philip's memorial service at Westminster Abbey last month over 'security concerns' and after the couple made a string of damaging claims, including of racism, against the Royal Family in their Oprah sit-down.

Harry has made just a handful of visits to the UK since the couple relocated to California in the wake of Megxit but he chose not to attend Prince Philip's memorial service, which took place last month - just over two weeks before the Sussexes made their trip to see the Queen.

The Queen, Meghan and Harry on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on the centenary of the RAF, July 10, 2018

The Queen has yet to meet her great-granddaughter Lilibet (right), who was born in California in June last year, and she has not seen Archie (left) since he was an infant

Harry's interview with Hoda: What he said about Her Majesty's protection HODA: How did it feel being back, being with (the Queen)? HARRY: Being with her, it was great. It was just so nice to see her, you know, she's on great form. She's always got a great sense of humor with me and I'm making sure she's protected and got the right people around her. HODA: You make her laugh, that's what she always says. Did you do it again? HARRY: Yes I did. Both Meghan and I had tea with her so it was nice to catch up with her. Home for me now is for the time being is in the States and it feels that way as well. We've been welcomed with open arms and we have such a great community up in Santa Barbara. Advertisement

His decision to skip the emotional event was met with severe criticism from royal insiders, with Prince Philip's former protection officer describing Harry's absence as 'pathetic'.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex remained at their mansion in Montecito while the rest of the royal family, including the Queen despite recent health issues, gathered in London for the poignant event.

Harry's absence at the event came amid an ongoing battle about his security; he is currently pursuing a legal challenge against the Home Office in the UK.

It came after being told he would no longer be given the 'same degree' of personal protective security when visiting from the US, despite offering to pay for it himself.

It is unclear exactly what agreement was reached with regards to security before Meghan and Harry returned to the UK last week.

However, reports about their meeting with the Queen suggest that the couple is open to attending the Monarch's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.

Insiders claim that they have been invited to appear at several family events during the multi-day event.

The spots are said to include the traditional balcony appearance and a service of thanksgiving at St Paul's to celebrate the monarch's 70 years on the throne.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit the sitting volleyball section at the Invictus Games in The Hague, April 17, 2022

The interview will also see Harry opening up about the Invictus Games; the Today show shared an image of the Duke posing alongside Kotb and one of the US veterans taking part

Kotb also posted a behind-the-scenes snap on her social media accounts, while encouraging her followers to tune in to Wednesday's broadcast

'She's done her bit with my brother and now she's helping ME': Harry says Princess Diana 'got William set up' and is now 'watching over my family'

Prince Harry said his mother has done her bit to get his brother William set up and is now 'helping my family'.

In his latest interview on US television, the Duke of Sussex told NBC's Today that he feels Princess Diana's 'presence in almost everything that I do now' and that he talks to his son Archie about her and there are photos of her in their home.

Harry said he has felt his mother's presence more so in that last two years than ever before - approximately the same length of time since he and Meghan Markle stepped back from Royal duties in January 2020.

He said: 'It's almost as though she's done her bit with my brother and now she's very much helping me. She's got him set up and now she's helping me set up - that's what it feels like. He's got his kids, I've got my kids.

'The circumstances are obviously different but I feel her presence in almost everything that I do now. But definitely more so in the last two years than ever before, without a question. She's watching over us.'

Prince Harry told NBC's Today that he feels Princess Diana's 'presence in almost everything that I do now' and that he talks to his son Archie about her and there are photos of her in their home

The Duke of Sussex said his mother has got his brother William set up and is now 'helping my family'

When asked whether he has told his son Archie about Princess Diana, he said he has not told him 'all the stuff that happened but certainly that "this is grandma Diana".'

He also said he and Meghan Markle have a couple of photos of her up in the house and that he was 'sure' Princess Diana would be proud of him.

Royal author Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, told Sky News that Harry talking about Princess Diana shows he is 'probably still grieving for his mother'.

She added: Because people do that - and I studied this a bit when I wrote about William and Harry  in order to keep the presence of the person thats passed away, is to keep them alive by doing things that they did and wanting their approval. So Harry does sound like hes in a different sphere somehow.'

During the interview, Prince Harry refused to say whether he misses his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William amid their ongoing feud - but insisted that he talks with the Queen 'about things she can't talk about with anybody else'.

The Duke of Sussex also placed doubt over whether he would attend his grandmother's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London in June amid the ongoing security row with the Home Office, adding: 'Home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it's in the States. And it feels that way as well.'

And Harry spoke about his mantra of 'trying to make the world a better place for my kids' while also explaining his concerns that he could face 'burnout' while working from home at his 11million mansion in Montecito, California.

In addition, he praised the Queen's 'sense of humour' and spoke of their 'really special relationship' following their surprise meeting at Windsor Castle last Thursday where he had tea with her and his wife Meghan Markle.

Princess Diana carrying Prince Harry at a photocall during their summer holiday at the Spanish Royal Palace in 1987

Prince William, Princess Diana and Prince Harry during a family holiday to Lech, Austria, in March 1993

Princess Diana with Prince Harry and Prince William on a ride at Thorpe Park amusement park

Asked what is the best thing about the Queen, he said: 'Her sense of humour and her ability to see the humour in so many different things. We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can't talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice peace to her. But I think... after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.'

And asked about the Jubilee celebrations, he said: 'I don't know yet. There's lots of things with security issues and everything else. This is what I'm trying to do, trying to make it possible that I can get my kids to meet her.'

But when questioned over whether he misses Charles and William, the Duke was keen to swerve the subject, telling presenter Hoda Kotb: 'For me at the moment, I'm here focused on these guys [Invictus athletes] and these families and giving everything that I can, 120 per cent to them to make sure they have the experience of a lifetime. That's my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family who I miss massively.'

The couple moved to the Montecito area of Santa Barbara in California following their decision to step down as senior royals in early 2020, saying they wanted a new life of personal and financial freedom.
A distraught father who forced his best friend to kill himself when he discovered the man had sexually abused his daughter, six, has been jailed for 18 months in a strict regime Russian penal colony.

The father forced his former friend, child sex abuser Oleg Sviridov, 32, to dig his own grave in a forest in the country's Samara region.

Sviridov died soon after from knife wounds following a fight with father Vyacheslav (Slava) Matrosov, 35, who secretly buried his corpse in the unmarked grave.

Investigators concluded that Sviridov took his own life during the forest fracas in which Matrosov made clear his fury over the sex abuse.

Oleg Sviridov (left) and Vyacheslav Matrosov (right) were friends prior to the incident. Matrosov said he discovered evidence of his friend's alleged crimes while they were drinking together

Vyacheslav (Slava) Matrosov, 34, whose 8 year old daughter was an alleged victim of Svirdov, no longer faces a murder probe over Sviridov's death. Matrosov is pictured with his wife Natalya Matrosova and daughters

Locals from Vintai village in Russia 's southwestern Samara region said Matrosov (pictured with his family) should be acquitted and spared jail

Matrosov was initially held on suspicion of murder but this triggered a public outcry in Russia.

He was this week convicted of 'inciting' his friend 'to suicide' by Krasnoglinsky Court in Samara.

The close friendship broke down when the father found sickening and graphic footage on his friends mobile showing Sviridov forcing his daughter to perform a sex act on him.

The girl was just six when the explicit sex abuse footage was filmed on Sviridovs phone.

His daughter, now nine, was heard pleading: 'Oleg, that's enough, I can't take it anymore. I want to go home'.

Matrosov, a former rocket engine factory worker, could have been jailed for 15 years if he had been charged with murder.

Vyacheslav 'Slava' Matrosov, 34, was suspected of stabbing Oleg Sviridov, 32, to death in a forest near the village of Vintai in Russia after making him dig his own grave.

Oleg Sviridov, 32, was found near Vintai village in a grave prosecutors believe he was forced to dig himself (pictured)

There was a wave of public support in Samara region for Matrovov after he was linked to the killing of paedophile Sviridov, and the case was highlighted around the world.

Locals in village Pribrezhnoye raised money for his initial legal fees. They supported him for 'saving our children by ridding us of a child sex attacker'.

There was an outpouring of public support for the Matrosov in the weeks following the incident, including from prominent journalists on Russia's tightly-controlled broadcast news.

Locals from Vintai village started a petition to demand the rocket engine factory worker should be acquitted and spared jail after admitting to the killing which reached 2,500 signatures.

'Sviridov fell asleep, and Vyacheslav took his mobile phone and decided to see what his friend was looking at,' the petition for Matrosov read.

'Every father would have done this [killed someone they saw abusing their child]. This will be an example to everyone.

'Therefore, we demand understanding from the executive branch, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Investigative Committee.'

Locals from Vintai village started a petition to demand the rocket engine factory worker should be acquitted and spared jail after admitting to the killing which reached 2,500 signatures (Matrosov pictured with one of his daughters - it is not clear whether this is the child who was abused)

Oleg Sviridov, 32, was seen badly beaten in the village before his death and was found in the shallow grave a week later

Prominent TV journalist and former Russian presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak told her followers: 'All parents are standing up for the paedophile's killer.'

Unusually, the father was held under house arrest not in detention pending the trial.

He was charged 'inciting a person to suicide... by threats or abuse'.

One source close to the case said that detailed forensic evidence showed that Matrosov had not stabbed Sviridov in a forest where the dead mans body was found later in the makeshift grave.

There are claims Sviridov was given an ultimatum to go to the police and confess to sexually abusing the girl, or face the father's wrath.

A relative said Sviridov was seen badly beaten on the day in September 2021 he disappeared, more than a week before his body was found in the makeshift grave near Vintai village.

Sviridov's body was found in the forest near the village of Vintai in the Samara region of Russia

Two other children in the village are feared to have been abused by Sviridov.

'We were all very sad and upset after hearing the verdict in court,' said Oksana Kazakova, 43, a Matrosov family friend and Sviridovs ex-girlfriend, whose daughter was also allegedly abused. 'Everyone was hoping that Slava would get a suspended sentence, but he got 18 months. We were shocked.

'Of course, we understand that he could have received a far longer sentence. And 18 months is not much time. We really hope that he will get a presidential pardon at the end of the year.

'That would be a huge blessing for all his friends and family.'

Matrosov, a former rocket engine factory worker, was not required to wear an electronic tag while he awaited his trial.

He faced prosecution for 'inciting a person to suicide or attempted suicide by threats or abuse', which carries a maximum six year sentence.

Vyacheslav (Slava) Matrosov, 34, (pictured with his daughters) ,whose 8 year old daughter was an alleged victim of Svirdov

Prominent TV journalist and former Russian presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak told her followers: 'All parents are standing up for the paedophile's killer'

Rocket engine factory worker Matrosov (pictured with wife Natalya) said he reported the rapes to the police but claimed to have tracked him down before the police could find him

Matrosov said he initially reported the rapes to local police who then launched a manhunt for Sviridov, but the father claimed he managed to track down the alleged child abuser before the cops.

He did not deny killing Sviridov, but alleged the paedophile 'stumbled on the knife during a quarrel' and maintained his death was not intentional.

Police sources said that the deceased man's phone contained sickening videos which showed violent rapes of other village girls, aged six and 11.

The videos indicated that the suspect had been abusing children for five years before Matrosov discovered the footage on his phone.

It has also been reported that one of his alleged victims was the daughter of his former partner.

'The woman had a daughter from her first marriage,' a friend told Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper.

'Now it has turned out he was abusing the child.'

Police sources said that the deceased man's phone contained sickening videos which showed violent rapes of other village girls, aged six and 11. The videos indicated that the suspect had been abusing children for five years before Matrosov discovered the footage on his phone (Matrosov pictured with family)

Sviridov's ex did not know anything about the alleged abuse, said the woman friend who had known Sviridov for more than 15 years.

'She is a very good caring mother,' she said. 'I can imagine what she feels like now the truth has come out...

'He was constantly seen with the girls, the daughter of his partner and Vyacheslav's older daughter, in the village. It never crossed anyone's mind what he was doing with children.'

Sviridov's mother said that her son had often been a babysitter for Vyacheslav's children and the two men had been long-time friends.

Vyacheslav (Slava) Matrosov is pictured at the beach with his daughter

'I don't know how it got to this,' she said, referring to the rape of Vyacheslav's daughter.

'He must have been drunk. Most likely he was drunk. They left their children with him all the time.

'When he baby-sat these girls he came back home as normal, in a good mood.'

Villager Tatiana Zubova, said: 'I know him personally, he is a good father and husband.'

Lawyer Vera Podkolzina said proving Sviridov's guilt from video evidence was critical to a lenient sentence for Matrosov.

MP Oksana Pushkina called for harsher legal sanctions to deter child sex abuse.

'We need tough legislative measures against paedophiles,' she said.
Jeremy Corbyn has said he would still like Nato to be disbanded despite its role in helping Ukraine resist the Russian invasion.

The hard left former Labour leader suggested military alliances like Nato could build up 'greater danger' in the world and should ultimately be scrapped.

Speaking to Times Radio the ex-Labour MP acknowledged the transatlantic alliance was not going to be scrapped immediately but added that people should 'look at the process that could happen at the end of the Ukraine war'.

He said he did not blame Nato for Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine but questioned: 'Do military alliances bring peace?'

He was also cool in his opinion on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Asked if he admired the war leader he said 'I've never met him', before admitting 'he speaks well, I admire that'.

The hard left former Labour leader ([pictured today campaigning for the release of Julian Assange) suggested military alliances like Nato could build up 'greater danger' in the world and should ultimately be scrapped.

He was also cool in his opinion on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured in Kyiv with Boris Johnson). Asked if he admired the war leader he said 'I've never met him', before admitting 'he speaks well, I admire that'.

The Islington North MP said he wanted to see 'some kind of much deeper security discussion, as indeed Nato was having a security discussion with Russia until last year'.

Mr Corbyn, a long-standing critic of Nato, told John Pienaar: 'I would want to see a world where we start to ultimately disband all military alliances.

'The issue has to be what's the best way of bringing about peace in the future? Is it by more alliances? Is it by more military build-up?

'Or is it by stopping the war in Ukraine and the other wars... that are going on at the present time, which are also killing a very large number of people?

'And ask yourself the question, do military alliances bring peace? Or do they actually encourage each other and build up to a greater danger?

'I don't blame Nato for the fact that Russia has invaded Ukraine, what I say is look at the thing historically, and look at the process that could happen at the end of the Ukraine war.'

Mr Corbyn has sat as an independent since October 2020 after having the Labour whip removed over his response to the equalities watchdog's report into antisemitism in the party.

Although he was reinstated as a Labour member after a suspension, Sir Keir Starmer has refused to readmit him to the parliamentary party.

Before the Russian invasion in February he joined 11 party MPs to attack Nato and UK 'aggression' in the country.

It demanded Nato 'call a halt to its eastward expansion' and urged 'the entire anti-war movement to unite on the basis of challenging the British government's aggressive posturing and direct its campaigning to that end above all'.

The Labour MPs, all supporters of the former leader, were forced to disown the Stop the War Coalition campaign after Mr Starmer threatened to also boot them out of the parliamentary party.

But Mr Corbyn continued to support it, though he has since criticised the invasion.

In his interview he did little to suggest he would be returning to the Labour fold, even if allowed.

He declined to rule out starting a breakaway party, possibly based on his peace and justice project, even as he suggested after May's local elections in May would be a 'good opportunity' to reinstate him.

'I don't know what the future is going to bring. I am focused on representing my constituency, being a Member of Parliament and on saying to the Labour Party: to win the next election, you have to appeal to people,' he said.

'And you have to appeal to people on the basis of economic justice and changes in the power structures within our society.

'Abandoning policies that would achieve that, particularly public ownership, is not going to excite people.'
Nearly half a billion pounds wasted on useless PPE at the start of the pandemic could have paid for a new NHS hospital, Parliament was told today.

Department of Health officials admitted that 461million of taxpayer cash was blown on masks, gowns and gloves intended to protect medical staff and patients from Covid that were found to be unfit for use.

During a grilling by MPs on the Public Accounts Committee, Jonathan Marron, a senior civil servant in the department, claimed the sum was 'quite a small proportion' of the overall figure spent on protective equipment during the pandemic.

But Nick Smith, the Labour MP for Blaenau Gwent in south Wales, said it was more than what was spent on the new 350million hospital in his constituency.

Can I just confirm one of the points at the last information. You told me that there were 1.1 billion items identified as not fit for any use,' Mr Smith said.

And then over the page, youve done a tally of them and the value of them if I understand it properly is nearly 461 million. Is that right?

Mr Marron, director general of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities at the DoH, replied: That Is correct.

Mr Smith went on: The last Urgent Care Centre hospital built in Gwent for a nation of about 600,000 - and its brand spanking new - cost 350 million so its more than the cost of a brand new hospital.

Mr Marron said: Clearly we bought really significant numbers of PPE and weve used huge amounts - 19.8billion items of PPE distributed to health and social care up to the end of last month.

So theyre just enormous figures for the volumes that weve needed to keep patients safe.'

Jonathan Marron (right), of the Department of Health and Social Care, admitted 461million worth of personal protective equipment bought since the start of the pandemic has been unusable. Nick Smith (left), the Labour MP for Blaenau Gwent in south Wales, said the staggering amount was more than what was spent on the new 350million hospital in his constituency

Mr Marron said the amount would have been considered large 'in normal times' but was not particularly high given the difficulties officials faced in getting PPE at the start of the pandemic.

He said: 'It is 3 per cent of the total we purchased. Thats quite a small proportion.

'In normal times, I would think that is a very high number but if we go back to when we bought the PPE, the market conditions, the real difficulties of buying.'

Government fraud investigators probe PPE contracts, MPs told Government fraud investigators are looking into contracts to supply the NHS with PPE during the pandemic, health officials said today. Giving evidence to the Commons Public Accounts Committee, Jonathan Marron, the director general of the office for health improvement and disparities, said they had 'concerns' over 176 contracts worth a total of 3.9billion. He said that the actual amount of equipment at issue was worth 2.7billion  with concerns ranging from the quality of the kit provided to performance of the contractor. While some may be possible to resolve through mediation and commercial agreement, he said others may require a 'more legal process'. 'We are working really, really closely with our internal fraud teams and the broader fraud authorities,' he said. 'That is part of what we are looking at, as to how we might bring resolution to these disputes. All options are on the table.' The DHSC permanent secretary Sir Chris Wormald said the level of suspected fraud was no higher than with other government contracts. 'It is not unusual to be in dispute on some contracts. Some of them will be resolved entirely amicably, some of them will get to the other end of the spectrum where we believe there has been wrongdoing,' he told the committee. 'Fraud in contracting is a fact of life, regardless of the circumstances. It would be astonishing if this was the only large set of government contracts in which there was no fraud at all. 'What we haven't seen is this set of contracts being more susceptible to fraud than the average.' Advertisement

Ministers spent 14.8billion on securing PPE in the first year of Covid, according to annual Department of Health accounts. But roughly 8.7bn was written off, either because it was unusable or passed the expiry date.

During the same committee hearing, health officials admitted VIP lanes used to offer PPE contracts to preferred companies would not be used again.

Sir Chris Wormald, the chief civil servant in charge of the Department of Health, said No10 would not use similar 'high priority' lanes for procuring health equipment in future.

The High Court in January ruled contracts awarded to two companies using the fast-track lanes were unlawful.

Some 193 PPE suppliers were referred to the Department of Health through the so-called 'VIP' lanes, that prioritised companies put forward by MPs and skipped the normal procurement process.

Of those, 51 were awarded 115 contracts worth billions of pounds, leading to accusations of cronyism after it emerged that associates of Tory MPs were beneficiaries of the scheme.

Ex-Health Secretary's Matt Hancock's neighbour was among those who benefitted from the contracts.

Sir Chris insisted the checks on companies were the same regardless of which lane companies pitched for contracts in.

But asked if the Department of Health would use similar schemes in future, the civil servant admitted it would abandon the system.

He said: 'Well given that we lost in court on one part of it, no. We would keep the same basic structure.

'So would we have a triage system where out of a large number of offers we attempt to identify the most promising and do them first? Yes, we would. We would keep that triage.

'Would we do it in the same way as we did the high priority lane? No, we would not.'

A report by the National Audit Office in the first year of the pandemic hit out at the Government for poorly managing vast quantities of PPE and over-paying for it.

It took a 'long time' for a large proportion of PPE to arrive and there were distribution problems that saw 'many front-line workers' experience shortages.

The Government paid 'very high prices' and 'hundreds of millions of pounds-worth' bought in the first year will not be used for its original purpose, the report stated.

Sir Chris Wormald (left), the chief civil servant in charge of the Department of Health, said No10 would not use similar 'high priority' lanes for procuring health equipment in future. Right: Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Sarah Olney

Meanwhile, MailOnline revealed last month that more than 1billion visors bought by the Government are sitting in warehouses and shipping containers, despite only 123million having ever been dished out.

SAGE advisors warned visors were unlikely to give 'any protection' against Covid transmission in July 2020, with the Government placing its last order for visors at the end of June 2020.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: 'Our priority throughout the pandemic has been saving lives, and we have delivered over 19.1 billion items of PPE to frontline staff to keep them safe.

'Having too much PPE was preferable to having too little in the face of an unpredictable and dangerous virus, given this was essential to keep our NHS open and protect as many people as possible.

'Now we are confident we have sufficient PPE to cover any future Covid demands, we are taking decisive action to save up to 93 million of taxpayers' money per year by reducing storage costs for excess stock.'
A seafood firm owner who supplied Michelin star restaurants before going bust has blamed the 'scourge' of second home owners for the for the failure of his business, claiming workers were priced out of local accommodation.

The Ethical Seafood Company on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, had turned to home delivery of items including local mussels and Loch Creran oysters during the lockdowns, and supplied many top UK restaurants with hand dived scallops.

But the Covid pandemic ravaged the business, with boats eventually having to be sold, along with the premises, which, adding insult to injury, were turned into a holiday home.

Owner Guy Grieve has since cited an influx of second home owners in the Western Isles which made it hard to find workers due to a lack of accommodation.

He also admitted that Brexit, health and safety regulations and global warming also played a part.

Guy said: 'It will come as no surprise to hear that Covid spelled the beginning of the end for our business.

The Ethical Seafood Company on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, which turned to home delivery of items such local rope grown mussels and Loch Creran oysters during the lockdowns, supplied many top UK restaurants with hand dived scallops. (Pictured: Owner Guy Grieve)

Mr Grieve has since cited an influx of second home owners in the Western Isles which made it hard to find workers due to a lack of accommodation. (Pictured: Tobermory, Isle of Mull)

'In March 2020 we lost our restaurant market overnight, and although we tried our hardest to replace this by building a home delivery service to enthusiastic and supportive customers it was still a massive reduction in our sales.

'More serious still, and as a direct consequence of Covid, was the loss of our boats, which we had to sell to keep us afloat during this period.'

The business operations relied on a European crew, who left the UK during Covid and then weren't able to return.

Guy said: 'This left drastic crew shortages which in the end caused our main supplier to quit fishing altogether and leave Scotland.

'It also made it even more difficult to staff our small operation on Mull.

'We tried to find people to work for us on Mull but with nowhere to stay it is nigh-on impossible to attract people to move there.

Mr Grieve (pictured) also admitted that Brexit, health and safety regulations and global warming also played a part

'The scourge of second homes means that houses stand empty for months waiting to be populated by holiday makers in the summer.

'Meanwhile real working people, who would contribute to the community, struggle to find places to stay, and any homes that come on the market are snapped up at inflated prices as second homes.

'It felt like the final insult when in the end we were asked to leave our business premises so that it could be turned into - you guessed it - yet another holiday home.'

He now plans to start a new venture related to the marine environment.
Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday night that the current occupant of the job, Jen Psaki, should sob over aborted children rather than kids targeted by GOP-backed 'Don't Say Gay' bills.

'Namely, if you wanna cry about one issue in this country right now, I think the press secretary should cry about the 62 million children that do not exist, that have been aborted because of Roe v. Wade, a heinous, heinous decision in this country that has exterminated about one-fifth of the United States' population,' the ex-Trump staffer told Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity.

Psaki appeared on a podcast hosted by CNN alumna Jessica Yellin and started crying when the journalist asked her about Florida's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bills and similar pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday night that the current occupant of the job, Jen Psaki, should sob over aborted children rather than kids targeted by GOP-backed 'Don't Say Gay' bills

White House press secretary Jen Psaki appeared on a podcast hosted by CNN alumna Jessica Yellin and started crying when the journalist asked her about Florida's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bills and similar pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation

'This is an issue that makes me completely crazy,' Psaki told Yellin for an episode of Yellin's News Not Noise podcast, which was released Tuesday.

Yellin asked Psaki if she viewed anti-trans and anti-gay bills going through state legislatures as a 'predictable backlash' to the Supreme Court legalizing gay marriage or saw it as an 'organized political attempt to create a wedge issue ahead of the midterms,' similar to how gay marriage was 'weaponized' by Republicans during the 2004 presidential election.

'Ding, ding, ding,' Psaki said, indicating her support for the latter option.

Psaki said she had to be careful about talking politics due to the 'Hatch Act police that are waiting outside in the bushes somewhere.'

'But what I will say is the political games and harsh and cruel attempts at laws that we're seeing in some states like Florida, that is not a reflection of the country moving to oppose LGBTQ+ communities, that is not what we see in data, that is not factual and that is not where things stands,' Psaki said. 'This is a political wedge issue and an attempt to win a culture war.'

'And they're doing that in a way that is harsh and cruel to a community of kids,' the press secretary continued.

'Ahh I'm going to get emotional about this issue - because it's horrible,' she said, starting to audibly sob. 'But it's like kids who are bullied and all these leaders are taking steps to hurt them and hurt their lives and hurt their families.'

'And you look at some of these laws in these states and it's going after parents who are in loving relationships who have kids. It's completely outrageous,' Psaki added.

Psaki apologized for her outburst.

'Sorry, this is an issue that makes me completely crazy,' she told Yellin.

She repeated that it was a 'political wedge issue' not where the country stands on LGBTQ+ rights.

Psaki suggested that the Florida bill, which bans public school teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms in kindergarten through third grade, could penalize teachers for discussions as simple as students saying they had two moms or two dads.

McEnany, who was former President Donald Trump's final press secretary, said the bill prevented teachers from 'forcing sexuality' on kids.

'So if you wanna cry, don't cry about forcing sexuality on kindergartners. This is sick,' McEnany said on Hannity. 'Cry about the 62 million children who can't go to kindergarten.'

McEnany also blasted liberals saying, 'The left has a sick obsession with our children.'

Those on the right who believe in the QAnon conspiracy theory think that the liberal elite are involved in a global child sex trafficking ring.

'When my daughter goes to school, I don't want her learning about those things,' the former Trump staffer added.

Psaki argued the opposite, saying she hoped if a child expressed that they had two mothers or fathers, the teacher would simply say, 'that's wonderful.'

'This is penalizing teachers and educators,' Psaki said. 'There are so many layers to this that are outrageous and I hope people continue to educate themselves on this because it is a bad side of politics is what I will say.'

'And I will not cry again during this interview, I will promise you ... this is an issue that makes me very crazy,' Psaki added.




By Baek Byung-yeul







LG Magna e-Powertrain, a joint venture between LG Electronics and Canadian car parts maker Magna International, will build an electric vehicle (EV) parts-manufacturing plant in Mexico to supply components to U.S. carmaker GM, LG said, Wednesday.







The EV component-making company had a groundbreaking ceremony in Ramos Arizpe for the 260,000-square-meter plant on April 19 (local time). LG Magna e-Powertrain said the plant, scheduled to be completed in 2023, is its first production facility in North America and third overall following its Incheon factory in Korea and Nanjing factory in China.







At the factory, the company will produce key EV components such as drive motors and inverters to be installed in GM's next-generation EVs.







The company elaborated that the new plant will be established in central Mexico, considering its accessibility to its customers' production bases and synergy with Magna. "The facility is located close to where part manufacturers' factories and carmakers' factories including GM are situated, and Magna Powertrain's factory is also located," the company said.







With the new plant's supply chain management advantages, LG Magna e-Powertrain plans to strengthen its EV components business in the North American market.







LG and Magna launched the joint venture last July in a bid to capitalize on the rapidly growing EV parts market.







"The establishment of the new plant will serve as an opportunity for LG Magna e-Powertrain to become a key partner for EV parts in the North American automotive industry," said Cheong Won-suk, CEO of LG Magna e-Powertrain.


A group of Ohio Republicans on Wednesday launched a last ditch effort to prevent J.D. Vance from sewing up the Republican senate nomination, urging Donald Trump to reverse his endorsement of the populist author.

They accused the former president of betraying some of his earliest supporters with the endorsement of a writer who rose to fame as a Trump critic before pivoting to the right.

Trump's endorsement on Friday and a huge influx of cash has given Vance what could be the decisive edge in a close and bitter primary race.

And the sought-after endorsement triggered a fresh wave of hits on Vance, including from a string of Trump's 2016 Republican National Convention delegates.

'While we are aware of the blowback you are receiving from your supporters for your endorsement of Vance- please understand we are not your typical Republicans in Ohio. We are the original and proud 'Trumpers' who served as your delegates in Ohio when everybody was against you or supporting other candidates,' said a letter signed by Rob Scott, Ohio director of the Trump campaign in 2016 and delegates.

'We are the ones you trusted to stand and deliver for you in 2016! And we did it for you against the Ohio Swamp and many in the establishment! We did it in the face of 'Never Trumpers' like JD Vance, who has former Team Kasich members serving on his campaign.'

In his endorsement on Friday, Trump acknowledged that he and Vance had not always been fellow travelers.

Donald Trump endorsed J.D. Vance for the Republican nomination for Senate in Ohio. It could be enough to put the Hillbilly Elegy author over the top in a bitterly contested race

With Vance gaining momentum in the final stretch, his enemies have launched a string of attacks pointing out that he was an early critic of Trump and urging the former president to reverse his decision to endorse him

'Like some others, J.D. Vance may have said some not so great things about me in the past, but he gets it now, and I have seen that in spades,' he said in a statement.

'He is our best chance for victory in what could be a very tough race.'

The endorsement was followed this week by a massive cash injection from Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel. He is donating $3.5 million to Protect Ohio Values, a super PAC backing Vance.

It helps bring Vance's war chest into line with that of his biggest rival, former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, who is backed by the conservative group Club for Growth.

Vance's campaign launched a push on Monday to promote the endorsement and the supportive super PAC made a seven-figure ad buy.

He is due to appear alongside Donald Trump Jr in Cleveland on Wednesday. While former President Trump headlines a rally on Saturday, as part of a final surge towards the May 3 primary.

The result has been a serious of moves by opponents of the Hillbilly Elegy author to blunt the endorsement by pulling out Vance's old record of opposition to Trump.

In the letter released on Wednesday, they say

'We would respectfully request you reconsider your endorsement of JD Vance to show your supporters in Ohio and across our great states why we first believed in you back in 2016. That it really was about the We the People, America First and Making America Great Again not supporting a political chameleon and snake oil salesman like JD Vance!'

The Vance campaign said the attack was just the latest sign that his opponents knew they had lost.

In a statement on Friday, Trump said: 'MAGA patriots from across the nation are set to deliver an election landslide for Republicans that will serve as a devastating rebuke of the failures of Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats'

'Conservative outsiders like Donald Trump and JD Vance will always be fought by the Republican establishment and party insiders,' Taylor Van Kirk, a spokeswoman for the campaign.

'This is nothing more than a desperate attempt by four jealous and dying campaigns who are working together to organize these letters because they can't cope with the fact that President Trump rejected their establishment-approved candidates in favor of the only real America First conservative in this race.'

A source familiar with Trump's endorsement decision said Vance had powerful backers. Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, Sen. Josh Hawley and Donald Trump Jr. all lobbied the president to plump for Vance.

And Trump was turned off Mandel and businessman Mike Gibbons when they nearly came to blows in a heated debate exchange about Chinese petroleum last month.

He thought they 'looked like clowns,' ending any chance that they would win his endorsement.

Instead Trump insisted Vance, a 37-year-old Marine veteran, had the best chance of winning and will serve as a 'devastating rebuke of the 'failures of Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats'.

Vance celebrated Trump's backing in a tweet: 'I'm incredibly honored to have President Trump's support.

'He was an incredible fighter for hard working Americans in the White House, he will be again, and I'll fight for the America First Agenda in the Senate.'

The winner of the nomination will likely face face a stiff test in the form of Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in the November election.

With his endorsement, Trump signaled that he believes Vance is not only closely aligned with his own thinking, but is best place to win.

'The Democrats will be spending many millions of dollars, but the good news is that they have a defective candidate who ran for president and garnered exactly zero percent in the polls,' said Trump.
Nearly 8,000 mercenaries from the notorious Wagner Group have been deployed by Russia in Ukraine to boost Vladimir Putin's flagging invasion, but have suffered heavy casualties, British MPs have been told.

Giving evidence to the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Christo Grozev, executive director of the Bellingcat investigative website, said 3,000 members of the private military company (PMC) were thought to have been killed on the battlefield.

The shadowy group - which has been linked to a string of killings, rapes and war crimes around the world - is known as Putin's private army which carries out his dirty work at an arm's length from the state, while giving him plausible deniability.

Before Ukraine, they were active in Syria, and developed a reputation for brutality, but also in some cases for recklessness - such as the 2018 Battle of Khasham, where as many as 200 Russia PMCs were killed, according to some estimates.

Wagner fighters have also been deployed in Mali, assisting the junta that toppled the country's government in a 2020 military coup.

Grozev said sources within the group - the largest of three mercenary groups involved in the conflict - had told them that the numbers fighting alongside Russian forces had been 'much higher' than had been expected.

Nearly 8,000 mercenaries from the notorious Wagner Group have been deployed by Russia in Ukraine, but have suffered heavy casualties, British MPs have been told. Pictured: A fighter with a PMC Wagner Group bade is seen in Donetsk

They included 200 personnel sent to Kyiv before the conflict in a failed mission to 'scout out and assassinate' political figures, while a 'large number' were deployed with convoys which advanced on the capital from Belarus.

He said they had also been present in Bucha, where some of the worst evidence of alleged war crimes had been discovered.

Mr Grozev said they had been told by one former group member that some chose to fight because they enjoyed killing.

'He said that about 10 percent to 15 percent are sociopaths, people who go there just because they want to kill. They are bloodthirsty, they are not just adrenalin junkies,' he told the committee.

Dr Sean McFate, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank and professor at the US National Defence University, said the group's brutality in the conflicts such as the Syrian civil war was 'part of their selling point' as far as Russian president Vladimir Putin was concerned.

'If you look at Bucha and others, there is the same pattern you saw in Syria, where they would interrogate, torture and behead people,' he said. 'One reason I think it has become one of Putin's weapons of choice is it allows some plausible deniability between excesses on the ground, failures on the ground, and policy.'

However Dr McFate said that to date, western countries had not taken the threat of the group very seriously, and had not tracked the movements of its members.

'This has emboldened them (Russia) to use this as a stratagem for national expansion, national interests,' he said.

'We have not done a good enough job in tracking them. We see them as cheap Hollywood villains, but in fact they are not.'

Mr Grozev said that while imposing more sanctions on the group's head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as 'Putin's chef', would have little impact, it may be more effective targeting individual group members who like to holiday abroad with their families.

'The knowledge that they do is a cause of ridicule about western sanctions because this spreads through the rumour mill,' he said.

'So stopping all of these people being able to travel internationally, at least to the western world, might be much, much bigger than slapping one more sanction on Prigozhin.'

Giving evidence to the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Christo Grozev, executive director of the Bellingcat investigative website, said 3,000 members of the Wagner Group have been killed in Ukraine. Pictured: Grozev attends the 'Navalny' New York Premiere at Walter Reade Theater on April 6, 2022 in New York City

Who are the Wagner Group? The mercenary group is considered to be at the beck and call of Putin to carry out his dirty work. The army-for-hire, allegedly run by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin - a close ally of the Russian president who is often dubbed 'Putin's chef' - was flown into Ukraine several weeks ago and offered a huge sum for the mission. British intelligence sources said last week it had been deployed to the Donbas after Russia's army sustained heavy losses. An estimated 1,000 mercenaries and senior commanders are thought to be in the country. It has previously been deployed to Africa, where it has carried out black ops operations that the Kremlin wants done while avoiding direct responsibility. In December, the EU accused Wagner of 'serious human rights abuses in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic, Sudan and Mozambique'. Russia has continually denied the group's existence and its origins are murky, though it first appeared in 2014 in the Donbas. Initially, it was made up of only a few hundred Russian army veterans. They were ordered to assassinate Donbas leaders who were broadly supportive of Russia, but refused to follow instructions from the Kremlin. These assassinations were then blamed on Ukrainian forces, according to security experts. Wagner's founder and leader is Dmitry Utkin, a shaven-headed former lieutenant colonel in Spetsnaz  Russia's special forces. He named it after his Spetsnaz code name. Utkin is seen as a neo-Nazi and was described by one Russian newspaper as having 'an appreciation of the aesthetic of the Third Reich', complete with tattoos of the Waffen-SS on his shoulder and an eagle on his chest. Mercenaries are illegal in Russia but Putin used Wagner to crush Syrian rebels and even awarded Utkin a medal. Advertisement

In light of Russia's startling losses and their new assault on the Donbas, the head of the Wagner Group is believed to have made the trip to Ukraine to oversee his men's deployment in the east.

Yevgeny Prigozhin - a man known as 'Putin's Chef' - is now believed to be on the ground in the Donbas to oversee operations, though the wealthy friend of Putin is not a military veteran.

'Prigozhin, who has no military experience and is the financier and organiser of Wagner Group rather than its military commander, is likely in Donbas to co-ordinate recruitment and financing of Wagner Group operations rather than to command combat operations,' said the Institute for War Studies, an American think tank.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, has said that even more than the 8,000 Wagner mercenaries detailed by Mr Grozev are in Ukraine.

Abdurrahman has said that 18,000 Wagner fighters are taking part in the conflict, in addition to 700 fighters from Syrian Brig. Gen. Suheil al-Hassan's 25th Special Missions Forces Division, known in Syria as the 'Tiger Force.'

The 700 men left Syria over the past weeks to fight along Russian forces, Abdurrahman said. The numbers could not be independently confirmed.

Pro-government activists posted videos over the past two weeks on social media showing members of the Tiger Force performing military drills including parachuting from helicopters.

Russian officers appeared in one of the videos advising the paratroopers inside a helicopter as al-Hassan praised the young men by tapping on their heads. It was not immediately clear if the videos were new.

Abdurrahman said there are also volunteers from the Russian-trained 5th Division; the Baath brigades, which is the armed wing of Assad's ruling Baath party; and the Palestinian Quds Brigade, made up of Palestinian refugees in Syria.

All have fought alongside the Russian military in Syria's war.

'The Russians are looking for experienced fighters. They don't want anyone who was not trained by the Russians,' Abdurrahman said.

The Tiger Force took credit for some of the biggest government victories in the 11-year conflict. It was involved in a monthslong Russian-backed campaign into the rebels' last enclave, located in the northwest province of Idlib, which ended in March 2020 with government forces capturing a vital north-south highway - though rebels remain in control of the enclave.

A mural praises the Russian Wagner group and its mercenaries fighting in Ukraine on March 30, 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia

Christo Grozev said Wagner had been present in Bucha, where some of the worst evidence of alleged war crimes had been discovered. Pictured: A general view of the cemetery in Irpin where three dug graves await the next funerals on Tuesday, April 19, in the outskirts of Kyiv

Meanwhile, a European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia has a total of 10,000 to 20,000 foreign fighters in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

The official said they are a mix of mercenaries from Russia's private Wagner Group and Russian proxy fighters from Syria and Libya.

Kremlin officials boasted early in the invasion that thousands of experienced fighters from the Middle East would join Russian forces.

However, military analysts say only a small number appears to have arrived in Russia for training before being deployed to the front lines, but they say that could change as Russia prepares for a full-scale offensive on Donbas.

U.S. officials and activists monitoring Syria say the Russians have been actively recruiting. Rami Abdurrahman leads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. He reported that about 40,000 people have registered so far.

Rayan Maarouf of Suwayda24, an activist collective that covers IS activities in the Syrian desert, said fighters were promised no less than $600 a month. That's a huge sum of money amid widespread unemployment in Syria.

Analysts say fighters from Syria are more likely to be deployed in coming weeks, especially after Gen. Alexander Dvornikov was named war commander.

Dvornikov is well acquainted with the paramilitary forces Russia trained in Syria.

Though some question how effective Syrian fighters would be in Ukraine, they could be brought in if more forces are needed to besiege cities or to make up for rising casualties.

Syrian and Palestinian officials in Syria have played down reports of fighters heading to Ukraine. The Syrian government is likely wary of having Syrian fighters flock to Ukraine, opening opportunities at the front lines that its opponents could exploit.

In a potentially worrying sign for the Syrian government, Russia has significantly scaled down its operations in Syria since the war in Ukraine started, with fewer airstrikes targeting IS or opposition positions in Idlib.

'Any change in the posture of Russian forces or pro-regime militias creates security gaps that anti-regime actors including Turkey, ISIS, al-Qaida and Syrian opposition groups can exploit,' the ISW report said.

Muhannad Haj Ali, a former legislator and a commander with the armed wing of Syria's ruling Baath party said no Syrians have gone to fight in Ukraine and that he didn't expect any to go.

He said he was certain Russia will win in Ukraine without any need for Syrians' help.

'The way the operations are going is clear indication that Ukraine will not be another Afghanistan,' he said.
More than 2,100 migrants have made it across the perilous English Channel in small boats so far this month, according to official figures.

The Ministry of Defence today revealed that a total of 263 were intercepted on Tuesday in seven different incidents, taking the total so far in April to 2,143 in 58 small boats.

Strong weather conditions meant it was too rough to make the 21-mile crossing of the Dover Straits on Wednesday, although some boats are thought to have been picked up by French authorities.

The latest figures mean the total number of migrants to arrive so far this year is 6,693 in 204 boats.

Some 1,425 of these have made it across since the Royal Navy took over control of migrant operations in the Channel on April 14.

A total of 28,526 migrants crossed the Channel in 2021 - significantly higher than the 8,410 who arrived in 2020.

Members of the Border Force escorted migrants back to Dover after they were picked up in the English Channel Tuesday morning

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel Tuesday

Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration, Tom Pursglove MP, has said: 'The rise in dangerous Channel crossings is unacceptable.

'Not only are they an overt abuse of our immigration laws but they also impact on the UK taxpayer, risk lives and our ability to help refugees come to the UK via safe and legal routes.

'Rightly, the British public has had enough.

'Through our Nationality and Borders Bill, we're cracking down on people smugglers and fixing the broken system by making it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and introducing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for those who facilitate illegal entry into our country.'

It comes after hundreds of migrants were pictured arriving by boat to Kent on Tuesday.

The first migrants arrived in the early hours of the morning - with around 30 people reaching the Dover Harbour in a dinghy at around 4.30am.

A second dinghy carrying approximately 50 migrants - including several small children and babies - was intercepted by UK officials shortly before 9am.

A young child amongst a group of people thought to be migrants as they are brought in to Dover, Kent Tuesday

The Ministry of Defence today revealed that a total of 263 were intercepted on Tuesday in seven different incidents, taking the total so far in April to 2,143 in 58 small boats.

A record 28,395 migrants reached the UK illegally last year by taking small boats across the Channel, a 200 per cent increase on 2020's tally

Among them were at least three babies and a young child, who could be seen wrapped in warm coats and cradled by adults as they were brought to shore on board Border Force cutter Valiant.

Border Force vessel Typhoon escorted a third group to shore just after midday, while Navy ship HMS Tyne could be seen retrieving dinghies from the Channel around 2.30pm.

It comes after the Easter bank holiday weekend saw more than 500 migrants arrive in the UK - despite Navy vessels patrolling the waters.

According to official figures released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), 181 people were intercepted on Good Friday, while 255 reached British soil in seven boats on Saturday.

Easter Sunday saw 76 people arrive at Dover Harbour, and on Monday 88 people were escorted to shore by UK officials.

Theresa May and Tory backbenchers line up to savage Priti Patel's 120m scheme to send Channel migrants to Rwanda - as Home Secretary defends 'innovative' plan to break 'evil' people smuggling gangs

Former PM Theresa May questions whether the plan is legal or whether it will work

She suggests the 120m scheme will increase trafficking of women and children

But Home Secretary Priti Patel defends the 'innovative' plans in the Commons

She says action is needed to end the exploitation of migrants by smuggling gangs

ByDavid Wilcock, Deputy Political Editorand Greg Heffer, Political Correspondent For Mailonline

Former Prime Minister Theresa May today lambasted the Government's Rwanda migrant removal plans as she questioned whether the 120m scheme was legal.

The ex-premier, who before entering Downing Street was the longest-serving home secretary of modern times, led a House of Commons backlash against the policy.

Taking her successor Priti Patel to task, Mrs May told MPs: 'From what I have heard and seen so far of this policy, I do not support the removal to Rwanda policy on the grounds of legality, practical and efficacy.'

The former Tory leader also quizzed Ms Patel on whether only young men would be subject to removal from Britain to Rwanda.

She asked: 'I understand that those who will be removed will only be young men... but if it is the case that families will not be broken up... does she not believe, and where is her evidence, that this will not simply lead in an increase in the trafficking of women and children?'

In response, Ms Patel stressed the Rwanda plan 'is legal' but declined to comment on who or who wouldn't be eligible for removal from the UK.

She said Mrs May 'would know very well that it's that type of criteria that is used by the smuggling gangs to then effectively exploit various loopholes'.

Ex-PM Theresa May told MPs she did not support the Rwanda plan 'on the grounds of legality, practical and efficacy'

Home Secretary Priti Patel told MPs that 'innnovative' action was needed due to the profiteering of 'evil' people traffickers operating in the Channel

Mrs May's fellow former Cabinet minister, Andrew Mitchell, also questioned whether Ms Patel's plan would prove effective.

He said the Home Secretary deserved 'great personal credit' for seeking to tackle the migration crisis in the Channel.

But Mr Mitchell added: 'Will she accept that many of us have grave concerns that the policy she has announced simply will not work?'

The Home Secretary had earlier told MPs that 'innnovative' action was needed due to the profiteering of 'evil' people traffickers operating in the Channel.

'Access to the UK's asylum system should be based on need, not on the ability to pay people smugglers,' Ms Patel told the House of Commons in a statement.

'Change is needed because people are dying attempting to come to the UK on illegal and dangerous routes.'

Ms Patel dismissed claims that Home Office officials had failed to back her plans or ruled the scheme did not represent value for money.

She declared that ministers were required to take 'tough decisions in the interests of our country' and that the 'global migration crisis' required 'innovative and international solutions'.

The 120million, five-year programme to send thousands of illegal economic migrants who arrive in the UK to the east African nation was announced last week.

It has faced strong pushback from civil and religious leaders, and today Boris Johnson was castigated by a hardline Brexiteer today for using the EU split to justify it.

Unveiling the agreement with Kigali last week, Mr Johnson invoked the referendum pledge of 'taking back control' of the UK's borders, saying it was an 'innovative approach made possible by Brexit freedoms'.

But writing in the Times today, former Brexit minister David Davis said 'we are better than this', adding: 'The plan is fraught with practical problems, beset by moral dilemmas and hamstrung by extortionate costs.

'And outsourcing our international obligations are certainly not the freedoms that Brexit was about winning.'

He said that while it was 'laudable' to try to cut down on cross-Channel migrants, 'there is little evidence that outsourcing our obligations under the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees is going to break the people smugglers' business model'.

It came as the Church of England opposition to the plan grew with Priti Patel's local bishop joining the chorus of disapproval.

After church leaders including the Archbishops of Canterbury and York became embroiled in a row with ministers at the weekend, The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani said it was 'cruel and inhumane'.

Dr Francis-Dehqani, who arrived in the UK as a refugee from Iran in the 1970s, said: 'Those who find their way to this country, often through treacherous means, deserve to have their cases considered and processed here.'

Former Brexit minister David Davis attacked the 120m scheme to send those arriving illegally in Britain to the African nation, saying 'we are better than this'.

Writing in the Times today, Mr David, who has become a backbench critic of Mr Johnson, said: 'The plan is fraught with practical problems, beset by moral dilemmas and hamstrung by extortionate costs.

Unveiling the five-year agreement with Kigali last week, Mr Johnson invoked the referendum pledge of 'taking back control' of the UK's borders, saying it was an 'innovative approach made possible by Brexit freedoms'.

Migrants travelling to the UK on small boats will be put on jets and sent to Rwanda while their applications are processed. Pictured: A map detailing the plan proposed by the Prime Minister

Former immigration minister Brandon Lewis defended the Rwanda immigration plan as the 'humanitarian thing to do'.

The Northern Ireland Secretary told BBC Breakfast this morning: 'I've been immigration minister, this is a really difficult area.

'There are horrible scenes and stories of what these people smugglers put these people through.

'We've got to break this business model and doing something like this with Rwanda, which has such a strong track record, is right for the people of the UK, who can be rightly proud of our humanitarian support because this is a humanitarian thing to do.

'It is ensuring that we are deterring people from taking a treacherous as well as illegal journey to the UK.'

Asked about civil servants reportedly having raised objections to the scheme over its possible cost, Mr Lewis said: 'I do think it will work.'

Former archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams yesterday became the latest high-profile ecclesiastical leader to attack the 120million programme that would see economic migrants arriving in the Uk illegally sent to Africa.

He joined his successor and the incumbent Archbishop Justin Welby, and Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell in questioning the morality of the plan, labelling it 'sinful'.

However ministers have hit back at the church leaders, accusing them of throwing criticism without suggesting a viable alternative to halt the small boats carrying thousands of people across the Straits of Dover.

Dr Williams was today asked about the scheme in a Times Radio interview. 'Is the policy sinful? I think, in a word, yes,' he told the broadcaster.

'I think that without commenting on the motivation, or moral standing, of any individual involved, the policy itself seems to me to be not in accord with, with what I understand about God.'

Archbishop Justin yesterday used his Easter Sunday sermon to launch a scathing criticism of Home Secretary Priti Patel's deal, signed in Kigali last week.

On Sunday morning, the Archbishop told his Canterbury congregation that the UK has a duty as a 'Christian country' to not 'sub-contract our responsibilities' after anyone who arrived in Britain illegally since January 1 could be relocated to Rwanda under a new deal.

But it sparked a hardline response from Ms Patel and other ministers, who invited him to come up with with a better idea or stop carping from the sidelines. Ms Patel resurrected the row on Easter Monday, using an opinion piece in the Times to attack her critics.

Dr Williams was today asked about the scheme in a Times Radio interview. 'Is the policy sinful? I think, in a word, yes,' he told the broadcaster.

The Archbishop of Canterbury (pictured today) blasted the government's Rwanda plan for asylum seekers as the 'opposite of the nature of God'

Without naming the head of the Church of England in a joint article with Rwandan foreign minister Vincent Biruta, she wrote: 'We are taking bold and innovative steps and it's surprising that those institutions that criticise the plans fail to offer their own solutions.'

Minister Greg Hands was even more direct on a round of interviews today. Asked about Welby's intervention he told Sky News: ''I think what others, the critics of this plan, need to do is to show what their solution would be.'

The Government has said the 120million, five-year plan would help to break people-smuggling networks and stem the flow of migrants across the Channel, which has faced immediate and heavy criticism from politicians and charities.

It would see economic migrants who arrive in the Uk illegally handed a one-way ticket to Rwanda to start a new life there .

Mr Welby said the 'serious' ethical questions' over sending asylum seekers abroad cannot 'stand the judgment of god'.
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Britain's Covid outbreak has receded on all fronts once again, with hospitalisations down nearly a fifth in a week and deaths a third lower.

Today's Government dashboard update shows a total of 1,609 virus patients were admitted to hospitals on Good Friday, the latest date UK-wide data exists for, 18 per cent lower than the previous week.

The figure has been trending downwards for more than two weeks after an uptick triggered calls from NHS leaders to reintroduce face masks and outdoor mixing.

Another 508 Covid fatalities were registered today  down by 31 per cent in a week.

There were also 26,147 positive swabs over the last 24 hours  the lowest figure in two months and a quarter fewer than last week.

But experts say the daily infection count is now 'completely irrelevant' because free tests have been scrapped for the vast majority of people.

It comes as UK health bosses today confirmed five cases of BA.2.12.1, which is thought to be the most contagious version of Omicron yet, have been detected in the UK. The sub-strain already makes up a fifth of cases in the US, in a sign of what could come in Britain.

Little is known about the new version of the virus, though it is believed to be up to 27 per cent more transmissible than BA.2, which was behind the latest surge in UK cases and is itself a subvariant of Omicron.

However, top experts insist there is no evidence BA.2.12.1 is more severe than its mild predecessor. British experts told MailOnline they are not concerned by its emergence because of the UK's high levels of immunity following the recent domestic surge.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) bosses today posted another 26,147 positive swabs over the last 24 hours  the lowest figure in two months and a quarter fewer than last week

Meanwhile, 1,609 people infected with Covid were admitted to hospitals on Friday, down by nearly a fifth in a week. The figure has been trending downwards for more than two weeks

And another 508 Covid fatalities were logged within 28 days of a positive test  down by 18 per cent in a week. Both virus hospitalisations and deaths lag two to three weeks behind the trend in cases

Vaccination data shows more than nine in 10 Britons have now had their first Covid jab, while 86.3 per cent have had two doses and 68 per cent are boosted

UKHSA data shows that 20,767 people in England tested positive for Covid, while Scotland logged 3,976 positive swabs, Wales detected 816 cases and Northern Ireland logged 588 infections.

The 26,147 total UK-wide figure is 27.2 per cent lower than the 35,926 cases detected on the same day last week. Some 21.8million cases have been logged since the pandemic began.

Omicron sub-variant causing havoc in the US has already been spotted five times in Britain... but leading scientists insist strain is nothing to fear Five Brits have already caught what is thought to be the most contagious version of Omicron yet. The BA.2.12.1 sub-strain already makes up a fifth of cases in the US, in a sign of what could come in Britain. Little is known about the new version of the virus, though it is believed to have an up to 27 per cent growth advantage over BA.2, which was behind the latest surge in UK cases and is itself a subvariant of Omicron. However, top scientists insist there is no evidence that BA.2.12.1 is more severe than its mild predecessor. British experts told MailOnline they are not concerned by its emergence because of the UK's high levels of immunity following the recent domestic surge. Professor Paul Hunter, an epidemiologist based at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline it 'too early to say' whether BA.2.12.1 will take off in the UK. He said it will come down to whether the strain is so much more transmissible than other variants in circulation that it 'reverses the current decline in the daily rate of new infections'. 'Personally I doubt that, as existing immunity following recent Omicron infections will be relatively high,' Professor Hunter added. 'But we will need to see what happens over the coming weeks.' Advertisement

But experts have warned that the daily figures are now meaningless, as only tests taken by the elderly, most vulnerable and NHS workers are now logged on the dashboard.

Separate data from the Office for National Statistics, the gold-standard weekly surveillance data which randomly swabs around 100,000 people, said the latest wave peaked at the start of April.

Analysts estimated 4.1million Britons were testing positive every day during the latest spike on the week of March. But its latest set of figures suggest this number has fallen to 3.7million.

Meanwhile, the daily figures show 1,609 people infected with the virus were admitted to hospitals on Good Friday, down by 18.2 per cent in a week. And NHS figures show around half of these patients are so-called incidental admissions, meaning they tested positive but were primarily receiving treatment for another ailment.

And 17,883 infected people were in hospitals yesterday morning, down by 9.8 per cent week-on-week.

The daily figures also show 508 people died within four weeks of testing positive for Covid, down by 22 per cent in a week. Statisticians estimate a third of these people died 'with' rather than 'from' the virus.

Vaccination data shows more than nine in 10 Britons have now had their first Covid jab, while 86.3 per cent have had two doses and 68 per cent are boosted.

It comes as UK health bosses today confirmed that a subvariant of Omicron BA.2 - the strain of the virus that caused the latest surge - has been detected in the UK.

Covid Genomics UK Consortium (COG-UK), which analyses positive samples, says the variant was first detected from a PCR taken on March 23.

Separate data from the website covSPECTRUM, which collates variant information, shows it has been detected five times in the UK.

It suggests the first case was detected on the week of March 21 and the latest case was on the week of April 4.

But the true number of Britons infected with the sub-strain is likely to be higher.

The international database suggests the first BA.2.12.1 case was detected in Canada in the week of January 17.

It was then spotted in labs in Australia and Luxembourg a week later, before taking off in the US. Sequencing data also suggests it has been spotted in Israel, Denmark and Austria.

It comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday recognised BA.2.12.1 in its weekly US virus surveillance report for the first time.

BA.2.12.1 has been labelled a variant of concern in the US, where it makes up 19 per cent of cases nationally. It is the third sub-variant of Omicron to receive this categorisation.

Professor Paul Hunter, an epidemiologist based at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline it 'too early to say' whether BA.2.12.1 will take off in the UK.

Little is known about the BA.2.12.1 version of the virus, though it is believed to have an up to 27 per cent growth advantage over the original version of BA.2, though there is no evidence that it is more severe than its predecessor

Data from the website covSPECTRUM, which provides variant information based on Covid samples sequenced by scientists in the UK and around the world, suggest BA.2.12 has been detected five times in the UK. It suggests the first case was detected on the week of March 21 and the latest case was on the week of April 4. The international database shows the first case was detected in Canada in the week of January 17

The BA.2.12.1 strain (red) of Omicron has now been recognized as a variant of concern by the US CDC and made up a fifth of cases sequenced nationally, according to the agency's most recent update

He said it will come down to whether the strain is so much more transmissible than other variants in circulation that it 'reverses the current decline in the daily rate of new infections'.

'Personally I doubt that, as existing immunity following recent Omicron infections will be relatively high,' Professor Hunter added.

'But we will need to see what happens over the coming weeks.'

Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, told MailOnline: 'The BA.2.12.1 sub-variant appears to be even more contagious than previous variants and is spreading rapidly in parts of the US.

'There is no evidence this sub-variant is any more virulent in terms of severe disease.

'Nevertheless, it would be wrong to assume that new variants will be less infectious and less dangerous.

'Vaccine-induced immunity wanes and current vaccines may not be as protective against these new variants.'

He said the strain 'emphasises the need for people to continue to remain vigilant and not ignore public health measures', such as wearing face masks in crowded spaces, ventilate indoor areas and focus on global vaccination.

These measures are 'vital in restricting the spread of the virus', Professor Young said.

He warned it is 'inevitable' Covid will throw up new variants as the virus continues to spread and replicate, 'particularly in populations who are under-vaccinated'.

And these variants 'will remain a continual threat even to those countries with high rates of vaccination', he added.
Boris Johnson's 'extraordinary leadership' in supporting Ukraine would not have been possible if Britain was still part of the European Union, a Cabinet minister has claimed.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit Opportunities minister, said the Prime Minister's assistance to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was a 'monument of our freedom' following Britain's departure from the Brussels-based bloc.

In hailing Mr Johnson's efforts, Mr Zelensky this month said that British support for his country - as it faces Russia's increasingly barbaric assault - will 'go down in history forever'.

Mr Rees-Mogg today told MPs that UK assistance to Kyiv would have been more limited if the country had remained an EU member state.

'I would argue that our policy in relation to Ukraine would not have been possible had we been bound by the doctrine of sincere cooperation within the EU,' he said, as he spoke to the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee.

'If you want a monument of our freedom at the moment, it's the extraordinary leadership the Prime Minister has given over Ukraine.

'Which I think he would simply not have been able to do had we had to go along with and exercise our rights and our influences through a combined EU mechanism.'

Brexit Opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg today told MPs that UK assistance to Kyiv would have been more limited if the country had remained an EU member state

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that British support for his country - as it faces Russia's increasingly barbaric assault - will 'go down in history forever'

In his new Cabinet role, Mr Rees-Mogg has been charged with scrutinising which bits of existing EU law should now be scrapped from domestic legislation.

However, he admitted that his personal role in post-Brexit reform of financial services regulation would be limited due to his own financial interests - such as his continued shareholding in the investment firm he co-founded.

He told MPs that Whitehall required 'a new way of thinking' as he detailed how his Brexit Opportunities Unit had 31 members of staff and was now being led by senior civil servant Chris Carr.

Mr Rees-Mogg, who is also leading a government drive get civil servants back to their desks after the Covid pandemic, quipped: 'You'll be glad to know he's actually been in the office, which is reassuring.'

He bemoaned how MPs had previously been 'eunuchs' as they attempted to make their constituents' lives better prior to Brexit, but came up against Brussels diktats.

'Previously departments would say "you can't do this because it's not allowable under EU law" or "you've got to do this because it's required under EU law",' he said.

'Now none of that applies and it's very refreshing in my view, because ministers and departments can simply think "is this a good thing to do?".

'And there isn't this external restriction. So it allows much more innovative and broader policy thinking.

'It removes the great naysayer - that is, even if it wasn't actually the case, people who didn't want to do something would say 'are you sure that's allowable under EU law?'.

'It was a very good way of stopping innovation, stopping things happening, raising the European flag, making people get legal opinions to see whether they could do it or not.

'Now, if a bill comes to parliament that is our law. That's really exciting and democratic.'

Mr Rees-Mogg added that, as an MP prior to Brexit, it was 'enormously frustrating when taking up things for constituents to find that you were seeking redress of grievance and the answer came back from ministers that 'we can't do anything about that, it's not our responsibility'.

'Because that undermined the whole basis on which we are all here and made us eunuchs effectively,' he added.

'That's gone. A minister cannot now get back to you and say 'that is not my responsibility'.'
Newly-released surveillance footage shows the moment a Good Samaritan who was trying to stop a thief from stealing another woman's cellphone was stabbed in the leg.

The video, released by the New York Police Department on Wednesday, shows a 36-year-old female walking down the platform at the 34th Street Herald Square station on Monday shortly after 6pm, when a man with a lime green and black jacket could be seen kneeling down in an apparent attempt to pick something up from the ground.

The woman, carrying a Macy's shopping bag, looks over at the man who runs down the platform as a 33-year-old woman in a black jacket and gray backpack chases after him. Police say the suspect had knocked the phone out of the woman's hand before the chase ensued.

The two women were able to corner the black man near a pole, the video shows, at which point the woman with the Macy's bag reaches toward him leading to a quick struggle before he runs away.

As he is seen fleeing, the woman with the Macy's bag could be seen hopping on her left leg, apparently injured.

The woman - who has not been named - was later wheeled out of the station and taken to Bellevue hospital for a stab wound to her leg.

Meanwhile, the other woman continued to chase after the suspect, who remains on the loose.

He is described as being in his 20s, and the NYPD are now offering a $3,500 reward for any information about his whereabouts as crime rates skyrocket in the Big Apple's subway system.

According to the New York Post, major felonies within the subway system rose a whopping 68 percent from the same time period last year, even as Mayor Eric Adams continues to add cops to patrol the platforms.

A 36-year-old woman was captured on surveillance footage Monday walking down the platform at the 34th Street Herald Square station in Manhattan

Soon a man in a black and lime green jacket comes into view and is seen grabbing something from the ground - after police say he knocked a cellphone out of a 33-year-old woman's hands

A woman in a black jacket and a gray backpack starts chasing after the apparent thief

The two women apparently corner him at a pole, at which point he allegedly stabs the 36-year-old woman

The NYPD is now offering a $3,500 reward for any information about the suspect

The statistics acquired by the New York Post show that crime rates in the city are only increasing - with robberies up 72 percent this year through April 10 and felony assaults increasing 28 percent with 169 attacks this year compared to 132 last year.

Rapes in the subway system have also doubled from two to four, and grand larcenies are up 110 percent, with to 275 incidents reported this year compared to just 131 last year.

The problem is not just isolated to the city's subway system - though.

According to recently-released NYPD statistics, crime citywide is up 43.37 percent over last year, with robberies increasing 48 percent, from 3,078 last year to more than 4,500 so far in 2022.

Grand larcenies are also up 54.9 percent compared to last year - with more than 13,900 incidents reported already, and grand larcenies from automobiles have jumped a whopping 71.4 percent -from 2,212 last year to 3,792 so far this year.

Burglaries have also increased 31.6 percent, according to the data, and felony assaults jumped 21.2 percent - with 6,745 already reported this year, compared to 5,564 reported at the same time last year.

The apparent Good Samaritan - who has not been named- was wheeled out of the station by emergency medical workers

She was transported to Bellevue Hospital for a stab wound to her right leg

Mayor Eric Adams had vowed to fight the city's growing crime promise before he was elected last year, and has deployed 1,000 more officers to the subways to crack down on subway-related crime.

But just about two weeks after he took office, on January 15, 40-year-old Michelle Go was pushed onto the subway tracks by a homeless man at the Times Square stop while she was looking down at her phone.

She was struck by a train and pronounced dead at the scene by EMS personnel, while the suspect, 61-year-old Martial Simon, fled the scene.

Manhattan Supreme Court officials announced on Tuesday that Simon, who was charged with second-degree murder in Go's death, was 'unfit' to stand trial. He will likely now be sent to a mental health facility rather than go on trial for her death.

Then just last week, the city made national headlines after a gunman opened fire at a Brooklyn subway stop.

Prosecutors say Frank James, 62, staged a premeditated attack when he shot ten people and injured others on the northbound N train at around 8.25am on April 12.

Videos from the scene showed hundreds of commuters frantically running for the exits as shots were fired.

What ensued was a nearly 24-hour long manhunt for James, who was ultimately arrested while strolling down the street.

James is now being held without bail as he faces federal charges for enacting terror.

His motive for the attack remains unclear.

Frantic commuters were seen trying to run for the exits after a gunman opened fire at a Brooklyn subway station last week

One man was seen apparently injured in the shooting as officers and a Good Samaritan tried to help him on April 12

Frank James was arrested the next day after he was caught walking down the street

City officials have now deployed even more officers to the subways following the devastating attack last week, and over the weekend, Adams and Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell sought to reassure the public that the subways are safe.

During an appearance on MSNBC's The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart, the mayor touted his transit safety plan.

'The transit system is the lifeblood of our city, and we have put in place what I believe are the foundational parts of having a real public-safety apparatus' the mayor said, claiming the city is 'far from' the crime spree of the 1980s and 90s.

'This city is far from spiraling out of control,' Adams claimed, 'and we hope to get crime under control and also deal with those pathways that lead to criminal behavior in our city.'

Sewell later promised ABC This Week host George Stephanopoulos in a joint appearance with the mayor: 'The subways have to be safe, and they will be safe.

'We're surging more officers into the subway system,' she said, noting: 'We recognize that people need to see a visible presence of police in the subway, and we're endeavoring to make sure that happens.'
Fashion designer Alexander Wang's cancelation following sexual assault allegations came to a glitzy end Tuesday as he was heralded at his comeback fashion show.

The designer, 38, was met with screams of 'This is amazing' and 'I love it,' from admirers as his models took to the runway in Los Angeles' Chinatown district.

But A-listers stayed away from the event - with Real Housewives stars Lisa Rinna and Kimora Lee Simons the biggest stars who attended the event.

The 38-year-old Asian-American fashion pioneer weathered career-ending claims that he acted inappropriately toward model Owen Mooney, DJ Nick Ward, transgender actor Gia Garison and others over the course of his career.

Wang initially denied the accusations that he groped, assaulted and drugged least 11 people, calling the claims 'baseless' and quarrelling over the details of attacks, but then reversed himself and promised to 'set a better example' in the future.

He eventually met with the alleged victims to make peace and apologize.

Alexander Wang, 38, held his first fashion show on Tuesday night since 2019 when dozens of allegations surfaced of sexual assault against male and transgender models

Alexander Wang thank the 800 invitees at his 'Fortune City' fashion show, which was attended by Kimora Lee Simmons, Lisa Rinna, rapper Gunna and Harry Hamlin

Amelia Hamlin, whose father is Harry Hamlin, left little to the imagination in the tiny halter top, and she rocked bleached brows and vampy eye make-up

Another model took to the catwalk in a brown bodysuit and thigh-high boots

One clotheshorse donned a double denim outfit complete with dramatically-oversized cuffs

Black clad models lined up to parade at the end of Wang's comeback show, after he successfully weathered sexual assault claims

The accusations tarnished Wangs brand, but did not fully cripple it - especially in China.

He still dressed popular figures like Rihanna and Julia Fox while releasing a recent campaign with Lucy Liu. His brand is still being carried in some major retailers.

Tuesday nights event had the support of 800 invitees who lined up to enter Wangs show, where a red flood light covered the Central Plaza area.

It was a splashy event with stars like Kimora Lee Simmons and Lisa Rinna sitting in the front row while others such as rappers Gunna, Coi Leray and actor Harry Hamlin, whose daughter was in the show, watched the 15-minute show.

One alleged victim also claimed Wang had done the same 'Molly water trick on me', while another accused him of drugging two friends in 2014

The allegations against Wang went viral, when industry watchdog Sh*t Model Management posted stories from several different accusers on Instagram (pictured)

Mooney, a model and graphic designer, came forward with his story in a pair of TikTok videos that went viral In the first video (left) Mooney alleged that he'd been 'touched up' by a 'really famous designer' while he and his friends were watching rapper CupcakKe perform at a club three years ago. He didn't provide a name until the second video (right), after commenters guessed that it was Wang

Another allegation was made by DJ Gia Garrison (pictured), 24, who claimed that she met Wang at Slake in Manhattan in February 2017. She claimed she was 'dancing near him when he reached out his hand, grabbed my bikini bottoms and dragged it downward'

It was Wang's first show since 2019 when allegations flooded social media after model and graphic designer Owen Mooney posted on TikTok his version of a 2017 encounter in which he claimed Wang grabbed his crotch during a concert in New York City.

Dozens of transgender men and women and cisgender men jumped in to make similar claims the on Instagram and Twitter account of Sh*t Model Management, a fashion industry watchdog. Most of the accusers were anonymous.

Some claimed that he put the club drug MDMA in their drinks without their knowledge.

Fashion design student Keaton Bullen said that he was sexually assaulted by Wang at the Fishbowl club in Midtown Manhattan on August 24, 2019.

Another allegation was made by DJ Gia Garrison, 24, who claimed that she met Wang in the VIP area of the club Slake in Manhattan in February 2017.

She told BBC that she was 'dancing near him when he reached out his hand, grabbed my bikini bottoms and dragged it downward in front of everyone'.

'As a trans woman with discomfort about certain parts of myself that I've since grown to love, I don't want someone to expose my entire body like that,' she said.

He alleges that Wang offered them vodka before getting them to the dance floor and unzipping his pants.

There was no acknowledgement of the allegations on Tuesday.

Wang on Tuesday released a statement acknowledging the sexual assault allegations against him and promising to 'do better'

Some shouted "This is amazing!" and "I love it!" while others cheered on Wangs 50-look collection.

Wang incorporated models with different ethnic backgrounds and sizes - including a pregnant Adriana Lima who received most of the applause for prancing down the runway with her exposed baby bump.

The models sported a variety of pieces with shades of indigo and brown, denim and leather coats, red velour sweat suit, heavy wools shrunken into bike shorts, crop tops and oversized wool coats.

Once the show finished, Wang ran onto the stage with a big smile, waved at attendees - who were mostly dressed in all black - before he darted backstage.

The show closed out with a heavy dose of red-colored confetti cascading over everyone, creating a party atmosphere - especially for those who attended the Asian night party that featured a market with local food vendors.

In the market, Wang had cameras following him the whole time. He had numerous people who greeted him with handshakes, hugs and lauded him for his work.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will attend the White House Correspondents Association dinner at the end of April - one month after the white-tie Gridiron dinner turned into a covid super spreader.

'The @WHCA is pleased to host President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden as we honor the First Amendment at our dinner on April 30,' the White House Correspondents Association announced on Wednesday.

It's traditional for the president to attend and make remarks but there were questions as to whether Biden would show up due to covid concerns.

The dinner takes place on April 30th and is used to raise funds for journalism scholarships. Daily Show host Trevor Noah will address the crowd. CSPAN airs the event.

This year's dinner is the first in two years with the 2020 and 2021 events being canceled due to the covid pandemic.

This year's dinner has a vaccine requirement and every guest must show proof of a negative covid test taken that day to attend.

'Every president since Calvin Coolidge has attended the WHCA's annual dinner ... with just one exception. The tradition continues next Saturday night,' noted WHCA president Steven Portnoy of CBS News.

Donald Trump is the exception.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will attend the White House Correspondents Association dinner on April 30th

Trevor Noah will host the White House Correspondents Association dinner

Trump never attended the dinner as president although did attend in the past as a guest, most notably in 2011 when the President Barack Obama poked fun at him during his remarks.

At the time, Trump was host of The Apprentice on NBC and led the so-called 'birther' movement, which falsely accused Obama of not being born in the United States - and thus ineligible to be president.

'Now, I know that he's taken some flak lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than The Donald,' Obama said at that 2011 dinner. 'And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter  like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?'

Then he added: 'But all kidding aside, obviously, we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience. For example  no, seriously, just recently, in an episode of 'Celebrity Apprentice'  at the steakhouse, the men's cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks. And there was a lot of blame to go around. But you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership. And so ultimately, you didn't blame Lil Jon or Meatloaf. You fired Gary Busey. And these are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well handled, sir. Well handled.'

Trump was said to be hurt and embarassed by the jokes from Obama and NBC's Seth Meyers, who was the featured speaker. There are some reports he was so angry at his treatment he decided to run for president.

Biden has previously attended the White House Corresondents' Associatino dinner when he was vice president.

He was not at the April 2nd Gridiron dinner, which became a covid super spreader with approximately 80 guests testing positive after the event.

Cabinet officials, members of Congress, and senior White House staff were among those who were infected, leading to questions as to whether or not Biden would attend the correspondents' dinner.

The Gridiron dinner, one of Washington's most exclusive events, was held in person on April 2 after a two-year hiatus. It attracted 630 guests. There was a vaccine requirement to attend.

Three members of Biden's cabinet tested positive after attending the Gridiron dinner: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Several lawmakers who attended the private, invitation-only dinner, also tested positive, including Democratic Reps. Joaquin Castro and Adam Schiff, and Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who announced her positive test after she voted on the Senate floor to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

Closer to President Biden, several senior staff and his sister tested positive for covid: Vice President Kamala Harris' communications director Jamal Simmons; first lady Jill Biden's press secretary, Michael LaRosa; and Valerie Biden Owens all attended the dinner.

Donald Trump never attended the White House Correspondents Association dinner as president but he and Melania Trump went as guests in 2011

At the 2011 White House Correspondents Association dinner, then-President Barack Obama made fun of Trump in his remarks

So far Biden has avoided infection but the White House acknowledged a few weeks ago it could certainly happen.

White House communications director Kate Bedingfield told CNN that it's certainly possible Biden, 79, will get covid at some point, but noted that he's vaccinated and double boosted so a severe case is unlikely.

The admission comes as more people with access to the president - including cabinet officials, lawmakers and his sister - have tested positive for the virus.

'We take precautions to ensure that the president is protected. But I do think its important to note that, you know, it is possible he will test positive for covid at some point,' Bedingfield said Friday morning. 'The president is vaccinated and double-boosted and so, protected from severe covid.'

'The president is certainly living his life. Just as, as you say, all Americans across the country are while taking precautions,' she noted.
As the new head honcho of the The New York Times, Joe Kahn can expect a fair degree of public flack.

But being likened to a Playboy cover star and roasted for posing seductively in his socks probably wasn't the first fire thought he'd be putting out.

Kahn, 57, has been savaged by Twitter users after posing for a profile for New York Magazine's Intelligencer where he is seen sitting on the floor next to a chair with his shoes off but wearing a buttoned-up shirt and tie, with the newspaper sprawled out in front of him.

Next to the paper sits a mug with a Chinese symbol on the front of it.

The photo, taken by Chris Buck, was included in the profile and shared on Twitter on Wednesday.

New York Times editor Joe Kahn is shown in this image from a profile in New York Magazine, posing for an interview to announce his new role at the newspaper

Immediately, Kahn was compared to Zoolander and George Costanza in the infamous Seinfeld episode where he poses in his underwear in an ill-advised attempt to seduce a female photo store clerk.

Some joked that it was a failed attempt by the magazine to make the Times' look relatable to 'working class America'.

Others told how it conjured memories of Right Said Fred.

Some compared it to a dating profile, surmising that Kahn was 'just trying to get that right swipe'.

Others were simply baffled by the photo composition.

'I just don't understand how this probably had to be approved by a slew of people and no one objected.'

'I too "relax with the paper" while sitting uncomfortably on the floor right next to my desk and chaise.'

'I bet he has many leather bound books, and his office smells of rich mahogany,' quipped another.

Kahn has not yet reacted to the mixed response his photos stirred up.

In the interview, he was described as 'the ultimate inside man, so sturdy, disciplined, and reverential to the mission of the Times that the very notion of him self-destructing seems improbable.'

Kahn (right) takes over from Times editor Dean Baquet (left), who has been at the helm since 2014

Kahn takes over from Dean Baquet, who served as the paper's editor for eight years.

The feature by New York Magazine is glowing.

'Kahn is not flashy but he does have a taste for the finer things. He is a familiar face at opening night of the Metropolitan Opera.

'He is an oenophile with a particular fondness for Burgandy and is part of a wine consortium that includes billionaire Joseph Bae.

'Kahn was an investor in Monkey Bar, a clubby restaurant owned by Air Mail editor Graydon Carter,' writes Shawn McCreesh.

Kahn is from Boston and attended the prestigious boarding school Middlesex before going on to Harvard.

Staffers at the Times seem to have embraced his new role.

One told New York Magazine: 'There is a sense  and this makes a lot of people very happy  that he is much less willing to indulge the complaining and the constant cries of activism and that he is somebody who has expressed little patience for the newsroom culture-war eruptions that have been such a distraction for us lately.

'The question is whether or not he feels confident to act on those impulses.'

In the last two years, the Times has hemorrhaged star journalists, including Bari Weiss, who say they could no longer stand how the paper bowed to the woke internet mob.

Reporters have found themselves in public Twitter spats which led Baquet to issue a memo earlier this month ordering writers to tweet less.
Immigration agencies could run out of funds by the middle of summer if migration skyrockets like projections show will happen once Title 42 is lifted next month.

President Joe Biden is preparing to ask Congress for more money to cover the potential shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars, administration officials say, according to NBC News.

Internal projections show that operations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would completely run dry by as early as mid July.

July 2021 was the month with the highest number of southern border crossings with CBP apprehending 213,593 migrants that month alone. That record-setting number was only topped last month when March 2022 numbers showed a two-decade high encounter rate spiking to 221,303 from 165,894 the month prior.

President for the National Border Patrol Council Brandon Judd told DailyMail.com that Border Patrol has decided to start sending migrants arriving from the Northern Triangle back to their home countries rather than back to Mexico.

Using Title 42 has helped keep down illegal crossings during the pandemic by sending migrants back to Mexico, but the authority usually used by immigration agencies falls under Title 8.

Judd told DailyMail.com that the problem with the asylum process under Title 8 is that 'everybody knows how to game the system.'

'Everybody knows all you have to do is claim you have a fear,' he added.

Immigration agencies could run out of money as soon as early July if Title 42 is lifted next month. Pictured: Customs and Border Protection agents struggle with an asylum seeker from Russia in El Paso, Texas on April 14, 2022

Last month reached a new high of illegal immigrant crossing with CBP encountering 221,303 migrants. It was a new high from July of 2021, when apprehensions reached 213,593

Experts are warning that once Title 42 is lifted on May 23, the number of crossings could at least triple to 18,000 encounters each day.

Title 42 was enacted by former President Donald Trump to allow border officials to instantly expel migrants arriving at the U.S. southern border without hearing their asylum claims in the midst of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The policy has remained in place through the administration change to Biden, and has even been defended by the current administration in court.

Earlier this month, however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was on track to lift the policy by late May, which sent Republicans into a frenzy over the already surging illegal immigration figures.

Many Democrats are also opposed to lifting the rule, claiming there is no failsafe in place to quell migration without Title 42 in place.

A Tuesday evening report indicates that Biden is considering delaying the end of Title 42 after coming under increased pressure from Republicans and within his own Party to keep the border restriction policy in place.

Many have pointed to Biden's hypocrisy by weighing appealing the decision to end mask mandates for air travel while putting an end to a pandemic-era policy that kept the southern border more secure.

While most migrants are arriving from Central America  a new influx is coming from Ukraine as asylum-seekers flee violence from Russia

If approved, funding would be used for transportation, medical care and beds in Border Patrol facilities. Pictured: A Border Patrol agent searched a migrant from Central America after corssing into the U.S. in Dona Ana County, New Mexico on July 15, 2021

'The double standard in Washington knows no bounds,' Florida Congresswoman Kat Cammack tweeted in reference to the two separate policies.

Washington Representative Dan Newhouse tweeted on Tuesday: 'It is beyond hypocritical for the Biden Administration to lift Title 42 authorityon the grounds that the pandemic is overwhile extending mask mandates in the name of said pandemic.'

Senator Bill Haggerty of Tennessee said it was an example of the Biden administration wanting to 'have its cake and eat it too.'

Biden faced growing pressure to end the policy from progressives and immigration advocates who claimed it was no longer needed  but now some of his party base are demanding it be kept in place until the public health emergency has lifted in the U.S.

CBP and ICE are already overwhelmed, claiming that personnel are being redirected from the field to processing and changing diapers at processing and detention centers.

Although there is a need for more boots on the ground, the immigration agencies are also pleading for more funds as they are set to run out if Title 42 does end next month.

If the administration does get Congress to allocate more funds for the border, it would be used for transportation, medical care and beds in Border Patrol facilities for newly arrived migrants, officials told NBC.

Republicans are poised to make any COVID-19 funding legislation reliant on stricter border policies, including keeping Title 42 in place.

'It's not unreasonable for the Senate to consider these issues during debate on any future request for federal COVID funds,' Senate Minority Whip John Thune told Fox News.

'The pandemic can't simultaneously be over for those who attempt to illegally cross the border but be too dangerous for everyone else that we need to pass emergency funds to respond to it,' the South Dakota senator added.

Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barasso of Wyoming also told Fox: 'Ending Title 42 will be a national security and humanitarian disaster for Americans. It is the height of hypocrisy to end this important public health tool at the very same moment Democrats are seeking billions more for COVID. The Biden administration can't have it both ways and Republicans will fight to keep Title 42 safeguards in place.'




One in every 4 Korean companies anticipated that bilateral relations with Japan will improve under the incoming government of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, a poll showed Wednesday.







In a survey on 327 companies, 45.3 percent said they picture improved Seoul-Tokyo ties after the launch of the new government, slated for May 10, while 44 percent expected no change in the bilateral relations, according to the poll by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).







Of the respondents, 10.7 percent said the relations will further worsen.







The latest poll draws a contrast from a similar KCCI survey conducted six months ago, in which only 12.9 percent said they expect improvement in the bilateral relations, with more than 80 percent expecting the status quo and 6.4 percent expecting the relations to get worse.







The most pressing bilateral issues to be addressed, they said, were resolving the row over Japan's curbs on the exports of key industrial materials to Korea.







They also picked the supply chain issue, such as the semiconductor shortage, as an area where the two countries can cooperate on, besides other fields such as people-to-people exchanges and carbon neutrality.







The majority of the companies said they are ready to increase bilateral trade with and bolster investment in Japan when the relations improve.







Yoon's seven-member delegation, led by Rep. Chung Jin-suk of the People Power Party, will visit Japan from April 24-28 to meet government officials, lawmakers, those from business circles and others there to coordinate policy on pending bilateral and other issues.







The Seoul-Tokyo ties remain frayed over historical and economic disputes stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula.







But bilateral relations have worsened further since 2019, when Japan imposed a series of trade restrictions against Korea in what many viewed as economic retaliation against Seoul court decisions in favor of Koreans forced into free labor during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. (Yonhap)






Alec Baldwin has claimed he's been exonerated over the death of a cinematographer he accidentally shot dead by a new report blasting producers of the film whose set witnessed the tragedy.

The actor issued the statement shortly after New Mexican Occupational Health and Safety Bureau officials levied the maximum fine against the producers of Rust, the western movie on whose set Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by Baldwin in October 2021.

Executive producers were hit with a $136,793 film - the maximum available. Baldwin himself was a producer, but highlighted a passage in the investigation which said that he was involved in the script and casting - but not safety procedures.

Baldwin's statement wrote: 'We are grateful to the New Mexico Occupational and Safety Bureau for investigating this matter,' the statement from Baldwin read.

'We appreciate that the report exonerates Mr. Baldwin by making clear that he believed the gun held only dummy rounds.

'Additionally, the report recognizes that Mr. Baldwin's authority on the production was limited to approving script changes and creative casting.

'Mr. Baldwin had no authority over the matters that were the subject of the Bureau's findings of violations, and we are pleased that the New Mexico officials have clarified these critical issues.

Alec Baldwin and Halyna Hutchins, along with other cast, are pictured on the Rust set in October. Baldwin and other producers of the film have been ordered to pay $136,793 by New Mexico safety regulators for failures that led to the shooting of the cinematographer

'We are confident that the individuals identified in the report will be held accountable for this tragedy.'

In their report, officials cited a slew of 'willful and serious' safety violations that led them to dishing out the fine - the maximum sum for such safety infractions - and criticized film brass for failing to follow industry safety guidelines.

Wednesday afternoon, Baldwin, who has argued that he did not know the gun was loaded when it was handed to him by the film's assistant director David Halls, issued a statement that touted the scathing report as a victory.

He has since claimed that he did not pull the trigger of the gun that fired, and that it went off by accident in his hand.

In Baldwin's statement, his PR team cited how officials only named Halls and another staffer, Property Master Sarah Zachary - two of three employees to handle the gun before it was passed to Baldwin - as responsible for safety slip-ups that resulted in Hutchins' death, ignoring assertions that the company as a whole should be held 'fully accountable' for the failures.

Alec Baldwin said Wednesday that a report released by New Mexico safety regulators slamming Rust producers as responsible for the accidental shooting death of a staffer on the film's set last year, has seen him 'exonerated' - despite serving on the unfinished film's production team himself. Pictured is the Wednesday statement from the actor

Hutchins, 42, was shot and killed on set by Baldwin on October 21, after the actor fired a prop gun that inexplicably contained live ammunition in her direction while practicing for a scene

The fine, the maximum allowed, comes after a six-month investigation by the bureau into the circumstances leading up to the shooting, which saw Baldwin fire a round at Hutchins with a prop gun that inexplicably contained live ammunition on October 21.

The actor, who was also a producer on the unfinished film, has argued that he did not pull the trigger and has no idea how a live bullet made its way onto the Santa Fe set.

In the filing, officials wrote that the makers of Rust - which includes Baldwin - showed 'plain indifference to recognized hazards associated with use of firearms on set,' revealing that film brass ignored complaints from staffers regarding gun safety following 'two firearms-related incidents' five days before the fatal shooting.

The report described the incidents as 'misfires,' which reportedly occurred on the film's set October 16, 2021.

Officials revealed that Rust Movie Productions failed to follow up on those claims, circumventing industry-implemented safety procedures 'which likely would have prevented the accident from occurring,' the filing states.

The report concluded that management for Rust Movie Productions - which would include Baldwin - 'knew that firearm safety procedures were not being followed on set and demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety by failing to review work practices and take corrective action.'

The agency went on to declare that because of those infractions and shortcuts by staff - including those by Assistant Director Halls, whom regulators noted handed Baldwin the loaded gun without consulting with on-set weapons specialists - the production company must be held 'fully accountable' for Hutchins' death.

Property Master Zachary also failed to 'work in conjunction with the productions designated Safety Representative to assure that the following standards,' the report revealed.

The report also said that weapons specialists were barred from making decisions about additional firearm safety training.

Alec Baldwin speaks on the phone in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office in Santa Fe after he was questioned about the shooting on the set of the film Rust

'Through our investigation, we determined that Rust Productions' failures were both serious and willful,' regulators wrote.

'It was the employers' obligation to follow national standards, and that did not happen on the set of Rust.

'This was a terrible tragedy and our thoughts are with the victim - a mother, a wife, an experienced cinematographer and a well respected member of the film community. Today we continue to extend our thoughts and prayers to her loved ones.

'While I realize no fine can compensate for the loss of life, we are holding Rust Productions fully accountable.'

Officials said Rust Movie Productions must pay the sum or face legal action.

'What we had, based on our investigators' findings, was a set of obvious hazards to employees regarding the use of firearms and management's failure to act upon those obvious hazards,' Bob Genoway, bureau chief of the New Mexico regulator, said Wednesday of the OSHA report.

In a statement following the report's release, Rust Movie Productions spokesman Stefan Friedman rebuked the bureau's findings.

'While we appreciate OSHA's time and effort in its investigation, we disagree with its findings and plan to appeal. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Halyna's family,' Friedman said.

Baldwin said in a December interview with ABC News that he was pointing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction on the New Mexico set of the Western film when it went off without his pulling the trigger.

The new occupational safety report confirms that a large-caliber revolver was handed to Baldwin by an assistant director, David Halls, without consulting with on-set weapons specialists during or after the gun was loaded.

Regulators note that Halls also served as safety coordinator and that he was present and witnessed two accidental discharges of rifles on set, and that he and other managers who knew of the misfires took no investigative, corrective or disciplinary action.

Crew members expressed surprise and discomfort.

'The Safety Coordinator was present on set and took no direct action to address safety concerns,' the report states. 'Management was provided with multiple opportunities to take corrective actions and chose not to do so.

'As a result of these failures, Director Joel Souza and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were severely injured. Halyna Hutchins succumbed to her injuries.'

A spokesman for Rust Movie Productions did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. An attorney for Baldwin was not immediately available.

James Kenney, secretary of the Environment Department that oversees occupational safety, said the agency dedicated 1,500 staff hours to its investigation, examined hundreds of documents and conducted at least a dozen interviews with cast and crew members.

This aerial photo shows the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., on Oct. 23, 2021.

The Bonanza Creek Ranch, where the film 'Rust' was being filmed, appears in Santa Fe on Oct. 23, 2021. On Wednesday, New Mexico workplace safety regulators issued the maximum possible fine against a film production company for firearms safety failures on the set of 'Rust' where a cinematographer was fatally shot in October 2021 by actor and producer Alec Baldwin

Investigators found production managers placed tight limits on resources for a small team that controlled weapons on set and failed to address concerns about a shotgun left unattended twice.

The report also revealed that the third person to handle the gun before Baldwin, Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the daughter of a sharpshooter and consultant to film productions, was limited to eight paid days as an armorer to oversee weapons and training, and was assigned otherwise to lighter duties as a props assistant.

As her time as an armorer ran out, Gutierrez Reed aired concerns over firearm safety procedure's on the film's set, but was rebuffed, the report said.

Safety investigators also note that the production company did not develop a process to ensure live rounds of ammunition were not brought on set, in violation of industry safety protocols.

Safety meetings were conducted, but not every day weapons were used, as required.

Kenney said the separate investigations into possible criminal charges are still underway.

He said his agency received no direct safety complaints from cast or crew prior to the fatal shooting, even though anonymity is offered.

'This tragedy, this loss of life, it could have been prevented, and we want people to say something,' he said.

Kenney was appointed in 2019 by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a staunch advocate for the film industry who increased a state cap in industry incentives shortly after taking office.

New Mexico competes with non-Hollywood production sites in states such as Georgia, Louisiana and New York.

Film productions have flocked to New Mexico in recent years to seize on its diverse outdoor scenery, moderate costs and generous state incentives, including a rebate of between 25 percent and 35 percent of in-state spending for video production that helps filmmakers large and small underwrite their work.
More than half of Americans supported the government's transportation federal mask mandate that a Trump-appointed judge had struck down earlier this week.

According to the survey: 59 percent either 'strongly supported' (38%) or 'somewhat supported' (21%) the extension, while 32 percent either 'somewhat opposed'(10%) or 'strongly opposed' (22%).

Eight-four percent of support were from Democrats, 55 percent from independents, and 35 percent support from Republicans.

Politico/Morning Consult published the poll of around 2,000 registered voters who were questioned between April 15 - April 17, 2022, just days before Monday's ruling ending the mandate was issued.

Respondents were asked: 'Do you support or oppose the CDC's extension of the federal travel mask mandate?'

At the time, the poll was carried out with an understanding that the mandate would require travelers to wear masks on airplanes, trains and in transit hubs until May 3rd, 2022 amid an increase in COVID cases.

A pie-chart on support or oppose the CDC's extension of the federal mask mandate

The chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans that support or oppose the CDC's extension of the federal mask mandate

The majority of those polled said that they were in favor of the CDC's extension.

US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle's ruling had stated that the mandate was no longer legal since it had exceeded the statutory authority of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Her decision quickly became political fodder, with many on the left and right expressing criticism and praise, source said.

The judge's order also also prompted a mix response from passengers as airlines, airports and mass transit systems were able to to make their own decisions about mask requirements, the Associated Press reported.

Unmasked travelers shutting off to catch their flights after US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle's ruling had stated that the mandate was no longer legal since it had exceeded the statutory authority of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The judge's order also prompted confusion amid a mix response from passengers as airlines, airports and mass transit systems were able to to make their own decisions about mask requirements, the Associated Press reported

On Tuesday, the Justice Department issued a statement protesting the ruling and indicating they will file an appeal, if the CDC says they should: 'The Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disagree with the district court's decision and will appeal, subject to CDC's conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health.'

The statement continued: 'The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. That is an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve.'

On April 13, 2022, before the district court's decision, CDC explained that the order would remain in effect while it assessed current public health conditions, and that the Transportation Security Administration would extend its directive implementing the order until May 3 to facilitate CDC's assessment. 'If CDC concludes that a mandatory order remains necessary for the public's health after that assessment, the Department of Justice will appeal the district court's decision.'

The 35-year-old Mizelle, who was nominated in 2020 to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, which includes the Tampa area, by former President Donald Trump. She had been confirmed in a party-line vote weeks after President Joe Biden had defeated Trump, Mediate reported.

According to sources, Mizelle had been rated 'not qualified' by the American Bar Association, the news outlet reported.

Mizelle, has eight years of prior experience as a lawyer; however, judicial nominees typically have more experience, which raised questions about her qualifications for a lifetime appointment, The Tampa Bay Times reported.

Interviews for the Politico/Morning Consult poll were conducted online and the data was weighted to approximate a target sample of registered voters based on gender by age, educational attainment, race, marital status, home ownership, race by educational attainment, 2020 presidential vote, and region.

Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Commuters in London could face fresh Tube chaos this summer after it was announced workers will vote on whether to strike in a dispute over pensions.

Members of Unite the Union employed at Transport for London (TfL) and London Underground will vote in the coming weeks on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action.

The union said workers have been told that the value of their pensions will be cut and a final salary scheme will end following a central government-demanded review in return for pandemic-recovery funding.

Unite regional officer Simon McCartney said: 'Our members are dedicated to keeping London moving.

Commuters in London could face more tube chaos in summer with members of Unite the Union set to vote on whether to hold industrial action in a row over pensions

It comes less than two months after the Tube network was hit with four days of disruption when members of the RMT union walked out on strike

'Now they are being told that they will be poorer in old age. This is an appalling way to treat a loyal and committed workforce.

'Workers are balloting for industrial action as a last resort. Despite repeated calls to management there have been no guarantees on pensions or job cuts.

'Strike action would inevitably cause severe disruption to public transport throughout London.'

Unite's members at TfL are spread across different parts of the organisation including Dial-a Ride, London Underground and Croydon trams.

The union said its members are also in dispute over pay and the threat of job losses.

The ballot will close on May 26. If members vote in favour of industrial action, strikes could begin by mid-June, although Unite said action is likely to be co-ordinated with other unions who also have members in TfL.

If members vote in favour of industrial action when the ballot closes on May 26 the strikes could begin by mid-June

Unite said workers have been told that the value of their pensions will be cut and a final salary scheme will end following a central government-demanded review in return for pandemic-recovery funding

It comes after the Tube network was hit by four days of traffic chaos at the start of March, when members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union walked out in a row over potential job losses and reductions in pensions and working conditions.

And today the same union threatened to stage the biggest railway strike in modern history, with 40,000 workers set to vote on whether to strike in June in a row over jobs and pay.

The RMT is considering bringing 15 train services across the country including Govia Thameslink Railway, Avanti West Coast, and West Midlands Trains to a grinding halt.

The union has blamed Network Rail's planned to cut at least 2,500 safety-critical maintenance jobs as part of a 2 billion reduction in spending on the network.

RMT has also taken aim at train operators looking to freeze pay to combat the lowest passenger numbers in over 150 years.

The ballot of the 40,000 train workers opens on April 26 and closes on May 24 so strike action could begin in June.

It comes the same day that the RMT announced it could launch the biggest railway workers strike in modern history when 40,000 members vote on industrial action as part of a dispute with Network Rail

Families and commuters also could be hit by huge disruptions on the London Underground and some airports as unionised workers at these services also consider strikes.

Industrial action in London on the Central and Victoria lines every Friday and Saturday is ongoing after the capital was nearly shut down in March by an ongoing row over pensions.

This all comes as nearly 500,000 bins are set to not be collected as the result of strike action during April and May and Post Office workers are set for a walk-out next month.

The RMT this month also caused a limited service of the TransPennine Express, whose members are also considering the June walk-out, due to strikes over Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

More strikes on this service, which operate the Manchester to Edinburgh and Glasgow routes, are planned for all Sundays until June and the 16 and 17 April, 30 April and 1 May and 4 May and 5 June.

With further travel chaos in the summer looming, Tim Shoveller, Network Rail's regional director, said: 'Our railway has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, and even as passenger numbers start to recover, we know travel habits and passenger demand have changed and the industry has to change too.

'We cannot keep relying on Government handouts, and so we must work together with train operators and our trades unions to save millions of pounds and deliver a more efficient railway.

'Our modernisation programme aims to build a sustainable future that delivers for passengers and creates better and safer jobs for our people.

'We are disappointed that the RMT has taken this decision and urge them again to work with us, not against us, as we build an affordable railway fit for the future.'

Mr Shoveller added: 'We would not consider any changes that would make the railway less safe.'

Full list of train lines that could come to halt if RMT strike goes ahead Chiltern Railways

Cross Country Trains

Greater Anglia

LNER

East Midlands Railway

c2c

Great Western Railway

Northern Trains

South Eastern Railway

South Western Railway Island Line

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) which includes Gatwick Express

Transpennine Express

Avanti West Coast

West Midlands Train

Network Rail Advertisement

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and the British rail industry, said it has faced 'unprecedented shock' to the sector since Covid.

A spokesperson for the RDG said: 'The pandemic was an unprecedented shock for the railway, with the lowest passenger numbers in over 150 years and record levels of public funding to keep it running.

'Our whole focus now should be securing a thriving future for rail that adapts to new travel patterns and takes no more than its fair share from taxpayers, instead of staging premature industrial action which would disrupt passengers' lives and put the industry's recovery at risk.'

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: 'Railway workers have had to contend with pay freezes, the prospect of losing their jobs and repeated attacks on their terms and conditions.

'Removing 2,500 safety-critical jobs from Network Rail will spell disaster for the public, make accidents more likely and will increase the possibility of trains flying off the tracks.

'The way for trade unions to effectively take on the cost-of-living crisis is to stand up for their members at work and take industrial action when employers are not moved by the force of reasoned argument.

'A national rail strike will bring the country to a standstill, but our members' livelihoods and passenger safety are our priorities.'

The ballot which opens on April 26 and closes on May 24 will be among RMT members on lines such as East Midlands Railway, South Eastern Railway, South Western Railway, Island Line, and West Midlands Trains.

RMT members employed by contractors Churchill to clean trains will also walk out from 27 April to 7 May on Govia Thameslink, Eurostar, Southeastern and HS1.
A Texas judge pushed back next week's Sandy Hook damages trial, the first jury trial over how much InfoWars host Alex Jones should pay the families of Sandy Hook victims, after his company sought bankruptcy protection.

The delay ordered by state District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble on Wednesday comes three days after InfoWars and two other companies tied to Jones filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Texas.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedures put a hold on all civil litigation matters and allow companies to prepare turnaround plans while remaining operational.

Although Gamble slammed the move as a way for InfoWars to 'commit an injustice,' she said there was nothing she could do but put a hold on the damages trial.

Jones has lost three defamation lawsuits in Texas and Connecticut over his comments that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre that left 26 dead was a hoax and that the families of the victims were paid crisis actors.

The first trial over how much he should pay the families had been scheduled to begin next Monday in Austin, where InfoWars is headquartered. A new trial date has not been set.

A Texas judge pushed back the first jury trial over how much Alex Jones (above) should pay families of the Sandy Hook victims after he lost three defamation lawsuits over his comments that the 2012 massacre that left 26 dead was a hoax

The decision to halt the case came three days after InfoWars filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which put a hold on all civil litigation matters. Attorney's for the families of the victims (pictured) said it's Jones' latest attempt to avoid accountability

Attorneys for Sandy Hook families have also accused Jones of trying to hide millions of dollars in assets, according to a new lawsuit filed against Jones earlier this month.

In this suit, the families are accusing Jones of attempting to hide assets in shell companies that are operated by family members. The purpose of this move is to make Jones appear broke, the suit alleges.

According to Sunday's bankruptcy court filings, InfoWars listed its estimated assets in the range of $0-$50,000 and estimated liabilities in the range of $1 million to $10 million.

Creditors listed in InfoWars' bankruptcy filing include relatives of some of the 20 children and six educators killed in the 2012 school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.

Christopher Mattei, a lawyer representing the families, told PBS: 'Alex Jones is just delaying the inevitable: a public trial in which he will be held accountable for his profit-driven campaign of lies against the Sandy Hook families who have brought this lawsuit.'

Mark Bankston, another attorney for the families, told Austin American Statesman that he expects Jones and his attorney's to try and pull another trick to try and halt the trial.

'I have a feeling, when we walk out of this courtroom, they're going to come up with another stunt,' Bankston said on Wednesday. 'Who knows what they're going to do tomorrow. They've shown an ability to go beyond what is honest and forthright, to go beyond what is right.'

Jones' lawyer, Andino Reynal, said in court on Wednesday that the bankruptcy claims were properly filed and that he was seeking to consolidate the payment decisions for the three trials into one jury trial.

The massacre, which Jones called a hoax on InfoWars, claimed the lives of 20 first-grade students and six educators (pictured)

Adam Lanza, who authorities said opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killed his mother and himself following the shooting

In the aftermath of the shooting, Jones said on his InfoWars platform that the shooting was 'completely fake' and a 'giant hoax.'

The platform claimed the families involved were all 'crisis actors' hired to perpetuate a government agenda to increase gun control.

On December 14, Adam Lanza, 20, shot and killed 26 people in Newtown, Connecticut, at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Twenty of those killed were between the ages of six and seven years old.

Lanza fatally shot his mother at their home before going to the school, and later killed himself as police arrived.

Families of the victims launched a defamation lawsuit against Jones in 2018, claiming that he profited by spreading lives about the murders of their loved ones, which also caused some family members speaking out against violence to face harassment from Jones' supporters.

The Texas-based host has since said that he believes the shooting took place.

Connecticut State Police lead a line of children from the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday, December 14, 2012 after the shooting

Pictured: firearms and ammunition found on or in close proximity to shooters body

Jones has disputed their claims, but failed to turn over documents and financial records to support his stance after ordered to do so in court leading judges in Connecticut and Texas to return default judgements against him.

Jones' lawyers have claimed the suits were filed strategically to silence his and his entities' right to freedom of speech on matters of public interest.

Following a deposition earlier this month, Jones claimed he was a victim of 'cancel culture' and accused the 'corporate media' of no publicizing his apologies to the families of the Sandy Hook victims.

Nine Sandy Hook families rejected Jones' offer to settle their defamation lawsuit and reopened the case in late March. Jones had offered to pay $120,000 to each of the 13 plaintiffs to settle the case.

Each of the plaintiffs turned down the settlement offer in court documents, saying, 'The so-called offer is a transparent and desperate attempt by Alex Jones to escape a public reckoning under oath with his deceitful, profit-driven campaign against the plaintiffs and the memory of their loved ones lost at Sandy Hook.'
Former President Donald Trump is making a trip to Nebraska at the end of the month and hosting a rally in support of a candidate who has denied claims he groped several women, including a state senator.

Trump's April 29 rally in Greenwood features one 'special guest speaker,' Charles Herbster, a Republican running to be governor of the state. The ex-president endorsed Herbster in October.

Trump's announcement came five days after the Nebraska Examiner reported that eight women have similar stories about being groped or fondled by the politician.

Former President Donald Trump (left) is making a trip to Nebraska at the end of the month and hosting a rally in support of gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster (right) who has denied claims he groped several women, including a state senator

Republican state Sen. Julie Slama told the paper that in 2019 Herbster reached up her skirt, without her consent, and touched her inappropriately.

The incident happened in public - in a crowded ballrom at the Doublas County Republican Party's annual Elephant Remembers dinner, she said.

Another attendee saw Herbster reach up Slama's skirt and reported it to the Examiner.

That witness and two additional ones saw the GOP hopeful grope another young woman in the buttocks at the same dinner.

'Yes confirmed,' Slama replied when the Examiner asked the state senator if the two incidents had been described accurately by the eyewitnesses.

She declined to elaborate further.

Later, however, she confirmed her account on the state Senate floor - where she also alleged she had been inappropriately touched by some of her lawmaker colleagues.

'I am not seeking media attention or any other gain, I simply was not going to lie and say it did not occur,' she also said.

The incident occurred after Slama had been appointed to represent Nebraska's 1st state House district.

Herbster owned a house in that district, the paper said.

Overall, six women - including the woman eyewitnesses saw get groped in the buttocks - told the Examiner that Herbster touched them inappropriately when they were saying hello or goodbye to him, or were posing for photos.

The woman said that Herbster would grab them on their butts, outside of their clothes.

The woman also told the newspaper that they were grabbed by the politician - and didn't feel like it was an unintentional graze.

A seventh woman told the Examiner Herbster cornered her and kissed her forcibly.

The incidents happened at either political events or beauty pageants and between 2017 and this year.

The women's ages ranged from in their late teens to mid-20s, the paper said.

Herbster's Campaign Manager Ellen Keast said the candidate denied the women's allegations 'unequivocally,'

'This is a political hit-piece built on 100 per cent false and baseless claims,' Keast said, blaming the 'political establishment' for 'smearing and trying to destroy him with lies.'

Herbster also ran for the governor's mansion during the 2014 cycle but dropped out of the race citing the health of his wife, who had undergone heart surgery.

Trump has had a history of defending and appearing with politicians mid-scandal, including having Rep. Madison Cawthorn appear with him at a recent rally in North Carolina, after the lawmaker suggested cocaine use and orgies were rampant in Washington, D.C. - including among members of Congress.

In the past he's defended men accused of various misdeeds against women, including Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Alabama Senate hopeful Roy Moore, White House aide Rob Porter and Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and Roger Ailes.

Trump also endorsed the candidacy of former aide Max Miller for an Ohio U.S. House seat, who reportedly slapped his ex-girlfriend, former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham.
A father-of-four was shot dead by a bullet to the back of the head in 'a case of mistaken identity', a court heard today.

Dean Edwards, 43, suffered 'catastrophic injuries' after being gunned down while walking through Betts Park in Penge, south-east London, on July 12, 2020.

Taylor Purdy, 26, of Dulwich, south-east London, denies murder.

Prosecutor Julian Evans QC told the Old Bailey: 'Given the circumstances in which Dean Edwards met his death - shot once to the back of his head as he walked through Betts Park on his own, late at night - there can be no doubt, say the prosecution, that he was murdered.

'The shooting involved the deliberate, targeted discharge of a firearm at an unarmed man from behind. It was effectively an execution killing.'

Jurors were told Mr Edwards was 'simply in the wrong place at the wrong time' and it appeared the shooting 'was not the result of him being specifically targeted'.

Dean Edwards (pictured above), 43, suffered 'catastrophic injuries' after being gunned down while walking through Betts Park in Penge, south-east London, on July 12, 2020

Mr Evans said: 'Tragically, it would appear that Mr Edwards was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

'As to the shooting itself, it may be that it was a case of mistaken identity. In other words, the gunman, waiting in Betts Park, meant to shoot someone that he mistook Dean Edwards for.

'Alternatively, it may be that the shooting was motivated by the need to make some sort of "statement" in the Penge area and that it did not matter who got shot.

'Either way, the shooting appears to have taken place within the context of other issues, other rivalries or conflicts, none of which concerned Dean Edwards.'

Mr Edwards had been at a pub and was walking alone towards Anerley Station when he was shot in the early hours.

The jury was told that 'in all likelihood' he was shot with a self-loading pistol.

A 9mm cartridge case was found close to the body just off a path, and a fired 9mm bullet was retrieved during the post-mortem examination.

Mr Evans said: 'In all likelihood, the man who shot him - the gunman - must have been lying in wait somewhere inside Betts Park.

'From the evidence, it would appear that the gunman must have seen Dean Edwards and then approached him from behind before shooting him. He did so, apparently, without any warning.

'It would appear that Dean Edwards was completely oblivious to the presence of the gunman and to the threat that man posed. Mr Edwards had no opportunity to react.'

The jury was told that DNA evidence links Purdy to a cigarette butt found in a residential street near Betts Park, and CCTV footage in the local area was recovered.

The prosecution say Purdy was the gunman.

Mr Edwards (seen on CCTV in the hours before his death) had been at a pub and was walking alone towards Anerley Station when he was shot in the early hours

They say he is a man shown in CCTV footage taken near the park before and after the killing.

During his police interview Purdy denied any involvement in the shooting, and denied being the man on CCTV in the vicinity of Betts Park and the surrounding area on the night of July 11 and into the early hours of the following day.

Purdy said he did not know Mr Edwards and he was not in Betts Park on the night of the murder. He says he may have been out with friends that night in a car.

He accepted that he smoked cigarettes but not every day.

He said he did not know why a cigarette butt bearing his DNA had been found in the area.

Mr Edwards' daughter, Hollie, in her 20s, paid tribute to her father following his death, calling him a 'big softie'.

She said: 'Our dad was a friendly, bubbly and loving person.

'He was never confrontational and hated arguments, he was a big softie at heart, loved all the grandchildren and spoiled them.

'He was a good, innocent person. He was really generous, used to get all the beers in. You knew you were having a cheap night if you went out with dad.

'But he's been taken from us, wrongly.'

Purdy denied any involvement in the murder and said he had no issue with anyone from the Penge area.

The hearing was adjourned to 10.30am on Thursday.
Florida's Democratic Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried celebrated the end of the public transit mask mandate with a photo of her bare face on an airplane, while claiming that her party made that moment possible.

'Peace out to the TSA mask mandate, but also peace and respect to others, whether wearing a mask or not,' Fried, who is running to replace Gov. Ron DeSantis, wrote on Twitter, along with a photo of herself maskless.

'I'll read all your takes, but the mandates are dropped, vaccines are working, things are getting back to normal, and it's okay for a Democrat to say it  because we made it possible,' she wrote in a subsequent tweet. 'I love y'all.'

At the same time, Fried, Florida's lone statewide Democrat, is planning to sue the Biden administration over a federal rule that bans medical marijuana users from buying guns or maintaining concealed-carry permits.

Fried ran on an aggressively pro-cannabis platform in 2018. 'Medical marijuana is legal. Guns are legal. This is about people's rights and their freedoms to responsibly have both,' she wrote on Twitter.

Biden promised his administration would work to decriminalize marijuana and expunge records for people with cannabis convictions, but so far hasn't taken much action.

Six Democrats are running in the Democratic primary for governor in August, including former governor, now Congressman Charlie Crist.

A Trump-appointed federal judge in Florida upended the Biden administration's pandemic policy on masks for travelers on Monday, prompting celebration from Republicans and largely silence from national Democrats.

US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled the mandate was unlawful because it exceeded the authority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled the mandate was unlawful because it exceeded the authority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Major airlines dropped their mask requirements after the White House acquiesced that its mandate was dead for the time being and masks were notably sparse amid hordes of travelers just hours later.

The White House called the ruling 'disappointing' and reiterated that masks should still be worn.

'The CDC continues to advise and recommend masks on airplanes. We're abiding by the CDC recommendations,' she continued.

'The president is and we would advise all Americans to do that.'

The mandate had been due to expire on Monday before the CDC said was extending the rule until May 3 to allow for the study of the BA.2 omicron variant which is causing the majority of cases across the nation.

On Tuesday evening the Department of Justice announced that it would appeal Mizelle's decision.

'The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health,' the DOJ wrote in a Tuesday statement.

Fried has sued the Biden administration for a federal rule banning gun sales to medical marijuana users

It also further confuses the matter after Biden said earlier Tuesday that travelers should decide for themselves whether or not to wear masks  just minutes after stepping off Air Force One where the White House told staff and journalists they must continue to use face coverings a day after a judge struck the federal mandate.

'During transit on today's trip, masking will be required in line with the CDC's guidance,' the White House said.

The president offered his own interpretation of the recommendations when he was asked at the airport in New Hampshire whether passengers should continue to wear masks.

'That's up to them,' he said.
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Johnny Depp detailed the explosive fight he and Amber Heard had in March 2015 in Australia where the top of his finger was severed when Heard allegedly threw a bottle of vodka at him.

The couple were in Australia while Depp was filming the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film. Heard claims that he chopped off his fingertip with a knife during the argument, and her team has called it a 'three day hostage situation' where Depp was repeatedly violent.

However Depp took the stand Wednesday and told the court that Heard was angry at him after she met with his lawyers to discuss a post nuptial agreement. Heard had claimed that one of the lawyers laughed at her - he later discovered that was not true.

Depp said: 'All I could do was try to calm her down and say I was not out to screw her over or put her in a position that was uncomfortable. It did not work, it escalated and turned into madness, chaos, violence.'

'She was irate, she was possessed. When I tried to remove myself as I normally would, as she's hammering me with brutal words. Pardon my language but I remember that it wasn't nice.. Sort of being called an a** kisser to lawyers or a pu**y that didn't fight for her or stand up for her. I tried to remove myself from the situation but to no avail.

'The house they'd rented for me in Australia was quite a large place. I think I ended up locking myself in at least nine bedrooms, bathrooms that day as she was banging on the doors and streaming obscenities and wanting to have a physical altercation.'

Depp described how Heard walked away after he locked himself in one room and then he walked downstairs to the rec room where there was a pool table and a bar.

He said: 'I went behind the bar, I grabbed a bottle of vodka, and a shot glass and sat at the bar and I poured myself two or three stiff shots of vodka, first taste of alcohol in a long time.

'When she came down to the bar and found me there started screaming you're drinking again, the monster and all that.'

'She walked up to me and reached and grabbed the bottle of vodka and stood back and hurled it at me', Depp said, motioning the act of throwing. Moving his hand past his head, he said: 'It just went right past my head and smashed behind me.

'I stood up and walked behind the bar and there was a larger bottle of vodka, the kind with the handle. I grabbed that and sat in my seat, opened the bottle and poured myself a shot and drank it

'Miss Heard was flinging insults left right and center. She grabbed that bottle and threw that at me.' Depp said he used the bench in front of him to show the jury where the bar was situated and leaned back in his chair.

He said: 'I was leaning like this in the chair. First bottle went, got the other bottle, shot. Takes second bottle. I'm in this position again. My hand is on the edge of the bar like that, leaning over.

'She threw the large bottle and it made contact and shattered everywhere and I honestly didn't feel the pain at first at all, I felt no pain.'

Johnny Depp detailed the explosive fight he and Amber Heard had in March 2015 in Australia where the top of his finger was severed when Heard allegedly threw a bottle of vodka at him

Depp detailed the explosive fight he and Amber Heard had in March 2015 in Australia where the top of his finger was severed when Heard allegedly threw a bottle of vodka at him

'She threw the large bottle and it made contact and shattered everywhere and I honestly didn't feel the pain at first at all, I felt no pain,' Depp said

'What I felt was heat and I felt as if something were dripping down my hand and then I looked down and realized that the tip of my finger had been severed. I was looking directly at my bone sticking out,' Depp said

'The meaty portion of the inside of your finger. Blood was just pouring out and at that point I think I went into some sort of, I don't know what a nervous breakdown feels like but that's probably the closest I've been. Nothing made sense. I knew in my mind and in my heart this is not life. This is not life. No one should have to go through this,' Depp said

'What I felt was heat and I felt as if something were dripping down my hand and then I looked down and realized that the tip of my finger had been severed. I was looking directly at my bone sticking out.

'The meaty portion of the inside of your finger. Blood was just pouring out and at that point I think I went into some sort of, I don't know what a nervous breakdown feels like but that's probably the closest I've been. Nothing made sense. I knew in my mind and in my heart this is not life. This is not life. No one should have to go through this.

'This feeling of being in the middle of some sort of nervous breakdown I started to write with my own blood on the walls, little reminders from our past that essentially represented lies she had told me, lies I had caught her in.'

Looking at a picture of himself on a stretcher, Depp said, 'Thats me in the emergency room. I see a detail Id forgotten.

'Miss Heard had taken my cigarette from the ashtray and stubbed it out on my face.'

Asked which finger it was, Depp held up his right middle finger and said: 'It's the funny looking one.'

Showing it to the jury, he said: 'You can see from the initial wound all these bones were crushed, it looked.'

Depp said that while Depp was injured Heard yelled 'white noise in a very high frequency' at him, adding: 'I was in shock.'

Depp was taken to the emergency room where he lied to the doctors and said he smashed the finger in some accordion doors because he 'didn't want to get Miss Heard in trouble'

Depp was shown a photo of the finger taken in the hospital which he said was 'the remains of my finger'.

Putting his prescription sunglasses on, he looked at a photo of himself lying on a stretcher in hospital.

He said: 'I see a detail I'd forgotten. Miss Heard had taken my cigarette from the ashtray and stubbed it out on my face.'

Johnny Depp was back on the stand Wednesday to continue his testimony about how his relationship with ex-wife Amber Heard deteriorated

The 58-year-old told the jury in his $100million defamation trial that he stayed with Heard despite the alleged abuse because he feared she would attempt suicide like his mother did when his father left her

'Miss Heard had taken my cigarette from the ashtray and stubbed it out on my face,' Depp said on the stand Wednesday

Depp with parents Betty Sue Palmer and John Christopher Depp and then-girlfriend Vanessa Paradis when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999

The 58-year-old told the jury in his $100million defamation trial that he stayed with Heard despite the alleged abuse because he feared she would attempt suicide like his mother did when his father left her.

'I didn't want to break her heart,' Depp said Wednesday. 'When my father left, my mother - that first attempt at suicide that I woke up to and that visual in my head - that was a direct result of my father's leaving.

'Miss Heard had spoken of suicide on a couple of occasions so that also becomes a factor. That's also something that always lives in the back of your brain and you fear.

'Many times when I'd try to leave she would stop me at the elevator with the security guards crying, screaming, ''I can't live without you, I'm going to die.''

'There were a couple of times when I did escape and five minutes later she would arrive at my West Hollywood home in her nightgown screaming in the parking lot in front of my house, screaming to high heavens and it would be four in the morning. It was ludicrous. It was out of control.'

Depp told the court that he hoped he could 'bring Amber around.'

'The Amber Heard I knew for the first year and a half was not this opponent, it wasn't my girl. She had become my opponent and everything I did just didn't fit her, she didn't accept it.'

He spoke of their blowout fights, which he said got violent.

'If I continued to try to present my version or my side of the story, when you're approached in a kind of, with such anger and hatred. It seemed like pure hatred for me. If I stayed to argue I was sure it would escalate into violence and often times it did.'

'Miss Heard in her frustration and her rage and her anger, she would strike out. It could begin with a slap, a shove, throwing a TV remote at my head, throwing a glass of wine in my face but all in all it was just a constant.

'There was a built in list of my personal experiences which I told to Miss Heard - those things were used against me as weapons, especially when it came to my kids

'The only ambition I've ever had arrived the second my first child arrived, in the instant, which was to be a good parent, to be a great father, to be the best father I could.'

Depp said that Heard would attack his parenting.

'There were several occasions where Miss Heard would tell me what a bad father I was and that I had no idea how to parent.

I 'couldn't understand how how in 52 years how I could be so wrong about everything.'

Depp said he went into a 'monumental tailspin where I could hardly go and spend time with my kids because she had to have me there at all times for her own needs, that was something that, once you realize it's happening and there are hassles between the children and her, the situation starts to get a little more grim and a little more dire.

'That I was not prepared to take, I would not hear the words you're a terrible father, you're an awful father. One can only take so much of that before bits of your brain, bits of your heart, the valve gets shut off because you can't hear it any more and you know it's not true and you know it's to slice you up, to bring you down, to bring you into a place where you start to believe there's something wrong with you.

'There's plenty wrong with mebut in all of these situations my main goal was to retreat because most important is pick your battles. If there's a battle to be fought it's grave and important that must be dealt with but small insults and kind of teenage high school tactics, this bullying if you will, it was becoming too much too take.'

Depp told the court that he hoped he could 'bring Amber around.' 'The Amber Heard I knew for the first year and a half was not this opponent, it wasn't my girl. She had become my opponent and everything I did just didn't fit her, she didn't accept it'

Depp and Heard met on the set of the 2011 movie The Rum Diary, turning up on the red carpet together for its London premiere

On Tuesday Depp told the court of the moment his marriage to Heard fell apart. Amber, he said, had a routine that she would get him a glass of wine and remove his footwear as soon as he got home.

But one day she was on the phone, so he took his own boots off rather than wait.

'I worked quite a lot and when I came home from work I'd come in the house and she'd sit me down and give me a glass of wine and take my boots off and set them to the side,' he told the court in Fairfax, Virginia.

'I've never experienced anything like that in my life. I never experienced that and it became a regular thing, kind of routine.

'One night I came home and she was on the phone, I took my boots off, suddenly Miss Heard approached with this look on her face, she just said what did you just do? What did you do?'

He asked her what she meant and she replied: 'You took your boots off.'

'Yes I did, he said he told her. You were busy.'

But Amber told him: 'No, no, no that's my job. You don't do that, I do that.

'Then she said 'Let me get you a glass of wine.' I did take pause of course, the fact she was visibly shaken or upset that I had broken her rules of routine.

'Once you notice something like that you start to notice other tidbits that come out.

'Then within a year a year and a half she had become another person, almost.

Depp got emotional as he talked about how good his relationship with Amber Heard was at the beginning but how it fell apart after he took his own boots off

Depp said under oath that his wife 'became another person, almost' within 18 months of the boots incident

Depp, 58, was testifying in the trial in which he is suing Heard for libel over a 2018 op-ed that she wrote for the Washington Post in which she wrote about her alleged domestic abuse.

Heard, 35, is countersuing for $100 million, claiming that he smeared her when he accused her of lying.

He said in the beginning his relationship with Heard, who he met on the set of the 2011 movie The Rum Diary, was 'too good to be true'.

'She was attentive, she was loving, she was smart, she was funny, she was understanding. We had many things in common, certainly blues music, literature.

'For that year, or year and a half it was amazing.'

'From the beginning of our relationship for a good year and a half she was wonderful and then things just started to change or things started to reveal themselves is a better way to put it.'

He said he called her Slim and she called him Steve after the Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart characters in the movie To Have and Have Not.

He explained that he was the craggy Bogart and she was 'this beautiful creature, this stunning creature,' the much-younger Bacall.

He said it was during a kissing scene in The Rum Diary that he realized he had feelings for Heard, saying he 'felt something he shouldn't be feeling.'

She later went to his trailer and they kissed again.

Depp and Heard called each other Steve and Slim after the Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall characters in the movie To Have and Have Not

Johnny Depp said ex-wfe Amber Heard always insisted she take his boots off and pour him a glass of wine when he got home

The Pirates of the Caribbean actor told the court Tuesday that he started popping pills when he was just 11 and by the time he was 15 he had 'done all the drugs that I am aware of,' Tuesday.

He started on tablets his mother took for her nerves and progressed from there, he told the court.

'I'd bring my mom her nerve pill, I'd take one myself to escape caring so much, feeling so much  to escape the chaotic nature of what we were living through.

'Can't say I'm proud of admitting that'.

He said after taking his mother's pills he moved on to marijuana and other drugs.

He said: 'I've never taken any substance for a party. I've taken these substances on and off to numb myself of the ghosts, the wraiths that were still with me from my youth.

'Essentially self medication, one of those get-me-out-of-here moments. You want to escape from your own brain, your own head'.

Depp said that by 15 he had 'done all the drugs I was aware of' but he didn't continue at such a rate.

He said there were 'many years' he didn't even have a drink' and that he 'wasn't dropping acid every five minutes'.

And he said that his ex-wife's claims about his drug abuse were exaggerated.

He said: 'The characterization of my 'substance abuse' that's been delivered by Miss Heard is grossly embellished and I'm sorry to say but a lot of it is just plainly false

'It was an easy target for her to hit because once you've trusted somebody for a certain amount of years and you've told them all the secrets of your life that information can be used against you, especially if it's taken to a point that's teetering on impossible, teetered over impossible at times.

Heard and Depp in the movie The Rum Diary where they met. Johnny said he 'felt something he should not have felt' during a kissing scene in the movie

'I am not some maniac who needs to be high or loaded all the time.

Depp said he learned how to bring up children from his mother Betty Sue Palmer. 'Justdo the opposite of what she would do'

'In fact before Australia I'd been off of alcohol for about 18 months,' he added referring to the time when he lost part of a finger, when, he claimed, Heard threw a bottle at him.

But he admitted that he got hooked on the painkiller Roxycontin  which he called Roxies  after getting sciatica from throwing a chair through a window in Pirates of the Caribbean 4.

'It's not like you take those pills to get high, you're taking those pills to get well or better because if you're without the pill your body will start to go into withdrawal,' he said.

Depp shook his head and smiled when asked if he had done opiates since detoxing, telling the jury: 'No I can't.

'Once you've been bit you'll be bit again.'

Depp apologized for sending his best friend vile texts about Heard saying he wanted to see her 'rotting corpse decomposing in the f***ing trunk of a Honda Civic'.

'I'm ashamed of some of the references made. I'm embarrassed that at the time the heat of the moment, the heat of the pain that I was feeling went to dark places.

He said: 'Sometimes pain has to be dealt with with humor and sometimes dark, very dark humor.

'I grew up watching Monty Python so it can tend to get into dark humor. It can tend to get intowords are used for emphasis and words are used to express what you're feeling at the time. It's just like growing up, you learn from those mistakes, you learn from those things and you move forward'.

Earlier, Depp had talked about his upbringing, saying he had been regularly abused by his mother Betty Sue Palmer, who died in 2016.

But he said he learned a lot from his parents, especially about bringing up children.

'I knew exactly how to raise children when my girl Vanessa (Paradis) got pregnant I knew exactly how to raise children which was to do the opposite of what they did.
Brexit Opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has hinted at a Whitehall row over whether Britain should copy European Union rules and introduce speed-limiters for new cars.

So-called Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA) technology must be fitted to all new cars sold in Europe from July under new Brussels legislation.

It has been suggested that the rule might still be adopted by Britain, despite the UK's departure from the EU.

Speed limiters work by using GPS data and traffic cameras to determine the speed limits of each road, and automatically restrict vehicles from breaking the limit - although they can be overridden by drivers.

Quizzed about recent reports that ministers are due to announce a consultation on a range of vehicle safety measures - including a requirement for speed limiters to be fitted to cars - Mr Rees-Mogg intimated his fierce opposition to such a move.

'It is not a policy that has received collective agreement,' he told MPs, as he suggested there was an ongoing Whitehall battle over the issue.

Appearing before the House of Commons' European Scrutiny Committee, Mr Rees-Mogg was asked whether such plans had been discussed.

He replied: 'Depends what you mean by discussed. You can read between the lines my views on this.'

Mr Rees-Mogg promised to relay the concerns of committee members to fellow ministers and pointedly said: 'We are, as a government, a deregulatory government and we are not slavishly following the EU, this is fundamentally important.'

He quipped that he personally was 'lucky' to own 'a couple of very old cars, which will not be retro-fitted with any speed limiter'.

'Mind you, the eldest one probably wouldn't get up to much speed anyway,' he added.

Brexit Opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg suggested there was an ongoing Whitehall battle over the issue of speed limiters

Speed limiters work by using GPS data and traffic cameras to determine the speed limits of each road

So-called Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA) technology must be fitted to all new cars sold in Europe from July under new Brussels legislation

Mr Rees-Mogg had earlier told the committee that the UK should no longer focus on rules coming from Brussels.

'I see we are thinking - and I better be careful, because this may be Government policy, so I don't want to upset collective responsibility too much - of putting speed limiters on people's cars because the EU is doing it,' he said.

'Because the EU is doing it is no argument for doing anything any more and we want to get away from this mentality of "Are we diverging or are we not diverging".'

He told MPs the UK needs to look beyond a 'narrow' approach taken by the EU when it came to regulations.

'I'm afraid I think we must get away from this idea of divergence,' he said on Wednesday.

'I don't care what the EU does, any more than I care what the United States does or Singapore does.

'These are separate regulatory regimes and we don't always want to be looking over our shoulders saying, "The EU is doing this, so perhaps we should do it too".'

Earlier this month, the Telegraph reported there would be a government consultation on a range of vehicle safety measures that reduce engine power or set off alarms if drivers exceed the speed limit.

Conservative MPs hit out at more 'Big Brother' technology being fitted to cars, while motoring groups have expressed concern that introducing speed limiters could cause chaos on roads.

In response to the newspaper's report, a Department for Transport spokesman said: 'The UKs departure from the EU provides us with the platform to capitalise on our regulatory freedoms.

'Were currently considering the vehicle safety provisions included in the EUs General Safety Regulation and will implement requirements that are appropriate for Great Britain and improve road safety.'
Donald Trump dismissed New York Attorney General Letitia James' attempt to have him held in contempt as 'little more than a contrived publicity stunt' in a late Tuesday court filing.

The former president's attorney was responding to an earlier filing by James in which the New York Democrat accused Trump of failing to comply with a subpoena in her tax fraud investigation into his family real estate empire.

James asked a judge to hold him in contempt and fine him $10,000 for every day he did not turn over a set of documents linked to his and to the Trump Organization's financial dealings.

Trump's attorney Alina Habba countered that the ex-leader had complied with the subpoena in full and just did not have the papers James was looking for -- passing the buck to the Trump Organization, whose attorneys have said they've already produced 6 million pages' worth of documents.

After a 'dutiful search' for what prosecutors were seeking, Trump's attorney said he 'simply did not have any of the requested documents in his personal possession or custody.'

Instead, Habba claimed 'all potentially responsive documents were in the possession, custody or control of the Trump Organization,' according to a filing obtained by Insider.

She pointed out her client 'was not obligated to produce documents' in the company's control.

Donald Trump is accusing New York Attorney General Letitia James of failing to act 'in good faith' and slammed her proposed $10,000 daily fine as 'grossly excessive'

James has been investigating Trump and his company since 2019 over allegations they knowingly used misleading financial documents to obtain favorable loans and deals. New York investigators claim the practice has been going on for at least a decade.

In a late March filing James said Trump himself only turned over 10 documents in more than two years. He was due to hand over the latest round by a previously agreed-upon deadline of March 31.

The ex-president's lawyer contends that James made no effort 'to resolve the underlying issues' before accusing Trump of a lack of cooperation and demanding a daily $10,000 fine.

'While [the Attorney General] was publicly putting out a barrage of press statements about the instant motion, [the Attorney General's] counsel was privately rebuffing numerous attempts by [Trump's] counsel to engage in good-faith discussions to address the issues at hand,' Habba wrote in the 27-page filing.

Habba accused James' team of 'refusing' her 'request for a simple phone call.'

'Given the [Attorney General's] recalcitrant behavior, it is fair to question the [Attorney General's] motive in bringing the instant application, which appears to be little more than a contrived publicity stunt,' Trump's lawyer said.

She also claimed James was 'aware' Trump would not be able to produce the pages prosecutors asked for.

James' office is also seeking in-person depositions from Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

Trump attorney Alina Habba (pictured) accused James of 'feigning surprise and outrage' when the ex-president did not turn over documents despite Habba claiming James knew he would not, in a 27-page court filing

'Despite feigning surprise and outrage in its motion papers, the [Attorney General] was fully aware that [Trump] was unlikely to be producing any responsive documents but, rather, would permissibly rely upon the Trump Organizations's production,' the attorney said.

Trump's lawyer slammed the $10,000 daily fine as 'grossly excessive' and said James provided 'no reasoning or logic to justify' it.

The ex-president released a lengthy statement attacking James' investigation on Monday, which he's called a 'witch hunt' on numerous occasions.

He called her a 'racist' and urged her to 'focus on saving the state' as its largest city, New York City, continues to see an increase in reported crimes.

He said of her probe, 'This never-ending Witch Hunt must stop.'

'We dont need racist political hacks going after good, hardworking people for highly partisan political gain,' the tirade continued.

'The people of our Country see right through it all, and wont take this Radical Left sickness anymore. Make New York Great Again!'

James responded less than two hours later, 'Like all Americans, Donald J. Trump is entitled to defend himself in court.'

'However, this attorney general will not be bullied or intimidated by the former president,' she continued.

'The courts have ruled time and time again that the offices investigation into Mr. Trump and his financial dealings is legitimate and lawful, and Attorney General James will continue to follow the facts and the law wherever they may lead. Nothing will dissuade her from pursuing justice.'

Earlier this month, James seemed to cast doubt on Trump's claims that he cannot 'find' the documents she was asking for when she asked a judge to hold him in contempt.

Trump released a lengthy statement on Monday taking aim at James and calling her a 'racist political hack'

'The judges order was crystal clear: Donald J. Trump must comply with our subpoena and turn over relevant documents to my office,' James said in a statement.

'Instead of obeying a court order, Mr. Trump is trying to evade it. We are seeking the courts immediate intervention because no one is above the law.'

In the April 7 court filing obtained by DailyMail.com, James' team is indirectly casting doubt on Trump's assertion that he cannot 'find' the eight documents she is requesting, which he agreed to turn over by March 31.

She accused him of 'more delay and obfuscation' in his excuses for not handing in the documents in question, arguing the daily increasing fine is necessary to 'compensate' her office 'for its fees and costs associated with this motion.'

The New York Attorney General's office subpoenaed Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., in December. James has been seeking a deposition from all three.

The trio sought to block the subpoena, claiming that James was motivated by 'political animus' as well as other grounds. In February a judge quashed the effort and ordered the ex-president to 'comply in full' by not only testifying but also producing a tranche of documents New York prosecutors have asked for in the probe.

The ex-president was ordered to produce those documents by March 3 but was granted an extension to the end of March by James' office.

James' prosecutors have until Friday to respond, the same day they're due to appear in New York's State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
People stroll along Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway in Seoul during lunch time on April 18. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han



By Kim Jae-heun



Expectations are growing for AmorePacific and LG Household & Health Care (LG H&H) to achieve higher sales in the second quarter as Korea's two largest cosmetics makers benefit from the easing of COVID-19 restrictions after two years, according to industry analysts Wednesday.



"As the government eases social distancing rules gradually, the country's cosmetics consumption will show improvement. It is true that the market contracted during the last two years due to the pandemic. However, as the government decided to implement a 'living with COVID-19' policy and as more pharmaceutical companies prepare to launch treatments for the virus, I expect the domestic cosmetics market will normalize in the second half of this year," Yuanta Securities analyst Park Eun-jung said.



The government on Monday allowed restaurants and bars to stay open 24 hours a day. It is also considering lifting the mandate on wearing masks outside in two weeks.



Still, AmorePacific and LG H&H have to closely watch the pandemic situation in China where a heavy amount of their sales are made. China accounts for 35 percent of AmorePacific's overall sales and 16 percent of LG H&H's total revenues. If duty-free sales in China are included, the figures increase to 58 percent and 38 percent, respectively.



AmorePacific operates its biggest Chinese production facility in Shanghai, but the city is under lockdown currently. LG H&H runs a manufacturing factory in Guangzhou and the Chinese government is also considering shutting down the city if COVID-19 infections continue to spread quickly in the region.



Park said the situation in China must get better in order for the two local companies to recover fully.



"When the pandemic situation improves in China, we will see marked improvements for local firms' cosmetics businesses starting in May. It is time for China to start preparing for one of its largest shopping festivals," Park said.



Another researcher, Cho So-jung at Kiwoom Securities, shared a similar outlook.



"AmorePacific is expected to achieve a turnaround based on its online channels in and outside of the country starting in the second quarter. Its strategy to expand online operations and the upcoming mega-shopping festival in China on June 18 will boost the company's business performance," Cho said. "There lies a short-term risk of volatility due to the ongoing lockdowns in China, but considering the brand value of AmorePacific and its marketing capacity, the competitiveness of the company's cosmetics industry is still valid in the long term."



The business performances of AmorePacific and LG H&H in the first quarter of 2022 have yet to be revealed. But securities firms predict AmorePacific's operating profit to reach 145.7 billion won ($117.8 million), down 17.3 percent from a year earlier. They also expect LG H&H's operating profit to decline 3.49 percent to 357.6 billion won.



AmorePacific said it welcomes the government's decision to scrap pandemic restrictions and the company expects a sharp rebound in sales of its color makeup products after the lifting of restrictions.



"People did not wear makeup that much during the pandemic because they caused skin trouble when wearing face masks. However, we are seeing more women visiting our stores and buying our products to prepare for the post-pandemic era. We have definitely witnessed sales improvements for cosmetics goods recently," an AmorePacific official said.


Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's debauched 2015 wedding had 'dinner, dancing and drugs' scheduled on the itinerary, a court heard.

Depp testified on the stand Wednesday that there were a number of people partaking in drugs, specifically MDMA - also known as ecstasy or molly - at the former couple's lavish LA wedding in February 2015.

Prior to the wedding, Depp said a schedule was 'written out, printed out, and sent out,' so that guests knew the itinerary for the event. On tap was post-wedding 'dinner, dancing and drugs.'

When asked on Wednesday who was partaking in drugs at the wedding, Depp named 'Amber,' a 'couple of friends of mine,' a few other people, then added: 'All of her gang were all partaking in the MDMA.'

When Depp was asked which drugs he had taken that day, if any, he replied, 'To be honest with you, I don't know how much MDMA they had but for me, that was  for me to have taken MDMA would have been a waste of the drug, if you understand what I mean. It would have been essentially taking someone else's high, because it wouldn't have an effect on me.'

Heard sat and stared stonily ahead throughout, keenly aware that multiple camera were trained on her face, with many networks splitting their screens so viewers could keep an eye on any reactions to what Depp was saying.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are pictured in court Tuesday, where he told jurors how the former couple's 2015 wedding had a schedule of 'dinner, dancing and drugs'

Depp was asked again to answer and he responded that he had smoked marijuana.

'I smoked marijuana. And, uh  I dont remember drinking,' he said. 'I dont remember that I was drinking then. Im pretty positive at that point I wasnt partaking in alcohol.'

Depp continued with, 'my drug of choice is  was, is marijuana. That was fine for me. So dipping into a little tiny baggie of  licking your finger and dipping into a tiny, communal bag of MDMA, it was pointless for me.'

During the second day of Depp's testimony in Fairfax, Virginia, the actor also said that his daughter Lily-Rose Depp, had not attended his wedding to Heard in 2015.

'Lily-Rose did not come to the wedding,' he said. 'She and Ms. Heard were not on particularly great terms for several reasons.'

Depp and Amber Heard married in a private civil ceremony at their LA home on February 3, 2015, four years after they met as co-stars on the set of The Rum Diary.

Now, seven years later, Depp is testifying in a $50 million defamation case against Heard, stating she was the one who became violent when their relationship soured, hurling insults that at times escalated into a slap or a shove.

When asked Wednesday who was taking drugs at his wedding, Depp said 'Amber,' a 'couple of friends,' a few other people, then added: 'All of her gang were all partaking in the MDMA.'

After detailing their early romance during testimony on Tuesday, Depp returned to the witness stand in a Virginia court the next day and said Heard's behavior changed.

The couple had frequent arguments that included 'demeaning name calling' and 'bullying' by her, Depp said.

'It seemed like pure hatred for me,' Depp said. 'If I stayed to argue, eventually, I was sure it was going to escalate into violence, and oftentimes it did.'

Asked to describe the violence, Depp said Heard would 'strike out.'

'It could begin with a slap. It could begin with a shove. It could begin with throwing a TV remote at my head. It could be throwing a glass of wine in my face,' Depp said.

'She has a need for conflict. She has a need for violence,' Depp added. 'It erupts out of nowhere.'

Heard 'would tell me what a bad father I was, that I had no idea how to parent,' said Depp, who has two children from a previous relationship.

Depp said he would remove himself from the situation, sometimes locking himself in the bathroom, and never struck Heard. 'In all of these situations, my main goal was to retreat,' he said.

'The Pirates of the Caribbean' star, 58, is suing Heard, 35, for defamation after she accused him of abuse.

Depp has accused Heard, also an actor, of defaming him when she penned a December 2018 opinion piece in the Washington Post about being a survivor of domestic abuse. He filed a $50 million lawsuit against Heard in 2018.

Johnny Depp detailed the explosive fight he and Amber Heard had in March 2015 in Australia where the top of his finger was severed when Heard allegedly threw a bottle of vodka at him

Depp and Heard met on the set of the 2011 movie The Rum Diary, turning up on the red carpet together for its London premiere

The article never mentioned Depp by name, but Depp lawyer Benjamin Chew told jurors a week ago that it was clear Heard was referencing the Hollywood leading man.

Attorneys for Heard have argued that she told the truth and that her opinion was protected as free speech under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. In opening arguments, Heard's attorneys said Depp physically and sexually assaulted her while abusing drugs and alcohol.

A state court judge in Fairfax County, Virginia, is overseeing the trial, which is in its second week and is expected to last six weeks.

Less than two years ago, Depp lost a libel case against The Sun, a British tabloid that labeled him a 'wife beater.' A London High Court judge ruled he had repeatedly assaulted Heard and put her in fear for her life.

Depp's lawyers have said they filed the case in Fairfax County, a suburb of the U.S. capital, because the Washington Post is printed at a facility there. The Washington Post is not a defendant in the case.

The United States is a difficult forum for libel plaintiffs, especially public figures like Depp, who must prove by clear and convincing evidence that Heard knowingly made false claims.

Heard, known for roles in 'Aquaman' and 'Justice League,' has brought her own libel claim against Depp, saying he smeared her by calling her a liar.

Heard's counterclaim, seeking $100 million in damages, will be decided as part of the trial.
A driving test examiner who overdosed on Red Bull after drinking 'a couple' of large cans before his shift has been award 40,000 after a tribunal ruled he was unfairly sacked.

Alan Leslie ended up in hospital suffering from 'intense abdominal pains' after drinking so much of the energy drink he overdosed on caffeine.

The 62-year-old, a Falklands veteran and former police officer, was having trouble sleeping and was spooked by a near-miss on a roundabout so he began buying heaps of the caffeinated drink.

He told his bosses at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) that he was having a 'couple of large cans' before each shift and had 'plenty' of Red Bull stocked up.

But, after he finished a shift he had to go to hospital for 'overdosing on caffeine' and was not released until 3.30am the next day.

Driving test examiner Alan Leslie, 62, had to be treated at A&E after downing the energy drink over two days left him suffering 'intense abdominal pains' (file photo)

An employment tribunal said his Red Bull bingeing was 'not wise'.

The hearing was told Mr Leslie was in the Royal Navy for five years as a young man.

He served in the Falklands conflict and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result.

After that he served in Sussex Police for 25 years but he had to retire on ill health grounds due to his anxiety, depression and PTSD.

From 2007 to 2010 he was self-employed as an Approved Driving Instructor.

Then for the next five years he worked as a court usher at Lewes Crown Court in Lewes, East Sussex, where he received a commendation for 'tackling and detaining a dangerous prisoner who escaped from the dock'.

Finally he joined the DVSA as a driving examiner in Burgess Hill, East Sussex, in October 2015.

In November 2017 he rowed with bosses and was relocated to Hastings after he complained he was 'openly bullied' at a test centre, the tribunal heard.

He claimed two female colleagues 'humiliated' him by ridiculing a manoeuvre he did during a test.

His mental health worsened and he believed he was subjected to a 'prolonged and pernicious campaign of ostracism, a campaign which threatened his health and safety'.

Over the course of his employment, Mr Leslie had multiple periods of absence due to sickness as a result of his mental health.

In August 2018, he suffered anxiety after a performance review, leading to his Red Bull episode.

Mr Leslie was 'livid' he had not been recognised as having done a good job during this review, despite his statistics being 'extremely close to the average'.

A tribunal report said: 'His mental health was also badly affected by this exchange. He was having more trouble sleeping.

'He lost concentration on his way to work and reacted late for a roundabout.. It was a near-miss.

'He telephoned [line manager Nicola McLaren] to let her know that he was worried about being so tired.'

Ms McLaren suggested he go back to occupational health for an assessment.

Mr Leslie replied: 'My concern at the moment is the next two days. Places to stop are minimal. I'll buy plenty of Red Bull this evening and be sure to have a couple of large cans before I set out each day.'

The tribunal report continued: 'That did not prove a wise approach.

'After work, after only two more days of work, he had intense abdominal pains and had to go to A&E, which he left at 3.30 am.

The ex-police officer was having trouble sleeping and spooked by a near-miss on a roundabout so he began buying heaps of the caffeinated drink (file photo)

'They told him that it was down to an overdose of caffeine. The root of the problem, once again, was his determination to avoid taking any time off work and so put his job at risk.'

Mr Leslie's absences continued and bosses grew fed up particularly with his refusal to stop bringing up old grievances with the way he had been treated.

While off sick he completed a Wellbeing Action Plan, setting out the changes he wanted in rather emotive terms, stating: 'Being treated as a sentient and relevant human being.'

He was declared medically fit to work and told bosses he was eager to return, however he was sacked in May 2019, with bosses claiming he would not put the past behind him despite agreeing to do so.

Employment Judge Eoin Fowell ruled Mr Leslie was unfairly sacked and was discriminated due to his disability.

Judge Fowell said: 'The whole approach and reasoning justifying the dismissal were misguided, with its excessive focus on this issue of putting the past behind him.

'The focus by the agency on his moving on from previous events, and their concern that he will not let them go and will continue to argue and absorb management time, perhaps causing further absences, appear to amount to a decision to dismiss squarely as a result of these effects.'

Mr Leslie, who lost other claims of discrimination and harassment, was awarded 39,180.99 in compensation, including more than 14,000 for 'injury to feelings'.
An Afghan man has filmed his illegal immigration to the UK alongside a group of men doing peace signs on a packed dingy.

The video, which was shared on TikTok four days ago and captioned 'I am in UK', shows a man filming himself among dozens of young men while they are on board a dinghy.

As the camera turns, it appears to show approximately 30 men all wearing red life vests as the boat travels on the water.

The account has also posted two more videos since then, with one appearing to show an RNLI lifeboat arriving to rescue them.

The videos come as official figures showed more than 2,100 migrants have made it across the perilous English Channel in small boats so far this month.

The account has also posted two more videos since then, with one appearing to show an RNLI lifeboat arriving to rescue them

One of the videos, which was shared on TikTok four days ago and captioned 'I am in UK', shows a man filming himself among dozens of young men while they are on board a dinghy

The videos come as official figures showed more than 2,100 migrants have made it across the perilous English Channel in small boats so far this month

The Ministry of Defence today revealed that a total of 263 were intercepted on Tuesday in seven different incidents, taking the total so far in April to 2,143 in 58 small boats.

Strong weather conditions meant it was too rough to make the 21-mile crossing of the Dover Straits on Wednesday, although some boats are thought to have been picked up by French authorities.

The latest figures mean the total number of migrants to arrive so far this year is 6,693 in 204 boats.

Some 1,425 of these have made it across since the Royal Navy took over control of migrant operations in the Channel on April 14.

A total of 28,526 migrants crossed the Channel in 2021 - significantly higher than the 8,410 who arrived in 2020.

Members of the Border Force escorted migrants back to Dover after they were picked up in the English Channel Tuesday morning

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel Tuesday

Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration, Tom Pursglove MP, has said: 'The rise in dangerous Channel crossings is unacceptable.

'Not only are they an overt abuse of our immigration laws but they also impact on the UK taxpayer, risk lives and our ability to help refugees come to the UK via safe and legal routes.

'Rightly, the British public has had enough.

'Through our Nationality and Borders Bill, we're cracking down on people smugglers and fixing the broken system by making it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and introducing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for those who facilitate illegal entry into our country.'

It comes after hundreds of migrants were pictured arriving by boat to Kent on Tuesday.

The first migrants arrived in the early hours of the morning - with around 30 people reaching the Dover Harbour in a dinghy at around 4.30am.

A second dinghy carrying approximately 50 migrants - including several small children and babies - was intercepted by UK officials shortly before 9am.

A young child amongst a group of people thought to be migrants as they are brought in to Dover, Kent Tuesday

The Ministry of Defence today revealed that a total of 263 were intercepted on Tuesday in seven different incidents, taking the total so far in April to 2,143 in 58 small boats.

A record 28,395 migrants reached the UK illegally last year by taking small boats across the Channel, a 200 per cent increase on 2020's tally

Among them were at least three babies and a young child, who could be seen wrapped in warm coats and cradled by adults as they were brought to shore on board Border Force cutter Valiant.

Border Force vessel Typhoon escorted a third group to shore just after midday, while Navy ship HMS Tyne could be seen retrieving dinghies from the Channel around 2.30pm.

It comes after the Easter bank holiday weekend saw more than 500 migrants arrive in the UK - despite Navy vessels patrolling the waters.

According to official figures released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), 181 people were intercepted on Good Friday, while 255 reached British soil in seven boats on Saturday.

Easter Sunday saw 76 people arrive at Dover Harbour, and on Monday 88 people were escorted to shore by UK officials.

Theresa May and Tory backbenchers line up to savage Priti Patel's 120m scheme to send Channel migrants to Rwanda - as Home Secretary defends 'innovative' plan to break 'evil' people smuggling gangs

Former PM Theresa May questions whether the plan is legal or whether it will work

She suggests the 120m scheme will increase trafficking of women and children

But Home Secretary Priti Patel defends the 'innovative' plans in the Commons

She says action is needed to end the exploitation of migrants by smuggling gangs

ByDavid Wilcock, Deputy Political Editorand Greg Heffer, Political Correspondent For Mailonline

Former Prime Minister Theresa May today lambasted the Government's Rwanda migrant removal plans as she questioned whether the 120m scheme was legal.

The ex-premier, who before entering Downing Street was the longest-serving home secretary of modern times, led a House of Commons backlash against the policy.

Taking her successor Priti Patel to task, Mrs May told MPs: 'From what I have heard and seen so far of this policy, I do not support the removal to Rwanda policy on the grounds of legality, practical and efficacy.'

The former Tory leader also quizzed Ms Patel on whether only young men would be subject to removal from Britain to Rwanda.

She asked: 'I understand that those who will be removed will only be young men... but if it is the case that families will not be broken up... does she not believe, and where is her evidence, that this will not simply lead in an increase in the trafficking of women and children?'

In response, Ms Patel stressed the Rwanda plan 'is legal' but declined to comment on who or who wouldn't be eligible for removal from the UK.

She said Mrs May 'would know very well that it's that type of criteria that is used by the smuggling gangs to then effectively exploit various loopholes'.

Ex-PM Theresa May told MPs she did not support the Rwanda plan 'on the grounds of legality, practical and efficacy'

Home Secretary Priti Patel told MPs that 'innnovative' action was needed due to the profiteering of 'evil' people traffickers operating in the Channel

Mrs May's fellow former Cabinet minister, Andrew Mitchell, also questioned whether Ms Patel's plan would prove effective.

He said the Home Secretary deserved 'great personal credit' for seeking to tackle the migration crisis in the Channel.

But Mr Mitchell added: 'Will she accept that many of us have grave concerns that the policy she has announced simply will not work?'

The Home Secretary had earlier told MPs that 'innnovative' action was needed due to the profiteering of 'evil' people traffickers operating in the Channel.

'Access to the UK's asylum system should be based on need, not on the ability to pay people smugglers,' Ms Patel told the House of Commons in a statement.

'Change is needed because people are dying attempting to come to the UK on illegal and dangerous routes.'

Ms Patel dismissed claims that Home Office officials had failed to back her plans or ruled the scheme did not represent value for money.

She declared that ministers were required to take 'tough decisions in the interests of our country' and that the 'global migration crisis' required 'innovative and international solutions'.

The 120million, five-year programme to send thousands of illegal economic migrants who arrive in the UK to the east African nation was announced last week.

It has faced strong pushback from civil and religious leaders, and today Boris Johnson was castigated by a hardline Brexiteer today for using the EU split to justify it.

Unveiling the agreement with Kigali last week, Mr Johnson invoked the referendum pledge of 'taking back control' of the UK's borders, saying it was an 'innovative approach made possible by Brexit freedoms'.

But writing in the Times today, former Brexit minister David Davis said 'we are better than this', adding: 'The plan is fraught with practical problems, beset by moral dilemmas and hamstrung by extortionate costs.

'And outsourcing our international obligations are certainly not the freedoms that Brexit was about winning.'

He said that while it was 'laudable' to try to cut down on cross-Channel migrants, 'there is little evidence that outsourcing our obligations under the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees is going to break the people smugglers' business model'.

It came as the Church of England opposition to the plan grew with Priti Patel's local bishop joining the chorus of disapproval.

After church leaders including the Archbishops of Canterbury and York became embroiled in a row with ministers at the weekend, The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani said it was 'cruel and inhumane'.

Dr Francis-Dehqani, who arrived in the UK as a refugee from Iran in the 1970s, said: 'Those who find their way to this country, often through treacherous means, deserve to have their cases considered and processed here.'

Former Brexit minister David Davis attacked the 120m scheme to send those arriving illegally in Britain to the African nation, saying 'we are better than this'.

Writing in the Times today, Mr David, who has become a backbench critic of Mr Johnson, said: 'The plan is fraught with practical problems, beset by moral dilemmas and hamstrung by extortionate costs.

Unveiling the five-year agreement with Kigali last week, Mr Johnson invoked the referendum pledge of 'taking back control' of the UK's borders, saying it was an 'innovative approach made possible by Brexit freedoms'.

Migrants travelling to the UK on small boats will be put on jets and sent to Rwanda while their applications are processed. Pictured: A map detailing the plan proposed by the Prime Minister

Former immigration minister Brandon Lewis defended the Rwanda immigration plan as the 'humanitarian thing to do'.

The Northern Ireland Secretary told BBC Breakfast this morning: 'I've been immigration minister, this is a really difficult area.

'There are horrible scenes and stories of what these people smugglers put these people through.

'We've got to break this business model and doing something like this with Rwanda, which has such a strong track record, is right for the people of the UK, who can be rightly proud of our humanitarian support because this is a humanitarian thing to do.

'It is ensuring that we are deterring people from taking a treacherous as well as illegal journey to the UK.'

Asked about civil servants reportedly having raised objections to the scheme over its possible cost, Mr Lewis said: 'I do think it will work.'

Former archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams yesterday became the latest high-profile ecclesiastical leader to attack the 120million programme that would see economic migrants arriving in the Uk illegally sent to Africa.

He joined his successor and the incumbent Archbishop Justin Welby, and Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell in questioning the morality of the plan, labelling it 'sinful'.

However ministers have hit back at the church leaders, accusing them of throwing criticism without suggesting a viable alternative to halt the small boats carrying thousands of people across the Straits of Dover.

Dr Williams was today asked about the scheme in a Times Radio interview. 'Is the policy sinful? I think, in a word, yes,' he told the broadcaster.

'I think that without commenting on the motivation, or moral standing, of any individual involved, the policy itself seems to me to be not in accord with, with what I understand about God.'

Archbishop Justin yesterday used his Easter Sunday sermon to launch a scathing criticism of Home Secretary Priti Patel's deal, signed in Kigali last week.

On Sunday morning, the Archbishop told his Canterbury congregation that the UK has a duty as a 'Christian country' to not 'sub-contract our responsibilities' after anyone who arrived in Britain illegally since January 1 could be relocated to Rwanda under a new deal.

But it sparked a hardline response from Ms Patel and other ministers, who invited him to come up with with a better idea or stop carping from the sidelines. Ms Patel resurrected the row on Easter Monday, using an opinion piece in the Times to attack her critics.

Dr Williams was today asked about the scheme in a Times Radio interview. 'Is the policy sinful? I think, in a word, yes,' he told the broadcaster.

The Archbishop of Canterbury (pictured today) blasted the government's Rwanda plan for asylum seekers as the 'opposite of the nature of God'

Without naming the head of the Church of England in a joint article with Rwandan foreign minister Vincent Biruta, she wrote: 'We are taking bold and innovative steps and it's surprising that those institutions that criticise the plans fail to offer their own solutions.'

Minister Greg Hands was even more direct on a round of interviews today. Asked about Welby's intervention he told Sky News: ''I think what others, the critics of this plan, need to do is to show what their solution would be.'

The Government has said the 120million, five-year plan would help to break people-smuggling networks and stem the flow of migrants across the Channel, which has faced immediate and heavy criticism from politicians and charities.

It would see economic migrants who arrive in the Uk illegally handed a one-way ticket to Rwanda to start a new life there .

Mr Welby said the 'serious' ethical questions' over sending asylum seekers abroad cannot 'stand the judgment of god'.
Greyhound racing in Scotland is 'beyond reform' as some dogs are drugged with illegal substances such as cocaine, MSPs were told.

Campaigners from Scotland Against Greyhound Exploitation (Sage) asked the Scottish Parliament's Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee to call for a complete ban on the sport.

Scotland has just one regulated race track, the Shawfield Stadium in Rutherglen near Glasgow. There is also one unregulated track at Thornton in Kirkcaldy, Fife.

The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) reported an estimated 18,345 dogs are injured from racing in the UK, with more than 3,000 deaths from 2017 to 2020.

At Shawfield, 197 dogs were injured and 15 deaths were recorded in the same timeframe.

Greyhound racing in Scotland is 'beyond reform' as some dogs are drugged with cocaine, MSPs were told. File image

However, the group estimates the real death toll is significantly higher as Thornton is not required to record casualty rates.

Gill Docherty, speaking on behalf of Sage, hit out at the lack of regulation to protect the animals from injury, death and doping.

She said: 'The lack of regulation [at Thornton] means there is no vet present at any of the races and that would mean there's no administration of first aid or pain relief to dogs that are injured.

'There is no vet present to euthanise a dog should it suffer a catastrophic injury such as a broken spine or neck.'

Drug testing does occur at Shawfield  but in just under 2% of races, she said.

Those tests revealed 13 dogs tested positive for doping in the period from 2018 to 2019  with Class A drug cocaine found in five of the dogs.

Regulation does not work, Ms Docherty said, as when doping does occur it is often not revealed by the GBGB for several months and it goes unreported to police and the Scottish SPCA.

Campaigners from Scotland Against Greyhound Exploitation (Sage) are calling for a complete ban on the sport, and believe that regulation does not work. File image

She added: 'Fundamentally, we cannot ignore the inherent risks of greyhound racing itself. These risks are present whether the track is regulated or unregulated.

'They cannot be mitigated against with welfare measures or cleverly named initiatives.

'It is a fact that making six dogs race at speed in excess of 40mph counter clockwise round an oval track results in a high rate of collisions and injuries, with the first end being notorious for causing the most injuries.'

The animals often suffer 'deep psychological trauma', according to Jacqueline Brown, secretary at Sage.

Scottish Greens MSP, Mark Ruskell, backed the petition, which received 130,159 signatures.

The Animal Welfare Act 2006, which places a duty of care on animal owners to protect them from suffering, does not go far enough to prevent the harm caused to greyhounds, he said.

'I genuinely think this is an industry that is really beyond reform,' he said.

'We're talking about dogs going around a track at 40mph, the inherent risks in terms of collision between dogs, between the dogs and the track infrastructure.

'It raises not just serious welfare questions about how we treat and deal with the injuries that arise from greyhound racing but also major ethical considerations about why we put dogs in that situation in the first place, knowing full well they're going to have a major risk of injury or death.'

Scottish Greens MSP, Mark Ruskell said the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which places a duty of care on animal owners to protect them from suffering, does not go far enough to prevent the harm caused to greyhounds. File image

The Scottish SPCA recently came out in favour of a ban on greyhound racing.

In a letter to the committee, Mark Flynn, the body's chief superintendent, said Scotland needs to 'lead the way' in imposing a ban.

The committee will now write to relevant stakeholders, including the Animal Welfare Commission, and to the Scottish Government to seek clarity on regulation enforcement before taking the petition forward.

Mark Bird, chief executive of GBGB, said welfare was 'paramount' in licensed greyhound racing.

He added: 'What is often overlooked by those who would like to see racing banned is that the protection racing greyhound receives goes far beyond what is afforded to domestic dogs in the UK.

'As regulator, we closely monitor the welfare of all GBGB registered greyhounds and have a zero-tolerance approach to any mistreatment of greyhounds within our sport.

'Each greyhound racing at one of our tracks is seen by a vet both before and after racing and their trainers' kennels are regularly inspected by vets, our stipendiary stewards and independent auditors to ensure they comply with out high welfare standards.'

The GBGB also have strict anti-doping policies and say all instances are reported to the appropriate authorities and could also result in a lifetime ban for trainers.
A reporter has told Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot that she has a cheek to talk of running for re-election given soaring crime in the Windy City.

William J. Kelly took Lightfoot to task during a question and answer session Wednesday, saying: 'Real Chicagoans are asking me, how can you possibly even consider running for re-election for mayor of the city of the Chicago after all the harm you've caused?'

Lightfoot kept her cool but was clearly rattled by Kelly's ambush, and responded: 'I disagree with you fundamentally and I don't think I need to address and dignify your comments one second further,' before moving on.

Prior to the dig, Kelly had reeled-off examples of soaring crime in the city, telling her: 'Every time you have a press conference you say crime is down, the economy is booming,' the reporter begins his question before he is disrupted by Lightfoot, who says: 'Well that not true, but get your question sir'

On Tuesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot (pictured) got into a testy exchange with reporter William J Kelly when he called her out for saying that things are going well in the city

'Across the street we had a police officer on duty, the victim of a hit and run, we have Michigan Avenue, the Magnificent Mile, now referred to as the mile of fear and the Water Tower Place has thrown the keys back to the lender, they say they don't want to be in Chicago anymore,' he tells the mayor.

The contentious exchange comes as Chicago has experienced a slight decrease in the amount of homicides this year compared to last, despite other crimes are on the rise, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.

Shootings and homicides are down in the city so far this year.

There were 508 shootings as of the end of March this year, compared to 582 shootings during the same time period this time last year.

There have been 128 homicides so far this year - a seven percent decline over the same time period last year.

Chicago has experienced a slight decrease in the amount of homicides this year compared to last, despite other crimes are on the rise

The West Side and South Side have seen a 24 percent decrease in the number of people shot, or 110 fewer than last year, accounting for nearly all of this year's decrease in shootings.

Lightfoot has previously criticism over her vow to defund the police, then refund it as crime soared, and has also clashed with cops over her imposition of a COVID vaccine mandate on the crime-ridden city's public workers.

While the city of Gary, once regarded as the murder capital of the United States in the 1990s, saw a 15% fall in violent crime between 2019 and 2020, according to an Axios report.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is getting regular briefings on the state of Russia's nuclear weapons  following saber rattling by Moscow and a top US intelligence warning about how a 'desperate' Russia might act in Ukraine.

Adm. Charles Richard, head of the US Strategic Command, is providing the briefings two or three times a week, CNN reported.

The US hasn't identified any moves Moscow is making to use nuclear weapons, although analysts have concluded Russia may reach into its arsenal of tactical or battlefield nuclear weapons amid a series of setbacks with its invasion of Ukraine.

The officials said Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley as well as the White House would be briefed quickly if there were sudden developments.

Last year it was revealed that Milley called a meeting of top staff to review U.S. nuclear process in the final weeks before Trump left office amid the Jan. 6th Capitol riot and potential national security threats.

Russia continues to lob scores of missiles at targets across Ukraine, taking out apartment buildings, schools and hospitals. CIA DIrector William Burns warned in a speech this month that, 'Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they've faced so far militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons.'

Navy Adm. Charles Richard, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, is providing regular briefings to Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin on Russia's nuclear arsenal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned of the potential nuclear threat from Russia.

'We shouldn't wait for the moment when Russia decides to use nuclear weapons,' he told Ukrainian news media this week. 'We must prepare for that.'

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby on Tuesday referenced Russia's early comments about nuclear weapons. Russia said after the start of the Feb. 24 invasion it had placed nuclear forces on high alert.

CIA Director William Burns warned that a 'desperate' Putin might turn to tactical nuclear weapons

Russia responded with furious missile attacks after the sinking of the Moskva, flagship of the Black Sea fleet

Russian soldiers wear chemical protection suits as they stand next to a military fueler on the base of a prime mover of Russian Topol intercontinental ballistic missile during a training session at the Serpukhov's military missile forces research institute some 100km outside Moscow on April 6, 2010. The US has not seen indications Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons

This grab made from a handout video footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry on April 20, 2022 shows the launching of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile at Plesetsk testing field, Russia

'We took note of what Mr. Putin said in the early days of this invasion. I think it's also important to add that there hasn't been more of that rhetoric following that initial salvo in the early days,' he said. 'But yes, look, in light of what's going on in Ukraine, and certainly in light of the early rhetoric, we are actively monitoring every single day, and even today, and even today, the secretary remains comfortable that we have an appropriate strategic deterrent posture in place, and there's no need to make any changes to it.'

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov provided potential assurances in comments to PBS in late March, when he cited Russian nuclear doctrine. 'But any outcome of the operation (in Ukraine), of course is not a reason for usage of a nuclear weapon,' he said. 'We have a security concept that very clearly states that only when there is a threat for existence of the state, in our country, we can use and we will actually use nuclear weapons to eliminate the threat for the existence of our country.'

Despite its battlefield successes defending its country, there is little chance Ukraine presents a threat to Russia itself  although Kremlin rhetoric during the buildup to the invasion described the invasion as an effort to 'denazify' Ukraine  raising the possibility Russia could try to spin the country as an existential threat.
Aged 10, Vanda Obiedkova survived Hitler's Nazis, who were invading Ukraine, by hiding in a basement in Mariupol, though her mother was taken away and executed.

Exactly 81 years later, she died in a basement in the same city, once again hiding from an invading force - Vladimir Putin's Russian army.

As she lay dying, in the freezing cold, and pleading for water, the Holocaust survivor asked her daughter: 'Why is this happening?'

Reports say that she was forced to live underground for the last two weeks of her life, as she was 'ill', 'emaciated' and unable to stand up.

Vanda died frightened and confused from the Russian onslaught in the city she loved.

Her family had to risk their lives to bury her, due to the relentless Russian bombing.

A 91-year-old Holocaust survivor, Vanda Obiedkova, died in Mariupol basement as Russian shelled the city, 80 years after evading Nazis by hiding in the same city

Vanda Obiedkova pictured with both parents, her mother Maria (Mindel), left, was killed in 1941 by the Nazis when Vanda was 10 years old

The southern port city of Mariupol in Ukraine (pictured), has been heavily shelled by the invading Russian forces

'Mama didn't deserve such a death,' said Obiedkova's crying daughter, Larissa, through tears, soon after escaping to a safe location.

She died on April 4, but only now has her shocking story emerged.

Larissa had 'watched helplessly as her mother's life ebbed away, remaining at her side until the last moment,' reported Chabad.org.

'After her mother passed away, Larissa and her husband risked their lives to bury Obiedkova, amid non-stop shelling, in a public park less than a kilometre from the Azov Sea.'

Vanda was born in the city on December 8 1930, and was aged ten when the Nazis stormed the city.

The Jews were rounded up and when her mother was taken away, Vanda evaded the SS by hiding in the basement.

'She couldn't scream; that's what saved her,' says Larissa.

In October 1941, the Germans executed between 9,000 and 16,000 Jews in ditches on the outskirts of Mariupol - including her mother and the girl's entire maternal family.

Vanda was later detained but family friends insisted she was Greek, saving her life.

'Her father, who was not Jewish, then managed to get her checked into a hospital, where she remained until Mariupol was liberated in 1943.'

Obiedkova married in 1954.

At the time Mariupol was known by its Soviet name of Zhdanov.

Vanda Obiedkova during her 1998 interview with the USC Shoah Foundation in which she shared her memories of surviving the Holocaust

Rabbi Mendel Cohen (pictured), Mariupol's lone rabbi, said the whole of Mariupol has been 'turned into a cemetery'

'Mama loved Mariupol, she never wanted to leave,' said her daughter.

In 1998, she recorded her memories of surviving the Holocaust with the USC Shoah Foundation in 1998.

She received a letter from letter from Steven Spielberg to Vanda, saying:

'Dear Mrs Obiedkova,

'By sharing your memories of surviving years of Holocaust, you gave generations a possibility to feel your personal link to history.

'Your interview will be thoroughly preserved as the important part in the most complete library of recollections, memories ever gathered.

'In the distant future people will be able to see your faces, listen to your voices, and learn about your destinies.

'They will be able to listen, and learn, and always remember.

'With deep respect,

'Steven Spielberg'

Vanda 'lived through unimaginable horrors,' said Mendel Cohen, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Mariupol and the Ukrainian port city's lone rabbi.

'She was a kind, joyous woman, a special person who will forever remain in our hearts.

'The whole Mariupol has turned into a cemetery.'
Boris Johnson has boarded a plane for India as he attempts to take a 48-hour break from the Partygate storm still raging in Westminster.

The Prime Minister this afternoon clambered aboard his flight to Gujarat, where he will begin his two-day visit in India.

The trip will see Mr Johnson skip a House of Commons vote tomorrow on whether he should be referred to a parliamentary committee for a fresh Partygate investigation.

MPs will be asked to decide whether the PM should be subject to a probe into allegations he intentionally misled the Commons with his past denials of Covid rule-breaking in Downing Street.

It follows the PM's police fine over his 56th birthday bash in Number 10 in June 2020, which the Metropolitan Police found to be a breach of Coronavirus regulations.

Ahead of his trip to India, Mr Johnson promised to use the visit to continue his push for countries to cut their economic ties - including imports of oil and gas - with Russia.

The PM has been a key player in Western efforts to starve Vladimir Putin of cash to fund his brutal invasion of Ukraine.

Concerns have been expressed that India's failure to wholeheartedly condemn Russia for the conflict in Ukraine are due to the country's economic, diplomatic and military links with Moscow.

But Mr Johnson will not seek to 'lecture' India on its relationship with Mr Putin's regime during his visit, Downing Street has said.

The Prime Minister this afternoon clambered aboard a flight to Gujarat from Stansted Airport. The trip will see Boris Johnson skip a House of Commons vote tomorrow on whether he should be referred to a parliamentary committee for a fresh Partygate investigation

Ahead of his trip to India, the PM promised to use the visit to continue his push for countries to cut their economic ties - including imports of oil and gas - with Russia

Mr Johnson will not seek to 'lecture' India on its relationship with Vladimir Putin's regime during his visit, Downing Street has said

The PM is due to meet with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on Friday for talks.

The pair's meeting will also see the announcement of new collaborations on defence and green energy between the UK and India.

Mr Johnson's official spokesman said: 'We will be looking to secure new partnerships on trade, technology and defence on the visit that will include significant new investment on jobs announcements and science partnership.

'In Delhi we'll be announcing a new collaboration on defence and green energy.'

The PM's plans to visit India have twice previously been cancelled.

This was first over the UK's winter wave of Covid infections and then in April last year in response to a new Coronavirus variant hitting India.

This week's trip is not directly linked to the Ukraine crisis, but Mr Johnson's spokesman said it 'will of course be a topic of discussion'.

Narendra Modi met with Mr Putin in December last year. Concerns have been expressed that India's failure to wholeheartedly condemn Russia for the conflict in Ukraine are due to the country's economic, diplomatic and military links with Moscow

Downing Street expressed hope that a post-Brexit free trade deal between Britain and India could be reached this year - but there was an admission it could take longer.

The PM's spokesman said: 'We don't want to sacrifice quality for speed and our ambition is to reach it by the end of the year.

'But we recognise negotiations can take longer if you're seeking to secure the best possible deal for both sides.'

The spokesman said the deal needs to be 'fair' and 'reciprocal' while being consistent with Britain's new post-Brexit points-based immigration system.

Asked if he was ruling out reducing visa fees for those in India or a working holiday agreement for its young people, the spokesman said: 'I'm conscious that I can't get too much into the detail of ongoing negotiations.

'The point I'm trying to make is immigration is not routinely a formal part of trade talks and our broad position on this is that any agreement will have to be consistent with a points-based immigration system.'
A Pennsylvania man, who allegedly raped four-year-old twins, spit on reporters as he was booked into jail after being captured in Yonkers.

Isaiah Metz, 22, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was taken into custody by a fugitive task force in Yonkers, a New York City suburb, on Tuesday around 11 p.m. He escaped arrest earlier that day at Antonio Olivieri homeless shelter in Midtown Manhattan in the early morning hours. He allegedly punched and bit two officers when they tried to arrest him around 4.30am.

Authorities reportedly subdued him with a stun gun late Tuesday, sources told the New York Post, and he was taken to a hospital before being transferred to the Midtown South Precinct, where he was charged with assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, and criminal trespassing.

The 22-year-old also has 115 charges pending against him in York County, Pennsylvania, including three counts of raping a minor and 99 counts of sexual abuse involving pictures and videos. He faces up to a 1,000 years in prison if convicted on all 115 counts, according to Local 12 News.

On Wednesday, the alleged sex offender was escorted out of the Midtown precinct by police wearing nothing but red and black pajamas bottoms, a black camouflaged zip-up jacket, and black socks, but no shoes.

The dyed-red haired young man smiled and made funny faces, even appearing to blow a kiss at the cameras as he was escorted toward a waiting police car. As he was walked into Central Booking in downtown Manhattan, he spit on reporters.

He later appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court wearing the same outfit - though without the grin he had flashed reporters earlier in the day.

Isaiah Metz, 22, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, appeared in court Wednesday after being accused of raping four-year-old twins

Isaiah Metz, 22, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was taken into custody by a fugitive task force in Yonkers, a New York City suburb, on Tuesday around 11pm after escaping arrest at Antonio Olivieri homeless shelter in Midtown Manhattan

He spit at reporters as he walked into the booking center in downtown Manhattan

He has 115 sex-related charges pending in Pennsylvania (pictured: PA mugshot)

The NYPD received a tip that Metz was staying at the Antonio Olivieri homeless shelter - located on W 30th Street near Eighth Avenue in Midtown, Manhattan on Tuesday morning.

An officer and a state trooper arrived at the shelter around 4.30am on Tuesday with a warrant when a fight broke out and Metz bit a trooper's arm and punched another officer before managing to get away.

Both officers were transported to local hospitals to be treated for their injuries and have since been released and reportedly assisted in his arrest late Tuesday, according to the New York Daily News.

Metz reportedly took off running uptown and allegedly went into a subway station, according to Pix 11. Police dogs managed to track his scent to W 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue, according to the New York Daily News.

The alleged criminal blew kisses as he walked out the Midtown South Precinct on Wednesday

Metz was nothing but smiles he left the precinct to be booked into jail

Metz has been accused of raping four-year-old twins he lived with after being adopted into a foster family, the New York Post reported.

He was reportedly watching one of the girls on July 24, 2021, while the other sister went to a doctor's appointment, according to an affidavit, viewed by Penn Live.

The family reported the daughter was more emotional when they returned home and allegedly told them during bath time that her vagina hurt, court documents said.

He was caught wearing black and red pajama bottoms, a camouflaged zip-up, socks, and no shoes

The smiling Pennsylvanian reportedly fled a Manhattan homeless shelter around 4.30am on Tuesday in his pajamas after he allegedly bit and punched officers

Metz didn't seem bother by the chains on his wrists and ankles as an officer held tightly to his arm as he walked into the booking center

Police reportedly collected DNA samples from her underwear, as well as the recliner the assault happened on. Investigators were not able to rule out that the DNA belonged to Metz, Penn Live reported.

It was later discovered by the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children that Metz had posted 42 photos and eight videos of himself sexually abusing the girls, all of which were found on his phone in February, the affidavit said.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Newberry Township Police Department for comment.
South Carolina's highest court issued a temporary stay on Wednesday blocking the state from carrying out what was set to be its first-ever firing squad execution.

The order by the state Supreme Court puts on hold the planned April 29 execution of Richard Bernard Moore, 57, who was sentenced to death for the 1999 killing of convenience store clerk James Mahoney in Spartanburg.

Attorneys for Moore, one of 35 men on the state's death row, had sought a stay, citing pending litigation in another court challenging the constitutionality of South Carolina's execution methods, which also include the electric chair.

Moore's lawyers also wanted time to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether Moore's sentence was proportionate to his crime.

Last month, the state had announced it had completed renovations at the Capital Punishment Facility at Broad River Correctional Institution, in Columbia, to carry out death by firing squads.

The court said in issuing the temporary stay that it would release a more detailed order later.

The South Carolina Supreme Court issued a stay on the execution of death row inmate Richard Bernard Moore, 57 (above), who requested to die by firing squad

The state's death chamber at the Capital Punishment Facility at Broad River Correctional Institution, in Columbia, including the electric chair (right) and a firing squad chair (left)

Moore wrote a statement, calling the two methods 'unconstitutional.' He was not given the option of lethal injection

SOUTH CAROLINA'S DEATH BY FIRING SQUAD PROTOCOL Three firing squad members will be behind the wall, with rifles facing the inmate through the opening. The rifles and open portal will not be visible from the witness room. All three rifles will be loaded with live ammunition. The witnesses will see the right-side profile of the inmate. The inmate will not face the witness room directly. The electric chair faces the witnesses directly. The inmate will wear a prison-issued uniform and be escorted into the chamber. The inmate will be given the opportunity to make a last statement. The inmate will be strapped into the chair, and a hood will be placed over his head. A small aim point will be placed over his heart by a member of the execution team. After the warden reads the execution order, the team will fire. After the shots, a doctor will examine the inmate. After the inmate is declared dead, the curtain will be drawn and witnesses escorted out. Advertisement

The last execution by firing squad in the U.S. was in 2010. The state of Utah carried out all three such executions in the nation since 1976, according to the Washington-based nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.

The most recent was in 2010, when Ronnie Lee Gardner faced a five-person squad.

South Carolinas last execution was in 2011. State officials have attributed a decade-long hiatus in executions to an inability to secure lethal injection drugs after the states last batch expired in 2013.

Efforts to contact manufacturers and compounding pharmacies have proved unfruitful, Corrections Department officials have repeatedly said.

A 2021 law intended to solve that problem made the electric chair the default execution method instead of lethal injection, and also codified the firing squad as an alternative option for condemned inmates.

Moore's execution date was set after corrections officials disclosed last month that they had completed renovations on the state's death chamber in Columbia to accommodate the firing squad and also developed new execution protocols.

Though Moore elected execution by firing squad earlier this month, he maintained in a written statement that he was forced to make a decision by a deadline set by state law and still found both options unconstitutional.

A state judge has agreed to examine a legal challenge brought by Moore and three other death row inmates who have mostly exhausted their appeals.

Their lawyers argue that both electrocution and the firing squad are 'barbaric' methods of killing. The prisoners' attorneys also want the judge to closely examine prisons officials' claims that they cant get hold of lethal injection drugs, citing executions by that method carried out by other states and the federal government in recent years.

Moore is also separately asking a federal judge to consider whether the firing squad and the electric chair are cruel and unusual.

South Carolina is one of eight states that still use the electric chair and one of four - including Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah - to allow a firing squad, per the Death Penalty Information Center.

Moore has spent more than two decades on death row after he was convicted in 2001 in the fatal shooting of convenience store clerk James Mahoney.

Prosecutors said at his trial that he entered Nikkis Speedy Mart in Spartanburg looking for money to support his cocaine habit.

He then got into a dispute with Mahoney, who drew a pistol that Moore wrestled away from him. Mahoney pulled a second gun, and a gunfight ensued, with Mahoney shooting Moore in the arm and Moore shooting Mahoney in the chest.

Moore's lawyers have said Moore couldn't have intended to kill someone when he entered the store because he didnt bring a gun with him.

Death row inmates Brad Sigmon (left) and Freddie Owens, both convicted murderers, had asked for death by lethal injection last year and said death by the electric chair was 'cruel and unusual.' The men will now have a choice to die by a firing squad

Fellow South Carolina death row inmates Brad Sigmon and Freddie Owens, both convicted murderers, are expected to be the next inmates to decide whether they will die by firing squad or the electric chair.

The South Carolina Department of Corrections said Sigmon, 64, will have his execution set for May 13.

Sigmon and Owens' executions were scheduled less than a month after the passage of the 2021 law establishing the electric chair as South Carolina's default execution method.

Sigmon was sentenced to death in 2002 for the murder of David and Gladys Larke in 2001.

Owens was sentenced to death in 1999 for the murders of Irene Graves in 1997 and for killing fellow inmate Christopher Lee.

Attorneys for the two men argued in legal filings that death by electrocution is cruel and unusual, saying the new law moves the state toward less humane execution methods.

They have also said the men have the right to die by lethal injection - the method both of them chose - and that the state hasn't exhausted all methods to procure lethal injection drugs.

Lawyers for the state have maintained that prisons officials are simply carrying out the law, and that the U.S. Supreme Court has never found electrocution to be unconstitutional.

The last person executed in South Carolina was Jeffrey Motts, who was on death row for strangling a cellmate while serving a life sentence for another murder.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) via video link on Thursday and deliver a keynote speech, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Wednesday.




POSCO Gwangyang steel plant. Korea Times file
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has launched a social media campaign to drum up global support for increased arms shipments to Ukraine as Russia begins its assault on the Donbas.

Zelensky's official Twitter account today posted a tweet imploring people worldwide to demand their governments send heavy weapons to Ukraine - and encourage their friends to do the same.

The campaign aims to harness the trending hashtag #ArmUkraineNow, and was accompanied by a short video showing dozens of people holding signs bearing the slogan, along with Ukrainian flags and facepaint.

'Join millions of voices in a global social media campaign: #ArmUkraineNow,' the President's tweet read.

'1. Post a picture with a sign saying #ArmUkraineNow. 2. Call on your government to provide heavy weapons to Ukraine 3. Tag 3 friends and ask them to do the same.

'Stand with the Ukrainian people.'

Zelensky's renewed call for heavy weapons support comes as Russia launched a fresh military offensive in the Donbas region.

After withdrawing troops from areas around Kyiv at the start of the month, the bulk of Russia's military is now being redeployed to the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions for a targeted assault designed to seize control of large swathes of territory in Ukraine's east.

'Join millions of voices in a global social media campaign: #ArmUkraineNow,' the President's tweet read. '1. Post a picture with a sign saying #ArmUkraineNow. 2. Call on your government to provide heavy weapons to Ukraine 3. Tag 3 friends and ask them to do the same. Stand with the Ukrainian people.'

The campaign aims to harness the trending hashtag #ArmUkraineNow, and was accompanied by a short video showing dozens of people holding signs bearing the slogan, along with Ukrainian flags and facepaint

'1. Post a picture with a sign saying #ArmUkraineNow. 2. Call on your government to provide heavy weapons to Ukraine 3. Tag 3 friends and ask them to do the same,' Zelensky's tweet read

Zelensky's renewed call for heavy weapons support comes as Russia launched a fresh military offensive in the Donbas region

Russia on Monday launched a synchronised salvo of air and missile strikes against several eastern towns and cities in eastern Ukraine, with powerful explosions rocking urban centres in Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia.

'We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas, which they have been preparing for a long time. A large part of the Russian army is now dedicated to this offensive,' Zelensky said in response.

Russia today continued to pressure key targets in the east, and tightened the noose around Mariupol, where the decimated city's last remaining Ukrainian fighters are sheltering in the Azovstal steel works along with more than 1,000 civilians.

Russia's military also announced the first successful test launch of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sarmat.

President Vladimir Putin boasted it can overcome any missile defense system and make those who threaten Russia 'think twice', while the head of the Russian state aerospace agency called the launch out of northern Russia 'a present to NATO.'

But Russia's targeted attacks in the Donbas have prompted European and Western powers to offer further aid to the Ukrainian defenders by supplying yet more weaponry.

In this image provided by the European Council, European Council President Charles Michel, center, as he is given a tour of the region of Borodyanka, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Dario Pignatelli/European Council via AP)

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed that the U.S. will begin training Ukrainian troops in how to use howitzer artillery in the coming days

US President Joe Biden last week announced another $800 million in military aid to Ukraine, sending for the first time heavy artillery systems, while Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed this week the United States military will start training Ukrainians on using howitzer artillery.

Kirby said the training would happen outside of Ukraine with military personnel who will then return to the country and in turn train their compatriots.

'There is a plan now that we are beginning to execute and we think that that training can happen in the next several days,' Kirby said, adding that the latest aid package included 18 howitzers and 40,000 artillery rounds.

'Artillery is a specific item that the Ukrainians asked for, because of the fighting that they expect is going to occur in the Donbas,' he said.

The U.S. is sending 18 howitzers to Ukraine in its latest aid package. British troops are seen here using 55mm self-propelled howitzers in Saudi Arabia in 1991

A man explores destroyed a tank in Ivanivka village, Chernihiv region, Ukraine, 20 April 2022

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday declared the UK would also be sending heavy weapons to Ukraine in response to Zelensky's calls for artillery for deployment in the Donbas.

'They need support with more artillery, that is what we will be giving them,' Johnson told Parliament yesterday, while in Berlin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany would provide finance to Ukraine which it could use to buy anti-tank weapons and ammunition from German arms manufacturers.

Scholz's claim came amid criticism that Germany had delayed sending arms to Ukraine and even blocked other countries from sending German-supplied arms from their own reserves earlier in the war, while still purchasing huge quantities of Russian oil and gas.

Elsewhere, the Czech Republic said it would launch a engineering and repair campaign to help restore Ukrainian tanks and armoured vehicles damaged in combat for redeployment to the front lines.
Surveillance footage shows the gruesome moment a security guard was shot in the back of the head at close range before being robbed.

Anthony Frazier, 51, was shot and killed outside an American Seafood and Wings, where he worked as a security guard, on Cleveland Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday around 7pm by an unidentified man wearing black jeans and a black t-shirt.

Surveillance video released by police shows Frazier exiting the SUV, looking behind him as his attacker rounds the corner and another man sits on the curb smoking. Seemingly unaware of the upcoming attack, Frazier calmly gets out of his car and lights his own cigarette.

His attacker reportedly shot him in the back of his head, which is not shown in the edited surveillance footage, before walking away.

Anthony Frazier, 51, (pictured getting out of the car) was shot and killed outside an American Seafood and Wings - where he was a security guard - in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday

An unidentified attacker (pictured behind Frazier) shot him in the back of the head and appears to steal his service weapon and another unknown item

A bystander video, posted to Twitter, shows the security guard lying on the ground with blood streaming from his head

He was shot outside American Wings and Seafood on Cleveland Avenue

Seconds later, the attacker turns back around and can be seen taking what appears to be Frazier's service weapon, shoving it into the waistband of his jeans.

He appears to take something else, but it is unclear what the object is, before he calmly walks back past the witness, who police are also looking for.

The witness - an older man wearing a gray jacket, jeans, and a hat - walks by Frazier and shakes his head without stopping.

Shortly after, three others - two men and one woman - round the corner. One of the group members, who is wearing a black shirt with a design on the back, appears to take something off Frazier's body, but it is unclear what it is.

The other man, wearing a Pizza Hut shirt, watches as the woman stands back and observes.

It is unclear if the three have any relation to the shooter.

The suspect was last seen wearing black jeans and t-shirt and appears to be wearing a lot of necklaces and a backpack

He stole from Frazier as a witness (upper right) sat on the sidewalk, smoking a cigarette

Emergency services and police reportedly arrived moments after the trio left the scene. The victim was declared dead on the sidewalk, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

Restaurant customers were surprised to learn of the killing. Regular Kam Kae told Channel 2 News: '[He's] so attentive, he's always watched the door. Why would somebody do that to him?'

Kae said Frazier used to sit in the 'back booth every single day' and 'didn't bother nobody.' She also said the owners 'hired security just their safety, as well as, the consumers' safety.'

'He was a good guy,' she said. 'I can't even put together why they would do that to him, that doesn't even make sense.'

Atlanta has suffered more than 50 homicides this year, with 13 homicides happening in the last month. A total of 170 robberies have also taken place and more than 6,000 crimes happening in total, according to the Atlanta Police Department.

Police are also looking for four people, including the witness (left), who saw the body. Another man (right) also appeared to have taken something from Frazier, but it is unclear what it was

The other two did not take anything from Frazier's body. One witness, wearing a Pizza Hut shirt, (left) appeared shocked after seeing the body, and the woman (right) stayed a few feet away

Councilman Antonio Lewis, who stopped by the scene on Monday after hearing about it, is now suggesting lockboxes as a way to curb gun-related crimes.

'We have to find a way to balance it out. You cant talk about crime and talk about dangers and violent crime, while making it easier access to get these guns,' he told Channel 2 News.

The suspect is still at large, as of Wednesday afternoon, and the Atlanta Police Department is offering a $2,000 reward for help.
The House committee investigating the January 6th insurrection is talking about rewriting the 1807 Insurrection Act, which gives president wide authority to deploy the military within the United States to respond to a rebellion.

The discussions are preliminary, The New York Times reported, as some see a doomsday type scenario where a future rogue president may try to use the military to stroke an insurrection but others worry about removing the power of a president to quickly deploy armed troops, as presidents did in the Civil War and civil rights eras.

Donald Trump never invoked the law as president. But he threatened to use it against protesters in Lafayette Square who were objecting to the police killing of George Floyd.

Trump adviser Stephen Miller also suggested invoking it for use at the southern border but then Defense Secretary Mark Esper shot that idea down.

The Insurrection Act of 1807 allows the President to deploy U.S. military and federalized National Guard troops against an insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination or conspiracy which results in the deprivation of constitutionally secured rights, and where the state is unable, fails, or refuses to protect said rights.

The House committee investigating the January 6th insurrection is talking about rewriting the 1807 Insurrection Act - then President Donald Trump threatened to use it againt protesters in Lafayette Park in June 2020

Trump ultimately didn't invoke the act but the park was cleared of protesters by tear gas so the then-president could walk across it; they were protesting the police killing of George Floyd

It dates to the early 19th century, when President Thomas Jefferson signed it amid concerns that Aaron Burr, his former vice president, was plotting to raise an army.

It was first used in 1861 against the Confederacy.

It was famously invoked by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1957 to quell white resistance in Little Rock, Arkansas, to the desegregation of the high school by the Little Rock Nine.

The act has only been invoked twice in the past 40 years - to quiet unrest after Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and during the Los Angeles riots in 1992.

After Joe Biden was declared the victor in the 2020 presidential election, some Trump supporters suggested using the military to declare martial law and seize voting machines.

In December 2020, Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers militia group, wrote an open letter to Trump where he encouraged him to 'use the Insurrection Act to 'stop the steal,' begin seizing voting data and order a new election.

'Clearly, an unlawful combination and conspiracy in multiple states (indeed, in every state) has acted to deprive the people of the fundamental right to vote for their representatives in a clear, fair election,' Rhodes wrote, adding, 'You, and you alone, are fully authorized by the Insurrection Act to determine that such a situation exists and to use the U.S. military and militia to rectify that situation.'

An executive order was drafted, complete with a dotted line ready for Trump's signature.

The order would have directed the secretary of defense to 'seize, collect, retain and analyze all machines, equipment, electronically stored information, and material records required for retention' under a law that relates to preserving election records.

January 6th Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson confirmed in January the panel had seen the draft order.

'If you are using the military to potentially seize voting machines ... the public needs to know,' he told CBS' Face the Nation.

Trump had directed Rudy Giuliani, who was his personal attorney, to call the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to determine whether it could legally take control of voting machines in key swing states.

Trump also had asked Attorney General Bill Barr whether the Justice Department could take the voting machines. Barr told him no.

Trump continues to falsely state he lost the November 2020 election due to widespread fraud despite multiple court losses and audits confirming Biden's victory.

Trump also considered using the act in the aftermath of the 2020 election to seize voting machines - above Trump supporters clashed with police on January 6th

President Donald Trump holds up a Bible outside of St John's Episcopal church across Lafayette Park in June 2020 after the park was cleared of protesters, who were objecting to the killing of George Floyd

Committee members says the act warrants a review.

'There are many of us who are of the view that the Insurrection Act, which the former president threatened to invoke multiple times throughout 2020, bears a review,' said Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, a member of the January 6th committee, told the Times.

Additionally, in June 2020, aides drafted an order to invoke the Insurrection Act in case Trump wanted to deploy active-duty troops in Washington D.C. to quell the protests that followed the killing of George Floyd, the black man in Minnesota murdered by a white police officer.

Trump as infuriated by the demonstrations, a huge one which was taking place in Lafayette Square across from the White House.

He told Barr, Esper, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley that he wanted thousands of active-duty troops on the streets of the nation's capital.

The three men talked him out of the plan. But other aides drafted the order in case the situation worsened or if Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser would not impose a city-wide curfew, which she ultimately did.

United States Park Police and other federal officers cleared the Square so Trump could walk across it and pose at St. John's Church with a bible. Authorities used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the area of peaceful protesters.

Esper also mobilized a National Guard deployment in the city to help out. The D.C. National Guard reports to the defense secretary.

Milley later apologized for taking part in the walk with Trump.

'I should not have been there, he said shortly after the event. 'My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.'
Blac Chyna told an LA courtroom she was joking when she put a gun to Rob Kardashian's head in 2016, and claimed she found out her E! TV show had been axed six months after the fact because cameras were still following her.

The reality TV star said she and her then-fiance were 'laughing and joking and being silly' on the night of December 14, 2016, as they celebrated season two of Rob and Chyna being greenlit by E!' parent company, NBC Universal.

When she was cross-examined by the Kardashians lawyer, Michael Rhodes, Chyna denied yelling 'I'm going to kill you' to Rob. She told the court that she pointed the gun upwards and didn't put her finger where the trigger was.

'I did not point it at him. I was joking ... I would never shoot Rob,' Chyna told jurors in Los Angeles Superior Court where she is suing members of the Kardashian family for $108 million for having the reality show axed.

She also dismissed as a 'joke' the incident that night where she's been accused of trying to strangle Rob with a phone chord. Chyna said she put the chord around his neck, 'but he was playing video games and I was just trying to get his attention.'

Chyna admitted that the next morning she smashed a TV and a gingerbread house and damaged the bedroom door because she was furious at Rob for taking her phone in a fit of jealousy and locking himself in a closet to check her messages.

'I could not take the abuse any more of him accusing me of doing all kinds of things,' she said. 'I was so angry because he wouldnt give me my phone back.'

Chyna said even though she left their home with their daughter, Dream, that morning, by New Year's Eve she and Rob were starting to repair their relationship.

She claimed they went out for dinner and hiked together in Malibu and told the court Rob went with her to New York in January 2017, for her personal appearance at a strip club, where cameras followed her.

Chyna said she was also filmed by hand-held cameras at another Las Vegas appearance, which made her think they were shooting Rob and Chyna's season two.

When she was later filmed being wheeled into a hospital for plastic surgery, she also thought it was for an episode of the show, she told the jury.

It wasn't until July or August of 2017 that she learned Rob and Chyna had actually been cancelled, she said.

'My reaction was, ''What happened?'' I was disappointed and upset.' In October 2017, she filed a defamation suit against Kris Jenner and Kylie, Khloe and Kim Kardashian.

Blac Chyna told an LA courtroom Wednesday she was joking when she put a gun to Rob Kardashian's head in 2016. Above, Chyna pictured on Tuesday

When she was cross-examined by the Kardashians lawyer, Michael Rhodes, Chyna denied yelling 'I'm going to kill you' to Rob. She told the court that she pointed the gun upwards and didn't put her finger where the trigger was (File photo)

'I did not point it at him. I was joking ... I would never shoot Rob,' Chyna told jurors in Los Angeles Superior Court where she is suing members of the Kardashian family for $108 million for having the reality show axed. Above, Chyna taking the stand on Tuesday

Chyna accuses the Kardashians of plotting to cancel her hit reality show Rob and Chyna

Kim, Kylie Jenner, Khloe and their mother, Kris Jenner, are all named as defendants in the case

On December 14, 2016, Rob  the father of the baby she was expecting at the time  was FaceTiming with friends in their bedroom when Chyna saw his gun on the dresser and picked it up, she said under questioning from her lawyer, Lynne Ciani.

'He said he did not have any bullets and it was not loaded,' Chyna said Rob had told her previously.

Timeline of Rob and Chyna's gun incident, breakup and show cancelation December 14, 2016 - Chyna says she and her then-fiance were 'laughing and joking and being silly' as they celebrated season two of Rob and Chyna being greenlit by NBC Universal. She denies yelling 'I'm going to kill you' to Rob. She told the court that she pointed the gun upwards and didn't put her finger where the trigger was. Chyna says she put a phone chord around Rob's neck 'as a joke', because 'he was playing video games and I was just trying to get his attention.' December 15, 2016 - Chyna smashes a TV and a gingerbread house and damages the bedroom door. She said she was furious at Rob for taking her phone in a fit of jealousy and locking himself in a closet to check her messages. Kris Jenner's boyfriend, Corey Gamble, shows up at Rob and Chyna's home. Chyna says that he stood between her and Rob, telling Rob to get his car keys and get out of the house. Chyna leaves the home with daughter Dream that morning. January 2017 - Chyna says she and Rob hiked together in Malibu. Rob reportedly goes with her to New York for her personal appearance at a strip club, where cameras followed her. Chyna said she was also filmed by hand-held cameras at another Las Vegas appearance, which made her think they were shooting Rob and Chyna's season two. July/August 2017 - Chyna learns Rob and Chyna had actually been cancelled. October 2017 - Chyna files a $108 million defamation suit against Kris Jenner and Kylie, Khloe and Kim Kardashian and accuses them of forcing producers to cancel her show. Advertisement

'What did Rob do after you picked up the gun from the dresser?' asked Ciani. 'Nothing,' said Chyna.

'Was he fearful?' her attorney added. 'Absolutely not,' responded Chyna.

The following day, December 15, 2017, the couple did have an argument because of Rob's jealousy, she said.

'He accused me of talking to other people and cheating,' Chyna told the jury.

She added that Rob's jealousy was a frequent issue between them. 'I always had to reassure him yes, this is your baby.'

Chyna said she even offered to take a DNA test to prove the baby she was carrying was his and make it the subject of an episode of Rob and Chyna.

When she finally did have the couple's daughter, Dream, her birth was filmed for a 'Baby Special' seventh episode of Rob and Chyna.

In the delivery room with Chyna and Rob was 'Miss Kris' - as she calls Kris Kardashian  whom she said in court Wednesday, she thought of as a 'second mom.'

When Kris Jenner's boyfriend, Corey Gamble, showed up at their home on December 15, 2017, Chyna said that he stood between her and Rob, telling Rob to get his car keys and get out of the house.

But she denied that Gamble had to physically separate them. ' She also denied Rhodes suggestion that she threw a chair at Robs car as he drove away.

'We were not in a physical fight, she said.

The Kardashian's attorney asked Chyna if she had earned over $1 million from an online endorsement deal she had with Fashion Nova since she filed her lawsuit against the Kardashians in 2017.

Chyna said that while she had made more than $500,000 from that deal, she didnt know what the total amount was.

After first mentioning the Monday appearance in court of Chynas mother - who later posted criticism of the Kardashians online - Rhodes asked Chyna if the trial was a publicity stunt.

Your career benefits from the attention you get from this trial, asked Rhodes.

No, not at all, said Chyna, adding that she thought the trial would have negative benefit for her.

She denied holding a grudge against Kylie Jenner 'for taking her boyfriend,' rapper Tyga.

Chyna said she began her friendship with Kim Kardashian after she posted a photo of herself posing with a cardboard cutout of Kim  and Kim re-posted it, she told a Los Angeles jury Wednesday.

'My phone started blowing up with friends telling me Kim had reposted my picture on Instagram,' she said.

That random online connection led to a 'close relationship' with Kim, going to parties at Kardashian homes, appearing on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, even being invited to Kim and Kanye West's May 2014 wedding.

But her friendship with Kim hit a bump when Chyna's ex fiance, rapper Tyga, started dating Kylie Jenner, she told the court.

'Kim reached out to me and said she could not be friends with me any more because Kylie was dating my ex fiance, ' Chyna told the jury of eight men and eight women (12 plus four alternates).

But when Chyna started dating Kim's brother Rob Kardashian in January 2016, then got pregnant and engaged to him, she said, her relationship with the billionaire TV family was soon patched up and spin-off show Rob and Chyna was launched, with Chyna being paid $92,500 for each of seven episodes.

Even her children were written into her contract with E!

A friend who was FaceTiming with Rob Kardashian saw Blac Chyna hold a gun to Rob's head, the jury was told Tuesday, on the second day of the Chyna vs Kardashians trial in Los Angeles

Kim, Khloe, Kylie Jenner and their mother, Kris are all named as defendants in Blac Chyna's lawsuit against them

Dream, her daughter by Rob, was promised $5,850 per appearance on Rob and Chyna and King Cairo, her son by Tyga, was to get $11,000 per.

Chyna, 33  whose real name is Angela White  was in the witness box for the trial resulting from her $108 million lawsuit claiming that America's most famous reality TV family deliberately had Rob and Chyna axed.

Matriarch Kris Jenner and her daughters, Kim and Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner  who are all named defendants in the case  were in court again Wednesday to defend themselves.

Kim wore a light brown pant suit, Khloe a beige dress and long coat, with gray suede boots, and Kylie a black pant suit  while their mother Kris sported a gray pant suit.

All four watched intently as Chyna, dressed in a black jacket with brass buttons and wide lapels, answered what's expected to be five hours of questioning from her attorney Lynne Ciani, and another five hours of cross examination from the Kardashians' lawyer, Michael Rhodes.

Chyna is seeking $108 million in damages, charging the Kardashians with defamation and 'intentional interference with contract' that led to Rob and Chyna being cancelled.

She was speaking on the third day of the trial in Los Angeles. On Tuesday the jury was told that a friend who had been FaceTiming with Rob Kardashian saw Chyna hold a gun to his head.

The bombshell claim was made by the Kardashian lawyer Rhodes, who said that there will be evidence during the trial that the friend 'saw Miss White put a gun to his head' but the attorney said he didn't know if the gun was loaded.

Rhodes was making his opening statement which he began by asking each of his four Kardashian clients to stand as he introduced them individually to the jury.

First he brought up Kris Jenner whom Rhodes described as 'mother and matriarch' of the family and the 'momager who manages the vast empire this family has built from scratch.'

Of Kim Kardashian he said she is 'one of the world's most famous people, an influencer' as well as the mother of four kids.

Khloe Kardashian is a 'successful businesswoman and entrepreneur in her own right,' said Rhodes.

And Kylie Jenner, he added, is also an 'accomplished businesswoman' with more than 300 million Instagram followers.

'Evidence will show that Miss White wanted something  she wanted to be one of them (the Kardashians),' said Rhodes who refused to call the reality star Blac Chyna because 'that's a stage name and this is not a stage, this is a courtroom.'

In the defamation part of Chyna's lawsuit, Rhodes told the jury that the Kardashians 'did not defame the plaintiff.'

Kardashian lawyer Michael Rhodes (sketched with Kim) insisted he would call Blac Chyna by her real name, Angela White, because Chyna 'is a stage name and this is not a stage, this is a courtroom.'

Blac Chyna was spotted leaving her house and heading to Los Angeles court for her trial against the Kardashians Tuesday

A lawyer for Blac Chyna accused Kris Jenner of blackmailing E! into canceling Rob and Chyna during opening statements . Above, Kris is seen at 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' on April 06

The attorney said that during the December 14 attack that Chyna denies, 'there is no doubt that she got physical with Mr. Kardashian' and she also put a phone cord around his neck and pulled.

Rhodes said that Chyna was 'screaming and yelling' smashed a TV and Kris Jenner's boyfriend, Corey Gamble, had to physically get between the couple and tell Rob to 'get your car keys and get out of here.'

The next day, he added, Chyna took her child and left and never lived with Rob again.

Kris and her daughters heard about the dust-up between Chyna and Rob and, added Rhodes, 'They were very upset. That is not the kind of thing they want to play out on the shows that they produce'

He told the court that it wasn't a TV or Rob's head that got broken the night of the fight, 'The thing that got broken on December 14 was their relationship.

'The relationship was over. There is no Rob and Chyna show if there is no Rob and Chyna.'

Rhodes pointed out that Chyna 'has no contract' with the Kardashians. 'Her contracts are all with E!.'

But as paid executive producers of Rob and Chyna, Kris and her daughters, cancelling the show cost them money as well.

'They were acting against their own financial interests to protect someone they love (Rob),' said Rhodes.

He added that E! paid Chyna a $100,000 cancellation fee when the first season of Rob and Chyna ended and an additional $370,000 to film more footage that could be used if Rob and Chyna did eventually come back for a second season. If that didn't happen, the footage could be used on episodes of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Chyna's attorney, Lynne Ciani, told the Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday that Kris Jenner told producers of Rob and Chyna that Chyna 'had attempted to strangle Rob with a phone cord.'

'But that was false,' said Ciani. 'Chyna did not beat the s*** out of his face.'

Ciani claimed that Kris Jenner threatened E! and its parent company NBC Universal, that she 'would pull Keeping Up with the Kardashians if they didn't kill off Rob and Chyna.'

Chyna's attorney also said that on the night of the alleged attack, Rob and Chyna were still together and were actually celebrating the green lighting of their show for a second season.

While Chyna did rip Rob's shirt that night, it was a result of passion, not violence, as 'she was happy and she thought he was hot,' Ciani said.

Ciani told the jury that after the alleged attack, Kris sent out texts accusing Chyna of being 'drunk for three days' and calling on Rob to 'ditch the b****.'

On Tuesday, Chyna's lawyer recounted the TV star's humble beginnings growing up poor and turning to stripping before she got her big break when Drake mentioned her in a song after he came into the club she was working at.

Kim Kardashian helped Chyna rise to fame by retweeting a picture of the former stripper standing next to a cardboard cutout of the reality superstar

Chyna is suing Kim, Kylie, Khloe and Kris for allegedly plotting to have her show Rob and Chyna axed. They are seen in court today in a sketch

Chyna got her big break in June 2010 when rapper Drake came into the strip club where she was working and later mentioned her adopted name  Blac Chyna  in a song he wrote

'[Kris Jenner] set out to have Season 2 of Rob and Chyna cancelled and she brought in her three daughters to help accomplish that,' Ciani said.

The four Kardashians had a family vote, said Ciani, to cancel season two of Rob and Chyna but nobody told Chyna, who thought her show was still very much alive.

Ciani went on to claim that Rob got wind of the family meeting and 'essentially begged' his mother and sisters to let season two go forward.

Jury selection began Monday in Blac Chyna's $108million lawsuit against the Kardashian. The trial is scheduled to last 10 days

'But they did not hold up, they went full steam ahead to get it cancelledand they succeeded.'.

Ciani began her opening statement to the jury by agreeing with Rhodes that both their clients come from the same world of reality TV.

But outside of reality television, the worlds of Chyna and TV's most famous family are 'very different,' she said.

Growing up , Chyna had a tough childhood, raised by a single mom in Washington D.C., Chyna's attorney told the court.

After high school she worked at McDonalds, Taco Bell and a pizza parlor she had to walk two miles to and from, hoping to raise the money to go to college to study fashion merchandising.

She soon realized that her minimum wage job serving pizza would not be enough to pay for college so she started working as an exotic dancer, as her mother had done before her.

That gave her her big break in June 2010 when rapper Drake came into the club she was working at and later mentioned her adopted name  Blac Chyna  in a song he wrote.

'That led to a notoriety she had not had before,' Ciani told the jury.

'It was a big deal that opened doors of opportunity for her.'

Modeling jobs followed and magazine covers. In August 2011 she was named model of the year at the Urban Model Awards and she appeared as singing star Nicki Minaj's stunt double in a video and as herself in a later Minaj video.
A black DJ who was accused of wearing blackface at a parent-teacher association party in Arizona by school district officials said he was left stunned after finding out about the allegations.

Jill Lassen and Stuart Rhoden, who advocate for diversity at the Scottsdale Unified School District, filed letters of complaint after mistaking 56-year-old DJ Kim Koko Hunter for a white man after he was hired to DJ at the 1970s themed event.

Sharing his experience surrounding the controversy on Wednesday, Hunter told the Jesse Watters Primetime show on Fox: 'I'm like, "There's no way this has to be a joke." There's no way.'

'The event was a 70s disco thing. I'm in my disco gear I'm 56 years old, so I know that area right there. So I'm like, "Let's do it, let's make it happen,"' he added. 'Listen, I even took my roller skates. I was so ready. My bell-bottoms, all that stuff, playing music all night long. Two, or three, 400 people on the dance floor. And I'm trying to get them off and they won't leave. It was that kind of energy in there.'

DJ Kim Koko Hunter (second from right) was hired to play at a 1970s disco parent-teacher (PTA) association party for Hopi Elementary's PTA in Phoenix earlier this month on April 9

The DJ shared a video of himself from the 1970s-themed event wearing rollerskating boots while also wearing a shiny gold shirt, an afro and sunglasses

Stuart Rhoden and Jill Lassen, who both promote diversity at the Scottsdale school district in Arizona, denounced Hunter's appearance to the school's principal and PTA head in letters sent to them

Hunter appeared on Fox News on Wednesday saying he was stunned by the accusations and wished he could talk to Rhoden and Lassen to understand where they were coming from

Hunter said he was shocked a couple of days after the party when he found out he was being accused of donning blackface.

'That... has been overshadowed, that great energy has been overshadowed, the purity of what happened that night has been overshadowed by this controversy,' Hunter told host Peter Hegseth.

'I wish I knew why they felt that way,' he added. '[In] the pictures, in my opinion,  [it] is quite obvious that I'm not in blackface  None of those individuals have reached out to talk to me, so I have no idea. I have no answer for that. It'd be great if they were on here to explain their side,' he concluded.

Stuart and Rhoden have since apologized, with some noting the irony of 'diversity and inclusion' activists rushing to such false conclusions.

But Rhoden also sought to double down on his initial allegation, and speculated as to whether Hunter may have used cosmetic products to make his skin appear darker.

The PTA at Hopi Elementary in Phoenix entertained the crowd at its largest fundraiser of the year on April 9. It was a success, and drew in over $300,000 for 'essential programs and services' that are not paid for by the Scottsdale Unified School District.

But Lassen and Rhoden decided to take umbrage with Hunter's skin tone, after mistaking him for a white man in a racist outfit, according to the Arizona Daily Independent.

The pair complained about the apparent racist incident to the school's principal and the head of the PTA, who quickly clarified that Hunter is actually a black man.

Hunter, the Scottsdale school district and the Hopi PTA have all been contacted for comment by DailyMail.com.

The DJ has 1,500 followers on Instagram, where he posted videos of himself in 1970s, Disco-inspired attire at the event, complete with roller skates and a shiny, gold shirt.

After the fundraiser, Stuart Rhoden reportedly emailed the principal complaining about Hunter.

Rhoden is an instructor at Arizona State University who also serves on the Scottsdale school district's Equity and Inclusion Committee.

He questioned the PTA's acceptance of blackface, wherein a person, usually white, paints their skin to portray a black person. The practice has roots in early 19th century American theater and is now widely considered racist.

In a Facebook post last week, he apologized to the 'dude' for the mistake, only to then double-down and suggest that Hunter was wearing makeup to make himself look darker.

'Let me be clear, a Black man, apparently in Black face is an entirely different discussion than a White person. However I did not state that the person was White.

'It was assumed that was my intent, and perhaps it was, but nonetheless, looking on his FB page (photos below), it seems at the very least he is in darker make-up if not "Black face" or I am completely mistaken and it's the lighting of the patio,' Rhoden said.

'So here's what I want to say. I apologize to dude for the implication, but the sentiment still stands, Black face by anyone, in this day and age is problematic. I also apologize to folks who reposted and made other statements based on my assumption.'

In a Facebook post, Rhoden apologized to the 'dude,' referring to Hunter but then doubled-down on his accusation saying the DJ was wearing makeup to make himself look darker

Hunter helped raise more than $300,000, according to one public schools activist

Rhoden wasn't the only one who took offense to Hunter's appearance.

Jill Lassen, co-chair of the Scottsdale Parent Council's diversity, equity and inclusion committee, also sent out an email complaining about the incident, according to the Arizona Daily Independent.

PTA head Megan Livengood responded, 'I am deeply offended by this email even with the included apology.

'The Scottsdale Parent Council is an organization that claims to encourage diversity and inclusion; accusing the Hopi PTA and myself a hiring a DJ that participated in racist behavior is absolutely against your mission.'

Livengood added: 'The DJ that the Hopi PTA hire was, in fact a Black man.'

Lassen apologized profusely in a follow-up email.

'You are right, we should've reached out and inquired before making such accusations. I cannot fathom the hurt, anger and frustration you felt after you and others volunteered countless hours on your event,' wrote Lassen, who describes herself as an 'ardent community volunteer, activist, and ally to the LGBTQ+ community.'

'Again I truly apologize. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me and not harbor resentment towards SPC.'

The accusations have garnered some ridicule on social media, with one person tweeting: 'More DEI. It's working.'

The fundraiser was meant to raise money for 'essential programs and services' at Hopi Elementary (above) that are not paid for by the Scottsdale Unified School District

Amanda Wray, the school activist, says the pair's apologies aren't enough.

'When these community activists were informed that their accusations were wrong, they didnt apologize, they doubled-down,' she told the Independent.

'The SPC is so intent on finding racism they will go so far as to accuse a member of one of the communities they claim to advocate for of reprehensible behavior.'

Wray is currently involved in a lawsuit filed by the father of a Scottsdale school board member.

The father, Mark Greenburg, says she invaded his privacy and defamed him by sharing the contents of a Google Drive he created without his consent, according to the Arizona Republic.

Wray runs the group SUSD-CAN, which 'is dedicated to propagating anti-mask policies, anti-vaccine policies, anti-LGBTQ policies, and anti-Critical Race Theory policies within the Scottsdale Unified School District,' according to Greenburg's filing.

In her remarks against Rhoden and Lassen's blackface accusations, Wray made sure to include some jabs at the Scottsdale Parent Council, which Lassen is part of.

'SPC invoices every Scottsdale Unified School District PTO/PTA/APT for dues each year and then uses those funds to attack community members,' Wray said.

'This same organization and its leaders, President Emmie Cardella, accused me of violating the code of ethics last year for questioning the Districts misuse of tax payer dollars and violating AZ Open Meeting Laws, while they knowingly violating their own bylaws.'
This is the bizarre moment an anti-vaxxer injects himself with his own urine - a measure he touts as a COVID-19 cure - while speaking with the man he learned the supposed magic remedy from.

In a clip from an undated video call, Christopher Key, an outspoken anti-vaxxer who runs the blog Vaccine Police, speaks with Dr Edward Group.

Group, a certified chiropractor and self declared guru of 'urotherapy,' discuss the benefits of stem cells in urine.

Rolling up his sleeve, Key tells Group that in lieu of iodine he is going to 'sterilize' with his own urine, 'and what-not,' then holds up a jar of yellow fluid.

Christopher Key (left) sticks himself with a syringe full of his own urine to prevent COVID-19 in an undated video. He learned this unfounded practice from Dr. Edward Group (right)

Key is seen taking aim with the yellow syringe, which he quickly sinks into his upper arm.

Group nods and looks on as Key sets the jar aside and picks up a syringe.

Popping the cap of the needle with his mouth, Key tells Group through clenched teeth to 'talk about the stem cells!'

Group then begins to say something about Stem cells in urine, claiming that 'Pretty much every type of stem cell is available in your urine,' and that 'Stem cells are the base DNA cell that will start replicating additional cells for regeneration and repair.'

But Group's mic may as well be set to mute, as Key begins taking aim with the yellow syringe, which he quickly sinks into his upper arm.

Taking a look back at the camera, he drops the plunger and empties the syringe.

Key swivels about on his chair to set his pee-filled arm front and center, and with something of a flourish whips the needle out.

Key runs the far-right blog Vaccine Police, which rails against COVID vaccine policies

Group's medical credentials are limited to a chiropractic certification. He runs the alternative medicine business Global Healing, a favorite of far right pundit Alex Jones

The practice on display is a part of something some call 'urotherapy,' an alternative medicine practice that Dr. Group, among others, say has been benefitting humanity for thousands of years.

It's latest benefit? Serving as a cure for COVID-19, and also acting as an antidote for the COVID-19 vaccine too, according to Key, who says he learned about these properties from Dr. Group.

'He told me that he and his team have been looking over those who have been vaccinated and taken the jab,' Key told the Daily Beast in January, 'And they have anecdotal evidence of blood clots totally disappearing from using urine therapy.'

In a video posted in January, Key tells a room of listeners that the vaccine is 'the worst bio weapon I have ever seen.'

In December, Key pledged to travel across the country performing citizen's arrests against democratic governors in retaliation for their vaccine mandates

'The antidote that we have seen now, and we have tons and tons of research, is urine therapy. OK, and I know to a lot of you this sounds crazy, but guys, God's given us everything we need.'

He then declares with an audible exclamation point that he has been drinking his own urine for 23 years.

'There is absolutely no scientific evidence that drinking your own urine can cure COVID.' Dr. Jon B. Klein, director of the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, told The Daily Beast in January.

In August, 2021, Key berated Walmart pharmacists administering the vaccine, comparing them to Nazi doctors. 'You yourself will be executed in violation of the Nuremberg Code,'

Urotherapy injections are only Key's latest misadventure into the world anti-vaccine protests.

Last August he paid a visit to a Walmart in Springfield, Missouri, where he berated pharmacists and declared 'What they're doing is crimes against humanity.'

'If they do not stand down immediately, then they could be executed. They can be hung in the state.'

Then in December, Key set out on a road trip during which he pledged to perform citizen's arrests of democratic governors.

Key did not detain any governors, but he was arrested for trespassing at a Whole Foods in Birmingham, Alabama.

At a court date in January, he was told he needed to wear a mask to enter.

Speaking with an attorney outside the courtroom, Key could be heard on a video he took saying 'I'm competent. I'm not insane. I am completely sane. I don't need an attorney. I am a free man.'
Two men who allegedly posed as federal agents agents and tried to infiltrate the Secret Service have been indicted on multiple charges including impersonating a U.S. officer and unlawful firearms charges, court filings revealed on Tuesday.

A federal grand jury indicted Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Sher-Ali, 35, of impersonating federal officers and unlawful possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. Taherzadeh was slapped with an additional count of the latter charge.

It was after they were found to have showered lavish gifts on Secret Service agents and other government staffers with security clearances in an alleged bid to 'ingratiate' themselves in those circles and gain their trust.

A charge of impersonating an officer or employee of the United States carries a criminal fine and a possible sentence of up to three years in prison. Unlawful possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device has a similar charge.

Special agents raided luxury apartment building Crossing DC earlier this month, where the men apparently leased five units but never paid for them.

Tuesday's filing included a previous affidavit accusing Ali and Taherzadeh of 'falsely assuming and pretending to be officers or employees acting under the authority of the United States government' from as early as February 2020.

In addition they showered Secret Service agents with 'iPhones, surveillance systems, a drone, a flat screen television, a case for storing an assault rifle, a generator, and law enforcement paraphernalia.'

Haider Sher-Ali, 36, (left) and Arian Taherzadeh, 40, (right) were arrested for impersonating federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security claiming to be involved in an investigation into the January 6 Capitol attack

It also states they 'obtained paraphernalia' used by federal officers including hand guns, assault rifles and other items with law enforcement insignias.

Secret Service agents assigned to details for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' residence are among those being investigated for accepting lavish gifts and partying with Taherzadeh and Ali, who alleged they were agents with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

At least one of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agents receiving free rent from Taherzadeh and Ali was assigned to the detail protecting Harris' residence at Number One Observatory Circle at the Naval Observatory, sources at the building told DailyMail.com.

Another, sources claim, was on the presidential protective detail and regularly traveled with President Biden on Air Force One.

Taherzadeh is also accused of offering to buy a $2,000 firearm for a member of First Lady Jill Biden's security team.

One of the more bizarre accusations in the affidavit involves an 'individual' who Taherzadeh and Ali invited to apply for an unspecified role, with a hiring process that included the recruit to agree to being 'shot with an Airsoft rifle to evaluate their pain tolerance and reaction.'

Images from the raid of a unit on the 7th floor of a luxury DC building where Arian Taherzadeh was residing allegedly for free showed agents recovered 'three current copies of Taherzadeh's Washington D.C. driver's license, passport, United States Special Police  Special Investigations Unit business cards, a USSP police badge, and several identification and credit cards'

Two passports and multiple visas from Ali show that he has traveled to Pakistan, Egypt, Qatar, Iran and Turkey

A memorandum supporting a motion for detention of Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Sher-Ali, 35, shows that the men had a slew of garb in their luxury DC apartment units, including fraudulent police garb. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey denied the motion last week

The individual was also 'assigned to conduct research on an individual that provided support to the Department of Defense and intelligence community,' the filing states.

Last week Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey for the District Court in Washington D.C. denied prosecutors' request to detain the two men before trial.

'I do not find it reliable that Mr. Ali has ties to the Pakistani intelligence service,' the judge said, after prosecutors alleged such following the discovery of visas and passports suggest travel in Pakistan, Egypt and Iran.

Harvey conceded the defendants' actions were 'not good', but said it was mostly 'Sophomoric behavior, not the sort of serious dangerous conduct that requires pre-trial detention.'

The judge also said much of what prosecutors were laying out was 'overblown' and 'overstated.' He dismissed the notion that Taherzadeh and Ali pose a threat to national security.

During an arraignment earlier in April, details emerged that there could be connections between Ali and the Pakistani Intelligence Service.

Federal agents raided a luxury DC apartment building in Washington, DC's trendy Navy Yard neighborhood earlier this month

Firearms recovered from unit 708, where Taherzadeh had a three bedroom unit supposedly for free

Two of his passports were found during a raid of his unit on the 6th floor of Crossing DC.

'Ali's expired passport contained several visas authorizing foreign travel,' the Friday memorandum notes. 'For instance, this passport contained two visas authorizing travel from the Islamic Republic of Iran.'

'The Government has identified at least four entry/exit stamps from Mashhad International Airport in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan, Iran.'

It goes on: 'In addition, the Ali's passport contained two thirty-day visas from Pakistan and one visa for travel to Egypt.'

Images of these visas and passports corroborate the claims made in the memorandum for detention of Taherzadeh and Ali.

Customs and Border Protection records show that Ali traveled through Doha, Qatar in November 2016, May 2019 and July 2019. He also went through there in October 2019 and returned from Istanbul, Turkey.

Ali and Taherzadeh were tipped off on the investigation two days before the FBI raided their apartments, according to federal prosecutors.
Democratic Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar flew to Pakistan and met with recently ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The Minnesota Democrat, one of few Muslim members of Congress, met with Khan at his home in the Bani Ghala neighborhood to discuss Islamophobia. She also met with members of Pakistan's parliament, the nation's President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Late last month Khan accused the U.S. of trying to oust him from power in an extraordinary TV rant ahead of the no-confidence vote in his leadership. He said the U.S. had sought his ousting because he visited with Russian Vladimir Putin the day before he invaded Ukraine. Khan was the first prime minister to be removed by no-confidence vote on April 10.

He accused the U.S. of plotting with opposition parties to topple his government.

'Pakistan became an independent state in 1947; but the freedom struggle begins again today against a foreign conspiracy of regime change,' Khan wrote on Twitter shortly after his ouster.

Rep. Ilhan Omar visits with recently ousted Pakistan PM Imran Khan

He said he would not give in to 'US-backed regime change' that handed power to 'pliable crooks' and 'national traitors,' describing the opposition parties.

Kahn had specifically named Donald Lu, assistant secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the Department of State, as being involved in the 'foreign conspiracy.'

The State Department has said there is 'absolutely no truth' to the allegations.

Khan tried to get the military on his side, saying the conspiracy was targeted at the Pakistani Army too. But military spokesman Major-General Babar Iftikhar rejected Khan's claims.

In a statement following Omar's meeting with Alvi, the government said: 'Pakistan values its long standing relationship with the United States of America and expressed the hope that the constructive engagements between the two countries would promote peace and development in the region.'

Omar was quoted as saying 'she appreciated the role played by Pakistan against Islamophobia, particularly towards the adoption of UN resolution in this regard.'

Omar meets with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif

Omar meets with Parliament Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf

Omar meets with members of Pakistan's National Assembly

Pakistan had been a key U.S. ally in the war on terror since Sept. 11, 2001, and the two nations in recent years had worked together to fight the Pakistani Taliban as the terror group gained traction. Relations soured when Khan turned on the U.S.

Omar has been critical Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, particularly over his actions in the Kashmir province, disputed territory between India and Pakistan. She has said that Modi is undergoing a 'Hindu nationalism project' and said during a 2019 congressional hearing: 'Our partnership with India is strategic, but it is also based on our shared values of democracy, religious pluralism and respect of human rights.'

Pakistan's prime minister reportedly told Omar about the 'atrocities' Modi is committing against Muslim minorities in India and accused India of genocide of Muslims.

He also highlighted the role of Pakistan in peace-keeping efforts in the region amid the war on terror.
At least six soldiers killed when their convoy was attacked by members of a drug cartel in the central Colombian department of Antioquia.

Troops from the Army's Fourth Brigade were traveling through in the Frontino township of Nutibara on Tuesday night when their truck was overturned by explosives, the National Army said in a statement.

The victims have been identified as Edwar Agudelo; Emir Zabaleta; Yonaiker Cordero; Juan Lozano; Kevin Altamiranda; and Hector Buelvas.

Six other soldiers - whose names have not been released - were wounded and were treated by combat medics and later evacuated to medical facilities, the army said in a statement.

The military has launched a search mission to locate four soldiers reported missing in the area.

Colombian Army soldiers Hector Buelvas (left), Juan Lozano (center) and Kevin Altamiranda (right) are among the six servicemen who were killed Tuesday night after an explosive blew up near their convoy in the department of Antioquia. Six other soldiers were wounded and four more remained missing as of Wednesday

Edwar Castano (left), Yonaiker Cordero (center) and Emir Zabaleta (right) have been identified as three of the six soldiers from the Colombian Army's Fourth Brigade who were killed during an attack launched Tuesday night by alleged members of the Gulf Clan, a cartel with presence in 17 of the 25 departments or states in Colombia

A Colombian Army truck was struck by an explosive planted by alleged members of the Gulf Clan cartel on Tuesday night. The attack left six soldiers dead and six others wounded. Four soldiers remained missing as of Wednesday

General Juvenal Diaz, commander of the Army's 7th Division, told Blu Radio that he feared for the well-being of the missing soldiers.

'Unfortunately they may be dead or injured or they could take shelter somewhere in that jungle area while dawn breaks and the troops locate them,' he said.

Authorities said the attack was launched by the Gulf Clan cartel's Edwin Roman Velasquez cell. The criminal organization operates in the area.

Colombian Army servicemen carry the body of one of the six soldiers who were killed in Tuesday night's ambush

The Colombian Army said the attack was launched by the Gulf Clan in response to the tons of cocaine that security forces have seized in recent months

Prior to the ambush, the brigade had been involved in an operation against the Gulf Clan in a corridor that connects that the municipality of Frontino with the cities of Ituango and Bajo Cuaca that left one cartel member dead and another - identified as a minor - under arrest.

'This terrorist method is being carried out with ex-combatants of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) who were experts ... in the use of explosives as a weapon,' Diaz told reporters. 'They (the Gulf Clan) have recruited several of these former FARC members and use them to activate improvised explosive devices.

'It does not require many me (or) preparation. Some civilians can help prepare in the area and a person who activates it, either by remote control, cable or another system, to affect to the troops.'

At least two Frontino police officers were killed in similar fashion when their vehicle was struck by an explosive in August 2021.

The municipality remains on high alert and an emergency security council was convened with the local and military authorities.

Defense Minister Diego Molano condemned Gulf Clan's 'cowardly' attack,' indicating the carte' sought revenge for the 'recent hard blows' it had been dealt.

'We increased the presence of troops to find the whereabouts of these bandits,' he wrote on Twitter.

The former leader of the Gulf Clan, Dario Usuga, is awaiting extradition to the United States, where he is accused of drug trafficking.

Usuga, known by the alias 'Otoniel,' was captured in an operation involving more than 500 soldiers in October 2021.

He was indicted by the Southern District of New York in 2009.

The cartel has a presence in 17 of Colombia's 25 departments and is an ally of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's old Sinaloa Cartel.
The headteacher of a school in east London where a black student was strip-searched while on her period has stepped down over health issues.

In a letter sent to parents, the Hackney school said that an 'outstanding head teacher' has taken over the role.

Last month, a safeguarding report found that the Met Police search of the 15-year-old girl, referred to as Child Q, was not justified, and said that racism was 'likely to have been an influencing factor.

She was removed from an exam, and strip-searched by two female police officers in the medical room, while teachers remained outside.

Police were looking for cannabis.

Last month, a safeguarding report found that the Met Police search of Child Q, was not justified, and said that racism was 'likely to have been an influencing factor

The case of Child Q  a 15-year-old black schoolgirl who was strip searched by police while on her period after being wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis  drew outrage from the public and politicians

The headteacher of the Hackney school has stepped down over 'health issues'. Pictured, protesters outside Hackney Town Hall show their support

Child Q's lawyers accused Scotland Yard of institutional racism and institutional sexism. Pictured, protesters outside Hackney Town Hall show their support for the 15-year-old

The girl is now suing the Met Police and her school over the incident.

She is hoping to 'hold both institutions to account including through cast iron commitments to ensure this never happens again to any other child, her lawyers said in a statement.

Her mother has also called on the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to investigate the officers involved.

The Hackney school's governing board previously said in a statement that teachers were unaware that a strip-search was happening behind the doors.

The familys lawyers accused Scotland Yard of institutional racism and institutional sexism.

They called on Home Secretary Priti Patel and London Mayor Sadiq Khan to appoint someone to replace Cressida Dick who will tackle its culture.

The traumatic and disproportionate search by police took place at Child Qs school without another adult present, and in the knowledge that she was menstruating, a safeguarding review found.

According to the report, the impact on the secondary school pupil was profound and the repercussions obvious and ongoing.

What did the Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review find? Finding 1: The school was fully compliant with expected practice standards when responding to its concerns about Child Q smelling of cannabis and its subsequent search of Child Qs coat, bag, scarf and shoes. This demonstrated good curiosity by involved staff and an alertness to potential indicators of risk. Finding 2: The decision to strip search Child Q was insufficiently attuned to her best interests or right to privacy. Finding 3: School staff deferred to the authority of the police on their arrival at school. They should have been more challenging to the police, seeking clarity about the actions they intended to take. All practitioners need to be mindful of their duties to uphold the best interests of children. Finding 4: School staff had an insufficient focus on the safeguarding needs of Child Q when responding to concerns about suspected drug use. Finding 5: The application of the law and policy governing the strip searching of children can be variable and open to interpretation. Finding 6: The absence of any specific requirement to seek parental consent when strip searching children undermines the principles of parental responsibility and partnership working with parents to safeguard children. Finding 7: The Covid-19 restrictions in place at the time appeared to have frustrated effective communication between school staff and the Safer Schools Officer. Finding 8: Having considered the context of the incident, the views of those engaged in the review and the impact felt by Child Q and her family, racism (whether deliberate or not) was likely to have been an influencing factor in the decision to undertake a strip search. Advertisement

Family members described her as changing from a happy-go-lucky girl to a timid recluse that hardly speaks, who now self-harms and needs therapy.

Mr Khan described the case as shocking and deeply disturbing in a series of tweets on Tuesday, adding that he would be following the outcome [of an investigation into the case] closely.

Scotland Yard has apologised and said that the incident should never have happened.

In a statement issued through her lawyers last month, Child Q said: I want to thank the thousands of people across the world of all backgrounds who have offered me support  both publicly and through messages conveyed to my legal team  following everything Ive been through. I know I am not alone.

Her mother said: We now look to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to make sure there is an effective investigation into the officers involved so they are individually held to account and face real consequences for what they have done.

We expect the school to reflect on the findings of the City and Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership report and take necessary action against all members of staff involved.

The Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review, published in March, was conducted by City & Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership (CHSCP) following the incident at the end of 2020.

It said police arrived at the school after being called by teachers, who said they were concerned that the teenager had drugs in her possession because she smelt of cannabis.

During the search, her intimate body parts were exposed and she was asked to take off her sanitary towel, according to the review. No drugs were found. She was then sent home by taxi, later sharing her distress with her mother.

The review found that her experiences are unlikely to have been the same had she not been black.

It said it is highly likely that adultification bias was a factor  where adults perceive black children as being older than they are because they see them as more streetwise.

It reads: The disproportionate decision to strip search Child Q is unlikely to have been disconnected from her ethnicity and her background as a child growing up on an estate in Hackney.

Officers in two London boroughs will need prior permission from a police inspector before any child can be strip-searched, as part of new measures following the Child Q scandal. Pictured: Protesters hold a solidarity rally for Child Q outside Hackney Town Hall

Detective Superintendent Dan Rutland of the Mets Central East Command said at the time: We recognise that the findings of the safeguarding review reflect this incident should never have happened.

It is truly regrettable and on behalf of the Met Police I would like to apologise to the child concerned, her family and the wider community.

Since the strip-search, leadership of the Hackney school's governing board has changed.

Earlier this month, the Metropolitan Police said it is introducing a pilot across two London boroughs where an inspector will need to give approval before a strip-search takes place.

Officers in Hackney and Tower Hamlets will need prior permission from a police inspector before any child can be strip-searched, as part of new measures following the Child Q scandal.

This will ensure 'appropriate oversight of such an intrusive intervention', Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said.

The pilot is to be trialled in the two north-east London boroughs before the force considers expanding it across the capital.

The measure is in addition to existing requirements, that a conversation with a supervisor should take place and an 'appropriate adult' be present.


A food delivery worker rides a scooter to deliver orders in Seoul, Jan. 24. Yonhap



By Kim Jae-heun



A 32-year-old delivery worker surnamed Lee said that working as a delivery driver has been a source of income for people like him who do not have permanent jobs. "But after the government decided to lift most of the quarantine measures in the country, we became worried that we might lost our jobs due to fewer people ordering food online."



During the last two years of the pandemic, demand for food delivery skyrocketed as people were restricted from dining in restaurants or drinking at bars after a certain hour. Food delivery firms have hired a significant number of part-time delivery workers.



Now that restaurants and bars are allowed to stay open 24 hours a day, many delivery drivers think that the demand for online orders will decrease drastically.



"I already saw news that people are coming back to eat out and drink until late. The weather is getting nicer, so people will no longer stay home and order delivery food to eat at home," another food delivery worker surnamed Do said.



Local food delivery services Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats changed their commission fee systems in February and March, respectively, which resulted in increased delivery costs. These changes drove many customers and restaurant owners to choose take-out services instead of getting food delivered.



"I see fewer and fewer delivery requests coming in these days. I think I took one order every 30 to 40 minutes yesterday. Last year, I did not have time to rest," Do said.



Still, other believe that the demand for online food delivery will continue as people have become used to ordering food online.



"We may see a slight decrease in the number of food deliveries for a while. But because customers have already experienced the convenience of having food delivered to their homes and the quality of such services has improved so much in the past two years, its demand will not decline drastically when looking at it in the long term," a local delivery food firm official said.


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The jury in Johnny Depp's defamation trial heard audio recordings of Depp and Amber Heard talking about a fight in which she admits to hitting him and where he claims she kicked the bathroom door against his head.

The recordings appear to have been taken by Depp, who earlier talked about making a habit of it. It was the first time the trial had heard Heard's voice - she is due to testify later in the case.

In one clip Heard tells Depp: 'I didn't punch you. I'm sorry I didn't hit you across the face in a proper slap. I was hitting you, it was not punching you.'

Depp says: 'Don't tell what it feels like to be punched.'

Heard replies: 'You've been in a lot of fights, you've been around a long time. You didn't get punched. You got hit. I'm sorry I hit you like this, I didn't punch you. I did not fu**ing deck you. I fu**ing was hitting you. I don't know what the motion of my actual hand was. You're fine. I did not hurt you, I did not punch you, I was hitting you. I'm not sitting here bit**ing about.

'You're a fu**ng baby,' Heard said.

Shouting, Heard continues: 'You are such a baby! Grow the f**k up Johnny'.

When Depp says it was a physical fight, Heard says: 'I did start a physical fight.'

Depp replies: 'I got the f**k out of there'.

With bitter sarcasm, Heard said: 'You are admirable.'

The jury in Johnny Depp's defamation trial heard audio recordings of Depp and Amber Heard talking about a fight in which she admits to hitting him and where he claims she kicked the bathroom door against his head

The recordings appear to have been taken by Depp, who earlier talked about making a habit of it. It was the first time the trial had heard Heard's voice - she is due to testify later in the case

In one clip Heard tells Depp: 'I didn't punch you. I'm sorry I didn't hit you across the face in a proper slap. I was hitting you, it was not punching you'

Johnny Depp demonstrates how he claims he shielded himself from an alleged attack by his ex-wife Amber Heard, as he testifies during the trial

Heard replies: 'You've been in a lot of fights, you've been around a long time. You didn't get punched. You got hit. I'm sorry I hit you like this, I didn't punch you. I did not fu**ing deck you. I fu**ing was hitting you. I don't know what the motion of my actual hand was. You're fine. I did not hurt you, I did not punch you, I was hitting you. I'm not sitting here bit**ing about'

The court heard another recording of Depp and Heard in which she called him a 'f****** piece of sh*t.'

She says: 'Why don't you go f*** yourself. Go suck your own d***. Stingy old piece of s***.'

Referencing Depp's son Jack, Heard sarcastically says: 'I hope to God Jack's stepfather teaches them more about being a man because you're so good at it.'

BATHROOM DOOR INCIDENT

Depp can be heard talking about Heard 'kicking the bathroom door and hitting me in the skull.'

Heard replies: 'I was upset I was on an Ambien, there was a lot going on.'

In another section of the recording Depp talks about how in the Australia incident he went to 'at least five bathrooms and two bedrooms.'

An angry Heard responds: 'You escape the solution. We cannot work it out if you run away to the bathroom!'

Depp says: 'A boxer can't go 12 rounds without a break.'

In a later part of the argument, Depp complained that Heard had thrown 'f**king pots at me.'

Heard said: 'That's different, just because I've thrown pots and pans does not mean you come and knocking on the door.'

Depp replies: 'You seem to think there's this cowardice in me.'

On the stand Depp said: 'What was just played was very much the tone and the aggression and the attitude and the need for a fight from Miss Heard. I don't know if that was some need for attention. That was the sound that I'd gotten very used to, the squabbling, the raising of the voice to excommunicate anything I had to say about the situation.'

Recounting the argument which preceded the audio recordings, Depp said that it happened in the penthouse in Los Angeles that he lived in with Heard.

He said: 'She came banging on the door, I didn't answer. I was in the shower, I didn't want to deal with any more of that sarcastic demeaning aggressive violent toxic spew.

'She kept banging, I finally got out of the shower, I opened the bathroom door about that much (shows small space with hands) so I could have a good hold on the door in case she tried to burst in. I was right, she did. She was pushing all her weight on the door trying to get in and I was pushing back, I didn't want to let her in.

'When it was almost closed she yelped in pain and screamed ''ow my toes!'', so in that second I thought possibly her foot had gotten caught under the door. I thought she was injured so I knelt down to have a look. When I knelt down on my hands and knees to look at her foot, she kicked the bathroom door into my head.

'I was completely taken aback by such a corrosive, horrific move so I stood up. By this point the door was open and I stood up and said: ''What the f**k was that?'' Next move was bang, she clocked me in the jaw.'

BROKEN NOSE INCIDENT

Recounting another incident, Depp stood up and acted out a physical encounter where she claimed he broke her nose.

He said: 'I was going into my office. She just started throwing wild punches at the back of my head, the side of my head. Anything she could connect with. I tried to avoid the attack.'

At this point Depp stood up and acted the scene out.

He said: 'I walked across the mezzanine, as I'm approaching the door suddenly I'm just getting clobbered from behind. Primal instinct is to duck and cover. I came up protecting my face but there are arms swinging wildly. I put my arms up and was able to get her into a bear hug just to stop her from hitting me anymore.'

At that point Heard accused Depp of headbutting her and said: 'Way to go Johnny, you broke my nose.'

Depp denied making a headbutt and said it was only 'accidental contact.'

Depp claimed that Heard showed him a bloody tissue but when he checked it in the trash he 'realized it was nail polish.'

ISLAND INCIDENT

While on Depp's island in the Bahamas in December 2015 with his daughter Lily-Rose, Depp claimed that Heard threw a can at his head.

He said: 'The argument escalated and she simply reached down and grabbed the can of mineral spirits and chucked it at my face. It struck me right at the bridge of the nose, the forehead, bridge of the nose. It hurt'

AMBER'S 30th BIRTHDAY

Depp arrived at the dinner at Heard's penthouse nearly two hours late after a meeting with his accountants which revealed the state of his finances, which he called a 'shock.'

Depp said: 'Quite an inordinate sum of money had been withdrawn, it had disappeared and after having worked 30 something years in the industry I was shocked at where I was to learn where I was financially.'

Depp said that some of his houses might have to be sold due to the state of his accounts.

During the dinner Depp was 'cold' towards her but when she tried to argue with him later on he just got into bed.

He said: 'Miss Heard entered the bedroom while I was laying on my side of the bed reading. She was still rattling off all the wrongs I'd done to her on that particular day, how unreliable I am, what a horrible person I was.

'I did not engage verbally, nothing. She didn't get a jolt of me, she got out of bed, walked around the bed, you've got a person who is throwing multiple shots at your face, at your head at your neck, anything she could hit.

'I got up out of bed, grabbed her by the shoulders, sat her down on the bed and I said I'm leaving, please don't try and stop me. I'm leaving. And she got up off the bed and she squared off at me in the doorway of our bedroom.

'I said what do you want to do, hit me again? I said go ahead, hit me. Bam (motions being hit). Would you like another. Bam. There's a second. Good, now you're done. Grabbed her by the shoulders, walked her to the bed, said don't follow me, I'm leaving.'

Depp walked out and went to his other house - it was 4.30am.

POOP IN THE BED

Depp said that he planned to go back and pick up some of his belongings while Heard was away for a few days but his security guard Sean Bett told him not to.

He said: 'I received some news that was as absurd and grotesque and cruel. I was shown a picture of what the problem was.

'(Bett) showed me a photograph on his phone.'

With a laugh Depp said: 'It was a photograph of our bed and on my side of the bed was human fecal matter, so I understood why it wasn't a good time to go down there.

'My initial response to that was, I mean I laughed. It was so outside, it was so bizarre and so grotesque that I could only laugh, so I did not go down there that day.'

Depp told how on May 21, 2016, the last time he saw Heard before the divorce, she brought up the 'fecal matter'.

He said: 'She tried to blame it on the dogs. The dogs are Yorkies, they weigh about 4lbs each. The photograph that I saw - I lived with those dogs for many years and so did Hilda Vargas, she's a woman who's been with me for 30+ years, she was the one who photographed it. She knew the dogs as well as I did and knew that did not come from a dog.'

FINAL MEETING - MAY 21, 2016

Depp claimed that Heard made up claims that Johnny hit her.

'I was walking towards the kitchen to exit and then suddenly (Heard's friend) Rocky Pennington ran into the penthouse and started yelling, leave her alone Johnny.

'I was by the refrigerator, I was 20ft away. She was still sitting on the couch. That's when the screaming started.

'I'm 20ft away. She's got Rocky there. ''Stop hitting me Johnny, she's (Heard) screaming in her best freaked out, upset voice. Stop hitting me.'

Depp's security team Jerry Judge and Sean Bett entered the room, Depp said.

'(Heard) said that's the last time you'll ever hit me, the last time you'll ever do that to me.

'I'm a good 20ft away.'

Johnny Depp detailed the explosive fight he and Amber Heard had in March 2015 in Australia where the top of his finger was severed when Heard allegedly threw a bottle of vodka at him

Depp said that after Heard filed for a domestic violence restraining order in May 2016 he had to tell his children about the story.

He said: 'I had to alert them that there might be some ugly things coming out that were most assuredly going to put me in the position of some violent drug addled alcoholic. Just reprobate. And I wanted to warn them before they were approached with the People magazine cover in school by other kids. I wanted to be able to explain to them that this was going to be visible and it's going to be everywhere and I apologized to them that this was happening'.

Depp said that among those who comforted him were members of his band The Hollywood Vampires as he was on tour in Europe with them when the divorce was filed.

Among those who helped him get through it was rocker Alice Cooper and Joe Perry from Aerosmith despite their hard living reputations.

Depp said: 'To say it was unfair is about the largest understatement, it's the smallest understatement. It controlled my every waking second from the moment I woke up until the moment I dropped, even on the road, playing shows. You'd go out and play for an hour and a half and do your best to get through that. I remember finishing the show, getting on the bus and just going to the back of the bus and you had to get it out. I sat in the back of the bus and cried and hid it from people

'I was bereft of any, you just don't know what to say any more. I tried not to talk about it very much'.

Depp told the court that Heard breached their divorce agreement when she said that she would be paying her $7m settlement with the ACLU and the Children's Hospital Los Angeles - she was not supposed to disclose where the money was going.

When Depp responded by sending the first of the settlement payments straight to both organizations, Heard 'went into a tirade about how I should be charged double the $7m, I should be charge $14m because she thought I was looking for a tax break'.

Describing the effect of the allegations, Depp said it cost him 'nothing less than everything'.

He said: Because when the allegations were made, were rapidly circling the globe, telling people I was a drunken cocaine fueled menace who beat women suddenly in my 50s, it's over. You're done.

'No matter the outcome of this trial, the second the allegations were made against me, the second more and more of these things metastasized and turned into fodder for the media, once that happened I lost then. There's to say, I lost because that is not a thing that anyone is going to just.

I will live with that for the rest of my life.

I lost then, no matter the outcome of this trial, I'll carry it for the rest of my days. It never had to be that way, it never had to happen and I don't quite understand why it did in the way that it did.

Heard's lawyer briefly began Depp's cross examination before the day ended which began cordially but swiftly turned hostile.

Rottenborn put it to Depp that other than mentioning the fact of abuse allegations, the article 'doesn't contain any details of your time together?'

Depp said: 'I think it's very easy to write a piece and put the finger on someone without saying their name. There are sneaky ways of writing things'.

Depp said that the ACLU 'clearly describe Miss Heard' before Rottenborn asked that his comments be struck, and the judge agreed.

Depp said: 'Sorry, it's evidence'

Rottenborn asked the same question again, asking this time for a 'simple yes or no'

Depp said: 'You'd like it to be. Nothing's simple in this case'.

Depp was shown an article which came out two months before Heard's op-ed piece stating that Disney was not going to be playing Jack Sparrow on the next Pirates film.

In his testimony Depp claimed that Heard's article got him fired from the franchise.

Depp said: 'I wasn't aware of that but it doesn't surprise me given two years had gone by of constant worldwide talk about me being this wife beater. I'm sure Disney was trying to cut ties to be safe. The MeToo movement was in full swing at that point'

Depp detailed the explosive fight he and Amber Heard had in March 2015 in Australia where the top of his finger was severed when Heard allegedly threw a bottle of vodka at him

Depp detailed the explosive fight he and Heard had in March 2015 in Australia where the top of his finger was severed when Heard allegedly threw a bottle of vodka at him.

The couple were in Australia while Depp was filming the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film. Heard claims that he chopped off his fingertip with a knife during the argument, and her team has called it a 'three day hostage situation' where Depp was repeatedly violent.

However Depp took the stand Wednesday and told the court that Heard was angry at him after she met with his lawyers to discuss a post nuptial agreement. Heard had claimed that one of the lawyers laughed at her - he later discovered that was not true.

Depp said: 'All I could do was try to calm her down and say I was not out to screw her over or put her in a position that was uncomfortable. It did not work, it escalated and turned into madness, chaos, violence.'

'She was irate, she was possessed. When I tried to remove myself as I normally would, as she's hammering me with brutal words. Pardon my language but I remember that it wasn't nice.. Sort of being called an a** kisser to lawyers or a pu**y that didn't fight for her or stand up for her. I tried to remove myself from the situation but to no avail.

'The house they'd rented for me in Australia was quite a large place. I think I ended up locking myself in at least nine bedrooms, bathrooms that day as she was banging on the doors and streaming obscenities and wanting to have a physical altercation.'

Depp described how Heard walked away after he locked himself in one room and then he walked downstairs to the rec room where there was a pool table and a bar.

He said: 'I went behind the bar, I grabbed a bottle of vodka, and a shot glass and sat at the bar and I poured myself two or three stiff shots of vodka, first taste of alcohol in a long time.

'When she came down to the bar and found me there started screaming you're drinking again, the monster and all that.'

'She walked up to me and reached and grabbed the bottle of vodka and stood back and hurled it at me', Depp said, motioning the act of throwing. Moving his hand past his head, he said: 'It just went right past my head and smashed behind me.

'I stood up and walked behind the bar and there was a larger bottle of vodka, the kind with the handle. I grabbed that and sat in my seat, opened the bottle and poured myself a shot and drank it

'Miss Heard was flinging insults left right and center. She grabbed that bottle and threw that at me.' Depp said he used the bench in front of him to show the jury where the bar was situated and leaned back in his chair.

He said: 'I was leaning like this in the chair. First bottle went, got the other bottle, shot. Takes second bottle. I'm in this position again. My hand is on the edge of the bar like that, leaning over.

'She threw the large bottle and it made contact and shattered everywhere and I honestly didn't feel the pain at first at all, I felt no pain.'

'She threw the large bottle and it made contact and shattered everywhere and I honestly didn't feel the pain at first at all, I felt no pain,' Depp said

'What I felt was heat and I felt as if something were dripping down my hand and then I looked down and realized that the tip of my finger had been severed. I was looking directly at my bone sticking out,' Depp said

'The meaty portion of the inside of your finger. Blood was just pouring out and at that point I think I went into some sort of, I don't know what a nervous breakdown feels like but that's probably the closest I've been. Nothing made sense. I knew in my mind and in my heart this is not life. This is not life. No one should have to go through this,' Depp said

'What I felt was heat and I felt as if something were dripping down my hand and then I looked down and realized that the tip of my finger had been severed. I was looking directly at my bone sticking out.

'The meaty portion of the inside of your finger. Blood was just pouring out and at that point I think I went into some sort of, I don't know what a nervous breakdown feels like but that's probably the closest I've been. Nothing made sense. I knew in my mind and in my heart this is not life. This is not life. No one should have to go through this.

'This feeling of being in the middle of some sort of nervous breakdown I started to write with my own blood on the walls, little reminders from our past that essentially represented lies she had told me, lies I had caught her in.'

Looking at a picture of himself on a stretcher, Depp said, 'That's me in the emergency room. I see a detail I'd forgotten.

'Miss Heard had taken my cigarette from the ashtray and stubbed it out on my face.'

Asked which finger it was, Depp held up his right middle finger and said: 'It's the funny looking one.'

Showing it to the jury, he said: 'You can see from the initial wound all these bones were crushed, it looked.'

Depp said that while Depp was injured Heard yelled 'white noise in a very high frequency' at him, adding: 'I was in shock.'

Depp was taken to the emergency room where he lied to the doctors and said he smashed the finger in some accordion doors because he 'didn't want to get Miss Heard in trouble'

Depp was shown a photo of the finger taken in the hospital which he said was 'the remains of my finger'.

Putting his prescription sunglasses on, he looked at a photo of himself lying on a stretcher in hospital.

He said: 'I see a detail I'd forgotten. Miss Heard had taken my cigarette from the ashtray and stubbed it out on my face.'

Johnny Depp was back on the stand Wednesday to continue his testimony about how his relationship with ex-wife Amber Heard deteriorated

The 58-year-old told the jury in his $100million defamation trial that he stayed with Heard despite the alleged abuse because he feared she would attempt suicide like his mother did when his father left her

'Miss Heard had taken my cigarette from the ashtray and stubbed it out on my face,' Depp said on the stand Wednesday

Depp with parents Betty Sue Palmer and John Christopher Depp and then-girlfriend Vanessa Paradis when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999

The 58-year-old told the jury in his $100million defamation trial that he stayed with Heard despite the alleged abuse because he feared she would attempt suicide like his mother did when his father left her.

'I didn't want to break her heart,' Depp said Wednesday. 'When my father left, my mother - that first attempt at suicide that I woke up to and that visual in my head - that was a direct result of my father's leaving.

'Miss Heard had spoken of suicide on a couple of occasions so that also becomes a factor. That's also something that always lives in the back of your brain and you fear.

'Many times when I'd try to leave she would stop me at the elevator with the security guards crying, screaming, ''I can't live without you, I'm going to die.''

'There were a couple of times when I did escape and five minutes later she would arrive at my West Hollywood home in her nightgown screaming in the parking lot in front of my house, screaming to high heavens and it would be four in the morning. It was ludicrous. It was out of control.'

Depp told the court that he hoped he could 'bring Amber around.'

'The Amber Heard I knew for the first year and a half was not this opponent, it wasn't my girl. She had become my opponent and everything I did just didn't fit her, she didn't accept it.'

He spoke of their blowout fights, which he said got violent.

'If I continued to try to present my version or my side of the story, when you're approached in a kind of, with such anger and hatred. It seemed like pure hatred for me. If I stayed to argue I was sure it would escalate into violence and often times it did.'

'Miss Heard in her frustration and her rage and her anger, she would strike out. It could begin with a slap, a shove, throwing a TV remote at my head, throwing a glass of wine in my face but all in all it was just a constant.

'There was a built in list of my personal experiences which I told to Miss Heard - those things were used against me as weapons, especially when it came to my kids

'The only ambition I've ever had arrived the second my first child arrived, in the instant, which was to be a good parent, to be a great father, to be the best father I could.'

Depp said that Heard would attack his parenting.

Depp told the court that he hoped he could 'bring Amber around.' 'The Amber Heard I knew for the first year and a half was not this opponent, it wasn't my girl. She had become my opponent and everything I did just didn't fit her, she didn't accept it'

Depp and Heard met on the set of the 2011 movie The Rum Diary, turning up on the red carpet together for its London premiere

'There were several occasions where Miss Heard would tell me what a bad father I was and that I had no idea how to parent.

I 'couldn't understand how how in 52 years how I could be so wrong about everything.'

Depp said he went into a 'monumental tailspin where I could hardly go and spend time with my kids because she had to have me there at all times for her own needs, that was something that, once you realize it's happening and there are hassles between the children and her, the situation starts to get a little more grim and a little more dire.

'That I was not prepared to take, I would not hear the words you're a terrible father, you're an awful father. One can only take so much of that before bits of your brain, bits of your heart, the valve gets shut off because you can't hear it any more and you know it's not true and you know it's to slice you up, to bring you down, to bring you into a place where you start to believe there's something wrong with you.

'There's plenty wrong with mebut in all of these situations my main goal was to retreat because most important is pick your battles. If there's a battle to be fought it's grave and important that must be dealt with but small insults and kind of teenage high school tactics, this bullying if you will, it was becoming too much too take.'
A Denver man will die in jail after murdering his wife when she confronted him about an affair, then staging her death to look like an accident.

On Tuesday, after three hours of deliberation, a jury found Robert Feldman, 59, guilty of first-degree murder in the 2015 death of his wife, and mother of his two children, Stacy Feldman.

A judge then instantly gave Feldman - who used his wife's $750,000 life insurance money to pay for his defense - the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The cheating spouse and killer had strangled his wife to death in the shower and then staged her death to look like a slip and fall. Prosecutors said he killed his wife house after she confronted him about an extramarital affair.

Robert Feldman, pictured left in his mugshot and, right, in court Wednesday, has been convicted of murdering his wife and making it look like an accident

Stacy Feldman was the mother of two children. The victim's mother, Dorothy Malman said: 'If you really loved your children, you wouldn't have killed their mother. You wouldn't have taken their mother from them. The only person you love is yourself.'

In a bizarre twist of events, Feldman was allowed to use his dead's wife insurance policy to pay for his defense. He had also been renting out his backyard pool located at 3601 S. Pontiac Way in southeast Denver, as he awaited his trial, Fox 31 reported.

Neighbors said Feldman, who some described as 'creepy,' rented his pool though zoning rules in his neighborhood prohibited him from doing so.

One woman, who did not want to be identified, told the news outlet, that she had rented his pool, at least 10 to 15 times, and he charged her $45 an hour.

Feldman wasnt charged until 2018 because Denver police detectives reportedly took three years to find a medical expert that was willing to testify that Feldman's wife died by strangulation, and did not die from a slip-and-fall as he said, Fox 31 reported.

The victim's mother, Dorothy Malman said in court before the sentencing: 'If you really loved your children, you wouldn't have killed their mother.

'You wouldn't have taken their mother from them. The only person you love is yourself.'

Stacy's older sister, Susan Malman Altman told the court, that she had been fighting for this verdict for the last seven years, the news outlet reported.

The Denver home the couple shared with their children before the 2015 killing

A photo of Robert and Stacy Feldman and their children taken during happier times

The trial had been delayed by COVID. Stacey's family always suspected Feldman of killing her, but had to pay for a private investigation into her death to gather enough evidence to bring charges against Feldman.

'My sister deserves to leave in peace,' Altman said, in part. 'Instead of letting her go to be happy, he killed her.'
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Tuesday that the Biden administration appeal a Florida judge's ruling against the mask mandate for travelers  setting up a legal battle after days of confusing signals on government policy.

'It is CDCs continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health,' the CDC said in a Wednesday statement.

'CDC believes this is a lawful order, well within CDCs legal authority to protect public health.'

It said it would continue to monitor public health conditions  which have seen a rise in coronavirus infections  and called it 'well within CDCs legal authority to protect public health,' despite the judge's ruling otherwise.

The statement gave a green light for the Justice Department to continue its appeal  having pegged its own posture to the decision made by the agency.

That came after Donald Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle of Florida ruled against the policy  triggering the administration to stop enforcing it and airlines to roll back their own enforcement.

The appeal will send the legal fight to the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, where there are seven Republican-appointed judges and four appointed by Democrats.

The feds filed a notice of appeal in federal court in Tampa.

The battle could end up in the Supreme Court, which earlier this year struck down a vaccine mandate for large private businesses in a 6-3 ruling.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden was speaking 'quite literally' when said it was up to air travelers whether to wear masks after a federal court ruling  as the administration tried to get its mixed messaging in order on the controversial topic.

'That's up to them,' Biden told reporters in New Hampshire Thursday when asked about a U.S. District Court judge's ruling in Florida knocking down the mandate. That comment came when it was not yet clear how the administration would respond to the court ruling, amid deep divisions over masking.

'The president was answering the question quite literally, which means right now, as you know, we are not implementing the mask mandate because of the court order  which we disagree with  while he is still abiding by CDC guidance, so he recommends Americans do that across the country,' Psaki told reporters at the White House.

'They're still recommending people wear masks on airplanes. On Air Force One, which of course is a federal, not a private plane. We all wear masks on the plane when we traveled to New Hampshire yesterday. But we are not, at least people are not legally bound to wear masks, so it is a point in time where where it is up to people it is their choice in that regard,' she added.

'The president was answering the question quite literally, which means right now, as you know, we are not implementing the mask mandate because of the court order,' said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki

The Justice Department after Biden spoke Tuesday announced it would appeal the ruling  if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concludes that it is necessary for the order to remain in place for the sake of public health.

That left the outcome in limbo.

Even as the CDC continued its review of current policy in light of the increase in cases amid the rise of the latest COVID variant, Psaki said the White House does recommend people where masks during travel.

'Well, first, I would say we continue to recommend everyone wear masks on planes. What the President was speaking to is of course, because we are not currently implementing the mask mandate, it is not a requirement,' she said when pressed further at the White House briefing.

'But to be clear, we are recommending everyone wear masks on planes. That is what the CDC is recommending. That is the public health guidance we are following.'

Pictured a Delta Flight attendant with no mask on a flight heading to Atlanta, Georgia from Reagan National Airport, April 19th, 2022

Pictured passenger a mask less Casey Phillips age 40 from Alexandria, VA is served a cup of champagne from a mask less Delta Flight attendant on a flight heading to Atlanta, Georgia from Reagan National Airport on April 19th, 2022

Two JetBlue flight attendants clap, cheer and say 'we're so happy!' after learning the public transportation mask mandate has been lifted. After their celebration they tell passengers they can take off their face coverings and say: 'Wave 'em in the air like you just don't care'

'That's up to them,' Biden told reporters in New Hampshire Thursday when asked about a U.S. District Court judge's ruling in Florida knocking down the mandate for travelers. The Justice Department is appealing, pending a CDC decision

Psaki referenced polls showing a majority of Americans favor a mask mandate for travel

'I would note I know this is often said and maybe some of it is because there was a video of people on planes  on one plane taking off their masks  public calling does not actually show that there is a universal view of people getting rid of masks. That's not actually what public polling shows. Now, it doesn't matter to us because we are making our decisions based on public health and data and what the CDC is recommending, but that is not the universal view of the policy,' she said.

Psaki insisted there was video of just one plane after several videos made the rounds showing people celebrating as they ripped off their masks in flight.

It wasn't clear which video she was referring to, after videos circulated of a singing flight attendant, a Jet Blue crew announcing the court ruling to cheers from passengers, or widely shared video of a Delta flight that showed people throwing away their masks.

She was accurately stating poll information. A new AP / NORC Public Affiars Research poll shows a 56 per cent majority favors mask requirements for people on planes, trains and public transit. That compares to only 24 per cent who say they are opposed and 20 per cent who say they are neither in favor nor opposed.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned Wednesday that his far-right rival Marine Le Pen risked sparking a 'civil war' if she was elected and implemented her plans to ban the Muslim headscarf in public.

During a televised presidential debate, Le Pen confirmed that she stood by her controversial idea of banning the headscarf, which she called 'a uniform imposed by Islamists', but she said she was not 'fighting against Islam.'

'I'm telling it in a very clear manner: I think the headscarf is a uniform imposed by Islamists,' Le Pen said.

'I think a great proportion of young women who are wearing it have no other choice in reality.'

Macron responded: 'What you're saying is very serious. You are going to cause a civil war. I say this sincerely.'

The sitting President has said he would not ban religious clothing, but he has overseen the closure of numerous mosques, schools and Islamic groups, with help from a special team to root out suspected breeding grounds for radicalism.

The Macron government also passed a controversial law last year to fight 'separatism,' the word used to describe the mixing of politics with Islam, deemed dangerous to France's prized value of secularism.

But Le Pen has pledged to take things a step further by placing an outright ban on religious clothing in public - a law she says would be enforced like 'wearing a seatbelt in a car'.

Centrist candidate and French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and far-right contender Marine Le Pen pose before a televised debate in La Plaine-Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Wednesday, April 20, 2022

In the climax of France's presidential campaign, centrist President Emmanuel Macron and far-right contender Marine Le Pen on Wednesday engaged in a one-on-one television debate that could prove decisive before Sunday's runoff vote

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, left, talks to a woman as she campaigns in a market in Pertuis, southern France, Friday, April 15, 2022

The move would represent a giant step further than two laws already in place, a 2004 ban on headscarves in classrooms and a 2010 ban on the face-covering niqab in streets.

Headscarves are common apparel for many Muslim women, and Le Pen's opposition to the garment has encapsulated what her critics say makes her dangerous to French unity, by alienating millions of French Muslims.

Le Pen would also slash immigration and wants to outlaw ritual slaughter, which would restrict French Muslims' and Jews' access to kosher and halal meat.

Earlier in the debate, Macron sensationally accused his election rival of being 'in the grip of Russia' and using the country as 'her banker'.

The 44-year-old head of state said the far-right Le Pen, 53, was unfit to replace him because she was still paying money back to Moscow during the Ukraine War.

'War is raging on the continent,' said Macron during a live TV face-off between the two candidates on Wednesday night.

'Times are very dangerous indeed. Russia is strengthening its offensive, and this will lead to more human disasters.'

Earlier in the debate, Macron sensationally accused election rival Marine Le Pen of being 'in the grip of Russia' and using the country as 'her banker'. The 44-year-old head of state said the far-right Le Pen, 53, was unfit to replace him because she was still paying money back to Moscow during the Ukraine War

Le Pen rebuffed claims that her National Rally party was in cahoots with Russia, arguing she 'had no other choice' but to take out the 8million loan because 'French banks would not lend to us.' The National Rally leader rejected the accusations, saying: 'I am a completely free and independent woman'

The centrist president then rounded on Le Pen: 'You are in fact in Russia's grip. You took out a loan from the First Czech-Russian Bank in 2014, working with people who were directly involved in the war in Syria.'

Referring to his 2017 election campaign, when Macron beat Le Pen to win his first term of office, he said: 'You are not just talking about Russia, but your banker. It's hardly surprising that Russia took part in the campaign to destabilise me in 2017.'

Le Pen rebuffed claims that her National Rally party was in cahoots with Russia, arguing she 'had no other choice' but to take out the 8million loan because 'French banks would not lend to us.'

The National Rally leader rejected the accusations, saying: 'I am a completely free and independent woman.'

Denying any wrongdoing, Le Pen said: 'I offer my solidarity and absolute compassion to the Ukrainian people in front of millions of viewers.'

But she added: 'I agree with sanctions against Oligarchs, but I disagree with the ban on imports of oil from Russia.

'I don't think it will hurt Russia, but it will hurt the French people. The consequences will be cataclysmic, not just against business but against private individuals. Russia can just sell its oil to other countries.'

Le Pen also said she feared that sending French weapons to Ukraine could suck her country into the war.

'This could be a huge risk for the West and for France,' said Le Pen.

The TV debate is a traditional part of French election campaigns, with the two leading candidates taking part in a contest moderated by journalists.

In the first round on April 10, Macron came first out of the 12 candidates, beating second-placed Le Pen by more than 4 percentage points.

Polls indicate that Macron, a fiercely pro-EU centrist, has a strong lead of up to 10 per cent ahead of Sunday's decisive vote.

But the gap is much narrower than in 2017, when Macron beat Le Pen with a landslide 66 per cent of the second round vote.

The TV debate is a traditional part of French election campaigns, with the two leading candidates taking part in a contest moderated by journalists. In the first round on April 10, Macron (pictured) came first out of the 12 candidates, beating second-placed Le Pen by more than 4 percentage points

Polls indicate the sitting President is ahead in the race, but the gap is much narrower than in 2017, when Macron beat Le Pen (pictured) with a landslide 66 per cent of the second round vote

Le Pen's hard-right agenda includes a pledge to cut immigration to France by up to 75 per cent, and to prioritise social security benefits including housing for French nationals.

She has also said she will cut most taxes for the under-30s, and slash VAT on fuel to just 5 per cent.

The TV debate was a disaster for Le Pen five years ago, when her poor knowledge of the economy was exposed by the then more astute Macron.

The French president has said he will press on with his pro-EU agenda, so as to make France stronger in the world.

The former merchant banker resents being called 'President of the French' by enemies, insisting that he wants to spread wealth throughout society.

'I want to win over women and men with diverse political points of view,' he declared.

With unemployment at a 13-year low, Macron said he was proud of job creation during his term and added: 'the best way to gain purchasing power is to fight unemployment.'

The two candidates kept interrupting each other at the start of the debate, with Le Pen saying that 'in real life' her proposals would improve voters' situation much more than her opponent, while Macron said some of her proposals were not realistic.

'Mrs Le Pen, what you said is inaccurate,' Macron told his opponent about her proposals to slash VAT to improve purchasing power. 'And you responded to none of my remarks because you have no response,' he said.

Le Pen said Macron's cost of living proposals would be inefficient.

French journalists and TV hosts Lea Salame (L) and Gilles Bouleau pose pose prior to moderating a live televised debate between French President and La Republique en Marche (LREM) party candidate for re-election Emmanuel Macron and French far-right party Rassemblement National (RN) presidential candidate Marine Le Pen on French TV channels TF1 and France 2 in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, ahead of the second round of France's presidential election

Macron created En Marche! (On the Move!) his own political movement in 2016, and is independent of any established party.

Le Pen meanwhile changed the name of her family party, the National Front, to National Rally in 2018, in an attempt to try and soften its extremist image.

The party was founded in 1972 by her father, Jean-Marine Le Pen, who is widely reported to be a Holocaust denier.

Mr Le Pen, 93, was officially expelled from his daughter's party but remains very popular among the rank and file.

In the audience supporting Macron tonight was his wife, Brigitte Macron, 69.

Ms Le Pen, a mother of three, is currently single.
Former President Donald Trump made his decision to endorse J.D. Vance in the contentious race for the Ohio Senate nomination after expressing his disgust at two other candidates who almost came to blows during a debate, his son Don Jr. said on Wednesday.

Trump unveiled his endorsement of the Hillbilly Elegy author on Friday, triggering a cascade of donations and momentum for Vance, who had been trailing in polls.

It also brings some big name boosters, like his son Don Jr, who appeared with him at a town hall event in Independence, Ohio, on Wednesday.

'You know, he makes up his own decisions, as you've seen over the years. He is a sort of a professional contrarian and I think that's served him very well,' Don Jr told reporters after the event.

'On the policies, this was a no brainer.'

But he said a widely ridiculed debate clash between Mandel's leading opponents was key.

'I go, you saw those things, he goes, 'Yeah, that was that was pretty ugly.'

Video of the debate clash between Mike Gibbons, 69, a businessman, and Josh Mandel, 44, a veteran, went viral after they almost came to blows.

J.D. Vance has all the momentum in the race for the Republican nomination in Ohio's Senate battle, after he was endorsed by former President Donald Trump on Friday

Don Jr. joined Vance at a town hall in Independence, Ohio, on Wednesday, where he told reporters his father was influenced by an 'ugly' debate last month

Mike Gibbons (L) and Josh Mandel exchange heated arguments at the FreedomWorks Forum for Ohio's Republican Senate Candidates on March 18, 2022 in Columbus

Mandel started attacking the businessman over his assets in China, saying : 'You filed that with the federal elections committee for stock in Chinese petro.'

Gibbons - who has assets anywhere from $83 million to $286 million, according to his Senate campaign's financial disclosure - retorted: 'I personally didn't buy the stock.'

But Mandel, former Ohio Treasurer who has disclosed assets of at least $2.2 million, wouldn't let the businessman and investment banker off so easily, firing back from his seat on the stage: 'But you made millions off it, sir.'

Gibbons brushed it off, turning back to the stage as if he was going to continue his speech, saying: 'I don't think I made millions off of anything. I'd loved to have made millions off of Chinese petro.'

Things deteriorated from there, and the two men went chest to chest as they slung insults. A third person came into shot in an effort to separate them, rather like an episode of Jerry Springer.

At on point Mandel told Gibbons: 'You back off.'

Gibbons replied: 'Watch, watch, you've squared it away with the wrong dude.'

On Wednesday Vance said he had been taken by surprise when Trump called him to say he was getting the endorsement.

'I was having a cookies and cream milkshake with my kid on Friday,' he said, when the former president telephoned.

'I really think that a few things helped me. The debate performance has helped me. I think substantively the president saw even from the beginning that I was the most one the actual agenda.

'And I think the president started to see like a real pathway for me in this race, especially with his support.'

The endorsement was followed this week by a massive cash injection from Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel. He is donating $3.5 million to Protect Ohio Values, a super PAC backing Vance.

It helps bring Vance's war chest into line with that of his biggest rival, former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, who is backed by the conservative group Club for Growth.

Vance's campaign launched a push on Monday to promote the endorsement and the supportive super PAC made a seven-figure ad buy.

But it has also come with attacks, leveled by Trump supporters eager to remind voters that Vance was an early critic of the former president.

Former President Donald Trump has officially endorsed J.D. Vance in the Republican primary in the Ohio Senate race. The Hillbilly Elegy authored earned the prized endorsement in a crowded field in what is expected to be a hotly contested race

In a statement on Friday, Trump said: 'MAGA patriots from across the nation are set to deliver an election landslide for Republicans that will serve as a devastating rebuke of the failures of Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats'

In his endorsement on Friday, Trump acknowledged that he and Vance had not always been fellow travelers.

'Like some others, J.D. Vance may have said some not so great things about me in the past, but he gets it now, and I have seen that in spades,' he said in a statement.

'He is our best chance for victory in what could be a very tough race.'

A source familiar with Trump's decision said Vance had powerful backers. Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, Sen. Josh Hawley and Donald Trump Jr. all lobbied the president to plump for Vance.

And Trump ultimately decided that Vance, a 37-year-old Marine veteran, had the best chance of winning and will serve as a 'devastating rebuke of the 'failures of Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats'.

It is the second big endorsement Trump has made in the last seven days after backing Dr. Oz in the Pennsylvania Senate race.

Vance celebrated Trump's backing in a tweet: 'I'm incredibly honored to have President Trump's support.

'He was an incredible fighter for hard working Americans in the White House, he will be again, and I'll fight for the America First Agenda in the Senate.'

The winner of the nomination will likely face face a stiff test in the form of Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in the November election.

With his endorsement, Trump signaled that he believes Vance is not only closely aligned with his own thinking, but is best place to win.

'The Democrats will be spending many millions of dollars, but the good news is that they have a defective candidate who ran for president and garnered exactly zero percent in the polls,' said Trump.

'The bottom line is, we must have a Republican victory in Ohio.'

Senate hopefuls Mike Gibbons, 69, (left, standing) and Josh Mandel, 44, (right) came toe-to-toe at a primary debate last month after Mandel attacked the father-of-five's financial assets in China, claiming he 'made millions' there. The clash lost them the chance of Trump's endorsement according to a source familiar with the former president's thinking

Gibbons went on to say that former Marine 'didn't know squat' because he's never worked in private sector, to which Mandel replied that he had served two tours in Iraq and told the businessman: 'Don't tell me I haven't worked.' At one point someone had to tried to break the two men up as they argued about money and life experiences

'This is not an easy endorsement for me to make because I like and respect some of the other candidates in the racethey've said great things about "Trump" and, like me, they love Ohio and love our Country.

'I've studied this race closely and I think J.D. is the most likely to take out the weak, but dangerous, Democrat opponentdangerous because they will have so much money to spend.

'However, J.D. will destroy him in the debates and will fight for the MAGA Movement in the Senate.

'He's strong on the border, tough on crime, understands how to use taxes and tariffs to hold China accountable, will fight to break up Big Tech, and has been a warrior on the rigged and stolen presidential election. J.D. is a Marine who served in the Iraq War, a graduate of The Ohio State University, and earned a law degree from Yalea great student.

'With J.D. Vance, Ohio gets both brains and brawn. Ohio has been good to me, I won it twice, really bIG, and I have likewise been GREAT for Ohio. Lets keep it going!

'It is time for the entire MAGA movement, the greatest in the history of our Country, to unite behind J.D.s campaign because, unlike so many other pretenders and wannabes, he will put America First. In other words, J.D. Vance has my Complete and Total Endorsement. He will not let you down.'

It came a day after Politico reported that more than three dozen GOP chairs and state party central committee members signed a letter asking Trump not to endorse Vance, pointing out to the ex-president that the author 'referred to your supporters as "racists" and proudly voted for Evan McMullin in 2016.'

One of the Republican officials whose name appeared on the letter, Putnam County GOP's Chairman Tony Schroeder later came out and said he didn't agree to put his name on the document, which was leaked to Politico.

Additionally, Politico reported that a pro-Mandel polling firm, Remington Research, circulated a memo pegging Vance as a loser - even with Trump's nudge.

'J.D. Vance will still lose even with President Trump's endorsement,' the memo, authored by Remington's President Titus Bond, said. 'J.D. Vance is widely known by Republican Primary voters for his Never-Trumper comments and his calling Trump supporters "racists."'

'Since he is already known to Ohioans as a self-proclaimed "Never Trumper" and voters will forcefully be reminded of that, Vance will still lose even with President Trump's endorsement,' Bond said.

The memo said that even with the Trump bump, Vance would come in fourth in the primary, at around 15 per cent.

Vance thanked Trump for his in endorsement. He tweeted: 'I'm incredibly honored to have President Trump's support. He was an incredible fighter for hard working Americans in the White House, he will be again, and I'll fight for the America First Agenda in the Senate'

Mandel had shared a clip of Vance in August, in which the author said that some of Trump's supporters are racist.

The clip cuts off before Vance then says that most of them are not.

'I always resist the idea that the real thing driving most Trump voters was racial anxiety or racial animus, partially because I didnt see it. I mean, the thing that really motivated people to vote for Trump first in the primary and then in the general election was three words: jobs, jobs, jobs,' Vance said at a University of Chicago Institute of Politics event in 2017.

Vance, Mandel and Timken haven't even historically been the leaders of the race, with the polling edge until recently going to Republican businessman Mike Gibbons.

However Gibbons 'is not on his radar,' one source close to Trump told Politico.

A Trafalgar Group poll released Friday morning showed Mandel and Vance had leapfrogged Gibbons in the latest survey, coming in first and second, respectively.
At least 100 Queensland homeowners have been asked to cough up tens of thousands of extra dollars to have their dream homes completed as rising construction costs bite amid supply chain issues.

Oracle Platinum Homes, one of the state's largest building companies, have asked many of its customers to pay an extra $40,000 to $122,000.

In a letter to one homeowner obtained by the Courier Mail, director Thomas Orel requested an additional $50,000 to finish the build on top of the contract price.

The director explained the eye-watering increase was due to 'ongoing ripple effects' from the pandemic, which had caused a price surge and supply issues.

Oracle Platinum Homes, one of Queensland's largest building companies, have asked a slew of their customers to pay an extra $40,000 to $122,000

Oracle has said the additional costs were due to 'ongoing ripple effects' from the pandemic which had caused a price surge and supply issues

Ian Smith, whose son's Oracle home is being built near Ipswich in the state's southeast, was forced to threaten legal action against the company.

He said Oracle had demanded another $50,000 to complete the home, which at that point was receiving the finishing touches.

Having experience in the construction industry, he fought back and said revisions to the agreed upon price contract were not enforceable.

Mr Smith said Oracle still refused to hand over the property until he threatened legal action, but admitted other customers 'are just paying up'.

Pictured is a request for an extra $50,000 to cover a price surge caused by the pandemic and other supply issues, such as the recent floods

'There are other people in the same boat,' he told the Courier Mail.

'Young people, working class people, are receiving these demands and it is stressing them out due to the time blowout as well as increased living and legal costs.'

In a Facebook group set up exclusively for Oracle customers to share their stories, several others have complained of being hit with additional costs.

One retired couple said they were asked for an extra $65,000 to complete the 'dream' home they planned to spend the rest of their days.

Another claimed they were hit with two price increases that totalled $122,000 on top of the $391,000 contract base price originally agreed.

Prices of materials have been rising steadily since the start of the pandemic, but exploded in April and May last year (average prices of commodities - Arcardis statistics)

It's estimated that Oracle Homes is working on 300 properties across the Sunshine State, without about half the builds facing price increases.

A third said they offered to pay $10,000 to battle material costs after they were asked for another $40,000 but this was refused.

In a letter to Oracle customers, the companies lawyers Holding Redlich said the additional costs were in response to increased costs.

They said said while the impact on customers was 'terrible' it would be even more costly if Oracle Homes went into administration.

'Seeking a new contract with a new builder is very likely to result in a substantial contract price rise when compared to the price increase requested by Oracle,' the lawyers said in the letter to customers.

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission has urged frustrated homeowners to seek legal advice before agreeing to pay any extra costs

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission has urged frustrated homeowners to seek legal advice before agreeing to pay any extra costs.

A spokesperson said variations to a fixed price building contract were only permitted in very limited circumstances and may breach the contract.

'Generally, under many fixed price contracts, variations to the price are only permitted in very limited circumstances and demands for cost increases may breach the contract,' the spokesperson told the Courier Mail.

It's estimated that Oracle is working on 300 new homes across the Sunshine State, with about half the builds facing price increases.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Oracle Platinum Homes for comment.
Priti Patel is facing a Home Office mutiny over the Rwanda asylum deal with some staff threatening to strike.

The Daily Mail can reveal certain employees branded the policy 'totally unethical' and asked if they can refuse to work on the scheme.

Comments on an internal online noticeboard, seen by the Mail, reveal scores of officials have voiced their opposition to Home Secretary Miss Patel's scheme. It could see tens of thousands of migrants sent to Rwanda for asylum processing in the coming years.

People found to have a legitimate claim can stay in Rwanda  but cannot return to the UK. Those whose applications fail may be deported to their home country. The scheme will focus mainly on single men arriving in the UK illegally in small boats or lorries.

The Daily Mail has received copies of messages sent by officials on an internal Home Office messaging board where they are criticising the controversial government refugee policy

Officials in the Home Office have expressed outrage over Home Secretary Priti Patel's plan to off-shore asylum applications from people who have crossed the English Channel. Ms Patel, pictured, wants to process the applications in Rwanda and anyone who is successful will be welcomed to remain in the African country

The questions of worried staff will be put to Home Office permanent secretary Matthew Rycroft during an online call for staff today.

One worker said on the noticeboard: 'I find the Government proposal totally unethical and it impacts directly upon my workstream. As a civil servant, can I refuse this type of work in contravention of my own ethics?'

Another drew a comparison to serving in war-time Germany. In a reference to the Nazi trials at Nuremberg, they wrote: 'The words 'I was only obeying orders' are echoing down through history to me and making me queasy.'

However, a colleague accused them of making 'absurd comparisons'. The level of negativity in the Home Office is further evidence of attempts to undermine Miss Patel's efforts to tackle the Channel migrant crisis. Earlier this year, a union representing most Border Force workers joined a migrant charity to challenge the legality of measures to turn boats back to France.

In the online comments, a Home Office worker asked whether staff would have a duty to 'resist' the Rwanda policy and campaign against it.

They wrote: 'Do we have a responsibility to not just leave, but to organise and resist? We cannot simply wash our hands and walk away.'

Another said: 'Somewhere down the road, when the inevitable 'What went wrong with Rwandan outsourcing?' inquiry takes place, the Home Office cannot say that nobody spoke up at the time.

'We're speaking up  this is a bad idea. Don't do it! I think a lot of staff feel this way.'

A colleague replied: 'Go on strike.' One civil servant said: 'I've worked for the Home Office for 20 years. There's been some ups and downs in that time.

A Home Office official said: 'This is one of the darkest moments for the Home Office and it is making me reconsider my position here'

'But this announcement has made me feel deep shame and is the first time I am considering my position here and whether I need to get out of this department.'

A worker said: 'This is one of the darkest moments for the Home Office and it is making me reconsider my position here.'

However, a minority of posters supported the Rwanda deal One wrote: 'It is important we remember that the current situation in the Channel is unsustainable and hugely impacting our colleagues' well-being  there are more arrivals than they can cope with.'

Another civil servant said: 'I believe the removal policy to Rwanda is possibly the best option to the current misuse of the asylum system and will act as a deterrent over time.'

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said of the comments: 'This just shows what Priti Patel is up against on a constant basis.

'Elected governments set the policy and it's for the civil service to implement that policy.

'That's how democracy works but not, it seems, in the minds of Home Office civil servants.

'This only goes to show what we already suspected  that there is a huge amount of push-back from the officials.'

A Home Office spokesman said: 'The Home Office is committed to constructive and open conversations with staff on our policies.'
Tesla's financial results have surged past Wall Street expectations, as higher prices helped insulate the electric vehicle maker from supply chain chaos and rising costs.

Tesla reported Wednesday that its first-quarter net earnings were over seven times greater than a year ago, powered by strong sales.

The electric vehicle and solar panel company made a record $3.32 billion from January through March. Excluding special items such as stock-based compensation, the Austin, Texas, company made $3.22 per share.

That soundly beat Wall Street estimates of $2.26 per share according to data provider FactSet.

Revenue for the quarter was $18.76 billion, also beating estimates of $17.85 billion and rising 81 percent from last year.

Tesla's financial results have surged past Wall Street expectations, as higher prices helped insulate the electric vehicle maker from supply chain chaos and rising costs

Shares of Tesla closed Wednesday down nearly 5 percent at $977.20, but rose 6% in extended trading, after the company released its numbers

Sales were boosted by multiple price hikes meant to offset rising costs of lithium, nickel, cobalt and other precious metals used to make batteries.

It may be harder for Tesla to post similar numbers later this year. It's facing costs from ramping up new factories in Germany and Texas, as well as rising commodity prices. It's also looking at increased competition as startups and legacy automakers roll out more electric models.

The company said its weekly production for the quarter was strong, but a spike in COVID-19 cases brought the temporary shutdown of its factory in Shanghai, as well as part of Tesla's supply chain.

'Although limited production (at the Shanghai factory) has recently restarted, we continue to monitor the situation closely,' the company said in a letter to investors.

Tesla seems to have dealt with parts shortages better than the rest of the industry.

Shares of Tesla closed Wednesday down nearly 5 percent at $977.20, but rose 6 percent in extended trading, after the company released its numbers. The stock is down about 7.5 percent so far this year.

CEO Elon Musk is expected to attend the companys earnings conference call later Wednesday. He also could be asked about his $43 billion hostile bid to take over Twitter.

Despite the Chinese production and supply chain problems, Tesla reiterated its guidance of 50% annual average growth in vehicle deliveries over the next several years.

'The rate of growth will depend on our equipment capacity, operational efficiency and the capacity and stability of the supply chain,' the company said.

Tesla reported Wednesday that its first-quarter net earnings were over seven times greater than a year ago, powered by strong sales

Although production has started at the Texas and German factories, Tesla said the ramp up at both sites will take time. The company said its factories have run below capacity because of parts supply shortages.

Tesla also says it expects 'Full Self-Driving' beta test software to be released to all customers who purchased the feature by the end of the year. Tesla has said the cars cannot drive themselves, despite the name, and drivers must pay attention and be ready to intervene at all times.

Tesla delivered a record 310,000 vehicles worldwide in the first quarter, up roughly 68% from the same period in 2021. Tesla delivered 185,000 vehicles in the first quarter of last year.

Last year the company delivered a record 936,000 vehicles, an 87% increase over 2020 numbers. The company said in February that it expects 50% annual growth in sales, meaning it expects about 1.4 million vehicles to be delivered this year.
Hillary Clinton on Wednesday is asking that a legal challenge filed against her by Donald Trump be dismissed on the grounds that it has 'no merit.'

The former first lady's court filing compared Trump's lawsuit to a 'fundraising tool, a press release or a list of political grievances' but said it has no place 'as a lawsuit, and should be dismissed with prejudice.'

The ex-president sued his 2016 Democratic opponent and dozens of others in March for an 'unthinkable plot' to 'weave a false narrative' that he was colluding with a hostile foreign power during that election cycle to 'cripple Trump's bid for presidency.'

Clinton 'vigorously denies' Trump's accusations, but even if they were true, argued that he 'fails to plead any cognizable legal causes of action,' the filing obtained by Axios states.

Her attorneys also claimed that some of the Republican's accusations -- including conspiring with the FBI and Christopher Steele on the British ex-spy's infamous dossier -- would run out of the statute of limitations even if Trump had a case.

They cite proof his allegations were made 'no later than October 29, 2017, when [Trump] publicly asserted that Clinton was responsible for the Steele Dossier, the Comey fix, and phony stories on his collusion with Russia, and claimed the facts of the alleged conspiracy were pouring out.'

'But notwithstanding his rousing, all-caps call to action, Plaintiff waited four years, four months, and twenty-four days before filing suit. His delay renders each of his claims untimely,' they state.

Clinton's lawyers compared Trump's March lawsuit to 'a press release or a list of political grievances'

Clinton's attorneys claim Trump's lawsuit is so full of lies that 'the only factually supported allegations concerning Clinton in the lengthy Complaint' is the date she declared she was running for president.

They dismiss his arguments as 'fact-free pleading' that the federal Florida court they were filed in should 'reject.'

'At most, [Trump] alleges that other entities sought to further Clintons candidacy and, after the election, politically opposed [Trump's] administration. This is conduct plainly protected by the First Amendment, and there is nothing unlawful about engagement in political activity,' Clinton's team said.

Defendants also named in Trump's suit include former FBI Director James Comey, former FBI agent Peter Strzok, ex-FBI lawyer and Strzok's former lover Lisa Page, the Democratic National Committee and others.

Trump sued Clinton and more than a dozen others over allegedly 'colluding' against him in 2016

'Acting in concert, the Defendants maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty,' the lawsuit states.

Trump claimed that, as a result, he was 'forced to incur expenses' upwards of $24 million and that those costs are 'continuing to accrue, in the form of defense costs, legal fees, and related expenses.'

The former president is fighting another legal battle north of the Sunshine State, having been caught up in a New York tax fraud investigation since 2019.

The Empire State's Attorney General Letitia James has accused Trump and his family real estate empire of knowingly using misleading financial documents to secure favorable loans and business deals for at least a decade.

James recently urged a judge to hold Trump in contempt for failing to turn over financial documents in compliance with a subpoena. She also asked the court to fine him $10,000 for every day Trump did not comply.

The ex-president hit back in a Tuesday court filing, dismissing James' threat as 'little more than a contrived publicity stunt.'

Trump's attorney Alina Habba said he had complied with the subpoena in full and just did not have the papers James was looking for -- passing the buck to the Trump Organization, whose attorneys have said they've already produced 6 million pages' worth of documents.

After a 'dutiful search' for what prosecutors were seeking, Trump's attorney said he 'simply did not have any of the requested documents in his personal possession or custody.'

Instead, Habba claimed 'all potentially responsive documents were in the possession, custody or control of the Trump Organization,' according to a filing obtained by Insider.

She pointed out her client 'was not obligated to produce documents' in the company's control.

In a late March filing James said Trump himself only turned over 10 documents in more than two years. He was due to hand over the latest round by a previously agreed-upon deadline of March 31.
The smooth build-up to the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations was thrown off course yesterday by Prince Harrys extraordinary interview. In it, he said:

THE QUEEN AND ME

Speaking to US network NBCs Today show from the Netherlands, where he is attending the Invictus Games, Harry, 37, was asked about his reunion with the Queen at Windsor on Thursday last week.

Buckingham Palace has maintained a dignified silence on the meeting  in part out of respect to the monarch, who loves her grandson  but Harry did not choose to issue a polite no comment.

In fact he went further. He said it was refreshing to meet her in some element of privacy, and made the extraordinary claim that he wants to protect his grandmother, apparently suggesting she was not being well served by some of the people around her.

Prince Harry said that he has a 'really special relationship' with the Queen while sitting down for an interview with the Today show's Hoda Kotb

When asked about whether he 'misses' his brother and father, the Duke, 37, said instead that he wanted to 'focus' on the Invictus Games, which he is hosting in the Netherlands

The Prince also explained that California is his family's home, after being welcomed 'with open arms' to Santa Barbara. Above, at the Invictus Games

Interviewer Hoda Kotb asked: How did it feel being back, being with her?

Harry replied: It was great. It was so nice to see her. Shes on great form. Shes always got a great sense of humour with me. Just making sure shes protected and got the right people around her.

It is not clear exactly what he meant. Was he referring to the loyal members of the Royal Family  the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall or the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge  none of whom have uttered a word about recent events?

Or did he mean she was being let down by her staff? Harry has frequently revealed that he, like his mother before him, has an inherent distrust of the men in grey suits around the royals.

But as well as senior courtiers, the Queen is also served by long-standing and loyal personal staff including her confidante Angela Kelly, her page Tall Paul Whybrew and Master of the Household Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt, all of whom have her best interests firmly at heart.

There are also questions over how Harry, no longer a working member of the Royal Family  and who claims he cannot even come to the UK because he fears for his familys safety  is able to protect the Queen.

Prince Harry refused to say whether he misses his brother Prince William and father Prince Charles while sitting down for an interview with the Today show's Hoda Kotb - however he insisted he still has a 'special relationship' with the Queen

When asked whether he 'misses' his brother and father (seen left together in 2020), the Duke, 37, refused to answer, insisting he wanted to 'focus' on the Invictus Games, which he is hosting in the Netherlands. He also praised his grandmother's 'sense of humor' and said she is able to speak to him 'about things that she can't talk about with anybody else' (seen together right)

Harry spoke about his late mother Princess Diana's 'constant presence' in his life, saying that he has felt it 'more so [in the last two years] than ever before' and adding that he believes she has helped him to 'get set up' with his new life in California

HARRY'S LOADED REMARKS ON THE QUEEN Shes always got a great sense of humour with me and Im just making sure that shes protected and got the right people around her. We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she cant talk about with anybody else, so that is always a nice piece to it. ON ATTENDING THE PLATINUM JUBILEE I dont know yet, theres lots of things  security issues and everything else. So this is what Im trying to do, trying to make it possible that, you know, I can get my kids to meet her. ON CHARLES AND WILLIAM When I leave here [the Invictus Games], I go back and my focus is my family, who I miss massively. ON AMERICA Home for me now is, you know, for the time being, its in the States. And it feels that way as well. ON DIANA'S PRESENCE Its almost as though shes done her bit with my brother and now shes very much helping me. Shes got him set up, and now shes helping me set up. Advertisement

IM HER CONFIDANT

Harry went on to claim that the Queen tells him things she feels she cannot tell anyone else.

He said: We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she cant talk about with anybody else. So thats always a nice piece to it.

That Harry has always enjoyed a good relationship with his grandmother is of no doubt. The monarch most definitely has a soft spot for him and he has always been able to persuade her to step out of her comfort zone.

When he started the Invictus Games, the Queen was so proud that she agreed to star in a viral social media skit with him. But the idea that she would discuss anything with him that she would not discuss with Charles, William or any other close members of her family, was greeted with derision by some insiders yesterday.

UK NO LONGER HOME

The prince made clear that he has firmly settled in California. He said: Home for me now is for the time being... in the States and it feels that way. Weve been welcomed with open arms and have a great community in Santa Barbara. He moved with Meghan to Montecito, California, after their decision to step down as senior royals in 2020.

THE BALCONY AT THE JUBILEE?

Dont be so sure...When questioned about whether the Queen would be bored with her Platinum Jubilee, Harry replied with a laugh: No, I dont think so. Shes had a few jubilees now, every one is slightly different but Im sure shes looking forward to it.

In recent days there has been fevered speculation about whether the prince will make a appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony with the Queen.

The Mails sources have always issued caution over this, stressing: He only met with his grandmother last week. Theres a lot of ground to be covered between now and June. It is by no means a done deal in any way, shape or form.

When Miss Kotb asked Harry if he would return to the United Kingdom for the Jubilee, he said: I dont know yet, theres lots of things  security issues and everything else.

The Duke of Sussex's interview with Kotb comes just over a year after his and Meghan's explosive on-air sit-down with Oprah Winfrey, which saw the couple airing several very damaging allegations against the royal family

While Harry (seen with Kotb) refused to comment on his relationship with his brother and father, he did praise the Queen's sense of humor and told the Today anchor that he made his grandmother laugh when they met in a secret meeting last week

The interview will also see Harry opening up about the Invictus Games; the Today show shared an image of the Duke posing alongside Kotb and one of the US veterans taking part

Kotb also posted a behind-the-scenes snap on her social media accounts, while encouraging her followers to tune in to Wednesday's broadcast

The Today anchor posted a glimpse at the interview on Instagram, showing Harry looking down in an apparent moment of reflection during the sit-down

So this is what Im trying to do, trying to make it possible that, you know, I can get my kids to meet her.

The prince has launched a High Court legal action against the Home Office for stripping him of his round-the-clock police protection when he and Meghan quit as senior royals.

His critics believe Harry has boxed himself into a corner with this latest in a long line of legal actions, making it impossible for him to bring his children Archie, two, and ten-month-old Lilibet to the UK.

Harry and Meghan made a secret visit to the Queen (seen together in 2018) last week during a quick stop-off in the UK on their way to the Netherlands

The Sussexes' secret trip marked the first time that Meghan has returned to the UK since the couple (seen at the Invictus Games) sensationally quit the royal family at the start of 2020

The Queen has yet to meet her namesake great-granddaughter Lilibet (right), who was born in California in June last year, and she has not seen Archie (left) since he was an infant

HIS CHILDREN

Harry  who claims part of the reason he wanted to quit as a working royal was because of his lack of privacy  spoke at length about his children.

Speaking of his pride at being a father, he said: I love every part of it. I always wanted to be a dad and now I have two little people Im responsible for. Harry said he tells Archie about his late Grandma Diana, although not her entire life story.

Asked about his typical day, he revealed: It revolves around the kids as much as humanly possible. This whole working from home stuff is not all its cracked up to be.

He added: My mantra now every day, and its a dangerous one because I need to make sure I dont have burnout, but its trying to make the world a better place for my kids, otherwise whats the point in bringing kids into this world? Thats a responsibility I feel as a parent and you probably do as well. We cant fix everything but we can be there for each other.

HIS FAMILY

When asked if he missed his family at home  the UK  Harrys answer was perfunctory, saying most people had missed their loved ones during the Covid pandemic.

He sidestepped a specific question about whether he missed his brother and dad, both of whom have been deeply hurt by his actions.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby takes a question from a reporter during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, April 19. AP-Yonhap





Ukraine has received fighter planes and aircraft parts to bolster its air force in the face of Russia's invasion, the Pentagon said Tuesday, declining to specify the number of aircraft or their origin.







The announcement comes a week after U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled an $800 million military aid package for Kyiv, including heavier equipment such as howitzers, as fighting escalates in eastern Ukraine.







The moves indicate a change in attitude in the West, which had initially refused to provide Ukraine with heavy armaments to avoid action Russia could consider direct involvement in the conflict.







Ukrainian forces "right now have available to them more fixed-wing fighter aircraft than they did two weeks ago," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.







"Without getting into what other nations are providing, they (Ukrainian forces) have received additional platforms and parts to be able to increase their fleet size," he said.







Kirby did not specify the type of aircraft delivered to the Ukrainian military, which had been pleading for warplanes for weeks, but suggested that they were Russian-made.







"Other nations who have experience with those kinds of aircraft have been able to help them get more aircraft up and running," Kirby said.







He underscored that while the United States had helped with the shipment of some parts, it had "not transported whole aircraft."






Days after being endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Republican Senate contender J.D. Vance on Wednesday set out his political agenda with a call for term limits on bureaucrats, tariffs to protect American industry and immediate action on ending the crisis at the southern border.

Friday's endorsement has pushed Vance to the head of a tight field in the Ohio race, bringing in millions in funding and generating air time.

On Wednesday he was boosted by the presence of Don Jr on the campaign trail in Independence, just outside Cleveland. Trump senior arrives on Saturday for a rally.

But at the same time his opponents have stepped up attacks, accusing him of making a late conversion to Trumpism - attacks Vance shrugged off as the death throes of rival campaigns.

At a town hall in front of about 160 supporters, he said public servants should be term limited and attacked President Biden's top medical adviser Anthony Fauci.

'We need term limits not just for the legislators but for bureaucrats because ladies and gentlemen, all this talk about experts losing their expert status but there is an expert that not a single person in this room voted for that has far more power than anyone we ever did [vote for]... his name is Anthony Fauci,' he said.

'Why does he make more money that anyone else in the federal government?

'We need term limits for the bureaucrats too.'

He spelled out his concerns that the president needed the power to hire and fire those in senior positions after the event in an interview with DailyMail.com.

'When you have the bureaucracy at the EPA, or the IRS or whatever alphabet agency we're talking about, that is actively against the president of the United States, that's a fundamental problem for the nature of the Republican itself.

'The president can't hire and fire his own people. And he has bureaucrats that are actively against his agenda, but he can't fire them.'

The day began with a group of Ohio Republicans urging Trump to reverse his endorsement of the populist author.

They accused the former president of betraying some of his earliest supporters with the endorsement of a writer who rose to fame as a Trump critic before pivoting to the right.

J.D. Vance called for term limits for bureaucrats and said the president should have the power to hire and fire top federal officials in a speech on Wednesday in Independence, Ohio

Vance reserved particular ire for Anthony Fauci, President Biden's top medical adviser, citing him as an example of a bureaucrat who should no longer be in office

'We would respectfully request you reconsider your endorsement of JD Vance to show your supporters in Ohio and across our great states why we first believed in you back in 2016,' said a letter signed by Rob Scott, Ohio director of the Trump campaign in 2016 and delegates.

'That it really was about the We the People, America First and Making America Great Again not supporting a political chameleon and snake oil salesman like JD Vance!'

But the Vance campaign accused critics of sour grapes after their chosen candidates lost out on the endorsement.

And Vance said people signing the letters and criticism were working for other campaigns.

'You look at some of the names of the people who are signing these letters, and a lot of them are all the payrolls of the other campaigns,' he said.

'not all of them, but this is how politics works.

'I think it's kind of ridiculous for some of these guys to act like it's, you know, their principal talking yeah, sometimes it's their wallet.'

Vance was a well-known critic of Trump in 2016, and some of his words and messages have resurfaced as Republican rivals try to trip him up.

But Don Jr. was quick to address the 'elephant in the room' of 2016 when he took the stage in a Holiday Inn conference room.

'Guess what else didn't like Trump in 2016? Everybody,' he roared to peals of laughter.

'Some of our greatest allies now and the people that are hardest for my father and for his agenda were not exactly fans. Let's talk about Ted Cruz ... that was rough.'

In his endorsement on Friday, Trump even acknowledged that he and Vance had not always been fellow travelers.

Donald Trump endorsed J.D. Vance for the Republican nomination for Senate in Ohio. It could be enough to put the Hillbilly Elegy author over the top in a bitterly contested race

With Vance gaining momentum in the final stretch, his enemies have launched a string of attacks pointing out that he was an early critic of Trump and urging the former president to reverse his decision to endorse him

'Like some others, J.D. Vance may have said some not so great things about me in the past, but he gets it now, and I have seen that in spades,' he said in a statement.

'He is our best chance for victory in what could be a very tough race.'

Vance described his conversion from Trump critic to supporter to the DailyMail.com.

'I personally was very jaded about politics. I saw Trump as a guy who was putting forward a lot of ideas that I liked, but was doing it in a way that I thought didn't make a lot of sense,' he said.

'And most importantly, I thought politics was too tough and this guy was simultaneously fail and discredit the things that I care about.

'At the end of the day, he was actually the best president of the past four years.'

Vance used some of the president's own lines during his stump speech and question and answer session with supporters.

He said tariffs were one way to fix the American economy and get it back on even terms with China.

'There was no way to fix that problem unless you solve the long term productivity in this country,' he said, 'and one way to do it is this magic word that in America, for 200 years, 200 years, we said tariffs, okay?'

Last week's endorsement was followed this week by a massive cash injection from Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel. He is donating $3.5 million to Protect Ohio Values, a super PAC backing Vance.

It helps bring Vance's war chest into line with that of his biggest rival, former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, who is backed by the conservative group Club for Growth.

Vance's campaign launched a push on Monday to promote the endorsement and the supportive super PAC made a seven-figure ad buy.

The result has been a serious of moves by opponents of the Hillbilly Elegy author to blunt the endorsement by pulling out Vance's old record of opposition to Trump.

The Vance campaign said the attack was just the latest sign that his opponents knew they had lost.

In a statement on Friday, Trump said: 'MAGA patriots from across the nation are set to deliver an election landslide for Republicans that will serve as a devastating rebuke of the failures of Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats'

'Conservative outsiders like Donald Trump and JD Vance will always be fought by the Republican establishment and party insiders,' Taylor Van Kirk, a spokeswoman for the campaign.

'This is nothing more than a desperate attempt by four jealous and dying campaigns who are working together to organize these letters because they can't cope with the fact that President Trump rejected their establishment-approved candidates in favor of the only real America First conservative in this race.'

A source familiar with Trump's endorsement decision said Vance had powerful backers. Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, Sen. Josh Hawley and Donald Trump Jr. all lobbied the president to plump for Vance.

And Trump was turned off Mandel and businessman Mike Gibbons when they nearly came to blows in a heated debate exchange about Chinese petroleum last month.

He thought they 'looked like clowns,' ending any chance that they would win his endorsement.

Instead Trump insisted Vance, a 37-year-old Marine veteran, had the best chance of winning and will serve as a 'devastating rebuke of the 'failures of Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats'.

Vance celebrated Trump's backing in a tweet: 'I'm incredibly honored to have President Trump's support.

'He was an incredible fighter for hard working Americans in the White House, he will be again, and I'll fight for the America First Agenda in the Senate.'

The winner of the nomination will likely face face a stiff test in the form of Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in the November election.

With his endorsement, Trump signaled that he believes Vance is not only closely aligned with his own thinking, but is best place to win.

'The Democrats will be spending many millions of dollars, but the good news is that they have a defective candidate who ran for president and garnered exactly zero percent in the polls,' said Trump.
Vladimir Putin sent a chilling warning to the West yesterday by test-launching his fearsome Satan II missile.

Capable of striking a target 11,200 miles away, the nuclear-capable Sarmat RS-28 is said to be the worlds longest-range intercontinental ballistic missile.

Putin described the launch as a big, significant event for Russias military and claimed the weapon can overcome all modern defence systems.

Vladimir Putin ordered the test firing of his Sarmat RS-28 'Satan II' missile - which is capable of carrying enough nuclear warheads to destroy France in a single strike

The launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia launched practice warhead at the Kura firing range some 3,600 miles away

However the US described the testing as routine and dismissed any global threat.

Launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome facility in northern Russia, the missiles practice warheads hit targets 3,600 miles away at the Kura firing range in the Kamchatka peninsula.

If fully armed, it can deliver a payload big enough to destroy an area the size of France.

In remarks televised around Russia, Putin congratulated the military on the launch, adding: This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure the security of Russia from external threats and make those who, in the heat of aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice.

He added it was capable of overcoming all modern means of anti-missile defence. Dmitry Rogozin, director of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said the weapon was a present to Nato and all sponsors of Ukro-Nazism, a reference to the outlandlish propaganda claims that Kyiv is run by neo-Nazis.

Vladimir Putin, pictured, boasted about the missile launch during TV address

Despite the timing  coming as Western countries pledge further heavy weaponry to aid Ukraine  the Pentagon said it was notified by the Kremlin of its intention to launch the weapon.

Initial tests of the missile took place in 2017 and the first full-scale launch was delayed from December, prior to Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The RS-28 Sarmat is designed to replace the R-36, which had been nicknamed SS-18 Satan by NATO.

Describing the successful launch, a statement from Russias defence ministry said: Sarmat is the most powerful missile with the longest range of destruction of targets in the world, which will significantly increase the combat power of our countrys strategic nuclear forces.

Capable of travelling at up to 16,000mph, it can deploy multiple warheads and other weapons towards targets at hypersonic speeds, making it extremely difficult to bring down.

It will be able to launch the Avangard, Russias first hypersonic missile, which can travel at the top of the Earths atmosphere at more than ten times the speed of sound.

Putin has previously described the weapon as invincible. The original Soviet-era Satan missile has been in service since the 1970s, while Satan II is said to have been in development since the early 2000s.

The head of Moscows strategic missile forces, Colonel-General Sergey Karakayev vowed to keep developing hypersonic weapons.

By the time they [the West] find an antidote, we must have found another solution to this. And today we are working on it. There are developments, there is work in progress.

Jack Watling, of the Royal United Services Institute defence think-tank said the timing of yesterdays test was mere posturing by Putin ahead of Russias Victory Day on May 9, where the Kremlin shows off its weapons.

The timing of the test reflects the Russians wanting to have something to show as a technological achievement in the lead-up to Victory Day, at a time when a lot of their technology has not delivered the results they would have liked in Ukraine, he said.

When Putin invaded Ukraine in February he made a reference to his nations nuclear deterrents, warning the West that any major intervention would lead you to such consequences that you have never encountered in your history.
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are doomed, Boris Johnson warned reporters in India last night.

The Prime Minister said it is 'very hard' to see how Kyiv can negotiate with President Vladimir Putin given his 'lack of good faith'.

'How can you negotiate with a crocodile when it's got your leg in its jaws?' Mr Johnson asked.

Boris Johnson has said it is 'very hard' to see how Ukraine can negotiate with Russia given Vladimir Putin's 'lack of good faith'

The Prime Minister compared negotiating with Putin now to negotiating 'with a crocodile when it's got your leg in its jaws'

Talks between Ukraine and Russia have stalled  with each side blaming the other for the breakdown.

Kyiv and Moscow have not held face-to-face talks since March 29, and Ukraine's lead negotiator said this week it was hard to predict when they would resume because of Russia's siege of Mariupol.

Tonight Mr Johnson also expressed his fears that there will not be a negotiated resolution to the conflict.

Kyiv and Moscow have not held face-to-face talks since March 29, and Ukraine's lead negotiator said this week it was hard to predict when they would resume because of Russia's siege of Mariupol. Pictured is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

Speaking to reporters as he flew to India for a two-day diplomatic trip, he said: 'It's very difficult.

'It's not for the UK or for anyone else to try and substitute ourselves for the Ukrainians. It's for the Ukrainians to decide their future.

'But it's very hard to see how they can negotiate with Putin now given his manifest lack of good faith.'

He added: 'We've just got to keep supplying them with the things they need.'

While Mr Johnson's trip to India is not directly linked to the Ukraine crisis, his spokesman said it 'will of course be a topic of discussion'.
Sir Keir Starmer last night faced calls to apologise for misleading parliament after claiming Boris Johnson had accused the BBC of being too soft on Vladimir Putin.

The Labour leader made the remarks in a stormy exchange with the PM, who stood by his comments accusing the Archbishop of Canterbury of unfairly criticising plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

At a private meeting of Tory MPs on Tuesday night, the Prime Minister said the immigration policy had been misconstrued on the BBC and by certain members of the clergy.

Sir Keir Starmer has faced calls to apologise for misleading parliament after claiming Boris Johnson had accused the BBC of being too soft on Vladimir Putin

Mr Johnson went on to suggest that senior clergymen had been less vociferous on Easter Sunday against Putin, according to a source in the meeting.

In his Easter sermon, Archbishop Justin Welby had said the Rwanda plan was the opposite of the nature of God.

Yesterday the Church of England accused the PM of a disgraceful slur and Sir Keir told MPs that Mr Johnson had slandered the archbishop.

In the morning, BBC Radio 4 Today presenter Justin Webb challenged minister Paul Scully on the issue.

He [the PM] apparently made the point to Conservative MPs that the BBC and the archbishop were not focusing enough on Vladimir Putin, Webb said.

I just wonder, can you come up with an occasion when Boris Johnson has put his life on the line for the truth  as [BBC correspondents] Jeremy Bowen has, as Lyse Doucet has, as Clive Myrie has?

Paul Scully said: Its not something I can particularly comment on.

The BBC presenters question appeared to overlook the fact that Mr Johnson visited Kyiv on April 9 and joined President Volodymyr Zelensky on a walkabout.

Archbishop Justin used his sermon in Canterbury to attack the 'ungodly' deal with Kigali, which could see thousands of people flown to Rwanda from next month

Sir Keir told MPs: The Prime Minister (pictured) went to see his backbenchers and he was back to blaming everyone else. He even said that the Archbishop of Canterbury had not been critical enough of Putin'

Later on during an angry Prime Ministers Question Time, the PM did not deny making the comments about the archbishop and the BBC over Rwanda.

But he strenuously denied Sir Keirs claims that he had criticised the BBC over its Ukraine coverage.

Sir Keir told MPs: The Prime Minister went to see his backbenchers and he was back to blaming everyone else. He even said that the Archbishop of Canterbury had not been critical enough of Putin.

In fact, the Archbishop called Putins war an act of great evil, and the Church of England has led the way in providing refuge to those fleeing.

The Labour leader then said: The Prime Minister also accused the BBC of not being critical enough of Putin.

The Prime Minister responded: I said nothing of the kind and I have the highest admiration  as a former journalist  for what journalists do.

Tory co-chairman Oliver Dowden wrote to Sir Keir asking him to apologise.
A pigtailed Richard Pusey has demanded a prosecutor refer to him by his correct pronouns and compared Victoria's justice system to Iran's in another bizarre court hearing.

Once dubbed 'Australia's most despised man' by a magistrate, Pusey held up a sign and took a phone call during a comical jailhouse video appearance at Sunshine Magistrates' Court.

'Kylie Moore Gilbert would find it difficult to distinguish between the Iranian and the Australian justice system in a police line-up,' he told Melbourne Magistrate Andrew Capell on Wednesday.

'The whole case should be thrown out, You should give me my freedom today.'

Richard Pusey wrapped his pigtails in canary yellow hair ties for his court appearance on Tuesday morning

Pusey walked free from jail in August donning a bizarre outfit (pictured) after serving 10 months for filming the dying police officers.

Constable Glen Humphris, Senior Constable Kevin King, Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor and and Constable Josh Prestney all died in the horror crash (pictured left to right)

Pusey remains in jail awaiting a contest hearing over allegations he posted online a picture of the body of a police officer killed in 2020's Eastern Freeway truck crash.

Pusey, who wore pigtails with yellow hair ties and matching yellow-trimmed facemask, again reminded the court about his jailhouse transition into a woman, demanding he be referred to as 'them or they'.

Last month Pusey told the court he had almost missed his court hearing due to ongoing plans to transition.

'I've got discussions with some clinics in Melbourne in relation to my gender re-assignment surgery,' he said at the time.

In a minor win for Pusey on Wednesday, prosecutors acting for Victoria Police dropped yet another charge against him and softened the remaining four charges to reflect 'offensive' behaviour rather than 'menacing'.

Police allege Pusey posted a Google review of the Porsche Centre Melbourne, which included one of the pictures he took at the scene of the April 2020 crash over which he was previously sentenced on charges of outraging public decency.

Four officers were killed after they pulled over Mr Pusey Porsche (pictured) for allegedly speeding on Melbourne's Eastern Freeway

The 44-year-old has been behind bars since February 7 after his bail was revoked amid allegations he used a telecommunications device to 'offend'.

Just yesterday police dropped a swag of unrelated charges against Pusey - the very charges that saw him jailed for breaching bail with the alleged Google review.

'Technically I should never have been on bail because the last case was thrown out because there was no substance to it,' Pusey complained.

Despite prosecutors agreeing to withdraw another charge, Pusey refused to accept it.

While previously represented in court by high-priced barrister Dermot Dann QC, Pusey has chosen to fight the charges himself aided by a Victorian Legal Aid hotline from behind bars.

'I'd have to make a phone call to legal aid, I'd have to pinpoint the part of the Act,' Pusey told Mr Capell.

Based on Pusey's estimates of obtaining 10 sections of the Act he seeks per request, the disgraced businessman estimated it would take him 18 months to make a decision on the amended prosecution case.

Mr Capell accepted the prosecution's changes to the case all the same.

Bizarre social media posts began appearing on an account called 'the Richard Pusey show' shortly after he was released from jail (pictured)

A picture of Pusey's wrecked black 2016 Porsche 911 was posted online with the caption: 'You don't need one of these to bend a cop'. Pusey was reportedly trying to claim insurance over the crash

The court heard Pusey had finally received documents related to his case after police were forced to record him on body worn cameras receiving them within the Metropolitan Remand Centre where he remains cage.

Pusey had previously claimed the documents had never been sent - a claim hotly disputed by the prosecution.

Among a series of odd requests, Pusey asked to obtain 10 days worth of CCTV footage from a Melbourne hotel dating back to 2018.

He also hoped to call VicRoads and Google as witnesses in the trial - all of which was denied by the magistrate.

It was about then when Pusey vanished from the video link.

When he returned, he was seen giving a double-handed 'peace' salute, talking on a prison phone and holding up a handwritten note stating: 'Me no hear you'.

Court staff assured Mr Capell the videolink was sound, but Pusey refused to respond when spoken to.

Richard Pusey was defended by high-profile Melbourne barrister Dermot Dann, QC (far right) during his proceedings related to the Eastern crash. He represented himself in court on Tuesday

Pusey in April 2020 after his arrest over his role in the Eastern Freeway crash, which claimed the lives of four officers

After a short break, Pusey asked Mr Capell for the second time to give him his name, before repeatedly demanding to know the day - it was a Tuesday - of his next hearing date.

Pusey then insisted the remaining charges be detailed to him again.

'I'm just doing my job,' Pusey whined.

On Tuesday, Pusey compared himself to Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky during a failed bail application.

'To quote Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky: "freedom must be armed no worse than tyranny",' Pusey said.

'Now I'm not prepared to proceed unless I'm armed with the same as the prosecutor.'

Pusey came to national attention after he was convicted of filming four police officers after they were fatally struck by a truck.

He will return to court in August.

Until then, Pusey told the court he would return to his cell to continue watching his favourite television shows, which he said include 'Ryan's Mystery Playdate' and 'Seinfeld'.

Richard Pusey pictured atop of his Fitzroy mansion after a protest against the way he has been treated

Richard Pusey's car is pictured after the deadly Eastern Freeway crash that claimed the lives of four police officers
Spotting a single planet with the naked eye might seem out of this world  but wait until you see four of them.

Skygazers are in for a celestial treat this week, as Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn form a row in the sky in a 'planet parade'.

Experts say the best viewing window is between 5am and 6am over the coming days, after the planets rise above the horizon but just before the Sun follows after them.

In the southern hemisphere, the planets will be visible at the same time of the month but further east and at a steeper angle.

Joining the four planets in their neat line in the last week of April will be the moon, appearing further south, just right of Saturn.

Members of the public won't need a telescope to view the planets, which will be best viewed in clear skies free of cloud.

Starting mid-month, the four planets will appear diagonally, with Jupiter nearest the horizon and Saturn the highest

Joining the four planets in their neat line in the last week of April will be the moon, appearing further south, just right of Saturn

THE PLANETS ALIGN: KEY DATES April 17: Alignment starts to form April 20: Alignment is most visible April 23: Moon lines up too April 29: Moon gets too close to the sun to be visible Source: Live Science Advertisement

In a sky full of stars, the planets can be identified by their distinct lack of twinkling. Stars twinkle, while planets usually shine steadily.

The last time Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus lined up like this was back in 2020, and, before that, in 2016 and 2005.

Jake Foster, an astronomy education officer at Royal Museums Greenwich, told MailOnline that the alignment will be viewable through to early May.

All the UK public will have to do will be 'face to the east before sunrise' and look for four bright points of light. low on the horizon.

'The four planets will be visible in the early mornings just before sunrise, which will be just before 6am BST on April 20,' Foster said.

'Sunrise will creep ever earlier as the days progress, so it is best to view this alignment sooner rather than later.

'The tricky part will be catching the planets in the relatively short space of time between when they rise above the horizon and when the Sun follows after them.

'This allows us a window of time between 5 and 6am BST most mornings from April 20 onwards to view the planets in a neat line across the sky.'

Telling the planets apart with the naked eye is relatively simple to do, Foster added.

'Venus will be noticeably the brightest of all four planets, shining a bright white light. Jupiter will be the second brightest, also shining white in colour. Saturn will be clearly fainter than the other three, due to its much further distance from the Sun.

'Mars will have the most distinctive difference from the others because of its colouration, appearing as a bright orange point of light to the naked eye.'

According to NASA, the two brightest planets in the sky, Venus and Jupiter, are also set for their own ultra-close conjunction at the end of the month, on April 30.

Planets in our solar system never line up in one perfectly straight line 'like they show in the movies'. Very rarely, they appear

HOW TO SPOT THE PLANETS The planets will look like bright stars, except they dont 'twinkle'. Stars twinkle, while planets usually shine steadily. The planets are also different colours - Mercury is white-ish while Venus is bright white. Mars can be recognised by its distinctive rusty red colour. Jupiter is a light tan colour and Saturn is a yellow-ish tan colour. Source: Adler Planetarium Advertisement

This will be similar to the meetup of Mars and Saturn that happened earlier this month on April 4, where they appeared 'a couple of finger widths apart'.

Since April 4, Saturn has been increasing its separation from Mars each day, just as Jupiter makes itself seen by popping over the horizon just before dawn, leading to what is set to be a stunning planetary alignment.

'By mid-month, Jupiter is starting to rise in the pre-dawn hour, making for a quartet of planets, strung out in a line across the morning sky,' NASA says.

'Heading into the last week of April, Jupiter will be high enough above the horizon in the hour before sunrise to make it more easily observed.'

Although they appear close as viewed from Earth, the planets are of course still millions of miles apart during an alignment.

They only appear to move closer, or farther apart, in the sky as our view of them across the solar system changes from month to month.

Also, planetary alignment depends on our viewpoint  so if three planets are in the same region of sky from Earth's point of view, they are not necessarily in the same region of sky form the sun's point of view.

'Alignment is therefore an artefact of a viewpoint and not something fundamental about the planets themselves,' said Dr Christopher S. Baird, assistant professor of physics at West Texas A&M University.

Dr Baird also said that planets in our solar system never line up in one perfectly straight line 'like they show in the movies'.

'If you look at a two-dimensional plot of the planets and their orbits on a piece of paper you may be lead to believe that all the planets will circle around to the same line eventually.

'In reality, the planets do not all orbit perfectly in the same plane. Instead, they swing about on different orbits in three dimensional space. For this reason, they will never be perfectly aligned.'

An even more impressive alignment  dubbed the 'most spectacular of the year'  is set to take place in a couple of months.

On June 24, all the other planets in our solar system  Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune  will align the same region of pre-dawn sky.

While Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye in good conditions, a telescope might be needed to discern Neptune and Uranus, according to Vito Technology, developer of the Star Walk app.

DOES PLANETARY ALIGNMENT HAVE AN EFFECT ON EARTH? The planets in our solar system never line up in one perfectly straight line like they show in the movies. If you look at a two-dimensional plot of the planets and their orbits on a piece of paper you may be lead to believe that all the planets will circle around to the same line eventually. In reality, the planets do not all orbit perfectly in the same plane. Instead, they swing about on different orbits in three dimensional space. For this reason, they will never be perfectly aligned. Planetary alignment depends on your viewpoint. If three planets are in the same region of sky from Earth's point of view, they are not necessarily in the same region of sky form the sun's point of view. Alignment is therefore an artifact of a viewpoint and not something fundamental about the planets themselves. Even if the planets did all align in a perfectly straight line, it would have negligible effects on Earth. Fictional and pseudo-science authors like to claim that a planetary alignment would mean that all of the gravitational fields of the planets add together to make something massive that interferes with life on Earth. In truth, the gravitational pulls of the planets on the Earthare so weak that they have no significant effect on Earth life. There are only two solar system objects with enough gravity to significantly affect Earth: the moon and the sun. The sun's gravity is strong because the sun is so massive. The moon's gravitational effect on the Earth is strong because the moon is so close. The sun's gravity causes Earth's yearly orbit and therefore, combined with earth's tilt, it causes the seasons. The moon's gravity is primarily responsible for the daily ocean tides. The near alignment of the sun and the moon does have an effect on the Earth, because their gravitational fields are so strong. This partial alignment occurs every full moon and new moon, and it leads to extra strong tides called 'spring tides'. The word 'spring' here refers to the fact that the water seems to leap up the shore with the extra strong tides every two weeks - not that they occur only in the spring season. Source: Dr Christopher S. Baird/West Texas A&M University Advertisement
Amazon is working to improve the sophistication of its Alexa virtual assistant so that it can make decisions for itself, the company has revealed.

The US tech giant claims the technology will learn about its owner's habits and perform tasks  such as switching off lights or turning on the TV  without even being asked.

Some of the company's new model Echo speaker devices, which have Alexa built into them, include an ultrasound motion detection function to automatically sense when a person enters the room.

The company also recently unveiled an Alexa-powered home robot called Astro, which has been designed to be a security device as well as help with caregiving.

The proposals evoke echoes of HAL 9000, the sentient artificial intelligence which featured in the sci-fi novel and film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

HAL was initially a benign source of information and a caretaker for the systems on the Discovery One spacecraft, but it eventually became autonomous, refusing commands and threatening the crew.

Mr Limp said that Alexa would become 'more conversational, less transactional' and expand to be useful in 'more places in your life' in years to come

In the movie, HAL 9000 is the artificial intelligence controlling the nuclear-powered Discovery One spaceship

Alexa, tell me when my laundry is finished! Amazon's smart assistant can now listen out for running water or beeping appliances Alexa, Amazon's digital assistant, can now listen out for running water and beeping home appliances in the US, the firm has revealed. The tech giant has added both 'sound detectors' to Alexa Routines  sequences of tasks linked to Alexa that users can program as a shortcut. It means Alexa can recognise the individual sounds and send a notification to the user via their device so they can attend to them. If users want Alexa to detect the ping of a tumble dryer when it finishes a spin, for example, they can set up a routine for Alexa to send an alert. Advertisement

First launched in the UK in 2016, Alexa has grown to become compatible with a wide range of connected devices around the home, including televisions, kitchen appliances, heating, lighting and home security systems, and a voice control tool for smartphones and in cars.

Dave Limp, the senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon  and therefore the man in charge of Alexa  said a key target for Amazon is to free up people's time by having the smart assistant take on more 'mundane tasks'.

Mr Limp told the PA news agency that Alexa had evolved over time from a basic assistant able to answer 'transactional' queries about the time or weather to a more substantial and now often proactive smart home helper.

He is keen to promote the idea of 'ambient intelligence', where the assistant is not just able to help out with a task, but also knows when to step in.

'Alexa has been  when it first came out and even up until a couple of years ago  pretty transactional,' he said.

'You would say: "Alexa, what time is it?" and you would get an answer. You would ask what the weather was like, and you would get an answer.'

But he said Alexa is already beginning to perform tasks without being asked, and there is much more to come in the future.

'You don't necessarily want to always do transactional, you'd like it to be working on your behalf, and to be intelligent in an ambient fashion,' he said.

Dave Limp, the senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon  and therefore the man in charge of Alexa

'It goes beyond that, because people are habitual in many ways and you can personalise the experience for them and do things on their behalf.

'The farthest we are along is with the smart home domain where now more than one in four  greater than 25 per cent  of the things that Alexa does for the smart home is done without the customer saying a single word, it's done in the background.

'So if you shut off your lights ten days in a row then you go on vacation and forget to shut off your lights then it will do it for you  it might ask you first: 'I have a hunch', but after a while it'll just do it.

'So it's these kinds of proactive things that make it more delightful over time and more intelligent and when that starts happening it starts feeling more magical too.

'And it has the side effect of picking your head up and noticing the world around you rather than having your head stuck in your tablet or your phone all the time.'

Mr Limp said Alexa will  like the HAL character  continue to become less transactional and more conversational over time.

'There are lots of other places where I think Alexa can be proactive on your behalf,' he said.

'And every time that Alexa can automate what might be a mundane task for you is just a better world that we're living in, as we have more time to pursue what that other thing is that could be more important on your list.'
A trip to the vet isn't much fun for any dog owner, and now a new study has confirmed that many dogs hate going to the vet too.

Researchers from the University of Adelaide hooked dogs up to heart rate monitors to see how they reacted during a visit to the vet.

The results revealed that some of the dogs' average heart rate doubled between the waiting room and the examination table.

'Veterinary staff and guardians must take every reasonable step to reduce or prevent a fearful experience during veterinary visits,' the researchers wrote in their study, published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior.

A trip to the vet isn't much fun for any dog owner, and now a new study has confirmed that dogs hate going to the vet too (stock image)

Signs of fear in dogs Pacing Panting Shaking/trembling Inability to settle Attempting to hide Lack of appetite (including being unable to take a treat) Being too distracted for you to get their attention Salivation Yawning Licking lips Whale eye (showing whites of eyes) Lifting a paw Lowered body language Hyperactivity Goofy behaviour (getting the zoomies, scratching etc) Loss of toilet training Reactivity Growling Aggression Advertisement

In the study, the team set out to investigate how dogs respond physiologically and behaviourally during physical examinations at the vet.

'Regular veterinary care is integral to companion dog health and welfare, but fearful patients can inhibit provision of care and pose a risk of injury to veterinary staff,' the researchers, led by Petra Edwards, wrote.

'This study aimed to identify the physiological and behavioural responses of a sample of 30 dogs of various age and breed, to a standardised physical examination in a simulated veterinary setting.'

The 30 dogs were hooked up to heart rate monitors, before visiting a veterinary clinic for a routine physical examination.

In the waiting room, the dogs' average heart rate was 97 beats per minute (bpm).

However, during the examination, one-third of the dogs' heart rates almost doubled, peaking at an average of 180bpm.

Meanwhile, one poor greyhound experienced a heart rate of 230bpm during its examination.

In particular, the heart rates were the highest during the first stage of the examination  being patted by the examiner  and the last stage  a simulated vaccination.

In contrast, the middle stage  a tooth examination  elicited the lowest heart rates.

The 30 dogs were hooked up to heart rate monitors, before visiting a veterinary clinic for a routine physical examination (study setup pictured)

An example of the heart rate trace (bpm) of physical examination from two of the dogs - including a greyhound whose heart rate peaked at 230bpm

Tips and tricks for taking an anxious dog to the vet 1. Desensitisation training 2. Visit the vet just for fun 3. Exercise before the appointment 4. Practice exams at home 5. Find a vet who makes house calls 6. Use an anxiety aid 7. Calm your own nerves 8. Address anxiety in general Source: Rover Advertisement

During the study, the researchers also assessed the dogs' behaviour.

They found that an elevated heart rate was correlated with fearful body language, including tails tucked between legs and ears tilted back.

Female dogs were also more fearful during the vet visits than male dogs.

'The findings of the present study suggest a routine aspect of veterinary care, the physical examination, elicits a fear response in healthy companion dogs in a mock veterinary setting,' the researchers wrote.

'This means that while fear may develop relating to other animals present, sounds or odours, there may also be parts of the physical examination that provoke fear either because of a previous negative experience relating to a physical examination, or fear relating to handling.'

The team hopes the findings will encourage veterinary staff and dog owners to take extra precautions to help reassure their dogs during examinations.

If your dog is scared at the vet, there are several things you can do to reassure them.

Speaking to MailOnline, Leigh-Ann Reed, an animal behaviourist at national pet charity Blue Cross, said: 'Regular vet checks are important but they can be a stressful experience for our pets.

'You can help your dog by building up a relationship with a specific vet so they're not an unfamiliar face and also make sure to take some tasty treats along to make the experience more of a positive one for your pet.

'If you can, spend some time at home gently helping your dog become accustomed to being handled all over in the way they might be for a health check at the vets.

'You can also check to see if your vets has a quiet time that you can visit with your pet, or if the vets is busy when you arrive then let them know you'll wait outside or in your car with your pet until it's time to go in.

'If your dog has severe anxiety or really struggles with visits to the vet it is worth contacting a trained animal behaviourist for expert advice.'
Cutting your smartphone use by just an hour a day makes you less anxious, more satisfied with life and more likely to exercise, a study has found.

Researchers said it was 'not necessary to completely give up the smartphone to feel better', but they discovered that reducing its daily use had positive effects on a person's well-being.

Previous studies have shown that smartphone use is linked to obesity, neck pain, impaired performance, and addiction-like behaviour, so experts at Ruhr-Universitat Bochum in Germany set out to establish just how much is too much.

Dr Julia Brailovskaia and her team wanted to determine whether our lives are actually better without smartphones, or rather, how much less use per day is good for us and whether there is a 'sweet spot'.

Cutting your smartphone use by just an hour a day makes you less anxious, more satisfied with life and more likely to exercise, a study has found (stock image)

The researchers recruited 619 people for their study and divided them into three groups.

At total of 200 people put their smartphone to one side for the week, 226 reduced the amount of time they used the device by one hour a day, and 193 didn't change anything in their behaviour.

'We found that both completely giving up the smartphone and reducing its daily use by one hour had positive effects on the lifestyle and well-being of the participants,' said Dr Brailovskaia.

'In the group who reduced use, these effects even lasted longer and were thus more stable than in the abstinence group.'

On average, people spend more than three hours a day glued to their smartphone screens.

We search Google, look for directions, check emails or the weather, shop, read the news, watch films and hang out on social media.

But Dr Brailovskaia said this was 'both a blessing and a curse'.

Researchers said it was 'not necessary to completely give up the smartphone to feel better', but they discovered that reducing its daily use had positive effects on a person's well-being

The researchers interviewed all participants about their lifestyle habits and well-being immediately after the intervention, one month and four months later.

They asked how much they engaged in physical activity, how many cigarettes they smoked a day, how satisfied a person was with their life and if they show any signs of anxiety or depression.

The one-week intervention changed the participants' usage habits in the long term: even four months after the end of the experiment, the members of the abstinence group used their smartphone on average 38 minutes less per day than before.

The group who had spent one hour less per day with the smartphone during the experiment used it as much as 45 minutes less per day after four months than before.

At the same time, life satisfaction and time spent being physically active increased, while symptoms of depression and anxiety  as well as nicotine consumption  decreased.

'It's not necessary to completely give up the smartphone to feel better,' said Dr Brailovskaia. 'There may be an optimal daily usage time.'

The study has been published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied.
Early human ancestors likely engraved images on stone tablets by firelight 15,000 years ago, a new study has revealed.

Experts examined artistic designs on 50 stones unearthed in France and found patterns of heat damage, suggesting they were carved close to the flickering light of a fire.

They are likely to have been made using stone tools by Magdalenian people, an early hunter-gatherer culture dating from between 23,000 and 14,000 years ago.

The study, by researchers at the Universities of York and Durham, looked at the collection of engraved stones, known as plaquettes, which are now held in the British Museum.

The researchers identified patterns of pink heat damage around the edges of some of the stones, providing evidence that they had been placed in close proximity to a fire.

Early human ancestors likely engraved images on stone tablets by firelight 15,000 years ago, a new study has revealed. One of the stones that was examined is pictured

This image shows the ambient light levels and the position of replica plaquettes in relation to the fire during the experiment

WHAT EXAMPLES OF EARLY HUMAN ART HAVE BEEN FOUND WORLDWIDE? It seems that humanity and its ancestors have been driven to create patterns, abstract images and representations of the world around them for thousands of years. The earliest known engraving, a zig-zag pattern, incised on a fresh water shell from Trinil, Java, was found in layers of sediment dated to 540,000 years ago. Another research article proposed that painted representations in three caves of the Iberian Peninsula were 64,000 years old and therefore produced by Neanderthals. Lifelike images found at sites such as the Lascaux Cave in south-west France, which date to around 30,000 years ago, are said to demonstrate an ability to depict animal movement superior to that seen today. In 2018, experts uncovered evidence of art made by humans dating back 73,000 years in an African cave. That makes the drawing, found in the Blombos Caves site in South Africa, the oldest drawing by Homo sapiens ever found, experts say. Advertisement

Following their discovery, the experts experimented with replicating the stones themselves and used 3D models and virtual reality software to recreate the plaquettes as prehistoric artists would have seen them.

This meant under fireside light conditions and with the fresh white lines engravers would have made as they first cut into the rock thousands of years ago.

Lead author Dr Andy Needham, of the University of York, said: 'It has previously been assumed that the heat damage visible on some plaquettes was likely to have been caused by accident, but experiments with replica plaquettes showed the damage was more consistent with being purposefully positioned close to a fire.

'In the modern day, we might think of art as being created on a blank canvas in daylight or with a fixed light source; but we now know that people 15,000 years ago were creating art around a fire at night, with flickering shapes and shadows.'

Working under these conditions would have had a dramatic effect on the way prehistoric people experienced the creation of art, the researchers said.

It may have activated an evolutionary capacity designed to protect us from predators called 'Pareidolia', where perception imposes a meaningful interpretation such as the form of an animal, a face or a pattern where there is none.

Dr Needham added: 'Creating art by firelight would have been a very visceral experience, activating different parts of the human brain.

'We know that flickering shadows and light enhance our evolutionary capacity to see forms and faces in inanimate objects and this might help explain why it's common to see plaquette designs that have used or integrated natural features in the rock to draw animals or artistic forms.'

The Magdalenian era saw a flourishing of early art, from cave art and the decoration of tools and weapons to the engraving of stones and bones.

Co-author Izzy Wisher, a PhD student from the Department of Archaeology at the University of Durham, said: 'During the Magdalenian period conditions were very cold and the landscape was more exposed.

Following their discovery, the experts experimented with replicating the stones themselves and used 3D models and virtual reality software to recreate the plaquettes as prehistoric artists would have seen them

This meant under fireside light conditions and with the fresh white lines engravers would have made as they first cut into the rock thousands of years ago

Working under these conditions would have had a dramatic effect on the way prehistoric people experienced the creation of art, the researchers said

'While people were well-adapted to the cold, wearing warm clothing made from animal hides and fur, fire was still really important for keeping warm.

'Our findings reinforce the theory that the warm glow of the fire would have made it the hub of the community for social gatherings, telling stories and making art.'

She added: 'At a time when huge amounts of time and effort would have gone into finding food, water and shelter, it's fascinating to think that people still found the time and capacity to create art.

'It shows how these activities have formed part of what makes us human for thousands of years and demonstrates the cognitive complexity of prehistoric people.'

The research has been published in the journal PLOS ONE.

The Magdalenian era saw a flourishing of early art, from cave art and the decoration of tools and weapons to the engraving of stones and bones

Experts examined artistic designs on 50 stones unearthed in France and found patterns of heat damage, suggesting they were carved close to the flickering light of a fire

The researchers identified patterns of pink heat damage around the edges of some of the stones, providing evidence that they had been placed in close proximity to a fire
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki delivers the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, April 18. AFP-Yonhap





Western allies pledged more military supplies and sanctions Tuesday to assist Ukraine as its troops battle against Russian forces intensifying their offensive in the east of the country.







Ukraine's armed forces said fighting had increased throughout Donbas, and the ministry of defense reported heavy clashes including near the town of Marinka in the Donetsk region.







Responding to the new Russian push, the United States and European Union agreed to increase "Moscow's international isolation," during a virtual meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and European leaders Tuesday.







"We will further tighten our sanctions against Russia and step up financial and security assistance for Ukraine," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen wrote on Twitter.







Russia's defense ministry said that "high-precision air-based missiles" had hit 13 Ukrainian positions in parts of Donbas while other air strikes "hit 60 military assets," including in towns close to the eastern frontline.







Biden suggested Tuesday to reporters that the United States would send more artillery  as the latest $800 million U.S. aid package starts to arrive in Ukraine, including 18 howitzers, 40,000 artillery rounds, 200 armored personnel carriers and 11 helicopters.







"We will continue to provide them more ammunition as we will provide them more military assistance," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in response to fears that Ukraine was running low.











The Pentagon said Tuesday that Ukraine had also recently received fighter planes and aircraft parts to bolster its air force, declining to specify the number of aircraft and their origin.







Ukrainian forces "have available to them more fixed-wing fighter aircraft than they did two weeks ago," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.







Kyiv has asked its Western partners to provide MiG-29s that its pilots already know how to fly, and which a handful of Eastern European countries have.







On Tuesday evening, the Ukrainian defense ministry reported its troops had beaten back a Russian attack in the city of Izium, south of the partly blockaded second city of Kharkiv.







It also claimed enemy losses in a Ukrainian counter-attack near the town of Marinka in Donetsk.







In the eastern town of Novodruzhesk, resident Nadya, 65, said "we are bombed everywhere".






Venus has a thick, toxic atmosphere that acts to keep it spinning, according to a new study, that says without this motion the planet would be tidally locked to the Sun.

Tidal locking is where one side of a body constantly faces another - such as the moon always presenting the same side to the Earth.

If it wasn't for the soup-like, rapid-moving atmosphere of Venus, it would likely be static, unmoving on its axis, with one side always facing the Sun.

Venus takes 243 Earth days to rotate, but its atmosphere circulates the planet every four days, according to the team from the University of California, Riverside.

Extremely fast winds cause the atmosphere to drag along the surface of the planet as it circulates, slowing its rotation while also loosening the grip of the Sun's gravity.

Slow rotation has dramatic consequences for the sweltering Venusian climate, with average temperatures of up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit  hot enough to melt lead.

The team say this slow rotation means Venus is partially tidally locked, but it is unclear whether this led to the runaway greenhouse effect on Earth's hellish twin.

Venus has a thick, toxic atmosphere that acts to keep it spinning, according to a new study, that says without this motion the planet would be tidally locked to the Sun

The UC Riverside team say the atmosphere of a planet, whether in the solar system or an exoplanet, should be considered a prominent feature of their makeup.

The gravity of a large object in space can keep a smaller object from spinning, a phenomenon called tidal locking, and the atmosphere of Venus slows this locking.

'We think of the atmosphere as a thin, almost separate layer on top of a planet that has minimal interaction with the solid planet,' said Stephen Kane, lead paper author.

'Venus' powerful atmosphere teaches us that it's a much more integrated part of the planet that affects absolutely everything, even how fast the planet rotates.'

Venus takes 243 Earth days to rotate, but its atmosphere circulates the planet every four days, according to the team from the University of California, Riverside

A day on Venus, the time it takes to rotate on its own axis, is longer than a year on Venus, how long it takes to orbit the Sun.

It takes 243 Earth days to rotate one time on its axis, and 225 days to orbit the Sun, but its atmosphere circulates the planet every four days.

Extremely fast winds cause the atmosphere to drag along the surface of the planet as it circulates, slowing its rotation while also loosening the grip of the Sun's gravity.

VENUS: THE BASICS Venus, the second planet from the sun, is a rocky world about the same size and mass as the Earth. However, its atmosphere is radically different to ours  being 96 per cent carbon dioxide and having a surface temperature of 867F (464C) and pressure 92 times that of on the Earth. The inhospitable planet is swaddled in clouds of sulphuric acid that make the surface impossible to glimpse. In the past, it has been suggested that Venus likely had oceans similar to Earth's  but these would have vaporised as it underwent a runaway greenhouse effect. The surface of Venus is a dry desertscape, which is periodically changed by volcanic activity. Facts and Figures Orbital period: 225 days Surface area: 460.2 million km Distance from Sun: 108.2 million km Length of day: 116d 18h 0m Radius: 6,051.8 km Mass: 4.867  10^24 kg (0.815 M) Advertisement

Slow rotation in turn has dramatic consequences for the sweltering Venusian climate, with average temperatures of up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit.

'It's incredibly alien, a wildly different experience than being on Earth,' Kane said.

'Standing on the surface of Venus would be like standing at the bottom of a very hot ocean. You couldn't breathe on it.'

One reason for the heat is that nearly all of the Sun's energy absorbed by the planet is soaked up by Venus' atmosphere, never reaching the surface.

The Venusian atmosphere also blocks the Sun's energy from leaving the planet, preventing cooling or liquid water on its surface - a runaway greenhouse effect.

It is unclear whether being partially tidally locked contributes to this runaway greenhouse state, according to the team.

This is a condition which renders a planet uninhabitable by life as we know it.

Not only is it important to gain clarity on this question to understand Venus, it is important for studying the exoplanets likely to be targeted for future NASA missions, according to the researchers behind the study.

Most of the planets likely to be observed with the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope are very close to their stars, even closer than Venus is to the sun.

Therefore, they're also likely to be tidally locked, Kane added.

Since humans may never be able to visit exoplanets in person, making sure computer models account for the effects of tidal locking is critical.

'Venus is our opportunity to get these models correct, so we can properly understand the surface environments of planets around other stars,' Kane said.

'We aren't doing a good job of considering this right now. We're mostly using Earth-type models to interpret the properties of exoplanets. Venus is waving both arms around saying, 'look over here!''

Gaining clarity about the factors that contributed to a runaway greenhouse state on Venus, Earth's closest planetary neighbor, can also help improve models of what could one day happen to Earth's climate if pollution is left unchecked.

'Ultimately, my motivation in studying Venus is to better understand the Earth,' Kane said.

The findings have been published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
A pair of massive sunspot swarms, some large enough to devour the Earth whole, have appeared on the surface of the Sun, increasing the chance of an intense solar storm.

Sunspots are dark regions of the Sun where it is cooler than other parts of the surface. Solar flares originate close to these dark areas of the star.

Recently, space weather forecasters spotted two 'active regions' known as AR2993 and AR2994 - swarms made up of a number of sunspots - in the past few days.

Solar flares and coronal mass ejections come from these regions, and when they explode in the direction of Earth, they can result in geomagnetic storms that produce beautiful auroras, as well as pose a danger to power grids and satellites.

It isn't yet clear whether these new dark spot swarms will result in solar flares that hit the Earth, but astronomers predict it is possible in the coming weeks.

A pair of massive sunspot swarms, some large enough to devour the Earth hole, have appeared on the surface of the Sun, increasing the chance of an intense solar storm

Sunspots are caused by magnetic disruptions in the photosphere of the Sun, exposing the cooler layers underneath - appearing as a black spot.

Solar flares can erupt in these regions, sending plasma and charged particles out into space - some of which head towards the Earth.

When they reach the planet, they run down the magnetic field, creating aurora such as the northern lights, but can also result in power outages and internet issues.

Earlier this month the Earth narrowly missed a plasma ejection, linked to a sunspot group that had appeared earlier on the star. If it had hit the planet, it could have resulted in risks to astronauts in space, as well as satellites and power grids.

The recent increase in activity from the Sun is the result of it coming towards the most active phase in its 11-year solar cycle - hitting peak activity in 2024.

'I'm sure we shall see larger active regions over the next few years,' according to solar physicist Dean Pesnell from NASA, speaking to Live Science.

'Active regions 2993 and 2994 are middling in size and don't represent the best that Solar Cycle 25 can produce.'

Sunspots are dark regions of the Sun where it is cooler than other parts of the surface. Solar flares originate close to these dark areas of the star

WHAT ARE AURORAS AND WHAT TRIGGERS THE STUNNING NATURAL DISPLAYS? The Northern and Southern Lights are natural light spectacles triggered in our atmosphere that are also known as the 'Auroras'. There are two types of Aurora  Aurora Borealis, which means 'dawn of the north', and Aurora Australis, 'dawn of the south.' The displays light up when electrically charged particles from the sun enter the Earth's atmosphere. Usually the particles, sometimes referred to as a solar storm, are deflected by Earth's magnetic field. But during stronger storms they enter the atmosphere and collide with gas particles, including hydrogen and helium. These collisions emit light. Auroral displays appear in many colours although pale green and pink are common. Advertisement

Jan Janssens from the Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence in Brussels, told Live Science multiple solar flares and coronal mass ejections are 'typical at this stage of the solar cycle,' with some heading towards, but missing the Earth.

'As the solar cycle is heading for its maximum, more and more complex sunspot regions become visible, which can then produce solar flares.'

Studies have shown that the level of solar activity currently happening, is about the same as it was 11 years ago, during the same point in the last cycle.

Pesnell told Live Science there appears to be a third swarm, hidden from view, that is rotating behind AR2993 and AR2994, that produced a class X1.1 flare on Sunday.

Solar flares have letter classes, with A-class the weakest, then B, C, and M-class, with X-class the strongest of the categories. They are then given a size - small numbers represent smaller flares within the class.

An X1 flare is ten times less powerful than the most intense solar flare possible, and the most powerful on record, from 2003, overwhelmed sensors as an X28.

The Space Weather Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that Sunday's flare caused a blackout at certain radio frequencies below 30 MHz in Southeast Asia and Australia.

Despite the flare causing a radio blackout, the plasma from the flare won't hit Earth.

'Flares and coronal mass ejections will become more frequent over the next few years, raising the hazard level of solar activity,' Pesnell told Live Science.

There hasn't been an extreme CME or Solar Flare in the modern world - the last was the Carrington Event in 1859 - creating a geomagnetic storm with aurora appearing globally, as well as fires at telegraph stations.
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A spellbinding new attraction at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London  The Making of Harry Potter has sprouted.

For the very first time, visitors will be able to go through the glass doors of Professor Pomona Sprouts greenhouse  a fan-favourite location from the Harry Potter film series where Hogwarts students were taught herbology by Professor Sprout, played by Miriam Margolyes.

The greenhouse has been built by the original Harry Potter filmmakers and will be filled with a magical assortment of plants, including the infamous Mandrake and Venomous Tentacula.

For the very first time, visitors to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London  The Making of Harry Potter will be able to go through the glass doors of Professor Sprouts greenhouse  a fan-favourite set from the Harry Potter film series

A scene from 2002's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets shows a herbology lesson taught by Professor Sprout, played by Miriam Margolyes

It will be a permanent addition to the Studio Tour and will open on July 1 as part of a brand-new feature, Mandrakes and Magical Creatures.

The themed tour will kick off with a welcome into the Great Hall. Here, visitors will be greeted by a recreation of the 'Frog Choir' scene from 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, where Professor Filius Flitwick conducted a choir of singing students as they held giant frogs in their arms.

The costume that Flitwick - played by Warwick Davis - wore in the film will be on display.

From here, visitors will move on to the greenhouse, where they'll lay eyes on the Venomous Tentacula  the spiky plant with a venomous bite that appears in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - that hangs from the ceiling.

They will also get the chance to yank out a potted Mandrake - a magical plant that looks like a human, and which lets out a cry that can be fatal to any human that hears it - as part of an interactive display on the tour.

'Fans of the Wizarding World will be able to recreate the unforgettable scene from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when Harry, Ron, and Hermione came face to face with screaming Mandrake plants for the first time,' a statement reveals.

The greenhouse will be a permanent addition to the Studio Tour and will open as part of a brand-new feature, Mandrakes and Magical Creatures

Visitors will be able to stop to pull out a potted Mandrake (a magical plant that looks like a human) as part of an interactive display on the tour

On the left, Ron Weasley, played by Rupert Grint, holds up a Mandrake in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Pictured on the right is a model of a Mandrake that already features on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London

Whats more, fans of filmmaking will learn about how Mandrakes were brought to life using a mixture of scale models and CGI in the Creatures Workshop.

According to a statement, during filming, various techniques were used to achieve the movement of the magical plants. The movement of the Mandrakes was achieved using animatronic controllers hidden beneath the table, while the sinuous grasping movement of the Tentaculas tendrils was computer-generated.

More magical creatures from the world of Harry Potter will also feature on the Mandrakes and Magical Creatures tour - visitors will encounter Cornish Pixies, Dumbledores beloved Fawkes phoenix, the animatronic Monster Book of Monsters (a book that could bite off the reader's fingers) and will learn how filmmakers created the ghostly Thestrals.

Above is Diagon Alley, another permanent fixture at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London  The Making of Harry Potter

Another new addition to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London will be a one-to-three-ratio scale version of The Burrow, the charming family home of the Weasley family. Above is an interior set of the Burrow, which already features in the tour

Not only that, but Warner Bros. Studio Tour London has revealed its plans to expand the exterior sets of the tour - one new addition will be the fountain from the Hogwarts Clock Tower Courtyard.

Another will be a one-to-three-ratio scale version of The Burrow, the charming family home of the Weasley family that was first introduced in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, when Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and the Weasley brothers arrive in Mr Weasley's flying Flying Ford Anglia.

At the model of The Burrow, film-making fans can learn the camera trickery behind the external scenes of the family home. During production of 2009's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Burrow took filmmakers 14 weeks to build but only six minutes to burn down in the iconic scene where the Death Eaters set the home ablaze, a statement reveals.

Mandrakes and Magical Creatures will run until September 12. For more information visit www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/whats-on/mandrakes-magical-creatures.
Two warring Married At First Sight brides have buried the hatchet after finding themselves at the centre of a scandalous love triangle on this year's season.

Jessica Seracino was furious when she discovered Carolina Santos had pursued her ex-'husband' Daniel Holmes during the experiment.

But they put their rivalry behind them during a boozy night out in Melbourne on Saturday, locking lips at a club in a video obtained by Daily Mail Australia.

No bad blood! Warring MAFS brides Jessica Seracino (right) and Carolina Santos (left) have buried the hatchet after finding themselves at the centre of a love triangle on this year's series

Business owner Carolina, 35, and florist Jessica, 27, posed for a selfie video before deciding in the heat of the moment to kiss.

Jessica, who had split from Daniel before he properly began his 'affair' with Carolina, drew attention to her cleavage in a pale pink dress.

Mother-of-one Carolina, who cheated on her 'husband' Dion Giannarelli to be with Daniel, flaunted her curves in a yellow crop top and thigh-split skirt.

The two women held hands when they left the club, before stopping to kiss once again in front of the cameras.

Girls just want to have fun! They put their rivalry behind them during a boozy night out in Melbourne on Saturday, locking lips at a club in a video obtained by Daily Mail Australia

Night out: The two women were joined by Tamara Djordjevic (centre) and Kate Laidlaw (left)

'Jess is my closet friend out of MAFS so far and she was the first person I connected with,' Carolina told Daily Mail Australia of their unlikely friendship.

'We go way back we didn't just became friends. We bonded over being in the same situation. Both intruders and both hated our matches, and our energy just clicked.'

Jess also revealed that since leaving the experiment she had decided to let go of her anger towards Carolina, admitting she never felt an emotional connection with Daniel so had no right to be upset about the affair.

'As long as they're happy I support them,' she said.

Married At First Sight will return to Channel Nine next year

Affair: Jessica was furious when she discovered Carolina had pursued her ex-'husband' Daniel Holmes. But since leaving the experiment, she has let go of her anger, admitting she never felt an emotional connection with Daniel so had no right to be upset about the affair
Kylie Gillies is facing a major milestone as her youngest son Archie, 17, will soon graduate high school and she will be left with an empty nest.

Right now Archie is still living at home, along with Kylie's eldest boy, Gus, 19, who is already studying at university.

The Morning Show host, who is helping her teenage son prepare for his final exams, called this time with her family an 'end of an era'.

Growing up: Kylie Gillies (right) is facing a major milestone as her youngest son Archie will soon graduate high school and she'll be left with an 'empty nest'. Pictured with her husband, Tony Gillies, and their sons Gus (left) and Archie (right)

'I see the finish line of schooling in sight, and that makes me both very excited and very sad,' the Channel Seven presenter, 54, told Now to Love.

Elsewhere in the interview, the Dancing with the Stars finalist said she was open to more reality TV appearances, but admitted she would give SAS Australia a miss.

The past year has been an emotional one for the popular host.

Nest stage of motherhood: 'I see the finish line of schooling in sight, and that makes me both very excited and very sad,' Kylie told Now To Love

In May, Kylie celebrated 32 years of marriage to journalist Tony Gillies, who is the father of her two boys.

And in August, her father Ron Mills died just weeks after he celebrated his 91st birthday.

Kylie had been forced to miss her father's birthday party because Covid restrictions prevented her from flying to Hervey Bay in Queensland.

Popular: Kylie is pictured with her co-host Larry Emdur on Channel Seven's The Morning Show

Earlier this year, Kylie told the moving personal story behind a stunning performance on Dancing with the Stars: All Stars, revealing it was a tribute to her late dad.

Kylie and her dance partner Aric Yegudkin selected the Viennese waltz for the competition, a favourite of her father's.

'The waltz was the first dance my dad saw me perform 13 years ago,' she wrote on Instagram.
Maria Thattil shot to national prominence earlier this year as a cast member on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

And now the former Miss Universe Australia is thinking about entering the political arena in a bid to support marginalised communities.

'I've been thinking about it,' the 29-year-old told Now To Love. 'It's always been in the back of my mind. Maybe in the future, it's something I want to do.'

Ambitious: Maria Thattil is considering launching a political career in the future

The brunette beauty also admitted her pageant career has often led to her being pigeonholed as nothing more than a model, despite her impressive education.

'Because I chose to do Miss Universe, there were remarks that I was being reduced to model,' she said.

'I was a tertiary-educated HR worker who was nominated for scholarship. The academic merit, the work ethic and things people are going to want to discredit all the time,' she continued.

'It was just important to stay rooted in who I am and what I've achieved. No matter what people say, they can't take it away. I let my work speak for itself.'

Stereotypes: The brunette beauty also admitted her pageant career has led to her being pigeonholed as nothing more than a model, despite her impressive education

Maria has degrees in Psychology and Management, graduated with first-class in honours, and received a nomination for a scholarship to Harvard.

She's very passionate and outspoken on progressive issues, and previously defended political correctness during a morning TV segment.

The star sparred with 2GB radio host Ben Fordham on Talking Honey last month, arguing political correctness is 'important' because it helps marginalised groups feel more included in society.

Opinions: Maria sparred with 2GB radio host Ben Fordham on Talking Honey last month during a segment on political correctness

Thattil, who is bisexual and of South Asian descent, said: 'We're talking about languages and practices that make people feel seen, feel included, and if you can make those changes to accommodate people, I think you should.'

She also said people who don't want to change their language to adhere to politically correct standards have a 'real privilege' because they're not likely to ever be offended like marginalised groups are.

Thattil has been outspoken about promoting diversity in the media, and recently partnered with Olay, Mardi Gras and Minus18 to destigmatise LGBTQIA+ issues and support those dealing with low self-acceptance after coming out as bisexual.

Inclusive: Maria said people who don't want to change their language to adhere to politically correct standards have a 'real privilege' because they're not likely to ever be offended like marginalised groups are

Conservative commentator Fordham, 45, had a slightly different take on the situation, saying it's possible to be respectful without policing language.

'I don't want to walk around on eggshells,' he said.

'I want to be safe in the knowledge that I treat people well, I respect people and I don't really want people second guessing whether I'm "evil" in some way just because I don't spend too much time thinking about political correctness,' he added.

'Most people are very decent people and they go looking out for people, and if they see racism or if they experience sexism, they speak up and do something about it.'
Elizabeth McGovern ensured all eyes were on her as she arrived at the Downton Abbey: A New Era premiere on Tuesday at Gaumont Marignan in Paris.

The actress, 60, glowed in a stunning beige gown that was encrusted in beads and boasted a bejewelled collar.

Elizabeth - who plays the role of Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham - elevated her height in a pair of matching beige heels.

Wow: Elizabeth McGovern (L) ensured all eyes were on her as she joined co-star Laura Carmichael (R) at the Downton Abbey: A New Era premiere in Paris on Tuesday evening

Her long tresses were swept up in an elegant updo, and she added a pop of colour to her ensemble with a swipe of red lipstick.

She was joined by her co-star Laura Carmichael, who plays her on-screen daughter Edith.

Laura, 35, looked the picture of sophistication in a skintight black gown that hugged her lithe frame.

Sparkling: The actress, 60, glowed in a stunning beige gown that was encrusted in beads and boasted a bejewelled collar

Flawless: Her long tresses were swept up in an elegant updo, and she added a pop of colour to her ensemble with a swipe of red lipstick

Stunning: Elizabeth - who plays the role of Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham - elevated her height in a pair of matching beige heels

The form-fitting dress featured an orange diamond fringe to give a touch of sparkle and glamour to her outfit.

She wore a pair of black peep-toe heels and her short blonde tresses were styled in a wavy bob.

Also in attendance was Nathalie Baye, who is joining the cast as a new character in the film.

Mother and daughter: She was joined by her co-star Laura Carmichael, who plays her on-screen daughter Edith

Starring roles: Elizabeth McGovern stars as Cora Grantham and Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith Hexham (pictured in the film)

Chic: The form-fitting dress featured an orange diamond fringe to give a touch of sparkle and glamour to her outfit (pictured with Nathalie Baye)

Incredible: She wore a pair of black peep-toe heels and her short blonde tresses were styled in a wavy bob

The 73-year-old actress made a bold statement in a leopard print jacket, which she teamed with a coordinating shirt of the same pattern.

She added a pair of metallic gold trousers and brown ballerina shoes, while completing her look with a pink lip.

The three actresses posed together on the carpet, alongside Jonathan Zaccai - who is also playing a new character in the film.

New star: Also in attendance was Nathalie Baye, who is joining the cast as a new character in the film

Eye-catching: The 73-year-old actress made a bold statement in a leopard print jacket, which she teamed with a coordinating shirt of the same pattern

Glamorous: She added a pair of metallic gold trousers and brown ballerina shoes, while completing her look with a pink lip

The Belgian actor, 51, cut a casual figure in blue denim jeans and a navy blue blazer over a black T-shirt.

Downton Abbey: A New Era, sees the beloved Crawley family head to the French Riviera to uncover a mystery at a villa bestowed to the Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Meanwhile back in England an ambitious director also ruffles feathers as he plans to make a film at Downton.

Downton Abbey: A New Era hits cinemas on April 29.

Strike a pose: The three actresses posed together on the carpet, alongside Jonathan Zaccai - who is also playing a new character in the film
Byron Baes star Jade Kevin Foster has hit back at claims he bought Instagram followers after the authenticity of his 1.2 million-strong following was called into question on the Netflix show.

Social media talent agent Alex Reid accused Jade of buying followers after allegedly discovering that 451,000 of his fans were from Turkey alone.

Jade, who billed himself as 'Australia's biggest male influencer' on the reality series, posted a screen-capture video on Tuesday showing his Instagram insights.

Response: Jade Kevin Foster (pictured) has hit back at claims he bought Instagram followers after the authenticity of his 1.2 million-strong following was called into question on Byron Baes

The insights page confirmed the majority of Jade's followers are actually from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and USA.

This is strong evidence that his following is in fact genuine, and runs contrary to Alex's claim that most of his followers hail from Turkey.

'Alex, here is the proof you have been chasing and lying about... I would never let you manage me in 1.2 million years!' Jade wrote in the caption.

'Your whole business structure is based on this website that is not accurate at all.

'I don't want this post to bring on any hate, for Alex or myself, the show or anyone else involved... just thought you all needed to know the truth.'

Results: Jade posted a screen-capture video on Tuesday showing his Instagram insights, which confirmed the majority of his followers are actually from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and USA - not Turkey, like talent manager Alex Reid claimed on Byron Baes

Alex became suspicious of Jade's following right after they met on the show, which led him to do a deeper dive on Jade's account.

While investigating, Alex claimed Jade had 451,000 followers from Turkey alone and more followers from Iran than he did from his own country.

Furthermore, Jade also had more followers from India and Iran than he did from Australia.

Accusations: It comes after social media talent agent Alex Reid accused Jade of buying fake followers after claiming a whopping 451,000 of his fans were from Turkey alone

'His top followers, where he has the most audience is in Turkey,' Alex said.

'The other suspicious one is Iran. When you buy audience, it's from places like Turkey and Iran and India. They're where you get fake audience from.'

When confronted by Alex about the authenticity of his followers, Jade boldly claimed his world travels had earned him thousands of fans in Turkey.

Claims: While investigating, Alex (pictured) claimed Jade had 451,000 followers from Turkey alone and more followers from Iran than he did from his own country

Alex recently said that having a disproportionate number of followers from the Middle East or Southeast Asia is a tell-tale sign someone has bought followers.

He told Mediaweek that bots are often bought from 'follow farms' in these regions in order to make an Instagram user look more popular than they actually are.

'These farms are groups of bots that like posts [and] don't do anything [else]. This makes it hard for brands who need to work out whether an influencer is creating fake engagement,' he said.
Melissa Gorga got caught in the crossfire between Teresa Giudice and Margaret Josephs on Tuesday's episode of The Real Housewives Of New Jersey.

The penultimate episode of season 12 titled Lady Drama Mamas picked up in the aftermath of Teresa, 49, hurling glasses and plates at Margaret, 55, during an explosive dinner argument during a group trip to Nashville.

'I'm just so disgusted with her behavior. Clearing a table on top of me and then threatening me and all this stuff. I was like, what are you, psychotic?,' said Margaret the following morning to her husband Joe Benigno.

In middle: Melissa Gorga got caught in the crossfire between Teresa Giudice and Margaret Josephs on Tuesday's episode of The Real Housewives Of New Jersey

The group then gathered for breakfast without Teresa who fled to a hotel with her new boyfriend Luis 'Louie' Ruelas after blowing up at Margaret.

Margaret described the dinner attack as 'unprovoked', but Teresa's apologist Jennifer Aydin, 45, noted that Margaret had called Teresa 'a f***ing liar'.

'She did lie. She said I'm leaking things to the blogs,' Margaret countered.

Teresa's sister-in-law Melissa, 43, tried to put matters in context for Margaret.

Penultimate episode: The penultimate episode of season 12 titled Lady Drama Mamas picked up in the aftermath of Teresa, 49, hurling glasses and plates at Margaret, 55, during an explosive dinner argument during a group trip to Nashville

Apology expected: Margaret expected a personal apology from Teresa, but she was disappointed

'The only thing she's getting frustrated about is that you keep talking about him,' Melissa said referencing Teresa's new boyfriend Louie.

Margaret, however, stuck to her guns and said that Teresa's behavior was unacceptable.

'Someone who acts like that is a loose cannon, is dangerous, and she owes us all an apology, and especially me,' Margaret said.

Group breakfast: The group had breakfast together without Teresa, who fled to a hotel with her boyfriend Luis Ruelas after blowing up at Margaret during dinner

Trip organizer Dolores, 51, said she had an 'authentic barbecue' planned that night and told Margaret that she and Teresa needed to talk.

'I am not saying anything to her. I am never engaging with her,' Margaret said.

Jennifer suggested that Margaret should apologize for asking questions about Louie, but Margaret and Jackie Goldschneider, 45, protested that Teresa says whatever she wants about people.

Authentic barbecue: Trip organizer Dolores, 51, said she had an 'authentic barbecue' planned that night and told Margaret that she and Teresa needed to talk

'Everyone in Teresa's life knows not to ask her a question,' Melissa said.

'You guys accept this behavior in your family, and I'm not doing it. Everybody else could dance around the crazy person. I don't do that dance,' Margaret said.

Teresa's brother Joe Gorga said he didn't 'condone' his sister's behavior.

Not condoned: Teresa's brother Joe Gorga said he didn't 'condone' his sister's behavior

'That was terrible, it was, the way she acted. But think about what happened here. She met this guy, and unfortunately, all this s*** came out about him. Everyone's talking about it. It's frustrating for her, but he's doing the right thing, and she's happy,' Joe said.

Dolores then compared Teresa to a rescue animal.

'She was married to somebody that was very hard on her. It's never a kind word, never a kind touch, and here comes Louie,' Dolores said referencing Teresa's ex-husband Joe Giudice.

Rescue animal: Dolores then compared Teresa to a rescue animal being treated kindly for the first time

'He's patting her head. This is the first time. I've taken dogs out of the shelter. They'll do anything for you when you pet them and treat them right. That's how I picture her life. Here's the guy that came and saved her,' Dolores said.

Joe promised that if his sister flew off the handle again that he would grab her and walk her out.

The guys then went on a boozy trip while the women recorded a country song together.

Big promise: Joe promised that if his sister flew off the handle again that he would grab her and walk her out

Teresa skipped the song recording session and Dolores volunteered to spend time with her and calm her down before the BBQ dinner.

Dolores while shopping with Teresa talked to her about controlling her rage, but Teresa was still placing the blame on Margaret.

The women had fun while recording their Lady Drama song together while the guys got wasted on the boat drinking out of penis-shaped containers.

Anger talk: Dolores while shopping with Teresa talked to her about controlling her rage, but Teresa was still placing the blame on Margaret

Good times: The women had fun while recording their Lady Drama song together

Drinking up: The guys meanwhile drank heavily while partying on a boat together

Teresa during the BBQ dinner spoke to everyone about her outrageous behavior at their previous dinner.

'I wanted to apologize to the group about my actions yesterday. That's normally not how I act, but I love Louis very much, he's the love of my life, and when someone hurts him, they're hurting me,' she said.

'So that's why I acted the way I did yesterday, but I was provoked. And I just wanted to say sorry about what I did last night,' Teresa added.

Group apology: 'I wanted to apologize to the group about my actions yesterday. That's normally not how I act, but I love Louis very much, he's the love of my life, and when someone hurts him, they're hurting me,' Teresa said

Melissa and Joe were satisfied with Teresa's remorse, but Margaret thought her remarks were lacking.

'Was that an apology?,' Margaret asked Jackie and Traci Johnson. 'She said I provoked it. ...You know what an apology is? ''I'm sorry for my behavior.'' That's an apology.'

'It's a start,' Melissa said, but Margaret dismissed Teresa's apology.

Words lacking: 'Was that an apology?,' Margaret asked Jackie and Traci Johnson. 'She said I provoked it. ...You know what an apology is? ''I'm sorry for my behavior.'' That's an apology'

'No, it's not. Not at all,' Margaret said.

'It's not the best apology but at the end of the day, this is probably the best she's gonna get,' Melissa said in a confessional.

Joe Gorga in a confessional noted the growth in Teresa.

Good effort: 'It's not the best apology but at the end of the day, this is probably the best she's gonna get,' Melissa said in a confessional

'A few years ago, there would've been zero chance of an ''I'm sorry'' coming out of her mouth. This is growth for Teresa. Even if Margaret doesn't see it, this is huge, this is big!,' Joe said.

Jennifer then let Teresa know that Margaret was not satisfied with the apology.

'It wasn't for Margaret, it was for the group,' Teresa said.

Huge growth: 'A few years ago, there would've been zero chance of an ''I'm sorry'' coming out of her mouth. This is growth for Teresa. Even if Margaret doesn't see it, this is huge, this is big!,' Joe said

Margaret said that apologies shouldn't come with a 'but' attached, and Teresa denied saying 'but' during her apology.

'She didn't like the word ''provoked'',' Melissa explained to Teresa.

In a confessional, Melissa revealed that she was in a tough spot.

'What am I supposed to do? I know she's wrong in saying that to Margaret and I wanna tell her, but she's basically holding us hostage,' Melissa said in a confessional.

Tough spot: 'What am I supposed to do? I know she's wrong in saying that to Margaret and I wanna tell her, but she's basically holding us hostage,' Melissa said in a confessional.

A flashback showed Teresa telling Melissa and Joe that they had to side with her against Margaret.

'I'm your sister, you need to set that bitch straight. I'm serious. Otherwise, you and me are not gonna have a relationship,' she said over the phone to Joe and Melissa.

Margaret at the BBQ berated Teresa for making excuses and said, 'You don't know how to apologize.'

Loyalty demanded: 'I'm your sister, you need to set that bitch straight. I'm serious. Otherwise, you and me are not gonna have a relationship,' Teresa said over the phone to Joe and Melissa

'Melissa, tell her to shut the f*** up. Melissa, I swear to god,' Teresa told her sister-in-law.

Melissa was clearly exasperated and buried her head in her hands as the dinner party started to break up.

'If I agree with Margaret, Teresa is gonna be pissed. If I agree with Teresa, Margaret's gonna look at me like I'm an a**hole. There's no worst spot to be in,' Melissa said in a confessional.

The Real Housewives Of New Jersey will return next week for its season finale on Bravo.
She is on holiday in Honolulu, Hawaii, with her 15-year-old son Justice Single.

And on Wednesday, Pip Edwards shared a rather awkward photo to Instagram of the pair posing together at Waikiki beach.

In a relatable admission, the P.E Nation founder, 41, said it had been difficult to get her teenage son to even agree to be in a photo with his mother.

'Tried really hard to get a photo': Pip Edwards (right) shared an awkward photo to Instagram on Wednesday of herself posing with her son Justice Single (left) at Waikiki beach in Hawaii

'Tried really hard to get a photo with him,' she wrote in the caption.

In the photo, Pip stood bolt upright in a skimpy green bikini and a Balenciaga sarong, while her son pointed at her with his other hand resting on her shoulder.

Pip also shared another snap of the duo laughing as she tried to convince Justice to take a picture with her, which she captioned: 'Hates a photo.'

Relatable: The P.E Nation founder, 41, also shared another snap of the duo laughing as she tried to convince Justice to take a picture with her, which she captioned: 'Hates a photo.'

Hot mama! Pip's svelte physique and muscular arms were on display in the skimpy two-piece

Pip's svelte physique and muscular arms were on full display in the stylish two-piece.

The activewear designer slicked her hair back into a bun, and concealed her gaze behind a pair of quirky sunglasses.

Pip shares her son Justice with ex-partner Dan Single.

Beach style: The activewear designer slicked her hair back into a bun, and covered her shoulders with a loose green shirt

She has been sharing photos of her Easter escape since the pair's arrival last week.

A day earlier, she displayed her flawless figure in a patterned bikini as she walked out of the ocean with a big smile on her face.

She beamed for a series of sunny Instagram snaps while drawing attention to her flat tummy and lean legs in the skimpy swimwear.

Wish you were here? Pip Edwards was in holiday mode on Sunday as she showed off her incredible bikini body at Waikiki beach

Beach babe: She drew attention to her slim waist and lean legs in the skimpy swimwear

The Bondi-based businesswoman credits her incredible figure to Pilates.

Pip is a regular at Fluidform Pilates, a movement method by Kirsten King that is popular in Sydney thanks to its celebrity clientele.

'I spent a lot of time in my early thirties doing weight training and HIIT workouts,' she once said.

'Not moving from here': On Friday, she had rocked another revealing bikini while enjoying a relaxing day by the pool at her oceanfront hotel

'I had a bad injury and kept training with it and then I hit a wall and realised that I needed to look after my body.'

'A friend then recommended a really good Pilates instructor who specialises in rehab Pilates,' she continued.

'Now I make sure that I fit Pilates classes into my schedule three times a week and it's changed my life.'
Police detain Rohingya refugees who had escaped from the Sungai Bakap Temporary Immigration Depot, Penang, Malaysia, April 20, in this photo released by the Malaysia Royal Police. AP-Yonhap





More than 500 Rohingya refugees escaped from detention in Malaysia early Wednesday following a protest but most have been rearrested, immigration officials said.







The Immigration Department said 528 Rohingya fled after breaking a block door and barrier grill at a temporary detention center in northern Penang State. Police and other agencies were deployed and 362 detainees have been rearrested, the department said in a statement.







''The search for the remaining detainees is continuing,'' it said, without giving further details on what sparked the breakout.







Penang police chief Mohamad Shuhaily Mohamad Zain told local media that six detainees were killed while trying to cross a highway. He was quoted as saying the victims were two men, two women, a boy and a girl. The reports didn't specify the cause of their deaths.







Malaysia, which has a dominant Muslim population, is a preferred destination for Muslim Rohingya fleeing from Myanmar or those seeking to escape misery in refugee camps in Bangladesh.







Malaysia doesn't grant refugee status, but the country houses some 180,000 refugees and asylum seekers accredited with the UNHCR, including more than 100,000 Rohingya and other Myanmar ethnic groups. Thousands more stay undocumented after arriving in the country illegally by sea. (AP)


Former Today show weatherman Steve Jacobs enjoyed a relaxing day at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Saturday.

The 55-year-old TV presenter showed off his surprisingly buff torso by going shirtless as he went for a swim.

Steve looked tanned and toned in black boardshorts as he walked along the sand after going for a dip in the ocean.

It's getting hot in here! Former Today show weatherman Steve Jacobs, 55, showed off his abs as he went for a swim at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Saturday

He appeared relaxed as he soaked up the sun after his swim.

Steve quit the Today show in 2016 to work on his marriage, before returning to the network a year later on Weekend Today.

He rejoined the main Today show for its 2019 relaunch, but was let go later in the year and replaced by Tim Davies.

Soaking up the sun! The TV presenter, 55, looked tanned and toned in black boardshorts as he walked along the sand after going for a dip in the ocean

In April 2020, he joined Nine's radio station Magic 1278, hosting a new breakfast program focusing on music from the '70s, '80s and '90s.

Unfortunately, he was sacked as part of a station rebrand in January this year.

That same month, he returned to television to fill in as the roving weather presenter for Studio 10.

Career: Steve quit the Today show in 2016 to work on his marriage, before returning to the network a year later on Weekend Today. He rejoined the main Today show for its 2019 relaunch, but was let go later in the year and replaced by Tim Davies

He stepped in for reporter Daniel Doody, who stayed at the desk after a Covid outbreak forced staff to be reassigned at the network's Pyrmont studio.

Steve did a live cross to hosts Sarah Harris and Tristan MacManus from the Sydney Opera House.

He received an enthusiastic welcome on the show as Sarah called him a 'massive deal' and an 'old friend'.
Freeze The Fear With Wim Hoff

Rating:

Life After Life

Rating:

What an anticlimax. TV hasn't seen a bigger letdown since the would-be assassin in Dallas who shot J.R. Ewing turned out to be . . . well, can you remember?

Freeze The Fear (BBC1) saw the eight celebs in Italy's Alps trek to the Colossus Bridge between Turin and Milan, with its spindly pillars plunging 500ft into a ravine.

They were here for a bungee jump. But not their bungee jump.

Wim Hoff (pictured) is famous for being able to withstand extremely cold temperatures for long periods of time, he featured in the anticlimactic Freeze The Fear With Wim Hoff

Gabby Logan, Alfie Boe, Tamzin Outhwaite and the others that nobody recognises made the long walk to the middle of the bridge, just to watch loud-mouthed show-off and self-proclaimed guru Wim Hof throw himself off.

Then they were told they could have a go themselves, if they felt like it  at the end of the series. And they all trooped back to the minibus. All of them looked cheated, but not half as much as the viewers were.

If you think I'm being unduly rude about the anonymity of the celebrities, I challenge you to say who Dianne Buswell is, or why we're supposed to have heard of Chelcee Grimes, without using Google. Or try humming one of Professor Green's hits. You can't, can you?

I've grown to thoroughly dislike this hairy-legged Dutch show-off

You'd definitely have more chance remembering who actually shot J.R.  it was his mistress, Kristin, played by Mary Crosby, but I admit I had to look it up.

If the participants of Freeze The Fear were better known, we wouldn't need the presenters, who don't take part in the challenges and have next-to-nothing useful to say. Holly Willoughby and Lee Mack are there only as familiar faces.

Perfect sitcom of the week: After Liam Neeson's Line Of Duty pastiche on Derry Girls (C4), TV crime stalwart Damien Molony donned a tool belt and flashed a smile as plumber Gabriel  winning the hearts of Erin, her Ma Mary and even her Granda Joe. Every episode's a gem. Advertisement

At least they distract us from Wim Hof, the hairy-legged Dutch attention seeker whose bellowing antics I have begun to thoroughly dislike. As part of his ice-bath therapy, he ordered each of the celebs to don a swimsuit and take a freezing shower for 15 seconds.

This was as thrilling as the queue for the cubicles in a gym changing room.

Then he made them lie down and take deep breaths while he shook their shoulders and roared at them like a sergeant-major, till some burst into tears.

This was supposed to release inner traumas, which perhaps it might. Bullying often does.

Hof never appears to listen to what anyone says. Occasionally he stops shouting, but he's merely waiting until he can blether on again about 'life force' and 'magic' and 'going places in the brain you have never been before'.

Perhaps my cynicism is misplaced and the Beeb has done extensive research into the scientific efficacy of his methods. But if the producers are so confident that his mumbo-jumbo is safe, well-tested and beneficial, why are there warnings at the start of each episode, warning us never to try the yelling hippy's tricks at home ourselves?

The mumbo-jumbo of Life After Life (BBC2) is far more enticing.

Christopher Stevens was not particularly familiar the eight celebrities (pictured) that starred in Freeze The Fear

This beautifully constructed retelling of Kate Atkinson's best-selling novel, set during and after World War I, imagines successive versions of a life. Ursula, her father's favourite daughter, seems marked by fate for an early death. But when she dies, history begins again, and with each life she learns to make wiser, less reckless choices.

Wisdom comes at a price: Ursula (Thomasin McKenzie) becomes increasingly anxious in each reincarnation.

The idea has also been explored in the Netflix comedy Russian Doll, but the two shows are nothing alike. Life After Life is sheer period drama, a sort of supernatural Merchant Ivory.

Sian Clifford is the melancholy mother, Sylvie, so ill at ease with the servants. It's early days, but this might turn out to be one of the dramas of the year.
Former Married at First Sight star Mishel Karen has raked in thousands of dollars as one of Australia's top OnlyFans models.

And now the 51-year-old has revealed she would have no problem if her daughter Eva, 20, followed in her footsteps by joining the raunchy website.

During an appearance on Spencer Pratt's Looped series Judge Me, Mishel explained she would support her daughter if she ever wanted to enter the adult industry.

Family affair: Married At First Sight 'porn gran' Mishel Karen (left) has said she would support her daughter Eva (right) if she ever wanted to join adult website OnlyFans

'I think whatever makes her happy, as long as she feels safe. I encourage my children to express their sexuality,' she said.

'As long as this is what you want to do and it's an expression of you,' she continued.

'It's only your body. It's a 3D version of your body that you're showing. It's not yourself and your actual being inside.

'It's just this external shell, so who cares who sees it? It's not you. It's not what's actually inside. So do whatever you want, and if you're going to make money from it, who actually cares?'

'I encourage my children to express their sexuality': Mishel made the confession on Spencer Pratt's Looped series Judge Me (pictured)

Mishel went on to say she felt like she exposed more by appearing on Married At First Sight, because the series showed her raw emotions.

The grandmother is believed to be making somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000 a month on OnlyFans, which she calls 'easy money'.

However, daughter Eva admitted she would prefer if her mother didn't do OnlyFans, revealing it's awkward because they come from a conservative Macedonian family.

Skin deep: 'It's only your body. It's a 3D version of your body that you're showing. It's not yourself and your actual being inside,' the 51-year-old grandmother explained

'It's a little bit embarrassing when my friends find out that my mum's doing this,' Eva confessed to Spencer.

'I'd prefer if she didn't do it but then again, I don't really have a say in what she does.'

'You can't control her. She's got her own mind made up,' Eva added.

Awkward: 'It's a little bit embarrassing when my friends find out that my mum's doing this,' Eva confessed to Spencer

Mishel said she suspects her son Samuel's friends have subscribed to her account.

Stunned by the admission, Spencer said: 'I think you guys need to make a reality show about this... this is next level.'

While Eva has yet to enter the adult industry, she does work as a curve model in Brisbane and is signed to Vivien's Models.

Rising star: Eva, who turns 21 in June, is signed to agency Vivien's Models as a curve model

Remember me? She briefly appeared on Married At First Sight alongside her mother

When Mishel first joined OnlyFans, she earned just $500 in her first month posting bikini photos.

'The first month I made almost $500 and I thought, "Wow, this is awesome!" I'm a single mum and $500 for me was groceries, I could pay a bit of the bills,' she said.

The mum of two's content eventually started becoming raunchier, and reached the point where she ended up doing hardcore pornography.

Started from the bottom! When Mishel first joined OnlyFans, she earned just $500 in her first month posting bikini photos

She now earns up to $30,000 a month doing everything from lesbian threesomes and oral sex to selling her used panties to fans.

Mishel defended herself against critics and sex shamers in an impassioned Instagram post last year.

'I'm proud of my body,' she said. 'I'm really happy with my body. I'm happy with my own sexuality.

Started from the bottom, now we're here! She now earns up to $30,000 a month doing everything from lesbian threesomes and oral sex to selling her used panties to fans

'If someone thinks that it is a disgrace or embarrassing to show your body, then that's their own problem.'

Mishel recently became a grandmother after her son Sam welcomed a baby boy with his girlfriend.

She first shot to fame on the seventh season of Married At First Sight in 2020, which aired in Australia, Britain and the U.S. to blockbuster ratings.
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She is the star of the new sci-fi series, The Man Who Fell to Earth.

And all eyes were certainly on Naomie Harris, as she attended the premiere of the Showtime 10-part series at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan's Midtown neighborhood on Tuesday.

The Oscar nominated-actress, 45, looked incredible in a figure-hugging pale green gown at the event, which her ex and co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor was notably absent from.

Green goddess: All eyes were certainly on Naomie Harris, as she attended the premiere of the Showtime 10-part series at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan's Midtown neighborhood on Tuesday

The British star gave her 5ft7in stature a big boost with white ankle-strap platform heels.

Naomie - whose only jewelry was a white wristwatch - had her raven locks coiffed into ombre twists and she let her natural beauty shine through with just a hint of foundation, blush, and gloss.

While on the red carpet at the event, Naomie said: 'There has been so much love, so much passion, and such tremendous creativity and talent that's been poured into it. And it's really such a special show. It's sci-fi, but sci-fi with heart and soul and amazing humor as well.'

Glowing: Naomie - whose only jewelry was a white wristwatch - had her raven locks coiffed into ombre twists and she let her natural beauty shine through with just a hint of foundation, blush, and gloss

Not faking chemistry! The No Time to Die actress was reportedly in a seven-year relationship with her co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor (R, pictured in 2007) until 2007, but it must have ended amicably enough for them to work together

In the Big Apple! Oscar-nominated actress Naomie Harris glammed up for the premiere

'So I prepared for the role of Justin in the way that I do for every role, which is actually in a very similar way to this. I imagine that I'm being interviewed. Someone's asking me questions about my past life, my experiences growing up, what my favorite color is, what I eat for breakfast in the morning - all these kind of things.

'And as I talk as the character, I slowly start to hear their voice. And then I start to feel them and from there I get their physicality and so on. And that's how I start to embody the character.'

Naomie stars as struggling New Mexico mother Justin Falls, who offers to help an alien called Faraday (Chiwetel) save his dying planet, in the series premiering this Sunday.

Natural hairstyle: Naomie - whose only jewelry was a white wristwatch - had her raven locks coiffed into ombre twists divided by a middle part

Barely there make-up: Harris let her natural beauty shine through with just a hint of foundation, blush, and gloss

'From there I get their physicality and so on': Naomie went on to describe how she gets into character for every project, staging a mock interview with her character until she 'slowly starts to hear their voice' and 'feel them'

Creators Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet's continuation is based on Walter Tevis' 1964 sci-fi novel as well as Nicolas Roeg's 1976 big-screen cult classic starring the late David Bowie.

Harris was reportedly in a seven-year relationship with her co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor until 2007, but it appears to have ended amicably enough for them to work together.

However, the 44-year-old British actor - who scored an Oscar nod for his breakout role in 12 Years a Slave - was nowhere to be seen as the cast and crew reunited for the premiere.

Premiering this Sunday! Harris stars as struggling New Mexico mother Justin Falls, who offers to help an alien called Faraday (Chiwetel Ejiofor) save his dying planet

Source material: Creators Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet's continuation is based on Walter Tevis' 1964 sci-fi novel as well as Nicolas Roeg's 1976 big-screen cult classic starring the late great David Bowie

MIA: But the 44-year-old Englishman - who scored an Oscar nod for his breakout role in 12 Years a Slave - was nowhere to be found as the cast and crew reunited for the premiere

The No Time to Die actress - who's been dating British investor Peter Legler since 2012 - was joined by her castmates Bill Nighy and Jimmi Simpson instead.

Bill - who co-starred with Naomie in two of the Pirates of the Caribbean films - suited up to celebrate his performance as alien Thomas Newton (previously played by David Bowie).

Jimmi - who portrays Spencer Clay - looked dapper in a blue three-piece suit and brown boots.

Jimmi enthusiastically embraced his castmate Kate Mulgrew, who plays Drew Finch and also co-stars with him in Paramount+ animated series Star Trek: Prodigy.

Gents: Naomie - who's been dating British investor Peter Legler since 2012 - was joined by her castmates Bill Nighy (L) and Jimmi Simpson (R) instead

Grrrr! Bill - who co-starred with Naomie in two of the Pirates of the Caribbean films - suited up to celebrate his performance as alien Thomas Newton (previously played by David Bowie)

It's always sunny...: The 46-year-old New Jersey native - who portrays Spencer Clay - looked dapper in a blue three-piece suit and brown boots

Reunited! Jimmi enthusiastically embraced his TMWFTE castmate Kate Mulgrew (L), who plays Drew Finch and also co-stars with him in Paramount+ animated series Star Trek: Prodigy

Portuguese star Joana Ribeiro - who plays Lisa Dominguez - worked the blue carpet in a black sequin cocktail dress and a matching bow in her hair.

Meanwhile, Annelle Olaleye - who plays Molly Falls - looked cute in a pink tulle ruffle dress, which she paired with a butterfly necklace and silver Mary Janes.

British beauty Sonya Cassidy - who plays Edie Flood - pulled off a daring green gingham pantsuit with yellow peep-toe heels and a bright red pout.

SAG Award winner Clarke Peters - who plays Josiah Falls - looked dapper in a black suit sans necktie and matching suede loafers.

Gamine: Portuguese stunner Joana Ribeiro - who plays Lisa Dominguez - worked the blue carpet in a black sequin cocktail dress and a matching bow in her hair

Girly girl! Annelle Olaleye - who plays Molly Falls - looked super cute in a pink tulle ruffle dress, which she paired with a butterfly necklace and silver Mary Janes

Menswear: British beauty Sonya Cassidy - who plays Edie Flood - pulled off a daring green gingham pantsuit with yellow peep-toe heels and a bright red pout

The Man Who Fell to Earth co-creators Jenny Lumet and Alex Kurtzman were joined for a picture with their executive producer John Hlavin.

Wilson Cruz supported Kurtzman at the premiere because he's also the co-creator of Star Trek: Discovery, in which Wilson plays medical officer Hugh Culber.

British actor Laurie Kynaston - who guest stars as Clive Flood - went for a new romantic look with a pussy bow blouse beneath a brown tweed suit and oxblood boots.

Emmy-winning composer Jeff Russo - who scored TMWFTE - rocked a houndstooth scarf with his grey blazer, black quilted vest, and blue jeans.

Showrunners: The Man Who Fell to Earth co-creators Jenny Lumet (M) and Alex Kurtzman (R) were joined for a picture with their executive producer John Hlavin (L)

Silver fox! Wilson Cruz supported Kurtzman at the premiere because he's also the co-creator of Star Trek: Discovery, in which Wilson plays medical officer Hugh Culber

Vamping it up at the glitzy premiere were Ukrainian model Alina Baikova and Big Sky actress Jesse James Keitel.

Ghosts heartthrob Asher Grodman rocked a Texas tuxedo in an all-denim ensemble.

Two-time Tony nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega wore a black blazer and leather leggings while New York City Ballet soloist Georgina Pazcoguin wore leggings under her red floral shirt-dress.

Taut twosome: Vamping it up at the glitzy premiere were Ukrainian model Alina Baikova and Big Sky actress Jesse James Keitel

Everyman: Ghosts heartthrob Asher Grodman rocked a Texas tuxedo in an all-denim ensemble

Take it to the stage! Two-time Tony nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega wore a black blazer and leather leggings while New York City Ballet soloist Georgina Pazcoguin wore leggings under her red floral shirt-dress

Twin influencers Tk Wonder and Cipriana Quann both wore black peep-toe heels with their colorful dresses.

SI Swimsuit stunner Haley Kalil looked spring fresh in a pastel gown while IMG Model Pritika Swarup opted for all silver metallic.

Other glam attendees included Titans actress Conor Leslie, Law & Order: SVU actress Jamie Gray Hyder, and Betty star Ardelia 'Dede' Lovelace.

Double take! Twin influencers Tk Wonder and Cipriana Quann both wore black peep-toe heels with their colorful dresses

Strike a pose! SI Swimsuit stunner Haley Kalil looked spring fresh in a pastel gown while IMG Model Pritika Swarup opted for all silver metallic
The Real Housewives of Potomac star Ashley Darby announced she and husband Michael Darby are separating.

The Maryland-born beauty, 33, released a statement Tuesday to The Daily Dish confirming that she and her spouse, 62, had parted ways after more than seven years of marriage.

'Almost eight years ago, when Michael and I said "I do," we anticipated sharing every single day together from that moment forward,' Ashley said. 'Unfortunately, that is not our current reality. We have decided to separate.

The latest: The Real Housewives of Potomac star Ashley Darby, 33, announced she and husband Michael Darby, 62, are separating in a statement on Tuesday. The couple was snapped in 2018

'We are aware that there will be many speculative views as to why we have made this decision. People will be quick to assume that the causes were too much intrusion by reality TV into the most personal parts of our lives, age gap issues, cultural problems, or child-rearing differences.'

Ashley said that the aforementioned factors might have impacted their 'pure love for each other, but no one reason is the root cause of our mutual decision to go our separate ways.

'We are now both at very different stages in our lives and have different goals for our futures. We both want the other to achieve true happiness and fulfillment and feel that we cannot do this together.'

The separated couple, who wed in May of 2014, are parents to sons Dean Michael Darby, two, and Dylan Matthew Darby, one.

In an Instagram post featuring her statement, Ashley wrote that 'its been almost 8 magical years' of marriage

The separated couple, who wed in May of 2014, are parents to sons Dean Michael Darby, two, and Dylan Matthew Darby, one

'While our romantic bond is broken, we will always love and respect each other,' Ashley said. 'We also know that true happiness can only be achieved by continuing to work together and putting our hearts and souls into raising our two beautiful boys, Dean and Dylan.

'They will always feel loved and supported, for they were truly created out of love. As this is a personal matter for us, we appreciate everyone who has been a part of our journey and ask for your continued support by respecting us as we go through this emotional situation.'

In an Instagram post featuring her statement, Ashley wrote that 'its been almost 8 magical years' of marriage.

The pair initially met 11 years ago when she was working at the L2 Lounge in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., and she asked him about exploring an internship at his company, she told Bravo in 2016. She eventually asked him out when she got a position with his company and they were engaged less than a year later.

Michael, who is in the restaurant and real estate business, in September of 2018 was suspended from the Bravo show after he was accused by a cameraman of groping him. He was charged in connection with felony assault and misdemeanor improper sexual conduct, but the charges were later dropped as result of a lack of evidence.

Darby was snapped Saturday at a screening in Washington, D.C.

Darby posed with RHOP co-star Mia Thornton at the event

Ashley has been a regular on the Bravo series since its debut in 2016

Michael denied the allegations, telling FOX 5 D.C. that he was 'completely exonerated' and 'completely cleared' following an investigation by authorities.

'I didn't do it,' he said, adding that a pair of witnesses his accuser named in the incident later said that they hadn't seen anything. 'Obviously his side of the story wasn't true.'

The chain of events made for a storyline on RHOP's fourth season, as he was alleged to have made a sexually-driven remark about cast member Robyn Dixon's husband Juan Dixon, which was witnessed by Robyn, co-star Candiace Dillard-Bassett and husband Chris Bassett.

Ashley addressed other marital issues the pair faced - such as cheating allegations brought up on the show - while speaking with E! News in February.

'We definitely have had our share of issues [and] some of them have been very public,' she said. 'Ultimately, I think that it's reminding myself that Michael is the person I chose to spend my life with.

'So, if I can look at him and still love him, still care about him, forgive him and want to keep going with him. Then that's when I can't let what other people say affect me, because the reality is they're not living my life. They're not married to my husband. When I remember that, it centers me and I'm like, "Yes." But it's certainly not an easy thing.'

Michael, who is originally from Melbourne, Australia, was previously in a marriage for 20 years before a 2010 split, and father to two children from that union.
Claire Danes was spotted out by herself in New York City on Tuesday.

The 43-year-old My So Called Life alum braved the windy northeast weather in a black hooded peacoat and grey leggings.

She clutched a cup of coffee as she walked along the Big Apple without a companion.

Taking a stroll: Claire Danes was spotted out by herself in New York City on Tuesday

The blonde actress covered her blunt bob with her hood and wrapped a scarf around her neck.

Claire carried a beige leather backpack with black straps on her back and tucked a hand into her coat.

She went makeup free as her hair fell over her face due to the breezy weather, and she secured her outer layer with its matching belt.

The TV star hit the pavement in a pair of textured beige boots with a bright yellow gummy sole.

Footwear: The TV star hit the pavement in a pair of textured beige boots with a bright yellow gummy sole

Danes recently wrapped up work on the show The Essex Serpent, which is set for release in May, and follows a widowed woman who relocates from London because of a small town's stories of a mythical creature.

Loki star Tom Hiddleston and Tenet actress Clemence Poesy will star alongside the four-time Golden Globe Award winner in the series.

While filming The Essex Serpent's first season is behind her, Danes is still working on another project titled Fleishman Is in Trouble with Jesse Eisenberg and Lizzy Kaplan.

That's a wrap! Danes recently wrapped up work on the show The Essex Serpent, which is set for release in May

Plot: The Essex Serpent follows a widowed woman who relocates from London because of a small town's stories of a mythical creature

The show follows a recently separated couple, Tobey and Rachel, after Rachel drops off their two children at Tobey's house then doesn't respond to his calls or texts.

Danes, who plays Rachel, was spotted in several locations around New York with Eisenberg, who plays Tobey, while filming the series last month.

In one instance, the pair skated around an ice rink for a time before locking lips in a romantic moment for the show.

In another, they carried a table while working closely together on a scene.
She's no stranger to flaunting her incredibly toned physique on Instagram.

And on Wednesday, Rebecca Judd did what she does best while posing in a very revealing black jumpsuit.

The mother-of-four, 39, showed off her toned abs in the black ensemble as she went mocktail tasting in Melbourne.

Abs-olutely fabulous! Rebecca Judd showed off her toned figure in a very revealing black jumpsuit as she went mocktail tasting in Melbourne

The footy WAG completed her look with a pair of black Dior stilettos, which retail for $1490.

Rebecca curled her long brunette locks and wore a neutral palette of makeup for the outing.

It comes after Rebecca recently showed off her hair transformation.

She dyed her hair a richer honey colour and chopped off her locks in favour of a long bob.

Looking chic! The footy WAG completed her look with a pair of black Dior stilettos, which retail for $1490

Bec shared a picture of her fresh cut and colour last month with fans.

The mother-of-four posed up a storm, showing off her new highlights with a soft curl in her hair.

'Fresh colour and cut by Hair By Keely Patrick at UVA Salon,' Bec wrote.

For months, Bec has been rocking darker and longer locks with blonde highlights.

Hair today, gone tomorrow! It comes after Bec recently showed off her hair transformation. She dyed her hair a richer honey colour and chopped off her locks in favour of a long bob

Bec often shares her beauty tips and tricks with fans and previously said she relies on a $365 skincare routine for glowing skin.

Bec, who is an ambassador for brand The Skincare Company, uses products including a gentle daily cleanser priced at $55, an AHA/BHA facial scrub, a soothing dual peptide mask and a hydration serum which retails at $125 alone.

She also previously revealed she washes her hair twice a week and uses dry shampoo to get by.
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Amelia Gray Hamlin, Alessandra Ambrosio and Candice Swanepoel were among the models storming the runway for Alexander Wang's FW/22 presentation at Central Plaza in Los Angeles' Chinatown on Tuesday.

The show, titled 'Fortune City,' was the first since the designer, 38 was forced deny allegations of sexual assault last year.

Putting on yet another racy display, Amelia, 20, left little to the imagination in the tiny halter top, and she rocked bleached brows and vampy eye make-up.

Goth girls! Amelia Gray Hamlin (L), Alessandra Ambrosio (C) and Candice Swanepoel (R) were among the models storming the runway for Alexander Wang's FW/22 presentation at Central Plaza in Los Angeles' Chinatown neighborhood on Tuesday

Amelia - who boasts 1.2 million Instagram followers - shared a clip of herself gracing the runway on Instagram Stories with the caption: 'Thank you I love you!'

Hamlin had a famous cheerleader in the audience in the form of her proud mother, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna, wearing a black leather duster over a nude ruched dress.

Meanwhile, South African model Candice put on an eye-popping display in a barely-there white ruffled top which flaunted her washboard abs.

She completed her ensemble with a petite brown skirt, a black leather jacket and patent over-the-knee boots as she strutted up the runway.

Un-cancelled? The show, titled 'Fortune City,' was the first since the designer, 38 was forced deny allegations of sexual assault last year

Gorgeous: Amelia - who boasts 1.2 million Instagram followers - shared a clip of herself gracing the runway on her Stories, which she captioned: 'Thank you I love you!'

Paging Julia Fox! The 20-year-old Women 360 Management Model - whose father is Harry Hamlin - left little to the imagination in the tiny halter top, and she rocked bleached brows and vampy eye make-up

Wow! Meanwhile, South African model Candice put on an eye-popping display in a barely-there white ruffled top which flaunted her washboard abs

The 33-year-old styled her golden tresses in a slicked back style and wore a dramatic smudge of eyeshadow, as did her fellow model Amelia.

Other celebrities in the crowd included Lisa's husband Harry Hamlin, Gunna, CL, Behati Prinsloo-Levine, Kimora Lee Simmons, Erika Jayne, Bia, Simi & Haze Khadra, Nikita Dragun, and Doechii.

Meanwhile, the 41-year-old Brazilian bombshell looked extremely similar to the ex-girlfriend of Scott Disick with a black ruffled bra-top and matching panties peeking out of her pants.

Looking good: The 33-year-old styled her golden tresses in a slicked back style and wore a dramatic smudge of eyeshadow, as did her fellow model Amelia

Dramatic: The 20-year-old Women 360 Management Model Amelia left little to the imagination in the tiny halter top, and she rocked bleached brows and vampy eye make-up

Alessandra has a lot of experience modeling bikinis, having worked as a Victoria's Secret Angel before founding her own swimwear lines, ale followed by GAL Floripa.

Speaking of Brazilian bombshells, Adriana Lima showcased her substantial baby bump in a cut-out ruffled dress and thigh-high leather boots.

The expecting 40-year-old - who has two daughters with ex-husband Marko Jaric - will soon welcome a son with her boyfriend Andre Lemmers.

Alexander was grinning ear to ear as he came out at the end of his presentation to take a final bow.

Supportive: Hamlin had a famous cheerleader in the audience in the form of her proud mother, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna (left), along with her former co-star Erika Jayne (right)

Standing out: The reality TV star put on a racy display in a pastel pink shirt dress adorned with silver sequins

They call that a whale tail! Meanwhile Alessandra looked extremely similar to the ex-girlfriend of Scott Disick with a black ruffled bra-top and matching panties peeking out of her pants

Fashion vet: Alessandra has a lot of experience modeling bikinis, having worked as a Victoria's Secret Angel before founding her own swimwear lines, ale followed by GAL Floripa

Baby on board! Speaking of Brazilian bombshells, Adriana Lima showcased her growing bump in a cut-out ruffled dress and thigh-high leather boots

Baby No. 3! The expecting 40-year-old - who has two daughters with ex-husband Marko Jaric - will soon welcome a son with her boyfriend Andre Lemmers

Curtain call: Alexander was grinning ear to ear as he came out at the end of his presentation to take a final bow

Icon: Fellow fashion star Kimora Lee Simmons showcased her incredible figure in funky black and nude striped boots, teamed with a plunging black blazer

Wang had been accused of drugging and assaulting male and trans models as far back as 2019 before models Owen Mooney and Gia Garrison went viral with their claims in 2020.

Watchdog account S*** Model Management shared eight anonymous statements from victims who made the same exact claims of being drugged, groped, and raped.

At first, the ex Balenciaga creative director denied all of the 'baseless claims' which were 'started on social media.'

Victim: Wang had been accused of drugging and assaulting male and trans models as far back as 2019 before models Owen Mooney (pictured) and Gia Garrison went viral with their claims in 2020

'Sexual predator': Watchdog account S*** Model Management shared eight anonymous statements from victims who made the same exact claims of allegedly being drugged, groped, and raped

'Baseless allegations': The ex Balenciaga creative director first denied all of the accusations

But three months later, Alexander issued a formal apology, writing: 'A number of individuals have come forward recently to raise claims against me regarding my past personal behavior. I support their right to come forward, and I've listened carefully to what they had to say.

'It was not easy for them to share their stories, and I regret acting in a way that caused them pain. While we disagree on some of the details of these personal interactions, I will set a better example and use my visibility and influence to encourage others to recognize harmful behaviors.'

He concluded: 'Life is about learning and growth, and now that I know better, I will do better.'

But three months later, Alexander issued a formal apology reading: 'It was not easy for them to share their stories, and I regret acting in a way that caused them pain. While we disagree on some of the details of these personal interactions, I will set a better example and use my visibility and influence to encourage others to recognize harmful behaviors'

11 of Wang's accusers hired attorney Lisa Bloom and after a meeting with him and his team, all sides settled the matter peacefully in March 2021.

'My clients had the opportunity to speak their truth to him and expressed their pain and hurt,' the 60-year-old daughter of Gloria Allred tweeted at the time.

'We acknowledge Mr. Wang's apology and we are moving forward. We have no further comment on this matter.'
Phoebe Burgess attended the Tamworth Country Music festival in style this week.

The ex-wife of of footy star Sam Burgess hit the road in a Toyota LandCruiser worth $147,000 on Wednesday and documented her travels on Instagram.

Influencer Phoebe, who is a spokesperson for Toyota, posted a series of Instagram photos showing herself posing next to the luxury vehicle while en route to norther NSW's country music capital.

Oh, what a feeling! Former WAG Phoebe Burgess, 32, (pictured) posed with a $147,000 Toyota LandCruiser as she embarked on a road trip to attend Tamworth Country Music Festival on Wednesday

In one image, Phoebe showed herself sitting atop the white vehicle wearing a longline plaid dress along with riding boots and a fedora.

The blonde had her arms outstretched as a field of canola flowers stretched behind her.

'Where to next? I'm thinking Tamworth...' she wrote in the caption.

Branded: The star later showed herself posing inside the 'Toyota Zone' at the Tamworth Country Music Festival

The star later showed herself posing inside the 'Toyota Zone' at the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

Phoebe also shared another image of herself standing next to a suitcase holding a cowboy-inspired hat.

Phoebe is believed to have acquired her Toyota LandCruiser 300 GR Sport in February, as she took to Instagram to spruik the vehicle with a glamorous photo shoot.

Yee-haw! Phoebe also shared another image of herself standing next to a suitcase holding a cowboy-inspired hat

Posing alongside the luxe vehicle, she wrote: 'Special Delivery!! Our maiden voyage in the brand new @toyota_aus #LC300 was a dream.'

'I spend so much time in our family car that it's a privilege to be doing the; school, grocery, coffee, Sydney, work annnd sport runs in the brand NEW #GRsport.'

It comes after Influencer Marketing Hub revealed how much the former NRL WAG earns as an influencer.

Wheels: Phoebe is believed to have acquired her Toyota LandCruiser 300 GR Sport in February, as she took to Instagram to spruik the vehicle with this glamorous photo shoot

Phoebe is believed to be earning between $470 and $790 per post, according to estimates.

Phoebe and her ex-husband Sam Burgess share son Billy, three, and four-year-old daughter Poppy together.

The pair separated in September 2019, and legally divorced in December last year.

Motherhood: Phoebe and her ex-husband Sam Burgess share son Billy, three, and four-year-old daughter Poppy (both pictured)

The Burgesses had initially separated in December 2018 - shortly after the birth of their Billy - but reconciled in April 2019, only to end things for good months later.

Phoebe is said to have walked away with 70 per cent of the couple's marital wealth, including Sam's F45 gym franchise, which she has since sold.

The former journalist, who now promotes herself as a brand ambassador, also kept a $100,000 Range Rover, which she is regularly seen driving around Bowral.
Many took advantage of the four-day bank holiday weekend.

And among them was Ulrika Jonsson, who told her Instagram followers on Tuesday that she 'disgraced' herself after drinking three pints of rum during a boozy night out.

The presenter, 54, hid behind a pair of face-framing sunglasses and a grey roll-neck jumper as she penned the Instagram Story: 'No, YOU disgraced yourself last night'.

'What the f**k am I like?!': Ulrika Jonsson said she 'disgraced' herself after drinking 3 pints of rum during boozy bank holiday weekend

In a follow-up segment, the Sweden native shared a text conversation between her and an unknown male friend, accompanied by a sheepish emoji.

Ulrika's opening message read: 'Did I promise to buy you a suit last night??', which received the response, 'Haha you did / But honestly don't worry'.

Clearly embarrassed by her antics, the TV star said: 'What the fk am I like?! 3 pints of rum and I'm everyone's'.

Sharer: The presenter, 54, is no stranger to updating her followers about her day-to-day endeavors

Interaction: On her Instagram Story, the Sweden native shared a text conversation between her and an unknown male friend, accompanied by a sheepish emoji

The inebriated evening comes after Ulrika revealed her secret agony from her debilitating arthritis, admitting its not the 'sexiest' condition to have.

She detailed the how it causes her to have many a sleepless night, leading to 'brain fog'.

Arthritis is a common condition that causes pain and inflammation in a joint and most often develops in people in their mid-40s or older.

Battle: The inebriated evening comes after Ulrika revealed her secret agony from her debilitating arthritis, admitting its not the 'sexiest' condition to have

The mother-of-four said while she is open about the condition on dates, it can have a negative effect on her relationships.

Speaking to The Sun, she said: 'Its bound to affect relationships and people around you and your ability to be intimate maybe.'

She confessed it was not something she would be advertising on her dating profile any time soon.

Ulrika opened up about how she copes with the disorder, which she said she has lived with since childhood, saying she's 'always had the pain'.

Speaking on the impact of the condition, she said: 'I do laugh and joke about it, if it takes me a while to get out of a chair, I will say "oh, heres the arthritis again" and I think maybe people think Im joking and just taking the mickey but its actually real and happening. Its a huge part of what I am.'
Sofia Vergara is a dead ringer for Jessica Rabbit in new Instagram shots posted on Instagram on Wednesday behind the scenes of America's Got Talent filming.

The actress, 49, looked busty in a red sequined strapless dress similar to the animated character's look in the 1981 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

The judge oozed confidence in the busty ensemble as she got ready for another thrilling round of auditions for the hit show.

Wow: Sofia Vergara channelled Jessica Rabbit in a red hot busty strapless dress in backstage Instagram snaps taken on Wednesday amid judging duties on America's Got Talent

The Modern Family star confidently put her famous curves on full display as she posed for a steamy mirror selfie which she uploaded to her grid.

She later went on to upload a behind the scenes image from the AGT taping, captioning her story: 'Backstage ready for another amazing week of auditions'.

The Columbian bombshell coiffed her brunette locks with cascading curls while accentuating her striking features with a glamorous palette of make-up.

Inspiration: The actress looked incredible in a red sequined strapless dress similar to the animated character's look in the 1981 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Action! She later went on to upload a behind the scenes image from the AGT taping, captioning her story: 'Backstage ready for another amazing week of auditions'

She finished off the show-stopping look with some statement jewellery pieces which added some glitz for her TV outing.

Making sure to keep her energy levels up - she added a playful photo of her getting ready to indulge in a tasty snack on a break wrapping up in a robe.

She captioned the story: 'Light lunch backstage,' followed by a sticky-out tongue emoji.

Sofia, whose renowned for her glamorous looks also went on to show off her eye for style in a black feathered sequined dress that she wore on the set last week.

Yum: Making sure to keep her energy levels up - she added a playful photo of her getting ready to indulge in a tasty snack on a break wrapping up in a robe

Sofia, whose renowned for her glamorous style also went on to show off her eye for style in a black feathered sequined dress that she wore on the set last week

Kind: The throwback clip showed the model send a personalised birthday wish to a fan in Spanish as she wowed in the elegant number

The throwback clip showed the model send a personalised birthday wish to a fan in Spanish as she wowed in the elegant number.

Sofia's fellow judge Heidi Klum also featured on her account as they superstars appeared to be having a whale of a time on the show playing around with some of the social media giants filters.

The duo sipped on a drink as they appeared in the auditorium messing around wearing some virtual mouse ears and while Sofia appeared with a giant teddy bear animation wrapped around her.

Cute: Sofia appeared to be getting so much enjoyment experimenting with a teddy bear filter on her Instagram account

Cuddly: She shared the cute snap to her 25.1 million followers as fans screamed in the background

The close friends along with Canadian TV star Howie Mandel and Simon Cowell are in the midst of shooting series 17 of the reality competition series.

The new season will premiere on May 31 on NBC.

Pennsylvania native Dustin Tavella, 35, won season 16 of AGT last September performing as a magician.

The winner of AGT earns a grand prize of $1 million plus a headlining show in Las Vegas.

Fun! Sofia's fellow judge Heidi Klum also featured on her account as they superstars appeared to be having a whale of a time on the show playing around with some apps
If you have been affected by this story, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org or

Thandiwe Newton is said to be heading to rehab amid her split from husband Ol Parker and acrimonious exit from Magic Mike 3.

The Hollywood star, 49. has reportedly been urged to seek mental health support following the break-up of her marriage - and an alleged bust-up with Magic Mike co-star Channing Tatum over Will Smith's Oscars slap - which she has denied.

The embattled actress has previously told how she has suffered 'a number of breakdowns' in her troubled past, as well as discussing her heartbreaking experiences of sexual abuse, racism and bulimia during her time in the industry.

When she was 16 she was groomed by director John Duigan, who was 39 years old at the time.

A look back: Thandiwe Newton is said to be heading to rehab amid a reported split from husband Ol Parker (pictured together 2018) and acrimonious exit from Magic Mike 3 - and has spoken previously about her troubled past

The violations by Duigan lasted five years, two of those years were termed a 'relationship' after he sought Newton's parents' blessing for her to be his girlfriend when she was 18, while asking her to hide their previous intimacy which began when she was just 16.

The Bafta-winning actress has said the relationship left her feeling 'self-destructive' and said she has only spoken about it 'so teenagers can see they can resist and gain self-awareness'

Speaking to InStyle magazine, Thandiwe claimed Duigan took advantage of her when she was vulnerable.

Past: The actress has previously told how she has suffered 'a number of breakdowns' as well as discussing her heartbreaking experiences of sexual abuse when she was in her teens (pictured 1991 aged 16)

She said: 'I was a very shy, very sweet girl. I wasn't in control of the situation. Would I have liked things to be different? Sure.

'But I can now value myself more for the way I got through it. I don't see myself as a victim.'

'I was a very shy, very sweet girl. I wasn't in control of the situation. Would I have liked things to be different? Sure,' she said to InStyle in a 2011 interview.

'But I can now value myself more for the way I got through it. I don't see myself as a victim. In retrospect, although it was legal because I was 16, I was coerced.'

During the first Covid lockdown, she added: 'I had a very complicated relationship with sex. It was like I had to give something back for being noticed. Predators and sexual abusers can smell it a mile off.

'I had a very tough time being a teenager in the film business. It's not a place for young people unless you have your mum standing by you the whole time and that isn't possible.'

Film: When she was 16 she was groomed by director John Duigan, who was 39 years old at the time as they filmed 1991's Flirting (Duigan pictured 2004)

Thandiwe has spoken of how an unnamed casting director asked her to touch herself on-camera when she was just 18-years-old.

She said: 'A director, on a callback, had a camera shooting up my skirt and asked me to touch my t**s and think about the guy making love to me in the scene,' she told W.

'I thought, 'Ok, this is a little weird,' but there was a female casting director in the room and I'd done weird stuff before so I did it.'

But years later, she discovered the unnamed man had kept her tape and was playing it at poker games for other Hollywood elite.

Following the violating discovery, Thandiwe began to fight the abuse and call it out - an act that cost the actress many jobs.

'I was very aware of the climate of sexual abuse that was going on around me, so I became the person you didn't want to hire because I would call it out,' she told Marie Claire in 2019.

'In retrospect, I can see many instances where not only would I not be employed, but other actors and actresses would not necessarily want to be associated with me.'

'Probably the worst thing about having your innocence rocked is what stays with you. The sense of worthlessness, shamethese things are very hard to move on from. But you can,' she told the outlet.

The star said she terminated a contract with a publicist who begged her to stop talking about being sexually abused because it was 'not good for your reputation'.

Thandiwe said she felt 'scarred by 'the way I was exploited and the kind of role and the kinds of things I was expected to do in auditions.'

She has since revealed she was once told to stop talking about the assault so that it would not affect her job opportunities.

Battle: The Crash star began suffering from bulimia after two damaging relationships in her teens (pictured in 1991 aged 16)

In an interview with Radio Times, the actress revealed how people often felt uncomfortable when she spoke up about her own experience, stating, 'people didn't like it one bit'.

The actress, who starred in Line Of Duty's fourth series, previously praised the BBC drama for tackling dark themes. The series of the hit BBC show was based on an investigation into the cover-up of a sexual abuse at a boys' home.

Talking to the magazine, she said: 'I understand that because I'm someone who has spoken out about my abuse [as a very young actress] and people didn't like it one bit.

'People have told me to stop and I have felt it did affect whether I was getting employed or not But I hope that somewhere a mum taking her kid to the set will just be that little bit more aware.'

The star, who is of Zimbabwean and English heritage, has also detailed being subjected to racism, during her career and growing up.

In 2019, after it was revealed that banning natural hairstyles - including braids and cornrows - would be made illegal in New York, the star revealed that nuns at the school in Penzance, Cornwall had once refused to let her be pictured in a class photograph because she was wearing braids.

Taking to Twitter, the star told her 136,000 followers: 'Take THAT the nuns at my primary school! I wasn't permitted to have my photo taken on School Photo Day because Mum had given me beautiful rows of braids the night before - specifically to make me look my best. Now hair discrimination is illegal in NYC. Bliss.'

After being born in England, Newton's family moved to Zambia but returned when the actress was three and settled in England's south-west.

Her father Nick, an artist, is British; her mother Nyasha is a princess of the Shona tribe in Zimbabwe.

Newton told the Daily Mail previously: 'Growing up in Penzance, Cornwall, my brother, Jamie, and I were the only black children in the area.'

She said taunts about the colour of her skin were commonplace, saying: 'There were the usual cruel names: big ears or big nose. And none of the boys wanted to go out with me.

'I don't remember any overt racism, but my mum and I have talked about this and I now know my parents kept us safe from a lot of stuff.'

The actress also opened up about the difficulties of growing up with a mixed heritage.

She explained: 'When I was seven, I went to Zimbabwe and was very excited to be there because, when kids in Cornwall teased me about the colour of my skin, I thought to myself 'I'm Zimbabwean'.

Not to be: Thandiwe has detailed how her battle with bulimia led to her missing out on a role in 2006's Casino Royale (pictured Daniel Craig and Eva Green in the film)

'Then on that holiday, a boy and I had a row about something and he said, 'Go back to England where you belong.' And I said, 'I belong here,' and he said, 'What do you mean? You're white''.

Thandiwe has previously claimed she cannot work in her native UK due to the limited roles for black actors in historical dramas.

The Westworld star spoke to the Sunday Times Magazine about how the rise in period dramas has resulted in 'slim pickings for people of colour'.

In her candid interview, the esteemed actress admitted such programmes would force her to play the victim of racial abuse, as she drew from British Film Institute research findings, stating that 59% of UK films since 2006 had no black actors.

The London-born star is adamant the rise of shows such as The Crown, Downton Abbey and Victoria - particularly shows about royalty - mean there is little place for 'people of colour' due to the inevitable typecasting.

She said: 'I love being here, but I can't work, because I can't do Downton Abbey, can't be in Victoria, can't be in Call The Midwife - well, I could, but I don't want to play someone who's being racially abused...

'I'm not interested in that, don't want to do it... there just seems to be a desire for stuff about the Royal Family, stuff from the past, which is understandable, but it just makes it slim pickings for people of colour.'

In 2020, in an interview with Vulture, Thandiwe claimed she turned down a role in 2000 movie Charlie's Angels after an alleged awkward interaction with Amy Pascal, who was Sony Pictures co-chairman at the time.

'I had a meeting with her, and she said, "Look, I don't mean to be politically incorrect, but the character as written and you playing the role, I just feel like we've got to make sure that it's believable." I was like, "What do you mean? What changes would you have to make?"' Thandiwe said.

Racism: The star once revealed she had been banned from a school photograph by the nuns at her primary school because she was wearing 'beautiful rows of braids'

'She's like, "Well, you know, the character, as written, she's been to university and is educated."'

The star continued, 'I'm like, "I've been to university. I went to Cambridge."

'She went, "Yeah, but youre different." Shes like, "Maybe there could be a scene where you're in a bar and she gets up on a table and starts shaking her booty."

'She's basically reeling off these stereotypes of how to be more convincing as a Black character.'

Thandiwe said she rejected all the suggestions Pascal made.

'Everything she said, I was like, "Nah, I wouldn't do that." She's like, "Yeah, but you're different. You're different."

'That was Amy Pascal. That's not really a surprise, is it? Let's face it: I didn't do the movie as a a result.' Thandiwe said.

Pascal was fired from Sony Pictures in 2015 after an email hack released numerous emails and exchanges with fellow producer Scott Rudin where they would make racist jokes, including joking about President Barrack Obama's taste in movies.

The movie executive said in a statement to Vulture that she was 'horrified to hear' of Thandiwe's recollection of their meeting.

Family: Thandiwe and Ol share three children Ripley, 21, Nico, 17, and Booker, eight (pictured with her husband and daughters in 2019)

'While I take her words seriously, I have no recollection of the events she describes, nor do any of her representatives who were present at that casting session,

'I've long considered Thandiwe a friend; I'm thankful that I've had the chance to make movies with her; and I hope to work with her again in the future.'

Thandiwe told Vulture that the other reason she didn't do Charlie's Angels was because the director wanted to objectify her in the opening scene.

'The director said to me, "I can't wait for this. The first shot is going to be Youre going to think it's like yellow lines down a road, and you pull back and you realize it's the stitching, because the denim is so tight on your ass it's going to look like tarmac.' I was like, "Oh, I don't think we're going to go down this road together.'

The outspoken star has also discussed her battle with eating disorder bulimia ad revealed the scars left by her battle.

'I've still got the scars on my knuckles from where I put my fingers down my throat,' she said.

The Crash star began suffering from bulimia after two damaging relationships in her teens.

'I must have been about 14 and was training for my ballet exams,' she told Easy Living magazine.

'I ate nothing but cottage cheese. It didn't seem so strange - my mum was a health visitor so we never had butter in the house, we had Flora.'

The fad became an 'obsession' after a relationship with an older man. Newton said: 'I felt a lot of shame about my sexual relationship with him.

'We used to go out to dinner all the time and he'd get so excited about eating ... and it must have been my way of separating myself from him by becoming bulimic.

'I would have dinner with him... and then go back to the flat we were sharing and throw up.'

The actress, who starred in Mission: Impossible II with Tom Cruise, said the second relationship was 'emotionally abusive' and tipped her over into 'horrible bulimia for about a year'.

She entered therapy shortly afterwards but continued to 'control' her food intake until she was in her late twenties.

Last year the actress told Vogue magazine: '(In 1996) I was lying in bed, so thin, and my heart was beating against my ribcage so hard that I could see it, and my friend Jessica called. I said, 'Jessica, I'm worried I'm going to die'.'

She eventually sought help and went into therapy.

She has told Vulture: 'I've had a number of breakdowns, I guess. I remember going to the audition for the new Bond movie, the first one with Daniel Craig.

'I'd just done Crash and yes, I was really hot, and it was my moment. And I remember going into that audition and I was so thin and so messed up.'

Thandiwe missed out on the role in the iconic 2006 film, Casino Royale.

Thandiwe recently shared a cryptic message about 'hating women' as she took to her Instagram Stories to post a picture of vintage lingerie in the wake of her marital split.

The Hollywood star posted the snap of the Zoe Buckman item which was embroidered with the words: 'Do we hate our women'.

The lyrics were taken from the late Tupac Shakur's song Keep Ya Head Up (1993) and also featured the words: 'I wonder why we take from our women. Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?'

The lingerie Thandiwe shared was taken from Zoe's Every Curve exhibit (2014) - which explores the contradictory and complementary influences of Feminism and Hip-Hop she recalls from her upbringing.

Thandiwe's now-deleted post comes shortly after it was alleged she has separated from her husband and is likely headed to rehab, according to a new report.

The report came four days after Thandiwe denied claims she was sacked from her leading role in Magic Mike 3 over a heated argument with co-star Channing Tatum. She has since been replaced in the role by Salma Hayek.

According to a new report in Page Six, staffers on the movie became worried about her health during filming in London, with her agent flying in from Los Angeles to try and 'smooth things over'.

The publication reports that Thandiwe has been suffering with emotional and family problems after separating from her husband Ol, 52, with whom she shares children Ripley, 21, Nico, 17, and Booker, eight.

Ol is a British filmmaker who previously wrote and directed the 2018 musical film Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

A source said: 'Thandiwe had been acting strange on set, she has been very highly strung. Her apparent breakdown caused so much disruption, it became clear she couldn't play the role.

Claim: In 2020, in an interview with Vulture, Thandiwe claimed she turned down a role in 2000 movie Charlie's Angels after an alleged awkward interaction with Amy Pascal, who was Sony Pictures co-chairman at the time (pictured 2020)

Interaction: Thandiwe recalled meeting she had with Pascal where she was 'reeling off these stereotypes of how to be more convincing as a Black character.' Pascal is pictured here with Greta Gerwig in January 2020)

Comment: Thandiwe recalled to Vulture the other reason she didn't do Charlie's Angels was because the director wanted to objectify her in the opening scene. Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu are seen here in a promotional shot for the 2000 movie

'There is a lot going on in her personal life, she and her husband have separated. She seemed so stressed she even brought her two pet rabbits to her hotel for emotional support.'

A Warner Bros. Pictures spokesperson previously said of her departure from the movie: 'Thandiwe Newton has made the difficult decision to step away from the production of Warner Bros. Pictures' Magic Mike's Last Dance to deal with family matters.'

The insider added that Thandiwe fired her UK agent of three decades as her US agent Gaby Morgerman flew in to try to help.

Gaby is considered one of the most powerful women in Hollywood, representing stars including Matthew McConaughey and Minnie Driver over her thirty year career at powerhouse agency William Morris.

Thandiwe has reportedly fired her UK team at London based agency Independent Talent Group in recent weeks.

The insider said of her next steps: 'Thandiwe's team wants her to go to rehab for mental health support.

She was supposed to leave immediately for a facility, they tried for a Malibu rehab, but they couldn't take her. Arrangements are now being made to go to a facility in Arizona, if she agrees to go.'

MailOnline contacted representatives of Thandiwe Newton for comment.

Thandiwe exited Magic Mike's Last Dance after 11 days of filming with Channing due to a 'family matter'.

Report: It was claimed the alleged argument between Thandiwe and Channing was 'unimaginably vicious' (Channing pictured centre in Magic Mike, 2012)

Recast: Thandiwe's role in the film will now reportedly be played by Salma Hayek (pictured in February)

Last week The Sun reported the alleged argument between Thandiwe and Channing, which was said to be 'unimaginably vicious', was over Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.

A Warner Bros. Pictures spokesperson said: 'Thandiwe Newton has made the difficult decision to step away from the production of Warner Bros. Pictures' Magic Mike's Last Dance to deal with family matters.'

The statement comes after insiders told The Sun that Thandiwe is planning on suing studio chiefs at Warner Bros over the incident.

The argument reportedly took place on location in Paddington and culminated with Channing driving off set in his car.

A source said: 'Channing Tatum is the producer and number one on set. Thandiwe Newton is the number two star. But 11 days into shooting and it's all over.

'They fell out over the debacle at The Oscars. I was on set. I watched her and watched him. They were in and out of the house where we were filming having this confrontation.

'After the row he just went, 'I am not working with her anymore'. Him being a producer, it's his movie, so she's off the movie.'

Love: The actress has said she fell in love with her husband Ol at first sight, dumping her boyfriend at the time to be with him when they met in 1997(pictured in 2019)

The source added that all scenes filmed with Thandiwe will now have to be reshot with Salma while the film's director Steven Soderbergh reportedly didn't take a side in the argument.

A spokesperson for Thandiwe told MailOnline: 'This report is completely inaccurate.'

The original Magic Mike movie premiered in 2012 and was loosely based on Channing's experience working as a stripper in Tampa, Florida. A sequel followed in 2015.

Channing confirmed that he would reprise his role for Magic Mike's Last Dance in November on 2021.

The film is set to premiere exclusively on HBO Max. The release date has yet to be announced.

In a recent interview with PEOPLE he spoke about the importance on the movie having a lead female character.

'I want to have an equal, if not even more centralized female character for Mike to really play off of and almost to... I don't want to say, [to have her] take the baton, but really let the movie be about a female's experience and not Mike's experience, because it has been so much about Mike and the guys' experiences.

'These movies are very, very female-forward. At least that is our intention.'

She has said she fell in love with her husband Ol at first sight, dumping her boyfriend at the time to be with him when they met in 1997. At the time Ol was a screenwriter and had penned In Your Dreams, which featured the actress.

'It's very unusual to have writers around on set because directors don't want them there. But they love having Ol around. He was on set every day and I fell madly in love with him,' she told InStyle Magazine.

'I'd never experienced that before. Up until then, my relationships had always been more based on people wanting to be with me. When I met Ol, I was dating a really sweet, lovely man and I had to leave him straight away, even though I wasn't even going out with Ol'.

'But as soon as I met Ol, it kind of cut off any other blood vessels to anywhere else. We got married about two years later.'

She went on to marry Ol in 1998, with the actress gushing in a 2016 interview about their home life with their three children that the director is 'Soooo calm.'

'And we laugh, because I take the p**s out of him,' she added at the time. 'You know: shoulder-shrugging: 'It's OK, babe.' And he takes the p**s out of my  What would you describe it as? Highly emotional. As I'm thinking, the words will come. I don't stop and think.'

The star has previously been open about subscribing to the The Hoffman Process, a form of therapy also embraced by the likes of Katy Perry and Sienna Miller. Retreats and courses help attendees 'unlearn' negative behaviors and thereby begin a journey of 'self-understanding'.

Justin Bieber described his experience of The Hoffman Process in a 2019 Vogue interview, explaining: 'You sit on a mat, you put a pillow down, and you beat your past out of it. I beat the fact that my mom was depressed a lot of my life and my dad has anger issues. Stuff that they passed on that I'm kind of mad they gave me'.

Family: She went on to marry Ol in 1998, with the actress gushing in a 2016 interview about their homelife with their three children that the director is 'Soooo calm' (pictured with two of their children Ripley and Nico in 2016)

In a revealing interview in 2021, Thandiwe revealed that she was becoming disillusioned with acting, telling Vogue UK: 'I find that acting takes more and more away from me, because I'm more connected to myself than I've ever been, whereas before I was delighted to get an excuse to go off to another personality.'

'I couldn't wait to get away from myself, truly, I had such low self-esteem. Acting was where I felt whole.'

The actress was previously credited as Thandie Newton before she reverted to the original spelling of her name three decades after it was misspelled in her first film.

She revealed that Thandie was a careless misspelling in the credits of her first movie  the 1991 Australian film Flirting, co-starring Nicole Kidman and Noah Taylor  and it has stuck ever since.

'That's my name. It's always been my name. I'm taking back what's mine,' she told British Vogue in April 2021.

If you have been affected by this story, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org
His wife was every inch his biggest fan during The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent screening on Monday night.

And 24 hours later, Nicolas Cage and his pregnant wife Riko Shibata reinforced just how strong their bond is as they stepped out matching in Versace for dinner with the A-lister's son, Weston.

The iconic actor, 58, and 27-year-old Riko held hands as they exited Toku Unagi & Sushi in West Hollywood, and were bound to catch the eye in their garish garments.

In sync: Nicolas Cage, 58, and his pregnant wife Riko Shibata, 27, stepped out matching in Versace for dinner with the actor's son Weston on Tuesday

The Academy Award winner donned Versace's Barocco print on a silk, short sleeve shirt and teamed it with suave black trousers.

Meanwhile, Riko, who is pregnant with the couple's first child, wore a jacket emblazoned with the Italian brand and latex trousers with high top Converse.

31-year-old Weston, who Nicolas had from his relationship with Christina Fulton in the late 1980s, kept it casual in a leather jacket, plain tee and fisherman sandals.

Night out: The actor and Riko exited Toku Unagi & Sushi in West Hollywood, and were bound to catch the eye in their garish garments

Laid-back: 31-year-old Weston, who Nicolas had from his relationship with Christina Fulton in the late 1980s, kept it casual in a leather jacket, plain tee and fisherman sandals

The outing comes amid Nicolas' claims that he was belittled on the set of his first film because he was the nephew of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola.

'I was still Nicolas Coppola then,' he said of his role in the 1982 coming-of-age comedy Fast Times At Ridgemont High.

'I'm not going to mention any names, but I was bullied on that movie by other actors because my name was Coppola.

'It was like, "Oh, well, he thinks he can be an actor just because he's Francis Ford Coppola's nephew." I was the brunt of jokes.'

Revelations: The outing comes amid Nicolas' claims that he was belittled on the set of his first film because he was the nephew of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola (pictured this month)

Exciting: It was revealed in January that Nicolas and Riko were expecting their first child, and Nicolas' third, after Weston and his 16-year-old son Kal-El from his third marriage with Alice Kim (pictured this week)

It was revealed in January that Nicolas and Riko were expecting their first child, and Nicolas' third, after Weston and his 16-year-old son Kal-El from his third marriage with Alice Kim.

The couple had met in Shiga, Japan, through mutual friends, while the actor was on location filming Prisoners of the Ghostland.

Nicolas has previously been married to Patricia Arquette (1995-2001), Lisa Marie Presley (2002-2004), Alice Kim (2004-2016) and Erica Koike (2019).
The Candyman's model daughter Lucciana Beynon is a rising star in the London fashion scene.

And the 20-year-old proved her modelling chops on Tuesday as she flaunted her curves at a lingerie shoot.

A clip was shared to Instagram by the star's stylist Gabrielle Thomson, showing Lucciana getting her makeup and hair done, before later posing for the camera on a red leather couch.

Va va voom! The Candyman's model daughter Lucciana Beynon flaunted her eye-popping curves in skimpy lingerie as she posed in a racy photoshoot on Tuesday

Lucciana, who grew-up on Australia's Gold Coast, wore nothing but a yellow bra and jeans as she prepared for the shoot.

The glamazon wore her hair in rollers as she sat in the makeup chair, before later changing into a lacy two-piece.

Lucciana showed her ample cleavage in the white bra and matching bottoms in other scenes in the footage.

White hot: A clip was shared to Instagram by the star's stylist Gabrielle Thomson, showing Lucciana getting her makeup and hair done, before later posing for the camera on a red leather couch

Hair and makeup: Lucciana, who grew-up on Australia's Gold Coast, wore nothing but a yellow bra and jeans as she prepared for the shoot

The bombshell wore her raven tresses curled, perfectly framing her striking facial features.

'Just spicy. Big and bouncy on my sexy senorita,' she captioned the post.

It comes after Lucciana went public with former Love Island UK star Wes Nelson, 23, on Valentine's Day earlier this year.

Leggy: Lucciana showed her ample cleavage in the white bra and matching bottoms in other scenes in the footage

She posted a photo on Instagram of herself kissing Wes on a balcony alongside the text 'mi amour', which translates to 'my love'.

The couple later went for dinner at Aqua Shard, on level 31 of The Shard in London.

Lucciana looked spectacular in a leopard-print dress, opted for a glossy makeup palette and styled her raven hair loosely.

Glamazon: 'Just spicy. Big and bouncy on my sexy senorita,' Lucciana captioned the post

The genetically blessed couple are rarely seen on social media together, and prefer to keep things private.

Despite only going 'Instagram official' recently, the pair have actually been an item since April last year.

'Wes met Lucciana in Dubai and it wasn't long before they started spending more time together,' a source told MailOnline at the time.

It's love! It comes after Lucciana went public with former Love Island UK star Wes Nelson (left) on Valentine's Day earlier this year

'Friends say they really get on and something may progress between them, especially as they continue to hang out together in London.

'Lucciana supports Wes' music career while she has ambitious plans with her modelling, they definitely inspire each other to do well.'

Lucciana's father Travers 'The Candyman' Beynon made his millions in the tobacco business, but is also well-known for his playboy ways and hosting extravagant parties at his lavish 15-bedroom mansion on the Gold Coast.
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Katie Price and her on-off fiance Carl Woods reportedly stayed in a bargain 101 a night hotel over the Easter weekend.

The former glamour model, 43, and the one-time Love Island contestant, 32, jetted off to Spain where they stayed at The Melia in Alicante, according to The Sun.

The four-star hotel is located between the marina and Postiguet Beach and features 14 different types of rooms on their website.

Getaway: Katie Price and her on-off fiance Carl Woods reportedly stayed in a bargain 101 a night hotel over the Easter weekend

Guests can pay from 101 per night and can relax in two nearby pools and enjoy breathtaking sea views.

The publication reports that Katie spent some of Sunday enjoying a drink at the Sabores restaurant on the Passeig de lesplanda despanya.

The hotel features rooms with a balcony overlooking the scenic city along with a living area.

The recent getaway has fueled mounting speculation that Katie and Carl are back together after they were spotted in Gatwick airport holdings hands on Friday before they left for Spain.

Trip: The former glamour model, 43, and the one-time Love Island contestant, 32, jetted off to Spain where they stayed at The Melia in Alicante, according to The Sun

Vacation: The four-star hotel is located between the marina and Postiguet Beach and features 14 different types of rooms on their website

Bargain: Guests can pay from 101 per night and can relax in two nearby pools and enjoy breathtaking sea views

Katie teased their reunion by sharing a sneak peek at the tropical location in a recent Instagram post.

Posting on Sunday, the star revealed a glimpse of palm trees and a luxury restaurant as she wished her followers a Happy Easter.

Katie shared a photo of a Pina colada before beaming into the camera, telling her fans: 'Happy Easter everyone, hope you have a fantastic day!'

Carl later took to Instagram to share a snap where he tagged the location as Gatwick Airport, penning the caption: 'Catch Flights.'

MailOnline contacted representatives for Carl and Katie for comment.

Holiday: The hotel features rooms with a balcony overlooking the scenic city along with a living area

Hotel: The bathrooms are deisnged with beige walls and dark grey floors

It comes after Katie was spotted without her engagement ring in new pictures on Tuesday.

Carl tried to distance himself from split rumours as he took to his Instagram Stories later that evening, telling his followers: 'Engagement ring on and off - it's all b*******!', alluding to the snaps of her without her sparkler.

The ex-reality star insisted he 'didn't want to be involved' in the speculation about their relationship status, just days after it appeared they were back on by jetting off on an Easter break together.

His comments come after Katie flashed her diamond ring on Instagram last week, before removing in it shots of her at a friend's London stables after returning from their trip.

Addressing reports, Carl said: 'I wanted to come on here and clear this up, engagement ring on and off - it's all b*******.

'They're so muggy. I'm not involved in it, please nobody tarnish me with the same brush. I think it's ridiculous - that's all I've got to stay on it.'

'Don't involve me!' It comes as Carl tried to distance himself from split rumours as he took to his Instagram Stories and told followers: 'Engagement ring on and off - it's all b*******!', alluding to the snaps of her without her sparkler'

All off? Carl insisted he 'didn't want to be involved' in the speculation about their relationship status, just days after it appeared they were back on by jetting off on their Easter break

'Muggy!' Addressing reports, Carl said: 'I wanted to come on here and clear this up, engagement ring on and off - it's all b*******'

Wish you were here: Katie recently shared a peek at their Spanish holiday in a new Instagram post

A week before they jetted off Katie was picked up by her ex fiance after a hair salon appointment.

Former Celebrity Big Brother winner Katie shared footage of herself sitting in her ex's Porsche as she showed off her new hair, and flashed a look at her huge diamond engagement ring which was firmly back on.

The leather embossed seats of Carl's distinctive car could be seen in the background of Katie's selfies.

She captioned the footage 'show off' with a laughing, crying emoji as Carl drove her home.

Enjoying herself: Katie shared a photo of a Pina colada before beaming into the camera, telling her fans: 'Happy Easter everyone, hope you have a fantastic day!'

A second clip saw the star showing off her manicure, with her huge diamond engagement ring from Carl back on her wedding finger.

Hours earlier the star had uploaded a snap of herself in the hairdresser's chair while having a blow dry with the ring noticeably absent in the mirror selfie.

The reality star's social media activity came just hours after her ex liked one of her Instagram posts, in another telling sign that the two could be back together.

Where is he going? Carl later took to Instagram to share a snap where he tagged the location as Gatwick Airport, penning the caption: 'Catch Flights'

Rekindled: A week before they jetted off Katie was picked up by her ex fiance after a hair salon appointment. The leather seats of Carl's car could be seen in the background of Katie's selfies

Sharing: She also shared a pretty natural looking selfie while on her break away - although she did seem to have a filter applied

The star told how she was 'feeling natural and happy today' in the post which her former fiance liked, in a sign that tensions between them may have calmed down, after he deleted all snaps of them from his Instagram..

Carl previously allegedly accused Katie of cheating twice and reportedly ended his 11-month engagement to her as he could no longer trust her.

Just a day earlier Katie and her ex-Kris Boyson, 34, were spotted at the same romantic hotel days apart  sparking speculation they have rekindled their relationship.

The mother-of-five shared images from inside The Copper Crib in Sussex on her Instagram story last Tuesday while Kris posted matching photos from the same luxury getaway a week later.

Ring: A second clip saw the star showing off her manicure, with her huge diamond engagement ring from Carl back on her wedding finger

Former glamour model Katie, whose engagement to Carl ended abruptly following claims she sent flirty messages to ex-Kris from her daughter's Instagram profile, said she was at the Secret Cabins venue with son Harvey.

A source said: 'Carl will be really upset about this  he had his suspicions about Katie and Kris, which ultimately ended their relationship.

'If they stayed in the same hotel so soon after his split from Katie then it's a real low blow and the fact they have posted pictures on social media makes it even more disrespectful because they clearly want people to know.'

A friend close to Kris told MailOnline: 'It's just a coincidence that Katie and Kris stayed at The Copper Crib within the same week.

Bling-free: Her enormous diamond engagement ring from Carl was noticeably absent from her wedding finger in a previous mirror selfie

'Kris was there with another woman who he's not ready to go public with and isn't interested in getting back with Katie. Their relationship is in the past for him now.'

Katie's engagement to former Love Island contestant Carl ended after she was accused of cheating and sending flirtatious messages to Kris last year.

The TV personality regularly spoke about marrying Carl and having his children while they came close to eloping in Vegas last November.

Carl proposed to Katie last April  just 10 months after they first started dating.

Last month, Carl appeared in court accused of using 'threatening words and behaviour' following a row with Katie.

Carl had been charged under Section 4 of the Public Order Act following an incident at his home in Little Canfield, Essex last year.

Colchester Magistrates' Court was told the charge followed an argument that spilled over into the street, disturbing neighbours.

At one stage Carl was seen trying to force open a door, the court heard.

Carl was arrested after Katie was allegedly punched in face on August 22, 2021.

The reality star is set to face trial after denying the charges and if found guilty could be sentenced to a maximum of six months in prison.
Downton Abbey: A New Era will see the debut of Laura Haddock as a glamorous 1920s film star, with the actress seeming unimpressed by the iconic manor in the much-anticipated sequel.

In an exclusive clip obtained by MailOnline, the White Lines star transforms into period star Myrna Dalgleish who arrives at the Crawley household as it prepares to become the set for a Hollywood film.

Downton Abbey: A New Era will see the famous family take a surprise trip to the French Riviera after learning that family matriarch Dowager Countess Violet has inherited a villa from a former lover.

EXCLUSIVE: A new clip from the upcoming sequel Downton Abbey: A New Era sees Laura Haddock debut as a glamorous 1920s film star

In the clip, Downton's staff are awash with excitement at the arrival of star Myrna as filming prepares to comment on a major Hollywood blockbuster.

Housemaid Anna Bates (played by Joanne Froggatt) and assistant cook Daisy Mason (Sophie McShera) rush onto the driveway as her car begins to pull up outside the house.

Clad in a stunning blue silk dress and with a white fur trim, Laura's character Myrna steps out of the car, but appears unimpressed by the picturesque Downton, pursing her lips in dismay.

Exciting: The actress' character Myrna Dalgleish, a beloved film star, sparkes excitement from the staff below stairs at the famous manor, which has been transformed into a film set

Coming soon: In the clip, Downton's staff are awash with excitement at the arrival of star Myrna as filming prepares to comment on a major Hollywood blockbuster

Need some help? Footmen are seen unloading Myrna's vast collection of Louis Vuitton luggage

Failing to acknowledge any of the waiting staff, she swans through the front door into the grand foyer, with butler Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier) adjusting his suit in preparation.

Meanwhile lady's maid Phyllis Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) is joined by former butler and teacher Joseph Molesley (Kevin Doyle), asking why he's come to visit the house.

He gushes: 'You know I love anything to do with films,' before Baxter notes: 'I know you enjoy a trip to the pictures.'

Grand arrival: Clad in a stunning blue silk dress and with a white fur trim, Laura's character Myrna steps out of the car, but appears unimpressed by the picturesque Downton

Out of my way! Failing to acknowledge any of the waiting staff, she swans through the front door into the grand foyer, with butler Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier) adjusting his suit

Moseley then passionately notes: 'It's more than that, for me Hollywood is the ultimate dream factory and I need dreams as much as the next man.'

Downton Abbey: A New Era will see a slew of new faces join the star-studded cast, including Dominic West and Hugh Dancy.

The film, written by Julian Fellowes, takes the familiar faces to the South of France to uncover the mystery of the Dowager Countess's newly inherited villa as they try to escape a film crew at Downton.

Violet's announcement, which comes after she revealed in the previous film that she doesn't have long to live, will set the stage for the family to pay a visit to France in the hope of learning more about her beau's identity.

Why are you here? Meanwhile lady's maid Phyllis Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) is joined by former butler and teacher Joseph Molesley (Kevin Doyle), asking why he's come to visit the house

Excited: He tells her: 'For me Hollywood is the ultimate dream factory and I need dreams as much as the next man'

It's also hinted that the family's veteran butler Carson may discover more about the Dowager Countess' history, after finding a portrait of her as a beautiful young woman.

Elsewhere, A New Era will also see a film director visit Downton with the hope of making a 'talking picture', a newly discovered craze in the 1920s.

The upcoming sequel will see the return of the much loved cast including Hugh Bonneville, Penelope Wilton and Michelle Dockery.

The trailer also shows the estate becoming the setting for a film and a slim mustached Dominic West, who plays an 1920s Hollywood actor, becomes quite the heartthrob among the staff.

What a scandal! The film will see the famous family take a surprise trip to the French Riviera after learning that Dowager Countess Violet has inherited a villa from a former lover

Widower Tom Branson will finally discover happiness again following the death of his wife Sybil years earlier, as he ties the knot with maid Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton) who he met in the first film.

As ever all of Downton's beloved staff are expected to appear in the film, including Anna, Thomas, Elsie Hughes (Phyllis Logan), young Daisy and John Bates (Brendan Coyle).

The screenplay has been penned by Downton Abbey creator and Oscar winner Julian Fellowes and BAFTA and Emmy nominated Simon Curtis is directing.

Downton Abbey: A New Era will be released in the UK on Friday, April 29, and in the US on Friday, May 20.
Her hallmark was once a dramatic red bob.

But viewers of Good Morning Britain had to do a double take on Wednesday as Mary Portas showed off a notably toned-down look after bidding farewell to her auburn tresses.

The retail guru, 61, has embraced a more natural hue after letting her tresses grow out during lockdown.

'I didn't even recognise who it was!': Good Morning Britain viewers did a double take on Wednesday after Mary Portas ditched her iconic red hair

Speaking to hosts Kate Garraway and Adil Ray, the broadcaster explained: 'My roots kept coming through during lockdown and my daughter said, "Leave it be mum, it looks nice as it is". So I let it grow out.'

Mary revealed that even when hairdressers reopened, she had taken so fondly to her natural look that she did not revert back.

She said earlier this year: 'Through lockdown, my grey started to come through and everyone, my sister in particular was like, "What are you going to do with your hair? How are you going to get it cut?"

New head of hair: The retail guru, 61, has embraced a more natural hue after letting her tresses grow out during lockdown (pictured right in 2018)

'And I remember I had to do an interview for the BBC, and I just looked at my head - grown out, grey had come through - and I just thought: "No, this is me now."'

The star continued: 'And I think it is that journey of softness; I think it is that journey of me feeling connected deeply to where I am now in my life.

'So, no, no more bob. It's grey and a bit of blonde thrown in there, and it's longer.'

New look: Mary previously said: 'So, no, no more bob. It's grey and a bit of blonde thrown in there, and it's longer'

Viewers of the ITV programme took to Twitter with their compliments.

'Mary Portas looks wonderful,' one praised, as another chimed, 'Loving Mary Portas hair this morning. Looking fabulous'.

A third admitted they did not recognise the high street expert: 'Her hair looks better now I didn't even recognise who it was until the old pic flashed up'.

Mary was on the ITV show as part of her role as co-chair of the Better Business Act coalition of over 1,000 UK businesses.

The Better Business Act is aiming to amend the law so that company directors align profit with planet and people.

'Looking fabulous': Viewers of the ITV programme took to Twitter with their compliments

The TV personality was speaking to the hosts amid her leading a mass lobby at Parliament, with her campaign hoping to urge the government to act in the forthcoming Queens Speech as they call for an update to the rules that govern how decisions are made in British boardrooms.

Ahead of the lobby on Wednesday, campaign co-chair Mary said: 'British entrepreneurs and businesses are the backbone of our communities up and down the country and many are responsible businesses that look after their staff, give back to the communities that support them, and reduce their environmental footprint.

'But as things stand, the Companies Act still allows some companies to pursue profits at the expense of workers, communities and nature. We saw this most clearly recently with the horrendous behaviour of P&O Ferry executives. We need to update our laws so that a decision like that can never be made in a British boardroom ever again.'

Mary is widely renowned for her known for her retail-and business-related television shows such as Mary, Queen of Shops.

In May 2011, she was also appointed by former Prime Minister David Cameron to lead a review into the future of Britain's high streets.
Iggy Azalea is embroiled in a feud with American Airlines over the company's service.

The 31-year-old rapper took to Twitter on Wednesday to tell her fans the airline had left her and son Onyx, two, 'stranded' at the airport in an unnamed city.

'I wanted to tell any families booking travel be careful flying with young kids on @AmericanAir,' began her thread.

'Stranded': Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, 31, (pictured with son Onyx) is embroiled in a feud with American Airlines over the company's service

Iggy continued, 'I was flying with my son & they sold our seats while the gate was still open then refused to take our bags off the plane although every other flight was sold out for that night.'

'I explained why stranding me is one thing but taking a babies luggage is pretty sh**. There's stuff he really needs.'

'They do not care. Lucky I booked a different airline but the average person would've been a** out and f***ed i so just wanted to warn other moms Be careful!'

Beef: The 31-year-old rapper took to Twitter on Wednesday to tell her fans the airline had left her and son Onyx, two, 'stranded' at the airport in an unnamed city

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting American Airlines did not fulfil their service responsibilities to Ms Azalea.

Taking to Twitter, the company replied: 'We love having families travel with us and would like to dig a little more into what happened.'

However then Iggy shared screenshots showing she had already DM'ed the company but had not received a reply.

Response: Taking to Twitter, the company replied, 'We love having families travel with us and would like to dig a little more into what happened'

Refuted: However then Iggy shared screenshots showing she had already DM'ed the company but had not received a reply

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to American Airlines for comment.

The latest setback for Iggy comes after she said she is 'not on even remotely on good terms' with ex Playboi Carti.

The Fancy hitmaker clapped back at claims that the 25-year-old rapper took 'care' of her and their two-year-old son Onyx Kelly that he made during a recent interview with XXL magazine.

The blonde beauty also said that they have no 'direct contact' because he treats her like 'sh**' in an array of now-deleted tweets.

Nope! The latest setback for Iggy comes after she said she is 'not on even remotely on good terms' with ex Playboi Carti (pictured)

She has had enough: The star has spoken out about the bad situation; seen on Instagram this month

Iggy wrote on Twitter on Wednesday: 'Take care of me? Lmaooooo let's not get carried away now. I laughed. A lot.'

She added, 'You've been mislead. I don't f*** with a man I'm not even remotely on good terms with claiming he pays my bills. I pay my bills.

'Secondly saying nice things for an interview sounds great but in real life he talks to me like s*** so badly I had to stop all direct contact.'

They had it all: The couple seemed to be in love at first, but now they do not even speak

Are you sre about that Carti? He told the magazine: 'I'm a father. You know what I'm saying? You know how it is having kids. I just got responsibilities. I pay a lot of bills. I take care of a lot of people. I take care of my mom. I take care of my family. I take care of my baby mom [and] I take care of my son'

She is not liking the 'lies': Iggy, 31, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday: 'Take care of me? Lmaooooo let's not get carried away now. I laughed. A lot'

The Work hitmaker shared that his team members had been hoping for her 'silence' about the interview but wanted to make it clear his words were 'not reflective' of reality.

Iggy said: 'His team has been calling about the interview, hoping for my silence because they know what my reaction would be. I do appreciate being called a great mom but when that's not reflective of what he has to say in real life I'd much rather be left out of being mentioned at all.'

Iggy split from Carti, whose real name is Jordan Terrell Carter, in October 2020. The exes share a son named Onyx.

They used to get along: Iggy split from Carti, whose real name is Jordan Terrell Carter, in October 2020. The exes share son named Onyx

She is the main parent: Iggy has said that Carti does not spend much time with their son

Playboi talked about being a 'father' and taking care of Iggy in the XXL interview.

He told the magazine: 'I'm a father. You know what I'm saying? You know how it is having kids. I just got responsibilities. I pay a lot of bills. I take care of a lot of people. I take care of my mom. I take care of my family. I take care of my baby mom [and] I take care of my son. There's a lot of people I take care of. So, it's like, I gotta keep doing it.'

Azalea does not seem to have moved on romantically after splitting from Carti.

In December she shared her frustrations with the dating scene.

'Straight guys and their seemingly compulsive urge to hurt your spirit simply because you've politely declined an advance first will never ever ever be not comical,' tweeted the single mother of one.
Tammy Hembrow's fans are scratching their heads over new photos of the influencer cuddling up to her fiance Matt Poole this week.

The couple are enjoying a lavish babymoon in the Maldives, staying at a private villa with Tammy's children Wolf, six, and Saskia, five.

On Wednesday, Tammy sparked confusion among her followers after she shared an intimate photo of herself and Matt seemingly naked beneath a sheet - leading some to question whether one of her kids was the photographer.

Mystery: Tammy Hembrow's fans are scratching their heads over new photos of the influencer cuddling up to her fiance Matt Poole while on their babymoon in the Maldives this week

Tammy, who is 32-weeks pregnant, was seen being lovingly cradled by Matt on a hammock that sat over the ocean.

Several fans commented questioning whether Tammy's children were responsible for taking the intimate photo, with one asking: 'Did Sass or Wolfie take this pic?'

'Did Wolf take these?' another added.

'Did Wolf take these?' On Wednesday, Tammy sparked confusion among her followers after she shared an intimate photo of herself and Matt seemingly naked beneath a sheet - leading some to question whether one of her kids was the photographer

'Wolf is the best photographer,' another fan wrote, as another added: 'My question is, who took the pic?'

It comes after Tammy received criticism from fans for travelling to the Maldives while heavily pregnant.

While Tammy's airline permits women with an 'uncomplicated single pregnancy' to fly at 32 weeks with a medical certificate, some of Tammy's Instagram followers were quick to criticise her decision after she posted a photo of herself relaxing in first class.

Who took the photo? Several fans commented questioning whether Tammy's children were responsible for taking the intimate photo

Family: Wolf, six, and Sasskia, five, is on holidays with mother Tammy and Matt (all pictured)

'Wow, you're game to fly that pregnant... there was no way I would risk having a baby overseas or on a plane,' one follower wrote.

Tammy responded, 'I'm only 32 weeks haha not about to have this baby on a plane,' to which the fan replied: 'Problem is, it's not always planned.

'Mine came at 33 weeks without warning. It's so unpredictable with birth and we don't know how good the healthcare is overseas... your life your choice though, I'm more of a worry wort than most.'

Criticism: It comes after Tammy received criticism from fans for travelling to the Maldives while heavily pregnant

'Flying this pregnant,' another critic wrote, adding: 'She could develop a blood clot, go into labour mid-flight, have labour complications and not have proper medical treatment, etc. There are tons of reasons not to fly in your third trimester.'

Tammy revealed her pregnancy back in December, just two weeks after she and Matt announced their engagement.

'Our hearts are so full,' she wrote on Instagram at the time.

Not long now! While Tammy's airline permits women with an 'uncomplicated single pregnancy' to fly at 32 weeks with a medical certificate, some of Tammy's Instagram followers were quick to criticise her decision after she posted a photo of herself relaxing in first class. Pictured: Tammy showing off her huge baby bump while on holiday on Tuesday evening

In a video thanking fans for their well-wishes in February, Tammy confessed it was 'so weird being pregnant again after so long'.

She has since kept fans updated on her pregnancy on Instagram, regularly showing off her burgeoning baby bump in belly-baring photos.

Tammy shares Saskia and Wolf with her ex-fiance Reece Hawkins.

Reece currently lives in the U.S. with his new wife London Goheen and their baby son Stone.
Bill Wyman was worlds away from his rock'n'roll life style as he strolled through Saint Paul de Vence in France alongside his daughter, Jessica Rose, on Wednesday.

The former Rolling Stone rocker, 85, who splits his time between the French Riviera and his house in Suffolk, donned a pair of flowing white trousers and a vest.

Bill layered over a pale pink shirt and added some comfortable suede shoes as the duo set out to take some snaps of the stunning scenery.

Slow lane: Bill Wyman was worlds away from his rock'n'roll life style as he strolled through Saint Paul de Vence in France alongside his daughter, Jessica Rose, on Wednesday

Bill sported his signature mullet style haircut and shielded his eyes with some purple tinted rectangular sunglasses.

Jessica, 26, who Bill shares with his third wife Suzanne Accosta, sported a khaki tank top and cropped white trousers.

She added a pair of colorful printed Converse and carried a floral printed crossbody bag as they set out on their relaxing day out.

Laid-back: Bill donned a pair of flowing white trousers and a vest for their outing

Edgy: He sported his signature mullet style haircut and shielded his eyes with some purple tinted rectangular sunglasses

Day out: Jessica, 26, who Bill shares with his third wife Suzanne Accosta, sported a khaki tank top and cropped white trousers

The father-daughter duo could be seen as they wandered through the streets of the Medieval town, deep in conversation.

They then hopped into Bill's vintage pale blue Peugeot with a contrasting cream roof as they headed home.

Bill also shares Matilda Mae and Katherine Noelle with Suzanne, who he married in 1993.

Family: Bill also shares Matilda Mae (Centre right) and Katherine Noelle (Right) with Suzanne (Left), who he married in 1993 (Pictured in 2016)

Casual: He layered over a pale pink shirt and added some comfortable suede shoes as the duo set out to take some snaps of the stunning scenery

Having fun: Bill was deep in conversation with his daughter as they enjoyed their day out

Soaking up the sun: Jessica closely followed her dad as they traversed around the stunning countryside

The outing comes as The Rolling Stones honoured their late drummer Charlie Watts with an intimate gig at Ronnie Scotts jazz club in London's Soho in December, almost four months after his death .

Rock veterans Sir Mick Jagger, 78, Keith Richards, 77, and Ronnie Wood, 74, reunited with former bassist Bill to salute the musician - who passed away in August aged 80 - at a special concert hosted by Jools Holland.

The band were joined by Charlie's oldest friend and collaborator Dave Green, plus Ben Waters, and Axel Zwingenberger on stage at the venue - a personal favourite of Charlie's, who passed away in August.

Comfy: Jessica added a pair of colorful printed Converse and carried a floral printed crossbody bag

Long day: They then hopped into Bill's vintage pale blue Peugeot with a contrasting cream roof as they headed home

On holiday: Bill splits his time between the French Riviera and his Suffolk house

Slowing it down: The outing comes as The Rolling Stones honoured their late drummer Charlie Watts with an intimate gig at Ronnie Scotts jazz club in London in December

Saxophonist Tim Ries had prepared a special piece for the late drummer titled Blues For Charlie, while Lisa Fischer sang Trouble On My Mind and a duet of gospel track Up Above My Head with Bernard Fowler.

The Stones wrapped the evening with R&B standards Shame Shame Shame and Down the Road Apiece.

Along with Mick and Keith, Charlie featured on every one of the band's studio albums. He was widely regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time.

Charlie was due to tour the US with the band later this year as part of their 'No Filter' tour. But it was announced earlier this month he would not feature as he needed to recover from a recent emergency surgery.

He is the first long-stay member of The Rolling Stones to die of age-related illness. Founder and leader of The Stones, Brian Jones, died in 1969 from accidental drowning, shortly after being kicked out of the band.
She can always be relied on to put her best fashion foot forwards.

And in a cream pair of cowboy boots, Roxy Horner did just that on Monday as she attended day three of the TAO Desert event in California.

The 30-year-old model looked nothing short of sensational in a vibrant pink and red Playboy x Missguided ensemble as she stopped for a string of stunning photos in the Sunshine State.

Gorgeous: Roxy Horner paraded her svelte frame in a vibrant pink and red Playboy x Missguided ensemble as she attended day 3 of the TAO Desert event in California on Monday

The cropped style of Roxy's crop top flashed a glimpse of her bronzed stomach, while the mini skirt spotlighted her sun-kissed pins.

The blonde beauty, who hails from Essex, adopted a festival-esque coiffure by braiding two thin strands of hair to frame her otherwise waved locks.

Interweaving colour coordination in abundance, Roxy toted a minimalist, fluffy top handbag and sported distinctive triangle sunglasses.

Stylish: In a cream pair of cowboy boots, the 30-year-old model put her best fashion foot forwards

Tan: The cropped style of Roxy's crop top flashed a glimpse of her bronzed stomach, while the mini skirt spotlighted her sun-kissed pins

Beauty: Interweaving colour coordination in abundance, Roxy toted a minimalist, fluffy top handbag and sported distinctive triangle sunglasses

Sunshine State: The blonde beauty, who hails from Essex, adopted a festival-esque coiffure by braiding two thin strands of hair to frame her otherwise waved locks

The festival comes after Roxy recently opened up about her struggle with her health, after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last May.

Praising her comedian boyfriend Jack, 33, Roxy said he has been 'her rock' during the past year, whilst speaking to The Sun.

The comedian and the model started dating in March 2020, shortly before the first national lockdown, and quickly moved in together.

She said: 'He was there when I got diagnosed. My parents and my family live in Australia, so he has been my family. We're amazing,' she gushed.

Cute! Praising her comedian boyfriend Jack Whitehall, 33, Roxy said he has been 'her rock' during the past year, as she navigates life following her Type 1 diabetes diagnosis

During the traumatic diagnosis, the star said she was rushed to A&E, where she began suffering from memory loss, and doctors made the shock discovery that she was actually suffering from type 1 diabetes.

She added: 'It was out of nowhere. My sugar levels went down really low and I couldn't get them back up, I couldn't even talk to her to communicate, it was scary.'

The star assured she is doing well now and is 'still getting the hang' of living with diabetes.
He has been at the center of engagement rumors with his girlfriend Taylor Swift for years.

But Joe Alwyn is keeping quiet on their relationship.

'If I had a pound for every time I think I've been told I've been engaged, then I'd have a lot of pound coins,' Joe, 31, said during an interview with the WSJ. Magazine. 'I mean, the truth is, if the answer was yes, I wouldn't say, and if the answer was no, I wouldn't say.'

'If the answer was yes, I wouldn't say': Joe Alwyn is staying quiet on engagement rumors with Taylor Swift

Joe, who posts fairly infrequently on Instagram, also stood up for his decision to refrain from sharing much of his life with the public.

'We live in a culture that people expect so much to be given. So that if you're not posting all the time about what you're doing, how you're spending a day or how you made a breakfast, does that make you a recluse?' Joe said with a shrug.

'I'd also like to feel slightly less guarded sometimes in interviews or in whatever kind of interactions, but it's just a knee- jerk response to the culture we live in.'

Joe has been dating Taylor for six years but the couple have remained quiet about their relationship for the duration of their romance.

His lips are sealed! Alwyn briefly addressed their romance during his WSJ. Magazine interview; pictured 2019

'Does that make you a recluse?' Joe, who posts fairly infrequently on Instagram, also stood up for his decision to refrain from sharing much of his life with the public.

Speaking about their relationship during a recent interview with ELLE U.K, Joe said: 'It's not really [because I] want to be guarded and private, it's more a response to something else.

'We live in a culture that is so increasingly intrusive the more you giveand frankly, even if you don't give itsomething will be taken.'

In 2019 Swift discussed keeping their relationship to themselves during an interview with The Guardian.

'That's where my boundary is': Swift also discussed keeping their relationship private during a 2019 interview with The Guardian

'I've learned that if I do, people think it's up for discussion, and our relationship isn't up for discussion,' she said.

'If you and I were having a glass of wine right now, we'd be talking about itbut it's just that it goes out into the world. That's where the boundary is, and that's where my life has become manageable. I really want to keep it feeling manageable.'

Earlier this year Taylor and Joe sparked speculation that an engagement could be imminent after jetting to Cornwall for a three-day break.

Taylor and Joe jetted from her Nashville to London last week, before heading to Cornish hotspot St Ives for a romantic three-day break, according to The Sun.

The trip has set tongues wagging after they flew 4,000 miles for the short trip, which sources have described as 'particularly special' for the couple.
It was a big night for Bravolebrities as Luann de Lesseps kicked off the spring leg of her Countess Cabaret tour.

Teresa Giudice, Phaedra Parks and Jill Zarin showed off some major Housewives unity on Tuesday evening as they cheered on Luann's performance at Feinstein's/54 Below in New York City.

Last week Lu exclusively dished on her all new tour to DailyMail.com which she put together with 'diva whisperer' Richard Jay-Alexander who has worked with Barbra Streisand, Kristin Chenoweth and Bette Midler.

She's a star! It was a big night for Bravolebrities as Luann de Lesseps kicked off the spring leg of her Countess Cabaret tour in New York City with fellow Housewives cheering her on in the crowd

Luann looked every bit the stage siren in costume for her Countess Cabaret stunning in a black body suit with a plunging neckline under a matching tuxedo coat with long tails.

She added a little glitz to the ensemble with a rhinestone body chain and accessorized with the only items fit for a cabaret show: a fedora and cane.

The Real Housewives of New York star struck several poses on the red carpet with leading ladies from other franchises.

Lu's Big Apple co-star Jill Zarin smiled brightly in jeans and a red silk top with her dog in tow.

Team spirit: Teresa Giudice, Phaedra Parks and Jill Zarin showed off some major Housewives unity on Tuesday evening as they cheered on Luann's performance at Feinstein's/54 Below

Singular sensation: Luann looked every bit the stage siren in costume for her Countess Cabaret stunning in a black body suit with a plunging neckline under a matching tuxedo coat with long tails

She added a little glitz to the ensemble with a rhinestone body chain and accessorized with the only items fit for a cabaret show: a fedora and cane

She's a star! During her set Luann stunned in two different platinum looks that sparkled underneath the red and purple stage lights

Bringing down the house: Accompanied by a pianist, she took the microphone to belt out jazz tunes in a figure-flattering jumpsuit

During her set Luann stunned in two different platinum looks that sparkled underneath the red and purple stage lights.

Accompanied by a pianist, she took the microphone to belt out jazz tunes in a figure-flattering jumpsuit.

The media personality played up her snazzy look with a heavy statement necklace and large hoop earrings.

Leggy! de Lesseps later switched into a flapper-era type of dress, showing off her toned legs.

Gorgeous: Her fringed frock swung to and fro as she put on an energetic performance for her audience of friends and admirers

de Lesseps later switched into a flapper-era type of dress, showing off her toned legs.

Her fringed frock swung to and fro as she put on an energetic performance for her audience of friends and admirers.

She later seated herself on a stool as she entertained the crowd with her radiant presence.

RHONJ star Teresa Giudice sported a pair of tight black pants, silky camisole and a sparkling silver jacket. She and fiance Luis Ruelas couldn't seem to keep their hands off one another and packed on the PDA for the cameras.

Atlanta star Phaedra Parks rocked a monochromatic grey ensemble that played with textural elements with snakeskin boots and a fur collar.

Jill and Phaedra recently joined Luann at Dorinda Medley's Blue Stone Manor to film season two of Real Housewives Ultimate Girls trip along with Vicki Gunvalson, Tamra Judge, Taylor Armstrong, Eva Marcille and Brandi Glanville

Housewives unite! The Real Housewives of New York star struck several poses on the red carpet with leading ladies from other franchises

Ultimate! Jill and Phaedra recently joined Luann at Dorinda Medley's Blue Stone Manor to film season two of Real Housewives Ultimate Girls trip along with Vicki Gunvalson, Tamra Judge, Taylor Armstrong, Eva Marcille and Brandi Glanville

Celebrity crowd! Luis 'Louie' Ruelas, Teresa Giudice, Luann De Lesseps, Phaedra Parks, Jill Zarin and Gary Brody pictured back stage

Luann gushed about her new tour to DailyMail.com last week, revealing that she had been working day and night to finalize the set.

'It's a great, great new show,' Luann she said, describing it as 'a beautiful mixture of the songs I love personally' which get their own special Countess twist.

For this tour Lu even has some new originals inspired by her recent time filming season two of Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.

Luann says she is working very hard in rehearsals to put the final touches on the Cabaret with the iconic Richard Jay-Alexander - who she has dubbed the 'diva whisperer. Richard is directing the spring tour and has worked with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Kristin Chenoweth and Bette Midler.

Arm candy! Teresa Giudice fiance Luis Ruelas couldn't seem to keep their hands off each other

Jersey girl! Tre rocked some grey booties and a sparking plaid blazer over black pants and a black camisole

Love birds! Tre and Luis packed on the PDA and smooched on the red carpet

Wedding bells: After splitting from husband Joe Giudice following their respective stints in prison, Tre is on to better things and planning a wedding with Luis

Rather than inviting special guests on stage as has been done in the past, these next few performances will be all Countess, all the time.

'I'm doing it on my own because I would notice people would start looking away,' she laughed. 'I work really hard on my shows.'

'It's a fun, fun show,' she teased of the show which is part fashion show and part cabaret with an audience Q&A. 'Get ready for the ride!'

The Cabaret tour will spend several days in New York City and then head to Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco and end with a string of performances in June in Los Angeles.

NYC in the house: Lu's Big Apple co-star Jill Zarin smiled brightly in jeans and a red silk top with her dog in tow

Three is a crowd! Jill and Gary Brody smiled with dog Bossi

Looking good: Atlanta star Phaedra Parks rocked a monochromatic grey ensemble that played with textural elements with snakeskin boots and a fur collar

'It's a fun, fun show,' Lu exclusively told DailyMail.com of her new cabaret, which is part fashion show and part cabaret with an audience Q&A. 'Get ready for the ride!'

Meanwhile, fans are gearing up for big changes in the Big Apple with RHONY being split into two different series: a spin-off featuring past beloved stars and a completely recast version of the original show.

'I'd love to see Dorinda come back, I'd love to see Kelly Bensimon, I'd love to see Jill Zarin - even Aviva Drescher,' Luann revealed to DailyMail.com, adding with a laugh: 'I think she got a bad shake from the last shake.'

'You know that we're at a crossroads for RHONY,' Andy Cohen previously told the Variety. 'We've spent a lot of time figuring out where to go. And the plan that we've come up with, I think, is a real gift to the fans.'

As for Luann herself, she revealed that she has not yet been officially asked to join the OGs cast and was surprised when Cohen made the announcement that Bravo was making over the show.

'I was not mad at it,' she said. 'I was surprised, obviously ... not expecting that left hook.'

'I still don't have a contract - no official ask,' Luann explained. 'But, to do the OG show would be great fun.'
She announced her split from husband Michael Darby on Tuesday.

And Ashley Darby posted two eyebrow-raising songs before news of the separation broke.

The Real Housewives Of Potomac star, 33, shared the songs Sad Girlz Luv Money by Amaarae and Moliy and Go! by Common to her Instagram account.

'I'm gonna get paid': Ashley Darby posted two eyebrow-raising songs before news of the separation broke

Six hours before announcing her split, Ashley shared video of her walking around a ranch setting with the wind blowing through her perfectly done up hair.

She set the soundtrack to the song Sad Girlz Luv Money.

The lyric 'I'm gonna get paid' appeared on screen though was already fading out of view by the time the video began.

Two hours later she bobbed her head along to another telling tune - Go! by Common.

A telling tune: The lyric 'I'm gonna get paid' appeared on screen though was already fading out of view by the time the video began

Expressing herself: Darby was not coy about the meaning of the song, which was posted shortly after she announced her split from Michael

As the word 'Go' repeated over and over again, Ashley flashed a smug smile towards the camera.

She didn't play coy about the meaning of the track either as she briefly raised her eyebrows and flashed a smile.

Ashley previously revealed she and her husband Michael, who Page Six reports has an estimated net worth of $20 million, had a prenuptial agreement which expired following their fifth year of marriage.

'Michael and I had a prenuptial agreement that expired after five years of marriage. Now, in the event of a divorce, I will receive 50 percent of our assets,' she revealed on season five.

The latest: Darby announced she and husband Michael Darby, 62, were separating in a statement on Tuesday. The couple was snapped in 2018

She also discussed getting a postnuptial agreement on the show, but during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live in 2020 admitted they had not signed any documents.

'No, we haven't signed it. I've been a little lackadaisical about it, merely because Michael's been on his best behavior, let me tell you guys. I haven't had to sniff any drawers,' she said.

Ashley announced her separation from Michael, 62, after more than seven years of marriage earlier that day.

'Almost eight years ago, when Michael and I said "I do," we anticipated sharing every single day together from that moment forward,' Ashley said in a statement released to The Daily Dish. 'Unfortunately, that is not our current reality. We have decided to separate.

In an Instagram post featuring her statement, Ashley wrote that 'its been almost 8 magical years' of marriage

'We are aware that there will be many speculative views as to why we have made this decision. People will be quick to assume that the causes were too much intrusion by reality TV into the most personal parts of our lives, age gap issues, cultural problems, or child-rearing differences.'

Ashley said that the aforementioned factors might have impacted their 'pure love for each other, but no one reason is the root cause of our mutual decision to go our separate ways.

'We are now both at very different stages in our lives and have different goals for our futures. We both want the other to achieve true happiness and fulfillment and feel that we cannot do this together.'

The separated couple, who wed in May of 2014, are parents to sons Dean Michael Darby, two, and Dylan Matthew Darby, one.

The separated couple, who wed in May of 2014, are parents to sons Dean Michael Darby, two, and Dylan Matthew Darby, one

'While our romantic bond is broken, we will always love and respect each other,' Ashley said. 'We also know that true happiness can only be achieved by continuing to work together and putting our hearts and souls into raising our two beautiful boys, Dean and Dylan.

'They will always feel loved and supported, for they were truly created out of love. As this is a personal matter for us, we appreciate everyone who has been a part of our journey and ask for your continued support by respecting us as we go through this emotional situation.'

In an Instagram post featuring her statement, Ashley wrote that 'its been almost 8 magical years' of marriage.

The pair initially met 11 years ago when she was working at the L2 Lounge in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., and she asked him about exploring an internship at his company, she told Bravo in 2016. She eventually asked him out when she got a position with his company and they were engaged less than a year later.

Michael, who is in the restaurant and real estate business, in September of 2018 was suspended from the Bravo show after he was accused by a cameraman of groping him. He was charged in connection with felony assault and misdemeanor improper sexual conduct, but the charges were later dropped as result of a lack of evidence.

Darby was snapped Saturday at a screening in Washington, D.C.

Ashley has been a regular on the Bravo series since its debut in 2016

Michael denied the allegations, telling FOX 5 D.C. that he was 'completely exonerated' and 'completely cleared' following an investigation by authorities.

'I didn't do it,' he said, adding that a pair of witnesses his accuser named in the incident later said that they hadn't seen anything. 'Obviously his side of the story wasn't true.'

The chain of events made for a storyline on RHOP's fourth season, as he was alleged to have made a sexually-driven remark about cast member Robyn Dixon's husband Juan Dixon, which was witnessed by Robyn, co-star Candiace Dillard-Bassett and husband Chris Bassett.

Ashley addressed other marital issues the pair faced - such as cheating allegations brought up on the show - while speaking with E! News in February.

'We definitely have had our share of issues [and] some of them have been very public,' she said. 'Ultimately, I think that it's reminding myself that Michael is the person I chose to spend my life with.

'So, if I can look at him and still love him, still care about him, forgive him and want to keep going with him. Then that's when I can't let what other people say affect me, because the reality is they're not living my life. They're not married to my husband. When I remember that, it centers me and I'm like, "Yes." But it's certainly not an easy thing.'

Michael, who is originally from Melbourne, Australia, was previously in a marriage for 20 years before a 2010 split, and father to two children from that union.
Celine Dion's upcoming romantic drama It's All Coming Back To Me has a new release date.

On Sunday, Variety reported the movie will premiere on February 10, 2023 and will feature the music of the 54-year-old icon, who will also star alongside Sam Heughan and Priyanka Chopra.

Celine confirmed the news in an Instagram Story post on Tuesday, sharing a link to the Variety story and writing in both English and French, 'With the amazing @priyankachopra and the incredible @SamHeughan . Premiers Feb. 10, 2023!'

The latest: Celine Dion's upcoming romantic drama It's All Coming Back To Me has a new release date. On Sunday, Variety reported the movie will premiere on February 10, 2023 and will feature the music of the 54-year-old icon, who will also star alongside Sam Heughan and Priyanka Chopra. Seen in 2019

Per Variety, the movie was previously titled Text for You and is based on director, actress and writer Karoline Herfurth's 2016 German film SMS fur Dich.

Priyanka, 39, will play a young woman who copes with her fiance's death by texting his old cellphone number, which is now owned by another man played by Sam, 41, who is also trying to recover from heartbreak.

The two bond over text and attempt to find love again with the help of Celine's character, who acts as a mentor to the pair, and her music.

Exciting: Celine confirmed the news in an Instagram Story post on Tuesday, sharing a link to the Variety story and writing in both English and French, 'With the amazing @priyankachopra and the incredible @SamHeughan . Premiers Feb. 10, 2023!'

The film's new name is the title of Jim Steinman's 1989 power ballad It's All Coming Back To Me, which Celine covered in her 1996 album Falling Into You.

The Canada native's cover of It's All Coming Back to Me went on to become one of her biggest hits.

Last month, Sam told Variety that Celine had written a new song for the movie.

Sneak peak: On Monday, the Outlander star shared the first still from the film, in which he and Priyanka were seen locked in a tender embrace

On Monday, the Outlander star shared the first still from the film, in which he and Priyanka were seen locked in a tender embrace.

He captioned the image: 'It's all coming back to me'  Premieres Feb 10th! With the brilliant @priyankachopra and the one and only @celinedion @sonypictures @thunderroadpictures #screengems #samheughan #celinedion #priyankachopra #itsallcomingbacktome.'

The movie will mark the superstar's feature film debut as an actress. Celine has previously made cameo appearances in films and TV series.

New music: Last month, Sam told Variety that Celine had written a new song for the movie. Seen in 2020

Admiration: In an interview with Harper's Bazaar Arabia, Priyanka heaped praise on Celine. Seen in 2021

According to the Montreal Gazette, her sole acting credit, aside from playing herself, was in the 1991 Radio-Canada miniseries Des fleurs sur la neige.

The songstress played the lead character of Elisa Trudel, a young girl from an abusive home, in the four-part miniseries

In an interview with Harper's Bazaar Arabia, Priyanka heaped praise on Celine.

'She's so funny. And she's an amazing actress. She definitely needs to do more of this,' she told the media outlet.

It's All Coming Back To Me was written and directed by Jim Strouse.

Celine is also serving as an executive producer along with Doug Belgrad, Sophie Cassidy, Louise Killin and Jonathan Fuhrman. The film was produced by Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and Esther Hornstein.

The movie also stars Russell Tovey, Steve Oram, Omid Djalili, Sofia Barclay, Lydia West, Arinze Kene and Celia Imrie.

Production on the film, which took place in London, wrapped in early 2021.
The hosts of Channel 10's left-leaning current affairs show The Project are 'in mourning' after a horror first week of the election campaign for Anthony Albanese's Labor party, a media commentator has claimed.

Mr Albanese got off to a shaky start last Monday when he was unable to state either the unemployment rate or the cash rate at a press conference, which resulted in support for the opposition slipping from 38 to 34 per cent while support for the Coalition rose slightly from 34 to 35 per cent, according to a Resolve Strategic poll.

Speaking on The Sunday Project, host Lisa Wilkinson expressed disbelief that after a strong start for Labor, a single week of campaigning could 'wipe out three years of lived experience' of 'gaffes' and 'possible lies' from Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Sky News Australia anchor Chris Kenny on Monday said The Project hosts were blindsided by the polls swinging in Morrison's favour because they had spent so long 'work[ing] themselves into a lather with... personal attacks on' the PM.

Commentary: The hosts of Channel 10's left-leaning current affairs show The Project are 'in mourning' after a horror first week of the election campaign for Anthony Albanese's Labor party, a media commentator has claimed. (Pictured: Hamish Macdonald and Lisa Wilkinson)

He argued that from their left-wing perspective, it must be unimaginable for anyone to want to re-elect Mr Morrison over Mr Albanese, even though surveys indicate this is a real possibility.

Sophie Elsworth, media writer for The Australian, told Kenny: 'Well, look, I think they're pretty much in mourning over at The Project.

'You can just see, they must be going home crying into their pillows every night since this election campaign started. It's been a disaster for Anthony Albanese to say the least.'

Numbers game: Mr Albanese (pictured on April 12) got off to a shaky start last Monday when he was unable to state either the unemployment rate or the cash rate at a press conference, which resulted in support for the opposition slipping from 38 to 34 per cent while support for the Coalition rose slightly from 34 to 35 per cent, according to a Resolve Strategic poll

Her view: Speaking on The Sunday Project, host Lisa Wilkinson (left) expressed disbelief that after a strong start for Labor, a single week of campaigning could 'wipe out three years of lived experience' of 'gaffes' and 'possible lies' from Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right)

The Project has long been accused of having a left-wing bias, with a leading TV commentator saying last year its 'woke' agenda was pushing away viewers.

Rob McKnight, a former Channel 10 executive who now runs industry website TV Blackbox, said in August 2021: 'The Project is very woke and that doesn't connect with mainstream Australia.'

'My take is that most Australians are centre-right in their politics which is why talkback radio does so well,' McKnight added.

Response: Sky News Australia anchor Chris Kenny (right) on Monday said The Project hosts were blindsided by the polls swinging in Morrison's favour because they had spent so long 'work[ing] themselves into a lather with... personal attacks on' the PM. The Australian's Sophie Elsworth (left) replied: 'I think they're pretty much in mourning over at The Project... They must be going home crying into their pillows every night since this election campaign started'

'But The Project skews too far to the left and doesn't reflect Betty from Bankstown or Irene from Ipswich. It really feels inner Melbourne and not relatable.'

He said the presenters are all 'great talent', but at some point the show just 'stopped connecting' with the mainstream - 'and that kills any brand'.

McKnight, who has worked for all three commercial TV networks, went on to say The Project used to punch above its weight by setting the news agenda every week.

But these days 'nobody pays attention anymore'.
Heidi Klum sparkled up the red carpet at America's Got Talent season 17 kick-off event at Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California on Wednesday.

The German supermodel, 48, slipped into a vivid double-breasted green sequin suit, which she paired with sandal heels, featuring an intricate curved heel design.

Meanwhile fellow judge Sofia Vergara, 49, showcased her famous curves and ample cleavage in a deep red figure-hugging sleeveless gown with a feather trim.

Stylish gals: Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara looked incredible at America's Got Talent season 17 kick-off event at Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California on Wednesday

Klum accessorized her green outfit with a pair of matching oversized futuristic sunglasses.

The runway sensation wore her long blonde tresses in a straight layered style, with bangs framing her face.

With the rest of her outfit so bright, the former Victoria's Secret Angel opted for a nude shade of nail polish on her fingers and toes.

Stunner: The German supermodel, 48, slipped into a vivid double-breasted green sequin suit, which she paired with sandal heels, featuring an intricate curved heel design

Model looks: The runway sensation wore her long blonde tresses in a straight layered style, with bangs framing her face

Glamorous as ever, Heidi wore a good dose of black eyeliner and smokey makeup, as well as a nude lipstick.

Meanwhile Vergara wore open-toe silver high heels to the event, and accessorized with a large silver and ruby pendant necklace

Continuing with the dark red theme of her look, the Modern Family star sported a burgundy bangle on her wrist.

Lovely: Sofia, 49, paired her cleavage-baring gown with open-toe silver high heels

Red theme: The Modern Family star accessorized her look with a large silver and ruby pendant necklace

The Colombian beauty wore her lush brunette tresses parted on the side and cascading down her shoulders.

The beauty wrapped up her look with bronze eye makeup and a pink lipstick on her pout.

She later took to her Instagram to post a stunning selfie from the judge's table, showcasing her makeup.

Up close: She later took to her Instagram to post a stunning selfie from the judge's table, showcasing her makeup

Sultry: The actress also posted a sultry boomerang video via her Instagram Stories, showing off her famous curves as she swayed back and forth

'Glam squad this week!' she wrote in the caption underneath, tagging her beauty guru's Kelly Kline and Sabrina Bedrani.

The actress also posted a sultry boomerang video via her Instagram Stories, showcasing her famous curves as she swayed back and forth.

'Back to work!' she wrote on the photo.

Also at the event was creator of the show and judge Simon Cowell, 62, who was casual in a blue top and black pants.

Casual: Also at the event was creator of the show and judge Simon Cowell, 62, who was casual in a blue top and black pants

Injured? The television personality and entrepreneur appeared to have injured himself, as he sported a brace on his wrist

Dapper: Host Terry Crews, 53, looked dapper in a white suit worn over a blue shirt. He paired the classy look with black dress shoes

The television personality and entrepreneur appeared to have injured himself, as he sported a brace on his wrist.

Host Terry Crews, 53, looked dapper in a white suit worn over a blue shirt. He paired the classy look with black dress shoes.

The new season of the talent show is set to premiere on May 31 on NBC.
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Kim Kardashian and her family were once again depicted in courtroom sketches on Wednesday, as they continued to defend themselves in the $108 million defamation lawsuit brought against them by Blac Chyna.

Initial illustrations of Kim, Khloe, Kylie Jenner and momager Kris Jenner went viral earlier this week, with fans agog at how unrecognizable the stars were - with some joking that the artist must 'hate' them.

In new sketches released Wednesday, the four family members - who are all named defendants in the case - were seen in the Los Angeles courtroom.

Don't look now Kim! Court artist strikes again with another unflattering portrait of the Kardashians after first image went viral (Pictured above; Khloe, Kim, Kylie, and Kris)

Kim wore a light brown pant suit, Khloe a beige dress and long coat, with gray suede boots, and Kylie a black pant suit  while their mother Kris sported a gray pant suit.

All four watched intently as Chyna, dressed in a black jacket with brass buttons and wide lapels, answered whats expected to be five hours of questioning from her attorney Lynne Ciani, and another five hours of cross examination from the Kardashians lawyer, Michael Rhodes.

Chyna is seeking $108 million in damages, charging the Kardashians with defamation and intentional interference with contract' that led to Rob and Chyna being cancelled.

Kim at court: Kim Kardashian is seen in the artist's impression (left) and on her new Hulu show (right)

Looking intently: Khloe Kardashian is depictured in a court sketch, left (Pictured on her Hulu show, right)

Mogul: Billionaire Kylie Jenner is pictured in court (left) and seen in April this year (right)

Matriarch: Kris Jenner is seen above (left in a courtroom sketch, and right in 2013)

Chyna, 33  whose real name is Angela White  was in the witness box for the trial resulting from her $108 million lawsuit claiming that Americas most famous reality TV family deliberately had Rob and Chyna axed.

She was speaking on the third day of the trial in Los Angeles.

On Tuesday the jury was told that a friend who had been FaceTiming with Rob Kardashian saw Chyna hold a gun to his head.

Just joking: Blac Chyna said in court Wednesday that she did not seriously pull a gun on Rob Kardashian

Watching: Khloe, Kim, Kylie and Kris are pictured in more courtroom sketches

'I was joking...I would never shoot Rob.' Blac Chyna insists she was fooling around when she put a gun to her Kardashian fiance's head

The Kardashians' lawyer Michael Rhodes was making his opening statement which he began by asking each of his four Kardashian clients to stand as he introduced them individually to the jury.

First he brought up Kris Jenner whom Rhodes described as 'mother and matriarch' of the family and the 'momager who manages the vast empire this family has built from scratch.'

Of Kim Kardashian he said she is 'one of the world's most famous people, an influencer' as well as the mother of four kids.

Pictured: In this courtroom artist sketch, attorney Michael Rhodes and Kim Kardashian appear in court in Los Angeles, Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Trial: Chyna is pictured sitting in court in Los Angeles, Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Khloe Kardashian is a 'successful businesswoman and entrepreneur in her own right,' said Rhodes.

And Kylie Jenner, he added, is also an 'accomplished businesswoman' with more than 300 million Instagram followers.

'Evidence will show that Miss White wanted something  she wanted to be one of them (the Kardashians),' said Rhodes who refused to call the reality star Blac Chyna because 'that's a stage name and this is not a stage, this is a courtroom.'

In the defamation part of Chyna's lawsuit, Rhodes told the jury that the Kardashians 'did not defame the plaintiff.'

'Brutal': Social media user have been left in stitches by unrecognizable court sketches that depicted (from left to right) Khloe, Kim, Kylie, and Kris, who are currently embroiled in legal proceedings with brother Rob's ex-girlfriend Blac Chyna

The attorney said that during the December 14 attack that Chyna denies, 'there is no doubt that she got physical with Mr. Kardashian' and she also put a phone cord around his neck and pulled.

Rhodes said that Chyna was 'screaming and yelling' smashed a TV and Kris Jenner's boyfriend, Corey Gamble, had to physically get between the couple and tell Rob to 'get your car keys and get out of here.'

The next day, he added, Chyna took her child and left and never lived with Rob again.

Team Chyna? However, other fans noted that courtroom sketch artist may have been a fan of Blac Chyna, as her illustration was a lot more complimentary

Kris and her daughters heard about the dust-up between Chyna and Rob and, added Rhodes, 'They were very upset. That is not the kind of thing they want to play out on the shows that they produce'

He told the court that it wasn't a TV or Rob's head that got broken the night of the fight, 'The thing that got broken on December 14 was their relationship.

'The relationship was over. There is no Rob and Chyna show if there is no Rob and Chyna.'

Talking point: The sketches, which are the work of illustrator Mona Shafer Edwards, sparked a lively debate on social media

Spot the difference! Sketch artist Edwards describes herself as 'bringing a fluid, elegant and evocative style to illustrations'

Rhodes pointed out that Chyna 'has no contract' with the Kardashians. 'Her contracts are all with E!.'

But as paid executive producers of Rob and Chyna, Kris and her daughters, cancelling the show cost them money as well.

'They were acting against their own financial interests to protect someone they love (Rob),' said Rhodes.

He added that E! paid Chyna a $100,000 cancellation fee when the first season of Rob and Chyna ended and an additional $370,000 to film more footage that could be used if Rob and Chyna did eventually come back for a second season. If that didn't happen, the footage could be used on episodes of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Kim, Kylie Jenner, Khloe and their mother, family matriarch Kris Jenner, are all named as defendants in the case
Drake on Tuesday was granted a three-year restraining order against a woman who he said has been stalking him and made death threats against him and his son.

The 35-year-old Canadian superstar's lawyers, Larry Stein and Ashley Yeargan, were present for a hearing in court in Los Angeles, TMZ reported, where the judge implemented the restraining order that orders the woman to keep a minimum of 100 yards from the musical star and his family.

Drake's alleged stalker - who was identified as Mesha Collins, 29, in court docs March 3, according to E! News - was not present for Tuesday's hearing, TMZ reported, as the judge ruled she'd been 'given timely and proper notice' to defend herself in the case.

Granted: Drake, 35, on Tuesday was granted a three-year restraining order against a woman who he said has been stalking him and made death threats against him and his son. He was pictured in LA in 2019

The Toronto native said in court docs last month that Collins - who he has never met or spoken to - had made threats against him and his four-year-old son Adonis, who he shares with artist-model Sophie Brussaux.

'She has sent messages saying she wishes me dead, and that I should shoot myself and my son with a bullet,' Drake said in court docs. 'As a result of Ms. Collins' harassment and obsession with me, I have suffered and continue to suffer emotional distress and am concerned for my safety and that of my family.'

The God's Plan performer, whose full name is Aubrey Drake Graham, said in court docs that Collins had been harassing him sporadically over the last five years.

Collins in April of 2017 was arrested in connection with trespassing at Drake's home in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles.

Allegations: The Toronto native (pictured in London in 2019) said in court docs last month that he has never met or spoken to Collins

Details: Drake said in court docs last month that Collins had made threats against him and his four-year-old son Adonis; the two were pictured earlier this month in Toronto

Out and about: Drake was seen at a Raptors game in his native Toronto last month

Collins in August of 2021 filed a $4 billion lawsuit against Drake, accusing the rapper of defamation and invasion of privacy linked to social media posts on his account; she sent an email to Drake's lawyer last December identifying herself as homeless and asking for mediation in the case.

Drake's legal team said the lawsuit was an attempt for Collins to contact the rapper, and a 'frivolous case' stemming from 'delusional figments of her imagination,' Billboard reported. A Los Angeles Superior Court subsequently dismissed the case, saying there was no evidence Drake made any reference to Collins in his posts.

Appearing in court in February, Collins 'conceded that she has been arrested three times for trespassing on [Drake]'s property and another five to six times for assaulting or spitting [toward] his fans, or otherwise disturbing the peace surrounding' the entertainer.

Collins that month had also unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a restraining order. Drake's lawyer said in legal docs that he had asked Collins to serve him with the suit (instead of Drake) and told her not to try to serve the rapper in person or at his home.

Drake's lawyer said that Collins 'sent [him] a series of extremely disturbing emails' in which she threatened 'not only [Drake], but also his son and myself. In these messages, she expresses her desire that Mr. Graham die and that I get what I "deserve."

'It is clear that Collins's behavior and obsession with Graham is escalating, and I am very concerned by the contents of these messages which I believe necessitate the entry of a restraining order against her.'
The Flash has been caught again! Actor Ezra Miller, who plays Flash in the DCEU and Credence Barebone in the Fantastic Beasts series has been arrested, and you guessed it...in Hawaii, US.

Ezra Miller. Photo: Getty Images

Ezra was arrested early morning on April 19 for second-degree assault that took place at private residence near Pahoa, Hawaii. Ezra, who uses the pronouns they/them, got irate when they were asked to leave the residence and threw a chair, striking a 26-year-old woman in the head and giving her a half-inch cut on her forehead.

The victim refused treatment for the injury.

Ezra Miller when being asked to leave a private residence: pic.twitter.com/C0fr1D1HSn  Comic Slap (@Comic_Slap) April 19, 2022

The Hawaii Police arrested Ezra at a traffic stop at an intersection in Keaau, Hawaii and they were released a few hours later, pending further investigation. There is an active investigation going on for this case.

But this isn't the first brush Ezra has had with the Hawaii Police. On March 28, Ezra was arrested by the Hawaii police for disorderly conduct and harassment in Margarita Village, Hawaii. They were arrested for yelling obscenities, grabbing a mic from a singing woman, and lunging at a man playing darts.

If that wasn't enough, after Ezra made bail for his arrest in Margarita Village, later in the night, a couple called the Hilo Police station asking advice on how to remove Ezra from their personal property.

hawaii has two major existential threats:1) modern colonialism and the erasure of indigenous life 2) ezra miller  they/them army draft dodger (@spooksier) April 20, 2022

While the restraining order filed by the couple has now been dropped, the complaint at the time said that Ezra burst into the couple's room and threatened the male victim by saying, "I will bury you and your s**t wife."

The complaint also accused Ezra of stealing some of their belongings, including a passport and wallet.

Honestly, this is exactly how we are feeling right now:

if you're in hawaii the possibility of getting assaulted by ezra miller is low but never zero https://t.co/PJcTpyYyIl  J (@kaladinsjo) April 19, 2022

While the Warner Bros studio has paused all future projects with Ezra after they were arrested on March 28, the actor recently appeared as Credence in the third installment of the Fantastic Beasts series, titled Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

It is not yet known whether the upcoming Flash movie, starring Ezra as the lead will be shelved or not. The Flash movie, as of now is all set to release in June 2023.

As always, netizens are not leaving this opportunity to 'meme' Ezra's recent arrest.

Here are 5 that will make you laugh out loud:

1. STOP BREAKING THE LAW

2. SLAPS EVERYONE

Ezra Miller anytime someone in Hawaii gets near his personal space.#EzraMiller pic.twitter.com/oakBgNkuVp  Hyrule ??? (@AkiraTwin) April 20, 2022

3. THROW THE CHAIR

4. CAN'T SEE THEM HAVING FUN

5. GLAD TO LOSE HERE

When Im in a get arrested competition and my opponent is Ezra Miller pic.twitter.com/7XgKM8y6ZQ  Hot Waluigi But Still A Virgin ? (@SadWaluigiBoi) April 19, 2022

Warner Bros studio has yet not made a statement on Ezra's April 19 arrest.
Six accused in the sensational double suicide case of realtor Gangam Santosh and his mother Gangam Padma in Kamareddy on April 16 surrendered before the police on Tuesday. (Representational Photo:DC)

HYDERABAD: Six accused in the sensational double suicide case of realtor Gangam Santosh and his mother Gangam Padma in Kamareddy on April 16 surrendered before the police on Tuesday. One more accused is still absconding.

They surrendered before Kamareddy circle inspector Naresh on Tuesday night. The surrendered persons are Ramayampet municipal chairman Palle Jithender Goud, agriculture market committee chairman Saraf Yadagiri, Ireni Prithvi Goud, Thota Kiran, Kannapuram Krishna Goud and Saraf Swaraj.

Another accused in the case and the then Ramayampet circle inspector Thanduri Nagarjuna Goud is absconding. Ever since the news of the suicides of Santosh and his mother Padma broke out, Nagarjuna Goud has been absconding from his present working place of Thungaturthi police station. Reportedly, police teams have been searching for his whereabouts for the last four days.

On the other hand, a bandh was observed in Ramayampet on Tuesday demanding stringent action against the accused. The bandh passed off peacefully as the traders and other shop owners voluntarily shut their shops. BJP and Congress MLAs separately visited the house of Gangam Santosh and consoled the bereaved family members.
An electrical motorbike battery got blasted while charging in Nizamabad on Wednesday, in a first of its kind incident in Telangana state, resulting in the death of one person. Representational image/By arrangement

HYDERABAD: An electrical motorbike battery got blasted while charging in Nizamabad on Wednesday, in a first of its kind incident in Telangana state, resulting in the death of one person while three others sustained serious burn injuries.

The deceased was identified as octogenarian Balla Rama Swamy. The furniture in his house was also destroyed due to the blast.

According to police, Balla Prakash, a tailor, has been living in Subhash Nagar, along with his sons and aged parents. He had purchased a Pure, electric two-wheeler vehicle, one-and-a-half years ago.

After removing the battery from the vehicle, he used to charge it inside his house regularly. As a regular habit, on the fatal day too, the battery was kept for charging in the main hall, where Prakashs son Kalyan, parents Rama Swamy and Kamalamma, slept on Tuesday.

On the early hours of Wednesday, Prakash, who along with his wife Krishnaveni, were sleeping in another bedroom, heard a blast and rushed to the hall. Flames and smoke engulfed the hall. All of them rushed out of the house.

They were all immediately rushed to a private hospital in Nizamabad. Since the condition of the 80-year-old Rama Swamy was critical on arrival, doctors advised him to be shifted to Hyderabad.

Rama Swamy succumbed on the way to Hyderabad due to severe burn injuries. His body was shifted to the Government General Hospital for post-mortem in Nizamabad.

Balla Prakash, his mother Kamalamma and son Kalyan were admitted in the hospital with burn injuries. Following a complaint of Balla Prakash, III town police registered a case and are investigating.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Nizamabad assistant commissioner of police A. Venkateshwarlu said that they had registered a case against the electric vehicle company for providing an inferior quality battery. The condition of the injured persons is stable, he said.

Meanwhile, police and fire services officials visited the victims house in Subhash Nagar.
Hyderabad-based Icrisat will undertake a pilot study in some selected mandals of Vizianagaram in the ensuing Kharif season. (Representational Photo:DC)

Visakhapatnam: In a bid to check losses incurred by farmers, the state government has decided to seek the help of agriculture scientists to guide farmers on adopting best practices to earn good returns.

Hyderabad-based Icrisat (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics) will undertake a pilot study in some selected mandals of Vizianagaram in the ensuing Kharif season.

The project will be expanded to other parts in the state. Icrisat scientists, who have worked in similar projects in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Odisha, will visit Vizianagaram in the next few weeks.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Rajesh Nune, an Icrisat scientist, said that it was the first time for them to conduct the study as per the requests from state government officials.

He said that they will guide the farmers from soil testing to marketing of the products.

However, he said the role of every stakeholder like agriculture officer, farmer and farm labour is equal in achieving good returns in farming.

They would suggest alternative crops to paddy, but they are not against the paddy cultivation, the Icrisat scientist added.

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The BJP leaders who called on the Governor included MLA M. Raghunandan Rao, the partys state general secretary G. Premender Reddy, former MLC N. Ramachander Rao, the partys joint in-charge for Tamil Nadu affairs Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy, BJPs Medak, Khammam and Jayashankar-Bhupalpally districts presidents Gaddam Srinivas, Galla Satyanarayana, and Nandu Janardhan Reddy respectively. (Twitter)

HYDERABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) urged Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan to ensure an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the nexus among the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leaders, public representatives, ministers, and the police, citing a slew of cases that saw victims committing suicides, in which some TRS ministers, MLAs and other party leaders, as well as police officials, were suspected to be involved.

In a memorandum to the Governor, the BJP leaders, who called on Dr Soundararajan at the Raj Bhavan here on Wednesday, said only a probe by the CBI can put an end to such a nexus.

Urging the Governor to use her discretionary powers, the BJP leaders said the TRS leaders and their henchmen were ruling the roost in every constituency, and that the entire government machinery was rendered helpless. Under these circumstances, the Telangana BJP, the memorandum said, has no option but to request your intervention as the custodian of the Constitution. The ghastly incidents of Khammam and Ramayampet warrant a thorough probe, adding, in both these instances, brazen culpability of the police was also evident.

The BJP leaders who called on the Governor included MLA M. Raghunandan Rao, the partys state general secretary G. Premender Reddy, former MLC N. Ramachander Rao, the partys joint in-charge for Tamil Nadu affairs Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy, BJPs Medak, Khammam and Jayashankar-Bhupalpally districts presidents Gaddam Srinivas, Galla Satyanarayana, and Nandu Janardhan Reddy respectively.

They told the Governor that since the return of the TRS government to power in 2018, a sense of arrogance appeared to have come to dominate the minds of ruling party leaders and workers. Along with the Chief Minister, every TRS worker thinks that the people of Telangana are their slaves. The police in many cases are hand in glove with the culprits and in some cases, they remain mute spectators, the BJP delegation said in its memorandum.
VIJAYAWADA: A political storm is going to hit Andhra Pradesh as the ruling YSR Congress and Opposition parties are expected to begin their activities in the run-up to the 2024 General Elections, when voters would elect the new Assembly and also the new MPs from the state for Parliament.

The ruling YSR Congress is launching a house-to-house campaign and the main Opposition Telugu Desam starting a year-long tour of 26 districts.

Generally, election campaigns begin six months or one year before the election schedule.

This time, however, political campaigns aimed at voters for the 2024 elections have already begun two years ahead of the election in 175 Assembly constituencies.

Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was restricted to camp office, reviews and online programmes due to pandemic Covid-19, decided to go into public and started attending public programmes after the Coronavirus infections ebbed.

Jagan Mohan Reddy decided to follow the footsteps of his father and former chief minister of erstwhile united AP Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy by conducting Rachhabanda meetings to mingle with masses.

Further, the Chief Minister instructed all legislators to visit at least 10 village Secretariats and further villages for 20 days in a month under Gadapa Gadapa Ku YSRC (house-to-house visit) and to interact with the people to know field-level reality about welfare schemes and development programmes of the YSRC government.

He already started the election campaign by launching a scathing against TD chief Naidu and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan as bunch of thieves and demons on April 7 during the Volunteers felicitation programme at Narasaraopet.

He also turned against leaders stating that they cannot pluck his hair going strong against the opposition.
Warangal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi won power by making a false promises, like an offer to deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of the BPL families, state Industries minister Rama Rao has said.

Modi asked the people to open Jan-Dhan bank accounts so that he can deposit dan-dan (money) in the names, and betrayed them, alleged KTR, who is also the working president of ruling TRS.

The minister participated in the laying of foundation or inauguration of various developmental works taken up at a cost of Rs 213 crore, during his visit to Warangal and Hanamkonda districts on Wednesday.

State ministers Errabelli Dayakar and Sathyavathi Rathode as also government chief whip DV Bhaskar and Narsampet MLA Sudharshan Reddy organised the events.

Rama Rao launched the Entintiki gas connection scheme in Narsampet. The state organised the works through the Megha Gas Company in the assembly segment under a pilot project. Special pipelines were laid in all the divisions of the municipality to supply gas directly to the households through the pipes.

He said the project would cover the states 119 assembly constituencies. MLA Sudharshan Reddy created a record by reaching gas connections to every house for less price in Narsampet constituency, the minister noted.

KTR noted that PM Modi had promised the people he would provide two crore employment opportunities to the youths. But, when the media asked the PM about this, he said this included even those who sells tea, bajji, idlies and groundnuts. He betrayed the trust of the people, the minister said.

When people voted for Modi, the price of gas per cylinder was only Rs 400, which has now gone up to over Rs 1000, the minister added.

He said, But the TRS government is giving gas connections directly to houses by laying pipelines and the cost is less than Rs 600 for 45 days.

Rama Rao said that after the formation of Telangana state, two irrigation projects were launched at a cost of Rs 670 crore in Narsampet. With these, the government is supplying water for irrigation needs to about 60,000 acres of land.

He said MLA Peddi Sudharshan is striving hard for the development of the constituency. By getting Rs 100 crore in funds, several developmental works were taken up here. Whenever he meets us, he will talk about the development of Narsampet, the minister said.

The minister said crops like chilli, turmeric and cotton will be raised over large acres of land in Nasarampet. The government would establish a food processing unit in Narsampet and sanction Rs 50 crore for completion of the pending developmental works, he said.

MP Malothu Kavitha, ZP chairperson Gandra Jyothi, MLC Pochampalli Srinivas, district collector Gopi, additional collector Srivatsav and municipal chairperson Rajini were among those present.
The last thing Sri Lanka needs during a crisis that has been exacerbated by the first death at the hands of the police controlling demonstrators is a power struggle. But that is precisely what seems to be happening among the only two Rajapaksas retaining power after sacking others of their clan who were also members of Parliament.

It was predictable that the elder brother Mahinda, who could not become President in 2019 because of a term restriction on the islands top post, would attempt to take over the task of addressing the economic problem in a visible way as the strongman who had ended the insurrection by LTTEs Tamil militants under Velupillai Prabhakaran that had festered for close to four decades.

Mahinda is only Prime Minister now, his role reduced by his brother Gotabaya, with his military past, introducing an amendment in 2020 after the 2019 polls that reduced the PM to a ceremonial figure. While the opposite would be true in most nations that vest all executive powers in a Prime Minister working nominally under a ceremonial President, Sri Lankas history has been pockmarked by personality clashes between those in the highest seats of power.

In the time when Maithripala Sirisena was President with Ranil Wickermasinghe as his Prime Minister the PMs powers were expanded and Mr Sirisena magnanimously accepted lesser powers. Of course, the current power struggle in which Mahinda will be approaching Parliament to revert to an empowered PM can only be termed as either a diversionary tactic or an egotistical Mahinda move to be seen taking the reins as the islands saviour who once saved it from militancy and who can also tackle this grave economic meltdown.

The public angst, meanwhile, has been stoked by the use of policing powers to control the rising demonstrativeness against the Rajapaksas who are seen as the prime cause of the crisis though it should, in all fairness, be said that a concatenation of circumstances, from the Easter blasts of 2019 to the Covid pandemic of the next two years, flattened the global economy itself and not just that of Sri Lanka.

The prominent Rajapaksa siblings should sort the executive powers issue between themselves and get down to addressing the problem of the economic crisis and the pending $7 billion payments this year alone on Sri Lankas national debt. Otherwise, they will be in danger of worsening the situation.
A member of Sri Lanka's opposition political party National People's Power waves country's national flag as he participates in an anti-government protest rally in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Colombo/Washington: The World Bank is ready to provide emergency support to Sri Lanka and protect the vulnerable people amidst the unprecedented economic crisis in the country, a media report on Wednesday quoted a senior official of the global lender as saying.

Sri Lanka, which is on the brink of bankruptcy, is grappling with an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948.

World Bank Vice President Hartwig Schafer held talks with Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ali Sabry in Washington on Tuesday, the Colombo Gazette reported on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Sabry is in the US for the annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund IMF and the World Bank .

Schafer said they discussed actions to address the economic crisis, support stabilisation and recovery, and protect the vulnerable people, the report added.

Schafer said that the World Bank is deeply concerned about the impact of the crisis on the poor and vulnerable and stands ready to provide emergency support for essential medicines and health-related supplies, nutrition, and education, the report said.

The Finance Minister also had talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Washington on Monday.

The IMF has commended the steps already taken by the Finance Minister to mitigate the present financial situation in Sri Lanka, the report said.

The IMF has also assured their fullest support to Sri Lanka and a positive response has also been received to expedite the process to strengthen the support extended towards Sri Lanka.

As the island nation is experiencing its worst economic crisis in history, massive anti-government protests are being held throughout the country against the government's failure to tackle the crisis.

With long lines for fuel, cooking gas, essentials in short supply, and long hours of power cuts, the public has been suffering for months.

With the economic crisis and the shortage of forex, an Indian credit line of USD 500 million for fuel imports provided a lifeline to the island nation.

India recently announced to extend a USD 1 billion line of credit to Sri Lanka as part of its financial assistance to the country to deal with the economic crisis following a previous USD 500 billion line of credit in February to help it purchase petroleum products.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has defended his government's actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic driven with the island nation's tourism revenue and inward remittances waning.
The University Grants Commission on Tuesday announced that students will soon be able to avail joint or dual degrees from foreign universities through academic collaborations.

Making the announcement in a press conference, UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said that students will also be able to attend some semesters of their degree programme in a foreign university.

The decision was taken at a meeting held on Tuesday by the UGC, Kumar said.

He said that any Indian institution which is accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with a minimum score of 3.01 or is in the top 100 ranking of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) can collaborate with any foreign institution in the top 1000 of the Times Higher Education or QS World University ranking. They will not need to seek any prior approval from the UGC, Kumar said.

He added that students will need to have above 30 per cent credits from the foreign institution under the programme. This condition will not be applicable to programmes offered online and in the open and distance learning mode, he added.

Kumar said that as per the amended regulations that facilitate academic collaborations between Indian and foreign institutions, institutes will be able to offer three kinds of programmes  twinning programmes, joint degree programmes and dual degree programmes.

In the case of twinning degrees, students will need to complete 30 per cent of the courses credits at the foreign university through an exchange programme, and the credits earned during the exchange programme will be counted as part of the marks in the programme the student is pursuing in India. Similarly, it will be applicable to foreign exchange students in India.

To award joint degrees, institutions will have to sign a memorandum of understanding, and Indian students will need to complete more than 30 per cent of their course credit at a foreign institute. The degree will be awarded by the Indian institution along with a certificate of credit recognition. In the case of dual degrees too, students must complete 30 per cent of credits at a foreign institute, and degree will specify which institute the credits were earned from.

Kumar said that currently, there are 4 crore students studying in higher educational institutions in India. These regulations will lead to the internationalisation of our higher education and will also provide a great opportunity for our Indian students to acquire multi-disciplinary education for an internationally relevant career, Kumar said.

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Keeping in view the incidents of communal violence in several parts of the country during religious processions, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday directed the administration not to allow any religious procession unless prior permission for the same had been obtained.

Adityanath also directed the officials not to allow any new procession and also that the religious processions must follow the traditional routes and no diversion must be allowed under any circumstances.

Also Read | Why 'masterminds' of Jahangirpuri clash found associated with one party: Delhi BJP takes aim at AAP

The state government has also cancelled the leaves of the police personnel till the first week of the next month in view of the forthcoming Eid and Akshoy Tritiya festivals, according to the official sources. Those already on leave have been asked to report within 24 hours.

"We have orders to deal sternly with the trouble mongers.....no new religious events will be allowed to take place during this period," said a senior police official.

Also Read | Delhi police link VHP, Bajrang Dal to Jahangirpuri violence, soon retract statement

The official said that the local police and administration would be holding meetings with the religious leaders of different communities ahead of the festivals to seek their cooperation for peaceful conduct of the processions. "The in-charge of the local police stations will be holding meetings with the religious leaders in the next few days," he added.

Patrolling would be intensified at sensitive places and security personnel in strength would be deployed there to maintain peace, the official said.

Communal violence had erupted in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi during the religious processions on the occasion of Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti.

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Jazz guitarist Tom Ollendorff has enjoyed many amazing experiences travelling to different countries and performing alongside renowned musicians.

However, he is especially looking forward to soaking up the unique and special atmosphere of the 2022 City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival as he gets ready to play the event for the first time.

Based in London, Tom was awarded the Yamaha Scholarship for Outstanding Jazz Musicianship in 2015 and ever since he has been fast building a reputation as an outstanding improviser and imaginative composer. Tom is also a visiting tutor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff.

His first album, A Song For You, which was released last year, is an elegantly accomplished mix of gracefully grooving songlike themes, warmly conversational improvising, baroque-like unaccompanied etudes, and headlong fast-bop swing.

As part of the City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival, the Tom Ollendorff Trio will take to the stage at the Playhouse Theatre on Sunday, May 1, with the trio completed by Conor Chaplin on bass and Marc Michel on drums.

Having gained high praise from the likes of the Guardian and the BBC, and with Tom even being described as 'one of the world's finest guitarists' by one critic, this is a show not to be missed for Jazz lovers.

After releasing that first record last May and as the easing of COVID-19 restrictions have slowly allowed the return of more gigs and travel, Tom has been back doing what he loves best  and he can't wait to make his Jazz Festival debut next weekend.

He said: I really can't wait. It's a fantastic opportunity and really this is what it's all about and why we love being musicians.

Ever since releasing my first record last year I've had the chance to play some amazing places and I'm really looking forward to being part of this festival.

I've seen some images of the Playhouse Theatre as well and it's such a beautiful venue which just makes it even more exciting.

Tom also explained how much he is looking forward to soaking up the atmosphere of NI's biggest and best Jazz Festival.

He added: A festival like this which celebrates Jazz is incredible and, although we will be making a flying visit for one day only, I'm excited about seeing some of the other acts and events that are happening and seeing the buzz on the streets.

I know some of the other musicians who are taking part and there's such a talented line-up with so much on offer.

After the last few years, it's great to be reminded of how many people love this music and want to learn more about it. This is what I've dedicated my life to so it's great to be part of something that celebrates that.

Previously I have toured as a sideman quite a lot but to do it myself is something that I am really enjoying so much.

I've been fortunate since putting out my first record to have had such a brilliant reaction and to have had opportunities to bring it to different locations and venues and I can't wait for the chance to play it for the audience at the City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival.

The Tom Ollendorff Trio will perform at the Playhouse Theatre on Sunday, May 1, at 8pm. Tickets are priced at 8 and are available from: https://www.derryplayhouse.co.uk/event/the-tom-ollendorff-trio

The 2022 City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival will take place from Thursday, April 28 to Monday, May 2. To view the full programme, visit: cityofderryjazzfestival.com or download the What's On Derry Strabane app.

For more information on the Tom Ollendorff Trio, visit: https://www.tomollendorff.com/
SDLP candidate for Foyle, Mark H Durkan, has called for the establishment of a Mortgage Rescue Scheme to assist low income households.

Mr Durkan has consistently called for long overdue support for individuals struggling to make their mortgage payments from the outset of the pandemic and has criticised the delay to act.

He stated that failure to implement his proposed scheme after the election would leave homeowners more exposed to the ever-growing prospect of losing their homes.

The cost of living emergency is plunging people here further into poverty, said Mr Durkan.

Most households are vulnerable at this time to soaring prices and this will be keenly felt by owner occupiers, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet.

Early 2020, as Coronavirus legislative protections were being put in place, I urged the Communities Minister to establish support for struggling homeowners and had been given several indications that work was underway.

Two years on, it is lamentable that no action has been taken to protect people struggling to make their mortgage payments particularly as lenders mortgage payment holidays afforded over the course of the pandemic have now come to an end.

In light of the cost of living, before the end of the mandate I asked the Communities Minister to bring forward a mortgage support scheme.

She passed blame to the DUP for collapsing the Executive and while I share her frustrations that progress has once more been stymied, I cannot accept that in the two years the Minister held the power to act, she chose not to.

I have consistently appealed for improved financial support for homeowners given the fact that Northern Ireland has a greater proportion of homeowners in poverty than anywhere else across the UK.

In fact, it has twice as many households behind with mortgage payments a position which has likely worsened given the current economic uncertainties.

The events of the past few years have exposed the vulnerabilities of homeowners who were provided with minimal assistance and placed at greater risk of homelessness as a result. Failure to deliver on the prevention of homelessness will have devastating consequences within our communities.

The spiralling costs of homelessness in the North is completely unsustainable; not just the financial cost but the human cost and distress caused to thousands of individuals and families.

This issue affects all aspects of our society which is why the prevention of homelessness is a key policy within the SDLP manifesto.

The introduction of a Mortgage Rescue Scheme must be a priority for the Assembly, people have already waited too long for this support.
Derry University Group has praised the marketing team at the University of Limerick for their inventive tweet based on last night's episode of Derry Girls.

The University tweeted a post encouraging mature student applications after the latest episode of the hit Channel 4 show included Ma Mary's aspirations to go to university and study English Literature.

The Limerick university tweeted: "If, like Mary, you've always wanted to study English at degree level, you're always welcome at the University of Limerick.

"Find out about our English courses & how to apply https://ul.ie/courses/english#:~:text=The%20English%20programme%20at%20UL,which%20that%20literature%20was%20produced

#DerryGirls #StudyatUL"

University of Limerick's tweet after last night's Derry Girls episode (Photo credit: University of Limerick)

The tweet has since accumulated over 2000 likes and 190 retweets, including a retweet from Sister Michael herself, Siobhan McSweeney.

Derry University Group praised the marketing team for their creative tweet but also asked for advice on obtaining university builds as Derry is waiting on a promise of thousands of students and its own university.

The group tweeted: "Ha! Limerick Girls doesnt have the same ring to it But wed love it if you could teach us how a struggling Atlantic coast city can turn itself around and build three universities with more than 20000 students. (Also, give your marketing department a pay rise!)"

New episodes of Derry Girls are airing every Tuesday on Channel 4 at 9:15pm.
Tributes have been paid to 'inspirational' County Derry priest Fr John Cargan, who passed away last week following a short illness.

A native of the County Derry village of Castlerock, Fr Cargan was the Parish Priest of Kilrea and Desertoghill.

He died peacefully at hospital on Thursday (April 14).

Announcing his death, a notice on the Funeral Times website said that the 'dearly loved' priest would be 'sadly missed' by his four sisters, brother-in-law, nephews, nieces, his two wee dogs, friends, parishioners, Bishop McKeown and the Priests of the Diocese of Derry.

As a young boy, Fr Cargan had attended St Columb's College in Derry, as a boarder, and was later ordained a priest in 1978.

Serving as a diocesan priest, he ministered to the parishes of Omagh, Steelstown, Faughanvale, Maghera and Kilrea.

A spokesperson for Derry Diocese paid tibute to the late priest stating that 'many people have benefitted from his wisdom' over the years.

Throughout his long life of service, Fr John was passionate about mission, the power of prayer and the good that the Church could do in this world, said the spokesperson.

Many people have benefitted from his wisdom over the years and we thank him for his distinguished contribution towards the life of the church here in the Diocese of Derry.

Local Councillor Helena Dallat-O'Driscoll led the tributes to Fr Cargan stating that the parish 'has lost a phenomenal character'.

The SDLP woman said Fr Cargan's 'enormous contribuion, intellect, warmth and wit will never be forgotten'.

He was an especially great friend to our father (the late John Dallat) and one of the first he called upon when the going got really tough. We will forever remain thankful, she said.

Fr Cargan pictured making a presentation to members of Kilrea GAC.

Fr Cargan was also the Chaplain at St Columba's Primary School in Kilrea and at the junior site of St Conor's College.

St Columba's Primary School described Fr John as 'an inspiration to us all'.

His spiritual guidance, kindness and generosity, laughter and wise counsel will be so greatly missed, said Principal Celine Kielt.

On behalf of the Board of Governors, staff, parents and pupils of St Columba's Primary School and Nursery Unit, I offer our deepest sympathy to Father John's entire family circle.

St Conor's College said Fr Cargan 'played an instrumental role' in the establishment of the college.

In his role as Chaplain of our junior site, he brought sunshine, joy and laughter to our college. He was a master storyteller and a wonderfully gifted orator with the ability to connect with the school community through his carefully chosen words, read the school statement.

Fr Cargan enlightened our young people, our parents and our staff with his beautifully crafted sermons and his witty and humorous cautionary tales.

His kindness, his compassion and his mischievous sense of humour will be greatly missed about the whole school community.

Staff at Crossroads Primary School, also in Kilrea, said they were 'devastated' to learn of Fr Cargan's death.

He was such an amazing person who we all loved to see coming through the door, read a statement from the school.

He always made time for the pupils and was able to speak to them in such a caring and fun way, while guiding them on their spiritual journey.

He had a great sense of humour and always had plenty of stories to share in the staff room. There was always plenty of laughs when he was present.

The statement went on to pay tribute to Fr John's 'wisdom, experience and passion for education' which 'made him a mainstay in the leadership of our school'.

He has made so many positive contributions to our school in his time as Parish Priest of Kilrea which we will be forever thankful for.

Offering their condolences to Fr Cargan's family, the statement concluded: A wonderful priest and friend we will miss so very much. May his soul Rest in Peace.

Kilrea GAC also paid tribute to the parish priest stating that he was 'always supportive of club events, whether it was presenting trophies, drawing tickets for raffles or attending club events'.

He will be sadly missed by us and our parish community, said the club spokesperson.
More than 600 pets have been brought to the Republic of Ireland since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

With the vast majority being cats and dogs, the pets and their 485 owners have made Ireland their new home.

The Government confirmed the figures on Wednesday, with Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue promising Ireland will continue to operate an open-door policy for Ukrainians and their pets.

According to the figures, 333 dogs and 285 cats have travelled to Ireland with their owners from Ukraine, in addition to a number of smaller household pets.

Ireland has taken in just under 25,000 refugees so far from the war-torn country.

The Department of Agriculture is responsible for processing the arrival of pets into Ireland and ensuring all health checks are adhered to.

Mr McConalogue said: Ireland has always shown itself to be a kind, caring and compassionate country. Our first instinct is to help people who need it and the way in which we have opened our doors to the people of Ukraine shows just how much of a considerate nation we are.

All pets arriving in Ireland undergo a veterinary assessment.

Microchipping, tapeworm treatment and rabies vaccinations are carried out too, if necessary.

Department officials are asking anyone with a pet to notify the Department of Agriculture in advance and to bring as much paperwork as possible on the pet.

A period of quarantine is required, which the department confirmed can take place wherever the owner is staying.

Information on managing this is provided in Ukrainian.

We recognised quickly the need to ensure that people can move to Ireland and set up a new life with as little stress as possible, the Donegal TD said.

That is why we have taken a leadership role in allowing those arriving here to bring their pets once they follow a few simple steps to reduce the risk of any disease coming into Ireland.

Pets play a huge role in the lives of so many people.

Theyre friends and companions and I was keen to ensure pets could travel with their owners.
Chinese social media platforms announced recently they will display user locations based on Internet Protocol addresses in a bid to curb the spread of misinformation. The move started with Sina Weibo, which launched the feature in March, showing the IP address on profile pages of users. The feature cannot be turned off or disabled by users. Sina Weibo said in an announcement the move was prompted by the spread of fake information related to recent hot topics such as Russia-Ukraine tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic. Jinri Toutiao, a news content platform of ByteDance, Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, Quora-like Zhihu, short-video platform Kuaishou and lifestyle-sharing community Xiaohongshu all announced the introduction of similar features since last week. They said the function is to maintain a sound online community environment, prevent netizens from pretending to be local people involved in trending events, and reduce misinformation, rumors and click-chasing content. The platforms will display the location of the last post or comment by a user. For domestic users, it will show the province while those from overseas will show the country or region. Although there is currently no law requiring social networks to display user locations, the new feature is a positive, advanced practice that answers to the upcoming rules over the regulation of internet user accounts, said Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center at the China University of Political Science and Law. The Cyberspace Administration of China, the nation's top internet watchdog, released a draft regulation document in December, saying internet service providers should display information about the IP address of user accounts "in a prominent way". Zhu said some social network accounts pretended to be at the scene of an event but were in fact located elsewhere, reprocessing the online content in order to attract public attention. The new function is one of the effective measures to reinforce the real-name identification of netizens and reduce the spread of false information and prevent telecommunication fraud, he added. Netizens have shown mixed reactions to the new function with supporters saying some unscrupulous media and independently operated accounts have taken advantage of hot topics to win online traffic. "These media pretended that they were in Ukraine, found a picture online and fabricated the content," a netizen said. In regard to concerns over privacy protection, Zhao Zhanling, a legal adviser for the Internet Society of China, said the function does not infringe on personal privacy as the IP address only reveals a very broad area and some IP addresses may be a public network or for instance, Wi-Fi at a hotel. "It depends on whether the IP address can accurately expose the user's identity," he said. China in recent years has ramped up efforts to regulate cyberspace in order to promote a cleaner and more civilized internet environment. The internet watchdog said in March at a news conference that the internet cleanup campaign last year achieved expected results, removing 22 million pieces of illegal and inappropriate information. This year's campaign will focus on online rumors and other "online chaos" related to multichannel networks, livestreaming and short videos.


In Defence of Marxism is committed to safeguarding your privacy. At all times we aim to respect any personal data you share with us, or that we receive from other organisations, and keep it safe. This Privacy Policy (Policy) sets out our data collection and processing practices and your options regarding the ways in which your personal information is used.

This Policy contains important information about your personal rights to privacy. Please read it carefully to understand how we use your personal data. We may update this Policy from time to time without notice to you, so please check it regularly.

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Applicable law recognises certain categories of personal information as sensitive and therefore requiring more protection, including political opinions and trade union membership. In limited cases, we may collect sensitive personal data about you. We would only collect sensitive personal data if there is a clear reason for doing so; and will only do so with your explicit consent.

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Personal data, however provided to us, will be used for the purposes specified in this Policy or in relevant parts of the website.

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Please note that some countries outside of the EEA have a lower standard of protection for personal data, including lower security requirements and fewer rights for individuals. We may transfer and/or store personal data collected from you to and/or at a destination outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Such personal data may be processed by agencies and/or suppliers operating outside the EEA. If we transfer and/or store your personal data outside the EEA we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient implements appropriate measures to protect your personal data.

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(6) Right to data portability  to the extent required by the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) where we are processing your personal information (i) under your consent, (ii) because such processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are party or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contact or (iii) by automated means, you may ask us to provide it to you  or another service provider  in a machine-readable format.

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Personal information is processed on the basis of a persons consent Personal information is processed on the basis of a contractual relationship Personal information is processed on the basis of legal obligations Personal information is processed on the basis of legitimate interests

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We will ask for your consent to use your information to send you electronic communications such as newsletters and and fundraising emails, and if you ever share sensitive personal information with us.

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Most of our interactions with supporters are voluntary and not contractual. However, sometimes it will be necessary to process personal information so that we can enter contractual relationships with people. For example, if you subscribe to one of our publications, or purchase merchandise online.

(3) Legal obligations

Sometimes we will be obliged to process your personal information due to legal obligations which are binding on us. We will only ever do so when strictly necessary.

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Applicable law allows personal information to be collected and used if it is reasonably necessary for our legitimate activities (as long as its use is fair, balanced and does not unduly impact individuals rights).

We will rely on this ground to process your personal data when it is not practical or appropriate to ask for consent.

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These include (but are not limited to) promoting socialist policies

Governance

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Personalisation used to tailor and enhance your experience of our communications

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Maintenance of suppression files

Processing for historical, scientific or statistical purpose

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Responding to enquiries

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Communications designed to administer existing services including subscriptions, administration of petitions and financial transactions

Thank you communications and receipts

Maintaining a supporter database and suppression lists

Financial Management and control

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When we use your personal information, we will consider if it is fair and balanced to do so and if it is within your reasonable expectations. We will balance your rights and our legitimate interests to ensure that we use your personal information in ways that are not unduly intrusive or unfair in other ways.

Data retention

The length of time each category of data will be retained will vary depending on how long we need to process it for, the reason it was collected, and in line with any statutory requirements. After this point the data will either be deleted, or we may retain a secure anonymised record for research and analytical purposes.

In the event that you ask us to stop sending you direct marketing/fundraising/other electronic communications, we will keep your name on our internal suppression list to ensure that you are not contacted again.

Policy amendments

We keep this Privacy Policy under regular review and reserve the right to update from time-to-time by posting an updated version on our website, not least because of changes in applicable law. We recommend that you check this Privacy Policy occasionally to ensure you remain happy with it. We may also notify you of changes to our privacy policy by email.

Third party websites

We link our website directly to other sites. This Privacy Policy does not cover external websites and we are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any external websites you visit via links on our website.

Updating information

You can check the personal data we hold about you, and ask us to update it where necessary, by emailing us at webmaster@marxist.com

Contact

We are not required by law to have a Data Protection Officer  however we have a Data Protection Manager.

Please let us know if you have any queries or concerns whatsoever about the way in which your data is being processed by emailing the Data Protection Manager at webmaster@marxist.com
Googles first-ever African product development centre is to open in Nairobi, underlining the importance to the company of the African market and its growing base of internet users.

Google estimates that by the end of the 2020s Africa will host 800 million internet users. This is also a young continent, making it attractive to investors; it is likely to be home to one-third of the worlds people under 35 by 2030.

Reuters says, quoting Sundar Pichai, CEO of technology holding company Alphabet and its Google subsidiary, last October, that the company is investing $1 billion in various projects on the continent over five years to help economies accelerate their digital transformation. As well as the product development centre in Nairobi, Google has already opened an artificial intelligence centre in Accra.

And recruiting in Kenya is well under way. A blog from Suzanne Frey, vice president for products, and Nitin Gajria, the head of Google Africa, says: Are you an aspiring engineering manager, product manager, software engineer, developer relations engineer, senior UK designer or UK researcher? Do you want to help us to create transformative products and services for people in Africa and around the world? Then apply for one of the numerous open roles at our new product development centre in Nairobi.

It continues: To help realise Googles mission, we will be hiring visionary engineers, product managers, UX designers and researchers to lay the foundation for significant growth in the coming years.

Kenyan press reports suggest that Google has announced over 100 vacancies for its newly opened office in Nairobi; local media outlets are offering guidance on how to apply.
As part of the operators wide-ranging network upgrade, Nokia will deploy its XGS-PON equipment for Cable Bahamas (REV)s new fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network.

The upgrade process is set to span the next four years, and aims to introduce broadband to regions in the Bahamas that currently have no access to fibre connectivity. Nokia is the sole FTTH equipment provider for the initiative, offering its full range of solutions to Cable Bahamas. The operator claims this will lower its operating costs via an automated design and deployment process which will enable faster service implementation.

Stephen Curran, chief technical officer at the Cable Bahamas Group, said: At the end of this exercise we will boast the most advanced FTTH network in the entire region with XGS-PON technology. The Nassau Guardian reported that the network will offer superior speed, latency and capacity.

Osvaldo Di Campli, Head of Latin America at Nokia, added: Upgrading fixed networks is vital to maintain a positive user experience and as a step forward for the use cases of the future that will require gigabit connectivity. With this new XGS-PON deployment, Cable Bahamas will have one of the most advanced networks in the region.

The deployment aims at delivering connectivity to 99% of the roughly 80,000 business and residential addresses in the Bahamas most populous island, New Providence, by 2026.
PP Telecommunication (PPTEL), a leading network service provider based in Sarawak in Malaysia, has selected Juniper Networks, which describes itself as a leader in secure, AI-driven networks, to provide solutions to build a new core network that will support its growth plans.

This network, say the partners, will provide the foundation to help PPTEL meet the demand for critical high-speed internet connectivity.

The move also comes as Sarawak, the largest state in East Malaysia, prepares to undergo major changes to its digital infrastructure as part of the Sarawak Multimedia Authoritys (SMA) plans to fast-track the states digital economy. The partners say that PPTEL's infrastructure puts the company in a unique position to support these plans.

The company relies on submarine cables from strategic locations in the region to drive latency down while keeping services efficient and cost-effective. PPTEL is also building the first Tier IV data centre in East Malaysia.

To better support Sarawak's digital economy goals and PPTEL's own plans to expand its services to Southeast Asia, the service provider selected Juniper's routing and switching solutions to build its new core network. Junipers MX Series Universal Routing Platforms and QFX Series Switches will, Juniper says, deliver industry-leading system capacity, density, security and performance.

PPTEL's Juniper-powered network, in combination with its BaSICS Cable System, will, the partners say, enable the service provider to provide high-quality, low-latency connectivity to consumers and businesses in Sarawak and Southeast Asia.

The solutions offered by Juniper will also enable PPTEL to scale its network efficiently and ensure that consumers and businesses are able to fully harness the benefits of 5G connectivity.
Broadband internet via satellite is coming to 500 rural communities in Mexico thanks to Spanish telecommunications satellite operator Hispasat and Mexican internet service provider GlobalSat.

Hispasat has collaborated with GlobalSat in the rollout of satellite connectivity hotspots in 500 remote towns in Mexico, including Durango, San Luis Potosi, Guerrero, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas and Sinaloa.

This initiative, promoted by the federal government through the CFE TEIT (CFE Telecommunications and Internet for All) initiative, means the residents of these towns will be able to enjoy free satellite connectivity on their devices through an open Wi-Fi hotspot located in public areas in these communities.

The CFE TEIT initiative aims to guarantee the right for the Mexican people to access information and communication technology, as well as radio broadcast and telecommunications services. Satellite technology will play an important part, especially in rural areas, in making this happen.

Hispasat offers broadband connectivity thanks to the capacity in the Ka-band of its Amazonas 5 satellite located in the 61 West orbital position. With this high-performance satellite, says Hispasat, GlobalSat and the Mexican federal government can ensure that the 500 targeted communities will have quality internet access, regardless of how remote their location is.

This project has been led by GlobalSat, which, say the partners, has provided its experience in integrating satellite solutions with Wi-Fi technologies for rural communities in similar projects with the federal and state governments
During keynote presentations at the recent IPv6 Summit held in Paris representatives from key organisations ETSI, ARCEP, IETF and EANTC, along with a number of operators and vendors, focused on the potential of IPv6 Enhanced to accelerate development of the digital economy through increased connectivity.

Opening the summit, Sameer Ashfaq Malik, Senior Principal Analyst at Omdia, observed that in a world with a population of over 7 billion, the number of IP-capable devices increases sharply. With IPv4 supporting only 4.3 billion IP addresses, another solution is clearly needed. Moreover, address exhaustion is not the only issue; the trillion-dollar B2B vertical industry market now needs full connectivity. IPv6 Enhanced provides differentiated service capabilities to implement high-speed, efficient, flexible, and intelligent next-generation Internet, meeting industry interconnection requirements in the digital era.

Latif Ladid, Chairman of the ETSI IPE Alliance, delivered a video presentation themed "IPv6 Enhanced Powers Digitization and Innovation". He said that IPv6 is developing rapidly, and that countries have placed more importance on IPv6 and enacted policies to promote the development of IPv6 globally. The ETSI IPE Alliance is actively promoting IPv6 development and innovation, with more than 80 members at present.

The alliance defined IPv6 Enhanced in 2020, and in 2021 fully set out the value in a range of scenarios including 5G, cloud, and data centre. The alliance proposes IPv6 Enhanced innovations from six dimensions: ultra-high bandwidth, ubiquitous connectivity, automation, low latency, deterministic quality, and security. Ladid said that SRv6, as the core of IPv6 Enhanced, propels IPv6 innovations to new heights and can fully unleash the potential of connectivity, and he encouraged industry parties to join the IPE Alliance to jointly promote IPv6 development globally.

IPv6 is seeing widespread adoption around the world. Jean-Charles Bisecco, an IPv6 Task Force expert with French regulator ARCEP, profiled the IPv6 development situation in France. Bisecco believes that the uptake of IPv6 is driven by multiple factors, including policies, network status, and service development. Currently, IPv6 adoption is ramping up in France. Under the guidance of policies and regulators, it is estimated that by 2024, more than two in three terminals will use IPv6, and more than 90% of operator fixed networks will use IPv6.

The IPv6 Task Force of ARCEP believes that encouraging enterprises to migrate to IPv6 is the most pressing task. The Task Force releases guidance documents every year to help enterprises migration, for example Businesses: How to Deploy IPv6 released at the summit, which is aimed at helping enterprise IT teams understand their IPv6 requirements and to plan and deploy IPv6 accordingly. Bisecco finished by reminding the audience that dedicated protocols and SRv6 are essential to the future development of IPv6.

The development of standards is critical to the development of IPv6 and IPv6 innovations. In a presentation "Progress of IPv6 Enhanced Standard and Industry" Zhenbin Li, an IETF IAB member introduced the IPv6 Enhanced technology system and its development status. Li emphasised that IPv6 innovations are a growing trend in the global network field. IPv6 Enhanced development standards can be divided into three phases: 1.0 focusing on basic SRv6 capabilities, 2.0 focusing on 5G/cloud-oriented new network services, and 3.0 focusing on the APN architecture.

Carsten Rossenhovel, Managing Director and Co-Founder, EANTC AG, a leading international testing centre, delivered a speech titled "Industry Update on SRv6 Technology & Interoperability" at the summit. EANTC focuses on professional testing of innovative telecommunications technologies, adhering to the highest quality standards, and actively participating in the standardization of test methods. Focusing on new technologies such as SDN, NETCONF, Segment Routing, EVPN, Flexible Algorithm and FlexE, EANTC organises multi-vendor interoperability tests, including Cisco, Huawei, Juniper, and Nokia.

EANTC believes SRv6 has a promising future. The organisation has completed multi-vendor SRv6 joint test, which fully prove the operability of SRv6 in large-scale networking and Rossenhovel now believes that SRv6 is "ready for prime time".

Operators are taking a key role in IPv6 development, and network infrastructure is the foundation for IPv6 development. Top three operator in France, Bouygues Telecom, provides both mobile and fixed network services and deployed a fibre network covering all key nodes in France. Francois Bouju, IP Backbone Network Architect from Bouygues Telecom, told delegates that the operator has witnessed rapid IPv6 development in recent years. Bouygues expects almost 100% IPv6 activation in the next two years and its mobile networks will be IPv6-only networks in the future.

Technology Expert at Telefonicas Global CTIO unit, Luis Miguel Contreras Murillo, said that SRv6 is the operators target solution as the unified transport mechanism in operational networks. In his presentation titled "SRv6 and IETF Network Slices" he explained how SRv6 network programming allows operators to specify a packet processing program by encoding a sequence of instructions in the IPv6 packet header. After outlining the concept of IETF Network Slice and SRv6 for realisation of IETF Network Slices, Murillo drew three conclusions: first, that operational networks will evolve to SRv6 because of the flexibility provided, using a uniform way of delivering traffic, including TE capabilities; second, that network slicing will be the new norm of providing tailored services by service providers for external and internal customers; finally, that it is necessary to define proper and scalable manners of supporting network slices leveraging on SRv6 as natural evolution of existing services.

In his presentation Thinking and Practice of IPv6 Enhanced, Post Luxembourg Fixed Network Director, Carlo Richartz noted that Post Luxembourg is committed to IPv6 Enhanced innovation and practice in the telecom field and aims to build a 2027-oriented target network based on IPv6/SRv6. The operator deploys 400GE network interfaces to meet service growth needs, and uses new technologies such as SRv6, slicing, and IFIT to guarantee the SLAs of B2B services. It also simplifies protocols and introduces AI to reduce OPEX.

MTN South Africas General Manager of Fixed Line Technology Services, Calvin Govender, shared MTN's experience in IPv6 Enhanced-based intelligent cloud-network construction. He noted that South Africa has a huge market space, occupying 65% of the African cloud market. Govender believes cloud-based network development will help MTN seize the cloud market. MTN has built the world's first IPv6 Enhanced-based intelligent cloud-network using the CAASI framework, enabling the network to access multiple clouds over one connection and provide one-stop services and deterministic service quality. According to Govender, this lays a solid foundation for MTN's cloud service development in South Africa.

For the vendor community, Daniel Wu, CTO of Huawei Datacom Product Line European Branch, noted that as digitalisation has swept across the world it has enabled digital transformation of a wide range of industries. In his presentation "IPv6 Enhanced, Unleashing Connectivity Potential" Wu highlighted how none of this would be possible without IP networks: IP networks play a pivotal role in connecting all things and applications, as they connect to all things at one end and a myriad of service applications at the other end.

At the same time, digitalization poses new requirements for IP network development. IPv6 becomes increasingly important with the emergence of new requirements. IPv6 Enhanced comprehensively improves network capabilities based on IPv6. It not only drives innovation and entrepreneurship, digital economy transformation, science & technology development, and economic growth in the post-pandemic era, but also plays an important role in the digitalization of numerous industries.

Closing the summit, moderator Sameer Ashfaq Malik summed up by saying that IPv6 adoption is inevitable and will lay a solid foundation for the digital economy of tomorrow. A global sense of urgency around IPv6 and IPv6 enhanced enabled technologies is imperative for solving network problems in the digital era.
Blueline

Goodin

Dudas

White

Adler

Hepworth

Westmoreland

Blueline announced six new hires. Caitlin Hepworth has been hired as a planner. Hepworth is a graduate of Western Washington University with an bachelor's degree in urban planning and sustainable development. Hepworth has experience as an assistant planner and project planner with Barghausen Consulting Engineers, and was an intern for Whatcom County Department of Emergency Management. Hepworth will help city and county efforts in current plan review and population growth impacts research, and serve as a liaison between clients and local jurisdictions for Blueline.

Julian Adler was hired as an engineering drafter to work on residential and public works projects. Adler studied architectural engineering at North Seattle College and has several years' experience as a drafter.

Sheri White joins the firm as the staff accountant to assist in all finance functions. She has over 20 years of experience working in the consulting industry with the last 15 years as accounting lead at SoundEarth Strategies, specializing in environmental consulting.

Serena Dudas has been hired as a planner. Dudas is a graduate of the University of Redlands with a bachelor's degree in environmental policy and management, and has experience as a planner for CASC Engineering and Consulting in Southern California. Dudas will be working on site feasibilities, permit coordination, and grant applications for Blueline.

Elise Gooding joins Blueline as an engineer to work on commercial projects. Gooding is part of the 2021 graduating class at Cal Poly SLO, with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. Throughout her undergraduate career she has been very involved with the Engineers Without Borders-USA Cal Poly SLO Chapter.

Olivia Westmoreland has also been hired as an engineer to work on residential projects. Westmoreland is a graduate of Marquette University, with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering with a concentration in engineering leadership. She has experience as a project intern for Graham Construction.

Blueline provides civil engineering, land-use planning, and landscape architecture services to land developers and public agencies throughout the Pacific Northwest.




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SEATTLE (AP)  Masks will continue to be required on buses and trains in the Seattle area, despite a ruling from a federal judge in Florida striking down the mandate on airlines and public transportation.

Washington State Ferries, however, announced late Monday that masks are no longer required on vessels or inside terminals, The Seattle Times reported.





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By MATTHEW DALY

Associated Press

WASHINGTON  The Biden administration is restoring federal regulations that require rigorous environmental review of major infrastructure projects such as highways, pipelines and oil wells  including likely impacts on climate change and nearby communities. The longstanding reviews were scaled back by the Trump administration in a bid to fast-track projects and create jobs.

A rule finalized Tuesday will restore key provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, a bedrock environmental law designed to ensure community safeguards during reviews for a wide range of federal proposals, including roads, bridges and energy projects authorized in the $1 trillion infrastructure law Biden signed last fall, the White House said.





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Content

Intra-Yemeni consultations, held in Riyadh under the auspices of the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council from 30 March to 7 April 2022, ended with President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi announcing the formation of a presidential council, to which he will transfer his and Vice President, Ali Mohsen al-Ahmars powers. The circumstances and implications of this step, which coincided with United Nations sponsored truce, have attracted widespread speculation. The move also accompanies the seventh anniversary of the outbreak of the war, which has drained every party of their capacity to achieve a decisive victory, with no resolution in sight.

Context of the Announcement

The Presidents announcement was preceded by a major escalation of fighting following a redeployment operation carried out by the UAE-backed forces on the western coast of Yemen, headed by Brigadier General Tareq Saleh, who carried out sudden withdrawals in November 2021 that enabled the Houthi group to re-establish control over the directorates of the Hodeidah Governorate. The Houthis were also able to make important breakthroughs in the governorates of Shabwa and Marib as a result of the campaign they launched in February 2021. The Giants Brigades, backed by the Saudi-Emirati coalition, launched a counterattack through which they managed to regain districts of Shabwa Governorate, before entering the south of Marib governorate. This contributed to the failure of Houthi attempts to seize control Marib city and its oil resources, a move that would have served a major blow to the Hadi government.

In January 2022, the Houthis lost all the gains they had made throughout 2021 through the battles raging in Shabwa and Marib, but became clear to both parties that it was impossible to achieve a decisive victory on the ground. The United Nations took advantage of both parties running out of steam to broker a truce in conjunction with the start of the month of Ramadan. The text of the United Nations initiative stated: Recognizing the urgent need to de-escalate violence and to address humanitarian and economic needs, the parties will implement a two-month Truce, starting 02 April 2022 and ending 02 June 2022, with the possibility of extension. The purpose of the Truce is to provide a conducive environment for a peaceful settlement of the conflict.[1] The truce included a halt to all offensive ground, aerial, and maritime military operations, inside and outside of Yemen, and a freeze in current military positions on the ground. It provided the appropriate atmosphere for holding a round of Yemeni consultations in Riyadh, which ended with President Hadi announcing the transfer of powers to a Presidency Council consisting of eight members chaired by by Rashad Al-Alimi, after dismissing his vice president from his post. Hadi himself has not said he will resign from his position once the powers have been transferred.

Formation of the Presidential Council

The decision to transfer power to a Presidential Council took two parallel tracks, the first of which was through the Muscat negotiations, which resulted in the UN-sponsored truce, and the second through Riyadhs GCC sponsored consultations between the Yemeni political forces, which the Houthis refused to attend. Although it is not the first time that a collective leadership has been formed in Yemen,[2] questions have been raised about the constitutionality of this step, and fears have arisen that it may undermine the legitimacy represented by Hadis government, as the internationally recognized authority for a unified Yemen. This could be further undermined by the presence of some public supporters of southern secession in the new Presidency Council, including Aidarous Al-Zubaidi.

Legally, the decision to transfer power was based on the authority granted to the president by the constitution, and the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanism, including the power to take all the necessary legislation to implement the guarantees contained therein.[3] Supporters of the formation of the Presidential Council say that the executive mechanism of the Gulf initiative states that the two signatories consider that former President Ali Abdullah Saleh irrevocably delegated to the Vice President the necessary presidential powers to negotiate, sign and enforce this mechanism along with all constitutional powers related to its implementation and follow-up.[4] However, critics of the move believe that the Article 124 of the constitution does not grant the president the authority to delegate his full powers to others, even though the constitutional declaration regulating the rules of governance during the transitional period, in its penultimate article (Article 14) voids all constitutional provisions that contradict its own provisions.[5]

Political and ground developments in Yemen over the past three years have prompted a reconsideration of the overall power structure, headed by President Hadi. On the one hand, the legitimate government does not have sufficient support to confront the Houthis on the ground in the north, nor the Southern Transitional Council, which exercises great influence in the interim capital of Aden, and some southern governorates. The role of the Giants Brigade on the West Coast before they were repositioned to the east in the governorates of Shabwa and Marib, and the forces of Brigadier General Tareq Saleh, nephew of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh on the West Coast and Bab al-Mandab, which enjoy the support of the UAE, have led to new political and field realities. The formation of the Presidential Council reflected these balances of power on the ground by representing the south with four members, while seven of the eight members of the Council come from a military and security background, three of whom lead military formations extending from the western coast to the southern governorates. Their political orientations are different, and they have not declared loyalty to the legitimate government, but simply share hostility towards the Houthis.

Reactions to the Formation of the Council

The formation of the council received strong support from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as the result of an understanding between them. Following the announcement, the two countries also announced the provision of financial aid worth three billion dollars to support the Yemeni economy. The move was welcomed by the GCC Council of Foreign Ministers, which had sponsored the Yemeni consultations at its headquarters in Riyadh, as well as by the United Nations and the League of Arab States.[6]

Meanwhile, the Houthis group declined the invitation to the Riyadh consultations,[7] consistent with its continued refusal to conduct negotiations with the legitimate Yemeni government in Saudi Arabia. The group describes the kingdom as not neutral, and, as a party to the war, it cannot play the role of mediator. The Houthis do not object to direct negotiations with Saudi Arabia, which happened early in the war, in the negotiations in Dhahran, but in the context of confirming its control and representation in Yemen. The group considers stopping the war, opening Sanaa airport, lifting the siege and allowing the entry of oil as a starting point for any serious negotiations. Therefore, it was expected that the Houthis would not attend Riyadhs consultations, with one of its leaders stating that any activity outside the borders of Yemen is farcical [...] practiced by the countries of aggression.[8]

Prospects for a Political Settlement

During the past year, a number of political initiatives aimed at ending the war have been issued, including the Saudi initiative announced in March 2021 by Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, in cooperation with the UN and US envoys for Yemen. The initiative provides for a comprehensive ceasefire under UN supervision as a step towards reaching a political agreement, the entry of 18 fuel ships to the ports of Hodeida, taxes and customs revenues to be deposited in the joint account with the Central Bank of Yemen in Hodeidah, according to the Stockholm Agreement, and the opening of Sanaa airport to specific flights. The Saudi initiative was welcomed internationally and welcomed by the legitimate government, but the Houthi group responded negatively because of its conviction in a military solution, especially now that the Biden administration has stopped its support for the Saudi-Emirati alliance in Yemen and removed the designation of the group as a terrorist organisation.[9]

On the other hand, the Houthi group presented an initiative for the city of Marib in August of the same year,[10] coinciding with its push towards military escalation in the governorate. The initiative included the formation of an equal joint administration from the people of Marib to lead the province and manage its affairs, and the formation of a joint security force, and the expulsion of all foreign forces from it... But it was met with condemnation by the government, which considered the move an attempt to divide the crisis and the solution.[11]

In conjunction with the seventh anniversary of the outbreak of the war and the launch of massive missile attacks targeting oil facilities in Saudi Arabia in March 2022, the Houthi group announced an initiative that included suspending missile and drone strikes and all military actions towards Saudi Arabia by land, sea and air, and stopping offensive confrontations on all fronts in the field, including the Marib front for a period of three days, with readiness to turn the cessation of confrontations into a final commitment if Saudi Arabia announced the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Yemen.[12] Meanwhile, the GCC invited the Yemeni parties to hold consultations in Riyadh.[13] The Houthis did not respond to the invitation, but agreed to attend the truce talks in the Omani capital, Muscat.

The context and implications for this transfer of power suggest Saudi Arabias desire for a political solution to end the seven-year war and the ongoing political crisis raging since the February 2011 revolution. This was indicated by the chairmans assertion that the Presidential Leadership Council is a peace council, but it is also a defence council: Its mission is to defend the sovereignty of the country and protect the citizens.[14] Article VII of the decision to transfer power stipulates that the Presidential Leadership Council negotiate with the Houthis for a permanent ceasefire throughout the republic and reaches a final and comprehensive political solution that includes a transitional phase that will move Yemen from state of war to state of peace. The cessation of air strikes and adherence to the conditions of the truce confirms the commitment to this goal.[15]

Conclusion

The announcement of the transfer of power and the formation of a presidential leadership council came outside the framework of constitutional arrangements and the transitional period. But it reflects the changes that have taken place on the ground during the past three years and the consensus between Saudi Arabia and the UAE and their Yemeni allies to share power and influence in the governorates that fall outside Houthi control. The Council seems to be a body of divided Emirati and Saudi influence, but will try to uphold the legitimacy that the Hadi government, despite its weakness, enjoyed against the Houthis. It will try to obtain the approval of the House of Representatives, which stipulated the decision to transfer power in its fifth article on the continuation of its mandate with the Shura Council. It is likely that The Houthi group seeks to exploit the divergent agendas of the members of the Council to weaken and dismantle it, which means that the chances of reaching a political solution are still inadequate, despite war fatigue affecting every party.

[1] United Nations, Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, United Nations Initiative for a Two-Month Truce, 2/4/2022, accessed on 14/4/2022, at: https://bit.ly/3xAZlfS.

[2] The Presidency of the Republic in both parts of Yemen took the character of a collective presidency, with different names: a republican council, a leadership council, and a presidency council, whose members hailed from varied civil or military backgrounds, and reflected the nature of each stage. Following the declaration of the unified state, a Presidential Council was established before the constitution was amended in 1994 so that the president would be elected by direct popular vote and a vice president would be appointed. Vice President Hadi assumed the presidency following the February 2011 revolution, according to the texts of the executive mechanism of the Gulf initiative after President Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down. After the Houthis took control of the capital in September 2014, the then-UN envoy, Jamal bin Omar, suggested the formation of a presidential council, but the idea fell through with the military intervention of the Arab coalition.

[3] The Presidential Declaration on the Transfer of Power and the Formation of the Presidential Leadership Council, Saba Net Agency, 7/4/2022, accessed on 14/4/2022, at: https://bit.ly/3KF02se.

[4] Text of the Executive Mechanism of the Gulf Initiative, National Information Center, 23/11/2011, accessed on 4/14/2022, at: https://bit.ly/3KUhJnD.

[5] See: The Constitution of Yemen of 1991, including amendments up to the year 2015, Constitute Project, 26/08/2021, accessed on 17/4/2022, at: https://bit.ly/36lGXMV.

[6] Yemeni Consultations Conclude in Riyadh by Calling on all Parties to Negotiate, and Positions Differ regarding the Formation of the Presidential Council, Al Jazeera Net, 8/4/2022, accessed on 14/4/2022, at: https://bit.ly/3O9J5IH.

[7] The Supreme Political Council: We Reject Calls for Surrender... and Yemen is with True Peace", Al-Mayadeen, 20/3/2022, accessed on 14/4/2022, at: https://bit.ly/37Sq38M.

[8] The Head of the National Delegation: The Pretexts of Aggression Have Fallen/ The Present and the Future of Yemen Will Be Decided within Yemen, Ansar Allah, 4/8/2022, accessed on 16/4/2022, at: https://bit.ly/3rvHbrY.

[9] Saudi Initiative to End the War in Yemen, The Independent Arabic, 22/3/2021, accessed on 14/4/2022, at: https://bit.ly/3vloHf6.

[10] Abdul Salam Reveals the Details of the Leader of the Revolutions Initiative regarding Marib, 26 September Net, 9/8/2021, accessed on 14/4/2022, at: https://bit.ly/3BuVqzG.

[11] The Yemeni Government Denounces the Houthi Initiative regarding Marib, Xinhua Net, 13/8/2021, accessed on 14/4/2022, at: https://bit.ly/3EgxAKR.

[12] President Al-Mashats Peace Initiative, Ansar Allah Media Center, YouTube, 26/3/2022, accessed on 14/4/2022, at: https://bit.ly/3JM73pQ.

[13] Gulf Cooperation Council calls on Yemeni Parties to Hold Consultations in Riyadh to Stop the Fighting. Al Jazeera Net, 17/3/2022, accessed on 14/4/2022, at: https://bit.ly/3O5wTIO.

[14] Speech of the Presidential Leadership Council Chair, Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi, Addressed to the Yemeni People at Home and Abroad, YouTube, 8/4/2022, accessed on 11/4/2022, at: https://bit.ly/3KJ6MFr.

[15] The Presidential Declaration on the Transfer of Power and the Formation of the Presidential Leadership Council.


The Irish Foreign Affairs Minister has urged the UN Security Council to do all it can to secure an urgent peace in Ukraine, amid an all-out Russia offensive in the Donbas region.

Simon Coveney also accused Russian forces of showing an utter disregard for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians.

It comes as the Russian assault intensifies on cities and towns in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Coveney told the Security Council that he was aware that leaders were meeting in the shadow of a renewed offensive by Russian forces on eastern Ukraine.

At #UNSC meeting on #Ukraine today, Minister @simoncoveney spoke to the critical role of #SecurityCouncil, its membership & the United Nations Charter. Ireland will not remain silent while this senseless war continues, and neither should any member of this Council.  pic.twitter.com/c3OaYAbcJ7  Ireland at UN (@irishmissionun) April 19, 2022

I hear the narrative, from far too many quarters, that peace is only possible after the battle for Donbas. I cant accept that logic  a logic that leads directly to further death, further suffering, further displacement.

This Council must challenge that thinking, today and every day. We must demand more.

Mr Coveney also spoke in New York about the horrors he witnessed during a recent visit to the town of Bucha.

He described the scenes he witnessed as profoundly shocking.

Hundreds of family homes, shops and other civilian infrastructure: blackened, burnt, looted, damaged, and in some cases completely destroyed.

Family cars, riddled with bullets, windshields smashed, bloodstains still evident.

Ive been around long enough to know the difference between truth and staged propaganda when I see it.

There was nothing fabricated about what I witnessed.

I stood at the edge of one of the mass graves, where the work of carefully exhuming bodies continued.

Five hundred and three civilians had been identified at that stage  and just four soldiers.

He said that what he witnessed during the visit speaks to an utter disregard by Russian forces for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians.

Theres no spinning that reality away with disinformation.

The #SecurityCouncil is meeting to discuss #Ukraine. Minister @simoncoveney spoke with the media about what he saw last week in Bucha  a town in ruins, mass graves where hundreds of civilians have been identified. "These are the facts. They are real. And they are horrifying." pic.twitter.com/Hd1LKA4uvw  Ireland at UN (@irishmissionun) April 19, 2022

Mr Coveney said that Ireland will not remain silent on the senseless and devastating war in Ukraine nor on the impact it is having on some of the poorest countries around the world.

He said that the UN Security Council cannot afford to remain silent either.

He referenced depleted wheat reserves in Palestine, as well as the economic impact of the war on the Middle East and the Horn of Africa.

Mr Coveney had confirmed earlier that just under 25,000 Ukrainians had arrived in Ireland as refugees, with 85% of that number women and children.

Ireland is a small country, he said. Were not a member of any military alliance. Were no superpower. But we fought to take a seat at this table and we earned the right to be here.

We did so because we fundamentally believe that, despite all the well documented flaws of this Council and there are many, it is the ultimate arbiter on matters of war and peace.

Minister Coveney briefed the UN Security Council today on his visit to Ukraine Perpetrators of international crimes must be brought to account  there must be no impunity#UNSC pic.twitter.com/9QbbwehlIu  Irish Foreign Ministry (@dfatirl) April 19, 2022

Mr Coveney took the opportunity to call on Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to end the war.

As it was on February 25, so it is today  this is a war of choice. It can end immediately if president Putin so decides.

And yet, instead we are seeing a renewed and upscaled offensive in eastern Ukraine. This is madness that history will judge very harshly.

We have to find a way to stop this war.

I want to call today on Russia directly. Agree to an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, commit to negotiations, respect this Charter.

We know that some progress was made in Istanbul between the key parties. There is clearly a basis for a peace agreement.
Forty-one ambulances dispatched to non-cardiac life-threatening emergencies in Louth in 2021 took longer than one hour, shocking new figures have revealed.

National Ambulance Service guidelines state that an ambulance should aim to arrive at the scene of an emergency non-cardiac incident within 19 minutes.

However, 41 patients were forced to wait longer than an hour for an ambulance to arrive last year, according to information released to the Dundalk Democrat under the Freedom of Information Act.



The longest wait time for a non-cardiac life threatening incident in Louth in 2021 was two and a half hours, with Volume of Work given as the reason for the lengthy delay.

Life threatening calls are split into two categories: Delta (non- cardiac or respiratory arrest life threatening calls) and Echo (life threatening calls relating to cardiac or respiratory arrest).

Echo and Delta calls account for approximately 45% of all 112/999 emergency calls.

All Echo calls (life threatening calls relating to cardiac or respiratory arrest) in Louth last year were responded to within an hour.

In total, 16 Delta ambulance calls were logged as taking over one hour to arrive at their destination due to the Volume of Work, 23 were delayed due to Distance Involved while Resource stood down for a higher acuity call was logged as the reason for delay in the remaining two calls.

The total number of Echo and Delta calls responded to in the whole North East region in 2021 was 13,389.

Stephen McMahon of the Irish Patients Association, speaking to the Democrat, said there needs to be more accountability when it comes to wait times.

Its a serious cause for concern that needs to be explained, theyre life and death situations where youre down to minutes especially in places like Louth were somebody could be stuck out on a farm were it makes it even more difficult to get to them which is why you have to have the service built around the community, Mr McMahon said.

The reality is that the system was built for a half an hour response in the most critical cases and if in some cases its taking double that or even longer they have to identify where the blockages are to ensure that patients in the area get a timely response in their time of health crisis.

For example, at the airports, if all the planes coming in were half an hour late, you can imagine the cumulative effect that would have on the whole system. Its no different with ambulances.

Nobody doubts that there are pressures there, were not criticising the ambulance services, in fact we strongly support their case to get extra capacity.

The biggest problem appears to be that there is nobody accountable for the process managements side of things

If the Irish healthcare system is actually impacting on emergency services and effectively cutting the capacity of the fleet (because calls are taking so long to respond to), well then we have to look at addressing that and see whats going wrong.

Asked to comment on the above figures, the HSE released a statement to the Democrat.

Echo calls are defined as life threatening calls relating to cardiac or respiratory arrest, a HSE spokesperson said.

Delta calls relate to non-cardiac or respiratory arrest incidents. Echo and Delta calls account for approximately 45% of all 112/999 emergency calls.

The HSEs National Service Plan 2022 sets out a national level target to respond to DELTA calls within 18 minutes and 59 seconds. Delivery of this target is currently 50%.

Every day, the National Ambulance Service deploys approximately 160 to 180 emergency ambulances, an average of 22 rapid response vehicles, and in excess of 50 officer response vehicles operating from over 100 locations around the country.

As demand can exceed available resources, 999 calls are clinically triaged and prioritised to ensure that those patients with life threatening injuries or conditions receive the fastest response possible.

If a 999 call is not time critical, then during busy periods, these calls will wait longer for a response.

Thankfully, it remains the case that the majority of 999 calls do not relate to life threatening emergencies.

For those calls that are not life threatening or clinically serious, the HSE encourages callers to consider other options such as GPs, Minor Injury Units, Pharmacists or Self Care.

If you call 999 and your call is triaged as not life threatening or serious, we will respond as soon as we can.

In July 2021, NAS commissioned a demand and capacity analysis to inform future workforce planning.

This analysis is expected in Q2 2022 and is expected to highlight the need for significant additional staffing and investment in NAS in the coming years to meet ever growing demand.

The current deployment model is designed around international best practice.

We welcome the opportunity to engage with service users to understand their experience and to see if an opportunity for service improvement exists.

In this regard, we encourage any service users who wish to discuss their experience to contact the HSE directly through Your Service, Your Say.
Car history check company MotorCheck.ie says that Louth motorists are driving over 17 million worth salvaged and written off vehicles imported into Ireland from the UK.

In what it calls the first major cross border analysis of salvaged and written off vehicles imported into the Republic of Ireland from the UK, MotorCheck says that over 39,336 affected vehicles had been imported into the Republic of Ireland. At todays values, the market value of those affected is 17,641,382 in Louth alone and 318 Million across the Republic of Ireland.

MotorCheck says that examples of what it calls "zombie cars"- those brought back to life but not correctly identified as insurance write offs or ex-salvage, were found currently for sale privately and on car dealer's forecourts with "All Clear" histories. The research conducted by Motorcheck, as seen on last night's RTE Primetime, represents, it says, a potentially serious safety concern and financial liability. It warns motorists about this issue and the risks associated with buying a used car in the Republic of Ireland.

Despite the introduction of new Brexit linked import charges, the number of vehicles imported from the UK to the Republic of Ireland remains high. In 2021 over 83,000 vehicles have been imported with a total of 457,000 coming across the water over the past 4 years. In an effort to understand the prevalence of the issue in cars being imported, MotorCheck embarked on what it calls the largest single cross border analysis of vehicles ever carried out between the Republic of Ireland and the UK.

Shane Teskey, co-founder of MotorCheck commented:

As of today, we know that almost 40,000 Zombie cars have been imported into the Republic of Ireland  those brought back to life but not necessarily identified as insurance write offs or ex-salvage. This equates to 318M leaving traders or their owners to foot the bill when the cars true history is discovered. With used car prices rising in Ireland as much as 50%, its more important than ever that car dealers and private buyers are made aware of a vehicles hidden history before they pay well over the fair market value for a potentially dangerous ex-write off.

From today and for a limited time, Irish motorists can check for free if their car is one of the identified vehicles by visiting www.motorcheck.ie and clicking the red banner at the top of the site to check any registration.
Sinn Fein MEP Chris MacManus has commended Dundalk Chamber for their work in supporting businesses and economic development in the town and has called for the Irish Government and EU to engage with the British Government to ensure that the Nationality and Borders Bill is reversed.

The Midlands Northwest MEP was speaking after meeting with Chamber representatives Paddy Malone and Frankie Watters and Aidan Browne of DKIT, alongside his Sinn Fein colleague Deputy Ruairi O Murchu.

MEP MacManus said:I would like to commend Dundalk Chamber for their excellent work in attracting and supporting commercial and economic growth in the town. There is no doubt that there has been significant progress in Dundalk in recent years which has provided employment and many other benefits to the town.The development of the M1 Corridor has been a major success story and it is important that the IDA and other bodies continue to promote the region to ensure that there will be a bright future in terms of employment in the local area.I was also pleased to meet with DKITs Head of Innovation & Business Development Aidan Browne and hear about their work in supporting regional development. Its very welcome that there is collaboration between DKIT and industry in the region so that they can continue to support one another through their work.There are ongoing challenges in the area in relation to Brexit, particularly the Nationality and Borders Bill, which would require EU and EEA citizens travelling to the North to pre-register with authorities before they travel.This will have a hugely detrimental effect on the freedom of movement of people across the border, particularly non-Irish EU citizens who work across the border."It highlights the lack of understanding by those in the British administration about daily life here, the impact these proposals would have for workers, for social and family life and for tourism.

It is vital that the Irish Government and the EU engage with the British Government to ensure that this Bill is reversed so that there is no return to a hard border for anyone living anywhere in Ireland.
Friends of Ardee Bog (FAB) will host a public celebration of Curlews, the challenges they face,

and the ways these iconic birds interact with the imagination to enrich our lives.

FAB will share some of the music, art, and ideas inspired by Curlews.

Tomorrow, Thursday April 21st, visitors to Ardee Library will be welcomed by members of the community group dressed as Curlews.

Their striking costumes were designed by Rachel Murphy for the St. Patricks Day Parade.

Curlews are one of the most iconic birds of the Irish countryside, but the Curlew Task Force has

reported that there has been a 96% decline in numbers since the 1980s.1

The Curlew is on the Red List of endangered birds and in danger of extinction in Ireland.2

In 2021 only 34 breeding pairs were confirmed in Ireland.

Three Curlews are feeding and possibly nesting in Ardee Bog, a FAB spokesperson claimed.

We are running out of time. Curlews are on the brink of extinction in Ireland", said Anne Lennon, Friends of Ardee Bog, Curlew monitoring team

"We have a moral obligation to protect the habitat that supports Curlews.

"Imagine Ireland without the unique call of the Curlew?
Lors de la seance parlementaire du 19 avril 2022, le depute de Piton/Riviere du Rempart et PPS est intervenu sur le projet de loi concernant lurbanisme a Maurice et la mise en place du Town Planners Council Bill presente au mois de novembre 2021 au Parlement.

Mr. Speaker, Sir,

Thank you for allowing me to give my views on the Town Planners Council Bill which is before this House today.

At the very outset, I wish to stress that this important piece of legislation bears testimony of this Governments will and determination to come forward with the necessary legal frameworks to allow professionals of different sectors to operate within the necessary parameters, and this obviously positively impacts on the development of our country.

The House and the population at large will appreciate that, since 1st October, after its introduction, the debates and its adoption in this August Assembly, the CIDB (Amendment) Act has become in force and provides for a consolidated legal framework for the construction industry as well as for the registration process and the improvement of its operation. And this is just one example.

Today, Mr. Speaker, Sir, all across the world towns and cities are witnessing major transformations. And this transition has brought significant transformations in the way people live, travel, work and also in the way networks are built.

Nowadays, all around the world we talk about the integrated network of urban infrastructure, transport and green spaces, among others. And it goes without saying that the key element of the planning is the location of people and their movement through the plan.

Therefore, much emphasis must be laid on sustainability, high quality of public life, a sensitive approach to development for the success of the urban planning and execution.

Mr. Speaker, Sir,

The world is developing at a rapid pace, and the Republic of Mauritius cannot lag behind. If we want to succeed, we have no choice but to put in place the necessary measures to meet our goals. This is why THIS GOVERNMENT has taken the bold initiative to come forward with the Town Planners Council Bill.

There is no doubt that regulating the profession of town planners will ensure that there is a standardisation of the skills and knowledge required for the profession.

The Bill which is before this House today therefore provides for the setting up of a Council to which powers will be vested to ensure that the professionals involved in town planning sector perform according to set standards and policies.

Under the section related to the powers of the Council, it is clearly stipulated that the Council may, I quote: under section 89(2)(b)(i) of the Constitution and subject to Part IVA of the Public Service Commission Regulations, to enquire and report into any complaint of professional misconduct or negligence against a town planner appointed by the Public Service Commission, end of quote.

What does this mean, Mr. Speaker, Sir?

This clearly means that the code of practice established by the council will certify that all professionals will comply with the ethics and codes.

Moreover, the council will be able to assess the work of each professional and if the latter failed to perform their duties correctly, they may face repercussions from the council. Will that not help in guaranteeing that all professionals are always delivering quality work?

But, let us hope that those who every time see evil in everything this government does will not describe this Bill and its provisions as a means of repression.

In fact, this Bill makes provision for the Council to be able to organise training programs and conferences which will guarantee that there is continuing professional development for the members.

In addition to that, the council may co-operate with other local or overseas institutions operating in the same field for training. This is, no doubt, an important aspect as it creates uniformity in the work of local and international professionals.

Mr. Speaker, Sir,

We are all aware of the negative impacts and consequences of climatic change, coupled with the wrong decisions and badly planned development projects implemented by some people who were in Government before us.

With the looming danger of flash floods on the island, having certified professionals who can consider the effects of the topology of a location and the existing buildings, will certainly decrease the occurrence of such a calamity. It is not a question of petty politics but rather a question of human life. The security and life of our fellow citizens.

Monsieur le President,

Je suis certain que les membres de cette Auguste Assemblee, les professionnels du secteur des infrastructures publiques et la population en general se souviendront des tristes episodes ou des inondations ont coute la vie a plusieurs de nos concitoyens.

Certes, nous navons aucun controle sur la nature, mais en tant que decideurs il est de notre devoir et notre responsabilite de nous assurer que notre population ne paie pas le prix des projets mal inspires et mal executes.

Qui ne se souvient pas de lamenagement de drains et de systemes de canalisation, surtout dans la capitale, qui sont larges sur tout le parcours mais etroits a lembouchure, provoquant ainsi un refoulement de leau. Ou encore le betonnage de certains endroits strategiques.

Ceux qui ont faute devront repondre devant lhistoire.

Mr. Speaker, Sir,

When we talk about town planning, let us not forget that traffic jam during peak hours yet is another recurring issue in Mauritius. This Government has set its vision and major decongestion works have already started at strategic locations all across the island.

For sure, the Metro Express project which started with the track from Port Louis to Rose Hill, which has been extended to Quatre Bornes, and which will soon reach Curepipe, has enormously contributed to the reduction of the number of vehicles on our roads during peak hours.

But, it is a fact that we cannot rest on our laurels and wait for the Metro Express project to alleviate the problem of congestion. Obviously, new roads need to be built. With the Town Planners Council Bill, the professionals from the council can advise the authorities in the construction of new roads which can lead to effectively reduce the time spent in travelling.

Mr. Speaker, Sir,

I will not take too much of the time of the House, and before concluding, I would like to underline one last aspect.

It is undeniable that the past decades were marked with the rapid development with skyscrapers being erected in almost all cities of Mauritius. This has greatly contributed to cause what we call Urban Heat Island effect, which increases the ambient temperature in our cities. Hence, having certified professionals from the council will help to avoid this phenomena to occur when planning for new towns.

For all these reasons which I have mentioned during my intervention, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I fully support the Town Planners Council Bill and I congratulate the Acting Prime Minister, Hon. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning, Minister of Tourism, for coming forward with such a piece of legislation.

Long live the Republic of Mauritius

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.
China approved a new national park this month in northeast China in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces to save two endangered speciesthe Siberian tiger and Amur leopard.

Only nine wild Siberian tigers were estimated to be living in this area in 1998, increasing to 27 by 2015 thanks to conservation efforts including a logging ban. The global population of Amur leopards was less than 30 in 2007, but almost doubled by 2015.

The sanctuary, to be completed by 2020, will border Russia and measure 5,637 square miles, an area 60 percent larger than Yellowstone National Park.

https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/790511997922279424

The current habitat for the Siberian tiger and Amur leopard is too small an area to provide enough prey for the carnivores, whose wide search for their usual elk, wild boar and deer has recently led them into residential areas. It has even been reported that tigers have been wandering into Jilin Province and eating dogs and cattle.

Governmental officials expect the national park to ease some of this conflict. Local government plans to relocate some existing communities, factories from inside the national park area, so as to avoid conflicts between wildlife and human activities, a spokesperson for Jilins Forestry Department told Xinhua.

China is using the success of Yellowstone, the worlds first national park and one of the most popular U.S. destinations for recreational visitors, as a model for environmental and economic progress.

The Chinese government in 2015 declared its intention to develop a world-class national park system, and a partnership with the Paulson Institute. The self-described non-partisan, non-profit think and do tank hosted Chinese government officials in 2016 for tours of U.S. national parks, trainings and advice.

China is seeking to evolve from what Science Magazine called a mishmash of national reserves, semiprotected forests and provincial parks.

As reported by Mongabay:

China boasts approximately 10,000 protected areas covering about 18 percent of the country, a proportion higher than the global average. But weak management and insufficient funding are threatening most of the protected areas conservation efforts. To revamp the management of all of Chinas protected areas, in late 2013 Chinese President Xi Jinping included the development of a true national park system into the central committees official plans for deeper reform. Nine pilot parks across the country were announced in June 2015.

The World Wildlife Fund calls the Amur leopard the worlds rarest cat and describes the parks location, Amur-Heilong, as containing one of the most biologically diverse temperate forests in the world, vast steppe grasslands and the unbroken taiga biome.

The Jilin forestry department said it will set up a monitoring and rescue center for wild tigers and leopards, along with scientific and research facilities to complement the national park.

[facebook https://www.facebook.com/EcoWatch/videos/1453085071371092/ expand=1]
Right-wing Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaros administration has pushed pause on monitoring industry in protected areas of the Amazon, the New York Times reports.

An analysis of public records by the Times shows that enforcement actions, like fines and warnings against loggers, ranchers and miners illegally operating in the Amazon, have dropped by 20 percent since the Bolsonaro administration took power seven months ago. Over that same time period, government figures show the Amazon has lost more than 1,330 square miles of forest cover  a nearly 40 percent increase from 2018.

The Times report comes as Bolsonaro has raised his rhetoric on the Amazon in recent weeks, calling the governments own deforestation figures lies last week and telling foreign journalists the Amazon is ours, not yours.

Jair Bolsonaro promised to cut back environmental rules before becoming president, calling them an obstacle to economic growth, despite warnings from around the world that his policies could lead to losses of one of the planet's most important resources https://t.co/b7X1VMkytF pic.twitter.com/axcYW3UzFv  The New York Times (@nytimes) July 28, 2019

For a deeper dive:

News: New York Times

Commentary: The Guardian editorial, Bloomberg, Mac Margolis op-ed

For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News.
People of color and low-income communities in the U.S. are at greater risk for exposure to pesticides, a new study has found.

While this is the case for many environmental pollutants, the study published in BMC Public Health Tuesday was the first to take an in-depth look at the differences in pesticide protections and regulations in the U.S.

Like many other pollutants, pesticides are a major environmental justice issue, Robert Bullard, director of the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University, said in a press release. The cost of these chemicals isnt just paid for at the cash register, its also being paid for by communities that have been marginalized for centuries. The Biden administration can, and must, move aggressively to right this long-ignored injustice.

The study was conducted by Texas Southern University, Spelman College, Farmworker Association of Florida, Farmworker Justice, Advance Carolina, Migrant Clinicians Network, Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides and the Center for Biological Diversity. It found that Black and Mexican people in the U.S. had biomarkers for 12 harmful pesticides in their blood and urine at levels as much as five times higher than white U.S. residents. It also found that people of color in California, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri make up about 38% of the population, but they make up 63 percent of the population living near 31 pesticide-manufacturing plants that violate environmental laws.

One of the major reasons for the disparity in exposure is the fact that farmworkers are disproportionately exposed to pesticides, The Guardian explained. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) pesticide laws apply to consumers, but have exceptions for agricultural workers. However, around 90 percent of U.S. pesticide use takes place on the farm, and 83 percent of farmworkers identify as Hispanic.

These workers somehow are seen as expendable, Bullard said, as The Guardian reported. This study shows the systemic neglect that [led to] a whole workforce being an underclass and not given the same weight when it comes to health and safety.

Another factor is that pesticides are more often used against cockroaches, rodents and other pests in low-income housing that tends to be older and poorly maintained. Pesticides are applied at 80 percent of low-income housing developments in New York state, and at least eight pesticides were discovered in the air of the homes of 30 percent of pregnant African American and Dominican women living in New York City, the press release said.

The inequality persists beyond the borders of the U.S. There are several pesticides banned in the U.S. that the country still makes here and then ships abroad, according to a summary of the studys findings. The country exported neurotoxic organophosphate and carbamate pesticides to 42 countries between 2015 and 2019, more than 80 percent of which were considered low-to-middle income.

The study authors made several recommendations for policy makers based on their findings:

Getting rid of the double standard so that protections are not weaker for agricultural laborers. Create a nationwide system to monitor and assess the harms caused by pesticides. Further strengthen worker protections by creating a federal program to monitor the health of those exposed to pesticides for their jobs and make sure safety instructions are available in more languages besides English. Reduce the harms caused by pesticides by considering that they may not always be used as directed and enforcing existing worker protections. Take full advantage of regulations designed to protect children, who are especially vulnerable to pesticides. Stop importing banned pesticides to other countries. Audit the EPA to make sure the chemical industry is not influencing its decisions.

For too long communities of color have served as literal dumping grounds for many of our nations most dangerous toxic chemicals, including pesticides, Fatemeh Shafiei, director of environmental studies and associate professor of political science at Spelman College, said in the press release. This must change. Its time for state and federal regulators across the U.S. to jumpstart aggressive efforts to put an end to this deeply troubling form of environmental racism.
From Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil to Donald Trump in the U.S., the past five years have offered prominent examples of right-wing leaders who set back collective action against the climate crisis.

Now, a study published in Global Environmental Politics this month shows that the issue is much larger than a few high-profile leaders. The researchers, from the Universities of Sussex and Warwick in the UK, found that the influence of a right-wing populist party can reduce a countrys climate policy score by nearly 25 percent.

Conventional centre-right political parties have always been more reluctant to adopt strong climate policies, but the rise of right-wing populist parties and movements represents a threat of a different order, study co-author Dr. Matthew Lockwood, senior lecturer in Energy Policy in the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex Business School and co-director of the Sussex Energy Group, said in a press release.

The study authors focused on the climate and renewable energy policies of more than 25 countries, The Guardian reported. All the countries were members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the researchers looked at their policies between 2007 and 2018, the Independent reported. The study used a quantitative analysis to determine how the presence of right-wing populist parties in the legislative and executive branches of the countries impacted their climate and renewable energy polices.

What they found was that the influence of center-left parties increased a countrys climate-policy score by around 22 percent above average, while the influence of right-wing populist parties decreased it by 24 percent, according to the press release.

How much influence a party can have on climate policy is partly determined by what system of government a country has, however. The study looked at both simple majoritarian systems like the U.S. and proportional representation systems. In proportional representation systems, several people are elected per legislative district, and their party affiliation is determined proportionally based on relative vote share, as Fair Vote explained.

Right-wing populist parties can do the most damage to a countrys climate agenda if they capture the executive and all the cabinet seats in a majoritarian system, as Trump and his administration managed to do in the U.S. In this scenario, they can decrease a countrys climate policy score by 58 percent. However, these parties have less impact in a proportional representation system, because they tend to enter as junior members in a governing coalition. Further, right-wing populist parties were not able to significantly influence the climate policy in EU countries, likely because much of this policy is crafted by the bloc as a whole.

Our paper provides some of the first quantitative evidence on how right-wing populism is negatively associated with progress on climate policy, at least among OECD countries. Interestingly, membership of the EU and proportional representation rules seem to mitigate this effect, study co-author and University of Warwick economics professor Ben Lockwood said in the press release.

Overall, the study authors found that the influence of right-wing populist parties did not influence renewable energy policy.

The study authors also looked towards the future, and warned that right-wing populist parties could focus on climate policy instead of other issues like immigration as energy prices continue to climb in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The thing about rightwing populist parties is they tend to be very reactive to crisis, Matthew Lockwood told The Guardian. In Europe, a lot of that has been on immigration, and in the UK it has been Brexit. And these issues have gone off the boil a bit so the people who were pushing for Brexit are now in the net zero scrutiny group. Its the same people reacting to a crisis but now pushing against climate action.
Intelligence is the ability of a species to live in harmony with its environment. This is one of our favorite quotes here at EcoWatch, coming from the environmentalist Paul Watson.1

Learning to work with solar energy, the most abundant natural resource on Earth, serves as the perfect example of living in harmony with ones surroundings. You dont need to look any further than the leaves on a tree to see this at work.

When most of us think of solar energy, the first thing that comes to mind is modern solar panels. Over the last few decades, photovoltaic technology has improved exponentially in cost, efficiency and scale, nearing a point of ubiquity in the worlds energy ecosystems. For that reason, it may be tempting for us to think of solar panels as the past, present and future of harnessing solar energy.

However, humans have utilized solar energy for millennia in a number of creative ways prior to the development of the modern solar panel. And to unlock new ideas and insights into how to best work with our environments in the future, we often have to challenge what we consider certainties of the ways that we generate our energy.

A look into history is often the best place to start.

How Was Solar Energy First Used? (Up to 1800s)

Thousands of years before we had electricity, humans learned to use solar energy in a handful of different ways. In addition to lighting, early civilizations used sunlight to regulate the temperatures of buildings and cities. That practice is now commonly known as solar passive heating  an approach to heating and cooling homes through simple devices and architectural design.2

Solar passive heating was so common that entire Greek cities were designed in a way that allowed every home access to sunlight for warmth in the winter. Evidence shows that civilizations in Egypt, the Americas, China and Rome (and surely other areas) all employed various types of passive solar heating or cooling techniques as well.3 4

Here are a few of the most notable examples:

Roman bathhouses with south-facing windows could collect solar energy to heat water. 5

Roman greenhouses would use glass to concentrate solar energy.

Ancient Egyptians would use sunlight to evaporate water, creating a cooling effect in their homes. 6

The Anasazi built entire cities beneath south-facing cliffs to ward off heat in the summer when the sun was at its peak, yet still receive sunlight during winter when the sun was lowest in its arc.

Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, USA Credit: Sierralara / Getty Images

However, it wasnt until the mid-to-late 1800s that what we now consider solar power came to be.

Most Recent Developments in Solar Energy (1800s-1950s)

Fast-forward a few thousand years. In the decades that followed the discovery of electricity, scientists were racing to find the next breakthrough for alternative electricity sources. Since the development of technologies like solar are so complex, its hard to credit one person or event for its invention. However, heres the best place to start:

In 1839, the French physicist Edmond Becquerel (at only 19 years old) first observed the photovoltaic effect, the ability of select matter to generate an electric current when exposed to sunlight. He did so by immersing two plates of gold in a conducting solution and exposing them to sunlight.7

Charles Fritts followed up Becquerels discovery by developing the first prototype for a solar cell in 1873.8 While still far from the modern solar module, these discoveries did attract the attention of the scientific community and sparked further research and development. It was in 1913, just a few decades after Fritts solar module, that Thomas Edison is quoted to have said, Id put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we dont have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.9

But it wasnt until 1954 that inventors David Chapin, Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson eventually created the worlds first modern solar cell at Bell Labs. Unlike Charles Fritts solar cell, the Bell Labs product was made from silicon wafers instead of selenium, and it yielded a far greater efficiency. Their patent, U.S. patent No. 2,780,765, was issued in 1957 and is the closest legal documentation of the invention of solar technology.10

Government Effect on Solar Development (1950s-1990s)

Only about 15 years after the Bell Labs patent, the energy crisis unfolding in the early 1970s caused gasoline and oil prices to spike, spreading concern about the United States energy future. Energy leaders grew increasingly curious about an alternative, domestic source of energy that would reduce dependence on foreign oil. The mid-70s also witnessed a growing environmental movement, which added further pressure on the government to divest from fossil fuels. Now, this is where we see the importance of the government in solar development.

The Jimmy Carter Era (1976-1980)

Jimmy Carters administration had a long way to go before solar was a viable public market. At the time, solar modules were still expensive and fairly inefficient when compared to their modern counterparts. But the Carter administration pushed some of the first, real support from the federal support for renewable energy. In 1978, Congress passed the Energy Tax Act to provide tax credits for homes with solar panels.11 Carter symbolically installed an array of solar panels on the White House roof to boot (though these were later removed).

In his speech during the unveiling of the panels, Carter said, If we use our technological imagination  if we can work together to harness the light of the sun, the power of the wind, and the strength of rushing streams  then we will succeed.

Carter was years ahead of his time and could have set the U.S. on track to be a leader in renewable energy decades later.

The Reagan Administration (1980-1988)

The Reagan administration, contrary to the platform of his predecessor, focused his campaign on lowering energy prices. Though energy prices decreased quickly under Reagans presidency, this came at the cost of research and development of domestic energy sources like wind and solar. During Reagans presidency and after, many oil companies quickly offloaded their investments in developing solar energy:12,13

In 1984, Exxon sold the Solar Power Corp. to Solarex

In 1990, Arco sold its solar business to Siemens

Mobil sold its solar business in 1994 to German-owned Applied Solar Energy (ASE)

Bush and the Federal Tax Credit (2000-2008)

The second Bush administration passed the federal tax credit (also known as the ITC) as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which became one of the most successful government programs for solar to date. The ITC was the kickstart necessary for solar development and has received bipartisan support since its inception. The ITC is still in effect in 2022.

The Modern Solar Panel (1990s-2022)

The potential of solar technology took hold worldwide as well, and many companies in other parts of the globe (mostly in East Asian countries) also spent the 80s, 90s and 2000s developing utility-scale solar technology. The solar manufacturing process refined over the decades, eased in costs, and breakthroughs in efficiency led to a product fit for the residential market.

But solar panels really took to the mainstream in the mid-2010s, when costs declined by about 90% over the course of the decade. This allowed for solar to finally graduate from a developing technology into a deployable energy solution. Take a peek at the clear correlation between the drop in solar costs and the total amount of solar installations throughout the country.

Costs have stabilized somewhat as of 2021 due to record demand and pinched supply chains. However, as of 2021, renewables became the worlds cheapest source of energy.14 Though we dont expect costs to continue to drop much further, the efficiency, practicality and prevalence of renewable energy like solar will only continue to improve.

Future of Solar Energy

Although the history of solar can seem linear, the modern solar panel (as impressive as it is) is unlikely to stick around as the sole form of solar energy. In fact, there are already a number of futuristic applications for photovoltaic technology that we may see put into use over the next few decades. Here are a few of our favorite ideas:

Though other forms of photovoltaic technology will certainly take hold over the coming decades, 2022 marks one of the best years to buy solar panels. Costs have declined to levels that, when paired with an expiring solar tax credit, easily beat out the projected costs of sticking with a traditional public utility provider.

Check out our cost of solar page for more detailed information. If youre ready to start comparing offers from pre-vetted solar companies near you, fill out the form below.

Get Free Quotes From EcoWatch Approved Solar Installers

Karsten Neumeister is a solar energy specialist passionate about sustainable development, environmental and cultural change. Before joining EcoWatch, Karsten worked in the energy sector of New Orleans, focusing on renewable energy policy and technology. A lover of music and the outdoors, Karsten might be found rock climbing, canoeing or writing songs when away from the workplace.
By Brett Wilkins

With President Donald Trumps re-election very much in doubt, his administration is rushing to ram through regulatory rollbacks that could adversely affect millions of Americans, the environment, and the ability of Joe Bidenshould he winto pursue his agenda or even undo the damage done over the past four years.

Reporting by the New York Times details how the administration is cutting corners as it scrambles to enact as much of its agenda as possible before ceding power on January 20 if Trump loses the election. Required public comment periods and detailed analyses, according to the Times, are being eschewed in favor of streamlined approval processes that have left even staunch deregulation defenders sounding the alarm.

JUST POSTED: Facing the prospect that President Trump could lose his re-election bid, his cabinet is scrambling to enact regulatory changes affecting millions of Americans in a blitz so rushed it may leave some changes vulnerable to court challenges https://t.co/HZXUM7TvW9  Eric Lipton (@EricLiptonNYT) October 16, 2020

Two main hallmarks of a good regulation is sound analysis to support the alternatives chosen and extensive public comment to get broader opinion, Susan E. Dudley, director of the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center and formerly head of regulation in the George W. Bush White House, told the Times. It is a concern if you are bypassing both of those. Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told the Times that the president has always worked quickly to grow the economy by removing the mountain of Obama-Biden job-killing regulations. However, critics are warning that some of the proposed changes are being rushed through with insufficient regard to the harm they might cause. Some of the issues that are raising red flags include: Refusing to lower limits on dangerous particulate and ozone pollution, which cause thousands of annual premature deaths.

Allowing so-called bomb trains that transport highly combustible liquefied natural gas on freight trains.

Determining when workers can be classified as employees or independent contractors.

Exempting certain commercial drivers from mandatory hour limits and rest periods.

Placing limits on how science is used in the air pollution rule-making process.

Expanding regulation of immigrants by requiring citizenship applicants to submit biometric data, by forcing sponsors of immigrants to stay off welfare and prove their financial independence.

In response to the reporting, critics of the administration like writer Matthew Kressel said that it helps make clear that if the Republicans in the White House cannot win reelection, theyll scorch the earth before they go. And Matthew Gertz, a senior fellow at Media Matters for America, tweeted: I think people underestimate the amount of time and energy that is going to be needed just to climb out from under the mountain of shit this administration leaves behind.

I think people underestimate the amount of time and energy that is going to be needed just to climb out from under the mountain of shit this administration leaves behind. https://t.co/ooIBAtQfFH  Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) October 16, 2020 Many of the changes reflect the agendas of the powerful corporate and other business interests whose key players have donated generously to Trump, belying the presidents oft-repeated claim that he is draining the swamp. Other regulator rollbacks come despite warnings from career officials within federal agencies about the harm they could cause.

EPAs scientific advisers warn its regulatory rollbacks clash with established science https://t.co/RBdUsNvNEy  Carl Zimmer (@carlzimmer) December 31, 2019 Alarmed by the administrations rushed rate of regulatory rollbacks, a group of over 15 Democratic senators earlier this month sent a letter to Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia warning of profound economic implications for some 143 million U.S. workers that would result from curtailing public comment periods for the proposed rule change regarding independent contractors. Workers across the country deserve a chance to fully examine and properly respond to these potentially radical changes, and a 30-day comment period is not nearly enough, the letter states.

Reposted with permission from Common Dreams.
Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia stated that Bhutan was showing keen interest in adopting the Delhi governments Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum (EMC) framework. He stated this on Tuesday, April 19.

The minister also stated that the main aim of this collaboration was to inculcate an entrepreneurship mindset among Bhutanese students and to prepare them for future challenges. He also mentioned that in the presence of dignitaries from the Himalayan nation, an orientation meeting with officials from Bhutan's education department was held on Tuesday.

It is good to see that a movement to integrate an entrepreneurship mindset among school students is gaining momentum. It is a matter of great pride for the Delhi Government that the Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum will now reach students beyond the borders of India, Sisodia said.

This collaboration will further strengthen the bilateral relationships between the two countries and will give us an opportunity to learn from revolutionary ideas of Bhutans education department as well in the field of student assessment, inclusive education and curriculum design, he said.

Sisodia, who also holds the portfolio of education, stated that since the launch of the Happiness Curriculum, the Delhi government had been learning a lot from Bhutan.

We are deeply inspired by the Bhutan government and the importance that they give to the happiness of Bhutan residents. Drafting of the EMC was the second step of our Happiness Curriculum with a goal to develop a happy and economically sound nation, he said.

The officials of the Bhutan education department stated that they saw a great opportunity to learn from the Delhi governments EMC model and Business Blasters, the worlds largest student-led startup programme.

COVID has been devastating for all of us and has taught us lessons of uncertainties. In such a situation it is important for us to teach our children to become professionally sound and prepare them to beat any challenge in life. Curriculum like EMC will help our students to improve their skills, thought processes, and ideas so that they can support themselves and the country, said Wangpo Tenzin, Officiating Director, Department of Curriculum and Professional Development, Ministry of Education, Bhutan.

Adoption of the Delhi governments framework for EMC will make children economically well-informed, he said.

I strongly believe that this collaboration will be an opportunity for Bhutanese teachers to learn about pedagogical practices to successfully inculcate entrepreneurship mindset among students in the country, he added.




New Zealand agri-tech startup's cattle smart tags set for large scale trials

New Zealand-based agri-tech startup ProTag's cattle smart tags are set for large scale trials later this year following a NZD 1 million investment to fast track the development of the smart ear tag sensors, which could revolutionise the country's cattle industry, Massey University of New Zealand reported.

The company's internet-connected gadget attaches to a cow's ear and allows farmers to track the animal's health, grazing, and breeding patterns in real time. Machine learning is utilised to interpret data from the device's temperature, movement, and location sensors, allowing farmers to map animal behaviour patterns and diagnose sickness early in real time.

Tyrel Glass, a co-founder of Protag, said that the company's compact, lightweight gadget uses 100 times less energy than rival GPS-based devices with bigger battery packs.

Baden Parr, the other company co-founder, said the device will allow farmers to recognise cattle health issues early such as mastitis, lameness, and reproductive concerns, while also promoting more sustainable farming.

While the company's immediate focus is on the New Zealand market, where the average dairy herd size is 440 cows, prospective markets overseas include Ireland and Brazil.

- Massey University of New Zealand
First cruise ship in two years to dock in Douglas

The first cruise ship to visit the Isle of Man since the coronavirus pandemic will arrive today.

MS Maud will dock into Douglas as part of its tour of the British Isles.

The cruise ship will be the first to visit the Island since March 2020.

Forty-seven cruise ships are expected to visit the Island between now and September.
Brave is putting Google's Accelerate Mobile Pages (AMP) on blast with a new feature called De-AMP, The Verge reported. It's designed to bypass any pages rendered with AMP and take users directly to the original website. "Where possible, De-AMP will rewrite links and URLs to prevent users from visiting AMP pages altogether, the company wrote in a blog post.

If that's not possible, then "Brave will watch as pages are being fetched and redirect users away from AMP pages before the page is even rendered, preventing AMP/Google code from being loaded and executed," it added.

The new feature was implemented in the name of privacy, security and internet experience, according to Brave. "In practice, AMP is harmful to users and to the Web at large," the article states. "Just as bad, AMP helps Google further monopolize and control the direction of the web." It adds that the next iteration of AMP "will be even worse."

Google disagrees with Brave on many of its points and gave a statement saying as much. "These allegations are misleading, conflate a number of different web projects and standards, and repeat a number of false claims," a Google spokesperson said in a statement. "AMP is an open source framework that was collaboratively developed with publishers, tech companies, and Google as a way to help web content load faster at the time it was created, it took 19 seconds on average to load a mobile webpage on a 3G connection. Today, AMP continues to be a helpful way for websites and publishersespecially those without large development teams to easily create great web experiences."

Google originally promoted AMP as a way to improve the mobile web experience by loading pages faster. However, it has recently been a target of critics who see it as a way for Google to increase its hegemony in the internet ad market by hosting content on its own servers. A group of publishers recently announced it was moving away from AMP, and a lawsuit filed by several US states accuses Google of running a monopoly that harmed ad-industry competitors and publishers.

Brave promises "the best privacy online" with its browser, so of course attacking Google is part of its business strategy. Despite its efforts, though, it lags well behind most other browsers in mobile market share, sitting in the "other" category behind Internet Explorer on Statcounter. De-AMP is now available in beta and "will be enabled by default in the upcoming 1.38 Desktop and Android versions, and will be released on iOS soon after," Brave said.

Update 4/21/2022 2:27 PM: Google statement added.
Lexus has today announced the RZ, the luxury marques second entry into the EV market, and the first designed from the ground-up as an electric vehicle. With a 71.4kWh battery and a claimed range of around 280 miles, the RZ will also show off a new active four-wheel drive system dubbed DIRECT4. That will, so the company says, enable the car to automatically distribute force to each wheel according to its need. And Lexus says that DIRECT4 will offer excellent driving performance with a stronger human-machine connection.

Given this is Toyotas luxury brand, theres plenty of mention of omotenashi, the Japanese concept of overwhelming your guests with hospitality. Here, Lexus says that owners can expect lots of interior space and plenty of comfort, both for the driver and their passengers. Rear passengers look like theyll get decent legroom, and a dimming panoramic roof will help make those seats feel a little more spacious, especially compared to most Lexus crossover SUVs.

Lexus

Of course, the only thing anyone will likely want to focus on is the steering yoke, because you cant drive a futuristic EV with something as old-fashioned as a wheel, come on. (Don't worry, it's an option, the default version comes with a wheel).

The RZ isnt Lexus first foray into making a battery electric vehicle, and offered a EV version of its UX series (the 300e), which garnered lukewarm praise from critics. The Lexus build quality and luxury on offer might have been appreciated, but with a range under 200 miles, cramped rear space and poor charging dimmed its shine. Thankfully, the RZ is based on the same e-TNGA EV platform youll find underpinning both Toyotas new bZ4X and Subarus Solterra. And wed expect the RZ to sit as a fancier-pantsier version of the bZ4X, with better interior options and the already-mentioned longer range.
Netflix might offer cheaper ad-supported plans in the coming years. In the company's most recent earnings call, co-CEO Reed Hastings has revealed that the streaming giant is currently working on the offering and that it will be finalizing details for those plans "over the next year or two." Hastings said he finds ads complex and he's a huge fan of the simplicity of subscriptions, but giving consumers who don't mind watching ads the option to pay less "makes a lot of sense."

And it could make a lot of sense for the company, too. The service lost around 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, a development it blamed on stiffer competition, inability to expand in some territories due to technological limitations and account sharing. Apparently, 222 million households are paying for Netflix, but over 100 million more are sharing those accounts.

Back in March, Netflix started testing a feature in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru that allowed subscribers to add two "sub-members," who'll get their own log-ins and profiles, for $3. It may just be a fraction of what a full membership costs, but at least Netflix is getting something from people who'd normally just borrow their friends' accounts.

Hastings clarified during the call that the ad-supported memberships will be added as tiers and members who don't mind paying full subscription fees don't have to be subjected to advertisements. "It is pretty clear that it is working for Hulu, Disney is doing it, HBO did it. We don't have any doubt that it works," he said. The executive also added that Netflix will merely be a publisher and that it will not track user data to match ads like some of its competitors do.
A court in London has formally issued the order to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the US. That puts his fate in the hands of UK home secretary Priti Patel, who'll be the one deciding whether Assange will be sent back to the US where he's set to face espionage charges. WikiLeaks made waves in 2010 after publishing thousands of classified documents and diplomatic cables sent to the US State Department. Assange is wanted in the US for 18 criminal charges due to those leaks, and he could face up to 175 years in prison if convicted.

Assange sought refuge at the Ecuadorian Embassy of London in 2012 and stayed there for years until his asylum was withdrawn in 2019. WikiLeaks claimed back then that the embassy spied on its founder and took photos, videos and audio recordings of him. He was arrested from the embassy, and the US government has been trying to get him extradited since then.

In January 2021, a British court ruled that he shouldn't be extradited to the United States to stand trial, because "the risk to his mental and physical wellbeing was too great." However, the US government appealed and argued that he had no history of "serious and enduring mental illness." A UK appeals court reversed the previous ruling in December 2021, opening the doors for his extradition.

Assange joined the most recent trial via video call from the Belmarsh Prison in London. The extradition order was issued by Paul Goldspring, the chief magistrate, who said during the trial: "I am duty bound to send your case to the secretary of state for a decision." According to The Guardian, Assange's side will have the chance to sway Patel's decision by sending the home secretary "serious submissions" and could also challenge issues he lost in court but haven't appealed yet. And it is possible to convince a home secretary to block extraditions  former UK home secretary Theresa May blocked Scottish hacker Gary McKinnon's extradition on human rights grounds. British activist Lauri Love also successfully convinced the UK High Court to side with him when he appealed his extradition orders.
With self-driving vehicles possibly arriving on UK roads later this year, the government is starting to put rules in place to accommodate them, the BBC has reported. As part of that, it will allow drivers in autonomous vehicles to watch TV from an infotainment screen in self-driving mode, as long as they're ready to take back control. That's a modification of a law that has been on the books since 1986 that prohibits drivers from viewing a "television-receiving apparatus" when behind the wheel.

It will still not allow the use of mobile phones, which were officially banned in the UK last year. That's because automakers can implement technology to stop a car's built-in screen from displaying content when the driver needs to take back control, but can't do the same on a smartphone. The government also decided that insurance companies and not people will be liable for accident claims in a number of circumstances. The changes will be an "interim measure" until an all-new set of rules can be put in place by 2025.

Self-driving cars are not yet legal in the UK, but the Department for Transport (DfT) said they may be ready later in 2022. A year ago, the government announced that basic self-driving cars with automated lane-keeping systems could arrive on British roads by the end of last year.

The UK government predicted that self-driving tech could "improve road safety across Britain by reducing human error, which is a contributory factor in 88 percent of all recorded road collisions." In the meantime, though, self-driving tech has gone nowhere over the last few years, apart from a few exceptions like GM's Cruise offering public driverless taxi rides in San Francisco.
Jasper, IndianaKevin Schewe won a BEST FEATURE SCRIPT award for Bad Love Tigers, his original screenplay based on his second book, at Hollywood on the Tiber Film Awards in Rome, Italy.

"The history between Rome and Hollywood is truly amazing, so many classic movies were made in Europe with Italian partners, it is truly exciting to be a part of that tradition," Kevin Schewe commented.

The definition of Hollywood on the Tiber was born in the early 1950s, when the American majors decided to play for the first time several films in Europe, choosing Rome as the new capital of film production. The idea was a winning one! Two cultures were able to merge thanks to the magic of the cinema, proving that the seventh art knew no cultural barriers. Today, with this Award, they want to affirm once again that cinema is not only poetry, culture and fun, but also an extraordinary tool to give people the opportunity to know each other.

See and Hear Kevin Schewe's Instagram Post at https://www.instagram.com/tv/CcEaErQOXdq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kevin L. Schewe, MD (@realkevinschewe)

Bad Love Tigers has now won 25 awards including BEST SCRIPT OF THE MONTH at the Watch Out International Film Festival in Philadelphia, OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT award at the Tagore International Film Festival (TIFF) in West Bengal, India, BEST SCRIPT at the New Wave Short Film Festival in Munich, Germany, Best Screenwriter in a Feature Film at Onyko Film Awards in Ukraine, two screenplay awards at the Golden Wings International Film Awards, BEST THRILLER FEATURE SCREENPLAY and BEST SCREENPLAY OF THE MONTH, Best Feature Screenplay at the Sea of Art International Film Festival in Plock, Poland, Best Feature Screenwriting at the NYCinternational Film Festival, Best Feature Screenwriting at the Medusa Film Festival, Special Achievement Award at World Film Carnival-Singapore, Best Sci-Fi Screenplay at the Open Window International Film Challenge in India, Best Plot Award at the Beyond Earth Film Festival, Best Sci-Fi Feature Screenplay at the Karukrit International Film Festival in India, Best Script for Feature Film at the San Antonio Independent Film Festival in Ecuador, South America, Best Feature Film Screenplay at the Five Continents International Film Festival, Best Original Screenplay at the Naples Film Awards, Best Feature Script at the Cineville Calcutta Global Cinefest in India, Best Feature Screenplay at the Mumbai International Film Festival, Best Feature Screenplay and Best-Sci-Fi Screenplay at the Oniros Film Awards in New York City, Best Sci-Fi Screenplay at the New York International Film Awards, Best Feature Screenplay in London at the BIFF International Film Festival, Best Original Screenplay at the Rome International Movie Awards and Best Feature Screenplay Honorable Mention at the Florence Film Awards.

Bad Love Tigers, book two of twelve planned in the best-selling Bad Love Book Series, is about a dynamic group of young adventurers, known as the Bad Love Gang, who use a time machine to travel back to the World War II era, meet with President Roosevelt and embark on a perilous secret mission to protect an alien spaceship and defeat the Japanese in combat. Keeping America's deepest secret safe at Area-51 hinges on the success of their quest. The Bad Love Tigers Screenplay was just released to the international screenplay circuit at the end of February 2022 and has already won 25 International Awards. It is a feel good, action-adventure, sci-fi blend of Stand by Me meets Raiders of the Lost Ark or Back to the Future meets Goonies. The strong international interest and accolades that it is generating shows its blockbuster potential to attract a global audience of all ages to the big screen.

Schewe's screenplay adapted from the first book, Bad Love Strikes, has won 14 International Awards at prestigious film festivals all over the world. In Bad Love Strikes, the Gang of teens from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, accidently discovers The White Hole Project, a WWII era time machine created by Albert Einstein at the request of President Franklin Roosevelt in case the atomic bomb Manhattan Project failed. They learn how to use the White Hole Project and then design a time-travel mission back to WWII, Nazi-controlled Poland to save a group of Holocaust victims from certain death. The accurate history and edge-of-your-seat action has you rooting for this unlikely gang of misfit teenagers turned heroes!

Bad Love Strikes screenplay awards:



Best Sci-Fi Screenplay at the Los Angeles Film Awards; Hollywood Weekly Magazine Film Festival  Best Screenplay; Best Script at the Rotterdam Independent Film Festival; Best Script in a Feature Film at the Hollywood International Golden Age Film Festival; New York Tri-State Film Festival  Best Sci-Fi Screenplay; Florida Shorts Film Festival  Best Unproduced Script; Tokyo's Genre Celebration Festival  Best Feature Screenplay; Madrid Arthouse Film Festival  Best Unproduced Feature Script; Madrid International Short Film Festival  Best Script; the Seoul International Short Film Festival in Korea  Best Script; and in Munich, Germany at the New Wave Short Film Festival, where it was chosen as a Special Jury Screenplay Selection. It also garnered a Prix Royal Paris Silver Screenplay Award; the South Florida International Film Festival for Best Original Screenplay for Young Adults, and a Gold Script Writing Award for Sci-Fi Adventure from the Depth of Field International Film Festival. Bad Love Strikes screenplay has also finished as a Finalist and Semi-Finalist at 23 other international film festivals.

The recently published fourth installment in the Bad Love Book series, Bad Love Medicine, has just garnered its fourth book award and is available on Amazon's Audible. The popular series, which is time travel sci-fi mixed with science fact and accurate history is now available in hardcover, paperback, e-book, and Audible formats.

Watch the book trailer for Bad Love Tigers at https://bit.ly/BadLoveTigers_Trailer





Each of the Bad Love series audio books are narrated by Alan Carlson, an award-winning narrator with credits in non-fiction, academic, romance fiction and many other categories. You can purchase the audio book at Amazon's Audible.

The entire four book set is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Love-Collection-Sci-Fi-Adventure-ebook/dp/B09LPPDBMM/ or www.jancarolpublishing.com.

"If history was taught this way in school, everyone would be a scholar and educating ourselves not only about our accomplishments but the horrors of the past that should awaken and give insight to the path of a better future. A rare gem!" David Holladay, MD, 5-Stars

Watch the book trailer from Bad Love Strikes at https://bit.ly/BadLoveStrikes-Trailer




In his first re-election bid, Alamo Heights school board Place 2 trustee Brian C. Hamilton has two opponents  local doctors Elise Kibler and Jane Lindell Hughes, whose stances clash.

Kibler, 46, is a pediatrician at CommuniCare on the West Side of San Antonio, where she said works heavily with underserved and Spanish-speaking residents, and she participates in community outreach efforts. Her two children are now teenagers in the district, but in their younger years, Kibler said she would volunteer to help out in their classrooms.

Hamilton, 45, is the boards vice president. Prior to his time as Place 2 trustee, Hamilton was on the Alamo Heights School Foundation for six years, including a stint as the nonprofits president in 2017 and 2018. The foundation raises money to provide funding for teachers salaries, according to its website. Hamilton has served on the District Education Advisory Council, a parent council that he said looks at different issues facing the school district, including its calendar. He has two children in the district.

Hughes, 74, is an ophthalmologist and ophthalmic surgeon who runs her own practice. She served on the Northside ISD school board in the 1990s, during which time she served as the Academics Committee chair and the chair of the Finance Committee. Hughes was a mentor in the Heights Business Incubator, a program in which Alamo Heights high schoolers create their own businesses for the chance at real funding, for two years. Two of her grandchildren are in the district now, and the third graduated from Alamo Heights High School.

Place 1 trustee David D. Hornberger is running unopposed.

Early voting begins Monday and ends May 3, and voters will go to the polls May 7. Trustees serve three-year terms.

Priorities and platforms

Maintaining fiscal responsibility would be a top focus for Hamilton if re-elected. He said that he will continue to look for ways to best spend tax dollars and push elected representatives to provide better funding for schools.

He also wants to find ways to help students who arent performing as well academically due to the pandemic, and he wants to look for ways that educators, administration and the board can more efficiently communicate with parents.

Having kids at the school and having served on the school foundation are just a couple of experiences that Hamilton feels makes him stand out as a candidate.

I consider myself very reasonable, he said. I consider myself a listener. I'm going to listen to you before I speak. I want to understand each persons position and be reasonable.

More Information About the candidates Elise Kibler Age: 46 Occupation: Pediatrician at CommuniCare Family: Not married, two children Education: Biology major at Wellesley College, M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston Time living in school district: 10 years What is the one phrase you want people to think of when they see your name on the ballot?: "Let's put education back in the hands of our teachers, and trust our professional and highly educated teachers to do what they know how to do best, and that's to teach our children." Brian C. Hamilton Age: 45 Occupation: Chief Operating Officer for American Roofing & Metal Co. Inc. Family: Wife, two children Education: Bachelor's in finance from Texas A&M University, law degree from the University of Texas Time living in school district: 17 years What is the one phrase you want people to think of when they see your name on the ballot?: "Steady, proven leadership in uncertain times." Jane Lindell Hughes Age: 74 Occupation: Private practice Ophthalmologist/Ophthalmic Surgeon Family: Married, three adult children, three grandchildren Education: Bachelor of Arts at University of Iowa, M.D. University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio Time living in school district: 23 years What is the one phrase you want people to think of when they see your name on the ballot?: "Academically focused in a disciplined learning environment, where adult politics are kept out of the school." See More Collapse

Attracting and retaining strong teachers with higher pay is a large part of Kiblers campaign. She also said she wants to have a committee focused on teacher morale to protect educators from unreasonable expectations that some parents might have, and wants to ensure that librarians could always keep control of the library books on their shelves.

I have the ability to to ask the appropriate questions to make sure that were representing each school department in a way that allows them to continue to teach our children in the best way theyre able, Kibler said.

A key part of Hughes platform focuses on the importance of parental involvement and parents right to see material their children are being taught. She also stresses the importance of going back to normal, citing concerns with children suffering psychologically, socially and academically because of COVID-19 measures and mandates. Hughes said she has read up on masking children and found studies about the hindering of kids language development and empathy development.

Establishing an academics committee would be important to Hughes because she said she wants new programs to be thoroughly studied before being implemented to ensure that the district remains a home for academics, not political agendas.

I think being a physician is very helpful in recognizing and spotting risk versus benefit, whether its academics, whether its a public health issue, Hughes said as she described what makes her stand out as a candidate. And also I research a lot. I do my homework.

Equity, reasons to run

Hamilton said that when he originally ran for trustee, it was out of a desire to continue the work he started with the school foundation  fighting for money for public education. Another term could allow him to tackle unfinished business in that arena.

Kibler was drawn to run because she wanted teachers to have a spokesperson on the board who would advocate for higher pay and because she wanted the school to work to optimize federal dollars to better support lower income and academically challenged youth.

Hughes decision to throw her hat in the ring came after she heard about teachers undergoing equity training at the school, which she was concerned had ties to critical race theory.

So from that point forward I said, I'm going to run for the school board, because this is a very adult, sociopolitical agenda, Hughes said.

Hughes also opposes the districts Equity Council, claiming it also had ties to critical race theory.

Although Frank Alfaro, assistant superintendent for administrative services, said the district has training for teachers regarding equity, he said critical race theory is not part of it. And he said that the Equity Council was a group of more than 70 students, staff, parents and community members. They met multiple times during the 2020-21 school year and completed their work at the end of that same year. The group did not touch on CRT; it essentially aimed to establish a framework that could address a wide variety of issues, including helping eliminate any unlawful discrimination in the school system that could be affecting students.

Critical race theory has never been something that Alamo Heights ISD or the school board has ever looked into putting into our schools or to train teachers about, Alfaro said in an email.

Hamilton was the school board liaison to the Equity Council. He said the group made recommendations to the board and looked into things like the schools dyslexia program to ensure that teachers are aware of all tools available to help students.

On ExpressNews.com: Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills nix May 7 general election vote

Budgets, teacher salaries

Kibler said she wants to see teacher salaries jump to $60,000 or more.

According to data from the Texas Association of School Boards that AHISD posts on its website, the average salary for teachers at the district during the 2020-21 school year is $57,880. The district website also shows that the school ranks eighth for starting salary and sixth for average salary among Bexar County school districts. Hamilton said thats not acceptable, and he stressed that teacher salaries would be a high priority for him if re-elected.

Toward that end, Hamilton said, one of the first steps came when voters approved a tax rate in November that allows $1.4 million to go to teacher salaries and other educational programs. Those particular funds are not subject to recapture by the state under the under the Robin Hood program, which helps poorer districts with funds from wealthier districts.

Hughes said that teacher salaries would be a high budget priority for her, but she also expressed concern with the amount of money that the school gives back to the state through Robin Hood. She said she hopes an adjustment could be made in the tax structure to address that issue.

On ExpressNews.com: Alamo Heights ISD asks voters to approve tax rate change

Restrooms

The candidates were asked at a forum how they would direct the district to handle transgender students use of campus bathrooms and locker rooms. All three said having one-room, one-toilet unisex restrooms on campuses for students would be beneficial, but their reasons varied.

The question came on the heels of an incident on one of the districts campuses that Alfaro said caused officials to temporarily change restroom practices for one grade levels hallway. He said that originally the setup was one multi-stall restroom for boys and another multi-stall restroom for girls and two options of single-stall, private restrooms for anyone who wishes to use those. Officials reverted back to this practice after an effort to essentially make all of the restrooms single-stall, private restrooms caused delays, congestion, and disruptions.

I do believe boys should use boys restrooms and girls should use girls restrooms, Hamilton said. I do want us to look at unisex facilities. And this really goes beyond transgender. Elementary school, middle school  theres a lot going on with kids. Open up those restrooms to anyone who wants that privacy.

Hughes expressed a similar sentiment, saying that she believes that girls and boys restrooms should be for biologic girls and boys, respectively.

I think there needs to be a capital investment on every campus with one unisex bathroom that has one stall, one urinal and a shower, Hughes said.

Kibler also agreed that there should be a private restroom for any student uncomfortable with using public restrooms for any reason, but she said that transgender children using campus restrooms is not necessarily a problem.

We need to understand that when a transgender youth is using a restroom, theres no exposure to genitals at all, she said. Its not an inappropriate thing.

Campaign tension

This week, Hamiltons campaign emailed supporters screenshots of two tweets from Hughes personal Twitter account, arguing that the posts prove that Hughes is opposed to putting more money into the district. The email also criticized Kibler for remaining silent on the issue.

One screenshot is of a Tweet from earlier this month and reads, Weve poured billions$$ into schools with increasing dismal results. Until we get rid of teachers unions who behave as if they are in sweatshop factory work conditions instead of champions of academics and disciplined school environments, I say hold back on more wasted $$.

Hughes campaign responded with an email saying that she supports teachers and responsible funding for public schools, and that her tweets were taken out of context.

The second, again, concerned a national conversation about schools run by teachers unions in cities such as Chicago and Baltimore, where budgets are huge but results dismal, her email to supporters said of the April tweet.

In an interview, Hughes said she was not opposed to all teachers unions.

Hughes has a large following  over 14,000 people  on Twitter, where she often posts and shares content opposing mask and vaccine mandates, COVID-19 vaccines for children, and the way the pandemic response has rolled out in the U.S. Her account also links to the website for American Doctors 4 Truth, which Hughes co-founded. The site strongly opposes the Affordable Care Act, calling it a politically driven government takeover of our healthcare.

megan.rodriguez@express-news.net
MirageC/Getty Images

Mask mandates have been lifted nearly everywhere one may travel in San Antonio.

Airports and ride share companies dropped their mandates Tuesday after a federal judge in Florida ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overstepped its authority when it issued the requirement for planes and other forms of public transportation.
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In the mid-1990s, Willie Barcena was part of a new wave of Latino comics.

They emerged after Paul Rodriguez and John Leguizamo, and they shared the same dream: becoming the next Freddie Prinze.

For many Latino comedians, the career path of Prinze, the trailblazing 1970s stand-up comic and actor who starred in Chico and the Man, was considered the gold standard.

Barcena, who performs Saturday at the Floresville Event Center in Floresville, was heralded alongside such peers and relative newcomers as George Lopez, Carlos Alazraqui, Carlos Mencia, Freddy Soto, Chris Fonseca and Pablo Francisco.

Lopez (George Lopez), Alazraqui (Reno 911), Mencia (Mind of Mencia) and Francisco (MADtv) got the mainstream shots.

Barcena was the comics comic. He had a reputation as a no-nonsense badass from Los Angeles who had more stand-up appearances on The Tonight Show than any of the rest. Hes also released several specials, including, most recently, The Truth Hurts in 2016.

More Information Willie Barcena When: 8:30 p.m. Saturday Where: Floresville Event Center, 600 Texas 97, Floresville Details: $40 ($200 table for four), 210-449-5599 See More Collapse

Barcena stood apart. For one, he wasnt, as he puts it, an Orale! comic. In other words, he didnt pander or play on Mexican American stereotypes.

But after a rough childhood, comedy was more than a career for him.

For me, as a young adult when I got into comedy, it was almost an escape and, also, therapy. I was just surviving, Barcena said.

Today, the 55-year-old comedian says hed tell his younger self to keep the ego in check and cool it with the attitude.

This Willie, now, would tell that Willie, Have some gratitude and do things with love. Stop trying to bulldoze though everything, he said.

He was a fresh, edgy performer who also was movie-star handsome and a disciplined, prolific writer. It was not unusual to find him alone late at night in a coffee-shop booth working on material, fellow comics recall.

Fonseca, another veteran of the Latino Laugh Festival, calls him very underrated.

Willie gets lost in the shuffle. Thats a compliment, Fonseca said. Every time you see him, its different and new. But without a catchphrase, its hard to stand out.

Barcenas comedy was born out of childhood pain.

His father was out of the picture by the time Willie was 6; his mother was verbally and physically abusive, he says. She died during the pandemic. They never reconciled.

Barcena recently apologized to his own sons about his sometimes aloof, tough-love parenting. He used an analogy to attempt to explain it to them  not excuse it.

I told them, Tell me everything you know about skydiving. One of my sons goes, Theres nothing I can tell you about skydiving because Ive never skydived, he said.

I said, OK, I want to explain why I didnt know how to love you guys when you guys were little. Because nobody ever loved me, so I couldnt teach you something I didnt have.

Onstage, Barcena talks about his evolution as a parent  and as a comic.

I never want to be stale, he said. So that forces me to create.

It is still a goal to illuminate his audiences about his views on ethnicity.

When I was a young comic, it was very important to me to have Middle America look at Latinos as a race that is like everyone else. I wanted to have the audience laugh with me and not at me, he said.

I feel its taken the audience time to catch up to me. Ive always been the same guy. I didnt do the Orale! character  what they were used to from a Latino comic. Weve evolved past that.

Rick Gutierrez, who got his big break at the Latino Laugh Festival in 1996, agrees.

Hes a fireball. Hes constantly thinking outside of the box, Gutierrez said. Willie represented the change going on with Latinos. He wasnt all (with a fake accent) trying to talk like a Latino.

Cleto Rodriguez considers Barcena a friend and mentor. The San Antonio comedian and TV personality, who now works clean, said he toured with him back when I was a dirty, filthy comic.

His joke writing is something Ive admired for years because he puts the time in, Rodriguez said. Hell sit a restaurant and write for hours.

Its like watching a mad scientist come up with his creation. It motivates you. Hes totally hilarious and one of a kind.

But there was an air of danger, too, Rodriguez said.

Everybody just admired him and respected him when he came to town. And the reason they respected him is because he wouldnt let them not respect him. He would not be disrespected  one way or another, he said.

San Antonio comic Kim Kerley said Barcena was that rare mentor who didnt hit on me.

He was always very gentlemanly towards me, Kerley said. Hes an interesting cat. Its a velvet edge. Hes the anti-Carlos Mencia. Hes just real velvety with his (act).

Barcena is currently producing and directing a situation comedy about his life called Crazy Is Normal.

Its about my life, bro, as a young comedian and how crazy I was, he said. A younger actor plays me. I get to look at myself through a wider lens.

But hes not only looking backwards. He gets a lot of show ideas from social media.

You can see in social media how many people are wounded souls, he said. Were so conditioned to believe that we should be normal. But what is normal? If youre flawed, youre normal.

He is still working on finding a distributor for the project.

The recent deaths of comedians and actors Bob Saget, Louie Anderson and Gilbert Gottfried hit Barcena hard. He knew Saget and Anderson from his earliest days. He never met Gottfried.

Hes got just one takeaway from their passing: Be in the moment, be present, have fun and be grateful.

Hector Saldana is the curator of the Texas Music Collection at The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University in San Marcos.
Xiaolongbao, better known as soup dumplings in the U.S., are nothing new, but they are having a moment in San Antonio. The small, broth-filled pouches of dough have popped up on menus and Instagram accounts across the city in recent months.

If youve spent any time tracking dining trends online, youd think soup dumplings were invented about five years ago, when they took social media accounts and food blogs across the country by storm. But the dishs history goes much further back. Soup dumplings were first developed more than 150 years ago in Changzhou, China, and are most often associated with Shanghainese cuisine.

In their most elemental form, xiaolongbao are petite nibbles not unlike many forms of steamed dumplings found on menus or dim sum carts in Chinese restaurants. Their defining characteristic is a small ball of meat and a pool of fragrant and flavorful soup contained inside a thin skin of dough held tight by a series of pleated folds.

That soup is the result of molten gelatin. The fillings for soup dumplings are typically made by folding together meat, aromatic components and finely diced aspic made by simmering bones, skin and other animal parts containing high levels of gelatin that is cooled until set. When the dumplings are steamed, that gelatin melts and turns liquid again.

On ExpressNews.com: Review: Dashi Sichuan Kitchen + Bar shoots for Best San Antonio Chinese Restaurant title

Kristina Zhao, owner of Sichuan House and Dashi Sichuan Kitchen + Bar recently added soup dumplings to the menu at both of her restaurants, and theyve become a quick hit with customers.

People have been asking for them for a long time, Zhao said. We had to bring our game.

At Zhaos restaurants, soup dumplings come in two forms: one filled with chicken, and the other stuffed with a mixture of pork and crab. But soup dumplings, like many other foods that have evolved over time, can vary widely.

You can put whatever filling you want in dumplings. Theyre open to interpretation, she said. Its about how you utilize ingredients and make something delicious out of them.

Soup dumplings are often delivered to the table in a piping hot steamer basket. The biggest faux pas a diner can make, Zhao said, is popping one directly into their mouth. The violent eruption of near-boiling broth thatll occur when you bite down is a surefire recipe for a scorched and scalded palate.

On ExpressNews.com: Review: Golden Wok Chinese restaurant in San Antonio's Medical Center going strong after almost 50 years

Instead, Zhao suggests placing the dumpling in a soup spoon, making a tiny incision in the dough with your teeth and allowing the steaming broth to escape into the spoon. Once its cooled for a few seconds, itll be safe to eat without risk of bodily harm.

The most common condiment served alongside soup dumplings is a soy-based dipping sauce, but those can vary as much as the dumpling itself. Some restaurants offer straight soy sauce, while others whip up a more dynamic and complex blend of flavors. Zhao flavors hers with vinegar, ginger, garlic and sesame oil.

People like to enjoy them with a little acidity and a little vinegar bite to it, she said.

However you like your soup dumplings prepared, there are more options than ever to try them in San Antonio. Here are four restaurants where you can find them on the menu.

Paul Stephen / Staff

Dashi Sichuan Kitchen + Bar

At this stylish new Thousand Oaks area restaurant, xiaolongbao are called soup dumplings on the menu and are filled with either chicken or a mixture of pork and crab, and served six to an order for $14. The skins on these dumplings are remarkably thin and taut with very precise pleated folds sealing in a generous quantity of flavorful broth.

While youre there, be sure to sample some of Dashis remarkable Sichuanese fare, including whole fried fish, spicy lobster and lamb chops flavored with chile and cumin. Dashi also has a full bar serving a wide range of beer, wine and craft cocktails.

Dashi Sichuan Kitchen + Bar, 2895 Thousand Oaks Drive, 210-562-3343, sichuandashi.com, Facebook: @sichuandashi

Paul Stephen / Staff

Sichuan House

Youll find the same soup dumplings served at Dashi at this West Side staple located near Ingram Park Mall. Theyre just as plump and overflowing with flavorful broth, all that goodness encased in a wrapper with a perfect chew. When augmented with a splash of tangy and savory dipping sauce, these soup dumplings deliver an unforgettable flavor that will keep you coming back for more.

Sichuan House is the perfect place to enjoy those dumplings (six for $14) with a bottle of wine from your own cellar. While the restaurant doesnt have a bar, they do allow you to bring your own booze for corkage fee that varies based on the bottle.

Sichuan House, 505 Wurzbach Road, Suite 102, 210-509-9999, sichuaneats.com, Facebook: Sichuan House

Paul Stephen / Staff

Tang Street

Soup dumplings have been available at this restaurant since it opened on the North Side along U.S. 281 in 2013, although youll have to hunt for them on the menu. Theyre listed as Steam Pork Buns and sold seven to an order for $7.99.

The broth in these dumplings is remarkably thick and full-bodied with a deep, porky flavor thats perfectly accompanied by a dipping sauce spiked with pungent scallion. But youll have to enjoy them on the go: Tang Street is currently open for takeout only.

Tang Street, 16111 San Pedro Ave., 210-490-1788, tangstreet.net, Facebook: Tang street Chinese restaurant

On ExpressNews.com: Soup dumplings star at new S.A. restaurant Tigers Chinese Cuisine

Paul Stephen / Staff

Tigers Chinese Cuisine

This newcomer from Houston arguably kicked off the recent soup dumpling craze in San Antonio when it opened in February. The restaurant has been packed since then, with most tables sporting at steamer basket loaded with soup dumplings. Theyre listed on the menu as xiaolongbao (10 dumplings for $9.95) and available with either pork or beef.

While not as brothy as other dumplings available in San Antonio, these have a very deep and savory flavor with well-seasoned meat and a touch of aromatics that require nothing more than a dribble of soy sauce to shine. Wash them down with an ice-cold Asahi or Tsing Tao beer for a perfect appetizer experience.

Tigers Chinese Cuisine, 12730 W. Interstate 10, Suite 312, 210-538-5080, tigerchinesecuisine.com, Facebook: Tigers Chinese Cuisine

pstephen@express-news.net | Twitter: @pjbites | Instagram: @pjstephen
BERLIN (AP)  A court has ruled that an Austrian man who kept his daughter captive for 24 years and fathered seven of her children should be moved from psychiatric detention to a normal prison.

However, Josef Fritzl will remain where he is while an appeal by prosecutors is under consideration.

Fritzl's crime was revealed in 2008. He was sentenced in 2009 to life imprisonment for incest, rape, coercion, false imprisonment, enslavement and for the negligent homicide of one of his infant sons.

A three-judge state court panel ruled that he now should be moved from psychiatric detention on the basis of a new assessment, court spokesman Ferdinand Schuster told the Austria Press Agency on Wednesday.

The panel at the state court in Krems set a 10-year probation period and other conditions.

Prosecutors appealed, sending the case to a higher court in Vienna. Fritzl, 87, will remain in a psychiatric facility while that court considers the appeal.

A previous decision to move Fritzl to a normal prison, based on a psychiatric assessment that he no longer posed a danger, was issued in Krems in September and overturned on appeal.

The higher court sent the case back to Krems in November, arguing that the state court provided insufficient reasoning for its decision.

The Krems court is legally obliged to review regularly whether holding Fritzl in a psychiatric facility remains justified.

Fritzls daughter disappeared in 1984 at age 18, re-emerging in 2008 from the dungeon-like basement chamber in the town of Amstetten where her father had kept her captive.
San Antonio police have identified two men who died in separate car crashes early Wednesday morning. The two incidents were a part of a deadly night on local roadways overnight Tuesday into the early morning hours of Wednesday.

Three died in vehicle crashes and a fourth died in a hit-and-run incident.

At about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, police said 27-year-old Angel Ray Reyes died after his vehicle hydroplaned and hit a pole in the 4000 block of Callaghan near the Loop 410 and Bandera intersection.

Officials said Reyes was not wearing his seat belt and suffered from head trauma. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Reyes's passenger was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

David Arthur Garza also died after he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a utility pole and a structure at around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to police. The crash occurred on Pecan Valley Drive between Kildare Avenue and Prestwick Drive on the Southeast Side.

Officials believe the 21-year-old was speeding around a corner when he lost control of his sedan. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

On ExpressNews.com: Report: H-E-Bs grip on the San Antonio market tightened in 2021, but a new competitor is on the way

Hours earlier police were called to the scene of a fatal hit-and rum on the South Side.

According to authorities, an individual was walking in the 8600 block of S. Zarzamora just after 9 p.m. Tuesday when they were hit by two vehicles. Police said the drivers of the vehicles fled the scene.

Police said they don't know why the person was in the middle of the road and don't have a description of the vehicles. If found, police said the drivers will face hit-and-run charges.

Authorities did not provide other details.

At around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, Bexar County sheriff's deputies responded to a head-on collision between a pickup and a car on Loop 1604 near the FM 1345 intersection.

The driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene, and the pickup's driver was taken to the hospital with serious bodily injuries.

taylor.pettaway@express-news.net
AP

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)  More than 500 Rohingya refugees escaped from detention in Malaysia on Wednesday following a protest but most were rearrested, immigration officials said.

The Immigration Department said 528 Rohingya fled after breaking a door and barrier grill at a temporary detention center in northern Penang state. Police and other agencies were deployed and rearrested 362 detainees, the department said in a statement.
To avoid a repeat of the mayhem at last years deadly Astroworld Festival, Texas needs to standardize its event permitting process, establish clearly outlined triggers for stopping shows and ensure local public safety agencies are organized in a clear chain of command during large events, a state task force recommended Tuesday.

The event permitting process currently is inconsistent across the state, which can lead to forum shopping by event promoters, according to the task force that recommended a universal permitting template with a standardized checklist for counties to consult before issuing permits.

The group, appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott after 10 people died from injuries sustained during rapper Travis Scotts show last November, also advised event promoters to develop unique contingency plans for venues including NRG Park  formed by a series of parking lots  that fans can easily stampede. The venue perimeter was breached at least eight times leading up to Scotts 2021 performance.

Presenting its findings in a nine-page report, the Texas Task Force on Concert Safety said its recommendations are narrowly tailored to address gaps that were identified as contributing to safety failures at the Astroworld event. Members of the task force who met over the last five months included law enforcement officials, public safety experts, state agency employees and music industry representatives.

While some level of risk is inherent in any mass gathering, it is the opinion of the [task force] that proper planning will allow Texans to enjoy safe performances, concerts, and other culturally significant events, the report reads.

More uniform permitting regulations would also help mitigate confusion that can arise at venues located under the jurisdiction of multiple government entities and public safety agencies, the report found.

The Astroworld Festival took place on Harris County property but lies within the city limits. The city approved all permits for the event, and the city fire marshal  who is responsible for inspecting the NRG Park facility under an agreement inked between the city and county in 2018  signed off on the site plan.

Still, the task force found there was no occupancy load issued for the event, which is typically determined by the Fire Department.

A consistent permitting process could have helped establish jurisdiction and authority over ultimate event shutdown in the face of a life-threatening incident, the report reads.

Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena said there was no occupancy permit for the Astroworld Festival because such permits do not exist for outdoor areas. The event organizers did secure permits required under the city fire code for pyrotechnics, tents and propane. The city released those and other permits in November.

The event was a county-sanctioned event on county property, Pena said Tuesday night, adding that he had not yet fully reviewed the task forces report.

The task force otherwise recommended that event organizers and local officials establish clearly outlined triggers for pausing or canceling shows, which should be outlined in event permit applications and agreed upon by public safety agencies.

Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

In the weeks after the Astroworld tragedy, the Chronicle conducted an investigation that identified critical failures by multiple authorities tasked with ensuring the safety of the audience that day, including inadequate and poorly trained security, deficient coordination between city officials and festival management, and a nearly hourlong delay in halting the show after the danger became apparent.

The investigation also revealed crucial decisions made during the planning of the event, including the venue layout, that experts said increased the likelihood something would go wrong and limited the ability of authorities to manage a crisis.

Marty Lancton, president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association and a member of Abbotts task force, said the group provided solid solutions for preventing another tragedy and vowed to work with Abbott and his staff to make sure they become law in Texas.

There would have been no lives lost if the policies contained in this report had been in place last fall, especially the requirement of a unified command and control for all first responders working the event, Lancton said. In the future, the Houston Fire Department must be the entity designated to fulfill that responsibility.

In the report, task force officials recommended that event promoters determine which fire, police and EMS agencies would respond to 911 calls on site, then ensure that members of those agencies be included in a centralized on-site command and control group.

The task force additionally highlighted the need for adequate training of security guards, though it did not recommend specific rules or guidelines. It also advised event promoters to team up with artists to encourage safe behavior, since messaging from the artist can be uniquely persuasive for fans.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, another task force - this one selected by city and county officials - continued to meet to review communication, protocols and permitting requirements locally. City officials had more to say about that task forces work than the one in Austin. Mary Benton, spokeswoman for Mayor Sylvester Turner, said the mayor has not yet reviewed the state task forces report but would do so soon. She said the local group continues to meet and will write its own report for Turner and Precinct 2 Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia.

The task force will incorporate nationally agreed principles and draw from national and international strategies, policies, guidelines, standards, and doctrine, Benton said. The work is multidisciplinary and will cover issues presented by crowded places and mass gatherings in general. The task force has already begun this work, met earlier today and has meetings planned in the future.

Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Personal injury lawyer Brent Coon, among the dozens of lawyers representing the thousands of plaintiffs in the litigation, said he could not discuss the governor's report because a gag order in the 11th District Court prohibits him from doing so. The order, which Judge Kristen Brauchle Hawkins signed in February, stemmed from the unusually emotional nature of the issue" and the extensive local and national media coverage surrounding the Astroworld incident and the fallout. The judge, however, did allow litigants to discuss what happens in court proceedings.

The gag order dominated the discussions at an appearance in March, with attempts by ABC News attorneys to clarify or vacate the order.

Coon suspects that the state report will be discussed at their next appointment April 25 in Hawkins' courtroom, thus putting their thoughts into the court record.

A representative for another plaintiff lawyer, Jason Itkins, declined to comment. Neal Manne, representing Live Nation in the case, did not return a call or email.

The Board of Judges of the Civil Trial Division of the Harris County District Courts decided in December to consolidate the more than 300 suits into one filing.

Staff writers Nicole Hensley, Sam Gonzalez Kelly, Dylan McGuinness and St. John Barned-Smith contributed to this report.

jasper.scherer@chron.com
Get used to seeing a lot more of former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro on television.

Already a regular contributor for MSNBC, Castro was given the chance to guest anchor a weekend news program on the national cable network for four hours over the weekend and is looking to build upon that experience.

When the opportunity came to guest host, I was happy to take it on, Castro said. Im excited for the opportunity to do more of it.

Castro said when he was in college at Stanford University, he started as a communications major with an eye toward becoming a journalist.

At one point I thought I was going to go into broadcast journalism, said Castro, the now 47-year-old attorney who is set to teach a Harvard Law School class this fall. The idea of doing this is not completely foreign to me. It was one of my passions early on.

While Castro, a 2020 presidential candidate, said hes been on television many times, it is a very different experience hosting where you are reading teleprompters and trying to take in all the cues happening on the set, while also paying attention to the back-and-forth with guests. He admitted a few moments of panic, but the production team for American Voices, the program he was hosting, kept him on track.

It also didnt hurt that the news over the weekend was dominated by Texas politics, specifically Gov. Greg Abbotts program that shut down border trade with Mexico for much of last week. Abbott had forced all incoming trucks from Mexico to undergo intensive safety inspections before getting on Texas highways. It resulted in normal 30-minute trips across the border taking some truckers well over 8 hours to get across. Abbott said the move was designed to make Texas roads safer and put financial pressure on Mexican officials to step up their border patrols.

Not surprisingly, the former Democratic candidate for president slammed Abbott for the move and spent a portion of his show on Saturday talking about its impact with a series of guests ranging from produce growers to political analysts.

Abbott deliberately chose to appeal to his base by way of unnecessarily creating a headache along these trade routes that are crucial to the American economy, Castro said as he introduced the story.

Castro said he looks forward to doing more television, but hes not quite saying goodbye to being in politics.

I cant say that its the end, Castro said.

But he added, Right now, no. I have no intention right now of jumping back in.

Castro, a Jefferson High School graduate, was mayor of San Antonio from 2009 to 2014, then became the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com
Basic training graduations on the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland parade grounds were a celebrated ritual until the coronavirus pandemic stopped it cold.

But the pomp, circumstance and music performed by a live recruit marching band will return on June 9, the Air Force said

The 37th Training Wing said recruits who began their training on Tuesday will be the first to graduate with a parade since March 6, 2020. It took until June of last year for guests to be allowed back, and other restrictions have gradually been lifted.

Thanks to the tremendous support of our Joint Base San Antonio mission partners, we have been able to gradually open up our graduations to an increased number of visitors, as well as return to the parade grounds, said Col. Rockie Wilson, the wings commander.

Word last week that the Air Force no longer requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination to observe the ceremonies is part of an improving health protection condition across the joint base. Mask-wearing was made optional last month.

The Air Education and Training Commands efforts to prevent the disease from slowing or stopping basic training led to dramatic changes that allowed 35,382 recruits to graduate in the first year of the pandemic compared to 37,000 in 2019. Around 2,100 recruits tested positive for the virus in that period but were successfully quarantined.

On ExpressNews.com: Masked and made over

For more than a year, family and friends watched graduation ceremonies over the training wings Facebook page. Those ceremonies initially were conducted at individual squadrons but were later moved to the Pfingston Reception Centers Airmans Arena.

During the hiatus, bleachers at the parade ground were upgraded, and repairs and improvements were made to the field irrigation system and restrooms, said Christa DAndrea, public affairs chief for the 37th Training Wing.

When the parades resume, the 433rd Training Squadron will be the first to celebrate both marching on the parade field and also standing in formation at the Airmans Arena the day before.

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Anyone with access to the base can attend both graduation events. Guests who do not already have an installation pass have to be invited by a graduate and vetted by Security Forces to receive one. Trainees can invite up to six such guests. Those under age 18 can accompany parents or guardians and dont need a separate pass.

We have fought hard for the past two years to keep our trainees, our staff and our community safe, and to ensure the basic training mission never missed a beat, Wilson said. The return of two-day graduations is an exciting moment for these graduates and their families.

sigc@express-news.net
The story of a MacArthur High School students untimely death has troubled the Texas Rangers for almost 28 years.

At 17, Samantha Zublionis decomposing body was discovered on a rural road south of Devine in September 1994. Authorities still don't know who killed her.

You might also like: There are 88 unsolved homicides in San Antonio since 1970. Here are some of the notable cold cases.

Zublionis death is one of a dozen of the Texas Rangers top cold cases on the Department of Public Safetys website.

She was last seen alive on Aug. 30, 1994, shortly after she started work at a Wendys restaurant on Nacogdoches Road near Loop 410. Her body was discovered days later by a rancher in rural Frio County, over 60 miles southwest of San Antonio.

It is believed that Zublionis' body was dumped in the area well after she died, then-acting Frio County Chief Deputy Robert Hatcher told the Express-News in 1994.

Texas Department of Public Safety

At the time of her disappearance, Zublionis was in the process of getting her own apartment, according to the Department of Public Safetys website. She was temporarily staying at the homes of different friends. Her last known address was the Danbury Apartments in Northeast San Antonio.

Crime Stoppers is offering a $3,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for her death.

Anyone with information on the homicide is asked to submit a tip anonymous by calling the Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-252-8477.

timothy.fanning@express-news.net
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SAN ANTONIO  It took a federal judge, the head of the U.S. General Services Administration and two federal lawmakers several snips with giant scissors to cut the stubborn ceremonial ribbon, but not even that minor snag stood in the way of finally opening San Antonios new federal courthouse.

More than 400 people  many of them local, state and federal dignitaries, judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers  gathered for Wednesdays dedication inside the 235,000-square-foot building at West Nueva and Santa Rosa streets.

The grand opening also included 15 immigrants taking the oath of U.S. citizenship.

By the end of the ceremony, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez  the judiciarys point person on the building  smiled as he was given a standing ovation for his efforts over nearly 20 years in trying to get the courthouse project done. For two decades, judges had been seeking a new building to replace the aging John H. Wood federal courthouse, a midcentury landmark that was originally the Confluence Theatre for HemisFair 68.

Besides housing eight courtrooms and judicial offices, the new courthouse also serves as the headquarters for the U.S. Marshals Service, Probation, Pretrial Services and Court Clerk for the Western District of Texas. It also has offices for the GSA, the federal governments landlord, and the U.S. Attorneys Office and Office of the Federal Public Defender.

Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News

This is one of those once-in-a-generation investments that you are sitting in the middle of, GSA administrator Robin Carnahan, whose agency was a key player in the project, told the crowd. She added that that there are $30 billion more in projects to come to Texas under the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including border crossing improvements in Brownsville and El Paso.

Carnahan and Rodriguez joined Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-San Antonio; and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, in recognizing several people who were involved in the courthouse project over the years.

In 2008, the GSA approved a 305,000-square-foot facility as judges and the GSA worked out a land-swap deal with the city for the current site. But Congress failed to fund the new courthouse.

In 2015, local media outlets detailed the condition of the Wood courthouse  high levels of lead in the drinking water, flea infestations, security issues, mold, fire hazards, a crumbling foundation, heating and cooling problems, flooding and other issues. San Antonios congressional delegation, including Cuellar, pursued funding in the House for the building. A delegation of city leaders traveled to Washington to meet with Cornyn for help in the Senate.

By that time, the Administrative Office of the Courts had dropped the San Antonio courthouse from No. 3 to No. 8 on a five-year plan that ranks courthouses based on a perceived need.

Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News

We didnt just have to move a mountain, we had to move a whole mountain range, Cornyn said.

Cornyn lobbied Senate colleagues in important appropriations posts, and brought one of them to tour the Wood courthouse.

What we saw that day was dangerous and more than a little bit embarrassing, in terms of the facilities we expect our judges to work in, the marshals, the jurors  everybody associated with the courthouse, Cornyn said.

The efforts led to $144 million being earmarked for the project  about $117.5 million for construction and the rest for site acquisition. Cuellar said the effort also helped fund the federal courthouse projects for the other seven cities ahead of San Antonio on that list.

But even after funding was secured, Austin-based White Construction Co., the original construction manager, determined that building a 305,000-square-foot courthouse would cost close to $180 million  about $60 million more than the $117.5 million budgeted. White left the project and the 305,000-square-foot facility was scaled down to its current size. A new builder, Brasfield & Gorrie of Birmingham, Ala., was chosen to build the renditions of architects Munoz & Co. and Lake | Flato Architects, both of San Antonio.

Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News

In an interview, Carnahan detailed finishes of the building, which include local stone and native plants to complement its setting along San Pedro Creek. She also noted about $400,000 was used through the GSA Art in Architecture Program to commission the artwork of Laredo-born artist Thomas Glassford. His vibrant abstract mural called Riparian Nexus hangs on a wall in the courthouse atrium that incorporates elements of San Antonios landscape, as well as traditional justice symbols in a work that depicts that justice should flow freely. Glassford also created a long, bulbous glass sculpture that hangs from the atrium ceiling and a separate metal sculpture that adorns the exterior of the courthouses western end. They are abstract representations of the scales of justice, officials said.

Carnahan also stressed an important feature of the building  it is designed to save 30 percent in electricity, saving taxpayers money. She lauded that the courthouse came in under budget  at about $132 million  and on time, despite supply chain issues and the pandemic.

When you get something like this on time and under budget in this kind of environment, its something to be really proud of, Carnahan said.

The building is called the United States Courthouse, and renaming it would required an act of Congress. A niche on the third floor contains a plaque and the judicial robe of Judge Wood, who was killed in a murder-for-hire plot in May 1979, to honor his legacy.

The city has not disclosed plans for the old Wood building.

guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
KIN MAN HUI/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

San Antonio police are investigating a sexual assault at Brooks Collegiate Academy after allegations of an incident involving a student and a school subcontractor.

In an email to the Express-News, Brooks Academies Superintendent Lisa Freeman Schutz said school officials were made aware of an on-campus incident involving a student and a vendors employee.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg will be fasting on Friday in solidarity with local Muslim communities to help raise money for charity.

Nirenberg, 45, grew up in an interfaith family with a Jewish father and a Catholic mother and said in an interview with the Express-News on Wednesday that it is important to celebrate the traditions of all religious communities in San Antonio.

On Friday, the mayor will attend the Muslim Children Education and Civic Center's "Fastathon" event to break his fast with other city officials and community members. Muslims are currently observing Ramadan, in which they fast from sunrise to sunset daily for a month. Their fasting ends May 1.

On ExpressNews.com: A broken system got worse: How COVID ravaged San Antonios South Side

While Nirenberg doesn't take part in a full month of fasting, he still finds it challenging, even if it's for one day. This is not the first time he has participated in fasting for the cause.

"When I'm fasting, the job of mayor doesn't change, so I'm still holding meetings and speaking at events," he said. "It's sometimes challenging because some of those meetings take place in restaurants."

As a practicing Christian, he said he recognizes the importance of fasting as a spiritual exercise as well as an exercise in self-discipline.

Friday's event is the fifth time the "Fastathon" will take place and is open to all individuals who wish to fast for a day regardless of their religious background. The event was canceled the last two years because of the pandemic.

The mosque will donate $100 on each person's behalf to the Family Violence Prevention Services, a local shelter that aids women and children in their recovery from domestic violence.

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"The motivation of the fast is more about elevating the unique voices in our community and making sure that the Muslim community, in particular, feels that their mayor also represents them," Nirenberg said. "The donations are an added bonus and a wonderful demonstration of (the mosque's) commitment to the community at large."

Nirenberg and District 8 city councilman Manny Pelaez attended the last "Fastathon" event in 2019, when $9,500 was raised for Child Adovcates San Antonio.

District 1 City Councilman Mario Bravo is expected to join the mosque in fasting this year, according to event organizer Sakib Shaikh.

Malak.Silmi@express-news.net
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The city has reached a settlement with relatives of Antronie Scott, an unarmed Black man who was fatally shot by a San Antonio police officer in 2016.

Terms of the tentative deal were not disclosed because it still needs to be approved by City Council, lawyers wrote in a court notice. Plaintiffs lawyer Daryl Washington and city spokeswoman Laura Mayes declined Wednesday to disclose the amount until the settlement is considered by council as soon as next week.

The agreement canceled a federal trial that was scheduled to start Thursday on a consolidated lawsuit brought by the widow and mother of Scott, 36, who was shot by police officer John Lee on Feb. 4, 2016.

On ExpressNews.com: Wife of unarmed man shot by San Antonio police officer sues

According to police, Scott was wanted on two felony warrants and was being followed by undercover officers with the Repeat Offenders Program. They watched as Scott drove to the Wood Hollow Apartments, 10362 Sahara St., at about 6:45 p.m. and then called for a uniformed officer to approach him, Police Chief William McManus said at the time.

McManus said Lee arrived at the complex and pulled up to Scotts car, a white Mercedes sedan. Lee fired at Scott as he got out of his car and turned to face the officers, holding what Lee said he thought was a gun but turned out to be a cellphone.

Scott, who was shot in the upper torso, died at the scene as his wife sat in the passenger seat of their Mercedes.

On ExpressNews.com: Man wanted on two felony warrants, shot dead by police, was unarmed

McManus placed Lee on administrative leave and issued a contemplated indefinite suspension (tantamount to a firing) immediately after the shooting, drawing backlash from the police union.

A month later, in March 2016, the chief instead decided to provide Lee with more training.

According to McManus, Lee had put his vehicle too closely to Scotts car during the traffic stop, putting Lee in a tactically poor situation.

The chief also considered that Lee was following instructions from undercover detectives.

The case brought attention to SAPDs tactics and use of force. McManus decisions in the case led to a vote of no-confidence from the San Antonio Police Officers Association.

Union officials said then that use of force was not rampant in the department.

Officers also reportedly felt McManus was folding to community pressure while ignoring how Lee had been trying to arrest Scott for outstanding felonies that included possession of a firearm.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonians remember those who were fatally shot by police or died after violent encounters with officers

At the time of the shooting, Lee had four incidents on his file; two of them were accidents.

In 2020, District Attorney Joe Gonzales said he would not reopen the controversial criminal case, saying his predecessor had properly handled the criminal portion of the case.

Lee, who had been with SAPD since February 2004, left the department on Feb. 13, 2020, according to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records. He died July 2020, according to news reports at the time.

guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
Republicans are always eager to tackle immigration, even though theyre the ones who usually get flattened in the process.

It seems that many in the GOP cant help but say and do the wrong things when they think about foreigners streaming into the United States  legally or otherwise.

That is, except for light-skinned Ukrainians. Republicans seem perfectly at ease with the fact that, according to the Biden administration, more than 5,000 refugees from Ukraine have entered the United States in the nearly two months since the Russian invasion began.

And to think, not long ago, I applauded how Republicans  at least some of them  approached immigration.

This was in 2006, shortly after former President George W. Bush  a Republican who won 44 percent of the Latino vote in his 2004 re-election bid  kicked off the modern debate over comprehensive immigration reform.

Bush said he wanted to grant earned legal status to the undocumented, modernize border security and pair up willing Mexican workers with U.S. employers to do jobs that Americans wont do.

Today, youll often hear liberals say that when it comes to immigration, Republicans have no heart. But what is really troubling is that, on this issue, a lot of Republicans dont use their brains.

In 16 years, the GOP has gone from compassionate to comical.

Consider the antics of the Republican version of Tweedledee and Tweedledum: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Abbott recently took a wrong turn when he launched the first-ever woke immigrant caravan. To get media attention, he dispatched a charter bus to Washington, D.C., carrying 23 migrants who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into the Lone Star State. Another bus followed. Abbott says he also plans to send charter flights full of migrants to the nations capital.

Bold move? Not as bold as you might think. You see, before Abbott became governor, he served as Texas attorney general. As a lawyer who is wrapping himself in a rule of law shtick, he certainly didnt want to create the appearance that he was kidnapping these poor people or trafficking undocumented immigrants across state lines.

So Abbott made clear that the migrants in his stunt were being voluntarily transported and had already been processed by the Department of Homeland Security.

At first, I thought the Texas governors stunt was obnoxious. But in time, I understood it was just lame.

When reporters interviewed the folks who had been dropped off a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol, some said they wanted to take advantage of the offer of a free ride out of Texas. Who could blame them? But, they said, their ultimate destination  while they waited out the time until their court hearing  was New York or Miami.

Meanwhile, migrants beware: Miami is in Florida. Talk about going from the frying pan to the fire. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently warned migrants who got dumped in Washington not to head to the Sunshine State.

The governors office said in a statement: To those who have entered the country illegally, fair warning: Do not come to Florida. Life will not be easy for you, because we are obligated to uphold the immigration laws of this country, even if our federal government and other states wont.

Gee, Florida, sanctimonious much?

DeSantis is a graduate of Harvard Law School who must have been absent the day they taught Constitution 101. States are not obligated to enforce federal immigration law. In fact, they are prohibited from doing so.

Besides, its not like the federal government  and its 20,000 Border Patrol agents  have quit their day jobs. Sometimes it seems all the Biden administration does is enforce immigration law, often employing the same grotesque tactics Trump used.

Above all, its absurd for DeSantis to warn migrants and refugees that life will not be easy in Florida. Their lives have not been easy. They didnt travel thousands of miles in search of easy.

In fact, when migrants and refugees go to work, theyre going to make life easy for native Floridians by doing their chores for them.

Where do we find governors like this? And wherever that place is, do they have a return policy?
City Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia felt bittersweet relief when COVID-19 vaccines became available.

The breakthrough came too late for the seven family members she lost to the coronavirus, but it would certainly boost her constituents chances of surviving COVID-19.

It was around Christmas 2020, and San Antonios leaders scrambled to set up mass vaccination sites for the most vulnerable: front-line workers and the elderly. The inoculations would soon be offered to those with underlying health conditions and, several months later, to all adults.

The Metropolitan Health District established a vaccine hub at the Alamodome near downtown, while the countys public hospital system, University Health, set up at Wonderland of the Americas, a Northwest Side shopping mall. UT Health San Antonio administered shots from its medical school campus in the South Texas Medical Center on the Northwest Side.

There would be no vaccination sites on the South Side of San Antonio.

Not again, thought Rocha Garcia, whose District 4 stretches across swaths of the citys South and West sides. It would be several more weeks before the vaccine would be available at pharmacies and small clinics.

She feared that her constituents would have a harder time than most traveling to the Alamodome or farther away for the vaccine. Residents in her district are disproportionately at risk from the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

Rocha Garcias anxiety touched on a rarely discussed reality of life in San Antonio: Your health, as well as your quality of life and opportunities, are powerfully influenced by where you live.

Public health experts say place has played an outsize role in determining who contracted COVID-19 and who died from it.

Methodology: The Express-News analyzed 50 years of census data, redlining data from the University of Richmond and information from the city's COVID-19 dashboard. Take an in-depth look at our methodology. Data analysis by Libby Seline.

Epidemiologists look at the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in each ZIP code to compare rates of vaccination, confirmed infections and deaths. Congregate settings such as jails, nursing homes, homeless shelters and military barracks are excluded from the data.

An analysis by the Express-News found that COVID-19 infections have been more prevalent and more deadly among people living in the southern parts of the city, where the population is 81 percent Hispanic.

For example, residents in the 78224 ZIP code, which includes South Park Mall and Palo Alto College and has a population of 20,393, have died of COVID-19 at a rate of 677 per 100,000 people since the start of the pandemic.

Josie Norris / San Antonio Express-News Billy Calzada, Staff / Billy Calzada Josie Norris / San Antonio Express-News Josie Norris / San Antonio Express-News Clockwise from top left: San Antonio City Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia, outside her District 4 council office, lost seven members of her family due to COVID-19 five months before the first vaccines were distributed. The pandemic has been devastating for the community she grew up in and represents as an elected official. Rocha Garcia receives a sign-of-the-cross blessing from her mother, Petra Rocha, as she says goodbye to her father, Valeriano Rocha. Andrea Osorio, 47, Osorio kisses her 16-year-old son, Oscar Sanchez-Osorio, at home on the Southwest Side of San Antonio. Osorio makes cafe de olla for herself and Vanesa Ramirez, 53. Because of their undocumented immigration status, both women avoid seeking health care due to fear of being deported. Both work as housekeepers, putting them at increased risk of exposure to the coronavirus. (Photos by Josie Norris and Billy Calzada) Clockwise from top left: San Antonio City Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia, outside her District 4 council office, lost seven members of her family due to COVID-19 five months before the first vaccines were distributed. The pandemic has been devastating for the community she grew up in and represents as an elected official. Rocha Garcia receives a sign-of-the-cross blessing from her mother, Petra Rocha, as she says goodbye to her father, Valeriano Rocha. Andrea Osorio, 47, Osorio kisses her 16-year-old son, Oscar Sanchez-Osorio, at home on the Southwest Side of San Antonio. Osorio makes cafe de olla for herself and Vanesa Ramirez, 53. Because of their undocumented immigration status, both women avoid seeking health care due to fear of being deported. Both work as housekeepers, putting them at increased risk of exposure to the coronavirus. (Photos by Josie Norris and Billy Calzada)

That death rate is 16 times higher than in the 78256 ZIP code on the Northwest Side, which includes The Shops at La Cantera and the University of Texas at San Antonios main campus and has a population of 14,074. There, the coronavirus fatality rate is 43 per 100,000 people.

The more populous 78258 ZIP code on the North Side, which has nearly 50,000 residents and includes much of Stone Oak, has a COVID-19 death rate of 232 per 100,000 people  one-third the rate of the South Side ZIP code.

Overall, the data show that poorer neighborhoods in the southern part of the city have COVID-19 mortality rates more than double that of Bexar County overall (328 per 100,000 people), the state of Texas (303), and the nation (302).

Long before the coronavirus pandemic, people on the South Side have been sicker and have had poorer health outcomes.

The reasons are cumulative and complex, starting with racially-biased government policies decades ago that intentionally pushed Hispanic, primarily Mexican American, residents into less desirable parts of the city with weaker infrastructure and less public investment  stunting the economic prospects of thousands of San Antonio families for generations.

The effects of such inequities are still visible today, leaving those who reside in the southern third of the city with less access to medical care, healthy food and opportunities for advancement.

COVID-19 shined a harsh light on and further exacerbated systemic inequities, especially for Latinos, said Amelie Ramirez, chair of the department of population health sciences and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio.

Ramirez, an expert on health disparities, said the scientific literature suggests there is a dose-response relationship between social risk factors and health.

Simply put, the more social needs a person has, the higher the risk for poor health outcomes.

Crisis before COVID

The Express-News examined certain factors  referred to as social determinants of health  within San Antonio census tracts to assess residents vulnerability to COVID-19. They include rates of diabetes and obesity, educational attainment, household income, frequency of visits to doctors and the distance to the nearest hospital.

The analysis, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that the census tracts hardest hit by COVID-19 tend to have higher rates of diabetes and obesity, lower levels of education and substantially lower household incomes.

The most heavily affected areas tend to be farther from hospitals, and adult residents are less likely to have visited a doctor for a routine checkup within the past year.

A look at social determinants of health in two census tracts shows the role theyve played during COVID-19.

One tract bounded by Interstate 35 South, Pleasanton Road and West Southcross Boulevard has an 88 percent Hispanic population. The median income is $35,922, and only 20.2 percent of adult residents have obtained a degree or equivalent beyond a high school diploma.

The other tract is bounded by Lockhill Selma Road, Loop 1604 and Huebner Road and has a population that is 90 percent white. The median income is $243,125  second highest in the city  and 93 percent of adult residents have some form of higher education.

In the less affluent tract, more than 44 percent of adults are obese and 24 percent have diabetes, compared to the wealthier tract, where roughly 27 percent of adults are obese and 10.5 percent have diabetes.

Obesity is a strong risk factor for severe infection and death from COVID-19. Excess body fat can lead to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Metro Health has identified those three conditions as the most prevalent comorbidities among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Bexar County.

The prevalence of diabetes tends to be far greater in impoverished neighborhoods. Based on 2019 Census Bureau estimates, 25.7 percent of adults living near Lanier High School on the West Side, in one of the citys poorest school districts, San Antonio Independent School District, were diagnosed with diabetes, compared with 9 percent of adults who live in Alamo Heights, which is the citys wealthiest school district in terms of taxable property value per student.

Close to home

In summer 2020, 15 members of Councilwoman Rocha Garcias family were hospitalized with the coronavirus not long after they had all gathered for Fathers Day.

Seven of them died: Paula Pali Castillo, Paulas son Samuelito Castillo, Francisco Pancho Rodriguez, Pura Rodriguez, Gerardo Lalo Garcia, Martha Garcia and Ismael Rocha. They ranged in age from 38 to 78.

One of the deceased, Rocha Garcias favorite uncle, lived in Mexico. The rest were cousins who lived on the West Side of San Antonio, including three women who helped raise her.

Initially, she didnt want to talk about it publicly out of respect for her family members. Weeks later, Mayor Ron Nirenberg asked her to reconsider.

He said this is probably happening to other families, and they need to see that theres still hope, she recalled. Theres an opportunity to remind them that to love their family is to take care of them by wearing a mask and by social distancing.

She agreed. Minutes before she intended to discuss it during an online City Council meeting, she got a call from her priest, followed by an urgent text, informing her that a friend from the church had died.

I think that was the first time I ever cried publicly, she said. I felt the need to tell as many people as possible so that they can protect themselves.  It was just so scary.

In all, COVID-19 took three members of her church family from Divine Providence Catholic Church on Old Pearsall Road, not far from her districts office and where she grew up in Indian Creek.

Once vaccines were authorized for emergency use in December 2020, she was determined to ensure that her community had access.

Rocha Garcia and three other councilwomen referred to as the mujeres (the women)  Ana Sandoval of District 7; Rebecca Viagran, then the District 3 representative; and Shirley Gonzales, then of District 5  scouted places to set up vaccine sites closer to their constituents than the Alamodome, which is near downtown on the citys East Side.

Josie Norris / San Antonio Express-News Josie Norris / San Antonio Express-News (Left) Martha Castilla visits her client Andrea Osorio in San Antonio. Castilla is a promotora de salud  a type of community health worker who works to provide resources in underserved, Spanish-speaking communities. (Right) Oscar Sanchez and Andrea Osorio share a laugh as they prepare dinner for their family. Oscar is a construction worker, and Andrea is a housekeeper; neither has health insurance. They seek medical care only when absolutely necessary for fear of revealing their immigration status. (Photos by Josie Norris) (Left) Martha Castilla visits her client Andrea Osorio in San Antonio. Castilla is a promotora de salud  a type of community health worker who works to provide resources in underserved, Spanish-speaking communities. (Right) Oscar Sanchez and Andrea Osorio share a laugh as they prepare dinner for their family. Oscar is a construction worker, and Andrea is a housekeeper; neither has health insurance. They seek medical care only when absolutely necessary for fear of revealing their immigration status. (Photos by Josie Norris)

Rocha Garcia said they were touring Palo Alto Colleges natatorium when they learned that WellMed, which operates 10 medical clinics in Bexar County, had offered to operate two major vaccination sites for the city.

One was on the South Side, at the Elvira Cisneros Senior Community Center at 517 S.W. Military Drive. The other was on the West Side, at the Alicia Trevino Lopez Senior Center at 8353 Culebra Road.

WellMed, a privately owned primary care provider, also staffed a phone line so that people with limited or no internet access could schedule vaccine appointments.

This felt like a win, Rocha Garcia said. But it didnt take long for residents from across the city and beyond to jam the phone lines in search of a shot.

On the third day after the vaccine appointment hotline went live, WellMed received at least 2.5 million calls, making it hard for residents living near the senior centers to access the vaccination sites. It was an unintended consequence of setting up an open system, but it was also another obstacle for South Siders.

In another sign of stark disparities in medical infrastructure and access to health care, the first state-allocated COVID-19 vaccine doses for medical workers went to every major hospital system in Bexar County  but not to Texas Vista Medical Center, the sole hospital serving the citys Southwest Side.

The privately-owned, 325-bed hospital lacked the freezers needed to store the first version of the vaccine. Texas Vista, formerly Southwest General Hospital, was able to vaccinate its front-line employees in those early weeks only because other providers shared their allotments.

Miscommunication

Rocha Garcias parents, who immigrated from Mexico, primarily speak Spanish.

She was thinking of them two years ago when cruise ship passengers stricken by COVID-19 arrived at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, bringing the risk of infection to the city for the first time. Rocha Garcia was present when city officials conducted a news conference  in English.

At that point, the general public knew little about the virus and how to avoid infection. It gnawed at Rocha Garcia that whatever information was available would be lost on those without a strong grasp of English.

In parts of Rocha Garcias district, Spanish is the primary language spoken in as many as 72 percent of households and at least 81 percent identify as Latino, according to census data.

Nobody had delivered the message in Spanish, Rocha Garcia recalled. When it was her turn at the lectern, she repeated her comments in Spanish. We had people translating, but I felt it was important for someone to communicate directly in Spanish to make sure that people understood that this was very dangerous.

Rocha Garcia, who teaches marketing at Our Lady of the Lake University, also criticized the public health departments heavy reliance on social media in its initial communications about COVID.

A lot of folks in my district dont use the internet, she said. Were saying all these things on social media and giving tips, but how are we communicating with them?

In Rocha Garcias district, 23 percent of households do not have broadband internet access.

So the councilwoman asked city-owned CPS Energy to print the citys COVID hotline number on customer bills. She also asked Clear Channel Outdoor to list it on billboards and church leaders to place it on their marquees and bulletins.

She then asked the city to distribute door hangers with information about the pandemic. I was told no. And so I asked for robo-calls, and I was told no.

She told colleagues she would do it anyway and pay for it from her District 4 council budget. She bought postcards and sent recorded messages by phone, advising residents to wear face masks, wash hands frequently and avoid crowded places.

Eventually, she said, Metro Health distributed door hangers with COVID-19 information and made a point of providing public health messages in Spanish and English.

But a year later, when it came to sending out public health communication on the vaccines, Metro Health fumbled.

A bilingual door hanger included a translation error on the Spanish side that incorrectly said undocumented people were ineligible for vaccination.

Undocumented

That misstep couldnt have affected a more vulnerable population, said Martha Castilla, a promotora de salud  or community health worker in Spanish. She makes home visits in Spanish-speaking communities for the South Texas Area Health Education Center.

An estimated 151,000 foreign-born individuals in San Antonio are potentially at risk of deportation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The vast majority are Hispanic or Latino and have lived and worked here for years. Many are reluctant to ask for help for fear it could expose their undocumented status.

They can be among those who need help most and are least able to access it. Such families, for example, did not qualify for the federal COVID-19 stimulus payments that kept others afloat during the pandemic.

Castilla met recently with two undocumented women  Andrea Osorio and Vanesa Ramirez, who also is a promotora de salud  at Osorios home on the South Side. Over cups of cafe de olla, a sweetened coffee drink, they discussed their difficulties accessing health care and coping with COVID-19.

Osorio, 47, from Mexico, doesnt qualify for CareLink, a financial assistance program offered by the county hospital. And she doesnt want to risk applying for Medicaid for her children because of the risk of a federal crackdown on undocumented applicants.

I tried to buy health insurance, but you need a Social Security number, she said.

Josie Norris / San Antonio Express-News

A wall across from a large wooden dining table is decorated with a hand-painted mantra in Spanish: Siembra pensamientos cosecha resultados. Osorio said it translates roughly as: Everything you think (positive or negative) will be the results in your life.

Ramirez, 53, fled Nicaragua 19 years ago. She says she wouldnt feel safe returning. When she was a girl, her mother was abducted and her father killed because he worked for the Somoza government when it was overthrown by revolutionaries in 1979.

Ramirez, who has worked as a housekeeper and nanny, doesnt want to do anything that would call attention to her immigration status because it could result in her being separated from her family. Her husband, daughter and three grandchildren are U.S. citizens.

She said that like most of the women she assists as a promotora, she skips regular medical and dental treatments.

Front-line workers

Osorio works seven days a week cleaning houses.

When hundreds of thousands of San Antonians were hunkered down in their homes to avoid the coronavirus, women like her had no choice but to go into other peoples houses.

Census Bureau data shows that people who live on the South and West sides of the city are far more likely to work as maids, cashiers, cooks, janitors, home health aides, retail salespeople and restaurant servers  public-facing jobs with a higher risk of exposure to the coronavirus.

Fewer than 1 in 6 Latinos nationally were able to work from home during the pandemic, compared with 1 in 4 white workers.

Many of our marginalized communities were not really in a position where they could actually just stop going to work because they didnt have the opportunity to work remotely, said Jason Rosenfeld, an assistant professor of global health at UT Health San Antonio.

Rosenfeld leads a federally funded initiative called Health Confianza for Metro Health focused on improving health literacy in 22 ZIP codes in the city.

One of those ZIP codes is 78242 on the Southwest Side, where Osorio and her family live.

She made sure to get vaccinated but suffered a breakthrough infection after her youngest son contracted the virus at school. She missed work for a week without the benefit of paid sick leave.

Osorio paid out of pocket to be seen at a clinic on Southwest Military Drive that markets itself to Hispanic consumers. She checked in every two days to make sure her oxygen levels were satisfactory so she didnt have to go to the hospital.

Osorios household includes her husband, an 11-year-old, a 16-year-old, an adult daughter who is a teacher and Osorios 75-year-old father, who works outside the home.

Castilla, the promotora, said undocumented immigrants arent the only people who fall through the cracks. She is board president of Edgewood ISD on the West Side, where she co-founded a nonprofit to help families access health care, overcome educational barriers and cope with domestic violence.

Castilla learned that one student came home from school to find her mother had died of COVID-19.

Dr. Jason Morrow, a hospice and palliative medicine specialist who treats terminally ill COVID-19 patients at University Hospital, said the pandemic revealed problems in the health care system.

This crisis occurs in the setting of an existing crisis,  making a broken system worse, Morrow said. It managed to deepen the fault lines between the haves and the have-nots.

Morrow, an associate professor at UT Health San Antonio, and his team have now worked through four major surges in hospitalizations. They were often the ones holding the hands of patients as they died from the virus. Most were Hispanic.

Latinos are 61 percent of Bexar County residents. According to Metro Health, among cases in which race and ethnicity data were available, Latinos accounted for 70 percent of the countys COVID-19 cases and 67 percent of deaths.

Born & Raised

Dr. Ray Altamirano practices family medicine at Casa Salud, a primary care clinic he founded on the South Side, where he grew up as the son of Mexican immigrants.

Patients at Casa Salud pay $100 per visit, a flat fee that includes basic lab work. Altamirano doesnt accept insurance, saying its his way of pushing back against a broken health care system that caters to the rich and fails the poor.

His mother worked at a Levi Strauss Inc. jeans factory until it closed abruptly in 1990 when the company moved production to Costa Rica. His father owned a meat market. He and his siblings made barbacoa and chicharones on weekends to sell at the store  his parents way of instilling a strong work ethic.

Josie Norris / San Antonio Express-News Josie Norris / San Antonio Express-News Dr. Ray Altamirano displays paintings he created on the walls of Casa Salud Family Medicine Clinic, which he founded on the Southwest Side, where he was raised. The clinic allows patients to pay a flat $100 fee for each visit regardless of insurance status. Meanwhile, Altamirano sells his art to help patients who cant afford medical care. Many patients, he said, would otherwise fall through the cracks and have exhausted other local financial aid programs. He also works nights at a freestanding emergency care center on the Southeast Side. (Photos by Josie Norris) Dr. Ray Altamirano displays paintings he created on the walls of Casa Salud Family Medicine Clinic, which he founded on the Southwest Side, where he was raised. The clinic allows patients to pay a flat $100 fee for each visit regardless of insurance status. Meanwhile, Altamirano sells his art to help patients who cant afford medical care. Many patients, he said, would otherwise fall through the cracks and have exhausted other local financial aid programs. He also works nights at a freestanding emergency care center on the Southeast Side. (Photos by Josie Norris)

Altamirano was valedictorian of Harlandale High Schools class of 1998. After earning a medical degree from Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in Mexico, through a program with New York Medical College, he decided to open a clinic in his old neighborhood, where he believed he could make the biggest difference.

Im 78214 born and raised, he said.

His practice at Casa Salud has shown him the pandemics long-term effects on peoples lives.

For patients who survived the virus, its lingering effects prevent them from supporting their families as they did before. Some cant afford certain treatments for COVID-induced conditions.

One patient, a roofer, suffered shortness of breath for six months after contracting COVID  so he lost his job.

A patient with diabetes survived COVID but no longer responds to medication to lower blood sugar. The patient now depends on insulin to survive.

Theres odd things happening to them that I cant explain, Altamirano said, and Im seeing it much more in my unvaccinated patients.

Hes describing long COVID  the lasting side effects that an estimated 23 million Americans experience after recovering from the coronavirus.

Altamirano also worries about misinformation surrounding COVID vaccines. He said it breeds mistrust in medicine, which could be very damaging to people on the South Side, where many are predisposed to suffer from diabetes, obesity and other conditions.

In the beginning, they said flatten the curve, but that requires resources and we already had none, Altamirano said. Flattening the curve is a lot different when youre talking about Stone Oak versus here. Theres so much more chronic illness here.

Bob Owen / Express-News

Laura Garcia reported on health disparities as a USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism 2021 National Fellow and a grantee of its Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism.

Data reporter Libby Seline and business reporter Diego Mendoza-Moyers contributed to this article. Assistant city editor Tony Quesada edited the series. Digital presentation by Chris Quinn.
Doctors and nurses of the 20th Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent to Lebanon offer emergency treatment to a severely injured Indonesian peacekeeper in the emergency room in the Chinese Hospital of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on April 16, 2022. (Photo by Yang Xinhui)

BEIRUT, April 19 -- On April 16, local time, the Indonesian Battalion of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) embraced a serious vehicle accident when performing a construction mission. Two Indonesian peacekeepers got injured in the accident, and one of them was in critical condition. Upon receiving the rescue order, the 20th Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent to Lebanon immediately carried out first aid to the two injured and transferred the critically injured to the emergency room of the UNIFIL Chinese level-II Hospital.

Diagnosis by the orthopaedic doctor showed that the seriously injured Indonesian peacekeeper had suffered severe spinal cord injury, and his condition might worsen in no time. Considering that a long and bumpy transfer by vehicle would aggravate his condition, the Chinese Level-II Hospital contacted the UNIFIL medical evacuation department at once to apply for an emergency air evacuation.

After the UNIFIL rescue helicopter arrived, medical staff from the Chinese medical contingent and the French aviation medical team conducted handover of the information of the injured and related medical documents. After his vitals stabilized, the injured was transferred onboard the helicopter and evacuated to an upper level hospital of the UNIFIL. The injured has received effective treatment in time.

Since its deployment to the mission area on July 28, 2021, the 20th Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent to Lebanon has treated more than 2,800 UNIFIL service members and civil staff members.
Above: Syria's Al Qaeda-linked al-Nusra. Obama officials now back in office under President Biden coordinated with the jihadist franchise in an effort to topple the Syrian regime  while claiming they backed only the "moderate opposition."

By Aaron Mate, RealClearInvestigations

April 20, 2022

Hours after the Feb. 3 U.S. military raid in northern Syria that left the leader of ISIS and multiple family members dead, President Biden delivered a triumphant White House address.

The late-night Special Forces operation in Syria's Idlib province, Biden proclaimed, was a "testament to Americas reach and capability to take out terrorist threats no matter where they hide around the world."

Unmentioned by the president, and virtually all media accounts of the assassination, was the critical role that top members of his administration played during the Obama years in creating the Al Qaeda-controlled hideout where ISIS head Abu Ibrahim al-Qurayshi, as well as his slain predecessor, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, found their final refuge.

In waging a multi-billion dollar covert war in support of the insurgency against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, top Obama officials who now serve under Biden made it American policy to enable and arm terrorist groups that attracted jihadi fighters from across the globe. This regime change campaign, undertaken one decade after Al Qaeda attacked the U.S. on 9/11, helped a sworn U.S. enemy establish the Idlib safe haven that it still controls today.

A concise articulation came from Jake Sullivan to his then-State Department boss Hillary Clinton in a February 2012 email: "AQ [Al Qaeda] is on our side in Syria."

Sullivan, the current national security adviser, is one of many officials who oversaw the Syria proxy war under Obama to now occupy a senior post under Biden. This group includes Secretary of State Antony Blinken, climate envoy John Kerry, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, NSC Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk, and State Department Counselor Derek Chollet.

Their efforts to remake the Middle East via regime change, not just in Syria but earlier in Libya, led to the deaths of Americans  including Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other U.S. officials in Benghazi in 2012; the slaughter of countless civilians; the creation of millions of refugees; and ultimately, Russia's entry into the Syrian battlefield.

Contacted through their current U.S. government agencies, none of the Obama-Biden principals offered comment on their policy of supporting an Al Qaeda-dominated insurgency in Syria.

The Obama-Biden team's record in Syria resonates today as many of its members handle the unfolding crisis in Ukraine. As in Syria, the U.S. is flooding a chaotic war zone with weapons in a dangerous proxy conflict with Russia, with long-term ramifications that are impossible to foresee. "I deeply worry that whats going to happen next is that we will see Ukraine turn into Syria," Democratic Senator Chris Coons told CBS News on April 17.

Based on declassified documents, news reports, and scattered admissions of U.S. officials, this overlooked history of how the Obama-Biden team's effort to oust the Assad regime  in concert with allies including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey  details the series of discrete decisions that ultimately led the U.S. to empower terror networks bent on its destruction.

Seizing Momentum  and Munitions  From Libya to Pursue Regime Change in Syria

The road to Al Qaeda's control of the Syrian province of Idlib actually started hundreds of miles across the Mediterranean in Libya.

In March 2011, after heavy lobbying from senior officials including Secretary Hillary Clinton, President Obama authorized a bombing campaign in support of the jihadist insurgency fighting the government of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Backed by NATO firepower, the rebels toppled Gaddafi and gruesomely murdered him in October.

Buoyed by their quick success in Libya, the Obama administration set their sights on Damascus, by then a top regime change target in Washington. According to former NATO commander Wesley Clark, the Assad regime  a key ally of U.S. foes Iran, Hezbollah, and Russia  was marked for overthrow alongside Iraq in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. A leaked 2006 U.S. Embassy in Damascus cable assessed that Assad's "vulnerabilities" included "the potential threat to the regime from the increasing presence of transiting Islamist extremists," and detailed how the U.S. could "improve the likelihood of such opportunities arising."

The outbreak of the Syrian insurgency in March 2011, coupled with the fall of Gaddafi, offered the U.S. a historic opportunity to exploit Syria's vulnerabilities. While the Arab Spring sparked peaceful Syrian protests against the ruling Ba'ath party's cronyism and repression, it also triggered a largely Sunni, rural-based revolt that took a sectarian and violent turn. The U.S. and its allies, namely Qatar and Turkey, capitalized by tapping the massive arsenal of the newly ousted Libyan government.

"During the immediate aftermath of, and following the uncertainty caused by, the downfall of the [Gaddafi] regime in October 2011," the Defense Intelligence Agency reported the following year, "weapons from the former Libya military stockpiles located in Benghazi, Libya were shipped from the port of Benghazi, Libya, to the ports of Banias and the Port of Borj Islam, Syria."

The redacted DIA document, obtained by the group Judicial Watch, does not specify whether the U.S. was directly involved in these shipments. But it contains significant clues. With remarkable specificity, it detailed the size and contents of one such shipment in August 2012: 500 sniper rifles, 100 rocket-propelled grenade launchers with 300 rounds, and 400 howitzer missiles.

Most tellingly, the document noted that the weapons shipments were halted "in early September 2012." This was a clear reference to the killing by militants that month of four Americans  Ambassador Christopher Stevens, another State Department official, and two CIA contractors  in Benghazi, the port city where the weapons to Syria were coming from. The Benghazi annex "was at its heart a CIA operation," U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal. At least two dozen CIA employees worked in Benghazi under diplomatic cover.

Although top intelligence officials obscured the Benghazi operation in sworn testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, a Senate investigation eventually confirmed a direct CIA role in the movement of weapons from Libya to Syria. A classified version of a 2014 Senate report, not publicly released, documented an agreement between President Obama and Turkey to funnel weapons from Libya to insurgents in Syria. The operation, established in early 2012, was run by then-CIA Director David Petraeus.

"The [Benghazi] consulates only mission was to provide cover for the moving of arms" to Syria, a former U.S. intelligence official told journalist Seymour Hersh in the London Review of Books. "It had no real political role."

The Death of a U.S. Ambassador

Under diplomatic cover, Stevens appears to have been a significant figure in the CIA program. More than one year before he became ambassador in June 2012, Stevens was appointed the U.S. liaison to the Libyan opposition. In this role, he worked with the Al Qaeda-tied Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and its leader, Abdelhakim Belhadj, a warlord who fought alongside Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. After Gaddafi's ouster, Belhadj was named head of the Tripoli Military Council, which controlled security in the country's capital.

Belhadj's portfolio was not limited to post-coup Libya. In November 2011, the Al Qaeda ally traveled to Turkey to meet with leaders of the Free Syrian Army, the CIA-backed opposition military coalition. Belhadj's trip came as part of the new Libyan government's effort to provide "money and weapons to the growing insurgency against Bashar al-Assad," the London Telegraph reported at the time. On September 14, 2012  just three days after Stevens and his American colleagues were killed  the London Times revealed that a Libyan vessel "carrying the largest consignment of weapons for Syria since the uprising began," had recently docked in the Turkish port of Iskenderun. Once unloaded, "most of its cargo is making its way to rebels on the front lines."

The known details of Stevens' last hours on September 11 suggest that shipping weapons was at the top of his agenda. Although based in Tripoli and facing violent threats, he nonetheless made the dangerous trek to Benghazi around the fraught anniversary of 9/11. According to a 2016 report from the House Intelligence Committee, one of Stevens' last scheduled meetings was with the head of al-Marfa Shipping and Maritime Services Company, a Libyan firm involved in ferrying weapons to Syria. His final meeting of the day was with Consul General Ali Sait Akin of Turkey, where the weapons were shipped. Fox News later reported that "Stevens was in Benghazi to negotiate a weapons transfer."

With the Libyan channel shut down by Stevens' murder, the U.S. and its allies turned to other sources. One was Croatia, where Saudi Arabia financed a major weapons purchase in late 2012 that was arranged by the CIA. The CIA's use of the Saudi kingdom's vast coffers continued an arrangement from prior covert proxy wars, including the arming of the mujahideen in Afghanistan and of the Contras in Nicaragua.

Although the Obama administration claimed that the weapons funneled to Syria were intended for "moderate rebels," they ultimately ended up in the hands of a jihadi-dominated insurgency. Just one month after the Benghazi attack, the New York Times reported that "hard-line Islamic jihadists," including groups "with ties or affiliations with Al Qaeda," have received "the lions share of the arms shipped to the Syrian opposition."

Covertly Arming

An Al Qaeda-Dominated Insurgency

The Obama administration did not need media accounts to learn that jihadists dominated the Syrian insurgency on the receiving end of a CIA supply chain.

One month before the Benghazi attack, Pentagon intelligence analysts gave the White House a blunt appraisal. An August 2012 Defense Intelligence Agency report, disseminated widely among U.S. officials, noted that "Salafi[s], the Muslim Brotherhood, and AQI [Al Qaeda in Iraq] are the major forces driving the insurgency." Al Qaeda, the report stressed, "supported the Syrian opposition from the beginning." Their aim was to create a "Salafist principality in eastern Syria"  an early warning of the ISIS caliphate that would be established two years later.

General Michael Flynn, who headed the DIA at the time, later recalled that his staff "got enormous pushback" from the Obama White House. "I felt that they did not want to hear the truth," Flynn said. In 2015, one year after Flynn was forced out, dozens of Pentagon intelligence analysts signed on to a complaint alleging that top Pentagon intelligence officials were "cooking the books" to paint a rosier picture of the jihadi presence in Syria. (The Pentagon later cleared CENTCOM commanders of wrongdoing.)

The Free Syrian Army (FSA), the main CIA-backed insurgent force, also informed Obama officials of the jihadi dominance in their ranks. "From the reports we get from the doctors," FSA officials told the State Department in November 2012, "most of the injured and dead FSA are Jabhat al-Nusra, due to their courage and [the fact they are] always at the front line."

Jabhat al-Nusra (Al-Nusra Front) is Al Qaeda's franchise in Syria. It emerged as a splinter group of Al Qaeda in Iraq after a falling out between AQI leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and his then-deputy, Mohammed al-Jolani. In 2013, Baghdadi relaunched his organization under the name of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Jolani led his Syria-based Al Qaeda faction under the black flag of al-Nusra.

"[W]hile rarely acknowledged explicitly in public," Charles Lister, a Gulf state-funded analyst in close contact with Syrian insurgent groups wrote in March 2015, "the vast majority of the Syrian insurgency has coordinated closely with Al-Qaeda since mid-2012  and to great effect on the battlefield." As one Free Syrian Army leader told the New York Times: "No FSA faction in the north can operate without al-Nusras approval."

According to David McCloskey, a former CIA analyst who covered Syria in the war's early years, U.S. officials knew that "al-Qaeda affiliated groups and Salafi jihadist groups were the primary engine of the insurgency." This, McCloskey says, was "a tremendously problematic aspect of the conflict."

In his memoir, senior Obama aide Ben Rhodes acknowledged that al-Nusra "was probably the strongest fighting force within the opposition." It was also clear, he wrote, that U.S.-backed insurgent groups were "fighting side by side with al-Nusra." For this reason, Rhodes recalled, he argued against the State Department's December 2012 designation of al-Nusra as a foreign terrorist organization. This move "would alienate the same people we want to help." (Asked about wanting to help an Al Qaeda-dominated insurgency, Rhodes did not respond).

In fact, designating al-Nusra as a terror organization allowed the Obama administration to publicly claim that it opposed Al Qaeda's Syria branch while continuing to covertly arm the insurgency that it dominated. Three months after adding al-Nusra to the terrorism list, the U.S. and its allies "dramatically stepped up weapons supplies to Syrian rebels" to help "rebels to try and seize Damascus," the Associated Press reported in March 2013.

'There Was No Moderate Middle'

Harvard 2014: Biden goes off-script, revealing the truth of U.S. support for jihadists in Syria.

Despite being privately aware of Nusra's dominance, Obama administration officials continued to publicly insist that the U.S. was only supporting Syria's "moderate opposition," as then-Deputy National Security Adviser Antony Blinken described it in September 2014.

But speaking to a Harvard audience days later, then-Vice President Biden blurted out the concealed reality. In the Syrian insurgency, "there was no moderate middle," Biden admitted. Instead, U.S. "allies" in Syria "poured hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad." Those weapons were supplied, Biden said, to "al-Nusra, and Al-Qaeda and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world."

Biden quickly apologized for his comments, which appeared to fit the classic definition of the Kinsley gaffe: a politician inadvertently telling the truth. Biden's only error was omitting his administration's critical role in helping its allies arm the jihadis.

Rather than shut down a CIA program that was aiding the Al Qaeda-dominated insurgency, Obama expanded it. In April 2013, the president signed an order that amended the CIA's covert war, codenamed Timber Sycamore, to allow direct U.S. arming and training. After tapping Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar to fund its arms pipeline for insurgents inside Syria, Obama's order allowed the CIA to directly furnish U.S.-made weapons. Just as with the regime change campaign in Libya, a key architect of this operation was Hillary Clinton.

Obama's upgraded proxy war in Syria proved to be "one of the costliest covert action programs in the history of the C.I.A.," the New York Times reported in 2017. Documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed a budget of nearly $1 billion per year, or around $1 of every $15 in CIA spending. The CIA armed and trained nearly 10,000 insurgents, spending "roughly $100,000 per year for every anti-Assad rebel who has gone through the program," U.S. officials told the Washington Post in 2015. Two years later, one U.S. official estimated that CIA-funded militias "may have killed or wounded 100,000 Syrian soldiers and their allies over the past four years."

But these militias were not just killing pro-Syrian government forces. As the New York Times reported in April 2017, US-backed insurgents carried out "sectarian mass murder."

One such act of mass murder came in August 2013, when the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army joined an al-Nusra and ISIS offensive on Alawite areas of Latakia. A Human Rights Investigation found that the insurgents engaged in "the systematic killing of entire families," slaughtering a documented 190 civilians, including 57 women, 18 children, and 14 elderly men. In a video from the field, former Syrian army general Salim Idriss, head of the U.S.-backed Supreme Military Council (SMC), bragged that "we are cooperating to a great extent in this operation."

The Latakia massacres came four months after the U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, hailed Idriss and his fighters as "the moderate and responsible elements of the armed opposition." The role of Idriss's forces in the slaughter did not cancel the administration's endorsement. In October, the Washington Post revealed that the "CIA is expanding a clandestine effort  aimed at shoring up the fighting power of units aligned with the Supreme Military Council, an umbrella organization led by [Idriss] that is the main recipient of U.S. support."

[After this article was published, RCI received Fords email response to our request for comment. Ford wrote that there was no question that the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army engaged in war crimes but noted, We denounced [them] publicly at the time and in private. Ford said the administrations official stance that moderates were engaged in the fight was accurate in light of the facts on the ground. "Our definition of moderates in the armed opposition, he wrote, were people willing to negotiate a peaceful end to the war."]

Officially, the upgraded CIA program barred direct support to al-Nusra or its allies in Syria. But once U.S. weapons arrived in Syria, the Obama administration recognized that it had no way of controlling their use  an apparent motive for waging the program covertly. "We needed plausible deniability in case the arms got into the hands of al-Nusra," a former senior administration official told the New York Times in 2013.

One area where U.S. arms got into al-Nusra's hands was the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib. Al Qaeda leaders would ultimately control and  though the group disputes it  provide ISIS leaders sanctuary there.

'Al-Qaeda's Largest Safe Haven Since 9/11'

In May 2015, an array of insurgent groups, dubbed the Jaish al-Fatah ("Army of Conquest") coalition, captured Idlib province from the Syrian government. The fight was led by al-Nusra, and showcased what Charles Lister, the D.C.-based analyst with contacts to insurgents in Syria, dubbed "a far improved level of coordination" between rival militants, including the U.S.-backed FSA and multiple "jihadist factions."

For Lister, the conquest of Idlib also revealed that the U.S. and its allies "changed their tune regarding coordination with Islamists." Citing multiple battlefield commanders, Lister reported that "the U.S.-led operations room in southern Turkey," which coordinated support to U.S.-backed insurgent groups, "was instrumental in facilitating their involvement in the operation" led by al-Nusra. While the insurgents' U.S.-led command had previously opposed "any direct coordination" with jihadist groups, the Idlib offensive "demonstrated something different," Lister concluded: To capture the province, U.S. officials "specifically encouraged a closer cooperation with Islamists commanding frontline operations."

The U.S.-approved battlefield cooperation in Idlib allowed al-Nusra fighters to directly benefit from U.S. weapons. Despite occasional flare-ups between them, al-Nusra was able to use U.S.-backed insurgent groups "as force multipliers," the Institute for the Study of War, a prominent D.C. think tank, observed when the battle began. Insurgent military gains, Foreign Policy reported in April 2015, were achieved "thanks in large part to suicide bombers and American anti-tank TOW missiles."

The jihadist-led victory in Idlib quickly subjected its residents to sectarian terror. In June 2015, al-Nusra fighters massacred at least 20 members of the Druze faith. Hundreds of villagers spared in the attack were forced to convert to Sunni Islam. Facing the same threats, nearly all of Idlib's remaining 1,200 Christians fled the province, leaving a Christian population that reportedly totals just three people today.

In a 2017 post-mortem on the Obama administration's covert war in Syria, the New York Times described the insurgents' conquest of Idlib as among the CIA program's "periods of success." This was certainly the case for Al Qaeda.

"Idlib Province," Brett McGurk, the anti-ISIS envoy under Obama and Trump, and now Biden's top White House official for the Middle East, said in 2017, "is the largest Al Qaeda safe haven since 9/11."

U.S. Allows ISIS Takeover

Al Qaeda is not the only sectarian death squad that managed to establish a safe haven in the chaos of the Syria proxy war. Starting in 2013, al-Nusra's sister-turned-rival group, ISIS, seized considerable territory of its own. As with Al Qaeda, ISIS' land-grab in Syria received a significant backdoor assist from Washington.

Before Al Qaeda captured Idlib, the first ISIS stronghold in Syria, Raqqa, grew out of a similar alliance between U.S.-backed "moderate rebels" and jihadis. After this coalition seized the city from the Syrian government in March 2013, ISIS took full control in November.

When ISIS declared its caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq in June 2014, the U.S. launched an air campaign against the group's strongholds. But the Obama administration's anti-ISIS offensive contained a significant exception. In key areas where ISISs advance could threaten the Assad regime, the U.S. watched it happen.

In April 2015, just as al-Nusra was conquering Idlib, ISIS seized major parts of the Yarmouk refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus, marking what the New York Times called the group's "greatest inroads yet" into the Syrian capital.

In the ancient city of Palmyra, the U.S. allowed an outright ISIS takeover. "[A]s Islamic State closed in on Palmyra, the U.S.-led aerial coalition that has been pummeling Islamic State in Syria for the past 18 months took no action to prevent the extremists advance toward the historic town  which, until then, had remained in the hands of the sorely overstretched Syrian security forces," the Los Angeles Times reported in March 2016.

In a leaked conversation with Syrian opposition activists months later, then-Secretary of State John Kerry explained the U.S. rationale for letting ISIS advance.

"Daesh [ISIS] was threatening the possibility of going to Damascus and so forth," Kerry explained. "And we know that this was growing. We were watching. We saw that Daesh was growing in strength, and we thought Assad was threatened. We thought, however, we could probably manage, that Assad would then negotiate" his way out of power.

In short, the U.S. was leveraging ISIS's growth to impose regime change on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The U.S. strategy of "watching" ISIS's advance in Syria, Kerry also admitted, directly caused Russia's 2015 entry into the conflict. The threat of an ISIS takeover, Kerry said, is "why Russia went in. Because they didnt want a Daesh government."

Russia's military intervention in Syria prevented the ISIS government in Damascus that Kerry and fellow Obama administration principals had been willing to risk. Pulverizing Russian airstrikes also dealt a fatal blow to the Al Qaeda-dominated insurgency that the Obama team had spent billions of dollars to support.

From U.S. Enemy to 'Asset' in Syria

With U.S.-backed fighters vanquished and one of their main champions, Hillary Clinton, defeated in the November 2016 election, the CIA operation in Syria met what the New York Times called a "sudden death." After criticizing the proxy war in Syria on the campaign trail, President Trump shut down the Timber Sycamore program for good in July 2017.

"It turns out its  a lot of al-Qaeda were giving these weapons to," Trump told the Wall Street Journal that month.

With the exit of the Obama-Biden team, the U.S. was no longer fighting on Al Qaeda's side. But that did not mean that the U.S. was prepared to confront the enemy that it had helped install in Idlib.

While Trump put an end to the CIA proxy war, his efforts to further extricate the U.S. from Syria by withdrawing troops were thwarted by senior officials who shared the preceding administration's regime change goals.

"When President Trump said 'I want everybody out of Syria,' the top brass at Pentagon and State had aneurysms," Christopher Miller, the Acting Secretary of Defense during Trump's last months in office, recalls.

Jim Jeffrey, Trump's envoy for Syria, admitted to deceiving the president in order to keep in place "a lot more than" the 200 U.S. troops that Trump had reluctantly agreed to. "We were always playing shell games to not make clear to our leadership how many troops we had there," Jeffrey told Defense One. Those "shell games" have put U.S. soldiers in harm's way, including four servicemembers recently wounded in a rocket attack on their base in northeastern Syria.

While thwarting a full U.S. troop withdrawal, Jeffrey and other senior officials have also preserved the U.S. government's tacit alliance with Idlib's Al-Qaeda rulers. Officially, al-Nusra remains on the U.S. terrorism list. Despite several name changes, the State Department has dismissed its rebranding efforts as a "vehicle to advance its position in the Syrian uprising and to further its own goals as an al-Qaida affiliate."

But in practice, as Jeffrey explained last year, the U.S. has treated Al-Nusra as "an asset" to U.S. strategy in Syria. "They are the least bad option of the various options on Idlib, and Idlib is one of the most important places in Syria, which is one of the most important places right now in the Middle East," he said. Jeffrey also revealed that he had communicated with al-Nusra leader Mohammed al-Jolani via "indirect channels."

Jeffrey's comments underscore a profound shift in the U.S. government's Middle East strategy as a result of the Syria proxy war: The Syrian branch of Al Qaeda, the terror group that attacked the U.S. on 9/11, and which then became the target of a global war on terror aimed at destroying it, is no longer seen by powerful officials in Washington as an enemy, but an "asset."

Since retaking office under Biden, the Obama veterans who targeted Syria with one of the most expensive covert wars in history have deprioritized the war-torn nation. While pledging to maintain crippling sanctions and keep U.S. troops at multiple bases, as well as announcing sporadic airstrikes, the White House has otherwise said little publicly about its Syria policy. The U.S. military raid that ended ISIS leader al-Qurayshis life in February prompted the only Syria-focused speech of Biden's presidency.

While Biden trumpeted the lethal operation, the fact that it occurred in Idlib underscores a contradiction that his administration has yet to address. By taking out an ISIS leader in Al Qaeda's Syria stronghold, the president and his top officials are now confronting threats from a terror safe haven that they helped create.
The U.S. Supreme Court is currently deliberating on the constitutionality of New Yorks may-issue concealed handgun law. The ruling will be made within the next few months and will determine whether people have to provide a special reason for getting a concealed handgun permit to defend themselves and their families. But after last weeks shooting on a New York City subway platform, the stakes are even clearer.

The question of banning guns from sensitive places was mentioned 30 times during oral arguments last November. Subways were discussed 11 times.

The idea of proliferating arms on the subway is precisely, I think, what terrifies a great many people, warned New York Solicitor General Barbara Underwood. Justice Elena Kagan echoed those fears. Justice Sam Alito pushed back, noting that disarming people on public transportation means that you also disarm them on their way to and from that transportation. They have to commute home by subway, maybe by bus. When they arrive at the subway or the bus stop, they have to walk some distance through a high-crime area, he warned. [They may be] scared to death.

Underwood argued that it wasnt necessary for people to carry guns on subways because transit police will protect them. Ron Noble, the secretary general of INTERPOL from 2000 to 2014, has extensive experience trying to stop terrorist attacks and cautioned that even with extraordinary security, it is virtually impossible to keep weapons out of soft targets. He notes that gun-free zones mean that only the terrorists will have weapons.

Creating gun-free zones just disarms law-abiding permit holders who follow the rules. They actually serve as magnets for those intent on killing as many people as possible, because they know that their victims are defenseless. Frank James, the subway shooting perpetrator, had a lengthy criminal history of sex crimes, larceny, and making terrorist threats. He also certainly didnt have a concealed handgun permit.

There is no recorded instance of a permit holder committing any firearm-related crime on public transportation. Concealed handgun permit holders are extremely law-abiding. Incredibly, the annual revocation rate for firearm-related violations is in the hundredths or thousandths of one percentage point.

The revocation rate is so low, in fact, that it is only about one-twelfth the rate at which police officers are convicted of firearms-related crimes. Police are themselves convicted at only about one-twentieth the rate of the general population.

Most of the rare revocations happen to permit holders who accidentally entered a gun-free zone or neglected to carry their concealed handgun licenses.

Those who advocate for gun-free zones argue that permit holders will accidentally shoot bystanders. But with dozens of cases in recent years of permit holders stopping what otherwise would have been mass public shootings, there is not one example of a permit holder shooting a bystander.

Though the New York City subway is used by those from all walks of life, low-income people are relatively more likely to use public transportation. Poor blacks  the most likely victims of violent crime  are some of the most frequent users of public transit. Unsurprisingly, research shows that they are also the ones who benefit the most from having the ability to protect themselves with permitted concealed handguns.

Gun control advocates keep making the same predictions of doom and bloodshed when law-abiding citizens are allowed to have guns for protection. We are continually warned that disaster will ensue if may-issue policies such as New Yorks are replaced with right-to-carry concealed handgun laws. Public officials, after all, will no longer be able to arbitrarily decide whether applicants have a good enough reason to carry. Right-to-carry laws now exist in 43 states, and these laws go back to the 1920s, but not a single state has reversed its law.

Police officers cannot be in every subway car. Even if an officer was present, an attacker could move on to another target or wait until the officer leaves. A shooter could also aim first for the uniformed officer.

Permit holders can make officers safer. If an attacker tries to kill an officer, he reveals his position and makes himself a target to any permitted bystanders.

There is a reason that 94% of U.S. mass public shootings since 1950 have taken place in gun-free zones. Many of these murderers may be crazy in some sense, but they are not ignorant of local laws. They know they can kill more people in places where citizens cant defend themselves.

With 25 states now having constitutional carry laws, where it isnt even necessary for law-abiding gun owners to obtain a permit, states like New York and California are ever more the outliers.

Gun control advocates keep trying to take advantage of the publics fear of the unknown. They would have us believe that bad things will happen when people are allowed to defend themselves and their families. But New Yorkers and Supreme Court justices dont have to guess what will happen if sensitive place restrictions are ended. Large cities such as Philadelphia, Houston, and Atlanta already allow concealed carry on public transit and in other sensitive places. None of the pessimistic narratives have come true.
A new mapping tool has launched to help farmers and landowners spot energy scheme opportunities.

Strutt & Parker's tool aims to help landowners identify if they have land suitable for a renewable energy project, such as a solar farm, battery storage or wind turbines.

Soaring energy prices and the need to replace lost revenues as agricultural incomes come under pressure is driving fresh interest in renewable energy projects on farms and estates.

The tool takes into account factors such as land grade  ideally land should be Grade 3 or below as any development on Grade 1 or 2 land is likely to meet resistance during the planning process  flood risk, ecological concerns and proximity to any listed buildings or scheduled monuments.

Tom Charles, associate director of Strutt & Parker, said now was a good time to investigate whether an energy project might be a possibility for a land-based business.

He said rents of 1,000/acre were available for solar farms and battery storage projects generated around 2,000/MW.

With electricity costs spiralling and energy security becoming a bigger priority, it is anticipated that sites are going to be looked at more favourably within the planning system moving forward.

The tool produces a short report offering landowners an insight into where opportunities might lie and points to where there might be specific barriers to a planning application.

This report also includes details of local grid capacity, where this is made available by the local Distribution Network Operator.

Strutt & Parker said the main limitation for any renewables project would be grid capacity, which was becoming increasingly constrained.

Farmers and landowners interested in the mapping tool have been told to contact Tom Charles on tom.charles@struttandparker.com.
The invasion of Ukraine has moved the UK pig sector to a critical situation, with many producers now fearing it may not recover, farm leaders have warned in a new letter to government.

The pig sector has urged Defra Secretary George Eustice for "urgent, direct support" for producers suffering from the worsening financial situation.

The National Pig Association (NPA) and the NFU's joint letter states that the Ukraine war has moved the sector "from a very challenging financial situation to a critical one from which we fear many will not recover."

The letter from NPA chairman Rob Mutimer and NFU president Minette Batters says: "We ask that you urgently reconsider our request for a financial support package to be made available to pig farmers at the earliest opportunity, similar to those offered by the devolved administrations and many other European countries."

The letter explains to Mr Eustice that pig producers' costs of production are now over 2/kg, as wheat prices have soared on the back of the Ukraine war, alongside rising energy and fertiliser prices in Q1.

Many are now losing in excess of 50 per pig on average as a result of ineffective pricing, penalties and these rising input costs.

This comes on the back of a year of heavy losses, adding up to an estimated 250million in the last year, due to labour shortages in the processing sector.

For many small family farms, there simply isnt the financial headroom to absorb any additional shocks in an industry, the letter adds.

"Some have already taken the decision to leave the industry with 43,000 sows being removed and others are now seriously considering it.

"There are those too who want to retire but cannot, as the income from the pigs is the only way they can pay off their debts," it says.

"It is, therefore, vital that action is taken swiftly to support farmers whilst processors work through the rest of their backlogs.

"Pressure also needs to be applied to the processing sector to continue to encourage increased throughput and fair prices, ensuring that the backlog is dealt with as soon as possible and limit any further impacts on the farming sector."

The Defra Secretary has been` urged to use the powers in section 21 of the Agriculture Act that enable support to be provided to agricultural producers in England whose incomes are being, or are likely to be, adversely affected by the exceptional market conditions.

"The most severe impacts on incomes resulting from the adverse market conditions are not being felt by the processors, but by the farmers," the letter says.

"However, even though government has acknowledged that there are adverse market conditions affecting the sector, and that financial support is needed to address this, no direct support has yet been offered to farmers, despite the fact that their incomes are the most severely affected by this issue.

"This position is becoming increasingly untenable as the support offered to processors to try to resolve the issue has failed to alleviate the adverse impacts on farm incomes resulting from the situation."

Other nations, competing in the same markets, have supported their own pig sectors. The Scottish government has introduced two packages, including a 'Pig Producers Hardship Support Scheme', totalling 1.4 million.

And in Northern Ireland, a similar compensation package has allowed pig farmers to access 3.6 million in emergency funding.

Other countries across Europe are using the EU temporary state aid framework to provide direct support for pig producers, including Belgium, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and Poland.

"We cannot overstate the urgency of the situation, as our sector is now more than ever, perilously close to collapse and we look forward to your timely response," the letter concludes.
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Following the blockbuster success of his latest movie, Pushpa: The Rise, stylish star Allu Arjun is claiming his throne. His popularity is increasing on a Pan-India level.

According to ETimes, the actor was offered a hefty sum for endorsement of a tobacco company, however, the actor rejected it without a second thought. The actor does not personally consume tobacco himself and would not want his fans to start consuming the product. The actor is well-aware of his influence and would not want his fans to smoke tobacco just which would harm their health and could also lead to addiction.

The actor endorses habits such as planting trees which would have a positive impact on the environment. Smoking in movies is not in his control, but the actor speaks out against smoking and other harmful habits wherever possible.

Watching actors refuse an endorsement for their fans well-being is rare, especially in an industry where actors are known to take up ads for any product after being paid a hefty sum. It is refreshing to see Allu Arjun put the well-being of his fans and society first.
Nysa Devgn, Ajay and Kajol's daughter, has turned a year older today. She already has a massive fan base and is very popular on social media. Kajol frequently posts photos of Nysa on her social media accounts, leaving fans gushing over the star child.The couple married in 1999. They welcomed their daughter Nysa in 2003 and son Yug in 2010.





Kajol took to Instagram to wish her dear daughter a happy birthday. She shared a picture of Nysa smiling happily in a car and wrote, Happy birthday baby. May ur smile always light up the world like it does mine.. ur simply the best!

Saba Pataudi, Saif Ali Khan's sister, also posted a sweet message on social media and shared a beautiful photo of Nysa. Saba posted Nysa's photo to Instagram's stories section and wrote, Beautifulis the light that shines from within. MahshaAllahHappy Birthday, Nysa! Lots of love. Always. Happy Birthday!

Meanwhile, Ajay Devgn discussed his daughter Nysa Devgan's Bollywood debut in an interview. He stated, I dont know if she comes into this line because till this moment she has shown disinterest. Anything can change anytime with children. So, I dont know, she is abroad and is studying right now. He went on to say that the younger generation is better prepared. He noted, You see the actors, they are completely prepared and know what they are doing. They are performing better than you because they are so much prepared.





Nysa is a student at the Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland, where she is pursuing a degree in International Hospitality.





View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kajol Devgan (@kajol)




Releases first certificate globally to Green Hydrogen & Chemicals SPC

BANGALORE, India, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TUV Rheinland, a global leader in independent technical services, announced the issuance of the First Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia Certificate Globally to Green Hydrogen & Chemicals SPC for the production of Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia as part of the Greenfield Project, a PV powered Hydrogen-Ammonia plant with a planned production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of green ammonia in Oman. Green Hydrogen & Chemicals SPC, a 50:50 Joint Venture subsidiary of ACME Group & Scatec ASA, has been assessed and fulfilled all criteria for the entire Greenfield Project based on the defined production methods, transport methods and the applications of Hydrogen. TUV Rheinland's certification for carbon-neutral hydrogen provides an evidence of supplying hydrogen to the recipient in a climate-neutral manner, irrespective of the life-cycle stage of hydrogen production, distribution and usage.

By providing Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia Certification (TUV Rheinland Standard H2.21 Carbon-Neutral Hydrogen), TUV Rheinland enables stakeholders to ensure that ammonia and hydrogen produced from regenerative sources has significantly lower levels of greenhouse-gas emissions than conventional hydrogen or fossil fuels.

Mr. Rajat Seksaria, CEO of ACME Group said, "We are proud to be the recipient of the world's first Green Hydrogen Certification from TUV Rheinland. This certificate will enhance our capability to cater to international markets across Europe, America and Asia region for the supply of Green Ammonia. We have already started work on the Oman plant and are on track to commission the world's first large-scale green ammonia project. Green accreditation from leading agencies such as TUV Rheinland is an important milestone in our efforts."

Commenting on the issuance of the first such certificate globally, Mr. Benedikt Anselmann, Regional Executive Vice President, India, Middle East & Africa, TUV Rheinland said, "Hydrogen can help tackle several energy challenges we are currently facing and it has the potential to achieve a clean, secure and affordable energy future. We at TUV Rheinland are committed to contributing to a future that meets the needs of both mankind and the environment in a sustainable manner by supporting the development of Hydrogen as the energy carrier of the future." He added, "We are proud to issue the first ever Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia certificate to Green Hydrogen & Chemicals SPC as per TUV Rheinland Standard H2.21 Carbon-Neutral Hydrogen."

Mr. V Ravi Kumar, Vice President, Industrial Services, TUV Rheinland India said, "Hydrogen plays a critical role in energy transformation and the demand is increasing worldwide. In our TUV Rheinland Standard H2.21, we have specified requirements that allow a certification of the Product Carbon Footprint as less than or equal to zero. In addition, based on the 'Carbon-Neutral Hydrogen' certification, by fulfilling other specific criteria, optional additional criteria can be certified such as Green Hydrogen, Blue Hydrogen, Turquoise Hydrogen, RED II compliant Hydrogen."

About TUV Rheinland:

TUV Rheinland stands for safety and quality in virtually all areas of business and life. Founded 150 years ago, the company is one of the world's leading testing service providers with more than 20,500 employees and annual revenues of 2 billion euros. TUV Rheinland India was established in 1996 and is a subsidiary of the TUV Rheinland Group, Germany. With its local headquarters in Bangalore, TUV Rheinland is active across multiple locations with multi-discipline labs catering to the Indian as well as global markets. TUV Rheinland's highly qualified experts test technical systems and products around the world, support innovations in technology and business, train people in numerous professions and certify management systems according to international standards. In doing so, the independent experts generate trust in products as well as processes across global value-adding chains and the flow of commodities. Since 2006, TUV Rheinland has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption. Green Hydrogen certification | TUV Rheinland (tuv.com)

About ACME Group:

ACME Group (www.acme.in) set up in 2003, is a pioneer in cleantech sectors such as solar, green hydrogen & ammonia and sustainable green protein development. The Company is one of the leading Solar Power Developers in India with project under development & operational portfolio of 8.5 GW. The company is presently constructing 1.8 GW generation capacity which will be one of the largest single location solar generation facility in the world. In the field of green hydrogen and ammonia, besides under development project in Oman, the Company has already set up the world's first single-location integrated solar power to green ammonia facility at Bikaner Rajasthan. The company employs more than 1000 people in India and abroad.

About Scatec ASA:

Scatec (www.scatec.com) is a leading renewable energy solutions provider, accelerating access to reliable and affordable clean energy in high growth markets. As a long-term player, Scatec develops, builds, owns and operates renewable energy plants, with 3.5 GW of installed capacity across four continents today. The company is targeting 15 GW of renewable capacity to be in operation or under construction by the end of 2025, delivered by its 600 passionate employees who are driven by a common vision of 'Improving our Future'.Scatec is headquartered in Oslo, Norway and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol 'SCATC'.

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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2022 / Recognising that oil spills can have a serious impact on the ecosystem, Review Rumble recently awarded Best Bunding with its Safety Award in recognition of the huge impact this simple product has had on keeping future generations safe.

Oil spill prevention and control is one of the most difficult tasks facing the contemporary energy business. Spills can block water absorption and affect plant life, putting human and animal lives in jeopardy.

It is much harder to make groundwater safe once it has been contaminated, cleaning it is exceedingly difficult and expensive.

Best Bunding is the first company to patent flexible bunding in Australia and GM, Gordon Willis, believes that its flexible bunding and spill bunds can help businesses from getting into trouble.

"We welcome the Review Rumble award and hope it shines a light on the fact that you can take simple, effective measures to help protect the environment," Willis says. "Products like bunding may not always grab the headlines but they are a key part of making sure that businesses can handle oils and other hazardous material safely."

They have been heavily involved in implementing and developing the Environment Protection Act (EPA) in Australia.

According to them, oil and gas companies have a duty to the environment to protect it from oil spills. Producers should take this extremely seriously and do everything to contain spills.

The majority of industrialised nations have thorough regulations in place; nonetheless, many businesses do not adhere to them. But companies should join the cause of those that do, according to BestBunding.

About BestBunding

Bestbunding started in 2003. It is the first patent flexible bunding in Australia. They have been providing quality spill control or bunding products, especially to businesses like automotive, aeronautical, construction, engineering, marine, and mining.

It is also one of the fastest businesses in product shipping and continues to export products to Korea, Indonesia, Italy, and the USA.

CONTACT:

Gordon Wills

Best Bunding

https://www.facebook.com/bestbunding.com.au/

Gordon@h2gosystems.com

SOURCE: Best Bunding

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/693665/Best-Bunding-Awarded-Safety-Award-From-Review-Rumble
The law firm has been successfully representing Bay Area clients for almost 30 years. They specialize in complex family law disputes and civil litigation, handling cases related to divorce, child custody, paternity, parental rights, and more.

SAN MATEO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2022 / Family law cases can take an enormous emotional toll on those affected by the events at hand. The sensitive nature of many of these cases makes it important to work with a law firm that can not only handle the legal challenges ahead but also give clients the personal touch and support they need to get through this period of their lives. And that's exactly what Viola Law Firm P.C. does for its clients.

As the law firm's website explains: "When families are broken apart and traumatized, Viola Law Firm digs in to reduce that trauma while guiding our clients through the maze of legal processes they face. [] Divorce and family law issues are extremely personal. As your lawyers, we can provide much-needed perspective while working hard for your best interests."

Located in San Mateo, California, Viola Law Firm P.C. serves clients in the Bay Area and throughout Northern California. The law firm has been in operation for almost 30 years now, and they count on a team of seasoned family law attorneys who are ready to help clients looking for a child custody lawyer, as can be seen on https://www.violaw.com/family-law/child-custody-and-visitation/ . Their team has over 80 years of combined legal experience, working not only in cases related to family law but also in personal injury and wrongful death cases, as well as cases related to business and real estate disputes.

Viola Law Firm P.C. practices law in a wide variety of areas related to family law, including:

Child Custody and Visitation

Spousal Support

Divorce and Marital Dissolution

Domestic Partnerships

Domestic Violence and Domestic Abuse

Paternity and Parental Rights

Postnuptial Agreements

Private Judging for Family Law Cases

Property Settlement

And more

Family law cases don't always go to trial. It's fairly common for disputes to be resolved through negotiation, mediation, and other out-of-court conflict resolution methods. However, Viola Law Firm P.C. will prepare as if their client's case is going to trial, even if it seems unlikely to go that far. As the law firm explains: "Preparing for trial helps us uncover the strengths and weaknesses of our case, as well as the other side's, which allows us to negotiate from a position of strength."

This hard work and due diligence are some of the reasons behind the law firm's long history of successful cases, which is reflected in the long list of client success stories and positive client testimonials found on the law firm's website. And while family law is the firm's specialty, they also have a history of success in cases related to personal injury, business litigation, real estate, and more.

Viola Law Firm P.C. works to ensure clear communication and accessibility to their clients, offering honest guidance while doing their best to give clients realistic expectations about the road ahead, and what challenges they should expect.

CONTACT:

Viola Law Firm P.C.

650-532-9389

441 First Ave

San Mateo

CA 94401

SOURCE: Viola Law Firm P.C

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698127/Viola-Law-Firm-PC-Is-Representing-Bay-Area-Clients-in-Complex-Family-Law-Disputes
Evolva Holding SA / Key word(s): Development of Sales

Evolva achieves important product-related milestones with global customer, triggering revenues of more than 20% of FY21 total revenues



20-Apr-2022 / 07:01 CET/CEST

Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Ad Hoc Announcement (PDF)

PRESS RELEASE | AD HOC ANNOUNCEMENT PURSUANT TO ART. 53 LR

First commercial batch successfully produced according to specifications of the customer, after prior successful completion of demo and engineering batches

Related revenues of more than 20% of last year's total revenues triggered, which are expected to accrue in 2022

Additional orders of commercial product from the customer expected in the future

Reinach, April 20, 2022 - Evolva (SIX:EVE), a pioneer in the field of natural molecules and industrial biotech, today announced the achievement of important milestones with a global customer of its Flavors and Fragrances business. As a result, revenues of more than 20% of last year's total company revenues are triggered. These revenues are expected to accrue entirely in 2022. Additional orders of commercial product from the customer are expected in the future.

The milestones relate to the successful production of the first commercial batch according to the specifications of the customer. Prior to that, demo and engineering batches of the product were successfully completed.

Anne De Vos, Chief Commercial Officer, comments: 'Our team is proud to have fully met the expectations of our global customer. The achievement is a reflection of the ongoing refinement of our product as well as of our strengthened manufacturing capabilities. With our precision-fermentation platform we are able to overcome resource constraints of nature. This makes us an attractive partner for companies striving for more nature-based ingredients.'



Important dates

May 5, 2022 Annual General Meeting

August 25, 2022 Half-year 2022 Report

About Evolva

Evolva is a Swiss biotech company focused on the research, development and commercialization of ingredients based on nature. We have leading businesses in Flavors and Fragrances, Health Ingredients and Health Protection. Evolva's employees, half of which are women, are dedicated to make the best products that can contribute to health, wellbeing and sensory enjoyment. Find out more at evolva.com and connect with us on LinkedIn .

For Evolva multimedia content, please visit: evolva.com/multimedia-library .

Contact

Thomas Schneckenburger, PhD, CFA

Head of Investor and Corporate Relations

+41 61 485 2003

+41 79 407 9952

thomass@evolva.com

Disclaimer

This announcement is not an offer of securities into the United States. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'Securities Act'), and may not be offered, pledged, sold, delivered or otherwise transferred, directly or indirectly, in the United States, except pursuant to an exemption from, or transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. No public offering of securities is being made in the United States. Further, the securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the applicable securities laws of Canada, Australia or Japan or under the applicable securities laws of any other jurisdiction where to do so might constitute a violation of such laws.

This press release contains specific forward-looking statements, e.g. statements including terms like believe, assume, expect or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may result in a substantial divergence between the actual results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and those explicitly or implicitly presumed in these statements. Against the background of these uncertainties readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The company assumes no responsibility to update forward-looking statements or to adapt them to future events or developments.
A rising tide of branch closures depriving people of essential local financial services has seen more than 4,000 bank and building society branches close since the start of 20151

Another 220 branches are scheduled to close this year2, despite the fact that 10 million people in the UK will struggle to cope in a cashless society and for millions more it would be a major inconvenience3. More than a quarter (29 percent, 15 million people) of the population use cash for budgeting3

In the face of this tsunami of branch closures, plans are progressing on a ground breaking pilot which will see high street champions and community branch innovators, Newcastle Building Society, partner with global leaders in cash automation, GLORY, and shared banking fintech, OneBanks Hub, to meet everyday banking needs and help restore access to cash in bankless communities.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220419005745/en/

Newcastle Building Society Gosforth Branch (Photo: Business Wire)

The initiative will allow personal and business customers of all major banks to withdraw cash and deposit notes and coins through the Society's network of high street branches. An initial pilot will be run in two locations where bank closures have seriously affected local community access to cash.

The north east's largest building society plans to install multi-bank transaction terminals enabled with Glory cash handling technology and OneBanks Hub software platform alongside its existing services, allowing customers to access their account whichever bank it is provided by. The terminals provide access to all banks on the Open Banking network, meaning customers of all the major UK banks will be able to use the service.

The cash facility will be a lifeline for many small businesses, and people who rely on regular deposits and withdrawals to manage their day-to-day budgets. In many instances, due to closures, the convenience of doing this locally has been taken away.

The pilot will take place in two Newcastle Building Society branches in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Knaresborough in North Yorkshire. In February this year, another high street bank branch closed its doors in Gosforth, and Knaresborough lost its last bank in 2021. But in a move to restore financial services to the town, Newcastle Building Society recently announced plans to partner with North Yorkshire County Council to open a new community branch in Knaresborough.

Customers needing assistance to use the terminal, branded OneBanks Hub, will be supported by the Society's trained branch colleagues, who will be on hand to help users connect to their bank to complete transactions privately.

The OneBanks Hub terminal will sit alongside the Society's face to face branch offering which includes savings, mortgages and financial advice on pensions, investments, and protection via its Newcastle Financial Advisers subsidiary.

Newcastle Building Society chief executive officer, Andrew Haigh commented: "We champion the high street, and believe in its vital role in supporting vibrant local economies. Decisions made by banks have been at the expense of many vulnerable people who are reliant on cash and, as a result, risk being disenfranchised from the financial system. We are proud to be the first to bring this unique proposition into mainstream financial services.

"It will provide customers with convenient access to cash withdrawal and deposits for people whose bank branch is no longer either local, or convenient.

"We have a growing business and an ongoing multi-million pound investment and innovation programme in upgrading and expanding our branch network to offer superb, modern environments for our growing customer base across the North East, Cumbria and North Yorkshire.

"This innovative pilot, a one stop solution if your local bank has closed, is potentially transformational for our region, extending access to face-to-face services whilst increasing digital adoption and inclusion. The unique combination of our innovative approach to community branches and OneBanks' technology proves that with the right commitment, there can be a bright new future for financial services on our high streets."

It is expected that the first OneBanks Hub terminals within Newcastle Building Society branches will be fully operative later this year.

Mark McCallum, Country Head UK Ireland at Glory said, "As a cornerstone investor in OneBanks Hub, we are delighted that Newcastle Building Society is the first financial institution to combine the convenience of Glory's cash automation solutions with the power of the OneBanks software to address the challenge of on-going access to cash for communities affected by branch closures. The new economics of branch banking, driven by changes in consumer behaviour, are presenting challenges to the traditional provision of in-person banking services which can be solved for consumers by the shared infrastructure approach being adopted by Newcastle Building Society"

Duncan Cockburn, chief executive of OneBanks Hub, added: "We developed OneBanks Hub to support communities without access to everyday banking, and this partnership with Newcastle Building Society and Glory shows how this can be delivered in a flexible, user-friendly way. This initiative will help individuals and small businesses continue to do their critical financial transactions without having to travel miles to their nearest bank branch. It is a model that can be replicated in many more locations."

Ends

1Which https://www.which.co.uk/money/banking/switching-your-bank/bank-branch-closures-is-your-local-bank-closing-a28n44c8z0h5headline

2 Which https://www.which.co.uk/news/2021/12/which-calls-on-banks-to-pause-branch-closures-to-protect-access-to-cash/

3 The Royal Society of Arts https://www.thersa.org/blog/2022/03/is-britain-ready-to-go-cashless

Editors Notes

About Glory

As a global leader in cash technology solutions, we provide the financial, retail, QSR, cash center and gaming industries with confidence that their cash is protected and always working to help build a stronger business.

Our cash automation technologies and process engineering services help businesses in more than 100 countries optimize the handling, movement and management of cash. While we span the globe, we personally engage with each customer to address their unique challenges and goals enhancing staff efficiency, reducing operating costs and enabling a more rewarding customer experience.

Employing over 11,000 professionals worldwide with dedicated R&D and manufacturing facilities across the world, GLORY is built on a rich customer-focused, technology-driven heritage spanning almost a hundred years.

For further information please visit www.glory-global.com or follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/glory_global.

About OneBanks Hub:

OneBanks Hub. One Location. All Welcome

Onebanks Hub, the future of high street banking, offers an innovative way to meet the growing need for banks to continue to offer face to face human access to their services in an affordable way, alongside their online and smartphone based apps. As well as operating fully staffed banking kiosks currently being piloted ahead of a UK-wide rollout, OneBanks Hub's innovative technology platform can support a variety of ways of delivering everyday banking services in a secure, user-friendly and cost-effective way to communities that would otherwise not be able to access such basic services as bill payments or cash deposits and withdrawals.

Learn more about OneBanks Hub https://onebanks.co.uk/

About Newcastle Building Society

Newcastle Building Society* is the biggest building society in the North East, with a network of 30 branches and assets of more than 4.9bn. We've been here for our members for over 150 years.

As a leading local employer, we're committed to growing our region's talent and being a great place to work where people can realise their potential. We hold Platinum IIP and were voted Number 2, Best Places to Work in the North East in 2019.

We help people to own their home, to save and to plan their finances through our range of products and services. We believe in the role of the high street at the heart of our communities and are proactive in making financial information and financial advice accessible across our region.

Our Financial Advice is provided through our Newcastle Financial Advisers Limited division**.

We're dedicated to helping our North East communities make positive changes; since 2016 the financial support through grants and donations from the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund at the Community Foundation to benefit local causes has surpassed 2.1m

www.newcastle.co.uk

*Newcastle Building Society Principal Office: 1 Cobalt Park Way, Cobalt Business Park, NE28 9EJ. Newcastle Building Society is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Newcastle Building Society is entered in the Financial Services Register under number 156058. You can check this on the Financial Services Register or by contacting the Financial Conduct Authority on 0800 111 6768. Call 0845 734 4345 or visit us online at www.newcastle.co.uk

**Newcastle Building Society introduces to Newcastle Financial Advisers Limited for investments, pensions, inheritance tax planning, financial advice and life cover. Newcastle Financial Advisers Limited is an appointed representative of Openwork Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220419005745/en/

Contacts:

For Further information Contact:

Newcastle Building Society

Chris Hoy

External Communications Manager, Newcastle Building Society

E: chris.hoy@newcastle.co.uk

M: 07483 452 461

Glory

Paul Race

VP Strategic Marketing

07887 052366

paul.race@glory-global.com

OneBanks Hub:

Andrew Garfield 07974 982337 andrew@garfieldadvisory.com

Jason Nisse 07769 688618 jason@nisse.uk
GUILDFORD, UK / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2022 / ANGLE plc (AIM:AGL)(OTCQX:ANPCY), a world-leading liquid biopsy company, will be releasing its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2021 on Thursday 28 April 2022.

A meeting for analysts will be held at 10:00 am BST on Thursday 28 April 2022 at the offices of Berenberg, 60 Threadneedle Street, London, EC2R 8HP.

A live webcast of the analyst meeting can be accessed via ANGLE's Investor Centre page, https://angleplc.com/investor-relations/regulatory-news/, with Q&A participation reserved for analysts only. Please register in advance and log on to the webcast approximately 5 minutes before 10:00 am on the day of the results. A recording of the webcast will be made available on ANGLE's website following the results meeting.

For further information:

ANGLE plc +44 (0) 1483 343434 Andrew Newland, Chief Executive

Ian Griffiths, Finance Director

Andrew Holder, Head of Investor Relations Berenberg (NOMAD and Joint Broker)

Toby Flaux, Ciaran Walsh, Milo Bonser

+44 (0) 20 3207 7800 Jefferies (Joint Broker)

Max Jones, Thomas Bective +44 (0) 20 7029 8000 FTI Consulting

Simon Conway, Ciara Martin

Matthew Ventimiglia (US) +44 (0) 203 727 1000

+1 (212) 850 5624





For Frequently Used Terms, please see the Company's website on https://angleplc.com/investor-relations/glossary/

Notes for editors

About ANGLE plc www.angleplc.com

ANGLE is a world leading liquid biopsy company with sample-to-answer solutions. ANGLE's proven patent protected platforms include a circulating tumor cell (CTC) harvesting technology and a downstream analysis system for cost effective, highly multiplexed analysis of nucleic acids and proteins.

ANGLE's cell separation technology is called the Parsortix system, and it enables a liquid biopsy (a simple blood test) to be used to provide the cells of interest to the user in a format suitable for multiple types of downstream analyses. The system is based on a microfluidic device that captures cells based on a combination of their size and compressibility. The system is epitope independent and can capture all types of CTCs as well as CTC clusters in a viable form (alive). CTCs enable the complete picture of a cancer to be seen; as being an intact cell they allow DNA, RNA and protein analysis and may provide comparable analysis to a tissue biopsy. Because CTC analysis is a non-invasive process, unlike tissue biopsy, it can be repeated as often as needed. This is important because cancer develops and changes over time and there is a clear medical need for up-to-date information on the status of a patient's tumor. In addition, the live CTCs harvested by the Parsortix system can be cultured, which offers the potential for testing tumor response to drugs outside the patient.

The Parsortix technology is the subject of 26 granted patents in Europe, the United States, China, Australia, Canada, India, Japan and Mexico with three extensive families of patents are being progressed worldwide.

The Parsortix system has a CE Mark in Europe for the indicated use and, in the United States, a De Novo Submission has been made to FDA for the Parsortix PC1 system seeking FDA clearance with Class II Classification for use with metastatic breast cancer patients. FDA clearance is seen as the global standard. ANGLE is seeking to be the first ever FDA cleared system for harvesting CTCs for subsequent analysis.

ANGLE has also completed two separate 200 subject clinical studies under a program designed to develop an ovarian cancer pelvic mass triage test, with the results showing best in class accuracy (AUC-ROC) of 95.1%. The pelvic mass triage assay has undergone further refinement and optimisation and a 200 patient clinical verification study has now completed enrolment.

ANGLE's technology for the multiplex evaluation of proteins and nucleic acids of all types is called the HyCEADTM platform and is based on a patented flow through array technology. It provides for low cost, highly multiplexed, rapid and sensitive capture of targets from a wide variety of sample types. A proprietary chemistry approach (the HyCEAD method) allows for the capture and amplification of over 100 biomarkers simultaneously in a single reaction. The HyCEAD system is extremely sensitive and is ideal for measuring gene expression and other markers directly from Parsortix harvests and was used in the ovarian cancer pelvic mass triage test to achieve best in class accuracy (AUC-ROC) of 95.1%.

ANGLE's proprietary technologies can be combined to provide automated, sample-to-answer results in both centralised laboratory and point-of-use cartridge formats.

ANGLE has established formal collaborations with world-class cancer centres and major corporates such as Abbott, Philips and QIAGEN, and works closely with leading CTC translational research customers. These Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) are working to identify applications with medical utility (clear benefit to patients), and to secure clinical data that demonstrates that utility in patient studies. The body of evidence as to the benefits of the Parsortix system is growing rapidly from our own clinical studies in metastatic breast cancer and ovarian cancer and also from KOLs with 59 peer-reviewed publications and numerous publicly available posters, available on our website.

ANGLE has established clinical services laboratories in the UK and USA to accelerate commercialisation of the Parsortix system and act as demonstrators to support product development. The laboratories offer services to pharmaceutical and biotech customers for use of Parsortix in cancer drug trials and, once the laboratories are accredited and tests validated, will provide Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs) for patient management.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

SOURCE: ANGLE plc

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698096/Angle-PLC-Announces-Notice-of-Preliminary-Results-and-Webcast
Pre-Feasibility Study supports long-life, high-value Cascabel project

BISHOPSGATE, UK / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2022 / The Board of Directors of SolGold (LSE:SOLG)(TSX:SOLG) is pleased to announce the results of the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") for the Cascabel project, held by Exploraciones Novomining S.A. ("ENSA"), an 85% owned subsidiary of SolGold.

The PFS confirms the Cascabel project's world class, Tier 1 potential to be a large, low-cost, and long-life mining operation that is based on achievable, proven, and tested mining and processing assumptions. Once constructed, Cascabel is expected to be a top 20[1] South American copper & gold mine benefiting from a high-grade core, advantageous infrastructure and an increasingly investor friendly government. The mine is expected to produce a clean copper-gold-silver concentrate, to be sold to Asian and European smelters as part of a project construction financing package.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

 Estimated US$5.2bn pre-tax Net Present Value ("NPV") and 25.3% Internal Rate of Return ("IRR")

 Estimated US$2.9bn after-tax NPV, 19.3% IRR and 4.7 year payback period from start of processing[2], [3], [4], [5]

 After-tax NPV would be US$4.1bn (US$7.9bn pre-tax) and IRR 23.4% (30.5% pre-tax) at current spot commodity prices[6]

 Estimated average production[7] of 132ktpa of copper, 358kozpa of gold and 1Mozpa of silver - 212ktpa copper equivalent ("CuEq")[8] - with peak[9] copper production of 210ktpa (391ktpa CuEq8)

 Initial project Life-of-Mine ("LOM") All-In-Sustaining Cost ("AISC") of US$0.06/lb of copper, placing Cascabel well within the first decile of the copper industry cost curve1

 On achieving nameplate capacity, average of approximately 190ktpa of copper, 680kozpa of gold and 1.3Mozpa of silver (>330ktpa CuEq8) over initial 5 years at an average negative AISC of US$(1.38)/lb

 Estimated pre-production capital expenditure of US$2.7bn for the initial cave development, first process plant module and infrastructure

 Initial Mineral Reserve of 558Mt containing 3.3Mt Cu @ 0.58%, 9.4Moz Au @ 0.52g/t and 30Moz Ag @ 1.65g/t over an initial 26-year mine life

 Potential mine life upside in excess of 50 years following initial LOM[10]

 Annual after-tax free cash flow ("FCF") to average US$740m5, 7, peaking at over US$1.6bn5, 9

 Average annual EBITDA[11] of nearly US$1.2bn5, 7, peaking at over US$2.4bn5, 9

 Additional optimisations being progressed for a PFS Addendum planned for completion in H2 CY22

 Cascabel project Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") planned for completion in H2 CY23

 SolGold will host a PFS presentation on 20 April 2022 at 9:30am London time. Please register at: https://www.investormeetcompany.com/solgold-plc/register-investor

SolGold's MD & CEO, Darryl Cuzzubbo, commented on the PFS:

"I am extremely pleased to announce the results of the pre-feasibility study for the proposed Cascabel mine in Ecuador. In essence, it supports what we have believed all along - that this project is no ordinary mining asset. Cascabel will be a significant, multi-decade and very low cost producer of copper that can help enable Ecuador's emergence as the next copper frontier at a time when the world needs copper the most as we transition to a net zero carbon emissions future.

This project is economically attractive and based upon assumptions that we believe can be delivered upon. There is further upside that will be explored over the coming months and the next phase of the project as we seek the necessary Government approvals to move into early works and execution.

Such a project will create over 6,000 indirect and direct jobs, not to mention will bring significant royalty and tax revenue benefiting all Ecuadorians."

SolGold's Chair of the Cascabel Project Steering Committee, Keith Marshall, commented on the PFS:

"I am very encouraged with the pre-feasibility study. It offers, what I consider to be, a robust but flexible solution for the development of the underground mine at Cascabel. The study focused on the "right sizing" of the project, with the objective of reducing the technical and execution risk. It also provides a straightforward approach to mining the deposit that optimises selectivity, without compromising any of the resource and maintaining optionality.

I am confident that the study lays the solid groundwork for the next steps in the Cascabel project. I am particularly looking forward to progressing the study work and being able to expand our operational activities in Ecuador."

Former CEO and now Non-Executive Director and a direct and indirect shareholder with 12.9% of SolGold Nick Mather said:

"The various upsides at Cascabel offered by additional mineralised porphyry systems still being outlined and assessed, potential for additional production and treatment plant capacity, refinements to the mine plan, continued low cost of capital and what I see as the opportunity for long run higher copper prices as the world electrifies, suggest that this project indeed has considerable further upside to be evaluated.

More importantly, SolGold's comprehensive exploration footprint and ongoing exploration success will, in my view, establish not just one project of significance but a string of them throughout Ecuador, defining a globally important copper province and the potential to have a significant impact on Ecuador's economy. In a world of visionary enterprise looking to address escalating metal demand to facilitate global electrification and limit global warming to 2oC in an economically, socially and environmentally just manner, SolGold's position is unique."

Click or paste the following link on to your web browser to view the full announcement.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/6712I_1-2022-4-19.pdf

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

SOURCE: SolGold PLC

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698099/SolGold-PLC-Announces-Cascabel-Pre-Feasibility-Study
PERTH (SCOTLAND) (dpa-AFX) - SSE Renewables (SSE.L), on Wednesday, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy or SGRE to acquire its existing European renewable energy development platform for a consideration of 580 million. The SGRE portfolio includes c.3.9GW of onshore wind development projects - around half of which is located in Spain with the remainder across France, Italy and Greece - with scope for up to 1GW of additional co-located solar development opportunities. SSE will also take on a team of around 40 employees with vast experience in the sector. The transaction is likely to complete by the end of September 2022, subject to receipt of relevant foreign direct investment and regulatory approvals. SSE Renewables further stated that it is aiming to have around 500MW of renewable projects from the SGRE portfolio operational by March 2026, with a further at least 500MW in construction. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
THE United States (US) embassy has urged the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to implement electoral reforms recommended in the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera).

The US imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2001 under Zidera following allegations of human rights abuses, economic mismanagement and electoral theft against the late former President Robert Mugabe.

In a series of tweets yesterday, the US embassy pelted Zec over how it handled the March 26 by-elections.

It said there was intimidation and assault of voters, which if not addressed would jeopardise the credibility of polls expected next year.

We commend all the volunteers, observers, party agents, polling agents, police officers and voters who made March 26 by-elections happen and took their time to invest in Zimbabwes democracy, the US embassy tweeted.

We appreciated the opportunity to observe by-elections, but remain very concerned about harsh rhetoric, intimidation and violent assaults in the lead-up to election day. Voters have the right to participate in political processes free from fear and violence. Zidera requires Zimbabwe to hold an election widely accepted as free and fair by independent international monitors, and to sufficiently improve the pre-election environment to be consistent with international standards.

Zec has, on several occasions, invited criticism over the state of the voters roll, which many believe is shambolic.

Independent electoral watchdogs and statisticians have since unearthed several discrepancies, which include alleged movement of voters from their constituencies and wards and creation of additional polling stations under unclear circumstances.

We urge Zec to publicly release an auditable electronic voters roll far in advance of 2023 elections so that citizens can help to strengthen the credibility of the voters roll and reduce the numbers of potential voters turned away from polling stations, the embassy said.

To achieve this, Zimbabwes government must commit to a level playing field, apply laws to all candidates and parties and guarantee public media gives nationwide, equal, non-partisan airtime for all candidates during the election period.

Zec spokesperson Jasper Mangwana yesterday requested questions in writing. He had not responded to them by the time of going to print last night.

Government has, on several occasions, accused the US of working in cahoots with the opposition to push the regime change agenda.

International relations expert Prolific Mataruse said: Embassies are there to represent and promote their countries interests. They are concerned with democracy and human rights to the extent of their countrys concern about the issues.

Embassies represent people and would be concerned about degrading treatment to humans and property seeing they are staffed by people and also hold property. If laws, including those that enshrine rights, are not respected, then the embassies cannot be sure that the agreements securing the interests of their governments will be honoured. Newsday
To meet the growing global demand for respiratory active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), Inke is to invest 9 million into its production plant to reinforce focus on inhalation micronised APIs

BARCELONA, Spain, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Inke, a leading global manufacturer of inhalation APIs wholly owned by Neuraxpharm Group, announces it is investing 9 million to increase production capacity for inhalation APIs. The investment will allow Inke to triple the production capacity of chemical synthesis and the micronisation of inhalation APIs at its manufacturing plant in Castellbisbal, Barcelona, by 2024. The company expects that approximately 80% of this 9 million investment will be deployed by the end of this year.

The expansion of Inke's multipurpose plant allows the company to meet the increasing global demand for inhalation APIs: Urbanisation, especially in emerging markets, leads to a worsening of air pollution making respiratory diseases more prevalent. Furthermore, a global aging population is associated with increased susceptibility to respiratory diseases, which is expected to further drive the need for inhalation therapies.

With this investment, the company further builds its position as a leading specialist for the development and manufacturing of high-added-value APIs for the use in respiratory therapies. Its specialised capabilities, with over 20 years of in-house experience in micronisation and particle engineering to find the right crystal shape and particle size, make Inke an expert in the development of APIs. Inke combines complex synthesis processes with best-in-class technical and manufacturing capabilities, and high regulatory expertise in key markets worldwide, such as the US or the EU. It has established preferential relationships with the main inhalation players worldwide and unique access to the highly demanding Japanese market. With Inke's expansion, the manufacturing plant will continue to adhere to the very stringent quality standards required for the manufacturing of respiratory products for inhalation.

Commenting on the investment, Dr. Jorg Thomas Dierks, CEO of Neuraxpharm, said: "Inke is a key supplier to major generic and branded companies in over 40 countries due to its very strong and entrenched competitive position. The segment of micronised inhalation APIs is highly attractive and poised for future growth, and I am convinced that this investment contributes significantly to extending our leading position in this market."

Miquel Bachs, General Manager of Inke, added: "We expect the increased global demand for respiratory APIs will allow us to grow our business considerably and to further strengthen our market position as a leading global API supplier specialised in inhalation therapies. I am proud that with this investment, Inke's production site in the province of Barcelona is made future-proof."

Inke's dedicated operational team includes manufacturing, R&D, regulatory, commercial, administrative, and other support functions to provide an end-to-end service through highly skilled experts. After introducing Miquel Bachs as General Manager in 2018, Inke has had a new management team driving the commercial strategy focused on third-party sales and a successful customer base and has expanded internationally. This strategy's success becomes evident through Inke's strong track-record of double-digit growth.

Inke developed its first respiratory product in 1998. Today, the site produces 34 APIs by chemical synthesis processes and is among the top three European respiratory API pharmaceutical manufacturing companies with most patent filings in the last ten years. The company has been successfully inspected by every major global authority, including the US-FDA since 2002 and the Korean FDA since 2012. It holds EU-GMP, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 certifications.

About Inke

Inke is a leading global manufacturer of inhalation active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) established in 1980 and based in Castellbisbal (Barcelona, Spain). With more than 25 years of experience in respiratory APIs, the company focuses on the development and manufacturing of high-added-value active substances for the pharmaceutical industry for use in inhalation therapies.

The company holds great expertise for the treatment of respiratory diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This qualifies Inke to be a key supplier to major generic and branded companies worldwide, having twelve respiratory APIs for inhalation in its portfolio and distributing its products to more than 40 countries including Europe, the US, Japan, Korea, China and Turkey.

Inke has been successfully inspected by every major global authority, including the US-FDA since 2002 (latest inspection in April 2019). It is full EU-GMP compliant and holds ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications. The company has a strong regulatory track-record with 10 Certificates of Suitability (CEPs), 10 US-DMF, 8 JP-DMF, 9 KR-DMF and 5 CN-DMF.

Inke is a wholly owned subsidiary of Neuraxpharm since 2016, a leading European specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders backed by funds advised by Permira.

For more information about Inke, please visit: https://www.inke.es


DUBLIN (dpa-AFX) - CRH (CRH, CRG), a building materials business operating worldwide, on Wednesday said it expects first-half sales, EBITDA and margin to be ahead of the prior year period, in the backdrop of favorable demand and the integrated solutions strategy.



The Ireland-based company said it had a positive start to the year with first quarter Group sales, EBITDA and margin ahead of the same period last year.



First quarter sales for the Americas Materials operations were 13 percent ahead of the same period in 2021. Sales for the Europe Materials operations were 11 percent ahead of 2021. The first-quarter Building Products sales were 22 percent ahead of the same period in 2021.



The company expects the positive demand environment in North America to continue. Despite the challenges of significant energy cost volatility and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the company said it expects like-for-like EBITDA in Europe Materials business to be ahead of the prior-year period.



The group also said that it is continuing with its share buyback program with a further $0.3 billion to be completed no later than 27 June, bringing the total for the six months ending 30 June, to $0.6 billion.



CRH would be reporting its interim results for the six months ending 30 June on Thursday, 25 August.



Shares of CRH plc closed Tuesday's trading at $39.69, up $0.86 or 2.21 percent from the previous close.







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HKTDC Director of Research Irina Fan said physical fairs and hybrid fairs are the future as the two formats can complement each other.

HONG KONG, Apr 20, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to global sourcing patterns. According to a new survey commissioned by Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Research, the vast majority of international buyers (93%) have used online sourcing platforms since the pandemic began, with more than 85% attending virtual fairs to meet their sourcing needs. However, most buyers surveyed said they would prefer to source via physical fairs (63%) or hybrid fairs (59%) once travel restrictions are lifted.HKTDC's Irina Fan - hybrid and physical fairs are complementaryCommenting on the findings of the survey, HKTDC Director of Research Irina Fan said: "The survey reflects that more buyers have been choosing to purchase online due to the pandemic. However, this makes it difficult to perform tasks such as product examination and evaluation as well as supplier authentication. We believe that physical fairs and hybrid fairs are the future, with the two complementing each other."The HKTDC commissioned independent research institution Ipsos to conduct the study, titled "B2B Online Sourcing: A Buyer Behaviour Study Towards Recovery", between May and October 2021, interviewing about 600 international buyers from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, Australia, Europe, Mainland China and the United States to gauge their views on international sourcing patterns following the onset of the pandemic.According to the survey, 93% of respondents said they had used online sourcing platforms during the past 12 months where they conducted more than 60% of their sourcing on average; 43% said they had engaged more suppliers than they did prior to the pandemic using online sourcing platforms; 46% said they had sourced a wider variety of products; 42% said they had sourced more frequently; and 44% said the average value per order had increased.Top three reasons to use online sourcing platformsMs Fan said that there are three top reasons for buyers to use online sourcing platforms, namely, to search for new suppliers and make enquiries (70%), to compare products and prices (66%), and to identify the latest product trends (57%). "In the wake of the pandemic, many industries are committed to organising virtual fairs to strengthen the connection between international buyers and suppliers. These events have been well received by the industry, with the survey showing that more than 85% of buyers surveyed had participated in virtual fairs in 2021."In addition, buyers rated the overall effectiveness of online sourcing through web platforms, websites, mobile apps and virtual meetings at an average of 7.4 out of 10, seeing them as fairly effective overall. When asked about the main pain points associated with using online sourcing platforms, 61% of respondents said it was the inability to examine products physically, while other major barriers were the risk of fraud (56%), insufficient product details and images (54%), unresponsive suppliers (49%) and uncertified products (49%).Can virtual fairs supersede physical fairs?Regarding future sourcing preferences, 63% of buyers responding in the survey said they would prefer to source via physical fairs while 59% of buyers would prefer hybrid fairs once travel restrictions are lifted. Among the buyers surveyed, those from Mainland China and ASEAN countries expressed most enthusiasm for hybrid fairs, followed by buyers from Europe, the United States and Australia.Ms Fan pointed out that while international buyers have accepted virtual fairs out of necessity, and reduced travel costs and other expenses associated with attending physical fairs, the general consensus remains that virtual fairs will not supersede physical fairs. Physical and virtual fairs both have their own merits, and hybrid fairs that combine the two formats will continue to be another choice for international buyers.The survey also showed that buyers who prefer hybrid fairs were more likely to register a higher average spend per order (in the range of US$50,000-$100,000+) compared with counterparts who prefer physical or virtual fairs. This suggests that hybrid fairs could be well positioned to facilitate more lucrative business opportunities.Ms Fan added that the key digital features buyers would like to see at hybrid fairs include the ability to easily search and acquire exhibitor information, scheduling meetings with exhibitors before, during and after the physical tradeshow, and having access to useful communication tools such as instant messaging, file sharing and business card sharing. Other services such as seminar livestreaming and recordings, virtual meetings, and artificial intelligence-enabled exhibitor as well as product recommendations were also sought-after features of great benefit to buyers and exhibitors alike.Main survey findings- Buyers who used online sourcing platforms in the past 12 monthsYes 93%No 7%- Buyers who joined virtual fairs in the past 12 monthsYes 85.5%No 14.5%- Buyers' sourcing preferences in post-COVID-19 eraPhysical fairs 63%Hybrid fairs 59%Virtual fairs 37%Online sourcing platforms 21%- Change in sourcing behaviours due to COVID-19*Variety of products sourced | Number of suppliers engaged | Sourcing frequency | Average value per orderIncreased 46% | 43% | 42% | 44%Remained unchanged 38% | 31% | 30% | 33%Decreased 15% | 26% | 27% | 24%- Top 3 reasons to use online sourcing platformsSearch for new suppliers and make enquiries 70%Compare products and prices 66%Identify the latest product trends 57%- Pain points associated with using online sourcing platformsUnable to examine the products physically 61%Risk of fraud 56%Insufficient product details and photos 54%Unresponsive suppliers 49%Uncertified products 49%* Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.References- HKTDC Research website: http://research.hktdc.com/- International Sourcing for 2022 and Beyond: Insights Into How Buyers and Suppliers Are Optimising Online Sourcing Moving Forward https://research.hktdc.com/en/article/MTAyMTMxMzA5MQ- Photo download: https://bit.ly/3OfdBAZAbout HKTDCThe Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedInMedia enquiries:HKTDC's Communication and Public Affairs DepartmentSunny Ng, Tel: +852 2584 4357, Email: sunny.sl.ng@hktdc.orgSource: HKTDCCopyright 2022 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Online food delivery marketplace Just Eat Takeaway.com N.V. (JET.L), on Wednesday, reported a 4% growth in its first-quarter Gross Transaction Value or GTV, driven by a higher Average Transaction Value. First-quarter GTV amounted to 7.2 billion. Further, the company maintained the high level of Orders that were processed during the Covid-19 restrictions in the first quarter of last year. In the first quarter of 2022, Just Eat Takeaway.com processed 264 million Orders, roughly flat compared with the same period in 2021. Jitse Groen, CEO of Just Eat Takeaway.com, said, 'After two years of exceptional growth, we maintain the same high level of orders that were processed during the Covid-19 restrictions. Our priority for 2022 lies in enhancing profitability and strengthening our business. We expect profitability to gradually improve throughout the year, and to return to positive adjusted EBITDA in 2023.' Looking ahead for the full year of 2022, the company expects GTV to grow by mid-single digit year-on-year, and adjusted EBITDA margin in the range of minus 0.5% to minus 0.7% of GTV, versus the prior estimate range of minus 0.6% to minus 0.8%. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Wednesday, confounding expectations for a reduction, as the People's Bank of China opted for a more cautious stance to further easing.



The one-year loan prime rate, or LPR, was retained at 3.70 percent and the five-year LPR, the benchmark for mortgage rates, was maintained at 4.60 percent.



Although the one-year medium-term lending facility, the forerunner of LPR, was kept unchanged last week, economists expected a slight reduction in the LPR today.



The previous change in the one-year loan-prime rate was a 5 basis points cut in January, which was the second consecutive reduction.



The LPR is fixed monthly based on the submission of 18 banks, though Beijing has influence over the rate-setting. This lending rate replaced the central bank's traditional benchmark lending rate in August 2019.



For now, policymakers are mostly relying on targeted measures to help support firms hit by the latest virus wave, economists at Capital Economics said.



The reluctance to embrace more wholesale easing suggests that a strong stimulus-led rebound of the kind we saw in 2020 is not likely this year, economists added.



The central bank announced relief measures to companies and households affected by the lockdown, on Monday. This included ensuring enough supply of funds to small and medium-sized companies.



Last week, the PBoC lowered the reserve requirement ratio by 0.25 percentage points. The reduction freed up CNY 530 billion in long-term liquidity. The weighted average RRR for Chinese financial institutions now stands at 8.1 percent.



Official data showed on Monday that the Chinese economy expanded at a faster pace of 4.8 percent in the first quarter despite the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions hitting consumption and heightened geopolitical risks.



That said, the retail sales and industrial production data for the month of March were tepid suggesting weakness in coming months in the backdrop of supply disruptions due to the lockdown restrictions in some regions to curb a fresh wave of Covid infections.



For the whole year of 2022, the government targets around 5.5 percent growth.



The International Monetary Fund, on Tuesday, downgraded China's growth forecast for this year to 4.4 percent from 4.8 percent. The outlook for next year was trimmed to 5.1 percent from 5.2 percent.







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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - AbbVie (ABBV) has terminated its collaboration with BioArctic AB, a Swedish biopharma company, to develop alpha-synuclein antibodies, including ABBV-0805. The two companies had entered into a strategic collaboration in September 2016 to develop and commercialize BioArctic's portfolio of antibodies directed against alpha-synuclein for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other potential indications. The reason which led to the termination of the collaboration is not known. ABBV-0805, previously known as BAN0805, in-licensed by AbbVie from BioArctic in December 2018, advanced into a phase I study in March 2019. However, AbbVie had withdrawn this trial in 2020 due to strategic reasons. Commenting on the developments, Gunilla Osswald, BioArctic's CEO, said, 'We are disappointed that AbbVie has taken this decision. All available data indicates that ABBV-0805 has uniquely high selectivity for the pathological forms of aggregated alpha-synuclein, as well as Phase 1 data supporting progression to Phase 2. We believe that ABBV-0805 has the potential to become a disease-modifying treatment for people with Parkinson's disease and will now investigate options to continue the development of this asset.' Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
yeedi vac 2 series is a breakthrough in its price range with a perfected mopping system and advanced obstacle avoidance technology

BERLIN, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- yeedi, a robot vacuum brand dedicated to helping customers solve problems in their daily lives, unveiled yeedi vac 2 series today. Both models, yeedi vac 2 pro and vac 2, in this series, feature industry-leading obstacle avoidance technology to intelligently dodge objects on your floor. Debut of this series brings advanced technology in the robot vacuum industry to the majority at an accessible price. Together with this series, yeedi launched a swap repair program where customers can swap for a new unit instead of repairing it within the warranty period.

Feedback from customers shows that robots with technology from the last decade often failed to solve their problems. But robot vacuums with up-to-date technology are priced high and it doesn't sound like a wise investment for people purely searching for solid floor cleaning tools.

"We are proud to see yeedi vac series launched last year being loved and recommended by so many global customers," commented Gary Li, General Manager of yeedi, "We've been pondering on how to bring the robotic cleaning experience up a notch. And yeedi vac 2 series is our answer. We even used intelligent 3D obstacle avoidance technology, which has been commonly considered unprofitable in this price range to bring reliability to more homes."

Perfected Mopping System That Truly Works

Inheriting the tried-and-true vacuum & mop integration from yeedi vac series, yeedi vac 2 pro perfects its mopping function with a unique oscillating mopping system. This innovative mopping system moves back and forth to mimic hand mopping, but 5x faster, so even the most annoying stains can be wiped off easily. Born with a long-lasting mopping system, yeedi vac 2 delivers a dependable mopping performance for multiple floors types.

Advanced Obstacle Avoidance

Say goodbye to the robot being stuck, random bumping and before-cleaning pick up. Guided by 3D obstacle avoidance technology, yeedi vac 2 series intelligently senses objects in its way and reacts in time to cleverly dodge them. With its smart recognition of daily objects on your floor, you can start cleaning immediately without having to pick up the clutters first.

No Dustbin Emptying in 30 Days

Works with yeedi self-empty station (sold separately) for auto dustbin cleaning. With a 2.5L dust bag in a sealing design, yeedi vac 2 series locks 30 days of dirt in place, so you can forget about vacuuming and focus on what matters.

Swap Repair Program for yeedi vac 2 series

yeedi also announced a swap repair program for this brand new series. By introducing this program, yeedi promises to grant customers a free replacement instead of repairing that unit within the warranty period.

Turn the Old into the Brand New

yeedi has made it incredibly easy for its users to upgrade their old yeedi models to vac 2 pro. Starting from April 2022, whatever yeedi model you have, you can easily trade in it for credit toward the purchase of yeedi vac 2 pro.

yeedi vac 2 series Specifications {Comparison Chart}

Product Model yeedi vac 2 pro yeedi vac 2 Price 449.99 349.99 Obstacle Avoidance 3D Obstacle Avoidance 3D Obstacle Avoidance Mopping System Oscillating Mopping System Long-Lasting Mopping Suction Power 3000Pa 3000Pa Carpet Detection Yes No Battery Capacity 5200mAh 2600mAh Dustbin Capacity 420ml 420ml Water Tank Capacity 180ml 240ml Work with Self-Empty Station Yes Yes

Price and Availability

yeedi vac 2 pro will be available on Apr. 20 with a listing price of 449.99 over multiple channels:

Amazon

OTTO

Kaufland

eBay

eBay

Amazon

AliExpress

Amazon

Rakuten

Cdiscount

Fnac

Darty

eBay

Amazon

Amazon

eBay

Amazon

Amazon

eBay

Priced 349.99, yeedi vac 2 will be available in June. For more information, please visit https://www.yeedi.com/.

About yeedi

yeedi is a robot vacuum brand dedicated to helping customers solve problems in their daily lives. In the belief that all functions and innovations are built to serve the majority, not the minority, we bring intelligent cleaning products to more homes to help them keep the house clean and healthy with ease.

yeedi

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BIRMINGHAM, England, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Flybe, Britain's new regional airline, has selected IBS Software's iFly Res as the backbone of its commercial operations to propel its recent launch. The launch is set to provide hundreds of jobs in Birmingham, Belfast and elsewhere in the UK.

IBS Software's next-gen solution, iFly Res, will support Flybe as it launches its new airline with a customer-centric passenger service system (PSS), providing state of the art offer and order management capabilities, fully supporting IATA's NDC and ONE Order standard. This includes an airline portal, a modern booking engine for consumers and a unique, comprehensive agency portal to drive indirect sales through a cost-effective channel with merchandising upsell opportunities.

"We are excited to be working with IBS Software to realise our goal of launching our new airline, growing and delivering a customer-focused system that merges retail capability with modern technology solutions," said Dave Pflieger, CEO of Flybe "The flexibility of this reservations system, along with an excellent partnership, made iFly Res the perfect choice for us. We're looking forward to continuing to leverage technology and innovation with IBS Software by our side."

"We are delighted to be supporting one of the UK's newest airlines on its flight path into the skies," said David Friderici, Senior VP and Head of Aviation Passenger Solutions at IBS Software. "This partnership will help Flybe to provide its customers with a data-driven, personalised digital experience that will make travelling around its network easier than ever before. We have been keen to welcome Flybe as a customer, and we are pleased to stand side-by-side with them as we begin an exciting journey together."

About IBS Software

IBS Software is a leading SaaS solutions provider to the travel industry globally, managing mission-critical operations for customers in the aviation, tour & cruise and hospitality industries. IBS Software's solutions for the aviation industry cover flight & crew operations, aircraft maintenance, passenger services, loyalty programs, staff travel and air-cargo management. IBS Software also runs a real time B2B and B2C distribution platform providing hotel room inventory, rates and availability to a global network of hospitality companies and channels. For the tour and cruise industry, IBS provides a comprehensive, customer-centric, digital platform that covers onshore, online and on-board solutions. IBS Software is a Blackstone portfolio company and operates from 15 offices across the world. Further information can be found at https://www.ibsplc.com/. For media enquiries, please email the Corporate Communications team: CorpComm@ibsplc.com.

iFly Res is designed to provide a flexible solution to meet increasing airline customer demands and provide a personalised and improved experience, in turn increasing airlines' revenue by retailing and selling ancillaries. iFly Res features a customer-centric design that can seamlessly manage changing business models and help Flybe to execute its vision for a more bespoke retailing experience for its customers.

iFly Res is the first natively compliant IATA NDC and ONE Order management system in the industry, with a rich API portfolio that provides NDC and ONE Order compliant distribution and delivery capabilities at all customer touch points, enabling airlines to apply modern, personalised product and continuous pricing decisions. This includes all distribution channels as well as departure control (DCS) to provide rapid connectivity to content providers, consumers, delivery providers and trade partners.

For more information https://www.ibsplc.com/product/airline-passenger-solutions.

About Flybe Ltd

Established in April 2021, Flybe Ltd is one of the UK's newest airlines. The company will operate flights throughout the UK and EU with operations scheduled to begin in April of 2022. Flybe expects to play a crucial role creating valuable jobs, connecting communities, and helping restart local economies across the UK after it launches. Flybe's planned fleet of 32 fast, quiet, and CO2-efficient Dash 8-400 planes are almost as fast as regional jets, but they are quieter and emit 35% less CO2 on a per seat basis.

For fares and prices, please visit flybe.com to view its everyday low fares, new schedules, and route start dates.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1800443/IBS_Flybe.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1169353/IBS_Software_Logo.jpg
SARAWAK, Malaysia, Apr 20, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - When talking about Sarawak, many will focus on the state capital of Kuching, the administrative centre since the time of James Brooke, steeped in history and rich in cultural diversity of people from various ethnic backgrounds.Many tend to overlook another interesting district, Miri, which is undergoing rapid development and not short of its own travel attractions.The district, which is the second largest in Sarawak, is a fascinating tourist destination with its own history. This is the town where oil was first discovered in Malaysia and an archaeological site where the oldest human remains in Southeast Asia were found.Miri is also the first non-capital town to be granted city status on the 20th of May 2005, with the title "Bandar Peranginan" or "Resort City".Indeed, the Resort City of Miri is a one stop centre with various interesting treasures to be enjoyed by travellers.THE GRAND OLD LADYThe writer had a chance to participate in a tour organised by Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) to visit several interesting sites in Miri.The first location is the Grand Old Lady in Canada Hill. The view from the top of the hills is panoramic and mesmerizing, suitable for those looking for peaceful surroundings and also for family outings.There is an old oil well on the hill called The Grand Old Lady, once described as a 'mother' producing precious resource for the people of her land.The Grand Old Lady is the first oil well in Malaysia, drilled in 1910, and producing oil for 62 years. The well was drilled manually every day by local workers to extract the oil. The well produced 660,000 barrels of oil throughout its operations before it was shut down on the 31st of October, 1972.The oil well sparked the development of the oil industry in the district and has indirectly transformed Miri from a sleepy fishermen's village in the 20th century into a modern and thriving city in the 21st century.For all history lovers, this is a must visit landmark as it is rich in historical information and you are advised to hire a knowledgeable guide to give you a thorough briefing.The tour guide provided to us by STB was Maza Hamden, who is young but highly experienced. He gave a detailed description of the first well, as good as a Google search, with complete information from the top of his mind with just 'one click'.Every significant date, even its oil producing capacity, hundreds of years of history was explained clearly to us without a single note in hand, indicating that the youngster is very well-versed in the history of his home state.NIAH CAVESHome to many national parks, Sarawak is full of natural wonders. In total, it has 23 national parks open to the public, one of which is the famous Niah National Park.Interestingly, Niah National Park houses the oldest cave in Malaysia which is also one of the largest limestone cave system in the world.Even though in terms of size, the Niah National Park is among the smallest in Sarawak, it is clearly the most important and attracts a lot of tourists. One of the reasons for this is the discovery of 65,000 year-old human fossils (based on the latest research in 2017) in Niah Caves, making it the earliest known human dwelling in Southeast Asia.Niah Caves is open to the public every day. Visitors can just 'walk-in' to the registration counter or take a private guided tour package to the Niah Caves offered by travel agencies.For the writers trip recently, STB provided an Iban Tour Guide, Boniface Haikal Abdullah who gave us a detailed briefing on the history and structure of the Niah Caves.Thus, we were more than amazed at its significant historical value.Before making the journey here, visitors are advised to make full preparations such wearing appropriate gear, bringing a torch light and raincoat. The dark chambers and slippery surfaces filled with bat droppings would hamper movement, especially without the proper footwear.According to Boniface, bat droppings in the caves are collected in sacks and used as fertiliser for the agricultural sector.One interesting fact is that before entering the Niah Caves, visitors will past through the Traders Cave, a marketplace for bird's nest traders to sell their harvests. We can still see remnants of huts built during the 50s.The Niah Caves is also the nesting location for swiftlets, with the nests being a source of income for the locals. However, the authorities monitor the collection of the bird's nests in the area to ensure a sustainable population.Another interesting sight here is the house built by Sarawak Museum Curator, Tom Harosson and his wife Barbara Harisson, back in 1958.The couple were the ones who made the hugely important discovery of a human skull on the eastern part of the main entrance of the Niah Caves.After an exhausting 3.5 km walk from the main entrance, visitors can take a break to visit the Inap Desa Rh Patrick Libau Longhouse, to observe first-hand how long house dwellers live their daily lives.The writer also had the opportunity to meet with Homestay Advisor, John Abau Anak Ujang who served us traditional Iban cuisine called pansuh. He was ably assisted by his wife, who served us ayam pansuh (chicken cooked in bamboo), ikan kelah pansuh (freshwater fish cooked in bamboo), sayur rebung masak lemak (spicy creamy bamboo shoots) and paku pakis (ferns).Of the four dishes, we have only tried the paku-pakis in Kuala Lumpur. It was the first time we sampled local delicacies such as pansuh. It was a truly amazing experience that can be shared with friends in Kuala Lumpur.According to John Abau, he and his wife often served this traditional dish to tourists upon special request.MIRI CROCODILE FARMApart from historical sites and ecotourism attractions, The Miri Crocodile Farm and Wildlife Mini Zoo is also a must-see local attraction for tourists.Sarawak is synonymous with crocodiles. It is quite common to see signboards warning people of crocodiles on pathways in Sarawak. There is also the famous legend of a giant crocodile called Bujang Senang, which is well known throughout Malaysia.The Miri Crocodile Park has more than 2,000 crocodiles including an albino one. The park is still sustainable although it faced severe challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic which affected the travel industry as a whole.In addition to crocodiles, The Miri Crocodile Farm and Wildlife Mini Zoo is also home to about 60 birds and exotic animals such as eagles, pythons, and iguanas to provide visitors with a better understanding of their natural habitat.Here, visitors can purchase products made from crocodile skin including belts, hats and wallets.Tickets to the Miri Crocodile Park can be purchased at RM25 for adults and RM1 for kids.MIRI'S AESTHETICAL QUALITIESMiri has its own unique aesthetical qualities that sets it apart as a tourist destination, without being overshadowed by other districts in Sarawak.Apart from the Grand Old Lady oil well, Niah Caves and Miri Crocodile Farm, Miri has other interesting and relaxing destinations such as Coco Cabana, a tranquil location to view the sunset.Visitors can take picturesque romantic photos with their loved ones and families. They can also see the iconic seahorse landmark of Miri.Visitors to Miri must not miss the opportunity to visit the Miri Handicraft Centre to see various unique works of art produced by the Sarawak native community, including their famous woven items.Last but not least, a visit to Sarawak would not be complete without bringing home the Sarawak layered cake. Tourists can get it either from the Saberkas Night Market, Kek Lapis Siti Payung outlet, or from the Miri Airport.Niah National Park: https://niahnationalpark.my/Source: Niah National ParkCopyright 2022 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
DGAP-News: Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. / Key word(s): Miscellaneous

Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.: DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTOR'S SHAREHOLDING NOTIFICATIONS



20.04.2022 / 10:25

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTOR'S SHAREHOLDING NOTIFICATIONS Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. (the "Company") As announced by the Company on 25 February 2022, the conditional share awards that were granted to the Company's managing directors on 26 November 2021 and the number of which was adjusted effective as of 15 February 2022, remained subject to approval from the Company's general meeting of shareholders and the outcome of a performance assessment at the end of the performance period.

In the proposed remuneration policy for the Company's managing directors that was attached to the notice of Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 25 March 2022 (the "AGM") as Appendix 7, it was stated that if the proposed share plan was not approved, equity awards would automatically become awards in the form of phantom shares. At the AGM the amended share plan was not approved by the requisite simple majority as 49.49% of the votes were cast in favour and 51.51% of the votes were cast against. As a result, the condition of obtaining approval from the Company's general meeting of shareholders is no longer capable of being fulfilled. In accordance with their terms, the conditional share awards that were granted to the Company's managing directors have therefore automatically become conditional equity awards in the form of phantom shares. Apart from that change the number of awards and other conditions remain unchanged. The Company is voluntarily informing the market that, following the voting results of the AGM, each of its managing directors has made a notification to the AFM (the Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets) related to the conditional award of shares in Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. as set out below. Date of transaction: 25 March 2022 Person obliged to notify: Louis J. du Preez Issuing institution: Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. Registration Chamber of Commerce 63570173 Place of residence: Amsterdam, the Netherlands Position before transaction Type of share Issuing institution Number of shares Number of votes Ordinary Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 5,165 5,165 Conditional share award Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 7,316,589 0.00 Changes Type of share Issuing institution Number of shares Value per stock Number of votes Discretionary management mandate Conditional share award Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. -7,316,589 0.00 0.00 No Position after transaction Type of share Issuing institution Number of shares Number of votes Ordinary Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 5,165 5,165 Conditional share award Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 0.00* 0.00 The above notification has been disclosed in the relevant register on the AFM website:

https://www.afm.nl/en/professionals/registers/meldingenregisters/bestuurders-commissarissen/details?id=122282 * In conclusion, Mr. Du Preez is now entitled to 7,316,589 conditional equity awards in the form of phantom shares, which are not notifiable to the AFM. Date of transaction: 25 March 2022 Person obliged to notify: Theodore L. de Klerk Issuing institution: Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. Registration Chamber of Commerce 63570173 Place of residence: Amsterdam, the Netherlands Position before transaction Type of share Issuing institution Number of shares Number of votes Ordinary Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 194,270 194,270 Conditional share award Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 6,345,011 0.00 Changes Type of share Issuing institution Number of shares Value per stock Number of votes Discretionary management mandate Conditional share award Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. -6,345,011 0.00 0.00 No Position after transaction Type of share Issuing institution Number of shares Number of votes Ordinary Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 194,270 194,270 Conditional share award Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 0.00** 0.00 The above notification has been disclosed in the relevant register on the AFM website:

https://www.afm.nl/en/professionals/registers/meldingenregisters/bestuurders-commissarissen/details?id=122283 ** In conclusion, Mr. De Klerk is now entitled to 6,345,011 conditional equity awards in the form of phantom shares, which are not notifiable to the AFM. The Company has a primary listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the JSE Limited. Stellenbosch, 20 April 2022

20.04.2022 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.dgap.de


ZIMBABWEANS have blasted recent comments by South African Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi, who was quoted saying he would resign after all undocumented foreigners had been locked away.

They described Motsoaledis utterances as tantamount to endorsing xenophobic attacks on foreigners.

Addressing an African National Congress (ANC) regional conference in the Eastern Cape province this week, Motsoaledi said: Why is the ANC keeping quiet and believing [this problem] will go away? It is not going to go away. I am in Home Affairs. I know what I am talking about. We are the only country that accepts rascals. That is not the meaning of democracy. We are not going to allow that. I am coming for them. When all of them are in jail, locked in and the keys have been thrown away, then I will step down  only then.

Analysts described Motsoaledis utterances as irresponsible and legalising xenophobia.

He should be extremely careful because he is likely to be taken by the Operation Dudula gangsters to be giving an official recognition of their criminal activities, analyst Effie Ncube said.

He said there was no evidence supporting that foreigners in South Africa were engaging in criminal activities.

Political analyst Dumisani Nkomo said: These are shocking statements apparently from an ignorant minister, who is not even aware that it was foreigners who helped South Africa to attain independence. It was Zambia that harboured Umkhonto Wesizwe, while Zimbabwe harboured the ANC.

Political analyst Vivid Gwede said: The government has the primary duty to ensure the safety of all citizens within and beyond its borders. It should do more to engage South Africa to get unequivocal assurances and guarantees of protection of all Zimbabwean migrants.

Academic Methuseli Moyo said government should push South Africa to condemn and act on the attacks.

The long-term solution is to create a conducive economic and political environment in Zimbabwe so that our nationals come back from South Africa, Moyo said.

Foreign Affairs ministry spokesperson Livit Mugejo said government would continue engaging its South Africa counterparts to find solutions to the xenophobic attacks.

We remain gravely concerned about the increase in the number of incidents of violence against our nationals in various parts of the host country, he said.

Consultations with the host government will continue using the established diplomatic channels with a view to finding solutions to this devastating problem.

Recently, a Zimbabwean Elvis Nyathi was burnt to death in South Africa by a mob from Operation Dudula after he failed to produce a passport. Newsday
NEW YORK, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Premialab today announced that Asset Management One USA Inc. (AMO USA) will use Premialab's Platform to enhance their selection, multi-asset portfolio construction and risk analysis of alternative risk premia strategies.

AM One USA team will partner with Premialab for their quantitative solutions to solve the most complex of cross-asset quantitative strategies.

"At AMO USA, we have a long history of developing and managing our own quantitative investment strategies, as well as in investing in bank risk premia strategies across styles and asset classes. Investing in bank strategies not only requires a deep understanding of each strategy but also robust risk management that considers both performance-based and positions-based metrics. Our partnership with Premialab will complement our existing infrastructure and enhance our efficiency, breadth of coverage, and accuracy of analyses," said Sladja Carton, Global Head of Strategic Development at Asset Management One USA Inc.

"Our data and analytics seamlessly integrate into AMO USA's infrastructure powering allocation and risk management on systematic investment strategies," said Adrien Geliot, CEO at Premialab. "We are delighted to partner with AMO USA supporting their extensive expertise in quantitative strategies."

Learn more about how investment professionals benefit from Premialab.

About Premialab

Premialab is an independent platform providing data, analytics, and risk solutions on systematic, factor, and multi-asset strategies in collaboration with leading investment banks and institutional investors globally.



With offices in Paris, London, New York, Hong Kong, and Stockholm, the group has established strong partnerships with the top 17 investments banks, global asset managers, pensions funds & insurance companies. Please visit: www.premialab.com or connect on Twitter or LinkedIn for more information.

About Asset Management One USA Inc.

Asset Management One USA Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Asset Management One Co., Ltd. ("AMO Japan"), one of the largest asset managers in Asia with over $512bn AUM*, offering a broad and diverse range of investment strategies and liquidity solutions to some of the largest institutional investors globally. AMO Japan is jointly owned by Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. and Dai-Ichi Life Holdings, Inc., both publicly traded companies.

*Note: This global AUM/AUA figure includes discretionary assets under management and non-discretionary under advisement and is not the Regulatory Assets Under Management. AUM/AUA is the sum of the asset values of each of the funds for which Asset Management One Group provides investment advice, without any exclusion for the assets of any of those funds that are invested in another of those funds. AUM/AUA where functional currency is not USD is converted to USD using the WM rate for each currency on December 31, 2021.
- SeproTec accelerates its growth with the acquisition of German company tsd, which specializes in translation services for clients and sectors with high added value

- This acquisition is part of SeproTec's ambitious growth plan based on both organic development and the acquisition of other companies specializing in multilingual services, technology development and/or intellectual property management

- The acquisition was financed by SeproTec's own resources and bank financing

COLOGNE, Germany, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SeproTec, a company specializing in industrial and intellectual property management, translation and interpretation services, has concluded the acquisition of tsd from the former owners. The current management team, consisting of Dominique and Stefan Puls, will continue to manage the business. tsd is a company specializing in the provision of translation services to industrial companies based in Germany. Its business model is based on service quality. Furthermore, it has a large portfolio of recurring clients with a significant degree of diversification in high added value sectors.

The German-speaking market presents a high added value in the provision of language services, and tsd has a differential positioning in the services provided to large industrial companies with a presence in Germany. With strong sectoral diversification (it is present in the automotive sector, technological sector, energy, engineering and construction and in the medical/pharmaceutical and finance sectors) and has started using artificial intelligence software to assist its clients.

Thanks to this acquisition, which was financed using a mixture of our own resources and bank financing provided by Caixa Bank, SeproTec will generate annual revenues estimated at more than 65 million, be able to pursue its international expansion into attractive markets and expand its client portfolio. From tsd's point of view, its incorporation into the SeproTec group will enable it to continue developing its growth and digital transformation plans, taking advantage of the technological tools and the experience of SeproTec's management team.

This is SeproTec's first acquisition under its ambitious plan for national and international expansion based on both organic growth and on acquisitions of companies specializing in multilingual services, the development of technology and intellectual property management with a differential positioning in their markets.

Dina Freibott, outgoing CEO of tsd, said: "SeproTec has a strong value proposition in the industry, and at the same time it shares our vision and fundamental beliefs as professionals, making it the right partner for tsd, which facilitated the decision to take this step."

Juan Julian Leon, CEO of SeproTec, commented: "tsd has a solid presence in the technological sector and all its sub-sectors, including automotive, commercial and utility vehicles, energy, engineering and construction, as well as in medical/pharmaceutical and finance. This perfectly complements our own portfolio of clients and strengthens our offer of services, especially in the German-speaking markets. This acquisition provides us with significant operating synergies and allows us to continue growing in markets that are strategic for us. Furthermore, we have been very favorably impressed by the talent of the tsd team, and their approach to solutions, processes and clients fits perfectly with SeproTec's mission and vision".

KPMG Financial Advisory and KPMG Legal advised Nazca and SeproTec on the transaction, while Herbert Smith Freehills did the same on the financing side.

About SeproTec

With more than 25 years' experience, and with Nazca Capital as a shareholder since 2021, SeproTec specializes in providing translation and interpretation services and offers technological industrial property management services through its subsidiary SHIP Global IP. The Group has considerable experience in translating patents and has built up substantial specialized databases in such sectors as pharma, health sciences and manufacturing. It also specializes in offering translation and interpretation services to national and international public administrations. The company is international (more than 50% of its sales come from outside Spain) and has offices in Basel, Switzerland, Krakow, Poland and Austin, USA. Additionally, its subsidiary SHIP Global IP, established in 2016, has developed a technological platform allowing global industrial property portfolios to be managed more efficiently. More than 90% of its sales are made outside Spain.

SeproTec has experienced rapid growth thanks to the scalability of the business based on the use of technology.

Press Contact

SeproTec | Marketing & Communications Department | T +34 91 204 8700 | marketing@seprotec.com

tsd | Marketing & Communications Department | +49 221-92 59 86-15 |dominique.puls@tsd-int.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1799987/Seprotec_Logo.jpg
SHANGHAI, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hainan has witnessed the opening of the 2022 Annual Conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) on 20th April, under the theme of "The World in COVID-19 & Beyond: Working Together for Global Development and Shared Future". As the designated stationery partner of the event, Shanghai M&G Stationery Inc. ("M&G" or "The Company") has been providing BFA with high-quality office stationery products for over a decade.

M&G has cultivated the Chinese market for more than 30 years, as a beloved and trusted stationery brand for Chinese consumers. The company has established a network of over 80,000 retail terminals in China. With continuous breakthroughs in channels, products and brands, M&G's products have covered more than 50 countries and regions, with partners all over the world.

In fiscal year 2021, revenue of M&G reached $2.76 billion, up more than 17.9% year on year.

2021 also witnessed the starting year of the company's new strategy 2021-2025. China-based M&G, one of the world's largest stationery manufacturers, will be more "consumer-oriented" , and speed up its progress towards a world-class enterprise.

M&G invests more than $15 million every year in product R&D and design to meet consumer needs. It has been granted 841 patents, won four authoritative international industrial design awards, including iF Design Award, Red Dot Design Award, Good Design Award and IDEA Design Award.

At the same time, M&G firmly practices social responsibility as a corporate citizen and follows the national "carbon neutrality" strategy. In its recent annual report released in March 2022, M&G revealed its five-year sustainability strategy with the vision to "write a sustainable business future". It will continue its efforts in developing sustainable products, addressing climate change, creating a sustainable supply chain, and empowering employees and communities.

In addition, it has acquired and invested in several international brands to expand its brand & product portfolios, including the Norwegian backpack brand Beckmann and the Italian children' painting & art enlightenment brand CARIOCA.

Based on the company's overall competitiveness and strength in high quality products, M&G has been providing stationery to many top events, including those of APEC and BFA.

About M&G: www.mgstationery.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1800521/image.jpg
FARFETCH, Browns and Off-White expand their luxury offerings into the Beauty space simultaneously

The expansion into Beauty follows FARFETCH's acquisition of luxury beauty retailer, Violet Grey, earlier this year

Farfetch.com becomes the destination for sought-after Beauty products housing over 100 brands and announces the formation of The FARFETCH Beauty Global Collective, a carefully selected international committee of brand founders, industry experts and creative visionaries who will educate, inspire, and build a sense of community

Browns unveils a highly curated, conscious, and inclusive selection of skincare, makeup, hair, fragrance, and men's grooming products, taking its devoted community on a journey that's as unique as the Browns fashion offering

New Guards Group launches Off-White "Paperwork" with Solution, a collection of four genderless fragrances

FARFETCH Limited (NYSE: FTCH, the "Company" or "FARFETCH"), the leading global platform for the luxury fashion industry, today announced the launch of Beauty across FARFETCH companies, Browns, Farfetch.com and Off-White. This follows the acquisition of luxury beauty retailer, Violet Grey earlier this year which brings industry expertise as well as a curated selection to be offered on Farfetch.com, and expands the beauty curator's reach to extend to FARFETCH's global customer base.

Farfetch.com, Browns and Off-White will launch Beauty simultaneously with their own unique propositions. The launch of Beauty on Farfetch.com will enable FARFETCH to offer its informed and engaged customers a curated selection of the industry's most sought-after products, bringing together iconic global brands and indie brands to transform the beauty retail experience, creating an environment that offers beauty beyond boundaries.

FARFETCH's expansion into Beauty provides an opportunity to target the growing global Luxury Beauty market, estimated to be almost $USD 69 billion and the second largest category within the global Personal Luxury market, after Leather Goods, and ahead of Apparel1

Together with Violet Grey, Browns and Off-White, Farfetch.com will provide a curated edit of the best luxury beauty products to serve customers across ages, races, cultures, and genders in an 'Only on FARFETCH' way.

As a Marketplace, FARFETCH is uniquely positioned to be able to offer multiple points of view and voices in this important category led by the FARFETCH Beauty Global Collective, featuring Founder of Violet Grey, Cassandra Grey, Erin Parsons, Isamaya Ffrench, Jawara, Mia Kong, Dr. Michelle Henry, Michelle Wong, Nico Hiraga, and Violet Chachki. Through a dynamic community-led approach, FARFETCH Beauty offers customers an immersive crossover between fashion and beauty, leveraging the platform's innovation capabilities to offer exciting features for customers such as virtual try-on for the makeup category.

BROWNS

With this expansion into beauty, Browns takes its community on a beauty journey that's as unique as its renowned fashion offering. As with the luxury retailer's celebrated approach to fashion, Browns Beauty is all about the edit, with products from the best in beauty-from the established to the emerging-selected on account of their conscious, clean, iconic, inclusive or innovative credentials.

Browns Beauty will be brought to life through quarterly themes, which will be explored in a 360-degree manner both on- and offline; always inspiring, unquestionably memorable, and distinctly Browns. For launch, 'Big Little Rituals' celebrates the theme of community, joining forces with the newly-established Browns Beauty Community-an eclectic, creative beauty network comprising talent from across the beauty industry and beyond.

The Beauty Pod, a consistent location for beauty in Browns East, will be home to a regularly-rotating edit of the best in beauty, seamlessly blended to promote discovery and inspire trial. With world-class customer service from brand neutral Beauty Specialists, customers can expect personalised advice and perfectly tailored product recommendations from true beauty experts in-store and through email and live video chat. In addition, Browns East and Browns Brook Street will each play home to highly curated in-store experiences and residencies with niche and cult beauty experts, with treatments specially curated for Browns.

OFF-WHITE

Off-White "Paperwork" is a beauty collection (re)imagined as an innovative toolkit designed to celebrate diversity and inspire self-expression; it invites all human beings to amplify their individuality and celebrate their potential, employing playful technology and a non-conformist ethos to empower personal expression, pushing everyone to expand its potential beyond traditional beauty.

Off-White "Paperwork" will launch with Solution, a collection of four genderless fragrances that introduce the revolution, initiating a playful and progressive dialogue.

Discover Beauty at FARFETCH, Browns and Off-White from April 20, 2022.

About FARFETCH

FARFETCH Limited is the leading global platform for the luxury fashion industry. Founded in 2007 by Jose Neves for the love of fashion, and launched in 2008, FARFETCH began as an e-commerce marketplace for luxury boutiques around the world. Today the FARFETCH Marketplace connects customers in over 190 countries and territories with items from more than 50 countries and over 1,400 of the world's best brands, boutiques and department stores, delivering a truly unique shopping experience and access to the most extensive selection of luxury on a single platform. FARFETCH's additional businesses include Browns and Stadium Goods, which offer luxury products to consumers, and New Guards Group, a platform for the development of global fashion brands. FARFETCH offers its broad range of consumer-facing channels and enterprise level solutions to the luxury industry under its Luxury New Retail initiative. The Luxury New Retail initiative also encompasses FARFETCH Platform Solutions, which services enterprise clients with e-commerce and technology capabilities, and Future Retail, which develops innovations such as our Connected Retail solutions.

About Browns

Browns has been a beacon of emerging and established design in London since it first opened its doors in 1970, coming at a time when there were no luxury multi-brand boutiques in the UK. Founded by Joan Burstein affectionately known as Mrs B, Browns introduced some of the most prolific design talents and brands to the UK including Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Jil Sander championing them in a way that no one else could. Today Browns, led by Chair Holli Rogers and MD Paul Brennan, under the guidance of Farfetch who bought and invested in Browns in 2015, the retailer is on a journey to be the luxury shopping experience of the future. In 2021, Browns launched their new flagship Browns Brook Street cementing Browns as a purveyor of experiential retail, celebrating innovation and translating the brands pioneering spirit into new and exciting retail concepts that place emphasis on fashion, technology and the power of personal service. The new Mayfair flagship sits alongside Browns East on Club Row, Shoreditch. Visit Browns at brownsfashion.com or via the Browns Fashion App and follow us at @brownsfashion on Instagram.

About Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh

Established in 2013, Off-White is defining the grey area between black and white as a color.

Under the brand name, seasonal collections of men's and women's clothing, objects, furniture and publications are articulating a current culture vision. Collections embedded in a recurrent back story with an emphasis on creating garments that have an identity by design. With a design studio based in Milan, Italy the label harnesses the history and craftsmanship within the country yet offers a global perspective in terms of design and trends. With a clear vision of splicing the reality of how clothes are worn and the artistic expression of high-fashion, creative director and designer Virgil Abloh explored concepts in the realm of youth culture in the contemporary context.

For more information, please visit www.farfetchinvestors.com.

1 Bain Altagamma Luxury Study 20th Edition, November 2021. 2021E global market size for Luxury Beauty: 60B ($68.9B using USD/EUR exchange rate as of 11 November when the report was published

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220420005522/en/

Contacts:

FARFETCH

Susannah Clark

SVP Communications, Global

susannah.clark@farfetch.com



Browns

Sophie Williams

Senior Communications Manager

sophie.williams@brownsfashion.com



Off-White

Giulia Malagoli

Communications Officer

giulia.malagoli@off---white.com
As the world begins building back post-pandemic, TBD Media Group brings together the businesses building a better planet for everyone

LONDON, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --The scale of the challenges facing humanity today are massive, but we should not be overwhelmed by them. That's the signal coming loud and clear from today's ambitious business leaders who make up the Vision 2045 project, dedicated to meeting the moment with innovation, collaboration, ingenuity and grit.

As we contemplate the long term fate of our planet, Vision 2045 provides a roadmap for our survival as a species and the ultimate fate of our world.

Acclaimed production company TBD Media Group has brought together businesses from around the world and across industries to showcase the actions being taken today that set the standard for better practices that protect people, planet and profit.

In a series of compelling documentaries, TBD Media Group tells the story to a global audience of how the Sustainable Development Goals are being addressed: from transforming the investment markets to using the latest technology to decarbonize the supply chain, these films give thought leaders a platform for laying out their strategy to protect and repair our natural resources.

Paolo Zanini, Founder and CEO at TBD Media Group says:

"We are seeing a huge shift in the attitudes of businesses around the world which are looking beyond short term profits to imagine a fairer future, cleaner planet and long term sustainability. The UN has laid down a huge challenge to the world's businesses and we are seeing the bravest and most passionate of leaders stepping up to that challenge. In a media environment that leads with bad news, I am proud to say that the TBD team of filmmakers is using their talent to bring hope to anyone who questions whether the problems of the world can be fixed. They can, and these films explain how."

Zanini believes that this kind of engagement is essential to driving positive change. He says:

"We don't have the luxury of pessimism. Only optimists can see a better tomorrow and TBD Media Group, as part of the news landscape, has a responsibility to highlight the progress that has been made by Vision 2045 businesses. Solutions to our most urgent problems are here, we just need to learn the lessons."

The Vision 2045 documentary series examines how the most ambitious businesses in the world are harnessing innovation to meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

Companies featured in this launch:

AMAG Group, Amprion, BDO Unibank, Beiersdorf, Chandos Construction, CIEL Textile, ITRenew, Kin + Carta, Parkland Corporation, SMS Group, Techem GmbH, Temasek International.

More information on the Vision 2045 Campaign may be found here: https://vision2045.com/

About TBD Media Group:

TBD Media Group is an international, purpose-driven, media developer that helps companies, organisations and governments tell their brand stories in a human and direct way. Learn more at https://www.tbdmediagroup.com/

Media Contact:

Jenna-LeighAncill

Head of Marketing

TBD Media Group

j.ancill@tbdmediagroup.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1800643/TBD_Media_Group_Climate_Change.jpg


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC said they disagree with the Florida district court's decision to strike down the Biden Administration's Covid-19 mask mandate for public transportation. The agencies plan to appeal the court ruling if CDC concludes that the mask order remains necessary for public health.



In a statement on ruling in Health Freedom Defense Fund Inc., et al. vs Biden, et al., DOJ spokesman Anthony Coley said the Department continues to believe that the mask requirement order in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health.



CDC had issued the Biden administration's mandate in February 2021 that was applied to public transportation and transportation hubs. On April 13, before the district court's decision, CDC extended it through May 3.



CDC explained that the order would remain in effect while it assessed the then public health conditions and that the Transportation Security Administration or TSA would extend its directive implementing the order until May 3 to facilitate CDC's assessment.



Coley added, 'If CDC concludes that a mandatory order remains necessary for the public's health after that assessment, the Department of Justice will appeal the district court's decision.'



Meanwhile, following the court ruling, TSA stated that it no longer enforces the federal face mask mandate applied to public transportation and transportation hubs.



A Biden administration official reportedly said that CDC's public transportation masking order is not in effect due to the court ruling, but its recommendation for people to wear masks in indoor public transportation settings remains.



With the court ruling and the adjacent TSA decision, several airlines and travel authorities have made masks optional for their employees and customers, even as new coronavirus cases are sharply rising again.



American Airlines has made face masks optional at U.S. airports and on domestic flights but added that face masks may still be required based on local ordinances, or when traveling to/from certain international locations based on country requirements.



Orlando International Airport said face masks are now optional in its airport and facilities, and ride-sharing platforms Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. said they no longer require U.S. riders or drivers to wear a mask.



Meanwhile, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said masks are still required by New York City metropolitan area's Metropolitan Transportation Authority. She urged all to wear a mask in settings where required, like on public transit and in health care facilities.







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The 3D LiDAR and VMS integration delivers advanced insights and analytics for physical security applications in the government, retail, and gaming industries

Quanergy Systems, Inc., (NYSE: QNGY) a leading provider of LiDAR sensors and smart 3D solutions, today announced a technology integration with Mirasys, one of the leading suppliers of open platform Video Management Systems (VMS). The integration of Quanergy's platform with Mirasys' deep vision data platform will deliver advanced insights and analytics for physical security applications in the government, retail, and gaming industries.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220420005444/en/

Quanergy and Mirasys Integrate 3D LiDAR and Deep Vision Data Platforms to Provide Advanced Security (Graphic: Business Wire)

"LiDAR is the new gold standard for 3D perception in the security industry thanks to its unmatched accuracy," said Max Davis, Business Development Manager at Mirasys. "Quanergy's 3D LiDAR platform delivers rich real-time 3D data and powerful insights about the presence and movement of people that will be invaluable to our user base within the security and smart city markets."

Mirasys is a deep vision data company that allows customers around the world to extract maximum information from old and new cameras and sensors. Its intelligent VMS is based on openness, easy install-use software, and data security.

By integrating Quanergy's 3D LiDAR platform, customers can optimize business operations with real-time data including location, direction, speed and type of objects. The QORTEX DTC platform enables the classification of vehicles and people, ensuring high accuracy and efficiency when integrated with VMS. In addition, the LiDAR sensors are accurate and reliable in all weather and lighting conditions, including very bright and very low light, making them ideal for both indoor and outdoor security applications.

"LiDAR-based security solutions provide incredibly rich and detailed data, enabling advanced analytics and deeper insights with more accuracy than ever before," said Gerald Becker, VP of Market Development and Alliances at Quanergy. "The integration with Mirasys will bring the value of LiDAR to an even wider audience."

For more information, visit www.quanergy.com.

About Quanergy Systems, Inc.

Quanergy's (NYSE: QNGY) mission is to create powerful, affordable smart LiDAR solutions for automotive and IoT applications to enhance people's experiences and safety. Quanergy has developed the only true 100% solid-state CMOS LiDAR sensor built on optical phased array (OPA) technology to enable the mass production of low-cost, highly reliable 3D LiDAR solutions. Through Quanergy's smart LiDAR solutions, businesses can now leverage real-time, advanced 3D insights to transform their operations in a variety of industries including industrial automation, physical security, smart cities, smart spaces and much more. Quanergy solutions are deployed by nearly 400 customers across the globe. For more information, please visit us at www.quanergy.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain statements that are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should," "would," "plan," "predict," "potential," "seem," "seek," "future," "outlook," "project," "will likely result" and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this press release, are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the use of LiDAR in the development of smart cities. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Most of these factors are outside Quanergy's control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; the overall level of consumer demand for Quanergy's products; general economic conditions and other factors affecting consumer confidence, preferences, and behavior; disruption and volatility in the global currency, capital, and credit markets; the ability to maintain the listing of Quanergy's securities on the New York Stock Exchange; the financial strength of Quanergy's customers; Quanergy's ability to implement its business strategy; changes in governmental regulation, Quanergy's exposure to litigation claims and other loss contingencies; disruptions and other impacts to Quanergy's business, as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic and government actions and restrictive measures implemented in response; stability of Quanergy's suppliers, as well as consumer demand for its products, in light of disease epidemics and health-related concerns such as the COVID-19 global pandemic; the impact that global climate change trends may have on Quanergy and its suppliers and customers; Quanergy's ability to protect patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights; any breaches of, or interruptions in, Quanergy's information systems; fluctuations in the price, availability and quality of electricity and other raw materials and contracted products as well as foreign currency fluctuations; Quanergy's ability to utilize potential net operating loss carryforwards; changes in tax laws and liabilities, tariffs, legal, regulatory, political and economic risks; and other risks and uncertainties indicated in Quanergy's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Quanergy's expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views only as of the date of this press release. Quanergy anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its assessments to change. However, while Quanergy may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Quanergy specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required by law.

About Mirasys

Mirasys is one of the leading suppliers of open platform Video Management Systems (VMS). Mirasys intelligent surveillance software is used for perimeter protection, building management, loss prevention, and operational efficiency by customers from many industries in over 40 countries. Mirasys Spotter V9 is one of the preferred VMS software to collect, store, process and provide data from CCTV cameras and other related sensors to small and large installations. Based in Finland, the company operates worldwide in cooperation with leading distributors, system integrators, security service providers and system manufacturers. More than 70.000 customers use Mirasys systems with nearly one million cameras. Mirasys intelligent VMS is based on openness, easy install-use software, data security, and win-win partnership. For more information about Mirasys, visit www.mirasys.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220420005444/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact

Neal Stein

Media@quanergy.com



Investors:

QuanergyIR@ICRinc.com
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POST-STABILISATION PERIOD ANNOUNCEMENT

20 April 2022

Not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful.

EFSF /ISIN EU000A2SCAB4

Post-stabilisation Period Announcement

Further to the pre-stabilisation period announcement dated March, 1st 2022, Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg (contact: Torsten Zittlau; telephone: +49 711 74640) hereby gives notice that no stabilisation (within the meaning of Article 3.2(d) of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU/596/2014), and also as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 was undertaken by the Stabilisation Manager(s) named below in relation to the offer of the following securities.

Securities

Issuer: European Financial Stability Facility ("EFSF")

Moody's: Aa1 (stable) / S&P: AA (stable) / Fitch: AA Guarantor(s) (if any): Unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by the Guarantors, on a several basis as specified in the Deeds of Guarantee Aggregate nominal amount: EUR 3.000.000.000,- Description: 0,875% 05.09.2028 EUR BMK, RegS, Bearer, off the EFSF Debt Issuance Programme, Regulated Market of Luxembourg Stock Exchange Offer price: 99,332%

Stabilisation Manager(s)

Name(s): BNPP, Deutsche Bank and LBBW

This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation or offer to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any securities of the Issuer in any jurisdiction.

This announcement is not an offer of securities for sale into the United States. The securities referred to above have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. There has not been and will not be a public offer of the securities in the United States.
The cooking oil application category is expected to lead the global pure plant oil market in terms of value during the forecast period

With some adjustments, straight vegetable oil, also known as pure plant oil (PPO), can be utilized in most of the diesel car engines. As such, the automotive industry is expected to grow consistently, which is likely to drive the global market.

ALBANY, N.Y., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The value of the global pure plant oil market stood at US$ 383.5 Bn in 2020. The global market is likely to rise at a CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period, from 2021 to 2031. The global pure plant oil market is anticipated to attain the valuation of US$ 716.2 Bn by 2031. Pure plant oil is widely utilized in the form of cooking oil. This oil is also utilized as a source of energy, particularly in the making of biodiesel. Furthermore, in the chemical industry, pure plant oil is finds use as a raw ingredient. In addition to R&D and ML tools, producers of pure plant oils are also building focus groups and obtaining input from many value-chain stakeholders, as they face strong competition within the automotive industry. This is likely to aid players in the global pure plant oil market in strategically scaling their biofuels business in the automotive industry.

Companies in the global pure plant oil market are concentrating on long-term revenue potential in hybrid electric vehicles, electric cars, as well as autonomous vehicles. Before making headway into untapped areas for commercial development purposes, firms are using contingency planning and predictive analytic techniques.

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The personal care and cosmetic products business has exploded as a result of the rapid rise of social media and eCommerce platforms. Producers of pure plant oils are taking advantage of this chance to increase their sales channels utilizing online shopping applications. Market participants are likely to benefit considerably from the ongoing demand for food essentials such as cooking oil.

Key Findings of Market Report

As people become more aware of the benefits of pure plant oil, companies are likely to have more opportunities to profit. Cooking oil production capacity is being increased by market players to meet the needs of clients in the domestic segment as well as the HoReCa (Hotel, Restaurant, and Cafe) business. Growth of the global pure plant oil market is being aided by food-making activities such as baking and frying. The global market is being fueled by flavoring and food preparation applications that do not use heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips.

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Companies are ramping up production of pure plant oil that can be converted into biodiesel and utilized in piston steam engines, turbines, Stirling engines, and internal combustion engines (diesel)

In the culinary and automobile industries, cold pressing pure plant oil is gaining popularity. This technology eliminates the requirement for external heat, which is necessary to carry out all the internal friction-based oil extraction process.

In 2020, the category of vegetable glycerides led the global pure plant oil market by type. Rise in use for vegetable glycerides in pure plant oil in many end-use industries, such as food and automotive, can be attributed to this.

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Global Pure Plant Oil Market: Growth Drivers

Health advantages of pure plant oil offer decreased risk of cardiovascular problems, low cholesterol levels, and improved digestion & metabolism. Pure plant oil is commonly used in the production of a variety of foods products all over the world.

Nuts, seeds, and fruits of various plants are used to obtain pure plant oil. It contains important nutrients such vitamins A, E, and B1, as well as omega-6 & omega-3 fatty acids. In both culinary and non-food applications, it is frequently utilized as a substitute for petrochemicals and animal-based fats.

Global Pure Plant Oil Market: Key Competitors

Maschinenfabrik Reinartz GmbH & Co. KG

Bunge North America , Inc.

, Inc. Oryza Oil & Fat Chemical Co., Ltd.

Ohta Oil Mill Co. Ltd.

Wilmar International Ltd

Fuji Oil Co., Ltd

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Global Pure Plant Oil Market: Segmentation

Type

Vegetable Glycerides

Edible or Inedible Fruits

Edible or Inedible Seeds

Oleaginous Crops

Others

Process

Cold Pressing

Solvent Extraction

Others

Application

Piston Steam Engines

Internal Combustion Engines

Steam and Fuel-powered Turbines

Soap

Skincare

Haircare

Cooking Oil

Others

End User

Automotive

Personal Care & Cosmetics

Food

Others

Chemicals & Materials Industry battles Tangible Impact of Economic and Cultural changes, Explore Transparency Market Research's award-winning coverage of the global Chemicals & Materials:

Brown Hydrogen Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/brown-hydrogen-market.html

Power Slip Lifter Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/power-slip-lifter-market.html

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Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2022 / Silver Wolf Exploration Ltd. (OTCQB:SWLFF)(TSXV:SWLF) ("Silver Wolf" or the "Company") is pleased to welcome Mr. Victor (Vic) Chevillon M.A., B.S., QP, to the Silver Wolf's Technical Advisory Board. Mr. Chevillon brings over 50 years of exploration experience and is credited with 3 major deposit discoveries. Over the course of his lengthy career, he has worked for both major and junior mining companies. In addition, he ran a consulting business including over 20 mining clients with a focus on descriptive field geology at the rock interface while utilizing leading edge exploration approaches and technologies. Mr. Chevillon worked for Noranda Exploration Inc., leading the New World copper-silver-gold discovery in Montana. With Placer Dome Exploration he recommended the Getchell-Turquoise ridge district acquisition that enabled Place Dome to control three of the four Nevada gold trends. He guided the derivation of the geological model for the Turquoise Ridge deposit and managed outlying district exploration. Most recently, Mr. Chevillon was Vice President of Exploration for Levon Resources Ltd. ("Levon"), where he was the technical member of the management team credited with discovering the Cordero porphyry deposit in Chihuahua, Mexico. The Cordero deposit is one of the largest known silver resources in the world. On the basis of the discovery, Levon consolidated 100% of the claim ownership that covers the entire district on his recommendations. Under Mr. Chevillon's direction, Levon merged with Discovery Metals (now Discovery Silver Corp. ("Discovery"). Vic is a former director and is currently a Technical Advisor to Discovery.

"I'm thrilled to welcome Vic to our team in the Technical advisor capacity" said Peter Latta, President, "I've had the pleasure of walking our claims with Vic and believe that his exploration methods, approach, and insights will be of tremendous value to the Silver Wolf team as we work towards making a discovery of our own. Vic is so much more than a geologist and I'm incredibly grateful and honored that he will lend his significant experience and technical leadership in all facets of the exploration business to help advance Silver Wolf".

About Silver Wolf Exploration

Silver Wolf Is an exploration company focused on exploring high potential projects in prime silver and gold regions of Mexico including the Ana Mara and El Laberinto properties which are both located in a well-known, prolific carbonate replacement deposit (CRD). The Company has operational synergies with Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. and shares many years of combined experience in exploration, development and production. In addition, Silver Wolf has an experienced geological field team who have worked on similar projects in similar regions.

For further information please contact Silver Wolf Exploration Ltd. at ph. (604) 682-3701, by email at info@silverwolfexploration.com, or visit our website at www.silverwolfexploration.com.

The management team at Silver Wolf welcomes the opportunity to connect with investors and answer questions. Connect with us on Twitter @SWLFexploration and on LinkedIn at Silver Wolf Exploration Ltd.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Peter Latta"

Peter Latta, P.Eng.

President

Cautionary Note

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on numerous assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, including risks inherent in mineral exploration and development, which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any projected future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

SOURCE: Silver Wolf Exploration Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698107/Silver-Wolf-Appoints-Mr-Vic-Chevillon-to-the-Technical-Advisory-Board
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2022 / Komo Plant Based Foods Inc. (CSE:YUM) (OTCQB:KOMOF) (FRA:9HB) ("Komo"), a premium plant-based food company, is pleased to announce it's now being carried in a total of 240 distribution points across Canada; 39 of which are in Eastern Canada.

According to a 2020 Statista Report there are 2.3 million vegetarians in Canada and an additional 850,000 classified themselves as vegan. Research conducted by the Angus Reid Institute (Canadian non-profit independent research organization) has found that 1 in 5 Canadians (22%) who regularly eat meat would like to reduce the amount of meat they consume. In eastern Canada, which has a population of 14 million, people spend an average of $10,418 per year on food. Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/567888/average-annual-household-expenditures-in-ontario-canada/

"We are so proud to have Komo Plant-Based frozen comfort foods distributed to the shelves in so many new communities allowing us to further our mission to make plant-based meals a staple on every dinner tables." Says CEO William White. "We delivered our first shipment of products to Ontario earlier this year and have since launched into 60 distribution points. Our retail partners understand our unique value proposition to deliver shareworthy plant-based meals grounded in real food and cooking that don't compromise on taste and experience."

Komo can now be found on the shelves at select Foodland, a Sobey's grocery banner, including Toronto Queens St., Danforth, Ave, Ayr, Clinton, Bell River, Brights Grove, Corunna, Dorchester, Hagersville, Dresden, Essex, Forest, Komoka, Port Stanley, Ridgetown, Thorold, Owen Sound, and Midland.

Komo has a distribution network covering all provinces in Canada, including BRR Logistics, TransCold Distribution and Nationwide Natural Foods. Komo significantly scaled up its production capacity through a co-manufacturing arrangement late last year, setting up Komo for nationwide expansion. Komo is also available in select Whole Foods Markets, IGA, Fresh Market, as well as all Choices Markets, all Nesters Market locations, Fairway Markets and Nature's Fare locations. Komo is now also expanding into the United States.

About Komo

Komo Plant Based Foods Inc. is a premium plant-based food company that develops, manufactures and sells a variety of plant-based frozen meals that are always hearty, satisfying, and made with wholesome ingredients. At Komo, our mission is to help make plant-based meals a staple on every dinner table by sharing our love for feel-good food that connects the people to the planet. We believe plant-based eating is the future and - Change can start with a single biteTM. Our experienced plant-based innovation and development team recreates vegan versions of traditionally cheesy and meaty classics, with 100% plants. Komo's products are sold direct-to-consumer through our eCommerce website and a distribution network of online and brick and mortar grocery, convenience and natural retailer channels. Our operating subsidiary Komo Comfort Foods launched in 2021 with our flagship products: plant-based Lasagna, Shepherd's Pie and Chickenless Pot Pie and has recently launched a new line - Komo Plant-Based Meal HelpersTM - versatile meal starters to allow the creation of many dishes at home. All of our products are 100% plant-based, made with wholesome ingredients, free from preservatives, and frozen for freshness. Komo also sells hot ready-to-eat meals in Metro Vancouver through Uber Eats and Skip the Dishes.

Learn more at: www.komocomfortfoods.com and follow on Instagram: @komocomfortfoods

For further information, please contact:

William White, President & CEO, Komo Plant Based Foods Inc.

will@komoeats.com

+1 (236) 8000-YUM / (236) 800-0986

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this news release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or Komo's future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on Komo's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, Komo's product development plans, its ability to launch its products on food delivery apps, its ability to retain key personnel, its revenues, and its expectation as to the acceptance of its products by retailer stores and consumers constitute forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The statements made in this press release are made as of the date hereof. Komo disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be expressly required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: KOMO Plant Based Foods Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698131/Komo-Plant-Based-Foods-Shares-Canadian-Retail-Update
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2022 / Surge Battery Metals Inc. (the "Company" or "Surge") (TSXV:NILI), (OTC PINK:NILIF), (FRA:DJ5C), Mr. Greg Reimer, President, is pleased to announce that the Company has finalized its plans for a Phase One drill program at the San Emidio Lithium Project located in the San Emidio Desert, near Reno, Nevada.

The entire San Emidio Desert basin is a highly prospective lithium exploration zone and is about 38 km long and up to 11 km wide at the widest point with the central playa measures about 8.5 km north - south and 4.5 km east - west.

The proposed four-hole drill program is designed to test a tight grouping of highly anomalous surface sediment sampling locations which returned assay values with a high of 312 ppm lithium and a mean value of 215 ppm lithium. Drilling will commence as soon as permitting is approved.

The Surge San Emidio Lithium Project consists of two claim blocks within the San Emidio Valley. The northern block, 60 claims covering about 4,800 acres or 1,924 hectares, is leased from Lithium Corporation (OTCQB: LTUM) and the southern block, 16 claims, covering 640 acres or 259 hectares, optioned from Group One Minerals LLC (Galt Group).

San Emidio Valley is home to a large and long-lived geothermal system that is still active. The Ormat Energy San Emidio geothermal plant, about 2 km east of the center of the claim block is currently producing about 11 megawatts of power and has recently been granted approval to construct another 40-megawatt plant. The active geothermal system extends about 6 km roughly north - south along the range front fault. Numerous tufa mounds, acid sulfate alteration, and sinter follow the structure. Currently, the center of the upwelling geothermal fluids is near the power plant to about 1 km north; the remaining thermal features are from horizontal flow along the structure. The heat source appears to be simple deep circulation into the crust; it is not related to igneous activity.

Mr. Greg Reimer, President, comments "The proposed exploration program includes additional geochemistry and geophysical work on the San Emidio Lithium Properties optioned by Surge from Lithium Corporation and a drill program that will test for two styles of lithium enrichment believed possible on our lithium exploration properties within the San Emidio Valley. The observed pattern of anomalous lithium samples may reflect the presence of lithium brines and or lithium bearing clays with both being products of up-welling fluids from structures buried in the basin fill. Analysis of recent geophysical data available online and conducted by Ormat consultants indicates the possibility of very low resistivity features underlying our surface anomalies which might be indicative of brines at a depth of approximately 500m. The drill program will investigate this anomalous feature."

Alan J. Morris of Spring Creek, Nevada is the qualified person for Surge Battery Metals and has approved the technical aspects of this news release.

About Surge Battery Metals Inc. surgebatterymetals.com

The Company is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company active in the exploration for nickel-iron alloy and Copper in British Columbia and lithium in Nevada whose primary listing is on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company's maintains a focus on exploration for high value battery metals required for the electric vehicle (EV) market.

Nevada Lithium Claims

The Company's'San Emidio Desert Lithium Project, located 60 miles Northeast of Reno in the San Emidio Desert, Washoe County, Nevada covers about 5,525 acres (2,235 Ha). The Company has a Property Option Agreement to earn an undivided 80% interest in 84 association placer claims covering 4,885 acres (1,975 Ha), subject to a 2% NSR, from Lithium Corporation (OTCQB: LTUM). The Company also recently completed a Property Option Agreement to earn an undivided 80% interest 16 minerals claims comprising 640 acres adjoining this property.

Additionally, The Company owns a 100% interest in 95 mineral claims located in Elko County, Nevada. The Northern Nevada Lithium Project is located in the Granite Range about 34 line- km southeast of Jackpot, Nevada, about 73 line-km north-northeast of Wells, Nevada. The target is a Thacker Pass or Clayton Valley type lithium clay deposit in volcanic tuff and tuffaceous sediments of the Jarbridge Rhyolite package. The project area was first identified in public domain stream sediment geochemical data with follow up sediment sampling and geologic reconnaissance.

The Company owns a 100% interest in 663 ha (1,640 acre) property in the Teels Marsh Playa Mineral County, Nevada. The property is located in an active region for both lithium exploration and production.

Nickel Projects, Northern BC

The Company has a Property Option Agreement to earn an undivided 80% interest in certain mineral claims from Nickel Rock Resources Inc. The Surge Nickel Project consists of two non-contiguous mineral claims groups consisting of 6 mineral claims in the Mount Sidney Williams area (HN4) covering 1863 hectares immediately south of and adjacent to the Decar Project and the Mitchell Range area (N100) covering 8659 hectares, located in Northern British Columbia. Three of the claims are subject to 2% NSR, including the (HN4 claim and the two southernmost claims of the N100 claims).

The exploration stage project is in the Trembleur Lake area of central British Columbia, partially adjacent to FPX Nickel Corp.'s Decar Nickel Project, which is an advanced project targeting awaruite, a nickel-iron alloy mineral, hosted by serpentinized ultramafic intrusive rocks of the Trembleur Ultramafic Unit.

Caledonia Project, Vancouver Island, BC

The Company has a Property Option Agreement to acquire a 100% interest in 7 mineral claims including the Caledonia, Cascade and Bluebell claims, subject to a NSR between 1-2%. The Caledonia Project claim area lies within a 50-kilometer-long copper belt in the Nanaimo Mining Division on northern Vancouver Island. The claims are host to widespread copper and gold skarn mineralization 7 km north-west of BHP's past producing Island Copper Mine. During its prime operating period the Island Copper mine was Canada's third-largest copper producer. Additionally, our property lies partially adjacent to NorthIsle Copper and Gold currently developing one of the most promising copper gold porphyry deposits in Canada. Northisle recently completed an updated PEA for its 100% owned North Island Project and is advancing towards a pre-feasibility study.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

"Greg Reimer"

Greg Reimer, President & CEO

778-945-2656

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements which include, but are not limited to, comments that involve future events and conditions, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Except for statements of historical facts, comments that address resource potential, upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt and security of mineral property titles, availability of funds, and others are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are not guaranteeing future performance and actual results may vary materially from those statements. General business conditions are factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Surge Battery Metals Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698111/Surge-Battery-Metals-Plans-Maiden-Drill-Program-at-San-Emidio-Lithium-Project-Nevada
Charlie Roth joins Adludio as Director of Sales for the US Northeast, building Adludio's relationships with local brands and agencies as the company continues to escalate revenue.

Adludio, the global advertising platform providing top-tier creative and superior insight into consumer-behavior data, has hired Charlie Roth as Regional Director of Sales for the US Northeast. Coming at a significant time of expansion for Adludio, Roth will spearhead the company's plans for growth in North America as it maximizes its recent gains.

A three-year growth of 447% is set to continue, as the platform cements its expansion with investment in senior leadership individuals. Roth is the latest addition to a team setting its sights globally.

An established name in the SaaS industry, Roth's expertise and network connections will be directed at building Adludio's local business. He will use existing brand direct and agency relationships to cultivate new partnerships, identifying qualified prospects and moving them swiftly through the sales cycle, as well as onboarding and helping to expand the regional sales team.

Having held a series of successful leadership sales roles, Roth carries with him a wealth of experience across DSP's, programmatic direct, MAIDs, attribution, IP targeting, survey and compliant data. Prior to joining Adludio Roth was part of the 2021 Qualtrics SaaS platform relaunch at Engine Group, and part of the transition team with Freckle IoT when they were acquired by PlacedIQ in 2020. Passionate about people and products and with a strategic eye for opportunity, Roth was excited to join the Adludio team and further implement its expansion in the US market.

Commenting on his appointment, Charlie Roth said "I believe Adludio offers a truly compelling set of products and solutions. The ability to enhance assets with our sensory mobile-first creative coupled with proprietary products like BIO CYAN is a unique offering to the mobile marketplace. Once I learned that Audio is also investing into a SaaS platform, that just reinforced my desire to be a part of the Adludio family."

Adludio's Co-Founder and CEO, Paul Coggins, commented that "Charlie's appointment is an important moment for Adludio. He joins during a time of significant growth and we'll be harnessing and channeling this energy into new business opportunities. His establishment in the industry and experience will be invaluable as we continue to expand in the US."

ENDS

About Adludio

Adludio is an AI-driven technology company that delivers premium mobile advertising. As the primary means of consuming content, mobile needs to deliver interactive experiences to engage audiences, but the majority of mobile advertising remains static. Combining data-driven creativity, proprietary technology and automation with pioneering engagement metrics, Adludio delivers privacy-compliant mobile campaigns with engagement at its heart. With offices in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Detroit and Chicago Adludio is defining the next generation of mobile brand solutions in North America.

To find out more information, visit Adludio.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220420005085/en/

Contacts:

Joby Reeves, Account Manager, Bluestripe Group.

Mob: 07881805238

Email: joby.reeves@bluestripegroup.co.uk
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Kroger Co. (KR), a grocery retailer, said on Wednesday that it is hiring over 200 associates as part of its plans to expand its delivery in the South Florida region this summer. With this move, the retailer expands operations which are already available to Floridians in the greater Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville areas. 'Reflecting the dynamic South Florida region, the grocery retailer plans to hire talented individuals from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. Kroger Delivery is recruiting drivers, as well as associates in vital areas such as logistics and human resources,' the company said in a statement. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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The event was attended by Pere Aragones, Reyes Maroto and Ada Colau, as well as other institutional representatives, customers, suppliers and members of the company's board of directors.

With an expected production capacity of over 750,000 chargers per year, the new plant will put the company in a position to respond to the growing demand for electric vehicles.

The company has invested 9 million euros in a facility that is expected to employ more than 500 people.

The President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Pere Aragones, the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, and the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, inaugurated Wallbox's new plant this morning, a leading provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging and energy management solutions, located in Barcelona's Zona Franca.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220420005581/en/

Wallbox inaugurates its new factory in Barcelona (Photo: Business Wire)

Also present at the event were the special delegate of the Consorci de la Zona Franca, Pere Navarro; the president of the Diputacio de Barcelona, Nuria Marin and the Delegate of the Spanish Government in Catalonia, Maria Eugenia Gay. In addition, all the members of the Board of Directors of Wallbox, prominent investors, customers, and suppliers, among others, attended the event.

Enric Asuncion, CEO and co-founder of Wallbox, welcomed all the attendees and explained that "this is Wallbox, a company that works with a clear objective: to be the best in charging solutions for electric vehicles and energy management worldwide. We are no longer a start-up. We have grown and now we are a global company with a presence in almost 100 markets and listed on the NYSE. We are still growing! And here, in this factory that we are inaugurating today, you have proof of that".

According to the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragones, "It fills me with pleasure to accompany the inauguration of the new Wallbox production plant in Barcelona. This milestone is essential, not only for environmental and energy reasons, but also for the development and transition to electric mobility. Without Wallbox, it would not be possible".

"Wallbox's innovative spirit is allowing us to react more quickly to the global supply crisis, due to the shortage of components on the international market", assured Reyes Maroto, the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism of the Spanish Government. "Moreover, Wallbox's commitment to sustainability goes beyond the products they manufacture. The best example is that by the end of 2022, between 30% and 60% of the energy needs of this factory production process will be managed through self-consumption. Additionally, the smart energy management system at your [Wallbox] Barcelona headquarters is a model to follow".

For the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, "Barcelona is Spain's technological and scientific capital, and one of the main ones in Europe. Both for the creation of leading companies such as Wallbox, which was born and raised in Barcelona and for attracting investors and congresses in the most advanced sectors such as sustainability and ICT. Events like today's confirm that Barcelona is leading the economic recovery after the pandemic and that it is also in great momentum".

"Today marks a milestone in a success story that we at Iberdrola feel part of, having partnered with Wallbox for the past seven years. Since 2015, our collaboration has not stopped growing. We backed Wallbox as part of our start-up investment program. We were the first purchaser of the Pulsar home charger and of the first Supernova public charging solution. Moreover, we have participated in Wallbox's international expansion with orders for Iberdrola group subsidiaries in many other countries. Today I am pleased to announce that we will be the first customer for Wallbox's new ultra-fast Hypernova charger, as part of the overall agreement to purchase a total of 10,000 Wallbox chargers, an amount similar to the total number of public charging points in Spain today. The alliance that we are strengthening today demonstrates the advantages of the symbiosis between consolidated business projects, such as Iberdrola, and emerging companies such as Wallbox", explained Iberdrola's Chairman, Ignacio Galan.

A pioneering factory for a company ahead of its time

Wallbox's new factory in Barcelona is located in Zona Franca, a traditionally industrial area. Wallbox is one of the first startups to set up here and believes that its technological activity will renew and revitalize the area.

This new plant has involved an investment of approximately 9 million euros. It currently employs 203 people, but it is expected to employ more than 520 when running at its full operational capacity and in 3 shifts.

In total, the plant has four production lines: two dedicated to manufacturing the Pulsar+, Copper, Commander2, and Quasar chargers for Europe, and another producing Pulsar UL for the North American market. The fourth line is dedicated to the exclusive production of Supernova, the first public Wallbox charger. These automated production lines are at the forefront of production processes and they are designed to allow customers to receive their charger in just 72 hours (this is the time lap between when an order is approved and the parcel is sent). Currently, Wallbox's new factory in Barcelona produces almost 1,200 chargers per day.

The new Wallbox factory in Barcelona began operating just over a year after the company and the Consorci de la Zona Franca signed a 10-year lease agreement for the land. The factory has 11,220 m2 and is built on a 16,800 m2 plot of land. This surface is occupied by an office area, a warehouse for materials, another for the loaders already produced and about to be shipped, the production lines and a validation area.

A plant that follows Wallbox's sustainability principles

The facility is at the forefront of innovation, efficiency, production and capacity. In addition, this new factory carries the principles of sustainability that have always identified Wallbox. In this sense, the company is a pioneer in the application of the 'cradle to cradle' concept at an industrial level. This philosophy aims to eliminate waste and has been applied in the new factory from the moment construction began. The new factory also follows the principles of 'lean manufacturing' (the industrial philosophy that improves the production process by eliminating unnecessary systems, seeks to increase the quality of products, and eliminates all activities that do not add value, among others).

On top of this, during the third quarter of 2022, 4,500 square meters of solar panels are expected to be installed on the roof of the factory, which are designed to supply 900kW of renewable energy to the factory, representing between 30 and 60% of the estimated energy needs of the production process. This installation will mean estimated savings equivalent to the consumption of more than 400 homes, based on an [average electricity consumption of an average household in Spain].

Throughout 2022, the solar panels are expected to be connected to the Sirius system, the energy management software developed by Wallbox. Sirius not only integrates the solar panels but also the bidirectional Quasar chargers that are expected to be installed in the car park of the new factory. Wallbox plans to set around 30 of them to both charge the electric vehicles and discharge their batteries to supply the building with electricity. With all these elements plus the electricity from the grid itself Sirius is designed to autonomously decide at any given moment which is the best source of energy depending on the needs at that precise moment but also on the price of electricity. Sirius' unique and innovative technology is expected to make the Wallbox factory 100% self-sufficient within the next few years.

Research, development and innovation/ RDI, the main investment of Wallbox

Beyond the production area, one of the most outstanding spaces in the new factory is the validation area. This is the company's third laboratory and is designed to allow the necessary tests and trials to be carried out to ensure the quality of both the software developed by Wallbox and the chargers. Durability tests of all products will also be carried out here with the two climatic chambers that allow the climate of any part of the world to be recreated. In this way, the company ensures that all its products are designed to be suitable for each region. These chambers allow extreme climates to be recreated, ranging from -80C to 170C. They also allow the chargers to be tested in dust, water, and saltwater.

This laboratory has other functions such as testing the compatibility of all the chargers developed by Wallbox with the different electric vehicle manufacturers. In addition, the validation area will also be used to develop the test equipment that will be used during the production process and that is designed to ensure the quality of all the products that leave the new factory line.

"Wallbox is a company that does not settle and is always looking for ways to innovate and make life easier for the user. That is why every year we invest a very important part of our budget in innovation. Not only that, but about a third of our staff, 300 engineers, are devoted to it. Because we know that our future as a company is always one step ahead and we plan to move forward with the market and the needs of the consumer", concluded Enric Asuncion, CEO of Wallbox.

The company has two other laboratories where it develops both its products and the validation tools for all the chargers it produces: one at its headquarters in Barcelona and the other in California (United States). Innovation and, therefore, investment in R&D&I is one of the company's priorities. In 2021, Wallbox invested 12 million euros in this concept.

About Wallbox

Wallbox is a global technology company, dedicated to changing the way the world uses energy. Wallbox develops advanced electric vehicle charging and energy management systems that redefine the user's relationship with the grid. Wallbox goes beyond electric vehicle charging, it gives users the power to control their consumption, save money and live more sustainably. Wallbox offers a complete portfolio of charging and energy management solutions for residential, semi-public and public use in nearly 100 countries. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Barcelona, the company employs more than 900 people across its offices in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Wallbox Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the features of Wallbox's products, the features of the new plant including manufacturing capacity, production lines and solar panels, and expected benefits from the new plant. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "may," "can," "should," "could," "might," "plan," "possible," "project," "strive," "budget," "forecast," "expect," "intend," "will," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue" or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology, but the absence of these words does not mean that statement is not forward-looking. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. In addition, any statements or information that refer to expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, performance or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking.

These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause Wallbox's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: Wallbox's history of operating losses as an early stage company; the adoption and demand for electric vehicles including the success of alternative fuels, changes to rebates, tax credits and the impact of government incentives; Wallbox's ability to successfully manage its growth; the accuracy of Wallbox's forecasts and projections including those regarding its market opportunity; competition; risks related to health pandemics including those of COVID-19; losses or disruptions in Wallbox's supply or manufacturing partners; Wallbox's reliance on the third-parties outside of its control; risks related to Wallbox's technology, intellectual property and infrastructure; risks related to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and other important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in Wallbox's final prospectus on Form 424(b)(3) filed with the SEC on November 12, 2021, as such factors may be updated from time to time in its other filings with the SEC, accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and the Investors Relations section of Wallbox's website at investors.wallbox.com.

These and other important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any forward-looking statement that Wallbox makes in this press release speaks only as of the date of such statement. Except as required by law, Wallbox disclaims any obligation to update or revise, or to publicly announce any update or revision to, any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220420005581/en/

Contacts:

Wallbox Public Relations Contact:

Elyce Behrsin

Public Relations

Press@wallbox.com

+34 622 513 358

Wallbox Investor Contact:

Matt Tractenberg

VP, Investor Relations

Matt.Tractenberg@wallbox.com

+1 404-574-1504
The World's Leading Beer Company is Helping Provide Renewable Electricity to Power Bars, Stadiums and Venues Around the World

LEUVEN, Belgium, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Budweiser, an AB InBev global brand, today unveiled the global launch of The Energy Collective to help provide renewable electricity to bars, music venues and stadiums around the world. This launch follows and contributes to Budweiser parent company AB InBev's recently announced ambition to achieve net zero across its value chain by 2040.

To date, the producers of Budweiser have converted more than 2,000 local pubs in Brazil and Ireland to renewable electricity. In Brazil, renewable electricity is supplied by Lemon Energy to business owners which has already reduced carbon dioxide emissions by more than 291 tonnes annually. The Energy Collective's ambition for Brazil is to have 250,000 locations converted to renewable electricity by 2025, estimated to save 36,375 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year, which is equivalent to removing 7,991 cars from the road.

In 2015, Budweiser set out to brew every beer with 100% renewable electricity by 2025, taking the first step to a brighter future. Having already reached this goal in many markets, Budweiser is unveiling The Energy Collective to help connect bars, music venues and stadiums around the world to renewable energy sources. Budweiser's reach and resources, combined with its desire to make a positive impact on the planet, led to the decision to brew all beers with renewable electricity and the subsequent launch of The Energy Collective.

"Consumers crave a better world where the things they love are sustainable. The Energy Collective is helping facilitate the powering of things people love with renewable electricity, while helping close the gap between what consumers want and what companies can do," said Todd Allen, Vice President Global Marketing at Budweiser. "We're just getting started. Our bold dream is that every bar, venue and stadium in the world that serves Budweiser would be powered by renewable electricity."

Budweiser supports AB InBev's ambition to achieve net zero across its value chain by 2040. As part of this, The Energy Collective will help enable pub owners to reduce emissions by converting to 100% renewable electricity, and help facilitate renewable electricity to those who may not have access at a more affordable rate.

"When Budweiser decided to brew beer with renewable electricity, we knew there was so much more we could be doing in the renewable space as a global brand. Launching The Energy Collective allows us to help businesses around the world, leveraging our scale to enable our customers to obtain more sustainable power at more affordable rates," said Ezgi Barcenas, Chief Sustainability Officer at AB InBev.

Energy bills are often one of the highest costs for bars. The Energy Collective, in partnership with a local energy provider, could offer cost savings while providing access to renewable energy infrastructure. The Energy Collective will help advance Budweiser's mission of powering the things consumers love with renewable electricity.

"By being connected to renewable electricity via local providers through The Energy Collective, I've already been able to reduce my monthly electricity costs by about 10 percent," said Will Morgan, General Manager of Jerry Flannery's in Limerick, Ireland. "It's also been a conversation starter with many of my customers to discuss the importance of renewable electricity and creating a brighter future for us all."

The Energy Collective is now facilitating connection to renewable electricity in select countries including Ireland and Brazil and will be piloting the program in Colombia in 2022. Budweiser is exploring opportunities in additional countries including the UK, Chile, Uruguay and more.

About Anheuser-Busch InBev and Budweiser

Anheuser-Busch InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: ABI) based in Leuven, Belgium, with secondary listings on the Mexico (MEXBOL: ANB) and South Africa (JSE: ANH) stock exchanges and with American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUD). As a company, we dream big to create a future with more cheers. We are always looking to serve up new ways to meet life's moments, move our industry forward and make a meaningful impact in the world. We are committed to building great brands that stand the test of time and to brewing the best beers using the finest ingredients. Our diverse portfolio of well over 500 beer brands includes global brands Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois; multi-country brands Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe and Michelob ULTRA; and local champions such as Aguila, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Cass, Castle, Castle Lite, Cristal, Harbin, Jupiler, Modelo Especial, Quilmes, Victoria, Sedrin, and Skol. Our brewing heritage dates back more than 600 years, spanning continents and generations. From our European roots at the Den Hoorn brewery in Leuven, Belgium. To the pioneering spirit of the Anheuser & Co brewery in St. Louis, US. To the creation of the Castle Brewery in South Africa during the Johannesburg gold rush. To Bohemia, the first brewery in Brazil. Geographically diversified with a balanced exposure to developed and developing markets, we leverage the collective strengths of approximately 169,000 colleagues based in nearly 50 countries worldwide. For 2021, AB InBev's reported revenue was 54.4 billion USD (excluding JVs and associates).

Budweiser is a medium-bodied, flavorful, crisp American-style lager. Brewed with the best barley mallet and a blend of premium hop varieties, Budweiser is an icon of optimism and celebration which is enjoyed in over 60 countries around the world and is committed to brewing every Budweiser with 100% renewable energy by 2025.

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GTT solution and professional services enable seamless private and public cloud interconnection for ESA



MCLEAN, Va., April 20, 2022, a leading global cloud networking provider to multinational clients, announced today that the European Space Agencyhas renewed and expanded its agreement with GTT for cloud networking services. ESA shares Earth Observation data from its satellites orbiting Earth with institutional partners, scientists, businesses and the public. Access to its Multi-Mission data is delivered through GTT Hybrid Cloud and includes security and professional services from GTT, in support of current and future ESA missions, as well as selected Third Party Missions.

GTT delivers a diverse mix of services for ESA to connect its eight cloud and office locations in Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden. These GTT services include Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure, Network and Security Services. The GTT solution hosts more than 8PB of data collected from ESA's Multi-Mission satellites and enables seamless interconnection across multiple private cloud sites and the public cloud. GTT also provides professional services for ESA, including a dedicated network, security and cloud engineers, security manager and service manager on-premises.

"The satellite data we collect and make available through GTT's cloud networking services is used in ever more crucial ways for monitoring our planet and in solving today's climate change and geo-hazard challenges," said Damiano Guerrucci, Head of Earth Observation Common Services Section at ESA. "We've worked closely with GTT for more than a decade, benefiting from its secure and resilient cloud and connectivity services that support us in evolving how we share and manage our Earth Observation data."

"We are proud to continue supporting ESA's Earth Observation mission," said Tom Homer, President, Europe Division, GTT. "When we first began many years ago, we delivered storage to ESA for just 300TB of satellite data. Today, GTT delivers a secure hybrid cloud and connectivity platform that supports the scientific, commercial and public use of more than 25 times that amount of metadata, along with incredible imagery of our evolving planet. It has been a tremendous journey and partnership that we look forward to developing further."

ESA's Multi-Mission satellites include the SMOS, Aeolus, Cryosat and Swarm missions.

About GTT

GTT provides secure global connectivity, improving network performance and agility for your people, places, applications and clouds. We operate a global Tier 1 internet network and provide a comprehensive suite of cloud networking and managed solutions that utilize advanced software-defined networking and security technologies. We serve thousands of businesses with a portfolio that includes SD-WAN and other WAN services, internet, security and voice services. Our customers benefit from a customer-first service experience underpinned by our commitment to operational excellence. For more information on GTT, please visit www.gtt.net.

About ESA

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe's gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Slovenia, Latvia and Lithuania are Associate Members.

ESA has established formal cooperation with five Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int.

GTT Media Inquiries:

Ed Stevenson, LEWIS

+44-207-802-2626

gttuk@teamlewis.com
Mitch Wein will head up the firm's practice dedicated to C-level insights, decision support, and networking for IT leaders in banking, payments providers, and securities/investment firms.

Boston, MA, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aite-Novarica Group, an advisory firm providing mission-critical insights on technology, regulations, markets, and operations to banks, payments providers, insurers, and securities firms, today announced the launch of its Financial Services CIO/CTO Advisory practice.

The service is designed specifically for senior executives in banks, payment providers, and securities/investment firms who lead the technology function or are responsible for technology strategy and execution. It is led by Mitch Wein, Head of Financial Services CIO/CTO Advisory. Joining him on the team is research associate Aisha Chandraker.

"Senior IT executives-CIOs, CTOs, and heads of architecture-do not have internal peers in their organizations," says Mitch Wein. "IT leaders in banking, payment providers, and securities/investment firms now have an advisory membership that focuses on their technology challenges, framed within their relevant industry and regulatory context. By allowing these leaders access to proprietary research, expert practitioner consultations, and a network of C-level peers who provide decision support for functional and business priorities, our Financial Services CIO/CTO Advisory practice enables members to shape strategy and make technology initiatives more effective."

Kurt Reisenberg, Chief Executive Officer at Aite-Novarica Group, adds: "Created specifically for technology leaders in financial services organizations, our new Financial Services CIO/CTO Advisory practice helps clients make better technology decisions to drive greater business impact. Our CIO advisors have an average experience level of over 20 years in financial services technology leadership and can use that real-world experience to help senior executives in banks, payments providers, and securities/investment firms confront real-world problems and achieve functional and business goals."

As part of the practice launch for Financial Services CIO/CTO Advisory, Mitch Wein has produced a new Impact Report, Banking Core Systems Map, presenting a common frame of reference for bank IT executives to discuss their application portfolios and how they embed them into a reference architecture. By illustrating a core systems map with a high-level look at the major functionalities of each element, banks will be able to categorize difference types of software and services available in the marketplace and evaluate how these software types and services come together in an optimal way.

With the new Financial Services CIO/CTO Advisory practice, Aite-Novarica Group creates unique value for CIOs/CTOs in banking and financial services by framing their technology imperatives and challenges within the relevant industry and regulatory context. Members get proprietary research and insights, expert practitioner consultations with the Aite-Novarica Group team, and a network of C-level peers who provide decision support to increase the ROI of technology investments and practices. By tapping into the experience of peers at Aite-Novarica Group and our client network of financial institutions, the Financial Services CIO/CTO Advisory practice is effectively positioned to help IT leaders solve their mission-critical challenges, including:

Modernizing or replacing core banking platforms to realize the promise of around the clock banking

Leading an enterprise architecture function that ensures FDIC compliance and enables adoption of advanced technologies

Developing an enterprise data strategy for banks, payments providers, and securities/investment firms

Providing leadership and executing on the organization's digital transformation strategy

Creating a talent management and acquisition strategy to build future workforce skills

Developing an enterprise IT strategy and roadmap as well as facilitating core system vendor selections (through specialized consulting)

For more information about Aite-Novarica Group's Financial Services CIO/CTO Advisory practice, please visit us at https://aite-novarica.com/financial-services-cio-cto-advisoryor send your inquiry to info@aite-novarica.com.

About Aite-NovaricaGroup:

Aite-Novarica Group is an advisory firm providing mission-critical insights on technology, regulations, strategy, and operations to hundreds of banks, insurers, payments providers, and investment firms as well as the technology and service providers that support them. Comprising former senior technology, strategy, and operations executives as well as experienced researchers and consultants, our experts provide actionable advice to our client base. The quality of our research, insights, and advice is driven by our core values: independence, objectivity, curiosity, and integrity. Visit us on the weband connect with us on Twitterand LinkedIn.
TORONTO, ON and NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2022 / Sekur Private Data Ltd. (OTCQB:SWISF)(CSE:SKUR)(FRA:GDT) ("Sekur" or the "Company"), the leader in Swiss hosted secure communications and secure data management, is pleased to announce that it has restarted its presentation and training program for its distributor in Colombia, Panama, Peru, and Mexico. The distributor, Tasloko S.L. ("Micronet"), has signed an agreement with Sekur back in May 2020, however, the COVID-19 damages in Spain and all of Latin and Central America, have prevented the operations to start.

Tasloko S.L. is a Spain based company with operations and distributors in Spain, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Mexico and Guatemala, totaling over 2,000 resellers. Today, Sekur is able to start the process in order to start sales of Sekur by June 2022. The first country to start sales will be Colombia, followed by Panama, Peru, Chile and Mexico.

Alain Ghiai, CEO of Sekur Private Data said: "We are thrilled to be able to re-ignite our partnership with Micronet, starting with the training of the distributors in Colombia. Central and Latin America are one of the most important emerging markets, with a population of over 500 million people, right at our doorstep. We have had all our solutions translated in Spanish, we have customers already in Mexico, through our America Movil partnership, and now we are ready to enter the Colombia market. Colombians value their security and privacy greatly, and we have had some discussions with potential customers already. Our SekurMessenger seems to be of very particular interest as there is no other solution private and secure enough for businesses when it comes to messenger, according to our clients. We look forward to serve the people, businesses and government of Colombia to start, with all other countries to follow in the coming months, and protect their valuable data and communications."

According to a study by lookingglasscyber.com, Latin America is vulnerable to hostile cyber activity, especially as the region develops economically and technologically. As the region's economies become more technically adept, cyber security practices are currently failing to keep up with advancements in digitization. Cybercrime, cyber espionage, and hacktivism have all targeted Latin America. According to cybersecurity-insiders.com, Colombia is on the list of top 5 countries most hit by cyber espionage and Mexico is on the list of the top 6 hit by malware infection. According to Insightcrime.org, online scams, ransomware attacks and phishing email schemes have proliferated in Latin America amid the coronavirus pandemic, exposing the dangers hackers pose to people, banks and governments. If the past is any indication, Latin America is largely unprepared for this new wave of cybercrime.

Sekur , which includes SekurMessenger and SekurMail, is part of a bundle of email, messaging and file transfer into one application, includes the Company's latest SekurMail technology, which includes proprietary anti-phishing and privacy feature called SekurSend. SekurSend lets a user send an email to any other recipient, whether they have Sekur or not, in full privacy and security as the email never leaves Sekur 's encrypted email servers based in Switzerland. The recipient can then click on the notification and reply in the same manner using SekurReply, without the recipient having to register for a Sekur account. The sender can also decide to protect any email sent by adding a password to open it, a read-limit and a self-destruct timer as well. Sending an email with the SekurSend feature allows the senders and recipients to add limitless size attachments to the emails without crowding the recipients' email box. This also eliminates BEC attacks for businesses and email phishing attacks. Additionally, SekurMail includes full control of email delivery, automatic data export for large Enterprises and an automatic Data Loss Prevention technology ("DLP") with real time continuous archiving.

Recent data breaches in messaging applications have created a certain urgency for businesses and data privacy advocates to protect their communications form cyber-attacks and identity theft via mobile and desktop devices.

SekurMessenger eliminates many of the privacy and security risks by not only not requiring a phone number, which would divulge a user's phone device ID, but also by not social engineering a user's phone or computer contact list and infecting the contacts by default as well, eliminating a huge loophole in security and privacy. SekurMessenger issues each user a username and a Sekur number. The Sekur number is the contact ID a user would disclose in order for other Sekur users to be added. The service comes with a self-destruct timer and other features as well, including GlobeX's proprietary VirtualVaults and HeliX technologies with all data stored in Swiss hosted encrypted servers.

Additionally, SekurMessenger now comes with a proprietary feature and technology called Chat by Invites. This feature allows a SekurMessenger user ("SM user") invite a non-SM user, or a group of non-SM users, to chat in a fully private and secure way, without the recipient ever having to register to SekurMessenger or download the app. At the end of the chat, the initiator of the conversation can remotely terminate the conversation and all traces of the conversation are deleted from all users, including the recipient. This unique feature is now fully deployed and functional on all iOS and Android devices and web platforms. The target sectors are numerous, including but not limited to real estate, legal, financial, government, energy, mining, manufacturing, trade and medical sectors.

Sekur's Data privacy solutions are all hosted in Switzerland, protecting users' data from any outside data intrusion requests. In Switzerland, the right to privacy is guaranteed in article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution. The Federal Act on Data Protection ("FADP") of 19 June 1992 (in force since 1993) has set up a strict protection of privacy by prohibiting virtually any processing of personal data which is not expressly authorized by the data subjects. The protection is subject to the authority of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.

Under Swiss federal law, it is a crime to publish information based on leaked "secret official discussions." In 2010 the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland found that IP addresses are personal information and that under Swiss privacy laws they may not be used to track Internet usage without the knowledge of the individuals involved.

About Sekur Private Data Ltd.

Sekur Private Data Ltd. is a Cybersecurity and Internet privacy provider of Swiss hosted solutions for secure communications and secure data management. The Company distributes a suite of encrypted e-mails, secure messengers, secure communication tools, and secure cloud-based storage, disaster recovery and document management. Sekur Private Data Ltd. sells its products through its approved wholesalers and distributors, and telecommunications companies worldwide. Sekur Private Data Ltd. serves consumers, businesses and governments worldwide.

On behalf of Management

SEKUR PRIVATE DATA LTD.

Alain Ghiai

President and Chief Executive Officer

+1.416.644.8690

corporate@globexdatagroup.com

For more information, please contact Sekur Private Data at corporate@globexdatagroup.com or visit us at https://www.sekurprivatedata.com

For more information on Sekur visit us at: https://www.sekur.com .

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "achieve", "could", "believe", "plan", "intend", "objective", "continuous", "ongoing", "estimate", "outlook", "expect", "project" and similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guaranteeing future performance. Sekur cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Sekur's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the future of the Company's business; the success of marketing and sales efforts of the Company; the projections prepared in house and projections delivered by channel partners; the Company's ability to complete the necessary software updates; increases in sales as a result of investments software development technology; consumer interest in the Products; future sales plans and strategies; reliance on large channel partners and expectations of renewals to ongoing agreements with these partners; anticipated events and trends; the economy and other future conditions; and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in Sekur's prospectus dated May 8, 2019 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available on www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Sekur undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

SOURCE: Sekur Private Data Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698121/Sekur-Private-Data-Starts-Sales-in-Colombia--Starting-Latin-America-Expansion-of-Sekur-Privacy-and-Cybersecurity-Solutions
DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2022 / Solitario Zinc Corp. ("Solitario") (NYSE American:XPL)(TSX:SLR) is pleased to announce that the Solitario Board of Directors (the "Board") has appointed Ms. Debbie Mino-Austin to join the Board of Solitario and will be added to the slate of Directors to stand for re-election at the forthcoming 2022 annual shareholders' meeting.

Ms. Mino-Austin worked for more than thirty years with increasing responsibility at Solitario, most recently as Vice-President of Investor Relations, before retiring in 2018. She has a unique understanding of corporate operations and the mining industry in general, the structure and goals of Solitario as well the investment community associated with the junior mining industry. Ms. Mino-Austin currently serves on the board of directors of the Yoakum National Bank in Yoakum, Texas. Ms. Mino-Austin received her B.S. degree magna cum laude from Texas A&M University.

Brian Labadie, Chairman of the Board stated: "The Board believes Ms. Mino-Austin's experience and knowledge will benefit Solitario and compliment the current Board members' experience in the areas of exploration geology, mining technology, accounting and administration. We are extremely pleased to have Debbie join the board where she will spearhead the Company's commitment to addressing ESG issues as the Chair of Solitario's Health, Safety, Environmental, and Social Responsibility Committee. Solitario recognizes that our stakeholders are increasingly applying these non-financial factors as part of their analysis process in identifying investment opportunities."

Prior to Ms. Mino-Austin's appointment, the Board voted to expand the number of Directors from six to seven.

About Solitario

Solitario is a natural resource exploration and development company focused on high-quality Tier-1 gold and zinc projects. The Company is traded on the NYSE American ("XPL") and on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("SLR"). In addition to its Golden Crest project, Solitario holds 50% joint venture interest (Teck Resources 50%) in the high-grade, open-pittable Lik zinc deposit in Alaska and a 39% joint venture interest (Nexa Resources holds the remaining 61% interest) on the high-grade Florida Canyon zinc project in Peru. Solitario is carried to production through its joint venture arrangement with Nexa. Solitario's Management and Directors hold approximately 9.3% (excluding options) of the Company's 64.7 million shares outstanding. Solitario's cash balance and marketable securities stand at approximately US $8 million. Additional information about Solitario is available online at www.solitariozinc.com.

Solitario has a long history of committed Environmental, Social and Responsible Governance ("ESG") of its business. We realize ESG issues are also important to investors, employees and all stakeholders, including communities in which we work. We are pledged to operate our business in a manner that supports environmental and social initiatives and responsible corporate governance.

For More Information Please Contact:

Valerie Kimball

Director - Investor Relations

(720) 933-1150

(800) 229-6827

Christopher E. Herald

President & CEO

(303) 534-1030, Ext. 14

SOURCE: Solitario Zinc Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698081/Solitario-Announces-Appointment-of-New-Director


MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - Mariupol's marine commander sent an SOS as the besieged southeastern port city came under heavy bombardment by Russia.



Major Serhiy Volyna told media that his troops hiding out in a steelworks plant - Ukraine's last stronghold in the city - may have 'only a few days or even hours left.'



After a deadline issued by Russia for Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to lay down their weapons expired, Major Volyna insisted that his troops will not surrender but prefers evacuation to a third country.



He sought international assistance for evacuating hundreds of troops and civilians trapped in the Azovstal steel plant.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation in Mariupol remains 'brutal and unchanged,' adding that the conditions may soon worsen.



In a video address on Tuesday, he alleged that Russian forces are blocking evacuation corridors from Mariupol.



But Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said both the countries have reached a preliminary agreement on evacuating women, children and the elderly on Wednesday.



Mariupol is being heavily pounded with Russian long-range fires, the Pentagon says.



Russian forces are intent on taking Mariupol because it would provide a land bridge for Russia from the Donbas to Crimea, a senior DOD official said at a news conference. A second reason is that it would give the Russians flexibility to free up forces from there so they could join other BTGs northward in the Donbas, he told reporters.



Mykolayiv, which is further to the west, is still in Ukrainian hands, according to him.



Heavy fighting continues elsewhere in the Donbas region, the official said.



UK defense intelligence said Ukrainian forces have fought off several attacks by Russian forces on the Donbas line of control.



Russian forces on Monday launched an all out attack on Ukrainian positions along the 480 kilometer front line in the eastern region.



Two more Russian battalion tactical groups have been added to the 76 already in Ukraine, bringing the total to 78, the US Defense Department says.







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Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2022 / GATLING EXPLORATION INC. (TSXV:GTR),(OTCQB:GATGF) (the "Company" or "Gatling") today announced the mailing of its management information circular (the "Circular") and related materials (collectively, the "Meeting Materials") for the special meeting of shareholders and option holders (the "Meeting") of Gatling (the "Securityholders") in connection with the proposed Plan of Arrangement (the "Arrangement") with MAG Silver Corp. ("MAG").

Board Recommendation and Shareholder Support

The Board of Directors of Gatling unanimously approved the Arrangement Agreement, following the unanimous recommendation of a special committee of independent directors of Gatling. The Board of Directors recommends that its Securityholders vote in favour of the Arrangement.

Sprott Asset Management LP alongside the officers and directors of Gatling holding approximately 15.19% of the issued and outstanding shares of Gatling have entered into voting support and have agreed to vote in favour of the Arrangement.

The Meeting

The Meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m. (Vancouver time) on Friday May 13, 2022, at the offices of Gatling located at 200 Burrard Street, Suite 1680, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 3L6.

The Transaction

As announced on March 11, 2022, Gatling entered into an Arrangement Agreement (the "Arrangement Agreement") with MAG pursuant to which MAG has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Gatling ("Gatling Shares") for 0.0170627 of a MAG common share (each a "MAG Share") per Gatling Share (the "Consideration"). The Consideration is equal to approximately C$0.40 per Gatling Share, representing a premium of approximately 49.1% based on the closing price of MAG Shares (TSX) and Gatling Shares (TSXV) on March 10, 2022, and approximately 47.4% based on the 5-day volume-weighted average share price of the MAG and Gatling Shares ending on March 10, 2022. Based on the number of issued and outstanding securities of MAG and Gatling as of the date of the Circular, upon completion of the Arrangement, current Gatling shareholders will hold approximately 0.79% of the issued and outstanding shares of the combined company. Holders of options to purchase Gatling Shares will receive replacement options entitling them to receive, on exercise, MAG Shares, subject to an adjustment to reflect the Arrangement. Holders of outstanding common share purchase warrants ("Gatling Warrants") of Gatling will have their Gatling Warrants adjusted in accordance with their respective contractual terms.

Benefits to Gatling Securityholders of the Arrangement Agreement

Combining Gatling into MAG is anticipated to create a larger, significantly more diversified combined company with a portfolio of high-quality assets, including a 100% interest in the Larder Gold Project located in the prolific Abitibi Gold Belt in Northern Ontario, Canada, a 44% interest in the world-class Juanicipio Silver Project located in the Fresnillo Silver Trend in Mexico, and a 100% option earn-in on the Deer Trail silver-rich Carbonate Replacement Deposit project Utah, USA.

In addition to maintaining exposure to the Gatling property, the combined company will give current Gatling Shareholders exposure to organic mineral resource growth of MAG's low-cost, high-grade Juanicipio silver mine, and further potential upside from near and long-term the district-scale exploration growth at Juanicipio and Deer Trail.

The liquidity position and expected cash flow generation from MAG's Juanicipio Project will support internal funding of Gatling's exploration and development assets in Ontario.

Upon completion of the Arrangement, the combined company will have a larger public float than Gatling presently holds, a broader shareholder base, expected increased trading liquidity with global stock listings on the TSX and NYSE American exchanges and an expected increase in its weighting within certain gold and mining sector indices/Indexes.

The expected increased market capitalization and trading liquidity upon completion of the Arrangement is anticipated to broaden the combined company's investor appeal with enhanced market interest, analyst coverage and index inclusion.

Increased potential rewards and reduced risks compared to Gatling continuing to execute its business and strategic plan as an independent entity. Compared with Gatling on a standalone basis, the combined company will be better positioned to pursue a growth and value maximizing strategy as a result of the combined company's larger market capitalization; increased technical expertise; asset diversification and resulting elimination of single asset risk; increased financial capacity and enhanced access to capital over the long-term; and the likelihood of increased investor interest and access to business development opportunities due to the combined company's larger market presence.

Involvement of MAG's management team and their historic successes in completing strategic transactions.

Securityholder Questions and Assistance

If you have questions or need assistance in your consideration of the Arrangement, or with the completion and delivery of your proxy, please contact Gatling's securityholder communications advisor and proxy solicitation agent, Laurel Hill Advisory Group, by telephone at 1.877.452.7184 toll-free in Canada (+1.416.304.0211 for international calls) or by e-mail at assistance@laurelhill.com.

About Gatling Exploration Inc.

Gatling Exploration is a Canadian gold exploration company focused on advancing the Larder Gold Project, located in the prolific Abitibi greenstone belt in Northern Ontario. The Larder project hosts three high-grade gold deposits along the Cadillac-Larder Lake Break, 35 km east of Kirkland Lake. The Larder property has a global Mineral Resource Estimate (2021) of 388,000 oz Au Indicated and 933,000 oz Au Inferred gold ounces from both open pit and underground resources. The project is 100% owned by Gatling and is comprised of patented and unpatented claims, leases and mining licenses of occupation within the McVittie and McGarry Townships. The 3,370 ha project area is positioned 7 km west of the Kerr Addison Mine, which produced 11 million ounces of gold. All parts of the Larder property are accessible by truck or all-terrain vehicles on non-serviced roads and trails.

About MAG Silver Corp. (www.magsilver.com)

MAG Silver Corp. is a Canadian development and exploration company focused on becoming a top-tier primary precious metals mining company by exploring and advancing high-grade, district scale, silver-gold dominant projects in the Americas. Its principal focus and asset is the Juanicipio Project (44%), being developed with Fresnillo Plc (56%) as the operator. The Project is located in the Fresnillo Silver Trend in Mexico, the world's premier silver mining camp, where the operator is currently developing an underground mine and constructing a 4,000 tonnes per day processing plant. Underground mine production of mineralized development material commenced in Q3 2020 and is being processed through adjacent Fresnillo-operated plants. An expanded exploration program is in place targeting multiple highly prospective targets at Juanicipio. MAG is also executing a multi-phase exploration program at the Deer Trail 100% earn-in project in Utah.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jason Billan, President and CEO

Gatling Exploration Inc.



For further information on Gatling, contact Investor Relations

Telephone: 1-888-316-1050

Email: ir@gatlingexploration.com

Forward Looking Statements:

This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company with respect to future business activities and operating performance. All statements in this news release that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur in the future are forward- looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are often identified by words such as "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "project", "target", "potential", "schedule", "forecast", "budget", "estimate", "intend" or "believe" and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur, and include information regarding: (i) expectations regarding the relative ownership of Gatling shareholders in the combined company, (ii) the timing of the securityholder meeting of the Company; (iii) expectations regarding the potential benefits of the Transaction and the ability of the combined company to successfully achieve business objectives; and (iv) expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. These forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by cautionary statements and risk factor disclosure contained in filings made by the Company with the Canadian securities regulators, including the Meeting Materials, the Company's financial statements and related MD&A for the financial year ended March 31, 2021 and its interim financial statements and related MD&A for the nine months ended December 31 2021, all filed with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. The risk factors are not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company's forward-looking statements are based on the applicable assumptions and factors management considers reasonable as of the date hereof, based on the information available to management of the Company at such time. The Company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Gatling Exploration Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698060/Gatling-mails-Management-Information-Circular-and-Recommends-that-Securityholders-vote-For-the-Plan-of-Arrangement-with-MAG-Silver
RENO, NV / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2022 / The International Foundation of Research and Education ( iFred ), announces the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) appointed Founder Kathryn Goetzke to serve as a United Nations Department of Public Information Representative (UN DPI) for a 3-year term. The goals of WFMH are: to heighten public awareness about the importance of mental health and to gain understanding and improve attitudes about mental disorders; to promote mental health and prevent mental disorders; and, to improve the care, treatment, and recovery of people with mental disorders.

Kathryn Goetzke and Gabriel Ivbijaro, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

As a UN DPI, Kathryn's role includes speaking at UN events in an official capacity on behalf of all those around the world in support of the goals of the WFMH for prevention, advancement, and advocacy. The war in Ukraine, the impact of COVID-19, racial injustice, and more escalated the global mental health crisis, with anxiety, depression, and suicide around the world increasing.

Gabriel Ivbijaro MBE JP, Secretary-General and CEO of WFMH, states, "We are excited to have Kathryn on board, helping us speak for those around the world that need support. She has been a strong and powerful advocate for global mental health for many years and has been open about her own struggles. We are excited to have her work with us to make mental health a priority for all."

KATHRYN GOETZKE AND HOPE

Kathryn Goetzke is a global mental health advocate, losing her father to suicide at 18, having her own attempt in her 20s, and struggling with anxiety, depression, addiction, and more. Through her struggles, she learned about mental health, launched her company The Mood Factory, launched the first nationwide cause marketing campaign for mental health, raised over 1 million dollars, and eventually created her own Hopeful Minds program for young kids to teach the "how-to" of hope. She serves on the advisory boards of the Women's Brain Project, Global Movement for Mental Health, Y Mental Health, and was active in FundaMentalSDGS, a group that worked to get mental health incorporated into the Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations.

Kathryn Goetzke and her late father, Jon Goetzke

Kathryn took what she learned in business and created a Hopeful Cities project, giving cities tools to activate hope. She just published a Hopeful Cities Playbook that any city can download and use to activate hope in Government, Education, Science, Workplace, Art, and Awareness. Proclamation language is included, so all understand the importance of hope, the impact of hopelessness, and the critical hope skills they can use to improve every area of their lives. All program materials are free for download at Hopeful Cities, and iFred aims to encourage all to share and spread.

Kathryn is also the author of The Biggest Little Book About Hope, hosts The Hope Matrix Podcast, and recently launched an online Hopeful Mindsets on the College Campus through her consulting company Innovative Analysis, LLC. She teaches hope in the workplace, as hopelessness is one of the greatest costs to employers, and works proactively to manage her own hopelessness to keep herself healthy and engaged in life.

"This is one of the greatest honors of my life," says Kathryn Goetzke, Founder of iFred. "My involvement in mental health was not on purpose, it was out of necessity and what my dad taught me about a strong work ethic. 'Don't complain about problems, do something about them.' I saw a challenge with mental health branding and aimed to do something about it almost 20 years ago. Never did I think I would end up being a voice for those that are underrepresented and often unheard and finding the power of hope and the ability to teach it. It is a great honor and privilege, and I will work tirelessly to ensure all voices are heard."

Myron Belfer, Kathryn Goetzke, Kristy Stark, Harvard Boardroom

About iFred:

iFred, a 501(c)3 organization , is working to teach hope. iFred has worked to shine a positive light on mental health and eliminate stigma through prevention, research and education and created a shift in society's negative perception of the disease through positive imagery, rebranding, celebrity engagement, cause marketing campaigns, and establishing the sunflower and color yellow as the international symbols for hope. iFred worked with The Mood Factory to do the first nationwide cause marketing campaign for mental health in the US, and created the first-ever program to teach hope called Hopeful Minds , based on research it is a teachable skill. iFred recently launched Hopeful Cities, and is working to establish the International Day of Hope where all share science, stories, and strategies for hope. Find out more at www.ifred.org.

About World Federation for Mental Health

WFMH is an international membership organization founded in 1948 to advance, among all peoples and nations, the prevention of mental and emotional disorders, the proper treatment and care of those with such disorders, and the promotion of mental health. The mission of the World Federation for Mental Health is to promote the advancement of mental health awareness, prevention of mental disorders, advocacy, and best practice recovery-focused interventions worldwide. Find out more at https://wfmh.global/who-we-are/about-us

Craig Kramer, Kathryn Goetzke, Chris Underhill, Global Ministerial Mental Health Conference, UK

Global Mental Health Movement Advisory Board, South Africa

Kathryn Goetzke and Antonella Santuccione, Women's Brain Project, Zurich, Switzerland

Karen Kirby, Myron Belfer, Kathryn Goetzke, Kristy Stark, Northern Ireland

Kathryn Goetzke and iFred Board President, Thomas Dean

Kathryn Goetkze, United Nations

Vikram Patel, Kathryn Goetzke, Shekhar Saxena, Global Ministerial Mental Health Conference, UK

Kathryn Goetkze, Why Hope, Northern Ireland

Karen Kirby, Kathryn Goetzke, Marie Dunne, Nigel Firth, Hopeful Minds, Northern Ireland

Malaysia Hopeful Minds Research Team

Media Contact:

Shay Pantano

Pantano Media & Marketing

spantano@pantanomm.com

212-731-9770

SOURCE: iFred

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698114/World-Federation-for-Mental-Health-Appoints-Kathryn-Goetzke-Founder-of-iFred-and-Creator-of-Hopeful-Minds-and-Hopeful-Cities-As-Representative-at-United-Nations
Glacial Gold is the #1 selling CBD forward vape in British Columbia

Nextleaf has become the #2 supplier of CBD oils in British Columbia

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2022) - Nextleaf Solutions Ltd. (CSE: OILS) (OTCQB: OILFF) (FSE: L0MA) ("Nextleaf", or the "Company"), a federally regulated manufacturer and distributor of cannabis vapes and oils, announced today it has completed its initial shipment of Glacial Gold vapes and distilled oils to the Ontario Cannabis Store ("OCS"), and provided an update on its cannabis sales in British Columbia ("B.C.").

Wholly-owned by the Province of Ontario, the OCS is the sole distributor in the province and all Ontario cannabis retailers must purchase their inventory through the OCS. Vapes and distilled oils under the Company's award-winning prohibition-era brand, Glacial Gold will be available at retail stores across Ontario and at osc.ca in early May 2022.

"Shipping our initial order to the OCS is a major milestone as we look forward to growing our relationship with the provincial distributor by delighting consumers in Ontario the way we have delighted consumers in B.C. with quality products at accessible price points," said Nextleaf CEO and co-founder Paul Pedersen.

British Columbia Market1

Glacial Gold continues to see strong consumer demand and sell-through during the brand's initial six months in the British Columbia market. Nextleaf is pleased to provide the following key metrics in B.C. for the quarter ended March 31, 2022:

Nextleaf is a top-10 supplier of vapes and oils

Glacial Gold Anytime 1:1 is the #1 selling CBD forward vape SKU

is the #1 selling CBD forward vape SKU Glacial Gold is the #2 brand in CBD & balanced oils by revenue

is the #2 brand in CBD & balanced oils by revenue Glacial Gold is the #6 brand in 1-gram vapes by revenue

is the #6 brand in 1-gram vapes by revenue 44% increase in market share quarter-over-quarter in the oil category

14% increase in market share quarter-over-quarter in the vape category

Glacial Gold has seven SKUs in the 1-gram vape sub-category, second amongst all brands

Glacial Gold continues to outsell the largest brands in Canada in the key categories of vapes and CBD oils. During Q1 2022, Nextleaf sold more vapes and oils in B.C. than Canopy Growth, Tilray Brands, Aurora Cannabis, The Valens Company, Medipharm Labs, Sundial Growers, and TerrAscend. "Nextleaf's patented technology has enabled Glacial Gold to outperform some of the largest regulated cannabis companies in the world in vapes and CBD oils," said Pedersen.

Nextleaf has been issued 10 U.S. patents for what it believes to be the most efficient technology to produce high-purity cannabinoid distillate in a regulated market.





Glacial Gold Display at Kiaro in Port Moody, British Columbia

To view an enhanced version of this image, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5347/120991_7714b59b14af0b40_001full.jpg

Learn more at www.Glacial.Gold

Nextleaf Issues Shares and Options

Nextleaf has issued an aggregate of 866,741 common shares at a deemed price of $0.135 per share to scientific and technical consultants of the Company, as compensation for services provided.

The Company has awarded non-executive employees of the Company options to purchase up to 70,000 common shares of the Company pursuant to the Company's Stock Option Plan, exercisable at a price of $0.175 per share.

The Company has issued 500,000 warrants to purchase common shares of the Company to the holder of the convertible note issued on March 31, 2021 (the "Note"). The warrants were issued as consideration for revision of terms of the Note, and are exercisable at a price of $0.162 per share for a period of 36 months from the date of issuance.

About Nextleaf

Nextleaf is a federally regulated manufacturer and distributor of cannabis vapes and oils under its award-winning prohibition-era brand, Glacial Gold. The Company's multi-patented ingredient processing technology transforms cannabis and hemp biomass into high-purity distillate at an industrial scale. Nextleaf is a low-cost producer of cannabis oils, and supplier of THC and CBD ingredients to qualified wholesale partners across Canada. Nextleaf is the first publicly traded company to be issued a U.S. patent for the industrial extraction and purification of cannabinoids. The Company has been issued 18 U.S. patents, and over 90 patents globally, on cannabinoid processing including distillation and acetylation. Nextleaf develops proprietary cannabinoid-based formulations and delivery technology through its Health Canada Research Licence with sensory evaluation of cannabis via human testing. For more information visit www.nextleafsolutions.com and www.Glacial.Gold

Nextleaf Solutions trades as OILS on the Canadian Securities Exchange, OILFF on the OTCQB Market in the United States, and L0MA on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Follow the Company across social platforms: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Follow Glacial Gold: Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Jason McBride, Corporate Development

604-283-2301 (ext. 219)

jason@nextleafsolutions.com

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,

Paul Pedersen, CEO

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's ability to capitalize on its IP portfolio, receipt of the Dealer's Licence within the anticipated timeframe or at all, the activities the Company expects to conduct if the Dealer's Licence, the ability of the Company to develop and protect intellectual property relating to psychedelics, the expected benefits to the Company if the Dealer's Licence is received, the Dealer's License assisting the company in obtaining a unique position for the Company to develop a suite of standardized plant-derived drugs, the Company's strategy, plans, objectives, goals and targets, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "believe", "expect", "aim", "intend", "plan", "continue", "will", "may", "would", "anticipate", "estimate", "forecast", "predict", "project", "seek", "should" or similar expressions or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially include, but are not limited to the risk factors discussed in the Company's MD&A for the most recent fiscal period. Management provides forward-looking statements because it believes they provide useful information to investors when considering their investment objectives and cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law. The CSE has not reviewed or approved the contents of this press release.

1 British Columbia market share according to BC Cannabis Wholesale sales data (January - March 2022).

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/120991
AMARO, Italy, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Eurotech formalizes the implementation of a rebranding process that will start with the adoption of a new payoff, a new logo and new corporate colors, in line with the company strategy.

The new payoff "Unleashing the Power of the Edge" reflects the company's new positioning as a leading IoT Edge player. It is also a reference to the next-gen smart applications and products powered by AI and the role of Eurotech in accelerating its customers' and partners' innovation processes by enabling Edge AI.

The violet chosen for the new logo is trend-setting, and moreover, it recalls the very first color used for Eurotech's logo: a tribute to the company's history, but at the same time a strong statement for its values and vision towards the future.

The font is contemporary, bold and simple. The rounded letters like the first "e" recall the shape of Eurotech's symbol, another element that bridges the company's branding history with its future.

"This year is Eurotech's 30th anniversary: through its history, the company has always been a leading player in innovation and digital transformation, starting as an embedded module provider and moving strongly to a leading IoT Edge solution enabler in mission-critical applications" commented Paul Chawla, Eurotech's CEO. "The new logo is meant to propel the company into the future, while at the same time remaining consistent with its roots".

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1799825/Eurotech_Logo.jpg
3.17 G/T Gold over 0.70 Meters Polymetallic Veins Including 7.02% Zinc EQ over 0.92 Meters At Its 100% Owned Keymet Precious & Base Metal Property, New Brunswick

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2022 / GREAT ATLANTIC ESOURCES CORP. (TSXV:GR) (the "Company" or "Great Atlantic") is pleased to announce it has received gold assays and multi-element analyses for drill core samples from the first five holes of the 2021 diamond drilling program at its Keymet Base Metal - Precious Metal Project, located in northern New Brunswick. The drilling program, consisting of 10 holes (2,061 meters) tested numerous targets in the northwest region of the property.

Highlights include a new gold discovery (Debler Zone) in drill hole Ky-21-25 including 3.17 grams / tonne (g/t) gold over 0.70 meters core length and polymetallic veins in hole Ky-21-27 (Elmtree 12 Zone) including 7.02% zinc equivalent over 0.92 meters core length.

Gold assays and multi-element analyses were received for drill core samples from holes Ky-21-23 to Ky-21-27 which tested areas of polymetallic veins, areas of gold mineralization and / or electromagnetic geophysical anomalies. The hole numbering was continued from that of previous Great Atlantic drill programs at the Keymet Property. Intersections (core length) from these holes include:

Hole No. From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au (g/t) Zn Equivalent (%) Zn (%) Pb (%) Cu (%) Ag (g/t) Ky-21-23 49.53 49.86 0.33 3.81 1.78 2.09 0.24 17.9 Ky-21-25 31.60 32.23 0.63 1.53 Ky-21-25 74.25 74.95 0.70 3.17 Ky-21-25 123.00 123.40 0.40 2.73 1.08 2.29 0.07 12.8 Ky-21-27 102.64 103.56 0.92 7.02 3.50 3.26 0.36 48.8

Drill hole Ky-21-23 tested the area immediately east of a historic shaft at the Elmtree Silver Mine mineral occurrence. The shaft at this occurrence is reported to have been sunk during the late 1800s. Ky-21-23 was drilled approximately south at an approximate 50-degree dip testing the area immediately east of the saft. The hole intersected a narrow interval with sulfide (pyrite, sphalerite, galena and / or chalcopyrite) - carbonate - chlorite veins cutting altered meta-sediments. A 0.33-meter core length sample (49.53-49.86 meters) through this interval returned 1.78% zinc, 2.09% lead, 2400 ppm copper (0.24% Cu) and 17.9 ppm (g/t) silver or 3.81% zinc equivalent. A 2015 Great Atlantic drill hole (Ky-15-1) was drilled from the same site, but to the southwest under the shaft. Ky-15-1 intersected a narrow interval of sulfide bearing veins of which a 0.51-meter core length sample returned 9.53% zinc, 9.01% lead, 0.48% copper and 66 g/t silver (see Company news release of February 23, 2016) or 16.82% zinc equivalent. Additional drilling is required to determine if the vein systems intersected in Ky-15-1 and Ky-21-23 correlate.

Drill hole Ky-21-24 tested an electromagnetic anomaly. It was drilled approximately east at an approximate 50-degree dip. A 0.31-meter core length sample with sulfide stringers / clusters returned anomalous values of 1,740 ppm zinc, 1,520 ppm lead, 344 ppm copper and 3.6 g/t silver.

Drill hole K-21-25 tested the area of a gold-bearing outcrop. A 2015 grab sample collected by Great Atlantic from the outcrop returned 1.14 g/t gold. The hole was drilled to the southwest at an approximate 60-degree dip, approximately under the outcrop. This is the first drill hole by Great Atlantic in this target. The hole intersected two gold bearing intervals representing new discoveries with the following intercepts (core length):

31.60-32.23meters (0.63 meters): 1.53 g/t gold (altered meta-sediment with disseminated arsenopyrite), being approximately under the gold bearing outcrop.

74.25-74.95 meters (0.70 meters): 3.17 g/t gold (altered metasediment with disseminated arsenopyrite and arsenopyrite in quartz veins).

Of note, three samples covering the interval of 71.43 - 74.25 meters (2.82 meters core length) all returned anomalous values for gold, with a weighted average of 0.25 g/t gold.

The Company is referring to the gold discovery in Ky-21-25 as the Debler Zone, named after the prospector who initially sampled the gold bearing outcrop.

A 0.40-meter core length sample (123.00-123.40 meters) in Ky-21-25 with sulfide bearing veins returned 1.08% zinc, 2.29% lead, 687 ppm copper (0.0687% Cu) and 12.8 g/t silver or 2.73% zinc equivalent. This represents a new polymetallic vein discovery.

Drill hole Ky-21-26 tested an area of polymetallic veins and gold bearing bedrock discovered by the Company during 2015 and 2017. The hole was collared approximately 30 meters north of a 2017 drill hole (Ky-17-8) which intersected 18.8% zinc, 3.55% copper, 1.16% lead and 576 g/t silver over 1.27 meters core length or 38.1% zinc equivalent and a 2015 trench from which channel samples graded 1.11 g/t gold over 4.9 meters cumulative length (see Company news releases of October 29, 2015 and March 2, 2018). Hole Ky-21-26 was drilled approximately west at an approximate 50-degree dip. A 1.40-meter core length interval returned anomalous gold vales, averaging 0.12 g/t gold.

Drill hole Ky-21-27 is a definition hole at the Elmtree 12 polymetallic vein system. It was drilled slightly northeast at a 70-degree dip, testing slightly deeper in the southern part of the Elmtree 12 polymetallic vein system. The Company drilled numerous holes during 2015-2018 within this vein system, intersecting veins containing high grade zinc, copper and / or silver (see news releases on the Company's website). Ky-21-27 intersected the Elmtree 12 vein system (sulfide being veins with pyrite, sphalerite, galena and chalcopyrite). A 0.92-meter core length sample (102.64-103.56 meters) through this interval returned 3.50% zinc, 3.26% lead, 3610 ppm copper (0.361% Cu) and 48.8 g/t silver or 7.02% zinc equivalent. This confirms the mineralized vein system is open at depth in this part of the zone.

Previous Great Atlantic drill intersections (core length) at the Elmtree 12 polymetallic vein system during 2015 - 2018 drilling programs include (see news releases on the Company's website):

Ky-15-3: 16.68% Zn, 1.11% Cu, 0.44% Pb and 152 g/t Ag over 1.80 meters.

Ky-15-4: 8.68% Zn, 0.29% Cu, 0.20% Pb and 44 g/t Ag over 4.28 meters.

Ky-17-6: 7.67% Zn, 1.57% Cu, 0.48% Pb and 209 g/t Ag over 4.95 meters.

Ky-18-10: 7.91% Zn, 0.53% Cu, 0.21% Pb and 77 g/t Ag over 3.27 meters.

Ky-18-12: 8.90% Zn, 3.81% Cu, 0.60% Pb and 157 g/t Ag over 1.20 meters.

Ky-18-14: 9.04% Zn, 9.19% Cu, 2.16% Pb and 1,158 g/t Ag over 3.00 meters.

Ky-18-14: 12.08% Zn, 0.31% Cu, 0.30% Pb and 59 g/t Ag over 4.50 meters.

The 2021 drilling program consisted of 10 drill holes (Ky-21-23 to KY-21-32). Significant mineralized intervals (with base metal sulfides and arsenopyrite) were sampled with half core samples and blank and standard samples submitted to ALS Canada Ltd. for gold assay and multi-element analysis (including zinc, copper, lead, and silver). ALS Canada Ltd. is independent of Great Atlantic. Gold assay was by fire assay - AA while multi-element analysis was by four acid digestion - ICP-AES analysis. The 2021 drilling program and 2015-2018 programs were managed by a Qualified Person. Analytical results are pending for core samples from drill holes Ky-21-28 to Ky-21-32.

Historic gold bearing samples and gold soil anomalies referred to in the preceding map have not been verified by a Qualified Person.

Zinc equivalent (% Zn Equiv.) values stated in this news release are based on the following metal prices (as of April 14, 2022): Zinc US $4,471 / tonne (US $2.028 / lb.), Lead US $2,470 / tonne (US $1.120 / lb.), Copper US $10,276 / tonne (US $4.661 / lb.) and Silver US $25.53 per troy ounce. Metal recoveries of 100% were applied in the zinc equivalent calculations. The zinc equivalent calculation is as follows: Zn Equiv. = 100 x ((Ag Price in grams x Ag Grade) + (Pb Price x 2204.6 x Pb Grade (%) / 100) + (Cu Price x 2204.6 x Cu Grade (%) / 100) + (Zn Price x 2204.6 x Zn Grade (%) / 100)) / Zn Price x 2204.6.

Historic Keymet Base Metal - Silver Mine (1950s)- burnt down and was never recapitalized

Located 8KM away from the previous operating

Nigadoo Mine that operated for over twenty years

The Keymet Property covers an area of approximately 3,400 hectares and is 100% owned by the Company.

David Martin, P.Geo. (New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador), a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and VP Exploration for Great Atlantic, is responsible for the technical information contained in this News Release.

On Behalf of the board of directors

"Christopher R Anderson"

Mr. Christopher R. Anderson

President CEO Director

604-488-3900 - Office

Investor Relations: Andrew Job 1-416-628-1560 IR @ GreatAtlanticResources.com

About Great Atlantic Resources Corp.: Great Atlantic Resources Corp. is a Canadian exploration company focused on the discovery and development of mineral assets in the resource-rich and sovereign risk-free realm of Atlantic Canada, one of the number one mining regions of the world. Great Atlantic is currently surging forward building the company utilizing a Project Generation model, with a special focus on the most critical elements on the planet that are prominent in Atlantic Canada, Gold, Copper, Zinc, Nickel, Cobalt, Antimony and Tungsten.

This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future exploration drilling, exploration activities and events or developments that the Company expects, are forward looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Great Atlantic Resource Corp.

888 Dunsmuir Street - Suite 888, Vancouver, B.C., V6C 3K4

SOURCE: Great Atlantic Resource Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698156/Great-Atlantic-Discovers-New-Gold-Bearing-Zone
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2022) - Satori Resources Inc. (TSXV: BUD) ("Satori" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that drilling at the South Zone has now commenced at the Tartan Lake Gold Mine Project, after having completed diamond drilling at a remote/satellite target area (McFadden) located 1 kilometre south-east of the known Main Zone/South Zone deposit.

Ongoing drilling at South Zone is testing the down plunge extent of the known mineralization, where three holes are planned to target a potential high-grade chute within the South Zone at depths below Satori's previous drilling, along 150 meters of strike length.

The Company further announces that it has engaged the services of Rayleigh Capital Ltd. to co-ordinate and manage all investor awareness activities. Further, the Company has entered into an advertising and investor awareness campaign with Dig Media Inc.'s Investing News Network ("INN") of Vancouver, British Columbia. INN's function is focussed on advertising and not investor relations or market making services.

Rayleigh shall be engaged for a six month period at a rate of $3,000 per month, and INN has been paid $3,300 per month (six months) plus a flat rate of $12,000 for news dissemination and internet exposure through the INN site.

Jennifer Boyle, Chief Executive Officer, states that "We believe that Satori's recent exploration success at Tartan Lake is not widely understood, and we are aggressively moving to communicate our exploration successes to a broader audience. The historical database at Tartan Lake includes of 500 holes (79,698 meters). In the past 11 months, we have added 12 holes at the Main and South Zones, extending both to depth along an interpreted plunge line that had not been tested historically. Results of our limited drill programs to date include some of the highest grades ever returned at both targets, including TLMZ21-12 in the hanging wall of the Main Zone, which possibly represents a new zone, returning 47.56 g/t Au over 5.8 meters, and TLSZ21-05 (South Zone) which averaged 9.59 g/t Au over 11.75 meters. Our drill programs are designed to demonstrate the potential for expansion at both the Main and South Zone deposits, at depth, and to identify the potential for additional mineralization at satellite targets such as McFadden."

The Company also announces the granting of 525,000 incentive stock options to officers and directors of the Company, exercisable at a price of $0.15 for 5 years.

Wes Hanson P.Geo., Director of Satori, is the qualified person who has reviewed and approved the contents of this press release.

ABOUT SATORI RESOURCES INC. (TSXV: BUD)

Satori is a Toronto-based mineral exploration and development company whose primary property is expanding the resource at the past producing Tartan Lake Gold Mine Project, located in the prolific Flin Flon Greenstone Belt, Manitoba.

The Tartan Lake Project (2,670 Ha.) is located approximately 12 kilometres northeast of Flin Flon, Manitoba, and includes the Tartan Lake Mine (1986-1989) which produced 36,000 ounces of gold before the mine was shut down due to, in part, the price of gold falling below USD$390. Remaining infrastructure includes: an indicated resource estimate of 240,000 ounces averaging 6.32 g/t Au (see news release February 23, 2017), an all-season access road, grid connected power supply, mill, mechanical, warehouse and office buildings, tailing impoundment and a 2,100 metre decline and developed underground mining galleries to a depth of 300 metres from surface. Gold mineralization is associated with anastomosing quartz-carbonate veins hosted in east-west striking, steeply dipping shear zones up to 30 metres in width. The veins vary from several centimetres to several metres in width and gold grades vary from 1.0 to +100 g/t. Satori believes the mineral resources of the project are currently limited by drill coverage.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Jennifer Boyle, B.A., LL.B.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Satori Resources Inc.

(416) 904-2714

jennifer@capexgroupinc.com

Mr. Pete Shippen

Chair, Satori Resources Inc.

(416) 930-7711

pjs@extramedium.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release of Satori contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Satori's actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121012
Global Community Impact Movement Inspires Volunteerism and Pay It Forward Acts; Marks 2nd Anniversary with Survey Results Proving the Network Effect of Kindness

KIHEI, HI / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2022 / Viral grassroots community impact movement turned nonprofit Lasagna Love today released findings from a survey it conducted ahead of Pay It Forward Day (April 28, 2022) that proves the network effect of kindness. The organization, which aims to positively impact communities by connecting neighbors with neighbors through homemade meal delivery, polled its delivery recipients to determine if kind gestures inspire pay it forward acts. Lasagna Love hypothesized that kindness has a powerful network effect, a feeling it posited after noting an increase in its active volunteer population and global expansion into Australia and Canada during the last year. (see infographic below)

Nearly 98 percent of Lasagna Love recipients said they were inspired to pay it forward. Many paid it forward within days (21%), while others committed to a specific action in the future (45%). The remainder made a general commitment to do something kind. The most frequently noted pay it forward commitment: food. Of those surveyed, nearly half planned to share a meal or donate food to another struggling family, and many of those wanted to do so themselves as Lasagna Love volunteers.

"When we launched Lasagna Love, our mission was to provide comfort during a time of uncertainty," said Rhiannon Menn, founder of Lasagna Love. "As we move into our third year of operation, we recognize that our true power is so much greater. We are inspiring pay it forward acts of kindness across communities and increasing feelings of connectedness and support among neighbors. It's fitting that we are releasing these findings just ahead of national Pay it Forward Day."

Lasagna Love Increases Community Connectedness

Lasagna Love's research also suggests that Lasagna Love recipients feel more connected (89%) and more supported (93%) by their community as a result of receiving a home cooked meal. A recipient-turned-volunteer from North Carolina shared that when she first received her delivery, she quickly decided to sign up to become a Lasagna Love volunteer. "My heart was so touched by this one small act of kindness." Other respondents shared:

"In my community complex, the kids have nothing to play with when outside, so I got them some crafts to keep them occupied."

"I went grocery shopping for an elderly neighbor."

Lasagna Love's recipients aren't the only ones who feel more connected; volunteers too, experience a boomerang-style positive impact.

Marci Sieracki, a Chicago mom and member of Lasagna Love's fractional volunteer leadership for nearly two years shared, "After joining Lasagna Love, I started connecting immediately with people across Chicago who lived in different neighborhoods and suburbs, but all who shared the same goal of helping others. By working collaboratively, I was able to see the good being done and delighted in how many others shared my same purpose. "All that positive energy from my community has inspired me to continue working hard to grow Lasagna Love, one community at a time."

Lasagna Love's unique operational model streamlines volunteerism by leveraging digital applications and a world where technology and social media platforms are used to maintain connectivity and organization connectedness in unprecedented ways. Operated almost entirely by a dedicated army of volunteers, including regional and national volunteer leadership, Lasagna Love has successfully united participation of more than 30,000 men and women from around the world. Their shared purpose is to spread acts of kindness, one of the nonprofit's core mission tenets.

Angela Rosenblatt of San Diego, one of the original 10 Lasagna Love volunteers, explained that she continues to cook lasagnas every week. "I am still astounded by the continued need in our community," she said. "I continue to cook because I know that a simple act of kindness can make a world of difference in someone's life. Volunteering with Lasagna Love is good for my soul."

Lasagna Love, which turned two on March 28, 2022, reported more than 200,000 meal deliveries to date-even as the world emerges into a nuanced, post-pandemic climate. As of its anniversary, Lasagna Love noted that it has fed over 850,000 people.

"The definition of struggle may differ from household to household, however through our work, Lasagna Love has learned that even as we move beyond the immediacy of the COVID crisis, acts of kindness are always a welcome sight. Humans strive to be connected, and that connectivity is a gift," said Menn.

About Lasagna Love

Lasagna Love is a community impact program that connects neighbors through gestures of kindness, goodwill, and support. The nonprofit has joined together more than 30,000 active volunteers from around the world and abides by three simple principles: feed families, spread kindness and strengthen communities. Lasagna Love fosters a culture of positivity, empathy, zero-judgment, and maintains a steadfast resolve to deliver comfort when needed most. Lasagna Love volunteers share a seminal purpose: exist to assist. To learn more about Lasagna Love and how you can get involved, visit www.lasagnalove.org or our social channels, @WeAreLasagnaLove (Instagram and Facebook).

###

Media contact: Wendy Agudelo; wendy@lasagnalove.org; 978.994.1447

SOURCE: Lasagna Love

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698146/Lasagna-Love-Reaches-200000-Meal-Deliveries-and-Proves-Network-Effect-of-Kindness
GUANGZHOU, China, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 131st Canton Fair hosted a virtual signing ceremony with Riyadh Chamber of Commerce on April 14 as part of the Canton Fair Global Cooperative Partnership Program to formally establish cooperative relationships, further promoting bilateral trade between China and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is a key country participating in China's Belt and Road Initiative(BRI) and major buyer source of the Canton Fair. The Riyadh Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1961 and now has more than 260,000 member companies. It hosts over 1,000 events every year and is the largest, most influential chamber of commerce in Saudi Arabia.

Xu Bing, Spokesperson of the Canton Fair and Deputy Director-General of the China Foreign Trade Centre, commented at the event that in order to play a better role as a platform for comprehensive opening-up and promote mutual, win-win achievements, the Canton Fair Global Cooperative Partnership Program has carried out multi-level, wide-ranging and all-around cooperation with overseas industrial and commercial institutions, providing comprehensive trade services for Chinese and foreign companies to support bilateral economic and trade development.

"We're glad to establish the cooperative partnership with Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and look forward to mutually beneficial cooperation between the two parties that will benefit companies from both countries and empower the development of China-Saudi Arabia economic and trade relations," said Xu.

China and Saudi Arabia established diplomatic relations in 1990, and bilateral relations have developed steadily with expanded areas of cooperation. The two countries have strengthened exchanges and alliances as part of the Belt and Road Initiative and Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030" strategies.

Mr. Naif A. Alrajhi, vice chairman of Riyadh Chamber of Commerce, noted that the signing of the cooperation agreement reflects the significant importance of developing bilateral economic and trade relations between the two countries. The Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center is a member of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce, and it will not only stimulate local economic development, but also promote bilateral trade cooperation.

"It is hoped that in the future, we'll strengthen resource sharing and channel exchanges to achieve win-win and mutual benefits, and that the bilateral cooperation will become an integral part of the profound connection between Saudi Arabia's 'Vision 2030' and China's Belt and Road Initiative," he said.

The 131st Canton Fair will actively expand the international marketing network and sign cooperation agreements with 13 overseas industrial and commercial institutions from 12 countries (including Laos, Kuwait and Albania). The Canton Fair Global Cooperative Partnership Program will have then achieved full coverage among RCEP member countries.

Up to now, the China Foreign Trade Centre has signed cooperation agreements with 157 overseas industrial and commercial institutions from 83 countries and regions worldwide, 67 of which are from the 40 countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, accounting for 43 percent of the total number of partners.

Visit https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en-US/register/index#/foreign-email for more opportunities.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1800732/image_1.jpg
LOS ANGELES, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LILYSILK, the world's leading silk brand with a mission to inspire people to live spectacular, sustainable lives, has dressed Viola Davis, the renowned actress who currently stars as Michelle Obama in the new Showtime series The First Lady, for both the latest cover of People magazine and Deadline's Contenders Television event held in Los Angeles on April 11.

Ms. Davis graces the cover of the latest issue of People, which hit newsstands on April 15, wearing a LILYSILK Long Sleeves Collared Silk Blouse in Azure. Made of 19 momme silk and spandex, this blouse features back pleats and a curved hem, which is ideal for tucking into jeans and trousers - just as Ms. Davis did in her cover shoot. At Deadline's Contenders Television event, Ms. Davis wore a LILYSILK SOS Shirt, the brand's new iconic design that debuted in the Spring 2022 Collection, in Navy Pinstripe. With its relaxed fit, this contemporary classic, made of 19 momme Charmeuse silk, is a versatile addition to the modern woman's wardrobe and adds an instant touch of sophistication with its glossy shine.

Ms. Davis is the first African American actress to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, winning a wide range of accolades that include an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards. Her body of work includes hit films and TV series such as Doubt, The Help, How to Get Away with Murder, and Fences.

"Viola Davis is a force in film and culture," said David Wang, CEO of LILYSILK. "We are honored to see her, as well as many other celebrities, wear LILYSILK and look magnificent in it. This inspires us to create more spectacular pieces for all the LILYSILK fans out there."

In the past few months, LILYSILK has also been spotted on a number of Hollywood celebrities, including Melissa Rauch, Gwyneth Paltrow, Meghan Trainor, Nina Dobrev, and Lucy Hale.

About LILYSILK

LILYSILK is a world-leading silk brand with a mission to inspire people to live spectacularly as well as more sustainably, driven by its care for its customers as well as the planet. For more information, visit www.lilysilk.com and follow @lilysilk on Instagram and @Lilysilk on Facebook.
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2022) - Silk Road Energy Inc. (TSXV: SLK.H) reports that it is expanding its footprint in the Kirkland Lake mining camp through an option agreement to acquire a property known as the Grenfell-Four Nations gold property.

The agreement enables Silk Road to earn a 100 percent interest in five claim blocks comprising 5.2 square kilometres in the Grenfell Township located approximately 8.5 kilometres due west from the Macassa Mine near Kirkland Lake, Ontario.

The claims, known as the Four Nations-Grenfell property, host multiple gold occurrences according to historical work files submitted to the Ontario Government. There has also been drilling conducted on the property that intersected gold mineralization.

This transaction is considered arms-length in which Silk Road Energy will pay a private exploration company $50,000 in cash over three years and issue a total of two million shares.

The shares are paid over two years: one million payable upon closing and 500,000 shares each to be issued on the first and second anniversaries of the closing date. There are no work commitments on the properties. The agreement is subject to TSX, regulatory and board approvals.

Silk Road Energy will act as sole operator of the exploration program on the claims. The vendor will hold a 1.5% Net Smelter Royalty (NSR) on the Asset. One third of this NSR can be purchased by Silk Road for $400,000.

"We now have a land position that has north-south and east-west boundaries in this prolific gold-producing camp," said Director, Michael Judson.

In 1920, Grenfell Kirkland Gold Mines Ltd reportedly sank two shafts on a mineralized outcrop that assayed 3,274 grams per tonne gold (95.5 oz/t gold) and 166 grams per tonne gold (4.84 oz/t gold) across narrow veins. Two three-ton bulk samples taken in 1920 returned grades of 107 grams per tonne gold (3.11 oz/t gold) and 101 grams per tonne gold (2.96 oz/t gold), respectively.

In 1959, the Hecmac Syndicate, an exploration group, drilled four short-holes which assayed 3.5 grams per tonne gold over 1.07 metres (0.10 oz/t gold over 3.5 feet). Trenching in 1960 by another group reported assay values ranging from 1.7 grams per tonne gold (0.05 oz/t gold) to 16.4 grams per tonne gold (0.48 oz/t gold).

There has also been drilling, trenching and small-scale mining conducted on the adjacent property that intersected significant gold mineralization.

The assays values reported here are not NI 43-101 compliant and were extracted from a report by FR Ploeger in 1997.

Paraphrased From Historical Anconia Resources/Omai Gold Mines Reports:

At the nearby Four Nations property, the property that hosted earlier workings, an exploration shaft was sunk to 25 feet and extended to 536 feet between 1926 and 1928. Levels were established at 125 feet, 250 feet, 375 feet, and 500 feet. Approximately 2500 feet of lateral development was undertaken at this time, mostly on the 500 foot level. The underground workings of the mine are not accessible presently.

10 vein systems have been identified at surface, two of which, the "Allen Veins", were trenched by Four Nations Consolidated Gold Mines in 1934 and were determined at that time to carry gold averaging 8.57 grams per tonne across 2.38 metres for a length of 61metres (source: "Technical Report on the Kirkland Lake Gold Property, Grenfell Township Larder Lake Mining Division, Ontario" by Howard J. Coates M. Sc., P.Geo.).

According to 2014 Anconia news releases, the company sampled 7.81 grams gold per tonne over 7.55 metres from the Allen Veins. Grab samples from the Allen Veins area have yielded results up to 19.0 grams per tonne of gold (Anconia news releases of November 11 and October 23, 2014).

Qualified Person:

Edward Procyshyn, Geo, a qualified person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.

For more information please contact:

Michael C. Judson, Director,

Silk Road Energy Inc.

T. +1-514-865-5496

Website: www.silkroadenergyinc.com

Cautionary Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes", an or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would" , "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: approval of the Private Placement and obtaining a full revocation order. This forward-looking information reflects the Company's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to the Company and on assumptions the Company believes are reasonable. These assumptions include, but are not limited to: the market acceptance of the Private Placement; the ability of the Company to obtain a full revocation order and the receipt of all required approvals in connection with the foregoing. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; general capital market conditions and market price for securities; and the delay or failure to receive board, shareholder, court or regulatory approvals. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law the Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, including the NEX Board, nor the Canadian Securities Exchange have approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

The Units and the securities comprising the Units have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirement. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities nor shall there be any sale of securities in the Unites States, or any other jurisdiction, in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Not for distribution to U.S. Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. Securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121004
The shareholders of Active Biotech AB (publ) are invited to the Annual General Meeting of shareholders to be held on Thursday, May 19, 2022. Due to the situation resulting from the Corona virus, the Meeting will be carried out through advance voting (postal voting) pursuant to temporary legislation. No meeting with the possibility to attend in person or to be represented by a proxy will take place.



ENTITLEMENT TO PARTICIPATE

Shareholders who wish to participate in the Meeting must (i) be recorded in the register of shareholders maintained by Euroclear Sweden AB on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, and (ii) notify the Company of their intention to attend the Meeting no later than Wednesday, May 18, 2022 by casting its advance vote in accordance with the instructions under the heading "Advance voting" below so that the advance voting form is received by the Company no later than that day.

In order to be entitled to participate in the meeting, shareholders whose shares are registered in the name of a nominee must, in addition to announcing their intention to participate in the meeting, request that their shares be registered in their own name so that the shareholder is recorded in the register of shareholders as of 11 May 2022. Such registration may be temporary (so-called voting rights registration) and request for such registration shall be made to the nominee in accordance with the nominee's routines at such time in advance as prescribed by the nominee. Voting rights registrations that have been made no later than the second banking day after 11 May 2022 will be taken into account when preparing the share register.

There are 218,054,720 shares and votes in Active Biotech. The Company holds no treasury shares.

ADVANCE VOTING

The shareholders may exercise their voting rights at the Meeting by voting in advance, so called postal voting in accordance with section 22 of the Act. If the shareholder votes in advance by proxy, a power of attorney shall be enclosed to the form. Proxy forms are provided at the Company's website, www.activebiotech.com, and sent to shareholders that so request. If the shareholder is a legal entity, a certified copy of a registration certificate or corresponding document indicating the authorized signatories of the legal entity shall be enclosed to the form. The shareholder may not qualify the advance vote with special instructions or conditions. If so, the vote is invalid in its entirety. Further instructions and conditions is included in the form for advance voting.

PROPOSED AGENDA

Election of Chairman of the Meeting Election of one or two persons to verify the minutes Preparation and approval of the voting list Approval of the agenda for the Meeting Determination of whether the Meeting has been duly convened Presentation of the Annual Report and the Auditors' Report, and the Consolidated Accounts and the Auditors' Report for the Group Resolution concerning the adoption of the Income Statement and the Balance Sheet, and the Consolidated Income Statement and the Consolidated Balance Sheet Resolution concerning the disposition of the Company's results pursuant to the adopted Balance Sheet Resolution on discharge from liability of the members of the Board of Directors and the CEO Determination of the number of members and alternate members of the Board of Directors and the number of auditors and alternate auditors Determination of fees payable to the Board of Directors and auditor Election of the Board of Directors, Chairman of the Board and auditor

a) re-election of Michael Shalmi

b) re-election of Uli Hacksell

c) re-election of Peter Thelin

d) re-election of Axel Glasmacher

e) re-election of Aleksandar Danilovski

f) re-election of Elaine Sullivan

g) re-election of Michael Shalmi as chairman of the board

h) re-election of KPMG AB as auditor

Presentation of the Board of Directors' remuneration report for approval Resolution concerning Election Committee The Board of Director's proposal regarding share issue authorization

PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS

Persons to approve the minutes (item 2)

Magnus Svensson and Werner Burghard, or if one or both of them have an impediment to attend, the person or persons instead appointed by the Board of Directors, are proposed to be elected to approve the minutes. The task of approving the minutes also includes verifying the voting list and that the advance votes received are correctly stated in the minutes of the Meeting.

Voting list (item 3)

The voting list proposed for approval under item 3 on the agenda is the voting list prepared by the Company, based on the shareholders' register and advance votes received, and verified by the persons elected to verify the minutes.

Disposition of the Company's results (item 8)

The Board of Directors proposes that no dividend is paid and that the Company's accumulated loss shall be carried forward.

Board of Directors, etc. (items 1 and 10 - 12)

The Election Committee, comprising Michael Shalmi (Chairman of the Board), Mats Arnhog (MGA Holding), Per Colleen (Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund) and Peter Thelin proposes the following:

Chairman of the Meeting: attorney-at-law Erik Sjoman or, if he has an impediment to attend, the person instead appointed by the Board of Directors.

Number of members and alternate members of the Board of Directors: six ordinary members with no alternates.

Fees payable to the Board of Directors: unchanged SEK 500,000 to the Chairman of the Board and SEK 200,000 to each of the other Board members who are not employed by the Company. A member of the Board who performs work for the Company outside the scope of the Board work may also receive remuneration on market terms for such work performed.

Board of Directors: re-election of Michael Shalmi, Uli Hacksell, Peter Thelin, Axel Glasmacher, Aleksandar Danilovski and Elaine Sullivan.

Chairman of the Board: re-election of Michael Shalmi.

Number of auditors and alternate auditors: one auditor with no alternates.

Fees payable to the auditor: in accordance with approved invoices within the scope of the tender.

Auditors: re-election of KPMG AB. The proposal regarding auditor is in accordance with the recommendation by the Audit Committee.

For further information on the board members proposed for re-election, reference is made to the Company's website, www.activebiotech.com.

Election Committee (item 14)

The Election Committee proposes that the Meeting assigns the Chairman of the Board the task of convening an Election Committee, based on the ownership structure at the end of September 2022, comprising the Chairman of the Board and one member appointed by each of the three largest shareholders of the Company. The Election Committee shall remain in place until the following Election Committee has been appointed. If a member of the Election Committee no longer represents one of the three largest shareholders in the Company, the Election Committee is entitled to dismiss the member. In the event that a member of the Election Committee resigns or is dismissed, the Election Committee may appoint another member nominated by the major shareholders to replace such a member. The Election Committee shall perform its duties in accordance with the stipulations for Election Committees stated in the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance.

Share issue authorization (item 15)

The Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to grant authorization to the Board, for a period that does not extend past the date of the next Annual General Meeting, on one or several occasions, with or without pre-emptive rights for the shareholders, to resolve on the issue of new shares and/or convertibles entitling to conversion to shares. It shall also be possible to make such an issue resolution stipulating in-kind payment, the right to offset debt or other conditions. The number of shares issued, or which may arise through the conversion of convertibles issued with the support of the authorization, may correspond to not more than 30 percent of the total number of shares in the Company after utilization of the authorization. The purpose of the authorization is to enable the financing, commercialization and development of the Company's projects and to provide flexibility in commercial negotiations relating to partnerships.

___________________

QUESTIONS AND SHAREHOLDERS' RIGHT TO REQUIRE INFORMATION

If any shareholder should so request and the Board assesses that this can be done without significant damage to the Company, the Board of Directors and the CEO of the Company shall provide information about conditions that could affect the assessment of items on the agenda, the Company's and subsidiaries' financial position as well as the Company's relationship to other group companies. A request for such information shall be made by e-mail to susanne.jonsson@activebiotech.comor by regular post to Active Biotech AB (publ), Attn: Susanne Jonsson, Scheelevagen 22, SE-223 63 Lund, Sweden, no later than ten days prior to the Meeting, that is Monday, May 9, 2022. The information is provided by being made available at the Company's offices and the Company's website, www.activebiotech.com, no later than Saturday, May 14, 2022. Furthermore, the information will be sent within the same time period to the shareholder who so request and provide its postal address.

DOCUMENTATION, ETC.

The Annual Report, the Board of Directors' remuneration report and other supporting resolution documentation will be presented by being held available at the Company's premises at Scheelevagen 22 in Lund, Sweden, and on the Company's website, www.activebiotech.com, not later than three weeks prior to the Meeting. The documents will be sent to shareholders who request a copy and specify their postal address. The register of shareholders for the Meeting is also made available at the Company's premises.

For information about the processing of your personal data, please refer to www.euroclear.com/dam/ESw/Legal/Privacy-notice-bolagsstammor-engelska.pdf. Active Biotech's corporate registration number is 556223-9227 and its registered office is in Lund, Sweden.

Lund, April 2022

The Board of Directors of Active Biotech AB (publ)

Attachment
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2022) - Couloir Capital Ltd. is pleased to announce initiation of research coverage on Blackwolf Copper and Gold Ltd. (TSXV: BWCG) (OTC Pink: BWCGF) ("BWCG", or "Company"). The report is titled, "Developing VMS deposits in Alaska and exploring unexplored territory in the Golden Triangle."

Report Excerpt: "BWCG is an interesting opportunity to invest in a company with a core advanced exploration property that contains several targets for further resource expansion, complimented by an exciting new exploration portfolio in a world class mineral district. The Company's value is currently underpinned by the resources at the Lookout and Trio targets at the flagship Niblack Project and we expect these resources to be augmented by further exploration at additional nearby targets. We would therefore hope to see in the medium term the resources grown to a level sufficient to support a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA"), which would be a major milestone for the company. The other avenue for value uplift is the Hyder Properties, where exploration is at an early stage but exploring in an area that hosts world class mineral deposits. The targets flagged for follow up have geological expressions and early reconnaissance results that are highly encouraging, and drilling success there has the potential to be transformational for the Company."

The report can be accessed through Couloir Capital's research portal: https://www.couloircapital.com/research-portal Click on "Sign in / Sign up".

About Blackwolf Copper and Gold

Blackwolf's founding vision is to be an industry leader in transparency, inclusion and innovation. Guided by their Vision and through collaboration with local and Indigenous communities and stakeholders, Blackwolf builds shareholder value through their technical expertise in mineral exploration, engineering and permitting. The Company holds a 100% interest in the high-grade Niblack copper-gold-zinc-silver VMS project, located adjacent to tidewater in southeast Alaska as well as the Cantoo, Casey, Texas Creek gold-silver and VMS properties in southeast Alaska. For more information on Blackwolf, please visit the Company's website at www.blackwolfcopperandgold.com.

About Couloir Capital

Couloir Capital is a research and advisory firm comprised of a team of veteran investment professionals dedicated to providing world-class opportunities in the natural resource exploration and development sectors along with real and alternative asset classes and strategies.

For further information, please contact:

Rob Stitt, Managing Director, Couloir Capital Ltd.

Email: rstitt@couloircapital.com

www.couloircapital.com

Analyst Disclosure: Couloir Capital holds shares and warrants in the Company.

A service agreement exists between Couloir Capital and the Company.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/120962
HASTINGS, New Zealand, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovative New Zealand apple brand, Rockit, has partnered with iconic Dubai-based artist, Dina Sami, to make the traditional Muslim month of fasting and prayer - Ramadan - unforgettable.

Premium miniature apples have been packed into 17,000 delightful Ramadan-inspired Rockit promotional boxes showcasing Dina's work, now on sale both in store and online across the Middle East, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Rockit Market Manager for the Middle East, Ziad El Chawa, says the holy month of Ramadan, which is observed during April, is a time for families and friends to gather. Many offer gifts as a reflection of the generosity which is a hallmark of this most sacred month.

"With fasting occurring between sunrise and sunset, Rockit apples are a popular option among families to fuel them through their fast," says Ziad. "A three-day Eid Al Fitr occurs at the end of this holy month, which is also the perfect opportunity to enjoy Rockit's delicious, crisp and juicy apples."

He says the creative interpretation of Ramadan by Dina - a depiction of a modern Muslim family against a night sky background - encourages purchasers to "give a little goodness" with Rockit. "We loved the instant appeal of this artwork - it's fresh, contemporary and colourful which really stands out in store and across our digital channels."

General Manager Global Sales, Mark Pay, says Rockit apples have been growing in popularity within Middle Eastern countries - sold in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait - with the Ramadan campaign looking set to boost awareness further.

"Sales are certainly surging within this high growth market," he says. "We were up 47% on the previous year in 2021, and orders for the 2022 season are already exceeding our expectations."

"It's exciting to see millions of nutrition-driven consumers choosing Rockit, as well as an ever-increasing family of retailers, who see the uptake and want to be part of the magic. We believe our themed boxes, available until 2 May, will fly out the door, as families take this time to be grateful, express generosity and enjoy the company of those closest to them."

Alongside the eye-catching themed box displays in store, Rockit's Global Digital Manager, Annabel Hall, says Ramadan is being celebrated with extensive online activity.

"We've worked hard with our partner, Amplify marketing agency, to create engaging content aimed at keeping consumers fit and healthy during the festival, including collaborations with 10 high profile social media influencers, children's activities, traditional recipes - with a Rockit spin - to download, along with activity driving consumers to local retailer e-commerce platforms."

"It's a really significant time of year for our Muslim consumers in the Middle East, as well as parts of southeast Asia, and through this localised content and activity, we're expecting an excellent response and strong engagement."

www.rockitapple.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1800800/Rockit_Global.jpg

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NOIDA, India, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A comprehensive overview of the Virtual Power Plant Market is recently added by UnivDatos Market Insights to its humongous database. The Virtual Power Plant market report has been aggregated by collecting informative data on various dynamics such as market drivers, restraints, and opportunities. This innovative report makes use of several analyses to get a closer outlook on the Virtual Power Plant market. The Virtual Power Plant market report offers a detailed analysis of the latest industry developments and trending factors in the market that are influencing the market growth. Furthermore, this statistical market research repository examines and estimates the Virtual Power Plant market at the global and regional levels. Virtual Power Plant market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 34% from 2021-2027 to exceed US$ 4.7 billion by 2027.

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Market Overview

The transforming energy infrastructure is giving rise to various new and complementary concepts. Distributed Energy Resource Management (DERMS) and Virtual Power Plants are two such new concepts. They are software that helps in balancing the utility requirements with the energy that is generated by the distributed energy sources (DERs) at the distribution end. One key difference between the two is that VPPs focus on the consumer whereas DERMS on the network utility. Virtual Power plants are used for active power control that is not highly dependent on specific locations of individual assets like feeders of circuits to provide grid services. They can provide system-wide benefits which are associated with increased or decreased generation or load and are mainly installed in large areas such as counties, cities, states, or RTO/ISO areas. AutoGrid, a company based in Redwood, California operating in 12 countries with 5,000 MW under contract has realized that VPPs are now becoming commodity items and thus can be purchased through Amazon Web Services.

COVID-19 Impact

The recent covid-19 pandemic in 2019 took the world by storm. The pandemic brought the world to a standstill. All industries have suffered some form of loss due to the pandemic. In addition to this, the pandemic has also cost many lives. To date, there have been 177,470,620 covid-19 cases in the world and 3,839,931 deaths. Most nations around the world were affected by the pandemic which not only took lives but also took away jobs. The pandemic caused a huge economic burden all around the world with most industries bearing some form of loss. The Virtual Power Plant industry also saw a slowdown during the pandemic as the industries were shut and production was affected.

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Virtual Power Plant market report is studied thoroughly with several aspects that would help stakeholders in making their decisions more curated.

By Technology, the market is primarily segmented into

Distribution Generation

Demand Response

Mixed Asset

Based on technology, the virtual power plants market is segmented into Distribution Generation, Demand Response, and Mixed Asset. Amongst technology, the mixed-asset segment of the virtual power plants market was at US$ 0.2 billion in 2020 and is likely to reach US$ 2.0 billion by 2027 and is growing at a CAGR of 35% from 2021-2027. This is due to increasing behind the meter (BTM) and front of the meter (FTM) devices are growing which positively influence distributed energy resources (DER) owners to achieve the greatest possible profits and increase savings on utility bills coupled with maintaining the proper balance of the electricity grid at the lowest possible environmental and economic cost.

By End-User, the market is primarily segmented into

Commercial

Industrial

Residential

Based on end-user, the virtual power plant market is segmented into Commercial, Industrial, and Residential. Amongst end-user, the residential segment accounted for the largest share in the market and is expected to retain its position in the market. Increasing penetration of DER in residential complexes like rooftop solar in countries like Australia and Germany are some of the key factors. Further, Australia is building the world's largest virtual power plant which is expected to fuel the residential virtual power plant with the support of the South Australian Government, Tesla, and electricity retailer Energy Locals are developing SA VPP - a network of potentially 50,000 solar and Tesla Powerwall home battery systems across South Australia forming the world's largest virtual power plant.

Virtual Power Plant Market Geographical Segmentation Includes:

North America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

Rest of the World

Based on the estimation, the Europe region dominated the Virtual Power Plant market with almost 62% revenue share in 2020. Asia-Pacific saw the highest CAGR of 40% in the forecast period due to the increasing demand for electricity in rural areas and thus more renewable energy generation.

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The major players targeting the market include

Schneider Electric

Engie

Siemens AG

Enel S.p.A.

General Electric Company

Royal Dutch Shell Plc

AGL Energy Limited

Flexitricity Limited

Generac Holding Inc.

ABB Ltd.

Competitive Landscape

The degree of competition among prominent global companies has been elaborated by analysing several leading key players operating worldwide. The specialist team of research analysts sheds light on various traits such as global market competition, market share, most recent industry advancements, innovative product launches, partnerships, mergers, or acquisitions by leading companies in the Virtual Power Plant market. The leading players have been analysed by using research methodologies for getting insight views on global competition.

Key questions resolved through this analytical market research report include:

What are the latest trends, new patterns, and technological advancements in the Virtual Power Plant market?

Which factors are influencing the Virtual Power Plant market over the forecast period?

What are the global challenges, threats, and risks in the Virtual Power Plant market?

Which factors are propelling and restraining the Virtual Power Plant market?

What are the demanding global regions of the Virtual Power Plant market?

What will be the global market size in the upcoming years?

What are the crucial market acquisition strategies and policies applied by global companies?

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Browse Other Related Research Reports from UnivDatos Market Insights

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About UnivDatos Market Insights

UnivDatos Market Insights (UMI) is a passionate market research firm and a subsidiary of Universal Data Solutions. We believe in delivering insights through Market Intelligence Reports, Customized Business Research, and Primary Research. Our research studies are spread across topics across the world, we cover markets in over 100 countries using smart research techniques and agile methodologies. We offer in-depth studies, detailed analysis, and customized reports that help shape winning business strategies for our clients.

Contact

UnivDatos Market Insights

Ankita Gupta

Director Operations

Ph: +91-7838604911

Email: Ankita.gupta@univdatos.com

Website: https://univdatos.com/

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1225049/UnivDatos_Logo.jpg
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The United States and Panama have signed a Bilateral Arrangement on Migration and Protection. The deal details the two countries' collaborative commitments to improve migration management, expand stabilization efforts, and increase access to legal pathways and protection for those in the region. Panama's Minister of Security Juan Pino and U.S. Charge d'Affaires in Panama Stewart Tuttle signed the Arrangement in Panama City on Tuesday. This Arrangement on Migration and Protection adds to the expanding regional migration management framework that the United States is developing with counterparts across the Americas. It also embodies the principles of regional approach through humane border management, stabilization of displaced populations and host communities, and improved access to protection and legal pathways to provide an alternative to irregular migration. The Bilateral Arrangement on Migration and Protection follows the Regional Migration Ministerial held in Colombia in October. 'with this Arrangement both countries confirm their commitment to those principles for collaborative regional response to historic migration and refugee flows', the US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in a statement. 'We look forward to working with Panama to advance the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection ahead of the Summit of the Americas', he added. The United States is set to host the Summit in June. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The "European Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Growth Opportunities" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The study will help firms to identify growth opportunities and formulate go-to-market strategies that improve competitiveness in the nascent European military UAV market as it navigates changes, including the need to counter Russia and the growing US expectation for increased European involvement in the global war on terror.

Recent developments in the European military UAV space are impacting the region's defense market, its competitive landscape, and its military posture. The European defense establishment supports the emerging trend of military drones due to evolving national security threats, especially the Russian aggression in Eastern Europe.

In addition, the Biden administration's strategic focus on China boosts NATO's interest in military UAVs to counter near-peer adversaries, thereby pushing the region to increase RDT&E and procurements efforts in this defense domain.

During the forecast period, the European military UAV market is expected to evolve due to the emerging indigenous market, the rising military demand for different types of military UAV platforms, UAVs' focus on ISR and offensive tasks, and specific budget and project allocations for UAV platforms and subsystems.

This research service explores the trends in the European military UAV space and examines the impact of the changing geopolitical landscape, US and Israeli dominance, and emerging military doctrine to confront modern battlefield challenges. The study investigates the future of European military UAVs, and it takes into account global perspectives and forecasts.

It focuses on 5 important European countries, that is, Turkey, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy. The study also examines Eastern Europe's growing demand for military UAVs, which could be used as a solution to counter Russian military aggression and mitigate some of Moscow's quantitative and qualitative military edge in the region.

Future expectations covered in the study include the prioritization of UAV armed drones, the proliferation of tactical, small, and mini drones, and the US impact on the market. The study also highlights EU and NATO activities and initiatives in the region and their impact on the competitive landscape, RDT&E initiatives, and national efforts in terms of military drones.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Strategic Imperatives

Why is it Increasingly Difficult to Grow?

The Strategic Imperative

The Impact of the Top Three Strategic Imperatives on the European Military UAV Industry

Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline Engine

2. Growth Opportunity Analysis

What You Need To Know First

Trends

Challenges

European Military UAV's Evolving Concept of Operations (ConOps)

Growth Drivers

Growth Driver Analysis

Growth Restraints

Growth Restraint Analysis

3. Market Overview

Market Segmentation

Key Competitors

Leading European Military UAV Platforms (Based on Categories)

European Military UAV Projection

4. Leading European Military UAV Country Profiles

Turkey

The United Kingdom

France

Germany

Italy

Military UAV Country Outlook Eastern Europe: 2022-2025

NATO and the EU in the Military UAV Domain

Military UAV Joint Nation Programs Europe: 2021

Military UAV Multiyear Programs Europe: 2021

5. Growth Opportunity Universe

Growth Opportunity 1: Proliferation of Armed Drones to Meet Operational Needs

Growth Opportunity 2: Tactical, Small and Mini Drones to Drive Market Growth

Growth Opportunity 3: M&As as the Dominant Business Model to Shift the Competitive Landscape in the Market

Growth Opportunity 4: Acquisition of Low-cost Operational Capabilities Against Internal and External Threats

6. Appendix

NATO Military UAV Classification

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ccedv8

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220420005830/en/

Contacts:

ResearchAndMarkets.com

Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

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OSLO, Norway (20 April 2022) - The annual general meeting of TGS ASA ("TGS" or the "Company") will be held on 11 May 2022 at the Company's offices in Askekroken 11, Oslo, Norway at 17:00 (Oslo time). Registration of attendees will begin at 16:30 CET.

The notice will be sent to all registered shareholders on 20 April 2022.

To register your attendance, grant proxy or to cast votes electronically in advance through VPS Investor Services, please use the following electronic link: https://investor.vps.no/gm/logOn.htm?token=44965e5e4fd1631d3d424c78ea3eb5c8ea95f37e&validTo=1654873200000&oppdragsId=20220419VPPHR1U0). The pin code and reference number, which are sent out with the notice, will be needed. Shareholders that have received the notice electronically will not receive and do not need a pin code or reference number, but must submit their notice of attendance, proxy or advance votes through their online investor account services (investortjenester).

For more information, visit TGS.com(http://www.tgs.com) or contact:

Sven Brre Larsen

Chief Financial Officer

investor@tgs.com

About TGS

TGS provides scientific data and intelligence to companies active in the energy sector. In addition to a global, extensive and diverse energy data library, TGS offers specialized services such as advanced processing and analytics alongside cloud-based data applications and solutions.

Forward Looking Statement

All statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict, and are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove accurate. These factors include TGS' reliance on a cyclical industry and principal customers, TGS' ability to continue to expand markets for licensing of data, and TGS' ability to acquire and process data product at costs commensurate with profitability, as well as volatile market conditions, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the severe drop in oil prices. Actual results may differ materially from those expected or projected in the forward-looking statements. TGS undertakes no responsibility or obligation to update or alter forward-looking statements for any reason.

Attachments
More Power, Same Price: Now Includes ZBrush, Redshift Everywhere and Upgrades to Every Application Revealed

Maxon, the developers of professional software solutions for editors, filmmakers, motion designers and visual effects artists, today announced that all Maxon products are now included in its value-packed subscription: Cinema 4D, Redshift, Red Giant, Universe, Forger and now ZBrush, acquired in December of last year, are all included in Maxon One for the same affordable price. Additionally, Maxon unveiled its Spring 2022 product upgrades that include an incredible set of new features and enhancements. This multi-product, feature-rich update once again illustrates Maxon's commitment to delivering consistent product development and superior value to the Maxon One offering.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220420005268/en/

Maxon Unveils its Spring 2022 Product Updates (Photo: Business Wire)

"Our goal is to provide artists with trailblazing technology and workflows to create in all dimensions," said David McGavran, Maxon CEO. "This expansive update across all of Maxon's creative tools comes together to provide incredible value and opportunities for creative expression in Maxon One."

See Maxon One in Action at NAB 2022 and on The 3D and Motion Design Show

Maxon will be hosting exclusive presentations from industry-leading artists in its Booth (N5920) at NAB 2022, April 24-27, 2022. For those unable to attend the show, the presentations will be streaming simultaneously at 3DMotionShow.com.

Exciting new enhancements and upgrades to Maxon One products include:

Cinema 4D S26: Significant emphasis has been put on unifying workflows with the best technology from around the Maxon family the additions of Redshift CPU and ZBrush's automatic retopology tools. Cinema 4D Subscription Release 26 also includes great enhancements across the entire 3D workflow Modeling, Animation, Simulation, Rendering.

Redshift: Redshift is Everywhere. With the initial release of Redshift CPU, users can make use of Redshift's powerful materials and rendering on any system and a growing number of creative tools including Houdini, Maya, 3ds max, Blender, Katana, Vectorworks and Archicad. The new Redshift Standard material is easy to use and offers diverse shading models for improved photorealism.

Red Giant:

VFX Suite 3 introduces Real Lens Flares based on simulated optical models and ray traced light. This technology preview will evolve with the participation of our artistic community.

introduces Real Lens Flares based on simulated optical models and ray traced light. This technology preview will evolve with the participation of our artistic community. Magic Bullet Suite 16 adds new Halation and Optical Diffusion tools for Looks, along with OpenColorIO support.

adds new Halation and Optical Diffusion tools for Looks, along with OpenColorIO support. Trapcode Suite 18 now offers M1 support for all Trapcode tools, and layer maps support in Particular.

Universe: Universe 6 adds exciting new tools providing many new options to be creative and enhance an artist's workflow. Sketchify adds sketch- and toon-like effects to footage, ChromaTown creates chromatic streaks and blurs for warpy looks and transitions, Box Bokeh provides square or diamond shaped lens bokeh effects, and Stretch Transition adds a stretchy crossfade between clips for a warp-like transition. Combined with over 70 new presets, Universe 6 helps artists to get impressive results quickly in a fun and intuitive way.

Forger: The latest version of Forger reveals the first stage in Maxon's plan to provide powerful hard-surface modeling capabilities to 3D artists. Built with Cinema 4D's polygonal foundation, Forger now offers a selection of polygonal primitives: planes, cubes, spheres, cylinders, torus, pyramids, capsules, oil tanks, etc.

Maxon One subscribers can immediately download all product updates via Maxon App. Everyone can download a 14-day trial of the entire Maxon One offering from within Maxon App and experience for themselves all the great new features across the entire Maxon family of products.

More Details at maxon.net

About Maxon

Maxon makes powerful, yet approachable software solutions for content creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects and visualization. Maxon's innovative product portfolio helps artists supercharge their creative workflows. Our product lines include the award-winning Cinema 4D suite of 3D modeling, simulation and animation technology; the creativity-on-the-go Forger mobile sculpting app; the diverse Red Giant lineup of revolutionary editing, motion design and filmmaking tools; the leading-edge, blazingly fast Redshift renderer; and ZBrush, the industry-standard digital sculpting and painting solution.

Maxon's team is comprised of fun, passionate people who believe in building and empowering a successful artistic community. From our popular, inclusive events to our free Cineversity educational resources, Maxon recognizes that developing strong connections with creatives and fostering their professional growth is integral to our ability to stay on top of industry trends and better serve customers.

Maxon is part of the Nemetschek Group.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220420005268/en/

Contacts:

Chloe Larby

Grithaus Agency

(e) chloe@grithaus.agency

(p) +44 7454 012045
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares

For immediate release

20 April 2022

FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC

(the "Company")

MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES

The Company announces that it has today purchased 50,000 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 826.70p per Ordinary Share. Such shares will be held in treasury by the Company.

The transaction was made pursuant to the authority granted at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 9 February 2022.

Following this transaction, the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury is 1,937,684; the total number of Ordinary Shares that the Company has in issue, less the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury following such purchase, and therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 223,053,619.

The figure of 223,053,619 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for calculations of interests in the Company's voting rights in accordance with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

For and on behalf of

Frostrow Capital LLP

Company Secretary

For further information, please contact:

Victoria Hale

Frostrow Capital LLP

Tel: 020 3 170 8732
Regulatory News:

THERACLION (ISIN: FR0010120402; Mnemo: ALTHE) (Paris:ALTHE), an innovative company developing a scalable robotic platform for non-invasive ultrasound therapy, today announced that 1000 patients suffering from varicose veins have been treated with the SONOVEIN. These patients have received non-invasive echotherapy treatment in several centres in Europe and Asia, all led by key-opinion leaders in their field.

The SONOVEIN, CE marked in 2019, is the only non-invasive ablation therapy device for varicose veins. Since 1998, vascular doctors have been looking for alternatives to the endovenous thermal ablation. This device allows a treatment without the use of a catheter, chemical injections, or incisions, thus leaves no scars. The procedure can be performed in a non-sterile environment.

"Without doubt, over the next few years, non-invasive treatment of leg veins using High Intensity Focused Ultrasound, also called echotherapy, is going to have a major impact on the way that varicose veins and venous leg ulcers are treated by specialist doctors and clinics. I am delighted to be involved with this revolution in treatment" explains Prof. Whiteley, consultant venous surgeon and founder of The Whiteley Clinics, UK. "Despite being launched just as the Covid pandemic hit, the team at Theraclion has done an amazing job at supporting the development of this exciting non-invasive technique." Prof. Whiteley, a renowned key opinion leader in varicose vein treatment has been an early adopter, using this disruptive technology since the CE mark of the 1st generation of the SONOVEIN.

Theraclion's ambition is to revolutionize the $10 billioni varicose vein treatments and to give all patients access to non-invasive treatments.

As part of its strategy, Theraclion keeps exploring key partnership with significant corporate able to speed up the spread of its technology in the USA (seeking FDA clearance), in Europe and in Asia

Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) and venous ulceration is a common health problem causing significant patient morbidity. Apart from the chronic physical and psychological disability caused to the individual, it also results in an enormous economic burden to the health care administration. Global prevalence rates of CVI are variable but may be as high as 40% among females and 17% among males1. Venous pathology generates around 5 million treatment procedures per year 2

About Theraclion

At Theraclion we believe that surgery, as we know it, is outdated. It converts optimistic patients into anxious individuals, brilliant doctors into exhausted system executors and stretches healthcare systems to the limit. We have disrupted this convention by creating extracorporeal treatment platforms. We replace surgery with a robotic treatment from outside the body using High Intensity Focussed Ultrasound (HIFU). Our leading edge echotherapy platforms are currently CE marked in non-invasive treatment of varicose veins with SONOVEIN and of breast fibroadenomas and thyroid nodules with Echopulse.

Located in Malakoff, near Paris, our employees live and breath innovation by extensive clinical research and harness artificial intelligence. The market of varicose veins treatment alone requires around 5 million procedures annually. It is a dynamic market in which we change paradigms by making non-invasive echotherapy the new standard.

For more information, please visit www.theraclion.com and our patient website https://echotherapie.com/echotherapy/

Theraclion is listed on Euronext Growth Paris

Eligible for the PEA-PME scheme

Mnemonic: ALTHE ISIN code: FR0010120402

LEI: 9695007X7HA7A1GCYD29

1 https://www.peertechz.com/articles/IJVSM-5-132.php

2 Millenium research Varicose Vein Device Market Study 2015

i Millenium research Varicose Vein Device Market Study 2015 2 Varicose veins Felipe Collares

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220420005841/en/

Contacts:

Theraclion

David Auregan

Chief Operating Officer

david.auregan@theraclion.com

Anja Kleber

VP Marketing, Market Access Sales Francophonia

anja.kleber@theraclion.com
Partners Group / Key word(s): Acquisition/Investment

Partners Group to acquire Version 1, a leading digital transformation services provider in the UK and Ireland



20.04.2022 / 18:35





Baar-Zug, Switzerland; 20 April 2022

Version 1 has around 450 clients across the private and public sector

The digital transformation services sector is experiencing strong tailwinds

Partners Group plans to work with Version 1's best-in-class management team to support its accelerated growth journey and further internationalization

Partners Group, a leading global private markets firm, has, on behalf of its clients, agreed to acquire Version 1 (or "the Company"), one of the leading digital transformation services providers in the UK and Ireland, from Volpi Capital and management.

Headquartered in Dublin, Version 1 works with private and public sector clients on complex digital transformation programs. The Company's services include application modernization, cloud migration services, and cloud-native software engineering, which involves the development of applications in the cloud. Version 1 has approximately 450 clients, including blue-chip companies and central government departments, and 2,100 employees across offices in Ireland, the UK, India, and Spain. In the last ten years, the Company has successfully integrated 13 add-on acquisitions that have expanded its service portfolio and geographic coverage. The digital transformation services sector is experiencing strong tailwinds including increasing company investment in new digital initiatives and solutions and the growing need to migrate technology infrastructure to the cloud.

Partners Group will work with Version 1's management team in its next phase of growth as a leading digital transformation specialist. Partners Group's value creation plan aims to achieve double-digit growth by developing the Company's service offering and technical depth, building its international presence, and pursuing accretive M&A.

Kim Nguyen, Partner, Co-Head Private Equity Services, Partners Group, says: "We have been tracking Version 1 through our thematic focus on digital transformation. Based on our investment and value creation track record related to this theme, we value Version 1's strong leadership team, differentiated offering, and operations which are reflected by excellent customer and employee satisfaction scores, and impressive organic growth. The Company is well-positioned to capitalize on the tailwinds driving increased digitization across both the private and public sector and we have conviction in its growth prospects. We look forward to working with Version 1's ambitious management team on our value creation plan."

Tom O'Connor, Chief Executive Officer, Version 1, comments: "We are extremely pleased to have secured Partners Group as our new partner and majority shareholder. Throughout our process, the firm's core values, track record and ambition best matched those of Version 1. Partners Group's sectoral knowledge and international reach will be as important to Version 1 as their investment and endorsement of our growth strategy. We are also pleased for our customers and staff who will benefit as we continue to grow and add more great people to the Version 1 team."

About Partners Group

Partners Group is a leading global private markets firm. Since 1996, the firm has invested over USD 170 billion in private equity, private real estate, private debt, and private infrastructure on behalf of its clients globally. Partners Group seeks to generate strong returns through capitalizing on thematic growth trends and transforming attractive businesses and assets into market leaders. The firm is a committed, responsible investor and aims to create sustainable returns with lasting, positive impact for all its stakeholders. With USD 127 billion in assets under management as of 31 December 2021, Partners Group provides an innovative range of bespoke client solutions to institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and private individuals globally. The firm employs more than 1,500 diverse professionals across 20 offices worldwide and has regional headquarters in Baar-Zug, Switzerland; Denver, USA; and Singapore. It has been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 2006 (symbol: PGHN). For more information, please visit www.partnersgroup.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Partners Group media relations contact

Henry Weston

Phone: +44 207 575 2593

Email: henry.weston@partnersgroup.com

End of Media Release


Jolawn Victor moves from Headspace to Intuit, the makers of household name brands QuickBooks, Mailchimp and Credit Karma

LONDON, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Intuit, the global technology platform and makers of QuickBooks, Mailchimp, Credit Karma, TurboTax and Mint, today announces the appointment of new Vice President and UK Country Manager, Jolawn Victor. Victor joins to drive continued growth of Intuit's UK business which helps small businesses, self-employed and accounting professionals embrace technology to overcome their biggest financial challenges.

Victor joins from Headspace, where she led the company's international operations and global expansion as Chief International Officer. Prior to Headspace, she held senior roles at Intuit, including driving QuickBooks' global growth as the Rest of World leader. Victor also held executive roles at PepsiCo.

Dan McCarthy, Chief Business Officer, at Intuit said: "Jolawn is a proven leader with a track record of building high performing teams that scale customer-centric innovation and provide delightful customer experiences, globally. We're excited to welcome her back and are confident she's going to be a huge asset to Intuit and our UK organisation."

Intuit has a significant presence in the UK with nearly 600 team members. The organisation placed second in Great Place to Work's medium sized technology business category in 2021. It delivers on its global mission to Power Prosperity Around the World by making software that helps small businesses, the self-employed and accounting professionals thrive.

Victor said: "The opportunity for Intuit in the UK is significant. There are millions of small businesses and self-employed that need support from technology to run and grow their business. There are hundreds of thousands of accounting professionals that need a software partner to help them grow their practice and scale their impact. These needs are accelerated by major compliance moments such as Making Tax Digital and Open Banking. I can't wait to work in a sector I'm passionate about, with a hugely talented team, to help these communities thrive."

In Intuit's Financial Year 2021, eight million active customers worldwide used QuickBooks as the source of truth for their small businesses. This includes 5.3 million QuickBooks Online subscribers, up 16% YOY. Mailchimp had 13 million total users around the world. In her new role, Victor will influence Intuit's global strategy as part of the Small Business and Self-Employed Group's Developed Markets Leadership Team, while also leading the ambitious growth strategy in the UK. Victor starts May 16.

Intuit is the global technology platform that helps consumers and small businesses overcome their most important financial challenges. Serving more than 100 million customers worldwide with TurboTax, QuickBooks, Mint, Credit Karma, and Mailchimp, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to prosper. We never stop working to find new, innovative ways to make that possible. Please visit us for the latest information about Intuit, our products and services, and find us on social.
Regulatory News:

Latecoere (Paris:LAT) announces that its 2021 Universal Registration Document (constituting the Annual Financial Report) has been filed with the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) today.

This Universal Registration Document is available to the public in accordance with French law and may be viewed or downloaded from the Company's website, in its French version, at the following address: https://www.latecoere.aero/finance/rapports-annuels-et-semestriels/.

The following documents are included in the Universal Registration Document in accordance with legal provisions:

2021 Annual Financial Report;

- Board of Directors' Report on corporate governance; and

- Description of the share repurchase program proposed to the Annual Shareholders' Meeting.

About Latecoere

As a "Tier 1" international partner of the world's major aircraft manufacturers (Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer and Mitsubishi Aircraft), Latecoere serves aerospace with innovative solutions for a sustainable world. The Group is active in all segments of the aeronautics industry (commercial, regional, business and military aircraft), in two areas of activity:

Aerostructures (46% of turnover): fuselage sections and doors,

Interconnection Systems (54% of turnover): wiring, electrical furniture and on-board equipment.

As of December 31, 2021, the Group employed 4,764 people in 14 different countries. Latecoere, a French limited company capitalised at 132,745,925 divided into 530,983,700 shares with a par value of 0.25, is listed on Euronext Paris Compartment B, ISIN Codes: FR0000032278 Reuters: LAEP.PA Bloomberg: LAT.FP.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220420005971/en/

Contacts:

Taddeo

Antoine Denry Investor Relations

+33 (0)6 18 07 83 27

Marie Gesquiere Media Relations

+33 (0)6 26 48 97 98

teamlatecoere@taddeo.fr
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market ended modestly higher on Wednesday after a choppy session. The mood remained a bit cautious with investors closely following the developments on the geopolitical front, and tracking corporate announcements. The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 28.75 points or 0.23% at 12,310.17, after touching a low of 12,284.69 and a high of 12,341.09 intraday. Alcon gained more than 3%. Partners Group and Holcim both gained nearly 2%. Richemont surged up 1.84% and UBS Group gained 1.6%. Swiss Re and Zurich Insurance Group both ended 1.2% up. Swiss Life Holding, ABB and Sika gained 0.8 to 1%. Credit Suisse declined 1.48% after the Swiss bank said it expects a first-quarter net loss after increasing legal provisions. Novartis, Roche Holding and SGS shed 0.6 to 0.85%. Logitech and Swisscom ended modestly lower. In the Mid Price Index, Cembra Money Bank rallied 5.3% and VAT Group gained nearly 3.5%. Kuehne & Nagel and Swatch Group climbed 2.78% and 2.4%, respectively. Adecco, AMS, Helvetia, Baloise Holding, Georg Fischer, Julius Baer and Ems Chemie Holding also ended with strong gains. Dufry and Temenos Group both ended more than 3% down. Zur Rose ended 2.2% down and Lindt & Spruengli lost 2%. BB Biotech, Schindler Ps and Bachem Holding lost 1.4%, 1.3% and 1.1%, respectively. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Regulatory News:

Latecoere (Paris:LAT) shareholders are invited to attend the Annual Combined Shareholders' Meeting to be held on Wednesday, May 11, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. at the Company's registered office 135 rue de Periole 31500 Toulouse (France).

However, in view of the uncertainties resulting from the context of COVID-19, the Company may have to modify the arrangements for this Shareholders' Meeting, depending on health and/or legal requirements. In this context, the Company invites its shareholders to vote by mail and to consult regularly the Company's website www.latecoere.aero.

The information and documents referred to in Article R. 22-10-23 of the French Commercial Code, including the notice of meeting published in the Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires (BALO) No.41 of April 6, 2022, and the terms and conditions of participation and voting at this Shareholders' Meeting, are available on the Latecoere website under the heading "Finance", section "Regulated information", "Documents relating to the Shareholders' Meeting" at www.latecoere.aero.

These documents are also available to shareholders under the legal and regulatory conditions at Latecoere's registered office.

A notice of meeting will soon be published in the BALO.

_________________________________________________________________________________

About Latecoere

As a "Tier 1" international partner of the world's major aircraft manufacturers (Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer and Mitsubishi Aircraft), Latecoere serves aerospace with innovative solutions for a sustainable world. The Group is active in all segments of the aeronautics industry (commercial, regional, business and military aircraft), in two areas of activity:

Aerostructures (46% of turnover): fuselage sections and doors,

Interconnection Systems (54% of turnover): wiring, electrical furniture and on-board equipment.

As of December 31, 2021, the Group employed 4,764 people in 14 different countries. Latecoere, a French limited company capitalised at 132,745,925 divided into 530,983,700 shares with a par value of 0.25, is listed on Euronext Paris Compartment B, ISIN Codes: FR0000032278 Reuters: LAEP.PA Bloomberg: LAT.FP.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220420005973/en/

Contacts:

Taddeo

Antoine Denry Investor Relations

+33 (0)6 18 07 83 27

Marie Gesquiere Media Relations

+33 (0)6 26 48 97 98

teamlatecoere@taddeo.fr
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2022 / Lotus Ventures Inc. (CSE:J)(OTC PINK:LTTSF) ("Lotus" or the "Company"), a premium licensed cannabis producer and wholesaler is excited to announce the second official collaborative strain launch with Kolab Project, a brand owned by Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. (XLY). Following the success of Lotus and Kolab's initial strain launch with the Kalifornia, both teams are looking forward to introducing another novel cannabis strain for consumers in the Canadian adult-use market.

Cultivated by BC craft growers Lotus Cannabis Co., the Tranquil Elephantizer is a cross between 88 G-13 Hashplant and Snow Lotus. Known for providing a relaxing body high, this potent Indica-dominant strain has THC up to 26% and hits with a pungent and earthy aroma. With terpene content up to 3.3%, the top terpenes of limonene, caryophyllene, and myrcene deliver a hint of sweetness and spice.

To learn more about the upcoming strain launch with Kolab Project, visit this 4/20-inspired article on Leafly (LFLY).

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

Lotus Ventures Inc.

"Dale McClanaghan"

Dale McClanaghan, President and CEO

About Lotus Ventures Inc.

Lotus Ventures Inc. (CSE:J) is a Canadian licensed cannabis producer and the owner of Lotus Cannabis Co., a premium consumer brand in Canada. Lotus is a sophisticated cultivator and has sold dried cannabis flower on a wholesale basis to several licensed producers nationwide. Lotus' cultivation team, best-selling strains, and consistent production have built a strong brand reputation in the market. This has led to Lotus grown flower being sold by wholesale partners in both the premium and ultra-premium flower segments in nine provinces to date.

Lotus Ventures Inc. is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol J and on the OTC Markets under the symbol LTTSF.

For Further Information:

President & CEO

Dale McClanaghan

dalemcclanaghan@gmail.com

604-644-9844

Investor Relations

Daniel McRobert

investors@lotuscannabis.ca

604-842-4625

Contact Our Team

info@lotuscannabis.ca

Visit Lotus' website at lotuscannabis.caor follow the brand on social media.

Twitter:@lotuscannabisco , LinkedIn: @lotuscannabisco , Instagram: @lotuscannabisco Facebook: @lotuscanna

Forward-Looking Information:

The information contained within this news release has been prepared by Lotus Ventures Inc. This document includes certain statements that are not descriptions of historical facts but are forward-looking statements. Such statements include, among others, those concerning our expected financial performance and strategic and operational plans, our future operating results, our expectations regarding the market for medical and recreational cannabis products, our expectations regarding the continued growth of the medical and recreational cannabis market, as well as all assumptions, expectations, predictions, intentions, or beliefs about future events. Users are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that a number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties have not been documented or mentioned in this document nor other communications made by the company. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "targets," "optimistic," "intend," "aim," "will" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Lotus Ventures, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698182/Lotus-Cannabis-Launching-the-Tranquil-Elephantizer
Columbus, Ohio--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2022) - Better For You Wellness, Inc. (OTCQB: BFYW) ("Better For You Wellness" or the "Company"), an Ohio-based company focused on the rapidly-growing $1.5T wellness industry, is pleased to announce that it has secured a $5,000,000 USD Standby Equity Commitment Agreement ("SECA") facility from MacRab LLC, a Florida limited liability company ("MacRab").

The Standby Equity Commitment Agreement provides Better For You Wellness with an option to sell up to $5,000,000 worth of the Company's common stock to MacRab, in increments, over the period ending twenty-four (24) months after the date that the Company's registration statement is deemed effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, (the "SEC") pursuant to the terms and conditions contained in the SECA.

"We believe the SECA facility will strengthen the Better For You Wellness capitalization profile as planned M&A activity is set to come to fruition," said Ian James, Chief Executive Officer of Better For You Wellness, Inc. "Having strong financial partners like Mast Hill Fund, L.P. and MacRab LLC allows Better For You Wellness to continue its aggressive growth strategy as planned."

The Company intends to use net proceeds from this transaction for expansion, acquisitions, legal costs, filing fees, and other general purposes.

For more details, please refer to the Company's Form 8-Ks filed with the SEC at https://www.sec.gov.

About Better For You Wellness, Inc.

Better For You Wellness, Inc. (OTCQB: BFYW) is a Columbus, Ohio-based Company pursuing a dual buy-and-build model within the wellness industry. Better For You Wellness, Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiary, builds and operates digitally-native, mission-driven brands within the clean beauty sector, including Better Suds. Better For You Wellness, Inc. is also under LOI to acquire multiple companies within the clean and natural beauty category. Learn more at https://BFYW.com.

Contact:

Better For You Wellness, Inc.

Ian James, CEO

investors@bfyw.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology including "could," "may," "will," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" and the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. While these forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding the direction of our business, actual results will almost always vary, sometimes materially, from any estimates, predictions, projections, assumptions or other future performance suggested in this report. Except as required by applicable law, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements so as to conform these statements to actual results. Investors should refer to the risks disclosed in the Company's reports filed with SEC (https://www.sec.gov/).

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121011
One of the World's Oldest Lambic Breweries Honors Heritage and Founder with Cuvee Francisca Limited Release

Lindemans, one of the oldest Belgian lambic beer brewers in the world, is celebrating its bicentennial with a limited edition lambic, Cuvee Francisca. Founded in 1822 by Francisca Josina Vandersmissen and Joos Frans Lindemans, the brewery produces one of the world's oldest beer styles with the greatest care and immense passion.

To celebrate the brewery's rich 200-year heritage, Lindemans is releasing an exclusive anniversary beer: Cuvee Francisca. Inspired by and named after Lindemans first lady, Francisca Josina Vandersmissen, it is a unique blend of a four-year-old lambic from the oak casks T1001 (20%), T1006 (35%), T1017 (35%) and 10% young lambic from foeder (oak cask) T1014; it's dry yet complex, making it a nicely balanced old gueuze for beer enthusiasts as well as those new to the style. First fermented in wooden casks and then refermented in a bottle for 12 months, it carries a distinct taste of oak, citrus and notes of vanilla with a sherry aroma. The jubilee blend has a refreshingly sour yet crisp finish, and pours a golden blonde color.

Francisca Josina Vandersmissen was born in Hof ter Kwadewegen in Belgium's Pajottenland, a region known for its noble beer lineage, as it is the only location in the world where authentic lambic can be brewed. Soon after Francisca married Joos Frans Lindemans in 1822, they moved into the Vandersmissen farm brewery and thus Lindeman's Brewery was born. Two hundred years and six generations later, Lindemans Brewery is still owned by the founding family and is now led by cousins and co-owners, Dirk and Geert Lindemans, and continues to operate in its same founding region.

"It's an honour to carry on my family's liquid heritage as the sixth generation of Lindemans brewers," said Dirk Lindemans, co-owner and managing director of Lindemans Brewery. "What started out as a small family business has grown into an international renowned lambic brewery bringing new flavor profiles and experiences to fans all over the world. We wouldn't be where we are today without Francisca Josina Vandersmissen and Joos Frans Lindemans, and we're thrilled to be celebrating our 200th anniversary with a namesake beer in her honor," added Geert Lindemans, co-owner and managing director.

A limited release of only 25,000 bottles worldwide, Cuvee Francisca is available for purchase in 750 ml bottles in shops across the country. This batch is available as a limited release only.

To learn more about Lindemans Brewery and Cuvee Francisca, visit https://www.lindemans.be, or follow us on Instagram (@lindemansbeers_usa). To find Cuvee Francisca and other Lindemans varieties near you, visit https://www.lindemans.be/en_US/product-locator.

About Lindemans Brewery

Since 1822, the Lindemans family has been brewing lambic in Vlezenbeek in the heart of Pajottenland, Belgium. Lindemans Brewery is the largest, independent, family lambic brewery. Due to the sharp increase in sales abroad, the company has become an established name in the international beer world. In 2021 Lindemans produced more than 113,000 hectolitres and currently has 70 employees. Lindemans is imported to the US by Merchant du Vin.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220420005977/en/

Contacts:

Lyndsey Siracusano

Rachel Kay Public Relations

929.337.0638

lyndsey@rkpr.net
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2022) - Aurwest Resources Corporation (CSE: AWR) announced today that they will be participating in Renmark Financial Communications Inc.'s live Virtual Non-Deal Roadshow Series to discuss its latest investor presentations on Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 1PM PST and Wednesday, May 04, 2022 at 12:00 PM EST. Aurwest Resources Corporation welcomes stakeholders, investors, and other individual followers to register and attend this live event.

The presentation will feature Aurwest Resources Corporation's Chairman Of The Board, Cameron Macdonald, and President & CEO Colin Christensen. Topics to be covered will include the latest investor presentation followed by a live Q&A. Investors interested in participating in this event will need to register using the link below. As a reminder, registration for the live event may be limited but access to the replay after the event will be on The Company's Investor website.

REGISTER HERE:

Thursday, April 21, 2022: https://www.renmarkfinancial.com/events/renmark-virtual-non-deal-roadshow-cse-awr-2022-04-21-130000

Wednesday, May 04, 2022: https://www.renmarkfinancial.com/events/renmark-virtual-non-deal-roadshow-cse-awr-2022-05-04-120000

To ensure smooth connectivity, please access this link using the latest version of Google Chrome.

For further information please contact:

Christensen Colin, President and CEO

Tel: (403) 483-8363

cchristensen@aurwestresources.com

https://aurwestresources.com/

Renmark Financial Communications Inc.

Robert Thaemlitz: rthaemlitz@renmarkfinancial.com

Tel: (416) 644-2020 or (212) 812-7680

www.renmarkfinancial.com

Aurwest Resources Corporation

Aurwest Resources Corp. (CSE: AWR) is a Canadian-based junior resource company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold properties in Canada. The Company currently has three Option Agreements to earn a 100% interest in Paradise Lake and Stony Caldera projects covering a 47,800-hectare (478 sq kms) package of gold exploration licenses within the emerging Central Newfoundland gold district. The Company also currently holds a 100% interest in the 24,533-hectare Stellar copper/gold Project plus an additional 3,761 hectares of contiguous claims in the acquired 100% interest in the Stars property, located approximately 25-65 kilometers southwest of Houston British Columbia.

About Renmark Financial Communications Inc.

Founded in 1999, Renmark Financial Communications Inc. is North America's leading retail investor relations firms. Employing a strategic and comprehensive mix of exposure tactics; Renmark hosts Virtual Non-Deal Roadshows as well as in-person corporate presentations and maintains daily communications with thousands of brokers and money managers across Canada and the United States. Renmark empowers its publicly traded clientele to maximize their visibility within the financial community and strengthen their investor audience.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121056
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2022) - King Global Ventures Inc. (TSXV: KING) (OTC Pink: KGLDF) (FSE: 5LM1) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed a private placement for gross proceeds of $150,000.

The Company issued 3,000,000 units at $0.05 per unit. Each unit is comprised of one common share and one three year warrant exercisable at $0.075. The Company issued a finder's fee comprised of $12,000 cash and 240,000 warrants, exercisable at $0.075 for 12 months to an Ontario based Exempt Market Dealer. Proceeds of the placement are primarily to fund resource expenditures on its Newfoundland Gold Exploration portfolio and supplement general working capital. All securities were issued with a 4 month plus one day hold period expiring August 21, 2022. The placement remains subject to regulatory approval.

Newfoundland Properties:

King Global's projects include 100% interest in the following gold exploration projects:

The Golden Nugget Property consists of a 10 km long contiguous land package (1,850 ha.) of siliciclastic sediments within beds of conglomerates and mafic materials. High grade gold occurs in all rock groups with channel samples having returned values of 50.2 g/t gold over 1.1 m, 87 g/t over 0.8 m and 29.2 g/t over 2.5 m. These high grade channels are contained within extensive areas of lower to medium grade gold values along the entire length of this 10 km structural corridor.

The Miss Pickle Property (950 ha), is also north of the Davidsville Group and lies in another parallel structure to the Gold Nugget Property known as the Coaker Trend. Historical grab samples include, 7.3 g/t gold over 2.05 m, 8.3 g/t gold over 1.9 m and 7.1 g/t gold over 1.2 m. The length weighed average of 26 channel samples across the zone is 3.2 g/t gold. A new gold zone with overall channel sampling of 0.30 g/t Au over 54 m, including 0.96 g/t Au over 7.5 m was discovered during the summer of 2021 (the zone is open in all directions).

The Gold Boulder Prospect consists of four contiguous claim blocks (100 ha) and is located near the small town of Glenwood in Central Newfoundland. Geologically the property is underlain by siliciclastic sediments of the Davidsville Group which is the same geological belt which hosts New Found Gold's high grade Queensway project. The entire prospect is bound on all side by New Found Gold Corp.

The Chapel Island Property (1,300 ha) consists of 54 mining blocks located in north-east central Newfoundland, on Chapel Island within the Dunnage Tectonostratigraphic zone of the Appalachian Orogen. The Road zone consists of 4 historical showings containing numerous Au occurrences. These occurrences have returned individual assay results up to 85 g/t Au and 32 g/t Au. Chapel Island also has historical nickel showings grab samples up to 3.05% Ni.

The Lost Swamp showing is comprised of a silicified and carbonate altered Coaker porphyry that contains very, fine grained arsenopyrite, with assay results returning values up to 149.8 g/t Au and 23.3 g/t Au. At the Swamp zone, a total of 35 channel samples were cut for a combined length of 35.9 m at 8 different locations in the old trench. The best results from the sampling were 5.2 m of 484 ppb Au and 0.9 m of 3.9 g/t Au.

About King Global Ventures

King Global Ventures Inc. (TSXV: KING) holds 100% interest in four highly prospective and previously explored gold exploration projects in the Gander Gold Belt Region of Newfoundland, Canada. King is supported by strategic investor Eric Sprott.

Additional information about King Ventures can be viewed at the Company's website at www.kingtsxv.com or at www.sedar.com.

On behalf of King Global Ventures

Robert Dzisiak

Chief Executive Officer

204-955-4803

ir@kingtsxv.com

www.kingtsxv.com

The technical contents of this news release were approved by Andrew Lee Smith, Bsc., P.Geo, ICD.D, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain information in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, the uncertainty of the financing, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in preparing such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove imprecise and undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

The forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligations to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121060
Shenzhen, China--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2022) - VOOPOO launched its new product for the year, the ARGUS GT II. With its 200W high power constant output, IP68 rating and volcano crater design, ARGUS GT II brings a more innovative experience to users worldwide.

Image 1



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Everest Zhao, CEO of VOOPOO, said, "VOOPOO continues to pioneer innovation and experiment with new technologies. We believe that the new ARGUS GT II will also bring a different high-end experience to our customers."

Perfect for adventurous cloud chasers who want an experience that's as powerful outdoors as it is in, the ARGUS GT II follows in the footsteps of the successful launch of the ARGUS GT. It also improves on its predecessor with a powerful 200W max output, USB Type-C 3.0A connector for super-fast charging, and a top-fill design for easy and mess-free refills.

Image 2



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The ARGUS GT II is a strong double-layer waterproof, dust-proof, antifreeze and anti-collision mod that can easily deal with extreme temperatures - from minus 20 to 60 - without a drop in performance. It's also as hard and durable as volcanic rock.

VOOPOO's newest offering also features its signature GENE TT 2.0 technology, with an upgraded advanced chip that supports Smart, RBA, Turbo and Temperature Control modes.

The top-fill design isn't the only thing that's new. The new MAAT tank has a unique volcano crater design, which improves direct airflow rate by 60% and drains condensation to the bottom of the tank, allowing faster and more powerful vapour production and a leak-proof experience.

The birth of VOOPOO

In 2014, at a time when the electronic atomization industry was nearly silent, Scott Zhao and Everest Zhao, the founders of VOOPOO, with their keen market insight, ploughed deep into the field of chip industrial and jointly set up ICCPP (VOOPOO's parent company) and dedicated themselves to providing chip technology solutions for the electronic atomization industry through GENE chips.

At that time, when working overseas, the founders found that international customers did not recognize the "chip" because it was not a final product that could directly reach the consumer. Even though the performance of GENE chips has been optimized, other design aspects of the service provider's product were not in place, such as process and design, which ultimately failed to bring a quality product experience to the user. With this in mind, ICCPP believed that the ultimate goal was to serve the customer and user experience well and began to think about transforming to create its product brand.

In 2017, Scott Zhao and Everest Zhao, once again, made the great decision to take the company globally by creating a new brand logo - VOOPOO - and eventually branding the product as VOOPOO. Through three easy-to-pronounce, worldwide letters "V", "P" and "O", they carry on the spirit of "earthshaking innovation" promoted by the founder.

The initial letter "V" stands for "Victory", meaning that VOOPOO relies on technological innovation to lead the industry's healthy development and share the results of innovation with users through its products. The letter "P" stands for "Produce", meaning creativity, which is the brand personality of VOOPOO. VOOPOO is a positive and never-ending attitude towards life. To reflect the attributes of the atomization industry, VOOPOO has created an original artistic design for the two letters "O", which form an infinite figure, resembling the shape formed by the user gulping vape in the air, but also with an original design rich in symmetry, highlighting VOOPOO's infinite possibilities and future creation.

Image 3



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Like the VOOPOO slogan - SPARK YOUR LIFE means to create infinite possibilities, which also complements the infinity symbol logo. VOOPOO hopes to bring the world not only products but also the spirit and dream of exploring infinite possibilities, breaking through the so-called constraints and shackles, and bringing more beautiful possibilities to everyone's life.

Dreams - creating infinite possibilities with technology

Chip and atomization, VOOPOO's two wheels running at the same time.

Innovations in user experience have led the industry to enter the "age of technological innovation", which increasingly requires the integration of chips and atomization technology.

VOOPOO has once again seized this opportunity with great sensitivity.

As an innovator in the development of chip technology in electronic atomization, VOOPOO has formed a series of chips such as GENE.Fan, GENE.Fit, GENE.Pod, GENE.Trio, GENE.AI, and GENE.TT, creating a complete and mature system of chip technology development.

The concept of platforming is a great achievement in the field of chips and a leap forward in VOOPOO's atomization ecological platform, which covers the TPP, PNP, and ITO atomization platform. By achieving a high power performance experience, multiple compatible atomization experience, the ultimate rich taste experience, it provides users with a variety of taste exploration.

A global technology innovator

VOOPOO has a global presence

Founded in 2017, VOOPOO is a VAPE technology brand integrating R&D, production, sales, and brand operation, with a business covering more than 70 countries and regions around the world, including North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific, with six branches set up worldwide, focusing on deep localized operations in the US, UK, Indonesia, Canada, and other countries and regions, achieving coverage of 100,000 offline outlets worldwide. It is dedicated to providing users worldwide with innovative, high-quality, and diversified product experiences.

VOOPOO is based in the field of electronic atomization but continues to go beyond electronic atomization, diversifying its business, constantly challenging new systems, and being an "innovative company" that "others have not done". As VOOPOO's slogan connotes, there are no boundaries, create unlimited possibilities and a better life for users, bring sustainable business development for the industry, and create more positive value for the world.

WARNING: This product may be used with e-liquid products containing nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

Company: ShenZhen Woody Vapes Technology Co., Ltd.

Contact Person: wind.chen

Email: wind.chen@voopoo.com

Website: https://www.voopoo.com/

Telephone: 0086-18718743237

Location: 19/F, Block A, Coolpad Building, High-tech Industrial Park (North Zone), Nanshan District, Shenzhen

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121043
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2022) - Mongoose Mining Ltd (CSE: MNG) (the "Company" or "Mongoose") is pleased to announce that it has encountered significant intercepts of cobalt bearing pyritic magnetite in three drill holes at its Bass River project, near Londonderry and Bass River, Nova Scotia, (the "Property"). These holes were part of a six hole, 1056 metre drill program performed in the fall of 2021 with the support of the Nova Scotia Mineral Resources Development Fund. Hole BR-21-06 is the deepest hole drilled to date and intersected a cobaltiferous zone at 17.75 metres to 101.6 m (83.85 m of 237 ppm) included 1068 ppm over 2.25 m. The true thickness of the pyritic magnetite zone is yet to be determined; however, the minimum thickness is estimated to be 30 metres. Interesting values of titanium over one percent (5 m of 1.2%) and elevated values of cerium and lanthanum rare-earth elements exist in holes BR-21-04 and BR-21-06. The rare earth element yttrium was identified in BR-21-06 utilizing micro-XRF (Buyers et al., AGS Colloquim, Fredericton, NB, Feb. 11-12, 2022). Several samples have copper values as high as 0.3%.

BR-21-04 and BR-21-05 targeted magnetic and IP anomalies adjacent to the mineralized zone and failed to intersect significant mineralization. We now suspect the magnetic signature in this area is the best indication of cobalt mineralization. BR-21-07 tested an IP anomaly elsewhere on the Property and failed to explain the response. (See drill hole results below).

A magnetic anomaly associated with the cobalt bearing pyritic magnetite is approximately 1 km in length and previous inversion modeling of the magnetics suggests a depth to 1,000 m (A.P. Belperio, Minotaur Exploration Ltd., March 2010).

The pyritic magnetite is now believed to have un-tested potential extending four kilometers westward of the Bass River cobalt prospect along the Cobequid fault. Several un-tested magnetic anomalies occur along the Cobequid fault, and a cobalt assay of 1100 ppm was discovered in a bedrock grab sample 4 km westward of the above-mentioned drilling at the Fire Road prospect.

An iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) model is a diverse suite of elements including various combinations of REE, F, P, Mo, Ag, Ba, Co, Ni and many of these elements are important commodities in the context of IOCG deposits. The main characteristic of IOCG deposits features hydrothermal ore styles and strong structural controls, abundant Fe oxides with an Fe/Ti relationship. The recent drilling has demonstrated many of these characteristics indicating the potential for an IOCG discovery.







*Not true widths, all widths are drill intercepts, values are uncut.



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Fire Road Assay Results: (See Mongoose Press Release January 25, 2022 for more details)





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Other exciting copper/cobalt target areas along the Cobequid Fault IOCG trend.

The Steele Run (formerly Mt. Thom) copper prospect was discovered by Imperial Oil in the early 1970s. The IOCG model and cobalt mineralization were later recognized. Mineralized outcrop and sporadic core sampling have recently produced assays of up to 0.863% Cobalt within historic 1.5% grading copper zones. A 2004 government study of 29 core samples, encountered values ranging from 157 ppm (.0157%) Cobalt to 8630 ppm (.863%). (See Press Release International Cobalt Corp. May 22, 2018).

PREVIOUS EXPLORATION SUMMARY

In 2018, Chilean Metals Inc. (now Power Nickel Inc.), former rights holder at the Company's Bass River claims, announced elevated cobalt and iron values that were found by re-sampling historic 1987 drill core at the Property. (See press release dated July 23rd, 2018). These assay results (below) showed intersections in the carbonate stock zone at surface (core intercepts, true thickness is yet to be determined).

Hole BR-97-1: 25 m of 547 ppm cobalt and 20.9% iron from 5 m to 30 m depth

Hole BR-97-2: 29 m of 662 ppm cobalt and 21.9% iron from 3 m to 32 m depth including 15 m of 812 ppm cobalt and 26.9% Iron

In 2020, with the support of the Nova Scotia Mineral Resources Development Fund, Spark Minerals Inc. (now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mongoose) drilled a 202 m hole to further evaluate a previously recognized cobalt-iron occurrence. Diamond drill hole, BR-20-01, intersected 24 m of 480 ppm cobalt and 20% iron from 6m depth, including 5 m of 717 ppm cobalt and 28% iron. The highest grading 1 m interval was 941 ppm cobalt and 39% iron. These are drill core intercepts and the true thickness is yet to be determined.

Terry Coughlan, CEO commented, "With the better-defined cobalt intercepts it appears that this Property has a robust mineralized system. Pyrite content is clearly the controlling factor on cobalt grade and the potential of discovering thicker zones of pyritic magnetite is considered excellent. The target area has now been identified at over 4 km in strike length. To date, drilling was confined to only 150 m of strike and 145 m of depth. With further drilling we may have the potential for an interesting cobalt project which is one of Canada's strategic metals. It is important to note that the Company has 10 high priority targets along our 39 km length of claims having what the Company believes is high potential for IOCG discoveries."

Procedure, Quality Assurance - Quality Control and Data Verification

Drill hole locations are spotted by Mongoose personnel and pad construction is supervised with foresight / backsight markers set to align in the direction of drilling. Drilling was conducted by Maritime Diamond Drilling Ltd. from Brookfield, NS utilizing an EF-50 hydraulic drill recovering NQ sized core. It is the driller's responsibility to ensure core is in the boxes in correct order and to mark the tags for each rod-length of core. Down-hole surveys are conducted at 50-100 metre intervals using a Reflex survey device to measure azimuth and dip of the drillhole, however data sites were frequently missed due to high magnetism of the local wallrock. Core boxes were collected from the drill-site by four-wheel drive truck and delivered to Mongoose's core facility in East Chester, Nova Scotia.

At the core shed, the drill core is rotated with respect to structural or primary fabric, re-assembled to determine core recovery and geologically logged and marked for sampling by a professionally registered geologist. The core is then photographed by a Mongoose technician. Sampling used a pre-numbered three tag system that included insertion of a sample tag in the core box at the corresponding sample interval, insertion of a tag in the pre-numbered sample bag and a third tag left in the sample book. After the sample intervals are determined, the full core is cut using a diamond blade core saw with one half of the core being bagged and tagged for assay. The remaining half portion is returned to the core trays for storage and later geological review and/or potential metallurgical test work.

The sealed and tagged sample bags were placed in covered 20 litre plastic buckets and driven by Mongoose personnel to Day & Ross Shipping in Dartmouth, NS and then transported by Day & Ross to the Eastern Analytical Ltd. facility in Springdale, NL. Eastern Analytical crushes the samples and prepares 200-300-gram pulp samples with ninety-five percent passing Tyler 150 mesh (Code PUL85). The pulps are assayed for gold using a 30-gram charge by fire assay with an analytical range of 5 - 30,000 ppb. Cobalt and 33 multi-element analysis is completed by total digestion in four acids and analyzed by ICP-OES. Over limits greater than 550 ppm cobalt are re-assayed using an atomic adsorption (AA) finish. Before analysis by AA, 0.200 grams to 2.00 grams are digested with three acids. Suitable for concentrations as low as 0.01% up to 50-60% metal content.

Quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") procedures includes the systematic insertion and monitoring of appropriate reference materials (certified standards, blanks and duplicates) in the sample stream. The results of assaying the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data. Mongoose inserted 13 standards and 12 analytical blanks at intervals of 15 samples in a 428 sample analytical batch. The cobalt standard consistently fell within the +/- two standard deviation control limits for the Bass River project. All blank samples returned cobalt values below or near the lower detection limit of 2 ppm cobalt indicating sample cross-contamination did not occur. Forty-two duplicates were inserted at 10 sample intervals by Eastern Analytical Limited. A comparison of pulp split values shows an acceptable level of correlation along a 1:1 trend line. All results stated in this press release have passed conventional QA/QC protocols.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been, reviewed and approved by Terry Coughlan, P.Geo., the Company's Chief Executive Officer, a Qualified Person within the context of Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101; Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The exploration work was performed by Mark Graves P. Geo an arm's length geological consultant to the company who also approved the technical content of the release.

About Mongoose Mining Ltd.

Mongoose Mining Ltd. is a Canadian exploration company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and evaluation of mineral properties in Canada. The Company is the holder of exploration licences to explore claims located near Londonderry and Bass River, Nova Scotia, (the "Cobequid Highlands Property"). The Cobequid Highlands Property is recognized to indicate potential for IOCG mineralization.

Terry Coughlan CEO is the contact for the release.

Electronic mail: info@mongoosemining.com

Forward-Looking Statements and Cautionary Language

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws including, without limitation statements related to future planned exploration work and the timing and results thereof . Mongoose provides forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections, or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct, and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to exploration findings, results and recommendations, ability to raise adequate financing, and market and economic risks associated with market and economic circumstances, as well as those risks and uncertainties identified and reported in Mongoose's public filings under its SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Although Mongoose has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Mongoose disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Providers (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121046
AvAir Acquires Additional 9,000 Components

CHANDLER, Ariz., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AvAir, an industry leading inventory solutions provider for the aviation aftermarket, and Lufthansa Technik have signed an addendum to their long-term aftermarket sales agreement. This addendum includes a second large material takeover. The initial agreement between the two companies was reached in 2020, in which AvAir took over 9,000 line items from Lufthansa Technik's worldwide material pools. The Arizona-based company has now acquired an additional 9,000 aircraft components.

This time, the agreement also includes as-removed and unserviceable units in addition to serviceable and overhauled items. The agreement implies that Lufthansa Technik receives a share of the proceeds from resold components under a profit share agreement. The material is considered overstock and a majority of the parts comes directly from the Lufthansa Technik material pool and aircraft teardowns. The sale significantly contributes to the optimization of inventory at Lufthansa Technik's warehouses in Germany, delivery of the components will commence immediately to AvAir facilities in Ireland and Chandler, Arizona in the United States. Despite this major logistical endeavor for teams of Lufthansa Technik on both continents, the complete transfer of material is expected to be completed in the next 90 days.

"The initial agreement was signed in 2020, and it has proved to be an overwhelming success for both parties, Lufthansa's commitment to adding to the existing agreement is proof of that," said Mike Bianco, Chief Executive Officer of AvAir.

With this transaction, AvAir has added an even wider range of commercial and regional aircraft material to its inventory. The assets include Boeing 737, 737N, 747-400, 747-8, 777 Cargo, 787, Airbus A320, A330, A340, A350, A380, as well as all regional aircraft types and miscellaneous material.

Similar to the first agreement in 2020, the material from this deal will come with dual or triple release certification (FAA/EASA/CAAC) from Lufthansa Technik and with a 12-month warranty.

"Our long-standing partnership with AvAir demonstrates our commitment to continuously improving the allocation of our rotatable spare parts inventory. It is also a sign of a recovering industry and we look forward to further increasing efficiency in our supply chain with similar opportunities in the future," said Christian Ehard, Director Production Alternatives, Lufthansa Technik Component Services.

AvAir will again make the acquired inventory available for both exchanges and outright sales from AvAir's facilities in Chandler, Arizona and Dublin, Ireland, which just celebrated it's two year anniversary.

About AvAir

Founded in 2000, Arizona-based AvAir is a global leader in the aviation aftermarket, providing customized inventory solutions for airlines, OEMs, and MROs. AvAir offers customized solutions for customers and suppliers to buy, sell, exchange, loan, lease, or consign more than 26 million in-stock aircraft parts. For more about AvAir, visit AvAir.aero.

Contact:

Claire Natale

claire@evolveprandmarketing.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1801069/AvAir_airplane_engine.jpg
San Francisco, California--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2022) - Ankr, the fastest growing decentralized provider in Web3, has added three Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs) that will allow developers to gain access to Harmony, Moonbeam, and Gnosis. With a total of 15 RPC clients so far, this makes Ankr the leader in RPC node infrastructure. Ankr is now serving an enormous Six Billion requests for blockchain data per day.





ANKR

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All three of these RPCs are currently live, accessible through the Ankr platform. It will further assist developers working with the three networks to gain access to an ecosystem that provides reliable and scalable infrastructure for building Web3. Ankr provides the perfect infrastructure to help blockchain companies start, build, and scale.

Harmony, Moonbeam, and Gnosis will now join Solana, Fantom, Ethereum, NEAR, Celo, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Polygon, BSC, IoTeX, and Nervos, all integrated into the Ankr suite. No other decentralized provider offers such a broad range of chains and development tools through a single, unified platform. Ankr is further aiming to be the largest Proof-of-Of-Stake infrastructure provider, offering access to over 50 Proof-Of-Stake chains and advanced DeFi solutions - potentially providing the future of multichain infrastructure.

Harmony is a particularly interesting addition, as a layer 1 blockchain that enhances scalability through sharding and also provides what is known as an "Effective Proof-Of-Stake" governance system. It is designed to scale Ethereum applications and boasts low fees with 2-second transaction finality.

Harmony offers distinct advantages for developers, and Ankr has provided a cost-effective means to access it while having cross-chain compatibility and the industry's leading Web3 development tools to build and scale decentralized applications.

The Ankr public RPC means that developers don't have to waste time and resources setting up their own Harmony node. This is a time-consuming process that is also quite technical. But with Ankrs' RPCs, the process is made effortless.

Those who choose to develop on Harmony through Ankr will benefit from unlimited Harmony requests, global node distribution, private harmony endpoints, prioritized requests, advanced APIs, and Websockets (WS) capabilities.

These benefits equally apply to the Gnosis and Moonbeam. Gnosis is a prediction market protocol built on Ethereum, as a layer 2 blockchain. Gnosis offers stability, scalability, and an extendable beacon chain framework. A recent merger with xDai is also expected to add to the robustness of the Gnosis ecosystem. Moonbeam, meanwhile, is an Ethereum compatible layer 1 chain built on Polkadot. The prime area of focus for this smart contract parachain is blockchain interoperability. It comes with a number of pre-built configurations as well as support for Solidity and Vyper.

According to Greg Gopman, Ankr CMBDO: "The more blockchains we add to our infrastructure, the stronger it gets. Most people do not yet understand that we are the engine that actually enables the world's top Web3 companies to perform, as an industry leader in Web3 decentralized infrastructure. But we grow along with our networks, which is more sustainable. Harmony, Moonbeam, and Gnosis are welcome additions to the Ankr family of blockchains and all parties will ultimately benefit."

Ankr is one of the largest Web3 infrastructure providers in the world, and most certainly the fastest growing. It is the largest infrastructure partner for Binance and the creator of cross-chain liquid staking, as well as many other innovations. It intends to become a leader in subnet and gaming infrastructure and boasts some of the world's best crypto engineers.

What Ankr is doing is quite impressive. They are essentially linking a network of blockchains through their protocols. This will, in turn, strengthen each individual network as it means they have more nodes on their respective blockchains.

In other words, each blockchain gets stronger, and the wider network gets stronger, through Ankrs' suite of protocols. This is a prime example of what Web3 communities can do when they collaborate together and operate through a series of decentralized protocols. Ankr is now the leader in both Proof-Of-Stake and RPC node infrastructure for Web3.

About Ankr Network

Ankr is building the future of decentralized infrastructure and multi-chain solutions, servicing over 50 proof-of-stake chains with an industry-leading global node delivery system and a developer toolkit. Ankr serves over 1T transactions a year across Web3 and is the main infrastructure provider for BSC, Fantom, and Polygon chains as of 2022.

Website Twitter Telegram Discord Medium Reddit

For more information, please email Kurt Ivy: kurt@cryptoprlabs.com

Disclaimer: There is no offer to sell, no solicitation of an offer to buy, and no recommendation of any security or any other product or service in this article. Moreover, nothing contained in this PR should be construed as any recommendation. Readers are encouraged to do their own research.

Company: Ankr

City: San Francisco, California

Phone: kurt@cryptoprlabs.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121069
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2022) - Galleon Gold Corp. (TSXV: GGO) (the "Company" or "Galleon Gold") is pleased to announce that it has engaged Harbor Access LLC ("Harbor Access") to perform external "investor relations activities", as defined in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"), subject to TSXV approval. The initial term of the contract is for six months, and month to month thereafter. In consideration for the services the Company will pay Harbor Access US$7,000 monthly and reasonable out of pocket expenses. Harbor Access and the Company act at arm's length. Harbor Access does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any securities of the Company.

The Company also announces, pursuant to the Company's stock option plan, a total of 785,000 stock options have been granted to directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Company. The options are exercisable into one common share of the Company at a price of $0.60, vest immediately and expire on April 20, 2027.

R. David Russell, President and CEO of Galleon Gold, commented, "We are pleased to be partnering with Harbor Access to provide external Investor Relations services. It is an exciting time for Galleon Gold, and we believe Harbor Access will help us improve our outreach as we are start the next phase of exploration and development at our West Cache Gold Project."

About Harbor Access

Harbor Access is a strategic investor relations advisory firm with offices in Stamford, Connecticut and Toronto, Ontario. With over 100 years of collective capital markets experience, Harbor Access specializes in working with small and mid-cap companies that are looking to build, support or expand their existing investor relations strategy and capabilities.

About Galleon Gold

Galleon Gold is an exploration and development company focused on advancing the West Cache Gold Project in Timmins, Ontario. The project is situated approximately 7 km northeast of Pan American Silver's Timmins West Mine and 14 km southwest of Newmont's Hollinger Mine. Since acquiring the project the Company has demonstrated significant resource growth while providing a strong valuation in its maiden Preliminary Economic Assessment. Permitting and baseline studies in support of a bulk sample are currently underway. Eric Sprott holds approximately 21% of the Company's outstanding common shares.

For further information

Galleon Gold

R. David Russell

Chairman and CEO

T. (416) 644-0066

info@galleongold.com

www.galleongold.com

Investor Relations

Harbor Access LLC

Graham Farrell

T. (416) 842-9003

Graham.Farrell@harbor-access.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of Galleon Gold with respect to its long-term strategy, proposed work, plans and other reports including the PEA for its projects. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the markets in which Galleon Gold operates. Some of the statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and resources, exploration results, expectations, plans, and objectives of Galleon Gold are forward-looking statements that involve various risks. The following are important factors that could cause Galleon Gold's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: changes in the world-wide price of mineral commodities, general market conditions, risks inherent in mineral exploration, risks associated with development, construction and mining operations, risks related to infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and the uncertainty of future exploration activities and cash flows, and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events may differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Galleon Gold undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121066
RICHARDSON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2022 / Optex Systems Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:OPXS), a leading manufacturer of precision optical sighting systems for domestic and worldwide military and commercial applications, announced today it has been awarded a $1.1million order as part of a multi-year strategic supplier agreement with a domestic commercial manufacturer of premium optical devices. The products will be manufactured at the Applied Optics Center (AOC) Division of Optex Systems, Inc.

Bill Bates, GM, AOC stated "The Applied Optics Center is pleased to announce another order release of optical sub-assemblies supporting our long-standing customer. We continue to play a key role in supplying quality components used in the production of outstanding optical devices." Total orders related to these product types now exceed $26.7 million dollars since its inception in early 2015.

With this order, the current Optex backlog is in excess of $29.7 million.

ABOUT OPTEX SYSTEMS

Optex, which was founded in 1987, is a Richardson, Texas based ISO 9001:2015 certified concern, which manufactures optical sighting systems and assemblies, primarily for Department of Defense (DOD) applications. Its products are installed on various types of U.S. military land vehicles, such as the Abrams and Bradley fighting vehicles, Light Armored and Armored Security Vehicles, and have been selected for installation on the Stryker family of vehicles. Optex also manufactures and delivers numerous periscope configurations, rifle and surveillance sights, and night vision optical assemblies. Optex delivers its products both directly to the military services and to prime contractors. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.optexsys.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including those relating to the products and services described herein. You can identify these statements by the use of the words "may," "will," "could," "should," "would," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "continue," "estimate," "project," "intend," "likely," "forecast," "probable," and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, continued funding of defense programs and military spending, the timing of such funding, general economic and business conditions, including unforeseen weakness in the Company's markets, effects of continued geopolitical unrest and regional conflicts, competition, changes in technology and methods of marketing, delays in completing engineering and manufacturing programs, changes in customer order patterns, changes in product mix, continued success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations, changes in the U.S. Government's interpretation of federal procurement rules and regulations, changes in spending due to policy changes in any new federal presidential administration, market acceptance of the Company's products, shortages in components, production delays due to performance quality issues with outsourced components, inability to fully realize the expected benefits from acquisitions and restructurings or delays in realizing such benefits, challenges in integrating acquired businesses and achieving anticipated synergies, changes to export regulations, increases in tax rates, changes to generally accepted accounting principles, difficulties in retaining key employees and customers, unanticipated costs under fixed-price service and system integration engagements, changes in the market for microcap stocks regardless of growth and value and various other factors beyond our control.

You must carefully consider any such statement and should understand that many factors could cause actual results to differ from the Company's forward-looking statements. These factors include inaccurate assumptions and a broad variety of other risks and uncertainties, including some that are known and some that are not. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement. You should carefully evaluate such statements in light of factors described in the Company's filings with the SEC, especially on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. In various filings the Company has identified important factors that could cause actual results to differ from expected or historic results. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors. Consequently, you should not consider any such list to be a complete list of all potential risks or uncertainties.

Contact:

IR@optexsys.com

(972) 764-5718

SOURCE: Optex Systems Holdings, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698240/Optex-Systems-Announces-11-Million-Order-for-Optical-Assemblies
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2022) - SPARQ Corp. (formerly, MJ Innovation Capital Corp.) (TSXV: SPRQ) ("SPARQ" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the filing with Canadian securities regulatory authorities of its audited financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2021.

An electronic copy of each document may be obtained on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

ABOUT SPARQ

SPARQ's head office is located at 945 Princess Street, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 0E9. SPARQ originated from the advanced research conducted at ePOWER, the Centre for Energy and Power Electronics Research at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. SPARQ was founded at Queen's University in 2009 by Canada Research Chair in Power Electronics, Dr. Praveen Jain, Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Royal Society of Canada.

SPARQ designs and manufactures next generation single-phase microinverters for residential and commercial solar electric applications. SPARQ has developed a proprietary PV solution called the Quad; the Quad inverter optimizes four PV modules with a single microinverter, simplifying design and installation, and lowering cost for solar power installations when compared to existing market offerings.

Neither the TSXV nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information, please contact:

SPARQ Corp.

Dr. Praveen Jain

Chief Executive Officer

Email: pjain@sparqsys.com

Tel: 343.477.1158

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121074
Everi Holdings Inc. (NYSE: EVRI), a provider of land-based and digital casino gaming content and products, financial technology and player loyalty solutions, acquired some strategic assets of XUVI, LLC, a private provider of marketing platform.

The financial terms of the deal, which was funded from existing cash on hand, were not disclosed.

Based in Las Vegas, NV- and Chennai, India, XUVI provides a marketing platform designed to evaluate, target and engage customers to increase loyalty through data analytics utilizing customer behaviors and AI. The companys platform, called BEAMSTUDIO, combines historical and behavioral propensity data to assign a customers future value based on their unique characteristics and behaviors. The technology provides real-time predictive and actionable insights to augment marketing with targeted campaigns focused on valued customers, increases operating efficiencies through data analytics and automation of routine marketing tasks, and optimizes marketing spend by reducing over and under-reinvestment.

BEAMSTUDIO is expected to enhance Everis QuikMarketing capabilities and leverage consumer data to assist casino marketers and deliver intelligent interactions across all channels and act as the foundation for targeted and cost-effective campaigns to acquire new patrons and strengthen existing customer relationships with precise insight.

XUVI also provides SPENDSCORE, which is a single number that represents the future value of a customer based on their unique characteristics and behaviors. Created using multi-dimensional behavioral data models that analyze each persons historic, demographic and psychographic data, the resulting SPENDSCORE reflects each customers future engagement value to users operations and helps users direct marketing expenditures to individuals most likely to respond. As such, a group of customers having the same SPENDSCORE are considered to have similar spend propensity and engagement behaviors.

Formed through the merger of Global Cash Access, Inc. (GCA) and Multimedia Games, Inc. (MGAM), headquartered in Las Vegas, and led by Michael Rumbolz, Chief Executive Officer, Everi provides casino customers with solutions to do business via entertaining game content and gaming machines, gaming systems, and services for land-based and iGaming operators operating legal online gambling in the US. The company is also a provider of financial technology solutions that power the casino floor while improving operational efficiencies and fulfilling regulatory compliance requirements, including products and services that facilitate convenient and secure cash and cashless financial transactions, self-service player loyalty tools and applications, and regulatory and intelligence software.

In March, the company released its financial results. In 2021, revenues rose 72% to $660.4m compared to $383.7m in 2020, and exceeded the prior record year achieved in 2019 by 24%, or $127.2 million. Net income, inclusive of $34.4m in pre-tax costs for the extinguishment of debt associated with the refinancing of its outstanding debt in the third quarter and the income tax benefit noted above, increased to a record $152.9m.

Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, increased 97% to $347.2m compared to $176.5m in 2020 and was 37%, or $94.0m, higher than the prior record of $253.2 million generated in 2019.

The Free Cash Flow, a non-GAAP financial measure, increased to a record $158.7m, from $28.9 million in 2020 and was more than triple the $43.8m generated in 2019.

At the beginning of 2022, Everi also acquired ecash Holdings Pty Ltd. , an Australia-based developer and provider of innovative cash handling and financial payment solutions for the broader gaming industry in Australia, Asia, Europe and the United States. ecashs products and technologies represent a strategic extension of Everis current suite of financial technology solutions within the FinTech segment. The acquisition will provide the company with a complementary portfolio of new customer locations throughout Australia, the United States and other geographies.
trac, a Los Angeles, CA-based music-tech company, closed a $2.5m pre-seed funding round.

The round was led by Lagos, Nigeria-based Zrosk Investment Management, with participation from AppWorks, InfinityVC, Calm Company Fund, Dapper Labs, as well as key angels including Roham Gharegozlou and Siqi Chen.

The company will use the funding to scale the business and increase its market reach while expanding its engineering and operations teams.

Founded in 2020 by Cardin Campbell, trac provides an artist monetization platform. It enables artists to monetize and manage every aspect of their careers. The company first launched by giving artists free music distribution on platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube, and Tidaland is adding on other integrated products to create an artist stack, bridging Web2 and Web3. trac will soon begin creating decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) for artists that will run on their own unique artist tokens that incentivize engagement.

FinSMEs

20/04/2022
Unlearn, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of machine-learning technology that creates digital twins of patients in clinical trials to enable faster studies, raised $50M in Series B funding.

The round was led by Insight Partners with participation from Radical Ventures, 8VC, DCVC, DCVC Bio and Mubadala Capital Ventures. Through the investment, Dylan Morris, Managing Director, Insight Partners, joined the Unlearn Board of Directors.

The company intends to use the funds to make rapid progress as they expand their work with global biopharmaceutical companies and advance productive conversations with global regulatory authorities who are committed to supporting innovation in clinical trials.

Led by CEO Charles Fisher, Unlearn is a company creating TwinRCTs, which combine AI, digital twins, and novel statistical methods to enable efficient clinical trials.

The company works with pharma sponsors, biotech companies, and academic institutions to optimize human clinical trials with TwinRCTs. A TwinRCT is a randomized trial that uses machine learning and historical data to achieve a higher probability of success with a smaller number of patients.

Unlearn is partnering with leading pharma companies, including Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and continues to have discussions with regulators. Ahead of the Series B, the company announced a multi-year collaboration with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany which is using TwinRCTs to incorporate prognostic information from digital twins into its randomized controlled trials. This will allow Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany to enable smaller control groups and generate evidence suitable for supporting regulatory decisions in its immunology pipeline.

FinSMEs

20/04/2022
Photo taken on April 13, 2022 shows containers swept down by floods in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. (Photo by Lebohang Motaung/Xinhua)

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a condolence message to his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, over the severe floods hitting the country.

Continuous heavy rains in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal Province has triggered a severe flood disaster, causing heavy casualties and serious property losses, the Chinese president noted.

Xi, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, and in his own name, expressed deep condolences to the victims and sincere sympathy to the bereaved families, the injured and the people in the affected areas.

Xi also expressed his belief that under the strong leadership of the South African government, people in the affected region will surely overcome the disaster and rebuild their homes at an early date.
Big changes are coming to the Lebanon Fire District.

Two long-time veterans are leaving the district in May: Battalion Chief Nick Tyler, 43, and Division Chief Jason Bolen, 47. The two have a combined 48 years of fire service experience.

Fire Chief Joseph Rodondi said in a news release announcing the departures he was proud of both men and the way they served the Lebanon community.

Heading home

Tylers last day will be May 6. Later in May, hell be stepping up as fire chief of Sweet Home Fire & Ambulance District. Tyler will be replacing outgoing Chief Dave Barringer.

The thing Im most looking forward to about returning to Sweet Home Fire is being home, Tyler said in an email. Being given the opportunity to lead my home town department is very special to me. The members of Sweet Home Fire are amazing firefighters, EMTs and paramedics. I feel very fortunate and humbled for this next chapter in my career.

Tyler moved to Sweet Home in 1991 and has been with the Lebanon Fire District since 2007. He said he always wanted to be in public service and after serving in the Navy, he enrolled at Linn-Benton Community College for the schools criminal justice program.

He started in Sweet Home as a volunteer firefighter and within a year was a part of the districts intern program. He was later hired full time.

After about three months of being a volunteer firefighter, I fell in love with it, Tyler said. I talked to my wife and switched gears and started pursuing my degree in Emergency Medical Services to become a paramedic.

In 2007, Tyler decided to join Lebanon Fire District where he was hired as a firefighter/medic. He later worked as an engineer/medic, and in 2015 was promoted to lieutenant. In 2017, he was promoted to battalion chief.

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What attracted me to Lebanon was the ability to gain more experience as a firefighter, he said. Being a larger organization in a larger community, there was more opportunity to work on a fire engine, run more calls and develop as a firefighter.

A defining moment in his career, Tyler said, was when he was promoted to lieutenant and put in charge of a multimillion-dollar federal grant. He said this opportunity helped him to grow professionally and improve his leadership skills.

Now, hell take those leadership skills to a new job closer to home. But hell remember his years in Lebanon fondly.

I will miss the people of Lebanon Fire District the most, he said. I have spent the last 15 years working and living with them. They are like family to me.

A new challenge

Bolen is moving a little farther away from home: Hes heading to Bend where he has accepted a deputy chief role with Bend Fire & Rescue. Hell be the departments new fire marshal. His last day with LFD is May 5.

Stepping up into a larger department (although it is the same role) is going to be challenging for me, Bolen said. If you're not challenging yourself, you kind of get stagnant and, not that I'm stagnant here, but I want to I want to continue to push I've been like that my whole life.

Bolen grew up in Santa Barbara, California, and moved to Lebanon to live with his parents when he was 19. He was on academic probation at the time and lost his financial aid at the college he was attending. He joked that its hard to go to school on the beach.

Within a few weeks of living in Oregon, he had started volunteering as a firefighter with LFD in 1994.

No day is ever the same here, Bolen said. And then you can help people in some of their worst times,  so that was appealing to me. Doing something good for my community was appealing to me.

Bolen rose through the ranks over the last two decades. He started working part time for $4.25 an hour. After completing his EMT and other trainings, he was hired full time. He tested at multiple fire departments all over the state but ended up right where he already was.

He said Lebanon has been a great place to learn and grow. During his time in Lebanon, he also served as a city councilor. He met his wife in Lebanon and has raise their two kids here too. The city means a lot to him both personally and professionally.

Whether it were fires, traffic accidents or medical issues, hes seen it all. And now, hes taking more than 20 years of experience with him to his next endeavor.

It was slow at first and then all of a sudden, you blink your eyes and you're one of the old guys, he said. You go from asking questions to having people ask you questions.

Bolen was promoted to engineer/medic in 2005, to lieutenant in 2009 and to his current position as division chief of fire and life safety in 2016. He also serves as fire marshal.

Although hes moving to a bigger city, hes not going to forget the impact this small town had on him any time soon.

I was 19 years old when I came here and didn't know what I wanted to do and didn't know what my life had in front of me, Bolen said. And I never would have guessed it would have been this. So little Lebanon has given me a lot.

"And I'm really thankful for it.

Going forward

According to the news release from LFD, a replacement process for Tyler's position is being developed and Deputy Fire Marshal Ken Foster will serve as interim fire marshal. Engineer Candace Hedding will be interim deputy fire marshal as of May 1.

The fire district will have a combined farewell event for Tyler and Bolen from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, May 5 p.m. at the MBVA Event Room, 550 Main St., Lebanon. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

Maddie Pfeifer covers public safety for Mid-Valley Media. She can be contacted at 541-812-6091 or Madison.Pfeifer@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter via @maddiepfeifer_

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Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
By Vic Medina | 4 weeks ago

While Americans are spending their day obsessing about celebrity gossip and rising prices, our government just casually mentioned that we were hit by an interstellar object in 2014. In true X-Files-like fashion, however, the world seems to have responded with a collective meh. If this doesnt freak out your inner Fox Mulder, then trust me, it should. Several details about the incident should have you asking questions.

THE X-FILES: L-R: Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny in the Home Again episode of THE X-FILES airing Monday, Feb. 8 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. 2016 Fox Broadcasting Co.

According to a report from the website Live Science, newly-declassified government documents reveal more details of the 2014 incident. The interstellar object was first observed by eyewitnesses as an exploding fireball that flew over Papua, New Guinea, and subsequently crashed into the ocean. A declassified memo by the U.S. Space Command (USSC) reveals the object was a small meteorite that entered Earths atmosphere on January 8, 2014. It subsequently broke up and the pieces are believed to be on the ocean floor.

Although the meteorite was small by the time it entered our atmosphere  only about a foot and a half across  it hit the earth at an unusually high rate of speed. The object was moving at 130,000 miles an hour when it hit the Earth. To put it in context, thats almost 170 times the speed of sound, according to our calculations. A 2019 analysis and report of the strike of the interstellar object found that because it was moving so fast, and based upon the trajectory of the meteorites path, it is unlikely that it came from within our solar system. The report states that theres a 99% probability that it came from the deep interior of a planetary system or a star in the thick disk of the Milky Way galaxy, according to scientists. It would also make the meteorite the first such object from deep space to have confirmed to hit earth.

That means that the interstellar object came from deep space, from a place of unknown origin, and it still managed to hit earth. The odds of that happening are infinitesimally small. Even the most skeptical observer would find that hard to believe, and if it gets your spidey-sense going, you wouldnt be alone. Sci-fi fans might be reminded of Robert A. Heinleins classic 1959 book Starship Troopers, which was made into a cult-classic film in 1997. In both the book and film, a bug-like alien race attacks earth by launching meteors at it from deep space.

Heres where the report takes a weird turn. A thorough analysis of the strike could not be completed, because some of the information surrounding the meteor strike is still classified by the U.S. government, according to the news site Vice. That means it couldnt be reviewed by other scientists or published in any scientific journal. The government wont say exactly what about this interstellar object warrants that it remains classified, but at least they are admitting the incident did happen and have confirmed some details.

Scientists with the U.S. Space Command confirmed in an April 7 tweet that the interstellar object was indeed from deep space. They called it a confirmation that assisted the broader astronomical community. They also confirmed that it is the first documented object to hit Earth that originated from outside our solar system.

6/ I had the pleasure of signing a memo with @ussfspocs Chief Scientist, Dr. Mozer, to confirm that a previously-detected interstellar object was indeed an interstellar object, a confirmation that assisted the broader astronomical community. pic.twitter.com/PGlIOnCSrW  U.S. Space Command (@US_SpaceCom) April 7, 2022

The scientist who wrote the original 2019 report on the incident, Amir Siraj, is a theoretical astrophysicist at Harvard University. He hopes scientists will now take a second look at the strike, and possibly even mount an expedition to look for fragments, even if they are on the South Pacific Ocean floor. The possibility of getting the first piece of interstellar material is exciting enough to check this very thoroughly and talk to all the world experts on ocean expeditions to recover meteorites, Siraj told Vice. Apparently, Siraj hasnt seen any of the film versions of The Thing, where a group of scientists track down an interstellar object in Antarctica and discover a killer alien life form is lurking inside.
MIAMI, April 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ehave, Inc. (OTC Pink: EHVVF) (the Company), a leading healthcare services and technology company, announced today its MetaHealthU mobile application platform will focus on determining the cause and finding a possible cure for hallucinogen-persisting perception disorder (HPPD). Ehave has pioneered HPPD research efforts by launching a series of studies through its partnership with the University of Melbourne to gather data and bio-markers to target the condition. HPPD, (HPPD) or flashbacks is the only recognized long-term complication of hallucinogen use. It can cause a person to keep reliving the visual element of an experience caused by hallucinogenic drugs. As psychedelics become more widely accepted, the data and biomarkers from Ehaves MetaHealthU will enhance research into HPPD, which will assist medical and mental health professionals diagnose if an individual is genetically predisposed to suffer from the condition.



MetaHealthU is a mobile application platform that empowers individuals to take complete control of their health and their healthcare data. One component of MetaHealthU is its digital wallet connectivity with blockchain, which enables users to bundle and share their health records in a secure and seamless way. Ehave chose blockchain for its MetaHealthU platform since it increases trust, security, transparency, and the traceability of data shared across a business network  and delivers cost savings with new efficiencies. Ehave has partnered with BurstIQ, the leading provider of blockchain-based data solutions for the healthcare industry, to use its privacy-protecting technology to protect the personal information of MetaHealthU users.

With MetaHealthU, users can securely track their health data from wearables, Electronic Health Records Systems (EHRs), Doctors and Medical Labs. It includes a digital file cabinet for medical records, which is ideal for research into HPPD. Users can log into their patient portals on various healthcare systems and medical labs and download their medical records in the digital file cabinet, which empowers individuals to take complete control of their health and their healthcare data. As Ehave progresses in its partnership with the University of Melbourne, the Company plans to create bio lines and a testing revenue model, as well as screening products based on MetaHealthU that are capable of indicating HPPD.

Currently, researchers at the University of Melbourne have completed the necessary documents required for university ethics approval for online study of HPPD. The pilot study will begin sometime late in the second quarter, or the beginning of the third quarter. The researchers have also submitted a full ethics application, and are awaiting a decision on minimal risk accreditation. They have received preliminary approval for the pilot project to be considered low or negligible risk, and received ethics board review feedback on the submission seeking clarification on the role of funders regarding data, as well as minor clarifications on surveys/tasks being used.

Ben Kaplan, CEO of Ehave, said, Ehave has set a very aggressive goal to be the industry leader in preventing negative side effects during treatment for mental health issues. Our goal is to be the Company that prevents individuals from suffering from a lifetime of flashbacks after being treated for mental health issues with these powerful molecules. We believe individuals are genetically predisposed to HPPD, which is why we will be conducting a large-scale genetic analysis to isolate an individuals risk profile. Ehave's engineers have integrated a series of visual processing tests into MetaHealthU to measure HPPD objectively. Under medical supervision psychedelics are extremely safe. We believe focusing Ehaves MetaHealthU mobile application platform on determining the cause and finding a possible cure for HPPD will lead to a better understanding of these molecules as a whole."



Individuals with HPPD have recurring visual disturbances that only recall the part of the psychedelic experience that involved visions, which can cause anxiety and affect a persons vision. HPPD is most commonly caused by LSD and Mushrooms, but also can be caused by MDMA, Cannabis, and even SSRIs. As many as 5% of LSD users report some version of HPPD and serious cases could be as frequent as 1 in every 100 users of psychedelics. The market for an HPPD cure extends far beyond simple psychedelics.

About Ehave, Inc.

Ehave is a leading healthcare services and technology company, focused on progressing psychedelics-to-Therapeutics by engineering novel compounds and new treatment protocols for treating brain health. Together with our network of scientists and mental health professionals, we are on a mission to create safe and effective therapeutics for patients to address a multitude of mental health issues, leveraging clinical data to help us achieve optimal patient outcomes. Ehaves operations span across the entire USA, Canada, Jamaica, and Australia. Additional information on Ehave can be found on the Companys website at: www.ehave.com.

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may be preceded by the words intends, may, will, plans, expects, anticipates, projects, predicts, estimates, aims, believes, hopes, potential or similar words. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and cannot be predicted or quantified and consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: (i) the initiation, timing, progress and results of the Companys research, manufacturing and other development efforts; (ii) the Companys ability to advance its products to successfully complete development and commercialization; (iii) the manufacturing, development, commercialization, and market acceptance of the Companys products; (iv) the lack of sufficient funding to finance the product development and business operations; (v) competitive companies and technologies within the Companys industry and introduction of competing products; (vi) the Companys ability to establish and maintain corporate collaborations; (vii) loss of key management personnel; (viii) the scope of protection the Company is able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering its products and its ability to operate its business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others; (ix) potential failure to comply with applicable health information privacy and security laws and other state and federal privacy and security laws; and (x) the difficulty of predicting actions of the USA FDA and its regulations. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation to update any written or oral forward-looking statement unless required by law. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is contained under the heading "Risk Factors" in Ehave, Inc.s Registration Statement on Form F-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 24, 2015, as amended, which is available on the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov.

For Media and Investor Relations, please contact :

David L. Kugelman

(866) 692-6847 Toll Free - U.S. & Canada

(404) 281-8556 Mobile and WhatsApp

Email: Ir@Ehave.com

Skype: kugsusa
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, April 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After nearly three months of a public sale full of progress and new announcements, StreamCoin is about to cap off its ICO with a colossal 100+ exchanges listing for its STRM token.

Starting from the first week of May, the Dubai-based blockchain company will make STRM available for every crypto investor around the globe with this high-scale listing.

Following the end of StreamCoin ICO on April 30, 2022, over 100 centralized and decentralized exchanges will list STRM simultaneously. What is more, the team is developing a swapping service to facilitate and secure the migration of STRM between one blockchain and another. Named StreamCoin Bridge, this service will be ready when the listing starts, providing STRM holders with all liquidity they need.

With its tagline being The Gateway to the Future of Video NFTs, StreamCoin aims to create a new perspective on live streaming by integrating blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and video NFTs into its ecosystem. It commenced its ICO on February 1, 2022, which is still successfully running with investors benefiting from a referral program and airdrop the project offers when investing $50 or more.

Founded in September 2021, StreamCoin has completed presale investments prior to the ICO, which was followed by a controlled burn to maintain the value of STRM. The project has earned the trust of its community and investors by invariably delivering on the promises detailed in its roadmap, which includes all current and future plans for StreamCoin.

After the presale rounds were completed, the StreamCoin project immediately mobilized its plans according to schedule. Specifically, the team launched the ICO, initiated another token burn, developed an NFT Marketplace, created a native blockchain, and launched a surprise airdrop with its new utility token GaStream (GSTRM).

The team presented the above-mentioned developments on March 25, 2022, at the World Live Streamers Conference (WLSC). During this event, CEO Michael Ein Chaybeh introduced the Alpha launch of MeiTalk, a live streaming platform that passed through StreamCoins rigorous in-house development. MeiTalk's stunning features drew the interest of everyone at the conference.



Also, StreamCoin is planning to provide a staking portal, which will enable investors to maximize their returns by utilizing STRM through yield farming. For the time being, the team has advised investors to stay tuned to StreamCoins official Twitter and Telegram channels, where the listing details will be announced.

Media Contact:

Company: StreamLive

Email Id: social@stream-coin.com

Contact Person : Michael Ein Chaybeh

Location : Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Disclaimer : There is no offer to sell, no solicitation of an offer to buy, and no recommendation of any security or any other product or service in this article. Moreover, nothing contained in this PR should be construed as any recommendation. Readers are encouraged to do there own research. Newsroom: socials.submitmypressrelease.com
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- K92 Mining Inc. (K92 or the Company) (TSX: KNT; OTCQX: KNTNF) announces that it will release its 2022 first quarter financial results before the North American trading markets open on Monday, May 16, 2022.

Conference Call and Webcast to Present Results

K92 will host a conference call and webcast to present the 2022 first quarter financial results at 8:30 am (EDT) on Monday, May 16, 2022.

Listeners may access the conference call by dialing toll-free to 1-800-319-4610 within North America or +1-604-638-5340 from international locations.



The conference call will also be broadcast live (webcast) and may be accessed via the following link: https://services.choruscall.ca/links/k92mining20220516.html

About K92

K92 Mining Inc. is engaged in the production of gold, copper and silver at the Kainantu Gold Mine in the Eastern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea, as well as exploration and development of mineral deposits in the immediate vicinity of the mine. The Company declared commercial production from Kainantu in February 2018 and is in a strong financial position.

The Company commenced an expansion of the mine based on an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment on the property which was published in January 2019 and updated in July 2020. K92 is operated by a team of mining company professionals with extensive international mine-building and operational experience.

On Behalf of the Company,

John Lewins, Chief Executive Officer and Director

For further information, please contact David Medilek, P.Eng., CFA at +1-604-416-4445

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (forward-looking statements), including, but not limited to, the impact of global supply chain and financial market disruptions as a result of the ongoing crisis due the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19); projections of future financial and operational performance; statements with respect to future events or future performance; production estimates; anticipated operating and production costs and revenue; estimates of capital expenditures; future demand for and prices of commodities and currencies; estimated mine life of our mine; estimated closure and reclamation costs and statements regarding anticipated exploration, development, construction, production, permitting and other activities on the Companys properties, including: expected gold, silver and copper production and the Phase 3 Expansion of the Kora deposit. Estimates of mineral resources are also forward-looking statements because they constitute projections, based on certain estimates and assumptions, regarding the amount of minerals that may be encountered in the future and/or the anticipated economics of production, should mining occur. All statements in this news release that address events or developments that we expect to occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, although not always, identified by words such as expect, plan, anticipate, project, target, potential, schedule, forecast, budget, estimate, intend or believe and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions will, would, may, could, should or might occur. All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our ability to control, that may cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, without limitation, public health crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic; changes in the price of gold, silver, copper and other metals in the world markets; fluctuations in the price and availability of infrastructure and energy and other commodities; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; volatility in price of our Common Shares; inherent risks associated with the mining industry, including problems related to weather and climate in remote areas in which certain of the Companys operations are located; failure to achieve production, cost and other estimates; risks and uncertainties associated with exploration and development; the fact that a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability has not been prepared for the Kainantu Mine; uncertainties relating to estimates of mineral resources including uncertainty that mineral resources may never be converted into mineral reserves; the Companys ability to carry on current and future operations, including development and exploration activities; the timing, extent, duration and economic viability of such operations, including any mineral resources or reserves identified thereby; the accuracy and reliability of estimates, projections, forecasts, studies and assessments; the Companys ability to meet or achieve estimates, projections and forecasts; the availability and cost of inputs; the price and market for outputs, including gold, silver and copper; inability of the Company to identify appropriate acquisition targets or complete desirable acquisitions; failures of information systems or information security threats; political, economic and other risks associated with the Companys foreign operations; geopolitical events and other uncertainties, such as the conflict in Ukraine; compliance with various laws and regulatory requirements to which the Company is subject to, including taxation; the ability to obtain timely financing on reasonable terms when required; the current and future social, economic and political conditions, including relationship with the communities in jurisdictions it operates; and other assumptions and factors generally associated with the mining industry.

Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance, and actual results and future events could materially differ from those anticipated in such statements. All of the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements.

Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actual results to differ materially from those that are anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date such statements are made, and we expressly disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.
NEW YORK, April 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of AbbVie Inc. (AbbVie or the Company) (NYSE: ABBV). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.



The investigation concerns whether AbbVie and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

On September 1, 2021, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that final results from the safety trial of Xeljanz, an anti-inflammatory drug manufactured Pfizer Inc., established an increased risk of serious adverse events, even with low doses of Xeljanz. As a result, the FDA determined that it would require new and updated warnings for Xeljanz and Rinvoq, an anti-inflammatory drug manufactured by AbbVie, because Rinvoq share[s] similar mechanisms of action with Xeljanz and may have similar risks as seen in the Xeljanz safety trial. The FDA also indicated that it would further limit approved indications for Rinvoq as a result of these safety concerns.

On this news, AbbVies stock price fell $8.51 per share, or 7.04%, to close at $112.27 per share on September 1, 2021.

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com .
Pune, India, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global Oilfield Services market is projected to surpass around USD 346.45 billion by 2027, and is expanding growth at a CAGR of 6.6% from 2020 to 2027. The Oilfield Services market was worth USD 267.82 billion in 2019. The surging shale gas extraction from hydraulic fracturing and other stimulation procedures will bolster the growth of the market, states Fortune Business Insights, in a report, titled Oilfield Services Market Outlook 2020-2027.

Factors such as increased production of Oil and Gas and due to new offshore discoveries, increased investments in offshore sectors propelling the growth of global oilfield services market. Use of new advanced technology, tools and developments in oil and gas reserves to boost the overall industry growth.





Request a Sample Copy of the Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/oilfield-service-market-100174





Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2020-2027 Forecast Period 2022-2029 CAGR 6.6% 2027 Value Projection USD 346.45 billion Base Year 2019 Market Size in 2019 USD 267.82 billion Historical Data for 20216-2018 No. of Pages 320 Market Segmentation Type, Service, Application ,Geography Growth Drivers Increasing Shale Gas Extraction to Drive Market Growth Increasing Production & Exploration Activities in Oil & Gas Industry to Favor Market Growth





COVID-19 Impact: Significant Downfall in Oil & Gas Industry



The coronavirus disaster has financially drained various industries and sectors around the globe. The governments of several countries have instigated lockdown to thwart the spread of this deadly virus. Such plans have caused disturbances in the production and supply chain. But, with time and resolution, we will be able to combat this stern time and get back to normality. Our well-revised reports will help companies to receive in-depth information about the present scenario of every market so that you can adopt the necessary strategies accordingly.





To get to know more about the short-term and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on this market, please visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/oilfield-service-market-100174





Growth Drivers and Restraining Factors:

Growing Demand for Shale Gas to Propel Market

The increasing demand for shale gas has led to the advancement in technologies such as directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology to improve the production process in reservoirs. The high requirement for oilfield services during extraction can spur opportunities for the market.

The ongoing plans and strategies to enhance the production of shale gas will simultaneously enrich the business of the market during the forecast period. For instance, China has announced that it will escalate its production up to 30 bcm/per year by 2020, and 80-100 bcm/per year by 2030 through advanced technologies and drilling techniques.

China accounts for a high percent of shale gas production, which originally comes from the Sichuan Basin located in the Chongqing area. Moreover, the increasing exploration activities for untapped resources will enable healthy growth of the market in the forthcoming years.

Halt on Exploration Projects and Services to Dwindle Market Growth

The substantial impact on the oil & gas industry is due to the disruption caused by coronavirus, which affected the operation and supply chain of the industry. Numerous companies have terminated exploration projects and services owing to the lockdown to curb the spread of the virus.

For instance, the International Energy Agency reported that oil demand is likely to decrease by 29 million barrels per day (BPD) in April 2020 and by 23.1 million bpd in the 2nd quarter. Moreover, the production cuts, obstructed investments, and economic downfall can result in heavy loss for the global market during COVID-19. However, improving the situation and growing oil demand will simultaneously help in the recovery, in turn, aiding the market.





Quick Buy - Oilfield Services Market Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/100174





Market Segmentation:

Oilfield Services Market is mainly segmented by Type, Service, Application, and Region

By Type its categorized into Equipment Rental, Field Operation, and Analytical Services. In this Equipment Rental segment growth is highest.

By Service its further segmented into Geophysical, Drilling, Completion & Workover, Production, and Processing & Separation.

By Applications the market is divide by Onshore and Offshore (Shallow Water, Deepwater, Ultra-Deepwater). New investments in Offshore Locations to propel market growth for this segment.

By Geography the market is categorized by North America (U.S., Canada, and Mexico), Europe (U.K., Germany, France and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, South Korea and Rest of Asia- Pacific), and Rest of the World.

Regional Analysis:

Offshore Oil Projects to Influence Growth in North America

The market in North America is expected to account for the largest share in the global market owing to the offshore assets in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea. The ongoing oil extraction activities will enable the healthy growth of the market in North America. Moreover, the increasing partnerships and acquisitions by major players will further aid development in the region. For instance, in January 2017, Schlumberger limited announced that it has acquired the Peak Well System, which is a specialist in the design and development of advanced downhole tools for flow control, well intervention, and well integrity.

Europe is expected to account for a significant share during the forecast period. The reduced cost of offshore drilling activities will favor growth in the region. For instance, in Norway, the operating cost of an oil well has been reduced by 30% from 2014 to 2017, thus the cost incurred for drilling an exploratory well offshore was half in 2017 compared to 2014.

Key Development:

June 2020: Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor awarded two contracts worth up to USD 187,1 million to oilfield services provider Technip. Under the contract, TechnipFMC will provide pipelaying and subsea installation for three projects on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).





Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/oilfield-service-market-100174





List of the Key Companies Profiled:

Schlumberger (Texas, United States)

Halliburton (Texas, United States)

Baker Hughes (Texas, United States)

Weir Oil and Gas (Glasgow, United Kingdom)

Emerson (Missouri, United States)

National Oilwell Varco (Texas, United States)

Weatherford (Texas, United States)

AlMansoori Specialized Engineering (Abu Dhabi, UAE)

Saudi Aramco (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia)

Protiviti (California, United States)

Abu Dhabi Oilfield Services (Abu Dhabi, UAE)

YAS Oilfield Services (Texas, US)

Superior Oilfield Services LLC (Abu Dhabi, UAE)

National Arabian Petroleum Services Company (Dammam, Saudi Arabia)

Larsen & Toubro (Mumbai, India)

Oceaneering (Houston, Texas)

China Oilfield Services Ltd. (Beijing, China)

Petroleum Dynamics Oil and Gas (East Ahmadi, Kuwait)

Petroleum Services Co. Kuwait (Kuwait)

SPECIAL OILFIELD SERVICES CO. L.L.C. (Muscat, Oman)

Vallourec (Boulogne-Billancourt, France)

BJ Services (Texas, U.S.)

STARK International (Doha -Qatar)

Ruker Inc. (Billerica, Massachusetts)

Xi'an Huayang Oil&Gas Equipment Co., Ltd. (Xi'an, Shaanxi)

ADES - Advanced Energy Systems (Egypt)

Biyaq Oilfield Services (Mawaleh, Muscat)

Petrodar Operating Company (PDOC) (Khartoum, Sudan)

Middle East Oilfield Services LLC (Muscat, Oman)

Table of Content:

1. Introduction

1.1. Research Scope

1.2. Market Segmentation

1.3. Research Methodology

1.4. Definitions and Assumptions

2. Executive Summary

3. Market Dynamics

3.1. Market Drivers

3.2. Market Restraints

3.3. Market Opportunities

4. Key Insights

4.1. Key Emerging Trends  For Major Countries

4.2. Latest Technological Advancement

4.3. Regulatory Landscape

4.4. Industry SWOT Analysis

4.5. Porters Five Forces Analysis

5. Qualitative Analysis  Impact of COVID-19

5.1. Impact of COVID-19 on the Oilfield Services Market

5.2. Steps Taken by the Government to Overcome the Impact

5.3. Key Developments by Industry Players in Response to COVID-19

5.4. Potential Opportunities and Challenges due to COVID-19 Outbreak

Continued...

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About Us:



Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in.

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Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com

Attachment
Dublin, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Military Battery Market - Forecasts from 2021 to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global military battery market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.78% to reach US$3.304 billion by 2026, from US$2.230 billion in 2019.

The military uses batteries to power a variety of devices, ranging from power tools to military portable equipment. On the military battlefield, lithium-ion batteries have proven to be the most reliable power source for portable equipment. Because military lithium batteries are particularly engineered to handle severe military conditions, they are not commonly available for commercial usage. In the event of a power outage, the military battery serves as a backup generator. In the military and defense sectors, batteries are used for a variety of purposes, including APUs, propulsion systems, backup power, and ignition systems, among others.

Over the projected period, demand for these batteries will be driven by rising military spending on sophisticated weaponry and a growing need for unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance. Military operations are frequently carried out in remote and inaccessible places, necessitating the usage of power for a number of purposes. These military batteries need to be robust and able to resist extreme weather. Military batteries power a wide range of military electrical equipment as well as ships and submarines.

The batteries show to be a beneficial solution in emergency backup circumstances where electricity may fail. Integration of various emerging electronic gadgets, such as wearable devices for night vision applications, has grown popular in the military business. Because these technologies need the usage of batteries, military batteries are in high demand. Defense forces' use of batteries as energy storage devices, as well as rising demand for solid-state batteries, are two significant drivers driving the worldwide military battery market forward.



Some of the key trends that will boost market expansion over the projected period include the desire for contemporary combat systems based on sophisticated technologies, an increase in demand for drones for surveillance, and a decrease in the price of lithium-ion batteries. Some market factors that are estimated to promote market expansion include growing demand for rechargeable batteries and rigorous military rules and regulations for military battery producers. Furthermore, a rise in defense spending across the board, owing to an increase in the number of international disputes, will fuel market development in the future years. Due to an increase in the modernization of military equipment and the replacement of aircraft, outmoded weaponry, and ground vehicles in the area, the military battery market in the Asia Pacific. Additionally, increased defense and security procurements in countries like India and China are expected to drive worldwide demand for military batteries throughout the projection period.



Growth Factors

The surging demand for lithium-ion batteries among end-user industries is fueling the market growth

One of the major reasons for the growth of the global military battery market is the growing demand for lithium-ion batteries among end-users. Lithium-based batteries have a significantly better power density and are much lighter than alkaline and carbon-zinc batteries. In military applications, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are used. This battery is used by the military for a number of purposes, including radios, thermal imagers, and thermal cameras.

During discharge, the battery moves lithium ions from the negative electrode to the positive electrode, and during charging, the battery does the opposite. High power density military batteries are replacing standard batteries in a variety of military applications, including air defense and electronic warfare equipment. Furthermore, high-capacity, long-duration batteries that are lightweight are in great demand for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and man-portable devices, resulting in a reduction in overall system size. Large D-sized lithium main battery packs, for example, are being phased out in favor of tiny, high-powered lithium AA batteries, which are utilized by military UAVs to assure safe landings during power outages. These batteries not only help UAVs to be smaller, but they also help them to last longer.



Restraints

Charging issues related to rechargeable military batteries and the stringent regulations hinder the market growth

A major restraint in the growth of the global military battery market is the issues with charging rechargeable military batteries, as well as restrictions and safety concerns with lead-acid military batteries. Also, the design constraints with the military batteries have proved to be a major challenge to end-users and new entrants in the market. Improved Battery Management Systems are being developed (BMS) causing a major threat to the global military battery market during the forecast period.



Impact of COVID-19 on the military battery market

Trade barriers have restrained the stock. Since COVID-19 lockdown has a detrimental impact on battery supply chains, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the battery sector throughout the world. Certain manufacturers are continuously pursuing various methods such as partnerships and joint ventures in order to maintain a strong place in the overall market.

Indian Oil Corporation forged a strategic partnership with Phinergy to deploy breakthrough technologies in the development, manufacture, assembly, and sales of Al-air batteries. Following the closure of COVID-19, Phinergy has continued to develop aluminum-air batteries in order to broaden the company's portfolio in India. However, in the post COVID scenario, the global military battery market is expected to bloom with the surging demand in various industry sectors in the forecast period.

Key Topics Covered:



1. INTRODUCTION



2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY



3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



4. MARKET DYNAMICS

4.1. Market Drivers

4.2. Market Restraints

4.3. Porter's Five Forces Analysis

4.3.1. Bargaining Power of Suppliers

4.3.2. Bargaining Power of Buyers

4.3.3. Threat of New Entrants

4.3.4. Threat of Substitutes

4.3.5. Competitive Rivalry in the Industry

4.4. Industry Value Chain Analysis



5. MILITARY BATTERY MARKET BY TYPE

5.1. Introduction

5.2. Lithium Batteries

5.3. Lead Acid Batteries

5.4. Nickel Batteries

5.5. Thermal Batteries

5.6. Others



6. MILITARY BATTERY MARKET BY POWER DENSITY

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Less Than 100 WH/ Kg

6.3. Between 100 and 200 WH/ KG

6.4. More Than 200 WH/ KG



7. MILITARY BATTERY MARKET BY APPLICATION

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Propulsion System

7.3. Backup Power

7.4. Ignition System

7.5. Fire Control System

7.6. Auxiliary Power Unit

7.7. Others



8. MILITARY BATTERY MARKEY BY END-USERS

8.1. Introduction

8.2. Aviation

8.3. Land

8.4. Marine

8.5. Munition

8.6. OEMs



9. MILITARY BATTERY MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

9.1. Introduction

9.2. North America

9.2.1. USA

9.2.2. Canada

9.2.3. Mexico

9.3. South America

9.3.1. Brazil

9.3.2. Argentina

9.3.3. Others

9.4. Europe

9.4.1. Germany

9.4.2. France

9.4.3. United Kingdom

9.4.4. Spain

9.4.5. Others

9.5. Middle East and Africa

9.5.1. Israel

9.5.2. Saudi Arabia

9.5.3. Others

9.6. Asia Pacific

9.6.1. China

9.6.2. Japan

9.6.3. South Korea

9.6.4. India

9.6.5. Thailand

9.6.6. Indonesia

9.6.7. Taiwan

9.6.8. Others



10. COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT AND ANALYSIS

10.1. Major Players and Strategy Analysis

10.2. Emerging Players and Market Lucrativeness

10.3. Mergers, Acquisitions, Agreements, and Collaborations

10.4. Vendor Competitiveness Matrix



11. COMPANY PROFILES

11.1. EnerSys

11.2. Arotech Corporation

11.3. EaglePicher Technologies

11.4. Bren-Tronics, Inc.

11.5. Denchi Power Ltd.

11.6. Ultralife Corporation

11.7. JFM Engineering, Inc

11.8. HBL Power Systems Ltd.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/3hrkm1

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SALT LAKE CITY, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading beauty and haircare brand, GIMME Beauty, was recently ranked the number one best-selling hairbrush on Amazon. In a single weekend, GIMME sold 7,000+ hairbrushes and completely sold out their medium patent-pending Detangling Brush.

In a world of innovation-lacking hair brushes that cause painful damage, GIMME has perfected a versatile, revolutionary detangling brush for all hair types, including thick, medium, and fine textures.

Jeff Durham, Chief Executive Officer at GIMME (a Durham Brands Family Company), said, "At our core, we celebrate individual beauty and aim to elevate it with disruptive inventions. Women put up with hair struggles they simply don't need to, and the GIMME Detangling Brush is turning a painful, damaging daily practice into a habit they look forward to. We're thrilled our customers have rated it the best option for all different hair types."

With revolutionary design and technology that places consumers at the core focus of their research and development, the GIMME Detangling Brushes are infused with negative ion technology to reduce static and frizz. As the perfect option for colder, winter months, the GIMME Detangling Brush reduces tangles and snags for easier styling and hair care.

With 650+ five-star reviews and rated the "Best Thick Hair Detangling Brush," GIMME's game-changing brush offers flexible nylon bristles that are heat resistant and anti-static and frizz. With an ergonomic handle grip for firm yet gentle control, thick hair beauty lovers will no longer experience tender-headedness and pulling of hair.

For medium-textured hair, the soft-touch velvet grip handle offers flexibility combined with structure. Beauty lovers rave about the comfort and ease of detangling even with wet hair.

For fine hair, the GIMME Detangling Brush reduces the need for heat styling, which causes both short- and long-term damage to the hair. Beauty lovers can create a smoother, polished hair appearance, no matter the style and length, with the innovative design of GIMME's cushion-based flat brush that massages the scalp with gentle, flexible bristles.

"To watch thousands of beauty lovers flock to the GIMME detangling brush, making it the best-selling brush on Amazon was a huge achievement for our product, brand, and team. We're honored to serve women around the world with game-changing design and much-needed industry innovation," said Jeff Durham.

To learn more about GIMME's viral detangling brush, see details for fine, medium, and thick hair.

About GIMME Beauty

GIMME Beauty's vision is to design innovative hair solutions that disrupt the status quo of the health and beauty hair care category. The company's products rank among the industry's fastest-growth items, according to Nielsen Market Data. Since it launched in 2006, GIMME has become a national brand available at more than 20,000 stores across the United States. Follow GIMME on Instagram or Facebook to learn about its latest collections.

To learn more about GIMME Beauty, visit www.gimmebeauty.com.

To apply to join GIMME Beauty's community of affiliates and business partners, visit https://gimmebeauty.com/pages/community.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Tiffany Kayar

tiffanyPR@newswiremail.io

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Resolutions passed by Vopaks Annual General Meeting

Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 20 April 2022

The Annual General Meeting of Koninklijke Vopak N.V. (Royal Vopak) held on 20 April 2022 passed the following resolutions:

 Positive advisory vote implementation remuneration policy for the 2021 financial year.

 Adoption of the financial statements for the 2021 financial year.

 Approval of the proposed dividend. A dividend of EUR 1.25 per ordinary share with a nominal value of EUR 0.50 will be distributed wholly in cash on 28 April 2022. As from 22 April 2022, the shares of Vopak will be listed ex-dividend on Euronext Amsterdam.

 Discharge from liability of the Executive Board members conduct of the companys affairs for the 2021 financial year.

 Discharge from liability of the Supervisory Board members supervision exercised for the 2021 financial year.

 Re-appointment of Mr. F. Eulderink (Frits) as a member of the Executive Board for a term of 4 years.

 Appointment of Mr. M.E.G. Gilsing (Michiel) as a member of the Executive Board for a term of 4 years.

 Re-appointment of Mrs. L.J.I. Foufopoulos - De Ridder (Lucrece) as a member of the Supervisory Board for a term of 4 years.

 Re-appointment of Mr. B. van der Veer (Ben) as a member of the Supervisory Board for a term of 4 years.

 Re-appointment of Mr. M.F. Groot (Mel) as a member of the Supervisory Board for a term of 4 years.

 Authorization of the Executive Board for a period of 18 months, up till and including 19 October 2023, to acquire, subject to the approval of the Supervisory Board, for valuable consideration, fully paid-up ordinary shares in Royal Vopak, on the stock exchange or otherwise, up to the maximum number that may be held by the company in accordance with the law and the Articles of Association in force at the date of acquisition.

 Appointment of Deloitte Accountants B.V. as the external auditor of Royal Vopak and their engagement to examine the companys financial statements for the 2023 financial year.





About Royal Vopak

Royal Vopak is the worlds leading independent tank storage company. We store vital products with care. With over 400 years of history and a focus on sustainability, we ensure safe, clean and efficient storage and handling of bulk liquid products and gases for our customers. By doing so, we enable the delivery of products that are vital to our economy and daily lives, ranging from chemicals, oils, gases and LNG to biofuels and vegoils. We are developing key infrastructure solutions for the worlds changing energy and feedstock systems, while simultaneously investing in digitalization and innovation. Vopak is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam and is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. For more information, please visit vopak.com.

For more information please contact:

Vopak Press: Liesbeth Lans - Manager External Communication,

Telephone: +31 (0)10 400 2777 | e-mail: global.communication@vopak.com

Vopak Analysts and Investors: Fatjona Topciu - Head of Investor Relations,

Telephone: +31 (0)10 400 2776 | e-mail: investor.relations@vopak.com

This press release contains inside information as meant in clause 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation. The content of this report has not been audited or reviewed by an external auditor.

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WATERTOWN, Mass., April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acrivon Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology therapeutics company with proprietary technologies driving a new era of precision-based medicine, today announced the appointments of Rasmus Holm-Jorgensen as the companys chief financial officer, as well as other senior executives to its management team.

It is with great pleasure that I welcome Rasmus who brings to Acrivon broad expertise and a proven track record of more than twenty-five years of successfully driving strategy and operations, including finance, portfolio management, and business development, which will be invaluable as we pursue our growth aspirations, said Peter Blume-Jensen, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Acrivon. In addition to Rasmus, I am excited to announce that we have augmented our management team with top talent and accomplished executives in key leadership roles across several functional areas. A critical part of our execution strategy is the strengthening of domain expertise and human resources to further expand on the broad potential of our next generation precision oncology platform and advance our promising pipeline of best-in-class, clinically efficacious targeted oncology agents.

Prior to his appointment as the chief financial officer of Acrivon, Mr. Holm-Jorgensen was part of the founding team and chief strategy and portfolio officer of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals since its inception in 2015 and through the IPO to the launch of its first product. Previously, he was group vice president and general manager at Synageva BioPharma, where he created a new business unit with a portfolio of multiple rare disease programs following the companys IPO in 2011 and culminating in the companys sale for $9 billion. From 2008 to 2011, Mr. Holm-Jorgensen drove the successful turnaround of the global commercial audiology organization of the GN Group, a global leader in intelligent audio solutions. From 1996 to 2008, Mr. Holm-Jorgensen worked for Novo Nordisk in Denmark, U.S., Brazil and Mexico, where he held positions of increasing responsibility within general management, economy and planning, portfolio analysis, investor relations for North America and finance for LATAM. Mr. Holm-Jorgensen received an M.S. in Economics from the University of Copenhagen and has completed executive training at INSEAD, Stanford University and Harvard Business School.

Mr. Holm-Jorgensen added, I am very impressed by the companys proprietary AP3 precision medicine platform, which defines a whole new era of precision medicine and initially is being applied for the accelerated, derisked development of a robust pipeline of precision oncology therapeutics. I look forward to working with the high caliber team at Acrivon to bring our therapies to the patients who can benefit from them the most.

Additional Appointed Senior Executives

Bruce Close, vice president of Quality and Compliance , is a leader in the design, implementation and oversight of quality management systems and compliance operations. He has over 20 years of experience in GxP quality roles at large biopharmaceutical companies such as Celgene/BMS, Schering Ag/Bayer, and Regeneron. Additionally, he has worked with more than 35 different regulatory health authorities across the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Russia, Africa, Australia, and Japan.

James P. Dunyak, Ph.D., vice president of Biostatistics is an experienced statistician, modeler, engineer and mathematical scientist with a focus on realizing the promise of precision medicine and translating research achievements to viable commercial products in a highly regulated environment. His prior experience includes leadership roles in biostatistics, research and development, bioinformatics, and clinical pharmacometrics at Certara, AstraZeneca, Metamark Genetics, Novartis, and MITRE.

Joon Jung, Ph.D., vice president and head of Data Science , is a leader in computational and translational science with a track record of successful drug discovery and development, including experience in target identification and optimization, clinical biomarker and patient stratification strategies, and systems biology. He has led data science, translational discovery and informatics at Theonys, Cyclerion Therapeutics/Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, and has been a senior research scientist at Merck, Johnson & Johnson, and Triad Therapeutics.

Crystal Mercado, global head of Human Resources , is an accomplished human resources executive with expertise in addressing key business opportunities and challenges to develop an engaged workforce, including experience in global talent acquisition and retention across North America, LATAM, EMEA and APAC regions. She previously held positions at Kira Pharmaceuticals, SpringWorks Therapeutics, Purdue Pharma, and Alexion Pharmaceuticals.

Thomas P. Nifong, M.D., head of Clinical CDx Operations , has extensive experience leading clinical operations and as a medical director providing strategic and technical expertise, with responsibilities spanning corporate strategy, laboratory operations, regulatory compliance and biomarker development, with direct involvement in commercialization and business development activities. He was a member of the executive management team for companies such as Pacific Edge Diagnostics, Definiens (acquired by MedImmune/AstraZeneca), and Metamark Genetics.

Sam Rua, vice president of CDx Regulatory , is a regulatory affairs and quality assurance executive with experience in global regulatory submissions and registration strategies, having successfully taken investigational product candidates through regulatory processes and to the market in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia. He held positions in regulatory and clinical affairs, quality systems and operations at HTG Molecular Diagnostics, Roche Tissue Diagnostics, Beckman Coulter, Third Wave Technologies, and Ventana Medical Systems.

John van Duzer, Ph.D., vice president of CMC , is a senior pharmaceutical industry executive with over 30 years of experience in medicinal chemistry research, chemical development programs, and GMP manufacturing to support IND filing and clinical trials. He is the inventor of Lumiracoxib, a marketed cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitor, as well as ricolinostat and citarinostat, which are HDAC6 inhibitors for treatment of multiple myeloma. He held manufacturing and technical operations leadership roles at Collegium Pharmaceutical, Eloxx Pharmaceuticals, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals, Mersana Therapeutics, and ActivBiotics Corporation, in addition to being a consultant to Celgene.

About Acrivon

Acrivon is a clinical stage oncology company leveraging its unique, proprietary phosphoproteomics technology called Acrivon Precision Predictive Proteomics, or AP3, in development of its pipeline of oncology drugs. The AP3 platform enables the creation of drug-specific proprietary OncoSignature companion diagnostics that can be used to identify patients most likely to benefit from Acrivons medicines. Through its highly specific patient selection, the company seeks to accelerate clinical development and increase the probability of successful treatment outcome for patients. The companys pipeline includes the clinically advanced lead program, ACR-368 (also known as prexasertib), a targeted oncology asset in-licensed from Eli Lilly and Company which has demonstrated evidence of durable responses, in solid cancers in Phase 2 trials. Acrivon is also developing additional pipeline programs targeting critical nodes in DNA Damage Response (DDR) and cell cycle regulation. Please visit the companys website at https://acrivon.com for more information.

Acrivon Contacts:

Alexandra Santos

asantos@wheelhouselsa.com

Aljanae Reynolds

areynolds@wheelhouselsa.com
Pleasanton, CA, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Maddie's Fund, a national family foundation established by Dave and Cheryl Duffield to revolutionize the status and well-being of companion animals, announced today a $1.7 million grant awarded to Companions Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE). This three-year grant will support the expansion of their CARE Centers by adding five to ten centers each year.

CARE is a national nonprofit whose mission is to prioritize and amplify Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) voices using narratives, research, and community-centered investments. Using this multidisciplinary approach, CARE seeks to inspire all organizations to be more inclusive and less biased in an effort to keep families, including their pets, together.

Equity is the outcome we seek for all communities, said James Evans, CEO and founder of CARE. Thanks to Maddie, CARE will expand its CARE Center model focused on work with proximate leaders, who have meaningful relationships with marginalized communities who seek to keep pets with their families. CARE Centers assist in creating workforce development opportunities that are created by and for the community, placing value on their wisdom.



CARE Centers are networks of individuals and organizations working within their communities, who are already doing this important work. CAREs intention is to partner with community leaders to add pet wellness and resources. The CARE Center model creates sustainable community-led networks by using a human and animal wellbeing model in an effort to keep pets home and uplift their human companions.

We are proud to continue our support of CARE and the CARE Centers, said Mary Ippoliti-Smith, Maddies Funds Executive Leadership Team. Striving for equity and providing communities with the resources and tools they need to care for their pets will have a direct impact on keeping pets and people together.

In 2020, Maddies Fund awarded CARE a three-year partnership grant of $750,000 to support diversity research within animal welfare, creation and staffing of the Atlanta CARE Center, and infrastructure staff for CARE. Through this funding, CARE has set up four new BIPOC-owned 501c3 organizations and facilitated funding for a total of six. Maddies Fund further supported CAREs efforts towards diversity, equity and inclusion with a $100,000 grant toward African American scholarships for veterinary schools.

To learn more about CARE, visit their website.

About Maddie's Fund

Maddie's Fund is a family foundation established in 1994 by Dave and Cheryl Duffield and is the fulfillment of a promise to their inspirational dog, Maddie. She provided them much joy from 1987  1997 and continues to inspire them today.

The Foundation has awarded over $255 million in grants toward increased community lifesaving, pioneering shelter medicine education and establishing foster care as a standard across the U.S.

Maddie's Fund proudly offers the industry a national voice, important funding opportunities for bold ideas, learning resources and access to collaborate and share innovative solutions. The Foundation invests its resources in a commitment to keeping pets and people together, creating a safety net of care for animals in need and operating within a culture of inclusiveness and humility. #ThanksToMaddie.
Irvine, CA, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Odyssey Health, Inc., formerly known as Odyssey Group International, Inc. (OTC Pink: ODYY) (the "Company" or "Odyssey"), a company focused on developing a proprietary drug compound to treat concussion, is honored to welcome Vice Admiral (r) Timothy Szymanski to the Companys prestigious Military Advisory Board. Odysseys drug candidate, PRV-002 is currently in a phase 1 clinical trial.

Too many service members and veterans are suffering from post-concussive events, while their families are suffering as they watch and provide care. There remains an urgent need for a concussion treatment at the point of injury that immediately treats the initial injury, speeds recovery, and potentially diminishes its long-term effects. We are obligated to pursue treatments that improve a service members, and their families, well-being through their service commitment and beyond.

Vice Admiral (r) Szymanski has led and served in many Navy and Joint Special Operations assignments as a Navy Special Warfare Officer (SEAL) for over 36 years. He most recently served as the Deputy Commander for United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) after serving as the Commander of Naval Special Warfare (NSW). In both roles he was responsible for the manning, equipping, and training, and employment of Navy SEAL and joint special operations forces, of 11,000 and 73,000 uniformed and civilian personnel, respectively.

He has commanded a SEAL Team, Special Boat Team, a Squadron at a Special Mission Unit, and a Special Operations Joint Task Force. His recent assignments as a flag officer were Deputy Commander USSOCOM, Commander Naval Special Warfare Command, Assistant Commanding General Joint Special Operations Command and Deputy Commander of NATO Special Operations Component Command  Afghanistan. Szymanski attended the U.S. Naval Academy Preparatory School and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1985.

Keenly aware of the detrimental effects of invisible wounds on Force and Family Readiness, he established policy to cognitively baseline the entire Special Operations community as well as created initiatives to prevent, protect, recover, and enhance cognitive performance and brain health.

Studies estimate that up to 3.8 million people in the United States experience a concussion each year. It is also estimated that from 30 to 50 percent of concussions are unreported and untreated.

About Odyssey Health, Inc.

Odyssey Health, Inc., formerly known as Odyssey Group International, Inc. (OTC Pink: ODYY) is focused on developing products in the area of life-saving medical solutions. Odyssey's corporate mission is to create, acquire and accumulate distinct assets, intellectual properties, and exceptional technologies that provide meaningful solutions to unmet medical needs. The Company is focused on technologies that have an identified technological advantage, provide superior clinical utility and have a substantial market opportunity.

We encourage our shareholders to visit: http://www.odysseygi.com or Twitter: @OdysseyGroupIn1 .

About PRV-002

PRV-002 is a fully synthetic non-naturally occurring neurosteroid being developed for the treatment of mTBI (concussion). In preclinical studies, PRV-002 has demonstrated equivalent, if not superior, neuroprotective effects compared to related neurosteroids. Animal models of concussion demonstrated that PRV-002 reduces the behavioral pathology associated with brain injury symptoms such as memory impairment, anxiety, and motor/sensory performance. Additionally, PRV-002 is lipophilic and can easily cross the blood-brain barrier to rapidly eliminate swelling, oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain while restoring proper blood flow. PRV-002 is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based upon our current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof. Our actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and uncertainties, including our ability to continue to raise needed funds, successfully complete the phase 1 trial, our ability to successfully develop products, rapid changes in our markets, changes in demand for our future products, and legislative, regulatory, competitive developments and general economic conditions.

Contact:

Odyssey Health, Inc. f/k/a Odyssey Group International, Inc.

info@odysseygi.com

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JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arabian Vehicles & Trucks Industries (AVI) had the honor to host a delegation from the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) at their facilities in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC). This visit came as an extension of the college seeking Zahid Group expertise in this field to enrich the newly introduced specialty course for diesel engines, where the Zahid Group learning and development team hosted a week-long Foundational Diesel Engine Training Program for the senior trainers of the TVTC.

Eng. Hassan Al-Shehri, former head of the Engines Department, commented, Thank you very much for the hospitable visit of the factory, which is a fact of pride for any Saudis. We are pleased to have a factory of this size in our country that is able to export high quality trucks outside the Kingdom in accordance with international standards. We look forward for AVI to obtain the Diamond classification award from Volvo Trucks factories in the near future to maintain our distinguished position in the Industrial sector.

The President of Vehicle Departments at the Jeddah Technical College, Mr. Mohammed Thabet Al Shehri, added that he praised the quality of work in the factory and his visit to the AVI facility exceeded his expectations. Mr. Barig Siraj, Vice President of Group Affairs at Zahid Group stated, Training in Zahid Group was and still is limited to the employees of the Zahid Group of Companies and their clients, while we also pay special attention to students of the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation. The relationship between both parties is considered an investment to achieving the benefits of transferring ideas and experiences from the administration of the institute to the College. As mentioned by Mr. Amr Zawawi, Zahid Group HR Manager, The relationship between Zahid Group and the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation dates back many years, as we have appointed and developed many graduates who are considered major contributors to the development of our business and departments today. This initiative and many others are an example of cooperation and efforts made to achieve our common goals and to develop the partnership to the highest level.

Zahid Group aspires to make this effective collaboration a success by providing training services to the facultys employees in various specializations, adopting its students graduation projects, and providing suitable job opportunities for graduates.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/932dd5a1-4db1-4d55-84ac-0e5edb0ca775
RALEIGH, N.C., April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Camp Corral, a leading provider of support and enrichment opportunities for the children of this nation's wounded, ill, and fallen military heroes, today announced that Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) has committed $350,000 to fund Camp Corral's upcoming 2022 summer camp programs.

WWP's funding will reduce waitlists for the families of post-9/11 wounded warriors seeking enrichment opportunities for their children. Additionally, this partnership will support Camp Corral's continuing expansion of its resilience-based resources that provide the children of wounded warriors with respite, coping skills, and opportunities to build friendships with fellow military children.

"Our research indicates that 70% of military children perform caregiving duties, making it critical to ensure these kids have access to respite and support programs tailored to the unique stress that comes with such responsibilities," said Lori Noonan, Chief Operating Officer at Camp Corral. "We're thankful for WWP's support in this important mission, and we're proud to work side by side in transforming the way America's injured veterans and their families are empowered in our communities."

WWP is committed to serving the post-9/11 generation and all future generations of injured service members, ensuring they get the care, attention, and support they deserve. WWP also serves the family members and caregivers who are an integral part of the warrior's recovery and transition back into civilian life.

Throughout the month of April, Camp Corral is celebrating Month of the Military Child by advocating for military-connected children within their communities. Individuals and organizations can visit www.campcorral.org/resources/ and view the "15 Things Military & Veterans' Kids Want You To Know" video to learn more about the resilience and sacrifice that military children exhibit every day.

About Camp Corral

Camp Corral is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to transform the lives of children of this nation's wounded, ill, and fallen military heroes. Since its inception in 2011, Camp Corral has served nearly 29,000 children from every state in the nation with resilience-based programs focused upon the unique attributes and challenges shared by military-connected children across the country. For more information, visit www.campcorral.org.

About Wounded Warrior Project

Since 2003, Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) has been meeting the growing needs of warriors, their families, and caregivers  helping them achieve their highest ambition. For more information, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

Media Contact:

Lori Noonan

Lori.noonan@campcorral.org

404-934-4343

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Toronto, ON, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Realstar Hospitality is pleased to announce that for a second consecutive year, Motel 6 has been named a recipient of the Canadian Franchise Associations (CFA) Franchisees Choice Designation. Now in its 12th year, the annual Franchisees Choice Designation program recognized Motel 6 for their accomplishments in franchise service.

Franchisees were asked to evaluate their franchisor in key areas of the franchise business model, including leadership, business planning and marketing, training and support, as well as ongoing operations and the relationship between the franchisor and franchisee.

We are honored to receive the Franchisees Choice Designation for the second consecutive year, said Irwin Prince, President & COO, Realstar Hospitality. Our entire team of hospitality professionals are incredibly thankful to know their efforts are recognized and appreciated by our franchise family. We look forward to providing continued support to our dedicated owners and their teams, added Prince.

In the due diligence process of investigating a franchise opportunity, speaking with existing franchisees about the opportunity being explored is essential. For prospective franchisees, the Franchisees Choice Designation identifies that a franchise brand has received a solid endorsement through its satisfaction ratings from its franchisees. The 2022 Franchisees Choice Designees are representative of the spectrum of franchise opportunities and the diversity and standard of excellence of CFA members.

We celebrate Franchisees Choice Designees for exemplifying franchising's core principle of working in partnership, sharing success and Growing Together, says Sherry McNeil, CFA President & Chief Executive Officer. Our congratulations go out to this years Franchisees Choice Designees on receiving this outstanding vote of confidence from their franchisees.

To learn more about Motel 6 or to make reservations, please visit https://www.motel6.com/en/home.html.

For more information about Franchisees Choice designation and a full list of winners, visit https://cfa.ca/fcd-winners-2022.

-30-

About Motel 6

Motel 6 helps travelers save more for what they travel for at its more than 1,400 company owned and franchised locations throughout the United States and Canada. Growing faster than any of its competitors, Motel 6 has used the tagline, "We'll leave the light on for you" for more than 29 years, earning the chain the highest brand recognition in the economy lodging segment. Motel 6 offers standard amenities including free Wi-Fi Internet access, free local calls, no long-distance access charges, free morning coffee and expanded cable channel line-up. Most locations offer swimming pools and guest laundry facilities. For more information, visit www.motel6.com.

About the Canadian Franchise Association

The Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) helps everyday Canadians realize the dream of building their own business. CFA advocates on issues that impact this dream on behalf of more than 700 corporate members and over 40,000 franchisees from many of Canadas best-known and emerging franchise brands. Beyond its role as the voice of the franchise industry, CFA strengthens and develops franchising by delivering best-practice education and creating rewarding connections between Canadians and the opportunities in franchising. Canadian franchises contribute over $100 billion per year to the Canadian economy and create jobs for more than 1.9 million people. Learn more at www.cfa.ca or www.FranchiseCanada.online.

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CHICAGO, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 20th Annual BrandSmart Conference countdown has arrived. B2B, B2C, and Nonprofit marketing professionals, from brands to agencies interested in taking their skills and careers to the next level, will come together for the longest-running brand marketing conference in the United States. Join the American Marketing Association, Chicago Chapter, the nations largest, in person in the AON Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier in Chicago on Wednesday, April 27, from 8:00 a.m.  5:30 p.m. CDT.

The 2022 conference will feature prestigious marketing experts from Twitter, Kimberly-Clark, Google, Kellogg Company, Intermark Group, CDW, Morningstar, Mesmerise, Chicago Bulls, Shure Inc., Sixieme Son, Chicago Public Media, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and Mastercard. Joined by more than 300 marketing decision-makers and brand innovators, marketing professionals from across the United States will come together to share proven tools, learn about emerging marketing strategies, and hear stories from the field. Individuals and groups can register at AMAChicago.org/BrandSmart.

Beverly Jackson, VP of Global Brand and Consumer Marketing at Twitter, will provide the opening keynote presentation taking attendees Behind the Tweets for a closer look at data-driven marketing. Co-headlining the BrandSmart 2022 Conference is Blake Boulden, Senior Marketing Leader for North America Baby and Child Care at Kimberly-Clark, and Wendy Rosplach, VP of Digital Technology Solutions & Performance Marketing at Kimberly-Clark. Boulden and Rosplach are slated to discuss People-Based Marketing as they dive into how to properly shift with ongoing changes within the digital ecosystem by prioritizing a deeper understanding of customers. Additional highlights to BrandSmart include:

How to Make Smart Moves into the Metaverse panel discussion with Andrew Hawken, CEO of Mesmerise, and Dan Moriarty, VP of Marketing for the Chicago Bulls, moderated by Leslie Marshall, Head of Experiential Marketing at Morningstar, Inc.

Reimagining a More Inclusive Brand Purpose panel discussion with Kellie Fitzgerald, Industry Director of Retail at Google, Chelsea Jenkins, Director of Cultural and Inclusive Marketing at Kellogg Company, and Bryan Reese, Partner Lead at Google

The Psychology of Marketing to the Hyper-Stressed presented by Jack McKenzie, CEO of Intermark Group

For a full schedule of events, please visit https://amachicago.org/brand-smart/agenda/.

This years in-person event is designed to inspire, provide insights, and highlight smart strategies destined to catapult brands and businesses to success. BrandSmart is produced by the American Marketing Associations Chicago Chapter (AMA Chicago). In addition to a full lineup of marketing and brand presentations, attendees will meet the winners of the 2022 BrandSmart Awards, which will be presented during the Conference starting at 4:00 p.m.

BrandSmart has been a must-attend event for brand marketers for 20 years, said BrandSmart 2022 Conference and Awards Program Producer Harvey Morris. We are delighted to welcome such an impressive list of exemplary marketing leaders as speakers at BrandSmart 2022. Its an incredible opportunity for all marketing professionals to come together to learn from the best and connect with peers.

Thanks to the generosity of sponsors, tickets for BrandSmart 2022 are $195 for AMA Chicago Members, $495 for guests, which includes a 1-year AMA Chicago membership, and $250 each for groups of 3+. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the website at https://amachicago.org/brand-smart/.

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Raipur, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stratview Research, a leading market research firm has launched a report on the Night Vision Device Market that provides an in-depth analysis of the market dynamics, current and emerging trends, industry forecast, and competitive landscape.

Click Here to get the free sample pdf:

https://www.stratviewresearch.com/Request-Sample/2813/night-vision-device-market.html#form

What are Night Vision Devices?

A night vision device improves vision in low-light or no-light environments or during night operations. These devices were introduced during the 2nd World War and have been increasingly used thereon. These devices are becoming popular in military applications, enabling soldiers to execute various military tasks without putting their lives at greater risk.

What are the Top Market Drivers?

According to the report, there has been a hefty increase in the overall production and development of these Night Vision Devices. The common market drivers include-

The increasing political stalemates,

Rising border conflicts,

Growing threat of terrorism in recent years

Occurrence of military operations during the night time.

In line with this, there have been several investments in the defense industry directed at night vision devices in recent years, which would boost the overall market. Some of them are:

In September 2021, L3Harris Technologies, Inc. signed a contract worth US$ 100 million with the US Army, to deliver the enhanced night vision goggle-binocular (ENVG-B) systems.

signed a contract worth US$ 100 million with the US Army, to deliver the enhanced night vision goggle-binocular (ENVG-B) systems. Similarly, in July 2021, the Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation en matiere dArmement (OCCAR) signed a multi-million-dollar contract with the consortium of HENSOLDT and THEON SENSORS for the production and delivery of the advanced Binocular Night Vision Goggles (BNVG) for the Belgian and German armies.





Market Segmentation & Insights:

Stratview Research has segmented the market in the following the ways which fulfil the market data needs of multiple stakeholders across the industry value chain.

Platform Type - Ground-based NVD, Air-based NVD, and Naval-based NVD Technology Type 

Image Intensification Technology - Gen I-III, Gen-IV,

Gen I-III, Gen-IV, Thermal Technology - SWIR, MWIR, and LWIR, and

SWIR, MWIR, and LWIR, and Fusion Technology - Optical Image Integration and Digital Image Integration.

Product Type - Night Vision Goggle, Weapon Night Sight, and Handheld Thermal Imager. Region 

North America - The USA, Canada, and Mexico,

The USA, Canada, and Mexico, Europe - Germany, France, The UK, Russia, and Rest of Europe

- Germany, France, The UK, Russia, and Rest of Europe Asia-Pacific - China, Japan, India, South Korea, and Rest of Asia-Pacific,

- China, Japan, India, South Korea, and Rest of Asia-Pacific, Rest of the World - Brazil, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Others.

Based on the platform type, the ground-based platform is likely to continue as the major demand generator for night vision devices as these devices are frequently used by the dismounted soldiers for every ground-based operation and mission.

Similarly, based on the technology type, thermal technology is in larger demand for night vision devices as compared to image intensification and fusion technology. Over the years, thermal imaging devices have proved to be excellent tools for night vision, as they detect thermal radiation and translate the heat into a picture, without using a source for illumination.

Based on the product type, the night vision goggle segment accounts for the largest market share. The goggles are used in large volumes as they are deployed across every soldier, who is engaged in a military operation or mission. They enable the soldiers to see through dark or no-light environments and are also capable to penetrate through the mist, fog, rain, and smoke.

Which region is estimated to be dominant?

North America is expected to maintain its dominance in the night vision device market throughout the forecast period. Concurrently, Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth in the night vision device market in the coming years.

The key factors responsible for the swift growth are increased demand for night-vision goggles and weapon night sights by the regional military forces and a continuous rise in the overall military expenditure, especially in China and India.

How is the Report Helpful?

The report has a very high utility for the key decision-makers and strategists in terms of accurate market insights, future growth opportunities, and key success factors.

Most importantly, the report analyses the possible impact of COVID-19 on the market dynamics which offers cushioning against the uncertain business environment and helps in streamlining the resources and investment decisions in a fruitful manner.

View the Report Scope and Table of Contents:

https://www.stratviewresearch.com/toc/2813/night-vision-device-market.html

COVID-19 Impact on the Automotive Pressure Vessels Market

The market with excellent growth potential saw a massive decline in 2020. Implementation of lockdown and postponement of vehicle purchase, and decline in new alternative fuel vehicle registration due to the pandemic negatively impacted the automotive pressure vessels market in 2020. Despite being suffered by a huge loss in 2020, the automotive pressure vessel market seems to be brighter with a number of growth opportunities for pressure vessel manufacturers in the years to come.

To know more about the covid-19 impact, get a free sample report, here:

https://www.stratviewresearch.com/Request-Sample/2813/night-vision-device-market.html#form

Who are the Top Market Players?

The entire competitive dynamics have significantly been influenced as a result of these mergers and acquisitions. The following are some of the major players in the night vision device market:

L3Harris Technologies, Inc.

BAE Systems

Thales Group

Elbit Systems Ltd.

Raytheon Technologies

What deliverables will you get in this report?

In-depth analysis of the Night Vision Device Market

Detailed market segmentation.

Competitive-landscape analysis.

Historical, present, and future market size analysis.

Industry trends, technologies, and advancements.

Growth and operation strategies adopted by key players.

Potential segments/regions offering promising growth.

Geographical presence of the key players.

Related reports which might be useful:

About us 

Stratview Research is a global market research firm that offers reliable market reports, market entry strategies, strategic growth consulting, and more. The market experts compile high-quality market information to help users obtain granular level clarity on current business trends and expected future developments. Stratview Research also offers customization of the reports. Reach out to the analysts to customize the given report according to your priority/requirement.

Stratview Research has also launched 'Composights', an online portal that offers free thought leadership reports, whitepapers, market report synopsis, and much more for Composites and allied industries, worth US$ 20,000 every year.

Click here to sign up (No costs involved):
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QUEBEC CITY, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Robex Resources Inc. (Robex , the Group or the Company) (TSXV: RBX) and Sycamore Mining Ltd (Sycamore), a privately owned company of Cyprus, are pleased to announce that they have entered into a share purchase agreement (the SPA) whereby Robex and Sycamore will combine their respective businesses to build a multi-asset and multi jurisdiction gold mining company (the Transaction).



Transaction summary

Purchase price payable through the issuance of a maximum of 403,600,000 common shares (less customary closing adjustments such as potential liabilities) in the share capital of Robex ( Robex Shares ).





). Resulting shareholding: Upon completion, Robex shareholders and former Sycamore shareholders will own, subject to adjustments, respectively 59.78 % and 40.22 % of Robex.





The Transaction is an arms length transaction and there are no finders fees payable.





Closing expected to occur before end of Q2 2022 after the publication of a new NI 43-101 report.

The Transaction has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of each of Robex and Sycamore.

Ramez Attieh, senior adviser of Eglinton Mining: We are extremely pleased to work with the Robex management team. The experience of Robex has already shifted our business strategy on Kiniero to build a much larger project which will benefit all shareholders and Guinea. We are thrilled to embark in a journey to create a major West African gold producer with the pleasure to participate in the local economy of Guinea.

George Cohen, Executive Chairman of the board of Robex: With this transformational transaction Robex is moving forward to build a multi-mine multi-country group in West Africa. We welcome onboard the Sycamore management team and the shareholders of Sycamore in our new group. Kiniero is a world class asset with 3.4 Moz of historical resources** and one of the largest land packages in Guinea. Combined with our operational expertise and the synergies with Nampala we are excited for the future ahead. This will unlock value for our shareholders and for Guinea.

About Sycamore Mining

Sycamore Mining is a Cyprus-based mining company focused on developing mining and mineral projects which currently owns an interest in two projects: (1) the Kiniero Project located in the Republic of Guinea held through its wholly-owned subsidiary Sycamore Mine Guinee SAU which includes a group of licenses and exploitation permits referred to as Kiniero and an option over an exploration license referred to as Mansounia, together forming the Kiniero District (see Details of the Kiniero Project: a district scale opportunity below) and (2) the Lomati Gold Mine located in the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) which will be disposed as a condition precedent to closing (see Conditions of the Transaction).

Objectives of the Transaction

Combine the two businesses to create a low cost, mid-tier gold producer with one of West Africas most prospective development portfolios.





Short-term opportunity to bring a new mine into production (leveraging Robexs expertise in plant development and operation and Sycamores strength in resource delineation) via the development and future operation of the Kiniero Project.





Targeting the quadrupling of group gold production with a target above 200,000 oz per annum by the end of 2024.



Share Purchase Agreement

Pursuant to the terms of the Share Purchase Agreement executed between Robex, Sycamore and its shareholders on April 19th, 2022, Robex will acquire, directly and indirectly, 100% of the outstanding shares of Sycamore in exchange for a maximum aggregate of 403,600,000 Robex Shares to be issued as follows:

242,160,000 Robex shares due at closing;





upon approval of the closing financial statements, a maximum of 60,540,000 Robex shares less a number of Robex Shares equal to the aggregate amount of liabilities of Sycamore (on a consolidated basis); and





100,900,000 shares of Robex less such number of Shares equal to certain liabilities of Sycamore or the sellers not addressed in (i) to be issued once a Convention detablissement signed with the Government of Guinea providing for the conditions under which the Kiniero Project will be operated or (ii) another binding document addressing such liabilities.



After giving effect to the Transaction, it is expected that the Sycamore shareholders will hold a maximum of approximately 40.22% of the issued and outstanding Robex Shares. All of the Robex Shares to be issued to the Sycamore shareholders will be held in escrow pursuant to the terms and conditions of an escrow agreement to be entered into with Computershare Trust Company of Canada until the date the first ounce of gold poured at the Kiniero Project or two years after closing of the Transaction.

As a result of the Transaction, Eglinton Mining will become an "Insider" (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) of Robex as it will hold up to a maximum of 177,327,000 Robex Shares, which represents approximately 17.65% of the issued and outstanding Robex Shares (post-Transaction), on a non-diluted basis. Eglinton Mining is a corporation formed under the laws of Cayman Islands 50% owned by Mr Alan Konyar (a resident of Dubai, UAE) and 50% owned by Onex Mining a corporation formed under the laws of Cayman Islands in turn owned by Mr Saad Tayeb Hasan (a resident of Republic of Iraq). Eglintons core focus is on investing in strategic mining assets and resources in West Africa. No other person holds a controlling interest in, or otherwise exercises control or direction over, the outstanding securities of Onex Mining.

After closing of the Transaction, Robex shall, for so long as the Sycamore shareholders, as a group, hold at least 20% of the outstanding Robex Shares:

support and cause to be placed on the ballot at each election of Directors of Robex, one name which shall be a nominee proposed to be appointed as a new member of the Board of Directors of Robex the name of whom shall have been notified in writing by the Sellers ( Sellers' Director ); and





); and support and cause the nomination and appointment of the Sellers' Director to each of the Purchaser's Audit Committee, Remuneration Committee and Nomination Committee.



Significant Conditions to Closing

The completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions precedent including, but not limited to: (i) the receipt by Robex of a NI43-101 technical report on the Kiniero Project and the acceptance of same by the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange); (ii) the approval of the Transaction by the Exchange, including the listing of the Robex Shares to be issued as consideration to the Sycamore shareholders pursuant to the Share Purchase Agreement; (iii) the absence of any material change or change in a material fact which might reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial or operation conditions or the assets of either of Sycamore or Robex; (iv) dispose of its interest in the Lomati Project (and related entities) and (v) certain other conditions customary in a transaction of this nature. As a result of this Transaction, Kiniero and Mansounia will become material properties for Robex. On the other hand, the Lomati properties and related entities will be disposed prior to or concurrently with the closing of the Transaction and therefore not material.

Financial Information Concerning Sycamore

The following table sets out certain selected financial information regarding Sycamore and Sycamore Mine Guinee SAU as of December 31, 2021 (unaudited). The selected information was prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. The information provided below are not audited and should not be relied upon. These numbers are currently being audited by Sycamore Mining auditors for the Closing and will be published in full in the Business Acquisition Report.

As of December 31, 2021 (unaudited) USD CAD (1) Revenue --- --- Net Results $(14,088,525) $(17,757,153) Total Assets $22,734,264 $28,654,227 Total Liabilities $12,071,803 $15,215,280 Shareholders Equity $10,662,460 $13,438,946 (1) 1 CAD = 0.7934 exchange closing rate as of April 18, 2022

Directors and Senior Management of Sycamore Mining and Sycamore Mine Guinee SAU who will remain after closing



Sycamore Mining director:

Loizos Timinis is chartered accountant and is working as a partner at Timkas Global, a tax, accounting and advisory firm based in Cyprus. He studied Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and qualified with BSG Valentine as a Chartered Accountant.



Sycamore Mine Guinee SAU director:

Michael Malka is currently deputy Director and the country manager for Sycamore Mine Guinee SAU. He has more than 30 years of experience in business transaction across the world (Canada, China, and Africa) in a wide range of industries. He graduated from the University of Quebec with a degree in Management and Finance.

Transaction Highlights

Scale of development portfolio : The Kiniero project combine >3.4Moz of recent and historical resources** estimates. NI 43-101 compliant resources and reserves are due early Q2 2022.

Further prospectivity : The Kiniero Project represents one of the largest exploitation packages in Guinea located in the highly prospective Kiniero Gold District - where immediate neighbours (Predictive Discovery PDI:ASX and Hummingbird Resources AIM:HUM) are advancing multimillion ounce projects.

A rapid mine development opportunity : The Kiniero Project represents a near-term mine development opportunity (targeting production in 2024). Sycamore has previously invested more than USD 20 million over several years (reaching DFS level designs), with mining and environmental permitting previously secured. A rapid conversion of this prior work is now underway to provide for the increased production scale that the combined group is planning for this asset.

A lower risk mine development opportunity : The Kiniero Project was a former producing operation (2002 to 2014) which means that its ore types are well understood with reported recoveries > 90%.

A fast-track mine development opportunity : All the infrastructure from the former mining operation have been refurbished and upgraded with an operational airstrip, a management camp (65 pax capacity), a village camp (110 pax capacity) and a workshop.

Social impact : The vision of the combined Robex and Sycamore boards is to scale up the Kiniero Project (from a previously envisaged 1Mtpa plant to 3Mtpa). This business approach drives a larger employment footprint for Guinea and the Kankan region. Given that Robexs Nampala Mine is the only ISO 45001:2018 certified operation in Mali, Robex will be able to bring this standard in HSE practice to bear in the development of the Kiniero Mine and the training.

Complementary skill sets : Robexs management have had success in the turnaround story of the Nampala mine is looking to bring that expertise in lean plant development to bear on Sycamores asset base. In turn, Sycamores strength in geology is helping to reappraise Robexs own resource development pipeline.

Geographic Synergies : Both Nampala Mine and Kiniero are at equal distance from Bamako, share regionally similar geology, languages, and experienced suppliers.

Corporate strength : Combined group will have an existing production base, a strong balance sheet with no debt, a free cash flowing asset and a strong management team with proven experience in mine development and stakeholder value creation.

A short-term production opportunity : The Kiniero mine produced 436,346 oz at an average recovery of 90.4% from 5.36 Mt of ore. The operation was placed on care-and-maintenance in 2014 with 271 Koz of remaining Reserves at 2.27 g/t and 1,284 Koz of Resources at 2.43 g/t according to historical internal reporting.

The production strategy of the prior operators was to run lower volumes at higher grade (the plant had a capacity of 640 Ktpa). The new vision for the Kiniero Projects restart is to process ore at higher volumes and lower average grades with a plant rated at 3Mtpa, with an estimated capital expenditure of circa USD 175 million.

Short-term program:

During the interim period up to closing of the Transaction, Robex will advance, from its working capital, the funds necessary to complete the NI43-101 technical report that will be required for the closing and approval of the Transaction. Following the closing of the Transaction, Robex is also expected to fund, through its working capital and the cash flow generated from its current operations, the work program up to the construction decision. The work program includes amongst other items: in-fill drilling, near mine exploration, geotech, plant design, mine scheduling/design, infrastructure, TSF (Tailings Storage Facility) and environmental.

This new strategic plan is underpinned by Historical resources**:

Table 1: Summary of Historic Resources (inclusive of Reserves)

Tonnes (Mt MI&I) Grade (g/t) MOz Source 2020 Kiniero 50.6 1.29 2.1 Independant report 2012 Mansounia 52 0.8 1.3 Independent report Total 103 3.4 Rounding may result in discrepancies. Values extracted from various reports by Sycamore.

Resources inclusive of reserves.

All historic resources are classified as Measured, Indicated, and Inferred as defined under the respective codes and CRIRSCO (2012).

The 3.4 Moz historic resources on Kiniero and Mansounia are comprised of:



For Kiniero , an unpublished independent feasibility study of 2.1Moz completed by Sycamore according to JORC 2012 guidelines in 2020. This work details a complete review of the QA/QC, database, resources, and mining assumptions. It includes detailed work on the plant design, tailings storage facilities, hydrology and ESIA. The resources were completed by Sycamore geologists and reviewed independently. The reserves, plant design and TSF were based on a 1Mtpa plant with this work completed by independent contractors to a feasibility level. A full Table 1 was generated per JORC requirements. This report was not published due to fundamental changes in the project scope and economics which will be reflected in the 2022 Resource and NI 43-101 PFS at closing of the Transaction.The 3.4 Moz historic resources on Kiniero and Mansounia are comprised of:





, an unpublished independent feasibility study of 2.1Moz completed by Sycamore according to JORC 2012 guidelines in 2020. This work details a complete review of the QA/QC, database, resources, and mining assumptions. It includes detailed work on the plant design, tailings storage facilities, hydrology and ESIA. The resources were completed by Sycamore geologists and reviewed independently. The reserves, plant design and TSF were based on a 1Mtpa plant with this work completed by independent contractors to a feasibility level. A full Table 1 was generated per JORC requirements. This report was not published due to fundamental changes in the project scope and economics which will be reflected in the 2022 Resource and NI 43-101 PFS at closing of the Transaction.The 3.4 Moz historic resources on Kiniero and Mansounia are comprised of: For Mansounia, a 1.3 Moz resources report under JORC (2004) guidelines published by Runge on behalf of the then owners Burey Gold (ASX:BYR) in 2012. This report was completed by independent consultants according to JORC 2012. The resource was estimated using ordinary kriging with acceptable assumptions and constraints. Reasonable limits were placed on classification. The JORC Table 1 was completed appropriately with no material exclusions noted. The resource was not constrained within an economic pit and is reported in-situ and undiluted at a cut-off of 0.4 g/t. A review of the modelling and report show that the results are appropriate for the level of information and assumptions at the time.

The historical resources** have been included to demonstrate the mineral potential of the Kiniero Project (inclusive of Mansounia) for which a new NI 43-101 compliant resources will be released at closing of the Transaction. This entire resource will be re-estimated in the new 2022 mineral resource estimate, in conjunction with the ongoing engineering work, will be the basis to prepare the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") in accordance with NI 43-101 reporting guidelines with the addition of:

2 years of additional drilling and interpretation: A larger resource and reserve base driven by Sycamores development work over the last few years, and

Mansounia property: The addition of Mansounia block adjacent to the Southern boundary of the Kiniero Project.

**Cautionary Statements on Resources

Kiniero Historical Resource** (2020): This resource estimate is effective 30 November 2020 and contains the following:

Tonnes (Mt) Grade (g/t) Contained Gold (MOz) Indicated 27.9 1.30 1.2 Inferred 22.6 1.28 0.9 Rounding may affect totals

The resource is based on validated historical RC and Diamond drilling along with more recent Sycamore RC drilling. The orebodies were modelled and constrained using indicator probability shells using iteratively derived indicators to best represent continuity of mineralization. The grades were estimated into parent blocks sized to half the data spacing using ordinary kriging with hard boundaries between mineralized envelopes. Classification was based on data density and was guided by historical performance. The resources were constrained within economic pits shells calculated using USD 1750/oz Au and 90% recovery. This resource has not been published and has not been reported to NI 43-101 standards. It was reported under JORC (2012) which is part of CRIRSCO as is Canada. This historical resource** estimate is not being treated as a current resource or reserve estimate. There has been additional drilling completed since the 2020 DFS and this new data will be included in a remodeling of the orebodies in an updated 2022 PFS under NI 43-101 standards.



Mansounia Historical Resource** (2012): This resource was modelled and estimated by independent Consultants Runge Limited and was effective May 2012. The resource complies with the recommendations in the Australian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (2004) by the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC). It contains the following in-situ, undiluted resource of:

Tonnes (Mt) Grade (g/t) Contained Gold (MOz) Indicated 6.1 0.7 0.132 Inferred 45.9 0.8 1.14 Rounding may affect totals

Reported at a cut-off of 0.4 g/t

The 2012 Mineral Resource was estimated in Datamine. It also contains a prior resource estimate for the northern portion of the license which was completed in 2009. The interpolation was constrained by mineralisation envelopes prepared using a nominal 0.2 g/t Au cut-off. A series of north-east trending faults are interpreted to bound the primary mineralisation and have been accounted for in the modelling. The Mansounia Resource estimate is classified as Indicated where the laterite has been defined by 100 m by 40 m spaced drilling. However, the majority of the Mansounia Resource estimate, though showing geological continuity is classified as Inferred as a result of the sparse drill density particularly with respect to the definition of the primary lodes (Runge 2012). The gold assays were done using Bulk Leach Extractable Gold (BLEG) process and AAS analysis as the intent was to heap leach the deposit. This assay technique is likely to have underestimated the gold recoverable through conventional CIL processing. The resource has not been tested for reasonable prospects of eventual extraction. This historical resource** estimate is not being treated as a current resource or reserve estimate. It will be necessary to redrill the deposit and re-model it as part of the greater Kiniero district. At this time the Mansounia licence is covered under an exploration permit with full ownership by Sycamore dependent on the completion of an agreed work program and a successful submission of an exploitation permit application in mid 2022.



Qualified Person

Justin Glanvill (MSc (Eng), Pr.Sci.Nat.), Mineral Resource Manager for Sycamore Mining, is the Qualified Person (QP) for the Company as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the technical disclosure contained in this press release. Mr Glanvill is representing that the historical resources** have been transcribed in this press release appropriately but is not signing of as a QP on historical resources** as described in the 2020 Kiniero and 2012 Runge resource statements.

About Robex Resources Inc

For more information:

Robex Resources Inc.

Benjamin Cohen, CEO

Aurelien Bonneviot, investors relations and corporate development

investor@robexgold.com

www.robexgold.com

Head office: +1 (581) 741-7421

Forward looking Statement

This news release contains statements that may be considered forward looking information or forward looking statements in terms of security legislation. These forward looking statements are subject to uncertainties and risks, some of which are beyond the control of Robex. Achievements and final results may differ significantly from forecasts made implicitly or explicitly. These differences can be attributed to many factors, including geopolitical risk, market volatility, the impact of the exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations, mispricing, the environment (hardening of regulations), unforeseen geological situations, unfavourable operating conditions, political risks inherent in mining in developing countries, changes in government policies or regulations (laws and policies), an inability to obtain necessary permits and approvals from government agencies, or any other risk associated with mining and development. In particular, this press release contains forward looking statements concerning the completion of the proposed acquisition of the Kiniero Project, the potential development and exploitation of the Kiniero Project and the Companys existing mineral properties and business plan, including the completion of feasibility studies or the making of production decisions in respect thereof. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward looking statements because the Company cannot give any assurance that they will prove correct. Since forward looking statements address future events and conditions, they involve inherent assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of assumptions, factors and risks. These assumptions and risks include, but are not limited to, assumptions and risks associated with the ability of the Company to complete conditions precedent to the acquisition, including the receipt of regulatory approvals, the completion of the Companys due diligence review in relation to the proposed acquisition, and the Companys ability to complete the planned funding to undertake its future work programs, and results of future exploration activities by the Company. There can be no assurance that the circumstances set out in these forecasts will occur, or even benefit Robex, if any. The forecasts are based on the estimates and opinions of the Robex management team at the time of publication. Robex makes no commitment to make any updates or changes to these publicly available forecasts based on new information or events, or for any other reason, except as required by applicable security laws.

Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Exchange acceptance. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as further disclosed in a subsequent news release in connection with the transaction, any information released or received with respect to the transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative.

The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Images accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ab7434b2-0092-4d9d-9c47-e0c239141d2d

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/55a2107d-97a9-4748-9c67-2d1885ce8449
DALLAS, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Women's Real Estate Investors Network will host WREIN Live, a three-day in-person and virtual experience, from April 29-May 1, 2022, at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas. WREIN Live will feature specialized real estate investing knowledge from company founder Tresa Todd, as well as powerhouse motivational speakers including Barbara Corcoran from "Shark Tank"; Jamie Kern Lima, founder of IT Cosmetics; Elena Cardone from 10X; and Genevieve Gorder from HGTV.

Tresa Todd leapt into the real estate investing market at age 50 at the urging of her sons upon realizing she would not be able to live off her retirement. Today, she is a strong advocate for women everywhere, especially those who have been in her shoes.

"My goal is to meet professional women exactly where they are, providing them with an investment network and easy-to-understand real estate education so they can become financially confident and create multi-generational wealth for their families," Todd said.

WREIN Live provides the knowledge, tools, and encouragement to help close the gap and form a confident community of inspired women, specifically those that want to create wealth for themselves in the future through real estate investment.

For WREIN Live ticketing and additional details: WREINLive.com/Dallas.

For speaking opportunities and interviews, contact WREIN Public Relations at pr@womensrein.com.

Related Images











Image 1: WREIN Live





The Women's Real Estate Investors Network will host a three-day in-person and virtual event from April 29-May 1. The event of over 3,500 confirmed attendees will be hosted by company founder Tresa Todd and feature seven renowned speakers.









This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

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Toronto, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- While volunteering benefits the community, it also offers meaning to those who give their time. In the recent survey, 62% of RTOERO members agreed that volunteering contributes to the enjoyment of retirement life.

Since 1968, RTOERO has been a voice for teachers, school and board administrators, educational support staff and college and university faculty in their retirement. The organization promotes healthy, active living in the retirement journey for the broader education community. Its vision is a healthy, active future for every member of the education retiree community in Canada. Volunteerism is a big part of that.

In advance of National Volunteer Week (April 24-30), RTOERO surveyed its 81,000 members about how and why they volunteer. The results show a large and committed volunteer force.

Almost two-thirds of RTOEROs 81,000+ members (64%) volunteer regularly. Thats well above the Canadian average for this age group, which hovers at around 40% according to Volunteer Canada.

In a typical month, these individuals volunteer 20 hours. Do the math, and thats more than 12 million hours a year from RTOERO members: 1 million hours a month towards volunteer activities across Canada.

Were a volunteer-led organization, and are also an organization filled with volunteers, says Rich Prophet, the chair of the board at RTOERO. Within our membership, there is a strong culture of community service.

Members volunteer for RTOERO itself, and also for every imaginable community cause  organizing events, serving on committees and boards, fundraising, mentoring, collecting and delivering food, supporting health care, protecting the environment, and much more.

Community connection is one of the stated values of RTOERO, and volunteer service is one of the major ways that plays out.

When asked why they volunteer, a majority of members cited things like a desire to give back and make a difference (71%), the social interactions related to the volunteer role (66%), and the chance to make new friends and meet people (60%).

What else do RTOERO members gain through these experiences?

It gives a sense of purpose, an opportunity to meet and interact with others, and to contribute to the well-being of our neighbours however we can, said one RTOERO member. Or, as another member put it succinctly, It feels good to help.

That impulse didnt start in retirement. The RTOERO survey found that 72% of members volunteered when they were in the workforce.

A snapshot of RTOERO volunteers reveals the many ways they contribute:

Rosemary Robertson, District 26 Kenora: She chairs the recruitment committee and creates beautiful welcome packages for all new retirees. Rosemary has also spearheaded a project to purchase a book written by a former Kenora resident with Down syndrome and donate it to each elementary school in the district.

Lynne Horvath, District 24 Scarborough & East York: As the goodwill chair for her district, Lynne reaches out to members in good times and bad  when theyre hospitalized or dealing with a loss, and on birthdays and other special occasions. Lynne is always just a phone call away from any seniors who are isolated, and provides a warm and comforting voice.

Rebecca Crouse, District 50 Atlantic: Rebecca is membership chair of the Lunenburg District Rotary Club, and the immediate past president, and has done a lot of work supporting local schools, students and their families. Rebecca is also president of the Fishermen's Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, a key group supporting a new palliative care unit, and is a hospital volunteer.

Richard Bird, District 19 Hastings & Prince Edward: Across the community, he has made an indelible impact now and created a legacy for the future. Richard has served on the boards or as an organizer of the Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan, Hospice Quinte, Hastings and Prince Edward Land Trust, Moira River Cleanup, South Shore Joint Initiative, and the Bay of Quinte Yacht Club. He has also donated hand-crafted canoes to raise funds for a few of the above organizations as well as for Ducks Unlimited, North Hastings Community Fish Hatchery, Quinte Healthcare, Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory and South Shore Legal Fund. Richard has done additional fundraising for the Miller Family Nature Reserve, Hudgin Rose Nature Reserve and Ostrander Point Nature Reserve. Thats not all  he has volunteered for Nature Conservancy Canada, the Eastern Bluebird Recovery Program, and a Learn to Sail Adult Program.

May Seguin, District 43 Nipissing: In East Ferris and North Bay, May is a member of a seniors group (Club Action 50+) that offers a variety of physical and social activities, and piloted a project to support isolated seniors. She has been an executive of the Anglican Church Women for the Diocese of Algoma and is active in her church. She also volunteers at the North Bay Serenity Hospice. Last year, the Municipality of East Ferris gave May one of their Volunteer Recognition Awards. For her RTOERO district, May is the goodwill chair. She has also been part of organizing grant applications to support groups that provide needed supplies to students and food/necessities to infants.

John Hake, District 6 Parry Sound: He is the districts webmaster, membership coordinator and communication lead. In the community, John has also been his churchs webmaster, supported various recreation events and served as a community chef.

Don Sankey, District 10 Bruce Grey & Dufferin: He is the districts public relations chair, canvasses for Heart and Stroke, and chairs the Grey Sauble Conservation Foundation. He is also a member of the Friends of Moreston, the fundraising division of Grey Roots Museum outside Owen Sound. Don is a volunteer in the schoolhouse during the summer, and organizes cleanup of the grounds and painting of the buildings in Moreston Village. As well, he spearheads a group of volunteers to do an annual clean up the conservation areas around Owen Sound.

Barry Silmser, District 27 Ottawa-Carleton: As a member of the communications team for the district, Barry excels in the digital layout of their newsletters. He is also involved with the Political Advocacy Committee, collecting and sharing information on issues that are vital to the well-being of all seniors.

To augment the many volunteer and advocacy roles that members play in their communities, RTOERO also runs an annual grant program within its districts that support local, national or international causes. Typically, RTOERO members also donate their time to these causes.

RTOERO members cared about their communities throughout their careers and now serve them every day in retirement, says Prophet.

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Hartford, Connecticut, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CGB Green Liberty Notes LLC, a subsidiary of the Connecticut Green Bank, proudly announces their second Green Liberty offering, a crowdfunding campaign launched in partnership with Raise Green, a social and environmental marketplace for impact investing. This offering builds upon the success of a similar offering in January that allowed citizens to invest in the Green Banks mission to confront climate change with as little as $100.

We were encouraged by the interest in our first Green Liberty offering, which reached 180% of our target in a month, said Bryan Garcia, President and CEO of the Green Bank. Through lower investment minimums, more everyday people are empowered to help us combat climate change and earn a return on their money by supporting energy efficiency for small businesses. Raise Greens crowdfunding platform makes investing accessible to residents in Connecticut and across the country. In our first offering, we had investors representing 25 states, motivated to make a difference. Our second offering is a great way to mark Earth Month and celebrate the 52nd Earth Day.

Investments in the Green Liberty offering support Eversources Small Business Energy Advantage (SBEA) program, which enables small businesses in Connecticut to reduce their energy costs through efficiency upgrades and zero interest loans.

As a result of the climate benefits associated with the SBEA program, the Green Liberty offering has been reviewed and verified for its environmental attributes by Kestrel Verifiers.

For more information about the investment opportunity, please visit invest.ctgreenbank.com.

About the Connecticut Green Bank

The Connecticut Green Bank was established by the Connecticut General Assembly in 2011 as the nations first green bank and has since supported the creation of more than 23,000 green energy jobs in the state, while reducing the energy cost burden on over 55,000 families, businesses, and nonprofits. The Green Banks vision is a planet protected by the love of humanity and its mission is to confront climate change and provide all of society a healthier, more prosperous future by increasing and accelerating the flow of private capital into markets that energize the green economy. This is accomplished by leveraging limited public resources to scale-up and mobilize private capital investment into Connecticut. In 2017, the Connecticut Green Bank received the Innovations in American Government Award from the Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center for Democratic Governance and innovation for their Sparking the Green Bank Movement entry. To date, the Green Bank has mobilized nearly $2.3 billion into the States green economy. This has reduced the energy costs for thousands of families and businesses, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change and worsen public health.

For more information about the Connecticut Green Bank, please visit www.ctgreenbank.com.

About Raise Green

Raise Green is the first marketplace in the U.S. for local and inclusive impact investment into climate solutions. On Raise Green's investor marketplace, anyone (individuals and institutions) can invest in community-focused climate infrastructure and resilience projects across a varied range of project scales and minimum investments. Raise Green gives solar developers the tools to cut soft costs and easily access financing for up to $5M per year. Investors can create quantifiable impacts in local communities, as well as receive financial returns if the project is successful.
New York, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Wi-Fi 6 Market with COVID-19 Impact Analysis, by Offering, Location Type, Organization Size, Vertical and Region - Global Forecast to 2027" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06269243/?utm_source=GNW



The Wi-Fi 6 Market is segmented into hardware, solution, and services.The hardware segment includes WAP, mesh routers, home gateways, and wireless repeaters.



Services include professional services and managed services. The growing demand for WiFi 6 solution and services, and the increasing requirement for improved connectivity among enterprises are leading to the growth of the WiFi 6 market across the globe.

 By Region, Asia Pacific to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period



The Asia Pacific is home to many developing economies, and many countries in this region are adopting new technologies to comply with procedures for increasing the efficiency of financial systems.The key countries include Australia, Japan, Singapore, India, China, and New Zealand.



The region is expected to witness the fast-paced adoption of Wi-Fi 6 software.The Asia Pacific is estimated to be the fastest-growing Wi-Fi 6 Market owing to the rise in the adoption of new technologies, high investments for digital transformation, the rapid expansion of domestic enterprises, extensive development of infrastructures, and increasing GDP of various countries.



Rapidly growing economies, such as China, Japan, Singapore, and India, are implementing Wi-Fi 6 solutions across multiple business processes to provide effective solutions.



The breakup of the profiles of the primary participants is given below:

 By Company: Tier 1  34%, Tier 2  43%, and Tier 3  23%

 By Designation: C-Level Executives  50%, Directors 30%, Others*20%

 By Region: North America  25%, Europe  30%, APAC  30%,Middle East and Africa  10%,Latine America- 5%

This research study outlines the market potential, market dynamics, and major vendors operating in the Wi-Fi 6 Market. Key and innovative vendors in the Wi-Fi 6 Market include :

Cisco Systems (US), Intel Corporation (US), Huawei Technologies (China), NETGEAR (US), Juniper Networks (US), Broadcom (US), Qualcomm Inc. (US), Extreme Networks (US), Ubiquiti Networks (US), Fortinet Inc. (US), Aruba Networks (US), NXP Semiconductors (Netherlands), AT&T (US), Cambium Networks (US), D-Link Corporation (China), Alcatel-Lucent (US), TP-Link (China), MediaTek (China), Telstra (Australia), Murata (Japan), Sterlite Technologies Limited (India), Celeno (Israel), H3C (China), Senscomm Semiconductor (China), XUNISON (Ireland), Redway Networks (UK), VSORA (France), NEWRACOM (US), WILUS Group (South Korea), Federated Wireless (US).



Research Coverage

Wi-Fi 6 Market is segmented on offering, organization size, location, industry vertical, and region. A detailed analysis of the key industry players has been undertaken to provide insights into their business overviews; services; key strategies; new service and product launches; partnerships, agreements, and collaborations; business expansions; and competitive landscape associated with the Wi-Fi 6 Market.



Key benefits of buying the report

The report is expected to help the market leaders/new entrants in this market by providing them information on the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall Wi-Fi 6 Market and its segments.This report is also expected to help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain insights to improve the position of their businesses and to plan suitable go-to-market strategies.



The report also aims at helping stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and provide them with information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06269243/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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Washington, DC, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For nearly 50 years, NatureServe has been the authoritative source for biodiversity data throughout North America. This Earth Month its President and CEO, Dr. Sean T. OBrien, is showing the world why this matters by highlighting efforts to conserve endangered species across the continent.

NatureServe is the central coordinating organization for a network of over 60 programs throughout North America. Together, NatureServe and the Network of member programs are dedicated to creating, collecting, and analyzing biodiversity information to help manage, protect, restore, and conserve our natural heritage. To better understand local biodiversity conservation across North America, Sean embarked on the NatureServe Network Van Tour: an expedition that highlights how data are used to sustain biodiversity through technology, science, collaboration, and local expertise.

Traveling in a campervan named Van Humboldt (in homage to naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt), Sean is journeying to natural heritage programs and conservation data centres throughout the United States and Canada. Van Humboldt is bringing Sean to key ecosystems that support rare and threatened species and to the scientists who study them. The tour provides a unique opportunity to evaluate the relationships between people and the natural environment, and connect science with stories about biodiversity conservation throughout North America. To date, Sean visited 23 member programs across 20 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The current leg of the tour includes visits to 12 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces.

Connected habitats support resilience of wildlife. In the face of a changing environment, connectivity within the NatureServe Network encourages the sharing of ideas and information that results in better science and better outcomes for nature, stated Dr. OBrien.

Sean is joining experts in the field from the NatureServe Network and its partners to look for examples of imperiled species living in diverse ecosystems around the country and the efforts underway to protect them. The NatureServe Network engages with community groups and conservation organizations, as well as state and federal partners, to develop actionable and effective plans for conservation. For example, the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center works with community volunteers and the United States Forest Service to manage habitat for snowy plover, a globally imperiled species; while the California Natural Diversity Database works with The Nature Conservancy, the Bureau of Land Management, Trout Unlimited, and many other state and municipal agencies to jointly manage a large area of the Central Valley for conservation of imperiled species and habitats.

Despite many challenges to conserving biodiversity, the Van Tour is documenting examples of how data collected by the NatureServe Network is used to help prioritize which plants, animals, and ecosystems to protect. For instance, Network scientists showed how data facilitate conservation of areas that support globally imperiled species, such as the curly grass fern in New Jersey and the alligator snapping turtle in Alabama. They highlighted examples of species that are endemic to certain areas (that is, they occur nowhere else on Earth), including Venus flytrap and persistent trillium. Sean was also introduced to several species that were only recently discovered and are considered new to science, including a tassel rue in Tennessee and the sicklefin redhorse fish in Georgia.

On the Van Tour, I have witnessed firsthand the passion and dedication with which each program works, said Dr. OBrien. I am constantly impressed by the optimism expressed by the field scientists and conservation professionals who work daily with some of the most imperiled species on the planet but remain hopeful for the future of conservation and the perseverance of biodiversity.

You can follow the journey of the NatureServe Network Van Tour by visiting its home page, which is linked to an ongoing blog and a summary video of the tour.

Attachments
NEWARK, Del., April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading market research & business consultancy firm Future Market Insights (FMI) announces with great pleasure that it is a proud member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce starting April 2022. This is a strategic next step for FMI towards serving the North American market of not only large enterprises and the Fortune 1000s but also small and medium businesses, start-ups, entrepreneurs. FMIs goals are fully aligned with the objective of Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, an organization that has been relentlessly working towards enhancing the business climate in New York Metropolitan Area through its partnerships with global business conglomerates, trade associations, sister concerns, Government establishments to accomplish its goals of business & community service.



According to Anurag Singh, Founder and CEO of Future Market Insights This collaboration will contribute to further growth for us and is in the right direction towards growing our business in USA and also globally. Our sincere thanks to Helana Natt, Executive Director Greater New York Chamber of Commerce.

According to Sudip Saha, Co-founder and COO of Future Market Insights Our alliance with the Chamber further reinforces our promise to serve our clients across all rungs of business to become intelligence powered self-sustained organizations, capable of taking highly mature and well-guarded business decisions, backed by precise and well-crafted research and intelligence!

FMIs goal has been to democratize market research, market intelligence, not just for enterprises with global and diverse businesses, but also local firms operating in their own niche, and enabling them through syndicated and customized research services, but also more flexible DIY research services and models. This has been the strategic vision for FMI since its inception in 2014. FMI has been collaborating with clients on the following aspects of their business transformation:

Spot and nurture business opportunities in any niche market

Decode profitability of new products/services and concepts

Beat the market armed with key intelligence on competitors

Relevant background data on customers and key industry developments

Tailor-made market research solutions with the knowledge that each business is unique with unique challenges and opportunities to capitalize on

DIY research models

Market research subscription services

About Future Market Insights Inc (FMI):

FMI is one of the leading providers of customized, syndicated market research reports and end-to-end consulting services.

FMI serves global clients across a wide range of industries, including automotive & transportation, technology, consumer products, automation and equipment, food & beverage, services & utilities, chemicals & materials, energy, mining, and oil & gas, covering leading and emerging geographies and over 200+ niche markets.

Our clients encompass Fortune 1000 companies as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs), leading universities and academic institutions.

Future Market Insights Inc.

Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive,

Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA

Aditi Basu - Chief of Marketing

Email id: aditi.b@futuremarketinsights.com

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/
New York, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Integrated Cloud Management Platform Market with COVID-19 Impact Analysis, by Component, Organization Size, Vertical and Region - Global Forecast to 2027" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06269240/?utm_source=GNW





The COVID-19 Impact on the global ICMP Market

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the market is covered throughout the report.The pandemic has had a positive impact on the integrated cloud management platform market.



Corporates are increasingly adopting technology-aided tools that can be leveraged remotely and can ensure hiring as well as business continuity amid disruptions.Due to this, the demand for the SaaS platform is continuously growing.



Top companies, such as Microsoft, are witnessing a high number of subscribers during this period.This is driving the growth of integrated cloud management platforms amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to cater to the growing adoption of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud models, with the growing adoption of remote working models.



The COVID-19 pandemic has created an enormous challenge for businesses globally in continuing operations despite the massive shutdown of offices and other facilities. The increasing use of technologies, especially in the pandemic situation, to stay connected and efficiently operate businesses, is expected to drive the market during COVID-19.



Services segment to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period

Based on the component, the market is segmented into two categories: solutions, and services.The services segment is expected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period.



Services, including consulting, integration and implementation, training and education, and support and maintenance, are required at various stages, from pre-sales requirement assessment to post-sales product deployment and execution, thus enabling the client to get maximum RoI.Services constitute an integral part in deploying the solution onboard, imparting training, and handling and maintaining the software solution.



Companies offering these services encompass consultants, solution experts, and dedicated project management teams specializing in designing and delivering critical decision support software, tools, and services.



SMEs segment to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period.

The ICMP market is segmented by organization size is segmented into SMEs and large enterprises.The SMEs segment is expected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period.



Cost-effectiveness is an important factor for SMEs, as they always have a tight budget, leaving them with limited ways to market themselves and gain visibility.The implementation of cloud storage is expected to result in increased revenues, desired outcomes, and improved business efficiency for SMEs.



SMEs adopt the pay-as-you-go model, which offers flexibility to manage their IT infrastructure according to their requirements. SMEs face intense competition from large enterprises; thus, to gain a competitive edge, they are adopting integrated cloud management platforms, which would enable quick responses, timely decisions, and overall enhanced business productivity.



Consumer goods and retail vertical to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period.

The consumer goods and retail industry vertical is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.The world of retail is changing rapidly, not just in terms of the stores we buy from, but how we shop, when how we pay for goods and the way in which those goods move through the supply chain.



The impact of this has redefined the perception of customer experience and the standards retailers today are expected to reach and exceed.Multi-cloud platforms provide retailers with flexibility and allow them to do storage and computing at a lower cost.



Examples of this are the UKs retailing giant, Sainsburys and Argos.The merger of the two companies was facilitated by the adoption of a multi-cloud platform because combining the operational requirements of both businesses would have been impossible on-premises.



Through multi-cloud, the businesses were able to blend their business processes and maximized reach. Retailers use data to connect the e-commerce and in-store shopping experiences, and the only way they can do this accurately and efficiently is through flexible, scalable technology. The rise of selling on social media platforms also means integrating payment into the user experience, bringing security and protection of customers data to the forefront of retailers minds. The hybrid cloud provides the portability and control needed to bring retailers into the new era of customer experience.



APAC to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period.

The APAC market is gaining huge traction among global businesses.The Asia Pacific region comprises emerging economies, such as China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and the rest of Asia Pacific.



The region is gaining huge traction among global businesses.It consists of countries with a complex ecosystem of start-ups, governments, SMEs, and large multinational companies using and developing an array of valuable ICT solutions.



Major factors for technological advancements in the region are the rising levels of urbanization, technological innovation, and government support for the digital economy.Rapid advancements in telecommunications, cloud computing, and IoT have led to several organizations adopting cloud-based strategies.



The region is expected to experience huge growth during the forecast period. With the increasing adoption of cloud technologies and the rising amount of business processes, there has been a significant rise in the adoption of integrated cloud management platform solutions.

The break-up of the profiles of primary participants in the global integrated cloud management platform market is as follows:

 By Company: Tier 133%, Tier 227%, and Tier 340%

 By Designation: C-Level Executives46%, Director Level22%, and Others32%

 By Region: North America40%, Europe28%, APAC27%, and RoW-5%

The Integrated cloud management platform market comprises major providers, such as Microsoft(US), IBM(US), VMware (US), Dynatrace(US), MicroFocus (England), Snow Software (Sweden), Cognizant (US), BMC Software (US), Lumen Technologies(US), Splunk (US), Oracle(US), Cisco (US), HPE (US), NetApp(US), Nutanix(US), Flexera (US), Datadog(US), Red Hat (US), New Relic (US), Service Now (US), HashiCorp (US), Turbonomic(US), Abiquo(US), HyperGrid(US), Rafey Systems(US), Centilytics(US), Stacklet (US), RackWare(US), Cirrusform(UK), Corestack(US), Morpheus Data(US), and CloudBolt(US). The study includes an in-depth competitive analysis of key players in the market with their company profiles, recent developments, COVID-19 developments, and key market strategies.



Research Coverage

The report segments the global integrated cloud management platform market by component into two categories: solutions and services.By organization size, the market is segmented into two categories: SMEs and large enterprises.



By vertical, the ICMP market has been classified into BFSI, IT and telecom, government and public sector, manufacturing, retail and consumer goods, healthcare and lifesciences, energy and utilities, and others. By region, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America.



Key benefits of the report

The report would help the market leaders/new entrants in this market with the information on the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall integrated cloud management platform market and the subsegments.This report would help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain insights to better position their businesses and plan suitable go-to-market strategies.



The report would help stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and provide them with information on the key market drivers, restraints, challenges, opportunities, and COVID-19 impact.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06269240/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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TORONTO, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Toronto Taste presented by The Daniels Corporation, welcomes the return of the citys premier culinary event and largest prix fixe dinner on Sunday, June 12 at the historic Evergreen Brickworks. Fifty of the most celebrated culinary and cocktail experts will come together under one roof in support of Second Harvest, Canadas largest food rescue organization and a global thought leader on food loss and waste. Every ticket purchased will provide the equivalent of 600 meals to Canadian families experiencing hunger.

Set to be the toast of the town, this beloved event will mark the 30th anniversary of Toronto Taste, and will welcome 1,600 well-heeled and hungry guests to savour unlimited food and drinks prepared by some of Torontos most sought-after purveyors. Hosted by Canadian chef and gastronaut, Bob Blumer, guests will be treated to on-site activations including a fine wine and silent auction, raffle, captivating live music, and departing gifts including an exclusive recipe book. Guests will also have access to the acclaimed, live Chef Challenge, featuring top chefs from across the GTA squaring off to prepare a spectacular dish from a box of mystery ingredients in just 30-minutes before being judged by a panel of sponsors and celebrities.



This years Chef Challenge will include Executive Chef of Real Sports, Jamie Robb, founder and owner of Toronto-based restaurant, Nuoc Mam, Chef Phil Nguyen, and Chef de Cuisine of La Palma, Chef Sam Medeiros. Each Chef comes with their own unique background and expertise, which is sure to create a spicy Chef Challenge in the kitchen.

Over the last two years, the team at Second Harvest has worked harder than ever to support communities across Canada throughout the pandemic, said Lori Nikkel, CEO Second Harvest. We are delighted to bring back Toronto Taste and raise much-needed funds for a cause thats so incredibly important to Canadians. We look forward to celebrating our resilient and innovative restaurant industry and its creative culinary talents. Cheers to another 30!

Guests will have the opportunity to engage with notable Chefs including Susur Lee, David Adjey, Nuit Regular, and Craig Wong. Participating restaurants include Cafe Boulud, Gusto, Lee, Marben, The Carbon Bar, Chotto Matte and Richmond Station. For a complete list of attendees, click here.

We have been the presenting sponsor for 25 years, and we couldnt be happier to welcome back Toronto Taste this year, said Don Pugh, Vice President, The Daniels Corporation. The past two years have shone a light on food insecurity in Canada and how important it is to support organizations like Second Harvest who offer nourishment and compassion for local communities in need across Canada.

Tickets are on sale now for CAD 300 per person and can be purchased online, here. For every general admission ticket purchased, a CAD 150 tax receipt will be issued four weeks after the event date.

For more information, to purchase tickets or view the full list of participating chefs and restaurants, please visit TorontoTaste.ca.

About Toronto Taste

Toronto Taste is the citys premier culinary event recognized for its longevity, amazing community contribution, and its excellence. Started by chefs in 1990 to show their support for Second Harvest, the city's top restaurants and beverage purveyors still look forward to donating their time, talent, staff and food to Toronto Taste as their way to give back and shed light on the issues around food insecurity.

About Second Harvest

Second Harvest is Canadas largest food rescue organization and is a global thought leader on perishable food redistribution. We operate at the intersection of hunger relief and environmental protection, tackling food loss and waste through food redistribution, research, awareness, and education, continually innovating and collaborating to ensure a more sustainable planet. We work with thousands of food businesses from across the supply chain utilizing logistics and technology to reduce the amount of edible food going to waste, thereby diverting unnecessary greenhouse gases from entering the environment. Our inclusive model ensures this healthy surplus food is redirected to thousands of charities and non-profits across the country, providing millions of Canadians experiencing food insecurity access to the nourishment they need. Learn more at www.secondharvest.ca

About The Daniels Corporation

The Daniels Corporation is one of Canadas preeminent builders/developers, building more than 35,000 new homes across the Greater Toronto Area for over 38 years. Daniels is the developer of TIFF Bell Lightbox and the City of the Arts community on Torontos East Waterfront. Among its many initiatives, Daniels partnered with Toronto Community Housing to redevelop Phases 1, 2 and 3 of the Regent Park revitalization, a 69-acre community in the heart of Toronto. At the core of the project is both a physical and social re-connection of this once stigmatized neighbourhood to the broader City of Toronto. Daniels continues to play an important role in the Regent Park Community. Understanding that quality of life is created by much more than physical buildings, Daniels goes above and beyond to integrate building excellence with opportunities for social, cultural and economic well-being. www.danielshomes.ca

Website: TorontoTaste.ca

Instagram: @Toronto_Taste

Facebook: SecondHarvestCA

Hashtag: #TasteItForward



For more information or high-resolution assets, please contact:

Sarah Harris, rock-it promotions | sarah@rockitpromo.com

Sinead Breen, rock-it promotions | sinead@rockitpromo.com
New York, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Market Report 2022-2032" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06269254/?utm_source=GNW



The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Market Report 2022-2032: This report will prove invaluable to leading firms striving for new revenue pockets if they wish to better understand the industry and its underlying dynamics. It will be useful for companies that would like to expand into different industries or to expand their existing operations in a new region.



Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) Fuel Gaining Tractions in the Global Market Due to Wide Range of Applications



Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a fuel that is used in many domestic appliances for cooking, heating, and hot water, and it can be found in our everyday lives. Because it is easily turned into a liquid, it is called liquefied gas. To convert LPG from a gaseous state to a liquid, all it takes is low pressure or refrigeration. LPG grows to 270 times its volume when converted to a gas. As a result, its only natural that LPG is stored and transported in a gas bottle as a liquid under pressure (e.g. propane tanks). By turingn on gas appliance and release some of the pressure in the gas bottle, LPG transforms back into gas vapour. LPG has a wide range of applications, with cylinders serving as an effective fuel carrier in the agricultural, recreation, hospitality, industrial, construction, sailing, and fishing industries, among others. LPG is a cost-effective and efficient way to heat off-grid houses because it can be used for cooking, central heating, and water heating.



LPG Demand Growth Shifts From Asia To Europe



Asias Petroleum gas (LPG) demand growth may slow this year as buyers baulk at record-high spot prices pushed even higher by Europes shift to super-chilled fuel amid the Ukraine crisis. High spot prices, which have been in place since late last year, have already hindered trading and are projected to stifle demand growth in Asia, the worlds largest consumer of the fuel, even as some countries face growing gas supply deficits as domestic production declines.



This comes as new LPG customers from Asia, like the Philippines and Vietnam, prepare to enter the market later this year. The LPG market has been evolving in an unfavourable way for purchasers, as supply are expected to be limited between 2021 and 2025, while demand is expected to go up following the pandemic. On the back of robust prices in Europe, Asias spot LPG benchmark price soared to a record $84.762 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), as importers seek global markets for LPG cargoes to replace Russian gas and LPG.



The Main Disadvantage Associated With The Usage Of LPG Is To Do With The Storage And Safety



The most significant disadvantage of using LPG has to do with storage and safety. LPG storage necessitates the use of extremely durable tanks and cylinders. To fit it into 274tines less area, the gas must be kept compressed. This may also be seen in the number of occasions when LPG cylinders have exploded, causing serious injuries and property damage. Due to the low vapour pressure of propane in colder climes or situations, there is a known problem with starting. This is known to happen when the temperature drops below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.



What Are These Questions You Should Ask Before Buying A Market Research Report?

 How is the liquefied petroleum gas market evolving?

 What is driving and restraining the liquefied petroleum gas market?

 How will each liquefied petroleum gas submarket segment grow over the forecast period and how much revenue will these submarkets account for in 2032?

 How will the market shares for each liquefied petroleum gas submarket develop from 2022 to 2032?

 What will be the main driver for the overall market from 2022 to 2032?

 Will leading liquefied petroleum gas markets broadly follow the macroeconomic dynamics, or will individual national markets outperform others?

 How will the market shares of the national markets change by 2032 and which geographical region will lead the market in 2032?

 Who are the leading players and what are their prospects over the forecast period?

 What are the liquefied petroleum gas projects for these leading companies?

 How will the industry evolve during the period between 2020 and 2032? What are the implication of liquefied petroleum gas projects taking place now and over the next 10 years?

 Is there a greater need for product commercialisation to further scale the liquefied petroleum gas market?

 Where is the liquefied petroleum gas market heading? And how can you ensure you are at the forefront of the market?

 What can be the best investment options for new product and service lines?

 What are the key prospects for moving companies into a new growth path? C-suite?



You need to discover how this will impact the liquefied petroleum gas market today, and over the next 10 years:

 Our 663-page report provides 555 tables and 511 charts/graphs exclusively to you.

 The report highlights key lucrative areas in the industry so you can target them  NOW.

 Contains in-depth analyse of global, regional and national sales and growth

 Highlights for you the key successful trends, changes and revenue projections made by your competitors



This report tells you TODAY how the liquefied petroleum gas market will develop in the next 10 years, and in-line with the variations in COVID-19 economic recession and bounce. This market is more critical now than at any point over the last 10 years.



Forecasts to 2032 and other analyses reveal the commercial prospects

 In addition to revenue forecasting to 2032, our new study provides you with recent results, growth rates, and market shares.

 You find original analyses, with business outlooks and developments.

 Discover qualitative analyses (including market dynamics, drivers, opportunities, restraints and challenges), cost structure, impact of rising liquefied petroleum gas prices and recent developments.



This report includes data analysis and invaluable insight into how COVID-19 will affect the industry and your company. Four COVID-19 recovery patterns and their impact, namely, V, L, W and U are discussed in this report.



Global Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market (COVID Impact Analysis)

 Market Size by Value (USD Million)

 Market Size by Volume (MMT)



Global Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market (COVID Impact Analysis) by Source

 Refinery

 Associated Gas

 Non-Associated Gas



Global Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market (COVID Impact Analysis) by Application

 Residential

 Commercial

 Refinery and Petrochemical

 Transportation

 Others



Global Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market (COVID Impact Analysis) by Supply Mode

 Packaged LPG

 Bulk and On-site LPG

 Other Supply Mode



In addition to the revenue predictions for the overall world market and segments, you will also find revenue forecasts for 4 regional and 20 leading national markets:



North America Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Outlook

 U.S. Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 Canada Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 Mexico Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis



Europe Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Outlook

 Germany Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 Russia Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 United Kingdom Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 France Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 Italy Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 Rest of Europe Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis



Asia Pacific Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Outlook

 China Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 Japan Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 India Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 Australia Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 South Korea Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 Rest of Asia Pacific Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis



Latin America Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Outlook

 Brazil Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 Venezuela Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 Rest of Latin America Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis



Middle East & Africa Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Outlook

 Egypt Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 Turkey Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 Saudi Arabia Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 South Africa Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 Iran Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis

 Rest of Middle East and Africa Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Forecast & COVID Impact Analysis



The report also includes profiles and for some of the leading companies in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032, with a focus on this segment of these companies operations.



Leading companies and the potential for market growth

 Aban Offshore Limited

 Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

 BP Plc

 Chevron Corporation

 China Gas Holdings Limited

 China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation

 Exxon

 FLAGA

 JGC Holdings Corporation

 Kleenheat

 Petrofac Limited

 Petronas Dagangan Berhad

 Repsol, S.A.

 Royal Dutch Shell

 Saudi Arabian Oil Company,

 Total SE



Overall world revenue for Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 in terms of value the market will surpass US$xx million in 2022, our work calculates. We predict strong revenue growth through to 2032. Our work identifies which organizations hold the greatest potential. Discover their capabilities, progress, and commercial prospects, helping you stay ahead.



How the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market report helps you?



In summary, our 660+ page report provides you with the following knowledge:

 Revenue forecasts to 2032 for Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market, with forecasts for market value, market volume, source, application, supply mode each forecasted at a global and regional level discover the industrys prospects, finding the most lucrative places for investments and revenues

 Revenue forecasts to 2032 for 4 regional and 20 key national markets  See forecasts for the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 market in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and LAMEA. Also forecasted is the market in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, UK, Italy, China, India, Japan, and Australia among other prominent economies.

 Prospects for established firms and those seeking to enter the market including company profiles for 16 of the major companies involved in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market, 2022 to 2032 Market.





Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06269254/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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PHILADELPHIA, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rittenhouse Realty Advisors, a member of GREA, is pleased to announce the sale of ULake, a 300 unit/401 bed student housing property serving students at University of South Florida, Tampa. The sale marks the launch of RRA/GREAs operations in Florida.



The property was marketed on behalf of FPA Multifamily, a known giant in the multifamily industry out of San Francisco, and sold to Core Spaces, a large owner/operator based out of Austin, TX and Chicago, IL. Located at 14200 Bruce B Downs Boulevard, ULake is approximately one mile from USFs Tampa campus, on a bus route that takes students to and from campus. The property recently underwent significant renovations and offers students furnished or unfurnished units, on-site parking, three resort-style pools, pet friendly units with an on-site dog park, a fitness center, and sand volleyball courts.

Ken Wellar, managing partner at RRA/GREA, stated: We are pleased to announce this successful transaction our team completed for FPA, one the largest buyers and sellers of multifamily properties in the country.

Douglas Sitt, RRA/GREAs student housing specialist, added: "University of South Florida is one the best performing student housing markets in the country, with strong year over year rent growth and high pre-leasing velocity. Large tier-1 universities in growth states are becoming the most competitive student housing markets in the U.S. to invest in."

RRA/GREA recently opened an office in the Brickell neighborhood of Miami, following the growth of the South Florida market during the Covid-19 pandemic. Wellar noted: We are seeing more capital from all parts of the country chase value-add deals in Florida. The firm hired Jesus Mando de Armas as a full-time sales associate and Annamaria Leib to oversee operations in Florida as well as the firm's student housing efforts.

Wellar stated: RRA/GREA is excited to join South Floridas commercial real estate community. We know the market well and with our national network of buyers we are well-positioned to replicate our successful model in Miami.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/48b20f9d-451a-4424-9983-77c8431f2a5f

For more information on current rates or to view our available listings visit www.RittenhouseRealty.com and www.GREA.com .

Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rittenhouse Realty Advisors, a member of GREA, is a real estate advisory firm with an extensive focus in the brokerage of multi-family communities throughout the United States. Formed in February 2013 by a group of advisors with more than 30 years of commercial investment sales experience, our focus is on multi-family, mixed-use, and development properties with significant residential components. RRA is a member of GREA with brokerage offices throughout the United States.

Press Contact: Corey Lonberger and Ken Wellar

Managing Partners

215-454-2852
New York, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Top 20 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Companies Report 2022" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06269253/?utm_source=GNW



The Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market Report 2022-2032: This report will prove invaluable to leading firms striving for new revenue pockets if they wish to better understand the industry and its underlying dynamics. It will be useful for companies that would like to expand into different industries or to expand their existing operations in a new region.



Recent Activities in the Global Market

 On 11 Jan 2022, Northrop Grumman UK Ltd has reaffirmed its commitment as a military friendly employer supporting the UK military personnel, reservists, veterans and their families, signing the Armed Forces Covenant.

 Lockheed Martin is actively collaborating with Microsoft on 5G.MIL solutions to rapidly advance reliable connections for U.S. Department of Defense systems capable of spanning air, land, sea, space and cyber domains. Through a new corporate agreement, the two companies will test how to effectively expand and manage 5G networking technology for Joint-All Domain Operations (JADO) defense applications using Microsofts 5G and Microsoft Azure services for Lockheed Martins Hybrid Base Station, essentially a military-grade ruggedized multi-network gateway and cell tower in a box.

 The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has awarded Pratt & Whitney, a Raytheon Technologies business, a contract for a ground test demonstration program for a novel architecture using a rotating engine detonation concept to be jointly executed by Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Missiles & Defense, and Raytheon Technologies Research Center.



What Are These Questions You Should Ask Before Buying A Market Research Report?

 How is the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems market evolving?

 What is driving and restraining the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems market?

 How will each Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems submarket segment grow over the forecast period and how much revenue will these submarkets account for in 2032?

 How will the market shares for each Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems submarket develop from 2022 to 2032?

 What will be the main driver for the overall market from 2022 to 2032?

 Will leading Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems markets broadly follow the macroeconomic dynamics, or will individual national markets outperform others?

 How will the market shares of the national markets change by 2032 and which geographical region will lead the market in 2032?

 Who are the leading players and what are their prospects over the forecast period?

 What are the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems projects for these leading companies?

 How will the industry evolve during the period between 2020 and 2032? What are the implication of Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems projects taking place now and over the next 10 years?

 Is there a greater need for product commercialisation to further scale the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems market?

 Where is the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems market heading? And how can you ensure you are at the forefront of the market?

 What can be the best investment options for new product and service lines?

 What are the key prospects for moving companies into a new growth path? C-suite?



You need to discover how this will impact the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems market today, and over the next 10 years:

 Our 256-page report provides 189 tables and 145 charts/graphs exclusively to you.

 The report highlights key lucrative areas in the industry so you can target them  NOW.

 Contains in-depth analyse of global, regional and growth

 Highlights for you the key successful trends, changes and revenue projections made by your competitors



This report tells you TODAY how the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems market will develop in the next 10 years, and in-line with the variations in COVID-19 economic recession and bounce. This market is more critical now than at any point over the last 10 years.



Forecasts to 2032 and other analyses reveal the commercial prospects

 In addition to revenue forecasting to 2032, our new study provides you with recent results, growth rates, and market shares.

 You find original analyses, with business outlooks and developments.

 Discover qualitative analyses (including market dynamics, drivers, opportunities, restraints and challenges), cost structure, the impact of rising Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems prices and recent developments.



This report includes data analysis and invaluable insight into how COVID-19 will affect the industry and your company. Four COVID-19 recovery patterns and their impact, namely, V, L, W and U are discussed in this report.



Market Segment by Sensor Technology

 Staring Sensors

 Scanning Sensors



Market Segment by System

 Targeting System

 Electronic Support Measure

 Imaging System



Market Segment by Technology

 Uncooled Technology

 Cooled Technology



Market Segment by Platform

 Naval

 Air

 Land



Market Segment by Imaging Technology

 Hyperspectral

 Multispectral



In addition to the revenue predictions for the overall world market and segments, you will also find revenue forecasts for 4 regional and 20 leading national markets:

 North America Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Outlook

 Europe Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Outlook

 Asia Pacific Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Outlook

 LAMEA Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Outlook



The report also includes profiles and for some of the leading companies in the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032, with a focus on this segment of these companies operations.



Leading companies and the potential for market growth

 Airbus

 Apie Group

 Aselsan A.S.

 BAE Systems plc (England)

 Boeing

 CONTROP Precision Technologies

 Cornings

 Elbit Systems Ltd. (Israel)

 General Dynamics Corporation (America)

 Hensoldt

 Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd

 Kollmorgen

 L-3 Harris Technologies Inc. (America)

 Leidos Holdings Inc

 Leonardo S.p.A (Italy)

 Lockheed Martin Corporation (America)

 ManTech International

 Moog Inc

 Northrop G

 Raytheon Technologies Corporation (America)

 Rheinmetall

 Rockwell Collins, Inc.

 Saab AB (Sweden)

 Teledyne FLIR

 Textron Inc

 Thales Group (France)



Overall world revenue for Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 in terms of value the market will surpass US$xx million in 2022, our work calculates. We predict strong revenue growth through to 2032. Our work identifies which organizations hold the greatest potential. Discover their capabilities, progress, and commercial prospects, helping you stay ahead.



How the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 Market report helps you?



In summary, our 256-page report provides you with the following knowledge:

 Revenue forecasts to 2032 for Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 Market, with forecasts for Sensor Technology, systems, technology, platform, Imaging Technology each forecasted at a global and regional level discover the industrys prospects, finding the most lucrative places for investments and revenues

 Revenue forecasts to 2032 for 4 regional and 20 key national markets  See forecasts for the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 market in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and LAMEA.

 Prospects for established firms and those seeking to enter the market including company profiles for 25 of the major companies involved in the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 Market.





Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06269253/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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New York, NY, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Last week, Bravest for Choice, a group of NYC firefighters, medics, and EMTs who oppose vaccine mandates, produced a video featuring city workers who have beenor soon will befired for refusing the COVID vaccine. Workers are calling on Mayor Eric Adams to stop discriminating on the basis of vaccination status by applying the same rules for all NYC employees and to rehire those who lost their livelihoods as a result of the COVID vaccination mandates.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams signed an Executive Order on March 24 allowing all professional athletes and performers the ability to work in the city, regardless of vaccination status. The order kept in place the vaccine mandates for all other municipal employees who have not been granted an approval for reasonable accommodation, such as a medical or religious exemption.

In an interview this morning with Pete Hedgepeth on FOX & Friends, MTA conductor Tramell Thompson, who has become a vocal advocate for informed consent, said that no one is talking about people who were coerced into getting the vaccine in order to pay their bills, to take care of their families, to make sure they dont lose their homes, their cars, to make sure their kids can go to school.

NYC Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli posted to Twitter on April 14, stating, In the last 2 days, 375 NYPD more officers were denied medical or religious exemptions to our vaccine mandate, and there are 5,400 applications still pending. This is over 15 percent of the police department. Borelli introduced a resolution on April 14 calling on Mayor Adams to rehire city workers as well as employees of private businesses who were terminated for not complying with the citys Covid-19 vaccination mandate.

Thousands more NYC workers face losing their livelihoods as pending vaccine exemptions and appeals continue to be denied.

Earlier this year, lawyers working with Childrens Health Defense (CHD) filed a lawsuit against the City of New York on behalf of New Yorkers for Religious Liberty, Inc. and all others who have been denied medical and religious exemptions for COVID vaccinations and have been terminated or placed on involuntary leave as a result. They also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order asking a federal district court to intervene and prohibit the enforcement of the mandates.

According to NYC attorneys in the Kane v. de Blasio case, filed on behalf of NYC teacher Michael Kane and eight other educators who lost their jobs after refusing to take a COVID vaccine, several thousand religious exemptions were initially filed for educators alone. All were denied at first. Of those, 1,300 appealed their decisions and most have been denied. Currently, there are nearly 5,000 religious exemptions still pending for NYPD Officers who are still working and testing weekly for COVID in lieu of vaccination. However, the exact number of those who have been fired is unclear, as many city employees were forced into early retirement when their exemptions were denied. Kane v. de Blasio seeks to bring NYC educators back to their jobs after being illegally denied religious exemptions to vaccination. While representing only educators, if successful, the case could have a broad impact on all city workers who have lost their jobs for declining covid vaccination.

Its fantastic that Kyrie Irving is playing home games in Brooklyn, NY once again, said Kane. However, even Irving himself recently came out in full support of rehiring fired and banned employees in NYC.

City employees who didnt provide proof of at least one dose of a COVID vaccination by the February 11 deadline were terminated. City Hall reported that 1,430 municipal workers were fired at that time, however that number doesnt include employees who resigned due to the mandate to keep their pensions or benefits.

While some workers oppose the mandates for infringing their rights, many others have expressed concerns about the safety of the COVID vaccines. According to the U.S. government-maintained Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), there have been a total of 1,226,314 adverse events following COVID vaccination, including 26,976 deaths and 219,865 serious injuries from mid-December, 2020 through April 8, 2022. Of the adverse events reported, 3,322 occurred in children ages 16 and under, and 83 deaths were reported in this age group following vaccination with COVID. It is well-documented that healthy children are at virtually no risk of serious complications or death from COVID.

The push to give children a vaccine for something that poses almost zero risk to them isnt any more science-based than the Mayors executive order to discriminate against the unvaccinated who arent professional athletes or performers, said Kane. We need to stand up to these arbitrary restrictions from authoritarian government officials that are obliterating our Constitutional rights.

###

Children's Health Defense is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Its mission is to end childhood health epidemics by working aggressively to eliminate harmful exposures, hold those responsible accountable, and establish safeguards to prevent future harm. For more information, visit ChildrensHealthDefense.org.
Washington, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New Frontier Data (https://NewFrontierData.com), the premier data, analytics and technology firm specializing in the global cannabis industry, together with Jointly, a cannabis wellness company, have released Cannabis Consumers in America: Dynamics Shaping Normalization in 2022. Since 2018, New Frontier Data has surveyed more than 20,000 consumers to benchmark and analyze cannabis consumer behavior for endemic and non-endemic organizations.

Cannabis is no longer a one-size-fits-all industry, noted Gary Allen, CEO, New Frontier Data. Its now a commercial imperative for brands, retailers and operators to do the homework required to understand their ideal customer, why they consume and what products they prefer.

Across both legal and illicit markets, consumption patterns are normalizing to where demographic variables such as age and gender are more influential than market legality in predicting behaviors that are increasingly routine. The reports findings concluded that cannabis consumers are becoming more intentional with the plants use, and the primary reasons for consumption now span relaxation, pain management, improving sleep outcomes, treating medical conditions and improving overall wellness.

Understanding what drives and defines optimal individual consumer experiences is increasingly important, said Eric Gutshall, Co-Founder and CDO, Jointly. As we continue to capture more experiential feedback, our partnership with New Frontier Data will provide the industry with a more holistic view into consumer behavior and preferences.

Key Report Findings Include:

Nearly half (46%) of all survey respondents report using cannabis daily as product selection expands with more convenient, discreet and precise consumption methods.

With an estimated $97 billion in U.S. legal and illicit sales in 2021, cannabis consumer spending now exceeds spirits ($86 billion), validating the vast market opportunity.

Flower accounts for half of all legal sales nationally, but the majority of consumers are now using non-flower products, as the quality and selection of products expands.

The collective curiosity of consumers to try new forms of cannabis is fueling product innovation and highlighting the importance of targeted brand and loyalty strategies.

Positive outcomes from medical cannabis use are driving increased acceptance as half of medical cannabis patients report their conditions improved significantly and 93% report at least some improvement.

Download a complimentary copy of Cannabis Consumers in America: Dynamics Shaping Normalization in 2022: https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-consumers-in-america-2022/.

New Frontier Data will release the second part of the 2022 Consumer Report series later this year which will feature additional consumer survey data.

About New Frontier Data:

New Frontier Data is the premier data, analytics and technology firm specializing in the global cannabis industry, delivering solutions that enable investors, operators, advertisers, brands, researchers and policy makers to assess, understand, engage and transact with the cannabis industry and its consumers.

Our mission is to inform policy and commercial activity for the global legal cannabis industry. We maintain a neutral position on the merits of cannabis legalization through comprehensive and transparent data analysis and projections that shape industry trends, dynamics, demand and opportunity drivers. Founded in 2014, New Frontier Data is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with a presence in Europe, Latin America and Africa. For more information about New Frontier Data, please visit us at https://www.NewFrontierData.com.

About Jointly:

Jointly is a cannabis wellness company powered by a proprietary data platform to help people reach their full potential. The company was created on the premise that purposeful cannabis consumption is the key to unlocking a better you. It has the industrys first - and only - experience-based wellness app for purposeful cannabis consumption.

Cannabis wellness enthusiasts use the platform to track their experiences to improve their results. Their authentic, unbiased experiences create Jointlys trusted cannabis product ratings, setting the legal cannabis industrys first experience-based standard for product performance, taste, and aroma. For additional information, visit jointlybetter.com and download the app for free on Apple / Google.

Attachment
New York, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "European Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Growth Opportunities" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06269040/?utm_source=GNW





In addition, the Biden administrations strategic focus on China boosts NATOs interest in military UAVs to counter near-peer adversaries, thereby pushing the region to increase RDT&E and procurements efforts in this defense domain.During the forecast period, the European military UAV market is expected to evolve due to the emerging indigenous market, the rising military demand for different types of military UAV platforms, UAVs focus on ISR and offensive tasks, and specific budget and project allocations for UAV platforms and subsystems.



This This research service explores the trends in the European military UAV space and examines the impact of the changing geopolitical landscape, US and Israeli dominance, and emerging military doctrine to confront modern battlefield challenges. The study investigates the future of European military UAVs, and it takes into account global perspectives and forecasts.



It focuses on 5 important European countries, that is, Turkey, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy. The study also examines Eastern Europes growing demand for military UAVs, which could be used as a solution to counter Russian military aggression and mitigate some of Moscows quantitative and qualitative military edge in the region. Future expectations covered in the study include the prioritization of UAV armed drones, the proliferation of tactical, small, and mini drones, and the US impact on the market. The study also highlights EU and NATO activities and initiatives in the region and their impact on the competitive landscape, RDT&E initiatives, and national efforts in terms of military drones. The study will help firms to identify growth opportunities and formulate go-to-market strategies that improve competitiveness in the nascent European military UAV market as it navigates changes, including the need to counter Russia and the growing US expectation for increased European involvement in the global war on terror. The research presented in the study was obtained from secondary and primary sources, and it includes quantitative and qualitative information. Information was garnered from Frost & Sullivan databases, including data from technical papers, specialized and reliable publications, and seminars. Senior industry analysts conducted interviews with system integrators, government officials, and end users, and primary research accounted for 25% of the research.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06269040/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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NEW YORK, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP (Scott+Scott), a national securities and consumer rights litigation firm, is investigating whether certain directors and officers of TransUnion (TransUnion) (NYSE: TRU) breached their fiduciary duties to TransUnion and its shareholders. If you are a TransUnion shareholder, you are encouraged to contact attorney Joe Pettigrew with Scott+Scott for additional information at (844) 818-6982 or jpettigrew@scott-scott.com.



Scott+Scott is investigating whether members of TransUnions board of directors or senior management failed to manage TransUnion in an acceptable manner, in breach of their fiduciary duties to TransUnion, and whether TransUnion and its shareholders have suffered damages as a result.

On April 12, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it had filed a lawsuit against TransUnion and longtime executive John Danaher for violating a 2017 law enforcement order. The order was meant to stop TransUnion from engaging in certain deceptive marketing practices, but TransUnion and Danaher disregarded the order, and continued to employ deceptive digital dark patterns to the detriment of consumers.

What You Can Do

If you are a TransUnion shareholder, you may have legal claims against TransUnions directors and officers. If you wish to discuss this investigation, or have questions about this notice or your legal rights, please contact attorney Joe Pettigrew toll-free at (844) 818-6982 or jpettigrew@scott-scott.com.

About Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP

Scott+Scott has significant experience in prosecuting major securities, antitrust, and consumer rights actions throughout the United States. The firm represents pension funds, foundations, individuals, and other entities worldwide with offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Connecticut, California, and Ohio.

Attorney Advertising

CONTACT:

Joe Pettigrew

Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP

600 W. Broadway, Suite 3300, San Diego, CA 92101

(844) 818-6982

jpettigrew@scott-scott.com
New York, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Algorithmic Trading Market Research Report by Trading Type, Component, Deployment, Organisation Size, End User, Region - Global Forecast to 2027 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06261967/?utm_source=GNW



The Global Algorithmic Trading Market size was estimated at USD 14.11 billion in 2021 and expected to reach USD 15.73 billion in 2022, and is projected to grow at a CAGR 11.59% to reach USD 27.27 billion by 2027.



Market Statistics:

The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, AUD, CAD, and CHF. It helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. In this report, the years 2019 and 2020 are considered historical years, 2021 as the base year, 2022 as the estimated year, and years from 2023 to 2027 are considered the forecast period.



Market Segmentation & Coverage:

This research report categorizes the Algorithmic Trading to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:



Based on Trading Type, the market was studied across Bonds, Cryptocurrencies, Exchange-Traded Funds, Foreign Exchange, and Stock Markets.



Based on Component, the market was studied across Services and Solutions. The Services is further studied across Managed Services and Professional Services. The Solutions is further studied across Platforms and Software Tools.



Based on Deployment, the market was studied across Cloud and On-Premises.



Based on Organisation Size, the market was studied across Large Enterprises and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.



Based on End User, the market was studied across Buy-side Firms, Sell-side Participants, and Systematic Traders.



Based on Region, the market was studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas is further studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The United States is further studied across California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The Asia-Pacific is further studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa is further studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.



Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:

COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, and the long-term effects are projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report delivers insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecasts, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.



Cumulative Impact of 2022 Russia Ukraine Conflict:

We continuously monitor and update reports on political and economic uncertainty due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Negative impacts are significantly foreseen globally, especially across Eastern Europe, European Union, Eastern & Central Asia, and the United States. This contention has severely affected lives and livelihoods and represents far-reaching disruptions in trade dynamics. The potential effects of ongoing war and uncertainty in Eastern Europe are expected to have an adverse impact on the world economy, with especially long-term harsh effects on Russia.



This report uncovers the impact of demand & supply, pricing variants, strategic uptake of vendors, and recommendations for Algorithmic Trading market considering the current update on the conflict and its global response.



Competitive Strategic Window:

The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period.



FPNV Positioning Matrix:

The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Algorithmic Trading Market based on Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.



Market Share Analysis:

The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space. It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and customer base compared to others. Knowing market share offers an idea of the size and competitiveness of the vendors for the base year. It reveals the market characteristics in terms of accumulation, fragmentation, dominance, and amalgamation traits.



Competitive Scenario:

The Competitive Scenario provides an outlook analysis of the various business growth strategies adopted by the vendors. The news covered in this section deliver valuable thoughts at the different stage while keeping up-to-date with the business and engage stakeholders in the economic debate. The competitive scenario represents press releases or news of the companies categorized into Merger & Acquisition, Agreement, Collaboration, & Partnership, New Product Launch & Enhancement, Investment & Funding, and Award, Recognition, & Expansion. All the news collected help vendor to understand the gaps in the marketplace and competitors strength and weakness thereby, providing insights to enhance product and service.



Company Usability Profiles:

The report profoundly explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Algorithmic Trading Market, including 63 Moons, Argo SE, Automated Trading SoftTech, InfoReach, iRageCapital, Kuberre Systems, MetaQuotes Software, QuantCore Capital Management, Software AG, Symphony, Tata Consultancy Services, Tethys, Thomson Reuters, and Virtu Financial.



The report provides insights on the following pointers:

1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players

2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyze penetration across mature segments of the markets

3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments

4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, certification, regulatory approvals, patent landscape, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players

5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and breakthrough product developments



The report answers questions such as:

1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Algorithmic Trading Market?

2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Algorithmic Trading Market during the forecast period?

3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Algorithmic Trading Market?

4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Algorithmic Trading Market?

5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Algorithmic Trading Market?

6. What is the market share of the leading vendors in the Global Algorithmic Trading Market?

7. What modes and strategic moves are considered suitable for entering the Global Algorithmic Trading Market?

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06261967/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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ATLANTA, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fulcrum Partners, a OneDigital Company and a leading executive benefits consulting firm, announces the release of a new report and an upcoming related webinar by Senior Vice President- Retirement Andy Hart. The report, authored by Hart, How Qualified Plans May Be Failing to Serve Executive Retirement Savings Goals, examines how nonqualified deferred compensation plans (NQDC) may help companies better serve the retirement savings needs of their top executives.



Companies often dont realize, explained Hart, that regulatory guidelines prevent higher wage earners from saving pretax dollars by percentage as efficiently as lower wage earners are positioned to save. Even highly compensated employees may not recognize how much they are challenged by the limitations on qualified plan savings and social security payouts. This disparity is why we ask the hard question, who is looking out for your team at the top? Without knowing that they are doing it, many organizations are leaving their top talent to look out for themselves when it comes to retirement readiness.

Andy Harts report is available now on the companys website at https://bit.ly/3E8HTAB. On Thursday, April 21, 9:00 AM eastern time, a webinar-style video featuring Hart will be available on Deferred Compensation News at https://fulcrumpartnersllc.com/news/. No preregistration is required, and the video will be available to view at any time after the release date. Viewers with questions or who would like to be contacted after watching the video will be able to follow up at their convenience with Andy.

Learn more about the executive benefits specialist at Fulcrum Partners, a OneDigital Company at (fulcrumpartnersllc.com/team/). To find out more about how organizations and executives can benefit from the use of nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans, follow Deferred Compensation News.

About Fulcrum Partners, a OneDigital Company

Fulcrum Partners (fulcrumpartnersllc.com). With a team of experienced industry professionals who serve with diverse skillsets, targeted experience and in-depth expertise in executive compensation and benefits consulting, the financial professionals at Fulcrum Partners, a OneDigital Company, focus on an integrated approach to the design, financing and plan administration of executive benefits programs. Originally founded in 2007, today the company is part of the OneDigital advisory firm and has executive benefits advisory offices in Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Charleston and Bluffton, South Carolina; Cleveland, Ohio; Delray Beach, Orlando and Ponte Vedra, Florida; Los Angeles and Newport Beach, California; Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas and Washington D.C.

About OneDigital

OneDigital delivers strategic advisory consulting and technology-forward solutions to more than 85,000 employers across the nation. As employee health care, wellness and workplace benefits continue to converge, businesses of all sizes have relied on OneDigitals exceptional advisory teams for counsel in employee benefits, wellbeing, human resources, pharmacy consulting, property and casualty solutions, as well as the retirement and wealth management services provided through OneDigital Investment Advisors. OneDigitals commitment to technology and innovation enables its 2,800 advisors to deliver the most modern and intuitive customer experience anywhere in the industry. Investment advice is offered through OneDigital Investment Advisors, an SEC- registered investment adviser and wholly owned subsidiary of OneDigital.

OneDigital has been named as a Best Place to Work in Insurance by Business Insurance. For more information, visit www.onedigital.com .

Securities offered through Lion Street Financial, LLC (LSF) and Valmark Securities, Inc. (VSI), each a member of FINRA and SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Lion Street Advisors, LLC (LSA) and Valmark Advisers, Inc. (VAI), each an SEC registered investment advisor. Please refer to your investment advisory agreement and the Form ADV disclosures provided to you for more information. VAI/VSI and LSF/LSA are non-affiliated entities and separate entities from OneDigital and Fulcrum Partners. Unless otherwise noted, VAI/VSI, LSF/LSA are not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with any other company, agency or government agency identified or referenced in this document.

Lion Street Advisors Lion Street Financial

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, accounting, legal or tax advice. Any tax advice contained herein is of a general nature. You should seek specific advice from your tax professional before pursuing any idea contemplated herein.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/81ee2dae-3784-4ebb-993e-6019605ca263
Denver, Colorado, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



DENVER  Inc. magazine revealed that Kind Home Solutions is No. 45 on its third annual Inc. 5000 Regionals Rocky Mountain list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies based in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Rocky Mountain region economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses.

Our focus on innovation and the client experience has graciously allowed us to grow over the last 4 years. Our goal is to make high quality, client-focused home improvement projects the standard for our industry. Michael Sutton, Owner/Founder of Kind Home Solutions

The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Rocky Mountain region. Between 2018 and 2020, these 60 private companies had an average growth rate of 252% percent, and, in 2020 alone, they added 4,176 jobs and nearly $1 billion to the Rocky Mountain regions economy. Companies based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Boise, Idaho, and Vail, Colorado, areas had the highest growth rate overall.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals Rocky Mountain, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/rocky-mountain starting March 15, 2022.

This years Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of Americas off-the-charts growth companies. Theyre disrupters and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies youll be hearing about for years to come, says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc.

Kind Home Solutions specializes in providing outstanding interior and exterior painting services to Denver homeowners. It was founded with the mission to raise the bar for contractors and home improvement companies at large. Through world-class customer service, workmanship, and dedication to their clients, Kind Home Solutions is making an impact on their community and industry one home at a time.

Contact: Corey Morgan, 720-828-1571, corey@kindhomesolutions.com

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals

Methodology

The 2022 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2018 and 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2020 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent.





The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

###

For more information about Kind Home Solutions, contact the company here:



Kind Home Solutions

Corey Morgan

720-828-1571

corey@kindhomesolutions.com

59 W. Floyd Ave #104, Englewood CO 80110
New York, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Textile Dyes Industry" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05151463/?utm_source=GNW

-Online interactive peer-to-peer collaborative bespoke updates

-Access to our digital archives and MarketGlass Research Platform

-Complimentary updates for one year



Global Textile Dyes Market to Reach $8.5 Billion by 2026



Textile dyes are designed for coloring textile materials comprising fabrics, yarns and fibers. The process employs dye solutions and dye pastes for dying and printing textiles. Textile dyes are also used for yarn dyeing and garment dyeing. Dye color and complexity play a major role in determining prices of dyes. Prices mainly depend on the type of fiber to be dyed, color, quality, and demand. Important trends driving the dyes market include preference for environment-friendly products, and the shift of production facilities from Europe and the US to Taiwan, India and China. The expanding population, implementation of favorable regulations, and expansion of the textile industry will present growth opportunities for the textile dyes market. Among the different types, a favorable market is projected for disperse dyes, due to their application in the thriving polyester fiber industry.



Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Textile Dyes estimated at US$6 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$8.5 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 6.2% over the analysis period. Disperse, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record a 6.6% CAGR and reach US$2.4 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Reactive segment is readjusted to a revised 7.4% CAGR for the next 7-year period.



The U.S. Market is Estimated at $695.9 Million in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $2.4 Billion by 2026



The Textile Dyes market in the U.S. is estimated at US$695.9 Million in the year 2021. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of US$2.4 Billion by the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 7.3% over the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 3.4% and 4.3% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 3.4% CAGR. Demand for textile dyes in the US is being influenced by the consumer preference for natural dyes. Though at present the industry is confronting challenging scenario due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant economic uncertainty, long term demand for textile dyes in Asia-Pacific will be propelled by increasing population, expansion of the manufacturing industry, adoption of advanced production technology and reduction in operational costs. Moreover, the region is anticipated to benefit from ongoing transition of manufacturing units from developed economies such as Europe and the US towards China, India, Indonesia and Taiwan along with growing demand for environment-friendly products.



Direct Segment to Reach $1.7 Billion by 2026



Direct dyes are used on cotton, linen, rayon and various cellulose fibers. They are best suitable for items that require less fastness during washing. Direct dyes are also used as biological stains and pH indicators. In the global Direct segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 5.7% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$679.7 Million in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$1 Billion by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$601.9 Million by the year 2026, while Latin America will expand at a 6.1% CAGR through the analysis period.

Select Competitors (Total 146 Featured) -

Anand International

Archroma

Atul Ltd.

Big Sunshine International

Colorant Limited

Day-Glo Color Corp.

DEV COLOURS

FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation

Huntsman International LLC

JAY Chemical Industries Private Limited

Kiri Industries Limited

DyStar Singapore Pte. Ltd.

LANXESS AG

Organic Dyes and Pigments LLC

S.A Robama

Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd.

Tanatex Chemicals B.V.

Vipul organics Ltd

Zhejiang Runtu Co. Ltd.







Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05151463/?utm_source=GNW



I. METHODOLOGY



II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



1. MARKET OVERVIEW

Influencer Market Insights

World Market Trajectories

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic and Looming Global Recession

Textile Industry Remains Hard Hit

Asian Textiles Industry Roiled by Serious Fallout of COVID-19

Crisis

COVID-19 Pandemic Leads to a Decline in Textile Exports to USA,

EU, and Japan: YoY Change (%) in Export Volume for Select

Export Market (Jan-June 2020)

Reactive Dyes Market Witnesses Severe Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

Pandemic Crisis Weakens Economic Environment, Triggering

Negative Tide in GDP

World Economic Growth Projections (Real GDP, Annual % Change)

for 2019, 2020 & 2021

Textile Dyes: An Introduction

Natural Textile Dyes

Types of Natural Dyes

Common Natural Dye Materials

Extraction of Color Components from Natural Dye Source Materials

Synthetic Dyes

Global Market Prospects and Outlook

Developing Economies to Spur Long-Term Market Growth

Demand & Supply Scenario

Competition

World Brands

Recent Market Activity

Textile Dyes - Global Key Competitors Percentage Market Share

in 2022 (E)

Competitive Market Presence - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial for

Players Worldwide in 2022 (E)



2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS



3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

Textile Industry Dynamics Set the Tone for Growth in Textile

Dyes Market

Fashion Plays a Key Role in Propelling Demand for Textile Dyes

Rising Environmental Concerns Lead to Changes in Product Mix

Eco-Friendly & High Efficiency Dyes Gather Momentum

Natural Dyes Score Over Synthetic Dyes

Key Challenges Confronting Natural Textile Dye Industry

Research Efforts Focus on Addressing Limitations of Natural Dyes

Market to Benefit from the Rising Prominence of Organic Textile

Dyes

Sulfur Dyes Market: Cotton Textile Industry to Influence Demand

Dynamics

Global Sulfur Dyes Market Breakdown by Application (in %) for

2020E

Shift from Conventional Printing to Digital Printing to Impact

Demand for Textile Dyes

Global Digital Textile Printing by Geographic Region (in US$

Million) for 2020 & 2027

Dye Sublimation Printing: Ideal for Soft Signage & Home Decor

Innovations in Ink Technology

Environment-Friendly Dyeing Auxiliaries Gain Significance

Rapid Growth of Functional Textiles to Boost Long-Term Growth

in Textile Dyes

Global Functional Apparel Market by Geographic Region (in US$

Million) for 2020 & 2027

Rising Demand for Home Furnishing Products to Boost Market Growth

Green Chemistry to Lead Innovation

Concerns Over Water Pollution Drive Focus onto New Technologies

Waterless Dyeing Technology Gains Focus

Digital Color Management a Better Way Compared to using

Physical Samples

Environmental Concerns Trigger Sustainable Textile Dyeing

Innovations in Right Direction

Non-Aqueous Dyeing for Cotton Textiles Comes into Spotlight

Biotechnology Emerges to Address Challenges Facing the Textile

Dyes Market

Technology Advancements in Textile Dyeing and Finishing Sectors

to Boost Market Growth

New Innovative Approaches to Dyeing

Chrome-free Trend Inspires Innovation in Dyes

Ultrasonic Technology Garners Attention in Dyeing Applications

Electrochemical Dyeing to Reduce Use of Chemicals

Potential for Plasma Technology in Textile Dyeing

Bacteria Hold Intriguing Prospects for Sustainable Production

of Textile Dyes

Researchers Develop Colored Cotton for Eliminating Use of

Harmful Dyes

Notable Advancements in Textile Dyeing Market: A Glance at

Select Developments

Innovations in Dyeing Machinery to Enable Effective Use of

Textile Dyes

Macro Factors Influencing Global Textiles Industry to Impact

Dynamics in the Textile Dyes Market

World Population (in Thousands) by Geographic Region for the

Years 2019, 2030, 2050, 2100

Urbanization Trend

World Urban Population in Thousands: 1950-2050P

Degree of Urbanization Worldwide: Urban Population as a % of

Total Population by Geographic Region for the Years 1950,

1970, 1990, 2018, 2030 and 2050

Burgeoning Middle Class Population

Global Middle Class Population (In Million) by Region for the

Years 2020, 2025 and 2030

Global Middle Class Spending (US$ Trillion) by Region for the

Years 2020, 2025, 2030

Key Challenges Facing Textile Dyes Market



4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE

Table 1: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Disperse by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China,

Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa

Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand

for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 2: World Historic Review for Disperse by Geographic

Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin

America, Middle East and Africa Markets - Independent Analysis

of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and

% CAGR



Table 3: World 15-Year Perspective for Disperse by Geographic

Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada,

Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East

and Africa for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 4: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Reactive by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China,

Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa

Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand

for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 5: World Historic Review for Reactive by Geographic

Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin

America, Middle East and Africa Markets - Independent Analysis

of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and

% CAGR



Table 6: World 15-Year Perspective for Reactive by Geographic

Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada,

Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East

and Africa for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 7: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Direct by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China,

Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa

Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand

for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 8: World Historic Review for Direct by Geographic Region -

USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin

America, Middle East and Africa Markets - Independent Analysis

of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and

% CAGR



Table 9: World 15-Year Perspective for Direct by Geographic

Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada,

Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East

and Africa for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 10: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for Acid

by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe,

Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa Markets -

Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years

2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 11: World Historic Review for Acid by Geographic Region -

USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America,

Middle East and Africa Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual

Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 12: World 15-Year Perspective for Acid by Geographic

Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada,

Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East

and Africa for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 13: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for Vat

by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe,

Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa Markets -

Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years

2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 14: World Historic Review for Vat by Geographic Region -

USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America,

Middle East and Africa Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual

Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 15: World 15-Year Perspective for Vat by Geographic

Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada,

Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East

and Africa for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 16: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Basic by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe,

Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa Markets -

Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years

2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 17: World Historic Review for Basic by Geographic Region -

USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin

America, Middle East and Africa Markets - Independent Analysis

of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and

% CAGR



Table 18: World 15-Year Perspective for Basic by Geographic

Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada,

Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East

and Africa for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 19: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Other Dye Types by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan,

China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and

Africa Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$

Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 20: World Historic Review for Other Dye Types by

Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe,

Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa Markets -

Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years

2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 21: World 15-Year Perspective for Other Dye Types by

Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for

USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America,

Middle East and Africa for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 22: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Cotton by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China,

Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa

Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand

for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 23: World Historic Review for Cotton by Geographic Region -

USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin

America, Middle East and Africa Markets - Independent Analysis

of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and

% CAGR



Table 24: World 15-Year Perspective for Cotton by Geographic

Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada,

Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East

and Africa for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 25: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Viscose by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China,

Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa

Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand

for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 26: World Historic Review for Viscose by Geographic

Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin

America, Middle East and Africa Markets - Independent Analysis

of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and

% CAGR



Table 27: World 15-Year Perspective for Viscose by Geographic

Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada,

Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East

and Africa for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 28: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Nylon by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe,

Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa Markets -

Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years

2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 29: World Historic Review for Nylon by Geographic Region -

USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin

America, Middle East and Africa Markets - Independent Analysis

of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and

% CAGR



Table 30: World 15-Year Perspective for Nylon by Geographic

Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada,

Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East

and Africa for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 31: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Polyester by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China,

Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa

Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand

for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 32: World Historic Review for Polyester by Geographic

Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin

America, Middle East and Africa Markets - Independent Analysis

of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and

% CAGR



Table 33: World 15-Year Perspective for Polyester by Geographic

Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada,

Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East

and Africa for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 34: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Acrylic by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China,

Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa

Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand

for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 35: World Historic Review for Acrylic by Geographic

Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin

America, Middle East and Africa Markets - Independent Analysis

of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and

% CAGR



Table 36: World 15-Year Perspective for Acrylic by Geographic

Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada,

Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East

and Africa for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 37: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for Wool

by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe,

Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa Markets -

Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years

2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 38: World Historic Review for Wool by Geographic Region -

USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America,

Middle East and Africa Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual

Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 39: World 15-Year Perspective for Wool by Geographic

Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada,

Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East

and Africa for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 40: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Other Fiber Types by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan,

China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and

Africa Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$

Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 41: World Historic Review for Other Fiber Types by

Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe,

Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa Markets -

Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years

2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 42: World 15-Year Perspective for Other Fiber Types by

Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for

USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America,

Middle East and Africa for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 43: World Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China,

Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa

Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand

for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 44: World Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Geographic

Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin

America, Middle East and Africa Markets - Independent Analysis

of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and

% CAGR



Table 45: World 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by

Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for

USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America,

Middle East and Africa Markets for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



III. MARKET ANALYSIS



UNITED STATES

Textile Dyes Market Presence - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial -

Key Competitors in the United States for 2022 (E)

Market Overview

Table 46: USA Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Dye Type - Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid,

Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types - Independent Analysis of Annual

Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and %

CAGR



Table 47: USA Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Dye Type -

Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye

Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$

Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 48: USA 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Dye Type -

Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Disperse, Reactive,

Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types for the Years

2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 49: USA Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Fiber Type - Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester,

Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types - Independent Analysis of

Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027

and % CAGR



Table 50: USA Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Fiber Type -

Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other

Fiber Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in

US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 51: USA 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Fiber

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Cotton, Viscose,

Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



CANADA

Table 52: Canada Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Dye Type - Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid,

Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types - Independent Analysis of Annual

Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and %

CAGR



Table 53: Canada Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Dye Type -

Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye

Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$

Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 54: Canada 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Dye

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Disperse,

Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 55: Canada Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Fiber Type - Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester,

Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types - Independent Analysis of

Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027

and % CAGR



Table 56: Canada Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Fiber Type -

Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other

Fiber Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in

US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 57: Canada 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Fiber

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Cotton, Viscose,

Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



JAPAN

Textile Dyes Market Presence - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial -

Key Competitors in Japan for 2022 (E)

Market Overview

Table 58: Japan Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Dye Type - Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid,

Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types - Independent Analysis of Annual

Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and %

CAGR



Table 59: Japan Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Dye Type -

Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye

Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$

Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 60: Japan 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Dye

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Disperse,

Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 61: Japan Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Fiber Type - Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester,

Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types - Independent Analysis of

Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027

and % CAGR



Table 62: Japan Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Fiber Type -

Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other

Fiber Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in

US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 63: Japan 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Fiber

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Cotton, Viscose,

Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



CHINA

Textile Dyes Market Presence - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial -

Key Competitors in China for 2022 (E)

Despite COVID-19 Outbreak, China to Remain the Most Important

Textile Market

China Continues to be the Dominant Consumer of Textile Dyes

Table 64: China Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Dye Type - Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid,

Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types - Independent Analysis of Annual

Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and %

CAGR



Table 65: China Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Dye Type -

Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye

Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$

Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 66: China 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Dye

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Disperse,

Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 67: China Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Fiber Type - Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester,

Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types - Independent Analysis of

Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027

and % CAGR



Table 68: China Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Fiber Type -

Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other

Fiber Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in

US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 69: China 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Fiber

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Cotton, Viscose,

Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



EUROPE

Textile Dyes Market Presence - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial -

Key Competitors in Europe for 2022 (E)

Textile Dyes Market in Europe Takes a Hit Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

Table 70: Europe Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Dye Type - Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid,

Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types - Independent Analysis of Annual

Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and %

CAGR



Table 71: Europe Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Dye Type -

Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye

Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$

Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 72: Europe 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Dye

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Disperse,

Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 73: Europe Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Fiber Type - Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester,

Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types - Independent Analysis of

Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027

and % CAGR



Table 74: Europe Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Fiber Type -

Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other

Fiber Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in

US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 75: Europe 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Fiber

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Cotton, Viscose,

Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 76: Europe Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Geographic Region - France, Germany, Italy, UK,

Spain, Russia and Rest of Europe Markets - Independent Analysis

of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and

% CAGR



Table 77: Europe Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Geographic

Region - France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia and Rest of

Europe Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$

Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 78: Europe 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by

Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for

France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia and Rest of Europe

Markets for Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



FRANCE

Textile Dyes Market Presence - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial -

Key Competitors in France for 2022 (E)

Table 79: France Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Dye Type - Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid,

Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types - Independent Analysis of Annual

Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and %

CAGR



Table 80: France Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Dye Type -

Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye

Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$

Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 81: France 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Dye

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Disperse,

Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 82: France Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Fiber Type - Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester,

Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types - Independent Analysis of

Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027

and % CAGR



Table 83: France Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Fiber Type -

Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other

Fiber Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in

US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 84: France 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Fiber

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Cotton, Viscose,

Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



GERMANY

Textile Dyes Market Presence - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial -

Key Competitors in Germany for 2022 (E)

Table 85: Germany Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Dye Type - Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid,

Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types - Independent Analysis of Annual

Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and %

CAGR



Table 86: Germany Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Dye Type -

Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye

Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$

Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 87: Germany 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Dye

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Disperse,

Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 88: Germany Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Fiber Type - Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester,

Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types - Independent Analysis of

Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027

and % CAGR



Table 89: Germany Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Fiber

Type - Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and

Other Fiber Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual

Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 90: Germany 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Fiber

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Cotton, Viscose,

Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



ITALY

Table 91: Italy Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Dye Type - Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid,

Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types - Independent Analysis of Annual

Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and %

CAGR



Table 92: Italy Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Dye Type -

Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye

Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$

Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 93: Italy 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Dye

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Disperse,

Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 94: Italy Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Fiber Type - Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester,

Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types - Independent Analysis of

Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027

and % CAGR



Table 95: Italy Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Fiber Type -

Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other

Fiber Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in

US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 96: Italy 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Fiber

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Cotton, Viscose,

Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



UNITED KINGDOM

Textile Dyes Market Presence - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial -

Key Competitors in the United Kingdom for 2022 (E)

Market Overview

Table 97: UK Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for Textile

Dyes by Dye Type - Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic

and Other Dye Types - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in

US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR



Table 98: UK Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Dye Type -

Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye

Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$

Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 99: UK 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Dye Type -

Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Disperse, Reactive,

Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types for the Years

2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 100: UK Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Fiber Type - Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester,

Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types - Independent Analysis of

Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027

and % CAGR



Table 101: UK Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Fiber Type -

Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other

Fiber Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in

US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 102: UK 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Fiber

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Cotton, Viscose,

Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



SPAIN

Table 103: Spain Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Dye Type - Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid,

Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types - Independent Analysis of Annual

Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and %

CAGR



Table 104: Spain Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Dye Type -

Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye

Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$

Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 105: Spain 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Dye

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Disperse,

Reactive, Direct, Acid, Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



Table 106: Spain Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Fiber Type - Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester,

Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types - Independent Analysis of

Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027

and % CAGR



Table 107: Spain Historic Review for Textile Dyes by Fiber Type -

Cotton, Viscose, Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other

Fiber Types Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in

US$ Thousand for Years 2012 through 2019 and % CAGR



Table 108: Spain 15-Year Perspective for Textile Dyes by Fiber

Type - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Cotton, Viscose,

Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Wool and Other Fiber Types for the

Years 2012, 2021 & 2027



RUSSIA

Table 109: Russia Recent Past, Current & Future Analysis for

Textile Dyes by Dye Type - Disperse, Reactive, Direct, Acid,

Vat, Basic and Other Dye Types - Independent Analysis of Annual



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__________________________
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ultra Lithium Inc. (TSX-V: ULT) (Ultra Lithium or the Company) is pleased to announce it has entered into a Purchase, Sale and Joint Venture Agreement (the Agreement) with Yahua International Investment and Development Co., Ltd. (Yahua) to sell a 60% interest in the Companys Georgia Lake and Forgan Lake properties (the Northern Ontario Properties) and enter into a joint venture (the JV).



The Company also announces a non-brokered private placement (the Offering) for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of up to C$7,003,000 from the sale of the 29,800,000 units of the Company (the Units) at a price of $0.235 per Unit. As part of the Offering, Yahua intends to make a strategic investment of C$5 million in Units.

Purchase and Sale

Under the terms of the Agreement Yahua will invest C$8 million to acquire a 60% interest in the wholly-owned subsidiary of Ultra Lithium (the JV Co.) which holds the Companys Northern Ontario Properties.

Investment schedule: 1. Yahua will pay C$5 million to Ultra Lithium as consideration for the 60% equity interest in the JV Co. on the following installment schedule: a. C$1 million within 15 working days after signing the Agreement. b. C$1 million within 5 working days after the hard rock lithium exploration permits are placed into the subsidiary. c. C$3 million within 5 working days after the transfer of the 60% equity interest in the subsidiary to Yahua is completed. 2. Upon completion of the above consideration payments, the JV with Yahua holding a 60% and Ultra Lithium holding a 40% interest will be formed. Yahua will invest $3 million into the JV Co. for exploration expenditures.

Dr. Weiguo Lang, CEO of Ultra Lithium, stated, We are very pleased to enter this strategic partnership with Yahua as one of the major producers and suppliers of battery grade lithium products in the world. Yahua brings world class expertise in the hard rock lithium space and a long-term perspective to the Company. Ultra Lithium looks forward to a robust exploration program for the hard rock lithium properties in Northern Ontario in 2022.



Joint Venture

Under the terms of the agreement, Ultra Lithium will continue to pursue acquisition opportunities to increase high-quality hard-rock lithium resources with lithium-bearing pegmatites and continue to explore and discover more lithium resources in Canada for the JV Co.

Corporate governance

The Board of Directors of the JV will have five members, three of whom will be nominated by Yahua International and two by Ultra Lithium. The senior executives of the JV will be nominated and appointed by the Board of Directors. The Parties shall operate and manage the JV in accordance with the terms of the Shareholders Agreement of the Joint Venture.

Prohibition of dilution

The Parties shall retain their equity positions in the JV and prohibit dilution until commencement of commercial production. International Lithium Corp. will retain its 1.5% NSR on the Forgan Lake claims.

Regulatory Approval

The agreement is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals including the TSX Venture Exchange.

Private Placement

Each Unit will be comprised of one common share of the Company (each, a Unit Share) and one half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a Warrant) will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one common share of the Company (each, a Warrant Share) at a price of C$0.30 for a period of 12 months following the closing date of the Offering.

The net proceeds from the sale of Units will be used to fund the exploration of the Companys properties in Argentina, Ontario and Nevada and for general working capital purposes.

The Offering is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals including the TSX Venture Exchange. The Unit Shares, Warrant Shares and any common shares of the Company that are issuable from any finders warrants will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day in accordance with applicable securities laws. Finders fees will be payable in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.

The securities offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor in any other jurisdiction.

Forgan Lake

The Forgan Lake property consists of approximately 256 hectares land in 20 mining claims located in the Thunder Bay Mining District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located adjacent to the north of Ultra Lithiums Lucky Lake claim block comprised of 15 mining claims. The Company intends to start a summer 2022 work program on Forgan Lake which will include surface sampling and ground geophysical surveying. A drill program will commence as soon as permitting and community consultation is completed.

Highlights  Lithium mineralization is comprised of six spodumene-bearing pegmatites  Three 2019 grab samples showed lithium values of 6.93% Li2O, 6.90% Li2O and 4.88% Li2O  Historical exploration included 39 drill holes, aggregating 10,561 feet  Three historical channel cut samples returned average 2.57% Li2O over a width of 21 feet (6.4 m)  Two historical channel cut samples averaged 4.23% Li2O over 24.5 feet (7.46m)

Georgia Lake

The Georgia Lake property consists of 88 mining claims in the Thunder Bay Mining Division, Northwestern Ontario. The Company is planning a 2000-meter drill program at Georgia Lake to commence in late May after the spring breakup. The Company is in the process of engaging a drilling contractor.

Highlights  Drilling permit has been received  Geophysical survey completed winter 2021  Trenching completed winter 2021

CAUTIONARY NOTE: The historical results presented above are taken from from the Ontario Department of Mines Geological Report No. 31 titled, Geology and Lithium Deposits of Georgia Lake Area, by E.G. Pye, (1965), and 2009 Assessment work Report by TNR Gold Corp. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to verify the results; therefore, they should not be relied upon and are presented for informational purposes only.

About Yahua

Founded in 1952, Yahua group is one of the earliest chemical companies established after the founding of the Peoples Republic of China, currently has two main businesses, lithium industry and civil explosive industry. Yahua is a public company listed in Shenzhen Stock Exchange with the market cap of 34 billion RMB (approximately C$7 billion). It has more than 70 wholly-owned and holding subsidiaries, which are distributed throughout China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia and other countries.

Yahua Lithium is one of the major suppliers of lithium salt products in the world and one of the largest lithium hydroxide suppliers for TESLA. It is specialized in the R&D, manufacturing, and trading of lithium products, with the capacity of 43,000 tons of lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate. The products are widely used in battery, medicine, metallurgy, petrochemical, glass, nuclear industry and other industries. It has established long-term sales and purchase relationship with Zhenhua Materials, BTR, Xiamen Xiawu, BYD, Beijing Easpring Material Technology Co., Ltd, Ronbay Technology Battery and other domestic cathode materials leading enterprises, as well as Japan and South Korea's well-known cathode materials enterprises, and supply indirectly through industrial chain to BMW, Volkswagen, Weilai and other global new energy automobile enterprises.

Qualified Person

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Afzaal Pirzada, P.Geo., a qualified person, as defined by NI 43-101 who works as Vice President Exploration of the Company.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Kiki Smith

Kiki Smith, CFO

About Ultra Lithium Inc.

Ultra Lithium Inc. is an exploration and development company with a focus on the acquisition and development of lithium, gold, and copper assets. The Company holds a brine lithium property in Argentina, and hard rock spodumene type lithium properties at the Georgia Lake / Forgan Lake area in northwestern Ontario, Canada, and a brine lithium property in the Big Smoky Valley, Nevada, USA. The Company also holds other gold and base metals properties in Argentina.

For further information, please contact the Company at:

Attention: Kiki Smith

Telephone: 778 968-1176

Email: kiki@ultralithium.com

Website: www.ultralithium.com

or view the Companys filings at www.SEDAR.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Some of the statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects, intends, is expected, potential, suggests or variations of such words or phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, should, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements and information are not historical facts and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties beyond the Companys control. Actual results and developments are likely to differ and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Tukwila, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abogada Alexandra utilizes social media platforms to reach the significant number of immigrants facing unjust deportation from the U.S. and give them a voice. Learn how Alexandra is utilizing technology to make citizenship much easier for immigrants.





Why New Tech and Social Media are Vital for Immigration Lawyers





Many people rely on social media as their primary news source. It is especially true of migrants, who benefit from the diversity of voices on social media compared to mainstream news reports.





Equally, immigrants facing deportation from the U.S. might feel unlikely to find representation by searching for law firms through conventional channels. Finding Abogada Alexandra on social media is a surprise blessing for vulnerable people who might struggle to access high-quality legal representation otherwise.





Legal representation and advice shouldnt be a luxury for those who know where to seek it. Often, most who need assistance dont have access to information and dont know where to look for advice.





Fighting against the colossus of U.S. immigration control is too much for most people to do alone. However, by utilizing popular technologies like social media, Abogada Alexandra puts high-quality legal information at the center of the public domain, where anyone can access it and reach out for support.





How TikTok Helps Vulnerable Clients Find Alexandra Lozano Immigration Law





Lozanos TikTok presence is direct, authentic, presented in Spanish, and provides concise information about how immigrants can access legal aid. TikTok rose to prominence due to its ultra-short, accessible format and succeeded because its algorithm doesnt curate a users experience like other social media.





Abogada Alexandra understands that TikTok represents a unique opportunity for engagement. The law firms successful videos could reach anyone - especially someone who needs help and doesnt know where to look.





Staying ahead of the curve by successfully implementing modern tech helps Alexandra Lozano Immigration Law achieve what other legal firms struggle to achieve - finding the clients that most need its help. Its easy and accessible for clients to use as a point of contact with her legal team.





Abogada Alexandra Helping Clients on Instagram





Instagram is another handy platform for helping clients discover the legal aid they need. Social media presences often appear somewhat artificial, but Alexandra Lozano understands that authenticity holds peoples attention. It also puts her at odds with the highly curated super-clean appearance that old-fashioned law firms love to present.





Alexandras goal is to reach as many clients as possible and enable anyone to reach out for assistance via social media.





Abogada Alexandra uses technology to present an authentic voice that will fight for immigrants rights. Vulnerable people need to believe that theyll be heard before reaching out - thats the goal.





Finding Abogada Alexandra Immigration Law





Lozano can be reached on TikTok and Instagram (both @abogadaalexandra) and on all major social media platforms. Anyone can reach out with questions about immigration law and learn from her original, informative videos.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman urges CIRCOR International, Inc. (NYSE: CIR) investors with significant losses to submit your losses now. The firm is investigating the companys admitted improper accounting and possible securities law violations.



Visit: https://www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/CIR Contact An Attorney Now: CIR@hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895

CIRCOR International, Inc. (CIR) Investigation:



In past years, CIRCOR repeatedly assured investors that its financial reporting and financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP.

But, on Feb. 6, 2020, CIRCOR announced its CFO resigned effective Mar. 2, 2020.

Then, on Mar. 2, 2020, CIRCOR announced it would not timely file its year end 2019 financial report, it had identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting, and it was investigating accounting and reporting matters at one of its domestic business units that has been classified as discontinued operations.

Further, on Mar. 14, 2022, within months of the abrupt departures of the Companys new CFO and its CEO, CIRCOR announced that it and its auditor uncovered accounting irregularities in the financial statements with respect to the Companys Pipeline Engineering business unit, which is a part of its Industrial reporting segment. The Company said (1) the irregularities preliminarily appear to account for balance sheet and income statement entries in the range of $35 to $45 million of pre-tax income on a cumulative basis over a period of at least five years, and (2) it would restate its 2019  2021 financial statements.

Most recently, on Apr. 6, 2022, CIRCOR announced preliminary adjustments to 2021, 2020, and Q4 2020 revenues of $8.7 million, $6.2 million, and $2.2 million, respectively, that are related to Pipeline Engineering accounting irregularities.

These events have driven the price of CIRCOR shares sharply lower.

Were focused on investors losses and whether CIRCOR cooked its books to conceal the extent of its losses, said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.

If you invested in CIRCOR and have significant losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firms investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman.

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding CIRCOR should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email CIR@hbsslaw.com.

About Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs rights complex litigation law firm focusing on corporate accountability through class-action law. The firm is home to a robust securities litigation practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Samsung Canada is encouraging users to reach their wellness goals with advanced health monitoring tools, made available in Canada through the Samsung Health Monitor app. Designed to conquer better living every day, the Galaxy Watch4 Series is now equipped to help categorize and track a wide range of new and recently released health and wellness offerings.



Cutting-edge wellness features include BioActive Sensor technology and Advanced Sleep & Continuity SPO2, offering some of Samsungs most advanced health and wellness capabilities to date. Insights from the BioActive sensor, which measures Optical Heart Rate and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis, can be seen on the app so users can monitor their heart rate and blood oxygen level1.

Also, new blood pressure monitoring2 and electrocardiogram (ECG)3 features  which, together, are the first in Canada launched on a smartwatch, will be available to help complete an expansive suite of tools for monitoring fitness and overall wellness on the Samsung Health Monitor app4 through the Galaxy Watch4 Series.

The needs of todays smartwatch user is continuously evolving. With this new software update, Samsung is providing access to meaningful data and insights to support Canadians in advancing their health and wellness goals, said Raj Doshi, Head of Mobile Business, Samsung Canada. We are excited to introduce these new features and innovations as part of our wider commitment to redefining holistic wellness.

This offering has been combined with previously released features, including the Body Composition5 measurement tool, which provides users with an understanding of their general wellness and fitness, with key measurements like skeletal muscle mass, basal metabolic rate, body water and body fat percentage. Whether a user is looking to get active, or is focusing on a unique improvement journey, data from the Samsung Health Monitor app and useful tips and reminders allows them to make informed decisions about their wellness.

With a suite of advanced features to fit you and your lifestyle, the Galaxy Watch4 Series is a powerful companion that's built to keep your life on track while making a stylish statement wherever you go. In addition, Galaxy device continuity allows users to access their insights into their overall wellness across different devices including select Galaxy smartphones and tablets.

Blood Pressure Measurement

The Galaxy Watch4 Series measures blood pressure through pulse wave analysis, which is tracked with the Heart Rate Monitoring sensors. Users can simply tap it to measure their blood pressure at their convenience and see results on their Galaxy smartphone Samsung Health Monitor app.

Electrocardiogram Monitoring

The new electrocardiogram feature on the Galaxy Watch4 Series works by analyzing the hearts electrical activity, classifying it as either a Sinus Rhythm (a normal, regular heartbeat) or AFib (when the heart beats irregularly)6. Users who reeceive and AFib reading are encouraged to consult with their qualified health professional to address any questions or concerns. Being able to monitor heart health on a regular basis allows users to be more informed on their overall health.

Availability

Users must have the Samsung Health Monitor app installed on their Galaxy Watch4 Series device and their Galaxy smartphone7 to take blood pressure and electrocardiogram measurements. The Samsung Health Monitor app update will be available on the Galaxy Watch4 Series starting April 20, 2022. For more information, visit Samsung Canada Newsroom or Samsung.ca.

###

About Samsung Electronics Canada Inc.

Samsung Electronics Canada inspires Canadians to reach their full potential through a transformative ecosystem of products and services that deliver innovation and distinct design to every aspect of their connected lives. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, and wearable devices, tablets and digital appliances. In 2022, Samsung was ranked as one of Canada's "Most Reputable Companies" in Leger's Corporate Reputation Study. Dedicated to helping make a difference in the lives of Canadians, Samsung's award-winning corporate giving initiatives support public education and health-related issues in communities across the country. To discover more, please visit www.Samsung.ca.

Follow Samsung Canada at facebook.com/SamsungCanada, or Instagram @samsungcanada or Twitter @SamsungCanada.

CONTACT:

Aneesha Singh

North Strategic

Tel: 867-336-2206

Aneesha.singh@northstrategic.com

1 The Blood Oxygen (SpO2) feature is not intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease. Intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only. Availability of this feature may vary by market. Please consult a medical professional for advice.

2 Blood pressure feature only to be used by adults 22 years and older. Intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only. Not intended for use in detection, monitoring, diagnosis, treatment of any medical condition or disease. The measurements are for your personal reference only. Please consult a medical professional for advice. For accurate BP readings, a calibration is required every 4 weeks by BP monitor &arm cuff.

3 Intended to create, record, store, transfer, and display a single channel electrocardiogram (ECG), similar to a Lead I ECG for adults 22 years and older. The ECG feature is not intended to replace traditional methods of diagnosis or treatment. The ECG feature is not intended for users with other known arrhythmias. If an irregular heartbeat or atrial fibrillation is detected, consult a doctor. If you experience symptoms of a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular conditions, do not rely on the notification of the device and consult a doctor. Follow the instructions for use. If symptoms persist, worsen or change unexpectedly, talk to your health professional.

4 A Galaxy Watch and Samsung Galaxy smartphone are required to use Samsung Health Monitor app. Supported watches: Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch4 Classic. Supported smartphones: Samsung Galaxy smartphone with Android 7.0 OS version or higher.

5 The Samsung BIA is a body analyzer that uses bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) technology to track body composition based on weight, body fat, body mass index (BMI), skeletal muscle, body water, and basal metabolic rate (BMR) measurements. This feature and related software are not intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease. If you have any questions the Samsung BIA or medical condition, contact a medical professional. Availability of this feature may vary by market.

6 The ECG recording or Samsung Health Monitor app never looks for signs of a heart attack. It is not intended to replace traditional methods of diagnosis or treatment.

7 The blood pressure and electrocardiogram measurements are only functional with a compatible Samsung device that has the Samsung Health Monitor app installed and Galaxy Watch4 Series devices with the Samsung Health Monitor app installed.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2631ee59-7c10-4a78-9902-e657db1f8839
Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States

TORONTO, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PIMCO Canada Corp. (PIMCO Canada) is pleased to announce today that it has declared monthly distributions on its Class A Units (the Units) of the PIMCO Canada closed end funds (the Funds). The distributions will be paid on May 13, 2022 to the holders of record at the close of business on April 29, 2022.

Details of the distribution amounts are as follow:

Fund Name Ticker Cash Distribution per Unit Change from Previous Month Percentage Change from Previous Month PIMCO Global Income Opportunities Fund PGI.UN $ 0.05688 - - PIMCO Tactical Income Fund PTI.UN $ 0.05208 - - PIMCO Tactical Income Opportunities Fund PTO.UN $ 0.05000 - -

Unitholders are reminded that each Fund offers a distribution reinvestment plan (DRIP) which will provide unitholders with the ability to automatically reinvest their distributions. Eligible unitholders are encouraged to contact the institution through which they hold their Units to confirm enrollment procedures and timelines. A copy of the DRIP is available at www.pimco.ca.

The Manager, PIMCO Canada, retains Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (PIMCO), to provide investment management services to the Funds.

About PIMCO

PIMCO was founded in 1971 in Newport Beach, California and is one of the worlds premier fixed income investment managers. Today we have offices across the globe and 3,000+ professionals united by a single purpose: creating opportunities for investors in every environment. PIMCO is owned by Allianz S.E., a leading global diversified financial services provider.

This is not an offer to sell Units and not a solicitation of an offer to buy Units in any region where the offer or sale is not permitted. Before you invest, you should carefully read the Funds disclosure documents and consider carefully the risks you assume when you invest in the Units. There can be no assurance that a Fund will achieve its investment objectives or be able to structure its investment portfolio as anticipated. Copies of the Funds disclosure documents may be obtained from your financial advisor.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this news release constitute forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, those identified by the expressions expect, intend, will and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Funds. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect each Fund, PIMCO Canada and/or PIMCOs current expectations regarding future results or events. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations, including, but not limited to, market factors. Although the Funds, PIMCO Canada and/or PIMCO believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and, accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. The Funds, PIMCO Canada and/or PIMCO undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement or information whether as a result of new information, future events or other factors which affect this information, except as required by law.

You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell Units on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the TSX). If the Units are purchased or sold on the TSX, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buying Units and may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them. There are ongoing fees and expenses associated with owning Units. An investment fund must prepare disclosure documents that contain key information about the fund. You can find more detailed information about the Funds in these documents. Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

Each Fund is a closed end exchange traded investment fund. Closed end funds, unlike open end funds, are not continuously offered. After the initial public offering, shares of closed end funds are sold on the open market through a stock exchange. For additional information, contact your financial advisor.

For a summary of the risks of an investment in each Fund, please see the Principal Risks of the Fund section of the prospectus. Units of closed end funds frequently trade at a discount to their net asset value, which may increase risk of loss. Distributions are not guaranteed and are subject to change and/or elimination.

PIMCO as a general matter provides services to qualified institutions, financial intermediaries and institutional investors. Individual investors should contact their own financial professional to determine the most appropriate investment options for their financial situation. This material contains the current opinions of the manager and such opinions are subject to change without notice. This material has been distributed for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission. PIMCO is a trademark of Allianz Asset Management of America L.P. in the United States and throughout the world. 2022, PIMCO

The products and services provided by PIMCO Canada Corp. may only be available in certain provinces or territories of Canada and only through dealers authorized for that purpose.

PIMCO Canada has retained PIMCO as sub-adviser. PIMCO Canada will remain responsible for any loss that arises out of the failure of its sub-adviser.

PIMCO Canada Corp. 199 Bay Street, Suite 2050, Commerce Court Station, P.O. Box 363, Toronto, ON, M5L 1G2, 416-368-3350

Contact:

Agnes Crane

PIMCO  Media Relations

Phone: +212 597.1054
Virginia Beach, VA, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In celebration of National Nurses Week (May 6-12), ECPI University will award over $55,000 in scholarships across its 14 nursing campuses in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Texas and online. Each scholarship is worth $2,000, and each campus will have two scholarship recipients.

The contest  located at www.ecpi.edu/heart is open to aspiring nurses, current ECPI nursing students, and nurses working in their field and looking to earn an advanced degree. To enter, applicants must answer How is Nursing a Work of Heart?, submit a photo to be used for Facebook voting, and select which campus (and degree program) they plan to attend. Entries will be accepted now through May 1 .

A scholarship team will narrow entries down to five finalists per campus, with finalists essays and photos then posted on ECPI Universitys Facebook page for public voting during National Nurses Week (May 6-12). Scholarship winners will be announced on May 12 during a special Thank You event for ECPI nursing students, faculty and graduates, held on all 14 nursing campuses.

ECPI University provides hands-on instruction for students working towards their LPN, RN, BSN and MSN, employs educators training the next generation of nurses and partners with healthcare employers in need of our graduates. We have a deep level of respect for the nursing field and our place in it, says ECPI University COO, Barbara Larar. After two years of pandemic education and care, we wanted to find a way to say thank you. We hope these scholarships encourage potential or current nurses in the pursuit of their passion, or can assist nurses already in the field who want to further their education.

This scholarship contest is the first of its kind for ECPI University. For more information, contact Jessica Davenport at 757-773-8585.

###

About ECPI University

Founded in 1966, ECPI University is a private university with 17 locations in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Texas and online. ECPI is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate, baccalaureate, and masters degrees. Questions about the accreditation of ECPI may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOCs website (www.sacscoc.org). The university has programs in technology, nursing, health science, business, criminal justice, and culinary arts. Program availability varies by campus. For more information, visit www.ecpi.edu.

Attachment
North Bethesda, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- North Bethesda, Maryland -

Treasure Moving Company, a moving company based in Rockville, MD, wants to inform everyone that they have been seeing a rise in long distance moves out the Washington DC area of the rising cost of living in the capital city. The average rent in DC is 153 percent higher than the national average. Thus, more and more people have been moving out for more affordable options. Meanwhile, this Washington DC movers company is ready to provide the services of the best movers and packers in Washington DC , allowing for a stress-free moving experience.

Fedor Kozlov, President and CEO of Treasure Moving Company, says, A successful local moving experience requires good planning. Get started by requesting a free quote today and let Treasure Moving Company treat all your fragile and precious items as if they were our own. Let us create a stress-free local moving experience for you. We at Treasure Moving Company understand that moving can be tremendously stressful, especially if you have no equipment or manpower. With our full packing services for the local area we are able to take care of everything.

Their professional movers fully understand that moving is one the most stressful things that people can experience in their life. The moving process requires packing various items and valuables, transporting theme, and then unpacking the various belongings. It is essential to make sure that such belongings do not get damaged or lost during the process. The service areas of Treasure Moving Company include not just Washington DC but also: Columbia, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Olney, Bethesda, Darnestown, Chevy Chase, and Potomac.

There are a number of factors that make Treasure Moving Company stand out among the other movers. These include: same day moving service in Rockville; their professional and experienced crews; willingness to accept any moving requirement, whether big or small; and honest and upfront pricing.

Meanwhile, those who have tried their services have mostly positive things to say about their experience with Treasure Moving Company. People can find them on Yelp and note that they have almost 150 reviews on that review site. In one of their recent reviews, Trenton C. gave them a five star rating and said, Just finished a move with Treasure and they're some of the kindest, most knowledgeable movers we've ever worked with. We used their packing and moving services. They sent 6 guys to pack our completely unpacked 2BR/2.5 bathroom/basement townhome and they were done before sundown. Move in to the new place was seamless the next day. 10/10, would recommend. Thanks, Treasure.

In another recent review, Susan B. also gave them five stars and said, We used Treasure Moving in autumn 2021 to move from a retirement community to an apartment in a high-rise. We split the move so that furniture went first. Then about two weeks later, they moved the boxes and miscellaneous stuff. (This splitting was done to accommodate some of our personal needs.) We had two different crews and both crews were great. They were easy to work with, attentive to the care of our belongings, and very reasonably priced. And the woman answering the phone in the office was just plain superb. We will definitely call them for our next move, though we hope that is several years in the future.

Treasure Moving Company is a fully insured and licensed commercial moving company based in Rockville, Maryland, with professional movers who offers their services to the Washington DC metropolitan area. With over 20 years of experience in the moving industry, their services have earned an excellent reputation due to their reliable, experienced, and skilled team of movers and packers, including their willingness to go the extra mile whenever the situation calls for it. Their services include: residential moving, long distance moving, commercial moving, packing services, piano moving and small job moves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKuxjzEg_XQ

People who would like to know more about the services of Maryland movers can visit the Treasure Moving Company website, or contact them on the telephone or through email. They are open from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, from Monday to Sunday. They can also learn more here by accessing a recent press release.

###

For more information about Treasure Moving Company, contact the company here:



Treasure Moving Company

Fedor Kozlov

(855) 715-6683

info@treasuremoving.com

12140-A Parklawn Dr, Rockville, MD 20852
TORONTO, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FuelPositive Corporation (TSX.V: NHHH) (OTCQB: NHHHF) (FuelPositive or the Company) held its virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) yesterday and provided attendees with an update from management. Dr. Ibrahim Dincer, the lead inventor of FuelPositives flagship technology, spoke at the AGM via video, as did Curtis Hiebert, the Companys first demonstration project partner. The video of the management presentation can be viewed here: https://fuelpositive.com/fuelpositive-agm-april-19-2022/. A PDF of the presentation can be downloaded here: https://fuelpositive.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AGM-deck-April-19-12-pm.pdf

The presentation focused on FuelPositives green ammonia production technology  a scalable, containerized system that employs a carbon-free process to make pure/anhydrous ammonia. The technology will disrupt the traditional grey ammonia supply chain by placing the production systems onsite, where the customer will be able to be self-sufficient by having control over supply, timing and costs.

The presentation covered a review of key 2021 milestones met by the Company and set out the milestones for 2022. Included were updates on:

Hiring key staff and appointing expert advisors

Securing leases for premises to build our demonstration systems

Meeting with government officials at federal and provincial levels

Validating the first demonstration system

Identifying the next demonstration project partners

Refining the costing model and setting pricing

Filing the non-provisional patent for our containerized green ammonia production system technology

Accepting pre-orders

Setting up the next batch manufacturing and preparing for serial manufacturing

Launching R&D regarding on-farm nitrous oxide emission reductions

Identifying and acquiring new intellectual property to diversify our portfolio

Generating analyst coverage

Its astounding when you think that weve gone from a cold start, with the acquisition of the intellectual property for the technology 13 months ago, to being ready for the field five months from now. Within that time frame, weve accomplished so much: we basically have a new company, a new team, and a unique product that is going to make a disruptive difference in the world. And its all been done during a global pandemic with serious supply chain issues. Im very proud of our progress, said Ian Clifford, FuelPositive CEO and Board Chair.

Dr. Ibrahim Dincer, the lead inventor of the patent-pending containerized green ammonia production system technology, spoke via video to the meeting: FuelPositive (is making) an historic attempt to commercialize our technology FuelPositive has moved ahead and recruited key people and assembled a team of experts...from almost every discipline, to make this solution available to humanity. I am very hopeful we will have a remarkable achievement coming soon.

Market Readiness

The Company spoke at length about preparing for its demonstration pilot projects. The objectives of the first pilot project are to place the system on the farm and run it on the sustainable energy supply available there, evaluate the interface between the customer and the system, prove the ease of use of the system and ensure the system performs over time as expected.

The first demonstration system is scheduled to be on the farm of Tracy and Curtis Hiebert in the late summer of 2022. Nelson Leite, FuelPositive Chief Operating Officer, stated: We are on track for the first system to be farm-ready by late summer 2022. Leite added that supply chain challenges and the preparation of the site could mean slight delays commissioning the system on the site. Specifically, transporting the system from FuelPositive in Ontario to Manitoba could be affected by transportation logistics. As well, the farmer must apply for and have in place the permits for the production, storage and handling of the green anhydrous ammonia. The farmer must also have new storage tanks delivered, installed and ready for operation.

What I can say, is that everything that we have control over is going according to plan, and we fully expect our first containerized green ammonia production system to be farm-ready by late summer. The demonstration system will be validated and running in our facility. We will then be able to create and share images of the system for everyone to see and this will be a very exciting milestone, added Leite.

Farmer Interface

FuelPositive outlined new information about how the system will function and how farmers will work with it. It has been designed to make its operation simple, despite its advanced technology. Customers will receive onsite training, but there will be little for them to do, because FuelPositive will monitor, optimize and maintain remotely more than 145 aspects of the system from its own location.

The system lifecycle is expected to last several decades, with only periodic upgrades necessary. For instance, a catalyst upgrade will be implemented at the 15-year mark. The Company will be continually advancing the technology. Due to its modular design and remote connectivity, each customer will be able to take advantage of new technologies as they become available. Delays, in that context, for upgrading a component, as an example, will be minimal. Unlike a large grey ammonia refinery, the green ammonia containerized FuelPositive system can be started and stopped quickly and safely as needed.

About FuelPositive

FuelPositive is a Canadian technology company committed to providing commercially viable and sustainable cradle to cradle clean technology solutions, including green ammonia (NH3), for use across a broad spectrum of industries and applications. By focusing on technologies that are clean, sustainable and economically advantageous/realizable, the Company aims to change the course of climate change through practical solutions that can be implemented now.

The FuelPositive green ammonia production system takes air, water and sustainable electricity and synthesizes it into pure, anhydrous ammonia for multiple applications, including fertilizer for farming, fuel for grain drying and internal combustion engines and a solution for grid storage. Green ammonia is also being considered as a key enabler of the hydrogen economy.

The production system has three basic sections: a hydrogen extractor that uses electrolysis to extract the hydrogen from water, a nitrogen extractor that extracts the nitrogen from air, and an ammonia synthesis converter the combines the hydrogen and nitrogen to produce ammonia. FuelPositives provisional patent is for the unique technology used in the ammonia synthesis converter.

FuelPositive systems are designed to provide for green ammonia production on-site, where its needed. This eliminates wildly fluctuating supply chains and offers end-user energy and supply security.

Already proven in the lab, FuelPositive is building three full-sized systems to be rolled out in demonstration pilot projects in 2022.

Cautionary Statement

Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, forward-looking statements) that are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. The information in this release about future plans and objectives of the Company, including the expected expenditures of the proceeds of the private placement, are forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time they were made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the time of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect.

Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can directly or indirectly affect, and could cause, actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

Forward-looking information is provided for the purpose of providing information about managements expectations and plans relating to the future. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable law.

For Media or Investor enquiries, please contact:

Ian Clifford

Chief Executive Officer and Board Chair

mailbox1@fuelpositive.com

www.fuelpositive.com

Investor Relations (United States)

RBMG  RB Milestone Group LLC

Trevor Brucato, Managing Director

fuelpositive@rbmilestone.com

www.rbmilestone.com


Chicago, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the latest research report by Arizton, the Colombia data center market will grow at a CAGR of over 9% during 2021-2027. The presence of colocation data centers is higher in Bogota, followed by Barranquilla. In Colombia, retail colocation dominates the market with over 90% share of the total colocation revenue in the country.



Colombia Data Center Market Report Scope

Report Attributes Details MARKET SIZE (INVESTMENT) (2021) $380 Million MARKET SIZE (INVESTMENT) (2027) $653 Million MARKET SIZE (AREA) (2027) 117 Thousand Sq. Ft MARKET SIZE (POWER CAPACITY) (2027) 25 MW COLOCATION MARKET SIZE (REVENUE) (2027) $110 Million CAGR (2022-2027) Over 9% BASE YEAR 2021 FORECAST YEAR 2022-2027 SEGMENTATION ANALYSIS IT Infrastructure, Electrical Infrastructure, Mechanical Infrastructure, General Construction, and Tier Standard

Click Here to Download the Free Sample Report

Key Insights

Colombia is evolving as a digital hub in Latin America, with increased initiatives from the government for digitalization and automation. Other driving factors include an increase in cloud adoption, increasing connectivity, and advanced technology adoption.

Columbias data center investment landscape is led by Bogota, with 14 data center facilities contributing to over 85% of the existing colocation capacity. Other cities witnessing significant data center investments include Medellin, Barranquilla, and Cali.

The government is actively working to bring in data center investment, such as the launch of the National Development Plan 2018-2022 for digital transformation in the country, and announcements of regulations for digitalization and automation in the country.

In 2021, Equinix, HostDime, and GlobeNet were prominent data center colocation providers. Telecom operators such as InterNexa and GlobeNet are investing in edge data centers.

Colombia has over ten Free Trade Zones, including Rionegro (Medellin), Pacific (Cali), La Candelaria (Cartagena), Quindio, Santa Marta, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Palmaseca (Cali) and Arauca, which expect to attract data center facilities in the coming years.

In Colombia, renewable energy sources include hydropower, solar energy, biomass, geothermal, and wind energy. Colombia is aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030 compared to 2014.

Trends & Drivers

In Brazil, the revenue generated from public cloud is expected to be around $3.5 billion in 2022. SaaS will be the leading revenue generator in 2022.

The implementation of AI in data centers has various benefits, such as lower chances of human errors, early detection of glitches, increasing efficiency of data center cooling infrastructure, and substitution for humans in data centers with a lack of labor availability.

In Brazil, COVID-19 introduced a remote working model for corporates and individuals, which generated huge amounts of data. This led to a boom in the data center market.



Target Audience

Data center Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT)

Data center Construction Contractors

Data center Infrastructure Providers

New Entrants

Consultants/Consultancies/Advisory Firms

Corporate and Governments Agencies

Know more: https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/colombia-data-center-market

Investment Analysis

Lumen Technologies and Huawei has planned major data center expansions across Central and Latin America countries, which will also boost investments in the Colombia market during the next 3-5 years.

Colombia is a growing gaming market in Latin America, followed by Brazil and Mexico. In 2020, the total number of gamers in the country stood at around 9 million and is expected to reach around 12 million by 2024. This in turn, will increase data generation which will lead to increased requirement for data centers for processing and storage.

The growing adoption of cloud-based services is helping in the growth of retail and wholesale colocation services in the market. The market is witnessing an increase in the demand for colocation spaces across existing and upcoming data centers, creating lucrative opportunities for market vendors.





Explore our data center knowledge base profile to know more about the industry.

Click Here to Download the Free Sample Report

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About Arizton:

Arizton Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services.

We offer comprehensive market research reports on industries such as consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare, and life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals, and materials, IT and media, logistics, and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts.

Arizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered in generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports.

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THIS PRESS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SOLICITATION, OR SALE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL PRIOR TO REGISTRATION OR QUALIFICATION UNDER THE SECURITIES LAWS OF THAT JURISDICTION.



CALGARY, Alberta and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bluewater Acquisition Corp. (NEX:BAQ.H, "Bluewater") and AlphaDelta Management Corp. ("ADM") are pleased to announce that they have entered into a non-binding letter of intent dated April 20, 2022 (the "Letter of Intent"), that sets out the terms under which Bluewater would be prepared to acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities of ADM (the "Proposed Transaction").

Bluewater intends the Proposed Transaction to constitute its "Qualifying Transaction", as defined by the policies of TSX Venture Exchange Inc. (the "Exchange"). After the completion of the Proposed Transaction, Bluewater expects to be classified as a "Tier 2" issuer in the "Industrial/Investment/ Technology" industry segment of the Exchange and carry on the business of ADM.

ADM

ADM is a creator, marketer and promoter of actively-managed investment funds and other investment products which are sold to Canadian investors through the broker-dealer distribution channel. The AlphaDelta Funds are distinguished by their fulfilling of un-met client needs and their high degree of differentiation from index and closet-index funds. All of the AlphaDelta Funds have, at one time or another, been at or near the top of their respective investment categories over their five-year performance history.

ADM was incorporated under the federal laws of Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia on May 4, 2014, and carries on the business of distribution of financial investment products through IIROC and MFDA financial advisors throughout Canada.

ADM has 66,902,186 common shares (the "ADM Shares") and 5,500,000 stock options (the "ADM Options") issued and outstanding. The directors of ADM are Maurice Levesque of Edmonton, Alberta; Victor Therrien of Vancouver, British Columbia; and Peter Van Dyke of Vancouver, British Columbia. No individual or group of individuals acting in concert has beneficial ownership of, or control or direction over, directly or indirectly, more than 20% of the outstanding ADM Shares on a non-diluted or fully-diluted basis.

ADM intends to disclose certain historical financial information in a subsequent press release.

Bluewater

Bluewater is a Capital Pool Company (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange). Bluewater has not commenced operations and has no assets other than cash. The principal business of Bluewater is the identification and evaluation of assets or businesses with a view to completing a Qualifying Transaction.

Bluewater has 7,716,500 common shares (the "Bluewater Shares") issued and outstanding and 771,650 stock options (the "Bluewater Options") issued and outstanding. No individual or group of individuals acting in concert has beneficial ownership of, or control or direction over, directly or indirectly, more than 20% of the outstanding Bluewater Shares.

Certain historical financial information about Bluewater is available at www.sedar.com.

Proposed Transaction

The Proposed Transaction involves several steps. Under the Proposed Transaction: (a) Bluewater will incorporate a wholly-owned subsidiary; (b) the wholly-owned subsidiary and ADM will amalgamate (the "Amalgamation") and, pursuant to the Amalgamation, the ADM shareholders will receive Bluewater Shares in exchange for their ADM Shares, and the ADM option holders will receive Bluewater Options in exchange for their ADM options, in accordance with the Exchange Ratio (as defined below).

Private Placements

Shortly after the dissemination of this press release, ADM intends to conduct a non-brokered private placement of a maximum of 20,000,000 ADM Shares, at a price of $0.05 per ADM Share, for maximum gross proceeds of $1,000,000 (the "Initial Private Placement"). The proceeds of the Initial Private Placement will be used for working capital purposes.

Immediately prior to the completion of the Proposed Transaction, ADM expects to conduct a brokered private placement (the "Concurrent Private Placement" and, together with the Initial Private Placement, the "Private Placements") of ADM subscription receipts, for minimum gross proceeds of $2,000,000. Each ADM subscription receipt will entitle the holder to receive, without payment of additional consideration and without any further action, one AlphaDelta Share upon satisfaction of all the conditions to the completion of the Proposed Transaction. The proceeds of the Concurrent Private Placement will be used for working capital purposes.

Conditions Precedent to Closing

The Proposed Transaction is subject to a number of significant conditions, including that: (a) the Exchange has conditionally accepted the Proposed Transaction; (b) ADM has closed the Private Placements; and (c) ADM shareholders have approved the Amalgamation.

Post-Closing Capitalization of Bluewater

Under the Proposed Transaction, the parties will establish the number of Bluewater Shares to be issued for each ADM Share, and the number of Bluewater Options to be issued for each ADM Option, based on an exchange ratio that will result in former AlphaDelta shareholders owning approximately 97.00% of the common shares of the resulting issuer, on a fully-diluted basis, and former Bluewater shareholders owning approximately 3.00% of the common shares of the resulting issuer, on a fully-diluted basis, immediately after the completion of the Proposed Transaction.

Post-Closing Directors and Officers

Immediately after the Proposed Transaction, the parties expect the directors or officers of the resulting issuer to be as follows:

Victor J Therrien, Director, Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Therrien is the CEO / Founder of ADM and over the past 30 years served in the following executive roles; Vice-President, Director for AGF Management Ltd., an investment management firm, Executive Vice-President, Director (Canada), Executive Director / Global Institutional Group at Brandes Investment Partners Ltd., an investment management firm, President and CEO at Therrien Woods & Co., an investment management firm, Vice-President (Ontario) of Richardson GMP Limited, a wealth management firm, and CEO / Founder of ADM. As well, Mr. Therrien serves on the board of directors of a publicly- traded company, a registered investment fund manager and two private companies.

Brad Farquhar, Director. Mr. Farquhar is Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of SSC Security Services Corp. (TSXV: SECU; OTCQX: SECUF) and its predecessor companies. He previously co-founded Assiniboia Capital Corp., which built Canadas largest farmland fund before selling it to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in 2014. Mr. Farquhar is a trained financial planner and spent over 10 years as a senior advisor to senior political leaders in Saskatchewan and Canada prior to founding Assiniboia. He received a MPA in Electoral Governance from Griffith University in Australia, studied political science at Carleton University, and completed a BA at Providence College. He previously served as Executive in Residence in Agribusiness at the University of Regina. Mr. Farquhar has extensive public company and board experience as a Director of SSC Security Services Corp. (TSXV: SECU), Mongolia Growth Group Inc. (TSXV: YAK), LUXXFOLIO Holdings Inc. (CSE: LUXX), Radicle Group Inc., SIM Canada, Prairie College, and the advisory board of AgFunder.

Maurice Levesque, Director. Mr. Maurice Levesque is a founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Qwest Investment Management Corp. (QIM). Mr. Levesque is the Chairman, CEO and Chief Compliance Officer of Qwest Investment Fund Management Ltd., and Chairman, President and director of Heritage Bancorp Ltd., Chairman of Qwest Fund Advisory and Back Officer Services Ltd. (all three companies a subsidiary of QIM). Mr. Levesque has over 35 years of experience in the Canadian financial industry and is recognized for his broad knowledge, skills and experience in the venture capital industry, financial services industry and for his leadership skills in new business formation and development. Mr. Levesque is a founder and/or a director of several private and publicly traded companies which operate in a variety of industries. Mr. Levesque graduated from The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology with a diploma in Administration Management.

Dave Malone, Director. For the last 20 years, Mr. Malone has served as VP Business Initiatives at RBC Wealth Management (reporting to CEO and COO) where he was responsible for business technology strategy, prioritization, funding and implementation of advisor desktop and client facing technologies across $4 billion annual revenue business, supporting 1900 Advisor teams and 450,000 HNW clients. For the past 5 years, Mr. Malone has been the President and Director of a 360 unit Condominium Board in the GTA Humber Bay Shores area. Graduated from University of Toronto in 1983, Canadian Chartered Accountant (CA) designation (1986), Canadian Securities Course (1987), CSI Derivatives Course (2010), and Masters Trust Institute (MTI) in 2011.

Michail Sapountzoglou, Director. Mr. Sapountzoglou's is currently co-founder and CEO of Bluewater. Mr. Sapountzoglou began his career with a private family office in Monaco running proprietary trading and asset management. In 1994, he moved to London and helped establish the family office of the Angelopoulos Group, leading M&A transactions within its core investments in shipping, off-shore drilling, and private equity until his departure in 2015. He established Angelopoulos Group's joint venture with Odfjell Drilling Ltd. and led a series of bond transactions trading on the Oslo Stock Exchange, raising over $1.6 billion for the off-shore projects. For the Angelopoulos Group's shipping arm, Metrostar Management Corp., he led capital markets strategy and business development. He directed the Angelopoulos Group's initial seed investment in PuriCore, focused on developing its HOCl, where he was also a founding Director from 1999-2013. He assisted in taking PuriCore public on the Main List of the London Stock Exchange and chaired its Remuneration and Nomination committees.

Peter Van Dyke, Director. Mr. Van Dyke is a seasoned finance professional, having worked in the finance and investment industry for most of his 35-year career. He held positions in banking (Royal Bank: Administrative Management and Lloyds Bank: Commercial/Corporate Credit), real estate market analysis (CMHC), operational finance and investment and for the last four years has been working in the family office space, managing an institutional-sized investment portfolio. Peter is a Director of Junior Achievement BC and Chair of its Risk Management Committee. He is also Director and Treasurer of the Vancouver Community College Foundation. Peter is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA), a graduate of Simon Fraser University (BBA  Finance), and University of British Columbia (Urban Land Economics Diploma). He has successfully completed the Canadian Securities Course and completed the first year of the CFA Institutes Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement.

Dr. John Schmitz, Director. Dr. Schmitz is one of Canadas foremost authorities on global equities and global derivatives. He is responsible for risk management and chairs AlphaDeltas Investment Oversight Committee for the AlphaDelta Funds. Dr. Schmitz holds a BESc (Mechanical Engineering), a BA (Economics) and a DHS (Honours Economics) from the University of Western Ontario, a MA (Economics) from the University of Toronto, and a PhD (Finance) from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Glenn Warkentin, Corporate Secretary. Mr. Warkentin is Counsel at Lindsey MacCarthy LLP, a Canadian law firm.

Arm's Length Negotiations

The Proposed Transaction does not constitute a "Non Arm's Length Qualifying Transaction", as defined in the policies of the Exchange, and Bluewater is not required, therefore, to obtain shareholder approval of the Proposed Transaction under the policies of the Exchange.

Sponsorship

In connection with the Proposed Transaction, Bluewater intends to apply for a waiver of the sponsorship requirements of the Exchange. There can be no assurance that the Exchange will grant the waiver. If the Exchange does not grant the waiver, then Bluewater must retain a sponsor of the Proposed Transaction in accordance with the policies of the Exchange.

Resignation of Antonios Backos

Bluewater also announces that Antonios Backos resigned as a director of Bluewater on April 5, 2022. Bluewater wishes to thank Mr. Backos for his service to Bluewater and wishes him well in his future endeavours.

Exchange Advisory

Completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Exchange acceptance and if applicable pursuant to the requirements of the Exchange, majority of the minority shareholder approval. Where applicable, the Proposed Transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the Proposed Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the prospectus to be prepared in connection with the Proposed Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Proposed Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon.

Trading in the securities of a Capital Pool Company should be considered highly speculative.

The Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the Proposed Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

Neither the Exchange nor its "regulation services provider" (as defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Forward-Looking Information Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. In general, forward-looking information refers to disclosure about future conditions, courses of action, and events. The use of any of the words "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "will", "would", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information. More particularly and without limitation, this press release contains forward looking information concerning the proposed terms, and the anticipated results, of the Proposed Transaction, Initial Private Placement, and Concurrent Private Placement. The forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Bluewater and ADM, including expectations and assumptions concerning the ability of Bluewater and ADM to complete the Proposed Transaction, Initial Private Placement, and Concurrent Private Placement. Although Bluewater and ADM believe that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because neither Bluewater nor ADM can give any assurance that they will prove to be accurate. By its nature, forward-looking information is subject to various risks and uncertainties, which could cause the actual results and expectations to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed in this press release. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the inability of Bluewater and ADM to satisfy the conditions precedent to the Proposed Transaction, Initial Private Placement, and Concurrent Private Placement. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is given as of the date of this press release, and to not use such forward-looking information for anything other than its intended purpose. Neither Bluewater nor ADM undertakes any obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

Further Information

For further information about Bluewater, please contact:

Michail Sapountzoglou

President, CEO, and CFO

306945226000

For further information about ADM, please contact:

Victor Therrien

CEO

7789876417

Victortherrien (WhatsApp)




SALISBURY, N.C., April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Food Lion Feeds is donating $1 million to help fund Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolinas new Salisbury, N.C., location. The facility in Rowan County, which will be named Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina  Food Lion Feeds Center, will provide new opportunities for the food bank to better serve the community through its agency food distributions and food pantry partners in Rowan, Cabarrus and Stanly counties. Additionally, the new facility will support disaster preparation and response operations for food banks throughout the Carolinas and Georgia.



Were privileged to be able to support this new facility and honored to be a 34-year partner with Metrolina, said Kevin Durkee, Manager, Food Lion Feeds. Working with Metrolinas amazing team, we have made it our mission to shine a light on our neighbors in this region who are food insecure and in need of a helping hand and a little bit of hope.



According to Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, there are 21,660 individuals living at or below the poverty level in Rowan County, representing 15.9% of the population. In the past year, the Food Bank distributed over 2.5 million pounds of food to agencies in Rowan County.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina could not ask for a better partner in ending hunger than Food Lion, said Kay Carter, Chief Executive Officer, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina. They have supported our efforts for decades assisting with our expansion in Charlotte and now helping insure the development of our next major site in Rowan County. Everyone at the food bank is excited to see how many more hungry people we can serve in Rowan and the surrounding counties all thanks to the generosity of our neighbors, Food Lion.

Through Food Lion Feeds, Food Lions hunger relief platform, the company has donated more than 900 million meals to individuals and families since 2014 and has committed to donate 1.5 billion meals by 2025.

For more information on how Food Lion is fighting to end hunger in the towns and cities it serves through Food Lion Feeds, click here.

About Food Lion

Food Lion, based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, has more than 1,100 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 82,000 associates. By leveraging its longstanding heritage of low prices and convenient locations, Food Lion is working to own the easiest full shop grocery experience in the Southeast, anchored by a strong commitment to affordability, freshness and the communities it serves. Through Food Lion Feeds, the company has donated more than 900 million meals to individuals and families since 2014 and has committed to donate 1.5 billion meals by 2025. Food Lion is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. division of Zaandam-based Ahold Delhaize. For more information, visit www.foodlion.com or job applicants may visit www.foodlion.com/careers.

About Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina

As part of Feeding America, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina serves 24 counties in North and South Carolina. In FY2020-2021, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina distributed over 82 million pounds of food and household items to over 950 hunger feeding agencies including emergency pantries, soup kitchens, senior programs, shelters and low-income daycares. Follow the Food Bank on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube.

CONTACTS: Food Lion Media Relations

704-245-3317

publicrelationsteam@foodlion.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/63f46373-5617-4fbb-9b07-3cb87338c710
TORONTO, April 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EV Technology Group Ltd. (the Company or EV Technology Group) (NEO: EVTG) announces today the appointment of Wijnand Donkers as an independent board member of the company. Mr. Donkers appointment aligns with the Companys goal to rapidly expand its portfolio of companies, which currently includes Moke International Limited and the distribution for Moke International with the acquisition of Moke France SAS. Mr. Donkers' decades of experience in mergers and acquisitions will aid the Company in expanding its portfolio of companies and achieving its growth targets.



It is a great honour to welcome Wijnand Donkers to EV Technology Group as an independent board member. His expertise adds to our growing leadership team of senior executives from the automotive, finance, and public markets. I look forward to working with Wijnand as we continue to evaluate strategic acquisition opportunities for the group, said EV Technology Group CEO, Wouter Witvoet.

Mr. Donkers is an experienced, independent, non-executive Director in both public and private equity portfolio companies. He is a non-executive Director of Brenntag SE, the world leader in chemical distribution and a DAX 40 company. Furthermore, he is a senior adviser to Cerberus Capital Management LLC and serves on several of its portfolio companies. Mr. Donkers was the CEO of Deutsche Annington SE/Vonovia SE from 2007 to 2012 and prepared the firm for its successful IPO, negotiated the successful GRAND refinancing, and modernised the firm during his tenure. He previously spent 22 years at BP PLC in several senior positions in Petrochemicals, Gas, Optimization & Trading, and was Head of Group Strategy and Planning when BP combined with Amoco, acquired Arco and Castrol. He graduated with an MBA from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, completed the AMP at Harvard Business School, as well as several post graduate programmes at Stanford Business School, Kellogg School of Management, and the University of Cambridge.

EV Technology Group

EV Technology Group was founded in 2021 with the mission of accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles, and the vision to champion the joy of motoring in an electric world. As passionate investors and operators of EV technology companies, EV Technology Groups mission is driven by three core tenets: electric vehicles are the future; EVs will transform the way people live, work, and play; and there is an opportunity to accelerate the adoption of this technology by electrifying iconic driving experiences. To learn more visit: https://evtgroup.com/

Media

Rachael DAmore

rachael@talkshopmedia.com

+1519-564-9850

Investor Relations

Dave Gentry

dave@redchip.com

+14074914498

EV Technology Group

Wouter Witvoet

CEO and Chairman of the Board

wouter@evtgroup.com

+41782008566

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, the appointment of Mr. Donkers and statements about the Companys strategies, expectations, planned operations or future actions. Often, but not always, these Forward-looking Statements can be identified by the use of words such as estimated, potential, open, future, assumed, projected, used, detailed, has been, gain, planned, reflecting, will, containing, remaining, to be, or statements that events, could or should occur or be achieved and similar expressions, including negative variations.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward-looking Statements, including those factors discussed under Risk Factors in the filing statement of the Company. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in Forward-looking Statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended.

Forward-looking statements involve significant risk, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except where required by law. There can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

THE NEO STOCK EXCHANGE DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE








$90 Million Yacht of Sanctioned Russian Oligarch Viktor Vekselberg Seized by Spain at Request of United States

Note: Footage of the seizure is available here. View the statement from the Attorney General on today's seizure here.

Spanish law enforcement today executed a Spanish court order freezing the Motor Yacht (M/Y) Tango (the Tango), a 255-foot luxury yacht owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Spanish authorities acted pursuant to a request from the U.S. Department of Justice for assistance following the issuance of a seizure warrant, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which alleged that the Tango was subject to forfeiture based on violation of U.S. bank fraud, money laundering, and sanction statutes. Separately, seizure warrants obtained in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia target approximately $625,000 associated with sanctioned parties held at nine U.S. financial institutions. Those seizures are based on sanctions violations by several Russian specially designated nationals.

According to documents filed in this case, the U.S. investigation alleges that Vekselberg bought the Tango in 2011 and has owned it continuously since that time. It further alleges that Vekselberg used shell companies to obfuscate his interest in the Tango to avoid bank oversight into U.S. dollar transactions related thereto. Additionally, after Vekselberg was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department on April 6, 2018, the warrant alleges that Vekselberg and those working on his behalf continued to make U.S. dollar payments through U.S. banks for the support and maintenance of the Tango and its owners, including a payment for a December 2020 stay at a luxury water villa resort in the Maldives and mooring fees for the yacht. Vekselberg had an interest in these payments and therefore a license was required from the Treasury Department, which was not obtained.

Today marks our taskforces first seizure of an asset belonging to a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime. It will not be the last, said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. Together, with our international partners, we will do everything possible to hold accountable any individual whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue its unjust war.

Todays action makes clear that corrupt Russian oligarchs cannot evade sanctions to live a life of luxury as innocent Ukrainians are suffering, said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. Today the Department of Justice delivers on our commitment to hold accountable those whose criminal activity strengthens the Russian government as it continues to wage its unjust war in Ukraine. That commitment is one we are not finished honoring.

Today we announce another example of the FBI using our worldwide presence and partnerships, as well as our expertise and experience, to track and seize illicit money and assets, to counter threats to our safety and national security, said FBI Director Christopher Wray. We will continue to use every lawful tool to go after designated Russian oligarchs' assets  however and wherever they hide them.

The seizure was coordinated through the Justice Departments Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with its allies and partners, in response to Russias unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2 and run out of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will leverage all the Departments tools and authorities against efforts to evade or undermine the economic actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.

The seizure of this luxury yacht demonstrates our determination to hold accountable those who support Vladimir Putins unwarranted invasion of another sovereign nation, said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. We will continue to use every tool to enforce the sanctions aimed at Putins regime and the oligarchs who support it. Working with our federal and international partners, we will be unflagging in our efforts to bring to justice those who violate these sanctions, and to seize assets where appropriate and lawful.

Todays seizure of Viktor Vekselbergs yacht, the Tango, in Spain is the result of an unprecedented multinational effort to enforce U.S. sanctions targeting those elites who have enabled Russias unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine, said Director Andrew Adams of Task Force KleptoCapture. For those who have tied their fortunes to a brutal and lawless regime, todays action is a message that those nations dedicated to the rule of law are equally dedicated to separating the oligarchs from their tainted luxuries. This seizure is only the beginning of the Task Forces work in this global effort to punish those who have and continue to support tyranny for financial gain.

The FBI will continue to work with its partners to protect the integrity of the banking system and support the enforcement of sanctions programs, said Special Agent in Charge Michael F. Paul of the FBIs Minneapolis Field Office. FBI agents and analysts, regardless of where they are assigned around the world, will work tirelessly to ensure those who attempt to evade sanctions are held accountable.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine was an unprovoked act of aggression that has targeted the lives and well-being of millions of people and threatened international security, said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York. For decades, the Putin regime has been supported by a group of Russian oligarchs that abused their power for private gain to amass untold riches. As DHSs investigative arm, HSI stands at the forefront of combatting global networks that seek to violate U.S. law and exploit our nations financial systems. Working with our partners at the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI, we will hold Putins oligarchs accountable and deny them the lavish lifestyles they cherish.

Upon receipt of a request from the United States pursuant to a bi-lateral treaty for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, the Spanish central authority for mutual legal assistance forwarded the request to a Spanish prosecutor, who obtained a freezing order from a Spanish court. The order was executed by Spains Guardia Civil on April 4.

The Tango, International Maritime Organization number 1010703, is believed to be worth approximately $90 million or more. The yacht is now in Mallorca.

The burden to prove forfeitability in a forfeiture proceeding is upon the government.

The matter of the Tango is being investigated by the FBIs Minneapolis Field Office with assistance from the FBI Legal Attache Office in Madrid and the HSI New York Field Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen P. Seifert for the District of Columbia and Paralegal Brian Rickers and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick for the District of Columbia are handling the seizure. The Justice Departments Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in working with the Spanish authorities, as well as the Criminal Divisions Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS).

En Espanol

This story has been published on: 2022-04-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe holds video talks with Mozambican Defense Minister Cristovao Artur Chume on April 19, 2022. (mod.gov.cn/Photo by Li Xiaowei)

BEIJING, April 20 -- Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe held video talks with Mozambican Defense Minister Cristovao Artur Chume on April 19, 2022.

General Wei Fenghe said that China and Mozambique are good friends, good partners and good brothers sharing weal and woe and treating each other sincerely. The traditional friendship of the two countries is getting stronger with the passing of time. Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China and Mozambique have deepened political mutual trust, firmly supported each other on issues concerning core interests and carried out fruitful cooperation in various fields.

Wei stressed that facing the major global changes unseen in a century and the pandemic, China and Mozambique should further consolidate the special friendship of "comrades and brothers", jointly resist hegemonism and power politics and promote win-win cooperation and common prosperity of the two countries.

The Chinese military is ready to maintain high-level communication with the Mozambican side, promote practical cooperation and unite in fighting the pandemic, so as to push forward the continuous development of military-to-military relations, Wei added.

Chume congratulated China on its achievements in economic and social development and the successful hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. He said that Mozambique cherishes its traditional friendship with China, firmly supports China in safeguarding its core interests and China's principled stance on international issues, and is willing to strengthen strategic mutual trust, deepen economic and trade exchanges with the Chinese side, expand exchanges and cooperation in the military field, and constantly upgrade bilateral relations of the two countries and the two militaries.

Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe (L) and Mozambican Defense Minister Cristovao Artur Chume hold video talks on April 19, 2022. (mod.gov.cn/Photo by Li Xiaowei)
Quantum computing company IonQ and Hyundai Motor Company are partnering to apply quantum machine learning to image classification and 3D object detection for future mobilities.

Image classification and 3D object detection are foundational steps toward the next generation of mobilities, including autonomous vehicles. Together, IonQ and Hyundai will look to improve computational functionality through more efficient machine learning on quantum computers, as they can process enormous amounts of data faster and more accurately than classical systems.

Using a breakthrough in encoding images into quantum states, IonQ is already well underway in classifying 43 types of road signs using IonQs quantum processors. The next phase will see the two companies apply IonQs machine learning data to Hyundais test environment and simulate various real-world scenarios.

We are excited to expand our existing relationship with Hyundai Motor to focus on another key aspect of next-generation mobility. From partnering on battery research for electric vehicles to image classification and object detection research for automated driving, we expect to see quantum computers become an even more integral part in developing novel transportation solutions. Peter Chapman, President and CEO of IonQ

As part of this project, IonQ and Hyundai will look to develop quantum techniques for the broad task of 3D object detection, expanding the current work on recognizing road signs to include other objects like pedestrians or cyclists.

Running object recognition tasks on IonQs latest quantum computer, IonQ Aria, should enable more efficient processing with lower costs, leading to the development of safer, more intelligent mobilities in the future. With 20 algorithmic qubits (#AQ), IonQ Aria is the industrys most powerful quantum computer based on standard application-oriented industry benchmarks.

The news also marks the latest initiative between IonQ and Hyundai Motor, following a January announcement that the two companies had partnered to use quantum computers in improving performance, cost and safety of lithium batteries for EVs. (Earlier post.)
Toyota will invest $383 million in four of its US manufacturing plantsin Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennesseeto support the production of four-cylinder engines, including options for hybrid electric vehicles.

Toyota customers want vehicles that are fuel-efficient and electrified. These investments allow us to meet customer needs and quickly respond to an evolving market. We are committed to investing in the U.S., and our teams are ready to take on this new challenge. Norm Bafunno, senior vice president, Unit Manufacturing and Engineering, Toyota

Toyota Alabama: Huntsville, Ala., $222 million. Toyota Alabama will create a new four-cylinder production line with the capacity to produce engines for both combustion and hybrid electric powertrains. Additionally, the facility will expand its footprint by 114,000 square feet, which marks the plants sixth building expansion since 2003. Toyota Alabama has the capacity to build 900,000 engines annually and represents a nearly $1.5-billion investment.





Toyota Alabama Twin Turbo V6 line

Toyota Kentucky: Georgetown, Ky., $16 million. Toyota Kentucky is expanding flexibility of the four-cylinder engine line announced last fall, which will better position the plant to meet customer demand. The plants powertrain facility can produce up to 600,000 units annually. Toyota Kentucky is the companys largest plant globally, producing seven Toyota and Lexus models, as well as four-cylinder and six-cylinder powertrains. Overall, the plant represents an $8.5-billion investment.

Toyota Missouri: Troy, Mo., $109 million. Toyota Missouris investment provides new equipment to build four-cylinder engine heads on three production lines. The plant has the capacity to build more than 3 million cylinder heads annually and represents a $564-million investment.

Toyota Tennessee: Jackson, Tenn., $36 million. Toyota Tennessee will update equipment to build new four-cylinder engine blocks. The plant has the capacity to produce more than 2 million engine blocks annually and represents a $425 million investment.

Toyotas Commitment to the US. Last year, Toyota announced new investments totaling $5.1 billion into its US manufacturing operations to support electrification efforts, demonstrating its commitment to building where it sells and supporting local economies.

Toyotas US plants produce half of the vehicles it sells in the US, and its North American assembly facilities produce more than three-quarters (76%) of the vehicles it sells in the US.
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FAIRFAX, Va. (AP)  Actor Johnny Depp scoffed at the notion during court testimony Wednesday that his constant quarrels with ex-wife Amber Heard would ever prompt him to hit her, and insisted on cross-examination that her allegations devastated his career.

Violence isn't necessary, Depp said from the stand during his libel lawsuit against Heard, his second day of testimony. Why would you hit someone to make them agree with you?

Heard has accused Depp of physically and sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions before and during their brief marriage. The former Pirates of the Caribbean star sued after Heard, who is also an actor, made an indirect reference to those accusations in an op-ed piece she wrote for The Washington Post.

Depp addressed Heard's accusations in detail Wednesday. Heard has said the first time she was assaulted was when Depp slapped her in 2013 after she made fun of a tattoo he had  one that used to say Winona Forever when he was dating the actress Winona Ryder that he altered to Wino Forever after they broke up.

It didn't happen, he said of the alleged assault. Why would I take such great offense to someone making fun of a tattoo on my body? That allegation never made any sense to me.

Later, he addressed an alleged assault on a private plane flight in 2014 from Boston to Los Angeles. Heard has said Depp became blackout intoxicated and assaulted her on the plane ride.

Depp testified he took two oxycodone pills  an opiate to which he admits he was addicted at the time  and locked himself in the plane bathroom and fell asleep to avoid her badgering.

Depp testified he drank only a glass of Champagne as he boarded the plane. But according to evidence introduced at a similar trial in England where Depp sued a British tabloid  a lawsuit he lost  Depp texted his friend, actor Paul Bettany, and referenced drinking half a bottle of whiskey, a thousand Red Bull vodkas and two bottles of Champagne before the flight.

Depp also discussed a violent argument in 2015  shortly after they were married  in Australia that resulted in the tip of his middle finger being cut off. He said Heard was irate that Depp's lawyers had asked her to sign a post-nuptial agreement.

He said she threw two vodka bottles at him, the second of which exploded where he had placed his hand on a basement bar, severing the finger to the point where bone was exposed.

I dont know what a nervous breakdown feels like, but thats probably the closest Ive ever been, he said.

Depp said he began to write on the walls in his own blood to recount lies in which he had caught Heard.

Depp told hospital doctors he had injured himself, and contemporaneous text messages introduced as evidence refer to Depp injuring himself. Depp testified he lied about the cause of the injury to protect her. Heard's lawyers have said the laws of physics don't support Depp's story and they will introduce evidence to prove that.

Depp also gave a graphic description of a final fight as the couple drifted toward divorce, accusing Heard and her friends of pretending that he was assaulting her. Soon after, Heard sought a restraining order and was photographed with marks on her face.

He testified that Heard was on the phone with a friend shouting, Stop hitting me Johnny! even though he was standing nowhere near her.

The fight had started as Depp said hed realized it was time for the couple to split. The argument intensified, he said, as Depp accused her of leaving human fecal matter on his side of the bed in the penthouse theyd shared. He said Heard kept denying it, blaming it on their small dogs, but he was convinced she was lying.

Depp met Heard on the 2011 film The Rum Diary. The two married in 2015 and she filed for divorce a year later.

Depp said things began to change in his marriage when he felt that he was suddenly just wrong about everything in Heards eyes.

Violence would often ensue, sometimes with a slap or a shove from Heard or his wife throwing a television remote control or a glass of wine in his face, Depp said.

There were times when I would just go and lock myself in the bathroom or a place where she couldnt get to, Depp said.

Depp said he used drugs and drank alcohol as a way to cope with Heards abuse and said she was also a heavy drinker. Depp said he at one point stopped drinking to try to save the relationship, but Heard refused to abstain.

Depp sued Heard after she wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post in which she referred to herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse.

She never mentioned Depp by name, but Depp's lawyers said it was a clear reference to accusations Heard made in 2016 when she sought a restraining order against him.

Depp said the accusations and the article contributed to an unfairly ruined reputation that made him a Hollywood pariah and cost him his role in the lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise.

He said he was pulled from the franchise just days after the Post piece ran. On cross-examination, Heard's lawyer pointed to evidence that Disney made that decision months before the article's publication.

Heard's lawyers say the article is accurate and doesn't defame him. They say Depp's ruined reputation is due to his own bad behavior.

Depp was cross-examined only briefly at the end of the day Wednesday. Cross-examination will continue Thursday.

___

Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia.
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LITCHFIELD  The Litchfield Historical Society is reopening Litchfield History Museum and the Tapping Reeve House and Litchfield Law School April 30.

New exhibitions on display include To Certain Western Lands, a preview exhibit designed to introduce visitors to Connecticuts Western Reserve, now in present day Ohio, and an updated Antiquarian to Accredited: A Look Inside the Historical Society.

To celebrate the re-opening the Historical Society is offering special exhibit programming:

To Certain Western Lands: Curator Talk and Tour, 6 p.m., May 5. During this special presentation on the Societys newest exhibit, To Certain Western Lands, Curator of Collections, Alex Dubois, will be presenting the fascinating story of Connecticut ownership of northern Ohio. Known as the Western Reserve, Dubois will share how the Society wants to tell this story of migration and expansion. This program is free to the public.

Slavery Here, The Life of William Grimes: Walking Tour and Gallery Talk, 10 a.m., April 30. Join Head of Education, Kate Zullo, for a walking tour exploring the sites connected to the life of William Grimes, a man who escaped from slavery in Georgia wrote his autobiography in Litchfield in 1825. Afterward, visit the Antiquarian to Accredited to learn the story on the many people and progressions that went into creating the tour. Free for members, $10 for non-members.

Registration is requested for these events, but not required. Register online at www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/calendar

Starting April 30, The Litchfield History Museum, 7 South St., and the Tapping Reeve House and Litchfield Law School, 82 South St., will be open from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. For more information about the Litchfield Historical Society or other programs and events, go to www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org or call 860-567-4501.
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VENICE, Italy (AP)  Artist Pavlo Makovs role representing Ukraine at the Venice Biennale has become an act of defiance against the Russian invaders, whose attacks on his adopted hometown of Kharkiv have grown more intense in recent days.

Not only do the Russians intend to take over his country, the Russian-born Ukrainian national says, but they are also bent on erasing Ukrainian culture.

This war in Ukraine is not an ethnic conflict, Makov, 63, told The Associated Press. "It is a conflict of cultures. They want to destroy, to demolish, to eliminate Ukrainian culture, so that Ukraine doesnt exist."

One of Ukraines most important living artists, Makov set off by car for the Biennale on March 2, squeezing in his wife, two female family friends and his 92-year-old mother. Missiles flew overhead as they left Kharkiv, he said.

Already, the center of the historic city, which was the first Soviet capital of Ukraine and is known for its 1920s and 1930s constructivist architecture, had been largely destroyed, including the oblast administrative building and parliament.

Makov left behind his grown son and daughter, who were working as volunteers to help the besieged population  and his lifetime production of artworks.

There was no question about whether to take art, because there was no room for it, he said. Plus, we were leaving from the bomb shelter, we were not leaving from home or the studio.

His works have since been evacuated to safer ground in western Ukraine. Some pieces have already been requested for exhibitions elsewhere.

The copper funnels that comprise his sculpture for the Ukrainian Pavilion were in Kiev, and were driven out of the country by one of the curators, Maria Lanko. Another curator, Lizaveta German, escaped with her infant son, who was born in a hospital in the western city of Lviv during a lull between air raid sirens. Now a month old, he nurses contentedly in the pavilion near the tinkling of falling water.

Makovs sculpture, titled The Fountain of Exhaustion. Acqua Alta, assembles the funnels into a 3 1/2-meter (11 1/2-foot) tall cascading fountain against a concrete wall in the Arsenale, which houses the newer national pavilions participating the worlds oldest and most important contemporary art fair. The 59th Venice Biennale opens Saturday and runs through Nov. 27.

Makov's project was inspired by the lack of vitality he felt as Ukraine transitioned to an independent nation in the early 1990s, and again as he traveled throughout Europe in the 2000s.

I felt this lack of ability to protect ideas. I felt this dependence on the energy that Europe was receiving from not democratic societies was growing, Makov said. This culminated with the pandemic, which the curators said came to represent the accumulation of exhaustion, and then the war with Russia.

Now in Venice, Makov finds he is speaking more about the war than about his art.

It is like a diplomatic mission for us, Makov said. I see myself less as an artist and more as a citizen of my country."

A short walk away in the Giardini, the Russian pavilion, built in 1914, is closed after the artists withdrew their participation, which had been protested by the Ukrainian artist and curators. A letter of protest signed just days after the Feb. 24 invasions underlines the irony that the Russian pavilion was built with money from a Ukrainian art collector, Bohdan Khanenko. His collection forms the heart of the countrys most important museum of European, Asian and ancient art, which Makov fears may be under threat in Kiev.

In the Giardini, the Ukrainian pavilion curators -- German, Lanko and Borys Filonenko -- have created a Ukrainian Piazza around a mound of sandbags, surrounded by posters made during the war by Ukrainian artists.

They include stylized renderings of soldiers using playground equipment for cover, babies whose worried parents have written their birthdates and names in indelible markers on their backs, should the war separate them, and the sinking of the Russian warship Moskva.

You know, the only dialogue we have now with the Russian culture is on the front, Makov said. No other dialogue exists.
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GREENWICH  Under the municipal budget approved by the Board of Estimate & Taxation, the town will be able to reduce its mill rate by 2.65 percent.

The proposed budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year, which begins July 1, totals $465,105,871. It was passed late Tuesday night by the BET and now goes to the Representative Town Meeting for the final vote on May 9.

The BETs vote, which came after a nearly 13-hour meeting Tuesday at Town Hall, was split on party lines but was free of the partisan anger that has been seen in some past budget votes.

All six of the BETs majority Republicans voted in favor of the budget, but all six Democrats voted against it, saying it did not go far enough in planning for the towns future. BET Chair Dan Ozizmir used his tie-breaking vote to pass the budget, 7-6.

Budgets represent values, Ozizmir said at the meeting. Budgets represent choices. I can say for myself and, I think the rest of my caucus, that we voted for this budget because of what this budget has achieved.

He praised what the budget accomplished, including allocating $2.5 million to start work on a new Central Middle School, which became a top priority after structural problems closed the school in February; and $1 million for architecture and engineering work at Old Greenwich School, which has problems with ADA accessibility and flooding.

Infrastructure and public safety projects, including pedestrian safety improvements in Byram and sidewalks in Old Greenwich, are also included in the budget plan.

Weve just started the most significant capital investment in schools that weve seen either in history or many years, Ozizmir said. I think we broke through a logjam with the BET and Board of Ed not talking to each other. I must say we made great progress in putting together a plan that accelerates Central Middle School and gets Old Greenwich going and addresses immediate concerns at Julian Curtiss. Now clearly there wasnt as much talking and communication as we would all love, but the fact is, we got it done.

We are moving forward, he said.

With federal funds from the American Rescue Plan as well as the money included in the municipal budget, Ozizmir said there will be more than $85 million in capital investments in the town, which he said he believed was the highest amount in Greenwich history.

Democratic objections

But after the vote, BET member Leslie Moriarty, chair of the Democratic caucus, pointed to two votes for the lack of Democratic support for the budget. There was no Republican support for Democratic motions to expand the use of long-term financing and to add $2 million to the capital tax levy for future projects, she said.

We arent surprised by the outcome, but we definitely are disappointed, Moriarty said. Primarily it is because this board missed an opportunity to properly plan for the towns future capital needs. The budget includes some important investments, but we voted against it mostly for what it does not include. It does not improve the towns ability to invest in the necessary infrastructure and improvement projects.

There was too much deferring of projects, she said, which has put the town in its current position of dealing with many areas that need attention at one time. She said the plan just kicked the can down the road.

It shouldnt take building failures like Central Middle School or North Mianus School to get this boards attention, Moriarty said. Managing to the bottom line has left us with schools that dont meet todays facility or educational standards; recreational facilities that fall short when compared to other communities, as in both the number and quality of playing fields; lack of safe bike routes; and a falling-apart skating rink. This board needs to find better solutions and a better balance.

Areas of disagreement

The BET disagreed on several items in the budget, particularly when it came to Julian Curtiss School.

Democrats favored the full $1.5 million requested by the Board of Education to cover architecture and engineering work to renovate and expand the school. But Republicans voted to cut it over concerns about the expansion plans and declining enrollment. Instead, Republicans supported funding parts of the project including HVAC and accessibility improvements.

The larger disagreement was over the future of capital projects and how to finance them.

BET Democrat David Weisbrod made a motion, which did not receive Republican support, for long-term financing to cover $12.5 million for soil remediation at Greenwich High School, $8 million for Western Middle School and $2.5 million for Central Middle School.

Without taking these steps, Weisbrod said he was worried that the BETs policies and financing limits would crowd out future capital projects. That would be unsustainable, unachievable and does not reflect the interests of the community or the things both parties have advocated for, particularly schools and a new ice rink, he said.

Very, very important projects might not get done, Weisbrod said.

Some Republicans expressed interest in the proposal but none voted for it.

I have said that what we do now seems to be working, but there may be a time when it doesnt work and its in the better interests of the town and the taxpayers to do something else, BET Republican Michael Basham said. Next year, he said, the town might need to finance as much as $170 million worth of projects.

Ozizmir pledged that the BET would hold discussions this year on the fund balance policy, debt and the newly reinstituted Capital Improvement Project planning process with First Selectman Fred Camillo.

I dont think anyone should think that this board is not thinking about these issues very seriously, he said.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
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LONDON (AP)  A British judge on Wednesday formally approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges. The case will now go to Britains interior minister for a decision, though the WikiLeaks founder still has legal avenues of appeal.

The order, which brings and end to the years'-long extradition battle closer, comes after the U.K. Supreme Court last month refused Assange permission to appeal against a lower courts ruling that he could be extradited.

District Judge Paul Goldspring issued the order in a brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court, as Assange watched by video link from Belmarsh Prison and his supporters rallied outside the courthouse, demanding he be freed.

Home Secretary Priti Patel will now decide whether to grant the extradition.

The move doesn't exhaust the legal options for Assange, who has sought for years to avoid a trial in the U.S. on charges related to WikiLeaks publication of a huge trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.

His lawyers have four weeks to make submissions to Patel, and can also seek to appeal to the High Court.

Assange lawyer Mark Summers told the court that the legal team had serious submissions to make.

The U.S. has asked British authorities to extradite Assange so he can stand trial on 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse. American prosecutors say Assange unlawfully helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.

Supporters and lawyers for Assange, 50, argue that he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment protections of freedom of speech for publishing documents that exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. They argue that his case is politically motivated.

A British district court judge had initially rejected a U.S. extradition request on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. U.S. authorities later provided assurances that the WikiLeaks founder wouldnt face the severe treatment that his lawyers said would put his physical and mental health at risk.

In December, the High Court overturned the lower courts decision, saying that the U.S. promises were enough to guarantee that Assange would be treated humanely. The Supreme Court in March rejected Assange's attempt to challenge that ruling.

Assanges lawyers say he could face up to 175 years in jail if he is convicted in the U.S., though American authorities have said the sentence was likely to be much lower than that.

Assange has been held at Britains high-security Belmarsh Prison in London since 2019, when he was arrested for skipping bail during a separate legal battle. Before that, he spent seven years inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault.

Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed.

Last month, Assange and his partner Stella Moris married in a prison ceremony.
GREENWICH  The attempted theft of a Ferrari in Greenwich ended with multiple arrests and the recovery of a firearm early Wednesday in Westchester County, N.Y., police said.

Also, two BMWs were recovered in the Bronx, N.Y., in a separate incident Tuesday, according to police Capt. Mark Zuccerella.

The attempted theft was reported at a residence on Round Hill Road early Wednesday, with the suspected thieves targeting a Ferrari there, Zuccerella said. But the thieves fled in two other vehicles, he said.

GPD was on the scene quickly and broadcast the description of the two fleeing cars. The dispatch center transmitted this information to police agencies in New York. A short time later, New York authorities spotted the cars in New York and were able to stop the two vehicles and arrest five people, Zuccerella said.

The two other cars used in the attempted theft had been reported stolen  one from New Jersey and the other from South Salem, N.Y., in northern Westchester, police said.

A firearm was recovered in one of those vehicles, Zuccerella said. Greenwich police did not release the names of the five people arrested in the incident.

Police said two BMWs had also been stolen early Tuesday at about sunrise in town. Those two cars were recovered in the Bronx, Zuccerella said.

Greenwich detectives were working with several other police agencies on the recent cases involving stolen vehicles, he said.

The Greenwich Police Department reminds residents the best way to void being a victim of these crimes is to always lock your car and take your keys, even when parking in your driveway or running an errand, Zuccerella noted.

The cars involved in the recent thefts were unlocked, police said.

Police say they have made good progress on reducing the number of car thefts in town, but the law-enforcement problems still persists.

The Greenwich Police Department recorded 85 stolen cars in 2021 and 130 stolen cars in 202, which was a record high number of vehicle thefts for a year. But the number of stolen cars from 2020 to 2021 saw a substantial decline, police said.

Local police say the problem of car thefts is not confined to just Greenwich, with vehicle thefts reported regularly in towns and cities.

rmarchant@greenwichtime.com
File photo / Hearst Connecticut Media

GREENWICH  Emergency crews rushed to a collision involving a town truck that caused serious injuries to a bicyclist on Shore Road in town on Wednesday morning, police said.

A truck operated by the Greenwich Department of Public Works struck the bicycle near the intersection at Grass Island Road, police said. The town operates a waste treatment facility at Grass Island.
Paris Ryan, a longtime customer, outside the new Royal Rib House. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland

On a recent Friday afternoon, Mattie Betts was outside of Royal Rib House, in Bed-Stuy, while family stood in line. Like those other customers, shed been a fan of the first restaurant, which closed two years ago, and had been waiting for its return. She decided to go the first chance she got. I came straight from the hospital here, she said. Id been in there for three months. Her daughter, Kaela Jeter, confirmed the story. This is her treat.

Jeter and her mom were there with extended family, including Bettss older sister, Crystal Betts  who grew up in the neighborhood but now lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina  and her son. Ive been a customer of theirs ever since my mother used to bring me. I bring my son, my baby sister here, my niece, the whole family, Crystal said. Everybody knows about here.

There are restaurants with fans, and there are restaurants where families will plan entire days or trips to accommodate a visit. Royal Rib House is in the latter camp. When the previous location closed in January 2020, after the owners sold the building, regular customers were devastated. I wish I could sue yall for just abandoning my taste buds, commented one disappointed follower on Instagram.

In truth, the restaurant was not supposed to be closed for so long. Third-generation Rib House owner Jason Barnett had, as he told the BK Reader, originally wanted to reopen in a new location in 2020, and in 2021 he posted on the restaurants Facebook account that he hoped to open by the end of summer. Now, after several delays, Barnett has brought his familys famous ribs  and, with them, the equally famous lines  back to Bed-Stuy. (At 256 Malcolm X Boulevard, the new location is four blocks away from the old spot on Halsey Street.)

The Reverend Dr. B. Nixon is the pastor of Taking It to the Streets Ministry, and does bike blessings. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland

Since reopening, queues on Fridays and Saturdays have stretched around the corner. I waited an hour and half, then had to wait another hour for the food, said one customer the first Friday that Royal Rib House was back in business. Nobody seems to mind  mostly theyre just relieved that they can once again get Royal Rib Houses baked pork ribs soaked in sweet vinegar sauce, chopped barbecue and coleslaw sandwiches, candied yams, and fried chicken. With the area changing so much, you want to get a taste of everything, the Reverend Dr. B. Nixon, who also goes by Church Lady, told me.

The Royal Rib House was first opened in 1968 by Barnetts grandfather, Calvin Grier, who came to New York from the Carolinas, and scouted for restaurant spaces while working as a cab driver. Later, hed hand the business down to his daughter Carole Grier, who ran the place with her husband, Teddy Barnett, and their son, Jason. At the same time, the Rib House became part of the fabric of Bed-Stuy, and a legacy of the Great Migration and part of a collection of soul-food restaurants in New York that speak to the history of the citys Black communities.

Mattie Betts and her daughter Kaela Jeter. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland

Fittingly, appreciation for the Rib House is passed down through family generations, as well. Its a lot of the older people that you see come here, said Jeter. That shows you how long theyve been around. Im only 23. If you see the age difference in all the customers, that just tells you the love.

There arent places like this in the neighborhood, said another waiting customer. Its all in the sauce.

Since reopening, the line has felt like a reunion, with people running into friends and acquaintances, talking about the old location and the long lines there, and their relationship with the owners. One young mom confessed to a couple of longtime customers that this was her first time eating at the Rib House; shed always passed it up because it was too busy.

Chopped barbecue sandwich, ribs with baked mac and string beans. DeSean McClinton-Holland. Chopped barbecue sandwich, ribs with baked mac and string beans. DeSean McClinton-Holland.

Joining the crowd across several afternoons, I realized more customers than not have been eating here for decades. You might see an older man from nearby flirting with a lady hes known since they were both years younger. A Vietnam vet told me hed started going before he was shipped off to war half a century ago.

Though she now lives in East Flatbush, a customer named Louise was raised in Bed-Stuy, and has been going to the restaurant since its earliest days. (When she turned 80 this February, she tried to get the restaurant to cater the party, but they werent quite ready yet.) Like the Barnetts, her family has roots in the South, and she says shed spend summers in Virginia picking tobacco on her grandparents farm.

On the afternoon I met her, she was making her second visit in two weeks. I was on the bus the other day and saw they were about to open, she said. So I got off. Then when I went to my eye doctor today, I came here.

She said she didnt tell anyone about her first trip, but word still got out, and a couple hours after Louise got home, she got a call from her granddaughter. It was supposed to be a secret, Louise said, but shed been spotted by Barnett, whose been friends with the family forever. I knew them since they were this high, Louise said, holding her hand low to the ground.

Customers outside. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland

Still other customers travel even further, like Paris Ryan, who spent an hour on the subway. Its the best rib spot in New York, the best soul food, he said. I came all the way from Harlem, from 155th, the C train. Before moving uptown, Ryan lived around Bed-Stuy and Clinton Hill for almost three decades, and has been going to Royal Rib House for 15 years. I came down twice last week, he said. And he was back again, hoping to convert a first-timer. My friend, she never had it, shes from Harlem, so Im showing her something  how we eat in Brooklyn.

For the restaurants fans, return trips become necessary. Every week I would make a visit. Twice a week, probably, and they were only open Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Jeter said. The ribs, the yams, the greens, the cornbread, the peach cobbler  the whole menu. I want all of it. I want all of it, all of the time.
Earth Day is this Friday and you can celebrate by avoiding 121 lbs (55 kg) of CO emissions  that is how much is saved by reusing a phone instead of buying a new one. And that doesnt have to be an old, banged-up phone either.

Samsung US is offering $100 instant credit if you pre-order a renewed Galaxy S21 from its official store. The Galaxy S21 starts at $675, the S21+ at $850 and the S21 Ultra at $1,000. The $100 credit can be applied to accessories for the phone and other Samsung products at checkout.

You can trade in an old device for up to $675 more in credit (you can send in a phone with a cracked screen as well). With trade-in, the S21 can drop town to $225, the S21+ to $325 and the S21 Ultra also to $325 (as the maximum trade-in credit is higher). If you order today, it should reach you by April 29. The deal ends on April 22.

If youre wondering what happens to phones that get sent in, they are either renewed (like these S21 units) or, if the phone is too far gone, they are recycled (Samsung is an e-Stewards Enterprise Partner, more on that here).

Anyway, these Galaxy S21 phones have been restored by Samsung itself to like-new condition. This includes a brand new battery and genuine replacement parts (where necessary). A new IMEI is assigned to the phone, leaving no connection to the previous owner. The renewed phones have a 1 year warranty.

If youre not sure you can live with a refurbished phone, you can use the Try Now, Pay later program. You pay nothing up front, spend up to 21 days with the phone and return it if you dont like it (Samsung will cover the shipping costs).

And if you dont have the money up front, 0% APR financing is available for between 12 and 48 months. For example, a renewed Galaxy S21 can be yours for $18.76 a month with a 36 month plan.

One final note, Galaxy S20 and even Galaxy S10 models are also available from the Certified Renewed program, but those dont get the $100 instant credit.
Developing an own imaging chip solution seems to be all the rage in the BBK stable this year, and after Oppo introduced the MariSilicon X on the Find X5 series earlier this year, this month it will be vivo's turn. The company just announced that the X80 family of devices, which are due to become official on April 25, will feature the vivo V1+ imaging chip inside.

This has support for both the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 as well as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. In developing the V1+, vivo worked closely with MediaTek, and this has resulted in 30 new patent applications. vivo is also quick to stress that its custom image processor is the first one that can work with high-end SoCs from different companies (Oppo's is currently limited to Snapdragon chips as you may know).

Over 300 vivo and MediaTek employees have been working on the V1+ for 350 days to fully adapt it to the Dimensity 9000 platform. This work is now done and the best possible performance can be achieved from the imaging chip inside devices powered by MediaTek's latest top of the line SoC.

With fine tuning of its noise reduction algorithm, the V1+ can take night shots in situations where there is less than 1 lux of ambient lighting. This is also made possible by the chip's 32MB SRAM and 8GB/s data throughput speed.

Additionally, vivo announced improvements in image brightness by 16% and white balance accuracy by 12%. A photo's most prominent portions can in fact see further boosts in brightness of up to 350%, making your images appear "brighter and more transparent", allowing for more details to be perceived. Zeiss Natural Color gets an 8.3% improvement in color accuracy as well as fine tone adjustments.

The V1+ can also enable more games to run at 90fps or 120fps, and thus it might replace existing tech from Pixelworks that is currently used by vivo and iQOO phones.

vivo boasts that it has implemented special algorithms to optimize CPU resource allocation and thus reduce heat generation and boost efficiency for the Dimensity 9000. There are promises of greatly improved power consumption, up to 10% in heavy gaming sessions. The upcoming X80 phone with the Dimensity 9000 at the helm scores 1.07 million AnTuTu points, and animations have been improved in high-load scenarios, having processing power allocation maximized. Finally, you can expect performance not to degrade for up to 36 months.

These are very lofty claims, and we can't wait for the new phones to be made official so that we can meet them and thoroughly test them for our in-depth reviews.

Source (in Chinese) | Via
Guams TonyaJae and Carlo V. won a San Diego Music Award for Best RnB, Funk or Soul Album for their album Sweet Talk, which was recorded at New Waves Studios on island.

The announcement was made Tuesday night in San Diego at the 31st San Diego Music Awards ceremony at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay.

Outside the music world, TonyaJae goes by Tonya Jaemarie Terlaje Ascura, while Carlo V., is known as Carlo Villegas.

This is the second time TonyaJae has won the award. The former Hagat resident brought home Best Pop Song for her track Leave The House last year.

I felt a little bit more at ease versus last year because I was now familiar with the setting, TonyaJae said in an interview after the show. I was also nominated with Carlo this time, so it was less nerve-wracking than last year.

The album Sweet Talk is about finding the importance of self-love and knowing ones worth, according to the 26-year-old.

Producer and mixing engineer Carlo V. worked behind the scenes on Sweet Talk, which was released June 7, 2021.

The 23-year-old former Dededo resident and TonyaJae also collaborated with Grammy-winning engineer James Auwarter, who mastered their EP.

It was our first collaborative project together, and it encompasses what we can do together and how well we work as friends, TonyaJae said.

Whats also cool is it is the first project where we work together in the same room, so we got to throw ideas at each other instead of waiting for each other remotely in two different states, Carlo V. added.

Both artists now reside in San Diego as they continue to work together on future music projects.

After the award show, TonyaJae and Carlo V. said that they are moving into a house and setting up a studio. They hope to release a new track in the summer.

Carlo V. encourages aspiring musicians to network and find a community that supports them.

This award show is great because its a space filled with a bunch of creative people and opportunities, he said. Once youre in, you can just connect and collaborate with experts in the field like James.

TonyaJae advises young singers from the island to never doubt themselves when it comes to pursuing their artistic passion. I am guilty of not believing in myself in the beginning, but realize that you are all winners from the start.
Chrisy Torre Mafnas knew at a young age growing up in Leyang, Barrigada, that she wanted to be a doctor.

And while she attributes the love, support and sacrifices her parents, aunts and uncles made during her journey to be practicing medicine in San Jose, California, its the encouragement of her paternal grandmother, Annie Ada Mafnas, that she cherishes.

Grandma Annie had eight children and she was a librarian, so education was very important to her, said Chrisy Mafnas, who is the oldest of the 28 grandchildren.

She always told me youre the oldest grand, so you need to be a good role model for your cousins, so you better graduate high school, she recalled. After high school, she said you have to be a good influence for your cousins, so you better graduate college.

Chrisy Mafnas graduated with honors with a biology degree from University of Guam and left island to do biomedical research at Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

I told her I wanted to go to medical school and she said, Well, youve already graduated college but you could still show your cousins that you can do more, she said.

While working at Scripps she found out she got accepted to medical school and was excited to share the news with her grandma.

I was working and later that night I called and told her I got into medical school and like, four hours later she passed, she said.

It was definitely bittersweet because I was super close to my grandma, she added. Super excited that I got into medical school, but super sad that she had died. I had to get on the plane two days later to Guam for the funeral. Annie Ada Mafnas was 72years old when she died of breast cancer.

Definitely more stressful

Chrisy Mafnas received her medical degree in 2010 from University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine followed by a four-year residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at the Hawaii Residency Program.

She also completed two fellowship years at Stanford University in gastrointestinal/surgical pathology and cytopathology.

She is currently a pathologist at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center and lives in San Jose with her fiance, Hank Terlaje, and their two dogs, Jax and Ace.

I love what Im doing but its definitely more stressful than I had anticipated, she said. Were human, right, and everyones going to make a mistake. And when your mistake is affecting another human being, it makes it very, very tough. So our margin of error has to be very, very slim.

Its a win for me to wake up every day and not make a mistake.

Early days

The 42-year-old is the oldest of two born to Kathy Torre, familian Manila, of Dededo and Vince Mafnas, familian Balaku, of Leyang, Barrigada.

Growing up, she said, health and science classes came easy and I just found the body fascinating. I dont have any, like physicians in my family or anything. So I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But I knew I liked science, I liked health and I wanted to help people.

The first inkling was when as a fifth grader at Cathedral Grade School, she understood her paternal grandfather, Bernardo Leon Guerrero Mafnas, had lytico-bodig and was part of national research study of the neurodegenerative disease that was unique to the island.

I knew when I was really young that my grandfather was involved with this research study where when he died, they were going to take his brain and study his brain to see if they could find a cure for the disease. And I thought, Thats kind of cool, she recalled.

TV science shows

In middle school she was obsessed with PBS science shows and Discovery and Discovery Health channels.

I remember one particular time they were doing some weird surgery and the person was on the OR table and you know, theres blood all over the TV, she said.

I wanted to watch it but I know Ill get in trouble. And my dads like, were not watching this during dinner, turn it (to a different channel).

It would take almost two decades to realize her dream.

I graduated high school in 1997 and I was 26 when I started med school, she said. I didnt finish all my training until 2016, so I am only five, six years into my career as a pathologist.

All those years she said that 100% never thought about quitting, but she was homesick and it was especially difficult during the holidays.

Taste of home

She found out that cooking eased her mahalang.

Thats what has helped me stay not as homesick, she added. If Im craving something, I just make it. I appreciate that they kept me in the kitchen and taught me how to make chalakiles and titiyas and pastet, So whenever I feel like I need a little bit of home I just make it myself.

In addition, she learned how to barbecue from her dad and how to make potato salad, shrimp patties, eskabeche and kalamai from her grandmother and aunts.

The holidays are particularly hard. But I learned and now make bonelos dago every year for Christmas, she said. And I force myself to make some kind of new CHamoru dish every year. Shes now added manha titiya, apigigi and rosketi to her menu.

Being the first doctor in her family means phone calls and WhatsApp chats from relatives about all sort of ailments.

Monitoring from afar

She was happy to oblige, and during the COVID pandemic Mafnas was particularly concerned for her family in Guam.

I felt helpless and had anxiety because it was unknown  before the vaccinations came out  and people were getting it pretty bad, she said.

I bought pulse oximeters and thermometers and a bunch of other things and I sent them to Guam. And theyre like, What is this? And I said, Just hold it. Because if any of you get COVID, Im going to have to monitor you from California.

And then the first person that got COVID, I said use the pulse oximeter. And theyre like, What am I looking at? I said just tell me the number on top and the number on bottom. Thats all I need to know, theyll tell me and Im like OK, youre fine. You dont have to go to the hospital yet. So I was able to monitor my family from afar.

Throughout it all she has remained humble and credits her family for her success.

I didnt do this alone and I dont come from a huge family of doctors, she said. I had no idea what I was doing or what route to take, but I knew I wanted to do it. So I just figured it out as I went along and worked really hard. And if I can do it, anyone can do it.
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There were nine patients admitted to island hospitals for COVID-19, according to the latest news release from the Joint Information Center.

Of these, six were admitted to Guam Memorial Hospital. The remaining three COVID-related hospitalizations were admitted to Guam Regional Medical City. There were no patients admitted to intensive care units, according to the release.

Of the nine patients admitted with COVID-19, six were vaccinated and three were unvaccinated.

New cases

The Department of Public Health and Social Services reported 45 new cases of COVID-19 taken from 544 specimens analyzed Tuesday.

To date, Guam has recorded 354 COVID-related deaths. There currently are 271 cases in active isolation.

Testing

Free community testing continues from 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the old carnival grounds in Tiyan. The testing site also is open from 8 a.m.-11 a.m. on Saturday. Register for an appointment ahead of time at tinyurl.com/covidstopswithme.

Residents also can visit Public Healths Southern Region Community Health Center in Inalahan from 9 a.m.-noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays; in addition to the Northern Region Community Health Center from 9 a.m.-noon, Monday-Saturday.

Vaccination clinics

COVID-19 vaccinations are available from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday on the second floor of the Agana Shopping Center. Walk-ins are welcome but those who register at tinyurl.com/vaxguam will be expedited.

To date, a total of 136,262 of Guams eligible population has been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Joint Information Center.
An IP&E tanker truck is seen conducting a fuel delivery at a fuel storage facility north of the A.B. Won Pat International Airport in Tamuning on Thursday, April 7, 2022.
Students showcased their talents and skills at Guam Community Colleges LinkUP! reverse job fair on Wednesday and had the chance to interact with potential employers.

The reverse job fair has been held every spring semester at Guam Community College since 2018. Rather than having students visit employer booths, potential employers walk around and visit student booths.

Students had resumes, videos, business cards and other items laid out on their tables to show recruiters.

In 2018, Nita Cepeda, event coordinator for Guam Community Colleges LinkUP! said she knew that there needed to be a better way for students to find future employers.

She came up with the idea of the reverse job fair.

Cepeda was glad that this years LinkUP! was held in person.

Everyone has been sheltered because of this pandemic. For LinkUP!, especially face to face, it brings them out of that shell.

Curtis Mostales, an upcoming graduate at Guam Community College, attended this years fair and had several different company representatives speak with him.

This event is pretty cool because it could help set you up for a potential future job. It could help you find the right employer thats actually looking for you.

Mostales encourages future students to make sure theyre prepared for the next LinkUP! event.

Be prepared. Make sure you have all your work set for what you want to display, make sure everythings in order and have your resumes updated, Mostales said.

The job fair was not only meant to help students in finding potential employers, according to Cepeda.

The reverse job fair builds their self-confidence and their self-esteem. It helps them see that they are worthy of getting a job, not just online but in actual corporations and actual companies, said Cepeda.

For now, the Business and Visual Communications and Marketing students are the only students attending the fair event, but Cepeda hopes to extend LinkUP! to other programs at Guam Community College in the future.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said she is considering issuing an executive order, pardoning people who have been convicted of past misdemeanor marijuana-related crimes on Guam.

This is something I would like to make a reality, she said.

Possession, consumption, and cultivation of recreational marijuana has been legal in Guam since April 2019, and lawmakers are considering the final rules and regulations that will allow recreational marijuana businesses to operate here.

Im very concerned about barriers to people in terms of trying to get gainful employment, Leon Guerrero said in a video statement released Wednesday. The Cannabis Industry Act passed has now decriminalized marijuana, and we have several of our people who have, you know, made the mistake while it was illegal and are having a difficult time or a challenge getting back to work.

The governor said her administration is compassionate and believes in second chances.

I am seriously looking, and discussing with key stakeholders, pardoning those individuals who have been convicted of misdemeanor or single crimes related to marijuana, the governor said. Now that its legal I think we should go beyond that and allow those individuals to return to life to be productive members of our great island community.

Sen. Clynt Ridgell, who wrote the law to legalize recreational marijuana, said, I applaud you (governor) for making this move to make right whats been a wrong in the legal realm for many years. I think it was unjustified to make this substance illegal in the first place.

The Cannabis Control Board in late February gave lawmakers the final version of the proposed rules and regulations for the recreational cannabis industry, as required by Guam law. Lawmakers have until early June to change, adopt or reject the proposed rules and regulations.

The Department of Public Health and Social Services, which is one of the government agencies responsible for regulating the new industry, is in the process of launching a new Metrc seed-to-sale tracking system for the industry.

Ridgell said his committee on economic development and agriculture plans to hold a public hearing for the rules and regulations on May 12.

Once theyre finalized, well be ready to begin standing up this industry for the island of Guam  something I think will be really good to help stimulate our economy, help generate new revenue, creating new jobs and business opportunities, he said.

The cannabis board, during its March meeting, said banking remains one of the unresolved challenges for the new industry, as it is unclear whether banks will allow GovGuam to deposit the fees and taxes it receives from cannabis businesses.
A years old administrative issue has led to an investigation by the Contractors License Board being dismissed.

Contractor Kindo Electric filed a complaint with the board against Morrico Equipment, alleging that the latter company had been installing and servicing generators on island without a license, board investigator supervisor Nida Bailey said at a Wednesday meeting.

But last month, officials found that they had been wrongfully issuing numerous specialty C-68 licenses  licenses involved in the Kindo complaint  to contractors for around 13 years. The C-68 license is a catchall temporary license issued to specialized contractors until the work they do can be properly classified. It was introduced through rules and regulations in 2009 that were never formally adopted.

So this case was closed  due to the fact that the C-68 could not be enforced, Bailey said Wednesday.

Newly appointed Contractors Board Executive Director Chuck Sanchez said that updated rules needed to enforce the licenses were ready for legal review but still had to go through a lengthy adjudication and the Legislature.

Its not the fastest process but its going to work, said Sanchez.

Are there any other instances of such classifications that are not enforceable, that need to be addressed? board member Matthew Cruz asked.

Well, there might be some, but Id rather not discuss that since it might be under investigation right now, Sanchez said.

Other cases

At least two other cases are open related to the enforcement of C-68 licenses:

A complaint was filed by industrial equipment supplier JMI Edison, alleging that contractor Menzies Aviation was awarded a contract for baggage handling equipment services despite not having a C-68 license.

A complaint was filed by G4S Security Systems, alleging that the company Technologies For Tomorrow did not have a C-68 license when it was awarded a contract to install Wi-Fi in 40 schools for the Guam Department of Education.

Unapproved documents issued by former board executive director Cecil Buddy Orsini found that neither company had a license, though Orsini resigned from the board in February after the Office of Public Accountability found the documents fraudulent. Board inspectors in March confirmed that neither Menzies nor Technologies for Tomorrow were licensed by the board.

According to Sanchez, the board was awaiting legal review of their findings in both cases from Assistant Attorney General Thomas Keeler. Keeler previously said that the board could not enforce any case involving C-68 licenses.

Being realistic  this adjudication process probably will take the rest of the year. I dont know what happens when it goes back down to the Legislature. Its not going to happen in June, Sanchez said.
Former government of Guam psychiatrist Abner Pasatiempo will be barred from practicing on island after his application for licensure was unanimously denied by members of the Guam Board of Medical Examiners.

The former psychiatrist with the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center had seven complaints of sexual misconduct filed against him in 2019 and another in 2022. His Guam medical license expired in 2019 but he reapplied in 2020 because he could not work in the state of Alaska without having his case on Guam resolved.

A requested expert review of the case by a forensic psychiatrist held the investigation up, but the review report was finally read this month by board member Dr. Annie Bordallo. It found that there were a severe departure from the standard of care, unprofessional terminology and serious boundary violations on Pasatiempos part.

I reviewed the complaints as well as the medical records and all the supporting documents, as well as the expert witness. And I agree with the findings that there was violation of the standard of care, Bordallo said.

That along with charges of official misconduct filed against Pasatiempo by the Attorney General led Bordallo to recommend that the psychiatrists licensure be denied.

She also stressed that she did not have the expertise to make a determination of probable cause in the matter. Outside of the strict medical practice, I think we need to have access to investigators. But the Attorney Generals Office did do the investigation, and because of that finding, I would recommend that we deny his application for licensure, Bordallo said.

Full-time

The board is seeking full-time investigators to handle cases but has had issues with funding. Board members, most medical professionals, and staff handle the investigation of cases.

Pasatiempo was charged with seven counts, each of official misconduct as a misdemeanor and harassment as a petty misdemeanor by prosecutors on Guam. His criminal case is ongoing and he has appeared before the Superior Court of Guam by video to deny the charges.
The Mariana eight-spot butterfly is one of 23 endangered or threatened species that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must find critical habitat for under an April 18, 2022, settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity and Blue Ocean Law.




Haiti - Tropical wave alert : Civil Protection calls on the population to be vigilant





The General Directorate of Civil Protection (DPC) informs the population that the big rainy season is underway. Since Saturday, a tropical wave, which was blocked on an axis stretching from the Bahamas to Venezuela, is now advancing on Haiti accompanied by torrential rains, locally stormy and not very mobile.



This wave will persist for several days with an intensification from Tuesday and for the next 72 hours...



Consequently, this situation could cause flash floods (sudden flooding), landslides and urban runoff in the most vulnerable areas, including the North-West, North-East and Artibonite departments.



Vulnerabilities caused by the absence or dysfunction of sewer and rainwater drainage networks in urban areas and the severe degradation of the environment greatly increase the level of risk.



The Hydro-Meteorological Unit is closely monitoring the situation in order to inform the population of the evolution of the situation.



The DPC takes this opportunity to ask residents of areas exposed to the risk of flooding and gales to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and their loved ones, to identify temporary shelters in advance in the event of evacuation and above all, not to cross flooded rivers under any circumstances.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Justice : 18 Judges laid off by the CSPJ





Judge Jean Wilner Morin, President of the National Association of Haitian Magistrates (ANAMAH) confirmed that the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ) had laid off 18 judges.



Among these magistrates hit by this sanction, more than a dozen were placed on unpaid leave for abandonment of post according to our information. It should be noted that laying off without pay is assimilated to a revocation.



The other magistrates are placed on leave for suspicion of corruption or lack of ethics. They keep their pay but no longer benefit from the privileges linked to their function, pending the decision of the disciplinary tribunal, specifies Me Jean Wilner Morin.



Among the magistrates facing charges of alleged corruption, there are among others : the former investigating judge in the case of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise Me Garry Orelien accused of corruption https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35770-haiti-justice-accused-of-corruption-judge-orelien-gives-notice-to-pierre-esperance-to-prove-his-accusations.html and Judge Esaie Pierre-Louis of Croix-des-Bouquets for having canceled the wanted notice of the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police against Vitelhomme Innocent, Leader of the "kraze Barye" gang of Torcel, ally of the "400 Mawozo" Gang https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35615-haiti-news-zapping.html



S/ HaitiLibre


















By William Schwartz | Published on 2022/04/19

On April 19th actresses Lee Sun-bin and Seo Young-hee appeared as guests on the SBS radio program Two O' Clock Call To Show. They were there to discuss their upcoming movie "Air Murder" which deals with the humidifier disinfectant disaster. Lee Sun-bin plays a woman who becomes a lawyer for victims following an unfortunate family incident. Seo Young-hee plays the role of her older sister.

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Regarding shooting conditions, Seo Young-hee mentioned that Lee Sun-bin, who plays the leading role, was always very tired. Seo Young-hee was impressed at how Lee Sun-bin only ever showed this in the waiting area, always looking as if she was giving everything her all on-screen in terms of her performance. Seo Young-hee noted that despite Lee Sun-bin's energetic appearance, she did worry at times whether Lee Sun-bin was working herself too hard.

Lee Sun-bin concurred in this sentiment, noting that filming was indeed quite difficult for her. Lee Sun-bin explained that her sense of determination arose from knowing that "Air Murder" is based on a real-life story, so she was fearful of letting the real-life victims down if she gave anything less than her very best. Lee Sun-bin had positive words for Kim Sang-kyung, who played her brother-in-law, also in the leading role, and said that she even referred to him as such casually off-camera.

Seo Young-hee also had a choice comment about the early screenings for the film, noting with some surprise that despite the sad subject matter, they greeted an audience with a lot of smiles. Seo Young-hee noted that for its injustice, "Air Murder" is not an especially sad film. Regarding original inspirations, Seo Young-hee claimed not to have always had being an actress as part of her lifelong dream, despite her twenty-two year resume in the field.

Lee Sun-bin, by contrast, claims to have been motivated to pursue acting by a remark made while she was acting on university street for the first time that she was one of a kind. Lee Sun-bin also had strong praise for Seo Young-hee, saying that the older actress was warm and direct, and seemed perfect for her role. "Air Murder" will premiere in South Korean theaters on April 27th.

Written by William Schwartz

___________

"Air Murder" is directed by Cho Yong-sun, and features Kim Sang-kyung, Lee Sun-bin, Yoon Kyung-ho, Seo Young-hee, Lee Ji-hoon-II, Jang Gwang. Release date in Korea: 2022/04/22.
Published on 2022/04/19 | Source

Actor Lee Joon-gi has been confirmed with COVID-19.

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On the 18th, Lee Joon-gi's agency Namoo Actors said, "This morning, our actor Lee Joon-gi tested positive for COVID-19".

The agency explained, "Lee Joon-gi had symptoms of poor condition after filming today, so after the self-kit test, he conducted a rapid antigen test for experts at a designated hospital according to the results, and finally tested positive".

"Currently, Lee Joon-gi has no symptoms other than minor sore throat, and he is canceling all schedules and taking measures according to the guidelines of the quarantine authorities".

Finally, "We will do our best to recover by considering the health and safety of our actors as the top priority".

Meanwhile, Lee Joon-gi is currently starring in the SBS drama "Again My Life".

SBS Friday-Saturday drama "Again My Life" airs every Friday and Saturday at 10 PM.
Judge appoints receiver to manage Shepherd Memorial Park

Gary McDowell, who has almost 50 years experience in the funeral and cemetery business, testifies about his background during a hearing on Wednesday.

BREVARD  Dealing another courtroom setback for the Shepherd family funeral and cemetery business, a judge on Wednesday appointed a receiver to take over management of Shepherd Memorial Park and directly ordered the current owners and managers to stay away.



Superior Court Judge Marvin Pope of Asheville, who is presiding over the legal action by the North Carolina Cemetery Commission against the 68-year-old cemetery, appointed Gary McDowell in charge of the entire operation  upkeep and maintenance, digging and closing new graves, looking into and resolving a series of complaints, taking inventory of the assets and liabilities and submitting required reports to state regulators.

Youre taking over everything, Pope told McDowell during the hearing at the Transylvania County Courthouse. Theres nothing thats going to be withheld at all. Youll have access to everything and Shepherd employees will have control of nothing. Its in your total control.

McDowell, who has been in the funeral and cemetery business for 48 years in Western North Carolina, is a licensed funeral director who worked for many years for a funeral home in Canton before becoming general manager of Asheville Vault Service, where he worked closely providing vaults for Tom Shepherd, the third generation owner of Thos. Shepherd & Son Funeral Directors who died last New Years Eve. He left Asheville Vault Service to buy a competitor, running the company from 2005 to 2019, when he retired. He has worked at the Western North Carolina Veterans Cemetery since then.

Hendersonville attorney Sharon Alexander, whom the Cemetery Commission retained to argue the case in court, asked McDowell whether he had the time and willingness to manage Shepherd Memorial Park. He responded that he did.

When Michael Edney, who represents the Shepherd funeral businesses, asked McDowell whether he had experience filing records with the state, he said he did not but would bring on help to comply with the requirements.

Both attorneys and Judge Pope agreed that McDowell needed to be present for a hearing by late June to report on the condition of the cemetery and on his actions to resolve the complaints that resulted in the Cemetery Commissions action to relieve Shepherd of control. Pope told McDowell it would be up to him to contact the family members who had complained.

Id like to have an opportunity to see the complaints, see what they were and determine the severity, he said. He said he could get a handle on the nature and magnitude and would need probably not more than a week to start contacting people and see if anythings been addressed and see what I could do to address those concerns.

Under Judge Popes order, McDowell would be paid $50 an hour and would have authorization to hire the help needed for cemetery operations. The money to pay all costs during the receivership comes from the businesss assets and receipts.

Responding to the judges question, Edney said he agreed with everything in the order but would reserve the right to challenge the findings of fact in any other appeals of state regulatory orders involving the cemetery or funeral home.
BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) via video link on Thursday and deliver a keynote speech, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Wednesday.
CMS Integrates Equity and Maternal Health Quality Measures into Proposed Rule that Drives Payment for Hospitals

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule for inpatient and long-term hospitals that builds on the Biden-Harris Administrations key priorities to advance health equity and improve maternal health outcomes. In addition to annual policies that promote Medicare payment accuracy and hospital stability, the FY 2023 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS) rule includes measures that will encourage hospitals to build health equity into their core functions, thereby improving care for people and communities who are disadvantaged and/or underserved by the healthcare system. The rule includes three health equity-focused measures in hospital quality programs, seeks stakeholder input related to documenting social determinants of health in inpatient claims data, and proposes a Birthing-Friendly hospital designation.

For acute care hospitals paid under the IPPS that successfully participate in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program and are meaningful electronic health record users, the proposed increase in operating payment rates is projected to be 3.2%. This reflects a FY 2023 projected hospital market basket update of 3.1% reduced by a projected 0.4 percentage point productivity adjustment and increased by a 0.5 percentage point adjustment required by statute. Under the LTCH PPS, CMS expects payments to increase by approximately 0.8% or $25 million.

Building a healthier America starts with ensuring everyone in our nation has access to high-quality, affordable health care, said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. The new Medicare policies we are proposing today will help advance health equity in our health systems and dramatically improve maternal care for new parents and their newborns.

This rule, which funds a substantial portion of Medicare programs, is crucial to the foundation of CMS vision, ensuring access for all people with Medicare and maintaining incentives for our hospital partners to operate efficiently, said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. This yearthrough a health equity lenswe are also re-envisioning the next chapter of health care quality and patient safety.

Advancing Health Equity

Health equity means the attainment of the highest level of health for all people, where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their optimal health regardless of race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, preferred language, or other factors that affect access to care and health outcomes. CMS is working to advance health equity by designing, implementing, and operationalizing policies and programs that support health for all the people served by our programs, eliminating avoidable differences in health outcomes experienced by people who are disadvantaged or underserved, and providing the care and support that our enrollees need to thrive.

To address health care disparities in hospital inpatient care and beyond, CMS is proposing three health equity-focused measures for adoption in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program. The first measure assesses a hospitals commitment to establishing a culture of equity and delivering more equitable health care by capturing concrete activities across five key domains, including strategic planning, data collection, data analysis, quality improvement, and leadership engagement. The second and third measures capture screening and identification of patient-level, health-related social needssuch as food insecurity, housing instability, transportation needs, utility difficulties, and interpersonal safety. By screening for and identifying such unmet needs, hospitals will be in a better position to serve patients holistically by addressing and monitoring what are often key contributors to poor physical and mental health outcomes.

Additionally, CMS seeks public input on how to optimally measure health care quality disparities, including what to prioritize in data collection and reporting as well as approaches to consider in driving provider accountability across hospital quality programs.

CMS is also proposing to discontinue the use of proxy data for uncompensated care costs in determining uncompensated care payments for Indian Health Service and Tribal hospitals and hospitals in Puerto Rico, and to establish a new supplemental payment to prevent undue long-term financial disruption for these hospitals.

Improving Care for People Experiencing Homelessness and Documenting Social Determinants of Health

CMS is seeking stakeholder input through a Request for Information (RFI) on social determinants of health, particularly related to homelessness, reported by hospitals on Medicare claims. Consistently documenting these factors could better support people experiencing homelessness and more fully consider resources expended by hospitals. With this RFI, CMS seeks to better understand the perspectives of people who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness, advocates representing people experiencing homelessness, hospitals and other key stakeholders for consideration in future payment policies.

Improving Maternal Health Outcomes

CMS is proposing the creation of a new hospital designation to identify birthing friendly hospitals and additional quality measure reporting to drive improvements in maternal health outcomes and maternal health equity.

The Biden-Harris Administration has championed policies to improve maternal health and equity since President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris first took office. This week, Vice President Harris convened a first-ever White House meeting with Cabinet Secretaries and agency leaders, including Secretary Becerra, CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Carole Johnson, to discuss the Administrations whole-of-government approach to reducing maternal mortality and morbidity. In December 2021, Vice President Harris announced a historic Call to Action to improve health outcomes for parents and their young children in the United States. Todays announcement is part of the Biden-Harris Administrations continued response to that Call to Action.

Improving maternal health outcomesparticularly among underserved communities and groups that we know experience adverse birth outcomes at a higher rateis a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration, CMS, and for me personally, said Administrator Brooks-LaSure.

The Birthing-Friendly hospital designation would assist consumers in choosing hospitals that have demonstrated a commitment to maternal health through implementation of best practices that advance health care quality, safety, and equity for pregnant and postpartum patients. Initially, the designation would be awarded to hospitals based on their attestation to the Hospital IQR Programs Maternal Morbidity Structural Measure.

The Maternal Morbidity Structural Measure reflects hospitals commitment to the quality and safety of maternity care they furnish. Data will be submitted by hospitals for the first time in May 2022, and CMS will postdata for October to December 2021 in fall 2022. The hospital designation would begin in fall 2023. Criteria for the designation could be expanded in the future.

The proposed rule also introduces two additional quality measures for the Hospital IQR Program intended to drive improvements in maternal health, including a measure of low-risk Cesarean deliveries and a measure of severe obstetric complications.

Promoting Payment Accuracy and Stability

At its core, the rule drives high-quality, person-centered care and promotes fiscal stewardship of the Medicare program by proposing updates to Medicare fee-for-service payment rates and policies for acute care inpatient hospitals and long-term care hospitals for FY 2023. Annually, IPPS and LTCH spending accounts for more than 25% of fee-for-service Medicare spending for approximately 3,900 inpatient and long-term care hospitals.

Additional items in the proposed rule related to payment stability for hospitals, include a policy that smooths out significant year-to-year changes in hospitals wage indexes and a solicitation for comments on payment adjustments for purchasing domestically made surgical N95 respirators. Specifically, CMS is proposing to apply a 5% cap on any decrease to a hospitals wage index from its wage index in the prior fiscal year; and is considering the appropriateness of payment adjustments accounting for additional costs of purchasing surgical N95 respirators made in the U.S.

For a fact sheet on the proposed payment rule visit: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/fy-2023-hospital-inpatient-prospective-payment-system-ipps-and-long-term-care-hospitals-ltch-pps

For a fact sheet specific to the maternal health and health equity measures included in the proposed payment rule visit: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/fy-2023-hospital-inpatient-prospective-payment-system-ipps-and-long-term-care-hospitals-ltch-pps-0

The White House statement on Reducing Maternal Mortality and Morbidity, as part of the first-ever federal maternal health day of action, can be viewed at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/07/fact-sheet-vice-president-kamala-harris-announces-call-to-action-to-reduce-maternal-mortality-and-morbidity/

For a fact sheet on additional steps to address maternal health announced as part of the first-ever meeting with cabinet officials on maternal health hosted by Vice President Harris visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/13/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-additional-actions-in-response-to-vice-president-harriss-call-to-action-on-maternal-health/

The FY 2023 IPPS/LTCH PPS proposed rule has a 60-day comment period. The proposed rule can be downloaded from the Federal Register at: https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/current
Half Moon Bay, CA (94019)

Today

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 46F. NW winds at 15 to 25 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 46F. NW winds at 15 to 25 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Radisson Hotel Group Americas today announced the signing of The Cocoa Village Hotel, a member of Radisson Individuals in the stunning city of Cocoa, Florida. Set to open in 2023, this will be the first newly constructed hotel for the brand. Located in the heart of Cocoa, guests will be able to explore the historic downtown and enjoy the new hotel and its many amenities. The hotel is also just minutes from Port Canaveral, the fastest growing cruise terminal in the nation and second largest in North America. Whether in town for business, pleasure, or to jump start a vacation before embarking on a world class cruise, The Cocoa Village Hotel will be the perfect spot for every type of traveler.

The eight-floor, 107-room hotel will feature a rooftop restaurant, lounge, and meeting facility overlooking the scenic Intracoastal Waterway. It will have an additional restaurant and lounge near the lobby on the first floor. The Cocoa Village Hotel will also be built with nearly 5,000 square feet of meeting space that can comfortably host up to 350 people or break out into multiple meeting rooms ideal for smaller gatherings. The exquisite outdoor pool will include a large patio with fire pits offering the ultimate place for relaxation, along with being designed to host private parties, gala events, and gorgeous weddings. Other amenities planned for the hotel include a state-of-the-art fitness center, business center, lobby market, and a 265-space parking garage.

Approximately 20 miles north of Melbourne Orlando International Airport (MLB) and 40 miles east of Orlando International Airport (MCO), Cocoa is one of the Space Coast's most popular destinations, with its proximity to Interstate 95, US1, and SR 520, making it a convenient hub to explore Disney World, the Kennedy Space Center, the world-famous Cocoa Beach, and much more. The Cocoa Village Hotel will be in the historic Cocoa Village neighborhood, with a nationally recognized Main Street, and within the downtown core of the city filled with restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and countless shopping options.

Hotel website
Radisson Hotel Group is proud to announce the opening of Radisson Hotel Danang, a brand-new international upscale hotel, marking the brand's debut in this vibrant Vietnamese city.

Perfectly positioned next to My Khe Beach, just 10 minutes' drive from Danang International Airport and within easy reach of key business and leisure areas, Radisson Hotel Danang features 182 rooms and suites with panoramic views of the city, ocean or peninsula. The seven room categories range from 28m Deluxe Rooms to 70m Family Room Ocean View, and the Executive Lounge is an exclusive 20th floor space that promises extra services and all-day refreshments.

Guests can relax at the spa, steam room and fitness center, or swim at one of the highest infinity pools in Danang. Vivid Rooftop Bar & Pool, the dramatic 21st floor rooftop venue, offers conceptual menus for lunch and dinner, refreshing cocktails, and a telescope for stargazing. The Market Place specializes in authentic Vietnamese cuisine, creative fusion flavors and international favorites in a traditional market-style ambiance, and The Lobby Cafe & Terrace is a casual setting for drinks and snacks.

The elegant Cyan Ballroom features 270m of space supported by state-of-the-art audio-visual technology, set against a stunning backdrop of tropical palms and ocean views. Ideal for destination weddings, events, meetings, and gala dinners, it can comfortably host up to 300 people in a theater style or be flexibly divided into two smaller spaces.

The opening of Radisson Hotel Danang comes just weeks after Vietnam fully reopened its borders to fully-vaccinated international travelers from all around the world.

Radisson Hotel Danang becomes Radisson Hotel Group's fourth property to open in Vietnam, joining upper-upscale Radisson Blu resorts in Phu Quoc, Cam Ranh and Radisson Hotel Phan Thiet which recently opened. As Radisson Hotel Group continues to expand in the market, its portfolio of brands is set to deliver memorable moments and experiences to many more parts of the country in future.

With the health and safety of guests and team members as its top priority, Radisson Hotel Danang is implementing the Radisson Hotels Safety Protocol program. The in-depth cleanliness and disinfection protocols were developed in partnership with SGS, the world's leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, and are designed to ensure guest safety and peace of mind from check-in to check-out.

Hotel website
The Kimpton Overland Atlanta, along with its two restaurants, APRON and The Rooftop at the Overland, are pleased to announce Drew Kirkland as its new executive chef.

Originally from Tampa, FL, Chef Drew Kirkland's love of cooking started at a young age. After working in kitchens for most of his young adult life, he attended the Florida Culinary Institute in West Palm Beach to hone his skills before heading to West Palm Beach's PGA National Resort & Spa in 2001. In 2003, he moved to Atlanta to continue his career, and became a saute cook at Rathbun's under well-known Atlanta Chef & Restauranteur Kevin Rathbun. Kirkland continued to work under Rathbun for five years, moving up to become Chef de Cuisine for three of Rathbun's restaurants, Rathbun's, Krog Bar and Kevin Rathbun Steak. In 2020, Kirkland helmed the kitchen at the newly opened Epicurean Atlanta, an Autograph Collection Hotel. Here, Kirkland was known to deliver an immersive culinary experience inside Epicurean's flagship restaurant, Reverence.

In 2022, Kirkland joined the Kimpton Overland to become executive chef, where he now oversees daily operations and menu ideation for APRON and The Rooftop. The Southern-inspired menus are a nod to his roots, and he hopes to continue to bring seasonal, simple ingredients to guests and locals alike.

When Kirkland is not in the kitchen, he can be found playing darts, seeking new and exciting restaurants, or watching the Atlanta Braves.
Alastair McAlpine, General Manager, Four Seasons Resorts Lanai, has announced the appointment of Avi Phookan as Resort Manager, where he will lead the day-to-day operations at the Resort, along with overseeing rooms, spa, food and beverage and engineering.

A veteran hotelier with international and stateside experience, he joins the Lanai property from the Alaia Belize, where he served as a pre-opening manager for the resort. Prior to that he held a series of progressive roles, starting in food and beverage with the Ritz-Carlton in Grand Cayman and traveling to properties from Dubai and Doha to New Orleans, Washington, DC and Charleston.

Born in Assam, India, Phookan graduated from the Insitut Hotelier Cesar Ritz in Switzerland, a dream that began while accompanying his father as he travelled throughout India representing a tea business. Visiting distinct destinations during these visits fuelled his desire to travel and explore the world. He also holds a certification from the Wharton Business School.
Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa announces Jeff Perkins as the new General Manager of the Dana Point, Calif. hotel. The resort is managed and operated by Aimbridge Hospitality.

Perkins will be responsible for overseeing the operations of the entire resort property, set in Dana Point with memorable views of the Pacific Ocean. Its 378 beach-chic guestrooms and suites have undergone a $25 million renovation and feature hardwood floors, water-efficient rain showers, custom linens and more. The OverVue Lounge & Deck offers seafood, steak and vegetarian dishes crafted from local Dana Point ingredients alongside ocean and sunset views, while Outer Reef, with a fully redesigned menu by the James Beard-nominated Chef John Tesar, is known for its 1,000-gallon shark tank and outdoor patio with fire pits.

Prior to this appointment, Perkins has served as General Manager at the Portofino Hotel and Marina in Redondo Beach, California and at the Queen Kapiolani and Shoreline Hotel, both in Waikiki, Hawaii. He has held the position of Resort Manager at The Kahala Hotel and Resort in Honolulu, Hawaii and the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Oahu. He spent 13 years with The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, where he developed his luxury hospitality acumen.

Recently, Perkins has overseen multimillion-dollar property renovations and the relaunching of independent hotels in destination markets, as well as overseeing day-to-day activities of these properties to ensure continued success. His skills in creative branding, sales and marketing with an entrepreneurial approach allow him a unique perspective on operating lifestyle brands, and his dedication to impactful leadership have resulted in strong teams and complete property transformations.

Perkins has been deeply involved in Travel and Tourism organizations in both California and Hawaii and is passionate about supporting the communities in which he and his family reside.

He has held positions on the Board of Directors for the Chambers of Commerce in Redondo Beach, the North Shore of Oahu and Skal International Hawaii. He has been the president of Redondo Beach's King Harbor Association and takes part in many local community outreach events and culture mentorships. Perkins has also been involved in employee engagement training programs with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Independent Hotels, and Starwood Hotels.
A global student competition launched by Hotelschool The Hague has created a bridge between todays hospitality industry leadership and the next generation of hoteliers who apply innovation in addressing the industrys evolution during a tough global competition of top tier universities.

The Sustainable Hospitality Challenge (SHC) was founded in 2014 under the name Genio Worldwide Innovation Summit. Due to its relevancy for the hospitality industry, the challenge has re-established itself by making sustainability its central theme. The Sustainable Hospitality Challenge is giving participating students from top-tier universities the opportunity to contribute to bettering the planet and their industry by establishing innovative and sustainable solutions. They are given the incredible opportunity to present on a global stage in front of the biggest industry leaders, who can turn their ideas into real projects.

As Paul Griep, founder of The Sustainable Hospitality, explains: This is the largest hospitality student challenge focused on sustainability. Our mission is similar to the World Solar Challenge where ideas and solutions presented by the students are adapted and used in the real world. If we want to make a difference, we need to work with the next generation. So, by creating a bridge between the next generation and the current leaders of the industry we can pave the way towards a more sustainable future. 

With over 40 participating universities from around the globe, and over 20 nationalities represented, The Sustainable Hospitality Challenge, together with their partners Bench, The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, Hotelschool The Hague and its main sponsor NEOM, are committed to building a sustainable future.

Wolfgang Neumann, Chairman of The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, adds: Over the past eight years the Sustainable Hospitality Challenge has given bright and hungry students from top universities a platform for innovation. Year on year I have been inspired together with many other senior industry leaders to embrace the unknown and not to get entrenched in the art of the possible.

This year, The Sustainable Hospitality Challenge is proud to announce a theme that will inspire students to think even more out-of-the-box and create innovative, ingenious, sustainable solutions. With our sponsor NEOM at the forefront of sustainable innovation in Saudi Arabia, this years case will align with this impressive undertaking.

This years case has been created with the support of the SHC ambassador Marloes Knippenberg (CEO Kerten Hospitality), Chris Newman (Executive Director of Hotel Development at NEOM), Colin Abercrombie (Strategy Director of Hotel Development at NEOM), Carlos Martin-Rios (Associate Professor of Management at Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne) and other industry executives.

Chris Newman, NEOMs Executive Director of Hotel Development, said: The Sustainable Hospitality Challenge aligns beautifully with the vision and ethos of NEOM. It is a challenge that focuses on developing and encouraging the next generation of young pioneering hospitality professionals. This years challenge especially supports NEOMs core principles of sustainability, community, livability, technology, and nature. We are very proud to be the lead sponsor and are very excited to see the innovative and inspirational ideas that will be developed over the course of the next few months.

Colin Abercrombie, Strategy Director of Hotel Development at NEOM, added: We are deeply committed to the challenge, to the ambitious plans that are in place to develop it further, and to supporting and nurturing the student teams. We offer a huge thank you to Paul and Stella for their amazing energy, drive and vision in making this happen.

Marloes Knippenberg, CEO of Kerten Hospitality  an ESG Lifestyle mixed-use operator, which has integrated ESG in all of the Groups processes, said: The evolution of this challenge is simply remarkable. From a student activity behind closed doors, this is now becoming the most relevant global industry sustainability competition that has direct relevance on all stakeholders involved. This generation is the future, and their future is our responsibility, the simple reason for me to put in the time, effort, and dedication. I am very driven to help the initiative grow  a responsibility we all share. At Kerten Hospitality, where ESG is part of our DNA, we are looking forward to a greater competition of the minds this year.

The Sustainable Hospitality Challenge (SHC) is delighted to announce the theme of the 2022 Case:

Remote

This years Sustainable Hospitality Challenge aims to further inspire, challenge, and motivate students to create innovative sustainable concepts.

The theme Remote is primarily inspired by the recent partnership with NEOM, the major sponsor. NEOM, an accelerator of human progress and a vision of what a new future might look like, is a region in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea being built from the ground up as a living laboratory  a place where entrepreneurship will chart the course for this new future.

For the 2022 Case, participating students will be able to choose between two dimensions:

A sustainable hospitality concept in a remote area: The NEOM hospitality concept of 2030 Social sustainability in a remote area: The NEOM society of 2030

This year, over 40 top-tier universities from around the globe representing all continents will be competing in The Sustainable Hospitality Challenge.

Qualifications are being held this month, followed by the semi-finals in Amsterdam. Tickets and information for these events will soon be shared on LinkedIn, Instagram and www.thestudentchallenge.com. The finals, in partnership with Bench and The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, will be held on the main stage at the Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) in Dubai.

Jonathan Worsley, Chairman & CEO of The Bench said: After a successful collaboration at AHIC last year, we are delighted that the Sustainability Hospitality Challenge has chosen our stage once again to present their finals in Dubai. One of our six themes this September at the Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) is The Future of Sustainability & Innovation  and the SHC is a perfect fit! We look forward to welcoming the finalists at FHS Middle East 2022.

To stay informed about The Sustainable Hospitality Challenge and the innovative solutions created by the next generation of hoteliers, visit www.thestudentchallenge.com, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Stella V Toor

Senior Coordinator of SHC

+49 176 70058382

Hotelschool The Hague
AMSTERDAM -Oaky, the hyper-personalised hotel upselling solution, and Duetto, the leading revenue management software provider for hoteliers, are working now as strategic partners to enable dynamic room upgrade pricing. The goal of this new integration is to leverage Duettos automated pricing to seamlessly increase hotels room upgrade revenues.

Maximising revenue generation from direct channels is more important today than ever before. The new partnership between Oaky and Duetto will help hotels make the most of returning traveller demand. Sending personalised upgrade offers at the optimal rate directly to travellers via Oaky will boost the average daily rates and result in an overall lifted topline.

How the new integration works

Duetto supplies live room availability data and dynamic rates for all room types to Oaky

Oaky automatically presents available room upgrades to the guest at the optimal price

Once a traveller books an upgrade, Duetto updates room availability for future upgrade offers.

H-Hotels, a joint customer of Oaky and Duetto, has seen impressive results while piloting the dynamically priced room upgrades. They have reported an increase of over 45% in guest spend per upgraded night.

Upgrade conversions have also developed positively since rates for paid upgrades stayed in line with the market and adapted to current demand and availability.

Were always eager to test innovative tech tools if they can help us create a better guest experience or drive more revenue. The new integration between Duetto and Oaky is especially noteworthy because it does both. In the short time, weve been using it, weve seen a solid boost in room upgrade revenue all without us having to do extra work, said Deniel Frey, Vice President of Revenue Management at H-Hotels.

The potential of dynamic pricing or room revenue becomes clear to every hotelier who implements such a strategy, said Erik Tengen, Co-Founder of Oaky. Working with Duetto, we can apply dynamic pricing principles to upselling and offer an automated approach that generates extra ancillary revenue without adding to a teams workload.

A truly personalised upselling strategy is already quite rare at hotels. Dynamically priced room upgrades and ancillary services are even less common, said David Woolenberg, CEO of Duetto. Bringing together Duetto and Oaky creates more opportunities for hoteliers to use automation to maximise their room revenue in a quick, efficient and seamless way.

About Duetto

Duetto delivers a suite of cloud applications to simplify hospitality revenue decisions and allow hoteliers to work smarter, increasing organisational efficiency, revenue, and profitability. The unique combination of hospitality experience and technology leadership drives Duetto to look for innovative solutions to industry challenges. The software as a service platform allows hotels and casino resorts to leverage real-time dynamic data sources and actionable insights into pricing and demand across the enterprise. More than 4,000 hotel and casino resort properties in more than 60 countries have partnered to use Duettos applications, which include GameChanger for pricing, ScoreBoard for intelligent reporting, and BlockBuster for contracted-business optimization. Duetto is backed by investors Warburg Pincus, Icon Ventures, Accel Partners, Battery Ventures, and Spectrum 28.

In January 2022, Duetto was voted as the Best Revenue Management System in the HotelTechAwards 2022.

About Oaky

Oaky is a hyper-personalised upselling software that helps hotels boost revenue through enriched guest experience and branding. Enabling hotels to leverage segmentation, personalisation, dynamic pricing and more, Oaky takes upselling services and upgrades to the next level, maximising the average spend per guest and taking the legwork out of the upselling process. Oaky has been recognised as the Best Upselling Software by Hotel Tech Report for 5 years in a row and is trusted by innovative hotels, groups and chains across the globe, including the ONYX Hospitality & Radisson Hotel Group.

Anastassia Kravtsenko

PR & Events Manager

+31625332217
With a focus on mobility and guest self-service the xnPOS team will be showcasing their latest self-service kiosk application and hardware, together with xnPOS GO, a seamlessly integrated QR code based guest self-ordering and payment solution.

Xn Global Systems, Inc. is delighted to announce that it will be exhibiting at HITEC Orlando 2022 on booth 2101.

In the three years since xnPOS was last shown at HITEC the product has undergone an intensive period of development resulting in a modern, highly functional and integrated POS system designed to meet the specific requirements of the hotel POS marketplace.

xnPOS comprises a seamlessly integrated set of modules linked to the xnPOS Cloud Transaction Platform. This connects your guests and hotel team members directly to the point of sale system, while at the same time providing central management, administration and real time KPI reporting.

The full range of modules to be showcased at HITEC Orlando include :

xnPOS Tablet

xnPOS Kiosk

xnPOS GO

xnPOS QRPAY

xnPOS Workstation

xnPOS Kitchen Display Station

David Lewis, VP Sales for xnPOS, commented : We are very excited to be back at HITEC for the first time since 2019. Our xnPOS solution has evolved massively over the last three years and we look forward to demonstrating the extensive new functionality and features, and the benefits this can bring to hotels in increased profitability and enhanced guest service. We look forward to welcoming hoteliers to our booth number 2101. 

Book an appointment to see xnPOS at HITEC Orlando https://www.xnpos.net/hitec-2022

About HITEC Orlando

WHERE HOSPITALITY MEETS - HITEC delivers a top-notch education and expo program backed by the planning expertise from the only organization that globally produces non-profit hospitality conferences - Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals. Join industry professionals at HITEC Orlando to cover the latest trends in hospitality technology and much more. For more details please visit https://www.hftp.org/hitec/

About xnPOS

xnPOS is a fully internationalized food & beverage point of sale system designed to meet the specific requirements of the hotel industry. It is a centrally managed, full-service, cloud system with enterprise scalability, security and performance. With a focus on self-service for guests and mobility for hotel team members, xnPOS can help revolutionize your hotel service and increase profitability. xnPOS is available in over 50 countries across the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia PAC. For further information about xnPOS please visit our new website www.xnpos.net

About Xn Global Systems, Inc.

Headquartered in Miami, Xn Global Systems Inc. provides the sales and operational platform for xnPOS in the US and Canada, and also for Latin America later in 2022.

Mark Pearman
Infor, the industry cloud company, today announced that the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians in California has decided to implement the newest iteration of Infor CloudSuite Financials & Supply Management and Infor d/EPM to transform its back-office strategy for growth. By migrating from its current system, San Manuels entities will be operating with a modern ERP system that will empower finance teams with modern, cloud-based tools, allowing the organization to stay modern and agile for continued growth, all while supporting its ultimate goal of creating unforgettable guest experiences.

After an announcement in 2021 regarding plans for expansion and San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authoritys (SMGHA) purchase of Palms from Red Rock Resorts, a modern technology system that would help better manage data of its growing portfolio was necessary to help fuel and organize this growth from the start. As an Infor customer the past 18 years, San Manuel trusted that Infor was the right partner to help navigate this move to the cloud and achieve its goal of modernizing core financial applications to transform business operations. As part of this digital transformation, San Manuel will utilize Infor CloudSuite applications to streamline processes, in near real time, to help drive adoption, compliance and productivity. With Infor CloudSuite, San Manuel has tools to support productivity, forecast more accurately, and analyze the business more effectively  ultimately gaining greater insight to make more-informed decisions that directly affect bottom-line results and guest interactions.

We knew Infor was the right partner to help us fuel our growth because of its proven track record and commitment to investing and adding vertical depth to its ERP solutions. They understand the hospitality industry, our needs for right now and our needs for the future, said Toni Pepper, San Manuels chief information technology officer. We are very proud of our recent rebrand and expansion plans, and all of the hard work that went into bringing these ideas to fruition. Putting a new technology system in place to automate key tasks was critical so that teams could eliminate administrative burdens and trust the data that was coming to them to make real-time business decisions, so we can put more focus on the guest.

Specifically, the organization will utilize the Infor applications to take better control of financial operations, improve transparency with advanced analytics, consolidate data from disparate sources, reconcile more effectively, and benefit from increased visibility into activities that impact finances across its growing portfolio. Coupled with its existing Infor HMS (Hospitality Management Solution), San Manuel is uniquely positioned to connect every aspect of operations to the guest experience, creating a seamless journey that will help it meet todays and tomorrows hospitality challenges.

The hospitality industry is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to deliver personalized experiences without adding administrative burdens, said Jason Floyd, Infor general manager. Infor offers a complete, scalable, proven suite of solutions designed specifically to support the hospitality industry. By partnering with us, leading organizations such as San Manuel will be able to keep their businesses running with maximum efficiency, so their teams can put more focus on delivering long-term relationships with guests.

About the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized Indian tribe located on the San Manuel Indian Reservation near Highland, California. San Manuel exercises its inherent sovereign right of self-governance and provides essential services for its citizens by building infrastructure, maintaining civil services, and promoting social, economic and cultural development. As the Indigenous people of the San Bernardino highlands, passes, valleys, mountains and high deserts, the Serrano people of San Manuel have called this area home since time immemorial and are committed to remaining a productive partner in the San Bernardino region. Visit https://sanmanuel-nsn.gov/

About Infor

Infor is a global leader in business cloud software specialized by industry. We develop complete solutions for our focus industries, including industrial manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, food & beverage, automotive, aerospace & defense, and high tech. Infor"s mission-critical enterprise applications and services are designed to deliver sustainable operational advantages with security and faster time-to-value. We are obsessed with delivering successful business outcomes for customers, and we are continually innovating to quickly solve emerging business and industry challenges. Over 60,000+ organizations in more than 179 countries rely on Infor"s 17,500 employees and their deep industry expertise to help overcome market disruptions and achieve their business goals. As a Koch company, our financial strength, ownership structure, and long-term view empower us to foster enduring, mutually beneficial relationships with our customers, employees and partners. Visit www.infor.com.

Christina Ledger

+1 312 662 2135
ARLINGTON, Va. - Knowland, the worlds leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, released an update to its U.S. Meetings Recovery Forecast (MRF) and associated Top 25 U.S. Meetings Recovery Forecast (MRF25) to provide the hospitality industry with predictive insights into event recovery over the next three years. Click here to view the most current forecasts.

Kristi White, chief product officer, Knowland, said: While Omicron created a minor setback in January the next two months stabilized the performance of the quarter. We anticipate the second quarter of the year will continue this pace of recovery and potentially accelerate the process. From the MRF25 recovery perspective, there was volatility among the markets. However, several markets managed to improve their recovery outlook."

"Even those markets with lowered forecasts saw significant upticks in March which was almost enough to eliminate the need for a lowered forecast. The main difference in the markets where the forecast was raised is that they experienced minimal dips in January, so the February and March rebound propelled them even higher.

Knowlands forecasts provide an overview of how the U.S. as a whole and the Top 25 Markets, specifically, will move through recovery. Since the forecast in February, the outlook for the U.S. is unchanged. However, there has been a shift in performance across some of the Top 25 Markets. A breakdown of the details is below:

MRF Q1 recovery metrics  Omicron concerns caused a mild cooling isolated to January, while February met recovery targets. Month-over-month growth was even stronger than anticipated because of the lackluster January performance. March exceeded recovery targets and the stronger forecasted rebound combined with February performance stabilized the forecast for the U.S. as a whole.

 Omicron concerns caused a mild cooling isolated to January, while February met recovery targets. Month-over-month growth was even stronger than anticipated because of the lackluster January performance. March exceeded recovery targets and the stronger forecasted rebound combined with February performance stabilized the forecast for the U.S. as a whole. Top 25 Markets Recovery Forecast update  For five markets the recovery forecast improved from the last forecast in February 2022, including Anaheim, Miami, Nashville, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. In ten markets the recovery forecast was lowered including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Oahu Island, Orlando, San Francisco, and Seattle. The remaining Top 25 markets are unchanged from February.

 For five markets the recovery forecast improved from the last forecast in February 2022, including Anaheim, Miami, Nashville, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. In ten markets the recovery forecast was lowered including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Oahu Island, Orlando, San Francisco, and Seattle. The remaining Top 25 markets are unchanged from February. Recovery by the end of 2022: Two markets will be fully recovered by the end of 2022: Phoenix and Tampa. This remains unchanged from the February forecast. Four markets will be above 80 percent recovery. Nashville shifted into this category with this forecast. Sixteen markets will be between 50 and 80 percent recovery. Only Detroit, Oahu, and Chicago are forecasted to be less than 50 percent recovered by the end of 2022. Chicago shifted into this category while Norfolk moved into the 50-80 percent category. Significant recovery in 2023: Seven markets will achieve 100 percent or greater recovery including Phoenix, Tampa, Miami, Dallas, Nashville, Washington, and Anaheim. Eight will reach 90 percent or better recovery. Seven will fall between 75 and 90 percent recovery. Finally, Denver, Oahu, and Detroit will fall below 75 percent recovery. Closer to normal in 2024: 21 of the 25 markets will achieve 100 percent or greater recovery by 2024. Atlanta, Denver, and Chicago will achieve 90 or better percent recovery. Detroit is anticipated to be below 75 percent recovery.



About the MRF and associated MRF25: The MRF demonstrates projected industry recovery patterns and is based on Knowlands proprietary data and regression models leveraging almost 20 million global events over the last 15 years. The MRF25 was added in February 2022 to provide the capability to search industry recovery patterns for the Top 25 U.S. Markets. The forecast uses a natural recovery model, assuming historic seasonal patterns without major market disruption, to index the recapture of meeting activity compared to baseline levels from 2019. By comparing past data to evolving data trends, hoteliers can better understand market-relevant changesand their implicationsas individual markets move into 2022 and beyond.

About Knowland

Knowland is the world's leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality. With the industry's largest historical database of actualized events, thousands of customers trust Knowland to sell group smarter and maximize their revenue. Knowland operates globally and is headquartered just outside Washington, DC. To learn more about our solutions, visit www.knowland.com or follow us on Twitter @knowlandgroup.

Katrina Pruitt-Andrews

Vice President, Marketing KNOWLAND
Further positioning itself as one of the fastest growing brands in the independent hospitality arena, Los Angeles-based Palisociety is set to mark its continued expansion with the debut of six new hotels in 2022 and 2023 across its signature Palisociety and ARRIVE by Palisociety monikers. Founder Avi Brosh will also introduce a new hotel brand, Le Petit Pali, in 2023, designed as a highly bespoke bed & breakfast concept to complement Palisocietys current portfolio.

On the heels of an incredible few years of trepidation in the hotel business, we are elated to grow and nurture our brand into a new chapter of momentum, said Brosh. Over the past 20 years, weve defined ourselves as a design-forward, neighborhood-centric hotel company focused on a highly personalized, proprietor-driven approach to hospitality and it is evident that todays guest appreciates that distinct point of view, perhaps now more than ever. We are excited to take that enthusiasm for the brands vision and propel it into a new phase of growth for Palisociety and the independent hotels landscape as a whole.

Palisociety looks ahead to the next chapter in its growth with the announcement of the following new hotels:

Palihouse West Hollywood  the revival of Broshs debut brand, Palihouse West Hollywood is perched on the citys famed W. Third Street, featuring 95 guest rooms, a pool, two distinct dining outposts, a lobby lounge and the brands signature California quirky sensibility blended with a grand European-influenced style that will be highly customized and, as always, unpredictably charming. Debuting in Q4 2022.

Palihotel Hollywood  a revamping of a 1980s Hollywood motor lodge into an upscale contemporary, fun, and bespoke Hollywood-centric hotel with 76 rooms centered around an oversized pool and courtyard, alongside a new restaurant concept from the brand. Adorned with custom made furniture and layered, vintage details throughout. Debuting in Q4 2022.

Palihotel San Diego  a 122-room property in the heart of the citys Gaslamp Quarter and a quick walk from the harbor front, Palihotel San Diego will bring a youthful, design-centric offering to San Diegos hotel landscape with a preppy, contemporary nautical-inspired personality, new restaurant and rooftop space. Scheduled to open in Q1 2023.

Palihouse Hyde Park Village (Tampa)  an intimate, but lively 36-room hotel in Tampas Hyde Park Village set to bring a new-fashioned interpretation of the boutique hotel experience to the market with European-inspired interiors, a hotel bar with food service, suite-style accommodations, and Palisocietys signature service and amenities. Opening in Q3 2023.

ARRIVE New Orleans  a 93-room hotel in the citys Bywater area with a distinct, neighborhood-focused point of view.ARRIVE New Orleans will feature three floors of guest rooms, an outdoor pool and greenery-filled courtyard, rooftop space, coffee concept by Mammoth Espresso, and restaurant from acclaimed Chef Eric Cook (Gris Gris and Saint John). Opening in Q3 2023.

ARRIVE Albuquerque  the anticipated renovation and redesign of a 1960s historic hotel in downtown Albuquerque, featuring 135 guest rooms, an indoor/outdoor signature Italian restaurant, pool lounge, patio and dedicated meeting spaces. Opening in 2023.

About Palisociety

Palisociety is a fully integrated hospitality company that acquires, programs, develops, owns and operates unique hotels and residences across the country under three distinct monikers: Palihouse, Palihotel, ARRIVE by Palisociety and a collection of independently branded properties. The company's proprietary brands, development and operational expertise also includes specialized retail spaces, highly curated restaurants, bars and event venues. Palisociety properties have been featured on Conde Nast Traveler's Hot List, Travel + Leisure IT List, and more, with accolades from the New York Times, Architectural Digest, Wallpaper* and countless others. Avi Brosh founded Palisociety in 1998 in Los Angeles. For more information, visit www.palisociety.com or follow @palisociety.
LOS ANGELES - The industrys official association to global boutique hotels and boutique businesses has opened its annual Awards nomination site at blla.org/awards. The 2022 Awards, curated by BLLA, include categories for hotels, boutique businesses, design projects, vendors & suppliers, and a separate one exclusively for nominating boutique hotel owners and general managers.

The nominations process includes an application, processing of a $449 fee (super-early bird rate is $249), and a series of questions which will be reviewed by the Awards Judges at the completion of the nomination submissions which ends at midnight on September 1, 2022.

The announcement of the winners will occur on October 24th in person in Los Angeles, the 1st evening of the Boutique Hotel Owners Conference. The Award winners will be honored during a live celebration dinner where top media and press will be in attendance as well as the associations Board of Advisors and Sponsors. For more information, please contact the association at [email protected].

The BLLA Awards were created in 2010 as a platform to celebrate daring and brilliant efforts in the global boutique hospitality industry. Now in its twelfth year, it determines the worlds best hotels, creators, and partners. All winners and runner-ups will be published on Sincerely, BLLA, BLLAs social media platforms, the BOUTIQUE WEEKLY newsletter and celebrated in person on October 24, 2022, in Los Angeles. Winners will receive a trophy, 1 ticket to the awards ceremony, and a marketing package to promote their award.

Nominations should be organized in advance of completing the questions on the Awards site. Ensuring an array of amazing images, past awards and recognition, social media sites and a clearly written description of why the person or business should win the Award is a crucial component for a chance to win. Incomplete submissions will be unable to move on to the Judging process.

Categories include:

Boutique Hotel of the Year (by Continent)

Boutique Hotel Owner of the Year

Boutique Hotel General Manager of the Year

Boutique Hotel Design Project of the Year (per category)

Boutique Business of the Year (restaurants, retail, craft coffee, bars & nightlife, wellness & spa, etc.)

Boutique Hotel Partner of the Year (vendor, supplier to the hospitality industry)

The BLLA awards program is one of the original platforms for showcasing boutique hotels and businesses and their milestones achieved during the past twelve months. Projects are not only judged by their design and operations, but also by the ethos behind each project. The awards aim to place illumination on the Boutique Communitys achievements. Hosted by the official association for Boutique Hotels and Businesses, the Awards program by BLLA is the industrys most daring and authentic stage for celebrating achievement.

Entries will be judged by key travel leaders, who have vast travel experience around the world and/or who have first-hand expertise of the theme - the boutique lifestyle. Notable past winners include David Bowd of Salt Hotels, Chris Pardo of Arrive Hotels, The Revolution Hotel, The Asbury Ocean Club Hotel, Soho House Miami Beach, SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker, Lauren Rottet Design, Collective Retreats, Arlo Hotel Soho, the Art-a Hotel, 1 Hotel Central Park, Poppy, The Hospital Club, The High Line Hotel and Absolut Elyx Vodka. View past Award winners here and 2020 winners here.

Submissions - To learn more about entering a project or a person into the 2022 BLLA Awards, head over to BLLA.org/Awards. Sponsorship of the Awards is also available. Request information by emailing [email protected]

About the Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA)

Founded in 2009, the Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA) is the official association for the world's top visionaries in the boutique lifestyle industry. Membership with the BLLA includes not just a strengthened sense of communityit offers all the resources necessary for small and independent businesses to thrive in this growing sector, including access to distribution channels, marketing tools, webinars, white papers, reports about the evolving boutique landscape, and more. The organization promotes connection, education, and advocacy. As a pioneer in forecasting the boutique movement, the BLLA's network has grown beyond its hotel foundation to welcome more passionate entrepreneurs, businesses, and purveyors that amplify the boutique lifestyle. BLLA is a catalyst for trends and the future of boutique. blla.org

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The pandemic and subsequent economic crisis have had a significant impact on many industries and have changed them permanently. The hospitality industry has been particularly affected: in 2020, 15.8 million fewer overnight stays were recorded in Switzerland and 40400 jobs were lost. The experts at EHL are confronted with the effects of these changes on a daily basis. That is why they are adapting the curriculum to best prepare students for new requirements and realities, and are driving forces when it comes to innovative approaches and new concepts in the hospitality sector thanks to their industry expertise.

Interview about the skilled worker shortage in the hospitality industry with Beatrice Schweighauser, Dean of the HoKo apprenticeship and the Swiss professional degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management at EHL Passugg.

Why has the job attraction of the hospitality industry dropped?

I believe that the industry itself holds an important key to combating the worker shortage. Today's apprentices and students are tomorrow's skilled workers. The companies must not slacken in their efforts to ensure good training quality. Schools are working on new structures, offering learning opportunities in a variety of formats, and each and every lecturer must show conviction, professionalism, and heart and soul in empowering young people so that they are equipped to work in the industry. Likewise, young professionals need attractive career prospects so that we can keep them in the industry. But without the necessary appreciation and recognition, these well-trained professionals will unfortunately leave again. So socio-political efforts are needed.

In my opinion, an important task therefore lies in convincing working conditions. Creativity in recruitment is needed, as well as the training of talents and the activation of further employee potential, such as women returning to work or career changers. The industry is already very female-dominated, and we also have a continuously high proportion of female students and trainees at school. Here it is important to find suitable measures to offer women the appropriate flexibility to keep them in the industry.

In the future, it will be essential for employers to be present in the labor market with a strong employer brand, strategic recruiting and employee development. I also think that the 4-day work week can become a USP in the recruiting process.

In my opinion, the current bad image of the industry has many facets; on the one hand, the shoe pinches at the outdated management structures, the long working hours, high workload and mediocre wages. In order to make the industry attractive again, these structural conditions need to be changed so that young professionals become more interested in our industry. We need to create cultures of advocacy in which Generation Z and Y feel comfortable.

Training and continuing education offerings must also adapt to future challenges and implement the new possibilities of blended learning, so that access can be designed independently of time and place. For today's young professionals, the majority of whom are Generation Z, the relationship to work has changed. Generation Z's expectations of the workplace are value-driven and in line with their personal morals, and diversity, equality and inclusion are highly valued, as are safety, communication and transparency.

Even though they have a reputation for being glued to their screens, Generation Z workers actually seem to place a high value on relationships and personal communication in the workplace. One study found that 90% of Generation Z workers want and value human relationships when it comes to their workplace. However, there are also great companies that start exactly there and are therefore also very successful and implement an exemplary employer branding. In order to counteract the shortage of skilled workers, joint efforts are needed from the industry, educational institutions and companies.

Important: In order to increase the attractiveness of the industry, it is therefore necessary for each individual company to become aware of its role in this process.

How does EHL Passugg respond to the worker shortage in the hospitality industry?

It is our task to offer apprentices and students the opportunities of lifelong learning as well as to perceive the demands from the companies, to closely follow the development and to proactively implement the learning contents into the curricula. With all our actions, we support the professional mobility and labor market skills of our students.

On the one hand, we do this with our professional training programs such as the new EFZ apprenticeship Hotel Communication Specialist or the revised HF curriculum for the Swiss Professional Degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management which started for the first time in January, as well as the Bachelor program. We also offer new "Short Courses" every year for companies so that they can train themselves and their employees with us.

As an educational institution, we are involved in education policy issues with the associations and use our education know-how wherever we can counteract the shortage of skilled workers or take preventive action. For example, in the pilot for the lateral entry program "Reception" for the Zurich Hotelier Association.

Is the lateral entry project a problem-solving approach for addressing the worker shortage?

The pilot project originated from the grassroots; that is, the Zurich hoteliers approached the association with the concrete idea and the overview of industry needs. I think this is very important for a successful implementation. There is a lack of uncomplicated entry opportunities for people who are well educated but have no experience in the industry.

The pilot program is aimed at career changers who want to make a fresh start in the hotel industry. However, we are also looking for people who, for example after a longer break, would like to re-enter professional life. This can also be an opportunity for women with families to successfully gain a foothold with a professional update. The experience gained from the pilot will be used to determine whether this approach has proven successful and can be multiplied for other regions. It is important that such lateral entry projects are a sustainable solution and not a quick fix!

How do you explain the fact that 400 applications for the lateral entry program were received, even though work in the industry is supposedly so unattractive?

This shows that our industry is very attractive for career changers and that we can tap into a potential for skilled workers that is important. The hospitality industry offers numerous career opportunities and meaningful work with and for people, which is associated with many positive emotions. We need to build more on these positive emotions, this job satisfaction and enthusiasm. This great demand also shows that such a low-threshold offer has been lacking until now and here Hotelleriesuisse has started a promising program together with the educational institutions and companies.

What alternative program have you introduced to face the worker shortage?

The EHL Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality is part of the EHL Group and therefore a sister school of the EHL Hospitality Business School.

The EHL Group has 3 campuses whereby EHL Campus Passugg focuses on professional training with 3 main programs: Hotel Communication Specialist EFZ, Swiss Professional Degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management, Direct Entry Bachelor in International Hospitality Management. We are unique in the industry and in Switzerland with this permeability; from an apprenticeship to the Bachelor on one campus! Furthermore, we offer several short courses to industry experts to deepen their expertise within their fields.

Developments in the Swiss Professional Degree Program

Our new orientation of the Swiss Professional Degree program goes in the direction of Affective Hospitality; a good hotelier/host convinces his employees and guests with his personality! This is what we want to pass on to our students. We are working on a research project with the University of Geneva (Institute for Affective Science) and will be able to create future-oriented foundations. We are thus putting more emphasis on soft skills, interpersonal skills, behaviors and attitudes, and social skills.

We have summarized the skills in our new Swiss Professional Degree curriculum into four different roles: Host, Communicator, Entrepreneur and Networker. Graduates should be able to use their different roles at the right time on the hotel stage with a lot of professionalism.

The new profession: Hotel Communication Specialist EFZ

This "new" profession closes a gap in our portfolio of professions; the young professionals are introduced to all areas of the hotel in a 360 training and thus gain a very broad insight into the industry. This profession has its origins in Graubunden and has evolved from the former cantonal training Hotel-Restaurant specialist - a professional pearl in the canton.

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Texans are driving for hours and waiting in long lines in New Mexico, while others visit doctors in Oklahoma, where they are all trying to outmaneuver state law.

They are not obtaining abortions; they are buying weed.

Take a stroll on Saturday evening through my EaDo neighborhood in Houston or along the Riverwalk in San Antonio or Sixth Street in Austin, and marijuana perfumes the air. So many people are toking on pipes and vaporizers police would need a fleet of paddy wagons to haul everyone away.

Those looking for a different kind of high can legally buy gummies infused with Delta-8, Delta-9 or other synthetic drugs that trigger a similar high. The sandwich boards advertising Delta-8 outside pipe and smoke shops in almost every town mock Texass farcical prohibition on marijuana.

Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has pledged never to legalize marijuana, could redeploy state troopers from the Mexican frontier to search cars and trucks crossing the New Mexican border. But busting potheads doesnt have the political cache of harassing refugees.

Thirty-seven states have legalized medical cannabis, and 18 allow sales for recreational purposes, but not Texas. Legislation passed last year only allows cannabinoid oil or medicines with less than 1 percent THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Possessing up to two ounces of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine. More than four ounces is a felony. Radio station KTEP recently reported on how visitors to the border town of Anthony can buy marijuana on the New Mexico side and get arrested a block away in Texas if they walk in the wrong direction.

Police may still make marijuana arrests, but employers are becoming less concerned and testing for pot less when screening job candidates.

Testing for THC went down 6.7 percent from 2020 to 2021, Quest Diagnostics Dr. Barry Sample told the Wall Street Journal. The percentage of results positive for THC, meanwhile, has risen 50 percent since 2017.

As pot becomes socially acceptable, employers must question why they are testing for THC in the first place. Workers who use THC, meanwhile, will avoid applying at companies that test for it, making it harder for employers to fill jobs.

Like alcohol prohibition from 1920-1933, anti-pot laws are not only useless in preventing consumption, but they encourage organized crime and prevent responsible business people from offering safe, tax-paying alternatives.

New Mexico retailers sold more than $9.9 million of product during the first week of April when recreational pot became legal, KTEP reported, citing the New Mexico Cannabis Control Division. More than 60 percent was for recreational use, and dispensaries near the Texas border did well.

It is absolutely amazing that in 2022 we have a multi-billion-dollar industry and an entire ecosystem around it, and at the same time, were still arresting almost 600,000 people a year for simple possession, Toi Hutchinson, president and CEO of the Marijuana Policy Project, said in launching a report listing best practices for legalizing pot.

Congressional Democrats passed a bill in the House of Representatives on April 2 to decriminalize marijuana. Democrats would also expunge prior convictions and authorize a 5 percent tax on marijuana that would gradually increase to 8 percent. Congress would spend the money on job training, legal aid, substance abuse treatment and loans to help disadvantaged small businesses get into the marijuana industry.

The bill will likely die in the Senate, where a measure to lower marijuana on the federal schedule of controlled substances died two years ago. More than two-thirds of Americans support legalizing marijuana, according to the Gallup polling firm, but two groups are dubious and holding up progress, Republicans and religious people.

While most Democrats (83 percent) and political independents (71 percent) support legalization, Republicans are nearly evenly split on the question (50 percent in favor; 49 percent opposed), Gallup reported. Weekly and semiregular attendees of religious services are split on the issue as well, while those who attend infrequently or never are broadly supportive of legalizing marijuana.

Numbers like that will make legalization a strong wedge issue in the November elections. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto ORourke has already proclaimed his support for legalization, while Republicans are fearmongering a drug whose prohibition laws have wrecked more lives than theyve saved.

A liberty-loving government should not force Texans to cross state lines to buy pot, law enforcement should not waste time pursuing them, and politicians should encourage businesses to bring the industry above ground. Prohibition wastes time, money and resources.

In the meantime, I know people who go to Colorado and New Mexico every summer, and they are friends indeed. Happy 4-20.

Chris Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and politics.

twitter.com/cltomlinson

chris.tomlinson@chron.com
Halliburton said Tuesday its revenues and its margins are rising as the worlds oil companies ramp up drilling and demand for oilfield services grows.

The Houston-based oilfield services company reported a $263 million profit in the first three months of the year, up 55 percent from $170 million profit during the same period last year. Revenues jumped 23 percent to $4.3 billion from $3.5 billion in the first quarter of 2021.

RELATED: Halliburton stops new business in Russia and commits to wind-down

The earnings announcement follows the companys announcement last month that it would wind down its operations in Russia.

We remain active in that process, CEO Jeff Miller said during a call with investors, noting the companys operations in Russia account for around 2 percent of the companys overall business. The situation is far too early and evolving to say more.

The tight oil market, pushed higher as Russian supply falls from the market, is driving up drilling activity and demand for equipment along with it, the company said, noting an almost sold-out equipment market. Halliburton's drilling margins exceeded 15 percent during the quarter for the first time since 2010, it said.

Miller said he expected very busy years ahead for Halliburton. Equipment is sold out, orders are full in the second half of the year and the company is looking forward to "a strong pipeline of projects in the months to come. Halliburtons sold-out hydraulic fracturing fleet is in particularly high demand, Halliburton said. We expect activity to gain momentum.

Industry-wide underinvestment has made the production ramp-up challenging, Miller said, noting Halliburton's need to address an aging fleet of equipment. Production is also constrained by supply chain issues affecting producers and their ability to find workers after they laid them off when oil prices plummeted in the early months of the pandemic.

Sand needed at drill sites, for example, was in short supply earlier this year as producers were working to increase production  described by Miller as an example of the consequences of underinvestment in the supply chain. Supply bottlenecks are easing with time, he said, though the larger issue of deferred investment in equipment wont soon subside.

Thats not something thats overcome in a day or a year," he said. "That just takes time to get momentum."

Oil and gas producers are shying away from long-term investments in production, turning instead to ways to produce oil without as much upfront investment, such as shale rather than deep water drilling, he said.

Painting with a broad brush, he said, I believe most investments will be directed primarily to short cycle investments in the near and medium term.

Producers will turn instead to manners of production that allow them to respond nimbly to an ever-changing market, Miller said. While longer-term production styles tend to drive overproduction, shorter-term production ensures a thin balance between supply and demand. That suggests high margins will continue, he said.

I think this pivot to short cycle barrels is great for Halliburton, he said.

amanda.drane@chron.com
As CenterPoint customers face rate hikes, CEO David Lesar's compensation more than tripled from 2020 to 2021, far outpacing executive compensations of other utility providers, according to a report from the Energy and Policy Institute.

In SEC filings, CenterPoint revealed that Lesar received $37.8 million in 2021, which the institute found is double, and in some cases triple, what other CEOs at similar companies earned that year. A year earlier, in 2020, Lesar's compensation totaled almost $12 million, according to a CenterPoint proxy statement.

Most of Lesars compensation last year, or about $33.4 million, was tied to stock awards that the report said rocketed his pay well beyond his peers. He received a $1.4 million base salary, plus more than $3 million in other incentives.

At the same time, CenterPoint has asked the state if it can raise fees that natural gas customers pay by about 7 percent, an increase to $19.74 from about $18.38 per month for a residential customer. CenterPoint officials said in March that the increase would raise $19.3 million for costs incurred in 2021, including replacement of 276 miles of natural gas pipelines, the installation of new meters that automatically shut off if excessive gas flows are detected, and two facilities that can provide additional natural gas when demand soars. It also raised its fee last year for delivering electricity by about one cent per kilowatt hour.

CenterPoint, regulated by the state's Public Utility Commission, distributes power and natural gas to almost every home and business in the Houston area. It employs about 5,000 in the region.

In a statement, CenterPoint officials said Lesar received a one-time retention award last year, which was awarded in stock. They said since becoming CEO, Lesar has helped transform our company by establishing its long-term growth strategy, refocusing its core business and investing in reliability. They said one of Lesars top priorities is to reduce CenterPoints expenses by 1 to 2 percent on average annually through 2030, which will benefit customers.

"In todays economic environment, we recognize the importance of utility costs for our customers," officials said in a statement. "Through Daves leadership and commitment to developing a strong succession plan, we remain focused on growing our utilities and enhancing the performance and value of the company for our customers, shareholders and communities."

Shareholders on Friday will provide an advisory vote on Lesar's executive compensation, but it's "a largely symbolic move," Karlee Weinmann wrote in the report for the institute, a San Francisco-based watchdog organization.

Lesar's compensation, however, is likely unrelated to the rate hikes, said Steve Werner, chair of the Management and Leadership Department of the University of Houston's C.T. Bauer College of Business. He said companies that tie much of CEO's compensation to stock options do so to give leaders a financial incentive to work in the best interest of shareholders and the company's stock price. And if customers are unhappy, he said, that hurts the price of the stock and the company's bottom line.

"You could argue its the market. Increased rates are needed, and that they do have costs and so on," Werner said. "You could argue these shareholders' stocks going up doesnt hurt customers -- it's not money out of customers' pockets, but it dilutes the shares a little. Shareholders may not get as much because (Lesar) has a lot."

Even so, Weinmann said, Lesar's compensation is far out of line with other CEOs. Of the 15 other companies the report studied, the average annual compensation including stock awards was a little less than $11.9 million.

BACKGROUND AT HALLIBURTON

Lesar came to CenterPoint in mid-2020 after serving as CEO of Halliburton from 2000 to 2017. While he helped Halliburton become one of the leaders in the North American hydraulic fracturing market, he also spearheaded an ill-fated merger attempt with Baker Hughes -- a $35 billion deal that fell apart two years later after oil prices plunged and regulators objected. Ultimately, Halliburton paid a $3.5 billion break-up fee to Baker Hughes.

The report said that when Lesar relocated to Houston, CenterPoint purchased him a home. It also said he is allowed "a company-funded car and driver and security personnel to join him on business travel." The report's author added that Lesar also occasionally used CenterPoints company plane for personal travel, and at times when the plane was unavailable, the company spent $132,217 in 2021 to charter Lesar on a separate plane.

RISING COSTS: CenterPoint ratepayers could see bills increase, regardless of how much natural gas they use

CenterPoint struggled when Lesar joined in 2020, largely because of a decrease in demand caused by COVID-19 related closures. Company profits surged, however, in 2021.

In the third quarter of 2021, company earnings rose 80 percent to $218 million from $121 million in the third quarter of 2020 while profits allocated to common shareholders nearly tripled to $195 million from $69 million. At the same time, revenue climbed 8 percent to $1.7 billion from $1.6 billion during the same period a year earlier.

Since the end of 2020, CenterPoint's stock has appreciated 54.1 percent compared to 25.4 percent for the S&P 500 Utility Sector Total Return Index.

The utility company's board also voted to oust its executive chairman in November and eliminated the position entirely, opting to implement independent board leadership and governance. The board also signed a "multi-year retention grant arrangement" with Lesar to keep him on board. That incentive would award Lesar, who took over CenterPoint a year ago, 1 million shares of common stock, distributed over the next few years.

Werner said Lesar's base was well in line with CEOs of similarly sized companies. The other perks, he said, could prove to be money well spent depending on CenterPoint's performance with Lesar at the helm.

"Thats all calculated as 'Is this the right person do the job right?' If he's a good leader, it's worth it," he said. "Companies are pretty reasonable, they tend not to do stupid things."

'ENTIRELY LEGAL'

Alison Silverstein, an Austin-based energy consultant who worked for the PUC from 1995 to 2001 and with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 2001 to 2004, said having stock-based compensation is a risk, and that CenterPoint's profits after the February freeze surprised most. She said that although Lesar's compensation package is "entirely legal," the aesthetic is problematic.

"Im guessing that rise in stock is due almost entirely to their ability to recover the extraordinary excess cost from electricity and gas from (the February 2021 freeze), and their ability to recover that is from it customers not only in ERCOT but across the Midwest," she said.

In the Houston region, the utility increased its fees for delivering electricity to customers in 2021, upping it by a penny to about 4.6 cents per kilowatt hour. That's the second-highest rate among transmission and distribution utilities in Texas. The increase came after the Texas Legislature allowed utilities to charge ratepayers more to cover costs associated with the February 2021 winter freeze.

Among the new fee increases allowed by the Legislature were $7 billion in ratepayer-backed bonds to help utilities statewide. Combined with other changes, CenterPoint said the bills enacted after the freeze could result in revenue and savings totaling $1 billion.

CenterPoint still faces several wrongful death suits connected to the freeze and its inability to rotate power outages, leaving some customers without power for days while others never had their lights turned off.

Costs rose more in Indiana, where CenterPoint is the sole electricity and natural gas utility provider for much of the southwestern portion of the state. Bryce Gustafson, a program organizer for the Citizens Action Coalition that lobbies in Indiana on behalf of ratepayers, said that state's utilities regulator allowed the company to increase a portion of distribution charges more than threefold.

Some customers took to social media to complain about utility bills that topped $1,000 a month.

In the wake of the rate hike some customers formed Direct Action Against Centerpoint Energy, a grassroots group that emailed Indiana lawmakers and packed city council meetings in Evansville, the largest city within CenterPoint's Indiana coverage area. The city announced Monday it would form a task force to investigate utility affordability, Gustafson said.
Baker Hughes said Wednesday supply chain constraints hampered earnings in the first quarter as it recovered from the pandemic.

The Houston-based oilfield services and energy technology company reported a $72 million profit in the first three months of the year compared with a $452 million loss during the same period in 2021. Revenue increased 1 percent to $4.83 billion from $4.78 billion in the first quarter of last year.

RELATED: Baker Hughes slashes losses in 2021

Our first quarter results reflect operating in a very volatile market environment during the first few months of 2022. On the positive side, we recorded strong orders from (turbomachinery and process solutions) as the LNG order cycle continues to unfold, said Lorenzo Simonelli, Baker Hughes chairman and chief executive officer. However, we did see some challenges in other parts of the business, which continue to see pressures from broader global supply chain constraints, as well as some impact from the recent geopolitical events.

Baker Hughes chemical solutions business is among the most challenged, which is why the company is rolling out surcharges and making leadership changes in the segment, Simonelli said. It also will form a new chemicals joint venture in Saudi Arabia with Saudi Arabia's state-owned Dussur  a partnership the company said will lower operating expenses.

The company has additionally been challenged by supply chain issues with electronics and difficulties with shipping and logistics. Still, Simonelli said the company is optimistic about its outlook.

We believe that we are well positioned to benefit from an extended cyclical recovery in upstream oil and gas, he said, and longer-term structural growth trends in LNG, new energy and industrial asset management.

The company pointed to a major contract it secured with Venture Globals Plaquemines LNG project in Louisiana, for which Baker Hughes will provide 24 modularized compression trains and field services. In traditional energy, Baker Hughes said it will acquire Altus Intervention, a provider of well intervention services and technology, in a deal scheduled to close later this year.

Baker Hughes said it is working to position itself in the emerging hydrogen sector, having received an order for gas turbine generation equipment for Air Products hydrogen energy complex in Alberta. It will also provide three compression trains and turbines that can process and transport a blend of gas and hydrogen to the Greek Natural Gas Transmission System.

It announced it had acquired California-based Mosaic Materials, which is developing a direct air capture technology that can be used to separate carbon dioxide from gas.

To further advance its position in clean energy, Baker Hughes said it is making investments in California-based geothermal innovator GreenFire Energy and new Houston-based HIF Global, which it described as a world leader in eFuels development.

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When Beaumont resident Janna Tarver noticed a nickel-size growth under her left arm, surgery was scheduled to remove it. But first, doctors asked her to see a cardiologist to ensure the surgery would be safe.

What happened next, Tarver said, was nothing short of miraculous.

Instead of making an appointment with a local specialist, she decided to revisit the Houston doctor she had seen more than a decade ago. Dr. Richard Smalling is a cardiologist with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center.

I havent been back to see Dr. Smalling in years, she thought. Maybe, I need to go.

Tarver scheduled an appointment for Jan. 12.

Smalling ordered a bubble study, when small air bubbles are injected into the vein, which would normally be filtered by the lungs.

With a patent foramen ovale (PFO), or small opening between the right and left atrium of the heart, the bubbles can move through the hole.

Everyone is born with an opening between the chambers. In fact, in utero, the hole is necessary for proper circulation. For about 75 percent of the population, it closes as children develop.

Melissa Phillip / Staff Photographer

Tarver was in the remaining 25 percent, for whom the opening remains into adulthood.

She already knew that she had a PFO  but the bubble test confirmed that she was at high risk of having another stroke.

Smalling told her, Youre not doing anything. I will see you on Monday. Youre getting a closure.

The procedure could reduce Tarvers risk of having another stroke by 95 percent.

Tarver was floored.

She had given up on having a closure for 17 years, since she first signed up for a study led by Smalling. Instead of having surgery then, she was placed in the control group and went without.

A lot had changed since then, thanks in part to Smallings study. The FDA approved the PFO treatment for use in all patients in 2016.

Tarver made her appointment. The surgery was scheduled for Jan. 24.

In the meantime, the growth on her arm  that led to the discovery and lifesaving procedure  completely disappeared.

Three strokes and a diagnosis

Tarver first learned about PFO in 2005, when she was 42 years old.

A series of events led to her diagnosis, all starting on a Wednesday night, when she normally taught a class at church. She ended up sending her two sons ahead without her.

Yall go to church. I just dont feel good, she told them.

After they left, Tarvers condition worsened.

I stumbled and I fell on the floor, she said. Getting back up before her sons saw her was a top priority. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not move.

This went on for hours, she said. Then, they got home and tried to talk to me. I couldnt respond.

Tarver was transported to one hospital, then another. Finally, she learned that shed had three strokes that night.

She could no longer speak or write. Her balance was so bad that she could barely walk without holding onto someone.

Her mother, Margaret Barker, was a teacher and determined to do what was needed to help. Barker purchased flashcards and went to work. Friends signed up to help. Tarver also saw speech therapists at Lamar University.

Diagnostic testing finally revealed the cause of her strokes  a PFO.

For most individuals with a PFO, the opening is not a problem, and there are often no symptoms.

For some, however, a PFO can be a risk factor for strokes because blood clots can travel from the right to left atrium of the heart without being filtered in the lungs.

To manage the condition, Tarvers doctors recommended medication that would require weekly blood tests.

My mother said no, Tarver recalled. She then took it upon herself to find me another cardiologist.

Thats how she discovered Smalling, who at the time, was in the midst of a clinical study focused on PFOs.

Control group

In the late 1990s, a device was developed to close the hole between the two chambers of the heart. Dr. Kurt Amplatz, an Austrian radiologist, was the inventor.

The original closure was for patients with atrial septal defects, which generally are much larger defects than PFOs. Over time, the smaller PFO device became available.

Picture two mesh disks, connected with woven wires. Inserting the device required a combination of pushing and pulling, almost like building a ship in a bottle.

The procedure first calls for inserting a catheter into a vein in the right groin and then using a wirelike probe, called an intracardiac echocardiogram, to capture images inside the heart. When the discs are inserted, the hole is plugged up.

We can control it and angle it in different ways, Smalling said.

And the result is a perfect fit.

Melissa Phillip / Staff Photographer

Around 2002, Smalling was part of the team that designed the RESPECT clinical trial, a look at individuals who had a stroke, with no other possible causes.

NEW RESEARCH: UTHealth doctor hopes pitch contest stirs interest in implantable blood pump

Because the trial was randomized, the test group would receive a PFO closure and the control group would only receive medication.

Nobody knew what the right treatment would be, Smalling said.

But the results, from the early days, were astounding, he said. Those who received the closure saw a 75 percent reduction in recurrent stroke.

The data was so conclusive that individuals in the control group often dropped out of the study.

A lot of people withdrew and had the hole closed someplace else, Smalling said.

Patients from the RESPECT trial gave testimony in Washington, D.C. At the same time, positive trial results were presented to the FDA. The combination of the two convinced the FDA to approve Abbott's Amplatzer PFO Occluder, a closure device, Smalling said.

Tarver was one of the patients assigned to the control group in the trial. She stuck with it the entire time.

Obviously, we wanted to have the PFO closure, she said. But we were selected for the control group.

PFO closure, 17 years later

In 2016, the FDA approved PFO closure for all patients who had suffered a stroke.

Tarver, however, never had the procedure.

Smalling remembered treating Tarver during the trial but lost track of her in the years that followed.

Then she showed up, he said.

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After administering the echocardiogram and bubble test, he ruled against the surgery she was considering for the growth in her arm.

She had this huge hole, Smalling said. We decided to close it.

When her procedure was completed, Tarver stayed in the hospital overnight to ensure the PFO was closed and that there were no complications.

Melissa Phillip / Staff Photographer

There are about eight weeks of follow-up. Then, thats that, Smalling said.

Tarvers most recent appointment was March 23. She will have another in a year.

Her surgery coincided closely with the doctors publication of a new paper about which patients benefit most from a PFO closure.

With data from the RESPECT trial and multiple subsequent studies, Smalling said there is no doubt that a closure helps stroke patients with large PFOs and no other cause for strokes.

We now know its the right thing to do, he said.

Currently, insurance coverage for PFO closure is available only to patients who have suffered a stroke or who present symptoms that one occurred without a formal diagnosis.

Staying determined

Tarver has made steady progress since her strokes in 2005.

She still has certain challenges, like understanding a turn of phrase or the exact name of an object. She struggles with memory and sometimes feels overwhelmed counting change or choosing items at a grocery store.

Tarver now understands that the intense fatigue and debilitating headaches she faced for the past 17 years were tied to her PFO.

The things that happened to me from the stroke are still there, but the fatigue I have is different, she said. Now its more regular.

Melissa Phillip / Staff Photographer

Her headaches are gone. And theres also a peace of mind that comes with having her PFO closure, knowing that it greatly reduces the risk of another stroke.

Tarver wants other patients to know, if they are dealing with the aftermath of a stroke, that improvements are possible.

Even if the doctor says you cant, you can, she said. You can still learn. If you plant a tree in your front yard, and you look at it every day, you cant see it growing. But if you look at it once a month, you will see it.

Peyton is a Houston-based freelance writer.
SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP)  Behind a fortress wall and razor wire and a few feet away from California's death row, students at one of the country's most unique colleges discuss the 9/11 attacks and issues of morality, identity and nationalism.

Dressed in matching blue uniforms, the students only break from their discussion when a guard enters the classroom, calling out each man's last name and waiting for them to reply with the last two digits of their inmate number.

They are students at Mount Tamalpais College at San Quentin State Prison, the first accredited junior college in the country based behind bars. Inmates can take classes in literature, astronomy, American government, precalculus and others to earn an Associate of Arts degree.

Named for a mountain near the prison, the college was accredited in January after a 19-member commission from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges determined the extension program based at San Quentin for more than two decades was providing high-quality education.

This is a profound step forward in prison education, said Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, the umbrella organization for all U.S. higher education institutions.

Mitchell said Mount Tamalpais College is an extraordinary model" that will give it autonomy not seen in prison programs attached to outside schools.

The new designation will force the school to maintain the high standards set by the college association and hopefully catch the attention of donors to help the college expand, said President Jody Lewen. While it can accommodate 300 students per semester, another 200 are on a waiting list.

The college is one of dozens of educational, job training and self-help programs available to the 3,100 inmates in the medium-security portion of San Quentin, making it a desired destination for inmates statewide who lobby to be transferred there.

I wish I had learned this way coming up; instead I was in special ed my whole life," said 49-year-old Derry Brown, whose English 101 class Cosmopolitan Fictions," was discussing The Reluctant Fundamentalist, a novel by Mohsin Hamid.

Brown, who is serving a 20-year sentence for burglary and assault, earned his GED in prison and takes pride in now being a college student. He said he may pursue a career in music in his hometown of Los Angeles once he's released next year.

There is joy in learning  thats why I want to continue," he said. Even when I get out, Im going back to college.

The college's $5 million annual budget is fully funded by private donations, with a paid staff and volunteer faculty, many of them graduate students from top universities, including Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley.

The previous program started in 1996 and was later known as the Prison University Project and it also offered associates degrees but Lewen, who started as a volunteer instructor in 1999, said she began the process to have an autonomous college three years ago when the university they partnered with closed.

Very often in the field of higher ed, people will look at educational programs in prisons and theyll say, Well, thats a program or project. Its not a school. Our hope is that by being an independent, accredited, liberal arts college that operates in a prison we make it more difficult for people to overlook those inside and we help them imagine our students differently, Lewen said.

Any general population San Quentin inmate with a high school diploma or GED certificate is eligible to attend. The prison's 539 death row inmates are excluded.

Guards check the IDs of students coming to classes held in trailers set up on one edge of the prison's exercise yard, where students stop to discuss their assignments  corrections officers watching from four towers above.

Overhearing those yard conversations made a big impression on Richard Bonaru Richardson after he was transferred to San Quentin in 2007 to finish serving a 47 years-to-life sentence for a home invasion robbery. Former Gov. Jerry Brown commuted Richardsons sentence, and he was released last year after serving 23 years.

In other institutions, we were used to talking about gang activity, violence, knives, drugs, the next riot, he said.

In San Quentin, the conversations were often about what classes they were taking, how to write a thesis or how to defend an argument.

I was taken aback. It was kind of like, Hold on, isnt this supposed to be a prison? he added.

He decided to sign up after seeing a group of female volunteers walk across the prison yard.

I got into the classroom for all the wrong reasons, but I realized that I was actually learning something and that there were people who believed in you more than you believe in yourself. When you see that, you start believing in yourself, he said.

In his 14 years at San Quentin, Richardson, 47, rose to become executive editor of the inmate-led San Quentin News, a monthly newspaper distributed to Californias 35 prisons that has highlighted the prison programs and often publishes inspirational stories of men who pursued higher education while incarcerated.

He now works as an advancement associate helping the college's communications and fundraising departments.

Like me, some of them might be the only person in their family to ever have a college degree and that inspires your children to continue their education. For some of them, its the greatest achievement of their lives, Richardson said.

Doug Arwine, a high school humanities teacher, began volunteering this year and teaches English 101, which focuses on developing critical thinking skills.

He said he cherishes helping his students share experiences and share their humanity with one another."

There's also moments of success when a student realizes that theyve crafted a really elegant paragraph in their essay, and theyve made some interesting points. As with any student, regardless of where you are, you can see how that helps them build confidence, Arwine said.

Teaching at San Quentin is also a unique experience. The process of going through layers of security, teaching the two-hour class, then clearing security again at the end of the day takes about five hours, Arwine said. He invests many more hours grading papers and preparing for his twice-a-week lessons.

Many of his students dropped out of school at an early age or went to dangerous public schools, Arwine said.

I really believe in the values that Mount Tamalpais College espouses, in terms of offering free educational opportunities for incarcerated people because as we know from social science research, the best way to reduce recidivism rates is through offering educational programming while theyre incarcerated. Its arguably the best form of rehabilitation, said Arwine, whose father spent time in prison.

A 2013 Rand study found that inmates who participate in correctional education programs had 43% lower odds of re-offending than those who did not and were 13% more likely to obtain employment.

Jesse Vasquez, 39, said he was serving multiple life terms for attempted murder, a drive-by shooting and assault with a deadly weapon at a maximum-security facility when he read about the program in the San Quentin News and decided he would transfer there one day.

Vasquez had taken correspondence college programs at other prisons but studying in a classroom at San Quentin helped him see his potential and he realized he was at a hub of rehabilitation."

The courses challenged him to question what he was learning and helped him build up critical thinking skills, which he called a pivotal moment."

Vasquezs sentence was commuted by the governor in 2018 after he had served more than 19 years. He was released in 2019 and now works for Friends of San Quentin News, a nonprofit that supports the newspaper.

He said having the students be enrolled at an actual community college will be an even greater incentive for them to pursue higher education and hopefully encourage other prisons to have their own colleges.

All of a sudden, more people might be more open to the idea of, Hey, what if we try this revolutionary idea somewhere else? he said.
OnScene.Tv

A man was found dead Wednesday morning in a crashed car with a gunshot wound to his head, according to Houston police.

Witnesses told homicide investigators they were passing through the 100 block of TC Jester Boulevard near Washington Avenue before 3 a.m. when they saw a black Jeep crashed into a tree, police said. When the witnesses tried to render aid to the man, they noticed he had a bullet wound to the head.
Video released by the Pasadena police department Tuesday appears to show officers shoot and kill a man who was pointing a gun at them as he backed away from their cruisers at a distance.

Two police cruisers responded to a call of a man waving a gun around about 10:15 a.m. near Strawberry Road and Spencer Highway, according to Pasadena Police Chief Josh Bruegger. When they arrived, the man took off jogging west on Spencer in the middle of the street.

Dashcam video provided to media shows officers following from a distance in their vehicles for several blocks and using a microphone to tell the man to drop the gun. The man then turns and briefly steps towards the vehicles with his gun raised before skipping backwards, continuing to face the officers and pointing a gun in their direction.

Two officers opened fire, one of them through the police cruiser's windshield and the other from outside the vehicle, Bruegger said. The man was struck and pronounced dead at the scene.

The man, believed to be in his 20s, has not been publicly identified.

"Anytime someone is walking around with a handgun in a densely populated area with businesses on either side of the road, clearly it can be a danger to the public," Bruegger said.

One officer is a four-year veteran with the force and the other has been with the department for seven years, Bruegger said. Both are assigned to the department's traffic unit and will be placed on administrative leave for at least five days.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office and the Pasadena Police Department's internal affairs divisions are both investigating the shooting.
OnScene.Tv

A Houston man was taken into custody Tuesday night after leading police on a pursuit that spanned over three counties and ended with several law enforcement vehicles crashed in Montgomery County, according to a report from the Montgomery County Police Reporter.

The pursuit began near Sealy, after authorities responded to reports of a robbery.
Steven Hotze, the far-right activist who funded a private investigation into voter fraud that ended with the investigator pointing a gun at an innocent air conditioning repairman, has been indicted for his role in the episode.

A Harris County grand jury indicted Hotze on charges of unlawful restraint and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to his attorney, Gary Polland.

The former police officer whom Hotze hired, Mark Aguirre, was indicted on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon late last year. Attorney Terry Yates, who represents Aguirre, said his client has been re-indicted on the same charges as Hotze.

It happened in 2020, so theyve had a lot of time to ruminate over this, Yates said of prosecutors. This is a political prosecution that is utterly baseless in fact or law.

Hotze previously has said the charges against Aguirre were bogus and that he was not worried about being legally implicated for paying for the work. Polland argued that Hotze was not there at the time of the armed encounter and cannot be held responsible for Aguirres alleged actions.

Dr. Hotze was not around, and he was not aware of the events until he saw it on the news, Polland said.

Through a group called Liberty Center for God and Country, Hotze funded a private investigation into a conspiracy theory that Democrats had collected hundreds of thousands of fraudulent ballots, prosecutors have alleged. The group paid Aguirre, a disgraced former Houston police captain, $266,400 to investigate the claims.

Before 6 a.m. on Oct. 19, 2020, Aguirre allegedly slammed his black SUV into the back of the repairmans truck and drew a pistol. He ordered the repairman to the ground and put a knee on his back, prosecutors have said.

Aguirre thought the repairman had hundreds of thousands of ballots in his truck. Instead, there were only air conditioning parts and tools, prosecutors said. Aguirre later told police he had followed the repairman for four days.

The majority of the money from Hotzes group, $211,400, arrived to Aguirre one day after the alleged assault, previous grand jury subpoenas showed.

The Harris County District Attorney's office has not responded to requests for comment.

Hotze also is facing a civil lawsuit filed by the repairman, David Lopez, who is seeking more than $1 million for bodily injury, physical pain, past and future mental anguish, exemplary damages and attorney fees, according to the suit.

Even after Aguirres indictment, the organization has sought donations for more investigations. Hotze hosted a Freedom Gala fundraiser April 2 in Houston with Attorney General Ken Paxton and Mike Lindell, the MyPillow executive who has pushed former President Donald Trumps lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

Invites for the event said any money raised would be used to investigate voter fraud in Harris County and Texas, recruit poll watchers, and pay for the legal defense and offensive efforts to stop voter fraud.

Jared Woodfill, a former county GOP chair who also is involved with Liberty Center for God and Country, suggested that event spurred the new indictments. He said the district attorney's office is sending a "clear message" because they hosted what he called a successful event to help investigate fraud in upcoming elections.

The new indictment documents were not yet available on the district clerk's system late Wednesday afternoon. They are not made public until a suspect is in custody or under bond.



dylan.mcguinness@chron.com
Hazardous tar-like sludge still seeps up through cracks in the pavement that covers a portion of the contamination at the Union Pacific rail yard site in Fifth Ward, especially on hot days. The system to remove the dangerous material from the intermodal yard where trains still pass through appears not to be very effective. And whether that same contamination is in the soil beneath nearby homes or moving through storm sewers is not fully known.

These details were highlighted for community members by Melissa Smith, a branch chief for the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6, at a meeting in a school cafeteria on Tuesday night. Residents long have pushed to get the site cleaned up, and the process continues to drag out. It has been so long that some community members have died without seeing a resolution.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Fifth Ward residents urge Union Pacific to clean up rail yard near cancer cluster at protest

The meeting with Smith was one in a string of regular community gatherings about the issue. On the horizon is a significant meeting state regulators plan to host May 3. That will be the last chance for people formally to tell the state how they want the cleanup to look. Politicians and advocates on Tuesday tried to prepare the group of about 50 people for how to organize ahead of that meeting and what to expect.

State Sen. Carol Alvarado reminded those present that she was on their side. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said his office also had their backs. State Sen. Borris Miles said he was fighting for justice, too. We have not forgotten you, said U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who promised to push for compensation for residents as well.

Advocates said the contamination is a glaring example of environmental injustice, in which the same communities of color repeatedly suffer an unfair amount of harm from pollution. Workers treated rail ties at the urban site for years with toxic creosote, which seeped into the ground. There are homes across the street.

Environmental Protection Agency officials sent the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality a detailed letter last month explaining how they believe the proposed plan for cleanup needs to be revised. The federal agency suggested that Union Pacific look at other options for getting contamination out of the ground, collect much more data and share that data in a clear way with residents.

Union Pacific in a statement at the time said it appreciated the EPAs input on the plans and was reviewing the agencys recommendations. The company agreed it was important to keep the public informed, the statement said.

Attendance by so many politicians Tuesday night showed the extent of community pressure, though cleanup remains a long way off, even in a best-case scenario, federal regulators said. The feedback to the state from EPA followed a visit from EPA Administrator Michael Regan, who met with community members last year. Regional Administrator Earthea Nance joined the Tuesday night meeting by Zoom.

There are many communities like this that live with these problems... Their voices and their problems are not raised up, Nance said. She lauded the elected officials for participating and sharing the neighborhood concerns to a larger audience. In order for the problem to get solved it has to be raised up, the voices have to be raised up.

emily.foxhall@chron.com
The jurist tasked with overseeing the criminal proceedings into three Harris County employees  all of whom handled a controversial procurement contract for Judge Lina Hidalgos office  has voluntarily recused herself to avoid any appearance of impropriety, according to court records.

Following a grand jury indictment, the cases involving three former and current Hidalgo aides  Alex Triantaphyllis, Wallis Nader and Aaron Dunn  was randomly assigned to Judge Natalia Cornelios 351st District Court. The three were indicted April 11 on felony charges of misuse of official information and tampering with a governmental document following allegations that the aides steered a vaccine outreach contract to a vendor with Democratic ties with no public health expertise.

The judge on Tuesday signed an order of voluntary recusal. Despite the decision, Cornelio stated in the order that she could render a fair and impartial judgment had she not done so.

The decision, she continued, was for the public to maintain trust in the judiciary.

The recusal follows some concerns, mostly by public officials who spoke on the matter privately, that Cornelio had too many ties to the case. She worked with Nader at the Texas Civil Rights Project, with some court records listing them as co-counsels. Documents show Cornelio in 2017 was the nonprofits director of criminal justice reform, while Nader was a staff attorney.

Campaign contributions were also discussed. Cornelio accepted a $100 campaign donation during her 2020 race from Felicity Pererya  the owner of Elevate Strategies, the vendor at the heart of the contract investigation, financial records show.

Criminal judges during their election bids often accept donation dollars from lawyers, who may eventually go on to represent defendants in that judges court. That was the case with Cornelio, who accepted $500 from Ashlee McFarlane, one of Hidalgos lawyers representing her in connection to the contract probe. Katheryn Kase, Hidalgos legal counsel in her capacity as county judge, also donated $500 to Cornelios campaign. One of the search warrants used by the Texas Rangers to seek evidence identified Hidalgo and Kase as possible witnesses, rather than targets of the criminal investigation.

Cornelio declined to comment on her recusal.

Kenneth Williams, law professor with Houstons South Texas College of Law, said jurist recusals are rare because judges often do not believe they are partial to any litigant. In Cornelios case, he could understand why she stepped aside  her work history with Nader could easily be called into question.

This is going to be a high profile trial, if it goes to trial, Williams said. She doesnt want the public perception in the case that she was biased. It was probably better for her to step aside.

The financial contributions matter less, he continued, adding that it is common for attorneys and potential parties to make campaign donations to judges before whom they often appear. If a judge had to step aside because of every donation  they would have few cases to litigate.

A replacement judge  picked again at random  will be assigned through the Administrative Judge of the Felony Division, records show.

The Harris County District Attorneys Office on Wednesday addressed the recusal.

Given the judges close relationship to at least one of the defendants, a recusal is appropriate, said Dane Schiller, a spokesman for the district attorneys office. Our work continues.

Cornelio assumed office in 2021, with prior stints that also included working for Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis as his director of legal affairs. She had a role in negotiating and finalizing the landmark settlement that led to misdemeanor bail reform.

Had the judge not recused herself, a party in the case  such as lawyers for the defendants or prosecutors  could have sought a motion to recuse or disqualify Cornelio by alleging that her impartiality could be questioned, or that she had a personal bias or prejudice concerning the subject matter or a party. Prosecutors on a criminal case involving a man convicted of continued sex abuse of a child, a case which is under appeal, sought to recuse Judge Jason Luong from overseeing the matter in the 185th District Court for remarks made in his chambers. The 11th Administration Judicial Region of Texas granted their request.

Prior to Cornelios recusal, she had not attended a court appearance involving the three defendants. The trio appeared last week in court and were handed a combined bail of $3,500 by a visiting judge. The charges stem from the claim that they gave the vendor early access only for her to then win the contract.

A judge filling in for Cornelio ordered that the three not discuss the case with each other or communicate with Elevate Strategies as part of their bail conditions.

The three are slated on June 8 to return to court.

In September, Hidalgo canceled the contract after Republican commissioners accused her of steering the work toward a Democratic firm with no public health expertise. The Texas Rangers then investigated the allegations at the request of the Harris County District Attorneys Office.

Hidalgo, who has not been accused of any legal wrongdoing, defended her ethics and that of the employees. She vowed that none of the accused would lose their jobs.

nicole.hensley@chron.com
Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie L. Christensen on Wednesday rejected findings issued by a state task force that highlighted some county policies related to the Astroworld tragedy.

Soon after Novembers Astroworld concert, which ended with the deaths of 10 people and dozens of others injured, Gov. Greg Abbott created the task force to study the incident and provide recommendations on how to make such events safer.

On Tuesday, that group released findings that noted the permitting process for concerts and other large events is inconsistent across the state, and can lead to so-called forum shopping by event promoters. The task force recommended a universal permitting template with a standardized checklist for counties to consult before issuing permits.

The task force pointed to two state laws that have permitting requirements  one related to mass gatherings, and one related to outdoor music festivals. Both refer to county events, because incorporated municipalities can create their own ordinances.

Related: Houston firefighters struggled to communicate with medics during Astroworld chaos, union head says.

Echoing other county officials who spoke to the Chronicle, Christensen said she had reviewed the task forces findings, but that the task force cited statutes that simply do not apply to the Astroworld event. The laws, she said, apply only to performances outside the boundaries of a municipality.

The fact the Astroworld event occurred within the City of Houston along with the (memorandum of understanding) between Harris County and the City of Houston clearly shows Harris County lacked any jurisdiction for permitting the Astroworld event, she said. Our office will continue reviewing the recommendations over the next several weeks.

The situation is complicated by the fact that although the Astroworld Festival took place on Harris County property, that property lies within Houston city limits. The city approved all permits for the event, but Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena maintained that the city did not have ultimate authority over the event.

City officials, including Pena, have previously argued that the event was a county-sanctioned event on county property.

On Wednesday, Pena said that the memorandum of understanding dictates that city fire marshal inspectors are required to perform maintenance inspections on county buildings at NRG Park, but said the document has nothing to do with, and does not lay responsibility for, events held in their parking lot.

I dont know if that is a misunderstanding on part of another entity, but that's not what MOU states, he said. Had the concert venue been inside a building of the same size as the outdoor area where it was held (some 1.2 million square feet), he said, the permitted crowd would have been over 150,000 people  far more than the approximately 50,000 who attended.

This wasnt an issue of overloading, he said. It seems it was more an issue of crowd management.

The state task force also said there was not an occupancy load issue at the event, meaning there werent more people than the number legally permitted in the concert venue.

In February, the mayor appointed several people to a City-County Special Events Task Force. It was created to make recommendations to improve communication, protocols, and permitting requirements in Houston and Harris County to ensure consistent operational standards for future events.

Soon after the Astroworld tragedy, Mayor Sylvester Turner said that in the future, the city needs to be at the table from the very beginning ... we need to have the final say. Turner and county officials launched their own task force after Astroworld, but that body has not yet released its findings.

Turner had not yet commented on Christensens statement.

Exclusive: Leaked Houston firefighter logs offer minute-by-minute look into Astroworld tragedy

A consistent permitting process could have helped establish jurisdiction and authority over ultimate event shutdown in the face of a life-threatening incident, the states report reads.

City officials did require the event organizers to obtain permits for pyrotechnics, tents and propane. The city released those and other permits in November. But the city does not require event organizers to obtain permits for events such as the Astroworld festival that are held entirely outdoors.

Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association President Patrick M. Lancton  a member of the state task force  said the lack of such permits was a major shortfall and different from permitting processes in other cities the task force studied. Without the specifications in such permits, city officials and event organizers didnt have a proper safety plan, he said. He reiterated past criticism that Houston firefighters were not more deeply involved in the organization and oversight of the event.

(Previously, the Chronicle reported that Houston firefighters were not part of a central command post that event organizers created, and instead reviewed radio communications from a small command post a mile from the main stage. Although the event had private medical providers and transport, firefighters ultimately responded to the event, without being requested, after listening to worsening radio traffic and hearing the event begin to spiral out of control.)

In the weeks after the Astroworld tragedy, the Chronicle conducted an investigation that identified critical failures by multiple authorities tasked with ensuring the safety of the audience that day, including inadequate and poorly trained security, deficient coordination between city officials and festival management, and a nearly hourlong delay in halting the show after the danger became apparent.
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Carl Wayne Buntion is slated on Thursday to be executed by lethal injection after exhausting the legal options available to him to stop the punishment after spending more than 30 years on death row in the 1990 slaying of a Houston police officer.

The 78-year-old gunned down motorcycle officer James Irby during a June evening traffic stop on a Northside street, with news reports at the time stating that he had vowed to avenge his twin brothers 1971 death at the hands of a police officer.

Buntion, housed at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, is the oldest inmate on Texas death row and has mounting health problems.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted on Tuesday not to recommend that he be granted a 90-day reprieve or a lesser penalty than death.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Federal judge rejects latest attempt by Texas oldest death row inmate to stop execution

He was 46 and a recent parolee when Irby pulled over the heroin-toting Pontiac that he rode in, according to court records. He shot Irby, 37, in the head with a revolver as the officer spoke to the driver. He shot him again, twice, in the back after he collapsed to the ground.

Buntion fled the traffic stop, firing gunshots at the drivers who witnessed the attack near the Interstate 45 feeder road. One bystander used Irby's radio to call for help. Authorities tracked Buntion to the nearby Pony Express warehouse, where he later surrendered.

The driver, John Killingsworth, was charged in connection to the drugs, rather than the fatal shooting.

Irby was an 18-year veteran of the Police Department. He left behind a wife, Maura, and two children, who were then 3 and 1 at the time of the shooting.

The officers widow told reporters that Irby often told her that he thought an on-duty traffic wreck would kill him, rather than being gunned down while writing a traffic ticket.

"I was never prepared for him to be shot down in cold blood," Irbys wife then said. "Jim told me he'd die on his bike. He'd never get shot.

The fatal shooting came amid one of Houstons deadliest years, when the homicide rate in 1990 peaked at 36 deaths of that nature for every 100,000 people in the city. The rate in 2021 ended at 20 deaths per 100,000.

Buntions original trial was moved out of Harris County to Fredericksburg. Years later, the death sentence in that trial was ruled unconstitutional because jurors were prohibited from hearing mitigating evidence, which would have provided reasons against a death sentence.

That sentence was vacated in 2009, but Buntion was sentenced to death again in a 2012 retrial.

A defense lawyer for Buntion could not be reached for comment. Their recent arguments against the death penalty contend that the jury in the Buntion retrial incorrectly predicted him to be a future danger to society and that his execution, at this point, would not serve a purpose due to how much time had passed since the conviction.

Years of unsuccessful legal efforts by Buntion to avoid the death penalty have failed, leaving little recourse for him to stop or delay the execution. His defense continued to fight the looming execution throughout the week, requesting oral arguments in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The documents stated Buntion had little to do with the delay in his execution.

As a defendants time on death row lengthens, the justification for the imposition of the death penalty weakens, his lawyers wrote.

The judges in fifth circuit ultimately sided Wednesday with the district court's original judgement, that a stay be denied.

A recent move by Nueces County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez, a Democrat, showed how local jurisdictions can potentially stop the execution process but there are caveats which may not apply to Buntion. Gonzalez moved to withdraw the death warrant for the October execution of John Henry Ramirez, citing in court documents that he believes the death penalty to be unethical and should not be imposed on Mr. Ramirez or any other person.

Gonzalez went on to say the prosecutor overseeing the case moved for an execution date without consulting him first.

In Harris County, prosecutors recently sought an execution date for Arthur Brown Jr. from a judge, with plans to meet in May to have the death warrant signed. Brown was convicted in the 1992 deaths of four people during a drug-related robbery.

nicole.hensley@chron.com
A store clerk has been charged with murder in the Easter shooting death of a shoplifting suspect in south Houston.

Antonio Batres, 21, is accused of fatally shooting 49-year-old Troy Odom in the back around 4:30 p.m. Sunday at the Family Dollar on 7545 Martin Luther King Boulevard in South Park, according to court documents.
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PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (AP)  Three people were injured when a fire broke out early Wednesday at a residence hall at a Texas university, officials said.

The fire happened shortly before 6 a.m. at a student housing building at Prairie View A&M University, about 45 miles northwest of Houston. The school said the dorm was evacuated and all residents were accounted for.
Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Masks are optional in public places in and around Houston, but private businesses and private universities can still require people to wear them.

Rice University recently reinstated its classroom masking policy that requires everyone inside a classroom to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status, except for when instructors are lecturing. The mandate comes after the private university rescinded its mask mandate in March but recently saw around 145 new cases in only a few days in early April.
Regarding Editorial: Second times the charm? Harris County bail bond board should ban cheap bail., (April 13): I rarely agree with the Houston Chronicles editorials  in fact, Im not sure I ever have  but I agree 100 percent with the editorial regarding a 10 percent minimum bail on bonds set by Harris County judges.

Every day I see multiple instances of defendants already out on bail being arrested again for another offense in the Chronicle and in Facebook posts of Constable Mark Hermans Precinct 4 (my residence). Many of these feature violent career criminals. Providing less than 10 percent bail to violent repeat offenders does nothing to protect our community or ensure they show up for trial.

Bail bondsmen are only one part of the problem that needs to be fixed. The problem begins with catch and release judges setting low and no-cash bonds.

The 2018 midterm election resulted in 59 out of 60 Harris County Court judges being overthrown by Democrats. And that has resulted in a county criminal justice system that seems to believe catch and release is the way to go. These liberal judges are routinely setting $100 - $200 bonds and personal recognizance, (no-cash) bonds for misdemeanor defendants, including some who have been charged with violent crimes. While I would like to think that Harris County is safer than Cook County, Ill. , Im not the least bit sure that is true.

So, its not just a problem with bail bondsmen. Its a problem that begins with the presiding judge who sets bail.

Hayden Black, Spring

The purpose of a bail bond is to ensure that a person charged with a crime will appear in court when required to do so. If he/she is a no-show, the bail is forfeited. Judges set the amount of bond after evaluating  among other things  the risk that a defendant will fail to appear in court. If a person has invested in a home, has a job, has other contacts with the community, a low bond may be justified. Some defendants are released on their own recognizance and thus have more of their resources to live on and to pay an attorney to represent them in court. This should not be discouraged. A higher bond would be justified if a defendant lacks contact with the community or if it is more likely that he/she will flee to avoid prosecution. An outright ban on cheap bail is shortsighted, narrow-minded and ignores the presumption of innocence.

Bail bondsmen may make their own decisions after evaluating the risk that the defendant for whom they are posting bond will or won't appear as ordered.

Jim Greenwood, Houston

Passover photo

Regarding Passover begins, (April 16): As a member of the Jewish community, I am shocked and disappointed that the Houston Chronicles sole coverage of Passover, one of Judaisms most significant and holiest holidays, in Saturdays newspaper, was a photo of a Seder being conducted by a leader of a messianic congregation. A simple Google search reveals that the congregation featured in the photo is not a Jewish synagogue. If the Chronicle had chosen to ignore the Jewish communitys major holiday celebration, that would have been hurtful enough. The insensitive choice to highlight only the Seder of a congregation that is not Jewish as the sole coverage of a holiday celebrated by thousands of Jews in the Houston area and millions of Jews all over the world to commemorate the escape from slavery at the hands of their oppressors, is disrespectful. I respect my Christian friends and neighbors (as well as my friends who are Muslim, Hindu or Sikh) and their traditions and their holidays. The Jewish community deserves the same respect for its traditions and holidays from our local newspaper.

Karen Westall, Katy

Imagine if a newspaper depicted a vegan food festival by sending a photographer to a barbecue brisket cookoff. In a similar vein, the Chronicle featured a photograph of a Messianic Jewish church to depict the Passover holiday observance and managed to offend virtually every Jewish person in our area. Messianic Jews accept Christ as the Messiah, a Christian theology which is most assuredly un-Jewish. Messianic Jews inject Christianity into the Passover Seder; it's a distortion of a holiday ritual thats over 2,000-years-old. It's akin to making Christmas about Muhammad or Buddha.

Ira Bleiweiss, Houston

Hebrew tablet

Regarding Opinion: An older Hebrew Bible? Not so fast. Be wary of appealing narratives., (April 14): In the photo, the purported Hebrew tablet appears to be completely illegible. I can only conclude that it was inscribed by a doctor, and it will take a pharmacist to decipher it.

Prashant Joshi, El Paso
Today, somewhere in Texas, a deeply depressed young adult may wait on hold for hours to speak with a crisis hot line volunteer. A sixth-grader in suburban Houston could find herself overcome with anxiety due to family turmoil. Without a doubt, theres a caring parent or family member, responding to a mental breakdown, who will be forced to navigate a bureaucratic maze and understaffed facilities to find some semblance of care for a loved one.

Some of us know all too well the sorry state of mental health care in Texas but for those who needed some education, the Chronicles ongoing In Crisis series has certainly provided.

In the latest installment, reporters Alex Stuckey and Stephanie Lamm detailed how not one single Texas public school district meets professionally recommended student-to-provider ratios for all four critical mental health positions, including counselors, social workers, nurses and psychologists. That leaves 5 million children each year without appropriate access to care. A startling 98 percent of students attended a district that didnt even meet Texas Education Agencys modest recommendation of one counselor per 250 students.

Another recent piece told the heartbreaking story of a Stafford mom, Dallas Garcia, who had struggled so mightily to get care for her special needs son as he battled depression that she actually felt relieved when the 19-year-old ended up in jail last year, thinking hed finally get the help he needed. Instead, after another inmate beat him to death.

A third story left us with some hope, showing whats possible for even the most troubled kids when they get the support they need. At Linda Tutt Learning Center in tiny Sanger ISD, just south of the Texas-Oklahoma border, Ann Hughes works with kids whose behavior is considered the worst of the worst. But through the districts challenge program, Hughes calm, respectful interventions have changed the lives of students with a range of mental health struggles.

They are not merely problems to Hughes. They are people. She has tirelessly applied for grants and nonprofit assistance that have helped fund personnel and resources the children need but the state wont pay for. Through a grant from the faith-based nonprofit Texas Health Resources, three Sanger schools now have rooms where children can, for instance, jump on a trampoline to get out their anger or energy in a nondisruptive way, or alternatively, just enjoy some quiet time playing with blocks. Another nonprofit partnership with First Refuge Ministries has allowed Sanger to open a free district grocery store where kids can learn responsibility and help their community.

Hughes dedication, love and creativity are all laudable. We salute her and other heroes across Texas working long hours away from their own families and lives to support kids in crisis and give them a fighting shot at success. But the fact is, they shouldnt have to.

Just as the state of Texas shouldnt rely on teachers to buy school supplies out of their own pockets when budgets run short, lawmakers shouldnt keep relying on  and, frankly, exploiting  the kindness and self-sacrifice of educators to plug the gaping holes in public schools mental health safety net.

Hughes says she views the lack of dedicated funding for mental health resources not as an impenetrable wall, but a track and field hurdle to sail over.

Spoken like a champion. Unfortunately, we dont have an infinite supply of champions. And even champions can run much farther, much quicker, helping many more kids, without a bunch of unnecessary obstacles in their paths.

Untold numbers of Texas kids with mental health issues arent getting help. And without help, those kids will become mentally ill adults.

Texas ranks near the bottom in mental health spending, Carly McCord, clinical research assistant professor in Texas A&Ms department of psychiatry, told the editorial board recently.

Even the small steps Texas has taken in recent years have of late been targeted. McCord described the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium, developed by the Legislature in 2019, as one of the best things the state of Texas has done to improve childrens mental health in Texas. The consortium includes a program that connects primary care providers with behavioral care for young patients. It also helps promote parent engagement in mental health and provides telemedicine outlets.

So its unfortunate that the Republican Party of Texas 2020 platform calls for the abolition of the consortium. In a statement, party chairman Matt Rinaldi said: We believe the parents should decide if their child needs mental health services, not the schools. These bills are a thinly veiled state intrusion into Texans' personal decisions, parental rights, and sincerely held religious beliefs.

We know many Republicans dont agree. They understand that providing lifelines to mentally ill kids isnt the devils work of a nanny state but the Lords work of a state that cares about its future.

Mental health struggles dont discriminate by party, age or socioeconomic background. So why should opportunities for help?

Besides, skimping on mental health only costs taxpayers in the long run. Texas shortage of beds at mental health facilities means that taxpayers pay a great deal more for patients to be treated at private locations.

Supporting more mental health funding is also a good way to back the blue. Boosting crisis response teams and other diversion programs would relieve sheriffs offices and police departments who are too often the main  or only  mental health emergency respondents. Even in some of Texas mid-sized counties, sheriffs deputies must drive more than an hour each way to deliver individuals to a residential mental health care facility.

In Houston, City Council passed three ordinances recently that will allocate about $21 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for programs intended to assist HPD in handling crisis calls.

Lawmakers should support better response teams statewide. And its not too late to fully fund the states 2017 plan to add 656 beds to the psychiatric hospital system.

A Republican majority approved the childrens mental health consortium in 2019. The will is there. We cant let politics get in the way.

We dont know the party affiliations of the dedicated leaders up in Sanger, nor should it matter. We do know that they helped a 10-year-old find peace, and a high school student gain financial skills and purpose. We salute the irrepressible Texas hurdlers across the state, giving their all every day to give kids a chance.

If state leaders could muster only a fraction of their commitment, wed make great strides for struggling kids.
Regarding Editorial: As gun deaths surge, its time to say enough to Second Amendment absolutism, (April 18): Ripping into Sen. Ted Cruz for his stance on Second-Amendment absolutism regarding ghost guns was not only shortsighted but entirely misguided. Heres why.

Privately made firearms are rarely used in murders. According to the Department of Justice, from January 2016 to December 2021, less than 2 percent of privately made firearms recovered by law enforcement were found in connection with homicides or attempted homicides. Bidens blatant abuse of power in his new ghost gun rule is not about saving lives, its about utter control and keeping guns out of the hands of good people.

Saying "Cruz's Second-Amendment absolutism makes about as much sense as a man stepping into a subway car and opening fire with a Glock is dead wrong. The number of New York Citys gun violence victims increased 14.5 percent from 2021. This past November, the Supreme Court heard the case NYSRPA v. Bruen , which questioned whether the state of New Yorks denial of petitioners applications for concealed-carry licenses for self-defense violated the Second Amendment. This essentially means New Yorkers havent been able to exercise their constitutional right to carry a firearm. If they were able to conceal carry, I wonder if someone could have stopped the gunman on the subway?

All of this is smoke and mirrors to help promote gun control. A ghost gun ban isnt a real solution to Bidens crime problem  its a distraction from his administrations failures. Cruz is right to side on Second Amendment absolutism, and so are we at Gun Owners of America, because we have the right to keep and bear arms.

Aidan Johnston, director of federal affairs, Gun Owners of America

Texans without a handgun license have been able to keep a firearm in their vehicle thanks to a 2007 law called the Texas Motorist Protection Act. As quoted in this editorial, Mayor Sylvester Turner said, In the past, people curse one another, throw up the finger and keep moving. Now instead of throwing up the finger, theyre pulling out the gun and shooting." I read that the Dallas Police Department began tracking road rage shootings for the first time last year. The results were alarming: 45 people wounded, 11 killed. In Austin last year, the police recorded 160 episodes of drivers pointing or firing a gun.

Texas was one of the first states to reopen businesses and schools and remove mask mandates according to Gov. Abbott's wishes. He supported the heartbeat abortion ban taking legal rights away from women, open carry of guns without permits and legal alcohol delivery to boost his appeal with traditional Texas conservatives. However, his power grid failure, another one of his biggest mistakes, adds to a gruesome resume of death and destruction.

Abbott, like many Republican leaders, is clearly showing how selfish and irresponsible he has become simply to hold onto power.

Texas needs new leadership that is willing to serve the needs of all its people.

Richard A. French, Pasadena, Calif.

In this editorial, the editorial board said 23 states allow almost anybody and everybody to walk around with a concealed handgun on their person, no permit required. However, those states allow permitless carry of a handgun only by adults who dont have disqualifying criminal histories and arent otherwise disqualified under federal or state law.

Because Americans...have been buying guns at an ever-accelerating rate and homicides in 2020 were up by a quarter from the year before, the board concluded more guns = more gun deaths. However, the rate of firearm murders in 2020 was still lower than the average of previous years. What made 2020 different from 2019 was not its miniscule increase in gun ownership, it was also the rioting and subsequent crime wave, allowed to occur, the majority prosecution-free, in cities  many of which had Democrat mayors, city councils and district attorneys.

Worse than the Chronicles exaggerations and cherry-picking of statistics, is its statement equating the lack of sense involved in a recent gun crime with Sen. Ted Cruzs resolution to block President Bidens pending executive order requiring serial numbers on various firearm parts, something that is an overreach of presidential authority.

As for the Chronicle labeling Sen. Cruzs effort Second Amendment absolutism, I say, the amendments command, shall not be infringed, is linguistically absolute. However, time will tell whether courts will say that making a firearm without a serial number, within the scope of the absolute right to arms in the founding era, remains so today.

Mark Overstreet, retired senior research coordinator, National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action

I wonder if Gov. Abbott has had enough of all the freelance shootings in Houston. I call them freelance as I see the shooter doing his will no matter what. The Republican governor is at fault for giving any law-abiding Texan the right to carry a weapon, trained or not. What is wrong with this thinking?

Marie Perez, Houston
BURBANK, Calif.  In late 2020, when the Burbank Unified School District removed five classic novels from mandatory reading lists in my citys classrooms, I started a petition to protest the decision. The petition, which is still open, has more than 5,000 signatures.

I was a sophomore at Burbank High School at the time, and had read four of the five books in school  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; and The Cay by Theodore Taylor. The fifth, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, I read on my own a few years earlier.

The books were being removed from the core curriculum, according to Matt Hill, the superintendent of the Burbank Unified district, after complaints from students and parents that the depictions of racism and language in these works  particularly the use of the N-word  caused harm to Black students.

My position was this: I acknowledged that Black students were being marginalized in our classrooms (I was sympathetic, too; I am all too familiar with the demeaning nature of racism)  but did not think that it was the fault of these books or their content. I believed, and still believe, that the solution was not to remove the books, but to add more books written by people of color, and to better train teachers to teach these books sensitively to students.

As the petition attracted signatures, I spoke at several school board meetings on the issue. I recall one meeting in particular. I had prepared to talk about how these novels helped shape me both as a student and as a human being. I spoke briefly about how reading the story of a Black family in the Deep South in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, under the guidance of a caring teacher, had moved me to tears and to a commitment to learn more about the resilience and resistance of the people upon whose backs this country was built. I explained how these class experiences helped move me and some fellow students from complacent private citizens to people who today are deeply involved in the fight for social justice.

There was more I could have said: How Atticus Finchs defense of Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird taught me the danger of complacency; how the unlikely friendships of Huckleberry Finn and Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or Phillip Enright and Timothy in The Cay taught me that love transcends any and all differences.

But standing on the boardroom floor as comments from others in the meeting began, I witnessed the public forum  made up mostly of parents, administrators and educators  devolve into tribalist dissension. The meeting quickly became a two-sided shouting match pitting supposed freedoms against purported justice. There was plenty of arguing, but little or no meaningful discussion on why those novels were in question, or what students would lose or gain by a ban against them.

At that moment, I had a long-overdue realization: How we as Americans approach restrictions on literature curriculums is not only flawed but also wholly reactionary. My experience at that meeting and others convinced me that the problem is not that we disagree, but how. We need to shift focus away from reflexive outrage about restrictions and bans, and toward actual discussions of the merits and drawbacks of the individual books.

Nearly a year and a half later, the Burbank book restriction is still in place, and more have been approved in schools and school districts across the country. A report from PEN America this month found that 86 school districts in the United States have banned 1,586 books in the past year. From the Tennessee school board that decided Maus, Art Spiegelmans graphic novel about the Holocaust, could no longer be taught, to the Oklahoma State Legislatures proposed law giving a parent of any student the power to enforce bans on books of a sexual nature, to the sweeping removal of 130 books with sexual themes from school shelves at the request of a Texas superintendent, one element unites all the conflicts around these bans  a political and ideological partisanship that buys more into contemporary culture wars than into our students education.

One fact often overlooked in these disputes is that both conservatives and liberals engage in book banning and removal when it suits their political goals. Burbank is a liberal stronghold where the majority of voters in the last five presidential elections cast ballots for Democrats; Granbury, the district in Texas that removed the 130 books this year for pervasively vulgar content or pornography  in what many believe is code speak to conceal prejudice against those who identify as L.G.B.T.Q.  is a conservative stronghold that voted Republican in those same five elections.

Americans, conditioned to resist violations of our freedom at every turn, tend to reflexively reject any literary censorship. But we often forget that these types of book bans arent instituting a nationalized book burning or punishments for reading the books; rather, they are often decisions about whether certain groups of children are emotionally or developmentally ready for certain books. The truth is that all schools have curriculums, and that deciding what is included and what is not is a crucial responsibility that involves subjective decisions about what is best for students. And I do want to give this notion some deference.

When I was 10, I found myself voraciously reading all things related to World War II; along that path, I picked up a copy of Iris Changs 1997 book, The Rape of Nanking. Two chapters in, as the executions of innocent children my age were described in detail, I learned that the contents of the historical account were just about as discomforting as the title itself. Terrified and upset, I put the book down and stored it deep in my closet.

Did my aversion to that book negate the severity of the war crimes that occurred on the Sino-Japanese front? Absolutely not. But did it show that I was probably too young to read it? Yes. Both principles can be simultaneously true: Certain books can be important to society while being upsetting or harmful to a child. We can and ought to reject the false binary being sold to us today, because there is some value in restricting curriculum to children when those decisions are informed by a knowledge of the books and the capacities of the students.

I hope that the adults who make the decisions about our schools and our educations, and those who fuel the public arguments over them, can put an end to their hyperpartisanship and help us to begin rigorous conversations about the content and value of the books themselves.

Because at that meeting I never did get to say my piece about what those other books had done for me.

Sungjoo Yoon is a junior at Burbank High School and the chairman of the Burbank Youth City Council, the citywide student government body. This article originally appeared in the New York Times.
Do we dare hope for Yemen? A truce called at the start of the month has now held for three weeks, far longer than any previous cessation of hostilities. The United Nations envoy to the country, Hans Grundberg, who brokered the deal, has told the Security Council that there is "a chance to steer Yemen in a new direction."

Yemenis will be grateful for even the slimmest of chances. The people of the Middle East's poorest country have endured war for nearly seven years. The United Nations reckons nearly 400,000 have died as a result and more than three million have been displaced from their homes. More than 24 million people, or 80 percent of the population, need humanitarian assistance, and 2 in 5 people are at high risk of starvation.

The wider world has long since stopped paying much attention to the unfolding catastrophe. Even before the war in Ukraine came to dominate the headlines, the fighting in Yemen  which pits an Iran-backed rebel militia known as the Houthis against the government, backed by a Saudi Arabia-led coalition  had been consigned to the inside pages.

A country that gets little attention inevitably gets little aid. The UN has been unable to raise the money needed to alleviate Yemeni suffering. Its latest appeal for donations raised less than a third of the target.

The outside powers involved in the conflict have canceled each other out. After his two predecessors paid only lip service to the need for peace in Yemen, President Joe Biden suspended U.S. military support for the Saudi-led coalition. But Iran used this as an opportunity to increase its assistance to the Houthis, who ramped up their rocket and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

That the warring parties agreed on a truce when the world wasn't watching may, counterintuitively, be the best reason for optimism. Outside pressure can be an important factor in ending conflict, but it is so much the better when the combatants have independently concluded that it is in their interest to stop fighting.

The Saudis recognize that they need to get out of a quagmire that has cost them tens of billions of dollars and earned them international opprobrium. The Yemeni government, in exile since the rebels took the capital Sanaa in 2014, realizes it cannot return in a military triumph. And the Houthis, having experienced their first major loss of territory earlier this year, seem to have accepted they cannot achieve complete domination of the country by force of arms.

All these things have been obvious to outside observers for several years. Belated as it is, the acknowledgement of these realities by the principal protagonists is good not only for Yemen but also the wider world.

Among other things, it removes a persistent threat to the supply of fossil fuels at a time when much of the global economy is struggling to cope with the loss of Russian oil as a result of the war in Ukraine. Only last month, the Saudis warned that their exports could be disrupted by continued Houthi attacks on the kingdom's oil infrastructure. An interruption in Saudi and Emirati supplies would send oil prices, already sky-high, into the stratosphere.

So, quite apart from humane considerations, most of the world has a vested interest in the success of the truce. That includes the Biden administration, which should additionally be glad that it didn't have to expend much diplomatic or political capital to get the protagonists to this point. Better yet, there is no need for U.S. intervention in the next phase of peace-making: Best to let the UN take point on the whole exercise.

The first test of the truce is whether it lasts the full two months agreed by all the parties. The UN's Grundberg will have to use that time to get them around a table to negotiate a formal ceasefire, upon which they can begin to discuss an armistice and post-war arrangement of power.

The process will undoubtedly be protracted and contentious, and all sides will need to help things along with gestures of good faith. The Saudis and Emiratis have already shown some by pressing Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to hand power to a governing council. The Houthis, having refused to talk to Hadi, must now reciprocate by agreeing to negotiate with the council.

For good measure, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pledged $3 billion in aid to begin the repair of Yemen's wrecked economy. That sum perfectly plugs the gap in donations sought during the latest UN appeal. Under the terms of the truce, the Sanaa airport will be reopened for commercial flights, which should allow some emergency aid to be flown in. The port of Hodeidah will also be opened for shipments of much-needed fuel.

Trickier compromises lie ahead, including the exchange of prisoners and the ending of the Houthi siege of the southwestern city of Taiz, where the rebels may have to cede battlefield gains.

There is always the possibility that the truce will end without any progress and the fighting will resume. The Houthis used a 2018 UN-brokered pause in the fighting around Hodeidah to rest and re-arm, eventually taking the port nearly a year later.

And finally, there's a risk that the Houthis' patrons in Tehran will lean on them to return to the battlefield. Iran would gain doubly from a resumption in hostilities. Its traditional enemies, the Saudis, would continue to bleed resources. And any spike in oil prices would allow the Islamic Republic to squeeze more revenue from its own sanctions-limited exports.

So there's a great deal that could yet go wrong in Yemen. But, at long last, there's at least the prospect of something going right.

Bobby Ghosh is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering foreign affairs.
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The Harris County District Attorney's Office is seeking to suspend District Court Judge Franklin Bynum over a nearly two-yearlong feud over accusations that he is biased against prosecutors and has given defendants too much leniency because of his self-described socialist political affiliation.

The State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which investigates complaints against judges and takes disciplinary actions, held a hearing Tuesday in response to multiple complaints filed by District Attorney Kim Oggs office in late 2020 to early 2021. The proceedings are typically private, but Bynum opted to make the recording of the hearing public.

Oggs office, in dozens of pages of complaints and supplements, accused Bynum of being unnecessarily and unprofessionally rude and abusive to prosecutors and said he exhibited an indefensible bias against victims of crime. The office also claimed he repeatedly released defendants on the basis that the state failed to establish probable cause.

Judge Bynum has refused to enforce Texas law as it is written, First Assistant David Mitcham wrote in one of the complaints. Intead he has substituted his own unwritten code of criminal procedure in a manner intended to prejudice the State of Texass ability to prosecute criminal cases.

Other accusations had to do with Bynums court procedures during the pandemic; however, the subject was barely discussed during the hearing.

Bynum denied that any actions he took were outside the bounds of the law.

His attorney, Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube, told commissioners that the complaints should be dismissed, but at the very least, Bynum should be allowed to finish out his term, which ends in December.

A spokesman for the district attorneys office declined to comment further on the matter Tuesday.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Motions for recusal dropped as DA, criminal court judge spar over video courtroom staffing

Bynum was elected as a misdemeanor court judge in 2018 as part of a Democratic sweep. In last months Democratic primary, he lost to Harris County Assistant District Attorney Erika Ramirez for the partys nomination.

The election of a candidate who proudly described himself as a socialist to the court garnered national attention  with feature articles written by the New York Times, Jacobin Magazine and other major publications. One such article published by The Nation magazine, titled Franklin Bynum Is a Texas Judge Who Wants to Abolish Prisons, was cited in the complaints by Oggs office, as proof of his partiality.

Bynum ran on a platform of ending the cash bail system so that people arent detained solely because they cant afford to be released before trial, combating subtle or overt encouragement by prosecutors for defendants to take plea deals, and increasing the use of diversion programs that allow certain defendants to avoid jail time.

After his election to the bench, Bynum became a defendant in the federal case and helped to settle Harris Countys historic misdemeanor bail reform suit that established an end to some poor defendants being jailed on low-level charges, while those with money could post bail and walk free.

In multiple interviews, Bynum described the 2017 decision by the federal judge in that case finding the countys bail system unconstitutional as the inspiration for his campaign.

At that point, I saw an opportunity because I never wanted to be a judge, but I saw that the system as it was, was going to be destroyed, Bynum told The Nation. And I knew that there would be a new system built in its place. And I saw that I had the opportunity to try to see the demolition through, and see the design of something different.

At Tuesdays hearing, Bynum and his attorney DeBorde Hochglaube framed Oggs fight against him as politically motivated, owing in large part to the ideological divide between the two on the bail issue.

The tone and the tenor from the DAs office toward the judges has been extremely hostile and threatening out of sight of the courtroom, Bynum said. In the courtroom, the line prosecutors ... the relations are good in there. But in the high-level meetings, they were very confrontational and threatening, constantly.

DeBorde Hochglaube drew attention to a Texas Monthly article last month highlighting that 14 Harris County prosecutors and one investigator had filed to run for criminal court judgeships this year, compared with none in 2020 and one in 2018.

Several of the commissioners, including Chair David Schenck and Vice-Chair Janis Holt, appeared convinced that Bynums actions outside the court threatened to ruin the publics perception of him as impartial.

During one particularly contentious part of the hearing, Holt, a public member of the commission appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, told Bynum a photo of him wearing a defund the police shirt at an unknown date, shared in a social media post by the Houston Police Officers Union, was offensive. Her son is a police officer and she worries about his safety every day, she said.

Bynum initially said he didnt recall when the photo was taken and whether he was a judge at that point, but later in the hearing, he said he now understands how it could cause pain.

The district attorneys office in 2019 filed a formal complaint against another misdemeanor judge, Darrell Jordan, who was also a key player in the bail reform settlement, accusing him of unprofessional interactions with prosecutors in his court. No public sanctions were ever released, though the commission could have disciplined Jordan privately.

The commission could either dole out public or private sanctions or recommend to the Texas Supreme Court that Bynum be suspended from office, with or without pay. Bynum could agree to voluntarily resign in lieu of disciplinary actions, but he has said that he will not.

Staff writer Nicole Hensley contributed to this report.
Houston bars, nightclubs and convenience stores must install security cameras outside of their venues within 90 days in a citywide surveillance effort Mayor Sylvester Turner hopes will diminish violent crime in high-risk areas.

City Council approved the measure in a 15-1 vote Wednesday after a lengthy discussion on the merits of cameras as a deterrent to robberies, shootings and other criminal activity officials say is concentrated at the nighttime businesses. The ordinance also applies to game rooms and sexually oriented businesses.

The camera requirement is part of the mayor's One Safe Houston agenda, which will funnel more than $44 million in federal relief funds to mental health and crisis intervention services over the next three years. It passed over objections from the American Civil Liberties Union, which opposed the plan to fine businesses for failing to turn footage over to the Houston Police Department upon request within 72 hours.

The ordinance, which also requires convenience stores to install enhanced lighting at their entrances, overcame skepticism from council members who worried it would penalize business owners and overburden police. Businesses could face a $500 citation if they fail to provide police with surveillance footage within three days of a crime.

On HoustonChronicle.com: ACLU calls Mayor Turner's security camera requirement 'unconstitutional'

ACLU attorney Savannah Kumar said Wednesday the council demonstrated a willingness to push aside constitutional protections and subject Houstonians to overbroad police searches.

The prospect of $500 fines drew pushback ahead of the vote from some bar owners and industry lawyers, who worried the ordinance would punish reputable business owners while failing to address extreme criminal activity clustered at select establishments. Turner on Wednesday sought to quell those fears, calling it a finely tuned law designed with industry support.

I dont want to see any more carnage on our streets or in front of these businesses, the mayor said. If a camera can deter or find someone and get them off the street, I am for it.

Councilmember Mike Knox, a former police officer and the sole vote against the ordinance, offered contradictory explanations for his opposition, saying the ordinance goes too far by unfairly burdening select businesses and does not go far enough to stop crime where it occurs.

Citing Houston Police Department data, the council member said 10,200 crimes took place last year at bars, convenience stores and other businesses targeted in the ordinance, while close to 98,000, many violent, occurred at apartment complexes.

A lot of crime is happening in apartment complexes, he said, brandishing a tall stack of HPD files. We are targeting the wrong businesses.

Knox said he would prefer a voluntary camera program and one that includes apartment complexes.

Following the vote Wednesday, Police Chief Troy Finner thanked the council for passing the camera requirement, calling it "a force multiplier" that will help his department solve more crimes.

Finner said his department is crafting protocols to guide its collection of businesses' video footage following a crime. Police will be required to obtain a warrant in the event a business does not volunteer footage, officials said.

On HoustonChronicle.com: City Council approves paid parental leave for Houston employees

Many strip clubs already have surveillance cameras, security guards and metal detectors to prevent crime and safeguard workers, said Ronnie Greenroad, a manager at Centerfolds Houston. Greenroad, who has been working in the adult entertainment industry for 30 years, supports the new ordinance and said it enshrines a policy most clubs already follow.

The more security, the better off we are, Greenroad said Wednesday.

Outdoor cameras help protect dancers from harassers and stalkers trolling the west Richmond strip club at night, Greenroad said, and provide useful footage of the occasional parking lot break-in. Based on his experience, he rejected council members assertions that crime occurs more at bars, nightclubs and sexually oriented businesses.

Crime happens at Krogers as much as it does (at strip clubs), he said. There is less crime here than at most shopping centers.

nora.mishanec@chron.com
BEIJING, April 20 -- The United States should stop its hypocritical practice of expanding unilateral military superiority in the name of arms control, and truly assume its due responsibility as a major country to safeguard the long-term peace and security in outer space, a Chinese spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily press briefing when being asked to comment on a US statement, which said that prohibiting direct-ascent anti-satellite missile testing should become an international norm, and criticized China and Russia for conducting anti-satellite tests.

Wang pointed out that the US has long pursued a strategy for dominance in space and openly defined outer space as a war-fighting domain. To this end, it has made vigorous efforts to develop and deploy a variety of offensive outer space weapons such as directed energy and Counter Communications System, and comprehensively advanced military buildup and preparedness in outer space.

"The US was the first country to carry out direct-ascent anti-satellite missile test and has so far conducted the largest number of such tests. Now, the US announced that it would bar tests of ground-based direct-ascent anti-satellite weapons. But why not announce that it will not use such weapons? Why not stop testing air-based, co-orbital and other types of anti-satellite weapons, and stop anti-missile tests of anti-satellite nature? Why not commit itself to banning the use of force against outer space objects?" said Wang.

Wang stressed that China advocates peaceful use of outer space, opposes weaponization of and arms race in space, and calls for the building of a community with a shared future in outer space. Dating back to as early as 2008, China and Russia jointly submitted a draft treaty on arms control in outer space to the Conference on Disarmament, which explicitly prohibits the placement of weapons in outer space and the threat or use of force against outer space objects. The draft treaty aims to eradicate threats to outer space security in a legally-binding package approach, including anti-satellite missile testing, so as to fundamentally safeguard peace and security in outer space. However, this proposal has long been opposed by the US side.

"We hope the US will truly assume its due responsibility as a major country, fully reflect upon its negative moves in the field of outer space, stop the hypocritical practice of expanding unilateral military superiority in the name of arms control, stop obstructing the negotiation process of the legal instrument on outer space arms control and play its due role in safeguarding the long-term peace and security in outer space," noted Wang.
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A conversation with Merck Mercuriadis of the $2.5B Hipgnosis Song Fund

[Exclusive Transcript] Merk Mercuriadis built the Hipgnosis Song Fund into a music industry powerhouse controlling a catalog of 65,000 songs worth $2.5 billion.

Along the way, hes also led an overdue conversation about how songwriters are compensated and thier place in musics eco-system.

Music industry veterans Jay GIlbert and Mike Etchart sat down with Merk Mercuriadis for a wide raging inteview just released as special edtion of their Your Morning Coffee Podcast and shared this transcript exclusively with Hypebot.

A conversation with Merck Mercuriadis

JAY GILBERT: I was talking to a music industry attorney friend of mine. I told him were going to be talking today and his is what he said, Mercks really doing gods work in many ways, you know about the business side, which is groundbreaking. But hes also a great advocate for songwriters in several countries, which is phenomenal. I just wanted you to know that, when were talking behind your back, those are some of the things that were saying.

MERCK MERCURIADIS: Thats very kind. You know, I started Hypgnosis with both a motive and an ulterior motive. The basis of the company, the reason why I started it was the ulterior motive. So the motive was really simple, which is that I wanted to establish songs as an asset class. I believed that I could make institutional investors a lot of money, while at the same time establishing those songs as an asset class and make money for myself, of course, as well in my company.

But this sort of pure business idea of establishing songs as an asset class was something that was going to be great, not only for Hypgnosis, but for all songwriters. Because if I can demonstrate the true value of songs, then that doesnt just benefit me, but it benefits everybody. And then the ulterior motive was to use the platform of that success, to then advocate and fight for songwriters and change where they sit in the economic equation. I structured Hipgnosis in a way that is unique.

investors now sit in the shoes of the songwriter

Although its ridiculous that its unique, because the investors now sit in the shoes of the songwriter. They have complete alignment with the songwriter. Were the only company where if the songwriter gets paid more money, the investors get paid more money. So the investors of course, back me 1,000% when it comes to advocating and fighting for the songwriter, because they want to get paid more money. And they know that if the songwriter gets paid more money, theyll get paid more money.

MIKE ETCHART: You talked about working with institutional investors when you started the company. To me, that is like a pretty unique skill set for someone in the music business. Where did you get that that vision into that world? Or was that always something you kind of paid attention to? That seems like youre dealing with a lot of a different group of people than you typically would expect people that are in the record business, in the publishing business and management. Was dealing with that a steep learning curve for you or did you already kind of have familiarity with that sort of world?

MERCK: It was it was the 10,000 hours. Id had a great career and was having a great career as a manager, very privileged to work with everyone from Elton John to Guns N Roses, Iron Maiden, Nile Rodgers and Chic of course. But, you know, what happened was that I started to work with songwriters a lot. People like Diane Warren, Justin Tranter, The-Dream. And when youre working with an artist that writes their own songs, a, you are kind of looking at their entire income streams. You dont necessarily notice the disparity that exists between what a songwriter gets paid, and what the artist gets paid.

But when youre then looking at a songwriters income and you look at what, you know, Diane Warrens I Dont Want To Miss a Thing meant to Aerosmith touring and Aerosmith record sales, but at the same time, Diane and, no fault of Aerosmith. This is the fault of the paradigm and the fault of the music industry, Diane is getting, in relative terms, a mere pittance. Two summers ago, three summers ago, before the pandemic started, the biggest song in the world was a Ryan Tedder song for The Jonas Brothers. Everyone in the world was going to see the Jonas Brothers play live, they were getting high six figures for their live shows. And Ryan, the guy that was responsible for the song, was just earning a measly songwriting royalty. You know, a songwriting royalty that is getting grounded, grounded, grounded out.



I wanted to create a platform that could advocate for songwriters, because what I saw was that the three biggest publishing companies were owned and controlled by the three biggest recorded music companies

The more I looked at this, the more I wanted to create a platform that could advocate for songwriters, because what I saw was that the three biggest publishing companies in the world that would love to be able to advocate for songwriters as hard as they can, were owned and controlled by the three biggest recorded music companies in the world. And those recorded music companies, they want all the money to go towards recorded music, because on recorded music, they get 80%. They get four fifths of the income. Theyve got this 80% gross margin, a 40% net margin, in general, they own those assets in perpetuity.

Conversely, on the song side of the business, the publishing side of the business, youve got a fifth of the income, youve got a fifth of the revenue, and quite rightly, whether its through good management or good lawyering, renegotiations reversions, the songs ended up back in the hands of the people that created them. So its in the interest of those three big companies to, exercise the leverage and control of recorded music having its way. Ultimately, its at the expense of the songwriter, because theyre pushing as much of the revenue, pushing as much of the leverage, towards recorded music. The songwriters are not being paid properly. Ultimately, what I looked at was this paradigm, I thought, well, logic isnt going to win here. Right? Because theyre going to swat me like a fly, no matter how logical I am.

Yes, Ive been successful. Yes, Ive got money in the bank. Yes, Ive got important people and artists that fuck with me in this business. Theylove to work with me, but they can swat me like a fly if I pick this fight. So I needed to create a platform that would give me the opportunity to fight the fight. And it just coincided with streaming. And I can remember having a conversation with Daniel Ek and Mark Lawrenson at Spotify very, very early on in Spotifys life, where I said to them, Look, Im not sure that you guys really understand what youre doing here. And they thought that I meant what they were doing in terms of offering the streaming service. What I really meant was that you guys are going to transform this business in a way that no one has seen. Because youre going to take the passive consumer that has never paid for music in their life, and youre going to turn them into an active consumer thats paying for music every day. When I said that, they were like, What do you mean? I said, Look, the benchmark for extraordinary success in our business is the platinum record, in the United States. Thats a million copies in a country that has 360 million people in it. It immediately tells you that the average person, albeit they might love music, doesnt love it enough to put their hand in their pocket and pull out a tenner and pay for it right there. Happy to hear it for free ostensibly on the radio or see it on television, but they were never paying for it.

What I could see was that streaming at $10 a month, being able to listen to everything from The Beatles to Beethoven, from Chopin to Chic. Whether its on the beach, whether its in your car, whether its in your office, this was going to make it worthwhile for people to spend $10 a month.

Music has gone from being a discretionary or luxury purchase to now being a utility.

Whats happened in that 12 years or so since that conversation is taking place, is that weve gone from 30 million paid subscribers in the last four years alone since I started doses to now 500 odd million paid subscribers around the world. Now that million copies in the United States, we now have 100 million homes, the United States. So weve gone from the customer being one in 360, to now being one in 3.6. Music has gone from being a discretionary or luxury purchase to now being a utility. Ive got to pay my electricity, Ive got to pay my apple or my Spotify. Ive got to pay my gas bill. Ive got to pay my utilities. Weve gone from literally a discretionary or luxury mentality to utility mentality.

This started to create the basis for the idea that would become Hipgnosis because I basically matched the predictable, reliable income that comes from these great Songs. Because once they hit, they become a part of the fabric of our society with a pie that was going to grow. And as I say, its grown from 30 million paid subscribers in the five years that weve existed to over 500 million now today. And well be hitting 2 billion in a decade. So this was a perfect investment case. I could see that it would give me that critical mass that was necessary and the platform that was necessary to fight the fight on behalf of songwriters.

JAY: So how how do we make sure that songwriters are paid fairly? Theres the copyright royalty board, we see whats going on there. And the fight thats happening, where publishers and songwriters feel like they should be paid more, and I think most reasonable people would agree with that. How do we adjust that pie to make it equitable? Because right now, it it feels like its not?

MERCK: Its not because if you take a dollars worth of Spotify or Apple income and you take off the 30% that Apple or Spotify are gonna get. Could that 20% 21% 22% 23%, of course, but really, in the scheme of things, its right now. Thats not the material point. The material point is, what happens to the other 70%. Right? And the other 70% right now is effectively 60 of the 70 going to recorded music. Theyre paying most artists on a sale rather than on a license. So theyre paying them a royalty rather than 50% of the money. So they get to keep about 50 cents out of every dollar. The songwriters, at this moment in time, before the CRB three appeal is hopefully turned down. Theyre getting 10 and a half cents out of every dollar. Thats multiple songwriters getting fractions of a penny on every dollar.

So youve got the record company getting about 50%, the artists may be getting 10% and youve got the songwriters, then splitting 10%. Its fractions of a penny on every dollar for writing the biggest songs in the world.

there hasnt been a Billboard Top 100 album of the year that didnt have an outside songwriter on it since 2014

Whats really important to know, is that before we started to record, we were talking about some of the artists that we love, right? We, the three of us, come from an era where, at least when we started, 90% of the artists were artists that wrote their own songs and had a very good idea of who they were, who theyd like to become, what their album cover should look like, what the stage show should look like and the job for someone like me was to believe in them and help them bring that to fruition. Today, 90% of the artists that are signed are really talented people but that are looking to an outside songwriter to deliver the hits for them. So, this is a great statistic, there hasnt been a Billboard Top 100 album of the year that didnt have an outside songwriter on it since 2014. Wow. So in the last eight years, every Billboard Top 100 Album of the Year has an outside songwriter, whether its Coldplay, or whether its Due Lipa, or whoever it might be. So theres never been a more important time to recognize the role of the songwriter and to ensure that theyre remunerated in a way that is fair and equitable. And thats not happening.

You mentioned the Copyright Royalty Board. In the UK, the Competitions and Markets Authority, with our help, is looking into how songwriters can be paid more money. Theyve started a 12 month investigation into the dominance of the major recorded music companies and how the relationship of them owning publishing is unhealthy. Because often when I discuss these arguments, it sounds like Im not a fan of Universal, Warner or Sony. Nothing could be further from the truth. I love so much of the repertoire. I love so many of the people that are in those organizations.

weve stood up as Hipgnosis and used our platform to ask what are very, very logical questions

My criticisms are not of the organizations or of the people in those organizations. Theyre of the paradigm that exists. The thing about paradigms, particularly ones that last 70 years, like the way that this one has, is that people often dont know any better or they dont think about it because theyve been taught that this is just the way that it is. What Im trying to teach people or hopefully inspire people to recognize is that just because thats the way that it is, it doesnt mean that its the way that it should stay. If youre someone that I have a tremendous amount of time for, like Big John at Sony Publishing, whos one of the greatest developers of songwriters in the world and fights hard for songwriters. He wrote a great letter to his songwriting constituency last week on the back of the CRB 4 ruling where they were that where they basically decided not to go with the settlement on mechanical royalties for physical product. Big John wrote an incredible letter to his constituency, outlining how he wants to fight for songwriters. I think weve made it possible for that to happen. Thats the fact that that weve stood up as Hipgnosis and used our platform to ask what are very, very logical questions.

Im very careful with my words. Im very careful not to say anything that someone can shoot down because its a very important war to win. The one thing that no one can ever say is that songwriters dont deserve to get paid more money. Absolutely not. Thats the premise.

I normally dont react to social media, but someone on on Instagram last night was trying to have a go at me because I was applauding the CRB for ruling. They were saying, dont you know how small the margin is on vinyl? I was like, come on! Let me put this in context, the 9.1 cents that was where we were 30 years ago, right? And 30 years ago, a vinyl album cost $10. A vinyl album cost $30 today but you still want the songwriter to get paid that 9.1 cents that they were getting 30 years ago? How would you feel if I told you that youre gonna get paid today what you got paid 30 years ago? You wouldnt be able to survive. This is why songwriters are having such a difficult time surviving.

MIKE: Is there any territory in the world that has a better system in terms of more fair publishing? Or is this kind of across the board worldwide that its its out of whack?

MERCK: Its its out of whack worldwide but the US is way behind everyone else. So even if you go to Europe, instead of that being 10 and a half cents, its 15. So thats a third more.

What CRB three gave us at the beginning of 2018 was a 44% increase. Excuse me, that would take us to, between the beginning of 2019 and the end of 2022, it would take us to that same 15% that Europe is on. But of course, Spotify and Amazon have appealed it. Now, its easy to point those guys out as the bad guys. And I certainly dont appreciate their appeal. And I cant wait for for what I hope will be the Copyright Royalty Board knocking it back and upholding the 44% increase. But you have to ask yourself, going back to how I slice the Pie, you have to ask yourself, why they would appeal that.

mechanicals that used to be the responsibility of the record company, are now the responsibility of the DSP

So if youve got the record company taking 50% for themselves out of every dollar, and then youre asking Spotify or Amazon to pay the songwriters increases? Well, theyre under the squeeze. The other thing, which which very few people recognize, is that the mechanicals that used to be the responsibility of the record company, are now the responsibility of the DSP. So that 9.1 cents on every album back in the CD days, in the album Days, thats $1 or so that would get paid for publishing on a record sale. That was the record companys responsibility. Right now, its not $1 anymore, its something less than that. But now thats Spotifys responsibility or Amazons responsibility or Apples responsibility. No one really wants to point that out. But what the record companies have been able to do in these deals that are under NDA (non-disclosure agreements), and no one knows what the deal really is. They have passed the buck on mechanical royalties to the DSP. So its no wonder were in a position whether appealing now as I say, Im confident, and I cant wait for the appeal to get slapped down. But we have to look at reality. We have to wait.

Shame on Daniel Ekhe should be the first person to be standing up for songwriters because theyre the ones that are delivering the product that make people want to consume Spotify

When you when you wonder how a company like Spotify gets to a place where theyre in the music business but they want to appeal what a songwriter has appealed. Shame on Daniel Ek. But theres plenty going on behind the scenes that might lead someone else to come to the same conclusion.

Now, whats missing from this is the narrative. Like Daniel Ek, should be standing up for songwriters. When you pay your $10 a month for Spotify, when youre comparing it to Apple or youre comparing it to Tidal or Deezer or whatever it might be, you might make choices that are based on editorial playlists, technology, aesthetics, etc. But at the end of the day, youre not paying $10 a month for technology or aesthetics, youre paying $10 a month for access to music. So you would think that Daniel Ek would be the first person to be standing up for songwriters because theyre the ones that are delivering the product that make people want to consume Spotify.

JAY: Yeah, I think its frustrating for people when they see someone like Daniel Ek, whos worth three point something billion dollars and that money, in some peoples minds, should be going to the songwriters. And it makes me think about what can we do as an industry and what can Hipgnosis do as a company, to help songwriters and to exploit (and I mean that in the best possible way). This is the foundation of our industry, right? I mean, without the songwriters, we dont have a job. And every other industry is built on top of it, but it seems like theyre the ones that get the least of that pie. What can we do Merck?

MERCK: So, a couple of things. First of all, I just want to address that I have no problem with Daniel Ek being worth several billion dollars or record executives getting paid hundreds of millions of dollars, as some did last year. I believe that theres enough abundance in the world for everybody. But, but I also believe that theres plenty to go around for the songwriters. The problem is not people getting paid money. The problem is that as you quite rightly pointed out, without the songwriter we have, no you have no job, we have no industry.

If you push play on Apple or Spotify, youre doing so because you love that artists songs. If you go and see that artists play live, youre doing so because you love that artists songs. If youre buying their t-shirts, youre doing it because you love their songs. If youre buying the products that they endorse, youre doing it because you love their songs, if you listen to their interviews, its because you love the song. Any aspect of this business, whether its merch or live or whatever it might be that you look at, all starts with the songwriter having written a great song.



On starting a Songwriters Guild: how can it be that they are the lowest paid person in the room?

So how can it be that they are the lowest paid person in the room? So what you have to do right now in the United States, how a songwriter is paid is determined by legislation. Right? So youll have record companies turn around and say, Why are you blaming me? I dont set the legislation. Yeah, its correct, that they dont set the legislation. But how does legislation get put in place? It gets put in place by advocacy and by lobbying. If youre restricting the amount of advocacy that the three loudest voices in our business should have, then you are determining legislation. What were doing is were creating, and Hipgnosis is in this, will be owned by the songwriters. And it will be for the songwriters, a genuine songwriters guild. The purpose of it is to ensure that no negotiation takes place going forward that affects how a songwriter is paid that doesnt have the songwriter sitting at the table. Not not a token songwriter that is going to tell you about their experiences, but a group of songwriters that are reflecting the consensus views of their community.

Its taking time, but Im bringing together hundreds of the most important songwriters to create this guild that will fight for songwriters. Youll have people that turn around and tell you, Well, no, but you cant unionize songwriters, you know what, I hate to say this, but you know, 50 years ago in England, you could go to jail for being a homosexual, you could be hung for being a homosexual. The world has grown up. We dont do stupid things like that anymore. We recognize that each person has a right to be themselves. And in this instance, just because something happened 60 years ago or 100 years ago with regard to piano rolls and piano manufacturers that determined some legislation doesnt mean that it cant be changed. It can be changed, but it can only be changed by recognizing the songwriters role first, first and foremost. There isnt a recorded music business without there being the songwriter first. When you recognize and you honor the role, and you look at the logic of shouldnt songwriters be paid more money? Theres only one answer, and thats yes. Then you have to fight for it.

create a business that could make everybody a lot of money and at the same time, fight for songwriters and to change where they sit in the economic equation

The decision that I made was that I could create a business that could make everybody a lot of money and at the same time, fight for songwriters and to change where they sit in the economic equation. For the alignment to be such that some of the most powerful institutional investors in the world and private equity Blackstone is my partner on the private side and in the management company. So on the on the public side of the business, Ive got 493 of the biggest institutional investors were a Fortune 250 company on the London Stock Market, going from strength to strength, weve given our shareholders a 43% total return on their investment since we started in 2018. All of these people have political clout and they now sit in the shoes of the songwriter and theyre motivated to do whatever they possibly can to get the songwriter paid more money, equally.

My partners, Blackstone understand that there will come a moment in time where I will ask them to help me open doors that I wouldnt otherwise be able to open myself. When they help me open those doors, that will be help that the songwriting community has never had before.

MIKE: Can you point to a time? Historically, when did the publishing industry lose their leverage? Was it really when when major labels acquired most of those publishing companies or was it even before that? Because it sure seems like there must have been a moment in time where things kind of flipped?

the music business in general has been a very unsophisticated business

MERCK: You know thats one of the things that I dont talk a lot about. But whats particularly important with how we go forward is that the music business in general has been a very unsophisticated business. Theres a lack of institutionalization, and I mean that word in the most positive sense. I call it sophistication rather than institutionalization. But whichever way you look at it, the lack of sophistication that exists in this business has served a few people greatly at the expense of the songwriters, the artists.

So one of my missions as well, is to bring real sophistication to this business. So when you go from that Tin Pan Alley, that sweet business that existed up until the early 60s, songwriters and publishers had some degree of leverage. But ultimately, particularly when you get into what I call the the post Beatles era, where recorded music became such a massive force and bought the publishing companies and control the publishing companies and control the economics like right now. When you put your song up on on Spotify, the metadata relates to the record, the recording,. The metadata doesnt relate to the publishing or the copyright in the song. So making this a more sophisticated business is very, very important because thats only going to make it a better business for artists and songwriters.

JAY: Listen, as we wind this down, Merck, I cant thank you enough for taking the time to talk to us. This is all fascinating. I wanted to ask you ,going forward, are you optimistic about where were going, making sure that songwriters are properly paid for their work and that its a more fair business?

Ive never been more optimistic

MERCK: First of all, to answer your question directly. Ive never been more optimistic. But, just imagine that four years ago, almost five years ago when we started Hipgnosis, nobody was talking about this. Ive taken the time to educate people where the songwriter really sits in the economic equation, which is at the bottom of it. Ive taken the time to make the point that we all need to work together to take the songwriter from the bottom to the top. In that space of time, were seeing positive movements.

As much as its at a snails pace, were seeing positive movements and noises from CRB, the 44% increase, whether its appealed to what wasnt appealed, is a step in the right direction. I believe that it will be upheld, the 44% increase, and that will take us a long way towards things, but really the microcosm of whats happening in the UK, where a year and a half ago the DCMS (Department of Culture, Music and Sport) started to do an investigation into the streaming economy.

Now, Rogers gave evidence, I gave evidence, other people on both sides of the industry gave evidence. What we said was very, very simple, which is that youre investigating the streaming economy and the streaming services. But what we really need you to be looking at is this unhealthy relationship, where the major recording recorded music companies own and control the publishing companies. 12 months later, that resulted in a recommendation from the DCMS, to the government, that the government should ask the competition, markets and marketing authority to do an investigation into this.

The second point that they raised was exactly the point that we made in our evidence of looking at the dominance of the major recorded music companies. Again, no malice to the major recorded music companies, no malice to the people that work in them. Its a paradigm as it currently exists that does not recognize the role and honor the role, in a fair and equitable manner, of the songwriter in our business, as weve pointed out, in a fair and logical way.

how can the songwriter be the worst paid person in the room?

Together today, and on your podcast, without the songwriter we have nothing. So how can the songwriter be the worst paid person in the room? So the fact that that weve gone in this period of time of of advocating and really only, I consider ourselves to be only scratching the surface to a place where the Competitions and Markets Authority has started its own 12 month investigation into this that I believe will result in the songwriter being paid more money. I believe that CRB three and CRB four will ultimately result in the songwriter being paid more money. Im cautiously optimistic, but Im optimistic. What Im certain of is that Were making faster progress than I expected.

MIKE: Jay and I talk a lot about this because we were both at Warner Music and Universal Music. Jay was also at Sony. In those days, even though they own major publishing companies, if you were on the recorded music side, it was very siloed. You didnt really know what was going on on the other side. But I think one of the things that I certainly noticed, since youve been on the scene, is just the fact that we even are talking about the CRB or all of these things that really, all ships have risen because of a lot of the advocacy you have brought to the table and talking about what music publishing is and how important the songwriter is, and just for the general public to know the difference between songwriters and performers. So I think both Jay and I would tip our caps to you. So much of what youve done to bring this up to the to a level of awareness to not only people in the business but even people out of the business. Well, Thank you.

The solution for songwriters will absolutely involve Universal, Warner and Sony doing the right thing. We just have to drag them to that place.

MERCK: Ill tell you whats interesting, and Ill do this quickly. When you look at how sophisticated the investment community is, so we have one, I wont mention the names, but we have one of the biggest what youd call cornerstone investors. Theres a wealth division, theres an asset management division, theres a division where the analysts sit who are regulated analysts. So you know, this is a an investor that has a huge chunk of Hipgnosis, is almost $3 billion on the public side. So you would think that their analysts would be someone that they could influence to write nice things about us, right? But they cant, because the investment community has genuine Chinese walls in it, where that person whos an analyst has to be able to say the things that they think are the right things to say.

So sometimes theyre supportive of us and sometimes theyre not supportive of us, regardless of the fact that their sister company has such a massive shift. Now that those Chinese walls dont exist in the music industry, the people that run these publishers, companies should be able to say and do thats what is in the best interest of their publishing company and the songwriters.

And I know them, and I can promise you that they genuinely want to write, but theyre dictated to by the recorded music company that owns them, and that makes it more difficult. But youve got people like Big John, that are standing up and starting to fight the fight in a really massive way. I believe that, because this is really whats important, hopefully provoking people into doing the right thing. The solution for songwriters will absolutely involve Universal, Warner and Sony doing the right thing. We just have to drag them to that place.

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The Police Advisory Board holds its first meeting since Miguel Estrella was killed by a police officer.

Police Advisory Board Hears From Community About Estrella's Death

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The panel that spent last year questioning its purpose, feeling starved of community input, and losing a majority of its members is suddenly in the spotlight.

The killing of Miguel Estrella in late March by Pittsfield Police officers was the topic Tuesday with the Police Advisory and Review Board, meeting for the first time since the incident.

The board heard from six community members who asked questions about the workings of the Police Department that it expects to address at its next meeting.

"The PARB would like to express our sympathy for Miguel's family and friends," Chair Ellen Maxon said. "This has to be a very emotional and hard time for all connected to him and also for the whole Pittsfield community, thank you for deciding to attend and to share your thoughts with us."

She also noted that this is the most input the board has received from the community since it was founded.

Estrella's death remains under investigation but the incident has incited a larger conversation about mental health resources and police use of force. The 22-year-old was shot by police who said he was in a state of distress while wielding a knife on March 25.

NAACP member Kamaar Taliaferro, who has previously spoken on Estrellas death , asked about the board's recommendations for the department in light of the incident, the number and nature of complaints that the board has received in its tenure, and the department's resources for less-lethal ammunition or restraint equipment.

He also had questions about the department's budget, which was $11,516,231 last year.

"I think that I would just like to recognize that this body was formed after another shooting of a resident in Pittsfield, Daniel Gillis, and there were members who are on this board who had said, 'we are preventative, we are not reactionary,'" Taliaferro said.

"So in the interim, it's been, what five years now? What concrete steps has this body taken, has the Pittsfield Police Department taken, in order for us to not have to react to the killing of our neighbors?"

Vice Chair Michael Feldberg said the board's governing ordinance has limited it to be reactive and to advise, but not to set and approve policies.

"It's also important to say that we review cases after they have been adjudicated after they've been resolved and one of the things that I think the public deserves to know about our role in this shooting that we're all concerned about is that we will only get to review the internal affairs investigation that the department does," he explained.

"Everything else, and I'm assuming at some point there will be a report and we will get to review it but it will be after the chief has reached the determination about whether or not the officer performed according to the standards and regulations in the department.

"Beyond that, if the district attorney wants to do anything about the case, it's outside our field of jurisdiction so we have a limited role here."

Maxon also reported that the board receives maybe six to eight complaints a year.

He also made a general observation about the board's recent struggles with its purpose.

"Looking over the minutes from 2020 and 2021 I see a consistent question was asked by members of this board, what is the goal? And how do you serve a function that's useful for people in our community?" Taliaferro said.

"I will leave that up to y'all to answer."

Pittsfield resident Dana Rasso spoke on how the city needs to invest money into the community.

"If we want a strong and successful community here in Pittsfield, we have to fund programs that create stability, our education system, our health care services, employment programs, and substance abuse treatment programs, and the solutions are all around us," she said.

"I'm not saying look too a far-off land that has implemented these solutions, I'm saying we can look to the Pioneer Valley where there have been these solutions implemented, these programs implemented."

She said investment in mental health programs should be separate from the Police Department and not dispatched with officers.

Rasso also called for the names of the officers involved in Estrella's death to be released and argued that ShotSpotter, which the department uses to respond to gunshots, is a waste of money and does not save people's lives.

Resident John Loomis brought up training that the department had done through the National Alliance on Mental Illness saying he was surprised the training was paid for through fundraising and that it was voluntary.

New PARB member Thomas Grady, a lieutenant colonel in the sheriff's office, said the training was based on the "Memphis Model" in which trained officers are spread throughout shifts to assure people in crisis are routed to mental health facilities and not jail.

NAMI saw the co-responder model as having a lot of value, he said, and the goal was to have crisis intervention training and have partnerships and relationships to be able to move toward that model, he said.

"The fundraising was developed because the smaller communities just do not have the ability to backfill the positions to allow the officers to attend a 40-hour training, so that was the reason behind the fundraising," Grady continued. "The Pittsfield Police Department never asked for backfill and overtime, they support this program very strongly by sending officers to each and every session and they were the ones that ended up developing the first-call responder model force in the county."

Michael Hitchcock, of the nonprofit Roots and Dreams and Mustard Seeds, pointed to the importance of having representation on the board.

"One thing that is important for you to know is that, try as you may, you are not representative of the community, there are now thousands of Latinos throughout the county, and many live and work in Pittsfield. There are people who are very impoverished and this board is more toward the middle-class side than the impoverished side," he said.

"So there's a little bit of a communication problem because your board is meant to be a conduit for community voices but community voices are less likely to be able to talk to people who don't speak their language, who don't look like them and who have much more affluence than they do ... your board is somewhat inaccessible to the kind of people that are most affected by policing."

Resident Alexander Blumin disagreed with many of the sentiments that were stated in the public comment portion.

"I believe this board represents representation perfectly fine, OK, you should not forget that besides democratic liberals that are also conservative people who live in Pittsfield, with a right to have different opinions," he said. "And according to our opinion, this board representation is absolutely fine and we should not have a special representative for different groups of people."

Blumin added that he supports ShotSpotter and the use of bodycams for police. He believes the police do need to have guns but should be "very careful" with them and try to avoid using them.

"In general, Police Department officers work good and from time to time, yes, something terrible can happen like what happened with Miguel Estrella but hopefully it will be fully investigated," Blumin said.

"But in general, they do need to have guns, we're not in Portland, we're not in the Pioneer Valley, we're here in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, with a lot of drug abusers, a lot of drug dealers, so police must have guns, however, they should be very careful using those guns, they should try to avoid using those guns."

During this meeting, PARB welcomed three new members: NAACP President Dennis Powell, retired Pittsfield Public School employee Marie Richardson, and Grady.

The board is supposed to have 11 members and now has six, which is an improvement from the three members it had previously.

PARB's next meeting is on May 17 at 5 p.m
Old Time Fiddle by Ear Workshop at Dewey Hall

SHEFFIELD, Mass.  In this workshop Aaron Jonah Lewis will teach old time fiddle by ear on Friday April 22 with a workshop from 5:30 to 6:30 pm and a concert at 7:30.

The old time fiddle styles of the Appalachian mountains are characterized by their syncopated bowing patterns and driving rhythms. The workshop will be spent discussing musical and technical aspects and learning a tune.

This workshop is for people who can already play their fiddle/violin, but will be taught by ear so you don't need to read music.

Tickets can be purchased here

The event will take place at Dewey Hall at 91 Main St.

About the Aaron Jonah Lewis:

Virtuoso banjo player and fiddler Aaron Jonah Lewis has involved in traditional American music since their first lessons at the age of five with Kentucky native Robert Oppelt. Their concerts include old time and folk music, with detours through ragtime and early jazz.

Lewis has taken blue ribbons at the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, W.Va., and at the Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax, Va., the oldest and largest fiddlers convention in the country. They spend most of their time teaching, touring as a solo performer, with the Corn Potato String Band, the Lovestruck Balladeers, and other projects.

Lewis has appeared on dozens of recordings from bluegrass and old time to traditional jazz, contemporary experimental and Turkish classical music projects. They have taught workshops at the the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and at the English Folk Dance and Song Society in London. They also play and teach banjo, mandolin, and guitar and are currently based in Detroit.

Dewey Presents events are supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council through grants from the local cultural councils of Alford-Egremont, Sheffield, Mt. Washington, and New Marlborough Local Cultural Councils.
An image from the State Police Air Wing show cruisers surrounding a vehicle in the westbound lane of the MassPike.

State Police Chase on MassPike Ends With Suspect in Custody



Image from the Air Wing prior to the suspect's surrender. STOCKBRIDGE, Mass.  State Police shut down a section of the Massachusetts Turnpike on Wednesday in pursuit of a car allegedly stolen by an Illinois man.

The chase started at about 7:30 and ended with suspect is in custody as of 9:20 a.m.

Authorities tweeted out updates after closing the westbound lane and then the eastbound lane near Exit 3 around 8:30. Images from the State Police Air Wing showed numerous cruisers surrounding a vehicle. Negotiators were being brought in but the suspect exited the car and surrendered.

According a release, Kevin Oldaker, 48, of Poplar Grove, Ill., is being held on numerous charges, including a warrant for a sexual assault in Illinois. State Police expect to update this information later Wednesday.

A trooper assigned to the Charlton barracks located a vehicle at about 7:24 a.m. at the westbound Charlton Service Plaza that had been reported stolen out of Biddeford, Maine. The trooper located the man sleeping the back seat and said the man refused to unlock the doors of the sport utility vehicle, a 2011 Mitsubishi Endeavor. The man began moving around inside the vehicle and said he could not find his keys. He then suddenly turned the ignition on and drove away westbound on the MassPike with the trooper in pursuit, according to authorities.

The suspect refused to stop and utilized crossovers to evade cruisers in Chicopee and again in Ludlow. He exited the turnpike in Ludlow, then re-entered the highway continuing west.

The suspect eventually hit a tire-deflation device deployed by troopers, causing a flat tire. The pursuit continued until the suspect stopped in Stockbridge, approximately three miles from the New York line. He again refused to exit the vehicle and a brief standoff ensued. He eventually surrendered and was taken into custody shortly after 9 a.m.

Oldaker is wanted on two extraditable warrants, one out of Maine issued last week charging him with violent stalking and one out of Illinois from February 2014 charging him with home invasion and sex assault.

Complete write-thru and update at 1:08 p.m.
BerkshiresCanCode Announces Launch of Initial Program

PITTSFIELD, Mass  CanCode Communities, a nonprofit organization training non-traditional talent for software career opportunities, announced the launch of its initial BerkshiresCanCode program: Front-End Web Development.

Registration is now open for the 12-week course, which starts on May 10 and runs through July 28.

"We're thrilled to offer our first-ever adult workforce course through BerkshiresCanCode, and to begin to serve this rapidly expanding community of software and technology companies," said Annmarie Lanesey, Founder and CEO of CanCode Communities. "It's exciting to work with untapped talent and equip people with the skills to pursue lucrative tech careers, while also ensuring the presence of a diverse and vibrant talent pipeline that supports the region's high-tech aspirations."

This is the first course to be offered by BerkshiresCanCode, which represents a collaboration between CanCode Communities, educational partner Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and community partners Berkshire Innovation Center and 1Berkshire.

BerkshiresCanCode delivers programs that upskill residents for tech career opportunities, and assist employers by developing a pool of skilled software coders, developers and engineers.

"CanCode Communities offers wonderful programs for people seeking new and better opportunities," Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Vice President of Academic Affairs Richard Glejzer said. "We are so excited to be able to welcome CanCode to Berkshire County and are looking forward to the development of a great partnership with BerkshiresCanCode."

The Front-End Web Development course will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:45 to 8:45 p.m., and offered in a hybrid format: in person at MCLA-Pittsfield, 66 Allen Street, and online in a virtual environment. More information and registration are available at https://cancode.org/course/berkshirescancode-front-end-web-development/

The Front-End Web Development course includes tutorials, assignments, and individual and group projects that give students hands-on practice in building the pieces of code that determine how an online experience feels, and connects the user experience with the data-crunching processes of the back end. Through lecture and individual assignments, students will establish foundations in the key tools used by front-end developers: HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, JavaScript, Git and GitHub. The latter part of the course features team-based portfolio-building projects for community organizations, giving students real-world experience in web design and development.

"We are looking forward to continuing our constructive relationship with BerkshiresCanCode, which has already spurred several professional development opportunities for Berkshire County educators," Berkshire County Superintendents' Roundtable Executive Secretary Bill Ballen said. "In addition, we are excited to be partnering with BerkshiresCanCode in planning new programs for the next school year, including a coding initiative for high school students that will launch this fall."

The course may be of particular interest to graphic designers, as it teaches the technical skills necessary for UI (user interface) development and wire-framing. The course may also be attractive to beginning programmers with aspirations to create mobile applications, as it establishes foundations in JavaScript that support eventual progression into Full-Stack Web Development.

Launched in 2016 as AlbanyCanCode and rebranded last year, CanCode Communities now includes 7 entities: AlbanyCanCode, KingstonCanCode, NewAmericansCanCode, SaratogaCanCode, HerkimerCanCode, NewYorkCanCode, and BerkshiresCanCode. More than 300 students have graduated from its courses, securing tech jobs with leading employers  including Accenture, Goldman Sachs, New York State Office of Information Technology Services, MVP Healthcare, and Zones, among others  and receiving average annual salary increases exceeding $18,000.
Television presenter Moheb Jalili was beaten and abducted by Taliban militants on April 17 and reporter Reza Shahir was detained by the Taliban on April 19, in the latest of a series of attacks to press freedom in Afghanistan. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the arrests of the two journalists and calls on the Taliban to cease its escalating persecution of Afghan media workers.

Moheb Jalili, a presenter for independent station 1 TV and former head of Ariana News, was abducted and tortured by the Taliban Intelligence Service in Kabuls District 15 on April 16.

In an interview with Hasht-e-Subh, an independent newspaper in Afghanistan, the journalist claimed that Taliban officials gave no clear reason for his detention. According to the Afghanistan Journalists Centre, Jalili was returning home on Saturday night when Taliban Intelligence officers stopped his car and arrested him, accusing the journalist of reporting false news.

The day of Jalilis arrest, Jamshi Ahamad Ahmadi, manager of Rasa TV, was also shot and wounded by unidentified assailants in Kabul. The reason for the attack remains unclear.

In a similar incident, Reza Shahir, a reporter for Kabul radio and television network Rah-e-Farda, was beaten and arrested by Taliban militants on April 19 while attempting to cover a bombing at the Abdul Rahim Shahid school in western Kabul.

According to Shahir, Taliban forces accused him and his colleague of being complicit in organizing the attack, seizing his camera and mobile phone. The journalist was held inside a room where he was severely beaten before his eventual release two hours later.

The arrests of Jalili and Shahir are the latest attacks on journalists by Taliban militants in Afghanistan. On March 17, Taliban officers arrested TOLONews employees Bahram Aman, Khaplwak Sapai, and Nafay Khaleeq at the news outlets headquarters in Kabul.

The IFJ said: Arrests, harassment, and attacks on journalists and media workers continue to rise in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. The IFJ calls for the immediate release of Moheb Jalili and Reza Shahir and an end to the arbitrary persecution of independent journalism in Afghanistan, intended to quash press freedom.
In the age of social media, we are given the perfect platform to express ourselveswhether by posting a photo of our OOTDs, sharing our talents via short videos, or our adventures through reels. But, with the boom of high-quality content, being able to stand out may be a challenge, holding us back in showcasing our unlimited personalities.

Heres how The Portrait Expert can help you showcase the unlimited you on social media with its powerful photo, video camera features

The good thing is that OPPO recently added a new lineup for its mid-range smartphones, Reno Series. Dubbed as the Portrait Expert, the OPPO Reno7 5G, enables you to capture your every version of yourself in portrait. Built with a 32MP front camera and 64MP rear camera that has a 118-degree ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2MP macro camera, the OPPO Reno7 5G will surely take your content to the next level and express your unlimited self on your favorite social media platforms with these remarkable camera features for your photos and videos.

Shoot the unlimited you like a pro with Portrait Mode

The OPPO Reno7 5Gs Portrait Mode allows you to capture DSLR-like photos with bokeh effects with just a click of your smartphones shutter button. It is enabled by OPPOs AI algorithms that imitate the DSLR cameras optical features to deliver all kinds of sizes, colors, and brightness for the bokeh lights.

As the portrait mode consists of 25 adjustable aperture sizes which range from F0.95 to F16, you can freely customize your depth of field and achieve your preferred bokeh effect in your photo. This feature also uses image optimization, such as skin tones and skin textures detection and preservation, along with retouching effects, to give you the perfect portrait image.

Level up your unlimited videos with Bokeh Flare Portrait Video

The Bokeh Flare Portrait Video enables your videos to have a DSLR-like depth of field effects. Equipped with OPPOs updated AI algorithms, this feature provides a more stable bokeh and enhanced subject recognition.

Enabled on the OPPO Reno7 5Gs front and rear camera, the Bokeh Flare Portrait Video can be optimized further with skin color and skin tone detection and a wide range of palettes for retouching effects, enhancing your videos in the way you like.

Leverage unlimited lighting with AI Highlight Video

The AI Highlight Video is an automatic feature on the OPPO Reno7 5Gs rear camera to provide you instantly with bright and clear videos. It leverages two algorithms that include Live HDR to increase and decrease the brightness of your backlight and Ultra Night to make low-lighted or nighttime videos clearer.

Showcase your unlimited colors with AI Color Portrait Video

If you want to emphasize your colors and change your surroundings into black and white, then the AI Color Portrait Video is the one to love. When enabled, this incredible feature instantly identifies the person in the image and automatically puts a monochrome filter on your background, making you stand out in your content.

Bring out your unlimited personalities with Portrait Retouching

Portrait Retouching is a feature that operates on AI to highlight your every personality. Equipped with OPPOs facial recognition algorithms trained on data, this feature can recognize 193 facial points for better retouching effects applications. With eight retouching points on the front camera, its effects can also be customized on a scale of 1 to 100, enabling you to have a unique look.

The Reno7 5G is also powered by MediaTek Dimensity 900. It is packed with 8GB of RAM, 256 ROM, ColorOS 12, 4,500 mAh battery, and a 6.4-inch AMOLED display with 90Hz refresh rate. It is available in two colors, the Startrails Blue and Starry Black.

Now that you know how The Portrait Expert can help you showcase the unlimited you with its advanced camera features, grab the #OPPOReno7 5G in all OPPO Brand Stores nationwide, authorized dealers, Shopee and Lazada for only Php26,999. Experience this kind of power in the palm of your hands and take your content to level infinity!

To know more about OPPOs latest Reno7 5G, visit the OPPO Philippines official website at www.oppo.com.ph or its official Facebook page at OPPO Philippines.
Most people wouldn't pay $60 for the unique joy of listening to a 3-and-a-half-second recitation of a motivational speech. But some might if the oration accompanied a "gift," like an eighth of an ounce of weed.

That's the business model behind a slew of startups in select states around the country and Washington D.C., which are offering to sell customers everything from a motivational speech or legal advice to a sticker or a coupon, all accompanied by the gift of marijuana. The indirect sales strategy, effectively, serves as a workaround for gray-market businesses specializing in the sale of cannabis, which remains illegal on a federal level.

While the rules governing each state's program differ, the loophole itself offers a path forward for businesses attempting to get cannabis into the hands of consumers, even if the companies themselves can't legally sell it. It also serves to reinforce the old saw that entrepreneurs -- in the face of adversity, no less -- will always find a way.

One of the earliest test cases for the strategy is Washington D.C., after voters there approved a ballot measure, dubbed Initiative 71, in 2014. The measure, which legalizes personal possession of up to two ounces of marijuana for recreational use, also allows the transfer of up to one ounce so long as no money is exchanged and the recipient is at least 21 years old. The implementation of I-71 did not legalize the sale of marijuana, but it helped carve out a new cannabis culture and economy to hand out legal weed. States like Massachusetts have adopted similar cannabis gifting frameworks in the past, while others, like the State of New York, are currently participating in a similar system.

"Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's right, and just because it's illegal doesn't mean it's wrong," says Ryan Ha, the 33-year-old CEO and co-founder of Dreamy DC, a Washington D.C.-based "motivational speech company." The six-year-old business operates a web app (and is currently working on a mobile app) through which users may select the duration of the speech they'd like and wait until the closest speaker near them arrives. Dreamy currently works with the D.C.-based Dupont Dispensary to source its cannabis gifts for customers. A 3-and-a-half-second speech will run a customer $60, while a 28-second speech is $360. The duration of the speeches cheekily align with the amount of cannabis, in grams, that a customer is gifted.

It's hardly the only game in town. In D.C., other I-71 compliant shops exist, like No Kids Allowed, Gifted Curators, Ez Gifting DC, and so on. There are only seven licensed medical marijuana dispensaries located in the nation's capital. In New York City, there's a budding group of similar shops vying to participate in the cannabis gifting model, after former Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill that legalizes recreational marijuana in March of 2021. The law recommends that 50 percent of cannabis licenses go to minority- or women-owned businesses, distressed farmers, or service-disabled veterans.

NYC's Empire Cannabis Club, which is unlicensed, sells cannabis via a membership service. Its website says, "We have taken the blessings of the New York State Legislature allowing the transfer, without profit, of cannabis, and have set up a membership service in which the club will acquire cannabis products for its members, and only add the cost to facilitate the acquisition and transfer of said products." New York City officials have recently cracked down on unlicensed shops and sent out 52 cease-and-desist letters, according to Gothamist.

While some businesses using this gifting model can invite customers to buy a sticker, a T-shirt, or some other type of tangible item, Ha says Dreamy chose speeches because it was better for the environment. "We needed an intangible good that doesn't create waste," Ha says. "That way you can buy it over and over again without increasing your carbon footprint."

As hopeful as businesses are regarding these frameworks, there's still great risk in operating any business that sells or works with cannabis. It's still illegal federally, and that makes everything from banking to conducting commerce across state lines harder. There is hope for change on Capitol Hill. The House of Representatives passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act in April. While Senator Chuck Schumer was expected to introduce the Cannabis Administration Opportunity Act in April, the formal announcement has now shifted to sometime before Congress's August recess. The measures, if enacted, would forge a pathway to federally legalize and regulate the marijuana industry.

What's more likely to pass is the Secure and Fair Enforcement or SAFE Banking Act, which was introduced in 2021 and would allow cannabis businesses to access banking and credit card services. It passed the House last year this month, and maintains 180 bipartisan cosponsors.

In the meantime, it's important to stay on the right side of the law. For starters, businesses must ensure that their products are labeled as accurately as possible, says Morgan Davis, an attorney specializing in cannabis law and policy at the Raleigh-based Davis Legal. A common example of this is making sure that products are classified accurately, in relation to the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component in cannabis, contained within.

Davis also recommends sending products out for independent third-party testing to ensure that the certificate of analysis accompanying each product is accurate. COAs are official documents that verify THC levels in a product, but third-party testing is still important, since Davis cautions that some COAs may not be legitimate.
Mark Cuban knows a little bit about emerging technologies, and to him all roads lead to artificial intelligence. There are two types of companies in the world, he said at a recent Harvard Business Review leadership conference, "those who are great with AI and everyone else."

The Shark Tank star is known for being bullish on integrating new technologies, including crypto and NFTs, but he's especially keen on artificial intelligence. If companies want to scale their organizations, then they should dive headfirst into AI, assuming that they haven't done so already. "If you look at the biggest market cap companies, all but maybe Berkshire Hathaway are industry leaders in AI," Cuban wrote in an email to Inc. "They over index in AI investment and it has paid off for them."

AI savvy is something that Cuban looks for when he's investing, and something he deemed necessary to master if he wanted to stay ahead of the competition.

There's a slew of applications for deploying AI within an organization: automation, customer engagement, and expanded data analysis are just a few. Deploying AI can also shave considerable time that employees now spend conducting manual tests, time that can be reinvested elsewhere. If you're concerned about being too early an adopter, Cuban says it's still better to take that risk, even if some believe gains made from integrating AI aren't necessarily immediate.
L. V. Vaidyanathan will take over the post from Madhusudan Gopalan, who is going to take on a leadership role within P&G as senior vice president - grooming & oral care of P&G Japan & Korea. Gopalan tendered his resignation as managing director of the company effective 30 June 2022.

Vaidyanathan has completed his Bachelor of Engineering (Mech.) from National Institute of Technology, Nagpur and has an MBA from IIMAhmedabad. He is currently leading the P&G business in Indonesia as CEO where he has been responsible for industryleading growth and value creation.

Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (PGHHCL) is an FMCG company that has in its portfolio Whisper, Vicks and Old Spice.

The FMCG company reported a 15.4% fall in net profit to Rs 212.06 crore in quarter ended December 2021 from Rs 250.62 crore posted in quarter ended December 2020. Net sales increased by 7.3% to Rs 1,092.98 crore in quarter ended December 2021 from Rs 1,018.44 crore recorded in the same period last year.

Shares of Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care were trading 1.51% higher at Rs 14,655 on BSE.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News
Two mugs gifted to an Israeli minister and other government officials by Chinese embassy were claimed to be suspicious material and Israeli officials initiated an investigation to bring out the truth.

The mugs were claimed to be bugged by the Chinese embassy but Israel's intelligence service declared the mugs innocent. This was not the first incident when countries blame China for alleged espionage. Several incidents were reported earlier and refuted by china considered baseless allegations.

Why was suspicion raised?

timesofisrael.com

A gift from the Chinese embassy to Israel was flagged as suspicious by Shin Bet, Israel's internal intelligence agency. The mugs were gifted during the Jewish festival of Passover. It was claimed that a suspicious device is in the mugs and was sent to the Science and Technology Ministry and the Transportation Ministry.

The mug was scanned before reaching the innovation, Science and Technology minister Orit Farkash Hacohen and transportation Minister Merav Michaeli. Several Hebrew media outlets reported about the gift being a possible spying device. It was also said that it was a listening device and thus sent for further investigation.

Shin Bet said in a statement that reports about suspicious components in thermal cups are false and maintain a vacuum in the sides of the mug and maintain the temperature over time.

Growing relations between China and Israel

Reuters

The relations between China and Israel have grown over time, especially amid a US-China trade war. China has shown interest in Israeli innovations including medical tech, robotics, food tech and artificial intelligence.

Israels National Bureau of Statistics published data in 2021, suggesting that China became Israels largest source of imports, surpassing the US. The two set up a joint committee on innovation cooperation, which agreed to a 3-year plan to regulate cooperation and government to government dialogue between the countries.

A similar incident happened in 2018

In 2018, a similar incident was also reported, a French newspaper Le Monde claimed that China had bugged the African Unions headquarters was built in Beijing for more than five years, gaining access to confidential information.

According to those reports, the data was being transferred to Chinese since 2012 and it was only spotted in 2017 due to the spike in activity between midnight and 2 AM, despite the building being empty.

File Photo

A probe on the matter showed that the confidential data was being copied on to servers in Shanghai. However, China denied and rejected the reports considering them absurd and preposterous.

Allegations of spying on Lithuania

The telecom giant of china, Huawei raised concerns about the possible tools of China's international spy capabilities.

China was condemned by the Lithuanian intelligence and security services for an "increasingly aggressive" spy campaign. The campaign was said to be an "attempt to recruit Lithuanian citizens".

China refuted the claims by saying that does not pose any security threat to Lithuania.

Cyber attack on India

Unsplash

According to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) report 2018, the maximum number of cyber attacks on official Indian websites are from China accounting for 35 percent, followed by the US (17percent).

Last year, Maharashtra's electricity grid was reportedly cyber attacked and Delhi faced an intensified cyber security threat to physical infrastructure.

According to a report published in The Print, a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group called Red Echo plans and executes cyber, space, and electronic warfare operations targeting the Maharashtra state electricity grid through the cyber domain.

Further, Recorded Future Inc., a threat intelligence firm said that Indias power sector has been under a cyber attack by suspected state-sponsored Chinese hackers.









For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.
The Supreme Court ordered the authorities to maintain the status-quo in Jahangirpuri, where the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) was carrying out an 'anti-encroachment drive'.

The SC bench Chief Justice NV Ramana agreed to hear the petition challenging the NDMC's action alleged encroachers in the Jahangirpuri area, where communal clashes broke out on Hanuman Jayanti.

#WATCH North Delhi Municipal Corporation conducts anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri in Delhi



The civic body has asked for 400 personnel from Delhi Police to maintain the law & order situation during the drive in the area pic.twitter.com/KViPfwPEqr  ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2022

NDMC's action 'unconstitutional'

Senior lawyer Dushyant Dave mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana.

Dave said the NDMC's actions were unconstitutional.

"Completely unauthorised and unconstitutional demolition has been ordered in the Jahangirpuri area...with no notice to anybody," Dave said.

BCCL

He further submitted that the authorities were supposed to give at least five-six days' notice to the people.

Dave said it was supposed to start at 2 p,m but they started the demolition at 9 a.m. knowing that the matter will be mentioned before the court.

NDMC to follow SC order

Following the SC order, the NDMC which had started demolishing illegally constructed slum and shops in the area said it will follow the top court's direction.

NDMC mayor Raja Iqbal Singh said that the direction of the apex court would be followed.

"We will follow the Supreme Court order and take action accordingly," said Singh.

BCCL

Zone Chairman of Civil Lines, Northwest Delhi, Naveen Tyagi said, "These people do encroachment and also do 'goondagardi'. Some of them are also named in the riots."

However, several videos posted on social media showed the demolition continuing even one hour after the SC order.

#WATCH | Anti-encroachment drive still underway at Jahangirpuri by North Delhi Municipal Corporation despite Supreme Court order to maintain status-quo pic.twitter.com/cAG4FhdpMT  ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2022

Bulldozers for riot accused

While the Civic Body had termed the drive as against illegal encroachments, many had alleged that the BJP-ruled NDMC was following the pattern of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat where recently bulldozers were used to demolish alleged illegal encroachments owned by those involved in rioting during Ram Navami processions.

On April 10, a Ram Navami procession in the Khargone area of Madhya Pradesh was allegedly pelted with stones leading to clashes.

Several vehicles and shops were set on fire and a total of 24 people were injured, including six police personnel.

Screengrab

Following this, the administration had demolished more than 50 homes and shops of those accused of rioting.

In Khambhat, in Gujarat, which also witnessed violence on Ram Navami the local administration had used bulldozers to raze encroachments on properties owned by those accused in the riots that had left one person dead.

Clashes in Jahangirpuri

In Jahangirpuri, clashes broke out between two groups during a Hanuman Jayanti procession on April 16 that left nine people injured, including eight police personnel and a civilian.

BCCL

A total of 23 people have been arrested and two juveniles apprehended so far in connection with the incident.

For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.
A Srinagar couple is godsend for stray animals in J&K, looking for a home or treatment. The duo founded Animal Rescue Kashmir (ARK), J&K's first and only organisation with the motive to rescue and rehabilitate injured and sick stray animals in Kashmir.

Operating since 2018, the organisation now has seven employees and has rescued over 1000 animals so far.

Weeks earlier, on a freezing February morning, the wailing noise from the donkey, called Musy, abandoned with a broken leg, had woken residents in the citys upmarket housing estate. They knew who to contact.

Tiger, the mighty German shepherd, was neglected by his owner due to some unavoidable circumstances . He was tied up at one place for months, ate and excreted at the same place.

Luckily for him, we were able to take him away from chains and his irresponsible owner. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/zWgtouMKqb  Animal Rescue Kashmir. (@ark_foundation_) February 25, 2021

Dawood Mohammad, who founded Animal Rescue Kashmir, took Musy back to the centre in Rambagh, which is now home to dogs, cats, horses and even a donkey. The centre which is home to at least 150 animals and assisted by scores of volunteers, has been raising awareness of animal rights since it opened.

The idea

The whole idea is to inspire people for animal rights in Kashmir. We started with rescue field trips before floating the animal helpline number and the animal facility centre.

Mohammad saw the need for a centre, which he runs with his wife, Mariya Mushtaq, when the couple returned to Kashmir in 2015 after a few years living in London and saw a paralysed puppy abandoned on the street. They took the puppy in because they realised there was nowhere else for it to go.

After attending to abandoned animals on the street for three years, we finally decided to establish this centre, Mushtaq says. It was taken well by civil society [groups] conscious of animal rights and they help spread the word.

Mir Seeneen

About the centre

Fundraising for animal welfare proved difficult, and the couple run the centre with money from their clothing business. Monthly expenses come to at least 2 lakh rupees (about 2,000). The centre is built on two acres of land, dotted with trees, including staff quarters.

The animals live in pens in one corner and are free to roam outside. In one pen stands an old horse with a bandaged leg.

Its so heartbreaking to see these animals, especially horses, being abandoned in their sick and senile stage of lives, Mushtaq says. Himalayan horses, abandoned because they are lame, are left to roam, she says, and many end up losing limbs after being hit by cars.

Sadly, while the native horses face indifference, the high-breed stallions  have become new showpieces in Kashmir.

Mir Seeneen

'Adopting a pet' culture

Weve rescued more than 1,000 animals so far, Mushtaq adds, Weve mainly rescued dogs, as their population is huge in Kashmir. In the capital, Srinagar, there are around 70,000 dogs. Since the pandemic, the centre has been at the forefront of a new trend in the region to adopt pets.

After reading about the power of pets in warding off loneliness, people decided to adopt, and have markedly increased pet culture in Kashmir, Mohammad says. About 450 of the centres animals have been adopted so far, mainly by young people. People mostly prefer to adopt cats, he says.

Unsplash

The couple are now trying to attract outside funds to upgrade the facilities. Were counting on the public support to create an empathetic change [in attitudes] towards these poor creatures, Mohammad says. They deserve our attention and care.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.


There is a lot of taboo and stigma attached to sex in India. It is a topic that is best left undiscussed in Indian households for fear of raised eyebrows and condemnation. And thats exactly what this Indian couple is trying to counter with their startup MyMuse.

What does My Muse do?

Founded by Anushka and Sahil Gupta, the startup is aimed at tackling the taboo associated with sex with tongue-in-cheek marketing and creative euphemisms, which they say make the products seem less intimidating and encourage first-time buyers.



"Diwali is coming and so should you! And as always, we're urging you to save the fireworks for the bedroom," exclaimed one such advertisement on Facebook before one of India's biggest religious holidays, and its customary pyrotechnics, last year.



My muse

What is their aim?

"There's this shame, guilt and fear associated with buying something that should be used in your intimate areas, and that's the first thing we wanted to turn around," Anushka says.

We built MyMuse simply because we believe that the products we use in the bedroom matter. And that sexual wellness should no longer take a backseat. Because its a seriously important part of your mental, physical and emotional wellness, too, Sahil said.



What does it offer?

Mumbai-based MyMuse, founded by the newly married couple, offers three kinds of products  to set the mood, for play and kits. They offer candles, massage oils, card games, eye masks, lubricants, massagers, and kits with various combinations.

The company says that their products have been tested multiple times, and endless feedback has been considered. Their products are only available on their website and social media pages.

My muse

The company stated in their website that the marketplace model does not do justice to the buyer-seller relationship they want to achieve. Shipping for their products is free.

What's their story?

The Guptas began shipping out discreetly packaged vibrators -- "massagers" in MyMuse's genteel parlance -- candles, and lubricants from a spare bedroom in their home during last year's Covid-19 lockdowns.

Benefitting from capital pouring into Indian tech start-ups during the pandemic, the firm received seed funding from venture capitalist firms.

Since then, they have made more than a dozen hires and now ship to nearly 200 cities nationwide.

What's next?

But they still need to contend with wider society -- particularly older, more conservative generations that idolise female virtue and honour, and a culture where arranged marriages are still the norm.

My muse

"There are many Indias when it comes to sexual awareness. While one India has accepted and changed, another is changing slowly and another is still 10 or 20 years behind," sex education specialist Jaya Aiyappa says.

What are the challenges?

Vigilante groups have attacked couples they believe are not behaving in line with "Indian values". Politicians and the police have also been accused of raiding hotels, nightclubs and attacking young people for public displays of affection, drinking or wearing immodest clothing.

A haul of vibrators and dildos was seized by customs last year -- the result of a boom in online orders during pandemic lockdowns -- because Indian law still bans the import of "toys that resemble human body parts".

But beyond challenging social norms, this new wave of start-ups see an opportunity for a "sexual wellness" industry in India.

Representational Image/Shutterstock

Sahil, who has an MBA from Harvard Business School and previously worked in private equity, says that most young married couples still live with their families -- the bedroom is their only place of real privacy.

"The bedroom in India for a lot of people is one of the few safe spaces that is untouched," he explains, describing it as a couple's "oasis". MyMuse already sells bespoke candles and plans to expand into clothing and offer sex counselling services.



For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.


Supreme Court stepped in to stop authorities from demolishing illegal shops and walls around a mosque in a predominantly Muslim area of the national capital near the site of clashes between Hindus and Muslims over the weekend.

At least 20 people were arrested in connection with the clashes which erupted during a procession in Hanuman Jayanti. Take a look at the photos, how helpless locals watch bulldozers raze buildings in Jahangirpuri:
Former MSNBC analyst Malcolm Nance has joined the foreign military unit fighting for Ukraine and shared his experiences during an appearance on the cable news network. On Twitter, he posted a photo of himself holding an assault rifle that he captioned: Im DONE talking.





The Navy veteran elaborated while being interviewed Monday on MSNBCs "The ReidOut", wearing military fatigues and combat gear. The national-security analyst said he joined the International Legion of Territorial Defense about a month ago to fight the Russian invasion and assist in the survival of Ukraine.

The former naval intelligence officer, who has served as an on-air analyst at the Comcast-owned capable network since 2017, appeared while carrying what appeared to be a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

Reuters

"Not gonna survive tonight"

Speaking in the interview, he said, "I spent quite a bit of time here in the pre-war period, and when the invasion happened, I had friends who are in Donetsk, who are in the Ukrainian army, who are writing to us and telling us, We're not gonna survive tonight. We've been hit 500 times, said Nance during the televised show.

On air, he told Reid that he joined the international legion  a multinational group of about 20,000 fighters  because he wanted to help his friends.

The more I saw of the war going on, the more I thought, I'm done talking. It's time to take action here, he added.



AFP

Nance is no longer a contributor-analyst at MSNBC, The Times confirmed on Tuesday. However, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Nance was identified as a contributor on air as recently as Feb 28  just four days after Russia invaded Ukraine.



Mass-murdering civilians

Nance called the ongoing war existential, adding that Russia brought it to the Ukrainian people. He accused Russia of mass-murdering civilians. He said that there are people here in Ukraine like him who are here to do something about it.

Nance stated that the purpose of the international legion is to protect the innocent people of Ukraine from Russian aggression.

Getty

"Not a conventional war"

It's not a conventional war, Joy. Even though you have two armed forces going head to head here. You have another group  I won't even refer to the Russians as an army  just using mass heavy weapons that are used in combat against civilians, he explained.

Nance revealed that Russia is destroying infrastructure, and killing men, women and children. We really have to assist (the Ukrainians) in any way to stop this, so I decided I came here to assist them with the skills that I have myself, he added.

"These are war crimes"

Speaking during the interview, the former MSNBC analyst also went on to say that Russians are barely attacking Ukrainian troops. Their emphasis seems to be the mass murder of civilians, which seems to be against all laws of war, he said, adding, These are war crimes.



AFP

His arrival in Ukraine comes as Russian forces have continued their offensive in eastern Ukraine and move toward the Donbas  which includes the besieged city of Mariupol  while leaving mass casualties in their wake.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.


An 11-year-old boy miraculously survived a landslide in the Philippines by jumping inside a fridge.

Authorities discovered CJ Hasme lying inside the broken appliance during a rescue operation conducted in province of Leyte in the wake of tropical storm Megi, locally know as Agaton, local media outlet GMA Network reported.



ViralPress

CJ was at home with his family when a mudslide hit their village in Baybay City on Friday. As wet soil and rocks struck their house, he locked himself in the fridge where he spent the next 20 hours.



Fortunately, a police officer spotted the boy and ran to the river when he heard another wave of rocks was coming.

Soon the coastguard arrived on the scene and helped pull CJ to safety. His leg was broken but he was still conscious, in whats being called an absolute miracle.

"I am hungry," Hasme said upon being rescued, according to a statement released by the Baybay City Fire Station (BCFS).

The boy was offered water and asked where his companions were, to which Hasme replied, "I am the only one left, there is no one with me anymore," with "a blank expression in his eyes," the statement read.

The boy was taken to a safer place, according to the BCFS.

Hasme reportedly entered the refrigerator after his uncle was unable to rescue him from an approaching landslide.

"When his uncle was supposed to rescue him, he sent him away because a big landslide was coming, and it was very dangerous. CJ was already left there, so he got into the refrigerator," another uncle, Juanito Orellano, explained.

A photo of Hasmes rescue has since reportedly gone viral, with the BCFS saying he has been nicknamed the Boy in the Ref.

According to the report, he is currently recovering in the hospital after suffering multiple fractures to his body.

Sadly, it appears the rest of CJs family were not so fortunate. His 13-year-old brother may have also escaped, but his mother and younger sibling are still missing.

Just a day earlier, another landslide battered the community at the bottom of the mountain, killing CJs dad.

AFP

The landslides have devastated communities in Baybay City and Abuyog town in Leyte province, 599 kilometres south-east of Manila, one of 30 provinces battered by storm Megi last week.



At least 156 people were killed in the Leyte landslides, while 19 died in floods and other accidents in other areas, the national disaster agency said.



More than one week since the storm, 101 people were missing in Abuyog and 69 in Baybay, the authorities said.

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The Catholic Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, and the committee representing about 300 survivors of clergy sexual abuse have reached an $87.5 million settlement that will establish a trust to compensate the survivors.

The trust will be funded by the diocese and related Catholic entities and some insurance funds over a four-year period.

As part of the settlement, all 62 parishes and other Catholic entities will receive releases. Claims against some insurance carriers that provided insurance to the diocese will be assigned to the trust.

The settlement does not include all of the dioceses insurers. Plaintiffs will be free to pursue separate action against non-settling insurers, raising the possibility of additional payouts, according to Jeff Anderson, an attorney who represents 74 of the more than 300 survivors in the suit.

The Camden diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, after New Jersey extended the statute of limitations to allow claims for those alleging they were abused when they were children.

About 30 dioceses in the U.S. have filed for bankruptcy in the face of abuse claims and the Camden monetary settlement represents one of the largest to date, according to the tracking site BishopAccountability.org.

The settlement also requires the diocese to maintain or enhance protocols for the protection of children that the church first implemented in 2002.

The settlement must still be approved by Judge Jerrold N. Poslusny, Jr., of the U.S. Bankruptcy court in Camden.

The Survivors Committee is pleased to have reached a consensual resolution of its disputes with the Diocese and looks forward to facilitating an expeditious distribution to survivors of sexual abuse, counsel for the survivors committee, Jeffrey Prol, said in a statement.

Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan of the Camden diocese said the church is pleased that the mediation process has led to a settlement. I want to express my sincere apology to all those who have been affected by sexual abuse in our Diocese. My prayers go out to all survivors of abuse and I pledge my continuing commitment to ensure that this terrible chapter in the history of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey never happens again, he said in a statement.

Topics New Jersey
The death toll from methane explosions at Pniowek mine in southern Poland climbed to five after rescue workers recovered a body of another miner trapped in a blast.

The accident could have affected as many as 42 people, who were working in the area where it took place shortly after midnight on Wednesday. The mine is operated by Europes largest coking coal producer JSW SA.

More than 20 people are being treated in hospitals. Theres still no contact with seven rescuers, who were part of the first group that went down the 1,000-meter-deep shaft to help miners after the first blast occurred. The second explosion that took place around 3 a.m. trapped them underground.

The accident at one of its main mines is likely to affect output at JSW SA, based in the southern Polish city of Jastrzebie Zdroj. Its clearly negative for the company, which has planned to produce 14.5 million tons of coal this year, according to MBank SAs equity analyst Antoni Kania.

JSW shares dropped 1.1% at 2:35 p.m. on Wednesday, underperforming the Warsaws main WIG20 index, which was unchanged.

Photograph: Flags fly from a mine elevator tower at the KWK Pniowek coal mine in Poland. Photo credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Mining
Once a party relinquishes information considered privileged, it cannot then claim that other information about the same subject must remain sealed, a federal appeals court found in a medical malpractice and fraud case that has resulted in three separate rulings by the same court.

The April 15 decision by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeal is part of a long-running criminal case against Dr. Richard Paulus, of Kentucky. He was known as one of the most prolific cardiologists in the country and was ranked the first in the nation for the amount he billed to Medicare for stent procedures.

Federal prosecutors said that the surgeon had overstated patients conditions, performed hundreds of unnecessary surgeries and fraudulently billed Medicare for them.

After 23 days of trial, four days of jury deliberations, one judicial pep talk, and one Allen charge, the jury convicted Paulus of one count of healthcare fraud and ten counts of making false statements relating to healthcare, the three-judge appeals panel explained in the decision.

The latest proceeding had to do with an offshoot of the criminal case, but one that has taken on a life of its own and could have an impact on what type of information must be diclosed in criminal and other cases.

The hospital where Paulus often performed his surgeries, Kings Daughters Medical Center in Ashland, Kentucky, argued that information related to an internal review of Paulus procedures was privileged and confidential. Paulus defense team last year had won a new trial because the review appeared to provide exculpatory evidence that showed that the number of unneeded surgeries was much lower than what government expert witnesses had found in their reviews.

The case against Paulus began in 2015. He was convicted in 2016, but the federal district court set the conviction aside, deciding that there was not enough evidence to show fraud. The 6th Circuit then overruled the district court and restored the conviction.

Then, the plot twisted once more, the appeals court explained.

After the conviction but before sentencing, the federal prosecutors revealed the existence of the hospitals internal review, known as the Shields letter because it was written by hospital counsel William Shields. The letter noted that only 7% of Paulus examined procedures  much fewer than the governments finding of 30%  could be considered medically unnecessary. For reasons that werent explained, the district court had found the letter to be inadmissible and that it did not have to be turned over to Paulus defense team.

When the Shields letter finally was made known, the doctors lawyers appealed the conviction. The 6th Circuit ordered a new trial on grounds that withholding the information had violated Paulus due process rights.

On remand, the prosecutors then decided to seek more information about the letter, how the hospitals internal review came about and the methodology used. The hospital objected to the subpoena on the grounds that the information was protected by attorney-client privilege and was work product.

The government moved to compel. The district court agreed. Ironically, the appeals court judges wrote, Paulus at this time also opposed the motion to compel, despite the fact that his conviction had been vacated because of the evidence.

The hospital appealed to the Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit, seeking a writ of mandamus to quash the subpoena and disallow the information on Paulus procedures.

The circuit judges ruled against the hospital.

We agree with the district court that KDMCs disclosure of some information regarding its experts study waived its privilege over the related, undisclosed information now sought by the government, the appeals court noted. The undisclosed information now sought by the government, such as information for all 1,049 procedures reviewed by KDMCs experts and the methodology used by the experts, concerns the same subject matter as the information disclosed in the letter.

The information and the letter should all be considered together, the court said.

The Paulus case has captured national attention, partly due to its twists and turns and the odd associations it brought about. Paulus, who gained some fame for his vocal appearance at a rally for presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2017, was represented in part by Washington attorney Bob Bennett. Bennett is perhaps best known for representing President Bill Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky case in the 1990s.

Paulus also faced a civil suit over his alleged unnecessary heart surgeries.

Top photo: Dr. Richard Paulus, left, has a man blow up a balloon until it burst in a demonstration about systolic heart failure in 2013. (AP Photo/The Independent, Kevin Goldy)
Lyon Fry Cadden Insurance, one of the oldest property and casualty brokers in Alabama, is now part of Higginbotham, one of the largest U.S. brokers and human resources and benefits firms.

Higginbotham said in a press release that the acquisition marks the firms first move into Alabama. The broker now has offices in most Southern states.

Gaylord Lyon Jr., president of Lyon Fry Cadden, will stay on as managing director of the 30-person operation in Mobile, Alabama. The agency began in 1905 and mostly serves middle-market businesses in a range of industries, with commercial insurnce, personal lines and surety bonds, according to the news release.

The employee-owned Higginbotham was established in 1948 and has been ranked as the 20th largest independent insurance firm.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Alabama
After the former chief financial officer for Atlanta, accused of racking up huge charges on his city credit card, lost his appeal at the Georgia Supreme Court, SureTec Insurance Co. has sent a check to the City of Atlanta for almost $84,500.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that former CFO Jim Beard had been accused of making more than $150,000 in improper charges to his city credit card from 2014 to 2018. A city governing board found that part of that was actually related to city business, but said Beard still owed about $100,000.

Beard, who now faces a federal fraud indictment, appealed the credit card charges ruling all the way to the states highest court, but lost at every step, according to news reports. Houston-based SureTec, which operates in all 50 states, held the surety bond and paid the $84,500 as part of what Beard owed in restitution. The Atlanta Ethics Division does not expect to collect any more, officials said.

We do not anticipate collecting the remaining $18,485 in sanctions and the Beard matter is hereby now closed, Atlanta Ethics Officer Jabu Sengova said in an email to the newspaper. He noted that the payment is one of the largest the division has collected on an ethics sanction.

The investigation into Beards credit card charges began after the Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 TV news reported in 2018 that Beard, then-Mayor Kasim Reed and other members of Reeds administration had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxury hotels, airfaire and fancy restaurants around the world.

Federal investigators are now in the midst of a multi-year investigation into corruption at City Hall. Beard has pleaded not guilty to federal fraud and weapons charges. Federal prosecutors have said that, among other improper actions, Beard ordered two custom-built machine guns to be delivered to Atlanta City Hall. He took possession of the machine guns for his personal use  even though it was illegal for the machine guns to be possessed by anyone other than law enforcement and military personnel, according to the U.S. Attorneys office.

Beard then had the City of Atlanta issue a $2,642 check to pay for the machine guns. In connection with the purchase, Beard completed and submitted a U.S. Department of the Treasury tax exemption form, in which he falsely certified that the machine guns were for the exclusive use of the Atlanta Police Department, prosecutors said in a news release.

Reed left the mayors office in 2018 after two terms. He sought election again in 2021 but placed third in the polling.
Lockton named Jennifer Franze senior vice president in its Mountain West series.

Franze has 15 years of experience servicing industries and sectors including higher education, technology, financial services, healthcare, and professional services. Most recently, she was with Aon. She was a senior leader at Mercer before that.

Lockton is a privately held insurance broker headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

Gorst & Compass Insurance named Atley Peterson as senior underwriter for garage lines.

Peterson will assist with the expansion of garage business in the Pacific Northwest.

Peterson has more than 10 years of industry experience.

Peterson previously spent five years with Hull & Company.

Gorst & Compass is wholesale brokerage that offers services including property/casualty, professional liability, workers compensation, personal lines homeowners, transportation and garage.

Topics Lockton
Answers

Global Magnesium Diboride market trend 2022-2028 High Purity Magnesium Diboride MgB2 Powder CAS 12007-25-9, 99% by Newsintegra927

For billionaires, the new crown epidemic is like a 'gold rush'! The Deutsche Presse-Agentur said on the 17th that in 2022, the wealth held by the world's top ten richest people will jump from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion, an average daily increase of $1.3 billion, an increase that exceeds the past 14 years. These 10 people The wealth held by the worlds poorest 3.1 billion people is six times greater than that of the worlds poorest 3.1 billion people. The 10 richest Germans have increased their assets from the equivalent of about 125 billion euros to about 223 billion euros since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, An increase of about 78%. This wealth is roughly equivalent to the total wealth of the poorest 40% of the population, or 33 million Germans.

In the future, demand for Magnesium Diboride will grow as fast as the wealth of the rich during the pandemic.



About Magnesium Diboride MgB2 Powder:

Magnesium diboride is an inorganic compound with the molecular formula MgB2. It is a dark gray, insoluble solid. It is an ionic compound with a hexagonal crystal structure. It is an intercalated compound with alternating layers of magnesium and boron. This compound is of interest because it is superconducting at 39 K(234C).In terms of composition, MgB2 is markedly different from most transition-metal-based cryogenic superconductors.

Magnesium diboride has been known to scientists for nearly 50 years, but no one has ever studied the material's superconductivity -- whether it can conduct electricity perfectly without resistance when cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero. All that changed in January 2001, when Jun Akimitsu of Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo announced that he and his team had found that magnesium diboride became superconducting at 39 degrees Kelvin (-389 degrees Fahrenheit), almost twice the temperature of current intermetallic conductors. The announcement sent experimenters around the world scrambling to replicate and confirm the Japanese findings.

Magnesium diboride is converted into a superconductor at a temperature slightly close to the absolute temperature of 40K (-233  C). Its transition temperature is nearly twice as high as that of other superconductors of the same type, and its actual operating temperature is between 20 and 30K. This temperature can be achieved by liquid neon, liquid hydrogen, or a closed cycle freezer. These methods are simpler and cheaper than the industry's use of liquid helium to cool niobium alloys (4K). Once doped with carbon or other impurities, magnesium boride is as good at maintaining superconductivity in the presence of a magnetic field or a current as niobium, or better. Feel free to send an inquiry to get the latest price if you would like to buy Magnesium Diboride MgB2 Powder in bulk.



Specifications of Magnesium Diboride MgB2 powder

Magnesium Diboride powder Purity:98.5% or Customized

Magnesium Diboride powder Size:5-15um or Customized

Magnesium Diboride powder Colour:Black

Magnesium Diboride powder CAS No.:12007-25-9

Magnesium Diboride powder EINECS No.:234-501-2

Fe Mn Cu Ca Ni Zn Pb Sn 48ppm 0.1ppm 0.06ppm 0.04ppm 7.4ppm 0.2ppm 0.14ppm 0.4ppm



Magnesium diboride is an ionic compound, with the hexagonal crystal structure. Magnesium diboride at absolute temperature slightly 40K (equivalent to -233 ) will be transformed into a superconductor. And its actual operating temperature is 20 ~ 30K. To reach this temperature, we can use liquid neon, liquid hydrogen or closed-cycle refrigerator to finish cooling. Compared to current industry using liquid helium to cool the niobium alloy (4K), these methods are more simple and economical. Once it is doped with carbon or other impurities, magnesium diboride in a magnetic field, or there is a current passing, the ability to maintain the superconducting is as much as niobium alloys, or even better.



How is Magnesium Diboride MgB2 Powder produced?

The preparation method of MgB2 is mainly the reaction synthesis of magnesium powder and boron powder mixed.

MgB2 was obtained by mixing 99.9% magnesium powder with 99% amorphous boron powder at the ratio of 1:2, pressing it into small balls and adding heat in high-pressure nitrogen.

At present, the commonly used method is to mix amorphous elemental boron powder and magnesium powder according to the stoichiometric ratio (or add excessive magnesium), and then put them into a sealed refractory metal container (such as tantalum), and then put them in a quartz tube for vacuum pumping, and then sintered at 700~950 for 1~4 h to synthesize MgB2.



Applications of Magnesium Diboride MgB2 Powder:

Potential applications for Magnesium diboride include superconducting magnets, power transmission lines and sensitive magnetic field detectors.

Magnesium diboride is the attention of new materials, the research mainly focused on the synthesis and superconducting element performance for the industrial synthesis and sintering properties, electrical conductivity at room temperature, the liquid aluminum erosion resistance of fluoride such as corrosive resistance study is less, so far no will MgB2 and its composite materials used in aluminum electrolysis cathodic area coverage.

MgB2 is easier to be sintered and densified than TiB2, and its electrical conductivity basically meets the requirements of aluminum electrolysis cathode. Therefore, MgB2 and its composite materials are likely to be widely used as cathode materials for aluminum electrolysis.

Propellants, Explosives, pyrotechnics: Unlike the element boron, which burns incompletely through glass oxide layers that block oxygen diffusion, magnesium diboride burns completely in oxygen or oxidizer mixtures. Therefore, magnesium boride has been proposed as fuel for ramjet jets. In addition, the use of MgB2 in enhanced explosives and propellants has been proposed for the same reason.



Storage Conditions of Magnesium Diboride MgB2 powder

This product should be sealed and stored in a cool, drying chamber and should avoid exposure to the air in order to prevent moisture reunion which will affect the dispersion properties and result use. Stress should be avoided.



Packing & Shipping of Magnesium Diboride MgB2 powder:

We have many different kinds of packing which depend on the magnesium diboride MgB2 powder quantity.

Magnesium diboride MgB2 powder packing:vacuum packing, 100g, 500g or 1kg/bag, 25kg/barrel, or as your request.

Magnesium diboride MgB2 powder shipping: could be shipped out by sea, by air, by express, as soon as possible once payment receipt.



Luoyang Tongrun Nano Technology Co. Ltd. (TRUNNANO) is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12-year-experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials, including boride powder, nitride powder, graphite powder, sulfide powder, 3D printing powder, etc.

If you are looking for magnesium diboride, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry, email address: sales3@nanotrun.com





Magnesium Boride Properties Other Names magnesium boride powder, MgB2, MgB2 powder,

agnesium diboride CAS No. 12007-25-9 Compound Formula MgB2 Molecular Weight 45.927 Appearance Gray to Black Powder Melting Point 830 C Boiling Point N/A Density 2.57 g/cm3 Solubility in H2O N/A Exact Mass 46.003653 Monoisotopic Mass 46.003653 Magnesium Boride Health & Safety Information Signal Word N/A Hazard Statements N/A Hazard Codes N/A Risk Codes N/A Safety Statements N/A RTECS Number N/A Transport Information NONH for all modes of transport WGK Germany 3

Commodities such as crude oil, wheat, cotton, and nickel have rallied since Russia's "special military operations" began in late February. On the last trading day of this quarter, commodities were on track for their biggest gain since 1990. For this reason, it is expected that the price of the Magnesium Diboride will continue to increase.



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Global Molybdenum disulfide market trend 2024-2029 What is Molybdenum Disulfide? by Newsintegra927

Following the progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks, the gold price fell more than 1% the next day, hitting its lowest in a month, and palladium prices briefly tumbled by nearly 9%.

"We have seen metal prices going into free fall when the Russia-Ukraine situation is likely to see a major detente, which spurred people's risk preference and optimism that the war could end at a time," said OANDA senior market analyst.

A Russian deputy defense minister says Moscow has decided to sharply curtail its military activities around Kyiv and Chernikov in Ukraine, following talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in Istanbul.

Where the prices of metals, natural gas, and commodities like the Molybdenum disulfide will go in the future, is still very uncertain.

Introduction to Molybdenum Disulfide Powder

Molybdenum disulfide is a kind of inorganic. The chemical formula is MoS2, which is the main component of molybdenite. It is black solid powder with a metallic luster. The melting point is 2375, density is 4.80g/cm (14), and Mohs hardness is 1.0 ~ 1.5.

Molybdenum disulfide begins to decompose at 1370 and decomposes to molybdenum metal and sulfur at 1600. Molybdenum disulfide begins to be oxidized when heated in air at 315. Molybdenum disulfide is insoluble in water, dilute acid, and concentrated sulfuric acid, generally insoluble in other acids, bases, and organic solvents, but soluble in aqua regia and boiled concentrated sulfuric acid. Slow oxidation occurs at 400  and molybdenum trioxide is formed.

Molybdenum disulfide can be heated to react with chlorine gas to form molybdenum pentachloride.

Molybdenum disulfide reacts with alkyl lithium under control to form an embedded compound (intercalated compound) LixMoS2. If it reacts with butyllithium, the product is LiMoS2.

Molybdenum disulfide has a high content of active sulfur, which is easy to cause corrosion to copper, which has been discussed in many books and papers about lubricant additives. In addition, when the parts of copper and its alloy manufacturing need lubrication, it is not necessary to choose lubrication products containing molybdenum disulfide, but also need to add an anti-copper corrosion agent.



Physicochemical Properties of Molybdenum Disulfide Powder

Molybdenum disulfide is insoluble in water and dilute acid, and can be corroded by concentrated sulfuric acid, concentrated nitric acid, boiling concentrated hydrochloric acid, aqua regia, pure oxygen, fluorine, and chlorine. It is insoluble in other acids, bases, solvents, petroleum, and synthetic lubricants. It has good chemical and thermal stability, cannot react with general metal surfaces, does not corrode rubber material, is a kind of non-magnetic material, and semiconductor properties compound. Molybdenum disulfide mo-S edge is quite many, easy to peel between layers, with good anisotropy, S has strong adhesion to metal, can adhere to the metal surface always play a lubrication function. Molybdenum disulfide used as a lubricant has high compressive strength and wear resistance, excellent adhesion, low friction coefficient (0.03-10.08), film structure characteristics, the stable film under high pressure; It has high lubrication performance under high temperatures (1200), low temperature (-190), high speed, high pressure, ultra-low temperature, and high vacuum conditions. Molybdenum disulfide begins to oxidize to molybdenum trioxide at 400 and rapidly oxidizes to molybdenum trioxide above 540. It was sublimated at 450 in an inert atmosphere, decomposed at 1370, and decomposed into molybdenum and sulfur at 1600. Molybdenum disulfide and chlorine gas heating reaction to produce molybdenum penachloride; LiXMoS2, an embedded sandwich compound, was synthesized by controlled reaction with alkyl lithium. Small toxicity.



Molybdenum Disulfide Powder Properties Other Names Molybdenum Disulfide, Molybdenum Sulfide, MoS2 CAS No. 1317-33-5 Compound Formula MoS2 Molecular Weight 160.07g/mol Appearance black/lead-gray solid Melting Point 2,375 C (4,307 F; 2,648 K) Boiling Point N/A Density 5.06g/cm3 Solubility in H2O insoluble Exact Mass N/A

Molybdenum Disulfide MoS2 Powder CAS 1317-33-5





Preparation Methods of Molybdenum Disulfide Powder

Natural law:

Molybdenum disulfide has excellent properties and broad application prospects, so the preparation and application of nano-mos2 have been studied a lot at home and abroad.

MoS2 can be prepared by the natural method, that is, the molybdenite concentrate purification method. This method is to remove acid insoluble matter, SiO2, Fe, Cu, Ca, Pb and other impurities in molybdenite concentrate after certain physical and chemical action, and then further refine to obtain nano-mos2. The Us Climax Molybdenum company uses this method to produce MoS2. This method can maintain the natural MoS2 crystal shape, and good lubrication performance, so it is suitable for making lubricants. However, the purity of nano MoS2 produced by the natural method is not high, and the purification technology needs to be further improved. When the temperature is below 400 , it is recommended to use a low-cost MoS2 when working in an ordinary atmosphere. There is a lubrication capacity below 1300 , and it is recommended to use a low-cost MoS2.



Chemical synthesis:

The synthesis method can produce sulfide with high purity, few impurities, and fine particle size, and can produce sulfide with different functional requirements, so the synthesis method to produce nano sulfide has been paid much attention. There are many preparation methods of nano-MOS2, such as thermal decomposition method of ammonium tetrathiomolybdate, hydrogen sulfide or sulfur vapor reduction method, high-energy ball milling method, carbon nanotubes space limiting method, hydrothermal synthesis method, high-energy physical means and chemical method, etc. In general, there are two preparation methods: the tungsten source or molybdenum source can be directly reacted with the sulfur source to get nano-mos2, or the tungsten source or molybdenum source can be reacted with the sulfur source to get the precursor body, and then the precursor body can be decomposed or reduced to MoS2 by appropriate methods.



Applications of Molybdenum Disulfide Powder

1. Dry film lubricants. Molybdenum disulfide is used as lubricants in almost all dry film lubricants, such as EM-1 dry film (epoxy resin-MOS2 type), except in cases where black fillers are not specified. Common molybdenum disulfide dry film lubricants are the United States military dry film such as MIL-L-3987 and MIL-L-23398, are molybdenum disulfide dry film lubricants. At present, dry film lubricant has been widely applied to bearings, gears, molds, and other civilian products.

2. Lubricants. Molybdenum disulfide ointment is generally added in oil and fat with a mass fraction of about 4% molybdenum disulfide. In metallurgy, steel rolling, mining machinery, and coal mining industry equipment have achieved a successful application. In some high temperature, open-air, field, tunnel application equipment, grease is difficult to lubricate or supplement equipment often use molybdenum disulfide oil paste.

3. Lubricating film-forming paste for wheel, rail, and gear. The film-forming paste is also widely used in the lubrication of gear of locomotive drive shafts, cranes, steel rolling equipment, and large equipment such as mine. The life of rail can be increased 4 ~ 5 times by using film-forming paste on rail and rim. Rim life is increased by 7 times and electricity (or fuel) is saved by about 7%.



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Southern Copper Corp (SCCO.N) recently said its Peruvian mine remained closed after a six-week standoff with protesters and blamed the Peruvian government for failing to intervene in the safety of its 1,300 workers and their families.

The company said in a statement that a recent agreement to end protests at the Cuajone mine required the company to withdraw complaints against protest leaders because railways transporting minerals and supplies remained blocked. Production has been suspended since the end of February.

Peru's Energy Ministry said in a separate statement that it had also reached an agreement with Southern Copper to start talks to find common ground with local communities.

"If we shut down for a year, the government will stop receiving more than 3.1 billion soles ($830 million) in taxes and royalties, and 8,000 direct and indirect jobs will be lost. This is what we want to avoid, "Southern Copper added in the statement.

Peru has faced a wave of protests from indigenous communities, who accuse mining companies of not providing enough jobs and funding to poor local residents.

Central bank officials said last week that protests against copper mines such as MMG's Las Bambas and Southern Copper's Cuajone were dragging down the economy.

Peru is the world's second-largest copper producer and mining is an important source of tax revenue for the country. It is estimated that the supply and prices of the Molybdenum disulfide will be influenced by that.

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Global lithium batteries market trend 2023-2027 What are the main materials of lithium batteries? by Newsintegra927

The roble had hit a record low after the West imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia for its aggression in Ukraine. Russia's president recently ordered exports of Russian gas to "unfriendly" countries to be settled in robles. The speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament said Moscow was prepared and could shift supplies to markets such as Asia if Europe refused to buy Russian energy.

European countries, which pay mostly in euros, say Russia has no right to reset contracts. The G7 rejected Russia's demand and urged companies not to agree to pay in robles, saying most contracts stipulated payment in euros or dollars. Wholesale gas prices in Europe have risen further recently on concerns about potential supply disruptions.

The Kremlin spokesman said, "According to the March 31 deadline set by Russia's president, we are developing all payment methods to get a simple, understandable, and feasible system for relevant European and international buyers,"

The markets and prices of more commodities like the lithium batteries would be affected because of the volatile international political situations.

Carbon anode material

The actual negative electrode materials used in lithium-ion batteries are basically carbon materials, such as artificial graphite, natural graphite, mesocarbon microspheres, petroleum coke, carbon fiber, pyrolysis resin carbon, etc.

Tin-based anode material

Tin-based anode materials can be divided into tin oxides and tin-based composite oxides. Oxides refer to oxides of metal tin in various valence states. There are no commercial products.

nitride

There are no commercial products.

Alloys

Including tin-based alloys, silicon-based alloys, germanium-based alloys, aluminum-based alloys, antimony-based alloys, magnesium-based alloys and other alloys, there are also no commercial products.

nanoscale

Carbon nanotubes, nano-alloy materials.

Nano oxide

According to the latest market development trend of lithium battery new energy industry in 2009, many companies have begun to use nano-titanium oxide and nano-silicon oxide to add to the previous traditional graphite, tin oxide, and carbon nanotubes, which greatly improves the charging and discharging of lithium batteries. volume and charge and discharge times.

What are the causes of battery explosions?

1. The internal polarization is large;

2. The pole piece absorbs water and reacts with the electrolyte;

3. The quality and performance of the electrolyte itself;

4. When injecting liquid, the amount of liquid injection cannot meet the process requirements;

5. The laser welding sealing performance is poor in the assembly process, and the air leaks when the air leakage is detected;

6. Dust and pole piece dust are easy to cause micro-short circuit first;

7. The positive and negative plates are thicker than the process range, and it is difficult to enter the shell;

8. The problem of liquid injection and sealing, the poor sealing performance of steel balls leads to air bulging;

9. The incoming shell material has a thick shell wall, and the shell deformation affects the thickness;

10. The high ambient temperature outside is also the main reason for the explosion.

High quality lithium batteries supplier

Luoyang Moon & Star New Energy Technology Co., LTD, founded on October 17, 2008, is a high-tech enterprise committed to the research and development, production, processing, sales and technical services of lithium ion battery anode materials. After more than 10 years of development, the company has gradually developed into a diversified product structure with natural graphite, artificial graphite, composite graphite, intermediate phase and other negative materials (silicon carbon materials, etc.). The products are widely used in high-end lithium ion digital, power and energy storage batteries.If you are looking for Lithium battery anode material,click on the needed products and send us an inquirysales@graphite-corp.com





Europe has been facing the gas shortage problem since the second half of 2021. The worsening situation in Russia and Ukraine has reduced Russian gas shipments to Europe, leading to a doubling of European gas prices. Energy shortages have sent electricity prices soaring. For these reasons, it is predicted that the price of the lithium batteries will continue to increase.



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Teachers have said a resounding no to teacher-based assessments, backing significant motions opposing plans that will see them grading their own students.

The countrys two post-primary teachers unions passed motions on Wednesday opposing Education Minister Norma Foleys Leaving Cert reforms, which see teachers providing 40% of students' final grades.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) and the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) both strongly oppose the reforms, which will need significant buy-in from teachers, arguing that unions have not been properly consulted.

Teachers attending the annual conferences argued that teachers assessing their own students is a red-line issue for many union members, the reforms are regressive and will add to grade inflation and to students stress levels.

As Ms Foley attended the TUI conference, delegates held up placards that read 'No to teacher-based assessments'.

Teachers protest at the TU conference. Picture: Tommy Clancy.

Niall Duddy of the ASTI told the floor that he feared the 40% included in the plans would be the thin end of the wedge when it comes to teachers grading their own students.

On Wednesday, the TUI secured a mandate for the union to resist the implementation of Leaving Cert reforms by all available means, including a ballot for a "sustained campaign of industrial action" by teachers.

TUI vice president Liz Farrell and General Secretary Michael Gillespie at TUI's annual Congress. Picture: Tommy Clancy

TUI vice president Liz Farrell told Congress that the changes proposed are "regressive" and that the decision by the minister to press ahead without teachers' support was "indicative of the disdain" that the profession is held in by the Government.

The ASTI also passed a number of motions opposing the reforms, including a motion that sees the union refuse to engage in any discussion on the Leaving Cert until a full open and transparent study of the reformed Junior Cycle takes place.

Addressing the TUI conference, Ms Foley said the proposed reforms would reduce student stress levels and give them more confidence in their work.

"I know too, as a teacher, that you will all be very conscious of the need to protect the relationships at school level that you have with your students," she said.

There will be safeguards and a balance to be struck in how both the teacher and the student are protected in a teacher assessment model.

"I fully recognise that schools and teachers must be resourced to have the facilities, supports, and time to make this work."
The Green Glens Arena in Millstreet, which on Wednesday night saw the first arrivals of people fleeing Ukraine, will be full within a week to 10 days, as the Cabinet was warned on Wednesday that capacity for housing refugees is already nearly exhausted.

A secret Cabinet memorandum provided to ministers on Wednesday night warned:

That accommodation is the most acute problem facing the Government, while hyper-inflation in farming prices threatens food supplies;

Serviced and emergency accommodation is currently at over 90% utilised, excluding the Gormanstown Defence Forces camp;

The worst-case scenario memorandum, seen by the Irish Examiner , warns the disruptions to energy supplies could become structural as opposed to temporary, and that this could have major implications for Irelands corporate tax receipts;

, warns the disruptions to energy supplies could become structural as opposed to temporary, and that this could have major implications for Irelands corporate tax receipts; So far, of the 24,438 people who have arrived in Ireland, more than 16,000 said they needed to be housed;

Ministers were told that by the end of May, as many as 33,000 people could arrive in Ireland;

So far, 114 unaccompanied minors have arrived here and are in the care of the childrens agency Tusla.

There will be a shortage of accommodation by the end of April, the Cabinet memo revealed. Up to 8,300 would have no accommodation by end of May as all accommodation types will be at maximum capacity from the fourth week of April, it said.

As the first large-scale refugee centre, the Millstreet Arena has a capacity to hold 320 persons, who will be given beds in small partitioned areas.

It is understood that given the absence of secure separate units, there has been a request not to put children into Millstreet, but that may not be possible, given the pressure on the system.

Maura Walsh, chief executive of community group IRD Duhallow said they were expecting up to 70 Ukrainian people to arrive at the Millstreet Arena late on Wednesday night.

Ms Walsh described the arena as a massive space that has been divided into separate pods or rooms.

Ms Walsh said some of the facilities already in place for the 74 Ukrainian people in Banteer, such as a shuttle bus for transport to shops, will be extended to Millstreet.

At Cabinet, ministers were told that in addition to Millstreet, contingency options remain in place for centres such as Citywest and Gormanstown Camp.

'Crisis situation'

The Integration Minister said on Thursday that mass centres similar to Millstreet area will become a "larger feature" in accommodating Ukrainian refugees.

Roderic O'Gorman said he expected people would stay "a number of weeks" in grouped centres, such as Millstreet, before being moved on to more suitable accommodation.

He said the Government was in consultation with universities and other third-level institutes around the possibility of using thousands of student accommodation places over the summer months.

Roderic O'Gorman said he was 'aware of the need for co-ordination' and the Government would listen to the proposals being put forward by NGOs. Picture: PA

"From the end of May, about 4,000 beds will become available and we're looking to grow that further and that will give us some flexibility coming into the summer to accommodate people and again that will be accommodation where people will have own door, some privacy, some of their own cooking facilities as well. So we continue to look and see what provisions we can make for this short-term accommodation," he told RTE's Morning Ireland.

However, he admitted group accommodation, which could include putting people on camp beds, was going to become a "larger feature of how we provide for people", adding he must be "upfront" about that.

Speaking about Millstreet, he said: "It's partitioned inside, so people have privacy for their sleeping spaces. But obviously, living and dining facilities are shared there. We put in wifi, we've put in other supports and there are wrap-around supports for Ukrainians living there.

"It's not the preference. It's not the gold standard, it's not what we would like to see everybody living in. But we are in a crisis situation," said Mr O'Gorman.

A number of organisations, including the Irish Refugee Council, are now calling for a national director to coordinate the response to the humanitarian crisis in Ireland.

Mr O'Gorman said he was "aware of the need for co-ordination" and the Government would listen to the proposals being put forward by NGOs.

Accommodation offers withdrawn

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people have withdrawn their initial offer of accommodation for Ukrainian refugees, the memorandum states.

It reveals that about 17,000 emails sent to those who pledged accommodation were asked to reconfirm their offer. About 5,000 responded, with 1,000 withdrawing their offer. Some 878 assumed-vacant properties which initially offered accommodation have also been withdrawn.

A vetting process is required for moves involving children, and this process is being overseen by the Irish Red Cross, which has been allocated additional resources for this task.

The minimum turnaround for vetting is two weeks, Cabinet was told.

The Cabinet also heard of the dire impact the war in Ukraine was having on the wider Irish economy.

Ministers were told the crisis in Ukraine has had a dramatic impact on Irish agriculture, on supply chains, with hyperinflation in the price of almost all farm input prices.

As in other sectors, increases in energy costs for farming are having a very significant impact, the memorandum warned.

The cost and future availability of fertiliser is a particular concern, with demand being highest in the coming month and critical to further supply for next winter."

In a worst-case scenario, the memo states where disruptions to energy supply become structural in nature, the potential negative impact on industrial production could have major implications inter alia, for corporation tax receipts (20% of the overall tax take). Ireland entered the current crisis with a very elevated debt burden of 237bn.

Ministers were told that based on the assumption that all refugees are accommodated in emergency hotel accommodation and taking account of additional costs for key supports and services (including social protection, health, and education) each cohort of 10,000 refugees would lead to an estimated cost of 500m.

The memo notes this expenditure cannot be met through the reprioritisation of existing resources, they would, in the first instance, be met with the remaining 2.5bn of the Covid contingency fund  however, this will leave the Government exposed should further surges of the virus emerge later in the year.
Russia launched an all-out assault on the east of Ukraine on Tuesday, seizing its first town after unleashing thousands of troops in what Ukraine has described as the Battle of the Donbas, a campaign to take control of two provinces.

Ukrainian officials insist their troops can withstand the new assault, which they said began overnight.

In the first reported success of Russia's new offensive, Ukraine said the Russians had seized Kreminna, a town of 18,000 people in Luhansk, one of the two Donbas provinces in Russia's sights.

Russian forces were attacking "on all sides" while authorities were trying to evacuate civilians and it was impossible to tally the civilian dead, Luhansk's regional governor Serhiy Gaidai said this afternoon.

The Kremlin gave few details about its new campaign, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that "another stage of this operation is beginning".

Ukrainian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia was "methodically" carrying out its plan to "liberate" Donetsk and Luhansk, provinces which Moscow demands Kyiv cede fully to Russian-backed separatists.

In the ruins of Mariupol, the southeastern port city destroyed while withstanding nearly eight weeks of siege, Russia gave the last Ukrainian defenders holed up in a giant steel works an ultimatum to surrender by noon or die.

"All who lay down their arms are guaranteed to remain alive," the defence ministry said.

Damaged Ukrainian Army military trucks parked at the Illich Iron & Steel Works Metallurgical Plant in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine. Picture: AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov

Russia has been trying to take control of the southeastern port city of Mariupol, which has been besieged since the war began on February 24. It is the site of the conflict's heaviest fighting so far and its worst humanitarian catastrophe.

Ukraine estimates that more than 20,000 civilians have died there, with tens of thousands more residents trapped in the city with no access to food or water. Capturing it would link pro-Russian separatist territory with the Crimea region that Moscow annexed in 2014

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians in a video address overnight that Ukrainian forces would withstand Russia's new attacks.

"No matter how many Russian troops they send there, we will fight," he said.

Driven back by Ukrainian forces in March from an assault on Kyiv in the north, Russia has instead poured troops into the east to regroup for a ground offensive in the Donbas. It has also been launching long-distance strikes at other targets including the capital.

Here are some of today's other developments:

Japan will send gas masks, hazmat suits and drones to Ukraine to help defend the country against Russias invasion amid growing concern of chemical weapons use by the Russian military.

Humanitarian and housing costs of caring for 5.5m Ukrainian refugees will amount to 50bn to 60bn, necessitating more EU funds, a ratings firm has estimated.

The deputy prime minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk has said there will be no humanitarian corridors set up again today in Ukraine, the third day consecutive day without agreed escape routes.

What else happened in Ukraine today?

Firefighters are seen through the destroyed window of an apartment as they work to extinguish a fire after a Russian attack in Kharkiv. Picture: AP Photo/Felipe Dana

In Kharkiv, Ukraine's main eastern city which is close to the supply lines for Russian troops advancing on the Donbas, shells hit the southeastern Nemyshlianskyi district in early afternoon, wrecking one apartment building and damaging others.

Three bodies of people apparently killed by shrapnel lay outside on the pavement. There was no immediate confirmation of overall casualty numbers.

In Russia, the governor of the border province of Belgorod said Ukrainian forces had struck a village wounding three residents.

Ukraine's top security official, Oleksiy Danilov, said Russian forces attempted to break through Ukrainian defences "along almost the entire front line of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions".

The coal-and-steel-producing Donbas has been the focal point of Russia's campaign to destabilise Ukraine since 2014 when the Kremlin used proxies to set up separatist "people's republics" in Luhansk and Donetsk.

Via: GraphicNews

Moscow now aims to capture the full provinces on the separatists' behalf.

Ukraine has a large force defending northern parts of the Donbas, and military experts say Russia aims to cut them off or surround them.

But Russia still needs to keep its troops supplied across miles of hostile territory, with difficulty moving off road in muddy terrain.

For its part, Ukraine has launched counterattacks near Kharkiv in the rear of Russia's advance, apparently aimed at cutting off supply lines, an echo of the tactics that defeated Russia's advance on Kyiv last month.

Zelenskyy adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said the new Russian offensive was doomed to fail because Moscow simply did not have enough troops to overrun the defences.

Western countries and Ukraine accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of unprovoked aggression.

The White House said US President Joe Biden, who has called Russia's actions "genocide", would hold a call with allies on Tuesday to discuss the crisis, including how to hold Russia accountable.

A Ukrainian national flag on a wire on the ground in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol. Picture: AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov

French President Emmanuel Macron said his dialogue with Putin had stalled after mass killings were discovered in Ukraine.

Russia denies targeting civilians in what it calls a special operation to demilitarise Ukraine.

It has bombed cities to rubble, and hundreds of civilian bodies have been found in towns where its forces withdrew. It says, without evidence, that signs of atrocities were staged.
Burma Myanmar Junta Issues Emergency Alert Amid Resistance Attacks

Regime forces on Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw in March 2022. / Cncds

Myanmars military regime has issued an emergency alert to all of its units across the country that defectors say means the junta is preparing for resistance attacks.

Former army captain Lin Htet Aung, who has defected to the resistance, told The Irrawaddy that the regimes alert was made by phone to all units on Tuesday.

Normally the military uses classified telegraph messages to issue orders, he said.

The order limits troop mobilizations and puts them on standby for attacks.

Junta troops are sustaining heavy casualties, especially in Sagaing Region, Karen and Kayah State, due to intensifying attacks from resistance forces who fight along with some ethnic armed organizations like the Kachin Independence Army and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA).

More than 160 junta soldiers were reportedly killed in the first two weeks of April in over 200 clashes with the KNLA and its allies in Karen State, the group claimed.

Myanmars shadow National Unity Government this month said it was preparing more offensives against regime troops. Some of its peoples defense forces are being led by commanders of ethnic armed organizations.

Another defector, former captain Nyi Thuta, said the alert was meant to prepare soldiers to reinforce frontline troops.

That applies from commanders down to privates. They will have to be ready at all times, he said.

Both former captains said the alert was unusual because it did not give a duration.

They said similar alerts were normally issued a week before Armed Forces Day in March and commanders quarterly meetings.

There is no activity like that due and the alert came out of the blue and is unusual, the former officers said.

They said the alert was putting the armed forces into a defensive mode while resistance attacks were expected.

It seems the regime is reacting to the resistance plan and is buying time to prepare, said Nyi Thuta.

Lin Htet Aung said the alert exposed junta weakness, far from dictator Min Aung Hlaings recent vow to crush resistance forces.

They are just trying to protect themselves. Quelling the resistance may come later, he said.

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Burma Myanmar Junta Makes Fuel Suppliers Sell Supplies Amid Shortage Fears

A queue outside a gas station in Yangon on April 19. / CJ

Amid long queues for fuel in Myanmars cities on Tuesday, the junta-controlled Ministry of Commerce forced suppliers to sell their stocks at fixed prices.

Long queues were reported at filling stations in Yangon this week with customers limited to 20,000 to 30,000 kyats worth of fuel.

In response, the ministry held an online meeting on Tuesday where it told suppliers to sell all remaining stocks at fixed prices.

We have sold all the remaining stocks at the prices set by the regime. At the meeting, the ministry told us to phone our gas stations and sell at fixed prices, a fuel importer told The Irrawaddy.

They said they did not want to see queues and delays as they are not good for the country. They said they would sell US dollars and told us not to panic. They told us to bring lower prices and increase the quota, he added.

Some gas stations, following long queues, said on Facebook on Tuesday that quotas were being removed.

Meanwhile, suppliers are struggling to import because of the regimes restrictions on the use of US dollars.

Earlier this month, the regime-controlled Central Bank of Myanmar ordered that foreign exchange earned by citizens be converted into kyats at the inflated official rate of 1,850 kyats per dollar within one working day.

The regime also required importers to seek its approval to use US dollars for every shipment. Fuel imports halted as the regime has not handled the paperwork because of the Thingyan holidays. Stocks are now running low, said fuel distributors.

The ministry summoned distributors to another meeting on Wednesday.

Some importers that purchased fuel at high prices before the regime fixed the exchange rate are suffering losses, said industry insiders.

A taxi driver from Yangon told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: Almost every gas station that is still open is selling by quota. It takes about two hours to get fuel. Many gas stations have closed.

Fuel prices have increased by around 300 kyats per liter since Monday.

The junta-controlled Ministry of Electricity and Energy denied rumors on social media that fuel stocks are running low in Thilawa, the national fuel warehouse.

The ministry claimed the country still has 45 million gallons of petrol and 70 million gallons of diesel in stock and two tankers have arrived in Yangon but are yet to be emptied because of Thingyan.

Myanmar imports around 6 million tons of fuel annually, mainly from Singapore and Malaysia, according to the commerce ministry.

Many gas stations in Yangon and Mandalay were closed on Wednesday, according to residents.

Long queues formed in Yangon, Mandalay and Sittwe in Rakhine State, with quotas still enforced, residents said.

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Burma Rebel Group Demands Increased Attacks on Myanmar Junta and Collaborators

Villagers whose houses were burned down by junta forces hold a sign saying: You can burn our village but not our spirit and our soil. / CJ

A prominent leader of a resistance group in Sagaing Region has called on other armed groups and the public across Myanmar to accelerate attacks on anyone affiliated with the military regime.

On Tuesday, Bo Nagar, the commander of the Myanmar Royal Dragon Army (MRDA), said it is time to attack junta soldiers and collaborators to weaken and isolate the regime by occupying offices and other power bases across the country.

We are stepping up our attacks on the junta, he said.

The announcement came a day after his group claimed to have killed more than 30 junta troops approaching a village in Pale Township, Sagaing Region, in two ambushes.

He said collaborators included the relatives of soldiers and police, junta administrative and revenue staff, telecoms operators who share users secrets with the regime and cut off internet access and bankers who seize and control public funds for the authorities.

They are traitors of the people. They betray civilians, help run the juntas repressive mechanism against the public and enable the military dictatorship to survive, Bo Nagar told The Irrawaddy.

I urge all resistance forces, our comrades, in other areas to step up action against them, he said, adding that the results will be visible within a month.

He said detained collaborators will face trial in civilian courts in liberated territories under the supervision of the shadow National Unity Government (NUG).

People must have the courage to join our activities to achieve peace, Bo Nagar said, calling on the public to report collaborators to resistance groups.

His call coincides with a rising number of attacks, increasingly taking control of territory, especially in rural areas.

Bo Nagar used to lead the Pale Peoples Defense Force, which has been inflicting casualties on regime troops since last year.

Amid rising resistance in Sagaing Region, he has risen in prominence and the junta has attempted to capture him. He has commanded the MRDA, which is under the NUGs command, since its formation in January.

The MRDA has attacked outposts held by the regime and Pyu Saw Htee, a pro-junta militia, in Pale and ambushed junta forces raiding villages and burning civilian houses.

In February, the MRDA said it attacked two bases near Ziphyugone and Einmahti villages alongside another resistance force and left around 40 regime troops and Pyu Saw Htee members dead.

Ziphyugone and Einmahti villages are junta strongholds where pro-regime villagers are trained and armed to join the Pyu Saw Htee.

Since seizing power on Feb. 1 last year, the junta has killed at least 1,773 people, including more than 100 children and arrested more than 13,000 people.

The regime has burned down at least 9,187 civilian homes, with the resistance stronghold of Sagaing Region suffering the heaviest damage, according to the independent research group Data for Myanmar.

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Burma Regime Forces Suffer Heavy Losses in Southeast Myanmar

Karen National Liberation Army soldiers. / KNU

Over 160 junta soldiers were killed in the first two weeks of April in over 200 clashes with ethnic Karen fighters in Karen State, southeast Myanmar, according to the Karen National Union (KNU).

From April 1 to April 15, 81 junta soldiers were killed in 174 clashes with KNU Brigade 5 in Papun District, while another 81 junta soldiers were killed in 55 clashes with KNU Brigade 6 in Kawkareik Township, according to KNU information departments in Papun and Kawkareik.

The KNU is Myanmars oldest revolutionary group. Its armed wings are the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the Karen National Defence Organization (KNDO). Both reject the military regime and the coup it staged in February last year. Since then, they have been fighting alongside local civilian resistance groups who also oppose the junta.

One the KNU side, one fighter died and seven others were injured in the Papun clashes, while 12 fighters died and 17 others were injured in Kawkareik, according to a KNU statement released on Tuesday.

Padoh Saw Taw Nee, the head of the KNUs Foreign Affairs Department, said that the ethnic armed organization has verified the number of casualties and clashes.

Figures officially released by our branches can be confirmed. The number of casualties is noteworthy. There were never as frequent clashes as are happening now in Karen State. And it has become obvious that junta troops [are collapsing] since the coup. It is obvious that the number of junta soldiers who surrendered or who were killed or injured is significantly on the increase, he said.

Peoples Defense Forces under the parallel National Unity Government and splinter groups from the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army are fighting alongside the KNU, while the Karen Border Guard Force is allied to the regime.

Two civilians from Papun and four civilians from Kawkareik were killed by junta artillery strikes during the April 1-15 clashes, said the KNU.

Fighting between regime forces and the KNU has intensified since the regime raided the town of Lay Kay Kaw in Karen States Myawaddy Township on December 14.

March was the deadliest month for junta forces in Karen State so far this year, with 429 deaths reported in a total of 510 clashes. Numbers released by the KNU show there were 435 clashes in January with 313 regime deaths and 421 clashes in February with 311 regime deaths.

The total number of junta soldiers killed in Karen State since the start of the year now stands at 1,215. The Irrawaddy has not been able to verify the KNUs figures independently.

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Guest Column Why Did the Myanmar Peace Process Fail?

Myanmar President U Thein Sein (C) looks on as Aung Min (L), Vice Chairman of the Union Peace Working Comittee (UPWC) shakes hands with Naing Han Tha (R) a leader of the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordinating Team (NCCT), after they sign a nationwide ceasefire draft agreement at the Myanmar Peace Centre in Yangon on March 31, 2015. / AFP

Time for an Evaluation of Donor-Led Peace Efforts?

As recently as 2020 one of the most prominent logos on Yangon billboards, vehicles, and signs was the woven fibers of the Joint Peace Fund (JPF). The JPF arrived in Yangon in 2016, loudly proclaiming that it had pledges from nine western donors who would fund US$100 million in peacebuilding activities between 2016 and 2021.

The JPF would support the National Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) of 2015, a Norwegian-sponsored agreement between the quasi-civilian government of U Thein Sein and a dozen or so Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs). Hundreds of millions of dollars also flowed into Myanmar in the name of peace from Western embassies, United Nations (UN) agencies, the World Bank, church groups, and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). All parties were convinced that they could contribute to the countrys road to peace by bringing the peacebuilding skills of the outside world to Myanmar.

International experts in peacebuilding, public health, gender, democracy, displaced peoples, education and a host of other subjects arrived. The Myanmar Police Force was even funded by the European Union to train in crowd control techniques in 2013 and 2016, all part of a scheme to assist them to become a modern police agency that adheres to international standards, respects human rights and maintains gender awareness.

Conferences were held in Yangon hotels, workshops in villages, and leaders jetted off to see best practice peace efforts in places like Northern Ireland, Colombia, Sri Lanka, and Mindanao in the Philippines. And then of course it all disappeared on February 1, 2021, when the Myanmar military staged their coup. What went wrong? No answers seem forthcoming.

Monitoring, Evaluation and the Coup of February 1, 2021

Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on peace and democracy efforts in Myanmar between 2016 and 2021. Myanmars service sector briefly flourished and rents in Yangon skyrocketed, particularly in neighborhoods favored by expatriates where houses owned by military families were snapped up. But that was OK because each dollar spent was rooted in evidence based policy, which meant a particular benchmarked performance objective pre-determined by the donor was aligned with success, however defined.

So the JPF and the donor systems hummed along, always seeming to meet those benchmarked performance indicators. The Rohingya crisis of 2017 came and went, ceasefires in Shan and Kachin States collapsed, and fighting resumed in Karen and Karenni States. The Arakan Army emerged, too. Monitoring and Evaluation officers carefully noted roadblocks on the road to peace. Ambassadors lectured Myanmar people that this was the last chance for peace.

But it didnt work. The crash occurred on the day of the coup, when the elected leadership of the government was arrested and the military occupied Myanmars cities. Peaceful demonstrators were shot, military operations against ethnic peoples in the borderlands resumed, and resistance groups began to organize. All the efforts of the 2016-2021 peacebuilding seemed for naught. As for the evaluators, they seemed to have suddenly disappeared. For example, instead of acknowledging failure and announcing a new study in the interests of transparency, JPFs website was scoured of all reports and effectively went blank. Or perhaps it went underground, as rumors have emerged that the JPF is now negotiating with the military government. It seems that the peacebuilding of 2016-2021 was in vain or perhaps even counter-productive.

This means, though, that it is time to ask the critical question of what went wrong. All that data- driven policy-building can be resuscitated, and the tools used to evaluate the NGOs can now be used to evaluate the overall peace process. Monitoring and Evaluation in donor-speak meant western accounting standards benchmarking every kyat and dollar. The recipients were held accountable to the stakeholders, of whom the donors were most important. This is why endless reams of the monitoring and evaluation reports were submitted to Western embassies, JPF, World Bank, and others. Receipts for tea were carefully collated with a performance objective, budget line and benchmark. Monitoring and Evaluation Officer became a new profession in Myanmar, judging by the number of job ads advertising for this particular skill.

It seems callous to ask, but isnt the coup and the seeming collapse of the aid sector a great opportunity for a final monitoring and evaluation report? What are the lessons learned? Why did the road to peace fall off a cliff? Where did the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on peace go? Frankly were JPF still around, it seems like a perfect question for them to conduct an inquiry into.

Measuring The Technology of Peace

One problem is that the JPF and other donors reduce peace to being a technical problem. In the imported version of Peaceland, conflict, economics, and politics were reduced to metrics which are easily monitored and evaluated with numbers. Thus, violent incident reports seemed quick and precise and economic development was robustly measured in tenths of a percent growth. Election transparency was presumably measurable in the liters of purple gentian violet used to stain the fingers of voters.

The problem perhaps is that peace is not just a technical problem. Peace is complicated, because there are many forms of it and it is more than an absence of violent incidents. Indeed in peace studies, an absence of violent incidents is sometimes called negative peace. Myanmar people remember well negative peace from the decades of military rule when fear of government violence was constant, even when there were no violent incidents to count. For negative peace to become positive peace, there needs to be reconciliation and the birth of a new sense of shared destiny. Peace studies scholars use mystical terms such as soul of place, cultures of peace, social cohesion, and positive peace. The point is that peace is rooted ultimately in the morality and traditions of the local society, not dollars spent, incidents counted, or even gross national product.

A Wonky Question for the Evaluators: What is Your Real Deliverable?

The monitoring and evaluation profession is about measuring progress toward a goal. Peace was the goal for the NCA but that came to mean only that violent fighting between the military and EAOs should stop, even if the reign of fear continues. Monitoring and evaluation reports, though, only asked if the shooting stopped, not if steps toward what peace studies scholars call positive peace were taken. The incentive presented by Western embassies and NGOs was that if you could answer Yes that violence rates had decreased, you could get the next contract. Somehow the world of monitoring and evaluation missed the fact that assigning a cup of tea from a workshop to the correct budget category was not the point. Positive peace is the point, but this is unfortunately not really a deliverable that can be monitored and evaluated by simply counting violent incidents.

February 1, 2021 presents a classic monitoring and evaluation opportunity for the lessons learned crowd. Perhaps what needs to happen is that the donors from the UN, Norway, UK and USA need to admit that the coup was a failure of their own policies, not just of the Myanmar people.

Sadly, this is not yet happening. In Thailand, where I work, USAID, Washingtons aid agency, in particular has arrived with monitoring and evaluation specialists promising dollars for programs addressing Myanmar issues. The catch is that the extensive American accountability requirements mean that the same policies and same NGOs that engineered the failure of 2016-2021 are being funded again. More importantly, the pesky goal that is positive peace is still missing. So NGOs spring up, monitoring and evaluation specialists are hired and villas rented in Chiangmai and Bangkok. After that is done, some money will make its way across the border to Myanmar and the rather small number of NGOs with the wherewithal and office staff to continue satisfying the technocracy of the peace industry.

What Would a Real Evaluation Look Like?

What would a real evaluation of the NCA and JPF look like? First, it might start with not just the failures in the 2015 ceasefire, but the dozens of other Myanmar ceasefires which have taken place since the 1950s. And then before that there is the poisonous legacy of British colonialism well remembered by Myanmars peoples. Myanmar has historians who could help with evaluating why ceasefires have been ineffective for the last 100 years or so. For example, little thought is put into why the 1950s ceasefires following the 1949 Battle of Insein failed. Nor is much written about the 1990s ceasefires with the Mon, Kachin, Wa, and others. In those failed ceasefires might be found the reason why the 2015 NCA also failed. And finally why did the Rohingya repatriations endorsed by the UN in 1978, 1992, 2012 and 2017 also fail?

If you are a foreigner scratching your head about the Battle of Insein, or other ceasefires, you are not alone. After all, what monitoring and evaluation officer created a career based on bragging about the ceasefire that did not work, even if it was one of the most important events in twentieth century Myanmar history? But I would guess that the unsuccessful endings of the Burmese Civil War of 1949-1950 tell us more about peace in Myanmar than the peace industrys successes in Colombia, Sri Lanka, etc.

What such studies should not start with are lectures about USAID monitoring and evaluation requirements, or critiques from Western embassies about Myanmars failure. New ideas and thoughts from outside Peaceland need to be sought. There are excellent books in English by Johan Galtung, Severine Autessere, John Paul Lederach, Thich Nhat Hanh, Elise Boulding, and others about the nature of peace and peacebuilding which are rarely noted in the reams of reports. Myanmar scholars like U Pho Hlaings writings about the nature of Burmese democracy, Aung San Suu Kyis writings about democracy and fear, Saw Aung Hlas writings about the Karen and Maung Maung Gyis thoughts regarding Burmese authoritarianism, were almost universally ignored in Yangon consultancy reports, even though they are available in English. More of course must be available in Burmese, Karen, and the other languages of Myanmar.

Tony Waters is Professor of Sociology at Payap University. He is the author of Bureaucratizing the Good Samaritan, which can be downloaded at Bureaucratizing the Good Samaritan: The Limitations to Humanitarian Relief Operation.

He can be reached at [email protected]

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TexteZone1





On Wednesday, April 6, CEO Jean-Christophe Niel welcomed to Cadarache a delegation from the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) led by Tommi Nyman, Vice President of the Nuclear Energy Division.



The aim of this visit was to strengthen bilateral cooperation between our two organizations, particularly in the field of nuclear safety research, and to consider new areas of collaboration. After the technical exchanges, the delegation was also able to visit several safety research platforms (Galaxie, MAESTRO, THEMA, ODE).





VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland) is the largest technological research organization in northern Europe, with nearly 2,100 employees. IRSN has been working with the Finnish organization since 2006 in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection, as well as in software development. As a TSO for STUK, the Finnish safety authority, VTT is a first-class partner for IRSN, which also collaborates in numerous international and European projects and within the ETSON network.





From left to right: Patrice Giordano (IRSN), Director of Safety Research Anna Korpinen (VTT), Senior scientist, severe accidents Francois Barre (IRSN), Deputy Director of Safety Research Seppo Hillberg (VTT), Senior scientist, nuclear power plant analysis (Apros, thermohydraulics) Tommi Nyman (VTT), Vice President, Nuclear Energy Jean-Christophe Niel (IRSN), Director General Camille Bussiere (IRSN), European and International relations manager, in charge of Finland Karim Ben Ouaghrem (IRSN), Assistant to the Director of International and European Affairs








Google appears to have failed so far in 2022 to reach one of the stated goals in its review of zero-days for 2021: sharing exploit samples or detailed technical descriptions more widely.

The review, which said 58 zero-days had been found in the wild in 2021, was released overnight by Maddie Stone, a member of Google Project Zero. Out of the 58 zero-days, only five had an exploit sample publicly available.

The review did not mention the fact that while releasing advisories about three zero-days in Chrome this year, Google has carefully avoided providing technical details about the flaws.

Another goal for 2022 was for all vendors to agree to disclose if any vulnerabilities affecting their products were being exploited in the wild and at what stage the exploitation was.

A third goal was to try and cut down on memory corruption flaws or make them unexploitable.

Regarding the number of exploits, Stone said: "While we often talk about the number of 0-day exploits used in the wild, what were actually discussing is the number of 0-day exploits detected and disclosed as in the wild."

The Google review claimed that the big growth in zero-days in the wild in 2021 was due to increased detection and disclosure, rather than increased use of such exploits. The possibility of this increase being compounded by a drop in coding standards or the use of languages that are more prone to security holes than others was not canvassed.

Stone claimed attackers had been using known exploit techniques for the most part, rather than developing new methods.

She admitted that there was a big blind spot. "We had so many more data points in 2021 to learn about attacker behaviour than weve had in the past. Having all this data, though, has left us with even more questions than we had before.

"Unfortunately, attackers who actively use 0-day exploits do not share the 0-days theyre using or what percentage of 0-days were missing in our tracking, so well never know exactly what proportion of 0-days are currently being found and disclosed publicly."

The review provided some detail about various applications that attracted zero-days in 2021. Stone pointed out that of of the 58 zero-days for the year, 39, or 67% were memory corruption vulnerabilities.

"Memory corruption vulnerabilities have been the standard for attacking software for the last few decades and its still how attackers are having success," she wrote. "Out of these memory corruption vulnerabilities, the majority also stuck with very popular and well-known bug classes:

17 use-after-free;

6 out-of-bounds read & write;

4 buffer overflow; and

4 integer overflow.

Google's browser Chrome had 14 zero-days in 2021, while Windows had 10 and Android 7. Microsoft Exchange Server was another hot target, with five zero-days aimed at the mail transport agent.
The former chairman and chief executive of the globe's biggest semiconductor fab, which has had a manufacturing plant in Oregon for 25 years, has warned that it may not be possible to reproduce the success enjoyed by his company in any other country, pointing to the fact that costs are 50% higher in Oregon than in Taiwan.

Morris Chang, the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, made the comments during a podcast titled "Can semiconductor manufacturing return to the US?" organised by the Brookings Institution and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies on 14 April. He has made similar comments elsewhere.

Asked what he saw as the main limitations in the US increasing its domestic production of semiconductors, Chang said to start with, there was a lack of manufacturing talent.

"I dont really think its a bad thing for the US, actually, but its a bad thing for trying to do semiconductor manufacturing in the US," he said. "We have actually had a manufacturing plant in Oregon for 25 years  and 25 years, thats a long time.

"And we send all kinds of people, we change the managers, change the engineers, we use both America, local engineers, we also send engineers from Taiwan to Oregon to try to improve the performance. But improvement in its performance has happened."

In May 2020, TSMC announced it would be setting up a US$12 billion (A$15.5 billion) plant in Arizona which it had pledged during the Trump administration as the US sought to sideline China in its pursuit of chip sources.

Chang said that despite the efforts made during the 25-year existence of a TSMC plant in Oregon, "the cost difference between Taiwan manufacturing and Oregon manufacturing has remained about the same".

"The same product, the Oregon cost, is about 50% more than the Taiwan cost. Well, of course for us, the Oregon product is still profitable, although not nearly as profitable as the Taiwan product," he noted.

"So still we have maintained it. We started it in 1997. Initially it was chaos, it was just a series of ugly surprises because when we first went in, we really expected the costs to be comparable to Taiwan. And that was extremely naive.

"But after a few years of trying to make it work, we had to settle down, we had to accept it. And since it was still profitable, of course, we still accepted it, but we didnt expand it. That was Oregon. We still have about a thousand workers in that factory, and that factory, they cost us about 50 percent more than Taiwan costs."

TSMC is one of two firms  the other is Samsung Electronics  that can make the most advanced semiconductors. Supply chain issues during the pandemic have led to an acute shortage of chips in many industries, putting production quotas at risk.

Chang said the Arizona unit, when it went on steam, would not be able to compete with factories in other parts of the world. "...we think that the recent effort of the US to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors, right now youre talking about spending only tens of billions of dollars of money of subsidy.

"Well, its not going to be enough. I think it will be a very expensive exercise in futility. The US will increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors somewhat.

"But all of that will be very high-cost increase, high unit cost. It will be non-competitive in the world markets where you compete with factories like TSMC."

Chang pointed out that when it came to semiconductor design, the US was ahead of the rest of the world, adding that if a war broke out involving Taiwan, then the US would have a lot more to worry about than just semiconductors.

"Now, of course, there are people who point out that maybe Taiwan is not safe. Now, thats of course another topic. Now, Im assuming that there will not be any war. Frankly, if there is a war in Taiwan Strait, then I think the United States will have more than chips to worry about," he said.

"Now, if theres no war, then I think the effort to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors is a wasteful and expensive exercise in futility, if theres no war. If there is war then, my goodness, we all have a lot more than just chips to worry about."

Asked about the possible pooling of talent by the US and Taiwan, Chang steered clear of offering any opinion. "Now, I think this gets into politics, and I do not want to be involved in that topic," he said.

"Actually, of course, its pretty delicate. I hope that everybody remains friends. In fact, thats how TSMC prospered, by being a semiconductor supplier to everybody, I mean everybody."
The Westminster Magistrates Court in the UK has issued an order to extradite WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange to the US to face a criminal trial.

The order was issued on Wednesday night, and means the Australian is now open to being tried in the US and receiving a 175-year sentence for alleged offences.

The order has been sent to the British Home Secretary Priti Patel for approval.

Julian Assange exposed US crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.



That's why the US wants to punish him and send a message to all journalists: Expose the truth and you'll be made to regret it.



Priti Patel must stand-up for freedom of speech and refuse his extradition.  Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) April 20, 2022

Assange's legal team has time until 18 May to submit its arguments as to why the order should not be implemented.

Following the issuing of the order, Assange's wife, Stella Moris, said: "The UK has no obligation to extradite Julian to the US; in fact, it is required by its international obligations to stop this extradition."

Commenting on the court's decision, Amnesty International secretary-general Agnes Callamard said: "The UK has an obligation not to send any person to a place where their life or safety is at risk and the government must not abdicate that responsibility.

"Publishing information that is in the public interest is a cornerstone of media freedom."

Julian Assange is being persecuted for exposing US war crimes - in Iraq, Afghanistan & Guantanamo Bay.



Extraditing him to spend the rest of his life in a US prison is a blatant attack on journalism.



Priti Patel should defend press freedoms and reject any extradition to the US.  Richard Burgon MP (@RichardBurgon) April 20, 2022

Assange faces criminal charges in the US for publishing classified information that was leaked to WikiLeaks by an American soldier, then known as Bradley Manning, but now, after gender reassignment surgery, known as Chelsea Manning.

On 14 March, the UK Supreme Court turned down an appeal from Assange to hear arguments against his extradition.

In January, the High Court had rejected a request from Assange's lawyers to appeal directly to the Supreme Court, leaving it to the higher court to decide on whether it would hear a challenge.

When exposing US war crimes leads to facing a 175-year prison sentence, it's clear that justice has failed.



Journalists must not live in fear of reporting the truth.



This prosecution has always been political.



Scott Morrison must act.



Bring Julian Assange home.  Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) April 21, 2022

On 10 December 2021, a two-bench High Court panel reversed a 4 January lower court verdict the same year to deny the US the right to extradite Assange to try him on criminal charges in Washington.

British District Judge Vanessa Baraister had ruled in January 2021 that Assange should not be extradited, saying the risk he would commit suicide in a US jail was too high.
Security and application delivery specialist Radware has appointed Spark's IT distribution subsidiary Entelar as a distributor.

Radware's product lineup includes web application firewall (WAF), bot manager, API security, and DDoS protection (including burst, DNS, and TLS/SSL attacks; ransom DDoS campaigns; and IoT botnets).

"We are really excited to announce this partnership with Radware, which enhances our portfolio and helps to support our customers in providing cyber security solutions to their clients," said Entelar CEO Victoria Mahan.

"Partnering with Radware is another example of our investment in New Zealand and our ambitions for growth."

Spark group CISO, general manager of telco cloud, and Entelar board director Josh Bahlman said "Spark has long been working with Radware. By establishing this new partnership with Entelar, it allows us to provide the next evolution of products and services to the market.

"Given the evolution of attacks saturating networks as well as attacking web applications, Radware has always provided extremely advanced and innovative solutions.

I'm looking forward to seeing how we can take this partnership to help New Zealandbusinesses and network operators, large and small, further increase the maturity of New Zealand's cyber security posture."

Radware ANZ regional director Mathew Gomizel said "We look forward to working with Entelar to deliver state-of-the-art cyber protection for its customers.

"In today's threat landscape, companies can no longer afford to sacrifice protection for innovation. The risks are too high. Radware offers them frictionless security, which delivers maximum protection while keeping their business agile and competitive."
COMPANY NEWS: Ribbon, a global provider of real time communications software and IP optical networking solutions to service providers, enterprises, and critical infrastructure sectors, today announced that Ribbon is an ecosystem partner supporting Microsofts new Operator Connect Accelerator for Microsoft Teams. Ribbon is extending its multi-tenant, software as a service (SaaS) solution, Ribbon Connect for Operator Connect, to support service provider deployments of Operator Connect.

Ribbon Connect empowers service providers to speed up delivery of Operator Connect services by using pre-assembled API integration, sales enablement and portal-based administration tools. It also simplifies selling, provisioning, and billing of Operator Connect related services. A key differentiator for Ribbon Connect that makes it a critical element for Operator Connect connectivity, is its ability to leverage the same proven carrier-grade security products and services that are already trusted and deployed in the worlds largest telecom networks.

Operator Connect is Microsofts operator-managed service for interconnection between Teams and telecom services. With more than 270 million active monthly users, simplifying access to telecom services for Teams users better positions its Phone System services as a replacement for traditional telephony services and other cloud Unified Communications offerings. Operator Connect Accelerator offers service providers the opportunity to engage with an authorised Microsoft ecosystem partner to provide integration tools, service offerings and professional services to jump-start their Operator Connect deployments, giving providers greater access to this new group of Teams customers.

Since the launch of Microsoft Operator Connect, we have worked closely with Microsoft to build out our expertise and infrastructure to support the service, said Ribbon cloud and edge business unit executive vice president and general manager Tony Scarfo. In addition, we have been deeply engaged globally with our service provider customers including Switch Connect and others, helping them on-board and integrate with the service, and now many are anxious to accelerate that process using the new Operator Connect Accelerator.

Ribbon Connect enables service providers such as Switch Connect, who is among the first Ribbon customers to offer the service, to dramatically accelerate the time-to-market for their Microsoft Teams connectivity offers by leveraging turnkey, market-proven technology and eliminating the need to build and maintain their own solutions. Ribbon Connect is supported by Ribbons global professional service team, who has extensive expertise in building and maintaining carrier-grade communications networks.

Scarfo added, Our Ribbon Connect offering helps remove many common IT and billing integration issues and eases the on-boarding process to Operator Connect, enabling our service provider customers to realise faster ROI from their Teams investments. By offering API integration and automation tools, along with enhanced sales enablement mechanisms, Ribbon Connect enables service providers to reach their customers more quickly and efficiently.

Operator Connect Accelerator is designed to help service providers dramatically improve the time it takes to deploy their telecom services for Teams, reducing time-to-market and making it easier for businesses to adopt Teams as their office phone system, replacing costly legacy equipment, said Microsoft telcos modern workplace strategy and GTM lead Taimoor Husain.

Partners like Ribbon are key to enabling the program as they offer several benefits including strong existing relationships with service providers, a deep understanding of Microsofts stringent architecture and quality assurance requirements, and have invested in the integration and automation toolsets that make Operator Connect Accelerator so compelling.

The Ribbon Connect architecture fully complements Ribbons extensive portfolio of Microsoft certified SBCs, Analytics for Teams, and Voice Threat Prevention capabilities.

Ribbon and Cavell Group will host a webinar, Microsoft Operator Connect - Opportunities & Challenges for Service Providers, on 5 May. Click here to register for the event.

Key Takeaways:

Ribbon is supporting Microsofts new Operator Connect Accelerator for Microsoft Teams. Operator Connect is Microsofts operator-managed service for interconnection between Teams and traditional telephony services.

Operator Connect Accelerator offers service providers the opportunity to engage with an authorised Microsoft ecosystem partner to provide integration tools, service offerings and professional services to assist with Operator Connect deployments.

Ribbon Connect for Operator Connect enables service providers to dramatically accelerate the time-to-market for their Microsoft Teams connectivity offers by using advanced pre-assembled API integration, sales enablement and portal-based administration tools to simplify the selling, provisioning and billing of Operator Connect related services.

Ribbon Connect eliminates the need for Microsoft Operator Connect customers like Switch Connect to develop costly in-house solutions, enabling them to rapidly reduce the time that takes to connect Teams with the PSTN.

What differentiates Ribbon Connect from other offers on the market is that it is built from the same proven carrier-grade solutions that power and protect many of the largest telecom networks in the world and is supported by a world-class professional services organisation.

About Ribbon

Ribbon Communications delivers communications software, IP and optical networking solutions to service providers, enterprises and critical infrastructure sectors globally. We engage deeply with our customers, helping them modernize their networks for improved competitive positioning and business outcomes in today's smart, always-on and data-hungry world. Our innovative, end-to-end solutions portfolio delivers unparalleled scale, performance, and agility, including core to edge software-centric solutions, cloud-native offers, leading-edge security and analytics tools, along with IP and optical networking solutions for 5G. To learn more, visit Ribbon.
Today

Sunny with gusty winds developing this afternoon. High 87F. W winds at 5 to 10 mph, increasing to 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.

Tonight

Mostly clear skies. Gusty winds during the evening. Low 58F. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.

Tomorrow

Mostly sunny skies. High around 85F. WNW winds at 5 to 10 mph, increasing to 15 to 25 mph.
BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile of India

By Fang Xiaozhi

According to Indian media reports, India has completed its investigation into the "misfired" missile to Pakistan recently, claiming that several officials shall undertake the responsibility. The Indian Air Force mistakenly fired a BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile on March 9, and it fell into Pakistan. Fortunately, there were no casualties. India then established an incident investigation committee, determined that this was an accident caused by a technical malfunction during routine maintenance, and asked the Indian Air Force to review various procedural specifications to ensure that similar incidents will not occur again. Pakistan protested the incident to India, expressing concerns that such an accident could escalate and spark conflict due to the lack of risk de-escalation agreement or mechanism between the two countries.

India has been continuously seeking the status of a major power by increasing its regional influence and strengthening its armament construction for a long time, for which developing various types of missiles and improving strike and deterrence capabilities have played an important part. Driven by relevant plans, India has successively developed the Prithvi short-range ballistic missiles system and the Agni medium and long-range ballistic missiles system. The Prithvi family has three versions , and they are the main means for the Indian army to carry out in-depth precision strikes. The Agni series have five, and they are the strategic weapons for India to deter the enemy. The Agni-5 ballistic missile has a range of 5,000 kilometers and can carry multiple nuclear warheads for strategic nuclear strike mission. It is currently the most powerful and longest-range strategic missile in India. The Agni-6 ballistic missile is still under research and development, which is expected to have a firing range of more than 10,000 kilometers.

In addition to independent research and development, India is also actively working with foreign countries and introducing advanced technologies to improve missile performance as soon as possible. The BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missile is jointly developed by India and Russia, which is based on the Russian Yakhont supersonic anti-ship missile, and has developed into three types including land-based, air-launched, and ship-borne. India said it will also develop a submarine-launched version to establish a firepower system along with Prithvi and Agni ballistic missiles, in a bid to deal with various threats and implement strategic deterrence.

India's current status of weapons research and development still lags behind its ambitious development plan, especially in the field of missile research and development. Although India has mastered relevant technologies of missile manufacturing, it has few independent intellectual property rights, and many core technologies come from abroad. In addition, India has failed to establish a complete defense industrial system, and the weapons it has developed are always unsatisfactory. The "misfiring" of the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missile this time also fully exposed the shortcomings of its missile design and the lack of missile research and development capabilities. Indias missile technology is still facing multiple difficulties, and it still has a long way to actual combat.

(The author is an associate professor at the School of International Relations, PLA National University of Defense Technology)
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - A number of customs officers and a gendarme were arrested and placed in custody on Saturday at the Ouagadougou detention centre (MACO) for alleged fuel smuggling
FILE - This undated photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Correction shows inmate Oscar Smith. Tennessee's governor said Tuesday, April 19, 2022, that he will not intervene in the scheduled execution later this week of Smith, convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife and her sons decades ago. Attorneys for the 72-year-old asked Republican Gov. Bill Lee for clemency, citing problems with the jury in his 1990 trial. Smith is set to receive a lethal injection on Thursday, April 21.
Fred Sauceman is the author of The Proffitts of Ridgewood: An Appalachian Familys Life in Barbecue.
This is the cross in Bladensburg, Md. that was decided by the Supreme Court in 2019. The case may have a bearing on any litigation the City of Elizabethton has with the three crosses atop Lynn Mountain.
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Ukraine received fighter jets to help resist the Russian invasion, as Moscow intensified its offensive in the east where a besieged officer in Mariupol warned Wednesday his forces were facing their last days, if not hours.

The West has responded to a renewed Russian push into the Donbas region with fresh weapons for Kyiv and a push to increase Moscows international isolation.

The Pentagon said that Ukraine had recently received fighter planes and parts to bolster its air force, declining to specify the number of aircraft and their origin.

Kyiv has asked its Western partners to provide MiG-29s, which its pilots already know how to fly and a handful of Eastern European countries have.

Control of Donbas and the southern port of Mariupol would allow Moscow to create a southern corridor to the Crimean peninsula that it annexed in 2014, depriving Ukraine of much of its coastline.

In the latest ultimatum issued in its battle to capture Mariupol, Moscow made another call for the citys defenders to surrender on Wednesday by 2 pm Moscow time (1100 GMT) and announced the opening of a humanitarian corridor for any Ukrainian troops who agreed to lay down their arms.

As the deadline approached, a commander in the besieged Azovstal power plant issued a desperate plea for help, saying his marines were maybe facing our last days, if not hours.

The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to one, Serhiy Volyna from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade said.

We appeal and plead to all world leaders to help us. We ask them to use the procedure of extraction and take us to the territory of a third-party state.

Thousands of troops and civilians remain holed up in the plant.

An advisor to the mayor of Mariupol described a horrible situation in the encircled complex and reported that up to 2,000 people  mostly women and children  are without normal supplies of drinking water, food, and fresh air.

During an interview broadcast on CNN Tuesday, Pavlo Kyrylenko  who oversees the Donetsk regions military administration  insisted Mariupol remained contested.

The Ukrainian flag is flying over the city, he said. There are certain districts where street fighting is continuing. I cant say the Russians are controlling them.

Offering some respite, Kyiv said early Wednesday it had agreed with Russian forces to open a safe route for civilians to flee the devastated city.

We have managed to get a preliminary agreement on a humanitarian corridor for women, children and elderly persons, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram.

 We are bombed everywhere 

Elsewhere on the front lines, Ukraines defence ministry reported its troops had beaten back a Russian attack in the city of Izium, south of the partly blockaded second city of Kharkiv.

In the town of Novodruzhesk, 65-year-old resident Nadya said: We are bombed everywhere.

Its a miracle that were still alive, she said, her voice trembling.

We were lying on the ground and waiting. Since February 24, weve been sleeping in the cellar.

Kyiv also claimed enemy losses in a Ukrainian counter-attack near the town of Marinka in Donetsk.

The governor of the eastern Lugansk region Sergiy Gaiday said Ukrainian forces were holding their ground in the face of heavy fighting.

We have positional battles in the cities of Rubizhne and Popasna. The enemy cannot do anything though. They are losing people and equipment there, Gaiday said.

Our guys are shooting down drones there. Shooting down planes on the border of the Lugansk and Kharkiv regions, so they are holding on.

Russian forces, meanwhile, said high-precision air-based missiles hit 13 Ukrainian positions in parts of Donbas while other air strikes hit 60 military assets, including in towns close to the eastern front line.

 War crime 

President Vladimir Putin has said he launched the so-called military operation in Ukraine in February to save Russian speakers in the country from a genocide carried out by a neo-Nazi regime.

But his forces have faced allegations of war crimes  most recently from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said Tuesday that Putin was responsible for atrocities in Ukraine.

The killing of thousands of civilians as we have seen is a war crime for which the Russian president bears responsibility, Scholz said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also denounced Russias offensive, and issued calls for a four-day truce to mark the Orthodox Holy Week.

Instead of a celebration of new life, this Easter coincides with a Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, Guterres told reporters.

The intense concentration of forces and firepower makes this battle inevitably more violent, bloody and destructive.

Guterres called for a humanitarian pause from Holy Thursday until Easter Sunday on April 24.

Hundreds of thousands of lives hang in the balance.

burs-oho/qan/axn
According to her death certificate, Lyudmyla Bochok, 79, was killed by a bullet to the head and the back on March 5.

Her body was found lying on the doorstep of her home at 87, Peremogy Street in Bucha, a commuter town near Ukraines capital Kyiv now synonymous with unspeakable war crimes committed during Russias invasion.

Bochoks mentally handicapped sister Nina, 74, was found dead in the kitchen: she died of heart failure, according to the death certificate seen by AFP.

But her nephew Yevgen Pasternak believes she died of fright, loneliness or hunger, after the Russians executed her sister.

After two weeks of fruitlessly searching body bags and examining the corpses of dozens of elderly women, Pasternak finally found his Aunt Lyuda at the back of a white truck on Monday.

But he has so far been unable to locate Nina.

Around 4,000 residents found themselves trapped in Bucha as the Russians advanced.

Four hundred bodies were discovered when the Russians then withdrew again on March 31, local police chief Vitaly Lobas told AFP. Around a quarter of them are still unidentified.

The majority died violent deaths and were shot, Lobas says, declining to provide a concrete figure at this stage.

 Piles of body bags 

Number 365, is that one yours? asks a masked Ukrainian volunteer pointing to a grey body bag next to a trailer, where 12 other corpses wait for a space in Buchas small morgue.

Yes, its mine, says Lyudmylas and Ninas 44-year-old nephew, Pasternak.

And the other one, is it yours? continues the volunteer, in a hurry to get on.

No, its theirs, says Pasternak, who has been coming here looking for his aunts for weeks.

The bodies of Bucha residents who died or were killed during Russias month-long occupation of the town started being gathered up on April 3.

Five days later, the autopsies began at the regions central morgue in nearby Bila Tserkva, where 18 French police experts have joined the team.

The coroners findings will all contribute to the local and international investigations being carried out into possible war crimes.

In the car park of the small communal morgue, the body bags arrive in carts or piled up in trailers, vans and non-refrigerated trucks.

After being unloaded, the body bags are left on the floor, sometimes for several hours, AFP saw.

Nadia Somalenko patiently waits to collect her husbands death certificate, undeterred by the human bodies covered in plastic and the strong smell that attracts the neighbourhoods stray dogs.

 Bullet to the head 

The Russians must have taken him out of the house, because they found the potatoes and onions he was peeling on the table, she said.

After waiting all morning, Nadia is finally handed the death certificate of her 61-year-old husband, Mykola. It states the cause of death as a bullet to the head.

She says that Somalenko had refused to leave Bucha and join his wife in Kyiv, despite the fighting. He was not afraid of the Russians, Nadia says.

Lyudmyla cannot wait any longer. When a lorry enters the car park at Buchas morgue, the small woman opens the door herself.

And despite the overwhelming stench, she frenziedly searches among the body bags for number 163.

Its him, our son! Let me see! Let me see if its him or not! she begs.

Lyudmyla tries to open the cover, and her husband tries to stop her. The old man opens the zip a little, but attempts to shoo his wife away with his hand.

My son, my little baby thats our quilt, thats his earring, his jacket, she whispers under her FFP2 mask.

The body is raised and placed on a stained stretcher.

The sobbing mother starts to take it through the car park, breaking into a run, as if her son were simply injured and could be taken to the emergency ward for help.

She recounts how her son Artyom had first brought his wife and daughters to safety in the western city of Lviv, but then planned to return to the village of Myrotske, near Bucha, in early March to try to rescue his parents.

But he never arrived and, for a month, no one knew what had happened to him.

His decomposed body was finally found 200 metres (650 feet) away from their home, near a swamp, on April 6. His death certificate, seen by AFP, said he died of bullet wounds.

Sergiy Kaplichny, head of the funeral parlour next to the morgue, moves from one coffin to another, sporting a flashy orange sweater.

The funerals are free and include a choice of colour for the coffin, a cross with a temporary plaque, a traditional plastic garland of flowers and the presence of a priest.

Interments take place in Buchas cemetery Number Two, located on the edge of a forest of fir trees.

 Never-ending cycle 

The bodies of three Bucha residents, executed for no apparent reason by Russian soldiers, wait to be laid to rest.

In a red coffin to the left lies Lyudmyla, assassinated on her doorstep. In the middle rests Mykola, taken away during a meal.

On the right in a black coffin is Mykhailo Kovalenko, 62, a father who was killed by a Russian sniper as he tried to escape, according to his grieving son-in-law.

A blue Lada makes its way up the cemetery path and parks by the graves, briefly interrupting the priests prayers. Two volunteers clutching spades get out.

Four more coffins have arrived: graves must quickly be dug for them and filled up by nightfall.

It is an unending cycle of death that will inexorably start all over again the next day.
Mariupol could fall into Russian hands within hours, a Ukrainian official said, as the enemies agreed Wednesday to a humanitarian corridor for civilians to flee the devastated port city following a two-month siege.

As fighting raged in the countrys east and south, the president of the European Council Charles Michel arrived in Kyiv, where he vowed the EU would do everything possible to help Ukraine win the war.

You are not alone. We are with you, Michel said during a press conference alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Michels visit comes as the West continues to pour weapons into Ukraine amid a renewed Russian push into the eastern Donbas region where a new offensive launched this week has led to an uptick in fighting.

Hours ahead of Michels arrival, the Pentagon said that Ukraine had recently received fighter planes and parts to bolster its air force, following repeated calls from Kyiv for heavier weapons.

Ukraines air force later hit back at the claim, saying they had only received spare parts to help replenish their existing fleet and had not been given additional aircraft.

The announcement came as the battle for Mariupol appeared to be nearing a crucial tipping point, after nearly two months of devastating fighting that has seen untold numbers of civilians trapped and killed.

Control of Mariupol and the separatist-controlled Donbas region in the east would allow Moscow to create a southern corridor to the Crimean Peninsula that it annexed in 2014, depriving Ukraine of much of its coastline.

In the latest ultimatum issued in its battle to capture Mariupol, Moscow made another call for the citys defenders to surrender on Wednesday by 2:00 pm Moscow time (1100 GMT) and announced the opening of a humanitarian corridor for any Ukrainian troops who agreed to lay down their arms.

As the deadline approached, a commander in the besieged Azovstal steel plant issued a desperate plea for help, saying his marines were maybe facing our last days, if not hours.

The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to one, Serhiy Volyna from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade said.

We appeal and plead to all world leaders to help us. We ask them to use the procedure of extraction and take us to the territory of a third-party state.

Thousands of troops and civilians remain holed up in the plant.

An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol described a horrible situation in the encircled complex and reported that up to 2,000 people  mostly women and children  are without normal supplies of drinking water, food and fresh air.

Svyatoslav Palamar, a commander in the nationalist Azov battalion defending Mariupol, said the Russian attack on the sprawling steel complex was relentless.

Powerful bombs have been dropped several times on Azovstal, we have been bombed from boats we are under siege. The front is 360 degrees, said Palamar in a post on Telegram, adding that hundreds of civilians were also trapped at the plant.

The situation is critical, we call on international leaders to help the children, he added.

Offering some respite, Kyiv said early Wednesday it had agreed with Russian forces to open a safe route for civilians to flee the devastated city.

We have managed to get a preliminary agreement on a humanitarian corridor for women, children and elderly persons, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram.

 Violent deaths 

Elsewhere on the frontlines, Ukraines defence ministry reported its troops had beaten back a Russian attack in the city of Izium, south of the partly blockaded second city of Kharkiv in the east.

Kyiv also claimed enemy losses in a Ukrainian counter-attack near the town of Marinka in Donetsk.

Separately, Russia on Wednesday said its forces had launched 73 airstrikes across Ukraine, hitting dozens of locations where troops were concentrated.

In eastern Ukraines Kramatorsk, a large city in the Donetsk region, residents were already bracing for the worst.

Its going to be a mess, said Alexander, 53. Theres nothing good to expect.

Further from the frontlines, residents were still reeling weeks after Russian forces withdrew from the area near the capital Kyiv.

At a morgue in Bucha, families carefully searched body bags and examined cadavers looking for missing loved ones.

In the car park of the small communal morgue, the body bags arrived in carts or were piled up in trailers, vans and non-refrigerated trucks.

Four hundred bodies have been discovered since the Russians withdrew on March 31, local police chief Vitaly Lobas told AFP. Around a quarter of them are still unidentified.

The majority died violent deaths and were shot, Lobas said, declining to provide a concrete figure at this stage.

 War crimes 

President Vladimir Putin has said he launched the so-called military operation in Ukraine in February to save Russian speakers in the country from a genocide carried out by a neo-Nazi regime.

But his forces have faced allegations of war crimes  most recently from the EUs Michel during his visit to Kyiv on Wednesday where he toured the devastated nearby town of Borodianka.

In Borodianka. Like Bucha and too many other towns in Ukraine. History will not forget the war crimes that have been committed here, Michel wrote on Twitter.

There can be no peace without justice, he added.

Ukrainian authorities have said that over 1,200 bodies have been found in the Kyiv region so far.

burs-ds/rlp
EU chief Charles Michel said Wednesday that there must be justice for war crimes committed in Ukraine as he toured the devastated town of Borodianka on a visit to the country.

In Borodianka. Like Bucha and too many other towns in Ukraine. History will not forget the war crimes that have been committed here. There can be no peace without justice, European Council head Michel wrote on Twitter.

Michel is the latest foreign leader to head to Kyiv in a show of support for the pro-Western authorities as they battle the onslaught from Moscows forces.

Western nations are aiding Ukrainian and international efforts to probe alleged crimes committed by Russias forces in areas they occupied.

Moscows troops withdrew from towns such as Borodianka and Bucha near Kyiv at the end of March as the Kremlin refocused efforts on the east of the country.

Local authorities have said that over 1,200 bodies have been found in the Kyiv region so far.
Chinas lawmakers on Wednesday announced that it ratified two international conventions against forced labour, months after United Nations experts voiced concerns over the countrys treatment of ethnic and religious minorities  particularly in the Xinjiang region.

Beijings approvals come as the country faces accusations of widespread human rights abuses in Xinjiang, including forced labour.

Rights groups estimate at least one million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in re-education camps there  allegations that Beijing roundly rejects.

Officials maintain the camps are vocational training centres aimed at reducing the appeal of Islamic extremism.

London and Washington have been among vocal critics of Chinas treatment of minorities in Xinjiang, with the US State Department previously calling on China to end its genocide and crimes against humanity in the region.

On Wednesday, Chinas top legislature approved the ratification of the International Labour Organizations Forced Labour Convention, as well as the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, according to official announcements on the National Peoples Congress website.

Labour rights have been a fraught issue in China, with a committee of 20 experts appointed by the ILO  a UN agency  taking China to task in its annual report published in February.

The group expressed deep concern after assessing the treatment of minorities, and evaluated allegations in late 2020 that Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities were systematically being forced to work in agriculture.

The expert committee called on Beijing to reorient the mandate of vocational training and education centres from political re-education based on administrative detention.

China has lashed out at accusations of forced labour as untrue and politically motivated.

Members who ratify the two conventions are obliged to suppress and not use any form of forced or compulsory labour, according information on the ILOs website.

They should also take measures to secure the immediate and complete abolition of such labour.

Beijing had previously been asked to provide detailed information about the steps it was taking to ensure activities at Xinjiangs vocational training centres were in line with Chinas international obligations.

The country is also expecting a visit by UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet in May, in a long-delayed visit that includes a trip to Xinjiang.

There have long been calls for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Xinjiang and publish her offices findings.

Last year, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to refuse any consideration of a major investment pact between the European Union and China, as long as Chinese sanctions against MEPs and scholars remained in place.

The EU had sanctioned four Chinese officials over suspected human rights violations in Xinjiang and China responded by imposing its own sanctions against European politicians, scholars and research groups.
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Besieged Ukrainian troops defending Mariupol called desperately for outside help Wednesday, warning the strategic port could fall within hours as Russia demanded they surrender and the latest civilian evacuation bid failed.

Raising tensions, Russia meanwhile said it had tested a new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile. The United States said it had been notified and the test was not deemed a threat.

In the latest ultimatum issued in its battle to capture Mariupol after a two-month siege, Moscow made another call for the citys defenders to surrender by 1100 GMT.

It announced the opening of a humanitarian corridor for any Ukrainian troops who agreed to lay down their arms.

Kyiv said early Wednesday it had agreed with Russian forces to open a safe route for civilians to flee the devastated city. But Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said later the bid did not work and efforts would resume Thursday.

A commander in the besieged Azovstal steel plant issued a desperate plea for help, saying his marines were maybe facing our last days, if not hours.

The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to one, said Serhiy Volyna from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade early Wednesday.

We appeal and plead to all world leaders to help us. We ask them to use the procedure of extraction and take us to the territory of a third-party state.

 EU vows to help Ukraine win 

As fighting raged in Ukraines east and south, European Council leader Charles Michel visited Kyiv and vowed the EU would do everything possible to help Ukraine win the war.

You are not alone. We are with you, Michel said during a press conference alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

But Zelensky said Ukraine still did not have enough weapons to resist the invasion, despite military aid from Western allies.

The situation in Mariupol is deteriorating with thousands of troops and civilians stuck in the city, Zelensky said.

There are two ways to unblock Mariupol. The first one is serious armed assistance. So far, we do not have enough such hardware. The second one is diplomatic, but so far Russia does not agree.

Hours ahead of Michels arrival, the Pentagon said Ukraine had received fighter planes to bolster its air force  but later corrected that statement, saying only aircraft parts had been delivered.

 Eastern offensive 

Control of Mariupol and the separatist-controlled eastern Donbas region would allow Moscow to create a southern corridor to the Crimean Peninsula that it annexed in 2014, depriving Ukraine of much of its coastline.

Fighting flared back up this week after Russia launched a major offensive into Donbas.

The battle for Mariupol appeared to be nearing a tipping point, after nearly two months of devastating fighting that has seen untold numbers of civilians trapped and killed.

An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol described a horrible situation in the encircled steel plant and reported that up to 2,000 people  mostly women and children  are without normal supplies of drinking water, food and fresh air.

Svyatoslav Palamar, a commander in the nationalist Azov battalion defending Mariupol, said the Russian attack on the sprawling complex was relentless.

Powerful bombs have been dropped several times on Azovstal, we have been bombed from boats we are under siege. The front is 360 degrees, said Palamar in a post on Telegram.

The situation is critical, we call on international leaders to help the children, he added.

 Violent deaths 

Elsewhere on the frontlines, Ukraines defence ministry reported its troops had beaten back a Russian attack in the city of Izium, south of the partly blockaded second city of Kharkiv in the east.

Kyiv also claimed enemy losses in a Ukrainian counter-attack near the town of Marinka in Donetsk.

Separately, Russia said Wednesday its forces had launched 73 air strikes across Ukraine, hitting dozens of locations where troops were concentrated.

In eastern Ukraines Kramatorsk, a large city in the Donetsk region, residents were already bracing for the worst.

Its going to be a mess, said Alexander, 53. Theres nothing good to expect.

Further from the frontlines, residents were still reeling weeks after Russian forces withdrew from the area near the capital Kyiv.

At a morgue in Bucha, families carefully searched body bags and examined cadavers looking for missing loved ones.

In the car park of the small communal morgue, the body bags arrived in carts or were piled up in trailers, vans and non-refrigerated trucks.

Four hundred bodies have been discovered there since the Russians withdrew on March 31, local police chief Vitaly Lobas told AFP. Around a quarter of them are still unidentified.

The majority died violent deaths and were shot, Lobas said.

Ukrainian authorities have said that over 1,200 bodies have been found in the Kyiv region so far.

 War crimes 

President Vladimir Putin has said he launched the so-called military operation in Ukraine in February to save Russian speakers in the country from a genocide carried out by a neo-Nazi regime.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused nationalist Ukrainian forces of using civilians as human shields and of refusing to evacuate via humanitarian corridors.

But his forces have faced allegations of war crimes  most recently from the EUs Michel, who toured the devastated nearby town of Borodianka Wednesday.

History will not forget the war crimes that have been committed here, Michel wrote on Twitter.

Putin said the test of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile Wednesday would make the Kremlins enemies think twice.

US Department of Defense Spokesman John Kirby said Moscow properly notified Washington of the test under an arms treaty.

Testing is routine, and it was not a surprise, Kirby told reporters. The Pentagon has not deemed the test to be a threat to the United States or its allies.

burs-ds/rlp/raz
A desperate attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol failed Wednesday as the strategic Ukrainian port appeared close to finally falling under Russian control after weeks of relentless attack.

Raising tensions, Russia said it had tested a new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile, though the United States said it had been notified and the test was not deemed a threat.

In the latest ultimatum issued in its battle to capture Mariupol after a horrific two-month siege, Moscow made another call for the citys defenders to surrender.

Kyiv said early Wednesday it had agreed with Russian forces to open a safe route for civilians to flee the devastated city.

But Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said later the bid did not work and efforts would resume Thursday.

A Ukrainian commander in the besieged Azovstal steel plant issued a desperate plea for help, saying his marines were maybe facing our last days, if not hours.

The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to one, said Serhiy Volyna from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade.

We appeal and plead to all world leaders to help us. We ask them to use the procedure of extraction and take us to the territory of a third-party state.

 EU vows to help Ukraine win 

As fighting raged in Ukraines east and south, European Council leader Charles Michel visited Kyiv and vowed the EU would do everything possible to help Ukraine win the war.

You are not alone. We are with you, Michel said during a press conference alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

But Zelensky said Ukraine still did not have enough weapons to resist the invasion, despite military aid from Western allies.

The situation in Mariupol is deteriorating with thousands of troops and civilians stuck in the city, Zelensky said.

Ahead of Michels arrival, the Pentagon said Ukraine had received fighter planes to bolster its air force  but later corrected that statement, saying only aircraft parts had been delivered.

On Wednesday White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki again vowed that the United States was doing everything we can to equip the Ukrainian government (and) Ukrainian leaders to effectively fight back in this military battle.

 Eastern offensive 

Control of Mariupol and the separatist-controlled eastern Donbas region would allow Moscow to create a southern corridor to the Crimean Peninsula that it annexed in 2014, depriving Ukraine of much of its coastline.

Fighting flared back up this week after Russia launched a major offensive into Donbas.

The battle for Mariupol appeared to be nearing a tipping point, after nearly two months of devastating fighting that has seen untold numbers of civilians trapped and killed.

An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol described a horrible situation in the encircled steel plant and reported that up to 2,000 people  mostly women and children  are without normal supplies of drinking water, food and fresh air.

Svyatoslav Palamar, a commander in the nationalist Azov battalion defending Mariupol, said the Russian attack on the sprawling complex was relentless.

Powerful bombs have been dropped several times on Azovstal, we have been bombed from boats we are under siege. The front is 360 degrees, said Palamar in a post on Telegram.

The situation is critical, we call on international leaders to help the children, he added.

 Violent deaths 

Russia said Wednesday its forces had launched 73 air strikes across Ukraine, hitting dozens of locations where Ukrainian troops were concentrated.

In eastern Ukraines Kramatorsk, a large city in the Donetsk region, residents were already bracing for the worst.

Its going to be a mess, said Alexander, 53. Theres nothing good to expect.

Further from the frontlines, residents were still reeling weeks after Russian forces withdrew from the area near the capital Kyiv.

At a morgue in Bucha, families carefully searched body bags and examined cadavers looking for missing loved ones.

In the car park of the small communal morgue, body bags arrived in carts or were piled up in trailers, vans and non-refrigerated trucks.

Four hundred bodies have been discovered there since the Russians withdrew on March 31, local police chief Vitaly Lobas told AFP. Around a quarter of them are still unidentified.

The majority died violent deaths and were shot, Lobas said.

Ukrainian authorities have said that over 1,200 bodies have been found in the Kyiv region so far.

 War crimes 

President Vladimir Putin has said he launched the so-called military operation in Ukraine in February to save Russian speakers in the country from a genocide carried out by a neo-Nazi regime.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused nationalist Ukrainian forces of using civilians as human shields and of refusing to evacuate via humanitarian corridors.

But his forces have faced allegations of war crimes  most recently from the EUs Michel, who toured the devastated nearby town of Borodianka Wednesday.

History will not forget the war crimes that have been committed here, Michel wrote on Twitter.

Putin said Wednesdays test of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile would make the Kremlins enemies think twice.

At a G20 meeting Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen led a multi-nation walkout of finance officials from the worlds richest countries when Russian officials spoke, in protest against Moscows invasion.

burs-ds/rlp/bgs/mlm
Ukraine called Wednesday for urgent negotiations with Russia in Mariupol, which appeared close to falling after weeks of siege, as Vladimir Putin flexed his military muscle with the test launch of a new, nuclear capable ICBM.

Washington downplayed the test of the intercontinental ballistic missile and said it had been notified in advance, but Putin said it would make the Kremlins enemies think twice, raising tensions nearly two months after he invaded Ukraine and ignited a global crisis.

Mariupol, a strategic port city on the Sea of Azov, has been under a horrific siege almost since the invasion began. On Wednesday, Moscow issued another call for the devastated citys defenders to surrender.

But Kyiv proposed a special round of talks with Moscow, without any conditions, in Mariupol itself.

One on one. Two on two. To save our guys, Azov, military, civilians, children, the living & the wounded. Everyone. Because they are ours, wrote top Ukraine negotiator and presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak on Twitter.

He tweeted after a Ukrainian commander in the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol issued a desperate plea for help, saying his marines were maybe facing our last days, if not hours.

The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to one, said Serhiy Volyna from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade.

We appeal and plead to all world leaders to help us. We ask them to use the procedure of extraction and take us to the territory of a third-party state.

An adviser to the citys mayor described a horrible situation in the encircled steel plant and reported that up to 2,000 people  mostly women and children  are without supplies of drinking water, food and fresh air.

Powerful bombs have been dropped several times on Azovstal, we have been bombed from boats we are under siege. The front is 360 degrees, said Svyatoslav Palamar, a commander in the nationalist Azov battalion defending the city, in a post on Telegram.

The situation is critical, we call on international leaders to help the children, he added.

Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukraines unexpectedly fierce resistance since Russian troops invaded the former Soviet state on February 24.

Capturing it would allow Russia to have a land bridge between the Crimea peninsula, which it annexed in 2014, and the two Moscow-backed separatist statelets in Ukraines east.

The offer of talks came after Kyiv said it had agreed with Russian forces to open a safe route for civilians to flee the devastated city  but that the had attempt failed.

 Biden amazed by resistance 

As fighting raged in Ukraines east and south, European Council leader Charles Michel visited Kyiv and vowed the EU would do everything possible to help Ukraine win the war.

You are not alone. We are with you, Michel said during a press conference alongside Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky said his country still did not have enough weapons to resist the invasion, despite billions in military aid from Western allies  though, in a video message he added his partners understand our needs better.

Ahead of Michels arrival, the Pentagon said Ukraine had received fighter planes to bolster its air force  but later it corrected that statement, saying only aircraft parts had been delivered.

Washington has repeatedly vowed to do everything it can to help Kyiv, without igniting a direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.

On Wednesday US President Joe Biden said he has been amazed by Ukrainian resistance.

Theyre tougher and more proud than I thought, he said, adding that Western weapons and ammunition are flowing in daily.

He said NATO remains united, focused and energized, adding: I dont think Putin counted on it.

 Nothing good 

Russia said Wednesday its forces had launched 73 air strikes across Ukraine, hitting dozens of locations where Ukrainian troops were concentrated.

In eastern Ukraines Kramatorsk, a large city in the Donetsk region, residents were bracing for the worst.

Its going to be a mess, said Alexander, 53. Theres nothing good to expect.

Further from the frontlines, residents were still reeling weeks after Russian forces withdrew from the area near Kyiv.

At a morgue in Bucha, families carefully searched body bags and examined cadavers looking for missing loved ones.

In the car park body bags arrived in carts or were piled up in trailers, vans and non-refrigerated trucks.

Four hundred bodies have been discovered there since the Russians withdrew on March 31, local police chief Vitaly Lobas told AFP. Around a quarter of them are still unidentified.

The majority died violent deaths, Lobas said.

Ukrainian authorities have said that over 1,200 bodies have been found in the Kyiv region so far.

Putin has said he launched the so-called military operation in Ukraine to save Russian speakers there from a genocide carried out by a neo-Nazi regime.

But his forces have faced allegations of war crimes  most recently from the EUs Michel, who toured the devastated town of Borodianka Wednesday.

History will not forget the war crimes that have been committed here, Michel wrote on Twitter.

burs-st/bgs
Japans Ministry for Economy, Trade and Industry was on a high. It was June 2018 and Meti, as it is more commonly known, had just forced through the $18bn sale of Toshibas prized memory chip business to a private equity consortium.

The deal appeared to justify the ministrys billing as the creator of the nations industrial base. It was the largest private equity deal in the countrys history and relieved genuine concern that its most famous conglomerate could go bust. Critically, it appeared to unlock something bigger.

The problem-solving reputation of Meti, an arm of government that became the principal architect of Japans postwar industrial economy by leveraging its power to channel investment and promoting consolidation in a range of sectors, seemed restored.

The Toshiba deal highlighted the range of Metis modern prerogatives from managing the fortunes of tens of thousands of small businesses, to promoting the shift to automation, policing national security in industry and shaping energy policy in Asias largest advanced economy.

Toshibas uncertain future risks the reputation of Japans Ministry for Economy, Trade and Industry (Meti)  Rolf Schulten/ullstein bild/Getty Images

But the deal, though successful, turned out to be a false dawn. Just four years later, Toshibas future is once again unclear, putting Metis reputation back on the line. Private equity groups in the US and Singapore are lining up a bid to take Toshiba private, taking one of the countrys most famous companies off the Tokyo Stock Exchange and into foreign ownership.

Now, Meti must decide whether to support or block the buyout, a position made complicated by a scandal last year when its senior officials were accused of colluding with Toshiba to apply pressure on foreign investors to back management and shun activists in a pivotal vote on the companys future.

The pending decision is likely to expose a rift within Meti over the future direction of Japans economy, says Nicholas Benes, a corporate governance expert. Some at the ministry are pushing for more transparency and openness to foreign capital, he says, while others are under pressure from domestic industry groups not to be seen to be selling-out Japan Inc.

The protectionists have until now wielded, and cultivated, the most influence. Not only has Meti historically protected Japan Inc from foreign capital, it devotes so much time to deals that satisfy its pretension that Meti is running the industry, says Shigeaki Koga, the former director of the ministrys economic and industrial policy department. That pretension, critics say, sometimes colours the ministrys judgment in the way that it chooses to intervene, or not, in companies.

Meti supremo Takaya Imai became former prime minister Shinzo Abes chief of staff  Shoko Takayasu/Bloomberg

The Toshiba deal is just one issue facing a ministry that former officials say is beginning to look overstretched. The global trade turmoil caused by Covid-19 and exacerbated by the war in Ukraine has exposed some of the frailties of Japans economy, which is heavily dependent on imported energy, raw materials and food. The plummeting yen will only make matters worse.

Yet the shifting tides of the global economy also give Meti an opportunity to position itself once again as the nations protector. At the behest of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the ministry is heavily involved in rethinking how best to develop or gain access to vital supply chains for products such as semiconductors, an industry once dominated by Japan. And it is also steering the Kishida administrations shift towards energy security, which could eventually see Japans dormant nuclear industry reawaken.

If this sprawling ministry of nearly 8,000 staff, overseen by the gaffe-prone minister Koichi Hagiuda, can find the right mixture of protectionist policies and targeted inward investment it might yet recapture a measure of its historic influence. But critics say it will need to tear itself out of its bureaucratic overcaution.

It has been only a year or two since Meti decided to do something on semiconductors, which should have been done five years ago, says Masahiko Hosokawa, a former Meti official who was in charge of trade control. It is [now] at the edge of being too late.

When an earthquake knocked out power stations in March Tokyo came close to a blackout, showing the countrys vulnerability to external shocks  Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images

Finding its place

The ministry, formerly known as the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti), built Japans economic miracle through the early 1970s until the burst of the bubble in the late 1980s, say its many advocates and former officials. But it was left bitter at its hugely diminished role and reduced influence during the lost decades that followed.

By 2018 its powers had been partially restored after six years of Abenomics  the period under Shinzo Abe that put revitalisation at the centre of industrial policy. The government loaded Meti supremos such as the powerful strategist Takaya Imai  who became Abes chief of staff  at the very top rungs of national decision-making.

Yet even at the height of this resurgence, the ministrys powers never came close to where they had been during the postwar period when it shaped key industries to drive the nations rapid growth.

Since then its role has fundamentally changed. With the exception of certain sectors such as nuclear power plants and utilities, it is no longer capable of wielding its influence over entire industries.

Once a prestigious destination for aspiring civil servants, Meti has struggled to retain young talent in recent years, while the rotating appointment of officials has hindered the passage of knowhow to compile long-term industrial strategy.

Instead, it has more recently refocused on the governments efforts to encourage the private sector to be more involved in the economy by supporting start-ups and rebooting struggling companies via consolidation or cross-border acquisitions.

Since the 1990s, Metis mission has been to revive the lost dynamism of Japanese businesses, says Keita Nishiyama, a recently retired official who played a key role in establishing the government-backed investment fund behind the bailouts of chipmaker Renesas in 2013 and display units of Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba in 2012. He now advises buyout group KKR.

Critics say the injection of state money under Abe was unnecessary, sometimes wasteful and reminiscent of Metis postwar interventionist stance, pointing to the availability of ample liquidity provided by global private equity funds such as KKR and Bain, which is leading the potential buyout of Toshiba.

Nishiyama argues that state-backed capital can at times be more effective than PE funds at removing company resistance to change: We didnt think it was intervention but it was a form of government activism, he says.

A move away from oil and gas power to provide energy security could lead to the reawakening of Japans shuttered nuclear sector  Toru Hanai/Bloomberg

More recently Meti has been cut out of some of this dealmaking. The recent tie-up between Sony and Honda in electric vehicles  the type of deal where the ministry would have traditionally pushed to be involved  happened without any guidance from government officials.

Meti co-ordinated industries so that everyone could survive, says Koga, the former Meti director, and its senior bureaucrats benefited from amakudari or a descent from heaven into executive positions in the private sector. But as industries grew, they no longer needed the protection of Meti, especially after the oil crisis of the 1970s and [more recently after] the US shifted its focus of trade conflict from Japan to China. Meti was jobless in the 1990s and 2000s, as they had no significant role to play.

For decades Meti was looking for things to do to protect its power base, says Benes, long after Japan ceased to be a manufacturing economy.

Japanese PM Fumio Kishida last week joined other G7 countries in banning coal imports from Russia  Rodrigo Reyes Marin/Pool/AP

Keeping the lights on

The most urgent priority for Kishida, in power for just six months, is to strengthen the countrys energy and economic security against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.

He has leaned on Meti bureaucrats to do so. Their influence is seen by many in the decision of the Kishida administration to reject calls to pull out of two major energy projects developed with Russia on the island of Sakhalin north of Hokkaido and one in the Arctic.

The decision by Shell and BP to abandon its Sakhalin oil and gas projects in the wake of the Ukraine invasion sent shockwaves across the industry in Japan. The projects, dating back to the 1970s, were developed in co-ordination with Meti. In total, Japan has more than $8bn worth of investments in energy facilities in Russia.

Nobuo Tanaka, the former head of the International Energy Agency, says the country was reluctant to leave the Sakhalin projects because of the upfront investments. But Japan staying in business with Russia while piling additional sanctions on Moscow has created a dilemma for Meti. Kishida last week joined other G7 countries in banning coal imports from Russia and has pledged to reduce Japans dependence on it for energy.

But it will not be easy for Japan to diversify away from the liquefied natural gas in the Sakhalin-2 project given that it is locked in on cheaper, long-term contracts. It accounts for about 10 per cent of the gas used in Tokyo and 50 per cent in Kishidas native Hiroshima.

The decision by the government to stick with the Russia projects is seen as a big political victory for the ministry. The number one thing Meti cares about is making sure the energy supply is stable and that any blackouts or any potential issues with supply shortages are avoided says Tom OSullivan of energy consultancy Mathyos. They have very low tolerance for that kind of stuff.

And Japan is vulnerable to external shocks. When an earthquake knocked out several power stations in March Tokyo came close to a blackout. The incident rekindled the debate about reopening some of the countrys mothballed nuclear reactors, 54 of which supplied about a third of Japans energy before the Fukushima disaster in 2011.

A recent opinion poll hinted at a shift in the publics mood. For the first time since the triple meltdowns in Fukushima 53 per cent of people said nuclear reactors should restart if safety can be assured, with 38 per cent wanting them to remain closed.

Although the Kishida administration is probably the most outspoken of recent cabinets on the need to restart nuclear power plants, convincing the public ahead of the upper house election in July that it can be done safely presents a significant political risk.

Metis wish is to see more polls like [that] so Japan can proceed with restarts and then use the gas it wouldnt be consuming [if the nuclear plants are restarted] to sell at high prices to Europe, Tanaka says. That would make them a big player on the international stage and the money made like that could be, for example, used to subsidise gasoline prices.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is building a $7bn chip manufacturing plant in south-west Japan with Sony  Kyodo/Reuters

Protectionist-in-chief

The pressures created by the new energy crisis are just part of a deeper shift in the way that Metis responsibilities are being redrawn by geopolitics and Japans own view of industries essential to its long-term survival as a major economy.

Metis reinvigorated role as protectionist-in-chief was evident even before the pandemic accelerated that shift. In 2019, the ministry assumed effective control of the newly revised Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (Fefta), giving it powers to scrutinise all inbound investment, similar to those of the US congressional committee on foreign investment, or Cfius.

Shortly after coming to power, Kishida declared that economic security was to be a policy priority amid the Covid-related breakdown of supply chains. The focus, said the prime minister, would be on promoting research in emerging technologies, fortifying critical infrastructure and other programmes aimed at rebuilding Japans industrial resilience.

For Meti, this translated into a mandate to become more involved in areas where it has traditionally had a large say, including the semiconductor industry.

In the late 1980s, Japanese semiconductor companies spent lavishly to expand production, overtaking the US to reach just over a half of the global market share. But after a bruising trade conflict with the US government, Japan ceded its dominance in the chipmaking industry to companies in South Korea, Taiwan and eventually China. Only one Japanese company, Kioxia, is now in the top 10 chipmakers.

Thats a frustrating state of affairs for Meti. In a widely distributed presentation by the ministry to journalists and others in June, a chart showing the decline in Japans share of the global chip market ended with a stark warning: In the future, Japans share will come down to almost 0 per cent!? In 2019 it stood at 10 per cent.

However, the country still plays a pivotal role in the manufacturing of semiconductor equipment and materials. The US wants to keep those technologies out of Chinese hands, while Japan wants to retain whats left of its chipmaking knowhow so it can secure supplies with the help of allies such as the US and Taiwan. In November, the Taiwanese group TSMC said it would build a $7bn chip manufacturing plant in Japan together with Sony  half of the investment is set to be subsidised by Meti.

Recommended

The semiconductor strategy is different from the familiar industrial policy of strengthening Japanese companies to earn foreign currency. The goal is closer to securing strategic goods such as oil and food, says Kazumi Nishikawa, director of Metis IT industry division who heads the national chip strategy and compiled the Meti presentation. The biggest challenge is building consensus among people, and letting people know that this is something that cannot be left entirely to the private sector.

The difficulty for Meti is that, over the next few weeks, Toshiba will almost certainly provide the Japanese public with evidence that certain problems can indeed only be solved by the private sector.

In the seven years since Toshiba was first caught in an accounting scandal, the company has lurched from financial crisis to conflict with its shareholders. To solve its many problems, Toshibas largest investors and a growing contingent of the companys own management increasingly believe that the group must be delisted and taken private.

Meti has so far seemed to step back from the fray: the big question, say both Meti officials and Toshiba investors, is how long the interventionist ministry will be able to resist intervening.
While "My Liberation Notes" captivated millions of viewers with its unique casting and plot, Gong Yoo revealed that he is a proud fan of Kim Ji Won and Lee Min Ki's K-drama.

The Hallyu star took to social media to show his support for JTBC's series.

Gong Yoo Obsessed with 'My Liberation Notes'

Over Gong Yoo's Instagram, he posted a series of photos featuring the romance drama.

First, the "Goblin" star shared the "My Liberation Notes" poster with the caption that reads, "I worship you."

On just the same day, Gong Yoo then posted another official poster from the drama and wrote a heartfelt message. He cheered the actors and the team behind the JTBC series.

"Viewers' ratings? Don't ask for it..give us everything like a warrior, set off an explosion with your love!!" Gong Yoo's Instagram caption reads.

Following this, lead star Son Seok Koo commented and thanked the actor for his support.

While Gong Yoo hyped the romance drama series, netizens were thrilled at how the actor showed his love for the JTBC series.

Fans praised the "Train to Busan" star for promoting the drama despite its plummeting viewership rating.

'My Liberation Notes' Dipped in All Time Low Viewership Rating

The Hallyu star's social media post comes after "My Liberation Notes" episode 4 hit its lowest viewership rating yet.

As noted by Nielsen Korea, the Kim Ji Won and Lee Min Ki-led K-drama garnered an average nationwide rating of 2.3 percent, hitting an all-time low rating.

The same goes for OCN's "A Superior Day," which also aired on the same timeslot and dipped to a nationwide average of 0.9 percent.

On the other hand, the star-studded tvN K-drama "Our Blues" reached its highest viewership ratings yet, with an average nationwide rating of 9.2 percent.

The drama's episode four set a new personal record in viewership as it took first place in its time slot across all cable channels.

Released on April 9, "My Liberation Notes" is helmed by "Law School" and "The Light in Your Eyes" director Kim Seok Yoon together with screenwriter Park Hae Young, who penned "Another Miss Oh" and the 2018 series "My Mister."

It follows the story of three siblings who wanted to escape their unfortunate life in Sanpo Village.

Lee El took on the character of Yeom Ki Jung, the determined eldest child of the Yeom family, who feels like she wasted her entire youth working.

The middle child is played by Lee Min Ki, who portrayed Yeom Chang Hee. "My Liberation Notes" realistically illustrates his character--as the middle child of an ordinary family.

The youngest of the Yeom family is Yeom Mi Jung, played by Kim Ji Won, an introvert who finds happiness being alone.

As more stars showed their support to the JTBC series, "My Liberation Notes" episode 5 is scheduled to air on April 23. Viewers could also watch this via Netflix.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: This is How Gong Yoo Shows Support to Labelmate Nam Joo Hyuk

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Written by Geca Wills
Kang Han Na reveals an interesting reason she took the role of Yoo Jung in the upcoming K-drama "Bloody Heart."

The historical romance series is KBS' newest weekday drama featuring the "Start-Up" star alongside Lee Joon and Jang Hyuk.

Interestingly, this is Kang Han Na's first-period drama in six years after the smash hit K-drama "Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo," where she played the role of Princess Hwang Bo Yun Hwa.

This 2022, the 33-year-old star is slated to headline the highly anticipated fictional historical drama helmed by "Queen of Mystery" director Yoo Young Eun and penned by "Marry Me Now" screenwriter Park Pil Joo.

Kang Han Na on Playing the Upcoming Crown Princess in 'Bloody Heart'

Ahead of the drama's premiere, Kang Han Na spoke about her true feelings playing the role of Yoo Jung.

As obtained by Newsen, the actress illustrates a special affection for her "Bloody Heart" character.

To recall, KBS introduced Yoo Jung as the free-spirited woman set to become the crown princess after the soon-to-be King falls in love with her.

In the drama, Kang Han Na is paired with Lee Joon, who portrays Joseon's upcoming leader Lee Tae.

On the other hand, Jang Hyuk took on the role of Lee Tae's nemesis Park Kye Won. He is dubbed as the "king maker" and a living symbol of power that everyone obeys.

During her interview, the actress spoke about what made her say yes to the offer.

Kang Han Na says that she was completely drawn to the script. As for her character, her first impression of Yoo Jung is someone who emanates "power and versatility," which makes her more attractive.

Moreover, the 33-year-old star confessed that she was excited to see the whole perspective of the historical series.

In addition, the South Korean beauty says Yoo Jung is "warm-hearted, wise, and a wonderful person who does not fall down in any hardship or adversity and keeps her self-centered."

Kang Han Na on Filming 'Bloody Heart'

The KBS series is the actress' comeback to the small screen after headlining the cast of the fantasy romance series "Bite Sisters" together with Kim Young Ah, Choi Yoo Hwa, and "Crash landing on You" Lee Shin Young.

As for her experience working with such great actors, Kang Han Na says that she had an "enjoyable and valuable experience" with the whole cast and crew.

Praising the entire team, the actress revealed that "all the staff and actors are working hard on filming. We plan to visit you with interesting and rich stories and attractions," she said while inviting fans to watch and show support for "Bloody Heart."

Aside from the trio, fans would also get to see the chemistry between the supporting actors such as ha Go Gwon, Park Ji Hyun, and "Squid Game" villain Heo Sung Tae.

"Bloody Heart" release date is slated to hit the small screen on May 2 and will be the newest Monday and Tuesday K-drama.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Lee Joon Confirmed for KBS Romance Drama 'Red Single Heart' With Kang Han Na

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Written by Geca Wills
tvN's recently premiered melodrama "Our Blues," starring huge stars Cha Seung Won, Lee Jung Eun, Kim Woo Bin, Han Ji Min and more, recovers from its slight dip and even dominates the most buzzworthy dramas and actors ranking!

'Our Blues' Recovers From Slight Dip in Viewership Ratings

tvN's omnibus drama "Our Blues" follows the story of different people who live in the heart of soul with many dreams and hopes in spite of the harsh and bittersweet reality of life.

"Our Blues" episode 4, which aired on Sunday, April 17, told the romantic story of Park Jeong Joon (Kim Woo Bin) and Lee Young Ok (Han Ji Min), two co-workers who are deeply drawn to one another.

Its latest episode pulled the drama from the slight decline with its previous episode, which recorded an average rating of 8%, and achieved its new personal best so far.

"Our Blues" episode 4 successfully scored a nationwide rating of 9.2%, marking its highest viewership rating yet since its premiere.

As the omnibus drama progresses and tells a new gripping story, it is expected to receive more love and support from fans all over the world.

Cha Seung Won, Lee Jung Eun, More 'Our Blues' Stars Sweep Most Buzzworthy Actors, Dramas Rankings

"Our Blues" and its star-studded cast swept the most buzzworthy dramas and actors rankings in the second week of April!

In its second week of broadcast, tvN's "Our Blues" climbed to the No. 1 spot of Good Data Corporation's weekly list of most buzzworthy dramas.

It is a company that determines each week's dramas and cast members that generated a lot of buzz through collecting drama from online posts, blogs and social media platforms.

Not only did "Our Blues" claim the top spot, its stars also swept the weekly top 10 of most buzzworthy actors.

Cha Seung Won sits pretty at No. 1, Lee Jung Eun at No. 2, Han Ji Min at No. 4 and Kim Woo Bin comes in at No. 10.

Meanwhile, SBS TV's "Again My Life" sat at No. 3 in the drama rankings, while its main actor Lee Joon Gi also remained No. 3 on the actor list.

JTBC's "My Liberation Notes" climbed to claim the second spot on the drama list, and its stars Kim Ji Won and Son Seok Gu claimed the No. 5 and No. 6 spot respectively in the actor rankings.

Here are the Top 10 dramas that generated a lot of buzz in the second week of April:

1. tvN "Our Blues"

2. JTBC "My Liberation Notes"

3. SBS "Again My Life"

4. MBC "Tomorrow"

5. JTBC "Green Mothers' Club"

6. tvN "Kill Heel"

7. KBS2 "Love Twist"

8. KBS "The King of Tears, Lee Bang Won"

9. tvN "Military Prosecutor Doberman"

10. KBS2 "It's Beautiful Now"

On the other hand, the Top 10 drama actors this week are as follows:

1. Cha Seung Won ("Our Blues")

2. Lee Jung Eun ("Our Blues")

3. Lee Joon Gi ("Again My Life")

4. Han Ji Min ("Our Blues")

5. Kim Ji Won ("My Liberation Notes")

6. Son Seok Gu ("My Liberation Notes")

7. Kim Ha Neul ("Kill Heel")

8. Lee Hye Young ("Kill Heel")

9. Lee Yo Won ("Green Mothers' Club")

10. Kim Woo Bin ("Our Blues")

Which is your current favorite drama? Share it with us in the comments below!

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
Nam Joo Hyuk is in talks to star as a dark hero in webtoon-based K-drama "Vigilante."

After his hit coming-of-age series with Kim Tae Ri in "Twenty-Five Twenty-One," viewers will see his versatility as an actor as he portrays a challenging role.

Nam Joo Hyuk Courted to Star in Upcoming K-drama' Vigilante'

In an exclusive report cited by Sports Chosun, the South Korean heartthrob is selected to play the main character in the forthcoming OTT series.

Meanwhile, Nam Joo Hyuk's agency, Management Soop, confirmed to Newsen that the actor is courted to lead the drama and "is positively reviewing his appearance" for the upcoming series.

As mentioned, it is based on the webtoon of the same name written by Kim Kyu Sam.

If the 28-year-old star officially accepts the offer, he will play the dark hero Jiyong, a young police officer who hunts criminals who are not properly vindicated for their crimes.

However, behind this is a dark past that Jiyong and his family encountered.

What made him enter the police academy is to look for his parents' enemies, withe the desire to give criminals a lesson not to mess with his family and neighborhood.

Fans Thrilled for Nam Joo Hyuk's New Drama

Following the news regarding Nam Joo Hyuk's offer to play a dark hero, netizens expressed their excitement to see the actor portray a different character.

Over Twitter, fans lauded how the actor looked precisely like the webtoon character.

Although there's no confirmation yet regarding the upcoming K-drama, some have already sent their wishes for the actor on his new project.

Baek Yijin era gonna end  Good luck Nam Joo Hyuk https://t.co/EO9CPml0Pu  ayo_th (@tashahassan1234) April 20, 2022

From Runway to K-drama Heartthrob

Starting as a runway model, Nam Joo Hyuk successfully solidified his career as an actor after landing remarkable characters and smash-hit K-drama.

His popularity skyrocketed after playing the role of amateur swimmer Jung Joon Hyeong in the rom-com series "Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo" with a reel to real-life partner Lee Sung Kyung.

Fans lauded how the two lead stars exude undeniable chemistry playing young lovers in the rom-com series.

From the coming of age series, Nam Joo Hyuk then starred in the fantasy K-drama "The Bride of Habaek" opposite Shin Se Kyung. From then on, he has been unstoppable, headlining various projects.

Interestingly, in 2020, the South Korean heartthrob once again proved his reign after joining the cast of "Start-Up."

Nam Joo Hyuk took the role of tech genius Nam Do San alongside Bae Suzy and Kim Seon Ho.

This 2022, the 28-year-old star headlined another coming-of-age K-drama, making it one of the most talked-about series in the first quarter of the year.

He starred alongside Kim Tae Ri in tvN's "Twenty-Five Twenty-One" with fellow lead stars Choi Hyun Wook and WJSN's Bona.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Is it True? K-Drama Heartthrobs Nam Joo Hyuk, Song Kang to Enlist in Military This Year

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Written by Geca Wills
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Moving into the pandemics third year, as many settle into the notorious new normal of COVID, the challenge now is avoiding complacency and keeping attention and vaccination rates high enough to maintain protection against the still-evolving virus.

Six months after approving a first vaccine booster, the FDA has now authorized a second booster dose for older and immunocompromised people at greater risk of serious illness. With new variants like BA.2 on the horizon, theres a strong likelihood that additional vaccine doses  even regular seasonal boosters  will be needed for all segments of the population.

The U.S. might be enjoying a spring respite of low COVID caseloads and hospitalization rates, but unvaccinated and immunocompromised individuals remain at elevated risk of serious illness and death.

Even as the U.S. vaccination rate nears 82 percent, global rates are still a long way off from anything resembling substantial population-level protection. Worldwide, the rate is still hovering at around 58 percent. In lower-income countries, the proportion of people who have received even a single dose plummets to barely 15 percent.

Meanwhile, the insidious long-term effects of COVID infection are becoming more apparent, with concerning evidence of lung scarring, heart complications, and brain shrinkage, among other complications.

The good news is that the tools to control the virus exist. The vaccine remains the single most important and effective defense against COVID. But after a year-plus deluge of ad campaigns, incentives and mandates in the all-out push for vaccination, the task is not about getting the message out anymore; its out.

To make it stick, now that message has to come not just from health officials and agencies but from individuals in their own families and communities.

As a researcher in public health and communication, Ive heard the same thing from clinicians and organizations working on COVID vaccination efforts. Theyre running into a wall with unvaccinated people theyre trying to persuade, who feel theyve heard all they need to hear and are tired and increasingly wary  if not outright resentful  of the pitch.

But theres still an immunological, social, and moral imperative to increase vaccination rates. Research in health communication and social psychology can help navigate a powerful, more indirect route to encouraging vaccination.

Perceptions of whats standard or accepted among peers is one of the most important factors in how people make health decisions.

As mask mandates are being lifted around the country, a new ritual has emerged. A person approaches a store or restaurant, masks off but within ready reach. Entering the building, theres a quick, furtive assessment of the landscape: how many other people are wearing masks?

If it looks like a good proportion, the mask goes on. If most people are maskless, it stays in a purse or pocket.

In the research, this is referred to as normative influence. What it comes down to is two intuitive questions: What are other people like me doing? and What would people I admire want me to do?

This deceptively simple idea turns out to be one of the greatest double-edged swords in public health. It can either be one of the most powerful tools to encourage vaccination, or it can be a major obstacle, driving people in precisely the opposite direction.

Ongoing research from my colleagues and I at Northwestern University confirms that these kinds of norms are tightly linked to peoples vaccination choices. Whether or not a person is vaccinated tends to align closely with their perceptions of their friends and peers attitudes and behaviors.

And this holds true across the board, regardless of political affiliation, geographic location or other demographic factors that we know are associated with vaccination rates.

The problem with norms is that what people perceive as the norm is not necessarily accurate or helpful. Research suggests that people who are unvaccinated tend to underestimate rates of vaccination more broadly.

This is why incidents like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chiding students for choosing to wear masks are so damaging  not only because it can put vulnerable people at risk, but because it feeds into a framework of whats seen as acceptable or sanctioned behavior in certain circles.

Its also why the significant negativity bias and disproportionate attention to vaccine skeptics in coverage of the pandemic can be problematic in making this group appear larger and more mainstream than they actually are.

The task now is to rebalance the scales by clarifying that vaccination really is the norm.

In the U.S., 217.5 million people are fully vaccinated. Whats more, despite a vocal minority of vaccine opponents, most adults report that they have either already received a booster dose or are planning to do so.

Theres no question that there are serious gaps and problems in COVID responses, especially in terms equitable access to vaccines and care, both globally and nationally. But in terms of sheer numbers, this is undoubtedly the most ambitious and successful mass vaccination campaign in history, with more than 560 million doses of the vaccine administered in the U.S.

At the interpersonal level, people can help to normalize vaccination as the standard among their friends and familynot by lecturing or hectoring, simply by openly sharing that they themselves are vaccinated. Health care providers also have a role to play in de-sensationalizing the issue and making discussions about COVID vaccination a more routine part of their standard practice.

Even as the U.S. looks forward to a summer of possibility, the true end of COVID is still a long way off. The virus will continue to evolve, perhaps in unpredictable ways.

Science has done the heavy lifting to create an extraordinarily effective vaccine; it will take individuals adapting to social norms to keep those defenses working.

Stefanie Demetriades is a communications professor.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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In 2016, I published A Tale of Two Epidemics in the Harvard Health Blog. Sadly, our current pandemic has joined with health professional burnout and the opioid epidemic to gobsmack us with virus-infused spittle. Although doctors and nurses have stepped up heroically to save lives, many of us are depressed and dispirited. Weve gotten sick. Some have died. Political nonsense has overshadowed reason  some have been attacked, and lives have been threatened. A T-shirt reading I Risked My Life & All I Have to Show for it is an Armed Guard is tragically on message.

Personally, I identify with the disquiet and distemper of so many of the physician clients I endeavor to assist.

Some of us are bailing; some stay the course out of necessity; others lean in and continue to derive meaning from our sacred work. Occupying ourselves with minutiae distracts us from the uncomfortable, unanswerable questions, the ones that stupefy us as we ponder them: How could this happen? Whats the point?

Believers wonder where our belief systems fit in. Are we able to sustain soothing aspirations like mission and purpose? What about reassuring concepts like divine providence, cosmic justice, and the afterlife? Are these realities or mere conceptual ploys devised to inoculate us against the absence of being that is The Horror! The Horror! referred to by Kurtz in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness.

I try to slow myself down and think about an eternal truth or two (we avoid these by moving too fast). Memorable one-liners that show up in Judaisms sacred texts depress, as they help us maintain perspective:

Hillel said: Doubt yourself until your very last day. When he saw a skull floating by, he spoke to it, saying, You were drowned because you drowned others; so too, will they be drowned.

Akavia ben Mahalel said: Know your place. You emerged from a stinking drop of scum  And it is your destiny to be turned back into dust by the maggots and the worms.

Ecclesiastes, the spiritual godfather of existential philosophy, wrote: There is nothing new under the sun.

Everything, but everything, is vanity and vexation.

The nakedly ephemeral human condition stands before us. The miracle of birth, stalked by the shadows of death.

During the pandemic, my wife and I lost three parents and gained four granddaughters. This cosmic reboot propelled me into a state of deep reflection. As humanity wrestles with the indignities and uncertainties of the here and now, I have looked backward and inward in a feeble attempt to make some sense of it all. Even the very best lives are painfully bittersweet.

If were lucky, we make a difference, and the decades pass. Many loved ones die, as do many patients, also loved.

When we open our eyes, we see that our lives are littered with loss and death.

I once consulted with a psychoanalyst, the son of members of Freuds inner circle. Though I was awed by his aristocratic origins, I listened intently when he pronounced, The only thing that is certain about relationships is that they will end.

Relationships will end.

On the other hand, Margaret Schlegel, the protagonist of EM Forsters Howards End, exhorts us to Only connect  live in fragments no longer.

And anthropologist Mark Zborowski may have said it all with the title of his book Life Is With People.

Life-threatening infections. Diseases engendered by surfeit or lack. Misinformation. Death. Birth. War. Destruction. We do our best to maintain perspective and sanity as we tiptoe through the minefields until our strength gives out.

Steve Adelman is a coaching and consulting psychiatrist and can be reached at his self-titled site, AdelMED.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Kilkenny software business MindaClient has been selected by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to run the Basic Income for the Arts scheme.

The scheme opened last week, and MindaClient report that the launch went very smoothly.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said at the launch that the scheme had the potential to be one of the most significant interventions in the history of the State to support the creative community. Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said the scheme would rank alongside the smoking ban and the plastic bag levy in that it would be recognised overseas as an Irish policy intervention that would have wider applications in other jurisdictions.

Brian Kelly, CEO of MindaClient said that the company were delighted when they awarded the contract, but realised they had a lot of work to build the system in the short timeframe. This included everything from developing the interface in English & Irish to producing an instructional video.

Artists and Creative Arts workers can apply and 2,000 people who are eligible will be randomly selected for the pilot. This will give them 325 per week for the three years of the pilot scheme. Altogether 105 million is being allocated to the scheme that has been warmly welcomed by the Arts community.

"What were proposing to do in Ireland goes further than any other support I know of internationally," said Minister for the Arts, Catherine Martin.

Nerves

Brian explains that despite all the testing by themselves and the Department there is always an element of nerves when a large project launches. The scheme had been promoted extensively so there were many artists ready to click at 1pm on Tuesday when it opened.

Our team were monitoring closely and could see that over 300 artists registered in the first 10 minutes. As expected the system performed very well, said Brian.

For more information and how to apply see: https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/09cf6-basic-income-for-the-arts-pilot-scheme/

MindaClient https://www.mindaclient.com.
This upmarket, modern hotel in the heart of Limerick city centre stole our hearts during our recent one-night Easter stay. We relaxed and pampered ourselves, while living the suite life for a night at the luxury five-star Savoy Limerick.

After our drive from Kilkenny, hubby and I were greeted with a very warm Limerick welcome, while our car was parked for us by the valet. The hotel has enjoyed a recent refurb and the restoration of the Art Deco style is captivating. So much so that we had to sit and take it all in, while enjoying a cocktail in their new bar, which gives a respectable nod to The Savoy famous 1920s heritage.

Shivam Taucoory, Vincenzo Bar Manager, Ruth Vaughan, Group Sales Manager,

with Siobhan Donohoe

The very pleasant Group Sales Manager Ruth Vaughan met us on arrival and explained how the 107-room hotel style reflects the Art Deco style that it was originally designed in 1935, when it was built as the Savoy Theatre. Our spacious bedroom on the top floor had a balcony with views overlooking the River Shannon.

We dined that evening in the Vincenzo Grill House, which is based on the top floor of their sister hotel, The George Hotel, just around the corner from the Savoy. There's a very hip New York vibe about The George, with an escalator taking you to the top floor to the restaurant. The contemporary bars decor and breath-taking glass atrium had all the touches of class and was very inviting for another pre-dinner drink of their house signature cocktails.

Siobhan Donohoe enjoying a meal at Vincenzo Grill House

Vincenzo Grill House is a new addition to the great foodie scene of Limerick, offering a casual relaxed dining experience with great service. The menu is extensive, offering pizzas, sharing plates, pastas, burgers, and delicious seafood.

We finished out the evening with a little night cap back in the Savoy, while listening to the beautiful tunes of Francis Ross on the grand piano. Simply heaven!

Ed & Siobhan Donohoe at the Savoy Limerick

Breakfast the next morning felt like Breakfast in Tiffanys in the newly refurbished Library. The Savoy Royale was divine, with Birgitta Burrens Smokehouse Salmon topped with perfectly poached eggs. It gets ten out of ten from me.

Savoy Royale breakfast in the Library at the Savoy Limerick

Limerick you are a lady, and we cant wait to come back again for more to take in all your glory. Check out their special offers and entertainment packages on www.thesavoycollection.com.
The Down Syndrome Waterford and South Kilkenny Branch are organising a cycle on May 29 to raise much-needed funds for our local Down Syndrome Waterford and South Kilkenny Branch.

The Sunny South East cycle starts at the Waterford RSC at 10am and the cyclists have an option of two routes through the beautiful countryside of Waterford.

The 100km route brings the cyclists through Kilmeadan, Lemybrien and into Dungarvan while the longer and more challenging 125km route brings the cyclists up Mahon Falls. Refreshments will be provided on both routes in Dungarvan returning via the coastal route through Durrow, Bonmahon, Fenor and Tramore and finishing back at Waterford RSC.

The local Down Syndrome Waterford and South Kilkenny branch is run by a committee of six volunteers who organise these fundraising events to help pay for essential speech and language, physio and occupational therapies and life enhancing activities including horse-riding, swimming, drama, dance, parent and toddler groups and much more for our members throughout Waterford, South Kilkenny and West Waterford so all funds raised from the Sunny South East Cycle will be much appreciated by all the families and members of our branch.

To register for this event please go to the Sunny South East Cycle on Eventbrite and the cost is 30 to take part. If the cycle is too challenging, but you would like to support Down Syndrome Waterford and South Kilkenny, you will find more information on the 'Sunny South East' facebook page.
Over 4million worth of 'zombie' cars are currently being driven around Kilkenny, according to recently released data from 'MotorCheck.ie'.

A zombie car is a salvaged and/or written off vehicle imported into the Republic of Ireland from the UK but not correctly identified as insurance write offs or ex-salvage.

The company found that over 39,336 of such vehicles had been imported into the Republic of Ireland.

At todays values, the market value of those affected is 4,400,316 in Kilkenny alone and 318million across the Republic of Ireland.

Examples of zombie cars were found for sale both privately and on dealers forecourts.

The research conducted by Motorcheck represents a potentially serious safety concern and financial liability.

Motorists are warned about this issue and the risks associated with buying a used car in the Republic of Ireland.

Despite the introduction of new Brexit linked import charges, the number of vehicles imported from the UK to the Republic of Ireland remains high.

In 2021, over 83,000 vehicles have been imported with a total of 457,000 coming across the water over the past 4 years.

In an effort to understand the prevalence of zombie vehicles amongst those being imported, MotorCheck embarked on the largest single cross border analysis of vehicles ever carried out between the Republic of Ireland and the UK.

Historically, car history check companies have depended upon the UKs MIAFTR database to expose cars that have been classed as a write off in the UK.

However, as the database is voluntary, and not used by all insurers, it cant be relied upon for a definitive answer.

Due to the weakness of the current system, its possible for vehicles to be repaired and exported to the used market in Ireland before the UKs official database can be updated.

This allows unscrupulous sellers to target Irish buyers  selling directly to unsuspecting private buyers or traders at inflated prices.
The Washington Post, April 20, 2022

KABUL  At least six people were killed and 11 injured by two explosions Tuesday morning outside a large public school in western Kabul, police and school officials said. The death toll was expected to climb, as witnesses and survivors said scores of people had been injured and taken to nearby hospitals.

The back-to-back blasts struck at the heart of the capitals minority Shiite Hazara community, just outside the prominent Abdul Rahman Shahid school, where dozens of students were leaving after morning classes.

Many of the victims were teenage boys in the 11th and 12th grades. One of them, Reza Alizada, 18, said he was walking out of the front gate with some classmates around 10 a.m. when a blast knocked him flat. Late that evening, he limped painfully out of Jinnah Hospital, with dried blood on his collar and an IV catheter taped to one arm.

There were a lot of us leaving, and many of my classmates were hit like me. I dont know what happened to them, Alizada said. Whoever carried out the attack, he said, does not want people in our community to be educated. They want us to give up hope. But I want to go back, as soon as I can walk.

No group had claimed responsibility by Tuesday night, but the attacks were similar to previous strikes attributed to the Afghan branch of the Islamic State, known as ISIS-K. The Sunni extremist group views Shiites as apostates and has a history of targeting the Hazara community.

The second blast, in an alley outside the high-walled school compound, went off 10 minutes after the first, as family members and others rushed to the site. A few blocks away, witnesses said, there was a third explosion at the Mumtaz education center, a private facility where students study for college entrance exams, but there was no official confirmation of any casualties there.

By noon, Taliban police had cordoned off the blocks surrounding the Shahid school, while hundreds of students huddled inside. One of the largest schools in the Afghan capital, it has a daily attendance of 16,000 boys and girls, who study at different times and in separate classrooms under the strict rules of the Taliban government.Shahid has a reputation for high student achievement and success in college exams. The surrounding community, Dasht-i-Barchi, is poor, but parents there are highly motivated to educate their children.

Since 2015, the Islamic State has either claimed or been blamed for dozens of attacks on the Shiite community in Kabul, especially at educational and religious sites. In May, two bombings outside the gates of another large high school in Dasht-i-Barchi, the Syed al-Shahda school, killed at least 90 people, many of them girls who were walking home from afternoon classes.

In March 2018, the extremist group claimed an assault on a large Shiite shrine in the community that wounded at least 60 people. The same month, a would-be suicide bomber detonated grenades at a private education center, wounding six students inside a crowded study hall.

Outside Jinnah Hospital on Tuesday evening, several men searching for victims on a list of 22 emergency room patients said they were angered but not surprised by the latest attacks. They were reluctant to mention the Islamic State by name.

We know this is a systematic effort to weaken our community, especially our education, said Abdul Hamid, 30, a laborer, who was looking for a missing cousin. He said the cousin, who attends Shahid, was a very intelligent boy" who had been practicing for his college entrance exam.

Others expressed concern that the new Taliban authorities had not provided better security in the area. When the Taliban came to power, many Shiites feared a sectarian crackdown, but Taliban officials have stated they will not discriminate against any group and will protect all citizens. Education officials in the new government have praised Shahid for its educational achievements and its careful separation of girls and boys.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe holds a telephone conversation with the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on April 20, 2022. (mod.gov.cn/Photo by Li Xiaowei)

BEIJING, April 20 -- Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe held a telephone conversation with the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Wednesday.

General Wei Fenghe said that China and the US should earnestly implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, respect each other, coexist peacefully and avoid confrontation, and the US side should fulfill its commitment that the US does not seek a new Cold War with China; it does not aim to change China's system; the revitalization of its alliances is not targeted at China; the US does not support "Taiwan independence"; and it has no intention to seek a conflict with China.

General Wei stressed that China hopes to establish sound and stable major-country relations with the US and surely will defend its national interests and dignity. The US should not underestimate China's determination and capability.

The two militaries should enhance military mutual trust, strengthen dialogue and exchanges, manage risks and crises, and carry out practical cooperation, so as to ensure the normal and stable development of military-to-military relations, General Wei added.

General Wei also expressed solemn stance on the Taiwan question, stressing that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, which is a fact and status quo that no one can change. If the Taiwan question is not handled properly, it will have a subversive effect on the China-US relations. The Chinese military will resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.

Austin said the US is ready to promote the implementation of the important consensus reached by the two heads of state over the phone and will strengthen military exchanges and cooperation in a frank and open manner. The US adheres to the one-China policy. The two sides should manage competition and risks in a responsible way and properly handle the difficult problems in the military-to-military relationship, he added.

The two sides also exchanged views on maritime and air security issues and the situation in Ukraine. China urged the US to stop military provocations at sea and refrain from using the Ukraine issue to smear and sow false evidence against China, or threaten and put pressure on China.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun with gusty winds. High 96F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Variable clouds with thunderstorms, especially late. Low 71F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
North Korea appears to be making final-stage preparations for a military parade involving a large number of troops on a plaza at Mirim Airfield in Pyongyang, April 19, in this satellite image. AFP-Yonhap





North Korea appears to be making final-stage preparations for a military parade involving a large number of troops ahead of another key anniversary next week, according to satellite imagery reported by U.S. news outlets Wednesday.







More than 12,000 troops were seen gathering on a plaza at Mirim Airfield in Pyongyang earlier this week, Radio Free Asia (RFA) said. It cited commercial satellite imagery provided by Planet Labs.







The area is known as the secretive North's traditional parade training venue with a replica of Kim Il Sung Square, where such an event highlighted by goose-stepping soldiers and a show of major weapon systems is actually staged. The satellite imagery was taken Sunday, a week before the North celebrates the 90th founding anniversary of the North Korean People's Revolutionary Army (KPRA).







What is noteworthy is a large crowd spotted at Kim Il-sung Square, which indicates that the North's parade preparatory work is in the final stages.







Many people were seen with makeshift tents set up April 17 and 18, RFA said.







The Voice of America also carried a report based on satellite photos taken April 17 and 18 that showed a large crowd of people making formations with red flowers at the square.







The imagery showed a parking space of the parade training ground of the airport packed with vehicles, it added.







South Korea's military and intelligence authorities are paying attention to the odds of a massive parade around next Monday. They do not rule out the possibility of a nighttime event.







If held, the North could use it as a chance to again show off its strategic weapons, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.







An informed source in Seoul expected the North to mobilize more than 20,000 troops for a parade this time, with tracked vehicles such as armored cars and transporter erector launchers already on the move.







On the weekend, the North test-fired what it claims to be a new tactical guided weapon.







Last Friday, Pyongyang celebrated the 110th anniversary of the birth of its late founder Kim Il-sung with fireworks and a mass dance performance but without staging a military parade. (Yonhap)


Italian Ambassador to Korea Federico Failla starts off this year's program by Seoul Open City University that invited four ambassadors in Korea to share information about their countries. He will be followed by ambassadors from Saudi Arabia, Mexico and China. Courtesy of Embassy of Italy in Korea



Embassies join Seoul to open annual culture program as COVID restrictions ease



By Ko Dong-hwan



Seoul Open City University, a school for continuing education in Jongno District run by Seoul Lifelong Education Institute under the city government, jointly launched this year's program on Tuesday in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The program this year, free to all Seoul residents, is joined by the ambassadors of Italy, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and China. Starting with Italy, participating students will learn about each country in weekly classes over five weeks. Classes for Saudi Arabia open in June, and those for Mexico in August and China in October.



This year's program comes as the country dropped social distancing regulations on Monday based on the country's central disease control agency's decision that daily COVID-19 infection cases have significantly subsided and the country is finally approaching normalcy after hitting its peak. With the easing of regulations, the central government has lowered the warning level for travelers heading both overseas and domestic destinations.



The city government expects that the shift across the country will aid in the resumption of global cultural trade and international travel after more than two years since the pandemic hit the country in early 2020.



Classes on Italy will explore the European nation's history, cultural heritage, lifestyle, and globally acclaimed operas and traditional songs. A professor from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies will focus on the country's roots of culture with examples such as "David" by Michelangelo. A Changwon University professor will talk about the country's ancient political environment, Machiavellianism and modern political philosophy. A lecturer from Sungkyunkwan University will teach about the country's history of musical development in the field of opera that had reached its renaissance and brought Italy to renown as a country of musical genius.





Gert J. du Preez, an official from the South African Embassy Seoul, talks to participants of the program by Seoul Open City University in May 2021. Courtesy of Seoul Open City University



Italian Ambassador to Korea Federico Failla joins the program in its second week and will talk about the country's current domestic situations and its pressing international issues. The country's space technologies, not well-known to Koreans but worth noting  the country has launched the world's third highest number of satellites into space  will also be introduced by the ambassador.



A senior official from the Western Europe Division of European Affairs Bureau under the foreign affairs ministry will talk about Italy's current international status and the present and the future of Italy's diplomatic relations with Korea.



Seoul Open City University has planned the classes for Italy to be carried out online. But they expect that if they manage to have at least one class offline thanks to the country's eased quarantine regulations, they will arrange a tour to the Italian Embassy in Seoul's Yongsan District.



"The program with ambassadors in Korea is an outcome of Seoul city's superb infrastructure," Lee Kyung-ah, who heads the program this year, told The Korea Times. "I expect the program will raise participating students' awareness on different countries and encourage them to develop the mindset of global citizens."



The program selected embassies of Saudi Arabia and Mexico this year because they both mark their 60th anniversary of forming diplomatic ties with Korea, according to Lee. China also marks its 30th anniversary of bilateral ties this year.



The Minstry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for selecting the embassies that join the program. When making an offer to embassies to join the program (four embassies per year), it prioritizes embassies representing countries that have a significant number of years of diplomatic relations with Korea.



The Australian embassy in Korea joined the program in 2021 when the two countries' bilateral ties marked their 60th anniversary. Embassies representing countries that were highly requested by participating students were also considered for the program.





One of the participating students of Seoul Open City University's program led by the South African Embassy Seoul makes a traditional "dream catcher" in May 2021. Courtesy of Seoul Open City University
South Korea has not been invested much in the Cross-Strait issue referring to China-Taiwan affairs, given its top external priority in terms of security has been North Korea. gettyimagesbank



Conservative president-elect has pledged greater alliance with US as Cross-Strait tensions escalate



By Kim Bo-eun



HONG KONG  Despite its relative geographic proximity to other Northeast Asian countries, Taiwan has not featured much as an important issue on the agenda of South Korean governments in past decades.



Externally, South Korea has been preoccupied with its Northern neighbor and the Cross-Strait issue  referring to affairs between China and Taiwan  seems almost irrelevant to the country's security. Nonetheless, with Cross-Strait tensions building against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, experts believe that this is now becoming a geopolitical factor that South Korea can no longer afford to ignore.



China claims the self-ruling island of Taiwan under its "One China" principle. Chinese President Xi Jinping stated last year that "reunification" with Taiwan should be accomplished.



Analysts state that China will be closely observing the developments of the Russian invasion, for lessons that could potentially be applied in case it decides to invade Taiwan.



Given that the war has become a protracted conflict, plus the damaging effects of the sanctions imposed by the West and its allies, analysts think that any action by China against Taiwan will likely be taken after deliberation as well as making sure that its military is well prepared.



In the meantime, the U.S. has stepped up support for Taiwan in recent years. A group of U.S. lawmakers met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei last week, pledging support for the island democracy, to which Beijing responded with strong condemnation and large-scale military drills around Taiwan. This was the latest of a series of high-level visits by the U.S. to Taiwan.





Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, seventh from left, poses with U.S. lawmakers on their visit to Taipei on April 15. AFP-Yonhap



Pamela Kennedy, a research analyst at U.S. think tank Stimson's East Asia Program, noted frequent statements by U.S. political leaders in support of "maintaining the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait," and U.S. officials' visits to Taiwan confirming "the shared values of the two democracies." But the U.S. has not been clear on its level of involvement in the case of a Taiwan contingency.



"There is no guarantee of U.S. action, but Beijing cannot discount it especially when the U.S. maintains bases across the region," Kennedy said in an email. "Another important factor is the perspective of Japan. The U.S. is obligated to defend against any attack on Japanese sovereign territory, including Japan's southwestern islands near Taiwan."



South Korea's stance on Taiwan



Seoul has maintained unofficial relations with Taipei, since establishing diplomatic ties with Beijing in 1992 when it severed relations with Taipei. Taiwan now only has official diplomatic relations with about a dozen small countries in the Pacific, Caribbean, South America and Southern Africa.



Broader support for Taiwan hinges on a number of factors  key international organizations such as the United Nations have not granted membership for the island. China as the world's second-largest economy with deep trade relations with major countries is another looming factor.



South Korea's government under President Moon Jae-in granted China a weighty role not only for trade but also for relations with North Korea.



Attention was drawn to Moon's joint statement with U.S. President Joe Biden in May last year, which for the first time contained wording on the Taiwan Strait issue.



However, the government immediately downplayed its significance, referring to it as "general expressions."





Taiwan's Digital Minister Audrey Tang / Yonhap



There was more Taiwan-related controversy in December, when Taiwan's Digital Minister Audrey Tang's speech for a virtual government event was cancelled only hours prior to the address.



The ill-mannered move was seen as a decision taking China into account. In 2014, Tang took part in a civic movement protesting a trade deal between Taiwan and China, known as the Sunflower Movement.



"The kind of 'strategic ambiguity' stance taken by Moon will not work. Actually, it did not work during Moon's presidency either," Lee Seong-hyon, visiting scholar at Harvard University's Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, said in an email.



He noted that South Korea spent a "lost decade" of complacency, focused on domestic politics and North Korea.



"[South] Korea is completely unprepared for a seismic U.S.-China geopolitical shift that has been unfolding outside the Korean Peninsula," said Lee, also a senior fellow at the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations. "It never imagined that the 'faraway' Taiwan issue will have any relevance to [South] Korea's own security."



Lee said Taiwan is important for South Korea, stating "in the case Taiwan goes down, it would practically mean the demise of U.S. leadership in the Indo-Pacific region."





South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol speaks on the phone with U.S. President Joe Biden at his home in southern Seoul, following his election on March 10. Provided by People Power Party
Kendallville, IN (46755)

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Abundant sunshine. High 74F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

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A few passing clouds. Low 57F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

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Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 74F. Winds SE at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

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Clear to partly cloudy. Low 56F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday raised doubts about the size of the cryptocurrency market worldwide and stressed the need for a regulatory mechanism acceptable to all countries to prevent its use to launder money and fund terrorism, which, she said, were big concerns for India.

"I think the biggest risk for all countries across the board will be on the money laundering aspect and also on the aspect of currency being used for financing terror," Sitharaman said at a seminar hosted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Finance Minister is in Washington DC for the Spring Meetings of the World Bank group.

The minister pitched the need for a common international approach on regulating the sector, in addition to all the changes that have taken place in the last few years. "Unless there's going to be a global approach at regulating and also an understanding of the technology even as it keeps evolving, to be on the top of things, and to have technology driven solutions to regulate and monitor. Not so much to interfere, but, of course to keep an eye on  money laundering."

The minister had earlier at the seminar raised doubts about the size of the cryptocurrency market. "We are not sure about the veracity of the data, which says the volume is this much or that much. Those numbers are questionable."

India distinguishes between cryptocurrency and crypto assets as a result, and the minister had in February announced a 30 per cent tax on income from these transactions, which includes a 1 per cent deduction at source. "We were trying to make sure that we are keeping a trail and also making sure these are going to be eventually compliant with anti-money laundering rules. Additionally, we are making sure that these kind of operations don't end up inadvertently to funding any kind of terror activities."

Sitharaman had used the seminar to detail India's growing e-economy and plans on entering the cryptocurrency market with its own currency sometime during the year.
A special team of the Tamil Nadu Police will be questioning AIADMK's former interim General Secretary, V.K. Sasikala in the Kodanad murder and heist case on Thursday, officials said.

The 906-acre estate was jointly owned by late Chief Minister and AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa and her aide Sasikala, and the murder and heist case took place on April 24, 2017, four months after the passing away of J. Jayalalithaa and the arrest of Sasikala.

According to the charge sheet, C. Kanagaraj, who was once the driver of Jayalalithaa, hatched a conspiracy to break open the Kodanad estate as he believed that huge money was stashed in the estate bungalow. On April 23, 2017, a gang of ten people, led by him, broke into the estate and killed guard, Om Bahadhur while another guard Krishna Thapa was beaten and tied.

Police sources said that Kanagaraj had convinced another accused Stayan that an amount of Rs 200 crore was stashed in the estate bungalow but the burglars could get only ten watches and a crystal replica of rhinoceros worth Rs 42,000.

Five days after the Kodanad estate heist, Kanagaraj was killed in a road accident on the Salem-Chennai highway in Attur. Another accused Sayan from Kerala also met with an accident on the same day but he escaped with injuries while his wife and daughter got killed.

In July 3, 2017, Dinesh Kumar, a computer operator at the estate, was found dead in his home leading to five deaths altogether.

Police filed a 300-page charge sheet in September 2017 against 11 people out of which only Kanagaraj was from Tamil Nadu, and the rest were from Kerala.

Sayan and another accused Manoj had given an interview to a journalist stating that the then Chief Minister, K. Palaniswami had ordered the break-in at the Kodanad estate to search some important documents.

Three of the accused also moved court seeking the interrogation of Palaniswami, Sasikala, the then Nilgiris Collector, and then district police chief.

AIADMK and Palaniswami had reacted strongly, accusing the DMK government of using police to settle scores.

With Sasikala's interrogation slated for Thursday, the AIADMK camp is in jitters and the possibility of Palaniswami being called for quizzing by the sleuths is on high.
Foley Wines Limited [NZX: FWL ] CEO Mark Turnbull today announced that the Company has almost completed its harvest for the 2022 vintage. Currently the Company has harvested 9,085 tonnes and there are approximately 100 tonnes still to be harvested at Mt Difficulty. The total final estimated tonnes represents a 65% increase on last years harvest of 5,582 tonnes. With the work done on building strong routes to market this years harvest will enable the Company to be well placed for future growth. Mark Turnbull said The team across the business did a remarkable job in very difficult conditions; unseasonal rain in Marlborough and Martinborough posed some challenges, and also the teams needed to navigate their way through Omicron. The Company had no downtime across all 5 wineries which is testament to the months of planning to ensure harvest would not be compromised.

OIO approval - Zebra Vineyards, Central Otago

The Company is pleased to announce that it has now received OIO approval to purchase the Zebra Bendigo Flat Vineyard from Zebra Vineyards (https://zebranzvineyards.com) in Bendigo, Central Otago.

The total area is 55.5 hectares comprising of approximately 30.5 hectares of Pinot Noir and around 12.5 hectares of bare land which is ideal for further plantings. The property has good water and frost protection in place and has been extremely well managed.

Mark Turnbull CEO of Foley Wines said We are delighted to have now received OIO approval as the Zebra Vineyard secures high quality fruit supply for growing our Roaring Meg brand in the future. Since purchasing Mt Difficulty we have grown the global footprint for the brand across a number of varietals. We intend to plant the 12.5 hectares as soon as we have secured the new vines.

Mt Difficulty Cellar Door and Restaurant Redevelopment  Resource Consent Granted

The Company is pleased to also announce that the Resource Consent has now be granted to redevelop the Mt Difficulty Cellar Door and Restaurant in Bannockburn Central Otago. The focus now is to finalise the building consent and get building works underway as soon as practically possible. Mark Turnbull CEO of Foley Wines said With our current restaurant, cellar door and distillery development well underway in Martinborough and with the redevelopment of Mt Difficulty, we will have two world class wine tourism venues in New Zealand. Besides the jobs these will create, we will have the ability to showcase our fantastic wine portfolio to both New Zealanders and the world.

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Badger High School AgriScience Instructor Candice Franks was recently named a Herb Kohl Foundation Teacher.

The selection committee for the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Student Scholarship, Teacher Fellowship and Principal Leadership program announced recipients of the 291 Herb Kohl Foundation awards for Wisconsin students, teachers, and principals.

Awards of $6,000 are being made to 100 teachers, 17 principals, and their schools, and $10,000 scholarships will be given to 174 graduating high school students.

Teacher Fellowship recipients are educators who have been chosen for their superior ability to inspire a love of learning in their students, their ability to motivate others, and their leadership and service within and outside the classroom.

Franks exemplifies the traits of Kohl teachers, said Jenny Straus, Badger principal. The strength of Badgers AgriScience program is a direct reflection of the effort she puts into teaching.

The Badger AgriScience program offers students opportunities to explore all facets of agriculture. Franks has secured dual credit for Badger AgriScience students with three technical colleges including Gateway Technical College, Madison College and Blackhawk Technical College. Franks also serves as an FFA advisor and spends countless hours after school working with students on service projects and other agricultural experiences.

Candice is an advocate for agriculture education and FFA, and most importantly for student success, Straus added. The Badger community is proud of Candice for this recognition.

Franks joins fellow Badger AgriScience teacher Larry Plapp as a Kohl Fellow. Plapp received his Fellowship in 2004.

The Kohl Foundation award program was established by Herb Kohl, philanthropist, and businessman. Since 1990, the foundation has awarded more than $28.3 million to Wisconsin educators, principals, students, and schools.

Education is the key to the future of Wisconsin and our nation, Kohl said. I am very proud of the accomplishments of these students, teachers, and principals and look forward to the great contributions they will make in the future.
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The Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA), Omar Ottley would like to express his gratitude to the Community Development, Family and Humanitarian Affairs (CDFHA) staff for organizing the family fun day held on Saturday, April 16 at the St. Peters Community Center. Additionally, Minister would like to thank the St. Peters community for attending and enjoying this fantastic initiative, as well as the various business partners, including the Lion's Club, TZU CHI Foundation, Dominoes, CC1, Home 4 You, NEC, City Mall, Office World, Kooyman, KFC, Belair Beach Hotel, and Boys Brigade.





This initiative was a success as a result of your efforts.
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 20 (ANI/PRNewswire): Larsen & Toubro Infotech (BSE code: 540005) (NSE: LTI), a global technology consulting and digital solutions company, announced its Q4 FY22 and full year FY22 results today.

Q4 FY22

Also Read | Apple Workers in NYC Seek $30 per Hour Minimum Wage: Report.

In US Dollars:

Revenue at USD 570.4 million; growth of 3.1 percent QoQ and 27.5 percent YoY

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Constant Currency Revenue growth of 3.6 percent QoQ and29.0 percent YoY

In Indian Rupees:

Revenue at INR 43,016 million; growth at 4.0 percent QoQ and 31.6 percent YoY

Net Income at INR 6,375 million; growth of 4.1 percent QoQ and 16.8 percent YoY

Full year FY22

In US Dollars:

Revenue at USD 2,102.5 million; growth of 25.9 percent YoY

Constant Currency Revenue growth of 25.8 percent YoY

In Indian Rupees:

Revenue at INR 156,687 million; growth at 26.7 percent YoY

Net Income at INR 22,985 million; Net Income growth at 18.6 percent YoY

Capital Return

Final Dividend of INR 30 per share; Dividend pay-out ratio of 41.9 percent for the year

ROE of 28.5 percent for the year

"We are delighted to cross the USD 2 billion revenue milestone with record growth of 26 percent in FY22, our strongest since listing. Our growth has been broad-based across verticals, service lines, client buckets and geographies. The year has seen the highest new client openings and net headcount additions.

In Q4 FY22, we won 4 large deals with net new TCV of over USD 80 million. Our deal pipeline continues to be robust, and we remain confident of maintaining industry leading growth in the coming year as well."

- Sanjay Jalona, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director

Recent Deal Wins

- Selected by a Global Fortune 500 financial services company for an end-to-end managed services engagement involving transformation, governance and support for middleware and data as part of their global technology function

- A Global Fortune 500 corporation, a leading provider of ratings, benchmarks, analytics and financial data, has selected LTI as its primary partner for an engagement involving data and digital services to integrate its data platforms with its recent acquisition

- Selected by a Global Fortune 500 consumer goods company as their strategic partner for data and analytics work to transform and gain insights across their most critical business functions of manufacturing, supply chain, marketing and creation of a metadata hub

- Engaged by a key government body in the public healthcare space to develop an eco-system and technology infrastructure providing, storing and improving access to relevant public data and supporting public health insurance programs

- Selected by a large metals and mining company for an ERP managed services engagement involving key business modules like transportation management, technology, customer and supplier engagement across its legal entities and over 40 operating units

- Selected by a property and casualty insurance provider based in North America to integrate core systems and financial data for multiple lines of business across numerous subsidiaries into a centralized enterprise data warehouse

- A top healthcare provider in the Middle East has selected LTI, through its strategic partnership with a regional leader, for support on its security and network operation center

- A large bank has selected LTI to revamp its website to cover all aspects of a digital experience, hosting in cloud and maintenance

- A global financial services company in Europe has selected LTI to outsource its client servicing desk and build a digital workspace for its employees

- Selected by a Global Fortune 500 corporation engaged in the supply of IT infrastructure products and services to upgrade its SAP S/4HANA ERP platform

- Selected by a global security services firm to set up a digital command center to monitor Infrastructure and network, and ensure minimal disruption

- Selected by a North American utility company to manage core applications and operations' systems to ensure streamlining of SLAs and adherence to business KPIs, reduction of costs and efficiency in operations

Awards and Recognitions

- LTI Recognized as Leader Across all Six Quadrants in the ISG Provider Lens AWS Ecosystem Partners Report USA 2021

- LTI Positioned as a Leader and Star Performer in Everest Group's Duck Creek IT Services PEAK Matrix Assessment 2022

- LTI in ITS Top 10 list in Everest Group's PEAK Matrix IT Service Provider of the Year 2022

- LTI Ranked 1 in Top ITS Challengers list in Everest Group's PEAK Matrix IT Service Provider of the Year 2022

- LTI's Fosfor Optic recognized in The Forrester Now Tech: Enterprise Data Fabric, Q1 2022 report

- LTI's Fosfor Refract recognized in The Forrester Now Tech: AI/ML Platforms, Q1 2022 report

Other Business Highlights

- The Board of Directors at its meeting held on April 19th, 2022 have recommended a final dividend of INR 30 per equity share (Face value of INR 1) for the financial year 2021-22. Total dividend for FY22 is INR 55 per equity share, including the interim dividend of INR 15 and special dividend of INR 10 per equity share declared in October 2021 and July 2021 respectively

- LTI has been ranked 22 among the top 25 most valuable IT services brands in the Brand Finance IT Services 25 2022 ranking

- LTI CEO, Sanjay Jalona adjudged the Best CEO 2022 in the IT/ITES category, by Business Today

- LTI received Gold recognition from EcoVadis for ESG practices including environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement

- Optic by Fosfor Named "Data Catalog Solution of the Year" in 2022 Data Breakthrough Awards

- LTI Expands its Presence in the USA with a New Engagement Center in Hartford, CT

LTI (NSE: LTI) is a global technology consulting and digital solutions Company helping more than 485 clients succeed in a converging world. With operations in 33 countries, we go the extra mile for our clients and accelerate their digital transformation with LTI's Mosaic platform enabling their mobile, social, analytics, IoT and cloud journeys.

Founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited, our unique heritage gives us unrivalled real-world expertise to solve the most complex challenges of enterprises across all industries. Each day, our team of more than 45,000 LTItes enable our clients to improve the effectiveness of their business and technology operations and deliver value to their customers, employees and shareholders. Find more at http://www.Lntinfotech.com or follow us at @LTI_Global.

This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], April 20 (ANI): In the last financial year 2021-22, the Ministry of Defence exceeded its target of spending 64 per cent of modernisation funds on buying from domestic firms.

The Ministry had earmarked 64 per cent of the Capital Acquisition Budget for the domestic industry in Financial Year (FY) 2021-22.

Also Read | Apple Workers in NYC Seek $30 per Hour Minimum Wage: Report.

"At the end of FY 2021-22, the MoD has been able to overachieve this target and has utilised 65.50 per cent of the Capital Acquisition Budget on indigenous procurements through Indian Industry to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'," the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

In a bid to push Make in India in defence, the defence ministry has been sourcing equipment for military requirements from the indigenous sources and not relying on foreign vendors only.

Also Read | Weather Forecast: Heatwave Conditions Likely To Abate Soon; Heavy Rainfall Likely Over Northeast, Says IMD.

India spends more than Rs 2 lakh crore on different acquisitions for its military requirements and the majority of it earlier used to be through imports but the situation has changed in the last few years.

Further, as per the preliminary expenditure report of March 2022, the MoD has been able to utilise 99.50 per cent of the Defence Services Budget in FY 2021-22. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Apr 20 (PTI) A fire broke out at the Ghazipur landfill in east Delhi on Wednesday, Delhi Fire Service officials said.

A call about the fire was received around 4.07 pm and eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot, said Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Service.

Also Read | Madhya Pradesh: Four Girls from Religious Leader Sadhvi Ritambharas School Drown in Canal in Khandwa District.

The fire-fighting operations are underway, he said.

A fire had broken out at the Ghazipur dumping yard recently following which a huge cloud of smoke had enveloped the region and its neighbouring areas.

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The blaze was finally doused over 50 hours after it broke out.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Visuals from Delhi's Jahangirpuri (Photo taken on April 20)

New Delhi [India], April 20 (ANI): Two accused in the Jahangirpuri violence case in Delhi have been sent to 3-day police custody on Wednesday.

"Gulli and Dilshad have been sent to 3-day police custody. They were presented before a Delhi court for the first time today," said Rakesh Kaushik, lawyer of one of the accused persons in the Jahangirpuri violence case.

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Gulli was arrested on Tuesday by Delhi Police for allegedly giving a pistol to an accused in the Jahangirpuri violence.

Violent clashes broke out in Delhi's Jahangirpuri on April 16 between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession that left nine people injured, including eight police personnel and a civilian.

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Notably, National Security Act (NSA) was on Tuesday imposed against five culprits involved in the clashes, top government officials said.

NSA has been imposed against Ansar, Salim, Imam Sheikh alias Sonu, Dilshad and Ahir for their involvement in the Jahangirpuri violence, officials said.

According to Delhi Police, 24 people have been arrested and two juveniles detained in connection with the incident so far.

Meanwhile, bulldozers rolled into Jahangirpuri for a demolition drive by North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) on Wednesday morning.

Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled NDMC scheduled an "encroachment removal action programme", wherein illegal construction in the Jahangirpuri area was to be removed. However, the demolition drive was halted after the Supreme Court order.

The apex court had asked the registry to communicate the status quo order to NDMC Mayor, North DMC Commissioner and Delhi Police commissioner and halted the demolition drive. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kolkata, Apr 20 (PTI) The state, which was at one time known as the strike epicentre of the country, has brought down man-days lost to industrial action to zero from 75 lakh annually, said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday, as she wooed investors from across the globe at a big-ticket business summit here.

Also Read | Ahmedabad Shocker: 32-Year-Old Woman Stabbed Multiple Times by Former Husband At Busy Marketplace, Critical.

Banerjee, addressing a large gathering of industry tycoons at the Bengal Global Business Summit, however, also took a dig at the Union government, urging the state's Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to talk to central authorities to ensure that industrialists are not disturbed by some agencies.

Also Read | EPFO Adds 14.12 Lakh Net Subscribers in February 2022; Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu Lead.

Though the chief minister did not name any central agency, she made it obvious that her apparent dig was in response to recent income tax raids and Enforcement Directorate actions against a number of top firms, drawing applause from a section of the industrialists present at the Summit.

Her off-the-cuff comment is being seen as a reposte to the Governor's inaugural speech where he had advised the chief minister to distance the state from partisan stance to fuel prosperity in Bengal.

Banerjee also revealed the state planned to set up a Rs 72,000-crore industrial zone in the densely forested and backward 'Junglemahal' area along the eastern freight corridor being built by the Centre, linking north India with West Bengal's ports.

We have allocated 2,483 acre of industrial land at Purulia for the Junglemahal Shundori Kormonagari' project along the eastern freight corridor from Amritsar to Dankuni, she said.

Adani group chief Gautam Adani, who according to the Bloomberg Billionaire's Index, is now the richest Indian with a net worth of USD 100 billion, responded to her speech by announcing that the group would invest Rs 10,000 crore in West Bengal over the next decade.

In all captains of industry unveiled investment plans worth around Rs 20,000 crore, most of it by Indian companies.

The chief minister said the state will work on eight pillars of development going ahead, including infrastructure, education, social security, skill development and ease-of-doing-business.

Bengal is the first state to organise a physical business summit since the Covid pandemic struck. It is the gateway to eastern and northeastern India, neighbouring Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal as well as South East Asia,Banerjee pointed out.

We lost 75 lakh man-days every year during the Left Front rule, but now no man-days are lost. The working class and the industry are my hero, she said, adding we don't divide people in the name of caste, religion and creed. We stay here as a family and you are all family members when in Bengal, in a veiled comment on communal riots elsewhere in the country.

The chief minister said West Bengal has also readied a policy on grant of shale-gas exploration licences.

Banerjee added that by 2023, the state will join the national gas grid.

Among industrialists who committed to invest in the state, JSW chairman Sajjan Jindal while not announcing any figures, sought to build a 900MW pumped storage hydel project. The project of such size cost Rs 7000-7500 crore.

The Purnendu Chatterjee-led TCG Group also said it is planning to develop India's first private sector quantum computer in Kolkata.

Quantum computers are machines that use the properties of quantum physics and can vastly outperform even the best supercomputers in carrying out certain tasks.

Banerjee, while concluding her speech at the summit, said, Through the governor I want (to) tell, if you don't mind, Governor sir (that you speak) on behalf of all industrialists as they cannot open their mouth. We want all help from the central government. (In the next) Governor's conference please raise it.

Please see industrialists are not disturbed through some agencies.

The governor who inaugurated the summit earlier said the state has enormous potential for growth and called Banerjee's leadership mature, in a departure from his usual, strident criticism.

Dhankhar said West Bengal "was a land of opportunity" which needs to replicate its earlier success story. Bengal along with Bombay province were the most industrialised provinces of India at the time of Independence.

However, he also added that the chief minister needs to catalyse development and distance the state from a partisan stance to fuel prosperity.

The Governor also added, "There is a need to combat flight of capital, implicitly speaking of the closure of factories that has happened during the last few years, many of them because of Covid pandemic-induced economic slowdown.

The opposition BJP, meanwhile, attacked Banerjee for her criticism of income tax raids on industrialists.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari told newspersons industrialists are not above the law. If they are involved in wrongdoing, action will be taken against them.

Among recent cases, the Income Tax Department had raided an auto major, a charter airline and a realtor, while a multinational chain marketing firm recently had its assets attached by the enforcement directorate. Income tax and enforcement directorate which looks into violations of money laundering laws are under the Union Government.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Shivamogga (Karnataka) [India], April 20 (ANI): A high-level committee headed by a retired High Court Judge and comprising an economic expert and a technical expert of the concerned department has been constituted to scrutinize tenders above Rs 50 crore, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.

Addressing a media conference in Shivamogga, Bommai said, "The committee has been constituted under the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTTP) Act. The tenders would be awarded only after the committee scrutinizes the estimates, tender pre-conditions and other aspects. The committee will start functioning within the next few days. If the number of tenders is too many, then a parallel committee would be constituted to ensure speedy processing of the tenders."

Also Read | Ahmedabad Shocker: 32-Year-Old Woman Stabbed Multiple Times by Former Husband At Busy Marketplace, Critical.

Speaking on the irregularities in tenders of below Rs 50 crore at the district level, the Chief Minister said, after watching the functioning of the high-level committee, we will constitute committees at the district level too if necessary because the development works should not get bogged down."

The Chief Minister assured effective measures for addressing the power problems in rural areas.

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"We have surplus power. But the issue is distribution and transmission. So we have approved the setting up of 100 new sub-stations. The problem is more acute in Northern Karnataka. Higher grants have been provided to stabilize transmission and distribution systems in the region," Bommai said.

The Chief Minister said that the officials have been instructed not to award any works on oral orders in Urban Development and Rural Development departments.

"Action would be initiated against the concerned Engineer, Assistant Engineer, Section Officers. In rural areas, PDO and EO would be held responsible. Clear orders have been passed in this regard," Bommai said.

Replying to a question about the percentage culture in the government and contractor Santosh Patil suicide case, Bommai said, "It is very important to control this. But the Santosh Patil suicide case is different. Here bills have been claimed after executing works on oral orders. So a thorough investigation is on from RDPR to the Police department. The two issues cannot be equated."

Reacting to a question about the caste census report, Bommai said that the backward Classes Commission has been asked to submit its report. Suitable measures would be taken as it has long-term implications.

In response to a question on cabinet expansion or reshuffle, the Chief Minister said, "It is not about my prerogative. In politics, you have to make the right decisions at the right time."

Replying to a question on the revival of Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Limited (VISL) in Bhadravathi, the Chief Minister said, the issue has been discussed with the union government.

"VISL is being privatised. We have requested permission to utilise excess land for setting up new industries leaving out the land required for VISL. As for the revival of MPM, no response has been received for its revival proposal and hence a suitable decision would be taken in the High-Level Committee," he said.

On the Opposition's demand to publish details about Maulvis in mosques, "The intelligence department and the police are taking several measures. It is not necessary to disclose all those details," Bommai added. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Vladimir Putins war engine is being sustained not just by European payments for Russian oil and gas but also by a complicit class of lumpen-bourgeoisie motivated solely by the trappings of material wealth. Ukrainians, and everyone else, are learning the hard way how global capitalism trumps democracy and human rights.

by Slavoj Zizek

The so-called oligarchs in Russia and other ex-communist countries are a bourgeois counterpart to what Marx called the lumpen-proletariat: an unthinking cohort susceptible to political manipulation because its members have no class consciousness or revolutionary potential of their own. Unlike the proletariat, however, the lumpen-bourgeoisie who emerged in these countries from the late 1980s onward control capital  lots of it  thanks to wild privatization of state-owned assets.

An exemplary case is Rok Snezic, a collaborator and friend of Slovenias right-wing prime minister, Janez Jansa. An independent tax adviser, Snezic helps Slovene companies redomicile in the lower-tax jurisdiction of Republika Srpska (the Serb part of Bosnia and Herzegovina). He apparently has no private possessions, and he has erased his own past tax bills by declaring bankruptcy.

Yet Snezic also cruises around in new luxury cars and has the means to pay for jumbo billboard ads. He is officially employed by a company owned by his wife, where he receives a monthly salary of 37,362 ($40,346) in cash.

But normal capitalism also generates a lumpen-bourgeoisie. Snezic is not so different from Donald Trump, who similarly thrives precisely because he stands for nothing, motivated solely by money and the trappings of material wealth.

Market values have also determined the contours of Russias war in Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, appears to have had a crash course in how global capitalism and democracy really work. Since the start of the war, Europe has sent Russia almost $40 billion in payments for oil and gas, prompting his observation that Western countries are more concerned about rising energy prices than Ukrainian lives. The capitalist market  the one that has been fueling the Russian war engine  has forsaken Ukraine.

Ending this bloody trade would require governments to abandon their reliance on market mechanisms and start organizing energy supply directly, as would addressing the global food crises that Russias war is generating. (In addition to being two of the worlds biggest wheat exporters, Russia and Ukraine are also major sources of chemical fertilizers for Europe.) Paradoxically, only measures recalling the newborn Soviet Unions war communism can save Ukraine and preserve Western power. After all, Russia is coordinating with China not only to challenge the West geopolitically but also to depose the US dollar and the euro as global currencies.

Given that Western solidarity is limited by economic interests, the Ukrainians will have to accept that defending Europe is not enough. Ukraine is also defending the Russian people from the self-destructiveness of their president, Vladimir Putin, and his lumpen-bourgeoisie.

In a recent commentary published by the Russian state-owned news agency RIA News, Timofey Sergeytsev presents the full scope of the Kremlins genocidal project in Ukraine. The basic premise is that Ukraine needs to be denazified, and thus de-Europeanized, because a significant part of the people  most likely the majority  has been mastered and drawn into the Nazi regime in its politics. As such, the hypothesis, the people are good, and the government is bad does not work.

Sergeytsev not only equates Ukrainian politics with Nazism. He also claims that ukronazism poses an even greater threat to the world and Russia than Hitlerite Nazism did. Even the name Ukraine must be eliminated.

So, Russia plans to do with Ukraine what Bertolt Brecht describes in his 1953 poem The Solution: dissolve the people and elect another. By reading Sergeytsevs mad ravings alongside Putins claim that Lenin invented Ukraine, we can discern the current Russian position. Ukraine has two fathers: Lenin, who invented it, and Hitler, who inspired todays ukronazis to actualize Lenins invention.

What, then, does this imply for Russias geopolitical situation? According to Sergeytsev:

Russia has a high potential for partnerships and allies with countries that the West has oppressed for centuries, and which are not going to put on its yoke again. Without Russian sacrifice and struggle, these countries would not have been liberated. The denazification of Ukraine is at the same time its decolonization, which the population of Ukraine will have to understand as it begins to free itself from the intoxication, temptation, and dependence of the so-called European choice.

In other words, Russia must radically reorient, breaking its links with the West to forge new ties with all those countries that were brutally exploited by Western colonial powers. It is Russia that will lead a global process of decolonization.

Western imperial powers brutal exploitation of the Global South is a truth that must never be forgotten. But it is strange to hear such talk from Russia, with its long history of such behavior. In the eighteenth century, Catherine the Great conquered southeastern Ukraine and territory from Siberia to Alaska to Northern California. Now, we are told that Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Ukraine will be decolonized by way ofRussian colonization. Territories will be liberated against the will of their people (who will have to be re-educated or otherwise dissolved).

If a new world war is to be avoided, it will be through a hot peace, with massive military investments sustaining a fragile new balance of power. The fragility of the situation stems not just from conflicting economic interests but also from conflicting interpretations of reality, which is not just about settling facts.

But simply trying to prove that Russian claims are false misses the point made by Aleksandr Dugin, Putins court philosopher: Post-modernity shows that every so-called truth is a matter of believing. So we believe in what we do, we believe in what we say. And that is the only way to define the truth. So we have our special Russian truth that you need to accept.

Faith, it seems, overrides knowledge. According to the special Russian truth, Russias soldiers left behind no corpses of brutalized civilians in Bucha and other Ukrainian cities and towns; Western propagandists supposedly staged those atrocities.

Given these circumstances, Westerners must stop proposing that Zelensky meet with Putin to negotiate a peace settlement. That is a fools errand. Any eventual negotiations will have to be conducted by lower-level bureaucrats. Putin and his inner circle are criminals who must be ignored as much as possible. Ultimately, a significant share of the Russian population must see this.

In the former Yugoslavia, corrupt policemen were the butt of many jokes. In one of them, a policeman returns home unexpectedly and finds his wife alone in bed, half-naked and aroused. Suspecting that her lover is hiding under the bed, he bends down and looks. A few seconds later, he pops back up, mumbles, Everythings okay, nobody is there, and quickly shoves a wad of banknotes into his pocket.

In a way, all of us are that policeman, accepting misery and humiliation as the price of some form of surplus enjoyment. In Russia, the suffering population is compensated not with banknotes but with cheap patriotic pride. And in the West, we allow the market to dictate the strength of our commitment to human rights in Ukraine and elsewhere.

Slavoj Zizek, Professor of Philosophy at the European Graduate School, is International Director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London and the author, most recently, of Heaven in Disorder (OR Books, 2021).

Courtesy: Project Syndicate
By Shalini Bhardwaj

New Delhi [India], April 20 (ANI): With the rising concerns around the safety of students amid the fear of possible another fourth wave due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the top scientist clarified that the Omicron is mild than other variants and it will be unjustified to shut down schools.

Also Read | Madhya Pradesh: Four Girls from Religious Leader Sadhvi Ritambharas School Drown in Canal in Khandwa District.

"The nation depends on the education we provide to children. It would be unjustified to shut down schools because Omicron is milder than the rest of the COVID-19 variants," former Chief Scientist of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Dr R Gangakhedkar told ANI.

"I don't think we should now shut down the schools. We must remember Omicron variant is comparatively mild as compared to the rest of the variants. So essentially closure of schools is not right. When there is very little risk of hospitalisation or emergence of similar COVID surge but perhaps closure of schools would be unjustified because their future depends on education, the nation depends on the education that we provide to children. I don't find any reason why we should close schools now," the former head scientist of epidemiology and communicable disease at ICMR added.

Also Read | MGNREGA: Supreme Court Agrees To List Application Highlighting Plight of Rural Poor Not Getting Wages.

Speaking on the World Health Organization's (WHO) methodology of claiming 4 million COVID deaths in India, Dr Gangakhedkar said, " They (Ministry) are right. Actually, I do not know what methodology they have adopted. I have not gone through that. If the Ministry has said that the methodologies likely are different, I would always think that they are right because there is no reason why we should have a different methodology than the rest of the world we couldn't apply, perhaps is questionable."

Since the beginning of April, India has been continuously registering a rise in COVID cases daily. However, on Monday, the country recorded about a 90 per cent jump with 2,183 cases. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Apr 20 (PTI) Shares of HDFC Ltd on Wednesday gained 2 per cent after the mortgage firm announced 10 per cent stake sale in its private equity arm HDFC Capital Advisors.

The company said that it will sell its 10 per cent stake to a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for about Rs 184 crore.

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The stock of HDFC jumped 2.01 per cent to Rs 2,181.70 on BSE. During the day, it gained 2.32 per cent to Rs 2,188.40.

On NSE, it increased 2.09 per cent to Rs 2,185.

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In terms of volume, 1.04 lakh shares were traded on BSE and 54 lakh on NSE.

ADIA is also the primary investor in the alternative investment funds managed by USD 3 billion-HDFC Capital.

Set up in 2016, HDFC Capital is the investment manager to HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Funds 1, 2 and 3; and is aligned with the government's goal to increase housing supply and support the Pradhan MantriAwas Yojana - 'Housing for All' initiative, HDFC Ltd said in a statement.

The funds managed by HDFC Capital provide long-term, flexible funding across the life cycle of affordable and mid-income housing projects, including early-stage funding, it said.

In addition, the funds will invest in technology companies such as fin-tech and clean-tech engaged in the affordable housing ecosystem.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington [US], April 20 (ANI): Apple could launch the iPhone 16 Pro in 2024, its first full-screen smartphone, also potentially the first Apple device to feature under-display Face ID and an under-screen front camera.

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple was earlier unlikely to release any new iPhones with under-display fingerprint readers in the next two years.

Also Read | #WestIndies All-rounder and White Ball Captain #KieronPollard Announces   Latest Tweet by IANS India.

However, in his tweets, he said, "I think the real full-screen iPhone will come in 2024. High-end iPhones in 2024 would adopt an under-display front camera alongside the under-display Face ID. A low-light condition is detrimental to front camera quality, and ISP & algorithm are critical for quality improvements."

As per The Verge, Kuo has also predicted that the iPhone 14 will have an upgraded front-facing camera with autofocus capabilities and a wider aperture. Kuo suggested that the solution will be improvements in the ISP (Image Signal Processor) and image algorithms.

Also Read | Yo or Hell No? Anya Taylor-Joy in Christian Dior for The Northman Premiere.

As evident for years, the picture quality of a phone relies increasingly on digital processing, and Apple continues to deliver improvements in its own cameras with every passing year.

Although it's unclear what Apple would be doing with the hardware needed for Face ID, some have suggested it will be housed in a pill-shaped cut-out before Apple is ready to move it under the display. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Beijing [China], April 20 (ANI): Beijing's aspiration to become a great cyber power is reflected in its policies directed at competing with the West in next-generation technology and as part of this effort, it is trying to strengthen its influence in international standards development groups.

China has lobbied hard for key positions in foreign SDO bureaucracies in an attempt to persuade the international standards process aimed to eventually regulate the use of key strategic technology, according to Tibet Press.

Also Read | Crude Oil Prices Fall 5% on Global Commodities Selloff After IMF Lowers World Growth Forecasts.

Beijing has considerably improved its ability to secure approval for its initiatives and to reject those that it does not support using a variety of strategies.

The purposeful strategy is to strengthen China's influence within international standards development groups.

Also Read | Sri Lanka Crisis: One Dead, 12 Injured After Police Open Fire At Anti-Govt Protesters in Rambukkana.

Notably, the Belt and Road Initiative has garnered considerable attention, along with the Asia Society Policy Institute's (ASPI) "Navigating the Belt and Road" series, the Digital Silk Road (DSR), which supports the export of Chinese telecommunication technologies as well as other high-tech systems, had gotten far less.

The process of standard-setting, according to China's authorities, is a sign of a leading technical power.

As per Tibet Press, Beijing's quest for the dominance of the international standards arena is centred on increasing economic and geopolitical power, as well as resolving vulnerabilities and lapses in the existing governance structure by adjusting the standard-setting process in the state's favour.

Reports say that the Chinese government came up with the "China Standards 2035" project as a result of this since they understood the importance of technical and technological standards in terms of both politics and economics.

The notion is that developing nations that have positioned themselves in the technology sector have had to operate under the cover of Western rules and regulations. Controlling significant technologies is a fundamental push for China's participation in the standards process.

In terms of telecommunications, the Chinese have had to pay significant sums of money to get patent licenses for networking technology produced by major hardware manufacturers such as Qualcomm and Cisco. This put China's telecommunications industry at a disadvantage.

However, by licensing patents linked to 5G technology, Huawei has reaped tremendous economic gains for both the private and the government sectors, Tibet Press said.

Media reports said that China has been leveraging its technological prowess and geopolitical heft to shape the global technological environment and standards to serve its commercial and strategic interests, to achieve Xi Jinping's goal of making the nation a "major power with pioneering global influence" by 2049.

China propagates its technological standards in project host states by signing agreements with BRI partner governments, establishing dependencies that bind these countries to Chinese vendors and standards.

Beijing's actions, according to the report, are focused on establishing global standards for next- generation technologies, as well as gaining control over critical technologies such as the Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Big Data, 5G, and artificial intelligence, Tibet Press reported.

The report suggested that international organizations must be mindful of these manoeuvres in order to prevent Beijing from acquiring a monopoly over the world's future-shaping technologies by dominating global technological standards, it added. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Beijing [China], April 20 (ANI): The 23rd EU-China Summit, which took place from March 31-April 1, exposed the existing fault lines between the two parties.

President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, accompanied by High Representative Josep Borrell, representing the EU, met Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang in the morning and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the afternoon.

Also Read | 34% of Pakistans Population Lives on Just Rs 588 A Day Income, Says World Bank.

The EU and China discussed extensively Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, which is endangering global security and the world's economy, as well as food and energy security.

"As major global powers, the EU and China must work together on stopping Russia's war in Ukraine as soon as possible. We have a common responsibility to maintain peace and stability, and a safe and sustainable world," said Charles Michel, President of the European Council.

Also Read | Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Meets FSB Chair Klass Knot, CFLI Vice Mary Schapiro in US.

The EU and Chinese leaders also discussed the state of bilateral relations and areas of shared interest such as climate change, biodiversity and health, as well as ways to ensure a more balanced and reciprocal trade relationship.

The EU highlighted that its key priority is to stop Russia's unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, emphasized the importance for Russia to allow humanitarian access and safeguard humanitarian corridors, and refrain from targeting the civilian population and infrastructure.

The EU called on China to support efforts to bring about an immediate end to the bloodshed in Ukraine, consistent with China's role in the world as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and its uniquely close relations with Russia.

The EU pointed out that the international sanctions against Russia were imposed with the sole purpose of stopping Russia's aggression and despite a significant economic impact on the EU and its partners globally.

"Any circumvention of the effects of the sanctions or any aid provided to Russia would prolong the bloodshed and lead to even greater losses of civilian lives and economic disruption," the EU said.

In contrast to what EU leaders said, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the EU to form its own perception of China, adopt an independent China policy, and work with China to promote the steady and sustained growth of China-EU relations and to add stabilizing factors to a turbulent world.

Xi stressed that China and the EU should act as two major forces upholding world peace, and offset uncertainties in the international landscape with the stability of China-EU relations.

The Chinese president also pointed out that China and the EU should act as two big markets promoting shared development, and deepen economic globalization through open cooperation. China will stay committed to deepening reform and further opening up.

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, several European countries have asked Beijing to align with US and allies in condemning Moscow's actions. While refusing to sanction Russia, China accused the US of fuelling the Ukraine crisis.

Despite booming trade, the EU-China ties have become strained over the last two years, with a long-negotiated investment deal between the two sides under hiatus.

Experts believe that China-EU trade could see some strains over Beijing's stance on the Ukraine war. China surpassed the US to become the EU's largest trading partner in 2020-21 due to strong demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Tel Aviv [Israel], April 20 (ANI/Sputnik): Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone amid security tensions, the Israeli presidential press office said.

"The telephone call was held in connection with the request of the President of Turkey to speak with President Herzog in the context of security tensions in recent days. The conversation was held in a good and open spirit," the statement said.

Also Read | Crude Oil Prices Fall 5% on Global Commodities Selloff After IMF Lowers World Growth Forecasts.

Herzog said that "contrary to false reports, Israel is trying to maintain the status quo and freedom of religion, especially during this period, so that representatives of all religions - Jews, Muslims and Christians - can safely celebrate their holidays."

Erdogan expressed "concern and pain" in connection with the events of recent days and stressed that the status quo in holy places is very important for the Muslim world.

Also Read | Sri Lanka Crisis: One Dead, 12 Injured After Police Open Fire At Anti-Govt Protesters in Rambukkana.

The sides agreed to maintain constant contact.

The security situation in Israel has deteriorated in recent weeks. Since mid-March, 14 residents of the country have become victims of attacks and terrorist acts. In recent days, serious riots have taken place on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. (ANI/Sputnik)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad, Apr 20 (PTI) Nawaz Sharif is expected to return to Pakistan from London after Eid ul-Fitr and the former prime minister and supremo of the PML-N party will face the cases pending against him according to law and the Constitution, a senior party leader said on Wednesday.

Sharif, three-time former prime minister who is entangled in a number of corruption cases, has been in London since November 2019 after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for medical treatment.

Also Read | WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Extradition Case Sent to UK Minister Priti Patel.

"Nawaz Sharif will be seen in Pakistan after Eid," PML-N leader Mian Javed Latif, who took oath as a member of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's cabinet on Tuesday, said in a statement.

Latif claimed that 72-year-old Nawaz will face the cases as per the law and the Constitution, reiterating that PML-N believes in court and will accept its verdict, Geo News reported.

Also Read | Norway is Open to 4th COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shot to People Over 80.

Nawaz, against whom several corruption cases were launched by the government of former prime minister Imran Khan, had given an undertaking to the Lahore High Court to return to Pakistan, citing his record to face the process of law and justice within four weeks or as soon as he is declared healthy and fit to travel by doctors.

He was also given bail in the Al-Azizia Mills corruption case in which he was serving seven-year imprisonment in Lahore's high-security Kot Lakhpat jail.

Nawaz's passport expired in February this year and the previous Imran Khan-led government refused to renew his passport.

After Shehbaz Sharif was elected the prime minister earlier this month, there were reports that the Ministry of Interior has been directed to renew the passports of Nawaz and his brother-in-law Ishaq Dar.

Speaking about the newly-appointed cabinet, Latif said that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had named Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for the slot of foreign minister and he will take the oath for the office after returning from London.

PPP Secretary-General Farhatullah Babar confirmed Bilawal's departure for London and said the main purpose of his visit is to meet Nawaz and congratulate him on the coalition government and "discuss the current political situation".

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Copenhagen, April 20: Norwegian health authorities said Wednesday they are open to giving people aged 80 and above a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, but see no cause for a general recommendation for that age category to get a fourth shot. Geir Bukholm, assistant director at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, said the agency believes this can be assessed and chosen by the individual.

However, the agency urged more people with severely weakened immune systems to take a booster shot of the vaccine. The agency said the updated assessment was in line with guidelines by the European Infection Control Agency and the European Medicines Agency. Situation in Delhi 'Fully Under Control', Say Officials Amid Rise in COVID-19 Cases.

In neighbouring Sweden, authorities this month recommended a fourth vaccine dose for people 65 and over and for those living in nursing homes or getting home care, down from an earlier recommendation for people 80 and older. The recommendation also includes fourth shots for those aged 18-64 with moderate to severe immune deficiency.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, April 20: Russia urged the United States to abandon its "futile policy" of blockade and sanctions in foreign policy, the Russian Embassy in Washington said on Tuesday (local time). The diplomatic mission's comment was timed to the announcement of a new round of high-level dialogue between the United States and Cuba on migration on April 21. The Russian Embassy welcomed the step.

"Dialogue is always better than its absence. It is high time for the #US to abandon the futile policy of blockade and sanctions in foreign affairs," the embassy tweeted. Earlier, there were reports that the US is looking at designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. Russia-Ukraine War: Russia Seeks To End US-Dominated World Order, Says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"We're taking a close look at the facts. We're taking a close look at the law," US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during an interview with CNN on Monday. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged US President Joe Biden to impose the designation on Russia that would impose some of the most significant sanctions at the Biden administration's disposal, Sputnik News Agency said citing media reports.

Notably, US President Joe Biden has no plans to visit Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as per White House. The US earlier had announced to provide Ukraine with an additional 800 million US dollars' worth of military aid including heavy artillery as Washington anticipated a "wider assault" by Russia in eastern Ukraine.Meanwhile, President Joe Biden will hold a video call with US allies and partners on Tuesday to discuss providing support for Ukraine and restrictions on Russia, as per White House. Russia-Ukraine War: Estonia Bans Russian Ships from Entering Country's Ports.

"The President convenes a secure video call with allies and partners to discuss our continued support for Ukraine and efforts to hold Russia accountable as part of our close coordination," the White House said in a press release. Earlier in the day, the US Treasury Department said the next phase of US sanctions would target Russia's military-industrial complex, according to reports.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
A worker in protective suit rests on a street during a lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Shanghai, China, April 17. (Photo Credit: Reuters)

Shanghai [China], April 20 (ANI): As the COVID-19 cases continue to surge in China's economic hub Shanghai, the city is at a crucial stage to bring community transmission down to zero, local media reported.

Shanghai on Tuesday reported 2,494 cases and 16,407 local asymptomatic infections, Xinhua reported, Xinhua reported.

Also Read | South Korea Reports 1,11,319 New COVID-19 Cases, 166 Deaths in Past 24 Hours.

Several experts have argued that China's zero-COVID policy should have retreated. After the failure of stringent COVID measures in the country, media reports suggest this policy is now facing more pushback from local residents and businesses in Shanghai.

Defending the zero-COVID policy, top Chinese officials and senior epidemiologists refuted the claims, pointing out major misunderstandings about the country's zero-COVID policy.

Also Read | Ukraine Receives Fighter Planes, Spare Parts To Increase Fleet Size, Says Pentagon.

"For example, dynamic zero-COVID does not mean having no infections or strict citywide lockdowns. Unlike some foreign enterprises and analysts who claimed that the policy would heavily affect economic growth, the policy has provided maximum protection to economic growth in the past two years," Global Times reported citing Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as saying on Monday.

Despite following a 'Zero Covid Policy', Covid cases continue to rise in China leading to loss of livelihoods, extended lockdowns, huge economic losses and ascending levels of anxiety among the citizens of the country.

The financial capital of China and a city of more than 26 million residents, Shanghai has been in lockdown for the last many weeks due to China's worst outbreak of Covid since the beginning of the pandemic in 2019 in Wuhan province.

Across China, the administration is locking down their residents, supply lines are rupturing, and officials are scrambling to secure the movement of basic goods, with its largest-ever recorded outbreak of COVID-19 threatening to spiral into a national crisis of the government's own making.

It is estimated that "23 Chinese cities have implemented either full or partial lockdowns" and notably, these cities contribute 22 per cent of China's GDP. Big factories belonging to Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers are shut amid lockdown and the ports are clogged with slow loading and unloading of freight affecting global trade.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has refused to review its policy as President Xi Jinping, the architect of the Zero COVID program claims he can minimize the losses but the worsening situation in Shanghai suggests things getting out of his control. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
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Colombo, Apr 20 (PTI) The police in Sri Lanka on Wednesday said that curfew will continue in the southwestern region of Rambukkana where one person was killed and 13 others were injured in violence after the police opened fire at unarmed anti-government protestors demonstrating against the latest fuel price hike.

At least three of the 13 hospitalised protesters at Rambukkana, some 90 kilometers northeast of Colombo, were critical at the Kegalle hospital, according to officials. Fifteen police personnel have also been injured.

Also Read | Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Meets FSB Chair Klass Knot, CFLI Vice Mary Schapiro in US.

Police chief Chandana Wickremaratne told reporters that the police curfew imposed in the area would continue.

Protesters got violent yesterday and blocked the railway track. They were demanding fuel at the old price having waited in the fuel queue for a long time, he said.

Also Read | US Condemns, Calls for Investigation After School Attacks That Claimed Lives of 20 People in Kabul.

When the police arranged two fuel bowsers, the protesters took out the battery of one of the vehicles, blocking the railway track, Wickremaratne said.

The police used minimum force by firing tear gas, the police chief said.

The death of a protester was the first during the ongoing protests over the worst-ever economic crisis in the country's history.

Top bureaucrat of the public security ministry Jagath Alwis said the protesters tried to set on fire a fuel tanker having 33,000 liters of fuel.

The police were forced to open fire to prevent the bowser being set in flames by the protesters.

Alwis said a three-member probe committee has been appointed to probe if the police had used excessive power in opening the fire at protesters.

The embassies of the US, the EU and the UN resident coordinator have issued statements condemning the police shooting.

The latest fuel price hike on Monday night triggered street protests in many areas on Tuesday.

Oil entities in the island nation have been hiking the price regularly due to the shortage of fuel.

Meanwhile, the trade unions have collectively said that they would launch a black protest to force the resignation of the government for bungling on the ongoing economic crisis.

We would hold a picketing campaign wearing black, the teachers' trade union boss Joseph Stalin said.

On Tuesday, the federation of university teachers staged a walk in solidarity with the main anti-government protest being held at Galle Face at the entry to the presidential secretariat.

The Galle Face protest enters its 12th day on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka is grappling with unprecedented economic turmoil since independence from Britain in 1948. The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.

The island nation is witnessing large-scale protests against the government's handling of the debt-ridden economy - the worst-ever economic crisis in the country's history.

Protests demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his Sri Lanka Podujana (Peramuna)-led government have intensified as shortages continued and prices soared.

Last week, the Sri Lankan government said it would temporarily default on USD 35.5 billion in foreign debt as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine made it impossible to make payments to overseas creditors.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Istanbul [Turkey], April 20 (ANI/Sputnik): Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, during their phone conversation that the outcome of negotiations with Ukraine depended on Kyiv's readiness to take into account Moscow's legitimate demands, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

"With regard to the prospects for the Russian-Ukrainian negotiation process, the immutability of the principled Russian position was confirmed: the outcome of the negotiations depends entirely on Kyiv's readiness to take into account our legitimate demands," the ministry said.

Also Read | WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Extradition Case Sent to UK Minister Priti Patel.

Cavusoglu expressed gratitude for the assistance provided by the Russian special forces in releasing the hostages held by militants in a mosque in Mariupol.

Lavrov and Cavusoglu discussed possible joint steps between the foreign and defence ministries to ensure the security of civilians in Ukraine, including foreigners.

Also Read | Norway is Open to 4th COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shot to People Over 80.

In addition, Lavrov, in a conversation with Cavusoglu, said that "the responsibility for the difficult humanitarian situation in the combat areas lies with the Ukrainian right-wing radical nationalist battalions, which use the civilian population as a 'human shield' and refuse to use the humanitarian corridors regularly provided by the Russian military." (ANI/Sputnik)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, April 20: Ukraine has received additional aircraft and spare parts to increase its fleet size amid the conflict with Russia, US Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday (local time).

"They have received additional platforms and parts to be able to increase their aircraft fleet size," Kirby said during a press briefing, adding that "platform is an airplane in this case. They have received additional aircraft and aircraft parts to help them get more aircraft in the air." Russia Urges US to Abandon 'futile Policy' of Blockade, Sanctions.

Kirby also said that the United States has not delivered any whole aircraft to Ukraine. According to White House spokesperson Jen Psaki, US has said that it will continue to provide them more ammunition and military assistance.

"We will continue to provide them more ammunition as we will provide them more military assistance," Psaki said in a statement. She added: "There's obviously more money we can provide from the approved drawdown package, and the specifics of that are being worked through with the Department of Defense and our national security team."

Russia urged the United States to abandon its "futile policy" of blockade and sanctions in foreign policy, the Russian Embassy in Washington said on Tuesday (local time).

The diplomatic mission's comment was timed to the announcement of a new round of high-level dialogue between the United States and Cuba on migration on April 21. The Russian Embassy welcomed the step.

"Dialogue is always better than its absence. It is high time for the #US to abandon the futile policy of blockade and sanctions in foreign affairs," the embassy tweeted.

Earlier, there were reports that the US is looking at designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism."We're taking a close look at the facts. We're taking a close look at the law," US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during an interview with CNN on Monday.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged US President Joe Biden to impose the designation on Russia that would impose some of the most significant sanctions at the Biden administration's disposal, Sputnik News Agency said citing media reports.

Notably, US President Joe Biden has no plans to visit Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as per White House. The US earlier had announced to provide Ukraine with an additional 800 million US dollars' worth of military aid including heavy artillery as Washington anticipated a "wider assault" by Russia in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden will hold a video call with US allies and partners on Tuesday to discuss providing support for Ukraine and restrictions on Russia, as per White House.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Hong Kong, April 20 (ANI): China is currently the world's fourth-largest military equipment exporter in the world. With significant numbers of countries set to spurn Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, and unwilling to face consequent sanctions, new sales opportunities could arise for Beijing.

Every year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) releases data on arms exports. In its most recent report, issued in March, SIPRI calculated that China sold 4.6 % of international weapon exports from 2017-21.

Also Read | US Condemns, Calls for Investigation After School Attacks That Claimed Lives of 20 People in Kabul.

Interestingly, this compared to China's 6.4% share of the global arms market in the preceding five-year period. This represented a 31% drop for China in terms of global arms sales, considerably lower than the 4.6% drop in global arms sales in 2017-21 compared to 2012-16.

In fourth place from 2017-21, China trailed only the USA, Russia and France. However, it came in ahead of traditional heavyweights such as Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Nearly half of Chinese weapon exports - 47%, in fact - went to closest ally Pakistan, while Beijing's next largest clients were Bangladesh and Thailand at 16% and 5% respectively.

Also Read | South Korea Reports 1,11,319 New COVID-19 Cases, 166 Deaths in Past 24 Hours.

Islamabad's dependence on China is in large part due to deteriorating relations with other countries, particularly the USA. Important Pakistani buys include J-10C and JF-17 fighters, SH15 155mm truck-mounted howitzers, VT4 tanks, HQ-16 and HQ-9 SAMs, Type 054A/P frigates and Hangor-class submarines.

In all, some 79% of Chinese arms exports were destined for Asia in 2017-21. In this timeframe, 48 different countries procured Chinese equipment. Given the relative strength of China's position on the arms export table, it is perhaps surprising that China also appeared fifth in the international list of arms importers, behind India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Australia.

In 2017-21, China soaked up 4.8% of global arms imports, compared to 2012-16 when it imported 4.4%. SIPRI reported that 81% of China's most recent imports came from Russia, while 9.1% emanated from France and 5.9% from Ukraine.

At this point, it is important to issue a caution about SIPRI's data. The appearance of France is odd, and is mostly because SIPRI attributes helicopter sales to France, even though Airbus Helicopters claims not to be selling or licensing military helicopter sales to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) anymore.

SIPRI noted: "Chinese arms imports remained stable between 2012-16 and 2017-21, and mainly came from Russia in both periods. However, China's arms imports are likely to decrease in the next few years as its industry is now capable of producing most types of major arms."

China is known as a supplier of affordable and functional military equipment, including small arms, armored vehicles, artillery, naval vessels, aircraft and missiles. This image has begun to change as China starts exporting higher-end equipment as it climbs higher up the value chain. Examples are the sale of 36 J-10C fighters to Pakistan, and the recent delivery of HQ-22 (FK-3) surface-to-air missiles (SAM) to Serbia.

It remains to be seen how dramatically President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine will impact Russian arms sales. From 2016-21, Russia was the world's second-largest arms supplier, accounting for 19% of global exports. However, this represented a 26% drop compared to the preceding five years.

Undoubtedly, Russian sales will be hit by its war. Some countries will be put off dealing with Moscow and the fear of Western sanctions, plus Russian industry will struggle to produce equipment at rates it did previously as it faces the impact of sanctions. Electronic componentry and microchips will be more difficult to source, for instance. There are already unverified reports that some Russian arms plants have been forced to cease production as they struggle to source components.

Russian defense industry's growing plight may open the door to some countries changing allegiance from Russia to China when they next go about buying military equipment. However, this is unlikely to represent a major boom for Chinese military exports.

In a piece for The Jamestown Foundation, John S. Van Oudenaren and Yani Najarian wrote: "Given Russia's clientele of authoritarian or hybrid regimes in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, China would seem a logical candidate to fill in the gap. Upon closer examination, however, many of the major buyers of Russian arms appear unlikely to replace these purchases in favor of Chinese imports. Particularly since major Western arms exporters such as the US and France have shown little compunction about exporting advanced military technology to authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and Africa, and are likely to capture much of any market share lost by Russia."

Furthermore, it should be remembered that Russia's major arms clients include India and Vietnam, both of which will never buy from China. Others like Egypt and Algeria could be more amenable to buying from China, however.

Buying Chinese does come with attendant customer risks, however. China, like Russia, is not renowned for aftersales support, and equipment can rapidly decline into non-functional machinery. The more sophisticated the equipment it sells, the more maintenance support it will require from China.

As an example, Jordan put its Chinese-manufactured CH-4 armed drones up for sale less than two years after buying them. Other nations such as Morocco, Nigeria and Turkmenistan have also moved on from Chinese armed drones to Turkish ones.

A RAND Corporation study entitled "Defense Acquisition in Russia and China" stated: "The design of Chinese defense contracts also does little to encourage transparency and accountability. The language of contracts is simplistic and perfunctory, without clear technical or schedule obligations, which is unsurprising given that there is no formal legal authority in the defense industry to adjudicate contract fulfillment."

China itself is under American and European military sanctions, and this certainly affects exports. Right now, Thailand is awaiting its first S26T submarine from China, with delivery delayed, first by COVID-19, and then by the fact that Germany refuses to sell diesel engines to China for the vessel.

Nonetheless, when it does export military equipment, money earnt can be plowed back into more weapons and equipment for the PLA. The same principle applies to other activities such as commercial shipbuilding, which benefits naval shipbuilding as a natural byproduct.

China is a major producer of cargo vessels, with one state-owned firm - the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), which controls more than 100 subsidiaries - accounting for 21.5% of the global shipbuilding market.

As well as its commercial activities, CSSC claims it is the "main force" in developing naval weapons for the PLA Navy. The PLAN is already the world's largest navy in terms of hull numbers, and its warships continue to grow in sophistication and capability.

The US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) reached some interestingconclusions about crossovers between the commercial and naval arms of CSSC activities. Indeed, it stated, "CSSC is a linchpin in Beijing's military-civil fusion strategy, which aims to upgrade the PLA and level up China's military science and technology industries while simultaneously strengthening instruments of national power across the board."

In November 2020, then President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting US individuals and companies from doing business with 31 Chinese firms with links to the PLA, one of which was CSSC. Four of its subsidiaries are the Dalian, Jiangnan, Hudong-Zhonghua and Huangpu Wenchong shipyards. From 2019-21, these four shipyards received contracts for at least 211 commercial vessels, 64% of which were overseas orders.

Right now, Jiangnan shipyard is building China's Type 003 aircraft carrier, whose launch hasbeen delayed because of Shanghai's lockdown and COVID-19 prevention measures. Immediately adjacent to the carrier is a container ship being built for the Evergreen Marine Corporation, one of three under construction for the Taiwanese company at Jiangnan. Evergreen has bought at least 44 commercial vessels from China since 2018.

This is somewhat ironic, with Taiwan, which is under severe military threat from China, funding Chinese ship construction. CSIS noted: "It should raise more than a few eyebrows in Taipei that Taiwan's premier shipping company is pouring money into the coffers of shipyards assembling warships for the Chinese navy."

Taiwan is not the only repeat customer for commercial vessels. French shipping firm CMA CGM has ordered at least 46 vessels since 2017. Technological know-how is changing hands too. For example, French-based naval engineering company Gaztranport & Technigraz SA reached several agreements to exchange technology with Chinese shipbuilders. Even Japan has ordered 13 LNG carriers for K-Line and Mitsui OSK since 2019.

CSIS observed: "At face value, sharing capital and technology with CSSC subsidiaries may seem innocuous, but it should raise red flags for nations concerned about China's growing military power. Facilitating better resource-sharing between military and civilian ventures is a critical element of China's military-civil fusion strategy, and many of China's shipbuilding facilities are being used for both commercial and military operations. Foreign capital can also aid in offsetting the research and development costs of military assets. Workers trained to construct commercial vessels may even be able to transfer some of their skills when working on PLAN warships."

China, now facing tighter sanctions on dual-use technologies, was once open about its desire to obtain foreign technologies. However, foreign companies are yet to fully waken up to the fact that they are helping advance Chinese naval shipbuilding. It took time for countries like the USA to realize that Chinese telecommunications firms like Huawei might harbor nefarious aims, but this cold dose of reality needs to extend more widely.

The CSIS warned: "With CSSC's lack of transparency and its central role in supporting the PLAN, foreign companies should exercise more caution when engaging with it and other Chinese shipbuilders. For democracies, especially those in the region that must weather the brunt of China's rising assertiveness, these ties are more than just worrying. They present a tangible threat to national security."

There are alternatives, with both Japan and South Korea possessing shipbuilding industries. CSIS said, though, "The shift will not be easy or immediate. Short-term capacity issues will arise. But in managing hard choices vis-a-vis China, especially those critical to national security, the United States should be prepared to steer the lead ship."

China's defense industry is essentially a monopoly for state-owned enterprises (SOE). While this can be an advantage when government-to-government sales are negotiated with buyers, there are also disadvantages.

The aforementioned RAND report noted: "...China's defense industry still lacks much real competition. SOEs dominate each of the major defense industry's sectors, and a long-established system of compartmentalization means there is little crossover of SOEs between sectors. Contracts are single-sourced for the majority of military equipment, with only non- combat-related contracts undergoing a formal bidding process. PLA leadership admitted as recently as 2014 that these institutional features - more than funds or technology - are the biggest impediments to China's research and development process."

China has long relied on the assimilation of foreign processes and technology, often through illicit means such as intellectual property theft. RAND added, "China's reliance on intellectual property theft means its weapons are years behind, but the Chinese recognize that shortcoming and are investing in and growing their organic capabilities through joint ventures and acquisition of foreign technology.

These business partnerships help China's large SOEs assimilate new processes and technologies and point to China being on a path to mitigating some of its historical shortcomings in research and development execution ... China's inability to manufacture highly sophisticated parts continues to limit its status as a first-rate developer and producer of state-of-the-art military materiel, but progress is apparent."

As Russia's defense industry faces an uphill struggle in years to come, Moscow may increasingly turn to China to fill capability gaps in areas such as armed drones. If this does occur, it will represent a major role reversal. Moscow has long been concerned about China's penchant for reverse engineering Russian equipment such as missiles and fighters. However, the country may soon be desperate for any foreign exchange that it will gladly do business on Beijing's terms. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Baton Rogue (US), Apr 19 (AP) The livestreamed fatal stabbing of a woman on social media led police to her body in an office building parking lot in Louisiana's capital.

Baton Rouge Police found Janice David's naked body bound to a vehicle's steering wheel with jumper cables late Monday night, news outlets reported.

Also Read | Crude Oil Prices Fall 5% on Global Commodities Selloff After IMF Lowers World Growth Forecasts.

Someone who saw video of the attack on a Facebook Live feed notified Facebook, which in turn contacted authorities, according to the reports.

Authorities arrested Earl Lee Johnson, 35, on Monday and charged him with first-degree murder. During a news conference Tuesday to announce the arrest, police said Johnson and David had been on a dayslong drug binge before he allegedly choked, beat and stabbed her.

Also Read | Sri Lanka Crisis: One Dead, 12 Injured After Police Open Fire At Anti-Govt Protesters in Rambukkana.

Apparently they were involved in some drug usage together for a couple of days and the end result  as everyone has seen on Facebook Live  is a very gruesome, very evil act, police spokesperson L'Jean McKneely said.

Autopsy results are pending on David, 34, of Baton Rouge. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Vijyawada, April 20: In a horrific incident, a 13-year-old girl in Andhra Pradesh, who was forced into prostitution for over eight months, was rescued by the police in Guntur on Tuesday, April 19. A probe revealed that she was gang raped by over 80 men during the eight-month period.

According to a report in India Today, Police have arrested 10 men, including a B.Tech student on Tuesday, April 19. Police have also arrested 80 people involved in the crime and are on the lookout for more accused who are on the run.

The victim was adopted by a woman, Sawarna Kumari, who had befriended her mother at a hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic in June 2021. The girl's mother had died due to Covid-19 soon after, and the girl was taken away by the woman without her fathers knowledge. Andhra Pradesh: 8-Month Old Dies After Police Blocked Traffic For Minister's Procession

In August 2021, the father of the girl approached the police and filed a complaint. Based on this, police identified the main accused as the woman, Sawarna Kumari. Andhra Pradesh Shocker: Not Wanting to Marry, Girl Slashes Fiance's Throat in Anakapalli; Youth Critical

The first arrest in the case was made in January, and on Tuesday, April 19, Guntur West Zone Police made 10 more arrests, including a B.Tech student. They also rescued the survivor-victim.

Upon questioning the accused and the victim, police discovered the harrowing and shocking reality of the victims situation.

For the last eight months, the 13-year-old girl had been sent to different brothel houses in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to be used in the flesh trade business. Based on this, police identified Sawanra Kumari, the woman who had taken the girl away, as the main accused who forced the minor into prostitution.

Additional Superintendent of Police, K Supraja said that the police had identified 80 accused and had begun arresting them. Of those, some are kingpins, 35 are pimps and the rest are customers.

Taking advantage of the girl's age and situation, several gangs purchased the girl and took her to several places in the twin Telugu states and forced her into prostitution, revealed the ASP.

Police are searching for some more accused who are on the run. One of the accused in this case is in London, said ASP Supraja.

Police have seized one car, 53 cell phones, three autos and bikes from the accused in this case. The accused were arrested from Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Kakinada and Nellore.

Police are hunting for other absconding accused involved in the eight-month gang rape of a 13-year-old minor girl in Andhra Pradesh.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 20, 2022 04:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Like all the local legends in this little town, Charlie Hanger has a portrait hanging on the wall of the Kumback Cafe, between the photo of outlaw Pretty Boy Floyd (said to have once eaten the biggest steak in the place) and the state champion wrestling teams.

Town Hero, Hangers photo says.

On April 19, 1995, Hanger  an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper so by-the-book that locals swore hed ticket his own mother  arrested Timothy J. McVeigh, 90 minutes after a fertilizer bomb in a Ryder rental truck exploded outside the federal building in Oklahoma City.

Sunday marks 20 years since the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which killed 168 people and injured hundreds more in what was then the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

Around these parts, Hanger a quiet, unassuming man who now serves as sheriff of rural Noble County will forever be known as the Man Who Caught McVeigh. To hear Hanger tell his story is to recall how skilled police work, but also luck, led to the arrest of the decorated Army-veteran-turned-radical who was later convicted and executed.

I call the fact that I was put in the right spot at the right time divine intervention, Hanger said last week. Ive never sought attention for it. Im not a person who likes a lot of attention.

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On that cool spring morning, Hanger had been ordered to the disaster site and had driven just few miles outside Perry  a town of about 5,000 people 60 miles north of Oklahoma City  when he was told to stay in his area.

Hanger was driving north on Interstate 35 when he passed a rusting, yellow 1977 Mercury Marquis with no license plate. He stopped the car and found behind the wheel a clean-cut, 26-year-old Timothy McVeigh wearing military boots and a windbreaker.

McVeigh also wore a T-shirt with a picture of Abraham Lincoln and the words his assassin, John Wilkes Booth, shouted in Fords Theater: Sic semper tyrannis. (Thus always to tyrants.) On the back was a quote from Thomas Jefferson: The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

McVeigh didnt have proof of insurance or a bill of sale for the car. He told the always-suspicious Hanger that he was on a long, multi-state drive  moving to Arkansas and on his way to get more of his belongings. But there was no suitcase in the car. No change of clothes, either.

As McVeigh reached into his rear pocket for his drivers license, his windbreaker tightened, and Hanger noticed the bulge of a shoulder holster under his left arm. McVeigh was wearing a loaded Glock pistol and had a 6-inch knife on his belt.

My gun is loaded, Hanger recalled McVeigh telling him as Hanger grabbed the bulge under the jacket.

So is mine, the trooper responded, putting his own gun to McVeighs head before arresting him for unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon. If he hadnt spotted the bulge, he would have let McVeigh go with a ticket.

As Hanger drove back to the Noble County Courthouse, McVeigh, sitting in the passenger seat, rattled off the serial number of his gun, correctly except for a single digit. He asked Hanger how fast his car ran, what kind of firearm he carried, how he could get his own gun back.

I thought it was just nervous chatter, Hanger said. The radio was going. They were still sending units to Oklahoma City. I never made any comment about it and he never made any comment about it. I thought, Hes just passing through. He doesnt know whats going on.

Hanger booked McVeigh into the Noble County Jail, inmate 95-057, and took his wife to lunch. Like everyone else, he was glued to the TV news coverage of the bombing.

As the nation searched for the bomber and public speculation lingered on men of Middle Eastern descent,McVeigh sat in a concrete cell atop the aging courthouse.

McVeigh was supposed to go before a county judge the next day, Thursday, but his hearing was delayed because the judge got tied up in a messy divorce case. The hearing was rescheduled for Friday.

Hanger was at home that morning when a dispatcher with Highway Patrol headquarters called asking if McVeigh was still in jail. Hanger doubted it, since he could easily make bail, but to his surprise McVeigh was still there, his car still parked by the interstate about 35 miles south of the Kansas state line.

McVeighs hearing had been delayed again, this time because the judges son had missed the school bus and the judge had to give the boy a ride. McVeigh probably would be seeing the judge any minute, Hanger told the dispatcher. Put a hold on him for the FBI, he was told. Now.

The trail that led to McVeigh had begun with the discovery of the Ryder trucks rear axle.

Flung two blocks from the blast site, the axle still held the vehicle identification number, which led authorities to the rental agency and then to a motel where McVeigh had stayed, registered under his real name. Staff said he resembled a composite sketch of John Doe No. 1, seen near the Murrah Building before the explosion.

Authorities had learned McVeigh was in jail because Hanger had run his Social Security number through a national crime database after his arrest.

Word spread fast in Perry that something was up.

Hanger was back at the courthouse when an angry crowd gathered on the lawn  some screaming, Baby killer! Hanger slipped out of the building in plain clothes and rode home with another trooper to avoid attention.

His role quickly got out and people wanted him  reporters for interviews, Oklahomans just to say thanks. Someone went to the local florist and tried to order flowers for Hanger, planning to follow the delivery driver to his home. Someone else sold maps to Hangers house to reporters.

Hanger didnt do interviews, but that didnt stop locals from talking about the strait-laced trooper. No one seemed surprised it was Hanger who made the arrest. The assistant district attorney told a reporter that Hanger once testified at a trial, and when the 12 jurors were asked if theyd ever received a ticket, 10 of them had been written up by Hanger.

He was always fair in the enforcement of the law, a no-nonsense type of guy, said Don Stoops, Hangers former partner, now retired.

These days, Hanger says he was just doing his job, though he later realized that, had he made one false move, McVeigh could have shot him on that highway.

Looking back later at who I was dealing with, what could have happened  that was more frightening than what happened that day, Hanger said. I often run the whole scenario back through my mind to see if there was something I missed, something I should have picked up on, and Im just glad I didnt let him go.

The arrest defined Hangers career. He was elected Noble County sheriff in 2004 and barely mentioned McVeigh when campaigning. Around here, he doesnt have to.

Two decades on, McVeighs co-conspirator, Terry Nichols, sits in prison while the pain and anger remain potent for Hanger and many Oklahomans. Hanger well remembers McVeighs eyes. There was no emotion.

Hanger can recite all the minutiae of the arrest but when he talked about the 19 children killed that day, the lawman in the black cowboy boots choked up, and his big, blue eyes turned serious. He cant bring himself to visit a memorial where victims photos are displayed.

The attention needs to be on the victims, he said quietly. He goes sometimes to the bombing anniversary events in Oklahoma City, but not always. When hes there in uniform, he feels like a distraction

Hes so humble about it, said Marilee Macias, owner of the Kumback Cafe.

He doesnt like it when people call him a hero, she said. But that wont stop them.

hailey.branson@latimes.com

Twitter: @haileybranson
One man linked to Mac Miller's death has been sentenced to around 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to supplying counterfeit fentanyl-laced pills to the drug dealer who sold them to the rapper.

The charged man was identified as former West Los Angeles resident Ryan Michael Reavis. He pleaded guilty last year to a piece of single-count superseding information charging him with the distribution of fentanyl, according to The Hill News report.

The U.S. Attorney's Office noted that Reavis was sentenced to 131 months in federal prison.

Reavis is just one of the three people charged in light of Miller's death. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced that Stephen Andrew Walter, 48, is set to be sentenced in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, a case against Cameron Pettit, 30, is pending.

Reavis admitted to knowing that the pills contained fentanyl or some other controlled substance as noted by the Justice Department.

Pettit then gave the fentanyl-laced pills to Miller. Revis reportedly supplied the pills to Pettit.

READ NEXT: U.S. Coast Guard Offloads $1 Billion Worth of Marijuana, Cocaine in Florida's Port Everglades | What Is Coast Guard's Biggest Narcotics Seizure?

Mac Miller Death

U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wring II delivered the sentence after prosecutors read an emotional statement from miller's mom, Karen Meyers.

Meyers said in a statement that her life "went dark the moment Malcolm left his world," adding that her son was her person, "more than a son."

Meyers added that she and Miller used to speak nearly every day about everything, according to a Rolling Stone report.

She described their love for each other as "unparalleled" and noted that her son's music and voice "spoke to many people all over the world."

Meyers said that Miller "would never knowingly take a pill with fentanyl," noting that her son wanted to live and was excited about the future.

Reavis said that it was not just a regular drug case and that somebody died. He noted that his family would be "wrecked" if it was him.

Prosecutors said that Revis had three guns in his possession when he was arrested in Lake Havasu. It included an untraceable "ghost gun" and boxes of ammunition.

There were also digital scales covered in heroin and methamphetamine residue, blank prescription pads, and baggies, according to prosecutors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elia Herrera told the judge that they recovered a text message Reavis sent to an associate in June 2019 showing that he was still selling pills around a year after Miller's death.

Mac Miller Overdose

In 2018, a coroner has ruled that the rapper's death was an accidental overdose due to a combination of drugs and alcohol, according to an NBC Boston News report.

A Los Angeles County coroner's report named Miller's cause of death as "mixed toxicity," noting that cocaine, alcohol, and opioid fentanyl were found in his system.

Miller, whose real name is Malcolm James McCormick, was found unresponsive in his Los Angeles home by paramedics. He was declared dead soon after, with the autopsy performed on Sept. 10, 2018.

Fellow artists performed a tribute concert for him, featuring Chance the Rapper, Travis Scott, and John Mayer.

READ MORE: Cocaine Found in Christmas Cards Bound for New York at Guyana Post Office

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Man who supplied fentanyl-laced pills to rapper Mac Miller sentenced to more than 10 years in prison - from ABC 7






Mexico has reportedly shut down an elite anti-drug unit that collaborates with U.S. DEA or Drug Enforcement Administration to fight organized crime in the country, according to two sources.

The group was known to be one of the Sensitive Investigative Units operating in about 15 countries, which U.S. officials called as invaluable in dismantling powerful criminal organization, as well as capturing drug lords around the globe, according to a Reuters report.

The units are trained by the DEA. However, it remains under the control of Mexico's national government.

The closure of the unit poses a threat to U.S. efforts to fight organized crime groups in Mexico, which is one of the centers of the multi-billion-dollar global narcotics trade.

In addition, it would make it harder to catch and prosecute Mexican drug cartel leaders.

A DEA agent with knowledge of the matter said that Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's government notified the DEA last April that the unit had been shut down. The agent declined to be named as they were not allowed to speak about the matter.

A second source also familiar with the situation confirmed that the unit was shut down.

READ NEXT: Mexico: Lopez Obrador Denies 'Falsifying' Investigation on 2014 Disappearance of 43 Students

Mexico's Anti-Drug Unit Closure

A DEA agent noted that the Mexican government "strangled it," adding that it closed the bridges that they spent decades putting together, according to a New York Post report.

A second unit continues to operate. It is based inside the Mexican attorney general's office and is independent of Lopez Obrador's government.

The unit was created in 1997 and had a critical role in the DEA's ability to share leads about drug shipments and other tips with the Mexican government.

Members of the unit had been subjected to a comprehensive vetting process such as taking polygraph tests. The members were trained by the DEA on the latest surveillance and policing techniques.

Mike Vigil, the DEA's former chief of international operations, noted that the closure of the unit will mean more drugs going to the U.S. and more violence in Mexico.

Lopez Obrador had also made it more difficult for agencies like DEA to operate in Mexico.

The Mexican government removed diplomatic immunity from foreign agents in December 2020 while also requiring Mexican officials to write reports on their interactions with security officers from abroad.

Broken Cooperation Between DEA and Mexico

Matthew Donahue, the DEA's deputy chief of operations, noted that DEA is willing to share intelligence with its counterparts in Mexico. However, Mexican counterparts of the agency "are too afraid to even engage" with them due to fear of repercussions from their own government if they are caught working with DEA, according to an NPR report.

Donahue added that it is important DEA gets the cooperation of Mexico for the safety of American citizens as well as to cut out violence in Mexico. He then described the current situation as a national security crisis, saying that criminal organizations are not afraid of any kind of law enforcement or military inside Mexico right now.

READ MORE: Mexico: 90,000 People Have Disappeared Without a Trace Amid Drug War

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Mexico president accuses DEA of fabricating case - from Associated Press


President Joe Biden on Tuesday opened up about President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Call for him to visit Ukraine amid its war with Russia.

Speaking to a reporter for UNF News, Biden said that he was unsure if he will visit Ukraine, New York Post reported.

"The answer is I don't know," Biden underscored.

The reporter then followed up with a question if Biden wants to visit Ukraine

However, President Joe Biden noted that he has been to Ukraine many times and he just has not been there recently, unlike any other president.

Earlier this week, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed that he expects Biden to visit Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said that he thinks Biden will visit but pointed out that it is still the U.S. president's decision if he wanted to. Zelenskyy added that as the leader of the United States, Biden should come to Ukraine and see the effects of the Russian invasion in their country.

However, Biden administration officials have shut down the idea of President Joe Biden traveling to the war-torn country, with White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan saying that the president has no plans of doing so.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on the other hand said in a podcast interview that they will not be sending Biden to Ukraine.

So far, European officials have traveled to Ukraine in light of the Russian invasion.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the country on April 9. The presidents of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, also journeyed to Ukraine on April 13. Meanwhile, prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Poland went to Kyiv on March 15.

READ NEXT: Russian Fertilizers Seen to Arrive in Brazil Despite Sanctions on Russia Over Ukraine Invasion

Pres. Joe Biden Pledges Artillery to Ukraine

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden also promised Ukraine for more artillery to fend off Russia in its vicinity. Defense News noted that Biden made his comments to the reporters during his trip to New Hampshire.

Biden did not clarify how many artilleries will be sent to Ukraine from the U.S.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki claimed that Biden discussed securing more ammunition and security assistance for Kyiv. Psaki said that Biden opened up about the matter during a video call among the leaders of several U.S. allies, including Poland, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, France, and Germany.

Meanwhile, Republican Senator Rob Portman from Ohio wrote a letter to Biden last week calling for a coordinator or military Czar, that would synchronize the whole government approach in arming Ukraine.

Portman noted that the said key person would serve as the chief liaison between the U.S. and its allies abroad regarding the transfer of weapons to Ukraine.

Global Aid to Ukraine

The United States is not the only country that will help Ukraine.

According to BBC, Chancellor Olaf Scholz highlighted that Germany was providing finance to enable Ukraine to enable the country to buy anti-tank weapons and ammunition from German Arms manufacturers.

The Czech Republic said that their forces will repair Ukrainian tanks and armored vehicles that were damaged during combat.

BBC also noted that global leaders also discussed how to provide security guarantees to Ukraine after the war, even though it is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

READ NEXT: Cristiano Ronaldo: Liverpool Fans Make Touching Gesture for Manchester United Star After Baby Son's Death

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges US President Joe Biden to visit Ukraine - From ABC News Australia
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Elon Musk is currently trying to create a buyout bid for Twitter using other people's money but may have been facing problems raising the money.

The Tesla CEO is worth $270 billion and eyeing to finance his $43 billion bid to acquire Twitter in a deal that raises debt against both the company and possibly his own stock, according to a New York Post report.

Sources noted that some investors seemed to be "skittish" over Musk's pattern of "unpredictable behavior and taste for controversy."

Musk is willing to invest between $10 billion and $15 billion of his own cash to take Twitter private, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

It was an increase from the current 9.1 percent stake in the company he revealed on April 4, which is worth about $3.4 billion.

Sources added that Musk may also be willing to borrow against his current stake if needed, which is a move that could possibly raise several billion additional dollars.

One of the sources said that the co-investors combined shares will have more equity than Musk, but the Tesla tycoon will be the biggest single holder.

Sources noted that about $20 billion will come from co-investors who will finance a tender offer directly to Twitter shareholders.

READ NEXT: Twitter Net Worth 2022: How Much Is Twitter Valued After Elon Musk Made $43 Billion Offer?

Elon Musk Buys Twitter

The investment bank working with Musk on the possible deal, Morgan Stanley, has been contacting banks and other possible investors to raise financing for the offer, according to The New York Times report.

Musk is evaluating several packages of debt, which include more senior debt known as preferred debt and a loan against his shares of Tesla, according to two sources.

Private equity firm Apollo Global Management is among the parties eyeing to offer debt financing in a bid for Twitter.

Musk made an unsolicited offer for Twitter last week. He said that he wanted to make it private and wanted people to be able to speak more freely on the platform.

Wall Street greeted his offer with skepticism as the Tesla CEO did not include details on how he would come up with the money for the deal

Twitter responded with Musk's offer by issuing a "poison pill," which would effectively prevent Musk from owning more than 15 percent of Twitter's shares.

Morgan Stanley is expected to provide an update on its deal-making prospects when it reports quarterly earnings on April 28.

Elon Musk's Offer to Twitter

Musk offered to buy the social media platform for $54.20 a share in a filing published last Thursday. He said that the social media company "needs to be transformed privately," according to a CNBC News report.

Musk wrote a letter sent to Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor saying that he invested in Twitter as he believes in its "potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe."

Musk said that Twitter needs to be private as it can "neither thrive nor serve" free speech in its current situation.

He wrote in his letter that his offer is his "best and final offer." He added that he would need to reconsider his position as a shareholder if his offer is not accepted.

READ MORE: Elon Musk Promises Self-Driving Car's System To Be Released in a Month

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by Mary Webber

WATCH: Elon Musk tweet hints at possible tender offer for Twitter - from CNBC Television






Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced that the state's lawmakers will consider removing the self-governing status of Disney World.

According to The Hill, DeSantis noted that the state's legislature would be expanded to include considering the termination of all special districts imposed in Florida before 1968.

The self-governing status of the Reedy Creek Improvement District that administers much of Walt Disney World allowed the company to operate under its own government around its area in central Florida.

DeSantis earlier said the company has "alienated a lot of people now" with the company's opposition to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill.

Disney World was put together in 1967 and essentially allows the amusement park to function as its own municipal government. It employs around 80,000 people.

Disney's special zone is known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, giving the company considerable control over the planning and permitting process for construction on its 25,000-acre property.

READ NEXT: Florida Condo Collapse: Architect Suspended Over Toppling of Other Structures in Miami

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' Dispute With Disney World

Ron DeSantis and Disney started to publicly call out each other last month after the company condemned the Parental Rights in Education law, which restricts discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms, among many things.

Disney earlier said its goal as a company is for the law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, according to The New York Times.

DeSantis took aim at Disney as a response and described it as "woke" and sent a fund-raising email to supporters, saying it had "lost any moral authority to tell you what to do."

Some Florida legislators then started threatening to revoke Disney World's special tax district. The "Independent Special Districts" bill quickly moved forward in the House and Senate shortly after the governor's announcement.

Republican state Rep. Randy Fine said, "you kick the hornet's nest, things come up," according to USA Today.

Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Bill

The Don't Say Gay bill has earned much criticism upon its announcement, including thousands of students, Florida's LGBTQ residents, advocates, and other concerned parties rallying against the law.

Some critics express worry that it may cause harm to LGBTQ students across all grades, WUSF News reported.

Equality Florida, families, and other concerned parties had filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing that the bill violates constitutional rights.

One of the lawsuit's plaintiffs is Zander Moricz, a senior at Pine View Schools in Sarasota County. Moricz noted that he would not have come out if he was not able to discuss with his teachers or peers the fact that he thought he was gay.

During the debate on passing the law, Sen. Annette Taddeo, a Democrat, said it would endanger the safety of LGBTQ students and adolescents, NBC reported.

Meanwhile, supporters of the law said it was about allowing parents to have control over their children's education, while opponents argued that it unfairly targets the LGBTQ community.

READ MORE: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Ignores U.S. Pres. Joe Biden's Request for National Guard Troops at State of the Union

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Governor DeSantis Takes on Disney, Calls for End to Self-Governance - From WFLA News Channel 8
The U.S. Embassy on Tuesday issued a security alert intended for U.S. citizens traveling to Mexico's state of Zacatecas.

According to Mexico News Daily, the new travel restrictions from the agency were made due to cartel turf wars in the area. Under the new restrictions, the U.S. Embassy also said government employees are not allowed to travel to Zacatecas by land, but the agency permits personnel to travel to the state by air.

"Zacatecas state has experienced violent turf battles between cartels. The state's homicide rate in 2021 was more than double the previous year's rate and was the highest in Mexico. U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) have been victims of kidnapping," the U.S. Embassy noted in their statement.

The agency also urged Americans traveling to Zacatecas to be aware of their surroundings and monitor the local media for updates.

READ NEXT: Sinaloa Cartel Leaves Severed Head, Cardboard With Threatening Message for Jalisco Cartel in Mexico's Colima State

Police Officers Among Victims of Recent Violence in Zacatecas, Mexico

According to a report from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System, Zacatecas is Mexico's most violent state regarding homicides per capita, Mexico News Daily reported.

Between 2020 and 2021, homicide in the said state reportedly increased by 143 percent. According to an October security survey, Fresnillo, Zacatecas' second biggest city, was identified as unsafe by 94.3 percent of residents.

Police officers in the state are among the victims of the violence in the state. Vice News reported that police officers went on strike nearly a week after at least 16 law enforcement officers were murdered since 2022 started.

The outlet noted that the police officers were killed after leaving their headquarters or traveling between their homes and the police station.

As of April 7, more than 20 police officers had exited their posts since November, when the government denied them better wages and refused to permit them to carry their weapons while off duty.

As homicides continue to rise in Zacatecas, Insight Crime reported that the government of Mexico launched the Operations Zacatecas II last November. The program sent over 3,000 to 4,000 troops to the state to control and keep order in the area.

Mexican Drug Cartels in Mexico's State of Zacatecas

According to Insight Crime, the state of Zacatecas is a battleground for several Mexican drug cartels that have forged alliances in the area. The most prominent groups in the area are the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

Reports noted that Zacatecas is vital to Mexican drug cartels because of its strategic location along drug trafficking routes to the U.S.

Despite the presence of the drug cartels in Zacatecas in Mexico, Insight Crime reported that the authorities made very few arrests. In 2020, 95 percent of crimes in Zacatecas were either not denounced or not investigated.

READ MORE: Georgia Teen Killed Younger Sister After Setting His Family Home on Fire on Easter Sunday

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Mexico's Zacatecas Turns Into the Latest Battleground for Cartels - From Al Jazeera English
The body of a boy found dead in the woods of southern Indiana this weekend was put inside a suitcase, police said Tuesday.

The Indiana State Police noted that the young boy's body was inside a closed hardshell suitcase painted with the "Welcome to Las Vegas Nevada" sign, Crime Online reported.

According to Louisville Courier-Journal, the body of a Black male child was found in a heavily wooded area in Washington County on Saturday. A resident hunting for mushrooms discovered the body in the 7000 block of East Holder Road in Washington County at around 7:30 p.m.

The boy was described as about 4 feet tall with a slim build and short haircut. Initially, authorities believed that the boy was between five and eight years old.

However, now they think that the victim is closer to five years old. USA Today reported that the authorities withheld details of his clothing.

READ NEXT: Cristiano Ronaldo: Liverpool Fans Make Touching Gesture for Manchester United Star After Baby Son's Death

Indiana Police Say Dead Boy Could Be From Other State

Indiana State Police Sgt. Carey Huls said there is a chance that the boy could be from another state.

"We thought this would be a local case but since nothing has happened - we haven't had any matches, so this obviously could be a national thing," Huls said in a press conference on Monday.

The Indiana State Police noted that an autopsy on the body was completed Tuesday, but a definitive cause of death has not yet been confirmed.

In a statement, the state police said the "results of the toxicology report are still pending, and investigators are hopeful that information will shed more light on the cause of death."

Police believe that the boy's death occurred sometime within the past week. Before the child's death, Huls said the boy was likely in someone's custody, and somebody was taking care of him, and he hoped that they would surface soon.

Indiana Police Seeks Public Help in Identifying the Dead Boy

The description of the boy reportedly did not match the description of any Indiana children that have been reported missing. The Indiana State Police is now seeking the public's help in identifying the dead boy that was inside the suitcase.

USA Today reported that a national tip line dedicated to this case had been established Monday. Anyone with information is asked to call this hotline number: 1-888-437-6432.

Authorities said around 200 calls from the public have already come in. However, none of those calls led to help in identifying the boy.

"Our No. 1 goal at this point is to find out the identity and name of this child. That's what he deserves," Huls noted.

The Indiana State Police urged the public not to send any information on missing children that had been previously reported to them. Authorities said investigators are already looking into these cases.

READ MORE: Joe Biden, Unsure If He Would Visit Ukraine Amid Calls From Volodymyr Zelenskyy | Here's What He Says

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Indiana Boy Found Dead in Suitcase - From WTHR
BAGHDAD, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Two members of Iraq's Hashd Shaabi paramilitary force were killed on Tuesday in an attack launched by the Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala.

Three other paramilitary members and seven villagers were wounded in the crossfire when the IS attacked a security outpost in the evening outside a village near the town of Qara-Tappa, some 175 km northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Hassan al-Jubouri, a lawmaker from the village, told Xinhua.

Some armed villagers also opened fire on the attackers, al-Jubouri said.

A medical source from the Qara-Tappa hospital told Xinhua that the ten wounded people were admitted to the hospital.

Also on Tuesday, two soldiers and two civilians including a Jordanian driver were wounded when the IS militants raided an army checkpoint on the Baghdad-Amman international road near the town of Rutba, some 390 km west of Baghdad, an Iraqi army source in the province told Xinhua.

Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have carried out deadly attacks against the extremist militants to crackdown on their intensified activities.

The security situation in Iraq has improved after Iraqi forces defeated the IS in 2017. Yet IS remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. 
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The presence of a huge Canadian company in Portlaoise is expected to attract more, the Canadian Ambassador to Ireland has said.

Nancy Smyth was in the Greenfield Global plant in the IDA's Portlaoise Business Park in Laois this month, along with the Tanaiste Leo Varadkar.

"Having a foothold here with Greenfield Global in Portlaoise, once you have one that's here and doing so well, growing both their numbers of employees and also work production levels, I think it is very promising for the region," Ms Smyth told the Leinster Express.

She praised the chief of the Irish plant Ken Finnegan for spreading the word about relocation to Ireland as an English speaking EU base for Canadian companies.

"We have a trade team at the Canadian Embassy in Dublin and that team works very closely with Enterprise Ireland and the IDA, and shares information and support to Canadian companies that might be interested in coming to Ireland, and that's our bread and butter.

"We're really pleased that Greenfield Global plays a role not only here in the community in terms of work, but also a leadership role on the Ireland Canada Business Council. That also helps to spread the word. Ken here is on the executive committee and plays a leadership role within that organisation as well," the Canadian Ambassador said.

Laois County Council CEO John Mulholland who has spearheaded the council owned J17 National Enterprise Park nearby to bring jobs to the county, was also at the launch.

"A lot of developments are happening in Portlaoise, there is a greater degree of confidence in the county and the town. Somthing like this at Greenfield Global only serves to attract people to the benefits of setting up in Portlaoise. I think the achievements of this company speak for themselves. They are truly a global player with great ambition, and hopefully they will continue to develop, and hopefully will attract more people in when they see a critical mass in our locality," the council CEO said.

Asked if Enterprise Ireland and the IDA should play a stronger role to bring jobs to Laois, Mr Mulholland said that they already do.

"In fairness it's a very difficult area. Everyone is chasing the same thing, everyone is taking everyone else's breakfast. All you can do is show the evidence and people can make up their own mind very quickly. Events like this visit all help to pronounce the benefits of Laois," Mr Mulholland said.

Greenfield Global opened a state-of-the-art, low carbon cGMP manufacturing facility in Portlaoise in 2020, to provide both regional and global life science customers with mission critical chemicals and ingredients. The site offers Pharmco branded bioprocess solutions and high-purity alcohols and solvents.
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Poor footpaths in an older residential area of Portlaoise are posing a danger to older people and children at a special needs school.

The footpaths on the Borris Road and elsewhere have prompted a formal request to be made to the Department of Transport to reinstate a special footpath fund for the town.

A Portlaoise councillor tabled a motion to the April meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District asking for repairs or replacements of paths on the Borris Road, from Martley's Shop to St Francis School.

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley said that the paths are reduced to gravel in sections, while another councillor queried the safety in some paths that are very high off the road.

"I'd class the surface as kind of gravelled. If elderly are walking on them they are a trip hazard," she said.

Laois County Council has asked her to give some of her discretionary budget to repair parts of the path. It will also apply for funding from the national Active Travel pot, but Cllr Dwane Stanley said much more funding is required.

"I want new paths the whole way up. Vulnerable people use them, in their 70s, 80s and even 90s. People going to St Francis School have disabilities. We need to look after the most vulnerable in society. A fantastic job has been done on Church Street, I want to see it mirrored here," she said.

Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald seconded the motion and said that a ramp on the path is "very steep".

"This is from years ago. It could be made more walker friendly," she said.

Cllr Barry Walsh agreed.

"I have noticed that some of the paths are quite high. If someone falls they will take a tumble," he said, querying the recommended height of footpaths, to be told that it is supposed to be four inches.

Cllr Noel Tuohy asks that the footpaths to Portlaoise Leisure Centre also be repaired.

"St Francis School walks to the leisure centre to use it and some of the paths are gravel," he said.

The council has agreed to carry out essential repairs to the paths using councillor's discretionary budgets.

With several other footpaths also highlighted at the meeting, a request will now be made to the Department of Transport, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland to bring back ringfenced money for footpaths. Such a fund was wiped out with the abolition of Town Councils back in 2014.
Ukrainian refugees living in Laois are so grateful to Laois Integration Network (LIN) for opening up a Zero Cost Shop in Portlaoise town that they have volunteered to help during this weeks Clean up Week in Laois.

Karen McHugh, Chairperson of Laois Integration Network said that she and all the LIN Committee were humbled when Ukrainian refugees who are coming into the shop for the past few weeks, asked if they could give back to the community of Laois

This has resulted in Portlaoise Tidy Towns inviting Ukrainians to join them this evening, Wednesday, April 20 at 6 pm to help during Laois Clean Up Week. The refugees will join Laois Integration Committee members and Portlaoise Tidy Town members at 6 pm at Lyster Square, Portlaoise (beside Allbooks Bookshop).

Gerry Browne, Chairperson of Portlaoise Tidy Towns, said that they were delighted when contacted by Laois Integration Network about this offer.

"We are always looking for volunteers and this is a lovely gesture from the Ukrainian refugees. We look forward to welcoming them to our Tidy Towns community," said Mr Browne.

"We are absolutely humbled," said Karen McHugh, Chairperson of LIN.

"It is astounding to think of these people coming from a war-torn country and they genuinely do just want to give back to the community. Since the opening of our Zero Cost Shop at Bull Lane in Portlaoise, the committee have welcomed hundreds of Ukrainian refugees to the shop. The refugees are able to take whatever they need during their difficult time and so many are now volunteering in the shop too.

"We are so grateful to the donations given to date by the Laois Community, all of which has made such a difference already to the Ukrainian refugees," commented Ms McHugh.

The zero-cost shop is located at the Old XtraVision shop on Bull Lane (right around the corner from Mulhalls Supervalu) in Portlaoise town.

It is estimated that to date 300 Ukraines have arrived in Laois, with some being housed by families, but most are in temporary accommodation including hotels in Portlaoise, Abbeyleix, Durrow, Clonaslee, Mountmellick and other locations around the county The zero-cost shop contains everything that will be needed including clothes, food, sanitary products, shoes and toys for children.

Ms McHugh concluded by saying that if anyone has good quality bikes for children and/or adults, including helmets if possible, please drop them into the Zero Cost Shop during opening hours: Monday and Wednesdays from 4-6.00pm and on Saturdays from 12-4.00pm. Alternatively, donations can be dropped in by appointment. People can check out Laois Integration Network on their Facebook and Twitter pages.

Donations can be made directly to Laois Integration Network Credit Union account.

Account Name: Laois Integration Network; IBAN: IE62POCO99211710968699 BIC: POCOIE21

Laois Integration Network (LIN) is a community organisation in Laois that promotes cultural diversity and effective integration throughout the County of Laois. It was established in February 2016, initially under the auspices of Doras Syrian Resettlement Project and since June 2016 as a separate entity comprising of local voluntary and statutory organisations as well as individuals from Irish and migrant and diverse faith communities throughout Laois.

After a two year break Spring Clean Up Week returns to Co. Laois. National Spring Clean has been operated by An Taisce since 1999 in partnership with the Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government and local authorities throughout the country.

Laois County Council and their sponsors Bord na Mona are asking local communities to spring into action and join the fight against litter. Groups, communities, neighbours and friends have registered with the Environment Section to receive packs of bags, gloves and litter pickers and to tackle the issue of litter in their local areas.

This initiative is Irelands biggest and longest running anti-litter campaign and makes a real impact on local environments.

Clean Up Laois Week last took place in 2019 and that year the county saw 108 groups registered and in excess of 1,600 volunteers taking part.

Each year this partnership approach to tackling the ongoing litter problem receives so much support from local residents, community groups, businesses and schools and is a testament to the community spirit that this initiative fosters. Laois County Council acknowledges the great work done by all groups involved and would encourage the public to be extra vigilant in their own areas, by reporting any litter offences, unauthorised waste collectors, or fly tipping on the confidential freephone litter hotline 1800 32 32 30.

Clean up Laois week rubbish will be collected by Bord na Mona from Monday 25th April to Friday 29th April 2022.
Kildare restaurant owner Paul Lenehan has been made president of the Restaurants Association of Ireland. Mr Lenehan owns and operates Hartes of Kildare, Firecastle in Kildare town and The Dew Drop Inn in Kil alongside business partner Ronan Kinsella.

The announcement was made at an event at Mount Juliet estate. Mr Lenhan will be in the role for the next two years and is the 25th president of the association. He faces a challenging term over the next two years with rising business costs, skills shortages and the nine percent VAT rate campaign a main focus.

Speaking as the presidency was handed over, Mr Lenehan said: I promise to work hard and diligently to help steer our industry back to normality. Its not going to be easy, it never is, but the Restaurant Association of Ireland is a strong and dynamic organisation and works hard for its members and lobbies the Government in Ireland Europe.

CEO Adrian Cummins said of the appointment: We are delighted to have Paul Lenehan as the new President of the Restaurants Association of Ireland and myself and the national council look forward to working with Paul to ensure a vibrant recovery for the entire restaurant and hospitality sector over the next two years.

We will lobby hard to ensure that the Government supports our sector in recovery. We were once a thriving employer and the largest indigenous industry within Ireland, with our exceptional food and service and we can be again with the right support.

Awards pedigree

Mr Lenehans restaurant Hartes of Kildare boasts numerous awards over recent years, having been given the title Kildares best gastropub in 2018 from the Restaurants Association of Ireland, taking over from the 2017 winner, his very own Dew Drop Inn.

The Kildare venue was also crowned the Yes Chef best gastropub in the country in 2017 and 2018.

Firecastle is the newest of the three establishments. It is an artisan food store, bakery, cafe and deli located in the middle of Market Square, Kildare town. The store offers a variety of restaurant quality ready meals, some of which were originally made in the Hartes of Kildare itself. Breads, cakes and meals are all prepared freshly on site daily.
The 46 new cost rental homes are a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, located in The Paddocks, Newbridge, Co. Kildare. Under the Governments Cost Rental Scheme, rents are targeted at a minimum of 25% below open market value, with prices for The Paddocks homes starting at 1,000 per month  approx. 25% to 30% below local market rates. Residents will also be provided with long-term security of tenure.

Applications officially open on www.cluid.ie on Wednesday April 20 2022, with the first homes available to move into before the end June 2022. When complete, homebuilder Montane Developments will have delivered a total of over 300 homes in The Paddocks development.

Todays announcement follows on from Cluids launch of the first cost rental scheme in Kildare, Barnhall Meadows, which attracted over 1,000 applicants, for a total of 56 new homes released in two phases last year. In addition, Cluid recently announced plans to deliver 73 cost rental homes in Cork in 2022.

The Newbridge homes are conveniently located close to sports, social, educational, commercial, transport and recreational amenities. The A-rated, energy efficient properties are semi-furnished. Each home will include white goods, including a fridge freezer, a dishwasher, an oven and hob, a microwave, and a washer dryer as standard. Roller blinds are supplied including a blackout blind in bedrooms, in addition to laminate flooring throughout, and tiled bathrooms. Applications open on Wednesday April 20 and close on Wednesday April 27 . To apply for the cost rental homes, applicants are obliged to provide evidence of the following eligibility criteria:

 Net household income is below 53,000 per annum

 Not in receipt of any social housing supports (including Rent Supplement or HAP)

 Do not own a property

 Household size matches the size of the property advertised (All members of the household must be living in Ireland at time of applying.)

 Applicants can afford to pay the cost rent for the home

 Household has only entered one application for a specific cost rental property

Should more applications be received than properties available, completed applications will be selected at random. The random selection system is automated and auditable, to ensure a fair application process for all.

This cost rental scheme is a new form of tenure in Ireland and received a budget allocation from this year of 70m for the delivery of 700 Cost Rental homes by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), through the Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) mechanism. The scheme means residents pay rents that are solely based on the cost to build, manage, and maintain the homes.

A target to deliver an average of 2,000 cost rental homes per year was included in Housing for All, Governments housing plan for Ireland over the next eight years. Under the Affordable Housing Act 2021, the Cost Rental Scheme will enable Cluid to set rents for this development in Newbridge as per the below:

1 bed apartment- 1,000 per calendar month

2 bed apartment- 1,240 per calendar month

3 bed apartment- 1,350 per calendar month

Fiona Cormican, Cluid Housings Director of New Business, commented: Cluids vision is of a society where everyone has a great place to live. To achieve our vision, we work in partnership with a range of stakeholders to deliver high quality housing and services across Ireland. We are extremely proud to have been selected to deliver these cost rental homes in partnership with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Housing Agency, the Housing Finance Agency, Kildare County Council and Montane Developments.

Cost rental homes provide working people, who do not already own a property, access to right-sized homes, at a rent they can afford. With rents of between 25% to 30% below market rates, these new homes here in The Paddocks, Newbridge offer excellent quality, long-term, secure rental options for middle income households and those struggling to rent on the open market.

We are proud to have been the first AHB to deliver cost rental homes in Ireland and we are ready to assist the Government in achieving their target of 2,000 cost rental homes per year and 18,000 by 2030 as set out in Housing for All.
Sixty three people have died with Covid-19 in the last two weeks.

That's according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), which also found the average age of those who died during this time was 85 years old.

The death rate continues to decline this week, with no deaths reported today and 15 in the last seven days.

Overall, 6,981 people in Ireland have died with Covid-19 since the onset of the pandemic two years ago.

One thousand four hundred and seven PCR-confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been recorded today (April 20), a figure almost double yesterday's (April 19) 778.

However, it's a reduction of over two hundred cases compared with April 18 when 1,668 were recorded.

Data from the HPSC shows positive cases of Covid-19 number 10,094 in the last seven days, with a total of 1,506,963 reported in Ireland since the pandemic began.







According to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), 706 Covid patients were in hospital as of 8am this morning, 42 of whom are in ICU.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 1,407 PCR-confirmed cases of COVID-19. In addition, on Tuesday 19 April, 1,941 people registered a positive antigen test through the HSE portal.

As of 8am today, 706 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of whom 42 are in ICU.
The return of a migrant who arrived from Moscow at Manas airport, near Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, on March 29. VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO / AFP

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February, a new tourist circuit has popped up. Travel agencies are selling their Russian clients trips that include a round-trip to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, two nights in a hotel, a visit to a local bank and the promise of a credit card. Since Visa and Mastercard stopped their operations in Russia as a result of Western sanctions, Russians have been doing "bank tourism." In Kazakhstan, the authorities announced on April 8 that Russians and Belarusians had opened nearly 12,000 bank accounts there in a matter of weeks. Because of their linguistic and historical ties, the interdependencies between Russia and its neighboring economies are both an asset and a weakness.

In this case, the expected 11.2% and 45% contraction of the Russian and Ukrainian economies in 2022, according to the latest World Bank forecast, will have significant repercussions. The war is expected to cost countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia 1.5 points and 2.3 points of growth respectively in 2022. The economic shock will vary from country to country. Some depend on remittances from migrants working in Russia, such as Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the poorest nations in the region, for which these revenues alone account for 26% and 16% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

"Migrant workers in Russia are worried about the devaluation of the ruble that is lowering their income," said Yulia Florinskaya, a professor at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) in Moscow. "They have to spend more in Russia because of rising prices and send much smaller amounts home." Migrant workers make up 5% to 6% of the Russian workforce. "So far, there have been no mass departures," continued Ms. Florinskaya, "but it is possible that a noticeable exodus will begin in the fall, when the economic crisis is at its worst and seasonal work is over."

Four out of five migrants in the country are from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan

"However, a massive return to their homes could greatly increase unemployment, as these economies can hardly absorb a massive influx of workers," said Jules Hugot, an economist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Countries that depend on the Russian market will see their GDP fall, like Georgia, which is expecting a drop in tourist numbers and wine exports. Conversely, the activities of Russian companies and businessmen in neighboring countries are likely to be disrupted. This is the case for the Rusal Armenal factory in Armenia, a subsidiary of the Russian aluminum giant Rusal, which alone accounts for half of the country's exports to the United States.

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A COUNTY Limerick family is to feature in Irelands Forgotten Families  a hard hitting, ground-breaking documentary to air on Virgin Media Three this Thursday, April 21 at 9pm.

One of the families is the Crowes from Kilfinane. All the participants experienced, and continue to experience, the significant non-medical costs of caring for a child with a life-limiting condition.

Sarah Crowe sadly passed away after a very brave battle with Alpers disease. Sarah was just 12-years-old. However difficult the illness was for Sarah and those who loved her, her family are keen for people to know that she lived a life filled with love and laughter.

Sarahs dad, Dave Crowe, joined with Brendan Ring, co-founder of Clionas Foundation, and charity ambassador Joy Neville to talk about the documentary. Clionas has provided financial support to over 1,000 families across Ireland with 103 of those living in Limerick

Mr Crowe said they were very happy to be one of the families featured.

As a result of our journey with our wonderful daughter Sarah, we know firsthand just how much the help Clionas give to families really means to them, that someone out there is thinking of us and wants to help, means the world, said Mr Crowe.

Mr Ring said it has never been more important to raise awareness for the forgotten families Clionas work with.

The cost of living is rising daily. As a result, more families with seriously sick children or children with a life-limiting illness, who would likely not have needed our financial support before, are now coming to us for help.

It is time to tell their stories so please, tune in to watch what we know will be one of the most inspiring programmes you will see in 2022, said Mr Ring.
THE LIMERICK Chamber has called on the Department of Transport to compel the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) to transfer flights to Shannon.

It comes with heavy queues and passenger delays a feature of the capital's airport in recent weeks, with many praising Shannon Airport for its comparatively stress-free experience upon traveling.

Flew out of @ShannonAirport last night - through security in no more than 90 seconds!! None of this 2hr queueing in Dublin. SNN always number 1 #flyshannon  Niall Maher (@Maher_Niall) April 16, 2022

I went from parking my car to technically being in America (through security and US immigration) just 24 minutes later - @ShannonAirport is a dream April 12, 2022

Chamber chief executive Dee Ryan says the problems facing Dublin Airport can be relieved by transferring certain flights to Shannon, as well as Kerry Airport at Farranfore, North Kerry and Ireland West airport at Knock, plus Cork.

All of these airports have significant slot capacity with many carriers not reinstating routes in the regions in the aftermath of the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Ms Ryan said that the capacity issues at Dublin demonstrate yet again the need for an urgent overhaul of aviation policy and reaffirm concerns that the capital's base would leave others in its slipstream in the aviation Covid recovery.

Aviation policy needs to have an all-Ireland approach as distinct from a Dublin Airport centric one, she said.

"Dublin Airports problems are not good for passengers, for Dublin Airport or our tourism reputation. There is an obvious solution here and that is to make use of the spare capacity of airports in other regions. If Dublin Airport wont do this, the Department of Transport should step in and compel it to open conversations with Shannon, Cork, Knock and Kerry airports with a view to using their spare capacity," said the Chamber boss.

"Not one of those airports are near capacity at present. Prior to Covid they were not near capacity, and they are still significantly off their pre-pandemic passenger numbers. So, right now they can alleviate the pressure on Dublin Airport and its staff, provide an important boost to business at those airports and a more comfortable experience for the traveling public," she sugested.

This should be more than a short-term fix, Ms Ryan added, saying diverting flights would, overall, be a better outcome for passengers.

"Diverting some services to Shannon, Cork, Knock and Kerry airports may inconvenience travellers originating in Dublin or with Dublin as their destination, but is not nearly as inconvenient as horrendously long queues and inadequate parking options currently being experienced in Dublin. A shuttle bus service could be provided to take crew and affected passengers down the motorway. Besides, we know that approximately half of those travellers are already coming from places outside of Dublin for their flights in the first instance. With enough notice, they could adjust plans," said Ms RZyan.

"The rest of the country have been inconvenienced by traveling to Dublin for decades for flights so its not inconceivable that the opposite would also happen. A Department of Transport official once remarked to me there is a great motorway network to Dublin. The reality, however, is that it goes in both directions and can also be used to access airports in the regions. Dublin Airports monopoly is way out of sync with international norms."

She pointed to the example of Germany, which has its largest hub airport in its fifth biggest city of Frankfurt.
LIMERICK'S largest childrens' fun run is returning for the first time since 2019 next weekend.

On Saturday, April 30, the University of Limerick (UL) will play host to the Run for Fun, which will see hundreds of youngsters from national schools take part.

It's a non-competitive event for children aged five to 13 years, across multiple distances and suitable for all standards.

The title sponsor of the Great Limerick Run, Bon Secours Hospital at Barringtons' will once again sponsor the event, with all those taking part receiving a specially commissioned finishers' medal and a souvenir t-shirt.

The fun gets under way at 2:15pm with the wheelchair event at UL's running track.

The chief executive of Bon Secours Hospital Limerick Jason Kenny said: "As a healthcare provider the hospital is keen to promote healthy activity amongst children and the public in general. The sponsorship is another Bon Secours Hospital Limerick at Barringtons' commitment to supporting activity in the county. Encouraging children to get involved in healthy activity, not least something uncompetitive like the Run for Fun can introduce them to something that will stay with them for much of their lives and reduce health risks. Its also incredibly good for their wider wellbeing, their confidence and encouraging collegiality  things that are important to introduce in the earlier stages of life. So, were delighted to be on board and looking forward to being there on the day with our team and giving advice and support to the children and their parents.

Registration is now open on https://greatlimerickrun.com with a limit of 1,000 places in each wave.

Event Director John Cleary added: "The Covid period was a difficult time for everyone. For primary school children it was a difficult time also without the physical interaction of their activities and school friends. This year the Bon Secours Childrens Run for Fun marks a welcome back to normality for these children. We are delighted to see the return of this event and we look forward to seeing the excitement at the start line and pride when they receive their medal at the finish line."
THOUSANDS of county Limerick homeowners were left without safe drinking water over the Easter weekend, following an unresolved boil water notice.

Last Wednesday, Irish Water advised those connected to the Rathkeale Public Water Supply to boil their water before consuming it due to inadequate disinfection.

On its impact over the Bank Holiday weekend, Cllr Bridie Collins said that it was shocking that the issue could not be fixed quickly, highlighting the delicacy of the supply within the county.

We have had no updates since. There was none over the weekend. It is quite disappointing in the way that the message has been delivered, the Adare-Rathkeale public representative stated.

She stressed that the lack of communication between Irish Water and the public is a major issue and described the service providers main mode of contact through social media as ludicrous.

Irish Water stated that the HSE had been consulted about the matter, which has also affected Limerick homeowners in areas including Newcastle West, along the N21 and in the Ardagh area.

Cllr Collins informed that she is yet to receive a full list of townlands affected by the notice, despite several attempts to obtain the information from Irish Water.

The notice, which remains in effect, continues to advise individuals to boil water before drinking, preparing drinks made with water, preparing food with water, when brushing teeth or making ice.

An Irish Water spokesperson said: Please be assured Irish Water is working with the HSE and Limerick County Council to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Any updates will be provided on the Irish Water website, the spokesperson added.
THE BOIL water notice which has been in effect on the Rathkeale public water supply has been lifted with immediate effect.

In a statement issued this Wednesday evening, a spokesperson for Irish Water said: "Irish Water, working in partnership with Limerick City and County Council, wishes to notify customers on the Rathkeale public water supply that following the completion of remedial measures and the receipt of satisfactory monitoring results, the boil water notice issued on 13 April is now lifted with immediate effect. This decision follows consultation undertaken with the Health Service Executive."

All consumers on the Rathkeale public water supply can now resume normal use of the water supply for drinking, food preparation and brushing teeth.

Operations Lead for Irish Water, Duane OBrien thanked the local community for their assistance throughout the notice. Irish Water and Limerick City and County Council wish to thank everyone for their patience, co-operation and assistance during this boil water notice and we greatly regret any inconvenience caused to homes and businesses in the community, he said.

Irish Water and the Local Authority and the Health Service Executive Water Liaison Group will continue to meet and will review ongoing process control, monitoring and testing of the drinking water supply.

The Irish Water Customer Contact Centre (1800 278 278) is available to answer customer queries in relation to this water notice. Further information is available on www.water.ie.
TAOISEACH Micheal Martin met with the Ukrainian Prime Minister at Shannon Airport to discuss the worsening situation as the Russian invasion intensifies in the east of the country.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal made the stopover at Shannon while on his way to Washington D.C. for a series of political meeting and appointments with international financial institutions.

Speaking with the Taoiseach, Mr Shmyhal asked for more sanctions to be placed on Russia and told of continuing war crimes such as the indiscriminate bombing of Ukrainian civilians by Russian forces.

On his hour-long discussion with the PM, Taoiseach Martin said: "He gave me a first hand account of what is happening on the ground. The appalling massacres at Bucha and the continuing attacks on civilians and towns."

The Taoiseach also stated that Putin's strategy is not just about the killing of civilians, but also causing huge "international instability" around key economic areas such as energy and food.

Also present at the meeting, which took place today from 2-3pm, was Ukrainian Ambassador to Ireland Gerasko Larysa.

During the meeting, the Ukrainian PM also spoke of the need for international assistance and expertise to deal with clearing unexploded munitions and cluster bombs, as well as logistic support on excavating residential blocks destroyed by Russian attacks.

The Prime Minister outlined some clear objectives, around financial support to enable the Ukrainian Government to continue to feed its people, and to keep the economy going despite the enormous destruction caused by the war.

He reiterated the need for support for Ukraines European application to join the European Union, and I assured him of Irelands strong proactive support.

We also discussed a sixth round of sanctions to create further pressure on Putins regime to ensure the sanctions create a deterrent against the continuation of this war," the Taoiseach concluded.
Amateur radio in Moroccan newspaper Morocco's French language newspaper The Opinion published a story titled 'Amateur radio: An exciting and little-known hobby that resists the advent of digital'



A translation of the article says:



This Monday [April 18], the world celebrates the thousands of radio and transmission enthusiasts, otherwise known as "radio amateurs". Zoom on the Moroccan followers of this often unknown hobby.



You've probably seen a few of them in the end-of-the-world movies. The cliche would have them being in their cellars (or attics), sitting in front of a radio transceiver that they manage to operate to contact other survivors or call for possible help, when electricity, the Internet and networks of all kinds have all dropped. Even forcing the strokes, the most common misconception about radio amateurs is not necessarily totally wrong.



In the collective imagination and disaster films, as in real life, radio amateurs are never characters like any other. Often truly passionate about radio as well as the myriad of sciences and technologies that revolve around their hobby (electronics, transmission, physics ...), they are always available to take over and put themselves at the service of the community, thanks to their equipment and technicality, if ever a major event forced them to become citizen sentinels. Today, the whole world celebrates these "reservists like no other".



Like other countries, Morocco hosts its own community of radio amateurs. Their number is estimated at more than 800 enthusiasts whose common denominator is to have a special license issued by the ANRT, following a dedicated procedure.



"To become an amateur radio, you must first pass an exam and pass it before obtaining a license and an identification code. After a preparation phase thanks to a specialized course, the exam takes place in the form of a MCQ that revolves around several theoretical disciplines, "says Hassan Lahbouje, known under the identification code "CN8SG" and member of the Royal Association of Radio Amateurs of Morocco (ARRAM).



"I am an electrical technician, but the other radio amateurs come from very different professional backgrounds. If we had to find characteristics common to Moroccan radio amateurs, it would be their very marked interest in Radio in general and other related fields such as electricity or transmission for example, "continues our interlocutor.



Read the full article in English at

https://tinyurl.com/Morocco-The-Opinion
The Education Minister has defended her plans to overhaul the Leaving Certificate process during a speech at a teachers union annual conference.

Norma Foley told the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) conference that the reform plans will require everyone in the secondary education sector to be part of the process.

She also said she was conscious of the significant changes that will be made at senior cycle, adding that teachers will be involved in a consultation process before changes are agreed.

Ms Foleys reform plan to the senior cycle has been a huge feature of the teacher conferences, including TUI and Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) in recent days.



Education Minister Norma Foley has defended her plans (Niall Carson/PA)

The vision I outlined is based on three key objectives: to empower its students to meet the challenges of the 21st century; to enrich the student experience and build on whats strong in the current system; and to embed wellbeing and reduce student stress levels, Ms Foley said.

For the benefit of all our students both now and in the future, it is important to bring that vision to life.

To do so, will require each one of us to be part of the process to build the next stage in our countrys education history.

I am conscious that in introducing significant change at senior cycle, it is essential that the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), State Examinations Commission, the teacher support services, the department and schools, including you as teachers, can work through the changes together over a period of time.

Senior cycle redevelopment must address the diversity of students learning needs and strengths.

It must provide accessible and equally valued learning pathways in school and we must broaden the ways we assess and accredit students achievements.

I fully recognise that we must also make sure that the conditions for change are in place. I am determined that the curriculum design and teacher professional development will support the use of a broad range of methodologies and learning experiences.

I strongly believe that it is essential for teachers to be involved in co-designing our curricula and assessment approach and I will facilitate the allocation of time and professional development to enable this to happen.

We will learn lessons from previous experiences and other systems in this regard and the NCCA has been asked to conduct research, including a consultation process with teachers to better inform us of what is needed for improved professional support.

"Ireland needs to spend more on education"TUI president Martin Marjoram responds to Minister Foley's address at #TUI22 pic.twitter.com/CAwX5U9d9j  Teachers' Union Ire. (@TUIunion) April 20, 2022

We will ensure that the teachers reports are developed and delivered to you with teachers ahead of introducing the revised arrangements.

The education reform, announced last month, will place more emphasis on continuous teacher assessments, including practical and oral elements.

The proposals will see a phased updating of the curriculum for all Leaving Certificate subject areas.

The revision will see the introduction of non-exam-based assessment components that will make up 40% of total marks, reducing the written examination to 60%.

TUI president, Martin Marjoram, said change to the system and removal of barriers could not have come soon enough for us.

The TUI has always supported additional components in providing opportunities for students to fully display the range of their abilities and achievements and in removing some of the focus from the examination, Mr Marjoram told the conference.

Twenty-seven of 41 Leaving Certificate subjects already feature at least one additional component of assessment, and we favour more, provided, of course, that they are appropriate to the subject, measure proficiencies which cannot be measured in the written examination and most importantly are externally assessed by the State Examinations Commission.

Ms Foley also praised school staff for their work during the pandemic, and for how they are handling the Ukraine crisis and welcoming Ukrainian refugees in schools across the country.

Ms Foley added: The public service ethos, which was a hallmark of the past two years, is again shining through with the welcome that schools up and down the country are showing to those families in great need and hardship who come from Ukraine.

The trade union movement has always played a hugely significant role in terms of social conscience and helping the most vulnerable.

I know that the teaching and other unions involved in the education sector have thrown themselves foursquare behind efforts to address this humanitarian crisis.

I am determined that supports for schools will be put in place so that we in the education sector, together, can offer the hand of friendship, support and solidarity to the young people of Ukraine.

Coming through the pandemic, there are learnings that will help us through this new phase, both in recovery from the lasting effects of the pandemic and with managing new demands arising from the humanitarian crisis.

Together we have learned the power and the value of the collective voice and collective.
THE MIST and fog will clear early this morning in Limerick, with plenty of sunshine across much of the county.

Becoming cloudy though in western parts through the morning, and while the cloud will extend further eastwards through the day, some eastern parts will hold onto some sunshine into the evening.

Most areas will be dry, however there's likely to be a little rain and drizzle in some western coastal parts later in the afternoon and evening.

Highest temperatures of 11 to 15 degrees, mildest in eastern parts, in mostly light to moderate southerly winds, fresh in western coastal parts.

NATIONAL OUTLOOK

OVERVIEW: An easterly airflow will become established with some showers for the rest of the week and a good deal of dry weather overall. Mild, with daytime highs in the mid-teens and not as cold at night.

TONIGHT: A largely dry night with a mix of cloud and clear spells. Cloudiest in the west and southwest where there will be patchy light rain or drizzle near the coast. Lowest air temperatures of 4 to 7 degrees with light southeasterly breezes, winds fresh near the southwest coast.

THURSDAY: Thursday will bring well scattered showers and good sunny spells. Chance of drizzle in the far southwest. Highest temperatures of 13 to 16 degrees with a moderate easterly breeze.

THURSDAY NIGHT: Becoming dry Thursday evening for a mostly clear night. Lowest air temperatures of 5 to 8 degrees with moderate easterly winds.

FRIDAY: A breezy day with variable cloud cover and some bright periods. Well scattered showers will feed westwards across the country in moderate to fresh easterly winds. Highest temperatures of 13 to 16 degrees. Showers will become isolated on Friday night with long clear spells developing and lows of 5 to 8 degrees.

SATURDAY: Rather cloudy with a mix of showers and some bright spells. Highs of 13 to 15 degrees. Moderate northeast breezes will be fresh at times.

SUNDAY: Current indications showing that Sunday will have further showers moving in from the Irish Sea, with some sunny spells. There is a chance that longer spells of rain could affect the south or east. Highs of 12 to 15 degrees in mainly light easterly winds.
Credit Suisse Group AG warned it will make a loss in the first quarter from rising litigation costs and loan losses related to Russia.

The Swiss bank said litigation provisions will be around $740 million in the quarter because of developments in legal cases, which include a former client winning a roughly $555 million court award in Bermuda. It said results will be hit by around $212 million in negative revenues and loan-loss provisions stemming from Russias invasion of Ukraine, and that business activity in general was lower.

Wednesdays update adds to the challenges to Credit Suisses planned turnaround after financial and reputational scandals. Two key clients, Archegos Capital Management and Greensill Capital, imploded within weeks of each other a year ago, costing Credit Suisse billions of dollars. A new chairman restructured and lowered risks, then left in January after just nine months, for violating Covid-19 restrictions.

After Archegos, Credit Suisse cut parts of its investment bank and has said it will invest more in its wealth-management business serving the global elite. Part of the first-quarter slowdown was from fewer companies raising debt and equity this year, it said. It will report earnings April 27.

The bank said the litigation provisions relate to matters from more than a decade ago. In March, a Bermuda court said it would have to pay a former billionaire client, Bidzina Ivanishvili, about $555 million for allowing a private banker to steal from him and mismanage his money until the fraud was discovered in 2015. Credit Suisse has denied the allegations and said it intends to pursue all available legal actions.

Credit Suisse also is fighting lawsuits in the U.S. over toxic securities it sold before the 2008 financial crisis, and a criminal case in Switzerland for allegedly helping a Bulgarian crime ring launder money more than a decade ago.

The cost of legal settlements has nibbled at Credit Suisses earnings and ability to generate capital. Swiss regulators also imposed additional capital charges over Archegos and Greensill. Litigation provisions were $1.65 billion at the end of 2021, and the bank estimated then that there could be up to another $1.6 billion in potential charges.

Credit Suisse raised $2 billion in fresh capital a year ago.

Investors in the bank are braced for additional charges from lawsuits over Greensills collapse. Credit Suisse ran $10 billion in investment funds with Greensill before the financing partner went bankrupt in March 2021. The bank has flagged around $2.3 billion in investments in the Credit Suisse-Greensill funds that could be challenging to collect.

Credit Suisse shares fell 1.7% Wednesday and are down 19% this year.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text
For the second time this year, Netflix shares fell sharply after the company disappointed investors

Netflix Inc. shares were on course for their worst day in nearly a decade after the streaming giant reported that it lost subscribers in the first quarter.

Shares shed a quarter of their value in premarket trading Wednesday. Investors had expected that the company would add new users in the first quarter. Instead, Netflix said it ended the first three months of the year with 200,000 fewer subscribers than it had in the fourth quarter and said it expected to lose two million global subscribers in the current quarter.

If the 26% fall in premarket trading holds later in the day, it would set Netflix on course for its biggest daily share price fall in nearly a decade. The drop would slash around $40 billion of its market capitalization, which stood at $157 billion on Tuesday, according to FactSet.

It is the second time the shares have tumbled this year. In January, Netflix shares slid more than 20% when the streaming company said it expected to add a much smaller number of subscribers than it did one year prior. The last time Netflix shares fell 25% on a single day was July 25, 2012, according to FactSet, a day after the company warned of slowing growth for its subscription service.

Not counting the premarket plunge, the stock was down more than 40% for the year through Tuesday.

Netflix is one of the original FANG stocks, a quartet of large internet companies that reflect the dominance of tech stocks on U.S. markets. The others are Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Google-owner Alphabet Inc. Some analysts also include Apple Inc.

Stock futures tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 were down around 0.2% early Wednesday.

Users flocked to Netflix in the initial months of the coronavirus pandemic as lockdowns and measures to contain the virus kept people at home, sending the companys share price to record highs. Easing of restrictions and an increase in competition from other streaming services over the past year have presented hurdles to Netflixs growth.

Nobody was expecting Netflix to announce they lost subscribers. They were expecting a slowdown in subscriptions, but seeing Netflix losing subscribers is a big deal," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, an online broker.

Netflix said it is exploring offering a lower priced ad-supported version of the platform to boost its subscriber base, a shift for a company that has sold itself since its inception as a commercial-free haven for its members. The company had increased its subscription fee earlier this year.

The growing number of streaming options has made consumers more price- sensitive. Netflix is among the few major streaming services that has yet to entertain offering a cheaper, ad-supported option. Walt Disney Co.s Hulu has long done so, while Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.s HBO Max and Disney+ have also pushed into ad-supported streaming.

The step adds to investor worries that rising prices will curtail consumer spending on nonessential goods and services.

People are asking Is this worth it?" Ms. Ozkardeskaya said. As prices rise, the worth threshold is being pulled higher and thats pushing people to the exit.
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A$AP Rocky was detained on Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport in connection with a November 2021 shooting, Los Angeles Airport Police confirmed.

Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was arriving on a private plane from Barbados, where he had been on vacation with Rihanna, his girlfriend. The two are expecting a child together.

Rockys attorney, Alan Jackson, confirmed to NBC News that his client had been arrested. Reps for Rocky, the Los Angeles Police Department and Jackson either did not confirm or did not immediately respond to Varietys requests for comment.

In a statement on the arrest, the LAPD wrote: On November 6, 2021, around 10:15 p.m., an argument between two acquaintances occurred in the area of Selma Avenue and Argyle Avenue, in the Hollywood Area. The argument escalated and resulted in the suspect firing a handgun at the victim. The victim sustained a minor injury from the incident and later sought his medical treatment. Following the shooting, the suspect and two additional males fled the area on foot.

Detectives worked diligently to investigate and corroborate the reporting information which helped identify the suspect(s) involved. The suspect has been identified as 33-year-old Rakim Mayers, a Los Angeles resident, also known as music artist A$AP Rocky.

Early this morning, LAPD officers arrested Mayers for Assault with a deadly weapon (firearm) at the Los Angeles International Airport.

This case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office for filing consideration.

In a highly publicized case in 2019, A$AP Rocky and two other men were jailed in Sweden for several weeks on assault charges; while prosecutors had asked the court to impose a six-month sentence, the men argued self-defense and were released after nearly a month in jail.

Variety will have more on the situation as it develops.

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Black-ish ended its eight season run on Tuesday night by going back to the beginning. Literally. The opening to the ABC comedys series finale began much in the same way the pilot did in 2014, with Andre Johnson (Anthony Anderson) waking up to his iPhone alarm clock and narrating a bit about his state of mind.

Even the opening strains of Kanye Wests Jesus Walks opened the finale, just as it did the series premiere all those years ago. OK, so Im just your standard, regular, incredibly handsome, unbelievably charismatic Black dude whos found a way to actually go from broke to the Oaks without a jump shot, number one hit or being Tyler Perry, Anderson, as Dre, opened the episode. Against the odds, I made a home for myself with my beautiful and intelligent wife, where we raised five great kids and looked after my parents. I may have grown up just a kid from Compton, but now Im living the American dream.

(Compare that to the pilots opening narration: Okay, so Im just your standard, regular, old incredibly handsome, unbelievably charismatic Black dude. This drooling pigment-challenge mixed-race woman is my wife, Rainbow. And despite what she looks like right now, shes a doctor. Were lucky, weve got a great house, four great kids, and my pops. Its a far cry from where it all began. Thats why I promised my parents Id get an education, graduate, and get myself out of there. I guess for a kid from the hood, Im living the American dream. The only problem is, whatever American had this dream probably wasnt where Im from. And if he was, he should have mentioned the part about how when brothers start getting a little money, stuff starts getting a little weird.)

But with Dres reunited parents (Laurence Fishburne and Jenifer Lewis) moving out, the boxes in their driveway has the neighborhood wondering if the entire Johnson family is departing. When nosy Janine (Nicole Sullivan) stops by and asks if their house is for sale, Dre and Bow start to wonder if it really is time to move on.

Maybe I was living the Black American dream because stuff like that happens every day, Dre clarifies later. 17 years on the same street and the whole neighborhood was still whispering about us behind our backs. Ever since we moved in, there has always been a sense that we were oddities. (Cut to the infamous clip from the original episode of a tour bus passing by the Johnson home, noting The Mythical and Majestic Black Family.)

Later, while working on a campaign at Stevens and Lido, Dre encounters legendary gymnast Simone Biles, who gives him more food for thought: What is it that you want? If Ive learned anything, you have to do what you want to do and not what anyone else wants you to do.

When Dre broaches the topic with Bow, she too admits, Between the election and the pandemic, its making me reconsider whats important.

Says Dre: Life is too short to not go after what you really want. I think we should listen to 4-time Olympic Gold medalist Simone Biles. She told me to blow up my life.

Bow is in agreement: I think we should blow this bitch up.

The couple decides to sell their Sherman Oaks home and move to a Black neighborhood. I was told my entire life that I needed to move out of my neighborhood if I wanted to succeed. But that was not true, Dre says.

The Johnson kids are skeptical at first: I would like to start the emancipation process, quips Diane (Marsai Martin). But then they visit their new home, which appears to be in Baldwin Hills, overlooking the city. Jack (Miles Brown) is sold:  Finally a house to match my lifestyle!

But thats not all. In making a change, Dre also decides to leave Stevens and Lido, and spend more time at home. Freelancing, but take a step back, which means youd be carrying the load, he tells Bow. She responds: The fact that you dont think Im doing that right now is very cute. But Ive got you.

At the advertising firm, Stevens (Peter Mackenzie) is relieved that its not because of something Ive said, while Charlie (Deon Cole) reveals that when I first came here my plan was to steal your identity. But the only thing that was stolen was my heart And a long sleeved sweatshirt that was int he backseat of your car that I assumed you werent wearing because it had shoulder pads in it.

Junior (Marcus Scribner) is still a bit sad about the move: I realized, Its not just over for me this time, its over for all of us. And later, as Bow and Dre walk through the empty rooms of their old house, they too feel a bit of unfinished business.

I keep telling myself, these are just four walls but it feels so much bigger than that, Dre says. Adds Bow: Because it was our home. We made a family here. Laughter, heartbreak, births  a lot of births. Deaths. We did it together. Right here.

Thats when Dre decides to throw a New Orleans-style funeral and wake for their house. Zoey (Yara Shahidi) is also there, as the family throws roses into a coffin and then a band shows up, playing When the Saints Go Marching In. As they dance on the street, out comes more of the shows cast and crew  and the soundtrack turns to Stevie Wonders As.

In the series finale button, we see a new couple moving into the old Johnson home in Sherman Oaks: A Latino husband and wife, played by Salvador Chacon and Ariella Amar. We are living the American dream, they proclaim and then Janine shows up, just as inappropriate (Hola!) as she once was with the Johnsons.

Meanwhile, what you didnt see was an extra scene showcasing Juniors decision to head back to college  this time at Cal U, where his sister Zoey is graduating. (Hence Scribners move to Grown-ish, as Junior joins the show full time next season).

There was a whole B story in the finale that we had a cutting all of it, where he was talking to Olivia (Katlyn Nichol), his girlfriend that had broken up with him a few episodes earlier, said executive producer Courtney Lilly. He was going to try to do a very Seinfeldian idea where he tries to win the breakup by showing her how impressive he was, and how everything was going great. Eventually he breaks down because he doesnt know what hes going to do, and maybe he should have gone to college after all. She says that its OK to go to college, you can always change your mind. He ends up at Cal U, and its one of the last shots of this montage we were supposed to see. But then the episode was 30 minutes long.

Lilly said he considered making the finale longer, but ultimately liked the rhythm of ending with a traditional half-hour sendoff. We wrestled with it, the network gave us the time, we talked about different things, and at the end of the day, they gave us an extra minute for the broadcast. And we used that entire minute to run full credits of our entire crew, because thats what the show needed. That was that was also important to me, fundamentally about the journey weve been on as a show.

But I also think, there are positive things about being a 21 minute, 30 seconds on air, he added. Theres a discipline that I appreciate in the half-hour sitcom. Telling a story efficiently. Theyre used to us being a pop song. 30 minutes, its fat, its bloat. Its not what we do.

Lilly said the decision to end with the eighth season allowed the producers to map out a true ending. Lilly talked to creator Kenya Barris and executive producer Laura Gutin Peterson about where they wanted to go.

The decision was made to mirror some of the issues that were raised by the pilot.

This happens a lot for a lot of people who whether youre a minority, whether youre LGBTQ, the idea that you have to represent for your entire culture, Lilly said. And that was so fundamental to the DNA of what Anthony was doing, what Kenya wrote in the pilot, and the premise also being that to have this lifestyle, I have to to represent the culture 24/7. And we wanted to go, Well, do you actually have to do that? Do you have to do that all the time? Is there a place there can be more comfort?

So we knew consciously we wanted to this family  not all families, its not a thing about segregation or that this would be better. Its just for this family, they wanted to move to a black neighborhood at the end. We mirrored that, all these kinds of ideas. And really getting back to that question of the pilot.

Lilly said the pandemic also inspired the writers to give Dre a moment of clarity, that he has reached the top, hes ready to re-examine his priorities. The focus and the drive to be a high achiever like that comes at a consequence that we felt that we wanted Dre, a self reported family man, to have to actually encounter, he said.

As Variety wrote earlier on Tuesday, Lilly is now focused on transitioning Scribner to Grown-ish as he keeps the -ish franchise going. That could mean visits from the Johnson family down the line, or even a reboot, but nothing is set in stone.

I am certainly not opposed to it and I dont think its the last you will see of the Johnsons, Ross said. But theres nothing on the docket at the moment but I would jump into that playground any day. It was a treat while it was happening. And Im sure it would be time to pop back in and Im so excited for Marcus.

Ross called the finale bittersweet, but I leave with a lot of joy and pride and I think so many of my tears happened in the final moments of production. Its a nice goodbye.

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Critics Week, the sidebar dedicated to first and second films running alongside the Cannes Film Festival, will be kicking off with Jesse Eisenbergs feature debut When You Finish Saving the World and showcase four female-directed movies.

Selected out of 1100 submitted movies, the full roster includes 11 feature films, seven of which will compete and four will play as special screenings.

When You Finish Saving the World, which is headlined by Julianne Moore and Finn Wolfhard, revolves around the relationship between a politically-engaged mother and her fame-obsessed teenage son, who is also a burgeoning musician. The A24 movie is based on Eisenbergs 2020 audio drama of the same name and was part of the Sundance 2022 selection.

We already adored Eisenberg as an actor and discovered him as a true auteur with this film thats both tender and contemporary and exposes a generational gap between a mother and her son, said Ava Cahen, who replaced Charles Tesson as artistic director of Critics Week last August after serving on the selection committee for several years.

The independent American cinema landscape has been impacted by the health crisis, challenged by streamers, and while we favor world premieres at Critics Week, we felt that it since Sundance was held online, it would be an act of solidarity to shine a spotlight on this beautiful film on opening night, said Cahen, who admitted to being a lover of American cinema since her young age, having been raised by a father who enjoyed Western films and a mother who had her watched Alien and Shining before the age of 8.

Besides When You Finish Saving the World, the Special Screenings include South Korean director Jung July with Da-eum-so-hee (Next Sohee), a gripping feminist crime starring Bae Doo-na, the famed actor whose played in films by Hirozaku Kore-eda, Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho. The other two Special Screenings of this edition are Clement Cogitores anticipated follow up to After The Wakhan Front, Sons of Ramses, a mystical film noir set in the 18th arrondissement of Paris starring Karim Leklou as an influential psychic; and Celine Devauxs Everybody Loves Jeanne, a romantic comedy blending live action and animation set between Paris and Lisbon, starring Blanche Gardin and Laurent Lafitte.

The competition boasts British helmer Charlotte Wellss Aftersun, a bittersweet comedy-drama starring Normal People actor Paul Mescal and Francesca Corio as a father and daughter who spend a summer holiday in a resort where people dance the Macarena.

French-Portuguese director Cristele Alves Meira will unveil Alma Viva, a film following a child and her superstious grandmother in a Portuguese village; while Belgian helmer Emmanuelle Nicot will present Love According to Dalva, a poignant drama about a 12-year-old girl growing up in foster care, alongside social workers and other children.

Aiming to represent singular films from across the world, Critics Week will also world premiere Tasavor (Imagine) the feature debut of Iranian director Ali Behrad. Cahen described the film as a pop, contemporary romantic road movie, filled with mystery and fantasy. Leila Hatami (A Separation) stars.

Finnish helmer Mikko Myllylahti will also attend Critics Week with his debut, Metsurin tarina (The Woodcutter Story), a tragicomedy about a woodcutter and his son who go fishing and investigate.

Other anticipated Critics Week competition contenders include Andres Ramirez Pulidos La Jauria, a dark Colombian film set in the rainforest at an experimental rehabilitation center for tough boys; French director Simon Rieths Nos Ceremonies (Summer Scars) which weaves a coming-of-age story and a fantastic tale about two brothers.

At 36, Cahen is the youngest artistic director of a major competitive festival section and shes expected to continue what Tesson has established with the inclusion of light-hearted comedies, along with more intimate dramas and subtly political films and a few genre titles thrown in the mix. Cahen joined the committee in 2016, the year that Raw, the feature debut of Palme dOr winning director Julia Ducournau, was selected.

Speaking of other successful movies that she helped select at Critics Week, Cahen cited Jeremy Clapins Oscar-nominated animated feature I Lost My Body, the fantasy-sci fi film Diamantino, coming-of-age drama Sheherazade, as well as Ava by Lea Mysius whose second film will play in Directors Fortnight, and Charline Bourgeois-Taquets Anais in Love.

As previously announced, Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania (The Man who Sold his Skin) will preside over the jury which will be completed by French-Greek actress and director Ariane Labed, Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson (Woman at War), Belgian cinematographer Benoit Debie, and South Korean journalist and Busan Festivals topper Huh Moon yung. The strand is set to take place May 18-26.



Heres the full lineup:

Competition

Aftersun, Charlotte Wells

United Kingdom  United States

Alma Viva (Love According to Dalva), Cristele Alves Meira

France  Portugal

Dalva, Emmanuelle Nicot

Belgium  France

La Jauria, Andres Ramirez Pulido

Colombia  France

Summer Scars, Simon Rieth

France

Tasavor (Imagine), Ali Behrad

Iran

The Woodcutter Story, Mikko Myllylahti

Finland  Denmark  Netherlands  Germany



Special Screenings

When You Finish Saving the World, Jesse Eisenberg

United States (Opening Film)

Sons of Ramses, Clement Cogitore

France

Everybody Loves Jeanne, Celine Devaux

France



Da-eum-so-hee (Next Sohee), Jung July

South Korea (Closing Film)

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TripleC, a gateway organization that helps deaf, disabled, and neurodiverse people access the arts and media, will receive a BAFTA TV Craft Special Award during the British Academy Television Craft Awards. Actor Cherylee Houston (Coronation Street) founded TripleC and with a group of friends including Melissa Johns (Grantchester), they have built a platform for making the creative screen industry more inclusive.

Johns and Houston said: When we set up this organization five years ago, we were just a group of disabled and non-disabled creatives coming together to see if we could make a change. I dont think we ever knew the size of impact that that seed of an organization would have on the lives of so many deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent creatives. The recognition from BAFTA will support our drive for change and help ensure accessibility and inclusivity is high up on every agenda.

Sara Putt, chair of BAFTAs television committee and deputy chair of BAFTA said: Cherylee and Melissa have used their platform for deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent creatives in the arts and have gone above and beyond to improve access, opportunities, and representation. While there is still a long way to go, TripleCs creative approach has had a significant impact on BAFTA.

This years BAFTA TV Craft Awards will take place at Londons The Brewery as an in-person ceremony on April 24 and will be hosted by actor, comedian and TV presenter Mel Giedroyc.

STREAMING

Disney Plus has revealed the cast for series The Good Mothers, a drama that follows the true story of three women who were born into the most deadly and wealthy of the Italian mafia clans, and how they worked with a female prosecutor to bring it down. It includes includes Gaia Girace (My Brilliant Friend), Valentina Belle (Medici), Barbara Chichiarelli (Suburra  The series), Francesco Colella (ZeroZeroZero), Simona Distefano (The Traitor), Andrea Dodero (Thou Shalt Not Hate) and Micaela Ramazzotti (Like Crazy).

Based on the book by journalist Alex Perry and written for the screen by BAFTA winner Stephen Butchard (Bagdad Central), the series will be directed by BAFTA and Emmy nominated Julian Jarrold (The Crown) and Elisa Amoruso (Sirley).

The Good Mothers is produced by Juliette Howell and Tessa Ross for House Productions (Life After Life) and Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Gangarossa for Wildside (My Brilliant Friend), a Fremantle company.

***

Meanwhile, Discovery Plus originals The Man Without A Heart, a two-part documentary thriller, and Love In The Jungle, a reality dating series inspired by nature, will stream on the service this spring. The Man Without A Heart explores the unsolved case of Miguel Angel Martinez who in 2005 appeared dead floating in a fiord in Stockholm in what looked to be a suicide but forensics found that his heart and a piece of his liver were missing. Produced for Discovery Plus by Cuarzo Producciones (Banijay Iberia) and directed by Jorge Varcarcel, the documentary series will be available worldwide from April 29.

In Love In The Jungle, 14 unlucky-in-love singles will compete in physical challenges each week, grounded in real animal mating rituals to discover if they can find a partner through physical connection alone. Shot on a private eco-reserve in Colombia, the series is narrated in the style of classic natural history documentaries, offering expert observational insight into the humans animalistic behaviours. Produced by Boat Rocker through Matador Content, it will stream from May 8.

FIRST LOOK

A first look-image has been unveiled from Hakeem Kae-Kazims directorial debut Its the Blackness. Based on an original screenplay by Dapo Oshiyemi, the comedy feature stars Daniel Davids, Matthew James Morrison, Marcy Dolapo Oni and Kalu Ikeagwu (pictured above). Filming wrapped last week.

Oshiyemi is also producing the film while Jezz Vernon is exec-producing.

APPOINTMENT

The BBC has promoted Stewart Maclean, deputy editor of news program Newsnight, to editor, following the departure of Esme Wren. Maclean was executive producer of the programs landmark interview with Prince Andrew in 2019, having overseen negotiations between Newsnight and Buckingham Palace. He has had prior stints at ITV News and Daily Mirror.

SCREENWRITING

The Realness Institute, in partnership with Geneva-based philanthropic organization The StoryBoard Collective, has launched a program for African episodic screenwriters, AuthenticA Series Lab, open to all African nationals. The six-month program, which will consist of a combination of online and in-person sessions, will take place from Sept. 28, 2022  April 7, 2023. AuthenticA will give four African screenwriters the opportunity to develop their original stories, rooted in the African ethos, of all genres in episodic form. They will receive a monthly stipend of 1,000 ($1,083) each. Accompanying them on their journey are story expert Selina Ukwuoma and creative producer Mehret Mandefro.

The participants will attend in-person residencies in South Africa for eight days, in Switzerland for two months and finally to pitch their projects at Series Mania Forum in 2023.

Application details here.

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A man threatened to kill his 12-year-old son, according to the Webb County Sheriffs Office.

Jesus Rodolfo Hernandez, 41, was served with arrest warrants on April 13 on charges of one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and three counts of injury to a child.

On July 8, a woman in San Antonio requested the San Antonio Police Department to file a report for physical abuse for her son. The child alleged that his father, Hernandez, had been physically abusing him in Oilton, according to the SAPD report. The case was transferred to the Webb County Sheriffs Office.

During a forensic interview, authorities discovered that Hernandez had assaulted his son multiple times. The child added that on Dec. 24, 2020, his father woke him up in the middle of the night. Hernandez then pulled out a knife and pointed out to the childs forehead while he was laying on the bed facing up, according to the arrest affidavit.

The father then allegedly asked him, Do you want to die? His father then hit him on the side of his arm with the hand and told him to go to sleep, states the affidavit. As per the affidavit, the child stated that the knife touched his forehead.

Hernandez also bit the child on two fingers. Hernandez also picked the child from the hair, threw him to the wall and tried to choke him, according to court documents. Hernandez also punched his son in the face, leaving him a black eye. Court documents further state that Hernandez also hit his son with a hanger.

Sheriffs Office investigators would obtain the arrest warrants for Hernandez. He remained behind bars as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Webb County Sheriffs Office.
FARGO, N.D. (AP)  A majority of people in the United States continue to support a mask requirement for people traveling on airplanes and other shared transportation, a poll finds. A ruling by a federal judge has put the governments transportation mask mandate on hold.

The poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that despite opposition to that requirement that included verbal abuse and physical violence against flight attendants, 56% of those surveyed favor requiring people on planes, trains and public transportation to wear masks, compared with 24% opposed and 20% who say they are neither in favor nor opposed.

Interviews for the poll were conducted last Thursday to Monday, shortly before a federal judge in Florida struck down the national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit. Airlines and airports immediately scrapped their requirements that passengers wear face coverings, and the Transportation Security Administration stopped enforcing the mask requirement.

But the Justice Department said Wednesday it was filing an appeal seeking to overturn the judges order. That notice came minutes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked Justice to appeal the decision, saying "an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health.

The poll shows a wide partisan divide on the issue. Among Democrats, 80% favor and just 5% oppose the requirement. Among Republicans, 45% are opposed compared with 33% in favor, with 22% saying neither.

Vicki Pettus, who recently moved from Frankfort, Kentucky, to Clearwater, Florida, to be near her grandchildren, said she enjoys the view of Old Tampa Bay but doesn't like the very lackadaisical attitude" by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, about masking. She said she will continue to wear her mask to protect against the coronavirus, including around her 55-and-older home community and on the plane when she travels to Kentucky in a few weeks.

Especially in a plane where that air is recirculating, said Pettus, 71, an independent who leans toward the Democratic Party. I think people are really dumb not to wear their mask. But, hey, thats their decision, and if they want to get sick thats fine. Im not going to.

But Kriste Lee, who works in sales in South Florida, cant wait to fly mask-free the next time she travels next month.

I really wish I was on a plane when they made that announcement," said Lee, 47. "I would have been dancing up and down the aisle.

The continued public support overall for mandating masks on transportation comes even as worries about COVID-19 are among their lowest points of the past two years. Just 20% now say theyre very or extremely worried that they or a family member will be infected. That's down slightly since 25% said the same just a month ago and from 36% in December and January as the omicron variant was raging. Another 33% now say they are somewhat worried, while 48% say theyre not worried at all.

Count Betty Harp, of Leitchfield, Kentucky, as among the very worried and not because she's turning 84 next month. She said she takes care of her large house and yard by herself, does a lot of canning and is in "fantastic health for my age. But she's lost a lot of friends and family to the virus, which has killed nearly 1 million people in the United States.

I know COVID is still here. It's still around, said Harp, who described herself as a Republican-leaning independent. I think we should all be wearing masks for a little while longer.

In another AP-NORC poll conducted last month, 44% of those surveyed still said they were often or always wearing face masks outside their homes, though that was down significantly from 65% who said that at the beginning of the year.

The latest poll also shows about half the people favor requiring masks for workers who interact with the public, compared with about 3 in 10 opposed. Support is similar for requiring people at crowded public events such as concerts, sporting events and movies to wear masks.

On these, too, there are significant partisan divides. Seventy-two percent of Democrats favor requiring people attending crowded public events to wear masks, while among Republicans, 25% are in favor and 49% are opposed. The numbers are similar for requiring masks for public-facing workers.

Lee, who said she doesn't do politics, wondered aloud why people are complaining about the judge's ruling and said nobody is stopping anyone from wearing masks if they want to.

We all have our beliefs and obviously different views, said Lee, who is unvaccinated. Mine are definitely different from the people who are angry and upset.

Employed people are divided on whether those working in person at their own workplaces should be required to wear masks. Thirty-four percent say theyre in favor of that requirement, 33% are opposed and 33% are neither in favor nor opposed. Among workers who are Democrats, 48% are in favor and 18% are opposed. Among workers who are Republicans, 53% are opposed and 18% are in favor.

Mike Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesotas Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, said messaging over the mask mandate would have been more effective if it required N95 or KN95 respirators, which are more effective at preventing transmission of the virus.

"But you have actually created a real challenge with yourself with the public who are now being selective if not outright angry about these mandates, said Osterholm, who added that he will continue to wear his N95 mask on planes.

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,085 adults was conducted April 14-18 using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
Scientists hope to broadcast DNA and Earths location for curious aliens

Even if the aliens are short, dour and sexually obsessed, the late cosmologist Carl Sagan once mused, if theyre here, I want to know about them.

Driven by the same mindset, a Nasa-led team of international scientists has developed a new message that it proposes to beam across the galaxy in the hope of making first contact with intelligent extraterrestrials.

The interstellar missive, known as the Beacon in the Galaxy, opens with simple principles for communication, some basic concepts in maths and physics, the constituents of DNA, and closes with information about humans, the Earth, and a return address should any distant recipients be minded to reply.

The group of researchers, headed by Dr Jonathan Jiang at Nasas Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, says that with technical upgrades the binary message could be broadcast into the heart of the Milky Way by the Seti Institutes Allen Telescope Array in California and the 500-metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope in China

In a preliminary paper, which has not been peer reviewed, the scientists recommend sending the message to a dense ring of stars near the centre of the Milky Way  a region deemed most promising for life to have emerged. Humanity has, we contend, a compelling story to share and the desire to know of others  and now has the means to do so, the scientists write.

The message, if it ever leaves Earth, would not be the first. The Beacon in the Galaxy is loosely based on the Arecibo message sent in 1974 from an observatory of the same name in Puerto Rico. That targeted a cluster of stars about 25,000 light years away, so it will not arrive any time soon. Since then, a host of messages have been beamed into the heavens including an advert for Doritos and an invitation, written in Klingon, to a Klingon Opera in The Hague.

Such attempts at interstellar communication are not straightforward. The odds of an intelligent civilisation intercepting a message may be extremely low, and even if contact were made, establishing a fruitful conversation could prove frustrating when a response can take tens of thousands of years. Aliens may not even understand the signal: as a test run for the Arecibo message, Frank Drake, its designer, posted the missive to some scientific colleagues, including a number of Nobel laureates. None of them understood it.

There are other concerns, too. More than a decade ago, Prof Stephen Hawking warned that humans should refrain from sending messages into space in case they attract the wrong sort of attention. If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didnt turn out well for the Native Americans, he told a Discovery channel documentary.

Read the full story at:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/apr/18/scientists-hope-to-broadcast-dna-and-earths-location-for-curious-aliens?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
SANAA, Yemen (AP)  Yemens internationally recognized presidential council was sworn in Tuesday in the southern port city of Aden, state-run media reported.

The swearing-in took place before the parliament in a ceremony attended by foreign ambassadors and the U.S. and U.N. envoys to Yemen, SABA news agency said.

Aden serves as the interim seat of the internationally recognized government since the Houthi rebels seized the capital of Sanaa in 2014, setting off Yemens long-running civil war.

The presidential council was appointed earlier this month after former President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi stepped aside. Hadi transferred his powers and those of his vice president to the council, which will run the country and lead peace talks with the Houthis.

Hadi's move came during concerted international and regional efforts to end the conflict.

The move angered the Iran-backed Houthis as it was meant to unify the anti-Houthi camp after years of infighting and disputes. It came as the Houthis and the government embarked on a 60-day truce brokered by the U.N. earlier this month.

The council is chaired by Rashad al-Alimi, an adviser to Hadi and former interior minister with the government of late strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh. He has close ties to Saudi Arabia.

Al-Alimi called on the international community to pressure the Houthis to engage in peace efforts because he said the rebels were still attacking the central city of Marib and other government-held areas despite the truce.

The council is committed to end the (Houthi) coup and the war and establish fair and permeant peace that preserves the state and its constitutional institutions, he said.

Parliament Speaker Sultan al-Borkani echoed the same message. However, he warned that they were ready to continue fighting after the unification of the anti-Houthi camp.

This is our opportunity to take the road of fair and honorable peace, he said. Our hands are still extended (for peace), and our weapons are ready at the same time.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.

The council has seven other members, including Aydarous al-Zubaidi, head of the secessionist Southern Transitional Council  an umbrella group of heavily armed militias propped up by the United Arab Emirates since 2015.

Also on the council are Sheikh Sultan al-Aradah, the powerful governor of energy-rich Marib province, and Tariq Saleh, a militia leader and nephew of the late president with close ties to the UAE.

Another member is Abdel-Rahman Abu Zarah, commander of the UAE-backed Giants Brigades, which played a crucial role recently in repelling the Houthi offensive on the central city of Marib.

The Houthis are backed by Iran while the government forces are aided by a Saudi-led coalition that launched an air campaign in 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognized government.

The war killed over 150,000 people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
Russian Ambassador to the U.N. VasilyNebenzya countered by accusing the United States of "provoking" the conflict.

by Anwar A. Khan

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the West has ignored Moscow's key security requests amid tensions over Ukraine's possible membership in NATO.

His comments came during a news conference following a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Kremlin.

Putin said he was reviewing the United States and NATO's written responses to the security demands, which Moscow received.

"It is already clear ... that the fundamental Russian concerns were ignored," he said, according to Russia's state-run Tass news agency.

Putin said the West didn't provide adequate responses to Russia's three top concerns -- that Ukraine doesn't join NATO, there be no deployment of strike weapons near Russia's borders and returning NATO military deployment to 1997 positions.

Russia issued these security requests in December last.

"Ignoring our concerns, the U.S. and NATO generally refer to the right of the states to freely choose ways to ensure their security. But this is not just about giving somebody the right to freely choose how to ensure their security," he said.

"The second inalienable part says that no one should be allowed to strengthen their security at the expense of the security of other states.

Officials said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were expected to speak with a goal of heading off further military escalation near Russia's border with Ukraine, but that didnt betide.

Russia closes diplomatic mission to NATO over spying accusations. "We continue to engage in non-stop diplomacy and to de-escalate tensions and attempt like the devil to improve security for our allies and partners and for all of Europe, for that matter," Putin said, but because of US, it didnt happen.

Blinken and Lavrov met in person on January 21 last in Geneva with the same goal. No breakthroughs came in Switzerland, but both sides agreed to keep talking, but it didnt progress because of the Uncle Sam temerity.

At Security Council meeting, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned Moscow against military intervention -- and emphasized that the United States and Western allies want a "path of peace" and dialogue.

Russian Ambassador to the U.N. VasilyNebenzya countered by accusing the United States of "provoking" the conflict.

The Russian government said Monday that it's closing its military liaison mission to NATO and recalled staffers to Moscow, in retaliation to the alliance expelling several Russians last week and accusing them of espionage.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov made the announcement during a news conference in Moscow.

"In response to NATO's actions, we are suspending the activity of the NATO military liaison mission in Moscow and will recall the accreditation of its staff," Lavrov said, according to state-run TASS.

"If NATO has some urgent matters, it may contact our ambassador in Belgium on these issues."

NATO said that it cut the staff of the Russian mission from 20 to 10, revoking accreditation for eight Russian diplomats and eliminating two vacant positions.

NATO said it made the move because it believed the diplomatic members were undeclared Russian spies.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Georgia's prime minister and defense minister during a tour to "reassure" allies and partners of "America's commitment to their sovereignty in the face of Russian aggression."

Austin will also visit Ukraine and Romania before a stop at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

U.S. officials say they have received a written response from Russia about questions they posed after the last meeting between Blinken and Lavrov. The White House didn't detail the answers, saying that it wouldn't be productive to negotiate in public.

The Kremlin, however, also denied that it had submitted a response to U.S. concerns. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told state-run news agency RIA Novosti that the response was still being prepared.

Many of the worlds foreign affairs pundit class and some in the Canadian contingent seem trapped in a time warp. Before Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, they tut-tutted about how the West and NATO should not have provoked Putin into threatening his invasion, by welcoming new members 25 years ago. Within days of the first attacks, they were already mumbling about the need to provide Putin with an exit strategy, and the importance of not provoking Putin further. As the body count mounted, they began to speculate about when the Russian oligarchs might push back on Putin. What nonsense. The only pushback he fears is from the siloviki, the security establishment. They may yet decide he is a liability to their control of the kleptocracy they govern.

This is not 1989. This is not the era when Helmut Kohl, George H.W. Bush, Brian Mulroney and many other world leaders were able to gently nudge the Russians away from confrontation. Putin is not Gorbachev. We are at the end of the quiet decades of Russian integration into the global community, with occasional wrist slaps for Putins earlier, smaller aggressions against neighbours.

There is no exit strategy for Putin, today. As there should not have been when he invaded first Georgia and then Crimea. As Churchill made clear to a similarly wobbly foreign policy elite in 1940, the dictators only exit strategy is defeat.

In the late 1960s, the Soviet Union jumped ahead of the United States' first strike capability in a big way. The latest version of the R-36 intercontinental ballistic missile (called SS-18 by NATO) could hit anywhere in the U.S. with at least 10 18-25 megaton nuclear warheads.

The new missile could destroy the Americans' LGM-30 Minuteman III missiles before they ever left their silos. As time went on, more advanced designs only increased its nuclear payload. Eventually, it carried more power than anything in the U.S. arsenal. From the moment its existence was uncovered, NATO forces nicknamed the weapon the "Satan" missile.

The second version, the R-36M, featured multiple reentry vehicles (the actual nuclear warheads), which could hit more than one target with one missile launch.

This was the age of mutually assured destruction, the military doctrine that both sides of a nuclear war would be destroyed in a nuclear exchange. If a nuclear war broke out, both sides would fire all their missiles. MIRV technology allowed for more targets and increased the odds of a first strike effectively wiping out the other side before it could retaliate.

The United States first developed MIRV-based missiles with the three-warhead Minuteman III in 1968, but the SS-18 "Satan" could carry eight to 10 more powerful warheads, with the explosive power to destroy American missiles inside protected silos. When the "Satan" system became fully operational in 1975, the U.S. worried it would no longer survive a Soviet first strike and began working on missiles with more and more warheads.

Inside the USSR, Soviet engineers and scientists kept making modifications for future iterations of the "Satan" ICBM. By the time the Soviet Union fell, it had gone through six different versions, each more powerful than the last. The sixth version of the SS-18 missile would be the most powerful nuclear weapon ever fielded by the Soviet Union.

By the time the USSR fell in 1991, Soviet-built SS-18 missiles could strike anywhere in the world.

Russia's newest weapon is the RS-28 Sarmat "Satan-2" missile, with 10 heavy reentry vehicles, each with enough payload to wipe out an area the size of Texas or France. It also features hypersonic glide vehicles to make it less detectable by U.S. or space-based sensor systems and could be immune to American missile defense systems.

-The End 

The writer is an independent political analyst based in Dhaka, Bangladesh who writes on politics, political and human-centred figures, current and international affairs
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The visit to Sri Lanka by a team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts was to review the countrys readiness to make a "knowledgeable commitment" to establishing a nuclear power programme.

Sri Lanka is looking at nuclear power as part of measures to increase and diversify its power capacity as well as cut its carbon emissions as it seeks to achieve a carbon neutral electricity sector by 2050.

The IAEAs Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) focused on the first stage of the IAEAs Milestones Approachs three-phases of development - consider, prepare and construct.

INIR team leader Jose Bastos, from the IAEAs Nuclear Infrastructure Development Section, said: The INIR team concluded that Sri Lanka has engaged the relevant stakeholders in considering the introduction of nuclear power and initiated the appropriate studies to enable the government to make a decision on the nuclear power programme.

The INIR team added that the country needed to "further develop its pre-feasibility study on introducing a nuclear power programme" and "the country also needs to complete its analysis of the legal and regulatory framework required for nuclear power, including preparations for establishing an independent regulatory body. Moreover, the team raised the need to further develop relevant human resources and competencies required for a nuclear programme. It called on the country to further intensify its already promising stakeholder involvement activities."

The chairman of the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board, Professor S R D Rosa, said: "Electricity is vital for societys functioning, and the steady production of nuclear electricity will help us avoid shortages and outages. The results of this INIR mission will help us to move forward with the next steps in nuclear power development as Sri Lanka strives to further develop its economy and achieve the goal of zero emissions."

INIR missions enable IAEA member state representatives to discuss with international experts experiences and best practices in different countries. Implementation of any of the team's recommendations and suggestions is at the discretion of the Member State requesting the mission. The IAEA publishes the INIR mission report on its website 90 days after its delivery to the member state, unless the state requests in writing that the IAEA should not do so.

The INIR team in Sri Lanka was made up of five international experts - from Algeria, the Czech Republic, Romania, the UK and the USA - and also four IAEA staff.
Framespace Solutions, Irelands fastest growing offsite housing supplier will play a pivotal role in the delivery of the Governments Housing for All strategy, according to Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation and Longford/ Westmeath TD Robert Troy.

The company officially opened a new manufacturing facility in Longford last Thursday morning and hit national headlines with the announcement of plans to hire 150 more staff on top of its 100-strong workforce.

Framespace has invested 8m in the refurbishment of the former Cameron Willis engineering works on the edge of Longford town, with support from Enterprise Ireland and Longfords Local Enterprise Office (LEO).

The 120,000 sq ft facility will initially allow Framespace to deliver 550 residential units per year, with the company expecting the adoption of offsite (or modular) housing to grow as housing completions rise to meet the Governments ambitious social and affordable housing targets.

Framespace plans to grow to over 250 staff over the next two years and is currently actively hiring for roles in design and engineering along with general operative and semi-skilled positions, with plans to recruit as much as possible from the local area, providing continuous training and development.

Thats not just beneficial to Longford town. Its beneficial to the whole midlands region. And I want to take the opportunity today to thank Framespace for their investment in our town, for their investment in this region, said Deputy Troy at the official opening.

Its not just the investment in the 150 jobs that are going to be created here in Framespace. Its also how that investment will support jobs in the supply chain. Its also how that investment demonstrates that the midlands region and Longford is a good place to put down roots and a good place to establish a business.

Housing is one of the biggest challenges facing society and the Government at the moment, Deputy Troy continued.

Too many of our young people are locked out of being able to buy their own house. Many people are working hard day in, day out, and yet they are still unable to acquire an affordable, decent home which they can call their own, he said.

And thats a tragedy. Thats not acceptable and thats something that this government is determined to address.

And thats why we have published the Housing for All Strategy. Thats why we have secured the largest ever budget to address this challenge. But the only way were going to address this challenge is by ensuring we ramp up the supply of housing.

And I think that the product youre producing here is an opportunity to revolutionise the construction sector and I think the product that is being developed here at Framespace, Longford, is going to help hugely to address the supply issue here in Ireland and help to ensure that young couples can realise their ambition to own their own home one day.

The Framespace building system allows for the manufacture of high quality and environmentally sustainable buildings in a factory-controlled environment.

Prefinished floor, wall, and roof panels are manufactured in the facility in Longford and then delivered to site where they can be assembled in a matter of hours.

The system is certified for use in buildings up to seven stories and can reduce onsite construction durations by as much as 40% when compared to more traditional building methods.

Framespace is already a regionally significant company and a key stakeholder in the construction sector with strong export ambitions, and the news of its expansion in Longford is very welcome, said Deputy Troy.

Framespace Solutions will play a pivotal role in the delivery of the Governments Housing for All strategy by providing a sustainable alternative to traditional forms of construction.

Todays announcement is hugely important to the midlands and national economy, and a testament to the vision of the Framespace team. No doubt they will continue to grow from strength to strength and I wish them every success with their impressive plans that will see the creation of 300 jobs over the next three years.

Declan Murtagh, CEO of Framespace Solutions, said offsite housing provides a solution that will help accelerate the delivery of new homes, stressing that the company was very proud to be opening its factory in Longford.

The initial investment programme has provided us with the capacity to deliver over 500 new homes a year, he said.

During the next phase of our growth, we plan to add a further 150 people to our workforce with the aim of doubling our production levels by 2025.

We are grateful to Enterprise Ireland, Longford County Council, the local community and our shareholders for their support and we look forward to growing our workforce here in Longford into the future.

Leo Clancy, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, who have invested in the company, said: Enterprise Ireland recently launched the Built To Innovate campaign, which is an initiative under the Governments Housing For All plan.

In that context the scope for rapid expansion of modular housing in Ireland is clear and Framespace has an excellent offering in this growing market.

I would like to congratulate the company on their plans to boost employment in the Longford area and we are delighted to be here to celebrate todays announcement.
The Backstage Theatre is set to stage a double bill of theatre this week.

Written and performed by Mikel Murfi, The Man In The Womans Shoes and I Hear You & Rejoice are acclaimed tour de force performances by one of Irelands leading actors.

Set in October 1978 - Pope John Paul the First is not long dead, autumn is closing in and Pat Farnon has some business to do in town. The Man In The Womans Shoes follows Pat Farnon as he walks to town and back again. It is a beautifully observed piece, utterly simple and widely praised.

The show is funny, tender and at times downright daft. Following international critical acclaim and much demand, Murfi reunited audiences with this much loved central character in the equally heartwarming and hilarious sequel I hear You & Rejoice.

The Man In The Womans Shoes has toured to Manhattan and Philadelphia in 2015 as well as a sell out, three week run at the Abbey Theatre on the Peacock stage in Dublin.

In 2016 it returned to NYC and also played to full houses over three weeks at the Tricycle Theatre in London. It played again at the Irish Arts Centre in NYC in September/ October 2018 and has been touring Ireland ever since.

Heralded as a miniature masterpiece by Times of London with Murfi praised for his astonishing acting by New York Times and labeled as quite simply mesmerising with a five star review by The Evening Standard.

See both shows this week in Backstage Theatre, Longford. The Man in the Womans Shoes takes place on Thursday, April 21, at 8pm.

I Hear You & Rejoice is on Friday, April 22, 8pm. Tickets 20/18 or see both for 35 available on 043 33 47888 or backstage.ie.
The Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Mr Malcolm Noonan, TD, has announced the award of grants for a wide range of archaeological heritage projects under the Departments 2022 Community Monuments Fund, including two in county Longford.

Building on the impact of the scheme last year under which 139 awards were granted to an amount of just under 4.2 million, this year 128 projects are being supported with an overall investment of 6 million.

Abbeyshrule Abbey tower house is set to receive a grant of 84,974.75, while the Clondra Church ruin will benefit from a total of 25,947.50.

The news has been well-received, particularly in south Longford where the Abbey is a popular monument.

"I welcome the good news from the Department yesterday with the allocation of 84,974.75 under the Community Monuments Fund to continue the improvement works on the Abbey in Abbeyshrule," said Cllr Mick Cahill.

"I want to thank Mairead Ni Chonghaile, Heritage Officer from Longford County Council, for making this application."

The core objective of the Community Monuments Fund is to support the conservation, maintenance, protection and promotion of local monuments and historic sites. It contains a number of different measures aimed at enabling conservation works to be carried out on archaeological monuments which are deemed to be significant and in need of urgent support, encouraging access to archaeological monuments and improving their presentation and also building resilience in archaeological monuments to enable them to withstand the effects of climate change.

Under three Streams the Community Monuments Fund supports a broad range of measures aimed at protecting and promoting archaeological monuments, including emergency conservation repair works at monuments, masonry repair, the development of Conservation Management Plans, access infrastructure and installation of interpretation signage, and social media projects aimed at disseminating knowledge of Irelands archaeological heritage.

Speaking today, Minister Noonan said:

I am delighted to announce the Community Monuments Fund awards for 2022. The increased funding we are announcing today of 6 million to 128 projects will help protect our wonderful archaeological heritage and make it more accessible to the many who cherish it.

These awards help us to deliver on various commitments under Heritage Ireland 2030, the new national heritage plan launched earlier this year. It will provide further supports for communities and custodians and the heritage sector, for archaeologists, conservation architects, stone masons, and other professional trades.

These projects will also help build resilience against extreme weather and mitigate the impacts of climate change, a priority action embedded in our Climate Adaptation Plan.

Minister Noonan added:

I want to commend our National Monuments Service for their huge effort in managing the scheme and the Local Authorities for their incredible support in administering applications. I am particularly happy that we are helping to meet the ambition of local communities across Ireland in protecting their archaeological heritage.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh OBrien, TD, said:

"Our archaeological monuments provide a sense of place to rural communities, villages, towns and cities across the country. With my colleague, Minister of State Malcolm Noonan, TD, we have grown this Fund yet again from last year to have a real impact on communities and the monuments. The wide range of projects which have been included are testament to the rich history which surrounds us all.

Minister of State for Local Government Peter Burke also welcomed the announcement, stating:

"The remarkable impact and success of the Community Monuments Fund is a result of the close working relationship between our Departments National Monuments Service and Local Authorities- the Archaeologists, Conservation Officers, Heritage Officers and planning and administrative staff and partnership with communities- showcasing their valuable role in protecting and promoting Irelands heritage. On foot of this weeks celebration of heritage through the International Day for Monuments and Sites, otherwise known as World Heritage Day, it is really fitting that such support is shown for our archaeological heritage.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: April 20 2022

Campaign highlighted need for creative recruitment methods during associations 150th anniversary.

Recently, the Town of Babylon hosted the first of many RecruitNY events that will happen across the state. Members from the Firefighters Association of the State of New York (FASNY), along with fire service officials from Suffolk County and County Legislators highlighted the weekend in which volunteer fire departments across New York State open their doors to residents with the goal to increase membership. Fire department membership has suffered in recent years due to a variety of factors.

We are looking forward to our 13th annual RecruitNY campaign which will be held in person this year across the state with hundreds of departments participating, including right here on Long Island, said FASNY 2nd Vice President Gene Perry. We want to invite all New Yorkers to attend an open house next weekend, and experience what it means to be a volunteer firefighter. RecruitNY weekend opens the opportunity for the community to interact with the first responders right in their neighborhoods who are dedicated to protecting them.

On Saturday, April 23rd, and Sunday, April 24th as part of the 13th annual RecruitNY weekend, departments from across the state will invite the community to come in and get a firsthand look at what it takes to be a firefighter. This year, the campaign returns during the 150th Anniversary of FASNY.

The fire and EMS service has endured tremendous changes in recent years, particularly in a rapidly increasing call volume coupled with difficulties in recruitment and retention of volunteers. said Presiding Officer of the Suffolk County Legislature Kevin McCaffrey. Virtually all of Suffolk County and its more than 1.5 million residents are protected by volunteer fire departments and ambulance companies. The RecruitNY campaign is a fantastic resource and opportunity for fire and EMS agencies to engage their communities and spur interest in volunteerism. Having served on the Fire Council in the Village of Lindenhurst for many years, in addition to being the father, son, and brother of first responders, I am proud to be a part of this initiative that serves to establish the next generation of first responders.

The association has worked hard throughout its history to develop and implement events to assist New Yorks 1,700-plus volunteer fire departments to recruit new volunteers. This includes utilizing federal SAFER grant funds for programs such as the Fire in You outreach campaign, the FASNY HELP college tuition reimbursement program, and recruitment training classes.

Our volunteer firefighters are the backbone of our community and help keep us safe in many ways other than just putting out fires, said Suffolk County Legislature Minority Leader Jason Richberg. The pandemic has created challenges in recruiting new members, and the RecruitNY program aims to close that gap and give our fire departments resources to help their recruitment and training efforts by opening their firehouses so the public can get a first-hand look at what really goes into being a volunteer firefighter. I am proud to support this incredibly important program. Thank you to FASNY and everyone working to assist our fire departments and keep our residents safe.

During RecruitNY weekend, volunteer firefighters will conduct tours of their facilities, demonstrate firefighting techniques, and allow visitors to try on turnout gear. These types of activities give visitors a taste of what it means to be in the fire service. Volunteer firefighters will also be on hand to discuss the requirements and rewards of joining. All are welcome and encouraged to attend, including families with children.

As a proud four-decade Deer Park volunteer firefighter, I have witnessed firsthand the challenges facing our departments, including, over the past several years, decreased membership and increased call volume,  said Suffolk County Legislator Tom Donnelly, a retired FDNY Lieutenant. While we have been able to meet these challenges, even during the past pandemic, the need to maintain and bolster the ranks is critical to providing optimum and necessary levels of safety for our residents. Protecting your own community as a fire department member is an extremely rewarding experience and I encourage our neighbors to volunteer.

As a New York City Firefighter and a volunteer firefighter, I have come to realize that my role is more than responding to a fire emergency, but to educate the residents of our communities on the importance of fire service and its essential role in keeping those communities safe, said Town of Babylon Councilman Terence McSweeney. Member enrollment for volunteer firefighter departments is down, while call volumes for fire, safety and EMS are up. This FASNY program is here to demonstrate the need for more volunteers so fire departments across New York State may continue to efficiently provide this service to the community.

During the COVID-19 pandemic many firehouses across New York State chose to organize a virtual open house or conduct other digital outreach to attract new volunteers. In 2019, more than 600 fire departments across the state held recruitment open houses. This year there will be nearly 460 fire departments participating.

Between medical emergencies and COVID-19 calls to flooded basements, downed power lines, automobile accidents, and of course for fires - big and small-- there is a real need for more volunteers, remarked Perry. We hope to have a successful RecruitNY weekend here on Long Island, but also across the state. Therefore we are here to kick off FASNYs 13th Annual RecruitNY campaign.

RecruitNY is made possible by the continuing support and generosity of Lincoln Financial Group (LFG). In 2012, LFG announced the introduction of a new National LOSAP HEROPLUSSM Program. A first of its kind, Length of Service Award Program, which was designed for individual Fire and Emergency Services departments to help recruit, retain, and reward dedicated volunteers with a program that will help boost their retirement readiness. The everyday heroes of every community  this is for them, said Bruce Linger, LFG,CRN-4449623-030222. Thank you for all you do!
Those genuinely keen on protecting the environment should without further delay launch a project to protect rain forests. The ongoing power cuts have underscored Sri Lankas dependence on hydropower. The continuing destruction of forest cover can cause irreparable damage to the countrys hydro power generation capacity, thereby causing a catastrophic situation.

by Shamindra Ferdinando

Some of those activists at the round-the-clock Go Gota Home protest, outside the Presidential Secretariat, at Galle Face, carried placards querying the delay on the part of the government to compensate the communities affected by the sinking of the Singapore registered cargo vessel MV X-Press Pearl, off the Western coast, last year.

The Express Feeders owned fire stricken cargo ship, sank on June 02, 2021, during an attempt to tow it away to deep seas. Sri Lanka lacked the wherewithal to bring the fire on deck, that had been reported on May 21, under control. In spite of firefighting support provided by India and other foreign vessels, the vessel went down, causing the worst ever ecological disaster in busy local waters, outside the Colombo harbour.

MV X-Press Pearl sank 9.5 nautical miles, NorthWest of the Colombo port, the day after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa directed that it be towed to deeper seas. The vessel went down where it had been since May 19 after entering Sri Lankan waters.

Controversy surrounds the way the relevant authorities probed the circumstances that led to MV X-Press Pearl stealthily carrying a leaking container, loaded with nitric acid, being allowed to enter Sri Lankan waters. The public have a right to know how the government dealt with the vessels local Agent, Presidential Award winner Sea Consortium Lanka of Setmil Group, accused of suppressing information about the acid leak.

The highly politically motivated Go Gota Home campaign appeared to have attracted many groups, including those handling contentious environmental issues, which may have contributed to the overall deterioration of public confidence in the government. The handling of the X-Press disaster is a glaring example of an utterly corrupt system that protected the affluent at the expense of the hapless public.

The massive eruption of public anger against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, at the approach to his private residence, at Pangiriwatte Road, Mirihana, on the night of March 31, marked a new phase in politics. Having caused chaos at Pangiriwatte, the Go Gota Home campaign, overnight, targeted selected government members. Violent protests in several districts, particularly in the Anuradhapura district, underscored the growing public anger at those wielding political power.

At the same time while we do not wish to be paranoid conspiracy theorists, it must be noted that some of the present protests appear to be well coordinated and funded and quite possibly maneuvered by a hidden hand, as happened in the run up to the change of government in 2015, engineered by the US, about which it later crowed about publicly through its then Secretary of State, John Kerry. Though President Gotabaya is responsible for some controversial decisions taken hastily, like the abrupt decision to ban agrochemical imports or doing away with some key taxes no sooner he was elected, it must be stated that none of it was done for his personal benefit, but there has been far too many built up coincidences in the run up to the present conflagration, like the MT New Diamond sinking, X-Press Pearl disaster of epic proportion, the wrong composition of butane and propane in LPG shipped to Sri Lanka that caused needless explosions and even loss of life, etc. In the light of what has happened recently in Pakistan, and elsewhere, we believe the country needs to be extra alert to such foreign engineered plots.

The high profile campaign discarded all political parties, represented in Parliament, thereby denying the Opposition an opportunity to exploit unexpected political developments. The protest campaign that had been launched, opposite the Presidential Secretariat, on April 09, received the backing of many groups with diverse objectives. Among the interested parties were civil society organisations, including the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) spearheading an intense legal campaign against the current dispensation.

The CEJ moved court over the X-Press Pearl disaster, in the absence of a genuine effort by relevant government machinery to obtain proper compensation. If those responsible for taking action had addressed the issue purposefully, the sinking of X-Press Pearl wouldnt have been an issue at the Go Gota Home campaign.

It would be pertinent to examine the issues at hand against the backdrop of those seeking compensation for MV X-Press Pearl disaster being part of the Go Gota Home campaign. The current crisis has erupted at an opportune time as cash-strapped Sri Lanka struggles to meet the basic requirements of the public.

The ship disaster, off the Western coast, cannot be discussed without taking into consideration the massive fire onboard MT New Diamond, off the Sangamankanda coast in the East, in early Sept 2020.

The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) proceedings and an exclusive interview Sirasa anchor Asoka Dias, formerly of Upali Newspapers did with the first Dean of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences and Technology, Ruhuna University, Prof. Ruchira Cumaranatunga exposed the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA).

MEPA and legal system exposed

COPE Chief and MP Prof. Charitha Herath recently lambasted the MEPA, at a recent committee hearing, over the handling of the fire onboard crude carrier MT New Diamond in early Sept. 2020 and the sinking of X-Press Pearl carrying chemicals off the Port of Colombo last year.

Prof. Herath questioned MEPA Chairperson Attorney-at-Law Dharshani Lahandapura, a Viyathmaga activist, as regards their response to the disastrous accidents.

The SLPP National List MP demanded to know why compensation hadnt been so far secured from the owners of the MT New Diamond. His query was based on the Auditor Generals observations. Jagath Gunasekera, the Acting General Manager of MEPA, said that the court had decided on the fines to be imposed.

Prof. Herath asked why only Rs 51 mn out of estimated Rs 3,480 million, due from MT New Diamond as compensation, had been received. Attorney-at-Law Lahandapura said that though there had been an oil patch, the fire had not caused any environmental damage.

Prof. Herath asked why such a huge estimate in respect of damages had been made if no disaster had occurred. Gunasekera said Rs 51 million had been paid for firefighting operations and related matters.

According to Gunasekera an expert panel had recommended Rs 3,480 mn compensation and the relevant file had been submitted to the Attorney Generals Department.

Prof. Herath pointed out that the AG hadnt responded to the MEPA so far, and asked what the MEPA would say if the COPE alleged that it had collaborated with the ship owners to help them reduce compensation payments for environmental damages caused.

When the COPE Chief questioned the role of MEPAs Legal Officer in respect of the overall response, the MEPA representative at the hearing disclosed that she had been sidelined. The official revealed she hadnt been allowed to participate in any of the discussions with the Attorney Generals Department on civil or criminal proceedings. Prof. Herath demanded to know why she had been sidelined. Lahandapura claimed that MEPA had assigned responsibilities to another official as the Legal Officer was not responsive to the MEPAs requirements. Prof. Herath dismissed that claim, insisting that there couldnt be a justifiable excuse for sidelining the legal officer.

Prof. Herath emphasised that the revelation that the MT New Diamond matter issue had been handled outside the purview of the MEPA Legal Section was a serious matter.

Prof. Herath pointed out that though the compensation in respect of X-Press Pearl had been estimated at USD 37 mn, the ship owners had agreed to pay only USD 2.9 mn. Lahandapura admitted that an organisation that had represented the ship owners/insurers had provided advice to MEPA, too. The COPE Chairman pointed out that the organisation concerned would have been able to manipulate the whole process to the advantage of the ship owners/insurers. The MP said that someone could easily level the charge that the MEPA collaborated with them to reduce the amount of compensation received by the country.

Sirasa interview

Prof. Cumaranatunga didnt mince her words when she questioned the conduct of MEPA Chairperson as regards the two incidents  the one off the Sangamankanda coast and the other off the Colombo harbour. Responding to interviewer Dias, the academic, who investigated both high profile cases, accused Lahandapura of suppressing some sections of the report on MT New Diamond submitted by her team. She pointed out how the MEPA Chief claimed before the COPE that damages hadnt been caused to marine life, contrary to the report submitted by the experts. An irate Prof. Cumaranatunga declared that MEPA Chief had insulted members of her team by propagating blatant lies. Asoka Dias couldnt have conducted that interview at a better time. With the growing public protests, demanding a system change, the operation at the MEPA explains how interested parties pursued projects beneficial to them, regardless of the consequences. Prof. Herath should ask Prof. Cumaranatunga to make her position clear before his Committee and take whatever necessary action. The government cannot remain silent against the backdrop of the head of the expert team that probed the ship disasters, exposing MEPA.

Prof. Cumaranatunga revealed how she raised the issues at hand with Lahandapura soon after the COPE rapped MEPA over the controversial handling of the ship disasters. Declaring that Lahandapuras response to her queries hadnt been satisfactory, the academic exposed how MEPA manipulated the online process adopted in preparing the final report to secure the signatures of the members of the probe team without providing them the final draft.

The COPE and Sirasa revelations havent received sufficient public attention. The ruling coalition and the Opposition havent acted on sensational revelations made by the COPE as well as two other watchdog committees, namely the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) and the Committee on Public Finance (COPF). MEPA should be held accountable for mishandling of two key investigations. Had they been deliberately handling the issues in a way to deprive the country adequate compensation?

Prof. Herath is in no mood to give up his strong stand in respect of the two

muddled investigations. The COPE should pursue this matter. The X-Press Pearl matter is now before the judiciary. It would be the responsibility of all concerned to ensure transparent proceedings. Punitive measures are a prerequisite for justifiable settlement of the X-Press Pearl case.

CEJ moves court

The CEJ and three others, including its Senior Advisor Hemantha Withanage, in a fundamental rights application filed in terms of Articles 17 and 126 of the Constitution, in respect of the X-Press Pearl affair, has named its owner Express Feeders and its local agent Sea Consortium Lanka as 11th and 12th respondents, respectively. They are among 13 respondents, including the Attorney General.

At the time the CEJ moved SC against what the petition called the worst marine ecological disaster caused by the sinking of X-Press Pearl, the outfit hadnt been aware of the local agent deleting e-mails received from the Captain of the ship.

According to the petition, in addition to 325 metric tonnes of bunker oil, the vessel carried altogether 1,486 containers  25 tonnes of hazardous nitric acid, caustic soda, sodium methylate, plastic, lead ingots, lubricant oil, quick lime and highly reactive and inflammable chemicals such as Sodium Methoxide, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Lotrene, Vinyl Acetate, Methanol, bright yellow sulphur, urea, cosmetics, etc.

Petitioners stated that the Captain and the crew members of the MV X-Press Pearl knew of the nitric acid leak from about 11th May 2021, nine days before the blaze started and had deliberately failed to inform the Sri Lankan authorities of the impending grave risk. But, the CEJ had been in the dark regarding the treacherous actions of the local agent and the whole issue would take an unexpected turn against the backdrop of Prof. Cumaranatungas revelations.

The CEJ receives funding from both local and foreign sources, including the UN. Responding to The Island queries, Withanage explained the gradual growth of CEJs operations since its launch in 2004 following the breakup of the Environmental Foundation Ltd. Assuring transparency in the CEJs operations, Withanage alleged that the state agencies that had been tasked to protect the environment either connived brazenly with some of the corrupt elements who wielded political power regardless of the consequences or betrayed the countrys interest for personal gain. The sordid disclosures made during COPE proceedings and the Sirasa interview as regards the sordid behaviour of MEPA, responsible for the protection of marine environment should prompt the government to take tangible measures.

Unfortunately, MEPA as well as other agencies answerable for matters concerning the environment, are pursuing strategies acceptable to their political masters.

The much discussed court cases pertaining to clearing of Wilpattu jungles, releasing of elephants and the threat to Sinharaja forest exposed the corrupt political party system.

Withanage asserted that political parties exploited corrupt systems in place to raise funds. If those who exercised political authority addressed matters of serious concern there wouldnt have been a need for CEJ to move the Supreme Court over the X-Press Pearl disaster. Withanage questioned the conduct of the premier government agency, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) now headed by ex-JVPer Siripala Amarasinghe. Withanage asserted that politicians and officials were equally responsible for the pathetic state of affairs.

There cannot be a better example than the importing of toxic garbage containers from the UK and simply dumping them here during the yahapalana administration. While Amarasinghe and then President and former Environment Minister Sirisena claimed at the time they were tackling the issue expeditiously, if not for the CEJ successfully moving the court, the British garbage would have been here still. Having blamed the Mahinda Rajapaksa tenure for large-scale environmental destruction, Withanage alleged that the current dispensation was the worst. The civil society activist cited the removal of restrictions on the mining and the transport of sand as one of the evil decisions taken by the current government. The move was obviously meant to allow those connected with the party to make money. The relevant authorities fully cooperated with politicians, Withanage alleged.

The court was told between 2017 and 2019, the UK shipped 263 containers of waste to Sri Lanka. The containers were labelled used mattresses, carpets and rugs. But, amongst other things, authorities found bio waste from hospitals. It included radioactive clinical waste, rags, bandages and body parts from mortuaries. Thanks to CEJs action, the entire lot  altogether 263 containers  were shipped back by February 2021. It would be pertinent to examine the conduct of the environment ministry and the CEA with regard to the import of British waste. Contrary to expectations, the current dispensation didnt take punitive measures against those responsible for the importing of dangerous cargo and kept them in specified areas pending disposal.

The government should be ashamed of its failure. The Parliament, too, should inquire into such glaring failures. Can those in authority now and then vouch that foreign waste didnt end up at Aruwakkalu sanitary garbage dump in Puttalam as once alleged by top environmental scientist Dr. Ajantha Perera in an interview with this newspaper?

One-time top trade official Gomi Senadhira recently discussed how in spite of Sri Lankas success in sending back over 3,000 tons of British toxic waste, authorities allowed foreign garbage. Senadhira asked whether the Customs, Trade Ministry, the BOI, and the CEA deceived the public on garbage imports.

Senadhira raised two basic issues (verbatim) (a) How did the Customs detect the 3000 tonnes of illegally imported foreign garbage? Wasnt it only when the containers that remained in the port for months without being cleared by the importer started to stink and leak? When were the tonnes of customs-cleared garbage in a clandestine garbage dump created inside the BOI discovered by the BOI and the CEA?

Wasnt it only after a media exposure? Didnt all this happen after the implosion of the Meethotamulla garbage dump? Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not. Methotamulla collapsed at the start of the yahapalana regime.

(b).During the four-year period 2017-2020, while struggling to ship back 3,000 tons of illegally imported stinking waste, the customs and the CEA had facilitated legal imports of a much larger quantity of garbage into the country. For example; Sri Lanka imported nearly 20,000 tonnes of plastic waste (HS391590) In addition, nearly 1000 MTs of plastic waste under HS 391530 was also imported every year.

Most of it, according to customs data, was imported from China. As far as I am aware, China does not export plastic waste

Perhaps, the CEJ should speak with Senadhira to map out proper strategy to counter clandestine projects. Interested parties must have profited immensely at Sri Lankas expense.
(Alliance News) - Diamond mining giant De Beers on Wednesday signed two investment contracts with the Angolan government, marking a return to the southern African country after a decade-long absence.

London and Johannesburg-listed Anglo American PLC owns 85% of rough diamond miner and dealer De Beers.

The miner left Angola a decade ago over after its concession's seven-year term expired in August 2012 and a study suggested that a stand-alone deposit was not economically viable.

"We are pleased to be returning to active exploration in the country," De Beers Group Chief Executive Bruce Cleaver said in a statement, praising Angola for working hard in recent years "to create a stable and attractive investment environment".

In a speech at the signing event in the Angolan capital Luanda, Cleaver acknowledged "significant and substantive reforms implemented by Angola's government".

Angola's Mineral Resources minister Diamantino Azevedo lauded De Beers return to Angola which "will make it possible in the medium term to substantially increase diamond exploration and sale", as well as generate jobs for Angolans.

Under the 35-year long agreement the company will prospect for diamond deposits in the eastern provinces of Lunda Sul and Lunda Norte bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It expects to start exploration activities in the licensed areas this year.

sn/rl

source: AFP

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Schroder European Real Estate Investment Trust PLC - London and Johannesburg-listed property investor - Buys a freehold car showroom property in Cannes, southern France, for EUR8.4 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.5%. The showroom is fully let to FCA Motor Village France, a subsidiary of the global automotive manufacturer Stellantis NV. Brands traded from the asset include Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Abarth and Lancia. The remaining lease term is three calendar years. The property serves as the tenants' primary car showroom within a broader agglomeration spanning over 20 dealerships.

Current Johannesburg stock price: ZAR21.13, up 8.3% on Wednesday

12-month change: up 3.9%

Current London stock price: 111.50 pence, up 1.9%

12-month change: up 11%

By Artwell Dlamini; artwelldlamini@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - CRH PLC said on Wednesday it has started 2022 on a strong footing, with growth in earnings and sales expected for the first half.

The Dublin-based building materials firm said first-quarter sales, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, and margin were all ahead of the same period last year.

Improved activity levels and continued execution of its integrated solutions strategy supported sales growth and performance, CRH said.

Sales for the Americas Materials operations were 13% ahead year-on-year, with Europe Materials 11% ahead, and Building Products 22% ahead.

Updating on its ongoing share buyback program, CRH expects a further USD300 million to be completed no later than June 27, which would bring the total to USD600 million for the first half.

"The continued delivery of our solutions strategy resulted in a good start to the year. Although a number of challenges and uncertainties continue, our demand backdrop remains favourable," said Chief Executive Albert Manifold.

CRH expects sales, Ebitda, and margin for its half-year to be ahead of the first half of the prior year, when Ebitda came in at USD2.0 billion. It expects positive demand in North America to continue, and its Europe Materials business to be able to weather the negative impacts of energy cost volatility and the war in Ukraine to deliver a like-for-like Ebitda ahead of the prior year.

Shares in CRH were up 3.4% to 3,139.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.

Results for the half-year will be announced on August 25.

By Elizabeth Winter; elizabethwinter@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - Just Eat Takeaway.com NV on Wednesday said its fortunes at the start of 2022 stacked up well against the Covid-19 boosted first quarter of 2021, though it slightly tweaked annual guidance.

The company added that it expects profit to "gradually" improve as the year drags on. The takeaway delivery company targets profit at an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation level in 2023.

The company said it maintained "the high level of orders that were processed during the Covid-19 restrictions in the first quarter of last year".

Total orders for the first quarter of 2022 were 264.1 million, down 1.1% year-on-year from 267.1 million.

However, gross transaction value increased 3.9% annually to EUR7.24 billion from EUR6.96 billion.

The average transaction value was higher this time, Just Eat Takeaway.com said.

"During the pandemic, the company benefited from a rapidly increasing consumer base in a short period of time, adding more than 20 million active consumers since April 2020. As a result, the company temporarily experiences a corresponding higher-than-normal absolute churn level in the first half of 2022, despite a lower relative churn level of this new consumer group versus pre-pandemic cohorts," the company said.

"While growth in the second quarter of 2022 will remain challenging, key growth drivers, such as average monthly order frequency and returning consumers are expected to remain above pre-pandemic and even above pandemic levels."

Order numbers increased 4% year-on-year in northern Europe, were flat in the UK & Ireland region, and fell 5% in North America. In the southern Europe & ANZ region, which includes markets such as Spain, Australia and New Zealand, orders were down 4%.

Going forward, Just Eat Takeaway.com said "enhancing profitability as one of its highest priorities in 2022".

It eyes lifting revenue per order, improving courier costs per order, and cutting overheads.

"Consequentially, management expects to reach positive adjusted Ebitda for the full year 2023," the company said.

For 2022, it lowered gross transaction value guidance. It expects gross transaction value to rise by mid-single digits. It had previously targeted growth in the "mid-teens".

The adjusted Ebitda margin is now expected to sit in the range of minus 0.5% to minus 0.7%. This is a slight improvement from previous guidance of minus 0.6% and minus 0.8%.

In 2021, the adjusted Ebitda margin was minus 1.2%.

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Wednesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:

----------

Tatton Asset Management PLC - Cheshire-based on-platform discretionary fund management and independent financial adviser support services - Closes March 31 with assets under management of GBP11.34 billion, surging from GBP8.99 billion on April 1. Records organic net inflows of GBP1.28 billion, while market performance adds GBP420 million and Verbatim acquisition adds GBP650 million. Confident its financial results for the year will be in line with consensus market expectations. Also enters sale & purchase agreement to buy 50% of issued share capital of 8AM Global Ltd for about GBP7.0 million, with option to buy remaining 50% "in due course". Expects deal to add GBP800 million to total AuM.

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Infrastructure India PLC - Isle of Man-based closed-ended investment company focused on assets in India - Says part of the agreed consideration from sale of Indian Energy (Mauritius) Ltd's assets will be advanced to company. Indian Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of company, and is an independent power producer that owns and operates wind farms at two sites in the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Indian Energy holds each wind farm asset within separate special purpose vehicles, Theni and Gadag, which are its only assets. Indian Energy agreed, in February, to sell the two vehicles for GBP5.5 million to AVSR Constructions. Company says: "The company's creditors continue to be supportive, however, should the outstanding conditions not be met by IEL and consequently the sale not proceed, the company will not have adequate funding to meet its liabilities when they fall due and will need to identify other sources of financing."

----------

Duke Royalty Ltd - Guernsey-based royalty finance provider - Signs follow-on investment of GBP2.3 million into existing royalty partner residential care firm Tristone Healthcare Ltd to fund its latest acquisition as well as provide funding for capital expenditure. Funds, company notes, will facilitate Tristone's acquisition of Beyond Limits Ltd, which operates specialist care homes predominantly in the southwest of England, providing long-term residential care to people with learning disabilities, mental health issues and other support needs.

----------

Eckoh PLC - London-based secure payment and customer contact products - Signs renewal of its contract with Capita PLC for an unnamed large public sector organisation. "The core purpose of the service provided by Capita to its client is to maximise the successful collection of payments from the general public," company explains. The new contract is for 5 years and has a minimum value of GBP2.1 million over the term, which is both longer and higher value than the original agreement. Adds: "Since 2018, Eckoh has been supporting Capita and its client by handling all inbound calls to the contact centre, securing telephone and automated payments, and delivering advanced self-service automation to improve the customer experience and increase the proportion of successfully collected revenue."

----------

Synectics PLC - Sheffield, England-based provider of security systems - Says trading in the first quarter of new financial year in line with the internal expectations. Notes March 31 order book was about GBP29.0 million, up from GBP28.4 million at end of November. Holds continued expectations for a solid improvement in trading results, particularly in the second half.

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Seeing Machines Ltd - Canberra, Australia-based AI technology company - Signs IP licence agreement for its Occula Neural Processing Unit with an additional unnamed US based semiconductor company. Deal will target development of a single semiconductor product with the option to expand into a larger family of devices. Chief Executive Paul McGlone says: "This additional IP license is an important milestone for Seeing Machines. It represents more validation that our three-pillar, systems focused, strategy is fitting and supportive of the automotive industry as it evolves rapidly to meet regulatory and customer demand with additional safety and functional outcomes, while minimising cost, package space, and power."

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Intosol Holdings PLC - London-based luxury travel consultants - Confirms reviewing working capital for the next twelve months to "ensure a going concern of the business". In discussions over continued funding, which it notes may or not include making an application to the UK Listing Authority to cancel the listing of company's shares.

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Nightcap PLC - London-based bar operator - Opens new bar in Bristol, England, the Adventure Bar Group - under its Blame Gloria brand. New venue covers an area of approximately 8,000 square feet. The site has a 0200 am license and an unrestricted capacity of 350. The venue will open later this year. This will be the first new opening for the Blame Gloria brand outside of London. Company now has three sites across two of its brands in Bristol and it takes the total number of sites within its estate to 33, with an additional 23 premises under offer or in legal negotiations across the UK for all of its brands.

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Polarean Imaging PLC - North Carolina-based MRI equipment and medical-imaging technology company - Confirms US Food & Drug Administration accepts resubmitted new drug application for investigational drugdevice combination product using hyperpolarised 129Xenon gas to enhance magnetic resonance imaging in pulmonary medicine. Chief Executive Richard Hullihen says: "We are happy that the FDA has accepted our resubmission and look forward to resuming the review process with them in the expanded context of our response."

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Creo Medical Group PLC - Chepstow, Wales-based medical device company - Opens regional hub in Singapore, which will provide multi-functional centre for the commercial roll-out of Creo's products across the Asia-Pacific region. "The regional commercial hub also forms a key part of Creo's international strategy - providing a direct sales and marketing presence across APAC and will be central to the management of Creo's distribution partners in the APAC region," company explains.

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Diurnal Group PLC - Cardiff, Wales-based pharmaceutical company focused on hormonal diseases - Extends distribution agreement with Er-Kim to include the distribution and marketing of Alkindi and Efmody in Greece, Cyprus and Malta. Er-Kim will receive the exclusive rights to distribute and market Alkindi and Efmody in Greece, Cyprus and Malta. Company estimates the combined market opportunity for these three countries to be about EUR7 million. Er-Kim also holds the rights to distribute and market Alkindi and Efmody in Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria. Interim Chief Executive Richard Bungay "excited" about improving relationship with Er-Kim.

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Biome Technologies PLC - Southampton-based plastic material and resin manufacturing company - Revenue for quarter ended March 31 in line with internal expectations at GBP1.1 million, down from GBP1.4 million in same period year prior. Bioplastics business revenue slipped to GBP1.0 million from GBP1.2 million, but expects growth throughout 2022 as logistics problems clear.

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Mila Resources PLC - London-based gold company focused on Australia - Completes Stage 1 diamond core drilling at Kathleen Valley gold project in Western Australia. Drills 11 holes for 2,763 metres. Says drilling has now defined mineralisation over a zone 200 metres long and 220 metres down dip, which is open at depth and along strike. Notes mineralisation at Coffey forms a "very planar and consistent zone" which is now starting to show potential for multiple lode structures at depth. Chief Geologist of Mila Neil Hutchison says: "We have had remarkable success with our maiden diamond core drilling campaign at Coffey. Every hole has hit the target zone within metres of the predicted depth as the system is so planar and consistent. In addition, the widths and quartz-sulphide zones intersected in the drilling are visually far better than we expected."

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East Star Resources PLC - gold and copper exploration company focused on Kazakhstan - Says all four exploration licences under the joint venture with Kazakhstan national mining company Tau-Ken Samruk was successfully transferred on April 13 to newly established joint venture companies within the Astana International Financial Centre owned 80% by Discovery Ventures Kazakhstan Ltd - a 100% owned subsidiary of East Star - and 20% by Tau-Ken Samruk. East Star Chief Executive Alex Walker says: "The transfer of our licences into formal joint venture companies within the AIFC, a framework which provides tax jurisdiction and legal certainty based on English law, reiterates our confidence in the system and the tenure of our licences."

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By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
20 April 2022

Challenger Energy Group PLC

("Challenger Energy" or the "Company")

March/April 2022 Production Well Recompletion Programme

Challenger Energy (AIM: CEG), the Caribbean and Atlantic-margin focused oil and gas company, with oil production, appraisal, development and exploration assets across the region, is pleased to provide the following technical update:

 In late March 2022, the Company detailed a near-term programme of recompletions of underperforming and non-producing wells from its extensive well stock in Trinidad, focussed on production enhancement.

 Four recompletions have to date been completed, ahead of schedule and below budget. The aggregate incremental production from these four recompletions has been in the range of 40 to 60 bopd - in line with pre-work expectations as previously advised.

 In aggregate, this represents a production increase of approximately 10%-15%, with gross production across the Company's fields now consistently averaging approximately 400 bopd.

 Further near-term production enhancement activities are being prepared, with a target to increase production by a further 10% over the coming months.

 In addition to this well activity, repairs to access roads, upgrades to utilities, and facilities integrity work continues as planned, with this work due to be completed before the end of Q2 2022. Improved access will bring additional well stock into the ongoing review process for potential future recompletions, and the facilities/ infrastructure-based activity is designed to maintain baseline production on a consistent basis.

 This work is benefitting from the restructured Challenger Energy team, including a greater level of in-country presence of the leadership team, which has been constrained to date by international travel restrictions.

Eytan Uliel, Chief Executive Officer of Challenger Energy, said:

"The turnaround of our Trinidad and Tobago business unit is proceeding according to plan, with good results seen thus far from the field work underway since the completion of the Company's restructuring and recapitalisation in March 2022. The focus at Challenger Energy remains on getting the basics right - maintaining stable baseline production, achieving incremental production growth from the existing fields, maximising sales revenues and cashflow, and continuing to evaluate opportunities to grow production through value accretive M&A opportunities."

---

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014, which forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended).

For further information, please contact:

Challenger Energy Group PLC Eytan Uliel, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +44 (0) 1624 647 882 Strand Hanson Limited - Nomad Rory Murphy / James Spinney / Rob Patrick Tel: +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 Arden Partners plc - Broker Simon Johnson / Antonio Bossi Tel: +44 (0) 20 7614 5900 CAMARCO Billy Clegg / James Crothers / Hugo Liddy Tel: +44 (0) 20 3757 4980

Notes to Editors

Challenger Energy is a Caribbean and Atlantic margin focused oil and gas company, with a range of exploration, appraisal, development and production assets and licences, located onshore in Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname, and offshore in the waters of The Bahamas and Uruguay. In Trinidad and Tobago, Challenger Energy has five (5) producing fields, two (2) appraisal / development projects and a prospective exploration portfolio in the South West Peninsula. In Suriname, Challenger Energy has an onshore appraisal / development project. Challenger Energy's exploration licences in Uruguay, the South West Peninsula of Trinidad, and The Bahamas offer high-impact value exposure within the overall portfolio value.

Challenger Energy is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

https://www.cegplc.com

ENDS
Mai Morning Crew

"What a load of bollocks": Tegan gets Jordan and Brook to try out hypnosis
It's a slow news day. Can you tell?

Doctors in Brazil had to remove a 2kg dumbbell that was stuck in a man's rectum, according to a recent case in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports.

The 54-year-old man waited two days to seek medical help, despite suffering stomach pains, nausea and constipation. He also tried to remove the dumbbell himself. When that failed, he went to the hospital, where doctors initially were unable to find the problem by rectal examiniation.

After X-rays were conducted, doctors found the 20cm -long-dumbbell wedged in where the colon meets the rectum. Ya can't miss it.
Models on the runway for the Retail Merchants Associations fashion and display show at the Armory last night were: Mick N Me - Phyllis Barber, Debbie Barber and Kristy Krause; Bill Moores - Katie Keleher, David Schuelke, Vic Martin; Just For Her - Connie Waitner and Bonnie Lempke; Schoolhouse Store - Amy Schrader, Barbie Olson and Pearl Amor; Millikens Barb Schubert, Bev Duchon, Jani Van Liere; Jackpine - Lynette Munson, Jennie Munson, Kelly Minster, Julie and Diana Trucks; Jeannes - Lisa Garber, Kelly Mollencamp, Annette Doleys, Tabatha Pefley and Laura LeSarge.

B&E

State police report that the Townhall Texaco Station in Onekema was broken into Friday or Saturday. Many small items were taken including containers of oil, brake fluid, radiator solder, two flashlights, cigarettes, potato chips, two small calculators and about $30 in change from candy and cigarette machines.

60 YEARS AGO

A new phone book arrived

The 1962 Manistee telephone directory, which will be distributed on April 30, contains a new customer convenience. In the front of the new directory, theres a list of area codes for 1,300 communities in the USA and Canada which studies have shown are called most often by MIchigan telephone users.

Tabaczka wins bike

Montgomery Ward announces that the winner of the bicycle that was given away on April 18 was Jerry Tabaczka, son of Harry Tabaczka of Lake Street.

80 YEARS AGO

Local Alert Day

A demonstration of ways and means of extinguishing incendiary bombs, to be held at Sands Park at 6:30 p.m. on April 24 will open the Alert Day program here. The demonstration of methods to be used in combating fire bombs will be given by Chief Air Raid Warden Blair Wilcox and Richard Olson, Harry Foster and Jack Janicki, who recently completed courses of training as air raid warden instructors at Traverse City.

Tire buying is approved

The local rationing board approved 23 applications for all types of tires during the week of April 7 to 14. Of this number, two were of obsolete sizes, two were passenger type retread tires, 13 were new truck tires and six were retread truck tires.
China's economic growth in the first quarter of this year exceeds the expectations and will be a great support for the global economy, economists have said.

According to data from China's National Bureau of Statistics, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.8 percent year on year in the first quarter, marking a steady start in 2022 in the face of global challenges and a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
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BIG RAPIDS  Police work is not an easy job, and apparently retiring from it isnt any easier for some. Officer Erik Little has worked with the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety for just over two decades and will celebrate retirement from the organization this month.

Originally growing up working on several ranches in Marshall, Colorado, Little worked with animals throughout his life in addition to engaging later in police work.

His career dreams didnt begin with police work, but instead, worked as a drywall installer at 20 years old before he saw an ad for the Colorado State Patrol in the local paper.

Little said he initially struggled to get into the ranks of departments.

The market crashed and construction went into the tank, and I saw an ad in the paper for the Colorado State Patrol was hiring, Little said. That was something I thought I could do until the market gets back up, so I applied but didn't get the job.

"That's the first time I've ever applied for something and went for something and didn't get it on the first crack. So it kind of stuck in my craw a little bit. I made another attempt with Denver Police, and again, didn't make it. So I put myself through the Police Academy because it was a challenge then for me to get on.

Through learning more about what the job entailed, Little was able to find the areas he enjoyed about the work and connect with people in the field.

He said there is more to the job than meets the eye.

I started looking into it more and more and more and realize what police work is really about and that's not the TV stuff and decided I kind of liked it, Little said. I got hired with the Boulder County Sheriff's Department, (and) the more I did it, the more I liked it. I guess I wanted to get involved in more and more stuff in law enforcement and applied for special positions and eventually became a canine (officer) for a while.

In his early days as an officer, Little faced a number of violent and dangerous situations on a daily basis.

He explained that the way the public views police has shifted many times over the decades he has been doing the work.

The early experiences were really a young man's game and naivety, I guess, Little said. When I started in law enforcement in the mid-80s, and through most of the 90s, it was a very, very violent time in the United States for the general public and law enforcement in particular. That's not really documented well, because there were no social media. It was kind of an old school thought, if you could whip the cops and you get away with stuff. There was that kind of mentality throughout the criminal class of the public, which is still a very small percentage of the general public.

We had a big skinhead movement back in the 80s, he added. More of a militia and skinhead kind of thing, so I ended up getting involved in the gang task force. Getting involved was so exciting being able to track down those guys. You and learn how to follow their writings and their and stuff like that. Doing that led to more serious stuff with the Posse Comitatus and stuff and Major Crimes that I got involved with.

THE 'ANIMAL GUY' OFFICER

Later in Littles career, he worked with the canine unit in his department and quickly found a love of working with animals.

This led him to work in El Paso County in the Colorado Springs area, where he found working in the canine department with drug dogs.

Ive always been a critter guy, Little said. Dogs, horses, whatever. I liked working with animals, and I like working with people. So I got involved with canines for a few years and that took me all through El Paso County. I was set to go down there and work at a larger agency and more active agency. That's when we get more involved in street gangs and using the dogs.

Larry Murphy, who was a PRCA cowboy, he's also patrolling they started a Mountain Division (in El Paso County), and I joined up with them and got into horses quite a bit and learn how to ride and rope and stuff like that. We had a ranch roping team at the state level for the Sheriff's department and it was a great experience. I really loved doing it.

Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback and are often employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and increasingly for crime prevention and high visibility policing roles.

With the cost of living in Colorado rising and the danger of his work increasing, Little made the move to relocate to Big Rapids and begin work with the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety.

Little said his time working with horses in the community has been a big highlight for him.

I tried to push them for a (mounted) division as soon as I came to Big Rapids because it was the community the city is just set up for it. The main street shopping district downtown is perfectly set up for that, and then the neighborhoods near the river," Little said.

"Former Director Kevin Courtney had an interest in horses, so I was able to show that there are actually significant cost savings on a daily basis if I was on horseback," he added. "All I'm doing is saving gas, money maintenance, insurance, all kinds of stuff on the vehicle, which when you add it all up is $50 to $100 a day savings to the city if I'm out on the horse. I was able to show that what I can do on a horse as far as patrol duties were was very, very similar to what you could do in a car, there are certain things you can do when a horse that you can do in a car, but there's a lot more than you can do on a horse that you can't do in a car.

Little was allowed to start a pilot program and quickly saw the advantages of traffic control on horseback. He also saw the positive impact the animals presence had on the residents and community as a whole.

Coming from a violent area, you handled things differently, he said. You didn't have a personal connection typically with anybody in the public because of the type of stuff you had to do, and the concern of getting shot, it was always a big concern in traffic. So in general the public here helped work me off of that mindset quite a bit. They were good to me very good to me in a lot of ways as far as getting me to calm down and realize that not everybody I dealt with was going to try and kill me.

BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS

Little said horses allowed him to develop positive relationships with the community.

It was huge for the kids," he said. "They loved the horse and always want to come up and pet the horse.

Littles first horse he worked alongside in Colorado was named Chainsaw, who he worked with briefly until a disease in his foot began to cause him pain.

A Percheron Quarter Cross horse named Jesse came next, and according to Little, was one of the more popular horses he rode.

Jesse was a big hit, Little said. Jesse was a great big, large animal, 16 hands and weighed about 1,600 pounds. A big, very dark bay horse who looked almost black. He was a lover. He loved to move, he loved the kids, he loved the ladies. He just loved people, he was gentle the same way too, and the kids just flocked to him, and even the bad guys did too. People want to come up, pet the horse and talk to the horse. Jesse was huge.

That is one thing I've loved seeing time and time again," he added. "I talked about the public relations value of the horse, and one of the things is true to this day. After 3,536 years of service, not one time has anybody ever come up to me and wanted to pet my police car, and there's never been a day or even an hour out in public where somebody wasn't coming up to pet my police horse and talk to me.

Jesse passed away in 2009 from a brain tumor, but Little garnered a lot of relationships with the general public from every walk of life through that horse, which was powerful for him.

He has competed and trained with mounted divisions throughout the country, and some other countries. Little competed at the training center in Lexington, Kentucky, and excelled there.

He explained that working with larger divisions with over 300 horses showed him the value of having a mounted division and improved his abilities as a single rider.

Little has also shared some of his experience and the benefits of mounted officers with other departments and has done clinics in Clare County.

I think I broke a lot of barriers down about that because being one man on one horse is the same as being a patrolman in the car or on a bicycle, Little said. It really was no different. Some tactics were different, so you can maintain control of your horse.

In Big Rapids, Little worked with his horse Boomer and also had fond memories of his time with him. Boomer and Little would often make appearances and patrol during downtown events or gatherings at parks in the city.

Little said that although he is retiring from police work at the BRDPS, he plans to continue his mounted work in Clare County.

I haven't been a regular person for over 35 years, Little said. It is going to be different. I have more than enough to keep myself busy, I'm going to ride with the Clare County motor division. It's primarily a search and rescue team but we do all kinds of special events as well. Whether it meant search and rescue, crowd control, suspect apprehension or riots, we are trained for all that. We don't have a whole lot of call-outs, we're hoping to get more as our unit gets better known throughout the state, and we are seeing an increase in call-outs.

Little has plans to continue his community work and help other departments with improving their service.

After 22 years on the job, Little said his career and work in Big Rapids have been filled with unforgettable moments.

Big Rapids is a good community, Little said. They support their law enforcement, they support their fire (department), they support their local government. I've had more people come up to me in public and thank me for my service, which is wonderful and makes you feel good. I have to give a big shout-out to the city and its community in general. They're very supportive of us, the job that we have to do, and they understand the local politics of what's going on.

I'm going to be running my ranch up and the Reed City area and raising horses and moving cows, he added. Just the daily grind of police work is over for me. It's time for the young guys to buck up and deal with it now.
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JERUSALEM (AP)  Palestinian militants fired several rockets into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip early Thursday and Israeli aircraft hit militant targets in Gaza, part of an escalation that was eerily similar to the run-up to last year's Israel-Gaza war.

The cross-border strikes came against the backdrop of Israeli-Palestinian tensions that have been boiling in Jerusalem.

On Wednesday, hundreds of flag-waving Israeli ultra-nationalists marched toward predominantly Palestinian areas around Jerusalems Old City, a demonstrative display of Israeli control over the disputed city seen as a provocation by Palestinians.

Police closed the main road leading to the Damascus Gate of the Old City, the epicenter of last years unrest preceding an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas. After some pushing and shoving with police, the marchers rallied near the barricades, waving flags, singing and chanting.

A hilltop shrine in the Old City is the emotional ground zero of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a flashpoint for previous rounds of violence. Known to Muslims as the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, it is the third holiest site in Islam. It is also the holiest site in Judaism, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, the site of their biblical temples.

For Palestinians, the mosque compound, administered by Muslim clerics, is also a rare place in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem where they have a measure of control. Palestinians seek east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as a future capital.

Palestinian militant groups in Gaza  the ruling Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad  have positioned themselves as defenders of the Jerusalem holy site. On Wednesday, Hamas said Israel would bear full responsibility for the repercussions if it allowed the marchers to approach our holy sites."

Several rockets were fired from Gaza overnight. Four rockets fired early Thursday were intercepted by Israel, the military said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and no one claimed the rocket strikes. Israel holds Hamas responsible for all rocket fire.

Early Thursday, Israeli warplanes conducted a series of airstrikes in the central Gaza Strip, local media reported. Social media posts by activists showed smoke billowing in the air. The Israeli military said the airstrikes were aimed at a militant site and an entrance of a tunnel leading to an underground complex holding chemicals to make rockets.

The military later said its planes attacked another Hamas compound after an anti-aircraft missile was fired from Gaza during the initial airstrikes. It said the missile failed to hit its target and no injuries or damage were reported.

Tensions have surged in recent weeks after a series of deadly attacks inside Israel, Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank and repeated clashes between Israelis and Palestinians at the Al Aqsa compound.

Last May, Palestinian militants in Gaza fired rockets toward Jerusalem as a much larger group of thousands of Israelis held a flag march to the Old City following weeks of protests and clashes in and around Al-Aqsa. Those events led to an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli nationalists stage such marches to try to assert sovereignty over east Jerusalem, which Israel seized in 1967, along with the West Bank and Gaza, and annexed in a move not recognized internationally. The Palestinians seek an independent state in all three territories and consider east Jerusalem their capital.

___

Associated Press writer Joseph Krauss in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP)  A Kansas woman pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to stealing about $1.1 million from the Johnson County District Court.

Dawna Kellogg, 61, of Williamsburg, was manager of the court's accounting department.

She stole cash the court received, such as bail bond payments, and either spent or deposited the money into her personal accounts, the U.S. Attorney's office said in a news release.

Kellogg pleaded guilty to wire fraud and subscribing to a false tax return.

As part of her plea agreement, Kellogg agreed the total amount lost was about $1.1 million, including $359,296 from 2007 through 2009 and $776,691 from 2010 through June 2017.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 16.
Dr. James Hatt / Contributed photo

LITCHFIELD  The League of Women Voters of Litchfield County will hold its annual international luncheon May 14 with guest speaker, Dr. James Hatt.

According to the league, Dr. Hatt will reflect upon how and when, from a local bureaucrat in St. Petersburg to President of Russia, Putin has been insistent and clear that declarations of independent statehood by lands he considers inherently Russian, resulted from the actions of a malevolent America. Since the Chechen war of 1999, Western powers vacillated between willful ignorance and timid acceptance of Putins Kremlin, generating a momentum of inevitability to now, the second invasion of Ukraine since 2014.
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MIDDLETOWN  A house fire that displaced a family on Monday night proved difficult to fight for multiple reasons, including a lack of fire hydrants in the area, officials said.

No injuries occurred, but multiple pets were lost in the blaze. The house itself is a complete loss, Westfield Fire Chief Joseph Augeri said.

At approximately 7:30 p.m. Monday, the Westfield Fire District received a call reporting a structure fire at the end of Old Road Drive.

Augeri said the area of the blaze was something discussed by the department in the past, as the neighborhood is challenging when fighting fires. Its one of those areas you dread having a fire at, he said.

The road is private and not maintained by the city, which makes access difficult.

When crews arrived, flames were already visible, but efforts were slightly hampered because there are no fire hydrants nearby.

The closest hydrant was about a mile away, Augeri said.

Crews had to make multiple, two-mile round trip runs to the nearest hydrant to get water. Augeri said at one point crews came close to knocking down the blaze, but their water supply ran out, so they had to make another trip.

Then the house [fire] just ended up taking off, Augeri said.

He said the stormy weather at the time was also a factor, with strong winds feeding the fire and bringing down electrical wires. Crews were on scene until 3:30 p.m.

The American Red Cross is offering assistance to the family.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)  The Connecticut Department of Transportation announced Wednesday it is making face masks optional on buses and commuter rail lines after the federal Transportation Security Administration this week ended enforcement of a mask mandate.

The nations federal mask mandate on public transit ended after a federal judge in Florida ruled Monday struck down the requirement on airplanes and mass transit. But the Justice Department, at the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, filed an appeal on Wednesday, seeking to overturn the judge's order.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)  Connecticut lawmakers advanced legislation Tuesday evening that abortion rights advocates say is needed to protect in-state medical providers from legal action, as well as patients who travel to Connecticut to terminate a pregnancy and those who help them. It comes amid new abortion restrictions being enacted in a growing number of conservative states.

The bill cleared the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 87-60. It now awaits action in the Senate.

Although Connecticut codified the right to abortion in 1990, proponents said steps need to be taken now to prepare for the U.S. Supreme Court possibly overturning or weakening Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established a nationwide right to abortion.

However, the socially conservative Family Institute of Connecticut has criticized the legislation, arguing it will create a safe harbor for abortion providers who violate abortion laws in other states.

The bill is considered by some advocates to be one of the most consequential abortion-related proposals to come up for a vote in the General Assembly since 1990. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday he will sign the legislation in the law if clears the full Democratic-controlled General Assembly.

Despite our laws protecting the right to choose, we are not immune, said Rep. Matt Blumenthal, D-Stamford, vice chairperson of the General Assemblys Judiciary Committee.

Twenty-six states are certain or likely to quickly ban or severely restrict abortion if Roe is overturned, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a think tank that supports abortion rights.

I think one important point about the bill that were talking about today is that it is purely defensive," Blumenthal said. The only way that it comes into effect is if another state tries to impose their law on us.

Texas enacted a law in 2021 that bans abortions for women as early as six weeks pregnant and authorizes lawsuits against clinics, doctors and others who perform or facilitate a banned abortion. The responsibility for enforcing the law was given to private citizens who are entitled to collect what critics call a bounty of $10,000 if they bring a successful lawsuit against a provider or anyone who helps a patient obtain an abortion. The Texas Supreme Court has upheld the law.

Among other things, Connecticut's bill would prevent state and local agencies from cooperating in investigations and prosecutions of abortion providers in the state, modify the state's extradition statutes and prevent an out-of-state patient's medical records from being disclosed.

The bill would also allow an advanced practice registered nurse, nurse-midwife or physician assistant to perform the most common type of in-clinic abortion, known as an aspiration abortion. The procedure is currently limited to physicians.

House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, who voted against the bill, questioned whether the legislation ultimately provides enough protections for women who might receive an abortion from those health care providers. He said the state Department of Public Health should have first reviewed their training practices, as well as the health and safety benefits of allowing them to provide aspiration abortions.
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP)  The death of a 16-year-old Black youth whose body was found in the St. Joseph River in southwestern Michigan nearly 31 years ago was a homicide, the Michigan attorney general's office said Tuesday.

Eric McGinnis vanished from Benton Harbor on May 17, 1991. His body washed up along the river days later. It was initially ruled an accidental drowning, but the case was reopened last year following reports that someone had witnessed the events that led to the death.
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday asked the Legislature to repeal a law allowing Walt Disney World to operate a private government over its properties in the state, the latest volley in a feud between the governor and the entertainment giant over what critics have dubbed the Don't Say Gay law.

DeSantis, an ascendant GOP governor and potential 2024 presidential candidate, has battled with Disney over the company's opposition to the new law barring instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

On Tuesday, DeSantis raised the stakes.

As lawmakers returned to the Capitol for a special legislative session on congressional redistricting, the governor issued a proclamation that allows the GOP-controlled statehouse to take up bills eliminating Disney's self-governing district. Republicans quickly filed proposals to do so.

I am announcing today that we are expanding the call of what they are going to be considering this week. And so, yes they will be considering the congressional map, but they also will be considering termination of all special districts that were enacted in Florida prior to 1968, and that includes the Reedy Creek Improvement District," DeSantis said at a news conference, referencing the company's governing district without mentioning Disney by name. He did not elaborate.

Disney representatives did not return an emailed request for comment on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear how the elimination of the district would affect the company or neighboring governments.

The Reedy Creek Improvement District is a private government controlled by Disney World and set up by the state Legislature in 1967 that allows it to provide government services such as zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure.

The creation of the district, and the control it gave Disney over 27,000 acres (11,000 hectares) in Florida, was a crucial element in the company's plans to build near Orlando in the 1960s. Company officials said they needed autonomy to plan a futuristic city along with the theme park. The city never materialized, however; instead, it morphed into the EPCOT theme park.

The push to punish the company comes after Disney announced it would suspend political donations in the state over the new Parental Rights in Education law. Opponents dubbed the law Don't Say Gay," arguing that barring lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades would marginalize LGBTQ people.

Disney is one of Florida's biggest private employers: Last year, the company said it had more than 60,000 workers in the state. LGBTQ advocates who work for the company criticized CEO Bob Chapek for what they said was his slow response speaking out against the bill. Some walked off the job in protest.

DeSantis has repeatedly lashed out at Disney and critics of the law, gaining considerable attention in conservative media spheres. He insists the policy is reasonable and says parents, not teachers, should broach subjects of sexual orientation and gender identity with children.

Republican lawmakers appear receptive to punishing Disney, filing proposals that would dissolve the district by June 2023. DeSantis has been a powerful governor, effectively pushing his priorities in the statehouse, and both the GOP Senate president and House speaker support him on the Disney issue.

Democrats were quick to criticize the governor's move as retribution for the company's stance on the education bill. Some pointed out that Disney has been a major economic driver in the state.

What world are we living in right now? asked Democratic Sen. Audrey Gibson. Its the freedom state of Florida. If they disagree with the governor, he brings out the Gatling gun.

Retired Rollins College political scientist Richard Foglesong, whose book, Married to the Mouse recounts the formation of Reedy Creek, said he thought initially that cooler heads would prevail in the war of words between DeSantis and Disney.

I believe I was wrong. I overestimated  or underestimated  Gov. DeSantis, Foglesong said. I see it as a legitimate threat.

___

Associated Press writers Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee and Mike Schneider in Orlando contributed to this report.
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)  The Florida Senate on Wednesday passed a bill to repeal a law allowing Walt Disney World to operate a private government over its properties in the state, escalating a feud with the entertainment giant over its opposition to what critics call the  Dont Say Gay  law.

The proposal could have huge tax implications for Disney, whose series of theme parks have over the decades transformed Orlando into one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. And Democrats have warned that the move could cause local homeowners to get hit with big tax bills if they have to absorb bond debt from Disney  although such details are far from clear.

The measures, pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, comes as the governor battles with Disney after the companys criticism of a new GOP law barring instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade as well as instruction that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate.

The bill would eliminate the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as the Disney government is known, as well as a handful of other similar districts by June 2023. The measure leaves room for the districts to be reestablished, with a Republican legislative leader signaling a likely restructuring of a 1967 deal that lawmakers struck with the company that allows it to provide services such as zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure.

By doing it this early, we have until next June or July to this put together, so were actually giving ourselves more time to be thoughtful," Republican Senate President Wilton Simpson told reporters after the vote. "I dont know how the end will come, but I know that this is a very worthy process that were taking and I think whatever comes out of it will be better than what we have today.

Still, the move represents the latest blow in a culture war harnessed by DeSantis as he runs for reelection and bolsters himself as a potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate through staunch opposition to liberal policies on race, gender and abortion.

If Disney wants to pick a fight, they chose the wrong guy, DeSantis wrote in a campaign fundraising email Wednesday. As governor, I was elected to put the people of Florida first, and I will not allow a woke corporation based in California to run our state.

Democrats, the minority party in the Legislature, have railed against the proposal as clear retaliation against a company that has been a major economic driver in the state.

Lets call this what it is, its the punitive, petulant political payback to a corporation who dared to say the emperor has no clothes, but if they behave this next election cycle, maybe well put it back together, said Sen. Gary M. Farmer, a Democrat.

Disney did not return an email seeking comment. The company is one of Florida's biggest private employers and last year said it had more than 60,000 workers in the state. It is not immediately clear exactly how Disney or neighboring governments would be affected if the district was dissolved.

The push to punish Disney came after it announced it would suspend political donations in the state and said it was committed to supporting organizations working to oppose the state's new law limiting sexual orientation or gender identify instruction in the classroom.

DeSantis and other Republicans have lashed out at Disney and other critics of the law, arguing that the policy is reasonable and that parents, not teachers, should be addressing such topics with children.

The creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, and the control it gave Disney over 27,000 acres (11,000 hectares) in Florida, was a crucial element in the companys plans to build near Orlando in the 1960s. Company officials said they needed autonomy to plan a futuristic city along with the theme park. The city never materialized, however; instead, it morphed into the Epcot theme park.

The Florida House of Representatives is expected to take up the bill Thursday.

___

Associated Press writer Brendan Farrington contributed to this report
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NORWALK  A Pennsylvania man is facing domestic assault charges after he allegedly strangled a woman at a city hotel, police said.

William Pratt, 43, of Eagleville, was taken into custody Monday after officers responded to the Marriott Hotel at 45 South Main St. due to an emergency call, according to Lt. Joe Dinho, a Norwalk Police Department spokesperson.

Dinho said officers located the caller, who he described as a female victim, in one of the buildings hotel rooms. The woman told police she was attacked by Pratt, who was also in the hotel room when officers arrived.

The victim also stated that the incident started as a verbal argument where she was held down and then choked, Dinho said.

Pratt was charged with third-degree strangulation, second-degree unlawful restraint and disorderly conduct, which are all misdemeanors under state law.

He was held on a $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on June 6, according to judicial records.
AP

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Tennessee's governor said Tuesday that he will not intervene in the scheduled execution later this week of an inmate convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife and her sons decades ago.

Attorneys for 72-year-old Oscar Smith had asked Republican Gov. Bill Lee for clemency, citing problems with the jury in his 1990 trial. Smith is set to receive a lethal injection on Thursday.
WEST HARTFORD  The Board of Education will extend invitations to the leaders of Connecticuts five recognized tribal nations to join them in a discussion about the use of Native American-associated names as high school mascots.

The May 3 meeting they will be invited to comes two months after the board voted to change the nicknames of the Conard High School Chieftains and Hall High School Warriors.

But the invitation and discussion wont halt the action the board is taking to replace the names. The board originally set a date of June 7 as a deadline for new nicknames. West Hartford had already removed the Native American imagery previously associated with the teams in 2015.

I just want to be clear that we still have a process underway that our students and teachers and staff are already apart of, so that will continue, said the boards chair, Lorna Thomas-Farquharson.

The original vote was made in conjunction with new state legislature passed last June, which would deny funding from the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Fund to any school that uses any name, symbol or image that depicts, refers to or is associated with a state or federally recognized Native American tribe or a Native American individual, custom or tradition, as a mascot, nickname, logo or team name.

West Hartford would receive around $28,000 in funding should it comply with the public act.

Invitations will be made to the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribal Nation, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, the Mohegan Tribe, Paucatuck Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation and the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation.

Some of these groups had already responded to the town through letters, including the Golden Hill, Mashantucket and Paucatuck Eastern Pequet tribal nations.

Those tribal nations who originally responded to the board all expressed different concerns about the use of the team nicknames.

It seems like tribes all over the world still can't keep anything to themselves, wrote Clan Mother Shoran Waupatuquay Piper of the Golden Hill tribe in a letter to the town. It's always something still being used or taken from us. Yes there are some tribes who see it as two different ways - a honor a support for tribes - but put a plaque or board up so all can see and read history of the meaning of the name and symbol so people know the true history of where it comes from.

Lori Potter, the public affairs director of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, wrote that while their tribal nation opposes the use of any and all Native American-related nicknames, mascots, and imagery, that non-specific terms like warriors could be acceptable should they receive written consent of a federal or state-recognized tribe that is located in the same geographic region or has some historical connection to the school/sports team.

On March 15, the Schaghticoke Tribal Nations tribal council passed a resolution saying that the usage of such names is acceptable to them as long as the use of such image, symbol or name is done so in a respectful manner with regard to Native Americans or the Schaghticoke People.

They defined a respectful manner as being signage on walls, school cheers or other acts that recognize the history and culture of Native Americans but would exclude degrading the tribal name or image of native peoples such as painting or affixing such image or symbol on a gymnasium floor.

Republican board member Ethan Goldman, who made the motion to invite leaders from the five tribal nations to the upcoming meeting, said he wanted to have a discussion specific to West Hartfords nicknames, rather than just a letter. There was also a push by resident Scott Zweig, who has created a petition asking that town residents be allowed to vote on whether the names should be changed or not.

There were a lot of assumptions made by members of the board and members of the community as to the wishes and beliefs of the Native American tribes, Goldman said. While we received several letters from the tribes - speaking for myself - I found the letters ambigious and open to multiple interpretations. I would now like to hear from those with actual Native American history...their thoughts on the names.

Democrat board member Jason Chang disagreed with the proposed motion, saying it would be a replication of the process that has already been established, adding that there are other ways to honor Native Americans than team names.

We asked for and received letters from the tribes, Chang said. What we decided on was a process that seemed appropriate and inclusive of the information that we sought from students and from residents. Without more diverse and accurate representations of Natives, mascots become the lightning rod. Its important to have many more things in really substantive fashion. If we are to honor Native folks, team names are not the way to do it.

Goldman was joined in voting yes on the proposed motion by Republican Dr. Gayle Harris and Democrats Clare Taylor Neseralla and Deb Polun. The remaining Democrats, including Chang, Thomas-Farquharson and Ari Steinberg voted no.

Goldman said he hadnt reached out to any of the tribal leaders prior to meeting, and it remains unclear whether any of the tribal nations will accept the towns invitatation for the May 3 meeting.
The Air Force Academy placed 210 students on probation, while nearly two dozen others were either expelled or chose to resign from the school, in the aftermath of a 2020 cheating scandal.

In the two years since the incidents occurred, the Air Force hadnt publicly revealed how many students were disciplined in the scandal, with the figures only surfacing during a Board of Visitors meeting earlier this month. In total, 245 students were suspected of cheating, and 231 of them admitted they had violated the school's honor code.

Faculty caught wind of alleged cheating on papers, tests and homework after the school transitioned to remote learning during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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"Once presented with facts discovered by the faculty, most admitted they had used unauthorized resources during on-line classes," Maj. Brian Maguire, Air Force Academy director of public affairs, told Military.com in an emailed statement.

The academy's honor code is clear: "We will not lie, steal or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does."

Of the 245 accused of cheating, a student-run honor board deemed that seven had not broken academy rules, and cases were dropped against another three, according to Maguire. Two are still awaiting possible disciplinary action.

At least 22 students have left the school since the incidents were brought to light. The Air Force Academy did not clarify when asked how many of the 22 were expelled and how many voluntarily resigned during the investigation.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told reporters during an event at the National Press Club on Tuesday that he supported how the cases were handled and said the academy is working on redeeming students who break the rules.

"What we try to do now with people, when they commit a violation, is see if the culture of honesty and integrity can be better inculcated into them," Kendall said. "It used to be one mistake and you were out automatically. We don't take that approach anymore. I think that's probably a positive change."

The 210 cadets put on six-month probation could not represent the academy at any sporting events or competitions nor participate in any school clubs. They also faced additional honor code training and instruction.

Every student who was placed on probation has since completed it, Maguire said.

Since the cheating incidents, the Air Force Academy has put several safeguards in place, such as electronic monitoring to prevent unauthorized sharing or use of resources; creating new exam questions and different versions of tests; and implementing more time restrictions.

Additionally, Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark, the academy's superintendent, called for a review of the school's honor system. Faculty saw a "need for a holistic approach to shift culture and more deliberately inspire living honorably," Maguire said.

Since the cheating incidents, honor code instruction has been expanded during first-year cadets' basic training.

Other military service academies have also suffered through cheating scandals during the pandemic.

The U.S. Naval Academy announced last summer that it had kicked out 18 midshipmen following an investigation into allegations of cheating during a 2020 physics exam. In December 2020, more than 70 West Point cadets were accused of cheating on a math exam; over 50 of them were required to repeat a year as a result.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to specify that the number of students punished was unknown, not the number of students accused of cheating, and that it was a student board, not the faculty, that determined whether an ethics violation occurred.

-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

Related: Dismissals and Discipline at Air Force Academy After 249 Cadets Investigated for Cheating
Editor's Note: This story includes details of an alleged sexual assault.

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- The first ever military trial of an Air Force general kicked off in earnest Tuesday with the accused officer's sister-in-law testifying that he pinned her against a car window, forcibly kissed her and groped her in 2018.

Maj. Gen. William Cooley, formerly the head of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, has been charged with violating Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the article prohibiting sexual assault.

During the first day of testimony at Cooley's court-martial, military prosecutors and Cooley's defense lawyers laid out in opening statements the cases they will be presenting to the judge over a trial that could last as long as two weeks.

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Prosecutors said that Cooley's "selfish ego couldn't take it" when his sexual advances were rejected by his sister-in-law, while the defense argued that "this case is about a consensual kiss and nothing more."

On Monday, Cooley requested the case be heard only by the judge, Col. Christina Jimenez, rather than a jury. Under military rules, the jury would have needed to be composed of Air Force officers of equal or greater rank to Cooley, a small pool that Cooley's defense lawyers argued could have made it difficult to find impartial jurors.

Cooley's accuser took the stand as the first witness, testifying for nearly five hours under direct examination by prosecutors and cross examination by defense lawyers.

Military.com does not name alleged victims of sexual assault without their consent, and her lawyer has requested she be identified only by her relationship to Cooley.

In the prosecutors and sister-in-law's telling, Cooley forced himself on her after a family barbecue, telling her he "wanted to f---" her and have her "suck [his] c---," and later acknowledged in a letter that his actions were "deplorable."

"The evidence will show that he violated [his sister-in-law] in an uninvited way," prosecutor Maj. Abbigayle Hunter said in her opening statement. "It will show that he committed three different acts [of] abusive sexual contact and will show that the accused in this case, ma'am, is guilty."

Cooley and his defense team maintain the encounter amounted to only a consensual kiss, saying the sister-in-law changed her story over time and pointing to a voicemail two days after the incident in which she compared the situation to the romantic comedy "Love Actually."

"The only just and right outcome in this case is to find Gen. Cooley not guilty," his military defense attorney, Maj. Lindsey North, said in her opening statement.

If convicted, Cooley faces up to 21 years of confinement, as well as dismissal from the service and loss of rank, pay and benefits.

Cooley's case marks the first time criminal charges against an Air Force general officer have reached a court-martial. It comes while the military has been grappling with how to eradicate sexual assault from the ranks, including implementing congressionally mandated reforms to a military justice system lawmakers and advocates say has let far too many offenders off the hook.

The allegations against Cooley stem from an incident after a family barbecue in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in August 2018.

That month, Cooley, who lived in Dayton, needed to go to Albuquerque for a conference and decided to arrive early to visit his family.

On the night of Aug. 12, the sister-in-law and brother hosted a barbecue at their house during which, she testified, Cooley drank sangria and several shots of bourbon.

He asked the sister-in-law, who said she had drunk only a glass or so of sangria, to drive him to his parents' house to collect his belongings so that he could spend the night with her and his brother instead of his parents as he'd planned.

While in her Jeep, after attempting to hold her hand, Cooley asked her, "Do you ever fantasize about me," and told her, "I wanted to f--- you in the pool today," and "I wanted you to suck my c---," she recounted. She said she was "stunned" and "speechless."

When he left the car to get his things from his parents' house, the sister-in-law said she tried to set up a recorder on her phone to capture anything else that might happen, but he returned too quickly for her to finish.

On the drive back, he again put his hand on top of hers, this time entwining their fingers, she said. He then "yanked" her hand over his pants toward his genitals, but she was able to pull her hand away and told him, "Bill, stop, just stop," she testified.

As soon as they parked in her garage, he put his mouth on her mouth and "shoved" his tongue down her throat, she said. He also cupped one of her breasts before moving his hand down to between her legs, she added.

After a few moments, she was able to shove him back to his seat, she testified. He tried again, but this time she was able to block him while telling him to stop, she said. The brother then came to the garage to check on them, and they got out of the car.

Asked by the prosecutor whether she consented to being kissed and touched, she replied, "God, no" and "absolutely not."

"I'm scared," she said of her emotions during the incident. "I am terrified. This is a man I had known since 1988. I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience."

She told her husband the next night what had happened, and rather than immediately reporting Cooley, they decided to give him a chance to make amends in hopes of limiting fallout in the family, she said.

As part of the work the brother and sister-in-law asked Cooley to do, the trio visited the brother and sister-in-law's marriage counselor. They also asked Cooley for a written apology and to pay about $900 to cover their costs for therapy, legal fees for working with a lawyer on a statement about what happened and the bourbon he drank at the party.

After feeling as though Cooley was continuing to minimize what happened, the brother, also an Air Force Research Laboratory employee, made an informal complaint against him to Air Force Materiel Command. And after six months of no movement from the command, the brother filed an official report in early 2020, the sister-in-law testified.

In arguing that the sister-in-law's story changed over time, Cooley's defense lawyers zeroed in on a series of voicemails she left two days after the incident, clips of which were played in court, in which she says the brother "knows we kissed." She testified she described it as a kiss rather than an assault because she was trying to extend "compassion and grace" to Cooley.

"Bill Cooley's attack on me was like an F5 tornado coming into my home without my permission or my knowledge or my consent, just ruining everything in its path," she said. "My first goal was, what can I salvage, what can I pick up and glue together so that this does not become a fracture of immeasurable levels in this family?"

It was also in the voicemails that she said the encounter reminded her of the scene in "Love Actually" where Keira Knightley's character realizes Andrew Lincoln's character has long harbored a secret crush on her.

Daniel Conway, Cooley's civilian defense lawyer who led the cross examination, also highlighted the sister-in-law's account to an Air Force Office of Special Investigations agent, a clip of which was played in court, in which she said Cooley put her hand on "just the fabric of his leg" rather than over his genitals, as she testified Tuesday.

Conway also questioned her motivations in accusing Cooley, including accusing the sister-in-law and brother of demanding a written apology so they could orchestrate a "public humiliation" of Cooley. The sister-in-law maintained that she and her husband "just wanted Bill to accept responsibility once and for all for how abysmally he behaved."

The trial is scheduled to continue Wednesday, with the sister-in-law remaining on the stand for a second round of questioning by prosecutors.

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

Related: Air Force Two-Star General to Face Court-Martial on Sexual Assault Charge
After several years of planning and delays, the Department of Veterans Affairs is pushing for funding to open four new, unique burial sites within the next two years -- two columbaria in major cities and two rural cemeteries in the West that eventually will entomb 310,000 veterans or family members.

The four sites are in New York City; Indianapolis; Elko, Nevada; and Cedar City, Utah, and will cost the VA $3 million next year to ensure that they will open and be staffed within the next two years.

According to budget documents released last month, the funding would continue these facilities "activations," defined as readying them a year before opening and supporting operations afterward.

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The New York site in Queens and the Indiana site, first proposed in 2015, are part of the VA's Urban Initiative effort, which looks to provide columbarium-only locations for cremated bodies in city centers with few in-ground burial options.

Under the Urban Initiative, the VA has plans to build facilities in five cities across the country. To date, Los Angeles has been the only one to open, first taking cremated remains in 2019. The remainder have been delayed by months and even years, including a new columbarium planned for San Francisco that was set to open in 2015 but whose date has been pushed to 2027.

Under revised plans, the VA had hoped to open the New York and Indianapolis columbaria by mid-2021 and one in Chicago in 2022. The department is now planning for a dedication of the New York and Indianapolis facilities this summer.

Among the eight new national cemeteries in rural areas, the VA has dedicated and opened six, with the Elko, Nevada, and Cedar City, Utah, sites remaining.

The National Cemetery Administration, or NCA, embarked on these projects to ensure that veterans have "reasonable access" for burial, with either a state or national cemetery within 75 miles of their homes.

The VA found that 8% of veterans don't have that proximity, and it set a goal for reducing the number to 4% by 2017.

A 2019 Government Accountability Office report found that the VA's goals were overly ambitious and the National Cemetery Administration overstated its expectations to complete the new projects by 2017.

The GAO also found that the VA underestimated the cost of the projects, especially the rural cemeteries, with cost estimates rising from $7 million to $24 million.

VA officials also have requested $9.4 million for 2023 for existing cemeteries that are facing "workload increases and project expansions." The VA estimates that 570,000 veterans will die in 2022, and roughly 136,500 of those will be buried in VA cemeteries.

In 2018, the VA had 3.7 million gravesites; the number is expected to reach 4.2 million in 2023.

"This budget request is essential for NCA to maintain its position as the "most highly regarded organization, in both the public and private sectors, in terms of customer satisfaction," officials wrote in the budget documents.

Also as part of its budget proposal, the VA has asked Congress for legislation that would allow it to designate parts of cemeteries as "green burial sections," where veterans could choose to have their gravesites marked by means other than upright headstones or choose to be buried without a vault.

The VA also has asked to receive two acres of land at Fort Bliss, Texas, to expand the national cemetery and again has requested legislation that would allow it to keep veterans out of national cemeteries who allegedly committed serious sex crimes but died before being convicted or fled to avoid prosecution.

 Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: Budget Request for Arlington Cemetery Nearly Triples Amid Plans for Major Expansion
The commander of a Navy destroyer who refused the COVID-19 vaccine and sued the service has been removed from command, according to a court filing in his case.

"On Monday, April 11, instead of getting underway with his ship, Navy Commander was 'temporarily reassigned' for 60 days under a new Navy policy that prohibits unvaccinated personnel from going underway on Navy ships," a declaration from the officer's lawyer reported to the court.

The commander, along with more than 30 unnamed officers and enlisted personnel from all the military branches, sued the military over the vaccine mandate in November 2021 in a federal court in Florida. Since then his case, along with one filed by Navy SEALs in Texas, touched off a legal debate about how much power the military has to enforce the vaccine mandate and the nature of the religious exemption process.

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Judge Steve Merryday, who is presiding over the commander's case, ruled in early February that, for the sake of "preservation of the status quo" while the suit is being decided, the Navy was barred from reassigning or demoting the commander. A second order, reaffirming and lengthening the term of the injunction, followed Feb. 18.

The order set off a series of filings from the service that argued the order forcing it to keep an officer who refused to take the vaccine in a place of command "indefinitely sidelines a Navy warship."

However, on March 25, the Supreme Court ruled that the Navy is allowed to make its own decisions about whether to deploy sailors who refuse the coronavirus vaccine. On March 30, "following the Supreme Court's lead," the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit stayed Merryday's injunction.

Since that time, neither the Navy nor the Justice Department, which has been handling the messaging for the case, would say if the commander had, in fact, been reassigned.

Legal filings say the officer, who is not identified in the lawsuit, joined the Navy in 2004 and now has "nearly 18 years in the service." Other documents filed by the Navy show that the destroyer he commanded is based in Norfolk, Virginia, and belongs to Destroyer Squadron 26.

According to the complaint, the commander filed a religious accommodation request in September 2021 but was denied a month later; he appealed in November. The Navy tried to remove the man from the post but, according to court documents, it wasn't over the accommodation request or his refusal to get the vaccine.

The commanding officer's boss -- Capt. Frank Brandon -- told the court that the Navy's objection to keeping the skipper in place was over his disregard for policies designed to protect his own crew.

Brandon testified to two incidents that made him lose faith in the commander's ability to lead the destroyer.

The first incident happened in early November when, according to Brandon, the commander gave a briefing to "roughly 50-60 personnel ... in shoulder-to-shoulder proximity," despite the fact that "he could barely speak." When Brandon questioned the commander in his cabin, the man conceded that he had a sore throat but blamed it on a jog in the cold air. The unvaccinated commander was ordered to get a COVID-19 test, which came back positive.

The second incident occurred three months later in early February 2022. According to Brandon, the commander told him he needed to take leave but failed to tell his boss that he was leaving the Norfolk area "in order to testify in this litigation." This was not only a breach of Navy travel policy amid the pandemic but a breach of trust as well, he said.

"My loss of confidence in [the ship's commander] is not based on his vaccination status or his denied request for a religious exemption," Brandon wrote in the filing. "It is based on the fact that I cannot trust his judgment, I cannot trust him to look after the welfare of his sailors, and I cannot trust him to be honest with me."

A service policy, published in November 2021, notes that "Navy service members who are not vaccinated, regardless of exemption status, may be temporarily reassigned with concurrence of the first flag officer in the administrative chain of command based on operational readiness and mission requirements."

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

Related: Navy Halts Discharges of Sailors with COVID-19 Religious Exemption Requests
U.S. troops on Wednesday began training Ukrainians how to use the 18 American howitzers that have started to arrive as part of the latest security aid package for the war with Russia, according to a senior U.S. defense official.

The training, at an undisclosed location outside Ukraine, will last approximately one week and include about 50 of that country's troops, who can then return to the war and teach others how to use the 155mm howitzers that are being sent by the Pentagon from Army and Marine Corps inventories.

The artillery pieces could be key to Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be refocusing his invasion forces on the Donbas, a flat region in the east where both sides may rely heavily on the big guns. The shift comes after Ukrainians, equipped with Javelin and Stinger missiles from the West, were able to repel a weeks-long Russian attack on the capital Kyiv.

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"The terrain lends itself to the use of artillery -- to long-range fires, as we call it -- and we know that the Russians also believe the same thing because we're seeing them move artillery units into the Donbas as well," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday.

The first of the howitzers began arriving at drop-off points into Ukraine on Tuesday, and more were expected to arrive from the U.S. on Wednesday and Thursday. The aid package will also include 40,000 rounds of 155mm ammo, which will come from existing U.S. stocks in Europe and be delivered within days.

The new equipment marked a shift in the type of weapons the U.S. is sending, a change the Pentagon chalked up to continuous discussions with the Ukrainians on what they need, as well as the shift on the battlefield.

As part of the latest $800 million package approved by President Joe Biden last week, the Pentagon is sending a range of heavy equipment such as N/TPQ-36 Firefinder and AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar systems to counter artillery and aircraft; 16 Mi-17 helicopters originally slated for Afghanistan; 200 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers; Puma drones; and a mysterious sea-based coastal defense drone.

Origin APNews

The aid also included thousands more of the Javelin and Stinger missiles that proved so effective against Russian armor in the weeks after the Feb. 24 invasion, as well as more ammunition, mines, body armor, night-vision optics, protective gear and first-aid kits.

Ukraine also has 20 additional combat aircraft compared to three weeks ago after the U.S. and western allies were able to supply parts for repair and maintenance, the senior defense official said Wednesday during a phone call with reporters.

On Tuesday, Russia began its long-anticipated assault on the Donbas region, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting with Ukraine since 2014. It withdrew forces from around Kyiv in recent weeks and has been reconstituting its brigades, which in some cases had been badly mauled in the earlier fighting, for an all-out offensive in the east.

The last Ukrainian forces in Mariupol were also still holding out at a steel mill in the southern city on the Sea of Azov despite heavy bombing and surrender orders from the Russians, the official said.

-- Travis Tritten can be reached at travis.tritten@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @Travis_Tritten.

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In April 1943, depth charges from a Japanese destroyer damaged the USS Haddock's conning tower and radar. More than 400 feet below the surface off Palau in the western Pacific Ocean, the Haddock was well below its test depth, or the deepest a submarine can go safely. The Haddock was in danger of imploding.

As the conning tower began to deform, the sub's lieutenant commander, Roy Davenport, thought calmly and quickly. "To get the hatch shut and save the boat from sinking, Davenport hit it with a sledgehammer," an account of the incident in Davenport's bio on the Military Hall of Honor website reads. "The conning tower held and Haddock avoided disaster."

Davenport went on to become the only sailor awarded five Navy Crosses -- the service's second-highest award behind the Medal of Honor -- while commanding the Haddock and USS Trepang during World War II. (Only Marine legend "Chester" Puller also has earned five Navy Crosses.) Davenport was credited with sinking eight ships and damaging 10 others, according to the Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee (JANAC), a postwar effort to document Japanese shipping losses during the war.

Called "the praying skipper," Davenport  a student of Christian Science  credited his faith for his sub's successes.

Vice Adm. Francis Denebrink, USN (Ret.), right, a former commander of the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), and the commanding officer of the USS Breckinridge, Capt. Roy Davenport, discuss the just-completed refurbishment of the ship, May 22, 1959. (U.S. Navy photo)

"[He] was known for his daring attacks against Japanese ships, often executed on the surface to gain additional speed," said an article from "Together We Served," an online military veterans directory. "... While none of the men under his command were lost, he and his crews experienced many close calls and escapes."

Davenport graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1933 and was commissioned as an ensign. He went on to attend submarine school and, by 1941, had risen to executive officer under Lt. Cmdr. Creed Burlingame on the USS Silversides.

Davenport sprang into action during a couple of tense moments on the sub.

A Japanese airplane once dropped three bombs on the Silversides, prompting it to go into a hard dive while escaping. Its bow planes jammed, the sub plunged too deep and averted catastrophe only when Davenport pulled a cotter pin, enabling the vessel to level off. On another occasion, Davenport disarmed a drunken sailor, who brandished a pistol after he thought he had been cheated during a contentious dice game.

Burlingame recommended Davenport for his own command, resulting in his taking over the Haddock. Davenport's first three Navy Crosses were awarded for patrols on the Haddock from late June through mid-November 1943 off the Caroline Islands, north of New Guinea.

After that, Davenport was granted his request for a rest, then returned as the lieutenant commander of the USS Trepang, a new Balao-class submarine that was commissioned in May 1944 and sponsored by Davenport's wife, Jane. His final two Navy Crosses came later that year, one for a patrol south of Honshu, Japan, and another in the Luzon Strait.

During the latter assignment between Taiwan and Luzon Island in the Philippines, Davenport led a group of three U.S. submarines that became known as "Roy's Rangers," which the JANAC credited with sinking three ships.

"Daringly penetrating a strong hostile escort screen to deliver a series of night surface attacks, Commander Davenport launched his torpedoes into an escorted convoy, holding to his targets grimly in the face of heavy countermeasures and sinking an important amount of Japanese tonnage," the citation for Davenport's fifth Navy Cross said.

Besides his Navy Crosses, Davenport received myriad other military honors, including three Silver Star medals, the Bronze Star medal and the Presidential Unit Citation with two bronze stars. After leaving the Trepang, Davenport became an instructor at the Naval Academy. He served during the Korean War and was the USS General J.C. Breckinridge's commanding officer in the late 1950s before retiring, ending his 26-year military career.

Davenport discussed his service in his autobiography, "Clean Sweep," which was published in 1986 -- one year before his death.

-- Stephen Ruiz can be reached at stephen.ruiz@monster.com.

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AI can see through your language

As some investors harness AI to learn and analyze their speech patterns and intonations, CEOs and other managers are coming under increasing scrutiny.

In late 2020, some IT executives downplayed the possibility of semiconductor chip shortages while discussing supply chain disruptions, according to Evan Schnidman, an expert on language patterns software. According to algorithmic analysis, their tone of voice revealed a high degree of uncertainty. The algorithmic analysis aims to find hidden clues in speech, preferably unscripted speech.

"We found that the tone of IT executives was at odds with the positive sentiment in their statements," says Mr. Schnidman. Schnidman advises two fintech companies on analytics. In the months since his comments, several companies, including Volkswagen and Ford, have warned that a severe shortage of chips has hit production. Then shares in the car and industrial companies fell. Mr. Schnidman argues that computer-driven quant funds would have been in a better position before the industry turmoil, by analyzing scores for the way managers speak rather than by reading the written word.

One example doesn't prove the accuracy of the presentation analysis, though, because we don't know whether executives were overly optimistic to begin with or genuinely changed their views as circumstances changed. But some investors see the technology, known as natural language processing (NLP), as a new tool that could give them an edge over rivals, according to 11 fund managers who are using or testing such systems.Traditional financial data and corporate statements are now so heavily mined that they have little value, they say.NLP is a branch of artificial intelligence where machine learning understands it through language and then turns it into a quantitative signal that quantitative funds factor into trading. The most ambitious software in this area is designed to analyze voice intonation, rhythm and emphasis, as well as phrases, while others attempt to analyze the text of speeches and interviews in increasingly sophisticated ways.Slavi Marinov, head of machine learning at Man AHL, told Reuters NLP was "one of the main research areas" for the computer-driven fund. "These models take something very confusing and turn it into something that quantitative experts can easily understand," he says.These AI systems can cost millions of dollars to develop and run, making it impossible for many investors and developers to invest in companies with deep pockets or niche markets. Some companies are still relatively experimental, and there are no public figures showing they make money. Funds interviewed declined to provide evidence that NLP could improve returns, citing commercial sensitivity.However, some studies suggest that these technologies can improve performance when concentrated in smart places.

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At Least 73 People Were Killed in Explosion in Port Area of Lebanese Capital, 3,700 People Were Injured

A violent explosion occurred near the port of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, and a mushroom cloud rose at the scene, causing damage to the building. According to front-line sources, Beirut had two huge explosions, killing at least 78 people and injuring thousands. This explosion was felt by the residents of Cyprus as far away as 150 miles away. The explosion caused severe damage to several blocks of Beirut, with broken buildings and scattered glass shards everywhere. In the Ashrafiyah neighborhood near the explosion site, Bilal, a resident, told Xinhua News Agency reporters that the entire neighborhood was like a disaster, and many people were injured. According to local media reports, the presidential palace building more than 10 kilometers away from the explosion site was also damaged.

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said that the explosion in Beirut port may have been caused by the chemical ammonium nitrate stored in the port warehouse in 2014. He said that the chemical had been kept in the warehouse for six years without safety protection, and he vowed to punish those responsible.

As more bodies were found in the wreckage, the death toll rose, and at least 4,000 people were reportedly injured. The explosion destroyed a huge granary and hundreds of houses became uninhabited, which dealt a devastating blow to a country that already lacks bread and relies on sea imports.

The US Embassy in Beirut issued a statement advising people to wear masks and stay indoors after toxic gases were released in the explosion.

Indicators from the American Universitys Aerosol Research Laboratory showed that air quality levels returned to good levels at 7pm on Tuesday, and showed moderate particulate levels an hour ago.

After the explosion, a large number of ambulances rushed to the scene to transport the casualties. Many fire trucks went to the scene to fight the fire, and the military also dispatched multiple helicopters to help put out the fire. The military and police set up blockades in the surrounding area to prohibit unrelated persons from entering the port area. Due to the limited capacity of hospitals in Beirut, Lebanese Minister of Health Hassan called for the casualties to be dispersed to surrounding hospitals and called on all medical staff to participate in the treatment of the wounded.

According to the latest news, the Lebanese Ministry of Health released statistics: At least 78 people were killed and 4,000 were injured in the Beirut explosion

Lebanese President Aoun convened an emergency security meeting that day, instructed the military to deal with the explosion, and asked relevant departments to provide free treatment for the wounded, and to provide help to high-level families with huge losses or displaced families.

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab inspected the explosion site that day, and then declared the 5th as a national day of mourning and said that Lebanon would seek help from the international community.

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Frontrunner Vaccine Will Affact the Price of Lutetium Oxide (Lu2O3)-Powder - Market Trend

CEO of Pfizer partner BioNTech says coming winter will be hard but by April, 300 million immunization units should be ready, which will have an impact on the global pandemic.

If coronavirus vaccinations are rolled out widely, life could return to normal by next winter, one of the scientists behind the front-running coronavirus vaccine told British television on Sunday.

Ugur Sahin, the Turkish co-founder of the German firm BioNTech, told the BBCs The Andrew Marr Show that this winter will be hard, without any major impact from vaccinations.

Together with US giant Pfizer, BioNTech is developing the leading candidate in the worldwide chase for a vaccine. Israel has ordered millions of units of the vaccine, hoping that the first deliveries will arrive in the country by January.

Affected by the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, the Lutetium Oxide (Lu2O3)-Powder market is changing rapidly. These changes are indicators of market growth. This year-on-year upward trend in the market indicates that the next November 2020-2026 will show an oval but steady growth.

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Li3N is short for lithium nitride, which is a metal nitrogen compound that is a purple or red crystalline solid, showing a light green luster under reflected light and a ruby color in transmitted light. At room temperature, metallic lithium can partially generate lithium nitride when exposed to air, and lithium generates lithium nitride in a nitrogen stream 10 to 15 times faster than in air. At this time, all lithium is converted into lithium nitride. Learn more knowledge about Lithium nitride from nanotrun website.

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Global Lithium Batteries market trend 2023-2030 What is the history of lithium batteries? by Newsmis-asia

The purchasing pace at the demand end of the international thermal coal market continues to slow down and the international thermal coal price continues to decline. Prices for thermal coal at major international ports continued to fall last week as buyers in Europe slowed in recent days for April, coupled with weaker-than-expected import demand from End users in China. According to China Coal Market net monitoring: Australia Newcastle port thermal coal price index was 253 USD/ton, compared with 309.02 USD/ton, down 56.02 USD/ton, down 18.13%. South Africa's Port Richards thermal coal price Index was $264.5 / mt, down the US $62.72 / mt or 19.17% from US $327.22 / mt. The European ARA Tri-port thermal coal price Index was $281.8 / ton. Does the price of thermal coal in major international ports continue to decline to affect the price of the Lithium Batteries?



Early R&D of Lithium Batteries

Lithium batteries were first used in pacemakers. Lithium-ion batteries have the advantages of extremely low self-discharge rate and flat discharge voltage, so that the pacemaker implanted in the human body can operate for a long time without recharging. Lithium batteries generally have a nominal voltage higher than 3.0 volts and are more suitable for integrated circuit power supplies. Manganese dioxide batteries are widely used in calculators, digital cameras, and watches.

In order to develop varieties with better performance, various materials have been researched, resulting in unprecedented products.

In 1992, Sony successfully developed lithium-ion batteries. Its practical application greatly reduces the weight and volume of portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, notebooks, and calculators.

What is the development process of lithium batteries?

In 1970, M.S. Whittingham of Exxon used titanium sulfide as the positive electrode material and metal lithium as the negative electrode material to make the first lithium battery.

In 1980, J. Goodenough discovered that lithium cobalt oxide can be used as a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries.

In 1982, R.R. Agarwal and J.R. Selman of the Illinois Institute of Technology discovered that lithium ions have the property of intercalating graphite, a process that is fast and reversible. At the same time, the safety hazards of lithium batteries made of metal lithium have attracted much attention. Therefore, people have tried to use the characteristics of lithium ions embedded in graphite to make rechargeable batteries. The first usable lithium-ion graphite electrode was successfully trial-produced at Bell Laboratories.

In 1983, M. Thackeray, J. Goodenough and others found that manganese spinel is an excellent cathode material with low price, stability and excellent conductivity and lithium conductivity. Its decomposition temperature is high, and its oxidizing property is much lower than that of lithium cobalt oxide. Even if there is a short circuit or overcharge, it can avoid the danger of burning and explosion.

In 1989, A.Manthiram and J.Goodenough found that a positive electrode with a polymeric anion would produce a higher voltage.

In 1991, Sony Corporation released the first commercial lithium-ion battery. Subsequently, lithium-ion batteries revolutionized the face of consumer electronics.

In 1996, Padhi and Goodenough found that phosphates with an olivine structure, such as lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), are more superior than traditional cathode materials, so they have become the current mainstream cathode materials.

With the widespread use of digital products such as mobile phones and notebook computers, lithium-ion batteries are widely used in such products with excellent performance, and are gradually developing into other product application fields.

In 1998, Tianjin Power Research Institute began commercial production of lithium-ion batteries.

On July 15, 2018, it was learned from Keda Coal Chemistry Research Institute that a special carbon anode material for high-capacity and high-density lithium batteries with pure carbon as the main component came out in the institute. The cruising range of the car can exceed 600 kilometers.

In October 2018, the research group of Professor Liang Jiajie and Chen Yongsheng of Nankai University and the research group of Lai Chao of Jiangsu Normal University successfully prepared a silver nanowire-graphene three-dimensional porous carrier with a multi-level structure, and supported metal lithium as a composite anode material. This carrier can inhibit the formation of lithium dendrites, thereby enabling ultra-high-speed charging of batteries, which is expected to significantly extend the "lifetime" of lithium batteries.

High quality lithium batteries supplier

Luoyang Moon & Star New Energy Technology Co., LTD, founded on October 17, 2008, is a high-tech enterprise committed to the research and development, production, processing, sales and technical services of lithium ion battery anode materials. After more than 10 years of development, the company has gradually developed into a diversified product structure with natural graphite, artificial graphite, composite graphite, intermediate phase and other negative materials (silicon carbon materials, etc.). The products are widely used in high-end lithium ion digital, power and energy storage batteries.If you are looking for Lithium battery anode material,click on the needed products and send us an inquirysales@graphite-corp.com





Since February, gold has enjoyed a smooth upward run on the back of surging US inflation and the brewing of war. While expectations of rate rises have also risen in tandem over this period, gold had been largely pre-priced and the underlying driver of tightening expectations had come from inflation continuing to rise to record highs. The risk aversion caused by the continued tension in the war also provided an important short-term support for gold. This will have a certain impact on the price of the Lithium Batteries and the market of the Lithium Batteries.



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The Mariners announced this evening theyve selected first baseman Mike Ford to the major league club. Catcher/designated hitter Luis Torrens has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move. (Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times first reported the transactions). Seattles 40-man roster remains full.

Ford signed a minor league pact with Seattle over the offseason. The Princeton product broke in with an impressive .259/.350/.559 showing in 163 plate appearances with the Yankees in 2019, but hes scuffled over the past couple seasons. Since the start of the 2020 campaign, Ford has mustered just a .134/.250/.276 line in 156 trips to the dish. He bounced from the Yankees to the Rays to the Nationals in the second half of last season. Washington non-tendered Ford at the end of the year.

The 29-year-old has gotten out to a nice start with Triple-A Tacoma this season. Hes hitting .317/.404/.488 with more walks than strikeouts through eleven games. That earns him another big league call, where hell add a left-handed bat to the bench for skipper Scott Servais.

The Mariners didnt specify whether Ford is being promoted as a substitute player. Under the 2022 health and safety protocols, commissioner Rob Manfred has the sole discretion to determine whether teams are sufficiently impacted by COVID-19 to add a substitute to the roster. In either case, players on the COVID IL wont count against the 40-man roster, but only designated substitutes can be removed from the 40-man without passing through waivers when affected players return. Mitch Haniger is also on the COVID-19 IL after testing positive over the weekend.
Veteran actor Ekow Blankson says rampant criticisms from movie industry players about the Kumawood movie industry caused it to collapse.

According to him, comments from these stakeholders which were negative.

Kumawood movies are shot in the Twi dialect and are mostly shot in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

Admittedly, the Kumawood industry sustained Ghanaian movies.

However, the Kumawood industry has been met with several criticisms.

Some filmmakers had constantly subjected movies from Kumasi to criticisms ranging from the poor picture and sound quality to poor storylines.

Other industry players on the other hand acknowledged that Kumawood movies stood tall when the Ghanaian movie industry was almost taken over by Nigerian movies.

Mr. Blankson who had featured in a few Kumawood movies in an interview indicated that critics could have channeled much energy into making the sector a better one.

We just needed to get involved in it and help them and see where they faulted or where they could have been better. All of us, now that we have the National Film Authority, this is the time to get into that industry because it is a form of filmmaking that is good.

"It has to be done and done right especially if we do our subtitling well, we can sell it out because it hurts me that we have moved from that area and we are doing other things, he told the host of Lowdown, Nii Akwei.

He added that one of the reasons for the fall of Kumawood movies was the extinction of CDs system.

CDs have run out of the system and unfortunately, we have too many TV stations now, TV stations are not buying the movies. What they do is the batter. What is that to a producer? he added.
Popular Ghanaian Counselor, Frank Edem Adofoli has warned women to look out for men who constantly invite them to come over on visits.

He advised women to always insist on their men going to the hospital when they claim they are not feeling well.

According to him, men use this popular strategy to get them into sex.

A girlfriend is not a nurse, if you are sick, go to the hospital. Asking her to come over is one of your formulas for getting her to have sex with you. Your house is not a hospital #Stopfooling, he told ladies in a Facebook post.

This however did not sit well with most netizens who disagreed with the counsellor indicating that their diseases heal faster when they have their partners around them.

One account named Agyei Morrison Jr. in response to the post wrote; "Sometimes we guys don't like taking medicine by ourselves but with their aid and the way they will approach us, we're good to go."
In their tussle to attract votes ahead of France's presidential election runoff, centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right Marine Le Pen have sought to fend off criticism of their climate policies  described as insufficient and even dangerous by environmental groups.

Both candidates were let off the hook during the first round of campaigning, with purchasing power, security, health, pensions and immigration dominating the debate.

But a day after the battle lines were drawn for a Macron-Le Pen rematch of their 2017 duel, Greenpeace warned the election result was a major defeat for the climate and the environment. Neither side was an acceptable choice.

The writing was already on the wall for dozens of NGOs and think tanks who rated the environment platforms of the initial 12 presidential hopefuls, and who consistently found Macron and Le Pen lacking.

The former was reprimanded for his failure to ban dangerous pesticides and for pushing back important climate targets; the latter for her plans to pull France out of the European green deal and rid the French countryside of its wind turbines.

"On Sunday, April 24, we will have to choose between very bad and worse than very bad," climate expert Jean-Marc Jancovici, of the Shift Project, told L'Express.

Rally for green vote

The race is now on for Macron and Le Pen to win over the 7.7 million people who supported leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon in the first round, and the 1.6 million who voted for ecologist Yannick Jadot  who's already given his personal backing to the incumbent President.

Since his first-round triumph, Macron has talked up his plans for a green economy, promising to transform France into a great environmental nation. Le Pen, meanwhile, is pushing localism" and buying French-made products while giving farmers incentives for preserving nature.

Under the far-right leader, 80 percent of food in school canteens would need to be sourced from French agricultural products.

Macron wants France to be an EU climate pioneer and is leading the charge for a European carbon tax, while Le Pen is focused on stamping out the punitive ecology" and globalism measures that she says are threatening the French way of life.

Campaigning in Marseille at the weekend, Macron vowed to cut air pollution, plant 140 million trees, develop a 100 percent electric car industry and make France the first major country to stop using gas, oil and coal.

His next prime minister, he said, would be directly responsible for ecological planning, while separate ministers for energy and environment would be appointed.

Le Pen, Macron warned, was a climate sceptic whose policies of shutting down wind turbines  which she says are a blight on the landscape  and turning her back on European climate ambitions were untenable.

Unlike Donald Trump, Le Pen has no plans to pull France out of the Paris Agreement  and is in favour of bringing down emissions within the agreed timeframe. But she wants companies to foot the bill for reaching net zero targets by 2050.

Framing herself as a protector of the people, Le Pen wants to end overly expensive investments in solar and wind power, which she says would allow her to slash value added tax on petrol from 20 percent to 5.5 percent.

Fuel price hikes were the founding concern of Yellow Vest protesters that forced Macron to drop a so-called green tax at the pump.

The French should be able to continue taking their family out in their cars, taking baths, enjoying the wood fire in the fireplace and celebrating Christmas, Le Pen declared.

Nuclear ambitions

In order to bring down emissions, she's pledged to go even further than Macron in building up France's already dominant nuclear energy industry, which provides two-thirds of the country's electricity.

While Macron wants to invest in six new generation reactors  to be built in tandem with a "massive deployment" of renewables including 50 offshore wind farms  Le Pen is vying for an ambitious 20 new reactors.

Her nuclear project, named Marie Curie, includes reopening France's Fessenheim nuclear plant, which is already being dismantled after it was closed in 2020, as well as extending the life of existing power plants to 60 years.

Given the amount of time it takes to build a reactor and the billions of euros of investment needed, critics say plans to add 20 more reactors to France's nuclear fleet will be tough to achieve.

In terms of consistency on nuclear policy, however, it appears Le Pen has the upper hand  as back in 2017 Macron had sought to reduce France's dependence on nuclear power.
Kofi Adams, Member of Parliament (MP) for Buem Constituency, says he will continue to lobby for good road networks for his Constituency.

"I will not sleep as far as lobbying for roads is concerned. That is my work. As an MP, mine is to lobby and when the central government agrees, they will bring it through the Municipal Assembly and get it executed."

Mr Adams, speaking at the sideline of the 23rd Buyi Oka celebration of the people of New Baika in the Oti Region and said he had been persistent in getting good roads for his constituents.

He said it was not surprising that he was noted as one MP who persistently visits and engages the Roads Minister regarding roads in his Constituency.

Mr Adams said some requests had been responded to positively, including the Jasikan Roundabout, while promising that contractors would return to work.

He said it was his hope that construction works would soon resume on some roads including the Bodada to Baika Road to give the area a good road connecting them to the Municipal capital.

Mr Adams noted that development could not be achieved without roads, adding that "it is road transport that connects people from one community to another.

Mr Adams presented 40 pieces of streetlights to the New and Old Baika communities, and said lighting plays a key role in development in rural communities.

Mr Godsway Dukpor, Assemblyman for New Baika Electoral Area told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the streetlights were needed and would be placed at new areas in the community for all to benefit.

He also called for benevolent support to completing a teacher's quarters in the community as well as constructing mechanized boreholes to enhance access to potable drinking water.

GNA
19.04.2022 LISTEN

A level 400 student of the University of Education, Winneba, Kanyiti Saburu Kantama otherwise known as Alhaji Nabco has filed his nomination to contest the deputy secretary position of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the Damongo constituency.

In a statement issued and copied to Modern Ghana News, Mr. Kantama explained that his decision to join mainstream politics was to help consolidate the gains made by the party at the constituency level and also support retain the MP for the area with a resounding victory come December 2024

According to him, he has done his part by reaching out to delegates of the upcoming election slated later this month and have pledged their unwavering support towards his candidature.

He reiterated his zeal and commitment to serving the interest of the grassroot to augment efforts initiated by the party hierarchy to make the constituency a stronghold of the NPP.

He appealed to the rank and file of the party in the constituency to rally their support behind him to help make the party attractive to floating voters.

He also conveyed words of gratitude to his campaign team members and well-wishers for their words of encouragement and support.
19.04.2022 LISTEN

The office of former President John Dramani Mahama says it is unperturbed by the Economist Intelligence Units (EIU) claim that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) can only win the 2024 polls with a fresh presidential candidate.

EIU in its five-year report on Ghana predicted victory for the NDC in 2024, but was quick to urge the party to contest with a candidate other than John Mahama to revitalize its prospects.

However, a special aide to the former President, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, in an interview with Citi News, indicated that the former president's decision to contest is based on a clarion call by the rank and file of the party.

I think that people are tired of the stories about wanton corruption and dissipation of public funds and I think that people believe that President Mahama deserves more than anything ever to come into office, and complete the process he started, she explained.

It said the chances of the NDC will be higher if Mr. Mahama, who led the party to two election losses in 2016 and 2020, is replaced to re-energise the party and boost its prospects.

The next parliamentary and presidential elections are due in 2024. Under constitutionally mandated term limits, the incumbent president, Mr. Akufo-Addo, cannot run for a third term. The former president, John Mahama, is reportedly considering running again, but we expect the opposition NDC to try to revitalise its prospects with a fresh candidate, the EIU said.

Our baseline forecast is that ongoing public dissatisfaction with the slow pace of improvements in governancesuch as infrastructure development, job creation, and easing of corruptionwill trigger anti-incumbency factors and push the electorate to seek a change. The NDC, therefore, stands a reasonable chance of winning the 2024 elections, parts of the EIU report mentioned.
Manhyia South Constituency Chairman Hopeful of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Mr.Owusu Sekyere has called on members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Constituency to embrace unity and discipline as the party works towards winning election 2024.

Mr.Owusu Sekyere made this call on 'Ghana Ekosen' morning show on Adehye 99.1 FM in Kumasi this morning.

According to Mr. Sekyere, NPP lost 9,000 votes in the Constituency in the 2020 elections as compared to the votes the party gathered in the 2016 general elections.

He attributed the lost votes to voter apathy.

This, he said is the reason he wants to be elected as the party chairman to ensure unity and tranquility in the constituency.

He indicated that 'breaking the 8' is a core responsibility for all and sundry.

"I am calling on the delegates as well as all members of the New Patriotic Party within the constituency and beyond to forgive each other and remain united if only we are aiming at breaking the 8-year rule, he said.

He added, We must also start working on bringing everyone on board to recapture our lost seat in the 2024 general elections. This can only be achieved if we instil discipline in our line of politics going forward.

Mr.Owusu Sekyere was also worried about the party's inability to own a party office at the constituency level and promised to address the situation when elected as the Chairman.

He also appealed to delegates and party members to elect a chairman who stays with them in the constituency and knows their challenges.

According to him, a vote for a fugitive as a party chairman will thwart the development of Manhyia South Constituency.
Senegalese journalist Pape Malick Thiam was recently beaten by authorities, and has been charged with contempt. Photo: 7TV

19.04.2022 LISTEN

Senegalese authorities should drop their prosecution of journalist Pape Malick Thiam, ensure he can work free of intimidation, and hold those responsible for beating him to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.

Gendarme officers arrested Thiam, a reporter with the privately owned broadcaster 7TV, while he was on assignment at a court in Dakar, the capital, on April 14, according to media reports and 7TV Executive Director Maimouna Ndour Faye, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview.

Faye told CPJ that officers severely beat Thiam, and when she visited him at the local gendarme office he had swelling in his face and blood on his clothes. He was released on unconditional bail the following day, Faye said.

Thiam is scheduled to appear before a Dakar court on April 20 for alleged contempt of an agent in the exercise of his duties, according to Faye and those reports. If convicted, Thiam could face up to three months in prison and a maximum fine of 50,000 West African francs (US$83), according to the Senegalese penal code .

Senegalese authorities should drop their prosecution of journalist Pape Malick Thiam and allow him to work free of harassment and intimidation, said CPJ Sub-Saharan Africa Representative Muthoki Mumo, in Nairobi. Thiams beating by authorities sends a chilling message that the press is not safe in Senegal. A thorough investigation should be carried out and those responsible should be held accountable.

On April 14, Thiam was covering a hearing at a Dakar court when a gendarme officer stopped him, accused him of filming in a restricted area, and confiscated the journalists phone, Faye said. She told CPJ that Thiam protested the seizure, and the officer then accused Thiam of insulting him and beat the journalist until he lost consciousness.

Thiam regained consciousness later that day at the gendarme office, and his phone was returned upon his release, Faye said.

When CPJ called Lieutenant-Colonel Ibrhima Ndiaye, a spokesperson for the Senegalese gendarmerie, for comment and asked about Thiams case, he said he was busy and requested to be called back later in the day; when CPJ called back, he again declined to answer questions at that time.

When CPJ called Thiam for comment, he said his lawyer advised him not to speak about the case and that any questions should be directed to his employer.
19.04.2022 LISTEN

Against the backdrop of the need to promote disability inclusivity in West Africa, the ECOWAS Commission initiated a regional study on disability inclusion to review disability inclusion laws/policies and programmes in ECOWAS Member States, and to identify gaps and levels of compliance with international standards.

In this regard, the ECOWAS Commission is convening a meeting to validate the key findings of the study and finalise the Regional Action Plan on Disability Inclusion in West Africa. The meeting is scheduled to hold from the 20th to 22nd April 2022 at Sandralia Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria.

The key findings of the study that will be considered at the meeting will provide evidence-based data for policymakers to utilize in mainstreaming disability issues into development policy advocacy and programming.

The meeting will bring together about fifty (50) experts from government institutions, national associations of persons with disabilities, development partners and ECOWAS Institutions. Given that a significant number of the participants in the meeting are persons with disabilities, the meeting will be organized in a venue that is disability-inclusive.

In addition, sign language interpretation will be provided and meeting documents will be made available in braille to ensure that no one is left behind.
20.04.2022 LISTEN

Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has cautioned government against the implementation of the controversial electronic transfer levy, popularly known as E-levy, while a case against it is pending at the Supreme Court.

The Minority in Parliament on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, filed an injunction application at the Supreme Court in Accra against the implementation of the levy, which was supposed to take effect in May 2022.

The court has scheduled the hearing of the case for May 4, 2022.

The North Tongu legislator on Eyewitness News defended the move by the Minority Caucus.

The substantive case which we filed on the 30th of March has not been heard yet, and we do not want to sit unconcerned when government intends to go ahead and implement the unconstitutional levy, by which time irreparable harm would have been done.

Once we have filed this application and served the parties, I have been advised by my lawyers that it serves as a stay, and government cannot go ahead to implement the levy, he added.

He thus cautioned government to tread cautiously as it stands to be in Contempt of the Supreme Court should it go ahead and implement the E-Levy on May 1, 2022, while the substantive case is yet to be determined.

Parliament passed the bill on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, in the absence of the Minority MPs, who had walked out before the Bill was considered at the second reading stage.

The levy, which was amended from 1.75 percent to 1.5 percent on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, will be a tax on electronic transactions, which includes mobile-money payments.

The charge will apply to electronic transactions that are more than GH100 on a daily basis.

Critics of the proposal have warned that this new levy will negatively impact the Fintech space, as well as hurt low-income people and those outside the formal banking sector.

Government has, however, argued the levy would widen the tax net and that could raise an extra GH6.9 billion in 2022.

---citinewsroom
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government is optimistic about its chances of holding on to power at after the 2024 general elections despite projections by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

In its latest five-year forecast, the EIU has tipped the opposition National Democratic Congress to wrestle power from the NPP in the next general elections.

But in an official statement from the NPP on the projection, the party says it boasts of a better cumulative record than the umbrella party and expects to ride on that to defy the EIU forecast.

The EIU cites slow governance progress as another reason for change in 2024. Unemployment, Infrastructure, and Anti-Corruption. The cumulative record of the NPP in the 4th Republic is better on all these factors than the NDC.

But more importantly, NDC has not demonstrated any policy capacity capable of turning out better and faster outcomes in the areas listed. Indeed, the tendency is for the NDC to set the country back in respect of these factors whenever the eight-year cycle kicks in. The NPP builds and the NDC destroys, an NPP statement signed by its National Communications Director, Yaw Buaben Asamoa has said.

The NPP statement adds, Political stability is also a product of the NPPs quiet yet hard work on the security front. Notwithstanding increased threats of regional instability spilling over into Ghana, piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, and sometimes very extremist talk from anarchic elements, the EIU predicts without hesitation that there will be political stability over the next five years. A plus for free, fair, and violence-free elections.

According to the EIU report, ongoing public dissatisfaction with the slow pace of improvements in governance such as infrastructure development, job creation, and easing of corruption will push the electorate to seek a change in the 2024 general elections.

While the odds appear to be in favour of the NDC, the EIU adds that there would be a better chance if the largest opposition party presents a different candidate as flagbearer other than ex-President John Dramani Mahama.
Madam Rebecca Yisrael, a beautician at Tema Community One, has urged hairdressers in the country to do extensive research on new products before applying them on clients' hair.

She said their knowledge of hair care products, their usage, and possible side effects could help them do better treatment of hair and scalp conditions according to the diversity of hair types.

I always tell my staff, you must read the manufacturer's instructions for new products before using them, you have to be an addicted reader because every product comes with its instructions, Mrs Yisrael told the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Tema.

She added that there were different types of hair which included coarse, normal, and soft hair which required different treatments to make hair healthy depending on the situation.

If the beautician does not know much about a product, he or she could cause damage to your hair, let's say you have a soft hair, after relaxing the hair you don't have to wait for some time but if she doesn't know that, she'll make you wait and that is dangerous to your hair, she added.

She explained there were many reasons why hair might be falling whether temporary, reversible, or permanent as such experts in the hair field needed to be on top of issues and provide a medium for solving the clients' problems.

Mrs Yisrael mentioned that gone were the days when people perceived that, hairdressers were uneducated, explaining that on the contrary the hairdresser needed to sharpen skills to fit the current needs of people.

She cautioned against mixing assorted brands of products for the hair as it could damage hair and appealed to the people to also read instructions on the products, they were using to be able to help some beauticians with little information about such products.

GNA
MANZINI  The community of Nhlambeni is livid after cattle belonging to a resident drank water that had the poisonous Masta 900 in it.

A resident from the area is a suspect in the matter. Masta 900 is a pesticide which is toxic when ingested and needs to be handled with extreme care as it is fatal. The cattle which supposedly died from drinking water mixed with the Masta 900 SP belonged to Jubumnyaka Dlamini, 58, at his residential home located about 12 kilometres south of Manzini  Nhlambeni. Dlamini said this act was the tipping point of a long standing dispute between him and the suspected community member. The distraught Nhlangano Eswatini National Court member claimed that the dispute between him and the community member started after he assisted the latter to secure land from his family.

Pregnant

The cattle that found their way into the residents fields were a bull, which Dlamini claimed to have already sold and two pregnant cows. Dlamini valued the loss at E29 000. In the breakdown of the loss, Dlamini said he had already sold the bull to fund the education of his children at E12 000 and it was to be collected on the day it died, while he valued the two supposedly pregnant cows at E8 000 and E9 000 respectively. On the day his cattle drank the pesticide, Dlamini said the livestock had made their way into the residents fields, whereupon they found two buckets of water with Masta 900 SP and drank from them.

According to him, the cattle started to bleed and became weak and upon inspection, they found the buckets. Upon his familys discovery, they reported the matter immediately to the police. He purported that the police arrived at the scene and ordered them not to touch anything as they referred to the liquid substance in the buckets as Masta 900. He said since then, they had not informed him of any developments, save for returning on Monday to inform him that they had seen excerpts of the death of his cattle in social media platforms. They came and told me that if anything happens to the resident Id be the first suspect, Dlamini claimed. He said what was frustrating to him was that the residents were angry following what befell him. Dlamini said given the volatile situation in the country, he feared that if anything could happen to the community member, his loss of livestock would also be accompanied by his arrest.

Meanwhile, the community member who Dlamini suspects of being behind the killing of his livestock could not be reached for comment. His phone was not available on the MTN Eswatini network. On the other hand, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed that the matter was reported to the police. She said at the moment, there was no suspect as investigations were ongoing. Vilakati further invited Dlamini to meet the station commander of Sidvokodvo Police Station regarding his fears and also developments of the matter.
On a chilly morning, Beth Gatonye loaded two vibrating chairs into her van and headed to the US embassy in Kigali with three blind colleagues, ready to offer massage therapy.

Since 2017, the 43-year-old has trained dozens of visually impaired women -- and some men -- in the art of massage, with a view to creating jobs for a community that faces deep discrimination in Rwanda.

Even today, demand for the massage services offered by her company Seeing Hands is limited to foreigners, she said.

"Rwandans say that they don't want their bodies to be touched by a blind person, that it can be a sign of bad luck," she told AFP.

"It is as if Rwandans think that being blind is contagious."

Although the coronavirus pandemic hit their business hard, with massage services banned during Rwanda's lockdown, these days Gatonye says she can't keep up with demand. By Simon Wohlfahrt AFP

The stigma is widespread across the East African nation, with visually impaired citizens struggling to access educational or professional opportunities, according to the Rwanda Union of the Blind (RUB).

"They live in isolation and solitude. Some are... hidden from the public by their families because they represent shame," RUB spokeswoman Rachel Musabyimana told AFP.

Blind Rwandans were unable to attend secondary school until the 1990s, when the curriculum was converted to braille.

They faced an even longer wait to access university education, which only became available in 2008.

Blind Rwandans make up just over one percent of the country's population. By Simon Wohlfahrt AFP

"Rwandans consider us to be useless people," said Immaculee Karuhura, a visually impaired massage therapist who works with Seeing Hands.

"They think we only survive through begging," Karuhura told AFP.

Sense of purpose

Although the coronavirus pandemic hit their business hard, with massage services banned during Rwanda's lockdown, these days Gatonye can't keep up with demand.

Since 2017, Beth Gatonye left has trained dozens of visually impaired women. By Simon Wohlfahrt AFP

"I have 15 blind women so far working as massage therapists... Getting back everyone who worked here before the Covid pandemic is difficult but we are trying," she said.

Visually-impaired people comprise more than one percent of the country's 13 million population, according to Rwanda's 2021 National Blindness Survey.

The major causes of their condition are untreated cataract and glaucoma -- up to 80 percent of cases are deemed preventable or reversible.

Businesses like Seeing Hands hold out the promise of financial freedom to blind Rwandans.

On average, the masseurs earn the equivalent of about $100 (92 euros) a month -- more than double the salaries of workers such as waitresses or housemaids

"Now I can take care of my life. I can pay rent and also pay for my children's school fees," Karuhura said.

Businesses like Seeing Hands hold out the promise of financial freedom to blind Rwandans. By Simon Wohlfahrt AFP

But the job means much more than that to her, she added.

"When I am serving a client, I feel happy," she said, pointing out how the work had given her a sense of purpose and belonging.

"It feels like I am communicating with my clients during a therapy session, and this is something that makes me very emotional."
20.04.2022 LISTEN

The Ketu South Municipal Assembly in the Volta Region says efforts are underway to relocate residents along the coastal communities following prediction of the occurrence of another tidal wave.

The Ghana Meteorological Agency projected a wave along coastal communities, whilst warning residents in these areas to take the necessary precautions.

Earlier this month, about twenty households were displaced after tidal waves hit their homes at Agavedzi and some adjoining communities.

The Municipal Chief Executive of the area, Maxwell Lugudor, says the assembly is collaborating with other agencies to put up temporary structures for the residents.

Well not sit down for the tidal waves to occur before we quickly call the Assembly Members and NADMO officers. So we have met the opinion leaders about what the Meteo Agency has, so we have appealed to them that those who will want to go and stay with relatives on higher grounds can easily do that and those without places to go to, some temporary places will be set up for them.

Recently, about 20 households were left stranded at Agavedzi and some adjoining communities in the Ketu South Municipality after tidal waves hit their homes over the weekend.

This comes several months after hundreds were left stranded in some coastal communities in the Volta Region in 2021.

The lives of residents of Amutinu Salakope, Agavedzi, Blekusu and Adina are under threat following tidal waves' destruction since March 2021.

Several efforts by residents to get the government to complete the sea defence project have proven futile, despite several demonstrations.

The affected residents, however, are still calling on the government to fulfil its promise to the people and complete the sea defence project as their lives are still in danger. CODA begs residents to relocate

The Coastal Development Authority (CODA), has urged residents in areas threatened by coastal erosion to be open to government interventions.

Chief Executive Officer of CODA, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, said relocation is key to the Coastal Rejuvenation Initiative.

If you are going to allow the government to take the necessary steps, including relocating people, including pursuing the green agenda and ensuring that sea defences are also well-built, I think we will get somewhere.

He noted, for example, that in the Ketu South District, there were plans for new settlements for people in at-risk communities to relocate to.

There has, however, been some pushback from residents in affected communities who are not fully convinced by the relocation option.

There is a medium-term plan being rolled out. The assembly has secured some funding to start the construction of some 100 houses. And that is going to be a two-bedroom facility for the small island they are going to be on. That is an option.

But if you are saying there is an ancestral connection to the sea or to wherever you are staying and that is where you prefer to stay, that is not on, Mr. Shaib added.

By Citi Newsroom
The opposition National Democratic (NDC) has downplayed the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) report suggesting that the party cannot win the 2024 general elections with former President John Dramani Mahama as its presidential candidate.

The NDC is of the view that as a party they do not want a report that will breed complacency among the rank and file of the party.

An aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, Godwin Edudzie Tamakloe, reacting to the EIU report said as a party, we will fight the next elections like a man fighting his estranged wife over the custody of his children.

He noted that the NPP is bent on covering its tracks as well as the rot it has created in government and the NDC will win the next elections to uncover these rots.

He was of the view that the NPP will elect vice president Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia or Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanteng as its presidential candidate and that since 1992 no first-timer apart from late president Jerry John Rawlings has ever won an election.

He said former president John Agyekum Kufour contested twice before winning in 2000 just like the late president Prof. Evans Atta-Mills and the current President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

We like to take a calculated risk with former president John Dramani Mahama who polled over two million votes in the 2020 general elections, he said on Accra-based Okay FM today, Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Source: Classfmonline.com
20.04.2022 LISTEN

I hate telling people in distress I told you so. But the truth of the matter is that it is the most suitable expression to use in reminding people of their hard headedness. Indeed, we did caution Mr. Canadian MP that he was treading on a very slippery path, didnt we?

Well, the Supreme Court has by a majority decision of 5:2 granted the motion seeking to stop Mr. Canadian MP from holding himself as the Member of Parliament for Assin North. Simply put, Mr. Canadian MP no longer represents the people of Assin North in Parliament.

We all saw it coming because the inscription on the wall was very bold. Any objective observer could easily tell that Mr. Canadian MP was being used by his party folks. Yes, they succeeded in capturing the speakership seat by gambling on his freedom. So he should dance to the tune he paid the piper to dish out.

Time and again, we are told Mr. Canadian MP should not be blamed because his renunciation documents got delayed by the Canadian authorities because of COVID-19. Laughable, isnt it?

Zu-za knew that it was under no obligation to field him as its candidate in Assin North when it became obvious that he was ineligible to contest as MP. Again, did the party not have other candidates who could represent it in the constituency when it was clear that its preferred candidate did not have the full complement of the required documents to make him eligible to contest?

By the way, is it a fact that Mr. Canadian MP was disqualified by his party on the grounds of owing allegiance to another country other than Asomdwekrom when he tried to contest its primaries in 2012 and 2016? If yes, then why did he wait until the year 2020 to begin the renunciation process? Obviously, he wasnt sure of being chosen as his party's candidate, hence the hesitation to sever ties with Canada due to the benefits he was getting as a citizen of the North American country.

Abusuapanin, the post-Supreme Court judgment tantrums from the Zu-za camp is as comical as it is hypocritical. Soon after the judgment, Mr. Dead-Goat was heard questioning why Assin North should be denied representation in the House of Honourables. That was very hypocritical, since it was under his reign that Bawku Central was denied same when its MP, Adamu Sakande, was removed from the House of Honourables and subsequently incarcerated.

Edudzi Tamakloe was also on radio ranting that the Nana Dee government was on a political vendetta. His evidence is that the Attorney General, Godfred Dame, had said the fate of Adamu Sakande would befall Mr. Canadian MP.

Of course Godfred Dame only stated the obvious. The first fate of being removed from the House of Honourables has come to pass. It is only a matter of time that the second, which is incarceration, will also become a reality.

Some of us advised Mr. Canadian MP to wisely lick his wounds and hang his political boots to avoid prosecution. But he allowed his party folks to deceive him into fighting to regain his lost seat. The only obvious result is the re-enactment of Adamu Sakandes sad end.

I feel nothing but pity for Mr. Canadian MP, because he is under the illusion that Lawyer Ant has the magic wand to save him. Lawyer Ant may use his legal antics to delay the process, but it is doubtful if he can remove the chestnut out of the blazing fire.

Maybe, Mr. Canadian MP believes in the strength of his case. But is it not foolhardiness to continue fighting a lost cause? He is still emboldened by the noises from his party folks. He will only come to the bitter realisation when he is alone in his prison cell. Then would he realise how foolish he had been!

See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!
An Accra Circuit Court has granted a GHC100,000 bail with two sureties to a pharmacist who allegedly posed as a medical doctor at the Police Hospital.

Reagan Kaaiemabong is also facing two other charges - possession of firearm without authority and threatening to kill two persons at the 2M Express Transport yard at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

He has denied all the charges.

The Court, presided over by Mrs Rosemond Baah Torsu, ordered him to return to court on May 17, 2022.

Police Inspector Jonas Larweh told the Court that Mr Suleiman Abdulai, a security man and Richard Annor, a driver, both of the 2M Transport were the complainants in the case.

He said on February 18, 2022, at about 23:30 hours, Kaaiemabong, the accused person, who was driving, parked his car at the transport yard and started urinating in the yard.

Inspector Larweh said Mr Abdulai approached him and an argument ensued between the two where the accused person pulled a Brunei pistol at him and threatened his life.

He said that attracted Mr Annor to the scene and the accused person allegedly pulled a gun at him, too.

The Prosecution said a Police Patrol team was called leading to his arrest.

It said Kaaiemabong told the team he was a doctor with the Police Hospital, but investigations revealed that he was a pharmacist intern with the facility between October 2015 and June 2016 and had since not worked with the Hospital.

GNA
The President of the Republic, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has paid a visit to Bishop Dag Heward-Mills to extend his condolence to the man of God and his family following the passing of his son.

Dr. David Heward-Mills, the son of the Founder and General Overseer of the United Denominations Originating from the Lighthouse Group of Churches (UD-OLGC) passed on over the past weekend in the United States of America (USA).

Having heard the unfortunate news, President Akufo-Addo on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, visited Bishop Dag Heward-Mills to commiserate with him and his family.

On Tuesday, 19/04/22, I visited Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, Founder and General Overseer of the United Denominations Originating from the Lighthouse Group of Churches (UD-OLGC), to express the sympathies and condolences of my family and I, on the tragic loss of his son.

I wish the Bishop and his family the strength, comfort, and love of the Almighty in these difficult times, a post on the Twitter page of H.E Nana Addo has said.

Dr. David Heward-Mills was a psychiatrist in Columbia, South Carolina, and received his medical degree from Vinnica State Medical University.

He was 31.
20.04.2022 LISTEN

Fellow Ghanaians, our folk of old says that the earth never changes color to match the chameleon, it is the chameleon that changes color to match the earth. Believe it or not it is a fact that in the High Court of the Hawks the chicken is never declared innocent. But, no matter what, no dead chicken is afraid of the Hawks and shall certainly survive the Hawks shenanigans and threats.

Apparently, the Economists Intelligence Unit has been, to say the least, offensively economical with truth in respect of their latest report purporting to have been conducted in the last five years, which alleges that refreshing the presidential candidacy of the National Democratic Congress, NDC, is the surest way to winning the 2024 presidential election.

This is either an April fools day joke, or a mid-day madness. Period. Or more accurately, inaccuracy of data influenced this premature conclusion.

Aside the established fact that politicians and diapers have one thing in common which is that, they both must be changed regularly and for the same reason: a reason that necessitates the ousting of the current government, come 2024, that has been governing in a big foul mess since their inception, the quasi two terms covenant with the country is due for the current government to go for a new government to take over. And it does really matter the fielding of a presidential candidate. And that candidate must not be knew to the electorates.

And just as any national presidential contest, as the 2024 election keeps inching up, political lamentations, predictions, and even surveillances, are also on the rise, mostly by charlatans who are giving their opinions that are often jaundiced on arrival. Among such jaundiced opinions are surveys that have been motivated by fat brown envelopes by political carcass eaters and scavengers who embrace what the former President of the United States of America, Barrack Obama, describes as politics of anything goes.

Nonetheless, the Will of thy Lord shall come to pass.

Undoubtedly, the hunger which has been savaging the land has left in its wake not only the mayhem and anarchy, brutalities, carnages, bloodletting, and the outright horrors on our roads, in ritual money-making dens, armed robbery attacks, burglary, humongous fraud and just anything evil done to survive that we are witnessing on daily basis, one other most dangerous development as a result of the hunger has been the fast shrinking of many brains in this country, including some "stomach" agencies who have been "bought" to mislead the public regarding their so-called findings.

Numerous political charlatans as commentators and pundits have been exploiting the present leadership failure of the country in order to repackage it for the next election. Largely accentuated and attenuated by medieval thinking.

God forbid!

But the true is that, nobody can make an empty sack to stand.

Isnt it the report by the EIU not similar to the entity that elected president Akufo Addo as the best President in Africa?

I initially wrote it off as nothing but a product of hatchet men. Its purpose, I surmise but with my thinking cap intact, is to dilute the current shit of leadership every Ghanaian, sick or dying, is groaning of due to the brutal weight of corruption and incompetence that have found home and hope and got institutionalized in the Akufo Addo-led administration in the last five years.

You see, one thing hatchet job doers and professional character assassins don't know is that there are certain individuals, their reputations have been endorsed by the All-Mighty God Himself. No amount of character assassination can bog them down. Such is the personality of the former president, John Dramani Mahama, who's waiting to take over the mantle of leadership by the grace of God he generously dashed to the then Flagbearer of the New "Pandemic" Party, the NPP, who thought leadership was badmouthing those in power even if they have not committed any crime.

Today, his government remains the most infamous administration that has dwarfed the Ghanaian economy below he himself. Today, unless you are blinded by primordial matters of tribalism and ethnic jingoism, every sensible Ghanaian knows the twin disasters of corruption and unpardonable incompetence have rendered the government of Akufo Addo more pandemic than Covid-19 pandemic.

A situation that has given President Mahama an "A" in the fight against corruption; a situation that has honestly declared President Mahama as the best and most authentic and competent economic management Messiah.

Forget about the cooked up data and unsolicited economic graphs by the vice President Bawumia. The question is, despite the resources at the disposal of the Akufo Addo government to manage the economy, why do we find ourselves in this present quandary and economic quagmire?

Thievery and display of unalloyed disloyalty and dishonesty in the management of the Ghanaian economy.

It will therefore be the height of dishonesty for any finder or reporter to find or report that the former President who has been vindicated to be incorruptible and fought corruption to the best of his ability, cannot be a better candidate going into another election with the same people who accused him of what posterity has adjudged them to be the worse than one they were pointing accusing fingers at.

Today, the Fourth Estate, A Project of the Media Foundation for West Africa, is reporting that the worst of Mahama in the corruption war remains Akufo Addo' best. They lament that despite the second declaration of "the scramble for Africa" by Akufo Addo and his cronies of political vultures, nobody has been arraigned before any law court to be investigated for acts of corruption.

According to them, the President has consistently, in two of his State of Nation Addresses, conveniently ignored the word "corruption". The word corruption has become so bitter in the mouth of the President. And this is the time an office has been dedicated to fighting the canker in Ghana at a cost of the taxpayer.

Fellow Ghanaians, with president Akufo Addo's massive failure in the fight against corruption, if there's any survey that has been honestly conducted and not motivated by hatch man tactics, it must see this most falsely accused and maligned former president in our recent politics as the best suitor for the Jubilee House, especially when he's going to contest, again, with one of the mismanagers and manufacturers of our current mess!

It will therefore be a mark of political prematurity, naivety and dishonesty, for any survey to suggests replacement of the former president is the better option going into an election that is virtually "walk over" for him. In Sha Allah.

Again, taking into consideration the prospects of the last election by the former president, no report that has an element of honesty and truth in it could find any presidential candidate better and winnable than former President Mahama.

That election was never the true reflection of electorates of this country. And the most callous way the incumbent government perpetrated that greatest electoral heist in the history of our country is what has brought the current doom and gloom upon the beneficiaries of that electoral fraud shamelessly endorsed by the supreme court.

No wonder the Chief Justice himself has been accused or caught neck-deep in a five million dollars bribe scandal that has been hanging around his neck like the proverbial albatross.

We all were in this country when the President himself was fingered and embarrassed by an exotic commercial sex worker for testing his phallic competence on her faraway in Canada.

God has always come to the aid of the oppressed, whether they are saints or sinners. And the God of President Mahama shall see to it that those who masterminded "DumSor-DumSor" during his tenure as President, shall suffer for their cruel, all-die-be-die and Machiavellian methods of winning elections.

With the all the above, a correct and accurate survey must not see the oppressed oppression goes scot-free at the ballot box.

Besides, Ghanaians know very well that the best punisher of corruption in the present government, when a next government is formed, would be former President Mahama.

This is the reason why he needs the prayers by all Ghanaians to win a hiccup free election so as to investigate, find, and bring back back the over GH13000 Akufo Addo has borrowed on behalf of Ghanaians; Covid-19 Funds disappearance and many more.

So help him God.

Ignore the paid surveys, pray for Ghana, stand for Ghana.

The economical intelligence report by the Economist Intelligence Unit shall never be the yardstick for the 2024 presidential election.
ACCRA FM, a popular radio station in Ghana run-in with the law and was asked to apologise to the First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, and her foundation.

Neatly captured on the website of Joy Online was the heading, NMC directs Accra FM to apologise to Rebecca Akufo-Addo and her Foundation.

Management of Accra FM has complied with the directive, and the understanding is that the First Lady's office has accepted the apology. Now that there has been admittance of offence followed by apology and acceptance from the offended, it makes it open to discuss the issue further.

The simple question many people are asking is: who manages who, who edits what, who produces what, and possibly who monitors who?

If the structure of Accra FM is not to malign, denigrate, and insult personalities in society, as the company wants some of us to believe, then it must do the right thing. Failure by any staff of the station to do fair and professional journalism, that journalist should be shown the exit.

It is one thing to understand the difference between an opinion journalist and a partisan propaganda journalist in Ghana now.

Living up to that distinction can be harder as friendships; opportunities and flattery are all conspiring to poach true journalists to cross the line to partisan propaganda journalists.

That is why it has become fashionable in recent times to wonder who is a professional journalist and who is not a professional journalist.

The meaning of freedom of speech and the freedom of the press as Mr. A.C. Ohene, my former editor at the Ghanaian Chronicle reminded me, are that they belong to everyone.

But, communication and journalism are a not interchangeable terms, that is why he believed anyone can be a journalist but not everyone can be a journalist.

There are three criteria that I remind myself of in my quest to remain a journalist  one with a point of view. First and foremost, is the ultimate commitment to the truth, meaning not relating anything to my readers that in the end will turn out to be false.

The next criterion is that, I can be partisan, an opinion journalist, and still have a high obligation to be fair to those whom I disagreed, which relates to the sense of obligation to my readers.

That required being open with my readers, to make it clear to the audience what my views are, and what my biases are, which has made me stand out as a journalist and not a propaganda journalist.

A lot has changed from the period of practice under the leadership of Mrs. Gifty Afenyie Dadzie, Mr. Yaw Boadu Ayeboafu, and Mr. Ransford Tetteh as distinguished leaders of Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), who insisted on professionalism, code of conducts, and respect for the journalist.

From my own spectacle watching what goes on in journalism, I can bet that a lot has changed in the sector, which is serving as a source of worry for many people.

Criticising the work I do, on what has gone wrong, going wrong, and needs to be corrected, I often used my former editor, seniors, and association leaders on what they taught me to make journalism excel.

Although others might debate the merits of former editors, journalists, publishers and association leaders abilities, I am a firm believer that there is no one who can challenge that they sat down and watched fake journalism to go on.

Mr. Kofi Coomson, the publisher of the Ghanaian Chronicle with his team of managers, showed the importance of ensuring that all respected the bargaining agreement signed between staff and management.

At the regional office of the paper in Koforidua, Mr. A.C. Ohene, the editor, went through every report with his big red pen to ensure accuracy before it went to the press.

The GJA executives, both at regional and national levels, kept monitoring the performance of journalists and media houses to offer advice and training on periodic bases, that kept members on track.

The story of the Accra FM host spewing lies and attacking the First Lady on radio lacked naturalness.

His posture as a staff of Samuel Ofosu Ampofo and others will let one quickly suggest friendships; opportunities and flattery conspired to seduce him to run down Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo.

It has become a common practice where journalists sit on radio and television stations to attack politicians and go scot free, providing the platform for fake news journalism to go on.

For instance, the management can quickly organise intensive in-house training for all staff to sharpen their skills in scouting for news and spreading news.

The ten elements of journalism, code of conducts, and bargaining agreement should be stressed to keep staff busy and professional.

BY Stephen A. Quaye
Norway has donated further defence weapons to Ukraine, entailing almost 100 Mistral air defence missiles from military stocks, the Defence Ministry says.

The air defence system was effective and needed by Ukraine's navy, Defence Minister Bjrn Arild Gram explained. It was a system that the Norwegian armed forces wanted to replace, which meant that the delivery of weapons to Ukraine would not have a major impact on its own operational capabilities, his ministry wrote. The weapons have already been taken out of the country.

In the past few weeks, the Scandinavian country had already decided to send Ukraine 4,000 anti-tank missiles and protective equipment, among other things.

Former foreign minister Ine Eriksen Sreide of the opposition Conservative Party, told Norwegian Radio that the government had her party's support if it also wanted to deliver heavier defensive weapons to Ukraine as it fights off Russia's attack.

GNA
An Accra Circuit Court has granted GHC80,000 bail with two sureties to a trader who allegedly robbed a lady he met on a dating App.

Calistus Ugochukwu Okafor denied robbing the victim, name withheld, of her phone.

He will make his next appearance on May 16, 2022.

The prosecution told the Court presided over by Mrs Rosemond Baah Torsu that the complainant was unemployed and resident of Nungua whilst Okafo lived at Mamprobi Kamara.

It said Okafo and the victim met on "Meet 24," a Dating app, and on March 16, 2022, Okafo invited the complainant to meet him at the Korle Bu Total Filling Station at 21:15 hours.

The prosecution said he turned up at 22:15 hours whilst the victim arrived on time.

It said the accused person sent the complainant to an unknown place where at knife point, he allegedly robbed her of her Infinix cellular phone valued at GHC800.00, forcibly raped her and bolted with the phone.

The prosecution said the next day at about 0800 hours, the complainant in the company of her friend on a bus from Dansoman Agege to Circle, spotted Okafo at the Mamprobi Lotto House bus stop.

It said she got down together with her friend, a witness in the case, confronted the accused person and demanded her mobile phone leading to a struggle between the two.

The Court heard that her friend, with the support of some onlookers, helped in arresting Okafo and sent him to the Mamprobi Police.

The victim, the prosecution said, was issued with a police medical report form to attend Hospital, where a vaginal swap was taken for examination.

GNA
MOSCOW, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Russia has declared 15 diplomats from the Netherlands, an unspecified number of diplomats from Belgium, and four diplomats from Austria "personae non gratae" in a tit-for-tat response, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

The ambassadors of the three countries were summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry in protest over their decisions to declare dozens of Russian diplomats working in these countries "personae non gratae," the ministry said in separate statements.

The Dutch diplomats will need to leave Russia within two weeks, the Belgian diplomats were ordered to leave before the end of the day on May 3, while the Austrian diplomats must leave Russia before the end of the day on April 24.

The ministry also summoned the ambassador of Luxembourg, saying Moscow "reserves the right to retaliate" for Luxembourg's expulsion of an employee at the Russian Embassy.

Media reports cited the Belgian Foreign Ministry as saying that 12 Belgian diplomats were ordered to leave Russia. 
MBABANE  The story of the E1 billion in bids for the purchase of Swazi Spa Holdings has been described by the master of the High Court as one that is colourful without any meat.

The assertion by the master is contained in an affidavit deposed to by her Deputy, Lindelwa Magagula, in the matter where the appointment of Co-Liquidator Paul Mulindwa has been challenged. The current state of affairs, which is now subject to litigation, might result in the liquidation process dragging even further. Already, the process has been granted an extension of six months. In the latest developments, a dispute of facts has risen between the parties involved, which include among others the amount of work done so far and the offers made to purchase the assets.

Appointed

Mulindwa, who is the second respondent in the matter, was appointed by the master to work together with Marissa Boxshall Smith, the third respondent. The Sun International Management Limited, which is the first applicant in the matter, is challenging the appointment together with four other applicants which are Nedbank Swaziland Limited, former employees of SwaziSpa, Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) and Chick-Fil-A Swaziland (Pty) Limited. In the affidavit, Magagula submitted that the liquidator had claimed that she had received financing for E1 billion and the same was deposited into a bank, and that the deposit was to be verified by the creditors committee.

The deputy master said upon further investigations and enquiry, the story changed to the effect that the interested bidders only showed their bank statement, but had either refused and or failed to file bank guarantees. I am advised and verily believe that the creditors committee were on the belief that they had secured buyers, only to be made aware by the second respondent that the documents in the possession are just offers with no guarantee that the funds can be released to purchase the properties, reads part of the affidavit by the deputy master.

The veracity of the claims by the deputy master is yet to be tested by the court. She mentioned that the co-liquidators virtually met the creditors committee on April 11, 2022, where the issue was discussed. According to Magagula, currently, the co-liquidators were working on trying to get the bidders to prove commitment of funds for the sale and were also working on getting timelines for the availability of the funds.

Creditors

She said the co-liquidators had now put strict terms to the bidders to file bank guarantees by Friday April 22, 2022, so that a name could be presented to the creditors in the next meeting.

Magagula said she denied that 85 per cent of the liquidation work had been done. Instead, she said, the second respondent (Mulindwa) has maintained the premises, but the process of liquidating the group of companies was at an infancy stage or around 10 per cent if one had to take into account the advertised request for proposal and offers. Let us wait and see what happens on April 22, 2022, said Magagula. In justifying the appointment of the co-liquidator, she stated that it had brought life and direction in the whole matter.

What has been happening all along is akin to a criminal lawyer repeatedly telling the judge that my client has a strong defence to the murder charge and given the chance we will unpack the defence in half a day. This will go on and on with much colourful explanation. The creditors will one day ask as to who the bidder is because the story of E1 billion is colourful without any meat, she said. She said she was hopeful that in the next creditors meeting, there will be realistic proposals including deeds of sale and bidders proof that they have approached the Competition Commission, Land Management Board and Gaming Board. Magagula said if there was no progress, the creditors should be given a clear picture of the many empty promises. She maintained that the reports she received from both liquidators were that they were working pretty fine together and that the liquidation process would be finalised soon. The second respondent has been brought up to speed by the third respondent, she explained. Elaborating, she mentioned that on April 1, 2022, both liquidators met a potential buyer and they inspected all the premises of the group of companies.

Committee

Furthermore, she said they met with the creditors committee on April 6, 2022, and everything went smoothly according to what was reported by the duo through their attorney. The deputy master said there was no fighting among the parties and the fears were unfounded. She also submitted that she did not have a personal interest in the matter at hand, but was guided by the enabling statutes. I cannot sit around and watch the third respondents powers curtailed. She must act independently of the creditors. There is no reason why the co-liquidator ought to be interdicted from carrying on with his function. The third respondent is not opposed to his appointment, she said. Magagula also submitted that the application challenging the appointment was based on speculation and unjustified fear, yet the co-liquidator had vast experience in liquidation matters. She said the offers for the purchase of assets were now really moving and the creditors would be happy as no harm would be occasioned by any of the two liquidators.
It has been observed that one-party hegemony observed in many transitional democracies are partly due to the weakness and the fragmentation of the democratic actors which are organised as opposition political parties.

Besides, any political party which remains in opposition for more than two terms is likely to remain there for a very long time. Political campaigns in Africa and for that matter Ghana are extremely expensive; therefore, a political party losing major elections for more than two consecutive times could be detrimental. Raising funds for subsequent campaigns could be difficult.

This coupled with factionalism and internal squabble could worsen the situation.

And this is where the NDC must be very careful. It would be obviously absurd for anyone to think or argue that H.E. John Dramani Mahama cannot lead the NDC to win the 2024 elections, and I don't want to believe that the recent report of the EIU is a propoganda. They may be credible, but parts of their report do not support the fact on the ground. How can you change a brand that caused a stir in the 2020 elections by garnering more than 5 million votes and winning back many seats to have a hung Parliament inspite of the electoral manipulations and machinations that purportedly took place?

Having read between the lines long enough, and by their pronouncements, there are reasonable and probable grounds to point out that

Yaanom have an agenda to stay in power for a long time, and want to destroy their dreaded opponent, H.E. John Dramani Mahama. And it is their repeated propaganda that JDM would be the easiest candidate to beat is what has echoed around to inform the report of the EIU.

If the ablest grassroots supporters of of the NDC mistakenly fall into this trap, and their plan is allowed to succeed, the long-term damage to their great party will be grave. They should shine their eyes oo. I entreat all NDC loyalists and grassroot members not to buy into this fallacy because it will never help them to recapture power.

The truth of the matter is that some people from the Umbrella fraternity have given themselves up to be used for this diabolic agenda, and I want them to know that it is very dangerous to dine with the devil. They must have a long spoon! I have a sneaking feeling of sympathy for them, and I can see some political careers coming to an end. They will pay for these betrayals. Every. Single. Day. Of. Their. Lives. This is going to be the price of disloyalty, and it is going to be paid in full.

The interesting thing is that some of these "dissidents" know very well that JDM winning power for the NDC in 2024 is a mathematical certainty. They have been discussing this privately, so what is their motivation for a change of a flag-bearer? Perhaps, the common denominator characterising the activities of such people is greed. Somebody should say "fii" and I will mention names, date, time and where such discussions took place.

The Bible tells an interesting story in the book of Nehemiah chapter 2. During the reign of King Artaxerxes, Nehemiah sought permission to build the broken walls of Jerusalem, but when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites, so they ridiculed Nehemiah and did all they could to scuttle his effort.

In response, Nehemiah said: The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.

I thought such characters like Sanballat and Tobiah only existed in the ancient days, but they are real in these modern times too.

No one is saying that, JDM shouldn't be contested for the flagbearership. He is a good man, he has his faults like any human being, but he is still a good man and a better leader. Most of his believers, the grassroot members of his party have not lost their faith in him, and are ready to give him a resounding victory any day.

Fidel Castro once said: Men do not shape destiny; but destiny produces the man for the hour. I have brought myself to the comfortable decision that God allowed what happened in 2016 and 2020 for a purpose -- for Ghanaians to suffer a little to appreciate What President Mahama did. And this time around, I can see a divine hand ready to tip the scales. God will not allow anyone to keep H.E. John Dramani Mahama from his destiny; the Lord almighty has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? (Isaiah 14:27).

In conclusion, I want to leave you with the words of Prophet Nehemiah: the God of heaven will give JDM success, and I will be very shocked if any of those who want to contest him in the presidential primary election gets more than 2 percent of the votes.

Anthony Obeng Afrane
20.04.2022 LISTEN

Katherine the Great, the only woman in world history ever named "The Great" who came from a humble poor German royal family, got her Russian husband killed to raise her to her greatness. She annexed Crimea which was part of Ukraine, extended Russia to the east, and laid the foundation for today's size of the country. She reformed the nation by implementing the book of the law while keeping serfs of farmers in legal bondage. Royal families under her reign blossomed.

Alexander II, married to a German royal, reformed the country further by liberating the serfs and reforms of governance.

Nicolaus II, a weak and clueless ruler married to a German royal refused further reforms and was eventually assaulted ending the Romanov's rule over Russia.

It did not come as a surprise that a German Philosopher, not a British, Dutch, Danish, or French, but a German, Karl Marx in collaboration with Lenin his executive overthrew the Zar regime and implemented it in an agricultural country a concept designed for an industrial economy: Communism. They wiped away the spirit of Peter the Great, founder of St. Petersburg after he had toured Germany for years undercover to be trained in various crafts Germans were excellent in to help his nation. (Communism in China had to collapse as before and under Mao, it was not an industrialized country.)

Of all Soviet Union leaders, it was and is a Russian with German training as a KGB spy in East Germany who raises personal wealth and political meaningfulness in Russia. Instead of reforming his Russia like many of his German and German-influenced predecessors did to rise from internal strength above the rest of the world, he has opted for a strategy of past glory.

History always comes back in different forms. The link between Russia and Germany in this case seems to be strikingly challenging for the mind to make sense of it all. The October revolution of 1917 ended in 1991 with the fall of the Soviet Union as a concept (Communism and a united front of by force same-minded nations) at the wrong time in the wrong place; making history but not historic.

Vladimir Putin wants to correct a few mistakes made in the past as he interprets the course of history but is ignoring that history is not made for repeating mistakes but to learn from them and move on in glory. Like the October 1917 revolution generations later was meant to fail Vladimir Putin repeats now again the circle of not knowing the wisdom of history. The royal rulers before him titled "The Great" took territories based on the wisdom of history and sustained their ways for very long.

As much as Vladimir Putin tries to copy the golden splendor of the Romanovs in so many ways as he steps out of history and e.g. China and its ambitions around the corner his concept will be short-lived; lives, time, money, and glory destroyed.
Residents of Akomokope near Agortor are living in fear over the alleged sporadic gunshots fired by one Nene Teye Kwesi, chief of the area over farmlands.

According to the residents, the land in question was given to them by the Dakakuse family in the Osu Doku area in the Greater Accra region.

The residents are calling on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the National Security Minister to take steps to save their lives and farmland from the rampant sale of the lands by the said chief.

The residents told Class FMs reporter that several reports have been made to the Asutuare District police command for the said chief to be arrested but have been unsuccessful.

The Dakakuse family from Osu Doku is also calling on the IGP and the National Security Minister to investigate the activities of Nene Teye Kwesi.

The family wants him to be brought to book to save family lands at Agortor from indiscriminate sales.

Source: Classfmonline.com
Madam Abla Dzifa Gomashie, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ketu South, has appealed to the Ministry of Education to get the Aflao Community Day Senior High Technical School ready for admission this academic year.

Her appeal on Tuesday followed the Ghana Education Service's (GES) resolve to operationalise the almost completed E-Block by posting a headmaster there, effective March 21, 2022, to oversee its operations.

Mr Michael Yao Tsuiatorfe, the Municipal Director, GES, said the school was opened from April 19 and that admission of successful junior high school graduates, from 2015-2021, were ongoing to enroll the first batch of students for all seven senior high school programmes, except General Science.

Madam Gomashie, however, said she expected full completion of works and the necessary logistics, including furniture, must be provided to create the right environment for effective teaching and learning.

The MP, briefing the media during her tour of the school, said she doubted it could operate effectively in its current state and appealed for urgent government intervention to facilitate its readiness to operate.

I've become who I am because of education. I come from a poor background like many of these children but access to education has opened doors for me. And so, my passion is the human capital development of my constituents she said.

The Education Minister assured me personally in Parliament that work would continue and the school would have enrollment this year. It's been announced and I wanted to be sure that work has continued since the last time I was here but as you can see, we still have a lot of work to do.

She said her decision to visit the school was to familiarise with happenings on the ground and to be an advocate-general for the school, to go on radio and encourage parents to bring their children here. And as a voice for the people, if I must speak, I must speak to facts.

We need furniture, taking care of the compound, electrical works completed, painting finished, a few tiling problems here and there, some carpentry works as well, when done, will move this facility further..We know what the E-block should be like and what we're seeing here now is not what is usually the state in which schools are before children are enrolled.

The visit formed part of her tour of the Constituency, which also took her to the Aflao Border, where she appealed to the President to negotiate with his colleagues to open their sides of the border.

Her last stop was at Agavedzi, where she presented some clothing to victims of the recent tidal waves disaster, assuring them of her commitment to advocating for their well-being.

Agbotadui Akponoguia of Agavedzi, Second-in-command to Togbui Akponoguia IV, Chief of Agavedzi, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency, thanked Madam Gomashie for her show of concern, saying: We appreciate the advocacy works she's doing.

GNA
Sa'id Abdullahi Deni, President of Puntland Regional state of Somalia

20.04.2022 LISTEN

The current president of Puntland regional state of Somalia Sa'id Abdullahi Deni has announced his candidacy for the President of federal government after he vowed to oust the current president believing he put the country on a dangerous path.

Said Abdullahi Deni has been the president of Puntland since 2019. During his tenure he made few remarkable jobs like holding one person one vote election in three districts which was new to the electoral model of the nation. But this post gave him the power to appoint loyal MPs and senators from puntland whom are expected to vote for president in the federal parliament.

Many analysts have been critical of his rule in Puntland for the past year after he waged a bloody war against the Puntland security forces in Bosaaso which had claimed the lives of 50 people with hundred injuries and thousands displaced. This weakness in his administration is seen as the reason why he would most likely fail to lead such diverse politics at the national stage.

Somalia votes for its president through indirect elections. Members of parliament and senators from regional states combined vote for the president. And since Said Deni had already secured Puntland's share of mps and senators through intimidation and force he is trying his hand on leading the federal government when in fact he failed on his own region.

However, after announcing his candidacy Mr Deni had paid visit to UAE and stayed there for a week. It's well believed Deni received funds from the Arab nation of Emirate which had been ousted by the federal government after engaging with illegal activities in the country. It's therefore precisely clear why Mr. Deni's win would serve the interest of the UAE.

Deni therefore, is believed he's ill-equipped to maintain the order of our fragile democracy. He used to remove those with opposing views in the state parliament, when in fact there's no such law that gives him the power to do so. Somalia has long path to go, but with Deni in office, it'd most probably fail.
The Asokwa District Court has remanded a 30-year-old man who was arrested for allegedly stabbing a 45-year-old man to death in a fight at Afful-Nkwanta in the Ashanti Region.

The accused, Isaac Nartey, allegedly stabbed the deceased, Awal Mohammed, when a confrontation ensued between them earlier this month.

The deceased died on arrival at the hospital after the incident.

The prosecution prayed the court to remand the accused person into police custody to give them time to send the docket to the Attorney Generals office for advice.

The court granted the request and remanded the accused person to reappear on 6th May, 2022.

The bereaved family is however intensifying its call for justice to be served.

Alhaji Mohammed Mustapha Issah Watara, the brother of the deceased, told Citi News, for us as a family, we have handed everything over to the police. We came to court today, and they have adjourned to 6th May. Our brother is already dead, but the least we can do is to demand that justice be served. Were just waiting for the 6th of May to see what the prosecution will do, he said.

An eyewitness to the stabbing incident who wants to remain anonymous explained to Citi News that, I bumped into the two of them fighting that night on my way home. I attempted to separate them only to hear the deceased cry for help, telling us he's been stabbed. So I decided to hit the back of the suspect, and the suspect immediately turned to me saying I have no idea what the victim has done to him.

I had others join to help me separate the two and rushed the victim who had fallen on his back into a gutter to the hospital. Unfortunately, he died before getting to the hospital.

The bereaved family wants the trial process to be fast-tracked.

citinewsroom
Some 40 houses at Santeo in the Kpone Katamanso Municipality of the Greater Accra Region have been locked and residents ejected by a team of men purported to be from the SWAT division of the Ghana Police Service.

The incident took place early on Wednesday morning and has left many stranded, including military personnel who own properties in the area.

A man whose name has been given as Mr. Otsere, is laying claim to about 30 acres of land at Santeo in the Kpone Katamanto Municipality with a court order, which affected landowners believe is dubious because they have not been served.

The Assembly Member for Santeo, Samuel Abbrey, said the private individual claims the chief sold the land to him.

We contacted the Chief, who also denied having sold the land of him, he added.

I received a call from one of my committee members this [Wednesday] morning. He told me he bumped into a team of men purported to be from the SWAT division of the Ghana Police Service. I rushed to the scene and saw these men ejecting residents from their homes. About 40 houses were affected.

When I enquired what was happening, I was told that they had a Court order to eject the residents. I asked if they had duly served the residents, and they said not yet, neither had they served the assembly. I told them they had no right to eject the residents without serving them. I then called in the National Police who in turn asked them to reopen the houses. They refused and bolted with the keys.

The military is currently patrolling the community to ensure that residents do not return to their rooms.

citinewsroom
Dr. Kwabena Duffuor

20.04.2022 LISTEN

Former Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor has proposed to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to ensure its next government sees to it that the authority of traditional rulers becomes effective.

In his latest article, the successful businesses man has charged the opposition party to include this in its manifesto for the 2024 general elections.

I, therefore, propose to the NDC that the restoration of the authority and responsibility of our chiefs should have top priority in a future NDC government, and this should be clearly encapsulated in the manifesto we will be putting before the people at the next election, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor notes in his article.

The former Governor of the Bank of Ghana also wants the next NDC government to prioritise strengthening relationships with chiefs and resource them to be able to cater to their people.

The next NDC government should enter into a renewed partnership with our nations chiefs and give them a fraction of all revenue generated from their communities, so they have the opportunity to care for their people, community institutions, and infrastructure while also being answerable to the state government.

Giving our chiefs back their status as well as sustainable income for the development of their local communities and its institutions would incentivize them to make sure that their communities prosper, as the communitys success is their own success and vice versa, Dr. Duffuor adds in his article.

The leading member of the largest opposition party in the country is one of the few people that could rival ex-President John Dramani Mahama for the flagbearer slot of the NDC before the 2024 general elections.

In the past, he has stressed that he would be honoured when given the nod by the party to be the candidate for the next elections.
20.04.2022 LISTEN

The leadership of teacher trainees in the various Colleges of Education in the country has vowed to resist all attempts to deprive them of their three square meals per day.

It follows a new directive by the National Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education  Ghana (PRINCOF) following delays in the payment of six-month feeding fees arrears by the government.

The trainees will from May 8, 2022, feed themselves according to the new directives.

According to PRINCOF, this is the best option to prevent a disruption in the schools' academic calendar.

But President of the Teacher Trainee Association of Ghana (TTAG), Jonathan Dzunu, says a meeting has been scheduled with the Education Ministry for Friday, April 22, 2022, to discuss the concerns.

Our position as students is that we don't support the decision of PRINCOF. The Principals are taking this decision because they have not been given a feeding component that comes with the allowances. So if you are asking the students to go and feed themselves, where will they get the money from. So our position is that this should be solved as soon as possible. Students cannot be starved. We want to meet the Ministry of Education and tell them what we want them to do, he said.

PRINCOFs proposals

In a statement, PRINCOF said, suppliers have backed their threats of not supplying any food items to Colleges with concrete action by not supplying Colleges with any food items until they have been paid money owed them.

To ensure a smooth academic calendar, PRINCOF says it has adopted the following measures:

Trainee teachers will be provided with two meals, breakfast and supper only for one week, from April 23 to April 30, 2022

Trainee teachers from May 1 to May 8, 2022, shall be given lunch only.

After May 8, trainee teachers would be asked to provide their own meals until their feeding allowances have been paid, it said.

Food vendors are being encouraged to increase the quantity of daily meals they cook for sale to students.

These measures are meant to ensure that there is no disruption of the academic calendar, the statement ended.

---citinewsroom
Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Wednesday called on French people to vote for incumbent Emmanuel Macron in this Sunday's presidential election run-off.

In a series of Twitter posts, Navalny said Marine Le Pen's far-right opposition party, the National Rally, had been compromised by its connections to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The 45-year-old politician, lawyer and activist said he was "shocked" by a nine million euro loan taken out by the party from a Russian bank in 2014.

"This is corruption  and it is a sale of political influence to Putin," denounced Navalny, who has been imprisoned in Russia since January 2021.

"This bank is a well-known money laundering agency that was created at the instigation of Putin.

How would you like it if a French politician got a loan from the Cosa Nostra (Sicilian mafia)? Well, it's the same.

Great debate

Macron and Le Pen face off in a high stakes election debate Wednesday night that could prove decisive in swaying the undecided voters.

Between them, Macron and Le Pen won just 51 percent of the vote in the first round  so 49 percent of the electorate didn't vote for either.

Meanwhile leader of the hard left, Jean-Luc Melenchon, has asked voters to "elect him prime minister" during upcoming legislative polls in June  after he placed a close third in round one of the presidentials.

Read also:
MATSAMO  Everything had been going well until a group of marchers attempted to block a truck at Matsamo Border Gate, resulting in 10 shots being fired, with three emaSwati being injured.

Ideally, the border blockade, which had been organised by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) had ended peacefully, but trouble started when the marchers were leaving to their various places of abode on the South African side of the Matsamo Border Gate. Various organisations, including Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO), Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN), Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC), Economic Freedom Fighters Swaziland, (EFF Swaziland) had gathered at the border to take part in the border blockade that was happening simultaneously in other border gates and posts.

Shooting

The shooting incident took place at around 2:50pm, just when the members were dispersing to return to their respective bases and homes. About three emaSwati, including a woman and a teenage boy, were allegedly shot when South African Police Service (SAPS) officers fired shots using rubber bullets to disperse the crowd that had started blocking a truck. According to some of the representatives, the blockade is said to have been conducted peacefully and was even attended by Collen Sedibe, who is the Mpumalanga Chairperson for EFF South Africa.

However, just when the attendees were about to leave, some of them were attracted by a truck that is said to have been heading towards the border. The truck was coming from the South African side, intending to cross into Eswatini.

It is alleged that the rowdy group approached the truck in a bid to block it. SAPS officers who were closely watching the proceedings did not take kindly to this and allegedly opened fire. It is alleged about 10 shots of rubber bullets were fired. This forced the nearly 200 people who had gathered to scatter in panic. Apart from the shot emaSwati, it is believed that there were South Africans who also got shot, though the number of casualties could not be ascertained. *Jack, who is a member of PUDEMO, said there was no time to loiter around after the gunfire. We all fled for our own safety, he said. He added that at least three emaSwati were shot, including a teenager. Jack said he was not sure how the teenager ended up near the protestors but he assumed that he was from the Piggs Peak area. He said it did not appear as though the injuries were severe as the three managed to cross back into the country. One of the women was shot in the arm.

Meanwhile, prior to the shooting incident, activities remained normal at the Matsamo Border Gate as travellers were allowed to pass through or enter the country. Police officers, including those from the Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU), kept guard at the border. Soldiers were also on patrol near the border, as well as along the borderline where it was suspected that some of the people would illegally cross into SA.
Wielding shovels, mallets and machetes, they worked for four hours to try to shift the muddy debris, hoping that vehicles could at last get through.

In vain: A pick-up truck, stuck on the wrong side of the gigantic mound, was still unable to pass.

Inhabitants of KwaNdengezi, a township west of Durban, have been almost literally marooned since a record storm pounded South Africa's east coast, killing nearly 450 people.

Like people stranded on a desert island watching ships sail tantalisingly by, they have stood as water tankers drive by in the distance.

None of the tankers comes to their aid.

To the bitter residents, it is a sign of an isolation that has now lasted more than a week -- even of abandonment.

"You just feel like you're thrown away, like they don't care about us," said Bryson Khumalo, 24.

He was compiling a list of residents with the greatest needs  those whose homes had been washed away or rendered uninhabitable  to provide to government authorities.

No-one had yet come to check on the community, he said.

"We're doing it on our own. That makes us more angry," he said.

The country has declared a national state of disaster after record rains flooded swathes of KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces.

Deadly floods in South Africa. By Elonore HUGHES AFP

The defence force announced Monday that it was deploying 10,000 troops to help clear debris, rebuild fallen bridges, provide clean water and reconnect severed power lines.

But in KwaNdengezi on Wednesday, no help came as more than a half dozen men struggled to clear a mud-covered road.

Many local people said they remained deeply nervous, still scarred by the sight of roads that became rivers and bore away lives, homes and possessions.

Fear

The floods are the worst in living memory, and experts say climate change has played a part in their intensity.

"I'm shaking, as you can see. I'm not angry, I'm worried," said Ntombi Mkhize, 42, a mother of three whose youngest child is just two months old.

"Even if there is a small rain, because of that memory, we feel it is big," she said, adding the fear had caused her many sleepless nights.

On top of that, she is afraid of break-ins and other crimes by people taking advantage of the unlit nights.

Lacking water or electricity, Mkhize said she had been sending her eldest son to collect water leaking from broken pipes far from their home.

She had had to collect wood  still damp from the rain  to build a fire and boil the water, hoping to kill any contaminants.

Many local people said they were consumed by the need to recover bodies of loved-ones, to give them proper funerals and provide closure.

Missing: The search for Ntokozo Magcaba's son. By GUILLEM SARTORIO AFP

Ntokozo Magcaba, 40, had her eyes fixed on a river where police divers and a canine unit were searching the waters for her missing 23-year-old son.

"They say we must keep looking," she said police had told her when she called for help a week ago. Since then, her husband and neighbours had been searching daily.

Rescuers followed the river for over an hour to where it intersected with a larger waterway.

There was no sign of Magcaba's son.

"I'm broken," she said.
A new survey conducted by Global Info Analytics, a polling company in Ghana, has revealed that 67% of citizens are of the view that, Ghana is on the wrong developmental path.

Whilst 50% of New Patriotic Party (NPP) affiliates approve of the performance of the president, 45% disapprove of his performance.

For the NDC, only 12% approve of the president's performance with 84% disapproving of him.

15% of Floating voters approve of the president's performance, whilst 73% disapprove of his performance.

While National Democratic Congress (NDC) and floating voters were emphatic about the direction of the country, wrong direction 84% and 69%, NPP voters are split in the middle between 47% to 47% for right and wrong direction.

The poll also shows the president's job approval rating declining from 34% in January 2022 to 27% in April.

67% of voters disapprove of the job performance of the president, resulting in a net approval rating of 40% negative.

Economy, jobs, and education are the three issues voters say, they will consider before voting for a candidate in 2021.

They accounted for 20.88 percent, 19.28 percent, and 17.24 percent of the economic issues tabled.

Meanwhile, 46.62 percent are yearning for the return of John Dramani Mahama as President.

Mr. Mahama is believed as the one who is most trusted to also improve job creation, education, and infrastructure. Sampling dynamics

34 constituencies that were previously selected under a convenient sample were repeated for purposes of establishing a polling trend.

An additional 34 constituencies were selected using random sampling.

The previous constituencies polled in January were excluded prior to running the random simulation model to select the constituencies.

Thus, giving the remaining 241 constituencies an equal chance of selection.

The 2020 Electoral Commissions voters' register was used to allocate samples.

Allocation of interviews was based on the total registered voters in the constituencies relative to the 68 constituencies selected.

For each constituency selected, the location for the interview was also selected randomly from three Electoral areas of the constituency.

Voters older than 16 years were interviewed as part of the poll.

---citinewsroom
China has signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands, a tiny state in the Pacific Ocean. The US and Australia are furious and worry that Beijing might want to expand its naval operations. The agreement also means that China's sphere of influence now extends to French territory as the Solomon Islands share a common sea border with French Caledonia.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare was defiant Wednesday about his decision to sign the security pact with China in the face of lobbying from the United States and Australia.

Sogavare said it was an "honour and privilege" to tell parliament the deal had been signed by officials in Honiara and Beijing "a few days ago".

The deal, announced Tuesday by Beijing, has faced sharp criticism from the United States and Australia, which fear the pact could lead to China gaining a military foothold in the South Pacific.

A copy of a draft version of the agreement, retweeted by Anna Powles, a security studies specialist with New Zealand's Massey University, leaked last month, sent shock waves across the region.

According to Article 1 of the agreement, Solomon Islands "may request China to send police, armed police, military personnel and other law enforcement and armed forces to assist in maintaining social order."

The agreement adds that "China may ... make ship visits to ... Solomon Islands, and the relevant forces of China can be used to protect the safetey of Chinese personnel and major projects on the Solomon Islands."

Although Solomon Islands authorities have insisted that this is not a carte blanche for a Beijing-sponsored construction of a military base, Australia and the US fear that this may be a first step.

As a result of the leaked draft, Washington and Canberra jumped into diplomatic overdrive to prevent the deal - Australia's Pacific minister Zed Seselja even paid a personal visit to the islands - but all was in vain.

The Solomon Islands and China have been moving closer in recent years, with Sogavare's government severing ties with Taiwan in September 2019, just days before its Pacific neighbour Kiribati followed suit by recognising Beijing.

New neighbours for France?

Another country that has interests in the region is France. One of its Pacific territories - New Caledonia - borders the Solomon Islands.

In 1991, Paris and the Solomon Islands signed an "Agreement on maritime delimitation" defining the line that separated the waters surrounding New Caledonia from those belonging to the Solomons.

Like Australia and the US, France is equally concerned about the growing Chinese military presence in the pacific.

The French Ministry of Defence's Strategic Update 2021 warns that "the People's Republic of China ... has doubled its defence budget since 2012, making it the second largest in the world, while expanding its nuclear arsenal and showing new ambitions in terms of power projection."

France was initially happy to engage in some of the military exercises that Quad countries -the US, Australia, India and Japan- were organising.

But when Australia dumped a lucrative French submarine deal in exchange for a US contract for nuclear subs and membership of the trilateral Aukus alliance between Canberra, London and Washington, France's enthusiasm for a common defence policy cooled.

Though relations are back to normal now, France has not yet joined US and Australian protests about the latest Chinese attempt to gain influence in the region.

France currently deploys 7,000 defense personnel, 15 warships and 38 aircraft in the Indo-Pacific area. The islands of Mayotte, La Reunion, New Caledonia, and French Polynesia together account for some 1.6 million French citizens.
Government has released an amount of 67million to Colleges of Education in Ghana after the National Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education  Ghana (PRINCOF) said it could not continue feeding the trainees due to huge debts owed by the government.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, April 20, Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum said I am very happy to inform you that government has released 67, 942, 652 to Colleges of Education. I know you may have read media reports, there were many calls on us to respond to concerns of PRINCOF. We want to let the country know that the President of the Republic, the Finance Minister and all those who have work hard to ensure various promises made to Colleges of Education are carried through, have delivered on their promise. That is why this amount has been released to Colleges of Education.

The Executive Secretary of PRINCOF, Dr. Harriet Naki Amui in an earlier letter dated Tuesday, April 19, 2022 sent to the Minister of Education directed that teacher trainees must start to fund their own feeding from May 8, if funds are not made available to them.

This directive has been necessitated in response to the inability of Colleges of Education to make payments for food items supplied to them.

The statement said food suppliers continued delivering supplies to these Colleges of Education for months without payment but they have finally withdrawn their services till they receive the monies owed them.

Most Colleges now have food items that can last only one week if students are to be provided with three (3) meals a day, PRINCOF said.

The PRINCOF statement therefore made the following four proposals which take effect on April 23.

Trainee teachers will be provided with two meals, breakfast and supper only for one week, from April 23 to April 30, 2022, that, Trainee teachers from May 1 to May 8, 2022 shall be given lunch only, that, after May 8, trainee teachers would be asked to provide their own meals until their feeding allowances have been paid and finally, food vendors will be encouraged to increase the quantity of daily meals they cook for sale to students.

The statement added that all these measures are meant to ensure that there is no disruption of the academic calendar.

---3news.com
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu constituency in the Volta Region, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has described the decision by authorities of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to defer the courses of some 6,000 students for non-payment of fees as harsh and inconsiderate considering the current economic hardship.

Mr Ablakwa is, thus, appealing to the Ministry of Education to urgently intervene and save the future of the affected students.

It should not be difficult for government to instruct student support schemes such as the Scholarship Secretariat, Students Loan Trust, GNPC Scholarship Foundation, Cocobod Scholarship and GETFund to extend immediate relief to our 6,000 young Ghanaians, he suggested in a Facebook post.

The lawmaker urged affected students in his constituency to contact his office for assistance.

He proposed that it is perhaps time for Parliament to revisit its earlier motion calling for a special subsidy on fees, particularly for needy tertiary students because education is a right.

The university announced that students who owe more than 70 per cent of their school fees were to automatically defer their courses by 7 April 2022.

Despite the affected students having been allowed to sit their mid-semester exam which started on 11 April 2022, those who still had not paid up after the first exam week were forced to defer their courses.

The University Relations Officer, Dr Daniel Norris Bekoe, said on Wednesday, 20 April that there was the need to apply the fees policy this year which has been approved by the academic board and it is required that as an undergraduate student you must register your courses at the beginning of the semester and pay 70%.

Despite a three-month window  February to April  for students to fully pay up their arrears, Dr Bekoe said: A number of students are playing games with the University.

For example, they use their school fees to buy Uber; others are setting up bakerieswhile others are using it for betting, and we have evidence, he told Accra-based Joy FM.

Source: Classfmonline.com
20.04.2022 LISTEN

After a successful family introduction, Kwabena Jumah, son of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GIHOC Distilleries, Maxwell Kofi Jumah has finally tied the knot with President Nana Akufo-Addo's last daughter, Edwina Nana Dokua Akufo-Addo.

The private traditional marriage which started at about 10am at the Jubilee House was strictly limited to invited guests.

However, the white wedding of the couple has been scheduled to take place over the weekend.

The family of Nana Dokuas mother from Asante Mampong where she is a royal was adequately represented.

Somewhere in October last year, the son of the Managing Director of GIHOC Distilleries, an appointee of President Akufo-Addo and his daughter held a private family introduction.

The event took place at the Presidential Villa at Jubilee House on Saturday, October 9, 2021, with a couple of family members and close allies of both families in attendance.

A video circulating on social media showed President Akufo-Addo with microphone asking the daughter whether she was ready to accept Kofi Ghanas son as hubby to be.

In a lovely and interesting manner, the daughter responded in the affirmative, attracting applause from the gathering.

In another picture, the President was seen in a group photograph with Maxwell Kofi Jumah and family.

The beautiful ceremony was crowned with a celebration as the President was seen on the dance floor with his daughter exhibiting their dancing skills, with the groom also paired up with First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo in showing his dancing skills.

The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and his wife, Samira Bawumia were also in attendance as they were seen on the dance floor.

In attendance also were NPP bigwigs, and other dignitaries.

Giving some details on how the two love birds met, Kofi Jumah mentioned that his son met Nana Addos daughter in America and at that time both of them didn't know each other's parents.

He stated that his sons marriage was not arranged because he had no idea he was even dating Nana Addos daughter.

According to him, his son told him about the young lady over a year ago and he said he didn't know she was the daughter of the President until they met later.

My son told me that they met in America, and she did not know that I am his father, and he did not know that the President was her father. He said they had known each other for the past four years, he said.

He continued that when I got to know it was the President's daughter, I had to look at my son's commitment level to the relationship because this is not something you can go into and leave just like that. I needed to be sure he was into the young lady, he added.

The NPP stalwart commended the President's daughter for her humility and pleaded with Ghanaians not to involve politics in the marriage of their children.

---DGN online
An Accra Circuit Court has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of three persons who allegedly caused damage to the footings of a-four-storey building belonging to Yusan Ventures in Accra.

Criminal summons was served on them to attend Court but Mamound Abdul Razak, Hamisu Musah and Badaru Moro failed to attend Court on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.

The Court presided over by Mr Emmanuel Essandoh has therefore adjourned the case to April 26, 2022.

They have been charged with trespassing, unlawful protection of land and interest in land as well as causing unlawful damage.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Maxwell Oppong said Complaint Nii Annancy is a Director at Yusan Ventures residing at Nungua.

Razak is a businessman residing at Paraku Estate whilst Musah and Moro, also businessmen reside in Accra.

In 2009, the complainant's Company acquired 0.85 acres of and situated and lying at Tse-Addo from Ataa Tawiah Tsinaiatse and Numo Ofoli Kwashie families of La where the lease documents were duly executed for the complainant by the Head of the family Samuel Quaye Tawiah and other principal elders of the family.

The complainant's physically possessed the said land with a full fence wall and gated same.

The complainants further developed the land with four different storey building footings on the land.

Prosecution said in August, 2021, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Company passed on and the accused persons took advantage of the death of the CEO and tried to convince the complainant to team up with them to take over the land but the complainant declined.

The accused persons then resorted to the use of force, violence and intimidation and in December, 2021, the accused persons used a bulldozer, unlawfully entered the land and caused damage to the storey building footings on the land valued at GHC301,379.40 without any just cause.

A formal complaint was lodged with the Police leading to the arrest of Razak and Musah.

The accused persons denied causing damage to the complainant's footings but Razak laid claim to the land.

After investigation, the accused persons were served with the Criminal Summons to appear before this honourable court.

GNA
20.04.2022 LISTEN

The SIC Insurance Company PLC has rolled out an innovative fire insurance package that gives the insured the requisite financial protection against assets acquired so that in the event of any misfortune the insured would be put in the same financial position enjoyed just before the loss.

Mrs. Cynthia Kwarteng Tufuor, SIC Tema Area Manager stated that given recent and past fires, the SIC has developed a fire policy for the individual and the entity organization to ensure that in case of any misfortune.

The Individuals need Fire Insurance as protection against property including buildings, household goods, and personal effects, and the Organization including Commercial and Industrial entity could insure its buildings, plant, machinery and equipment, stock of raw materials, finished goods and profits, she said.

Mrs. Tufuor who has oversight duties over parts of Volta and Eastern Regions stated at the: End of Month Stakeholder Engagement, seminar organized by the Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office which is a platform rolled out for state and non-state actors to address national issues as monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) at Tema.

The event also served as a motivational mechanism to recognize the editorial contribution of reporters toward national development in general and the growth and promotion of the Tema GNA as the industrial news hub.

Speaking on the topic: Fire and Homeplus Mrs. Tufuor said SIC has innovative policies including a domestic fire policy for private premises which is a standard Fire Policy that pays for loss of or damage to insured items as a result of Fire, Lightning, and Limited explosion as well as explosions from boilers used for domestic purposes.

She said the Commercial Insurance Fire covers the buildings, plant, machinery and equipment, stock of raw materials, finished goods, and profits; Business Interruption or loss of profits insurance focuses on huge Industrial and Commercial concerns which can be extended to cover consequential loss or Loss of Profits upon request.

She said the home package policy for house owners is a specially packaged policy that combines both Fire and Allied Perils and Burglary Insurance for House Owners who live in their own houses at a very moderate price.

She noted that with recent fire outbreaks there is the need to intensify public education on fire policies to ensure that people are protected.

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Mr Francis Ameyibor, Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Manager explained that stakeholder engagement is an effort to expand the frontier of journalism.

He said the GNA-Tema Regional Office has now adopted the tenets of advocacy journalism hence the need to collaborate and partner with state and non-state institutions through our weekly and monthly events to ensure that we serve the state better.

We also use the platform to deepen the working relations with the stakeholders to ensure that both the media and the corporate world work together towards national development.

Mr. Ameyibor said the event also serves as a motivational mechanism to recognize the editorial contribution of reporters to the professional growth and promotion of Tema GNA as the industrial news hub while contributing to national development in general.

Other speakers include Mr. Irwin Cofie, SIC Insurance Deputy Head of Marketing; Ms. Cunthia Twumasi, Deputy Area Manager; Mr. Richster Nii Amarh Amarfio, Secretary of the Ghana Tuna Association; Mrs. Doris Gorman, Tema Municipal Director of Information Service Department and Mr. Gilbert Sam, Administrator of the Ghana Industrial Trawlers Association.
The Ghana Islamic Council for Development and Humanitarian Service (ICODEHS) has challenged the youth to embrace information technology knowledge to promote and develop their businesses to solve complex societal issues that is how we can change the future of the country.

Sheikh Mustapha Ibrahim, who is an Islamic Cleric and ICODEHS Executive Director, therefore, urged the youth to embrace knowledge-based technology, innovation, and an entrepreneurial spirit to promote national economic development.

Speaking in an interview with the media as monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema on Wednesday Sheikh Ibrahim said The younger generation is different from the older generation in terms of technology. The youth should come out with ideas, using technology as their aide.

The ICODEHS Executive Director said one of the biggest advantages of getting started with entrepreneurship at a young age is the opportunity to learn important skills such as teamwork, networking, problem-solving, critical thinking, innovation, and self-discipline.

Sheikh Ibrahim who is also an author explained that entrepreneurship is the future of the youth and that no country has been able to solve unemployment issues without placing its youth on the pathway of entrepreneurship.

He beseeched the government and private entities to support the enterprise of the Ghanaian youth.

Sheikh Ibrahim indicated that the world has changed and the world has gone beyond paper qualifications pointing out the fact that, the world is interested in ideas, and skills.

He urged the government and the private sector to rise, and support the youth to be innovative and creative through technology and entrepreneurship programmes.
Imaam Alhassan Seeta, an Islamic Tutor at Ansaarul Islam Mosque at Adjei-Kojo Suncity near Tema has advised Muslims to desist from activities that would result in fights, arguments, gossiping, and backbiting.

He said these acts were forbidden in the month of Ramadan adding that anyone who engages in such acts in this holy month may not find it lightly during fasting.

Speaking on the theme: Benefits of Reading the Holy Quran, as monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) at Adjei-Kojo near Tema, Imaam Seeta also tasked Muslims to adopt the habit of reading the Quran frequently to remain pure, especially during this period of Ramadan, has stated.

Muslims who recite the Quran from their hearts and for Allahs sake will be rewarded accordingly, he said and stressed that Muslims should cultivate the habit of reading the Quran every day adding that, each recitation is equivalent to multiple blessings.

Imaam Seeta said performing extra prayers after each prayer results in extra blessings and favour from Allah.

He urged Muslims to reverence Allah by following His instructions because Allah knows whats best for everyone; Muslims should cultivate the habit of asking Allah to accept each prayer and deeds they make.

Giving during fasting is obligatory in Islam, those who tend to always give in this month will receive multiple rewards from Allah.
Italian ministers on Wednesday signed a deal with Angola to ramp up gas supplies from the southern African country as Italy urgently scrambles to break away from Russian gas over the Ukraine war.

A declaration of intent was signed to develop "new" natural gas ventures and to increase exports to Italy, a statement from the Italian foreign minister announced.

"Today we have reached another important agreement with Angola to increase gas supplies," Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said in the statement.

"Italy's commitment to differentiate energy supply sources is confirmed," said Di Maio at the end of a two-and-half-hour long visit to Luanda.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi wants to add Angola and the Congo Republic to a portfolio of suppliers to substitute Russia, which provides about 45 percent of Italian gas.

"We do not want to depend on Russian gas any longer, because economic dependence must not become political subjection," he said in an interview with the Corriere della Sera daily published on Sunday.

"Diversification is possible and can be implemented in a relatively short amount of time -- quicker than we imagined just a month ago," he said.

Map showing the gas pipelines linking Algeria and Italy which have signed a new gas deal to reduce Italy's heavy reliance on Russian gas. By Patricio ARANA AFP

Draghi was due to go himself but after testing positive for Covid-19, sent Di Maio and Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani in his place.

Cingolani described the deal as "an important agreement that gives impetus to the partnership between Italy and Angola in the fields of renewables, biofuels, LNG and training in technology and environment".

The two ministers, accompanied by Claudio Descalzi, chief executive of Italian energy giant ENI, also met President Joao Lourenco. They were headed to neighbouring Brazzaville where they are expected to meet President Denis Sassou Nguesso on Thursday.

"This is a race against time to make sure we stock gas and oil for the next winter season," said Francesco Galietti, head of Rome-based consultancy Policy Sonar.

A similar declaration will be signed in the Republic of Congo.

The foray follows the signing of agreements with Algeria and Egypt in recent weeks.

Algeria is currently Italy's second-largest supplier, providing around 30 percent of its consumption.

Draghi announced a deal to boost gas deliveries from Algeria, where he met in April with its President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. By FILIPPO ATTILI Palazzo Chigi press officeAFP

ENI said the deal with Algeria's Sonatrach would boost deliveries of gas through the Transmed undersea pipeline by "up to nine billion cubic metres per year" by 2023-24.

Transmed only had spare pipeline capacity of 7.8 billion cubic metres per year in 2021 -- though it has said it is ready to expand.

Italy has also been in talks with Azerbaijan over the expansion of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

'Fanciful'

The Egypt accord could result in up to three billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) bound to Europe and Italy in particular this year, ENI said.

Italy is looking into buying or renting two floating storage and regasification units (FSRU) to allow it to import more LNG.

Diversification will not be cheap, warn experts, who foresee extra taxes passed on to businesses and families.

Davide Tabarelli, head of energy think tank Nomisma Energia, said Rome was rightly exploiting the "excellent relationships" that ENI has built up over 69 years in Africa, where it is the sector leader in terms of production and reserves.

Italian energy company ENI is the sector leader in Africa in terms of production and reserves. By Filippo MONTEFORTE AFP

But the idea of replacing Russian gas "in the short term" was "fanciful", he told AFP. "It will take at least two or three years."

The government said it expects to get the floating regasification units into place within 18 months.

It has also talked of kick-starting stalled projects for two onshore regasification plants, which would take some four years to build.

'Operation thermostat'

Italy is one of Europe's biggest guzzlers of gas, which currently represents 42 percent of its energy consumption, and it imports 95 percent of the gas it uses.

The government hopes to reduce that by accelerating the investment in renewables and has vowed to cut red tape on wind and solar farms.

Draghi has called for a collective sacrifice, asking Italians this month: "Do we want to have peace or do we want to have the air conditioning on?"

Italy's government is accelerating investment in wind and solar energy. By Filippo MONTEFORTE AFP

His rallying cry was met with some grumbling in a country feeling the effects of global heating, which science shows is driven by human burning of fossil fuels.

Undeterred, the government is readying so-called "operation thermostat", which could see the public sector turn down heating in schools and offices by one degree, and the equivalent for air conditioning in the summer.

The rule would apply to private households and companies too, though it would be difficult to police.

It could save some four billion metric cubes of natural gas a year -- or around 14 percent of the total gas imported from Russia, according to La Stampa newspaper.
South Africa's military has so far deployed 400 of the 10,000 troops earmarked for emergency, relief and reconstruction operations in flood-stricken areas, a senior army officer said Wednesday.

Torrential rains last week triggered record floods and mudslides tearing through eastern coastal parts of the country, killing more than 440 people and ripping apart roads, water pipes and thousands of homes.

"Currently we have 400 troops on the ground but the rest of the 10,000 are still coming. This is just an advance (team)," Brigadier-General Andres Mahapa told reporters.

Joint civilian and military search teams are still recovering corpses from the debris more than a week after the disaster struck.

"We are still digging out dead bodies," said Mahapa.

The army is bringing in doctors, electricians and specialist workers, and Mahapa said the focus would now be on clearing roads to allow the movement of goods and transport.

Several areas are still inaccessible -- hampering the delivery of relief aid -- after bridges and roads cracked under the weight of the worst floods to hit the country in living memory.

"We are also going to assist with establishing temporary bridges while we are trying to fix the bridges after the mop up," Mahapa added.

Major-General Sandile Hlongwa, who is commanding the joint operations, said while the country was "prepared" for a disaster, the extent of the devastation had come as "a shock", with unprecedented destruction.

Referring to the destructive mudslides, he said: "We have never had that before".

Earlier Hlongwa and municipal officials including engineers conducted an aerial survey of the city to determine which sites should be prioritised, and work on the ground is set to begin soon, he said.

"We are not going to sleep. We're going to start with our planning in order to execute tomorrow," Hlongwa vowed.

Stricken communities desperate for water and other basic services to be restored have questioned why the military was not brought in sooner.

"We understand the pain they are enduring," Hlongwa said of the flood victims. "To mobilise the equipment and personnel, it takes time."

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Mrs. Cynthia Kwarteng Tufuor, SIC Tema Area Manager, SIC Insurance Company PLC has indicated that fire insurance cover is important, explaining that Public Liability Covers were meant to provide cover for third parties who come to public premises and may suffer injury or ultimate death.

"It is necessary, for all small business owners to take proactive measures and precautions to minimize the risk of fire and other unforeseen disasters that may occur," has stated.

A property owner with insurance would be able to go back to his or her commercial insurance broker and file for claims for damage and compensation, and conversely, a property owner without commercial insurance would be left having to pay for the damages out of their profits, has stated.

Mrs. Tufuor disclosed that the Insurance Act made it mandatory for all commercial properties to be insured against fire since such fires come with allied perils and public liability challenges.

It is mandatory for all commercial or public properties to have a minimum of fire insurance cover, which comes with inexpensive premiums, Mrs. Tufuor stated at the Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office stakeholder engagement an initiative that creates a platform for state and non-state actors to address national issues which was monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema.

The monthly engagement also serves as a motivational mechanism to recognize the editorial contribution of reporters toward national development in general and the growth and promotion of the Tema GNA as the industrial news hub.

Explaining further, Mr. Irwin Cofie, Deputy Head of Marketing, called on the public especially property owners to protect their investment from unforeseen fires and other disasters with an insurance cover.

Fire insurance gives the insured the requisite financial protection against assets acquired during life so that in the event of any misfortune the insured would be put in the same financial position as enjoyed just before the loss.

The Individuals need Fire Insurance as protection against property including buildings, household goods, and personal effects while Organization including Commercial and Industrial entity could insure its buildings, plant, machinery and equipment, stock of raw materials, finished goods and profits, Mr. Cofie stated.

Mr. Cofie noted: Fire insurance covers, which is the cheapest among all the insurance covers, is a must to have for all commercial and private properties.

In her contribution Ms. Cynthia Twumasi, Deputy SIC Tema Area Manager, said despite the misconceptions about insurance and inadequate awareness of fire insurance, it was highly recommendable for public and private entities.

She said as a growing economy, there was a need for households and businesses to take fire insurance seriously as the consequences in the aftermath of such disasters were not only debilitating but economically draining.

Ms. Twumasi explained that the newly enhance SIC HomePlus Insurance Policy was one of such domestic policies that provides a solution for all homeowners and renters against unfortunate incidents in the home such as fire, flooding, burglary, death, or incapacity as a result of illness.

Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Manager called on workers unions under the Ghana Trade Union Congress to ensure that employers adhere to the Insurance Act in respect to the protection of workers against occupational hazards.

Labour Unions and Associations must check whatever insurance covers or protection under which workers operate, we must begin to holistically protect the interest of workers, Mr. Ameyibor noted.

On the essence of the GNA Tema stakeholder engagement, Mr. Ameyibor explained that modern journalism practices demand a comprehensive dynamic approach to issues that affects society, through which the media must provide a platform for proactive engagement and exchange of ideas towards shaping national development.
The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) and the Students Representative Council (SRC) of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science Technology (KNUST) are mobilising funds to pay the fees for 3000 out of the 6000 students deferred by the University for defaulting in fee payment.

We are trying to mobilise and help the SRC pay for more students, we are targeting about 3000 of them to make sure their fees are paid and their deferment reversed, Dennis Appiah Larbi, President of NUGS, said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday.

He added that there were plans also for the remaining students as well, saying, the Association would ensure every student's interest was met.

The NUGS President said they had been able to negotiate with authorities for the deferment of the students to be annulled once they were able to pay the arrears.

He added that they had begun discussions with stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education on the issue.

Mr Larbi assured the students that the Association would do its best to ensure their deferment was reversed so they returned to campus.

I can assure every student affected in this that NUGS and the SRC will work to ensure they return to campus and continue their studies, he stressed.

He described the decision by the University to defer the students as "harsh" and that it affected the rights of the students to education.

Though we appreciate that the University need these funds to run, measures like this go to the root and against our hope that education shall be a right and not a privilege, he stressed.

More than 6,000 students of the KNUST have been deferred due to delays in payment of their fees.

This was after the students could not pay their academic user fees which had April 11, 2022, as the deadline.

Dr Daniel Norris Bekoe, the University Relations Officer, alleged that some of the affected students had invested their fees in ventures, including online taxi services, and gambling, among others, and were waiting to recoup their investments to pay.

GNA
Ghanas criminal justice system is confronted with numerous challenges that inhibit an effective and equitable justice delivery system in the country. Key to these challenges includes lack of effective communication and collaboration among key justice institutions.

This challenge has led to the introduction of the Ghana Case Tracking which was launched in 2018 to improve justice delivery in Ghana.

The Case Tracking System is an integrated criminal case tracking technological tool designed to digitize the manual processes and lifecycle information of criminal justice agencies in Ghana starting with the key Justice Sector institutions.

However, the implementation of this system has faced challenges.

Speaking at a town hall meeting organised by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) at Asokwa in Kumasi, the Programs Manager of CHRI said the system will need strong governmental backing to ensure a successful take-off.

"Even though the GCTS was launched by the Vice President, H.E Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia in 2018, little has been heard from the side of Government concerning the tracking system. Suffice it to say, institutions involved in the Justice delivery system have shown interest, but we need Government's commitment and backing to ensure the effective implementation of the system."

On the progress made so far, Ms Ahulu said so far 40 selected districts in 7 regions have piloted the project but there are plans to extend it to the other parts of the country. She said just like all other new projects, the implementation has not been entirely smooth but she was optimistic that with advocacy and awareness creation, the Ghana Case Tracking System will be accepted.

She again revealed that plans are far advanced to train stakeholders involved in the justice delivery system on how to use the tracking system. She said there will be an extension of internet connectivity to areas where the Court Tracking System has been installed for easy access.

Touching on the relevance of Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Ghanaian Justice delivery system Tijani Mahmoud of the Moslem Family Conselling Services said judging from the overcrowding in the prisons as well as challenges with the location of dockets, Alternative Dispute Resolution must be re-looked and be considered.

"Institutions like CHRAJ, Legal Aid Commission and Social Welfare exist to promote the use of ADR in the adjudication of cases. If we are able to promote and refer cases to them, a lot of the challenges we encounter in our justice delivery system will be dealt with".

The town Hall meeting had representatives of the dressmakers association, hairdressers association as well as members of the disability groups.
A youth-focused non-governmental organization, Youth Bridge Foundation, has called on the Electoral Commission to open Ghanas voters register for the registration of new eligible voters.

In a statement, the Foundation said a scan of Ghanas current political landscape hints at the possibility of impending by-elections.

Youth Bridge Foundation believes that a significant number of young Ghanaians have reached the eligible voting age of 18 years since the last date the countrys voter register was opened.

With the constitution instructing the EC to organize an election within 60 days after a declaration of a by-election by Parliament, the Foundation is worried that many young Ghanaian citizens could be disenfranchised.

We, Youth Bridge Foundation, wish to express concern about the potential to disenfranchise some young Ghanaian citizens who turned 18 years after the 2020 voter registration in the sudden event of parliaments declaration of vacant seat(s), the statement reads.

Consistent with Article 42 of the 1992 constitution, we call on the EC to urgently and proactively take steps to revise the voters register in order to provide ample time for young persons who have attained the eligible voting age of 18 years register and have the opportunity to vote in an eventual by-election, it continued.

Meanwhile, the Foundation has commended the EC for being resolute in the use of its district office for the 2020 limited voter registration."

It believes that the decision has reduced cost and facilitated the development of structures of continuous voter registration agenda.
Megan Bittner

Hi there! My name is Megan Bittner and I am a sophomore in the Agriculture Business program with hopes of pursuing a career in Ag Law or Ag Finance after college. As a born and raised Montanan, I know the importance of agriculture, especially when relating to the state of Montana. I grew up raising pigs and sheep for 4-H and participated in FFA when I was in high school. As a student at Montana State, I am a member of Stockgrowers, Collegiate Young Farmers and Ranchers and Alpha Omicron Pi. These connections and opportunities have effectively prepared me to serve as an ASMSU senator. Through my senatorship, I will always put the needs of agriculture and the students first. I look forward to supporting, representing and standing up for the College of Agriculture. If you want to learn more, please email me at [email protected].

Leadership is collaborating with peers and related groups to move towards a common and achieving goal. Those in leadership are not above those in the group, instead they are standingwith them, motivating and encouraging them to move in a positive direction. One of the biggest tag-lines in my life, courtesy of Alpha Omicron Pi, is inspiring ambition, and I believe that if one wants to be successful in leadership, they must inspire those they are leading to really want what they are trying to achieve, instead of just following. I believe leadership also brings opportunity, asa good leader should provide opportunities for those who are being led to grow and learn within themselves. Leadership is helping develop those around you into people you would want to see be leaders.

My main goals as a senator is to continue my personal advocacy for agriculture and Montana State, all while helping those in the College of Agriculture achieve the goals that they set out to obtain. Connection and education are my main focuses for my time as a senator. I believe connecting the agriculture world to those who may not know much about it is the key to more support and representation. This is also where education comes in. I believe it is important to educate everyone on the facts of agriculture because there is so much misinformation out there for the public to believe. As Montanas largest land-grant university, I believe it is important for Montana State to take the lead on Montana agriculture issues, and any communications relating to agriculture around the country, because Montanas economy is dominated by agriculture.
His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain has ratified and promulgated a law on the Future Generations Reserve Fund, following its approval by the Shura and Representatives Councils.

According to the law, the amount of $1 shall be deducted from the price of each exported barrel of crude oil when the price is between $40 and $80 for two consecutive fiscal years, said a Bahrain News Agency report.

It also stipulates that the deducted amount shall increase to $2 when the price of a barrel of crude is between $80 and $120, and to $3 when it exceeds $120.

The Prime Minister and ministers, each in their capacity, shall implement the provisions of this law which takes effect at the beginning of the first fiscal year after its promulgation, and will be published in the Official Gazette.
Bahrain has recorded foreign direct investments (FDI) worth BD12.6 billion ($33.1 billion) for 2021 compared to BD11.9 billion ($31.2 billion), thus registering an increase of 5.6 per cent over the previous year, said the kingdoms Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) in a new report.

The survey, conducted in collaboration with the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) and the Economic Development Board (EDB), measures the volume and inflows of foreign investments made by key entities in different economic sectors.

It also covers the volume of investment flow by establishments active across all sectors whose capital is owned by non-resident entities.

The survey showed that the kingdoms annual FDI inflows for the 12-month period were approximately BD663.9 million, dominated mostly by financial and insurance activities worth BD432 million and manufacturing at BD238.9 million.

According to iGA, foreign investments from Cayman Islands contributed 41.3%, or BD274.2 million of the total flows, followed by Kuwait with BD223.9 million, and Saudi Arabia with BD190.7 million.

The survey aims to identify sources of foreign investment according to investors countries of residence, in addition to highlighting sectors that attract and maintain investments.

It also helps decision makers set appropriate policies to attract further investments to contribute to the Kingdoms ongoing development.

One of the IGAs most important publications, the FDI Survey helps identify foreign investment stocks and flows. The iGA, represented by the Economic Statistical Directorate, conducts the survey in partnership with other authorities and in line with global standards.

The survey is in accordance with a joint strategic statistical work plan overseen by the GCC Statistical Center aimed at collecting foreign investment data on the GCC as a unified bloc, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
NEW YORK (AP)  When Christo Grozev, executive director of the investigative collective Bellingcat, recently re-watched the new documentary Navalny, about the imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, he was struck by how much the film affected him differently since Vladimir Putin launched Russia's war in Ukraine.

Navalny," directed by Daniel Roher, is a gripping portrait of the Russian dissident beginning with the 2020 poisoning that nearly killed him, and which Grozev traced directly to the Kremlin. Grozev uncovered that Navalny had been attacked with the nerve agent Novichok and that the alleged assassination attempt was the work of a Kremlin spy unit. (The Kremlin has denied it.) At the time, Grozev wondered if it would seem too far fetched that Putin would go to such Bond villain extremes.

When we did the investigation in 2020, I struggled with: How am I going to convince Russian audiences and the world that what Im saying is true  that the president of a large country that wants to be a moral leader in the world has been assassinating people?" Grozev said in a recent interview. Now, it doesnt seem like its such a big leap of faith.

The war in Ukraine has rapidly recast Navalny, which premieres 9 p.m. Sunday on CNN and CNN+ after a brief few days in theaters. Since Roher's film premiered in January at a virtual Sundance Film Festival  where it won both the documentary audience award and the festival favorite award  the geopolitics that Navalny documents bracingly in real time have exploded in the open. The Ukraine war, which U.S. President Joe Biden has said constitutes genocide, exposed the grim horror of Putin's politics to much of the world.

Navalny now plays like a prequel to Maria Pevchikh, head of the investigative unit for Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation and an executive producer on the film. It gives so much context to whats happening now in Ukraine.

The world could have and should have understood earlier. Putin could have been stopped in many points in history: after Crimea, after using chemical weapons, after running this assassination squad, she said. There have been so many awfully wrong things that we didnt react strongly enough to.

Navalny, which will stream on HBO Max at a later date, was intimately filmed with the Russian opposition leader as he recuperated from the Novichok attack in Germany with his family, and resolved to return to Moscow despite the clear risks. In between, Navalny makes his case for an alternative to Putin while often comically sifting through the details of his near death. In one unbelievable scene  perhaps the first to ever fuse John le Carre and the Jerky Boys  Navalny calls Kremlin agents behind the attack while posing as a Russian bureaucrat filing a report, getting one to divulge plenty of details. With Roher's fly-on-the-wall cameras, a real-life political thriller unspools starring a very charismatic Putin foe.

Getting this film out in the world will help the world understand that Vladimir Putin is not Russia and Russia is not Vladimir Putin, says Roher, the Canadian filmmaker of Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band." What Alexei Navalny is an alternate vision of what the country could be.

When Navalny landed in Moscow in early 2021, he was greeted by throngs of supporters  and quickly detained. After a year in jail, he was sentenced last month to nine more years for fraud in a case that the State Department condemned as a sham ruling. On Twitter, Navalny was characteristically undeterred.

9 years. Well, as the characters of my favorite TV series The Wire used to say: You only do two days. Thats the day you go in and the day you come out.'"

As the war in Ukraine has dragged on and war crimes have been widely alleged against Russia, Navalny has spoken bluntly against the assault. On Tuesday, he claimed a distant relative of his, Ilya Ivanovich Navalny, had been killed in a Ukrainian village. Navalny suggested he had been targeted for his last name by Russia forces.

It is now everyones duty to make at least some, even the smallest contribution to stop this war and remove Putin from power, said Navalny on Twitter. Protest wherever and however you can. Agitate however you can and whomever you can. Inaction is the worst possible thing. And now its consequence is death.

With such stakes, the role of Navalny has only intensified, the filmmakers say.

People are fighting. Navalny is fighting, says Pevchikh. We are convinced that its never too late to try to stop Putin. To stop him today would be better than stopping him tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

In a crackdown on opposition activists and independent journalists, Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation was last year labeled an extremist organization by the Kremlin. Now operating outside Russia, the group has continued running investigations into government corruption, even with its leader behind bars. (In March, its researchers linked a superyacht docked in Italy to Putin.)

Pevchikh hasn't seen Navalny, himself, in more than a year. At every festival premiere and screening event, she happily stays to watch the documentary again.

Its nice to see Alexei out of prison, looking and behaving like he usually does," says Pevchikh. "Its always nice to spend an hour and half with your friend, even if its just in a movie."

To help avoid potential sabotage from Russian operatives, the companies behind Navalny have kept release plans quiet until the last minute. The film was added to Sundance days before the festival began; its CNN broadcast was announced about a week beforehand. After the film first began screening Roher says he's been depicted as CIA in Russian state media. He calls getting the film seen in Russia his number one prerogative.

I wouldnt want Russians to go on bit torrent sites and try to find it and download it and share it with their friends and families, and maybe set up screenings in their communities and their homes, says Roher. I would never suggest that.

But as much has changed in the three months since Navalny first premiered, Roher says that Navalny's unflinching confidence remains undimmed.

When you work with Alexei and you spend enough time with the man, you cant help but be optimistic, says Roher. This war that Putin is waging, the war crimes hes committing, are perhaps the greatest political blunder ever. I would look to history. I would remind readers how quickly the Soviet Union fell. Things change overnight.

___

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) has announced that 20 developer/developer consortiums have been prequalified for the Riyadh-Qassim Independent Water Transmission Pipeline (IWTP) project, which on completion, will boast a transmission capacity of 685,000 cu m per day.

Through this IWTP programme, the Saudi government aims to achieve its goals of ensuring sustainable development of the countrys water resources while providing affordable high-quality services, said a statement from SWPC.

The list of the pre-qualified bidders (lead and/or technical) for the project include global players such as Spanish infrastructure major Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios; Japan's Marubeni Corporation; Italy's Sicim and Chinese groups - Gezhouba Group Overseas Investment, Harbour Engineering Company; Railway Construction Corporation in addition to regional firms - Utico and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (both from UAE), Kuwait's Gulf Investment Corporation and Bahrain-based energy investment company Lamar Holding.

SWPC said that in December last year, a total of 31 companies had expressed their interest in the Riyadh-Qassim project, of which 19 were Saudi firms.

The big Saudi firms which have now been prequalified are Abdul Aziz Al Ajlan Sons; Hak Pijpleidingen Saudi; Al Bawani Water & Power; Al-Fahd Trading Industries & Contracting; Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies; Mowah; Al-Rawaf Trading & Contracting; Al Sharif Group; Mutlaq Al Ghowairi; Nesma and Vision International Invest Company.

SWPC in an earlier notification said it will be conducting a competitive process to select a developer/developer consortium for the 1,392-km-long pipeline project which will be implemented on a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis.

As per a deal inked with SWPC, the successful bidder will provide the entire transmission capacity to the Saudi utility company under a 35-year water transmission agreement.

With this project, the government will develop the necessary potable water transmission systems (WTS) network comprising pipelines and interim/terminal storage facilities within the Eastern Supply Group to provide critical connectivity between the consumption centers and the upcoming desalination plants.
Integral Ad Science Names Korea Market Head

In Seoul, digital media measurement firm Integral Ad Science (IAS) has appointed Inwon Park as Head of Korea Market, charged with leading sales operations and working with brands, agencies, publishers and platforms in the region.



Headquartered in New York City, IAS is known for its TRAQ Scores (TRue Advertising Quality), which evaluate the quality of media environments. The firm is accredited by the Media Rating Council for impression and viewing measurement and the reporting of display and video ads across Facebook and Instagram; for its cross-platform SIVT detection (Sophisticated Invalid Traffic), as well as for viewable ad impression measurement.



Park (pictured) joins from marketing performance company Jellyfish, where he served as Account Director, with responsibility for client relationships and running campaign-related activity. Prior to this, he worked for Dentsu, latterly as Senior Director of Marketing for the group's search and performance marketing division iProspect, before which, he worked for the group's media and content agency Carat, where he latterly served as Digital Planning Senior Director. Earlier, he was Industry Manager at Google Korea, having begun his career at Nasmedia.



In this new role, Park reports to Takeshi Yamaguchi, Country Manager, Japan and South Korea, who comments: 'As marketers in South Korea invest more significant budgets across digital advertising channels, IAS offers the solutions they need to measure quality impressions for their campaigns. We are thrilled to have Inwon on board and look forward to accelerating our growth in South Korea with his sales leadership, industry knowledge, and proven success working with major brands and agencies locally.'



Web site: www.integralads.com .




Beban, Bahrains first entrepreneurial-themed reality show produced by Hope Ventures gets ready to wrap up the registration period for its highly anticipated second season as April 30 nears.

Beban 2 has received more than 100 applications from various sectors to date, noting that it will continue to welcome entrepreneurs applications through its website hopefund.bh/beban until April 30th.

It is envisaged that the second season will be bigger and more exciting than the first. While season 1 of the show consisted of 4 episodes that featured 12 entrepreneurs, season 2 will feature up to 50 entrepreneurs; giving them the chance to pitch their innovative existing businesses for equity investment as well as perks before a planned panel of local and regional investors to be broadcasted on television and online streaming platforms.

Training bootcamp

An extensive training bootcamp is also pipelined for the upcoming season to prepare and assist entrepreneurs in three main areas of development for their businesses: Financial planning, strategic expansions, and pitching in front of investors on television.

Khaled AlRayyes, Projects Manager at Hope Ventures, commented on the occasion: We started Beban with the goal of encouraging co-investment alongside the private sector, and naturally, providing direct investment and strategic opportunities for entrepreneurs. The first season was a huge success, and were looking forward to shedding more light on Bahraini entrepreneurs as they secure strategic investors and embark on their exciting growth journey towards international success.

Strategic opportunities received in season 1 included access to 400+ free courses at BIBF, a trip to Huaweis headquarters in China for training, and advanced orders that were worth $120,000, to name a few. Given the magnitude of season 2, participating entrepreneurs should expect even more exciting and elaborative perks.-- TradeArabia News Service
During the Startup Weekend Micronesia event on April 31, 2021, Kosrae participants Sepe T. Tolenna and Tolenna M. Tolenna map a business plan to make safe drinking water accessible for residents of Kosrae.
Amber Heard attends trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse as the defamation case brought against her by her ex-husband Johnny Depp continues, in Fairfax, Virginia, April 19, 2022.
Republican National Committee Chairperson Ronna McDaniel speaks to the largely virtual 2020 Republican National Convention in a live address from the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., Aug. 24, 2020.
EnerMech, a global services firm, has hired Carl Mook as new regional director for Europe and expanded Paul Cockerills role to oversee Africa in addition to his current Middle East and Caspian remit.

The new senior structure will help drive further growth for the firms Europe and Africa operations in line with the firms global strategic objectives to gain further traction in the renewables, nuclear, industrial and infrastructure sectors, as well as continuing to support its oil and gas clients.

The business will leverage both leaders expertise to span responsibilities focusing on the two continents, as well as scaling up teams when required in the Middle East and Caspian region.

Leadership experience

Mooks joins EnerMech with 30 years international leadership experience in engineering consultancy and design, asset management, operations and maintenance, inspection services technology and asset integrity. He has held several senior roles in his career, including executive vice president at Penspen and vice president of process and pipeline services at Baker Hughes.

Cockerill has been EnerMechs regional director Middle East and Caspian for almost two years and has been pivotal in the business securing several transformational projects and pre-commissioning campaigns in the region.

He has significant experience in Africa, having previously held senior positions at Halliburton in Angola, Congo and Nigeria for 16 years where he was instrumental in increasing market share and developing local workforces. His new title is regional director Africa, Middle East, and Caspian.

Operational bases

EnerMech has more than 40 operational bases around the world delivering its specialist integrated mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and integrity solutions across multiple sectors to support clients with pre-commissioning campaigns through operations and maintenance work and late-life support/decommissioning requirements.

EnerMech CEO Christian Brown said: The Europe and Africa region has been delivering a solid performance for the business, which is a direct result of our teams in these geographies delivering excellence day in, day out. However, we are not a company to rest on its laurels.

Paul has delivered exceptional results in the Middle East and Caspian. Widening his portfolio to support our Africa operations, means we can rapidly scale up our teams as more campaigns and megaprojects are won.

Securing new business

The wealth of experience and enthusiasm Carl brings to the business will help us to further develop our European operations with a pin-sharp focus on securing new business as well as overseeing existing project work.

As a global business we are accomplishing great work for our clients across the oil and gas, renewables, nuclear and industrial markets despite the many challenges the world is experiencing right now. Im particularly proud of our workforce who continue to deliver the quality of work our customers have come to rely on us for.-- TradeArabia News Service
Delegate Michael San Nicolas and his running mate, Sabrina Salas Matanane, wave to family and friends watching on social media after picking up their campaign packet Tuesday at the Guam Election Commission office in Tamuning.
The Ascott Limited has announced the re-opening of its fully renovated Qatar-property, Somerset West Bay Doha. The revamp is in line with the groups tenacious expansion plans for the region, it said.

Owned by Katara Hospitality, Somerset West Bay Doha originally opened in 2008 with a total of 200 units comprising two- and three-bedroom apartments and was primarily focused to cater to long-stay guests. In line with changing traveller needs, the newly revamped property now offers 228 units in one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and is the perfect choice for solo, business, and leisure travellers.

Vincent Miccolis, Ascotts Managing Director for the Middle East, Africa, Turkey and India, said: We are delighted to announce the re-opening of our newly renovated flagship Qatar property, as we introduce stylish urban living in the heart of Doha once again. Sharing the neighbourhood with some of the countrys most iconic establishments, we are confident that Somerset West Bay Doha will provide an elevated accommodation offering for our existing traveller base as well as new markets. This much awaited re-opening is among the many exciting upcoming projects we have planned for the region in the coming months and beyond.

Offering style, comfort and a sense of home, the fully refurbished rooms exude a warm setting, inspired by contemporary and Arabesque decor. Each guest room is complete with floor-to-ceiling windows that provide breathtaking views of the gleaming Doha skyline, along with a range of modern appliances, a fully-equipped kitchen and a dedicated living and dining area, to make each stay convenient and memorable.

A range of recreational facilities, lifestyle activities and business support services are available at the property, including a swimming pool, gymnasium, business centre, breakfast lounge and childrens play area. As part of the propertys transition, a lobby cafe, restaurant, mini market and prayer room have been added to further elevate the guests experience.

Centrally located in the heart of the city, Somerset West Bay Doha is parallel to the Diplomatic Street and ideally positioned for business travellers with easy access to ministry quarters, embassies, consulates and the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre. Leisure travellers and families will delight at the diverse surrounding community, the propertys close proximity to the beautiful corniche as well as to the City Centre Mall Doha. - TradeArabia News Service
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ASHLAND  The A-C Central school board is scheduled to meet in regular session at 7 p.m. today in the unit office at 501 W. Buchanan St.

Among the items on the agenda are:
LAS CRUCES, N.M (AP)  New Mexico State University will require all students on campus to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by July 1, ending the option of submitting weekly tests as an alternative, the university announced Monday.

Chancellor Dan Arvizu also said in a memo to students, faculty and staff that NMSU no longer will require weekly testing for students and employees who decided against getting a booster or received an exemption from vaccination.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  U.S. Secret Service officers shot and killed an intruder who was smashing windows at the residence of the Peruvian ambassador to the United States on Wednesday, authorities said.

The ambassador and his family were inside the residence in the Forest Hills neighborhood of northwest Washington when they heard several windows being smashed just before 8 a.m. and called the Secret Service for a burglary in progress, authorities said. The agency is responsible for protecting foreign dignitaries and missions in the U.S., including embassies and diplomatic residences.

The uniformed Secret Service officers encountered a man, armed with a metal stake, in the rear yard of the residence and deployed a Taser in an effort to detain him, but those weapons appear to not have any effect on the person," Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee said at a news conference.

The officers then shot the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene, Contee said. His identity has not been released.

In a tweet. the Peruvian Embassy said the ambassador, his family and the staff at the residence were safe and the matter was being investigated by the competent authorities.

The sprawling residence is one of the largest homes in Washington and is surrounded by trees. It is just outside of the 1,754 acre Rock Creek Park that winds through Washington.

Investigators are still trying to discern why the man was at the ambassador's home and why he was smashing the windows, Contee said. Several windows and doors around the large property had been shattered, he said.

We're still in the very early stages of the investigation, Contee said. We dont know who this individual is, we dont know why this person was on the ambassadors residential property.

Contee said the man appeared to be in his late 20s or 30s and authorities had not yet determined whether he was carrying any type of identification.

Investigators have not yet identified a motive, but Contee said it appears to be isolated to this particular embassy residence.
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russian forces tightened the noose around the defenders holed up Wednesday in a mammoth steel plant that represented the last known Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol, as a fighter apparently on the inside pleaded on a video for help: We may have only a few days or hours left.

With the holdouts coming under punishing new bombing attacks, another attempt to evacuate civilians trapped in the pulverized port city failed because of continued fighting.

Meanwhile, the number of people fleeing the country topped 5 million, the Kremlin said it submitted a draft of its demands for ending the war, and the West raced to supply Ukraine with heavier weapons to counter the Russians' new drive to seize the industrial east.

With global tensions running high, Russia reported the first successful test launch of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sarmat. President Vladimir Putin boasted it can overcome any missile defense system and make those who threaten Russia think twice," and the head of the Russian state aerospace agency called the launch out of northern Russia a present to NATO.

The Pentagon described the test as routine and said it wasn't considered a threat.

On the battlefield, Ukraine said Moscow continued to mount assaults across the east, probing for weak points in Ukrainian defensive lines. Russia said it launched hundreds of missile and air attacks on targets that included concentrations of troops and vehicles.

The Kremlin's stated goal is the capture of the Donbas, the mostly Russian-speaking eastern region that is home to coal mines, metal plants and heavy-equipment factories. Detaching it would give Putin a badly needed victory two months into the war, after the botched attempt to storm the capital, Kyiv.

The Luhansk governor said Russian forces now control 80% of his region, which is one of two that make up the Donbas. Before Russia invaded on Feb. 24, the Kyiv government controlled 60% of the Luhansk region.

Gov. Serhiy Haidai said the Russians, after seizing the small city of Kreminna, are now threatening the cities of Rubizhne and Popasna. He urged all residents to evacuate immediately.

The occupiers control only parts of these cities, unable to break through to the centers, Haidai said on the messaging app Telegram.

Analysts say the offensive in the east could devolve into a war of attrition as Russia runs up against Ukraine's most experienced, battle-hardened troops, who have fought pro-Moscow separatists in the Donbas for eight years.

Russia said it presented Ukraine with a draft document outlining its demands for ending the conflict  days after Putin said the talks were at a dead end.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the ball is in their court, were waiting for a response. He gave no details on the draft, and it was not clear when it was sent or if it offered anything new to the Ukrainians, who presented their own demands last month.

Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy said he had not seen or heard of the proposal, though one of his top advisers said the Ukrainian side was reviewing it.

Moscow has long demanded Ukraine drop any bid to join NATO. Ukraine has said it would agree to that in return for security guarantees from a number of other countries. Other sources of tension include the status of both the Crimean Peninsula, seized by Moscow in 2014, and eastern Ukraine, where the separatists have declared independent republics recognized by Russia.

In devastated Mariupol, Ukraine said the Russians dropped heavy bombs to flatten what was left of the sprawling Azvostal steel plant, believed to be the city's last pocket of resistance.

A few thousand Ukrainian troops, by the Russians estimate, remained in the plant and its labyrinth of tunnels and bunkers spread out across about 11 square kilometers (4 square miles). Zelenskyy said about 1,000 civilians were also trapped there.

A Ukrainian posted a video plea on Facebook urging world leaders to help evacuate people from the plant, saying, "We have more than 500 wounded soldiers and hundreds of civilians with us, including women and children.

The officer, who identified himself as Serhiy Volynskyy of the 36th Marine Brigade, said: This may be our last appeal. We may have only a few days or hours left." The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified.

The Russian side issued a new ultimatum to the defenders to surrender, but the Ukrainians have ignored all previous demands.

All told, more than 100,000 people were believed trapped with little if any food, water, medicine or heat in Mariupol, which had a pre-war population of over 400,000.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the latest effort to open a safe corridor for women, children and the elderly to escape failed because the Russians did not observe a cease-fire. Many previous such agreements have fallen apart because of continued fighting.

A Zelenskyy adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter that he and other Ukrainian negotiators were ready to hold talks without any conditions to save the lives of trapped Mariupol defenders and civilians. There was no immediate response from Russia.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned of horrors yet to be revealed in Mariupol, given the death and destruction left behind in Bucha, near Kyiv, after the Russians retreated.

We can only anticipate that when this tide also recedes from Mariupol, were going to see far worse, if thats possible to imagine, he said.

Mariupol holds strategic and symbolic value for both sides. The scale of suffering there has made it a worldwide focal point of the war. Mariupols fall would deprive Ukraine of a vital port, complete a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, and free up Russian troops to move elsewhere in the Donbas.

As Russia continued to funnel troops and equipment into the Donbas, Western nations rushed to boost the flow of military supplies to Kyiv for this new phase of the war, which is likely to involve trench warfare, long-range artillery attacks and tank battles across relatively open terrain.

U.S. President Joe Biden was set to announce plans Thursday to send more military aid to Ukraine, according to a U.S. official.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Biden will detail his plans to add to the roughly $2.6 billion in military assistance the administration has already approved. Canada and the Netherlands also said they would send more heavy weaponry.

Also, a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon's assessment of the war, said the training of Ukrainian personnel on American 155 mm howitzers has begun in a European country outside Ukraine, and the first of 18 promised such weapons began arriving on the continent.

Putin, meanwhile, boasted that the Sarmat missile has no equivalents in the world. The Sarmat is intended to eventually replace the Soviet-built missile code-named Satan by NATO as a major component of Russia's nuclear arsenal.

It will make those who, in the heat of frantic, aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country think twice, the Russian leader said.

Looking for a path to peace, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requested meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy in their capitals to discuss how to stop the fighting. The U.N. received no immediate response.

___

Associated Press journalists Mstyslav Chernov and Felipe Dana in Kharkiv, Ukraine; Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine; and Robert Burns and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report, as did other AP staff members around the world.

___

Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Health officials are seeing COVID-19 infection rates slowly rising in some parts of the state, but said hospitalizations and deaths from the virus are remaining stable.

While that's good news overall, the Illinois Department of Public Health cautions people to pay close attention to conditions in their community and stay up-to-date on vaccinations.

"This is a reminder that we all need to remain vigilant and remain up to date on our vaccination status," Illinois Department of Public Health acting Director Amaal Tokars said. "This is especially important for those who are at higher risk for serious outcomes."

The state health department "is closely monitoring the status of COVID-19 throughout Illinois and working with our local public health partners to keep the public informed, Tokars said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has authorized a second booster dose at least four months after the first booster for those 50 years old or older and those who have compromised immune systems and are older than 12.

The CDC recommends that those in a location seeing a rise in infections wear a mask in indoor, public settings or stay in well-ventilated areas, and consider avoiding large gatherings.

All of the counties in west-central Illinois are at "low" community levels. Cases per 100,000 people, one of the key metrics used to determine community risk, range from zero in Scott County to 59.1 in Schuyler County. Morgan County is at 23.77, according to the most recent statistics available. Other case rates by county are: Brown, 15.2; Cass, 24.7; Greene, 30.84; Jersey, 50.52; Macoupin, 31.16; Pike, 51.41; and Sangamon, 51.37.

The statewide per-100,000 case rate is 18.

The state health department said those who experience flu-like symptoms should self-isolate, stay home from work and social gatherings, and be tested as soon as possible. Treatments are available that can lessen severity but must be taken within five days of symptoms starting.

Cases top 14,000

There were 2,471 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 20 additional deaths reported statewide Tuesday, bringing the seven-day rolling average to 2,292 a day. That was the highest since Feb. 21.

It followed a week in which there were 14,049 new confirmed and probable cases across the state  one of the highest numbers since mid-February. There were 45 related deaths last week, according to statistics released Thursday by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Since March 2020, there have been 3,094,485 coronavirus cases and 33,510 related deaths in Illinois.

Wastewater signs

Through the National Wastewater Surveillance System, which was launched in September 2020, the CDC tracks levels of the virus that causes COVID-19 in wastewater.

Those who are infected, even if symptom-free, shed the virus in their feces. By routinely sampling wastewater, health officials can use it as a form of early warning system about the potential spread of the disease.

Not all communities have such testing available.

Among the analysis is the percentage of wastewater samples that have a detectable level of the virus over a 15-day period. In Morgan and Greene counties, levels as of Friday essentially were non-detectable. In Cass County, the virus was detected in 60% to 79% of tests  a significant jump since March 30, according to the CDC. In Macoupin County, it was detected in 20% to 39% of tests, but is declining after reaching a high mark at the end of March.

The metric does not show levels of the virus, however.

Mandate lifted

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday announced he was ending enforcement of a federal mask mandate for those using public transportation.

The decision followed a ruling by a Florida federal court judge striking down the requirement that people traveling by planes, trains and automobiles wear masks.

"Im proud of the work our state has done to fight COVID-19 and protect our most vulnerable, Pritzker said. I continue to urge Illinoisans to follow CDC guidelines and, most importantly, get vaccinated to protect yourself and others.

Vaccination rates

By the end of last week, there had been 21,648,058 vaccines administered in Illinois, an average of 19,799 a day. About 138,595 doses were administered statewide last week.

More than 76% of the eligible population in Illinois has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 68% of people are fully vaccinated, with more than 50% having received at least one booster shot, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control.

Health officials continue to stress that the risk of requiring hospitalization or suffering a severe outcome from the virus is higher for those who are unvaccinated.

In west-central Illinois, Sangamon County has the highest percentage of population fully vaccinated, 63.91%. Other counties range from a low of 39.98% fully vaccinated in Pike County to a high of 60.34% in Cass County. Other full vaccination rates are: Brown, 53.52%; Greene, 43.51%; Jersey, 53.79%; Macoupin, 53.25%; Morgan, 53.84%; Schuyler, 54.41%; and Scott, 42.2%.

Cases in region

Total COVID-19 cases in west-central Illinois counties as of Tuesday, according to the state and individual county health departments, were:

Brown County: 2,408 total, 15 deaths

Cass County: 4,614 total, 51 deaths

Greene County: 3,609 total, 72 deaths

Jersey County: 6,239 total, 72 deaths

Macoupin County: 12,796 total, 151 deaths

Morgan County: 9,508 total, 131 deaths

Pike County: 5,036 total, 85 deaths

Sangamon County: 55,127 total, 388 deaths

Schuyler County: 1,957 total, 26 deaths

Scott County: 1,259 total, 11 deaths
Farmers and agricultural retailers are feeling the burn with the increase in the price of fertilizer that has been climbing over the past two years in addition to facing obstacles in obtaining other products essential to farming.

"There is no easy answer, it's just so complex," said argonomy marketing manger Dick Stiltz of Prairlieland FS. He said that there is no easy solution to level off prices.

"It started with the pandemic and it's not just us (U.S.), it's global."

According to the USDA, fertilizer has dramatically increased in price over the past year with elements like urea being up 149%, liquid nitrogen up 192% and anhydrous ammonia up 235%.

Prices were high before the COVID-19 pandemic but, when everything was shut down and production slowed  with factory workers being home, the theory of supply and demand heavily leaned toward demand.

"We had high price for nitrogen before the war," Stiltz said of Russia invasion of Ukraine and the impact of the pandemic.

But, it's not just an increase in price, farmers have had issues finding chemicals ahead of this year's planting season, let alone stocking for the fall season.

A study published in the Farm Journal in March states that 85% of agricultural retailers have had difficulty buying herbicide; 42% getting fungicide; 38% getting fertilizer; and 38% getting insecticide.

Stiltz said that fertilizer supplies and herbicides for spring in west-central Illinois is 100% available regarding stock. The fall, however, is a different story.

"In the fall, we will have problems," he said, adding that they only have around 70% of what demand is expected.

Because of higher fertilizer prices, the USDA's Prospective Planting report shows that farmers intend to plant 4% fewer acres this year due to the higher prices across the board. However, should farmers decide to plant more at the last minute, the demand for product will increase again.

"This isn't going anywhere anytime soon," Stiltz said of the current prices and stock.

With fertilizer's key ingredients being nitrogen and phosphates, Stiltz said that potash has also had an increase in price and become harder to get.

Current prices for fertilizer in Illinois averaged $1,503 per ton with anhydrous ammonia averaging $889; urea averaging $808; potash averaging $860, according to Stiltz, adding that prices have more than doubled.

With Russia being the second importer of potash, and the Ukraine war causing sanctions to be placed on Russia, it all has contributed to an increase in prices. Additionally, with Ukraine and Russia accounting for a third of global wheat and barley exports, this will also increase prices.

Belarus, north of Ukraine and west of Russia, comes in third in the world for exporting wheat and barley.

"Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe," Stiltz said, adding that so many elements trickled down from farmers and could increase items that are bought at grocery stores with prices increasing.
Bahri, a global leader in logistics and transportation, has announced that its Bahri Logistics business unit has entered into a new agreement with TKHS, the global leader in specialised logistics services tailor-made for the luxury hospitality industry, to deliver a unique and powerful service offering for Saudi Arabias booming hospitality sector.

Under the terms of the exclusive agreement, Bahri Logistics will partner with TKHS to provide end-to-end pre-opening logistics support for hotel developers in the kingdom, said a statement.

The scope will encompass a full range of services from quality inspections of materials and equipment through to international freight, import customs clearance, project warehousing, and delivery services for furnishings and other equipment.

In addition, Bahri Logistics will provide ongoing logistics support for amenity distribution programs within the Saudi hospitality market.

Together, the two companies will contribute to the kingdoms drive to develop the Saudi tourism industry in line with the Vision 2030 goals of boosting visitor numbers and increasing the sectors contribution to national GDP to 15% by the end of the decade.

Eng Ahmed Ali Alsubaey, CEO of Bahri, commented: We are pleased to enter into this agreement with TKHS, which creates a unique and powerful service offering for the Saudi hospitality industry. The new partnership reflects Bahris ongoing commitment to developing innovative services and solutions that contribute to both shaping the future of the Saudi logistics sector and strengthening the Kingdoms economy. We look forward to working closely with TKHS to help empower the hospitality sector, in line with the goals of Vision 2030.

Samuel Wilson, CEO of TKHS Holdings Limited, said: With Bahri Logistics robust shipping and freight-forwarding resources and strong local presence in Saudi Arabia coupled with TKHSs market-leading expertise in managing complex, mixed-use, fast track projects, we are extremely excited to join forces. I have every confidence that this venture will be a major success for both parties, and that by working together we will be able to provide a unique service offering to hotel developers in the Saudi Arabian hospitality market.

Established in 1978, Bahri Logistics is one of the top 10 breakbulk carriers in the world and boasts a state-of-the-art multipurpose fleet with an average age of less than five years capable of handling rolling stock, heavy and oversized loads, and project cargo. The company offers regular Liner Services carrying RoCon cargo between the United States, Europe, and Saudi Arabia.

TKHS is a leading turnkey logistics services provider that has contributed to the success of prestigious hospitality and mixed-use projects such as Crown Sydney in Australia, City of Dreams Mediterranean in Cyprus, Ritz-Carlton Maldives, and Okada Manila in the Philippines.  TradeArabia News Service
Johnny Depp testifies Heard attacked him, he never hit back View Photo

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP)  Actor Johnny Depp scoffed at the notion during court testimony Wednesday that his constant quarrels with ex-wife Amber Heard would ever prompt him to hit her, and insisted on cross-examination that her allegations devastated his career.

Violence isnt necessary, Depp said from the stand during his libel lawsuit against Heard, his second day of testimony. Why would you hit someone to make them agree with you?

Heard has accused Depp of physically and sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions before and during their brief marriage. The former Pirates of the Caribbean star sued after Heard, who is also an actor, made an indirect reference to those accusations in an op-ed piece she wrote for The Washington Post.

Depp addressed Heards accusations in detail Wednesday. Heard has said the first time she was assaulted was when Depp slapped her in 2013 after she made fun of a tattoo he had  one that used to say Winona Forever when he was dating the actress Winona Ryder that he altered to Wino Forever after they broke up.

It didnt happen, he said of the alleged assault. Why would I take such great offense to someone making fun of a tattoo on my body? That allegation never made any sense to me.

Later, he addressed an alleged assault on a private plane flight in 2014 from Boston to Los Angeles. Heard has said Depp became blackout intoxicated and assaulted her on the plane ride.

Depp testified he took two oxycodone pills  an opiate to which he admits he was addicted at the time  and locked himself in the plane bathroom and fell asleep to avoid her badgering.

Depp testified he drank only a glass of Champagne as he boarded the plane. But according to evidence introduced at a similar trial in England where Depp sued a British tabloid  a lawsuit he lost  Depp texted his friend, actor Paul Bettany, and referenced drinking half a bottle of whiskey, a thousand Red Bull vodkas and two bottles of Champagne before the flight.

Depp also discussed a violent argument in 2015  shortly after they were married  in Australia that resulted in the tip of his middle finger being cut off. He said Heard was irate that Depps lawyers had asked her to sign a post-nuptial agreement.

He said she threw two vodka bottles at him, the second of which exploded where he had placed his hand on a basement bar, severing the finger to the point where bone was exposed.

I dont know what a nervous breakdown feels like, but thats probably the closest Ive ever been, he said.

Depp said he began to write on the walls in his own blood to recount lies in which he had caught Heard.

Depp told hospital doctors he had injured himself, and contemporaneous text messages introduced as evidence refer to Depp injuring himself. Depp testified he lied about the cause of the injury to protect her. Heards lawyers have said the laws of physics dont support Depps story and they will introduce evidence to prove that.

Depp also gave a graphic description of a final fight as the couple drifted toward divorce, accusing Heard and her friends of pretending that he was assaulting her. Soon after, Heard sought a restraining order and was photographed with marks on her face.

He testified that Heard was on the phone with a friend shouting, Stop hitting me Johnny! even though he was standing nowhere near her.

The fight had started as Depp said hed realized it was time for the couple to split. The argument intensified, he said, as Depp accused her of leaving human fecal matter on his side of the bed in the penthouse theyd shared. He said Heard kept denying it, blaming it on their small dogs, but he was convinced she was lying.

Depp met Heard on the 2011 film The Rum Diary. The two married in 2015 and she filed for divorce a year later.

Depp said things began to change in his marriage when he felt that he was suddenly just wrong about everything in Heards eyes.

Violence would often ensue, sometimes with a slap or a shove from Heard or his wife throwing a television remote control or a glass of wine in his face, Depp said.

There were times when I would just go and lock myself in the bathroom or a place where she couldnt get to, Depp said.

Depp said he used drugs and drank alcohol as a way to cope with Heards abuse and said she was also a heavy drinker. Depp said he at one point stopped drinking to try to save the relationship, but Heard refused to abstain.

Depp sued Heard after she wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post in which she referred to herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse.

She never mentioned Depp by name, but Depps lawyers said it was a clear reference to accusations Heard made in 2016 when she sought a restraining order against him.

Depp said the accusations and the article contributed to an unfairly ruined reputation that made him a Hollywood pariah and cost him his role in the lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise.

He said he was pulled from the franchise just days after the Post piece ran. On cross-examination, Heards lawyer pointed to evidence that Disney made that decision months before the articles publication.

Heards lawyers say the article is accurate and doesnt defame him. They say Depps ruined reputation is due to his own bad behavior.

Depp was cross-examined only briefly at the end of the day Wednesday. Cross-examination will continue Thursday.

___

Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia.

By MATTHEW BARAKAT and BEN FINLEY

Associated Press
Review: Broadbent, Mirren charm in art heist pic The Duke View Photo

If youre gonna face a jury for a crime youve already confessed to  and even explained how you did it  youd better have something going for you besides a not guilty plea.

The real-life character of Britains Kempton Bunton, an amiable sexagenarian taxi driver who was acquitted of stealing a national art treasure in 1961, definitely did. He had charm, he had wit, and he had a good story.

The same could be said for what British director Roger Michell, who died last year at 65, brings to The Duke. He imbues his last film with so much charm, wit and good storytelling that he, too, cannot help but win.

One of Michells talents was to pick the right cast and let the chemistry shine. After all, this is the man who directed Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant in the classic rom-com Notting Hill.

The Duke  named after the Goya portrait of the Duke of Wellington that was famously stolen from the National Gallery  is no rom-com. Jim Broadbents Kempton is a portly man who struggles to hold down a job (as a cab driver, he talks too much) and writes plays that dont get produced. Helen Mirrens Dorothy is his subdued wife, who cleans houses and suppresses sadness over a family tragedy. But their touching chemistry does the trick, and Broadbent  who has much more to do in the film  is darned near perfect as a man whose Robin Hood-like principles won out in the most unlikely of scenarios.

Of course, it was those principles that got Bunton into trouble in the first place. (Reader, please note: The script takes some liberties from the real story, which itself contains a huge twist, but to describe all that here would spoil much of the fun. Youll learn the truth by the end. Also, theres Google.) Briefly put, Bunton was passionate about free access to television, particularly for the OAP, meaning old-age pensioners  many of whom couldnt afford the governments mandatory license fees for the BBC.

It was access to television, Bunton felt, that connected the elderly to the outside world. And so, soon after we meet him, hes spending a couple weeks in prison for refusing  on principle  to pay his own licensing fee.

Wife Dorothy is thoroughly embarrassed by her husbands social activism, which also finds him campaigning in the streets. And she has little patience for his copious playwriting. (One of his plays, he tells a woman in the shops, imagines Jesus as a woman and is called The Adventures of Susan Christ.) We learn through one of the couples two sons, Jackie, that the playwriting is a coping mechanism to deal with their daughters death in a bicycle accident, a tragedy Dorothy refuses to discuss.

Kempton promises Dorothy that after a two-day trip to London to launch a final push for his social causes  AND his plays  hell settle down and find steady work. But in London, nobody wants to listen. Dejected, he sits down and sees a newspaper on the ground. It tells of that portrait of the duke, for which the government has paid a huge sum, tantamount to millions today, to avoid losing to an American collector. Imagine how many seniors could get free TV licenses for that sum?

And soon, presto, the painting is gone  slipped out through a washroom window of the National Gallery in the middle of the night.

Kempton and son Jackie (an appealing Fionn Whitehead) quickly build a fake wall for the bedroom cupboard. After all, even more frightening than the police finding the hot painting is the prospect of Dorothy finding out. As for the hapless police, they quickly announce that the theft is likely the work of a sophisticated gang of international art thieves. Watching Broadbents Kempton nearly choke to death on his biscuit when he hears the police, on TV, refer to the culprit as almost certainly a trained commando is pretty priceless.

But its the balance between humor and pathos that makes this film work, and the trial scenes are the high point, with the bewigged judge and prosecutor clearly unprepared for the sympathetic response Bunton will receive. (Matthew Goode also impresses as an impossibly suave defense attorney  when Bunton first meets him, he says he feels like hes about to be offered a gin and tonic.)

Speaking of suave, and of cocktails, theres also a sly appearance here from Sean Connery as James Bond in Dr. No, which, in case you dont recall, happened to feature the very same portrait of the Duke of Wellington. The humor in Broadbent and Mirrens faces here, and elsewhere, is one of the many joys of this delightful and poignant film, a fitting punctuation mark to its directors career.

The Duke, a Sony Pictures Classics release, has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for language and brief sexuality. Running time: 96 minutes. Three stars out of four.

MPAA definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Follow AP National Writer Jocelyn Noveck on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/JocelynNoveckAP

By JOCELYN NOVECK

AP National Writer
Yellen, Ukraine official walk out of Russias G-20 remarks View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Ukraines Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko walked out of a Group of 20 meeting Wednesday as Russias representative started talking.

Several finance ministers and central bank governors also left the room, according an official familiar with the meetings, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the event was not public. Some ministers and central bank governors who attended the meeting virtually turned their cameras off when Russian President Vladimir Putins representative spoke, the person said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of Yellens walkout, Certainly we support her steps and its an indication of the fact that President Putin and Russia has become a pariah on the global stage.

The incident came amid the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings, in which finance leaders try to tackle the worlds most pressing issues. The brutal effects of Russias war against Ukraine have taken center stage, and Treasury Department officials said earlier this week that Yellen would try to avoid contact with Russians who plan to attend some G-20 virtually.

President Joe Biden has said that Russia should not remain a member of the G-20, an international body of the worlds biggest economies that promotes economic cooperation between countries. Indonesia is the host country for G-20 summit in November.

The Group of Seven  which does not include Russia  released a statement late Wednesday saying: International organisations and multilateral fora should no longer conduct their activities with Russia in a business-as-usual manner.  As such, we regret participation by Russia in international fora, including G20, International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings this week. Russia was once part of what was then called the Group of Eight, but its membership was suspended in 2014 after its annexation of Crimea.

Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesias finance minister, when asked about Russias participation in the G-20 and the about the walkout, said that the multilateral forum is a place to express the views of all members and invitees.

Psaki reiterated the administrations position that we cant have business as usual at the G-20 and other international forums when it comes to Russia.

By FATIMA HUSSEIN

Associated Press
Sacramento, CA  Democratic lawmakers at the state capitol are referencing a recent shooting incident outside the state capitol as a reason to advance new gun legislation.

Six people were killed during the early morning hours of April 3 in what was determined to be a gang-related incident.

New bills have passed out of committee this week that would make it easier to sue gun manufacturers, require firearm dealers to install digital surveillance systems, crack down on ghost guns, and bar the marketing of firearms to minors. Opponents are arguing that the measures are designed to drive gun manufacturers out of business.

Republican leaders are countering that the state should instead focus on keeping violent offenders behind bars, and shift the focus away from reducing prison sentences and penalties for offenders.
TOKYO (AP)  Japan enacted a law on Wednesday formally revoking Russia's most favored nation trade status over its invasion of Ukraine, as Tokyo steps up sanctions amid revelations of Russian military atrocities against civilians.

The stripping of Russias trade status is Japan's latest move against Moscow and is part of a list of sanction measures Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced last month that also include a decision to expel eight Russian diplomats and trade officials.

The revocation of Russias trade status by Japan's Parliament, which takes effect later this month, and other sanctions collectively imposed by other countries, are expected to intensify pressure on Russia, but the moves could also prompt reprisals from Moscow.

The revocation of the trade status applies to tariffs on most imports from Russia, allowing Tokyo to impose higher duties on such products. The measure, however, does not affect imports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas, as well as palladium, a type of rare metal, which had no tariffs before Russia joined the World Trade Organization in 2012 and gained the most favored nation status.

It followed a decision along with the U.S. and other members of the Group of Seven industrialized nations to do so.

Wednesday's parliamentary decision also included a revision of a foreign exchange law to prevent the transfer of virtual currency held by those subject to asset freezing.

Japan is taking a greater role in the international effort against Russia because of its concerns about the impact of the invasion in East Asia, where Chinas military has grown increasingly assertive.

Japan has also frozen the assets of hundreds of Russian individuals and groups and banned new investment and trade, including the export of goods that could be used for military purposes. Japan also announced plans to phase out imports of Russian coal.

On Wednesday, the eight Russian diplomats and officials subject to expulsion traveled from the Russian Embassy in Tokyo on a bus to the city's Haneda International Airport, where they took a Russian government plane home. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed the departure of the eight and their families.

Japan has already faced reprisals from Russia. Moscow recently announced the suspension of talks on a peace treaty with Tokyo that included negotiations over Russian-held islands that the former Soviet Union seized from Japan at the end of World War II.

Japan's trade with Russia is relatively small but has been growing swiftly in recent years, with exports in the fiscal year that ended in March up nearly 40% and imports up almost 70%.
Area fire departments turned out Monday morning to support the Plainview Fire Department and the family of Captain James Harrison Hart.

The New Deal Fire Department and the West Carlisle Fire Department brought their ladder trucks downtown and saluted as Plainview FD escorted Hart to his final resting place at Parklawn Memorial Gardens.

Community members were spotted along the route of the procession  which started back at Wayland Baptist Universitys Harral Auditorium  sharing their own salutes as Hart rode through town one last time. The route took Hart down Fifth Street then downtown to pass Fire Station 1 before out to the cemetery where additional ladder trucks awaited.

Captain Hart died in a single-vehicle car crash just after midnight on April 13 just east of town.

He was a 16-year veteran of the Plainview Fire Department who worked his way up to the rank of Captain, which (as explained during his funeral service on Monday morning) is the second highest step for a firefighter.

Hart loved his job and strove to do it to the best of his ability, said Chief Bobby Gipson during Harts funeral, which was livestreamed.

Gipson watched Hart transform from an eager 20-something newbie to a seasoned professional who helped shape the department by sharing his input on policies and procedures.

Known for his smiles and infectious full-bellied laugh, Hart was described as a loveable friend who dedicated himself to his job and gave of himself as much as he could, both professionally and personally. Gipsons words and those of Fire Chaplain Rev. Richard Dye painted a portrait of a man who will be obviously missed by his brothers and sisters in the department as well as by his family.

Members of just about every neighboring fire department  some from even further out  as well as local law enforcement members banded around Harts loved ones and took turns handling the duties of Plainviews Fire Department so theyd have time to remember their brother.

Across social media, many of those departments echoed the same words shared with Hart on Monday morning by Chief Gipson and others: well take it from here.
As the global travel and tourism community prepares to gather in Dubai for the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2022 from May 9 to 12, there is bullish news for the Middle Easts aviation industry.

Data from research firm Mordor Intelligence say the Middle East aviation industry will grow at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 6% during the period 2022-27.

Although the recovery estimated for international passenger traffic is gradual, Mordor Intelligence shows that the Middle Easts private and domestic aviation segments remained resilient during the pandemic and are continuing to display signs of growth.

Budget carriers to drive demand

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME  Arabian Travel Market, said: The latest market analysis suggests that budget carriers such as Air Arabia Abu Dhabi and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi will drive demand for new narrow-body aircraft during the coming years.

The Middle Easts aviation sector has also witnessed high demand for private travel during recent years, thanks to corporations and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) opting for business jet and helicopter journeys during the pandemic, she added.

As such, the Middle Easts aviation sector will represent a major focus at ATM 2022, thanks to a dedicated session on the ATM Global Stage, plus a number of related events and forums throughout the event. We also look forward to exploring long-term opportunities related to the future of transport, she added.

Airlines evolving

On the second day of ATM 2022, Airlines Evolving for the Future: Hear From the Industry Leaders will address pandemic-related challenges faced by the industry. Moderated by John Strickland, Director of JLS Consulting, speakers including Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Aviation Group and Adel Abdullah Al Ali, Board Member and Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia, will also share insights into opportunities and likely structural change within the aviation sector as its recovery continues.

Later the same day, The Future of Transport session, held in conjunction with the Global Travel & Tourism Resilience Council, will explore new and emerging modes of transport  such as hyperloop systems, driverless vehicles, next-generation aircraft and space travel  with the potential to revolutionise how we move from A to B. Moderated by Sarah Hedley Hymers, Editorial Director in the Middle East for Connecting Travel, speakers will include Kuljit Ghata-Aura, President  Middle East, Turkey & Africa at Boeing; Kata Cserep, Vice President and Global Managing Director  Aviation at ICF; and Karime Makhlouf, Chief Commercial Officer at Royal Jordanian.

Market leaders such as Emirates, Etihad, Saudia, Qatar Airways and others also reflect a positive longer-term trajectory for the sector, added Curtis.

ESG metrics

In October 2021, Etihad announced it had raised $1.2 billion as part of the first regional sustainability-linked loan (SSL) to include environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics. The deals terms were tied to targets to reduce CO2 emissions, increase corporate governance and promote female participation.

In November 2021, Emirates announced a major retrofit programme which will see 52 of its existing A380 aircraft fitted with Premium Economy cabins and other enhancements, signalling its optimism for industry recovery and the return of travel demand. The following month, Emirates received delivery of its 123rd Airbus A380 superjumbo jet, despite the outbreak of the Omicron variant.

More recently in January 2022, Boeing revealed that it had won a major order from Qatar Airways worth $34 billion at list prices. The order includes the purchase of 25 Boeing 737 Max 10 jets along with options to buy 25 more. Qatars national airline also signed an order for 34 Boeing 777X models, with options to buy 16 more.

Big order on the cards

Meanwhile in the kingdom, Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) is reported to be mulling an order of more than 100 aircraft from either Airbus or Boeing, according to Mordor Intelligence. The carrier aims to grow its fleet to 250 aircraft by 2030.

Now in its 29th year and working in collaboration with the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) and Dubais Department of Economy and Tourism (DET)  formerly the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), this years edition of ATM will commence on Monday May 9, following the UAE governments forward-thinking transition to the Monday-to-Friday workweek.-- TradeArabia News Service
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)  A federal judge in Florida struck down a national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit Monday, and airlines and airports swiftly began repealing their requirements that passengers wear face coverings.

The judge's decision freed airlines, airports and mass transit systems to make their own decisions about mask requirements, resulting in a mix of responses.

The major airlines switched to a mask optional policy, with some eliciting cheers from passengers when the changes were announced over loudspeakers. The Transportation Security Administration said Monday night that it would it will no longer enforce the mask requirement, and airports in Houston and Dallas almost immediately did away with their mandates after the TSA announcement.

Los Angeles International Airport, the world's fifth-largest by passenger volume, also dropped its mandate but the Centers for Disease Control continued to recommend masking on transportation and I think that's good advice," LAX spokesman Heath Montgomery said.

Sleepy passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight between Atlanta and Barcelona, Spain, cheered and applauded when a flight attendant announced the news mid-flight over the ocean.

No ones any happier than we are," the attendant says in a video posted by Dillon Thomas, a CBS Denver reporter, who was on the flight. She added that people who wanted to keep on their masks were encouraged to do so.

But were ready to give em up," she added. So thank you and happy unmasking day!

New York Citys public transit system planned to keep its mask requirement in place. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said it would make masks optional for riders on its buses and trains.

The Association of Flight Attendants, the nations largest union of cabin crews, has recently taken a neutral position on the mask rule because its members are divided about the issue. On Monday, the unions president appealed for calm on planes and in airports.

The last thing we need for workers on the frontlines or passengers traveling today is confusion and chaos, union leader Sara Nelson said.

Nelson said it takes airlines 24 to 48 hours to put new procedures in place and tell employees about them. She said passengers should check with airlines for updates about travel requirements.

The mask requirement covered airlines, airports, mass transit and taxis, and was the biggest vestige of pandemic restrictions that were once the norm across the country.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, also said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention failed to justify its decision and did not follow proper rulemaking procedures that left it fatally flawed.

In her 59-page ruling, Mizelle said the only remedy was to vacate the rule entirely across the country because it would be impossible to end it for the limited group of people who objected in the lawsuit.

The judge said a limited remedy would be no remedy at all and courts have full authority to make a decision such as this  even if the CDC's goals in fighting the virus are laudable.

The Justice Department declined to comment when asked if it would seek an emergency stay to block the judges order. The CDC also declined to comment.

The White House said the court ruling means that for now the mask order is not in effect at this time.

This is obviously a disappointing decision, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. The CDC is recommending wearing a mask on public transit.

The CDC had recently extended the mask mandate, which was set to expire Monday, until May 3 to allow more time to study the BA.2 omicron subvariant of the coronavirus now responsible for the vast majority of cases in the U.S.

In New York, Metropolitan Transportation Authority communications director Tim Minton said the system was "continuing to follow CDC guidelines and will review the Florida court order.

The MTA operates New York City buses and subway trains as well as two commuter rail lines. Face coverings have been mandatory on all trains and buses since early in the pandemic.

United Airlines said in a statement that, effective immediately, masks would no longer be required on domestic flights or certain international flights.

"While this means that our employees are no longer required to wear a mask  and no longer have to enforce a mask requirement for most of the flying public  they will be able to wear masks if they choose to do so, as the CDC continues to strongly recommend wearing a mask on public transit," United said.

Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines also made similar announcements.

The federal mask requirement for travelers was the target of months of lobbying from the airlines, which sought to kill it. The carriers argued that effective air filters on modern planes make transmission of the virus during a flight highly unlikely. Republicans in Congress also fought to kill the mandate.

Critics have seized on the fact that states have rolled back rules requiring masks in restaurants, stores and other indoor settings, and yet COVID-19 cases have fallen sharply since the omicron variant peaked in mid-January.

There have been a series of violent incidents on aircraft that have mainly been attributed to disputes over the mask-wearing requirements.

The lawsuit was filed in July 2021 by two plaintiffs and the Health Freedom Defense Fund, described in the judge's order as a nonprofit group that opposes laws and regulations that force individuals to submit to the administration of medical products, procedures and devices against their will.

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was not directly involved in the case but has battled against many government coronavirus requirements, praised the ruling in a statement on Twitter.

Great to see a federal judge in Florida follow the law and reject the Biden transportation mask mandate. Both airline employees and passengers deserve to have this misery end, DeSantis tweeted.

___

Associated Press writers David Koenig in Dallas, Michael Balsamo and Will Weissert in Washington, and Karen Matthews in New York contributed to this story.
B. Kay Richter, for mySA

A nursing student and her friends recently went viral on TikTok after filming themselves reading the decor at Buc-ee's in a funny Texas accent (at least we think it's not their real accent). Reagan Woulfe has received more than 2.8 million views and around 530,000 likes for her TikTok posted last week.

The TikTok started with one of Woulfe's friends pronouncing Buc-ee's wrong. She said, "Busseys" instead. The Texas chain  famous for its clean restrooms and beef jerky bar  started in Lake Jackson and now has more than 39 stores in Texas, including in New Braunfels off of Interstate 35.
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Mercedes Angelica LeAnza, a film and television producer who had been serving as a lead creative producer at Amazon Studios and Prime Video, died on April 10 of bile duct cancer. She was 40.

Born on Nov. 12, 1981 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago to Sandra Voris LeAnza, LeAnza relocated to California with her mother and brother, Kyle, after her parents divorce. After living in Los Angeles, the family moved to San Mateo, where LeAnza completed high school. LeAnza attended Loyola Marymount University, where she graduated with honors in theater arts and communications in 2005.

After graduation, LeAnza co-founded Stella Bella Productions, which went on to produce films such as Jelly, The Accidental Death of Joey by Sue and Ash Global. LeAnza also served as a producer and line producer for both scripted and commercial projects across all stages of production. She worked as a producer for Launch Media of Santa Monica and produced independent films, such as the comedy Homeroom. She was also a member of SAG-AFTRA and the Producers Guild of America.

LeAnzas first credit as a lead creative producer for Amazon came in 2020 with the drama series Hunters, starring Al Pacino. Her other credits at Amazon include Making the Cut, Solos, Upload and Harlem.

LeAnza is survived by her devoted husband, Sonny Michael Olivera; her mother, Sandra LeAnza; her brother, Kyle, and sister-in-law, Elizabeth LeAnza; her estranged father, Glen LeAnza; and her uncle and aunt, Chris and Julie LeAnza, and their three sons, Kai, CJ and Jax.

A memorial for friends and co-workers is planned for May 15 in Los Angeles. In memory of LeAnza, the family requests donations be madeto charities or the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation through http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org.

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NEWARK, Del. (AP)  President Joe Biden will deliver this years spring commencement address at his alma mater, the University of Delaware.

The May 28 commencement ceremony on the Newark campus is a ticketed event open only to graduating students and their guests but will be livestreamed, university officials said in a news release Tuesday.
Stephan Savoia

BOSTON (AP)  A former chairperson of the Massachusetts tribe whose ancestors aided the Pilgrims goes on trial Tuesday for bribery, extortion and other federal charges related to the tribes planned casino project.

Cedric Cromwells criminal trial opens in U.S. District Court in Boston after being delayed for months by the coronavirus pandemic. Hell be on trial with co-defendant David DeQuattro, the owner of an architecture firm in Providence, Rhode Island.
JLFCapture/Getty Images

Even though there isn't a huge amount of vehicle tail lights being stolen from the area, Hays County Sheriff's Office has seen a rise in the car part-specific crime. On Tuesday, April 19, deputies put residents on alert about vehicle tail lights being cut and stolen over the Easter weekend, according to a Hays County Sheriff's Office social media post.

There were three reports to the sheriff's office about vehicle lights being stolen in Buda over the weekend, according to the post. Hays County Sheriff's Office public information officer Deputy Mark Andrews added that the reports are likely connected, but the sheriff's office doesn't have any leads. Andrews said he found tail light thefts were increasing after doing research on the type of crime.
Gov. Greg Abbott has sent at least seven buses filled with undocumented migrants to Washington, D.C. in April in protest of the Biden administration ending Title 42 expulsions. However, the Republican leader indicated he has a different destination in mind for forthcoming buses.

Asked by Fox News host Sean Hannity if he plans to "send every illegal immigrant that he finds in the state of Texas to Washington, D.C.," Abbott responded "We're going to load them up and send them to Washington, D.C. If we run out of room there, Delaware looks like a great location."

Delaware is President Joe Biden's home state, which he represented for more than 35 years in the U.S. Senate. Abbott's comments echo statements made by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this month vowing to fly out migrants arriving in his state to Delaware.

"If Biden is dumping people, which he has dumped people, they fly them in at two in the morning," DeSantis said during an April 6 news conference, per Fox News. "They haven't done it lately, but they did it many months ago. We now have money where we can reroute them to sanctuary states like Delaware  and we're gonna do that  to make sure we're keeping people safe here."

Abbott's bus initiative was previously dismissed by the White House as a "publicity stunt." Last week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said "it's nice the state of Texas is helping them get to their final destination as they await the outcome of their immigration proceedings."

After being praised by Hannity for his bus initiative, Abbott said he keeps "coming up with new ideas to do the federal government's job." The Texas leader claims the Biden administration was dropping off migrants in small towns along the border, leaving local communities "overrun."

However, Abbott claims that as a result of his bus plan, border patrol agents will no longer be dropping people off in communities from where they have been busing migrants.

"It's an atrocity that we have a president of the United States that is not securing the border," Abbott. "What the president is doing is outrageous, and as a result, Texas is taking unprecedented action." Abbott proudly shared a clip of the interview on his personal Twitter feed Tuesday, writing

In the same interview, Abbott also threatened to reinstate his intensified inspections of commercial trucks entering from Mexico into Texas if President Lopez Obradorwho has called Abbott's inspection policy "despicable"doesn't do more to address illegal immigration into Texas. Abbott's policy was also met with criticism from truckers organizations and resulted in millions lost in produce for the Lone Star State.

"I have the capability at any time to turn those inspections back on that will backlog those trucks that are trying to come across the border that will cause havoc in Mexico," Abbott told Hannity. "Those local governors as well as Obrador, they will be the ones paying the political price for it."
Tim Mosenfelder / Contributor via Getty

If you were listening to music in the late 00s or early 10s, Girl Talk was probably on your playlist. The man behind Girl Talk, Gregg Gillis, makes mashups you can dance to and that feature riffs and samples from artists from Ludacris, Radiohead, James Taylor, Pixies, Nas, Weezer, and even hipster-band-of-that-moment Peter Bjorn and John.

Now, the Pittsburgh-born artist is collaborating with artists like Wiz, Smoke, and K.R.I.T, and is touring North America  a series of events that are long overdue. The concerts have already started after being rescheduled twice during the pandemic, and Austinites wont have long to wait: Hes coming to Austin on Saturday, April 23, and tickets are still available.
Yves here. New York CitysRikers Island has long been a national disgrace, which is a remarkable status given the generally awful conditions in city jails. Filthy, overcrowded and dangerous pre-trial detention wards have also served as a strong argument for bail reform. Nasty holding tanks, where the accused can languish for months before their case is heard, makes a mockery of the notion that citizens are innocent until proven guilty. At the same time, city-dwellers who are in a lather about rising crime rates (even though they are still much lower than in the 1970s through mid 1990s) get particularly exercised about bail reform.

Keep in mind that New Yorks version is pretty modest: only those charged with misdemeanors and non-violent crimes are eligible. And New York bail standards have longe been based on whether the accused is deemed to be a flight risk, as opposed to whether he could be argued to be dangerous. As the Brennan Center explains:

According to the new law, judges have the option to set bail in almost any case involving a violent felony. In these bail eligible cases, a defendant must pay an assessed bail or face detention. In virtually all other cases, which include most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, judges may release people on their own recognizance or impose some other set of conditions to ensure their return to court. Such conditions include restrictions on travel or supervision by a pretrial supervision agency. Notably, judges also retain the ability to set bail in some cases considered high-risk. Judges may set bail for defendants who have been released and are rearrested for another offense, provided both charges are felonies or Class A misdemeanors and involve harm to a person or property. For example, a judge may set bail for a person who was charged with punching someone in a bar fight, released, and then arrested for injuring someone in another fight. Many have argued that bail reform is responsible for rising crime in New York State, both in and out of New York City. But crime rose all across the country in 2020, making it unwise to look for explanations that are confined to New York. One recent analysis by the Times Union of Albany suggested that relatively few people released under the new law went on to be rearrested for serious offenses.

Of course, keeping someone locked up who has not yet been found guilty deprives them of income and could completely wreck their employment prospects. But the existence of hell holes like Rikers makes it even harder to justify pre-trial lockup for anything other than seriously violent criminals who look to be up to their old tricks again.

By Reuven Blau. Originally published at THE CITY on April 19, 2022

Rikers Island is one step closer to being under total federal control.

The citys jails are in a state of crisisand action is desperately needed now, wrote Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in a scathing court filing to a federal judge on Tuesday.

Williams threatened to push for the entire city Department of Correction to be put under a court-appointed receiver, who would have power to totally revamp the agency and ignore existing union contract rules.

The lack of dramatic systemic reforms would leave his office with no other choice but to seek more aggressive relief like a court-appointed receiver given total control, he wrote.

Currently, only the jail facility itself is under federal watch. Williams noted that more than six years of oversight by federal monitor Steve Martin has led to few improvements.

We remain alarmed by the extraordinary level of violence and disorder at the jails and the ongoing imminent risk of harm that inmates and correction officers face every day, Williams wrote to federal judge Laura Taylor Swain, who has overseen the case for years.

In an unusual move, Williams asked the court to order Correction Commissioner Louis Molina and a representative from City Hall to attend the next meeting with the monitor and the feds on Thursday so they can directly respond to any questions.

Williams said neither Molina nor department operational staff attended meetings on April 5 and April 14 to discuss the citys broader plans to improve conditions.

On April 15, the Department of Correction Twitter account touted how Molina attended the New York International Auto Show at the Javits Center to display some of the agencys new vehicle fleet.

On Tuesday, when asked about the court filing, Mayor Eric Adams blamed his predecessors and made vague promises of reform.

Rikers was a mess, he told reporters. And we need to be clear on that. It did not start in January. And were going to move forward to make it a humane place.

A History of Violence

Martin, a corrections consultant from Austin, Texas, was appointed federal monitor in the summer of 2015 as part of a sweeping settlement tied to a class-action suit by a group of city inmates who alleged abuses by officers that included excessive solitary confinement and beatings.

Then-Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara later joined the so-called Nunez case, named after the lead defendant, citing a deep-seated culture of violence against teen inmates at Rikers Island.

Under the terms of the court settlement, the DOC has taken some measures intended to reduce the use of physical force by officers, such as revising policy in 2017 to order officers to avoid blows to inmates heads with fists or batons unless their lives are being threatened.

But escalating violence and inhumane conditions have persisted and spurred calls for change from decarceration activists and local politicians who have asked Gov. Kathy Hochul to bring in the National Guard and pleaded with President Joe Biden to intervene.

The department has also been plagued by a staffing crisis, with at least 1,000 officers calling out sick on average each day.

Martins monitoring team has itself hired an independent expert in correctional staffing to analyze how and where officers are deployed. A highly anticipated report on that analysis has taken more than a year to compile and theres no target date for its release.

The Correction Officers Benevolent Association has contended the city should hire at least 2,000 new officers, bringing the systemwide total to approximately 10,000.

But Martin and former jail commissioners have pointed out that hundreds of correction officers are assigned to administrative tasks like data entry, secretarial support, time keeping, social services and analytics.

Michael Skelly, a spokesperson for COBA did not respond to requests seeking comment on the possible push for a court-appointed total takeover.

A Drastic Remedy

The appointment of a receiver is rare and typically seen as a last resort but not unprecedented.

In 2007, Chicagos Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center was put under a receiver. Earl Dunlap, a nationally recognized expert, stepped aside in 2015 after implementing a series of reforms.

In 2005, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was taken over by a court-appointed receiver. That takeover has had mixed results and remains partially in place.

Elizabeth Glazer, director of the Mayors Office of Criminal Justice from 2014 until 2020, told THE CITY last year that she believed the appointment of a federal receiver, with emergency powers to make unilateral decisions, was the only possible solution.

She and former Correction Commissioner Michael Jacobson, who served during the Dinkins and Giuliani administration, also recommended that takeover in a Daily News editorial last week.

Its a drastic remedy, Glazer said Tuesday, but I dont see any other way out at this point.

Its pretty powerful medicine, she added.
WTM Latin America 2022, the regions main B2B travel show, held from April 5 to 7 in Sao Paulo (SP), Brazil, was a huge success with the show being termed 'the biggest ever' by organisers.

The official figures prove the importance of the show for the Latin American tourism industry, they said. The conference programme and the chance to network and conduct business with relevant players in the global industry attracted 20,000 travel professionals over the three-day show.

Excluding professionals from the 565 exhibiting companies, the number of visitors came out to a total of 15,204, a 10% increase compared to the 13,823-figure registered in 2019.

The 2022 edition established itself as one of the most important ones in the events history, which also reinforces the signs of a positive outlook for tourism with the prospect of resuming contacts and conduct new deals, celebrated Simon Mayle, Director at WTM Latin America.

Another significant achievement was the high level of adherence to the scheduling platform, which registered more than 6,000 meetings during the three days of the event, as well as the high quality of face-to-face meetings. In total, the meetings were evaluated in 4.3 stars (out of a total of 5).

The score is given by those taking part in the meetings, and take into account the quality and the likelihood of closing a deal, adds Mayle.

In addition to the content, some destinations offered qualified content for travel agents and Hosted Buyers, making use of the space providing training sessions which are essential tools at this time of recovery, says Bianca Pizzolito, Sales Manager at WTM Latin America.

We saw a lot of demand for practical information that could help companies prepare to meet the pent-up demand. The conference about the Metaverse and the reflection on staff qualification were great successes, as discussed regarding customer acquisition and retention, increased profitability and consumption behaviour. The magic was definitely back in all of WTM Latin Americas aisles, noted Gabriela Otto, CEO of GO Consultoria, president of HSMAI Brasil and WTM Latin Americas Travel Tech Theatre curator.

WTM Latin America 2023 will take place between April 4 and 6, at Expo Center Norte Exhibition Centre, Sao Paulo. -TradeArabia News Service
(Natural News) A scouring of recent headlines paints a grim picture of the state of public health ever since Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines were introduced.

One recent headline declares that 769 athletes have collapsed from cardiac arrest ever since the Tony Fauci injections were introduced (we have also been tracking athlete deaths linked to COVID injections).

Several other headlines talk about the new hepatitis outbreaks that are occurring in children across the United States and Europe. Why is there a sudden uptick in hepatitis among an age group least likely to contract it?

The answer, of course, is the shots. Some of the articles suggest this while others do not. So far, none of the big boys have dared to link the hepatitis outbreaks to the jabs, even though data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) show a direct correlation.

In an average year, there are only about eight cases of hepatitis reported to VAERS. In 2021, there were 304 cases just for the covid vaccine.

Found 304 cases where Vaccine is COVID19 and Symptom is Hepatitis and Vaccination Date from 2021-01-01 to 2021-12-31 is the search query that investigative journalist Steve Kirsch used to extract the 304 number.

The obvious question is, why are there 8 cases a year before the COVID vaccines (across all 70 vaccines combined), and now 304 cases in 2021 associated with the COVID vaccine?' Kirsch asks.

As an engineer, it looks to me like the COVID vaccine causes susceptibility to liver damage.

Has the average person been so dumbed down that they just cant see whats going on?

The experts of course say there is no link between the jabs and liver damage or hepatitis. But how, then, can this massive rise in cases, directly corresponding to when the injections were introduced and administered, be explained?

It certainly is not COVID causing all of this, as hepatitis numbers were normal in 2020 before Operation Warp Speed was launched. Only after people started getting injected en masse did the hepatitis numbers start spiking.

Similarly with athletes, no young people were dropping dead on the field in 2020 before the shots were introduced by the Trump administration. It was only after the needles started going into peoples arms that otherwise healthy youth started having heart attacks and dying for no apparent reason.

There is no mystery anymore, wrote one of Kirschs readers, pointing to a piece by the insightful and wise Catherine Austin Fitts about The Great Poisoning that is taking place.

It is crystal clear  The reason average people are unable to see the bigger picture is because the average IQ has decreased significantly since the 90s. They are getting dumber with all the poisoning in food, water, air, pharmaceutical products, drugs, etc.

Maybe the hepatitis adenovirus is another lab leak created for the purpose of pushing another hepatitis vaccine on children? speculated another. This time a crappy mRNA one?!

Another person wrote about how she was injured by a vaccine back in 2008 and is still trying to recover.

I have residual symptoms, so these stories infuriate me because I know how they are treated, this person added about the stigma that comes with having a vaccine injury, which many people have been brainwashed into believing is an impossibility.

Will any of these pediatricians speak up and find their moral compass?

The members of The Church of the Holy Blessed Jab will be along shortly to protest this blasphemous sacrilege of their holy sacrament, joked another about the response that is sure to come from the jab apologists to all of these claims.

The latest news about Fauci Flu shots can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources include:

SteveKirsch.substack.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Investigative journalist Jefferey Jaxen joined Del Bigtree on The HighWire to reveal that Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) booster doses contributed to higher rates of COVID-19 deaths in different countries.

He showed a chart from Our World In Data that showed spikes in three countries  South Korea, the United Kingdom and Israel. The chart shows daily new confirmed COVID-19 deaths per million people in the three nations, as well as peaks in mortality. Jaxen challenged viewers to take a guess as to what led to these spikes in COVID-19 fatalities.

Heres the answer: It was the boosters, fourth booster added. This is what were talking about with the booster program. This thing is in shambles and tying this to the lockdowns, there is a concept that we keep bringing back full circle  which is natural immunity. We wouldnt really be here if people really respected natural immunity, said Jaxen.

The investigative journalist cited a pre-print study posted March 18 on medRxiv to prove the superiority of natural immunity. The paper authored by researchers in Qatar concluded that natural infection was associated with stronger and more durable protection against infection, regardless of the variant, than mRNA primary-series vaccination. According to Jaxen, the study authors arrived upon this conclusion by looking at the hazard ratios  the risk of an event occurring  for infection, severe COVID and COVID deaths.

The Qatar-based researchers wrote in their findings that the overall adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) for natural immunity when faced with COVID-19 infection was 0.46 compared to a full vaccination with Pfizers BNT162b2 vaccine, and 0.51 compared to a full vaccination for Modernas mRNA-1273 vaccine. Jaxen explained: Natural immunity reduced the risk of infection by 54 percent compared to taking the Pfizer vaccine and by 49 percent compared to taking the Moderna vaccine. (Related: STUDY: Natural immunity provides significantly better protection against COVID than vaccine immunity.)

Furthermore, the study also pointed out the AHR of natural immunity for any severe, critical or fatal COVID-19 against all variants in relation to the mRNA vaccines.

Natural immunity reduced the risk of severe, critical or fatal COVID-19 against all variants [by] 68 percent compared to taking Pfizers vaccine, and by 42 percent compared to [taking] Modernas vaccine, Jaxen said.

Remember, this is what were told  that the vaccines are no longer stopping infection [and] transmission, but theyre hanging on to it stopping hospitalizations and mortality. These are big, big numbers theyre finding out in Qatar, and something that really should be looked at.

Bigtree and Jaxen decry Faucis pivot toward medical freedom

The HighWire host and his guest also denounced White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci for suddenly pivoting toward medical freedom. Prior to this, the top infectious disease expert had been a staunch advocate of lockdowns and vaccines to address COVID-19. Jaxen played footage of Fauci during his April 10 appearance in the ABC program This Week, which the investigative journalist dubbed as the expert making a bid for medical freedom.

There will be a level of infection; this is not [going to] be eradicated [or] eliminated. Whats [going to] happen is that were [going to] see each individual [having] to make their calculation of the amount of risk that they [want to] take [when] going to indoor dinners [and] functions. Even within the realm of a green zone [in] a map of the country, you see that everything looks green  but thats starting to tick up, said Fauci.

So you [got to] make a question and answer for yourself; for me [and] you as [individuals]. What is my age? What is my status? Do I have people at home who are vulnerable that if I bring the virus home, theyd be a problem? Were at that point where  were going to have to live with some degree of virus in the community.

Bigtree reacted: Whats so amazing about this is that they robbed us of all our medical freedoms. [They] locked us down, masked us, kept us from taking ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine [and] jabbed everybody that they could force into it. And then when its all said and done, the vaccines a complete and total failure [and] booster No. 5 is [going to] last you about seven and a half hours  now its like hes gifting us back the freedom.

This is what I want to point out. Were not back to square one. Were not back where we would have been, had you let us just act naturally the way that we did. Remember what [Fauci is] saying. Weve never had to live with a variant not going away until they decided to vaccinate everybody.

Visit Vaccines.news to read more about how COVID-19 boosters cause more harm than good.

Watch the full conversation between Jefferey Jaxen and Del Bigtree on The HighWire below.

This video is from The HighWire with Del Bigtree channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

WHO warns against boosters, says strategy not viable for new variants.

Study: Natural immunity to COVID remains strong at 20 months post-infection.

GREAT NEWS: Natural immunity to coronavirus is comprehensive and DURABLE  study.

Immunocompromised individuals NOT producing antibodies even after receiving COVID-19 booster doses.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

medRxiv.org
(Natural News) Dr. Lee Merritt thinks the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a DNA war against humanity. You need to resist in order to survive.

We should not give up access to our bodies to the COVID beast, said Merritt during the the April 13 episode of Merritt Medical Hour, noting that the virus gets into the human nucleus, which eventually changes the DNA structure of the body.

According to Merritt, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a genetically engineered bioweapon and vaccination dramatically increases the risk of death from COVID. She said the entire pandemic is a vast global conspiracy for the government to exert social control.

I dont think we can vote ourselves out of this. Were going to have to prepare, protect ourselves and maybe fight our way out of this, she said. (Related: Dr. Lee Merritt: We are in the fourth stage of the DNA WAR against humanity.)

Merritt, former president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, wrote an op-ed back in 2015 criticizing the Obama administrations National Adult Immunization Plan.

You cannot scream for a womans right to choose when it applies to abortion, but give her no right to choose what gets administered to her in a syringe. Let me be clear: Public health does not trump individual liberty. End of story, she wrote at the time.

Merritt noted that vaccinated individuals cant get unvaccinated, even if they decide to refuse further vaccinations. But said there are several ways to address the spike protein injected in the body. Ivermectin, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, chelation and intravenous glutathione are some of the things she mentioned.

Were in a situation where [its] kind of the calm before the storm. Were seeing the dying, but we dont have a sense of what they would say the first derivative of dying. In other words, we dont know how rapidly the death rate is changing, Merritt said.

She also pointed to a marked, unprecedented increase in all-cause mortality due to the COVID-19 vaccines, citing data from the U.S. and the U.K, and mentioning stillbirths, miscarriages and infertility as some of the issues linked to the COVID-19 shots.

COVID vaccine rollout is all about money

The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is all about the money it will bring to Big Pharma companies and their cohorts.

Merritt said there is a lot of evidence for ivermectin and other drugs being an effective treatment for COVID-19, so it does not make sense for the government to stop pharmacies from dispensing them.

This [COVID-19 vaccine] is really experimental stuff, and they cannot do this if theres an available treatment. And they have to take down this whole treatment program to get you to take the vaccine, she said. (Related: Dr. Lee Merritt: Mask wearing was never about controlling the virus.)

They had to do it quickly under EUA [emergency use authorization] because it allows them to put out a vaccine or a drug thats critical to the well-being of people without telling whats in it legally.

With EUA-approved vaccines having an extraordinary liability shield under the 2005 Public Readiness and Preparedness Act, vaccine manufacturers, distributors, providers and others are safe from liability. Moreover, Merritt believes that the vaccine isnt designed to protect people at all.

She referred to OneAmerica CEO Scott Davison, who heads a $100 billion life insurance and retirement company in Indianapolis. Davison previously said that they are now seeing the highest death rates ever in the history of their business. Weve never seen an increase in all-cause mortality, as we did in 2021  [a] 40 percent increase in working-age people between 18 and 64, he said.

To illustrate how severe the current death rate is, Davison said a one in 200-year catastrophe would likely only cause a 10 percent increase over pre-pandemic deaths.

Follow Pandemic.news for news related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Watch the full April 13 episode of Merritt Medical Hour below. Catch new episodes of the program every Wednesdays at 7-8 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related stories:

Drs. Bryan Ardis and Lee Merritt talk about the coronavirus as a depopulation tool  Brighteon.TV.

Dr. Lee Merritt: No justification for experimenting on children by injecting them with COVID-19 vaccines  Brighteon.TV.

Dr. Lee Merritt: Putin a great magician, Russia-Ukraine conflict is DNA war against humanity  Brighteon.TV.

Virus that causes COVID-19 has NEVER been isolated in a lab  Drs Lee Merritt and Tom Cowan explain.

New interviews with Dr. Lee Merritt, Dr. Chris Shaw and Reiner Fuellmich reveal astonishing information about vaccine crimes against humanity.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com 1

TheHill.com
(Natural News) 52 Math textbooks have been thrown out of Florida schools, with 28 being rejected for containing references to Critical Race Theory

(Article by Jesse Martin republished from 100PercentFedUp.com)

How on earth can math be woke? Apparently, liberals have found a way to use critical race theory in math textbooks to indoctrinate children, but Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is not having it.

The state of Florida has just thrown 52 math textbooks out of the curriculum28 of them are being axed for references to Critical Race Theory which DeSantis recognizes as being a way to indoctrinate our children. Of the 132 math textbooks submitted, Floridas Department of Education deemed a whopping 41% inappropriate either due to the math strategies being taught, or due to other content related to Critical Race Theory and Social Emotional Learning being mixed in. Both CRT and SEL are banned in Florida, along with common core math.

From The Daily Mail: The highest number of books rejected were for grade levels K-5, where an alarming 71 percent were not appropriately aligned with Florida standards or included prohibited topics and unsolicited strategies. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had banned CRT as a component in Florida schools, claiming it promotes hatred among students and makes individuals feel guilty for racism of the past. It seems that some publishers attempted to slap a coat of paint on an old house built on the foundation of Common Core, and indoctrinating concepts like race essentialism, especially, bizarrely, for elementary school students, he said of the rejected books.

The remaining 24 books banned were eliminated due to inclusion of Social Emotional Learning or Common Core, rather than Critical Race Theory. However, that still leaves a disturbing 28 math textbooks which include Critical Race Theory references and elementshow do you even make math woke to begin with? Somehow, liberals will always find a way to make white kids hate themselves.

These bans are just the latest win in Floridas war on wokeness, following up last months bill which passed through the legislature and which would outlaw private businesses and schools from making people feel guilt or any form of psychological stress on the basis of their sex, race, or origin.

Even prior to this was the brilliant and necessary Parental Rights in Education Bill, or Dont Say Gay bill as Democrats who have never even read the bill call it. The Parental Rights in Education Bill outlaws the teaching of sex, gender, and sexual material to young childrenwhich should have been a no brainer, unless youre a groomer Democrat teacher.

Overall, Governor DeSantis and the great State of Florida continue to win crucial battles in protecting the innocence and future of our children.

Read more at: 100PercentFedUp.com
Tuesday, April 19, 2022 by: News Editors Tags: Christian , Holy Easter , Ilhan Omar , wokeness This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author

(Natural News) Ilhan Omar was elected in 2018 along with other progressive representatives promising to push for policies like free college, Medicare for All, and green energy reforms. For the last four years, the Fraud Squad has failed to deliver on any of these policies and has turned to identity politics to distract from their shortcomings.

(Article by Adam Wilson republished from 100PercentFedUp.com)

Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Mn.) has come under fire in the past for her anti-semitic comments about Israel and advocacy groups such as AIPAC that stand up for Israels right to defend itself.

Not satisfied with attacking Jewish people, Omar decided to turn her sights on Christians on Holy Saturday when a small group of people sang hymns on a flight.

I think my family and I should have a prayer session next time I am on a plane. How do you think it will end? pic.twitter.com/5696Erwsl5  Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 17, 2022

Even better, one user later revealed that the people singing hymns on the plane were part of a faith-based volunteer group that went to Europe to sing hymns and spread hope to Ukrainian refugees. Omar is so filled with hate for Jews and Christians that she Tweeted out an attack against Christian missionaries on Holy Saturday.

I just spent a week volunteering at the train station in Przemysl, Poland, right across from the Ukrainian border & saw the same people there. They were playing to Ukrainian refugees stuck waiting hours for transportation, whod just fled from the bombing of Kharkiv & Mariupol pic.twitter.com/yXjtlUhAPv  Jonathan Ko?odziej Durand (@jondurand) April 17, 2022

Beyond that, other users also attacked Omar for her tone-deafness in the replies.

One user pointed out that minority religions are routinely oppressed and persecuted in Muslim-dominated countries.

Youre right @IlhanMN. Your beautiful religion never imposes itself on anyone. The Christian and Jewish communities are thriving in Noble Mogadishu. [Also retweeted.]  Gad Saad (@GadSaad) April 18, 2022

Another user said that the Christian missionaries singing hymns on a plane is only a fraction of what woke leftists do to shove their agenda in peoples faces on a daily basis.

If you imagine theyre singing about pronouns and critical race theory you can kind of get an idea of what its like to not be able to escape the leftist woke agenda in 2022. pic.twitter.com/4HdHTH1uv5  Five Times August (@FiveTimesAugust) April 18, 2022

Last but certainly not least, a user who was crowned Miss Iraq in 2017, representing the country in the Miss Universe paegant said that Omar should stop hate mongering against American Christians and instead focus on issues within the Muslim community.

If someone yelled Allahu Akbar Id freak out, YOUd freak out and ANY Muslim would freak out given the fact we still have many radical Islamists in our religion (Hizbollah, ISIS, Muslim Brotherhood ?, Hamas etc) all would love to hijack a plane for another 9/11 who we kidding..  Sarai (Sarah Idan) Miss Iraq (@RealSarahIdan) April 17, 2022

Read more at: 100PercentFedUp.com
(Natural News) NATO has consistently said that while the security alliance will protect and defend member nations, it wasnt about to send any forces into Ukraine proper to fight against Russian forces after Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of that country in late February.

And yet, it is now obvious that fighters from a founding NATO member, Great Britain, are inside the country  or were until they were recently captured by Russian personnel fighting in the Ukrainian east.

According to reports, two British nationals, Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, have been paraded on Russian TV pleading for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to pick up the phone and call his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to negotiate a prisoner exchange, though it doesnt seem as though the Kremlin is in any hurry to do so.

But they dont appear to be regular forces  members of the British military. Instead, the two men could be irregulars, or mercenaries/contract fighters sent by the alliance to fight as proxies.

Pinner and Aslin were captured separately over the past week in Mariupol, the latter actually having surrendered with other fighters in the city more than a week ago, Zero Hedge reported. The two spoke after being prompted to do so by an unidentified man in footage that has been released online, with both requesting that Johnson bring them home in exchange for pro-Russian politician and opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk, who is currently being held by Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered him arrested (wait  isnt Ukraine fighting for freedom and democracy?).

Pinner, 48, is a former British soldier, and he appeared alongside Aslin 28, from Nottinghamshire. The former appeared exhausted and under duress. According to Reuters, they said in the video, We look to exchange myself and Aiden Aslin for Mr. Medvedchuk. Obviously, I would really appreciate your help in this matter.

Then, the unidentified man was shown speaking to Aslin, who was sitting on a chair wearing a T-shirt that bore the emblem of Ukraines far-right, Nazi-aligned Azov Battalion.

I think that Boris needs to listen to what Oksana (Medvedchuks wife) has said, said Aslin, who also appeared to be very nervous. If Boris Johnson really does care about British citizens like he says he does, then he will help.

? JUST IN: Two British fighters who were captured in Ukraine have appeared on Russian state television and asked to be exchanged for a detained pro-Kremlin politician https://t.co/RLUVFPRzIr  The Times (@thetimes) April 18, 2022

Heres more: Mr. Boris Johnson. Obviously, Im Shaun Pinner.

A lots gone on over the last five or six weeks that Im not fully aware of. Obviously, I understand that Mr. Medvedchuk has been detained and we look to exchange myself and Aiden Aslin for Mr. Medvedchuk.

Obviously, I would really appreciate your help in this matter and pushing this agenda. Myself, Ive been treated well. Fully understand the situation that Im in. Weve been fed, watered, and thats all I can really say, but I beg on my behalf and Aiden Aslins behalf to help us in an exchange for Mr. Medvedchuk.

According to reports, Medvedchuk is Putins biggest ally in Ukraine and likely would be key to Putins installation of a puppet government in Ukraine that is loyal to Moscow, which is his objective. Last week, the Ukrainian government published a photo that showed him wearing handcuffs and military fatigues. The BBC reported that [h]e had been under house arrest in the capital Kyiv on suspicion of treason  but escaped soon after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February. He was captured last week by Ukrainian state security and intelligence personnel.

In his appeal to the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, Vladimir Putin and Volodymr Zelenskiy, Medvedchuk asked to be exchanged for the defenders of the besieged city of Mariupol  where Pinner and Aslin were based before their capture  and that any civilians be allowed to leave, the Guardian added, reporting on a video the Russia ally made.

Viktor #Medvedchuk, looking much better than his last appearance in chains, appeals to Putin and Zelensky with a proposal to exchange him for military personnel and residents in #Mariupol pic.twitter.com/nwaGIkKK2t  Jason Corcoran (@jason_corcoran) April 18, 2022

Its quite clear by now that NATO is providing more than just weapons and intelligence to Ukraine. The alliance appears to literally be fighting a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. That cant lead to anything good.

Sources include:

NationalSecurity.news

ZeroHedge.com

USNews.com

BBC.com

TheGuardian.com
(Natural News) Pete Santilli believes the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the greatest threat to America.

The greatest threat to the United States of America is the FBI. They are the ones that are behind all this stuff. They are the ones that are suppressing information. They are databasing you. They are profiling you, Santilli said during the April 12 episode of The Pete Santilli Show on Brighteon.TV.

If youre an anti-vaxxer, if youre belligerent, can you imagine if you go to the podiums at school boards and asked to have your children removed from their mask mandates? All of a sudden youre a domestic terrorist. The FBI is the one that hunts you down and profiles you and declares you to be a domestic terrorist.

Santilli added that the FBI is in charge of hiding evidence or manufacturing evidence and setting up their little secret databases to communicate with the public. He added that the FBI has its own road program and is operating domestically to overthrow America.

Left-controlled FBI is leading the destruction of America

Its not the Democrats that are running this thing. Its the Leftist that have hijacked the FBI. When you see them throw on their little navy blue jackets with their FBI letters across the back, those are the perpetrators of the destruction of the United States of America, the conservative talk show host said.

Santilli noted that the FBI has a history of putting all their information and locations unknown, making them almost impossible to access from the outside. And with the discovery of their secret computer drive in 2011, a federal judge has ordered the FBI to explain whether it was using a previously unknown recordkeeping system to hide evidence from defense attorneys.

He pointed out that the FBI not only hides evidence from defense attorneys, but they have infiltrated the defense attorneys. The Brighteon.TV host added that the FBI has also been infiltrating the judges offices and the prosecutors offices, which means that the whole system is rigged.

According to Santilli, the FBI has a program to infiltrate militia movements and cause them to initiate violence.

FBI infiltrating American groups since the 1960s

The host mentioned that the FBI has been infiltrating American groups since the 1960s and that a well-known FBI infiltration operation was conducted in the early 1990s, which was codenamed Patriot Conspiracy or PATCON.

The PATCON program is documented in thousands of pages of FBI records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. (Related: The Sheriff Mack Show: FBIs Patriot Conspiracy program infiltrates and incites groups to violence  Brighteon.TV)

PATCON was the centerpiece of an extensive investigation of militia and white supremacist groups in the states of Arizona, Alabama, Tennessee and Texas.

They have people inside the media. Theyve got people inside the militia groups. Theyre literally creating a false reality. They paint a picture, they grab a couple of people, pluck them out of the crowd and then use that politically for over a year to demonize their political opponents, Santilli explained.

He added that the FBI that used to investigate communists has now become them under the tutelage of John Brennan, the lead communist over at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Santilli also presented a video clip of American Greatness senior writer Julie Kellys interview with War Room host Steve Bannon. Kelly said the FBI was creating imaginary militia groups. She noted that the storming of the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Michigan in the spring of 2020 was a rehearsal for the January 6 incident at the Capitol.

Follow FBICorruption.news to know more about the covert operations of the FBI.

Watch the full April 12 episode of The Pete Santilli Show below. The Pete Santilli Show airs every Monday and Tuesday at 6-7 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related stories:

The FBIs long history of destroying evidence and obstructing justice SEIZE FBI RECORDS NOW.

Questions about the FBIs role in 1/6 are mocked because the FBI shapes liberal corporate media.

The FBI is amazingly good at halting terror plots dreamed up by the FBI.

The Only Way to Save the FBI is to Expose Everything.

FBI raid on Project Veritas founders home shows government perceives investigative journalism as a threat

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

NewAmerica.org

News.IntelWire.com
UW-Led Study Challenges Theories of Earlier Human Arrival in Americas

The Hell Gap archaeological site in eastern Wyoming is one of the sites included in a new study that supports the hypothesis that humans first arrived in the Americas by at least 14,200 years ago in Beringia and by about 13,000 years ago in the temperate latitudes of North America. (Todd Surovell Photo)

A new analysis of archaeological sites in the Americas challenges relatively new theories that the earliest human inhabitants of North America arrived before the migration of people from Asia across the Bering Strait.

Conducted by University of Wyoming Professor Todd Surovell and colleagues from UW and five other institutions, the analysis suggests that misinterpretation of archaeological evidence at certain sites in North and South America might be responsible for theories that humans arrived long before 13,000-14,200 years ago.

The researchers findings appear today in PLOS One, a journal published by the Public Library of Science. The paper is the latest development in the debate over the peopling of the Americas, in which some are now questioning the long-held consensus that the first Americans were hunter-gatherers who entered North America from Asia via the Beringia land bridge up to 14,200 years ago, and then dispersed southward between two large glaciers that then covered much of the continent.

The conclusions of Surovell and colleagues are based on an analysis of buried archaeological deposits, using a new statistic called the Apparent Stratigraphic Integrity Index they developed. While the stratigraphic integrity of early archaeological sites in Alaska is high -- producing strong evidence in support of unambiguous human occupation -- the sites in more southern locations pointing to possible earlier human occupation show signs of artifact mixing among multiple time periods.

If humans managed to breach the continental ice sheets significantly before 13,000 years ago, there should be clear evidence for it in the form of at least some stratigraphically discrete archeological components with a relatively high artifact count. So far, no such evidence exists, Surovell and colleagues wrote. (Our) findings support the hypothesis that the first human arrival to the New World occurred by at least 14,200 years ago in Beringia and by approximately 13,000 years ago in the temperate latitudes of North America. Strong evidence for human presence before those dates has yet to be identified in the archaeological record.

Specifically, the new analysis compared the stratigraphic integrity of three sites argued to contain evidence of earlier human occupation -- two in Texas and one in Idaho -- with the integrity of sites in Alaska, Wyoming and Pennsylvania. The three sites claimed to be older than 13,000 years ago all showed patterns of significant mixing, while the others did not.

The researchers were unable to obtain detailed information about some other sites in North and South America purported to contain evidence of human occupation before 13,000 years ago.

Sites claimed to be older than 13,000 years ago are few, and data supporting their status as sites have been poorly disseminated, Surovell and colleagues wrote. Given the status of available data regarding these sites, we must question whether there are any sites in the Americas south of the ice sheets that exhibit an unambiguous and stratigraphically discrete cultural occupation with sufficient numbers of artifacts of clear human manufacture.

The paper doesnt completely rule out the possibility that humans colonized the Americas at an earlier date. But if they did, they should have produced stratigraphically discrete occupation surfaces, some of which would be expected to have large numbers of artifacts.

That they did so in Beringia but failed to do so south of the continental glaciers suggests that either there was something fundamentally different about pre-Clovis human behavior and/or geomorphology south of the ice sheets, or that the evidence indicating the presence of humans south of the ice sheets has been misinterpreted, the researchers wrote. At a minimum, it shows that, when stratigraphically discrete occupations are not present, additional studies must be performed to demonstrate that stratigraphic integrity of association between artifacts and dated strata exist.

Joining Surovell in the research were UW colleagues Sarah Allaun, Robert Kelly, Marcel Kornfeld and Mary Lou Larson; Wyoming State Archaeologist Spencer Pelton; Barbara Crass and Charles Holmes, of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks; Joseph Gingerich, of Ohio University and the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of Natural History; Kelly Graf, of Texas A&M University; and Kathryn Krasinski and Brian Wygal, both of Adelphi University.
(Natural News) Another batch of Pfizer documents was issued by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last April 1 with the Pfizer trial data showing that natural immunity was as effective as the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine and that side effects of the jab were more severe in those under 55 years old.

Pfizer and the FDA also knew that people of all ages experienced temporary suppression of immune function for a week after the first dose.

But the most appalling of all is that Pfizers documents show they have not ruled out the risk of antibody-dependent enhancement or ADE. Vaccine-associated enhanced disease (VAED) is recorded as an important potential risk and as of February 28, 2021, Pfizer had 138 cases of suspected VAED, 75 of which were severe, resulting in hospitalization, disability, life-threatening consequences or death.

A total of 38 cases were deadly and 65 were uncertain. (Related: Pfizer, FDA have known for decades that antibody-dependent enhancement occurs in the vaccinated; tried to cover it up.)

With another batch of 11,000 Pfizer documents published last April 1, old suspicions have earned fresh support. The first bombshell revelation is that natural immunity really works and Pfizer has known it all along, according to Rising co-host Kim Iversen.

The clinical trial data revealed there was no difference in outcomes between those with previous COVID infection and those who got the shot. Neither group experienced severe infection. Natural immunity was also statistically similar to the shot in terms of the risk of infection.

Risk of side effects rises with additional COVID vaccine doses

The second revelation is that side effects from the vaccines were more severe in people aged 18 to 55 than those aged 55 and older. The risk of side effects also rose with additional doses, so the risk was greater after the second dose than the first.

The risk of severe COVID is significantly lower in younger people than those over 60 years old, which makes a high risk of side effects unacceptable.

With a vaccine that is producing more frequent and more severe reactions and adverse events in younger individuals, the vaccine should have been restricted to those who were actually at risk of severe COVID-19, wrote The Naked Emperor on Substack,

Pfizers documentation also includes medical information that mainstream media and fact checkers have called misinformation or disinformation. A pediatric consent form records several possible side effects, including a myocarditis rate of 10 in 100,000 which is far greater than the 1 in 50,000 rate earlier reported.

Myocarditis is far more common in young males, so for them the risk is substantially higher than 10 in 100,000.

The consent form also indicates that the effect on sperm, fetuses and nursing children are unknown. However health authorities and media have embraced as fact that the jab does not affect fertility or reproductive health and that it is safe for nursing and pregnant mothers.

By definition, if an effect is unknown you cannot claim it to be harmless. If you do, then you are plain and simple lying just like Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who has frequently assured the public that the vaccine poses no health risks to pregnant women or their babies.

Likewise in August 2021, when Comirnaty was licensed, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci claimed that the COVID vaccine was safe during pregnancy. Comirnaty is the market name of the Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) also made conclusive statements about safety, saying that vaccination may occur in any trimester, and emphasis should be on vaccine receipt as soon as possible to maximize maternal and fetal health. However even the Comirnaty label states that available data on Comirnaty administered to pregnant women are insufficient to inform vaccine associated risks in pregnancy.

Follow VaccineDamage.news to know more about the injuries caused by Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine.

Watch the video below to know more about the COVID-19 vaccine information that the FDA and Pfizer are trying to hide.

This video is from the Truth or Consequences channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Pfizer, FDA know the COVID vaccine is dangerous, but they push it anyway.

Latest Pfizer document dump shows the company had to hire 2,400 new employees to handle wave of COVID vaccine adverse events.

Pfizers covid vaccine linked to 1,291 side effects.

Sources include:

DailyExpose.uk

FDA.gov

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Western democracies continue to trend authoritarian, with leaders grasping at any excuse to crack down on their citizens.

For nearly two years, Western leaders used the China COVID-19 virus as their vehicle for tyranny, shutting down their economies, making citizens more dependent on government largess, and forcing them to take a dangerous, experimental vaccine that kills and maims.

Now, some democracies are using Russias invasion of Ukraine as an excuse to terrorize their citizens even further, such as the Czech Republic.

There, citizens who support Russia online face jail sentences of up to three years, according to a report by Summit News.

Czech Attorney General Igor Striz announced in a press release that it was necessary to inform citizens that the current situation associated with the Russian Federations attack on Ukraine may have implications for their freedom of expression.

The limitations are being imposed under the umbrella of criminal code measures that make it a crime to approve of a criminal offense or deny, approve of, or justify genocide.

[F]reedom of speech also has its limits in a democratic state governed by the rule of law, asserted Striz, further noting that anyone who publicly (including at demonstrations, on the Internet or on social networks) agreed (accepted or supported the Russian Federations attacks on Ukraine) or expressed support or praised the leaders of the Russian Federation in this regard, they could also face criminal liability under certain conditions.

So really, there is no right to free speech because its an either/or proposition; either citizens have it at all times or they dont.

In addition to the attorney general, the official Czech state police website also revealed officers were closely monitoring content regarding dozens of comments in internet discussions approving the Russian invasion and the activities of the Russian army.

And Radio Prague International reported that anyone who is found to be in violation of these harsh new anti-free speech and anti-free expression rules could be put in prison for as long as three years, though it may actually be tough to bring charges.

Breitbarts Jack Montgomery asked if someone might be open to prosecution for merely questioning NATOs eastward expansion, the Wests decision to back the Euromaidan coup in 2014, or the extent to which claims the Ukrainian government has mistreated civilians in Donbas might be true.

Meanwhile, according to Fox News, Russian citizens are reportedly fleeing their own country as rumors spread that President Vladimir Putin is preparing to declare martial law.

Earlier this week, Russias official censorship body issued guidance telling news networks to use only trusted sources under penalty of closure, which led to the shutdown of two independent news networks, including Dozhd TV  known in English as Rain TV, the outlet reported.

Tikhon Dzyadko, the overnight chief editor of Dozhd, wrote on Telegram on Mar. 2 that he was fleeing the country over fear for his life, saying that it is obvious that the personal safety of some of us is now under threat,' the report continued.

In an interview with the network, former President Donald Trump said the Russian invasion could wind up triggering World War III.

And the former president also opined that the Biden White House will need to do a lot more than just sanctions to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin. But, Trump also said that the war should never have happened.

It is a horrible thing. It would never have happened under any circumstance, and it is what it is, Trump said. But theres great bravery being shown, and I think theyre doing one hell of a jobmuch more so than anybody would have thought possible.

Asked if he had a message for Putin, Trump answered flatly: I have no message.

I just think its a shame that this is going on. Its something that should not be going on, Trump said.

Thousands of people, I mean, this can lead to much bigger than this one area, Trump warned. This could lead to a lot of other countries and can lead to world war.

He then said, you never know how it starts, in a world war.

Sources include:

FoxNew.com

Summit.news
(Natural News) While weve been reporting on ANP for over a year now since soon after the arrival of Joe Biden in the White House back in January of 2021 of growing shortages of all kinds of food products all across the country, with our stories both featuring and based on photographs emailed to ANP from our readers nationwide and around the world whove encountered such empty store shelves in their own communities, up until March of 2022, Bidens White House called shortages of food and supplies in America a conspiracy theory.

(Article by Stefan Stanford republished from AllNewsPipeline.com)

Before Biden finally admitted back on March 24th of 2022 that the world will experience food shortages as a result of Russias invasion of Ukraine and its going to be real, as the independent media has been pointing out now for over a year, long before Russia invaded Ukraine, all of these shortages had everything to do with the devastating COVID lockdowns and horrific decisions by US politicians.

So while Biden attempts to blame Putin and Russia for the skyrocketing food prices and shortages in America, anybody who has been paying attention at all to whats been happening knows that what is nothing less than an attack on Americas food supply began long ago, and can be seen now playing out all across the world in story titles such as these out in the past week+ alone.:

From the Washington Post, April 15th, 2022: Shanghais covid siege: Food shortages, talking robots, starving animals

From New Food Magazine: Civil unrest may not be far away  History has warned us that as food prices rise, rioting is likely to follow. Here, Professor Chris Elliott points to a few key moments in history and calls on the UK Government to wake up.

From the Seattle Medium, April 13th, 2022: World Trade Head Predicts Food Riots In Poor Countries Due To Ukraine War

From ABC Australia, April 11th, 2022: Social media videos show riots over food as Chinese city Shanghai enters third week of strict lockdown

From the India Tribune: Waging war for sustenance: Disruption in supplies due to Ukraine crisis may create food shortage, price distortions

From the Business Insider, April 10th, 2022: The war in Ukraine is sending fertilizer prices through the roof. That could spark food shortages in countries already struggling with widespread hunger

From the Middle East Monitor, April 14th, 2022: The war in Ukraine has an economic domino effect fueling global social unrest

From the Hill, April 11th, 2022: Cindy McCain: Ukraine war forcing us to take from the hungry to feed the starving

From CNN, April 9th, 2022: From Pakistan to Peru, soaring food and fuel prices are tipping countries over the edge

And with it long warned that only 9 meals separate a civilized society from total anarchy as seen in the videos at the bottom of this story showing us food riots in various locations all across the planet that have happened just recently, the globalists big picture is quickly coming into play and it looks a lot like famine and starvation for the masses and all of us useless eaters.

So while finally, after over a year, the msm is finally reporting on all of this, why now? As weve reported time and again on ANP, were much better off believing our own eyes than what the msm/white house tells us, and while not all stores across America are experiencing the same shortages, with the MSM finally putting out stories such as this NY Post story titled Looming food shortages is the next slow-moving disaster to hit world, the handwriting is on the wall.

As the above mentioned story from New Food Magazine points out, while food riots and severe civil unrest caused by food shortages might not weigh heavily on the minds of most people in the UK (or here in the US for that matter), things could change in an instant.

With food and water two of the things that people cant do without, along with air to breathe and some kind of shelter in harsh environments, their story points out that historically, skyrocketing food prices and food shortages have led to all kinds of societal and political chaos and turmoil. Because with hungry people likely to do anything to get their own meals if it means avoiding starving to death, including stealing and killing others if necessary to get food to survive, check out how food shortages and high prices through history have led to chaos and then think about whats happening today.:

The idea that food riots could ensue in the UK due to the rise of food prices and shortages is probably not top of consumers minds. But if history tells us anything, its that these two facets have been the cause of many civil unrests before.

By a striking coincidence, one of these moments can be tracked back to the mid-1650s in Russia, when an uprising, as a result of governmental action, triggered a hike in bread prices. And how many of you knew that the French revolution was directly related to food prices? The famous Womens March on Versailles arose because of the riots in Paris marketplaces  a reaction to the lack of affordable bread. I could easily list another dozen historic examples of where riots, uprisings and unrest are all linked to the sudden price increase of food staples, but lets turn instead to the present.

The recent links between soaring food prices and political instability has been plotted using FAO data and there is a clear trend to behold. Figure 1 shows that as food prices rise in areas such as Iraq and Sri Lanka, people are taking to the streets to protest. You might think this is all about the developing world and that such events simply cannot happen in modern times in a developed country, but when the highly respected consumers champion Martin Lewis writes in a piece in the Telegraph, When people cant afford food, they get angry  civil unrest isnt far away, then large plumes of black smoke are just on the horizon.

Consider what has happened in a just a few years  from Brexit, to Covid and now the Ukraine crisis; and, of course, one must also not forget the surging issues linked to the climate change  all of which have inevitably fueled a destabilization of food prices in the UK. For most people, the events seen over the last three years would have previously been the work of fiction. Unfortunately, what is happening is very real and could likely lead to rioting. Yet our blindfolded government remains mostly in denial, a mode they have become accustomed to even when faced with compelling evidence

I see horrible parallels with the great famines of Ireland in the 19th century. An uncaring government more concerned with economics than the people they serve and those in dire need. Is it really unthinkable that we would see food riots in the UK? Perhaps as unthinkable as a pandemic or witnessing Russian forces conducting genocide in the streets, towns and cities of Ukraine.

Think that such a scenario will never unfold here in America? As has been pointed out time and again, with America having a just enough, just on time food system that relies upon a trucking system stressed to the limits already by COVID, imagine just how quickly things would spiral out of control should that system break down for just a few days, with most Americans totally unprepared for such an emergency still in 2022. So in the final section of our story below well be taking a look at prepping for two of the most critical items for survival, food and clean, potable drinking water or other life sustaining liquids.

Read more at: AllNewsPipeline.com
(Natural News) Following the French election this upcoming weekend, the European Union (EU) is reportedly planning to impose a full embargo on all Russian oil, which JPMorgan says will drive the oil price beyond $185 a barrel.

To minimize public support for Marine Le Pen, the EU is apparently waiting until after the second round of voting to make this move, which will send already record-high oil prices soaring even further.

Emmanuel Macron reportedly won the first round of voting, or so we are told. And the plan seems to be to get him installed for another term before driving the EU to the next level of its descent into economic hell.

The EU claims that the embargo will somehow hurt Russia, even though it is the EU member countries that will suffer the most. Loadings of Russian oil are actually at all-time highs right now, showing once again that Russia has the upper hand in all of this while Western leaders bumble around hurting their own people.

Russia now exporting more oil than before the invasion

JPMorgan reported that shipments of Russian oil in the seven days leading up to April 16 hit 7.3 mbd (million barrels per day), which is only 330 kbd (thousand barrels per day) below the 7.58 mbd average in February before the war started.

JPM has calculated that Russian crude exports are actually up since the invasion, averaging 360 kbd more in volume than pre-February. Exports of oil products like fuel oil, naphtha and VGO, however, have declined by 700 kbd.

This decline in oil product exports combined with a 200 kbd drop in Russian domestic oil demand has resulted in Russian refineries having to cut runs. The volume of refining cuts rose in April to 1.3 mbd, which is about 0.6 mbd above the usual April maintenance.

Russian shut-ins, which were first triggered in late March, amounted to 1.5 mbd in April as opposed to the initial forecast of 2 mbd. It is still expected that Russian exports for the rest of the year will amount to 1 mbd.

JPMs projection is that European buyers will cut their purchase of Russian oil by about 2.0 to 2.5 mbd by the end of the year. Russia is expected to re-route about 1 mbd of that volume elsewhere.

Of course, it will come as no surprise to anyone that aggressive purchases of Russian oil by China and India  who have both ramped up purchases of Russian oil in the past two months, and Turkey has also increased volumes to pre-COVID levels  have offset some of the loss, reported Zero Hedge.

Given time, JPM estimates that together these three countries can likely import an additional 1 mbd beyond what they are importing today.

If the EU actually follows through with the full embargo, the price of oil is expected to spike.

A full and immediate embargo is likely to hurt European consumers more than Russian producers in the near term, Zero Hedge added.

More importantly, a full, immediate ban would likely drive Brent crude oil prices to $185 / bbl as more than 4 mbd of Russian oil supplies would be displaced with neither room nor time to re-route them to China, India, or other potential substitute buyers.

India has already increased imports of Russian oil by three times 2021 levels. Other countries that are friendly to Russia will likely increase their exports as well, leaving the EU and its NATO allies holding the bag of yet another backfired foreign policy intervention.

Europe has little pieces of paper and to a much greater degree, digital representations on ledgers of those little pieces of paper called euros, wrote a commenter. Russia has many of the raw materials that the world, including Europe, needs.

Russia does not need the euros. The EU does need the raw materials. This is ludicrous.

More related news can be found at Collapse.news.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Another FBI case has completely unraveled, proving once more that todays bureau is nothing more than a politicized federal agency whose primary mission is to entrap enemies of the regime and jail them in any way possible.

You may recall during the summer of 2020, when Antifa and BLM thugs were burning cities and attacking supporters of then-President Donald Trump in the name of social justice for George Floyd that the FBI claimed to have uncovered a conspiracy to kidnap unpopular Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.

To many of us, the alleged plot sounded farcical from the get-go: A group of Michigan militia guys had somehow made a detailed plan and assembled the resources to snatch the heavily guarded Whitmer from her summer home, take her to an undisclosed location while blowing up a bridge in the process to cover their escape. Literally, they make movies about plots like that  and the antagonists are always well-trained, well-financed, and well-versed in criminal activity.

They arent a bunch of good ol boys from an upper Midwestern state.

In any event, the FBI paid an informant to essentially set up this kidnapping so the bureau could use the arrests as a political weapon against Trump (who was already cruising to victory and would have won had the election not been stolen from him)  a sort of, See? See? See what kind of violence Trump stirs up?

Early on, a couple of group members pleaded guilty to trumped-up charges, but four others told the Justice Department where it could go and hired attorneys. And on Friday, a jury returned a not guilty verdict for two of them, while deadlocking on two others.

The Daily Wire reports:

Brandon Caserta and Daniel Harris were arrested in October and charged along with four others of conspiring to kidnap Whitmer over her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The jury ruled both men not guilty on the charge, as well as cleared Harris on three other related charges, including a conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction charge that carried a potential life sentence in prison.

Best birthday gift ever, Caserta, who was acquitted on his birthday, reportedly told the courtroom in Grand Rapids, Mich., after the jurys verdict was announced.

Harris father, Robert, who watched the month-long court proceedings from the public seating area of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, declared after the verdict, We are so elated! Unbelievable amount of people praying through this whole ordeal. God is so good!

Meanwhile, the jurys deliberations for two other defendants in the case  Adam Fox and Barry Croft  ended in a mistrial, meaning the government failed to get even a single conviction in this sham case.

Although we are disappointed the jury did not reach decisions in our favor, we continue to respect the jury trial system whatever the outcome. And we thank the jury for their service, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Andrew Birge said in a statement following the verdict. Two defendants now await re-trial and, for that reason, we have no further statement at this time.

The jury began deliberations on Monday, finally reaching their decisions on Friday.

In America, theres a lot of things you can do. You can criticize the government publicly, absolutely, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler told jurors at the time. If you dont like the governments policies, you can protest them. If you dont like elected leaders, you can vote them out at the ballot box. What you cant do is kidnap them, kill them, or blow them up.

But apparently, that was never any real plan.

If there is a better example of how the FBI has become nothing more than a political enforcer for the left-wing deep state, we cant think of one.

Sources include:

Freep.com

DailyWire.com
(Natural News) The already built Spire STL Pipeline in Missouri will not be allowed to operate, thanks to a decision by the United States Supreme Court not to review a lower courts disapproval of the project.

According to reports, Spire STL Pipeline LLC and Spire Missouri Inc. wanted SCOTUS to intervene after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated the Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions (FERC) original certificate order for the project.

Thousands of households and businesses throughout the St. Louis area risk losing gas service if the pipeline never comes online, the companies warned the court back on December 3  but to no avail.

The appeals court argued back that FERC failed to justify a need for the project, as well as ignored evidence of self-dealing. (Related: Remember when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan ordered the shutdown of a pipeline due to environmental risks?)

Taking the matter to the Supreme Court, FERC urged the high court to skip a review after it approved the pipelines request for a temporary certificate to keep gas flowing during the remand proceedings.

Back in March, the agency told the court that Spires petition has no current practical significance concerning its ability to operate the pipeline. The agency received backing from the Environmental Defense Fund, which said the D.C. Circuit Courts decision would not threaten the natural gas supply.

According to the EDF, keeping FERCs orders in place would cause harm to the public.

While we are disappointed by todays decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Spire STL Pipeline will continue to operate under the currently effective Temporary Certificate issued by the FERC on Dec. 3, 2021, said Scott Smith, president of the pipeline.

We are confident that when people have an opportunity to review the proven benefits of the STL Pipeline, they will agree that there is a critical need to keep this infrastructure fully operational to ensure continued access to reliable, affordable energy for families and businesses in the greater St. Louis region.

Is the government trying to destroy the American people?

A review of the situation by analysts at ClearView Energy Partners LLC concluded that FERCs proposed changes to its Certificate Policy Statement released in February appeared particularly responsive to the D.C. Circuit ruling in the Spire STL case.

The Supreme Courts rejection of Spire STLs petition would, in our view, reinforce FERC taking a strong stance, the analysts added.

This review is both court-ordered and ongoing, and will likely lead to further developments as the saga unfolds.

Post & Schell PC represented Spire Missouri Inc., which also represented itself, reported Bloomberg Law.

Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and Norton Rose Fulbright U.S. LLP represented Spire STL Pipeline LLC, which also represents itself.

Here we go: this is how they finally kill off the middle class and push their failed green energy scam, wrote someone at Natural News about Whitmers shutdown of the Michigan pipeline, which also seems to relate to the current situation in Missouri.

If the oil (and gas) is not transported through the pipelines, then it will be shipped on Warren Buffets trains, wrote another, adding another level of conspiracy to the anti-pipeline agenda of the U.S. government.

Look at the billions he will make. And trains never derail, you know.

Many others across the web seem to recognize that there is, in fact, a plan in place to keep the United States energy dependent and never relying on its own natural resources. A big part of that is vilifying and stopping pipelines that provide cheap energy and prosperity.

More related news can be found at Collapse.news.

Sources for this article include:

BloombergLaw.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The Russia-Ukraine war is reviving concerns in Taiwan regarding the fragility of its internet connections.

Ukraine has used the internet heavily to rally resistance, counter Russias propaganda and gain international support  including appeals for weapons by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Despite Russian attacks on their internet infrastructure, the country has extensive internet connections within its land borders to remain online.

This is not the same for Taiwan  a self-ruled island that receives and sends about 95 percent of its data-and-voice traffic through cables that lie on the sea bed. Currently, there are around 14 cables, or bundles of fiber-optic lines, that are in operation in the nation, reaching land at four locations.

If these cables were to be cut at sea by submarines or divers, or if military strikes the lightly protected landing stations, most of the country will find themselves offline.

Kenny Huang, the chief executive of Taiwan Network Information Center, admitted that they are very vulnerable.

While there are no clear signs yet of China invading Taiwan, Beijing hasnt completely ruled out the use of military force to take control of the island. Their doctrine indicates that they would seek to achieve air, maritime and information superiority before attempting an assault on Taiwan, said Ivan Kanapathy, who previously served as the National Security Council (NSC) deputy senior director for Asia and a U.S. military attache in Taipei.

Kanapathy also said that in observing Ukraines highly effective use of media, Beijing may likely assume disconnecting Taiwan from the world would improve its chances of success in case of an invasion. (Related: Trump: China will DEFINITELY attack Taiwan following Russia-Ukraine example.)

The Chinese foreign ministry didnt respond to a question about seabed cables but said that the tension in Taiwan Strait should not be exaggerated.

Internet vulnerability a real cause for concern in Taiwan

The deputy head of Taiwans National Communications Commission, Wong Po-Tsung, said that the government closely monitors internet connectivity and would be alerted within an hour in case of an outage. Landing stations are also protected by the police, coast guard and the military by law, and will fall into action when necessary.

To illustrate what happens during an internet vulnerability, an undersea volcanic eruption earlier this year severed the single cable connecting Tonga to the internet, creating a near-blackout of information about the extent of the damage to the Pacific archipelago for days.

Seabed cables are essential for the global economy, with one report estimating the contribution of such cables to be nearly $649 billion in the U.S. or about three percent of its gross domestic product.

The Asia-Pacific region has some of the highest concentrations of roughly 436 active seabed cables extending more than 800,000 miles around the world. These cables are usually privately owned by internet companies. However, they are also a security risk because they may be tapped into to intercept data.

Taiwan could still retain some connection to the internet via satellites even if all its sea cables were severed. But data capacity from satellite connections is a small fraction of seabed cables, and specialist terminals are necessary to receive the connection.

According to Huang, Taiwan is expected to construct new cables to provide more sources of internet connections, which will likely add one or two more landing stations in the next five years. (Related: Reuters: Biden censored Taiwan map at digital authoritarianism panel on purpose.)

Follow CyberWar.news for more news related to the internet.

Watch the video below for more information about Chinas intent on attacking Taiwan.

This video is from the Chinese taking down EVIL CCP channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Breaking: Biden White House warns of potential cyberattacks on critical infrastructure in US by Russia based on evolving intelligence threat.

Beijing using the coronavirus pandemic to expand internet surveillance apparatus.

China imprisoning citizens for critical Twitter posts even though the website is banned in the Mainland.

Report: China HACKED networks of at least SIX state governments in 2021.

Sources include:

WSJ.com

TaiwanNews.com.tw

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) An American pilot who almost died mid-flight from a cardiac arrest likely caused by Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines has come forward to share his story with the alternative media.

Since the mainstream media is refusing to even touch the story, American Airlines Captain Robert Snow took the opportunity to talk to Stew Peters about it in a recent interview, which is available through Steve Kirschs website.

In a nutshell, Snow is incensed over the fact that the United States government is forcing pilots to take the injections  against the law, just to be clear  in order to keep their jobs.

The rule is egregious, tyrannical and simply makes no sense from an epidemiological perspective that assumes the injections actually provide protection (which they do not).

Even more, whats the benefit to vaccinating pilots? Kirsch asked. Its not like the pilot is going to transmit COVID to the passengers. The chance of that happening is very close to zero.

Suddenly pro-vax vs. anti-vax doesnt matter when the airplane youre in is at risk of crashing

Kirsch conducted an experiment to see which other news outlets picked up on Snows story. Using Google to perform a query both in the All search as well as the News search, Kirsch picked up zero stories from the trusted news outlets.

Of course, there were a few in the All search on alternative media sites, but not a single one from any major news source. In the News section on Google, not a single story about Snow appeared at all.

This is concerning because Snows incident during a recent flight could have caused a catastrophe resulting in mass casualties. It demonstrates the dangers of forcing these jabs on pilots who, at high altitudes, could suffer serious health effects that affect their performance.

God forbid this ever happens, but if a pilot were to die mid-flight, it would be up to the other one to safely fly and land the plane the rest of the way. And if anything happened to the other pilot for the same reasons, it would be game over.

Press California did pick up the story, according to one of Kirschs readers, however this is not exactly a mainstream source. It is difficult to say how many people might have seen the headline and read the story.

Another said that the Hill picked up the story and is planning to publish a piece about it, so we will see if that comes to fruition.

Can we somehow sponsor Mr. Robert Snow and other injured pilots from various airlines to come out and participate in a panel discussion? (Of course, the airlines will be laying em off, so they will require financial protection ), wrote another.

Given that this matter actually has the potential to affect people who would otherwise be uninterested in whether some stranger is injured by bad luck or not, I believe this event has the potential to become massive.

This same commenter went on to say that who in his right mind would care about anti-vax versus pro-vax if his plane was in jeopardy of crashing due to a jab injury? Widely disseminating the story might just get more people to think about the implications of these types of mandates.

If the number of injured pilots is as high as this gentleman claims, we may have a chance to change the publics mind, the commenter further added.

Unfortunately, I think the only way knowledge and admission of the vaxxs devastation is going to go mainstream is by your average Joe/Jane seeing it happen to themselves and the people they know so much that it will be in their faces, left and right, said another.

The latest news about the Fauci Flu shot genocide can be found at Genocide.news.

Sources include:

SteveKirsch.substack.com

NaturalNews.com
The rare and secretive snow leopard is one of the few beasts that has captured the human imagination.

According to the red list of threatened species, fewer than 7,000 Panthera uncia are expected to persist over Asia's high mountains.

A fifth of them dwells in Tajikistan's Pamir mountains, the world's third-highest environment after the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges. The leopards appear to be prospering here, despite the odds.

"The situation with snow leopards in Tajikistan is hopeful since the population is rising," said Khalil Karimov, a wildlife scientist and scientific consultant to Tajikistan's Association of Nature Conservation Organizations (Ancot).

"We have between 350 and 450 cats, while the precise number is hard to determine given to the leopards' nature and the secluded location in which they live."

Situation in Tajikistan

Tajikistan, a landlocked, mountainous nation bordering China and Afghanistan, was the Soviet Union's easternmost outpost for decades.

When the USSR fell apart in 1991, the nation descended into a five-year civil war that claimed the lives of 100,000 to 300,000 people and caused a million more to flee their homes.

The country's unique mountain ungulates - Asiatic ibex, Marco Polo sheep, markhor, and urial - were driven to near extinction due to the leopards' predation.

However, a network of grassroots efforts has reversed this - and other species' - loss in recent years.

Tajikistan now has five community-run conservancies spanning 150,000 hectares (580 square miles), with others in different stages of creation.

The M-Sayod markhor reserve in the western Pamirs, with its 35,000 hilly hectares bordering northern Afghanistan, is one of these success stories.

Since its founding in 2005, the family-run reserve has experienced a tenfold rise of Bukharan markhor (Capra falconeri heptneri), a wild goat with iconic spiral horns.

"We used to hunt markhor for meat, and we had no idea they were endangered," recalled Khudoydod Mulloyorov, whose father, Devlatkhan, created the reserve.

"Back then, life was so harsh that people hunted to live. Afghans would even cross the river to hunt snow leopards and sell their fur."

Also Read: Certain Fish Species Are Rapidly Evolving to Adapt With Ocean Acidification

Snow Leopards

More markhor implies more snow leopards, their major predator.

In 2013, six were found here, making it the world's greatest density. In 2016, a crew returned and discovered ten cats in the same place.

Tajikistan's snow leopards have an unexpected savior, with little cash from tourism and few significant international contributors.

"Foreign trophy hunting provides 99% of the funds for conservation in Tajikistan," added Karimov. "In the past, people would go into the mountains and slaughter whatever they could find, but today they protect them because they have monetary worth."

Saved by Trophy Hunters

According to Karimov, international trophy hunters contribute millions of pounds to the Tajik economy each year, with annual quotas for shooting markhor, ibex, wild boar, Marco Polo sheep, and urials imposed by the government.

Three of Tajikistan's 12 markhor licenses were given to the M-Sayod conservancy in 2021, with hunters spending between 100,000 and 145,000 to shoot one goat, with 30% of the proceeds going straight to the reserve.

This revenue is a lifeline for many in this isolated mountainous region, where employment is rare, and most families have at least one member working in Russia (a flow of money impacted first by Covid and now by the invasion of Ukraine).

"There would be no conservation here if trophy hunting didn't exist," Mulloyorov argued. "We employ 20 people and enhance local infrastructure thanks to hunting."

An ex-hunter named Mahan Atabaev maintains a 92,000-hectare reserve on the Alichur plateau, a predominantly ethnic Kyrgyz territory in the country's extreme northeast.

It is one of the hardest inhabited areas on Earth, with an average height of 4,000 meters and winter temperatures often reaching -50 degrees Celsius (-58 degrees Fahrenheit).

When the reserve was founded in 2012, 106 Marco Polo sheep - the world's largest sheep - were registered. There are now almost 500 of them.

Ibex numbers have also climbed.

Thriving Population

Snow leopards have thrived in the same way as Marco Polo and ibex at M-Sayod. None of the cats were seen here in 2011. Nine were caught on camera traps in 2017.

Karimov claimed that many tourists - with all the associated environmental damage - would be required to generate the same amount of revenue.

The climatic catastrophe, not poaching, is currently the greatest danger to Tajikistan's biodiversity. A third of Tajikistan's 8,000 glaciers will vanish totally by 2050.

The Pamirs' climate is becoming unpredictable due to these worrisome glacier retreats, with longer, colder winters and drier summers.

Last winter, the temperature on the Alichur plateau dropped to -63C, killing 700 yaks and 1,000 sheep in Bash Gumbez, a settlement of 44 houses.

Conditions like this spell doom for the wild herds on which snow leopards rely for survival.

Related Article: Real Extent of Overfishing: How this Disruptive Behavior Can Cause Irreversible Destruction

For more Environmenta News, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
A spring Nor'easter struck the Northeast US, notably affecting the states of New York and Pennsylvania.

Hundreds of thousands of customers experienced power outages as the storm brings heavy snow, knocking out or damaging power lines, as well as leading to the closure of businesses and schools.

Blackouts and Disruption

At least a foot of snow accumulated in New York and Pennsylvania where a total of more than 200,000 customers were left without electricity as of Tuesday afternoon, April 19, via the utility monitoring site Power Outage US.

There are approximately 160,000 outages reported in New York and 40,000 in Pennsylvania.

In New York, 18 inches of snow were reported in the upstate area of Virgil, 16 inches of snowflakes also buried Indian Lake, and at least a foot of snow was recorded in the northern-western areas of Albany, as per NBC News.

Broome County officials implemented a travel ban after Binghamton received a record-breaking 14.2 inches of snow, as part of April's largest snowstorm.

In addition, Syracuse closed some of its commercial and educational establishments due to rapid snowfall and a lack of power supply.

This is due to "heavy, wet snow" falling at a rate of one to two inches per hour across upstate New York, said the local US media outlet.

In Pennsylvania, the Nor'easter caused a heavy downpour of 16 inches of snow in New Milford and other communities across the state.

Despite the renewed winter storm in the region, there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Also Read: Nor'easter Snow Storm: 6 up to 40 inches of snow, 18 Counties Declared Under State of Emergency

Late Season Nor'easter

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - National Weather (NWS) stated that the Nor'easter will continue to generate light snow along with gusty winds in the Northeast until Tuesday evening.

The US weather agency's Weather Prediction Center (WPC) emphasized that between three and six inches of snow accumulations will affect northern Pennsylvania and the Adirondacks.

Moreover, over eight inches of snow may accumulate in Lake Erie in southwestern New York.

Additional US Weather Forecast

The NOAA - NWS has also issued its latest weather forecast valid from Wednesday to Friday, April 20 to April 22, highlighting the arrival of stormy weather in the Pacific Northwest from mid-week, mountain snow in the Northwest, and the "Critical Risk" of fire weather in the Southwest and Southern Plains.

A mixture of "Freeze Warnings" and "Frost Advisories" was reportedly issued in the Mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley.

In the Southwest and the High Plains, the WPC fire weather warnings were issued between Arizona, Las Vegas, and New Mexico, stating that fire weather hazards are caused by dry fuels, gusty winds, and low humidity.

"Red Flag Warnings" are also in place for western Nebraska, eastern Wyoming, and central-southern New Mexico for Wednesday.

Lastly, summer-like temperatures are expected to be felt in the Great Plains on Wednesday and the Mississippi Valley until Thursday, April 21.

Since the US entered its spring season, several weather events related to the January-like winter storm phenomenon have occurred across the country, similar to its previous winter season that started in December.

Related Article: Nor'easter: Late-Season Winter Storm to Hit New England, Appalachians; Extreme Cold Weather Expected
Wildfires have been occurring in the drought-stricken region of the Western US for years.

A new study claimed that smoke from these fires has contributed to air pollution due to its unhealthy air pollutants, threatening millions of lives and undermining previous climatic and environmental efforts.

Western Wildfires

Wildfire emissions have elevated and changed the pattern of air quality per year, said Rebecca Buccholz, a scientist from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), which published the new research in the journal Nature Communications, as cited by AccuWeather.

Buccholz pointed out the sudden increase of pollutants such as carbon monoxide in August 2021, a period when the said gas is historically low.

Although it is not considered a significant health hazard, other harmful pollutants like aerosols and ground-based ozone are of the greatest concern.

The findings are considered to be alarming since carbon monoxide has been reportedly decreasing across North America and worldwide through advancements in air pollution-driven technologies, said the NCAR scientist.

Also Read: Wildfire 'Double-Hazard' Zones: Growing Communities in the US Western States Face Risks

IPCC Report

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report in 2021, fire seasons, since the 1980s, have increased by almost 20% in length and further wildfires may occur 30% more frequently by the year 2050, as cited by Plume Labs Founder Romain Lacombe who told AccuWeather.

Lacombe added that these blazes may release an estimated average of 2.2 gigatons of carbon into the air each year.

Wildfires and Climate Change

Multiple research attributes human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels from oil and gas in various industries, as the greatest contributors to climate change and global warming in modern history.

However, natural phenomena like wildfires are also contributors to the heating of the Earth.

The mentioned IPCC report highlights that wildfire emissions are also a significant source of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons.

These GHG gases accelerate the natural process of the greenhouse gas effect where trapped vapors absorb solar heat.

This premise of increasing wildfire threat in the US is made evident by a separate study published in Science Advances in March, wherein researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder claim that since 2000, wildfires in the country have "quadrupled in size" and "tripled in frequency."

In addition, researchers from the Climate Central also issued a report in 2016 that the annual average wildfire season in the Western US was 105 days longer than it was in the 1970s, which burnt more than 1,000 acres of land area.

In California, the state's largest wildfire the "Dixie Fire" in 2021 burned almost a million acres affected the counties of Lassen, Shata, Plumas, and Tehama, and left a firefighter dead.

Although forest fires and bush fires are common in California and its surrounding region, the increasing coverage and intensity of wildfires over the years have been attributed to global warming.

Lastly, climate change is also notoriously known for causing a cascade of climatic effects, such as the increased frequency of droughts, extreme weather, and storms.

Related Article: US Wildfires are Becoming Larger and More Frequent Since 2000: New Study
Brain tumor cases spanning generations have become a subject of growing medical concerns at a New Jersey high school.

Local authorities have launched an investigation to determine if there is a presence of potential radiation at the school's premises linked to the mysterious intracranial tumor.

Cancer Cluster Probe

The City of Woodbridge is spearheading the investigation after 108 people out of the 15,000 graduates of the Colonia High School were diagnosed with brain tumors, over the last 30 years.

Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac stated that the case is truly concerning, as cited by NBC New York.

Anecdotal evidence from Al Lupiano, an environmental scientist and alumnus of the NJ high school, reportedly believes that there is a link between his alma matter and the cases of brain tumors that ended in the early 2000s.

However, health officials are still adamant as there are plausible health hazards that still remain.

Lupiano and his wife Michelle, who is also a graduate of the school, were both diagnosed with benign brain tumors 20 years apart.

The case strengthens even further when Lupiano's sister, also an alumna of the Colonia High School, died from brain cancer recently, according to NBC New York.

Currently, every inch of the school is being assessed for any possible contamination.

As final results are still underway, environmental and health authorities have expressed great concerns.

The Environmental Protection (DEP) New Jersey Departments of Health (DOH) stated they are also involved in the investigation into the "apparent cancer cluster," and the said agencies are also working with the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR), as per Fox News.

Also Read: New Study Explores Reprogrammed Skin Cells That Can Kill Brain Tumors

Background: Colonia High School

Being the subject of the current cancer cluster probe, the said New Jersey high school was established in 1967. It is one of the three high schools in Woodbridge Township.

Similar to any other school in the US, Colonia High School is attended by approximately more than 1,000 students and has developed its academic excellence over the decades.

The school has recently celebrated its 50 years of educational excellence and has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report as a "Top Rated High School" in 2015, 2016, and 2017.

Aside from the historical background of the school, there are no reported industrial accidents or any related incidents at the educational establishment.

As a result, local authorities, including investigators, are baffled about whether there is an unknown compound in the school related to the brain tumors.

What is a Brain Tumor?

Also called neoplasm, brain tumors are defined by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as the "growth of abnormal cells" in the brain tissues.

The US health agency added that brain tumors can be malignant (cancer) or benign (non-cancer).

According to the National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS), around 700,000 people in the US are living with a primary brain tumor.

The organization also predicted that an estimated 88,970 more will be diagnosed in 2022.

Among the types of brain tumors, glioblastoma is one of the many lethal malignant brain tumors that can form in the spinal cord or nerve cells of the brain.

The common symptoms of a brain tumor are headaches and seizures.

In modern times, early detection is one of the most effective measures against both cancerous and non-cancerous brain tumors, which often lead to death if not treated.

Related Article: Brain Tumor Cells Killed By Anti-Nausea Drug
A dolphin in Florida impaled with a "spear-like object" was found deceased on the Gulf Coast.

Federal officials appealed for help to determine the marine mammal's killer to justice.

The reason for the killing remains unclear, but initial investigation revealed the dolphin was stabbed while still alive.

The incident adds to the growing number of cases of dolphin killings in the past 20 years, in spite of the existing animal rights and welfare laws protecting sea creatures and other marine mammal species.

Dolphin Killing

Local authorities recovered a bottlenose dolphin at the For Myers Beach on March 24.

The body of the mammal had a wound on its right eye and the non-human autopsy, necropsy, revealed that the object plunged into the head of the mammal while it was still alive, as per a statement from the news page of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Following the incident, the NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement is requesting any information about the dead dolphin, which was also reportedly an adult lactating female.

Based on the necropsy, the animal appeared to have died due to trauma from the stab wound.

The NOAA law enforcement officials announced they may be reached through their hotline and anonymous tips may also be left.

Also Read: Stranded Baby Dolphin Rescued in Florida During Holiday Weekend [VIDEO]

Initial Assessment: Begging Position

The NOAA stated that the dolphin died while in a begging position based on the characteristics, shape, and size of the wound.

The US agency emphasized that begging is not a natural behavior of dolphins since it is linked with illegal feeding.

Based on the findings, it appears that the perpetrator may have lured the dolphin first through intentional feed baiting.

The NOAA reiterated that a dolphin once fed by people tends to associate boats, fishing gear, and people with food, urging the public to refrain from feeding wild dolphins to avoid future harm.

The begging posture is evident in some animals, especially when they are in a state of hunger.

Marine Mammal Protection Act

Under the United States' Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), an individual involved in feeding, harassing, killing, or feeding wild dolphins is subject to imprisonment for up to one year and punishable by law by a fine of up to $100,000 USD, as cited by NBC News.

Violators may be prosecuted in a civil or criminal case depending on the circumstance of the action and incident.

Enacted by the US Congress in 1972, the MMPA aims to prevent the population decline of marine mammal species and serve as a conservation measure for wildlife management in marine ecosystems.

Related Cases: Stranded Dolphins

Since 2002, there have been at least 27 related cases where stranded wild dolphins are either shot with arrows or guns or stabbed with sharp objects, said the NOAA.

In a separate yet recent incident, a dolphin got stranded along the shore of Quintana Beach in Texas on April 10, and it eventually died after beachgoers went riding on its back while pushing the mammal back into the waters, as per CNN.

The incident also caught the attention of the NOAA Fisheries department, which has been responsible for protecting other marine mammal species, including whales, sea lions, seals, and porpoises.

Related Article: Stranded Dolphin in Texas Beach Dies After People 'Harassed' It
Brazil is once again on the hot seat as illegal, excessive deforestation has been reported to continue in April.

The current circumstances highlight the country's capability of fulfilling its role in climate change mitigation targets under the Paris Agreement.

Deforestation and Climate Change

Environmental evidence revealed that Brazil may fail to achieve its promise of climate change mitigation targets due to the continued deforestation of the indigenous lands in the Brazilian Amazon, which is currently under constant pressure that has accelerated over recent years, as per Phys.org.

In the case of Para State's Apyterewa Indigenous Territory, the area is reportedly the most affected, which is a determining factor that hampers Brazil's ability to meet its international commitment to the Paris Agreement of combating deforestation and reducing the impact of climate change.

Related warnings can be seen in a paper previously published in the journal Science in January, which highlighted that Brazil's continued deforestation of the Brazilian Legal Amazon (BLA) since 2019 is in contrast to the country's goal to aim "zero illegal deforestation" by 2028.

Also Read: Biodiversity in the Amazon is Threatened by Deforestation

Brazilian Amazon Rainforest

It can also be recalled that Brazil had a record-high deforestation report of the Amazon Rainforest with a total of 430 square kilometers (166 square miles) of deforested land area in January, according to satellite data from government space research agency Inpe, as cited by Reuters.

In a 12-month period, Brazil lost a total area of 13,235 square kilometers (5,110 square miles) of rainforest between August 2020 and July 2021, as per government data.

The said report showed that the number of trees cut down in the massive rainforest is significantly greater compared to January 2021.

Due to continued illegal deforestation, environmentalists and ecologists are concerned that further degradation of the Brazilian Amazon may still continue in the coming years.

Multiple studies have shown that the Amazon Rainforest is attributed for producing a substantial amount of the Earth's oxygen, which is crucial for fighting the environmental and climatic repercussions of global warming and eventually the greenhouse effect.

Brazil in the COP 26

In November 2021, Brazil ensured it would address the issue of illegal deforestation during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) held in Glasgow, Scotland.

The summit lasted from October 31 until November 12, 2021.

However, the Associated Press revealed in November that three Cabinet ministers spoke to the US-based media outlet that the Brazilian government kept data of the country's annual deforestation rate surge before the end of COP26.

Following the climate change summit, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his administration reportedly received a mixture of both appraisal and criticism with regard to their stance on the deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest.

The Paris Agreement

Also referred to as the Paris Treaty or the Paris Climate Accord, the Paris Climate Agreement aims to mitigate the global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Adopted in 2015, the Paris Treaty consists of more than 190 countries, including Brazil.

Member states under the Paris Accords are required to implement measures to mitigate climate change, including a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Related Article: Worsening Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon is at its All-Time High in a Decade
MARREE, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 10: A tourist watches the sun rise on the Birdsville Track during the 2005 Great Australian Outback Cattle Drive June 10, 2005 near Marree, Australia. Tourists from all over Australia and the rest of the world joined in driving 500 head of cattle and 120 horses on a six-week, 500 kilometre journey retracing the path taken by cattle drovers of old. (Photo : Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

Two massive hives of sunspots have appeared on the sun's atmosphere, raising the possibility of dramatic northern lights as well as extremely catastrophic solar flares in the upcoming weeks.

Several solar flares are so massive that they could consume the entire planet.

Clusters of Massive Sunspots at the Sun's Surface

The newest sunspot clusters, identified as active regions 2993 and 2994, also known to the term of AR2993 and AR2994, as per new update of Live Science, are to be accompanied by an additional sunspot cluster that is currently lurking beneath the sun's northern hemisphere which also seems to have triggered a massive solar flare that passed Earth just several nights earlier.

Every colony comprises of many sunspots and encompasses millions and millions of nautical kilometers, which is an extent significantly bigger than the circumference of the Earth. Such sunspots are created by electromagnetic perturbations of the sun's apparent solar corona, exposing the considerably colder regions beyond.

In an official statement send by the Space Weather Prediction Center, statistics shows that the present degree of sunspot output is roughly equivalent as it was throughout the previous sunspot phase, and even below than it was at this period during the preceding two sunspot output phases.

In the statement provided by Dean Pesnell, the mission investigator for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, a spectacular class X1.1 flare seen on Sunday - 17th of April currently looks to originate from a third sunspot collective spinning beyond AR2993 and AR2994 onto the sun's observable surface, as per Space Weather Gallery.

Solar storms and CMEs can produce magnificent northern lights, but they can as well endanger transmission lines, observatories, telecommunications infrastructure, as well as arguably also space explorers who are not protected by the earth's gravitational ground.

As the sunspot activity approaches its optimum, larger and deeper intricate sunspot areas get to be apparent, potentially resulting in solar flares. Within the following several years, flares and coronal outburst yellow cards will grow increasingly common, enhancing the danger threshold of solar output.

Also read: World's 11 Most Radioactive Places - the Consequences can be Devastating

Probability of Sunspots Swarm To Swallow Earth

The sun's magnetic dalliances as well as separation occur in 11-year phases, with minimum and maximum exercise processes within every warming period.

While NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's solar physicist Dean Pesnell told Live Science in an email that he is confident that experts along with the rest of the humanity will witness greater and active zones throughout the coming several years.

The NASA representatives also claimed that the coronal mass ejections are classified into five categories, every ten times extra potent than the previous one - A, B, C, M, and X.

As of now, the contemporary globe appears to successfully spared the harshest consequences of sunspots, and electricity controllers are densification their technology to withstand such disturbances. However, amid the Halloween storms of year 2003, a few of the strongest cosmic rays in contemporary recollection knocked down power in areas of Europe including South Africa for many hours.

Around 1775, when systematic tracking of solar output commenced, sunspot activity phases were documented. The electricity created by the populated places could be seen as radioactivity (solar flares) and solar flares (CMEs), which are super-hot spheres of material.

The other week, the globe barely averted a coronal radiation outburst tied to an already previous sunspot cluster. This is common at this time of the sunspot activity and experts are presently in Solar Cycle 25, which has not yet reached its maximum, implying that there would be much more solar development in the future.

Related article: African Blob Explained: What Is This Mysterious Place Beneath the Continent?
Extinction Rebellion group's activits settle a camp at the Porte Saint Denis in central Paris on April 17, 2022. - Activists from the Extinction Rebellion group blocked a major road in central Paris disrupting traffic to protest "inaction" on climate change from world leaders. (Photo : Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Climate scientists are making desperate moves to find something that may actually make an impact and "moves the needle", amidst the current climate crisis which calls for serious urgency.

In a viral footage last week, a group of NASA scientists chained themselves to a JPMorgan Chase building in Los Angeles in an active climate protest, demanding the government and warning people around the world of how we are heading towards a global catastrophe. JPMorgan Chase is an investment banking company that has invested and contributed more money towards fossil fuel industries than any other bank, according to Forbes.

"We've been trying to warn you guys for so many decades that we're heading towards a f*cking catastrophe, and we've been being ignored," said Peter Kalmus, a biological systems and climate change scientist at NASA who was among the group of scientists arrested last week for the activism.

"We're going to lose everything," the NASA scientist said. "And we're not joking, we're not lying, we're not exaggerating."

"I'm willing to take a risk for this gorgeous planet, for my sons."

Making the Message "Out into the Mainstream"

In a phone interview, Dr. Kalmus, who is an author and has more than 220,000 followers on Twitter, spoke to The Independent on his own behalf and not as a NASA employee to make the message of climate urgency "out into the mainstream". For him, civil disobedience is the only efficient medium to emphasize the seriousness of his convictions, he said, "like a home catching fire while a family is eating breakfast."

The scientist, among others around the world, wants the public to know where we actually stand in terms of climate emergency caused primarily by burning fossil fuels, and asks leaders to actually act on it than claiming to listen.

"Every day that we continue to expand the fossil fuel industry and add more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is going to lock in additional levels of heating in the future," he says.

"And that means additional levels of death and suffering. So that's what the stakes are."

Also read: UK Weather Forecast Indicates Nationwide Scorching Temperatures from Mid-Week

Paradigm Shift for Scientists

For so many decades, scientists have been warning us of the consequences of burning fossil fuels, but when the time came for them to resort to dramatic civil disobedience, they get arrested. Along with scientists who got arrested for demanding climate action were physicist, an engineer and, a science teacher, Huffpost reported.

According to soil scientist Rose Abramoff, who was also arrested last week after chaining herself to a White House fence alongside other protesters, the "paradigm is starting to shift for scientists". While she had previously taken pains to "remain unbiased", she said that concerns regarding the habitability of life on this planet "is not and should not be a political issue."

An estimate of around 1,000 scientists organized the LA protest as part of their wave of action. The movement engages in civil disobedience to highlight the climate crisis mainly due to global greenhouse gas emissions, making them feel hopeful.

Both scientists and nonscientists from 25 countries actively took part in the protests "to try and get the attention that we need to wake the public up," a statement from an ecologist.

Related article: Nor'easter Update: Heavy Snow Hits New York and Pennsylvania, Leaving Thousands Without Power
According to information published by Damen Naval on April 20, 2022, Damen launched the first hull parts of the new Combat Support Ship for the Royal Netherlands Navy.

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Launching the first hull parts of a new Combat Support Ship (Picture source: Damen)

HNLMS Den Helder is a new replenishment oiler under construction for the Royal Netherlands Navy. Also known as the Combat Support Ship (CSS), Den Helder is planned to fill the gap of replenishment at sea that was left after HNLMS Amsterdam was sold to Peru in 2014.

The ship carries two 40-ton cranes and can carry up to 24 sea containers. It can dispense 7,600 cubic meters of diesel (including for its own use), 1,000 cubic meters of helicopter fuel (including for its own use), 226 cubic meters of drinking water, and 434 tons of other goods, including ammunition.

The vessel can accommodate up to two NH-90 helicopters or, alternatively, one NH-90 and two UAVs. It carries two LCVPs (Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel) and 2 FRISC (Fast Raiding and Intercept Craft). The ship's infirmary operates as a Role 2 hospital (providing limited hospital capability, including surgery).

The replenishment oiler will have a length of 179.5 meters, a beam of 22 meters (72 ft 2 in), and a draught of 8 meters (26 ft 3 in). The first steel was cut in a ceremony on 2 December 2020 at the Damen yard in Galati, Romania.
According to information published by SwissInfo on April 20, 2022, the United Kingdom is looking at ways to supply Brimstone anti-ship missiles to Ukraine.

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Artist rendering of Brimstone missile (Picture source: MBDA)

The Brimstone is an air-launched ground attack missile developed by MBDA for the Royal Air Force. It was originally intended for "fire-and-forget" use against mass formations of enemy armor, using a millimetric wave (mmW) active radar homing seeker to ensure accuracy even against moving targets.

Brimstone has a 6.3 kg (14 lb) Tandem Shaped Charge (TSC) warhead that employs a smaller initial charge around 100 g (0.22 lb), designed to initiate reactive armor, followed by a larger, more destructive 6.2 kg (14 lb) charge, designed to penetrate and defeat the base armor.

Maritime Brimstone provides a unique and unrivaled all-weather, rapid anti-swarming FIAC capability weapon, offering the naval operator the option of engaging a wide range of target types, including fast-moving individual targets in cluttered environments, in both direct and indirect fire modes.

Maritime Brimstone is the latest member of the proven Brimstone Weapon System family; building upon the successful deployment of Brimstone into front-line operations with the RAF.

Operationally deployed in the Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria conflicts, Brimstone has proved to be the weapon of choice with its unique ability to perform both surgical strikes and salvo engagements in time-critical missions with a true day/night capability.
Reporter

Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey).
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Russian forces are tightening the noose around the defenders holed up in a mammoth steel plant that is the last known Ukrainian stronghold in in the besieged city of Mariupol
The citys offer: an hour-and-a-half of questions and answers with the three finalists. On Tuesday night, dozens answered the call.
A metabolic disorder, biotinidase deficiency, is a condition in which the enzyme biotinidase becomes faulty. It is a neurocutaneous disorder and follows an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance. Biotinidase deficiency leads to the shortage of biotin (a water-soluble B-complex vitamin) in the body. The deficiency of enzyme activity in the serum or plasma is a characteristic feature and forms the foundation of diagnosis.

Image Credit: ibreakstock/Shutterstock.com

Causes and Symptoms

Biotinidase deficiency occurs due to pathogenic mutations in the BTD gene located on chromosome 3q25. Biotinidase deficiency occurs due to four common pathogenic variations. A seven-base deletion/three-base insertion (c.98 104delinsTCC) in exon 2, which occur in at least one allele in approximately 50% of children, and p.Arg538Cys in exon 4, present at least once in 30% of children, are the two most commonly reported variants among children diagnosed because of clinical symptoms.

As revealed by neonatal screening, p.Gln456His, which is associated with significant insufficiency, and p.Asp444His, which decreases enzyme activity by around 50%, are the two other reasonably common variations.

Clinically, patients with BTD who go untreated can have a variety of respiratory, neurological, and dermatological problems like hypotonia, hyperventilation, seizures, apnea, and conjunctivitis. Other clinical symptoms involve ataxia, alopecia, developmental delay, hearing loss, and optic atrophy.

Eczema, skin rashes, and viral and fungal infections are all examples of cutaneous symptoms of immune dysfunction. There are scaly erythematous plaques on the flexors and perioral areas, as well as seborrheic dermatitis-like eruptions. Crusting, lichenification, and open lesions that could become secondary infections can be noticed in severe cases.

Metabolic symptoms of BTD comprise organic aciduria, ketolactic acidosis, and mild hyperammonemia. Untreated profound biotinidase deficiency symptoms often occur between the ages of one week and ten years, with an average age of 3.5 months. Some children with biotinidase deficiency have just one symptom. Whereas some others may develop a culmination of several neurological, cutaneous, or biochemical manifestations. Patients with severe BTD begin to show symptoms of the disease at a young age.

Seizures and hypotonia are the most common neurologic symptoms in people with untreated profound biotinidase deficiency. Seizures are typically myoclonic, but they can also be grand mal or focal, and some children experience infantile spasms. Spinal cord illness, characterized by progressive spastic paresis and myelopathy, has been seen in certain untreated children.

Ataxia and developmental delays may emerge in older affected youngsters. On magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography of the brain, many symptomatic children with biotinidase deficiency show a range of central nervous system disorders.

If untreated, almost all children with significant biotinidase deficiency develop symptoms or are at risk of developing symptoms. Several persons with severe biotinidase deficiency have never shown symptoms, according to family research. Furthermore, numerous sick children's enzyme-deficient siblings appear to have never shown symptoms. It's probable that if these people are stressed, they may develop symptoms.

Biotinidase  The Enzyme

Biotinidase is a monomeric enzyme with 543 amino acid residues, including 41 amino acids from a potential signal peptide, that is encoded by a single gene (BTD) on chromosome 3p25. The gene covers at least 23 kilobases of genomic DNA and is made up of four exons and three introns, indicating a straightforward structural arrangement that makes genotyping patients easier.

It is made of four exons, numbered 14, with sizes of 79, 265, 150, and 1,502 base pairs, respectively. According to Northern blot analysis utilizing a 2,000-bp probe containing the cDNA sequence, the biotinidase message is found in the human lung, liver, heart, brain, kidney, pancreas, skeletal muscle, and placenta.

Epidemiology

The disease's prevalence varies by country. The global incidence of BTD ranges from 1:40,000 to 1:60,000 births. Turkey's nationwide newborn screening program indicated a high rate of infection. According to the figures by the Ministry of Health, the incidence is roughly 1:7,116.

In countries like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, a higher rate of consanguinity contributes to an increase in the prevalence of BTD. It is prevalent in Brazil with an incidence of 1:9000. According to data from 2006 newborn screening results, the incidence of profound BTD in the United States is 1:80,000 infants, with partial deficiency ranging between 1:31,000 and 1:40,000.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Diagnosis is based on the evaluation of biotinidase activity using a radioassay in serum, plasma, fibroblasts, leukocytes, and other tissue extracts. Biotinidase deficiency, both complete and partial, is predicted to affect 1 in every 60.000 people worldwide.

Oral biotin (free form) is used to treat biotinidase deficiency. Biotin is almost exclusively available in the free form at pharmacies and health food stores. Biotin therapy is a lifelong treatment. With biotin treatment, children with biotinidase deficiency discovered by newborn screening will stay asymptomatic. Treatment with 510 mg of oral biotin per day helped all symptomatic children with BTD. Although, certain symptoms, like hearing loss, developmental delay, and optic atrophy, are usually permanent and irreversible once they occur.

In symptomatic people, adhering to biotin therapy improves their symptoms. After biotin treatment, the biochemical anomalies and seizures disappear quickly, and the cutaneous abnormalities improve. In children with alopecia, hair growth recovers over weeks to months. Optic atrophy and hearing loss may be permanent with treatment, especially if there has been a considerable time between the beginning of symptoms and the start of treatment. Even in high quantities, biotin is deemed safe and non-toxic.

References:

Canda, E., Kalkan Ucar, S., & Coker, M. (2020). Biotinidase Deficiency: Prevalence, Impact And Management Strategies. Pediatric health, medicine and therapeutics, 11, 127133. https://doi.org/10.2147/PHMT.S198656

Strovel, E., Cowan, T., Scott, A. et al. (2017). Laboratory diagnosis of biotinidase deficiency, 2017 update: a technical standard and guideline of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. Genet Med 19, 1079. https://doi.org/10.1038/gim.2017.84

Wolf B. Biotinidase Deficiency. 2000 Mar 24 [Updated 2016 Jun 9]. In: Adam MP, Ardinger HH, Pagon RA, et al., editors. GeneReviews [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2021. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1322

Wolf, B. (2012). Biotinidase deficiency: if you have to have an inherited metabolic disease, this is the one to have. Genet Med 14, 565575. https://doi.org/10.1038/gim.2011.6

Wolf B. (2011). The neurology of biotinidase deficiency. Molecular genetics and metabolism, 104(1-2), 2734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymgme.2011.06.001

Further Reading
A new study reports that immune cell responses to bacteria affect the intrinsic excitability of rat neuronal subtypes differently. The findings have implications for neural network control, including irregularities that lead to neurological and psychiatric disorders.

If a neuron can be viewed as a battery that stores and discharges electricity, then its intrinsic excitability can be viewed as the battery's storage capacity. While higher energy storage is usually viewed positively, overcharging a battery could cause it to overheat and become damaged.

Like all immune cells, microglia serve to kill off pathogens and infections, and their activity is known to regulate the intrinsic excitability of neurons. Yet, when microglia are over-stimulated, they can cause inflammation, pain, and other ailments.

For example, unmanaged intrinsic excitability has been attributed to psychiatric diseases, like mood disorders." Gen Ohtsuki, author, Kyoto University

Current knowledge on neuronal regulation comes from experiments analyzing Purkinje cells. These neurons are found in the cerebellum, which is considered an evolutionarily ancient part of the brain and responsible for motor control. Less understood are the effects on the intrinsic excitability of pyramidal cells, which are neurons found in the cortex: the part of the brain associated with higher-level thinking.

The team observed that calcium-activated SK ion channels in pyramidal cells were modulated by microglia, which is the same for Purkinje cells. However, in pyramidal cells, SK channels were upregulated, while they were downregulated in Purkinje cells.

"The effects were completely opposite," notes Ohtsuki.

The pyramidal cells appeared to react to the same cytokine -- TNFa or tumor necrosis factor alpha -- secreted by activated microglia: one of the most common cytokines released by immune cells in response to an infection.

However, the difference in SK channel regulation resulted in lower intrinsic excitability of pyramidal cells but higher intrinsic excitability of Purkinje cells. These inverted responses or directionalities to the same input are not uncommon between Purkinje and pyramidal cells and have also been seen with synaptic plasticity.

Ohtsuki cautions that: "The effects of microglia in one part of the brain should not be generalized to the entire organ. Our findings show that we need to study different brain regions separately to understand how microglia regulate neuronal function and how immunity impairs plasticity of neurons in psychiatric-diseased brains."
A little-studied enzyme has been found in high levels in healthy neurons, levels that scientists say decline with age and more dramatically with Alzheimer's, making adjusting the enzyme's level a potential treatment for both.

The enzyme is called HDAC9, a member of a class of enzymes involved in how tightly our DNA is wrapped, which affects our gene expression. But a scientific team led by Dr. Xin-Yun Lu has early evidence that HDAC9 also is critical to neurons communicating with each other and to our ability to learn and remember.

Eleven HDACs are known to be present in the brain, and Lu, chair of the Department of Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia, has found HDAC9 is the most highly expressed among them, exclusively expressed in neurons, and particularly abundant in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, both of which have a key role in learning and memory and are vulnerable in Alzheimer's.

We need to look at why it's decreased, and when it's decreased, why it causes problems." Dr. Xin-Yun Lu, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Translational Neuroscience

The project is funded by a new $2.8 million grant (1R01AG076235-01) from the National Institute on Aging to further explore the impact of HDAC9. It represents a collaboration between the Lu lab and that of Dr. Neal Weintraub, chief of the MCG Division of Cardiology, associate director of MCG's Vascular Biology Center and GRA Kupperman Eminent Scholar in Cardiovascular Medicine..

"Aging is the major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, so when you look at what genes are involved in brain aging and Alzheimer's, you look at gene expression at different ages," Lu says.

As they have looked periodically across the comparatively short life of a mouse, an average of about two years, they have been able to document the steady decline of HDAC9 in the brain with normal aging.

Lu's lab also has found significantly decreased HDAC9 expression in the prefrontal cortex of patients with Alzheimer's compared to those without it.

In a humanized mouse model of Alzheimer's, the most common cause of dementia, they've found that HDAC9 expression is decreased before the iconic amyloid deposits are evident.

They also have evidence that removal of HDAC9 body-wide, or specifically in an area of the hippocampus of mice, impairs communication between neurons, a phenomenon called synaptic plasticity, as well as learning and memory.

HDAC, or histone deacetylase, levels overall are associated with normal brain aging as well as neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. While they are still early in their exploration of its role in the brain, Lu's lab has evidence HDAC9 specifically may regulate expression of the gene(s) important to that synaptic plasticity and so how well neurons communicate.

The new grant is enabling them to look more closely at whether loss of HDAC9 in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex mediates both age-related cognitive decline and the typically more dramatic cognitive decline and physical changes to the brain that occur in Alzheimer's. That includes looking downstream of HDAC9 to better understand how it is regulating synaptic plasticity.

They are looking at several established players in healthy synaptic plasticity that HDAC9 may be regulating, already associated with Alzheimer's.

"We need to find what neural substances mediate HDAC9's effect on behavior and synaptic plasticity," Lu says. They are looking at substances like the proteins neuronal pentraxin2; nerve growth factor inducible, another protein; and brain derived neurotrophic factor, yet another protein known to aid the survival of neurons.

It's important to know how HDAC9 works, but if future therapies involve increasing its expression, you also have to know if its downstream partners are present, Lu notes. So when they increase HDAC9 expression, they are looking at what happens to the levels of these factors. Lu notes they have identified about 380 factors in toto that may be at play.

Synaptic dysfunction and loss correlate strongly with cognitive decline.

A synapse is where two neurons connect by passing a chemical messenger, called a neurotransmitter, between them. Synaptic plasticity is basically the capability of neurons to communicate based on the demands placed on them as we think and act, communication that also is essential to making memories out of what we experience.

Human brain tissue for the studies was obtained from the Emory Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and the Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium.

A strong family history also is a risk factor for Alzheimer's, according to the Alzheimer's Association, as well as medical problems like a significant head injury and heart disease.
The Canopy Cancer Collective, a national nonprofit organization that strives to fuel better treatments and outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients, has awarded The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai a $500,000 grant to support continued innovation in its multidisciplinary treatment of pancreatic cancer.

The Canopy Cancer Collective partners with leading health care institutions to create new patient-centric learning health networks, connecting top medical care providers, cancer researchers, and wellness specialists to formulate and foster best practices in cancer care all while empowering patients throughout their cancer journey. Mount Sinai is the only institution in New York City to receive this prestigious grant award and is among only 14 centers nationally.

Pancreatic cancer is called the "silent killer" because symptoms do not usually appear until it has already spread to other organs, leading to low survival rates. Pancreatic cancer is a complex disease that can affect each patient in different ways, both from the effects of the cancer itself and as a consequence of therapy, especially because multimodality therapy is often required.

Because of these complexities, multidisciplinary care is essential to achieving optimal outcomes for patients, underscoring the importance of the Canopy Cancer Collective grant award as well as two other important new milestones that further streamline pancreatic cancer patients' care at Mount Sinai. In April, Mount Sinai is launching the Center of Excellence for Pancreatic Cancer Multidisciplinary Team (Pancreas MDT) at Mount Sinai West, and The Tisch Cancer Institute is launching the Center of Excellence for Pancreatic Cancer at Mount Sinai.

As one of the most experienced pancreatic disorders treatment programs in the United States, Mount Sinai is recognized for excellence in the management of pancreatic diseases by esteemed organizations such as the National Pancreas Foundation. The Canopy Cancer Collective grant award in combination with our Pancreatic Cancer Multidisciplinary Team and our Center of Excellence deepens our commitment to provide seamless patient-centric treatment of pancreatic cancer. We will provide the most comprehensive and compassionate care through a multidisciplinary pancreatic cancer team providing the highest-quality diagnostic evaluation, treatment, and care and access to innovative therapies through clinical trials." Karyn A. Goodman, MD, MS, Professor and Vice Chair for Research and Quality in the Department of Radiation Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, and Associate Director for Clinical Research, The Tisch Cancer Institute, Mount Sinai

The Pancreas MDT will have a team of specialists who are national leaders in the field who will provide the highest-quality diagnostic tools, treatment, and care for patients with pancreatic cancer. The team includes experts from gastroenterology, surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, pathology, and radiology, as well as nutritionists, social workers, and genetic counselors.

The team will deliver cutting-edge treatment for pancreatic cancer patients, informed by Mount Sinai's extensive translational research program. In a one-day visit with the multidisciplinary team, patients will receive an individualized treatment plan that would otherwise take weeks elsewhere.

Patients will also have access to innovative therapies through clinical trials at multiple locations throughout the Health System. Patients and their family members will also receive extensive supportive care services.

The Pancreas MDT will fall under the overall umbrella of the Center of Excellence for Pancreatic Cancer at Mount Sinai, which is committed to streamlined, quality pancreatic cancer care. Dr. Goodman; Daniel Labow, MD; and Deirdre Cohen, MD, MS, will lead the Center of Excellence.

Together, they have internationally recognized expertise in radiation oncology, clinical trials, surgical oncology, and medical oncology, which will fuel the streamlined approach to team care across the health system. The Center is part of The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai, a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center. In 2021, Mount Sinai announced the establishment of the Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center and the construction of a new state-of-the-art cancer hospital in Manhattan thanks to a generous donation by James S. and Merryl H. Tisch.

"At the Center of Excellence for Pancreatic Cancer, we believe everyone deserves personalized and excellent care, so we develop an individualized treatment plan for our patients, using the latest technologies and advances," said Dr. Labow, who is also Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery at the Mount Sinai Health System.

Dr. Cohen, who is also Director of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Program at the Mount Sinai Health System, added, "Through this center, and our ongoing research, we will continue to make progress in the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer, keeping a patient-centric focus to treat the whole person."
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published a commentary today on the significant cancer disparities facing Asian Americans. The article is authored by seven researchers from across the country who participated in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncology Center of Excellence "Conversations on Cancer" held on July 29, 2021. The virtual "conversation," the first by the FDA, focused on the unfair cancer burden impacting Asian Americans. The lead author of the commentary is Moon Chen, associate director for community outreach and engagement with the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In percentage terms, Asian Americans are the fastest-growing U.S. racial group for the past three censuses, yet data aggregation obscure distinctions within subgroups of the more than 24 million Asians living in the United States. The JNCI commentary illustrates the harmful impacts this is having on Asian American communities.

Chen said the neglect of Asian American cancer inequities stems from multiple factors. They include historical prejudices against Asian Americans and the myth of Asian Americans as the model healthy minority, compounded by language and cultural barriers as well as racism.

Asian Americans are unique as the first U.S. population to experience cancer as the leading cause of death. Bigotry against Asian Americans, pervasive since the 19th century, but especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, is only exacerbating the cancer disparities that are costing Asian Americans their lives." Moon Chen, associate director for community outreach and engagement, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center

High rates of certain cancer in Asian Americans

The authors cite a disproportionate rate of certain cancers affecting Asian Americans including:

Cancers due to infectious origin such as the human papillomavirus. For example, Vietnamese American women experience the highest U.S rates of cervical cancer.

High rates of liver cancer caused by chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection rates in Asian and Southeast Asian Americans, including Hmong Americans.

Nasopharyngeal cancers, occurring in the upper part of the throat behind the nose, affecting Chinese Americans at high rates.

Stomach cancers, which have the highest rates among Korean Americans.

Lung cancer among never-smokers that disproportionately affects Asian American women at a rate of more than twice that of non-Hispanic white women.

The authors note an "infinitesimal proportion" of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget funded Asian American research even though the population is experiencing the highest percentage increases of any U.S. racial population for the past three decades. Between 1992 and 2018, only 0.17% of the total budget of the NIH funded research on Asian Americans. A portfolio analysis of grants funded by the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences showed a very limited number of studies focused on Asian Americans, with none at the time addressing the causes of cancer.

Asian Americans are also underrepresented in clinical trials. According to the commentary, only 1% of clinical trials emphasize racial and ethnic minority participation as a primary focus. Only 5 such trials focus on Asian Americans as compared with 83 for African Americans and 32 for Hispanics.

"Classifying Black Americans and Hispanic Americans as underrepresented minorities in clinical trials is helpful, but it is regrettable that our national policy excludes designating Asian Americans as underrepresented minorities, as documented by data in this commentary," said Chen. "There is a myth that Asian Americans don't get cancer, but that is far from the truth."

What needs to happen to equalize cancer inequities

To rectify inequities, the authors recommend a call to action:

Disaggregate data for Asian American subgroups (Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). The commentary calls for a separate focus on Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. Assess the impact of lived experiences and historical trauma. The authors state that culturally competent oncology care is required to improve access to health insurance/health care. They assert it is also needed to address language and cultural barriers that prevent Asian Americans from getting the medical help they need. Listen to community voices. Rich diversity and unique experiences within Asian American communities are best understood and appreciated by listening to and partnering with patients and community advocates. Research must ensure community representation, buy-in and engagement.

"It is also important to focus on the impact of racism on cancer disparities and prioritize funding resources. Otherwise, we will not take the necessary steps forward for achieving health equity for Asian Americans," Chen added.
Researchers from Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London have identified a way to reverse resistance to a group of cancer drugs, known as kinase inhibitors, in leukemia cells. By rewiring the inner workings of the cancer cells, the team was able to prime leukemia cells for sensitivity to treatment in the laboratory.

Kinase inhibitors are a type of targeted drug that block chemical messengers (enzymes) called kinases within cells. Kinases activate proteins in cells that are needed for a variety of normal cellular functions, including metabolism, growth, division and survival; however, kinases can become dysregulated in cancer, helping cancer cells to grow and survive.

Although kinase inhibitors have shown success in the treatment of some tumor types, many cancers fail to respond or develop resistance against these targeted drugs. In this study, Professor Pedro Cutillas and his team found it was possible to overcome kinase inhibitor resistance in leukemia cells by manipulating the cellular pathways that the cells use to survive.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Barts Charity and Cancer Research UK funded the research, and the findings were published today in Science Signaling.

Cutting off the alternative routes

Kinase inhibitors work by blocking components of different signaling pathways that cancer cells use to grow and survive. However, similar to how satellite navigation devices suggest an alternative route to reach a destination if there is a road closure; cells can learn to use other routes to carry out a function when a drug blocks their usual pathway. These alternative routes, or 'intrinsic resistance,' compensate for the effects of the drug and can prevent the drug from killing the cancer cell.

Building on previous work that investigated the mechanisms of resistance to drugs that target kinases, the team first treated leukemia cell lines with an experimental drug (GSK2879552) to block an enzyme called LSD1. LSD1 has a role in regulating gene expression in cells.

Blocking LSD1 inhibited the activity of one signaling pathway (called the PI3K/AKT pathway), but activated an alternative signaling pathway (named the MEK/MAPK pathway) that the leukemia cells were forced to utilize to survive.

As the leukemia cells were now relying on the MEK/MAPK pathway for survival, the team used a second drug - a kinase inhibitor called trametinib - to block the pathway. By doing this, the team cut off all escape routes for the cells and they were killed.

Here, we found that intrinsic resistance to kinase inhibitors could be overcome by coercing kinase networks into pathways that are tolerant to drug sensitivity. By targeting LSD1 with a drug, we rewired the kinase network and left cancer cells unable to escape from treatment with the second drug, trametinib." Pedro Cutillas, Study Lead, Professor, BCI's Centre for Cancer Genomics & Computational Biology

The team used the same sequential treatment approach to treat blood cells collected from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and found that the drug combination was effective at killing about 50 per cent of the AML samples.

Further experiments revealed that certain genetic changes and characteristics within the cancer cells influenced whether the cells were sensitive or resistant to the sequential treatment. These characteristics may represent biomarkers that could help to predict the subpopulation of patients more likely to respond to this kind of treatment.

Drug resistance is a major barrier in the treatment of cancer and is responsible for the majority of cancer deaths. Trametinib has showed limited efficacy against leukemia in early phase clinical trials; however, this early-stage research has identified a way in which drug resistance to such kinase inhibitors may be reversed and potentially avoided.

Professor Cutillas added: "Instead of treating cancers with two or more drugs at the same time, as has been the main approach in previous research on drug combinations, our work suggests that sequential treatment with one inhibitor to create a new pathway dependency, followed by treatment with an inhibitor against the newly activated pathway may be an effective treatment strategy in leukemia."

The team hopes this approach may be able to be translated into the clinic in the future, to increase the efficacy of drugs that by themselves have not shown significant clinical benefit. The team is also keen to explore whether the findings can be applied to other cancer types in addition to leukemia.
insights from industry Chris Adams Ph.D. Business Development Director, Global Bioinformatics, Bruker Daltonics

In this interview, Chris Adams Ph.D., Business Development Director, Global Bioinformatics, Life Science Mass Spectrometry at Bruker Daltonics, Billerica, MA, USA talks to News-Medical Life Sciences about acquiring real-time, accurate and reproducible 4D-proteomics data with PaSER.

Could you start by giving our readers a brief introduction to the PaSER platform?

PaSER (Parallel Search Engine in Real-Time) is our real-time bioinformatics solution. PaSER performs database searching in parallel with data acquisition on a high-speed timsTOF mass spectrometer. It has been designed to offer a complete run and done experience and to streamline workflows maximizing the effciency of turning data to usable information.

PaSER was initially launched a year and a half ago. It is essentially an independent GPU-enabled box that sits adjacent to your acquisition PC. It runs on an Nvidia graphics card with more than 4,000 programable cores, meaning it is able to search data at the speed of acquisition, including PTMs. Offline searches also benefit from the power of the GPU.

Information coming from the acquisition PC, such as retention time, ion mobility, precursor m/z and fragment ion spectra, is all sent to PaSER and processed in real-time. Database search results are delivered as soon as the acquisition is done  that is why we call it run and done.

It is important to point out that to ensure a viable real-time search at 120 Hz scan speed, we need to be achieving a per-spectra search time of less than 8 ms.

The GPU-enabled search is the brainchild of Robin Park, who developed a way to parallelize processing across a GPU. Instead of searching across tens of CPU cores, you are actually searching across thousands of GPU cores.

This expedites the search substantially, and we can do this with PTMs and in some semi-tryptic modification settings, depending on database size.

Image Credit: Bruker Daltonics

Image Credit: Bruker Daltonics

Image Credit: Bruker Daltonics

How does TMT Quant work in PaSER, and what are some of the advantages of using this method?

When Bruker first launched its timsTOF Pro, there was some skepticism around its ability to do TMT, but you can do TMT with this instrument with added benefits of sequencing speed and reduced interference.

There are some limitations around resolution at the lower m/z levels but you can do TMT 9 or 10-plex as others have shown and you can search that on the PaSER box in near real-time.

General search parameters such as enzymes and static modifications are typically set before data acquisition, meaning that real-time identification is possible. The parameters are fully customizable, and these can be set for any set of reporter ions being used.

Once the database search is done, the user will select quantitative analysis, set any options relating to the reporter ions used and desired tolerances and simply click submit to get results.

In terms of its quantification accuracy and efficiency, this approach is as good, if not better, than other packages accepted as the gold standard.

Image Credit: Bruker Daltonics

Image Credit: Bruker Daltonics

Where does the new TIMScore feature fit into this process?

TIMScore leverages the fourth dimension  the ability to predict the collisional cross section (CCS) using a machine learning model. We have been working closely with a talented grad student named Ty Garrett in Prof. John Yates lab, who has come up with a model able to accurately and reproducibly predict collisional cross-sections.

We can use these predicted collisional cross-sections and reference them against the experimentally determined collisional cross-section, calculating how well the predicted CCS fits against the experimentally determined CCS.

Where this feature becomes critical is when we need to do the discriminant analysis, choosing real from decoy hits. When we incorporate this additional dimension - TIMScore - we can look at the data from the perspective of a data cuboid. This means that instead of cutting a line, we can use a curvature fit to identify all those features that we were not previously able to find.

In practice, this allows TIMScore to increase the number of identified peptides, proteins and PSMs dramatically while maintaining the confidence level of 1% FDR.

Image Credit: Bruker Daltonics

Image Credit: Bruker Daltonics

Have any studies been done to explore the potential of TIMScore in real-world applications? Can you provide examples, if so?

We tested the TIMScore in-house by taking some published literature from the lab of Yasushi Ishihama at Kyoto University that was looking at tryptic and phosphorylated peptides and comparing the results both with and without TIMScore.

We determined that by using the TIMScore, we were effectively able to double the number of peptides identified from previous reports.

Where this becomes critical is in the increased protein sequence coverage. Instead of observing 5.5 or 7.5 peptides per protein, now we are observing 15 peptides per protein.

This boost in sequence coverage is important because we are not discovering these new proteins at random  we are digging deeper into and expanding the sequence coverage of proteins we knew existed, but we just did not have the capability to detect formally.

We found that the TIMScore works exceptionally well at the phosphopeptide level. This is important because normally, when we fragment a phosphopeptide, we get a neutral loss and a weak peptide b and y-ion series, making it hard for database search algorithms to confidently detect this.

The collisional cross-section, or 4D-Proteomics, helps pick up those peptides that we were not above able to assign initially.

Dr. Stan Stevens has been working with us on this example application, and we have already seen a good increase in the number of observable phosphopeptides in his data sets.

Image Credit: Bruker Daltonics

Image Credit: Bruker Daltonics

What is TIMS DIA-NN, and how can this tool be leveraged in a lab setting?

With a powerful means of performing database searches using the PaSER box and with the TIMScore generated in real-time, we wanted to address a further quantitative need.

The adoption of timsTOF technology has been strong, and notably we have seen more researchers using a dia-PASEF approach and then using algorithms like DIA-NN, Spectronaut or MaxDIA to do the analysis. The DIA-NN algorithm was developed by Drs. Vadim Demichev and Markus Ralser and has really benefited the proteomics community.

We have successfully retooled and integrated DIA-NN into a vendor specific and CCS-enabled algorithm into the PaSER box in the form of the new TIMS DIA-NN feature.

The new libraries are larger because of the additional CCS dimension and TIMScore which enable improved identification. In fact, Robin Park and team have added 20 additional features to the TIMS DIA-NN to accommodate this extra dimension.

TIMS DIA-ANN is able to provide label-free quantitation and match-between-runs (MBR) across a large sample cohort.

To look at how this works in a typical lab setting, we can use an example of the number of protein groups identified from 200 ng of K562 lysate. Over 8,300 proteins were identified using a PepSep 25 column with nanoElute on a timsTOF Pro 2 and a TIMScore powered spectral library using TIMS DIA-NN. This was done in just a short gradient of 35 minutes.

Image Credit: Bruker Daltonics

Image Credit: Bruker Daltonics

Image Credit: Bruker Daltonics

Bruker Daltonics the leader in Mass Spectrometry Solutions Explaining TIMS within timsTOF Technology Play

Is there anything else that you would like our readers to know?

First I should mention the PaSERs compatibility. PaSER works with the timsTOF, the timsTOF Pro 2, the timsTOF SCP and the timsTOF FLEX - the entire timsTOF series is applicable.

We have also had some excellent results working with the cellenOne team toward single cell proteomics, where we have used a timsTOF SCP and TIMS DIA-NN to sort different numbers of cells and different cell types.

Even when working at the single-cell level with true label-free quantitation in single-cell proteomics and without a boosting channel, the number of precursors and protein groups identified is quite remarkable.

We know that HeLa cells are about six times larger than HEC 293 cells, and in this experiment, the researchers noticed that the heterogeneity of the cell types starts to become more evident as these different cell populations are pooled.

All of the examples I have shared showcase the outstanding capabilities of PaSER with timsTOF technology. PaSER provides a genuinely run and done user experience, even when working with TMT and at single cell level.

Leveraging its powerful features expands its capabilities further, with TIMScore enabling a fourth dimension that provides more PSM, peptide and protein IDs and TIMS DIA-NN proving a new dia-PASEF workflow that is fully integrated into the PaSER box.

About Bruker Daltonics

Discover new ways to apply mass spectrometry to todays most pressing analytical challenges. Innovations such as Trapped Ion Mobility (TIMS), smartbeam and scanning lasers for MALDI-MS Imaging that deliver true pixel fidelity, and eXtreme Resolution FTMS (XR) technology capable to reveal Isotopic Fine Structure (IFS) signatures are pushing scientific exploration to new heights. Bruker's mass spectrometry solutions enable scientists to make breakthrough discoveries and gain deeper insights.
In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers investigated the impact of amino acid (AA) substitutions of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron on spike (S) protein function, processing, and neutralization susceptibility.

Background

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron is the fifth variant of concern (VOC), which emerged in November 2021 and has rapidly outcompeted the previously predominant Delta VOC. It contains many mutations, particularly in the S protein, and exhibits high transmissibility and resistance to sera from convalescent or vaccinated individuals.

Studies have reported that the Omicron variant evolved independently from a chronically immunocompromised person, poorly surveilled human population, or spilled from an unknown non-human species.

The S protein is the main target of humoral immune responses, and all SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are based on the S protein. Thereby, AA changes in the S proteins N-terminal (NTD) and receptor-binding (RBD) domains increase the resistance to neutralization by antibodies. However, the impact of these mutations on the Omicron variant relative to the ancestral Wuhan Hu-1 strain remain unclear.

The study and findings

In the current study, researchers determined the functional impact of AA substitutions that distinguish the Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants from the early SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan isolate. The 43 non-synonymous substitutions in the S protein of BA.1 and BA.2 variants were introduced individually into the Wuhan Hu-1 strain by site-directed mutagenesis. Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) pseudo particles (pp) were coated with ancestral and mutant S proteins. The 20 common AA changes of BA.1 and BA.2 variants had no significant impact on VSVpp infectivity. The D614G substitution enhanced infectivity while S375F impaired it. The S371L change of BA.1 or S371F of BA.2 variant strongly impaired infectivity.

Automated quantitation assays of VSVpp infection of Caco-2 cells revealed that mutant S proteins had similar but varying infection kinetics that frequently reduced efficiency. Some common changes such as N440K and D614G, and BA.1-specific D69-70, D211, L981F, 214EPE insertion enhanced the infection efficiency.

Overall, the individual AA changes in the serine residues (S371L/F, S373P, and S375F) located in the small loop region and its adjacent BA.2-specific substitution (T376A) severely impaired infectivity. The researchers observed that the S371L, S373F, S375F, and T376A substitutions decreased the S protein processing efficiency. The S375F and T376A S protein mutants were hardly processed. In sum, the substitutions T19I, D24-26, T376A, S375F, and Q954H reduced the infectivity of VSVpp by affecting the S protein processing.

Next, the impact of Omicron mutations on the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) binding was investigated using an in vitro S:ACE2 binding assay. The S371F, S373P, D614G, N856K, and L981F changes (introduced) in the Hu-1 S protein had little effect on the S:ACE2 binding. The N501Y substitution enhanced the binding of S protein to ACE2, consistent with previous reports.

However, S:ACE2 binding was reduced by the presence of individual AA changes of S375F or T376A and triple mutation (S371F/L-S373P-S375F) in the Hu-1 S protein. Cell-cell fusion assays revealed the formation of large syncytia by co-expressing ACE2 and ancestral Hu-1 S protein or individual S373P, N501Y, D614G, N856K, and L981F mutants. The syncytia formation was promoted by the pan-VOC D614G substitution and the Omicron-specific L981F substitution, but abrogated by the presence of S375F, T376A, or the triple mutation.

Subsequently, the neutralization sensitivity of Hu-1, Delta, BA.1, and BA.2 S proteins by sera from five BNT162b2-vaccinated individuals was evaluated. The team observed that sera collected two weeks post-second dose had substantially lower neutralization of BA.1 and BA.2 S proteins than Hu-1 or Delta S proteins. The common and Omicron-lineage-specific AA changes had reduced neutralization sensitivity.

Moreover, AA substitutions found in the NTD of BA.1 or BA.2 S protein decreased the neutralization. Notably, the D142-144 in the BA.1 S protein and G142D change in the BA.2 variant had a nine-fold reduction in neutralization. Overall, 27 of the 43 AA changes enhanced the resistance to antibody-mediated neutralization by more than two folds.

The research team noted that imdevimab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAb), failed to inhibit the BA.1 variant; contrastingly, the BA.2 variant was still susceptible to imdevimab. Both BA.1 and BA.2 were completely resistant to neutralization by bamlanivimab. Another mAb, casivirimab, neutralized BA.2 but had no appreciable neutralization against BA.1.

Conclusions

The authors of the current study systematically evaluated the functional impact of AA substitutions of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants. Several individual and shared mutations of BA.1 and BA.2 VOCs strongly impaired S protein's infectivity, processing, and neutralization.

The S375F substitution had the most striking effect, completely disrupting S protein function and processing. Many AA changes in the S NTD or RBD reduced neutralization by sera from vaccinated subjects as well as by therapeutic antibodies. More research is needed to comprehensively understand the consequences of AA changes in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron on its infectivity and pathogenesis.

*Important notice

bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Emspira 3 visual inspection microscope recognized for innovative design

The Emspira 3 digital inspection microscope is an all-in-one inspection solution which integrates measurement, annotation and sharing functionality. Image credit: Leica Microsystems

20 April 2022, Wetzlar, Germany  Leica Microsystems, a leading provider of microscopy and scientific instruments, has won a 2022 Red Dot Award for its digital inspection microscope, Emspira 3. A team of international jurors awarded Emspira 3 the Red Dot Award: Product Design in recognition of its robust, ergonomic, and aesthetically pleasing design features.

Modern visual inspection systems need to be intuitive to use while reducing the number of steps in the users workflow. Through the design of Emspira, we have helped to optimize inspection efficiency, says Andreas Hecker, VP Applied Microscopy Business Unit at Leica Microsystems. We are delighted to have received this years Red Dot award by international design experts as recognition for our work to make Emspira 3 an essential and robust partner for industrial inspection.

Thanks to its innovative modular design and a variety of illumination and zoom options, Emspira 3 is adaptable for different tasks, enabling users to achieve the defined inspection quality for every sample type. Users of any skill level can intuitively inspect with a single system, eliminating the need to use different dedicated workstations for visual inspection, thereby saving time and effort. Emspira 3 was designed for industrial environments, and its robust IP 21 housing and antimicrobial AgTreat surface ensures protection against ingress and the spread of germs.

With Emspira 3, users can streamline their inspection process, cover their needs flexibly and work with confidence. The all-in-one inspection solution, which integrates measurement, annotation and sharing functionality, allows users to inspect samples and share QC documentation in less time.

Leica is well known for its focus on innovation to benefit the entire customer experience, says Bruno Rossi, VP Marketing at Leica Microsystems. Good design is an important pillar of our innovation process, and this contributes a number of important benefits to the end user. Receiving such an award is a testimonial of Leicas success in delivering impactful and insightful innovation.

The award-winning Emspira 3 can be seen at the Red Dot Award Ceremony event on Monday 20 June 2022. That date also marks the beginning of the Red Dot Design Week, during which this years award winners will be highlighted. Emspira 3 will also be included in the exhibition Design on Stage in the Red Dot Design Museum in Essen, Germany, where all the award-winning products are showcased.

___________________________________________

About Leica Microsystems

Leica Microsystems develops and manufactures microscopes and scientific instruments for the analysis of microstructures and nanostructures. Ever since the company started as a family business in the nineteenth century, its instruments have been widely recognized for their optical precision and innovative technology. It is one of the market leaders in compound and stereo microscopy, digital microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy with related imaging systems, electron microscopy sample preparation, and surgical microscopes.

Leica Microsystems has six major plants and product development sites around the world. The company is represented in over 100 countries, has sales and service organizations in 20 countries, and an international network of distribution partners. Its headquarters are located in Wetzlar, Germany.
Metrohm USA is pleased to announce the winner of its 2022 Young Chemist Award, Colby Ott. Colby is a Ph.D. candidate at West Virginia University's Forensic and Investigative Science Department in Morgantown, West Virginia, where his research centers around developing novel methods for screening seized drugs. His work aims to provide reliable and rapid detection in the laboratory and the field, with future applications in forensics, clinical healthcare, and toxicology.

Colby Ott, Ph.D. candidate at West Virginia University's Forensic and Investigative Science Department in Morgantown. Image Credit: Metrohm USA Inc.

The entrance of fentanyl analogs and other novel psychoactive substances into the drug market made accurate screening and identification of these drugs using typical methods difficult. Rapid and reliable detection of illegal drugs is an essential task to deliver timely investigative information, inform future analyses, and improve the safety of laboratory personnel, first-responders, and crime scene investigators.

Using electrochemistry and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (EC-SERS), Colbys research aims to provide an effective and selective method for detecting fentanyl, its analogs, and other drugs of abuse in seized samples. EC-SERS is a fast, inexpensive, and more efficient platform than current methods, improving positive identifications and reducing laboratory backlogs and costs. Future applications may include use in forensic, clinical, and point-of-care analyses and settings.

Colby will accept his $10,000 award at Metrohm USAs headquarters, make a brief presentation about his research work, and participate in a short Q&A session on April 19. A video of this session will be available after the events conclusion.

Two $2,000 runner-up prizes were awarded to Gabriel Cerron-Calle from Arizona State University for his research on nano-enabled bimetallic electrodes for sustainable ammonia production by electrocatalytic nitrate reduction, and Ivneet Kaur Banga from the University of Texas at Dallas for her work on passive breath profiling for ultrasensitive detection of endogenously produced VOCs using electrochemical methods.

Metrohm USA has awarded the Young Chemist Award for ten consecutive years. This award is open to all undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate and doctorate students residing and studying in the U.S. and Canada, who are performing novel research in the fields of titration, ion chromatography, spectroscopy and electrochemistry.
From the muscle fibers that move us to the enzymes that replicate our DNA, proteins are the molecular machinery that makes life possible.

Protein function heavily depends on their three-dimensional structure, and researchers around the world have long endeavored to answer a seemingly simple inquiry to bridge function and form: if you know the building blocks of these molecular machines, can you predict how they are assembled into their functional shape?

This question is not so easy to answer. With complex structures dependent on intricate physical interactions, researchers have turned to artificial neural network models  mathematical frameworks that convert complex patterns into numerical representations  to predict and "see" the shape of proteins in 3D.

In a new paper published in Nature Communications, researchers at Georgia Tech and Oak Ridge National Laboratory build upon one such model, AlphaFold 2, to not only predict the biologically active conformation of individual proteins, but also of functional protein pairings known as complexes.

The work could help researchers bypass lengthy experiments to study the structure and interactions of protein complexes on a large scale, said Jeffrey Skolnick, Regents' Professor and Mary and Maisie Gibson Chair in the School of Biological Sciences and one of the corresponding authors of the study, adding that computational models such as these could mean big things for the field.

If these new computational models are successful, Skolnick said, "it could fundamentally change the way biological molecular systems are studied."

Primed for protein prediction

Created by London-based artificial intelligence lab DeepMind, AlphaFold 2 is a deep learning neural network model designed to predict the three-dimensional structure of a single protein given its amino acid sequence.

Skolnick and fellow corresponding author, Mu Gao, senior research scientist in the School of Biological Sciences, shared that the Alphafold 2 program was highly successful in blind tests occurring at the 14th iteration of the Community Wide Experiment on the Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction, or CASP14, a bi-annual competition where researchers around the globe gather to put their computational models to the test.

"To us, what is striking about AlphaFold 2 is that it not only makes excellent predictions on individual protein domains (the basic structural or functional modules of a protein sequence), but it also performs very well on protein sequences composed of multiple domains," Skolnick shared. And so with the ability to predict the structure of these complicated, multi-domain proteins, the research team set out to determine if the program could go a little further.

The physical interactions between different [protein] domains of the same sequence are essentially the same as the interactions gluing different proteins together. It quickly became clear that relatively simple modifications to AlphaFold 2 could allow it predict the structural models of a protein complex." Mu Gao, Fellow Corresponding Author and Senior Research Scientist, School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology

To explore different strategies, Davi Nakajima An, a fourth-year undergraduate in the School of Computer Science, was recruited to join the team's effort.

Instead of plugging in the features of just one protein sequence into AlphaFold 2 per its original design, the researchers joined the input features of multiple protein sequences together. Combined with new metrics to evaluate the strength of interactions among probed proteins, their new program AF2Complex was created.

Charting new territory

To put AF2Complex to the test, the researchers partnered with the high-performance computing center, Partnership for an Advanced Computing Environment (PACE), at Georgia Tech, and charged the model with predicting the structures of protein complexes it had never seen before. The modified program was able to correctly predict the structure of over twice as many protein complexes as a more traditional method called docking. While AF2Complex only needs protein sequences as input, docking relies on knowing individual protein structures beforehand to predict their combined structure based on complementary shapes.

"Encouraged by these promising results, we extended this idea to an even bigger problem, which is to predict interactions among multiple arbitrarily chosen proteins, e.g., in a simple case, two arbitrary proteins," shared Skolnick.

In addition to predicting the structure of protein complexes, AF2Complex was charged with identifying which of over 500 pairs of proteins were able to form a complex at all. Using newly designed metrics, AF2Complex outperformed conventional docking methods and AlphaFold 2 in identifying which of the arbitrary pairs were known to experimentally interact.

To test AF2Complex on the proteome scale, which encompasses an organism's entire library of the proteins that can be expressed, the researchers turned to the Summit Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, the world's second largest supercomputing center. "Thanks to this resource, we were able to apply AF2Complex to about 7,000 pairs of proteins from the bacteria E. coli," Gao shared.

In that test, the team's new model not only identified many pairs of proteins known to form complexes, but it was able to provide insights into interactions "suspected but never observed experimentally," Gao said.

Digging deeper into these interactions revealed a potential molecular mechanism for protein complexes that are particularly important for energy transport. These protein complexes are known to carry hemes, essential metabolites giving blood dark red color.

Using AF2Complex's predicted structural models, Jerry M. Parks, a senior research and development staff scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and a collaborator in the study, was able to place hemes at their suspected reaction sites within the structure. "These computational models now provide insights into the molecular mechanisms for how this biomolecular system works," Gao said.

"Deep learning is changing the way one studies a biological system," Skolnick added. "We envision methods like AF2Complex will become powerful tools for any biologist who would like to understand molecular mechanisms of a biosystem involving protein interactions."
In a recent article posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers assessed community-level impacts on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) prevalence in England.

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has wreaked havoc on communities worldwide, putting enormous strain on global healthcare systems. Understanding and tracking the primary factors that impact SARS-CoV-2 prevalence is critical for informing policymaking and designing effective non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) packages.

Analysis of community-level COVID-19 incidence imparts deep insights into the correlations between demographic and socioeconomic profiles, land use, and movement patterns. This includes spatial sorting and self-selection by inhabitants, where residents pick their residential area according to their social structure or preferences, inequality, and travel attitudes.

Community-level SARS-CoV-2 infection analysis also aids in determining the impact of policy initiatives on various areas and communities, taking into account possible differences in COVID-19 vaccination rates, health inequities, mobility, and behavioral responses. Furthermore, community-level data can lead to more thorough individual and epidemiological models by customizing and guiding policy issues for additional research.

About the study

In the present study, the scientists assessed the community-level determinants of the SARS-CoV-2 infection occurrence in England and how they changed with time between October 4, 2020, and December 5, 2021. The team specifically focused on the effect of working in so-called high-risk sectors like warehouses and care homes and COVID-19 incidence.

The scientists compiled a wide range of static (demographic and socioeconomic profiles and land use properties) and dynamic (COVID-19 cases, real-time SARS-CoV-2 vaccination uptake, and mobility indicators) details for small area statistical spaces (Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOA)) in England. Telecommunications firms, national travel surveys, test and trace data, mid-year projections, and censuses were among the sources used to compile the data.

The authors used a combination of different machine learning and statistical approaches to address methodological constraints, notably accounting for strongly interconnected factors. The team opted for a two-stage modeling approach: 1) latent cluster analysis (LCA) to categorize the nation into diverse travel and land use patterns and 2) multivariate linear regression to assess impacts at each diverse travel cluster.

The researchers then divided the data into time segments based on policy changes and evolvement in the COVID-19 pandemic course, like the emergence of a novel SARS-CoV-2 variant. The team analyzed more homogenous behavior and uniform distribution of SARS-CoV-2 infection risks by comparing and segmenting impacts over time and space, which increased the capacity to establish causal inferences and better explain variances between communities and time.

Results and discussions

The study results after adjusting for real-time mobility, socioeconomic and demographic profiles, and COVID-19 vaccination demonstrated that areas with a high proportion of inhabitants working in warehouses and care homes, and to a minor extent in the textile and ready meals sectors were more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection across all time points and travel clusters. Similar impacts in all residential area clusters point to a possible link with workplace COVID-19 risk and restrictions, which should be investigated further in a more extensive, individual-level workplace COVID-19 outbreak investigation.

The current data highlight the significant role of regional variability in impacts on COVID-19 prevalence after adjusting for vaccination and mobility rate. For example, in the most recent timeframe, i.e., between July to December 2021, spanning the period when COVID-19 lockdown restrictions were lifted in England, regions with a higher proportion of small families and few children were at a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in smaller and medium rural and urban areas. Nevertheless, this was not a substantial risk factor for COVID-19 in inner and central London and metropolitan areas.

Similar trends were also seen in areas with a higher proportion of people who can work from home. While working from home has been shown to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in smaller and less populated cities, this was not the case in metropolitan core inhabitants, who may be more active in a wide range of activities outside of work.

Finally, regions where inhabitants were more reliant on public transportation for commuting, have been linked to a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among all travel clusters, except for rural settlements. Public transportation use has been a major COVID-19 risk factor in both small and large cities. However, the likelihood was decreased in the fifth tranche of time (February to April 2021), when COVID-19 vaccination began to act, and the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant had not yet become prevalent.

Conclusions

According to the authors, the present dataset was the most detailed dataset assembled in the United Kingdom (UK) for SARS-CoV-2 infection community-level analysis.

The study findings imply that the SARS-CoV-2 infection risk effects vary significantly across space, with some being highly constant and durable across time. In particular, the assessment of industrial sectors revealed that communities of employees in warehouses and care homes, and to a lesser degree, the ready-meal and textile industries, had a greater risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection across all geographical clusters, and during the whole period represented in this investigation.

The present data revealed the critical role workplace risk plays in the COVID-19 outbreak threat after accounting for the features of the residential region of the employees (including demographic and socioeconomic profile and land use characteristics), movement patterns, and vaccination rate.

*Important notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers demonstrated ocular tropism of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) through neuronal invasion in transgenic mice with human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) expression.

Background

Since ocular mucosa serves as an additional mucosal surface for infectious aerosols, the eyes might become a potential transmission route of SARS-CoV-2, causing ocular diseases in humans.

In vitro studies have evidenced that SARS-CoV-2 infects human embryonic stem cell-derived ocular epithelial cells and conjunctival epithelial cells. In animals, e.g., rhesus macaques, studies have demonstrated SARS-CoV-2 entry via the conjunctiva. Likewise, post-mortem studies have detected SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid (RNA) in the conjunctival swabs of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, with or without ocular manifestations.

Although studies have reported ocular abnormalities in COVID-19 patients, the pathology and ocular tropism of SARS-CoV-2 are still unknown. Elucidation of whether the eyes are a primary or secondary site for viral entry is crucial for developing therapeutic strategies against ocular and neuronal infection-mediated disorders in COVID-19 patients.

About the study

In the present study, researchers demonstrated SARS-CoV-2 ocular tropism via neuronal invasion of trigeminal (TN) and optic nerves (ON) in the K18-hACE2 mice. They challenged K18-hACE2 mice intranasally (IN) with approximately 104 plaque-forming units (PFU) of SARS-CoV-2 and the mock group with the same volume of phosphate buffer saline (PBS).

To validate the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 transmits to the brain and eyes via TN and ON, the team infected mice with 104 PFU of SARS-CoV-2 using four injection routes, viz., intratracheal (IT), intracerebral (IC), eye-drop (ED), and intravenous (IV). They assessed weight loss in mice and viral loads in the lungs, brain, eyes, TN, and ON of mice between three and six days post-infection (dpi).

Furthermore, they showed the ocular tropic and neuroinvasive characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 in wild-type Syrian hamsters.

The researchers examined the neurotropic and ocular distribution of SARS-CoV-2 in vivo using a fluorescence-imaging system. At six dpi, the team assayed the virus quantity in the lungs and eyes using a plaque assay. Similarly, they used nucleocapsid (N) gene-targeting quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to assess SARS-CoV-2 RNA copies in the lacrimal gland.

Furthermore, the researchers examined inflammatory and histopathological changes due to SARS-CoV-2 infection using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained eye sections from mock- and SARS-CoV-2-infected mice. They also measured retinal thickness, from the ganglion to the nuclear cell layers, post-infection to estimate retinal inflammation.

Lastly, the researchers evaluated the functional consequences of retinal inflammation on visual behavior using the visual cliff test. They tested each mouse only once to avoid a memory effect and randomized the test order.

Study findings

The authors observed around 20% weight loss at seven dpi and mortality at eight dpi. On six dpi, they also observed tearing and eye discharge in one-fourth of the infected mice. The infectious viral titer of the eyes was as high as that of the lung (~106 PFU/g).

Surprisingly, the viral load of the lacrimal gland was much diminished than that of the eyes but similar to that of the spleen (~104 viral RNA copies/mg of total RNA), barely susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. These results demonstrated the presence of infectious viruses in the eyes, suggesting that the eyes are a target of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

SARS-CoV-2 infection increased the retinal thickness by 1.62-fold due to the accumulation of infiltrating inflammatory cells in the ganglion and nuclear cell layers. Compared to the mock group, there were apparent lesions in retinal tissues in the SARS-CoV-2-infected mice. Accordingly, the mean retinal thickness of the infected mice was 75.14 m, much higher than that of mock mice (46.27 m).

The multiplex immuno-analysis of the eyes showed augmentation in pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection on six dpi in mice. The authors observed substantially elevated levels of the following cytokines: granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP-2), and interleukin 12 (IL-12).

These chemokines and cytokines were augmented, particularly in the brain, where the viral load was higher than in the eyes, indicating that IN-administered SARS-CoV-2 promoted retinal inflammation and cytokine production in the eyes of K18-hACE2 mice.

The mice of mock and SARS-CoV-2-infected groups dismounted the visual cliff test platform on an average within 4.28 and 3.56 seconds, respectively. Specifically, SARS-CoV-2-infected mice with ocular symptoms showed a prolonged latency for the dismounting up to 42.92 seconds. Notably, the retinal inflammation due to SARS-CoV-2 infection did not worsen retinal degeneration or visual loss.

The IN injection resulted in ocular tropism with increased viral RNA levels in the eyes between three and six dpi. However, the authors observed mortality only in mice injected via the IC route after two dpi. The viral RNA titers in the TN and ON were almost equal in the brain and eyes, indicating viral transmission to the eyes and brain via the neuronal invasion of these nerves.

Conclusions

In the present study, an infectious SARS-CoV-2-mCherry clone (with a fluorescent reporter gene) generated by a reverse genetics system helped the researchers trace viral infection and tropism in vivo.

Robust fluorescence signals in the TN and ON of infected mice validated the neuronal invasion of SARS-CoV-2. It demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 used TNs, along with ONs to reach the brain and the eyes.

Future studies should investigate the clinical relevance of SARS-CoV-2-induced ocular inflammation and manifestations because not only respiratory organs but other organs, including eyes and TNs, are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

*Important notice

bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
New York, April 19, 2022 - Today, pioneer and leading manufacturer of premium smart electric vehicles NIO's original design lifestyle brand, NIO Life, and The New Schools Parsons School of Design, one of the worlds leading art and design schools, announced the debut collection of the BLUE SKY LAB x Parsons partnership. Part of the BLUE SKY LAB sustainable project initiative, students in the partnership designed new products with leftover materials from car manufacturing, including air bag fabric, seat belts and buckles, and car seat covers, that are now available to support via crowdfunding.



Throughout the collaboration, students worked under the mentorship of Parsons faculty, and their final designs were judged by a professional committee, which included members of NIO Life. The finalists for the crowdfunding portion of the partnership created products that include a travel bag, a hat, and a home office set, all made from leftover materials from car manufacturing. Designs that are successfully crowdfunded by the public will be produced and sold on the NIO App.



Partnerships with innovative brands like NIO Life enrich our students, as they are given the opportunity to test their design skills within a practical context that shows them the breadth of whats possible in their fields, said Cotter Christian, Associate Dean of the School of Constructed Environments at Parsons. Parsons students are full of creativity and enthusiasm for their work. They possess inspiring ways of seeing the world, informed by an education that foregrounds social and ecological responsibility. The opportunity to participate in the BLUE SKY LAB x Parsons Competition allowed the students to see the possibilities for a positive impact on a global scale.



Top undergraduate students from the BFA Product Design and BFA Interior Design programs participated in the partnership, where they collaborated across disciplines and were challenged to creatively reimagine by products of car manufacturing into consumer goods. The partnership also gave students the opportunity to meet virtually with members of the NIO Life production team, who provided invaluable feedback and ideas, as well as exposure to how companies operate in the real world.



Id like to thank the faculty and students of Parsons for their support over the past year, said Jill Liu, Head of NIO Life. In a world in turmoil, its even more special to raise the awareness of sustainability and aspiration for a better life using beautiful design.



For any products that are sold via NIO Life, the Parsons designers will receive a share of the revenue in perpetuity. To cultivate the best thinking in international sustainable design, NIO Life will continue to establish incubators for student designers at other acclaimed global design institutions.



A full selection of product photos can be found here.


(Newser)  Update: Prosecutors in Colorado have dropped all charges against Barry Morphew just nine days before he was due to stand trial. Morphew was charged with murder and other crimes last year, almost a year after his wife Suzanne disappeared. District Attorney Linda Stanley moved to drop the charges weeks after a judge blocked prosecutors from using key witnesses as punishment for violating rules on turning over evidence that could help Morphew's case, the Denver Post reports. The move leaves the door open to bringing new charges against Morphew later, and prosecutors say investigators believe they are close to finding Suzanne Morphew's body, reports the AP. Our story from Aug. 9, 2021 follows:

Barry Morphew told investigators he'd spent a perfect night with his wife before she seemingly vanished on a bike ride in 2020. But according to Suzanne Morphew's best friend, the Colorado couple hadn't had a perfect night in well over a year. Indeed, Suzanne had been having an affair for nearly two years, as revealed by her own voice-activated spy pen, according to testimony heard Monday in Barry Morphew's murder case. Suzanne never told anyone about her relationship with Jeff Libler, a married high school friend, and her husband denied knowing of the affair. But he had suspicions, FBI special agent Kenneth Harris testified, per the Denver Post. Suzanne had her own suspicions about Barry's faithfulness, hence the spy pen, per the AP. Suzanne's best friend claimed she'd spoken of divorce and felt unsafe alone with her husband.

That's exactly where she found herself on May 9 and 10, when prosecutors allege Barry killed his wife. Investigators have not found Suzanne's body or cellphoneor any blood. But they did find Suzanne's mountain bike at the bottom of a ditch on the day she was reported missing, and they later found her undamaged helmet at a different spot, per KDVR. Though Morphew claimed to have left his wife asleep at home around 5am on May 10, an arrest affidavit claims he moved to get rid of evidence around that time, per KDVR. Two months earlier, Suzanne had texted a friend, saying her husband "won't speak of divorce" and is "begging for another chance," per the Post. She'd also described a 2018 incident in which he pushed her into a closet and put a gun to his head. (Morphew is accused of voting in 2020 on behalf of his wife.)
(Newser)  After being accused of committing atrocities in Ukraine, and facing global opposition for its invasion, Russia is taking a step to control the narrative among its people early. The Education Ministry has announced the starting age for compulsory history lessons in its schools will be 7, down from 10. It's part of a campaign to stress patriotic education, the Moscow Times reports. In Russia's history lessons, Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov said: "We will never allow it [to be written] that we somehow treated other nationsour fraternal nations of Ukraine and Belaruspoorly. We will do everything in our power so that historical memory is preserved."

Historical education will be added to the teaching of other subjects, as well, per the Times. It's important that students learn their nation's history, President Vladimir Putin told "The Power Is in the Truth," a schools forum. "A deep understanding of our history, and a respectful, thoughtful attitude to the great patriotic, spiritual, and cultural heritage of the Fatherland enables us to draw correct conclusions from the past," Putin said. As of Sept. 1, schools will begin each week by raising the Russian flag and singing the national anthem, Kravtsov said. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.)
(Newser)  Netflix shares nosedived more than 25% in after-hours trading after the company disclosed its first loss of subscribers in more than a decade. The company said factors including the war in Ukraine caused it to lose 200,000 subscribers worldwide in the first quarter of 2022, when it had expected to gain more than 2 million subscribers, reports Reuters. The number of subscribers in the US dipped briefly in 2019, before the pandemic led to huge growth for streaming services, but this is the company's first worldwide net loss of customers since late 2011. With Tuesday's drop, the firm has lost nearly half its value this year.

The company said pulling out of Russia had cost it 700,000 subscribers and around 600,000 people in the US and Canada ditched the service after it raised prices earlier this year, the BBC reports. "Our relatively high household penetrationwhen including the large number of households sharing accountscombined with competition, is creating revenue growth headwinds," the company said, predicting that it could lose another 2 million subscribers between April and June this year out of around 221 million worldwide.

Co-CEO Reed Hastings said Tuesday that the company plans to look for ways to get revenue from some of the estimated 100 million households worldwide who use the Netflix accounts of relatives or friends. Hastings said Netflix also plans to introduce an advertising supported subscription tier, as rivals including Disney+ and HBO Max have done. The company noted that despite increased competition, its share of viewing time in the US has held steady, Reuters reports. Shares of other streaming-related stocks, including Disney, also fell in after-hours trading after Netflix released its results. (Read more Netflix stories.)
(Newser)  Update: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made its decision about a federal judge's ruling against mask mandates for public transit, including airplanes. "It is CDC's continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health," the agency announced Wednesday. The Justice Department was waiting for the CDC decision, so an appeal of the ruling will now proceed, USA Today reports. Our story from Tuesday follows:

The Justice Department said Tuesday it will appeal a federal district judges ruling that ended the nations federal mask mandate on public transit if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the requirement is still necessary. In a statement released a day after a Florida judge ended the sweeping mandate, which required face coverings on planes and trains and in transit hubs, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said officials believe that the federal mask order was "a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health," the AP reports. He said it was "an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve."

Coley said the CDC had said it would continue to assess public health conditions, and if the agency determined a mandate was necessary for public health, the Justice Department would file an appeal. As of Tuesday, the agency hadnt made a determination, officials said. The federal judge's ruling did away with the last major vestige of federal pandemic rules and led to a mishmash of new locally created rules that reflected the nations ongoing divisions over how to battle the virus. Major airlines and airports in places like Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City quickly switched to a mask-optional policy

New York City, Chicago, and Connecticut, however, continued to require masks for travelers. The ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber announced on their websites Tuesday that masks will now be optional while riding or driving. President Biden went all-in on flexibility Tuesday when asked if Americans should mask up on planes. "Thats up to them," Biden declared during a visit to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. But the White House continues to require face coverings for those traveling with him on Air Force One, citing CDC guidance.

(Read more mask mandates stories.)
(Newser)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials say Russia is pouring all the troops it can into its offensive in eastern Ukrainebut Ukraine is managing to hold the line, for now. Military chiefs say a Russian offensive south of the city of Izyum failed after heavy losses and Ukrainian troops regained control of the town of Marinka in a counteroffensive, the BBC reports. In a tweet, Britain's Ministry of Defense said Russia has stepped up shelling along the line of control in the Donbas region, but Russian forces' ability to progress is being impacted by the "environmental, logistical, and technical challenges that have beset them so far."

The long-feared offensive began Monday along a front around 300 miles long, stretching from northeast Ukraine to the southeast, and if it succeeds, the offensive "would essentially slice Ukraine in two," the AP reports. In another plea for weapons from the West Tuesday night, Zelensky said Ukraine "would have already ended this war" if "we had access to all the weapons we need." A senior US defense official tells the AP that Russia brought another two combat units to Ukraine over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 78, with an estimated total of 55,000 to 62,000 troops.

The Guardian, citing a European official speaking on condition of anonymity, reports that up to 20,000 mercenaries, many from Libya and Syria, have also been deployed to eastern Ukraine as Russia seeks a quick victory. "These guys are mainly used as a mass against the Ukrainian resistance," the official says. "Its infantry. They dont have any heavy equipment or vehicles." In the besieged city of Mariupol, the last Ukrainian defenders are holed up in a massive Soviet-era industrial complex and have rejected demands to surrender. Russian forces have been reportedly using bunker-buster bombs on the complex. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.)
(Newser)  For the second time in less than a month, Ezra Miller has been arrested in Hawaii. The actor, who plays the Flash in DC Comics films and Credence Barebone in Harry Potter universe films, allegedly got violent after being asked to leave a private gathering at a home in Pahoa, on the Big Island, early Tuesday. Miller, who uses they/them pronouns, allegedly threw a chair that hit a 26-year-old woman, cutting her forehead, NBC News reports. After police spoke to witnesses at the home, Miller was taken into custody during a traffic stop around 1:30am. They face a charge of second-degree assault. TMZ says friends of Miller, 29, live at the home.

Late last month, Miller was arrested for alleged disorderly conduct and harassment at a Honolulu karaoke bar. The same day as the first arrest, Miller also allegedly entered a couple's room at a hostel, threatened them, and stole things, according to a filing they made requesting a restraining order. And weeks prior to that, police were called to a disturbance at a bar where staff members were blocking Miller, who had just been kicked out of another nearby bar, from entering. During that incident, Miller was given a trespass warning but was not arrested, per TMZ. (Read more Hawaii stories.)
(Newser)  Netflix is planning to make some changes after a drop in subscribersand one of them is a move the company has long resisted. Founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings said Tuesday that the company is looking at bringing in advertising to support lower-priced subscription models, Deadline reports. "Those who have followed Netflix know that Ive been against the complexity of advertising and a big fan of the simplicity of subscription," he said. "But as much as Im a fan of that, Im a bigger fan of consumer choice."

"Allowing consumers who would like to have a lower price, and are advertising-tolerant, get what they want makes a lot of sense," Hastings said "So, thats something were looking at now, were trying to figure out over the next year or two." Analysts say the shift was probably inevitable, the New York Times reports. Other streaming services are also offering lower-priced subscriptions plans with ads, including Disney+. When Disney announced the change last month, it described it as a "building block" in its path to meeting subscription targets. Hulu has had ads since 2007, and introduced an ad-free tier.

"It is pretty clear that it is working for Hulu. Disney is doing it. HBO did it. I don't think we have a lot of doubt that it works," Hastings said. "All those companies have figured it out. I'm sure we'll just get in and figure it out." Investors, however, apparently don't have much faith that the plan will turn things around at Netflix: The company's stock has dropped more than 35% since it announced Tuesday that subscriber numbers had fallen for the first time since 2011. (Read more Netflix stories.)
(Newser)  Ukrainian soldiers holed up in the besieged city of Mariupol issued a desperate call for help Tuesday night, as Russian troops bombarded their base at a steel plant, which represents the "last substantial obstacle" in Russia's push to connect separatist-held regions of Donbas to the annexed Crimean Peninsula, per the New York Times. "We're surrounded; they're bombing us with everything they can," said a soldier identified as Gasim, who contacted a Times reporter around midnight using WhatsApp. Separately, the commander of Ukraines 36th Separate Marine Brigade issued what he said could be his last statement, requesting the evacuation of what are thought to be thousands of soldiers and civilians inside the steel mill with a network of underground bunkers.

"We ask you to take us to the territory of a third country and provide us with security," said Maj. Serhii Volyna, naming the US specifically, per CNN. "The city is destroyed. Enemy groups outnumber us dozens of times, they have a complete advantage in air, artillery, equipment, manpower. We fight to the last, but we have very little time left  only a few days, or even hours, left." He said supplies were low and there were about 500 wounded military members. "It is very difficult to provide them with medical care. They literally rot," he noted. "Our only plan is for the blockade to be broken by our forces so that we can get out of here," Gasim told the Times reporter. "Tell America to help us."

Russia has repeatedly issued demands of surrender while bombarding the plant with airstrikes, mortar rounds, and naval artillery fire from the Sea of Azov, per the Times. But breaching the site appears to be a challenge. The Azovstal steel plant "is basically a city under a city" and built to weather a nuclear war, a man claiming to be a Russian adviser to the Kremlin-backed government in Donetsk, Ukraine, said in a broadcast report, per the Times. It includes a network of underground spaces originally built to move equipment between the complex's many concrete buildings, covering four square miles, according to Metinvest, the company that owns the plant.

A rep tells the Times that the underground bunkers can hold up to 4,000 people. Earlier in the seige, employees said more than 2,000 civilians were sheltering there. Moscow is "not deterred by the fact that civilians have taken refuge in the plant," Ukraine's intelligence service said Monday, adding Russians planned to use three-ton bombs to raze the site. Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, has since announced a deal to allow women, children, and the elderly to leave Mariupol. Officials hope to evacuate 6,000 of the 100,000 people trapped in the city, per the BBC. It's unclear if any of those in the steel plant will be included. (Read more Ukraine stories.)
(Newser)  The Tennessee Republican Party has voted to kick three candidates off the GOP primary ballot in the state's reconfigured 5th Congressional Districtincluding one supported by Donald Trump. Party officials said the executive committee voted to remove Morgan Ortagus, Baxter Lee, and Robby Starbuck from the August primary ballot because of challenges to their candidacies, the Tennessean reports. Ortagus, Trump's former State Department spokesperson, moved to the state last year. She has been criticized as a "carpetbagger" by some Republicans and called the decision "deeply disappointing."

"I believe that voters in Middle Tennessee should pick their representativenot establishment party insiders, she said. "Our team is evaluating the options before us." Officials said Lee was kicked off the ballot because he hadn't voted in three out of the last four Republican primary elections, though Lee's campaign spokesman, who called the move a "headscratcher," said the candidate has voted in 10 of the last 12 GOP primariesand has donated $100,000 to Republican candidates in recent years. The AP reports Starbuck responded to the news by tweeting an 8-second video containing "dramatic music" and the word "war."

The 5th District has been Democratic since 1875 but Republicans are favored to win this year because redistricting has split Nashville's Democratic-leaning voters into three districts, Bloomberg notes. A side note: Republican Rep. Frank Niceley was strongly criticized after telling NBC that only Jewish members of Trump's family would care about Ortagus, who is Jewish, being kicked off the ballot. (Last week, Niceley said homeless people should be inspired by the example of Adolf Hitler.)
(Newser)  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar slammed the HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty for being both "deliberately dishonest" and "drearily dull." The review appeared on the Lakers legend's personal website Tuesday, per Variety. The series is described by HBO as "go[ing] back in time to chronicle the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of sports' most revered and dominant dynasties." And it has Abdul-Jabbar wondering if executive producer Adam McKay has lost his touch, saying the series "suffers from ... shallowness and lazy writing." Abdul-Jabbar is especially critical of the portrayal of Lakers exec Jerry West.

"Instead of exploring [Wests mental health] issues with compassion as a way to better understand the man, they turn him into a Wile E. Coyote cartoon to be laughed at," writes Abdul-Jabbar. "Sure, those actions make dramatic moments, but they reek of facile exploitation of the man rather than exploration of character." West and his family did not take kindly to the portrayal either. West's lawyer, Skip Miller, tells ESPN that it's "fiction pretending to be facta deliberately false characterization that has caused great distress to Jerry and his family. Contrary to the baseless portrayal in the HBO series, Jerry had nothing but love for and harmony with the Lakers organization." The letter demands a retraction and apology within two weeks.

In a separate report, Variety says the show is still gaining viewership; a series-high 1.4 million viewers tuned in Sunday for Episode 7. Winning Time also scores very positive ratings on Rotten Tomatoes (84%) and IMDB (8.4/10); Metacritic says reviews are "generally favorable," with a score of 68. But some reviewers also picked up on the "dull" theme. Guardian columnist Rebecca Nicholson referred to it as "sluggish," and Washington Post reviewer Inkoo Kang pans McKays "exhausting style" and laments that viewers attention is often "diverted to trivia and gratuitous digressions." (Read more Los Angeles Lakers stories.)
(Newser)  Members of the far-right militia group the Oath Keepers discussed providing protection to some of then-President Trump's top allies surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, including Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, Roger Stone, and Michael Flynn, newly-released text messages show. Several group membersincluding Joshua James, who has pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracywere seen alongside Stone, a longtime Trump ally, on Jan. 5, per Politico. Days earlier, Oath Keeper Jessica Watkins wrote that "Stone just asked for security," according to the texts, released Monday as part of Ed Vallejo's motion for release from pretrial detention, per the Guardian.

Vallejocharged with overseeing the group's cache of weapons at a Comfort Inn in Arlington, Va.is one of 11 Oath Keepers facing seditious conspiracy charges for his role in the attack on the Capitol, along with founder Stewart Rhodes and member Kelly Meggs of Florida. Meggswho led Stone's security detail, per the Guardiandescribed a text message exchange with Stone, adding he had been to Stone's house "a few times," per Politico. Rhodes said he'd previously worked with a group called First Amendment Praetorian to protect Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, as well as with broadcaster Alex Jones' security team. "We may also end up assisting the [personal security detail] for Alex Jones again," he wrote.

Members also described a connection to Jackson, the former White House physician. "Needs protection. If anyone inside cover him. He has critical data to protect," wrote an unidentified member, per the Guardian. A rep for Jackson says "he does not know nor has he ever spoken to the people in question." The text messages also appear to back up the prosecution's argument of a link between the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, per Politico. In one exchange, Meggs describes attempts to reach Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who prosecutors say met up with Rhodes on Jan. 4. A leader of the Stop the Steal movement, Ali Alexander, has claimed he also accepted an offer of protection from the Oath Keepers, per Politico. (Read more Oath Keepers stories.)
(Newser)  Indiana State Police have shared a disturbing new detail about the body of a young boy that was discovered last Saturday. Police say the child, who was probably around 5 years old, was found stuffed inside a hard-shell suitcase. The suitcase is decorated with palm trees and the words "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada." The Courier-Journal reports it's believed the Black boy died within the past week, and the release of information comes as police struggle to identify him. Police say he does not match any nearby missing child reports. In a press conference, Sgt. Carey Huls explained, "We thought this would be a local case, but since nothing has happenedwe haven't had any matchesso this obviously could be a national thing."

Police have established a national tip line (1-888-437-6432) and encourage anyone with information to come forward. Judging by the childs clothing and other factors, Huls said, "He was in someones custody and care for his daily needs ... Somebody was taking care of this little boy. Someone somewhere knows something." Per Local 12, the autopsy did not return a cause of death; a toxicology report is not expected for weeks. Fox 19 reports that the suitcase was found in the woods by a mushroom hunter, in a location roughly 70 miles south of Indianapolis and 25 miles northwest of the Kentucky border at Louisville. (Read more missing child stories.)
(Newser)  Ukrainian workers and state authorities are still recovering from the effects of Russian occupation in Chernobyl, one of the worlds most radioactive places. Even now, weeks after the Russians left, I need to calm down," the plants main security engineer, Valerii Semenov, told the AP. He worked 35 days straight, sleeping only three hours a night, staying on even after the Russians allowed a shift change. Workers kept the Russians from the most dangerous areas, but in what Semenov called the worst situation he has seen in his 30 years at Chernobyl, the plant was without electricity, relying on diesel generators to support the critical work of circulating water for cooling the spent fuel rods.

Russias invasion marks the first time that occupying a nuclear plant was part of a nation's war strategy, said Rebecca Harms, former president of the Greens group in the European Parliament, who has visited Chernobyl several times. She called it a nightmare scenario in which every nuclear plant can be used like a pre-installed nuclear bomb. Now authorities are working with Ukraines defense ministry on ways to protect Chernobyls most critical places. At the top of the list are anti-drone systems and anti-tank barriers, along with a system to protect against warplanes and helicopters.

The full extent of Russias activities in the Chernobyl exclusion zone is still unknown, especially because the troops scattered mines that the Ukrainian military is still searching for. Some have detonated, further disturbing the radioactive ground where Russians dug extensive trenches. The Russians also set several forest fires, which have been extinguished. Ukrainian authorities cannot monitor radiation levels across the zone because Russian soldiers stole the main server for the system, severing the connection on March 2. The IAEA said Saturday it still wasnt receiving remote data from its monitoring systems; however, authorities confirmed on Tuesday that the plant is now able to contact Ukraines nuclear regulator directly. Another Ukrainian nuclear plant, at Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine, remains under Russian control. It is the largest in Europe. (Read more Chernobyl stories.)
(Newser)  An unruly passenger escaped an American Airlines flight preparing to takeoff from Buffalo Niagara International Airport on Tuesday in a most dramatic fashion: down the emergency exit slide, according to reports. Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Spencer Brown, a passenger on the flight, tweeted about the woman's outburst, which resulted in multiple charges, per WIVB. "A lady is pissed," he wrote. "Lady pulls the emergency inflatable slide to escape the plane. Lady is running wild through the tarmac currently. Cops have arrived. Flight ruined. Memories made." Brown also tweeted a photo of the slide.

The woman was allegedly "spitting and screaming at other passengers" before she "unlocked & opened the cabin door, setting off the inflatable slide," according to a tweet from WIVB reporter Mel Orleans. Cynthia McKnight, a 24-year-old from Sacramento, Calif., is now facing charges including disorderly conduct, harassment, trespass, and criminal mischief "after exhibiting whats being described as unruly behavior on board a flight," according to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority. It did not say what led up to the outburst. The flight to Chicago was canceled, per WIVB. (Read more unruly passenger stories.)
(Newser)  After six days of deliberations, a jury in Ohio decided that a doctor accused of killing multiple patients with fentanyl overdoses is not a murderer. William Husel was acquitted Wednesday of 14 counts of murder, all involving critically ill patients in the Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System, NBC reports. The 46-year-old was initially charged in the deaths of 25 patients between 2015 and 2018, but 11 counts of murder were dismissed earlier this year. The jury was told they could choose to convict Husel on lesser charges of attempted murder, but they declined to do so.

The case centered on one question, the New York Times reports: "Was he a murderer or was he offering comfort to patients near death?" Prosecutors argued that Husel had ordered doses of the powerful opioid far greater than what his patients needed to control pain (enough to "kill an elephant," one physician testified). The patients had been hospitalized with ailments including cancer, pneumonia, and organ failure. Prosecutors added that some of the patients weren't terminally illand even if a patient is very close to death, it's illegal to speed up the process.

Huber's attorneys argued that he was providing "comfort care" for dying patients. The prosecution called 53 witnesses, including medical experts, investigators, and patients' relatives, the AP reports. The only witness the defense called was an anesthesiologist who testified that the patients died from their conditions, not Husel's actions. Prosecutors said Wednesday that they accepted the jury's decision. Husel was fired and stripped of his medical license in 2019. After an investigation, the hospital system also fired 23 nurses, pharmacists, and managers. (Read more fentanyl stories.)
(Newser)  The last stockpiles of a deadly chemical agent in the US have been safely eliminated, according to Kentucky officials in charge of destroying the Cold War-era weapons. The final M55 rocket containing VX nerve agent was destroyed Tuesday at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent plant, the AP reports. Officials at the Kentucky plant began disassembling about 18,000 of the rockets and draining the VX agent in July, according to a news release. The military had planned decades ago to destroy the weapons in Kentucky by burning them, but after concerns from residents and environmental groups, a plan was settled on to use water and chemicals to neutralize the agents.

"This marks the completion of the fourth of five chemical weapons destruction campaigns in Kentucky, says plant project manager Candace Coyle in the release; the final one, which involves GB rockets, should wrap up next year. The Kentucky Army depot began with more than 520 tons of VX, GB, and mustard agent that was in storage for decades and started eliminating its mustard agent stockpiles in 2019. The mustard agent campaign finished in September. There are also chemical weapons being destroyed at an Army facility in Pueblo, Colorado. The stockpiles at the two sites accounted for the last 10% of an original stockpile of more than 30,000 tons of chemical weapons in the US.

VX is considered the deadliest of the chemical agents that was produced by the US, much of it in the 1960s. It has a consistency similar to motor oil and even a tiny amount causes victims bodies to flood with fluids, producing a feeling of drowning before death. Officials in 2017 declared that assassins used VX agent to kill the brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a Malaysian airport. (Read more about Kim Jong Nam's death here.)
(Newser)  Russia has had the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile since 2018. But it wasn't until Wednesday, after launching its offensive in eastern Ukraine, that Russia said the Sarmat had been successfully testedan announcement packaged with a warning, the New York Times reports. Analysts and other nations have raised the possibility that Russia could pressure other countries to keep out of the fight by suggesting nuclear weapons might be deployed. "This truly unique weapon will force all who are trying to threaten our country in the heat of frenzied, aggressive rhetoric to think twice," President Vladimir Putin told Russians on TV.

Russia's defense ministry said the test of the nuclear-capable missile was successful. The missile was launched Wednesday afternoon from the Plesetsk State Test Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region of northern Russia and landed in the "designated area in Kamchatka," at a test site in the far east some 3,500 miles away, per CNN. Putin said the Sarmat can evade "all modern means of anti-missile defense, adding, "It has no analogues in the world and won't have for a long time to come," per Reuters. US officials had no immediate comment.

The Sarmat evidently is not ready for use yet. Russian officials said the test was its first, adding that the missile would not be considered ready for deployment until "after the completion of the testing program." An analyst said it would replace the outdated SS-18 and SS-19 missiles. The new missile can carry at least 10 warheads and decoys and be sent over the North or South Pole, possibly a problem for tracking systems, including ground and satellite-based radar. "This complicates where you've got to look," said Douglas Barrie of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. (Read more Russian military stories.)
(Newser)  The production company behind Rust has been hit with the highest fine possible from a New Mexico government agency after a six-month investigation of the on-set accident that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The New Mexico Environment Departments Occupational Health and Safety Bureau, which concluded there had been "plain indifference to employee safety" on the movie set, fined the company $136,793 for safety violations, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was injured when a live round was fired from a gun being held by Alec Baldwin. "Our investigation found that this tragic incident never would have happened if Rust Movie Productions, LLC had followed national film industry standards for firearm safety," state Environment Secretary James Kenney said in a statement, per the Santa Fe New Mexican. "This is a complete failure of the employer to follow recognized national protocols that keep employees safe."

The "willful-serious" citation issued to the production company is the state's highest workplace violation. The report states that producers "knew that firearm safety procedures were not being followed on set," but failed "to review work practices and take corrective action." The guidelines not adhered to include a requirement that live ammunition is " never to be used nor brought onto any studio lot or stage," the agency said. The Santa Fe Sheriffs Department and the local DA are still investigating possible criminal charges and several civil lawsuits have been filed, Deadline reports. (Read more Alec Baldwin stories.)
(Newser)  A trip to Barbados with pregnant partner Rihanna ended badly for A$AP Rocky. The rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on his return to the US and booked for assault in connection with a Nov. 6, 2021, shooting, the Los Angeles Times reports. Sources tell TMZ that Mayers was taken away from the terminal in handcuffs after flying in from Barbados on a private jet. Officers later served a search warrant at the rapper's home, using a battering ram to get through the gates, according to TMZ's sources. Mayers' lawyer confirmed that his client had been arrested.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the LAPD said Mayers, 33, had been identified as the suspect in the November shooting. "An argument between two acquaintances occurred near Selma Avenue and Argyle Avenue in the Hollywood area. The argument escalated and resulted in one firing a handgun at the other," the statement said. "The victim sustained a minor injury and later sought medical treatment." The victim told police that Mayers shot at him three or four times, NBC reports. "Early this morning, LAPD officers arrested Mayers for assault with a deadly weapon (firearm) at the Los Angeles International Airport," the police statement said. (In 2019, the rapper was found guilty of assault in Sweden.)
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Snow showers early will transition to a few showers later. High 41F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Cloudy with rain and snow showers this evening. Snow showers overnight. Low 31F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 40%.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The pride of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in the efforts exerted by frontliners as well as the tremendous support of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, is a catalyst for exerting greater efforts in the service of the nation.

This was emphasised by Information Minister Ali bin Mohammed Al Romaihi as he spoke at the start of the ceremony to present the Prince Salman bin Hamad Medal for Medical Merit to Information Ministry personnel and media professionals.

The event was in implementation of the royal order and within the directives of HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister to all concerned parties to present the medal to frontliners. Al Romaihi said the achievements accomplished by the frontliners, including competencies from the health sector, the Bahrain Defence Force, the Interior Ministry, and all allied parties, stimulate further successes that would enhance the kingdoms progress and consolidate Bahrains regional and international stature.
Senior officials from Japan, the United States, Australia and New Zealand share concerns over a fresh security pact between China and the Solomon Islands.

Officials from those four countries met Monday in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Earlier, China's foreign ministry announced the signing of a security agreement with the Solomon Islands.

China said the pact covers maintaining social order, humanitarian assistance and responses to natural disasters.

US officials said on Tuesday that the participants of the four-way meeting in Honolulu shared a view that the pact may pose serious risks to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

They added that the senior officials from four countries also reaffirmed their shared commitment to Pacific island nations to deal with issues including maritime security and climate change.
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DENVER (AP)  Prosecutors on Tuesday dropped criminal charges against a Colorado man who was about to go on trial in the presumed death of his missing wife, but they left the door open to bringing new charges against him later.

The move follows Judge Ramsey Lama's decision last month to bar prosecutors from presenting most of their key witnesses during Barry Morphew's scheduled trial for repeatedly failing to follow rules for turning over evidence in his favor. The evidence included DNA from an unknown male linked to sexual assault cases in other states, which was found in Suzanne Morphew's SUV, raising the possibility of another suspect being involved.

In a court filing, District Attorney Linda Stanley said the exclusion of the prosecutions witnesses was one reason she asked Lama to allow prosecutors to drop the charges. But she emphasized that investigators need more time to find the body of Suzanne Morphew before Barry Morphew goes on trial, saying for the first time that investigators believe her body is located in an area covered deep in snow near their former home in the southern Colorado mountains. Prosecutors and law enforcement believe they are close to finding her, she said.

The People were hopeful that the search for, and the discovery of, the victims body would be concluded well before trial, but weather has complicated the efforts, Stanley wrote in the motion, which Lama later approved.

Suzanne Morphew's siblings agree with the prosecution's request to drop the charges, she said.

Barry Morphew pleaded for help finding Suzanne Morphew after she disappeared and was reported missing on Mother's Day in 2020 but he was arrested and charged with murder and other crimes last year. He had pleaded not guilty and his trial had been set to begin April 28.

These charges were false from the beginning, one of Barry Morphew's lawyers, Iris Eytan, said after a court hearing in the case Tuesday.

Eytan said there was no physical evidence linking Barry Morphew to the case and noted that prosecutors have never before said they needed to find Suzanne Morphew's body in order to prosecute.

David Beller, an attorney with Recht Kornfeld PC, a Denver law firm, and a former president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, said the prosecutors' request showed they feared a jury could have acquitted Barry Morphew and was a last minute attempt by to save their case.

A not guilty verdict would have prevented the government from ever prosecuting him again since the Constitution bars people from being prosecuted for the same crime twice.

Even though prosecutors have the ability to file charges against Barry Morphew later, Beller did not think it was likely unless Suzanne Morphew's body was found with some kind of evidence linking Barry Morphew to her death. He said other evidence supports his innocence.

This is a relatively inexperienced prosecution team who brought charges in part based on community and political pressure, he said.

_____

This story has been corrected to say that the judge barred the prosecution witnesses last month, not earlier this month.
BRIDGEPORT  Brandon Roberts lawyers havent yet indicated if he will take the stand in his own defense during a murder trial this week.

But jurors in the case saw video of him confessing to shooting 25-year-old Emily Todd, recorded at a police department where he was taken after being arrested as a fugitive at his fathers home in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Wednesday marked the third day of testimony in Roberts trial, which began Monday in state Superior Court in Bridgeport before Judge Alex Hernandez.

During the interview, played while Bridgeport Police Lt. Christopher Lamaine was on the witness stand, Roberts nodded when cops asked him if he shot Todd, who lived in Bethel with her parents and younger brother.

He told them he took a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber handgun he had bought at a pawn shop from his waistband, put it to the back of Todds head, and shot her.

Asked why, Roberts repeatedly said he couldnt say.

She didnt deserve this (expletive), he said. I dont have any answers.

When pressed by cops  and denying Todd had ended their relationship  he said it was over money.

He was certain Todd would give him more, after already loaning him $260 for car repairs.

But, he told police, he had a pride thing  and reasoned he couldnt rob or pistol-whip Todd because she would eventually implicate him.

I have a pride problem, Roberts said during the interview. Im not a leech.

Roberts, 29, is charged with murder, felony murder, first-degree robbery and carrying a pistol without a permit in the December 2018 killing near the public boat ramp off Seaview Avenue.

The first witness called by States Attorney Joseph Corradino was an Ohio shop owner who testified to selling Roberts two handguns the month before the killing.

One of them was the .40-caliber Smith & Wesson seized by Cleveland police during a motor vehicle stop of another man three months after Todds killing.

A single .40-caliber shell casing was found near Todds body.

The prosecutor showed the gun to the jury and asked the pawn shop owner, Anthony Zaffiro, if it was the gun he sold to Roberts.

Yes, it is, Zaffiro replied.

In the recorded interview, Roberts told police he sold the gun at a Cleveland corner store the day before his arrest.

During the interview, Lamaine asks Roberts why he didnt bring the gun back to the pawn shop and sell it there.

I might as well be honest with you, Roberts said. Why the hell would I sell it back to the pawn shop when I know its the murder weapon? I might do some stupid (expletive) but Im not that dumb.

He said he tripped out after shooting Todd and drove off before later using her bank card to withdraw $460 from ATMs in Trumbull and Bridgeport.

On Tuesday, Todds mother took the stand and recounted her daughters brief relationship with Roberts, which police said Todd ended soon after it began. But Roberts allegedly convinced her to meet him one more time, luring her to the area of the boat ramp before killing her with a single gunshot to the back of the head.

Roberts said the two had met at a hotel he was staying at in Stratford before driving around and ending up near the ramp. He said he didnt plan on shooting Todd and did so on an impulse.

After the pawn shop owners testimony Wednesday morning, the prosecutor called several Bridgeport police officers who investigated the case, including lead Detective Martin Heanue, who interviewed Roberts after police arrested him and charged him with Todds murder.

While searching the Ohio home, Heanue testified cops found sneakers that matched shoe prints left in the sand near Todds body.

Corradino had a marshal show the bottom of one of the shoes while holding a plaster cast of the shoe print found near Todds body side by side.

Todds death sparked debate about numerous issues, including Connecticuts gun laws and Bridgeports response to a 911 call from Todd about a week before the killing.

Bridgeport cops spotted Roberts car but a pursuit was called off because he was driving recklessly, according to police.

During the confession played Wednesday, Roberts referred to the incident after being asked if he needed help.

I asked for help, and look where it got me, he said. Chased.

At prior hearings, Roberts lawyers have indicated they will not be contesting their clients recorded confession, but instead will be raising a defense of extreme emotional disturbance.

Unlike the so-called insanity defense, if jurors are convinced Roberts was acting under extreme emotional distress they could find him guilty of a lesser manslaughter charge.
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FAIRFAX, Va. (AP)  Actor Johnny Depp told jurors Tuesday that he felt compelled to sue his ex-wife Amber Heard for libel out of an obsession for the truth after she accused him of domestic violence.

My goal is the truth because it killed me that all these people I had met over the years ... that these people would think that I was a fraud, he said.

Depp flatly denied ever hitting Heard, calling the physical and sexual assault allegations against him disturbing, heinous and not based in any species of truth.

Nothing of the kind ever happened, Depp said in court.

Alluding to the fall his career has taken since Heard levied abuse allegations against him, the former Pirates of the Caribbean star said, its been six years of trying times. Its very strange when one day youre Cinderella, so to speak, and then in 0.6 seconds youre Quasimodo.

For the first hour-plus of testimony Tuesday, Depp gave long, stream-of-consciousness answers to questions about his childhood and his early movie career, speaking in his signature deep baritone. After one long answer, he admitted: I forgot what the original question was.

Indeed, he acknowledged his meandering style, particularly as it relates to his writing style. He mentioned his long friendship and collaborations with the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, and said he sought to emulate a style that often incorporated brash language and embellishing thoughts.

He said that led him at times to write text messages that he now finds embarrassing, and he apologized to the jury for the vulgar language he used in text messages introduced as evidence to describe Heard.

In the heat of the moment, in the heat of the pain I was feeling, I went to dark places, he said.

But he said he'd been waiting for six years to tell his side of the story after Heard filed for divorce against him in 2016 and sought a restraining order against him.

The trial began more than a week ago, but, prior to Tuesday, jurors had only seen the Hollywood star sitting silently with his team of lawyers as each side has tried to embarrass the other in a trial that Heard's lawyers accurately predicted would turn into a mudslinging soap opera.

After denying Heard's abuse allegations, Depp spoke at length about a childhood in which physical abuse from his mother was constant. When he became a father, Depp said, he made sure his children didnt experience that kind of upbringing.

Depp will continue his testimony Wednesday. In Tuesday's session, he testified primarily about the early years of his relationship with Heard, saying she seemed too good to be true at first.

She was attentive, Depp said of the woman he married in 2015. She was loving. She was smart. She was kind. She was funny. She was understanding  We had many things in common, certain blues music  literature.

He said there were little things, though, that gave him indications of a rocky relationship ahead. She became upset, he said, when he broke an established routine in which she took off his boots for him when he came home. And he said she was angry when he wouldn't go to bed when she was ready.

I didn't understand why, as a 50-some-year-old man, I couldn't go to sleep when I wanted to. he said.

Depp, 58, said he was cognizant of the age difference between him and Heard, 35.

I acknowledge the fact I was the old, craggy fogey and she was this beautiful, creature, he said.

But Depp said that within a year and a half, it was as if Heard had become another person.

So far, Depp's friends, family and employees have testified that Heard was the aggressor in the relationship, physically attacking him on multiple occasions. Heard's former personal assistant testified that Heard spit in her face in a fit of rage.

Heard's lawyers have said Depp physically and sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions, often in situations where he drank so much he later blacked out.

Depp said Heards allegations of his substance abuse have been grossly embellished and that there have been no moments where hes been out of control.

Im not some maniac who needs to be high or loaded all the time, Depp said, though he admitted to doing a line or two of cocaine with Heard's sister, Whitney.

The actor said he was addicted to pain medication, which stemmed from an injury on the set of the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie. He also said he took his mothers nerve pills when he was a kid.

But Depp said he detoxed from the pain medication and has experienced long periods of sobriety over the years.

The characterization of my substance abuse thats been delivered by Ms. Heard is grossly embellished, Depp said. And Im sorry to say, but a lot of it is just plainly false. I think that it was an easy target for her to hit."

The lawsuit itself is supposed to be over whether Heard libeled Depp when she wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post about domestic violence. In the article, Heard referred to herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse.

She never mentioned Depp by name, but Depp and his lawyers said it was a clear reference to accusations Heard made in 2016 when the couple divorced and she sought a restraining order against him.

Heard's lawyers, who have filed their own countersuit against Depp, said nothing in the article libels him. They say the abuse allegations are true, and that the damage to Depp's reputation  which he says got him booted from the lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise  came from his own bad behavior.

___

Associated Press writer Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia, contributed to this report.
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ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (AP)  A mother charged with conspiring to kill her children, her estranged husband and a lover's wife refused to enter a plea to murder and other charges on Tuesday, prompting an Idaho judge to enter a not guilty plea on her behalf.

Lori Vallow Daybell and her new husband, Chad Daybell, were both at the courthouse in the eastern Idaho town of St. Anthony for separate court proceedings: Lori Daybell for an afternoon arraignment that was delayed for months while she underwent treatment at a mental health facility, and Chad Daybell for a morning hearing over the trial venue.

The couple face numerous charges in the bizarre case, including conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Lori Daybells children, 7-year-old Joshua JJ Vallow, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as Chad Daybells first wife, Tammy Daybell. Lori Daybell is also charged in Arizona with conspiring to kill her former estranged husband, Charles Vallow, with the help of her now-deceased brother, Alex Cox.

Chad Daybell pleaded not guilty to the charges months ago and is being held in the Fremont County Jail. The case against Lori Daybell was stalled after a judge found her mentally incompetent to aid in her own defense and ordered her to undergo treatment at a mental health facility. Last week, the judge said Daybell had been made competent and the case could go forward, and she was transferred to the Madison County Jail.

Lori Daybell kept her head down as she entered the courtroom and spoke quietly during her arraignment on Tuesday. The courtroom was mostly full, with JJ Vallow's grandparents, Kay and Larry Woodcock, seated in one of the front rows. The Woodcocks wiped away tears as 7th District Judge Steven Boyce read the murder charge related to the young boy's death.

Lori Daybell, wearing a light blue blouse and glasses, opted to stand silent when she was asked to enter a plea to the charges. Boyce, who told her she could face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted, entered a not guilty plea on her behalf.

Investigators say Chad and Lori Daybell began espousing an unusual, doomsday-focused system of religious belief involving zombies, teleportation and communication with other spiritual realms starting in 2018, when both were still married to other people. The Idaho prosecutors say they used their religious beliefs to justify or encourage the murders.

Lori Daybells brother Alex Cox shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in suburban Phoenix, according to an indictment in Arizona. At the time, Charles Vallow was seeking a divorce, and wrote in court filings that his wife believed she had become a god-like figure responsible for ushering in the biblical apocalypse.

Cox told police the shooting was in self-defense, and he was never charged. He later died of an apparent blood clot in his lung.

Shortly after Charles Vallows death, Lori Daybell  who then had the last name Vallow  and her children moved to the rural eastern Idaho community of Rexburg, near where Chad Daybell lived. At the time, Chad Daybell was married to Tammy Daybell. She died in October 2019.

Though Tammy Daybell's obituary said her death was from natural causes, authorities grew suspicious when Chad and Lori Daybell married just two weeks later. Investigators had Tammy Daybell's body exhumed for an autopsy, though authorities have not formally released her cause of death.

Police began searching for Lori Daybells youngest two children a few weeks later in November 2019 after relatives raised concerns. The Daybells quickly left town, and they were found months later in Hawaii without the children.

The children's bodies were eventually found buried in Chad Daybell's yard back in Idaho.

During a news conference after the arraignment, Larry Woodcock said he was happy that the case is moving forward, saying Lori Daybell's day will come.

Shes going to have a miserable life, and thats all I ask for. I know that justice will be served, Larry Woodcock said.

The arraignment was held about an hour after a motion hearing where prosecutors and Chad Daybell's attorney, John Prior, argued over whether the entire trial should be moved to a more populated region or whether jurors from Ada County should be brought across the state to Fremont County for the trial, which is expected to last about 10 weeks.

The judge had originally ruled that the trial would be moved to Ada County, which includes the city of Boise, but Prosecutor Rachel Smith contended that would substantially raise trial-related costs for taxpayers and potentially witnesses.

Prior said ensuring a fair trial is more important than any financial burden faced by Fremont County. He also said sequestering a jury in Fremont County would essentially turn jurors into prisoners, with no phones, television or ability to move around town.

The judge said he would issue a written ruling on the matter.

The judge has previously ordered that Chad and Lori Daybell will be tried together. But though Chad Daybell has waived his right to a speedy trial  with the trial tentatively set for January 2023  Lori Daybell did not.

Her attorney, Jim Archibald, told the judge on Tuesday that Lori Daybell would not waive her right to a speedy trial, which means the case has to be tried within six months. Its not yet clear if that means the Daybells will be tried separately or if the date previously set for trial in Chad Daybells case will be moved up.
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NEW YORK (AP)  Call it bel canto in the Rust Belt.

The Metropolitan Operas new production of Lucia di Lammermoor plucks the ill-fated heroine out of the Scottish hills where Sir Walter Scott placed her in his 1819 novel and where Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti kept her in his opera 16 years later.

Instead, director Simon Stone has transplanted her to a contemporary American town whose once-prosperous residents are suffering the effects of economic decline and where the pharmacy and pawnshop are among the only thriving businesses.

It can feel relaxing to escape and go to a Donizetti opera thats set in a previous era, Stone said in a panel discussion at the opera house during rehearsal. But I think its less of a transformative experience than if you can go, Wow, this is about me, my family, us.'

Stone said he looked for an American equivalent to the original setting and settled on the Rust Belt.

The novel and opera are about the end of the aristocracy in Scotland, and it became an incredibly poor country very quickly, he said in an interview. I wanted to find a place in America where theres that same sense that the glory days are over, and if you look at the former industrial towns, theres a lot of drug use, a lot of unemployment. So you have people who are not just desperate, but their pride is wounded.

Lucia is still lied to, emotionally manipulated and bullied by her desperate brother and his henchmen into giving up her sweetheart Edgardo and marrying a man for his money. But in Stones version shes also a recovering drug addict who relapses once her hopes for happiness are crushed.

For soprano Nadine Sierra, the updated setting helps her identify with her character.

Theres a portion of this Lucia I absolutely get, she said in an interview. Growing up in not the most glitzy neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, she recalls being bullied in school and getting into a series of emotionally abusive relationships with men in her early 20s.

I feel as if Im playing myself, in this production, she said. How I would react to the way Lucia has to live her life.

Lucias reaction is, to be sure, extreme by any measure: She kills her new husband on their wedding night  in this production by striking him with a fire extinguisher in their cheap motel room. (She grabbed anything she could, Sierra said.)

That act leads to the famous mad scene, an extended showpiece for sopranos notable for the intricate vocal line and elaborate ornamentation that typified the bel canto style of early 19th century Italian opera.

But to Sierra, the term mad scene may be a misnomer.

I dont think Lucia is necessarily crazy at the end, she said. I think shes had enough. Shes so tired of her whole world collapsing on her.  She does murder her husband, but you know these things do happen.

When Peter Gelb, the Mets general manager, decided on a new production of Lucia, he said he thought of Stone because hed been impressed with his work on two theatrical classics, Federico Garcia Lorcas Yerma and Euripides Medea.

The way he approached the tortured female characters at the center of each of those plays, Gelb said, I thought Lucia would be an opera that would appeal to him.

Sierra said as soon as she found out who her director would be, she got in touch with soprano Pretty Yende, a good friend who had starred in Stones production of Verdis La Traviata in Paris.

Pretty told me it would be a bit more complex, more technological than what were used to in bel canto operas, Sierra said.

That may have been an understatement. As in his Traviata, Stone makes extensive use of video projections, some pre-recorded and some to be filmed live during performances. These include shots of Lucia painting a portrait in her room (a skill she may have picked up in rehab, Stone said) and dreaming about a life with Edgardo she never gets to enjoy.

Most of the filming is about trying to get into the inner life of this woman, Stone said. So much of this opera is about mens opinion of how women should behave, of what she should do.

If you dont get a chance to see her interior life then all you see is a trapped animal, he said. But she only becomes a trapped animal when shes around those guys. When shes on her own, shes totally autonomous and powerful.

Gelb is aware that any drastic reimagining of a beloved classic may meet resistance from some in the audience. But hes confident most people will judge this Lucia on its merits.

I believe the opera public at the Met is more sophisticated theatrically than when I started 16 years ago, Gelb said. And they are generally more open to new experiences, providing they make narrative sense and are stimulating both musically and theatrically.

Audiences worldwide will be able to judge for themselves when Lucia is broadcast to movie theaters live on May 21. The production, which opens April 23, also stars tenor Javier Camarena as Edgardo, and baritone Artur Rucinski as Lucias brother, Enrico, and will be conducted by Riccardo Frizza.
H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media

DANBURY  A man surrendered to law enforcement officers early Wednesday following a domestic disturbance at a local condo that he threatened to burn down, according to police.

Just before 3 a.m., officers responded to a report of a man banging on the door of a Birchwood condominium complex at 27 Crows Nest Lane. The man was also reportedly throwing objects at one of the residences.
SALEM, Ore. (AP)  The Oregon State Treasury has at least $5.3 billion invested in fossil fuel companies, a coalition of environmental groups said in a report Wednesday that blamed the state for adding to global warming and urged divestment.

Oregon is considered a green state, through its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by state agencies and being the first state to commit to stop using coal-fired power. Yet the state treasury is working at cross-purposes with over $1 billion invested in the coal industry alone, Divest Oregon said in its report.

The state exposes Oregonians to climate and health risks, economic costs, and financial losses through the investments, the group said.

The amount that Oregon has invested in oil, gas and coal companies  whose products are a leading cause of global warming  is probably far higher than $5.3 billion. That's because the numbers that Divest Oregon obtained from the state treasury through a public records request do not include private equity investments, which are not subject to public disclosure.

The treasury welcomes continued dialogue with Oregonians on the best ways to address the risks of climate change while ensuring that we meet our mandate to produce sustainable returns for beneficiaries, department spokeswoman Amy Bates said.

"Were committed to a portfolio that reflects the realities of a changing climate, and a changing policy environment, while earning money for tens of thousands of Oregonians retirement security, Bates said.

Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read is running for the Democratic nomination for governor in the November elections. One of his platforms is combating climate change.

As governor, I will lead the effort to decarbonize our economy and avert the worst of this crisis, he said in a recent campaign statement. I will bring a renewed sense of urgency to building a clean energy economy and the critical infrastructure needed to meet the challenges we face.

Yet Tobias' agency, which manages $140 billion of the states investment portfolio, including the state employees pension fund, is too deep in investing in fossil fuels and instead should dispose of those investments and put more behind green energy, Divest Oregon said.

Fossil fuels investments also perform worse than fossil-fuel-free alternatives, the report said.

The report's findings of fossil fuel sector investments are far higher than the $1.8 billion that a previous study released in December said was invested in the industry. That report, by the Climate Safe Pensions Network, said its findings were based only on partial data released by the treasury due to delays in disclosure by the pension fund" and that the actual amount was likely much higher.

A bill that would have increased transparency in the state treasury's investments passed the Oregon House of Representatives in March. But it died in the Senate before receiving a floor vote there when the short legislative session ended.

Sen. Jeff Golden, one of the sponsors of that measure, said if he wins re-election this year, he will make another effort in the 2023 session.

If Im back in Salem next session, Ill work to advance the divestment discussion, Golden said. Full public disclosure of investments made possible with public dollars seems like the very least we should all expect.

The burning of fossil fuels like coal and gas emits gases that are a leading cause of global warming and climate change. Oregon has been suffering the effects of climate change, with a record-breaking heat wave last summer that killed more than 100 people, a severe drought affecting much of the state and worsening wildfires.

Oregon has a green economy, grounded in renewable energy, agriculture, and a historical commitment to protecting our natural spaces, the environmental groups said in the new report. Building on this legacy and leading the country forward requires bold leadership from every governmental agency including, critically, divestment by the Oregon State Treasury.

Meanwhile, more states are taking steps toward divesting.

On Feb. 9, New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced that the State Common Retirement Fund will restrict investments in 21 shale oil and gas-producing companies that have failed to demonstrate they are prepared for the transition to a low-carbon economy.

As market forces and new policies drive the energy transition, we must align our investments with a profitable and dynamic future, DiNapoli said. The shale oil and gas industry faces numerous obstacles going forward that pose risks to its financial performance.

The oil and gas industry, including shale oil and gas companies, may be most affected by climate change and the transition to the emerging net zero economy, DiNapoli's office said.

Maryland lawmakers passed a bill this session that requires a fiduciary of the State Retirement and Pension System to consider the potential systemic risks of the impact of climate change on the systems assets.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan wrote that while he decided not to veto the bill, he still has serious concerns about politicians interfering with the fiduciary duties of of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System. He wrote that while the legislation is well intended, it "creates a slippery slope; instead of micromanaging ... elected officials should allow our investment experts and professionals to do what they do best.

Divest Oregon is a statewide grassroots coalition of individuals and organizations representing unions, racial and climate justice groups, youth leaders and faith communities.

The report was produced in partnership with Stand.Earth, 350.org, the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, Environment Oregon, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility.

___

Associated Press writer Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, contributed to this report.
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DANBURY  Western Connecticut State University is facing serious financial difficulty and must reevaluate staffing, structure and programs to curb spending, a report found.

As enrollment declines, the university operates on a structural deficit, dipping into its reserves almost every year for the past decade and is worse off financially than the other three state universities in the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, according to the January report from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, a Colorado-based nonprofit that works with post-secondary institutions across the country and world.

The institution has an expenditure control problem, not a revenue problem, the report states. This problem can be addressed by cutting costs, increasing enrollments without increasing expenditures, or some combination of these two strategies. Given the immediacy of the financial issues facing the University, short-term solutions will likely have to focus on cutting costs; benefiting from enrollment increases is a longer-term remedy.

The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system requested the report due to Westerns financial challenges and agrees with its findings, said Leigh Appleby, spokesman for the CSCU system.

NCHEMS has produced a first report with immediate recommendations, and CSCU is currently working closely with the WCSU leadership team to ensure they are implemented, he said in a statement. A second set of recommendations will be provided later this year by NCHEMS intended to strengthen long-term viability for the institution.

The findings surprised faculty, who werent interviewed for the report, said Rotua Lumbantobing, chapter president of the WSCU chapter of the American Association of University Professors, the union representing faculty at the university. She said the university hadnt been transparent with faculty about these issues.

This report puts the blame mostly on faculty and staff, who are the student-facing workers, said Lumbantobing, associate professor of economics. Without us, there would be no university. Were the ones who do the work. Were the ones who serve our students.

Rebecca Woodward, chapter president of SUOAF-AFSCME, the professional staff union at WCSU, recognized many of the issues outlined in the report. She agreed the university needs to establish a clear identity, but questioned the recommendation to restructure the administrative cabinet.

I don't think these challenges are insurmountable, so Im very hopeful that with maybe some of these recommendations or other initiatives that weve started that they will help us turn the corner, said Woodward, the digital innovation officer and one of the senior staff members interviewed for the report.

Consultants interviewed more than 20 people with leadership positions at WCSU or in the CSCU system and compared WCSU to 19 other public institutions in the country of similar size and with similar missions. The 19 universities on the list included SUNY College of Plattsburgh in New York, Worcester State University in Massachusetts and Western Oregon State University in Oregon.

Lumbantobing and Woodward questioned whether those universities were truly similar to WCSU. Lumbantobing added the report didnt center enough on Westerns mission to provide an affordable education.

The focus is so much on revenue versus expenses, she said. I very much disagree with that because this is not a business. This is not a Walmart.

Whats next

The consultants issued several recommendations, including creating a broad strategy for short-term financial stability, developing a strategic staffing plan, reorganizing the administrative cabinet, identifying ways to reduce part-time faculty, and reviewing programs and curricula. The university should also develop strategic goals and put someone in charge of monitoring progress.

The time to deal with the Universitys fiscal problems is now, not just because WCSU has depleted its reserves, but because the demographic trends in Connecticut and the Northeast US more generally are not favorable, the report states.

The CSCU system and Board of Regents must act as leaders, setting the expectation that the budget be balanced and minimum levels of reserves must be maintained, according to the report.

Failure to address institutional issues presents risks to the Board and to the system as a whole, the consultants state.

Appleby said CSCU and the Board of Regents have long understood the significant financial pressures facing WCSU and have taken actions meant to stabilize the universitys budget, including the adoption of a pilot program to allow students from New York and New Jersey to attend WCSU at an in-state rate, significantly bolstering enrollment at the university.

However, the pandemic has exacerbated already significant enrollment and financial challenges, he said.

Since the release of the report, WCSU has held two open forums to discuss the financial issues and the recommendations, Appleby said. A two-day retreat for faculty and staff is planned after graduation in May where the consultant and Board of Regents will dive into financial reports and the document.

Small working teams will be set up to tackle specific issues, with new approaches to be adopted before the beginning of the fall semester to move the university into long-term financial stability, Appleby said.

Why the financial issues?

The report claims WCSU has operated under a mentality of We havent had a balanced budget for years; why start now?

The report found the pandemic wiped out WestConns reserve funds, which have dropped 99 percent since the end of the Great Recession.

Central, Southern and Eastern Connecticut state universities saw losses during the pandemic, but Southern and Easterns reserves have grown overall since fiscal year 2012. Centrals reserves have fallen one-third during this period. However, the other universities covered pandemic-related losses without decimating their reserves, the report said.

These data suggest that environmental factors in Connecticut did not lead directly to the underlying financial problems at WCSU, the report states. If external factors were the root cause, the other universities in the System would have suffered a similar fate.

WCSU shouldnt count on the state or its sister institutions to bail it out, the consultants stated.

Achieving a balanced budget and rebuilding its reserves is a matter of fiduciary responsibility and of institutional accountability for both institutional and System leaders, the report states.

WCSU receives considerably more funding per student from tuition and the state than its peer institutions across the country. Spending has increased over the last decade, even as enrollment has fallen, according to the report.

These patterns suggest that the major culprit for WCSUs increasingly untenable levels of expenditures per student  therefore its precarious financial position  can be attributed primarily to spending increases much more than to eroding enrollment levels, the report states.

The university has relied attracting traditional-college age students, even though this population is declining in the Northeast.

These are challenges WCSU is working to address, Woodward said.

To pivot things like majors and programs that we offer, that doesnt happen over night, she said.

Compared to peer institutions, employee compensation per student is higher at WCSU, and the university has about 25 percent more employees per student.

In some cases, faculty have a lower teaching load than those at their peer institutions, particularly in the arts and sciences disciplines.

Yet, transfers to other colleges are 10 percentage points higher than similar institutions. This is a sign the university should review its general education curriculum to improve retention and decrease costs.

It is important to look at the structure of curricula as drivers of inefficiency, the report states. Low teaching loads in departments that teach the bulk of general education courses/credits is contrary to the experience in other institutions where these courses are cash cows.

WCSU also has many more part-time employees than its peer institutions, which the report notes has been the universitys way of trying to save money.

But reducing part-time employees could be a way to cut costs because salaries and benefits for full-time employees are set by contracts negotiated for the full CSCU system.

Lumbantobing said the report didnt seem to recognize that the cost of living is higher in Fairfield County than in other parts of the country. Nor did it put the onus on the state to provide more funding for public universities.

Administrators need to admit what mistakes were made and welcome suggestions from faculty, she said.

They dropped the ball, they really did, she said. There has to be some kind of accountability and were going to demand that, so we can work together to get this university out of this financial mess.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday spoke with his Chinese counterpart for the first time since becoming Pentagon chief more than a year ago, breaking a communications impasse that American officials saw as increasingly dangerous amid concern that Beijing might provide military support for Russia's war in Ukraine.

Austin, who calls China the U.S. military's leading long-term challenge but has been forced to focus heavily on Russia this year, requested the telephone conversation with Gen. Wei Fenghe after months of failed effort to speak with Gen. Xu Qiliang, the highest ranking uniformed officer in the Communist Party military structure.

Austin wanted to talk to Xu because, as deputy chairman of the party's Central Military Commission, which controls the Peoples Liberation Army, Xu is more influential than Wei. But Beijing insisted on sticking to protocol and having Austin talk to Wei, who officially is his counterpart as defense minister but ranks below Xu in the hierarchy and has less military operational clout.

Austin's predecessors had typically spoken with Wei, mostly recently on Aug. 6, 2020, when then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper raised with him a U.S. request for greater transparency on the origins of COVID-19 and other issues.

Austin had no expectation of a major breakthrough on key issues with Wei when he made the call on a secure telephone link that was established by the Pentagon and China's Ministry of National Defense in 2008, according to a senior defense official who was involved in the arrangement and spoke on the condition of anonymity in advance of the call.

In a brief statement after the call, the Pentagon said Austin and Wei discussed U.S.-Chinese defense relations, regional security issues and Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. It offered no details.

The defense ministry in Beijing provided a slightly more detailed account. It said Wei expounded his solemn position on the Taiwan issue and stressed that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. It is a fact and reality that no one can change.

The two men exchanged views on maritime and air security issues, the ministry said, adding that Wei conveyed to Austin that China demands that the United States stop military provocations at sea and not use the Ukrainian issue to discredit, frame, threaten and pressure China.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported that Wei told Austin that China hopes to establish sound and stable relations. It quoted Wei as saying the United States should not underestimate China's determination and capability.

Austin intended the call, which lasted about 45 minutes, as a follow-up to President Joe Biden's video call with President Xi Jinping on March 18 in which he laid out stiff consequences the Chinese would face if they provided military or economic assistance for Russias war in Ukraine. The White House gave no indication that Biden received any assurances from the Chinese leader.

For years Washington has portrayed China as seeking to reshape the international order to better assert its national interests and to build enough military strength to eventually supplant the United States as the dominant power in Asia.

The U.S.-China relationship has become more strained on multiple levels since the start of Bidens presidency. Biden has repeatedly criticized China for military provocations against Taiwan, human rights abuses against ethnic minorities and efforts to squelch pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong. U.S. officials also have expressed concern about signs that China is vastly increasing the size of its nuclear arsenal, although it remains far smaller than America's.

In Wednesday's phone call, Austin echoed Biden's messages on the importance of managing U.S.-Chinese strategic competition, including in the nuclear, space and cyber arenas, and improving crisis communications between the global powers, the senior defense official said.

Austin also raised U.S. concerns about what Washington views as Chinese military provocations against Taiwan, the island democracy that Beijing has insisted must ultimately be united with the Chinese mainland, the official said. He also expressed U.S. concerns about Chinese activities in the South China Sea and the East China Sea and raised U.S. worries about North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The long-strained U.S.-China relationship may have reached a new low with the Russian invasion. At times, Beijing has sought to distance itself from the conflict but avoided directly criticizing Moscow. At other moments, Beijings actions have been provocative, including amplifying unverified Russian claims that Ukraine ran chemical and biological weapons labs with U.S. support.

American officials have expressed concern at the prospect of a Moscow-Beijing alliance of authoritarian states. In February, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the friendship between their counties has no limits, although it remains to be seen whether the subsequent Russian invasion of Ukraine has cooled Xi's interest in closer ties.

The Biden administration's first high-level meeting with Chinese officials came in March 2021 when Secretary of State Anton Blinken and Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, met in Anchorage, Alaska, with their Chinese counterparts, who surprised their American hosts by complaining about a litany of issues.

Since then, there has been a succession of phone and video calls between Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi but relatively few in-person meetings. Those calls have been dominated largely by issues of the day including the situation in Afghanistan, Russias invasion of Ukraine, North Korea and Iran. Blinken has yet to visit China, and the most senior U.S. diplomat to travel to the country has been Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

___

AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington and AP writer Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed to this report.

___

This story has been corrected to show the Chinese generals name is Fenghe, not Fenge.
A&W Canada has partnered with the country's most famous burger chef to dream up the best-tasting grass-fed, prime rib burger  ever! Available for a limited time at A&W restaurants across the country from April 25.

TORONTO, April 20, 2022 /CNW/ - World-renowned Canadian chef, cookbook author, and YouTube star Matty Matheson has joined forces with A&W Canada for an epic burger collaboration.

The new, limited-time burger brings together the two Canadian food icons known for their commitment and passion for serving up great-tasting burgers from simple, top-quality ingredients. The "Best-Burger-Ever" Burger, created by Matheson, features a 4oz grass-fed, prime rib patty, real cheddar cheese, fried pickles, grilled onions, and garlic aioli on a buttery brioche bun.

A&W's "Best-Burger-Ever" Burger will be available at participating restaurants across Canada from April 25, for a limited time only. (CNW Group/A&W Food Services of Canada Inc.) World-renowned Canadian chef Matty Matheson has joined forces with A&W Canada for an epic burger collaboration. (CNW Group/A&W Food Services of Canada Inc.)

"This is the burger collaboration Canada has been waiting for!" says Chef Matty Matheson. "A&W asked me to help make the best tasting burger everand I totally nailed it. Starting with the best ever cut of the best ever grass-fed beef made simple."

"Brand collaborations are popping up everywhere these days - but we were on the lookout for a true burger fan, who knows their beef, to partner with," says Julia Cutt, Director of Brand Communications and Digital Marketing at A&W Canada. "Matty is the perfect fit for A&W, and we've teamed up to take our grass-fed beef to the next level. We can't wait for Canadians to try what we've created together!"

The "Best-Burger-Ever" Burger will be available at participating A&W Canada restaurants nationwide from Monday, from April 25 for a limited time only, until supplies last.

About A&W Canada

A&W is proud to be a 100% Canadian-owned-and-operated company, and one of the most trusted brands in the country. Long known for serving the best tasting burgers in Canada, we're proud to have high standards when it comes to our food and you can taste it in everything we serve. We became the first national brand to serve beef raised without artificial hormones and steroids back in 2013, and surprised Canadians again in 2019 when we made the switch to grass-fed, grass-finished beef. Guests can enjoy our burgers made with simple, great-tasting ingredients and minimal waste in over 1,000 restaurants across the country. For more information, please visit aw.ca.

About Matty Matheson

Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, and raised in Fort Erie, Ontario, Matty Matheson is regarded as one of the world's greatest chefs and funniest and most illustrious people on YouTube. Having opened and collaborated on a number of restaurants in Toronto, including recently opened pop-up Fonda Balam, and Ca Phe Rang with his long-time mentor Rang Nguyen, he's also known for his cookware collection - Matheson Cookware. Matty Matheson is also the author of two New York Times bestseller cookbooks, with his third book set to be released in 2023.

SOURCE A&W Food Services of Canada Inc.

For further information: For Media Inquiries: Kaitlyn Vian, Rethink, [email protected], Julia Cutt, A&W Canada, [email protected]
OTTAWA, ON, April 19, 2022 /CNW/ - Health Canada is advising Canadians that the following product(s) may pose serious health risks. For more information, including what Canadians should do, visit the online safety alert .

Health Canada maintains a list of unauthorized health products that may pose serious health risks so that Canadians can easily identify those they may have purchased and take appropriate action. Canadians are encouraged to check back regularly for updates.

Unauthorized health products Product & Promoted Use Hazard Identified Company Action Taken Kangaroo Ultra 3000 Sexual enhancement Product tested by Health Canada and found to contain sildenafil The Passion Vault 15239 111 Ave NW Edmonton, AB Seized from the retail location

Images

For photos of this product, please visit the online safety alert .

Stay connected with Health Canada and receive the latest advisories and product recalls.

Egalement disponible en francais

SOURCE Health Canada

For further information: Media Inquiries: Health Canada, (613) 957-2983, [email protected]; Public Inquiries: (613) 957-2991, 1-866 225-0709, [email protected]
Taking care: We recognize this news release may contain information that is difficult for many and that our efforts to honour Survivors and families may act as an unwelcome reminder for those who have suffered hardships through generations of government policies that were harmful to Indigenous Peoples.

A National Residential School Crisis Line is available to provide support to former residential school students who can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-Hour National Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419.

Indigenous Peoples can also access the Hope for Wellness Help Line by phone at 1-855-242-3310 or via online chat through the website at www.hopeforwellness.ca.

SIPEKNE'KATIK FIRST NATION, NS, April 20, 2022 /CNW/ - The locating of unmarked graves at former residential school sites across Canada is a tragic reminder of the abuse Indigenous children suffered in these institutions. The Government of Canada is working with Survivors, Indigenous leaders and affected families and communities as part of efforts to address historical wrongs and the lasting physical, emotional, mental and spiritual harms related to the legacy of residential schools. Part of this work includes efforts being made to locate and commemorate missing children who attended residential schools, as well as responding to Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action 72 to 76.

Today, Chief Michael .P. Sack of Sipekne'katik First Nation; the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Parliamentary Secretary Jaime Battiste are announcing funding of $326,700 from the Residential School Children's  Community Support Funding Program, in support of Sipekne'katik First Nation's "Shubenacadie Residential School Support Project for Sipekne'katik." This funding will assist with the research, knowledge gathering, commemoration, memorialization and fieldwork that will be undertaken by the First Nation on the grounds surrounding the former Shubenacadie residential school.

Sipekne'katik First Nation has already begun the difficult work. The project, titled "Shubenacadie Residential School Support Project for Sipekne'katik," involves local research and knowledge gathering with Elders, and fieldwork investigation on the surrounding areas of the school that were not included in earlier fieldwork investigation supported by Parks Canada. It will also include commemorative events such as the installation of a plaque honouring the missing children who attended the residential school.

The Government of Canada will continue to be there to support communities as they respond to and heal from intergenerational trauma and the ongoing impact of residential schools. Budget 2022 proposes to provide $209.8 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, to increase the support provided to communities to document, locate, and memorialize burial sites at former residential schools; to support the operations of and a new building for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation; and to ensure the complete disclosure of federal documents related to residential schools.

Addressing the harms suffered by Survivors, their families and communities is at the heart of reconciliation and is essential to renewing and building relationships with Indigenous Peoples, governments, and all Canadians.

Quotes

"While our community continues to grapple with the devastating impacts of the Residential School system we acknowledge that we are in a time of reconciliation. We are working on many levels to heal the intergenerational wounds inflicted on our community and the scars that remain on our Survivors.

Projects like the Shubenacadie Residential School Support project will aid in identifying and further addressing these effects by reinforcing our cultural landscape. It is through partnerships between First Nations communities, government, and the public at large that we can work together toward restoring hope and healing."

Chief Michael .P. Sack

Sipekne'katik First Nation

"I welcome this announcement as a commitment to honour the legacy of Indian Residential school survivors. Having played an active role in recent surveys of this residential school site it is imperative that we carry on with past work as directed by IRS the survivors, Mainland Grand Council, community members as well as Chief and Council. The site remains a tragic reminder of the cruelty that happened at those sites."

Roger Lewis, Sipekne'katik Elder, Grand Keptin and IRS Survivor

"In my work with Shubenacadie Residential School Survivors and Descendants, over the past four years with MDCC, Survivors indicated that healing and reconciliation must include ceremony and commemoration of all Survivors of the IRS, the children who died there, the ones who are still missing and the ones who may never be found, and those who are still here. Survivors want research to continue on the former grounds and surrounding areas and are hopeful that it will locate burial sites that will be protected."

Dorene Bernard, IRS Survivor MDCC coordinator, Grassroots Grandmother and Sipekne'katik Band Member

"Over the next few years, Sipekne'katik First Nation will continue the difficult work of addressing the ongoing painful legacy of the Shubenacadie residential school. Our Government is committed to providing support for projects like this one, so communities can continue leading the difficult work of finding and commemorating children who never came home, while addressing the specific needs and wishes of Survivors, their families and communities."

The Honourable Marc Miller,

Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations

"Sipekne'katik will undertake work related to research, knowledge gathering, commemoration, and fieldwork investigation of the Shubenacadie Residential School in Nova Scotia. This funding will support the Mi'kmaw community in revealing its truth so that they may advance healing for our people. Our Government will continue to implement the calls to action, on the journey of reconciliation."

Jaime Battiste

Member of Parliament, SydneyVictoria, Nova Scotia

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations

"The site of the former Shubenacadie Residential School is significant for Indigenous communities across Atlantic Canada. To move forward on the path of reconciliation, it was important for radar penetration work to happen across the site to ensure any unmarked burial sites were found. Thankfully, to date that has not been the case, and I'm glad our government is playing a meaningful role in supporting the important work undertaken by Sipekne'katik First Nation."

Kody Blois

Member of Parliament, KingsHants, Nova Scotia

Quick facts

Sipekne'katik First Nation is a Mi'kmaq community of 2901 members and is located in Hants County, Nova Scotia , near Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia . The land spans roughly 12.13 square kilometres and is located 68 kilometres from Kijipuktuk ( Halifax, Nova Scotia ).

, near . The land spans roughly 12.13 square kilometres and is located 68 kilometres from Kijipuktuk ( ). On August 10, 2021 , the Government of Canada announced approximately $320 million in additional support for Indigenous-led, Survivor-centric and culturally informed initiatives and investments to help Indigenous communities respond to and heal from the ongoing impacts of residential schools, including $83 million in additional investments towards community support funding for Residential Schools missing children. This $83 million supplements the $33.8 million announced in Budget 2019, for a total investment of $116.8 million responding to Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action 72 to 76.

, the Government of announced approximately in additional support for Indigenous-led, Survivor-centric and culturally informed initiatives and investments to help Indigenous communities respond to and heal from the ongoing impacts of residential schools, including in additional investments towards community support funding for Residential Schools missing children. This supplements the announced in Budget 2019, for a total investment of responding to Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action 72 to 76. A National Residential School Crisis Line is available to access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-Hour National Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419.

The Hope for Wellness Help Line is also available at 1-855-242-3310 or via the online chat function through their website.

Associated links

Stay connected

Join the conversation about Indigenous Peoples in Canada:

Twitter: @GCIndigenous

Facebook: @GCIndigenous

Instagram: @gcindigenous

You can subscribe to receive our news releases and speeches via RSS feeds. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.cirnac.gc.ca/RSS

SOURCE Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

For further information: For more information, media may contact: Justine Leblanc, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, [email protected]; CIRNAC Media Relations: Email: [email protected], Phone: 819-934-2302; Corinne MacLellan, Communications Branch, Sipekne'katik First Nation, Phone: 902-209-3234, [email protected]'katik.ca
"We are delighted to promote a senior executive who has been instrumental in building the culture and fabric of the Montreal office." said Merav Pepere, Head of International for Morgan Stanley Technology. "Sophia's industry expertise and her deep ties to the local business and tech community played a critical role in driving the office's success over recent years. With her leadership, we are well positioned to continue the remarkable growth, build out our relationship with academia and the local tech innovators, and further strengthen our talent development."

"Morgan Stanley offers a fantastic corporate culture where people from all backgrounds, their passions and career aspirations are valued", said Sophia Bennaceur. "Montreal's technology hub has tremendous momentum and there's an incredible talent pool with high potential. I am very proud to be given that chance to help grow the city's tech talent and invest in its future", she added.

Morgan Stanley has been honored as a top employer in Montreal as well as one of the best employers for young people in Canada. Under Sophia Bennaceur, Morgan Stanley Montreal will continue to build out its world-class technology hub with experienced and next generation tech talent, deepen their relationship with the academic community, and remain an employer of choice.

The firm's largest presence in Canada, the Morgan Stanley Montreal office is one of its most prominent technology hubs globally. Recruitment skyrocketed during the pandemic in the Montreal office. Today, the office houses more than 2,700 world-class IT professionals and engineers in areas such as application development, software development, cloud engineering, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as digital technologies.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management, and investment management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide, including corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.

SOURCE Morgan Stanley

For further information: Contacts:Media Relations: Marie-Eve Renaudme[email protected]
VANCOUVER, BC, April 19, 2022 /CNW/ - Researchers at Arthritis Research Canada have found that people with osteoarthritis who started taking tramadol, an opioid pain medication, were at a 20-50 per cent greater risk of mortality, 70 per cent greater risk of blood clots, and 40-60 per cent greater risk of hip fractures when compared to people who started using drugs like aspirin or ibuprofen.

"These are incredibly important findings because tramadol use is on the rise globally  especially by people living with osteoarthritis," said Dr. Antonio Avina-Zubieta, a rheumatologist and senior scientist at Arthritis Research Canada.

Previous studies have found that tramadol is associated with nausea, dizziness, constipation, tiredness, headache, vomiting, and drowsiness, and when compared with use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen, tramadol is associated with a greater risk of mortality, heart attacks, and hip fractures in people with osteoarthritis. A recent study also found that it is no better than aspirin and ibuprofen in relieving pain for those with OA.

Tramadol is recommended by the 2013 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons guidelines and recommended conditionally by the 2012 American College of Rheumatology guidelines for knee osteoarthritis.

"This research, combined with evidence from prior studies, suggests current guidelines on tramadol use need to be revised to ensure the health and safety of patients  especially since there is no difference in pain relief compared to drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen," Avina-Zubieta said.

In the United States, 44 million tramadol prescriptions were given in 2014. In the United Kingdom, the prevalence of osteoarthritis patients with a tramadol prescription increased from three to 10 per cent from 2000 to 2015. In British Columbia, tramadol has been the second most commonly prescribed opioid agonist since 2008.

To learn more about this research, please click here.

ABOUT ARTHRITIS RESEARCH CANADA:

Arthritis Research Canada is the largest clinical arthritis research institution in North America. Our mission is to transform the lives of people living with arthritis through research and engagement. Arthritis Research Canada's scientific director, Dr. Diane Lacaille is leading a team of over 100 researchers, trainees and staff whose world recognized research is creating a future where people living with arthritis are empowered to triumph over pain and disability. Arthritis Research Canada is conducting research across Canada in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec and is affiliated with five major universities: University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, University of Calgary, Universite Laval, and McGill University. Arthritis Research Canada is leading research aimed at arthritis prevention, early diagnosis, new and better treatment, and improved quality of life.

SOURCE Arthritis Research Canada

For further information: or to arrange an interview, please contact: Heather Caulder, Marketing and Communications Officer, 604-207-4010 or [email protected], www.arthritisresearch.ca
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the UK PM in New Delhi on Friday to discuss strategic, defence, diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will begin his two-day India visit on Thursday. Johnson will Ahmedabad before embarking for New Delhi. In Ahmedabad, the UK PM will meet business group leaders and discuss the commercial and trade links between India and the UK. This will be the first time a UK Prime Minister will visit Gujarat.

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the UK PM in New Delhi to discuss strategic, defence, diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries. Before meeting PM Modi, Johnson will attend a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan and then a wreath-laying at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi.

Johnson will also hold talks with External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar. According to the British Hish Commission in India, Johnson will use the visit to further the progress in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations launched earlier this year with India. It has been speculated that the deal will catapult UKs total annual trade by up to 28 billion pounds by 2035 and increase incomes across the UK by up to 3 billion pounds.
Russia rejected calls for a truce on Tuesday saying that the requests were insincere and would be used by the Ukrainian side to rearm its troops, as reported by the New York Times. Russias deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, informed the Security Council of his countrys decision. Polyanskiy was quoted as saying by the NYT, an aspiration to provide Kyiv nationalists breathing room to regroup and receive more drones, more anti-tank missiles and more MANPADS.

The rejection by Russia came hours after UN chief Antonio Guterres appealed for a four-day ceasefire in Ukraine on humanitarian grounds. According to the NYT report, even China, which has abstained from voting on resolutions against Russia in the UN, has called for ceasefire on humanitarian grounds and urged the warring side to work towards the goal.

This comes amid Ukraines claims of a renewed Russian offensive in the Donbas region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was quoted as saying by CNN, Russian forces have started the battle for Donbas for which theyve been preparing for a long time and a considerable amount of the Russian forces are concentrated and focused on that offensive.
A clash between police and protesters in the Sri Lankan town of Rambukkana resulted in the death of a person on Tuesday afternoon (local time). The person, part of the protest group, was participating in a demonstration against the hike in fuel prices, according to a Daily Mirror report. According to the publication, in the videos, the protestors were seen carrying the wounded people and rushing them to the hospital.

The deceased reportedly died of a gunshot wound. As per the local media, 10 others have been injured in the firing that ensued as the protests spiralled out of control. A protestor, in a video, also blamed the police for this incident. Earlier, Sri Lankan police had shot tear gas at the protesters to disperse them after the 15-hour protest against the fuel price hike, the Daily Mail reported.



The protest happened after Sri Lankas state-owned oil company, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPP), decided to increase fuel prices. A litre of petrol 92 octane has been increased by Rs 84 while a litre of petrol 95 octane by Rs 90, a litre of Auto Diesel by Rs 113 and a litre of super diesel has been increased by Rs 75.
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HONOLULU (AP)  Ezra Miller was arrested on suspicion of assault early Tuesday, the second time the actor known for playing the Flash in Justice League films has been arrested in Hawaii in recent weeks.

Miller became irate after being asked to leave a get-together at a Big Island home and threw a chair, hitting a woman in the forehead, according to a news release from the Hawaii Police Department.

The woman refused treatment for a half-inch (1.3-centimeter) cut on her forehead, police said.

Miller, described by police as a 29-year-old visitor from Vermont, was arrested during a traffic stop and released pending further investigation.

About twelve hours after Miller's arrest, the actor appeared via Zoom for a court hearing for an arrest last month at a Big Island karaoke bar.

Miller pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct and was ordered to pay a $500 fine and stay away from Margarita Village in Hilo.

Miller was also charged with harassment after police said the actor grabbed a mic from a singing woman and lunged at a man playing darts.

Miller was aggravated by a rendition of the Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper ballad Shallow, Hawaii Police Assistant Chief Kenneth Quiocho said.

As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped the harassment charge, along with an unrelated traffic charge.

Miller received a traffic citation after police were called to a dispute in downtown Hilo last month where Miller was uncooperative, refused to leave the area and obstructed a sidewalk, Quiocho said.

Millers Hawaii attorney didnt immediately return a message seeking comment on the latest arrest. Another lawyer and a Miller representative also didnt immediately respond to messages requesting comment.

There was no mention of the latest arrest during the court hearing.

Big Island attorney Francis Alcain had requested Tuesdays court hearing, previously scheduled for next week, be moved up. Alcain said in a court filing his client has various time sensitive work obligations in California and/or New York, and needs an earlier hearing to resolve this matter.

The day after Miller was released on $500 bail for the karaoke bar arrest, a Big Island couple filed a petition for a temporary restraining order, claiming the actor burst into their bedroom and threatened them. A judge dismissed the case last week after an attorney for the couple requested it.

William Dean, an attorney for the couple, declined to say why his clients no longer wanted to pursue a restraining order against Miller.

Judge M. Kanani Laubach applied Miller's bail to the $500 fine, leaving a $30 fee to pay.

Miller also has a key role in the third installment of the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the injured woman refused treatment for a cut.
WEST HARTFORD  Employees at the Corbins Corner Starbucks have signed onto a growing national unionizing movement, becoming the first store in Connecticut to do so.

Kuzco Gong, who has worked at the store for five years, said they have been building up to this decision.

I guess it wasnt really one particular moment, Gong said. It was a build up of a lot of things that were happening. The COVID pandemic really exacerbated the kind of problems that were already present in the company. We struggled a lot through the pandemic. Were still struggling through the fallout of that.

Gong said there are around 22 to 23 employees at the store, which Starbucks refers to as partners. This West Hartford store joins over 200 other Starbucks in over 30 states with their intention to unionize.

Our point of inspiration was when we heard about the first store in Buffalo but shortly after that it was in Boston that some of the next stores announced unionizing, Gong said. Its just a state away from us. We could do that.

Gong said theyre seeking higher wages and guaranteed hours. Many of the stores employees, Gong said, struggle to reach 20 hours a week, which is the threshold for accessing some of Starbucks benefits.

Our winter season tends to be the most busy and after that things tend to wane off, Gong said. We literally cant get 20 hours a week, which is the threshold for a lot of benefits. Even if Starbucks has these great benefitswe cant access them because we arent making the hours we need.

Gong said the most recently hired partner makes $14.50 an hour. Gong also said there are baristas who have been working there for several years who are still making $14.50 an hour.

A letter signed by 14 store employees, plus others who wished to remain anonymous, said that many workers have second or third jobs.

Even before COVID-19, we were overworked, underpaid and unsupported, the letter said.

Theres also a belief among the employees, Gong said, that Starbucks didnt support them enough during much of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Theres a general feeling that the company didnt necessarily have our backs, Gong said. People got belligerentwe are going through a stressful time trying to help customers. We have to stand there and take that abuse. Especially with masking becoming as political as it was. There were multiple times I saw partners get screamed at.

Gong said that Starbucks isnt completely terrible and that many of them like working at the store. They just want to make it better, Gong said.

The partners of Corbins Corner are a close-knit community, the letter said. We care about each other and our customers and support each other as best we can, but that can only go so far.

Gong believes there are other Connecticut Starbucks that might join the unionizing efforts too.

Thats what were really hoping at least, Gong said. We know there might be some are still underground at this point and havent had the courage to stand up. Now that we have, there will be some other stores joining.

Gong said a majority of store employees have signed onto the unionizing efforts. Right now, they are waiting for an election date, which hasnt been given to them.

Were hoping it will be enough stores at a point where we can negotiate a company-wide contract, Gong said. There are specific wants and needs we want to address.

When reached for comment, Starbucks media relations team member Abbey Barker referred to a letter released by the companys chief executive officer, Howard Schultz.

We will become the best version of Starbucks by co-creating our future directly as partners, Schultz wrote in the letter. And we will strengthen the Starbucks community by upholding each others dreams; upholding the standards and rituals of the company; celebrating partner individuality and voice; and upholding behaviors of mutual respect and dignity.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  A Mississippi man has been sentenced to house arrest and probation for pointing a green laser at FedEx airplanes flying into Memphis International Airport in Tennessee, federal prosecutors said.

Eugene Conrad of Michigan City, Mississippi, was sentenced April 7 to nine months of home confinement and three years of probation in Memphis federal court, the U.S. attorney's office said Tuesday.
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NEW HAVEN  A Connecticut State Police trooper has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the January 2020 fatal shooting of Mubarak Soulemane, according to the state Office of the Inspector General.

Brian North is charged with first-degree manslaughter with a firearm, the office of Inspector General Robert Devlin said in a release. He was released on a $50,000 bond and scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Milford May 3.

Mark Arons, attorney for Soulemanes family, noted the lengthy legal process to come, but said in a statement that it was a good day for the Soulemane family.

The family of Mubarak Soulemane is very happy that, after 2+ years, Trooper Brian North, who murdered Mubarak in West Haven in January 2020, may be brought to justice, said Arons. Its a long road ahead. But this is a good day.

The family planned to hold a press conference Thursday to discuss the matter further, according to a statement from their attorneys. In that statement, Soulemanes mother, Omo Mohammed, said, Thank God Trooper Brian North was arrested. I now want to see him convicted and sent to jail.

North turned himself in to the states inspector general at Troop I in Bethany around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to state police.

State police said North had been put on paid administrative leave and that his police powers were suspended pending criminal proceedings.

In November 2021, Devlin assumed all pending investigations on the use of force by law enforcement officers in Connecticut, which included the probe of the Jan. 15, 2020, shooting death of Soulemane, 19.

The Office of the Inspector General released its report on the use of force Wednesday. An arrest warrant written by Devlin, which effectively summarizes the report, also was released by the state judicial branch later in the day.

Stated briefly, the investigation establishes that, at the time Trooper North fired his weapon, neither he nor any other person was in imminent danger of serious injury or death from a knife attack at the hands of Soulemane. Further, any belief that persons were in such danger was not reasonable, Devlin said in the report. I therefore find that Norths use of deadly force was not justified under Connecticut law.

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, in a statement Wednesday, said Mubarak Soulemanes death is a tragedy, and he should still be alive and with us today. I have watched the video of the incident many times which leads so many of us to believe that the troopers actions were unjustified. This is now reenforced by the charges brought by the Inspector General.

 ... The state troopers arrest, and the due process that will follow, will help ensure that there is accountability for Mubaraks death and that justice will be served on his behalf and for his family, Elicker said.

What transpired

The incident began that January day when Soulemane, a New Haven resident, went to Norwalk following an argument with his brother, according to the OIG report.

Soulemane suffered from schizophrenia, his mother told investigators. If he stopped taking his medication, he would become argumentative, she said, but not violent.

Soulemanes girlfriend later told the Department of Criminal Justice that he had become erratic, paranoid and disorganized in the days prior.

On the day of his death, Soulemane had come to her job, acting worse than the previous night, she told investigators. He told her he was going to Norwalk to play basketball and get a haircut.

Soulemane arrived at the LA Fitness on Main Avenue in Norwalk soon before 3 p.m., according to the report. A manager said he seemed out of sorts. He initially refused to leave the basketball courts there, prompting complaints from patrons, then left the building and immediately returned. The manager said he called police; Soulemane left at that time.

Soulemane then arrived at an AT&T store down the road, according to the report. He appeared mentally disturbed and was acting strange, including talking to himself, according to a sales representative who spoke with him.

Soulemane initially sought to purchase an iPhone; after being told of the cost, he left the store but quickly returned.

The manager of the AT&T store said he saw Soulemane pull out a knife.

Soulemane again left the store, returning this time without the knife, and attempted to steal an iPhone. The manager grabbed it away from him without force; Soulemane again left the store and got into the Hyundai.

The driver of the Hyundai, working for Lyft, said Soulemane told him to drive, drive, drive after entering the vehicle, seeking to go to the Sprint store in Norwalk. He demanded the driver give him his phone; after the driver refused, Soulemane slapped him on the side of the head.

The driver pulled into a gas station, got out of the vehicle, according to the report, and pulled a firearm from his waistband.

The driver attempted to flag down a police officer  officers had arrived at the AT&T store as he had driven away, he said  at which time Soulemane jumped into the drivers side of the vehicle. The Norwalk officer attempted to open the drivers side door, but it was locked; Soulemane left the scene in the vehicle.

The chase, crash and fatal shots

The incident in Norwalk prompted a high-speed chase on Interstate 95 from Norwalk to West Haven. The pursuit was captured on dashboard camera footage from responding troopers, including North.

Soulemane got off the highway at Exit 43 in West Haven at 5:04 p.m., striking a Chevy Trailblazer, according to the report.

MAP: Tracing the police chase that ended in Mubarak Soulemanes death

Troopers Ross Dalling, Joshua Jackson and North effectively blocked-in the vehicle on Campbell Avenue, according to the report, then approached the vehicle. West Haven police also had responded to the scene.

Jackson ordered the driver out of the car, but received no response. He later said that the driver seemed out of it. Jackson then proceeded to the passenger side. North took a positon at the driver-side window and Dalling was to the rear. North directed Jackson to use his Taser. West Haven Police Officer Robert Rappa smashed the passenger side window using Jacksons police baton. Jackson then deployed his Taser through the broken out window toward Soulemane. Rappa yelled Hes reaching! Soulemane then moved his arm upward holding a knife pointed toward the ceiling of the car, Devlin wrote in the report.

North immediately fired his gun seven times through the driver side window into Soulemanes chest area. North then yelled Drop the knife! Devlin wrote. North was able to break away the shattered glass and retrieved a kitchen knife from the Hyundai that he placed on the hood of the car. Other police officers pulled Soulemane from the car and proceeded to provide medical aid. He was not responsive. Ultimately, Emergency Medical Services arrived and transported Soulemane to Yale New Haven Hospital where he was pronounced dead at approximately 6:03 p.m.

Norths testimony

In a statement, North later told police that he saw Soulemanes eyes open wide as Rappa shattered the passenger-side window. He said he believed Rappa was attempting to enter the vehicle at that time; he said he saw Soulemane quickly move his right hand into his pocket and remove a knife, then abruptly move in the drivers seat.

I quickly took my eyes off the suspect and looked in the direction of Tpr. Jackson and the West Haven Officer. I saw Tpr. Jackson quickly advancing towards the open passenger window and I could not see the West Haven Officer anymore. This led me to believe that the West Haven Officer had already begun to enter the suspect vehicle to take control of the suspect. I immediately looked back at the suspect and saw that he still had the knife in his hand, and was making furtive movements, North said in a statement.

The suspect was moving and holding the knife in an aggressive manner, and appeared to me to be preparing to attack either Tpr. Jackson or the West Haven Officer. Based on these circumstances, I believed that Tpr. Jackson and the West Haven Officer were at imminent risk of serious physical injury or death, and could have been stabbed in the neck or face as they attempted to enter the vehicle and remove the suspect. As a result, I discharged my duty firearm to eliminate the threat, North said.

Rappa later told investigators that he had broken the window to open a line of communication with Soulemane and allow for the use of a Taser. He had not intended to enter the vehicle, he said.

Jackson later told investigators that he had intended to enter the car and secure Soulemane. The Taser appeared to have been ineffective, he said; Soulemane, holding the knife, turned his whole torso toward him and looked at him.

At this time, I was in very close proximity to the suspects vehicle and only had a Taser in my hand, Jackson said in his statement to investigators. I was fearful for my safety and believed that I was in imminent danger since the suspect was focused on me with a knife. He was less than six feet or so from me. The undersigned then saw and heard Trooper North fire seven shots and I quickly backed away from the vehicle.

Hartford-based attorney Jeffrey Ment, representing North, declined to comment on the matter Wednesday. He pointed to a statement given by the Connecticut Police Union Tuesday evening.

Union officials told WTNH they were disappointed that the Inspector General has made the decision to prosecute a Trooper, who was forced to make a split-second decision during these dangerous and rapidly evolving circumstances.

Trooper North was risking his own life while trying to fulfill his oath of office to protect the lives of others. Regardless of the Inspector Generals decision, we will respect the judicial process while we vigorously defend Trooper North and his actions. It is our obligation to protect Trooper Norths constitutional right to due process of law and a fair trial, union officials told the TV station. We hope everyone reserves judgment until all facts are known in this case and we thank the public for their continued support of law enforcement here in Connecticut.

The union did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

In a press conference streamed by WFSB, Andrew Matthews, executive director of the union, noted that experts consulted by State Attorney Michael Gailor, who handled the inquiry before it was passed to Devlin, had considered the shooting justified.

Matthews declined to discuss the specifics of the case during the press conference.

He said the union was concerned that the power to bring charges in such matters now rested with one person, the Inspector General. Officers, required to make quick decisions in the course of their jobs, need to know theyre supported in choices made to protect society, he said.

Every police officer in the state of Connecticut should take notice, said Matthews.

The union would help to vigorously defend the case and support North and his family, Matthews said.

Devlin said the experts had failed to consider the discrepancy between Norths statements at the scene and the statement submitted by his lawyer, which was offered a month later.

Other than baldly asserting that Norths stated beliefs were reasonable, neither expert makes any attempt to explain why that belief would be shared by a reasonable officer; when, on these facts, it is patently unreasonable to believe that Rappa had entered the vehicle through the window simply because his head momentarily dipped below the cars roofline, said Devlin.

In the warrant for Norths arrest, Devlin goes on to assert that one second before North fires, Rappas cap can be seen above the cars roofline.

The rationale for the manslaughter charge

Under state law, a law enforcement officer can use deadly force if they reasonably believe it is necessary to defend himself or a third person from the use or imminent use of deadly physical force, Devlin said in the report.

North asserted he had fired at Soulemane in defense of a third party, Rappa and/or Jackson, Devlin said.

Neither Rappa nor Jackson were in danger at the time, Devlin said, as Soulemane was in the drivers seat of the Hyundai and they were outside of the vehicle, and, although Soulemane held a knife, he was not using the knife against them nor presenting any imminent threat to do so.

Devlin questioned whether North actually believed that Jackson and/or Rappa were attempting to enter the vehicle. According to Norths body camera footage, Devlins report says, North tells Trooper First Class Colin Richter he had fired after Soulemane pulled out the knife, not mentioning the need to protect Jackson or Rappa.

The passenger-side of the vehicle was locked, Devlin said, meaning the only way to get into the vehicle was through the broken window. North was looking intently into the car at close distance before firing, and thus aware of that, Devlin said.

It is simply unreasonable to believe that Jackson or Rappa would intentionally place himself into a zone of lethal danger by crawling through the window knowing that an armed suspect (unaffected by the Taser deployment) was inside the car. A reasonable police officer would know that officers would not put themselves in such a vulnerable position, said Devlin. Such reasonable officer would further know that, since they would not enter the car, they did not need protection from a knife attack by Soulemane. In point of fact, neither Jackson nor Rappa entered the Hyundai and a reasonable officer would have expected them not to.

Devlin determined the concept of using force was unnecessary in and of itself, according to the report.

Devlin also said it was unreasonable to fire seven shots. One, he said, might have disabled Soulemane from attacking others yet not kill him.

The law is clear that 20/20 hindsight is inappropriate in evaluating an officers conduct given the split second decisions officers must make in dangerous situations. The law is also clear, however, that the officers conduct must be reasonable to be justified, said Devlin. In the present case, that standard of reasonableness was not met.
BEIJING (AP)  One month after a China Eastern passenger jet crashed mid-flight, killing all 132 people on board, investigators say they have not determined a cause.

A report issued Wednesday by the Civil Aviation Administration of China said no abnormalities had been found in the plane, its crew or external elements such as bad weather.

The report said investigators are still attempting to extract data from the heavily damaged black box flight data and voice recorders that might offer insight into the planes condition and the crews actions in the final minutes of the flight.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is helping download information from the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder.

Both black boxes are being analyzed by U.S. experts at a government lab in Washington, D.C.

The China Eastern Boeing 737-800 went into a sudden nosedive, appeared to briefly recover, and then slammed into the ground in a mountainous area on March 21. The crew made no report of problems before losing contact with air traffic control.

The crash left a 20-meter- (65-foot-) deep crater in a mountainside, shattered the plane and set off a fire in the surrounding forest. More than 49,000 pieces of plane debris were found. It took two days to find the cockpit voice recorder and six days for the flight data recorder, which was buried 1.5 meters (5 feet) underground.

Flight MU5735 with 123 passengers and nine crew members was headed from the city of Kunming in southwestern China to Guangzhou, a provincial capital and export manufacturing hub near Hong Kong in the southeast.

In addition to analyzing flight data, investigators will continue subjecting wreckage to scientific tests in search of clues, the report said.

China Eastern, one of four major Chinese airlines, and its subsidiaries grounded all their Boeing 737-800s, more than 200 planes, following the crash but have since returned them to service. The airline said the grounding was a precaution, not a sign of any problem with the planes, which are among the most relied upon by airlines worldwide.
As reactions continue to trail calls by the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUA), Afe Babalola, SAN, for the suspension of...

As reactions continue to trail calls by the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUA), Afe Babalola, SAN, for the suspension of the 2023 election, the Nigerian Senate on Tuesday described as unfortunate that such opinion is coming from a legal luminary.

Reacting to the development, Senate Spokesman, Senator Bashir Ajibola said, in as much as Senate will not join issues with him, it is very sad that such a comment is coming from a legal luminary that is so much respected by the people.

The Senate said the legal luminary might be offering his opinion against his knowledge of the law, as the procedure for amending the constitution to accommodate what he said, was clearly written.

Ajibola said: Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution as amended clearly states the procedure for amendment and as a lawyer, Afe Babalola supposed to know all this.

His comment is more political than legal and his suggestions cannot stand in line with modern reality. For instance, pegging the age of political offices is not in tandem with the provision of the Constitution as it stands today and even the America that we are copying doesnt have such provision in their Constitution.

On the job of a President is not a bricklayers job, it involves intellect and vision for the development of the country.

He further countered Babalolas belief that legislators do not have much to do, hence, they should be placed part-time, noting that legislators do not only make laws but do other legislative activities including oversight.

Speaking on the part-time legislators, he said the legal luminary appears not to understand the workings of the legislature.

We are not only making laws, but we carry out oversight functions.

We entertain the views of our constituents because we are not in a military era where somebody with a military fiat will come out with a new system of government without following due process, he said.

He advised the Senior Advocate of Nigeria to wait till the 10th National Assembly before coming up with his personal opinion for consideration.

All these things would have been suggested during the call for memoranda preparatory to Constitutional amendment. Unfortunately, he did not come up with any suggestions during the ongoing Constitutional amendment.

If he is so passionate about the suggestion he is making now, he should wait for the next Assembly where he will have the opportunity to submit his personal opinion for consideration, he said.
The Christian Association of Nigeria has demanded the sacking of the Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman, over a c...

The Christian Association of Nigeria has demanded the sacking of the Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman, over a controversial Easter advert.

In a statement signed on Wednesday by the National Publicity Secretary, Joseph Daramola, CAN stated that the advert was wicked and insensisitve towards Christians.

Sterling Bank faced backlash after the company published its Easter message, which compared the resurrection of Jesus to Agege bread.

The statement read in part, The attention of the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria has been drawn to an ungodly, wicked, insensitive and deliberately provocative advertisement of Sterling Bank, comparing the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ to Agege Bread amidst the Easter celebration.

In case the management of the Sterling Bank is not aware, the resurrection of Jesus witnesses to the immense power of God Himself. To believe in the resurrection is to believe in God. If God exists, and if He created the universe and has power over it, then He has power to raise the dead. If He does not have such power, He is not worthy of our faith and worship.

Only He who created life can resurrect it after death, only He can reverse the mystery that is death itself, and only He can remove the sting and gain the victory over the grave (1 Corinthians 15:5455). In resurrecting Jesus from the grave, God reminds us of His absolute sovereignty over life and death.

After the backlash, Sterling Bank apologised for the error with another message, which called for forgiveness, but also received negative comments.

The Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, in a statement signed by its Registrar and Chief Executive, Olalekan Fadolapo, said the body would punish Sterling Bank for posting what it described as an offensive and provocative advert.

CAN advised Christians to be wary of the banks they patronise, insisting that Suleiman and the Management of the bank showed hostility and hatred for the Christian faith.

The purported apology did not come from a penitent heart. How can someone in his right mind described the risen Christ as a loaf of bread. That is insulting, ridiculous and a mockery of Jesus Christ. We advise Christians to be wary of the banks and other financial institutions they are patronising.

We learnt that the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria has reportedly intervened in the matter with a view to impose some sanctions against Sterling Bank. The Christian Association of Nigeria is waiting for the decision of the organisation.

However, in the interim, we call for the immediate removal of the Chief Executive of Sterling Bank; Mr. Abubakar Suleiman with his Management whose actions have clearly shown their hostility and hatred for the Christian faith, the stated further read.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday warned of tougher security measures in restive parts of the country, with the review of operations...

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday warned of tougher security measures in restive parts of the country, with the review of operations and strategy.

Buhari reassured Nigerians that the efforts that resulted in relative peace in South-South, and rescuing of the North-East from the hold of terrorists would be ramped up.

Speaking at a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the President noted that major security challenges have remained in the North Central and North West, saying, We are going to be very tough.

I will like us to reflect on what the situation was before we came in. How many Local Government Areas were under the control of terrorists in the North-East?

In the South-South, we all know what the situation was, now we have relative peace. With the resources at our disposal, we have done very well.

People are very forgetful. Our main problem now is in the North West and North Central. People are killing one another in these places, what for? We are going to be very tough, he said.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has identified the two officers that died in an aircraft crash on Tuesday. The two officers  Abubakar ...

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has identified the two officers that died in an aircraft crash on Tuesday.

The two officers  Abubakar Alkali(pictured) and Elijah Karatu  were killed in the incident which took place at NAF Base, Kaduna state.

Oladayo Amao, chief of air staff, said the cause of the crash will be thoroughly investigated.

According to a statement by Edward Gabkwet, NAFs spokesman, the air chief spoke when he visited Kaduna to commiserate with families, friends, and colleagues of the pilots that lost their lives in the accident.

Elijah Karatu

Amao assured the officers that all measures will be taken to forestall future crashes.

Air Marshal Amao had constituted an Accident Investigation Board upon receiving the sad news of the crash yesterday, to determine the immediate and remote causes of the crash, the statement reads.

While at Kaduna earlier today, he assured the officers, airmen and airwomen of 401 Flying Training School that all measures will be emplaced to avert similar occurrence in the future.

He also reminded them on the need to remain steadfast and focused on their assigned roles and responsibilities in view of the onerous task before the NAF and other security agency to rid the Northwest and indeed the entire Nation of all criminal elements.

The unfortunate incident of yesterdays trainer aircraft crash is yet again a tragic reminder of the perilous nature of the military flying profession as well as the risks NAF pilots continually take, daily, to secure Nigerias territorial integrity.
Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, has said the President, Muhammadu Buhari , squashed a putrid egg against Nigerians faces with the pardon...





Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, has said the President, Muhammadu Buhari , squashed a putrid egg against Nigerians faces with the pardon granted ex-governors of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye; and Taraba State, Rev. Jolly Nyame.

He noted that it was an action that the people shall not forget  or wipe off  in a hurry.

Soyinka spoke in a statement on Tuesday titled, A putrid presidential Easter egg.

The playwright in the statement which he also addressed to the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, noted that he was impelled not to miss an opportunity to add his own Easter drop to the overflowing vessel of pietistic sentiments if only to reassure Christians  and also Muslims in turn  that even they, non-believers, do partake of the same ethical communion to which most humanity aspire.

Kukah had come under attack from the Presidency over his Easter sermon on Sunday via which he knocked Buharis regime over the countrys festering security challenges, corruption and disunity.

The National Council of State last week endorsed the pardon of Dariye, Nyame and 157 other convicts after the recommendation of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy.

The essayist said, Easter Greetings to you, Rev Mathew Kukah and to all your followers. All has been said, I think. I am impelled however not to miss an opportunity to add my own Easter drop to the overflowing vessel of pietistic sentiments if only to reassure Christians  and also Muslims in turn  that even we, non-believers, do partake of that same ethical communion to which most humanity aspire. Also, your Easter sermon opens up yet again those sluices of juridical hypocrisy to which we dare not cease to draw attention.

Such, in the immediate, remains the plight of two young men  Mubarak Bala and the musician Yahaya Sharif  one serving a sentence of 25 years, the other actually sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy. That word blasphemy comes into its authentic mode, in my view, whenever anyone violates a solemn oath of office. Its penitentiality becomes even redoubled when such violators are pampered with the prerogative of mercy.

Permit me to call special attention to the following from your sermon: Religious leaders. must face the reality that here in Nigeria and elsewhere around the world, millions of people are leaving Christianity and Islam. While we are busy building walls of division with the blocks of prejudice, our members are becoming atheists, but we prefer to pretend that we do not see this. We cannot pretend not to hear the footsteps of our faithful marching away into atheism and secularism. No threats can stop this, but dialogue can open our hearts.

Soyinka noted that he was persuaded that the recent largesse from the countrys President had already won a few hearts and minds to the ranks, if not of outright atheism, then at least to a healthy sceptical regard of piety spouting leadership that saw nothing wrong in attempts to extinguish the life of a young man for an honest declaration of conviction.

He added that conversely veterans of broken pledges were let loose to further infect a world they had betrayed.

The Nobel laureate stated, No pardon has been extended in the direction of endangered, youthful integrity. Of course, it is easy to track the trajectory of events. Nettled by increasingly scabrous comments, such as those of his predecessor in office, Olusegun Obasanjo, who declared that this incumbent has run out of ideas, that he has nothing left to offer the nation, Muhammadu Buhari decided to embark on the Easter train and donate an Easter egg of truly presidential proportions to his subjects.

Coming from a leader who had placed all his eggs in one basket, labelled Anti-Corruption, this is one egg squashed against Nigerian faces that they shall not forget  or wipe off  in a hurry. It evokes the legend of Pandoras box whose contents are alleged to constitute all the ills that plague the world. Putrid to the core, allied to power provocations in numerous variations, such as catapulting a notorious player in the martyrdom of a serving Minister of Justice to the hub of governance wheel, these define the nature of bequests that have brought the nation to this moment of near dissolution.

Precedents are no consolation, no excuses. One states the obvious in remarking that precedents either undermine or reinforce principles, and aspiring offenders, especially in the political domain, are encouraged or inhibited by the ease or difficulty of access to the fount of mercy. Officeholders, we presume, are constrained by the existence of that dangling Sword of Damocles  simply knowing that one day, the cloak of immunity will turn threadbare, and the awaited day of reckoning finds them answerable. Clearly, not any longer.

He further said, You will forgive, though disagree with me, I know, for clambering onto the Easter wagon myself, to echo the words of the One whose passage through the world the Easter season commemorates: It is finished!
An order of nuns works to get medicine and supplies to Ukraine
Scientists find clues to cause of long COVID

The virus can linger in the body months after initial infection
A Russian soldier patrols at the Mariupol drama theater, on April 12 in Mariupol, Ukraine. A week later, Russia delivered what it said was a last-chance surrender ultimatum Wednesday to Ukrainian forces in the besieged port of Mariupol, whose desperate defenders, pleading for international help, declared that they were probably facing our last days, if not hours. Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images/TNS
The nonprofit foundation that controls the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has appealed a judges order to restore a bounty of perks to two of its past presidents for this year's festival.

On April 13, Judge Nicole Sheppard of the Orleans Parish Civil District Court granted a preliminary injunction sought by Demetric Mercadel and Michael Bagneris, two past presidents of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation Inc. The ruling essentially forced the foundation to continue providing Mercadel and Bagneris with the thousands of dollars worth of free and discounted Jazz Fest tickets, special access passes, parking and other privileges theyd received for years.

But in an appeal filed Friday with Louisianas 4th Circuit Court of Appeal, the foundations attorneys argue that Sheppard erred in granting the injunction. The foundation requested expedited consideration from the 4th Circuit, given that the 2022 Jazz Fest opens April 29. No hearing date has been set on the appeal.

If Sheppards preliminary injunction remains in place, the foundation must provide Mercadel and Bagneris with 70 free Jazz Fest tickets and the opportunity to purchase 100 more at half price. Theyd also each receive a free parking spot on the festival grounds; four laminated badges that grant access to viewing areas on the sides of the festivals three main stages; six silkie stick-on passes for access to guest viewing areas near the main stages; four wristbands for access to a private lounge on the festival grounds; and the privilege to buy Jazz Fest posters at a discount.

'Irreparable harm'

In the appeal, attorneys for the foundation said the lower court abused its discretion in requiring that Mercadel and Bagneris receive the 2022 Jazz Fest ticket package. They argued that the ruling requires "the taking and transfer" of Jazz Fest foundation property without a summary proceeding.

In addition to various legal and technical errors they say Sheppard made in her ruling, they contend that because the tickets and other perks have "a specific monetary value," Bagneris and Mercadel wouldn't suffer an "irreparable harm" if they had to pay their own way later this month while awaiting a trial on the merits of their cases.

By taking away the benefits, Bagneris and Mercadel argued in the lower court, the foundation was not honoring an implied contract to provide a lifetime of benefits for their volunteer work, and was not properly acknowledging the scope of that work.

For me, it was not simply a question of breach of contract, Bagneris testified. It was also a matter of disrespect. We felt disrespected.

The perks, and the status those perks afforded  such as watching performances from onstage  are nice, too, he said: You cant put a price tag on those kinds of magic moments. Thats the irreparable harm.

For years, past presidents of the Jazz and Heritage Foundation board - even though they were no longer voting members of the board - received the compensation package cited in the lawsuit.

Bagneris, a former Civil District Court judge and a 2017 mayoral candidate, was president of the foundation board from 2000 to 2002. Mercadel, a retired Entergy executive who now runs U.S. Rep. Troy Carters district offices, was elected board president in 2014 and completed her second term in 2016.

Board presidents are limited to serving two one-year terms. They must have previously been elected to at least one other executive position on the board.

Still board members?

One issue is whether or not Bagneris and Mercadel are still members of the foundation, even if they are no longer voting members of the board. Mercadel and Bagneris argued during the April 13 hearing before Sheppard that they are still foundation members and had been promised their benefits for life.

They received word in 2021 that the past presidents benefits were being taken away. Because the 2020 and 2021 Jazz Fests were canceled during the coronavirus pandemic, the upcoming 2022 Jazz Fest is the first since the past presidents tickets were cut off.

Eliminating perks to past presidents was not the only change made by the board, during internal discussions about best practices for nonprofits and concerns about potential tax-related issues. In its appeal, the foundation acknowledged it previously provided past presidents of the board with perquisites of service customarily accorded [current members of the board], but discontinued the purely gratuitous practice in order to continue to operate in accordance with best practices for nonprofit corporations.

Pricey passes, IRS issues

The benefits received by current members of the board are now capped at $9,000 in total value and are reported to the Internal Revenue Service. Each laminate badge is reportedly valued at $1,950, so a board member who accepted all four available laminates could then accept only another 15 or so regular admission tickets, which have a gate price of $90 apiece.

In her judgment, Sheppard said that the foundation must restore to Mercadel and Bagneris the full benefit package they had received through the 2019 festival, even though that package exceeds what current board members now receive.

Her judgment applied only to Mercadel and Bagneris, as they are the only plaintiffs. Another past president of the foundation board, David Oestreicher, attended the April 13 hearing but did not testify.

Mercadel initially requested that her suit, which was later consolidated with Bagneris identical suit, be allowed to proceed in private, in order to comply with what she said was a non-disclosure agreement the Jazz & Heritage Foundation asked her to sign in April 2021. It was not because I was trying to hide that I wanted tickets, she said during the April 13 hearing. I was trying to respectfully do what [the foundation] said.

Attorneys for both sides agreed to waive confidentiality for the April 13 hearing, and to allow a reporter to witness it.

Case unsealed

The Times-Picayune filed a motion in Sheppards court to intervene in the case. The motion asserted that the sealing order and the closure of hearings related to the case violate the First Amendment right of access, the Louisiana Constitution and Louisiana law.

The newspaper requested that Sheppard unseal all documents related to the case.

Sheppard granted that motion Monday, after the foundation waived any potential claims for breach of the confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements that Bagneris and Mercadel had signed.

CORRECTION: Earlier versions of this story mistakenly substituted Sheppard's name for that of Bagneris while describing who would receive free Jazz Fest tickets if the preliminary injunction granted by Sheppard were upheld. Bagneris and Mercadel would receive the tickets and other benefits.
A man is in the hospital with gunshot wounds after a 7th Ward shooting, New Orleans police say.

Police were notified of the shooting at around 9:12 a.m. They believe it occurred in the 1500 block of North Claiborne Avenue. The man went to the hospital via private conveyance with gunshot wounds. His current condition is unknown.

This was the third shooting in the 7th Ward in 14 hours. Six people were shot in three unrelated shootings, two of them fatally. Police have one of the suspects, Montreal Baham, 26, in custody.

This is a developing story. No other information was immediately available.
One person was shot dead and two others were wounded Tuesday night in a barrage of gunfire in New Orleans' 7th Ward.

The bloodshed was first reported at 6:43 p.m. at the intersection of Allen and North Rocheblave streets, and left people sobbing in the street. Byron Cole, who lives a block away, said he heard multiple gunshots, ran outside and saw a friend dead on the pavement and others wounded.

Police said a man was killed and a teenage girl wounded there. Emergency Medical Services took the girl to a hospital.

Soon, more gunfire erupted two blocks away at North Rocheblave and A.P. Tureaud Avenue, bystanders said. Ambulance attendants loaded two people onto gurneys there.

At around 9 p.m., police said a second teenage girl arrived at a hospital with gunshot wounds connected to the 7th Ward shootings.

The Police Department did not immediately release more information.
Vietnamese and Italian PMs applaud progress in strategic partnership

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi expressed their delight at the recent strides in the strategic partnership between the two countries during their phone talks on April 20.













Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the phone talks with his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi on April 20. (Photo: VNA)

The two leaders agreed to increase exchanges at all levels, continue to effectively implement the action programme to deploy the strategic partnership for 2021 - 2023, as well as cooperation mechanisms such as the political consultation and the joint committee for economic cooperation, and prepare for the 50th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Italy diplomatic ties and 10 years of their strategic partnership in 2023.



They noted with satisfaction that after nearly two years since the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect, bilateral trade had recorded encouraging results. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it reached 5.6 billion USD in 2021, up 20 percent from the previous year.



PM Chinh spoke highly of Italys inclusion of Vietnam on its list of priority countries for trade and investment cooperation in the post-2020 period, affirming that Vietnam will create the best possible conditions for Italian businesses to expand investment in the Southeast Asian country.



He called on Italy to soon ratify the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and urge the EU to remove the yellow-card warning against Vietnams seafood products, and recognise Vietnams vaccine passports, while providing favourable conditions for Vietnamese goods, especially agricultural and food products, and seasonal fruits, to enter the Italian market.



Agreeing with his counterpart on the proposals to further deepen the strategic partnership, PM Draghi pledged that the Italian government will push the parliaments ratification of the EVIPA.



He noted Italian firms want to continue investing in Vietnam in the fields of renewable energy, infrastructure, water resources management, and innovation.



PM Chinh thanked Italy for its active coordination in dealing with the recent scam facing some cashew nut exporters in Vietnam. In reply, PM Draghi said his country would look into the case and has ordered relevant agencies to prevent the hand-over of cashew nut containers.



On this occasion, PM Chinh sent his sincere thanks to the Italian PM, Government, and people for their timely supply of over 2.8 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for Vietnam via the COVAX Facility.



During the talks, the Vietnamese leader highlighted the countrys strong commitments made at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) regarding greenhouse gas emissions and converting to a green and circular economy with the aim of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.



He asked Italy, as an important member of the G7 and the EU, to help Vietnam access finance and technology to cope with climate change, digital transformation, and develop a green economy and renewable energy.



The Italian PM highly valued Vietnams commitments at COP26, noting that his country is ready to assist Vietnam in equitable energy transition.



The two PMs agreed that their countries will coordinate closely at multilateral forums, including the UN, UNESCO, the Asia - Europe Meeting (ASEM), and the ASEAN - EU framework.



Besides, they also exchanged views on international and regional issues of shared concern, including the East Sea and the importance of peaceful resolution of disputes on the basis of international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).



PM Chinh invited his counterpart to pay an official visit to Vietnam in the near future. The Italian leader accepted the invitation with pleasure and also invited PM Chinh to visit his country when possible.
First Financial Bank is now collecting books at all of its Northwest Indiana branches, including in Gary, Hammond, Hobart, Highland, Crown Point and Schererville.

The Cincinnati-based regional bank launched a book drive and financial literarcy outreach program to celebrate National Financial Literacy Month in April.

It's encouraging customers to drop off books that it will be donating to schools, libraries, churches and other community resources through April 30.

Financial literacy is the foundation for a thriving community and economic stability, said Roddell McCullough, chief corporate responsibility officer for First Financial Bank. Education is so important that we established it as a key pillar in our ALIVE strategy to help support the needs of low- to moderate-income communities. Thats why we are so proud to work with local organizations in each of our communities to promote literacy, and specifically financial literacy, for everyone.

The bank is seeking titles like "Bunny Money," "The Total Money Makeover" and other books and articles to promote financial literacy for all ages. It recommends donations of 11 specific books on subjects like saving and managing credit card debt.

It's part of First Financial's ALIVE strategy that provides "Access to banking services and capital, Lending in communities, Investments in local activities, Inclusion and empowerment, Volunteering of time, and Education through the facilitation of financial literacy."

First Financial Bank was founded in 1893 and now has 139 branches in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and its home state of Ohio. It has $16.3 billion in assets, $9.3 billion in loans and $12.9 billion in deposits.

For more information, visit bankatfirst.com.

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People have until the end of the week to submit to LaPorte County Historical Society Museum's annual photo contest.

The museum's 2002 Photo Contest has the theme "LaPorte County Streets and Signs" this year. It's an intentionally broad theme that's open to interpretation.

The deadline to submit your best photos is 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

"Don't forget that photos for the 2022 "Streets and Signs" Photo Contest are due on Saturday, April 23," LaPorte County Historical Society Museum Assistant Director Danielle Adams said in a press release. "Send in your color 8x10 photos of streets and signs of La Porte County. Winners will be announced the following Saturday. Your photo may also be featured in the 2023 Museum Calendar. You can find rules for entry and submission forms on our website."

People are encouraged to send images of "advertisements painted on the sides of our brick buildings, the street where you live, the sign for your favorite intersection or business, a bustling road covered in fall leaves and so much more," she said.

The photos must have been taken in 2021 or 2022 anywhere in LaPorte County. All ages can participate in the contest.

All entries will be displayed at the museum during the month of May. A curated selection of the submitted photos will be published in the LaPorte County Historical Society Museum's 2023 calendar next year.

The results of the contest will be announced to the public on April 29.

The museum at 2405 Indiana Ave., Suite 1 also just opened its prom exhibit.

"Fourteen dresses from our archives spanning from the 1930s to the 1990s are on display," Adams said.

To submit prom photos or if you have questions about the photo contest, email assistantdirector@laportecountyhistory.org.

For more information, visit laportecountyhistory.org.

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Metra will close its 147th Street/Sibley Boulevard Station in Harvey beginning May 16 as the agency undertakes a complete redo of the station that will include replacement of platforms and addition of an elevator to make the station accessible to people with disabilities. The station is expected to be closed to passengers for 12 to 15 months.

The project is the first major upgrade to the facility in three decades. For the duration of the project, passengers are advised to use either the Ivanhoe Station at 144th Street or the Harvey Station at 154th Street for access to Metra trains.

We understand that closing a station for any length of time can be a major inconvenience for our riders; however, the nature of the project wont allow us to accommodate passengers during construction, said Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski.

The project will replace the stations existing concrete platform with one made from a longer-lasting composite material. The existing headhouse and passenger shelters will also be replaced, and a canopy covering most of the platform area will be added. The new facility will also include elevator access to the platform, making it accessible to people with disabilities.

The 147th Street project also includes street-level improvements, including a new entrance with a covered staircase, conversion of the gravel parking area near the station entrance to a paved kiss-'n'-ride drop-off area, and addition of bicycle parking. The project will also improve pathways to the main parking lot on the east side of the tracks, and new lighting will be installed on the platform and along the sidewalk under the tracks.

Elgin-based IHC Construction Companies was awarded a $13 million contract for construction. Construction management, railroad labor costs and contingencies add $7 million to the project.

Design and construction of the project is being funded by the states Rebuild Illinois program, the Federal Transit Administration and a Cook County Invest in Cook grant.

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The United Steelworkers union and the steel industry are hailing a new Buy America policy that will mandate the use of American-made steel in federally funded construction projects.

The Biden administration moved this week to implement the policy from the Build America, Buy America Act that requires that federal dollars only be spent on infrastructure projects in which "all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in the project are produced in the United States."

We appreciate the commitment of the Biden-Harris administration to ensure that all federally-funded infrastructure and public works projects use iron, steel and other products that are made in America," said Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute. "As some federal programs do not apply Buy America requirements for the procurement of iron and steel products, we are pleased that todays initiative begins the process to remedy this situation by providing clear guidance to federal agencies for adopting appropriate Buy America requirements for all federally-funded infrastructure projects."

The policy was approved along with the bipartisan infrastructure bill last fall.

This announcement is an important first step toward ensuring the fullest possible implementation and enforcement of Buy America domestic procurement preferences by all federal agencies," Dempsey said. "But this represents just the beginning of a process, and we look forward to working in partnership with the administration and Congress to continue to ensure the use of cleaner American steel in all federally funded infrastructure projects.

United Steelworkers International President Tom Conway said the guidance ensures infrastructure spending will support good-paying jobs for U.S. workers, improve supply chains and rebuild the country's manufacturing base.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the feeble state of American manufacturing, while Russias invasion of Ukraine drove home once again the danger of relying on foreign-sourced products. A reinvigorated industrial base will help to safeguard Americas economy and security," Conway said. Americas workers stand ready not only to build new transportation systems, communications networks and other infrastructure through the IIJA, but to supply the raw materials, parts and components needed for all of those projects. These workers lead the world in responsible production practices, and theyll deliver unparalleled quality, ensuring new roads, bridges and other improvements stand the test of time. The USW looks forward to working with President Biden and his administration to finalize the Build America, Buy America guidance and unlock the full power of the IIJA.

Steel Manufacturers Association President Philip Bell said there was broad consensus that federally funded road, bridge and infrastructure projects should be built with "steel made by Americans for Americans."

"Clarification and strong enforcement of Buy America domestic procurement preferences will lead to an infrastructure that is made with the cleanest lowest carbon intensity steel in the world," he said.

Ongoing vigilance will be required to implement the policy and ensure federal tax dollars don't go to support foreign steelmakers, Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul said. Those public funds should benefit American factory jobs, not undercut them, he said.

"Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed into law last year, Congress and the administration worked together to expand coverage of Buy America across more programs to more construction materials and manufactured products as we rebuild our nation. The interim guidance issued today is a key milestone in the broadest expansion of Buy America since its inception, fulfilling the overwhelming demand of American taxpayers by closing loopholes and giving more opportunities to American manufacturing across a range of sectors," he said. While there is little doubt that agencies, contractors, and recipients will ask for waivers of these new requirements, we are thankful that time limits will be attached, along with increased scrutiny that the Made in America Office will provide. We look forward to continuing to work with the Administration and Buy America leaders in Congress to ensure the law is fully implemented to maximize job opportunities."

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CROWN POINT  A defense attorney told a Lake Criminal Court jury Tuesday evidence and testimony presented during a Gary man's murder trial this week won't match the picture painted by prosecutors during opening statements.

Antonio West, 54, is eccentric and talks quickly, but he was not celebrating the death of 39-year-old Shawn Rhyan Pewitt when he told police Sept. 8 was "one of the most beautiful days" of his life, attorney Kerry Connor said.

Instead, West was referring to his appointment that afternoon at a local Social Security office, Connor said.

Pewitt, of Rockvale, Tennessee, died from a gunshot wound to the chest in the 2500 block of Connecticut Street in Gary. He was found inside a stairwell leading to West's basement apartment.

Lindsey Lanham, a law student interning with the Lake County prosecutor's office, told the jury police questioned West about the events of Sept. 8.

"How could I forget that day?" West said, according to Lanham. "It was one of the most beautiful days of my life."

Lanham conceded the case was not "clean" or "simple" because addiction and drugs played a role in Pewitt's shooting death.

Lanham said the evidence would show Pewitt, his girlfriend and a Lowell man were doing drugs at a Gary home the night of Sept. 7 when West arrived and the girlfriend agreed to leave with him.

West gave the woman drugs all night but demanded payment in the morning, prosecutors alleged. West drove the woman to Lowell, where she obtained a check for $400 from a friend.

West and the woman went back to Lowell after West attempted to cash the check and it didn't go through, and West was stopped by Lowell police, Lanham said.

"She tells the officers she just wants to go home, but she learns that's not an option," she said.

The woman waited in West's car while he went to an appointment at 1:30 p.m. in Gary, returned to his apartment with him and had sex with him to pay off the drug debt, she said.

When Pewitt arrived and demanded the woman leave, West shot him once, ran up the stairs and yelled, "I just shot someone! Call 911!" before jumping in his car and leaving, prosecutors alleged.

Connor said the woman was the only eyewitness to the shooting.

She asked the jury to listen to the woman's testimony and reflect deeply on whether she's credible.

"If she says some of the things the state suggests, that's different than what she's previously said," the defense attorney said.

The woman was with two men  including Pewitt, the father of her child  at a crack house and decided to leave them to go with West, Connor said.

When Lowell police stopped West's car, the woman accepted a ride from an officer to pick up her belongings at another location but requested the officer bring her back to a parking lot where West was waiting with another officer, she said.

"She makes no attempt to get away," Connor said. "She chooses to go back to Mr. West."

Connor said she and her co-counsel, Sonya Scott-Six, had empathy for Pewitt's family, but his behavior in the hours before he was killed was questionable.

Evidence would show Pewitt stole two cars and a cellphone and was unaccounted for from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 8, Connor said. West's door was kicked in while he and the woman were out riding around.

West told police he remained at his 1:30 p.m. appointment for about two hours, but Pewitt was shot just before 4 p.m., Connor said.

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CROWN POINT  A judge sentenced a man Tuesday to a maximum of three years in prison for shooting at a man in 2019 after the man confronted him about being inside a vehicle in Gary.

Karriem Z. Branch, 22, of Gary, pleaded guilty last month to attempted battery by means of a deadly weapon, a level 5 felony.

Branch admitted he entered the man's car July 27, 2019, while it was parked in the 1100 block of East 45th Avenue in Gary.

When the man came to confront Branch, Branch used a gun he found in the man's car to shoot at the man, Lake Criminal Court records state.

Branch's attorney, Kerry Connor, said the man took Branch by surprise but there was no evidence Branch intended to kill him.

Branch cut off a GPS-equipped ankle monitor he'd been ordered to wear, but he was desperate to get out of a bad living situation, she said.

Connor said it would be best for Branch, his family and society if he were given the opportunity to serve the rest of his sentence on probation.

Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Arturo Balcazar said Branch's decision to abscond from electronic monitoring showed he wasn't a good candidate for probation.

Senior Judge Michael Bergerson gave Branch credit for showing remorse for his actions but granted Balcazar's request for a three-year prison sentence.

Branch already has served about a year in custody. With credit for good time, he was expected to serve approximately 15 more months before he's released, Connor said.

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CROWN POINT  A Cedar Lake man was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years in prison for two acts of domestic violence in 2020 against his ex-girlfriend, two of her family members and her four children.

Eric Olson, 30, agreed to the sentence last month when he pleaded guilty to attacking the woman and telling her children he would kill her March 18, 2020, striking her with a metal rod in October 2020 and threatening two of her family members with a gun.

Olson, who had been in custody at the Lake County Jail since a standoff with police Oct. 20, 2020, at his home, was expected to be sent to the Indiana Department of Correction to complete his sentence.

Lake County Supervisory Deputy Prosecutor Nadia Wardrip said her office came close to dismissing the cases against Olson last year because of a lack of cooperation from the victims.

Prosecutors threatened the victims and witnesses in the case with arrest and charged Olson's mother, Mary J. Olson, with felony obstruction of justice in connection with allegations she was interfering with the state's subpoena process, Wardrip said. The mother pleaded not guilty.

Eric Olson's plea agreement called for a recommendation that he participates in the Department of Correction's Purposeful Incarceration Program, which was designed to address addiction issues. If he successfully completes the program, he can petition the court to modify his sentence.

Wardrip said the plea deal was fair and asked Senior Judge Michael Bergerson to accept it.

Defense attorney Maryam Afshar-Stewart said Olson was supported by his family. He has three children  none of whom are in common with the victim in his cases  and he wants to support them, she said.

Olson said he was raised by a single mother and "drifted into the streets," despite support from his grandparents.

He moved from Chicago to Indiana after a shooting left him wounded and his friend dead, he said. However, he began using drugs and stayed in the relationship with the victim in his cases longer than he should have, he said.

"I really want to get the help I need," he said. "I've been battling addictions."

He apologized to the woman and her family.

Bergerson said Olson showed potential and wished him luck.

"You've got to find some peace, I guess, at some point in your life," the judge said.

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Tiarra Glenn initially claimed that the child had been told to stand in a corner to discipline her for not eating, police said. Glenn told police the girl began crying hysterically because she did not want to go in the corner, and started to hyperventilate, defecated on herself and then became unresponsive.

Doctors determined the girl had a life-threatening brain injury, and she was later airlifted to Comer Children's Hospital. Doctors stated it appeared the damage was from lack of oxygen.

Officers spoke to medical staff, who said the child appeared to have been battered and abused based on bruises covering her body from head to toe, which were documented with photos.

Medical staff and police also noted a bite mark on the child's abdomen, bruising in the shape of three fingers on her chest and belt marks on her legs, thighs and buttocks. There was also blood on her lips, redness around her neck, bruising on her feet, redness under her armpit and a bump or bruise on her forehead.

The child suffered traumatic brain injuries, and a CT scan revealed acute hemorrhages, officials said.

Sister describes abuse

The girl's 5-year-old sister said Allen made the younger girl stand in the corner Tuesday and was forcing her to "make an 'X' on the corner," records show.

Tiarra Glenn told investigators "making an 'X' in the corner" refers to making the child spread her feet and hands out against the wall to form an "X" and stay in the position for a long time.

Allen tied the girl's hands behind her back, and after she broke loose, Allen re-tied the child's hands and forced her into the bathroom, turned off the lights and closed the door, officials say. Allen allegedly beat the girl with a belt because she wouldn't make an "X" on the wall.

The child further told police that her sister had soiled herself and passed out, at which time Tiarra Glenn told the 5-year-old to put the fan on her sister. Then the child said they cleaned the whole house and her mom called police.

Tiarra Glenn, who is three months pregnant, said she was angry with the 3-year-old Tuesday and hit her with a belt at least six times, after which time she was beaten again by Allen, police said. Tiarra Glenn said she saw Allen carry the child into the living room because she was hyperventilating.

Allen had tied the girl's hands behind her back and covered her eyes, nose and mouth with a black scarf, police said.

Allen then took the girl back into the closet and after she was not able to do what he wanted her to do on the wall, he began to strike her several more times.

Allen carried the girl into the living room, according to police. She was not wearing a shirt, her hands were still tied behind her back and she had urinated and defecated on herself.

Tiarra Glenn and Allen allegedly changed the girl's clothes, washed her up, cleaned the apartment and after 20 minutes passed, Glenn did a Google search of hyperventilation. The internet directed that she should call 911, so she called for an ambulance.

Long list of charges

Allen is also charged with battery resulting with serious injury to a person under 14 years old; neglect of a dependent resulting in serious injury; battery resulting in serious injury; battery resulting in injury to a person under 14 years old; neglect of a dependent resulting in injury; battery resulting in injury; battery on a person less than 14 years old; and neglect of a dependent where the child is placed in a situation that endangers them.

Glenn faces charges of battery resulting with serious injury to a person under 14 years old; neglect of a dependent resulting in serious injury; battery resulting in serious injury; battery resulting in injury to a person under 14 years old; neglect of a dependent resulting in injury; battery resulting in moderate injury; battery on a person less than 14 years old; and neglect of a dependent where the child is placed in a situation that endangers them.
CROWN POINT  Lake County prosecutors recently dropped charges against a Gary man accused of shooting a woman as others, including children, ran for cover Dec. 22, 2019, in the 300 block of Wilson Street in Gary.

Dangelo M. Crawford, 30, had been scheduled to appear for a status hearing last week in Lake Criminal Court.

The hearing was canceled after Judge Samuel Cappas granted the state's motion to dismiss charges against Crawford.

Prosecutors were unable to meet their burden of proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt "due to contradictions in the evidence," according to court filings.

Crawford's co-defendant in the case, 27-year-old Dion Clayton, was shot to death May 4, 2020, at a gas station in the 4500 block of Broadway.

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CROWN POINT  Special prosecutors in the case against Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. asked a judge this week to deny the sheriff's motion to certify an interlocutory appeal, reiterating their position that a grand jury was conducted fairly and warning a dismissal would accomplish nothing but further delay.

Special Judge Jeryl Leach set a hearing on the matter for 2 p.m. April 27.

Martinez is seeking Leach's permission to ask the Indiana Court of Appeals to review Leach's previous decision not to dismiss Martinez's indictment. If Leach grants Martinez's motion, the higher court still would have to agree to review the case.

Martinez has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of resisting law enforcement and a misdemeanor count of reckless driving.

Martinez's attorneys, Paul Stracci and Michael Woods, accused Special Prosecutor Stanley Levco and an Indiana State Police commander of unduly influencing "the neutral and detached atmosphere" of grand jury proceedings in January.

The alleged imposition on the grand jurors' will or independent judgment was so "flagrant" that a dismissal of the indictment is required, the defense attorneys said.

In a response, Levco and co-counsel David Thomas wrote Martinez's motion for an appeal should be denied because "there is virtually no chance an appellate court will agree" with Martinez that the grand jury was conducted unfairly.

"While the defense could try to prevent a refiling of charges if an appellate court dismissed these charges, the most likely result of such a dismissal is the immediate refiling of (at least) these charges," the prosecutors wrote. "In that case, the only thing that would be accomplished is another delay in a case the defense originally claimed they wanted to be tried as soon as possible."

The sheriff is accused of driving at speeds of up to 50 mph over the speed limit on Taft and Main streets in Crown Point and Merrillville in September and not stopping for two Crown Point police officers, who were chasing his unmarked Jeep Trackhawk with their lights and sirens activated.

The chase ended when the driver, later identified in court records as Martinez, turned on his own emergency lights and the officers backed off without stopping him, Crown Point police said.

Stracci told Leach during a January hearing that Martinez wanted to move the case forward as quickly as possible so the sheriff would not be "further prejudiced" in terms of the upcoming primary election.

Leach initially set a trial for April, but Stracci asked in March for a continuance because the defense was still waiting for responses to its subpoenas.

Leach rescheduled Martinez's trial to begin Aug. 15.

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HAMMOND  Valparaiso health care business owners were sentenced Tuesday for years of not filing federal income tax returns.

U.S. District Court Judge Jon E. DeGuilio is releasing Robert and Shelly Wilson on probation but requiring them to pay more than $360,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

The U.S. attorneys office first charged the couple in 2018 with conspiracy to defraud the IRS and tax evasion over an eight-year period between 2008 and 2015.

Robert T. Wilson, 58, and his wife, Shelly A. Wilson, 56 admitted last December they committed the misdemeanor of willfully failing to file tax returns between 2014 and 2016.

Government prosecutors agreed to dismiss other charges alleging the Wilsons filed false returns and recommended the couple receive probation rather than prison time in return for their cooperation on the case.

Defense attorney Scott King said the Wilsons, who operated a home health care business known as Anchor Health Systems, got into trouble when they took tax advice of a former friend and schoolmate of Robert Wilson, who claimed he could significantly save them taxes.

King states in an earlier memo to the court, Unfortunately, later events would demonstrate that that decision was disastrous.

King said Wilsons friend, Scott C. Cole, was indicted three years ago and pleaded guilty in 2019 to tax evasion and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

King said that once the Wilsons learned of Coles legal problems, they hired an accountant to unweave the disaster wrought by Cole, but not in time to avoid being charged themselves.

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VALPARAISO  Online investigators said they nabbed a Valparaiso man with tens of thousands of digital images and video of child pornography, including children as young as 9 years old.

The internet protocol address linked to the accused, 38-year-old Eric Justin Murphy, is described in a charging document as a "very active distributor" of the material.

Murphy reportedly told police he came across the child pornography while doing online research and "wanted to rid the world of it."

"Murphy also stated that he takes sleep medication called Ambien and sometimes after Ambien he goes into an 'electronic trance' and does things on the computer which he doesn't remember doing," a charging document reads.

Murphy, who was booked into Porter County Jail on Tuesday, is charged with two felony counts of child exploitation and two felony counts of possessing child pornography, records show.

He is to make an initial court appearance Thursday morning before Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary DeBoer.

A state police detective states in a charging document that a Homeland Security investigator was reviewing child sexual abuse material leads when on Dec. 3, 2020, an active IP address in Valparaiso was noticed.

A detective with the Indianapolis Metro Police Department reportedly obtained several child pornography downloads from the IP address linked to Murphy through a BitTorrent peer-to-peer file sharing network.

Indianapolis police provided Homeland Security with the downloaded material, which included hundreds of images and videos, a court document claims. Descriptions of the material include nude images of girls as young as 9 and 11, and a video involving multiple underage girls.

Police searched Murphy's home on May 13 and said they seized a hard drive containing tens of thousands of files of child pornography.

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HAMMOND  Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Thomas McDermott Jr. is celebrating Wednesday's high holy day for marijuana aficionados by releasing one of the most audacious campaign ads in Indiana political history.

The first sound you hear is a lighter sparking. And then, just three seconds into the nearly two-minute video, McDermott deeply inhales  twice  from a marijuana cigarette before passing it to a friend on the left.

"The legalization of cannabis is important in this campaign," McDermott says in the ad. "Veterans deserve this. Some of the people I served with (in the U.S. Navy) use it medicinally for anxiety and PTSD-related issues.

"Here's the bottom line: We need to legalize marijuana on the federal level. We need to also legalize cannabis in Indiana as well, so that Hoosiers can get the health and the economic benefits of cannabis. That's the future we all deserve."

McDermott is the second Democratic U.S. Senate candidate to smoke marijuana in a campaign ad this year after Gary Chambers in Louisiana first did it in January.

But no candidate for statewide office in Indiana ever has allowed himself to be recorded using cannabis and then released that video to try to cut across traditional party lines and appeal to the more than 8 in 10 Hoosiers that polls show favor legalization of either medicinal or recreational marijuana.

"Hoosiers are going in droves over the borders in Michigan and in Illinois, on a daily basis, to buy cannabis," McDermott said. "Then they return home and they're doing so at risk that if they are pulled over they can be charged with a felony  they can be charged with a crime, they could be thrown in jail, they could lose their job  to buy something that's completely legal in 37 out of the 50 states.

"It's not right."

Indeed, McDermott and his friends shown talking about the benefits of marijuana in the ad, including two attorneys, a physician, a professional distiller, and Hammond City Councilman Dave Woerpel, traveled one mile into Illinois, where marijuana is legal, to light up and record the commercial.

McDermott said the marijuana he consumed was purchased at Mission Dispensary in Calumet City, Illinois, located just west of Hammond, the city of nearly 80,000 residents he's led as mayor since 2004.

"None of us did anything wrong. We purchased a product in Illinois. We consumed it there. Everything was done legally," McDermott said. "We're in the dark ages in Indiana still worried that we're going to get arrested for having it. It's time for it to come to an end.

"So many people are intimidated about talking about cannabis, and I'm going to break that stereotype. I'm a very successful person and I've used cannabis before."

McDermott said if he was serving in the U.S. Senate right now he would vote in favor of advancing to the president's desk the House-approved Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, which currently is stalled due to a Senate tradition requiring a 60-vote supermajority to pass most measures.

The landmark legislation, backed by U.S. Reps. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, and Andre Carson, D-Indianapolis, would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, establish procedures for expunging previous marijuana convictions from people's records and impose a tax on the sale of cannabis products.

That, in theory, could lead to marijuana being legalized in Indiana, where Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb and Statehouse Republicans repeatedly have said they will not consider any marijuana legalization proposals while the drug still is classified by the federal government as an illegal controlled substance.

McDermott said Indiana is losing out on cannabis-related manufacturing, retail and agricultural jobs, as well as millions of dollars of marijuana-related economic growth and health benefits, by not already legalizing marijuana under a nonprosecution policy initially adopted by the U.S. Justice Department in 2013.

He observed that about 70% of the vehicles in the parking lot at Mission Dispensary have Indiana license plates, and Mission is just one of many dispensaries operating near Indiana's borders.

"We're passing up opportunities to reduce veterans' dependence on opioids, and peoples' dependence on opioids altogether, using cannabis as an alternative," McDermott said. "I've seen dozens of people die of overdose deaths as Hammond mayor and never once have I seen anyone overdose on cannabis."

McDermott emphasized that his position in favor of marijuana legalization applies only to adults and only in appropriate circumstances.

For example, he and his friends had a designated driver to bring them back to Indiana after filming the commercial where they used marijuana in Illinois.

"I approach it like alcohol. If you're going to use it, use it in appropriate situations," McDermott said. "Just because weed would be legal doesn't mean we'd advocate people driving with it or we'd advocate kids having it. They shouldn't. You don't do it at work. You don't do it before work. It's all the same rules that apply to alcohol."

McDermott also said he's only focused on legalizing cannabis. He's not looking to legalize any other drugs because none are as comparatively safe as cannabis, he said.

"The most dangerous thing about marijuana, in my opinion, is obtaining it," McDermott said in reference to states like Indiana where cannabis remains illegal. "The actual product itself is not that harmful."

In addition to the risks of obtaining marijuana in Indiana's unregulated marketplace, McDermott said he saw in his past work as a public defender the negative and uneven effects of marijuana arrests on individuals nabbed for possessing the drug.

He said marijuana arrests tend to target racial or ethnic minorities, and individuals with low incomes, who often lack the resources to obtain an attorney and get their criminal cases either thrown out or reduced to a significantly lesser charge.

"A lot of times people just plead to the charge and it just goes on their record and it keeps them from a good college, it keeps them from good jobs. Some people can get fired for it," McDermott said. "Why should anybody have to worry about losing their job over this issue? It's a plant."

It's not yet known what effect McDermott's enthusiastic embrace of marijuana legalization will have in his Nov. 8 general election contest against U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., for a six-year year term representing Indiana in the U.S. Senate.

The Young campaign, when asked by The Times for the senator's position on marijuana legalization, pointed to a statement Young made as a 2014 U.S. House candidate that medicinal marijuana should remain a state-level decision.

"We need to respect the state prerogative here," Young said. "I suspect, though, that this is an area that will continue to evolve in the law, and we'll have to adapt accordingly."

For his part, McDermott said while marijuana isn't the most important issue Hoosiers are facing right now, it's the best way for him to show Indiana voters who he is and how he'll lead if they elect him to the Senate.

"This is how I feel. This is no political BS, no political calculation. This is how I feel. That's why I'm doing it," McDermott said.

"The only way I'm going to win this race is to be 100% authentically Tom McDermott, and that's what I'm doing. I'm not going to BS people. I'm not going to freaking lie. I'm just going to be honest and tell people how I feel. We're all adults, we can talk about this issue. Obviously people smoke marijuana. I mean, I did it, it was in Illinois, and it was completely legal. It's fine."

In addition to the marijuana ad, McDermott is beginning a "Weed Tour" of the Hoosier State on Wednesday alongside other marijuana legalization advocates, including Indiana secretary of state candidate Destiny Wells and Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears.

The four-day, seven-stop tour will highlight the economic and health care opportunities associated with marijuana legalization that Indiana is giving up by being among the last states to take that step.

"We have seen the impact that recreational and medicinal cannabis use has made on the states around us, and not only are Hoosiers contributing to neighboring states economies, Indiana is now on the verge of losing out altogether," said Mike Schmuhl, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party.

"It's unfortunate to see Indiana Republicans have no plan on cannabis, and instead, see them oppose this common sense policy due to partisanship. Democrats have taken the lead on this effort because its a win-win for the states economy and for Hoosiers altogether. Legalizing cannabis will also fulfill Democrats consistent promise of creating a better future for our families."

The Democrats' Weed Tour kicks off in Indianapolis, and features stops in Fort Wayne and South Bend on Thursday, Lafayette and New Albany on Friday, and Terre Haute and Evansville on Monday.

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GARY  For U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, the nearly $6.7 million in recent federal grants to this city are more than just dollars. They reflect a day of promise for the city of Gary.

Mrvan, D-1st, said the funds for sewers, air travel, trails and police work are giving hope  making Gary more livable.

Mrvan joined Mayor Jerome A. Prince and other officials at a City Hall press conference to announce the following federal grants to the city:

 $3.5 million for environmental infrastructure in the Gary Sanitary District, matched with $1.16 million by the city.

 $2 million to the Gary/Chicago International Airport.

 $682,000 for the Marquette Greenway Trail.

 $500,000 to the Gary Police Department.

The grants to Gary are part of $45 million in federal earmarks for projects around Northwest Indiana.

These grants, Prince said, will move Gary forward.

Funding for the GSD, the mayor said, will pave the way for future commercial and residential development, as well as help current residents.

The sewer project involves increasing the capacity of the force main from a 42- to a 48-inch pipe. This increased space, the mayor explained, will allow water to flow freely to the wastewater treatment plant, with less water going into Lake Michigan.

Councilwoman Mary Brown, D-3rd, whose district is directly affected, called this project extremely important.

Citing complaints she receives about residential flooding, Brown said, This [project] is great. Im really happy about this.

Prince cited the importance of the project in promoting economic development, encouraging businesses to move here and inviting young people to move into the neighborhood.

Mrvan said this project impacts neighboring communities, as Hobart, Lake Station and Merrillville all feed into the GSD system.

With cargo transport growing at the airport, Prince said grant dollars will go toward fire and snow removal equipment. The police grant will enhance existing technology. Trail funds will connect the project from west Gary to east Hammond.

Expressing his thanks to Mrvan and President Joe Biden, Prince noted, Gary has the resources it needs to be a great city. Were creating a cleaner, safer community that everyone can be proud of.

With airport improvements for cargo transport, the mayor continued, We are going to compete. Utilizing this asset, doing it right, we will compete globally.

The Marquette Greenway Trail is a planned regional trail extending through Northwest Indianas Lake Michigan shoreline running between Chicago and New Buffalo, Michigan.

Money for the trail will finance engineering on the section of the trail near the Cline Avenue Bridge.

Police Chief Brian Evans said the federal money will expand and enhance his departments existing technology, including license plate readers and body cameras. It will also aid local police do their jobs better, the chief said.

Since installing new technology last year, Gary Police have recovered 110 stolen vehicles and made arrests in four homicides since October, the chief said.

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VALPARAISO  While the repair has been completed, a water boil advisory is still in effect for some Valparaiso residents through Tuesday as test results are pending.

Steve Poulos, executive director for Valparaiso City Services, said he hopes the boil advisory can be canceled Wednesday.

Poulos said the damaged water main servicing the south half of the city was repaired late Monday, restoring water service to customers. However, testing results to ensure the water is safe to use normally takes up to 48 hours, so officials must wait on those results to cancel the boil advisory.

He said the city will alert affected residents and post updates on the website www.valparaisoutilities.org.

Valparaiso Community Schools canceled classes for select schools Tuesday in light of the boil advisory, however in-person learning will resume Wednesday with precautions, a news release said.

The schools affected include Ben Franklin Middle School, Memorial Elementary School, Central Elementary School, Heavilin Elementary School, Parkview Elementary School and Valparaiso Alternative Learning Experience.

While the advisory is in effect, students must use hand sanitizer as an extra step after hand washing and water refilling stations will be turned off. Students are encouraged to bring bottled water from home and additional bottled water will be offered to students and staff.

In addition, water from the plumbed lines will not be used in food preparation. School breakfast and lunch will be prepackaged.

Once the boil advisory is lifted, plumbed lines including fixtures, ice machines, dispensers and more will be flushed and cleaned.

Our partners with the city have been phenomenal in keeping us updated as we've rallied as a team to create the circumstances to get VCS students and staff back to school despite this unforeseen situation," Valparaiso Superintendent Dr. Jim McCall said.

On Monday, all water customers located along and south of Evans Avenue in Valparaiso, including all of U.S. 30 and areas south of U.S. 30, were urged to boil their drinking and cooking water before using it through at least Wednesday.

The precautionary boil advisory was due to a 12-inch water main break at State Road 2 and Horse Prairie Avenue that temporarily reduced customer water pressure and interrupted water service.

To do so, all cooking and drinking water should be heated and allowed to boil for at least five minutes and then cooled before use.

Valparaiso residents and businesses in the affected area should continue to boil their water until a subsequent announcement that boiling no longer is recommended.

Poulos said a water microbiology laboratory tested the city's water to ensure it meets the required bacteria standard before the boil advisory is lifted and the advisory may be extended if additional testing is required.

More information about complying with the boil advisory is available by calling Valparaiso Utilities customer service at 219-462-6174 or visiting the frequently asked questions section of the valparaisoutilities.org website.

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Russia assaulted cities and towns along a boomerang-shaped front hundreds of miles long and poured more troops into Ukraine on Tuesday in a potentially pivotal battle for control of the countrys eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.

If successful, the Russian offensive in what is known as the Donbas would essentially slice Ukraine in two. In Mariupol, the now-devastated port city in the Donbas, Ukrainian troops said the Russian military was dropping heavy bombs to flatten what was left of a sprawling steel plant and hit a hospital where hundreds were staying.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Moscows forces bombarded numerous Ukrainian military sites, including troop concentrations and missile-warhead storage depots, in or near several cities or villages.

Those claims could not be independently verified.

In what both sides described as a new phase of the war, the Russian assault began Monday along a front stretching more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) from northeastern Ukraine to the countrys southeast.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian military was throwing everything it has into the battle, with most of its combat-ready forces now concentrated in Ukraine and just across the border in Russia.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:

 Russian forces are attacking along broad east front, Ukraine says

 Displaced people from across Ukraine seek shelter in Lviv apartment building

 Yellen to see Ukraine PM, avoid Russians at global meetings

 Global finance meeting focuses on war-driven food insecurity

 UN chief urges 4-day Easter pause in fighting in Ukraine

Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

UNITED NATIONS  U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling for a four-day halt in fighting in Ukraine, starting Thursday to coincide with Orthodox Christians Holy Week observances.

Noting that Orthodox Easter is coming amid an intensifying Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, the U.N. chief said Tuesday that the need for a humanitarian pause is all the more urgent.

Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya called on Russia to heed Guterres call.

But Russian deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said Tuesday he was a bit skeptical about the idea.

Guterres said the goal is to allow for evacuating civilians from current or expected areas of confrontation and or getting more humanitarian aid into desperately needy places such as Mariupol, Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson. More than four million people in those areas need assistance, Guterres said.

The proposal comes after the U.N. recently helped to foster a two-month truce in Yemens civil war, halting fighting as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began.

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden is expected to announce a new security assistance package in the coming days that will include additional artillery and ammunition, according to a U.S. official.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said details of the latest package are being finalized.

Last week, in anticipation of Russias offensive in eastern Ukraine, Biden approved an $800 million package including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery. The U.S. has sent about $2.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russian invaded.

Asked by reporters whether hed be sending more artillery, Biden said Yes.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said providing more ammunition and security assistance to Ukraine was discussed by Biden and other allied leaders during a video call on Tuesday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italy Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson took part in the more than 80-minute call.

 Aamer Madhani contributed to this report from Washington.

OTTAWA, Ontario  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will send heavy artillery to Ukraine.

Trudeau says hes been in close contact with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Canada is very responsive to what Ukraine needs. He says there will be more details on the pledge in the days to come, and that Ukrainians have fought like heroes.

Canadas government has also hit 14 more Russians with sanctions for their close ties with President Vladimir Putin, including his two adult daughters.

BERLIN  The International Atomic Energy Agency says direct phone communications between the decommissioned Chernobyl power plant and Ukraines nuclear regulator have been restored.

Ukraine informed the Vienna-based U.N. nuclear watchdog on March 10 that it had lost direct contact with the plant, the site of the 1986 disaster. Russian forces seized Chernobyl at the beginning of the invasion on Feb. 24 and withdrew on March 31.

The IAEAs director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said Tuesday that this was clearly not a sustainable situation, and it is very good news that the regulator can now contact the plant directly when it needs to.

Grossi plans to lead a mission of IAEA experts to Chernobyl to conduct nuclear safety and radiological assessments, deliver equipment and repair the agencys own remote monitoring systems there.

WASHINGTON  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged world finance leaders Tuesday to get concrete as they look for ways to combat a global crisis over food insecurity that's getting worse due to Russias war in Ukraine.

This threat touches the most vulnerable people the hardest  families that are already spending disproportionate amounts of their income on food, Yellen told fellow finance leaders during a food security meeting convened with members of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. People on every continent are impacted.

Failure to feed the worlds population risks not only starvation, but also social unrest and cross-border political upheaval. Among the proposed solutions: reducing export restrictions, relieving price controls and subsidizing small farmers.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday issued a carve-out to sanctions against Russia to allow agricultural transactions and trade related to humanitarian aid and access to communications.

Russia and Ukraine produce a third of the worlds wheat supply. The loss of commodities due to the war has resulted in soaring food prices and uncertainty about the future of food security globally, especially in impoverished countries. With fertilizer and natural gas costs exploding, leaders expressed concern that countries could turn inward and restrict trade to protect their populations, indirectly hurting more vulnerable countries that face even worse food problems.

David Malpass, president of the World Bank, said his organization will provide $17 billion per year to strengthen food security, and develop a 15-month crisis response package of $170 billion, that will address the pandemic, refugee resettlement and other issues alongside food supply.

KVIV, Ukraine  Russia is assaulting cities and towns across Ukraines eastern industrial heartland in a new phase of the war after losing about 25% of the combat power it sent into Ukraine, according to Pentagon estimates.

Capturing the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region would give President Vladimir Putin a badly needed victory, slicing Ukraine in two and depriving it of key industrial assets.

The Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said air-launched missiles destroyed 13 Ukrainian troop and weapons locations while artillery hit 1,260 Ukrainian military facilities and 1,214 troops concentrations over the last 24 hours. The claims could not be independently verified.

WASHINGTON  The U.S. militarys assessment of Russias renewed offensive in the Donbas region of Ukraine is that it has begun in a limited way, mainly in an area southwest of the city of Donetsk and south of Izyum.

When people say the offensive has begun, thats what theyre referring to, and were not pushing back on that notion, a senior U.S. defense official said.

The official said the Russians are taking actions to improve their ability to sustain combat operations in the Donbas and to prepare for what we believe will be larger offensives in the future.

The U.S. estimates that the Russian military has lost about 25% of the combat power it sent into Ukraine at the start of the war, so theyre refitting ground combat units for insertion into Ukraine. The official said the Russians added two more battalion tactical groups in the past 24 hours, for a total of 78. Thats up from 65 last week.

 AP Military Writer Robert Burns contributed to this report.

BERLIN  Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany will continue to enable weapons deliveries to Ukraine, with one possibility being systems from eastern European nations that would be easily and quickly usable.

Scholz has faced increasing pressure from within his own governing coalition and the main opposition party to deliver heavy weapons such as German Leopard tanks.

But Scholz said Germany and its partners in the Group of Seven industrial nations have concluded it makes more sense to send in systems already used in Ukraine, such as the Soviet-era weapons some NATO partners still have.

Western partners would help those countries with replacements.

After conferring with U.S. President Joe Biden and other Western leaders on Tuesday, Scholz said all of us will continue to support Ukraine, financially and also militarily.

The Kremlins diplomats are doing more online dirty work as governments and social media companies try to suppress Russias state media and the disinformation it spreads about the war in Ukraine.

Russian embassies and consulates are prolifically using Facebook, Twitter and other platforms to deflect blame for atrocities while seeking to undermine the international coalition supporting Ukraine.

With hundreds of social media accounts on every continent, Russias diplomatic corps acts as a global propaganda network, tailoring claims for each nations audience.

Tech companies have responded by adding warning labels and removing Russias diplomatic accounts from its recommendations and search results. But they remain active, as their diplomatic status provides more protection from moderation.

Each week since the beginning of the war these diplomats have posted thousands of times, gaining more than a million engagements on Twitter per week, said disinformation researcher Marcel Schliebs at the Oxford Internet Institute.

PRAGUE  Czech authorities have launched a preliminary investigation into possible war crimes committed in Ukraine during the Russian invasion.

Pragues High Public Prosecutors Office that oversees the investigation said Tuesday that the initial information from Ukraine shows signs of war crimes, according to international law.

The office said the purpose of the investigation is to secure evidence from witnesses and victims who have arrived to seek refuge in the Czech Republic. The Czechs coordinate their effort with the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation.

The investigators are focusing on suspected use of banned and illegal means and methods of warfare.

KHARKIV, Ukraine  Associated Press journalists in Kharkiv say at least four people were killed and three others wounded in a Russian attack on a residential area.

The attack on Tuesday happened as residents attempted to maintain a sense of normalcy in the eastern city, with municipal workers planting spring flowers in public areas.

Kharkiv is near the front lines and has faced repeated shelling from the Russian forces. Earlier on Tuesday, a regional governor in Kharkiv said 5 civilians had been killed and 17 wounded in the past 24 hours.

Also on Tuesday, an explosion rocked the eastern city of Kramatorsk killing at least 1 person and injuring 3, according to AP journalists at the scene.

 By Mstyslav Chernov in Kharkiv; Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine

MOSCOW  Russia said Tuesday it is expelling 15 diplomats from the Netherlands and an unspecified number of Belgian embassy staff in response to the expulsion of Russian diplomats by those countries.

The Russian Foreign Ministry says it has ordered 14 employees of the Dutch embassy in Moscow and one from the consulate in St. Petersburg to leave the country.

We expected Russia to take reciprocal measures. Nevertheless I regret this step. We are now going to see what the consequences are of the fact that so many colleagues have to leave Moscow and Petersburg, Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Wopke Hoekstra said.

That follows the Netherlands expelling Russian diplomats last month. Dutch authorities said they expelled 17 and alleged they had been using diplomatic cover to work as spies. The Russian Foreign Ministry said a total 18 people with diplomatic status were expelled from its embassy in The Hague, a trade mission in Amsterdam and the Russian representation at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which is based in the Netherlands.

The ministry added that the Belgian ambassador had been notified that embassy staff would have to leave by May 3, without saying how many people were affected. The ambassador of Luxembourg was summoned for an official protest after the small Western European nation expelled a single Russian diplomat this month.

LONDON  British officials say the next phase of the war in Ukraine is likely to be an attritional conflict that could last several months.

A senior U.K. national security official briefed the Cabinet on Tuesday, as Russia ratcheted up its battle for control of the eastern Donbas region.

Prime Minister Boris Johnsons spokesman said the official told ministers that Russias greater number of troops was unlikely to be decisive on its own against fierce Ukrainian resistance.

The official told Cabinet that there are signs Russia has not learned the lessons from previous setbacks in northern Ukraine, with evidence of troops being committed to the fight in a piecemeal fashion and some soldiers and units refusing to fight.

Johnsons spokesman, Max Blain, said the prime minister had told Cabinet that Ukraines position remained perilous, with Russian President Vladimir Putin angered by defeats but determined to claim some sort of victory regardless of the human cost.

MOSCOW  The Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya says he is certain that the Russian forces will uproot the last remaining pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the key port of Mariupol within hours.

Ramzan Kadyrov said on a messaging app channel that the Russian troops will finish off the Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol on Tuesday and take full control of the giant Azovstal steel mill, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the city.

Ukrainian troops have defended the strategic port on the Sea of Azov for seven weeks despite the Russian blockade and relentless barrage that flattened most of the city.

The Azovstal plant, which covers the territory of about 11 square kilometers (over 4 square miles), offered Ukrainian defenders a strong fighting position thanks to its sprawling network of underground tunnels and depots.

Kadyrov, whose forces have taken part in the fighting in Mariupol, has repeatedly made blustery comments about the citys inevitable fall.

ANKARA, Turkey  Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says he plans to speak with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts as part of Turkeys efforts to halt the conflict.

Cavusoglu told reporters that Turkey was also talking to P5 nations  the United States, China, France, Russia and the U.K.  and other countries about possible security guarantees for Ukraine, adding that Kyivs request for guarantees similar to Article 5 of the NATO treaty hadn't found support, especially among Western countries.

If there can be no guarantees (similar to) NATOs Article 5, then what options are there? We are taking care of such these details, Cavusoglu said. We must be prepared for the possibility of a cease-fire.

He was speaking during a joint news conference with Hungarys foreign minister in Ankara.

NATO-member Turkey, which has maintained its close ties to both Russia and Ukraine, has hosted a meeting between the two countries foreign ministers as well as talks between the two negotiating teams last month.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said he hopes to bring the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to the negotiating table.

MOSCOW  Russias defense minister has accused the U.S. and other Western nations of supplying Ukraine with weapons so that it continues fighting until the last Ukrainian.

Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday at a meeting with the top military brass that Washington and its allies are doing all they can to drag out Russias special military operation in Ukraine.

He noted that the growing supplies of foreign weapons clearly signal their intention to provoke the Kyiv regime to keep fighting until the last Ukrainian.

Shoigu said that the Russian military has consistently implemented the plan to fully liberate the Donetsk and Luhansk peoples republics.

Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years in the mostly Russian-speaking region eastern industrial heartland, Donbas, that includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. They have declared two independent republics that have been recognized by Russia.

SOFIA, Bulgaria  Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says security for his country also means security for Bulgaria and all other Black Sea countries.

We are fighting not only for our safety," Kuleba said after talks Tuesday with his Bulgarian counterpart, Teodora Genchovska. "We are fighting for you too, so that you never have to face the tragedy of Russias attempts to affect and damage your country.

Kuleba expressed understanding that many in Bulgaria have emotional and historic links to Russia.

But now its different  destroying, killing, torturing, raping," he said. "This is not a Russia that deserves sympathy and understanding. I want everyone to understand that.

No details of the talks have been disclosed, but media reports alleged that Kuleba may ask for a stronger engagement of Bulgaria in Ukraines defense from Russias aggression. Along with Hungary, Bulgaria is the only EU member that has so far been reluctant to send weapons to Kyiv.

During his unofficial visit to Sofia, Kuleba will also meet Bulgarias President Rumen Radev and Prime Minister Kiril Petkov.

MOSCOW  The Russian foreign minister says that Moscows campaign in Ukraine is entering a new stage.

Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Indian television broadcast Tuesday that the operation is continuing, and another phase of this operation is starting now.

Lavrovs statement follows Ukrainian statements that Russia on Monday launched an offensive in the countrys eastern industrial heartland, Donbas. Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years in the mostly Russian-speaking region and have declared two independent republics that have been recognized by Moscow.

Lavrov emphasized that the Russian operation is aimed at the full liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics.

AMSTERDAM  Automaker Stellantis says it is suspending production in Russia because of the impact of sanctions and logistical problems.

Stellantis was making vans in Russia under the Peugeot and Citroen brands at a factory in Kaluga which it shared with Mitsubishi. The Japanese manufacturer suspended its production there earlier this month.

Stellantis said Tuesday it wanted to ensure full compliance with international sanctions and protect its employees by suspending production. The company had previously warned the Kaluga factory was running low on parts. Many automakers with operations in Russia have struggled to import the components they need since the invasion of Ukraine began.

Based in the Netherlands, Stellantis is the worlds fourth-largest automaker with brands including Chrysler, Jeep and Fiat. It previously stopped vehicle shipments to and from Russia last month.

Russian authorities have criticized companies which shut down their operations, and warned they could take steps to put production facilities under state control.

MOSCOW  The Russian military has made a new demand to the Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol to lay down their arms.

Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev gave the Ukrainian troops holed up at the giant Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol until midday (0900 GMT) Tuesday to surrender.

He said that those who surrender will keep their lives.

Ukrainian troops who have defended the city for seven weeks have ignored such previous offers. The Azovstal plant, which covers the territory of about 11 square kilometers (over 4 square miles) is the last major Ukrainian pocket of resistance in Mariupol, a strategic port on the Sea of Azov.

Earlier Tuesday, Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the Russia-backed separatists in the Donbas region, said that assault groups had moved into Azovstal in a bid to uproot the Ukrainian troops following bombing and artillery barrage.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Ezra Miller, who has played the superhero The Flash in several movies and television series, is facing an assault charge in Hawaii after being accused of hurling a chair.

Miller was at a gathering at a private residence on the Big Island of Hawaii, according to the police. The 29-year-old actor became irate after being asked to leave, the police said, and was then said to have thrown a chair that struck a 26-year-old woman on the forehead, causing a half-inch cut.

The woman refused treatment, the police said. Miller was arrested at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday after a traffic stop, the police said, and later released pending further investigation.

That arrest was the second on Hawaii in less than a month for Miller, who is known for roles in superhero movies and Harry Potter spinoffs and for wearing surrealist, gender-bending outfits on the red carpet.
In a move widely seen as retaliation, Gov. Ron DeSantis asked Florida lawmakers on Tuesday to consider the termination of self-governing privileges that Disney World has held in the Orlando area for 55 years. He acted after Disney, the states largest private employer, paused political donations in Florida and condemned a new state education law that opponents call Dont Say Gay.

On Wednesday, the Florida Senate voted 23 to 16 to revoke the privileges starting in June of next year. The Florida House must now take up the measure.

The potential impact on Disney World is unclear. The privileges exempt the resort from certain regulations and fees.

The Florida Legislature had already been scheduled to convene this week for a special session on congressional redistricting. On Tuesday, Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, issued a proclamation allowing the Republican-controlled body to also take up bills that would eliminate special tax districts that were created before 1968.
Public health experts reacted with dismay to a federal judges ruling on Monday that struck down a mask requirement for plane, bus and train passengers, expressing concern that the case would set a precedent that erodes the authority of public health agencies and hampers their ability to respond to health emergencies.

The Florida judges ruling was issued less than a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had extended its mask order through May 3. The ruling also came in the middle of a school vacation that coincides with several major religious holidays, when many families are traveling to see relatives, some for the first time in two years.

Many airplane passengers flung their masks off and cheered when pilots made announcements saying that the rule was no longer in effect. Others who have disabilities, are immunocompromised or were traveling with children too young to be vaccinated were caught off-guard and distressed that the rules were changed literally mid-flight.

If this ruling stands, it could put the American public at great risk, said Dr. Richard Besser, president and chief executive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a former acting director of the C.D.C. He added that his concerns were less to do with the immediate consequences for mask mandates than with the implications for future crises, of the ability to put in place simple public health measures to keep people safe.
My prayers go out to all survivors of abuse, Bishop Sullivan added, and I pledge my continuing commitment to ensure that this terrible chapter in the history of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, never happens again.

The agreement comes about three years after New Jersey became one of a number of states to extend its civil statute of limitations, so that people who said they had been sexually abused as children could sue. New York took a similar step the same year.

The settlement also follows a 2020 bankruptcy filing by the diocese, which has 62 parishes and serves some 500,000 Catholics in six southern New Jersey counties. That filing came amid a growing number of abuse claims.

By then, Bishop Sullivan had named 56 priests and a deacon connected to the Camden diocese who had been credibly accused of sexually abusing children. The revelation was part of a broader disclosure by Catholic bishops in New Jersey that nearly 200 priests had been accused of committing such abuse in the state.

Under the settlements terms, the $87.5 million will go into a trust and be paid out over four years, according to the dioceses statement. Individual payouts will vary, the plaintiffs lawyers said, but the average per person would be around $300,000.
There are practical reasons, too, why it may be easier to curb emissions in the name of public health than in the name of climate change. The laws authorizing environmental regulation, including the Clean Air Act of 1963, were written as public health measures. Conservative federal judges are seeking to use that history to limit the governments ability to address climate change. When the Supreme Court in February heard arguments in a case challenging the Environmental Protection Agencys authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, several members of the courts conservative majority were openly skeptical that the agency has the legal authority to require the kinds of sweeping changes necessary to slow global warming.

The agencys authority to require clean air for the sake of clean air is on much firmer ground. And science is providing the justification for stricter standards. Researchers at the University of Chicago estimated last year that air pollution cuts 2.2 years off the average human life. The effects are worse where pollution is thickest. But a wave of recent research, built on big data and improved computer models, shows that even lower levels of air pollution  levels legal under federal law  have devastating consequences. Even people living in rural areas where the air feels fresh are often inhaling levels of pollution sufficient to cause serious health problems. An analysis of the health records of 68.5 million Medicare recipients, published this year, found that regular exposure to low levels of air pollution significantly increased the chances of an early death.

The greatest menace comes from combustion detritus and chemicals that form little clumps in the atmosphere that are so small that they can pass through the lungs and into the bloodstream. Studies in recent years have linked the inhalation of these particles with an astonishing range of health problems, including impaired cognitive development, diabetes and bone diseases.

Citing this accumulation of research, the World Health Organization issued new guidelines last year that advised countries to seek to reduce airborne concentrations of these fine particles to an annual average level at or below five micrograms per cubic meter.

The current standard in the United States is 12 micrograms per cubic meter.

In December 2020, the Trump administration announced that it would not lower that standard in a decision that West Virginias attorney general, who was invited to attend the nonevent, accurately described as a big win for West Virginia coal. The Biden administration has reopened the issue, and last month the E.P.A.s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee recommended a new standard between eight and 10 micrograms per cubic meter.

A lower standard would be even better, but any reduction would deliver significant health benefits and accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels necessary to limit global warming.

In the face of congressional fecklessness and judicial antipathy, the Biden administration needs to make forceful use of its legal powers to confront the menace of air pollution.
On Monday, a federal judge struck down a nationwide mask mandate on airplanes, trains, buses and other public transportation. The ruling left it up to individual airlines and local transit agencies to decide what to do. By late Monday, the nations largest airlines had dropped their mask requirements for domestic flights, and the Amtrak rail system had lifted its mandate.

For many, the announcement was welcomed. Travelers who were already on their way when the announcement came cheered and de-masked midflight. Some employees said they had been frustrated by having to police passengers. But for others, the announcement has been met with alarm and concern about the spread of the coronavirus.

Our reporters want to know how you feel about the announcement and whether it will change your masking behavior.
Its rare to encounter the kind of breathless silence I experienced during an unnerving hotel room scene in the unforgettable revival of Paula Vogels How I Learned to Drive.

On the night I saw the production, hundreds of audience members listened with rapt attention  I didnt hear anyone unwrap a mint or fumble for a tissue. I didnt even hear a whisper break the stillness in the air. There was just the steady buzz of the lights, suddenly deafeningly loud, as if they were performing their own monologue.

If I could direct a scene representing why I love theater, it would look something like this: Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse delivering crushing performances  both sentimental and horrific, utterly complex  of a Pulitzer Prize-winning play to an enthralled audience.

That the performances were so palpable, at least, wasnt a surprise; the two already had the play in their bones, having originated the roles Off Broadway in 1997. Mark Brokaw, who directed them 25 years ago, and the actress Johanna Day, have also returned for this overdue Broadway debut.
A Louisiana man who appeared to have been on a days-long drug binge with a woman killed her inside a car on Monday in an attack that he streamed online, showing himself stabbing, choking and torturing her, according to the authorities.

The livestreaming led to the man, Earl Lee Johnson Jr., 35, being charged with murder in the killing of Janice David, 34, who was found in the vehicle on Monday night with her hands bound and body bloodied from more than 10 stab wounds, Sgt. LJean McKneely, a spokesman for the Baton Rouge Police Department, said by phone.

Its a very gruesome, very evil act, he said at a news conference on Tuesday.

The video stream was posted on Instagram, which is owned by Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, according to Stephanie Otway, a spokeswoman for the company. The Baton Rouge Police Department had said earlier on Tuesday that the video had been streamed on Facebook Live, which is run by Meta.

Sergeant McKneely said by phone that Mr. Johnson did not have a lawyer as of Tuesday afternoon, and he could not be reached for comment.
As the administration considered its options on Tuesday, White House officials, including President Biden himself, were cautious in their public remarks. On a trip to New Hampshire to promote infrastructure spending, the president was asked by reporters whether people should wear masks on planes.

Thats up to them, Mr. Biden replied.

The Federal District Court judge in Tampa who struck down the mandate  Kathryn Kimball Mizelle  put forward a sharply constrained interpretation of the C.D.C.s legal authority under the Public Health Service Act of 1944. If her view prevailed, the agencys hands would be tied in future public health crises.

But a ruling by a district court judge is not a binding precedent. Appealing the matter would carry the risk that the court that oversees her  the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta  could issue a ruling that constrains the agencys future conduct at least in its region, the Southeastern United States. A majority of the judges on that circuit are also Trump appointees.

And above it, the Supreme Court has a six-to-three conservative majority. In January, it blocked a Biden administration edict that large employers require workers to get vaccinated or submit to regular testing. (On the other hand, the court has permitted military officials to require service members and reservists to get vaccinated; it also upheld a federal mandate requiring health care workers at facilities receiving federal money to be vaccinated.)

Dr. Thomas Frieden, who directed the C.D.C. for eight years under President Barack Obama, noted that the C.D.C. has very little regulatory authority and said other pandemic-related actions  including a moratorium on evictions and the use of the border authority known as Title 42 to keep immigrants from seeking asylum  may have, in effect, reduced the agencys political capital to keep the mask mandate in place.

The broader question is, what is the appropriate use of mandates, Dr. Frieden said. The clearest case is for interstate travel, and so there is the risk that by pushing the envelope on other issues, we lost some of the narrative on what is an appropriate use of mandates.

Some supporters of the mask mandate have viewed an appeal as risky.

As tempting at it is to appeal it, because its a ridiculous ruling, the bigger issue is that you need to reserve the ability for the C.D.C. to act in case we have a big outbreak in the fall or the winter, said Andrew Slavitt, a former senior health adviser to the president who helped run the administrations Covid-19 response.
We can say this much with confidence about David McCormick: The man is rich.

In ads and campaign appearances, McCormick, who is running in the Republican primary for a Pennsylvania Senate seat, emphasizes his roots in Bloomsburg, a small town along the states Susquehanna River.

But his personal financial disclosure statement, which is required of all candidates for federal office, paints the picture of a consummate New York and Washington insider.

Last year alone, McCormick pulled in more than $22 million in salary from Bridgewater Associates, the Connecticut hedge fund where he was chief executive until stepping down in January. He sold options in Bechtel, a politically connected global construction firm where he was a board member, for an additional $2.2 million. For serving on the board of In-Q-Tel, a nonprofit venture capital firm close to the U.S. intelligence community, he earned $70,000 more. (McCormick served as a member of the Defense Policy Board during the Trump administration.)

And thats just income. Because federal disclosure forms require candidates to list assets only within broad ranges, its not possible to calculate McCormicks net worth with any precision. But this much is clear: If McCormick were to win the Senate seat, which is being vacated by the retiring Pat Toomey, he would rank among the wealthiest members of Congress.
Russia rejected calls for a cease-fire to allow for civilian evacuations in Ukraine on Tuesday, saying that requests to pause the fighting were not sincere and would only provide time to arm Ukrainian fighters.

The rejection, delivered at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine, came just hours after the U.N. secretary general, Antonio Guterres, called for a four-day cease-fire to allow for evacuations in battle zones and safe corridors to bring in food and medicine.

Civilians, including children, remain trapped in the eastern Ukraine region of Donbas, where Russia has begun a new and more fierce offensive, as well as in the devastated port city of Mariupol, where Ukrainian defenders are making a last stand from the bunkers of a steel complex.

Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russias deputy U.N. ambassador, told the Security Council that calls for his country to establish humanitarian cease-fires were insincere, and in practice they merely point to an aspiration to provide Kyiv nationalists breathing room to regroup and receive more drones, more antitank missiles and more MANPADS. He was referring to man-portable air-defense systems, which are essentially highly mobile surface-to-air missiles.
Now, instead of lightning attacks from the Russian front lines, Moscows forces, focusing on taking the Donbas, have increased their long-range artillery barrages and sent small detachments of troops to probe Ukrainian defenders, many entrenched in earthworks established during the Moscow-backed insurgency in the eastern region that began eight years ago.

The Pentagon estimated that Russia now has about 75 battalion tactical groups in Ukraine, each with roughly 1,000 troops. It also has tens of thousands more troops in reserve north of Ukraine who are being resupplied and readied to join the fight, U.S. officials said.

But the underlying weaknesses in Russias invasion force that have been exposed so far in the conflict have not necessarily gone away, military analysts said. And even with a more deliberate and cautious approach by Russia and its bigger, more powerful army, they said, the outcome in Ukraine remains unclear at best.

Some American military specialists said the Russian reinforcements pouring in  including Russian mercenaries, conscripts and regular troops pulled from the countrys far east and Georgia  are deficient. They have not trained together and their combat readiness is low, officials said.

Moreover, it will take time to regroup and redeploy the battered units that retreated from the north. Some will be replenished and sent back to the fight. But others are so spent that their remaining pieces will be patched together into one new unit with commanders hoping for the best in battle.

As these Russian forces push west to seize more territory, they will extend their supply lines and could confront the same logistics shortfalls that bedeviled them before.

The vehicles are still poorly maintained, troop morale will remain low, said Maj. Gen. Michael S. Repass, a former commander of U.S. Special Operations forces in Europe who has been involved with Ukrainian defense matters since 2016.
LOS ANGELES  Some of Jaishri Abichandanis artworks are so palpable, they evoke a strong sense of touch just by looking at them. The centerpieces of Flower-Headed Children, her solo exhibition at Craft Contemporary, are figures sculpted from polymer clay and decked in petals and jewelry. They appear handmade, with an attention to detail that seems as pleasureful as it is painstaking. Filled with color  including walls painted blue and gold  and traditionally beautiful materials, the show revels in visual abundance. It reminds you, in case youve forgotten amid an endless stream of Zoom meetings, of the delights of physicality.

Abichandani, who is based in New York City, moved from Mumbai, India, to Queens when she was 14 and studied art as an undergraduate. If youre familiar with her, it may be for her tireless efforts as an organizer and curator, rather than her vibrant work as an artist. After college, she founded the South Asian Womxns Creative Collective, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and from 2003 to 2006 served as the director of public events and projects at the Queens Museum. She conceived of a powerful trio of exhibitions to inaugurate the Ford Foundation Gallery in 2019 and in 2017 organized a #MeToo protest outside the Met Breuer when the museum mounted a retrospective of the Indian photographer Raghubir Singh, whom Abichandani alleged sexually assaulted her during the 1990s in India. (Singh died in 1999, and her allegations have not been brought to court.)
The actor Johnny Depp took the stand for the second day on Wednesday to describe his turbulent marriage to the actress Amber Heard, whom he has sued for defamation, accusing her of demeaning name-calling that often escalated into physical violence.

It could begin with a slap, it could begin with a shove, it could begin with throwing a TV remote at my head, throwing a glass of wine in my face, Mr. Depp told a jury at Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia.

Ms. Heard has accused Mr. Depp in court papers of repeatedly assaulting her throughout their relationship, from slapping and kicking to dragging her across the floor by her hair and grasping her throat, making her fearful that he would kill her.

But over the past few years of legal wrangling in the United States and Britain, Mr. Depp has maintained that Ms. Heard was the one who was violent toward him. In testimony on Tuesday, Mr. Depp denied ever striking Ms. Heard or any woman.
After more than two years of upheaval brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Lincoln Center will stage a festival this summer aimed at helping New York City heal.

Called Summer for the City, the festival will take place across 10 outdoor spaces and three indoor stages at the campus from mid-May to mid-August and will be programmed around themes of rejoicing, reclaiming and remembering. It is also part of Lincoln Centers efforts to recalibrate its image as an exclusive bastion of classical music and appeal to a younger, more diverse crowd.

The center plans to feature more popular music and install a large disco ball, 10 feet in diameter, that will hang over a dance floor at the centers main plaza.

My hope is that were making space for people to find their neighbors again, to find each other again and to find their own inner performer, Shanta Thake, the centers chief artistic officer, said in an interview. And to really be in their whole body with other New Yorkers and come back together again as a city.
There are people who say that it is one way or the other, it is either expressive or intellectual, he said in an interview, but I think that you need to have both. All great musicians offer that unique mix of spontaneity and thought.

Nicholas Angelich was born on Dec. 14, 1970, in Cincinnati, the only child of two professional musicians. His mother, Clara (Kadarjan) Angelich, who was Russian, attended the Academy of Music in Belgrade, where she met and married the Yugoslav violinist Borivoje Andjelitch. The couple emigrated to America in the 1960s.

Clara taught piano, and her husband was a member of the violin section of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for 46 years. He anglicized his name to Bora Angelich after arriving in America.

Nicholas began studying piano with his mother at age 5 and made his debut at 7 performing Mozarts Piano Concerto No 21. At 13, he and his mother moved to Paris so that he could study at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique, where he won multiple prizes for piano and chamber music. His teachers included Aldo Ciccolini, Yvonne Loriod and Michel Beroff.

In 1994, Mr. Angelich won the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition and made his New York recital debut in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center the following year. In 2003, Leon Fleischer, one of his mentors, gave him the Young Talent Award at the Ruhr International Piano Festival in Germany. Mr. Angelich made his debut with the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur at Lincoln Center in May 2003, performing Beethovens Emperor Concerto.
I found even the most elementary rudiments of piano technique very difficult, he confessed to The Monitor, because this needed great self-discipline, and as for years I had imagined that I would one day become a composer, I had always felt that this sort of perfection wasnt going to be needed.

Even so, Mr. Lupu placed fifth at the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna in 1965 before sweeping to victory at the Cliburn finals in Fort Worth the next year. I really do not like competition at all, he told the press then; he nonetheless shared first prize at the George Enescu International Competition in Bucharest in 1967 and triumphed at the Leeds International Piano Competition in England in 1969.

Fanny Waterman, the founder of the Leeds, recalled Mr. Lupu inviting the jury to tell him which of the Beethoven concertos to play; they declined, and he won with the first movement of the Third. He recorded that Beethoven with Lawrence Foster and the London Symphony Orchestra in 1970  a prelude to his later complete survey of the five concertos with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic.

Despite such successes, he already struck listeners as anything but a standard-issue product of the competition circuit. He is somewhat different from the regulation contest winner, in that he is not primarily a brilliant and impeccable technician, Raymond Ericson wrote in The Times of Mr. Lupus Carnegie Hall debut in April 1967. Harold Schonberg, also in The Times, thought the Brahms First Concerto, with which Mr. Lupu returned to the hall in 1972, willful, episodic and mannered, but allowed that it at least had the virtue of not being stamped from the same old cookie cutter.

Mr. Lupu, who retired in 2019, made few recordings for a pianist of his stature; he admitted to tensing up in the presence of studio and even radio microphones. A boxed set of his solo releases on Decca runs to a mere 10 discs, the last from the mid-1990s. As well as further concertos, including Mozart, Schumann and Grieg, Mr. Lupu recorded duets with the violinists Szymon Goldberg and Kyung Wha Chung, and two-piano or four-hand works with Mr. Barenboim and Murray Perahia.

If Mr. Lupus solo records capture only a hint of the aura he exhibited in concert, his ethereality is made close to tangible on several of them, including one of Schuberts Impromptus from 1982 that draws impossible tension from the natural flow of its singing lines; a pair of Schubert sonatas that won a Grammy Award in 1996; and a collection of late Brahms from the 1970s that is suffused with such understanding, such light and shade, that the result, as the critic Alex Ross put it, comes as close to musical perfection as you could ask.
Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous nights highlights that lets you sleep  and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.

Critical Face Theory

A federal judge in Florida struck down the C.D.C.s mask mandate for public transportation on Monday.

You cant let Florida make health decisions for the entire country! Stephen Colbert said.
Russia threatens escalation with missile test

As Russia continued its offensive in the Donbas region of Ukraine by raining artillery across the 300-mile eastern front, it took the provocative step of test launching an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to evade defenses.

While the technology is said to need more testing before it can be deployed, President Vladimir Putin said the new missile should cause anyone threatening Russia to think twice. The U.S. and its allies have been racing to deliver more advanced weapons to the Ukrainians.

No major battles have been waged in the days since the start of the offensive, and no significant territory has changed hands, but Russias superior weaponry and a more favorable terrain suggest a bloody fight to come. Those on the so-called line of contact with separatist territory in Ukraines east have begun to get a taste of what Russias military has in store.

In Mariupol: Ukrainian soldiers continued to hold out against Russian bombardment inside a sprawling steel factory in the southeastern port city. One Ukrainian commander warned that the remaining troops and civilians with them could be killed within hours.
Theyre bombing us with everything

Russia plunged into a new, more methodical chapter of the war in Ukraine yesterday, intent on crushing Ukrainian defenses while avoiding the same blunders that badly damaged Russian forces in the conflicts first weeks. Russian officials said missile and artillery forces had struck hundreds of Ukrainian military targets overnight. Follow the latest updates.

The strikes mainly hit the eastern region known as Donbas, Ukraines industrial heartland, where pro-Moscow separatists have battled Ukrainian forces since Russia seized Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in 2014. The region has now become the stated territorial objective of Russias redeployed invasion force along a front that stretches roughly 300 miles.

Ukraines military said that its forces had repulsed seven different Russian thrusts along the front on Tuesday, destroying 10 tanks and 18 armored units in the battles. Ukraines Western supporters, led by the U.S., are now rushing to send longer-range weapons  arms that American officials said were designed to thwart the Russian offensive.

Calls for a cease-fire: Russia rejected a request to pause the fighting and allow for civilian evacuations in Ukraine, saying the demands were not sincere and would only provide time to arm Ukrainian fighters.
Children very rarely suffer severe symptoms, whether or not theyre vaccinated. (Vaccination helps: Unvaccinated children from 5 to 11 years old were hospitalized with Covid at twice the rate of vaccinated children during the winter Omicron surge) Many students have gone to school without masks during the pandemic, and very few children have gotten seriously sick.

The jury is also still out on whether masks impede social development, and several studies do suggest that masks make communication difficult.

Shopping: Depends on the store.

If the business is mask optional, consider the space, the crowds and the airflow.

Take a big box store with high ceilings. Those tend to have good ventilation, and because of the high ceilings, theres a lot of dilution, Dr. Marr told me.

If its a smaller space and crowded space  Trader Joes, for example, or some New York market with tiny aisles and people are really packed in there  the risk is higher, she continued. You might want to wear a mask.

And in general: Consider case numbers.

Youre not the only person affected by your mask choices.

Take a second to wonder about the risk you pose to others, especially as cases rise. What role does my mask play in protecting others? What is my responsibility to the people around me, especially if Im healthy?
As a signatory to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, Chinas regulator was under an obligation to produce a preliminary report on Wednesday, 30 days after the crash. But a summary statement issued by the regulator, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, did not put forward any theories to address why the plane, a Boeing 737-800, suddenly turned almost vertical while cruising at 29,000 feet and maintained that position except for a brief surge upward about two-thirds of the way down to the ground.

Commercial jets are designed to be naturally stable from front to back while in flight. They do not fly almost straight down at very high speed unless extreme force is continuously applied to the horizontal stabilizers on either side of the tail, aviation experts said in the days after the crash.

A mechanical failure or software error can cause the horizontal stabilizers to malfunction, or a pilot can deliberately force the plane to fly almost straight down. The report did not address these possibilities. But it did mention that key components of the tail had been found at the crater left by the plane in a bamboo-swathed hillside.

The aircrafts engines were also found there.

Earlier this month, Wu Shijie, a safety official from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, cautioned against a plethora of theories about the crash that had spread online within China. Some of these theories have suggested pilot suicide as a cause of the crash. Chinese aviation authorities have stepped up checks on the health and mental well-being of commercial aircraft pilots in recent days.

But Mr. Wu said these measures for pilots should not be taken as a sign that the cause of the crash had been identified. We still cannot come to a conclusion on the cause and nature of the crash, he told reporters, according to an official Chinese aviation news website.
Officials at the National Labor Relations Board will next determine whether there is sufficient interest among workers to hold an election  the bar is officially 30 percent  and set the terms for a potential vote. Both the union and the employer will have an opportunity to weigh in on the details, including the universe of employees eligible to take part and whether the vote should occur by mail or in person.

Other unions, most notably Workers United, an affiliate of the giant Service Employees International Union that has led the organizing campaign at Starbucks, are also seeking to unionize Apple retail workers, of which there are tens of thousands in the United States.

Workers at an Apple Store at Grand Central Terminal in New York City have begun to sign authorization cards that could lead to a filing for a union vote that would allow them to join Workers United. The move was reported over the weekend by The Washington Post.

Activism and labor organizing at Apple have been building since last summer, when discontent over the companys plan to require employees to return to the office snowballed into a broader movement, called #AppleToo. That movement aimed to highlight workplace problems like harassment, unequal pay and what workers described as a culture of secrecy that pervaded the company.

Apple workers across every line of business and around the world are using their voices to demand better treatment, Janneke Parrish, one of the #AppleToo leaders, said of the union effort. Ms. Parrish has said Apple fired her in retaliation for her organizing. Im so happy to see workers taking this big step to stand up for their rights, she said. Apple has disputed Ms. Parrishs accusations.

The #AppleToo movement included retail workers, who have said throughout the pandemic that Apple did not do enough to keep them safe from the coronavirus.

Retail workers complaints escalated late last year when the Omicron variant spread rapidly throughout the country and at least 20 Apple stores had to close temporarily as a precaution or because so many of their workers had become infected that the stores could no longer operate. On Christmas Eve, several dozen Apple workers walked off their jobs to demand better pay and working conditions.
Ms. Ryan, 57, is a deputy managing editor who most recently led recruiting for The Times, overseeing the hiring of more than 400 journalists, and she helped lead its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Before that, she was the papers political editor, Washington bureau chief and metropolitan editor.

Ms. Ryan will be the first openly gay journalist to serve as managing editor of The Times. Mr. Lacey is the third Black journalist to serve in the role, after Gerald Boyd and Dean Baquet, the current executive editor.

Mr. Kahn also announced four deputy managing editors.

Rebecca Blumenstein, currently the deputy editor in the publishers office and a deputy managing editor, will lead recruitment and operations. Sam Dolnick, currently an assistant managing editor, will continue to spearhead The Timess expansion into audio, video, email newsletters and televised documentaries.

Steve Duenes and Clifford Levy will remain deputy managing editors. Mr. Duenes will oversee The Timess visual and multimedia journalism. Mr. Levy will focus on ethical standards and journalistic independence, as well as training for editors throughout the newsroom.

Matthew Purdy, currently a deputy managing editor and a force behind many of The Timess major investigative projects, will take on a senior, as-yet-undefined role, Mr. Kahn wrote.
WASHINGTON  The Treasury Department on Wednesday moved to crack down on Russias efforts to evade sanctions by imposing a new set of measures targeting a Russian bank, a cryptocurrency mining company and a network of individuals who are accused of facilitating illicit transactions.

The sanctions were announced as Russian officials were participating in meetings of the Group of 20 nations in Washington. Several officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen, walked out of a meeting on Wednesday when Russias finance minister spoke.

The new sanctions target Transkapitalbank, a privately owned Russian commercial bank that the Treasury Department said had offered its clients the ability to conduct transactions through a proprietary internet-based banking system that is an alternative to SWIFT, the Belgian-based international financial messaging service. The United States and its allies cut off access to SWIFT for several Russian financial institutions after the countrys invasion of Ukraine. According to the Treasury Department, the Russian bank has tried to create a settlement hub in Asia without involving American or European banks in the clearing process.

The Treasury Department also took action against what it described as a sanctions evasion network led by the Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev. The network of 40 individuals and associated companies pursues deals around the world to facilitate business opportunities for sanctioned Russian companies and to enrich Malofeyev himself, the Treasury Department said.
In the days after Russias invasion of Ukraine, the German software giant SAP halted all its sales in Russia. But it provoked the ire of Ukrainian leaders by continuing to offer updates and cloud computing access to Russian customers not targeted by Western sanctions.

This week SAP, which makes business software to handle tasks like logistics and accounting, announced that it was taking the final steps toward an orderly exit from its operations in Russia, a process it said had been made more difficult by its concern for employees and Russian laws that prohibited unilaterally quitting contracts.

Were not in the consumer business  we sell very complex software solutions, said Luka Mucic, SAPs chief financial officer, explaining what he called the significant complexity of winding down three decades of business in the country.

SAPs statement went further than its previous announcements since the invasion, noting its intent to stop supporting and maintaining its products. The pullout could erode back-office computer operations at many Russian companies, including state-owned Sberbank, Russias biggest financial institution. In 2018, SAP created what it called Russias largest cloud project to manage Sberbanks 230,000 employees.
On March 25, volunteers from 100% Life loaded two vans with a half ton of medicines  including liquid formulations of H.I.V. treatments for children  clothes and food. The only bridge to Chernihiv had been destroyed by bombing, so they drove the vans to the banks of the Dnipro River, transferred the cargo to a boat and unloaded it on the other side. They returned with 34 people fleeing Chernihiv.

On their second trip, on March 30, volunteers again loaded two minivans with food and medicines, and this time heating devices for freezing residents. They were joined by three vans from an evangelical church hoping to evacuate some of their members from Chernihiv.

The shelling incinerated four of the vans and partially destroyed the fifth. Mr. Sherembei said three people from the church group had been brought to a hospital, but he did not know their fates.

The Russians were bombing us, they were shelling us, knowing full well that it was a humanitarian convoy, he said.

The organization lost two volunteers: Bohdan Stefanyshyn, 40, and Oleksii Antonov, 28. Yurii Luniov, the 41-year-old volunteer who had stepped away into the bushes, was spared.

Mr. Sherembei seemed particularly distraught as he talked about Ms. Tagirova. No entreaties from him or from her friends and family had dissuaded her from joining the trip, he said.

Even after the tragedy, abandoning the missions was not an option  not when there were people, including many children, who needed the medicines, he said. So the volunteers thought of ways to make themselves less conspicuous, and have made three trips so far.
As elsewhere, dating apps have become popular in France in recent years, including platforms like Happn, Tinder and Fruitz, an app that allows users to use depictions of fruit to signal their dating intentions. The use of such apps has surged in Europe in the last three years, according to Sensor Tower, a digital analytics firm, likely driven in part by isolation during the continents pandemic lockdowns.

Audiard said he wanted to create a counterpoint to the stories that had shaped his own conceptions of love and intimacy, in particular the films of the New Wave director Eric Rohmer. He singled out My Night at Mauds, a 1969 classic in which a man and a woman have a lengthy conversation about love, religion and other existential themes without ultimately consummating their romantic tension.

The film really marked me, Audiard said, arguing that it had served as a romantic education for him and other young people about how to use words as a mode of seduction. But he said that he believed the discourse had now shifted. Theres now the principle that people will have sex immediately, and I wanted to see what possibilities come afterward, he said.

In one of the films early scenes, for instance, Camille, a handsome teacher, responds to Emilies ad looking for a roommate. Although she initially rebuffs him, they quickly undress. Before long, they are both roommates and in a casual sexual relationship  an arrangement that leads, unsurprisingly, to emotional complications. At the start of the film, the characters are very self-confident, but they are not who they think they are, Audiard said.
A Connecticut state trooper who fatally shot a 19-year-old Black man after a car chase two years ago has been charged with manslaughter, state investigators said Wednesday.

The trooper, Brian D. North, who is white, fired seven shots on Jan. 15, 2020, through the drivers side window of a stolen vehicle driven by Mubarak Soulemane. Mr. Soulemane, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, had been acting erratically that day, according to people he encountered, before leading officers in a chase that ended in West Haven.

Police shootings involving white officers and Black drivers  the death of Patrick Lyoya, a Michigan man killed this month by a police officer, was a recent one  have raised questions about the use of lethal force during routine traffic stops and after chases. At the time of Mr. Soulemanes death, the Connecticut chapters of the N.A.A.C.P. and the A.C.L.U. called on authorities to do an independent investigation of the shooting.

Weve been fighting in Connecticut for many, many years around police brutality, police misconduct, and officers walking away with no consequences, Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut State Conference of the N.A.A.C.P., said Wednesday. He said the decision shows promise that were moving in the right direction, and that this type of behavior will not be accepted in the state of Connecticut.
Federal law enforcement charged a New Jersey man with hate crimes on Wednesday for a violent attack on four Jewish men, in which two were hit by a vehicle that had been carjacked from the first victim. The incident took place in and around Lakewood, N.J., which is home to one of the largest Orthodox Jewish communities in the United States.

According to prosecutors, Dion Marsh, 27, forced a Jewish man out of his car in Lakewood on April 8, then assaulted the man and stole his car. Later that day, Mr. Marsh used a different car to intentionally hit another Jewish man, breaking several of his bones. Shortly after that, he went back to the first car and used it to intentionally hit two more Jewish men in Lakewood and nearby Jackson Township, one of whom he also stabbed in the chest with a knife.

Mr. Marsh was arrested hours after the attacks and has been in detention since then on a range of state charges that include attempted murder, carjacking and terrorism, according to the Ocean County prosecutor, Bradley D. Billhimer. Mr. Marsh is being defended by the Ocean County Public Defenders Office, which declined to comment on his case on Wednesday.

We are prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Marsh intended to terrorize the Jewish community in Lakewood and Jackson on April 8, Mr. Billhimer said in a statement. This young man will be held accountable for this conduct.
April 20, 2022: This article has been updated to include information about the Department of Justices filing notice to appeal to reinstate the transportation mask mandate.

When a federal judge struck down the mandate for mask wearing on planes, buses and other modes of public transportation on Monday, most major airlines wasted no time in ending their requirements. Passengers even cheered midflight when they were told they could take off their masks. The science on masking did not change this week, yet public health experts and policymakers are now forced to acknowledge what many will no longer do to protect others.

The Department of Justice filed notice to appeal the ruling after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that extending the mask requirement is necessary. But its unclear how long the mandate would remain in place if reinstated, as it was already set to expire on May 3.

Its an unfortunate reality that mask mandates, and masks themselves, have become politicized and unpopular for many. Its why several governors and businesses rolled back requirements long before coronavirus case numbers dropped, and it is most likely why airlines were also quick to do so. These groups have interests that compete with science. Members of the public who want to live as they did in 2019 can sway those groups if they are loud enough, even if theyre not the majority.
TOULOUSE, France  In 2017, we thought wed seen the worst French politics could offer.

Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader, had made it through to the second round of the countrys presidential elections. For the first time since 2002, a far-right figure was in the runoff to become president  and with considerably more support. When Ms. Le Pen lost to Emmanuel Macron, albeit with a worrying 34 percent share of the vote, we breathed a collective sigh of relief. Many hoped Ms. Le Pen, after falling at the final hurdle, would fade into obscurity.

It was not to be. Ms. Le Pen never went away, instead biding her time and preparing for the next tilt at power. She now has more chance of winning it than ever: After taking 23 percent in the first round, shes within eight points of Mr. Macron in the second, on April 24. Shes benefited from the presence of the even more hard-line Eric Zemmour, whose lurid reactionary persona made Ms. Le Pen seem, by contrast, more reasonable. Yet shes also embarked on a comprehensive effort to soften her image, renaming her party, downplaying the harsher elements of her platform and presenting herself as a warm, even folksy woman who loves her cats.

But no one should be fooled. At the head of a party that long housed Nazi collaborators, Ms. Le Pen is an authoritarian whose deeply racist and Islamophobic politics threaten to turn France into an outright illiberal state. She may pretend to be a regular politician, but she remains as dangerous as ever. For the good of minorities and France itself, she must not prevail.

If Ms. Le Pen looks more mainstream now, its because the mainstream looks more like her. In the years running up to the last election, she ran on a hard-right platform, stoking antagonism toward immigrants and French Muslims under the guise of protecting public order. She especially targeted minorities, to whom, she said bitterly, everything is due and to whom we give everything. In response to her success in 2017, nearly every party on the political spectrum  centrist, traditional right wing and even socialist  used the talking points of her party, now named National Rally (formerly National Front).
Thats why its notable that even as the Belcher decision repudiated an ill-founded, punitive approach to teenage crime, Connecticuts parole board adopted a humane alternative. The board considered the emerging brain science research showing that teenagers and young adults often lack the ability to weigh the long-term consequences of their actions yet are capable of change with age. In December 2021 and January 2022, the board commuted the sentences of 12 men who had committed crimes before they turned 25.

The first one to get relief was Michael Cox, a Black man serving a 75-year sentence for his role in two murders, aiding and abetting a manslaughter and an assault with a firearm that occurred when he was 19 years old. The teenage Mr. Cox was impulsive and quick to resort to violence. The 49-year-old Mr. Cox, appearing before the parole board, was a man eager to be involved in anti-violence work with young people after leaving prison.

What happened in the intervening decades? Mr. Cox signed up for every rehabilitative program he could find, earned his high school diploma and college credits, worked as a certified nurse assistant taking care of other incarcerated people and mentored younger men in his prison.

Like Mr. Cox, the 11 other men to receive commutations committed violent crimes as teenagers or young adults; most were in for murder. Like Mr. Cox, most had spent more years behind bars than they had lived before their crime. And like Mr. Cox, most had grasped at whatever rehabilitative or educational opportunities came their way.

Why are such commutations so rare? While some state legislatures constrained or eliminated parole in the 1990s, in most states the parole board still has enormous power to offer second chances to incarcerated people. But most parole boards  including for many years, Connecticuts  have refused to do so. As the criminal justice scholars Kevin R. Reitz and Edward E. Rhine note, parole board members are risk-averse political appointees with little job security. Members or entire boards, they write, have been forced to resign after a single high-profile crime committed by a released prisoner. Typically, parole boards are most hostile toward those who have committed crimes of violence, often refusing to consider anything other than the offense itself during rote hearings that morph into decades of denials.

Thats why it matters so much that the Connecticut parole board has begun to chart a new course. Since more than 50 percent of people in state prison are serving sentences for violent crimes, we will never end the scourge of mass incarceration if we write off this group. Since decades of research have proved that older people are rarely violent, extremely long sentences can almost never be justified on public safety grounds. And since some incarcerated people have found ways to change and thrive in conditions few of us could tolerate, the system should have pathways to recognize their efforts.

The decisions of Connecticuts Supreme Court and its Board of Pardons and Paroles offer hope to a generation locked up during the hyperpunitive 1990s. They remind us that nobody should be sentenced to death, whether by execution or death in prison. If we are ever to undo the ravages of mass incarceration, we will need many more decisions like them.
None of that mattered.

Anti-establishment conservatives found him refreshing, Continetti adds. Not one iota of Trump was politically correct. He played by no rules of civility. He genuflected to no one. He despised the media with the same intensity as the conservative grass roots.

Millions of voters may have found Trump refreshing, but there continue to be dissenters on the right who see the consequences as disastrous.

David French, a senior editor at The Dispatch, warned in an interview with Sean Illing of Vox:

Heres whats the terrifying thing on the right that can be a career- and reputation-ending allegation: Youre weak. Youre a coward. So the transformation, this flipping upside down of morality, turning bullying into strength, turning restraint into vice, all of that, what has then happened is it enables the Trumpists and the Trumpist world. Theyre wielding this sword that is very sharp culturally in red spaces, this accusation of weakness and cowardice, as a weapon to keep people in line, because theyve defined support for this movement as evidence of your strength.

Yuval Levin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (and a contributing Opinion writer for The Times), described a transformation on the right that began before Trump but has accelerated under his direction. Speaking at a March 2021 Harvard Kennedy School forum, Levin said: I think conservatives are naturally defenders of a societys institutions  not blindly, theyre also reformers  but they believe in the purposes of those institutions.

The Republican Party, he continued,

has gradually become hostile to Americans institutions. It sees them as possessed by the other party. It sees them as corrupt. It looks at them through a populist lens as the source of the problem, rather than the source of solutions.

In the fall of 2016, with Trump as the Republican presidential nominee, Levin wrote in Politico magazine:

This election cycle has revealed serious fault lines and weaknesses on the right, and the Republican Party will be working to make sense of it all for years. But for conservatives  I mean those who champion some version of the difficult balance of traditionalism in the moral arena, market mechanisms for addressing our economic challenges, and American strength in a dangerous world  all bound by a limited-government constitutionalism  this sorry years lessons have one overarching implication: We can no longer treat the G.O.P. simply as our own.

Levin faults the conservative movement for clinging to an agenda almost frozen in amber, locking in place a 1980s-style policy program even as the nation changed around us.

Trump blew it all up, Levin wrote. Its not that he had a rival policy prescription; his campaign largely amounts to a frantic venting of frustrations punctuated by demagogic chest-thumping. But his approach clearly appealed to a significant portion of Republican voters.

In fact, Trump did have one crystal-clear policy objective: to drastically reduce immigration, legal and illegal. The Washington Post editorial board wrote in September 2020:

Without the assent of Congress, President Trump has remade almost every major facet of Americas immigration system over the past three-plus years, slashing levels of legal and illegal arrivals; refugees and asylum seekers; Muslim and Christian migrants. He has sought to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans and subject dreamers raised in this country to deportation. He tried to deter illegal border crossings by sundering families, thereby traumatizing migrant teens, tweens and toddlers.

While many on the left deeply opposed these policies, Trumps base was overwhelmingly behind him. As The Post pointed out:

Mr. Trump has largely succeeded in delivering on the anti-immigration message that drove his 2016 victory and continues to animate much of his base. Only a small fraction of his border wall has been built, and Mexico has paid for none of it, but the thrust of his nativist vision has taken root in hundreds of rule changes and policy shifts that have slammed shut Americas doors.

Placing Trump in a line of conservative demagogues who proved ultimately transient, Continetti writes:

Every so often the right has embraced a demagogic leader who pulls it toward the political fringe. From Tom Watson to Henry Ford, Father Coughlin to Charles Lindbergh, Joseph McCarthy to George Wallace, Ross Perot to Pat Buchanan, Ron Paul to Donald Trump, these tribunes of discontent have succumbed to conspiracy theories, racism and anti-Semitism. They have flirted with violence. They have played footsie with autocracy.

One aspect of the rise of Trump that has not received adequate attention is the substantial intellectual infrastructure that has buoyed the Trumpist right, its willingness to rupture moral codes and to discard traditional norms  an infrastructure that includes the Claremont Institute, Hillsdale College, First Things magazine and the American Mind website.

Take the analysis of John Marini, a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, in his 2016 essay Donald Trump and the American Crisis:

Social institutions dependent upon the old morality have become intellectually indefensible. In terms of contemporary social and political thought, it is the good understood as the old that is no longer defensible, and its political defense has therefore become untenable. This alone makes the defense of reasonable conservatism  and constitutionalism itself  something akin to the defense of a dream that masquerades itself as reality in the minds of its votaries.

Or take the view of Sohrab Ahmari, a columnist for First Things, that courtesy and common decency serve to protect a dysfunctional established order:

Progressives understand that culture war means discrediting their opponents and weakening or destroying their institutions. Conservatives should approach the culture war with a similar realism. Civility and decency are secondary values. They regulate compliance with an established order and orthodoxy.

In other words, Ahmari writes, To recognize that enmity is real is its own kind of moral duty.

Or take the view of Glenn Ellmers, a visiting research scholar at Hillsdale College, in his 2021 essay Conservatism Is No Longer Enough:

Our norms are now hopelessly corrupt and need to be destroyed. It has been like this for a while  and the MAGA voters knew it, while most of the policy wonks and magazine scribblers did not  and still dont. In almost every case, the political practices, institutions, and even rhetoric governing the United States have become hostile to both liberty and virtue.

I asked a number of center-right conservative thinkers the following questions: To what degree was the Trump takeover of the Republican Party a legitimate democratic insurgency by a white working/middle-class electorate that had been providing crucial margins of victory to the Republican Party, but whose opposition to liberal immigration and trade policies (and whose support for universal benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare) had been rejected by the Republican establishment? And will the tension between an increasingly woke corporate America and a Republican Party taking anti-woke stands become a significant conflict?
Republicans, for their part, accuse the companies of suppressing free speech by censoring conservative voices  above all former President Donald J. Trump, who was barred from Facebook and Twitter after the riot on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 last year. With so little agreement about the problem, there is even less about a solution.

Whether Mr. Obamas advocacy can sway the debate remains to be seen. While he has not sought to endorse a single solution or particular piece of legislation, he nonetheless hopes to appeal across the political spectrum for common ground.

Youve got to think about how things are going to be consumed through different partisan filtering but still make your true, authentic, best case about how you see the world and what the stakes are and why, said Jason Goldman, a former Twitter, Blogger and Medium executive who served as the White Houses first chief digital officer under Mr. Obama and continues to advise him.

Theres a potential reason to believe that a good path exists out of some of the messes that were in, he added.

As an apostle of the dangers of disinformation, Mr. Obama might be an imperfect messenger. He was the first presidential candidate to ride the power of social media into office in 2008 but then, as president, did little to intervene when its darker side  propagating falsehoods, extremism, racism and violence  became apparent at home and abroad.

I saw it sort of unfold  and that is the degree to which information, disinformation, misinformation was being weaponized, Mr. Obama said in Chicago, expressing something close to regret. He added, I think I underestimated the degree to which democracies were as vulnerable to it as they were, including ours.

Mr. Obama, those close to him said, became fixated by disinformation after leaving office. He rehashed, as many others have, whether he had done enough to counter the information campaign ordered by Russias president, Vladimir V. Putin, to tilt the 2016 election against Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Elon Musk is the latest rich guy to have fallen for the trap of Twitter.

For nearly its entire 16-year life, Twitter has had the reputation that it hasnt fulfilled its potential and could be so much more. Twitters conundrum is that its widely known but not that widely used, financially successful but not wildly so, sometimes competently managed but also chaotic, and influential in a way that is exciting but also terrifying.

The perpetual belief that Twitter is one big idea away from being amazing has made many people think about buying the company to make it shine, but hardly anyone wants to actually own it.

Whether youre hooked on Twitter or among the worlds majority that stays off the app, what happens to this company matters. Twitter is a digital gathering place that world leaders increasingly fear and want to control, and where elected officials, activists, journalists and executives like Musk spread their messages and settle scores.

Musk made a half-baked proposal last week to buy Twitter that effectively put a for-sale sign on the company. What happens next is anyones guess.
The Food and Drug Administration warned expectant parents on Tuesday about the risk of false positive results from a booming line of prenatal blood tests that screen fetuses for rare genetic conditions.

The notice followed a New York Times examination in January that reported on the incidence of false positive results in some of these tests, known as noninvasive prenatal screening tests, or NIPTs. That article quoted women who received false positive screening results for extremely rare conditions; highlighted examples of misleading marketing by companies selling the tests; and described some reports of pregnancies that were terminated based on a screening without a confirmatory test.

The agency warned doctors not to diagnose genetic disorders based on these results alone and stressed the need to follow positive screenings with more reliable diagnostic testing. It said it was aware of reports that some women have ended pregnancies based only on the results of these genetic screening tests.

While genetic noninvasive prenatal screening tests are widely used today, these tests have not been reviewed by the F.D.A. and may be making claims about their performance and use that are not based on sound science, Dr. Jeff Shuren, the director of the agencys Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement.
But the biggest case by far was the one filed this week against two lab owners, Imran Shams and Lourdes Navarro, both 63, of Glendale, Calif., who have been charged in an elaborate plan that involved paying kickbacks to telemarketers who upsold patients seeking virus testing on unnecessary blood work and urinalysis.

The indictment accuses the pair of laundering their profits through shell companies controlled by Ms. Navarro and using the cash to buy real estate, luxury items, and personal goods and services.

In 2000, Mr. Shams and Ms. Navarro were convicted of trying to defraud Medi-Cal, Californias Medicaid program, by filing false claims using patient information bought illegally. Mr. Shams has been barred from filing for Medicare reimbursement ever since, and prosecutors say he concealed his involvement in operating the lab involved in the current case.

That lab, Health Care Providers Lab, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Several other cases followed a similar pattern, including a federal indictment against a cardiologist on Long Island accused of billing Medicare and Medicaid for $1.3 million in unneeded tests on patients who visited a mobile coronavirus testing site he operated.

Federal prosecutors in Miami have also charged a registered nurse for taking advantage of loosened Covid-19 telehealth rules. She billed the federal government for about $1 million in unnecessary or undelivered medical services, they said.
Dede Robertson, the wife of the religious broadcaster Pat Robertson and a founding board member of his Christian Broadcasting Network, died on Tuesday at her home in Virginia Beach. She was 94.

The network announced her death in a statement.

Mrs. Robertson became a born-again Christian several months after her husband. The couple, who met at Yale University in 1952, embarked on a journey that included living in a roach-infested commune in Brooklyn before Pat Robertson bought the tiny television station in Virginia that would become the Christian Broadcasting Network.

In 1988 he ran for the Republican presidential nomination, with his wife campaigning by his side.

Adelia Elmer, known as Dede, was born on Dec. 3, 1927, in Columbus, Ohio. Her parents, Ralph and Florence Elmer, were Roman Catholic and voted Republican. She received a bachelors degree in social administration from Ohio State University and a masters in nursing from Yale.

Her future husband, a Southern Baptist and the son of a conservative Democratic United States senator, was a student at Yale Law School when they met. Eighteen months after meeting, they were married by a justice of the peace, knowing that neither family would approve.
Mr. Windom has been working with officials from the national security and criminal divisions at the Justice Department to determine whether and how to investigate potential criminal activity related to the Jan. 6 attack, other than what took place during the assault.

His work complements two teams led by prosecutors in the Washington U.S. attorneys office: one focused on charging people for participating in the riot and one focused on more complicated conspiracy cases stemming from it, such as the seditious conspiracy case that was brought against Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers.

Mr. Windom is looking into the more politically fraught question of whether a case can be made related to other efforts to overturn the election, a task that could move the investigation closer to Mr. Trump and his inner circle. Mr. Alexanders lawyers have been dealing with Mr. Windom, for example, in responding to the broad subpoena seeking information about the pro-Trump rallies and other efforts to keep Mr. Trump in office.

Those efforts could extend to issues such as the plan by Trump allies to have seven swing states falsely certify that Mr. Trump won, and then mail those false documents to the National Archives and Congress. However, Mr. Windom does not yet have a robust team of prosecutors, leaving unclear how extensive the investigation might become.

Mr. Windom was described by former colleagues as a diligent, aggressive lawyer capable of handling complex investigations. In his former job, Mr. Windom prosecuted some high-profile cases in Maryland  among them those involving domestic and international terrorism, public corruption and national security.

Mr. Windom, for example, helped to secure convictions against a trio of violent members of a white supremacist group called The Base, which had hoped to trigger a race war in the United States. Two of the defendants received lengthy prison sentences.

In another case, Mr. Windom prosecuted Christopher Hasson, a white nationalist and lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard, who had plotted to kill journalists, Democratic politicians, professors, Supreme Court justices and those he described as leftists in general.
The Biden administration plans to pick Gary M. Restaino, the top U.S. prosecutor in Arizona, as the interim director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives until a permanent leader is confirmed, according to officials with knowledge of the situation.

This month, President Biden nominated Steven M. Dettelbach, who served as a federal prosecutor in Ohio under President Barack Obama, to run an embattled agency that has had only one permanent, Senate-confirmed director in the past 15 years.

The bureaus current acting director, Marvin G. Richardson, a career official who drew criticism over an appearance in January with the head of the gun industrys main trade group, will remain at the agency as a deputy director to advise Mr. Restaino, the officials said.

The personnel moves at A.T.F. come at a critical crossroads for the administration. The country is experiencing a surge in gun-related violence not seen in decades. Mr. Biden, who promised during his campaign to expand background checks and ban most semiautomatic rifles, has been stymied by Congress in his efforts to enact even modest changes.
Eric Trump, a son of the former president and an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, has repeatedly pointed out that the hotel donated to the U.S. Treasury any profits collected as a result of stays by foreign government officials at the hotel, and took other steps to avoid ethics questions, such as not actively soliciting business from foreign governments.

In an interview this week, Eric Trump said he could not discuss details of the sale. But he said he remained proud of the work that the Trump family did after leasing a rundown gem of a federal building and turning it into what he called one of the most beautiful public spaces in Washington. The company spent extra money during the renovations, for example, to preserve architectural details like the original oak doors, the fireplace in the former postmaster generals office and the steel frame in the hotel lobby that once held a glass ceiling above the mail sorting room.

It was dirty and decrepit when we first saw it, Mr. Trump said of the building, recalling a visit before the family bid on the lease for the structure, which was the first steel-frame building in Washington when it opened in 1899. What we realized was you could build something great here. You could uncover something wonderful. And we did.

But various Washington government accountability groups that tracked events at the hotel said its most important legacy was a trail of ethics abuses. One group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, counted what it said were at least 1,320 conflicts that played out at the hotel during Mr. Trumps four years in office. They included lobbying outfits like the American Petroleum Institute holding events at the hotel at the same time as it had set up White House meetings.

During Mr. Trumps presidency, spending at the hotel became a target for legal action, with attorneys general in Maryland and the District of Columbia, among others, filing lawsuits citing the hotel as the primary exhibit in claims that Mr. Trump was violating the Constitutions emoluments clause by accepting payments from foreign governments. The cases were deemed moot by the Supreme Court once Mr. Trump left the White House.

The Trump hotel in Washington will be the fifth hotel since 2017 to lose its Trump brand, which has also been stripped from hotels in New York, Toronto, Panama City and Vancouver, British Columbia, leaving the family with just five major hotels in the United States, as well as its golf courses and other properties.
A court arbitrator has ordered former President Donald J. Trumps presidential campaign to pay nearly $1.3 million in legal fees to Omarosa Manigault Newman, the former Apprentice star, White House aide and author of the first tell-all book about the Trump White House.

The award, handed down on Tuesday, concludes a protracted legal fight after Mr. Trump unsuccessfully sued Ms. Manigault Newman over her book, Unhinged, arguing that she had violated a nondisclosure agreement she had signed while working for his campaign in 2016.

Mr. Trump lost the arbitration case in September 2021, one in a string of failed attempts to enforce nondisclosure agreements against former employees.

Since the decision, both sides have continued to dispute the size of the award. Mr. Trumps lawyers claimed Ms. Manigault Newman made bad-faith arguments and should not receive legal fees. But the arbitrator sided with her, noting the hefty expense of the case.
Since the Miranda decision had announced a constitutional rule, he wrote, a statute that sought to overrule it was itself unconstitutional.

But Roman Martinez, a lawyer for Mr. Vega, said a constitutional rule is different from a constitutional right. Dickerson gives Miranda constitutional status, but it doesnt say that Miranda creates a Fifth Amendment right.

Justice Elena Kagan said the court should be wary of limiting the sweep of the Dickerson decision.

If we come out your way, it will undermine Dickerson, she told Mr. Martinez.

And that, in turn, she continued, would have a kind of unsettling effect not only on peoples understanding of the criminal justice system but on peoples understanding of the court itself and the legitimacy of the court and the way the court operates and the way the court sticks to what it says.

Mr. Martinez responded that he was not asking the court to overrule Miranda or Dickerson but only to say that they had not established the sort of right whose violation could give rise to a suit under the civil rights law.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett said it was significant that Chief Justice Rehnquists opinion in Dickerson had not characterized Miranda warning as a constitutional right. It seemed very carefully worded to say constitutional rule or constitutionally required, she said.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said his predecessor, whom he had served as a law clerk, had chosen his words carefully. He didnt say Miranda is in the Constitution, Chief Justice Roberts said. He talked about constitutional underpinnings, constitutional basis.
Mr. Jacob said in a statement in January that he had flown that day to spread the ashes of his best friend, Johnny Strange, over the top of a Sierra Nevada mountain. Mr. Strange died in 2015 while BASE jumping, an extreme sport in which people parachute from a fixed object or structure, such as a cliff.

In the video, Mr. Jacob unleashes a flurry of expletives when the propeller stops spinning. He opens the planes door and jumps out with a parachute, abandoning the plane as he descends toward the forest, a selfie stick in hand to record it all.

Im just so happy to be alive, he says after landing in prickly brush. He documented his hike through the forest, which, he says in the video, lasted at least six hours until a farmer found him at dusk. Earlier, he had found the wrecked, mangled plane in a thicket of dried shrubs.

Almost immediately after he posted the video on Dec. 24, viewers and aviation experts expressed doubts online over his portrayal of the crash. It was orchestrated, they claimed, for views and likes, and several steps Mr. Jacob took, such as wearing a parachute in the first place, were evidence of a preconceived publicity stunt.

Mr. Jacob turned off comments for the video.

The F.A.A. agreed about the parachute in its letter, which it released in response to a request from The New York Times, and pointed out other revealing details that officials had uncovered during an investigation.

During this flight, you opened the left side pilot door before you claimed the engine had failed, the F.A.A. wrote.

Before jumping out of the plane, the agency said, Mr. Jacob made no attempt to contact air traffic control on the emergency frequency, did not try to restart the engine by increasing airflow over the propeller and failed to look for a place to safely land, even though there were multiple areas within gliding range in which you could have made a safe landing.
As the war in Ukraine stretches on longer than many anticipated, Californias southern border has increasingly become a destination for refugees from the war-torn country.

Thousands of Ukrainians are traveling to Mexico to ask immigration officials for asylum in the United States. But crossing from Tijuana into San Diego has proved far from simple.

Refugees wait days in the border city to be allowed entry into California. Some sleep in tents or on the floor of converted gyms. Many have been told they must leave their pets behind in Mexico.

And, as my colleague Miriam Jordan reported in todays newspaper, dozens of Ukrainian children are now being separated from friends and relatives at the border because of a law devised to prevent migrant children from being trafficked.
An Ohio doctor who had been accused of killing 14 patients with overdoses of fentanyl from 2014 to 2018 was acquitted on Wednesday by a county jury, bringing an end to one of the states largest murder cases, which set off a debate about end-of-life medical care.

The doctor, William Husel, 46, had been admired by his colleagues and patients at the Mount Carmel Health System, which is based in Columbus, after he started working there in 2013. Then, in June 2019, he was charged with 25 counts of murder.

In 2018, two hospital pharmacists reported their concerns that Dr. Husel had been prescribing unusually high doses of fentanyl.

When he treated patients, who were often gravely ill, he sometimes offered them comfort medication, which turned out to be fentanyl. One patient received a dosage 20 times higher than the amount recommended by the Food and Drug Administration, Franklin County prosecutors said.
The Comandos are now fighting with the Frente Carolina Ramirez, another group headed by former guerrilla leaders, for control of Putumayo and Caqueta, two departments in the Colombian Amazon, near the border with Ecuador and Peru, that play critical roles in the drug trade.

The departments are also home to two of the countrys important industries: oil and cattle. Together, the contested territories form about 10 percent of the country.

Increasingly, it is civilians who are suffering most, trapped between these warring groups and even the military trying to stop them.

Some security experts warn if the government does not take on a greater role in quelling these militias and fulfilling the promises of the accord, the country could be headed toward a state that looks more like Mexico  ravaged by drug gangs vying for territory  than the Colombia of the 2000s.

Its a long way to go to get back to 2002, said Adam Isacson, director for defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, referring to the casualty counts during one of the worst years of the war. But were on that path right now.

Everything Is About the Money.

By the time the Comandos spilled into a riverside town on a recent Sunday, the community was already in full weekend swing  music blared from a sound system and rival soccer teams took the field. The fighters, rifles on their shoulders, took up a position on an adjacent plot, where they ran drills in a show of force.

Residents watched both spectacles from the sidelines, beers and ice pops in hand.

The conflict with the FARC dates to the 1960s, when two communist leaders declared a rebellion against the state, pledging to replace the government with one that would support poor rural people.
By the numbers, Shanghai has been an exemplar of how to save lives during a pandemic. Despite the citys more than 400,000 Covid-19 infections, just 17 people have died, according to officials, statistics they have touted as proof that their strategy of strict lockdowns and mass quarantines works.

But those numbers may not give a complete picture of the outbreaks toll. China typically classifies Covid-related deaths more narrowly than many other countries, labeling some chronically ill patients who die while infected as victims of those other conditions.

In addition, a nearly three-week lockdown of Chinas biggest city has limited access to medicine and care for other illnesses. A nurse who suffered an asthma attack died after being denied care because of virus controls. A 90-year-old man died of complications from diabetes after being turned away from an overwhelmed hospital.

If, at the time, he had been able to get treatment, he probably would have survived, said the mans granddaughter, Tracy Tang, a 32-year-old marketing manager.
As hundreds of Rohingya refugees fled a detention center in Malaysia, six of them, including two children, were killed on Wednesday when they were struck by a car crossing a highway.

The deaths are the latest tragedy for members of the Muslim ethnic group from Myanmar, many of whom fled persecution in their home and now increasingly find themselves in limbo in the countries where they sought refuge.

A total of 528 detainees escaped from the facility in the northern state of Penang after riots occurred around 4 a.m., according to officials. Since then, 362 have been arrested and a search was underway for the others.

The dead were two men, two women, a boy and a girl, Mohd Shuhaily bin Mohd Zain, Penangs police chief commissioner, told reporters. The incident occurred along a highway connecting the states of Kedah to Penang. He did not disclose their ages.
Mr. Lescure, Mr. Macrons party spokesman, said much of the anger against the president stemmed from a misunderstanding of his governing style, which he compared with those of the former presidents Charles de Gaulle and Francois Mitterrand  two so-called Republican monarchs also regarded as aloof.

When he is described as haughty, distant and even arrogant, I think its also because his practice of power is much less popular, in the sense of being people-oriented, than others, he said.

It has put off even many of the presidents earlier supporters.

At Ms. Le Pens rally in Avignon, Rachida Saidj, 53, said she had voted for Mr. Macron in 2017 as part of the dam against the far right. This time, she had voted for the Greens in the first round and  faced with a choice between the plague and cholera  was planning to vote for Ms. Le Pen as part of the anti-Macron front.

He has said everything and its opposite, he has despised many people, Ms. Saidj said, adding Mr. Macron had acted like a king.

In Le Havre, another staunch Macron supporter, Bilel Benaouda, a 22-year student and would-be entrepreneur, was also worried. He had voted for Mr. Macron in the first round. But his brother and most people around him had endorsed Mr. Melenchon and were now planning to stay home in the second round.
Uwe Jun, a political scientist at Trier University, dismissed the idea of a coalition under threat. But he did see a risk for the chancellors reputation as a leader for the continent.

For Europeans, that need is especially great, Mr. Jun said, because President Emmanuel Macron of France is receding from the regional stage to fend off a ring-wing electoral challenge at home.

Scholz was expected to fill this vacuum, Mr. Jun said. And there is a certain disappointment, I would say, that Scholz hasnt done that.

On Tuesday, after discussing Ukraine with other Western leaders, Mr. Scholz stirred up expectations by saying he would give a speech.

But the only new announcement from him, Ms. Strack-Zimmerman of the Free Democratic Party said, was a plan to help Eastern European countries provide their own Soviet-era equipment to Ukraine in larger amounts by promising to replace them with German-made material. Even that, she said, was something that could have been started earlier: We had been suggesting that for three weeks.

Mr. Scholz reiterated a plan announced last week to provide 1 billion euros in military aid, allowing Ukraine to buy the weapons it needs directly from the defense industry. Berlin asked German defense contractors to draw up a list of what they could supply quickly, and sent it to Ukraine, Mr. Scholz said. Kyiv would also be allowed to buy from other allied countries, he added.
LONDON  Queen Elizabeth II turns 96 on Thursday, a milestone she will mark out of sight at her country estate, Sandringham. But the birthday has not arrived without a dollop of drama from her self-exiled grandson, Prince Harry, who said this week he wanted to make sure the aging queen was protected.

Harry, who paid his grandmother a rare and surprise visit for tea at Windsor Castle last Thursday with his wife, Meghan, said in an interview with NBCs Today show, Im just making sure shes protected and got the right people around her.

His cryptic comment, to an American TV network, raised the hackles of royal commentators and the London tabloids. Elizabeth, they pointed out, was well-protected by her son and heir and Harrys father, Prince Charles, and by his eldest son, Prince William. The clear implication was that her prodigal grandson, now living in Southern California, need not apply for the job.

The queen, who suffered a bout of the coronavirus in February, has been notably frail since the death of her husband, Prince Philip, a year ago. She has canceled multiple public engagements and no longer even ventures out to events that are close at hand, like Easter services held at St. Georges chapel at Windsor, where she now lives full time.
Several finance ministers and central bankers including Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and Ukraines finance minister, Serhiy Marchenko, abruptly left a Group of 20 meeting in protest on Wednesday when Russias finance minister, Anton Siluanov, started to speak, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

The walkout was a stark demonstration of Russias isolation on the global stage and came as the United States and its allies spend the opening days of spring meetings held by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund grappling with how to contain the fallout from Russias war in Ukraine. Top economic officials from around the world have gathered in Washington and virtually to discuss ways to maintain economic pressure on Russia without further upending the global economy.

At the meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Siluanov and Russian officials were participating virtually. Some finance ministers and central bank governors who were also participating virtually turned off their cameras when Mr. Siluanov spoke, the person familiar with the meeting said.

President Biden has asked for Russia to be removed from the Group of 20. The Treasury Department said this week that Ms. Yellen would make clear this week that it should not be business as usual for Russia in the global economy, and that the Treasury secretary would not be participating in some meetings when Russia is present.
Do I still have to test when flying into the United States?

Yes, indeed. Every traveler aged 2 and over flying into the United States, regardless of vaccination status or citizenship, must show a negative coronavirus test taken the day before boarding. Alternatively, people who have tested positive in the past 90 days may travel with positive viral test results and a signed letter from a licensed health care provider or a public health official saying that they have been cleared for travel.

Unlike the federal mask mandate, there is no expiration date on this requirement. Airlines and trade organizations representing the hospitality industry have been lobbying for the C.D.C. to lift the requirement, which they say is financially damaging. The White House said earlier this month that there were no immediate plans to remove the rule.

Can I get refunded if Im not comfortable flying amid unmasked people?

It depends. Airlines do not seem to be offering any special type of refund for people in this situation. If you booked a nonrefundable fare, you may be out of luck. Your best bet may be getting a credit or rebooking the flight for some distant date; most airlines no longer charge change fees on all but basic economy flights.

If you are flying Delta, though, you can plead your case. We hear situations out on a case-by-case basis and make a determination, a spokesman for Delta said on Wednesday.

Southwest offers a voucher or a refund, depending on the type of ticket.

In response to this question, American Airlines sent its standard refund policy which requires a traveler to cancel within 24 hours on a nonrefundable ticket.
Anne McCarthy

Novitas Communications acquires the CCO-CMO Roundtable from Anne McCarthy, founder and president of Westmeath Global Communications and 6x6 Careers, LLC. The Roundtable is an invitation-only off-the-record gathering for senior marketing and communications professionals. In addition to discussing industry trends and peer-to-peer sharing of issues and experiences, each meeting typically highlights a members actual business challenge and the success or failure behind the strategy. Novitas will build upon Annes success and elevate business communications by providing a space for communications and marketing professionals to learn from one anothers experiences, said Novitas Communications CEO Michelle Lyng.

Landor & Fitch, a specialist brand and design group, opens a studio at the Waterfront Innovation Centre in Toronto, where it will be co-located with other WPP agencies. The new studio will be led by Scott Beffort, who has spent the last nine years with TAXI, where he has led the growth of their strategic design offering as president of Signal. Landor & Fitch Canadas client roster includes the Toronto Blue Jays, Dell and Walmart. Landor & Fitch will be a rich complement to our current services in Canada and will allow us to create even more value for (new and existing) clients, says Arthur Fleishman, Country Manager for WPP in Canada.

Vibrant Brands, a Latham, NY firm that provides digital marketing, design, website development, video and branding services to nonprofits, businesses and government agencies, is celebrating 20 years in business by donating a total of $20,000 to different organizations throughout the year. Charities receiving funds include the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, Pride Center of the Capital Region, Regional Food Bank of Northeastern NY, Alzheimers Disease Association and NAACP New York State. Vibrant Brands is kickstarting the giving campaign by donating $1,000 to the World Central Kitchen, which serves fresh meals to Ukrainian families fleeing their homes or staying in place as Russia invades the country.

Marla Russo

Bella PR will mark 20 years as a women-owned agency on April 22. The agency, which operates out of New York and London, now boasts a team of 20+ women offering public relations, social media, influencer marketing and creative services. Launched by company CEO Marla Russo, it serves clients including Kinky-Curly, which offers a range of hair-care products. The agenct previously introduced international beauty brand Kryolan to the US consumer market and supported the opening of numerous stores throughout the country.
FIRST year students from Colaiste Choilm in Tullamore added a great bit of colour and noise to Saturday's Joe McDonagh Cup game between Offaly an Antrim in Corrigan Park, Belfast on Saturday last  they playe a challenge game before hand up there against Passion Secondary School, Belfast.

With former Offaly hurler, Colm Cassidy, a teacher in the school, among the organisers the group made the long trek to Belfast on Saturday and gave the teams a guard of honour as they went out onto the pitch.

They looked very well in Offaly jerseys at the match as well as in their own new tops that they wore up. The school would like to thank:

Glenisk for sponsoring the lovely tops, Precision Engineering and Connie Brophil for their generous financial contribution, Colaiste Choilm Board of Management, Offaly GAA and Antrim GAA for their help and passes to the Joe McDonagh Cup game, Cross and Passion Secondary School for organising the challenge game, Declan Carroll for driving them around all weekend, Aileen McShane and all the staff in Sheep Island View hostel for their hospitality. And a huge thanks to the organising committee of Mr. O Donovan, Ms. Larkin, Ms. Molloy, Sinead Durkan, Ms. Lee and Mr. Cassidy for organising a fantastic few days.
A car left abandoned in a car park in Offaly for months has been reported to Scottish Police.

Cllr John Clendennen posted on Facebook that the car has been "left abandoned for several months at Kinnitty Community Centre."

He added: "Offaly County Council will be removing it in the coming days if its not claimed by the owner. If you know the owner please let them know."

A number of social media users pointed out the UK registration plates on the car and suggested it may be something to report to authorities there.

Cllr Clendennen responded: "I brought the car to the attention of Scottish Police. They advised that if there has been any activity of interest to them, they will liaise directly with Gardai."

The car is expected to be removed from the area before the end of the week.
ACTIVITIES have resumed for members of Offaly Foroige and over recent weeks a number of events have been held.

A number of Offaly members attended the Regional Conference in Athenry where three members from Offaly were elected to the Reference Panel, while the local District Council held a very successful table quiz in Rath, which attracted large numbers.

Congrats

Congratulations to Ferbane Foroige members Eoin Lally and Ava Grace Egan (in abstentia) who recently graduated from NUIG with a Foundation Certificate in Youth Leadership and Community Action. Eoin and Ava Grace undertook Foroiges Leadership for Life programme which is accredited by NUIG.

Members of Rath/English Foroige have recently commenced Module 1 of the Leadership for Life Programme. It is expected that a number of members in the county will commence the programme as part of Foroiges annual residential international Leadership for Life Conference, which returns to NUI Maynooth after a two-year hiatus. This course has proven to be a very enjoyable as well as a huge learning experience for anyone who attends.



Regional Conference

The Foroige Regional Conference to elect members on to the Reference Panel was held on April 10th in the lovely Raheen Woods Hotel in Athenry, Co Galway. Members from clubs in Offaly and Galway were in attendance. There were seven spaces available and Offaly came out very well by succeeding in getting three members elected to the panel.

The Foroige Reference Panel is a group of up to 64 young people who are brought together to represent the views of all members of Foroige, from Clubs to Projects to Youth Services. The work of the Reference Panel directly impacts how Foroige operates and ensures that young persons voices are heard in the running of Irelands leading youth organisation.

Offaly members elected to the Reference Panel include Carol Anderson from the Ferbane Club, Aisling Foley from the Rath/Eglish Club and Faye McLoughlin from the Brosna Special Interest Music Group/Ballycumber Club.



Quiz

The first Foroige inter club event in two years, which was a table quiz, was held in Rath Hall Friday evening last.

The District Council would like to thank the Rath/Eglish Club and leaders for hosting the quiz, it was a very enjoyable event.
In the Open | Faoin Speir  Offaly present their final three fantastic outings In the Open over the next two weeks.

In the Open | Faoin Speir  Offaly, funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, is a collaborative partnership led by Offaly County Councils Arts Office with Birr Theatre and Arts Centre and Birr Festivals Collective, Tullamore Arts Centre & Lough Boora Parklands. The aim is to develop the exciting and innovative curated programme of outdoor events, taking place throughout Co. Offaly, in anticipation of the opening of the new Arts Centre for the town next year. In the Open | Faoin Speir  Offaly will generate a sustained and curated programme of multidisciplinary, inclusive arts activity in public or open spaces in towns and communities around Ireland until April 2022.

Make way for two fun filled evenings full of past OFFline Film Festival films for all ages at the OFFline Film Festival Outdoor Cinema, taking place on Friday, April 22nd and Sunday, April 24th from 8:30pm outside of Birr Theatre and Arts Centre! Friday hosts special screenings for children with a short film and a feature length movie Little Boy Litter by Jack McHugh & Conor Mc Nally, and Oscar Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year in 2014, Song of the Sea by Tomm Moore and Paul Young. Sunday night features films from the Heartlands, a compilation of short films made in the Midlands, or filmmakers from the midlands over the past 10 years such as Saving the Turf by Fiona Breen, Wormhole in the Washer by Padraic Keane and Soft Tissue by Cliona Noonan. For more details on films visit www.intheopenoffaly.ie, and to book your tickets in advance, visit https://birrtheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows/873632098.

Before enjoying some fun evenings at the outdoor cinema, have a great family day out at Spectacular Weekend at the Bog during both afternoons from 12-4pm on Saturday, April 23rd and Sunday, April 24th at Lough Boora Discovery Park Pavilion. Expect a plethora of things to do to celebrate the experience, visuals and textures of the long fascinating surrounding boglands. Artists Monica deBath and Evelyn Broderick facilitate some interactive bog walks and bog painting and sculpture workshops at the Lough Boora Pavilion. Free workshop tickets for families and all ages are available in advance at https://birrtheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows/873632036 but book now as spaces are limited!

Also experience the beauty of natural art materials through a selection of painted signs in the Pavilion area by Artist Augustine ODonoghue, using turf and other natural materials, these temporary paintings will be affected by the rain and other weather conditions over the 2 week period of their appearance from April 19th - May 7th. Dont forget to also enjoy an impromptu rehearsal from Birr Young Voices on the Saturday at 2pm, who will be performing at Soundscapes of Nature presented by Birr Festival of Music on Saturday, April 30th, as well as an exclusive reading by revered Birr Poet Eileen Casey of her latest publication Bogmen First and Last on the Sunday.

When you are on your way out to these fun family activities, why not stop off first to the Organic Kitchen at Lough Boora Visitor Centre and pick yourselves up some handy picnic boxes to take with you to the Pavilion for a satisfying picnic lunch? Also expect some great confectionary and ice cream available from their selection to enjoy.

The final event to close our wonderfully diverse In the Open | Faoin Speir programme is that of an inspiring, ethereal collusion of audio and visual entitled Soundscapes of Nature presented by Birr Festival of Music. After two years of hybrid and online events, Birr Festival of Music 2022 returns to full capacity and its usual May Bank Holiday Weekend dates this year from Friday April 29 - Monday 2 May.

Soundscapes of Nature, taking place during the festival at 9pm on Saturday, April 30th, is a newly-commissioned work for Birr Young Voices, inspired by the natural world, is created and animated by award-winning Birr artists, animator Finn Nichol and composer Laura Sheils and involves 40 local children and young musicians. The performance takes place in the open air at Birr Castle Courtyard in Birr, Co. Offaly. Tickets can be purchased here at https://birrtheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows/873632400.

In the Open |Faoin Speir and Spectacular Vernacular emerges from the foundations of artistic cultures that already exist between our towns and in County Offaly; examining the traditions of Offaly and its rural arcadia through the lens of the contemporary practitioners who live there or artists and culturalists whose practice may be associated with the locale. These featured artists share a united association with new blood, new cultures and potential that will look sharply to a shared future and consider - what collective legacy may be possible for our community to envisage today?For more information on the above artists and their In the Open |Faoin Speir and Spectacular Vernacular projects visit https://intheopenoffaly.ie/Artist

For more on In the Open | FaoinSpeir and Spectacular Vernacular, visit www.intheopenoffaly.ie or https://www.offaly.ie/eng/Services/Arts-and-Culture/
LAST month Offaly County Council published an advert seeking a design consultancy service to prepare a framework document for the regeneration of Tullamore.

This is a very welcome, though much overdue, initiative by the council.

The framework will be expected to create a vision for the centre of the town up to 2040 and support the Government's Town Centre First policy released last year.

It will include a public realm plan, regeneration proposals and a strategy for sustainable access to Tullamore.

The aim of the Government's overall strategy is to create towns that are characterised by streets, spaces and parks and which are designed to invite people to meet, mingle and dwell.

Like many other, if not the vast majority, of towns in Ireland, Tullamore's centre has been hollowed out due to a variety of factors over the past two decades.

The development of a large retail park on the outskirts of the town led to major retailers either relocating or opening new premises there to the detriment of the town centre.

The growth of online shopping resulted in the closure of many retail outlets and left the town centre's streets pockmarked with derelict and decaying units.

The Government's Town Centre First policy envisagea that streets in the core of urban areas contain a variety of services and shops that provide employment opportunities, enable people to shop locally and meet the needs of the local community.

It is also envisaged that town centres should provide a range of cultural, recreational and community spaces, including scope for periodic events and festivals, that bring together community members and attract visitors and tourists.

As such it is heartening to see the long-awaited Tullamore Arts Centre nearing completion on High St as well as the redevelopment of a number of once thriving hospitality outlets such as the former Tullamore DEW Visitor Centre at Bury Quay.

In the Town Centre First policy there is also an emphasis on reaching places by foot rather than by car. It stresses that a town should be well connected and accessible to sustainable modes of transport, enabling a high proportion of journeys to be made by foot and/or bicycle from the immediate hinterland - the 10 minute town concept.

Traffic should also be managed within central areas so that streets prioritise vulnerable users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, enabling them to move about safely and in comfort.

Towns should also provide a mix of housing types and tenures to cater for diverse communities in terms of age, income and mobility, the plan states.

The plan recommends the utilisation of digital technology to enhance the experience of living and working in towns, enabling greater choices in terms of location and lifestyle.

It also states that opportunities for the amenity, health and well-being of residents, workers and visitors must be prioritised.

Central to the plan is major investment in remote working, a lifestyle change which has become a feature of many of our lives in this era of Covid restrictions on travel and social interaction.

The policy promises investment for enterprise spaces, co-working hubs and remote working facilities in towns throughout the country, including Offaly and the wider Midlands.

Every cloud has a silver lining and the switch to remote working during Covid has created a whole range of possibilities for Tullamore and other similar towns which could not have been envisaged a short time ago.

Instead of being forced to move to cities young people now have a real chance to pursue careers in their home areas

We have all witnessed the closure of post offices, garda stations, pubs, shops and other amenities in rural towns and villages over the recent past and this plan offers an opportunity to reverse this decline.

But it is crucial that the Government follows through on the lofty aims contained in the plan with meaningful policy decisions over the coming years.
Russia has launched its long-awaited all-out assault on eastern Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian government, unleashing thousands of troops in what Kyiv described as the Battle of the Donbas.
An intimate short documentary about the growing crisis of Americans held hostage by foreign governments, "Bring Them Home" follows one family's desperate effort to free their loved one from being used as a geopolitical pawn by Iran.
Beijing (AFP) April 19, 2022



China said Tuesday it has sealed a wide-ranging security pact with the Solomon Islands, an agreement the United States and its regional allies fear could give Beijing a military foothold in the South Pacific. The confirmation came a day after Washington discouraged a security agreement between the countries, with top US diplomats headed to the South Pacific this week to curb Beijing's inroad
Washington (AFP) April 20, 2022



Finance officials from the world's richest countries will meet on Wednesday to address global challenges like rising debt and a possible food crisis - if they can overcome boiling tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moscow's attack on its neighbor is set to dominate the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, the first since Russian President Vladimir Putin orde
Newsy 29 Apr 2022

Watch VideoRussia pounded targets from practically one end of Ukraine to the other Thursday, including Kyiv, bombarding the city..
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The cause of the wildfire is under investigation. Areas impacted include Antelope Hills by Flagstaff and Moon Crater, Arizona, with..
DENVER (AP)  The police chief who led police in the Denver suburb of Aurora when a gunman killed 12 people in a movie theater a decade ago is returning to temporarily lead the embattled department following the firing of its last chief.

Daniel J. Oates, who served as police chief in Aurora from 2005 to 2014 before retiring as police chief in Miami Beach, Florida, will serve as interim chief and help in the selection of the next police chief, the city announced Wednesday.

City manager Jim Twombly said he hired Oates because he has established trust within our community and many of our officers.

Earlier this month Twombly fired Police Chief Vanessa Wilson, who was hired in 2020 as Colorado's third-largest city faced scrutiny over the death of Elijah McClain, a case that received widespread attention in the wake of protests of racial injustice and police brutality. McClain died after being stopped by police, put in a chokehold and injected with the powerful sedative ketamine in 2019. Three police officers and two paramedics were indicted in McClains death last year.

Wilson acted quickly to fire officers for misconduct, including officers who took and shared photos appearing to mock McClains death. Earlier this year, she also fired the president of one of police departments two police unions for an email he sent to over 200 department employees criticizing diversity provisions the city had agreed to under a consent decree with the state attorney generals office and disparaging the citys residents.

Twombly praised Wilson's community outreach but said he fired her because of concerns about her leadership and management of the department without getting into specifics.

Wilson disputed Twomblys assessment and alleged she was forced out for political reasons. Her lawyers have said the new conservative majority on the city council did not support Wilsons efforts to enact reforms required by the consent decree following an investigation by the state attorney generals office prompted by McClains death.

Oates, who also has served as police chief in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a deputy chief in the New York Police Department, said getting officers to support the changes in the agreement will be among his highest priorities.

It is the only way to move forward as a department, he said.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Collin Periatt.

Monday, April 18

10:18 p.m.  Deputies were dispatched to a Larkin Township residence regarding two goats found by a 64-year-old woman. Deputies assisted the woman with returning the goats to their owner.

9:57 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Jerome Township residence regarding a complaint involving the ownership of a dog. The deputy spoke to both parties. It was determined the issue was civil and needed to be decided in small claims court.

3:21 p.m.  An animal control deputy received a complaint of a dog escaping from its leash and biting another dog. Contact was made with the dog owner and a verbal warning and isolation notice were issued.

3:20 p.m.  While on patrol, a deputy came upon an 84-year-old Bay County man that had pulled to the side of the road and was lost. The deputy contacted the man's family who helped get him home.

2:28 p.m.  Officers investigated a case of trespassing on West Saint Andrews Road.

10:26 a.m.  A deputy cited a 32-year-old Saginaw man for driving with a suspended license following a traffic stop in Lee Township. The passenger, a 47 year-old Saginaw man, was arrested for an outstanding warrant, and was transported to the Midland County Jail without incident.

9:51 a.m.  An animal control deputy received a complaint from a citizen who was bitten by a raccoon that he had trapped in his attic. The raccoon was submitted to the Michigan Department of Health for rabies testing. Lab results awaiting results.

9:05 a.m.  Referral from the Department of Health and Human Services involving a 14 year-old girl. Contact was made with the father who advised he learned of some possible "touching" between his daughter and her boyfriend. The boyfriend is the same age. The father advised that the situation was discussed with his daughter, and she is no longer in a relationship with the boy. The father advised he does not want law enforcement involved in the situation and it has been handled.

12:34 a.m.  Deputies were dispatched to a Lee Township residence regarding a child custody dispute between a 30-year-old woman and her 36-year-old ex-boyfriend. The parties made an agreement on the arrangements and the issue was resolved.
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LUDINGTON  Sprawled like a gigantic swimming pool atop a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan is an asphalt-and-clay pond holding enough water to produce electricity for 1.6 million households.

It's part of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant, which uses simple technology: Water is piped from a lower reservoir  the lake, in this case  to an upper one, then released downhill through supersized turbines.

Supporters call these systems the world's largest batteries" because they hold vast amounts of potential energy for use when needed for the power grid.

The hydropower industry considers pumped storage the best answer to a question hovering over the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy to address climate change: where to get power when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing.

I wish we could build 10 more of these. I love 'em," Eric Gustad, community affairs manager for Consumers Energy, said during a tour of the Ludington facility.

But the utility based in Jackson, Michigan, has no such plans. Environmental and logistical challenges and potential costs in the billions led Consumers to sell another would-be site near the lake years ago. It's now upgrading the existing plant with co-owner DTE Energy.

Constructing a new one doesn't make financial sense," Gustad said. Unless we get some help from the state or federal government, I don't see it happening any time soon."

STUCK IN NEUTRAL

The company's decision illustrates the challenges facing pumped storage in the U.S., where these systems account for about 93% of utility-scale energy in reserve. While analysts foresee soaring demand for power storage, the industry's growth has lagged.

The nation has 43 pumped storage facilities with a combined capacity of 22 gigawatts, the output of that many nuclear plants. Yet just one small operation has been added since 1995  and it's unknown how many of more than 90 planned can overcome economic, regulatory and logistical barriers that force long delays.

Three projects have obtained licenses from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, but none are being built. Developers of a long-planned Oregon facility expect work to begin in 2023. A Montana company that got a license five years ago needs a utility to operate the plant and buy its storage capacity before construction starts.

By contrast, more than 60 are being built worldwide, mostly in Europe, India, China and Japan.

The permitting process is crazy, Malcolm Woolf, president of the National Hydropower Association, complained during a January hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, saying it involves too many agencies.

Although FERC permits new facilities and relicenses existing ones, other federal, state and tribal offices have roles, spokesperson Celeste Miller said. Every project is unique. All have various case-specific issues, she said.

The industry is lobbying for an investment tax credit similar to what solar and wind get. President Joe Bidens Build Back Better plan includes the tax break but is stuck in Congress.

Pumped storage dates from the early 1930s. But most systems were built decades later to warehouse excess electricity from nuclear plants and release it when needed.

The storage facilities also serve as a safety net in sudden power interruptions. When a New England nuclear unit tripped offline in 2020, Woolf said, the lights in Boston didn't flicker because two pumped storage stations provided backup power.

While nuclear, coal and natural gas plants can operate continuously, wind and solar can't  so the market for reserve power likely will grow. National Renewable Energy Laboratory models show U.S. storage capacity may rise fivefold by 2050.

Were going to bring hundreds of gigawatts of clean energy onto the grid over the next few years and we need to be able to use that energy wherever and whenever its needed, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said last year.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Using computer mapping, Australian National University engineers identified more than 600,000 potentially feasible pumped storage sites worldwide  including 32,000 in the U.S.  that could store 100 times the energy needed to support a global renewable electricity network.

But the study didn't examine whether sites would meet environmental or cultural protection standards or be commercially viable. Its website acknowledged, Many or even most ... may prove to be unsuitable."

Environmentalists are cool toward pumped storage because reservoirs typically are formed by hydropower dams, which block fish pathways, damage water quality and emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Also, most plants continuously draw water from rivers.

But recent designs envision closed-loop systems that tap a surface or underground supply, then repeatedly cycle that water between reservoirs. Water would be added only to make up for evaporation or leaks.

The Hydropower Reform Coalition, representing conservation groups, says it might support such projects under very limited circumstances.

Yet some are drawing resistance, including the Goldendale Energy Storage Project in Washington state. It would pipe water between two 60-acre (24.3-hectare) reservoirs on opposite sides of a hill.

The facility could power nearly 500,000 homes for up to 12 hours, according to Rye Development, spearheading the project. It's seeking FERC licensing and is scheduled to go online in 2028 but still needs a state water quality permit.

Environmental groups fear harm to wetlands and wildlife habitat, while tribes say the project would encroach on a sacred site.

What are we willing to sacrifice to get this technology online?" said Bridget Moran, an associate director of American Rivers.

Developers say the project would include cleanup of the polluted lower reservoir area.

The U.S. Department of Energy has launched a web-based tool to help developers find the best locations.

A recent Michigan Technological University study identified hundreds of abandoned U.S. mines that could host pumped storage, with upper reservoirs at or near the surface and lower ones below ground.

They are close enough to transmission and distribution infrastructure and to solar and wind generating facilities, the report says.

All these holes in the ground are ready to go," said study co-leader Roman Sidortsov, an energy policy associate professor.
The organization is called Labor of Love, but the event is going to be a ball.

Tickets are on sale until midnight Friday for Labor of Love MidMichigan's "Black and White Ball," which takes place from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday at The Great Hall at Valley Plaza.

It is an evening of dressing up, food and dancing to commemorate the organization's 10-year anniversary. Organizers said there are also many prizes up for raffle.

Labor of Love MidMichigan founder Tammy Stevens created the volunteer organization to support those going through pregnancy, birth and postpartum. She said they focus on the birth time and support for women who have little to no support as they transition into this new stage of life.

We are serving more people, Stevens said. Over 90% are in Midland.

Stevens said the doulas -- persons who provide a mother and her family emotional support along with physical and informational support during the pregnancy and up to three months after birth -- are all volunteers. Stevens said no one should go through birthing alone.

Doulas attend the checkups and are sometimes in the room with the mom during delivery. They are also there for the mom and baby about three months after birth. They also work with women who have an adoption plan. Some things doulas help with are when a pregnant woman questions if what she is feeling is normal or when she should be concerned about it.

Midlander Nikki Sprague had Stevens for a doula with her first biological child three years ago. She and her husband also had two older adopted sons. Sprague said the family had recently moved back to Midland from North Dakota when she read about doulas.

Finding herself with many questions, Sprague said, Sign me up.

Sprague was matched with Stevens in January 2019 and gave birth in May. Stevens continued with Sprague until July of that year.

It was nice; there was someone always on your side, Sprague said. They help you advocate for yourself between pregnancy and birth."

Sprague said her doula was there to support her, make sure she felt comfortable and help her with the postpartum anxiety she felt with her first biological child. She said with her second biological child, there was a lot of focus on the postpartum, but she didnt have anxiety.

With the second one, I felt a lot more confident, Sprague said.

Sprague, now a mother of four boys, said she would recommend a doula, noting they support the mother and baby. In addition, she said Stevens talked with her about blending the family and helped Spragues husband with ideas on how to be more involved with the children.

It was so helpful to have that support system, Sprague said.

Sprague recalls one day during postpartum with her second biological son, that Stevens invited her to coffee and said she would pick her up.

That was someone who understood, Sprague said. Someone who made sure I was in a good place.

Stevens said because of the growing need, Labor of Love is training more doulas. In 2021, the volunteer organization took on its first physical address at 2706 Ashman Street.

To learn more about Labor of Love MidMichigan, visit LOLMM.org. To purchase tickets for Saturday's ball, visit https://bit.ly/36vUy4l.
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MANISTEE  2022 will be the last year that Mick Szymanski will be the Manistee council member for the fifth district. At Tuesday's regularly scheduled Manistee City Council meeting, Szymanski announced that he would not be running for re-election.

"I just wanted to publicly announce that I will not be running for city council for the fifth district. So I'm hopeful that there will be several candidates interested in picking up the petitions," Szymanski said at the meeting.

He said in an interview with the News Advocate that he'd like to spend more time traveling with his family.

"To be honest I was asked to run for city council. When I ran for office, it was because (at the time) development was not seen as big a priority," Szymanksi said.

Szymanski said at the time the council was very conservative in terms of building up additional housing stock and that was priority he wanted to address.

I took a four-year sabbatical from my retirement," Szymanski said.

He also said that it's important that there are new people becoming city council members and that current members dont stay on for too long.

A lot of people dont want to run against an incumbent, because they dont think theyre ready for that, Szymanski said.

He noted that in past elections there was often only an incumbent on the ballot or that there would be a single write-in candidate.

Szymanski wants to see a lot more people run for office.

Get your 25 signatures, and go for it, Szymanksi said about running for office.

...Having people on that council (who) are focused on, making Manistee, all that it can be (is the best qualification.) It doesnt matter if youre liberal, moderate or conservative. As long as you as your interested in doing the best you can for the community and putting service above self  youre there, Szymanski said.

Petitions to run for the fifth district, first district, third district and seventh district Manistee City Council seats are currently available at Manistee City Hall, and are required to be filed by July 26 to get on the ballot for the November election.

Public hearing

During the city council meeting there was a public hearing on the city budget, and the budget was also discussed later in the meeting as an agenda item.

Two people spoke at the public hearing for the proposed 2023 city budget. The first to come up to the podium to speak was John Helge.

Helge said he thought council did a good job overall in "stretching dollars as far as they could go" for taxpayer, noting that there are limited resources. However, he also had some suggestions for council.

"I would challenge you (to use) the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds that are available and other funds that will be coming down from the federal government understanding full well those are one time ... they end up here and there," Helge said. "It's got to be sustainable, whatever you do with those with those dollars."

Another resident, Ruth Pratt expressed concerns about an item on the budget that was $35,000 for bathrooms at the Manistee Department of Public Works.

Jeff Mikula, Manistee director of the department explained more about the item in the budget. Mikula said that "was actually two separate requests that we had two years ago."

"One was to upgrade both the men's and women's bathrooms at the Public Works," he said. "That facility is 50 years old. And all those fixtures are 50 years old. So our staff has already repainted everything and done everything internally that we can. This would have been for new fixtures, sinks, faucets, toilets, partitions ... we had a separate request for all the flooring in the offices and in the bathrooms."

He noted the flooring items and the repairs in the bathrooms were combined into one item on the city budget.

"Those are kind of combined together to get that $35,000 total. But if you walk in our office as you can see, painting them feel so good anymore. They're peeling and pulling off the floor. And so that was the extent of the two projects," Mikula said.

City budget

Ed Bradford made changes that were previously requested by council members at the April 12 work session. Those items included a freeze on a 0.5 mil refuse millage increase for PFAS remediation and a rejection of scheduled 3.5% water and 3.5% sewer increase.

Bradford noted how council members had requested to make up the difference.

"...To offset that we'll be taking 2022 marijuana proceeds (from the excise tax of the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act) and putting that towards the amount of revenue that would have been lost in the water and sewer fund," Bradford said.

That would be $45,000 of water and about $108,000 for the sewer last year, he said.

"(We would) then restrict $100,000 Of the remaining marijuana proceeds are used towards the future PFAS expenses which is about (the same amount of money) as the 0.5 mil raise," Bradford said.

The optional budget discussion scheduled for April 26 was waived. The budget is expected to be formally accepted at the next Manistee City Council meeting at 7 p.m at council chambers at city hall on May 3.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  An Ohio doctor accused of ordering excessive amounts of painkillers that led to multiple patient deaths at a Columbus-area hospital was acquitted of 14 counts of murder Wednesday following a weekslong trial.

Dr. William Husel, 46, was accused of ordering the drugs for patients in the Mount Carmel Health System. He was indicted in cases that involved at least 500 micrograms of the powerful painkiller fentanyl.

Prosecutors said ordering such dosages for a nonsurgical situation indicated an intent to end lives. Husel's attorneys argued he was providing comfort care for dying patients, not trying to kill them.

Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook told jurors before the start of deliberations that they could also consider lesser charges of attempted murder. They deliberated for six days.

Husel would have faced a sentence of life in prison with parole eligibility in 15 years had he been found guilty of just one count of murder.

Prosecutors presented their case beginning Feb. 22 and put on 53 prosecution witnesses before resting on March 29. Those witnesses included medical experts who testified that Husel ordered up to 20 times as much fentanyl as was necessary to control pain.

Husel gave enough fentanyl to some patients to kill an elephant, testified Dr. Wes Ely, a physician and professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University.

Other prosecution witnesses included medical experts, Mount Carmel employees, investigators, and family members of all 14 patients.

By contrast, defense lawyers called a single witness  a Georgia anesthesiologist  to testify that Husels patients died from their medical conditions and not Husels actions. The defense rested on March 31 after one day.

The age of the patients who died ranged from 37 to 82. The first patient death was in May 2015. The last three died in November 2018.

During closing arguments April 11, David Zeyen, an assistant Franklin County prosecutor, told jurors that regardless of how close a patient is to death, its illegal to speed up the process.

Husel's attorney Jose Baez during a remote news conference after the verdict repeated his assertion that prosecutors didnt produce a shred of evidence to back up their claims. He called Husel an incredible doctor who with his family are incredibly relieved the nightmare is over.

Im deeply saddened William had to go through this, Baez said.

The Franklin County Prosecutors Office released a brief statement that concluded: We accept the jury verdict.

Husel was fired by the Mount Carmel Health System. It concluded he had ordered excessive painkillers for about three dozen patients who died over several years. He was initially charged with 25 murder counts, but the judge agreed to dismiss 11 of those counts in January.

Husels colleagues who administered the medications werent criminally charged, but the hospital system said it fired 23 nurses, pharmacists and managers after its internal investigation and referred various employees to their respective state boards for possible disciplinary action.

Mount Carmel has reached settlements totaling more than $16.7 million over the deaths of at least 17 patients, with more lawsuits pending.

One patient, 82-year-old Melissa Penix, was given 2,000 micrograms of fentanyl and died a few minutes later. Dr. John Schweig of Tampa Bay General Hospital testified for the prosecution that Penix definitely was not terminal, nor was continuing medical care futile.

She was a fighter, said Penixs daughter, Bev Leonhard, of Grove City, according to The Columbus Dispatch. She didnt deserve to die the way she did.
With Huron County long looking at how to bring solar farms to the area, at least one developer has shown interest in building one close to Bad Axe.

Kat Webber, of Solar Ladies Consulting, spoke at this weeks Bad Axe City Council meeting about the possibility of installing a solar farm near the city, which Denver-based Sunshare Community Solar is interested in building.

Webber had first inquired about a 35-acre parcel of farmland along Pitt Road just east of town, while the city is also interested in putting panels on land east of Charlotte Street and north of the railroad tracks. The farm, if completed, would produce three megawatts of power per year, with the panels being 12 feet above the ground and following the path of the sun.

We dont want her to get too far ahead in case you guys decided it wasnt something you wanted to do, City Manager Rob Stiverson told the council. Even though they sound like they are more than willing to actually have a completed lease here today, lets just get the concept in front of everybody.

Webber explained the program she is offering goes for 35 years and will pay the city $1,000 per acre of leased land per year, with a 1% increase per year. It would include a two- to three-year process to get everything in line before breaking ground, so Solar Ladies would offer the city $80 an acre per year in the meantime.

A power purchasing agreement with DTE would also have to be put in place, followed by soil testing, wetlands delineation, and a survey. Environmental reports from the federal, state, and local levels would be sought, with Webber offering to get in contact with the local fire departments to show them show to put out a fire at a solar farm should one happen.

Webber added that for projects they are involved with, they would plant pollinator plants that would only grow to the bottom of the panel height, which can help bees in the area. Visual barriers could also be erected if the community does not want to see the panels. Power generated would be transmitted via wooden poles to connect to existing infrastructure.

This would be a community solar project, which has not been established yet in Michigan. Power generated from the project would remain in the community, comparing it to a timeshare where a small business, farm, or individual could lease power from the panels during the lifetime of the solar farm.

Everything that comes off of those panels that they generate, they come off your utility bill, Webber said. So, its a way for homeowners to not spend $50,000 to 60,000 if they want to get into solar. Small business could just buy into this, and its just right here in your community.

Legislation allowing community solar facilities to the Clean and Renewable Energy and Energy Waste Reduction Act was introduced in the state House in April of last year, though it has not yet passed in either legislative chamber.

Webber also brought up how changes to the states Payment in Lieu of Taxes that include solar farms are making their way through the state Legislature. Such changes were previously approved by the House and Senate in late 2020, but were vetoed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in early 2021.

If such changes were approved, money coming from the state to Bad Axe for this solar development could bring in $3,500 per megawatt per year.

The developer would also be responsible for removing the panels when they have reached the end of their service life, costing them 10% of the value of the materials to remove.

Sunshare Community Solar has worked on projects in Minnesota and Colorado that brought power to 6,000 customers through community solar projects.

Council members had some concerns with the proposed placement areas for the panels, with the land for the proposed site containing a forested area, some hills, and former gravel pits.

Currently, the city of Bad Axe does not have provisions specifically addressing solar farms in its zoning ordinances. The Huron County Planning Commission has been working on creating a county-wide solar ordinance for the past few years.

Stiverson said he would go through the zoning ordinances to find any comparable items to have the development zoned as, such as an industrial zone. He would also present whatever lease the city receives to the city attorney.

The council voted to do additional research into this proposed project before approving it by a 5-0 vote. Council members Steve Perez and Nick Rochefort were absent from the meeting.
BANGKOK (AP)  The Solomon Islands prime minister confirmed Wednesday that his government has signed a new security agreement with China, but told lawmakers it would not undermine the peace and harmony of our region as has been feared by the opposition and countries including the United States and Australia.

The security pact allows China to send police and military personnel to the Solomon Islands to assist in maintaining social order, while also opening the door for Chinese warships to stop in port there for logistical replenishment  giving rise to worries of a possible Chinese naval base on the doorstep of Australia and New Zealand.

But in his address to parliament, Manasseh Sogavare defended the security agreement as being directed entirely to our internal security situation." He said it it complemented a 2017 security arrangement with Australia, under which Australian police peacekeepers have been in the capital, Honiara, since riots in November.

I ask all our neighbors, friends and partners to respect the sovereign interest of Solomon Islands on the assurance that the decision will not adversely impact or undermine the peace and harmony of our region, he told parliament.

A draft of the agreement leaked online last month, and China's Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that it had been signed the other day. Sogavare was equally vague, telling lawmakers that it had been signed a few days ago.

Australia had urged the Solomon Islands not to sign the pact, and sent Sen. Zed Seselja, the minister for international development and the Pacific, for talks with Sogavare last week. Two top American officials  Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council Indo-Pacific coordinator, and Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs  are to visit the country this week for talks.

Sogavare has said his government would not let China build a military base, and China has denied seeking a military foothold in the South Pacific.

After China announced the agreement had been signed, Seselij and Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne said in a joint statement that they were deeply disappointed.

Our consistently stated view, including from the perspective of Australias national interests, remains that the Pacific family is best placed to meet the security needs of the region, they said.

We are concerned about the lack of transparency with which this agreement has been developed, noting its potential to undermine stability in our region.

They added that they welcomed statements from Sogavare that the Solomon Islands will never be used for military bases or other military institutions of foreign powers.

Earlier this week, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the agreement could destabilize the Solomon Islands and would set a concerning precedent for the wider Pacific region.

Despite the Solomon Islands governments comments, the broad nature of the security agreement leaves open the door for the deployment of P.R.C. (Peoples Republic of China) military forces to the Solomon Islands, Price said.

Micronesia and other Pacific Island nations have also expressed concerns about the deal, as has the Solomon Islands main opposition party.

In his address, Sogavare defended the pact, saying it would strengthen the country's police and help them deal with future instability, and that it was based on mutual respect for sovereignty and in compliance with domestic and international law.

"Let me assure the people of Solomon Islands that we entered into an arrangement with China with our eyes wide open, guided by our national interests, he said.
DETROIT  Twitter has dropped a major roadblock in front of Elon Musks effort to take over the company, leaving investors to wonder about the mercurial Tesla CEOs next move.

The social media company has adopted a poison pill defense that makes it difficult for Musk or any other investor to buy Twitter without the board of directors approval. Musk, who currently owns about 9% of the company, last week disclosed an offer of about $43 billion, or $54.20 per share.

Twitters next likely move is to formally reject Musks offer, although it could negotiate. Musk has a number of options which also include talks with the board, sweetening his offer, or even triggering the poison pill, which experts say would be disastrous for the company.

In a regulatory filing on Monday, Twitters board said it approved the defensive move to protect the company from coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics.

The board is leaving open the possibility of negotiating with Musk or another suitor. The filing says the shareholder rights agreement should not interfere with any merger or offer approved by the board.

Although he said his offer was final, Musk may have to raise his bid to satisfy other shareholders. A Saudi prince who is among Twitters major shareholders scoffed at the offer last week in a tweet. Al Waleed bin Talal said he didnt believe $43 billion is close to Twitter's value given its growth prospects. Twitter shares hit an all-time high of $77.63 in March 2021.

When he made his offer public, Musk provided no details on financing, but such a disclosure could improve his chances. He could raise money by borrowing billions using his stakes in Tesla and SpaceX as collateral, and he could bring in other investors.

The poison pill would give stockholders as of April 25 the right to buy one one-thousandth of a share of preferred stock for each common share they own, at a price of $210. The rights are triggered if any person or group of investors buys 15% or more of the companys shares without board approval.

The preferred stock would have the same voting rights as a common share, according to the filing, which does not specifically mention Musk.

The poison pill essentially would spell the end of Twitter if Musk or another investor acquires 15% or more of the company, said James Cox, a professor of corporate and securities law at Duke University.

Shareholders who exercise the rights and buy preferred stock at $210 would get $420 in Twitter stock or assets, he said. That would be more than Twitter can afford to pay, and likely would send the company into receivership, Cox said.

You want to create an event that Musk would never want to trigger because it would be the death of Twitter, Cox said. He predicts that Musk and the board will negotiate, at least for a while, adding that no investor has ever crossed the line to activate a poison pill.

If Musk triggered the poison pill, he risks wiping out much of the money he has invested in Twitter because his stake would be diluted, said Columbia University law professor Eric Talley. You want to deter someone from deliberately triggering the poison pill, Talley said.

Twitter's board has information that the average shareholder doesn't, such as earnings or market growth projections, and whether there's reason to believe that the share value is artificially depressed, Talley said. The board, he said, could just hold out.

"Theyre sitting right now on top of a poison pill thats a bit of a showstopper. From a corporate law perspective, theyre on pretty solid footing right now if they just keep that in place and say theyre not comfortable bargaining at this stage.

Musk said in making his bid that Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company in order to build trust with users and do better at serving what he calls the societal imperative of free speech. He said shareholders, not the board, should decide whether Twitter goes private.

Shares of Twitter closed Monday up 7.5% at $48.45, still $5.75 shy of Musks offer. Thats a sign that investors are skeptical of whether Musk can pull off the deal.

Musk began accumulating Twitter shares in late January, ending up with a stake of about 9%. Only Vanguard Group controls more shares. A lawsuit filed last week in New York federal court alleged Musk illegally delayed disclosing his stake so he could buy more shares at lower prices.

Musk took to Twitter to criticize board members in recent days, saying hed save about $3 million per year by bringing the board salary to zero if his bid succeeds, and noting that board members collectively owning just a tiny financial stake in Twitter shows that their economic interests are simply not aligned with shareholders.

Musk, who has more than 82 million followers, is a prolific tweeter who has criticized other celebrity accounts for not tweeting enough, suggesting that as a sign that Twitter is dying.

The takeover episode will put pressure on Twitter executives to show that the company is not underperforming, said Olaf Groth, a business professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Even the entire social media business model of making money through advertising - which Musk has questioned - is now up for discussion, Groth said.

He may decide its not worth it, and that he sent a political signal to exert pressure, Groth said. Now all eyes are on Twitter and the clock is ticking.
TO THE EDITOR:

The Midland Civitan Club joins Civitan clubs around the world in celebrating Civitan Awareness Month. Started in Birmingham, Alabama in April 1917, Civitan is an international association of local community service clubs with more than 30,000 men, women and youth in over 30 nations.

Local Civitan clubs meet a wide variety of needs in their communities, with an emphasis on helping people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Since 1948, Midland Civitans have supported local organizations that offer such care and support including Special Olympics, Camp Fish Tales, The Arc of Midland and Tall in the Saddle. Midland Civitan also provides opportunities for local youth to attend a Youth Leadership and Diversity Seminar held each summer at Trine University in Indiana. Civitans continue this mission through Coin Box collections that support the UAB Civitan International Research Center, a world-class medical facility dedicated to researching developmental disabilities and other cognitive disorders.

Civitans raise funds through working at Loons games, an annual Bridge Tournament and, of course, our holiday Claxton Fruitcake sales.

We could not raise these funds without the help of local businesses who donate goods, services and sell fruitcake for us and we would be remiss in not mentioning them. Jacks Market, Lalondes Market, Eastman Party Store, Owens Market, C&A Party Store, Heather & Holly, the Amemiya family, Garber Automotive Group, The Boulevard, Starbucks, Big Boy Restaurant and Greater Midland Community Center  thank you for your support.

The Midland Civitan Club is always seeking new members looking to volunteer their time to help out our community. If our mission interests you, you can find more information and/or contact us through our Facebook page; Midland MI Civitan Club.

For over 70 years The Midland Civitan Club has actively served the Midland community, living out the Civitan Pledge "to practice the Golden Rule and to build upon it a better and nobler citizenship."

SUSAN BRADSHAW

Secretary, Midland Civitan Club
Director of Content and Operations

Spencer McKee is OutThere Colorado's Director of Content and Operations. In his spare time, Spencer loves to hike, rock climb, and trail run. He's on a mission to summit all 58 of Colorado's fourteeners and has already climbed more than half.
Kinshasa, DRC (PANA) - The Office of the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have expressed concern for the increase in levels of insecurity in the east of the country which continues to forcibly displace thousands of men, women, and children into Uganda
Washington, DC, US (PANA) - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team has reached a staff-level agreement with the authorities of Guinea Bissau on the completion of the third and final review of the SMP
Photo: (Photo : Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

A 32-year-old Florida woman has been charged with aggravated manslaughter after her 5-year-old daughter died during a high-speed chase, according to a report by ABC Action News. The state attorney's office in Jacksonville filed formal charges on Thursday against Pamela Cabrera, whom police said kidnapped her daughter late last month.

When a police officer spotted Cabrera's car at a red light, she immediately sped away and led the cops on a high-speed chase. Authorities said the car chase reached speeds of up to 90 miles an hour and covered 30 miles.

The long chase came to a tragic end when Cabrera's vehicle crashed into a retention pond along Interstate 95. Divers discovered the body of her young child, Vanity, at the bottom of the pond where the car crashed.

Pamela Cabrera did not attempt to rescue her daughter

According to Duval County court records, Cabrera did not attempt to rescue her five-year-old kid after the crash. She is charged with one count of eluding police, one count of vehicular homicide, and two counts of battery on first responders.

The Fourth District State Attorneys Office filed formal charges against Pamela Cabrera, who Jacksonville police said crashed into a retention pond off Interstate 95 near the State Road 9B exit at the end of a police pursuit. https://t.co/FE9q1sMM7R  News4JAX (@wjxt4) April 15, 2022

According to a less redacted arrest report for the Florida mom that News4JAX discovered Tuesday in Duval County court records, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office revealed that Cabrera was clinging to a tire when police officers reached the pond and yelled, "Help me. Save me."

The report also said that Cabrera did not attempt to save her daughter, who was trapped in the vehicle's front passenger seat. According to the report, that is where the dive team found Vanity's body.

The report also stated that when Cabrera was rescued from the pond by first responders, two paramedics tried to cover her up because of her lack of clothing. According to the report, Cabrera responded by spitting blood in the face of one of them.

Again, Cabrera did this when she was transferred to UF Health Jacksonville for treatment, with the report saying that she also spat blood in the face of one of the medical staff members who was attending to her.

Read Also: WHO Tracks Alarming Rise of Hepatitis Cases Among Children in the United Kingdom

Cabrera suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

According to jail records, Cabrera was booked into the Duval County jail, where she remained on a $2.2 million bond as of Tuesday. According to a report by Fox13News, court records also revealed that Cabrera has had a history with the law and that she has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Court documents also showed that Cabrera lost custody of Vanity back in 2020, and she has been living with her family since then.

Family members are heartbroken about the tragedy. Relative Jeanette Davis issued a statement about Vanity Cabrera's tragic death, saying, "She was full of life, she was full of joy. She loved to dance. She was extraordinary." Davis added that she feels that the world is just different since this has happened because Vanity is not in it anymore.

Related Article: Parents Hesitant to Get Their Kids Vaccinated Against COVID-19 Because of Lower Vaccine Efficacy
Photo: (Photo : Getty images )

The New South Wales police are investigating the murder of a teenager and expectant father, Uati Faletolu, at the Easter Show. They appeal to those who went to the show who filmed the stabbing to hand in their videos to help search for the suspect.

Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty, said many people were filming the incident. Many of them still have to give the police the footage of the incident, 9News Australia reports.

On-going hunt for the killer

The 17-year-old was stabbed in the chest last Sunday while on a break from his job. The expectant father worked at the Break Dance Ride at the Sydney Showground, and investigators believed that he was targeted in the brawl that led to his death.

Forensic officers investigated the crime scene, but they have yet to find significant clues that will lead them to the killer. The homicide squad and the local police are now focusing their attention on the video of the incident. They are appealing to witnesses to submit their video footage to Crime Stoppers. The authorities are meticulously going through CCTV footage to identify those involved in the incident.

The authorities are looking into whether the stabbing is linked to postcode gang violence in Western Sydney. Police have questioned friends to establish whether it was a spontaneous fight.

According to News.com.au, the postcode gang may be a rivalry between the two groups, 67 from Doonside and 27 from Mount Druitt. The numbers are from their respective postal codes - 2767 and 2770. Uati was from Doonside, and his friends reportedly told the police that those responsible for his death were from Mt. Druitt.

Investigators have difficulty getting information from Faletolu's friends and associates, believing it was "misguided by loyalties or fear of retribution."

There has been a lack of cooperation and assistance, Doherty said.

However, the families of those involved support the police, despite grieving the loss of Uati. Detectives appealed to anyone in the carnival who witnessed the brawl to come forward.

Read Also: Florida Teen Dies After Taking Turns With Friends in Shooting Each Other While Wearing Body Armor

Mom breaks silence

Uati's family and pregnant girlfriend Taylor Piliae were tight-lipped days after his death. The teenager's mother, Janice Faletolu, broke her silence on Sunday, as per Daily Mail.

She described her son as a happy, outgoing young man with a loving heart. A family friend also said he was a loyal friend, caring brother, and selfless son and partner.

Despite the tragic circumstances surrounding her son's death, Janice said that they do not want Uati to be remembered as a victim. The family thinks that his passing is the time to honor and celebrate the "beautiful person" that he was.

She also expressed gratitude to their friends and the community for sending heartfelt messages, flowers, food, and financial support, blessings that have lightened their burden as they grieve for Uati.

The mom said that the family misses him and deeply feels his loss. They are also proud of the man that he became.

Related Article: Puerto Rican Olympian Mother Killed by Stray Bullet while in her Connecticut Home
Photo: (Photo : dolgachov via Unsplash)

Choosing the right FNP program is an important decision. FNP refers to family nurse practitioner programs specially designed to provide advanced education for nurse practitioners. FNP programs are available at the masters or doctorate level, and they typically consist of a blend of classroom instruction, supervised clinical experience, and independent study.

FNP students work under the supervision of an FNP preceptor and receive clinical training in various settings. These programs are designed to help graduates become knowledgeable healthcare providers who can provide primary care and specialize in a variety of medical conditions.

You want to make sure you find a program that fits your needs and provides the education you need to become a successful nurse practitioner. There are many different factors to consider when deciding, such as location, cost, curriculum, and more. Discussed below are five of the most important factors to consider when choosing an FNP program.

1. Location

One of the most important factors to consider when choosing an FNP program is your location. Where you live will have a big impact on the cost and the style and accessibility of your education. Most full-time programs are offered as an on-campus or online hybrid course, with classes being held at specific times and on specific days. Suppose you do not live near a college or university offering FNP programs. In that case, it may be advantageous to look into distance-learning programs or online-only programs that can be completed from anywhere in the country.

For example, the University of Florida offers a unique online FNP program designed to be completed in as few as 12 months. Students tend to complete lessons and clinical work at their own pace and access advisors, instructors, and preceptors via email.

2. Curriculum

The curriculum offered by an FNP program is another major factor in deciding between different programs. The best FNP programs are typically a blend of classroom instruction, supervised clinical experience, and independent study. All programs cover the same core material, but the amount of time spent in each area may vary.

For example, online FNP programs usually prioritize independent study to accommodate students already working full-time or who live a significant distance away. Many FNP programs offer part-time and evening classes to facilitate this, and some even allow students to bring their children with them while they study.

Other FNP programs may not be as accommodating or require an in-person experience only. This is something you will want to consider when deciding between different schools.

3. Program Cost

Cost of tuition is another important factor to keep in mind when choosing an FNP program. Depending on the school and type of program you choose, tuition for FNP programs can vary from as low as $8,000 per year to over $30,000 per year.

Tuition rates can also vary significantly depending on the area of the country where you want to study and your status as a full- or part-time student. Online programs tend to be less expensive than on-campus programs, and attending school at night or during the weekend will incur additional travel and child care expenses if applicable.

Considering all of these factors, deciding where to study can be a difficult task. To make it easier, some teams have done some research and found FNP programs that offer tuition reimbursement for current nurses.

4. Advanced Standing

Another important factor to consider when choosing an FNP program is whether or not you have received any previously advanced standing. Many students hold degrees in other areas, which may allow them to forgo certain courses or sections required by most programs.

For example, if you have already completed many (or all) of your general education requirements, you may be able to take fewer classes than students who are starting from scratch. This can save you both time and money in the long run, so it should be considered when looking at different programs.

5. Program Duration

The last factor is the time it takes to complete your degree. Most programs are designed to be completed in two to three years, but some schools offer accelerated classes or programs that can be completed in as little as 12 months.

This can be a significant factor for students who have been working in nursing for years and are looking to advance their careers. In most cases, accelerated programs will cost more than programs that span two to three years, but it can also save you time that would otherwise be spent going back to school full-time.

For example, let's say that you are currently working as an RN but would like to become an FNP. You will need to put your career on hold if you want to go back to school full-time, which means you won't be earning any income during that period.

On the other hand, if you can find a program that allows for 12 months of study, you can earn your FNP degree without stopping working. This will allow you to put a less financial strain on yourself while still advancing your career.

Whether you are studying in person or online, the right FNP program will allow you to work toward your goal of becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner. Since several factors can influence your decision when choosing between different programs, make sure to do adequate research before committing to any one school.

The above-discussed factors are what you should consider when choosing a program. However, it would be best to spend some time searching for an FNP program with good reviews. This is important because you will want to make sure the school you choose provides its students with a high-quality education.

Using a search engine such as Google, you can find out if other people have had positive experiences while studying at a particular institution. While you can use other review websites to determine if a school is worth attending, the Google search results are usually much more reliable.

The Internet has also opened up doors for many people looking to earn their degrees without having to put their current careers on hold. Several online schools offer FNP programs, which makes it possible for nurses to continue working while they learn.

If you are studying online, make sure that the program is accredited by an organization such as the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). This will ensure that the credits you earn are transferable, should you decide to attend a physical school in the future.
Photo: (Photo : Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)

Two people have been charged following the stabbing of a toddler, a police chase, and a crash on Monday, April 18, in Blue Springs, Missouri. Officers with the Blue Springs Police Department told KCTV that a vehicle driven by Tabatha Ong was involved in a crash at the intersection of U.S. 40 Highway and Missouri 7 Highway around 5:30 a.m.

Blue Springs police were originally dispatched to that area to investigate a crash that involved a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt. Ong was not deterred by the crash as he continued to drive off in an effort to evade police. Officers reported seeing the Chevy Cobalt fleeing northbound on 7 Highway once police arrived at the scene.

The vehicle, which was driving on a damaged tire and rim, indicated it would pull over for police before taking off again with the passengers trying to evade arrest. According to police, the car at times was driving as fast as 60 miles per hour in a zone that has a speed limit of 35 miles per hour.

Anthony Beighley-Beck stabs son during police chase

Officers noted in charging documents that the car was weaving in and out of traffic during the police chase, according to a report by KMBC. The car even ran a red light at 7 Highway and Mock Avenue. The driver of the car finally proceeded under a 7 Highway overpass, before turning east onto Northwest Shaw Parkway and coming to a stop.

Anthony Beighley-Beck, who was in the passenger seat of the car at the time, pulled his young son onto his lap and stabbed the toddler in the abdomen during the police chase. Case documents stated that when officers approached the car with guns drawn, they saw a woman in the driver's seat with her hands up, as well as a man in the passenger seat with his hands up.

What caught their attention, though, was a young child who was in the man's lap. He was crying hysterically with a large open wound on his abdomen. According to court documents that was released on Tuesday, April 19, the 24-year-old Beighley-Back told detectives the reason why he stabbed his son was that he feared his kid would end up with relatives who would abuse him.

Read Also: Louisiana Mom Gives Birth to Son in Restroom of Dunwoody Hotel During Business Trip

Charges filed against Missouri couple

That logic is flawed to say the least as Beighley-Beck himself was the one who put his son in danger with his actions. The 18-month-old boy was rushed to Children's Mercy Hospital after the attack, where he underwent emergency surgery to treat his stab wounds. He still remains in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

WKYT reported that both Beighley-Beck and Ong were arrested after the police chase ended just north of I-70 near 7 Highway. Ong is charged with endangering the welfare of a child while Beighley-Beck has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Beighley-Beck is being held without bond in the Jackson County Detention Center. A bond of $50,000 has been set for Ong.

Related Article: Premature Baby Harper Jacobo, the Smallest Ever to Survive With an Incomplete Esophagus
In response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Apple Inc. in March halted all product sales in Russia and had limited Apple Pay and other services in Russia as the Russian was in freefall.

Today, it's being reported that Russian lawyers from Chernyshov, Lukoyanov and Partners (CLP) law firm have decided to file a case against Apple for closing its payment service Apple Pay on devices in Russia.

The development has been confirmed by Chernyshov, Lukoyanov and Partners (CLP) law firm's senior partner Konstantin Lukoyanov, TASS reported. The decision of the attorneys comes as tech giant Apple in March announced its decision to terminate its payment service in Russia.

Konstantin Lukoyanov told TASS that the law firm has decided to sue Apple as the rights of Russian consumers have been violated by the "unjustified" and "unilateral" shutdown of Apple Pay.

According to the attorney, the move by the company needs to be considered as "intentional moral damage" to Russian users and owners of Apple devices. The attorney asserted that the recovery amount needs to be substantial for compensating the damage caused to the Russian consumers by the decision of Apple.

As per the news report, the attorney further stated that anyone who thinks that their rights were violated by Apple's decision and it needs to be held "responsible" for its actions, can contact the law firm and join the lawsuit against the company. For more, read the full Republic World report.
On April first Patently Apple posted a report about LG Display winning the contract for HP's 17" foldable display for a next-gen product referred to as a foldable notebook, wherein a large 17" display could act as a large tablet that could fold in half to act as a notebook-like device. The keyboard could be virtual or a separate keyboard could be provided that stands alone or could be magnetically attached to the lower half of the folded tablet.

On April 18 we posted a follow-up report stating that HP was likely to tippy-toe into this new product category with an initial order for 10,000 units. In related report in October 2020 we had noted that the push into this new class of device was spearheaded by Intel, Microsoft and Samsung under the "Horseshow Bend Project." This is definitely a Wintel project that will have many PC partners joining in to create excitement for this new product category that should be able to save consumers money by buying a hybrid tablet-notebook device versus two separate devices.

Today we're learning that Asus is planning to enter this new PC segment as well. They took will produce 10,000 units to test this new market before committing to higher productions. Our cover graphic represents image of the coming Zenbook 17 Fold OLED.

According to a new report by The Elec, "South Korean companies Kolon Industries and SKC will be supplying polyimide (PI) films to Taiwans Asus for the latters foldable notebook. The films will be used as cover windows __ protective films __ for the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, which was unveiled earlier this year by the PC maker.

Chinese display panel maker BOE will be supplying the foldable OLED panel used on the notebook. Kolon and SKC will supply their films to BOE, which will start manufacturing the panels during the second quarter.

Zenbook 17 Fold OLED is expected to go on sale mid-year. The notebook will feature a 17.3-inch foldable panel that can be folded to 12.5-inch. The screens have 2560x1920 and 1920x1280 resolutions, respectively. For more, read the full report by The Elec.

Will hybrid tablet-notebook devices challenge Apple's iPad dominance by 2023-2024? While only time will tell, we've reported that Apple has a series of patents on record (01, 02 and more) that prove that they've been working on such a device themselves. At the right time, Apple could easily jump into this market when the technologies are ready for prime time. Below is one of Apple's patent figures pointing to a foldable laptop.
Traders at this year's Kwahu Easter celebrations are hopeful of cashing-in after a two-year absence.



The festival returned this year after the lifting of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and like many revellers, traders have also flocked the Kwahu Traditional Area to cash-in.



At the Obomeng Street Carnival last Friday, several pop-up establishments, stands and stages occupied the one-kilometre street with several brands going head to attract the eyes, ears, hearts and spending power of revellers.



The Carnival took place on a one-kilometre stretch of road from Obomeng CHPS Compound to the Nana W. Kumnipa Road.



Noise



Cost was not a factor in branding pop-up stages for many brands with AirtelTigo, MTN, Accra Brewery Limited, Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited and Itel Ghana going-up against pop-up parlours, food spots and existing local spots such as the Level 3 nightclub.



If the clash of colours was not disorienting enough, the different music blaring from giant speakers dotted on the street added to the chaos with patrons struggling to hear each other over the noise.



A female disc jockey who gave her name as DJ Ama told Graphic Online that every company wanted to draw the crowd to their stage, so she expected the battle of sounds to continue till the end of the festivities on Monday.



Surge in food prices



Another feature of the festival, was the high cost of food at the carnival grounds and also at Mpraeso, Obomeng and Abetifi.



At the carnival grounds, rice dishes such as a jollof, plain rice, waakye and fried rice started from GH25 while instant noodles were going for GH15 and cat fish was being sold for GH50.



Operators of an instant noodles stand told Graphic Online that they came all the way from Accra to cash-in on the festivities.



They said their business was thriving, although they expected sales to pick-up over the weekend.



Patrons



Given the tightly-packed nature of the establishments and a lack of star performers, most patrons at the carnival were moving from end-to-end of the street sampling wares.



They said, they were looking forward to seeing star performers such as Kofi Kinaata, Kuami Eugene and Black Sherif during the festival.

Source: Graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Patricia Obo-Nai, Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana, has been enlisted amongst the top 100 Women CEOs In Africa for her accomplishments as a female administrative officer in charge of the organization.



The TOP 100 Women CEOs in Africa is compiled by Reset Global People in partnership with the SDGS office at the Office of the President of Ghana and Avance Media.



With the inaugural list announced in 2019, this publication throws the spotlight on African women leading various organizations across the continent.



The list features leading African female CEOs from 21 African countries, heading various organizations that continue to excel under their leadership on the continent and beyond. The list is also released ahead of the 2022/23 African Women CEOs Summit to be hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa.



Speaking about the list, Kwame A.A. Opoku, CEO of Reset Global People, noted that, "Women are a powerful force for change. From ending extreme poverty to countering violent extremism, we cannot succeed without women and girls, and this is why we are excited and privileged to announce the 2021 list. These are extraordinary women who are leading the charge to transform our continent and deserve the spotlight more than anyone. "



Patricias contribution to the telecommunications industry is unquestionable. In addition to championing various innovations in the industry, she is celebrated for her outstanding leadership during the heights of the pandemic. Under her leadership, Vodafone Ghana introduced remarkable initiatives as part of a comprehensive relief package for Ghanaians.



She is a fierce advocate for technology and continues to emphasize the need for Africa to leverage technological advancement to drive sustainable development and secure its participation in the digital economy.



Patricia reinforced this in her OpEd titled Connecting Africa is the Seminal Challenge of our Time, she said: To expedite Africas economic recovery post-pandemic, the continent must accelerate digitalisation and expand regional cooperation."



Patricia is also known for her strong passion for gender issues and interventions that offer economic opportunities to women. While speaking during the United Nations General Assembly last year, she made a call for an urgent solution to end maternal mortality across sub-Saharan Africa, describing it as unacceptable at this age.



She also joined other female giants last year at the G7 Partnership on Womens Digital Financial Inclusion in Africa event to deliberate on Catalyzing Digital Financial Services for Women Across Africa.



The Mobile Magazine describes her as the First Lady of Mobile. She has also won several awards, including the CEO of the Year at the Ghana Information Technology and Telecommunications Awards (GITTA) as well as the Women Leadership Excellence Awards at the CEOs Summit and Awards.



The 2021 top 100 Women CEOs In Africa features some prominent names, including Clare Akamanzi, Dr. Rasha Kelej, Owen Omogiafo, Dentaa Amoateng, Tiguidanke Camara, and Meta Africas Head Nunu Ntshingila-Njeke.





Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A delegation of a dozen Principals and Senior leaders will be visiting Accra in May to meet with parents,

students, government ministers and business leaders at a UK Boarding School Exhibition - following a recent surge of interest in the benefits of a British boarding education among Ghanaian families.



The main exhibition will be at Kempinski Gold Coast City Accra on Saturday 7th May 2022 organised by experienced educationalists Mark Brooks Education and Anderson Education, with the full support of the UKs Department for International Trade and British High Commission in Accra.



The United Kingdom and Ghana enjoy shared values, a thriving trading relationship and a belief in the transformation that an outstanding, all-round education with strong pastoral care can make to the futures of our young people, said Mark Brooks one of the organisers.



Many successful academics, artists, commercial leaders, lawyers, medics, musicians, politicians, scientists and sportspeople from across Ghana owe their resilience, self-confidence and success to the firm foundations they developed at a British boarding school.



Choosing a school is one of the most important, emotional and financially significant decisions parents will make for their children. Time spent in early exploration, research and discussion with individual schools and specialist consultants is not only wise, but it will also ensure that their sons and daughters will achieve their full potential, in a happy, safe and secure environment, said Sara Sparling, a Director at Anderson Education.



The 12 leading boarding schools visiting Accra include a range of different types of establishments from all- girls to co-educational, those that focus mainly on academics to others that have an emphasis on character development, schools that adhere to the traditional British curriculum to others that follow a more internationally based approach.



The full list of schools taking part in the delegation includes ACS Cobham, Bishops Stortford College, Bromsgrove School, Bruton School for Girls, Cardiff Sixth Form College, Earlscliffe College, Rochester Independent College, St Andrew's College Cambridge, David Game College London, MPW Colleges, Westonbirt School, Wycliffe College, Wells Cathedral School, Royal Russell School



Our Ghanaian and West African boarders have always made a wonderful contribution to life at ACS International School Cobham, and we can't wait to meet new prospective students and their families at UK Boarding Schools Week. I am personally looking forward so much to once again immerse into Ghanaian culture, says Anastasia Cotton, one of the participants.



The free exhibition will be open from 11am to 4pm on Saturday 7th May at the Kempinski Gold Coast City Accra, Ministries PMB, 66 Gamel Abdul Nasser Ave, Accra, Ghana. For more information and to register go to www.markbrookseducation.com/ghana.





Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Being overweight substantially increases the risk of developing womb cancer, research suggests.



If a 5ft 5in (1.65m) woman is two stone (12.7kg) above a healthy weight, her risk is nearly doubled, for example.



The Cancer Research UK (CRUK)-funded research involved 120,000 women in the UK, US and five other countries.



The charity says keeping a healthy weight can cut the risk of 13 different cancers. Genes and hormones may be other risk factors.



Fasting insulin



One theory is fat cells can send out signals telling other cells to divide more often, which can lead to cancer.



The growth of some breast cancers is linked to the female hormone oestrogen, which fat cells also produce, for example.



The CRUK study, led by a team at the University of Bristol and published in BMC Medicine, is one of the largest into the link between fat and womb cancer.



It looked at the effect of lifelong weight gain and uncovered two hormones, fasting insulin and testosterone, linked with obesity and womb cancer.



The researchers hope scientists could in future use drugs to regulate levels of those hormones in people at risk of developing cancer.



Vaginal bleeding



Lead investigator Dr Emma Hazelwood said: "This study is an interesting first step into how genetic analyses could be used to uncover exactly how obesity causes cancer and what can be done to tackle it."



CRUK health information head Dr Julie Sharp said: "Studies like this bolster the fact that being overweight or obese is the second biggest cause of cancer in the UK and can help us start to pinpoint why.



"This will play a pivotal role in uncovering how to prevent and treat cancer in the future".



One in 36 UK women develops womb cancer and one in four people diagnosed is pre-menopausal.



The most common symptom is abnormal vaginal bleeding.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Joseph Whittal, wants the government to speed up the legislation of laws that decriminalise petty offences.

The legislation, he said, would consolidate the countrys image as a beacon of democracy and human rights in Africa.



The commissioner was speaking at a national conference on the decriminalisation of petty offences in Ghana held in Accra.



Organised by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), in collaboration with CHRAJ and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), the conference was on the theme: "Decriminalising Petty Offences: The State, the Offender, the society".



Petty offences



Petty offences are minor offences for which the punishment is prescribed by law to carry a warning, community service, a low-value fine or short term of imprisonment, often for failure to pay the fine.



They include loitering, begging, being a vagrant, failure to pay debts, being a common nuisance and disobedience to parents, causing a public nuisance, hawking and vending, urinating in public and washing clothes in public among others.



Conference



The conference brought together stakeholders in the criminal justice system working within the country and on the continent.



The conference was a platform for human rights activists and stakeholders in the justice sector to drum home the need for petty offences to attract alternative punishments instead of custodial sentences.



Former CHRAJ Commissioner, Emile Short, said the criminal justice system in the country discriminated against the poor and vulnerable, citing how the police treated vulnerable suspects and kept them in custody beyond the mandated 48 hours without taking them to court.



He said the petty offences laws were "vague, arbitrary and highly dependent on police discretion for arrest and therefore encouraged police corruption, extortion, arrest and unlawful detention".



He said because many were unable to pay the fines, they often ended up in prison which compounded the congestion in the prisons.



Justice Short expressed worry that no change had occurred despite years of decriminalisation of petty offences.



Assessment



A Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, said the government efforts were being made to reassess the impact of some minor offences, but public safety and order should not be sacrificed.



He said plea-bargaining arrangements in criminal cases were at advanced stages, while a new sentencing bill was undergoing review towards introducing alternative modes of sentences to mitigate incarceration of the disadvantaged in society.



The Director of CHRI Africa Office, Mina Mensah, said the organisation would not relent in its advocacy for the creation of the laws.









Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Nigerians have been warned that sharing images of child pornography is an offence that carries a 14-year jail term after a video alleged to involve schoolchildren went viral.



Students from a prestigious school were on a trip to Dubai last month when the alleged incident was filmed.



The mother of a 10-year-old says her daughter was coerced to participate.



Lagos state government has ordered the school's closure so the "alleged sexual violence case" can be investigated.



In a video posted on social media, the mother alleges her daughter was drugged by the male students and accused the school authorities of a cover-up.



Chrisland Schools, which runs several private primary and secondary schools in Lagos, has denied any wrongdoing, saying it takes its duty of care seriously and would cooperate with any inquiry.



According to the school, it was a game of "Truth or Dare" that involved five out of 76 students attending the World School Games between 8 and 14 March.



It said it had informed their parents of the "misconduct" and the students had been reprimanded in accordance with the school's regulations.



But the mother of the 10-year-old says she was not told the severity of what happened at first, only finding out later when another parent alerted her to the footage, which has since been widely shared on social media.



When she questioned her daughter, she found out the girl had been told not to speak about what had happened: "My daughter was dying in silence and she couldn't speak."



She had now been suspended from the school, the mother said.



"To crown it all, because we have started confronting them and started telling them we are aware of what happened, they now sent her a suspension letter."



According to Lagos state laws, it is illegal for minors to engage in sex and the authorities said it was ensuring that adequate medical and psychological support would be provided.



Any image showing sexually explicit conduct involving a child - including "producing, distributing, receiving, or possessing" one - was an offence liable to a sentence of 14 years, the Lagos state government said.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Dozens of young Ethiopian men continue to gather at the Russian embassy in the capital, Addis Ababa, on Tuesday following rumours of soldiers being recruited to fight in the war in Ukraine.



But the embassys spokeswoman, Maria Chernukhina, said no recruitment was being carried out in Ethiopia.



She said the crowd was showing solidarity with Russia.



"We have a lot of visitors to the embassy in order to express support for Russia," she told the BBC.



"Some of them are telling us they are willing to help in any way they can. But we are not a recruitment agency," Ms Chernukhina added.



Many of the Ethiopians at the embassy were seen carrying their personal documents.



A young man waiting at the entrance told the BBC that he's looking for a good salary as a soldier or to be hired in any other job available.



"I also like Russia," he said.



Others said they had heard rumours of high wages in Russia.



Ethiopia was among countries that missed a UN session to vote on a resolution on the Russian invasion in Ukraine.



Some 17 African countries including South Africa abstained from the vote.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Liberia's President George Weah has ordered a second post-mortem on the body of a 25-year-old woman, Princess Cooper, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in eastern Monrovia in March.



Ms Cooper's body was reportedly located near the property of a wealthy businessman.



Princesss death sparked street protests last week with people furious over the government's alleged delay in investigating.



But police have insisted they are looking into the case properly.



The presidents intervention comes after the girls family rejected outright the outcome of an examination conducted by a team of newly trained state pathologists, who reported she had died of tuberculosis-related natural causes.



Under public pressure, President Weah instructed the justice minister to work with the family in identifying pathologists of their choice to conduct a second autopsy.



There has been growing insecurity in Liberia, with reports on social media about the disappearances of citizens.



Last year President Weah asked citizens to protect themselves by installing CCTV cameras at home, in a country where electricity is almost non-existent.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Recent checks conducted by Peacefmonline.com have revealed that the government of Ghana owes Fertilizer Suppliers an estimated debt of 436 million Ghana cedis after supplying farmers with fertilizers for the 2020 and 2021 farming seasons.



According to some of the companies Hello Fm's Sampson Kwame Nyamekye spoke with, they revealed that the government only paid them part of the money leaving arrears of 86 million Ghana cedis in 2020.



In 2021 too after supplying farmers with fertilizers for the farming season, the government failed to settle these companies 350 million Ghana Cedis debts, thereby accumulating the debts.



Currently, some fertilizer suppliers who have stock with some of the fertilizers are planning to sell to neighbouring countries to clear their debts since the implementing Ministry is not showing any readiness to settle outstanding debts.



This probe comes at the back of the recent fertilizer shortage for farmers under the government flagship programme Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ).



Peasant farmers under the governments flagship programme, Planting for Food and Jobs have expressed worry over how their farming businesses are gradually dying off following a lack of fertilizers for their farming activities.



According to farmers, their suppliers are not able to supply them with the fertilizers again because they said the government is feeling reluctant to pay the debts of their suppliers after distributing farmers with fertilizers for the 2021 farming season.



This was captured in an earlier reportage by peaceonline.com after touring some farming communities across the country.



The hesitant posture of the Ministry of Finance to settle the debts owed by the government is affecting smallholder farmers who are losing interest in the programme.



Now some peasant farmers are beginning to doubt the sustainability of the programme following this recent development.



All 37 companies that supply farmers under the Planting for Food and Job are being affected.



Below are some major Supplying Companies



1. Agricultural Manufacturing Group

2. CHEMICO

3. Iddisal Co, Ltd

4. Yara

5. Luise Drefus

6. Glofert

7. Omnifert

Source: Sampson Kwame Nyamekye/ Hello FM/Kumasi









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) has projected that Ghanas economy will recover, driven by strong oil, gold, and agricultural output, followed by an easing of real GDP growth in 2023-24, as oil output stabilises and manganese output declines, throughout this year.



In its latest report, the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, said in 2025-2026, the economy will benefit from the expected coming on-stream of the Pecan oilfield, and from higher gold and cocoa output.



It continued that the countrys economy relies heavily on output and exports from the hydrocarbons, gold, and cocoa sub-sectors, which exposes it in part to global trade headwinds, adding new oil fields will take time to develop and bring on stream.



The EIU stated that agriculture and services also support the economy, and added that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) would seek to limit the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.



It pointed out that alongside continued attempts to soften the blow of the pandemic, government should prioritise strengthening agro-processing and food security (via promotion of import substitution), and supporting diversified export growth and foreign direct investment, in line with its long-term Ghana Beyond Aid development strategy.



It, however, said the cedi will remain prone to periods of volatility, given its dependence on commodity prices and evolving trends in investor sentiments towards emerging markets. The currency will weaken to GH9.88:US$1 in 2026, from an average of GH5.80:US$1 in 2021.



The EIU noted that Ghana has a strong democracy and is politically stable by regional standards, and that these factors, alongside a growing middle class and nascent manufacturing sector, will help to establish the country as a regional hub for machinery-making and agricultural processing.



It also estimated that the countrys real GDP grew by 5% in 2021, given a strengthening of global and domestic conditions, such growth will have been fairly broad-based.



Real GDP growth will rise to 5.2% in 2022; we expect gold production and processing to strengthen in 2022, driven by the recommissioning of the Bibiani gold mine in western Ghana, with first gold pour expected in the second half of 2022.



The mines output capacity is expected to be 190,000 ounces in the first 12 months of operation, with a planned ramp-up beyond that, to 240,000 ounces annually, it said.



The EIU asserted that output would also be supported by governments efforts to curtail illegal mining, which will boost formal sector activity.



Oil output will rise marginally in 2022; that the rise in volumes will be only limited, despite spikes in oil prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war, reflects Ghanas limited production capacity. We expect growth to moderate in 2023-24, to an average of 4.4%, before gradually picking up again, to 4.8% on average in 2025-26, the report pinned.



It said constrained oil sector growth will keep annual growth below pre-pandemic rates of 6-8%. Government is keen to develop the hydrocarbons sector, but we expect oil production expansion to be limited at existing fields (including Jubilee and Tweneboa Enyenra Ntomme), and development work at new sites will be slow.



We expect a final investment decision (FID) on Pecan, an offshore oilfield (managed by Aker Energy, a Norwegian firm), to be reached by end-2022, but production is unlikely until 2025. Oil production volumes are therefore expected to remain below 2019 levels in 2022-24, then rise briskly from end2025, assuming that Pecan comes on stream.



Output from the gold sector will increase further from 2023, as the Ahafo North mine begins production. Manganese output will dip in 2023-34, then rise again in 2025-26, mirroring movements in global demand, EIU report stated.

Source: daily guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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For many years, students of Odortum/Poliwa Anglican primary school in the Upper Manya Krobo district of the Eastern Region, faced water challenges which affected teaching and learning.



The lack of potable water compelled the students aged between 4-12 years to resort to unhygienic water sources. The situation has now changed as part of Izwe Savings and Loans 10th anniversary corporate social responsibility (CSR) impact projects.



Izwe Savings and Loans sunk a mechanised borehole water system to alleviate the plight of the students and their teachers by providing them access to clean water.



The Odortum Anglican Primary School has more than one hundred students from kindergarten to upper primary. The children come to school from surrounding communities including Poliwa, Kordunya and Kpertim.





The school, managed by Ghana Education Service has been struggling with water scarcity. On reporting to school, the children would have to walk for about two kilometres to a stream to fetch water for drinking and other sanitary purposes.The water situation has always been there. We must sometimes carry water from long distances to the school. What Izwe Savings & Loans has done for us means a lot to me and my friends. We cant thank Izwe enough, Daniela, a pupil said.The headmaster of the school, Christian Tawiah, said the water problem in the school seriously affected academics. It affected the academic performance of the students. They always spent a lot of time going to fetch water. This should not happen, he said. During the dry season, school children would have to trek extra kilometres in search of water.The situation does not only affect students work output but their health as well. Assembly man for the area, Emmanuel Kwaku Asare, said some residents were already suffering from bilharzia, a waterborne disease.Many of the children and adults have this infection because of the water. I think this mechanized water system will reduce the risk significantly, he insisted.Through the Corporate Social Responsibility of Izwe Savings and Loans Plc, students and residents can now breathe a sigh of relief as water is now pumped through an overhead reservoir and supplied to the school and the community.Izwe Savings and Loans is a subsidiary of the Izwe Africa Group, which is headquartered in Mauritius and has operations in South Africa with subsidiaries in three other African countries, Zambia, Kenya and Ghana.After 10 years of doing business in Ghana and positively impacting lives through such Corporate Social Responsibility, Izwe Savings & Loans is now focusing on supporting the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector of Ghana. The Chief Executive Officer, Raymond Kwakye Bismarck stated that, We have earmarked GHS150m to support the SME sector this year and this is one of many activities planned for SMEs. This commitment aims to strengthen the resilience of SMEs and enhance their capacity to grow and create employment in the economy.If you are an SME in need of financial assistance, visit www.izwe.com.gh.









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Burglars on Sunday, April 17 broke into the house of Reverend Monica A. Achana, a Reverend Minister with the Methodist Church, Wa Circuit.



The burglars made away with a laptop computer and two tablets as well as a cash amount of about GH750.00, while the Reverend Minister was out of the municipality for the Easter church service activities.



Rev. Achana told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that the burglars attempted to carry away the items including her 42-inch television on the eve of Saturday, April 16, but were not successful and thus returned on Sunday to carry away their booty.



My neighbour said he saw the suspect scaling the wall into the yard on Saturday between 17 HRS and 18 HRS under the pretense of searching for mangoes, so he followed up and marched him out of the yard.



Later on I sent my boy to come and check, so when he came he realized that they had broken one of the back windows, but nothing was picked from the room. My boy then locked my study room where I kept the laptop and sent the television to my neighbour to keep, she explained.



Rev. Achana indicated that the Sundays attack was the second within this year as the thieves had earlier broken into the house in the later part of February and made away with her television set.



According to her she was yet to report the incident to the police saying, When the first one happened, I went to the police, and they made me write statements, but they didnt even come to the house to see what happened.



She observed that the workers of the Methodist Church in Wa had been the target of the criminals since three of them were attacked in a row, blaming the security guard of her house for negligence.



When they came on the Saturday, I asked the security man to sleep in the living room, but he refused and slept somewhere else and the thieves came back in the night.



Meanwhile, Mr Abu Tijani, the Security Guard of the house, told the GNA that he refused to sleep in the living room because he feared for his life as the thieves could have attacked him in the process of entering the room.

Source: GNA









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The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu Ekuful, has hinted that Ghana is moving towards a direction where digital skills will be required in all forms of entrepreneurship and vocational fields.



According to her, the use of ICT tools will be made available to students at all levels in order to prepare them for the anticipated future.



She, therefore, assured participants that government would ensure that more rural areas are connected to any form of ICT through the support of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC).



ICT will be needed in all fields of work that we are doing as a people. The world is moving at a much faster rate that even if you want to be a mechanic, you will need ICT and digital education. ICT will push us in whatever work we want to do after school so lets take the ICT training very serious from here.



Government will do its best to equip you and make available ICT centres in most parts of the country so that we can all benefit from the internet revolution, she said.



Mrs Owusu-Ekuful was speaking at the Mentorship Day for students in the Bono East Region who are participating in this years Girls in ICT initiative.



The Girls in ICT, which is an initiative by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and enhanced by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, is aimed at enhancing girls skills in the field of information communication and technology.



The Mentorship Day event is part of initiatives by the ministry to expose the girls to women mentors in the ICT industry.



Under the theme: Access and Safety, the event is expected to train about 5,000 girls from basic and second cycle institutions in the five regions which have been selected this year. The regions are Bono East, Bono, Ahafo, Savanna and Northern.



It is also aimed at bringing together women in the industry to mentor girls in the selected regions.



The mentors from academia, health and business used the occasion to encourage the girls to take advantage of the programme to further their education in computer science and other ICT education.



The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation also made a passionate appeal to the teachers to support their students in the chosen career of ICT.



A lecturer at the Department of Chemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Dr Mercy Badu, used the platform to sell the idea of science and technology to the girls.



She advised them to take their education seriously and focus on the goal of becoming career champions in their various fields of technology since the world is moving in that direction.



Be a strong person in whatever you want to do in science because it is one of the fields that help in solving problems in society  work hard towards it and you can achieve whatever dream you have in ICT, she advised.



The programme for the Bono East Region will climax on Wednesday, April 21, 2022, with a grand durbar after which the team will move to the four remaining selected regions.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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A delegation from the Greater Accra Region of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has pledged to increase the partys seats in Parliament to 25 in the 2024 elections.



The NDC won 20 of the 34 parliamentary seats in the Greater Accra Region in the 2020 general election, and according to the delegation, its target for 2024 was to win a minimum of 25 parliamentary seats and the presidential votes.



A statement issued from the office of former President John Dramani Mahama said the delegation made the pledge when they called on him.



It said the delegation was made up of the regional executive, council of elders and Members of Parliament from the region.



It said the stakeholders were in the office of the former leader of the party to discuss pertinent issues and also to bring to the fore some matters that are a challenge to the party in the region.



Issues



The statement said among the issues discussed was increased funding because the region was the most populous with 20 per cent of the total national votes, improving relations among the various stakeholders and also with the office of the former President.



It said the delegation also discussed the need to ensure that preparations for all operational activities including selection, training and equipping for election-day activities were concluded early.



It said former President Mahama thanked the delegation for the visit and the discussions, recognising that the Greater Accra Region performed very well in the last election.



It said he reminded the delegation that because the NDC was in opposition, access to funding and logistics going into the 2024 elections would not be easy, but said the region would nonetheless be given extra consideration.









Source: graphiconline.com









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Former President John Dramani Mahama has acknowledged the efforts of outgoing United States (US) ambassador to Ghana H.E. Stephanie S. Sullivan in advancing relations between both countries.



This was disclosed by the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu and Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa following a farewell gathering in honor of the outgoing US ambassador.



In a Facebook post on Tuesday, 19 April 2022, Mr. Ablakwa said: A cordial and gracious farewell gathering under the distinguished auspices of former President John Mahama in honor of outgoing US Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Stephanie S. Sullivan.



The former President acknowledges her tireless & outstanding efforts at advancing Ghana, United States relations.





Source: class fm









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How can you account for e-levy if you cant account for Covid-19 funds? The National Organizer of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), Yaw Asani Tanoh is asking the ruling Akufo-Addo-led administration.



His question follows reports that the government has given conflicting figures on Covid-19 expenditure.



A Ranking Member, Finance Committee in Parliament, and former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has called on the Auditor General (AG) to audit government's Covid-19 expenditure following some conflicting figures.



In the recent State of the Nations Address by his Excellency the President, he is also quoting a different number of 18 point something billion . . . The Minister responsible for Finance has appeared before Parliament and has said to us that they spent GH17.1 billion...So, in one breath, the Vice President is quoting 18.1, the Finance Minister is quoting 17.1, the President is also quoting a different figure. So, we are having three numbers being bundled around. Who is telling the people of Ghana the truth? he questioned.



He further stressed that, "the only way we can get to the bottom of this matter is for us to sit as a country and audit that Covid-19 expenditure. We have three different numbers, all of us dont know how much we spent and no ministry . . . There is the need to audit these numbers for us as a country to come to an understanding on how much we spent on Covid-19.



Asani Tanoh speaking to this welcomed the probe but questioned government's commitment and willingness to account to Ghanaians if they can't get figures on Covid-19 expenditure right.



Contributing to a panel discussion on UTV's 'Adekye Nsroma' programme, Tuesday, he said: "The Finance Minister first put out his figures followed by the President, and look at the difference in figures; so big . . . the biggest is the figures from the Head of the Economic Management Team (Bawumia) . . . where did he get the 18.1bn from? These are the questions we should be asking".



Adding, "If we can't account for COVID-19 funds how can we do same for e-levy? There are people in this government who want to manipulate the system to their advantage . . . with all these figures that we're receiving, the government is telling us that their incompetence level has risen up to the crescendo . . ."



Meanwhile, Asani Tanoh is wondering why no one has "come out to clarify and give the right figures . . . so how can we trust this government".





Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com









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Featured Video
Ben Ephson, Pollster and Managing Editor of the Daily Dispatch newspaper, has indicated that, it will be easier for the opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC, to win the 2024 elections if the governing NPP elect Alan Kyerematen as their flagbearer.



According to him, if Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia wins the flagbearship race, it will be difficult for the NDC to win the 2024 elections.



He indicated that, what will boost Bawumia's chances is that he will only need a Christian as his running mate, something that the NPP can use to break the eight.



He noted that the NDC will wish that Alan Kyerematen wins the NPP internal race so that they [the NDC] can go ahead to win the national elections.



Ephson explained on Asempa FM on Tuesday, April 19, "if Dr. Bawumia wins the flagbearership race, his running mate must come from the Ashanti region but if Alan wins, he has to pick a northerner who is a Muslim.



"Mahama was lucky to pick a Christian as a running mate in 2020...it is no secret that the NDC would wish that Alan wins, it will be easier for them than Bawumia."



The Economist Intelligence Unit (ElU) has predicted that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) will win the 2024 general elections, but the party needs to revitalise its leadership to increase its prospects.



In a recent report, the EIU said the NDC has a higher prospect of winning the 2024 elections.



The next parliamentary and presidential elections are due in 2024. Under constitutionally mandated term limits, the incumbent President Akufo-Addo, cannot run for a third term.



The former president, John Mahama, is reportedly considering running again, but we expect the opposition NDC to try to revitalise its prospects with a fresh candidate.



Our [EIU] baseline forecast is that ongoing public dissatisfaction with the slow pace of improvements in governancesuch as infrastructure development, job creation and easing of corruptionwill trigger anti-incumbency factors and push the electorate to seek a change.



The NDC, therefore, stands a reasonable chance of winning the 2024 elections.



John Dramani Mahama led the NDC and won the 2012 elections but lost two subsequent elections in 2016 and 2020 to the New Patriotic Party's Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.



According to EIU's five-year forecast for Ghana released on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, the opposition party has a higher probability to be victorious in the next general elections.



The Economist Intelligence Unit is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, country risk service reports, and industry reports.













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A former National Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Yaw Boateng Gyan, has said that they will whole heartedly throw their support behind former president John Dramani Mahama if he is able to win the flagbearership slot of the party for the 2024 general elections.



But he should not be allowed to go unopposed.



He says he could not fathom why some people within the party easily get agitated once they hear that the former President should allow others to go into a contest with him for the right of who becomes the party's flagbearer.



Speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, Yaw Boateng Gyan intimated that the opposition party has come a long way to be bothered by the actions of such undemocratic elements.



"The NDC I know is a huge political party touted with great democratic credentials than any other I know so why do we have to let some of these things try to create unnecessary tension in the party.



"We have some national executives who are supposed to be referees openly trying to endorse JDM as the candidate for the 2024 elections so why do you have to pick flimsy and frivolous squabbles with us if we also openly declare support for somebody who has also expressed interest to lead the party for the 2024 elections?



"Even the late John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills was contested by the founder's wife, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings," he added.



He maintained that the former President will enjoy the support of every body including those who run against him should he win a free and fair primary for the flagbeareship position of the party.



" . . those who have made it a habit to attack others whenever talk of JDM must not go unopposed is raised, should desist from such behaviour as it may attract same and equally measured response . . . this won't augur well for the party in the 2024 elections," he counseled.



Watch Video Below





Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), says the National Democratic Congress (NDC) cannot win the 2024 general elections with former president Mahama as presidential candidate.This was revealed in the EIUs five-year forecast for Ghana released on April 13, 2022.According to the report the NDC can revitalize this prospect of victory if they present a fresh presidential candidate for the 2024 polls.The latest EIU five-year forecast for Ghana, which was released on April 13, 2022, indicated that under constitutionally mandated term limits, the incumbent President, Mr. Akufo-Addo, cannot run for a third term.The EIU said its baseline forecast is anchored on the ongoing public dissatisfaction with the slow pace of improvements in governance  such as infrastructure development, job creation and easing of corruption  will trigger anti-incumbency factors and push the electorate to seek a change.The report pointed out, however, that Ghanaians do not believe Mr. Mahama, who is considering to run again, represents the change they are looking for, and called on the NDC to try to revitalise its prospects with a fresh candidate.The EIUs proposal for the NDC to change its presidential candidate to guarantee wide support for the party, has beset the opposition party, whose national executives thought they had overcome their political crisis after the Supreme Court debacle over the election petition.

Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline/[email protected]









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A man from Kentucky, USA who was fired for having a panic attack that his bosses saw as 'violent' after he was thrown a birthday party at work against his wishes has been awarded $450,000 by a jury.



Kevin Berling asked an office manager at the Gravity Diagnostics lab in Covington, Kentucky not to throw him a party because of his anxiety disorder in August 2019.



When he found out that a party was planned for lunchtime, he spent the break in his car working on breathing techniques to quell his stress.



According to NewYorkTimes, the next day, he had another panic attack in a meeting with two supervisors who talked to him about his 'somber behavior.'



The company says he had clenched his fists, turned red and ordered his superiors to be quiet during the meeting, leaving them 'shaken.' Berling's lawyer says the closed fists were part of a coping maneuver to deal with the tense situation.

'They were absolutely in fear of physical harm during that moment,' Brazil, the company's co-founder, told the Times. 'They both are still shaken about it today.'



He was sent home after the meeting. A couple hours later, he texted one of his superiors to apologize, according to a complaint filed in Kenton County Circuit Court.

He was fired via email three days later. He then filed a disability discrimination suit a month later, in September 2019.



On March 31, a jury awarded Berling $150,000 in lost wages and benefits and $300,000 for suffering, embarrassment and loss of self-esteem after finding that he had been discriminated against for his disability.Gravity founder Julie Brazil, who does not appear to have been involved in the party planning, says she stands by her decision to terminate him 'for his violation of our workplace violence policy.'



Gravity founder Julie Brazil (pictured below) who does not appear to have been involved in the party planning, says she stands by her employees' decision to terminate him 'for his violation of our workplace violence policy.'

A lawyer for the company says the company will challenge the verdict and may file an appeal.

'My employees were the victims in this case, not the plaintiff,' she said.



Gravity Diagnostics is licensed in 'all 50 states' in the US and serves 'over 1,000 customers from small private practices to universities, to Fortune 500 companies,' according to its website.



Berling had been working at the Covington lab for 10 months .

His lawyer Tony Bucher says he had received 'outstanding' monthly reviews. The company itself in a statement said Berling was never given a bad review.





His lawyer points to the amount of money Berling could have earned at his job had he not been fired, given that the COVID-19 pandemic sent the lab's value soaring.

'Based on his employment records, where would he be?' Bucher told LINK nky. 'There are people whose income has gone up at least 50 percent during that time. He lost a nice opportunity with that company.' The lawyer says the person responsible for scheduling the celebrations simply forgot to honor his client's request.



'She didnt do it to be mean. She said she would accommodate it and she just forgot,' he said.





'Basically what the argument was is he was fired for having a panic attack,' Bucher said. 'They made assumptions that he was dangerous based off of his disability and not off of any evidence that he was violent.'



Brazil says her employees made the right choice to protect their co-workers.



'My employees deescalated the situation to get the plaintiff out of the building as quickly as possible while removing his access to the building, alerting me and sending out security reminders to ensure he could not access the building, which is exactly what they were supposed to do,' she told LINK nky.



'As an employer who puts our employee safety first, we have a zero-tolerance policy and we stand by our decision to terminate the plaintiff for his violation of our workplace violence policy,' Brazil said.





'My employees were the victims in this case, not the plaintiff.









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Every Easter weekend, thousands of people from around the world flock to the quiet Ghanaian towns of Kwahu and Atibie for a paragliding festival and Easter carnival that residents hope may establish the West African nation as a hub for extreme sports.



This year marked the festival's return to its annual schedule after the COVID-19 pandemic forced organisers to postpone the last two years' events.



Around 400 people registered for tandem flights with professional pilots, rivalling some of the festival's most popular years, according to Tourist Board figures. Dozens brought their own equipment to fly solo.



Participants hungry for adrenaline strapped into their harnesses and ran off a ridge atop Ghana's second tallest mountain. As their kites caught wind, pilots and passengers alike were launched into the sky.



Ghanaian paraglider Jonathan Quaye, 40, first flew in 2006, the festival's second year, as the passenger of an American paraglider. He's been paragliding ever since.



Having acquired his tandem certification during the pandemic, he is now the only Ghanaian at the festival certified to carry others into the clouds.



"People think it's not a safe sport, or have a mentality like it's only for white people," he said after touching down. "But all those people who say that, they've never been here."



Quaye was one of only four Ghanaian paragliders to fly solo at this year's festival, two of whom live outside Ghana. But the scene is growing, thanks in part to what Quaye said is the sport's innate quality for fostering community.



Stephen Owusu Asamoah, a Ghanaian living in the United States, returned to his home town of Kwahu - around 150 km (90 miles) north of the capital Accra - with his own kite and gear earlier this month, eager to participate in the festival after learning to fly last year.



"When you see people like you doing what you want to do, it lets you know that you can also get into it," he said. "I feel like this is going to really motivate a lot of people."













Source: REUTERS









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The organisers of the annual Exclusive Men of the Year (EMY) Awards have officially opened nominations for this years edition of the awards event for men across Africa.



The awards scheme is created to celebrate distinguished men every year in diverse fields who are committed to societal progress on or around Fathers Day.



EMY Africa also gives complementary awards to deserving women who are pushing the boundaries and shattering the glass ceiling in their respective fields. According to the board, all the award categories have been clearly defined on the website, https://t.co/SQhsKwvzbl, to make nominations easy.



The categories include the PAV Ansah Communicator Award, Man of the Year (Sport, Style, Technology, Health, Agriculture, Music, Africa, and Ghana), Discovery of the Year, Brand of the Year, Actor of the Year, The Creative Arts Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Diasporan Award, Citizen Ghana Award, Osagyefo Pan African Peace Award, Media Excellence Award, Young Achiever (Male, Female), Women of the Year (Ghana, Africa) Men Group/Club of the Year, Continental Icon Award, and the Settler Award.



Others include the Rig Award (Oil and Gas), Magnate Award, Designer of the Year, Man of Courage Award, Special Recognition Award, and the Green Corporate Award sponsored by A Rocha Ghana.



Since 2016, EMY Africa has celebrated the achievements of outstanding men across various industries, communities, cultures, and public service. Dozens of men from all ages and walks of life have been honoured for their abilities, initiatives, and contributions to society.



Past recipients of the EMY Africa Awards have been inspirational men with accomplished or budding careers who have made important contributions to the country. The awards board has recognised men such as John Agyekum Kufuor, Sir Sam Jonah, Professor Joseph H.K. Nketia, Azumah Nelson, and Adebola Williams.







Source: Eugene Osafo-Nkansah/Peacefmonline.com









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The Desmond Fatality Inquiry is being held at the Guysborough Municipal building in Guysborough, N.S. on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019. More than five years after Afghanistan war veteran Lionel Desmond killed three family members and himself in their rural Nova Scotia home, a provincial fatality inquiry concluded its public hearings today. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
When senior biology major Sam Eddington gives tours to prospective students, he tells them that one of the best things about Pittsburg State is the community that surrounds it.

We truly have a family atmosphere that is unique to just our college, he said.

In the last four years, Eddington, of Columbus, Kansas, has racked up a lengthy list of accomplishments here, the latest of which is being named one of two Outstanding Seniors.

Although I have worked incredibly hard to accomplish many things, being recognized as Outstanding Senior is more of a reflection of the people that support me than of just myself, he said. Because of those people and the university itself, I have been able to flourish as a student and individual. I am incredibly grateful to be a part of our Gorilla family.

During my time here, Ive met the love of my life, made friends that will last forever, experienced a broad range of events and accomplishments, and gained the knowledge I need to achieve my dreams, he added.

He's also been recognized as Homecoming King, a Golden Gorilla, has a perfect GPA and will graduate with honors.

Those who know him describe him as living his life with integrity and a tremendous work ethic, and encouraging of others to succeed.

As a student leader, I have tried to cultivate those relationships and enrich everyone that I have come in contact with, he said. A part of this is creating opportunities for my peers.

Hes been actively involved in the Honors College Association, creating new events and chances to serve within the program while being a part of leadership. As a part of Biology Club, his executive team was able to plan trips, events, and hosted the universitys first Science Day since the pandemic. He had the opportunity to serve as a part of Campus Christians executive team and as a small group leader.

Hes been a member of Chemistry Club, Psychology and Counseling Society, Phi Eta Sigma, University Ambassador, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Crimson Club, and he has volunteered with Natural Ties, Pitt Project, Childrens Church at Center Christian Church, Foster Closet, and the Free Store in Columbus.

Whats next?

Eddington dreams of becoming a pediatrician and plans to attend medical school armed with what he learned in the pre-med program in PSUs Department of Biology.

But first, he'll take a gap year to be a scribe in the oncology unit at Freeman Hospital in Joplin, Missouri.

I am incredibly blessed and honored to have received the designation of Outstanding Senior, he said. For the last four years, Pittsburg State has become like a home to me. I have met my best friends while on campus and built strong connections with faculty and staff.

As graduation approaches, I am realizing that it is this support system that I have obtained that has impacted me the most. I would not be capable of doing anything without my faith and the people that help me!

Eddington is the son of two Gorilla graduates: Mindi Eddington (BSN 95) and David Eddington (BSEd 95, MS 02).

Learn more:

Biology / Pre-Med
Volkan Alkan Wins 2022 WSOP International Circuit Rozvadov Spring Edition Main Event (160,500)

April 20, 2022 Christian Zetzsche Contributor

The latest major festival at King's Resort, Rozvadov has crowned a winner. After a short-lived final day in the marquee event of the 2022 WSOP International Circuit Rozvadov Spring Edition, Germany's Volkan Alkan came out on top of a 648-entry strong field despite entering the final table as the shortest stack.

Alkan walked away with a cash prize of 160,500 and a coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring, entry into the 2022 WSOP Europe 10,350 Main Event and a seat in the WSOP Circuit Tournament of Champions during the 2022 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Kosovo's Besnik Lalinovci, entered the final day as chip leader but ultimately fell short of victory and had to settle for 100,900 after a heads-up duel that lasted all but seven hands. The final table was streamed live on the King's Resort Twitch channel.

Click Here for Full Live Reporting from King's Resort

WSOP International Circuit Rozvadov Spring Edition 1,700 Main Event Final Table Results

Place Winner Country Prize (in EUR) 1 Volkan Alkan Germany 160,500* 2 Besnik Lalinovci Kosovo 100,900 3 Tom Cohen Israel 72,300 4 Nedeljko Todorovic Slovenia 56,900 5 Lukas Zaskodny Czech Republic 44,700 6 Rama Mulaj Kosovo 34,900 7 Ruslan Volkov Ukraine 26,300 8 Luc Ta Germany 18,300 9 Vincent De Neve Germany 14,500

* the top 12 finishers received an entry into the 2022 WSOP Europe Main Event worth 10,350

Among the finalists was also Israel's Tom Cohen, who took down the Dutch Classics 230 Main Event in September 2021 while Czech WSOP bracelet winner Lukas Zaskodny had to settle for fifth place.

Final Table Action

Former WSOP Circuit Main Event finalist Vincent De Neve was the first casualty on the final day. Despite flopping a set of kings, De Neve ended up second-best as Lukas Zaskodny rivered a straight.

Luc Ta was one of the bigger stacks when the cards went back in the air but never got much going. Eventually, he lost a flip to also bust Zaskodny. The Czech player then picked up two more eliminations sending Ruslan Volkov and Rama Mulaj to the rail in quick succession.

Read More: 5 Poker Tournaments You Dont Want to Miss at the 2022 WSOP

Zaskodny took the lead into five-handed action when he profited from the aggressive playing style of Besnik Lalinovci, but the wheels then came off in a span of one hour. He first lost two pots to Lalinovci and was then on the wrong end of a trips versus trips cooler to double Tom Cohen. It was all over soon after for Zaskodny and what followed thereafter can only be described as a frantic frenzy.

Despite an average of over 40 big blinds, it took less than one hour to determine a champion. Volkan Alkan doubled through Cohen to take the lead, who then sent Nedeljko Todorovic to the rail shortly thereafter. Only a few hands later, the two big stacks collided and Cohen's ace-queen suited were no match to the ace-king suited of Alkan. After that, it took just seven hands of heads-up play to crown a winner, with Lalinovci falling just short.

One day prior when he had bagged up the shortest stack, Alkan had bemoaned the fact that he has to stay another day and may potentially bust in the first few hands. However, the comeback story turned into the biggest success of his poker career so far and wrapped up the festival at the King's Resort.

Sharelines Alkan also won a ticket to the 2022 WSOP Europe Main Event AND the WSOP Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas later this year
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Hundreds of strawberry lovers may notice a familiar face in a new place this month, with Heidi Barner helping run the show at one of Aiken's most popular produce stands.

Gurosik's Berry Plantation, based in Edgefield County and serving the Aiken-Augusta area, has Barner on hand five days a week at 1310 Pine Log Road. Her previous base of operations was in North Augusta, near I-20's exit 1, also known as the "Wacky Wayne's" location, a few yards from the fireworks business bearing the same name.

Clyde Gurosik, the produce business' founder and owner, shared a few thoughts on his new Aiken manager.

"She cares about people. She is there to provide service, and she has always been 100% dedicated to customer service, and that's few and far between today," he said.

Barner's acquaintance with the Gurosik crew goes back about a decade, she said.

"I made contact through another friend of mine," she said. "She was working at the time for Gurosik's, and she told me, 'Come on.' She needed some more help, and that's how I got into it. I love it. They're very nice, hard-working people."

Barner, a resident of Grovetown, Georgia, also has an unusual perspective on the United States, having grown up in Germany, in the town of Pirmasens, near the French border. Her husband, Gary Barner, came to her attention there, while he was on Army duty, and they moved to the Aiken-Augusta area in 1964.

She's in the produce business from early April through "about the middle of July," depending on weather, and as for her approach to customer service, she said, "You've got to make sure you've got everything you want, and go from there."

It's a family affair, because her husband manages the Gurosik location in Augusta at Riverwatch Parkway and Baston Road.

Her co-workers at the Aiken site usually include one of two seasonal workers from the Mexican state of Tamaulipas: Arturo Guel Moreno or Agustin Cervantes Guel.

Strawberries, she said, might last into the first week of July, and the other big sellers along the way tend to be corn, blackberries, blueberries, watermelon, melons and tomatoes. "Strawbunions" (sweet onions grown on the Gurosik's strawberry-heavy acreage) are a unique offering.

What about the work site, in a roadside tent? "I enjoy it, as long as it's cool. Now, when it gets hot, that's going to be another story," she said, with a laugh.

The Aiken arrangement is a novelty, being about a mile from the previous Gurosik's site and a few yards from the parking lot of the former Boots, Bridles and Britches location. That building, in turn, is in the final stage of being converted to the headquarters of Aiken Senior Life Services, in support of its mission "to expand our services and enhance the lives of older adults in our community," as described on the ASLS website.

Communication is among her strong points, according to Gurosik. "Heidi has just been very straight forward and very professional in her dealings with both the customers and with us, and that's why she's back with us now," he said.

"Unfortunately, she's been gone for a few years. Heidi had a heart attack, and she's recovered well from it, and her husband, Gary, is a dynamo ... He used to run Aiken, all by himself. He had to have major back surgery ... so he was out of the ticket for a while, but both of them are back, and we are extremely pleased to have them back. We are honored to have them back."

He added, "They've been through some tough times, like all of us as we become more mature, and they don't want to sit ... at home and be government-dependent, like too many people. They're both of retirement age, but they like what they're doing. They like to make a difference in people's lives, and they do."

Normal hours for the roadside stands (including Barner's site) are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays. Prominent neighbors of the new Aiken site include Crescent Automotive, Citizens Park and Storage Sense.
Charleston-area residents looking to travel the open roads soon will have a new recreational vehicle vendor.

RV One Superstores, owned by RV Retailers LLC of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will open its new facility April 22 at 691 Treeland Drive in Ladson near the College Park Road exit at Interstate 26. More than 150 models will be on site.

An affiliate of the company bought the nearly 16-acre site next to American Biker in 2020 for $2.95 million, according to Berkeley County land records.

Charleston is an excellent, growing market and we look forward to creating new jobs in the area and selling and servicing RVs for customers living in and traveling through Charleston, RV Retailers CEO Jon Ferrando said.

Sales hours are 9 a.m.-7 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Service hours may vary.

RV One Superstores has 17 locations in the U.S., including another one in South Carolina in Myrtle Beach. Others are in Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

The parent company has more than 90 stores altogether under different brands in 27 states, including Sonny's Camp-N-Travel in Duncan in the South Carolina Upstate.

Baby bump

Baby supply store Buy Buy Baby is setting up a new shop in the Charleston area.

The retailer is upfitting a space where corporate sibling Bed Bath & Beyond once operated in the Target-anchored North Rivers Town Center on Rivers Avenue in North Charleston.

New Jersey-based Bed Bath & Beyond closed the homeware store last July, leaving with area locations in Mount Pleasant and West Ashley.

Buy Buy Baby has not announced an opening date. The retailer's only other Palmetto State store is in Greenville.

Sweet treat

The owners of Seanachai Whiskey & Cocktail Bar have opened a new venue next door on Johns Island.

Flyin' High Frozen Yogurt at 3157-C Maybank Highway offers the treat along with sandwiches, snacks, espresso/coffee drinks and CBD products.

The two businesses are owned by Jason and Marissa Myers.

The new cafe is open 2:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. It's closed on Monday.

Lights out

A discount grocery chain is down to two stores in the Charleston area.

Save A Lot food store at 205 N. Goose Creek Blvd. closed at about the same time the new no-frills grocer Aldi opened at 205 St. James Ave. in March.

Save A Lot's other stores in the Lowcountry are both in North Charleston  at 4411 Durant Ave. and 5060 Dorchester Road.

Rolling in

A luxury car dealer in Charleston has several improvement projects in the works.

Baker Motor Co. plans to build a new Mercedes-Benz showroom at 1513 Savannah Highway in West Ashley.

Up the street at 1521 Savannah Highway, Baker is moving along with plans to build a two-story luxury car showroom for multiple brands on the corner of Markfield Drive where an IHOP breakfast restaurant once stood.

The car dealer also plans to create additional parking near its Cadillac dealership a bit farther up the street.

Site plans show a new parking lot with about 103 spaces at 1601 and 1611 Savannah Highway. An affiliate of Baker Motor Co. bought both parcels separately in early 2021 for a combined $3.825 million, according to Charleston County land records.

Getting pampered

A European day spa is opening a second Lowcountry location in May.

Spa Azure owner Christine Ingram is bringing the new place to be pampered to The Jasper mixed-use project at 320 Broad St. A tentative opening date of May 13 is set.

The spa offers facial and body treatments, anti-aging methods, skincare consultations as well as an array of beauty services such as waxing and tinting.

The new location will feature four private treatment rooms, a relaxation lounge and retail beauty products. It will be open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

The other Spa Azure is at 1055 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. in Mount Pleasant.

Cleaning up

A new car wash is slated for West Ashley. Time to Shine plans to build a vehicle-cleaning site at 1000 Floyd Drive on a 2.37-acre site off West Ashley Circle near the Walmart shopping center.
COLUMBIA  Darla Moore, the University of South Carolina's largest benefactor who has been unhappy with school leadership, will return to the Columbia campus for the first time in three years to introduce a speech by famed controversial political activist Angela Davis.

Davis, who gained national attention in the 1970s as a fugitive that landed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List, is the keynote speaker at the 2022 Robert Smalls Annual Lecture held by USC's African American Studies Program on April 21.

Her sold-out speech has drawn some opposition during a time when colleges have become the center for political fights across the country, including debates over critical-race theory.

Davis was fired from a university teaching job for being a member of the Communist Party in 1969 and was charged with murder in 1970 after guns she purchased were used in a courtroom shootout that left a judge dead.

She was captured and held in prison for 18 months before being acquitted. The Rolling Stones and John Lennon recorded songs about her after her arrest. Davis then ran twice as a vice presidential candidate for the Communist Party in the 1980s.

"Sometimes when theres a speaker who's considered controversial, we often get calls," USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said. "It's not uncommon."

Moore's return to campus, her first visit since the business school's 100-year anniversary celebration in 2019, was confirmed by a source with knowledge of her plans. She wanted to introduce Davis to promote free speech, the source said.

Moore declined comment about her appearance.

USC is pleased to welcome back Moore, Stensland said in a statement: "It should be a great event."

Moore, a Lake City financier, has fought with USC leadership for years citing poor management of her alma mater where she donated more than $75 million. The business school is named in her honor. Moore said she would not donate any more to the school after the administration and board failed to acknowledge the passing of her mother in 2021.

Moore has taken significant steps before when dealing with controversy at USC. She donated $5 million to USC's aerospace research center named after Challenger astronaut Ronald McNair in 2011 just 10 days after she was removed on the school's board by then-Gov. Nikki Haley.

Jessica Holdman contributed from Columbia.
PAWLEYS ISLAND  The Georgetown County Sheriff's Office is investigating a report of a bullet fired into a Ferguson Drive home on April 19, just days after two arson investigations at the home.

According to an incident report, a Georgetown County deputy was called to the home on April 14 regarding a possible arson attempt. The homeowner found black discoloration on the side of her home, originally thinking it was only dirt but then discovering the smell of smoke when she went to clean it.

Early on the morning on April 15, the home's surveillance camera recorded two people pouring gasoline on a deck and then returning a few hours later to light it on fire, according to a separate incident report.

An incident report for the shots-fired investigation is not yet available, Sheriff's office spokesman Jason Lesley said.

No suspects have yet been identified, but an incident report described the clothing worn by the two individuals captured on the surveillance camera  one wearing a black facemask, pants, hoodie and sneakers, and another wearing a black facemask, red hoodie with black stripe, black pants and white shoes.
HEMINGWAY  The family of a man shot and killed by a Hemingway policewoman in February filed a federal lawsuit citing negligence in starting a high-speed chase over a stop sign violation and excessive force over using a gun when the driver was unarmed.

The suit also questions why Hemingway hired officer Cassandra Dollard despite a record that included firings from two police agencies.

Other legal areas raised include why the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy did not properly train Dollard in light of her record, and why Williamsburg County dispatchers did not tell the officer to stop her pursuit that reached past 100 mph.

Robert Langley Jr., 46, was fatally shot by Dollard early on the morning of Feb. 6 in rural Georgetown County after a nine-mile chase that started in Hemingway. Langley was shot in the chest as he tried to get out of the car after it crashed in a ditch, according to video released by authorities.

Dollard was charged with voluntary manslaughter three days later and fired from the force.

Langley, known as Junior, worked at a chicken processing plant for 14 years and was a father of 10. He had recently become a grandfather before his death.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Charleston names Dollard, the town of Hemingway, Williamsburg County and the state Criminal Justice Academy. It alleges "negligent, reckless, and intentional conduct leading to the unauthorized vehicular pursuit" and Langley's subsequent death.

Dollard told authorities she thought Langley had something in his hands, though no weapon was found at the scene.

"Dollard did not attempt to determine whether Robert Langley was armed or whether he posed any danger to her before firing upon him," the suit reads, adding the officer "did not attempt to use a single de-escalation technique."

The lawsuit mentions Dollard's 2002 termination by the Johnsonville Police Department for "poor performance" and names several reasons behind her 2014 termination by the S.C. State Transport Police, including striking "the vehicle of a mother and small child after becoming frustrated and visibly angry."

The Langley family's attorneys allege in the suit the state Criminal Justice Academy failed to document past instances of misconduct on Dollard's part. They also allege Dollard was hired by the Hemingway Police Department "with knowledge of her prior substandard work history, inappropriate conduct, and hostility toward civilians."

Its hard to believe that an officer with this kind of record wasnt in jail much less that she was recertified and hired, family attorney Bakari Sellers said in a statement April 20. Its irresponsible, its dangerous and, in this case, it was deadly.

The family seeks an unspecified amount of damages, including lost future earnings.

Dollard's attorney, Rose Mary Parham of Florence, declined comment on the lawsuit. The S.C. Criminal Justice Academy also declined comment.

David Morrison, who represents Hemingway as its attorney, said he has not gotten a chance to read the lawsuit.

Williamsburg County Supervisor Tiffany Cooks and Williamsburg County Councilman Joe Lee did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Brandon Alter contributed from Kingstree.
Mike Woodel reports on Georgetown County for The Post and Courier. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2018 and previously worked for newspapers in Montana and South Dakota.
GREENVILLE  In the early 20th century in a small neighborhood on the west edge of downtown Greenville, the children of Mountain View Baptist Church carried buckets of water to make mortar for the bricks that built a home for the growing congregation.

The historically Black church still stands nestled in the heart of the Newtown neighborhood, on the northern edge of the Southernside community being rapidly transformed in part by the creation of Greenville's massive Unity Park project.

The 113-year-old congregation is led by its third-ever pastor, the Rev. Stacey Mills, who recently listened to a senior member speak about how her mother used to bring her to Mountain View when she was an infant. The woman is now 85.

"When you think about 1908, and a person who's 85 years old," Mills said, "and the turbulence of the South from Reconstruction in America to the Jim Crow South and the civil rights movement  this church was very much a part of that and has thrived in the shadow of all of that."

The once-thriving retail district and residential community of Newtown has over the years dwindled to a shell of its peak, a result of a past government policy and disinvestment.

That is beginning to change. Newtown is brimming with potential, and Mountain View is taking steps to ensure the spirit of the community is not lost in the process. An envisioned cultural district spearheaded by a subsidiary of the church has the potential to avoid the pitfalls of redeveloping a neighborhood within walking distance of the heart of downtown.

"We believe that the church's mission is beyond the walls of the church," Mills said. "We're unapologetically presenting our city with an opportunity to do the right thing when it comes to a community that is seeing many of its Black neighborhoods gentrified and lost forever."

What happened in Newtown

Newtown is what the city deems a "special emphasis neighborhood" on the western side of the railroad line that splits Greenville, bordering both Southernside  where the city is putting final touches on its $71 million Unity Park project  and the City View community.

The Swamp Rabbit Trails main line, a catalyst for new investment along the entirety of its stretch, runs by the community, which is bounded by West Washington Street and East Bramlett Road, with Willard and Temple streets bringing cars into the neighborhood. A mile farther down the road is Hampton Station, a mixed-use development that offers ax throwing and beers.

On East Bramlett, there was once a chemical plant that was eventually bought by Duke Power, now part of Duke Energy. The area is swampy and contaminated with toxic sludge. Duke Energy is responsible for cleanup.

At its peak, Newtown was home to 400 or 500 families in close quarters. Now Mills can count the houses on his fingers, listing off the surnames of those who dwell inside. Less than 10 families remain, and only a few are affiliated with Mountain View.

Most of those who live in Newtown now are Black, though throughout the 1950s and 1960s about 30 to 40 percent of the neighborhood was White, said Furman University Professor Ken Kolb, a sociologist who has done extensive research into the erasure of historically underprivileged communities on the west side.

The collapse of the textile mills and the surrounding ancillary businesses, coupled with White flight to the suburbs caused Newtown to collapse, Kolb said. Deindustrialization and the migration of the White population to suburbs in the late 20th century aren't unique to Greenville. The pattern drastically altered communities across the country.

The loss of jobs correlated with property values sinking as supply outpaced demand, he said. The depopulation of urban neighborhoods caused communities to lose both political and wealth capital.

With a loss in political influence, it was difficult to fight back against large road projects that came in the 1960s, such as the proposed "loop bypass that was planned through Newtown as an extension of Academy Street. With homes falling into disrepair and plans to pave it over, there was less of a government desire to improve infrastructure in the area. The same proposal decimated the Southernside community, resulting in the demolition of hundreds of homes.

The bypass project was eventually abandoned.

As urban areas rebounded in popularity, there was a push to attract people back to cities. Local governments encouraged private development. But with that investment came increased property values, which over time forced longtime residents out through gentrification.

"When we think about how great a commercial avenue Main Street is, the truth is, not everybody feels a part of that," Mills said. He has had members of his congregation say, "Main Street is not for us."

The redevelopment of downtown Greenville began in the 1980s starting on North Main Street with the Hyatt, then a decade later pushed its way down to the Peace Center along the Reedy River. It was another few decades before similar redevelopment efforts reached the western side of Greenville, eventually leading to projects like Unity Park and the revitalization of the West End and Village of West Greenville commercial districts.

Mills ascended into his pastoral position in 1997 when political and economic factors began to shift. That's when Mountain View began buying properties surrounding the church, 12 years before the first nine miles of the Swamp Rabbit Trail were paved.

"I believe that the faith community is responsible theologically to respond to the needs of its community," Mills said. "So, Mountain View is doing that."

Early stages of a 'cultural district'

At the time, one of the primary reasons the church bought surrounding properties had more to do with a desire to potentially build a new facility. Second to that was "for the sake of the future, to preserve the community, Mills said.

Mountain View first bought a block of 10 vacant homes across the street from its building when the neighborhood began emptying. Mills said the effort cost about $50,000. The church did not buy properties that had active tenants, only vacant lots and homes.

He described them as shanty-style, with wood planks and tin roofs. Some lots were divided into four sections, with two to three families living on a quarter of the lot.

"It was a poverty-stricken neighborhood," Mills said. "And I say that with the most respect possible for the people who love this community and who built this church."

The church then partnered with the city through the Community Development Block Grant  which allocates funds for neighborhood improvements  to demolish the vacant homes, carry away the debris and cap all the utilities for future use.

Still, Mills didn't envision the "magnitude of what we would be able to do."

The church now owns 41 lots amounting to approximately 20 acres, Mills said. While still in the early planning stages, the plan is to revitalize.

The lots owned by Mountain View aren't contiguous. The remaining properties are controlled by private owners, public interests, investors and corporations, including Seaboard Coast Line Railroad and Greater Greenville Sanitation. Mills sees those owners as potential partners in the church's vision.

Mills envisions a 100-acre footprint in the vicinity of the church that would be guided by a master plan for a Black cultural district on the outer edge of the city limits, with health, education, entrepreneurship and culture at the heart of it all.

While the force behind the project is Mountain View leadership and the congregation, the church created Parish House Community Development Corporation, a separate entity, to handle the business of master planning and development. Parish House was officially created in early 2022 after members of the congregation worked for years behind closed doors to develop a vision.

Early ideas include single- and multi-family homes, accelerators with the support of Black business owners and entrepreneurs, an early childhood development program, healthy food options, and the vibrancy of culture "that is unique to the Black experience in America."

"We know that the number one vehicle for transferring wealth in America is home ownership," Mills said, "and when Blacks have been excluded from that intentionally through systems and policy practice of redlining, banking, mortgage lending practices, then we have to step back and say: 'Well, what do we as a community do about that?' This, with this Newtown development, is what we do about that."

Furman's Kolb seconded the thought.

I think hes solving a lot of problems. I would just say if he could create below market rate housing, that would be enough.

Other communities across the nation have invested in similar projects, like the developers of the Restore OKC project in Oklahoma City who focused on creating healthier neighborhoods, and the Miami Design District in Florida that encouraged cultural inspiration.

"We've seen the model, so we know it can be done," Mills said.

Initial funding comes from Mountain View members and seed grants from The Jolley Foundation, the Hollingsworth Funds and the Community Foundation of Greenville. Mountain View has about 300 active members in its congregation but that number is growing larger in a "post-pandemic" era, Mills said.

Public involvement

While the church has kept plans quiet so far, more information will be made public soon.

The week of April 25, the church will host a three-day charrette, an intensive planning session during which citizens, designers and others will collaborate on a vision for the development.

On April 26, the design process will officially kick off. Mountain View has selected community business, civic and educational leaders to offer input.

On April 28 and 29, the public will be able to share what they think about the project and what they would like to see.

Times for the charrette and information about participating in public sessions is on the Parish House website.

Mills wants to "check the pulse beat of the community, assess what its appetite is for this type of proposal" and "to also give them an opportunity to have confidence that this is going to happen, that this is not an empty promise."

Momentum Bike Club is partnering with the group for a bike ride for children on April 30, with a fourth generation of the church serving as historian on the ride to talk about the neighborhood and invite younger perspectives on the project.

Later that afternoon, members of the church will hold a private meeting to give input "about what they'd like to see, reminiscent of the neighborhood that many of them grew up in."

On May 1, at the conclusion of the Sunday worship service, renderings from Johnston Design Group, the architectural firm involved in the project, will be presented to the congregation during a lunch.

The news about the "cultural district" is not new to the Mountain View congregation. Mills wraps updates into his Sunday messaging along with hosting private meetings with members to inform them on the progress. Mill said more than 50 attended the last meeting.

The Parish House Community Development Corp. advisory board is "heavily stacked" with members of the church.

The advisory committee consists of:

Dr. E.J. Anderson

Tamara Harris

Cynthia Barksdale

Kiersten Mills

Romissa Hunt

Dr. Charles Kilgore

Bogue Wallin

Travis Wharton

Melanie Brown, from Restoration 52 is serving as the project manager on the district

Mills has led the congregation for 25 years but is heavily involved in the wider Greenville community. He holds myriad civic leadership positions, including as a board member of the Greenville Health Authority and executive director of USC Upstate Greenville campuses, a role he will soon leave for his most recently appointed role as executive director of Greenvilles Racial Equity and Economic Mobility Commission.

Greenville Mayor Knox White said the Newtown revitalization project is "not just a big step in the right direction, it's also a new direction for the community as it addresses demographic changes in the neighborhood."

While the city is looking for private developers to build affordable housing around Unity Park, he mentioned that "what's been missing is true neighborhood empowerment."

White pointed to the recent dedication of a plaza and a statue of Lila Mae Brock in Unity Park, whose family and neighborhood association helped build elderly and disabled apartments in the Southernside community.

"It's not a new idea to empower the neighborhood to address issues themselves," White said.

"But this is certainly taking it to another level."

More coverage To read more stories in the series about growth and development, go to postandcourier.com/boomandbalance/.
South Carolina Humanities Now Accepting Nominations for the Governors Awards in the Humanities
Charleston will be the commissioning site of the Navy's newest guided-missile destroyer, the Frank E. Petersen Jr., an Arleigh Burke-class vessel named for the first Black aviator and general officer in Marine Corps history.

The ceremony will be at the Columbus Street Terminal, a site used for previous such announcements, including the USS Ralph Johnson in 2018. It will be held on May 14 beginning at 10 a.m.

The Petersen has already undergone its sea trials and is heading toward Charleston after leaving the Inglis Shipbuilding site in Pascagoula, Miss.

When the ship goes online, the Petersen will be homeported at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. It is the 33rd destroyer built at Pascagoula, with five more underway.

Frank Petersen is a significant figure in Marine Corps lore. He served two combat tours flying in Korea in 1953 and Vietnam in 1968. He flew more than 350 combat missions and had more than 4,000 flight hours in a variety of fighting aircraft.

"The ships motto, 'Into the Tigers Jaw,' is a phrase used by Petersen many times throughout his life to convey unbridled spirit in confronting and overcoming social injustice and prejudice as well as bravery in combat and courage in the broad sense," the Petersen Commissioning Committee said in a media release.

The message also served as the title of Petersens 1998 autobiography.

Petersen was born March 2, 1932, in Topeka, Kan. He joined the Navy as a seaman apprentice in 1950, his Marine biography states, serving as an electronics technician until 1951 when he joined the Naval Aviation Cadet Program. In October 1952, he completed flight training and accepted a commission as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps.

He retired as a lieutenant general in 1988, passing away in August 2015 at age 83.

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While Petersen has no direct ties to Charleston, the state has a large Marine Corps presence with both the recruit depot and the air station located near Beaufort.

The Navy also often holds its commissioning ceremonies at towns around the nation with Navy traditions, choosing Charleston in this case, said retired Marine Maj. Gen. Leo V. Williams III, a member of the Petersen commissioning committee.

Previously, the Johnson ceremony was held here to honor Ralph H. Johnson, a Charleston native who was awarded the Medal of Honor after sacrificing his life for other Marines during the Vietnam War.

The Petersen is 513 feet long, has a beam of 66 feet and a navigational draft of 33 feet. Four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines and two shafts power the ship, making it capable of speeds in excess of 30 knots.

Cmdr. Daniel A. Hancock will be commanding officer of a core crew of 32 officers and 297 enlisted personnel.

Admission to the commissioning ceremony is by ticket only. Tickets may be requested at ddg121commissioning.org. No food or drinks can be brought into the ceremony area. Everyone attending will be subject to security screening and existing COVID protocols.

The event is part of a week of commissioning activities.
COLUMBIA  A North Charleston lawmaker has introduced a bill seeking to repeal a decades-old law that prohibits people who default on federal student loans from holding government jobs.

State Rep. Marvin Pendarvis said the law, which led to the firing earlier this month of a Charleston County sheriff's official, was "outdated and illogical."

It doesnt make sense why the state of South Carolina prevents student loan defaulters from working in state government," the Democrat said in a statement. "This disproportionately impacts minority job candidates, who are more likely to carry student debt.

The bill has the backing of Pendarvis' fellow Lowcountry Democrats, including Reps. Spencer Wetmore, JA Moore, Wendell Gilliard, Leon Stavrinakis and Deon Tedder.

But with only 10 days left in the legislative session, it's highly unlikely the bill will make it to the governor's desk. Under legislative rules, any House bill introduced after April 10 would need a two-thirds vote in the Senate to even be considered by the body.

The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee after it was introduced April 19, but committee hearings are also drying up as lawmakers turn their attention to matters that can and must get done, including the state budget.

Pendarvis told The Post and Courier he has spoken with Charleston County Sheriff Kristen Graziano and Joyce Smith, the chief deputy fired April 1 for failing to remediate her federal student loans.

"It's an unfortunate situation  a lose-lose situation  and I felt like something had to be done about it," the lawmaker said.

Pendarvis said an April 17 article from the newspaper about the law also prompted him to seek its repeal.

Smith was fired April 1 from the Sheriff's Office over S.C. Statute 59-111-50, which prohibits anyone who has willfully defaulted on a federal student loan from government employment unless they remediate the loan through their lender.

The law was passed in 1980 amid concerns about the growing student loan default rate and the fear that borrowers would willingly discharge their student loan debts through bankruptcy.

The default rate has only gotten worse in the 42 years since the law was written, as the cost of attending a university has risen even as more careers require a four-year degree.

Joe Seiner, a University of South Carolina law professor, also raised concerns that the law was having a disparate impact on minority job candidates. Black and Hispanic students are more likely than White students to default on student loans, according to the Education Data Initiative.

Seiner said that if the law did discriminate against certain groups more than others, it might run afoul of federal employment protections.

The sheriff said in a termination letter that she gave Smith, who made roughly $126,000 annually, more than a year to remediate her defaulted student loans, but the chief deputy failed to do so.

Pendarvis said he would revisit the law next year if his bill fails to pass in the current session.
NORTH CHARLESTON  A stolen gun and ammunition were found inside a students backpack at Fort Dorchester High School on April 19.

The boy who officers believe owned the backpack was charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol and possession of stolen property, according to the North Charleston Police Department.

Police spokesman Harve Jacobs said April 20 the boy was in the custody of the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice.

A police report detailed the students arrest:

School resource officers with North Charleston police were dispatched to the high school at about 1:30 p.m. in response to a student having a weapon on school grounds.

The officers met at the campus with a school resource officer from the Dorchester County Sheriffs Office, who said an anonymous tipster claimed the student had a gun in his backpack.

The officers questioned the unidentified boy while he was in class, but he denied having a firearm. He was then escorted out of the room by law enforcement and taken to the school resource office.

Officers located in the classroom a backpack they believed belonged to the student. The bag contained a handgun and two magazines containing 17 rounds of ammunition. Officers determined the gun was previously reported stolen.

North Charleston officers removed the student from campus, said Matthew Kenwright, a Dorchester District 2 spokesman. There was no disruption to school operations, he said.

We take all threats seriously, and it is our top priority to provide students and staff a safe school environment, Kenwright said. We appreciate the vigilance of our students and staff and the quick action of law enforcement.

The student's arrest comes less than a month after Jamari Jackson, a 12-year-old boy, was fatally shot by one of his classmates at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville County. The alleged shooter, also 12, has been charged with murder.
Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations.
COLUMBIA  Former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who is under investigation by North Carolina election officials for registering to vote at a false address, is now officially a South Carolina resident.

Meadows was at the Statehouse on April 20 to announce a South Carolina version of the Freedom Caucus when he confirmed to The Post and Courier he is a registered state voter at his new home in Pickens County in the Upstate.

"I'm a resident of South Carolina," Meadows said in a brief interview referring to the July 2021 purchase of a more than $1.5 million, four-bedroom home in the unincorporated community of Sunset.

A representative at the S.C. Elections Commission confirmed he is registered to vote at the address of his Sunset home.

Meadows, who represented North Carolina for nearly a decade in Congress, came under national scrutiny following an article in The New Yorker alleging the Republican had registered to vote in the state at a mobile home he didn't own. According to the publication, only his wife had visited the home, and no more than twice. In 2020, he used that address to vote as a North Carolinian in that year's presidential election.

But Meadows was removed from that state's voter rolls April 13 after documents showed he lived in Virginia and voted in that states 2021 election. The N.C. Attorney General's Office is now pursuing its own investigation into the matter.

"We have asked the State Bureau of Investigation to investigate and at the conclusion of the investigation, we'll review their findings," N.C. Department of Justice spokesman Nazneen Ahmed wrote in an email.

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Meadows declined to comment on the status of his votes in North Carolina, citing the ongoing legal matter. Last week, The Associated Press reported Macon County District Attorney Ashley Welch had asked the N.C. Attorney Generals Office to handle any investigation into Meadows voter registration, citing a conflict of interest.

Meadows, the former House Freedom Caucus chairman, was in Columbia with South Carolina U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill, to help announce the launch of the General Assembly's own version of the Freedom Caucus, an ultraconservative wing of the Republican Party that favors small government and socially conservative legislation.

Meadows has also faced mounting scrutiny for his involvement in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol after numerous texts emerged between him and top players in Republican politics, leading up to and on the day of the riots, urging their office to try to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

He released a 2021 memoir perpetuating claims that Trump, not Joe Biden, was the true winner of the 2020 presidential election.

In December, Meadows was held in criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the select committee investigating the incident, becoming the first White House chief of staff since Watergate, as well as the first former member of Congress, to have been held in contempt of Congress.

It's unclear whether Meadows plans to become more active in Palmetto State politics, downplaying questions about whether he'd increase his involvement moving forward.

"I'm just here to support freedom-loving legislators here, and it's great to be part of the great state of South Carolina," he said.
There have been contradictions about our local government's strategy on COVID-19 testing and limitations for those who have come in close cont Read more
I wrote here about the fact that the umbrella Black Lives Matter organization, the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, is a fraud. It collected $90 million, largely from panicked corporations, and no one knows what happened to the money, except that a lot of it was spent on luxury real estate purchases and other perks for the organizations leaders.

But the truth turns out to be even worse than that. BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors has said publicly that the organization did not even attempt to function as a legal entity. First, a little background: every 501(c)(3) organization, of which there are hundreds of thousands, is required to file a Form 990 with the IRS every year. The form includes basic information about the organization, like how much money it brought in, what projects it spent the money on, and how much the principals were paid. This is a totally routine obligation of which everyone in the nonprofit world is well aware.

Except, apparently, the people who ran BLMGNF:

The embattled activist [Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors], who is facing renewed criticism following reports BLM Global Network Foundation, while under her control, purchased a $6 million Los Angeles mansion, said she gets triggered whenever she hears the term IRS Form 990, the document charities are required to file to the public every year disclosing their financial activities. It is such a trip now to hear the term 990, Cullors said Friday during an event at the Vashon Center for the Arts. Im, like, ugh. Its, like, triggering.

A simple form that needs to be filled out on behalf of those who purchase $6 million mansions with tax-deductible contributionstriggering!

I actually did not know what 990s were before all of this happened, Cullors said, an apparent reference to the Washington Examiners reporting in January about BLMs lack of financial and leadership transparency that led multiple states, including California, to order the charity to cease raising funds until it discloses what it did with the $90 million it raised in 2020.

Oh, please. They raised $90 million as a nonprofit and couldnt find a couple thousand to pay a lawyer to advise them on how to operate legally? These people were greedy beyond normal understanding.

Cullors said activists suffer trauma and that their lives are put at risk when charities under their control are required to disclose publicly what they did with their tax-deductible donations.

Heh. I can see how it could be traumatic if what you did with the tax-deductible contributions was enrich yourselves while defrauding the public.

This doesnt seem safe for us, this 990 structure  this nonprofit system structure, Cullors said. This is, like, deeply unsafe. This is being literally weaponized against us, against the people we work with.

If this seems pathetically stupid to you, bear in mind that left-wing activists like Cullors have gotten away with this bullst all their lives. And have, in all likelihood, walked away with a lot more money than you.

Cullors suggests that BLMGNF is not alone in being a fraud:

Cullors said shes been approached by countless activists who are worried that they too will soon field requests from reporters demanding copies of their 990 forms, which charities are required by law to disclose to the public upon request. Peoples morale in an organization is so important. But if their organization and the people in it are being attacked and scrutinized at everything they do, that leads to deep burnout. That leads to deep, like, resistance and trauma, Cullors said.

I suspect Cullors is right about this. Most likely BLMGNF is not the only left-wing charity that is a scam, raising millions of dollars by parroting left-wing shibboleths while not actually doing anything to advance its purported mission. Apparently countless activists are in this boat, worrying that reporters might demand copies of their 990s. Well, 990s are public documents. Anyone can look them up. It looks like there are a great many left-wing charities that, like BLM, should be put out of business.

Most of them, of course, didnt raise $90 million. The leaders of BLM, like Cullors, should be criminally prosecuted. If they didnt represent a perspective favored by the establishmentif, say, they purported to educate the public about the virtues of oil and gas, but instead bought mansions and other luxury goods with tax-free donationsthey would be headed toward prison. Sadly, that wont happen to the leftists who ran BLMGNF as a criminal enterprise.

My only other observation is that the corporate officers who shoveled tens of millions of dollars into BLM coffers, apparently in the belief that they were paying protection money, should be held accountable. They evidently didnt do the slightest due diligence to determine that they were spending their shareholders money on a legitimate charity. Shareholder lawsuits should be filed.
Todays Star Tribune runs an editorial lamenting Judge Mizelles decision holding the federal transportation mask mandate illegal. Star Tribune editorial editor and vice president Scott Gillespie circulated it by email this morning. He must be proud of the editors handiwork.

The editorial runs to 610 words. Lest you think my brief comments below unfair, I present it in its entirety verbatim:

A question for those celebrating the end of the air travel mask mandate:

Why stop there?

Theres a still a tyrannical smoking ban on board. And airport security also continues to require outrageous compromises on individual liberty. Shouldnt it be up to travelers to choose what items they carry on? And that removing-your-shoes routine, not to mention business travelers having to pull laptops out of cases, is so inconvenient.

Those who want to take these precautions should do so. But everyone else should be free to do their own risk analysis and decide whats best, right?

If readers didnt catch the sarcasm and frustration in the preceding sentences, nows the time to make that clear. The Star Tribune Editorial Board doesnt support the let-er-rip approach to travelers health and safety described above. But follow the logic behind the irresponsible glee some displayed over the mask mandates demise on Monday, and this is where it inevitably goes.

The problem should be painfully clear. How well would current safeguards against onboard terrorism work, for example, if there were voluntary checks for weapons or other harmful items in carry-on bags?

The same principle applies to the smoking ban. Sure, airlines filter in-flight air. Those concerned about secondhand smoke could bring personal filtering devices on board for added safety. Nevertheless, passengers would still smell and inhale harmful smoke, even if just one person lit up.

Protections against onboard harm work best when everyone complies, not just when some do. Thats why the end of the air travel mask mandate is a serious public health setback as the pandemic continues and alarms grow over rising case numbers and new, more transmissible variants.

Last week, the Biden administration extended masking for public transportation at least through May 3, a prudent call given rising cases and an unacceptably high number of daily deaths. But on Monday, a federal judge, a Trump appointee with dubious qualifications, struck down this requirement.

The Transportation Security Administration announced soon after that it would no longer enforce masking. Many airlines and airports, including Minneapolis-St. Paul, have decided against individually requiring masks. Metro Transit also said Tuesday that riders can forgo masks.

COVID-19 is an airborne pathogen, with the ability to waft through an indoor space the same way as secondhand smoke. Masks arent a 100% guarantee against spread, but they were one of the few remaining protections in prime conditions for viral transmission.

Air travel brings people together from around the world and has them sitting close together in a confined, indoor space. Then, they disperse into the community after arrival. Most people only fly a few hours out of the year, but the sheer number of people flying and the ease with which this virus can spread on board and at crowded gates make it problematic to dispense with one of last remaining preventive steps  masking.

After some uncertainty early Tuesday, the Biden administration announced that it will appeal the judges ruling if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decides that extending the mask requirement is necessary. Thats the right call.

The nations top health officials should also be forcefully urging Americans to continue making the individual choice to keep masking on planes and other public transportation. The public needs to hear more from CDC head Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the U.S. Surgeon General and leading medical organizations such as the American Medical Association.

To be clear, were not arguing for a forever mask mandate. But when U.S. cases have risen 43% over the past 14 days, and an average of 425 people are dying every day, a targeted travel mask mandate is eminently reasonable. Tossing aside one of the last remaining pandemic safeguards is reckless.
My point, and I do have one, is that the Biden administration has whipped the American people daily with lies misrepresenting basic facts bearing on our national sovereignty and well-being. The point bears specifically on the matter of CBP agents on horseback who rounded up illegal Haitian immigrants at the border. President Biden and other administration officials falsely condemned the CBP agents for whipping the Haitians. I followed the the administrations lies in the case in a series I called, in a twisted homage to Aretha Franklin, Whos whippin who.

The matter was relegated to an investigation that has resulted in a 500-page report. Its a verdict first, trial later kind of thing. At last word, the report remains under wraps. Senators Kevin Cramer and Bill Hagerty have called for its release from bondage.

The Washington Examiners Zachary Faria aptly calls it the faux whipping controversy and picks up a FOX News on-air report that the agents have been cleared of criminal wrongdoing (though the New York Post adds that being cleared does not preclude the officers from being fired). Peter Doocy sought clarity on the situation from the psychedelic Ms. Psaki. I am afraid we have not heard the end of the story, but it tells you everything you need to know about but were afraid to ask about the priorities of the Biden administration.
The Christian Association of Nigeria has condemned the presidential pardon of Joshua Dariye, former governor of Plateau State, and Jolly Nyame, former governor of Taraba State, who were both serving jail terms for stealing public funds.

Bayo Oladeji, CANs spokesperson, in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday, accused President Muhammadu Buhari of promoting the same corruption he had condemned while seeking power.

This is a president who came to power on the mantra of fighting corruption now seemingly promoting corruption, Mr Oladeji said. Now, not a few Nigerians believe that corruption is still walking on its four legs in the corridors of power at all levels of government.

Mr Dariye, 64, was convicted in 2018 for stealing N2 billion of public funds as Plateau State governor. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court in 2020 declared Mr Nyame, 66, guilty of misappropriation of funds while in office as Taraba State governor.

These two former governors were sentenced and their sentences were confirmed by the apex court, Mr Oladeji continued. If they could be freed or granted state pardon, the impression being created is that the two of them were released because of the coming general elections.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how officials of Nigerias anti-graft agencies  EFCC and ICPC  accused Mr Buhari of sabotaging the fight against corruption.

The officials, who spoke exclusively with PREMIUM TIMES, said that their morale and commitment to work had been dampened by the presidential pardon of the ex-governors.

Commenting further, Mr Oladeji said the two anti-graft agencies could be discouraged from fighting corruption dutifully due to the presidents use of his power of prerogative of mercy.

He suggested that Mr Buharis action could have the impact of emboldening corrupt public officials

The government should bear in mind that the trials of these two former governors cost the state a lot of money. They were sentenced for stealing public money. And the same public money was used to prosecute them.

The question now is: Of what importance were their trials? How can we now convince incumbent governors and ministers not to steal public funds since a precedent has been set? he added.

On several occasions, the Buhari-led administration has been criticised for granting soft landing to corrupt public officials. Concerned Nigerians and civil society organisations have also questioned his motive for freeing the ex-governors convicted for stealing public funds.

Among the critics, human rights activist and senior lawyer, Femi Falana, faulted the controversial state pardon, stressing that there should be equality for all citizens as stated in the 1999 constitution.

He suggested that the president should grant pardon to all thieves and criminals currently serving jail terms  to justify releasing the two corrupt politicians.

Section 17 of the constitution says there shall be equality, equal rights for all citizens and section 42 said there shall be no discrimination on the basis of class, gender, whatever, Mr. Falana told journalists during the one-year remembrance programme for Yinka Odumakin, the late Publicity Secretary of the Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere.

You cant take out two people and leave the rest there. Its illegal, he added.
President Muhammadu Buhari chaired a Council of State meeting last week, where two former governors, serving long jail terms, were pardoned. The action is a rank injudicious exercise of statecraft. The ex-governors, Messrs Joshua Dariye, a former governor of Plateau State, and Jolly Nyame, his Taraba State counterpart, were pardoned alongside 157 others convicted for various offences. The two men were investigated, prosecuted and convicted for stealing N1.16 billion and N1.6 billion respectively from their state treasuries, while they were in office between 1999 and 2007.

This was after 11 years of failed efforts to obfuscate the judicial process and subvert the course of justice. Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the Federal Capital Territory High Court found them guilty in 2018, and sentenced Dariye to 14 years and Nyame to 12 years in prison. Both sentences were, however, reduced to 12 and 10 years respectively, on appeal, by the Supreme Court.

Since the awful pardon, a broad spectrum of Nigerians has bristled with implacable rage; incensed by the Janus-like disposition of Buhari to the war against corruption. This is a man who successfully campaigned for office in 2015 on the crest of an anti-corruption crusade, alongside promises of fixing Nigerias existential challenges of insecurity and a troubled economy. Public angst over this bizarre pardon is encapsulated in the cynical reaction of Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who called for the release of all criminals and petty thieves in jails, since the 1999 Constitution, as amended, prescribes equal rights for all citizens, and outlaws discrimination on the basis of gender, class or creed. The apocalyptic, All I can say is that it is finished, it is finished, was the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinkas telling response. Indeed, it is finished. An anti-graft war that is timid in claiming scalps among the mighty, or frees them for no just reason, is dubious at best and at worst confirms the fiery Catholic cleric, Matthew Kukahs observation that, Only corruption is alive and well in the country.

Aides to Mr President have doggedly defended his action, arguing that he did not pardon the ex-governors alone, as the 36 state governors, former presidents, past and present chief justices of Nigeria constitute the council that approved it. In the best of circumstances this qualifies as a red herring. In the unfortunate circumstances in which the country currently finds itself, it is an ill-considered attempt to hide behind a finger. The council could never have given its approval without recommendations from the 12-member Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy empanelled by Buhari and headed by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.

Without question, the Buhari regime is an epic paradox in governance. At every turn in its seven years in power, it has reminded whoever cares to listen that, If we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria. But it is difficult to see how this increasingly vacuous battle cry will gain traction hereafter with the public, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, and even the judiciary, serially painted into corners by the government as nihilistic partners in the anti-graft campaign.

It is imperative to note that Dariye and Nyame were the only two ex-governors convicted, out of the 2007 cohort facing trial. Nigerians are riled by this reality. Other former governors on trial have effectively shielded themselves from the long arm of the law for the past 16 years through a melange of dilatory tactics: abuse of court processes and perpetual injunctions against their either being investigated or prosecuted. These machinations account for why it took 11 years for the two ex-governors to be convicted. The EFCC is reported to have spent hundreds of million of naira in prosecuting the duo, part of it used in flying in Peter Clark, a police officer from the United Kingdom, as a star witness in the Dariye case. The cop had arrested Dariye in 2004 when he was found with 40,000 and had bought a pen for 7,000. Unfortunately, the EFCC expenditure on the case has gone down the drain, an amount that would have been otherwise spent providing basic social services to the people. Now, the anti-graft bodies have been effectively defanged by the presidents action; and to think that they will have the morale to discharge their responsibilities henceforth beggars belief.

Evidently, no country wins the anti-corruption fight with double standards. This is a fact being glossed over in Nigeria. Singapore, for instance, had to deal with the issue of corruption to a great degree of success under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew. The iconic leader was sickened by this reality and vowed to face it squarely. He was so uncompromising that his friends and ministers were not spared either. Such was his fidelity to principles that the countrys minister of National Development, Teh Cheang Wang, killed himself in 1986, when he was caught in the act. It is only right that I should pay the highest penalty for my mistake, he wrote in a suicide note to Yew.

So, why were Dariye and Nyame granted pardon despite objective conditions that dictated otherwise? PREMIUM TIMES is concerned that it is because of their membership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and political expediency, as the 2023 general elections approach. This is nauseating. But it gives significance to Adams Oshiomholes plea to opposition party members, when he was the APC chairman, to defect so that their sins could be forgiven. This is insensate and soulless politicking, which the Buhari administration also displayed in the grass-cutting scandal that involved a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, a few years ago. The regime was diffident in removing him from office to face trial; it only changed tack after being corralled by the public.

Clearly, the Dariye/Nyame pardon dramatises the fact that regimes upbraid the venality of their predecessors, only for them to succumb to the same set of vices when in office. The country experienced this infamy in President Goodluck Jonathans 2013 pardon of his former boss, Diepreye Alamieyesigha, who was tried and convicted for money laundering for his abuse of office as governor of Bayelsa State between 1999 and 2005. Though Jonathans government never evinced any anti-graft messianic ardour or claim, unlike Buhari, yet Nigerians were piqued by that indiscretion. It is for this reason that Buharis role in this recrudescence marks a new low for his administration.

If the message has not reached the inner corridors of power in Abuja before now that treasury looters, especially politically exposed persons, are mass murderers, public fulminations that greeted the release of the two ex-governors should do just that. Funds stolen ensure that basic healthcare, good roads, potable water and education are denied the people, which have led to avoidable deaths. By the time the Transparency Corruption Perception Index ranks Nigeria further down next year from the 154 out of 180 it chalked up in February 2022, state officials accustomed to denial and being dazed should know why. Markedly, the evidence of hypocrisy in the anti-corruption war of this government is staggering, opprobrious and unacceptable.

PREMIUM TIMES urges civil society and its representatives and all Nigerians of good conscience to rise with urgency and courage and resist this madness that has been so unconscionably exhibited by Buhari and his cohort, who have been so reckless in their mismanagement of Nigeria.
In a simultaneous attack on three communities in Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State, on Wednesday morning, gunmen killed three people including a councillor, Nasir Magaji.

Residents of the communities also claimed that the gunmen abducted several people including two women during the attacks on Dutsen Reme Low-Cost Funtua, Gozaki Village in Kafur and Dan Rimi community of Malumfashi local government areas.

Abdurrahman Aliyu, a resident of Dutsen Reme who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on the phone, said the gunmen, locally called bandits, attacked after midnight and began shooting sporadically.

This is the second time they are attacking us this month, he lamented. I was watching a movie waiting for 3 am so that I could start praying when I began to hear sounds of gunshots. My cousin, who is a police officer called to tell me that they (bandits) are in the area. Later, he called to tell me that a combination of police and soldiers has chased the bandits but that Malam Buhari and one other person have been killed, he said.

According to him, Mr Buhari, a resident of the community, was killed outside his house.

In Gozaki community, residents said the gunmen first abducted the councillors wives, but they returned moments later to shoot him.

The bandits took his wives but later released them and returned to the house. That was when they got him. They sprayed his body with bullets and left him there. They didnt take anything from the house, said a resident who asked not to be named.

The councillor, who was elected two weeks ago, was pronounced dead in a hospital in Kafur town.

ALSO READ: Bandits release Zamfara Health College students

In Dan Rimi, the bandits were said to have abducted several people including two housewives.

A local journalist, Aliyu Musa, said the community has been deserted.

As it is now, Ive counted more than fifty people coming into Malumfashi town due to fear. Several people have been taken but two men have confirmed the bandits have taken their wives. Its only in the afternoon that we can know how many people have been abducted. Some people may have fled into the bush, he said.

The Katsina police command spokesman, Gambo Isa, was unreachable for comment on the attacks. He has not replied to a text message sent to him hours ago.

Like most parts of the northwest region, Katsina State is swarming with gunmen who have been attacking mostly rural communities, abducting residents and rustling livestock. Despite promises to clear the area of these gunmen, the government has failed in keeping the area safe for residents.
Five persons have been kidnapped by gunmen in Akpo community, Aguata Local Government Area, Anambra State.

The incident happened on Monday when the guests were returning from a traditional marriage ceremony of a cousin to the Anambra State Commissioner for Special Duties, Sly Ezeokenwa.

The commissioner, who announced the kidnap in a text message on Tuesday, said the incident occurred at about 10 p.m.

The following friends of my cousin: Samson Okafor, Chidozie Eze, Franklin Osuagu, Chijioke Uduba, Benedict Ozoagwu, who visited for his (the cousin) traditional marriage yesterday (Monday) were kidnapped at gunpoint, Mr Ezeokenwa wrote.

We are yet to establish any contact with the victims, he added.

Confirming the incident, the police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga said the command has launched operation to rescue the kidnapped persons.

He said the police have already communicated with the commissioner.

Mr Ikenga, a deputy superintendent of police, expressed hope that the abductors would make contact with the families of the victims.

Operation is currently ongoing to rescue the victims unhurt, he said.

Attacks by armed men have increased in South-east in recent times.

The incident happened on a Monday when South-east residents are forced to observe the suspended sit-at-home order.

Although the latest incident is a departure from the usual attacks targeting security agencies and government facilities, it is believed to have been carried out by suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) enforcing the civil order.

IPOB, an outlawed group, has been linked to the deadly attacks in the South-east. But the group has repeatedly denied their involvement in the attacks.

The separatist group is leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria.

Its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is currently detained in Abuja where he is facing trial for alleged treason.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has fixed the cost of its presidential expression of interest and nomination forms at N100 million.

The spokesperson of the party, Felix Morka, disclosed this at the end of the emergency meeting of the NEC on Wednesday at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.

He said the expression of interest form is N30 million while the nomination form will cost N70 million.

So far, about 10 aspirants have declared interest to be the flag bearer of the party for the 2023 general elections.

Those who have declared interest include ex-Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige.

Others are Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, his counterpart in Ebonyi, Dave Umahi, former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, former Senate President, Ken Nnamani and others.

For the governorship ticket, APC NEC approved N50 million for both nomination and expression of interest forms, while Senate and House of Representatives aspirants are to pay N20 million and N10 million respectively.

Aspirants for state legislative seats are to pay N2 million for both forms.

Meanwhile, the NEC approved a per cent discount for candidates less than 40 years and free tickets for women and persons living with disabilities.

Mr Morka said the sales of the forms shall commence on April 23.

The cost of presidential forms of the APC for the 2023 elections is miles apart from the nomination forms of the main opposition party, PDP, whose expression of interest and nomination forms are fixed at N5 million and N35 million, respectively.

President Muhammadu Buhari had in 2014 criticised the N27.5 million levy for the forms, describing it as exorbitant.

In the new Electoral Act, the amount fixed as the limit for a presidential campaign is N5 billion. It was initially N1 billion before the recent amendment to the Act.

In addition, several macroeconomic indices like exchange rate and inflation have become worse under the Buhari-led administration.

Dates and mode of primaries

Also, NEC fixed the presidential primary election to hold from May 30 to June 1 while the governorship primaries will hold on May 18, State House of Assembly, May 20; House of Representatives, May 22; and Senate, May 24.

Another resolution adopted by APC NEC is the mode of primaries for the election of candidates for the 2023 general elections.

Mr Morka said NEC adopted indirect primaries, which means that delegates will decide the flag bearers of the party-state congresses and national convention.

Other resolutions

NEC also approved the sale of nomination and expression of interest and nomination forms from April 23 to May 6 while the congress to elect states and national delegates has been scheduled to hold from May 7 to 9.

It also fixed the deadline for submission of forms for May 10.

Furthermore, aspirants are to be screened as follows; May 12 for State Houses of Assembly and governors, May 13 for the House of Representatives and Senatorial aspirants and May 14 for presidential aspirants.

Presidential aspirants have May 14 for publication of claims and objections while May 23 was fixed for appeals.

In the case of governorship and states legislative seats, May 13 and 14 were fixed for the publication of objections and appeals, respectively. Aspirants for federal legislative seats will have May 14 for publication of objections and May 17 for appeals.

NEC also transferred its decision making power to the Abdullahi Adamu-led National Working Committee (NWC) for 90 days.

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Gunmen have bombed Anaku Divisional Police Headquarters in Ayamelum Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigerias South-east.

The incident, which happened in the early hours of Wednesday, was the fifth attack to be recorded in the state within one week.

Last Wednesday, four police officers were killed when gunmen attacked Atani Divisional Police Headquarters in Ogbaru Council Area of the state.

Less than 24 hours later, PREMIUM TIMES reported that gunmen attacked another police facility in Oyi Council Area. One of the gunmen was killed in the attack.

Also, three police officers were injured, on Thursday, in another attack at a police checkpoint along Ekwulobia expressway in the state.

On Monday, five wedding guests were abducted in Akpo Community, Aguata Local Government Area of the state while they were returning from a traditional marriage ceremony of a cousin to the Anambra State Commissioner for Special Duties, Sly Ezeokenwa.

The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the latest attack on Anaku police facility, Wednesday afternoon.

He said the gunmen attacked the facility with a locally made explosive, but they were repelled by police officers on duty.

Mr Ikenga said no life was lost in the incident and that the police facility was secured.

The operatives stood firm and engaged the hoodlums which made them flee the scene. The miscreants, in a bid to escape, threw bon fires inside the station and it affected three police operational vehicles, Mr Ikenga said.

He said police officers in the state are prepared to confront the gunmen and protect their facilities.

The police spokesperson said operatives have been deployed to the area to restore normalcy and track down the fleeing suspects.

Attacks by armed men have increased in the South-east in recent times. The attacks often target security agencies and government facilities.

The outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra has been accused of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the South-east. But the group has repeatedly denied their involvement in the attacks.

The separatist group is leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria.

Leader of the group, Nnamdi Kanu, is currently detained in Abuja where he is facing trial for alleged treason.
President Muhammadu Buhari, last Thursday, granted a controversial pardon to 159 convicted persons including two former state governors who were convicted and jailed for stealing public funds.

The pardon was announced after the National Council of State ratified it at its meeting on Thursday.

The two former governors  Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and Jolly Nyame of Taraba State  who are on the list of the pardoned convicts, are still serving jail terms of 10 and 12 years, respectively, after their conviction and sentencing were affirmed by the Supreme Court.

The pardon granted to the former governors has been widely criticised as sabotaging the anti-corruption war by a government that came to power on the mantra of fighting corruption.

PREMIUM TIMES in a hard-hitting editorial on Wednesday described it as a rank injudicious exercise of statecraft.

With the presidential amnesty, the former convicts are free to return to their normal public lives, seek elective positions and take up appointments. They are also no longer to be referred to as ex-convicts.

The pardon granted to the 159 persons followed the recommendation of the 12-member Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM).

The PACPM was constituted by President Buhari in August 2018 and is headed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

It was set up to advise the president on granting pardon/clemency to deserving inmates and ex-convicts in line with the provisions of section 175 of the Nigerian constitution.

Committee members

Below are the names of the members of the committee that recommended the controversial pardon:

*Abubakar Malami (chairman)  Attorney-General of the Federation

*Jim-Jaja Ibiwari (Secretary to the committee) Director of Special Duties in the Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs is the Secretary of the Committee.

*Anthonia A. Ekpa  Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs

*Leticia Ayoola-Daniels  Representative of the Ministry of Justice,; and

*Raphael Ibinuhi  the representative of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS).

*Shehu Gwarzo  a commissioner of police, representing the Nigeria Police Force

*Albert Uko  representing the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)

*Professor Auwalu Yadudu  representing Jamaat Nasri Islam (JNI)

*Yetunde Haastrup of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

*Lady Obodoukwu  eminent Nigerian

*Lucy Ajayi  eminent Nigerian

*Joshua Mbu  eminent Nigerian

*B.A. Ogunbambi  eminent Nigerian

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In carrying out their assignment, Mr Malami said the committee adopted the use of interviews, observations, consultation and relevant documents called for and received from each of the Correctional Centres in Nigeria.

Outrage over Presidential Pardon

The controversial presidential pardon granted to former Governors Nyame and Dariye has sparked outrage, with anti-graft agencies, EFCC and ICPC, saying their morale and commitment to work have been affected. Officials of the two institutions accused President Buhari of sabotaging efforts to curb corruption in Nigeria.

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), the Nigerian chapter of Transparency International (TI), lamented that the pardon has rubbished the work of the EFCC and validated criticism of the Buhari governments anti-corruption campaign as nothing but a means to settle political scores and pardon those in its camp.

The effect of this singular ill-advised act of abuse of power is that it will embolden political thieves and unrepentant pilferers of our national commonwealth, CISLAC said in a statement.

Various civil society organisations said the pardon amount to a waste of huge funds expended on investigating and prosecuting the convicts.

They also bemoaned the pardon as a slap on the face of the countrys anti-corruption campaigners and a major setback to the progress in the fight against corruption.

Presidential pardon for corruption is inconsistent with the rule of law, and the public interest, as it undermines the principle of equality before the law, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) said in a statement.

Angered by what he said confirmed the Buhari administrations apparent nepotism, a human rights lawyer and activist, Mike Ozekhome, argued that there is no basis to pardon individuals in a country where corruption struts around imperiously like a peacock.

He said it shows that once you are a friend of the president or a member of his political party, or his acolyte and supporter, you can get away with any crime. In other words, in Nigeria, corruption surely pays!

History of pardoning corrupt politicians

President Buhari is not the first Nigerian leader to issue a controversial pardon to politicians or officials convicted of corruption.

During the military era, former head of state, Ibrahim Babangida, was criticised for setting an ugly precedent by pardoning corrupt officials convicted by his predecessors and returning their seized properties.

In 2013, civil society groups and activists were incensed after erstwhile President Goodluck Jonathan pardoned his former boss and political benefactor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. Mr Alamieyeseigha had jumped bail after his arrest in London for money laundering in 2005. He was convicted of embezzling state funds in Nigeria in 2007.

Buharis Anti Corruption war

Mr Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress, rode to power on the promise to combat corruption, asserting repeatedly that if Nigeria does not kill corruption, then corruption will kill Nigeria.

Critics have pointed out that the situation has deteriorated on his watch.

Recent reports by Transparency International and the U.S. State Department appear to lend weight to critics charges. According to TIs 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Nigeria ranks 154 out of 180 (the lower the more corrupt) countries and is the second most corrupt country in West Africa.
The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) led by Itse Sagay, a professor of law, on Wednesday, hailed President Muhammadu Buharis anti-corruption record, ranking it as the most successful in Nigerias history of fighting graft.

We need to remind a forgetful world that the peak in Nigerias fight against corruption was attained on two occasions; December 1983  August 1985 and May 2015 till date.

There is one common factor between these two periods: Mohammed Buhari was Military Head of State in the first interval and Civilian President in the second. It is not a co-incidence, the statement signed by Mr Sagay read in part.

The remark comes amid a deluge of scathing criticisms that continue to trail the controversial pardon Mr Buhari granted last Thursday with the approval of the National Council of State to two former governors jailed for corruption.

Both former governors  Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and Jolly Nyame of Taraba State  are still serving their 10- and 12-year jail terms, respectively, after the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction on charges of corruption.

Many anti-corruption civil society organisations, lawyers, and newspaper editorials by Nigerian news platforms, including PREMIUM TIMES, have criticised the pardon, accusing Mr Buhari of betraying his campaign promise to fight corruption.

PACAC, a body of top advisers of Mr Buhari on anti-corruption matters, on Wednesday, issued its first public statement since Mr Buhari granted the controversial pardon on April 14.

But the body clearly avoided making any comment on the issue despite being the most topical anti-corruption matter that has dominated public discourse in the last six days.

The statement rather focused on denying a recent report by the United States government accusing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), of only targeting mainly low and middle-level officials suspected of corruption in 2021.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the U.S. governments report, titled, 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Nigeria, was released by its Department of State on April 12.

Reacting to the report, PACAC said it is not a reflection of the reality on the ground.

It said the report, among other things, ignored the excellent work done by the EFCC and ICPC in the area of arrests, prosecutions, convictions, assets recovery, fraud prevention, public sensitization, etc.

Today constituency projects are tracked, budget padding is gone; bribe for budget approval is no more, fuel subsidy scam has been eliminated, sleeze in NDDC is halted, P&ID, OPL 245 Scams are under control and numerous forfeited assets are being auctioned, etc and the proceeds plowed into the highly successful, social investment programme, Mr Sagay also stated in the statement.

Read PACACs full statement

PRESS RELEASE

THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA: SO FAR SO GOOD.

The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) has reviewed the Annual Report of the USA on Corruption in Nigeria regarding the year 2021. The Report is not a reflection of the reality on the ground. Clearly, the Report relied on perception, media sensationalism, political storyline and secondary data. The Report failed in number of respects.

Firstly, the Report acknowledges the huge efforts of the EFCC and ICPC but held that the duo are ignoring high profile looters. The Report fails to note that it is these internet fraud boys and their ilk that mature into local and international oligarchs. So, nipping it in the bud should be a plus not a minus. In any case are Abba Kyari, Hushpuppi, Mompa, the Ex-Registrar of JAMB, Senior civil servants whose illegal properties have been seized, former National Assembly members like Faruq Lawan actually in jail, former Bank PHB Executive, former Governors, Deziani Alison Madueke former Minister of Petroleum Resources etc not high profile? Moreover, all the recovered assets from outside, Nigeria now about 1 billion dollars belonged to high profile looters.

It is counter intuitive to suggest that lower and middle class looters should be ignored since high profile looters are not arrested!

Secondly, the Report fails to acknowledge that today, there are many safeguards like IPPIS, BVN, TSA, Transparency Portal, Whistleblowing Policy, better Banking regulations, assets declaration, etc that have remarkably reduced corruption in Nigeria. These interventions by this government and its Agencies have drastically reduced corruption in this country.

Thirdly, the Report ignored the excellent work done by the EFCC and ICPC in the area of arrests, prosecutions, convictions, Assets Recovery, fraud prevention, public sensitization, etc. Today Constituency projects are tracked, Budget padding is gone; bribe for budget approval is no more, fuel subsidy scam has been eliminated, sleeze in NDDC is halted, P&ID, OPL 245 Scams are under control and numerous forfeited assets are being auctioned, etc and the proceeds plowed into the highly successful, social investment programme.

Fourthly, the American Report, unlike the ones by CDD, UNODC and Afrobarometer, suffers from a methodological flaw. This is because sources of data for the Report, apart from perception and sensational media reports, are unknown and largely unreliable. If the Reporters truly knew about massive corruption, what stopped them from being our good friends, by confiding in Nigeria to enable us hato lt it within and outside the country?

Fifthly and finally, while fighting corruption by this Government is a top priority, its successful execution under civilian rule poses a challenge. While all our Anti-Corruption Agencies are doing their best without executive interference, the Judiciary and the NASS need to partner with the Executive more vigorously. Additionally State Governors and LGAs have to show more commitment to the fight against corruption to make it inclusive, comprehensive and total.

ClIfarents, religious leaders, schools and the international community cooperate with the Government and the Anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria, corruption can be reduced drastically. Currently, while a lot of success has been recorded, more can be achieved in the fight against corruption if there is coordination, collaboration and cooperation by all stakeholders.

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We need to remind a forgetful world that the peak in Nigerias fight against corruption was attained on two occasions; December 1983  August 1985 and May 2015 till date. There is one common factor between these two periods: Mohammed Buhari was Military Head of State in the first interval and Civilian President in the second. It is not a coincidence

Finally w,e most strongly commend all our Anti-Corruption Agencies and urge them to keep their eyes on the ball, especially because implicitly, the US Report acknowledges progress being made as the anti-corruption net is being expanded and the fight against Corruption is now extremely invigorated.

Prof. Itse Sagay, SAN

Chairman,

Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption.

19th April 2022
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Muhammad, on Wednesday, warned judges to desist from unholy alliance with people of questionable character as next years general election draws closer.

Mr Muhammad spoke at the Supreme Court complex in Abuja, while administering oath of office to six new judges of the Federal High Court and one judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.

The CJN who said, appointment to the bench is not appointment to affluence, influence, warned the judges against people of questionable character that may appear before you in different guises and make you do what is offensive to the law.

You must shun unmerited wealth, dishonest disposition and never should you engage in any act that may make you regret ever being a judicial officer, Mr Muhammad noted.

He told the new judges to brace up for the impossible from the Nigerian society, especially as we approach 2023 general elections, adding that though he rejoiced with them, he also sympathised with them for the troubles, inconveniences and all sort of uncomplementary remarks that may be made against them by litigants in the course of adjudication.

We are all humans, no doubt, but you must display the humanism in you by doing those extraordinary things that people would say you cannot do. That is what distinguishes those with integrity and passion for success from those with unenviable pedigree and dysfunctional moral compass.

He further cautioned that judicial officers must shun vainglory, dishonest disposition and ostentatious life style, borne out of corrupt acquaintances.

NJC will fish out bad eggs

The CJN said the National Judicial Council (NJC), a body statutorily empowered to employ and discipline erring judges, will never rest in the efforts to fish out the bad eggs within the judiciary and show them the way out.

Mr Muhammad said that corrupt judges can only run but will not have the capacity to hide from the long arm of the NJC.

The CJN counselled the new judges to allow their oath of office to occupy an important place in their hearts and be rightly applied in their adjudications.

This is a bond that you should engrave in your heart and it should serve as a moral compass while adjudicating in all matters that come before you.

You must not derail from the revered path of impartiality, fairness and equity. We dont need any soothsayer to tell us that the times are quite perilous and ominous.

The CJN further said that the present situation of Nigeria, seriously needs judicial officers with the right character and who are honest, objective, dispassionate and humble, adding that the appointment of the new judges was not by accident but by the divine will of God and must therefore be led by wisdom and guided by their conscience.

The new judges are  Emmanuel Gakko; the immediate past Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Musa Sulaiman Liman, Segun-Bello Mabel Taiye, Bala Khalifa-Mohammed Usman, Ahmad Gama Mahmud, Aminu Garba of the Federal High Court and Joseph Adebayo Aina of the FCT High Court.

With the swearing in of six judges, the Federal High Court now has 77 judges on its bench. The court has a maximum capacity of 100 judges.

Backstory

In an exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES last July, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, said there a crying need for more judges to be appointed to court.

Mr Tsoho had lamented the caseload the courts judges were grappling with, with some according to him, having between 400 to 500 cases in their docket.

Taking our reporter through how the number of judges fell from 87 that it was at some point to its current 72, before the recent retirement of Anwuli Chikere this year, he said there was a crying need to replace the vacancies left behind by the exited judges.
The presidency has defended the pardon granted two former state governors who were jailed for stealing public funds.

In a statement Wednesday night, President Muhammadu Buharis spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said Mr Buhari pardoned the former governors on the ground of ill health after a review of their conditions.

He said the recommendaion to the National Council of States for the pardon of the ex-governors and 157 others, was a culmination of a rigorous process, regulated and guided by the law which was not, in any way designed to achieve a political purpose.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how President Buhari on the advice of Council of States pardoned ex-Governor Joshua Dariye of Plateau and ex-Governor Jolly Nyame of Taraba.

Both men were serving jail terms after they were convicted of stealing billions of naira of public funds while they were governors. Their convictions were upheld by the Supreme Court.

The pardon granted the two men has been condemned by many Nigerians including anti-corruption officials as a negation of the fight against corruption. Officials of Nigerias two main anti-corruption agencies, EFCC and ICPC, told PREMIUM TIMES that they not only felt demotivated by the pardons, they believe it has effectively ended the anti-corruption war of the present government.

In his statement Thursday, Mr Shehu said President Buhari would have come across as cruel if he had not pardoned the former governors.

President would at the same time have come across as insensitive and cruel to most people were he to have ignored very compelling cases recommended for pardon made to him because someone is a former Governor. Even Governors have the right to be treated fairly under the law, Mr Shehu wrote.

Read his full statement below.

DARIYE, NYAME PARDON IN LINE WITH CONSTITUTION, WILL NOT DERAIL ANTI-CORRUPTION WAR BY PRESIDENT BUHARI

The Presidency wishes to throw light on the recent note presented to the Council of State, on the report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, PACPM as a culmination of a process begun by the convicts and others concerned in line with the Constitution.

Section 175 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(as amended) enjoins the President to exercise his constitutional powers to grant any person concerned with or convicted of any offence created by an Act of the National Assembly a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions; to grant respite, either for an indefinite or a specified period of the execution of any punishment imposed on that person for such an offence; substitute a less severe form of punishment imposed on that person for such an offence or remit the whole or any part of any punishment imposed on the person for such an offence or of penalty or forfeiture otherwise due to the state on account of such an offence.

The Federal Government constituted the PACPM on August 28th, 2018 with the mandate of assisting the President in the discharge of his constitutional responsibility of granting pardon/clemency to convicts or ex-convicts in deserving cases.

The Committee filed its first report in March 2020 and reconvened on Thursday, 28 September 2021 to attend to the myriad of pending applications for presidential pardon and clemency from Nigerians across the country.

These accrued cases followed the established process of applying for pardon or clemency first to the Correctional Service (formerly Nigerian Prison Service), which must certify claims made, be they of life-threatening ill-health, (as in the cases of Governors Dariye, Nyame; John Joshua Uloh, Engr Umar Bamalli, Saadu Ayinla Alanamu, Charles Ihenatu, Akinwumi Ajayi and tens of others making the approved list of 159; or such cases arising from remorse and good conduct or plainly on the basis of compassion among other stated criteria.

The PACPM members, under the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, followed up the recommendations with a visit to selected Correctional Centers in several states of the Federation to critically appraise and identify potential cases of convicts and ex-convicts before recommending them for presidential pardon/clemency and reduced sentences.

In this round of the exercise, 412 inmates were interviewed and 162 were recommended to the Council of State by the President in the exercise of his powers, pursuant to Section 175 (2) which requires that he should carry out this function after being advised by the Council.

Clearly, the presentation to the Council of States meeting last week, attended by former Presidents, a former Chief Justice and 36 States and the FCT along the lines of its statutory membership was a culmination of a rigorous process, regulated and guided by the law which was not, in any way designed to achieve a political purpose.

While it is natural that the cases of the ex-governors-two among many- would excite political analysts, coming at a time when elections are in the air, the President would at the same time have come across as insensitive and cruel to most people were he to have ignored very compelling cases recommended for pardon made to him because someone is a former Governor. Even Governors have the right to be treated fairly under the law.

President Buhari assures the nation that nothing done here was intended to achieve a political end or send a revisionist message on the relentless war against corruption which he has ably and evidently led by personal examples.

Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President

(Media & Publicity)

April 20, 2022
Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, has asked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to support his ambition to run for the office of the president in the 2023 general election.

He reminded the partys National Working Committee (NWC) of his support for some of its members during the last national convention.

Its time for payback and one good turn deserves another, he told NWC as he explained how he is the only one that can take back power from the ruling party, APC.

He made these comments when he appeared before the NWC in Abuja on Tuesday.

Mr Wike, one of the 17 PDP aspirants to have shown interest in the presidential race, admonished the party as well as Nigerians to sack the APC that has promised Nigerians heaven and earth but failed to keep the promise.

One good turn deserves another. So you people should also pay back. Because you didnt go to campaign, but now I am coming to campaign. So payback. Nigerians are waiting. Who are we going to present? What is the track record of that person? What did you do, as at the time you were there, what happened?, he said.

The governor who said he believes in consensus said it has to be based on justice, equity and fairness.

His statement comes amid speculations regarding the zoning formula for the presidential primary election.

While some members  mostly northern elites, want the party to throw open the ticket, southern governors and members want the ticket zoned to the South.

The Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, who accompanied Mr Wike, said the 2023 presidential election would not be the usual presidential contest the country had in the past.

Two important requirements for a successful convention, he said, are competence and acceptability.

He also said the primary is a possibility for Mr Wike who has emerged as a worthy example of what service should be, firm, straightforward, outspoken, fearless, and yet carrying everybody along and performing and doing wonders in Rivers State.

You come to loyalty and service to our party, Governor Wike has never left the PDP. He has stood by all previous presidential aspirants and candidates, following them with vigour and commitment, committing resources, intellect and leading from the front, he said.

In his response, the PDP National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, assured that the NWC will try to uphold the tradition of the PDP  conducting credible and transparent conventions.

I want to assure you, that there will be no foul play no manipulation, we will certainly do better than what you did in October last year. We will hold an absolutely transparent convention. Well try as much as possible to make sure that every member of the National Working Committee works for the party.

He, however, made no mention of the Committees decision on the mode of primary to be conducted.

The Governor Samuel Ortom-led zoning committee has since submitted its recommendations on the mode of primary. And with about a month to the partys primaries, members and Nigerians await the partys final decision.
The United States of America has asked major airlines in the country to abolish the coronavirus safety measure requiring passengers or employees to wear masks within the airports and transit stations.

Authorities in the country said they were lifting the COVID-19 restriction after a federal high court judge on Monday struck down the public health measure, the New York Times reported.

Five major carriers including United and Delta airlines now say masks are now optional for travellers aboard their aircraft in compliance with the directive.

Amid a drop in infections and high vaccination rates, countries are now completely lifting the restrictions they put in place to curb the coronavirus outbreak, with many dropping mask mandates and other restrictions earlier placed on entering social areas.

Most European nations have begun easing coronavirus measures after high vaccination rates and the emergence of omicron as a dominant variant with mild symptoms, despite a continued rise in case numbers.

The raft of announcements, including plans to scrap COVID self-isolation for those who test positive in England, come as health authorities in many regions have argued that the pandemic is entering a new phase and urged populations to begin learning to live with COVID.

Concerns over Nigerias enforcement of PCR tests

Meanwhile, the easing of safety measures for flights in the U.S. has added steam to mounting concerns over Nigerias continued enforcement of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests for Nigerian air travellers amid growing lifting of sanctions globally.

While the U.S. remains the hardest hit by COVID-19 globally having recorded more than 82 million cases and over one million deaths although there has been a decline in infections, it joined many other countries across the globe in easing COVID-19 restrictions, including dropping the PCR tests for travellers.

The U.S. has almost reached the end of the full blown pandemic and could reach immunity levels sufficient to limit the spread of the virus soon, Anthony Fauci, Whitehouse top health adviser, had told Financial Times last month.

More than 220 million Americans  68 per cent of the population  are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nigeria on the other hand with a little over 255,000 infections and more than 3,000 deaths is still enforcing compulsory PCR tests; costing passengers between N40,000 to N45, 000 in Lagos and Abuja.

The latest international travel guideline issued by the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 eased mandatory Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing only for fully vaccinated visitors while it retained the stiff rules for those travelling out of Nigeria.

The Provisional Travel Protocol for Travellers Arriving Nigeria announced by the chairman of the PSC and secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, which took effect from Monday, April 4, also prescribes sanctions for airlines that bring violators of the new rules.

Mustapha said that the new guideline prescribed for the fully vaccinated would apply to travellers between ages 10 and 18 years.

He said that unvaccinated or partially vaccinated international travelers would still be required to take the PCR test 48 hours before boarding a flight to Nigeria.

Many travellers have raised concerns over the new directive, saying the continued enforcement of strict COVID-19 test is a rip-off, as there is a global drop in coronavirus cases and Nigeria records relatively very low cases at the worst of times.

Asides flight restrictions, Nigeria is not left out in the global lifting of COVID-19 sanctions with last weeks easing of most of the remaining safety rules which included a nighttime curfew and limitations on gatherings, imposed at the start of the outbreak in Africas most populous country.

Globally, more than 505 million cases and over 6.2 million deaths have been recorded.
A police officer slumped and died at his duty post, Tuesday afternoon, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has reported.

The officer, Emmanuel Asufi, was an assistant commissioner of police in charge of administration at the police headquarters in the state.

The police spokesperson in the state, Asinim Butswat, confirmed the incident.

Mr Butswat, a superintendent of police, said it had been a sad day for the police command.

NAN correspondent, who visited the police headquarters, reported that the mood at the police facility was pensive.

Officers were seen in groups discussing the incident, according to NAN.

This life is full of mysteries, an officer said.

The death of the officer is incredible. Many of us saw him coming to the headquarters, smiling and exchanging pleasantries with everyone.

The officer said the late Mr Asufi was a unifying factor between the junior and senior officers.

Oga Asufi was an exemplary officer who did not spare any effort at putting smiles on the faces of all who came across him. He was very charismatic and forthright. He was an exemplary Christian whose faith reflected in his conduct.

We were shocked when an alarm was raised that he had slumped and was dying. He was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre where he was confirmed dead, he said.

NAN reported that the Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, had visited the police headquarters to console the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ben Okoro, over the incident.

The late Mr Asufi hailed from Delta State.

Before his passing, he was a student of the Nigerian Law School in Yenagoa.

He had served previously as the chief security officer at the Bayelsa Government House, Yenagoa, and as the commander of the state security taskforce, Operation Door Akpor.

(NAN)
Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has named key appointments into his 2023 Presidential Campaign Committee.

The State Commissioner for Information, Ini Ememobong, disclosed this in a statement posted on his Facebook page.

Arising from the urgent need to coordinate the pre-nomination processes for the Udom Emmanuel Presidential Project, the following people have been appointed to some critical offices, they are:

Gabriel Suswam  Chairperson, Campaign Council, Habibu Shuaibu  Director General [and] Bola Bolawole- Campaign Spokesperson, he wrote.

Mr Suswam is a serving senator and was governor of Benue State between 2007 and 2015.

Mr Shuaib, 66, a retired colonel in the Nigerian Army, was military governor of Plateau and Niger states. He also served as the Chief of Staff to former military president, Ibrahim Babangida.

Mr Bolawole is a former chairman of the Editorial Board of the Punch newspaper.

Mr Emmanuel is one of the 17 presidential aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The governor had Tuesday last week flagged off consultations for his presidential bid at a meeting with the PDP caucus in the National Assembly after which he met with two former Nigerian leaders, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdusalami Abubakar, in Minna, Niger State.

Mr Emmanuel, at the meeting, told the federal lawmakers that he was compelled to join the race after Nigerians through the Brekete Family bought the nomination form and urged him to run for president in 2023.

The Brekete family, a popular radio show which focuses on human rights issues, had two weeks ago presented to Mr Emmanuel, the PDP presidential nomination form which they bought for him.

The Brekete family said they bought the form for Mr Emmanuel to stamp out godfatherism in Nigerian politics.

The PDP presidential nomination and expression of interest forms cost N40 million.
Following Tuesdays crash of an aircraft belonging to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), the opposition Peoples Democratic Party has demanded a system-wide independent judicial enquiry.

This, the party said, is necessary to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the incessant crashes of the countrys military aircraft  especially in the face of worsening terrorism attacks across the country.

The party made this demand in a statement by Debo Ologunagba, its National Publicity Secretary.

The statement was a reaction to Tuesdays crash in Kaduna.

Onboard the aircraft were two officers and one of them was a trainee. And the Chief of Air Staff, Oladayo Amao, has since ordered an investigation into the crash.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Air Force has suffered similar casualties in the last year, losing at least four of its aircraft and at least 20 officers also died during these incidents.

The most notable of the crashes was the one involving the late Chief of Army Staff, Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 others last year.

One crash too many

For the PDP, the incessant crashes point to the growing public apprehension of possible security compromises and complicity in the APC-led administration.

The disturbing trend, the party said, is the fact that after each crash, the government comes up with a public announcement to investigate the circumstances surrounding the mishap but typical of the administration, such investigations went cold.

This pattern gives credence to the strong suspicion among Nigerians that there is complicity or sabotage in our national security architecture including the Airforce which is very critical to any meaningful fight against terrorism, part of the statement read.

The party, therefore, called for a system-wide independent judicial enquiry to investigate the remote and immediate causes of these incessant crashes of the military aircraft, especially in the face of worsening terrorism attacks in the country.

This demand is imperative and consistent with the demands of Nigerians who have lost faith in the ability of the APC government to conduct a transparent and credible investigation into any matter, particularly those relating to our national security, Mr Ologunagba said in the statement.

While the party condoled with the Air Force and the families of the deceased officers, it saluted their courage.

The party also admonished the military not to be deterred by the sad incident but to remain vigilant and focused on their constitutional duty of protecting the nation.
The media office of the former Lagos governor and APC presidential aspirant, Bola Tinubu, has distanced its principal from a poster depicting Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as the Biblical Judas Iscariot.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Mr Tinubus media office said those behind the poster intend to provoke anger against the person and aspiration of Mr Tinubu.

This campaign has failed, the statement said.

This is clearly irresponsible and insensitive political propaganda that seeks to exploit religious sentiments to manipulate public perception against Asiwaju Tinubu, who is ostensibly the most formidable presidential aspirant in this race.

Following Mr Osinbajos declaration of his intention to run for president, a poster likening him to Judas and accusing him of betrayal was circulated on social media.

The vice president was the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State between 1999 and 2007 when Mr Tinubu served as governor.

It is widely known that Asiwaju Tinubu is married to not just a Christian but an ordained pastor, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and has developed very deep fraternal relationship with Christendom at all levels, a fact acknowledged by many bishops, pastors and parishioners over the years.

Read the full statement below:

Tinubu is Target of Blasphemous Campaign  Tinubu Media Office

The orchestrated set-up of a poster campaign seeking to use a literary application of the Biblical story of Judas Iscariots betrayal of Jesus Christ to rope Asiwaju Tinubu into a storm of blasphemy is the most desperate antics of anti-Tinubu propagandists in recent times.

Our investigations have revealed that those who created the offensive poster were the same people who created the counter-campaign alleging blasphemy. Their design is to use both to provoke anger against the person and aspiration of Asiwaju Tinubu.

This campaign has failed. This is clearly irresponsible and insensitive political propaganda that seeks to exploit religious sentiments to manipulate public perception against Asiwaju Tinubu, who is ostensibly the most formidable presidential aspirant in this race.

It is widely known that Asiwaju Tinubu is married to not just a Christian but an ordained pastor, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and has developed very deep fraternal relationship with Christendom at all levels, a fact acknowledged by many bishops, pastors and parishioners over the years.

A known Muslim, Asiwaju in words and actions has demonstrated religious tolerance and accommodation. He believes in that cardinal principle of the Nigerian Constitution that no one should suffer discrimination on the basis of creed or opinion. Besides, as a former governor of Lagos, a state that is a microcosm of Nigeria in terms of religious diversity, his matured management of religion as a way of life, ensured inter-religious harmony in Nigerias most industrialised state.

It is therefore impudent to contemplate that a statesman of Asiwaju Tinubus standing will condone Biblical allusions that could denigrate his person or status.

These basic facts were ignored by those desperate to set Muslims against Christians through deliberate disinformation of the general public.

While we shall continue to appeal to the Nigerian people to ignore such campaigns of calumny, we reiterate our commitment to prioritise our political communication on the exposition of the truth and dissemination of our point of view with decency and regard to the feelings of Nigerians.

This is an irreducible minimum for us. We urge others to join us in this patriotic mission by shunning desperation and verbal violence in the campaign for the highest office in the land.

Tinubu Media Office,

April 19, 2022.

Abuja.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC) has called on all the partys presidential aspirants not to attack one another in the course of seeking its ticket.

The partys National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, made the call when the NWC gave audience to one of the presidential aspirants, Governor Nyesom Wike, in Abuja on Tuesday.

Mr Ayu said by attacking one another, the aspirants would not only undermine the party, but arm the opposition party to attack it when its candidate eventually emerged.

If you emerge as the candidate of the party, you need every other aspirant and every member of the party to canvass for you in many parts of the country.

You alone cannot win elections, you need every member of the party to work for the party, Mr Ayu said.

The national chairman urged all aspirants of the party at all levels to campaign on issues including security, economy and others.

Make sure that we stick together because it is only a united PDP that will go into this election and win the election.

I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever, that we are going to win the next presidential election.

Mr Ayu advised the aspirants to support the party in addressing challenges facing it at all levels, saying the ultimate goal was not to win party tickets but win elections.

He promised that the NWC would provide a level playing ground for all aspirants, assuring that there would not be foul play or manipulation in conducting the partys primaries.

Mr Ayu said that no member of PDP NWC would sabotage any of the aspirants.

Let assure you, this NWC will try to uphold the tradition of the PDP, that tradition since 1999 is running very credible, transparent conventions starting from Jos to the last one that produced this National Working Committee.

I want to assure you, that there will be no foul play, no manipulation, we will certainly do better than what you did in October last year.

Mr Ayu said that at this stage, members of the NWC would be neutral until a candidate emerged, when all of them would support and canvass support of all Nigerians for him or her.

He appreciated the support of Mr Wike to the partys drive to win elections, urging him not to relent.

Mr Ayu assured him that the party leaders would be firm behind him if he emerged as PDP candidate.

Speaking earlier, Mr Wike said that he was not at the party secretariat to negotiate for vice presidential slot but to woo the NWC members on his presidential ambition.

I did not buy form to contest for Senate. It is only one form that I bought. That is for the office of president.

I am not going to say if I dont win I will go for the senate. The only thing I want is to be president.

The Rivers State governor urged the party leaders to shun sentiments but produce a candidate that could win the votes of Nigerians.

You do not need to look at what the elites are saying, what people are talking about is Wike.

Why are they talking about Wike? Because in this country, everybody has seen what I have done in Rivers State.

Mr Wike described 2023 as the only opportunity for the party to reclaim power, which, he said, could only be achieved by presenting a candidate with capacity such as him.

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The governor, who expressed optimism of winning the PDP ticket, said that Nigeria needed a courageous, fearless and capable leader.

He said that if given the opportunity, he would work in synergy with the leadership of the party in the implementation of his policies.

Speaking on the partys presidential aspirants canvasing consensus candidate, Mr Wike said that he did not believe in consensus, but transparent primaries.

I want to appeal that we should not make any mistake where people will say our election is not transparent, Mr Wike said.

He said that he was mentally, physically and emotionally prepared to lead Nigeria, urging the NWC members to support him.

In his opening remark, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State said that the journey to presidency in 2023 was not as usual, as it now required PDP to field a competent and courageous person.

Mr Ikpeazu said that Nigeria could not afford to gamble in 2023, and the only way PDP could regain power was to present a presidential candidate with capability, competence and acceptability, which people could vouch as loyal to the party.

I see this possibility in one of the PDP governors, which is in Nyesom, who is firm, straight forward, outspoken, fearless, respect for rule of law and yet carries everyone along, and performing wonders in Rivers State.

Who says this cannot be replicated in Nigeria? he said.

(NAN)
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has grilled a son of a former Governor of Nasarawa State, Tanko Al-Malkura, over a suspicious purchase of property worth N130 million.

Sources at the commission with first hand information on the matter but barred from speaking to the media about it, said 24-year-old Amir Al-Makura, paid N96million cash in foreign currency equivalent as part-payment for the property.

In furtherance to our Real Estate investigation, we invited Amir Tanko Almakura the son of Senator Almakura.

The suspect is a 24-year-old and he bought a house in Bilaad Realty Ltd worth N130,000,000.00 and he has paid the sum of N96,000,000.00 cash in Foriegn currency equivalent, the source said.

The source said Amir reported to the commission but has failed to explain the source of the money or give genuine explanation on how the property was acquired.

The source said the suspect is still in detention because he has yet to meet the bail conditions granted him.

He has been detained pending meeting bail conditions, the source said.

EFCCs spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, could not be reached as of the time of filing this report.

Amirs detention comes about nine months after the EFCC arrested his father, Mr Al-Makura, a serving senator, and his wife, Mairo, in July last year.

Sources said their arrest related to an alleged breach of trust and misappropriation of funds allegedly perpetrated during the former governors eight-year administration as Nasarawa State governor.

Mr Al-Makura served as Governor of Nasarawa State between 2011 and 2019 before he was elected into the National Assembly as Senator representing Nasarawa South Senatorial District.

PREMIUM TIMES would later understand that EFCC arrested the couple on suspicion of involvement in dirty money flow.

Some suspicious transactions involving the couple, their companies, including Taal hotel in Lafia, and some businesses, said the EFCC arrested the couple on suspicion of involvement in dirty money flow.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that about 55 accounts controlled by the couple and their companies were involved in the suspicious transactions, amounting to billions of naira, when Mr Al-Makura was the governor of Nasarawa State between 2011 and 2019.

When contacted for his comment, the ex-governors spokesperson, Danjuma Joseph, told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday that he was not aware of the detention of the former governors son.
Gunmen have kidnapped an Akwa Ibom-based televangelist, John Okoriko.

The gunmen kidnapped the cleric on Tuesday evening when they invaded the headquarters of the church in his village, Ibekwe Akpanya in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area of the state

Mr Okoriko is the president and founder of the Solid Rock Kingdom Church.

Although he lives in Uyo, the state capital, reports say the gunmen kidnapped Mr Okoriko, 74, at about 5 p.m. on Tuesday at the headquarters of the church, called National Capitol.

Mr Okorikos home is within the National Capitol, 42 kilometers from the Uyo.

The cleric reportedly travelled home for a meeting with church members and community leaders when the incident occurred.

After the meeting, he was reportedly preparing to return to Uyo, when the gunmen stormed the church premises and shoot sporadically to scare others away.

The gunmen went away with the pastor through the bush behind the church, which is bordered by a stream.

ALSO READ: Police confirm abduction of business owner in Eket

Linus Ukoenang, a bishop and national secretary of the church, told PREMIUM TIMES that the kidnappers contacted the family of the cleric Wednesday morning demanding a N100 million ransom.

Mr Okorikos abduction has drawn wide criticism from members of the public and is the major topic of discussion in many radio stations in the state.

Members of the church and fans of the televangelist have also taken to social media to announce his kidnap and prayed for his safety while in his abductors den.

The Akwa Ibom State police spokesperson, Odiko Macdon, did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by this newspaper.
National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu, has cautioned members against divisive tendencies, ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Mr Adamu said this on Wednesday at the opening of the 11th APC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Transcop Hilton, Abuja.

He reminded the partys stakeholders of the experience of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2014 and how it lost the presidential election in 2015 due to disunity.

Mr Adamu said the APC must be guided against complacency by remaining united if it must continue in its winning ways.

He also cautioned the partys past governors against undermining serving governors in their states, saying that they remained the partys leaders in their respective states.

The APC Constitution states that serving governors are the state leaders, therefore the past governors must act like statesmen and provide guidance, Mr Adamu said.

He said that the party constitution only recognised serving governors as their states leaders, adding that there was no need for competition and rivalry between past and serving governors.

He said that the ego causing disunity between past and serving governors and other leaders of the party in some of state could pull the party down if not properly handled.

This, he said, could affect the partys electoral victory in the 2023 general elections.

Mr Adamu said going forward the partys slogan would be APC First.

He, however, added that the National Working Committee (NEC) was open to suggestions on how to move the party forward, saying that it does not have monopoly of knowledge.

Some dignitaries at the meeting included President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, APC governors, state chairmen and other members of the National Working Committee (NEC).

APC governors were led to the meeting by the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State.

The APC NEC is the second highest decision making organ of the party.

(NAN)
Former governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, has fixed May 5 to announce his intention to run for president, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.

A source close to Mr Amosun, who is now a senator representing Ogun Central in the National Assembly, said he will formally declare his intention on his arrival from Umrah.

Mr Amosun is currently performing the lesser Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

The source added that he has been silently consulting with stakeholders across the country.

He said the declaration, to hold in Abuja, will be the climax of Mr Amosuns ongoing consultations with key political players across the country.

Olusegun Clement, who served as Mr Amosuns Special Assistant on Students Matters while he was governor, confirmed the date.

 By the benevolent of the Almighty God, the support of the APC leaders, and the entire populace of Nigeria, my boss will not only declare, but he will also contest and win by the grace of God, Mr Clement told PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Amosun is believed to be a close ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, the leader of the APC.

However, ahead of the 2019 general election, he went against the party leadership and opposed the nomination of Dapo Abiodun as the governorship candidate of the party.

Mr Amosun will join the list of APC chieftains who had announced their intention to run for president, including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who officially declared on April 11.

Others who have announced their intention to secure the partys ticket for the 2023 presidential election include Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos and leader of the party; Rochas Okorocha, a senator and former Imo State governor; David Umahi, Ebonyi State governor; Chris Ngige, the minister of Labour and former Anambra governor; and Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, among others.
The Chief of Air Staff, Oladayo Amao, has ordered an investigation into the crash of its aircraft on Tuesday, killing its pilots

Air Force spokesperson, Edward Gabkwet, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported that a Super Mushshak trainer aircraft belonging to the Nigerian Air Force crashed in Kaduna, killing its two occupants  Abubakar Muhammed Alkali and Elijah Haruna Karatu, both flight lieutenants.

The crash comes even as the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) suffered casualties in the last one year, losing at least four of its aircraft and several personnel.

At least 20 officers also died during these tragic incidents, including senior army personnel.

The most notable of the crashes was the one involving the late Chief of Army Staff, Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 others.

The crashes occurred even as the Air Force is trying to acquire movement to help in the fight against insurgents and bandits in various parts of the country.

The statement by Mr Gabkwet said Mr Amao had constituted an Investigation Board upon receiving the sad news of the crash to determine the immediate and remote causes of the crash

Air Marshal Amao had constituted an Accident Investigation Board upon receiving the sad news of the crash yesterday, to determine the immediate and remote causes of the crash.

While at Kaduna earlier today, he assured the officers, airmen and airwomen of 401 Flying Training School that all measures will be emplaced to avert similar occurrence in the future. He also reminded them on the need to remain steadfast and focused on their assigned roles and responsibilities in view of the onerous task before the NAF and other security agency to rid the Northwest and indeed the entire Nation of all criminal elements, the statement said.

Read full statement:

PRESS RELEASE

NIGERIAN AIR FORCE TO INVESTIGATE CAUSE OF TRAINER aircraft CRASH IN KADUNA

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, has stated that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) will ensure it thoroughly agencies ate the cause of the Super Mushshak trainer aircraft crash that occurred yesterday, 19 April 2022 at NAF Basthe e, Kaduna. He stated this when he visited Kaduna earlier today to commiserate with families, friends, and colleagues of the 2 pilots, Flight Lieutenant Abubakar Muhammed Alkali and Flight Lieutenant Elijah Haruna Karatu, who lost their lives in the tragic accident.

Air Marshal Amao had constituted an Accident Investigation Board upon receiving the sad news of the crash yesterday, to determine the immediate and remote causes of the crash. While at Kaduna earlier today, he assured the officers, airmen and airwomen of 401 Flying Training School that all measures will be emplaced to avert similar occurrence in the future. He also reminded them on the need to remain steadfast and focused on their assigned roles and responsibilities in view of the onerous task before the NAF and other security agency to rid the Northwest and indeed the entire Nation of all criminal elements.

The unfortunate incident of yesterdays trainer aircraft crash is yet again a tragic reminder of the perilous nature of the military flying profession as well as the risks NAF pilots continually take, daily, given Nigerias territorial integrity. Kindly bring this agenciesation to the awareness of the general public.

Thank you.

Edward Gabkwet Air Commodore

Director of Public Relation and Information

Nigerian Air Force

20 April 2022
President Muhammadu Buhari has again cautioned the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at both national and state levels against imposing unpopular candidates as the 2023 general election approaches.

The president gave the warning at the 11th meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday in Abuja.

He also enjoined the leadership to always follow due process in all the party processes as well as to develop more mechanisms against corruption.

I enjoin you all to follow due process in all the party processes and more importantly to develop more mechanisms against corruption.

I call on all party members to abide by all extant laws, rules, and regulations and to leaders of our party to avoid the imposition of candidates that cannot win popular elections.

This dictatorial behaviour cost us many strategic seats in the past. In the recent past, this led to some of our strong members, unfortunately, opting to go elsewhere because of the unfairly oppressive behaviour of party leaders at the state level.

I must caution strongly against any tendency towards developing cliques, infighting within the party.

We want to win well not succumb to factions on account of personal acerbities and desire to retain control at all costs. That surely is not the road to win, he said.

The president also told new members of the National Working Committee (NWC), which had been delegated powers of NEC for a period, to work towards keeping the party together by creating more room for discussions.

Theres no time to develop differences among ourselves. We have no time for that, he added

Mr Buhari also warned of tougher security measures in restive parts of the country, a review of operations and strategy, reassuring Nigerians that the efforts that resulted in relative peace in the South-south and rescuing of the North-east from the hold of terrorists would be ramped up.

According to him, the major security challenges have remained in the North-central and North-west, saying, We are going to be very tough.

He added: I will like us to reflect on what the situation was before we came in. How many Local Government Areas were under the control of terrorists in the North-east?

In the South-south, we all know what the situation was; now we have relative peace. With the resources at our disposal, we have done very well.

People are very forgetful. Our main problem now is in the North-west and North-central. People are killing one another in these places, what for? We are going to be very tough.

In the forthcoming general elections in 2023, Mr Buhari urged party members to be more mindful of the pitfalls that led to the ouster of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.

The PDP thought that only time could remove them, and the time came. They thought it was impossible to lose elections, he added.

He said the APC was formed by a merger of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), some members from All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the new PDP, which was a fraction of the then ruling party.

We put together a committee with clear terms of reference on how to remove the PDP from power. The PDP thought it wasnt going to be possible. But it happened, he said.

The president commended the Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) for offering themselves to serve the party at a critical moment in utmost satisfaction despite all the attendant challenges and for organising the National Convention that produced the NWC.

I must also sincerely thank all the aspirants for their desire to serve but had to withdraw their aspirations for the overall interest of our party. I consider it an honour to my person and an unwavering sacrifice for the unity of our great party as we approach the coming elections.

I plead with all aspirants who were not elected to put in efforts in support of the leadership of the party to achieve our goal of success in the forthcoming elections.

Furthermore I am pleading with all litigants to withdraw cases against the party and put faith in party mechanisms.

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Mr Buhari also congratulated the new National Chairman of APC, Abdullahi Adamu, and the entire NWC members.

You came in at a critical time and the entire party has a high expectation from you.

The critical task ahead of you remains to continue to forge the unity of purpose among party members and to keep securing needful compromises in the interest of our great party, he noted.

The president felicitated party leaders and members for successfully conducting the Ward, Local Government, State Congresses, and the National Convention, in compliance with the Party Constitution.

I enjoin you all to recognize the place of due process in all our tasks as managers of the party.

We must develop party in-built mechanisms against corruption. Our success in 2023 will depend more on our capacity to respect our own extant rules and regulations.

Now that NEC has vested its powers in NWC for the time being, as requested, and in compliance with the Party Constitution in the overall interest of the Party, I want to assure Mr Chairman and the entire NWC members of my full support, he said.

In his remark, the APC Chairman appreciated Mr Buhari for always working for the unity and survival of the party, assuring that the NWC will further unite the party, and ensure victory at the polls.

We must succeed, failure is not an option, the APC Chairman said.

The NEC meeting was attended by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and other principal officers of the National Assembly, APC governors and state party chairmen.

(NAN)
Ahmed Babba Kaita, the senator representing Katsina North Senatorial District, the senatorial zone of President Muhammadu Buhari, has officially announced his exit from the ruling All Progressives Congress APC.

Mr Babba-Kaita announced on Wednesday that he was joining the opposition Peoples Democratic Party

The defection brought an end to speculations, on local radio stations in Katsina and on social media that the senator would be switching political parties ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Mr Babba-Kaita was at the PDP secretariat in Katsina Tuesday afternoon but both the party and the senator denied that he had gone there to defect.

In a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES by the Senators media aide, Abdulkadir Lawal, Mr Babba Kaita said he defected because he is not a bandwagon politician.

He also said the PDP represents what he stands for.

Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita is not a bandwagon politician. His exemplary and robust representation in the Nigerian Senate is to the admiration of all, and with significant, visible impacts in the areas of infrastructural and human capital development across the three Senatorial zones of the state. There is room to do more.

The fresh page from the decision to join the Peoples Democratic Party represents the ideals of representativeness in the mandate, goodwill and an even more determined desire and opportunity to provide succour, comfort and the much-needed dividends of democracy to the people, the statement added.

The Senator accused Aminu Masari, the governor of the state of not conducting local government elections for more than six years. He said the governor disregarded other stakeholders, disobeyed the foundation of democracy, and hated a level playing ground in party activities.

The senator has been at loggerheads with the governor.

Battle with Masari

In January, Mr Babba  Kaita refused to honour an invitation from the governor to members of the National Assembly from Katsina to discuss important issues affecting the state.

The senator said the governor didnt invite them for all those years when there were issues to discuss but now that he trying to play politics with us.

In a February interview with the Daily Trust, Mr Babba-Kaita said Mr Masari was a liar who was giving party position to his clique.

The post (Facebook) intended to tell Katsina indigenes that what the governor said at the stakeholders meeting were pure lies because, under his watch, we have the party chairman rooting for a candidate; which is well known. Under his nose, we have members of his cabinet rooting for the deputy governor; we have other aides rooting for a specific gubernatorial candidate. He is promoting some candidates over others.

In my state, we are currently facing such challenges as some individuals think the party belongs to them and want to do whatever they want. In fact, they are already organising another government by 2023. That is just wishful thinking if you do not follow the democratic process, he told the newspaper.
Thirteen Nigerians who were detained in Poland after they fled the war in Ukraine have been released, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) said on Wednesday.

According to NiDCOM, the Nigerians were held in various camps in Poland.

In a statement shared on its Twitter handle, NiDCOM said the 13 were among the 19 Nigerians detained in the European country. They were released following the intervention of the Nigerian Ambassador to Poland, Christian Ugwu, the agency said.

The agency quoted Mr Ugwu as saying, unfortunately, the remaining five, all applied for international protection (asylum) in Poland including Igwe Ikechukwu Christian, who had been interviewed by some foreign media.

The last person claimed to be a Cameroonian because the mother is from Cameroon, the official was quoted as saying.

They can not be released until the Government of Poland takes a decision on their application or they decide to withdraw the application, he added.

According to the statement, Mr Ugwu assured Nigerians that the mission will continue to do its best to ensure that the interests of Nigerians are well taken care of.

Nigerians seeking refuge in Poland had been briefed on the likely consequences of remaining as undocumented immigrants in the country, NiDCOM wrote.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the ministry of foreign affairs, in March, received about five batches of Nigerians fleeing the war in Ukraine.

However, some of the Nigerians chose to remain behind and were held in detention centres in Poland.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the chairperson of NIDCOM, commended the successful intervention of the Nigerian mission in Poland. She encouraged Nigerians to obey the laws of the countries where they reside.
President Muhammudu Buhari has again said the security situation in Nigeria has improved under his watch than the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The president stated this on Wednesday during the meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in Abuja.

The president noted that the major security challenges have remained in the North-central and North-west, saying, the North-east has seen relative peace.

The claim by Mr Buhari comes in the midst of worsening insecurity in the country.

Insecurity in Nigeria has worsened under the Buhari administration as the country witnessed some of the bloodiest attacks in its history.

Almost every geo-political zone in the country suffered one form of attack or the other, notably from outfits such as Boko Haram/ISWAP, IPOB separatists and bandits.

The country also witnessed the highest number of school children abductions and hostage-taking since 2014 when the Chibok school girls were abducted.

Besides, the country also witnessed the highest number of jailbreaks in a single year as no fewer than four prisons were affected.

Also, bandits overshadowed the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists as they made some states in the North-west and North-central the epicentres of killings in the country.

Although the President Muhammadu Buhari administration repeatedly claimed that Nigerians are more secure under it than under the previous administrations, this assertion has been disputed by facts on the ground.

Disputed claim

Speaking to his party members, Mr Buhari assured them that he will use the same measure he deployed in tackling Boko Haram in the North-east and other forms of restiveness in the South-south in bringing peace to other parts of the country.

He said his administration will go harder on bandits and other terrorists who cause trouble particularly in the North-west.

I will like us to reflect on what the situation was before we came in. How many Local Government Areas were under the control of terrorists in the North-East?

In the South-South, we all know what the situation, was; now we have relative peace. With the resources at our disposal, we have done very well.

People are very forgetful. Our main problem now is in the North West and North Central. People are killing one another in these places, what for? We are going to be very tough, he said.

Mr Buhari urged party members to be more mindful of the pitfalls that led to the ouster of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.

The PDP thought that only time could remove them, and the time actually came. They thought it was impossible to lose elections, he added.
I dont know why we are all yelling. Why are we such a pretentious lot? I hate it when we set processes in motion and then pretend to be alarmed at the outcome of our actions. Hey! We are the arsonists. So, dont let us pretend to be the fire fighters!!

I am fasting. So, I am naturally (or religiously restrained) from talking about, watching or commenting about some things. But I must not allow this Chrisland saga slide without chipping in a few words.

I was alarmed on Monday. But what alarmed you was not what alarmed me. You were alarmed by the breaking news of a 13 year old having a good time in a far away Dubai hotel. For me, that was broken news. I was alarmed that you all were alarmed by what should not alarm you. Something you should know and must not pretend does not happen even in your backyard.

I dont know why we are all yelling. Why are we such a pretentious lot? I hate it when we set processes in motion and then pretend to be alarmed at the outcome of our actions. Hey! We are the arsonists. So, dont let us pretend to be the fire fighters!!

Why should the sex tape of a 13 year old and 10 year old get you off your feet when you have nurtured their generation with the same nourishment of sleaze from the wombs?

At homes, what do mothers wear? At birthday parties, what do children dance to? On televisions, what do families watch? At schools, what do teachers discuss? In classrooms, what do students share? On social media, what do we all post, like, retweet and share? On our phones, which apps take more of our times?

At the heart of the new generation is sex, sex and sex! Unfortunately, you all assume their innocence when many of them have surpassed your records in all the departments of experimentations.

And then you expect teens holed up in a luxury hotel, far away from the prying eyes of adults, not to fulfill their missions? When all they had watched on Instagram and Tiktok are your celebs, your societys role models  those constantly on the lips of their parents during family leisure times, promoting sex; gleefully sharing their moments of ecstasies and fantasies in Emirates swimming pools!

Why do you think guns have spiraled out of control in the United States of America? That you find the young and the old spitting bullets at the slightest provocations or killing as pastimes is because there are little or no restrictions and the allure of violence is everywhere near you.

Across the globe, Nigeria and your very doorsteps, are not exempted; sex has spiraled out of control and it is a free game.

Now, tell me which corporate organisaton today goes all out in search of First Class graduates of universities to offer them jobs? Is Nigeria even looking for geniuses who, with no formal education, are endowed with natural talents to fabricate life-changing devices? No! And there are hundreds of them pleading with media houses to broadcast their possibilities for the authorities to spot them and lift them. No one is looking in the direction of talents from the laboratories of universities or libraries of colleges.

Talents from reality shows are the new leaders of the society. They are the ones who breeze in at social events and the heads turn.

I read something about one of the housemates of the last BBNaija, a lady who left nothing to the imagination in her dressing, claim that her social media pages were being managed by her father since she got holed up in the show. If that was the case, it then means that all those salacious images of the housemate were put out for the world to see by the man who brought her into this world.

If you doubt my claim, our corporate affairs departments scout for fresh winners of reality shows where sex, nudity and all forms of other things are the contents of the contests.

Last week, Arise TV did a special coverage titled The Influencer Economy. The focus was on the millions those on our social media pages are making with their acts; many of them nude contents. If they are not promoting with their full chests, they are shaking the tables with their bad backsides.

One of those who recently came out of a reality show confessed that right in her Victoria Island hotel, she had representatives of all the corporate organisations literally waiting for her to come down from her hotel room to sign deals. Yes! Deals in millions!

And you know what? You cannot be a loser in reality shows! Even when you are evicted the first day, you have simply become a celebrity and you start making money from day one.

I read something about one of the housemates of the last BBNaija, a lady who left nothing to the imagination in her dressing, claim that her social media pages were being managed by her father since she got holed up in the show. If that was the case, it then means that all those salacious images of the housemate were put out for the world to see by the man who brought her into this world. And we are here crying over what teens were doing in their hotel rooms in Dubai!

Another reality contestant, who entered the show with her cleavages tattooed with the image of Davido, once revealed that she received all the support and necessary backing from her parents for her choice.

Ironically, the same Davido, with all his own weird ways, could be seen in a video last year spanking his daughter who attempted to twerk amidst other people, possibly at a childrens party. I dont even know whether to pat him for nurturing his daughter and kick him at the same time for the number of women used as objects of his performances.

I was captivated by this tweet, out of the many that trailed the broken news of the Chrisland Dubai saga, by Man of Letters, with the handle @Letter_to_Jack, when he wrote that, Nigerian parents think parental advisory is a joke.

Youd see children listening to and singing, Im cumming out loud in a party with their parents present, some dancing soapy, others are watching movies rated 18+.

The worst was kids singing Ale yi a le.

And the tragedy is this: Not even this scandalous revelation would change anything. The government and the police would make a show of this saga for a few weeks and move on to other scandals. Many of the parents who have screamed (pretentiously too) at this would not withdraw into the closets to probe what is happening under their roofs.

The tweet sums up the worries of those who are daily assaulted by adult scenes in the presence of teens, which the society no longer frowns at.

That is who we are. We pretend nothing is happening until the alarm bell sounds and we all shed crocodile tears. God bless the soul of Ola Rotimi, the author The gods Are Not To Blame. He reminded us that when we leave our pots unwashed, we should expect our food to burn.

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And which takes me to the mother of the Chrisland School girl in question. As pitiable as the situation her family has found themselves, I am of the opinion that she wont go far if the case she desires to press is rape. I am yet to see any major argument in support of her conclusion that her daughter was an unwilling actor in that show of shame with the video that millions have watched and would still watch.

A teenager alleged to be running online business bordering on such sleazy affairs, with personal clips that show her proclivity for sexual contents, has already put a question mark on her parents capacity for monitoring and care.

Consequently, her mothers video asking Nigerians and the government to help is a sentiment dead on arrival. This is because by virtue of what most Nigerians have seen, there stands a general belief that the teenager is far deeper and advanced in her choices than the parents are willing to admit. And the same argument goes for the boy(s) in the entire show.

We are a religious lot. But hardly do we pay attention to the dictates of our faiths. In Islam that I am familiar with, even siblings of opposite genders are advised strongly to be separated at certain ages and the rationale is not far from prevention of the unthinkable.

Those scriptural prescriptions could therefore not have been of no value when you are enjoined, like in Quran Chapter 24 Verse 30-31.

It reads, Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and to be mindful of their chastity: this will be most conducive to their purity  (and), verily, Allah is aware of all that they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and to be mindful of their chastity, and not to display their charms beyond what may be apparent thereof; hence let them draw their veils over their bosoms and do not show their adornments except to their husbands or their fathers or their husbands fathers or their sons or their husbands sons or their brothers or their brothers sons or their sisters sons or their women or what their right hands possess or male servants free of sexual desires or those children who never know the private things of women; and do not stamp their feet so that it may show their hidden adornments; and repent towards God collectively O believers so that you may succeed.

And the tragedy is this: Not even this scandalous revelation would change anything. The government and the police would make a show of this saga for a few weeks and move on to other scandals. Many of the parents who have screamed (pretentiously too) at this would not withdraw into the closets to probe what is happening under their roofs.

But when the next alarm bell sounds, all of us would scream again as if the evils we are planning would go away with such routine.

Semiu Okanlawon, media strategist and CEO, Proumou Media, Lagos is also the Publisher of NPO Reports.
It is too late to call for the suspension of the 2023 elections or embark on the tortuous process of grafting a peoples constitution as there is no legal framework to support such an endeavour. The National Assembly is not likely to pass any legislation that will effectively dispossess its law-making function Chief Afe Babalola should therefore leverage his immense influence to advise the powers that be that what Nigerians need now is a free, fair and credible election to guarantee them a say in the governance process.

I read with deep concern the comments credited to Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) on Tuesday, April 19, which was widely reported in the newspapers. I was concerned about the issues raised, as well as the personality of the author, Chief Afe Babalola, a revered elder statesman and legal luminary of great repute. Given his eminent status in society, his views on the polity cannot be taken lightly by any discerning mind. My most significant concern stems from the call by the learned Senior Advocate of Nigeria for the suspension of the 2023 elections and for an interim government to be installed after Buharis tenure. Other pertinent issues raised relate to the type of governance system best suited for Nigeria, the kind of legislature, age qualification for the office of president and the screening of candidates. I, therefore, deem it necessary to draw attention to the implications of his call on the polity, in order to safeguard our democracy.

First, I believe that the call for the suspension of the 2023 elections cannot be justified at this time, as it will create a gap in our democratic transition that is capable of truncating our democracy. Democracy is sustained by periodic elections, whereby voters express their preference for who should govern them. The 2023 elections are around the corner and the electorate is already primed to exercise this power. It will be an anti-climax for them to be left on a cliffhanger, until Nigeria has a new peoples constitution which should provide for a part-time legislator and non-executive president and an interim government drawn from all living presidents and vice presidents; some selected ministers and governors and delegates of prominent professional associations, as suggested by Afe Babalola, to midwife that process. The pertinent questions that arise from this suggestion are many. What is the timeframe for achieving these milestones? To fashion out a peoples (autochthonous) constitution can be a very laborious process, requiring the inauguration of a Constituent Assembly made up of elected representatives of the people and a Constitution Drafting Committee of relevant professionals and interested groups. How do we select these persons? Who will organise the elections? What is the legal framework that will be used to regulate the process? These are questions that Chief Afe Babalola needs to answer. Our history does not suggest that these milestones can be accomplished within two years. Let us not forget that Babangidas transition took almost nine years. I respectfully submit that Nigerians do not wish to wait ad infinitum to be able to exercise their franchise to elect their representatives and heads of government at the federal, state and local government levels.

The idea of an interim government leaves a bad taste in the mouth, given our recent history An interim government is a recipe for a military coup because of the gap it creates in the countrys governance. Its composition, as suggested by Chief Afe Babalola, is palpably undemocratic and a negation of the will of the people.

Furthermore, the interim government is alien to constitutional democracy, as Nigerias constitution has no provision for it. This is more so as structures required to conduct elections, such as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) exist. If allowed to discharge their mandate independently, they can deliver a free, fair, and credible election without the need for an interim government. The idea of an interim government leaves a bad taste in the mouth, given our recent history with the Chief Ernest Shonekan-led interim government, which was supplanted almost immediately by the military junta led by General Sani Abacha. An interim government is a recipe for a military coup because of the gap it creates in the countrys governance. Its composition, as suggested by Chief Afe Babalola, is palpably undemocratic and a negation of the will of the people. Almost all our past presidents, vice presidents, ministers and governors are daily blamed for their culpability in the socio-economic and political malaise of the country. Are these the same Nigerians expected to midwife our political process? What are their political preferences and political leanings? Are they not compromised by partisanship as to superintend over a process that can usher in free, fair and credible elections? How effective was the Shonekan-led interim government in supervising our democratic processes before it was shoved aside by the military?

Second, the legal luminary suggested that the new constitution should provide a body at the federal, state and local government to screen all aspirants on the sources of their wealth and means of livelihood, criminal records which includes pending suits I dare say that such a body or bodies already exist under the present political and governance structure. Those who have contested for political offices and have held appointive offices will readily agree that such screening takes place. That some persons of doubtful credentials have been able to pass through the net does not suggest that there is no system in place but that they were able to compromise the system for their benefit. Consequently, what is important is the integrity of those responsible for carrying out such checks and screenings. Experience has shown that the DSS, EFCC, ICPC, CCB/T, Police, and INEC can be effective when their appointors do not condition their professional judgment. Therefore, we should learn to strengthen our institutions to become formidable and serve as the bulwark against political pressures and interferences, which sometimes compromise their work. The screening body suggested by Afe Babalola, if not adequately insulated from politics, can quickly become a tool of a political witch-hunt.

placing an age limit that bars aspirants above the age of 60 is, in my respectful view, undemocratic and a gross violation of their inalienable rights to contest for the office of president. I am personally not aware of the result of any scientific research that shows that persons below the age of 60 are better managers of humans and resources than those over the age of 60.

Finally, Chief Afe Babalola also suggested that aspirants for the presidents office should not be more than 60 years and must be holders of a university degree. While many have criticised the rather low and vague educational qualification for the office of president under the present Constitution, placing an age limit that bars aspirants above the age of 60 is, in my respectful view, undemocratic and a gross violation of their inalienable rights to contest for the office of president. I am personally not aware of the result of any scientific research that shows that persons below the age of 60 are better managers of humans and resources than those over the age of 60. Also, I am not aware of any consensus that persons under 60 years make the best leaders. On the contrary, experience has shown that some political leaders under the age of 60 have proved to be a disaster in governance in our clime. Good political leadership is not about age but foresight, commitment, courage and political sagacity. While a president with a university degree is desirable, it is not guaranteed that such a president will be imbued with the requisite integrity, patriotic zeal, and management acumen required to succeed in the presidents office.

Given the foregoing, I humbly suggest that as we galvanise all processes required to enable us to transit to another democratic dispensation successfully, all hands should be on deck to ensure that our institutions such as INEC, political parties, and the judiciary are encouraged and supported to take their responsibilities seriously and discharge their mandates in such a manner as to safeguard our democracy. It is too late to call for the suspension of the 2023 elections or embark on the tortuous process of grafting a peoples constitution as there is no legal framework to support such an endeavour. The National Assembly is not likely to pass any legislation that will effectively dispossess its law-making function, at least in the foreseeable future. Chief Afe Babalola should therefore leverage his immense influence to advise the powers that be that what Nigerians need now is a free, fair and credible election to guarantee them a say in the governance process.

Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) is a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice,

Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Chinas position on Russia has possibly influenced the stance of some African states, as it is Africas largest trade partner, having overtaken the U.S. in 2009. This implies that the abstention of some African states may not necessarily be a pro-Russia stance, but reflects their strong ties with China.

On April 11, the African Union (AU) chairperson and Senegalese President Macky Sall noted that he had received a call from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. They discussed the global economic impact of the war in Ukraine and the salience of dialogue in the quest to end the conflict. Zelensky also asked to address the AU.

This request can be located within the context of Zelenskys global charm offensive, which is arguably a subtle and perhaps the most appropriate weapon at his disposal in light of the asymmetric war between his country and Russia. Moscow has the worlds largest nuclear arsenal, while Kiev has none and Russia has four times more military personnel than Ukraine. Indeed, Zelensky has become famous for his speeches to national (especially European) parliaments and international organisations across the globe, including the United States (U.S.) Congress, and German, British, French, Italian, Japanese and Israeli parliaments, as well as the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU). He uses his rhetorical prowess to request international support, invoking memories of historical events and tragedies such as the Berlin Wall, 9/11, Pearl Harbor, Fukushima and the Holocaust, and using emotive phrases and sentences such as prove you are with us, and if you fail to live up to this moment, then shame on you, and has received standing ovations.

Zelenskys request to address the AU arguably aims to garner African support and possibly influence African states to adopt a common voice on the Ukrainian crisis. In light of his previous addresses, he would likely invoke the spectre of colonialism.

While the AU and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have condemned the Russian aggression, a lack of consensus among African leaders has undermined U.S. efforts. Indeed, U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a recent BBC interview that, you cannot stand on the sidelines and watch the aggression that we see taking place in Ukraine and say youre going to be neutral about it.

Africa has been divided on the Ukrainian crisis, with many countries either remaining neutral or opposing condemnation of Russias aggression, against the backdrop of Moscows relationship with the continent since the Cold War. For example, on April 7, the UN General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the organisations Human Rights Council. Nine African states voted against the resolution and 24 abstained, representing more than half the continent.

As one of the key players in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the U.S. has exerted diplomatic pressure on African governments to support sanctions against Russia, with no success. For example, following South Africas third abstention on resolutions condemning Russias actions this month, President Cyril Ramaphosa received a call from President Joe Biden, who stressed the need for a unified international response. While the AU and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have condemned the Russian aggression, a lack of consensus among African leaders has undermined U.S. efforts. Indeed, U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a recent BBC interview that, you cannot stand on the sidelines and watch the aggression that we see taking place in Ukraine and say youre going to be neutral about it.

The AU constitutive Act states that the organisation provides a unique framework for our collective action in Africa and in our relations with the rest of the world. However, the world has witnessed a divided Africa with regard to the Ukrainian conflict. It is instructive to note that prior to the adoption of the April 7 resolution mentioned earlier, almost half the AU member-states abstained from voting in the first resolution demanding an end to Russias offensive in Ukraine on March 2. There was a similar display of disunity in response to the second resolution adopted on March 24, demanding an end to the humanitarian crisis.

What lies behind African disunity on the Ukrainian conflict?

some African leaders see the rationale in maintaining a neutral stance in light of their economic and security interests and challenges. They collaborate with a number of allies to promote their interests and tackle the challenges. Thus, for these states, taking sides may not be a strategic move. This is complicated by the fact that the U.S. is increasingly seen as an unreliable partner in view of the failure of its foreign policy in the past.

First, Chinas position on Russia has possibly influenced the stance of some African states, as it is Africas largest trade partner, having overtaken the U.S. in 2009. This implies that the abstention of some African states may not necessarily be a pro-Russia stance, but reflects their strong ties with China.

Second, some African states such as South Africa have highlighted Washingtons double standards by drawing attention to the U.S.s wars in Iraq and, from an African perspective, in Libya. Indeed, the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)s invasion of Libya and the killing of its head of state, a prominent African leader, significantly dented NATOs image in Africa.

Furthermore, some African leaders see the rationale in maintaining a neutral stance in light of their economic and security interests and challenges. They collaborate with a number of allies to promote their interests and tackle the challenges. Thus, for these states, taking sides may not be a strategic move. This is complicated by the fact that the U.S. is increasingly seen as an unreliable partner in view of the failure of its foreign policy in the past. For example, following the U.S.s decision, in 2021, to halt an arms deal with Nigeria over concerns of human rights abuses, Abuja turned to Moscow in its quest to combat Boko Haram terrorism. Similarly, when France withdrew from Mali in February, the West African country turned to Russia, which is the largest supplier of arms to Africa. Other states such as Ethiopia, Eritrea and Libya have established military alliances with Russia. In the economic realm, Russia and Ukraine are major suppliers of wheat to African states, with Egypt being the worlds largest importer of wheat. Indeed, more than half of Egypt and Senegals and over 90 per cent of Somalias wheat supplies are imported from Russia and Ukraine.

Given these realities, Africa will likely remain divided on the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Oluwaseun Tella is Head of the Future of Diplomacy at the University of Johannesburgs Institute for the Future of Knowledge, South Africa.
whether it is presidential pardon for convicts, or politicians running from pillar to post to court favour, in addition to rigging of election, leadership recruitment challenge, corruption and absence of good governance, our form of constitutional democracy is at risk of being destroyed by self-perpetrating interest groups and persons masquerading as political leaders.

As controversial as the presidential pardon is everywhere in the world, that of Nigeria is truly bizarre. For President Muhammadu Buhari, who was synonymous with anti-corruption war, having made it his life-long personal fight, on which basis Nigerians voted massively for him in 2015, his recent pardon of ex-governors Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame (both jailed for corruption), is the climax of self-demystification.

It is therefore not a surprise that Nigerians rose in unison to condemn the state pardon granted the former governors of Plateau and Taraba States. The Supreme Court had in March 2021 affirmed the 2018 conviction of Dariye after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) successfully prosecuted him for stealing N1.162 billion, while Nyame was given a 12-year jail term in a case brought against him by the EFCC over a theft of N1.6 billion belonging to Taraba State. His was also affirmed by the Supreme Court after various judgments at the High Court and Appeal Court.

In fact, Nigerians should not be surprised at whatever our governments now do with tacit approval of sections of the citizenry. Presidential pardon or clemency has become a tool in the hands of politicians and not the moral suasion it should be. During President Goodluck Jonathans tenure, he pardoned his former boss and former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, after his conviction for corruption. There was outrage and a national outcry at that time. The then opposition party, now the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) took the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government of Jonathern to the cleaners and reaped political capital bountifully out of it. Governor Nasir El-Rufai, then in opposition, condemned Jonathan in a video, now trending. No one says corruption can be eradicated completely, but dont pardon convicted criminals, convicted by a regular court for corruption. You are sending the wrong signal not only to those engaging in corrupt practices but also to the young people who see reward in being corrupt. This is what Jonathan is doing, El-Rufai said in 2013. Fast-forward to 2022, now that El-Rufais APC government has granted presidential pardon to ex-convict-politicians, all is quiet from the likes of El-Rufai.

As a matter of fact, there are no surprises anymore with this government. All pretences are over, and it is now business as usual. For everything repulsive and retrogressive that the PDP did to detract from democratic ethos, the APC has replicated over and over. When those two governors were put to trial and the case went up to the Supreme Court, their final conviction inspired hope and confidence that the time had come when politicians would no longer enjoy immunity in and out of office, after committing infractions against the people and their state (with respect to governors who play God) and misappropriate monies meant for the development of their states).

It also gladdened the heart, because the ex-governors were members of the ruling party at the time, though they committed those offences while they were in PDP as governors. The expectation was that if the APC government could allow the judiciary to exercise its constitutionally given independence and the freedom do its work in the conviction of members of the ruling party, the opposition would not be spared. We also thought, wrongly though, that hopping from the opposition to the ruling party with the hope of being shielded from criminal acts would end. Alas, it was just a ruse.

Controversial pardons by our political leaders without restraint is beyond the prerogative of mercy for elderly and sick prisoners, awaiting trial prisoners, minors etc. It is now a political tool. The story is told of a governor from the North-Central who pardoned hardened criminals on death row for committing murder, and unleashed them onto the voting public, for the purpose of rigging an election.

With the clemency granted Dariye and Nyame, a disservice has been inflicted on the judiciary, and EFCC and whatever ideals the government claimed to have stood for.

Controversial pardons by our political leaders without restraint is beyond the prerogative of mercy for elderly and sick prisoners, awaiting trial prisoners, minors etc. It is now a political tool. The story is told of a govic Party ernor from the North-Central who pardoned hardened criminals on death row for committing murder, and unleashed them onto the voting public, for the purpose of rigging an election. The outcome was predictably more killings and victory for that governor.

The moral baggage and outrage notwithstanding, governors and presidents carry-on with impunity, to serve their political interests, the same way they decamp from one party to the other, at the slightest provocation and at will. The latest in this power-game is ex-Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara who, according to the PDP chairman in the State, has decamped to the opposition PDP. The Zamfara political intrigue is legendary, such that in 2019, political gladiators in the APC fought themselves to a standstill until they lost the legal battle and governorship seat to the then opposition candidate, Bello Matawalle of the PDP. The bad blood created by that self-destruction never abated until the new PDP governor (Mattawalle) also decamped to the APC. Even that did not solve the Zamfara political quagmire as Yari lost his preeminent position as leader of the party to Governor Matawalle.

Again, Yari launched his come-back bid to relevance when he threw his hat in the ring to contest for the post of national chairman of the APC. Buhari burst his bubble when he single-handedly picked ex-governor Abdullahi Adamu, himself a decampee from PDP, as chairman of the ruling party. The rest is now history.

Opposition is near impossible, because the Nigerian president is like an emperor; he is so powerful that only an association with the presidency can make things happen. That is why we need to devolve powers to states and down to the local councils. It is the only solution to the dictatorial democracy we run. The current system works for only a few.

Beyond Yari, Nigerias turncoat politics will leave all of us with bloody nose. Instead of improving on our type of democracy, we are daily desecrating and making it a irrelevant. The greatest beneficiaries of return to civilian rule since 1999 are politicians, but they also work hard to destroy this system that feeds them. They use their ascent to power to enrich themselves and become powerful. For them, being out of power is like fish out of water, so they cling to it by foul means, either at the inner caucus or at the periphery. Most, if not all of them, always want to be at the corridors of power, without consideration for party affiliation. So cross-carpeting or decamping from one party to the other is second nature to them.

With a slight of hands, they advertently destroy the system and make opposition politics look ugly and unworkable, whereas opposition is the livewire of any democratic system. How will a government sit up, do the right thing, and implement their manifestoes, if there is no opposition to call it to order. But for Nigeria and the current government, in particular, opposition is a crime and criticism an affront. Just take a cursory look at the APC; almost all its principal officers, many ministers and governors, were once in the PDP. A political system that that does not allow dissenting voices to thrive is doomed.

Opposition is near impossible, because the Nigerian president is like an emperor; he is so powerful that only an association with the presidency can make things happen. That is why we need to devolve powers to states and down to the local councils. It is the only solution to the dictatorial democracy we run. The current system works for only a few.

So, whether it is presidential pardon for convicts, or politicians running from pillar to post to court favour, in addition to rigging of election, leadership recruitment challenge, corruption and absence of good governance, our form of constitutional democracy is at risk of being destroyed by self-perpetrating interest groups and persons masquerading as political leaders.

Zainab Suleiman Okino is Chairman of the Editorial Board of Blueprint Newspapers zainabokino@gmail.com
The Police in Taraba State on Tuesday night said three people were killed in a bomb blast at a bar in Iware Community in Ardo Kola Local Government Area of the state.

The spokesperson of the police, Usman Abdullahi, said 19 others sustained injuries during the blast.

He said the injured are being treated at the Federal Medical Center, Jalingo, the state capital

The police did not, however, explain how the incident happened, but witnesses said unknown persons threw an explosive device into the bar, locally known as beer parlour, and hurriedly left the scene.

The incidents brought to an abrupt end the local market as many people including traders scampered for safety.

Unofficial sources said at least seven persons died in the blast.

The community hosts a popular cattle market that attracts buyers from, beyond the state every Tuesday.

Taraba in the Northeast region is witnessing an upsurge in criminality with kidnap-for-ransom in the state capital, Jalingo, and attacks by gunmen known as bandits are becoming rampant.

Last week gunmen attacked Maisamari town killing its traditional ruler just days after some bandits raided several villages in Gassol and Karim Lamidos local government areas in the Northeast region.

Unlike the neighbouring Adamawa, Taraba has been insulated from Boko Haram attacks.
The financial institution that prides itself as the bank of the free, Kuda, has been on the social media trend list for allegedly aiding police brutality of a customer who came to complain.

An uproar ensued after a video surfaced on Tuesday showing two men in police uniform assaulting the customer.

In the video, the customer lay on the floor while one of the two police officers held his trousers in a move to arrest him.

According to the victims brother, AbdulGafar Jamiu, identified as Ayam_Jamotech on Twitter, Qudus, his younger sibling, a POS operator, on Tuesday, went to the Lagos-based bank to enquire why they froze his account.

So my brother went to @kudabankhelp office today at Yaba to find out the reason why his account was locked and yet not to be opened after dropping his proof to them that its legit money and not fraud money at all, he wrote.

So funny how when he got there this morning. They sent their mopol to arrest him and started harassing him for no reason. So every young guys money has to be fraud money??

In another tweet, Mr Jamiu said his brother transferred N577,491 from his Moniepoint account on April 13 to his Kuda account.

Following the transaction, according to a screengrab of the email sent to Mr Qudus, the banks fraud team said they are conducting a review with regards to the recent transactions made on your account.

They also requested the source and purpose of the transaction.

He said the police tear-gassed, injured, and arrested his brother.

Speaking in a Twitter space tagged Kuda Bank #QudusKuda on Wednesday, with almost 1,000 listeners, Mr Jamiu said his sibling is being detained at the Okoko Police Division. He added that there are plans to take him to another division in Panti, Yaba.

Many listeners also shared their frustrating experiences that they have had with the bank, while they advised the brother to get a good lawyer.

The state police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, told PREMIUM TIMES that he had seen the video and would give an update later in the day.

Kuda reacts

The microfinance bank, in a statement, said the police arrested the customer because of alleged criminal activity on his account.

It has come to our attention that a couple of videos are being circulated online regarding the experience of one of our customers yesterday.

The videos show the customer being forcefully escorted off our premises by members of the Nigerian Police Force, the statement reads.

However, the management said the financial institution licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has an obligation to comply with the mandates of all applicable government and law enforcement agencies, supported by the appropriate documentation.

While complying with such mandates, we liaise with the affected customers so that any pending matters between the customers and the agencies are resolved. It is also expected that such affected customers will cooperate fully with the law enforcement agencies involved to resolve each matter.

The bank further said that their customer was manhandled because he failed to cooperate with the police, adding that they have commenced our internal investigations into this matter and in due time, will liaise with the customer as well as the relevant law enforcement agencies to ensure that this matter is adequately addressed.
A Lagos-based family has placed N2 million as a reward for information on the whereabouts of a thief who burgled their house on Lagos Island, a statement revealed.

According to the statement signed by Leke Adebanjo on behalf of the family, the burglar broke into their residence on March 20.

In the video seen by this reporter, the suspect, a male, jumped into their residence, which appeared to be empty.

In another video, a CCTV camera captured him with a bag in the kitchen. On his way out, he drank from a bottle.

The person in the video is wanted with a handsome reward of two million Naira for anyone with useful information that can lead to his arrest, the statement reads.

The person in the above video (extract or CCTV) burgled a house in a high brow area in Lagos Island where he stole some valuables including a huge cash sum on 20th of March 2022.

Mr Adebanjo said that they have reported the matter to the police, and it is being investigated.

Although the video is amateur, it is believed that anyone that knows him will most definitely be able to associate the looks to the actual person, he continued.

You may contact 08173271700 to share such information and be sure to receive your payment immediately please.

Contacted, the Lagos State police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident, adding that he doesnt have an update on it yet.
The popular plant-based chicken has seen rapid success across several culinary epicentres  including the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and Dubai  now available in nearly 500 restaurants around the world. From today onwards, Brits can taste TiNDLE in a range of delicious preparations at over 50 select eateries, including:

Aqua Shard : Located on the 31st floor of The Shard, Western Europe's tallest building, Executive Head Chef Anthony Garlando and his team offer a Modern British menu from 22 nd April, including a fully plant-based TiNDLE Wellington , made with caramelised onions, heritage carrots and a shiitake jus, along with a TiNDLE Ravioli.

: Located on the 31st floor of The Shard, tallest building, Executive Head Chef and his team offer a Modern British menu from 22 April, including a fully plant-based , made with caramelised onions, heritage carrots and a shiitake jus, along with a TiNDLE Ravioli. BrewDog: The independent craft brewer, whose mission is to create the most sustainable beverage offerings that serve the planet, will serve TiNDLE on menus at over 40 of its pub locations throughout the country. From 21 st April, the popular brew bars will serve two standout burgers: CLUCKY THIS TIME - Crispy TiNDLE chicken burger, avocado, red onion, Cajun mayo & coriander, and CAROLINA CHICKEN - Crispy TiNDLE chicken burger, heritage tomato, red onion & Carolina mustard BBQ sauce. Additionally, chicken can be substituted for TiNDLE in the buffalo chicken burger and all salad bowls.

The independent craft brewer, whose mission is to create the most sustainable beverage offerings that serve the planet, will serve TiNDLE on menus at over 40 of its pub locations throughout the country. From 21 April, the popular brew bars will serve two standout burgers: CLUCKY THIS TIME - Crispy TiNDLE chicken burger, avocado, red onion, Cajun mayo & coriander, and CAROLINA CHICKEN - Crispy TiNDLE chicken burger, heritage tomato, red onion & Carolina mustard BBQ sauce. Additionally, chicken can be substituted for TiNDLE in the buffalo chicken burger and all salad bowls. City Spice : The award-winning Indian curry house, located on Brick Lane, prepares TiNDLE in four key dishes available from 29 th April: a Delhi Railway 'Chicken' where TiNDLE is slow cooked with spices to create a spicy, rich curry, a Homestyle 'Chicken' Bhuna featuring TiNDLE in a one-pot onion and fenugreek spiced dish, a Gunpowder 'Chicken' Dupiaza and Wild Orange 'Chicken' where TiNDLE is cooked with Bengali wild orange spices to create an aromatic, sour and zesty curry.

: The award-winning Indian curry house, located on Brick Lane, prepares TiNDLE in four key dishes available from 29 April: a Delhi Railway 'Chicken' where TiNDLE is slow cooked with spices to create a spicy, rich curry, a Homestyle 'Chicken' Bhuna featuring TiNDLE in a one-pot onion and fenugreek spiced dish, a Gunpowder 'Chicken' Dupiaza and Wild Orange 'Chicken' where TiNDLE is cooked with Bengali wild orange spices to create an aromatic, sour and zesty curry. Get Plucked : With popular international locations, Get Plucked is bringing TiNDLE to its Marlborough location to serve three iconic TiNDLE burgers from 1 st May: the Hen Solo, the Oprah Henfrey with fried buttermilk or grilled TINDLE and the Cluck Kent where TiNDLE features in a crispy waffle chicken cone alongside special Get Plucked sauce.

: With popular international locations, Get Plucked is bringing TiNDLE to its Marlborough location to serve three iconic TiNDLE burgers from 1 May: the Hen Solo, the Oprah Henfrey with fried buttermilk or grilled TINDLE and the Cluck Kent where TiNDLE features in a crispy waffle chicken cone alongside special Get Plucked sauce. Let's Do Maki: A Japanese eatery making made-to-order sushi burritos and bowls will be creating three menu items as of 29 th April, including a TiNDLE Katsu Bowl , TiNDLE Katsu Burrito and TiNDLE Sushi Bowl.

A Japanese eatery making made-to-order sushi burritos and bowls will be creating three menu items as of 29 April, including a , TiNDLE Katsu Burrito and TiNDLE Sushi Bowl. Neyba : The brand-new Notting Hill concept that features celebrated chefs, cuisines and ingredients under one roof, is preparing marinated and seared TiNDLE in two dishes from 29 th April, made by Chef Tony Singh such as The Makhani - a rich and luxurious North Indian curry and the Malabar Masala made with 14 luscious ingredients plus TiNDLE.

: The brand-new Notting Hill concept that features celebrated chefs, cuisines and ingredients under one roof, is preparing marinated and seared TiNDLE in two dishes from 29 April, made by Chef such as The Makhani - a rich and luxurious North Indian curry and the Malabar Masala made with 14 luscious ingredients plus TiNDLE. Other Side Fried: Recognised for their complete menu of fried chicken offerings (and popular dirty fries and tots), the all-chicken eatery crafts a Vegan TiNDLE Burger available from 29 th April, made with a fried TiNDLE patty, lettuce, pickles and a combination of ranch and hot sauce.

Recognised for their complete menu of fried chicken offerings (and popular dirty fries and tots), the all-chicken eatery crafts a Vegan TiNDLE Burger available from 29 April, made with a fried TiNDLE patty, lettuce, pickles and a combination of ranch and hot sauce. Paternoster Chop House: A British restaurant in the heart of the city will be serving a Vegan TiNDLE Wellington with smoked tomato sauce and pickled mushroom salad with a merlot reduction from 29 th April, as well as a spiced BBQ TiNDLE salad, Chilli and garlic ponzu TINDLE balls and a Crispy TiNDLE burger with carrot, turmeric bun and sriracha relish.

A British restaurant in the heart of the city will be serving a Vegan TiNDLE Wellington with smoked tomato sauce and pickled mushroom salad with a merlot reduction from 29 April, as well as a spiced BBQ TiNDLE salad, Chilli and garlic ponzu TINDLE balls and a Crispy TiNDLE burger with carrot, turmeric bun and sriracha relish. Refuel Your Soul : The French bistro and cocktail bar, which serves a fully vegan menu, have created three unique TiNDLE dishes including a TiNDLE Chicken Forestiere with smoked TiNDLE chicken alongside creamy mash potatoes, sauteed carrots and mushrooms, a TiNDLE Chicken Basquaise with slow roasted TiNDLE Chicken in white wine with mixed spices and a TiNDLE Chicken Rillette with pepper and tomato Provencal confit served on a bed of rice.

: The French bistro and cocktail bar, which serves a fully vegan menu, have created three unique TiNDLE dishes including a TiNDLE Chicken Forestiere with smoked TiNDLE chicken alongside creamy mash potatoes, sauteed carrots and mushrooms, a TiNDLE Chicken Basquaise with slow roasted TiNDLE Chicken in white wine with mixed spices and a TiNDLE Chicken Rillette with pepper and tomato Provencal confit served on a bed of rice. sketch London : The iconic gastro-brasserie in Mayfair, renowned for its eye-catching decor and architecture, offers a TiNDLE coronation chicken sandwich as part of its Spring Vegan Afternoon Tea menu available from 29 th April onwards.

: The iconic gastro-brasserie in Mayfair, renowned for its eye-catching decor and architecture, offers a TiNDLE coronation chicken sandwich as part of its Spring Vegan Afternoon Tea menu available from 29 April onwards. Unity Diner: At the 100% vegan and non-profit diner, TiNDLE will be served from 29th April as a TiNDLE Vegan Fried Chicken (VFC) Burger with bacon and a house salad, a garlic butter TiNDLE Kiev with chunky chips and TiNDLE drumsticks coated in a house blend of Frank's hot sauce served with garlic aioli.

"Since the very start, we have known that bringing TiNDLE to London would be a critical milestone for the company. It is not only one of the world's premier food destinations, but also a global hot spot for innovation," says Andre Menezes, CEO and Co-Founder of Next Gen Foods. "We are thrilled to be working alongside some fantastic restaurant partners and chefs in the UK, who are helping us achieve our goal of bringing delicious  but also sustainable  options to diners."

Ben Hedley, co-founder of new concept dining and food-delivery site Neyba, said, "TiNDLE has been a mind-blowing experience for our chef team at Neyba. It is not just the texture but also the fibres within the protein and how quickly it absorbs various marinades, seasonings and sauces. TiNDLE is incredibly versatile and has added a whole new dimension to our plant-based offering. We are thrilled to be one of the first restaurant partners for TiNDLE in the UK."

To celebrate its debut, TiNDLE will be hosting a three-day pop-up shop in Soho, in partnership with Sides, a food brand from YouTube collective The Sidemen, from 27th April through 29th April. Londoners will have the chance to sample complimentary TiNDLE sliders  a favourite recipe by the Sides team  topped with a plant-based garlic mayo, crisp lettuce, tomatoes and pickles, and paired with one of the famous seven Sides sauces. The Sidemen joined forces as a group in 2013, since then they've dominated the internet, creating an international audience of over 85 million YouTube subscribers to their channels with a combined following of over 36 million on Instagram.

TiNDLE's London debut follows the startup's recent Series A announcement , supported by global investors such as UK-based MPL Ventures, as well as Alpha JWC, EDBI, GGV Capital and Temasek's Asia Sustainable Foods Platform. The company plans to continue its mission to create a more sustainable food system by expanding into new markets this year, including Germany this Spring and additional locations throughout Europe.

To learn where to currently find TiNDLE in the UK, visit tindle.com/uk-launch or follow on Instagram: @tindlefoods .

Ridiculously good & chef-approved chicken

TiNDLE is a versatile, easy-to-work-with, plant-based chicken that has caught the eye of all-star chefs and culinary professionals due to its unique versatility and similarities in taste and texture to chicken from birds. It features the distinctive flavour of chicken, thanks to Lipi  the company's proprietary emulsion of plant-based ingredients that mirror the aroma, cookability and savoury qualities that typically comes from chicken fat.

Convenient to use and perfect across a range of global cuisines  from Italian meatballs and chicken parmesan to dumplings and katsu, as well as cordon bleu or kebabs  it has gained the attention of all-star chefs across the world including James Beard Award winner and The New York Times best-selling author Rocco DiSpirito and Emmy- and James Beard Award winning personality Andrew Zimmern  who have recently joined the company as business and culinary advisors.

TiNDLE is made of only nine simple ingredients, all of which are ubiquitous and well known to international regulators and food manufacturers. In addition, it is high in protein and fibre and contains no antibiotics, hormones, cholesterol, or genetically modified ingredients.

Rapid growth, global vision

Next Gen Foods was founded in 2020 by Brazilian-born poultry exporter and food industry veteran Andre Menezes, and German native Timo Recker, whose family business made schnitzel and other meat products for three generations. After meeting through an introduction by Rohit Bhattacharya, who is now the startup's Chief Financial Officer, they decided to work on products that reduce humanity's reliance on animal agriculture.

The early leadership team  including Chief Operating Officer Alex Ward and Chief Marketing Officer Jean Madden  worked closely with Chief Technology Officer and the brainchild behind TiNDLE, John Seegers, to develop a flagship product through extensive research into what makes chicken taste and perform like chicken. They named their first product TiNDLE as a modern reference to 19th-century Irish physicist John Tyndall , who proved the connection between atmospheric CO2 and the greenhouse effect.

On average, chicken made from plants requires less land, less water, and produces less CO than chicken from birds. Based on a 2020 Blue Horizon report, choosing plant-based chicken over avian meat uses 82% less water, 74% less land and 88% less greenhouse gas emissions.

Interested chefs and operators looking to add TiNDLE to their menu can contact europepartners@tindle.com for details and samples.

About TiNDLE

TiNDLE is a juicy, plant-based chicken that offers mouthwatering taste, texture, and versatility  and uses a fraction of the land, water and energy needed to produce meat from birds. Made with only nine simple ingredients, TiNDLE is the first product by Next Gen Foods, a Singapore-founded food tech company that is developing and commercialising innovative and sustainable foods. Available in restaurants globally, TiNDLE is the first chicken made from plants designed by chefs and for chefs and is a winner of the National Restaurant Association's 2022 Food and Beverage Innovation (FABI) Awards . For more information, visit www.tindle.com or follow @tindlefoods on Instagram and @tindle.foods on TikTok.

About Next Gen Foods

Founded in 2020, Next Gen Foods is a food-tech startup developing and commercialising innovative and sustainable plant-based food products  including its flagship product, TiNDLE. Next Gen Foods is backed by a team with proven experience in plant-based food technology, global brand development, and global distribution scaleup. For more information, visit nextgenfoods.sg.

Press Kit

www.tindle.com/media

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SOURCE TiNDLE
Rise in aesthetic awareness, technological advancements in laser treatment, surge in incidence of skin damage, changes in lifestyle, and increase adoption of noninvasive procedures drive the growth of the global photomedicine market.

PORTLAND, Ore., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, "Photomedicine Market by Technology (Lasers, Polychromatic Polarized Light, Full Spectrum Light, Dichroic Lamps, Light Emitting Diodes, Fluorescent Lamps), by Application (Dermatology, Pain Management, Oncology, Ophthalmology, Wound Healing, Dental Procedures, Aesthetics, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2030." According to the report, the global photomedicine industry generated $4.04 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $7.51 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 6.7% from 2021 to 2030.

Download Sample PDF at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/1532

Drivers, restraints, and opportunities-

Rise in aesthetic awareness, technological advancements in laser treatment, surge in incidence of skin damage, changes in lifestyle, and increase adoption of noninvasive procedures drive the growth of the global photomedicine market. On the other hand, availability of alternative treatment methods and product safety issues of photomedicine devices are expected to restrain the growth to some extent. However, high market potential in the untapped emerging economies and rise in various developmental strategies among the key players are expected to create lucrative opportunities in the industry.

Covid-19 Scenario-

Visits for aesthetic procedures, dermatological treatments, dental procedures, and other photomedicine based therapies decreased significantly during the pandemic, especially throughout the initial phase. This, in turn, impacted the global photomedicine market negatively.

However, the market is anticipated to get back on track soon.

The lasers segment had the lion's share in 2020-

On the basis of technology, the lasers segment accounted for the highest market share in 2020, generating more than three-fourths of the global photomedicine market. The same segment is also anticipated to cite the fastest CAGR of 7.3% from 2021 to 2030. This is owing to growing preference for laser technology among women for hair removal, and other surgical procedures.

Specific Requirement on COVID-19? Ask to Our Industry Expert: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/1532

The aesthetics segment to lead the trail-

On the basis of application, the aesthetics segment generated the highest share in 2020, holding more than one-fourth of the global photomedicine market. The same segment is also expected to cite the fastest CAGR of 9.5% from 2021 to 2030. This is attributed to rise in the preference for treatments among women as well as men for aesthetic enhancement.

North America to dominate by 2030-

On the basis of region, North America contributed to the major market share in terms of revenue 2020, holding more than two-fifths of the global photomedicine market. Increase in consumer awareness for looks, rapid adoption of advanced technologies, and presence of key players across North America drive the market growth. The Asia-Pacific region, however, is projected to cite the fastest CAGR of 8.8% from 2021 to 2030, due to rise in disposable income of people and wide number of facilities offering photomedicine services in the province.

Prominent market players-

Baring Private Equity Asia Limited

Koninklijke Philips N.V.

Apax Partners Llp

Biomedical Technology Holdings Limited

AngioDynamics, Inc.

Sisram Medical Ltd.

Thor Photomedicine Ltd.

PhotoMedex, Inc.

Colorado Skin and Vein

johnson and johnson md&d

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Pawan Kumar, the CEO of Allied Market Research, is leading the organization toward providing high-quality data and insights. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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SOURCE Allied Market Research
Powered by the company's W2 GDS Aggregation product , passengers booking on Deutsche Bahn's Rail&Fly (a fully flexible train ticket for travelling to and from the airport), and the rail operator's Intermodal Interline and Codeshare product, can combine international flight tickets with a train ride to or from an airport by selecting multimodal itineraries directly with participating airlines, or through traditional and Online Travel Agencies such as Expedia, Opodo and Etraveli, and travel aggregators such as Skyscanner.

Deutsche Bahn's Rail&Fly product allows flexible travel from all German train stations to all major airports in Germany, and other European airports including Basel, Salzburg, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Zurich. On top, the Interline and Codeshare products with scheduled high-speed rail services create an eco-friendly alternative to domestic feeder flights on important routes such as Stuttgart  Frankfurt Airport, Dusseldorf  Frankfurt Airport and many more.

Travel agents can also use all major global distribution systems such as Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport to offer multimodal itineraries exclusively marketed in the GDS under W2 Flight numbers operated by Deutsche Bahn AG.

The partnership opens Deutsche Bahn's network to the more than 78.6 million travellers that take off and land at German airports every year, and the airlines and travel providers that serve them.

"We're thrilled to expand our WorldTicket offering to airlines, travel agents and their passengers, to support multimodal travel options, including rail," said Peer Winter, Vice President of Commercial Business Development at WorldTicket. "Through our partnership with Deutsche Bahn, we're proud to be the key connector of their vast multimodal network of 5,600 rail stations across Germany, improving the quality of passenger travel and minimising disruption risk for airlines."

WorldTicket's airline and travel agent customers can integrate travel content available through its W2 solution into their systems, creating ancillary revenue opportunities and brand loyalty.

"Our partnership with WorldTicket offers our Airline partners and passengers unprecedented access to Europe's largest economy, which serves as a global travel destination and a gateway to the world," said Sebastian Rieckesmann, Head of Intermodal Cooperation at Deutsche Bahn. "With the combined solution, our passengers can efficiently reach any airport hub within Germany, thus making it easier to choose rail instead of domestic feeder flights and bypass road traffic in favor of a more environmentally friendly journey."

With 100% brand recognition across Germany and 80 satisfaction index points for long-distance travel, Deutsche Bahn is the ideal partner for carriers wanting to serve the German and European markets, offering a reliable and comfortable way for their passengers to complete the first or final leg of their journey.

For more information about the WorldTicket partnership with Deutsche Bahn or to speak with company executives, please contact Vanessa Horwell at vhorwell@thinkinkpr.com.

About World Ticket

WorldTicket (IATA Codes W1/W2) is a leading provider of Passenger Service Solutions (PSS) and sophisticated global ticketing and distribution services to more than 75 airlines across the globe. WorldTicket is the only PSS provider with its own AOC holding airline, FlexFlight, operating under the IATA code W2, which enables airlines to easily outsource their distribution and ticketing functions to WorldTicket. WorldTicket solutions are NDC Level 4 certified by IATA. Founded in 2002, WorldTicket is headquartered in Copenhagen, with offices in Miami, Bangkok, Warsaw, Kyiv and Beijing, and a subsidiary of 777 Partners Travel Group. Visit www.worldticket.com to learn more.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1800028/WorldTicketDBPressRelease_Web_20220418_MF.jpg

SOURCE WorldTicket
Growing demand in Poland for medical cannabis

for medical cannabis Population of over 40 million open to natural medicine

Over 90% of Polish pharmacies can fill medical marijuana prescriptions

WROCLAW, Poland, April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Can4Med, a licensed wholesale specializing in medical products containing THC and cannabinoids has obtained Polish authorization to supply medical products and raw materials for cannabis pharmaceutical sales. The company has signed supply agreement term sheets for up to 100kg a month of high THC oil and flower at competitive rates and is in the process of registering the products in Poland.

According to Maximilian Weinberg, Founder of Can4Med, "Demand for medical cannabis products is rapidly growing in Poland. While supply constrains and a lack of authorized products has stifled growth in the Polish market, Can4Med can now quickly satisfy doctor and patient demand throughout the country. With an ageing population of over 40 million and openness to natural medicine, Poland is the perfect growth opportunity for medical cannabis in Europe."

Can4Med's experienced and qualified management provides comprehensive and professional supporting the work of pharmacists and doctors for the benefit of patients, focusing on ensuring supplies of high-quality certified products and innovation.

Can4Med will offer a variety of variety of products, tailored to the needs of its contractors and patients. Over 90% of pharmacies in Poland are ready to dispense medical cannabis prescription to patients for indications such as pain management, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and the side effects of chemotherapy. Poland's doctors, however, have freedom to use their own judgement in prescribing cannabis medicine, greatly expanding its usage to treat a wide range of medical problems including mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. It is estimated that well over 300,000 patients will be eligible to obtain cannabinoid medicine in various forms.

All Can4Med products are approved for sale in Poland and manufactured under GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) conditions and are subject to constant quality control.

About Can4Med

Can4Med is a fully licensed narcotic wholesaler in Poland specializing in trading cannabis medications in Europe. The company provides comprehensive services in the pharmaceutical and medical market, supporting the work of pharmacists and doctors for the benefit of patients. We focus on ensuring supplies of high-quality certified products and innovation tailored to the needs and requirements of our contractors and assists companies to register products in Poland.

Media contact: Laura Kam, [email protected], +972-54-806-8613

SOURCE Can4Med
NEW DELHI, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre, a collaboration between the Swedish Trade Commissioner's Office, AIIMS New Delhi and AIIMS Jodhpur, launched 'Skill For Scale', an e-learning initiative designed to equip nurses with hands-on practical knowledge and skills to practice latest patient care for managing non-communicable diseases. This program, certified by AIIMS Jodhpur and endorsed by Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) will allow nurses from across the country to register for free, learn at their own pace.

Nurses being the backbone of the healthcare system in India play a very critical role in enabling patient to understand a disease and its complications. In its first phase, the program is focusing on Diabetes management prevention and awareness based on a world-class comprehensive curriculum created from diverse resources available within the NCD domain following the NPCDCS guidelines. The program content and modules are created by the team of experts from AIIMS Jodhpur and an advisory board with representation from AIIMS Delhi, ICMR, DGHS, Indian Nursing Council (INC) and AstraZeneca. These modules will equip nurses to provide standardized and quality counselling, care and support services to the people to prevent and manage Diabetes. Subsequently, these trainings will be extended to other areas of NCDs in the subsequent phases like Hypertension, Cardiovascular and Oncology.

With a multi-phased approach, the Skill for Scale program is aimed to upskill 5,000 nurses across the country within this year by converting the current theoretical and practical modules into easy interactive e-learning techniques. Explaining the need of such an upskilling program, Dr. Sanjeev Misra, Director, AIIMS Jodhpur, said, "Non-communicable disease burden is increasing significantly in India and is already accounting for more than 60% of deaths in India. It is also estimated that 1 in 4 people have a risk of dying from an NCD before the age of 70. This burden of NCD is expected to increase further over the coming years but the number of doctors with specializations available to treat these increasing numbers is very limited making it critical to upskill the existing healthcare practitioners in managing non-communicable diseases. Through this initiative, we are trying to bridge the knowledge gap that exists at the point of care for patients. The curriculum of this program is carefully designed to enable nurses to deliver specialized care, essential support services and standardized counselling for patients living with an increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases in India."

This e-learning mobile compatible program is pegged at two levels - basic and advanced, and includes a training of 20-24 hours to be completed at one's own pace. The course can be completed in a span of 2 months further to which each student will be awarded a completion certificate from AIIMS Jodhpur.

"Skill for Scale program is in line with our continuous efforts and commitments to address the growing burden of NCDs on our healthcare systems. At AstraZeneca, we stand by our global initiatives and industry collaborations, focusing on creating awareness and upskilling key stakeholders to make healthier choices. The Government's recognition of this program will go a long way to deliver accurate health information and ensure safe essential health services. We will continue to focus on upskilling the health workforce and bring impactful solutions locally and globally," said Dr. Anil Kukreja, VP Medical Affairs and Regulatory, AstraZeneca India.

By the end of the training, nurses will be able to recognize risk factors, causes, pathophysiology, screening methods, diagnostic tests and management of diabetes. They will gain an understanding to initiate timely action for confirmatory diagnosis and appropriate treatment, make timely referrals of complicated cases, follow standard treatment protocols, counsel and interact on the importance of early screening of diabetes, educate community on adoption of healthy lifestyle and assist them to overcome barriers, myths and misconceptions.

Explaining on the importance of industry support on critical healthcare programs, Cecilia Oskarsson, Swedish Trade Commissioner to India, said, "ISHIC was created to address the healthcare challenges in the country through key pillars  technology, protocol & process and capability building. We are deeply encouraged to see the support these programs have garnered from the government, key industry organisations which is absolutely crucial to be able to implement such programs at a national level and encourage wider use to be able to deliver benefits to the end patient and create an impact on the burden of healthcare. We will continue to evolve these programs to be able to bring about holistic benefit to patients in their journey of managing non-communicable diseases."

The initiative will be implemented under the direction of an Advisory Committee led by Prof. Suresh K Sharma, Professor & Principal, College of Nursing, AIIMS Jodhpur. The advisory committee comprises of key dignitaries from AIIMS Delhi, AIIMS Jodhpur, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Indian Nursing Council (INC), AstraZeneca India, and Business Sweden. This committee will be responsible to outline and review of the entire schedule of interventions, governing the overall framework, planning and on-ground conduct of the initiative, continuous evaluation of the project and development of a model for possible replication across the country.

ABOUT INDIA-SWEDEN HEALTHCARE INNOVATION CENTRE

The India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre is a tripartite collaboration between AIIMS Delhi, AIIMS Jodhpur and the Swedish Trade Commissioner's office. The platform is envisioned to develop an ecosystem of open innovation that start-ups and the healthcare delivery stakeholders can use to collaborate and address current and future challenges in the healthcare sector in India. This platform will enable development and scale up of solutions through frugal innovation for affordable and accessible healthcare in line with the objectives of the Government of India.

The Innovation Centre is an initiative under the MOU of Health between India and Sweden and works under strategic guidance from Government of India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Government of Sweden's Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and Embassy of Sweden in India. It also has a strong network of ecosystem partners - Atal Innovation Mission, Invest India, AGNII, Start-up India, and knowledge partners  AstraZeneca & the A-Catalyst Network and NASSCOM.

SOURCE India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2016 this brand was established by Chris, an active South Florida Law Enforcement Officer, who saw an opportunity to create a product that could be proudly worn within the First Responder community. The opportunity was met with tremendous demand and 13 Fifty Apparel was born.

Over the course of the next few years the brands mission, vision and goals were shaped, and we set out with the intention to not only create gear for First Responders but to be a part of something that was bigger than us, a community that we could give back to.

Chris, the Founder / CEO of 13FA and his wife Lauren, the COO at the National Police Week Washington DC event in 2018.

As you know, National Police Week is held in Washington, DC to honor the memory of our Fallen Officers. It is a time to come together in Unity and pay tribute for their ultimate sacrifice. Through #OPERATIONRESPONDER, we've proudly partnered with various Law Enforcement and First Responder Charities and will continue to carry those core values with us through every project and event we are a part of.

On May 15th, 2022, 13FA will pay tribute to those fallen brothers and sisters with a day of appreciation to our Law Enforcement Community. We hope to bring together Officers, both local, and afar, to our HQ to honor their memory and join in solidarity.

We are proud to partner with Team South Florida, a non-profit who's mission we back, to honor and remember those Law Enforcement Officers who have been killed in the line of duty while supporting the agencies and their families. We will also continue our partnership with Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S) to support them in providing resources for the families and co-workers who are left behind to cope with the loss of a Line of Duty death. Proceeds generated from this event will be donated to these organizations.

We invite you to join us, along with the incredible members of our community, to enjoy amazing food from Okeechobee Steakhouse, local food trucks, live music, corn hole tournaments and children's activities. We will honor those who lost their lives in 2021 with a candlelight service and name reading.

To learn more about the event and RSVP, visit our website - www.thirteenfiftyapparel.com

SOURCE 13 Fifty Apparel
Student-centred Canadian Institution to modernize operational processes with Ellucian's Colleague SaaS

SAULT STE. MARIE, ON and RESTON, Va., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ellucian, the leading higher education technology solutions provider, today announced that Algoma University has chosen Ellucian Colleague SaaS to modernize its technology operations. A new Ellucian customer, Algoma University joins more than 1,100 institutions worldwide in the cloud with Ellucian and more than 500 institutions in the cloud with their full Student Information System (SIS)/Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).

Algoma University will implement Ellucian Colleague SaaS, a comprehensive, cloud-based ERP to support the institution's digital transformation, leading to an enhanced student experience featuring a modern learning environment. The upgraded system will also integrate fully with Algoma's financial management system, providing increased functionality and services for faculty and staff as well as the features required to enhance future business activities.

"Algoma University is very excited to be embarking on this new relationship with Ellucian," shared Vice President of Finance and Operations, Algoma University, Shannon Brooks. "As part of our commitment to educational excellence, and based on our institutional priorities, the Ellucian Colleague SaaS product is both a proven leader in higher education and the best natural fit for our University. We look forward to working with the Ellucian team in delivering the best possible end-user experience for our students, staff and faculty."

"Recognized among the most influential institutions of higher education in Northern Ontario, Algoma delivers cross-cultural learning opportunities for all students to experience Anishinaabe culture, and I am pleased to welcome them to the Ellucian customer community," said Laura Ipsen, President and CEO, Ellucian. "By implementing Ellucian Colleague SaaS, Algoma will modernize its operations to create a better user experience for students, faculty, and staff leading to overall increased student success. We look forward to partnering as part of Algoma's digital transformation."

For more information on Ellucian Colleague, visit: https://www.ellucian.com/solutions/ellucian-colleague .

About Ellucian

Ellucian is charting the digital future of higher education with a portfolio of cloud-ready technology solutions and services. From student recruitment to workforce analytics; from fundraising opportunities to alumni engagement; Ellucian's comprehensive suite of data-rich tools gives colleges and universities the information they need to lead with confidence.

Working with a community of more than 2,700 customers in over 50 countries, Ellucian keeps innovating as higher education keeps evolving. Drawing on its comprehensive higher education business acumen and a suite of services, Ellucian guides its customers through manageable, sustainable digital transformationso that every type of institution and student can thrive in today's fast-changing landscape. To find out what's next in higher education solutions and services, visit Ellucian at www.ellucian.com .

About Algoma University

Algoma University, established in Sault Ste. Marie in 1965, offers a wide range of degrees and certificates spanning the liberal arts, sciences, and professional disciplines. The University also offers programming at campus locations in Brampton and Timmins. Algoma University has a Special Mission to cultivate cross-cultural learning between Indigenous populations and other communities. For more information, please visit www.algomau.ca .

Media Contacts

Ellucian

Lindsay Stanley

Director, Public Relations, Ellucian

[email protected]

703-915-7966

Algoma University

Megan Parlowe

Communications Officer, Algoma University

[email protected]

705-971-2227

SOURCE Ellucian
ZURICH, April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Amcor plc (NYSE: AMCR; ASX: AMC) will announce its year to date results for the nine months ended 31 March 2022 after the US market closes on Tuesday 3 May 2021.

A conference call and webcast to discuss the results will be held at 5.30pm US Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday 3 May 2022 / 7.30am Australian Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday 4 May 2022. For those wishing to participate in the call please use the following dial-in numbers:

US and Canada: 888 440 4149 (toll-free) Australia: 1800 953 093 (toll-free) United Kingdom: 0800 358 0970 (toll-free) Hong Kong: +852 3002 3410 (local number) Singapore: +65 3159 5133 (local number) All other countries: +1 646 960 0661 (this is not a toll-free number)



Conference ID 8080870

Access to the webcast and supporting materials will be available via the Investors section of Amcor's website (www.amcor.com/investors). A webcast replay will be available at the conclusion of the call.

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Investors:

Tracey Whitehead

Global Head of Investor Relations

Amcor

+61 3 9226 9028 / +1 224-478-5790

[email protected]

Damien Bird

Vice President Investor Relations

Amcor

+61 3 9226 9070

[email protected]







Media  Europe

Ernesto Duran

Head of Global Communications

Amcor

+41 78 698 69 40

[email protected] Media  Australia

James Strong



Citadel-MAGNUS

+61 448 881 174

[email protected] Media  North America

Daniel Yunger



KekstCNC

+1 212 521 4879

[email protected]

About Amcor

Amcor is a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home- and personal-care, and other products. Amcor works with leading companies around the world to protect their products and the people who rely on them, differentiate brands, and improve value chains through a range of flexible and rigid packaging, specialty cartons, closures, and services. The company is focused on making packaging that is increasingly light-weighted, recyclable and reusable, and made using a rising amount of recycled content. Around 46,000 Amcor people generate US$13 billion in sales from operations that span about 225 locations in 40-plus countries. NYSE: AMCR; ASX: AMC

www.amcor.com I LinkedIn I Facebook I Twitter I YouTube

SOURCE Amcor
Musician Anjalts, in collaboration with IXOmusic, surprises fans with new NFT Giveaways.

LOS ANGELES, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Anjalts is back with her new pop ballad single "Calling Out" on April 29. The single caps her 8th track from her 12-song project album titled "Air to Fire." Anjalts will be releasing a collection of NFTs on the OpenSea marketplace inspired by the artful covers of her past albums.

By completing a series of tasks on the giveaway site, one lucky fan will be able to win an NFT at [ Anjalts NFT Giveaway ]. Participants can earn entries without purchasing by following Anjalts on social media or answering questions based on her song lyrics.

#Anjalts 'Calling Out' artwork Anjalts 'Times We R Living' artwork

The winner is announced on April 29, 2022, the same day Anjalts' new single 'Calling Out' hits the streaming platforms. The NFT will also include unlockable content containing a copy of her new song for the winner to download.

"It's fantastic to have one-of-a-kind collectibles that nobody else has except you," says Elle Asti, founder of IXOmusic, the indie label working with Anjalts. "Her outstanding NFT collection brings her music and artwork to life through animation," continues Asti.

The winning NFT is a unique animated art piece coded on the Ethereum blockchain on the OpenSea marketplace and based on Anjalts' new single 'Calling Out' artwork of the album cover. To enter the NFT giveaway, complete the tasks HERE .

"For those new in the blockchain world, NFTs or Non-Fungible Tokens are a mechanism of buying a digital asset such as artwork, music, or other collectibles located on the blockchain authenticated as a unique proof of ownership," explains Asti. "We are fortunate to be in an era when we can watch technology advance. Now is the time to get involved and be at the cutting edge of blockchain, web3, and metaverse technologies."

The NFT giveaway winner will be revealed on Anjalts' official website and on her social media platforms HERE.

Pre-Save to Anjalts latest single, 'Calling Out,' HERE

https://music.anjalts.com/calling

CONNECT WITH ANJALTS

Song link: https://music.anjalts.com/calling

Official Website: https://anjalts.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anjalts1/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anjalts/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AnjaltsMusic

Merch: https://www.anjaltsmerch.com/

NFT art: https://opensea.io/collection/anjalts

Media Contact:

Acen Sinclair

213-316-6515

[email protected]

SOURCE IXOmusic
AKRON, Ohio, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Archbishop Hoban High School's annual Extravaganza fundraiser ended in record-setting fashion on Saturday, April 9, with a sold-out crowd and grossing more than $1,040,000. Extravaganza is a year-round effort, which included two other fundraising events leading up to this year's Live at the Disco. Extravaganza, which benefits student scholarships and other school needs, was the school's 37th annual. After two years of virtual events, the Hoban community responded in a big way to support Hoban students.

"The Hoban community never wavers," President Chris DiMauro '99 said. "Their generosity and belief in our Holy Cross values consistently amaze me. Extravaganza is a true testament to the power of family and belief  it was great to have some of our closest friends back together in person."

Guests were treated to dinner, silent and live auctions, dancing and live music from a national act, Disco Inferno. During a welcome address to the crowd of nearly 430 guests, DiMauro and Hoban Principal, T.K. Griffith, Class of 1989, announced an ambitious new capital campaign, the school's first major facilities project since 2014. The Every Knight, Every Day Capital Campaign includes wholesale renovations to Hoban's classrooms and the construction of a new 8,500-square-foot student center space.

"The new student center will serve as a wellness hub for our building," Griffith said. "While it will function as our cafeteria space, it is so much more than this. We envision the new student center as a large group meeting space, as well as a space to house our wellness initiatives and student activities."

The campaign also includes a sizable gift to the Hoban Endowment Fund, which provides annual access to funding for student scholarships. In his remarks to the crowd, DiMauro stressed the pillars of achievement, access and community, which will serve as foundations of the campaign.

"The Every Knight, Every Day Capital Campaign is fittingly named," DiMauro said. "The holistic design of the project will positively impact Hoban students every day of their high school journey."

To learn more about Archbishop Hoban High School and the Every Knight, Every Day Campaign, please visit www.everyknight.org.

Archbishop Hoban High School is a college preparatory Catholic high school that serves a diverse community of more than 800 students in the greater Akron area. Founded in 1953 by the Brothers of Holy Cross, the first order of teaching brothers in the United States, the school received a Special Purpose Charter from the Ohio Department of Education for focusing on college preparation programs for grades 9-12 with 97 percent of its students pursuing college degrees. More information is available by visiting www.hoban.org.

SOURCE Archbishop Hoban High School
The new church building is modeled on the ancient Armenian church of Saint Hripsime which still stands near Armenia's modern capital of Yerevan. The connection of the new church building to this ancient prototype provides a link to Armenia's legacy as the world's first Christian nation, having adopted Christianity in 301AD, and reflects the faith and endurance of the Armenian people through 14 centuries of challenge and upheaval. The church of Saint Hripsime was completed in 618 AD and the cornerstone of Saint Sarkis was laid exactly 14 centuries later in 2018.

Working with long-time collaborator architect Stepan Terzyan, Hotson developed a design that looks forward as well as backward, marrying Armenia's ancient architectural and artistic traditions with contemporary digitally-driven design and fabrication technologies. The total interior floor area for the entire complex is about 32,000 square feet.

Western Memorial Fa c ade

The most striking of these contemporary innovations is the west facade of the church, which serves as a subtle but powerful memorial to the 1.5 million victims of the 1915 Armenian genocide.

The facade depicts a traditional Armenian cross or "tree of life" composed of interwoven botanical and geometrical motifs drawn from Armenian art. As a visitor approaches the facade, the overall facade design dissolves into 1.5 million tiny icons or pixels, derived from the circular emblems that recur throughout the Armenian artistic tradition. The individual pixels were generated by a computer script to make every pixel unique. Like 1.5 million snowflakes, each individual pixel represents one of the 1.5 million individuals who perished in the 1915 Armenian genocide, including members of the families that belong to the Saint Sarkis congregation. The scale of the individual icons spreading across the entire building facade provides a visceral encounter with the scale of this historical atrocity.

Collaboration with Fiandre

To implement the facade, Hotson collaborated closely with Fiandre, the innovative architectural surfaces manufacturer that has developed the revolutionary DYS (Design Your Slab) system that allows exterior grade, UV-resistant custom printing at extremely fine resolution on Fiandre's large-format porcelain rain screen panel materials. Fiandre, a division of Iris Ceramica Group, fabricated the facade panels in their Italian factory to the exact pixel modules required by the facade and printed the intricate design through a proprietary process. Fiandre overcame several challenges in the completion of the facade as Italy was hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The facade was installed by Graniti Vicentia Facades utilizing the proprietary ventilated facade system of Granitech  the division of Iris Ceramica Group dedicated to Ventilated Facade Systems.

This is the first time that exterior grade high-resolution digital printing technology is used featuring such a complex and sophisticated facade design to optically engage the viewer in a series of visual scales nested inside each other.

In addition to the memorial facade, Fiandre supplied the full range of porcelain interior and exterior floor, wall and soffit finishes used throughout the Saint Sarkis Campus.

The Church Exterior

The solid gray mass of the church exterior, rendered in modern materials, references the monolithic sculptural character of ancient Armenian churches which were constructed entirely of stone. The juxtaposition of the monochrome architecture against the rich multicolored vegetation, envisioned and implemented by landscape designer Zepur Ohanian, recreates the powerful relationship between monolithic architecture and verdant landscape that is typical of ancient Armenian churches.

The Church Interior

Upon stepping into the church through the memorial facade, the visitor emerges into the luminous sanctuary, a composition of light-filled spatial volumes modeled on the interior of Saint Hripsime. Concave light coves sculpted into the exterior reflect the powerful Texas sunlight indirectly into the interior space, resulting in an ethereal quality of illumination. The doubly-curved plaster vaults that shape the interior space were fabricated in glass-fiber-reinforced gypsum directly from the architect's computer model, through an innovative process developed by the Toronto-based manufacturer Formglas. The interior vaults are smooth and scaleless, with no visible lighting fixtures, air-conditioning registers, or other contemporary technical details to interrupt the luminous spatial figure, which carries the memory of the 1,400 sanctuary of Saint Hripsime.

The church is heated and cooled with a displacement climate control system that introduces conditioned air at low velocity through floor registers located under the pews. The result is a silent interior without any mechanical vibration or the ambient sound of a conventional high-velocity air conditioning system providing a silent backdrop for the reverberant acoustics of traditional Armenian choral music.

About David Hotson Architect

David Hotson, AIA, is the principal of David Hotson Architect, established in New York in 1991. His work has been recognized with awards from the international Architizer A+ Awards program and the Best of Year Awards program from Interior Design Magazine. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Architecture.

About Fiandre

Fiandre, a part of Iris Ceramica Group, is a global leader in the development and production of high-performance architectural surfaces for both interior and exterior applications. Headquartered in Castellarano, Italy, the company is renowned for its unmatched range of colors, textures, patterns and sizes of its finish materials including large-scale, lightweight porcelain slabs.

SOURCE Fiandre
PHOENIX, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Assisted Living Locators, a leading nationwide senior placement and referral franchisor, has been named to FranServe's annual FRAN-TASTIC 500. The list recognizes 500 industry-leading franchise brands guiding franchisees on the path to becoming successful business owners through franchising.

"Franchising is a doorway for many people looking to be their own boss," said Alesia Visconti, CEO of FranServe Inc. "A brand that makes our annual 'FRAN-TASTIC 500' list demonstrates that it goes above and beyond the norm in helping people fulfill their dreams of business ownership through franchising! It's a brand that sets itself apart!"

Brands on the FRAN-TASTIC 500 list were nominated and chosen for their turnkey model, operational support, and superb training, among other criteria.

"We're honored to be included on FranServe's list of top franchise brands for 2022," said Angela Olea RN, Assisted Living Locators CEO "We pride ourselves on offering a franchise opportunity that provides our owners with the brand power, confidence, and support to help them achieve success with their business. Our Assisted Living Locators franchisees have the backing of our experienced and dedicated corporate team as we work collectively to grow and expand across the U.S."

Assisted Living Locators offers a special incentive for prospective franchisees that are veterans and healthcare professionals, which includes offering an additional 10 percent discount on the initial franchise fee. "We offer an affordable franchise opportunity with a growing customer base, where you can make a difference in your community," said Olea. "We encourage qualified candidates to apply."

With 140 franchises in 36 states and the District of Columbia, Assisted Living Locators offers a NO COST service for seniors and their families providing expert advice on short and long-term care options, including in-home care, independent living, assisted living and memory care.

To learn about Assisted Living Locators franchise opportunities, visit www.assistedlivinglocatorsfranchise.com.

SOURCE Assisted Living Locators
SANTIAGO, Chile, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlas Renewable Energy (Atlas) marks a new milestone with the development of its first wind power project with a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Enel Generacion Chile S.A. for 1.3TWh/year. The portfolio's three wind projects total 417 MW throughout Chile, helping accelerate its clean energy transition.

"Our first wind energy project solidifies our position as a company capable of developing different renewable technologies and adapting to the needs of customers in multiple markets across the globe," said Alfredo Solar, general manager of Atlas Renewable Energy in Chile.



Enel Generacion Chile Trading and Commercialization Manager, Alfredo Hott, said: "With this agreement, Enel complements its renewable energy portfolio with additional wind power to offer its customers clean and competitive energy, in line with the contribution that the company is making to promote the country's energy transition."



Atlas' Alpaca Portfolio consists of three wind projects that are set to begin operation in 2025. They will be located in the Araucania, Los Lagos and Maule regions of Chile.



"We are very proud to expand our work to the south of the country. Atlas already has a presence in Antofagasta, Atacama, and the Metropolitan Region. But with these projects, we'll expand into Chile's south and establish a presence in six regions of the country," Solar said.



With the signing of this PPA, Atlas solidifies itself as the preferred partner for large-scale utilities in Latin America to procure clean, renewable energy. Previously, Atlas signed a similar PPA with Engie to develop Sol del Desierto, a solar plant located in Chile's Atacama desert, which recently began operations.



1.3TWh/yr is equivalent to powering the homes of 628,512 families in Chile, avoiding 671,488 tons of carbon pollution and equivalent to getting rid of about 145,975 cars from the streets of Santiago.



The construction of the project will facilitate the development of localized social programs designed by Atlas and will prioritize the inclusion and development of the local labor force. Similar programs that were developed during the construction of Sol del Desierto. One of that project's initiatives was the "We are part of the same energy" program, which provided technical trainings to 66 local women, enabling them to apply for skilled jobs during the construction of the project as well as in other local jobs.

About Atlas Renewable Energy

Atlas Renewable Energy is a renewable energy generation company that has been developing, financing, constructing, and operating renewable energy projects under long-term contracts throughout the Americas since early 2017. Atlas Renewable Energy includes an experienced team with the longest track record in the renewable energy industry in Latin America. The company is recognized for its high standards in the development, construction, and operation of large-scale projects.

Atlas Renewable Energy is part of the Energy Fund IV, raised by Actis, one of the leading private equity investors in the energy sector. Atlas Renewable Energy's growth is focused on the most stable markets in the region, using its proven expertise in development, marketing, and structuring to accelerate the transformation to clean energy. By actively engaging with the community and stakeholders at the heart of its strategy, the company works every day to deliver a cleaner future.

To learn more about Atlas Renewable Energy, visit www.atlasrenewableenergy.com.

SOURCE Atlas Renewable Energy
This time, the agreement also includes as-removed and unserviceable units in addition to serviceable and overhauled items. The agreement implies that Lufthansa Technik receives a share of the proceeds from resold components under a profit share agreement. The material is considered overstock and a majority of the parts comes directly from the Lufthansa Technik material pool and aircraft teardowns. The sale significantly contributes to the optimization of inventory at Lufthansa Technik's warehouses in Germany, delivery of the components will commence immediately to AvAir facilities in Ireland and Chandler, Arizona in the United States. Despite this major logistical endeavor for teams of Lufthansa Technik on both continents, the complete transfer of material is expected to be completed in the next 90 days.

"The initial agreement was signed in 2020, and it has proved to be an overwhelming success for both parties," said Mike Bianco, Chief Executive Officer of AvAir.

"The initial agreement was signed in 2020, and it has proved to be an overwhelming success for both parties, Lufthansa's commitment to adding to the existing agreement is proof of that," said Mike Bianco, Chief Executive Officer of AvAir.

With this transaction, AvAir has added an even wider range of commercial and regional aircraft material to its inventory. The assets include Boeing 737, 737N, 747-400, 747-8, 777 Cargo, 787, Airbus A320, A330, A340, A350, A380, as well as all regional aircraft types and miscellaneous material.

Similar to the first agreement in 2020, the material from this deal will come with dual or triple release certification (FAA/EASA/CAAC) from Lufthansa Technik and with a 12-month warranty.

"Our long-standing partnership with AvAir demonstrates our commitment to continuously improving the allocation of our rotatable spare parts inventory. It is also a sign of a recovering industry and we look forward to further increasing efficiency in our supply chain with similar opportunities in the future," said Christian Ehard, Director Production Alternatives, Lufthansa Technik Component Services.

AvAir will again make the acquired inventory available for both exchanges and outright sales from AvAir's facilities in Chandler, Arizona and Dublin, Ireland, which just celebrated it's two year anniversary.

About AvAir

Founded in 2000, Arizona-based AvAir is a global leader in the aviation aftermarket, providing customized inventory solutions for airlines, OEMs, and MROs. AvAir offers customized solutions for customers and suppliers to buy, sell, exchange, loan, lease, or consign more than 26 million in-stock aircraft parts. For more about AvAir, visit AvAir.aero.

Contact:

Claire Natale

[email protected]

SOURCE AvAir
HOUSTON, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Boots For Troops, today announced the launching of the Jimmy Rogers Military Spouse Scholarship. The scholarship(s) will be awarded annually to military spouses whose significant others are serving on active duty. Awards can be up to $10,000. The Scholarship can be used for tuition, books, and supplies. Applications are open now through May 15th. To be eligible for this award, you must meet all the following criteria:

Be the spouse of someone on active duty who has a rank of E6 or below and enlisted in the state of Texas.





Be a high school senior, high school graduate or equivalent, or current post-secondary undergraduate student.





Plan to attend an accredited college, university, or vocational/technical school in the United States in the Fall of 2022

Boots For Troops mission is to uplift and empower the overall morale and mental well-being of active-duty troops and veterans. The organization was founded in 2015 onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt by Navy veteran Jimmy Rogers while he was deployed with Navy in the Persian Gulf. From the other side of the world Petty Officer Rogers launched a GOFUNDME page to raise the money for the start-up of the organization. Seven years later the organization is thriving, and the scholarship program is now the 4th program Boots For Troops is operating to support active-duty troops and veterans.

Boots For Troops is mostly known for delivering the world's greatest care packages to troops around the world. Each care package being customized to the service member and including a new pair of combat boots. Additionally, during the holidays and emergency situations Boots For Troops funds flights for service members to return to their hometowns. The charity also funds concerts for military bases and service dogs for veterans.

"The scholarship program is just another way we can serve our active-duty military families. Spouses serve alongside our heroes, and I believe they deserve an opportunity to earn their education, or a skill set so they can better serve their family. Ultimately, we are setting military families up to be more successful especially when they transition back into civilian life," said Jimmy Rogers, U.S. Navy Veteran and Co-Founder of Boots For Troops.

To get more information on the new Jimmy Rogers Military Spouse Scholarship and Boots For Troops, visit Boots4troops.org

For more information please contact:

[email protected] or [email protected]

SOURCE Boots For Troops
The Brooks Brothers Home Collection features a curated selection of deluxe bedding, bath towels and robes

NEW YORK, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Brooks Brothers, America's longest-established brand, today announces its new Home Collection with Turko Textile. The elevated collection offers a luxurious assortment of pillows, comforters, bath towels, bath robes and more. Its inspiration is derived from Brooks Brothers' rich American heritage and unique brand DNA. From the iconic sheep and ribbon emblem to the classic Brooks Brothers script logo, signature branding will be paired alongside the brand's iconic contrasting colors, raised textures, herringbone borders and other Brooks Brother's unique design elements all constructed from the finest Turkish cotton.

Turko Textile, which produces top-quality home textiles made in Turkey, is the official licensee of Brooks Brothers Home Collection. The collection includes towels and bathrobes produced with premium long-staple Turkish cotton with ideal weight and absorbency in mind. The shower curtains are woven with 100% combed long staple cotton to create a soft, elegant, and textured result. Premium bedding in the home collection includes pillows and comforters cushioned with goose down, wool, linen, bamboo and microfibers sourced from Turkey.

"Before launching the Brooks Brothers Home Collection, our design team researched the brand's rich history and DNA, which started with men's furnishings, hats and shoes. They expanded into clothing in the early 1900s with the sheep logo, classic fabrics from Oxford cloth, Gingham checks, madras plaids, tie stripes, and cotton. Now, we're excited to take elements from Brooks Brothers' notable heritage and create this category for both brand loyalists and new audiences to enjoy," said Ginny Hilfiger, Creative Director of Brooks Brothers Home.

Susan McCarty, Senior Vice President of Lifestyle Brands at ABG, added, "Through this partnership, we are able to bring Brooks Brothers' heritage and DNA into the homes of consumers across the US and Canada. ABG continues to build the Brooks Brothers lifestyle strategy by identifying key categories of focus including fragrance, children's apparel and accessories. We are thrilled to introduce Brooks Brothers Home as a new category for the brand."

The Brooks Brothers Home Collection will be available to consumers starting in Spring 2022. Key retailers offering the home collection will include Macy's, Gilt-Ruelala, Hudson Bay and Touch of Modern.

About Brooks Brothers

Established in 1818, Brooks Brothers was the first American brand to offer ready-to-wear clothing and has continued throughout history with iconic product introductions including: seersucker, madras, argyle, and the non-iron shirt. Over two centuries later, Brooks Brothers is proud to uphold the same traditions and values and to be the destination for ladies and gentlemen from every generation. Since its founding 202 years ago in New York, Brooks Brothers has become a legendary international retailer with 200 stores in North America and 500 worldwide in 45 countries while maintaining a steadfast commitment to exceptional service, quality, style, and value.

About Turko Textile

Founded in 2014, Turko Textile started small, but with a big idea: to provide elegant yet functional, top-quality home textiles made in Turkey to the high demand market in the USA. This vision came to life with foundation brand Enchante Home, which provides consumers with casual, affordable luxury in the form of Turkish bath, beach towel, and bedding collections. Turko Textile products are proudly produced by two of the largest textile manufacturers in Turkey, using the finest yarns and materials that reflect the company's dedication to quality, comfort, and versatility. The quality of Turko Textile products are certified with a number of certifications, including ISO 9001, organic certificate GOTS, and EKOTEX, all of which are recognized and accepted all over the world.

SOURCE Turko Textile
TORONTO, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Canada Nickel Company Inc. (TSXV: CNC) ("Canada Nickel" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of its annual and special meeting of shareholders of the Company (the "Shareholders") held today.

Each of the nominee directors listed in the Company's management information circular dated March 16th, 2022 (the "Circular"), being Mark Selby, Mike Cox, Jennifer Morais, Francisca Quinn, Kulvir Singh Gill, David Smith and Russell Starr, were elected as directors.

The following resolutions: (i) approving the appointment of MNP LLP as auditors of the Company to hold office until the next meeting of shareholders and to authorize the directors to fix the remuneration to be paid to the auditors; and (ii) setting the number of directors of the Company at seven and empowering the directors of the Company to determine by resolution the number of directors to be elected at the annual meetings of Shareholders of the Company, all as more particularly described in the Circular, received the requisite approvals of the Shareholders.

Purchase of Timmins-Area Properties & Issuance of Shares to Service Providers

Canada Nickel announces today that it has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire properties located in the Timmins, Ontario nickel-sulphide mining district. Under the agreement, in partial consideration for the properties and subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada Nickel has agreed to issue 50,000 common shares to the seller (which common shares will be subject to a four-month hold period under applicable securities laws).

Canada Nickel also announces today that, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, it has agreed to issue an aggregate of 44,103 common shares of the Company at a deemed issue price of $2.60 per common share in satisfaction of an aggregate of $115,448 in obligations due to a service provider of the Company (the "Share Issuance"). The common shares will be subject to a four-month hold period under applicable securities laws.

About Canada Nickel

Canada Nickel Company Inc. is advancing the next generation of nickel-sulphide projects to deliver nickel required to feed the high growth electric vehicle and stainless steel markets. Canada Nickel Company has applied in multiple jurisdictions to trademark the terms NetZero NickelTM, NetZero CobaltTM, NetZero IronTM and is pursuing the development of processes to allow the production of net zero carbon nickel, cobalt, and iron products. Canada Nickel provides investors with leverage to nickel in low political risk jurisdictions. Canada Nickel is currently anchored by its 100% owned flagship Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Project in the heart of the prolific Timmins-Cochrane mining camp. For more information, please visit www.canadanickel.com.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains certain information that may constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward- looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "does not anticipate", or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved".

Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, drill results relating to the Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Project, the potential of the Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Project, timing of economic studies and resource estimates, strategic plans, including future exploration and development results, the timing and ability of the Company to complete the Share Issuance and acquisition of the Timmins properties (if at all and on the terms described herein), the ability of the Company to obtain the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange in respect of the Share Issuance, and corporate and technical objectives. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could affect the outcome include, among others: future prices and the supply of metals, the future demand for metals, the results of drilling, inability to raise the money necessary to incur the expenditures required to retain and advance the property, environmental liabilities (known and unknown), general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, results of exploration programs, risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, failure to obtain regulatory or shareholder approvals, and the impact of COVID-19 related disruptions in relation to the Company's business operations including upon its employees, suppliers, facilities and other stakeholders. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information contained in this press release is given as of the date hereof and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at the date hereof. Canada Nickel disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE Canada Nickel Company Inc.
CARMEL, Ind., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ACES announced today that Christopher D. Haas will succeed Riley "RB" Sloan as Meridian Cooperative's Chief Executive Officer, effective May 16, 2022. RB Sloan has served as President and CEO of Meridian since 2013 and will be retiring.

Chris Haas is currently Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at ACES, an energy risk management service provider headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. At ACES, Chris has overseen physical and cyber security, telecommunications, software development, data analytics, project management and customer integration, North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) compliance, analytical portfolio modeling, physical fuels trading, meteorology services and operational forecasting for solar and hydro generation, battery storage, power and natural gas prices, and demand across ACES' four offices.

"Utilities are facing change at a more rapid pace than ever. Meridian is committed to anticipating these changes and delivering innovation that transforms the utility customer experience. Chris' background and experience across many facets of our industry give him a deep expertise that will undoubtedly help guide Meridian into a new era," said Meridian's Board Chairman, Tom Stackhouse. "He has a long history of serving electric cooperatives and public power entities. Just as importantly, Chris embodies the cooperative spirit and shares our company values," he adds.

"The future of Meridian is bright," shares Chris. "As we continue to practice the stewardship modeled by RB, we will rely on our innovative team to imagine the future and elevate our customer experience."

ACES' President and CEO, Mike Steffes, commented, "Chris Haas joined ACES in 2000 as one of the first Information Technology employees at ACES. He was integral in creating ACES' foundation of people and systems and providing an engine for our company's growth and success. Chris established himself as an effective leader early in his tenure at ACES and has been a tremendous asset to the company. The structures and systems he established and people he has mentored and helped develop has been instrumental in setting ACES up for success in serving our Members and Customers. We wish him the best as he begins this new chapter in his career."

About Meridian

The Meridian Cooperative Enterprise is a trusted leader in the development of innovative utility software and technology solutions. As a cooperative, they're committed to providing its users with the Billing, Accounting, Engineering, and Operations applications they rely on to provide essential services in their communities. Their all-in-one solutions are cost-effective, flexible, and backed by teams of expert designers and dedicated support staff. With over 45 years of experience, they are second to none in terms of developing cutting-edge technologies and building lasting relationships in the communities they serve.

About ACES

ACES is owned by twenty-one generation and transmission cooperatives and one independent distribution cooperative. The company assists its Members and Customers in the management of their energy risk. The Members and Customers served by ACES operate in all of the major electricity markets in the United States and have a collective portfolio of over 50,000 MW of both load and resources. Because ACES does not buy or sell energy on its own behalf, it avoids conflicts of interest and ensures alignment with the best interests of the organizations it serves.

Media Contact:

Leah Smith

[email protected]

SOURCE ACES
BOISE, Idaho, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Clearwater Analytics Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CWAN), ("Clearwater Analytics" or the "Company") will release financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 after the U.S. financial markets close on Wednesday, May 4, 2022.

In conjunction with this announcement, Clearwater Analytics will host a conference call on May 4, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. ET through a live webcast available on the Company's investor relations website. Participants must visit investors.clearwateranalytics.com in advance to register, download, and install any necessary audio software. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Company's investor relations website, in addition to a press release related to the financial results, related financial tables, and the call transcript.

About Clearwater Analytics

As the industry-leading SaaS solution for investment accounting and reporting, Clearwater enables growth of assets under management (AUM) for more than 1,100 clients including global insurers, asset managers, corporations, pension plans, and governments. Each day, Clearwater automates data collection, reconciliation, compliance, risk, and performance reporting across $5.9T of AUM with its comprehensive cloud platform and best-in-class service team.

SOURCE Clearwater Analytics
CHICAGO, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a research report "Cloud OSS BSS Market by Component ((Solutions and Services), Solution (OSS and BSS), Service (Professional and Managed Services)), Cloud Type (Public, Private, and Hybrid), Operator Type, Organization Size and Region - Global Forecast to 2027", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global Cloud OSS BSS Market size is expected to grow from USD 20.1 billion in 2022 to USD 36.6 billion by 2027, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.8% during the forecast period.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Cloud OSS BSS Market"

361  Tables

53  Figures

313  Pages

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=31137795

By component, the services segment to have a higher growth during the forecast period

The cloud OSS BSS services segment is expected to have a higher growth rate during the forecast period. The Cloud OSS BSS Market, by service, is segmented into professional services and managed services. The need for consulting expertise to guide the enterprises to deploy the right solutions to improve operational efficiency will drive the demand for professional services. Managed services, focused on critical business issues, current requirements, and future growth opportunities, are majorly implemented by the telecom industry to enhance their service and business efficiency. This is expected to propel the demand for best-in-class services in this market.

By BSS solution, the billing and revenue management segment to account for the highest market share during the forecast period

In BSS solution, the billing and revenue management segment is expected to have the highest market share during the forecast period. Billing and revenue management solutions are designed to handle the accounting challenges of telecom companies with complex revenue streams and billing requirements. The main drivers for the growth of billing and revenue management solutions includes the need to assist telecom operators in handling all bill-related processes across various lines of business and fulfill the need for highly efficient ecosystems and deliver a range of capabilities. Also, the need for CSPs to offer digitalized services to attract new customers and increase customer retention will drive the demand for billing and revenue management solutions in the market.

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North America region to account for highest market share in Cloud OSS BSS Market

North America is one of the prominent regions in the cloud OSS/BSS market. Some top companies, such as Oracle, IBM, Amdocs, and HPE, are headquartered in the region. North America can further be considered one of the leading regions in the adoption of 5G and IoT technologies. CSPs in the region are enhancing their networking infrastructure to meet the increasing demand for 5G services in the future. Cloud OSS BSS is expected to play a key role in the development of new networking infrastructure. The deployment of a 5G network in the region is expected to boost the demand for cloud OSS/BSS solutions in the region. The key drivers such as increased focus on the rapid adoption of 5G and other technologies by vendors in North America would drive the growth of the Cloud OSS BSS Market. Also, tough competition among telecom players in the US to provide quality services has also contributed to the demand for cloud OSS BSS solutions and services in the region.

Key and innovative vendors in the Cloud OSS BSS Market are Amdocs (US), Ericsson (Sweden), Huawei (China), Netcracker (US), Oracle (US), HPE (US), Optiva (Canada), Nokia (Finland), CSG (US), ZTE (China), Comarch (Finland), Subex (India), STL (India), TEOCO (US), IBM (US), InfoVista (US), Comviva (India), Cerillion (UK), Tecnotree (Finland), Whale Cloud (China), Bill Perfect (US), Telgoo5 (US), NMSWorks Software (India), Wavelo (US), ChikPea (US), LiveAction (US), Kentik (US), Knot Solutions (India), Hughes (US) and Mavenir (US).

Browse Adjacent Markets: Mobility and Telecom Market Research Reports & Consulting

Related Reports:

Telecom Service Assurance Market by Component (Solutions (Fault and Event Management, Performance Management, and Quality and Service Management) and Services), Operator Type, Deployment Type, Organization Size, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026

Network Management System (NMS) Market by Component (Platform, Solutions, and Services), Deployment Type (Cloud and On-premises), End-Users (Verticals and Service Providers), Organization Size, and Region - Global Forecast to 2024

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
DUBLIN, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Genesis of Connected E-Cigarettes, Heated Tobacco Products, Cannabis Vaporizers and Corresponding Software Applications for 2010 - 2021" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The market of connected vape solutions has been rapidly growing within the last few years. Despite technological complexity, connected vape solutions provide significant benefits for both consumers and manufacturers. The connectivity is mostly implemented via outdated wire-connected solutions and modern wireless solutions.

The report provides a genesis overview of the connected e-cigarettes, tobacco heating systems, cannabis vaporizers and dedicated software applications that were released worldwide for all time. The report contains an analysis of 56 connected e-cigarettes, 38 cannabis vaporizers and 18 electric heating systems with corresponding applications in terms of the progress of their functionality and the introduction of new features.

The first section provides a general overview of dedicated software, pros and cons of supported platforms as well as benefits of connected vape solutions for both manufacturers and consumers.

The second section gives a timeline and a detailed observation of connected e-cigarettes and dedicated applications.

The third section gives a timeline and a detailed observation of connected cannabis vaporizers and dedicated applications.

The fourth section gives a timeline and a detailed observation of tobacco heating systems and dedicated applications.

The fifth section contains three subsections dedicated to the history of vape-related applications bans, an overview of application store policies and a list of vape applications that are currently available in major application stores.



Key Topics Covered:





1. Types of software and platforms: pros and cons (Android, iOS, Windows, web)



2. App-driven e-cigarettes and main application features



3. App-driven cannabis vaporizers and main application features



4. App-driven tobacco heating systems and main application features



5. Review of google play and app store policies

5.1. History of vape bans for application stores

5.2. Overview of store policies

5.3. Applications available in official application stores and on official websites



Companies Mentioned

Airgraft, Inc.

Anker Technology Co., Ltd.

British American Tobacco

Dongguan Yihi Electronic Co., Ltd.

Hangsen International Group Ltd.

Infinite-N Technology Limited

Japan Tobacco International

Jingyi Intelligent Technology ( Shanghai ) Co., Ltd.

) Co., Ltd. Juul Labs , Inc.

, Inc. Kimsun Tech ( Huizhou ) Co., Ltd.

) Co., Ltd. PAX Labs, Inc.

Philip Morris International, Inc.

Puff Corp.

Qianhai Guojian Huayan Technology ( Shenzhen ) Co., Ltd.

) Co., Ltd. R/GA Media Group Inc.

Reynolds American Inc.

Shanlaan Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Anyvape Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Bauway Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Boge Electronic Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen FirstUnion Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Iecig Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Jomo Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Joyetech Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen JSB (Jieshibo) Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen JWEI Electronics Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Kanger Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Laisimo Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Leiyan Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Mason Vap Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Meijiaer Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Quawins Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Relx Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen SMOK Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Topgreen Industrial Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Vipsig Technology Co., Ltd.

Sichuan Sanlian New Materials Co., Ltd.

Smokewatchers Sas

Storz & Bickel GmbH & Co. KG

Vaporite, Inc.

Voopoo International Inc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/yp9z88

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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SOURCE Research and Markets
CHICAGO, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameren Illinois customers have just suffered through one of the most expensive winter heating seasons in more than a decade, and now they face an $83 million electric rate-hike request. This is bad news for consumers, and it's why we're working to ensure the consumer-friendly rate-setting system (created by the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA) works as intended. CUB will review Ameren's rate-hike request and fight every dollar the company can't justify.

The "formula rate" system has not been kind to consumers over the years, but the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) is replacing it with a rate-setting system that gives the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) more authority. Illinois must take advantage of the opportunity presented by CEJA to maximize benefits for electric customers across the state.

-David Kolata, executive director, Citizens Utility Board (CUB)

BACKGROUND

On Thursday, April 14 , Ameren announced it was requesting that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) increase the utility's delivery rates by $83,187,000.00 . The ICC will rule on the case in December, and new rates would take effect on Jan. 1 . 2023.

, Ameren announced it was requesting that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) increase the utility's delivery rates by . The ICC will rule on the case in December, and new rates would take effect on . 2023. The increase affects delivery chargeswhat all customers pay to have the electricity delivered to their homes. Those charges take up about a third to a half of the bill.

This is the last time delivery rates will be set according to the state's 2011 "Energy Infrastructure and Modernization Act," or the "smart-grid bill." That law used a formula to determine Ameren rates annually to cover electric system upgrades.

CUB did not support the smart-grid legislation, citing too few consumer protections. In 2021, the group helped pass the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA. The new Illinois law aims to replace formula rates with a system that gives the ICC more authority and puts more emphasis on customer priorities, such as affordability and reliability.

CUB is Illinois' leading nonprofit utility watchdog. Created by the Illinois Legislature, CUB opened its doors in 1984 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, it has saved consumers more than $20 billion by helping block rate hikes, secure refunds and fight for clean, low-cost energy. For more information, call CUB's Consumer Hotline, 1-800-669-5556, or visit its website, www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org.

SOURCE Citizens Utility Board
"We feel truly honored that our spiced rum has already won an award as it enters the US market. We thank the San Diego Spirits Festival for this recognition. This only shows the kind of craftsmanship that goes in our Tropical Spiced Rum," said Kyle Tan, Executive Vice President of Tanduay and head of its international distribution.

The San Diego Spirits Festival is "the major cocktail culinary extravaganza celebrated every summer on San Diego Bay". Apart from Especia, Tanduay Double Rum also won a gold medal for its design.

A Spiced Rum from the Tropics

A blend of rums aged up to seven years in bourbon barrels, Especia Spiced Rum tastes of cinnamon, honey, and ginger, mingled with hints of tropical fruits. Its finish is a warm persistence of caramel, cinnamon, and baking spices, and has sweet and elegant aromas. It has 80 proof or has 40% alcohol/volume. It has a bright, golden amber color, and a mellow and smooth body.

Especia comes in a bottle with black and white textured background design, featuring an illustration of the snake coiled around a bamboo stalk with flowers and leaves inherent to the tropical island of its origin.

A stylized letter "T" representing Tanduay and "1854" which represents the year the rum company was founded are also prominently displayed on the bottle.

From a Heritage Brand with a Storied History

Especia continues Tanduay's tradition of winning, which started way back in the 1800s when its first distillery was established.

Tanduay was founded during the latter years of the Spanish colonial period. It is one of only a few Filipino brands that have reached their centennial year.

The company has always been meticulous in its rum-making process -- from choosing only quality sugarcane in the sugar lands of Bacolod that has been known for its sugarcane production since the 1800s. Tanduay uses only heirloom sugarcane, which are harvested after 10 to 12 months.

Rum-Making in a Tropical Climate

Temperature and the container where the rum is aged are factors that affect its ageing process, and Tanduay has the advantage of having its own distilleries in premier locations in the main islands of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Rum aged in tropical climate results in faster ageing; it matures two times faster than those aged in much cooler climates.

Barrel-aging, meanwhile, gives rum an additional flavor and aroma, as oxygen enters the barrel and is absorbed by the oak. Tanduay rums are matured in bourbon oak barrels, which have been alligator charred prior to filling with whisky. The company has an arsenal of more than 200,000 oak barrels with a combined capacity of 40 million gauge liters.

Media Contact:

Joseph Chiong

Business Development Manager

Tanduay Brands International

+1 (714) 588-6760

SOURCE Tanduay
NFT sales aim to help save dwindling water resource in Texas

DALLAS, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- At the end of its inaugural launch in March, Ogallala Life in conjunction with AcreNFT, raised $200,000 in Non-Fungible Token (NFT) proceeds to save the Ogallala aquifer. A second-round NFT launch on World Environment Day aims to provide additional support for the ambitious project.

The imminent threat to America's food production through water scarcity is at the heart of Ogallala Life. The biggest danger is the depletion and over-production of America's largest groundwater aquifer. The Ogallala Aquifer has lost 10 trillion gallons of water over the past 40 years. Spanning eight states, eighty-two percent of the population within the aquifer's limits rely on it as a water source, either for agriculture, drinking water, or for domestic use. If the aquifer dries completely, geologists estimate it could take more than six thousand years to replenish. The United States would be perpetually dependent on foreign sources for grain.

Ogallala Life's Executive Director and Lead Geologist, Brandon St. Aubin, is a Michigan native and Texas transplant. He took fresh water for granted until moving to Dallas in 2021. St. Aubin has measured first-hand the effects of water depletion and misuse. As a geologist, he has a solution to the problem.

"All it would take is some industry practice, a bit of technology, and millions of dollars," said St. Aubin.

Thus, a unique marriage of geology, art, and tech came together to solve a major problem. Scott Kilgore, a seasoned software developer and Digital Assets Manager, had a novel solution to Ogallala Life's financial need in the form of Web3. Kilgore implemented and utilized an organization called Angel Protocol, to create a perpetual endowment for Ogallala Life by leveraging decentralized finance (DeFi) on the Terra blockchain.

"Angel protocol gives everyone with a vested interest in our projects an opportunity to collaboratively save our future." Said Scott Kilgore.

Kaitlin Kilgore, a digital artist, observed the recent NFT craze and decided to utilize her talents as a digital artist to contribute towards Ogallala Life's sustainable goals. She developed the AcreNFT project. The outpouring of support for this project was instant.

"There was a strong community desire to both collect artwork and help the world we live in," said Kaitlin Kilgore. "Within two weeks, the project was completely sold out!"

Proceeds from the AcreNFT project went entirely towards helping Ogallala Life develop its projects.

Plans to begin the work in the west Texas panhandle are underway. The company will build check dams along stream channels to capture and prevent mass evaporation of rainwater and install direct borehole groundwater recharge zones to replenish the aquifer. The projects will be carefully monitored with grid system technology to measure many different hydrological parameters as well as consistently record localized water levels.

"There has been a ton of interest in our project." St. Aubin added. "I think we all know that food shortages and water scarcity are on the horizon. We are actually doing something about it with the help of thousands of others. It's very empowering to know we are all contributing to a brighter future."

Ogallala Life is involved with an additional upcoming NFT launch scheduled for World Environment Day on June 5. Those who are interested can mint a randomly generated ReFi Punk on Stagaze.Zone, which can include several key figures in the web3 regenerative finance (ReFi) community. Information about Ogallala Life, the team, and how you can contribute can be found on the company website at Ogallala.life.

Media Contact:

Brandon St. Aubin

248-508-2664

[email protected]

SOURCE Ogallala Life
Key Points Covered in the Event Management Services Market Report:

Am I engaging with the right suppliers?

Which KPIs should I use to evaluate my incumbent suppliers?

Which supplier selection criteria are relevant for ERP Software?

What are the ERP Software category essentials in terms of SLAs and RFx?

Key Global Suppliers in the Event Management Services Market:

Reed Exhibitions

GL Events Group

ATPI Ltd.

Get Quick Access to the Key Global Suppliers Profiled Extensively in This Report

The Event Management Services Market report evaluates suppliers based on provision for applicable insurance policy, real-time analysis, pipeline software solutions, and conduct pipeline surveys. In addition, suppliers are also shortlisted based on business needs, technical specifications, operational requirements, security compliance, regulatory mandates, legal requirements, quality control, change management procedures, pricing models, penalty clauses, SLA nuances, acceptance criteria, and evaluation criteria.

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Contact

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SOURCE SpendEdge
NEW YORK, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- During the forecast period, the Soda Ash industry will see an increase in spending of around USD 5.33 Billion. However, the majority of this expansion will be driven by only a few regions. Furthermore, due to their supplier base, North America, Europe, and APAC will have the most effect on the supply side.

The increase is likely to be driven mostly by increased demand and adoption of the category in those few regions.

Soda Ash

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Key Soda Ash Sourcing and Procurement Report Highlights:

Market growth 2020-2024: USD 5.33 Billion Growth momentum & CAGR: Accelerate at a CAGR of 6.27% Top Pricing Models: Volume-based pricing, and Spot pricing Key consumer countries: North America , Europe , and APAC Supplier Selection Criteria: Technical specifications, Operational requirements, Acceptance criteria, and Evaluation criteria Top Suppliers: Ciner Resources LP, CIECH SA, and Solvay SA.

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Insights into buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers:

Several strategic and tactical negotiation levers are explained in the report to help buyers achieve the best prices for the Soda Ash market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Soda Ash pricing levels, pros, and cons of prevalent pricing models such as Unit-based pricing, and Bundled pricing, category management strategies and best practices to fulfil their category objectives.

For more insights on buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers,

www.spendedge.com/report/soda-ash-sourcing-and-procurement-intelligence-report

Key Drivers and Trends Fueling Market Growth:

The pressure from substitutes and a moderate level of threat from new entrants has resulted in the low bargaining power of suppliers.

Price forecasts are beneficial in purchase planning, especially when supplemented by the constant monitoring of price influencing factors.

Identify favorable opportunities in Soda Ash TCO (total cost of ownership).

Expected changes in price forecast and factors driving the current and future price changes.

Identify pricing models that offer the most rewarding opportunities.

To know more about various other market drivers, trends and challenges.

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Table of Content

Executive Summary

Market Insights

Category Pricing Insights

Cost-saving Opportunities

Best Practices

Category Ecosystem

Category Management Strategy

Category Management Enablers

Suppliers Selection

Suppliers under Coverage

US Market Insights

Category scope

Appendix

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Contacts

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Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340

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SOURCE SpendEdge
To purchase tickets to the 43rd annual Howard Hughes Memorial Award, visit https://www.aeroclubsocal.org/events/. Tweet this

Ford shared his love of flying with young people serving as Experimental Aircraft Association Young Eagles program chairman for five years. During this time, he flew more than 280 children in his DHC-2 Beaver.

In 2010, he commanded an Operation Smile medical volunteer and supply airlift for Haiti earthquake victims. Ford is a volunteer search and rescue helicopter pilot in Teton County, Wyoming. He traveled to Washington, D.C. multiple times to advocate for pilots' rights. He serves as an honorary board member of the humanitarian aviation organization, Wings of Hope and as Vice Chair of Conservation International.

"It is an honor to celebrate Harrison Ford, the illustrious actor, pilot, and passionate aviation advocate for his volunteer work with Young Eagles, humanitarian and aircraft rescue efforts," states George Butts, President of Aero Club of Southern California. "The Aero Club's mission is to honor the giants of aviation and aerospace while providing generous scholarships to students pursuing an education in either field. We look forward to bringing industry professionals and the public together to recognize Mr. Ford this June and to celebrate the visibility he brings to the aviation and aerospace industries through his aviation accomplishments and iconic film career."

The Howard Hughes Memorial Award honors exceptional leaders who advanced the fields of aviation or aerospace technology. Harrison Ford's name will be added to the Howard Hughes Memorial trophy, a beautiful mid-century modern globe and vehicle sculpture, joining forty-two aviation and aerospace pioneers.

To purchase tickets and learn more about the 43rd annual Howard Hughes Memorial Award, visit https://www.aeroclubsocal.org/events/.

SOURCE Aero Club of Southern California
The curriculum will train current and future clinicians on how to incorporate digital medicine in clinical care and practice

BOSTON, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) , Rocky Vista University (RVU) College of Medicine, and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) launched a new library of continuing medical education (CME) courses as foundational education for practicing clinicians to learn how to effectively and efficiently leverage new digital approaches to caring for their patients. The Digital Health CME Certificate consists of eight modules on digital health, which clinicians can now sign up for here .

"As digital medicine rapidly progresses towards becoming just plain medicine, a knowledge gap has emerged amongst our healthcare professionals. A new set of skills is required to deliver this new form of care, and we feel a responsibility to deploy this knowledge," says Smit Patel, Innovation Lead at DiMe. "Our hope is that this program will educate and encourage current and future healthcare professionals to embrace digital medicine, bring new advantages to the profession, and - ultimately - help reshape healthcare to work better for patients and clinicians."

To create the content and curriculum for the CME, DiMe guided and oversaw the direction of the work, which was then completed by RVU's Digital Health Track medical students and reviewed by RVU faculty members. ACOFP, a professional medical association that represents more than 18,000 practicing osteopathic family physicians, residents and students throughout the U.S., led the accreditation and hosts the courses on their platform. The eight modules consist of:

Introduction to digital health Evaluative frameworks for selecting technology for patients and clinics Best practices for telemedicine Artificial intelligence in healthcare Integrating digital health technologies into clinical care Patient advocacy in digital health Consumer health informatics Health equity and ethics in the digital age

"There is a reason we chose this as DiMe's first foray into the educational space. We specifically wanted to partner with future providers to define what good looks like for the future of clinical care," says Jennifer Goldsack, CEO of DiMe. "As the first osteopathic medical school in the U.S. to incorporate a Digital Health Track (DHT) in medical education, RVU was the perfect partner for this project."

"In hopes of improving patient safety and health outcomes during the rapidly expanding digital era, a collection of innovative continuing medical education modules was crafted in partnership with the Digital Medicine Society. Each module is aimed at improving the physician's comfort with complex concepts such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other various novel implications emerging in digital health," says Danica Cecil Ujano, RVU Osteopathic Medical Student II.

"The COVID-19 pandemic shed a light on the need for physicians to adapt to telemedicine, and while we have come so far, there is more to learn in this space," says ACOFP President Bruce R. Williams, DO, FACOFP. "Digital health is the future of medicine, and this certificate program will take us one step further in reimagining healthcare delivery and meeting the needs of our patients as they evolve."

While education has always been a core DiMe activity , this is the non-profit organization's first foray into developing and offering a formal educational course. DiMe is currently working on another course offering, to be announced later this year, that will help educate the field, across audiences, to make advancements in digital medicine possible. To learn more about the Digital Health CME course/program, click here .

About the Digital Medicine Society: The Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) is the professional society serving the digital medicine community, driving scientific progress and broad acceptance of digital medicine to enhance public health. At DiMe, our commitment to fully integrating experts from all of the disciplines comprising digital medicine is unwavering. From regulators to white-hat hackers, ethicists to engineers, and clinicians to citizen scientists, we are proud to welcome all experts committed to ensuring that digital medicine realizes its full potential to improve human health. Join us !

About Rocky Vista University (RVU):

RVU is a health-sciences university based in Parker, Colorado and Ivins, Utah. RVU was founded in 2006 and opened its doors in August of 2008, enrolling students in its four-year program of study leading to the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree in the University's College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVUCOM). The Ivins Campus matriculated its first class in 2017. RVU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), a commission of the North Central Association. RVUCOM is accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). RVU has also added a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MSBS) degree program and a Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) to its Colorado location. Rocky Vista University provides quality healthcare education while inspiring students to serve with compassion, integrity and excellence. For more information, visit www.rvu.edu .

About American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP):

Founded in 1950, the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) is a community of more than 18,000 current and future family physicians that champions osteopathic principles and supports its members by providing resources such as education, networking and advocacy, while putting patients first. ACOFP empowers its members with education and resources that allow them to adapt to new models of care and quickly changing government policy. For more information, visit www.acofp.org.

Media Contact: Jamie Gray, [email protected]

SOURCE Digital Medicine Society (DiMe)
OXNARD, Calif., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to continue their mission of helping US businesses and their employees regain lost revenue and address the new hiring and retention issues, WorXsiteHR and its IRS certified 501(c)(3) non-profit partner, Xtension Health, have teamed up with several insurance carriers (AFLAC, The Hartford, Reliance Standard, Principal, and more) to bring employees a totally no-cost medical plan called HealthWorX.

'The Plan,' as it has become known, is architected, and annually reviewed by the renowned ERISA firm, Groom Law Group. Structured as a certified Section 125 Cafeteria plan, HealthWorX not only costs employers zero out of pocket, but saves them an average of $25 per month in FICA taxes for every participating employee, thus increasing employer profitability.

As for the employees, The HealthWorX plan, which starts on their first day of employment, includes unlimited preventative care, unlimited doctor visits, hospitalization, accident coverage, critical illness, wellness, unlimited telehealth for the entire family through TeledocX, employee advocacy, and life insurance. What is more, there is even a ReadyCheX advance pay service for employees who need their money before payday. All of this is at no-cost to employees and employers. Miraculously, despite the pandemic and the policies that have been implemented because of it, over the last 3 years, Xtension Health has donated over $100,000,000 to those who need it most: low income and front-line employees! HealthWorX is continuing down this road by giving employers the opportunity to offer their employees no cost healthcare while still realizing the tax savings of a section 125 and ERISA compliant plan. HealthWorX is currently available nationwide to employers with as few as 100 employees.

About HealthWorX

HealthWorX is a no-cost medical plan managed by a non-profit, to allow lower income, part-time, and seasonal workers access to useable and affordable healthcare. The plan is ERISA and Section 125 compliant, is no-cost to both employee and employer, while also generating a substantial employer FICA tax savings.

For more information about HealthWorX, please visit www.healthworxmedical.com or contact John Zabasky at [email protected] or 818-406-9152.

SOURCE WorXsiteHR
SAN FRANCISCO, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA), a leading medical genetics company, today announced that it will report its first quarter 2022 financial results on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, and will host a conference call and webcast that day at 4:30 p.m. Eastern / 1:30 p.m. Pacific to discuss its financial results and recent highlights.

To access the conference call, please register at the link below:

https://www.incommglobalevents.com/registration/q4inc/10749/invitae/#39s-first-quarter-2022-financial-results-conference-call/

Upon registering, each participant will be provided with call details and access codes.

The live webcast of the call and slide deck may be accessed here or by visiting the investors section of the company's website at ir.invitae.com. A replay of the webcast will be available shortly after the conclusion of the call and will be archived on the company's website.

About Invitae

Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA) is a leading medical genetics company whose mission is to bring comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medicine to improve healthcare for billions of people. Invitae's goal is to aggregate the world's genetic tests into a single service with higher quality, faster turnaround time, and lower prices. For more information, visit the company's website at invitae.com.

Contact:

Jack Finks

[email protected]

SOURCE Invitae Corporation
Jengo Facilities LLC achieved 102% annual revenue growth, 100% client retention, hired a new vice president and diversified client base with adding global and national corporations.

DALLAS, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jengo Facilities LLC, a facilities management company had their annual meeting to coincide with their third year of being in business which was on March 1, 2022. The meeting was convened to review their progress on accomplishing their five-year strategic plan which was developed in March of 2021. Their strategic plan outlined a strategy to diversify their clients, retain their existing clients, expand talent at all levels of the organization and grow their revenue.

Jengo Facilities LLC CEO, Alana Sutton Watkins shared at the meeting, "I am truly excited that we have accomplished our strategic goals. I want to thank all of our team members for making this possible". She then went on to share the following accomplishments:

Diversified their client base to now support:

A global technology and fitness company with facilities services to deliver a world class workplace experience.



A national facilities management company with facilities services for logistics and distribution centers.



A global energy company with staffing services to source their technical talent.

Enhanced their relationship with K-12 schools by becoming a national consulting provider for the Allied Schools Cooperative.

Improved their leadership team by bringing on a new vice president with Brian McPherson , CFM, FMP and SFP who is a globally certified facility management professional with over 15 years of experience.

, CFM, FMP and SFP who is a globally certified facility management professional with over 15 years of experience. Increased their year over year annual revenue by 102% through organic sales and new customers.

Achieved 100% client retention through improved customer service by retaining their account leadership team and adding new employees to perform work previously completed by contractors.

About Jengo Facilities LLC

A facilities management, maintenance, construction and consulting company. The company initially provided facility consulting and construction services. They have grown to now provide the following facilities services: cleaning, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, general maintenance, landscaping and other services. A certified African American and woman owned company that is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. For more information about Jengo Facilities LLC services and organizations visit www.jengofm.com or @jengofacilities on Instagram or Twitter.

Media Contact:

Nzingha Millar

Communications Director

844-500-9698

[email protected]

SOURCE Jengo Facilities LLC
New Program Provides Expanded Career Opportunities for ATP Students and Flight Instructors

OMAHA, Neb., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jet Linx , the only locally-focused, global private aviation company providing Aircraft Management, Joint Ownership and Jet Card Membership services through its 21 private terminal locations nationwide, today announced it has partnered with ATP Flight School (ATP), the nation's largest flight school, to create a new hiring pathway program that provides qualified ATP candidates with a direct path to join Jet Linx as a First Officer upon reaching qualifications as outlined within the program. The new partnership will enhance the pilot pipeline for Jet Linx and increase potential career opportunities for ATP students, graduates and instructors seeking to establish their career as a pilot in the private aviation industry.

"It is an honor to join forces with such a highly respected institution as ATP to create new career paths for their trained and qualified candidates," said Jamie Walker, President and CEO of Jet Linx Aviation. "We are proud to partner with a likeminded and forward-thinking company who shares similar values and is equally committed to developing collaborative solutions that benefit our industry and help us prepare for the future."

Through the new partnership with ATP, over 2,000 qualified students and flight instructors from ATP, the nation's leading supplier of professionally trained airline pilot applicants, will have access to career opportunities with Jet Linx. The program is designed to offer eligible candidates a streamlined pathway from school to the flight deck with a leader in the private aviation industry.

"We are thrilled to partner with Jet Linx to provide ATP graduates a defined pathway to enter the corporate aviation sector flying for a reputable, expanding Part 135 operator," said Ashley Pillon, Director of Airline and Corporate Partnerships of ATP. "Jet Linx offers both a compelling career destination and a pathway to advance to a legacy airline."

Jet Linx's partnership with ATP represents yet another milestone in the Company's efforts to provide industry best career solutions that attract, develop and retain future pilots to the industry. In August 2019, Jet Linx partnered with Southwest Airlines Co. to create the Destination 225 program, an innovative pathway to facilitate entry into the aviation industry from initial training, to private aviation (Part 135), and then onto commercial aviation (Part 121).

For more information on the Jet Linx and ATP partnership, please visit www.atpflightschool.com/airlines/jet-linx-alliance.

About Jet Linx Aviation

Jet Linx Aviation is a locally-focused private jet company founded in Omaha, NE in 1999 as a more personalized approach to national private jet companies. Jet Linx offers three different ways to experience private aviation  a guaranteed Jet Card, Joint Ownership, and private jet management program  providing its clients with an all-encompassing, local solution to all of their private jet travel needs. Jet Linx was recently selected as the first operator to receive ARGUS' new Platinum Elite safety ranking, the aviation industry's first continuous monitoring evaluation system. The Company is also an IS-BAO Stage 3 and Wyvern Wingman safety rated operator, an accomplishment earned by less than one percent of all aircraft operators in the world. In 2019, Jet Linx became the only Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star trained and accredited private aviation company in the world. In addition to establishing the independent global rating system's preeminent and unparalleled service standards for the in-flight experience, Jet Linx also collaborated with Forbes Travel Guide to develop their own customized, proprietary Jet Linx standards of service excellence. Jet Linx is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska and has Base locations in Atlanta, Austin, Boca Raton, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Ft. Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York, Omaha, San Antonio, Scottsdale, St. Louis, Tulsa and Washington D.C. For additional information, please visit the Jet Linx website ( www.jetlinx.com ).

About ATP Flight School

ATP is the nation's largest flight school, providing students with the most efficient path to successful airline pilot careers. For over 35 years, ATP has been the leader in professional flight training and supplying pilots to airlines. Visit ATPFlightSchool.com for more information.

SOURCE Jet Linx
Two bills aimed to alter Florida's version of the TCPA have been indefinitely tabled. This means

consumers still can get up to $500 for every marketing message sent to them without proper

prior consent.

MIAMI, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida's version of the TCPA, the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act ("FTSA"), will remain unamended for at least another year. Both House Bill 1095 and Senate Bill 1564, proposed amendments that would limit the effective protections of the FTSA, were "indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration". As a result, the FTSA remains a broader check on businesses marketing practices than its federal counterpart.

With the bills tabled, consumers have a stronger basis to bring legal claims for these unwanted messages. JMG Law Group, PLLC and Marcus & Zelman, LLC are teaming up to help you. Reach us at [email protected]

The FTSA gives consumers a private right of action in recourse against companies who are sending marketing messages without proper consent. Under the unamended version of the FTSA, any marketing phone call or text message offering goods or services that was made without first obtaining the prior express written consent of the receiving party is a violation giving rise to a legal claim. As the FTSA only came into effect last July, many companies have yet to appropriately update their messaging disclosures to meet the FTSA's standard for prior express written consent. To be valid, the consent must:

include the signature of the called party;

clearly authorize the method of transmitting marketing messages;

include the number being authorized for marketing; and

must have a clear and conspicuous disclosure that: 1) the party is authorizing the receipt of marketing messages and 2) agreeing to this marketing is not a condition of purchasing any goods or services.

Without these conditions met, a consent is not valid. Any violating message affords the receiving party a private right of action to recover "actual damages or $500, whichever is greater". And with the bills tabled indefinitely, consumers can feel more secure in their rights against unwanted marketing.

If you've received marketing messages such as phone calls or texts consumers, JMG Law Group & Marcus & Zelman, LLC can help you get the compensation you may be entitled to. Contact us with your spam texts at [email protected] for a free consultation.

SOURCE Marcus and Zelman LLC; JMG Law Group PLLC
"I am very excited to announce that Joe Servi has joined Pinnacle Bank's professional team of bankers, as Senior Vice President, Senior Relationship Manager. He is a well-known and respected banker in the Monterey County area and we look forward to working with him and continuing to expand our footprint in Salinas, Monterey and the surrounding areas," stated Tony Marandos, Regional President.

Mr. Servi joined Union Bank in 2008 as Vice President Business Client Advisor. He was responsible for maintaining a $180MM+ loan portfolio. In 2016, he joined Pacific Valley Bank in Monterey as Senior Vice President, Senior Relationship Manager where he exceeded loan goals each year and was a top producer in 2021. Joe is currently a board member of the Monterey Peninsula College Foundation, board member and treasurer of the Housing Resource Center of Monterey County, board member of the Monterey Commercial Property Owners Association and a loan committee member for Cal Coastal Small Business Development Center.

"I am excited to join Pinnacle Bank. They have become a well-known community bank in Monterey County and their banking philosophies and community minded approach work really well, with how I want to service my clients," stated Mr. Servi.

About Pinnacle Bank

Pinnacle Bank is a full-service community business bank dedicated to providing quality depository and credit services in Santa Clara, San Benito, and Monterey counties. The bank focuses on commercial banking services for small to medium-sized businesses, offering a variety of products and services that combine the best of personal touch with convenient technology-based client service. Pinnacle Bank has locations in Campbell, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and Salinas. For more information, visit www.pinnacle.bank.

Media Contact:

Pinnacle Bank

Jeffrey D. Payne, President & CEO

408-762-7146

SOURCE Pinnacle Bank
Located at 401 West 4th Street, the 48-story office tower will offer sweeping views of Lady Bird Lake and a direct connection to Republic Square Park - the building's historic namesake. With floor plates averaging 29K sq. ft., this transcendent tower is prime for new corporate headquarters or companies looking to expand into the Austin market.

The building's location across from Republic Square Park was the main driver behind the architectural design of the project. The City's downtown grid was established when Austin's first city land lots were sold under the historic oaks of the park in 1839. Designed by Duda Paine Architects, The Republic honors this legacy through its direct connection to Republic Square by pulling the footprint away from the street and adding a green public plaza to the main entrance that will act as an extension of the park. In addition to being the only building that opens to a full block of park space in the Central Business District, every office floor of The Republic will feature a private terrace, further connecting tenants to Austin's distinctive outdoor lifestyle.

"The building represents Austin's spirit and dynamic lifestyle - and we believe The Republic will be a modern hub for top talent," said Seth Johnston, Senior Vice President of Lincoln Property Company in Austin. "We have been intentional about every design feature throughout our process. From the moment you arrive at The Republic, you will be immersed in the beauty of our city, whether from a private terrace, shared amenity space or the ground-level plaza."

Ground-level elements include a 20K sq. ft. public plaza, restaurant space and additional retail. Drawing in the outdoors throughout the building, the 19th-floor amenity level boasts more than 50K sq. ft. of indoor-outdoor space, including conference rooms, fitness center and spin room, club room with a lounge and bar, and a 25K sq. ft. outdoor terrace covered by architectural shade canopies. The designers emphasized the health and wellness of the office tenants and guests by incorporating touchless access technology, enhanced air-filtration systems, and the pursuit of WELLv2 Core Certification, WELL Health-Safety Rating, LEED Gold Certification, and Austin Energy Green Building Program. Additionally, those who commute by bike will have access to a private elevator, which will take them directly to secure storage for nearly 350 bicycles, as well as a spa-quality locker room and showers.

The Republic marks the second development project partnership between LPC and DivcoWest in Austin, and DivcoWest's eleventh overall investment in the market.

"DivcoWest continues to make Austin a key part of its long-term investment strategy given the city's tremendous job and population growth, ability to attract a talented workforce, and long-term focus on sustainability and green space. The Republic was particularly compelling due to its unique connection to Republic Square Park and plethora of outdoor amenity space," said DivcoWest Senior Managing Director Michael Provost.

Additional project partners for The Republic include:

Duda Paine Architects: Design Architect

Harvey-Cleary: General Contractor

HKS: Architect of Record and sustainability consultant

TBG Partners: Landscape Architect

WGI: Civil Engineer

Blum Engineering: Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineer

BDD: Structural engineer

For more information on The Republic, visit www.RepublicAustin.com.

ABOUT LINCOLN PROPERTY COMPANY

Lincoln Property Company (LPC), founded in 1965 by its chairman Mack Pogue, is a privately-owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development, property management and leasing worldwide. Lincoln's international reputation for successful management of their own properties quickly attracted a large client base of owners and investors who recognized the value that LPC could provide in development, property management, brokerage, investing, advisory, construction management, engineering and all real estate consulting services. LPC has developed over 148 million SF of commercial space with an additional 8 million SF currently under development. Today, Lincoln Property Company is one of the most respected and diversified service firms in the United States, serving a growing client base that reaches coast-to-coast, as well as into Mexico and Europe. For more information, please visit www.lpc.com.

ABOUT PHOENIX PROPERTY COMPANY

Phoenix Property Company (PPC), formed in 1994, is a nationally recognized, diversified real estate company with developments and investments in major cities across the United States. Blake Pogue and Jason Runnels are the original principals. Noted for its extensive track record in developing award-winning multifamily and mixed-use communities on in-fill and urban sites, Phoenix has gained a reputation for recognizing emerging neighborhoods and creating iconic properties that encourage additional growth and revitalization. Phoenix also works with universities in evaluating their current and future real estate needs, and develops and owns college student housing communities in multiple cities. Since its inception, PPC and the affiliated GrandMarc have developed residential and mixed-use communities with a construction cost of over $1 billion. For more information please visit www.phoenixpropertyco.com.

ABOUT DIVCOWEST

Founded in 1993 by Stuart Shiff, DivcoWest is a vertically integrated, real estate investment firm headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Cambridge, Los Angeles, Menlo Park, Washington DC, and New York City. Known for long-standing relationships and experience across the risk-spectrum in innovation markets, DivcoWest combines entrepreneurial spirit with an institutional approach to commercial real estate. DivcoWest aims to create environments that inspire ingenuity, promote growth, and enhance health and well-being. Since inception, DivcoWest and its predecessor have acquired approximately 58 million square feet of commercial space - primarily throughout the United States. DivcoWest's real estate portfolio currently includes existing and development properties in the office, R&D, lab, industrial, retail, and multifamily spaces. www.divcowest.com

SOURCE Lincoln Property Company
"When Nacho and I set out to create Made by Nacho, we wanted to provide cats with food that was not only healthful and nutritious, but also delicious - something we truly felt was missing in the market," said Co-Founder Bobby Flay. "Our rapid growth in our first year proves to me that other cat parents have been feeling the same way, and we're grateful to all who have welcomed Made by Nacho into their homes. For us, the work has just begun; we can't wait to show you the exciting things we have in store as we head into year two."

Although only 12 months old, Made by Nacho has already emerged as an innovative leader in the premium cat space, surpassing over 400,000 transactions to date and filling a sizable void in the pet industry.

"Though cats now outnumber dogs as household pets in the U.S., there's huge stagnation in the marketplace when it comes to cats," said Tessa Gould, CEO of Made by Nacho. "Half of all cat parents don't think enough attention is paid to cats, and nearly three-quarters wish there were healthier options available for felines. Yet, despite the clear consumer desire for innovation and the fact that cat food is a large, $40b+ and growing market globally, nearly all venture capital funding in the pet industry goes to dog-centric companies. Made by Nacho is changing that. When we launched a year ago, we knew we had something special with our culinary-first approach - thanks to Chef Bobby Flay - but we're blown away by the consumer response to our brand and recipes in our first year in business."

FUNDING AND THE TEAM

In February 2022, Made by Nacho closed a $14M Series A funding round, led by CAVU Venture Partners with participation by New Fare Partners and Mars' Companion Fund, bringing total funds raised to date to $24M. Mars also participated in Made by Nacho's seed round in 2021, which was led by Sonoma Brands.

Headquartered in New York City, Made by Nacho has 18 full-time employees that bring years of experience in consumer brands, pet retail and wholesale, digital and growth - including from Whole Foods, Petco, SoulCycle, Buzzfeed, Glossier and other leading companies. Additionally, the Made by Nacho Advisory Board includes entrepreneurs and executives from top brands, including Michael Dubin, former CEO of Dollar Shave Club, as well as other prominent industry leaders.

NEW DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIPS

Beginning this month, Made by Nacho will expand its distribution through new partnerships with two major retailers; the brand will now be stocked and distributed through Chewy, as well as will launch on Petco.com. Made by Nacho launched with a six-month nationwide exclusive in more than 1,300 PetSmart stores, as well as on their own direct to consumer site. The brand is also sold on Amazon.com.

LIMITED-EDITION MERCHANDISE

To celebrate its one-year anniversary, Made by Nacho recently debuted its first merchandise collection - limited-run hats and mugs that pay homage to Nacho's instincts as a founder and business mogul - which sold out in the first week. One hundred percent of all profits from the "Very Serious Business Cat" collection were donated to the Made by Nacho Charitable Fund at New York Community Trust, which supports feline rescue and research organizations.

Giving back is a core aspect of the brand, which is committed to helping every cat live a happy, healthy life. In addition to providing assistance to those making a difference on the groundincluding shelters, adoption initiatives, cat health researchers and more through the Made by Nacho Charitable Fund at the New York Community TrustMade by Nacho has donated over 200,000 meals to cats in need to date. Most recently, Made by Nacho teamed up with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, a non-profit rushing emergency aid to shelters in Ukraine.

PRODUCT EXPANSION

Also launching this month, Made by Nacho will roll out 18 new SKUs, including the brand's first-ever Pate - its most-requested texture - and recipes designed specifically for kittens. While Made by Nacho is chef-inspired, the brand works with Nacho's lifelong veterinarian, Dr. Katja Lang, to help craft the menu, which now includes 48 items that deliver the balanced nutrition cats need.

New products include:

Pate ( $2.99 /6.4 oz): Grain-Free Pollack & Salmon; Grain-cat Free Chicken; Grain-Free Skin & Coat Support Herring & Cod

/6.4 oz): Grain-Free Pollack & Salmon; Grain-cat Free Chicken; Grain-Free Skin & Coat Support Herring & Cod Functional Pureed Toppers ( $1.19 /1.4 oz): Cage-Free Chicken with Bone Broth available in Immune Support; Digestive Support; and Bone & Joint Support

/1.4 oz): Cage-Free Chicken with Bone Broth available in Immune Support; Digestive Support; and Bone & Joint Support Culinary Kibble ( $13.99 /2 lb; $24.99 /4 lb; $44.99 /10 lb): Paella-Inspired Sustainably caught Whitefish, Chicken, and Bone Broth Recipe with Freeze-Dried Pork Livers; Provencal-style Grain-Free Cage-Free Chicken, Turkey , and Bone Broth Recipe with Freeze-Dried Pork Livers

/2 lb; /4 lb; /10 lb): Paella-Inspired Sustainably caught Whitefish, Chicken, and Bone Broth Recipe with Freeze-Dried Pork Livers; Provencal-style Grain-Free Cage-Free Chicken, , and Bone Broth Recipe with Freeze-Dried Pork Livers Kitten Kibble ( $13.99 /2 lb; $24.99 /4 lb): Chicken, Chicken Liver & Bone Broth Formula

/2 lb; /4 lb): Chicken, Chicken Liver & Bone Broth Formula Additional Minced Recipes ( $2.99 /6.4 oz): Grain-Free Pollack & Salmon, Grain-Free Chicken

/6.4 oz): Grain-Free Pollack & Salmon, Grain-Free Chicken Value Sized Treats ( $9.99 /1.6-1.9 oz): Freeze-Dried Salmon, Freeze-Dried Ahi Tuna

/1.6-1.9 oz): Freeze-Dried Salmon, Freeze-Dried Ahi Tuna Made by Nacho's complete line is available on madebynacho.com

ABOUT MADE BY NACHO

Founded by Nacho Flay and his dad, Chef Bobby FlayMade by Nacho is made for cats, by a cat. After years of watching his dad use only the best ingredients for his recipes, Nacho realized his cat food didn't measure up. That was his a-ha moment: Cats deserve more out of their food than they were gettingand Nacho was the cat to change all that. So Nacho and Bobby got to cooking and got some help from the best in the bizlike his lifelong vet, Dr. Katja Lang, who knows her stuff. Thousands of taste tests later, Made by Nacho was born. We use a culinary approach for our cat-crafted cat food, starting with no-compromise, premium proteins like cage-free chicken, grass-fed, grain-finished beef, and sustainably caught salmon. Nacho's constantly cooking up new recipes to help combat palate fatigue (aka the finickiness humans always talk about.) Every recipe that leaves his kitchen pairs the flavors and textures cats crave with the chef-inspired quality they deserve.

SOURCES: APPA, IMARC, Made by Nacho Consumer Research



SOURCE Made by Nacho
NEW YORK, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MainStay CBRE Global Infrastructure Megatrends Fund (NYSE: MEGI) (the "Fund") has announced a conference call with the portfolio management team, to be held on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 at 4:00 PM ET. During the call, the team will provide an update on the portfolio and outlook for the year ahead.

Questions for the portfolio management team may be submitted in advance to the following email address: [email protected]. The deadline for email submission of questions is Monday, April 25, 2022 at 8:00 PM ET. Details for the call, including the dial-in information, will also be posted to the New York Life Investments website, www.newyorklifeinvestments.com, in advance of the call.

Call Details:

Participant Dial-In (Toll Free): 786-460-7137

Passcode: 958993

Disclosures:

The Fund intends to distribute monthly, all or a portion of its net investment income, including current gains, to common shareholders. There is no assurance the Fund will make any regular monthly distributions or that it will do so at a particular rate.

You should not draw any conclusions about the Funds investment performance from the amount of its distribution to shareholders.

The Fund is a closed-end fund, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and invests primarily in income-producing equity securities issued by infrastructure companies. Holdings are subject to change. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The Fund's daily New York Stock Exchange closing prices, net asset values per share, as well as other information are available by calling the Fund's shareholder servicing agent (855) 456-9683.

Before considering an investment in the Fund, you should understand that you could lose money. There are risks inherent in all investments. The Fund's risks include: New Fund Risk, No Operating History Risk, Limited Term Risk, Infrastructure Industry Risk, Leverage Risk, Equity Securities Risk: Foreign Securities Risk, Convertible Securities Risk: Debt Securities Risk, Maturity Risk, Investment and Market Discount Risk: Dividend Paying Securities Risk, Discount from Net Asset Value Risk and Emerging Markets Risk.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. The Fund's prospectus, which contains this and other information about the Fund, should be read carefully before investing. A copy of the final prospectus relating to this Fund may be obtained by contacting your financial advisor, or by calling 800-624-6782.

About New York Life Investments

With over $650 billion in Assets Under Management* as of December 31, 2021, New York Life Investments is comprised of the affiliated global asset management businesses of its parent company, New York Life Insurance Company (New York Life), and offers clients access to specialized, independent investment teams through its family of affiliated boutiques. New York Life Investments remains committed to clients through a combination of the diverse perspectives of its boutiques and a long-lasting focus on sustainable relationships.

*AUM includes assets of Investment Advisors affiliated with New York Life Insurance Company as of December 31, 2021. For certain non-U.S. investment advisors AUM is reported at the spot rate.

"New York Life Investments" is both a service mark, and the common trade name, of certain investment advisors affiliated with New York Life Insurance Company.

About CBRE Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC

CBRE Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC is the listed real assets arm of CBRE Investment Management, a leading global real assets investment management firm, with $141.9 billion in assets under management* as of December 31, 2021, operating in more than 30 offices and 20 countries around the world. Through its investor-operator culture, the firm seeks to deliver sustainable investment solutions across real assets categories, geographies, risk profiles and execution formats so that its clients, people and communities thrive.

CBRE Investment Management is an independently operated affiliate of CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE: CBRE), the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2021 revenue). CBRE has more than 105,000 employees serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE Investment Management harnesses CBRE's data and market insights, investment sourcing and other resources for the benefit of its clients. For more information about CBRE Investment Management, please visit www.cbreim.com

*Assets under management (AUM) refers to the fair market value of real assets-related investments with respect to which CBRE Investment Management provides, on a global basis, oversight, investment management services and other advice and which generally consist of investments in real assets; equity in funds and joint ventures; securities portfolios; operating companies and real assets-related loans. This AUM is intended principally to reflect the extent of CBRE Investment Management's presence in the global real assets market, and its calculation of AUM may differ from the calculations of other asset managers and from its calculation of regulatory assets under management for purposes of certain regulatory filings.

A registration statement relating to the Fund's common shares has been filed with, and declared effective by, the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release is not an offer to sell securities and is not a solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor will there be any sales of securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

New York Life Investment Management LLC engages the services of SEC-registered advisors. CBRE Investment Management Listed Real Assets (CBRE Investment Management) is unaffiliated with New York Life Investments. The MainStay Funds are managed by New York Life Investment Management LLC and distributed by NYLIFE Distributors LLC, 30 Hudson Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302, a wholly owned subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company. NYLIFE Distributors LLC is a Member FINRA/SIPC.

Media Contacts:

New York Life Investments:

Allison Scott

[email protected]

Sara Guenoun

[email protected]

SOURCE MainStay
LOS ANGELES, April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Environmental and land use law firm The Sohagi Law Group announced today that its Managing Partner Margaret Sohagi has been selected as an honoree in a Los Angeles Business Journal special supplement recognizing the city's most influential women attorneys. The "Women of Influence: Attorneys" list recognizes women lawyers "for exceptional legal skill and achievement across the full spectrum of responsibility, exemplary leadership as evidenced by the highest professional and ethical standards, and for contributions to the Los Angeles community at large," writes the publisher.

"Women make a unique impact every day throughout Southern California, the country and the world," said Sohagi. "I am truly grateful to be recognized alongside a group of such highly respected professional women."

Sohagi's practice for the last 30 years has focused on assisting cities, counties, and other public agencies navigate the legal complexities of land use, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Sohagi "provides constructive, practical legal advice, working directly with lead agency counsel, staff, appointed elected officials," says the publication. "When necessary, she zealously defends lead agencies' land use approvals and environmental determinations in judicial proceedings, and frequently heads mediation teams in settlement discussions."

As a longstanding CEQA instructor for California's Continuing Judicial Studies Program, Sohagi has the unique opportunity to instruct Superior Court judges, appellate justices and court attorneys. "Her land use and environmental law expertise, and ability to keep public agencies informed about the latest legal developments and trends, is also demonstrated through her frequent planning and legal conference presentations, extensive UCLA and USC teaching experience," the feature says.

Sohagi currently serves as the Chair of the Santa Monica College Foundation Board. In 2021, Sohagi was recognized as a nominee for the Los Angeles Times' "Inspirational Women Award" and by the Los Angeles Business Journal for the "Community Impact Advocate Award."

About The Sohagi Law Group

The Sohagi Law Group handles complex transactional and litigation matters for public agencies, including cities, counties, townships, state agencies, special districts, commissions and authorities. Its attorneys draw upon their extensive expertise in all areas of environmental and land use law to advise clients navigate existing laws and regulations and keep them up to date on emerging environmental issues such as climate change and greenhouse gas regulation.

SOURCE The Sohagi Law Group
Proprietary Technology Empowers Restaurants to Streamline Operations, Expand Offerings, Optimize Online Presence and Reduce Food Delivery Costs

Company Boasts 145 Percent Month-Over-Month Growth from October 2021 to March 2022 and Negative Churn Rate Among Restaurant Partners

NEW YORK, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mealco ("the Company"), an AI-driven technology partner for restaurants, announced today the official launch of its platform across the United States, following six months of beta testing. Mealco's technology enables restaurants to streamline operations, increase brand offerings and optimize their online presence to maximize customer reach. Over 250 restaurants in 80 U.S. cities currently use Mealco to increase their revenue opportunities in today's digital age.

With Mealco, restaurants convert their back-of-house resources into a digital-friendly operation that can handle the high demand of online delivery, while keeping existing staff in place. This ultimately enables restaurants to create new revenue streams and maximize their bottom line.

Mealco's benefits to restaurants include:

Streamlined operations and managed inventory using technology built by restaurateurs for restaurants

using technology built by restaurateurs for restaurants Simplified interactions with third-party delivery apps to meet customers' expectations for a better, higher-quality food delivery experience

with third-party delivery apps to meet customers' expectations for a better, higher-quality food delivery experience End-to-end online presence management to maximize revenue opportunities from online channels

to maximize revenue opportunities from online channels Menu expansion and exclusive access to chef-crafted brands, matched to each restaurant's unique capabilities and customer base

By 2025, pick-up and delivery is expected to account for 40 percent of restaurant revenue in the U.S . Furthermore, online ordering has experienced 20 percent year-over-year growth for the last five years, due in large part to the proliferation of consumer apps and platforms offering convenience and a multitude of food options to customers.

Even so, restaurants remain plagued by operational inefficiencies, underutilized staff and resources and costly delivery fees that result in restaurants losing money on each delivery order. To truly streamline operations and improve the $800 billion food industry, restaurants need to leverage the proper technology to effectively manage, optimize and monetize their digital operations. This includes allowing restaurants to expand their offerings for a more diverse, delivery-focused brand portfolio.

"Mealco is a true partner to Koo with its proprietary marketplace platform that is clearly differentiated from other restaurant technology providers," said Vince Lam, Owner, Connecticut-based Koo Restaurant. "With minimal impact on our labor and resources, Mealco has provided us with a unique and simple solution to improve our operations in a market plagued with staffing challenges."

"Having grown up working in restaurants, I have always been impressed by restaurateurs' immense creativity, innovation and tenacity. At the same time, I have witnessed how difficult it is to run a restaurant, especially given the inefficiencies inherent in restaurant operations that manifest in stunted growth and, in the worst cases, result in failure," added Daniel Simon, Founder and CEO, Mealco. "These experiences drove me to capitalize on my expertise in technology to develop a platform that arms restaurants with the information and tools necessary to succeed. Our mission at Mealco is to be a restaurant's long-term technology partner, helping to improve operations and increase revenue."

Mealco has hundreds of restaurants waiting to be added to the platform. You can be the next one! Apply to join the waitlist at mealco.co.

About Mealco

Mealco's technology empowers restaurants in the $800 billion food industry to turn their back-of-house resources into digital-friendly operations. With a mission to leverage technology to empower restaurants to thrive in a digital age, Mealco streamlines operations through aggregating online delivery channels into a single, easy-to-use tablet; expanding meal and brand offerings to match customer tastes; optimizing restaurants' online presence; and reducing food delivery costs, all of which enable restaurants to grow their customer base and increase revenue and profitability. For more information, visit www.mealco.co.

Media Contacts

Raquel Cona / Shana Marino

KCSA Strategic Communications

[email protected] / [email protected]

212.896.1204 / 347.487.6189

SOURCE Mealco
BARRIE, ON, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - MediPharm Labs Corp. (TSX: LABS) (OTCQX: MEDIF) (FSE: MLZ) ("MediPharm Labs", "MediPharm" or the "Company") a pharmaceutical company specializing in precision-based cannabinoids, today announced that it has appointed experienced Pharma and Med Tech executive David Pidduck as Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Company. Mr. Pidduck replaces outgoing CEO and Director Bryan Howcroft, who is stepping down for personal reasons, effective today.

Mr. Pidduck brings more than 20 years of proven senior leadership experience to MediPharm, including serving as President and CEO of a Canadian pharmaceutical company, where he was also a member of the board of directors. Over the course of his career, Mr. Pidduck has been involved in the successful ground-up commercialisation of several products in both Canadian and international markets and brings a track record of both organic execution as well as M&A and integration expertise to the Company. Mr. Pidduck has an MBA from Kellogg (Northwestern University) and an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Chris Taves, Chairman of the Board commented, "We are very pleased to welcome David Pidduck to MediPharm. The Company continues to make progress building its sales pipeline both in Canada and internationally, driving toward consistent revenue growth and profitability. With a strong background in business development, strategy, and M&A within the Pharma and Med Tech sectors, David is the right individual to lead the Company through this formative period. On behalf of the Board, I would like to sincerely thank Bryan for his contributions and wish him all the best."

David Pidduck, incoming CEO added, "I have watched the development of the medical cannabinoid industry over the past several years with great interest from my vantage point within the Pharma sector. Though the industry is still developing, cannabinoid research interest continues to grow, and I believe we may be approaching an inflection point where cannabinoids will become a larger focus for traditional Pharma. Medical cannabinoid companies are not created equal. In MediPharm, I see one of the very few organizations globally that has the required sophistication to both operate within a stringent Pharma environment, and scale rapidly to capitalize on this growth opportunity. I look forward to contributing my experience in business and corporate development to the team's current efforts, with a focus on orienting the Company toward both consistent organic growth and accretive M&A activities to drive revenue growth, profitability and value for all stakeholders."

Bryan Howcroft, outgoing CEO added, "I would like to thank the MediPharm team, our customers and shareholders for their openness and willingness to share feedback since I assumed the CEO role in late 2021. As the Company continues to execute in Canada and international markets, David's experience building efficient, sales and growth-oriented teams in the precise end-markets that MediPharm is targeting, will be critical to the Company's success. It has been a pleasure to serve as the Company's CEO and I look forward to watching MediPharm's progress over the coming years."

In connection with his appointment as CEO, Mr. Pidduck was awarded an aggregate of 14,758,621 RSUs and granted an aggregate of 5,184,280 stock options with an exercise price of $0.145 and a five-year term. The RSUs and options vest in equal instalments over the next twenty-four months. The grants are subject to any necessary regulatory approvals and a portion of the grants may be subject to shareholder approval at the Company's annual meeting of shareholders to be held on June 30, 2022.

About MediPharm Labs

Founded in 2015, MediPharm Labs specializes in the development and manufacture of purified, pharmaceutical-quality cannabis concentrates, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and advanced derivative products utilizing a Good Manufacturing Practices certified facility with ISO standard-built clean rooms. MediPharm Labs has invested in an expert, research driven team, state-of-the-art technology, downstream purification methodologies and purpose-built facilities with five primary extraction lines for delivery of pure, trusted and precision-dosed cannabis products for its customers. Through its wholesale and white label platforms, MediPharm Labs formulates, develops (including through sensory testing), processes, packages and distributes cannabis extracts and advanced cannabinoid-based products to domestic and international markets.

In 2021, MediPharm Labs received a Pharmaceutical Drug Establishment License from Health Canada, becoming the only company in North America to hold a domestic Good Manufacturing License for the extraction of natural cannabinoids.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information:

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, statements regarding: building a sales pipeline both in Canada and internationally; driving toward consistent revenue growth and profitability; scaling rapidly to capitalize on this growth opportunities; consistent organic growth and accretive M&A to drive revenue growth, profitability and value for all stakeholders; increased sales; and delivering profitable growth in the future. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the inability of MediPharm Labs to obtain adequate financing; the delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; and other factors discussed in MediPharm Labs' filings, available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, MediPharm Labs assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change.

SOURCE MediPharm Labs Corp.
NPI Continues to Expand Product Launch Operations with One-Stop Platform for Health and Wellness Brands

BOCA RATON, Fla., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Fifteen years ago, Mitch Gould developed his "Evolution of Distribution" platform that brings together all the professional services needed to launch new products in the U.S. market.

"I saw the challenges companies faced after they developed innovative products," said Gould, Founder and CEO of Nutritional Products International, a global brand management firm based in Boca Raton, FL. "We are not talking Fortune 500 companies with millions of dollars to throw at a product launch."

Nutritional Products International

Gould said most companies did not understand the complexities of a product launch or the cost of introducing new consumer goods to the American public.

"With the 'Evolution of Distribution,' I tried to simplify everything," Gould said. "At NPI, we provide product manufacturers with all the services they need, including sales, marketing, operations, and regulatory compliance.

"Often, these companies, especially if they are from overseas, don't have the sales savvy or the knowledge of the American retail industry," Gould said. "My team at NPI meets with retail buyers regularly. I also founded a marketing agency that specializes in health and wellness brands."

Gould said NPI understands both the brick-and-mortar retail landscape and the digital e-commerce world."During my career, I have sold consumer goods to all the top retailers, including Walmart, Amazon, GNC, Vitamin World, Target, Costco, Sam's Club, K-Mart, 7-11, CVS, and Rite Aid," Gould said, adding that he also has visited many of their national headquarters.

In the early 2000s, Gould brought his retail savvy to the digital world when Amazon decided to start a health and wellness category.

"I was part of a 'Powerhouse Trifecta' that placed more than 100 brands onto Amazon's new health and wellness category," he said. "I worked with Jeff Fernandez, who was a buyer on the team tasked with stocking Amazon with health products, and Kenneth E. Collins, then vice president of operations for Muscle Foods.

The partnership worked so well that Fernandez is now president of NPI and Collins is executive vice president.

Gould continues to tweak his 'Evolution of Distribution' platform to meet the needs of product manufacturers.

"We try to make product launches as smoothly as possible. We have the staff and knowledge to do that," he added.

For more information, visit www.nutricompany.com.

Contact:

Andrew Polin

5415012090

[email protected]

SOURCE Nutritional Products International
Acclaimed production company TBD Media Group has brought together businesses from around the world and across industries to showcase the actions being taken today that set the standard for better practices that protect people, planet and profit.

In a series of compelling documentaries, TBD Media Group tells the story to a global audience of how the Sustainable Development Goals are being addressed: from transforming the investment markets to using the latest technology to decarbonize the supply chain, these films give thought leaders a platform for laying out their strategy to protect and repair our natural resources.

Paolo Zanini, Founder and CEO at TBD Media Group says:

"We are seeing a huge shift in the attitudes of businesses around the world which are looking beyond short term profits to imagine a fairer future, cleaner planet and long term sustainability. The UN has laid down a huge challenge to the world's businesses and we are seeing the bravest and most passionate of leaders stepping up to that challenge. In a media environment that leads with bad news, I am proud to say that the TBD team of filmmakers is using their talent to bring hope to anyone who questions whether the problems of the world can be fixed. They can, and these films explain how."

Zanini believes that this kind of engagement is essential to driving positive change. He says:

"We don't have the luxury of pessimism. Only optimists can see a better tomorrow and TBD Media Group, as part of the news landscape, has a responsibility to highlight the progress that has been made by Vision 2045 businesses. Solutions to our most urgent problems are here, we just need to learn the lessons."

The Vision 2045 documentary series examines how the most ambitious businesses in the world are harnessing innovation to meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

Companies featured in this launch:

AMAG Group, Amprion, BDO Unibank, Beiersdorf, Chandos Construction, CIEL Textile, ITRenew, Kin + Carta, Parkland Corporation, SMS Group, Techem GmbH, Temasek International.

More information on the Vision 2045 Campaign may be found here: https://vision2045.com/

About TBD Media Group:

TBD Media Group is an international, purpose-driven, media developer that helps companies, organisations and governments tell their brand stories in a human and direct way. Learn more at https://www.tbdmediagroup.com/

Jenna-LeighAncill

Head of Marketing

TBD Media Group

[email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1800643/TBD_Media_Group_Climate_Change.jpg

SOURCE TBD Media Group
Leading HVAC Distributor Expands into Plumbing Category

NEW LENOX, Ill., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Munch's Supply (the "Company"), a leading Midwest-based heating, ventilation and air conditioning ("HVAC") distributor has acquired T.A. Gentry Supply, Inc., including its three branches servicing Lansing, Kalamazoo and Holland, Michigan. This will expand the Company's geographic footprint to 70 locations serving 17 states and one Canadian province.

"The T.A. Gentry Supply Inc. acquisition is part of our long-term strategy to expand into the plumbing segment in the Michigan market. The company will continue to operate under the T.A. Gentry Supply Inc. name and its three locations will nicely complement our HVAC offerings in our eight Munch and Tommark locations," said Bob Munch.

"We couldn't have made it 50 years without the tremendous support from our customers and team members. I am very happy to find a trusted company like Munch's to continue the T.A. Gentry Supply Inc. legacy," said T.A. Gentry Supply Inc. President Patrick Gentry.

"With the help of dedicated staff and a great culture, Patrick and his family have done a wonderful job growing the company. We are excited to build on the tremendous foundation that they have established," added Munch.

"We are fortunate to have found a like-minded partner in Munch's Supply. We look forward to working with the Munch's Supply and Tommark teams to serve an even broader base in the home services marketplace in Michigan," added Gentry.

The acquisition demonstrates Munch's ongoing dedication to the HVAC and plumbing marketplace and reinforces its commitment to partnering with family and customer-service focused businesses looking for either a long-term partnership or an exit strategy.

Munch's Supply has been operating in the Chicagoland area for more than 65 years and is consistently ranked as a top 10 HVAC distributor in the United States. Marcone, a leading distributor of home appliance, HVAC and plumbing repair parts and equipment across North America acquired Munch's Supply, LLC in 2021, and strives to become the hub for parts and services to the home.

About Munch's Supply

Munch's Supply was founded in 1956 by Willard Munch, who wanted to develop a local source of electrical supplies for area contractors. Today the company has more than 1,200 employees focused exclusively on supplying heating, cooling and plumbing industry contractors with quality products. For more than 65 years, Munch's Supply has operated with a commitment to service as a leading distributor for trusted brands such as American Standard, Trane, Mitsubishi, Rheem, IPEX, AO Smith, Kohler, Tempstar, Keeprite and Frigidaire. Through Munch's Holdings, LLC, it operates Munch's Supply, Tommark, O'Connor Company, Comfort Air Distributing, C&L Supply HVAC and Plumbing, API of NH and Delta T, Marks Supply, TML Supply and System Aire Supply Company (SASCO) and Control Aire Supply Company (CASCO) which continue to serve as the premier sources for HVAC and plumbing equipment and supplies to contractors throughout North America.

www.munchsupply.com.

About Marcone

Marcone is an authorized distributor for major brands such as Whirlpool, Electrolux, General Electric, Maytag, Bosch, Samsung, L-G and many more. Through its vast distribution network, Marcone supplies the largest inventory of original replacement parts in the country for household appliances such as refrigerators, ranges, dishwashers, microwaves, washers, and dryers. Marcone exports globally and also operates a comprehensive training institute offering quality business and technical training. Headquartered in St. Louis, Marcone operates 113 facilities, has approximately 2,000 employees, and serves approximately 43,000 technician customers. For more information, visit www.marcone.com.

Media Contacts:

Mary Jo Hann

Munch's Supply

[email protected]

847-833-5223

SOURCE Munchs Supply
"This fossil-free vision is an historic announcement for National Grid and the United States," said John Pettigrew, Chief Executive Officer, National Grid. "We have a critical responsibility to lead the clean energy transition for our customers and communities. Just as we are investing in renewables like wind and solar to decarbonize the energy running through our electric network, we are committing to decarbonize our gas network by transitioning it completely to renewable natural gas and hydrogen by 2050 or sooner."

National Grid acknowledges that Massachusetts and New York have ongoing public proceedings to help guide implementation of the critical plans needed to fight climate change. The company is actively participating in those proceedings and will continue to engage in the public feedback sessions for our states' climate action plans, highlighting the benefits of our fossil-free vision for all residents and businesses.

Fighting climate change requires significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions across the board. National Grid is tackling those reductions across the power sector, the transportation sector and  with this vision  the building heat sector, which is responsible for nearly 40 percent of emissions in Massachusetts and New York.



Combined with targeted electrification and enhanced energy efficiency, a 100% fossil-free gas network can deliver a clean energy future that is more affordable and more reliable to over 20 million people across New York and Massachusetts. National Grid's fossil-free vision will not only achieve a net zero energy future, and achieve the climate goals of the states in which we operate, but it will also provide additional, affordable clean energy choices so no customer or community is left behind on our clean energy transition:

Affordable Pathway to Net Zero: Avoids costly and premature equipment upgrades for homes and businesses

Avoids costly and premature equipment upgrades for homes and businesses Adds Clean Energy Choices : Customers can choose whether to fully electrify or continue using the gas network, which would be fueled by new, fossil-free energy

: Customers can choose whether to fully electrify or continue using the gas network, which would be fueled by new, fossil-free energy Protects Good Jobs : Protects thousands of union jobs for uniquely skilled workers

: Protects thousands of union jobs for uniquely skilled workers Improves Reliability and Resiliency : Provides added reliability and resiliency through diversification of clean energy sources

: Provides added reliability and resiliency through diversification of clean energy sources Cost-Efficient: Utilizes existing infrastructure, making it more cost-efficient for customers, and continues to utilize our highly skilled workforce

National Grid is committed to bringing this fossil-free vision to life in partnership with policymakers, regulators, and our customers. The report details the critical policies and regulations necessary to help safely, reliably, and affordably achieve this shared net zero vision on behalf of customers, including adoption of a renewable heating portfolio standard.

National Grid's fossil-free and net zero vision creates a clear roadmap for decarbonization and addresses the hardest-to-tackle issues of how to cleanly, affordably, and reliably heat our homes and business in a cold northeast climate. The announcement comes on the heels of National Grid's successful award of an offshore wind lease in the New York Bight in its joint venture with RWE, and an announcement of HyGrid, one of the first green hydrogen projects for blending hydrogen into homes in the US.

Renewable Natural Gas

Renewable natural gas (RNG) is an immediately available resource released into the atmosphere by decomposing materials at farms, landfills, wastewater, and other sources. RNG provides a double benefit as greenhouse gas can be captured before being released and therefore before it impacts our climate. We can then harness and purify it to flow through our existing infrastructure in place of natural gas, which is a fossil-fuel. This fossil-free energy is a double win in our fight against climate change.

Green Hydrogen

National Grid continues to lead our nation in offshore wind development, and these assets can be used to develop hydrogen through the process of electrolysis. Because the only byproduct of this production process is water vapor, the hydrogen produced is carbon-free. Hydrogen is particularly valuable because it can be stored for future use when conditions are such that our wind or solar assets are not producing high levels of power. This is a fossil-free way to decarbonize multiple sectors including heat, power generation, and transportation.

For more information on National Grid's Clean Energy Vision: nationalgrid.com/fossilfree

Support for National Grid's Clean Energy Vision:

"As Chairman of the Assembly Energy Committee, I am excited by today's announcement that National Grid will be eliminating fossil fuels from their electric and gas systems by 2050. In order to achieve our state climate and energy goals there must be a commitment not only from the legislature but from the energy industry to transition our energy grid away from polluting fossil fuels. In today's announcement, National Grid demonstrated that commitment and their plans to eliminate fossil fuels is a tremendous step in our continued efforts to transform our energy sector." - Hon. Michael Cusick, Chairman of the Assembly Energy Committee, New York State Assembly



"As a lifelong New Yorker representing almost 2,000 natural gas utility workers across Long Island as well as another 8,000 across the state, a reliable and affordable energy policy is priority one! We need a PLAN not a BAN. To achieve this, IBEW Local 1049 is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our business partners at National Grid in development of the clean energy vision for New York. We are excited to work on a plan that will achieve emission reductions to meet climate action goals of the CLCPA. This pathway will ensure that good paying jobs for generations to come will be protected while ensuring the production and reliable delivery of energy that will bring comfort and safety to the lives of our neighbors." - Pat Guidice, Business Manager, IBEW Local 1049

"Our members have been helping reduce methane emissions for years, and we're eager to take this next step toward a potential fossil-free future in the fight against climate change. We're uniquely qualified to help transform our existing gas system to safely and reliably deliver RNG and green hydrogen, as well as to install new heating technologies such as networked geothermal loops. We are partnering with National Grid to focus on workforce development and training, in order to ensure that thousands of skilled workers are not left behind during any developing clean energy transition." - Steve Finnigan, United Steelworkers District 4 Sub District Director

"A menu of solutions is needed to tackle the difficult challenge of decarbonizing heat. We support utilizing the existing infrastructure that fuels the Commonwealth's economy, and are eager to partner on actionable, practical solutions like this that will get us to net zero at the most affordable cost for our residents and businesses." - Bob Rio, Senior Vice President and Counsel, Government Affairs, Associated Industries of Massachusetts

"Utilizing our existing gas networks to decarbonize will allow all of the Commonwealth's businesses and residents, who have already paid for this infrastructure, to participate in a clean energy future. National Grid's plan is a practical approach that gives Massachusetts customers choice in their heating options to reach net zero." - Rick Sullivan, President & CEO, Western Mass Economic Development Council

"National Grid's fossil-free plan is a critical step forward in the effort to fully transition the U.S. economy off fossil fuels that reflects both the magnitude and urgency of the dangers posed by catastrophic climate change. Renewable natural gas (RNG) is one of the most cost-effective tools for reducing humanity's greenhouse gas emissions that we have available. National Grid's plan, with its diverse combination of electrification, hybridization, and RNG development, will enhance system reliability while simultaneously reducing the economy's emissions of the destructive greenhouse gas methane. Coming at a time when investment in low-carbon and carbon-negative energy remains far short of what is needed to achieve the decarbonization targets set by the Paris Agreement and state laws such as New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, National Grid's fossil-free plan promises to deliver rapid benefits to both the climate and human health." -Tristan Brown, Associate Professor, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

About National Grid

National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. National Grid is transforming our electricity and natural gas networks with smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.



For more information, please visit our website, follow us on Twitter, watch us on YouTube, like us on Facebook and find our photos on Instagram

SOURCE National Grid
RazorMetrics' drug cost survey reveals consumers want their physician to take the lead on lowering their prescription costs.

AUSTIN, Texas, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- RazorMetrics' recent consumer opinion survey about drug costs found some surprising results. Despite the explosion in consumer-driven savings apps, healthcare consumers want their physician to take the lead. The survey found that 80% of respondents would prefer their physician be the one to choose a lower cost drug for their prescription and do so automatically.

Sticker shock at the pharmacy is a lose-lose situation for everyone. High prescription costs are forcing some patients to skip doses, split pills, or stop treatment altogether. RazorMetrics' drug cost survey asked, "if a prescription is too expensive what do you do?" 9.3% of survey respondents said they "Forget about it and go home." Other responses included "Pay for it anyway" (22.3%), "Ask the pharmacist about a discount" (35.3%), "Call my doctor" (21.7%), and "Call my insurance" (11.3%). To patients, physicians, and pharmacists none of these options is a good outcome.

Physicians are trying to control costs; 72% of survey respondents said their physician talks to them about drug prices but, unfortunately, physicians cannot prescribe the lowest cost medication without help. A study published in Jama Network Open, "Accuracy of Physician Estimates of Out-of-Pocket Costs for Medication Filling," found that when physicians were given drug price and patient insurance data, only 21% could accurately estimate out-of-pocket costs for their patient. The study authors said, "one-third of US residents have trouble paying their medical bills. They often turn to their physicians for help navigating health costs and insurance coverage." This sets the physician up for failure.

"As a cardiologist with an active practice, I can attest to the frustration doctors feel when we get a call from a patient at the pharmacy. We try another medication hoping that it will be covered by the patient's health plan. The system is built on a trial by error model," said Dr. Siva Mohan, MD and co-founder of RazorMetrics. "It's inefficient and deeply frustrating for everyone involved."

It's clear most consumers want to save money on prescriptions, but rather then chase down lower drug options themselves, they would prefer that their physician help them navigate the process. Eighty-eight percent of RazorMetrics survey respondents said they would be more satisfied with their provider if they talked to them about drug prices. Two-thirds reported they would have a more favorable opinion of their provider if they changed the prescription to a lower cost option. Put simply, patients want their physician to lead on getting affordable prescriptions.

Read more here.

About RazorMetrics

RazorMetrics is a healthcare technology company whose SaaS-based platform uses AI and ML to lower drug spend for health plans, self-insured employers, and consumers. RazorMetrics unique, physician-first approach process that is simple, requires no extra clicks in the EHR and no external programs or apps to access. Switches are straightforward, easy to make, and the entire process stays within the normal clinical workflow. The platform is complementary to existing pharmacy initiatives and works with PBMs and other drug cost savings solutions to optimize results. RazorMetrics is fully scalable and customizable to each client's unique variables and formularies. For more information, visit www.razormetrics.com.

Media Contact:

Casey DeMoss, RazorMetrics

[email protected]

504-982-0468

SOURCE Razor Metrics
NEW YORK, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- OCEANIX today announced Philipp A. Hofmann as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective immediately. The Board unanimously made the appointment as the company enters a pivotal new phase executing on the historic prototype in Busan, South Korea  the world's first-ever sustainable floating city blueprint.

Hofmann has over 20 years as a leader in the built environment and construction industry. Most recently, he was a Managing Partner at Hofmann Facades Group and President at Horus Investments. A civil and structural engineer by training, he pioneered the use of ultra-high performance concrete technology for innovative structural and architectural uses.

"We are excited to bring Philipp on board to lead OCEANIX at this inflection point. We have utmost confidence his stellar track record in engineering, construction and investment will allow him to hit the ground running to create impact," said Gaetano Crupi on behalf of the Board of Directors of OCEANIX. Outgoing CEO Marc Collins Chen will remain on the Board.

As OCEANIX's CEO, Hofmann will raise funding to ignite growth, build the team, and drive business expansion. Hofmann has Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Civil and Structural Engineering from the Technical University of Berlin. In addition, he holds a Joint Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering and Management and studied at the Harvard Business School and the London School of Economics. Hofmann has successfully worked on complex construction projects internationally and speaks five languages.

ABOUT OCEANIX

OCEANIX is a blue tech company that designs and builds floating cities for people to live sustainably on the ocean. Severe land shortages in coastal cities are creating a global housing crunch, compounded by climate change and sea level rise. Sustainable floating cities offer significant value to visionary investors and cities by unlocking an abundance of ocean view land for scenic living, commerce, recreation, or marine ecosystem regeneration. OCEANIX is headquartered in New York. More details are available on: www.oceanixcity.com

For further inquiries, please contact: Michelle Will, Director of Communications at OCEANIX

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE OCEANIX
The nonprofit awards celebrate the vision, passion, and dedication of fundraising professionals and organizations across the United States and Canada

INDIANAPOLIS , April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Online and event fundraising leader OneCause today announced it is accepting nominations for the 2022 Raise Awards. Entering their fifth year, the awards honor forward-thinking fundraisers and nonprofit organizations that are employing innovative ways to inspire donors, raise funds, and shape the future of fundraising.

"The passion, tenacity, and ingenuity demonstrated by fundraising professionals too frequently go unnoticed. The Raise Awards are a way to pause and recognize the Fearless Fundraisers making a critical impact on how nonprofits fundraise and create change," said Steve Johns, chief executive officer for OneCause. "We're honored to support and celebrate the individuals and organizations impacting the world for the better."

The annual awards have evolved from recognizing single winners in each category to honoring multiple winners, segmented by nonprofit size, for their achievements in the following categories:

Innovative Nonprofit of the Year: Recognizing innovation and creativity in fundraising by organizations who are thinking outside the box and implementing new ideas.

Recognizing innovation and creativity in fundraising by organizations who are thinking outside the box and implementing new ideas. Storyteller of the Year: Recognizing excellence in communicating purpose and vision through branding, narrative, and promotion that informs the mind and moves the heart.

Recognizing excellence in communicating purpose and vision through branding, narrative, and promotion that informs the mind and moves the heart. Fundraisers of the Year: Recognizing individuals who live out the organization's mission, are dedicated to the donor experience, and always give 100% percent to the cause.

Last year's awards highlighted the importance of the grit, dedication, and teamwork nonprofit professionals exhibited to advance their missions during a year of uncertainty.

"I was so honored and beyond excited to be named the 2021 Fundraiser of the Year. I stood with my team beside me because without them I would not have been able to achieve such an honor," said Katie Koglman, executive director of United Way of Wayne and Holmes Counties. "In a year where the common theme was 'cancel,' we embarked on a journey of 'conquer and claim victory.' Our community was depending on us to do just that. To my fellow fundraisersI challenge you to raise the bar, raise your glasses, and raise that money!"

Last year's Raise Awards recognized Innovative Nonprofits of the Year: Food Outreach Inc and JDRF; Storytellers of the Year: Stray Rescue of St. Louis and Canine Companions; and Fundraisers of the Year: Katie Koglman with United Way of Wayne and Holmes Counties; Bill Miller with Kean University Foundation, and Nathan Smith with RAIN, Inc.

Nomination Process

Raise Awards nominations are being accepted online through 11:59 p.m. on June 1 at: www.onecause.com/raise/awards.

The Raise Awards are free to enter for individual fundraisers and nonprofits of all sizes. All submissions will be reviewed by a committee of peer nonprofit professionals and industry experts looking for a focus on specific achievements, campaigns, and events from the last 12 months.

Award winners will be honored at a ceremony during the Raise 2022 conference September 12-13 in Chicago, Illinois and livestreamed online. In addition to the award recognition, winners receive a cash donation to their mission on behalf of OneCause.

About OneCause

OneCause is driving the future of fundraising with easy-to-use online and event fundraising solutions that help nonprofits improve the giving experience and raise more money. OneCause builds technology that optimizes everyday generosity, making it easier for nonprofit organizations to fundraise and for nonprofit supporters to give. Since 2008, OneCause has helped more than 9,500 nonprofits raise $3.5 billion for their missions. Headquartered in Indianapolis, OneCause is committed to driving innovation in the charitable sector, bringing together nonprofit professionals across the world for the annual Raise Conference to exchange ideas that further fundraising. For more information, visit www.onecause.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

SOURCE OneCause
DUBLIN, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Satellite Data Service Market (2022-2027) by Vertical, Service, Platform, Antenna Type, Components, Frequency, Technology and Geography, Competitive Analysis and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Global Satellite Data Service Market is estimated to be USD 13.7 Bn in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 35.87 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 21.23%.



Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Satellite Data Services Market stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals.



As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks.



Market Segmentation

The Global Satellite Data Service Market is segmented based on Vertical, Sevice, Platform, Antenna Type, Components, Frequency, Technology, and Geography.

Vertical, the market is classified into Energy and Power, Defence and Intelligence, Engineering and Infrastructure, Environmental, Agriculture, Maritime, Insurance, and Transport and Logistics.

Sevice, the market is classified into Data Analytics and Image Data.

Platform, the market is classified into Land Mobile, Land Fixed, Space, Maritime, and Airborne.

Antenna Type, the market is classified into Phased Array, Multiple Input Multiple Output, and Others.

Components, the market is classified into Reflectors, Feed Horns, Feed Networks, Low Noise Converters, and Others.

Frequency, the market is classified into L and S Band, X Band, KA Band, VHF / SHF Band, Multi Band , and Q Band.

, and Q Band. Technology, the market is classified into SOTM and SOTP.

Geography, the market is classified into Americas, Europe , Middle-East & Africa and Asia-Pacific .

Company Profiles

The report provides a detailed analysis of the competitors in the market. It covers the financial performance analysis for the publicly listed companies in the market. The report also offers detailed information on the companies' recent development and competitive scenario. Some of the companies covered in this report are Airbus S.A.S, Gilat Satellite Networks, Honeywell International Inc, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric corporation, Thales Group, Viasat, Inc, etc.



Countries Studied

America ( Argentina , Brazil , Canada , Chile , Colombia , Mexico , Peru , United States , Rest of - Americas)

, , , , , , , , Rest of - Americas) Europe ( Austria , Belgium , Denmark , Finland , France , Germany , Italy , Netherlands , Norway , Poland , Russia , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , United Kingdom , Rest of - Europe )

( , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Rest of - ) Middle-East and Africa ( Egypt , Israel , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , South Africa , United Arab Emirates , Rest of MEA.

and ( , , , , , , Rest of MEA. Asia-Pacific ( Australia , Bangladesh , China , India , Indonesia , Japan , Malaysia , Philippines , Singapore , South Korea , Sri Lanka , Thailand , Taiwan , Rest of Asia-Pacific )

Competitive Quadrant

The report includes Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc.



Ansoff Analysis

The report presents a detailed Ansoff matrix analysis for the Global Satellite Data Service Market. Ansoff Matrix, also known as Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic tool used to design strategies for the growth of the company. The matrix can be used to evaluate approaches in four strategies viz. Market Development, Market Penetration, Product Development and Diversification. The matrix is also used for risk analysis to understand the risk involved with each approach.



The analyst analyses Global Satellite Data Service Market using the Ansoff Matrix to provide the best approaches a company can take to improve its market position.



Based on the SWOT analysis conducted on the industry and industry players, the analyst has devised suitable strategies for market growth.



Why buy this report?

The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Satellite Data Service Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies.

The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry.

The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report.

The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies.

The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's competitive positioning tool.

Key Topics Covered:



1 Report Description



2 Research Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Market Dynamics

4.1 Drivers

4.1.1 Increase in Demand for High-Resolution Imaging

4.1.2 Launch of Small Satellites

4.1.3 Increase Privatization Investments in the Space Industry

4.1.4 Increasing Focus of Data Applications and Services

4.2 Restraints

4.2.1 Stringent Regulations

4.2.2 High Cost of Investment

4.3 Opportunities

4.3.1 Integration of 4D GIS

4.3.2 Expand Satellite Capacity and Related Infrastructure

4.4 Challenges

4.4.1 Unreliable Signal

4.4.2 Failure of Various Satellite Launch Programs



5 Market Analysis

5.1 Regulatory Scenario

5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis



6 Global Satellite Data Service Market, By Vertical

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Energy and power

6.3 Defence and Intelligence

6.4 Engineering and Infrastructure

6.5 Environmental

6.6 Agriculture

6.7 Maritime

6.8 Insurance

6.9 Transport and Logistics



7 Global Satellite Data Service Market, By Sevice

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Data Analytics

7.3 Image Data



8 Global Satellite Data Service Market, By Platform

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Land Mobile

8.3 Land Fixed

8.4 Space

8.5 Maritime

8.6 Airborne



9 Global Satellite Data Service Market, By Antenna Type

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Phased Array

9.3 Multiple Input Multiple Output

9.4 Others



10 Global Satellite Data Service Market, By Components

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Reflectors

10.3 Feed Horns

10.4 Feed Networks

10.5 Low Noise Converters

10.6 Others



11 Global Satellite Data Service Market, By Frequency

11.1 Introduction

11.2 L and S Band

11.3 X Band

11.4 KA Band

11.5 VHF /SHF Band

11.6 Multi Band

11.7 Q Band



12 Global Satellite Data Service Market, By Technology

12.1 Introduction

12.2 SOTM

12.3 SOTP



13 Americas' Satellite Data Service Market

13.1 Introduction

13.2 Argentina

13.3 Brazil

13.4 Canada

13.5 Chile

13.6 Colombia

13.7 Mexico

13.8 Peru

13.9 United States

13.10 Rest of Americas



14 Europe's Satellite Data Service Market

14.1 Introduction

14.2 Austria

14.3 Belgium

14.4 Denmark

14.5 Finland

14.6 France

14.7 Germany

14.8 Italy

14.9 Netherlands

14.10 Norway

14.11 Poland

14.12 Russia

14.13 Spain

14.14 Sweden

14.15 Switzerland

14.16 United Kingdom

14.17 Rest of Europe



15 Middle East and Africa's Satellite Data Service Market

15.1 Introduction

15.2 Egypt

15.3 Israel

15.4 Qatar

15.5 Saudi Arabia

15.6 South Africa

15.7 United Arab Emirates

15.8 Rest of MEA



16 APAC's Satellite Data Service Market

16.1 Introduction

16.2 Australia

16.3 Bangladesh

16.4 China

16.5 India

16.6 Indonesia

16.7 Japan

16.8 Malaysia

16.9 Philippines

16.10 Singapore

16.11 South Korea

16.12 Sri Lanka

16.13 Thailand

16.14 Taiwan

16.15 Rest of Asia-Pacific



17 Competitive Landscape

17.1 Competitive Quadrant

17.2 Market Share Analysis

17.3 Strategic Initiatives

17.3.1 M&A and Investments

17.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations

17.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements



18 Company Profiles

18.1 Airbus S.A.S

18.2 Aselsan A.S

18.3 Cobham Limited

18.4 General Dynamics Mission System , Inc

18.5 Gilat Satellite Networks

18.6 Honeywell International Inc

18.7 L3Harris Technologies , Inc

18.8 Lockheed Martin Corporation

18.9 Maxar Technologies

18.10 Mitsubishi Electric corporation

18.11 ND Satcom

18.12 Norsat International

18.13 Ruag Group

18.14 Thales Group

18.15 Viasat, Inc



19 Appendix



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/wdde34

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
The funding makes mission-driven Oyster the world's fastest-growing global employment platform and a unicorn less than two years after launch

LONDON and SAN FRANCISCO , April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Oyster , the company that delivers exceptional team member experiences for global teams with its fast, compliant and robust global employment platform, today announced that it has raised $150 million in Series C funding at a $1 billion-plus valuation. Georgian, who led the round, was joined by Salesforce Ventures, LinkedIn, the Base10 Partners Advancement Initiative, Okta, and Endeavor Catalyst, along with existing investors Stripes, Emergence Capital, PayPal Ventures, Slack Fund, Avid Ventures, PeopleTech Partners, and HR Tech Investments, an affiliate of Indeed.

The funding establishes Oyster as a unicorn less than two years after the company's launch and as one of the few B Corporations[1] to achieve the milestone. The investment also caps a year of incredible growth for the company. In 2021, Oyster grew revenue by over 20x and the number of team members employed on its platform by 17x. As a result of its mission-driven, fully distributed culture, Oyster attracted over 20,000 job applications in the first quarter of 2022.

Oyster's continued momentum speaks to the overall power of the distributed work movement, with the best companies in the world increasingly choosing to hire talent wherever it is found, while empowering their teams to work from anywhere. Oyster customers, who can recruit job seekers in over 180 countries, already use the platform to pay more than $200 million to global talent each year, with 25% of that talent living in emerging economies.

"Distributed work is better for business, better for people, and better for the planet," said Oyster Co-founder & CEO Tony Jamous. "Our mission, to create a more equal world by helping companies everywhere hire people anywhere, fuels everything that we do. It's thanks to the strength and impact of that mission that we have been able to grow our team and business in such an unprecedented way. We're thrilled to work with Georgian and our investor partners on this step of the journey."

In the last two years, Oyster has also created a vibrant team of 500 employees. With employees in over 60 countries, a diverse leadership team, and an employee base that is over 60% female, the company enjoys one the highest employee engagement scores in its class. Oyster is proof that companies don't need an office to create a highly engaged culture; they just need a compelling mission, demonstrated impact, and clear core values.

"We are excited to support Oyster on their mission to provide opportunities that cross geographic barriers," said Claudine Emeott, Partner at Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund. "They're the kind of company that fits well within our investment mandate for both high growth and high impact. We see Oyster's mission to incorporate impact as part of their values to be a key differentiator that will only fuel their continued growth."

"The Oyster team is one of the most mission-aligned companies we've ever seen," said Margaret Wu, Lead Investor at Georgian. "They're the kind of company we deeply admirenot just a unicorn, but an 'impact-unicorn,' a business that creates enormous value as the direct result of its social impact mission. We're eager to support them as they lead the world into a new era of work."

Oyster's Series C follows a pair of funding rounds in 2021, including a Series A in February and a Series B in June. The company has raised a total of $227 million to date. Oyster plans to use the Series C funding to further develop its global employment platform and invest in the People Ops community. In addition, the company will continue its work toward creating a gold standard distributed culture and delivering on its high-impact social mission.

About Oyster

Oyster is a global employment platform that empowers companies to hire, pay, and care for their global teams. It enables growing companies to give valued international team members the experience they deserve, without the usual headaches or expense. Oyster empowers hiring anywhere in the world with reliable, compliant contracts, payroll and great local benefits and perks. Founded in January 2020 by Tony Jamous and Jack Mardack, Oyster is itself a fully distributed company with a diverse, global team. For more information visit https://oysterhr.com .

About Georgian

Georgian is a fintech company investing in high growth software companies that harness the power of data in a trustworthy way. At Georgian, we're building a platform to provide a better experience of growth capital to software company CEOs and their teams. Georgian's platform is designed to identify and accelerate the best growth-stage software companies, taking an intelligent, data-first approach to solving the key challenges CEOs face as they grow their businesses. Based in Toronto, Georgian's team brings together software entrepreneurs, machine learning experts, experienced operators and investment professionals. For more information, visit https://georgian.io/ .

Contact:

Gabriel Kessler

[email protected]

[1] Certification pending

SOURCE Oyster
"P.F. Chang's is an ideal destination to celebrate special occasions big and small to create lasting memories with loved ones," said Tana Davila, chief marketing officer for P.F. Chang's. "We're excited to welcome our guests in honoring moms, dads and graduates this season with our menu of signature Asian favorites with some special touches for guests to enjoy during their celebrations."

P.F. Chang's will observe Mother's Day from April 20 through May 8. Graduation will be observed beginning on May 9 through June 30, with Father's Day celebrations joining in on June 1 through June 19. For guests dining in, a prix fixe menu is available starting at $50 per person including an appetizer, soup, one entree, dessert and a celebratory glass of wine perfect for toasting the occasion.

On trend with the growing popularity of cocktails made from sake, guests can raise a glass with innovative limited time only beverages including:

Kyoto Bloom: Kyoto, Japan, is known for having one of the world's largest varieties of strawberries. P.F. Chang's Kyoto Bloom cocktail uses fresh strawberries, yuzu sake and elderflower liqueur to give the cocktail a refreshing and sweet flavor that is backed by aromatic botanicals from Suntory's Roku Japanese Gin. The drink is topped with club soda to provide a touch of effervescence.

Lucky Lotus: The Lucky Lotus features Hakutsuru Sayuri Nigori Sake and RumHaven Coconut Rum. When combined with pure cane sugar, fresh lemon and a touch of half and half, these ingredients create a silky tropical flavor.

Sake Warrior: The refreshing Sake Warrior features Moonstone Asian Pear Sake and white peach. The Sake Warrior paves the way for fresh lemon and lime juice to give this cocktail a bright flavor that is fortified by Tito's Handmade Vodka.

And for those who are ordering online, to celebrate at their own table, P.F. Chang's is offering custom family meals for groups of two, four and six. To add to the gifting occasion, limited-edition gift cards designed for Mother's Day, Father's Day and graduation celebrations are available for purchase in-restaurant and online at pfchangs.com/gift-cards.

For more details on the new cocktails, celebration menu offerings, and observances for Mother's Day, Father's Day and graduation, visit https://www.pfchangs.com/.

About P.F. Chang's

Founded in 1993 by Philip Chiang and Paul Fleming, P.F. Chang's is the first internationally recognized multi-unit Asian culinary brand to honor and celebrate the 2,000-year-old tradition of wok cooking as the center of the guest experience. With roots in Chinese cuisine, today's menu at P.F. Chang's spans across all of Asia, honoring cultures and recipes from Japan, Korea, Thailand, and beyond. Each item offers a unique exploration of flavor, whether it's a handcrafted cocktail, wok-fired lunch bowl, or celebratory multi-course dinner. Worldwide, P.F. Chang's has more than 300 restaurants in 22 countries and U.S. airport locations, including a growing number of convenient P.F. Chang's To Go locations offering takeout and delivery. For more P.F. Chang's news, visit pfchangs.com and follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram @pfchangs.

SOURCE P.F. Chang's
National lender strives to plant 100,000 trees in 2022

MERIDEN, Conn., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Planet Home Lending, LLC, a national mortgage lender and servicer, has renewed for a fourth year its partnership with the National Forest Foundation (NFF), the official nonprofit partner of the U.S. Forest Service. Through the partnership, Planet Home Lending will have funded the planting of more than a quarter-million trees in our National Forests.

Planet Home Lending

NFF leads forest conservation efforts that are essential to the environment and health of the planet. Planet Home Lending's support includes funding native habitat restorations and post-fire planting, a significant recovery for forests. Since the launch of NFF's 50 Million trees campaign in 2018, the nonprofit has planted more than 21.3 million trees, including 7.3 million trees in 2021.

"Being accountable and taking the initiative to take care of our planet and its people is extremely important," said Michael Dubeck, CEO and President of Planet Financial Group, an indirect parent company of Planet Home Lending. "As a company that believes in passing on our success, we are proud to give back and serve through our partnership with NFF and with our Planet with a Purpose platform."

As a partner and supporter of the NFF, Planet Home Lending will fund the planting of 100,000 trees in National Forests across the Arapaho and Roosevelt, Francis Marion and Sumter, and Chippewa National Forests in Colorado, South Carolina, and Minnesota, respectively. The restoration project will include a wildfire recovery and a native habitat restoration for endangered species.

"We are thrilled to be supported by environmentally conscious companies that ensure the health of our environment is a top priority," said Mindy Crowell, reforestation partnerships director at NFF. "Planet Home Lending continues to show its dedication and support to restore and enrich our planet, and more specifically, our shared national forests."

About Planet Home Lending, LLC

Planet Home Lending, LLC, (NMLS #17022), is an approved home mortgage lender and servicer for FHA, VA and USDA, as well as a Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Seller/Servicer, a full Ginnie Mae Issuer and approved sub-servicer, and a Standard & Poor's- and Fitch-rated special and prime residential servicer. Planet Home Lending, LLC, is an Equal Housing Lender. For more information about Planet Home Lending, LLC, please visit https://PlanetHomeLending.com.

About Planet Financial Group, LLC

Planet Financial Group, LLC, is the parent of Planet Home Lending, LLC, a multichannel non-bank residential originator and residential and commercial mortgage loan servicer.

About the National Forest Foundation

The National Forest Foundation (NFF) promotes the enhancement and public enjoyment of the 193-million-acre National Forest System. By directly engaging Americans and leveraging private and public funding, the NFF improves forest health and Americans' outdoor experiences. The NFF's programs inform millions of Americans about the importance of these treasured landscapes. Each year, the NFF restores fish and wildlife habitats, plants trees in areas affected by fires, insects and disease, improves recreational opportunities and enables communities to steward their National Forests and Grasslands. Learn more at www.nationalforests.org.

Press Contacts

Dona DeZube

Director, Communications Strategy

Planet Home Lending, LLC

[email protected]

(443) 263-2832

Charlyne H. McWilliams

Media Contact

For Planet Home Lending, LLC

[email protected]

(301) 933-5567

SOURCE Planet Home Lending
Former Skience and Docupace Sales Executive Brings Deep-Seated Relationships and Industry Expertise, Enhancing Practifi's Growth Path and Partner Ecosystem

CHICAGO, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Practifi, a business management platform for high-performing RIAs, broker-dealers and wealth institutions, today announced Paige Johnson has joined the company as the Director, Strategic Partnerships & Alliances. In this role, Johnson will be responsible for fostering deeper relationships with enterprise clients enabling strategic integrations throughout the Practifi ecosystem.

Adrian Johnstone, President and Co-Founder of Practifi, said, "Paige's deep experience and long-standing relationships across the industry positions Practifi for meaningful growth as we continue to scale. Her approach and style strengthen our outstanding leadership team and on behalf of our entire company, I'm pleased to welcome her to Practifi and look forward to her successfully partnering with industry leaders to continue providing a seamless client experience."

Over the past two decades, Johnson has served in account management and business development roles, most recently as Vice President of Strategic Alliances at Skience. Prior to her time at Skience, Johnson served as Director of Strategic Alliances for Docupace Technologies.

About Practifi

Practifi is the performance optimization platform purpose-built for the wealth management industry. Practifi empowers teams to automate workflows, create rich client records, and access advanced analytics in a unified experience. With comprehensive APIs, a range of specialist wealth industry integrations, and an ecosystem of hundreds of integrated apps, our platform centralizes data and gives greater visibility across organizations. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with offices in Sydney, Australia, Practifi enables organizations across the globe to deepen loyalty with their clients and pioneer the future of wealth management. To learn more, visit practifi.com.

SOURCE Practifi
BEIJING, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- RYB Education, Inc. ("RYB" or the "Company") (NYSE: RYB), a leading early childhood education service provider in China, today announced that, it has received a letter from the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") dated April 19, 2022, notifying RYB that it is below compliance criteria in connection with the performance of trading price of RYB's American depositary shares (the "ADSs").

Pursuant to NYSE rule 802.01C, a company will be considered to be below compliance criteria if the average closing price of a security as reported on the consolidated tape is less than US$1.00 over a consecutive 30 trading-day period. Following receipt of the notification, the company must bring its share price and average share price back above US$1.00 within six months.

The company can regain compliance at any time during the six-month cure period if on the last trading day of any calendar month during the cure period the company has a closing share price of at least US$1.00 and an average closing share price of at least US$1.00 over the 30 trading-day period ending on the last trading day of that month. In the event that at the expiration of the six-month cure period, both a US$1.00 closing share price on the last trading day of the cure period and a US$1.00 average closing share price over the 30 trading-day period ending on the last trading day of the cure period are not attained, the NYSE will commence suspension and delisting procedures.

To address this issue, the Company intends to monitor the market conditions of its listed securities and is still considering its options.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company's brand recognition and market reputation; the Company's growth strategies; trends and competition in China's early childhood education market; changes in its revenues and certain cost or expense items; the expected growth of the Chinese early childhood education market; Chinese governmental policies relating to the Company's industry and general economic conditions in China. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

About RYB Education, Inc.

Founded on the core values of "Care" and "Responsibility," "Inspire" and "Innovate," RYB Education, Inc. is a leading early childhood education service provider in China. Since opening its first play-and-learn center in 1998, the Company has grown and flourished with the mission to provide high-quality, individualized and age-appropriate care and education to nurture and inspire each child for his or her betterment in life. During its two decades of operating history, the Company has built "RYB" into a well-recognized education brand and helped bring about many new educational practices in China's early childhood education industry. RYB's comprehensive early childhood education solutions meet the needs of children from infancy to 6 years old through structured courses at kindergartens and play-and-learn centers, as well as at-home educational products and services.

For more information, please visit http://ir.rybbaby.com.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

In China:

RYB Education, Inc.

Investor Relations

E-mail: [email protected]

The Piacente Group, Inc.

Yang Song

Tel: +86 (10) 6508-0677

E-mail: [email protected]

In the United States:

The Piacente Group, Inc.

Brandi Piacente

Tel: +1-212-481-2050

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE RYB Education, Inc.
This is Fifth Year in a Row for these Prospect Medical Hospitals

LOS ANGELES, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Hospitals at Culver City and Hollywood were named among the top 5 percent in the nation for Patient Safety Excellence in 2022 by Healthgrades for the fifth year (2018-2022).

"Southern California Hospital at Culver City is committed to patient safety, which is reflected in this national recognition," said Culver City's Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer West. "This is increasingly relevant to our patients during the pandemic."

During the study period (2018 through 2020), 170,231 potentially preventable patient safety events occurred among Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals.* Healthgrades found that just four patient safety indicators accounted for 74% of all patient safety events: hip fracture due to an in-hospital fall, collapsed lung resulting from a procedure/surgery, pressure or bed sores acquired in-hospital, and catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in-hospital.

Healthgrades also found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average:

8% less likely to experience an in-hospital fall resulting in hip fracture, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*

6% less likely to experience a collapsed lung resulting from a procedure or surgery in or around the chest, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*

2% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*

8% less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at nonrecipient hospitals*

According to Healthgrades, if all hospitals as a group performed similarly to the Healthgrades Patient Safety Award Recipients, on average, 100,189 patient safety events could have been avoided.*

"Through our 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Awards, we seek to recognize hospitals that excel in providing top-quality care for their patients while preventing serious injuries during hospital stays," said Healthgrades' Dr. Brad Bowman, chief medical officer and head of data science. "We are proud to name these hospitals 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients and look forward to their continued efforts to make patient safety a priority."

This national recognition is just one of several national awards, including top 5 percent in nation for Pulmonary Care and top 10 percent in nation for GI Care, among other clinical achievements for Culver City and Hollywood.

Consumers can visit healthgrades.com for more information on how Healthgrades measures hospital quality and access the complete methodology.

*Statistics are calculated from Healthgrades Patient Safety Ratings and Excellence Award methodology which is based primarily on AHRQ technical specifications (Version 2021.0.1) for MedPAR data years 2018 through 2020 and represent 3-year estimates for Medicare patients only.

SOURCE Southern California Hospitals
CHENGDU, China, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 18, a departure ceremony was held at Chengdu (Shuangliu) Air-rail International Intermodal Port for the first cross-border special freight train from Shuangliu, Chengdu to Hanoi, Vietnam. After setting out from Shuangliu, the train will cross the border at the Pingxiang Railway Port, and travel southwards along the China-Vietnam Railway for 5 to 7 days before arriving at Hanoi, Vietnam.

This train signifies that a new logistics channel for economic and trade has been opened up between Shuangliu, Chengdu, which is an important gateway insouthwest China, and ASEAN.

Shuangliu has always been an important hub in western China. In March this year, Shuangliu opened the first international digital trade train along the China-Laos Railway; in April, a new land-sea channel train was launched, connecting Chengdu (Shuangliu) Air-rail International Intermodal Port with major surrounding cities.

The Air-rail International Intermodal Port has led to closer trade ties between Chengdu and ASEAN countries. The first cross-border special freight train carries 40 containers fully loaded with around 32-million-yuan worth of aluminum profiles manufactured by a local company based in Shuangliu. After being packaged at the doorstep of the local company, goods can be directly delivered to clients after the train moves across the border at the Pingxiang Railway Port.

The CFO of the company said, "We used to export goods to Vietnam by automobile transport. This is the first time we use rail transport." This new way of delivering goods is expected to save 20% of freight costs and 30% of time for customers in Vietnam.

In addition to the customized special freight train, public trains are also steadily available at Chengdu (Shuangliu) Air-rail International Intermodal Port.

Since it was put into operation last year, Chengdu (Shuangliu) Air-rail International Intermodal Port has successively opened multiple new rail lines to Vientiane, Laos via Mohan Port, or Port of Manila, Philippines via Qinzhou Port. These new lines are designed to help local companies leverage the global supply chain to procure materials, and produce and sell goods. As of now, a total of 52 international trains have set out from the port. These trains have shipped 1,937 TEUs of containers, with the value of imports and exports reaching 320 million yuan in total.

SOURCE Chengdu (Shuangliu) Air-rail International Intermodal Port
To get the exact yearly growth variance and the Y-O-Y growth rate, Talk to our analyst .

Key Market Dynamics:

Market Driver: The growing demand for steel is one of the most promising factors influencing the market growth positively. China accounts for a major share of the global steel production owing to its substantial infrastructural developments compared to the rest of the world. Steel is the cornerstone of the global construction industry. With the rising demand for steel in modern architectures, the growth of the global TMT steel bar market is expected to grow significantly in the forecast period.

is one of the most promising factors influencing the market growth positively. China accounts for a major share of the global steel production owing to its substantial infrastructural developments compared to the rest of the world. Steel is the cornerstone of the global construction industry. With the rising demand for steel in modern architectures, the growth of the global TMT steel bar market is expected to grow significantly in the forecast period. Market Challenge: The increasing iron ore prices is one of the key hindering factor for the market growth. The US-China trade war has increased the prices of base metals, such as aluminum and copper, whereas the iron ore prices are resisting this downtrend due to strong demand and supply of crude iron and associated products, such as steel.

To learn about additional key drivers, trends, and challenges available with Technavio. Read our FREE Sample Report

Key Segment Highlights

The TMT steel bar market report is segmented by grade type (Fe 415, Fe 500 and 500D, Fe 550 and 550D, Fe 600, and others) and geography (APAC, Europe, North America, MEA, and South America).

APAC will be the leading region with 78% of the market's growth during the forecast period. China , India , Japan , and Russian Federation are the key markets for TMT steel bars in APAC. Market growth in this region will be faster than the growth of the market in South America and Europe. Investments from government and private investors, especially in China , India , Japan , South Korea , Indonesia , the Philippines , Malaysia , and Vietnam for the development of new infrastructural projects such as railways, roads, residential buildings, and commercial spaces, will facilitate the TMT steel bar market growth in APAC over the forecast period.

are the key markets for TMT steel bars in APAC. Market growth in this region will be faster than the growth of the market in and Europe. Investments from government and private investors, especially in , , , , , , , and for the development of new infrastructural projects such as railways, roads, residential buildings, and commercial spaces, will facilitate the TMT steel bar market growth in APAC over the forecast period. The TMT steel bar market share growth by the Fe 415 segment will be significant during the forecast period. Fe 415 TMT steel bars have various properties that make them the most stable building compound. Their elongation ranges from 20% to 25%, which makes them the most flexible steel bar when compared to other grades of TMT steel bar, such as Fe-500 and Fe-600 TMT steel bar

View our sample report for additional insights into the contribution of all the segments, and regional opportunities in the report.

Some Companies Mentioned with their Offerings



ArcelorMittal SA



Atlas TMT Bars Pvt. Ltd.



Essar Global Fund Ltd.



Jindal Steel and Power Ltd.



JSW Steel Ltd.



Kamdhenu Ltd.



MSP Steel and Power Ltd.



Primegold International Ltd.



Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd.



Tata Steel Ltd.

To gain access to more vendor profiles with their key offerings available with Technavio, Click Here

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Pre-engineered Buildings Market by End-user and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

TMT Steel Bar Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Decelerate at a CAGR of 3.50% Market growth 2022-2026 153.02 mn tons Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 3.75 Regional analysis APAC, Europe, North America, MEA, and South America Performing market contribution APAC at 78% Key consumer countries China, India, Japan, US, and Russian Federation Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled ArcelorMittal SA, Atlas TMT Bars Pvt. Ltd., Essar Global Fund Ltd., Jindal Steel and Power Ltd., JSW Steel Ltd., Kamdhenu Ltd., MSP Steel and Power Ltd., Primegold International Ltd., Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd., and Tata Steel Ltd. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Executive Summary

1.1 Market Overview

Exhibit 01: Key Finding 1

Exhibit 02: Key Finding 2

Exhibit 03: Key Finding 3

Exhibit 04: Key Finding 5

Exhibit 05: Key Finding 6

Exhibit 06: Key Finding 7

Exhibit 07: Key Finding 8

2. Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 08: Parent market

Exhibit 9: Market Characteristics

2.2 Value chain analysis

Exhibit 10: Value chain analysis: Construction materials

2.2.1 Inputs

2.2.2 Inbound logistics

2.2.3 Operations

2.2.4 Outbound logistics

2.2.5 Marketing and sales

2.2.6 Service

3. Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 11: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 12: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2021

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021 - 2026

Exhibit 13: Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million tons)

Exhibit 14: Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

4. Five Forces Analysis

4.1 Five forces analysis 2021 & 2026

Exhibit 15: Five forces analysis 2021 & 2026

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 16: Bargaining power of buyers

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 17: Bargaining power of suppliers

4.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 18: Threat of new entrants

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 19: Threat of substitutes

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 20: Threat of rivalry

4.7 Market condition

Exhibit 21: Market condition - Five forces 2021

5. Market Segmentation by Grade type

5.1 Market segments

The segments covered in this chapter are:

Fe 415

Fe 500 and 500D

Fe 550 and 550D

Fe 600

Others



Exhibit 22: Grade type - Market share 2021-2026 (%)

5.2 Comparison by Grade type

Exhibit 23: Comparison by Grade type

5.3 Fe 415 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 24: Fe 415 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million tons)

Exhibit 25: Fe 415 - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.4 Fe 500 and 500D - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 26: Fe 500 and 500D - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million tons)

Exhibit 27: Fe 500 and 500D - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.5 Fe 550 and 550D - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 28: Fe 550 and 550D - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million tons)

Exhibit 29: Fe 550 and 550D - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.6 Fe 600 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 30: Fe 600 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million tons)

Exhibit 31: Fe 600 - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.7 Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 32: Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million tons)

Exhibit 33: Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.8 Market opportunity by Grade type

Exhibit 34: Market opportunity by Grade type

6. Customer landscape

6.1 Overview

Exhibit 35: Customer landscape

7. Geographic Landscape

7.1 Geographic segmentation

The regions covered in the report are:

APAC

Europe

North America

MEA

South America

Exhibit 36: Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)

7.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 37: Geographic comparison

7.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 38: APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million tons)

Exhibit 39: APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 40: Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million tons)

Exhibit 41: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.5 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 42: North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million tons)

Exhibit 43: North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.6 MEA - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 44: MEA - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million tons)

Exhibit 45: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 46: South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million tons)

Exhibit 47: South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.8 Key leading countries

Exhibit 48: Key leading countries

7.9 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 49: Market opportunity by geography (million tons)

8. Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

8.1 Market drivers

8.1.1 Growing demand for steel

8.1.2 Advantages of TMT steel bar over other steel bar

8.1.3 Growing global construction industry

8.2 Market challenges

8.2.1 Increasing iron ore prices

8.2.2 Increase in government regulations and carbon pricing

8.2.3 Constraints of higher grades of TMT steel bar

Exhibit 50: Impact of drivers and challenges

8.3 Market trends

8.3.1 Increasing use of secondary steel

8.3.2 Increasing use of electric arc furnace

8.3.3 Increasing use of GFRP rebars

9. Vendor Landscape

9.1 Overview

Exhibit 51: Vendor landscape

9.2 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 52: Landscape disruption

Exhibit 53: Industry risks

10. Vendor Analysis

10.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 54: Vendors covered

10.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 55: Market positioning of vendors

10.3 ArcelorMittal SA

Exhibit 56: ArcelorMittal SA - Overview

Exhibit 57: ArcelorMittal SA - Business segments

Exhibit 58: ArcelorMittal SA - Key offerings

Exhibit 59: ArcelorMittal SA - Key customers

Exhibit 60: ArcelorMittal SA - Segment focus

10.4 Atlas TMT Bars Pvt. Ltd.

Exhibit 61: Atlas TMT Bars Pvt. Ltd. - Overview

Exhibit 62: Atlas TMT Bars Pvt. Ltd. - Business segments

Exhibit 63: Atlas TMT Bars Pvt. Ltd. - Key offerings

Exhibit 64: Atlas TMT Bars Pvt. Ltd. - Key customers

Exhibit 65: Atlas TMT Bars Pvt. Ltd. - Segment focus

10.5 Essar Global Fund Ltd.

Exhibit 66: Essar Global Fund Ltd. - Overview

Exhibit 67: Essar Global Fund Ltd. - Product and service

Exhibit 68: Essar Global Fund Ltd. - Key offerings

Exhibit 69: Essar Global Fund Ltd. - Key customers

Exhibit 70: Essar Global Fund Ltd. - Segment focus

10.6 Jindal Steel and Power Ltd.

Exhibit 71: Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. - Overview

Exhibit 72: Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. - Business segments

Exhibit 73: Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. - Key offerings

Exhibit 74: Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. - Key customers

Exhibit 75: Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. - Segment focus

10.7 JSW Steel Ltd.

Exhibit 76: JSW Steel Ltd. - Overview

Exhibit 77: JSW Steel Ltd. - Business segments

Exhibit 78: JSW Steel Ltd. - Key offerings

Exhibit 79: JSW Steel Ltd. - Key customers

Exhibit 80: JSW Steel Ltd. - Segment focus

10.8 Kamdhenu Ltd.

Exhibit 81: Kamdhenu Ltd. - Overview

Exhibit 82: Kamdhenu Ltd. - Business segments

Exhibit 83: Kamdhenu Ltd. - Key offerings

Exhibit 84: Kamdhenu Ltd. - Key customers

Exhibit 85: Kamdhenu Ltd. - Segment focus

10.9 MSP Steel and Power Ltd.

Exhibit 86: MSP Steel and Power Ltd. - Overview

Exhibit 87: MSP Steel and Power Ltd. - Business segments

Exhibit 88: MSP Steel and Power Ltd. - Key offerings

Exhibit 89: MSP Steel and Power Ltd. - Key customers

Exhibit 90: MSP Steel and Power Ltd. - Segment focus

10.10 Primegold International Ltd.

Exhibit 91: Primegold International Ltd. - Overview

Exhibit 92: Primegold International Ltd. - Business segments

Exhibit 93: Primegold International Ltd. - Key offerings

Exhibit 94: Primegold International Ltd. - Key customers

Exhibit 95: Primegold International Ltd. - Segment focus

10.11 Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd.

Exhibit 96: Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. - Overview

Exhibit 97: Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. - Business segments

Exhibit 98: Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. - Key offerings

Exhibit 99: Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. - Key customers

Exhibit 100: Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. - Segment focus

10.12 Tata Steel Ltd.

Exhibit 101: Tata Steel Ltd. - Overview

Exhibit 102: Tata Steel Ltd. - Business segments

Exhibit 103: Tata Steel Ltd. - Key offerings

Exhibit 104: Tata Steel Ltd. - Key customers

Exhibit 105: Tata Steel Ltd. - Segment focus

11. Appendix

11.1 Scope of the report

11.1.1 ????Market definition

11.1.2 Objective

11.1.3 Notes and caveats

11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 106: Currency conversion rates for US$

11.3 Research Methodology

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
PHOENIX, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE: UTI), a leading provider of transportation and technical training programs, today announced that it plans to report results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2022 on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, after market close. Jerome Grant, chief executive officer, and Troy Anderson, chief financial officer, will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on the same day to discuss the financial results and operating performance.

To participate in the live call, investors are invited to dial (844) 881-0138 (domestic) or (412) 317-6790 (international). A live webcast of the call will be available via the Universal Technical Institute investor relations website at https://investor.uti.edu . Please go to the website at least 10 minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software. The conference call webcast will be archived for fourteen days at https://investor.uti.edu . Alternatively, the telephone replay can be accessed through May 18, 2022, by dialing (877) 344-7529 (domestic) or (412) 317-0088 (international) and entering passcode 1292329.

About Universal Technical Institute, Inc.

Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Phoenix, Universal Technical Institute's (NYSE: UTI) mission is to serve our students, partners, and communities by providing quality education and support services for in-demand careers. Approximately 250,000 students have graduated from one of UTI's 14 campuses located across Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Texas. UTI's campuses are accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC), while its employer-aligned technical training programs are offered under four brands: Universal Technical Institute, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute / Marine Mechanics Institute, NASCAR Technical Institute, and MIAT College of Technology.

Media Contact:

Mark Brenner

Vice President, Corporate Affairs & External Communications

Universal Technical Institute, Inc.

(623) 445-0872

Investor Relations Contact:

Robert Winters or Davis Snyder

Alpha IR Group

(312) 445-2870

[email protected]

SOURCE Universal Technical Institute, Inc.
"This contract underscores our role as a systems integrator, which goes beyond offering customers weapons and radars," said Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon Missiles & Defense. "Our team provides Zumwalt destroyers extensive support, from engineering and cyber protection to software development and upgrades."

Additional services will include design, integration, test and evaluation, system upgrade and replacement, logistics product development, configuration management, and training systems.

For more information on this contract click here.

About Raytheon Technologies

Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. With four industry-leading businesses  Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense  the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics, and quantum physics. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Media Contact

Tara Wood

[email protected]

SOURCE Raytheon Missiles & Defense
Pursuant to the terms of the Arrangement Agreement, Ionic Brands shareholders will receive 0.0525 of a YourWay common share in exchange for each Ionic Brands Share held. The Transaction provides Ionic Brands shareholders with a premium per Ionic Share of approximately 21% based on the closing price of the YourWay common shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the " CSE ") as of April 19, 2022 and the 10-day volume weighted average price of the Ionic Brands Shares on the CSE for the period between April 6, 2022 and April 19, 2022.

The arm's length Transaction is expected to provide several benefits to both YourWay and Ionic Brands shareholders. Notably, following completion of the Transaction, YourWay will possess a strengthened brand portfolio including one of Washington's leading brands, which is expected to enable broader market penetration.

Key Transaction Highlights

Anticipated Growth Opportunities: The Transaction enables potential expansion of YourWay's 'House of Brands' into two additional leading cannabis markets: Washington and Oregon , while also exposing YourWay to an additional 16 million consumers.

The Transaction enables potential expansion of YourWay's 'House of Brands' into two additional leading cannabis markets: and , while also exposing YourWay to an additional 16 million consumers. Increased Retail Footprint: The combined company's products are expected to be carried by more than 450 retailers, with significant market penetration in Arizona and Washington . In 2021, Ionic Brands distributed over 6,970,889 million packaged products.

The combined company's products are expected to be carried by more than 450 retailers, with significant market penetration in and . In 2021, Ionic Brands distributed over 6,970,889 million packaged products. Robust Brand Portfolio: Following the Transaction, the combined company will have 12 owned brands brands in four key states, with expanded consumer offerings and exposure to high growth categories, including edibles, beverages, and packaged flower. Ionic Brands' flagship brand, IONIC, is a top three premium brand in Washington State with a series of vape and prerolls SKUs. Ionic Brands' portfolio also includes; ZOOTS, a popular consumables brand with a variety of form factors, the value concentrate brands DABULOUS, WICKED, a premium infused preroll and Cowlitz County Cannabis which includes seven packaged flower and preroll brands.

Following the Transaction, the combined company will have 12 owned brands brands in four key states, with expanded consumer offerings and exposure to high growth categories, including edibles, beverages, and packaged flower. Ionic Brands' flagship brand, IONIC, is a top three premium brand in with a series of vape and prerolls SKUs. Ionic Brands' portfolio also includes; ZOOTS, a popular consumables brand with a variety of form factors, the value concentrate brands DABULOUS, WICKED, a premium infused preroll and Cowlitz County Cannabis which includes seven packaged flower and preroll brands. Product Innovation: The combined company will have nearly a decade of data, formulation, and product development experience, enabling the development of products that closely align with consumer preferences.

The combined company will have nearly a decade of data, formulation, and product development experience, enabling the development of products that closely align with consumer preferences. Bolsters Leadership Team: The management team of the combined company will have more than 70 years of combined cannabis industry experience to support the company's ongoing growth.

The management team of the combined company will have more than 70 years of combined cannabis industry experience to support the company's ongoing growth. Ongoing Upside Potential for Ionic Brands Shareholders: Ionic Brands shareholders will receive YourWay common shares pursuant to the Transaction and will have the opportunity to participate in the future growth of YourWay.

Ionic Brands shareholders will receive YourWay common shares pursuant to the Transaction and will have the opportunity to participate in the future growth of YourWay. Immediate Attractive Premium for Ionic Brands Shareholders: The Transaction provides Ionic Brands shareholders with a premium per Ionic Share of approximately 21% based on the closing price of the YourWay common shares on the CSE as of April 19, 2022 and the 10-day volume weighted average price of the Ionic Brands Shares on the CSE for the period between April 6, 2022 and April 19, 2022 .

The Transaction provides Ionic Brands shareholders with a premium per Ionic Share of approximately 21% based on the closing price of the YourWay common shares on the CSE as of and the 10-day volume weighted average price of the Ionic Brands Shares on the CSE for the period between and . Opportunity to Achieve Potential Cost Synergies: YourWay and Ionic Brands anticipate post-Transaction cost synergy opportunities as the combined company optimizes and integrates operations and shared services.

YourWay and Ionic Brands anticipate post-Transaction cost synergy opportunities as the combined company optimizes and integrates operations and shared services. Improved Financial Position: Considering the challenging economic environment and volatile financial market conditions, particularly for cannabis companies, the Transaction provides Ionic Brands shareholders with access to YourWay's stronger financial position, which is expected to enable the combined company to pursue key growth projects.

Management Commentary

"The Transaction is expected to accelerate YourWay's 'House of Brands' strategy and represents an opportunity for entry into key markets with limited competition from national multi-state operators. Ionic Brands brings complementary strength to our existing business, providing the ability to bring more innovative products to consumers and bolstering our footprint in two new US markets."

- Jakob Ripshtein, Executive Chairman of the Board, YourWay Cannabis Brands Inc.

"We believe the Transaction is highly strategic for Ionic Brands, its brands, team members and shareholders, and will allow Ionic Brands shareholders to participate in the shared vision of the combined company. The Transaction was entered into with a view to the long-term growth and success of the Ionic brand and the potential to increase shareholder value."

- John Gorst, CEO, Ionic Brands Corp.

Transaction Details

The Transaction will be effected by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) and will require the approval of: (i) 66% of the votes cast by the holders of Ionic Brands Shares and the Series D preferred shares of Ionic Brands, voting together as a single class, on the Transaction, (ii) a simple majority of the votes cast by the holders of Ionic Brands Shares and the Series D preferred shares of Ionic Brands, voting as a single class after excluding any votes of "related parties" and "interested parties" and other persons required to be excluded under Canadian Multilateral Instrument 61-101  Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions, on the Transaction, (iii) 66% of the votes cast by the holders of the Series D preferred shares of Ionic Brands on an amendment to the articles of Ionic in order to remove the dividend entitlement for the holders of the Series D preferred shares (the "Series D Amendment"), and (iv) 66% of the votes cast by the holders of the Series E preferred shares of Ionic Brands on an amendment to the articles of Ionic in order to remove the dividend entitlement for the holders of the Series E preferred shares (the "Series E Amendment"), all at a special meeting to consider the Transaction expected to take place in June 2022.

YourWay has entered into voting support agreements with certain of Ionic Brands' directors, officers and significant shareholders, together holding (i) at least 21.66% of the outstanding Ionic Brands Shares and Series D preferred shares of Ionic Brands, (ii) approximately 70.57% of the outstanding Series D preferred shares of Ionic Brands, and (iii) 100% of the outstanding Series E preferred shares of Ionic Brands, pursuant to which they have agreed, among other things, to vote their shares in favour of the Transaction, the Series D Amendment and the Series E Amendment, as applicable.

In addition to shareholder and court approvals, the Transaction is subject to applicable regulatory approvals including, but not limited to, CSE approval and the satisfaction of certain other closing conditions, including the Series D Amendment, the Series E Amendment and various amendments to the terms of Ionic Brands outstanding convertible debentures. The Arrangement Agreement includes customary provisions, including non-solicitation, "fiduciary out" and "right to match" provisions as well as a termination fee payable by Ionic Brands to YourWay in certain specified circumstances.

Assuming timely receipt of all necessary court, shareholder, regulatory and other third-party approvals and the satisfaction of all other conditions, closing of the Transaction is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2022.

A full description of the Transaction will be set forth in the management information circular of Ionic Brands, which will be mailed to Ionic Brands shareholders and filed with the Canadian securities regulators on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") at www.sedar.com.

Approvals and Recommendation

The Transaction was approved by the Board of Directors of each of YourWay and Ionic Brands, and the Ionic Brands Board of Directors unanimously recommends that Ionic Brands shareholders vote in favour of the Transaction.

LUI, Inc. provided the Ionic Brands Board of Directors with an opinion, dated April 19, 2022, to the effect that, as of the date of such opinion, the consideration payable pursuant to the Transaction is fair, from a financial point of view, to the Ionic Brands shareholders, in each case, based upon and subject to the respective assumptions, limitations, qualifications and other matters set forth in such opinions.

None of the securities to be issued pursuant to the Transaction have been or will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and any securities issuable in the Transaction are anticipated to be issued in reliance upon available exemptions from such registration requirements pursuant to Section 3(a)(10) of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable exemptions under state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

About YourWay Cannabis Brands

YourWay is a publicly traded, multi-state and consumer-centric House of Brands committed to redefining the way consumers and cannabis brands interact, with sales and operations in Arizona and California. Through building their own brands, partnering with others, and supporting retail partners house brand strategy, they are dedicated to expanding their reach; remolding the cannabis industry and ultimately, redefining the way consumers and cannabis brands interact.

YourWay aims to connect with the cannabis consumer on a deeper level, utilizing decades of brand-building expertise and an integral understanding of the customer experience to create an intuitive suite of branded products that closely aligns with consumer need states. The YourWay portfolio is an all-encompassing house of brands designed to create a sense of belonging for every cannabis consumer regardless of their relationship with the plant. Please visit www.yourwaycannabis.com for the latest news and information about YourWay and its brands.

Website: www.yourwaycannabis.com

About Ionic Brands Corp.

Ionic Brands is dedicated to building a regionally based multi-state consumer-focused cannabis concentrate brand portfolio with strong roots in the premium and luxury segments of vape concentrates and consummables. The cornerstone brand of the portfolio, IONIC, is a top vaporizer brand in Washington State along with its economy brand DABULOUS and has aggressively expanded throughout the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The brand is currently operating in Washington and Oregon. Ionic Brands' strategy is to be the leader of the highest-value segments of the cannabis market.

Your Way Contacts:

Glen Shear

Head of Investor Relations

[email protected]

For media inquiries, please contact: [email protected]

For investor inquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Ionic Brands Corp. Contacts:

John Gorst

Chief Executive Officer

For inquiries, please contact: [email protected] or 253-248-7928

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:

This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" as defined under applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs, and current expectations of YourWay and Ionic Brands with respect to future business activities and operating performance. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions and includes information regarding: the timing and outcome of the Transaction, the anticipated benefits of the Transaction, the potential synergies as a result of the Transaction, the anticipated timing of the Ionic Brands special meeting of shareholders and the closing of the Transaction, the satisfaction or waiver of the closing conditions set out in the Arrangement Agreement, including approval of the Series D Amendment and the Series E Amendment and the receipt of all regulatory approvals, and expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including: assumptions as to the time required to prepare and mail meeting materials to Ionic Brands shareholders; the ability of the parties to receive, in a timely manner and on satisfactory terms, the necessary regulatory, court and shareholder approvals; the ability of the parties to satisfy, in a timely manner, the other conditions to the completion of the Transaction; the prompt and effective integration of YourWay and Ionic Brands' businesses and the ability to achieve the anticipated synergies contemplated by the Transaction; inherent uncertainty associated with financial or other projections; risks related to the value of the YourWay common shares to be issued pursuant to the Transaction; the diversion of management time on Transaction-related issues; expectations regarding future investment, growth and expansion of YourWay and Ionic Brands' operations; regulatory and licensing risks; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial and stock markets; legal and regulatory risks inherent in the cannabis industry, including the global regulatory landscape and enforcement related to cannabis, political risks and risks relating to regulatory change; risks relating to anti-money laundering laws; compliance with extensive government regulation and the interpretation of various laws regulations and policies; public opinion and perception of the cannabis industry; and such other risks contained in the public filings of YourWay and Ionic Brands filed with Canadian securities regulators and available under their respectvie profiles on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical fact but instead reflects management's expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Although YourWay and Ionic Brands believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, such information involves risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance, or achievements of YourWay and Ionic Brands.

YourWay and Ionic Brands, through their respective subsidiaries, are indirectly involved in the manufacture, possession, use, sale, and distribution of cannabis in the recreational and medicinal cannabis marketplace in the United States. Local state laws where YourWay and Ionic Brands operate permit such activities however, investors should note that there are significant legal restrictions and regulations that govern the cannabis industry in the United States. Cannabis remains a Schedule I drug under the US Controlled Substances Act, making it illegal under federal law in the United States to, among other things, cultivate, distribute or possess cannabis in the United States. Financial transactions involving proceeds generated by, or intended to promote, cannabis-related business activities in the United States may form the basis for prosecution under applicable United States federal money laundering legislation.

While the approach to enforcement of such laws by the federal government in the United States has trended toward nonenforcement against individuals and businesses that comply with recreational and medicinal cannabis programs in states where such programs are legal, strict compliance with state laws with respect to cannabis will neither absolve YourWay and Ionic Brands of liability under United States federal law, nor will it provide a defense to any federal proceeding which may be brought against YourWay or Ionic Brands. The enforcement of federal laws in the United States is a significant risk to the business of YourWay and Ionic Brands and any proceedings brought against YourWay or Ionic Brands thereunder may adversely affect YourWay and Ionic Brands operations and financial performance, respectively.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated, or expected. Although YourWay and Ionic Brands have attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which speak only as of the date of this news release. YourWay and Ionic Brands disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE YourWay Cannabis Brands
Sales growth of 13.8 percent; organic sales growth of 17.5 percent

Global COVID-19 testing-related sales of $3.3 billion in the first quarter

Excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales, first-quarter reported sales growth of 3.9 percent and organic sales growth of 7.7 percent

GAAP diluted EPS growth of 37.0 percent; adjusted diluted EPS growth of 31.1 percent

Continues to strengthen portfolio with new product approvals and expanded reimbursement coverage

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022.

First-quarter sales of $11.9 billion increased 13.8 percent on a reported basis and 17.5 percent on an organic basis, which excludes the impact of foreign exchange.

increased 13.8 percent on a reported basis and 17.5 percent on an organic basis, which excludes the impact of foreign exchange. First-quarter GAAP diluted EPS 1 was $1.37 and adjusted diluted EPS, which excludes specified items, was $1.73 .

was and adjusted diluted EPS, which excludes specified items, was . Global COVID-19 testing-related sales were $3.3 billion in the first quarter.

in the first quarter. Abbott projects full-year 2022 diluted EPS on a GAAP basis of at least $3.35 and projected adjusted diluted EPS of at least $4.70 remains unchanged.

and projected adjusted diluted EPS of at least remains unchanged. 2022 guidance includes projected COVID-19 testing-related sales of approximately $4.5 billion , which Abbott expects to largely occur in the first half of the year and will update on a quarterly basis.

, which Abbott expects to largely occur in the first half of the year and will update on a quarterly basis. In February, Abbott initiated a voluntary recall of certain infant formula products manufactured at one of its U.S. facilities. Abbott is working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has begun implementing corrective actions and enhancements to the facility.

In February, Abbott received FDA approval for an expanded indication for its CardioMEMS  HF system, a small implantable sensor and remote monitoring system that can detect early warning signs of worsening heart failure.

HF system, a small implantable sensor and remote monitoring system that can detect early warning signs of worsening heart failure. In March, Abbott announced its FreeStyle Libre  system is the first and only continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system to gain expanded reimbursement in Japan to now include all people with diabetes who use insulin.

system is the first and only continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system to gain expanded reimbursement in to now include all people with diabetes who use insulin. In April, Abbott announced FDA approval for its Aveir single-chamber leadless pacemaker for the treatment of patients in the U.S. with slow heart rhythms. Unlike traditional pacemakers, leadless pacemakers do not require an incision in the chest to implant or leads (wires) to deliver therapy.

"Our diversified business continues to perform well in a challenging environment," said Robert B. Ford, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott. "We're particularly pleased with the strong performance we're achieving in Medical Devices and Established Pharmaceuticals."

FIRST-QUARTER BUSINESS OVERVIEW

Note: Management believes that measuring sales growth rates on an organic basis is an appropriate way for investors to best understand the underlying performance of the business. Organic sales growth excludes the impact of foreign exchange.

Following are sales by business segment and commentary for the first quarter 2022:

Total Company ($ in millions)

















% Change vs. 1Q21



Sales 1Q22

Reported

Organic



U.S.

Int'l

Total

U.S.

Int'l

Total

U.S.

Int'l

Total Total *

4,937

6,958

11,895

28.6

5.1

13.8

28.6

11.1

17.5 Nutrition

677

1,217

1,894

(19.0)

1.4

(7.0)

(19.0)

5.8

(4.4) Diagnostics

2,741

2,545

5,286

67.0

7.3

31.7

67.0

13.0

35.1 Established Pharmaceuticals

--

1,147

1,147

n/a

7.1

7.1

n/a

13.4

13.4 Medical Devices

1,516

2,049

3,565

12.2

4.1

7.4

12.2

11.0

11.5







































* Total Q1 2022 Abbott sales include Other Sales of approximately $3 million.



n/a = Not Applicable.

Note: In order to compute results excluding the impact of exchange rates, current year U.S. dollar sales are multiplied or divided, as appropriate, by the current year average foreign exchange rates and then those amounts are multiplied or divided, as appropriate, by the prior year average foreign exchange rates.

First-quarter 2022 worldwide sales of $11.9 billion increased 13.8 percent on a reported basis and 17.5 percent on an organic basis.

Worldwide sales, excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales, increased 3.9 percent on a reported basis and 7.7 percent on an organic basis in the quarter.2

Nutrition ($ in millions)

















% Change vs. 1Q21



Sales 1Q22

Reported

Organic



U.S.

Int'l

Total

U.S.

Int'l

Total

U.S.

Int'l

Total Total

677

1,217

1,894

(19.0)

1.4

(7.0)

(19.0)

5.8

(4.4) Pediatric

338

509

847

(33.6)

(8.8)

(20.6)

(33.6)

(5.4)

(18.8) Adult

339

708

1,047

3.7

10.3

8.0

3.7

15.6

11.5

Worldwide Nutrition sales decreased 7.0 percent on a reported basis and 4.4 percent on an organic basis in the first quarter. During the quarter, sales were negatively impacted by a voluntary recall of certain powder formulas manufactured at one of Abbott's U.S. plants. Excluding the U.S. sales associated with these products in the current and prior years, worldwide Nutrition sales increased 5.0 percent on a reported basis and 8.0 percent on an organic basis in the first quarter.3

In Adult Nutrition, strong performance of Ensure, Abbott's market-leading complete and balanced nutrition brand, and Glucerna, Abbott's market-leading diabetes nutrition brand, led to global sales growth of 8.0 percent on a reported basis and 11.5 percent on an organic basis.

Worldwide Pediatric Nutrition sales decreased 20.6 percent on a reported basis and 18.8 percent on an organic basis. Internationally, Pediatric Nutrition sales were unfavorably impacted primarily by challenging market conditions in China.

Diagnostics ($ in millions)





















% Change vs. 1Q21







Sales 1Q22

Reported

Organic







U.S.

Int'l

Total

U.S.

Int'l

Total

U.S.

Int'l

Total



Total

2,741

2,545

5,286

67.0

7.3

31.7

67.0

13.0

35.1



Core Laboratory

268

916

1,184

(1.2)

0.5

0.1

(1.2)

5.8

4.2



Molecular

172

248

420

(1.8)

(8.5)

(5.9)

(1.8)

(3.8)

(3.0)



Point of Care

91

37

128

(1.0)

0.5

(0.6)

(1.0)

3.8

0.4



Rapid Diagnostics

2,210

1,344

3,554

100.4

16.6

57.5

100.4

23.0

60.8





Worldwide Diagnostics sales increased 31.7 percent on a reported basis and 35.1 percent on an organic basis in the first quarter. Global COVID-19 testing-related sales were $3.3 billion in the quarter, led by sales of rapid testing products.

Sales in Core Laboratory and Molecular Diagnostics were impacted by year-over-year declines in COVID-19 testing-related sales in these businesses. Excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales, Core Laboratory Diagnostics sales and Molecular Diagnostics sales increased 2.4 percent and 24.8 percent, respectively, on a reported basis in the first quarter and 6.6 percent and 29.0 percent, respectively, on an organic basis.4

Established Pharmaceuticals ($ in millions)

















% Change vs. 1Q21



Sales 1Q22

Reported

Organic



U.S.

Int'l

Total

U.S.

Int'l

Total

U.S.

Int'l

Total Total

--

1,147

1,147

n/a

7.1

7.1

n/a

13.4

13.4 Key Emerging Markets

--

902

902

n/a

9.8

9.8

n/a

17.1

17.1 Other

--

245

245

n/a

(1.7)

(1.7)

n/a

1.2

1.2

Established Pharmaceuticals sales increased 7.1 percent on a reported basis in the first quarter and increased 13.4 percent on an organic basis.

Key Emerging Markets include several emerging countries that represent the most attractive long-term growth opportunities for Abbott's branded generics product portfolio. Sales in these geographies increased 9.8 percent on a reported basis in the quarter and increased 17.1 percent on an organic basis, led by double-digit growth on a reported and organic basis in several geographies and therapeutic areas, including gastroenterology, respiratory and central nervous system/pain management.

Other sales decreased 1.7 percent on a reported basis and increased 1.2 percent on an organic basis in the quarter.

Medical Devices ($ in millions)

















% Change vs. 1Q21



Sales 1Q22

Reported

Organic



U.S.

Int'l

Total

U.S.

Int'l

Total

U.S.

Int'l

Total Total

1,516

2,049

3,565

12.2

4.1

7.4

12.2

11.0

11.5 Rhythm Management

248

276

524

3.1

(0.8)

1.0

3.1

5.2

4.2 Electrophysiology

216

269

485

20.2

7.2

12.6

20.2

14.4

16.8 Heart Failure

167

54

221

15.3

11.0

14.2

15.3

18.8

16.2 Vascular

209

410

619

(5.1)

(1.3)

(2.6)

(5.1)

4.2

1.0 Structural Heart

190

221

411

13.0

6.0

9.1

13.0

14.5

13.8 Neuromodulation

143

36

179

(1.3)

(9.5)

(3.1)

(1.3)

(2.1)

(1.5) Diabetes Care

343

783

1,126

35.6

7.7

14.9

35.6

15.1

20.4

Worldwide Medical Devices sales increased 7.4 percent on a reported basis and 11.5 percent on an organic basis in the first quarter. Strong growth in the quarter was driven by double-digit organic growth in Electrophysiology, Heart Failure, Structural Heart and Diabetes Care.

In Diabetes Care, FreeStyle Libre sales were approximately $1.0 billion in the quarter, which represents sales growth of 20.4 percent on a reported basis and 26.2 percent on an organic basis.

ABBOTT'S EARNINGS-PER-SHARE GUIDANCE

Abbott projects full-year 2022 diluted earnings per share under GAAP of at least $3.35. Abbott forecasts specified items for the full-year 2022 of $1.35 per share primarily related to intangible amortization, costs related to a voluntary recall, expenses associated with acquisitions, restructurings and cost reduction initiatives and other net expenses. Excluding specified items, projected adjusted diluted earnings per share of at least $4.70 remains unchanged for the full-year 2022.

ABBOTT DECLARES 393RD CONSECUTIVE QUARTERLY DIVIDEND

On Feb. 18, 2022, the board of directors of Abbott declared the company's quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share. Abbott's cash dividend is payable May 16, 2022 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 15, 2022.

Abbott has increased its dividend payout for 50 consecutive years and is a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, which tracks companies that have annually increased their dividend for at least 25 consecutive years.

About Abbott:

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 113,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/abbott-/, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews.

Abbott will live-webcast its first-quarter earnings conference call through its Investor Relations website at www.abbottinvestor.com at 8 a.m. Central time today. An archived edition of the webcast will be available later that day.

 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995  A Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Some statements in this news release may be forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Abbott cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect Abbott's operations are discussed in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2021, and are incorporated herein by reference. Abbott undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except as required by law.

1 All amounts reported relate to continuing operations only as there are no discontinued operations in the periods presented. 2 In the first quarter of 2022, COVID-19 testing-related sales were $3.304 billion. In the first quarter of 2021, total worldwide sales were $10.456 billion, which included COVID-19 testing-related sales of $2.185 billion. 3 In the first quarter of 2022, U.S. sales of certain powder formulas were $59 million. In the first quarter of 2021, worldwide Nutrition sales were $2.036 billion, which included $288 million of U.S. sales of certain powder formulas. 4 In the first quarter of 2022, Core Laboratory and Molecular Diagnostics COVID-19 testing-related sales were $28 million and $246 million, respectively. In the first quarter of 2021, worldwide Core Laboratory and Molecular Diagnostics sales were $1.182 billion and $447 million, respectively. Core Laboratory and Molecular Diagnostics COVID-19 testing-related sales in the first quarter of 2021 were $54 million and $307 million, respectively.

Abbott Laboratories and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statement of Earnings First Quarter Ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 (in millions, except per share data) (unaudited)





1Q22

1Q21

% Change

Net Sales

$11,895

$10,456

13.8

















Cost of products sold, excluding amortization expense

4,987

4,401

13.3

Amortization of intangible assets

512

509

0.5

Research and development

697

654

6.5

Selling, general, and administrative

2,787

2,783

0.2

Total Operating Cost and Expenses

8,983

8,347

7.6

















Operating Earnings

2,912

2,109

38.1

















Interest expense, net

117

124

(5.7)

Net foreign exchange (gain) loss

(3)

3

n/m

Other (income) expense, net

(78)

(61)

28.6

Earnings before taxes

2,876

2,043

40.8

Taxes on earnings

429

250

72.0 1)















Net Earnings

$2,447

$1,793

36.5

















Net Earnings Excluding Specified Items, as described below

$3,077

$2,368

30.0 2)















Diluted Earnings per Common Share

$1.37

$1.00

37.0

















Diluted Earnings per Common Share,













excluding Specified Items, as described below

$1.73

$1.32

31.1 2)















Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding













Plus Dilutive Common Stock Options

1,775

1,792









NOTES: See tables titled "Non-GAAP Reconciliation of Financial Information" for an explanation of certain non-GAAP financial information. n/m = Percent change is not meaningful. See footnotes below.





1) 2022 Taxes on Earnings includes the recognition of approximately $30 million of net tax expense as a result of the resolution of various tax positions related to prior years and approximately $30 million in excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation.





2021 Taxes on Earnings includes the recognition of approximately $80 million in excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation.



2) 2022 Net Earnings and Diluted Earnings per Common Share, excluding Specified Items, excludes net after-tax charges of $630 million, or $0.36 per share, for intangible amortization, charges related to a voluntary recall and other net expenses primarily associated with acquisitions.





2021 Net Earnings and Diluted Earnings per Common Share, excluding Specified Items, excludes net after-tax charges of $575 million, or $0.32 per share, for intangible amortization and other net expenses primarily associated with certain litigation, acquisitions and restructuring actions.

Abbott Laboratories and Subsidiaries Non-GAAP Reconciliation of Financial Information First Quarter Ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 (in millions, except per share data) (unaudited)





1Q22



As

Reported

(GAAP)

Specified

Items

As

Adjusted

% to

Sales

















Intangible Amortization

$ 512

$ (512)

$ --



Gross Margin

6,396

636

7,032

59.1% R&D

697

(33)

664

5.6% SG&A

2,787

(39)

2,748

23.1% Other (income) expense, net

(78)

(15)

(93)



Earnings before taxes

2,876

723

3,599



Taxes on Earnings

429

93

522



Net Earnings

2,447

630

3,077



Diluted Earnings per Share

$1.37

$0.36

$1.73







Specified items reflect intangible amortization expense of $512 million and other net expenses of $211 million that includes costs associated with a product recall, acquisitions, and other net expenses. See tables titled "Details of Specified Items" for additional details regarding specified items.









1Q21



As

Reported

(GAAP)

Specified

Items

As

Adjusted

% to

Sales

















Intangible Amortization

$ 509

$ (509)

$ --



Gross Margin

5,546

549

6,095

58.3% R&D

654

(28)

626

6.0% SG&A

2,783

(154)

2,629

25.1% Other (income) expense, net

(61)

(12)

(73)



Earnings before taxes

2,043

743

2,786



Taxes on Earnings

250

168

418



Net Earnings

1,793

575

2,368



Diluted Earnings per Share

$1.00

$0.32

$1.32







Specified items reflect intangible amortization expense of $509 million and other net expenses of $234 million, primarily associated with certain litigation, acquisitions, restructuring actions and other expenses. See tables titled "Details of Specified Items" for additional details regarding specified items.



A reconciliation of the first-quarter tax rates for 2022 and 2021 is shown below:















1Q22



($ in millions)

Pre-Tax

Income

Taxes on

Earnings

Tax

Rate



As reported (GAAP)

$2,876

$ 429

14.9% 1)

Specified items

723

93







Excluding specified items

$3,599

$522

14.5%





























1Q21



($ in millions)

Pre-Tax

Income

Taxes on

Earnings

Tax

Rate



As reported (GAAP)

$2,043

$250

12.2% 2)

Specified items

743

168







Excluding specified items

$2,786

$418

15.0%







1) 2022 Taxes on Earnings includes the recognition of approximately $30 million of net tax expense as a result of the resolution of various tax positions related to prior years and approximately $30 million in excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation.



2) 2021 Taxes on Earnings includes the recognition of approximately $80 million in excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation.

Abbott Laboratories and Subsidiaries Details of Specified Items First Quarter Ended March 31, 2022 (in millions, except per share data) (unaudited)





Acquisition or

Divestiture-

related (a)

Restructuring

and Cost

Reduction

Initiatives (b)

Intangible

Amortization

Other (c)

Total

Specifieds Gross Margin

$ 21

$ (6)

$ 512

$ 109

$ 636 R&D

(2)

(1)

--

(30)

(33) SG&A

(11)

--

--

(28)

(39) Other (income) expense, net

(7)

--

--

(8)

(15) Earnings before taxes

$ 41

$ (5)

$ 512

$ 175

723 Taxes on Earnings (d)

















93 Net Earnings

















$ 630 Diluted Earnings per Share

















$ 0.36























The table above provides additional details regarding the specified items described on tables titled "Non-GAAP Reconciliation of Financial Information."



a) Acquisition-related expenses include integration costs, which represent incremental costs directly related to integrating the acquired businesses and include expenditures for the integration of systems, processes and business activities. b) Restructuring and cost reduction initiative expenses include severance, outplacement, and other direct costs associated with specific restructuring plans and cost reduction initiatives. The Gross Margin amount includes a credit associated with the charges taken in the second quarter of 2021 for a restructuring plan related to Abbott's manufacturing network for COVID-19 diagnostic tests. c) Other includes charges related to a voluntary recall within the Nutrition segment and incremental costs to comply with the European Union's Medical Device (MDR) and In Vitro Diagnostics Medical Device (IVDR) Regulations for previously approved products. d) Reflects the net tax benefit associated with the specified items, excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation and net tax expense as a result of the resolution of various tax positions related to prior years.

Abbott Laboratories and Subsidiaries Details of Specified Items First Quarter Ended March 31, 2021 (in millions, except per share data) (unaudited)





Acquisition or

Divestiture-

related (a)

Restructuring

and Cost

Reduction

Initiatives (b)

Intangible

Amortization

Other (c)

Total

Specifieds Gross Margin

$ 19

$ 19

$ 509

$ 2

$ 549 R&D

(2)

--

--

(26)

(28) SG&A

(13)

(1)

--

(140)

(154) Other (income) expense, net

--

1

--

(13)

(12) Earnings before taxes

$ 34

$ 19

$ 509

$ 181

743 Taxes on Earnings (d)

















168 Net Earnings

















$ 575 Diluted Earnings per Share

















$ 0.32























The table above provides additional details regarding the specified items described on tables titled "Non-GAAP Reconciliation of Financial Information."



a) Acquisition-related expenses include integration costs, which represent incremental costs directly related to integrating the acquired businesses and include expenditures for the integration of systems, processes and business activities. b) Restructuring and cost reduction initiative expenses include severance, outplacement, and other direct costs associated with specific restructuring plans and cost reduction initiatives. Restructuring and cost reduction plans consist of distinct initiatives to streamline operations including the consolidation and rationalization of business activities and facilities, workforce reductions, the transfer of product lines between manufacturing facilities, and the transfer of other business activities between sites. c) Other primarily relates to the net costs related to certain litigation, the acquisition of a research and development asset, and the impairment of an equity investment. d) Reflects the net tax benefit associated with the specified items and excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation.

SOURCE Abbott
Named after the awe-inspiring Aurora Borealis, the wine celebrates the brilliance and elegance of Oregon Pinot Noir, shaped by ancient soils, gentle hills, and maritime climate. Each sip displays the balance and complexity that have made Oregon one of the world's preeminent wine regions.

Borealis was produced for national distribution and was released April 1, 2022.

Since 2016, Ackley Brands has continued to grow its portfolio of wine companies. The company has increased the national notoriety of Montinore Estate with an expanded national sales team, professional services, and financial support. Ackley Brands launched a luxury wine brand sourced from Oregon's famed Yamhill-Carlton AVA, Landlines Estates, and a new Washington State wine collection, Cataclysm Wine Company. The company currently farms over 200 acres of organic and biodynamic vineyards in Oregon's Willamette Valley and is currently developing another 177 acres in Yamhill-Carlton.

The investment group is actively seeking acquisition opportunities to expand its winery partners in Washington and Oregon.

About Ackley Brands

Ackley Brands is a Seattle-based family investment company that owns and operates premium wine brands throughout the Northwest and brings financial and professional resources to partners in the wine industry. They are committed to the continuity and stewardship of a winery's unique legacy, while providing the necessary resources for their brands to reach their greatest potential. To learn more, visit www.ackleybrands.com.

SOURCE Ackley Brands
BRUSSELS and TEL AVIV, Israel, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aliaxis, a world leader enabling access to water and energy through inventive fluid management solutions, has signed an investment agreement and will be partnering with CropX, a global leader in agtech solutions for full farm management.

Through this partnership, Aliaxis and CropX will collaborate in the field of data driven precision irrigation. As irrigated crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry account for roughly 70 per cent of total freshwater withdrawals globally, efficient water usage in agriculture is clearly becoming more and more important.

Eric Olsen, CEO of Aliaxis says: "Among the focus areas of Aliaxis Next, our recently created division, is 'Water for Food'. With this division, we focus on growth beyond our core business and want to create a next generation of solutions with real societal impact. Partnering with CropX is fully in line with this ambition, as their unique approach allows farmers to monitor both below & above ground crop data, and to significantly increase crop efficiency."

Tomer Tzach, CEO of CropX declares: "We are very happy to be teaming up with Aliaxis. It is very exciting for us to get the support of a global leader that offers water and irrigation systems to customers in different parts of the world. It will support our expansion and the further development of our business. I am confident that the advanced digital intelligence we offer will also be beneficial to Aliaxis' agricultural customers."

The financial details of this agreement will not be disclosed.

Media contacts:

Aliaxis

Lars Vervoort

E: [email protected]

T: +32 (0)2 775 57 33

CropX

Hanna Day-Woodruff

E: [email protected]



About Aliaxis: Aliaxis is a global leader in fluid management systems for building, infrastructure, industrial and agriculture applications. The company provides communities around the world with sustainable innovative solutions for water and energy, leading the industry in a way that anticipates the rapidly evolving needs of its customers and of society. With a global workforce of 14,000+ employees, Aliaxis offers specific solutions that meet our customers' most demanding needs across the globe. Aliaxis is active through leading local brands and operating in over 40 countries, combining local solutions with global innovation and operational excellence. The company is privately owned, with its global headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. More on www.aliaxis.com

About CropX: Since 2017, CropX has been helping farmers everywhere grow more with less - less water, less fertilizer, less chemicals and less stress. Its technologies and cloud-based platform offer advanced farm intelligence to farmers in over 50 countries, across all the arable continents, on over 75 crop types. With experienced teams of agronomists, data scientists, and engineers, CropX is committed to improving and simplifying digital tools for profitable and sustainable farm management. More on www.cropx.com

SOURCE CropX; Aliaxis
Co-Founders John Ahlander and Matthew Wood Draw Upon Decades of Artificial Intelligence, Security Experience to Raise Seed Fund Led By Mercato Partners' Prelude Fund

Partnership with Cisco protected online infrastructure during the Super Bowl

SALT LAKE CITY, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, alphaMountain.ai announced it has received $2.7 million in seed funding led by Mercato Partners' Prelude Fund. The round will help the company continue developing the company's threat intelligence, which has already landed several major partner integrations with Cisco SecureX, ReversingLabs, Cyware, Maltego and others.

alphaMountain

alphaMountain.ai's unique technology is based on a continuously trained neural network and actor voting system that combines data from threat feeds and real-time user network telemetry. While legacy solutions have struggled to protect enterprises due to low accuracy and poor coverage, alphaMountain.ai's technology provides broad coverage for nearly 1 billion domains and IPs in all geographies and languages, including site malicious risk and web reputation, content classification and cybersquatting (i.e. phishing) detection.

"What's unique about alphaMountain  aside from having two of the brightest minds in network security and machine learning at the helm  is that they are actually using AI. Many cyber tools claim to use AI but are actually using static based human authored rules." said Zach Sivertson, partner at Mercato Partners' Prelude Fund. "Even at this early stage, alphaMountain.ai's technology is very impressive, and partners can tell a difference in the quality of data."

alphaMountain.ai has an enviable investor roster that includes CrossPoint Capital Partners, Andrew Peterson, co-founder at Signal Sciences and a group of prominent Utah-based investors. Already, the company has gained strong early traction with five major partner integrations, impressive data customers, and technology that scales to billions of lookups per day.

"At Blue Coat Systems, John and Mathew laid the foundation for several web protection tools that companies still rely on today," said Greg Clark, Managing Partner of Crosspoint Capital Partners and former CEO of Blue Coat Systems and Symantec. "Given the relevant experience the founding team has in this critical cybersecurity area, it was an easy decision to back this endeavor. Early results from the intelligence platform are very encouraging."

CEO John Ahlander and CTO Matthew Wood co-founded alphaMountain.ai in 2020 to bring the latest machine learning techniques to enterprises in search of coverage from the Internet's malicious actors. As former Vice President of Product Development and Cloud Operations at Symantec, John Ahlander has decades of experience leading teams in malware defense, web filtering, breach detection, reporting and analytics. Similarly, Matthew Wood has nearly two decades' experience as a Chief Scientist and Engineering Director for Symantec, Solera Networks and others, where he was instrumental in building a network forensics platform used by some of the world's largest organizations.

alphaMountain.ai has partnered with Cisco to enable security for major events, including Super Bowl LVI (2022) and Black Hat USA (2021). The integration provided threat intelligence to the Cisco SecureX platform used to investigate suspicious activities in the event networks.

"alphaMountain.ai is a valued member of the Cisco Secure Technical Alliance, with their SecureX integration," said Jessica Bair Oppenhenheimer, director of the Cisco Secure Technical Alliance. "We appreciate their support in securing major events, like the global Black Hat conferences and the NFL's Super Bowl LVI SOC, where alphaMountain.ai provided full threat intelligence licenses to aid the Cisco teams in protecting the networks."

alphaMountain.ai was founded in 2020 to provide up-to-date domain and IP intelligence for cybersecurity investigational and protection platforms. Based near Salt Lake City, Utah, Alpha Mountain AI, Inc. is led by industry veterans and backed by venture capital cybersecurity experts. For more information, visit https://www.alphamountain.ai

Press contacts

Staley White

801-885-3696

[email protected]

SOURCE alphaMountain
School of Packaging breaks ground on new, state-of-the art facilities

CHICAGO, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Amcor (NYSE: AMCR) (ASX:AMC), a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, participated yesterday with Michigan State University donors, industry leaders and faculty to celebrate the ground-breaking event on the modernization of the university's School of Packaging. Amcor is partnering with MSU and investing $10 million toward the packaging program, including the establishment of an Endowed Chair of Packaging Sustainability.

"Our collaboration offers the chance to support some of the brightest minds and future talent to help spark industry-changing innovations. Amcor is investing in the growth, training and education of those at MSU through these best-in-class facilities, so that together we can establish a legacy of industry leaders and innovation for generations to come," said Amcor's CEO Ron Delia in addressing the crowd.

The investment in MSU is one of many ways Amcor is actively advancing responsible packaging and award-winning innovation. Earlier this month, Amcor Lift-Off was announced: an open-call initiative aimed at supporting seed stage start-ups that are focused on innovative packaging solutions and related technologies. In addition, Amcor is expanding in China and Belgium its global innovation network, as well as expanding the capabilities of its U.S. facility.

About Amcor

Amcor is a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home- and personal-care, and other products. Amcor works with leading companies around the world to protect their products and the people who rely on them, differentiate brands, and improve supply chains through a range of flexible and rigid packaging, specialty cartons, closures, and services. The company is focused on making packaging that is increasingly light-weighted, recyclable and reusable, and made using an increasing amount of recycled content. Around 47,000 Amcor people generate US$12.5 billion in sales from operations that span about 230 locations in 40-plus countries.NYSE: AMCR; ASX: AMC

www.amcor.com I LinkedIn I Facebook I Twitter I YouTube

SOURCE Amcor
The company will showcase its Intelligence-Based Billing platform for an exclusive group of top-ranked CPA firm leaders from May 2-4 in Las Vegas

CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Anduin, a leading technology company helping professional service firms speed up cash flow, delight their clients, and streamline their practice management operations with artificial intelligence, today announces that the company will be a platinum sponsor at the upcoming flagship BDO Alliance USA Conference in Las Vegas from May 2nd-4th.

The BDO Alliance USA is a nationwide association of independently owned local and regional accounting, consulting and service firms with similar client service goals. This is the second year that Anduin is continuing to provide products to clients and independent members of the BDO Alliance USA as part of its Vendor Marketing Program.

"Anduin's inclusion in the Vendor Marketing Program is part of our objective of offering our Alliance members a greater competitive advantage by giving them the ability to leverage additional value-added resources," said Rob Merl, Practice Leader for the BDO Alliance USA's Business Resource Network. "We strive to establish relationships with product and service providers that can offer the kind of forward-looking capabilities that our Alliance members and their clients need."

Justin Adams, Chief Executive Officer of Anduin, said: "Anduin is excited to continue to build strong relationships with and offer our solutions to BDO Alliance firms. We looked for an association with the singular combination of reach and experience, which was offered by the BDO Alliance USA, so we are excited about what our inclusion in its Vendor Marketing Program means to us and our customers. Being a part of this community provides us with a greater opportunity to help firms achieve their goals while growing closer to their clients."

Said Chief Revenue Officer and Cofounder, Pat Morrell, "'Together Towards Tomorrow.' I love this year's conference theme. It lines up perfectly with what we hear from firm leaders every day  that they want to collaborate with their peers and empower their people to unlock new, creative ways that firms can support clients and future-proof firm growth. At Anduin, we're supporting firms on their tomorrow-focused growth journey by automating the work-to-cash cycle and delivering a superior client billing experience, so we're excited to be a part of the discussions and learning this week."

About Anduin

Anduin helps leading accounting firms automate and improve time-consuming work-to-cash cycle tasks and practice management processes, resulting in faster cash flow, higher productivity, and delighted clients. With Anduin's Intelligence-Based Billing platform, high-value firm executives, partners, and staff are liberated to deliver more value to clients and work at the highest end of their license. Benefits of Anduin to accounting firms: partners can save time, bill faster, and shed administrative headaches; finance leaders can reduce days-in-AR, speed up client payments, and smooth out cash flow; executives can better protect financial health with predictive insights and controls, and improve their firm reputation by offering clients best-in-class experiences.

About the BDO Alliance USA

The BDO Alliance USA is a nationwide association of independently owned local and regional accounting, consulting and service firms with similar client service goals. The BDO Alliance USA presents an opportunity for these firms, by accessing the resources of BDO USA, LLP and other Alliance members, to expand services to clients without jeopardizing our existing relationships or our autonomy. The BDO Alliance USA was developed to provide member firms with an alternative strategy for gaining competitive advantage in the face of a changing business landscape. Participants in its Vendor Marketing and Software Publisher Programs include non-member firms that serve as vendors providing additional products and services to member firms and their clients. The BDO Alliance USA is a subsidiary of BDO USA, LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership.

Contact:

Samantha Baker

[email protected]

Photo(s):

https://www.prlog.org/12913904

Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE Anduin
"Collaboration isn't a single meeting, it's a collective, creative, and inclusive process. DTEN ONboard provides the interactive hub that enables the entire team to participate equally, to continuously build on ideas, and share progress," says Rick Corteville, CMO at DTEN.

DTEN ONBoard was developed in conjunction with Zoom as the first device natively supporting the newly released Zoom Advanced Whiteboard features. Designed to function as its own standalone appliance or as a companion whiteboard to any existing Zoom Rooms, ONboard features a 4K 55-inch display with 10-point capacitive touch screen. As with all DTEN products, it is simple to set-up, convenient to manage and intuitive to use. Callout capabilities include:

Dynamic Engagement. DTEN ONboard serves as the focal point to brainstorm, diagram, and visualize concepts in the office and is equally inclusive when remote team members join in.

DTEN ONboard serves as the focal point to brainstorm, diagram, and visualize concepts in the office and is equally inclusive when remote team members join in. Advanced Touch. At the board or from a remote device, with a finger or stylus, the entire team can engage and participate in real-time.

At the board or from a remote device, with a finger or stylus, the entire team can engage and participate in real-time. Persistent Hub. Keep going after the meeting ends, using DTEN ONboard to expand on ideas and add new content, together or asynchronously.

Keep going after the meeting ends, using DTEN ONboard to expand on ideas and add new content, together or asynchronously. Extendable Canvas. Pinch and zoom to keep expanding collaborations vertically and horizontally, all with seamless navigation.

Pinch and zoom to keep expanding collaborations vertically and horizontally, all with seamless navigation. Easy Sharing. Collaborations can easily be sent via chat or by email to team members and shared with others as an invitation to join the project.

Collaborations can easily be sent via chat or by email to team members and shared with others as an invitation to join the project. Visualization Tools. Sticky notes, shapes and connectors, drop and drag images: all tools available to facilitate your collaborations.

"Many meeting rooms are equipped with legacy video conference hardware lacking touch capabilities," shares Corteville. "The addition of DTEN ONboard immediately adds fully interactive collaboration without minimizing video frames on the existing display."

DTEN ONboard also meets other hybrid office needs. It is readily compatible with Zoom's Workspace Reservation features, serving as an interactive map of available workstations and meeting rooms. The DTEN ONboard can also utilize Zoom Rooms Digital Signage to share informative multimedia content. Plus, it serves as an advanced presentation tool, offering a dynamic way to make a sales pitch, introduce a new product, or hold a company-wide meeting.

Corteville notes the new DTEN device is already winning industry accolades, "In pre-release, DTEN ONboard has been recognized with the Best Innovation for Meeting Rooms Award at the recent 2022 Enterprise Connect Conference."

DTEN ONboard is expected to begin shipping this summer with versions available for both Android and Windows operating systems. For more information, visit https://www2.dten.com/onboard-notify .

DTEN is changing the way people connect and collaborate through immersive, video-first devices and subscription services. Our solutions are found in businesses, schools, homes, and hybrid environments worldwide, delivering intuitive, high-quality, and real-life video conference experiences for every meeting space. As recipient of multiple international awards, DTEN is recognized for plug-and-play simplicity, superior audiovisual clarity, and fluent, elegant designs. DTEN was founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Jose, California; Zoom Video Communications, Inc. is an investor. Find more at www.DTEN.com.

For more information, please contact [email protected] or [email protected].

SOURCE DTEN
As CGO, Avalos is responsible for all business development activities for the company, including managing the company's pipeline; developing new business opportunities; and managing Arcfield's capture and proposal processes. He brings more than 25 years of experience serving customers across defense, intelligence and civilian agencies, and has proven success building and managing high-performing teams and driving growth.

As CTO, Fidder is charged with leading overall technical innovation, differentiation and strategy for the company, and will lead various initiatives including the creation and execution of technology roadmaps, the development of technical solutions for priority captures, and the management of Arcfield's internal research and development portfolio. Fidder brings more than 30 years of experience in technology development to the company with a proven ability to convert technological advancements into mission solutions for government customers.

"We are very excited to welcome Ted and John to the Arcfield family," said Kevin Kelly, chairman and chief executive officer, Arcfield. "These two leaders will be instrumental in developing and executing strategies to support our growth from both a business and innovation perspective and will be vital in ensuring we continue to serve our customers with the latest advancements in technology and processes."

Before coming to Arcfield, Avalos served as chief operating officer at SOSi and lead day-to-day operations for the company. Prior to that, he led the business development organization at Booz Allen Hamilton after serving as a vice president in BAE System's intelligence and security sector.

Fidder, a Bell Labs Fellow, most recently served as the vice president of innovation and technology at CACI International. Prior to that he spent five years at LGS Innovations, most recently as CTO where he led teams that provided mission-critical wireless solutions services to the federal government. Earlier in his career he served as CTO of applied research and technology at Lucent Technologies and was a consulting member of technical staff at AT&T Bell Labs for more than 20 years.

About Arcfield

Arcfield is a leading provider of full lifecycle, mission-focused systems engineering and integration capabilities to the U.S. government and its allies. The company has more than 60 years of proven experience providing advanced engineering and analysis, IT and C5ISR capabilities to support our nation's most critical national security missions. Headquartered in Chantilly, VA and with 16 offices around the world, Arcfield employs approximately 1,200 engineers, analysts, IT specialists, and other professionals who put our customers' missions first, helping them solve their most complex challenges through innovations in modeling, simulation and analysis, digital transformation and C5ISR. Visit arcfield.com for more details.

SOURCE Arcfield
ST. IGNACE, Mich., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Star Line Mackinac Island Hydro-Jet Ferry, the most affordable longest running ferry service to Mackinac Island Michigan, announced their plans today to change its name to Mackinac Island Ferry Company and introduced a new logo for the new brand, which will be fully rolled out by the end of 2023. During this transition, the company will be referred to as Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Company. The new name is designed to place all brand assets currently owned under the Mackinac Island Ferry Company umbrella of brands. Mackinac Island Ferry Company owns the Star Line Mackinac Island Hydro-Jet Ferry branded fleet of ferries, the former Arnold Line Ferry fleet, and Mackinac Marine Services (MMS) shipyard. The company is best known for their high-speed hydro-jet rooster tail boats, family-friendly atmosphere, and most frequent number of trips to and from Mackinac Island and underneath the Mackinac Bridge. The announcement was made by CEO of Mackinac Island Ferry Company Jerry Fetty just as the company kicks off the official opening day of Mackinac Island, April 21, 2022, when island guests begin riding the ferries to and from Mackinac Island from Mackinac City and St. Ignace for the summer season. For the new transition logo click here; for ferry photos click here; for company history click here. Visit Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Company at www.mackinacferry.com

"The new name is easily recognizable to our customers and, while our name will change, we continue to be committed to providing the same great service, enjoyable rides and on time arrivals and departures that our guests have become accustomed to," said Jerry Fetty, CEO of Mackinac Island Ferry Company. "This collection of Mackinac Island Ferry companies has been a prominent group of legacy Michigan brands since 1878. From a business perspective, the strategic name change is a result of their accumulation under one company, allowing us to leverage a single brand name."

The new Mackinac Island Ferry Company logo uses a font that harkens back to a simpler time, much like the feeling Mackinac Island visitors experience during their island excursions. As part of a natural transition of the brand name, the Star Line brand logo will continue to be used during this summer season and then will be phased out through 2023. Visitors will begin to see the new logo added onto the Star Line dock signage throughout summer 2022.

For years, Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Company has been best known for their famous high-speed Hydro-Jet rooster tail boats and is the largest ferry fleet in Michigan providing its customers the most options for ferry service. Mackinac Marine Services (MMS) is a shipyard with a capacity to lift a ship or boat up to 200 metric tons in or out of the water for maintenance, repairs, inspections (including commercial boats, luxury yacht maintenance and boat winterizing).

For more information on Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Company, visit www.mackinacferry.com

About Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Company

St. Ignace, Mich. based Mackinac Island Ferry Company and its acquired lines of ferries began serving Mackinac Island in 1878 and has since been ferrying families and islanders from Mackinaw City and St. Ignace to Mackinac Island. The company is best known for their high-speed hydro-jet rooster tail boats, family-friendly atmosphere, most frequent number of trips to and from Mackinac Island and underneath the Mackinac Bridge. In addition to five classic ferries, Mackinac Island Ferry Company ferry boats include the Mackinac Express catamaran, Marquette II, Radisson, Cadillac, Joliet, LaSalle, and Anna May and the pirate ship Good Fortune. Mackinac Marine Services is located in St. Ignace, Mich., and provides boatyard and services for commercial and recreational boat needs. Mackinac Marine Services currently has a 200 metric ton lift, winter and summer boat storage, fiberglass repair, fabricating and mechanical work, welding, power washing and shrink-wrapping services. Mackinac Marine Services is owned and operated by Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Company.

CONTACT: Pat Baskin, CKC Agency

[email protected]

M: 248-318-0095

SOURCE Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Company
California Would be the First State in the Country with Public Board Member Majority

LOS ANGELES, April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Assembly member Bill Quirk and the California State Assembly Committee on Business and Professions took an unprecedented step today to restore the public's trust in their medical board by voting to support a public board member majority. AB 2060 (Quirk) was voted out of committee today and will be heard next in Assembly Appropriations committee. This bill will make California the first state in the country to require its medical board to be led by a majority of public board members.

Seventeen families whose lives were forever altered by medical negligence, and California's cap on compensation, voiced their overwhelming support for the bill in testimony before the committee.

The idea of a public board member majority has been a topic of discussion in the legislature and before the medical board for the past year. Testimony from legions of advocate families who have themselves been harmed or lost their loved ones to medical negligence moved the medical board to support and seek legislation creating a public board member majority.

Alka Airy's sister Shilpa, a research scientist who helped develop medication for a rare children's cancer, died after enduring medical negligence at two separate San Francisco hospitals. Alka reported her sister's preventable death to the medical board who chose to dismiss her complaint with no investigation.

"We need a public board member majority to restore public trust and reiterate the medical board's independence from special interest groups," stated Alka Airy from San Francisco. "There is a troubling yet growing perception that the medical board is beholden to physicians, rather than the public it serves to protect. A public member majority is the first step in protecting the rights of Californians."

Xavier De Leon's son, Malakhi, only lived for 18 hours. His mother was denied care for undiagnosed preeclampsia. Following his birth by postmortem c-section, Malakhi experienced a cascade of errors. Xavier and his family tried to file a complaint with the medical board but were discouraged from doing so. The doctor who was found to be responsible for gross negligence in the care of his mother was a repeat offender doctor who had been harming mothers and babies in Kern County for 25 years.

De Leon attended the meeting remotely and offered his support of the bill on the day that his son died from medical negligence. Had Malakhi lived, it would have been his third birthday today. "Families need accountability from this medical board," stated De Leon. "I believe that a public board member majority will provide the first step to consumer protection."

If AB 2060 is passed, it will make California the first state in the country to have a public board member-led board. The California Medical Board is the sponsor of the bill and Board President Kristina Lawson testified in support of the bill.

Organizing by injured families in California has been the foundation of this movement for a public member majority.

California injured families are also organizing to pass the Fairness for Injured Patients Act, a movement to update California's 1975 cap on compensation for medical negligence victims. The current cap not only limits access to the courtroom but is a huge barrier to families' recovery from lifelong harm and their ability to seek accountability for their loved ones.

Read Consumer Watchdog's letter in support of AB 2060 .

Learn more about California's injured families at https://patientsforfairness.org

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog
MEXICO CITY, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: ASR; BMV: ASUR) (ASUR), a leading international airport group with operations in Mexico, the United States, and Colombia, today announced that shareholders approved the following resolutions and considered the following matters at the General Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting held in Mexico City on April 20, 2022:

General Annual Ordinary

Meeting Summary of Resolutions

Approval of the report submitted by the Chief Executive Officer to the Board of Directors, accompanied by the independent auditor's report, with respect to the operations and results of the Company during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 , as well as the Board of Directors' opinion regarding the content of said report. Approval of the report submitted by the Board of Directors which contains the principal accounting and reporting policies and criteria followed in the preparation of the Company's financial information. Furthermore, note was taken of the report submitted by the Board of Directors with respect to the transactions entered into with Related Persons and Relevant Shareholders, or contracts exceeding US$2,000,000.00 . Due note was taken that the report of the activities and operations in which the Board of Directors intervened, pursuant to Article 28 IV (e) of the Securities Market Law, was not prepared because during the fiscal year ended on December 31 st, 2021, the Board of Directors did not intervene in any such activities or operations to be reported. Approval of the audited individual and consolidated financial statements of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2021 . Approval of the report submitted by the Audit and Corporate Practices Committee of the Company with respect to its activities during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 . Approval of the activities of the Board of Directors during the year ended December 31, 2021 . Approval of the report on fulfillment of the tax obligations of the Company for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 . Due note was taken that the report for the year ended December 31, 2021 , has not yet been issued and will be presented for approval at the first General Shareholders' Meeting to be held after the report is issued. Approval to set aside 5% of the accumulated net profits for the year ended December 31, 2021 , to increase the legal reserve of the Company, in accordance with Article 20 of the Mexican General Corporations Law (Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles). Approval of (i) an ordinary cash dividend from accumulated retained earnings in the amount of Ps. 9.03 ( nine pesos and three cents , Mexican legal tender) per share; as well as an extraordinary cash dividend from accumulated retained earnings in the amount of Ps. 6.00 ( six pesos and zero cents, Mexican legal tender) per share, to be paid out on or after June 1, 2022 in a single installment to each of the outstanding, common, Series "B" and "BB" shares representing the paid-in capital stock of the Company, and that are issued, subscribed, fully paid and released on such date and (ii) the taxes that the Company incurs with respect to the dividend payment.

Payment of the dividend shall be made through the Variable Income (Renta Variable) department of S.D. Indeval, S.A. de C.V., at its offices located at Paseo de la Reforma No. 255-3rd floor, Colonia Cuauhtemoc , 06500, Mexico City, Mexico , from Monday through Friday from 9:30 through 13:00 hours as of June 1, 2022 . Payment of the dividend shall be made against delivery of coupon "14" (fourteen) of the outstanding stock certificates in accordance with the terms notified to shareholders.

The dividend payment notice shall be published no later than April 21, 2022 , in a newspaper in general circulation. Approval to set aside all remaining accumulated net profits for the year ended December 31, 2021 for the repurchase of shares by the Company during the fiscal year 2022, pursuant to Article 56 of the Securities Market Law. Approval of the activities of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Assistant Secretary during the year ended December 31, 2021 , and release from any liability they might have incurred in the execution of their duties. Ratification of Mr. Fernando Chico Pardo as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Ratification of all other members and alternate members of the Board of Directors, as well as ratification of non-member Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the Board of Directors. Ratification of Mr. Ricardo Guajardo Touche as Chairman of the Audit Committee. Ratification of Ms. Barbara Garza Laguera Gonda, Mr. Fernando Chico Pardo and Mr. Jose Antonio Perez Anton as members of the Nominations and Compensation Committee. Approval of the proposal made by the Nomination and Compensation Committee to pay the following compensation to the members of the management bodies of the Company:

- Each member of the Board of Directors will receive Ps. 77,600.00 (seventy-seven thousand six hundred pesos 00/100 Mexican currency), plus travel expenses, if any, per meeting attended.

- Each member of the Audit and Corporate Practices Committee will receive Ps. 110,000.00 (one hundred and ten thousand pesos 00/100 Mexican Currency), plus travel expenses, if any, per meeting attended.

- Each member of the Operations Committee will receive, Ps. 77,600.00 (seventy-seven thousand six hundred pesos 00/100 Mexican currency), plus travel expenses, if any, per meeting attended.

- Each member of the Nominations and Compensations Committee will receive Ps. 77,600.00 (seventy-seven thousand six hundred pesos 00/100 Mexican currency), plus travel expenses, if any, per meeting attended.

- Each member of the Acquisitions and Contracts Committee will receive Ps. 25,900.00 (twenty-five thousand nine hundred pesos 00/100 Mexican Currency), plus travel expenses, if any, per meeting attended.

Special delegates of the Ordinary Annual General Shareholders' Meeting were appointed to appear before a notary public to legalize the minutes of the meeting and to undertake any other action necessary to formalize and give effect to the resolutions taken at this meeting.

About ASUR:

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V. (ASUR) is a leading international airport operator with a portfolio of concessions to operate, maintain, and develop 16 airports on the American continent. The company operates nine airports in the southeast of Mexico, including Cancun Airport located in the biggest tourist destination in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Latin America; as well as six airports in northern Colombia, including Medellin international airport (Rionegro), the second busiest in Colombia. ASUR also holds a 60% stake in the capital stock of Aerostar Airport Holdings, LLC, operator of Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. The airport in San Juan is the main point of entry to the island for international flights and continental flights from the U.S.; it was the first and is currently the only airport in the United States to have achieved a successful public-private partnership under a pilot program implemented by the FAA. Based in Mexico, ASUR is traded on the Mexican Bolsa (BMV) under ticker symbol ASUR, and on the NYSE under the symbol ASR. One ADS represents ten (10) B-series shares. For further information, visit www.asur.com.mx

SOURCE Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V.
Los Angeles-based hospitality vanguards announce the upcoming debut of six new hotels alongside all-new brand, Le Petit Pali, coming in 2023

LOS ANGELES, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Further positioning itself as one of the fastest growing brands in the independent hospitality arena, Los Angeles-based Palisociety is set to mark its continued expansion with the debut of six new hotels in 2022 and 2023 across its signature Palisociety and ARRIVE by Palisociety monikers. Founder Avi Brosh will also introduce a new hotel brand, Le Petit Pali, in 2023, designed as a highly bespoke bed & breakfast concept to complement Palisociety's current portfolio.

A guest room at the new Palihouse West Hollywood, debuting in late 2022 from Avi Brosh's Palisociety. A guest room at Avi Brosh's Palihotel Hollywood, debuting in late 2022.

"On the heels of an incredible few years of trepidation in the hotel business, we are elated to grow and nurture our brand into a new chapter of momentum," said Brosh. "Over the past 20 years, we've defined ourselves as a design-forward, neighborhood-centric hotel company focused on a highly personalized, proprietor-driven approach to hospitality and it is evident that today's guest appreciates that distinct point of view, perhaps now more than ever. We are excited to take that enthusiasm for the brand's vision and propel it into a new phase of growth for Palisociety and the independent hotels landscape as a whole."

Palisociety looks ahead to the next chapter in its growth with the announcement of the following new hotels:

Palihouse West Hollywood  the revival of Brosh's debut brand, Palihouse West Hollywood is perched on the city's famed W. Third Street, featuring 95 guest rooms, a pool, two distinct dining outposts, a lobby lounge and the brand's signature California quirky sensibility blended with a grand European-influenced style that will be highly customized and, as always, unpredictably charming. Debuting in Q4 2022.

Palihotel Hollywood  a revamping of a 1980s Hollywood motor lodge into an upscale contemporary, fun, and bespoke Hollywood-centric hotel with 76 rooms centered around an oversized pool and courtyard, alongside a new restaurant concept from the brand. Adorned with custom made furniture and layered, vintage details throughout. Debuting in Q4 2022.

Palihotel San Diego  a 122-room property in the heart of the city's Gaslamp Quarter and a quick walk from the harbor front, Palihotel San Diego will bring a youthful, design-centric offering to San Diego's hotel landscape with a preppy, contemporary nautical-inspired personality, new restaurant and rooftop space. Scheduled to open in Q1 2023.

Palihouse Hyde Park Village (Tampa)  an intimate, but lively 36-room hotel in Tampa's Hyde Park Village set to bring a "new-fashioned" interpretation of the boutique hotel experience to the market with European-inspired interiors, a hotel bar with food service, suite-style accommodations, and Palisociety's signature service and amenities. Opening in Q3 2023.

ARRIVE New Orleans  a 93-room hotel in the city's Bywater area with a distinct, neighborhood-focused point of view. ARRIVE New Orleans will feature three floors of guest rooms, an outdoor pool and greenery-filled courtyard, rooftop space, coffee concept by Mammoth Espresso, and restaurant from acclaimed Chef Eric Cook (Gris Gris and Saint John). Opening in Q3 2023.

ARRIVE Albuquerque  the anticipated renovation and redesign of a 1960s historic hotel in downtown Albuquerque, featuring 135 guest rooms, an indoor/outdoor signature Italian restaurant, pool lounge, patio and dedicated meeting spaces. Opening in 2023.

Le Petit Pali - Palisociety will also debut an all-new brand, Le Petit Pali, in 2023, with a focus on reimagining the bed & breakfast experience in carefully chosen locations around the country. Le Petit Pali is being designed as a highly-tailored concept rooted in the style of traditional, upscale European bed and breakfast destinations and will blend Palisociety's signature, irreverent design sensibility with a high-end, bespoke layer of charm, comfort and unexpected luxury. The new brand will premiere with three hotels in California, scheduled to open in summer 2023.

Developed in Los Angeles in 1998 by then first-time hotelier, Brosh, Palisociety is known for its Palihouse, Palihotel, and ARRIVE by Palisociety hotels in Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, Miami, Palm Springs, Austin, and more, with a total of 14 hotels currently in operation. Palisociety's collection of unique, award-winning hotels are typically housed in historical or forgotten buildings that have been carefully restored, with a keen focus on neighborhood-centric properties that are intimate in nature and small in size, by design, so that every nuance and element can be thoughtfully cared for. Brosh's proprietor-driven vision of hospitality takes its roots from the innkeepers of days past and the result is a brand with design pedigree, an independent spirit, a distinct culture, and an approach to hospitality that has won accolades from Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, The New York Times, Skift.com, Forbes.com, Architectural Digest, VOGUE.com, Hemispheres, and many more. In early 2021, Palisociety announced the acquisition of ARRIVE Hotels & Restaurants, bookending a tumultuous year for the hospitality industry with the addition of four hotels to its portfolio.

For more information on Palisociety and its growing portfolio of destinations, please visit www.palisociety.com or follow @palisociety and @arrivehotels.

About Palisociety

Palisociety is a fully integrated hospitality company that acquires, designs, develops, owns and operates unique hotels and residences across the country under three distinct monikers: Palihouse, Palihotel, ARRIVE by Palisociety and a collection of independently branded properties. The company's proprietary brands, development and operational expertise also includes specialized retail spaces, highly curated restaurants, bars and event venues. Palisociety properties have been featured on Conde Nast Traveler's Hot List, Travel + Leisure IT List, and more, with accolades from the New York Times, Architectural Digest, Wallpaper* and countless others. Avi Brosh founded Palisociety in 1998 in Los Angeles. For more information, visit www.palisociety.com or follow @palisociety and @arrivehotels.

PR Contact:

Raluca State Public Relations

For Palisociety

[email protected]

323.379.4669

SOURCE Palisociety
Calling on the strength of Chaddock's custom capabilities, the collection will feature more than 30 pieces, including sofas, beds, dining, cocktail, console and side tables, cabinets and credenzas, lounge seating, and pedestals that diversify the American-based manufacturer's offering of heirloom furnishings.

Benjamin shares, "Chaddock was founded in 1958 with a rebel spirit and a groundbreaking approach to bench made home furnishings. We've sourced their products for our clients for years and our teams share a mutual passion for innovation and a commitment to exceptional quality and service that made this partnership feel like a very natural next step. Together, we will build upon Chaddock's legacy by creating excitement around this modern take on classic American design. It's a dream collaboration for me and I couldn't ask for a better partner to bring my collection to life."

The unveiling of the Benjamin Johnston Collection will be celebrated through a series of exclusive events in the Chaddock showroom during Fall Market in High Point, North Carolina before the collection makes its way to partner showrooms across the country.

"We are thrilled to add Benjamin Johnston as our newest signature designer," said Andrew Crone, Chaddock CEO. "Ben has the unique ability to blur the lines between architecture and interior design. This collection personifies modern luxury."

With pieces that feature stylish design solutions for the modern homeowner, Crone and Johnston are ushering in a new chapter for Chaddock; one that offers diverse and inventive moments destined to appeal not only to Johnston's global clientele, but also designers looking for fresh and inventive pieces to layer into their own designs.

About Benjamin Johnston Design

Benjamin Johnston Design is an award-winning and internationally-published architecture and design firm known for creating spaces that are refined reflections of their clients' lifestyles, personal histories, and aspirations. Blending ancient arts with today's technology, the firm specializes in shaping environments that are as functional as they are aesthetically pleasing.

Creative Director, Benjamin Johnston and his accomplished team have completed projects well beyond their home base in Houston  the team has worked on projects in 9 countries, 12 states and 27 cities around the world. Those projects are as varied as a Manhattan skyscraper with Central Park views to a chic boutique in Beverly Hills, and numerous premier properties from Montreal to Tel Aviv. This diverse experience enables the firm to service their clients with multiple homes or businesses, bringing a fresh and global perspective to every project in which they are involved. With 20 years of experience and a licensed rug collection with Madison Lily under his belt and a fabric collection with S. Harris launching in 2023, Benjamin Johnston continues to build his global brand with a unique voice that will be expressed through successful licensed collections across design categories.

Please contact m[email protected] for more details and for more information about Benjamin Johnston or his design studio, visit benjamin-johnston.com.

Media Contact:

Megan Hotze

832.453.8500

[email protected]

SOURCE Benjamin Johnston Design
Growing demand for biodiesel in the transportation industry is likely to boost the market in China , which is expected to fuel development in the Asia Pacific biodiesel industry

Manufacturers are concentrating on fuel, since this application segment is expected to grow and acquire a larger share of the global biodiesel market in the years to come

ALBANY, N.Y., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global biodiesel market value stood at US$ 90.4 Bn in 2020. The global market is expected to develop at a CAGR of 6.9% during the forecast period, from 2021 to 2031. The global biodiesel market is anticipated to attain valuation of US$ 187.6 Bn by 2031. The market is likely to be driven by increasing use of biodiesel as a fuel in various commercial vehicles. Biodiesel is a sustainable biofuel that is biodegradable as well. Biodiesel can be made in a variety of ways, including ultrasonic techniques, batch procedures, and microwave methods, among others. Standard diesel engines mostly use biodiesel made from non-mineral sources, including animal fats. Biodiesel is a viable substitute for crude oil.

Due to its capacity to cut greenhouse gas emissions, consumers all around the world are increasingly choosing environmentally sustainable biodiesel fuel. Consumers are becoming more conscious of the escalating environmental challenges caused by traditional fossil fuels. The increase in popularity of clean and renewable energy sources is helping to propel the biodiesel market.

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Europe is likely to represent a substantial share of the global biodiesel market. Europe is the world's foremost producer of biodiesel, with France and Germany establishing themselves as regional leaders. Governments are providing tax benefits to European countries so that they can continue producing biodiesel. In addition, the United States produces the most biodiesel in North America, owing to huge volumes of production of soybean oil, which has been dominating the market. Vegetable oil, on the other hand, has become the primary biodiesel manufacturing option in the U.S. Different countries in North America use their own rules and regulations regarding biodiesel production, consumption, and import tax breaks.

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Key Findings of Market Report

Biodiesel is a clean-burning fuel and a renewable option. It is commonly used in a number of industries, including railway, automotive, mining, and maritime. Demand for biodiesel is being driven by need to incorporate renewable energy sources. In automotive applications, biodiesel is predicted to gain popularity as a substitute for traditional fossil fuels.

Biodiesel releases less greenhouse gases as well as pollutants into the atmosphere, and also less hazardous carbon-based emissions. It can be utilized in most diesel engines. The global biodiesel market is being driven by growing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions caused by the usage of fossil fuels.

Biodiesel is the most widely used fuel in the industry. The global market is projected to benefit from the rising demand for gasoline in commercial vehicles to replace crude oil. Biodiesel is good for the environment, since it emits less greenhouse gases than standard diesel as it has lower VOC content.

In 2020, the soybean oil category led the global biodiesel market in terms of feedstock type. This is mostly due to rising demand for soybean oil in biodiesel, which is used in a variety of applications such as power production, fuel, and agriculture.

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Global Biodiesel Market: Growth Drivers

Based on feedstock type, the canola oil category accounts for a sizable share of the global biodiesel market. Salad dressings made with canola oil come in a variety of flavors. It is also sold as a salad oil at local supermarkets. It can also be utilized in the kitchen as a cooking oil. Margarines with canola oil are also available in supermarkets and are utilized by bakeries.

Due to the shifting pricing of petroleum-based products, biodiesel is becoming a cheaper choice. In the near future, biodiesel's use in fuel applications is predicted to rise.

Global Biodiesel Market: Key Competitors

Archer Daniels Midland Company

Royal Dutch Shell plc.

plc. Wilmar International Limited

TerraVia Holdings, Inc.

Louis Dreyfus Company B.V.

Cargill, Inc.

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Global Biodiesel Market: Segmentation

Feedstock Type

Soybean Oil

Distillers Corn Oil

Canola Oil

Yellow Grease

Animal Fat

Application

Fuel

Agriculture

Power Generation

Others

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Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyse information.



Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

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SOURCE Transparency Market Research
Parallel and Black CannaBusiness Launch Multi-City Cannabis-focused CEO Intensive in Boston

BOSTON, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Black CannaBusiness Magazine and Parallel, one of the largest privately held, vertically-integrated, multi-state cannabis operators in the United State are collaborating on a national six-week education series aimed at CEOs of color currently in the cannabis industry. The program will launch in Boston, Massachusetts on April 21st, 2022, at Boston Society for Architecture (290 Congress St Suite 200, Boston, MA 02210) at 9am.

The Black CannaBusiness CEO Intensive is a free, executive-level series intended to accelerate the growth of high-potential businesses of color in the cannabis industry. Via a six-week online cohort coupled with an in person two-day intensive, cannabis founders and entrepreneurs will complete structured exercises and will receive expert training from leading subject matter experts and practitioners, working in the industry.

Developed by the publishers of Black CannaBusiness Magazine and drawing on the experiences of advisors and business leaders in the industry from across the country, this comprehensive curriculum provides the tools to catapult minority-owned cannabis businesses to reach their full potential.

"The Black CannaBusiness Intensive Program is an immersive experience that empowers minority cannabis businesses owners to thrive in the cannabis industry with best in class leadership training and a unique "next level "business development curriculum," says Kristi Price, founder of Black CannaBusiness. Parallel, the multi-state cannabis company will represent the partnership through its Boston medical and adult-use dispensaries, NETA (New England Treatment Access).

"It's imperative that black business leaders continue to build upon and increase their knowledge in the cannabis industry," James Jackson; Senior Director of Social Equity at Parallel said. "Massachusetts is one of the first in the nation to adopt an equity mandate  they have made the commitment, and have a vision for equity for its future," Jackson added.

Learn more about the program here .

About Parallel

Parallel is a privately-held, vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis company with a mission to pioneer well-being and improve the quality of life through cannabinoids. Parallel has ongoing operations in five medical and adult-use markets under the retail brands of Surterra Wellness in Florida; goodblend in Texas and in Pennsylvania; New England Treatment Access (NETA) in Massachusetts; and a joint venture with the Cookies retail brand in Nevada. Parallel offers a diverse portfolio of high quality, proprietary and licensed consumer brands and products including Surterra Wellness, Float and Heights. Parallel operates approximately 50 locations nationwide, including 49 retail stores, and cultivation and manufacturing sites. Parallel follows rigorous operational and business practices to ensure the quality, safety, consistency, and efficacy of its products and follows values that put the well-being of its customers and employees first. Find more information at www.liveparallel.com, or on Instagram and LinkedIn.

About Black CannaBusiness Magazine:

Black CannaBusiness Magazine is a subsidiary of KRMA Media Inc, a Black woman-owned multi-media company helping Black professionals accelerate their involvement in the cannabis industry through the distribution of curated B2B content, the production of experiential events and the development of original video programming. Our sponsors prioritize diversity and are committed to doing their part to create a more inclusive industry.

SOURCE Parallel
Acquisition brings MindX's innovative software technology and Blackrock's industry-leading BCI hardware under one roof

SALT LAKE CITY, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackrock Neurotech ("Blackrock" or "the Company"), a leading implantable brain-computer interface ("BCI") technology backed by world-renowned investors Peter Thiel and Christian Angermeyer, announced today the acquisition of spatial computing software firm MindX, integrating the Company's innovative augmented reality ("AR") and artificial intelligence ("AI") technology with Blackrock's BCI hardware. MindX was created in 2017 by serial health-tech entrepreneur Julia Brown and Catalio Capital Management, a multi-strategy life sciences investment firm.

The acquisition bolsters Blackrock's existing software portfolio and positions the Company to deliver full-stack, integrated BCI products with innovative capabilities. The move comes on the heels of Blackrock's exclusive neural decoder licensing deals with Stanford University and Columbia University.

At the forefront of neurotechnology, implantable BCIs are currently being used to restore function in people with paralysis and neurological disorders. Blackrock Neurotech has long been the industry leader in BCI hardware and is responsible for the technology used by 31 of the 35 global human patients, with the longest chronic implant still active and lasting more than seven years. These implants have been shown to restore movement, communication, and touch, leading to increased independence and quality of life for these patients.

Central to the clinical application of BCIs is the development of user-friendly software that decodes neural activity and translates brain signals into digital commands. With a focus on real-world applications, MindX's proprietary spatial neurocomputing technology is used to recognize and interpret the movement of objects in physical space, and in combination with decoded biological data, could unlock more meaningful levels of interaction between patients, their physical environments, and the digital world. This cutting-edge, integrated BCI platform aims to offer patients hope for increased quality of life, independence, and autonomy and deliver on the long-term promise of BCI.

As part of the acquisition, Julia Brown, MindX founder and CEO, and her team will join Blackrock. Julia brings an extensive background in intelligent system design, neurotechnology, and the development of personalized medicine and digital health solutions, as well as her startup experience, which includes launching a series of successful health-tech ventures spun out of Johns Hopkins University.

"MindX is home to fantastic engineers who are developing groundbreaking, cutting-edge software at the intersection of neurotechnology, AR and AI, and we are particularly pleased to partner in a deeper way with Julia Brown, who has been an insightful innovator and leader in this space," said Marcus Gerhardt, Blackrock co-founder and CEO. "By fusing our hardware DNA with their software DNA, we enhance our neural data analysis and enable flexibility and customization for a variety of BCI applications. Furthermore, the opportunity to broaden applications through spatial software and AR exponentially advances our commercialization aims."

Blackrock, which anticipates releasing the first commercial BCI platform, MoveAgain, in early 2023, views the acquisition as a key step in the development of its patient-facing software, the expansion of its technology platform, and the seeding of a core capability in AI. While the initial aim is to help paralyzed patients interact with devices like keyboards, other applications such as restoring vision through human optical prostheses are also being explored. The acquisition is further expected to accelerate existing studies in speech restoration for aphasia patients.

"Blackrock is the company advancing most rapidly toward making this technology commercially available to patients and doing so in a way that aligns with our values in neuroethics and our vision for the potential of BCI," said Brown. "I can't think of a better way to get this technology into the hands of patients who need it than by bringing two talented teams together and melding Blackrock hardware with MindX software capabilities."

Though Blackrock intends to release the first commercial BCI platform in 2023, its technology has been involved in human clinical trials since 2004. The Company received a Breakthrough Designation from the FDA in 2021, which is expected to enable an expedited FDA review process of the MoveAgain platform so the product can be commercially available to a broader patient population.

About Blackrock Neurotech

Blackrock Neurotech, formerly known as Blackrock Microsystems, is dedicated to the clinical translation of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. Blackrock, founded in 2008, is the world's leading platform company for BCI technology and the development of implantable solutions that improve human lives. Blackrock's precision electrode technology is at the core of many worldwide innovations in BCI, enabling dozens of early users (known as "BCI Pioneers") to SeeAgain, HearAgain, MoveAgain and more. For more information, visit www.blackrockneurotech.com.

About MindX Corporation

MindX has developed an innovative software platform, MindOS, that utilizes brain-computer interfaces for next-generation spatial computing applications in assistive medical devices and consumer electronics. This platform provides users with a hands-free, "look-and-think" interface for instantaneous access to the world around them using a combination of neurotechnology, augmented reality and artificial intelligence. The company was founded in December 2017 as a spinout from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory with a team of talented engineers devoted to creating new technologies that solve fundamental health and social issues and advancing those technologies from laboratory prototype to real-world products for every-day use.

Media Contacts

Karen Blondell / Ethan Raisel

Lightspeed PR & Marketing

[email protected]

(917) 770-9435

SOURCE Blackrock Neurotech
"For more than 50 years, thousands of patients world-wide have come to Brooks Rehabilitation for exceptional care after a stroke, brain injury, orthopedic surgery, transplant, spinal cord injury or other disabling illness," said Doug Baer, Brooks Rehabilitation, President and CEO. "This new hospital will allow us to expand access to even more patients in need of our specialized services."

Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital  Bartram Campus joins Brooks' two existing rehabilitation hospitals to meet the demands of a growing population .The original 160-bed rehabilitation hospital on University Blvd. is the only US News and World Report nationally ranked rehabilitation hospital in Northeast Florida and 1 of only 3 in Florida. It is one of the busiest in the country providing care for more than 3,000 patients per year coming from across the globe. It is currently undergoing an expansion to include 10 additional beds. Brooks also manages a 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in partnership with Halifax Health in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Frontline staff members were actively involved in the design of the new Bartram hospital. The hospital's design committee consisted of multiple clinical disciplines  physicians, therapists, nurses, case managers and the Brooks Projects team  to ensure exceptional mobility, functionality and technology were core components of the new facility's design. From the patient's admission to its overall flow, even the smallest details - such as the placement of outlets - was considered to ensure a best-in class offering. The cross-clinical collaboration and staff input was invaluable to those creating the space. Design partners Gresham Smith and contractor Perry-McCall Construction then worked tirelessly to navigate the complexities of a COVID-19 global pandemic and supply chain shortages to bring the ideas and recommendations to fruition.

The hospital also features:

Private patient rooms: The 60 private patient rooms are larger for increased safety and functional movements. Bariatric rooms also have a lift and ceiling track that leads into the bathroom for additional safety.

Best-in-class therapy spaces: Two state-of-the art therapy gyms provide world-class rehabilitation therapy. Brooks invests heavily in technology to provide patients with the latest innovations available. An outdoor therapy courtyard features different inclines and terrains to help patients practice walking and wheeling when they return home. It also includes a putting green, hand bike and tricycle for additional leisure activities.

Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Suite: This unique training space closely mimics the home setting. It includes a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and laundry area to practice functional tasks. A Brooks Home Health educator will conduct training for staff in the ADL suite, focusing on tools to help them prepare their patients and caregivers for their return to home.

Brooks hired 80 new employees for the hospital opening but expects to ramp up to 150 when fully staffed. The team consists of passionate and caring leaders who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Bryan Murphy, MHA, RN, BSN, CRRN, was selected as Vice President of Operations for the new hospital. Mr. Murphy started his career as a CNA at Brooks in 2009. During his 13year tenure, he earned his master's degree in Health Administration, B.S. in Nursing and certification as a Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN). He most recently served as the Director of Inpatient Admissions at their existing University campus hospital.

Parag Shah, MD, FACHE, was promoted to Medical Director. Dr. Shah has been with Brooks for six years and served in multiple roles including medical director of the stroke program and the data solutions department. He received his medical degree from St. George's University in 2012, completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Wayne State University and earned his board certification in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation in 2016. He also holds a Masters of Business Administration from Wayne State University. In 2022, he earned his Fellow designation from the American College of Healthcare Executives.

"Brooks has been a national leader in physical rehabilitation for more than 50 years. We are committed to meeting the needs of this region now and for many years to come," said Murphy. "Our acute care partners rely on us to be able to serve complex patients  and our complexity is at the top 1 percent in the nation. Our Bartram hospital features the innovative technology, clinical expertise and proven treatments that we've been providing for more than 50 years at our University Campus hospital. We're excited to share the same level of excellence to patients in our new facility on our Bartram campus."

The Brooks Bartram campus currently includes a 100-bed skilled nursing facility, a three-story, 61-unit assisted living facility and two GREEN HOUSE 12-bed memory care homes to provide specialized services for the aging population. When it opened nearly 10 years ago, the campus was planned to accommodate Brooks' future growth. Adding a rehabilitation hospital provides a continuum of post-acute services in this one location, making it a convenient option for patients, residents and guests.

Brooks is actively hiring nurses and therapists to join its award winning clinical team.

Photos can be downloaded here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2migmztvzxvql2r/AAAhjcGwb51S-u-vQjj_W6gha?dl=0

About Brooks Rehabilitation

For more than 50 years, Brooks Rehabilitation, headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., has been a comprehensive source for physical rehabilitation services. As a nonprofit organization, Brooks operates one of the nation's largest inpatient rehabilitation hospitals in the U.S. with 160 beds, a second 60-bed inpatient hospital opening in April 2022, and a Center for Inpatient Rehabilitation in partnership with Halifax Health in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Brooks also has one of the region's largest home healthcare agencies, more than 40 outpatient therapy clinics, the Brooks Rehabilitation Medical Group, two skilled nursing facilities, assisted living and memory care. Brooks will treat more than 60,000 patients through its system of care each year. In addition, Brooks operates the Clinical Research Center, which specializes in research to advance the science of rehabilitation. Brooks also provides many low- or no-cost community programs and services to improve the quality of life for people living with physical disabilities.

For more information, visit BrooksRehab.org.

Contact: Jill Matejcek [email protected]

SOURCE Brooks Rehabilitation
According to a recent survey, 73% of consumers earning $75k - $500k are interested in CRE, but only 14% are invested in it. 1 This may be due to a number of misconceptions about the asset class. Many consumers assume CRE is exclusive to the ultra wealthy, institutions, or requires at least $100k to invest. There is also a knowledge gap about the benefits CRE can provide  by and large, consumers are worried about inflation (86%), they want to diversify their portfolios (68%), but many do not recognize CRE's potential for inflation-hedging or historically high risk-adjusted returns. 2 Cadre, now with the help of Cohn, is working to dispel misconceptions by providing and promoting unprecedented access to CRE.

"At Cadre, we are keen to educate individuals about the financial opportunities the commercial real estate market can provide. I founded Cadre to serve those typically excluded from accessing high-quality assets and opportunities to build wealth," said Cadre Founder and CEO Ryan Williams. "Dustin's proven experience reaching individuals and raising awareness is unparalleled, and I am eager to work with him as we bring the transparency, accessibility and liquidity of our platform to more people."

Cohn joins Cadre following its most successful quarter to date, as platform users rose by more than ~20% and the firm raised nearly as much capital from individual investors as it had throughout all of 2021. Cohn's experience helping consumers access wealth-building tools will help build off that momentum.

Prior to Cadre, Cohn served as Head of Brand and Marketing for Marcus and Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs, leading the development of the Marcus brandnotably inventing its nameand launching a number of firsts for the storied firm, including its first-ever consumer advertising campaign and athlete sponsorship. He also led brand and marketing efforts for the firm's Asset Management division.

"Cadre's platform already disrupted the status quo by giving individuals access to institutional-quality real estate," stated Cohn. "Commercial real estate is no longer just for the uber wealthy and institutions. For many consumers, the remaining barrier is simply awareness. A modern wealth-building tool is already available to individual investors right now, a few clicks away. I am honored to join the firm's mission to not only deliver this access, but also educate more investors that it exists."

Cohn also has experience leading marketing for a number of global consumer brands. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, he served as CMO for Jockey International, CMO for Optimer Brands, and spent several years at PepsiCo as Marketing Director for Gatorade and Propel.

About Cadre

Cadre is a groundbreaking technology-driven commercial real estate investment platform that offers both institutional and individual investors the opportunity to access expertly curated real estate assets with lower minimums, low fees, and unprecedented potential for liquidity. Via its data-driven and transparent approach, Cadre opens participation in a historically opaque and illiquid asset class.

Along with its traditional investment offerings, Cadre also provides investors with the ability to pursue highly vetted commercial real estate opportunities and the opportunity to seek liquidity through its proprietary secondary market, a unique offering within the industry.

Since Cadre's founding, Cadre has closed more than $4.5 billion in real estate transactions across 23 U.S. markets and delivered an 18+% average net IRR across all completed property sales,3 resulting in the return of more than $300 million of capital to Cadre investors to date. For additional information, please visit www.cadre.com .

Disclaimer

Not Advice: This communication is not to be construed as investment, tax, or legal advice in relation to the relevant subject matter; investors must seek their own legal or other professional advice.

Performance Not Guaranteed: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Any historical returns, expected returns, or probability projections are not guaranteed and may not reflect actual future performance.

Risk of Loss: All investments involve a high degree of risk and may result in partial or total loss of your investment.

Liquidity Not Guaranteed: Investments offered by Cadre are illiquid and there is never any guarantee that you will be able to exit your investments on the Secondary Market or at what price an exit (if any) will be achieved.

1 Source: Underground Research. Survey in April 2022 among n=1,81 consumers with a HHI of $75-$500k.

2 Source: Bloomberg and NCREIF. Historical refers to a 20-year time period, beginning December 31, 1999 and ending December 31, 2019. Commercial real estate is represented by the NCREIF Open-End Diversified Core (ODCE) Index, an equal weighted, time weighted index representing a blended portfolio of institutional-quality real estate funds reported net of management and advisory fees. The S&P 500 Index represents an unmanaged index of the 500 largest stocks (in terms of market value), weighted by market capitalization and considered representative of the broader stock market. Indices are unmanaged and investors cannot invest directly in an index. Unless otherwise noted, performance of indices does not account for any fees, commissions or other expenses that would be incurred.

3 IRR calculation represents an equity-weighted average annualized internal rate of return (IRR) for realized real estate investments of offerings by Cadre since the formation of our Investment Committee through to the date of calculation, after deduction of fees and expenses. Equity multiple represents the investment multiple on equity, which is calculated by dividing the aggregate realized proceeds for the applicable investment after deduction of fees and expenses. For recently realized investments, an estimate of proceeds to vehicles managed by Cadre may be used. The use of a different methodology may result in a materially different return metric. Our realized investments consist of: (1) Astoria Portfolio, a 143-unit multifamily asset in Queens, NYC, acquired January 2015, with a realized net IRR of 15.1% and a net equity multiple of 1.4x, (2) Sugarloaf trails, a 268-unit multifamily asset in Suburban Atlanta, acquired April 2017, realized net IRR of 27.4% and net equity multiple of 1.8x, (3) Skyridge Apartments, a 364-unit multifamily asset in suburban Chicago, acquired November 2016, with a realized net IRR of 15.0% and net equity multiple of 1.4x, (4) Avida, 421-unit multifamily project, located in Salt Lake City UT, acquired August 2017, realized net IRR of 16.8% and realized net equity multiple of 1.4x, (5) Crestleigh Apartments, a 389-unit multifamily asset in Laurel, MD, acquired September 2016, with an updated target net IRR of 10.2% and a net equity multiple of 1.6x, (6) Trails Portfolio, two multifamily properties totaling 810 units in Houston, TX, acquired January 2018, with an updated target net IRR of 22.4% and a net equity multiple of 2.0x, (7) Solis at Winter Park, a 596-unit multifamily asset Winter Park, FL, acquired, September 2018, with an updated target net IRR of 18.1% and a net equity multiple of 1.7x, (8) Lodge at Copperfield, a 330-unit multifamily asset in Houston, TX, acquired November 2018, with a updated target net IRR of 11.0% and a net equity multiple of 1.8x and (9) Lincoln Place, a multifamily asset in Sacramento, CA, acquired July 2018, with a updated target net IRR of 11.1% and a net equity multiple of 1.8x.

Media Contact:

Austin Dorrell

[email protected]

SOURCE Cadre
The 2022 All-USA Academic Team is sponsored by education technology company Cengage, with additional support from Phi Theta Kappa and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). In addition to the scholarship, Team members receive a special medallion, and their college presidents receive a commemorative obelisk in recognition of their leadership. The All-USA Academic Team will be officially introduced and recognized during the American Association of Community Colleges' convention, scheduled for Monday, May 2, 2022, in New York City.

"Community colleges play an important role in providing affordable education that helps students transition successfully to the workforce," said Kevin Carlsten, Senior Vice President of the U.S. Higher Education Institutional Group at Cengage. "Unfortunately, community colleges felt the largest enrollment impact from the pandemic with a decline of nearly 15% in two years. We want to do all we can to support community college leaders and students with affordable access to quality education and are deeply inspired by the achievements of this year's All-USA Academic Team, as prime examples of the power of learning."

The All-USA program is widely recognized as the most prestigious academic honor for students seeking an associate degree or credential, and this year, more than 2,200 students were nominated for this award.

"The All-USA Academic Team represents the very best students from the nation's two-year colleges," said Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner, President and CEO of Phi Theta Kappa. "We are proud of their outstanding engagement both in the classroom and in their communities, and can't wait to see the inspiring things they will do next. We thank Cengage for recognizing these student leaders and for investing in their futures."

The members of the 2022 All-USA Academic Team are:

 Lucia Barberena, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MS)  Edilawit Mehari, Cottey College (MS)  Jasmine Camille Brown, Georgia Highlands College (GA)  Susana Piedrahita, Miami Dade College (FL)  Megan Capp, Rogue Community College (OR)  Halianna Piller, Pima Community College (AZ)  Hannah Combs, Jefferson State Community College (AL)  Isaac Pope, Centralia College (WA)  Brianna Cooley, Bossier Parish Community College (LA)  Sangeetha Punnam, Raritan Valley Community College (NJ)  Cheyenne Glass, Chipola College (FL)  Benjamin Rawald, Lake Washington Institute of Technology (WA)  Carly Glasse, Orange County Community College (NY)  Andrea Salazar Calderon, Pima Community College (AZ)  Brianna Huynh, American River College (CA)  Sydney Swedick, Schenectady County Community College (NY)  Tanner Keck, Walters State Community College (TN)  Kyle Tan, Galveston College (TX)  Frank Lee, Jefferson State Community College (AL)  Anastasia Whitley, Thomas Nelson Community College (VA)





To learn more about each student and their accomplishments, click here.

To learn more about the All-USA Academic Scholarship, click here.

About Cengage

Cengage, the U.S. Higher Education business of global education technology company Cengage Group, serves millions of instructors, learners, and institutions. Cengage delivers affordable, high-quality digital products and personalized support to power learning individually and at scale. Cengage's customer-centered approach enables innovation, including Cengage Unlimited, the first and only all-access digital subscription for textbooks and course materials. Cengage's textbooks, homework tools, and flagship online learning platforms, MindTap and WebAssign, help educators and students achieve their goals. Visit Cengage at www.cengage.com/institutions or on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.

About the American Association of Community Colleges

The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) is the primary advocacy organization for the nation's community colleges. The association represents more than 1,100 two-year, associate degree-granting institutions and more than 12 million students.

About Phi Theta Kappa

Phi Theta Kappa is the premier honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helping them to grow as scholars and leaders. The Society is made up of more than 3.8 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 10 countries, with approximately 240,000 active members in the nation's colleges. Learn more at ptk.org.

CONTACT:

Kristina Massari

[email protected]

SOURCE Cengage Group
DUBLIN, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "China Biological Reagents Market (Molecular Biology Reagents, Proteins and Cell Reagents): Insights & Forecast with Potential Impact of COVID-19 (2022-2026)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The China biological reagent market is forecasted to reach US$6.39 billion in 2026, experiencing growth at a CAGR of 14.87% during the period spanning from 2022 to 2026.

Growth in the China biological reagent market was supported by factors such as increasing research in the field of life sciences, technological innovations, rising number of genome projects, rising incidence of genetic disorders, continuous innovation in drug research & development and favorable government policies. However, the market growth is expected to be restrained by fiscal barriers.

The China biological reagent market by category can be segmented as follows: molecular biology reagents, proteins and cell reagents. In 2021, the dominant share of China biological reagent market was held by molecular biology reagents, followed by proteins and cell reagents.

The China proteins reagent market by type can be segmented as follows: antibody, recombinant protein and others. The largest share of the market was being held by antibody, followed by recombinant protein and others. Factors such as increasing domestic substitution, increasing interest in novel treatment and drug discovery helped in boosting market growth.

The China biological reagents market was positively affected due to increased demand for biological reagents. With the emergence of COVID-19, demands of COVID-related antibodies, proteins and genes product that were used widely in the fundamental research of the virus or development of anti-virus drugs, vaccines and diagnostic kits surged.

The competitive landscape of the market, along with the company profiles of leading players (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Danaher Corporation, PerkinElmer, Inc., Bio-techne Corporation, Bio-rad Laboratories, Inc. and Qiagen N.V.) are alsopresented in detail.

Key Topics Covered:



1. Market Overview

1. Market Overview

1.1 Biological Reagents

1.1.1 Biological Reagents- Introduction

1.2 Applications of Biological Reagents

1.3 Types of Biological Reagents

1.3.1 Molecular Biology Reagents

1.3.2 Protein Reagents

1.3.3 Cell products

1.4 Value Chain Analysis



2. Impact of COVID-19

2.1 Impact of COVID-19 on China Biological Reagents Market

2.2 Domestic Substitution

2.3 Supply Side Impact

2.4 Post-COVID Scenario



3. Market Analysis

3.1 China Biological Reagent Market by Value

3.2 China Biological Reagent Market Forecast by Value

3.3 China Biological Reagent Market by Category

3.3.1 China Molecular Biology Reagent Market Forecast by Value

3.3.2 China Proteins Reagent Market Forecast by Value

3.3.3 China Cells Reagent Market Forecast by Value

3.4 China Proteins Reagent Market by Type

3.7.1 China Antibody Proteins Reagent Market Forecast by Value

3.7.2 China Recombinant Proteins Reagent Market Forecast by Value

3.7.3 China Other Proteins Reagent Market Forecast by Value

3.5 China Biological Reagents Market by End User



4. Market Dynamics

4.1 Growth Drivers

4.1.1 Increasing Research in the Field of Life Sciences

4.1.2 Continuous Innovation in Drug Research & Development

4.1.3 Favorable Government Policies

4.1.4 Technological Innovations

4.1.5 Rising Number of Genome Projects

4.1.6 Rising Incidence of Genetic Disorders

4.2 Key Trends & Developments

4.2.1 Increasing Domestic Substitution

4.2.2 Increasing Interest in Novel Treatment

4.2.3 Drug Discovery

4.3 Challenges

4.3.1 Dynamic Demand & Lack Of High End Technology

4.3.2 Fiscal Barriers



5. Competitive Landscape

5.1 China Market

5.1.1 Revenue Comparison- Key Players

5.1.2 Market Capitalization Comparison - Key Players

5.1.3 China Biological Reagent Business Share- Key MNC Players

5.1.4 China Molecular Biology Reagents Market Share - Key Players

5.1.5 China Molecular Biology Reagents Market Share - Key Domestic Players

5.1.6 China Antibodies Market Share - Key Players

5.1.7 China Recombinant Protein Market Share - Key Players

5.1.8 China Species of Recombinant Protein Products - Key Players



6. Company Profiles

6.1 Business Overview

6.2 Financial Overview

6.3 Business Strategies

Bio-rad Laboratories, Inc.

Bio-Techne Corporation

Danaher Corporation

PerkinElmer, Inc.

Qiagen N.V.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6evogr

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
Mainly inhabiting mainly in mountainous regions, the Miao people live on farming and animal husbandry. The ethnic group is also known for its distinctive and exquisite clothing and embroidery.

Miao people are born embroidery talents. Taught by their mothers and sisters, Miao women start to be trained for Miao embroidery around seven years old. As teens, they are already skilled in handicrafts.

Huawu village, located in Guizhou province's Qianxi city, is home to thousands of talented Miao embroidery handicrafts artists. Relocated from the mountain regions to the new residential areas, the Huawu villagers are making a better living out of Miao embroidery. They also made immense efforts in improving the ecological environment alongside the Wujiang River.

To tap into a complete story, the British video journalist Adam travels from Shanghai to Huawu village to find out more. He visited the Miao embroidery workshop in the village and learned how this time-honored art is passed down throughout generations. Adam also witnessed the transformation from the obsolete cottages where villagers lived several years ago to their brand-new, neatly arrayed houses in their resettlement community.

Contact: Zhong Lei

Tel008610-68996566

E-mail[email protected]

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/ifh43f1Cd2E

SOURCE China Matters
The Futureforce Tech Launchpad program offers underrepresented CS students early access to Salesforce internships. Tweet this

The Futureforce Tech Launchpad program offers students early access to Salesforce internships, as well as real-world experience that keeps them dedicated to completing their degree.

"At a time when tech companies most need talent, communities of color are not being sufficiently considered for lucrative roles even if they hold computing degrees." said Michael Ellison, CEO at CodePath. "Programming like Futureforce Tech Launchpad is necessary in order to eliminate systemic inequities in both computer science education and technical recruiting."

The cutting-edge curriculum and one-on-one mentorshipsupplementing college CS programsincluded in the Futureforce Tech Launchpad Program was designed to bridge the gap between academic understanding and practical professional experience and is specifically geared towards groups historically underrepresented in tech including but not limited to Black, Hispanic, Native American, students with disabilities, and veterans.

"We know that talent is spread evenly, but opportunity is not. It's up to employers to create new pathways for top talent to get in the door," said Nathalie Scardino, Executive Vice President of Global Recruiting at Salesforce. "Futureforce Tech Launchpad, and our partnership with CodePath, will help us reach future leaders sooner, supporting them on their journey to a successful career."

Futureforce Tech Launchpad will give 25 rising juniors access to relevant work experience and weekly mentorship from various volunteer software engineering teams. Students will be introduced to full-stack web development, gaining an understanding of database, back-end code, front-end code, testing, design, and deployment. This program will help build the foundational knowledge and skills students will need as they continue to pursue a career in tech.

The program will run from June 13 to August 19, 2022 at Salesforce Tower in San Francisco. Students who successfully complete this program may be offered a Futureforce internship for the following summer. In similar programs led by CodePath, nearly 86% of students received return internship offers.

Students eligible for this program will graduate with a bachelor's degree in 2024, are pursuing a course of study in computer science or closely related field (i.e. Information Systems, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, etc.), and must have completed a CS 1-type class, such as Intro to Programming.

For more information, or to apply, please visit https://info.codepath.org/futureforce-tech-launchpad-salesforce-and-codepath

About CodePath

CodePath is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit that partners with colleges and major tech companies to prepare underserved computer science students for careers in tech. CodePath runs courses across over 70 universities, and we have taught over 10,000 students since 2017. CodePath is supported by Andreessen Horowitz, Blue Meridian Partners, Cognizant Foundation, Comcast, Knight Foundation, Meta, New Profit, Salesforce, Walmart, and Workday. To learn more, visit www.codepath.org.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies of every size and industry to digitally transform and create a 360 view of their customers. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.

CONTACT Annie Brown, Director of Communications, CodePath - [email protected]

SOURCE CodePath
Vendor Insights

Commercial Vehicle Retarder Market is fragmented and the vendors are deploying various organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete in the market.

The growing competition in the market is compelling vendors to adopt various growth strategies such as promotional activities and spending on advertisements to improve the visibility of their services. Some vendors are also adopting inorganic growth strategies such as M&As to remain competitive in the market.

The report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market vendors, including:

Altra Industrial Motion Corp.

Brakes India Pvt. Ltd.

CAMA Luoyang Electromechanic CO. LTD

Frenos Electricos Unidos SA

INDUSTRIAS ZELU SL

Nippon Steel Corp.

Shenzhen Dawei Innovation Technology Co. Ltd.

SORL Auto Parts Inc.

TBK Co. Ltd.

Telma SA

Voith GmbH and Co. KGaA

Volkswagen AG

WeiChai Holding Group Co. Ltd.

ZF Friedrichshafen AG

Find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings, Read Free Sample Report .

Geographical Market Analysis

North America will account for 44% of the market's growth. In North America, the US is the most important market for commercial vehicle retarders. The market in this area will increase at a quicker rate than the market in APAC. Over the forecast period, the imposition of restrictions will aid the growth of the commercial vehicle retarder market in North America.

Furthermore, countries such as the US, China, India, and Japan are expected to emerge as prominent markets for Commercial Vehicle Retarder Market during the forecast period.

Know more about this market's geographical distribution along with the detailed analysis of the top regions. Download Free Sample Report.

Key Segment Analysis

The electromagnetic retarders segment will gain a major proportion of the commercial vehicle retarder market. The electromagnetic induction technique is used to generate the retardation force in electromagnetic retarders. These retarders can be installed in the transmission or driveline. A rotor is attached to these components, and a stator is securely attached to the vehicle chassis in an electromagnetic retarder. Between the rotor and the stator, there are no contact surfaces or working fluid surfaces.

Furthermore, because electromagnetic retarders consume very little energy, they do not require an external source for heat dissipation. As a result, electromagnetic retarders are widely used. During the projection period, market expansion will be fueled by the increased demand for electromagnetic retarders.

View FREE Sample: to know additional highlights and key points on various market segments and their impact in coming years.

Key Market Drivers & Challenges:

One of the major factors driving the growth of the commercial vehicle retarder market is the reduction in total costs. Another trend that is helping to market expansion is the expanding introduction of self-charging type electromagnetic retarders. However, one of the problems impeding the commercial vehicle retarder market's growth is high energy consumption and overheating during retardation.

Download a free sample for highlights on market Drivers & Challenges affecting the Commercial Vehicle Retarder Market.

Customize Your Report

Don't miss out on the opportunity to speak to our analyst and know more insights about this market report. Our analysts can also help you customize this report according to your needs. Our analysts and industry experts will work directly with you to understand your requirements and provide you with customized data in a short amount of time.

We offer USD 1,000 worth of FREE customization at the time of purchase. Speak to our Analyst now!

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Commercial Vehicle Retarder Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4.06% Market growth 2022-2026 $ 298.98 million Market structure Concentrated YoY growth (%) 3.92 Regional analysis North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution North America at 44% Key consumer countries US, China, India, Japan, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled Altra Industrial Motion Corp., Brakes India Pvt. Ltd., CAMA Luoyang Electromechanic CO. LTD, Frenos Electricos Unidos SA, INDUSTRIAS ZELU SL, Nippon Steel Corp., Shenzhen Dawei Innovation Technology Co. Ltd., SORL Auto Parts Inc., TBK Co. Ltd., Telma SA, Voith GmbH and Co. KGaA, Volkswagen AG, WeiChai Holding Group Co. Ltd., and ZF Friedrichshafen AG Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of Contents

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

Exhibit 01: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Overview



Exhibit 02: Executive Summary  Data Table on Market Overview



Exhibit 03: Executive Summary  Chart on Global Market Characteristics



Exhibit 04: Executive Summary  Chart on Market by Geography



Exhibit 05: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Product



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 07: Executive Summary  Data Table on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 08: Executive Summary  Chart on Vendor Market Positioning

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 09: Parent market



Exhibit 10: Market Characteristics

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 11: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 12: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2021

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026

Exhibit 13: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 14: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 15: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 16: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

4 Five Forces Analysis

4.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 17: Five forces analysis - Comparison between2021 and 2026

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 18: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors 2021 and 2026

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 19: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 20: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 21: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 22: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.7 Market condition

Exhibit 23: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2021 and 2026

5 Market Segmentation by Product

5.1 Market segments

Exhibit 24: Chart on Product - Market share 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 25: Data Table on Product - Market share 2021-2026 (%)

5.2 Comparison by Product

Exhibit 26: Chart on Comparison by Product



Exhibit 27: Data Table on Comparison by Product

5.3 Electromagnetic retarders - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 28: Chart on Electromagnetic retarders - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 29: Data Table on Electromagnetic retarders - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 30: Chart on Electromagnetic retarders - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on Electromagnetic retarders - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.4 Hydraulic retarders - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 32: Chart on Hydraulic retarders - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Hydraulic retarders - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 34: Chart on Hydraulic retarders - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Hydraulic retarders - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.5 Market opportunity by Product

Exhibit 36: Market opportunity by Product ($ million)

6 Customer Landscape

6.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 37: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

7 Geographic Landscape

7.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 38: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)

7.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 40: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 41: Data Table on Geographic comparison

7.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 42: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 43: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 44: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 45: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.4 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 46: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 47: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 48: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 49: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.5 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 50: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 51: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 52: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 53: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 54: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 55: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 56: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 57: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 58: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 59: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 60: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

and - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 61: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.8 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 62: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 63: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 64: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 65: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.9 China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 66: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 67: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 68: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 69: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.10 India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 70: Chart on India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 71: Data Table on India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 72: Chart on India - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 73: Data Table on India - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.11 Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 74: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 75: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 76: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 77: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.12 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 78: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 79: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 80: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 81: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.13 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 82: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

8.1 Market drivers

8.2 Market challenges

8.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 83: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026

8.4 Market trends

9 Vendor Landscape

9.1 Overview

9.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 84: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

9.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 85: Overview on factors of disruption

9.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 86: Impact of key risks on business

10 Vendor Analysis

10.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 87: Vendors covered

10.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 88: Matrix on vendor position and classification

10.3 Altra Industrial Motion Corp.

Exhibit 89: Altra Industrial Motion Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 90: Altra Industrial Motion Corp. - Business segments



Exhibit 91: Altra Industrial Motion Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 92: Altra Industrial Motion Corp. - Segment focus

10.4 Brakes India Pvt. Ltd.

Exhibit 93: Brakes India Pvt. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 94: Brakes India Pvt. Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 95: Brakes India Pvt. Ltd. - Key offerings

10.5 Frenos Electricos Unidos SA

Exhibit 96: Frenos Electricos Unidos SA - Overview



Exhibit 97: Frenos Electricos Unidos SA - Product / Service



Exhibit 98: Frenos Electricos Unidos SA - Key offerings

10.6 INDUSTRIAS ZELU SL

Exhibit 99: INDUSTRIAS ZELU SL - Overview



Exhibit 100: INDUSTRIAS ZELU SL - Product / Service



Exhibit 101: INDUSTRIAS ZELU SL - Key offerings

10.7 TBK Co. Ltd.

Exhibit 102: TBK Co. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 103: TBK Co. Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 104: TBK Co. Ltd. - Key offerings

10.8 Telma SA

Exhibit 105: Telma SA - Overview



Exhibit 106: Telma SA - Product / Service



Exhibit 107: Telma SA - Key offerings

10.9 Voith GmbH and Co. KGaA

Exhibit 108: Voith GmbH and Co. KGaA - Overview



Exhibit 109: Voith GmbH and Co. KGaA - Product / Service



Exhibit 110: Voith GmbH and Co. KGaA - Key offerings

10.10 Volkswagen AG

Exhibit 111: Volkswagen AG - Overview



Exhibit 112: Volkswagen AG - Business segments



Exhibit 113: Volkswagen AG - Key offerings



Exhibit 114: Volkswagen AG - Segment focus

10.11 WeiChai Holding Group Co. Ltd.

Exhibit 115: WeiChai Holding Group Co. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 116: WeiChai Holding Group Co. Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 117: WeiChai Holding Group Co. Ltd. - Key offerings

10.12 ZF Friedrichshafen AG

Exhibit 118: ZF Friedrichshafen AG - Overview



Exhibit 119: ZF Friedrichshafen AG - Business segments



Exhibit 120: ZF Friedrichshafen AG - Key news



Exhibit 121: ZF Friedrichshafen AG - Key offerings



Exhibit 122: ZF Friedrichshafen AG - Segment focus

11 Appendix

11.1 Scope of the report

11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 123: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 124: Exclusions checklist

11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 125: Currency conversion rates for US$

11.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 126: Research methodology



Exhibit 127: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 128: Information sources

11.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 129: List of abbreviations

About Us:

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
NEW YORK, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Connatix , the leading video technology company for publishers and advertisers, announced today key senior new hires and leadership promotions across its sales, culture, product, and marketing teams.

Deborah Hankin joins as Global Chief People Officer, a new role for the company, overseeing the HR division and employee experience across all Connatix offices. With a human-centric and innovative approach to people and culture, Hankin has held notable senior positions across the industry. Most recently she was Chief Talent Officer at Mediabrands, and prior to that, worked at Real Chemistry (fdba W2O Group) as its Chief People Officer. Earlier in her career she was at SYPartners, a design and innovation management consultancy, where she founded and led the Talent function.

Brady Jones, a 20+ year media industry veteran, joins as VP of North America Business Development, leading the publisher sales division in the Americas. Most recently Jones, while at Yahoo!, led product, strategy, and go-to-market for the global expansion of Yahoo!'s native ads business to third party publishers. Prior to that, he held business development leadership roles at Media.net, Say Media, and Outbrain.

Jenn Chen, previously Chief Revenue Officer, has been promoted to the expanded role of President and Chief Revenue Officer. Chen joined Connatix in 2018 and has led the growth and expansion of the publisher development, buyer, and marketing teams since then. In her new expanded role, she will be charged with managing Connatix's overall strategy, operations, partnerships, and international expansion. Before joining Connatix, Chen was the VP/GM of Programmatic at Sizmek and is also the Co-Founder and President of Givology, a nonprofit platform which connects donors to students in developing countries.

In addition to these roles, Connatix is also announcing several leadership promotions including:

Dor Leitman, formerly VP of AI & Content Automation to SVP of Product, now leading the product team.

Becky Breen , formerly VP of Marketing to SVP of Marketing, overseeing all marketing and communications.

, formerly VP of Marketing to SVP of Marketing, overseeing all marketing and communications. Lauren Rose , formerly Senior Director, Business Development to Head of Account Management, now overseeing the account management team.

, formerly Senior Director, Business Development to Head of Account Management, now overseeing the account management team. Rotem Chen , formerly VP of Operations to SVP of Operations, overseeing business operations and publisher support.

David Kashak, CEO and co-founder of Connatix, says, "We're thrilled to welcome Brady and Deborah to Connatix to help our clients and internal team thrive, and excited to elevate our talented senior team to new roles. This strong team of leaders will help us achieve our goals and supercharge our international expansion and M&A strategies."

About Connatix

Connatix is a next-generation video technology platform for publishers. We believe in the power of engaging content and are on a mission to help publishers deliver successful videos without compromise. With a cutting-edge video player, optimization engine, and suite of turn-key video monetization formats, publishers can amplify video revenue while delivering engaging experiences. With first-to-market video capabilities, Connatix sits at the forefront of content innovation and is building a new generation of video experiences that are optimized for publisher success. Connatix works with over 3,000 publishers and 1,000 advertisers worldwide and was named a Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Company, an AdExchanger Programmatic Power Player, and one of the fastest growing companies on the Inc. 5000 list.

Founded in 2014, the company is headquartered in New York City with offices in Tel Aviv, Israel, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and Chicago, Illinois.

Media Contact:

Mariah Stein

Connatix

[email protected]

SOURCE Connatix
SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ethics legislation to shine a light on insurance industry influence over decision-making at the Department of Insurance was killed by the Assembly Insurance Committee today when members refused to give the bill a vote.



AB 2323 (Levine) would have required the Insurance Commissioner and top-level appointees to publicly disclose meetings and communications with the insurance industry and others seeking to influence Department actions within seven days, and post these reports on the Department website quarterly.



The bill was presented in committee today and Assemblymember Wood moved for a vote, but no other committee member seconded the motion. Without a second, the bill did not get a vote.



The Committee refused to hold a hearing on two other bills imposing mandates on the insurance industry: AB 1694 to require insurance companies disclose their fossil fuel underwriting and investments, and AB 1755 to require insurance companies offer home insurance to policyholders who meet state standards to protect their homes from wildfire.



Insurance companies have made $1.5 million in campaign contributions to members of the Assembly Insurance Committee over the last four years, including $231,000 to Committee Chair Tom Daly.



"It's anti-democratic and demonstrates the insurance industry's capture of the Assembly Insurance Committee that members refused to even allow a vote on a transparency bill that would have shone light on industry influence at the Department of Insurance," said Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog.



Another Department of Insurance ethics bill, AB 1783 (Levine), will be heard in the Assembly Elections committee next week. It would amend the Political Reform Act to require individuals hired to represent companies seeking mergers before the Department register as lobbyists and disclose how much they are paid.



The ethics bills follow revelations of a pay-to-play scandal involving campaign contributions and meetings between Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and insurance company representatives seeking to influence Department enforcement actions and a merger.



"The public has a right to know who is influencing the Insurance Commissioner's decisions proactively and should not have to wait until a scandal spurs investigation for such influence to be uncovered," said Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, in testimony before the committee today. "Transparency is necessary to restore the public's confidence in the operations and independence of the Department of Insurance."



A media investigation in 2019 found that Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara took $54,000 in campaign contributions from individuals linked to two insurance companies with matters before the agency. One of them, Applied Underwriters, was being investigated by the Department for overcharging businesses for workers compensation insurance. The Commissioner subsequently intervened in proceedings involving the company, reversing Administrative Law Judge decisions.



Commissioner Lara later admitted that he had met with the President of Applied Underwriters prior to intervening in the proceedings, and, critically, that intervention in the proceedings was discussed, as well as the status of a merger that also required the Commissioner's approval.



Additionally, throughout the course of a Public Records Act request and ensuing lawsuit that followed the revelations, Consumer Watchdog discovered that other officials at the CDI had undisclosed conversations with representatives of the insurance company, including lobbyists who were secretly promised a $2 million success fee for influencing the merger.



Learn more about the case: https://www.consumerwatchdog.org/insurance/new-evidence-reveals-commissioner-lara-and-top-staff-hid-communications-about-meetings



Read Consumer Watchdog's letter in support of AB 2323.

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog
JACKSON, Mich., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers Energy and key stakeholders throughout Michigan have agreed on a settlement related to the company's Clean Energy Plan, a sweeping proposal to stop using coal as a fuel source for electric generation by 2025, making the company one of the first in the nation to go coal-free.

The agreement, which requires regulatory approval, includes a broad coalition of customer groups, environmental organizations, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) staff, energy industry representatives, and the Michigan Attorney General and provides a 20-year blueprint to meet Michigan's energy needs while protecting the environment for future generations.

"This is a historic commitment to lead the clean energy transformation and create a brighter future for our state," said Garrick Rochow, President and CEO of Consumers Energy. "A diverse set of stakeholders came together to endorse a Clean Energy Plan that will provide reliable and affordable energy to customers for decades to come while protecting the environment."

Consumers Energy updated its original 2018 Clean Energy Plan by including the pledge to accelerate the elimination of coal to 2025, among other benefits to customers and environment in its 2021 Clean Energy Plan, filed with the MPSC last June. The settlement agreement supporting Consumers Energy's plan comes after more than a year of listening to key stakeholders' ideas and input. The next step in the process is for the MPSC to review the settlement agreement.

The settlement includes:

COAL PLANT RETIREMENTS BY 2025: closes all three units at the J.H. Campbell coal plant in West Olive, Michigan in 2025 in addition to two units at the D.E. Karn coal plant in 2023 (as per the 2018 Clean Energy Plan) and will be among the first utilities in the nation to go coal-free by 2025.

closes all three units at the J.H. coal plant in in 2025 in addition to two units at the D.E. Karn coal plant in 2023 (as per the 2018 Clean Energy Plan) and will be among the first utilities in the nation to go coal-free by 2025. RISE OF SOLAR: continues the rapid transition to clean, renewable sources by adding nearly 8,000 megawatts (MW) of solar power by 2040 ensuring 60 percent of our capacity comes from clean sources.

continues the rapid transition to clean, renewable sources by adding nearly 8,000 megawatts (MW) of solar power by 2040 ensuring 60 percent of our capacity comes from clean sources. BATTERY DEPLOYMENT : accelerates energy storage from 2030 to 2024 with a total of 75 MW of energy storage by 2027, achieving 550 MW by 2040.

: accelerates energy storage from 2030 to 2024 with a total of 75 MW of energy storage by 2027, achieving 550 MW by 2040. SYSTEM RELIABILITY: ensures supply reliability through the purchase of the Covert Generating Station in Van Buren County , a natural gas-fired power plant.

ensures supply reliability through the purchase of the Covert Generating Station in , a natural gas-fired power plant. AFFORDABLE ENERGY: creates price stability and helps customers save an estimated $600 million dollars through 2040 compared to the 2018 Clean Energy Plan. Consumers Energy would also continue its successful energy waste reduction programs that have saved customers more than $4 billion since 2009. In addition, the company has committed to continue to fund utility bill assistance programs for low-income customers.

"Reaching consensus on this Clean Energy Plan moves Michigan toward a cleaner, more reliable energy future while caring for our co-workers and communities impacted," Rochow said. "We're grateful for the thoughtful, positive contributions of all stakeholders throughout this process and look forward to the MPSC's decision on our plan."

Consumers Energy, Michigan's largest energy provider, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.8 million of the state's 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

For more information about Consumers Energy, go to www.ConsumersEnergy.com.

Check out Consumers Energy on Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/consumersenergymichigan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/consumersenergy

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/consumersenergy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/consumersenergy

SOURCE Consumers Energy
LOS ANGELES , April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DFND, a leading compression and apparel brand designed for the military, firefighters, first responders and pro athletes, now available to athletes everywhere, has partnered with Hologenix, creators of CELLIANT to introduce a line of unisex sleepwear: DFND REST. Designed for the "warrior athlete," the revolutionary sleepwear is powered by DFND X CELLIANT, the trailblazer in bio-responsive infrared textiles.

Both DFND and Hologenix are focused on increasing recovery and enhancing performance for the human body, so the partnership couldn't be more ideal. CELLIANT's science-backed infrared (IR) technology is a natural blend of bioceramics that allows textiles to capture and convert body heat into infrared energy. DFND REST powered by CELLIANT notes that it is "clinically proven to enhance tissue oxygen levels to help your body be at its best."



DFND REST powered by CELLIANT includes three unisex designs in two colors each, Tan and Heather Grey: IR Short Sleeve V-Neck Shirt; IR Long Sleeve V-Neck Shirt and IR Sleepwear Long John; and two designs in Black: IR Recover RX Hood; IR Recover RX Jogger.



DFND REST, like all DFND products, is designed, tested and made in the USA. CELLIANT's proprietary mineral formula is processed and manufactured in the USA.



DFND REST will be featured at the following upcoming shows: the Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) Exposition and Industry Day, April 26 to 27 at Fort Eustis; Warrior West, April 27 to 28 at the San Diego Convention Center; Modern Day Marine, May 10 to 12, Washington, D.C.; The Human Performance & Biosystems Summit, June 29 to 30 at National Harbor, Maryland; National Guard Conference & Exhibition, August 26 to 29, Columbus, Ohio; and AUSA, October 10 to 12, Washington, D.C.



"CELLIANT is specially engineered to enhance sleep, rest and recovery, and the partnership with DFND strongly reinforces our brand values," said Seth Casden, Hologenix Co-Founder and CEO. "We are very excited about this product launch."



"With sleep and rest being so critical to the core components of performance and recovery, DFND is proud to partner with Hologenix on its industry-leading, science-backed CELLIANT technology to bring this product to the market to make an impact in the lives of soldiers and athletes alike," concluded DFND President Steve Burnett. "Improved sleep is needed for both physical and mental health, and we are pleased to present these products at our upcoming shows where rest and recovery are key components of our brand pillars."



For more information or to purchase DFND X CELLIANT Sleepwear visit: https://dfndusa.com/collections/rest-sleep

About Hologenix and CELLIANT

Hologenix, LLC, headquartered in Pacific Palisades, California, is a materials science company innovating products that energize all aspects of life. Its flagship product, CELLIANT, is a science-backed infrared (IR) technology that improves health and wellness by promoting restful sleep and enhancing performance and recovery. CELLIANT's natural blend of IR-generating minerals is embedded into fibers, yarns and fabrics, powering bio-responsive textiles. CELLIANT is a key ingredient used by world-class brands in products spanning apparel, sleepwear, bedding, upholstery, uniforms and medical supplies.



CELLIANT is rigorously tested by a Science Advisory Board composed of experts in photobiology, nanotechnology, sleep medicine, and diabetes and wound care. The Science Advisory Board has overseen nine peer-reviewed published studies that demonstrate CELLIANT's effectiveness and the benefits of infrared energy. For more information, visit celliant.com.



About DFND

Started in 2015, DFND (pronounced "de-fend") is the brainchild of two industry veterans whose aim was to bring quality performance apparel to the people who needed it most, our U.S. Military and First Responders. Proudly specializing in developing products that maximize human performance, DFND currently offers a Graduated Compression for Injury Prevention, Training, and Recovery, a complete line of Training Gear and a specialized Fire Resistant (FR) line. Every item that DFND offers is 100% Made in USA and 100% Berry Compliant, and is uniquely crafted to support the needs of athletes training at any level.

Since its initial launch, DFND has been adopted by the NBA, NFL, and over 100 NCAA D1 collegiate teams. In addition, individual Olympic athletes, as well as NHL, MLB, MMA, and other elite athletes around the world chose to train and recover in DFND products every day. For more information, visit dfndusa.com.

For images: https://spaces.hightail.com/space/4mSrP4znh7

SOURCE Hologenix, LLC/DFND
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- From distribution at a mobile food pantry to packing and sorting healthy meals or helping to build affordable housing, hundreds of Duly team members will partner with 8 non-profit organizations across Chicagoland during National Volunteer Week.

The theme for this second annual Duly celebration of service, "Growing Goodness Together," will shine a light on the people and causes that inspire us to volunteernot just during volunteer week, but all year long.

"We believe in supporting communities that depend on us for their healthcare needs every day, "said Angela Beck, vice president of Social Impact at Duly Health and Care. "Our Week of Service gives us additional opportunities to fulfill our purpose of helping people flourish in all aspects of their lives."

The Duly sponsored events and opportunities to give back will support: Catholic Charities in Joliet and Plainfield, IL; Greater Chicago Food Depository in Chicago, IL; Northern Illinois Food Bank in Geneva, IL; KidsMatter in Naperville, IL; Loaves & Fishes Community Services in Aurora, IL; West Suburban Community Pantry in Woodridge, IL; DuPage Senior Citizens Council's Home Delivered Meal Program in Lombard, and DuPage Habitat for Humanity in Hanover Park, IL.

"We are extremely appreciative of the continued support that Duly Health and Care has provided to DuPage Habitat for several years and we truly value their partnership," said Jennifer Taff, executive director for DuPage Habitat for Humanity. "Volunteering with us during this National Week of Service is just one of many days that Duly has been out swinging a hammer with us. We so appreciate that Duly understands that having a safe, decent, and affordable home is a critical factor to great health."

Learn more about how Duly Health and Care is planting the seed of volunteerism on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter with the hashtag #DulyGooder.

About Duly Health and Care

DuPage Medical Group is now known as Duly Health and Care. It is one of the largest independent, multi-specialty physician-directed medical groups in the nation with more than 1,000 primary care and specialty care physicians and more than 7,000 team members, in over 150 locations. The organization is wholly dedicated to helping all it serves flourish by challenging the expected to deliver the extraordinary in health and care.

Duly Health and Care physicians and team members support nearly 2.5 million individuals in their personal health journeys each year, helping each one to meet their extraordinary potential through a holistic care delivery model designed to make health and care welcoming, simplified and personalized.

For more information, visit www.dulyhealthandcare.com.

SOURCE Duly Health and Care
Vancouver, BC, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Equinox Gold Corp. (TSX: EQX) (NYSE: EQX) ("Equinox Gold" or the "Company") will announce its unaudited first quarter financial and operating results on May 3, 2022, after market close, and will host a series of meetings on May 4, 2022, as described below.

First Quarter Results ( May 4 , 7:30 am PT )

The Company will host a conference call and webcast on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, commencing at 7:30 am PT to discuss its first quarter results and answer questions from participants.

Conference Call

Toll-free in U.S. and Canada: 1-800-319-4610

International callers: +1 604-638-5340

Webcast

www.equinoxgold.com

Annual Meeting of Shareholders ( May 4 , 1:30 pm PT ) followed by Chairman's Update ( 1:40 pm PT )

The Company's annual and special meeting of shareholders ("Meeting") will be held on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 commencing at 1:30 pm PT via webcast. Equinox Gold's Chairman, Ross Beaty, will host a corporate update immediately after the Meeting, commencing at approximately 1:40 pm PT, to discuss the Company's business strategy and objectives. Shareholders can submit questions in advance about Equinox Gold, the Meeting or the voting process using the Submit a Question form on our website at www.EquinoxGold.com/investors/shareholder-meetings. Participants will also have the opportunity to ask questions during the Meeting and the Chairman's Update.

All interested parties are invited to participate using the login below.

Webcast: https://meetnow.global/MGDZ65R

Unless you intend to vote during the Meeting, registered shareholder proxy forms must be received by 1:30 pm PT on May 2, 2022. The deadline for non-registered shareholders may be earlier. Meeting materials and information regarding how to participate in the meeting have been distributed to shareholders and are also available for download at www.EquinoxGold.com/investors/shareholder-meetings and from Equinox Gold's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.

SOURCE Equinox Gold Corp.
"Bruce is known throughout the Texas market, and he has a wealth of banking experience," said Robert L. Harris, leader of Waller's financial services industry team. "He's an excellent complement to Waller's banking and financial services teams, and our clients will benefit greatly from the skills and perspective he brings to the table."

Toppin's corporate and commercial transaction expertise includes M&A, securities offerings, the formation of holding companies, de novo charters, regulatory applications and compliance issues, corporate governance, enforcement actions, and more. His financial service practice additionally includes commercial finance experience representing both lenders and borrowers in a broad range of secured and unsecured debt financings, including term loans, lines of credit, government guaranteed loans, loan participations, modifications, renewals and assumptions.

Toppin, a lifelong Texan, is an active member of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas and the Texas Bankers Association. He is the former Executive Director of the Subchapter S Bank Association. He earned his J.D. from St. Mary's University School of Law and his B.B.A. in Finance from Texas Tech University. He serves on the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

About Waller

With nearly 300 attorneys across Tennessee, Alabama and Texas, Waller assists clients in complex transactional, regulatory and litigation matters. The firm has a national reputation in healthcare and financial services and boasts robust practices in private equity and real estate. Waller was named one of the best law firms for women by Working Mother and was spotlighted by Chambers Associate as one of the nation's leading firms for recruiting, retaining and supporting legal talent. Waller is ranked as Nashville's largest law firm by the Nashville Business Journal and was awarded a Best Places to Work award by the Nashville Business Journal and the Birmingham Business Journal four years in a row.

CONTACT: Ryan Witherell, (615) 500-2733, [email protected]

SOURCE Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP
MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- First Horizon Corp. (NYSE: FHN or "First Horizon") today announced the winners of the Back to Business Contest . Designed to celebrate resilient businesses in the communities the bank serves, the bank awarded $1 million in total cash prizes to 48 small businesses across 16 regions including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas.

"Strong businesses are the cornerstone of strong communities, and championing those businesses is at the heart of everything we do," says Anthony Restel , President of Regional Banking. "First Horizon provides capital and counsel to local businesses and we look forward to working with these exceptional companies throughout the Southeast."

Click here to view the finalists and winners from each region below:

Alabama  Birmingham , Huntsville , Mobile

 , , Arkansas  Little Rock , Fayetteville , Jonesboro

 , , Florida  Ft. Myers, Naples , Jacksonville , Orlando , Miami , Ft. Lauderdale , West Palm Beach , Tampa , Sarasota

 Ft. Myers, , , , , , , , Georgia  Atlanta

 Louisiana  Baton Rouge , Lafayette , Lake Charles , Shreveport , Monroe , New Orleans

 , , , , , Texas  Dallas , Houston

A few of the winning businesses from across the region include:

Special Awards:

Best Video  Houston , Masterpiece Desserts

, Best Photo  Tampa / Sarasota , Aaron's Against the Grain Barbershoppe

"We are so grateful to First Horizon for this opportunity to invest more in The Kaizen School," says owner, Loren Howard. "We look forward to the opportunity to enhance our classroom spaces and create a safe and nurturing home-away-from-home for our daycare students."

About the Contest

To enter, businesses submitted a short description highlighting how they would use the money, along with a photo or video. The contest received 2,300 entries, ranging from a wide variety of businesses and services, including boutiques, trucking companies and local restaurants. Fifty finalists were selected and 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners were determined by public voting in each city. The winning businesses were awarded $30,000, $10,000 and $5,000, respectively. A $5,000 sweepstakes prize was awarded to one individual in each community. There are also winners for Best Video and Photo Submission ($25,000 each) and six Judges' Picks winners ($25,000 each). For more information on the Back to Business Contest, please visit www.winwithfirsthorizon.com .

About First Horizon

First Horizon Corp. (NYSE: FHN), with $88.7 billion in assets as of March 31, 2022, is a leading regional financial services company, dedicated to helping our clients, communities and associates unlock their full potential with capital and counsel. Headquartered in Memphis, TN, the banking subsidiary First Horizon Bank operates in 12 states across the southern U.S. The Company and its subsidiaries offer commercial, private banking, consumer, small business, wealth and trust management, retail brokerage, capital markets, fixed income, mortgage, and title insurance services. First Horizon has been recognized as one of the nation's best employers by Fortune and Forbes magazines and a Top 10 Most Reputable U.S. Bank. More information is available at www.FirstHorizon.com.

SOURCE First Horizon Corporation
IBS Software's next-gen solution, iFly Res, will support Flybe as it launches its new airline with a customer-centric passenger service system (PSS), providing state of the art offer and order management capabilities, fully supporting IATA's NDC and ONE Order standard. This includes an airline portal, a modern booking engine for consumers and a unique, comprehensive agency portal to drive indirect sales through a cost-effective channel with merchandising upsell opportunities.

"We are excited to be working with IBS Software to realise our goal of launching our new airline, growing and delivering a customer-focused system that merges retail capability with modern technology solutions," said Dave Pflieger, CEO of Flybe "The flexibility of this reservations system, along with an excellent partnership, made iFly Res the perfect choice for us. We're looking forward to continuing to leverage technology and innovation with IBS Software by our side."

"We are delighted to be supporting one of the UK's newest airlines on its flight path into the skies," said David Friderici, Senior VP and Head of Aviation Passenger Solutions at IBS Software. "This partnership will help Flybe to provide its customers with a data-driven, personalised digital experience that will make travelling around its network easier than ever before. We have been keen to welcome Flybe as a customer, and we are pleased to stand side-by-side with them as we begin an exciting journey together."

About IBS Software

IBS Software is a leading SaaS solutions provider to the travel industry globally, managing mission-critical operations for customers in the aviation, tour & cruise and hospitality industries. IBS Software's solutions for the aviation industry cover flight & crew operations, aircraft maintenance, passenger services, loyalty programs, staff travel and air-cargo management. IBS Software also runs a real time B2B and B2C distribution platform providing hotel room inventory, rates and availability to a global network of hospitality companies and channels. For the tour and cruise industry, IBS provides a comprehensive, customer-centric, digital platform that covers onshore, online and on-board solutions. IBS Software is a Blackstone portfolio company and operates from 15 offices across the world. Further information can be found at https://www.ibsplc.com/. For media enquiries, please email the Corporate Communications team: [email protected].

iFly Res is designed to provide a flexible solution to meet increasing airline customer demands and provide a personalised and improved experience, in turn increasing airlines' revenue by retailing and selling ancillaries. iFly Res features a customer-centric design that can seamlessly manage changing business models and help Flybe to execute its vision for a more bespoke retailing experience for its customers.

iFly Res is the first natively compliant IATA NDC and ONE Order management system in the industry, with a rich API portfolio that provides NDC and ONE Order compliant distribution and delivery capabilities at all customer touch points, enabling airlines to apply modern, personalised product and continuous pricing decisions. This includes all distribution channels as well as departure control (DCS) to provide rapid connectivity to content providers, consumers, delivery providers and trade partners.

For more information https://www.ibsplc.com/product/airline-passenger-solutions.

About Flybe Ltd

Established in April 2021, Flybe Ltd is one of the UK's newest airlines. The company will operate flights throughout the UK and EU with operations scheduled to begin in April of 2022. Flybe expects to play a crucial role creating valuable jobs, connecting communities, and helping restart local economies across the UK after it launches. Flybe's planned fleet of 32 fast, quiet, and CO2-efficient Dash 8-400 planes are almost as fast as regional jets, but they are quieter and emit 35% less CO2 on a per seat basis.

For fares and prices, please visit flybe.com to view its everyday low fares, new schedules, and route start dates.

SOURCE IBS Software
Noted speakers include Mayor of Irvine, Farrah N. Khan, Dr. Birendra Dutt, Founder and CEO of APIC Corp., Halle Stanford, President of The Jim Henson Company, and many others

IRVINE, Calif., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In just ten days, the Eureka Building in Irvine will return as the host of Eureka FEST 2022 on April 30, 2022. This year's event focuses on Find the Future: a centralized theme around the continued momentum and future of Southern California's startup and business ecosystem.

Eureka Fest Speaker Lineup Eureka Fest 2022

"After our hiatus, we are excited to bring back the energy around FEST and our theme, Find the Future," says Eureka Fest founder, Peter Polydor. "More than ever, Southern California has become filled with opportunity and a buzzing hub of entrepreneurship. This year's conference is focused on celebrating the future and building the next chapter of business through collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship in Orange County and beyond."

Rylan Foland returns as the event's host, aka #GingerMC. FEST will commence with a keynote from Dr. Birendra Dutt, Founder and CEO of APIC Corp. addressing the year's Find the Future theme on the future of innovation. In addition, Polydor will present Rishi N. Reddy with the 6th Annual Eureka Award, honoring an entrepreneur or investor who not only has successfully built their own Eureka Moment but are helping others in Orange County build theirs. The honorable Mayor of Irvine, Farrah N. Khan will also be present to address the future of Irvine and the role it will play in paving entrepreneurship in Orange County. This introduces just a few of FEST's notable speakers .

Additional event highlights include:

300+ attendees from more than ten countries

50+ CEO's and founders

25+ startup exhibitors

Startup pitch contest

FEST celebrates entrepreneurship through innovative content with distinguished speakers, pitch contest, start-up demos and live music. In previous year's, FEST has brought together more than 600+ entrepreneurs, technology leaders, startup CEOs, investors, city officials, university faculty, developers, and more to celebrate OC's growing startup and tech scene.

The Eureka FEST team is still accepting applications for Demo Tables, Job Fair Tables, and its Pitch Contest. For more information and details on Eureka FEST 2022 visit: www.eurekafest.com

Media: If you are interested in attending the event, please email Samantha Misurell with credentials.

Media Contact

Samantha Misurell

Event Director

[email protected]

949-439-7677

SOURCE Eureka Hub
NEW DELHI, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The study undertaken by Astute Analytica foresees a tremendous growth in revenue of the market for global adaptive learning software market from US$ 1,382.1 Million in 2021 to US$ 7,434.3 Million by 2030. The market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 20.3% during the forecast period 2022-2030. Adaptive learning not only support the on-premise category of education, despite the online education portals are becoming the major cloud integrated platforms. Advancements in adaptive learning software have provided academic benefits such as better improved learning and innovation, higher student success, better knowledge sharing, creative thinking among students. Cloud-based storage have minimized the requirement of physical storage, and universities and colleges have been able to expand their geographical presence, thus allowing students and learners to access the classroom training remotely. Moreover, increasing demand of distance-learning courses in adaptive learning software market is witnessing a rapid growth trend due to integration between education and technology.

Request a Sample Report of Global Adaptive Learning Software Market: https://www.astuteanalytica.com/request-sample/adaptive-learning-software-market

On the basis of component, the solution segment is estimated to have the highest market share in 2021. Moreover, the services segment is expected to project the highest CAGR during the forecast period as they provide end users with services for adaptive learning solution development and smooth installation, deployment and maintenance of ongoing solutions. Also, based on application, the integrated learning management systems (LMS) dominated the global adaptive learning software market in 2021. Whereas, analytics and insights are expected to project the highest CAGR over the forecast period. Furthermore, based on enterprise size, the large enterprises hold the largest market share in 2021. Whereas, the small and medium enterprises are projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. In addition to this, by end-user, the education segment held the largest market share in 2021. Whereas, the corporate segment is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period in the global adaptive learning software market.

Market Dynamics and Trends

Drivers

The implementation of SaaS based solution, increasing adoption of e-learning, increasing IT spending on cloud infrastructure in education and increasing application of quantum computing in education sector will boost the global adaptive learning software market during the forecast period. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a type of delivery model of cloud computing. In the education sector, SaaS applications include hosting various management systems for educational institutes, corporate offices and managing other activities. Cloud technology have added value to many sectors and using SaaS in education sector is highly beneficial in case of E-learnings or online education and E-delivery of study material to students. Moreover, E-learning module attract more users apart from regular campus attendees' students such as drop-outs, transfer learners and full-time employees among others. Furthermore, increasing overall IT spending and rising share of cloud spending in the IT budget of universities boost the adoption of adaptive learning software in educational platforms with a major focus on higher education part. Also, the increasing application of quantum computing in the education sector is projected to embark new ear in technology similar to AI.

Restraints

Cybersecurity and data protection risks, lack of compliance to the SLA and legal and jurisdiction issues is a restraining factor which inhibits the growth of the market during the forecast period. Issues related to data privacy pose threats in interest to mitigation of higher education institutions to the cloud. Also, the lack of compliance to the Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a growth restraining factor for the global adaptive learning software market. Moreover, there are federal regulations for higher education institutes along with state and local laws to manage information security in the education environment. Furthermore, the level of complexity in the cloud is high, which usually complies with several service providers and thus makes it hard for users to make changes or intervene. Also, the cloud computing industry faces various legal and jurisdiction issues that can run into years due to regional laws.

Adaptive Learning Software Market Country Wise Insights

North America Adaptive Learning Software Market-

US holds the major share in terms of revenue in the North America adaptive learning software market in 2021 and is also projected to grow with the highest CAGR during forecast period owing to the presence of many large players in the region. Additionally, many international IT organizations opting for E-learning in their training courses have presence across the globe are headquartered in the US. Thus, adoption of adaptive learning software is more in the country. Moreover, in terms of component, solution segment holds the largest market share in 2021.

Europe Adaptive Learning Software Market-

Western Europe is expected to project the highest CAGR in the Europe adaptive learning software market during forecast period owing to the increasing number of private universities in the region. Additionally, students from across the world are enrolling in the universities based in the U.K., France, Germany and Italy among others. Wherein, Germany held the major share in the Europe market in 2021 because there is high focus on innovations obtained from research & development and technology adoption in the region.

Asia Pacific Adaptive Learning Software Market-

Japan is the highest share holder region in the Asia Pacific adaptive learning software market in 2021. Whereas, China is expected to project the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to potential growth opportunities, as end users such as schools and universities are turning toward cloud services. Moreover, adaptive learning software market is at an emerging stage in countries like India and China. Number of students enrolled and number of universities is growing significantly in the region due to increasing GDP in the education sector.

South America Adaptive Learning Software Market-

Argentina is projected to grow with the highest CAGR in the South America adaptive learning software market over the forecast period. Moreover, the higher education sector is the stringer share holder yet the trend of online private tutors in Argentina and Brazil is estimated to have a significant growth in the region. Furthermore, based on application, the integrated learning management systems (LMS) segment holds the major share in 2021 in the South America adaptive learning software market.

Middle East Adaptive Learning Software Market-

Egypt is the highest share holder region in 2021 and UAE is projected to grow with the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Additionally, the growing youth population in Egypt is increasing number of students and thus has an opportunity for the market to grow in the region. Moreover, in terms of enterprise size, the large enterprises hold the largest market share in 2021 due to the large-scale adoption of adaptive learning software in the marketplace.

Africa Adaptive Learning Software Market-

South Africa is the highest share holder region in the Africa adaptive learning software market in 2021. Whereas, Nigeria is anticipated to project the highest CAGR over the forecast period. Furthermore, by end-user, private tutors' segment is expected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Whereas, education segment held the largest market share in 2021 due to the use of digitalized systems adopted by higher education institutes for quite a few years.

Directly Purchase a copy of report with TOC @ https://www.astuteanalytica.com/request-sample/adaptive-learning-software-market

Global Adaptive Learning Software Market: Scope of the Report

Report Attribute Details Market Size Value in 2021 US$ 1,382.1 Million Market Outlook for 2030 US$ 7,434.3 Million Expected CAGR Growth 20.3% from 2022  2030 Base Year 2021 Forecast Period 2022-2030 Top Market Players D2L Corporation Company, DreamBox Learning, Fulcrum Labs Company, Impelsys Company, MCGRAW-HILL, New Leaf Technologies Company, Pearson, Realizeit Company, Wiley and VitalSource Technologies LLC among others Segments Covered By Component, By Application, By End-User, By Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, South America Customization Options Get your customized report as per your preference. Ask for customization

Competitive Insight

Global Adaptive Learning Software Market is highly competitive in order to increase their presence in the marketplace. Some of the key players operating in the global adaptive learning software market include D2L Corporation Company, DreamBox Learning, Fulcrum Labs Company, Impelsys Company, MCGRAW-HILL, New Leaf Technologies Company, Pearson, Realizeit Company, Wiley and VitalSource Technologies LLC among others.

Segmentation Overview

Global Adaptive Learning Software Market is segmented based on component, application, enterprise size, end-user and region. The industry trends in the global adaptive learning software market are sub-divided into different categories in order to get a holistic view of the global marketplace.

Following are the different segments of the Global Adaptive Learning Software Market:

By Component segment of the Global Adaptive Learning Software Market is sub-segmented into:

Software



On-premise





Cloud



Services



Professional





Managed

By Application segment of the Global Adaptive Learning Software Market is sub-segmented into:

Student Collaboration



Analytics & Insights



E-learning Authority



Integrated Learning Management Systems (LMS)

By Enterprise Size segment of the Global Adaptive Learning Software Market is sub-segmented into:

Small & Medium Enterprises



Large Enterprises

By End-user segment of the Global Adaptive Learning Software Market is sub-segmented into:

K-12



Education



Corporate



Private Tutors



Others

By Region segment of the Global Adaptive Learning Software Market is sub-segmented into:

North America









The U.S.







Canada







Mexico



Europe



Western Europe





The UK







Germany







France







Italy







Spain







Rest of Western Europe





Eastern Europe





Russia







Poland







Rest of Eastern Europe



Asia Pacific









China







India







Japan







Australia & New Zealand

&





ASEAN







Rest of Asia Pacific



South America











Argentina







Brazil







Rest of South America



Middle East









UAE







Saudi Arabia







Egypt







Rest of Middle East



Africa









South Africa







Nigeria







Rest of Africa

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For Additional Information OR Media Enquiry, Please Mail Us At: [email protected]

About Astute Analytica

Astute Analytica is a global analytics and advisory company which has built a solid reputation in a short period, thanks to the tangible outcomes we have delivered to our clients. We pride ourselves in generating unparalleled, in depth and uncannily accurate estimates and projections for our very demanding clients spread across different verticals. We have a long list of satisfied and repeat clients from a wide spectrum including technology, healthcare, chemicals, semiconductors, FMCG, and many more. These happy customers come to us from all across the Globe. They are able to make well calibrated decisions and leverage highly lucrative opportunities while surmounting the fierce challenges all because we analyze for them the complex business environment, segment wise existing and emerging possibilities, technology formations, growth estimates, and even the strategic choices available. In short, a complete package. All this is possible because we have a highly qualified, competent, and experienced team of professionals comprising of business analysts, economists, consultants, and technology experts. In our list of priorities, you-our patron-come at the top. You can be sure of best cost-effective, value-added package from us, should you decide to engage with us.

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SOURCE Astute Analytica
DUBLIN, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Booster Compressor Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global booster compressor market reached a value of US$ 3.24 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach a value of US$ 4.49 Billion by 2027 exhibiting a CAGR of 5.30% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different industries. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor.



A booster compressor refers to a piece of equipment made to boost the pressure of an existing system. It consists of a delivered valve cylinder head, received tank and discharge tank and provides water-based and air-based cooling. It is widely used for testing industrial conduit and pipeline pressures, optimizing high-pressure tires, engine starter systems, increasing the volume and pressure of water in showerheads and faucets, PET bottle production and enhancing toque in small air tools. Booster compressor provides efficiency, productivity, versatility, transportability, safety, reliability, high-pressure production ability and profitability. Most of the booster compressors are pneumatic and are used for short durations to sustain high pressures. As a result, they find extensive application across various industries, such as manufacturing, chemical, and oil and gas.



Significant growth in the oil and gas industry across the globe is creating a positive outlook for the market. Booster compressors are widely used to supply continuous gas to turbines at specified pressure and temperature. In line with this, the widespread product utilization in nitrogen compression and hydrogen blanketing is favoring the market growth.

Moreover, various technological advancements, such as the integration of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) for remote monitoring, analyzing performance, providing alerts for an unscheduled oil change and preventive maintenance (PM), are providing an impetus to the market growth.

Additionally, the increasing demand for liquified petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG) and clean energy fuels due to rising environmental consciousness are positively impacting the market growth. Other factors, including significant expansion in the chemical industry, increasing demand for electric vehicles and the implementation of various government initiatives toward the development of the manufacturing industry, are anticipated to drive the market toward growth.

Competitive Landscape:

The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being Atlas Copco AB, BAUER COMP Holding GmbH, Bauer Compressors Inc., BOGE KOMPRESSOREN Otto Boge GmbH & Co. KG, Gas Compression Systems Inc., Generon, Hitachi Ltd., IDEX Corporation, Ingersoll Rand Inc., Kaeser Kompressoren SE, Sauer Compressors USA Inc. and TGT Fuel Technologies Pvt. Ltd.



Key Questions Answered in This Report:

How has the global booster compressor market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global booster compressor market?

What are the key regional markets?

What is the breakup of the market based on the cooling type?

What is the breakup of the market based on the compression stage?

What is the breakup of the market based on the power source?

What is the breakup of the market based on the end user?

What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry?

What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry?

What is the structure of the global booster compressor market and who are the key players?

What is the degree of competition in the industry?

Key Topics Covered:



1 Preface



2 Scope and Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends



5 Global Booster Compressor Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Market Performance

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Market Forecast



6 Market Breakup by Cooling Type

6.1 Air

6.1.1 Market Trends

6.1.2 Market Forecast

6.2 Water

6.2.1 Market Trends

6.2.2 Market Forecast



7 Market Breakup by Compression Stage

7.1 Single Stage

7.1.1 Market Trends

7.1.2 Market Forecast

7.2 Double Stage

7.2.1 Market Trends

7.2.2 Market Forecast

7.3 Multistage

7.3.1 Market Trends

7.3.2 Market Forecast



8 Market Breakup by Power Source

8.1 Electric

8.1.1 Market Trends

8.1.2 Market Forecast

8.2 Combustion Engine

8.2.1 Market Trends

8.2.2 Market Forecast



9 Market Breakup by End User

9.1 Oil and Gas

9.1.1 Market Trends

9.1.2 Market Forecast

9.2 Manufacturing

9.2.1 Market Trends

9.2.2 Market Forecast

9.3 Industrial Testing

9.3.1 Market Trends

9.3.2 Market Forecast

9.4 Construction

9.4.1 Market Trends

9.4.2 Market Forecast

9.5 Others

9.5.1 Market Trends

9.5.2 Market Forecast



10 Market Breakup by Region



11 SWOT Analysis



12 Value Chain Analysis



13 Porters Five Forces Analysis

14 Price Analysis



15 Competitive Landscape

15.1 Market Structure

15.2 Key Players

15.3 Profiles of Key Players

15.3.1 Atlas Copco AB

15.3.1.1 Company Overview

15.3.1.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.1.3 Financials

15.3.1.4 SWOT Analysis

15.3.2 BAUER COMP Holding GmbH

15.3.2.1 Company Overview

15.3.2.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.3 Bauer Compressors Inc.

15.3.3.1 Company Overview

15.3.3.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.4 BOGE KOMPRESSOREN Otto Boge GmbH & Co. KG

15.3.4.1 Company Overview

15.3.4.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.5 Gas Compression Systems Inc.

15.3.5.1 Company Overview

15.3.5.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.6 Generon

15.3.6.1 Company Overview

15.3.6.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.7 Hitachi Ltd.

15.3.7.1 Company Overview

15.3.7.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.7.3 Financials

15.3.7.4 SWOT Analysis

15.3.8 IDEX Corporation

15.3.8.1 Company Overview

15.3.8.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.8.3 Financials

15.3.8.4 SWOT Analysis

15.3.9 Ingersoll Rand Inc.

15.3.9.1 Company Overview

15.3.9.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.9.3 Financials

15.3.9.4 SWOT Analysis

15.3.10 Kaeser Kompressoren SE

15.3.10.1 Company Overview

15.3.10.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.11 Sauer Compressors USA Inc.

15.3.11.1 Company Overview

15.3.11.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.12 TGT Fuel Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

15.3.12.1 Company Overview

15.3.12.2 Product Portfolio

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vt6ysn

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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SOURCE Research and Markets
CAPE MAY, N.J., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Los Angeles based GreenLake Asset Management LLC ("GreenLake") has funded a $39,500,000 acquisition loan for a beachfront hotel in Cape May, NJ, and a former wedding hall in Randolph, NJ, that will be redeveloped and upgraded.

The Cape May property is a 76-room full-service hotel featuring a restaurant, bar, pool and sundeck, ideally situated at the beach and adjacent to downtown Cape May. GreenLake's funding will also allow the borrower to renovate and add additional rooms to the property.

The event and conference facility is located in a dense area of Northern New Jersey with strong demand for high-end event spaces. Funds will be used to redevelop and rebrand the property as a state-of-the-art outdoor lifestyle event center.

Paul Diamond, Chief Operating Officer at GreenLake stated, "We believe in the sponsor's excellent track record in operating high-end hospitality and large event venues. The hotel in Cape May is an irreplaceable asset with an incredible beachfront location and difficult to obtain liquor license. The property in Randolph has great potential to fulfill a void in the market and become a key destination in the region."

Founded in 2008, GreenLake Asset Management LLC and its affiliates provide short-term commercial bridge loans nationwide. GreenLake offers creative, flexible and time-sensitive capital solutions for a broad spectrum of real estate special situations. GreenLake lends across a range of asset classes including hospitality, industrial, multi-family, self-storage, mixed-use, office and retail.

Contact:

Kamau Coleman

Director, Originations

626.529.1084

[email protected]

Adam Frank

Vice President, Originations

646.766.0288

[email protected]

Renee Volaric

Vice President, Originations

646.766.0286

[email protected]

www.greenlakefund.com

SOURCE GreenLake Asset Management LLC
Grohe Americas Reaches Milestone in Combatting Global Plastic Waste

PISCATAWAY, N.J., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Every year, eight million tons of plastic waste fill the world's oceans1, and the pollution of the oceans by plastic waste alone has increased tenfold since 19802. GROHE, part of LIXIL, a global manufacturer of pioneering water and housing products, reaches a milestone in its efforts to tackle the global waste problem and its impact on water by continuously improving its products, processes and services. This initiative is in line with LIXIL's Plastic Action Statement, a commitment that serves as the basis for all business processes, products and services to reduce plastics across the world.

"With water at the core of our business, it is our responsibility to care for every drop of this precious resource and commit to paving a pathway for clean water worldwide. GROHE's Less Plastic Initiative will bring us a step closer to this goal," said Trey Northrup, Leader, LIXIL Americas. "As a purpose-driven business, we are wholly dedicated to reducing the use of plastic within our own footprint and encouraging our customers to live more sustainably. Our belief is that it's critical to give our planet the utmost care and attention now and into the future."

GROHE, known globally for its sleek German design and engineering technology which provide exceptional experiences that consistently deliver the Pure Freude an Wasser (Pure Joy of Water), has environment and sustainability at the forefront of its brand strategy. It is committed to protecting the environment and conserving resources through its environment sensible business processes. This starts with a comprehensive approach, including eliminating the use of all unnecessary plastic and a move to establish carbon-neutral facilities.

In 2022 and beyond, GROHE will greatly contribute to tackling the global plastic waste problem with its three-step Less Plastic Initiative:

Removal of Plastic from Packaging  To date, GROHE has removed and replaced all unnecessary plastic from product packaging. This has resulted in savings of around 37 million items of product packaging made of plastic. To do this, GROHE has increasingly used molded pulp inserts  which consumers may know from egg cartons  instead of expanding polystyrene or wrapping film solution. They are made of recycled paper and can be recycled again and again. Though GROHE achieved this major milestone this spring, the brand will continue to work on innovative packaging solutions and make its packaging even more sustainable. Development of GROHE Blue Water System  The GROHE Blue Chilled & Sparkling 2.0 water system provides chilled, filtered and, if desired, carbonated water straight from the kitchen tap  with a perfect taste. Thanks to this intelligent functionality, this resource-saving solution not only reduces the ecological footprint, but also enables consumers to live more sustainably. Partnership with everwave  Since 2019, GROHE has supported the non-governmental organization (NGO), everwavean interdisciplinary team of scientists, engineers and marine biologists developing active and passive clean-up technologies for rivers, to collect waste before it pollutes the oceans. GROHE's cooperation goes beyond financial supportboth GROHE and everwave also are working to raise public awareness of the plastic problem and create understanding and desire for a more sustainable lifestyle.

In addition to its global plastic waste initiatives, becoming carbon-neutral has been a long-term goal for the GROHE brand and parent company, LIXIL, which began in 2007 by assessing its carbon footprint. As a result, since 2020 all eight LIXIL fittings plants as well as the German logistics centers of the GROHE brand are CO2-neutral*. In 2021, the GROHE outbound logistics became CO 2 -neutral*, and to offset unavoidable CO 2 emissions in the future, GROHE has pledged to support compensation projects.

To learn more about GROHE's sustainability initiatives, please visit https://www.grohe.com/sustainability/.

About GROHE

GROHE is a leading global brand for complete bathroom solutions and kitchen fittings and has a total of over 7,000 employees in 150 countries  2,600 of them are based in Germany. Since 2014 GROHE has been part of the strong brand portfolio of the Japanese manufacturer of pioneering water and housing products LIXIL. In order to offer "Pure Freude an Wasser" (Pure Joy of Water), every GROHE product is based on the brand values of quality, technology, design and sustainability. Renowned highlights such as GROHE thermostat series as well as groundbreaking innovations such as the GROHE Blue Chilled & Sparkling water system underline the brand's profound expertise. Focused on customer needs, GROHE thus creates intelligent, life-enhancing and sustainable product solutions that offer relevant added value  and bear the "Made in Germany" seal of quality: R&D and design are firmly anchored as an integrated process in Germany. GROHE takes its corporate responsibility very seriously and focuses on a resource-saving value chain. Since April 2020, the sanitary brand has been producing CO 2 -neutral* worldwide. In spring 2022, GROHE reached another major milestone by removing all unnecessary plastic packaging from its products.

In the past ten years alone, more than 490 design and innovation awards as well as several sustainability awards confirmed GROHE's success. GROHE was the first in its industry to win the CSR Award of the German Federal Government and the German Sustainability Award 2021 in the categories "Resources" and "Design". As part of the sustainability and climate campaign "50 Sustainability & Climate Leaders," GROHE is also driving sustainable transformation.

*includes CO 2 compensation projects, more on green.grohe.com

About LIXIL

LIXIL (TSE Code 5938) makes pioneering water and housing products that solve everyday, real-life challenges, making better homes a reality for everyone, everywhere. Drawing on our Japanese heritage, we create world-leading technology and innovate to make high quality products that transform homes. But the LIXIL difference is how we do this; through meaningful design, an entrepreneurial spirit, a dedication to improving accessibility for all, and responsible business growth. Our approach comes to life through industry leading brands, including INAX, GROHE, American Standard, and TOSTEM, [as well as specialty brands such as DXV]. Approximately 55,000 colleagues operating in more than 150 countries are proud to make products that touch the lives of more than a billion people every day.

1 Our planet is drowning in plastic pollution  it's time for change: https://www.unep.org/interactive/beat-plastic-pollution/

2 The Global Risks Report 2020: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risk_Report_2020.pdf; page 46

SOURCE Grohe
Stanley, Zippo USA, Rocky Boots and Kelty Among New Partners

BOZEMAN, Montana, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Guidefitter, the online community and marketplace for hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreational gear, fueled by the opinions of thousands of pro guides and other outdoor professionals, today announced it has added over one hundred new brand partners. These new partners bring the total to over three hundred brands now working with Guidefitter to leverage the largest audience of influential pro guides and other true outdoor professionals as proactive brand promoters.

"As a former fly fishing guide, I'm intimately familiar with the significant influence pro guides have over brand and product choices with outdoor enthusiasts," said Will Morgan, Marketing Director at Outdoor Edge Cutlery. "We're excited about our new partnership with Guidefitter and look forward to significantly expanding the number of outdoor professionals who both use and recommend our products. Other industries are already deploying new social marketing and sales channels to reach more customers at lower cost vs. Facebook and others. Guidefitter is clearly leading that charge in outdoor."

Among the brands Guidefitter has added to its roster of leading outdoor manufacturing partners includes Rocky Boots, Mustad, Pnuma Outdoors, Tenzing, Zoleo, Zippo Manufacturing, FroggToggs, Outdoor Edge, Stanley and Kelty. These brands join Guidefitter's existing partners who tap into Guidefitter's expansive audience of true outdoor professional influencers, including pro guides, to position themselves as the brands of choice for outdoor pros and to leverage these influencers to reach more consumers with a genuine and authoritative voice for the brand..

"We first partnered with Guidefiter in 2016 and then doubled-down on that partnership in 2019 to help us continue the growth of our business," said Matthew Davis, VP Sales & Marketing at MTN Ops, the leading brand for outdoor performance supplements. "Outdoor professionals like pro guides especially understand the importance of operating at peak performance, and Guidefitter's platform has been instrumental in helping us expand our reach into that audience to introduce them to our brand and to help them achieve more successful outcomes for themselves and their clients."

"We are excited to sign many new partnerships with forward-thinking brands looking to win the loyalty of true outdoor professionals," said Brian Worthington, VP Brands for Guidefitter. "These brands are among those that realize, and are trying to get ahead of, the changes in consumer buying behavior. They understand that brands that can truly call themselves the preferred choice of outdoor professionals will have a clear advantage in the long run."

Last year proved to be one of the most difficult years for outdoor brands due to severe inventory constraints caused by the COVID-19 supply chain crisis and the ripple effects that impacted manufacturing, shipping and fulfillment. Now, brands are gearing up for the 2022 season as inventory levels begin to recover in the face of continued strong consumer demand for outdoor rec activities and products. New, more efficient marketing channels to reach consumers, including influencer-driven marketing and social commerce, are emerging as important strategic initiatives for the industry.

More information about Guidefitter's solutions for outdoor brands can be found at https://www.guidefitter.com/grid. Individuals seeking to join Guidefitter's growing audience of industry influencers, including employees of select outdoor gear manufacturers, can apply at https://www.guidefitter.com/insiders.

About Guidefitter

Guidefitter is the online community and e-commerce marketplace of choice for genuine outdoor industry professionals and other consumers who love to enjoy the great outdoors. We are pioneering the outdoor industry's first online experience where brands, true outdoor pros and consumers engage in a common digital community, marketing and e-commerce platform oriented around a shared passion for outdoor recreation and great gear. Industry pros have access to hundreds of pro purchase programs from a central location, tools to easily promote the brands they love and a like-minded community to demonstrate their abilities and expertise. Consumers benefit from a community that understands their passion for the outdoors, access to thousands of outfitters through a comprehensive search engine, and opportunities to discover and purchase great gear based on the insights from people who know better than anyone else - true outdoor professionals. Over 300 outdoor brands, including Swarovski Optik, Kenetrek Boots, Weatherby, Polaris RANGER, and SMITH Optics work with Guidefitter to promote their brand with authentic messages through large, managed audiences of genuine outdoor professionals. Guidefitter is headquartered in Bozeman, Montana. For more information, please visit www.guidefitter.com, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Media Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Guidefitter
The compact and wearable SP500X ScanPrinter is a unique scan-and-print solution that eliminates the need for printed labels and combines 2D imaging, inkjet printing and wireless communication in one device. The hand-mounted SP500X scans a package and transmits the information to the warehouse management system (WMS) which recognizes the package and identifies where it should go. That information comes back instantly, and the device then prints directly on the package without the need for labels.

The SP500X is built around inkjet printer technology licensed from Hewlett-Packard (HP) and features innovative, new technology that will enhance package sorting and inventory management operations. Handheld also has an agreement with HP to develop and sell printing products worldwide based on HP's thermal inkjet print cartridges.

"We've been looking forward to fulfilling the first massive order," says Jim Rimay CEO of Handheld US. "We are thrilled to build on this long-term relationship by providing a unique and wearable solution to a global logistics leader like this. Their decision to continue the partnership with Handheld with this record order is a testament to the improved productivity and the increase in efficiency that the SP500X brings."

"It is a great achievement in challenging times to build and deliver such a key device to a customer of this stature. We are proud to once again have been chosen to supply mission-critical products to a global leader," said Thomas Lofblad, CEO, Handheld Group. "It highlights our success in closely partnering with customers to bring increased efficiency, greater usability and high value to their operations."

Availability

The SP500X ScanPrinter is in stock and available for ordering.

Helpful links

Press images

The SP500X ScanPrinter

SP500X customer case study

Product demonstration video

About Handheld

Handheld Group is a manufacturer and global supplier of rugged mobile computers, including handhelds and tablets. Handheld and its partners worldwide deliver complete mobility solutions to businesses in industries such as geomatics, logistics, forestry, public transportation, utilities, construction, maintenance, mining, military and security. Handheld Group, headquartered in Sweden, has subsidiaries in Finland, the U.K., the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and the USA. www.handheldgroup.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1798584/Handheld_Group.jpg

SOURCE Handheld Group AB
The scholarship recipients will be chosen by a Global Mentor Committee of 30 distinguished spirits and bartending luminaries from the U.S. and abroad. Entirely self-funded by the agency, the scholarship is designed to help bartenders travel to key global cocktail conferences to network and inspire one another.

"Bartending is a noble career, and we feel privileged to support its worthy artisans," says Michael Anstendig, Editor in Chief, Hanna Lee Communications and co-author of 'The Japanese Art of the Cocktail,' the agency's first book. Our inaugural scholarship launched in 2019 and attracted 195 submissions from bartenders in 45 countries across five continents. With travel resuming, we are even more excited to launch this year's edition."

"Bartenders are at the pinnacle of the hospitality industry," says Hanna Lee, President & Founder, Hanna Lee Communications. "We are firm believers in the power of travel to help expand minds and palates. This year, the 2022 scholarship will grant $1,000 to each of the 18 recipients, and we are thrilled to see our scholarship nurturing the career development of bartenders that we greatly respect and admire."

Below is the five-step application process for the scholarship:

Step 1: Follow @hannaleepr on Instagram

Step 2: Upload a photo of yourself behind the bar to your public Instagram feed

Step 3: Explain why you chose bartending as your career

Step 4: Use #hannaleepr

Step 5: Tag @hannaleepr and the cocktail conference you would like to attend

The agency assembled 30 distinguished spirits and bartending luminaries from the U.S. and around the world as a Global Mentor Committee that will be choosing the scholarship recipients. They include:

 U.S.

 Bridget Albert, Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits

 Charles Gibb, Fever-Tree USA

 Dale DeGroff, King Cocktail & Author of "The New Craft of the Cocktail"

 Elayne Duff, Beverage BA Academy

 Ms. Franky Marshall, Modern Bartender & Educator

 Jackie Summers, Sorel Liqueur

 Julio Cabrera, Cafe La Trova

 Lynn House, Heaven Hill Brands

 Lynnette Marrero, Co-Founder of Speed Rack & MasterClass Host

 Sother Teague, Amor y Amargo

 Simon Ford, Fords Gin Company

 Tara Fougner, Thirsty

 Tony Abou-Ganim, Modern Mixologist & TAG Global Spirits Awards

 Tyler Zielinski, PUNCH & Liquor.com

 Valentino Longo, Shoshin Art Club

 International

 Diego Cabrera, Salmon Guru (Spain)

 Eugene Nyaundi, Rhumbishop (Kenya)

 Francois Monti, Amargueria (Spain)

 Giampiero Francesca, BlueBlazeR Magazine (Italy)

 Giorgio Bargiani, Connaught Bar (U.K.)

 Holly Graham, DRiNK Magazine Asia (Hong Kong)

 Jesse Vida, ATLAS (Singapore)

 Keith Motsi, Charles H. Four Seasons Seoul (Korea)

 Leah van Deventer, Daily Maverick & Food24 (South Africa)

 Martin Hudak, Maybe Sammy Group (Australia)

 Matteo Zed, The Court (Italy)

 Maura Milia, Connaught Bar (U.K.)

 Renato "Tato" Giovannoni, Floreria Atlantico & Abajo London (Argentina)

 Sam Bygrave, Boothby Media (Australia)

 Shawn Soole, Soole Hospitality Concepts (Canada)

About Hanna Lee Communications

Hanna Lee Communications is an award-winning PR agency specialized in hospitality, travel and luxury brands. The agency only represents products and companies that it believes in and that have a vision of changing the world.

Its client experience includes Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, Ian Schrager's PUBLIC Hotel, Major Food Group, Giorgio Armani's Armani Ristorante/Fifth Avenue, Michelin-starred Chef John Fraser's JF Restaurants, Overthrow Hospitality and the James Beard Award-nominated Cadence, as well as The Dead Rabbit, Katana Kitten, Dear Irving, The World's 50 Best Bars, Fever-Tree USA, Campari, Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey, Aviation Gin, Sombra Mezcal, Seedlip and others.

This outlook drives its well-acknowledged excellence that has been recognized with more than 150 national and international awards and accolades, including "Best Branding," "PR Innovator of the Year," "Best Travel & Marketing PR," "Best Social Media Campaign," "Best Media Relations," "Best Press Release Writing," "Marketer of the Year," "Social Impact Pioneer" and more.

To take brand building and storytelling to the next level, the agency has launched the HLC Innovation series. It consists of pioneering initiatives that include the "HLC Global Bartender Travel Scholarship," which provides funds to help bartenders attend the cocktail conference of their choice around the world, the "Hospitality Forward" Podcast, which connects top media with hospitality and travel newsmakers and has listeners in over 90 countries, and the "Inspiring Women" Series that celebrates female leaders who share their wisdom and insights for business and life.

The series is crowned by HLC Book Media, a groundbreaking division that leverages book publishing, the ultimate long-form storytelling, to help clients go deep to reach wider audiences and create lasting legacies. The agency's first book, "The Japanese Art of the Cocktail," by Katana Kitten's Masahiro Urushido and the agency's Michael Anstendig debuted in June 2021. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (now HarperCollins), the book earned a coveted Amazon Editor's Pick and was named one of Barnes & Nobles' Best Books of 2021.

For more information, follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @hannaleepr, "like" us on Facebook at facebook.com/HannaLeeCommunications , follow us on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/hanna-lee-communications and visit www.hannaleecommunications.com .

Media Contacts:

Hanna Lee or Jacob Schiffman

Hanna Lee Communications, Inc.

[email protected]

[email protected]

SOURCE Hanna Lee Communications, Inc.
Commitment to broader and deeper coverage of the energy industry demonstrated with addition of veteran investigative journalist

HOUSTON, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hart Energy today announced the appointment of Deon Daugherty as Editor-in-Chief of Oil and Gas Investor, the company's C-level content brand providing news, information and data about energy finance, capital markets, acquisition and divestitures, and the exploration plays.

Daugherty most recently served as Senior U.S .Correspondent for Energy Intelligence Group, where she led investigative reporting on the U.S. oil and gas sector. Prior to that position, she served in senior editorial positions at Rigzone and the Houston Business Journal.

"Deon brings a wealth of investigative journalism experience to Oil and Gas Investor and Hart Energy, which only strengthens our already solid roster of reporters and editors," said Len Vermillion, Editorial Director for Hart Energy. "Her extensive background reporting for digital media entities redoubles our initiatives to drive a digital-first strategy and joining us today is well timed with the company's just introduced new HartEnergy.com website."

Daugherty has garnered several awards for her reporting from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, the American Society of Business Publications Editors and the Houston Press Club. She was named Print Journalist of the Year by the Houston Press Club in 2013.

In addition, Nissa Darbonne has been named Executive Editor-at-Large for Hart Energy, and Darren Barbee has been named Senior Editor, A&D.

Both longtime members of the Oil and Gas Investor staff, Darbonne will continue her role leading content development for Hart Energy's DUG conferences and remain a key leader of the Oil and Gas Investor content development. Barbee, also an award-winning investigative journalist will redouble efforts on Hart Energy's acquisitions and development coverage, an area in which it is known as a leader in news and analysis.

About Hart Energy

Since 1973, Hart Energy has been the global energy industry's comprehensive and omni-channel source for news, data, and analysis. At Hart Energy, our mission is to create, aggregate, organize and analyze timely and targeted information across platforms in ways that business professionals and investors can trust for making energy-related decisions.

Contact: Len Vermillion

[email protected]

713 260 4621

SOURCE Hart Energy
Homeowners, experts tell judge damages and potential sinkhole fixes too costly for individual lawsuits

RAPID CITY, S.D., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hideaway Hills homeowners have completed an important step in efforts to obtain justice for damages caused when a state-owned mine began collapsing beneath their neighborhood.

During a class-certification hearing earlier in April, residents and scientific experts testified about how a class action lawsuit is the best recourse for all 158 households in the neighborhood. The team from the Fox Rothschild law firm introduced extensive research material and other records documenting that underground instability caused by the shuttered mine has rendered every home in the neighborhood worthless.

"The damage that the state of South Dakota caused must be considered as a whole. It simply does not make sense to require these homeowners to go to court one at a time. It would not be economically feasible, and it would take far too long," said Fox Rothschild trial lawyer Kathleen Barrow. "The state has damaged this entire community, so justice must take every household into account."

The underground dangers were exposed in April 2020 when a mine collapse opened a large hole near East Daisy Drive. According to geological and engineering analysis, correcting the subsurface dangers would require removing the homes, which would cost more than the homes are worth and provide no guarantee that the remediation would work. In addition, mounting a lawsuit would be too costly for any individual homeowner. As a class-action lawsuit, those costs would be shared by all of the plaintiffs.

Circuit Court Judge Kevin Krull will rule on the class certification later this year. If certified, all Hideaway Hills homeowners will be included in the lawsuit unless they choose to opt out. Judge Krull previously ruled that the homeowners "demonstrated that their injuries likely will be redressed by a favorable decision  i.e., an award of damages, based on their constitutional right to individually bring an inverse condemnation case against the State."

The case is Andrew Morse and John and Emily Clarke et al. v. State of South Dakota et al., No. 46CIV-20-000295 in the Circuit Court, 4th Judicial District, County of Meade, South Dakota.

Fox Rothschild has grown to a 950-lawyer national law firm with 27 offices by focusing on client service and responsiveness and by attracting bright and creative lawyers who know how to deliver. More information at foxrothschild.com .

Media Contact:

Robert Tharp

800-559-4534

[email protected]

SOURCE Fox Rothschild
Jersey City, N.J., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Increase in number of infectious diseases and the onset of COVID-19, an increase in the number of patients suffering from infectious diseases, the Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market is predicted to grow during the forecast period.

Verified Market Research recently published a report, "Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market" By Product and Service (Instruments, Assays, Reagents, and Kits, Software and Services), By Disease Type (Hepatitis, Influenza, Tuberculosis), and By Geography. According to Verified Market Research, the Global Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market size was valued at USD 13,535.75 Million in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 17,432.31 Million by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 3.21% from 2021 to 2028.

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/download-sample/?rid=27337

Browse in-depth TOC on "Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market"

202 - Pages

126  Tables

37  Figures

Global Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Overview

The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative influence on most companies' overall sales, but it had a favorable impact on the infectious illness diagnostics industry since infectious disease diagnostic procedures were used for COVID-19 testing. Lockdowns triggered by the COVID-19 epidemic forced people to put off getting their health checked, reducing the number of tests performed and reagent sales. However, as governments increasingly loosen travel restrictions, there is a rebound in testing numbers. With the COVID-19 pandemic, dealing with infectious diseases has become a major medical problem around the globe.

Aside from vaccinations and therapeutic medications, there is an increasing demand for the development of more precise and simple testing methods, as well as the expansion of testing structures. Because of the increased number of patients suffering from infectious diseases, the Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market is predicted to grow. Infectious diseases kill approximately nine million people worldwide, according to research. The market's growth has been aided by the growing number of point-of-care testing or diagnostic centers. Due to increased funding for infectious disease diagnostics, the market is expected to grow at a rapid pace in the coming years. However, a patient's reimbursement concerns are a significant contributor to a market slowdown. During the projection period, these factors, combined with the growing tendency toward preventative care, are projected to increase demand for infectious disease diagnostics.

Key Developments

In June 2018 , Roche Diagnostics and GE Healthcare had formed a strategic partnership to jointly develop and sell digital clinical decision support technologies.

, Roche Diagnostics and GE Healthcare had formed a strategic partnership to jointly develop and sell digital clinical decision support technologies. In March 2020 , Abbott launched the COVID-19 Test, which offers a 5-minute result.

Key Players

The major players in the market are Roche Diagnostics, Danaher Corporation, Abbott Laboratories, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Biomerieux SA, Siemens Healthineers AG, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Epitope Diagnostics, Inc., Trivitron Healthcare, Luminex.

Verified Market Research has segmented the Global Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market On the basis of Product and Service, Disease Type, and Geography.

Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market, By Product and Service

Instruments



Assays, Reagents, and Kits



Software and Services

Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market, By Disease Type

Hepatitis



Influenza



Tuberculosis



Human Immunodeficiency Virus



Others

Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market, by Geography

North America



U.S





Canada





Mexico



Europe



Germany





France





U.K





Rest of Europe



Asia Pacific



China





Japan





India





Rest of Asia Pacific



ROW



Middle East & Africa

&



Latin America

Browse Related Reports:

Molecular Diagnostics Market By Application (Infectious Diseases, Oncology, Blood Screening, Genetic Tests & Microbiology), By Technology (Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), Isothermal Nucleic Acid Amplification Technology (INAAT), Hybridization & Others), By Product & Services (Reagents & Kits, Instruments, & Software & Services), By Geography, Forecast, 2021-2028

Veterinary Molecular Diagnostics Market By Product (Instruments, Consumables), By System (Immunodiagnostics, Clinical Biochemistry, Molecular Diagnostics), By Diseases (Infectious Diseases, Non-Infectious Diseases), By Geography, Forecast, 2021-2028

Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market By Technology (Next-Generation Sequencing, Polymerase Chain Reaction), By Procedure Type (Preimplantation Genetic Screening, Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis), By Application (Aneuploidy, Single Gene Disorders), By Products And Services (Reagents and Consumables, Instruments), By End User (Maternity Centers And Fertility Clinics, Hospitals, Diagnostic Labs, And Service Providers), By Geography, Forecast, 2021-2028

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Top 5 Infection Control Companies severancing the contamination internationally

Visualize Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market using Verified Market Intelligence:-:

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SOURCE Verified Market Research
IRVINE, Calif., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- INNOVATIVE BEVERAGE CONCEPTS Inc., a purveyor of specialty coffee & tea bar products sold under the brand MOCAFE and distributed to cafes globally since 1996, is proud to announce their latest summer offering: CHOUX CREME latte.

MOCAFE has always stayed at the forefront of innovation to create destination-driven drink concepts, and this is no different.
Company Profiles

The intellectual property software market report provides complete insights on key vendors, including Aistemos Ltd., Anaqua Inc., Clarivate Analytics, Dennemeyer Group, Innovation Asset Group Inc., LexisNexis Legal & Professional, Patrix AB, QUESTEL SAS, and Thales Group. The key offerings of some of these vendors are listed below:

Aistemos Ltd. - The company offers strategic patent intelligence solutions in Budget Management, Portfolio Optimisation, Cross Licensing, Benchmarking, and others.

The company offers strategic patent intelligence solutions in Budget Management, Portfolio Optimisation, Cross Licensing, Benchmarking, and others. Anaqua Inc. - The company offers intellectual asset management software solutions such as Maintenance Fee Services, Docketing and Administrative, Data Validation and Portfolio Onboarding, and Patent Search Services.

The company offers intellectual asset management software solutions such as Maintenance Fee Services, Docketing and Administrative, Data Validation and Portfolio Onboarding, and Patent Search Services. Clarivate Analytics - The company offers intellectual property software that comes with specifications like patent search and analytics services, trademark research and protection, and many more.

The company offers intellectual property software that comes with specifications like patent search and analytics services, trademark research and protection, and many more. Dennemeyer Group - The company offers a wide range of services such as Benchmarking, Data Verification, Anti-Counterfeiting, Design Filling, and others.

The company offers a wide range of services such as Benchmarking, Data Verification, Anti-Counterfeiting, Design Filling, and others. LexisNexis Legal & Professional - The company offers information and analytics that enable professionals in legal, corporate, government and non-profit organizations to improve decision-making and achieve better business outcomes.

Market Dynamics

The use of intellectual property software improves efficiency and this is driving the intellectual property software market growth. However, factors such as the lack of strict intellectual property laws may challenge the market growth.

Learn about more drivers and challenges impacting the growth of the intellectual property software market. Download an Exclusive Sample Report Now

Competitive Analysis

The report includes the competitive analysis, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their industry position score and market performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc.

Market Segmentation

By deployment, the market is classified into on-premises and cloud-based. The on-premises segment will contribute the largest share of the market. The market share of this segment is expected to decline during the forecast period due to the growing adoption of cloud-based intellectual property software.

will contribute the largest share of the market. The market share of this segment is expected to decline during the forecast period due to the growing adoption of cloud-based intellectual property software. By geography, the market is classified as North America , Europe , APAC, MEA, and South America . North America will have the largest share of the market. The region will account for 27% of the market's growth during the forecast period. This will drive the intellectual property software market growth in North America during the forecast period. Market growth in this region will be slower than the growth of the market in South America , MEA, and APAC. The US is a key country for the intellectual property software market in North America .

Learn about the contribution of each segment of the intellectual property software market. View our exclusive Sample Report Now

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Intellectual Property Software Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 13.75% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 2.28 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 13.50 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, MEA, and South America Performing market contribution North America at 27% Key consumer countries US, UK, Japan, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Aistemos Ltd., Anaqua Inc., Clarivate Analytics, Dennemeyer Group, Innovation Asset Group Inc., LexisNexis Legal & Professional, Patrix AB, QUESTEL SAS, and Thales Group Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for forecast period, Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary

2. Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 01: Parent market

Exhibit 02: Market Characteristics

2.2 Value chain analysis

Exhibit 03: Value Chain Analysis: Application software market

2.2.1 Inputs

2.2.2 Software development process

2.2.3 Marketing and distribution

2.2.4 Post-selling services

2.2.5 Innovation

3. Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 04: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 05: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2020

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025

Exhibit 06: Global - Market size and forecast 2020 - 2025 ($ million)

3.4.1 Impact of COVID-19

Exhibit 07: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2020 - 2025 (%)

4. Five Forces Analysis

4.1 Five Forces Summary

Exhibit 08: Five forces analysis 2020 & 2025

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of buyers

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of suppliers

4.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 13: Threat of rivalry

4.7 Market condition

Exhibit 14: Market condition - Five forces 2020

5. Market Segmentation by Deployment

5.1 Market segments

The segments covered in this chapter are:

On premises

Cloud based

Exhibit 15: Deployment - Market share 2020-2025 (%)

5.2 Comparison by Deployment

Exhibit 16: Comparison by Deployment

5.3 On premises - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 17: On premises - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 18: On premises - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

5.4 Cloud based - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 19: Cloud based - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

5.5 Market opportunity by Deployment

Exhibit 21: Market opportunity by Deployment

6. Customer landscape

Exhibit 22: Customer landscape

7. Geographic Landscape

7.1 Geographic segmentation

The regions covered in the report are:

North America

Europe

APAC

MEA

South America

Exhibit 23: Market share by geography 2020-2025 (%)

7.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 24: Geographic comparison

7.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 25: North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 26: North America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

7.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 27: Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 28: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

7.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 29: APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 30: APAC - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

7.6 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 31: MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 32: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

7.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 33: South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 34: South America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

7.8 Key leading countries

Exhibit 35: Key leading countries

7.9 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 36: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

8. Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

8.1 Market drivers

8.1.1 Use of intellectual property software improves efficiency

8.1.2 Rising investments in R&D

8.1.3 Need to comply with regulatory requirements

8.2 Market challenges

8.2.1 Lack of strict intellectual property laws

8.2.2 Growing threat from cyberattacks

8.2.3 Interoperability issue with legacy systems

Exhibit 37: Impact of drivers and challenges

8.3 Market trends

8.3.1 Use of AI with intellectual property software

8.3.2 Integration of analytics with intellectual property software

8.3.3 Increasing number of strategic alliances

9. Vendor Landscape

9.1 Competitive scenario

9.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 38: Vendor landscape

9.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 39: Landscape disruption

9.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 40: Industry risks

10. Vendor Analysis

10.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 41: Vendors covered

10.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 42: Market positioning of vendors

10.3 Aistemos Ltd.

Exhibit 43: Aistemos Ltd. - Overview

Exhibit 46: BenQ Corp. - Product and service

Exhibit 44: Aistemos Ltd. - Product and service

Exhibit 45: Aistemos Ltd. - Key offerings

10.4 Anaqua Inc.

Exhibit 46: Anaqua Inc. - Overview

Exhibit 47: Anaqua Inc. - Product and service

Exhibit 48: Anaqua Inc.  Key news

Exhibit 49: Anaqua Inc. - Key offerings

10.5 Clarivate Analytics

Exhibit 50: Clarivate Analytics - Overview

Exhibit 51: Clarivate Analytics - Business segments

Exhibit 52: Clarivate Analytics - Key news

Exhibit 53: Clarivate Analytics - Key offerings

Exhibit 54: Clarivate Analytics - Segment focus

10.6 Dennemeyer Group

Exhibit 55: Dennemeyer Group - Overview

Exhibit 56: Dennemeyer Group - Product and service

Exhibit 57: Dennemeyer Group - Key offerings

10.7 Innovation Asset Group Inc.

Exhibit 58: Innovation Asset Group Inc. - Overview

Exhibit 59: Innovation Asset Group Inc. - Product and service

Exhibit 60: Innovation Asset Group Inc. - Key offerings

10.8 LexisNexis Legal & Professional

Exhibit 61: LexisNexis Legal & Professional - Overview

Exhibit 62: LexisNexis Legal & Professional - Product and service

Exhibit 63: LexisNexis Legal and Professional  Key news

Exhibit 64: LexisNexis Legal & Professional - Key offerings

10.9 Patrix AB

Exhibit 65: Patrix AB - Overview

Exhibit 66: Patrix AB - Product and service

Exhibit 67: Patrix AB - Key offerings

10.10 QUESTEL SAS

Exhibit 68: QUESTEL SAS - Overview

Exhibit 69: QUESTEL SAS - Product and service

Exhibit 70: QUESTEL SAS - Key offerings

10.11 Thales Group

Exhibit 71: Thales Group - Overview

Exhibit 72: Thales Group - Business segments

Exhibit 73: Thales Group - Key offerings

Exhibit 74: Thales Group - Segment focus

10.12 TORViC Technologies Inc.

Exhibit 75: TORViC Technologies Inc. - Overview

Exhibit 76: TORViC Technologies Inc. - Product and service

Exhibit 77: TORViC Technologies Inc. - Key offerings

11. Appendix

11.1 Scope of the report

11.1.1 Market definition

11.1.2 Objective

11.1.3 Notes and caveats

11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 78: Currency conversion rates for US$

11.3 Research Methodology

Exhibit 79: Research Methodology

Exhibit 80: Validation techniques employed for market sizing

Exhibit 81: Information sources

11.4 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 82: List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

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Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
Cybersecurity industry veterans bring deep experience to expand Invicti's global brand and drive product innovation

AUSTIN, Texas and BOSTON, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Invicti Security today announced two key additions to its leadership team: Alex Bender as Chief Marketing Officer and John Mandel as Senior Vice President of Engineering. Each brings more than 20 years of cybersecurity experience and will support Invicti's rapid expansion, revenue goals and customer innovation roadmap. The news comes on the heels of two other senior leadership hires in 2022 in preparation for a momentous year of growth.

Bender most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer at ReliaQuest, a leading SaaS security MDR provider. Before ReliaQuest, he was the SVP of Global Marketing at Mimecast, where he helped scale the company from $145M in revenue to $500M and a $5B valuation. His cybersecurity experience also extends across RSA and the RSA Conference, Archer Technologies, McAfee and Tripwire. His expertise includes brand development and expansion, company positioning, digital go-to-market strategies, cybersecurity cloud solution launches and creating customer communities that spark innovation and maximize customer value.

"By bringing together two of the industry's most powerful brands, Netsparker and Acunetix, Invicti delivers the most modern AppSec platform in the market, and with more than 3,600 customers around the world relying on Invicti to secure their web applications, the company's reach is tremendous," said Bender. "There has never been more opportunity for elevating the Invicti brand and supporting the vision of a world where organizations are able to secure their entire web application perimeter - faster, with more accuracy and at scale."

Invicti's new SVP of Engineering, John Mandel, brings the critical perspective of the Invicti customer, with experience building and securing web applications for over 20 years. Mandel has owned the security posture for three enterprise companies and most recently was the Head of Engineering at Acquia, where he ensured the security of thousands of endpoints to deliver websites to customers. He also served as the Senior Vice President of Engineering at Continuum (now ConnectWise), where he led the engineering, IT, cloud operations, and information security functions.

"I was drawn to Invicti because the technology is unmatched. Proof-Based Scanning provides vulnerability confirmation where it matters most and helps save organizations meaningful time and resources," said Mandel, "As a previous end-user of scanning technologies, I know having the right tools in place is a critical first step for any organization's AppSec program - and overall security posture. As we scale, I'm thrilled to continue to drive innovation within our DevSecOps platform to serve our customers around the world."

"Both Alex and John bring respective track-records for developing category leaders, deep cybersecurity experience, and a mindset of customer-centricity that will accelerate Invicti's dynamic growth even faster," said Invicti CEO Michael George. "We have further enhanced our leadership team with additional world-class talent to accelerate product innovation to dominate our sector."

The addition of Bender and Mandel comes at a time of record growth and expansion for Invicti. The company recently announced the consolidation of its flagship product, Netsparker , under the Invicti name and added Software Composition Analysis (SCA) to its platform to help teams mitigate open-source risks at the speed of innovation. In 2021, Invicti grew annual recurring revenue (ARR) by 50% and added nearly 750 new customers. After a $625 million capital investment led by Summit Partners last fall, Invicti expects to expand its employee base across every function of the business by as much as 40% this year.

About Invicti Security:

Invicti Security is transforming the way web applications are secured. An AppSec leader for more than 15 years, Invicti enables organizations in every industry to continuously scan and secure all of their web applications and APIs at the speed of innovation. Invicti provides a comprehensive view of an organization's entire web application portfolio, and powerful automation and integrations enable customers to achieve broad coverage of even thousands of applications. Invicti is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and serves more than 3,600 organizations of all sizes all over the world. For more information, visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn .

Media Contact:

Ariel Miller

Invicti Security

[email protected]

SOURCE Invicti Security
SEATTLE, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- "We are proud to support our veterans and the invaluable skill and experience that they have gained serving their country," said CP Specialist Community Investment & Workplace Giving Heather Woods. "Our support of the Invictus Foundation and their vision and mission aligns with our commitment as a proud employer of veterans in the United States and Canada."

If We Send Them We Must Mend Them

"As a leading employer of veterans, CP is proud to be a stakeholder the Invictus Foundation's efforts to expand the accessibility and availability of TBI and behavioral health services to US and Canadian military members, their families and veterans to recognize their sacrifices in conflicts around the world to protect and defend our freedom." CP operates in both countries and employs veterans of both countries' military services.

"To the Invictus Foundation, CP's continuing support in FY 2021 represents the best of good corporate citizenship," states Peter J Whalen, Founder and CEO of the Invictus Foundation. "It's tremendously uplifting for the men and women we represent to see their service validated by a marquee corporate brand such as CP. Importantly, that validation comes with willingness by CP to financially underwrite improved access and increased TBI and behavioral health services to our uniformed personnel and veterans who have experienced the crucible of war."

"For far too many of those that have served and, those that are currently serving, the recognition comes only in the form of the spoken word. To have CP exhibit an understanding of its corporate responsibility to be an exemplar of permanency in caring for the people who have served or who are currently serving this Nation so selflessly on our behalf as the sentinels of our democracy is deeply appreciated" Mr. Whalen further states.

The Welcome Home Network's licensed volunteer behavioral health professionals are available to uniformed services personnel and veterans of all eras including Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea and World War II and their families who have separated or retired from any branch of military service. By providing behavioral health services that are separate from the military establishment and the Veterans Administration the Welcome Home Network offers an essential option for people who might otherwise fail to seek or receive appropriate services. The Welcome Home Network also offers services to parents, siblings, unmarried partners, grandparentsin short anyone who loves someone affected by current or past wars.

About Canadian Pacific

Canadian Pacific is a transcontinental railway in Canada and the United States with direct links to major ports on the west and east coasts. CP provides North American customers a competitive rail service with access to key markets in every corner of the globe. CP is growing with its customers, offering a suite of freight transportation services, logistics solutions and supply chain expertise. Visit cpr.ca to see the rail advantages of CP.

About Invictus Foundation

The Invictus Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c) (3), founded in March 2010 by Peter J. Whalen, a career health systems and services executive, in Seattle, WA. Mr. Whalen is also a Vietnam veteran. The Organization is dedicated to meeting the behavioral health needs of our uniformed services personnel, veterans, and their families in the communities they work and live. The Invictus Foundation continues to recruit volunteer behavioral health professionals to its Welcome Home Networks. To learn more, visit www.InvictusFoundation.org

Media Contact:

Peter J. Whalen

206-799-4089

[email protected]

SOURCE Invictus Foundation
DES MOINES, Iowa, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Iowa is repositioning itself on the proverbial map today, changing from "flyover" to "flythrough" state. The team behind several viral drone videos, Rally Studios, makes Iowa the backdrop for its latest hit production, touted as the biggest flythrough the world has ever seen. The state quickly becomes the main character in Soul of Iowa, a digital content series that showcases amazing new views and compelling storylines.

A production crew of renowned drone pilots and creators came from out of state for the project with the Iowa Tourism Office, bringing with them preconceived notions about what Iowa would offer  farming, fields and corn.

"We set out to capture the state in a whole new way and ended up discovering its heart and soul," said Anthony Jaska, director and co-founder at Rally. "Some people think Iowa is just a flyover state, but experiencing it from the ground and just above, you connect on a different level."

This new perspective, uniquely seen through the lens of a drone camera, makes Iowa the star of the show. Offering never-before-seen footage, including flythroughs of a skate park, hot air balloon festival, amusement park and more, the four episodes of Soul of Iowa as well as other visually stunning content from across the state can be found at traveliowa.com/soul.

"We're continuing to let people in on our secrets, and it's working," said Amy Zeigler, state tourism manager with the Iowa Tourism Office. "Soul of Iowa launches us into the spring and summer travel season in a very special way. We're excited to put Iowa's hidden gems and unexpected surprises not only from the featured destinations, but around the state, in the spotlight as people plan their next adventure."

A recent study from Longwoods International showed 90% of American travelers plan to travel in the next six months. Data shows road trips are up in Iowa nearly 15% in 2022 compared to 2019. In fact, between Jan. 19 and Feb. 16, Iowa had the second-highest road trip recovery rate in the country, at a time when the market for travelers' attention and spending is as competitive as ever.

"Soul of Iowa is a unique opportunity to see Iowa like never before," said Zeigler. "Our culture, adventure, connection  things people can't experience when they just fly over  are on full display, helping consumers realize they can enjoy Iowa for a few days or settle down for a lifetime."

The Iowa Tourism Office, part of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, works closely with community partners, attractions and events, to promote the state's beautifully vast scenery and unique history. Tourism in Iowa generated $1.5 billion in tax revenues in 2020, with more than $860 million supporting state and local governments. For more Iowa travel information, visit traveliowa.com.

SOURCE Iowa Tourism Office, Iowa Economic Development Authority
NEW ORLEANS, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

IN RE CHICAGO BRIDGE & IRON COMPANY

N.V. SECURITIES LITIGATION ) ) ) ) ) ) ) CASE NO. 1:17-CV-1580 SUMMARY NOTICE

TO: ALL PERSONS WHO purchased or otherwise acquired CHICAGO BRIDGE & IRON COMPANY N.V. COMMON STOCK (trading symbol "CBI") between OCTOBER 30, 2013, through and including JUNE 23, 2015:

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to an Order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, that a hearing will be held on July 25, 2022, at 4:30 p.m., before the Honorable Lorna G. Schofield in Courtroom 1106 of the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse at 40 Foley Square, New York, NY 10007, for the purpose of determining: (1) whether the proposed Settlement for the sum of $44,000,000 in cash should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable and adequate; (2) whether, after the hearing, this Action should be dismissed with prejudice pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth in the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement dated as of February 4, 2022; (3) whether the proposed Plan of Allocation is fair, reasonable, and adequate and should be approved; and (4) whether the application of Class Counsel for the payment of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses incurred in this Action, and any application of Lead Plaintiff and Additional Plaintiffs for a compensatory award, should be approved.

If you purchased Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. ("CB&I" or the "Company") common stock (trading symbol "CBI") between October 30, 2013 and June 23, 2015, inclusive, your rights may be affected by the Settlement of this Action. Please visit the website listed in the Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action ("Notice") and obtain a copy of the Proof of Claim and Release. You may also obtain copies of these documents by writing to Chicago Bridge & Iron Securities Litigation, c/o A.B. Data, Ltd., P.O. Box 170800, Milwaukee, WI 53217, by calling the Claims Administrator at 1-855-958-3609, or by visiting the website at www.chicagobridgeironsecuritieslitigation.com. The Notice contains details about this Action and Settlement, including what you must do to file a Proof of Claim, exclude yourself from the Settlement, or object to the Settlement. If you are a Class Member, in order to share in the distribution of the Net Settlement Fund, you must submit a Proof of Claim and Release electronically by, or mail it postmarked no later than, July 1, 2022, establishing that you are entitled to recovery.

If you desire to be excluded from the Class, you must submit a Request for Exclusion postmarked by July 1, 2022, in the manner and form explained in the detailed Notice referred to above. All Members of the Class who have not timely and validly requested exclusion from the Class will be bound by any judgment entered in the Action pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Stipulation of Settlement. Your objection(s) must be mailed on or before July 1, 2022, to: Class Counsel Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC; and Counsel for the Defendants, at the following addresses:

CLASS COUNSEL:

Lewis S. Kahn

KAHN SWICK & FOTI, LLC

1100 Poydras Street, Suite 3200

New Orleans, LA 70163

Lead Counsel for Class Representative and Lead Plaintiff

ALSAR Ltd. Partnership and Class Counsel

DEFENDANTS' COUNSEL:

David D. Sterling

BAKER BOTTS L.L.P.

910 Louisiana Street

Houston, TX 77002

Counsel for Defendants Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V.,

Philip Asherman, Ronald Ballschmiede, and Westley Stockton

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR THE CLERK'S OFFICE REGARDING THIS NOTICE. If you have any questions about the settlement, you may contact Class Counsel at the address listed above.

DATED: APRIL 20, 2022



UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
HOUSTON, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- KBR (NYSE: KBR) announced that it has been awarded a 7-year contract with an option to extend for another 3 years, for the provision of General Maintenance Services (GMS) by Saudi Aramco TOTAL Refining and Petrochemical Company (SATORP), for its project in Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide preventive, predictive, corrective, and shutdown maintenance services at the refinery, with a focus on continuous improvement and sustainable asset performance. By integrating lessons learned from a decade-long partnership, KBR aims to achieve top quartile plant performance while optimizing costs.

"We are excited to continue building on our longstanding partnership with SATORP. This contract marks the beginning of a broader and increasingly strategic journey for SATORP, and KBR is proud to deliver world-class solutions using the industry's best maintenance and reliability practices," said Jay Ibrahim, KBR President, Sustainable Technology Solutions.

Through this partnership, KBR reaffirms its commitment to Saudization and maintaining a Zero Harm safety culture at the refinery.

KBR has been a pioneer in the downstream industry for over 70 years and has delivered several large-scale maintenance projects for some of the world's largest and technically complex downstream facilities.

About KBR

We deliver science, technology and engineering solutions to governments and companies around the world. KBR employs approximately 28,000 people performing diverse, complex and mission critical roles in 34 countries.

KBR is proud to work with its customers across the globe to provide technology, value-added services, and long- term operations and maintenance services to ensure consistent delivery with predictable results. At KBR, We Deliver.

Visit www.kbr.com

Forward Looking Statement

The statements in this press release that are not historical statements, including statements regarding future financial performance, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the significant adverse impacts on economic and market conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the company's ability to respond to the resulting challenges and business disruption; the recent dislocation of the global energy market; the company's ability to manage its liquidity; the outcome of and the publicity surrounding audits and investigations by domestic and foreign government agencies and legislative bodies; potential adverse proceedings by such agencies and potential adverse results and consequences from such proceedings; changes in capital spending by the company's customers; the company's ability to obtain contracts from existing and new customers and perform under those contracts; structural changes in the industries in which the company operates; escalating costs associated with and the performance of fixed-fee projects and the company's ability to control its cost under its contracts; claims negotiations and contract disputes with the company's customers; changes in the demand for or price of oil and/or natural gas; protection of intellectual property rights; compliance with environmental laws; changes in government regulations and regulatory requirements; compliance with laws related to income taxes; unsettled political conditions, war and the effects of terrorism; foreign operations and foreign exchange rates and controls; the development and installation of financial systems; the possibility of cyber and malware attacks; increased competition for employees; the ability to successfully complete and integrate acquisitions; and operations of joint ventures, including joint ventures that are not controlled by the company.

The company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, any subsequent Form 10-Qs and 8-Ks, and other U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss some of the important risk factors that the company has identified that may affect its business, results of operations and financial condition. Except as required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

SOURCE KBR, Inc.
WESTBURY, N.Y., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. IV (NYSE: KCAC.U) (the "Company") announced that, commencing April 22, 2022, holders of the units sold in the Company's initial public offering of 23,000,000 units, completed on March 4, 2022, may elect to separately trade the Class 1 redeemable warrants included in the units. Those units not separated will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") under the symbol "KCAC.U," and the Class 1 redeemable warrants that are separated and the resulting new units consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one Class 2 redeemable warrant will trade on the NYSE under the symbols "KCAC.W" and "KCA.U," respectively. Holders of units will need to have their brokers contact Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the Company's transfer agent, in order to separate the units into Class 1 redeemable warrants and new units.

The units were initially offered by the Company in an underwritten offering. UBS Securities LLC and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated acted as joint book running managers for the offering, Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated acted as lead manager and Drexel Hamilton, LLC acted as co-manager. The registration statement relating to the units and the underlying securities became effective on March 1, 2022.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities of the Company, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. The offering was made only by means of a prospectus, copies of which may be obtained by contacting UBS Securities LLC, Attn: Prospectus Department, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019, telephone: (888) 827-7275 or email: [email protected]; and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Attn: Syndicate Department, One South Street, 15th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202, or by email: [email protected] or by telephone: (855) 300-7136.

About Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. IV

The Company is a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses.

For more information, please contact

Dan Huber

Chief Financial Officer

[email protected]

(703) 674-6514

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend" and similar expressions, as they relate to us or our management team, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the Company's management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are qualified in their entirety by this paragraph. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company's registration statement and prospectus relating to the Company's initial public offering filed with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.

SOURCE Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. IV
GI Supply fully integrates with Laborie as part of long-term growth strategy

PORTSMOUTH, N.H., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading diagnostic and therapeutic medical technology company, Laborie Medical Technologies Corp. (Laborie), announced that it has completed the acquisition of GI Supply, a leader in specialty endoscopy and paracentesis products for gastroenterologists, colorectal surgeons, and interventional radiologists.

As part of the transaction, GI Supply and all its employees will be fully integrated into the Laborie business. "We've had the opportunity to work closely with the GI Supply team for two years and are delighted to welcome them into the Laborie family," said Michael Frazzette, President & CEO of Laborie Medical Technologies. "We look forward to working together in our mission to deliver innovative technologies that help preserve and restore human dignity. Gastroenterology will continue to be a core segment for Laborie and legacy GI Supply will lead our effort."

In 2020, Laborie and Signet Healthcare Partners, a healthcare growth equity firm, signed an agreement to acquire GI Supply. The combined GI Supply and Laborie product portfolio and commercial capabilities enabled the organizations to reach a larger customer base and offer healthcare practitioners a broad portfolio of innovative gastroenterology products.

Ashley Friedman, Managing Director at Signet Healthcare Partners, commented: "We are delighted with the growth and progress of GI Supply over the past several years. We thank Patricia Industries and Laborie for their partnership in helping to develop this business. The future is very bright for GI Supply as part of Laborie."

Yuriy Prilutskiy, Head of North America at Patricia Industries, a part of Investor AB and majority owner of Laborie Medical Technologies added, "Patricia Industries is excited to continue investing in Laborie's long-term growth with this acquisition. We continue to support Laborie in its mission to provide patients and healthcare professionals with innovative and effective therapeutic and diagnostic technologies that preserve and restore human dignity."

About Laborie Medical Technologies

Headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Laborie is a global medical technology company focused on Urology, Urogynecology, Gastroenterology, Obstetrics, Gynecology & Neonatal Health. We manufacture and deliver high-quality, high-impact diagnostic and therapeutic products that help clinicians and hospitals preserve and restore patient dignity. Clinicians and hospitals look to us as the market-leading experts in our business segments, and we support our products with a world-class Clinical Education & Information program. Laborie is a portfolio company of Patricia Industries. For more information visit www.laborie.com .

About GI Supply

As a physician-founded company, we strive for deep clinical input into all that we do. GI Supply is broadening its portfolio with solutions that allow physicians to perform more-advanced procedures safely and efficiently. We help doctors do their jobs faster, safer and simpler. For more information visit www.gi-supply.com .

About Patricia Industries

Patricia Industries, a part of Investor AB, invests in best-in-class companies with strong market positions, brands and corporate cultures within industries positioned for secular growth. We invest with an indefinite holding period and partner with great management teams to create value for people and society by building strong and sustainable businesses.

About Investor AB

Investor, founded by the Wallenberg family in 1916, is an engaged owner of high-quality, global companies. We have a long-term investment perspective. Through our board participation, industrial experience, global network and financial strength, we work continuously to support our companies to remain or become best-in-class.

About Signet Healthcare Partners

Signet Healthcare Partners (Signet) is an established provider of growth capital to innovative healthcare companies. Signet invests in commercial-stage healthcare companies that are revenue generating or preparing for commercial launch. The firm invests primarily in pharmaceutical and medical device companies. As an active investor, Signet partners closely with its companies to build their value including facilitating activities between portfolio companies. During Signet's 24-year history, the firm has developed a strong reputation and track record of successful healthcare investments. Signet has raised funds with total capital commitments of over $500 million and has invested in more than 55 companies. For more information, visit

www.signethealthcarepartners.com.

SOURCE Laborie Medical Technologies
To meet the growing global demand for respiratory active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), Inke is to invest 9 million into its production plant to reinforce focus on inhalation micronised APIs

BARCELONA, Spain, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Inke, a leading global manufacturer of inhalation APIs wholly owned by Neuraxpharm Group, announces it is investing 9 million to increase production capacity for inhalation APIs. The investment will allow Inke to triple the production capacity of chemical synthesis and the micronisation of inhalation APIs at its manufacturing plant in Castellbisbal, Barcelona, by 2024. The company expects that approximately 80% of this 9 million investment will be deployed by the end of this year.

The expansion of Inke's multipurpose plant allows the company to meet the increasing global demand for inhalation APIs: Urbanisation, especially in emerging markets, leads to a worsening of air pollution making respiratory diseases more prevalent. Furthermore, a global aging population is associated with increased susceptibility to respiratory diseases, which is expected to further drive the need for inhalation therapies.

With this investment, the company further builds its position as a leading specialist for the development and manufacturing of high-added-value APIs for the use in respiratory therapies. Its specialised capabilities, with over 20 years of in-house experience in micronisation and particle engineering to find the right crystal shape and particle size, make Inke an expert in the development of APIs. Inke combines complex synthesis processes with best-in-class technical and manufacturing capabilities, and high regulatory expertise in key markets worldwide, such as the US or the EU. It has established preferential relationships with the main inhalation players worldwide and unique access to the highly demanding Japanese market. With Inke's expansion, the manufacturing plant will continue to adhere to the very stringent quality standards required for the manufacturing of respiratory products for inhalation.

Commenting on the investment, Dr. Jorg Thomas Dierks, CEO of Neuraxpharm, said: "Inke is a key supplier to major generic and branded companies in over 40 countries due to its very strong and entrenched competitive position. The segment of micronised inhalation APIs is highly attractive and poised for future growth, and I am convinced that this investment contributes significantly to extending our leading position in this market."

Miquel Bachs, General Manager of Inke, added: "We expect the increased global demand for respiratory APIs will allow us to grow our business considerably and to further strengthen our market position as a leading global API supplier specialised in inhalation therapies. I am proud that with this investment, Inke's production site in the province of Barcelona is made future-proof."

Inke's dedicated operational team includes manufacturing, R&D, regulatory, commercial, administrative, and other support functions to provide an end-to-end service through highly skilled experts. After introducing Miquel Bachs as General Manager in 2018, Inke has had a new management team driving the commercial strategy focused on third-party sales and a successful customer base and has expanded internationally. This strategy's success becomes evident through Inke's strong track-record of double-digit growth.

Inke developed its first respiratory product in 1998. Today, the site produces 34 APIs by chemical synthesis processes and is among the top three European respiratory API pharmaceutical manufacturing companies with most patent filings in the last ten years. The company has been successfully inspected by every major global authority, including the US-FDA since 2002 and the Korean FDA since 2012. It holds EU-GMP, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 certifications.

About Inke

Inke is a leading global manufacturer of inhalation active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) established in 1980 and based in Castellbisbal (Barcelona, Spain). With more than 25 years of experience in respiratory APIs, the company focuses on the development and manufacturing of highadded-value active substances for the pharmaceutical industry for use in inhalation therapies.

The company holds great expertise for the treatment of respiratory diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This qualifies Inke to be a key supplier to major generic and branded companies worldwide, having twelve respiratory APIs for inhalation in its portfolio and distributing its products to more than 40 countries including Europe, the US, Japan, Korea, China and Turkey.

Inke has been successfully inspected by every major global authority, including the US-FDA since 2002 (latest inspection in April 2019). It is full EU-GMP compliant and holds ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications. The company has a strong regulatory track-record with 10 Certificates of Suitability (CEPs), 10 US-DMF, 8 JP-DMF, 9 KR-DMF and 5 CN-DMF.

Inke is a wholly owned subsidiary of Neuraxpharm since 2016, a leading European specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders backed by funds advised by Permira.

For more information about Inke, please visit: https://www.inke.es

SOURCE Inke
Leading lawsuit funding company says some cases are moving along while others continue to drag.

JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Legal-Bay LLC, The Pre-settlement Funding Company, announced today that they are seeing an uptick in hernia mesh lawsuits, specifically the two most popular brands: Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon Physiomesh and Atrium Medical Corporation's C-Qur. Both devices are currently being recalled due to numerous patient complications.

To combat an abdominal hernia, surgeons can repair the bulging intestines by implanting a patch of flexible polypropylene mesh over any weak spot in the intestinal walls. But some of these devices are proving faulty, and plaintiffs say the products were rushed to market before adequate testing could take place. The devices can shrink, harden, and even migrate, causing chronic pain, superfluous drainage, nausea, and bloating. Some patients have reported bowel perforations and nerve damage, requiring additional surgeries.

Chris Janish, CEO of Legal-Bay commented, "The hernia mesh litigation is one of the most multifaceted, involving many different manufacturers and products. Most funding companies have avoided these cases due to complexity, but our experience with the mass tort industry enables our clients to get free evaluations and obtain some funding now while they wait for their cases to resolve."

If you need a lawsuit loan from your hernia mesh lawsuit, please apply HERE or call toll-free at 877.571.0405.

Hernia mesh lawsuit settlements are normally within the $50,000 to $250,000 range, but some plaintiffs have been awarded millions. Payout amounts vary greatly, and will depend on the severity of the plaintiffs' injuries. Also, because of the variables from case to case, there is no set precedent for how much a plaintiff will receive, if they receive anything at all. There are thousands of hernia mesh cases waiting to be heard, and the dockets have been even further backlogged because of Covid closures. The Bellwether trial slated for next month will hopefully offer some clarity.

Some examples of past settlements:

Out of 6000 lawsuits C.R. Bard was facing in 2015, they paid over $100MM to settle about half of them.

In 2016, Ethicon settled over 40 thousand lawsuits by paying $120 million .

. Facing numerous lawsuits, Kugel recalled approximately 1000 of their patch systems. They ended up paying out over $40MM in a global settlement in an attempt to stave off future lawsuits.

In 2018, Atrium settled approximately 3000 lawsuits with an $11MM payout.

The preceding list comprises only a handful of the many companies who had to defend themselves against hernia mesh cases, and there are thousands more still awaiting trial. Legal-Bay says it is uncertain if these new cases will ever settle or at what values. Nothing is definitive at this time. Nonetheless, Legal-Bay stands ready to help plaintiffs in financial need obtain settlement loans so they can wait out the time it will take to go to trial.

If you need a lawsuit loan from your hernia mesh lawsuit, please apply HERE or call toll-free at 877.571.0405.

Legal-Bay is one of the leading lawsuit loan funding companies, offering a fast approval process and some of the best rates in the industry. They can offer immediate cash in advance of a plaintiff's anticipated monetary award. The non-recourse law suit loans sometimes referred to as loans for lawsuit or loans on settlementare risk-free, as the money does not need to be repaid should the recipient lose their case. Therefore, the settlement loan is less like a loan and more like a cash advance.

Legal-Bay believes plaintiffs shouldn't be left waiting for the money they have coming to them, and can offer a way to help get plaintiffs a payout now, normally within 24-48 hours. Anyone who has an existing lawsuit and needs cash now can apply for loan settlement. There are no income verification forms or credit checks required. If you haven't yet filed suit, Legal-Bay can put you in touch with an attorney who specializes in hernia mesh cases.

If you require an immediate cash advance loan settlement from your hernia mesh lawsuit, please visit the company's website HERE or call 877.571.0405 where skilled agents are standing by to hear about your specific case.

Source: Legal-Bay LLC

Contact: Chris Janish, CEO

Email: [email protected]

Ph.: 877.571.0405

Website: www.Legal-Bay.com

SOURCE Legal-Bay, LLC
Announced ahead of Earth Day, the "Leader" rating demonstrates LG's "exemplary use of environmentally and socially responsible practices throughout the life cycle of all product lines, from material choice to end-of-life solutions," verified by MindClick through a rigorous audit process. The MSAP is an annual assessment of Marriott suppliers that evaluates the sustainability of their products' lifecycle.

The assessment program evaluates products based on their operational footprint, with environmental and social metrics such as energy, carbon and water reduction, and human and labor rights. It also measures metrics such as carbon footprint from product use and distribution, recyclability, as well as use of sustainable materials and avoidance of chemicals of high concern. Suppliers are recognized in one of three levels: Starter, Achiever and Leader. In 2021, LG achieved top scores in seven of the nine evaluation categories.

"We are honored to once again be recognized by MindClick as a sustainability leader. Since we began our alliance with Marriott in 2005, we've always held a shared responsibility to reduce environmental impact, while enhancing quality of life for guests. We feel vindicated in our dedication to product stewardship and being a responsible corporate citizen," said Thomas Yoon, president and CEO of LG Electronics North America.

Hotel TVs and displays from LG Business Solutions earned Leader status in several key categories:

"Social" with required human and labor policies including zero tolerance for forced or compulsory labor, discrimination, child labor and human trafficking.

"Environmental" with footprints completed and reduction targets set for energy reduction, reduced carbon emissions, water reduction and reduced waste in the facilities used to manufacture products.

"Distribution" through the use of transportation carriers that are EPA SmartWay certified and adhere to a cap on greenhouse gas emissions.

"Guest Health" with products that reduce toxins through compliance with chemicals of serious concern.

"End of Use" and "Facility Impact" with products that are recyclable and packaged in recyclable materials, and have end-of-life solutions identified.

For a high-res image, click here.

About LG Business Solutions USA

The LG Electronics USA Business Solutions division serves commercial display customers in the U.S. lodging and hospitality, digital signage, systems integration, healthcare, education, government and industrial markets. Based in Lincolnshire, Ill., with its dedicated engineering and customer support team, LG Electronics USA Business Solutions delivers business-to-business technology solutions tailored to the particular needs of business environments. LG Electronics USA, Inc., based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the North American subsidiary of LG Electronics Inc., a $63 billion global force in consumer electronics, home appliances and air solutions. LG is an eight-time ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year. For more information, please visit www.LGSolutions.com.

SOURCE LG Business Solutions USA
Five key findings stand out from the survey results:

Despite popular belief, the creator economy has expanded well beyond sponsored Instagram posts: 70% of creators earn less than 10% of total income from brand partnerships Working with brands is neither a reliable nor a consistent stream of revenue for most creators Nearly 70% of creators have not completed any brand partnerships on their social channels 53% of creators earn under $100 from a single brand collaboration

Niche creators are seeing unexpected success: More creators are realizing the value of connecting with an engaged audience united by unique interests - 66% consider themselves niche creators 7% of niche creators earn over $100K USD per year vs 5% of non-niche creators 37% of niche creators had a brand collaboration vs 26% of non-niche creators

Creators are leaving money on the table with a significant opportunity to monetize : 59% of beginner* creators have not monetized yet Just 6% of beginner* creators have earned over $10k USD 12% of full-time creators make over $50k USD

It's easier than ever to become a creator: 36% of creators have only been creating content for less than a year Newbies see TikTok as their largest platform (12%)

Creators are battling burnout, regardless of income level: Full-time creators feel burnout the most with 13% saying they're extremely/consistently stressed vs 9% of part-time creators 39% of creators report consistently taking measures to relieve stress



Learn more about the findings of the 2022 Creator Report here

Alex Zaccaria, co-founder and CEO of Linktree, shares: "It is impossible to imagine our online ecosystem without creators. Without them, it simply would not exist and their influence and prominence is growing by the day. Our team's mission is to develop products and integrations for creators that evolve with them and make their lives easier. The feedback we are driving as a business enables that process and demonstrates why we built this business in the first place - for our creators. For many creators, finding ways to monetize their passions has been a challenge we are more determined than ever to solve."

Eric Jacks, Chief Strategy Officer, Collab, Inc. who partnered with Linktree on this research, says: "68% of part-time creators make less than 1K. This vital research underscores how difficult it can be to be a creator, and just how important it is for creators to find partners, platforms, and services that streamline monetization opportunities. Linktree does just this, acting as a gateway to other revenue streams that contribute to monthly income and makes the creators job a little easier."

Creators can use Linktree to streamline their online identity, and to showcase and personalize their profile in the following ways:

Request links, Support Me links, and Affiliate links, all designed to streamline monetization.

links, links, and links, all designed to streamline monetization. Payment integrations with Shopify , Square, Venmo, PayPal, Spring, and GoFundMe.

with , Square, Venmo, PayPal, Spring, and GoFundMe. Music Links in addition to partnerships with Bandsintown, Audiomack, Soundcloud, and Community partnerships, specifically designed with artists in mind for touring, merchandise, and streaming.

in addition to partnerships with Bandsintown, Audiomack, Soundcloud, and Community partnerships, specifically designed with artists in mind for touring, merchandise, and streaming. Podcast links for creators with podcasts and QR codes for reaching audiences offline too.

These insights from global creators will enable Linktree to continue building new solutions customized to the needs of creators, ensuring Linktree remains easy to use and best promotes streamlining the creator economy at large, developing fresh, leading edge products.

About Linktree

Linktree enables creators, brands, artists, publishers, agencies, and businesses of all sizes to curate an online ecosystem, engage with their audience and monetize their passion. Linktree is among the top 300 most popular website destinations globally, with 1.2 billion unique visitors a month. In 2021 alone, Linktree enabled over 1 million artists to generate 90 million visits to streaming providers  twice as many artists and three times as many clicks as in the year prior. The platform is utilized by more than 24 million creators, artists, and brands globally including TikTok, Selena Gomez, Noah Beck, Bella Poarch, Red Bull, Shawn Mendes, the Los Angeles Clippers, Comedy Central, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, and HBO.

Founded by brothers Alex and Anthony Zaccaria and Nick Humphreys in 2016, Linktree is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

For more information visit https://linktr.ee/ .

*Beginner creators: Creators with less than 12 months of experience.

Contact:

Libbie Wilcox

[email protected]

SOURCE Linktree
Chief Financial Officer to take over management responsibilities of the agency that oversees the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner intercity passenger rail service

ORANGE, Calif., April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Los AngelesSan DiegoSan Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency Board of Directors unanimously appointed Jason Jewell as the Interim Managing Director of the LOSSAN Agency, effective April 18, 2022.

Jewell has been with the LOSSAN Agency for seven years serving as the Agency's Chief Financial Officer. He has a longstanding career in transportation, acting in accounting and finance management roles at the Orange County Transportation Authority for more than 10 years before joining the LOSSAN Agency.

LOSSAN Agency Names Interim Managing Director

Jewell will take over management and operations of the Agency and continue his current responsibilities as the Chief Financial Officer. He replaces Donna DeMartino, who served as the LOSSAN Agency Managing Director since January 2020.

"I am honored for the opportunity to serve the LOSSAN Agency as the Interim Managing Director," said Jewell. "I am committed to working closely with the LOSSAN board and staff to advance the Agency's goals, including the further restoration of the Pacific Surfliner service as travel demands increase while also advancing projects that will benefit the LOSSAN rail corridor both now and in the future."

The LOSSAN rail corridor spans 351 miles and covers a six-county coastal region in Southern California, from San Diego to San Luis Obispo. It is the second busiest intercity passenger rail corridor in the United States, hosting intercity, commuter, long-distance, and freight rail services.

The LOSSAN Agency, which works to improve passenger rail service along the rail corridor and also oversees the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service, is governed by an 11-member Board composed of officials representing rail owners, operators, and planning agencies.

###

About the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner

The Pacific Surfliner travels along a 351-mile coastal rail route through San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, serving 27 stations. It is the busiest state-supported intercity passenger rail route in the United States. To learn more and plan a trip, visit pacificsurfliner.com.

About the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency

The Los Angeles  San Diego  San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency is a joint powers authority composed of rail owners, operators and planning agencies along the entire LOSSAN rail corridor. In addition to working to improve passenger rail ridership, revenue, on- time performance, operational flexibility, and safety, the LOSSAN Agency assumed management responsibility for the Pacific Surfliner service in July 2015, following the execution of an interagency transfer agreement with the state of California. For more information, visit Lossan.org.

About OCTA

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) was named the Managing Agency of the LOSSAN Agency in November 2013 and provides all necessary administrative support for the LOSSAN Agency and its Board. For more information visit octa.net.

SOURCE Amtrak Pacific Surfliner
Marine Insurance Market report key highlights

Estimated year-on-year growth rate: 2.07%

Key market segments: Product (cargo, hull, offshore energy, and marine liability) and geography ( Europe , APAC, South America , MEA, and North America )

, APAC, , MEA, and ) Key Consumer Region & contribution: Europe at 52%

Marine Insurance Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 3.03% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 4.20 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 2.07 Regional analysis Europe, APAC, South America, MEA, and North America Performing market contribution Europe at 52% Key consumer countries UK, Germany, China, France, and Singapore Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Allianz Group, American International Group Inc., Aon Plc, Arthur J. Gallagher and Co., AXA Group, Beazley Plc, Brown and Brown Inc., Lockton Companies, Marsh and McLennan Companies Inc., and Swiss Re Ltd. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for the forecast period, Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Do reach out to our analysts for more customized reports as per needs. Speak to our Analyst now!

Marine Insurance Market Driver

Use of multiple distribution channels



The use of multiple distribution channels has helped the suppliers reach a broader audience, especially in emerging markets. New digital enterprise platforms are creating an omnichannel distribution, reducing costs, mitigating risks, and helping craft a better customer experience. Technological advances in the industry, such as digitization and analytics, have driven the use of online portals that improve customer experience.

Marine Insurance Market challenge

Low profitability



Strong demand opportunities in the emerging markets have attracted a pool of domestic and international suppliers, thereby driving market competition. Although the total written premium is high in regions such as APAC, suppliers' profitability in the region is low. This can be attributed to the decrease in premiums to sustain increasing competition in the market. Such measures to counter competition are likely to eventually affect the growth of the industry.

View a report sample for extensive insights on key market Drivers, Trends, and Challenges influencing the market.

Key market vendors insights

The marine insurance market is fragmented, and vendors are deploying growth strategies such as forming strategic partnerships to compete in the market. Some of the key market vendors are:

Allianz Group

American International Group Inc.

Aon Plc

Arthur J. Gallagher and Co.

and Co. AXA Group

Beazley Plc

Brown and Brown Inc.

Lockton Companies

Marsh and McLennan Companies Inc.

Swiss Re Ltd.

For more detailed highlights on products offerings and the growth strategies adopted by other vendors, Download a sample report

Key Segment Analysis by Product

Cargo The cargo segment will be significant in the marine insurance market share growth during the forecast period. By 2030, seaborne trade is expected to amount to 20-25 billion tons, with China accounting for a quarter of the global commercial fleet. This will, in turn, increase the number of insurances and thus contribute to cargo insurance growth.

Hull

Offshore energy

Marine liability

Regional Market Analysis

Europe will contribute to 52% of the marine insurance market share growth during the forecast period. The UK, Germany, and France are the major markets in the region. Many insurance providers are developing products that can address the challenge of cybersecurity risk.

Request our report sample for additional highlights and key segments that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period.

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2020

Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025

Five Forces Analysis

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by Product

Market segments

Comparison by Product

Cargo - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Hull - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Offshore energy - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Marine liability - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Market opportunity by Product

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market drivers

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Allianz Group

American International Group Inc.

Aon Plc

Arthur J. Gallagher and Co.

and Co. AXA Group

Beazley Plc

Brown and Brown Inc.

Lockton Companies

Marsh and McLennan Companies Inc.

Swiss Re Ltd.

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
Clinical intelligence platform company adds former Lyft Healthcare executive and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts physician leader to senior leadership team

SAN FRANCISCO, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Memora Health, the leading technology platform for virtual care delivery and complex care management, today announced the promotion of Omar Nagji to Chief Commercial Officer and welcomed James Colbert, M.D., as Senior Vice President of Care Delivery.

"We are thrilled to have Omar and Jamie on our growing leadership team," said Manav Sevak, co-founder and CEO of Memora Health. "Omar brings deep commercial experience across multiple verticals within the healthcare ecosystem, while Jamie is a seasoned clinical leader who has worked extensively with both providers and payors. With experience across the healthcare landscape, Omar and Jamie are leaders and innovators in healthcare and will help us continue to attract the partners and talent needed to transform care delivery for patients and care teams."

Mr. Nagji has been instrumental to Memora's growth and the expansion of its clinical intelligence platform. In his previous position as Senior Vice President of Growth, Mr. Nagji scaled Memora's go-to-market strategy to meet market demands, including more than tripling the size of the company's commercial team.

The news follows Memora Health's $40 million financing in February 2022 and recently announced programs with Xealth and Dell Children's Medical Center . The company continues to grow its leadership team as it expands support to healthcare organizations in extending care beyond the four walls of the clinic.

Omar Nagji, Chief Commercial Officer

Prior to joining the Memora team in September 2021, Omar Nagji helped co-found the Healthcare team at Lyft, where he was responsible for developing and executing on the strategy that took Lyft Healthcare from its infancy to an industry and thought leader in the non-emergent medical transportation space. Previously Mr. Nagji spent more than 15 years across multiple verticals within the healthcare ecosystem  beginning at Stockamp, now Huron Consulting, where he implemented patient throughput strategies at UPenn, Baylor Scott and White and UC Health. He went on to build and lead successful Enterprise initiatives across the revenue cycle, digital pharmacy and reputation management spaces at companies including MedeAnalytics, VisiQuate, Alto Pharmacy and Podium.

Mr. Nagji also serves as a Strategic Advisor to companies such as Force Therapeutics, Angle Health and SendaRide. He earned his BS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he studied Health Policy and Administration.

James Colbert, Senior Vice President of Care Delivery

James Colbert, M.D., is a physician leader and innovator with expertise in value-based care, population health management and healthcare informatics. He has extensive experience with both providers and payors and most recently served as Senior Medical Director for Delivery System Innovation and Analytics at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, where he was responsible for engaging with at-risk provider organizations to enable them to achieve success within their value-based contracts through managing healthcare costs and improving quality. Prior to joining BCBSMA, he served as the VP of Population Health for Benevera Health, Senior Medical Director for Population Health at Verisk Health, and core faculty member of the Brookings Institution ACO Learning Network.

A practicing physician at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Dr. Colbert maintains an active clinical practice and holds faculty appointments at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Ariadne Labs. He received his BA from Harvard University, MD from Stanford University's School of Medicine, and is currently completing an Executive MBA from Brandeis University.

About Memora Health

Memora Health is the leading technology platform for virtual care delivery and complex care management. Memora partners with leading health systems, health plans, life science companies, and digital health companies to transform the care delivery process for patients and care teams. The company's platform digitizes and automates complex care workflows, supercharging care teams by intelligently triaging patient-reported concerns and data to appropriate care team members and providing patients with proactive, two-way communication on their care journeys. To learn more about Memora's vision to make care more actionable, accessible and always-on, visit memorahealth.com .

Media Contact: Lara Key, [email protected]

SOURCE Memora Health
Recent Data Reveals Startups Increasingly Use Memorable, Key-Word Rich Descriptive Domain Names to Stand Out from Competitors

BELLEVUE, Wash., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TrueName, a global leader in descriptive domains, announced that more startups are choosing descriptive domains than in previous years per recent data by Marc Kohlbrugge, founder of startup launch platform BetaList. When a startup uses a memorable, descriptive top-level domain (TLD) like .games or .live, their domain more quickly communicates who they are and what they do with an authentic digital identity that stands out from competitors.

For years, the domain and startup industries assumed that rising startups would opt for exact brand match domain names ending in the legacy TLD .com, even if it meant shelling out serious cash. Today, more forward-thinking startups pick domains that reflect their willingness to think outside the box. They're choosing options like .technology, and .fund, and .io. These descriptive TLDs are affordable, industry-specific, short, and memorable, and feature an authentic digital identity that captures customers' attention.

"We are not surprised by this trend," said Mina Neuberg, TrueName CMO. "Entrepreneurs value innovative solutions, and descriptive domains help them stand out from the competition. They can express what's unique about their business from the very first impression. Domain names that are easy to remember, descriptive, and connected to brand identity are set up for success and SEO impact. And fortunately, descriptive domains are widely available."

Brandable domain names combined with descriptive extensions allow for more clarity to tell a memorable story and are easy to find by potential customers. Many startups effectively leverage keywords in their descriptive domain names that match their brand names, such as modern.energy, starface.world, and armoire.style. Using meaningful keywords on both sides of the dot is central to upping their SEO ranking.

For more information on the rise of startups using descriptive domains, please visit this article in Entrepreneur Magazine by Julia Weikel, TrueName marketing manager.

About TrueName

TrueName is the global leader in descriptive domains, offering a diverse portfolio with nearly 300 top-level domains, such as .live, .email, .guru, .social, and .restaurant. TrueName empowers customers to cost-effectively create a personal branding tool to better market their digital identity with more memorable domain names that boost search engine rankings. What's more, customers can be confident their domain names are extra secure from the rising number of hacking and phishing attacks with the protection of TrueName's advanced, built-in anti-phishing technology. TrueName is a global brand owned by Donuts Inc., which ranked on Inc.'s 5000 list as one of the fastest-growing U.S private companies in 2021. The company is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, with international offices across four continents. For more information, please visit truename.domains .

Contact

Sacha Arts

Bella Vista Communications

(408) 458.6316

[email protected]

SOURCE TrueName
AMSTERDAM and OSLO, Norway , April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MPC Energy Solutions N.V. today published its Annual Report and ESG Report for 2021.

"MPC Energy Solutions is extremely well-positioned with our renewable energy project portfolio of 114 MW and a development backlog of another 750 MW in the very attractive Latin America and Caribbean regions. Since our successful USD 100 million capital raise ahead of the listing on Euronext Growth in Oslo in January 2021, we have made good progress in moving our diversified portfolio forward, and in Q1 2022 we reached a very important milestone, as our first project started generating revenue," said Martin Vogt, CEO of MPC Energy Solutions.

With the renowned German investment manager MPC Capital as its sponsor and largest single shareholder, MPC Energy Solutions is driving the transition to renewable energy concentrated in seven countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that are at the forefront of renewable energy ambitions. The market opportunity is estimated at more than 45 GW in wind and solar alone by 2030, with an annual growth rate exceeding 14%.

"2021 was an eventful and at the same time challenging year for our company. While facing certain delays related to the Covid-19 pandemic and global supply chain disturbances, we were able to continue with all of our projects and are on track to generate the anticipated return on capital," said Martin Vogt.

MPC Energy Solutions' first ESG Report is prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and inspired by the Euronext guidelines for sustainability reporting.

"Implications of climate change are becoming increasingly concerning, and the recent months' geopolitical events have illustrated significant challenges for the global energy supply. On this backdrop it is extremely inspiring and rewarding to dedicate all our efforts to rolling out renewable energy production. For us as a company it is vital to have a full overview of how we impact and get impacted by the environment we operate in, and we experience a growing interest in sustainability among our stakeholders, which we welcome. I am proud to present our company's first sustainability report which aims to furnish our stakeholders with a transparent overview and allows for further insights into our efforts on material topics," said Martin Vogt.

MPC Energy Solutions published its audited financial statements today as part of the annual report. The performance in 2021 was in line with management's expectations, in a year focused on ramping up the organization, progressing project development, and making first investments. The company did not generate revenues in its first full year of operations and ended 2021 with a negative operating income (EBIT) of USD 2.9 million and a net loss of USD 2.7 million. Total assets amounted to USD 86.1 million.

"We are well-financed to be able to deliver on our portfolio. We have no long-term financial debt, and at the end of 2021 we had a cash position of USD 56.9 million, part of which has now been invested in the first quarter of 2022 as planned," said Martin Vogt.

Compared to the preliminary and unaudited consolidated financial statements MPC Energy Solutions published on 3 March 2022, the following relevant changes were made as a result of the audit performed by Ernst & Young Accountants LLP Netherlands:

The operating loss (EBIT) decreased from USD 3.1 million to USD 2.9 million , mainly following adjustments to foreign currency translations, with a subsequent impact on the net loss, which decreased from USD 2.8 million to USD 2.7 million .

to , mainly following adjustments to foreign currency translations, with a subsequent impact on the net loss, which decreased from to . Total assets increased from USD 83.9 million to USD 86.1 million due to a recognition of rights-of-use-assets from land lease contracts in El Salvador and Colombia . Corresponding liabilities were also recognized, and there was no effect on the profit and loss.

to due to a recognition of rights-of-use-assets from land lease contracts in and . Corresponding liabilities were also recognized, and there was no effect on the profit and loss. Cash and cash equivalents remain unchanged at USD 56.9 million . Only small adjustments were made following foreign currency translations of cash held in non-USD currencies.



Preliminary Final Delta EBIT (3,084,122) (2,887,474) 196,648 Net loss (2,802,370) (2,725,830) 76,540 Total assets 83,912,519 86,116,488 2,203,969 Cash and cash equivalents 56,807,230 56,915,951 108,721

About MPC Energy Solutions

MPC Energy Solutions ("MPCES") is a global provider of sustainable energy and primarily focuses on low-carbon energy infrastructure, including solar and wind assets, and other hybrid and energy efficiency solutions. The Company participates in the full project lifecycle of renewable solutions, from early-stage development through construction and operation. More details at www.mpc-energysolutions.com

Media contacts

MPC Energy Solutions N.V.

Investor Relations & Public Relations

Email: [email protected]

Norway

Jo Christian Lund-Steigedal

Corporate Communications AS

Phone: +47 415 08733

Email: [email protected]

Americas

Perry Goldman

Montieth & Company

Phone: +1 (646) 8643568

Email: [email protected]

United Kingdom

Andrew Berridge

Montieth & Company

Phone: +44 7925 697 215

Email: [email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/mpc-energy-solutions-n-v-/r/mpc-energy-solutions-publishes-fy-2021-annual-report-and-fy-2021-esg-report,c3548503

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/20542/3548503/1565797.pdf MPCES_Annual_Report_2021 https://mb.cision.com/Public/20542/3548503/81927f9de2df741b.pdf MPCES ESG Report

SOURCE MPC Energy Solutions N.V.
A new website from Contact Center Compliance is offering free TCPA litigator list scrubbing and collecting demand letters to build its database

StopLitigators.com is compiling resources for callers that go beyond traditional TCPA litigator lists and allows callers to fight back against predatory litigators

SANTA ROSA, Calif., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- StopLitigators.com is a new, free, crowdsourced database of Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigators compiled from demand letters submitted by industry users. StopLitigators.com is offering free access to check phone numbers against the database in exchange for signing up. Marketers can sign up at StopLitigators.com, submit their demand letters and lawsuits to the crowdsourced litigator list, help contribute to an industrywide resource to eliminate predatory litigators from the marketing ecosystem, and receive free access to check their calling lists against the database.

"The abusive act of predatory litigation presents a significant challenge even for those that make every effort to manage their compliance properly," said Ron Allen, creator of StopLitigators.com. He continues, "Many repeat litigators find ways to intentionally 'trick' legitimate entities into making a call that is a violation and then prey upon the company by demanding money, under threat of a class action suit. Further, we often find that no call was ever placed, and the demand is simply sent to many entities to get money from companies that do not reject the demands out of fear. StopLitigators.com is a way for the contact center industry to cooperatively work together and fight back. I have spent over 30 years in this industry and believe strongly in helping protect it."

Predatory TCPA litigators are a threat to all legitimate telemarketers. While multiple compliance providers offer litigator scrub lists based on court filings, not every TCPA plaintiff and litigator shows up in those filings. Sometimes, litigators simply send demand letters, hoping for a settlement, without ever pursuing the sorts of legal action that shows up in court record databases. These demand letters fall through the cracks of the existing systems for cataloguing dangerous TCPA litigators. But StopLitigators.com allows call centers and defense lawyers the opportunity to build a better database that includes the litigators and plaintiffs who merely send demand letters.

Call center-related businesses and law firms are allowed to register for free. Access to the free list-scrubbing is given as soon as the registrant's information is verified. For more information about this database, visit StopLitigators.com and for additional information about and services for TCPA compliance, visit DNC.com. Sign up now for free at https://bit.ly/37kT5hu.

Stop Litigators & Contact Center Compliance

StopLitigators.com is a crowdsourced database of predatory TCPA litigators. Call centers can utilize this database to eliminate those litigators from their data. It is a new endeavor from Contact Center Compliance, one of the industry leaders in TCPA and DNC compliance solutions for more than 20 years.

SOURCE Contact Center Compliance
SEATTLE, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- "Reparations for All or None," by Kathleen Brush, Ph.D., examines the biases and privations endured by waves of immigrants to America since 1607. Brush unpacks important insights to identify potential receivers and payers of reparations. Today, candidates for reparations are assumed to be the descendants of slaves, but using a yardstick of acceptable and legal behaviors today, millions of others endured a similarly unbearable existence. Candidate payers of reparations are assumed to be taxpayers, but this places injustice on top of injustice.

Reparations for All or None book cover Kathleen Brush, Ph.D.

Brush identifies and elaborates on why specific ethnic, racial, social, and religious groups are candidate recipients, and she does the same for the nations, groups, and individuals that are candidate payers. She also notes a major problem with potential payers and receivers. "Actions considered inhumane today were legal and ordinary yesterday. History is like that; it never measures up to modern standards."

"Reparations for All or None" starts with an important but muted premise. America was doomed. Nations that enjoyed peace and prosperity were racially, ethnically, and religiously homogenous. That was neither the Thirteen Colonies nor the United States. In the 18th and 19th centuries, experts predicted that America would fail from conflict inherent in diverse populations. Brush said, "It's a wonder it did not. Animosities filled the air. Racial, ethnic, and religious discord were part of life in America." Brush notes, "the United States is still not out of the water because policymakers are naive about diversity dynamics."

"Immigrants have been streaming to our shores for hundreds of years, and government leaders are obtuse to the complex interactions of diverse populations. They act as if it's normal for diverse nations to resemble a courteous forum at the United Nations. What other explanation could there be for passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to address a long history of racial, ethnic, or religious animus, and passing, in 1965, the most open immigration policy in the world. Pouring unlimited diversity on top of a nation that just committed to trying to end animosities among its current diverse population was reckless. Adding Great Society policies in 1964-1965 on top of this, however well intentioned, made things worse for any melting in the pot."

American naivete on diversity dynamics is why problems are unaddressed or wrongly addressed. "The year 1965 ends the long era of black and white America. Today, more than 25% of Americans are neither African- nor European-American. For the diverse immigrants arriving after 1965, life in America is a relative cakewalk, but nativist African-, European- and Native American populations are experiencing issues related to increased biases and competition, but legislators stuck in a black and white America are wearing blinders."

These blinders have real consequences. "Immigrants have always been America's ultimate source of competitive advantage. But the advantage has three pre-requisites. America must inspire immigrants to work hard to become self-reliant, immigrants must be law-abiding, and Americans must up their game. The government has been granting immigrants blanket pre-req waivers for being self-reliant and law-abiding. This dilutes the power of immigrants and increases potential harm to Americans. The damage to America because all Americans are not upping their game is incalculable because this leaves them as weak competitors for jobs and other resources. This is a source of cascading problems that are tied to misdiagnosing problems as products of racism."

Brush said, "bad policy decisions and misguided activism is fueled by historical revisionists portraying America as the home of irredeemably white-supremacist Jim Crow clones, and white privileged people who were genocidaires who stole the land of Indians, sponsored the cruelest episode of slavery in the world, robbed the land of Mexicans, and uniquely interned American citizens during WWII because of their race. America is so evil; it must pay reparations to the descendants of its victims. America is a country whose history in a global context is to be admired, but these untruthful and shameful portrayals prevent that. Instead, there are increased hate crimes, declining race relations, and economic stagnation for some groups. "Reparations for All or None" sets the record straight. Continuing American peace and prosperity depend on it.

This is the fourth book by Brush leveraging extensive research to examine race in America and the world. Brush draws on 12 years of research, including being onsite in 114 nations. Placing America's history of immigration and the "melting pot" into a global context will have American readers singing "God Bless America" by the end of the book.

A limited number of books are available for free to schools that select "Reparations for All or None" as required reading, or for library access.

Books can be purchased on Amazon.com.

Contact

Jan Bianchi

772-213-9778

Kathleenbrush.com

[email protected]

SOURCE Kathleen Brush
LITTLETON, Colo., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers will be able to make no-fee cannabis purchases using CanPay, the largest legitimate payment network for cannabis merchants and consumers, at six leading New Jersey recreational retail stores when recreational sales launch there on April 21, 2022.

CanPay provides an easy-to-use app that allows consumers to pay for purchases at cannabis retailers with a simple debit from their checking account using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network. Merchants with a compliant bank account at a CanPay-approved financial institution may join the CanPay network quickly and easily.

"If you're looking to buy cannabis products in the new recreational market in New Jersey, CanPay is the way to do it," said Dustin Eide, CEO of CanPay. "With instant activation for most, the service is fast and free for consumers to use and much safer than cash  benefits that more than 100,000 consumer members of the CanPay community have come to understand. For additional convenience, recreational consumers can even prepay with CanPay for their online orders at participating stores."

The dispensaries, which previously were only permitted to sell cannabis for medicinal use, were recently approved for recreational sales to any adult over 21 years of age by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. The first six New Jersey recreational dispensaries accepting CanPay are: The Apothecarium locations in Maplewood and Phillipsburg, The Botanist locations in Egg Harbor Township and Williamstown and Curaleaf locations in Bellmawr and Edgewater Park.

With more than half a billion dollars in transparent transactions and more than 800 participating merchant locations across 31 states, CanPay is the leader in legitimate payments for the cannabis industry.

About CanPay

CanPay offers a payment solution for the state regulated cannabis industry and other emerging markets. CanPay started with one goal  to bring traditional and legitimate electronic payment solutions to highly-regulated industries. We've spent years learning about the unique challenges that face consumers and retailers in these industries and used that experience to design CanPay as the stable payment solution they can rely on. With over 20 years of industry experience, the CanPay team of payments professionals is building a proprietary network of consumers, retailers, financial institutions, and specialized technology providers that make payments at regulated businesses just like payments everywhere else. For more information, visit https://www.canpaydebit.com.

SOURCE CanPay
GWANGJU, South Korea, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- When artificial intelligence systems encounter scenes where objects are not fully visible, it has to make estimations based only on the visible parts of the objects. This partial information leads to detection errors, and large training data is required to correctly recognize such scenes. Now, researchers at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology have developed a framework that allows robot vision to detect such objects successfully in the same way that we perceive them.

New Method Developed by Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology Researchers Allow Robot Vision to Identify Occluded Objects.

Robotic vision has come a long way, reaching a level of sophistication with applications in complex and demanding tasks, such as autonomous driving and object manipulation. However, it still struggles to identify individual objects in cluttered scenes where some objects are partially or completely hidden behind others. Typically, when dealing with such scenes, robotic vision systems are trained to identify the occluded object based only on its visible parts. But such training requires large datasets of objects and can be pretty tedious.

Associate Professor Kyoobin Lee and Ph.D. student Seunghyeok Back from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in Korea found themselves facing this problem when they were developing an artificial intelligence system to identify and sort objects in cluttered scenes." We expect a robot to recognize and manipulate objects they have not encountered before or been trained to recognize. In reality, however, we need to manually collect and label data one by one as the generalizability of deep neural networks depends highly on the quality and quantity of the training dataset," says Mr. Back.

In a new study accepted at the 2022 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, a research team led by Prof. Lee and Mr. Back developed a model called "unseen object amodal instance segmentation" (UOAIS) for detecting occluded objects in cluttered scenes. To train the model in identifying object geometry, they developed a database containing 45,000 photorealistic synthetic images containing depth information. With this (limited) training data, the model was able to detect a variety of occluded objects. Upon encountering a cluttered scene, it first picked out the object of interest and then determines if the object is occluded by segmenting the object into a "visible mask" and an "amodal mask."

The researchers were excited by the results. "Previous methods are limited to either detecting only specific types of objects or detecting only the visible regions without explicitly reasoning over occluded areas. By contrast, our method can infer the hidden regions of occluded objects like a human vision system. This enables a reduction in data collection efforts while improving performance in a complex environment," comments Mr. Back.

To enable "occlusion reasoning" in their system, the researchers introduced a "hierarchical occlusion modeling" (HOM) scheme, which assigned a hierarchy to the combination of multiple extracted features and their prediction order. By testing their model against three benchmarks, they validated the effectiveness of the HOM scheme, which achieved state-of-the-art performance.

The researchers are hopeful about the future prospects of their method. "Perceiving unseen objects in a cluttered environment is essential for amodal robotic manipulation. Our UOAIS method could serve as a baseline on this front," says Mr. Back.

It certainly looks like a giant leap for robotic vision!

Reference

Title of original paper: Unseen Object Amodal Instance Segmentation via Hierarchical Occlusion Modeling

Journal: IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2109.11103

About the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)

please visit: http://www.gist.ac.kr/.

Media Contact:

Seulhye Kim

82 62 715 6253

[email protected]

SOURCE Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Currently, the company offers crispy plant-based chicken nuggets that have a classic fried chicken taste and texture made with only seven simple and sustainable ingredients. Nowadays emerges from its latest round of funding with one of the highest valuations for a company in its category and stage, a reflection of the increasing demand for healthy and delicious plant-based food and Nowadays' unique capabilities to meet that demand.

Nowadays' Seed round was led by Stray Dog Capital, with additional strategic support from Standard Meat Company, a 4th-generation privately owned meat processing and packaging company that supplies national restaurant chains, major supermarkets, and club stores. The support from such an established meat manufacturer validates Nowadays' approach to creating whole cuts of plant-based meat that can easily plug into existing finishing lines to scale manufacturing. The partnership gets Nowadays significantly closer to realizing its vision of a future where nutritious plant-based meats are an accessible option for mainstream consumers across the US and beyond.

"At Standard Meat, we are constantly looking ahead to the future, bringing innovation to every aspect of our business. Today, that means investing in and supporting Nowadays and their plant-based meats that will deliver the nutritional benefits flexitarians are craving," said Standard Meat CEO & Co-President Ben Rosenthal. "We know that consumers want a variety of quality protein choices, and we are looking forward to lending our operational expertise and culinary credibility as Nowadays scales manufacturing and launches new products."

Additional participants in the round include returning investors VegInvest Trust, Tenacious Ventures, Cornucopian Capital, and Good Protein Fund. New investors include Selva Ventures, Vanterra Accelerator Fund, FoodHack, Gaingels, Beyond Impact, Unpopular Ventures, and notable angel investors Rachel Mansfield, Varsha Rao, and Brandon Shainfeld, among others.

HOW NOWADAYS FILLS THE NEED FOR HEALTHIER, SCALEABLE PLANT-BASED MEATS

While many animal- and plant-based meats need to rely on binders, thickeners, or other additives to hold ingredients together and create the desired texture, Nowadays' technology and recipe naturally combine simple ingredients without any questionable additives to create whole cuts of plant-based meat. Since Nowadays' plant-based meat performs like animal-based meat, it can easily fit into existing manufacturing finishing lines, allowing Nowadays to scale production quickly and cheaply. Over time, Nowadays' low-cost manufacturing technology and their ability to plug seamlessly into existing finishing plants will enable the company to achieve cost parity with its animal-based peers so nutritious plant-based meats can be accessible to more consumers looking for better options for themselves, their families, and the planet.

Nowadays has prioritized health and sustainability when choosing its list of simple ingredients. For example, their plant-based chicken nuggets are made with just seven simple ingredients: non-GMO yellow pea protein grown sustainably by US farmers; whole wheat flour for the crunchy breading; cold-pressed sunflower oil for the fried crispiness and golden color; maple fiber for texture; and extracts of both yeast and mushroom for a rich, meat-like umami flavor. Nowadays nuggets boast 13g of protein with only 120 calories, no saturated fat, and 250mg sodium per serving, a significantly more favorable nutritional profile versus both leading organic and natural nugget brands and other plant-based nugget brands.

Leveraging its latest round of funding, Nowadays will introduce additional products, including a plant-based chicken cutlet with a similar nutritional profile to its flagship nuggets, launching this summer on its website for national shipping and in select restaurants across the country. Along with fueling product innovation, Nowadays' funding and strategic support will allow it to expand its distribution in foodservice and launch into retail, including Whole Foods Market, later this year.

For more information on Nowadays, visit eatnowadays.com . Follow Nowadays on Instagram @eatnowadays .

About Nowadays

Nowadays is an emerging leader in the alternative protein category focused on accelerating the market shift toward healthier plant-based meats. Founded in San Francisco in 2020 as a Public Benefit Corporation, Nowadays is on a mission to improve human and planetary health. The company's proprietary technology platform produces whole cuts of tasty plant-based meat from a short list of wholesome ingredients with an unparalleled nutritional profile, delivering the trifecta of taste, texture, and health that consumers are seeking. Nowadays' unique production process enables an accelerated path to cost parity with animal meat, ultimately making nutritious, plant-based meat attractive and accessible to more people.

About Stray Dog Capital

Stray Dog Capital is a venture capital fund investing in innovative, early stage companies across the food, alternative protein, and biotechnology sectors that are driving a healthier, humane, and more sustainable future. Stray Dog Capital supports its portfolio of more than 45 investments with broad experience from its team as entrepreneurs, operators, advisors, and investors. www.straydogcapital.com

About Standard Meat Company

Standard Meat Company is a multi-generational protein packaging and portioning company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Founded in 1935, the innovative business serves a variety of food service needs from their Dallas and Fort Worth plants. Pioneers in steak cutting, Standard Meat Company is a recognized expert in meat science, food safety and quality assurance, culinary trends, purchasing, and packaging. For more information, visit www.standardmeat.com .

CONTACT: Tia Rotolo, [email protected]

SOURCE Nowadays
Leading co-packer leverages Nulogy Solution for 50% increased pharmaceutical co-pack output at greenfield facility in Highland Park, MI

TORONTO, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Nulogy, a leading provider of supply chain collaboration solutions, recently launched its award-winning platform at the newest facility operated by Staffing Synergies, a U.S.-based co-packing and staffing organization specializing in industrial and manufacturing environments, with more than 3,500 employees across the country.

Staffing Synergies was recently contracted by one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the United States to ramp up packaging for COVID-19 testing kits at Staffing Synergies' newest facility, located in Highland Park, Michigan.

Due to the urgency spurred by the pandemic, Staffing Synergies faced drastically compressed timelines for fully staffing and kickstarting operations at its Highland Park facilitywhich included implementing a software system necessary to track and manage production in real-time.

Due to the strong fit between Nulogy's cloud-based architecture and the requirements of regulated co-packing services, Staffing Synergies went live with the Nulogy Platform in just 30 daysthe shortest go-live time recorded in Nulogy's 20-year history. By harnessing the real-time production data and workflow optimization made possible through Nulogy's cloud-based platform, Staffing Synergies aims to increase its co-pack output by 50%, meeting the needs of one of the largest healthcare brands in the world.

The speed of implementation at the new Staffing Synergies facility is a testament to the growth pace of the business. Since the opening of the Highland Park facility, more than 700 new jobs have been created in the surrounding Michigan community.

Further, the business generated by the Highland Park facility has reinvigorated employment and economic growth opportunities in the community. As the location of Henry Ford's first assembly line-driven factory in the 1900s, Highland Park is known as the "birthplace of mass production" and carries a history of innovation. Currently, the unemployment rate in Highland Park is greater than 50%.

"At Staffing Synergies, we were looking for a software platform that could keep up with the speed of our co-pack business and prepare us for the future," said Doug Crawley, President and CEO, Staffing Synergies. "Nulogy was the ideal partner to help us maximize our productivity and strengthen our community with skilled, high-value employment opportunities."

"The healthcare market can be volatile and demanding, especially in these times, but in Staffing Synergies we see another example of an organization that is technologically prepared to succeed," said Jason Tham, CEO, Nulogy. "Staffing Synergies is also a prime example of a co-packing organization that is fully leveraging technology to harness its potential, and we're privileged to be working with a business that is making an impact in so many ways."

Staffing Synergies provides staffing and human resources services to companies with significant requirements specializing in contract packing, manufacturing, distribution centers, light industrial sites and new facilities. In addition, Staffing Synergies is a 100% minority and veteran owned company, is Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)-certified and is registered as a minority supplier with the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council.

Nulogy is a leading purpose-built multi-enterprise platform for co-packing and contract manufacturer networks, enabling fast-moving consumer goods brands and their suppliers to collaborate seamlessly on a centralized, data-driven, AI-enabled platform. The Nulogy Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Business Network Platform also enables the digitization of shop floor processes of contract suppliers for enhanced line efficiency and profitability, and is live in hundreds of sites worldwide.

About Nulogy

Nulogy, a leading supplier of digital supply chain solutions, enables consumer brands and their supplier communities to collaborate on a multi-enterprise platform to deliver with excellence to an ever-changing consumer market. The Nulogy Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Business Network Platform optimizes contract manufacturing and co-packing operations, while empowering consumer brands and their external suppliers to accelerate network responsiveness and collaborate at the speed of today's market.

nulogy.com

About Staffing Synergies

Staffing Synergies provides staffing and human resources services to companies with significant requirements specializing in contract packing, manufacturing, distribution centers, light industrial sites, and new facilities. Since 2008, the company's vision is to be the staffing and human resources supplier of choice to customers and the employer of choice for employees through continuous improvement in the quality of customer service, technological development, cost-effectiveness, and methodical growth. Staffing Synergies' vision, complemented by its corporate values, guides work with its clients and more than 3,500 employees and more than $50 million in gross revenues.

staffingsynergies.com

SOURCE Nulogy Corporation
"We couldn't be more thrilled to be opening our 100th Ono BBQ location and celebrating this milestone," said Joshua Liang, Chief Executive Officer. "This achievement would not be possible without our loyal customers who've shown their love for our food and brand."

In honor of celebrating this milestone, there will be Hawaiian dancers performing at the grand opening, showcasing and celebrating the authentic Hawaiian culture and spirit behind Ono Hawaiian BBQ. The party doesn't stop there; there will also be additional deals and giveaways, including a buy one get one free offering at the Visalia location both in-store and online. Ono Hawaiian BBQ will also be giving away 100th Store Memorabilia pins and scratchers at all locations while supplies last.

Everyone's a winner for the 100th store celebration. Giveaway scratchers will be available at every Ono Hawaiian BBQ location with possible prizes of a free family meal, mini-meal, fountain drink, 10-12 people catering package, and more!

Starting off 2022 strong with their 100th store opening, Ono Hawaiian BBQ has plans to continue growing their locations throughout California and Arizona. Ono Hawaiian BBQ is exploring opening new restaurants in key markets where consumers are yearning for the fresh-off-the-grill barbecue that makes Ono Hawaiian BBQ the restaurant it is today.

To learn more about Ono Hawaiian BBQ, visit http://www.OnoHawaiianBBQ.com/ or follow them on Facebook , Instagram and Twitter .

About Ono Hawaiian BBQ:

Ono Hawaiian BBQ is a fast-casual restaurant concept with locations in California and Arizona, serving up "aloha in every bite" through its Hawaiian-inspired plate lunches and island specialties. Every Ono Hawaiian BBQ dish is created with fresh ingredients using authentic Hawaiian recipes, and made-to-order in each restaurant. Ono Hawaiian BBQ operates 100 restaurants throughout its two states of operation, with plans to open more in 2022.

Media Contact

Matt Kovacs

310-923-4366

[email protected]

SOURCE Ono Hawaiian BBQ
SAN FRANCISCO, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global pet care market size is expected to reach USD 232.14 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The year 2020 was not very promising for most industries, but it has been a boon to the pet care industries due to repeated lockdowns and the work from home culture, which led people to take better care of their pets. This has stipulated the demand for pet services and products a significant rise in the market.

Key Insights & Findings from the report:

During the forecast period, the dog pet type segment is expected to account for the largest market share. The growth is attributed to an expected considerable rise in dog adoption in the future years as a result of changing lifestyles and growing knowledge of the benefits of dog companionship.

The pet care services segment is projected to register growth at a 5.2% CAGR during the forecast period. Innovation in products such as moisturizers, creams & lotions is likely to propel the segment growth.

North America contributed a majority of the revenue share of global revenue in 2021. During the forecast period, the rising demand for natural and premium goods is expected to drive the regional market growth.

Read 80-page market research report, "Pet Care Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Pet Types (Dog, Cat, Fish, Bird), By Type (Products, Services, Food), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030", published by Grand View Research.

Pet Care Market Growth & Trends

Moreover, the growing awareness about pet humanization, and increasing purchasing power of the consumers, coupled with a rise in the demand for premium pet care products, are driving the growth of the market. Due to urbanization people have been living in smaller residential spaces, this has, however, increased the adoption of smaller pets such as dogs, fish, hamsters, cats, and so on. Consumers are looking to plug the familial gap with their pet companion.

Premium pet care products are natural and of higher quality, and safer than regular pet care products. With the increase in demand for premium pet grooming products globally, several companies are trying to occupy the majority of shares in this segment. For instance, in 2020, BASF Care Creations in North America launched 3 formulations for the dog grooming segment: Creamy Co-Wash for Dogs, Fresh Obsessed Dry Shampoo Mist, and Micellar Dog Shampoo. Similarly, in 2021, Pure and Natural Pet, a U.S.-based pet care company added new USDA-certified products to their line of pet grooming and health essentials.

According to Pet Biz Marketer, pet food makes up about 3/4s of all pet industry sales. There has been a noticeable increase in the trend of pet food brands gaining market share via niche pet foods. One of the fastest-growing niche food categories is freeze-dried dog food, it is a dog food that's freeze-dried to extend shelf life. Petfoodindustry.com reports that sales for non-traditional pet food formats are growing faster than traditional pet food.

Pet Care Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global pet care market based on pet type, type, and region:

Pet Care Pet Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

Dog

Cat

Fish

Bird

Others

Pet Care Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

Product

Pet Litter



Pet Grooming Products



Fashion, Toys, and Accessories

Services

Pet Boarding



Over-the-Counter/Supplies



Pet Training



Veterinary Care/ Medical Care



Pet Grooming Service

Food

Dry Food



Wet/ Canned



Treats/Snacks

Pet Care Market - Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

North America

U.S.

Europe

France



U.K.

Asia Pacific

China



India



Japan

Central & South America

Brazil

Middle East & Africa

List of Key Players in the Pet Care Market

Ancol Pet Products Limited

Blue Buffalo Co., Ltd.

Champion Petfoods LP

Hill`s Pet Nutrition, Inc.

Mars, Incorporated

Nestle Purina PetCare

Petmate Holdings Co

Saturn Petcare GmbH

Tail Blazers

The Hartz Mountain Corporation.

Check out more related studies published by Grand View Research:

U.S. Surgical Pet Collar Market - The U.S. surgical pet collar market size is anticipated to reach USD 219.0 million by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2021 to 2028. Rising healthcare expenditure on domestic animals, growing demand for insurance, and an increase in the rate of pet adoption are anticipated to propel the growth of the market.

The U.S. surgical pet collar market size is anticipated to reach by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2021 to 2028. Rising healthcare expenditure on domestic animals, growing demand for insurance, and an increase in the rate of pet adoption are anticipated to propel the growth of the market. Inflatable Pet Collar Market - The global inflatable pet collars market size is expected to reach USD 107.2 million by 2027, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., expanding at a CAGR of 5.0% from 2020 to 2027. Rising pet adoption, coupled with higher consumer spending on pets, is driving the demand for pet welfare products, thereby boosting the market growth. Negative impositions of e-collars on pet animals regarding self-trauma, discomfort, and misadventure are also paving the way for higher adoption of inflatable pet collars in case of injuries.

- The global inflatable pet collars market size is expected to reach by 2027, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., expanding at a CAGR of 5.0% from 2020 to 2027. Rising pet adoption, coupled with higher consumer spending on pets, is driving the demand for pet welfare products, thereby boosting the market growth. Negative impositions of e-collars on pet animals regarding self-trauma, discomfort, and misadventure are also paving the way for higher adoption of inflatable pet collars in case of injuries. Pet Sitting Market - The global pet sitting market size is anticipated to reach USD 5.0 billion by 2027, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., expanding at a CAGR of 8.7% from 2020 to 2027. A growing number of pet adoption across countries is helping boost the prominence of relative pet care services, such as pet sitting business. In addition, increasing spending of pet owners on various pet services owing to the high indulgence of millennial pet owners and high spending power has fueled the demand for pet sitting services.

Browse through Grand View Research's Homecare & Decor Industry Research Reports.

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research Helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead.

Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc.

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com

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SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc.
Pet Health Expo / Los Angeles is the pet industry's largest consumer pet health + wellness show for dog and cat lovers

LOS ANGELES, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pet Health Expos LLC announced today that PET HEALTH EXPO/LOS ANGELES (PHE/LA), the US pet industry's largest consumer pet health + wellness show, will hold its first annual in-person show October 21-23, 2022 in downtown Los Angeles.

PET HEALTH EXPO / LOS ANGELES logo

PET HEALTH EXPO / LOS ANGELES is the only hybrid consumer pet health + wellness show for pet parents scheduled to be held in the US in 2022. The in-person mega-event will take place from Friday, October 21 thru Sunday, October 23, 2022 in Downtown LA in the Grand Exhibit Hall at Magic Box LA. It will be open daily from 10am to 6pm PDT.

The virtual version of Pet Health Expo / Los Angeles will stream live on PetHealthExpo.com beginning at 10am on Friday October 21 and running thru Monday October 31, 2022 at 6pm PDT.

Alan Siskind, CEO of Pet Health Expos LLC, said that "Over 50% of total pet industry spending of approximately $103 billion in 2021 was spent on pet health and wellness products for dogs and cats. Our stakeholders, advisory board, and investors realized that there was an enormous opportunity in the pet health care space to create and produce America's largest and most influential consumer pet health and wellness event in the #1 Pet Market in the US - Los Angeles. There are over 1.8 million pet parents in LA who care for over 2.6 million cats and dogs". Siskind went on to say "Because Pet Health Expo/ LA is, also, a hybrid event, pet parents from around the world will, also, be able to attend the show virtually, buy products directly from our exhibitors and participate in our 25 Speakers' Forums either in real time on PetHealthExpo.com or later on via webcasts on our social media platforms."

Key highlights of the in-person mega event include:

- Over 225 exhibitors of pet health + wellness products and services

- 20, 10'x10' discounted Exhibit Booths Being Made Available to Pet Adoption Groups

- 25 Speakers' Panels featuring over 100 pet health and wellness experts discussing all aspects of pet health and wellness

- Exhibitors will be able to sell their products and services directly to show attendees

- Many exhibitors will be actively interviewing and hiring new team members

- FREE Classes for Kids Teaching Them How to Examine and Care for Their Pets

- FREE Doggy Boot Camps before Show opens each day

- Spay & Neutering Mobile Clinics

- Pet Health Check-ups

- Celebrity Guest Appearances

- New Product Showcase

- An estimated 7,500 to 10,000 people are expected to attend the 3 day in-person mega event

- General Admission Ticket Price is $35; Kids under 10 are FREE; Ticket Price for Students and Adults 65 + is only $20

About Pet Health Expos LLC

Pet Health Expos LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Center for Dog Pain Relief Inc., and is the owner and producer of Pet Health Expo / Los Angeles which is scheduled to be held in Downtown Los Angeles and online from Friday October 21 thru Sunday October 23, 2022.

About the Center for Dog Pain Relief Inc.

The Center for Dog Pain Relief (CDPR) and its website DogPainRelief.com, were created to help pet parents quickly find the best pain relief treatment options for their dogs who suffer from both acute and chronic physical, as well as emotional pain.

Media Contact:

Cierra Voelkl

PetHealthExpo.com

310-479-3999 Ext: 2

[email protected]

SOURCE Pet Health Expos LLC
Since introducing the program in 2011, PetSafe has awarded more than $1.65 million to support more than 80 off-leash dog parks in the United States. Beginning May 1, anyone interested in building a new dog park or providing a makeover to an existing park in their area should submit entries at barkforyourpark.com . To enter your community:

Confirm that your community has land available for a dog park.

Contact a local civic leader and request an official letter of support for the dog park project.

Make a list of ways your community will benefit from a dog park.

Design a layout for your ideal dog park.

Gather examples to show why the next big dog park should be in your community; like fundraising events, support from local businesses and more.

"Through our annual grant contest, PetSafe helps local communities make their dog park dreams come true by building and maintaining safe, off-leash spaces that will have a lasting impact for years," says Celeste Vlok, marketing manager for PetSafe brand. "We encourage communities that have entered Bark for Your Park submissions before to participate again this year and continue their commitment toward making their city a more pet-friendly place."

The Bark for Your Park submission period will be open from May 1 to June 30, 2022. Entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges and PetSafe will announce 30 finalists to compete in the public contest voting period. Finalists will be chosen on the level of enthusiasm and support for a dog park project within the community and the impact that a dog park project will have on the community.

Following the contest voting period, the four communities with the most votes pursuing a new park will receive $25,000 each, and the five communities with the most votes pursuing improvements to an existing local park will be awarded $5,000 each. The full grant contest timeline is as follows:

Submission Period: May 1 - June 30, 2022

Finalists Announced: August 1, 2022

Voting Period: August 1-31, 2022

Contest Winners Announced: September 2, 2022

Bark for Your Park grant winners span 40 U.S. states with thousands of stories to tell. PetSafe recently visited 2018 winner, Pensacola, Florida, to highlight the dog park at Studer Family Children's Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart.

To kick off the 2022 grant contest, PetSafe encourages cities across the country to celebrate National Dog Park Day on May 7. For more information on the program and how to enter your submission, visit barkforyourpark.com.

About PetSafe

PetSafe is dedicated to keeping pets healthy, safe and happy through innovative product solutions. As an industry leader, PetSafe brand offers behavioral, containment and lifestyle solutions. PetSafe brand is owned by Radio Systems Corporation, headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and services over 50 countries globally. For more information, visit petsafe.com.

Media Contact:

Rachel Worley

Senior PR Specialist

615.417.9870

[email protected]

SOURCE PetSafe
WhyHotel by Placemakr, San Jose to open for guest bookings in May

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Placemakr , a tech-enabled hospitality platform and operator, today announced the launch of its newest location, WhyHotel by Placemakr, San Jose. Launched in partnership with local Bay Area developer, Bayview Development Group, the new location marks the company's first property in California. Operating under the brand's unique pop-up model, guests can expect a unique apartment-hotel experience, one that blends the best amenities of home with the best services found in hospitality. Located at the award-winning Miro San Jose at 28 N 4th St. in downtown San Jose, guests will be able to book accommodations beginning in May of this year.

WhyHotel by Placemakr, San Jose is located in the heart of the city and offers abundant opportunities to explore and discover San Jose and the greater Silicon Valley. In close proximity to historic San Pedro Square, there is no shortage of restaurants, bars and nightlife to enjoy. The property is one block from San Jose State University and blocks from the SoFA district, providing art galleries to browse and live music venues, as well as The Paseo for shopping. A short distance from the SJC International Airport and Diridon Station, getting to or from the property is as convenient as the amenities that surround it.

"On the heels of our recent funding and rebrand, we continue to be highly focused on quality assets in amazing neighborhoods to add to our portfolio. With that, we're so excited to join such a vibrant community for our first California project," said Jason Fudin, CEO and Co-founder of Placemakr. "Northern California is a unique area of the country where people come to work and play. They want the flexibility to stay for as short or as long as they like in accommodations that have the comforts of home, making Placemakr the perfect fit. Our guests will truly be able to stay like they're a local, in this gorgeous property located in the heart of everything."

Guests staying at WhyHotel by Placemakr, San Jose will have access to the upscale amenities offered within the apartment building. Including a 24/7 fitness center, outdoor seating and grilling areas, a private dog park and the ground floor Starbucks and upscale Italian restaurant coming soon.

"At Bayview Development Group, one of our core focuses is placemaking in great communities, how fortuitous that we get to do it with the amazing team at Placemakr. Partnering with them was a natural fit. Given their focus on striking that perfect blend of home and hospitality, we couldn't be more excited to bring this concept to Miro," said Matt Conti, Vice President of Development at Bayview Development Group. "We look forward to welcoming guests into our property and creating yet another must-see location for the San Jose community."

Following the company's recent funding round and the launch of the Placemakr brand, the company is pursuing aggressive growth into new geographic locations both with pop-up partnerships, property management agreements, and real estate acquisitions. Placemakr looks forward to announcing additional properties throughout the remainder of 2022. For more information, please visit placemakr.com

About Placemakr

Placemakr is a flexible hospitality living platform, property manager, and real estate investor. Its techenabled operating platform allows the company to blur the line between hospitality and home, delivering the best experiences of both in a single building. Placemakr's curated spaces in hand-picked neighborhoods allow its guests and residents the flexibility to stay for a night, a year, or anywhere inbetween. Visit placemakr.com to learn more.

About Bayview Development Group

Bayview Development Group is a privately held real estate development and investment firm focused on developing high-density, mixed-use projects in Northern California. Our commitment to quality, both in the projects we develop and the partners we choose, creates long-term economic benefit for the communities we are proud to be part of. Visit bayviewdevelopmentgroup.com to learn more.

Contact:

North 6th Agency for Placemakr

Shayla Ridore

[email protected]

401-464-1772

SOURCE Placemakr
PLDT Group announces landmark sale and leaseback towers deal of PHP 77 billion

Major investment by international tower operators represents a strong endorsement of the country's recovery from the pandemic and its long-term growth prospects

Significant efficiencies and improved connectivity to benefit all Filipinos

Smart's customers to enjoy superior network quality, improved resilience, and even better customer experience

Supports the Philippine DICT's goal of improving tower density

MANILA, Philippines, April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The country's largest integrated telco, PLDT Inc. ("PLDT") (PSE: TEL) (NYSE: PHI), announced today that its subsidiaries, Smart Communications, Inc. ("Smart") and Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc., have signed Sale and Purchase Agreements in connection with the sale of 5,907 telecom towers and related passive telecom infrastructure for PHP 77 billion, a landmark transaction that is expected to have far-reaching benefits for all. This pioneer undertaking supports the Philippine Department of Information and Communications Technology's goal of improving tower density which will lead to significant efficiencies and improved connectivity across the Philippines, thus benefitting the country and all Filipinos.

The winning bidders, a subsidiary of edotco Group and a subsidiary of EdgePoint (the "TowerCos"), are backed by international groups with extensive experience in the telecom tower space. Both groups will bring to bear global best practices and technologies in operating the towers which should translate into better network quality, higher resilience and faster recovery from typhoons and other natural calamities. edotco Group manages over 54,000 towers across nine countries in Asia and is majority-owned by Axiata Group (KLSE: AXIATA), a major telecom operator across Asia. EdgePoint, on the other hand, owns approximately 10,000 towers across Indonesia and Malaysia and is backed by DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (NYSE: DBRG), a leading global digital infrastructure investment firm with over US$ 45 billion in assets under management.

Of the 5,907 towers being monetized, 2,973 towers located primarily in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will be acquired by ISOC edotco Towers, Inc. (subsidiary of edotco Group) and 2,934 towers located in Luzon by Comworks Infratech Corp. (subsidiary of EdgePoint).

Concurrent with the execution of the Sale and Purchase Agreements, Smart has also entered into Master Services Agreements with the TowerCos whereby Smart has agreed to lease back the towers sold in the transaction for a period of 10 years. In addition to space, the TowerCos will also be responsible for providing operations and maintenance services as well as power to the sites. Smart has secured competitive terms as the anchor tenant on the towers and expects to benefit from operational and capital expenditure savings. The sale and leaseback will be complemented by a new tower build commitment of 1,500 towers in total over the next few years. This arrangement will further solidify Smart's superior network quality and enhance the best customer experience in the Philippines.

The transaction price of PHP 77 billion makes this deal the largest ever acquisition of assets in the Philippines by international investors. In addition to the intrinsic value of the towers, the transaction price reflects the attractive business opportunities that the assets will provide to the winning bidders including the leaseback arrangement with Smart, the growth prospects from the towers acquired, as well as the new tower build commitment from Smart. Upon completion of the transaction, the winning bidders will become the largest common tower operators in the country.

In addition to resulting in a significant gain on disposal for PLDT, the arrangement is also expected to be earnings accretive from the first full year post closing.

Commenting on the transaction, PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said, "This partnership with experienced international tower companies represents another milestone in PLDT's strategic transformation. We expect to reap benefits in terms of a valuation uplift and capital reallocation with PLDT applying the proceeds to deleverage, further invest in the network, and return cash to shareholders via a special dividend."

PLDT and Smart President and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio added, "Our TowerCo partners, selected after a thorough process, will provide the Group with the infusion of global best practices and innovative solutions. PLDT is now even better positioned to continue our journey towards service excellence and best-in-class customer experience, making us the telco of choice in the Philippines."

Adlan Tajudin, CEO of edotco Group, said, "This transaction presents a highly strategic acquisition for edotco as it diversifies and strengthens our pan-Asian platform with exposure to a nascent, high-growth market with strong governmental support. With an established platform in the Philippines, edotco can play an instrumental role in developing the nation's digital economy infrastructure while accelerating its organic and inorganic growth strategy."

Suresh Sidhu, CEO of EdgePoint, concluded, "EdgePoint is delighted and honored by PLDT's faith in our capabilities. We look forward to working with PLDT in true partnership. We also look to bring to bear the vast experience of our local partners, Comworks Inc. and SMS Global Technologies Inc. We are committed to building a world class operation to expand next-generation connectivity solutions, bridging the digital divide in the Philippines and creating new job opportunities in the sector. The Philippines telecoms sector has tremendous potential, and we look forward to being part of its future."

Closing of the transaction will be staggered based on number of towers being transferred, with the first closing expected in May 2022 and the last closing by Q4 2022.

UBS AG acted as exclusive financial adviser to PLDT and Smart on this transaction.

SOURCE PLDT Inc.
Leading Fast Casual Poke Brand Celebrates 50-Unit Agreement in Canada and First Restaurant Opening in Asia

IRVINE, Calif., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pokeworks, the world's leading fast casual poke brand, announces global expansion moves in Canada and Taiwan. The brand recently signed a master franchise agreement for 50-units in territories across Canada and opened a location in Taipei, Taiwan in March. With this recent expansion, the brand's international presence has grown to three countries  Canada, Taiwan, and 3 existing stores in Mexico. This news comes after a successful first quarter for the brand, which included the rollout of new digital tools for consumers, additions to the leadership team and continued menu innovation. Pokeworks is now poised to be the leading poke brand in North America and has a foothold in Asia.

The Canadian development agreement is with master franchise group Eat Up Canada Inc., which is led by co-founders George Heos and Alex Gerzon. Heos brings over 25 years of restaurant industry experience in Canada and Gerzon has been working with leading restaurant brands in Canada for more than three decades. The pair plans to begin development within the greater Toronto area, slating the first opening before the end of 2022. Their goal is to bring all 50 locations to Canada over the next 10 years.

Heading up the Taiwan location is Next Level Dining, a Taiwan-based company that shares Pokeworks value of premium quality ingredients and the vision to bring American-style poke to Asia. Pokeworks believes there is significant growth potential in Asia.

"Our vision is to be the leading premium fast casual Poke brand in the world," said Steve Heeley, CEO at Pokeworks. "Our partnerships in Mexico, Canada, and Taiwan are clear steps in realizing our vision. We have substantial interest from partners for international expansion which is thrilling, but we're very selective in choosing whom to partner with. Both Eat Up Canada and Next Level Dining are experienced, proven operators with deep knowledge of their markets. The Taiwan dining scene values high quality raw fish, making our product the perfect fit to successfully introduce poke there. Additionally, Pokeworks' current presence south of the U.S. has done well since our first Mexico opening in 2019, and we were ready to expand to Canada, offering vast potential for rapid development."

The poke industry is experiencing massive growth, with the market share expected to rise by over $780 million by 2026 . With worldwide consumer demand, now is the prime time for international development as Pokeworks seizes the lead to bring their premium brand experience to other countries. Poke has now gone global, having carved a clear category in the fast casual space. Pokeworks plans to bring their unique, super premium Poke Your Way experience to consumers everywhere in the US and around the globe.

"Our reputation as 'the leading fast casual poke brand' comes with high expectations that we aim to meet and exceed," said Heeley. "We firmly believe that part of the role of being an industry leader is to expand globally. That expansion planning involves choosing operators who share our vision and commitment to quality poke, and groups like Next Level Dining and Eat Up Canada are the perfect fit to help us build the brand's presence around the world while we still charge forward in the U.S."

For more information on Pokeworks' brand and franchise opportunities, visit https://www.pokeworks.com/franchise .

ABOUT POKEWORKS:

Pokeworks is the world's largest and leading fast casual, premium poke brand. Currently at 65 locations, 85 locations are planned nationwide by year-end 2022. Pokeworks provides a super-fresh, healthy, craveable take on traditional poke bowls, burritos, salads, and sides. The brand serves only the highest quality, sashimi grade sustainable fish, proteins, freshly cut veggies, and hand-crafted sauces. Pokeworks' innovative Poke Your Way menu allows for complete customization to cater from indulgent to mindful. Menu choices include options for gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, keto, nut-free, and raw.

Media Contact: Anna Pool, [email protected] or 847-945-1300

SOURCE Pokeworks
CHARLES TOWN, W.Va., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Potomac Bancshares, Inc. (the "Company") (OTC: PTBS), the one bank holding company for Bank of Charles Town (BCT), declared at their April Board meeting a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, an increase of 12.5% from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The dividend is for all shareholders of record on May 3, 2022 and will be paid on May 10, 2022.

"For the second year in a row, we are pleased to reward our shareholders with an increase to the dividend," said Alice P. Frazier, President and CEO. "The Board of Directors is gratified with our BCT team's resilience and commitment to our founding principles that continue to provide for sound growth in both our balance sheet and profitability."

About the Company

Founded more than 150 years ago, BCT - Bank of Charles Town, also known as The Community's Bank, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Potomac Bancshares, Inc. (OTC:PTBS). With approximately $710 million in assets as of December 31, 2021, the Company conducts operations through its main office, an additional eight branch offices, and two loan production offices. BCT's offices are located in Jefferson and Berkeley Counties (WV), Washington County (MD), and Loudoun and Stafford Counties (VA). The Bank provides various banking products and services including free access to over 55,000 ATMs through the Allpoint network plus online and mobile banking for individuals, businesses, and local governments. The Bank also offers commercial lines and term loans, residential and commercial construction, commercial real estate loans and agricultural loans. The Residential Lending division offers secondary market and portfolio mortgage loans, one-time close construction to perm loans, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit. For over 60 years, BCT Wealth Advisors has provided financial management, investment, trust, and estate services to its clients. In 2019, 2020, and 2021 the Bank was named a "Best Bank To Work For" by American Banker. In 2018, Forbes named BCT a "Best In State Bank" for Maryland.

The Company's shares are quoted on the OTC Pink Sheet marketplace under the symbol "PTBS." For more information about Potomac Bancshares, Inc., and the Bank, please visit our website at www.mybct.bank.

SOURCE Potomac Bancshares, Inc.
Pro AV Market key highlights

Estimated year-on-year growth rate: 6.57%

Key market segments: Type (products and services) and geography (APAC, North America , Europe , South America , and MEA)

, , , and MEA) Key Consumer Region & contribution: APAC at 41%

Pro AV Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 7.31% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 90.51 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 6.57 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution APAC at 41% Key consumer countries US, China, UK, Japan, Canada, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled AVI Systems, AVI-SPL LLC, CCS Presentation Systems, Diversified, Ford Audio-Video LLC, Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd., New Era Technology, Solutionz Inc, Telerent Leasing Corp., and Vistacom Inc. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for the forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Do reach out to our analysts for more customized reports as per needs. Speak to our Analyst now!

Pro AV Market trend

Training for pro AV equipment

Established vendors of pro AV equipment can train users on using pro AV equipment. This trend is expected to gain traction during the forecast period. For instance, Seiko Epson Corp . offers a program that helps engineers, operators, and sales personnel develop expertise in Epson's latest AV technology. This is designed to help AV professionals acquire detailed knowledge of Epson's complete range of AV solutions and experience of the arrangement, maintenance, operation, and marketing of these technologies across the pro-AV rental sector.

Training for Pro AV challenge

Increased emphasis on one-on-one learning

One-on-one learning technique is used by many educational institutions across the world. This learning methodology enables students to learn at their own pace. The rising popularity of one-on-one learning programs, along with the rise in popularity of homeschooling , will have a negative impact on the growth of the global pro AV market.

View a report sample for extensive insights on key market Drivers, Trends, and Challenges influencing the Pro AV market.

Key market vendor insights

The Pro AV market is fragmented, and the vendors are deploying organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete in the market.

Some of the key market vendors are:

AVI Systems

AVI-SPL LLC

CCS Presentation Systems

Diversified

Ford Audio-Video LLC

Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

New Era Technology

Solutionz Inc

Telerent Leasing Corp.

Vistacom Inc.

For more detailed highlights on products offerings and the growth strategies adopted by other vendors, Download a sample report

Key Segment Analysis by type

Products

The products segment will have significant market share growth during the forecast period. The rise in the number of retail stores has driven the consumption of digital signage that uses Pro AV displays. The increase in the number of multinational corporations worldwide will drive the demand for Pro AV products and services.





The products segment will have significant market share growth during the forecast period. The rise in the number of retail stores has driven the consumption of digital signage AV AV Services Platform

Regional Market Analysis

APAC will contribute to 41% of the Pro AV market share growth during the forecast period. China and Japan are the major markets for Pro AV market in APAC. The growth of the education sector will drive the Pro AV market growth in APAC during the forecast period.

Request our sample for additional highlights and key segments that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period.

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Wearable Computing Devices Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2020

Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025

Five Forces Analysis

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by Type

Market segments

Comparison by Type

Products - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Services - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Market opportunity by Type

Customer landscape

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market drivers

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

AVI-SPL LLC

CCS Presentation Systems

Diversified

Ford Audio-Video LLC

Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

New Era Technology

Solutionz Inc

Telerent Leasing Corp.

Vistacom Inc.

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
TORONTO, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- QuadFi, a mission driven global fintech firm headquartered in Canada, today announced that it has entered into an agreement for a new financing facility of up to US $100M (CAD $127M) with Crayhill Capital Management, a New York-based minority-owned private credit manager. The facility will be used by QuadFi to provide personal loans to people with limited credit history, but with a strong current income and a bright financial outlook, including young people and immigrants.

Unlike traditional risk rating models which rely only on the historical behavior and income of customers, QuadFi's novel and adaptive underwriting model is forward-looking and considers a customer's future income and career trajectory. This innovative model is especially useful for customers with thin credit history but bright prospects, mainly newcomers, and younger demographic groups.

Further, the company offers immigrants the benefit of utilizing their home country financial history even after having left. Dr. Manny Nikjoo, Co-Founder and CEO of QuadFi noted, "Canada welcomes 400,000 new immigrants every year  and they deserve access to fair and affordable financial products. Our model incorporates credit data from their home countries, alternative data and open banking to provide accurate underwriting and deliver financial inclusion today. This partnership allows us to take a big step toward achieving our long-term pursuit of fostering financial inclusion and helping our customers, who are young, ambitious and educated, achieve the financial access they deserve. Crayhill understands our objectives, and now we have the runway to accelerate our growth, which will have benefits for our customers, investors, and communities," said Dr. Nikjoo. He added, "Our data-driven approach to lending was created to replace the outdated financial practices that currently lead to inequality of access to financial products for all groups."

"We are incredibly excited to partner with QuadFi and support their mission-driven growth. We believe that their cutting-edge technology and business model will enable them to deliver value to investors, clients and stakeholders across the economy," said Sloan Sutta, Managing Director at Crayhill Capital Management.

About QuadFi

QuadFi provides underserved credit groups, including immigrants and young people, with access to fair and affordable financial products. The company leverages data science to challenge outdated, biased, inaccurate underwriting, combining alternative data from domestic and international sources with proprietary AI/ML modeling.

QuadFi identifies opportunities to address financial exclusion by focusing on the intersection of global migration, financial data, and personal data. Created by first-generation immigrants and proudly based in Toronto, Canada, QuadFi is building a borderless financial future.

For more information on Quad-Fi, please contact Mehdi Ghaffari at [email protected].

About Crayhill Capital Management

Crayhill Capital Management LP is a New York-based, minority-owned alternative asset management firm that specializes in asset-based investment opportunities. The firm was launched in August 2015 and is registered with the U.S. SEC as an investment adviser. Crayhill strives to deliver capital solutions through tailored financing structures. Its asset-based investment strategies draw on deep sector expertise and relationships throughout the structured finance and specialty finance markets. For more information, please visit https://crayhill.com or email [email protected].

Crayhill Media Contacts

Josh Clarkson / Archana Kannan / Ethan Thomas

Prosek Partners

[email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected]

SOURCE Crayhill Capital Management
The new Range Rover brings intelligent lighting functions to the road for the first time. Tweet this

High-tech made in Austria

The DLP lighting system for the new Range Rover is developed and manufactured by ZKW in Austria. For the first time, a 3-component injection molding technology is used, which allows the implementation of a novel daytime running light concept. ZKW also equips Jaguar Land Rover models with fog lights as well as the new Land Rover Defender with main headlights and the Land Rover Discovery Sport with rear lights.

Click to download images of the technology.

About ZKW

The ZKW Group is the specialist for innovative premium lighting systems and electronics. As a system supplier, ZKW is a global partner to the automotive industry. The group develops and produces products based on our motto of "Bright Minds, Bright Lights," combining bright minds with modern production technologies to produce complex premium lighting and electronic modules for international automotive manufacturers.

Our top products include powerful and cost-efficient complete LED systems. The ZKW Group has a total of twelve locations worldwide, with intelligently networked development and production. In 2021, the Group employed around 10,000 workers and generated total revenues of 1.07 billion euros.

In accordance with the corporate vision "Ground-breaking premium lighting and electronic systems from ZKW for all mobility concepts of the global automotive industry", the company's primary goal is to produce top-quality high-tech products and to promote the development of innovative holistic lighting systems.

With our discoveries and inventions, the ZKW corporate group makes vehicles more desirable, more unique, safer, and more energy efficient.

Our 360 degree product portfolio includes headlamps and fog lamps, rear lamps, flashers, interior and license plate lamps as well as electronic modules. Major automotive manufacturers trust their brands to innovative products from ZKW. We are proud of our customers like BMW (BMW, Rolls Royce), DAIMLER (MERCEDES-BENZ Cars and Trucks), FORD (Lincoln, Ford), GEELY (Volvo, Polestar, Lynk & Co, Geely), GENERAL MOTORS (Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac), Hyundai (Kia), JLR (Jaguar, Land Rover), Stellantis (Opel, Citroen), RENAULT/NISSAN (Infiniti, Alpine), VGTT (Volvo Trucks, MACK) and VW (Audi, Porsche, Skoda, Lamborghini, MAN, VW, Seat).

With intelligent lighting systems and innovative styling, ZKW is shaping the look and character of vehicles worldwide.

Contact

ZKW Group GmbH

Sandra Simeonidis-Huber

Group Communication und Marketing

Rottenhauser Strae 8

3250 Wieselburg

T +43 7416 505 2051

[email protected]

SOURCE ZKW Group
AEC selects Red 6's Augmented Reality technology for aircraft integration

MIAMI, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Red 6, a revolutionary technology firm at the forefront of augmented reality and synthetic air combat training, is proud to announce its first international partnership with Advanced Electronics Company, a Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) company. "This relationship is indicative of Red 6's commitment to delivering technology solutions for the U.S. and our Allies. We are honored to join the technical exchange between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, which has benefited both nations for decades, and will contribute to the Kingdom's Vision 2030," said Daniel Robinson, Founder, and CEO of Red 6.

Advanced Electronics Company, a national leader in the field of modern electronics, manufacturing, repair, and maintenance, has exclusively selected Red 6's Augmented Reality platform to integrate into Air platforms. "We are pleased to confirm a strategic partnership with Red 6. Their Augmented Reality System has demonstrated an advanced range of solutions that will be key to the future of our defense and aerospace business, moreover, this partnership will enable and accelerate Saudi Arabia's efforts in support of the Vision 2030 goal to localize 50% of the Kingdom's defense spending by 2030," said Eng. Ziad Al Musallam, CEO of Advanced Electronics Company. "The Augmented Reality system will support and improve training to meet current and future threats," continued Eng. Ziad Al Musallam. While initially focused on defense applications, the partnership also endeavors to bring Red 6's unique and fully outdoor capable augmented reality technology to commercial applications in the Kingdom.

This collaboration will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a strategic regional partner through enhanced training, which has been and continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Arabian Gulf region and broader Middle East.

Red 6 has redefined how warfighters will train by developing Advanced Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS) and Combined Augmented Reality Battlespace Operational Network System (CARBON). Both systems facilitate blending live, virtual, and constructive assets seamlessly into the real world and outdoors, which allows for more efficient and effective training for the Warfighter by enabling users to engage in both one-on-one and more complex campaign-level training.

"This is an exciting step forward for both the U.S. and our Allies, as the adoption of Red 6's technology will dramatically improve the quality of training they will receive. We owe it to them to continue innovating, so they remain the best trained and best-equipped warfighters globally," concluded Robinson.

About Red 6

Red 6, founded in 2018, is the creator of Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS) and Combined Augmented Reality Battlespace Operational Network (CARBON). Red 6's Systems are the first wide field-of-view, full color demonstrably proven outdoor augmented reality solution that works in dynamic outdoor environments. They allow Virtual and Constructive assets into the real-world by allowing pilots and ground operators to see synthetic threats in real-time, outdoors, and critically, in high-speed environments. By blending augmented reality and artificial intelligence and using both the indoor and outdoor space around us as a medium, Red 6 has redefined the limits of how the world will experience, share, and interact with its information.

About Advanced Electronic Company

AEC Established in 1988 and headquartered in Riyadh, AEC is a leader in the electronics, technology, and manufacturing industries. The company designs, develops, manufactures, maintains, and repairs advanced systems and products in the defense and aerospace, information and communications technology, security, and energy sectors. It employs more than 2,200 employees, 85 percent of whom are Saudis, who include over 800 highly skilled and certified male and female engineers.

SOURCE Red 6
MIAMI, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) has scheduled a conference call for 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, Thursday, May 5, 2022, to provide a business update and discuss first quarter financial results. The call will be available on the company's investor relations website, www.rclinvestor.com. To listen to the call by phone, please dial (833) 608-1479 in the US and Canada. International phone calls should be made to (270) 240-0549. The conference call access code is 4274546. A replay of the webcast will remain available at the same website for a month following the call.

You are encouraged to dial-in/register at least 15 minutes prior to start time to ensure your participation.

About Royal Caribbean Group

Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) is one of the leading cruise companies in the world with a global fleet of 63 ships traveling to more than 1,000 destinations around the world. Royal Caribbean Group is the owner and operator of three award-winning cruise brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises, and it is also a 50% owner of a joint venture that operates TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. Together, the brands have an additional 10 ships on order as of March 31, 2022. Learn more at www.royalcaribbeangroup.com or www.rclinvestor.com.

SOURCE Royal Caribbean Group
The funds will bolster Salad's efforts to facilitate Web3 innovation and service exponential data demand through peer-to-peer #computesharing

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Salad , a compute-sharing network where gamers and everyday people exchange idle compute resources for rewards, today announced a $17 million Series A funding round to scale its cloud infrastructure and develop a new enterprise vertical for Web3 innovators. The round was led by Left Lane Capital and Origin Ventures with participation from Kickstart Seed Fund , Royal Street Ventures and Carthona Capital .

With one million downloads, 30,000 daily active nodes, and 100 PetaFLOPS peak processing power across its distributed network, Salad is disrupting the conventional cloud services marketplace with a decentralized alternative powered by the world's idle gaming PCs. Exponential demand is radically outpacing the existing supply of commercially-available compute resources, the world is at peak centralization and the future web will be powered by millions of individuals around the globe. Salad has spent the past four years onboarding latent consumer-grade supply by incentivizing gamers to share computing resources, create a more equitable Internet, and power Salad's workload-agnostic cloud services platform.

With 2.8 billion gamers worldwide, Salad has made substantial inroads in addressing an untapped supply of powerful consumer resources. The open-source Salad desktop application invites gamers to share storage, bandwidth and compute-cycles from their idle PCs securely and voluntarily. To encourage user contributions that power various high-performance computing tasks, Salad offers network participants meaningful rewards based on the amount of resources shared. To date, Salad's dedicated community of "Salad Chefs" has contributed over 8,000 years of processing uptime to support the Ethereum network and other blockchain ecosystems.

"Computesharing is the catalyst for everything Web3 should be. At Salad, we're building a future where millions of individuals can collaborate to achieve new technological milestones, and use the power of personal devices to compete directly with centralized cloud providers," said Bob Miles, Founder and CEO of Salad Technologies. "With the help of thousands of Salad Chefs from across the world, our distributed network has already surpassed some of the world's top data centers. This raise validates our mission to decentralize the cloud, and will make the world's largest computing resource accessible to thousands more cloud customers and businesses."

Having accomplished 10X network growth in 2021, Salad will use this latest funding round to expand its engineering team and accelerate the development of the SaladCloud platform. A new marketplace vertical will allow third-party enterprises to access and scale using Salad's affordable, computesharing-powered cloud services.

"The Salad network is an incredibly unique asset. Proof of work mining has supplied the network a passive income generation stream and Salad is now targeting more specialized, discrete workloads with its powerful computing network. Salad's core offering should appeal to any enterprise clients seeking affordable, elastic cloud solutions. We're looking forward to supporting the Salad team as they and their volunteer community come together to build the world's largest distributed data center," said Derek Urben at Left Lane Capital.

"The future of cloud computing includes individually-owned resources networked together. We're excited to support a team of innovators, engineers, and futurists dedicated to delivering a first-of-its-kind cloud solution," added Brent Hill, Managing Partner at Origin Ventures.

Salad will scale its team from 20 to 70 within the year, focusing primarily on expanding its engineering department, but also seeking to enlist business development experts to help research, identify and onboard more enterprise customers for the SaladCloud distributed cloud services platform. Benjy Boxer, CEO & Co-Founder of Parsec, will also join Salad's board of directors to provide growth strategy counsel.

To learn more, please visit us at Salad.com .

About Salad Technologies

Salad Technologies is building a multi-purpose and entirely people-powered cloud computing platform. In a world where 400M powerful gaming PCs sit inactive for most of the day, Salad's open-source desktop application empowers individuals to earn meaningful rewards from their privately owned hardware. Salad users contribute latent compute resourceslike processing cycles and bandwidthto support third-party workloads on a distributed network, where they redeem millions of games, gift cards, subscriptions, and other digital rewards every year. Salad is the easiest and most trusted way to computeshare.

With thousands of everyday webizens using Salad in 188 countries, the Salad computesharing network has fast become the world's most distributed supercomputer. Salad now aims to disrupt the centralized cloud market by offering comparable, decentralized compute solutions at a fraction of the cost. The SaladCloud platform will soon power cryptomining pools, P2P gaming, VPN services, data synth deep learning, AI modeling, and anything else that takes hard crunching.

About Left Lane Capital:

Left Lane Capital is a leading New York-based global growth-equity firm investing in high-growth internet and consumer technology companies. Left Lane's mission is to partner with extraordinary entrepreneurs creating category-defining businesses fundamental to the human condition and spirit. Previous investments include GoStudent, Masterworks, M1 Finance, Tovala, FightCamp, Wayflyer, Tapcart, and more. For more information, please visit www.leftlanecap.com .

About Origin Ventures:

Origin Ventures is a leading early-stage venture capital firm investing in the Digital Native Economy. The firm invests in elite teams building high-growth software, marketplace, and consumer companies defining how Millennial and Gen Z generations live, work, and play. Previous investments include Cameo, Veho, BacklotCars, Fountain, 15Five, Tock, Tovala, Blueboard, Grubhub, and many others. For more information, please visit www.originventures.com .

Contact:

Avery O'Neil

2057479682

[email protected]

SOURCE Salad
- SeproTec accelerates its growth with the acquisition of German company tsd, which specializes in translation services for clients and sectors with high added value

- This acquisition is part of SeproTec's ambitious growth plan based on both organic development and the acquisition of other companies specializing in multilingual services, technology development and/or intellectual property management

- The acquisition was financed by SeproTec's own resources and bank financing

COLOGNE, Germany, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SeproTec, a company specializing in industrial and intellectual property management, translation and interpretation services, has concluded the acquisition of tsd from the former owners. The current management team, consisting of Dominique and Stefan Puls, will continue to manage the business. tsd is a company specializing in the provision of translation services to industrial companies based in Germany. Its business model is based on service quality. Furthermore, it has a large portfolio of recurring clients with a significant degree of diversification in high added value sectors.

The German-speaking market presents a high added value in the provision of language services, and tsd has a differential positioning in the services provided to large industrial companies with a presence in Germany. With strong sectoral diversification (it is present in the automotive sector, technological sector, energy, engineering and construction and in the medical/pharmaceutical and finance sectors) and has started using artificial intelligence software to assist its clients.

Thanks to this acquisition, which was financed using a mixture of our own resources and bank financing provided by Caixa Bank, SeproTec will generate annual revenues estimated at more than 65 million, be able to pursue its international expansion into attractive markets and expand its client portfolio. From tsd's point of view, its incorporation into the SeproTec group will enable it to continue developing its growth and digital transformation plans, taking advantage of the technological tools and the experience of SeproTec's management team.

This is SeproTec's first acquisition under its ambitious plan for national and international expansion based on both organic growth and on acquisitions of companies specializing in multilingual services, the development of technology and intellectual property management with a differential positioning in their markets.

Dina Freibott, outgoing CEO of tsd, said: "SeproTec has a strong value proposition in the industry, and at the same time it shares our vision and fundamental beliefs as professionals, making it the right partner for tsd, which facilitated the decision to take this step."

Juan Julian Leon, CEO of SeproTec, commented: "tsd has a solid presence in the technological sector and all its sub-sectors, including automotive, commercial and utility vehicles, energy, engineering and construction, as well as in medical/pharmaceutical and finance. This perfectly complements our own portfolio of clients and strengthens our offer of services, especially in the German-speaking markets. This acquisition provides us with significant operating synergies and allows us to continue growing in markets that are strategic for us. Furthermore, we have been very favorably impressed by the talent of the tsd team, and their approach to solutions, processes and clients fits perfectly with SeproTec's mission and vision".

KPMG Financial Advisory and KPMG Legal advised Nazca and SeproTec on the transaction, while Herbert Smith Freehills did the same on the financing side.

About SeproTec

With more than 25 years' experience, and with Nazca Capital as a shareholder since 2021, SeproTec specializes in providing translation and interpretation services and offers technological industrial property management services through its subsidiary SHIP Global IP. The Group has considerable experience in translating patents and has built up substantial specialized databases in such sectors as pharma, health sciences and manufacturing. It also specializes in offering translation and interpretation services to national and international public administrations. The company is international (more than 50% of its sales come from outside Spain) and has offices in Basel, Switzerland, Krakow, Poland and Austin, USA. Additionally, its subsidiary SHIP Global IP, established in 2016, has developed a technological platform allowing global industrial property portfolios to be managed more efficiently. More than 90% of its sales are made outside Spain.

SeproTec has experienced rapid growth thanks to the scalability of the business based on the use of technology.

Press Contact

SeproTec | Marketing & Communications Department | T +34 91 204 8700 | [email protected]

tsd | Marketing & Communications Department | +49 221-92 59 86-15 | [email protected]

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1799987/Seprotec_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Seprotec
LANSDALE, Pa., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SKF, a leading global manufacturer of bearings, seals, and lubrication, has been named an Overdrive Award winner as part of GM's 30th annual Supplier of the Year awards. First presented in 2012, the Overdrive Award is a distinction reserved for suppliers who display outstanding achievement across the Global Purchasing and Supply Chain organization's key priorities. These include sustainability, innovation, relationships, total enterprise cost, launch excellence, and safety.

"We're grateful to be recognized for our tenth GM Supplier of the Year award and the third year in a row in the Brake Foundations category. This year SKF was also recognized with the prestigious Overdrive award for sustainability, emphasizing the joint vision SKF and GM have to drive climate goals throughout the full value chain. We value our continued partnership with them as a customer. For over 70 years, our world-class bearing and seal technologies have been a critical component for many GM vehicle programs, and more recently, we are proud to be supplying GM with bearings for the next generation of all electric vehicles." said Greg Zimmerman, President, SKF Automotive Americas.

SKF was also named a GM Supplier of the Year by General Motors for 2021. This is the tenth time that SKF has received this award and the third time in a row for wheel bearings. The company celebrated honorees at an awards ceremony in Phoenix, Arizona, in March of 2022. GM's Supplier of the Year award recognizes global suppliers that distinguish themselves by exceeding GM's requirements, providing GM customers with innovative technologies and among the highest quality in the automotive industry. This year, GM recognized 134 suppliers from 16 countries with the Supplier of the Year distinction.

"This year's Supplier of the Year event was special not only because it's the 30th anniversary of the program but because it provided us with the opportunity to recognize our suppliers for persevering through one of the most challenging years the industry has ever faced," said Shilpan Amin, GM vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. "These top suppliers showed resilience and reinforced their commitment to pursuing sustainability and innovation. Through our strong relationships and collaboration, GM and our suppliers are poised to build a brighter future for generations to come."

A global cross functional team selected the 2021 Supplier of the Year and Overdrive Award winners based on performance criteria in Product Purchasing, Global Purchasing and Manufacturing Services, Customer Care and Aftersales and Logistics.

About SKF USA

SKF USA Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of SKF Group, a world leader in rolling bearings and related technologies including bearings, seals, lubricants, and condition monitoring systems.

Media Contact:

Terri O'Neill

Director, Portfolio and Industry Marketing

[email protected]

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is a global company focused on advancing an all-electric future that is inclusive and accessible to all. At the heart of this strategy is the Ultium battery platform, which will power everything from mass-market to high-performance vehicles. General Motors, its subsidiaries and its joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac , Baojun and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar , a global leader in vehicle safety and security services, can be found at https://www.gm.com .

SKF's mission is to be the undisputed leader in the bearing business. We do this by offering solutions that reduce friction and CO2 emissions, whilst at the same time increasing machine uptime and performance. Our products and services around the rotating shaft, include bearings, seals, lubrication management, artificial intelligence, and wireless condition monitoring. SKF is represented in more than 130 countries and has around 17,000 distributor locations worldwide. Annual sales in 2021 were SEK 81 732 million and the number of employees was 42,602. www.skf.com

 SKF is a registered trademark of the SKF Group.

SOURCE SKF USA
Meanwhile, many adults, cautious about the price tag, are considering a return to college amid steep enrollment declines.

INDIANAPOLIS , April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Within the past six months, three-fourths of students in bachelor's programs and two-thirds of adults seeking associate degrees who have considered taking a break from college cited emotional stress, according to a new Gallup-Lumina report.

The research also shows 44% of adults who are not currently enrolled in a college degree or certificate program say they have considered enrolling in the past two years.

Gallup and Lumina conducted the latest study last fall. The survey of 11,227 U.S. adults expands on a 2020 study of U.S. higher education that found rising concerns among students about the shift from in-person to remote learning. That research confirmed the spread of COVID-19 had jeopardized student retention, with about half reporting the pandemic was "likely" or "very likely" to affect their enrollment. In 2021, Gallup and Lumina asked students about the ongoing risks of staying enrolled and the policies and programs that allowed them to continue. Those who had left college without finishing or had never registered were also asked why they were not in college to better understand how colleges and universities  and policymakers who support them  must adapt to attract these prospective students.

Mental health was cited twice as often as the pandemic, the cost of college, or the difficulty of coursework as the reason college students had considered stopping out.

Within the past six months, about one-third of bachelor's degree students and four in 10 associate degree-seekers report they have considered stopping out. These are consistent with 2020 levels when the pandemic precipitated steep declines in college enrollment nationally.

College enrollment began declining slowly a decade ago, and enrollments have fallen precipitously during the pandemic. Understanding why people leave college  or do not go at all  is essential to helping colleges and universities design programs that better enable people to earn credentials, said Courtney Brown, Lumina's vice president for impact and planning.

"Enrollment has plunged alarmingly," Brown said. "To reverse this trend, we must understand students' perspectives, especially those of non-traditionally aged students. This includes what barriers they face and the practices that support them. This survey offers insights that can help us meet today's students where they are."

Gallup and Lumina surveyed the following groups of U.S. adults aged 18 to 59 who had finished high school and were living in the U.S.:

Currently enrolled students: 5,215 adults pursuing a bachelor's degree or associate degree.

Pre-COVID students: 2,541 adults who were enrolled in a certificate or degree program after high school before COVID-19 but have been unenrolled since

Enrolled during COVID, not currently enrolled: 469 prior students who have been enrolled in a certificate or degree program after high school since COVID-19 began, but are not currently enrolled

Prospective students: 3,002 U.S. adults aged 18-59 who have never been enrolled in a certificate or degree program after high school

Thirty-six percent of bachelor's program students and four in 10 students working toward associate degrees reported it was "difficult" or "very difficult" to stay enrolled in the 2021-22 school year. Students of color, including Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students, and multiracial students, were most likely to report challenges.

Among those who stayed in college, about half of associate or bachelor's degree program students reported the financial aid they received and their confidence in the value of their education were "very important" reasons for staying in school. Six in 10 students said earning college degrees would allow them to pursue more fulfilling careers or seek higher-paying work.

Less expensive, shorter-term programs also are drawing interest, with 85% of those recently enrolled in certificate or degree programs who stopped out during the pandemic considering reenrollment.

The Gallup-Lumina research shows that tuition and other financial concerns were the chief barriers for adults considering higher education, a constituency that may continue to grow as a higher percentage of jobs require formal education, including college degrees. More than half of adults not in college say the price tag is a "very important" reason they stopped out or never enrolled. Unenrolled adults consistently cited the expense of college, regardless of race, ethnicity, or income level.

"This research confirms many people still view cost as the greatest barrier," said Stephanie Marken, Gallup executive director for education. "Yet, more students need to benefit from the social mobility possible with a college degree or other credential."

About Lumina Foundation

Lumina Foundation is an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. We envision a system that is easy to navigate, delivers fair results, and meets the nation's need for talent through a broad range of credentials. Our goal is to prepare people for informed citizenship and success in a global economy.

About Gallup

Gallup delivers analytics and advice to help leaders and organizations solve their most pressing problems. Combining more than 80 years of experience with its global reach, Gallup knows more about the attitudes and behaviors of employees, customers, students, and citizens than any other organization in the world.

SOURCE Lumina Foundation
HOUSTON, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Surge Energy US Holdings Company ("Surge Energy" or the "Company") announces an increased borrowing base from $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion and elected commitments from $860 million to $935 million on the Company's revolving credit facility ("Credit Facility"). The increases are in connection with the Credit Facility's regularly scheduled semi-annual redetermination that recently closed.

As of March 31, 2022, the company had approximately $88 million in cash and $255 million drawn on the Credit Facility. Pro forma liquidity is approximately $768 million based on the March 31, 2022 cash on hand and undrawn elected commitments as of the close of the redetermination.

As part of the redetermination, the Credit Facility also switched benchmarks to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") from the sunsetting LIBOR.

"Surge greatly values the relationship and the continued support of our bank group," stated Chief Financial Officer James Welch. "We believe the results of this redetermination demonstrate the quality of our assets and the strength of our people."

About Surge Energy

Surge Energy US Holdings Company is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the development, exploitation, production and acquisition of oil and natural gas reserves in the Midland Basin of West Texas, one of three primary sub-basins of the Permian Basin. The Company is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and currently holds approximately 114,000 net acres in the Permian Basin. Based on a December 2020 Railroad Commission of Texas report, Surge was one of only two internationally sponsored companies in the top 20 oil producers in the state of Texas. Surge was the only oil and gas production company recognized by the Houston Business Journal's Best Places to Work Lists in both 2020 and 2021. For more information, visit our website at www.SurgeEnergyA.com.

SOURCE Surge Energy
Swiss Hashgraph Association, established with a grant from Hedera Hashgraph, in partnership with Swiss

Digital Assets Institute (SDAI), to empower startups, enterprises, and governmental institutions worldwide.

SCHWYZ, Switzerland, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hedera Hashgraph has entered into a strategic partnership with Swiss Digital Assets Institute (SDAI)  a professional training and education company  for the delivery of a custom-designed global "Hashgraph Innovation Program" out of Switzerland. Hedera has earmarked USD 16.3M worth of hbar in grant funding to the newly established, non-profit Swiss Hashgraph Association for the ramp-up phase of their Hashgraph Innovation Program, to be delivered by SDAI. This training and innovation program is aimed at empowering innovative startups, enterprises, and government institutions around the world to design and develop enterprise-grade solutions and decentralized applications on the Hedera network

The Hedera network is owned and governed by the members of the Hedera Council, a group of the world's leading organizations responsible for governing the network, operating nodes, and allocating the network's treasury of hbars. Last year, the Council approved the allocation of 10.7 billion hbars (~20% of total supply), worth $5 billion at the time, to further the development of the Hedera ecosystem.

The Hashgraph Innovation Program is structured to be delivered over five years and in three implementation phases. Program participants that qualify and receive a grant from the Swiss Hashgraph Association will go through three development stages, beginning with 1. Learn & Discover (training and ideation workshops), followed by 2. Visualize & Design (design-thinking and proof-of-concept modeling) and concluding with 3. Develop & Deploy (minimum viable product development and integration). Startups with high-potential business plans will be eligible to receive grants in HBAR up to $250,000, enterprises up to $750,000, and government initiatives shall receive up to $1,500,000 in co-investment funding.

Brett McDowell, Chair of the Hedera Governing Council, said:

"As we enter the next phase of decentralization and growth of the Hedera network, the Governing Council continues to look for partner organizations that can help accelerate the adoption of our best-in-class public ledger globally. We recognize that Europe and The Middle East are important markets for innovative and disruptive DLT solutions. The founders of SDAI have experience bringing DLT innovation to those markets through a combination of education and incubation that leverages their network of influential partners across the region. We're delighted that SDAI chose to establish the Swiss Hashgraph Association as a major initiative to promote the adoption of Hedera-enabled solutions, starting with EMEA and expanding globally from there."

In the foreground of the Swiss Hashgraph Association is the digital enablement of businesses and preserving decentralized technology structures for the global community through the adoption of leading-edge distributed ledger technologies (DLT), including funding training and innovation for the benefit of digital empowerment and wider financial inclusion, with a positive environmental, socioeconomic, and governance (ESG) impact.

Kamal Youssefi, President of the Swiss Hashgraph Association, who was previously an initial Governing Council representative for Swisscom Blockchain, said:

"We founded the Swiss Hashgraph Association to proactively empower the community, promote the growth of Hedera ecosystem projects and confirm our commitment towards enabling the build-up of a vibrant ecosystem for DLT transformations around the globe. In close collaboration with Hedera Hashgraph and the HBAR Foundation, the Swiss Hashgraph Association will identify initiatives with the highest potential and enable the development of the most promising projects  offering sizeable grants to empower pioneers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and startups, including assisting large corporations and government institutions to successfully launch their own decentralized solutions, while fostering synergies with other emerging technologies across multiple industry verticals."

Shayne Higdon, CEO of HBAR Foundation, said:

"We are excited to support training and innovation programs via the HBAR Foundation to empower startups, enterprises, and institutions around the world. The Swiss Hashgraph Association will play a big part in fostering new innovation in DLT."

Andreas Barraud, Governing Councilor and Chairman of Department of Economic Affairs Canton Schwyz, said "It's our great pleasure to extend a warm welcome to Hedera Hashgraph and the newly founded Swiss Hashgraph Association in Switzerland. In close partnership with SDAI, we look forward to supporting the Hashgraph Innovation Program out of Canton Schwyz through our business-friendly environment and technology cluster as the launchpad for Hedera's global expansion plans."

Stefan Deiss, Co-Founder & Director of SDAI, said:

"We are excited to bring Hedera Hashgraph to Switzerland and to contribute towards accelerating the broad adoption of the Hedera network, as one of the world's leading and most energy-efficient DLT platforms. We appreciate the endorsement SDAI has received from the Swiss Government through Canton Schwyz and look forward to delivering the Hashgraph Innovation Program, which is designed to promote broad adoption of Hedera and increase its total value locked (TVL) as well as boost its global developer community."

For more details about the Hashgraph Innovation Program, please visit www.hashgraph-association.com / www.sda-institute.com , or simply apply for a grant via [email protected] .

About Hedera

The Hedera network is the most-used, sustainable, enterprise-grade public ledger for the decentralized economy. The platform is governed by a council of the world's leading organizations, including Avery Dennison, Boeing, Chainlink Labs, Dentons, Deutsche Telekom, Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), DLA Piper, EDF (Electricite de France), eftpos, FIS (WorldPay), Google, IBM, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), LG Electronics, Magalu, Nomura Holdings, ServiceNow, Shinhan Bank, Standard Bank Group, Swirlds, Tata Communications, Ubisoft, University College London (UCL), Wipro, and Zain Group.

For more information, visit www.hedera.com or follow us on Twitter at @hedera, Telegram at t.me/hederahashgraph, or Discord at www.hedera.com/discord. The Hedera whitepaper can be found at www.hedera.com/papers.

HBAR Foundation

Founded in 2021, the HBAR Foundation fuels development of the Hedera ecosystem by providing grants and other resources to developers, startups, and organizations that seek to launch decentralized applications in DeFi, NFTs, CBDCs, ESGs, and other sectors. In addition to providing funding through a streamlined grant process, the HBAR Foundation acts as an integrated force multiplier through expert support across technical, marketing, business development, and other operations that are required to scale. For information about the HBAR Foundation, please visit us at www.hbarfoundation.org .

Swiss Hashgraph Association

The Swiss Hashgraph Association (SHA) supports training and education programs across multiple industry verticals. In the forefront is the digital enablement and empowerment of the public through broad adoption of Hedera-powered enterprise-grade solutions and applications in the decentralized economy, including the accreditation and certification. As a non-profit, the association funds innovation, research, and development for the benefit of economic inclusion with a positive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impact. For information about Swiss Hashgraph Association, please visit us at www.hashgraph-association.com .

Swiss Digital Assets Institute

Swiss Digital Assets Institute (SDAI) is a professional training and innovation company focused on enabling and empowering startups, enterprises, and government institutions around the world to adapt and compete in the era of Digital Assets and Decentralized Finance (DeFi). SDAI is specialized in the custom-design and delivery of professional training and innovation programs in close collaboration with academic institutions, multinational enterprises, system integrators, industry-leading practitioners, and government organisations. For information about Swiss Digital Assets Institute AG, please visit us at www.sda-institute.com .

Media Contacts

Zenobia Godschalk

Hedera Hashgraph

[email protected]

SOURCE Hedera
GENEVA, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- "At Synergy Quantum, we are focused on building high impact industry solutions using Quantum Technologies. We are excited with the three recent contracts we have signed with a Swiss Private Bank for a client communication and data protection app, a research and design of a post quantum encrypted secure chip with a major European Semiconductor company, and the development of quantum satellite communication with the Quantum Mission of the Government of India. We are very encouraged by the trust shown by our investors backing us up in our journey to materialize commercial quantum computing advantage in real life applications. This is a wonderful recognition for our highly talented team." Jay Oberai, Founder and CEO of Synergy Quantum.

"We congratulate Synergy Quantum for completing this round of the capital raise. We are very excited by the progress of Synergy Quantum and are proud to support them as part of the Microsoft for Start-ups Program. We look forward to a continued strong collaboration in the future" Philipp Pabst, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft for Start-ups.

At the core of all Synergy Quantum Technologies is our innovative use of Post Quantum Encryption (PQE) security. In 2021 Synergy Quantum produced the world's first Post-Quantum Encrypted future-proof closed communication network, patents filed. The company is expanding towards the banking industry, Government National Identity Programs, secure microchips, and beyond.

We intend to use the current funding round to expand our team as well as to increase the marketing power.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1698971/Synergy_Quantum_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Synergy Quantum SA
Sets in motion complex assembly process of India's first private sector quantum computer dedicated to research in Kolkata

Kolkata, India, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The TCG group is planning to set up a one of its kind university in Kolkata. The group, led by Dr. Purnendu Chatterjee, has committed all the resources that would be required to realise the global scale research aspirations the proposed university has. As a first towards this the group has already set up a centre for translatable research in fundamental sciences. The proposed university will be unique in its concept as it will also be completely focused on translational fundamental research.

With a focus on collaborative research on a global scale, this university will also have its own Quantum Computer, again the first from the private sector in India. The computer, proposed to be dedicated to helping high-end research, is being installed in Kolkata. The complex installation process has already been initiated. Once fully operational, Kolkata can boast of being in step with its fame for striving to stay ahead of the rest in the field of the academic initiative.

The university will strive to:

Create one of the best infrastructure facilities and onboard the best educators and researchers from across the globe, that will foster quality higher education, research, product development and industrial consultancy.



Develop a network with the world's leading Universities, Research Institutions, and Industries that will synergize the collective efforts in contemporary education and research thrust areas and culminate in regional and global wellbeing.



To act as the anchor university to the world's top university departments, research labs, innovation centres, and business incubators who would collocate and cooperate for mutually beneficial goals and objectives.



To be agile and flexible in designing programs and operational constructs to keep pace with the ever-expanding world of knowledge while ensuring compliance with the regulatory guidelines.

The university has already resumed its journey as a research centre called TCG CREST with PhD scholars working in frontier technologies. It's working in the areas of Quantum Computing, Neurosciences, Cryptology, Data Driven Intelligence, and Sustainable Energy. The researches are being led by globally renowned scientists who have joined the initiative from institutions and universities like UC Berkeley which are known for their leadership in research efforts globally. They are all working on ideas that are translatable to industry use.

As an institution, the not-for-profit TCG CREST is especially dedicated to the three Ks: Knowledge Creation, Knowledge Application, and Knowledge Dissemination. The focus is on creating a strong network with highly-reputed knowledge centres throughout the world --- universities, research institutions, technology-driven global corporate entities, and academic communities. The goal is to inculcate a strong culture of continual knowledge exchange through: research, student exchange, faculty exchange, joint projects, collaborative workshops, and participative seminars.

Since translational research will be a prime focus area of TCG CREST University, it is envisaged that working opportunities for more than 200 research scholars will be created every year. It will eventually build up to a large critical mass for each of the focus areas sustaining at over 5000 at a steady state. As a part of the global innovation ecosystem, these research centres along with a university will help curate an intellectual property (IP) base with entrepreneurial opportunities and high-end jobs in the state. It will also provide a technology boost to the local Agro/Food Services sector and result in dramatic improvements in productivity across infrastructure, industry and Government sectors.

Media Contact:

Suparna Pathak - [email protected]

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1800906/TCG_Logo.jpg



SOURCE TCG
AUSTIN, Texas, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ventura Consulting, an Austin-based digital marketing consultancy, officially launched on April 18, 2022. CEO Cristian Ventura noticed the increasing need for innovative marketing initiatives in small and medium wineries in the Texas wine industry. "Traditional services provided by big marketing firms can sometimes be out of reach of the moderate budget of a smaller winery. Our mission is to help Texas wine brands increase their wine tasting reservations, foot traffic and e-commerce sales with strategic, yet cost-effective, digital marketing initiatives. Our vision is to be the most trusted growth partner for wine brands, uncovering the wealth of digital potential that they possess," says Cristian.

Cristian Ventura, CEO of Ventura Consulting

Ventura Consulting provides digital marketing services to the wine industry, focusing on Texas wine brands. Their services range from Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Website Administration, Content and Email Marketing, Location-based Marketing, as well as Paid Advertising on Google Ads and on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Other services include Videography, Drone Footage, CRM Migration and Custom Reporting Solutions.

The main propellant to launching these marketing services, specifically for the Texas wine brands, is the warm people that make the industry. Winery owners and industry professionals are very welcoming of new ideas and strategies that could be executed with modern marketing technologies. Which is one of the main reasons Cristian moved to Austin from Puerto Rico, a little bit over 3 years ago, to learn more about the industry. Cristian recalls: "When I was deciding for a specific industry to apply my marketing knowledge and experience, wine made the most sense because I am fond of many memories made with friends and family around wine. Also, wine has been there since the beginning of history, it was an integral part of ancient cultures and it's still relevant today. I am honored to be a part of this great family of wine-related businesses."

About Ventura Consulting:

Ventura Consulting is an Austin-based digital marketing consultancy dedicated to serving the wine industry. We offer a wide-range of services including SEO, paid advertising and location-based marketing.

For more information about Ventura Consulting visit: https://vc.wine

Contact Information:

Cristian Ventura, CEO

Ventura Consulting

Tel. 787-567-5153

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Ventura Consulting
Due to scheduling challenges from the pandemic, The Tabernacle Choir was forced to cancel its long-planned Nordic tour. With the help of Azamara, the Choir has turned this cancellation into a remarkable charitable opportunity. Azamara will offer two cruises (a seven-night and a five-night voyage, starting June 17 and June 24, 2022, respectively) visiting ports in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Germany aboard the Azamara Pursuit the ship the Choir had originally reserved for travel during its tour. Anyone booking either cruise can support the work of the three charities while enjoying the beauty of the Nordic countries and traveling with the hospitality of Azamara. Guests can also choose to book both cruises for a total of twelve nights aboard the Azamara Pursuit , without repeating any ports throughout the Baltic voyage.

One hundred percent of the posted sales price (excluding any fees and commissions*) from the cruise bookings will be distributed equally between three non-profit charities: CARE, an international humanitarian organization dedicated to fighting global poverty, achieving social justice, and fighting for the equality of women and girls around the world; the International Rescue Committee, an organization working in more than 40 countries and over 20 U.S. cities to help those affected by conflict and natural disasters to survive, recover, and rebuild their lives; and the American Red Cross, an organization providing international humanitarian aid and support to communities in crises around the world. These charities were chosen due to their commitment to providing lifesaving aid to those displaced by ongoing global conflict, as well as those affected by poverty and natural disasters around the world. Guests who book these sailings will enjoy Azamara's immersive cruising experience while also contributing to worthy global causes.

"We are pleased to use this opportunity to honor the sacred directive to love our neighbors," said Mike Leavitt, President of The Tabernacle Choir. "We are enormously grateful to be able to assist CARE, the International Rescue Committee, and the American Red Cross in bringing much-needed aid to those suffering worldwide and express our sincere thanks to Azamara for working with us to create this charitable cruise opportunity."

The first of the two cruises will depart from Stockholm, Sweden on June 17, 2022, for a seven-night journey through the Nordics, with stops in Finland, Poland, Germany, and Denmark. Guests who book this voyage will have the unique experience of spending the summer solstice at sea aboard the Azamara Pursuit. Travelers interested in diving deeper into the destination of Norway can enjoy a five-night sailing departing from Copenhagen, Demark on June 24, 2022, and stopping in Norwegian cities including Bergen, Stavanger, and Arendal, ending in the capital, Oslo. A 12-day cruise option which includes both itineraries is available.

"We are proud to be partnering with The Tabernacle Choir to do our part in aiding global communities in need," said President of Azamara, Carol Cabezas. "We are committed to connecting our guests with the people and destinations of the world, so we understand the importance of helping refugees across the globe receive the care and resources they need."

Pricing for these charitable sailings start at $999 per guest, plus taxes and fees. To book, please visit www.azamara.com/charitycruises or call 855-AZAMARA (292-6272).

* For each purchase of a 7-day, a 5-day, or a combined 12-day Baltic cruise on the Azamara Pursuit, departing on June 17, 2022 (7-day or 12-day cruises) or on June 24, 2022 (5-day cruise), Azamara will donate to The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square the posted sales price less credit card fees of up to 3.5%, and for certain transactions, up to 25% in travel agent commissions. Taxes and port fees are not included in the posted sales price. The Choir pledges, grants and will distribute 100% of the funds received from Azamara, in equal parts, to the American Red Cross, CARE, and the International Rescue Committee. For more information about the humanitarian work of these organizations, visit www.redcross.org, www.care.org, and www.rescue.org. The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square is part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Bookings for these cruises are not available for purchase in Alabama or Hawaii until May 5, 2022.

No portion of the sales price is tax-deductible.

About The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square:

The world-renowned Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square can be heard weekly as part of the Music & the Spoken Word broadcast. This 30-minute program is the world's longest continuing network broadcast and currently airs on over 2,000 radio, TV, cable, and satellite stations worldwide. The 360-voice Choir and accompanying Orchestra at Temple Square are active recording artists with their own recording label which has released over 100 CDs, DVDs, books, and other products since 2003. Their most recent album, Christmas Best, was ranked the #1 Classical Album by Billboard Magazine upon its release. This is the Choir and Orchestra's 15th album to achieve this recognition. The Choir has an expanding digital first strategy with an active presence on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Pandora.

About Azamara:

Azamara is an upmarket cruise line and leader in Destination Immersion experiences. With a fleet of four intimate-style ships, Azamara Quest, Azamara Pursuit, Azamara Journey and its newest ship, Azamara Onward, the cruise line allows travelers to reach marquee ports around the world and dock in smaller, hidden gem destinations. Azamara aims to Change the Way You Sea, through its commitment to creating immersive experiences for guests through longer stays, more overnights and night touring for a deeper and more meaningful travel experience. Guests can experience an intimate hotel at sea with inclusive amenities such as gratuities, select beverages, cultural events and can take advantage of exclusive loyalty membership benefits through the Azamara Circle Program. For more information visit www.azamara.com.

About CARE:

Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE has more than seven decades of experience helping people prepare for disasters, providing lifesaving assistance when a crisis hits, and helping communities recover after the emergency has passed. CARE places special focus on women and children, who are often disproportionately affected by disasters. To learn more, visit www.care.org.

About International Rescue Committee:

The International Rescue Committee responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is at work in over 40 countries and over 20 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future, and strengthen their communities. Learn more at www.rescue.org and follow the IRC on Twitter and Facebook.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the United States' blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

SOURCE Azamara
Overall, the states in the U.S. showed very uniform search volumes and relatively low deviation from the average. In Europe, the deviation was much more significant, with typically northern countries leading the way and outnumbering search volumes in the U.S.

Nordic Countries Leading With Sweden In Front

Swedish people show an interest to research generic terms for sex toys on Google two times more than any other country in Europe and over 3 times more than any state in the U.S. The monthly "dildo" searches in Europe were led by Norway, while the highest-ranking state in the U.S. was Alaska, lagging behind Europe's frontrunner by 36.6%.

Male Masturbators are as Popular as Dildos

While dildos are responsible for roughly one-fifth of sex toys sales worldwide, in the U.S, searches for male masturbators are more popular than for dildos by almost 33%. However, in Europe, the situation is slightly different and the research on male masturbators is 23% lower than on dildos.

Wealth and Interest In Sex Toys

The average income appears to correlate with search interest as well, with lower-income states showing slightly higher interest in sex toys. Europe showed a stronger correlation, but in the opposite direction, with high-income countries showing higher search volumes.

To learn more, please visit https://techysex.com/research/sex-toy-trends/

SOURCE TechySex
DUBLIN, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Wet Vacuum Cleaner Market (2022-2027) by Type, System Type, Application, Geography, Competitive Analysis and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Global Wet Vaccum Cleaner Market is estimated to be USD 1.1 Bn in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 1.34 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 4.02%.



Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Wet Vaccum Cleaner Market stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals.



As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks.



Market Segmentation

The Global Wet Vaccum Cleaner Market is segmented based on Type, System Type, Application, and Geography.

Type, the market is classified into Wired and Cordless.

System Type, the market is classified into Automatic and Semi-Automatic.

Application, the market is classified into Household and Commercial.

Geography, the market is classified into - Americas, - Europe , - Middle-East & Africa , and Asia-Pacific .

Company Profiles

The report provides a detailed analysis of the competitors in the market. It covers the financial performance analysis for the publicly listed companies in the market. The report also offers detailed information on the companies' recent development and competitive scenario. Some of the companies covered in this report are Alfred Karcher SE & Co., Altomech Private Limited, Balzano, Bissell Inc, Craftsman, Delfinvacuums Hako Gmbh, etc.



Countries Studied

America ( Argentina , Brazil , Canada , Chile , Colombia , Mexico , Peru , United States , Rest of - Americas)

, , , , , , , , Rest of - Americas) Europe ( Austria , Belgium , Denmark , Finland , France , Germany , Italy , Netherlands , Norway , Poland , Russia , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , United Kingdom , Rest of - Europe )

( , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Rest of - ) Middle-East and Africa ( Egypt , Israel , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , South Africa , United Arab Emirates , Rest of MEA.

and ( , , , , , , Rest of MEA. Asia-Pacific ( Australia , Bangladesh , China , India , Indonesia , Japan , Malaysia , Philippines , Singapore , South Korea , Sri Lanka , Thailand , Taiwan , Rest of Asia-Pacific )

Competitive Quadrant

The report includes Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc.



Why buy this report?

The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Wet Vaccum Cleaner Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies.

The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry.

The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report.

The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies.

The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's competitive positioning tool.

Key Topics Covered:



1 Report Description



2 Research Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Market Dynamics

4.1 Drivers

4.1.1 Increasing Disposable Income, Rising Hectic Schedules and Lack of Time for Traditional Way of Cleaning

4.1.2 Rapid Growth of Online Platform

4.1.3 Growing Demand for Energy-Efficient and Automated Solutions

4.1.4 Benefits of Industrial Wet Vacuum Cleaners

4.2 Restraints

4.2.1 Low Durability of The Household Vacuum Cleaners

4.2.2 High Energy Consumption of Cleaners

4.3 Opportunities

4.3.1 Rising Demand for Self-Drive Wet Vacuum Cleaners

4.3.2 Technological Advancements in Wet Vacuum Cleaners

4.4 Challenges

4.4.1 Dearth of Awareness in Remote Areas



5 Market Analysis

5.1 Regulatory Scenario

5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis



6 Global Wet Vaccum Cleaner Market, By Type

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Wired

6.3 Cordless



7 Global Wet Vaccum Cleaner Market, By System Type

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Automatic

7.3 Semi-Automatic



8 Global Wet Vaccum Cleaner Market, By Application

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Household

8.3 Commercial



9 Americas' Wet Vaccum Cleaner Market

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Argentina

9.3 Brazil

9.4 Canada

9.5 Chile

9.6 Colombia

9.7 Mexico

9.8 Peru

9.9 United States

9.10 Rest of Americas



10 Europe's Wet Vaccum Cleaner Market

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Austria

10.3 Belgium

10.4 Denmark

10.5 Finland

10.6 France

10.7 Germany

10.8 Italy

10.9 Netherlands

10.10 Norway

10.11 Poland

10.12 Russia

10.13 Spain

10.14 Sweden

10.15 Switzerland

10.16 United Kingdom

10.17 Rest of Europe



11 Middle East and Africa's Wet Vaccum Cleaner Market

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Egypt

11.3 Israel

11.4 Qatar

11.5 Saudi Arabia

11.6 South Africa

11.7 United Arab Emirates

11.8 Rest of MEA



12 APAC's Wet Vaccum Cleaner Market

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Australia

12.3 Bangladesh

12.4 China

12.5 India

12.6 Indonesia

12.7 Japan

12.8 Malaysia

12.9 Philippines

12.10 Singapore

12.11 South Korea

12.12 Sri Lanka

12.13 Thailand

12.14 Taiwan

12.15 Rest of Asia-Pacific



13 Competitive Landscape

13.1 Competitive Quadrant

13.2 Market Share Analysis

13.3 Strategic Initiatives

13.3.1 M&A and Investments

13.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations

13.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements



14 Company Profiles

14.1 Alfred Karcher SE & Co.

14.2 Altomech Private Limited

14.3 Balzano

14.4 Bissell Inc

14.5 Craftsman

14.6 Delfinvacuums Hako Gmbh

14.7 DEWALT

14.8 Electrolux AB

14.9 Emerson Electric Co.

14.10 Eureka Forbes Ltd

14.11 ILIFE

14.12 iRobot Corporation

14.13 Karcher Cleaning System Pvt. Ltd

14.14 Koninklijke Philips N.V

14.15 Nilfisk Group

14.16 Shop-Vac Corporation

14.17 Snow Joe, LLC.

14.18 Tennant Company

14.19 Tineco Intelligent Technology

14.20 TTK Prestige Ltd.

14.21 Vacmaster

14.22 Xiaomi Inc.

14.23 Zhejiang Dongyi Magnetic Co., Ltd



15 Appendix

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/pzzuic

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
"Corey is a transformative hire for us," said Daniel Weisfield, co-founder of Three Pillar Communities. "He is a servant leader who has revitalized hundreds of manufactured housing communities across the country."

"Corey is a top talent in the manufactured housing industry," said Jeff Bennett, President of Vineyards Management Group, which currently owns 135 manufactured housing communities across the U.S. "We could not have done what we did at Strive without Corey," said Keith Gee, former CEO of Strive Communities, which grew to 117 communities before selling its portfolio to a strategic acquirer in 2021.

Wikstrom's hiring coincides with Three Pillar Communities' launch of its second mobile home park fund, MHC Fund 2. The fund has a unique multi-decade hold strategy and will acquire mobile home parks, manufactured housing communities, and RV parks across the U.S. Three Pillar Communities revitalizes the properties it acquires by installing new energy-efficient manufactured homes, rebuilding failing infrastructure, and launching neighborhood programs to improve residents' security, health, and financial wellbeing.

Three Pillar Communities plans to "seed" its new fund with several properties, including a new manufactured housing community that it is building outside of Austin, Texas, a recently-acquired RV park serving affordable housing demand in the Denver/Fort Collins market, and a new manufactured housing community development located in an Opportunity Zone north of Boise, Idaho. "We are able to take on 'heavy lift' turn-around projects and even develop new manufactured housing communities on raw land because we are vertically integrated," said Yoel Kelman, co-founder of Three Pillar Communities. "Having boots on the ground lets us get creative to really create value, and that value accrues to both our residents and our investors."

MHC Fund 2 will be open to qualified Accredited Investors until June 30, 2022. Three Pillar Communities deliberately set a low investment minimum for the fundof $25,000in order to encourage first-time investors to consider investing. Prospective investors can view additional information at www.threepillarcommunities.com/fund2.

"There is so much opportunity within the manufactured housing industry if you are entrepreneurial and if you treat people right, and that's why I joined Three Pillar Communities," said Wikstrom. "We're renovating communities, developing new communities, and breaking the stereotypes about manufactured housing. It's all about delivering value to our residents."

SOURCE Three Pillar Communities LLC
CANTON, Ohio, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TimkenSteel Corp. (NYSE: TMST), a leader in high-quality specialty steel, manufactured components, and supply chain solutions, will release its 2022 first-quarter financial results on Wednesday, May 4, after the market closes on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company will provide live Internet listening access to its conference call with the financial community scheduled for Thursday, May 5, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. EDT. The live conference call will be broadcast at investors.timkensteel.com. A replay of the conference call will also be available at investors.timkensteel.com.

ABOUT TIMKENSTEEL CORPORATION

TimkenSteel (NYSE: TMST) manufactures high-performance carbon and alloy steel products from recycled scrap metal in Canton, OH, serving demanding applications in mobile, energy and a variety of industrial end markets. The company is a premier U.S. producer of alloy steel bars (up to 16 inches in diameter), seamless mechanical tubing and manufactured components. In the business of making high-quality steel for more than 100 years, TimkenSteel's proven expertise contributes to the performance of our customers' products. The company employs approximately 1,850 people and had sales of

$1.3 billion in 2021. For more information, please visit us at www.timkensteel.com .

SOURCE TimkenSteel Corp.
Independent Research Shows the Smarter GTM Company Increases Revenue, While Boosting Sales & Marketing Productivity and Results

SAN FRANCISCO, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Demandbase , the Smarter GTM company for B2B brands, today announces the results of its commissioned Total Economic Impact(TEI) Study conducted by Forrester Consulting. The study's goal is to help enterprise organizations understand the costs, business benefits, and potential return on investment (ROI) they may realize by deploying Demandbase ABX and Advertising Clouds. With the analysis based on a $200 million, 650-employee composite organization, Forrester found that Demandbase delivered 367% ROI in three years, with a net present value (NPV) of $1.94 million, and payback in less than six months. The platform was also found to help increase revenue by close to $1 million and to enable customers to avoid the additional costs of third-party tools.

"We've seen the impact Demandbase Ones has on customers time and again," says Gabe Rogol, chief executive officer of Demandbase. "It's really valuable, though, to have a highly respected, third-party research firm like Forrester conduct an independent evaluation of this impact. Their findings confirm what we've seen to be true, which is that our customers' success in sales, marketing and overall revenue is wildly amplified by using Demandbase."

In addition to discovering ROI and revenue potential, Forrester also uncovered further benefits that organizations can experience when using Demandbase, including:

Marketing productivity gains  By leveraging Demandbase's Account Intelligence functions, ABM teams saved days determining which accounts were most likely to buy and what content would generate the most interest. As such, ABM teams increased their productivity and improved KPIs, such as a 3% improvement in the close rate for marketing sourced leads.

 By leveraging Demandbase's Account Intelligence functions, ABM teams saved days determining which accounts were most likely to buy and what content would generate the most interest. As such, ABM teams increased their productivity and improved KPIs, such as a 3% improvement in the close rate for marketing sourced leads. Sales productivity gains  After implementing Demandbase, sales development representatives (SDRs) saw immediate improvements in their metrics, doubling their productivity. One ABM specialist said her team opened 22 new opportunities in just six months.

 After implementing Demandbase, sales development representatives (SDRs) saw immediate improvements in their metrics, doubling their productivity. One ABM specialist said her team opened 22 new opportunities in just six months. Improved sales & marketing relationships  Interviewees noted that Demandbase drove sales and marketing alignment, with one reporting a 90% adoption rate of account executives (AEs) and SDRs using the tool.

"Historically, one of the most difficult, but necessary, parts of growing revenue is a strong relationship between sales and marketing," says Allison Metcalfe, chief revenue officer of Demandbase. "It's clear through this study that Demandbase not only improves ROI and revenue, but also gets to the heart of an organization by building a bridge between these two essential departments. This creates cohesion and ultimately empowers them to achieve an aligned, optimized go-to-market that puts customers first. This is an incredibly important part of what Demandbase delivers, and what fuels its noteworthy economic impact."

Click here to access the Total Economic Impact Of Demandbase: Cost Savings And Business Benefits Enabled By Demandbase, April 2022, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Demandbase and sign up for the webinar taking place on Tuesday, April 26 in which the Total Economic Impact of Demandbase will be further explored.

About Demandbase

Demandbase is Smarter GTM for B2B brands. We help marketing and sales teams spot the juiciest opportunities earlier and progress them faster by injecting Account Intelligence into every step of the buyer journey and orchestrating every action. For more information about Demandbase, visit www.demandbase.com .

SOURCE Demandbase
The office will serve as an extension of TransImpact's US digital and technology teams with specialists in product development, software engineering, digital marketing and analytics. Teams in the Pune office are at work on innovations for the company's SaaS products that support parcel contract negotiations, logistics network optimization, inventory and demand planning as well as unified business intelligence.

"Today we have the opportunity to work seamlessly with great colleagues around the world, enabling us to better meet the needs of our clients who continue to face challenges with many aspects of their supply chain," Berkley Stafford, TransImpact CEO. "Our team in Pune is an integral part of delivering on our vision to be the leading end-to-end supply chain technology company."

TransImpact is an industry leader offering the first end-to-end supply chain technology solution. The company pioneered small parcel negotiations over a decade ago and since then has helped clients save hundreds of millions in shipping costs. TransImpact has more than 214 employees serving customers internationally and offers SaaS+ solutions and products that enable companies to make faster and better decisions as they optimize their supply chain network. www.transimpact.com

Media Contact:

Will Taylor

Director of Marketing

[email protected]

252.725.9332

SOURCE TransImpact
Chief among those opportunities is the ability to convert currently fielded weapon systems like the M240 belt-fed machine gun, the M134 rotary machine gun, and other weapons initially designed for standard 7.62x51mm ammunition to accommodate True Velocity's advanced, lightweight 6.8TVCM cartridge, a derivative of the NGSW program. This "switch-barrel" capability enables existing weapon systems to extend their effective range by as much as 50 percent and reduce ammunition weight by more than 30 percent with only a barrel change.

On March 15, the U.S. Army posted a "sources sought" solicitation seeking industry feedback on 6.8mm conversion kits for it's widely fielded M240B and M240L machine guns, which are traditionally chambered to fire 7.62x51mm ammunition.

"True Velocity stands by the unparalleled quality and accuracy of our world-class products, manufacturing processes, and IP, which through the last 24 months of evaluation in the NGSW program have generated significant interest from American and global defense markets," said Kevin Boscamp, chairman of True Velocity. "The NGSW program has served as an excellent proving ground for our advanced technology, and we look forward to equipping U.S. and allied forces alike with unprecedented capabilities."

True Velocity's proprietary composite-cased 6.8 TVCM ammunition delivers enhanced lethality, increased effective range, and an unmatched reduction in weight. The LoneStar Future Weapons RM277 rifle and automatic rifle offer maximum lethality in a compact, lightweight package capable of stable and accurate automatic fire, long-range effectiveness, and reduced recoil.

Production of a civilian version of the 6.8TVCM cartridge is also underway, and earlier this year True Velocity became the first ammunition manufacturer to receive certification from the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) for a composite-cased cartridge. The 6.8 TVC commercial variant delivers a maximum average pressure of 65,000 psi with a 135-grain bullet at a velocity of 3,000 feet per second and offers significant weight reduction and accuracy advances compared to traditional brass cartridges. LoneStar Future weapons, in partnership with Beretta USA, plans to launch a semi-automatic version of the RM277 rifle  named the "Amicus"  for civilian shooters, and True Velocity is working with more than 50 other commercial manufacturers to develop and market rifles chambered for the 6.8TVC cartridge.

"The Next Generation Squad Weapon program allowed True Velocity and LoneStar Future Weapons to showcase the transformative nature of our technology," said Craig Etchegoyen, chairman of LoneStar Future Weapons and president of True Velocity. "We see extraordinary opportunity and enthusiasm for our products not only in the domestic and international defense markets, but in the civilian shooting space as well. We are just getting started."

Lightweight, composite-cased ammunition from True Velocity is currently offered online and at major retail locations across the U.S. including multiple configurations of .308 Winchester, 6.8 TVC, and a soon-to-be introduced .223 Remington cartridge.

To learn more about True Velocity, LoneStar Future Weapons and the NGSW program, visit TVAmmo.com.

About True Velocity

True Velocity is an advanced technology and composite manufacturing company based in Garland, Texas. Founded in 2010, True Velocity has more than 300 patents pending or issued on its products, technology, and manufacturing processes. Initially, the company is focused on revolutionizing the ammunition industry. True Velocity's proprietary composite cartridge provides significant logistical advantages over traditional brass-cased ammunition and gives end users unmatched accuracy, repeatability, and reliability, all in a light-weight cartridge. True Velocity products are manufactured in the U.S. in a state-of-the-art facility and are currently available to public agencies, at select retail locations and direct-to-consumer at tvammo.com.

About LoneStar Future Weapons

Texas-based LoneStar Future Weapons is an advanced technology company focused on the manufacture of next-generation defense solutions. LoneStar Future Weapons is a wholly owned subsidiary of True Velocity. For more information, visit lonestarfutureweapons.com.

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE True Velocity
COLUMBIA, Md., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Zurich (UZH), a renowned university in Switzerland, has joined the ranks of Universities Space Research Association (USRA). Elected by USRA's current university members, UZH was formally inaugurated into the Association on March 25, 2022, bringing the membership of the Association to a total of 115 universities.

With 150 institutes and 30,000 students from all across the world and home to 12 Nobel Laureates, the university ranks among the top 10 of Reuters "Most Innovative Universities."

The eligibility criteria for USRA membership includes demonstrated significant contributions in space or aerospace research fields by faculty, and a substantial commitment to a course of studies and dissertation research leading to the doctorate in one or more related fields. Members participate in the governance of USRA through the election of members to the USRA Board of Trustees and establishment of the Association's bylaws.

Dr. Jeffrey A. Isaacson, USRA's President and CEO, said, "We are very pleased to welcome University of Zurich as a USRA member. The University's outstanding workespecially in its space-related disciplinesadds to the collective strength of our Association. We look forward to University of Zurich's active engagement with, and contributions to, USRA's Council of Institutions."

The University of Zurich (www.uzh.ch) boasts associations with Nobel Laureates including Albert Einstein and William Conrad Rontgen. It is well known for its Space Hub that includes:

100 scientists in fields of Earth Observation, Astrophysics, Space Life Sciences. Robotics, Space Economics, Space Law, Human Space Flight

Ph.D. programs include successful industrial collaborations.

Research flight capabilities from Dubendorf Air Base (for earth observation flights and parabolic microgravity flights)

Access to suborbital and orbital flights and International Space Station

Indoor Micro Air Vehicles test facilities and UAV/MAV Alpine Test range

50 national and international collaboration partners

Research topics at the Space Hub include Earth Observation, Astrophysics, Space Life Sciences. Robotics, Human Space Flight, Space economics, Space Law, Space Finance and Insurance, and Ethics, Philosophy and Theology. (www.spacehub.uzh.ch)

UZH Space Hub members have broad and deep experience in working with national and international academic and industrial partners and in private-public partnerships.

About USRA|

Founded in 1969, under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences at the request of the U.S. Government, the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), is a nonprofit corporation chartered to advance space-related science, technology and engineering. USRA operates scientific institutes and facilities, and conducts other major research and educational programs. USRA engages the university community and employs in-house scientific leadership, innovative research and development, and project management expertise. More information about USRA is available at www.usra.edu.

PR Contact:

Suraiya Farukhi, Ph.D.

[email protected]

443-812-6945 (cell)

SOURCE Universities Space Research Association
According to fi-compass research, Spain is the third largest agricultural producer in the EU-27. It has a highly diverse agriculture sector, with a very clear regional specialization. However, according to the surveys conducted among Spanish farmers, high production costs and low selling prices are the central problems for them. As the research states, more than 70% of Spanish farmers applied for financing in 2017, which is substantially higher than the EU-27 average of 30%. While purchase of machinery, equipment and facilities turned out to be the main purposes for bank loans, working capital financing is still an underserved need.

Michiel de Jongh, Chief Growth Officer and Board member of Agro.Club, "As our industry knowledge backed up by recent research shows, agriculture needs innovative technology tools. An Agro.Club recent survey reveals that more than 90% of Spanish farmers and distributors are interested in acquiring analytical tools to better manage orders and optimize marketing programs. With such a reliable partner like Crealsa we're eager to embed financial solutions across the platform to unlock new business and to provide financing for under-serviced market segments. The collaboration is tech-enabled by Toqio, an embedded finance infrastructure provider".

Jose Molina, CEO of Crealsa noted, "Crealsa is the alternative to traditional banking for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as self-employed professionals and Sole Traders. To consolidate this positioning, we have forged alliances with national and international leaders in the Financial and Technological fields like Agro.Club in order to offer an outstanding value proposition to clients." Molina continues, "as a neobank, Crealsa provides Companies and Self-Employed Professionals with agile and flexible financing options with full transactional functionality, providing its customers with a unique range of services for their entire business."

Founded in 2018 Agro.Club is a U.S. based technology company operating in three of the world's largest agriculture hubs. With its platform modules including e-commerce, grain procurement, order management, business intelligence, CRM, and sales enablement, Agro.Club provides digital solutions for input manufacturers, retailers, grain companies and farmers. The company has over 100 major corporate customers and $200 million of annualized transaction value.

Crealsa is the first Spanish Neo-bank specialized on Companies and Sole Traders to offer financial services such as IBANs, cards, immediate transfers, factoring, confirming, loans or payroll advances to Companies and Sole Traders. Since its creation in 2009, it has supported 4,000 customers funding 50,000 transactions totaling around 450 million euros.

Follow Agro.Club on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/agro-club/

SOURCE Agro.Club
Multi Vendor Support Services Market: Growth Driver

The market is driven by rapid changes in the IT infrastructure.

The growing demands of business functions have increased the investments in cloud, IoT, and other technologies among enterprises. The use of such latest technologies is compelling companies to adopt multi vendor support services to efficiently manage and maintain their infrastructure. These factors are increasing the demand for multi vendor support services globally, thereby driving the growth of the market.

Multi Vendor Support Services Market: Key Vendors

The global vendor support services market is fragmented due to the presence of several regional and international vendors. Vendors are adopting various organic and inorganic growth strategies to remain competitive in the market. Technavio identifies the following as the key vendors in the market.

AT and T Inc.: The company offers multi vendor support services which help in reducing the costs associated with virtualized and physical network products.

The company offers multi vendor support services which help in reducing the costs associated with virtualized and physical network products. Dell Technologies Inc.: The company offers multi vendor support services which not only cut costs and increase productivity across IT organization but also lessen the burden on resources already managing too many day-to-day administrative tasks.

The company offers multi vendor support services which not only cut costs and increase productivity across IT organization but also lessen the burden on resources already managing too many day-to-day administrative tasks. FURUKAWA Co. Ltd.: The company offers multi vendor support services that ensure simplified heterogeneous information and communications technology infrastructure management, single point of accountability, reduced complexity, cost effectiveness, and consistent delivery of service regardless of the platform.

The company offers multi vendor support services that ensure simplified heterogeneous information and communications technology infrastructure management, single point of accountability, reduced complexity, cost effectiveness, and consistent delivery of service regardless of the platform. Hitachi Ltd.: The company offers multi vendor support services which provide custom-built solutions, operational efficiencies, flexible timeframe, and technical guidance.

The company offers multi vendor support services which provide custom-built solutions, operational efficiencies, flexible timeframe, and technical guidance. HP Inc.: The company offers multi vendor support services such as HPE data center and hybrid IT support services.

Segmentation Analysis:

The 120-pages report segments the Multi Vendor Support Services Market by Service (Hardware and Software) and Geography (North America, APAC, Europe, MEA, and South America).

Based on the service, the hardware segment will generate maximum revenue in the market. The segment is driven by the increasing demand for new levels of support services. Similarly, by geography, APAC will emerge as the key market for multicolor support services. The region currently holds 38% of the global market share.

Multi Vendor Support Services Market Service Outlook (Revenue, USD bn, 2021-2026)

Hardware - size and forecast 2021-2026

Software - size and forecast 2021-2026

Multi Vendor Support Services Market Geography Outlook (Revenue, USD bn, 2021-2026)

North America - size and forecast 2021-2026

- size and forecast 2021-2026 APAC - size and forecast 2021-2026

Europe - size and forecast 2021-2026

- size and forecast 2021-2026 MEA - size and forecast 2021-2026

South America - size and forecast 2021-2026

Get more highlights on the vendor landscape and key segments and regions in the market. Request a Sample Report

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Multi Vendor Support Services Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 3.51% Market growth 2022-2026 USD 10.07 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 2.88 Regional analysis North America, APAC, Europe, MEA, and South America Performing market contribution APAC at 38% Key consumer countries US, China, UK, Germany, and Japan Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled AT and T Inc., Dell Technologies Inc., FURUKAWA Co. Ltd., Hitachi Ltd., HP Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp., Service Express LLC, XS International Inc., and Zensar Technologies Ltd. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period, Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of Contents:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2021

Market outlook: Forecast for 2021 - 2026

Five Forces Analysis

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by Service

Market segments

Comparison by Service

Hardware - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Software - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Market opportunity by Service

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 MEA - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market drivers

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendor Landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

AT and T Inc.

Dell Technologies Inc.

FURUKAWA Co. Ltd.

Hitachi Ltd.

HP Inc.

International Business Machines Corp.

Microsoft Corp.

Service Express LLC

XS International Inc.

Zensar Technologies Ltd.

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
Doctors pledge to blend medical expertise with the patient experience for better outcomes

NEW ORLEANS, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Gary Hess, the founder and CEO of the Veterans Alliance for Holistic Alternatives (VAHA), announced today that four groundbreaking physicians are joining the VAHA Medical Advisory Board. The Board will bring key medical expertise to fulfilling the mission of increasing the awareness and access to medical cannabis and other holistic alternatives in the veteran and patient community.

"The patient is our textbook. Our doctors will blend their vast medical expertise with a patient-first perspective. They will educate our clients, supporters, policymakers and the public about the revolution that's taking place in medicine and the incredible potential of cannabinoid therapies." Hess said.

"Too many of us who are suffering from chronic conditions are resorting to cannabis only as a last resort. But the growing evidence strongly suggests that we should be applying science of cannabinoids at the beginning of treatment and integrated into a holistic approach to healing," Hess said.

"The medical advisory board will explore and illuminate patient-focused approaches and establish evidence-based parameters for potential treatment options," he added.

Joining the Board today are:

Dr. Hemant Kumar Bid, Ph.D., MS, with over 20 years of cancer drug discovery scientist, cannabis educator, national expertise in cannabis research and pharmacology, faculty member of St. Louis University and the Cleveland School of Cannabis.

Dr. James Smith, a 30-year interventional cardiologist, educator, cancer survivor who is practicing a science-driven cannabis treatment plan.

Dr. Trevor Peck, a summa cum laude graduate of Louisiana State University, practicing anesthesiology, in level 1 trauma and rural medicine.

Dr. Maysa Alavi, a board-certified physician and nationally recognized practitioner in psychedelic therapies and integrative medicine.

( Full Bios Attached here )

"All of the members of the Advisory board share the VAHA passion for connecting patients with information, consultation and access. Their collaboration will have incredible benefit across all of our platforms," Hess said.

The Advisory Board will meet regularly and establish a framework for leveraging current research with deep knowledge and strong anecdotal evidence that can only be gained from working with patients on a holistic basis. Among the major topics, the Board will explore important insights around balance in the human primal functions, as a basis for therapy and treatment. They will make their findings public and engage allies across disciplines in pursuit of transformative approaches to treating chronic conditions, pain and opioid abuse.

SOURCE Veterans Alliance for Holistic Alternatives
The pair will bring an Amazon-like tracking experience to the North American metals market by automating the digital creation of electronic bills of lading benefitting international suppliers and domestic consumers

NEW YORK, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Waybridge , the supply chain operating system for raw materials, today announced an engagement with the Port of Panama City, one of the nation's most critical gateways for the importation of metals. This collaboration is Waybridge's first ever port engagement and will grant the port and its customers access to technology for added efficiency, transparency, and resiliency in their operations.

Situated on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, the Port of Panama City is one of the nation's most important transportation hubs. Since 2003, the port has imported millions of tons of metals, primarily from Chile and Peru.

Static, paper bills of lading and tracking systems can make last-mile logistics a challenge for copper suppliers and customers, with shipments increasingly difficult to track, trace, and predict once they've left the port. Through the electronic creation of bills of lading, Waybridge will provide an improved, seamless experience for all of the port's copper customers. By digitizing the process, Waybridge will unlock the tracking of truck and rail shipments from port to final destinations, all within one interconnected, cloud-based platform.

Suppliers that ship material through the Port of Panama City will get access to shipping information as soon as a truck or rail car is loaded so they know instantly what has been picked up and can inform their customers as needed. Port customers will also have the opportunity to track inbound truck and rail shipments after they leave the port, and access shipping information prior to arrival to improve their planning and receiving processes.

The port will deliver a modern customer service experience to all parties, including suppliers, consumers, and carriers, and create a more efficient operation by replacing manual document management with an automated, digital communication to its customers.

"With so much of the world's copper traveling through the Port of Panama City each year, the impact this engagement will have on copper suppliers and customers across North and South America, as well as the entirety of the supply chain, is monumental," said Scott Evans, CEO and cofounder of Waybridge. "We see this as the first iteration of a long and fruitful relationship with the port as we continue to transform these previously fragmented tracking processes into a digitized, centralized system. The possibilities of where we go from here are endless."

Upgrading from siloed paper bills of lading to electronic bills of lading on an interconnected platform provides numerous benefits for both suppliers and customers, allowing shipment information to be viewed by all parties in real-time on the Waybridge platform. This will result in improved transit tracking and predictability around delivery dates, reduced manual data entry, and fraud prevention. Customers will also get back time traditionally spent scheduling shipments, tracking shipments, confirming delivery dates, and matching deliveries to purchase orders. By automating and digitizing the information, substantial manual effort and guess work will be replaced by transparency and certainty.

"We're very excited to be taking this next step with Waybridge to digitize and automate copper flow into the U.S.," said Damien Bressler, Deputy Director, Port of Panama City. "As an operating port authority, we are always looking for ways to bring more value to our customers and we're excited to continue leveraging Waybridge's expertise in the commodities space."

Waybridge's technology will be available to all copper imports through the Port of Panama City in the near future, bringing the overall ecosystem one step closer to a fully-connected global operating system for the buying, selling, financing, and transporting of raw materials.

To learn more about Waybridge, visit https://waybridge.com .

About Waybridge

Waybridge provides unprecedented visibility into the commodities supply chain, connecting all parties and partners onto a single intuitive platform. Our platform allows customers to have end-to-end visibility into their physical materials transactions. Waybridge blends the expertise and vision of commodities and technology experts to create an intuitive platform that makes the exchange of raw materials smarter, faster, and better. Learn more at Waybridge.com or reach out to us on LinkedIn or Twitter .

SOURCE Waybridge
VANCOUVER, BC, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. ("West Fraser" or the "Company") (TSX andNYSE: WFG) announced today that its board of directors (the "Board") has approved the commencement of a substantial issuer bid (the "Offer") pursuant to which the Company will offer to purchase from shareholders for cancellation up to US$1.25 billion of its outstanding Common shares (the "Shares"). The Offer will proceed by way of a "modified Dutch auction" procedure with a tender price range from US$80.00 to US$95.00 per Share, representing a 1% discount to a 17% premium over the Company's volume-weighted average price on the New York Stock Exchange over the last 20 trading days.

Term of the Offer

The Board has authorized the Offer, which will commence on April 26, 2022 and expire on June 2, 2022, unless extended or withdrawn. The Company plans to fund repurchases of Shares through available cash on hand. The Offer is denominated in United States dollars and Shareholders will receive payment in United States dollars, while Canadian Shareholders may, at their option, elect to receive payment in Canadian dollars.

Tender Offer Alternatives

The Offer will be conducted through a "modified Dutch auction" procedure. Shareholders who wish to participate in the Offer will be able to do so through: (i) auction tenders in which they will specify the number of Shares being tendered at a price of not less than US$80.00 and not more than US$95.00 per Share in increments of US$0.25 per Share, or (ii) purchase price tenders in which they will not specify a price per Share, but rather will agree to have a specified number of Shares purchased at the purchase price to be determined by auction tenders. Shareholders who validly deposit Shares without specifying the method in which they are tendering their Shares will be deemed to have made a purchase price tender. West Fraser directors and officers do not have a present intention to tender any Shares pursuant to the Offer.

Purchase Price

Upon expiry of the Offer, the Company will determine the lowest purchase price (which will be not less than US$80.00 per Share and not more than US$95.00 per Share) that will allow it to purchase the maximum number of Shares properly tendered to the Offer, and not properly withdrawn, having an aggregate purchase price not exceeding US$1.25 billion.

If Shares with an aggregate purchase price of more than US$1.25 billion are properly tendered and not properly withdrawn, the Company will purchase the Shares on a pro rata basis after giving effect to "odd lot" tenders (of holders beneficially owning fewer than 100 Shares), which will not be subject to pro-ration. In that case, all Shares tendered at or below the finally determined purchase price will be purchased, subject to pro-ration, at the same purchase price determined pursuant to the terms of the Offer. Shares that are tendered but not purchased, including Shares tendered pursuant to auction tenders at prices above the purchase price, will be returned to shareholders.

Additional Information

The Offer will be for up to approximately 15% of the total number of issued and outstanding Shares on a non-diluted basis (based on a purchase price equal to the minimum purchase price per Share and 101,589,808 Shares issued and outstanding as of April 19, 2022).

The Offer is optional for all shareholders, who are free to choose whether to participate, how many Shares to tender and, in the case of auction tenders, at what price to tender within the specified range. Any shareholders who do not deposit their Shares (or whose Shares are not repurchased under the Offer) will realize a proportionate increase in their equity interest in the Company, to the extent that Shares are purchased under the Offer.

West Fraser has suspended share repurchases under its normal course issuer bid ("NCIB"), and no NCIB purchases will be made until after the expiration of the Offer, if and when West Fraser determines to recommence repurchases under the NCIB.

The Offer is not conditional upon any minimum number of Shares being tendered but is subject to various conditions that are typical for a transaction of this type. West Fraser reserves the right, subject to applicable laws, to withdraw, extend or amend the Offer, if certain events occur at any time prior to the payment for tendered Shares. The Offer is expected to remain open for acceptance until 5:00 p.m. (Vancouver time) on June 2, 2022, unless extended or withdrawn.

Details of the Offer, including instructions for tendering Shares, will be included in the formal offer to purchase and issuer bid circular, letter of transmittal, notice of guaranteed delivery and other related documents (the "Offer Documents"). The Offer Documents will be mailed to shareholders, filed with applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities and made available without charge on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, filed on a Schedule 13E-4F with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and made available without charge on EDGAR at www.sec.gov, and posted on the Company's website at www.westfraser.com.

Computershare Investor Services Inc. has been engaged by West Fraser to act as depository for the Offer. Shareholders who have questions regarding the Offer or require any assistance tendering Shares may contact Computershare Investor Services by telephone at 1-800-564-6253 (North America) or 514-982-7555 (International), or by e-mail at [email protected].

West Fraser has not engaged a dealer manager for the Offer in Canada or for the United States but reserves the right to do so before the Offer expires.

The Offer referred to in this news release has not yet commenced. This news release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell shares. The solicitation and the offer to buy shares will only be made pursuant to the Offer Documents that are filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The offer will not be made to, nor will tenders be accepted from or on behalf of, holders of Shares in any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance of offers to sell Shares would not be in compliance with the laws of that jurisdiction. None of West Fraser, its Board of Directors or the depositary makes any recommendation to shareholders as to whether to tender or refrain from tendering any or all of their Shares pursuant to the Offer or the purchase price or prices at which shareholders may choose to tender Shares. Shareholders are strongly urged to read the Offer Documents carefully and to consult with their financial, tax and legal advisors prior to making any decision with respect to the Offer.

About West Fraser

West Fraser is a diversified wood products company with more than 60 facilities in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. From responsibly sourced and sustainably managed forest resources, the Company produces lumber, engineered wood products (OSB, LVL, MDF, plywood, and particleboard), pulp, newsprint, wood chips, other residuals, and renewable energy. West Fraser's products are used in home construction, repair and remodelling, industrial applications, papers, tissue, and box materials.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements as to the Company's current intentions regarding commencement of the Offer, the timing, terms and conditions of the Offer, and the ultimate purchase price, the number of Shares purchased and the amount of capital returned to shareholders under the Offer. Any such forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to us and are based on assumptions and analyses made by us in light of our experience and our perception of historical trends and current conditions. Readers should also refer to the risk factors set forth in the Company's annual information form and management's discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2021, each dated February 15, 2022, available at SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and EDGAR (www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml). There can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which forward-looking statements are based will be realized. Actual results may differ, and the difference may be material and adverse to the Company and its shareholders.

SOURCE West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.
Wheelhouse raises $16M from NEA, taking revenue management & financial intelligence software for flex-rentals worldwide. Tweet this

Today, Wheelhouse's platform empowers businesses that are building in new brands & businesses at the convergence of the accommodations ($1 trillion in annual revenue) and residential real estate space (a $265 trillion asset class).

Therefore, Wheelhouse's customer base manages listings ranging from single-family homes, to resorts, to multi-family buildings & even boutique hotels, all of whom are addressing the needs of a growing traveler demo that seeks short & mid-length (1 - 100+ days) accommodations, in spacious, furnished & amenity rich spaces.

"We believe travelers & residents alike will continue to seek flexible travel & rental options that enable them to live & work anywhere," said Andrew Kitchell, Wheelhouse founder & CEO. "Wheelhouse builds technology that helps businesses in our space thrive, so they can deliver unique & amazing experiences to the guests & residents who stay with them. In 2021, we helped our customers increase revenue by an average of 21%, by improving both revenue from & the utilization of their spaces. With our new financing round, Wheelhouse is even better positioned to deliver professional operators the software & service-level they both need and deserve."

The funding news follows the recent launch of "Wheelhouse Worldwide," a data & software initiative that expanded Wheelhouse's presence from being available in major markets in 42 countries, to being available in any market, in 180+ countries.

In 2021, Wheelhouse Pro was named "Innovation of the Year" in 2021 at DARM (Data and Revenue Management), the industry's leading data & technology event.

With this financing, Wheelhouse will continue to invest in the tools & features to drive their core revenue management offering.

In addition, Wheelhouse will focus development efforts on addressing the needs of larger clients, who continue to flock to Wheelhouse's scalable & easy-to-use platform.

And, Wheelhouse will expand investments into research & software that enables corporate & mid-length stay operators to maximize revenue from their portfolios. With the rapid rise of 30+ day to 10 month stays, Wheelhouse's unique pricing engine is perfectly positioned to help operators drive stronger performance from this increasingly important category.

"Wheelhouse shares our enthusiasm for maintaining strong conviction for cutting-edge innovation  despite overwhelming challenges," said Rick Yang, general partner, New Enterprise Associates. "Their technology and collaborative approach have a lot of potential for the future generation of rental tech. We're excited to work with Wheelhouse on their mission to produce category-defining software."

In 2021, Wheelhouse experienced 150% growth, partly based on their success in being named "Innovation of the Year" as voted by their major target clients - large, short-term rental operators.

In addition to its SMB & enterprise customers, Wheelhouse also now powers more than 12 software products via its pricing & demand-alert APIs.

"With this financing behind us, Wheelhouse is positioned to deliver category-defining software to our customers in 2022 and beyond," said Kitchell. "In Q1 of this year, our product team shipped 30+ new product enhancements in just 90 days. Now, we're positioned to scale our product team, in order to further develop our category's most trusted & powerful pricing & financial intelligence platform."

About Wheelhouse

Wheelhouse is a remote-first team founded in San Francisco in 2014. From its inception the company has developed premier software & operations teams in the short-term rental space. Currently the company is focused on delivering pricing & financing intelligence software to empower professional operators in the short-term, flex, & mid-length rental categories - the fastest growing segment of accommodations. www.usewheelhouse.com

About NEA

New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a global venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. With nearly $24 billion in cumulative committed capital since the firm's founding in 1977, NEA invests in technology and healthcare companies at all stages in a company's lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm's track record of investing includes more than 260 portfolio company IPOs and more than 430 mergers and acquisitions. www.nea.com

SOURCE Wheelhouse
Master-Planned Virtual World Built on NFT Worlds and Ethereum Blockchain Sells Out 250 Luxury Villas After March 15 Sale of 3,000 NFT Land Plots

AUSTIN, Texas, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- White Sands today announced it has raised $8 million for its new master-planned island metaverse through two mints, the most recent on April 11. After a 1,500 ETH sellout of initial NFT land plots on March 15, White Sands buyers purchased the entire available inventory of 250 villas in the virtual community in the subsequent mint. The team has already made multiple significant investments to build out its virtual world.

White Sands is a new metaverse ecosystem built on NFT Worlds and the Ethereum blockchain as a luxury island paradise. Owners of property in the White Sands metaverse will gain access to exclusive, high-end homes that can be personalized with furniture, vehicles, pets and NFTs. Owners and visitors will enjoy not only a host of unique experiences within White Sands, but also the chance to connect to innovations across hundreds of other NFT Worlds.

"The rise of social media changed the way that people interact online. The metaverse is an inevitable evolution," stated Adam Hollander, co-founder of White Sands. "White Sands will be a place where people can meet, interact, play, learn, work, conduct commerce and do a variety of things that they otherwise might do in the real world."

To further facilitate White Sands development, the team has significantly expanded its own cross-functional team. In addition, the White Sands has invested $1.25 million to purchase 36 NFT Worlds, ensuring virtually unlimited capacity to build out and evolve its metaverse.

"NFT Worlds is built on the Minecraft engine, which is currently used by more than 140 million people every month," stated Blockchain Brown, co-founder of White Sands. "That means millions of potential users who can seamlessly access our metaverse and begin enjoying everything White Sands has to offer."

Purchasers in the initial White Sands land mint have already experienced a 30% increase in NFT value since March 15; of these, a number have already sold on the secondary market for a total of $5.5 million (1,800 ETH). Further proof of the White Sands momentum can be seen in the 24,000 Discord participants who actively follow the project.

White Sands is expected to launch in a matter of weeks, with an exact date to be announced.

About White Sands

White Sands (https://whitesands.game) is a luxurious master-planned island metaverse ecosystem proudly built on NFT Worlds and the Ethereum blockchain. Land and homeowners of White Sands can enjoy multitudes of ways to customize the world with furniture, vehicles, pets and more. Guests and visitors, as well as White Sands land owners, can take part in a variety of experiences across White Sands as well as hundreds of other NFT World metaverses.

SOURCE White Sands
WorkForce Software presents its WorkForce Suite, a proven and award-winning workforce management solution that delivers the best employee experience and the best return on investment to its global customers

LONDON, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the first global provider of integrated employee experience and workforce management solutions, WorkForce Software announces it will attend the Retail Technology Show in London, United Kingdom on 26 and 27 April, 2022. The Retail Technology Show brings together Europe's most forward-thinking retailers and leading tech innovators and is happening at Olympia London in Kensington, United Kingdom. WorkForce Software welcomes attendees from across Europe and is a key sponsor of the event, offering on-site live demonstrations of their award-winning workforce management solution, WorkForce Suite, from their stand, 6A28.

Aimed at retailers both in-store and online, Retail Technology Show will help businesses thrive in the highly disruptive retail sector. It is the must attend event for retail and hospitality organisations looking for the right tools, solutions and advice on how to run their business more effectively, more efficiently and more profitably resulting in seamless multichannel operations and enhanced customer experience.

WorkForce Software is the premier sponsor of the Innovation & Technology track at this year's Retail Technology Show. Senior Vice President of EMEA at WorkForce Software, Steve Tonks, will be opening the event on 26 April, in Theatre B at 9:37 AM with a welcome address. Tonks will also be leading a panel discussion with Oliver Pickup, Freelance Technology & Business Journalist, titled "Driving Retail Employee Engagement And Retention Through New Innovations In Modern Workforce Management" in Theatre B at 11:30 AM. Retail leaders will come together during this super-charged panel discussion to learn how workforce management innovation has been harnessed by the world's leading brands to drive employee engagement, productivity and wellbeing during the global pandemic. Tonks and Pickup will even lay future groundwork with discussions about how workforce management will develop by 2025 and emphasising what retailers should be doing today to prepare.

"Retailers are on the frontlines of the 'Great Resignation' as their deskless workers resign in search of a better work-life balance, higher pay and more flexibility. There's an urgency for retailers to improve retail business results and make their employees feel heard, valued and engaged at work," said Steve Tonks, Senior Vice President of EMEA at WorkForce Software. "Modernising retailers' workforce management technology, and creating an engaged and inclusive workforce, begins with creating the best employee experienceone that takes a more human-centric approach to balancing employer and employee needs and instantly connects a workforce wherever they are, no matter if they work behind a desk or have a critical deskless role in retail interfacing with customers or delivering goods and services."

Visit WorkForce Software in stand 6A28 at Retail Technology Show to see a demo of its award-winning WorkForce Suite, designed to support the needs of retailers looking for a modern solution to elevate and improve their employee experience (EX). WorkForce Software introduced enhancements to its WorkForce Suite in 2021, delivering new capabilities to create dramatically better employee experiences by leveraging data and advanced analytics to meet the needs of modern workers and quickly deliver valuable results to its global customers.

WorkForce Software and its WorkForce Suite were recently recognised by industry analyst groups with distinguished honors including: WorkForce Software was named a Gold Winner in the Most Innovative Company of the Year Best in Biz Awards 2021 for the Company's innovative and modern workforce management and employee experience platform; WorkForce Software was a Winner in the 2021 Brandon Hall Group Excellence in Technology Awards and received top honors for product innovation and value realised by its customers with its modern workforce management and integrated employee experience platform in the 'Best Advance in Emerging Workforce Management' category; WorkForce Software was also recognised by Ventana Research as Exemplary Value Index Leader in six categories for creating the best customer experience and delivering the best return on investment to its global customers; and WorkForce Software also earned Top Leader Placement in Info Tech's Software Reviews Workforce Management  Enterprise Data Quadrant Report 2021 , the Company's end-users' evaluations and feedback earned them the #1 leader position for Best Workforce Management  Enterprise (WFM) recognising their innovative capabilities and modern workforce management product features.

Follow WorkForce Software's Retail Technology Show team as they document their experience on social media by following the hashtags #RTS2022 and #MakingWorkEasy.

About WorkForce Software

WorkForce Software is the first global provider of workforce management solutions with integrated employee experience capabilities. The company's WorkForce Suite adapts to each organisation's needsno matter how unique their pay rules, labour regulations and scheduleswhile delivering a breakthrough employee experience at the time and place work happens. Enterprise-grade and future-ready, WorkForce Software is helping some of the world's most innovative organisations optimise their workforce, protect against compliance risks and increase employee engagement to unlock new potential for resiliency and optimal performance. Whether your employees are deskless or office workers, unionised, full-time, part-time or seasonal, WorkForce Software makes managing your global workforce easy, less costly and more rewarding for everyone. For more information, please visit www.workforcesoftware.com.

Media Contact

Lisa Hajra, WorkForce Software

[email protected]

SOURCE WorkForce Software
In the final days of SmartTab's StartEngine equity crowdfunding campaign, Tina Aswani Omprakash will discuss the needs of people suffering from Crohn's disease and other chronic illnesses.

DENVER , April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SmartTab is a digital health startup and is continuing its healthtech innovation through patient-centered drug delivery with an upcoming webinar.

Tina Aswani Omprakash, an award-winning blogger who writes Own Your Crohn's is going to share her insight and hope for a future with drug delivery that's more patient-centric on Thursday, April 21, 11 a.m. MSTregister here .

Tina will courageously share her powerful story of living with Crohn's disease and speak to the needs of patients in today's healthcare system. The webinar will explore how healthcare providers can fuel patient-centered innovation and develop breakthrough technologies that tackle the unmet needs of IBD/Crohn's patients. Sacha Francois Heppell, Chief Marketing Officer of SmartTab will lead a fireside chat and an insightful Q+A session with Tina and the founders of SmartTab.

SmartTab opened up investments to the public to accelerate the production of its advanced drug delivery platforms through its StartEngine campaign. With their ethos vested in the empowerment of patients, this funding strategy gives individual investors more access and direct engagement.



Crowdfunding is unique because it offers an opportunity for investors, both large and small, to join SmartTab's mission to provide novel administration routes and effective therapies that improve patient lives. Participants in this crowdfunding enjoy direct ownership of the digital drug delivery startup.

"SmartTab is all about creating more effective ways to deliver medicationwe've opened up an opportunity for early investors to have a stake in our company and join us in causing a paradigm shift to patient-centric drug delivery."

Robert Niichel, Founder and CEO

SmartTab's StartEngine campaign will secure additional capital to increase its capacity to establish additional pharmaceutical partnerships, move through clinical studies and FDA submission to optimize the way medications are delivered.

Tina Aswani Omprakash's webinar continues SmartTab's efforts to pioneer drug delivery through equitable, caring, and patient-centric innovation.



About SmartTab

Veloce Corporation (dba "SmartTab" or the "Company") is currently engaged in the design, development and validation of next-generation ingestible capsule drug delivery systems ( http://www.smarttab.co ). Based in Denver, Colorado, it operates from its world-class innovation center for patient-centered delivery systems in various stages of clinical trials and FDA submission.

About StartEngine

StartEngine is committed to revolutionizing the ways companies raise capital through the JOBS Act and helping entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. StartEngine Crowdfunding Inc. is not a broker-dealer, funding portal or investment adviser. StartEngine Capital, LLC is a funding portal registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). StartEngine Primary LLC is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and FINRA/SIPC.

Media Contact:

Sacha Heppell

[email protected]

Disclaimer: The SmartTab Drug Delivery Platform is a candidate medical product and uses are not approved, cleared, or licensed under sections 505, 510(k), and/or 515 of the FD&C Act. Investigational and not available for commercial sale.

SOURCE SmartTab
DUBLIN, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Agricultural Haying and Forage Machinery Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global agricultural haying and forage machinery market grew at a CAGR of around 6% during 2015-2020. Agricultural haying and forage machinery comprise balers, disc mowers and mower conditioners, forage harvestors, rakes, tedders, blowers, storage boxes, and moisture sensors. It is economical, labor efficient and is available in different sizes and capacities, depending on the requirement of the end users. It turns perishable forage into a dry product that can be safely stored and easily transported. It also reduces the moisture content while keeping dry matter and nutrients losses to a minimum.



The increasing automation in the agriculture industry, in confluence with the rising demand for plant-based feed for animals, represents one of the key factors bolstering the market growth. Apart from this, governing agencies of various countries are introducing initiatives and providing subsidies in the form of direct payments, crop insurance and loan to support farmers. This, along with the growing concerns about food security, is promoting the adoption of agricultural haying and forage machinery to meet the increasing needs of farmers.

Furthermore, the market is experiencing growth on account of the emerging trend of precision farming that helps sustain the farm and enables greater adaptability of agricultural haying and forage machinery. Moreover, high labor costs or a lack of labor force is escalating the demand for agricultural haying and forage machinery. Besides this, the leading market players are introducing high-capacity product variants with new features and innovations, which, in turn, is anticipated to provide a positive outlook to the market. Looking forward, the publisher expects the global agricultural haying and forage machinery market to exhibit moderate growth during the next five years.

Competitive Landscape:

The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being AGCO Corporation, CLAAS, CNH Industrial, Deere & Company (John Deere), Farm King, Krone North America Inc. (Bernard Krone Holding Company), Kubota Corporation, Kuhn Group (Bucher Industries AG) and Yanmar Company Limited.



Key Questions Answered in This Report:

How has the global agricultural haying and forage machinery market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global agricultural haying and forage machinery market?

What are the key regional markets?

What is the breakup of the market based on the machinery type?

What is the breakup of the market based on the sales channel?

What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry?

What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry?

What is the structure of the global agricultural haying and forage machinery market and who are the key players?

What is the degree of competition in the industry?

Key Topics Covered:



1 Preface



2 Scope and Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends



5 Global Agricultural Haying and Forage Machinery Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Market Performance

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Market Forecast



6 Market Breakup by Machinery Type

6.1 Mowers

6.1.1 Market Trends

6.1.2 Market Forecast

6.2 Conditioners

6.2.1 Market Trends

6.2.2 Market Forecast

6.3 Balers

6.3.1 Market Trends

6.3.2 Market Forecast

6.4 Forage Harvestors

6.4.1 Market Trends

6.4.2 Market Forecast

6.5 Others

6.5.1 Market Trends

6.5.2 Market Forecast



7 Market Breakup by Sales Channel

7.1 OEMs

7.1.1 Market Trends

7.1.2 Market Forecast

7.2 Aftermarket

7.2.1 Market Trends

7.2.2 Market Forecast



8 Market Breakup by Region



9 SWOT Analysis



10 Value Chain Analysis



11 Porters Five Forces Analysis



12 Price Analysis



13 Competitive Landscape

13.1 Market Structure

13.2 Key Players

13.3 Profiles of Key Players

13.3.1 AGCO Corporation

13.3.1.1 Company Overview

13.3.1.2 Product Portfolio

13.3.1.3 Financials

13.3.1.4 SWOT Analysis

13.3.2 CLAAS

13.3.2.1 Company Overview

13.3.2.2 Product Portfolio

13.3.3 CNH Industrial

13.3.3.1 Company Overview

13.3.3.2 Product Portfolio

13.3.3.3 Financials

13.3.4 Deere & Company (John Deere)

13.3.4.1 Company Overview

13.3.4.2 Product Portfolio

13.3.4.3 Financials

13.3.4.4 SWOT Analysis

13.3.5 Farm King

13.3.5.1 Company Overview

13.3.5.2 Product Portfolio

13.3.6 Krone North America Inc. (Bernard Krone Holding Company)

13.3.6.1 Company Overview

13.3.6.2 Product Portfolio

13.3.7 Kubota Corporation

13.3.7.1 Company Overview

13.3.7.2 Product Portfolio

13.3.7.3 Financials

13.3.7.4 SWOT Analysis

13.3.8 Kuhn Group (Bucher Industries AG)

13.3.8.1 Company Overview

13.3.8.2 Product Portfolio

13.3.8.3 Financials

13.3.9 Yanmar Company Limited

13.3.9.1 Company Overview

13.3.9.2 Product Portfolio

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/cp2c2b

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
DUBLIN, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Novel Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Devices Market, Distribution by Type of Drug Eluted, Stent Material, and Key Geographical Regions: Industry Trends and Global Forecasts, 2022-2035" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report features an extensive study of the current landscape, offering an informed opinion on the likely adoption of cardiovascular drug eluting stents in the healthcare domain, till 2035. The report features an in-depth analysis, highlighting the capabilities of various stakeholders engaged in this market space.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are reported to be one of the leading causes of deaths across the globe, surpassing conditions, such as cancer and respiratory disorders. According to the WHO, around one third of the annual global deaths (an estimated 18 million) can be attributed to cardiac disorders.

Specifically, coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common form of cardiovascular disorder; around 11 million deaths were linked to this indication in 2020. It is worth mentioning that, in 2020 (post the onset of the pandemic), a more than 3% increase in the deaths related to heart diseases was reported. Further, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the financial burden (in terms of annual medical costs and loss of productivity) associated with cardio vascular diseases is expected to be surpass USD 1,000 billion, in 2030.

In order to prevent the critical effects of vessel narrowing and plaque buildup in arteries, various coronary interventional devices are being used; cardiovascular stents have emerged as one of the most preferred solutions to mitigate the aforementioned concerns. Traditionally, bare-metal stent (BMS) was used extensively to open the blocked passages and restore adequate blood flow to the heart. In recent years, a shift in preference has been observed towards the use of drug-eluting stent (DES), which are coated with a polymer carrying an antiproliferative drug.

Such stents have been demonstrated to reduce / prevent in-stent restenosis (re-narrowing of the arteries previously opened using angioplasty), which was a major complication associated with the use of bare-metal stents. Drug eluting stents are considered to be revolutionary in the interventional cardiology domain, as they enable improved revascularization rates and reduced risk of thrombosis.

Presently, over 90 cardiovascular drug eluting stents are being offered by around 40 players located across the globe. Majority of such devices employ the use of metals, such as platinum chromium and stainless steel. Further, the patents focused on cardiovascular drug eluting stents and associated technologies have been filed / granted at a CAGR of 13%, in the past two decades. In this context, it is important to note that, over the past few years, there have been significant innovations in cardiovascular therapeutics domain, in terms of development of advanced bioresorbable stents, drug combinations, polymer and nanomaterial coatings, to further increase the safety and efficacy of these treatment options.

For instance, recently, an implantable biocompatible stent containing miniaturized ultrasonic transducers have been proposed by a group of researchers, which can be used for real-time monitoring of restenosis in the patients. Moreover, recent advancements related to the use of augmented reality and deep learning can enable the development of patient-specific stents, paving the way for personalized-treatment for patients suffering from cardiovascular disorders. Given the ongoing pace of innovation in this field, adoption of cutting-edge technologies by device developers, the ever-increasing incidence of heart diseases and the rise in demand for associated treatments, we believe that the cardiovascular drug eluting stent market is likely to evolve at a rapid pace, over the coming years.

Amongst other elements, the report includes:

A detailed overview of the current market landscape of the players engaged in developing / manufacturing cardiovascular drug eluting stents, including information on their respective year of establishment, company size (in terms of number of employees), number of products offered and location of headquarters. Further, it provides a detailed assessment of the overall landscape of over 90 cardiovascular drug eluting stents, based on several relevant parameters, such as type of eluted drug, type of stent material, post dilatation limit, stent length, stent diameter, nominal pressure, rated burst pressure and administered drug concentration.

An in-depth analysis, highlighting the contemporary market trends, using five schematic representations, including a heat map representation (based on type of drug eluted and administered drug concentration), a stacked bar chart representation (by the type of drug eluted and stent material), a tree map representation (based on maximum stent length and maximum stent diameter), a 4D bubble chart representation comparing the players engaged in cardiovascular drug eluting stents domain (based on several relevant parameters (such as year of establishment, company size, number of products offered and location of headquarters)) and a grid representation (based on company size, number of products offered, maximum stent length, maximum stent diameter and location of headquarters).

An insightful company competitiveness analysis of cardiovascular drug eluting stent developers, taking into consideration various relevant parameters, such as year of experience and portfolio strength (in terms of number of products offered, stent material, maximum stent length, maximum stent diameter, maximum nominal pressure, maximum rated burst pressure, and lowest strut thickness).

Elaborate profiles of various prominent players that are currently engaged in developing / manufacturing drug eluting stents employed for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders, featuring a brief overview of the company (including information on its year of establishment, number of employees, location of headquarters, key members of the executive team and cardiovascular drug delivery device portfolio), recent developments and an informed future outlook.

An in-depth analysis of the various patents that have been filed / granted related to cardiovascular drug eluting stents, based on various parameters, such as patent type, publication year, geographical location, CPC symbol, emerging focus areas, type of applicant and leading industry / non-industry players (in terms of the size of intellectual property portfolio). Further, it features a three-dimensional bubble analysis (based on patent citation count, publication year, extended geographical reach), patent benchmarking analysis and a detailed patent valuation analysis.

An insightful case study focused on novel cardiovascular therapeutics (such as gene therapy, next generation complements, oral proteins and peptides, regulatory t-cell (tregs) therapies and subcutaneous biologics) and novel cardiovascular-based services / solutions (such as biopharmaceutical contract research offerings, digital therapeutics and precision medicine software). It also features a list of developers, along with details on their year of establishment, company size and location of headquarters.

An elaborate analysis in order to estimate the current and future demand for cardiovascular drug eluting stents, based on several relevant parameters, such as type of drug eluted (sirolimus, paclitaxel, everolimus, zotarolimus and others), type of stent material (platinum chromium, cobalt chromium, stainless steel and others) and key geographical regions ( North America , Europe , Asia , Middle East and North Africa , Latin America , and Rest of the World) for the period 2022-2035. Kindly note that input parameters considered for this analysis include number of patients suffering from cardiovascular disorders that can be treated using cardiovascular drug eluting stents and average price of such stents across various geographies.

Key Questions Answered

Who are the leading players offering cardiovascular drug eluting stents?

Which type of drug eluting stent is most commonly offered by developers engaged in this market space?

What is the relative competitiveness of different players engaged in the development / manufacturing of cardiovascular drug eluting stents?

How has the patent landscape in this domain evolved over the last two decades?

What is the present and likely future demand for cardiovascular drug eluting stents in the overall healthcare sector?

What are the anticipated future trends related to cardiovascular drug eluting stents market?

How is the current and future opportunity likely to be distributed across key market segments?

Key Topics Covered:

1. PREFACE

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

3. INTRODUCTION

4. MARKET LANDSCAPE

4.1. Chapter Overview

4.2. Cardiovascular Drug Eluting Stents: Overall Market Landscape

4.3. Cardiovascular Drug Eluting Stents: Developers Landscape

5. KEY INSIGHTS

5.1. Chapter Overview

5.2. Analysis by Eluted Drug and Administered Drug Concentration (Heat Map)

5.3. Analysis by Eluted Drug and Stent Material (Stacked Bar Chart)

5.4. Analysis by Maximum Stent Length and Maximum Stent Diameter (Tree Map)

5.5. Analysis by Year of Establishment, Company Size, Number of Products Offered

and Region (4D Bubble Chart)

5.6. Analysis by Company Size, Region, Number of Products Offered, Maximum

Stent Length and Maximum Stent Diameter (Grid Representation)

6. COMPANY COMPETITIVENESS

6.1. Chapter Overview

6.2. Key Assumptions and Parameters

6.3. Methodology

7. COMPANY PROFILES

7.1. Chapter Overview

7.2. Alvimedica

7.2.1. Company Overview

7.2.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.2.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.3. B. Braun

7.3.1. Company Overview

7.3.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.3.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.4. Boston Scientific

7.4.1. Company Overview

7.4.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.4.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.5 Cook Medical

7.5.1. Company Overview

7.5.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.5.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.6. Endocor

7.6.1. Company Overview

7.6.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.6.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.7. Eurocor

7.7.1. Company Overview

7.7.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.7.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.8. iVascular

7.8.1. Company Overview

7.8.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.8.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.9. Lepu Medical

7.9.1. Company Overview

7.9.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.9.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.10. Medinol

7.10.1. Company Overview

7.10.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.10.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.11. Medtronic

7.11.1. Company Overview

7.11.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.11.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.12. Meril

7.12.1. Company Overview

7.12.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.12.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.13. Relisys Medical Devices

7.13.1. Company Overview

7.13.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.13.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.14. Sahajanand Medical Technologies

7.14.1. Company Overview

7.14.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.14.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.15. Sinomed

7.15.1. Company Overview

7.15.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.15.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.16. Vascular Concepts

7.16.1. Company Overview

7.16.2. Cardiovascular Drug Delivery Device Portfolio

7.16.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

8. PATENT ANALYSIS

8.1. Chapter Overview

8.2. Scope and Methodology

8.3. Cardiovascular Drug Eluting Stents: Patent Analysis

9. CASE STUDY: NOVEL CARDIOVASCULAR THERAPEUTICS AND SERVICES / SOLUTIONS

9.1. Chapter Overview

9.2. Novel Cardiovascular Therapeutics

9.2.1. Gene Therapy

9.2.2. Next Generation Complement Therapeutics

9.2.3. Oral Proteins and Peptides Therapies

9.2.4. Regulatory T-Cell Therapies (Tregs) Therapies

9.2.5. Subcutaneous Biologics

9.3. Novel Cardiovascular-based Services / Solutions

9.3.1. Biopharmaceutical Contract Research Offerings

9.3.2. Digital Therapeutics Services

9.3.3. Precision Medicine Software

9.3.4. Virtual Clinical Trial Services

10. DEMAND ANALYSIS

10.1. Chapter Overview

10.2. Key Assumptions and Methodology

10.3. Global Demand for Cardiovascular Drug Eluting Stents

11. MARKET FORECAST

11.1. Chapter Overview

11.2. Key Assumptions and Methodology

11.3. Global Cardiovascular Drug Eluting Stents Market, 2022-2035

12. CONCLUSION

13. EXECUTIVE INSIGHTS

13.1. Chapter Overview

13.2. Scitech Medical

13.2.1. Company Snapshot

13.2.2. Interview Transcript: Luciano Curado, Chief Technology Officer

13.3. Translumina

13.3.1. Company Snapshot

13.3.2. Interview Transcript: Harish Rawat, Production Executive

14. APPENDIX I: TABULATED DATA

15. APPENDIX II: LIST OF COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/7mff0x

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
SEATTLE, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ZenLedger , a global leader in cryptocurrency data analysis, accounting, and tax, today announced the hiring of several c-suite level executives. Bringing a wide array of experience ranging from government to IT, the latest round of hires will support the exponential growth the business has been experiencing, laying the groundwork to propel the company into new territories.

Duyane Norman - Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) - Norman joins ZenLedger to lead strategic initiatives in data analytics to government and enterprise customers globally. Norman retired from the CIA in 2019 as a member of their Senior Intelligence Service with 27 years of distinguished service, including seven overseas tours. Before joining ZenLedger, Norman led the Defense Innovation Unit's engagement with the Department of Defense's Agencies and Activities and served as DIU's link to the Intelligence Community.

Daniel D. Escobar - Chief Technology Officer (CTO) - Escobar brings over 20 years of leadership and entrepreneurship experience in crypto, enterprise software development, and IT consulting with companies from start-up to Fortune 100. He spent the last four years as Head of Enterprise Onboarding and Engineering Services with Bitpay, where he worked closely with top crypto exchanges, blockchains, NFTs, wallets, and governments across the USA and around the world.

Jonte Harrell - Chief Financial Officer (CFO) - A former U.S. Army Captain and combat veteran, Harrell brings 18 years of international experience in Finance & Technology. Harrell joins ZenLedger to lead the Finance function, including Controllership, Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A), Treasury, Tax and Internal Audit. Prior to joining ZenLedger, Harrell co-managed public equity offerings for many of the largest IPOs and SPACs of 2020 & 2021. Before, he led FP&A globally across Amazon's ultrafast delivery businesses.

Greg Adams - Chief Operations Officer (COO) - A former Major in the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets), Adams joins ZenLedger to lead the scaling of the company's operations, sales & marketing, and software development teams, globally. Prior to ZenLedger, Adams was the Co-Founder and CEO at machine-learning enterprise SaaS startup Stabilitas, which successfully exited to a strategic acquirer, OnSolve, in 2020. He led innovation and M&A efforts at OnSolve as Chief Strategy Officer until December 2021 .

"We are thrilled to welcome Duyane, Daniel, Jonte and Greg, who bring a plethora of experience that will only allow ZenLedger to reach new heights," said Pat Larsen, chief executive officer at ZenLedger. "On the heels of one of ZenLedger's best tax seasons, the business has experienced 5x sales growth year-over-year and to support this growth, our employee base has tripled. Driven by the increased market demand for crypto tax and accounting services, coupled with a product that continues to impress customers with industry integrations, ZenLedger is poised to reign as a leader and to expand into new products, services and locations."

ZenLedger's powerful software and analysis is used by the IRS, Big 4 accounting firms UHNW practice, top 10 blockchain core developing teams, and token/crypto founders - providing a tax and analysis suite that leads in accuracy, flexibility, as well as breadth and depth of crypto integrations.

For more information, please visit: www.zenledger.io .

About ZenLedger.io

Founded in 2017, and built by veterans in technology, finance, and accounting. ZenLedger collects, analyzes, and accounts for your transaction information across thousands of exchanges, NFTs, DeFi, wallets, and tokens in one simple dashboard. The company leads the industry in number of blockchains and tokens supported. Crypto investors can gain easy, valuable portfolio and cash management insights while also saving time and stress. ZenLedger helps cryptocurrency investors stay compliant with integration support for over 500+ exchanges, 50+ blockchains, and 40+ DeFi protocols including NFTs. Zenledger supplies blockchain protocols, investment funds, corporations, and governments with the tools needed for taxation, accounting, investigation, and audits. ZenLedger's investors include blockchain venture funds, crypto founders, and leading crypto & fintech venture capital firms.

SOURCE ZenLedger
Jerusalem, April 20 : Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz threatened on Tuesday to halt the humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip if rocket attacks from the Palestinian enclave continue.

He made the remarks after meeting a special Israeli commando unit in the occupied West Bank, a day after militants from Gaza fired a rocket towards southern Israel, Xinhua news agency reported.

"If Hamas leaders decide to undermine stability, the moves we have made to develop Gaza's economy will be rolled back. We will not allow terrorists and provocateurs to harm the holy places," Gantz said in a statement.

The rocket fired on Monday night was intercepted by Israel's anti-rocket Iron Dome system. Israel's air force later launched airstrikes targeting a weapons manufacturing site belonging to Hamas, short for the Islamic Resistance Movement controlling the enclave.

The attack came amid recent tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in East Jerusalem, mainly around the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, where some 200 Palestinians have been injured in clashes with Israeli police since Friday.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Dubai, April 20 : Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) minister of state for International Cooperation (MoFAIC), has summoned Amir Hayek, Israeli ambassador to the UAE, to "strongly protest and denounce the events taking place in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque," according to a MoFAIC statement on Tuesday.

The UAE protested the "attacks on civilians and incursions into holy places that resulted in the injury of a number of civilians," the statement was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

Al Hashimy stressed the need to immediately stop these events, provide full protection for worshipers, respect the right of Palestinians to practice their religious rites, and halt any practices that violate the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, it added.

The UAE is calling for a return to serious negotiations aimed at achieving a just and comprehensive peace and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Kanpur, April 20 : The Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur police have arrested two persons, accused of cow slaughter. The men had allegedly thrown out cow meat from their car two days ago in Gambhirpur village of Saadh police station area of the district.

The police had sent the meat for laboratory test while the local people insisted that the meat was of a cow.

After the incident, the police initiated an investigation and launched a search for the accused.

The two men were arrested late on Tuesday and the tools used in cow slaughter were also recovered from their possession.

Station House Officer (SHO) Mansoor Ahmed said that after the meat was found, a case was registered and the search for the accused was launched.

"During the investigation, the police zeroed in on the two accused and arrested them. The arrested men have been identified as Arshad and Saif Khan. The accused had thrown the meat from their car itself. The police have also recovered the car," the SHO added.
Lucknow, April 20 : Lucknow will now have an integrated emergency care network that will include all operational medical facilities.

When this network becomes operational, patients seeking emergency treatment in Lucknow will no longer have to run from one medical facility to another for available medical beds.

UP deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak, who holds the health portfolio, said that he had asked the heads of all leading medical institutions to evolve a system for emergency and trauma patients so that they do not waste time looking for facilities at a hospital.

"The system will show the beds availability at different hospitals and may function on the lines of the Integrated Covid Command Centre (ICCC) which was functional in the city during the Covid waves. Admission on all hospital beds for Covid patients were routed through ICCC which was under the control of district administration in tandem with the health directorate and medical officials," he said.

Pathak assured that in the coming months, there would be a visible improvement in health services and efforts would be made to make health sector more people friendly.

Pathak has been conducting raids at various hospitals, posing as a patient, to get feedback of the situation at the ground level.

He has pulled up medical officials for laxity and absence of facilities for patients. He has also been interacting with patients in these hospitals to learn about the inadequacies.
April 20 : Priyanka Chopra and Sam Heughan's upcoming film Text For You gets a new title. The film will now be called It's All Coming Back To Me, and will release in the theatres on February 10, 2023.

Priyanka took to her social media handles and shared the first look of the film. She also announced the new title and the release date of the film. In the poster, Priyanka and Sam can be seen hugging each other while standing on the street.

As Priyanka shared the official still from the film on Tuesday, Sam Heughan reacted to it, and wrote, Pri is WONDERFUL in this!!! Priyanka was quick to replied to him, Aww.. Look who is talking @SamHeughan! I think this will be such a lovely Valentines Day movie! And the new @celinedion music!!!

Celine also called Priyanka amazing as she shared the release date on her social media accounts. She wrote, With the amazing @priyankachopra and the incredible @SamHeughan. Premiers Feb. 10, 2023!

Sam Heughan, too, took to his social media handles to share the first look. He wrote, "Its all coming back to me. Premieres Feb 10th! With the brilliant @priyankachopra and the one and only @celinedion."

Its All Coming Back to Me is based on the 2016 German film SMS fur Dich by Karoline Herfurth. Priyanka plays a woman, who struggles to move on from the death of her fiance. To cope with the situation, she starts sending messages to his old phone number, which has been reassigned to a new man (Sam Heughan). The two meet and develop a bonding as they share each others heartbreak. Celine Dion will star as herself in the film and plays a pivotal role in inspiring the two characters to fall in love. The film also stars actors Russell Tovey, Steve Oram, Omid Djalili, Sofia Barclay, Lydia West, Arinze Kene and Celia Imrie. The new title is named after Jim Steinmans ballad Its All Coming Back to Me Now.

Its All Coming Back to Me is written and directed by Jim Strouse, which is produced by Screen Gems and distributed by Sony Pictures. Celine Dion executive produces the film alongside Doug Belgrad, Sophie Cassidy, Louise Killin and Jonathan Furhman.

Meanwhile, Priyanka was last seen in the Hollywood film Matrix Resurrections alongside Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Jada Pinkett Smith. She will also be seen in Russo Brothers' Citadel. Priyanka will soon start shooting for Farhan Akhtar's directorial Jee Le Zara. The film also stars Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhatt.
Pratapgarh : , April 20 (IANS) Additional forces were deployed in Gonde village and adjoining areas in Pratapgarh district after a 'puja pandal' was found burnt down.

The pandal was installed by the villagers for a special puja and yajna at the ancient Goddess Ashtabhuja Devi temple and was found completely burnt down on Tuesday.

As the news spread like wildfire in the village, scores of villagers, who had planned to organise a 'pran pratishtha' event at the temple, gathered on its campus demanding action against the miscreants responsible for burning down the puja pandal.

Senior police and administrative officers rushed to the spot and additional forces were deployed at 2 a.m.

Circle Officer (City) Abhay Pandey said on Wednesday, "Preliminary investigation have revealed that the fire could be the handiwork of drug addicts who possibly left burning matchsticks at the site causing the fire. However, we are carrying out detailed investigations into the matter and action will be taken accordingly." He added, "However, in view of the recent communal riots in Delhi and some other places and subsequent directions regarding law and order issued by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, additional forces have been deployed in the village while senior officers were also camping there. It has also come to light that scores of people assembled on spot after some persons posted the incident on social media platforms without verifying the facts.

The Pratapgarh police has issued strict warning to social media users, appealing them to verify posts or content before posting or face legal action.

The police official said, "We are maintaining watch on social media and stern action would be initiated against those who upload deceptive posts or pictures."
Kiev, April 20 : Ukraine and Russia conducted their fifth prisoner exchange since the start of the conflict, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

As a result of the swap, 76 Ukrainian prisoners-of-war, including 16 civilians, returned home following their release by Russian forces, Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram, Xinhua news agency reported.

Of the 60 Ukrainian military personnel released, 10 were officers, she said. However, she gave no details on how many Russian captives were exchanged during the swap.

Ukraine and Russia conducted their first prisoner exchange on March 24.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, April 20 : A war of words erupted between BJP and the AAP over use of bulldozers to remove encroachment in Jahangirpuri, where violence broke out on Saturday.

While the BJP blamed AAP for giving religious colour to the drive, the latter said that an order has been issued to harass a particular community in the name of encroachment.

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has requested the Delhi Police to provide 400 police personnel for maintaining law and order during the encroachment removal action on April 20 and 21.

Delhi BJP chief also wrote to North Delhi Mayor Iqbal Singh to identify and demolish illegal construction and encroachment by those arrested in the Jahangirpuri violence.

Aditya Jha, Delhi BJP spokesperson, told IANS that it is the start of 'safai abhiyan' (cleanliness drive) in the city and against illegal encroachment and individuals. "It is the start of an-anti encroachment drive and will continue till Delhi will be made free of encroachment and foreign nationals illegally staying here," Jha said.

BJP leader Kapil Mishra said that today a bulldozer of law, justice and constitution will roll down in Jahangirpuri."Bulldozer is the only solution if Bangladeshi infiltrators open fire on police. Betting, smack, ganja and illegal parking are all business of Ansar. This bulldozer drive is the beginning of making Delhi pollution free," Mishra said.

Welcoming the decision of MCD, Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana said: "People like Amanatullah Khan and Asaduddin Owaisi trying to give it religious colour. But no one is above law. In an early morning tweet, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP want to spoil the peaceful atmosphere of Delhi in the month of Ramzan by using MCD.

"A new order has been issued to use bulldozers in Jahangirpuri to harass a particular community in the name of encroachment. Atmosphere of the whole country will spoil from this," Khan said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Hyderabad, April 20 : AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday alleged that the BJP has declared a war against the poorest by destroying homes in Delhi like in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The Hyderabad MP was reacting to demolition of alleged illegal encroachments in riot-hit Jahangirpuri in New Delhi.

"BJP has declared war against the poorest. In the name of encroachment it's going to destroy homes in Delhi like UP & MP. No notice, no opportunity to go to court, simply punishing poor Muslims for daring to stay alive," Owaisi tweeted.

Owaisi also demanded that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal must clarify his adubious role'. Is his government's PWD part of this demolition drive, he asked.

"Did people of Jahingirpuri vote for him for such betrayals & cowardice?! His frequent refrain "police is not in our control" won't work here There isn't even a pretence of legality or morality anymore. Hopeless situation," wrote Owaisi.

The MP posted a letter from North Delhi Municipal Corporation to DCP, North West, seeking police protection for special joint encroachment removal by PWD, local body, police, the Works/Maintenance Department, Health Department, Sanitation Department, Veterinary Department and Enforcement Cell of North DMC.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Chandauli, April 20 : A jig is probably the last thing that would be on the mind of a thief on the job.

However, this thief in Uttar Pradesh's Chandauli district was obviously enjoying his moment when he sneaked into a hardware shop over the weekend.

The thief, according to a viral video, entered the shop , stole cash and some goods and then broke into a dance.

The thief, whose face was covered, apparently saw a CCTV camera inside the shop and then danced with gay abandon.

Incidentally, the shop where the theft took place, is situated close to the residence of the Superintendent of Police Anshu Singh, the shop owner said that the thief picked up all the cash and also stole goods worth thousands of rupees.

The crime was detected when Singh opened his shop after seeing the broken shutter and went through the CCTV footage.

The footage shows the thief entering the store with his face covered, stealing what he wants, dancing, and then sneaking away.

The police said that they have scanned the footage and hope to catch the culprit soon.
Bengaluru, April 20 : Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has raised a complaint against IT giant Infosys with the Centre over the contract guidelines for restricting former employees from working with competitors TCS, Wipro, Cognizant, IBM and Accenture.

NITES, an NGO working for welfare and benefits of IT/ITES and its related sector employees and actions focused on various issues faced by IT/ITeS/BPO/KPO employees, has submitted an official complaint to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India and Ministry of Corporate Affairs against Infosys in this regard.

In its complaint NITES has urged for appropriate action against Infosys and demanded issuing necessary orders to Infosys Ltd for removing such illegal, unethical and arbitrary clauses from the employment agreements, according to a statement by NITES.

Infosys, one of the leading Indian IT companies of the world based in Bengaluru has issued a new guideline for resigned employees recently not to join work with specified competitors for 6 months. Infosys employees, who are planning for resignation and who have resigned, raised concerns about their career being affected with the new rule.

The rule added as a clause in the offer letter stated, "I agree that for a period of 6 months following the termination of my employment with Infosys for any reason, I will not; a. accept any offer of employment from any customer, where I had worked in a professional capacity with that Customer in 12 months immediately preceding the termination of my employment with Infosys.

b. accept any offer of employment from a named competitor of Infosys, if my employment with such named competitor would involve me having to work with a customer with whom I had worked in the 12 months immediately preceding the termination of my employment with Infosys," according to sources.

The sources further stated that the company has named five major IT firms as their competitors: TCS, IBM, Cognizant, Wipro and Accenture. It is said that Infosys has taken the decision to counter severe attrition rates.

Harpreet Saluja, President NITES, has lodged a complaint stating that the clause for Infosys employees is illegal under Section 27 of the Contract Act and urged that the company should be stopped from enforcing it.
Mumbai, April 20 : Lucknow Super Giants skipper, KL Rahul has been fined 20 per cent of his match fee for breaching the Indian Premier League's (IPL) Code of Conduct during his team's match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the DY Patil Stadium here on Tuesday night.

An IPL statement said that, "Rahul admitted to the Level 1 offence of the IPL Code of Conduct and accepted the sanction." Rahul's team-mate Marcus Stoinis has been reprimanded for breaching the Indian Premier League's Code of Conduct during his same match.

The 32-year-old Australian admitted to the Level 1 offence of the IPL Code of Conduct and accepted the sanction. "For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee's decision is final and binding," said the IPL statement.

Lucknow Super Giants lost the match by 18 runs with RCB skipper Faf du Plessis playing the match-defining knock of 96 off 64 deliveries to help his team to a fighting 181/6. In reply, KL Rahul's side could manage just 163, with the skipper emerging the second-highest run-getter for his team with 30 runs.

Stoinis contributed 24 runs in the chase, and conceded 14 runs in an over without taking a wicket while bowling.

Latest updates on IPL 2022
Dhaka, April 20 : Bangladesh has recalled the whole-hearted support it received from the people of India, especially, West Bengal during its great war of liberation in 1971.

Commerce Minister of Bangladesh Tipu Munshi held a meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday, the eve of the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata. At the outset, both Munshi and Mamata Banerjee remembered the close and warm relationship shared by the people of the two nations.

The Commerce Minister referred to the wholehearted support of the people of West Bengal in 1971 during the great war of liberation of Bangladesh.

Tipu Munshi is leading the Bangladesh delegation to the two-day business event that will get underway on April 20, the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata said in a release.

During the bilateral meeting, the issues of common interest in the area of trade and investment were discussed in detail. Both the ministers agreed that closer collaboration will be mutually beneficial for the business sectors of both Bangladesh and India, particularly West Bengal.

Issues like the need of improving infrastructure at the border for trade facilitation, working together for investment in jute and leather sectors, as well as the possibility of establishing border haats came up during the meeting.

The Bangladesh Minister is also expected to visit Mizoram at the invitation of the Minister of Industries of Mizoram during his India visit.
April 20 : Ajay Devgn and Kajol's daughter Nysa Devgn turned 19 today. On the occasion of her birthday, Ajay and Kajol wished their daughter. Ajay shared a beautiful picture of the teenager on his Instagram handle and wished her with a sweet message.

In the picture, Nysa can be seen in a black top, looking into the camera. Sharing the picture, Ajay wrote, Hey daughter, you are special. Today, tomorrow, forever. Happy birthday Nysa. Privileged to have you. Ajays fans also wished Nysa in the comments section. One of them wrote, She is your zerox copy.

Nysa is currently studying International Hospitality at Switzerland's Glion Institute of Higher Education. Earlier, she completed three years of schooling in Singapore.

Recently, Ajay was asked if Nysa plans to follow her parents and join the film industry. He told in an interview, I don't know if she wants to come into this line. To this moment she has shown disinterest. Anything can change anytime with children. She is abroad, she is studying right now.

Kajol also shared a picture of Nysa and wrote, Happy birthday baby. May ur smile always light up the world like it does mine.. ur simply the best!

Saif Ali Khans sister Saba Pataudi also penned a sweet note on Nysa birthday. Taking to her Instagram stories, Saba shared Nysas picture and wrote, Beautifulis the light that shines from within. MahshaAllahHappy Birthday Nysa! Lots of love. Always. Happy Birthday! In the picture, the birthday girl can be seen wearing a beautiful ethnic outfit.

Image Source: Instagram/sabapataudi Saif Ali Khans sister Saba Pataudi penned a sweet note on Nysa birthday

Earlier, Nysa had modeled for Manish Malhotra's outfit from his latest collection. Manish had shared her picture, wherein Nysa looked stunning. Sharing Nysa's photo, Manish Malhotra wrote, "@nysadevgan Gorgeousssssss The New-Age order joins forces with #Diffuse Tribe."
Baghdad, April 20 : Iraq has said that the Turkish military operation in its semi-autonomous Kurdistan region is a threat to the country's national security and a violation of its sovereignty.

The latest Turkish military operation into the Iraqi frontier without coordinating with the Iraqi federal government is unacceptable, said a statement by the Presidency on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The pending security issues in the border areas could be resolved through further coordination between the two countries and the Iraqi sovereignty must be respected, it added.

On Monday, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said in a statement that the Turkish forces launched a new ground and air cross-border operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq.

Turkish forces regularly carry out ground operations, airstrikes, and artillery bombardments against the positions of PKK militants in northern Iraq, especially the Qandil mountain range, where the main PKK bases are stationed.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the European Union.
New Delhi, April 20 : Senior advocate Dushyant Dave on Wednesday again mentioned the Jahangirpuri demolition matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, saying despite the top court's order, the municipal corporation has not stopped the demolition drive.

Dave said the top court order in the morning ordered status quo on the demolition, yet the municipal corporation did not stop the demolition drive at Jahangirpuri. He urged the top court to ask the secretary general to communicate the court's order to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), Mayor NDMC, and Commissioner of Delhi Police. "Once it's widely reported in the media, this is not appropriate...," said Dave.

The Chief Justice asked the registry to communicate the court's status quo order on the demolition drive to the respondents in the matter -- NDMC, may and Delhi Police commissioner -- mentioned by Dave.

Dave said despite the world knowing that the top court has stopped demolition, they are not stopping. "This sends the wrong message..", he added.

Delhi's Jahangirpuri area witnessed stone-throwing and clashes during the Hanuman Jayanti procession.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court ordered status quo on the demolition drive being carried out by the municipal corporation against the alleged encroachers in the Jahangirpuri area, where communal clashes broke out on Hanuman Jayanti.

Dave mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice and comprising Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli. Dave said there is something serious that requires the top court's immediate intervention. "Completely unauthorised and unconstitutional demolition has been ordered in the Jahangirpuri area...with no notice to anybody," said Dave.

He further submitted that the authorities were supposed to give at least five-six days' notice to the people. Dave said it was supposed to start at 2 p.m. but they started the demolition at 9 a.m. knowing that the matter will be mentioned before the court. The Chief Justice directed status quo on the demolition drive and agreed to list the matter for hearing on Thursday before an appropriate bench.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal also mentioned a plea filed by Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind questioning validity of demolition launched after riots in several BJP-ruled states, including Madhya Pradesh's Khargone. The bench agreed to list it with the Jahangirpuri matter on Thursday.

"A number of ministers and legislators, including the Chief Minister and the Home Minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh, have made statements advocating such acts and especially threatened the minority groups with destruction of their homes and commercial properties in case of riots. Resorting to such measures/ actions is clearly against our constitutional ethos and the criminal justice system, as also in violation of the rights of accused persons", said the plea by Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind.
New Delhi, April 20 : The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday extended the ceasefire agreement with the three factions of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) by one year till April 27, 2023.

According to MHA's statement, the ceasefire agreements are in operation between Centre and National Socialist Council of Nagaland/NK (NSCN/NK), National Socialist Council of Nagaland/ Reformation (NSCN/R) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland/K-Khango (NSCN/K-Khango).

"It was decided to extend the ceasefire agreements for a further period of one year with effect from April 28, to April 27, 2023 with NSCN/NK and NSCN/R and from April 18 to April 17, 2023 with NSCN/K-Khango," the statement read.

The Ministry also informed that these agreements were signed on April 19.

The three outfits- NSCN/NK, NSCN/R, NSCN/K-Khango- are breakaway factions of dominant groups NSCN-IM and NSCN-K.

Meanwhile, the MHA's representative for the Naga peace talks, Akashya Kumar Mishra on Tuesday visited the headquarters of the Isak-Muivah led National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) at the designated camp close to the Dimapur city and met the group's top leaders including general secretary T. Muivah for further round of talks.

Mishra, a former Intelligence Bureau additional director, and currently an advisor in the union home ministry, arrived in Nagaland on Monday to hold a series of meetings with leaders of different political groups, state political leaders and civil organisations, the officials in the security set up said.
Saharanpur : , April 20 (IANS) The Samajwadi Party, on Wednesday, suffered yet another jolt when senior leader Sikandar Ali resigned from the party and all posts, accusing party chief Akhilesh Yadav of turning a blind eye towards Muslims.

Ali told reporters, "Atrocities are being heaped on Muslim leaders in SP, but the party president is maintaining a studied silence. The situation within the party has become stifling." He said that the SP had won 111 seats on the strength of Muslim votes, but Akhilesh had refused to utter a word on action being taken against leaders like Nahid Hasan and Shazil Islam.

"If Akhilesh Yadav cannot stand up for a senior leader and MLA, how can he be expected to stand up for ordinary members of our community?" he asked.

He further alleged that Akhilesh was surrounded by a coterie and is completely disconnected with party workers at the ground level.

Sikandar Ali is not the first Muslim leader in the Samajwadi Party who has raised a voice against Akhilesh.

Earlier, SP MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq had claimed that Akhilesh Yadav had stopped working for Muslims.

Samajwadi Party leader, Salman Javed Raeen then tendered his resignation from the party in protest against the alleged apathy of the party leadership towards the Muslim community.

The SP leader from Sultanpur further added that if a "coward leader" could not raise the voice in support of his party men, how could he be expected to raise people's issues.

The SP leader from Rampur, Naveen Sharma, has also quit the SP in support of Azam Khan.
Mumbai, April 20 : Hollywood star Pamela Anderson has joined forces with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India to send methane offset starter kits to members of parliament of India.

The kits consist of vegan foods and a Gowma vegan leather card holder which are said to reduce methane emissions.

Anderson has also penned a letter on PETA India's behalf urging the legislators to eat only eco-friendly vegan foods, ditch leather, and promote animal-free living in their constituencies.

She writes, "I've loved India ever since I participated in Bigg Boss and adopted my beloved dog companion Pyari, who was found at a construction site in Mumbai." "So, it worries me that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned India will suffer from more frequent and intense heat waves, severe rainfall, and other extreme weather conditions due to climate change if global emission trends don't change", she added.

Anderson points out that the United Nations has warned that a global shift towards animal-free eating is necessary to combat the worst effects of the climate catastrophe and that animal agriculture is responsible for nearly one-fifth of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition to harming the planet past the point of no return, the meat, egg, dairy, and leather industries are abysmally cruel to animals, who are forced to spend miserable lives in intensive confinement before their throats are slit in slaughterhouses.

PETA India Vegan Foods and Nutrition Specialist Dr Kiran Ahuja said, "Meat, egg, and dairy production causes tens of billions of animals to suffer every single year, and now, the whole planet is burning because of it. PETA India and Pamela Anderson are asking members of parliament to lead by example simply by eating and wearing vegan." The kits also contain SOFIT Soya Drink, GoodDot's Vegicken Curry Kit, GoodDot's Eggless Bhurji Kit, Goodmylk's vegan mayo, and Urban Platter's Cheddar Cheese Seasoning.
Patna, April 20 : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's zero tolerance for corruption policy suffered a jolt when an engineer of a rural development department in Bhagalpur levelled a serious corruption charge against MP Ajay Mandal.

Ramashis Prasad, the engineer of rural development department, accused MP Ajay Mandal of dmanding 5 per cent commission in every road construction contract. The MP has threatened him of dire consequences, if the demand is not met, he added in presence of MLA Gopal Mandal.

"I was in the office when MP Mandal called up. When I received the call, he inquired about a road. As his voice was breaking, I asked him to repeat the name of the road which infuriated him and he started abusing me," Prasad said.

"If I get killed or any untoward incident happens with me in future, Ajay Mandal would be responsible for it. The way he has threatened me, it would not be safe for me to stay here. Hence, I am sending my resignation to the secretary of the department," Prasad said.

Meanwhile, Ajay Mandal dismissed the allegations a "completely baseless".

"As a public representative of Bhagalpur, it is my duty to observe the works done or under construction works. Hence, I had inquired the same which is my right. He has levelled allegations on me to malign my political and social image," Mandal said.
New Delhi, April 20 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the Centre's response on a plea challenging the constitutional validity of the provisions of the Waqf Act of 1995 terming it "manifestly arbitrary and irrational." A division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla was hearing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.

Issuing notices and seeking the responses of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, and Law Commission of India in the matter, the bench posted the matter for further hearing on July 28.

Petitioner Upadhyay was challenging the vires of S. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14 of the Act, stating these provisions grant special status to Waqf properties denying equal status to Trust, Mutts, Akharas, Societies, and confer unbridled powers to Waqf Boards to register any property as Waqf property.

The PIL contended that there is no safeguard for Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs, and other communities to save their properties from inclusion in the list of Waqf issued by Waqf Boards. Therefore, Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs, Bahais, Christians, and Zoroastrians are discriminated. It offends Articles 14-15, it said.

"If the impugned Act has been made to protect the rights guaranteed under Articles 29-30 then it has to cover all the minorities i.e., followers of Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Bahaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and not only Islam," the plea read.

It further said that states collect around one lakh crore rupees from four lakh temples but there are no similar provisions for Hindus. Thus, the Act offends Article 27.
Hyderabad, April 20 : Actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu reportedly underwent "body language training", months before the start of her upcoming magnum opus 'Shakuntalam.' She is said to have trained for three months in order to fit into the 'classical' mode of her role Shakuntala in the mythological drama helmed by 'Rudramadevi' fame Gunasekhar.

General postures, graceful gait, and gestures associated with mythological characters are all part of the training, the source added.

Gunasekhar's Shakuntalam has been the cynosure of all eyes, as the producers gear up to release the movie by the end of the year.

'Shakuntalam' is said to be director Gunasekhar's dream project, inspired by the 'Adi Parva' in The Mahabharat and based on Kalidas' 'Abhignana Shakuntalam'.

In this mythological entertainer, Samantha plays Shakuntala and Dev Mohan plays King Dushyant, while actor Kabir Singh Duhan will be seen in as King Asura.

Allu Arha, the youngest daughter of 'Pushpa' actor Allu Arjun will be seen as Prince Bharata in 'Shakuntalam'.

Samantha, on the other hand, has a long line-up, which includes her multilingual project 'Yashoda'.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Washington, April 20 : A team of scientists has urged NASA to probe the ice giant Uranus and look for life on Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, on priority in the coming decade.

In a report, the team at National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS), recommended NASA to focus on three high-level scientific themes: origins, worlds and processes, and life and habitability, in the next 10 years, Zdnet reported.

Despite the fact that ice giant systems are the most common form of planets in the universe, there is a "dearth of knowledge" about them, said Robin Canup, co-chair of the NAS steering committee for the decadal survey, in a statement.

Ice giants are the only class of planet in our solar system that hasn't had a dedicated orbital tour.

The Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP) should be NASA's highest priority large mission, the report said.

The UOP aims to conduct a multi-year orbital tour to transform knowledge of ice giants in general, and the Uranian system in particular, through flybys and the delivery of an atmospheric probe.

"Uranus is one of the most intriguing bodies in the solar system," the report said.

"Its low internal energy, active atmospheric dynamics, and complex magnetic field all present major puzzles. A primordial giant impact may have produced the planet's extreme axial tilt and possibly its rings and satellites, although this is uncertain." Further, the report stated that NASA's next priority should be the Enceladus Orbilander - a mission to search for evidence of life on Enceladus, the sixth-largest moon of Saturn.

The mission would take place from orbit and during a two-year landed mission that would perform detailed studies of fresh plume material coming from Enceladus' interior ocean.

The comprehensive decadal report also evaluated a wide range of other missions.

It lauded the progress made studying Mars, as well as NASA's Discovery Programme. It also stresses the potential for combining human and robotic exploration in space.

The report also focused on planetary defence - the effort to detect and track objects like asteroids that could pose a threat to life on Earth.

It recommends a focus on enhancing near-Earth object (NEO) detection, tracking, and characterisation capabilities, as well as the improving NEO modeling and prediction.

It also suggests developing technologies for NEO deflection and disruption missions.
Puducherry, April 20 : The home department of the Union Territory of Puducherry has directed the police to crackdown on ganja peddlers and users.

The territorial police have formed special squads in Yanam, Karaikkal, Puducherry, and Mahe regions to effectively crackdown on the ganja peddlers.

Inspector-General of Police, Puducherry, V.J. Chandran who is in charge of the crackdown while speaking to IANS said: "Measures are being taken to bring the ganja users also under the system and to charge them with cases, including revoking Goonda Act against them." Police said that compared to previous years, ganja use is on a high in the second half of 2021 till now and that more than 100 kg of ganja was seized from the Union territory.

The Home department in coordination with the state school education department is conducting seminars and workshops against the use of ganja and marijuana among the students.

A senior officer with the Puducherry police told IANS that if a student is found using ganja, he would be sent to juvenile home and the government is planning to act tough in the territory against peddlers and users.

It is to be noted that the ganja is reaching the Union territory from other states and the police check-up at borders will be heightened with special emphasis on Tamil Nadu and Kerala borders.

Puducherry police have also requested the local public to update police if they found any ganja users on their premises and to call the helpline number 112 to share the information.

The state police, along with the education department, will commence opening anti-narcotic cells in schools to monitor children in schools and colleges against the use of ganja and other narcotic substances. Police also requested parents to be on high alert for their children and to keep an eye on them.
Chennai, April 20 : With the central government looking at privatisation of airports, the Tamil Nadu government has taken a policy decision that it should have a share in the revenue realised by the former while transferring the airport.

According to the policy note presented by the Tamil Nadu Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu to the Assembly on Tuesday, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is actively pursuing the policy of privatisation of airports.

"Therefore, a decision has been taken that in the event, the state government acquires and transfers the lands to Airports Authority of India free of cost and the Airports Authority of India or Government of India transfer the assets to a third party, the value realized / revenue accrued thereby, must be proportionately shared with the State Government reflecting the huge investment in land being made by the State Government," the policy note states.

According to the policy note, the state government has decided that at the appropriate stage, it has to be ensured that the value of the lands should be converted as equity of the State Government in the Airport Project Special Purpose Vehicle or an appropriate revenue sharing arrangement proportionate to investment is arrived at before any asset transfer takes place to a private party.

Tamil Nadu government said as per the decision taken in 2007, to construct new airports/ expansion of airports, it is acquiring lands and handing over the same free of cost, without any encumbrance to AAI.

"In the present projects, the land cost forms the major share of the overall project cost," the policy note said.

Meanwhile, the government has said the AAI has requested for 64.57 acre of patta land and alienation of 11.58 acres of poramboke land for Chennai Airport.

"Out of this, 30.57 acres patta land will be handed over to Chennai Airport before end of April 2022. Alienation proposals are under process in various stages. Online application for transfer of 16.89 acres of defence lands to Airports Authority of India have been submitted and orders are awaited from Ministry of Defence, Government of India," the government said.
New Delhi, April 20 : The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) is likely to make the mask mandatory at public places in Delhi along with a fine for not wearing the same.

According to the source, the DDMA is likely to impose a fine of Rs 500 for not wearing the mask at public places.

Earlier in the day, a DDMA meeting was held chaired by the Delhi Lt. Governor Anil Baijal.

The DDMA has taken cognizance of the Covid cases being reported in Delhi schools. As per the source, schools will stay open and not close amid rising Covid cases. A detailed SOPs will be made with the consultation of experts for schools in the national capital.

The emphasis was given more on vaccination for eligible age groups in the meeting. The government is expected to closely watch the social gatherings in the city.

Delhi reported 632 fresh Covid infections on Tuesday in the last 24 hours, against 501 cases reported on the previous day. The new Covid infections have taken the cumulative caseload tally to 18,69,683, according to the health department bulletin on Tuesday evening.
Abu Dhabi/Thiruvananthapuram, April 20 : A Keralaite doctor in Abu Dhabi wrote himself into record books when he performed the first pediatric stem cell bone marrow transplant in the UAE.

Dr Zainul Aabideen, a native of Kannur, presently Head of the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at Burjeel Medical City successfully performed the advanced allogeneic procedure on a five-year-old girl from Uganda with sickle cell disease.

Billed as the first such surgery done in the UAE, the patient's 10-year-old sister donated her bone marrow for the transplant treatment at Burjeel Medical City, a flagship hospital of VPS Healthcare.

Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder, which results in an abnormality in the hemoglobin found in red blood cells, causing them to become sickle-shaped and leading to several complications including anemia, swelling in the hands and feet, frequent pain, acute chest syndrome, and sometimes stroke.

Prior to the treatment, the child has been regularly admitted to the hospital due to complications arising from her disease since birth.

"As this was a life-threatening condition, the only curative option was bone marrow transplantation. Before this procedure, the patient suffered a lot. The entire care team here at the hospital and the child's parents are delighted that the transplant will relieve this pain from her life," said Zainul Aabideen, who headed a team of highly specialised doctors, including a pediatric intensive care team, for the procedure.

The patient has responded well to the treatment and will be discharged in a few days after a five-week stay at the hospital.

Earlier, pediatric patients in the UAE who had to undergo allogeneic stem cell bone marrow transplants travelled to the US, the UK, India, and other European countries.

Zainul Aabideen, Acompleted his MBBS from Calicut University in Kerala and a post-graduate degree in Pediatrics from the University of Mumbai.

He then moved to the United Kingdom to specialise and undertake further training in pediatric hematology, pediatric oncology, and pediatric bone marrow transplantation in various hospitals in the UK.
New Delhi, April 20 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice on a plea seeking direction to fill vacancies of medical officers, paramedical staff, welfare officers, counsellors, teachers, yoga instructors, vocational counsellors and other staffers in jails in the national capital.

A division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla while hearing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by activist-advocate Amit Sahni, noted that the situation appears to be a grave deficiency.

Issuing notice to the respondents--Delhi Govt and DG Prisons, the court directed the city government to file a status report regarding sanctioned strength and pending vacancies. In the meanwhile, the court has also directed the respondents to initiate the process of recruitment of pending vacancies. The matter will now be considered in July.

In the plea, petitioner Sahni said there is an acute shortage of prison staff and particularly all posts of educational, correctional staff, psychiatric social workers, and psychologists are lying vacant for a long.

Delhi Prisons are facing a 20.25 per cent staff shortage, the plea said, contending that the Supreme Court and the High Court have taken a serious view of the pending vacancies in jail staff.

The plea contended that the shortage of prison staff is a reason for inadequate management of Delhi jails and many times the same leads to violence upon the errant inmates by the jail staff.

It also stated that Rule 81 of the Delhi Prison Rule 2018 is not complied with in Delhi Jails, which provides that in principle, there should be one guarding staff for every six prisoners.

There are about 18,000 prisoners lodged in jails and the requirement of guarding staff is 3,000 into 3 (for three shifts) but the jails have an acute shortage of the guarding staff and the same results in hindrance in prison administration.
New Delhi, April 20 : In a surprise move, Congress MP Manish Tewari has advocated for the release of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a convict in the murder of then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.

"Being a Terror Victim I understand anguish of my colleague Ravneet Bittu but as a Lawyer & MP from Punjab it is my considered view-S.Balwant Singh Rajoana having served 26 years in Prison his death sentence be commuted to life and he be released by passing orders under Sec 432 CRPC".

Tewari on Wednesday said that Rajoana should be released from prison by invoking section 432 of CrPc. "Criminal jurisprudence of incarceration needs to be grounded in reformation & not retribution," he said.

Ravneet Singh Bittu, the grandson of Beant Singh, had opposed the release and had written a letter to the Prime Minister to order investigation in SAD demand for the release.

The matter came to fore after Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and ensure the expeditious release of Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana to fulfill the promise made to the Sikh community to release eight Sikh prisoners, who have served more than the effective equivalent of a life sentence, on the eve of the 550th Parkash Purb celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev in 2019.

While calling for the release of all such Sikh prisoners, the SAD president urged the Prime Minister to intervene and expedite the matter of clemency of Bhai Rajoana with the competent authority to commute the death penalty awarded to him and ensure his release at the earliest.

The Union government had approved the commutation of Bhai Rajoana's death sentence to life imprisonment as a humanitarian gesture in 2019.

Badal said the issue warranted the urgent attention of the Prime Minister since a clemency petition under Article 72 of the Constitution, which was filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on March 25, 2012, was still pending with the President.

He said the Supreme Court had also issued a notice to the Union government to take a call on his mercy petition by April 30.

Badal asserted in his communication that he was hopeful that the Prime Minister would appreciate that there was no rationale to keep Bhai Rajoana behind the bars when the Union government had commuted his death sentence.

He said the Sikh prisoner had already been incarcerated in prison for 26 years, which was much longer than the effective duration of a life term.
Mumbai, April 20 : Actress Shriya Pilgaonkar, who is gearing up for the release of her upcoming legal drama series 'Guilty Minds', recently shared her process of approaching her character of Kashaf Quaze in the web show. She also revealed that she developed an instant bond with her character the moment she read her nuances.

Elaborating on the same, the actress said "I remember the first time the audition scenes for 'Guilty Minds' were sent to me and I read the name Kashaf Quaze, I felt instantly drawn to her. I felt like I knew her, I felt very curious to know her. I knew the kind of emotional range I would get to explore while portraying her." She pointed out that "the process of portraying Kashaf was twofold". The first part of the process as per Shriya was about "being a lawyer". She added, "But for me, the starting point was to create an inner world for her, which I did along with Shefali. I feel like my director knows Kashaf better than Kashaf herself. So for me, I wanted to create her instincts." She also mentioned that 'Kashaf' is a very private person. The actress said, "She doesn't express herself easily when she is in her private life but otherwise, she is very passionate. She mainly does public interest litigation and takes up cases she truly believes in. Kashaf operates a lot on empathy. She has a very strong understanding of right and wrong in terms of ethics as a lawyer." While talking about getting into preparation for her lawyer aspect of the character, Shriya said "I spoke to a lot of my friends who are lawyers because it was important for me to understand their emotional approaches to the profession." "I also visited the high court a couple of times as it was important to understand how natural and authentically different lawyers are. Eventually, I feel that lawyers are also performers so I thought that I need to be true to Kashaf and authentically bring that aspect out in the court", she concluded.

Co-directed by Jayant Digambar Somalkar, and produced by Karan Grover, Antara Banerjee, and Naved Farooqui, 'Guilty Minds' will exclusively stream on Amazon Prime Video from April 22, 2022.
Mumbai, April 20 : Former England skipper Michael Vaughan feels Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are favourites under the captaincy of Faf Du Plessis to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.

Vaughan predicted that RCB can end their title drought this year having won five out of their seven games in the IPL 2022. RCB is currently at the second spot in the points table.

"Without doubt @RCBTweets are the real deal this year under @faf1307," Vaughan tweeted after RCB defeated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 18 runs on Monday.

Coming to the match, skipper Du Plessis' 96-run knock and Josh Hazlewood's four-wicket haul helped RCB register a comfortable victory over Lucknow.

It was a chase that never really took off for the KL Rahul-led side. They lost wickets to the new ball, with Hazlewood wreaking havoc upfront and once the first six overs weren't utilised, the pressure started to mount.

Former RCB skipper Virat Kohli, too, was impressed with the team's performance.

"Another game, another win. Onwards & Upwards," Kohli shared RCB's celebration pictures on the KOO app after the win.

Meanwhile, KL Rahul has been fined 20 per cent of his match fee for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during the match against RCB.

According to an official statement from IPL, Rahul admitted to the Level 1 offence of the IPL Code of Conduct and accepted the sanction.

Apart from him, Lucknow's all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has also been reprimanded for breaching the IPL's Code of Conduct. He also admitted to the Level 1 offence of the IPL Code of Conduct and accepted the sanction.

Lucknow will be going up against Mumbai Indians for their next IPL 2022 clash on Sunday at Wankhede Stadium.

Latest updates on IPL 2022
Islamabad, April 20 : Women University Swabi, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan has imposed a ban on the use of smartphones for all students, Samaa TV reported.

According to a notification issued by the provost of the university "Smart phones/touch screen mobile or tablets will not be allowed in the premises of Women University Swabi with effect from April 20, 2022 (Wednesday)." It has been observed that students use extensive social media applications during university timings which affects their education, behaviour, and performance. Therefore, it is directed that students should not use mobile phones during university timings, the notification read.

In case of any violation, however, the university will take strict action against students and a fine of Rs 5,000 would be imposed.

Universities across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa often impose strict restrictions on female students, including dress codes and hair styles.

Last year in May, Peshawar University instructed the students to follow the new dress code and wear their chest cards at all times.

According to university officials, the dress code will ensure that students wear similar-looking clothes when they come to the campus.

On January 9, 2021 the Hazara University in Mansehra told women to wear 'shalwar kameez', along with a 'dupatta', 'chador', or 'abaya'. Heavy make-up, jewellery, and expensive handbags were banned under the new rules.

Men were told to wear either formal eastern or western attire. Students cannot wear cut, torn, or skin-fitted jeans, shorts, slippers, and accessories like earrings and chains.

The varsity made simple, formal hair and beard styles mandatory, Samaa TV reported.
Kolkata, April 20 : Adani Group will invest an amount of around Rs 10,000 crore in West Bengal in the next few years, according to the group chairman and founder, Gautam Adani.

He made this announcement while addressing the inaugural session of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS)-2022, the annual event organised by the West Bengal government to showcase the state as an ideal investment destination.

"We plan to make an investment to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore in West Bengal in the next few years. This investment will be mainly in sectors like under- sea cables, data centre and warehouses. This will provide direct and indirect employment to around 25,000 people. As we make these investments, we will bring in the state world class technology," Adani said.

Speaking on the occasion, the Adani Group chairman and founder was all praises for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, especially on the point of ensuring the arrest of man-days lost in the state because of various factors. "I wholeheartedly thank the chief minister for inviting me to this summit. I am sure that Bengal will move ahead under her dynamic leadership," he said.

Chief Minister Banerjee reacted to an earlier statement made by state Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar where he stressed on strong Centre-state relationship to ensure economic development in the state by attracting new investment.

"I want to tell the honourable Governor that we are all ready to cooperate with the Union governor to ensure the economic development of the state and country. But I would also like to request the honourable government to take the matter with the Union government so that we receive central assistance. At the same time on behalf of the industrialists, they should not be disturbed," the Chief Minister said.

Speaking on the occasion, Mamata Banerjee also tried to address the concern of the industrialists regarding the land-related issues. "We have a land policy in place. We have evolved a system where a potential investor applying for land will get to know about the land status within seven days from the day of application, she said.

The chief minister also indirectly reacted to the Governor's earlier statement on "accommodating opposite views".

"We might have some differences with other political parties. But we do not divide people on the basis of caste, religion and language," she said.
Chennai, April 20 : The opposition AIADMK staged a walkout from the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, alleging breach in security of Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi due to the black flag demonstration against him at Myladuthurai.

Leader of opposition in the state Assembly K.Palaniswami and the Deputy Leader of Opposition, O. Panneerselvam led the opposition out of the legislative Assembly.

Palaniswami said the state intelligence and the home department failed miserably in ensuring security to the Governor of the state. He said that the state home department and Chief Minister must take stringent action against those who had erred in discharging their duties.

It may be noted that cadres and workers of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Dravidar Kazhagam (DK), and the CPI and CPI-M had staged black flag demonstrations against the Tamil Nadu Governor when he reached Myladuthurai on Tuesday. The protest was against the Governor over not forwarding a Bill passed unanimously by the Tamil Nadu Assembly seeking exemption for students of the state from writing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

It may be recalled that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and his cabinet colleagues had boycotted the 'At Home' celebration at Raj Bhavan on Tamil New Year day, 'Puthandu', last Thursday.
Istanbul, April 20 : At least one person was killed and four others were injured when an explosion hit a bus carrying prison guards in Turkey's northwestern province of Bursa on Wednesday, local officials said.

The blast, which occured at 7:40 a.m. local time, was triggered by a hand-made explosive, which is believed to have been detonated by a remote control, Bursa Governor Yakup Canbolat told reporters on the scene, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The explosive has been placed at the bottom of a lamppost on the street. Our security units quickly took the area under control, and the issue is evaluated from all aspects. We want to get a result as soon as possible," Canbolat added.

According to the governor, one of the injured persons was in critical condition.
Jerusalem, April 20 : Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called for international help in restoring calm in East Jerusalem during a phone talk with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken over the rising Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

The two on Tuesday discussed the recent wave of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, mainly around the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem, where some 200 Palestinians have been injured in clashes with Israeli police since Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I emphasised the need for international support for returning calm to Jerusalem," Lapid tweeted after talking on the phone with Blinken.

He reiterated Israel's stand that the Israeli police raids at the flashpoint holy site were "responsible and measured efforts in the face of riots by hundreds of Islamic extremists." "Israel will not tolerate calls in support of violence," Lapid added.

The phone talk came a day after Blinken discussed the violence in East Jerusalem with Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. Blinken stressed the importance of maintaining the status quo, according to a statement issued by the US State Department.

The disputed holy site, known to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and to Jews as the Temple Mount, is located in the Old City of Jerusalem, which Israel annexed after capturing it in the 1967 Middle East war. The site has been administered by Jordan's Muslim Waqf but secured by the Israeli police.

The Israeli-Palestinian clashes in East Jerusalem, as well as four deadly Palestinian attacks in Israeli cities in recent weeks, came as the holy Muslim month of Ramadan coincided with the Jewish holiday of Passover, with thousands of Muslim worshipers and Jewish visitors arriving at the hilltop compound and the Western Wall, located just below it.
Baghdad, April 20 : The Iraqi Foreign Ministry summoned the Turkish Ambassador in protest over Turkey's cross-border offensive against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq.

The ministry handed Ambassador Ali Reza Guney a "strongly-worded letter calling for the cessation of such provocative acts, and the unacceptable violations," the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, renewing Iraq's demand for the complete withdrawal of Turkish forces from Iraqi territories, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Iraq has the legal right to take the necessary and appropriate measures in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the UN and the rules of international law in the face of such hostile and unilateral acts, as they are taking place without coordination with the Iraqi government," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, the Iraqi Presidency slammed the Turkish operation in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region as a threat to Iraq's national security and a violation of its sovereignty.

At least 26 PKK members have been killed during Turkey's new ground and air cross-border offensive into northern Iraq launched on Monday, according to Turkey's Defense Ministry.

Turkey regularly conducts cross-border operations on the PKK bases in northern Iraq, despite Iraq's repeated protests.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for over 30 years.
New Delhi, April 20 : The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed a joint statement of understanding on localisation of Sustainable Development Goals.

Panchayati Raj Secretary Sunil Kumar signed the agreement with UNDP Resident Representative Shoko Nodaon on the final day of the Iconic Week Programme on April 17.

The programme was organised as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) celebrations that commemorates the 75th year of India's Independence.

"Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have been a critical component of local self-governance across rural India and we have witnessed the contribution of these institutions in achieving last-mile connectivity and execution of various schemes of different line department or ministries. SDGs too can be achieved only if we actively involve PRIs.

"We thank UNDP for their collaborative support in the Iconic Week of AKAM. And further we look forward to their increased and continued engagement with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to strengthen monitoring of SDGs at the grassroots," said secretary Sunil Kumar while signing the agreement.

Shoko Noda said that the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 can happen only if we consider local context and situations. The MoPR-UNDP partnership will help in keeping local priorities on top of the agenda, while planning and implementing programmes," she added.

As per the Joint Statement of Understanding, MoPR and UNDP will collaborate in the areas of knowledge sharing, capacity building and strengthening monitoring mechanisms among others and is expected to provide further impetus to the work of UNDP on SDG localisation.
Thiruvananthapuram, April 20 : An elderly man on Wednesday hacked his wife to death and hanged himself, police said.

Rajan(64) and Rema, along with their two sons, lived near Kottarakara, about 70 kms from the state capital.

According to neighbours, Rajan was an alcoholic who used to pick up fights with his wife frequently.

Recently, police had taken the man into custody but released him after Rema withdrew her compliant.

On Wednesday around 11.30 a.m., Rajan hacked Rema and when her sister Rethi tried to intervene, Rajan attacked her and severed her right hand.

After the crime, Rajan hanged himself to death.

Rethi was immediately rushed to the Medical College hospital, here where her condition is stated to be serious.

Police arrived at the scene and moved the two bodies for post-mortem.
New Delhi, April 20 : The Congress on Wednesday accused the Centre of undermining constitutional authorities after it failed to immediately follow the Supreme Court's order of a status quo on the demolition drive in Delhi's Jahangirpuri area.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said its demolition of Constitutional values and shared picture of preamble which is threatened by a bulldozer.

"This is a demolition of India's constitutional values. This is state-sponsored targeting of poor & minorities," he said in a tweet.

Earlier Congress leaders had termed it "brazen contempt" and a very dangerous precedent of defiance by the civic agency and Delhi police.

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave on Wednesday again mentioned the Jahangirpuri demolition matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, saying despite the top court's order, the municipal corporation had not stopped the demolition drive.

Dave said the top court in the morning ordered status quo on the demolition, yet the municipal corporation did not stop the demolition drive at Jahangirpuri.

He urged the top court to ask the secretary general to communicate the court's order to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), Mayor NDMC, and Commissioner of Delhi Police.

"Once it's widely reported in the media, this is not appropriate...," said Dave.

The Chief Justice then asked the registry to communicate the court's status quo order on the demolition drive to the respondents in the matter -- NDMC Commissioner, Mayor and Delhi Police Commissioner.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, April 20 : Keeping opening session gains intact, Indian equity benchmarks closed Wednesday's session on a positive note.

With the day's rise, the indices broke the five day losing streak. In the past five sessions, the Sensex and Nifty declined almost 4 per cent each, data showed.

On Wednesday, Sensex settled at 57,038 points, up 574 points or 1.02 per cent, whereas Nifty was at 17,137 points, up 178 points or 1.05 per cent.

"Foreign investors are pumping out funds in large quantities while support from DIIs is helping the market to partially balance the pressure. A similar level of volatility can be expected to continue until global uncertainties settle down leading to a softening of FII selling," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

As per the latest available data, foreign portfolio investors have pulled out equities worth Rs 9,345 crore from Indian markets in the month of April.
Seoul, April 20 : The head of South Korea's state arms procurement agency said on Wednesday that it may be of "little use" to send tanks and fighters to Ukraine as its troops need months of training to use new weapons systems.

Kang Eun-ho, who heads the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), made the remarks at a forum, apparently reiterating Seoul's stance against the provision of lethal arms to the war-torn country, Yonhap news agency reported.

"Even if we provide Ukraine with 100 K-2 tanks and 100 FA-50 fighters, they may be of little use," he said. "Because it would take months before they become able to actually operate them." Ukraine has made repeated calls for the international community to provide weapons and other types of support to help repel Russia's invasion. South Korea has, so far, sent to the country non-lethal aid, such as helmets, bullet-proof vests, blankets and medical supplies.

During a visit to Seoul last week, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Military Committee Chair Adm. Rob Bauer also stressed the importance of training Ukrainian troops should the nation decide to send any military hardware.

"If you send a weapon system that is not known to the persons that are supposed to fight with them, then you have to consider not only sending the weapon system but also to make sure that the weapon system can be used, and therefore it needs training," he said during a press meeting here.
New Delhi, April 20 : Giving a clarification about the recent cyber-attack in the company's IT systems, Oil India said that a malware threat was noticed by the company's officials and reported, but it did not have any effect on its operations.

The state-owned company had suffered a major cyber-attack in its field headquarters in eastern Assam's Duliajan, with the hacker demanding $75,00,000, IANS reported on April 13.

After receipt of the report of malware threat, precautionary measures were taken by the company, it said in a regulatory filing to the exchanges.

"Network management service providers and the Anti-Virus Team were also immediately informed about the incident. The incident was also reported to CERT-In," the filing said. Cert-In is the government's nodal agency to deal with cyber security threats like hacking and phishing.

Besides, the company clarified it did not attempt to establish any contacts with the miscreants.

"We would like to state that there has been no bearing on the operations/performance of the company due to the said malware threat which warrants public announcement. Presently, uninterrupted operations are going-on and business continuity is maintained," the company added.
Mumbai, April 20 : He made a memorable entry into the world of Hindi cinema with his highly-acclaimed gangster film, 'Company helmed by Indias most "disruptive filmmaker" Ram Gopal Varma, followed it up with yet another RGV directorial 'Road before he made a 180 degree switch with his work in Shaad Alis 'Saathiya which was a Hindi remake of Shaads mentor, Mani Ratnams 2000 Tamil film, 'Alaipayuthey.

It's been twenty years for Vivek Anand Oberoi in the movies and having delivered top-notch performances as per the demand of the script and story in films like, 'Yuva', 'Darna Mana Hai', 'Shootout at Lokhandwala' and 'Rakta Charitra', the man seems to be hungry more than ever for good work.

IANS recently spoke with the actor about his life before acting, making a debut with an experimental director like RGV, memories of filming 'Yuva' with Mani Ratnam and his pursuit for excellence as an actor.

Reminiscing what life was like before his foray into films, Vivek shares, "Before 2000, I was doing a lot of competitive theatre in college and then I went on to do professional theatre with the likes of some great theatre personalities and luminaries. The whole desire of being an actor was over-arching." Having studied abroad for his masters in films, Vivek soon returned to India and was told about his launch by his father Suresh Oberoi, which he gracefully declined because he wanted to make it on his own. He mentions, "I remember my father telling me to launch me as a hero which was a typical thing to do back then, for actor fathers to launch the second generation of actors. But I didn't give into it." "One morning I woke up and greeted my father, I told him that 'I won't be able to do this film because it comes with a certain risk as you are putting all your career savings on my debut' and I also wanted to make it on my own merit just like how my father did", he adds.

He mentions, "When I started my struggle, I used to go under the name of 'Vivek Anand' because I didn't want the world to know about my surname and where I came from." To break into the industry, he took up several jobs one of which was that of a voice-artiste, "Back then, I also worked as a voice-artiste, I did a lot of films for the legendary Leela Ghosh, who was dubbing a whole bunch of English films and serials to Hindi like, 'The Young and the Restless', 'Small Wonder', 'The Rock', 'Independence Day', 'The Making of the Mahatma'".

And then 'Company' happened. But, that too wasn't an easy catch as he was straightaway rejected by RGV solely for the fact that Vivek was a "very polished guy, having studied abroad". And RGV being a purist wanted someone 'raw and unpolished' to play the character of Chandu.

The actor says, "I requested him to grant me three weeks to let me work on myself as per his demand for the script and the part. For three weeks, I lived in a slum, got a place on rent, experienced living like they do, closely observing how they drank chai (tea) and smoked cigarettes, the way they walked and behaved. That's how Chandu came alive." "I requested a struggling photographer friend of mine to click a few pictures of me in Chandu's attire. Eventually, RGV called me to the office. I went to his office dressed as the character and the watchman stopped me, I was like, 'Yes! I've crossed the first hurdle to make the part believable'", he adds.

Opportunity knocks on the doors of those who know what buttons to push, exemplifying the same, Vivek recollects, "I went inside, banged my foot on the door, kicked it open, sat on the chair with my feet up the table and just gave him a death stare, saying, 'Thobda kya dekhta hai, photo dekh photo'. 10 minutes later, he said, 'You're doing the film'".

'Yuva' is another film which is nothing short of a benchmark in Hindi cinema with heavyweights like Mani Ratnam, Anurag Kashyap and A.R. Rahman working on it. Remembering how he came on-board for the film, Vivek shares, "Mani sir came to Mumbai just before the release of 'Saathiya' for an official screening. We had barely met and had just spoken over the phone. After he saw the film, he came out and he told me that I surprised him with my performance and he had a new film for me." However, Vivek didn't give much thought to the offer and "took it with a pinch of salt", thinking Mani Ratnam said this out of generosity after being impressed by his performance in 'Saathiya'. However 3 or 4 months later, he got a call from Chennai and was asked by the maverick filmmaker to come down and meet him.

"We discussed 'Yuva' and then he gave me the script to read. Just as I read the script, he asked me which character I liked. The character which Abhishek played, I felt like I had already done that character in 'Company' and I did not want to repeat the same", he remembers.

"Mani sir told me that we were running on a similar thinking pattern and then he told me that he wanted me to play Arjun and then he described to me about how he wanted Arjun to be different and this crazy fun mad guy who doesn't care about anything that is happening around him to an extent that he is disconnected to everything", Vivek shares.

Ask him after all these years, what is it that he is chasing as an artiste, and pat comes the reply, "I feel like if I don't keep challenging myself this hunger will go away. Whenever I am doing a new movie or a show, the night before the shoot I cannot sleep and I am very excited to sink my teeth into the character." "That hunger and that passion is sacred for me", he concludes.
Hyderabad, April 20 : The teaser for Nani and Nazriya's 'Ante Sundaraniki' was released on Wednesday at a grand event in Hyderabad. Nani, who spoke at the event, promised the audience that he would thoroughly entertain them in the theatres.

"Ante Sundaraniki is a very special movie for me," Nani said at the event. "Now that the teaser is out, I can say these things. The teaser is fantastic. In the trailer, you'll have double for that. The film will be ten times as long as the trailer. It's my pledge." Nani also spoke highly of his team 'Ante Sundaraniki', as he lauded actress Nazriya, director Vivek Athreya, and other technicians.

"I have a lot to say about this movie, but will keep it for the coming events", Nani said.

Naziya, who is to mark her debut in Telugu with 'Ante Sundaraniki' plays Leela Thomas in the movie.

Speaking at the teaser launch event, the 'Raja Rani' actress said, "Ante Sundaraniki made me feel like I was in my first film. Probably because of the language." "It was a pleasure to work with such a talented group" Nazriya concluded.

Starring Nani, Nazriya, Naresh, and other actors in the lead roles, 'Ante Sundaraniki' is slated for its grand release on June 10.

Nani was last seen in 'Shyam Singha Roy', and has a couple of interesting stories like 'Dasara' in his kitty.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, April 20 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to hear the plea against the ongoing demolition drive in Jahangirpuri in the national capital, after taking note of the submission, in which it was pointed out the status quo direction of the Supreme Court in the matter.

On Wednesday morning, counsels Shahrukh Alam and Ajit Pujari approached the division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla for an urgent listing of the matter.

The Jahangirpuri area in northwest Delhi witnessed violent communal clashes that erupted between two groups of people, belonging to different communities, during a Shobha Yatra procession on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti on April 16.

During the course of the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma had opposed the mentioning of the matter, stating it is already before the Supreme Court.

Notably, the apex court on Wednesday ordered status quo on the demolition drive being carried out by the municipal corporation against the alleged encroachers in the city and agreed to list the matter for hearing on Thursday before an appropriate bench.

After the development also, Senior advocate Dushyant Dave again mentioned the Jahangirpuri demolition matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, saying despite the top court's order, the municipal corporation has not stopped the demolition drive.

Dave said the top court order in the morning ordered status quo on the demolition, yet the municipal corporation did not stop the demolition drive at Jahangirpuri. He urged the top court to ask the secretary-general to communicate the court's order to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), Mayor NDMC, and the Commissioner of Delhi Police. "Once it's widely reported in the media, this is not appropriate...," said Dave.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal also mentioned a plea filed by Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind questioning the validity of demolition launched after riots in several BJP-ruled states, including Madhya Pradesh's Khargone. The bench agreed to list it with the Jahangirpuri matter on Thursday.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Moscow, April 20 : Moscow has no confidence in the Ukrainian negotiators, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"Here it's not like 'trust and verify' -- here it's just 'verify', because there is no trust in these people for a long time," she commented on the negotiation process between Russia and Ukraine, RT reported.

Press Secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said that the dynamics of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations leave much to be desired.

"The special military operation continues. The President recently said that he was going according to plan,"Peskov said.

He added that at the expert level, contacts continue within the framework of the negotiation process with Ukraine.

"I also want to remind you of the president's words that, unfortunately, the Ukrainian side does not demonstrate much consistency on the agreed points. The position often changes, and, of course, the dynamics of progress in the negotiation process leaves much to be desired," Peskov said.

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, commenting on the words of Ukraine President Vladimir Zelensky about his readiness to discuss with Russia the refusal to join NATO and the issue of ownership of Crimea, said that he wants to gain time.

He stressed that simultaneously with these statements, the Ukrainian leader is turning to NATO for military support.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Mumbai, April 20 : Mumbai Indians left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat has called for a "collective effort" from the five-time champions to get their first win of IPL 2022 ahead of their match against defending champions Chennai Super Kings on Thursday.

The ongoing tournament has been far from ideal for Mumbai, who are at the bottom of the points table with six defeats in as many matches while Chennai have just one win in six games. The Rohit Sharma-led side need to win every single match, starting from the one against Chennai at the DY Patil Stadium, to avoid an early exit from IPL 2022.

"There has to be a collective effort and that is what we are looking for. At the moment, there's no point of looking at the bigger picture to be honest. The stage that we are in, we are just looking to put some things right, the missing pieces right first and just to get off the mark. Once we do that, the other things follow," said Unadkat in pre-match virtual press conference.

Unadkat, who has picked four wickets in the tournament, feels Mumbai have to think short-term instead of looking at the bigger picture. "So for now, rather than looking at the bigger picture and looking at 'We have to win eight out of eight' or something like that, it's about winning that one game. How we're going to do a couple of things differently maybe, from what we did in the last few games. We were close, but not over the line, so maybe just rectify those things first." Amongst the problem areas for Mumbai in bowling, the death overs phase has been a concern. In IPL 2022, Mumbai have the worst economy rate amongst all teams, at 13.30. Unadkat admitted that death overs bowling has been a problem area for Mumbai in IPL 2022 due to them not being able to click as a bowling unit.

"That (death bowling) has been a concern. Discussions have been about having the right plans for right players. It's one thing to talk about in the meetings; the other thing is to execute the plans in pressure situations. From what I have faced/experienced in the past, it's always important that when the situation arises, you need to be spontaneous, take some decisions on your own in the middle, which we did not do in a couple of games." "We did do that in the couple of games but there has to be a collective effort and that's what we are looking for. You could have seen some special overs from some of our bowlers in the past but then we are not really putting it all together as a unit. So the discussions are how to do it as a team, how to do it as a bowling unit. Discussions for death overs or power-play remains the same, we got to do it as a collective unit and that is one thing we are aiming for and hopefully we will get it right in the next game to get closer to two points for the team." Unadkat felt the key to getting those two points for Mumbai was following what skipper Rohit Sharma said about not panicking in his dressing room speech. "This team has seen it all. They have the most number of trophies, they have seen lows, they have come back from those lows too. Someone like Rohit bhai obviously knows how to handle the situation." "It's always important to not panic when you're not doing well, because to come out of that situation, you need calmness in the mind. When that's there, you make the right decisions. Everyone of us have to be on that page where we're calm in the middle." Unadkat further opined that accepting the presence of pressure should spur Mumbai to do things differently in order to break their winless run. "Yes, pressure is going to be there, it's always there. Doesn't matter if you have won five out of six games or you've not won any games. The pressure is going to be there. So then, how to remain calm and make those decisions in those situations depends on whether you panic or don't." "Pressure's there but the pressure is pushing us to do well and not pushing us to panic, that's where we want to be as a team. That's what Rohit bhai (Rohit Sharma) said and that's what everyone in the team is saying."

Latest updates on IPL 2022
Bengaluru, April 20 : After the tremendous success of 'KGF: Chapter-2' at global level, all eyes in the Kannada film industry are set on actor Upendra-starrer 'Kabza', scheduled to release on September 15.

Directed by R. Chandru, 'Kabza' will be released in seven languages - Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali.

Superstar Kichcha Sudeep is also part of the movie, and motion picture, teaser and posters of the movie have already created a buzz among the audience.

The audience have huge expectations from the collaboration of super star Upendra and director Chandru, who are known for their meticulous work and technical perfection.

The movie's ensemble cast includes Prakash Raj, Jayaprakash Reddy, Pradeep Rawat and Kabir Duhan Singh.

Multilingual actress Shriya Saran will be seen opposite Upendra. The actress' traditional look is being loved by her fans and audience.

The story revolves around the underworld of 1947 and 1984.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, April 20 : A team of Punjab Police personnel reached the house of poet and former AAP leader Kumar Vishwas to serve a notice upon him, here on Wednesday.

An FIR was registered against viahwas under the IT Act for allegedly doctoring a video. The police team visited his house to ask him to join the investigation.

In the run-up to the Assembly elections in Punjab earlier this year, Vishwas, without naming him, had said that Arvind Kejriwal wants to be the Prime Minister of an independent nation of Khalistan, accusing the AAP convenor of having connections with separatists in Punjab.

Taking to Twitter, Vishwas served a warning to Punjab Chief Minister Baghwant Mann, saying: "Punjab police team was at my doorsteps early morning. I am cautioning Bhagwant Mann, whom I inducted into the party myself, that the person sitting in Delhi will betray both you and Punjab one day. The country should remember my warning." He also posted pictures of policemen at his residence.
Mumbai, April 20 : 'Vagsheer', the state of the art 6th Scorpene submarine under Project-75 was launched at the Mazagaon Docks on Wednesday as part of the 'Make In India' initiative.

The submarine was launched by Veena A. Kumar, wife of the Chief Guest and Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar in the presence of Mumbai South MP Arvind Sawant, Western Naval Command chief, Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, Vice Admiral S. N. Ghormade, Mazagaon Docks Ltd Chairman cum Managing Director Vice Admiral Narayan Prasad (retd) and other senior dignitaries and officials.

Addressing the media, Kumar said that now 'Vagsheer' will under rigorous sea trials for over a year before she will be commissioned into the Indian Navy as a fully combat worthy submarine.

It is named after the Sand Fish, a deadly deep-sea predator of the Indian Ocean, said officials.

The first submarine 'Vagsheer', of Russia, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in December 1974 and served till April 1997.

Image Source: IANS News

In true nautical traditions, she has been reincarnated by the same name to the new submarine built by MDL to once again guard the vast maritime borders and interests of India.

The 'Vagsheer' is provided with the state of the art features utilised in all the Scorpene Class submarines with superior stealth features.

These include advanced acoustic absorption techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimised shape, the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision-guided weapons, etc.

She can with use both torpedoes and tube launched anti-ship missiles while underwater or on surface.

The stealth feature of this potent vessel is enhanced by the special attention to her characteristic underwater signatures, which give her invulnerability unmatched by most submarines.

The Scorpene Class submarines can undertake multifarious missions like anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine-laying, area surveillance, and more.

Image Source: IANS News

It has been designed to operate in all theatres of operations, showcasing interoperability with other components of a naval task forces, making her a potent platform and marking a transformational shift in submarine operations.

Prior to 'Vagsheer' four other submarines built by MDL - 'Kalvari', 'Khanderi', 'Karanj', and 'Vela' have been commissioned into the Indian Navy while the fifth 'Vagir' is undergoing sea-phase trials.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Amaravati, April 20 : As he turned 72 on Wednesday, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu is gearing up for another electoral battle in his long chequered career.

Nearly three years after suffering his worst-ever electoral defeat, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief appears to be down but not out as he looks to infuse new energy into the party for the 2024 poll battle.

Leading the charge against Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government, the veteran leader aims to make another comeback to power.

Though facing perhaps the toughest challenge of his four-decade-long political career, Naidu continues to be the tallest opposition figure who can take on Jagan Mohan Reddy, a leader 22 years younger to him.

As the leader of opposition in Andhra Pradesh Assembly, he is leading from front the fight against the 'misrule' of YSRCP. Backed by a strong cadre at the grassroots level, he is helming the TDP's fight against the YSRCP government's 'corruption', 'anti-people policies' and 'atrocities'.

With two years to go for the polls and Jana Sena led by actor politician Pawan Kalyan and BJP yet to have a strong presence on the ground, Naidu seems to be the only one who can give Jagan Mohan Reddy a run for his money.

On his 72nd birthday, Naidu said that he is working to restore the glory of Telugu people. He visited Kanakadurga temple in Vijayawada, seeking blessings and strength to carry on what he calls the fight on behalf of people.

Thanking people for celebrating his birthday, Naidu assured them that he would carry forward the party by working as per their expectations. Determined to be steadfast in this fight, he is confident of a victory.

Political observers say 2024 could be a do or die battle for him. If he makes a comeback as the chief minister, he can groom his son Nara Lokesh as his political successor but if he fails, it could well be the end of the road for him.

Naidu's four-decade-long career saw his political pendulum swinging wildly from left to right. In 2019, he exercised even his last option -- aligning with the Congress but this gamble could not save him.

He not only lost power in the state but became irrelevant in the national politics as his friend-turned-rival Narendra Modi retained power at the Centre with a huge majority.

Desperate to stop Modi, Naidu was holding extensive deliberations with regional parties across the country to forge an anti-BJP alliance. He wanted to achieve what he did in 1996, when as the convenor of the United Front (UF) he brought together regional parties to prop up the government of the third alternative. In 1999, he donned a similar role for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

A shrewd politician, Naidu was also seen as rank opportunist as he aligned with the BJP, apparently to ride on the Vajpayee wave. He succeeded in retaining power, which he got in 1995 after leading a revolt against his father-in-law and TDP founder N.T. Rama Rao.

Then known as the poster boy of new economic reforms, a reformist and a tech-savvy leader, Naidu mastered the skills of doing business with any formation at the Centre, irrespective of its ideology.

After losing power to his bete noire Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR) in 2004 following a record 9-year stint as Andhra Pradesh chief minister, Naidu admitted his priorities were lop-sided which led to the neglect of agriculture in the state.

So he promised a slew of freebies in the 2009 elections, but the people remained unconvinced and gave YSR a fresh mandate.

The emergence of Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate in 2014 offered Naidu a chance to revive his political fortunes.

He not only joined the NDA once again but by campaigning with Modi, he succeeded in storming to power in the truncated state of Andhra Pradesh, as people preferred him, apparently for his experience in developing Hyderabad as a tech hub.

As a leader who always enjoyed the role of a kingmaker and extracted his pound of flesh from the government at the Centre, Naidu was uncomfortable in the new dispensation where Modi had absolute majority.

Though facing post-bifurcation challenges like lack of state capital and poor finances, he had no option, but to quietly accept whatever was doled out to the state.

However, it was when YSR's son and the chief of the YSRCP Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy started targetting him for his compromise over the Special Category Status (SCS) that Naidu realised how he was losing the ground to the opposition. In 2018, he pulled out of the NDA government accusing Modi of 'betrayal'.

From a great admirer of Modi, Naidu soon turned into his worst critic and even joined hands with the Congress, his party's sworn enemy of 35 years. This was Naidu's biggest political misadventure.

His experiment ended in a disaster with the Congress-led United People's Alliance (UPA) biting the dust.

Ironically, Naidu began his political career with the Congress party. At the age of 28, he was elected to Assembly from Chandragiri constituency in his native district Chittoor and became a minister in the state cabinet (1980-83) When his father-in-law and popular actor N. T. Rama Rao floated TDP, Naidu was with the Congress and had even thrown a challenge at the former. The TDP wave in 1983 nearly wiped out Congress and Naidu too failed to re-elect to the Assembly.

Later, NTR admitted Naidu into TDP and since then he never looked back. Making a modest beginning in NTR dominant TDP, he climbed to the position of party general secretary.

In 1995, a few months after NTR led TDP back to power with a landslide victory, Naidu staged a revolt against father-in-law to become chief minister. NTR's children backed Naidu as they were also unhappy over growing interference by his second wife Lakshmi Parvathi in administration and party affairs.

NTR, who accused Naidu of back-stabbing him, died of cardiac arrest in January 1996, dramatically changing the state's political scene.

Since then Naidu has been heading TDP. He became the longest serving chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh (1995-2004). A decade later when Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated to carve out Telangana as a new state, he made a new beginning as the first chief minister of the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh.
New Delhi, April 20 : The Supreme Court has criticised the practice of courts pronouncing the final orders without a reasoned judgment, saying it has to be "stopped and discouraged".

A bench of Justices M.R. Shah and B.V. Nagarathna said: "Despite the strong observations made by this court as far as back in the year 1984 and thereafter repeatedly reiterated, still the practice of pronouncing only the operative portion of the judgment without a reasoned judgment and to pass a reasoned judgment subsequently has been continued." The bench, in its order pronounced on Tuesday, added" "Such a practice of pronouncing the final orders without a reasoned judgment has to be stopped and discouraged". It noted that from the record of proceedings, it appears that the reasoned judgment was pronounced and uploaded after a period of almost five months.

The top court made these observations while hearing an appeal against the Allahabad High Court order, acquitting the accused in a murder case.

Counsel representing the original complainant and counsel for the state government pointed out that in the present case, the arguments on the appeals were concluded on March 30, 2019. It was submitted that the high court allowed the appeals on the very day and pronounced the operative portion of the order, setting aside the judgment and order of conviction passed by the trial court. It was contended that the high court directed the accused who was in jail to be released, but a reasoned judgment and order was only pronounced after a period of approximately five months.

The top court set aside the judgment and order passed by the high court without further entering into the merits of the case nor expressing anything on merits in favour of either party, and remanded the appeals to the high court to decide the same afresh in accordance with law and on its own merits.

"We request the High Court to finally decide and dispose of the appeals at the earliest and preferably within a period of six months from the date of the receipt of the present order," it said.

The top court observed that during the pendency of the appeals before the high court, the accused need not surrender and they may be treated to have been released on bail and continued to be released on bail, however subject to the ultimate outcome of the appeals before the high court.

"If the conviction is sustained the accused shall surrender within a period of two weeks from the date of the pronouncement of the judgment," it said.
Chennai, April 20 : With Sri Lanka engulfed in an economic crisis, the inflow of refugees from the island nation continues to the Indian shores. The latest is the arrival of a single mother and her two children at Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

Tamil Nadu marine police personnel were informed by the local fishermen about the arrival of the Sri Lankan woman along with her children. As they did not have any valid documents or papers, they were brought from the Arichal mount to the marine police station at Rameswaram, and were questioned by the police.

Police sources told IANS that the woman Varshini (37) and her children, Nainika (11) and Rangesan (4) are residents of Batticaloa in Sri Lanka.

According to investigating officers, who spoke to IANS, the woman had told them that she had paid Rs 2.5 lakh Sri Lankan rupees to a boat owner to sail her "illegally" to the Indian shores.

She said that they commenced the journey from the Gulf of Mannar at 10 a.m. on Tuesday and reached on Wednesday morning.

The mother and children were lodged at the Mandapam refugee camp.

Varshini, while speaking to the media persons at Mandapam refugee camp, said: "Not only has the price increased, essential items are scarce in our country now. An egg costs Rs 50 and we are not able to get milk powder even if we pay the hiked price. As a single mother of two children, I find it hard to live in Sri Lanka and have taken great risks to reach India to lead a better life." She also said that she had sold her last gold ornaments to pay the amount of Rs 2.5 lakh Sri Lankan rupees to the boat owner to travel to India.

The woman said that she and her children waited for three days at the Gulf of Mannar to get the boat to travel to India.

With the arrival of Varshini and her two children, the number of Sri Lankan refugees who have reached the Indian shores and housed at Mandapam since the economic crisis engulfed the island nation has touched 42.
Dharamsala, April 20 : A group of six UN experts have expressed concerns and brought China into account for arrest, detention and enforced disappearance of Tibetan writer Lobsang Lhundup, musician Lhundrup Drakpa and teacher Rinchen Kyi, in the joint communication to China sent in February, but was just made public.

The UN rights experts have detailed three specific cases of gross violations of rights by China in Tibet, and further expressed "serious concern" over the repressive actions by China against the large numbers of Tibetans for their rightful engagement in promotion of the Tibetan culture, including through education, and China's acts against Tibetans who are critical of the Chinese rule in Tibet, a post of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) said on Wednesday.

In the sharply worded joint communication, the UN experts brought the attention and asked China to disclose the fate, health status and whereabouts of the Tibetan writer, the musician and the teacher.

While underlining the legal grounds for "arrest, detention and conviction" of Lobsang Lhundup and Lhundup Drakpa, the experts questioned China about the compatibility of "these measures" with international human rights norms and standards.

With specific reference to the case of the teacher, the experts questioned China to provide explanation on legal grounds for arrest and detention of Rinchen Kyi, and how charges "inciting separatism" against her are "interpreted" and "compatible" with international human rights norms and practices.

Tibetan writer Lobsang Lhundup, known by his pen name Dhi Lhaden, was arrested in June 2019 while he was working at a private cultural education centre in Chengdu, Sichuan province. For the first 18 months, he was held in detention without trial, barred him from having any visit by family, said the CTA.

In 2021, the Chinese court imprisoned Lobsang Lhundup to a four-year term on alleged charge of "disturbing social order" in a closed-door trial, without the presence of his family.

The UN experts have transmitted China that the arrest and sentencing of the writer are reported to have connection with his writings critical of the Chinese rule in Tibet and his involvement in teaching Tibetan history.

Rinchen Kyi was arrested in August 2021 on charge of "inciting separatism" after holding a hunger strike protest against forcible closure of Sengdruk Taktse Middle School in Darlag county in Golog, Amdo Tibetan traditional province (Qinghai) in July 2021.

As the UN experts have jointly emphasized in the communication, the cases brought to the attention of China were representative of challenges faced by Tibetans on a daily basis, in particular Tibetan who engaged in the protection of Tibetan language, culture and traditions, or merely expressing critical views about Chinese policies in Tibet.

The six UN Special Procedures' mandate holders include Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights; Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the rights to freedom of opinion and expression and special Rapporteur on minority issues.
Kolkata, April 20 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urging Governor Jagdeep Dhankar to ensure that "industrialists are not disturbed by central agencies" created political ripples in the state on Wednesday.

Addressing the inaugural session of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) 2022 here on Wednesday, Banerjee said: "I want to tell the honourable Governor that we are all ready to cooperate with the Union government to ensure economic development of the state and the country.

"But I would also like to request the honourable government to take the matter with the Union government so that we receive central assistance. At the same time, the industrialists should not be disturbed through any central agency." Soon after Banerjee made the remarks, political reactions started pouring in from the opposition leaders, with most slamming the Chief Minister for her comments made at a business summit.

State BJP chief and Lok Sabha MP Sukanta Majumdar said that the business summit was not the ideal platform for the Chief Minister to make such a political comment.

"Such comments send wrong signals to the business fraternity. She publicly referred to the industrialists being disturbed. Did she actually refer to her party colleagues and family members who are under the lens of the central probe agencies? "The Union government is always ready to cooperate with the state government on the issue of economic development. But the Chief Minister must first ensure an atmosphere of peace sans law and order issues in the state. If not, no industrialist would invest in the state," Majumdar said.

CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty accused the Chief Minister of using all platforms to convey her political views.

"Here she indirectly referred to the industrialists to hint at the ongoing central agency inquiries in the state," he said.

State Congress President and senior party MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury slammed both the Governor and the Chief Minister for allegedly using the business summit dais for airing their own political views.

"Such comments by the executive and constitutional heads of the state do not send the right signal about the image of the state," Chowdhury said.

Defending Banerjee for her remarks, Trinamool General Secretary and spokesman Kunal Ghosh said that the Chief Minister has rightly pointed out that whenever any industrialist shows eagerness to invest in the state, he/she is harassed by different central agencies.

"So she rightly requested the Governor to look into the matter," Ghosh said.
New Delhi, April 20 : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday asked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal not to play politics on the sensitive issue of the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal even as he asked Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to urge him to withdraw the guarantee given on this issue to the people of Haryana.

Talking to the media at Gurdwara Rakabganj here, Badal said the AAP had again started befooling Punjabis in its age-old tradition. The Punjab Finance Minister had now announced that the state's river waters would not flow into Haryana, even as a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament had given a guarantee on behalf of Kejriwal in Haryana that water from the SYL canal would irrigate each and every field in the state.

Asserting that this insidious conduct of AAP had the potential to inflame sentiments in the entire region, Badal said the continued silence of Mann on this issue was being read as a weakness by Punjabis.

"It seems Mann knows the real intentions of Kejriwal which the latter has made public earlier also by filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court demanding water be released to Haryana and Delhi through the SYL. If Mann does not step in and ask Kejriwal to withdraw the guarantee given by his party to the people of Haryana, he should be prepared to face the angst of Punjabis who will not allow one drop of water to flow into Haryana from the SYL canal." Badal said as far as SAD was concerned, the issue of the SYL had been closed forever in 2016 when then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal denotified all land acquired to build the canal and handed it back to farmers.

"Now there is no land available for construction of the canal. Thinking of taking water from the canal to Haryana amounts to day dreaming," he added.

Answering a query, Badal condemned the manner in which Punjab Police was being misused to victimise the political opponents of AAP.

"Bhagwant Mann should not allow misuse of Punjab Police on the directions of the Delhi Chief Minister. We are witnessing cases being registered against all those who have stood up to AAP and the latest victim is Kumar Vishwas. Punjabis did not give power to AAP to enable it to settle its political scores. The mandate was to provide transparent, persecution free governance as well as fulfill all the promises made to the people.

"The AAP government should concentrate on this rather than registering false cases against its opponent and sending Punjab Police personnel to their doorsteps to harass and persecute them," he added.
Chandigarh, April 20 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday urged the people to participate in the celebrations of 400th Parkash Purab of Guru Tegh Bahadur, also known as 'Hind Di Chadar' in Panipat town on April 24.

An official statement quoting the Chief Minister said he is of the view that teachings, ideologies and philosophies of Guru Tegh Bahadur and other religious gurus and saints should be disseminated in society. Along with the government, social and religious institutions are also playing an important role in this direction.

The government pays tribute to religious leaders, saints and martyrs time to time by holding public meetings, functions and seminars all over the state. Apart from this, special scheme 'Sant Mahapurush Vichar Prasar Yojana' has been started to celebrate the birth anniversary of the great men.

Haryana has a special connection with Guru Tegh Bahadur as there are more than 30 gurdwaras in the state by his name. The government has been taking decisions from time to time to preserve these historical gurdwaras.

The Chief Minister recently announced the establishment of a 'peeth' in the name of Guru Tegh Bahadur at Kurukshetra University in Kurukshetra.

A comprehensive research work will be done on the life of Guru Tegh Bahadur so that his biography can be understood in a better manner and can be promoted in society, especially among the youth, said the statement.

Also, the Chief Minister announced to set up a museum dedicated to Sikh gurus. The history and teachings of gurus are not only a rare legacy but also one of the most important foundations for building a strong and a morally enlightened society.

Guru Tegh Bahadur stands as a shining symbol of the country's great pluralistic tradition and secularism, and his supreme sacrifice forms an important part of India's history.

According to the Chief Minister, Haryana shares a special bond not only with Guru Tegh Bahadur but all 10 Sikh gurus as most of them travelled across the state.

The Chief Minister said the state earlier celebrated the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh as well as the 550th Parkash Purab of Guru Nanak Dev.

Since March last year, as part of the celebrations of the Parkash Purab of Guru Tegh Bahadur, various religious and cultural programmes have been started in some parts of the country. However, due to the pandemic, most of the programmes in Haryana got postponed.

"Now the state government has decided to organise a state-level function on April 24," he said.
Chennai, April 20 : A special team of the Tamil Nadu Police will be questioning AIADMK's former interim General Secretary, V.K. Sasikala in the Kodanad murder and heist case on Thursday, officials said.

The 906-acre estate was jointly owned by late Chief Minister and AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa and her aide Sasikala, and the murder and heist case took place on April 24, 2017, four months after the passing away of J. Jayalalithaa and the arrest of Sasikala.

According to the charge sheet, C. Kanagaraj, who was once the driver of Jayalalithaa, hatched a conspiracy to break open the Kodanad estate as he believed that huge money was stashed in the estate bungalow. On April 23, 2017, a gang of ten people, led by him, broke into the estate and killed guard, Om Bahadhur while another guard Krishna Thapa was beaten and tied.

Police sources said that Kanagaraj had convinced another accused Stayan that an amount of Rs 200 crore was stashed in the estate bungalow but the burglars could get only ten watches and a crystal replica of rhinoceros worth Rs 42,000.

Five days after the Kodanad estate heist, Kanagaraj was killed in a road accident on the Salem-Chennai highway in Attur. Another accused Sayan from Kerala also met with an accident on the same day but he escaped with injuries while his wife and daughter got killed.

In July 3, 2017, Dinesh Kumar, a computer operator at the estate, was found dead in his home leading to five deaths altogether.

Police filed a 300-page charge sheet in September 2017 against 11 people out of which only Kanagaraj was from Tamil Nadu, and the rest were from Kerala.

Sayan and another accused Manoj had given an interview to a journalist stating that the then Chief Minister, K. Palaniswami had ordered the break-in at the Kodanad estate to search some important documents.

Three of the accused also moved court seeking the interrogation of Palaniswami, Sasikala, the then Nilgiris Collector, and then district police chief.

AIADMK and Palaniswami had reacted strongly, accusing the DMK government of using police to settle scores.

With Sasikala's interrogation slated for Thursday, the AIADMK camp is in jitters and the possibility of Palaniswami being called for quizzing by the sleuths is on high.
Thiruvananthapuram, April 20 : Speculations are increasing in political circles in Kerala that Governor Arif Mohammed Khan's name is being considered for the post of Vice President.

The 70-year-old Khan was appointed as Governor in September 2019, but in recent times, he has been making several visits to Delhi, more often than before, giving rise to the speculations.

However, when this question of his possible elevation was put to him by TV journalist during a media interaction some time back, he feigned ignorance of any such development.

There are also reports that senior BJP leader from neighbouring Tamil Nadu - H. Raja - is going to succeed Khan in Kerala.

The present tenure of President Ram Nath Kovind ends of July 25, while that of Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu comes to a close on August 11.
Guwahati, April 20 : The Chief Ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Ministers on Wednesday announced to form district-level committees to resolve the long pending inter-state border disputes in a time-bound manner.

The decision was taken after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held a meeting in Guwahati with his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu.

Sarma said that the district level committees would undertake joint surveys in the disputed areas to find tangible solutions to the long-pending issue based on historical perspective, ethnicity, contiguity, people's will and administrative convenience of both the states.

"We have also finalised the terms of reference of the district level committees," the Assam Chief Minister tweeted.

Assam Border Area Development Minister Atul Bora, Assam Chief Secretary Jishnu Baruah, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar and other senior officials from both the states were also present.

Assam and Arunachal Pradesh share an 804.1-km-long inter-state border and there are 1,200 spots of dispute along the two northeastern states.

Media reports said that Arunachal Pradesh has encroached Assam's 8,395.25 hectares land in six districts - Sonitpur, Biswanath, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh and Charaideo.

Arunachal Pradesh was a centrally-administered region initially after Independence and became a Union Territory later, before attaining full statehood in 1987.
Bengaluru, April 20 : The ruling BJP in Karnataka is under pressure to emulate the "bulldozer model" of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to deal with persons involved in communal violence, according to party sources.

Yogi Adityanath's model of confiscation or demolition of property and other measures against anti-social elements which has stirred a controversy in the nation is known as the "bulldozer model". It has been adopted by the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh also. With a series of communal incidents in the state, ruling BJP leaders are calling for the same measures in Karnataka.

BJP State President Nalin Kumar Kateel and Minister for Power V. Sunil Kumar have warned that if people do not cooperate to maintain peace, they will have to cooperate with bulldozers. However, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has clarified that the situation in the state does not warrant any such action.

However, he stated that the damage caused to public property would have to be paid for by the rioters. Sunil Kumar stated that during the tenure of the Congress government headed by Siddaramaiah, 1,500 cases against the Popular Front of India (PFI) workers had been taken back. The seeds of poison were sown then, he said.

The ruling BJP has given a free hand to the police to initiate action against rioters. The police have also invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the accused in a Bajrang Dal activist murder case. The opposition Congress has already voiced concern over the arrest of innocents in connection with the Hubballi violence.

Sources in the state BJP say that since the assembly elections are fast approaching, Bommai is under pressure to take more ruthless measures. The move would polarize the majority Hindu voters and also help to maintain law and order in the state, they say.
Kolkata, April 20 : Even as in Delhi, the AAP and BJP spar over the political affiliations of Ansar Sheikh, a prime accused in the violence in the capital's Jahangirpuri area, a similar debate has kicked off in West Bengal, as state BJP leaders allege that Sheikh is a "close associate" of the ruling Trinamool Congress.

The Trinamool, however, denies that Sheikh was involved with the party in any way.

Leader of Opposition in Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari claims that Sheikh was not only a close associate of Trinamool leadership in East Midnapore district, but also associated in an attack on his vehicle on May 2, 2021 immediately after the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.

"After I got elected from Nandigram assembly constituency, where I defeated the Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, there was an attack on my vehicle in Haldia, where Sheikh has his own residence. Sheikh was part of the Trinamool Congress gang who were behind that attack," he claimed.

Adhikari's statement came on a day when a team of the Delhi Police is already in Haldia and adjacent Mashishadal to collect more information about Sheikh and Sheikh Aslam, the two accused behind the Jahangirpuri violence.

While a luxurious mansion owned by Sheikh is located at Haldia, the prime industrial township in East Midnapore, Aslam is a resident of Kanchanpur village under the Mahishadal police station.

However, the local Trinamool leadership has denied any association of either Ansar Sheikh or Aslam with the party's district unit.

Adhikari also alleged that Trinamool has made West Bengal a "supply hub of terrorists throughout the country" and also demanded that the Union government should immediately step to cut of the supply line.

In Haldia, people knew Sheikh as a successful trader dealing in the scrap iron business. His longest stay in Haldia at a time was between the middle of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, or during the Covid-19 pandemic period. However, even after that he used to frequent Haldia.

On the other hand, Aslam was known in the locality as a carpenter who went to Delhi five to six months back to earn hiss livelihood. Sheikh had been the key person behind Aslam's move.

On April 16, communal clashes broke out between two groups of people during a Shobha Yatra procession on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti in Delhi's Jahangirpuri area. As many as eight police personnel and a civilian sustained injuries in the violence.

Delhi Police on Sunday arrested 35-year-old Sheikh, for alleged conspiracy behind the communal clashes, an official said.
New York, April 20 : Moderna has developed a new version of its Covid-19 vaccine which has shown promise against Omicron variant much more than existing shots.

According to the US drug major, the new vaccine targets several mutations abd produced a stronger immune response against the major virus variants, including Omicron and Delta, than the company's current shots, CNBC reported.

The biotech company's redesigned vaccine targets nine mutations found in the Beta Covid variant, as well as the original strain of the virus that first emerged in China's Wuhan in late 2019.

Four of the mutations targeted by the updated vaccine are shared with Omicron.

A 50-microgram dose of Moderna's new vaccine doubled the antibodies, which block the virus from infecting human cells, against the Omicron variant six months after injection compared with the original booster at the same dosage, the data indicated.

The updated shot also increased antibody levels against the Delta variant six months after injection, though they were lower than the response observed with Omicron and did not show superior results in comparison to the original booster, according to the findings posted online, and not peer-reviewed yet.

The most common side effects of the updated 50-microgram shot were injection site and muscle pain, fatigue and headache, according to the data.

In a statement, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said that the data on the shot with the Beta variant demonstrates that updating the vaccines to target mutations is the right strategy to fight Covid moving forward, the report said.

Moderna and Pfizer, in the wake of the Omicron wave, earlier this year announced that they are developing new shots that target multiple virus variants in the hope of producing vaccines that provide longer-lasting protection against infection.

The current vaccines were developed to recognise the spike protein, which the virus uses to invade human cells, of the Wuhan strain of Covid.

But the more the spike protein has evolved, the less likely the antibodies produced by the vaccine are able to recognise the virus and fight it, which reduces the efficacy of the shots.

Two doses of the original vaccines still provide strong protection against hospitalisation, though effectiveness against severe illness also has dropped. Third shots of the current vaccine also boost protection against infection and hospitalisation.

Moderna is also developing an additional vaccine that includes the Wuhan strain and 32 mutations present in the omicron Covid variant.

The company expects initial data on that shot in the second quarter of this year, the report said.
New Delhi, April 20 : The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) will present a new group exhibition titled 'Inner Life of Things: Around Anatomies and Armatures (preview on April 24), curated by Roobina Karode, at the Noida space of the museum.

The exhibition brings forth independent projects by 15 artists whose investigations are rooted in the ecologies of co-existence as well as the enigmatic life of objects and materials beyond and autonomous from human perception.

The four-panel watercolour painting of Lahore-based artist Ali Kazim is executed in subdued shades and presented on a scale that overwhelms the viewer. It is inspired by the artist's visit to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation excavation site near the Ravi river, and the ruins of culture it preserves.

Anindita Bhattacharya's acutely crafted lines of lushly detailed organic clusters and foliage in earthy hues, executed in the tradition of Mughal miniature painting, prompt the viewer to find the hidden and intricate patterns in nature.

The idea of traversing lesser-travelled terrains and vast expanses is explored in Shalina S. Vichitra's landscape with a thousand white flags, inspired by Tibetan Buddhist dictums and the spiritual harmony that they seek with respect to the primordial laws and spirits of nature.

Astha Butail's take on ancient methods of archiving and the tradition of carrying oral histories through Vedic myths and metaphors marks a meticulous installation with minuscule prototypes of book-like objects.

Other artists participating in the exhibition include Nibha Sikander, Reena Saini Kallat, Shambhavi Singh, Debasish Mukherjee, Rajendar Tiku, Rathin Barman, Dilip Chobisa, Kishor Shinde, Vibha Galhotra, Rahul Kumar, Chetnaa, Seher Shah and Randhir Singh.
New Delhi, April 20 : 'Festivals From India, an India-UK initiative for art and culture and the first digital platform created to showcase hundreds of Indian art and culture festivals for culture-seekers across the globe, was launched on Wednesday.

Made possible by the British Council and designed and developed by ArtBramha (a sister concern of the Art X Company), the platform will celebrate arts, cultural diversity and the coming together of communities.

The platform hosts festivals from across a range of genres including art and craft, design, dance, films, folk arts, food and culinary arts, heritage, literature, interdisciplinary and/or multi-arts, music, new media, photography, theatre and visual arts, among others, across locations and languages.

The platform also hosts a range of hidden gems, select LGBTQIA+ festivals as well as online versions of festivals live-streamed for audiences worldwide.

"Festivals From India aims to be a window to India's dynamic cultural festival universe. For an art lover, it will showcase the treasures of India's aesthetic largesse along with all the relevant information they need to make the journey to these festivals a wholesome and fulfilling experience. For artists and arts managers, it will curate the resources, information and opportunities needed for them to feel empowered to build a career in the festival sector in this space," says Rashmi Dhanwani, Partner, ArtBrahma, and Founder and CEO, Art X Company.

"We have made possible the Festivals from India platform with ArtBramha in India and the Audience Agency in the UK to develop new audiences and showcase the huge variety of arts and culture festivals here; develop business skills of festival managers with UK and Indian experts and grow international partnerships and networks with the UK and beyond. Backed by research, this new platform is a repository of guidance for families wanting to find a festival and for festival organisers wanting to make their event more accessible or find a job," added Jonathan Kennedy, Director, Arts India, British Council.
Gurugram, April 20 : Gurugram police busted a fake call centre on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday and arrested 11 employees of the alleged call centre.

According to the police, acting on a tip-off, a joint team of Sector-40 and cybercrime police stations raided a call centre running in South City Phase-1 and arrested 11 persons, who used to allegedly cheat residents of the US and Canada.

As per the police, they would first install a malware in the victim's phone/computer through pop-ups that also contained a helpline number.

"The victim's calls on this number were got routed through the call centre which would then charge $500-2,000 for removing the malware from the system," the police said.

The police have recovered 14 laptops, 24 mobile phones and Rs 1.13 lakh in cash from their possession.

Gurugram CP, Kala Ramachandran, informed that efforts are underway towards capacity building of the cybercrime wing of the Gurugram police.

"As part of these efforts, we have initiated a process of in-service training of the personnel posted in the cyber police station. Further, to improve the performance of the cyber wing, police personnel with interest and aptitude for cybercrime detection have been identified and interviewed by senior officers. Following a detailed evaluation of their capabilities, they have been posted in the cyber wing of Gurugram police.

"Additionally, Gurugram police are in the process of designing programmes for creating public awareness regarding cyber security and steps to protect themselves from online/mobile scamsters," the Commissioner said.
Gurugram, April 20 : To prevent criminal activities in the district, Gurugram police are planning to introduce a new E-Beat system which is expected to be not only simple to implement, but also effective in detecting crime as well as improving the police-public relations, the police said.

Furnishing details about the project, Gurugram Police Commissioner, Kala Ramachandran, said that the idea is to introduce an effective and transparent beat patrolling system with centralised monitoring to enhance accountability and performance.

"The new beat system is expected to help us increase police visibility in public places; monitor criminals and their movement with public cooperation; increase the safety of women in public etc. Additionally, the effort would help improve the response time of the police since the beat police can quickly reach the emergency spots," she said.

Ramachandran added, "Police personnel work extremely hard, but there is a need to 'work smart' by making optimal use of technology. We had started the process of crime-mapping last month to identify the 'hot spots, i.e., crime-prone areas in the different zones of Gurugram.

"Additionally, geo-mapping will now be done of ATMs, banks, courts, residential areas, schools, bus stands, public areas, important CCTV points, and other priority places under all the police stations. Following this, we shall decide on the beat points and routes of the police beats." These beat points would be visited twice every 24 hours by the police riders deputed on the beat.

"Centralised software-based monitoring on a real-time basis will assist in the evaluation of the performance of each beat constable. We have tied up with a Bengaluru-based startup, Rezler Systems Pvt Ltd, to help us set up the smart E-Beat system on a pilot basis in Gurugram East and Pataudi. Based on the results, we shall expand the exercise to the entire district," she said.
New York, April 20 : Scientists have found 21 viral offspring linked with BA.2 that may outpace the most successful subvariant of Omicron variant so far.

BA.2 has been picking up mutations, sometimes shifting into sleeker and, incredibly, even faster versions of itself, CNN reported.

While most of the mutations look like underachievers, and of little consequence, two of these offshoots -- BA.2.12.1 and BA.2.12 -- have been fueling a rise in Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations in central New York.

And one of them, BA.2.12.1, is outpacing BA.2 in other regions, too, the report said.

According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, BA.2.12.1 caused 19 per cent of new Covid infections in the US last week, up from an estimated 11 per cent of cases the week before.

The speed at which BA.2.12.1 is outpacing BA.2 is roughly as fast as BA.2 outcompeted its cousin BA.1, Trevor Bedford, an epidemiologist and genomic scientist at the University of Washington's School of Public Health, was quoted as saying.

Though BA.2 is still very much around, it's lost some ground. Last week, it caused an estimated 74 per cent of Covid-19 cases, according to the CDC data, down from nearly 76 per cent the week before.

Together, BA.2 and BA.2.12.1 accounted for an estimated 93 per cent of new Covid cases in the US last week.

"BA.2.12.1 has increased rapidly in proportion in the US compared to other BA.2 sublineages," especially in the region that includes New York and New Jersey, CDC spokesperson Kristen Nordlund was quoted as saying.

Last week, the New York State Department of Health alerted residents to the new sublineages, warning that they were spreading about 25 per cent faster than BA.2 and were causing Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations to increase, particularly in the central part of the state.

It urged New Yorkers to "act swiftly" to consider wearing masks, to get booster vaccine doses, to get tested if they had symptoms and to seek treatment if infected, the report said.

Officials are concerned about BA.2 offshoots because they have swapped pieces of their spike proteins at key locations called L452Q and S704L.

"And those mutations are allowing the virus to enter cells faster and also contributing to evading antibody responses that are generated from vaccination or infection," said Andy Pekosz of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Two other Omicron sub-variants, BA.4 and BA.5, have begun to circulate at low levels in other parts of the world, including South Africa, Botswana, Germany, and Denmark. They also have mutations at 452, among others.

"What we really just don't know right now is how much those mutations are going to be contributing to increased spread or increased disease severity," Pekosz said. "That's something that's going to take some time for us to figure out."

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New Delhi, April 20 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday came down heavily on the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) over non-compliance of an earlier court order which allowed the premature release of a convict, who has completed 14 years of jail term.

A bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad was dealing with the contempt petition over the non-compliance of the order passed in January last year.

As per the matter, the person had completed 14 years of his sentence in connection with a 2015 kidnapping case.

During the course of the hearing, the bench said that the act is equal to "illegal detention".

"This is preposterous. This is an order of this court directing release. You say that the CBI has to process and they already did this in August 2021. This amounts to illegal detention!" it said.

It warned that if the order is not complied in a week, then the Home Secretary must be present in court to show cause for not initiating contempt action.
London, April 20 : A ban on Islamic veils in French schools saw Muslim girls get better grades, besides increasing the likelihood that they would marry someone outside their religion, a study from the country has found, Daily Mail reported.

A law introduced in 2004 fully outlawed veils from French schools, but they were first asked to ban 'ostentatious religious signs' in a 1994 government circular - or advisement.

The ban was met with heavy opposition from religious leaders, who warned that the law would persecute Muslims and lead to fundamentalism, with some arguing it went against France's constitution.

However, a study in France that compared Muslin women born between 1971 and 1974 (and thus completing school before the 1994 circular) to those born between 1987 and 1990 has found the law may have had some positive impacts.

The findings demonstrated that the 1971-74 group were around 13 per cent likely to graduate from high school than their non-Muslim peers.

For the 1987-90 group of Muslim girls - who would have attended school with some form of veil ban in place - the gap shrunk to just 7 per cent.

Co-author of the study, professor Eric Maurin, told The Daily Telegraph: "For students who wore the veil, the ban may have had a negative effect on those who were most attached to it, as it may have led them to drop out of school.

"But the ban may also have had a positive effect on students who were forced to wear the veil and on students suffering from stigmatisation and discrimination in school because of it." The findings of Maurin -- who works at the Paris School of Economics -- and his team were presented at France's 75th annual policy meeting in early April.

Speaking to the newspaper, he added that the study demonstrated a "significant increase in educational attainment" amongst the group of Muslim women "who attended middle school and reached puberty" after the 1994 ban, Daily Mail reported.
Panaji, April 20 : Goa is facing 'power wars' because the quantum of power allocated to the state by the Centre was not enough to fuel industrial development anymore, state Industries Minister Mauvin Godinho said on Wednesday.

Godinho, who returned from an official visit to the national capital has also hinted at tweaking the state's industrial policy to facilitate ease of business practices for new industries keen on setting up base in Goa.

"Certainly there are power wars as far as industry is concerned. We should re-address this and I am happy that the Power Minister met the Chief Minister and the CM was kind enough to immediately agree, because industrialisation is required. Existing industry has to survive well,without incurring additional cost to make the industry itself unviable. This should not happen," he said.

Over the last couple of weeks, delegations of various industry associations met top government officials including Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar and Industries Minister Mauvin Godinho to complain about consistent power outages in the coastal state.

Following their plea, the state government has now decided to purchase nearly 120 megawatts of power from the open market and make it available to commercial establishments in Goa. The government is also vetting a Power Ministry proposal to buy another batch of 125 megawatt power to tide over shortages in the future.

Industry representatives also told the media that they were willing to pay the additional cost incurred by the government to purchase the additional power.

"I am happy that the present industrial people have come forward and said we will pay the difference. They know that power is the cheapest in Goa when you compare it to other states. So even if they pay marginally little more, out of the direct power purchased from the open market, still it will be less," Godinho said.

"I think we should also try for more allocation from the Centre from the central grid. What we were allocated that time was more, but now with more industries coming, more development, more tourists coming, power consumption per capita has taken a quantum jump. Centre will look at us kindly and give us more power," Godinho said.

The Industries Minister also said that he had directed his Ministry's officials to scan industrial policies in other states and look for best industrial practices which can be implemented in the state.

"The best practices will be adopted from other states and their policies. Even if the Goa Industrial Development Act act needs to be tweaked or the industrial policy needs to be changed, we want to do it on a permanent basis," he said.
Mumbai, April 20 : A Mumbai court on Wednesday extended, by 14 days, the judicial custody of advocate Gunratan Sadavarte, who was arrested for the April 8 attack at the home of Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar.

Girgaum Court's Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate J.C. Yadav declined the prosecution plea to send him back to police custody for investigations into how he had allegedly splurged the monies collected from Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).

Simultaneously, Sadavarte's lawyers have moved the sessions court seeking bail for him and the application is expected to be heard on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Special Public Prosecutor Pradip Gharat had made revelations before the court on the manner in which Sadavarte collected money from many of the 95,000 MSRTC employees whose case he had claimed to fight free of cost.

Gharat said that Sadavarte had collected over Rs two crore and then blown it off by purchasing two properties in Mumbai and an expensive luxury car costing Rs 23 lakh.

Besides, the police have recovered a currency note counting machine, a green register detailing the modus operandi of the fund collection from 250 bus depots, and sought Sadavarte's police custody for further investigations into these new developments.

Following the extension of judicial remand, a Kolhapur police team was granted permission to arrest and take him to face certain complaints there, even as over a dozen other complaints are pending against him with police stations in different districts of Maharashtra.

Continuing the probe, the Mumbai Police have arrested more 118 persons, a majority of them MSRTC employees, for the violence outside Pawar's home in Silver Oak bungalow.

In a relief to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, Transport Minister Anil Parab on Wednesday said that nearly 90 percent of the employees - who were on strike since October 28 - have returned to duties till now, in compliance with the Bombay High Court orders.

"We are confident that the remaining employees shall also return before the court deadline of April 22. We shall not take any punitive action against the striking employees. I urge all to dedicate themselves to recover the huge losses suffered by MSRTC in the past nearly five months," Parab appealed.

The Minister also slammed Sadavarte, saying the lawyer completely "misled" the MSRTC employees on the issue of the transport undertaking's merger with the state government which was not possible.
Mumbai, April 20 : The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)'s Resident Representative for India Shoko Noda on Wednesday said the body would assist the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation to further strengthen its Disaster Management Department (DMD).

Visiting the BMC headquarters, she said she was impressed as she lauded the disaster management measures initiated by the country's biggest and richest civic body that manages the nation's financial capital.

Officials said that in order to tackle future threats to Mumbai which could become disasters, the UNDP is working on a project to boost the DMD that would assist the BMC tackle future disasters or emergencies more effectively.

This would include disaster preparedness, state-of-the-art messaging systems, empowerment of services, community-based disaster management response and effective use of Information Technology in disaster management.

Noda assured that the UNDP will extend its fullest support to the BMC's DMD for the successful completion of this project.

Top BMC officials including Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani, DMD Director Mahesh Narvekar, Rashmi Lokhande and other officials of UNDP were present.

They explained to Noda the complex working of the BMC's DMD, the decentralisation at the divisional levels, the involvement and coordination of various agencies for the successful running of the DMD.
Islamabad, April 20 : China had so many expectations from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), but it was perplexed after seeing the former PTI government's attitude and policies, said Pakistan Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal, Geo News reported.

"They would say privately that we want to help Pakistan, but we have no idea what the government was trying to achieve," Iqbal said.

Iqbal said Pakistan lost approximately $40 billion in foreign investment, which would have been possible had the special economic zones been completed. This money has now been diverted to Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and some other countries, he said.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been in office for barely ten days and his first order of business has been to resume work on the multi-billion dollar CPEC to regain China's confidence, which was reportedly shaken during the tenure of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government led by Imran Khan.

After the PTI assumed power in 2018, the then commerce advisor, Abdul Razak Dawood, told a British publication that the CPEC "unfairly benefitted Chinese companies" as compared to their Pakistani counterparts.

He further added that the PTI would review Pakistan's deals with China and would put everything on hold for a year or so, Geo News reported.

The remarks, as per media reports, alienated Beijing. Also, in the last three years, construction on the regional corridor was progressing at a snail's pace as well.
New Delhi, April 20 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that doctors can provide the best medical assistance available at their command but merely because they could not save the patient, that could not be considered to be a case of post-operative medical negligence.

A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Abhay S. Oka said: "The doctors are expected to take reasonable care, but no professional can assure that the patient will come back home after overcoming the crisis." The bench added that a medical practitioner is not to be held liable simply because things went wrong from mischance or misadventure or through an error of judgment in choosing one reasonable course of treatment in preference to another.

The bench dismissed an appeal filed by Dr Chanda Rani Akhouri and others challenging the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission order, rejecting their claim for damages to the tune of Rs 95.16 lakh against a nursing home and its doctors for post-operative negligence, resulting in the death of Akhouri's husband within months after kidney transplant in 1995.

"We realise the pain of losing her husband and the trauma she has suffered, but that cannot translate into a legal remedy," the bench said, holding that the term "negligence" has no defined boundaries and if any medical negligence is there, whether it is pre- or post-operative medical care or in follow-up care, at any point of time by the treating doctors or anyone else, it is always open to be considered by the courts/commission taking note of the exposition of law laid down.

The bench said: "In the practice of medicine, there could be varying approaches of treatment. There could be a genuine difference of opinion. However, while adopting a course of treatment, the duty cast upon the medical practitioner is that he must ensure that the medical protocol being followed by him is to the best of his skill and with competence at his command." It noted that treating doctors in the case were experts in the field of nephrology, and all post-operative medical care protocol available at their command was administered to the patient.

It also said no evidence has come on record at the behest of the appellants which, in any manner, could demonstrate that it was a case of post-operative medical negligence or follow-up care on the part of treating doctors and both the doctors who have recorded their statements on behalf of the appellants, are not expert doctors in the field of kidney transplantation.

"Merely because they are doctors by profession, what is being expressed by both of them in the affidavits filed before the Commission would not be considered to be an opinion of experts," added the bench.

The bench said though the complaint of the patient which remained persistent could not be ruled out despite medically approved drugs being administered to him and if the patient could not be finally saved, that in itself could not be considered to be a case of post-operative medical negligence.

"All post operative medical care protocol available at the command of the respondents was administered to the patient, still his physical condition deteriorated and finally he could not be saved, which is really unfortunate, but there cannot be a legal recourse to what is being acceptable to the destiny."
Hyderabad, April 20 : Telangana's Minister for Animal Husbandry, T. Srinivas Yadav, on Wednesday found fault with Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan for criticising the state government by holding press meets.

He said it is unbecoming for a person holding a Constitutional post to criticise the government by holding press conferences.

"Our government has been elected by the people. We are not nominated persons," said Yadav in an obvious reaction to certain remarks made by the Governor while talking to reporters in Delhi on Monday.

"It's not correct to say whatever she likes. It's also not proper for the Governor to say that she does not want to work with this Chief Minister," said Yadav, who accused Tamilisai of speaking like a political leader.

The minister said making remarks against a government elected by the people is not fair.

He said she should know her limitations as a Governor and advised her to discharge her Constitutional duties, and not speak like a politician.

Tamilisai has been drawing flak from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government ever since she alleged that the state government insulted her and violated Governor's protocol.

The Governor, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah a few days ago, visited Delhi again on Monday.

She is believed to have submitted a report to the Centre against All India Services officers for breach of protocol. Talking to reporters, she again trained guns on the state government.

Meanwhile, Congress' national spokesperson Dasoju Sravan has slammed those trolling Tamilisai. He wondered if they were ruthlessly trolling her because she is a woman and that too from a backward class.

Sravan recalled that when E.S.L. Narasimhan was the Governor, he had overruled several decisions of the former Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh.

"But he was never humiliated or trolled the way the current Governor of Telangana is! Why is there so much animosity towards the state's first citizen, a woman from the OBC community," he tweeted.
Madrid, April 20 : Four-time major champion Japan's Naomi Osaka and former Olympic gold medalist Puerto Rican Monica Puig are among the five players who have received main-draw wildcards for the 2022 Madrid Open, which begins on April 28.

The former World No 1 Osaka was a quarterfinalist at the WTA 1000 tournament in 2019. After playing a limited number of matches in 2021 while dealing with mental health struggles, the 24-year-old gave notice of her resurgence with a run to the Miami final last month.

Following her loss to Iga Swiatek there, Osaka declared her intention of committing to the clay season and using that as a springboard to chase down a return to No 1.

On the other hand, Puig, whose run at Rio 2016 made for a memorable Olympic underdog story, has been sidelined by injury for most of the past three years. The Puerto Rican has undergone three surgeries since 2019 - the first on her elbow and two on her shoulder -- and was unable to defend her gold medal at last year's Tokyo Olympic Games.

Puig has not competed since Roland Garros 2020 and last won a match at Luxembourg 2019.

The remaining three main-draw wildcards have been awarded to rising teenage talents: Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk (19 year), China's Zheng Qinwen (19 year) and the Czech Republic's Linda Fruhvirtova (16 year), a WTA report said on Wednesday.

Kostyuk debuted in the Top 50 at the end of 2021 after reaching three semifinals on the WTA Tour that season, while Zheng has rocketed into the Top 100 this year and collected a notable victory over Sloane Stephens in Charleston.

Meanwhile, Fruhvirtova turned heads in Miami by reaching the fourth round as a wildcard ranked No.279, upsetting Elise Mertens and Victoria Azarenka en route.
New Delhi, April 20 : A total of 14 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force have been deployed in Delhi in wake of Jahangirpuri violence, officials said on Wednesday.

According to the officials, these companies - comprising six of the Rapid Action Force, six of the general duty branch and two Mahila companies - have been attached with Delhi Police to assist them in maintaining the law and order situation and the Delhi Police has deployed them, as per their need.

They said that the companies are sent to the local authorities on their request for assisting them to deal with law and order situations.

Apart from the CRPF, the three companies of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) have also been attached to Delhi Police after the violent incident occurred on April 16.A Meanwhile, the Delhi Police's Crime Branch has been investigating the Jahangirpuri case and so far it has arrested 23 accused including the alleged main conspirator Ansar and apprehended two juveniles.
Kolkata, April 20 : Understanding that certain comments by senior Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member, Saugata Roy and the party's state general secretary, Kunal Ghosh are sending wrong signals about the party leadership to the public, the disciplinary committee of the party has decided to censor both these leaders.

A senior Trinamool Congress leader, who did not wish to be named, told IANS that Roy has already been asked to meet the members of the party's disciplinary committee within the next seven days. "However, since he is an extremely senior leader and MP, no disciplinary action will be taken against him. He will be just be asked to refrain from making any comment that causes inconvenience for the party leadership," the leader said.

Recently, at a public programme, Roy referred to the recent rape of a minor girl, who died later at Hanskhali in Nadia district of West Bengal and said that such an incident is a matter of shame in a state with a woman as the chief minister. Soon after that a number of party leaders opposed him claiming that such an incident is unfortunate irrespective of the gender of the chief minister of the state concerned.

Meanwhile, party sources said that although Kunal Ghosh is yet to receive a call from the party's disciplinary committee, a section of the party leadership is strongly in favour of censoring him for subsequent statements causing embarrassment to the leadership.

Recently, Ghosh held former state education minister, Partha Chatterjee (currently the commerce & industries minister), answerable for the recent recruitment irregularities scam in the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). Ghosh retorted after transport minister Firhad Hakim challenged Ghosh's authority to raise questions on cabinet issues.
New Delhi, April 20 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday met Delhi BJP leaders to discuss issues concerning the city and the organisation.

The meeting took place at Home Ministry in the evening.

Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta, Lok Sabha Member from South Delhi Ramesh Bidhuri, leader of opposition in Delhi assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and former MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa were present in the meeting with the Home Minister.

It was learnt that unification of three municipal corporations was the main agenda for discussion along with other issues including the functioning BJP city unit.

Sources said that Shah discussed issues concerning Delhi and the BJP city unit and gave his valuable suggestion to improve the functioning party.

"Such meetings are held regularly and issues related to city and party were discussed, Home minister always gave his valuable suggestions which we will follow," sources said.

It is learnt that there was no discussion over recent violence in Jahangirpuri on Hanuman Jayanti.

"It was a general discussion and nothing was discussed about the Jahangirpuri riots," a leader present in the meeting said.

Earlier this week, the Centre had issued the Gazette notification of the merger of the three municipal bodies into one as Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

The Bill for the mergers was passed by the recently concluded session of the Parliament and it got assent of President Ram Nath Kovind on April 18 and the Gazette notification issued and the Act came into effect.
Jaipur, April 20 : The speculations regarding the entry of poll strategist Prashant Kishor (PK) into Congress has gained momentum after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said PK has emerged as a brand.

Kishor has worked with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, and had also teamed with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

"This is a professional task," said Gehlot, who was in Delhi on Wednesday to attend a presentation session by Kishor.

Gehlot was accompanied by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, and Congress president Sonia Gandhi during the presentation being made to the party veterans.

Before the presentation, Gehlot spoke to the media, and said: "PK's name has gone bigger,'' he said, adding: "Opposition should use the experience of veterans, we have been taking the views of experts." After Gehlot's statement, the speculation of Kishor joining the Congress intensified.

It is noteworthy that after the statement made by the senior Congress leader in support of Prashant Kishor, it is believed that soon, the party shall announce the inclusion of the poll strategist in the Congress.

Recently, PK met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and since then, speculations regarding joining the Congress are doing the rounds.
New Delhi, April 20 : Days after a violent communal clash broke out at Jahangirpuri in north-west Delhi during a Hanuman Jayanti procession, BJP's Minority Morcha national president Jamal Siddiqui requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to provide him security cover citing 'threat' to his life.

In a letter to Shah dated April 18, Siddiqui wrote, "Fundamentalists have become my enemies since I have been working as the national president of BJP's Minority Morcha. Your department had written a letter dated October 26, 2021 to the Maharashtra government and the Delhi Police Commissioner asking them to provide proper security to me, but no security has been provided." On April 16, clashes broke out between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession taken out in the Jahangirpuri area.

Siddiqui mentioned that fundamentalists are issuing open threats and are also pressuring him to work for some other party, leaving the BJP.

"Today, fundamentalist Muslims want to break the society by orchestrating riots. A lot of pressure is being put on me by people with fundamentalist ideologies to leave the BJP and work for some other party. I may lose my life if I fail to do so. They are openly giving threats," he wrote.

Siddiqui requested Shah to provide him adequate security cover to work in such adverse situations.

In the past also, Siddiqui had requested Shah and the Union Home Ministry to provide security to him. Last year on June 25, Siddiqui had written to the Home Minister citing his security concerns.

On August 10, 2021, he had requested the Home Ministry to provide security cover to him due to constant threats from fundamentalists.

Acting on his request, the Home Ministry had written to the Maharashtra Chief Secretary last year, saying: "The request of Siddiqui has been examined by the ministry in consultation with the central security agencies. As per their report, there is no specific threat to him. However, a general threat to him from fundamentalist elements cannot be ruled out.

"The state government of Maharashtra and Delhi Police are requested to suitably address the security concern of Siddiqui, based on local threat perception." It is learnt that the Maharashtra government provided security cover to Siddiqui in Nagpur only.
New Delhi, April 20 : The group of dissidents in the Congress -- G-23 -- seems to be upset after not being consulted for the ongoing discussions on the proposals given by political strategist Prashant Kishor as roadmap for the 2024 general elections.

On Wednesday, two Congress CMs, Ashok Gehlot from Rajasthan and Bhupesh Baghel from Chhattisgarh, were called to Delhi to discuss the proposals.

While a host of Congress leaders were present for the discussions, ever since the formal consultations began on the proposals, G-23 leaders were not made party to them, including one of the senior most leaders of the Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad.

However, one of the signatories of the letter written to Sonia Gandhi by the G-23 leaders, Veerappa Moily, has said that it is a welcome move to rope in Kishor.

Meanwhile, Gehlot said that "Kishor is a brand now", hinting that the party is keen to induct the political strategist into its fold.

According to Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala, the party will decide within 48 hours about the proposals and the possible induction of Kishor into the Congress.

The Congress is now more focused on Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, which will go to the polls later this year, as success in state polls will be crucial going to the general elections in 2024.

In total, there are six big state elections ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

During the three meetings with Kishor held since Saturday, those present included Sonia Gandhi, Ambika Soni, A.K Antony, Jairam Ramesh, K.C Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala, among others.

"Prashant Kishor has given a detailed presentation for the 2024 elections and the Congress President has deputed a small group to look into it and report to her within a week. A final decision will be taken after that," Venugopal had said.

According to sources, Kishor said during Saturday's meeting that the Congress must target 370-400 seats and work on alliances wherever the party is weak.
New Delhi, April 20 : The provisional payroll data of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), released on Wednesday, shows that it has added 14.12 lakh net subscribers in the month of February 2022.

According to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the month-on-month comparison of payroll data reflects a slight increase of 31,826 net subscribers in February compared to the previous month. On a year-on-year comparison, February 2022 saw an increase of 1,74,314 as compared to the net subscriber addition in corresponding month of 2021. There is consistent increase in the net subscriber addition since October 2021, showcasing trust in the services rendered by the organisation.

Out of the total 14.12 lakh net subscribers added during the month, around 8.41 lakh new members have been enrolled under the social security cover of EPF & MP Act, 1952 for the first time. Approximately 5.71 lakh net subscribers exited but re-joined EPFO by transferring their accumulations from previous PF account to the current PF account, instead of claiming a final withdrawal.

According to ministry, age-wise comparison of payroll data indicates that the age group of 22-25 years has been on the forefront by registering the highest number of net enrolments (3.70 lakh) during February 2022, followed by the age-group of 29-35 years - an addition of 2.98 lakh net subscribers during the month.

In a nutshell, the age-group of 18-25 years constitutes around 45 per cent of total net enrolments during the month. This age-group indicates that many first-time job seekers are joining the organised sector workforce in large numbers.

Pan India, the comparison of payroll figures highlights that the establishments covered in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana, and Delhi are in lead by adding approximately 9.52 lakh net subscribers during the month, which is around 67.49 per cent of total net payroll addition across all age groups.

Gender-wise analysis indicates that net female payroll addition during the month is approximately 3.10 lakh during the month. Share of female enrolment is 21.95 per cent of the total net subscriber addition during the month of February 2022 with an increase of 22,402 net enrolments over the previous month of January 2022. This is largely due to lower female exits and higher new joining during the month.

Also, net female subscribers have consistently increased since October 2021 indicating increasing participation of women in the workforce.

Industry-wise payroll data indicates that mainly two categories, i.e. 'Expert Services' (consisting of manpower agencies, private security agencies and small contractors etc.) and 'Trading-Commercial establishments' constitute 47.28 per cent of total subscriber addition during the month. Moreover, growing trend in net payroll addition has been noted in industries like engineering contractors, automobile servicing, and building and construction industry etc.

The payroll data is provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise, as updation of employee record is a continuous process. The previous data hence gets updated every month. From the month of April 2018, EPFO has been releasing payroll data covering the period September 2017 onwards.

EPFO is country's principal organization responsible for providing social security benefits to the organised/semi-organised sector workforce covered under the statute of EPF & MP Act. In the current scenario of mobile usage and smartphone penetration, EPFO has extended its services through mobile governance also. With extensive use of social media nowadays, EPFO is also available on Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook to help the subscribers and addressing their issues.
New Delhi, April 20 : Mohammed Ansar, the prime accused in the Jahangirpuri violence studied up to Class 4 only. After quitting studies due to financial problems he moved towards the world of crime. However, apart from the Jahangirpuri violence case, there are only two cases lodged against him on record and investigation in both the cases is still pending.

This could be because the crimes committed by him as a juvenile cannot be taken on record.

Ansar was also arrested repeatedly under preventive sections and booked five times under the Gambling Act and the Arms Act.

Ansar had initially joined Asaduddin Owaisi's party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. Later he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, but here too he was not satisfied and quit the party. Finally he joined the Aam Aadmi Party along with Ashwini Bagdi and others.

The Delhi Police has mentioned his name in the FIR. He has been accused of provoking the mob and mobilizing people to attack the religious procession.

The Delhi Police in its dossier accessed by IANS, has described him as a scrap dealer of the area.

"The accused was born in 1980 at Jahangirpuri shanties. His family was facing huge financial crisis. Due to this he could not study. He studied till 4th class only. He left his studies and started working as a child labourer. During this time he came in contact with bad elements of the society. From here he indulged in crime. He committed a number of crimes. To earn quick money he went into the crime world. Later on he started keeping a knife with him. On 13 February 2009, he was arrested for the first time and remanded to judicial custody. It was a case of Arms Act, the investigation in the case is still pending. A second case was lodged against him in 2018. It was lodged under sections 186/353. He was arrested and later on released on bail. Investigation in this case is also pending," read the dossier accessed by IANS.

Ansar also owns a luxurious mansion in Haldia, the prime industrial township in West Bengal's East Midnapore district and has an image of a philanthropist there.

Ansar is originally from Assam, he married into a family which had been living in Haldia for a long time. Soon after his marriage, Ansar built a mansion in Haldia and used to visit it frequently.

On April 16, clashes broke out between two groups of people, belonging to different communities, during a Shobha Yatra procession on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti in Delhi's Jahangirpuri area. As many as eight police personnel and a civilian sustained injuries in the violence.

The Delhi Police on Sunday arrested Ansar. He is currently in police remand. Delhi Police's crime branch is trying to know how deep rooted was the conspiracy in the Jahangirpuri violence.
New Delhi, April 20 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed the penalty of removal from service for a head constable of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) for entering the women's barracks at midnight, to offer a "New Year" gift to his friend.

A bench of Justices M.R. Shah and B.V. Nagarathna said: "The nature of misconduct which has been committed by the appellant stands proved and is unpardonable. Therefore, when the disciplinary authority considered it appropriate to punish him with the penalty of 'removal from service', which is confirmed by the appellate authority, thereafter it was not open for the single judge to interfere with the order of punishment imposed by the disciplinary authority".

It said as observed by the top court in Diler Singh case, a member of a disciplined force is expected to follow the rules, have control over his mind and passion, guard his instincts and feelings, and not allow his feelings to fly in a fancy.

The bench said if the conduct on the part of the appellant entering the women's barracks of the battalion in the midnight is approved, in that case, it would lead to compromising the security of its occupants.

"Therefore, the disciplinary authority was absolutely justified in imposing the punishment/penalty of 'removal from service' by modifying the earlier punishment of dismissal", it added.

The head constable's counsel argued that a female constable was his friend and he went to meet her to offer her a gift on New Year and entered her barracks after she herself unlocked the barrack gate. He was apprehended by six women constables.

The woman constable, who allowed him inside, was given a punishment of forfeiture of two years seniority. The appellant moved the Gauhati High Court challenging the punishment imposed on him and a single judge bench ruled that the penalty of removal from service was disproportionate, considering the female constable was given a lesser penalty. It sent the matter back to the authorities, but a division bench of the high court in April 2018, set aside the single bench order. The petitioner challenged this order in the top court.

The appellant was charged with violation of good order and discipline, under Section 43 of the SSB Act, 2007, for having entered the women's barracks of the battalion at around 12.15 a.m. on the intervening night of April 14-15, 2013.

Dismissing the appeal filed by the constable, the top court said: "The disciplinary authority was absolutely justified in imposing the punishment/penalty of 'removal from service' by modifying the earlier punishment of dismissal. The same cannot be said to be disproportionate at all to the misconduct held to be proved against the appellant - delinquent." The constable was charged with indiscipline and misconduct leading to compromising the security of the occupants of the women's barracks.

Before the Summary Force Court, the appellant pleaded not guilty to both the charges and accordingly, the evidence was recorded. Thereafter, the SFC found the appellant guilty of the charges and initially ordered his dismissal on April 29, 2013. But, subsequently, the penalty of dismissal was converted to 'removal from service' on June 21, 2013, by the Commandant of the Battalion. The appellate authority upheld the disciplinary action under its order dated January 24, 2014.
New Delhi, April 20 : On April 17, a video went viral on social media, showing a man wearing a blue 'kurta' firing shots with a pistol at a mob during the communal clashes in the national capital's Jahangirpuri area on April 16.

The way he was shooting at the mob depicted the brutality of the alleged rioter, who, till that time, was unknown to the police.

The viral video mounted pressure on the police to nab him. But before that, the accused had to be first identified. The police, using local intelligence, identified the accused person as 28-year-old Imam alias Sonu alias Yunus, a resident of Jahangirpuri.

After identification, it was a challenge for the police to catch the offender before he could escape from the city.

On April 18, a team of special staff of the north-west district police went to the C Block in Jahangirpuri in search of Imam at about 1.30 p.m.

However, as soon as the team reached the alleged shooter's house, his family members resorted to stone pelting.

During the incident, an inspector named Satender Khari sustained injury on his right ankle after one of the stones hit him.

Subsequently, the police registered a separate FIR at the Jahangirpuri police station and one of the relatives of the accused, identified as Salma, was bound down.

In a case where a person is bound down, he/she is not booked under any legal provision but is released subject to the condition that he/she will appear before the police for further probe.

After this, the police widened the probe and on the same day in the evening, Imam was arrested from Mangal Bazar road, hardly a kilometre away from the road where he fired shots during Saturday's clashes.

Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order), Dependra Pathak, termed Imam's arrest as one of the most important developments in the case. Ever since his video of shooting went viral, he was being considered as the most dreaded of all the rioters.

During interrogation, the accused confessed to his crime and one sophisticated pistol was recovered from his possession.

On Tuesday, the police produced him before a local court which sent him to four-day police custody. Imam owns a chicken shop in the Jahangirpuri area.

Imam's mother reportedly told mediapersons that his son only wanted to scare the rioters, and had no intention of killing anyone.

The Crime Branch, which is probing the case, also got hold of a man named Ghulam Rasool, who allegedly supplied the pistol to Imam.
Islamabad, April 20 : Newly-appointed Finance Minister of Pakistan, Miftah Ismail, has revealed that former Prime Minister Imran Khans helicopter commute between his Bani Gala home and the PM Secretariat cost Pakistani Rs 550 million to the national exchequer in three years and eight months, Samaa TV reported.

Khan used a helicopter to travel to his office almost every day when he was in power, and the money was spent on the fuel consumed by the chopper.

Khan had faced criticism when he started to use helicopter for daily commute, shortly after coming to power. However, Fawad Chaudry, who was the Information Minister in Khan's cabinet, had claimed at the time that it would cost Rs 55 per km.

Ismail said he had documentary evidence to back his claim.

The Finance Minister also said that the erstwhile PTI government left a huge circular debt of Rs 2,500 billion in power sector and had created Rs 1,500 billion circular debt in the natural gas sector.

Ismail also said that he is comfortable working with State Bank of Pakistan Governor Reza Baqir, who was appointed by the Imran Khan government.

The minister said the government needs to revive the IMF programme to avoid economic crises and may also borrow money from Saudi Arabia.
New Delhi, April 20 : The Supreme Court will on Thursday hear a petition filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind against the demolition drive being carried out by the Municipal Corporation against the alleged encroachers in northwest Delhi's Jahangirpuri area, where communal clashes broke out on Hanuman Jayanti.

A bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai will hear the plea.

Earlier in the day, senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the plea filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind questioning the validity of demolition launched after riots in several BJP-ruled states, including Madhya Pradesh's Khargone.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and also comprising Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, had agreed to list it with the Jahangirpuri matter on Thursday.

Prior to that, the bench had ordered status quo on the demolition drive and agreed to list the matter for hearing on Thursday before an appropriate bench.

"A number of ministers and legislators, including the Chief Minister and the Home Minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh, have made statements advocating such acts and especially threatened the minority groups with destruction of their homes and commercial properties in case of riots. Resorting to such measures/ actions is clearly against our constitutional ethos and the criminal justice system, as also in violation of the rights of accused persons," said the plea by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind.

During the course of the hearing, mentioning the demolition matter before the CJI-headed bench, Senior advocate Dushyant Dave said there is something serious that requires the top court's immediate intervention.

"Completely unauthorised and unconstitutional demolition has been ordered in the Jahangirpuri area...with no notice to anybody," he said.

Later, again in the day, Dave mentioned the matter, saying despite the top court's order, the Municipal Corporation has not stopped the demolition drive.The Chief Justice asked the registry to communicate the court's status quo order on the demolition drive to the respondents in the matter -- NDMC Commissioner, Mayor, and Delhi Police Commissioner -- mentioned by Dave.
New Delhi, April 20 : The Aam Aadmi Party, claim partymen, is a party with a difference. But since it swept the 2022 Punjab polls by winning over 90 seats in the 117-seat Assembly and for the first time expanded its political footprint beyond Delhi, Opposition members allege that they are being targeted by the Punjab Police on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal always demanded that Delhi be made into a state and not a Union Territory. One of the prime reasons for this has been that the police in the national capital does not come under the CM, rather it is answerable to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

Now since the party has won Punjab state with a brute majority, it is allegedly employing the age-old tactics to counter its rivals in Delhi, political pundits say. The Punjab Police which comes under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, is these days, booking Kejriwal's rivals.

The latest action was against Congress leader Alka Lamba, who was on Wednesday summoned by the Punjab Police's Special Investigation Team, Rupnagar, over a statement that she had made against Kejriwal before the Punjab Assembly polls, held earlier this year.

In a tweet, Lamba said that the Punjab Police has pasted a notice on the wall of her house in Delhi and while the cops were leaving they allegedly threatened her with dire consequences if she does not appear before the police on April 26.

The notice read, "During the investigation it is revealed that there are reasonable grounds to question you to ascertain facts and circumstances from you. Hence you are summoned before the Special Investigation Team at 10.00 a.m. on or before April 26 at Police Station Sadar Roopnagar for the purpose of investigation." Before Lamba, on the same day, a team of the Punjab Police visited former AAP leader Kumar Vishwas' residence in Ghaziabad.

Taking to Twitter, Vishwas served a warning to Punjab Chief Minister Baghwant Mann, saying: "Punjab police team was at my doorsteps early morning. I am cautioning Bhagwant Mann, whom I inducted into the party myself, that the person sitting in Delhi will betray both you and Punjab one day. The country should remember my warning." Reportedly, Punjab Police have booked the former AAP leader under Sections 153, 153-A, 505, 502, 116, 143, 147, 323 and 341 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 125 of the Representation of People Act over one of his statements made in the run-up to the Assembly elections in Punjab, in which Vishwas, without naming him, had said that Arvind Kejriwal wants to be the Prime Minister of an independent nation of Khalistan, accusing the AAP convenor of having connections with separatists in Punjab.

Earlier on April 9, Delhi BJP spokesperson Naveen Jindal had claimed that Punjab Police personnel conducted a raid at his Delhi residence to arrest him in a case that was registered against him for allegedly tweeting a 'doctored video' of Kejriwal.

On April 6, the BJP spokesperson had tweeted a video with the caption 'Eventually their truth came out', in which Kejriwal was allegedly heard talkling about top government functionaries taking money.

Subsequently, an FIR was registered against Jindal on April 7 at the SAS Nagar police station in Punjab.

Jindal, while speaking to IANS, said that he was not present in the house when four Punjab Police personnel landed at his residence in Delhi.

Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta has defended his partyman and accused Kejriwal of misusing the Punjab Police by sending them to the houses of those who exposed him and spoke against him.

He said the Punjab Police are after the BJP workers because they exposed the corruption of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, exposed the construction of Haj House in Dwarka, negligence during the Covid pandemic and exposed the Rs 20 crore swimming pool being built at Kejriwal's house.

(Ujwal Jalali can be reached at ujwal.j@ians.in)
Kolkata, April 20 : A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed the West Bengal government to provide compensation to the family of Avijit Sarkar, a BJP worker who was killed Kolkata's Kankurgachi area in the post-poll violence witnessed in the state after the Assembly elections in 2021.

The high court bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj directed Chief Secretary H.K. Dwivedi to take necessary steps on this count.

The bench also ordered that the compensation amount be delivered within two months from the day of the issuance of the order.

Admitting that as many as 303 people had to leave their homes due to the post-poll violence, the bench also ordered the formation of a three-member committee to ensure that these people return to their homes safely.

As per the division bench order, one member of the said committee will be a representative from the National Human Rights Commission, one from West Bengal Human Rights Commission and the third from the state legal service authority.

According to Priyanka Tibrewal, the counsel for the petitioners, on March 14, 2022, the Calcutta HC had directed the state DGP to ensure the safe return of 303 victims to their respective homes.

"However, since the state police did not take any measure or initiative on this court, the court on Wednesday ordered the creation of a three-member committee for the same purpose," Tibrewal said.

Meanwhile, the CBI team probing the post-poll violence submitted another progress report, the fifth on this count, to the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday.

In the report, the CBI maintained that it is conducting probe in 35 cases, out of which chargesheets have been filed in 31 cases.
Agartala/Aizawl, April 20 : Bangladesh has been keen to further increase its trade and economic activities with India's northeastern states and its Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi will visit Mizoram on Friday to supervise the infrastructure along the border, officials said on Wednesday.

Munshi recently visited Tripura and discussed increasing trades with Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb. He also attended the function of laying the foundation stone for Kamalpur (India)-Kurmaghat (in his country's Moulvibazar district) "Border Haat".

A Bangladesh government official on Wednesday said in Agartala that the Bangladesh Minister, after visiting Mizoram, would soon visit other northeastern states including Assam and Meghalaya to discuss with the ministers and officials of these states to further boost trade.

The Bangladesh trade volume with the northeastern states is much higher than India.

An official in Aizawl said that the Bangladesh minister during his four day stay in Mizoram would visit Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Lunglei district's Kawrpuichhuah and proposed "Border Haat" (market) site in Silsuri in Mamit district. Munshi would be accompanied by Mizoram Commerce and Industry Minister R. Lalthangliana, who during his visit to Dhaka in March last year held a meeting with Munshi and discussed boosting of trades and economic activities.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh State Minister of Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury during his visit to Assam last week said that waterways of his country could be utilised for transportation between Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan.

Bangladesh Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud recently in Guwahati said that his government has given thrust to improve trade and business with India through waterways, railways and airways and to further strengthen people-to-people contact between the two countries.
Shillong, April 20 : Noted cardiac surgeon and Chairman of Bengaluru-based Narayana Health, Devi Prasad Shetty, said on Wednesday that the world has turned upside down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and when historians would pen the history of the world 100 years from now, there would be two distinct periods, one is B.C., i.e., Before Covid, and the second is A.C., meaning After Covid.

Virtually addressing the 13th convocation of the Shillong-based Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shetty, who is the Chairman of the Covid Expert Committee in Karnataka, urged the students to be successful in life, make a difference, and make this world a better place to live.

"Whatever you do in your life, remember that the power of your purpose is more important than all the other strategies combined. So, try to choose a purpose by which you can make this world a better place to live," he said.

This year, a total of 268 students graduated from the institute. Degrees were conferred upon 252 PGP students and 16 PGPEx students, while two scholars were conferred with their PhD degree.

Chairman of the Board of Governors, Shishir Kumar Bajoria, said that although the Covid crisis threw up several human-institutional challenges, "we as a community grew stronger".

"India as a country faced the pandemic in one of the best ways in the world... Our leadership ensured that our heads were held high. Even when the pandemic was raging all over the country, we could supply medicines and come to the rescue of many countries," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, D.P. Goyal, Director, IIM, said that the institute, which was set up in 2007, signed eight MoUs with well-known global institutions last year, and published 96 research papers in top-ranked international journals besides presenting several research papers in international conferences.
Chennai, April 20 : The Tamil Nadu Health Department on Wednesday directed the District Collectors to ensure that Covid-19 appropriate behaviour is followed in the state.

In a circular, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary, J Radhakrishnan said the number of fresh Covid cases in the state has marginally increased from less than 25 to 30 on Tuesday.

He pointed out that the rise in fresh Covid-19 cases in Delhi where it stood at 632 from 82 on April 4 is of concern.

Radhakrishnan in the circular said that the Test Positivity Rate in Delhi is 5 per cent from less than 1 per cent a few days ago, and things should not be taken lightly.

The state health secretary pointed out that Maharashtra has also seen a slight rise in Covid -19 fresh cases.

In the circular, he said: "At a stage, where we should aim at virus suppression, it is noted that isolated cases are still getting reported and we need to keep monitoring the trajectory of cases and also test positivity rate at district and sub-district levels." The Health Secretary also directed the district collectors to refocus on mask-wearing in public places, hospitals and crowded places.

The health secretary directed the district collectors and district medical officers to follow up and ensure that those who are eligible for the booster dose vaccine have taken it.

Tamil Nadu Health Minister, Ma Subramanian told IANS: "There is a slight increase in Covid-19 cases and the health department has taken extra precaution. It has directed all the district collectors to ensure that people are following Covid appropriate behaviour. The government is not willing to take any chances and the district collectors and district medical officers have been directed to closely monitor the situation at the local level."

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New Delhi, April 20 : The Supreme Court has commuted the death sentence of a man convicted of rape and murder of four-year-old girl, saying it is essential to to give an opportunity to the offender to repair the damage caused, and to become a socially useful individual, when he is released from the jail.

A bench of Justices U.U. Lalit, S. Ravindra Bhat, and Bela M. Trivedi said: "Since, Section 376A IPC is also applicable to the facts of the case, considering the gravity and seriousness of the offence, the sentence of imprisonment for the remainder of appellant's natural life would have been an appropriate sentence... however, we are reminded of what Oscar Wilde has said - The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future." Noting that "one of the basic principles of restorative justice as developed by this court over the years, also is to give an opportunity to the offender to repair the damage caused, and to become a socially useful individual, when he is released from the jail", the bench said the maximum punishment prescribed may not always be the determinative factor for repairing the crippled psyche of the offender.

"Hence, while balancing the scales of retributive justice and restorative justice, we deem it appropriate to impose upon the appellant-accused, the sentence of imprisonment for a period of twenty years instead of imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life for the offence under section 376A, IPC," said Trivedi, who authored the judgment on behalf of the bench.

The bench said the conviction and sentence recorded by the courts below for the other offences under IPC and POCSO Act are affirmed and it is needless to say that all the punishments imposed shall run concurrently.

Mohd Firoz, working in a private power plant in Madhya Pradesh, was convicted for raping and murdering the girl in Ghansaur town.

The trial court sentenced him death for the offence under section 302 of IPC and life imprisonment for rape. The Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed his appeal challenging the trial court order, which he challenged in the top court.

The top court noted that the offence was barbaric and monstrous, where a tiny bud like girl was smothered by the appellant before she could blossom in this world. It added, however, it has been brought to the notice of this court that in a series of judgements, this court has not treated such cases as the rarest of rare cases.

The top court commuted the capital punishment of the convict to life imprisonment and in the rape case, reduced his punishment to imprisonment for a period of twenty years instead of life imprisonment. "We, while affirming the view taken by the courts below with regard to the conviction of the appellant for the offences charged against him, deem it proper to commute, and accordingly commute the sentence of death for the sentence of imprisonment for life, for the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC."
New Delhi, April 20 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced a special Ayush mark for Ayush products among many new initiatives for Ayush sector, on the occasion of Global Ayush Investment & Innovation Summit 2022.

The Prime Minister on Wednesday inaugurated the three-day Global Ayush Investment & Innovation Summit 2022 at Gandhinagar in the presence of the Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and others.

In his inaugural address, Modi said: "We are already witnessing unprecedented growth in the production of Ayush medicines, supplements and cosmetics. In 2014, where the Ayush sector was less than $3 billion, today it has increased to more than $18 billion. An unprecedented efforts has been made in the past years to promote the export of Ayush products." Along with first being a special Ayush mark for Ayush products, Modi announced many other initiatives for Ayush sector. A new category named 'Ayush Aahar' was announced which will greatly facilitate the producers of herbal nutritional supplements.

Further, another major initiative for foreign nationals who want to come to India to take advantage of Ayush therapy was announced. India will soon introduce a special Ayush visa category.

Describing the current age of the era of unicorns, the Prime Minister informed that in the year 2022 itself, so far 14 start-ups from India have joined the Unicorn Club. "I am sure unicorns will emerge from our Ayush start-ups very soon", he stated.

Prime Minister also announced launch of Ayush Export Promotion Council and four Ayush ICT initiatives which includes Ayush Information Hub, AyuSoft, Ayush Next and Ayush GIS.

The Prime Minister also released a comic book named 'Professor Ayushman', which describes how Ayush systems and products helped in fighting not only Covid-19 but other diseases also.

Addressing the session, Tedros said that the Ayush sector is growing significantly -- by 17 per cent per year since 2014.

He said that Ayush industry is projected to reach $23 billion by the end of this year.

"We are exploring innovative study designs and the use of artificial intelligence to document the impact of traditional medicine practices, in cases when standard randomised trials are not possible or are difficult to undertake.

"Strengthening the evidence base of traditional medicine should facilitate its use by communities, to promote better health outcomes, economic benefits and overall impact," he added.
Bengaluru, April 20 : Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar on Wednesday expressed concerns over the fear of the fourth wave of Covid-19 in the state in the backdrop of spike in the coronavirus cases in Delhi, and other states.

"Still 29 to 30 lakh people in the state are yet to receive the second dose of Covid vaccination," he said.

People have been advised to wear masks and get the third dose of vaccination.

"However, largely people are not following the guidelines. The fourth wave has not entered the state yet, but precautions have to be taken," Sudhakar said.

Considering the spike in other states, the Karnataka government is initiating steps for preventive measures. A meeting will also be held by the Health Department. The monitoring has already begun on foreign travellers, he said.

The minister said: "Masks have to be worn in crowded places. 97.9 per cent of people have got the second dose of vaccination in the state, the percentage of people getting the first dose has crossed 100 per cent. The parents have to focus on getting above 12 year kids vaccinated."

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New Delhi, April 20 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday turned down an appeal by the Delhi Waqf Board against an earlier court order which refused a stay on the transfer of 'Qabristan Qadeem' purportedly belonging to it and allotted to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla said: "We find no force in this submission since it is not uncommon for graves to be shifted wherever they cause an obstruction to the development of land." Earlier on March 9, a bench of Justice Yashwant Varma had refused to grant a stay on the plea filed by the Board against the Centre's de-notification of 123 properties, purportedly owned by it, under Section 93 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

Waqf Board's counsel Wajeeh Shafiq had argued for an interim stay on the property allotted to the ITBP. But the court said: "I'm presently not inclined to grant a stay. This is not a place to stay. It is not like the property has gone to private people. We can ask the Union of India to hand it back." In its plea, the Waqf Board alleged that the government rejected the report submitted by a one-man Committee, without even sharing it, and arbitrarily appointed a two-member committee to re-examine the status of the properties. It claimed that the properties never left their Waqf character and are governed by the provisions of the Waqf Act, 1995, which prohibit alienation of Waqf properties.

The Centre's counsel Kirtiman Singh opposed the Waqf Board's claims, saying no construction has been done on the site and that the Board can approach the Court in the future in case of any grievance.
New Delhi, April 21 : The whole country is indebted to the great Sikh Gurus, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, adding that he feels blessed by attending the 400th Prakash Utsav of Guru Tegh Bahadur.

Speaking at the function to celebrate the Prakash Parv of the Guru Tegh Bahadur at Red fort here, Shah further said "there is no such person in the country who is not overwhelmed by the sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur, everyone has a respect for him".

"When Kashmiri Pandits spoke about the atrocities committed against them in front of Guru Tegh Bahadur, he sacrificed his life to save Hinduism".

Noting that those who beheaded him are lost in history, he further said that even after 400 years, crores of people bow down to the sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur. "Today I unquestionably believe that due to the sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur ji and Guru Gobind Singh ji, today the country is progressing so much, breathing freedom and celebrating 75th Independence Day. Not only India but the whole world, even after 400 years, people bow down to his works, life and message with respect and devotion." "Narendra Modi is the most fortunate Prime Minister of the country because he has an opportunity to celebrate the 550th Prakash Parv of Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj, 400th Prakash Parv of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and 350th Prakash Parv of Guru Gobind Singh Ji," Shah said.

He also said that Prime Minister Modi conveyed the message of sacrifice, equality, valour of the great Sikh Gurus not only in India but to the whole world by celebrating these three Prakash Parvs with full devotion.

Describing that it was a matter of great fortune for all of us, he also said that when this programme is being organised, the country is also celebrating 75th year of Independence. "Gurusaheb's life is exemplary for all of us and an inspiration to every person of all age groups." The Home Minister also said that he had mastered many languages like Sanskrit, Hindi, Gurmukhi and worked to spread the message of all the Gurus in all languages throughout the country. "Also, he founded the great Anandpur Sahib".

Informing the gathering he said that the Prime Minister will release a commemorative coin and postage stamp, a translation of the book of poetry on the life of Guru Tegh Bahadur, a poem will also be presented, a prose book on his life will also be released on April 21.

Shah also said that a big essay competition was organised by the Ministry of Education in which 18,00,000 children from about 85,000 schools wrote essays on the life of the ninth guru, describing his qualities. "When 18,00,000 children write essays on Guru Tegh Bahadur ji in every corner of the country, those children have also got an opportunity to imbibe the Guru ji's message."
Texas Search, Recruiting, and Staffing Association For decades, our association has been based a desire for growth for our members. With the re-brand as TSRSA, were proud to offer more resources than ever before to our members, with even more initiatives on the way!, says Elithia Marshi, TSRSA President 2021-2022

HAAPC, a leading Houston-area staffing and recruiting association, recently announced that it has completed a major rebranding. The associating states the driving force behind the re-brand is a drive to better serve members and allow for continued value, not just in Houston, but across the entire state of Texas.

Founded in 1984, HAAPC has positioned itself as an invaluable resource to Houston-area staffing and recruiting agencies in its mission to promote the success of the staffing industry through education, certifications, and networking events.

As the business market changes, the association recognized a need for their support across the entire state of Texas, with a growing demand for its solutions. To accommodate this demand and take steps to increase the associations presence, HAAPC reshaped the brand to operate as TSRSA, expanding offerings, increase network relationships, and strengthening its support of professionals within the Texas staffing and recruiting industry.

TSRSA, or the Texas Search, Recruiting, and Staffing Association, has launched a new website at http://www.tsrsa.org, as well as a new logo that better reflects the focus and mission of the new brand. TSRSA also has formed a new partnership with the Texas Staffing Association (TAS), which will allow TSRSA members to access experienced congressional lobbying efforts, giving them a voice when legislative issues that impact the staffing industry are being shaped by state lawmakers.

For decades, our association has been based on respect and a desire for growth for our members. We couldnt be more excited to increase our support to staffing, search, and recruiting firms to all companies in the state of Texas! says Elithia Marshi, TSRSA President (formerly HAAPC), With this new growth, were proud to be offering more resources than ever before to our members, with even more initiatives on the way!

Chris Myers, TSRSA (formerly HAAPC) Vice President, says that While we are operating under a new name, our values and commitment to excellence remains the same. Our members are our focus, so its only natural that we continue to expand our support to more members across the state.

According to their website, TSRSA strives to stay on the cutting edge of issues which affect the staffing industry. We are diverse in our composition, with members involved in direct hire, temporary, contract, administrative support, professional, technical, full service, specialty, retained search and contingency operations of all sizes.

To learn more about TSRSA, its upcoming events, and more, visit: https://www.tsrsa.org
The deal between REGENT and Ocean Flyer marks one of the largest private transportation deals in the history of New Zealand.

REGENT, the Peter Thiel-backed aerospace company behind the revolutionary all-electric seaglider, today announced that New Zealand-based Ocean Flyer, has entered into a commercial agreement with firm deposits to add seagliders to its vehicle fleet. The deal marks what is believed to be the largest private transportation deal in New Zealands history and increases REGENTs global footprint into the Southern Hemisphere. REGENT seagliders provide harbor-to-harbor, overwater transportation at a fraction of the cost, noise, and emissions of existing regional transportation modes like aircraft and ferries.

We are thrilled to partner with Ocean Flyer to bring safe, zero-carbon, low-cost, and fast transportation to the people of New Zealand said Billy Thalheimer, CEO of REGENT. The seaglider will enable New Zealand to contribute to meeting its sustainability goals, protect its natural resources, and connect its citizens across its islands with reliable and affordable options.

Ocean Flyers purchase order includes 25 seagliders: 15 Viceroys, each holding up to 12 passengers, and 10 Monarchs, which can hold up to 100 passengers. The transaction with firm deposits between REGENT and Ocean Flyer is valued at over $427M USD.

Sustainability is a gift we owe to future generations. We all know our generation must take action now to achieve carbon neutrality. REGENT's visionary transport solution enables us to empower people and businesses by offering an affordable, sustainable choice, says Ocean Flyer CEO Shah Aslam. Ocean Flyer is leading real change by introducing one of the most impactful transport sustainability initiatives of the 21st century to New Zealand, connecting communities and helping drive higher productivity and efficiency.

About seagliders

The REGENT seaglider (lower case s) is an all-electric flying vessel that combines the speed, comfort, and navigation systems of an aircraft with the convenience, maneuverability, and affordability of a boat. Regulated and certified by maritime authorities, the seaglider will transport commercial passengers and critical cargo up to 180 miles at nearly 180 mph with existing battery technology. Leveraging existing dock infrastructure, REGENTs seaglider FLOATS, FOILS, and FLIES. From the dock and while in the no wake zone, the vehicle will float on its hull. Upon reaching 20 mph, it will rise on its retractable hydrofoil. Hydrofoils offer significant wave tolerance and enhanced passenger comfort as the vehicle leaves the crowded city harbor at speeds between 20-40mph. Upon reaching open water, the vehicle smoothly transitions onto its wing, retracts the foil, and accelerates to a comfortable 180-mph cruise speedall while staying within a wingspan of the waters surface. Flight safety at these altitudes is achieved utilizing a multiple-redundant, state-of-the-art navigation and control system. Similar to a hovercraft, seagliders fly on a dynamic air cushion created by the pressurized air between the wings and the water. The aerodynamic advantage of this so-called ground effect, includes significant operational efficiencies, increased payload capability, and greater range.

About REGENT http://www.regentcraft.com

REGENTs seagliders will revolutionize regional transportation. Our mission is to drastically reduce the cost and headache of moving people and goods between coastal cities. Our vehicle, called a seaglider, is an all-electric, wing-in-ground-effect craft that operates within a wingspan of the water's surface and couples the speed of an airplane with the operating cost of a boat. Built to the same safety standards as all modern aircraft and watercraft, seagliders will service routes up to 180 miles with existing battery technology and routes up to 500 miles with next-gen batteries, all via existing dock infrastructure. Our world-class team of aerospace and maritime engineers are leveraging maritime vehicle development pathways to bring our zero-emission, high-speed seagliders to market within five years.

About Ocean Flyer

Ocean Flyer is a new business established by the team that acquired Air Napier in 2018. Combining globally experienced business leadership with decades of proven aviation operations management, Ocean Flyer is committed to connecting communities across the motu, tackling climate change, and building a more resilient and affordable transport network for everyone.

Media kit with photos and videos: https://www.regentcraft.com/media-kit
Zego From energy markets in turmoil to changes in resident expectations and use of utilities, the conversation around utility management has become top of mind.

Zego, a leading property technology company that helps operators modernize their resident experience to boost retention, today announced that it will host the Zego Utility Summit next month in Dallas and Chicago. Intended to help property owners and operators better navigate utility management by promoting dialogue on the current state of the market and its regulatory environment, the intimate and safe event will take place at The Lumen in Dallas on May 4 and at The Blackstone, Autograph Collection, in Chicago on May 18.

The Zego Utility Summit will bring together operators and energy experts from Asset Living, EnergyLink, and the Utility Management and Conservation Association (UMCA) to provide attendees with tips and strategies for managing energy more efficiently  from energy procurement to resident billing and communication.

Utilities are a critical aspect of multifamily operations, but one that often isnt the center of attention for property owners and managers. From energy markets in turmoil to changes in resident expectations and use of utilities, the conversation around utility management has become top of mind, said Stephen Baker, President and General Manager of Zego. Were thrilled to be partnering with notable subject matter experts in the field to put on this summit, and hope to increase knowledge in all respects of utilities and the management of these services in residential communities.

Industry leaders including Stephen Baker, President and General Manager of Zego; Jenny Rosario, Director of Implementation at Asset Living; and Falise Platt, Regulatory Counsel at the Utility Management and Conservation Association will lead the conversation at each event. Darren Novich, CEO of The EnergyLink, will also present a valuable energy-based point of view on utilities management.

Details regarding each summits schedule, speakers, and topics of discussion can be found at the respective websites: Dallas event, Chicago event. Both events are free to attend.

About Zego

Zego is a property technology company that frees management companies and community associations to go above and beyond for residents through resident experience management solutions. Zego enables operators in the residential real estate industry to modernize their resident experience, boosting satisfaction and operational efficiency. From payments and utilities to communications and smart devices, everything seamlessly integrates into the property management back-end system.
Solix Technologies, Inc., a member of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) and a leading provider of cloud data management solutions today announced it has achieved Oracle Validated Integration with Oracle E-Business Suite Expertise for its Solix Common Data Platform (CDP).

Expertise is a core tenet of the modernized Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) program and allows Oracle partners to highlight their capabilities in a focused area. Ultimately, Expertise is designed to help make it easier for customers to identify partners who can deliver quality solutions and minimize risk for their specific needs.

In order to achieve the Oracle Validated Integration with Oracle E-Business Suite Expertise, partners like Solix must meet a series of qualifiers, including demonstrating that the integration performs as documented. Learn more about Expertise, including viewing the complete Expertise Catalog, at http://www.oracle.com/partnernetwork/expertise.

Solix Common Data Platform for Oracle E-Business Suite is a cloud-native solution that helps organizations manage and process all of their structured, semi-structured, and unstructured enterprise data. The Solix CDP integration with Oracle E-Business Suite provides enterprise archiving, enterprise data lake, consumer data privacy and secure and compliant file storage solutions specifically for Oracle applications with pre-built data management templates for over 50 of the most common Oracle E-Business Suite modules.

Solix cloud data management solutions can help Oracle users reduce costs, improve performance, maintain compliance, and monetize the value of their Oracle data assets, said John Ottman, Executive Chairman of Solix Technologies, Inc.

Achieving Oracle Validated Integration with Oracle E-Business Suite Expertise gives our customers the confidence that the integration of Solix Common Data Platform is functionally sound and performs as tested, said David Hicks, vice president, Worldwide ISV Cloud Business Development, Oracle. For solutions deployed on-premise, in the cloud, or both, Oracle Validated Integration applies a rigorous technical review process that helps to reduce deployment risk and improves the user experience of the partners integrated offering.

Solix CDP is a multi-cloud solution and includes the following key capabilities, some of which may be outside the scope of the Oracle Validated Integration:



Solix Connect: Uniform data collection of 100s of data sources across structured and unstructured data

Solix Metadata Management: End-to-end framework to explore all enterprise metadata and lineage from a centralized repository and business glossary

Solix Data Governance: Sensitive data discovery, data masking and encryption, role-based access control, retention management, ILM, GDPR, PHI and PCI compliance frameworks

Solix Search: Universal Data Access with Google-like text search, reports, forms, SQL queries, business intelligence and analytics

Cloud data management application framework including enterprise archiving, enterprise data lake, consumer data privacy and enterprise content services

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For more information on the Solix CDP and solutions for Oracle E-Business Suite, click here.

ABOUT ORACLE VALIDATED INTEGRATION

Oracle Validated Integration, available through the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), gives customers confidence that the integration of a complementary partner software product with an Oracle on-premises Application has been validated and the products work together as designed. This can help customers reduce risk, improve system implementation cycles, and provide for smoother upgrades and simpler maintenance. Oracle Validated Integration applies a rigorous technical process to review partner integrations and partners who successfully complete the program are authorized to use the Oracle Validated Integration logo.

ABOUT ORACLE PARTNER NETWORK

Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) Specialized is the latest version of Oracles partner program that provides partners with tools to better develop, sell and implement Oracle solutions. OPN Specialized offers resources to train and support specialized knowledge of Oracle products and solutions and has evolved to recognize Oracles growing product portfolio, partner base and business opportunity. Key to the latest enhancements to OPN is the ability for partners to differentiate through Specializations. Specializations are achieved through competency development, business results, expertise and proven success. To find out more visit http://www.oracle.com/partners.

TRADEMARKS

Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

ABOUT SOLIX TECHNOLOGIES

Solix Technologies, Inc., is a leading big data application provider that empowers data-driven enterprises with optimized infrastructure, data security and advanced analytics. Solix Common Data Platform (CDP) provides end-to-end data fabric, data governance, data security, data discovery, and a unified Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) framework for Enterprise Archiving and Enterprise Data Lake applications, deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or both. SOLIXCloud Enterprise Archiving is the worlds first archiving as-a-service solution built on the Solix CDP and hosted on Microsoft Azure, enabling enterprises to strengthen their data management processes with cloud-based Application Retirement, Email Archiving, File Archiving, and Database Archiving. Solix is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and operates worldwide through an established network of value-added resellers (VARs) and systems integrators. To learn more, please visit https://www.solix.com

CONNECT WITH SOLIX

Visit our website: https://www.solix.com

Follow us on Twitter: @solixbigdata

Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/solixtechnologies

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/solix-technologies/
Binah.ai, the leading provider of general health and wellness video-based monitoring solutions powered by artificial intelligence (AI), today announced a partnership with Datos Health, a global leader in remote care automation.

To view the partnership in action, register for the upcoming Binah.ai / Datos Health joint webinar on May 18, 2022.

The Datos Health platform will leverage Binah.ais award winning technology, which provides video-based, real-time health data, including blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability, oxygen saturation, respiration rate, sympathetic stress, parasympathetic activity, and pulse-respiration quotient (PRQ). The vitals can be extracted from a patient by simply looking into a smartphone, laptop or tablet camera, for less than 60 seconds. With Datos Healths fully customizable drag and drop Design Studio, vital sign measurements can be seamlessly integrated into any remote care pathway and paired with patient reported outcomes (PROs), giving providers a comprehensive view of patient health along with all the communication tools needed to intervene and engage when needed.

With the integration of Binah.ais technology, health providers now have a unique advantage to measure patient vital signs remotely, no matter their location or time, empowering a larger patient population to benefit from all that remote care has to offer-enhancing decision-making and patient experience alike. In addition, the logistical challenges of remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices are eliminated. Personalized care can be provided without any requirement for the patient or provider to purchase or distribute wearables or other devices, enabling ease of use from the comfort of the user's home. Patient health data will automatically be saved and accessible through personal electronic medical record (EMR) for care providers review of an individuals measurements history and trends, to enhance preventive care and help address health issues in real-time.

We are thrilled to partner with Datos Health, a leading player in the remote care and patient monitoring arena. Leveraging their outstanding platform, we can now jointly offer a powerful and effective RPM tool, for the great benefit of both carers and patients alike, said David Maman, CEO and Co-founder of Binah.ai. Our joint RPM solution allows health providers to step into the future of healthcare, through the seamless ease of use and effectiveness, proving an indispensable tool.

Giving patients the freedom to use any camera-enabled device of their choosing and providing them with automated assisted self-care through Datos Healths CareApps will foster patient adherence, improve outcomes and decrease hospital admissions. The integration between Datos Health and Binah.ai replaces the need for patients to rely on several different devices to collect important vitals for their care teams as they can now be gathered quickly and simultaneously-all from one device. Care teams receive accurate patient data to determine if intervention is needed, titrate medications, closely manage symptoms, and personalize care plans in real-time-finally being able to harness the full potential of remote care.

This partnership will further deepen our commitment to providing clinicians with the tools they need to practice medicine the way they see fit, said Uri Bettesh, CEO and Founder Datos Health. Our platforms open framework lends itself to endless integration options and enables us to seamlessly integrate with the award-winning technology company, Binah.ai. We know that vitals monitoring is an important component of remote care and together, we want to make this data more easily accessible, continued Bettesh. Pairing this data along with our platforms automated assisted self-care capabilities will revolutionize care delivery.

For more information on Binah.ai, please visit http://www.binah.ai or write to us at info@binah.ai. For more information on Datos Health, please visit http://www.datos-health.com.

The solution is not a medical device and should be considered as a self-assessment tool only.

About Binah.ai

Binah.ais software-only, video-based Health Data Platform is the next stage in the evolution of health and wellness monitoring. By eliminating the need for wearables and dedicated hardware devices and transforming smartphones, tablets and laptops into health and wellness monitoring tools, Binah.ai is enabling healthcare, insurance and wellness industries worldwide to access an extensive range of health parameters, just by having users look into their devices camera. Delivering on its vision and mission to support healthcare anywhere, Binah.ai is making access to user-provided health data fast, simple and affordable and empowering organizations to provide quality, personalized care and services at lower costs.

About Datos Health

Datos Health replaces todays rigid, pre-built, remote patient monitoring solutions with one powerful open platform. Providers now have unlimited freedom to implement and customize any digital care programs they choose. The flexible design studio allows doctors to fine-tune care workflows to their needs and protocols, either creating remote care programs from scratch or by leveraging existing protocols from leading healthcare organizations. These workflows are then instantly transformed into device-agnostic patient CareApps, empowering patients to manage parts of their care journey themselves. Assisted self-care is now an automated reality for patients and providers alike. No limitations. Pure possibility. Datos Health  Your care, your way.

Media Contact:

Hayley Magrin

(201) 465-8038

binah@antennagroup.com

Datos Health Contact:

Farah Parsa

Vice President, Marketing

farah.parsa@datos-health.com
The average cost for a 4-year college degree is now between $101,948 and $212,868, while the cost of a tattoo apprenticeship at Body Art & Soul Tattoos with a guaranteed job offer is a micro-fraction of that!

Body Art & Soul Tattoos just opened its fifth tattoo studio and tattoo apprenticeship program in Tampa, Fl, thus adding Florida to a list of its locations nationwide, along with a new tool to help parents help their children make a living from their art.

We know what a daunting task it can be to try to help people with artistic talents, make a great living from their art, shares Paul-Anthony Surdi. The average cost for a 4-year college degree is now between $101,948 and $212,868, while the cost of a tattoo apprenticeship at Body Art & Soul Tattoos tattoo school with a guaranteed job offer is a micro-fraction of that!

Considering that some tattoo artists have no problem charging $500 an hour, and have clients that happily pay thousands of dollars for a single session, many parents may be wondering how they can help their young adult children access this lucrative career in the arts. To try and make it simple, Body Art & Soul Tattoos put together a 4-minute video to help parents process these questions and take action to find the solution that works best for them.

If youre going to help you kids pay for that apprenticeship that will get their career started, it needs to have guarantees and it needs to be handled by artists who want to teach, and know how to teach, shares Paul-Anthony, owner of Body Art & Soul Tattoos.

Why are so many people eager to get into the tattoo industry? Well, here are some statistics, according to IBIS World:



The size of the Tattoo industry is $1.4bn

The size of the Tattoo industry is expected to increase 5.4% in 2022.

The Tattoo industry in the US has grown 8.4% every year on average since 2017

Right now, 47% of millennials have tattoos, and acceptance of tattoos in the workplace is constantly increasing. With tattoo artists like Scott Campbell charging as much as $2000 an hour, a tattoo apprenticeship may be a much better option for people who think their only option is a $100,000 liberal arts degree.

Parents can find out more at http://www.tattooschool.com.

About Body Art & Soul Tattoos: Body Art & Soul Tattoos is a tattoo studio that offers tattoo apprenticeships with a focus on ongoing professional development. Its mission is to Ink Different by ensuring equal opportunity in the tattoo industry. As a result, they have one of the most open and diverse artistic communities in the tattoo industry.
"Achievements like this are only made possible when you have a fantastic team." - Geetesh Goyal, Human Bees Co-Founder and CEO

The Financial Times recently announced that Human Bees ranked #2 on its annual list of the fastest growing companies in the Americas and #1 among all privately-held companies. Along with Statista, a research company, the Financial Times compiled and ranked the list using each companys compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue between 2017 and 2020. Unlike other ranking systems, which stick to firms based solely in the United States, the Financial Times rankings include companies from across North and South America.

It is an enormous honor to be ranked by the Financial Times as the second fastest growing company in the Americas, stated Geetesh Goyal, Human Bees co-founder and CEO. Achievements like this are only made possible when you have a fantastic team. Our teamor, rather, our Hivehas consistently proven themselves as the most dedicated and capable in our industry.

In order to rank highly, companies had to show an ability to be innovative while also being candid with their financial information. Roughly 90% of companies on the list were from the United States and Canada, while another 5% came from Brazil.

The complete list, along with the methodology used for determining each companys rank, can be viewed on the Financial Times website.

Human Bees, Inc. is a dynamic full-service human capital organization, focusing on staffing and recruiting. We have unparalleled access to the talent our clients need, regardless of their industry. Whether our clients need only a few employees, or a large-scale workforce mobilization, we are equipped to move at a moments notice.

Connect with us on social media.

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REGENT's all-electric seaglider prototype on the water in Florida during testing this spring. We are so excited to finally be able to share our seaglider prototype with the public and welcome everyone to join us on this journey to make regional coastal transportation faster, safer, and more sustainable.

REGENT, the venture-backed aerospace and maritime company, unveiled a prototype of the companys all-electric seaglider for the first time to the public, live at CoMotion Miami (April 20-21), the new mobility conference, in front of a crowd of policymakers and innovative global transportation and technology companies.

REGENT CEO Billy Thalheimer presented a keynote address at the event, SeaglidersThe Future of Sustainable Coastal Transportation, introducing the seaglider as the worlds first viable commercial solution to all-electric coastal transportation. Following the keynote, Thalheimer invited attendees to REGENTs booth where he unveiled the seaglider prototype, marking the first time the seaglider has been officially shared with the public.

There is no better place to share our vision for the future of all-electric coastal transportation and unveil our seaglider prototype than here at CoMotion Miami. Not only are we surrounded by innovative global leaders of future mobility, but we are in a hotspot of coastal transportation activity with millions of travelers along Miamis coast and adjacent archipelagos every year, said Billy Thalheimer. We are so excited to share our seaglider with the public and welcome everyone to join us on this journey to make regional coastal transportation faster, safer, and more sustainable.

Following the unveiling, REGENT CEO Billy Thalheimer and New Zealand's Ocean Flyer CEO Shah Aslam signed REGENTs newest dealthe purchase of 25 seagliders worth $427M, bringing the companys total orders at a value of $6B across 334 vehicles. The historic deal is among the largest private transportation deals in New Zealands history.
Jenn Bryndal and Bernadette Grandinetti with Engel & Volkers St. Augustine To witness Bernadette and all my advisors having record-breaking sales and more than doubling their business is truly fulfilling.

Engel & Volkers Florida today announced Jenn Bryndal and Bernadette Grandinetti with Engel & Volkers St. Augustine earned five spots in the top 10 single-family home transactions in St. Johns County in 2021. 805 S. Griffin Shores closed in March for $3.3-million; 632 Ocean Palm Way closed in May for $2.85-million; 959 Ponte Vedra Blvd and 165 Inlet Drive closed in June for $7.8-million and $3.6-million respectively, and 953 N. Griffin Shores closed in August for $2.8-million.

Having sold 4 of the 10 highest priced homes in St. Johns County MLS is an accomplishment that brings me a deep sense of satisfaction and helps me know I have earned the trust and respect of my customers, said Bryndal. Guiding them in their real estate investments is an honor that I cherish and am passionate about. When they entrust me to market and sell one of their largest assets, or to look for guidance when purchasing, I treat each transaction as if it were my own, ensuring they achieve the highest sales price possible when selling and make the soundest investment when purchasing.

Grandinetti, who joined Bryndals brokerage in November 2020, is a relative newcomer to the real estate industry. She has represented 25 transactions thus far, totaling nearly 14-million in sales volume, with an average price of $543,512. Since becoming an advisor with Engel & Volkers, she has more than tripled her business.

It was never my intention to embark on a real estate career and achieve record-breaking sales numbers so quickly, said Grandinetti. I found Engel & Volkers and it fell into place. While I am proud of and further motivated by this landmark sale, the true pleasure of my work has always been the joy of helping families and individuals achieve their own real estate goals.

The typical value of homes in St. Johns County has risen 36-percent over the past year to $486,277. The average price of the top five homes sold by Engel & Volkers St. Augustine in 2021 was $4,070,000 and the highest being $7.8 million; which is more than 737-percent greater than the average home in the market.

The Engel & Volkers client-centric value proposition attracts real estate agents who love the consistent, superior brand marketing focused on the luxury market, said Peter Giese, CEO of Engel & Volkers Florida. Upon joining Engel & Volkers, the agent's status in the industry is elevated to that of advisor and they are able to win listings and represent clients in the luxury market that they were not able to attract prior to joining our brand. Bernadette is a shining example, with 262-percent growth since affiliating with us.

Bryndal left Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Florida Network Realty in 2019 to partner with Engel & Volkers on her first franchised real estate brokerage, Engel & Volkers St. Augustine. At the time, she was averaging $20-million in sales volume annually. Since then, the brokerage has grown 250-percent and is on track to close $100-million in sales volume this year. Bryndal also recently secured the franchise rights to neighboring territory, Palm Coast, which is slated to open later this year.

As the broker and owner of Engel & Volkers St. Augustine, I am beyond proud of Bernadette and my entire team, said Bryndal. To witness Bernadette and all my advisors having record-breaking sales and more than doubling their business is truly fulfilling. They have all embraced our core values of Competence, Exclusivity and Passion, and their commitment and hard work has made such a tremendous impact in our market.

###

Press contact:

Linzee Werkmeister, Junior Vice President, Marketing & Franchise Support

Email: Linzee.Werkmeister(at)evrealestate.com

Tel: (239) 348-9000

About Engel & Volkers:

Engel & Volkers is a global luxury real estate brand. Founded in Hamburg, Germany in 1977, Engel & Volkers draws on its rich European history to deliver a fresh approach to luxury real estate in the Americas with a focus on creating a personalized client experience at every stage of the home buying or selling process for today's savvy homeowner. Engel & Volkers currently operates approximately 263 shop locations with 5,000 real estate advisors in the Americas, contributing to the brand's global network of over 15,000 real estate professionals in more than 30 countries, offering both private and institutional clients a professionally tailored range of luxury services, including real estate, yachting and aviation. Committed to exceptional service, Engel & Volkers supports its advisors with an array of premium quality business services; marketing programs and platforms; as well as access to its global network of real estate professionals, property listings and market data. Each brokerage is independently owned and operated. For more information, visit http://www.evrealestate.com.

About Engel & Volkers Florida:

Engel & Volkers Florida is the Master License Partner of the global luxury real estate brand Engel & Volkers in the state of Florida. Recognized for uniquely recruiting, training and equipping some of the top professionals in the real estate industry, Engel & Volkers Floridas exclusive business model positions its franchisees at the top of the premium market to gain market share and support their bottom line. The company represents franchise locations in 42 markets: 30A Beaches, Amelia Island, Belleair, Boca Raton, Bonita Springs-Estero, Cape Coral, Clermont, Delray Beach, Destin, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers Downtown, Gainesville, Islamorada, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Jupiter, Madeira Beach, Marco Island, Melbourne Beachside, Melbourne Central, Melbourne Downtown, Miami Coconut Grove, Neptune Beach, Ocala, Olde Naples, Orlando, Orlando Downtown, Orlando-Winter Park, Palm Beach, Palm Coast, Pompano Beach, Sarasota, South Tampa, St. Augustine, St. Pete, St. Pete Beach, Stuart, Tampa Water Street, Venice Downtown, Vero Beach, Wellington, and Windermere.

Engel & Volkers Florida is continuing to strategically strengthen and expand its presence in premium real estate markets across the state of Florida. If you would like to know more about the Engel & Volkers brand or how to join its global networkwhich is known for demonstrating competence, exclusivity and passion, feel free to call our corporate office, located at 633 Tamiami Trl N, Suite 201, Naples, FL 34102 USA. Tel: +1 239-348-9000. For more information about Engel & Volkers Florida, please visit http://www.florida.evrealestate.com
Germaine Pradier, a New Orleans native known in her family as a historian and storyteller, has completed her new book Mulatto: a captivating tale that sheds light on biracial children of the south.

Pradier shares, "This is a coming-of-age story of a biracial young man growing up on the outskirts of New Orleans in a single-parent home with his black motherabsent of his white fatherduring the early 1900s. The story explores religious, racial, and class dynamics during the period from 1905 to 1919 as experienced by the mulatto bastard son of a prominent New Orleans businessman.

"The story starts in the Jim Crow era where the protagonist lives in a small community where he and his siblings were shipped off to once his father married. At the age of fifteen, he hitchhikes to New Orleans and begins his quest to understand himself and to find his place in the world. Throughout the story, he must contend with the color consciousness, racism, and religious bigotry that define his status in the community."

Published by Page Publishing, Germaine Pradiers enlightening tale displays the hate and segregation one boy faces as he journeys into manhood on a path of self discovery.

Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase Mulatto at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Inaam Saad, a highly decorated environmental scientist, has completed her new book The Potential Use of Rock Phosphate in Sudan for Sustainable Agricultural Production: a factual, data driven read on the impacts of phosphate rock.

Saad shares, The book presents a comprehensive literature review on the history, advantages, and impacts of using rock phosphate. It also sheds light on the rock phosphate deposits in Sudan, their locations, and geological and agricultural quality as compared to rock phosphate from other global resources. The book presents two detailed case studies on assessing the agronomic value of Kurun and Uro rock phosphate rocks as fertilizers and their environmental impact assessment. The book then highlights the potential benefits of phosphate mining and the initiation of the phosphate fertilizer industry in Sudan, proposes a plan for achieving that goal, and presents recommendations to bring the Sudanese phosphate fertilizer industry to life.

Published by Page Publishing, Inaam Saads incredible compilation of research allows readers to see the work she has dedicated her life and studies to.

Readers who wish to experience this informative work can purchase The Potential Use of Rock Phosphate in Sudan for Sustainable Agricultural Production at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Lance Meier, a twenty-three-year-old writer who lives with his family and their dog, Copper, on a farm near Preston, Iowa with a lifelong passion for words, for learning about the world around him, and for his strong Christian faith, has completed his new book Timewarp: The West Rides Again: a compelling story that keeps the pages turning until its satisfying conclusion.

These kids are now history!

In 2019, two new stepsiblings, history-minded Jenny Newton and inventor-in-the-making Brian Hawke, move together into their new home, which once belonged to Brians grandfather, a man who had loved to study history and make incredible, new inventions. One day, while searching their new home, Jenny and Brian stumble upon Brians grandfathers greatest invention: a watch.

However, it is no ordinary watch. After Brian puts it on, he and Jenny are inadvertently zapped back to the year 1881 in the Wild West town of Sunset Gulch. Not long after they arrive, the watch, their only way home, is broken, leaving them stranded.

Fortunately, a kindly couple known as the Finers offer to take them in. As the two kids attempt to repair the watch, they become involved in the towns affairs and witness the rampage of a notorious gang of bandits and a terrifying assassin, but above all, they find themselves becoming part of a new family. It would seem they are destined for a fantastic adventure in history, and to grow stronger, smarter, tougher, and closer as they work to find their way home!

Published by Page Publishing, Lance Meiers engrossing book is a superb choice for avid fiction readers of all ages.

Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase Timewarp: The West Rides Again at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing understands that authors should be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Laurence C. Schwartz, who currently teaches speech communications and film at Mercy College, has completed his new book Teaching on Borrowed Time: An Adjuncts Memoir: an engagingly edgy work that highlights Schwartzs campus-trotting travels through the academic establishment.

Ever the outsider, Schwartz chronicles the highs, lows, and in-betweens of teaching at public universities, private universities, four-year colleges, community colleges, sectarian colleges, a New York City high school, inner-city campuses, suburban campuses, and elite New England private academies. In addition to his consistently precarious livelihood as an adjunct, Schwartz directs, writes, and acts in the New York theater scene.

Schwartz writes of his commute from Manhattan to teach at Bergen Community College in Paramus, The first stop in Weehawken was Marginal and Pleasant. At 6:10 in the morning, I was not quite pleasant, but I could certainly feel on the margins of the mainstream workforce. Of his lecture on the Dance, Schwartz recalls, From hootenanny, I segued to hokum in my introduction to the can-can. The students dug it. I proceeded to the jazz dance and emphasized its African origin. I screened the scene in Saturday Night Fever wherein John Travoltas Tony Manero pulled out his bag of tricks in his solo on the disco dance floor. I noted the contrast in his improvisation to the precise choreography called for in ballet. And of his lecture on World Music, he writes,  after taking this class, the students knew the Grateful Dead and Brahmss Isle of the Dead.

Schwartzs memoir sheds new light on academia and often has the feel of a road film with its restless protagonist breaking through to self-discoveries as he embraces different cultures and a wide-range of student populations.

Published by Page Publishing, Laurence C. Schwartzs illuminating work gives voice to the adjunct community as well as those who stubbornly forge ahead in their professional quests for the sheer joy of the work.

Readers who wish to experience this original work can purchase Teaching on Borrowed Time: An Adjuncts Memoir at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Nicholaus Bourland, an Oregon native who grew up on his familys ranch, attended Boise State University on an academic scholarship, and after a tumultuous period of unforeseen lows now lives happily with his girlfriend of ten years and their two boys in Bend, has completed his new book Flails Kitchen: a riveting story of a wayward youth, addiction, and, ultimately, salvation that keeps the pages turning until its dramatic conclusion.

In this action-packed true crime thriller, from a perspective and insight that has never been put into print, you will not be able to help but fall inside the mind of the author/character Nick Bourland. Set in Portland, Oregon, Flails Kitchen delivers a heartfelt story of a young man battling with addiction, love, and internal conflict over the criminal lifestyle he found himself devoured by. Nick and his cousins are on a crime spree with no limits as they run through the Portland Metro, creating a whirlwind of chaos. From one intense high-speed chase to the next, nothing can seem to slow these boys down. The sex, drugs, and money are above the law until it all comes crashing down upon them when one of their own turns them in. It is a page-turning adventure you do not want to miss!

Published by Page Publishing, Nicholaus Bourlands engrossing book is an excellent choice for avid crime fiction readers.

Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase Flails Kitchen at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing understands that authors should be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Stephen L. Newman's new historical fiction novel, "The Qumran Cave 12 Manuscript," is now available in paperback and audiobook through Fig Factor Media Publishing. In the end, readers will see where theres visibility, there is justice. I also want readers to understand the fact that Christian religions, especially Catholic, are complicated."

"The Qumran Cave 12 Manuscript," the newest historical fiction novel by author Stephen L. Newman, is now available in paperback and audiobook through Fig Factor Media Publishing. In the novel, Newman challenges the ideology of religion and our thoughts of how we view God.

Referencing the Bible, theological books and the characteristics of religion as a whole, Newman uses this concept to frame the plotline of the book and create a universe where one could question the true existence of reality.

Newman presents to readers the treacherous journey initiated by young university archaeologist and heroine Samantha James who is invited to lead an archaeological dig into Qumran Cave 12, one of a series of caves located in the Judean Desert on the West Bank. She discovers copper plates that pre date the Dead Sea Scrolls by over 1,000 years. This shocking discovery leads to a path filled with treachery and betrayal and raises the possibility that the very core of the Judeo-Christian religions may be a well-conceived masquerade.

I resonated with the character of Samantha because she is intelligent, resilient and curious about the world around her and far away, he said. She is a bold character with a cool, hip side to her.

Throughout the book, Newman weaves dramatic elements of artificial intelligence, kidnapping, murder and sabotage into this thriller. In one of the books suspenseful moments, James meets the Lord God under a surprising set of circumstances and comes to believe that the entity, despite its appearance and fabric, is not what she imagined.

In the end, readers will see where theres visibility, there is justice, he said. I also want readers to understand the fact that Christian religions, especially Catholic, are complicated, Newman explained. I also want readers to consider that the Judeo-Christian religions may be, above all else, concerned primarily about the consolidation of wealth and power.

"The Qumran Cave 12 Manuscript" is available for purchase on Amazon. For more information, please visit https://stephenlnewman.com/.

About Fig Factor Media:

Fig Factor Media Publishing is an international publishing company with a beeping heart.

Fig Factor Media has helped many authors achieve and support their dream of impacting their communities in the United States, Mexico, and Europe. Fig Factor Media is the official publisher of Todays Inspired Latina. For information, visit http://www.figfactormedia.com.

About Stephen L. Newman:

Stephen L. Newman graduated from the University of Southern California with Magna Cum Laude honors. As a Certified Public Accountant, Newman initially represented talent and production entities in a number of major motion pictures.

Newman has been married for 52 years, has five children and seven grandchildren. He and his wife reside in Orange County, California. Newmans first novel, A Failed Experiment," is also available for purchase. For more information visit https://stephenlnewman.com/. ###
Jim Funari - StratusLIVE Co-Founder & CEO The StratusLIVE team designed our product to help nonprofits achieve their missions; we are pleased to know that our technology will play a role in assisting Autism Speaks to serve the needs of individuals with autism and their families. - Jim Funari, StratusLIVE Co-Founder and CEO

StratusLIVE, the leading provider of cloud-based solutions for nonprofits, foundations, and workplace federations, announced today that Autism Speaks recently implemented its nonprofit CRM, StratusLIVE 365, to support their vision for a world where all people with autism can reach their full potential.

Autism Speaks started their software selection in 2019. After a comprehensive review of available systems and navigating the global pandemic, they culminated the search with the choice of StratusLIVE in May 2021.

Lynn Happel, Senior Vice President, Information Technology & Data Support, Autism Speaks, stated, as a nonprofit, building meaningful relationships with our donors is vital to the success of our mission work. Through StratusLIVE, Autism Speaks will have access to a leading-edge constituent relationship management platform, enabling us to optimize both donor stewardship and cultivation."

Happel added, In addition, StratusLIVEs ability to directly integrate with the full Microsoft suite, will enable us to streamline and improve the efficiency of our fundraising, reporting and communication capabilities. The system automatically recognizes duplicate data before import, saving countless hours. StratusLIVE's level of security, commercial Microsoft platform, scalability, and profound nonprofit knowledge and expertise are key factors and unique features of StratusLIVE. The selection of StratusLIVE is a major step in the future growth of Autism Speaks as a best in class nonprofit organization and a critical investment in our infrastructure and process."

We are thrilled to welcome Autism Speaks to our family of clients," said Jim Funari, StratusLIVE Co-founder and CEO. The StratusLIVE team designed our product to help nonprofits achieve their missions; we are pleased to know that our technology will play a role in assisting Autism Speaks to serve the needs of individuals with autism and their families.

About autism

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 44 children in the United States today.

About Autism Speaks

Autism Speaks is dedicated to promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. We do this through advocacy and support; increasing understanding and acceptance of people with autism; and advancing research into causes and better interventions for autism spectrum disorder and related conditions. To find resources, join an event or make a donation, go to http://www.AutismSpeaks.org. Learn more by following @AutismSpeaks on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About StratusLIVE, LLC

StratusLIVE, an industry leader of Software for Social Good, empowers organizations to drive change and increase impact through its Nonprofit CRM and Online Giving Platforms. StratusLIVE 365 and StratusLIVE Ignite seamlessly integrate throughout the entire philanthropic organization, enabling greater visibility into donor insights. With a wide array of product features from enterprise-class relationship management, business intelligence, and analytical marketing to virtual giving, volunteering, Peer-to-Peer campaigns, and more, nonprofits engage more effectively with donors across a wide range of fundraising and development strategies. StratusLIVE, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with products built on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform and aligned with the Nonprofit Common Data Model, has empowered enterprise nonprofits, federations, and foundations across the United States since 2010. Visit StratusLIVE.com to learn more.
Aventura World Takes Travelers to Explore High Demand Destinations including Rovinj in Croatia. This year we are seeing strong travel bookings. Traveler resolve is stronger. Determination, desire, and decisiveness are what we are seeing as the main inspirations for travelers who are booking and traveling now.

With many of Aventura Worlds fall departures to Egypt already sold out and unprecedented demand to Italy and Croatia  a newer addition to the high-demand destinations list, the international travel brand has had to increase its allotment with its preferred suppliers. Aventura World is experiencing pre-COVID booking levels being reached and surpassed and is adding more departures and expanding its space allotment to meet the demand.

The beginning of Q1 saw a slow down for the first couple of weeks, but that was very short-lived; bookings picked up very quickly. January proved to be a good month for bookings and the rest of Q1 was strong. In fact, Q3 & Q4 is off the charts! Italy is back and European destinations like Greece, Spain, and Croatia are in high demand. Equally, far-flung destinations like Egypt are also booking at levels we have not seen since 2019  even selling out. It is all very encouraging and positive, said Ian Scott, President of Aventura World.

Last year, we saw an increase in bookings throughout the summer. Fall and winter 2021 were very strong; just below pre-COVID times. This year, the trends are similar, but the bookings are simply stronger. Traveler resolve is stronger. Determination, desire, and decisiveness are what we are seeing as the main inspirations for travelers who are booking and traveling now. They are tired of being locked down and are ready to live their lives now...which includes making their travel dreams a reality, continued Scott.

To cater to the immense increase in demand, Aventura World has not only added more space and departures, but the company has also unveiled new itineraries including its just released 9-day The Very Best of Croatia that features an extension option to 13 days. It's an outstanding travel program that takes travelers to explore Croatias Western Coast and the Istrian Peninsula, with the chance to delve into Venice, Italy too. Travelers seeking a once-in-a-lifetime vacation brimming with history, culture, adventure, nature, and amazing food and wine are sure to love this novel itinerary that takes travelers from Opatija to Split and virtually everywhere in between, plus an extension to Dubrovnik.

The fact that we never shut down and we have continued operating travel programs safely has brought up an unparalleled level of experience and understanding into how to deliver vacations of a lifetime in todays world  even in even the most tumultuous times. Since we operated more travel experiences and served more travelers than many of our competitors combined, our travelers benefit from all of that hands-on experience to bring them extra peace of mind in booking their trips with us. They are looking for us to present them with new, in depth, experiential travel opportunities and we are thrilled to deliver, said Scott.

To contact Aventura World or to request additional information email: sales@aventuraworld.com.

About Aventura World

A valued leader in the US group travel marketplace since 1972, Aventura World is a distinctive travel company focused on elevating group travel beyond traditional sightseeing to delivering culturally rich, interactive, and in-depth destination experiences each and every time. The company is known for providing excellent client service, destination expertise, and meticulously planned tour and travel packages. As part of Aventura Worlds international awareness program, the group travel brand presents travelers with a unique insiders perspective and provides enriching moments that bring each destination to life. Backed by the strength of Sakkara Group International, Aventura World offers the reliability and security that its clients are booking and traveling with a strong, long-established, robust group tour operator with a time-honored history as well as an ongoing commitment to providing the best in travel. For additional details, visit AventuraWorld.com.
"We opened this office because of the high demand for real estate services in the King George, Northern Neck, and Southern Maryland areas." Dan Lesher, Senior Vice President

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty, one of the countrys fastest-growing real estate brokerages with more than 2,000 Realtors and over $8 billion in annual sales volume, is excited to announce the opening of the companys 62nd branch office at 10240 Kings Highway in King George, Va.

We opened this office because of the high demand for real estate services in the King George, Northern Neck, and Southern Maryland areas, said Senior Vice President Dan Lesher. The agents who will be based in this branch will be serving their clients in a central location with a personalized, boutique experience. We look forward to expanding our footprint and better serving our agents and clients in this region.

Designed with the companys busy agents in mind, the new branch office boasts over 2,000 sq. ft. of renovated space filled with modern amenities and furnishings. Karen Carpenter, current managing broker for the companys Fredericksburg office, will also manage the new branch.

The King George office opens its doors this week and everyone is invited to stop by. To reach the office, send an email to kinggeorge@penfedrealty.com or call 540-625-8100.

About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty (http://www.penfedrealty.com) is a full-service real estate company with an annual sales volume of over $8 billion. Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., the company has over 2,000 agents and more than 60 offices, providing complete real estate services nationwide and helping over 20,000 clients with their real estate needs each year. PenFed Realty is a wholly owned subsidiary of PenFed Credit Union and is a member of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brokerage network, operated by HSF Affiliates LLC. We are proud to be an equal employment opportunity employer. Equal Housing Opportunity.


dentCHECK usage at L3Harris We are honored and excited to play our small part in the mission of supporting the warfighter to protect our nation and its allies. We look forward to continuing to enable L3Harris with our technologies and having them experience 8trees exceptional customer service.

8tree has achieved three years of dentCHECK support to leading global aerospace and defense technology innovator L3Harris Technologies. L3Harris Greenville, Texas aircraft missionization center uses dentCHECK to improve the efficiency and quality of its aircraft damage-mapping activities. It joins 8trees other aviation customers, including allied air forces, which already use dentCHECK to expedite flight-readiness.

In our experience, the technical rigor of the L3Harris team is unparalleled, said Arun Chhabra, CEO, 8tree. In light of this, it was all the more rewarding for us, when they decided to implement dentCHECK at their Greenville site a few years ago to enhance their diligent aircraft damage-mapping processes. We are honored and excited to play our small part in the mission of supporting the warfighter to protect our nation and its allies. We look forward to continuing to enable L3Harris with our technologies and having them experience 8trees exceptional customer service.

dentCHECK is the world's only handheld-portable, completely wireless 3D scanner tool with integrated AR that is purpose-built for the aviation maintenance industry. It is now used by the worlds leading commercial, cargo and defense maintenance, repair and overhaul providers (MROs). Delivering real-time go/no-go answers at the push of a single-button, the tool significantly reduces damage-mapping and reporting times, compared to traditional manual methods that use depth-gauges and straight-edges.

Approved and recognized by all major aerospace Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs),(Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer), dentCHECK is used by the world's leading airlines/MROs for fast and accurate damage-mapping and SRM-compliant multi-dent reporting. When compared to traditional inspection methods, dentCHECK delivers a 90% gain in efficiency and 35x better measurement consistency.

OEM-acceptance has led to widespread adoption of dentCHECK amongst airlines/MROs. Detailed case-studies from Delta TechOps, easyJet, and TAP-M&E, as well as news from Airbus, Lufthansa Technik, DHL-Express, Kalitta Air, KF Aero, Aeromexico, and several others, demonstrates that dentCHECK drastically reduces inspection and reporting times by up to 90%. This shortens aircraft Turn-around-Time (TaT), which further reduces lost revenues and very directly improves operational efficiency for airlines. dentCHECK enhances safety through an improved understanding of airframe reliability.

About 8tree

Precision 3D measurement as simple as taking a photo

With this vision in mind, 8tree makes 3D optical surface inspection tools that solve chronic problems for multiple industries. 8trees products empower every operator  from mechanics on the floor, to engineers in the lab  with instantly actionable precise measurements, portability and performance. With its patented user-centric product design, instant go/no-go answers and zero-learning curve, 8tree is committed to making precision 3D scanning more broadly accessible  technically and commercially.

For more information, visit http://www.8-tree.com/.

For recent news follow 8tree on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/8tree
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters in Arlington, VA The redeveloped facility creates an enhanced employment base while keeping a major government tenancy, two big wins for Arlington County that will spur further growth.

FD Stonewater recently completed the phased redevelopment of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) headquarters on behalf of ownership. The two-building complex at 600-700 Army Navy Drive, also known as Lincoln Place, is a Class A, 511,000 square foot, highly-secure facility located in Arlington Countys Pentagon City neighborhood. FD Stonewater also represented ownership on the 15-year lease renewal for Lincoln Place in what was the largest lease transaction in Northern Virginia in 2018.

The redevelopment of Lincoln Place enables the agency to modernize their law enforcement mission and to implement efficiencies that will allow 400 hundred additional staff to work at the headquarters complex, increasing the Countys employment base and supporting the agencys expanding mission.

At the onset of the deal, ownership committed to significant capital upgrades with the goal of transforming Lincoln Place into a best-in-class government-leased facility. The redevelopment includes secure office with 20,000 SF of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) space, cafe and fitness center amenities, courtrooms, agency museum, as well as building systems upgrades for both buildings. The facility meets Federal Security Level IV requirements. One of the more unique components of the project, the 12,000 square foot DEA Museum is an interactive state-of-the-art exhibit space that displays the history of the agency and the evolution of their mission while addressing key agency themes.

The DEA has been a longstanding part of Arlingtons federal presence, and we are thrilled to see the agency choose to remain here in Arlington and make significant improvements to enhance its home here, said Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti. This newly redeveloped facility not only maintains a large employment presence that will support many other businesses in the Pentagon City neighborhood, but also entices additional visitors through the reimagined DEA Museum.

Securing swing space for DEA headquarters staff was necessary to the success of the project. FD Stonewaters leasing team secured 75,000 square feet of swing space at 2200 Crystal Drive and negotiated a 2-year term with flexible extension options. FD Stonewater provided turnkey swing space to the agency for the duration of the headquarters redevelopment and coordinated the agencys move to the temporary space.

The DEA redevelopment assignment marks the continued expansion of FD Stonewater's federal development and construction management platform. FD Stonewater has delivered other large-scale federal projects on behalf of building owners this year, including the 500,000 square foot redevelopment and restack for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus in Bethesda, MD.

FD Stonewater teamed up with SmithGroup as Architect-of-Record and HITT Contracting as General Contractor. The project delivered on time and on budget.

Ben Dineen, Principal and Director of Development at FD Stonewater, commented, Our development team was intensely focused on delivering the highest degree of service, bringing our ownership mentality to the project to optimize costs for ownership and the Government, while also leveraging our specialized government experience and technical capabilities to meet the DEAs unique requirements.

Claiborne Williams, Principal at FD Stonewater, added, This redevelopment assignment fully aligns with our core development platform, as FD Stonewater has a rich history of providing services to owners with Federal Government occupants. We are proud of this team, and especially honored to be a part of this project, while also maintaining this value-critical occupancy for ownership and positively impacting Arlington County at large.

Joe Delogu, Principal at FD Stonewater, led the lease negotiations on behalf of ownership for the long-term renewal at Lincoln Place. A long-time Arlington County resident, Delogu commented, This lease renewal and the subsequent capital investment by ownership at Lincoln Place was vital for the County and its economic growth. The redeveloped facility creates an enhanced employment base while keeping a major government tenancy, two big wins for Arlington County that will spur further growth.

About FD Stonewater

FD Stonewater is a boutique real estate development, investment, brokerage, and advisory firm with offices in Arlington, VA, and Los Angeles, CA. Collectively, the firms leadership has a track record of more than $10 billion in investment and acquisitions, over 45 million square feet of lease transactions, and over 35 build-to-suit projects completed, with $1 billion of active and completed principal development and construction management nationwide.
"With the mid-term elections mere months away, the American people have a right to know the full details of this unprecedented effort by the president before it is too late. FGA will not rest until we get the American people the answers they deserve," said Stewart Whitson Legal Director at FGA.

Today, the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) after several federal executive agencies failed to respond to FGAs Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain documents pertaining to President Bidens Executive Order (EO) 14019, titled Promoting Access to Voting.

The EO requires the head of every federal executive agency to provide a strategic plan to the Presidents Domestic Policy Advisor detailing how the agency will help increase voter registration and voter participation.

FGA originally requested these documents on July 30, 2021. Now, 240 days later, not a single document has been provided as required under the FOIA law. Today, FGA is suing DOJ in Case 2:22-cv-00252 in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida Fort Myers Division, asking a federal court to step in and compel the agency to comply with the law. FGA is not yet filing lawsuits against other federal agencies who have also failed to respond to FGAs FOIA request(s) in the hope that a federal ruling against DOJ will encourage other agencies to provide the requested documents.

In January, at least 36 members of Congress formally requested some of the same documents FGA requested in a letter addressed to Biden administration officials. Nine congressional leaders co-signed another letter raising concerns about the lack of constitutional and statutory authority of EO 14019 and again requesting documents pertaining to the enforcement EO 14019.

FOIA requests are meant to provide Americans with transparency and reassurance that governing agencies using taxpayer dollars are acting thoughtfully, lawfully, and in the best interest of the American people, said Stewart Whitson, Legal Director at FGA. DOJs decision to stonewall our lawful request under FOIA raises grave concerns that the Biden administration may be hiding the full details of these plans from the public and Congress. With the mid-term elections mere months away, the American people have a right to know the full details of this unprecedented effort by the president before it is too late. FGA will not rest until we get the American people the answers they deserve. If we cannot get those answers through FOIA requests, we will use the power of the courts instead.

To date, the Biden administration has refused to provide these requested documents to Congress as well.

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The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) is a non-profit, multi-state think tank that promotes public policy solutions to create opportunities for every American to experience the American Dream. To learn more, visit TheFGA.org.


The Lake Parsippany board was looking for a management company with the depth of resources and a proven track record managing large-scale, lake communities. They found that with our team, said Ted Gammon, senior vice president, FirstService Residential, New Jersey.

FirstService Residential, the leading residential community management company, has started providing full-service property management services to Lake Parsippany Property Owners Association in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Were thrilled to announce our partnership with Lake Parsippany, said Michael Mendillo, president, FirstService Residential. Our teams experience and knowledge of the local market will ensure a successful partnership with this community for years to come.

Lake Parsippany POA is located around a 159-acre man-made lake built in the 1930s. The association provides numerous recreation opportunities for its residents both on and off the water. Residents enjoy the beaches, boating and fishing, as well as numerous clubs and activities for land lovers in the communitys spacious clubhouse and grounds.

The Lake Parsippany board was looking for a management company with the depth of resources and a proven track record managing large-scale, lake communities. They found that with our team, said Ted Gammon, senior vice president, FirstService Residential, New Jersey.

http://www.fsresidential.com

About FirstService Residential

FirstService Residential is North Americas property management leader, partnering with more than 8,500 communities across the U.S. and Canada, including low-, mid- and high-rise condominiums and cooperatives; single-family communities; master-planned, lifestyle and active-adult communities; and mixed-use and rental properties. HOAs, community associations and condos rely on their extensive experience, resources and local expertise to maximize property values and enhance their residents lifestyles. Dedicated to making a difference, every day, FirstService Residential goes above and beyond to deliver exceptional service.

FirstService Residential is a subsidiary of FirstService Corporation (FSV), a North American leader in the property services sector. Visit http://www.fsresidential.com.
We are excited to have a dynamic and entrepreneurial lawyer like Tonya join us in Washington, D.C., continuing our strategic growth over the last year, Washington, D.C. Office Chairman Ernest LaMont Greer and Administrative Shareholder Pamela J. Marple said in a joint statement.

Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP added Tonya M. Esposito as a shareholder in its Washington, D.C. office. She joins from Seyfarth Shaw, where she was co-chair of the Consumer Financial Services Litigation group.

Esposito represents clients in high-stakes litigation and those subject to regulatory risk regarding their consumer-facing products and services, particularly in the financial services industry.

Her consumer financial services practice is wide-ranging, including representing clients in litigation involving claims brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), state deceptive acts and practices laws (UDAAP), and many types of internal and government investigations.

Esposito also represents clients in a broad range of industries in antitrust investigations and litigation, including financial services, food, supplements, personal care, cosmetics, health care, air passenger and air cargo, higher education, automotive parts, rubber chemicals, and more. Her consumer practice includes counseling clients in investigations, substantiation proceedings, and litigation brought by the Federal Trade Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, state attorneys general, and private litigants.

We are excited to have a dynamic and entrepreneurial lawyer like Tonya join us in Washington, D.C., continuing our strategic growth over the last year, Washington, D.C. Office Chairman Ernest LaMont Greer and Administrative Shareholder Pamela J. Marple said in a joint statement. Her track record of leadership and ability to navigate many of the financial services, antitrust, and general consumer issues so many of our clients face will make her a great fit for our culture of collegiality and collaboration here in Washington.

Esposito joins a robust Financial Services Litigation Practice in Washington, D.C., which in 2021 also added Financial Regulatory and Compliance attorney Benjamin M. Saul.

Tonya is an experienced litigator with a history of winning for clients in high-stakes and complex matters, said Paul J. Ferak, co-chair of the firms Financial Services Litigation Practice. With Tonya on board, Greenberg Traurigs financial services clients now have an even stronger bench to help them manage litigation when it arises and create robust plans to mitigate its risk altogether.

I am excited to join Greenberg Traurig  a preeminent firm whose relationships overlap with many of my existing clients, Esposito said. This will enable me to continue to grow my practice while deepening our shared relationships to provide the highest level of client service.

The addition of Esposito continues a period of rapid growth for Greenberg Traurig in Washington, D.C. More than 40 attorneys have joined the firm since 2021 in numerous practice areas including Corporate, Government Contracts, Health Care & FDA, Intellectual Property & Technology, International Trade, and Real Estate.

Esposito earned her J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law and holds a B.A. from Trinity College.

About Greenberg Traurigs Financial Services Litigation Practice: Greenberg Traurigs Financial Services Litigation Practice has wide-ranging experience assisting national clients and local businesses in a variety of matters affecting the financial services industry. From handling individual claims to managing nationwide class actions, the national team of experienced litigators regularly advises and defends banks, mortgage lenders and brokers, credit card companies, debt collectors, payday lenders, consumer finance companies and other financial institutions in a variety of disputes in state and federal courts and in arbitration, as well as before governmental agencies.

About Greenberg Traurigs Washington, D.C. Office: More than 100 attorneys strong, Greenberg Traurigs Washington, D.C. (GTDC) office is home to a multidisciplinary team of lawyers and government affairs professionals who help clients prepare for risk, respond to adversity, and influence the future. Our clients, who come from nearly every business sector and industry, trust GTDC to offer a wide range of legal services and to handle their most sensitive matters thoroughly, efficiently, and collaboratively. In our office we have former members of Congress and senior Congressional staff, former trial and regulatory attorneys from a spectrum of government agencies, and attorneys with decades of experience handling complex litigation, transactions, and regulatory matters. Our clients benefit from our deep collective knowledge of how government, business, and the law intersect. The office is further strengthened by its vast global presence, an active Pro Bono practice, a diverse roster of professionals, and a commitment to the D.C. community.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2400 attorneys in 42 locations in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm, often recognized for its focus on philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono, reported gross revenue of over $2 Billion for FY 2021. The firm is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law 100, Am Law Global 100, NLJ 250, and Law360 (US) 400. On the debut 2022 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard, it is a Top 15 firm. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab and net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com.
Greenberg Traurig Amsterdam Continues Strategic Expansion; Adds Finance Lawyer Jack Schrijver

The Amsterdam office of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP is pursuing its strategic expansion with the arrival of Jack Schrijver as a Local Partner in the Finance & Restructuring Practice. Schrijver joins the firm from Dentons. The office also recently added shareholder Thijs Elseman to its Finance & Restructuring Practice.

Schrijver has more than nine years experience in the field of finance. He assists financial institutions, funds and sponsors in a wide range of national and international financing transactions, with a focus on real estate and project financing. In 2016, he reached the top ten of the Top 50 Young Legal Professionals in the Netherlands. In 2018, Schrijver was seconded to Cooperatieve Rabobank U.A., where he assisted the project finance and export finance business lines.

Sabine Schoute, head of Greenberg Traurigs Netherlands Finance & Restructuring Practice, said, We are very pleased at Jacks arrival. His extensive experience in real estate financing, project financing and general lending are a perfect match for our practice. We are able to offer our clients integrated solutions both within the Netherlands and internationally. With the arrival of Jack, and Thijs earlier this month, we are reaffirming this unique and strong position in the market.

Schrijver said, The powerful international platform offered by Greenberg Traurig, the strategic focus of the Amsterdam office, and the presence of all disciplines so I can provide clients with the best possible advice, makes the move to Greenberg Traurig a logical choice for me.

Greenberg Traurig Amsterdam

Greenberg Traurig Amsterdam is an integrated part of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, an international law firm with more than 2,400 lawyers, tax specialists, and civil-law notaries and 42 offices throughout the world.

Website - LinkedIn - Twitter
Greenberg Traurig, LLP Shareholders Steven C. Russo, Doreen U. Saia, and Zackary D. Knaub were named to City & States 2022 Energy & Environment Power 100 list.

According to the publication, the Energy & Environment Power 100 list highlights the key players in New York who are reshaping the energy industry  and rescuing our environment.

The list includes the following Greenberg Traurig attorneys:

Russo, co-chair of the Environmental Practice and chair of the New York Environmental Practice, focuses his practice on environmental law and litigation, permitting including energy and transportation facility siting and approvals, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) review, toxic tort litigation, environmental crimes, Brownfields redevelopment, government, energy, and the environmental aspects of land use and real estate law.

Saia, chair of the Albany offices Energy & Natural Resources Practice, focuses on the representation of national and international corporations that own and operate electric generating facilities and engage in financial transactions trading electricity products. She has been actively involved in state and federal regulatory proceedings concerning the deregulation of electricity markets throughout the Northeast since the early 1990s, the siting of new generating facilities, and cost-of-service ratemaking. Saia was lead counsel to Entergy Corporation and the Exelon entities and guided the settlements reached to address the sale of all of New Yorks nuclear assets and related decommissioning issues in 2021. She has also been instrumental in the development of capacity market and other independent system operator/ regional transmission organization market rules in the Northeast since the inception of these markets.

Knaub, a shareholder in the Environmental and Government Law & Policy practices, focuses on a wide array of energy and environmental legal and government affairs matters, including litigation, dispute resolution, government procurement, and regulatory matters, representing renewable and fossil fuel generators, transmission developers, real estate developers, and other highly regulated industries, before the Public Service Commission, Department of Environmental Conservation, and in federal and state courts. Before joining Greenberg Traurig, from 2012-2019, he served as the acting chief legal counsel, first assistant counsel, and energy and environmental counsel to the Governor of New York, and as the Department of Environmental Conservations regional attorney for the lower Hudson River Valley.

About Greenberg Traurigs Environmental Practice: Greenberg Traurigs Environmental Practice represents clients with issues under the environmental and natural resource laws that affect their businesses. The firms environmental attorneys assist with securing permits and approvals; negotiating and closing transactions; defending clients in enforcement actions; handling a broad range of environmental and toxic tort litigation; ensuring the understanding and satisfaction of regulatory requirements; preparing for and responding to emergencies; crafting approaches for legacy cleanup issues; and developing solutions for product regulation, market access, and environmental policy challenges. Greenberg Traurig received a first-tier ranking in the "Environmental Law" and "Litigation  Environmental" categories in the U.S. News - Best Lawyers 2021 "Best Law Firms" report.

About Greenberg Traurigs Energy & Natural Resources Practice: Greenberg Traurigs Energy & Natural Resources Practice has broad transactional, regulatory, and litigation experience across most sectors of the energy industry, including oil and gas, LNG, electricity, coal, wind, solar and other renewable energy sources, and water. The firms exceptional multioffice platform, including key offices in major energy centers, enables us to serve and implement legal strategies for energy clients throughout the U.S. and internationally.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2400 attorneys in 42 locations in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm, often recognized for its focus on philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono, reported gross revenue of over $2 Billion for FY 2021. The firm is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law 100, Am Law Global 100, NLJ 250, and Law360 (US) 400. On the debut 2022 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard, it is a Top 15 firm. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab and net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com.
ICC will be exhibiting at the Space Tech Expo in Long Beach, California from May 24 through May 25, 2022.

Interstate Connecting Components (ICC), a division of Heilind Mil-Aero and a leading distributor of military and aerospace connectors and accessories, will be exhibiting at this years Space Tech Expo Exposition in Long Beach, California. The show is the West Coasts premier space event that brings together the commercial, civil and military space network.

ICCs exhibit will include a diverse range of cutting-edge military-aerospace products, including naval connectors and accessories, from leading interconnect manufacturers Amphenol Aerospace, Amphenol Pcd, Bel Fuse/Cinch, ITT Cannon and TE Connectivity.

ICC has been a leading supplier of military and aerospace interconnects for over 35 years, said Julie Trunk, Director of Supplier Management, Interstate Connecting Components. We are looking forward to exhibiting at Space Tech and sharing how our connector solutions can be beneficial to attendees.

Interstate Connecting Components works with customers of all sizes, supporting both original equipment and contract manufacturers in the military and commercial markets. It will have representatives at booth #6028 for the duration of the exhibit, which will be held May 24 through 25 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California.

About Interstate Connecting Components (ICC)

A division of Heilind Electronics, North Americas largest interconnect distributor, Interstate Connecting Components (http://www.connecticc.com) is an AS9100D-certified value-added distributor for the entire spectrum of electronic connectors, fiber optic connectors, backshells, tools, identification solutions and connector contacts. ICC specializes in the military-aerospace market and offers value-added assembly on 26482, 26500, 5015, D38999, M28840, M83513 and many other MIL-SPEC connector lines.
Invention Convention Michigan presented by Delta Dental of Michigan returns to Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation Saturday, April 30th. The event returns to The Henry Fords campus. after two years of a virtual celebration. with more than 160 students from grades 3-12 showcasing their innovative problem-solving skills.

More than 1,200 students from across the state of Michigan participated in regional youth inventor competitions throughout the year. Students taking part in Invention Convention Michigan were nominated by their teachers and judges during those regional competitions.

Invention Convention Michigan utilizes the Invention Convention Curriculum to task students with identifying a problem, creating a solution, testing it and then presenting it to a judging panel. Students will compete in three age brackets: grades 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12.

Winners will be announced during a special ceremony taking place in the museum plaza at 1:30 pm. One Grand Prize winner along with first, second and third place winners from each grade bracket will be awarded. Several sponsored industry and category awards will also be announced during the ceremony. Selected winners will be invited to compete at Raytheon Technologies Invention Convention U.S. Nationals taking place inside Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation June 1-3, 2022.

The mission of Invention Convention Worldwide is to bring Invention Education to students everywhere. Organizations interested in bringing the year-long program to their region can get more information at inhub.thehenryford.org/icw.

About The Henry Ford

Located in Dearborn, Michigan, The Henry Ford, a globally recognized destination, fosters inspiration and learning from hands-on encounters with artifacts that represent the most comprehensive collection anywhere focusing on innovation, ingenuity and resourcefulness in America. Its unique venues include Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Greenfield Village, Ford Rouge Factory Tour, Benson Ford Research Center and Henry Ford Academy, a public charter high school. Together with its online presence at thf.org, its national television series The Henry Fords Innovation Nation and Invention Convention Worldwide, the growing affiliation of organizations fostering innovation, invention and entrepreneurship in K-12 students, The Henry Ford inspires individuals to unlock their potential and help shape a better future.
Heroes on the Job: a heartfelt acknowledgment to those who serve others. Heroes on the Job is the creation of published author Jacob Cooper.

Cooper shares, Heroes on the Job is a book about the true heroes on the clock day to day. There are a good amount of people who put in the hours so we as individuals can, for example, go to the doctor or have our favorite toy fixed. No matter what the job may be, it is important to our everyday living. In this book, you will find all sorts of different jobs, from firefighters putting out a fire, to cooks making our favorite mealsthese are the people who are the real heroes in the world we live in. I hope you all enjoy the book.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Jacob Coopers new book will encourage and entertain as readers learn about the true superheroes.

Cooper offers a charming narrative paired with vibrant imagery for the enjoyment and inspiration of young minds.

Consumers can purchase Heroes on the Job at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Heroes on the Job, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
Police Liability Insurance Clark Neilly, Senior Vice President for Legal Studies Cato Institute, stated, Prymus Insurances efforts on this front are among the most inspiring that Ive seen during my five years of criminal justice reform work and have the potential to be the most revolutionizing policy proposal in this space

Prymus Insurance launched its law enforcement liability insurance policy for individual officers nationwide. Law enforcement officers can get on-duty professional liability coverage creating a new revolutionary system of Collective Responsibility in the law enforcement industry now.

When a law enforcement officer violates an Americans Constitutional Rights, the individual police officer can be personally sued civilly. If a financial judgment is awarded, the individual officer is responsible to pay. However, municipalities have been voluntarily using tax dollars to pay 100% even when there is no legal vicarious liability on the taxpayer to pay anything. With Prymus Insurance Law Enforcement Liability Insurance policy, a new revolutionary system of Collective Responsibility within the law enforcement industry is created. Instead of the taxpayer paying 100% of a settlement or judgment, the individual law enforcement officer will now contribute financially. This solves the current Constitutional enforcement problem surrounding civil lawsuits for police officers. Its a free market solution to a Constitutional problem.

No matter where you stand, law enforcement liability insurance benefits you. said Jeff Harrison, CEO, Prymus Insurance. If you are a taxpayer, less of your tax dollars will go towards police officers' judgments. If you are a police officer, you have a method of pooling risk with the entire law enforcement industry. If you are a police accountability advocate, police officers will directly pay their portion of a judgment now.

Clark Neilly, Senior Vice President for Legal Studies Cato Institute, stated, Prymus Insurances efforts on this front are among the most inspiring that Ive seen during my five years of criminal justice reform work and have the potential to be the most revolutionizing policy proposal in this space in living memory.

Collective Bargaining has been around for years - Collective Responsibility begins today.

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About Prymus Insurance

Prymus Insurance is a private insurance company headquartered in Grapevine, Texas. Its mission is to create revolutionary products uniquely designed to solve difficult problems that elevate all members of society.

http://www.prymusinsurance.com
Microsoft, Ukraine, and cybersecurity have become areas of increasing interest for eMazzanti and its customers. Hence, we share this update of Microsofts efforts to help.

A NYC area business cybersecurity expert and Microsoft Partner reviews the recent actions of Microsoft intended to aid the cyber-defense of Ukraine in a new article on the eMazzanti Technologies website. The informative article first summarizes a post from Brad Smith, Microsoft President & Vice Chair, that explains how the company is working to help.

The author then discusses the four areas identified by Smith where Microsoft is helping Ukraine in its cyber-war. Those areas are identified as protection from cyber-attacks, protection from state-sponsored disinformation, support for humanitarian aid, and protection of employees.

He continues by discussing a recent court order authorizing Microsoft to take control of seven internet domains used by Strontium, a Russian nation-state actor targeting Ukraine. And he concludes by briefly stating how Microsofts actions help others in the cybersecurity community.

Microsoft, Ukraine, and cybersecurity have become areas of increasing interest for eMazzanti and its customers, stated Almi Dumi, CISO, eMazzanti Technologies. Hence, we share this update of Microsofts efforts to help.

Below are a few excerpts from the article, Microsoft Ukraine and Cybersecurity - How Microsoft is Helping and What That Means to You.

Protection from Cyberattacks

Several hours before the launch of missiles or movement of tanks on February 24, Microsofts Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) detected a new round of cyberattacks. These offensive and destructive attacks targeted Ukraines digital infrastructure.

Protection from State-Sponsored Disinformation

Microsoft is also focused as a company on protecting against state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, which have been common in times of war. In accordance with the EUs recent decision, the Microsoft Start platform (including MSN.com) will not display any state-sponsored RT and Sputnik content.

Disrupting Cyberattacks Targeting Ukraine

On April 6th, Microsoft obtained a court order authorizing the company to take control of seven internet domains Strontium was using to conduct cyber-attacks. They quickly re-directed these domains to a sinkhole controlled by Microsoft, making them useless and enabling victim notifications.

Microsoft Ukraine and Cybersecurity Shared

Long before the invasion of Ukraine, Microsoft had observed destructive malware in systems belonging to several Ukrainian government agencies and connected organizations. They shared this information to help others in the cybersecurity community look out for and defend against these attacks.

Cybersecurity Experts Protect Businesses Around the World

eMazzanti Technologies takes Microsoft, Ukraine, and cybersecurity very seriously. The company does all in its power to protect customers vital business assets from ransomware attack and other threats. With an international and multi-lingual staff, eMazzantis cybersecurity experts develop multi-layered cybersecurity defense strategies for businesses around the world.

Have you read?

Manufacturing Cybersecurity Issues and What to Do About Them

Is Russia aiming at your business?

About eMazzanti Technologies

eMazzantis team of trained, certified IT experts rapidly deliver increased revenue growth, data security and productivity for clients ranging from law firms to high-end global retailers, expertly providing advanced retail and payment technology, digital marketing services, cloud and mobile solutions, multi-site implementations, 247 outsourced network management, remote monitoring, and support.

eMazzanti has made the Inc. 5000 list 9X, is a 4X Microsoft Partner of the Year, the #1 ranked NYC area MSP, NJ Business of the Year and 5X WatchGuard Partner of the Year! Contact: 1-866-362-9926, info@emazzanti.net or http://www.emazzanti.net Twitter: @emazzanti Facebook: Facebook.com/emazzantitechnologies.
We believe in setting clear expectations and providing adequate communication at every step of the relationship. We want to be certain our clients feel supported, and we are offering advice they can look to as sound. - Managing Partner Holden Fox, CWS, AIF

The Financial Services Network (The Network), along with LPL Financial, is pleased to announce that The Fox Alliance has reached its one-year anniversary after their recent affiliation with The Network and utilizing the brokerage services of LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor, with record-setting business and organizational growth. The Fox Alliance comprises a group of independent wealth advisors and tax professionals with locations in Austin, Round Rock, Houston, and San Antonio, Texas.

With twenty-nine employees spanning across several financial service disciplines, Fox Alliance considers themselves a one-stop for clients seeking a qualified advisor. Whether you are strategizing for retirement, need help understanding your investments, or need your taxes prepared, we have an experienced team ready to serve you, Managing Partner Holden Fox, CWS, AIF said. With such a broad variety of services being offered, transparency is key: We believe in setting clear expectations and providing adequate communication at every step of the relationship, Fox added. We want to be certain our clients feel supported, and we are offering advice they can look to as sound. Thanks in part to this philosophy, their client base continues to grow. Given changes in the market and accounts, they saw a slight decrease in Brokerage assets (down 10%, from $41.62 million to $37.28 million), but ultimately the companys Advisory assets increased 121% ($98.03 million to $216.78 million) since the transition to The Network and LPL.

Christopher Mercado, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Strategist of The Network, stated: With the ever-changing dynamics of clients financial lives, we are happy to see organizations like the Fox Alliance expanding their service offerings to existing clients and attracting relationships in their community. We also think their energy and drive will continue to attract great talent and business owners looking to partner with them as a succession strategy.

The Financial Services Network http://www.fsnweb.com is a group of professionals that provide services to financial professionals affiliated with LPL Financial (LPL) or Strategic Wealth Advisors Group (SWAG). Advisors who are affiliated with LPL Financial as an Investment Advisor Representative and a Registered Representative oversee $8.3B of advisory assets and $8.8B of brokerage assets through LPL.

Portfolio Consulting is a service provided through The Network that provides customized portfolio research for advisors that are proprietary to each independent advisors practice. The service includes customized model guidance, investment research and due diligence, monitoring, trading/rebalancing, tax harvesting, concentrated stock management, investment committee meetings, as well as trade logs, rationale and documentation modeled after an institutional investment process. The Portfolio Consulting team is currently providing services to select group of advisors with assets custodied at LPL Financial, Schwab, Fidelity, and TD Ameritrade.

The consultants of The Financial Services Network are registered representatives with, and securities are offered through, LPL Financial, member FINRA/SIPC. Fee-based investment advisory services may be offered through Strategic Wealth Advisors Group (SWAG) or LPL Financial.

Professionals associated with The Fox Alliance may be either (1) registered representatives with, and securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC, a registered investment advisor; or (2) solely tax professionals of The Fox Alliance Tax Advisors, LLC., and not affiliated with LPL Financial. Tax related services offered through The Fox Alliance Tax Advisors, LLC. The Fox Alliance Tax Advisors, LLC. is a separate legal entity and not affiliated with LPL Financial. LPL Financial does not offer tax advice or Tax related services.
"The GOLO Virtual 5K brings people of all ages and fitness levels together and encourages them to incorporate exercise into their life, and the response has been tremendous, says Jennifer Brooks, President, GOLO LLC.

Runners and wellness enthusiasts around the country continue to seek out virtual race events as they look for new ways to complement their in-person workout and fitness activities. GOLO, the pioneering wellness solutions company, embraces this trend by bringing back its popular semi-annual GOLO Virtual 5K this spring.

Scheduled for April 23 - 24, 2022, the GOLO Virtual 5K is free and open to the public. Participants can compete at their own pace by either running, walking, or jogging. After completing the 5K, competitors can submit their results, route, and pictures to enter a special drawing to win GOLO prizes. Registration is open now through April 22. Click here to learn more and to sign up.

"We're incredibly excited to deliver this kind of wellness-focused programming to our customers and the general public, says Jennifer Brooks, President, GOLO LLC. "The GOLO Virtual 5K brings people of all ages and fitness levels together and encourages them to incorporate exercise into their life, and the response has been tremendous."

Headquartered in Newark, Delaware, GOLO empowers individuals and communities by helping them take control of their wellness goals. The semi-annual GOLO Virtual 5K reinforces the companys ongoing commitment to supporting community-based health and wellness initiatives throughout the U.S.

About GOLO:

GOLO products provide safe solutions to weight-loss and wellness while helping individuals transition to a healthier and sustainable lifestyle. GOLO has reached over two million people worldwide who now have a chance at healthy, sustainable, and affordable weight loss. For more information about the GOLO for Life plan, visit golo.com or call 800-730-4656.
Standard Process team members commemorated the groundbreaking of the new complex. This investment is just one example of how Standard Process is staying on top of state-of-the-art technologies that result in the best possible products for our customers.

Standard Process, a leading whole food-based nutritional supplement company based in Palmyra, Wis., broke ground on April 6, 2022, to mark the start of construction on a 10,000 square foot complex connected to its existing Juice Process Building on their certified organic farm. The expansion will be home to a new dryer that uses the gentlest method possible to dehydrate juice pressed from whole foods while preserving precious nutrients.

This investment is just one example of how Standard Process is staying on top of state-of-the-art technologies that result in the best possible products for our customers, explained Standard Process President and CEO, Charlie DuBois. Weve remained at the forefront of the nutritional supplement industry for over 90 years, and were committed to maintaining that standard.

According to Brandon Metzger, PhD, Director of Technical and Product Development for Standard Process, nutrient retention is key. We take pride in the companys organic farm and using those nutrient-rich crops in our products. From planting to harvesting, our goal is to maximize nutrient density, and this new drying process will help us maintain our quality standards, he said.

From seed to supplement, the dryer will bring the whole process of growing, harvesting, juicing and drying into a single operation at the farm," added Metzger. This improvement in infrastructure will reduce oxidation that occurs with longer mixing times and will eliminate transportation to the main plant  increasing efficiency.

A project of this magnitude does not happen overnight. In fact, Standard Process project team began researching dryer technology back in 2014. As they prepared to undergo one of the biggest changes to their process since the plant was built in 1988, the company took care in selecting Oliver Construction out of Oconomowoc, Wis., to head up the project construction.

Construction of the new building is expected to be completed by November 2022 with the new dryer ready for the 2023 crop season.

About Standard Process Inc.

Standard Process is a family-owned, third-generation company that has been a leader in making whole food-based supplements since 1929. From the companys certified organic farm at its Palmyra, Wisconsin headquarters; to the Nutrition Innovation Center in Kannapolis, North Carolina; Standard Process is committed to clinical science that advances health and changes lives through whole food-based nutrition. Using regenerative farming practices and advanced manufacturing technologies designed to protect the vital nutrients found in each ingredient, Standard Process produces more than 300 high-quality supplements in its certified organic manufacturing facility. For more information about Standard Process and to find a health care professional who sells Standard Process products, visit standardprocess.com.
Kent State Park in Iowa was plagued by planktonic algae blooms that made it unusable for visitors. Kent Park now has the cleanest water in eastern Iowa." - Larry Gullet, director of the Johnson County Board of Directors.

In a case of turning a public health threat into a thriving, state-of-the-art lake park, the Kent Park Watershed and Lake Restoration, designed by Stanley Consultants, garnered a national environmental award.

The Oxford, Iowa, lake park recovery project won a national honor award in the 2022 Excellence in Environmental Engineering and Science Awards Competition, organized by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. Competing in the small project category judged by an independent expert panel, the award criteria is for engineering practices that incorporate a holistic environmental perspective, innovation, proven performance and customer satisfaction, and contribution to an improved quality of life and economic efficiency.

Kent Parks iconic 27-acre lake had become highly degraded due to an influx of sediment, nutrients and bacteria from its 687-acre watershed. The park landed on the states impaired waters list. Swimming was banned because of E. coli bacteria. Fish kills from oxygen-depleted water conditions related to algae blooms were common. Nutrients such as algae- inducing phosphates and chemical pollutants washed into the lake during storms because the park, designed in 1968, was meant more for recreation than environmental sustainability. Stanley Consultants was retained to assess the data, provide engineering services and design best management practice to address issues with the silt-filled, stagnant lake.

This project is a perfect example of our commitment to building a more connected, sustainable and enriched world, said Kate Harris, Stanley Consultants President, CEO and Chair of the Board. We work closely with our clients to deliver solutions that dramatically improve the environment and positively impact the communities where we live and work.

Innovative environmental design features included a unique bio-cell parking lot that captures stormwater runoff and filters it to a multi-cell bioretention filter, a channel erosion control structure, submerged aquatic plantings to promote fish habitat and a nutrient reduction and a spillway viewing platform. Crews removed more than 100,000 cubic yards of silt, deepening the lake, and installed shoreline protection features. An extensive ADA compliant walkway provides easy access to the fishing pier, spillway viewing platform, boat ramp and restrooms.

The Honor Award from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, recognizing Stanley Consultants for their professional excellence in this project, is well earned and we are proud of the restoration effort and results, said Larry Gullet, director of the Johnson County Board of Directors. The Johnson County Conservation Board wants to thank the Academy and Stanley Consultants for this nationally significant award.

Kent Park now has the cleanest water in eastern Iowa, said Gullett.


No other brokerage offers the unmatched marketing power, tools, and technology that The Agency brings to the market." - Santiago Arana, Principal at The Agency

Global real estate brokerage, The Agency, has announced the launch of its first franchise office in Miamis Bal Harbour neighborhood. The new locale is the firms 34th franchise among its growing network of over 50 offices in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe. The new franchise will be led by Santiago Arana, Principal of The Agency and one of the countrys leading luxury real estate agents, and The Agencys CEO and Founder, Mauricio Umansky. The Agency Bal Harbour will be comprised of 40 agents and will continue to serve buyers and sellers throughout Miami, ranging from Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale to Coral Gables. The Agency previously operated a corporate office location in Boca Raton.

I am so excited to launch The Agencys first franchise in Miami in Bal Harbour and lead the brokerages South Florida expansion while collaborating with the areas many talented brokers, said Santiago Arana, Principal at The Agency. No other brokerage offers the unmatched marketing power, tools, and technology that The Agency brings to the market. I look forward to forging new relationships and leveraging our global Rolodex as we continue to showcase the power of The Agency brand across one of the countrys most sought after markets.

The Agency has rapidly expanded its presence across the globe throughout the past year. In 2021, the firms global expansion reached new heights with a record-breaking launch of 11 new franchises in one year, marking it one of the fastest-growing luxury boutique brokerages in the world. Over the past 12 months, The Agency has showcased impressive franchise growth across the countrys East Coast, with new offices launching in Boston, Massachusetts, New Canaan, Connecticut, North Shore, New York, Naples, Florida, and now Miami, with plans for more strategic expansion in South Florida to come.

Were delighted Santiago Arana and Mauricio Umansky will be at the helm of our Miami franchise and further our presence throughout South Florida, said Jim Ramsay, Executive Vice President of Franchise Sales at The Agency. Miami, Boca Raton and Palm Beach are key markets for The Agency and with their combined record-breaking career success and experience, Santiago and Mauricio are the perfect duo to take our Miami franchise to new heights.

Ranked in 2021 as the countrys #1 luxury real estate agent in Inmans prestigious Golden I awards, Santiago Arana has closed billions of dollars of real estate across Los Angeles, taking his place among the most distinguished professionals in the industry. Arana joined The Agency in 2014 as Principal and Partner, specializing in high-end residential real estate and new construction across the regions most coveted neighborhoods. He spearheaded the companys Westside expansion as Managing Partner of the Brentwood and Pacific Palisades offices. To date, he has closed over $4 billion in real estate, netting nearly $2.5 billion in sales volume from 2017-2021. For eleven consecutive years, Arana has placed among the Top 250 Realtors in the United States in the annual REAL Trends Inc. ranking, featured in The Wall Street Journal. In 2020, he represented the top half percent of more than one million REALTORS nationwide, ranking #6 in the country, #3 in California, and #1 west of the 405 freeway.

Originally from Sucre, Bolivia, Santiagos international background has helped build him a strong network of contacts from every corner of the globe. For the second year in a row, Santiago ranked #1 in the country for sales volume by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals Latino Agent Award. Santiago has also been featured for two consecutive years in the Los Angeles Business Journals Most Influential People in Real Estate in Los Angeles. Santiago recently ranked among the top agents driving the L.A. real estate market by The Los Angeles Business Journal, which also named him among the outstanding professionals on its annual list of Whos Brokering L.A. He has also been chosen as one of Hollywoods Top 30 Real Estate Agents by The Hollywood Reporter for ten years running and has been named to Varietys list of Showbiz Real Estate Elite for four consecutive years. No stranger to representing high-profile clients such as Lady Gaga, Lebron James, Larry David, Rick Caruso, Tom Barrack, Anthony Hopkins, Bond King  Jeffrey Gundlach and Alessandra Ambrosio, among others, Santiago is artfully discreet and carefully tailors his marketing strategies to fit each individual property while protecting his clients privacy.

Were thrilled to expand The Agencys footprint across the South Florida region with the launch of our first Miami franchise office, located in Bal Harbour,  said Mauricio Umansky, CEO and Founder of The Agency. No one encapsulates The Agencys unique brand and culture better than Santiago, and I am honored to join him in helping lead our Miami franchise as we continue to bring The Agency brand to markets across the U.S. and abroad.

Founder and CEO of The Agency, Mauricio Umansky set out to create an industry-disrupting brokerage that would redefine the business of real estate. Umansky has achieved nearly $4 billion in real estate sales and holds the distinction of selling the most homes in the country priced above $20M. He has represented some of the worlds most noteworthy properties, including the Playboy Mansion, the first house in L.A. to sell above the $100M mark, Walt Disney Estate, and residences owned by Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan and Prince. Mauricio and The Agency also represent some of the worlds top developers and resort brands, including One&Only, Rosewood, and The Ritz-Carlton. Together with his team, Mauricio is noted as one of the highest producing agents by The Wall Street Journals REAL Trends annual list, and has been ranked #97 on Swanepoels 2022 Power200, a prestigious list of top real estate executives in the U.S.

With solid infrastructure and a renowned brand that is featured on international television shows including Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, The Agency has grown to over 50 corporately-owned and franchise offices across the globe. Poised for further expansion with like-minded partners in strategic markets, The Agency is noted by The Financial Times as one of Americas Fastest Growing Companies and has ranked among Inc. 5000s list of fastest-growing private companies in the country for five consecutive years. Recently, The Agency ranked 21st on the 2022 RealTrends 500 list, and led the top 50 firms in average sales price by sides with a whopping $2.5 million average sales price.

The Agency Bal Harbour will be located at 9564 Harding Ave., Surfside, FL 33154.

The Agency

The Agency is a full-service, luxury real estate brokerage and lifestyle company representing clients in a spectrum of classes, including residential, new development, resort real estate, residential leasing, and luxury vacation rentals. Since its inception in 2011, The Agency has modernized and advanced the real estate industry by fostering a culture of partnership in which all clients and listings are represented in a collaborative environment. Shunning the traditional brokerage model, agents share knowledge, spheres of influence, contacts, and expertise, ensuring clients better representation and a true competitive edge. The Agency has closed more than $41 billion in real estate transactions since its inception and has over 1,000 agents in more than 50 offices in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe.
Image of the JA New York event lobby

The JA New York Inspire Virtual Career Expo will take place on May 4th, 2022, and will provide a space for middle and high school students to explore future career paths. This event brings together schools, companies, students, and their parents to learn about career opportunities and the skills companies are looking for from their future workforces. Interested schools can register on the event website.

This will be the first time that the JA New York chapter will hold this virtual event. The virtual format will be quite beneficial for students, as they will get on-demand exposure to companies in the region, and learn about the job opportunities available to them. The event also gives companies the opportunity to engage and educate their future workforce. Both students and their potential employers will utilize the engagement and interaction features enabled for the expo including interactive virtual exhibit booths, chat rooms and more.

JA New York is excited to offer this new program experience to our students through Presenting Sponsorship support from our longtime partners at EY, said President and CEO Betty Garger. This experience is more than a career fair - it is an opportunity for students to look into their future and begin to learn about the work and career opportunities in high demand jobs in our community that will be available to them after they finish school. Through their JA Inspire Virtual experience they will gain a better understanding of the types of jobs and careers that might fit best with their interests, skills, and talents.

Muhammad Younas, the CEO and Founder of vFairs, added, We have an excellent partnership with JA and are glad to host the New York offices first virtual career expo. The organization is quite helpful for workforce development in the US, and vFairs is proud to be part of its efforts.

Area schools interested in having their students participate in the event and explore career opportunities in the New York region can register on JA New Yorks vFairs site. The content will be available through the summer, with webinars, scavenger hunts, and leaderboard prizes taking place on May 4th, 2022.

About JA New York

Junior Achievement's purpose is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. The JA Inspire Virtual program brings together the business community and local schools and is designed to help launch students into their future. The program consists of three segments including pre-event career-oriented sessions, the JA Inspire Virtual career fair, and a post-event reflection.

About vFairs

vFairs is a virtual & hybrid events platform that helps organizations reach global audiences. We help organizations of all sizes host amazing online conferences, trade shows, job fairs & more. The platform offers an intuitive virtual experience along with interactive features such as audio/video chat, excellent scalability, and several customization options.
The National Institute of Flamenco presents Yjastros: The American Flamenco Repertory with The Orchestra of New Spain in Quem Quritis? A Flamenco Drama April 29-30, 2022

Quem Quritis? A Flamenco Drama features Yjastros: The American Flamenco Repertory Company with Dallas's Orchestra of New Spain. This special production sees Yjastros, an 18-member professional flamenco music and dance company, join the Orchestra of New Spain an orchestral ensemble specializing in the early classical music of Spain and the Americas in an original work of flamenco theatre. An epic performance, Quem Quritis? A Flamenco Drama immerses audiences in New Mexico's rich tradition of pastorelas, dramatizing the shepherd Bartolo's journey and ultimate triumph over doubt and adversity. Alongside Bartolo, played by principal dancer Carlos Menchaca, the audience experiences passion and expression forged in the crucible of art.

The Orchestra of New Spain's elegant interpretation of works by Santiago de Murcia and other composers complements this breathtaking display of flamenco dance and music by Albuquerque's own Yjastros. Quem Quritis? A Flamenco Drama features visionary choreography by Joaquin Encinias, Marco Flores and other artists at the forefront of flamenco and Spanish dance today. Experience this magical concert season April 29 and 30 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC).

Yjastros is the flamenco company in residence in the University of New Mexicos Department of Theatre and Dance.

Tickets range in price from $40 to $70. Discounts for seniors, students and NHCC members are available. To purchase tickets, visit nhccnm.org or call 505-724-4771.
The best thing we can do as physicians is to raise an awareness that infertility can be a problem and different options are available to assist patients with building their families."

US Fertility recognizes National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW) from April 24 through April 30, 2022, and encourages those facing infertility, or those who might find becoming pregnant is taking longer than expected, to seek a fertility evaluation from a fertility specialist without delay. NIAW is a yearly initiative founded by RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, of which US Fertility is a proud sponsor, to encourage people to act as their own fertility advocates and to educate legislators and the public about the impact of infertility within our community.

Throughout the year and especially during NIAW, US Fertilitys partner practices  Fertility Centers of Illinois (FCI), IVF Florida, Reproductive Science Center of the San Francisco Bay Area (RSC), and Shady Grove Fertility (SGF)  seek to empower patients through educational resources, physician-hosted events, and support groups all aimed at taking the fear out of fertility care and empowering patients.

While infertility can be stressful, we encourage individuals and couples to move swiftly to keep time as much on their side as possible, shares Louis Weckstein, M.D., a physician at RSC. Female age is the number one factor that affects a couples ability to conceive, so its extremely important to seek an early consult and diagnosis in order to have the most options available should treatment be necessary.

We are here to connect with our patients and provide them with informational resources to offer support and relieve stress, adds Dr. Weckstein. Information and knowledge are power, so it is best to evaluate whats going on and together develop next steps that can help people reach their family-building goals.

In a recent national survey of 1,200 fertility patients, 70% of patients wished they had consulted a fertility specialist sooner. Many respondents delayed seeking a consultation with a fertility specialist due to uncertainty or fear of the process.

I strongly encourage patients to learn more about their family-building options by attending our webinars, events, and support groups, so they feel empowered and informed throughout their journey, shares Jason Bromer, M.D., a physician at SGF. There are countless sources of misinformation and myths that surround infertility and reproductive health, which is why we devote many hours and resources to helping patients find answers and real solutions. Our webinars offer an open forum to ask questions, hear from experts, and gain access to a team who can address their follow-up questions.

From April 25 through April 30, 2022, US Fertility partner practices will host several events for information seekers to learn more about their fertility care options:



IVF Florida hosts a financial webinar to provide insights and answers about paying for fertility treatments

FCI presents Instagram Lives with FCI physicians, support groups, and other informational events.

RSC brings awareness to NIAW by organizing in-office participation and social media contests to further foster their patient community.

SGF invites information seekers to 10 free fertility events hosted by SGF physicians.

NIAW is an excellent opportunity to bring infertility to the forefront of conversation, shares Christopher Sipe, M.D., managing physician at FCI. The best thing we can do as physicians is to raise an awareness that infertility can be a problem and different options are available to assist patients with building their families. Given the technology and techniques available today, the reality is, we can help most people achieve their dream of a family.

As family planning can be a time-sensitive endeavor, US Fertility physicians encourage patients to seek immediate help from a specialist under the following circumstances:



US Fertility physicians recommend seeking help from a fertility specialist when a woman is:



Under age 35 with regular cycles, unprotected intercourse, and no pregnancy after 1 year

Age 35 to 39 with regular cycles, unprotected intercourse, and no pregnancy after 6 months

Age 40 or over with regular cycles, unprotected intercourse, and no pregnancy after 3 months

US Fertility physicians invite others to join in the conversation with #NIAW2022 #WeCanAll. RESOLVEs NIAW 5 Day Challenge encourages the community to spread awareness, virtually, through the collective voice of social media.

US Fertility partner practices complete 29,000+ IVF cycles and 1,000+ elective and donor egg freezing cycles annually. US Fertility celebrated 130,000 babies born and counting, as of 2021.

About US Fertility

US Fertility is the largest, physician-led, integrated network of top-tier fertility practices in the United States, offering comprehensive fertility-market-focused non-clinical, administrative, and technical platforms that help domestic and international practices improve patient outcomes and increase patient access. To learn more about partnership- or affiliate-status benefits, call 301-545-1308 or visit USFertility.com.
We are thrilled to be working with Colangelo & Partners. The teams expertise in integrated communications and deep knowledge of the wine industry will allow us to achieve our goal of introducing Georgian wines to a wider audience. - Tamar Metreveli, Head of Marketing and PR for Wines of Georgia.

Wines of Georgia, the organization that represents and promotes the wines of the country of Georgia and financed by the National Wine Agency of Georgia, which is a legal entity under the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, and the countrys wineries, is excited to announce the launch of its 2022 integrated communications plan in the United States, with Colangelo & Partners, a fine wine, spirits and food-focused integrated communications agency, retained as agency of record, to develop and execute a comprehensive communications strategy targeted to key media, trade and influencers. The partnership will focus on engaging new and current consumers through strategic media relations, events, trade marketing activations and partnerships.

We are thrilled to be working with Colangelo & Partners, stated Tamar Metreveli, Head of Marketing and PR for Wines of Georgia. The teams expertise in integrated communications and deep knowledge of the wine industry and connections in the wine trade and consumer media will allow us to achieve our goals of introducing Georgian wines to a wider audience. Levan Mekhuzla, Chairman of Georgias National Wine Agency, adds: Georgia has an incredible winemaking history and culture. We are looking forward to increasing visibility and awareness of and engagement with Georgian wines in the United States, a key export market with great potential for growth. Our countrys wineries are producing high-quality wines, with a link to the past and a look toward the future, that are worthy of increased attention from American wine consumers. Now is the time to bring this awareness to the United States with the help of Colangelo & Partners.

The country of Georgia, with Tbilisi as its capital, sits on the eastern edge of the Black Sea, at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. The country stretches between the Greater Caucasus Mountains to the north and the Lesser Caucasus to the South. This small country (with a square mileage slightly smaller than Maine) is recognized as the birthplace of wine, with winemaking dating back 8,000 years. In 2015, archeologists working in southeast Georgia discovered clay vessels (qvevri) containing the residue of cultivated grape seeds. Using archeological, archaeobotanical, climatic and chemical methods, researchers dated these artifacts to 6,000 BCE. A resulting report published in November 2017 by the National Academy of Sciences in the US notes this discovery as the earliest evidence of viniculture and winemaking.

Georgians have made wine in qvevri continuously for 8,000 years, crafted by hand by master qvevri-making families. These large, egg-shaped tapered clay vessels (often 1,000 or more liters) are buried underground to keep temperatures constant during fermentation and aging. Using the traditional method, winemakers ferment the juice and skins together, with this skin contact turning what would otherwise be white wines into amber wines with tannins. Winemakers use qvevri to ferment red grapes as well as white. With the rising popularity of amber and natural wines, the demand for qvevri is on the rise in Georgia and internationally. In 2013, the United Nations added qvevri winemaking to the UNESCO list as "Humanitys Intangible Cultural Heritage and in 2021, qvevri was granted Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, legally establishing Georgia as the place of origin and codifying its shape, capacity, raw materials and production method.

Home to more than 500 indigenous grape varieties, Georgia has nearly 55,000 hectares (nearly 136,000 acres) of vineyards, with 55% planted to white varieties and 45% to red, with the majority planted in the Kakheti region in eastern Georgia. The two most prominent grape varieties are Rkatsiteli (white) and Saperavi (red). As of 2020, there are 25 defined Protected Designation of Origin (PDOs), with wine produced using both traditional Georgian methods as well as European varieties and winemaking methods.

Colangelo & Partners will work on a range of traditional and new media and trade activities and events designed to promote the wines and educate US press, trade and consumers. Communications pillars will include a focus on heightening awareness of the history, culture and quality of Georgian winemaking; education on the various regions, terroir and winemaking traditions and innovations; the uniqueness and range of wines and styles, including whites, roses, reds and sparkling wines; and their outstanding value and versatility in food pairings and year-round consumption.

The strategic implementation of the campaign will include media relations and sampling campaigns, as well as press activities and events. On the trade side, activities will include a promotion with SevenFifty in July; an importer forum (July) as well as a buyer forum (September) with SommGo; participation at TEXSOM; a Georgian Wine Ambassador program; GuildSomm Masterclasses; and a Napa Valley Wine Academy Georgian wine certification program (October), among other activities.

Were very excited to represent Wines of Georgia, adds Colangelo & Partners President Gino Colangelo. The countrys winemaking history and culture are fascinating, and the quality of the wines is excellent. Were looking forward to implementing our trade and media-focused integrated communications plan and were very confident that well help continue the growth of Georgian wine awareness, education and consumption here in the US.

For more information, visit the Wines of Georgia website and follow on social media on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

About Wines of Georgia - http://www.winesgeorgia.com

Wines of Georgia is a promotional campaign financed by the National Wine Agency of Georgia and wineries to educate the US wine trade and general public about the history, culture, quality and universal appeal of Georgian wines and the countrys qvevri winemaking tradition.

About Colangelo & Partners - http://www.colangelopr.com

Colangelo & Partners is the leading fine wine and spirits integrated communications agency in the United States, sought after by top brands and industry players for the quality of their results, creativity, and return on investment. The professionals at Colangelo & Partners work with integrity and passion to influence how US audiences perceive their clients: Earning consistent, high-quality positive media coverage; organizing signature events; strategizing and executing standout digital campaigns; and implementing trade programs that strengthen relationships within the industry. Colangelo & Partners' clientele includes global, instantly-recognizable brands and passionate, up-and-coming vignerons and distillers; regional and national institutions; and technology and e-commerce companies innovating in the beverage alcohol sector.
Woolpert is a leader in asset management, strategy and innovation, which Im sure didnt hurt my selection to this committee.

Woolpert Systems Analyst Emily St. Clair has been appointed to The Institute of Asset Managements Subject Specific Guidelines (SSG) Group 27, whose goal is to establish guidelines on asset management leadership. Established in 1994 and based in the U.K., the IAM has a global network of over 30,000 professionals and supports the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 55000 series and its development of international standards for asset management.

The IAM SSG leadership group has 47 members who were selected from public agencies, private industries and academia around the world. Over the next 18 months, the group will create leadership guidelines to meet the IAMs goal of publishing in 2023. The guidelines will outline what it means to be a successful asset management leader and manager at all levels within an organization. It also will touch on how to execute organizational strategy and how to manage and effect positive change.

A leader should be able to commit to a strategic plan, align jobs and roles to support that plan, communicate clearly to empower employees, measure and monitor performance, and balance innovation and control," St. Clair said. My role in this group provides a great opportunity to learn and advance my asset management and leadership capabilities. In our first meeting last week, we touched on different cultural approaches to leadership and how establishing vertical line of sight from top down helps to ensure everyone gets what they need. I am excited to be part of this outstanding group.

St. Clair joined Woolpert in 2019 and specializes in GIS and asset management system design, analysis and implementations that promote functionality, workflow management and productivity. She works out of the firms office in the St. Pete Innovation Districts Maritime and Defense Technology Hub, where she also serves as Woolperts community liaison. St. Clair is a member of the Junior League of St. Petersburg, holds a seat on the St. Petersburg Innovation District Council, and actively supports Woolperts partnership with the University of Southern Florida and the Districts Youth STEAM Working Group.

In addition to working toward her IAM certification, St. Clair is in the process of earning certifications in the Project Management Program and on the Leadership, Management and Strategy tracks through Harvard Business School. She said continuing education is highly encouraged at Woolpert and she looks forward to continuously developing her skill set. The firm has dozens of PMPs, 21 IAM-certified staff membersthree of whom have also earned IAM diplomasand multiple ISO committee members.

Woolpert is a leader in asset management, strategy and innovation, which Im sure didnt hurt my selection to this committee, St. Clair said. In my opinion, Woolperts leaders are exemplary. They are open to change, encourage innovation, provide support and welcome healthy conversations regarding business, policy and workplace culture. This empowers me and those around me to continually advance, both at work and through opportunities such as this.

Woolpert Asset Management Subject Matter Expert Shiv Iyer said this appointment reinforces Woolperts reputation in the industry and demonstrates the firms commitment to building a world-class advisory consulting staff. Iyer is a director on the IAM USA Chapter Executive Board and vice chair of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group for ISO Technical Committee 251, which is dedicated to advancing ISO 55000 standards.

We are excited that one of our talented young professionals was selected to support this significant effort and help define what an asset management leader should represent, Iyer said. We are always honored to support the great work of the IAM and ISO, as they forge and advance asset management best practices worldwide.

About Woolpert

Woolpert is the premier architecture, engineering, geospatial (AEG) and strategic consulting firm, with a vision to become one of the best companies in the world. We innovate within and across markets to effectively serve public, private and government clients worldwide. Woolpert is an ENR Top 150 Global Design Firm, has earned six straight Great Place to Work certifications and actively nurtures a culture of growth, inclusion, diversity and respect. Founded in 1911 in Dayton, Ohio, Woolpert has been Americas fastest-growing AEG firm since 2015. The firm has 1,900 employees and more than 60 offices on four continents. For more, visit woolpert.com.
An award-winning journalist whose career spans nearly 30 years, Maria Hinojosa has reported for PBS, CBS, WNBC, CNN, NPR, and is anchor and executive producer of the Peabody Award-winning show Latino USA. In 2010 she founded the Futuro Media Group, an independent, nonprofit organization that creates multimedia content for and about the new American mainstream. Her 2020 memoir, Once I Was You, recounts her familys immigration from Mexico City to Chicago, her childhood and young adult years, and the challenges she faced as the first Latina in many newsrooms. In the young readers version of Once I Was You, the cover of which is revealed here, Hinojosa focuses on her childhood on Chicago's South Side, her college years at Columbia/Barnard, and how her Mexican heritage provided her early insights into immigration, multiculturalism, politics, and activism. We spoke with her about the common elements and differences between the two versions.

The young readers version of Once I Was You is adapted from your 2020 memoir of the same title, and while much of the same ground is covered, the new book understandably is weighted toward your earlier years. Yet both books open with you meeting a girl in an airport in February 2019. How did you decide on that moment as an entry point into your story?

That story came to me because of a conversation I had with a dear friend as well as a muse, Sandra Cisneros. Before I wrote my memoir, she said, Dont always write about the things you remember. Write about the things you wish you could forget, or the things youve forgotten or youve tried to forget.

This first thing that came to mind was that I wanted to forget having seen children being trafficked by the U.S. government. I wanted to forget seeing them traumatized right in front of my face, all of them brown-skinned, speaking Spanish, children from five years old to 14 and 15 in a single line, walking through the airport to go catch their next flight. They were in a single filelike they were in formation. It was such a powerful moment when I realized how much I wanted to forget that scene.

Yet that moment allowed me to set the tone of the book. It allowed me to create the voice that I would use throughout the whole young readers version. So it was an essential part of me connecting with this voicea very different person from who was writing the adult version.

How did you maintain this voice and style so that it would resonate with a middle school reader?

I started acting as a kid in public school I was one of the three witches in Macbeth. In revisiting that experience for the book, I just started writing about what it was like to jump onstage and take that risk and believe that you could do these things. And, to be honest, I was terrified. In the earlier adult version, I was so happy Id finally found a voice to write my memoir, but for the young readers edition I had to rethink that voice. Now the challenge was, Write for a much younger audience, and in my head I was aiming for a 1012-year-old.

In the world of journalism, one of the things that I learned was to think of my news reports as if I was telling someone a story. For me, that someone was always my mom. "So, Mom, I just came from this building. It was on fire. The fire started because of this." So I ended up just telling readers the story as opposed to thinking like Im writing a script, and this allowed me to get through writers block because I never believed I was a writer, or a good writer, or that I could write, period. It was always a struggle for me.

So in the young readers version, I said to myself, Think about the times when youve interviewed kidswhat is that like? As a journalist you have to assume different personas depending on who youre interviewing. Im not going to act the same way when Im with a politician, or a small business owner, or a CEO, or a little kid.

Im small as it isIm five feet tallbut you get smaller when youre talking to kids, and usually you come down to where they are, which is not very far for me. And so I thought, Well, how do you translate the sense of how you would talk to a kid? Then I realized, Okay, wait a minute, so you're an actor right? Youve been acting since you were 10, so you become 10-year-old Maria, and youre telling your friend about what happened. Thats the way I was able to create the voice.

Adult memoirs are often internal journeys with long passages of personal investigation, analysis, and reflectionnot something you can do with a younger audience. Yet you achieve the same effect with the story of a high school boyfriend, a preppie, straight-laced white boy, who insisted you were American and couldnt grasp why you needed a green card to return to the U.S. after visiting relatives in Mexico. Privilege and cultural negation are two issues introduced to young readers. How did you decide on this particular story?

A lot of this comes from a question that my brilliant therapist posed to me, What was your very first experience that you remember having to do with trauma? This one came up, and I feel bad in some ways, because that boyfriend doesnt realize what kind of an impact it had on me, how disempowering, how invisible-izing. All the words that we now use, we didnt have those words in the mid-1970sbut I felt correct in what I was feeling.

The fact that I had to say, But you dont know! Youre a very smart person, but do you understand that if I have a Mexican passport, it means Im not an American citizen? To know somebody so smart who was on his way to the Ivy League, yet had a hard time wrapping his head around my situation, made me feel invisible. And that feeling became the larger theme of the book, that sense of not being seen. Its kind of scary that invisibility continues to be a central theme for Latinos and Latinas and children in many ways.

And so it was a decision to tell these stories, not so much in the way you tell them in an adult book, which is more structural. In this case it was the memories. It was understanding what kids are going to connect with. The stories that I chose engendered the same response: whenever I told this one, Ive had people say, Oh, my God, that same thing happened to me. Its a little bit horrifying that many decades later were still having to tell these stories.

Once I Was You has two different subtitles. The adult version is A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America. The young readers version is Finding My Voice and Passing the Mic. What are the messages you want younger readers to come away with?

Mostly I want them to feel powerful. At this point its not just the invisibility, but the attacks against these communities, specifically Latinos and Latinas, migrants and refugees, that really compelled me to write a book where Im celebrating them. I want young readers to own their power, and [to do that], youve got to own your voice. But how do you own your voice?

Well, were all afraid to do it but there are things that you can do along the way. Its part of understanding where youre going. The theme of this book is that youre planting these little seeds.

I had no idea that going to a demonstration when I was eight years old was going to impact me for the rest of my life in terms of how I understood democracy. I had no idea that having the television news on at 6:30 p.m. every night in the kitchen in the background would be one of the strongest pillars in my life journalistically in terms of my career.

Im trying to get young kids, especially Latinos, Latinas, immigrants, refugees, kids who are not whiteand also kids who are white because theyre allies and are part of the whole storyto understand that their stories have value in this country, and that how they interpret whats happening to them is going to help them to feel stronger. Thats why Im telling these stories. It was really tough, but I came up with the solution. To these kids I say, I see you, and Im going to celebrate everything that you representyour entire story.

Once I Was You (Adapted for Young Readers): Finding My Voice and Passing the Mic by Maria Hinojosa. Simon & Schuster, $17.99 Aug. 30 ISBN 978-1-66590-280-9
While many are familiar with the concept of books being adapted into Broadway shows, its rarer to hear of Broadway shows being adapted into booksthough the phenomenon has gained traction in the past decade with such notable examples as Dear Evan Hansen, which became a bestselling novel, Alice by Heart, and The Prom. Thats exactly what happened with Jagged Little Pill, the Tony-nominated, Grammy-winning show that debuted on Broadway in December 2019, based on the 1995 album of the same name by Grammy Award-winning artist Alanis Morissette. The show was brought to life with music by Morissette and Glen Ballard, co-writer and producer of the original Jagged Little Pill album as well as a number of other notable projects. Rounding out the team is Diablo Cody, Academy Award-winning screenwriter behind such critically acclaimed hits as Juno.

Featuring Morissettes iconic songs, the musicals plot revolves around the Healy familyparents Steve and MJ, their biological son, Nick, a high school senior headed to Harvard in the fall, and 16-year-old transracial adoptee Frankie, who is struggling to find her voice and her place in the family. The novel takes things a step further, focusing on Nick, Frankie, Latinx transfer student Phoenix, classmate Bella, and Jo, Frankies friend with some benefits.

Some of the characters in the musical dont really have a big side story, said the novels author, Eric Smith, YA author (You Can Go Your Own Way) and agent. They have an implied backstory, and, in the book, we got to really explore how they got to where they are. While, in Smiths mind, MJ is the protagonist of the musical, he wanted to take her out of the main story and turn her into more of a side character. That was really challenging because her decisions and her character are key to the book and how everything threads together.

One of the most vocal characters in the novel is Frankie, who juggles teenage growing pains with a passion for social activism and the exploration of her sexuality. Jo, her best friend and partner, is queer, and stifled by a religious upbringing. Phoenix finds himself the unwilling third party in a love triangle with Frankie and Jo, while Nick is desperately trying to hold himself and his family together while maintaining his reputation as the perfect son, student and brother. Life takes a turn toward the unthinkable after a heinous sexual assault disrupts their lives and forces them to cope not just with the situation, but with the consequences of their own choices.

Smiths journey with the project began on social media. It was the result of a lot of complaining [that I did] on Twitter. Im adopted, and I get a little grumpy about the lack of adoption rep in childrens books. As a transracial adoptee, Smith was uniquely suited to write the stage-to-page adaptation, particularly the character of Frankiethe youngest of the Healy family and a Black woman living in a primarily white world. A lot of the big feelings that readers come across in this book and that are on display in the musical felt so close to me, like Frankies frustration at being a transracial adoptee and really having no one to talk to about racism and social issues that shes facing. And her mom kind of brushes it off. Its not because she doesnt want to talk about it, its just that she doesnt know how.

After the tweets is when the project took off. I guess I just happened to tweet it at the exact right time, Smith recalled, because I got an email from [editor] Maggie [Lehrman] at Abrams and she was like, Hey, you know, I have this IP project. One of the characters is a transracial adoptee, just like you. I think maybe you might be the person to write it. Can we have a phone call? 

He wrote up a monster synopsis of where he saw the story going for the musical producers, Cody, and other editors, and explained where he felt things could be expanded and characters developed and received green lights across the board. As part of the process, Smith was encouraged to push creative boundaries. At one point, Diablo told me to take more risks on some of what I was doing, which was really exciting to hear from someone I admire so much. I had a lot of free rein to dig in and do what I wanted.

When asked about the biggest risk he took, he replied, Maybe with Nick. I definitely dont try to give him a redemption arc because he messed up big time in the story and the musical. Smith strove to detail Nicks fall from grace. A fall caused in large part by Nicks drive for perfection, and the perceived expectations for sameand potential restorative justice arc. Its difficult to write that sort of thing where youre not shaming somebody, but youre showing why they did something wrong and how theyre trying their best to pull their way back from what happened.

Smith, who is a long-time fan of Morissettes music, drew from a variety of influences, including the original album and Broadway show, other musicals such as Spring Awakenings and Heathers, and fellow YA authors. When I think about the authors who inspire me the most in terms of their style of writing and themes, I absolutely devour everything that Jeff Zentner does. He writes such beautiful, powerful stories with this emotional sensitivity that is so unmatched. I love his writing so much and I really tried to explore Phoenixs character in the way that I feel like he does, where theres a lot of introspection in all of his work.

As well as drawing insight from the literary milieu, the lyrical writing of musicals played a large role in the novel. Musicals do this wonderful thing where they have all these heightened, intense emotions in a very compact amount of time. That was one of the challenges with Jagged Little Pill because its a short novel, but theres five characters and you have to get all of that in there.

What Smith ultimately hopes that readers of any age take away from the novel is the idea of what it means to be an ally and to use ones voice. Bad things happen when you dont speak up when you have the opportunity, even when its really scary. Im hoping that people read this and realize that their voice can be used for good things. Everyone in this book is just so desperate to try their best, but oftentimes they end up failing each other because theyre not speaking up in the way that they should or the way they want to.

The book will come out on April 26 from Amulet Books. While the Broadway show has closed at the Broadhurst Theater in New York City, the West End and North American tours are kicking into high gear this fall.

Jagged Little Pill: The Novel by Eric Smith with Alanis Morissette, Diablo Cody, and Glen Ballard. Abrams/Amulet, $19.99 Apr. 26 ISBN 978-1-4197-5798-3
Kieran Viola at Disney has acquired world rights to Good as Gold by Candace Buford (Kneel), with Kelsey Sullivan editing. Pitched as a Black, Southern reimagining of The Outer Banks meets Gossip Girl, this soapy YA suspense novel brings together the haves of Langston Lakes and the have-nots in a quest to find their town's mythical hidden treasure. Publication is planned for summer 2023; Carrie Pestritto at the Laura Dail Literary Agency negotiated the deal.

Mara Delgado Sanchez at Wednesday Books has bought The Wildest Things and a second book in a duology by Andrea Hannah (Where Darkness Blooms). In this sapphic YA fantasy, when Snow White is never kissed, she awakens in her glass coffin 20 years later to a forest that has been ravaged by the Blight and where the animals have mutated. Snow must survive the deadly forest and kill the Evil Queen's daughter to reverse the damage, but she's falling in love with her instead. Publication is scheduled for spring 2024; Victoria Marini at the Irene Goodman Agency did the deal for world English rights.

Carolina Ortiz at HarperCollins has acquired educator Keith F. Miller Jr.'s debut coming-of-age YA novel Pritty, the inspiration behind the forthcoming short film of Kickstarter fame, and its sequel which follows 17-year-old Jay and Leroy, who on the cusp of their own love story must scramble to uncover old secrets between their families and fight to save their older brothers and their community from a deep well of intergenerational damage, even if the cost might be their own electric connection. Publication is slated for fall 2023; Ellen Goff at HG Literary sold North American rights.

Tiffany Colon at Scholastic has bought Love Letters to Joy Corvi by Melissa See (You, Me, and Our Heartstrings). In this YA contemporary retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, Joy, a panromantic asexual girl with cerebral palsy who is determined to be valedictorian, seeks love advice from an anonymous student at her academy. But she's unknowingly writing toand falling forthe last person she ever expected. Publication is set for summer 2023; Emily Forney at BookEnds Literary sold world English rights.

Stephanie Cohen at Inkyard Press has acquired world English and audio rights to Keynan Masters and the Peerless Magic Crew and an untitled second book by debut author DaVaun Sanders, aimed at fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky and Amari and the Night Brothers, kicking off a middle grade fantasy series where Keynan unravels the secrets of Peerless Academy and his own freestyling magic, while trying to save the world from scary storms that stem from mysterious forces. Publication is planned for fall 2023; Mary C. Moore at Kimberley Cameron Associates negotiated the deal.

Shana Corey at Random House has won, in a six-figure preempt, On Guard, a semi-autobiographical middle grade graphic novel from debut author-illustrator K. Rose. The novel follows 12-year-old Grace as she navigates her rocky relationship with her mother after her parents' messy divorce and finds her people through the fencing club after going through a brutal friendship breakup. Publication is scheduled for spring 2025; Jennifer Azantian at Azantian Literary Agency handled the two-book deal for world rights.

Meghan Maria McCullough at Levine Querido has bought Letisha Marrero's middle grade novel, Salsa Magic. Maya Montenegro Calderon's world turns upside down when her estranged great aunt from Puerto Rico shows up at her family's restaurant in Brooklyn, because Maya knows Titi Yayafrom the all-too-vivid underwater dreams she has every night. Maya will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of their mystical connection. Publication is slated for fall 2023; Joy Tutela at David Black Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.



Sam Palazzi at Scholastic has acquired Erin Soderberg Downing's Just Keep Walking, pitched as Wild for middle-grade readers. When 12-year-old Jo and her mother attempt to hike the Superior Hiking Trail along Lake Superior's north shore to heal the wounds of her father's abandonment, one obstacle after the next continue to test her strength and ultimate survival. After Jo's mom sustains a hike-ending injury, Jo will have to confront her greatest fears and learn how to be alone. Publication is set for spring 2024; Michael Bourret at Dystel, Goderich and Bourret did the deal for world rights.

Sally Morgridge at Holiday House has bought 102 Days of Lying About Lauren, a debut middle grade novel by Maura Jortner in which 12-year-old Mouse was abandoned by her mother in an amusement park and has survived for three months by following her list of Rules to Live By, but when a nosy girl and an impending storm threaten to expose Mouse's hiding place, it might take more than rules to keep her safe. Publication is planned for summer 2023; Rena Rossner at the Deborah Harris Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.

Andrea Colvin at Little, Brown has acquired world rights to a modern graphic adaptation of A Little Princess by Ivy Noelle Weir (l.), illustrated by Melanie Kim. Although she is far away from her home in South Korea, military child Sara Crewe makes friends with ease at her new boarding school in Los Angeles. However, she struggles to get into the good graces of the school's caretaker, Miss Minchin. Publication is scheduled for winter 2026; Anjali Singh at Ayesha Pande Literary represented the author, and the illustrator was unagented.

Hilary Van Dusen at MIT Kids/Candlewick Press has bought world rights to From Brainy Bees to Calculating Chimpanzees: Mathematical Abilities in Animals by animal scientist Stephanie Gibeault (l.), illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett, a middle grade nonfiction book that explores animals' numerical abilities while teaching mathematical concepts. Publication is slated for spring 2024; Jacqui Lipton at Raven Quill Literary Agency represented the author, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.

Winsome Bingham at Reycraft has acquired English and Spanish rights to Sophia Ezomoghene's The Osagie Twins chapter book series. In the first book, twins Eddie and Nosa break the #1 house rule of going into Baba's home office; when they knock over a vase, releasing Eshu the trickster god, they need to recapture him before Baba gets home. Publication for book one is set for fall 2023; Jemiscoe Chambers-Black at Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the three-book deal.



Neal Porter at Holiday House/Neal Porter Books has bought The Smell of Wet Dog: Poems About Dogs, written and illustrated by Barney Saltzberg (One of These Is Not Like the Other), a celebration of humankind's best four-footed friend, tall, small and everywhere in between. It's scheduled for fall 2024; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio brokered the deal for world rights.

Mabel Hsu at HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books has acquired Pura Belpre and Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner C.G. Esperanza's Kicks in the Sky. The picture book follows a group of kids who discover that the colorful sneakers hanging from telephone wires have given them new skillsmoonwalks to two-steps, alley-oops to slam dunksbut where on earth did these magical kicks come from? Publication is planned for fall 2023; Marietta B. Zacker at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency sold North American rights.

Connie Hsu at Roaring Brook has bought world rights to Abuelo, the Sea, and Me by Ismee Williams (l.), illustrated by Tatiana Gardel; Nicolas Ore-Giron will edit. In the picture book, a child walks with her abuelo season by season along the beach as he reflects on his youth in Havana, sharing his life story and exploring their shared heritage. Publication is slated for spring 2024; Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich and Bourret represented the author, and Jemiscoe Chambers-Black at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the illustrator.

Ellen Cormier at Dial has acquired world rights to I Have Three Cats by Michelle Sumovich (l.), illustrated by Laura Park. The picture book features a witty and unreliable narrator who owns three cats, but that moocher who keeps turning up for food certainly isn't one of them. Publication is scheduled for spring 2024; Hannah Mann at Writers House represented the author, and Steven Malk at Writers House represented the illustrator.

Ann Kelley at Random House Studio has bought world rights to Dog vs. Strawberry by the creators of Cat Dog Dog, author Nelly Buchet (l.) and illustrator Andrea Zuill, a picture book about the greatest race of all time between a dog and a strawberry. Publication is set for spring 2024; Erzsi Deak at Hen&ink Literary represented the author and illustrator.

Dana Chidiac at Henry Holt has acquired world rights to Cute Toot, a picture book by Breanna J. McDaniel (l.) (Hands Up!), illustrated by Olivia de Castro, about a family game of hide-and-seek gone awry when the baby sister can't stop passing gas. It's planned for winter 2024; Wendi Gu at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates represented the author, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.

Cecily Kaiser at RISE x Penguin Workshop has bought world rights to Eat Your Superpowers!: How Colorful Foods Keep You Healthy and Strong by Toni Buzzeo (l.), illustrated by Serge Bloch, a reference guide for young eaters about the specific benefits of foods sorted by color. Publication is slated for spring 2023; Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel at Full Circle Literary represented the author, and Marlena Torzecka at Marlena Agency represented the illustrator.

Sonali Fry at Crown has acquired world rights to Happy Dia de los Muertos!, a board book that features a family's traditions as they celebrate the Day of the Dead, written by Diane de Anda (l.) and illustrated by Gloria Felix. Publication is scheduled for summer 2023; Ronald Zollshan at KirchoffWohlberg represented the author, and Kate Kendrick at Astound US represented the illustrator.

Kelly Barrales-Saylor at Sourcebooks eXplore has bought Can You Dance Like a Peacock?, an exploration of how different animals and insects "dance," moving to communicate and protect themselves, by STEAM expert Rekha S. Rajan (l.), illustrated by Jean Claude. Publication is projected for fall 2023; Lilly Ghahremani at Full Circle Literary represented the author, and Atlanta Japp at Advocate-Art represented the illustrator.

Tamar Brazis at Viking has acquired A Rainbow Inside My Body by E. Katherine Kottaras (l.) (How to Be Brave) and Vanitha Swaminathan (c.), illustrated by Holly Hatam (r.). This picture book introduces readers to the chakras, seven major power centers inside the body that impact our minds and spirits, and how awareness of them allows us to healthily respond to stress and experience harmony. Publication is set for summer 2024; Jennie Kendrick at Red Fox Literary represented the authors, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.

Ashley Hearn at Peachtree Teen has acquired Things I'll Never Say, a debut novel by Cassandra Newbould, editor and contributor of the body-positive anthology Every Body Shines. For fans of Becky Albertalli and Julie Murphy, this cathartic epistolary YA follows bi, fat surfer girl Casey who, after her twin brother's death, turns to journaling to navigate her grief and her crushes on the remaining members of their tight-knit friend group. Publication is planned for summer 2023; Ernie Chiara at Fuse Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.



Lauri Hornik at Rocky Pond Books has bought The Islands of Elsewhere by Heather Fawcett (Even the Darkest Stars) in a two-book deal. The Snolly sisters are spending the summer at their grandfather's seaside home, which includes three mysterious islands that the locals think are magic, as their family grapples with Granddaddy's dementia. Pitched as The Penderwicks with pirates, the book explores sibling bonds, multi-generational families, and the magic of imagination. Publication is set for June 2023; Brianne Johnson at HG Literary did the deal for North American English rights.



Wesley Adams at FSG has acquired, at auction, world rights to the middle-grade graphic novel duology Tegan & Sara: Junior High and Tegan & Sara: Crush, written by musicians and authors Sara Quin (l.) and Tegan Quin (c.), illustrated by Eisner Award winner Tillie Walden (r.), the contemporary story of identical twins growing up and growing apart, coming to terms with their queerness, and falling in love with music over the course of junior high. Publication for book one is slated for spring 2023; Marc Gerald at Europa Content represented the authors, and Seth Fishman at the Gernert Company represented the illustrator.



Oni Press has bought spooky middle grade graphic novel trilogy The Night Mother by Jeremy Lambert (l.), comics writer (Buffy; Goosebumps) and producer of Oscar-winning short films, and illustrator Alexa Sharpe. When the Night Mother casts her town in perpetual night to sap the souls of the living, it's up to the girl who lives in the graveyard to stop her. Publication of book one is scheduled for fall 2023; Tamara Kawar at ICM Partners brokered the three-book deal for world English rights.



Victoria Rock at Chronicle has acquired Go Go Guys by Rowboat Watkins (Rude Cakes), a rhyming bedtime romp about three very awake kids who have miles to go before counting sheep and going to sleep. It's planned for fall 2024; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio sold world rights.



Susan Rich at Little, Brown has bought world rights to The Pelican Can by Toni Yuly, a picture book written in a rhythmic cheer-squad chant that celebrates the magnificent things that a pelican can do, based on observational science. Publication is set for summer 2024; Wendi Gu at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates handled the two-book deal.



Jenna Lettice at Random House has acquired, in a preempt, Ashley Belote's Witch & Wombat, a humorous picture book about a little witch who receives a wombat familiar instead of a cat; and Sheepwrecked, a swashbuckling adventure starring pirate sheep. Publication is scheduled for summer 2023 and 2024, respectively; Moe Ferrara at BookEnds Literary negotiated the two-book deal for world rights.



Catherine Laudone at S&S/Paula Wiseman Books has bought, in a preempt, author-illustrator Lauren Emmons's debut picture book, No Cats in the Library. Stray cat Clarisse loves to look at picture books, but there's just one problemcats are not allowed in the library. But Clarisse is determined to find a way back inside and prove the library is exactly where she belongs. Publication is slated for spring 2024; Tara Gonzalez at the Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author for world rights.



Elizabeth Barton at Simon & Schuster has acquired world rights to Rex & Oslo by author-illustrator Doug Cushman (How to Be a Good Puppy) in a two-book deal for Ready-to-Reads about best friends, Rex, a warthog. and Oslo, an oxpecker, who come to understand what best friends really do: talk with and learn from and care about each other. Publication in summer 2023 is planned; Erzsi Deak at Hen&ink Literary sold world rights.



Emma Ledbetter at Abrams has bought world rights, in an exclusive submission, to Susan Verde's (l.) new picture book series, Sensing Your World, illustrated by Juliana Perdomo (Sometimes All I Need Is Me). The series introduces each of the five senses as a way to find joy, connection and beauty in the world. The first book, Can You See It?, due in spring 2023, encourages readers to look closer to see deeper, not just with their eyes but with their whole hearts. The second, Are You Listening?, will follow in spring 2024. Erica Rand Silverman at Stimola Literary Studio represented both the author and illustrator.



Nina Gruener at Cameron Kids has acquired world rights to Soren's Seventh Song by Dave Eggers (l.), illustrated by Mark Hoffmann, a picture book about a whale who thinks whale song is boring and writes his own, catchier tunes. Publication is set for fall 2023; Steven Malk at Writers House represented the author, and Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the illustrator.



Liz Bicknell at Candlewick has bought world rights to In the Desert by David Elliott (l.) in an exclusive submission, illustrated by Gordy Wright. The text is a poetic celebration of desert animals. Publication is scheduled for spring 2025; Kelly Sonnack at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Susan Penny at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.



Aneeka Kalia at Viking has acquired world rights to Sari Sisters by Anitha Rao-Robinson (l.), creator of the Kindness Is Everything podcast, and illustrated by APALA Honor winner Anoosha Syed. Seeing how anxious her older sister is about wearing a sari for the first time, the younger sister helps her find the joy and playfulness in the experience by throwing a dance party. Publication is slated for fall 2024; Tanusri Prasanna at DeFiore and Company represented the author, and Taylor Martindale Kean at Full Circle Literary represented the illustrator.



Yolanda Scott and Alexandra McKenzie at Charlesbridge have bought world rights, at auction, to On Friday Afternoon by Michal Babay (l.) (The Incredible Shrinking Lunchroom), illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt, which follows Leelee and her dog as they perform mitzvahs around the house to get ready for Shabbat. Publication is planned for fall 2023; Laurel Symonds at the Bent Agency represented the author, and the illustrator represented himself.



Sonali Fry at Crown has acquired world rights to All Rise: The Story of Ketanji Brown Jackson, a picture book biography about the hard work, determination, and excellence of the first Black female Supreme Court Justice, written by Carole Boston Weatherford (l.) and illustrated by Ashley Evans. Publication is set for fall 2023; Rubin Pfeffer at Rubin Pfeffer Content represented the author, and James Burns at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.



Harriet Low, while at HMH Books, bought world rights to It Belongs to the World: Frederick Banting and the Discovery of Insulin, a picture book biography by Lisa Katzenberger (l.) about the doctor who discovered the world's only effective treatment for diabetes, and who strived to make it available to all. Janina Gaudin, known online as Miss Diabetes, will illustrate; Kait Feldmann will edit. Publication is scheduled for fall 2023; Wendi Gu at Sanford J. Greenburger represented the author, and the illustrator represented herself.



Alexandra Cooper at Quill Tree has acquired world rights to the picture book Teacher to a Movement, about the life and work of civil rights activist, teacher, and trailblazer Septima Poinsette Clark, who championed literacy, voting rights, and equity for all, co-written by her granddaughter Yvonne Clark-Rhines (l.) and Monica Clark-Robinson (c.), illustrated by Abigail Albano-Payton (r.). Publication is slated for winter 2024; Natalie Lakosil while at Bradford Literary Agency and Laura Bradford represented the authors, and Jennifer Rofe at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the illustrator.


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Tracy Sherrod, former v-p and editorial director at Amistad, will join Little, Brown as v-p and executive editor on May 9, and Alex Littlefield, previously executive editor at Mariner Books, will join the publisher as executive editor on May 16. Both executives will report to Little, Brown v-p and editor-in-chief Judy Clain. In addition, Little, Brown senior editor Pronoy Sarkar will now report to Littlefield.

Sherrod will acquire fiction and nonfiction by Black writers for the Little, Brown list, and joins the company after more than a decade as editorial director of Amistad, the oldest imprint in New York trade publishing devoted to the Black book market. She began her publishing career at Marie Brown Literary Services, later working as an editor at Holt and S&S, before joining the Amistad imprint at HarperCollins. Among the authors she has published are Zane, Cicely Tyson, Paul Beatty, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Kinshasha Holman Conwill.

Littlefield joins LB with plans to grow the nonfiction list. He will focus his acquisitions on idea-driven narrative nonfiction, according to the announcement, focusing on works in history, science, politics and current affairs. Before working at Mariner Books (at HarperCollins and HMH), Littlfield held editorial positions at Basic Books and Grove/Atlantic. Among the authors hes published are U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, NSC official Fiona Hill, former FBI agent Peter Strzok, journalist Wesley Lowery, and xkcd creator Randall Munroe.

Little, Brown v-p and editor-in-chief Judy Clain, said she was thrilled that Tracy Sherrod and Alex Littlefield will be joining our editorial team. Tracy has a brilliant reputation, and Ive admired her from afar for a long time. Alex Littlefield brings a keen eye for important nonfiction authors to our list. I look forward to working with both of them.
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane has signed a lease to occupy 14,000 square feet at the WestGate Technology Academy in Odon, Indiana. (Photo provided)

ODON, Ind.  Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane (NSWC Crane), a Navy federal laboratory in southern Indiana, has signed an agreement with Purdue Research Foundation to occupy 14,000 square feet of space at WestGate Academy.

The 15-year lease takes effect in June. The space is envisioned to be used for workforce development and other front door capabilities, such as the Small Business Office and Technology Transfer Office.

NSWC Cranes mission includes providing acquisition engineering, in-service engineering and technical support for sensors, electronics, electronic warfare and special warfare weapons.

The 64,000-square-foot WestGate Academy is the region hub of innovation and entrepreneurship connecting an ecosystem that spans from West Lafayette to Jasper and Indianapolis to Evansville and beyond. WestGate Academy resides in the WestGate@Crane Technology Park, which is home to 60 tenant companies and their 875 employees.

Kyle Werner, NSWC Crane deputy technical director, expressed enthusiasm for this first-of-its-kind agreement.

It is exciting to imagine the possibilities of what this opportunity will bring over the next decade, Werner said. This innovative partnership will enhance NSWC Cranes workforce development, excellence and readiness for our current and future workforce.

Capt. Duncan McKay, NSWC Crane commanding officer, said the timing could not be better.

NSWC Crane and its mission is more valued and relevant now than any time in our history, McKay said. When threats to our nation and global interests increase, so do demands for our products, expertise and services. Partnerships like this make our mission possible.

Jason Salstrom, director of Purdue@WestGate, said it has been a longtime ambition to bring more Navy personnel into the WestGate Academy.

Proximity and access are critical to creating opportunity and the social capital necessary for an innovation-driven economy. This agreement addresses these key points, Salstrom said. We are excited to continue to support a vibrant and growing innovation workforce here at the WestGate Academy.

John Mensch, president of WestGate@Crane Authority, said NSWC Crane is a terrific partner for WestGate.

From additive manufacturing to model-based system engineering to cybersecurity, Crane has the mission and capacity to be part of driving the Indiana economy forward, Mensch said. WestGate organizations like ours, Techbridge and the Indiana Innovation Institute work in complementary fashion to grow the economic impact of the Navys presence in Indiana.

Other prominent tenants at WestGate Academy include the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Indiana Innovation Institute, Indiana University, Navy Tech Bridge, NSWC Crane STEM and large defense contractors.

About Purdue@WestGate

Purdue@WestGate is an economic development accelerator formed by the partnership between WestGate Authority, Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division (NSWC Crane), Purdue University and Purdue Research Foundation. The Indiana-based collaboration combines strengths to advance educational, research and development and technology commercialization across Indiana and elsewhere. Purdue@WestGate offers tools for startups, entrepreneurial experts, programs, educational opportunities and workforce development to help southern Indiana businesses grow and thrive. For more information about the resources available to businesses, visit Purdue@WestGate.

About Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane

NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with mission areas in expeditionary warfare, strategic missions and electronic warfare. The warfare center is responsible for multidomain, multispectral, full-life cycle support of technologies and systems enhancing capability to todays warfighter.

Media contact: L. Oz Oswald, lisa.m.oswald3.civ@us.navy.mil, 812-381-5037

Writer: Steve Martin, sgmartin@prf.org

Sources: Capt. Duncan McKay

John Mensch

Jason Salstrom

Kyle Werner
Purdue University graduates will be celebrating after seven ceremonies, just as these 2021 graduates celebrated. More than 8,000 students are candidates for degrees during the May 13-16 ceremonies in West Lafayette. (Purdue University photo/John Underwood)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  The small steps theyve taken over the past few years will soon culminate for many Purdue University students. They will graduate into the next phases of their lives.

Purdue Universitys spring commencement is set for May 13-16, with seven ceremonies, each in the Elliott Hall of Music on campus.

Eligible to participate in the ceremonies are 8,131 students, which include 6,257 undergraduates, 1,180 masters, 454 Doctor of Philosophy and 240 professional program candidates. A posthumous Doctor of Philosophy degree will be conferred to William L. Robinson, a former student in the Graduate School.

The ceremonies will take place as follow:

Division I  Friday, May 13. 2:30 p.m. College of Agriculture and College of Engineering (Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Material Science Engineering)

Division II  Friday, May 13. 7 p.m. College of Engineering (Aeronautics and Astronautics, Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Construction Management Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Multidisciplinary Engineering and Nuclear Engineering)

Division III  Saturday, May 14. 9:30 a.m. College of Science and College of Veterinary Medicine (Undergraduate and Professional).

Division IV  Saturday, May 14. 2:30 p.m. College of Liberal Arts and School of Management.

Division V  Sunday, May 15. 9:30 a.m. College of Health and Human Sciences (Undergraduate and Professional).

Division VI  Sunday, May 15. 2:30 p.m. College of Education, College of Pharmacy (Undergraduate and Professional) and Purdue Polytechnic Institute (Undergraduate and Professional).

Division VII  Monday, May 16. 9:30 a.m. Graduate School (Masters and Doctor of Philosophy  All schools and colleges).

Tickets are required for admission to Elliott Hall of Music. Doors open 90 minutes before each ceremony. All attendees will have any bags they are carrying checked at the door for entry into the Hall of Music. Purdue will offer an overflow venue in Stewart Centers Fowler Hall for guests without tickets to view a livestream. All ceremonies will be livestreamed. For those who have tickets to attend in person, parking information is available online.

Purdue President Mitch Daniels will keynote each of the Friday, Saturday and Sunday ceremonies.

Dr. Deborah W. Knapp, Distinguished Professor in Comparative Oncology and director of Purdues Comparative Oncology Program in the College of Veterinary Medicine, will be the guest speaker for the Division VII ceremony. She is nationally and internationally recognized for her work in bladder cancer and comparative oncology.

Honorary Doctorates

Three individuals will receive honorary doctorates during commencement. Edmund O. Schweitzer III will receive an honorary Doctor of Engineering from the College of Engineering during the Division II ceremony, Jill Hruby will receive an honorary Doctor of Engineering from the College of Engineering during the Division I ceremony. John Krenicki Jr. will receive an honorary Doctor of Management from the School of Management during the Division IV ceremony.

Edmund O. Schweitzer III is recognized as a pioneer in digital protection and holds the grade of Fellow in the IEEE. In 2012, Schweitzer received the Medal in Power Engineering, the highest award given by the IEEE, for his leadership in revolutionizing the performance of electrical power systems with computer-based protection and control.

Schweitzer received his bachelor's and masters degrees in electrical engineering from Purdue and his doctoral degree from Washington State University. He founded Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc. in 1982 to develop and manufacture digital protective relays and related products and services. SEL operates a facility in Discovery Park District at Purdue.

Schweitzer has written dozens of technical papers in the areas of digital relay design and reliability and holds more than 200 patents. In 2019, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his invention of the first digital protective relay.

Schweitzer and his wife, Beatriz, were honored in October 2020 with the renaming of the Purdue Polytechnic High School flagship campus for their $4 million commitment to programs and scholarships to support underrepresented students. Purdue Polytechnic High School Schweitzer Center at Englewood celebrated its first graduating class last year, with many attending Purdue.

 Jill Hruby was sworn in as the U.S. Department of Energys under secretary for nuclear security in July. She spent over 34 years at Sandia National Laboratories, serving at both the Materials and Engineering Sciences Center and the Homeland Security and Defense Systems Center.

Hruby was the inaugural Sam Nunn Distinguished Fellow at the Nuclear Threat Initiative from 2018-19. She has served on a variety of technical advisory committees and nonprofit organization boards.

In 2016, Hruby received the Suzanne Jenniches Upward Mobility Award from the Society of Women Engineers. In 2017, Business Insider named her the second most powerful female engineer.

 John Krenicki Jr. is a vice chairman with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, one of the world's leading private equity investment firms. He joined Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in 2013 after a 29-year career at General Electric. He is a former vice chairman of GE and former president and CEO of GE Energy. His responsibilities included oversight of GE's oil and gas, power and water, and energy management businesses.

A Purdue alumnus, Krenicki received his masters degree in management from Krannert Executive Education Programs.

Krenicki and his wife, Donna, made major gifts to establish the Krenicki Center for Business Analytics and Machine Learning, the John and Donna Krenicki Directorship of the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience and Krenicki Family Directorship in Inflammation, Immunology, and Infectious Disease. These institutes pursue research to alleviate suffering associated with trauma, disease, or disorders of the brain and nervous system. They also seek to diagnose and treat many of the world's most common diseases.

Student responders at each ceremony

Each undergraduate division will feature a student responder:

Grace Hasler of Columbus, Indiana, who is to receive a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Agriculture, will be the student responder in the Friday afternoon (Division I) ceremony.

Jace Newell of Maple Grove, Minnesota, who will receive a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Engineering, will be the student responder in the Friday afternoon (Division II) ceremony. Newell is also a student in the John Martinson Honors College.

Tom Appenzeller of West Lafayette, Indiana, who will receive a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Science, will be the student responder in the Saturday morning (Division III) ceremony.

Jack Horoho of Warsaw, Indiana, who will receive a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Management, will be the student responder in the Saturday evening (Division IV) ceremony.

Parikshit Pawar of Austin, Texas, who will receive a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Health and Human Sciences, will be a student responder in the Sunday morning (Division V) ceremony.

Jacqueline Krutsch of Evanston, Illinois, will receive a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Education in the Sunday afternoon (Division VI) ceremony. Krutsch is also a student in the John Martinson Honors College.

Top student awards

The Flora Roberts Award and G.A Ross Award are Purdues two most prestigious honors for the universitys outstanding senior woman and outstanding senior man.

Roy S. Ramirez of San Jose, Costa Rica has received the G.A. Ross Award. Ramirez graduated from Purdue with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering in December 2021. He minored in management and French. Read more about Ramirezs work online.

This award is presented annually to an outstanding man in the graduating class and is made possible through a gift from Ross, a devoted alumnus and benefactor of Purdue from the Class of 1916. The recipient receives a $2,000 award, medallion and his name permanently inscribed on the award marker on the Purdue Engineering Mall.

Emma G. Gausman of Batesville, Indiana, has received the Flora Roberts Award. Gausman is receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in psychological sciences and a Bachelor of Science degree in speech, language and hearing sciences. Watch a video about Gausman online.

The award is presented annually to the outstanding senior woman to honor her scholarship, leadership, character and service to the university community. The award was made possible through a bequest of Flora Roberts of the Purdue Class of 1887. The recipient receives a $2,000 award, medallion, and her name permanently inscribed on the award marker on the Purdue Engineering Mall.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last four years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://purdue.edu/.

Writer: Margaret Mowrer

Media contact: Matthew Oates, 765-586-7496 (cell), oatesw@purdue.edu, @mo_oates;

Source: Christine Pass, dehahn@purdue.edu
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 04/20/2022



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FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS!

Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source!

Which couples are still together and which MAFS couples have broken up and divorced? And where are they now?

's first thirteen seasons featured a total of 49 couples who got married at first sight -- so which couples are still together, who broke up and divorced, and where are they all now?Each season of -- which premiered in the United States seven years ago and is based on a Danish series -- features couples (previously three couples, but four couples on Seasons 8 and 9, and five couples beginning with Season 10) being matched together by relationship experts and agree to marry when they first meet.Complete strangers become husband and wife in a matter of minutes, and the couples' lives are then documented by TV cameras over the course of the next four to eight weeks (eight weeks, in the case of 's most recent seasons).The couples typically enjoy their first night together in a hotel after exchanging vows -- with some couples deciding to consummate their marriage immediately -- and then embark on a honeymoon, move in together, and simply attempt to deal with the struggles of daily life as man and wife.At the end of the extreme marriage experiment, each couple must decide whether they'd like to stay married or get a divorce on "Decision Day."has experienced very mixed results over the years. While a significant number of couples decide to stay together and continue their new marriage at the end of their season, the real world seems to hit them hard after the cameras leave, resulting in the couple splitting up only months later.Do cast members see a different side of their spouses once cameras are gone, or do the romances naturally fizzle over time?Some couples are still together to this day and are extremely happy. Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner from Season 1, for example, have had two children.Several other couples have also had children -- including Ashley Petta and Anthony D'Amico Shawniece Jackson and Jephte Pierre Danielle Bergman and Bobby Dodd Deonna McNeill and Greg Okotie , and Jessica Studer and Austin Hurd However, there are also relationships that ended badly. Jessica Castro from Season 2, for instance, accused Ryan De Nino of alleged death threats, and she went on to file a restraining order and lawsuit against him.Some couples have also never even made it to "Decision Day" and ended their marriage prematurely, including Season 4 couple Heather Seidel and Derek Schwartz as well as Season 6 couple Molly Duff and Jonathan Francetic Are the remaining couples now lovers, friends or enemies?! What about early season couples like Cortney Hendrix and Jason Carrion, Jaclyn Methuen and Ryan Ranellone, Vanessa Nelson and Tres Russell, Sonia Granados and Nick Pendergrast, and Lillian Vilchez and Tom Wilson?And how about more recent season couples like Danielle DeGroot and Cody Knapek Sheila Downs and Nate Duhon Jaclyn Schwartzberg and Ryan Buckley Dave Flaherty and Amber Martorana , and Tristan Thompson and Mia Bally Keith Dewar and Kristine Killingsworth , and AJ Vollmoeller and Stephanie Sersen Click thelink below to see photos of each couple and find out!

BEGIN GALLERY >>

Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.
Britain's Prince Harry told interviewer Hoda Kotb on Wednesday's edition of the Today show that his recent visit with his estranged grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, went well.

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"It was great. It was just so nice to see her. You know, she's on great form. She's always got a great sense of humor with me," Harry said. "I'm just making sure she's protected and got the right people around her."

The prince and his American wife, Meghan Markle, made a surprise visit last week to Windsor Castle to see the monarch. This marked their first trip to Britain since they gave up their royal titles two years ago and moved to the United States.

Royal officials said the couple made the visit on their way to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games last week.

Since departing England in 2020, the royal couple hadn't returned for various reasons -- most notably Harry's concern for the security of his wife and children. The couple have two children, 2-year-old Archie and nine-month-old Lilibet.

Harry said he and Meghan both tried to make the queen laugh during their recent visit.

"It was really nice to catch up with her," he said. "Home for me now is, for the time being, in the States and it really feels that way, as well. We've been welcomed with open arms and we've got such a great community up in Santa Barbara."
Actor Ezra Miller, who stars in the upcoming DC film The Flash, was arrested Tuesday in Hawaii for the second time this year.

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The Hawaii Police Department said Miller was arrested for second-degree assault at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday at a private residence in the district of Puna, near the town of PAhoa.

Police said Miller became angry after being asked to leave a get-together and allegedly threw a chair that struck a 26-year-old female in the head.

"During the course of their investigation, police determined that the individual, later identified as Ezra Miller, became irate after being asked to leave and reportedly threw a chair, striking a 26-year-old female on the forehead, resulting in an approximate half-inch cut," according to the news release.

The unnamed woman refused treatment for her injury, according to police.

Officials said Miller, who uses they/them pronouns, has been released from jail pending further investigation.

Last month, Miller -- who previously appeared as The Flash in multiple DC superhero movies -- was arrested in Hilo, Hawaii. According to police, Miller was charged with disorderly conduct and harassment after an incident at a karaoke bar.

The Flash is currently slated for a summer 2023 release.
In an agenda setting session Tuesday evening, the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission discussed the Linnentown Memorial Project. The commission also discussed congressionally directed spending from Sen. Jon Ossoffs office to hire an investigator for LGBTQ+ and elder crimes within the Athens-Clarke County Police Department and for electric police vehicles.

All of these resolutions will be voted at the next voting meeting on May 3.

Linnentown

Following the presentation the commission received last Tuesday describing the concept design for the Linnentown Walk of Recognition, the commission agreed to vote on the design on May 3.

The concept design includes components like images of rose bushes, magnolia trees, clotheslines, cast iron skillets and houses on fire. A red gash in the center of the structure symbolizes the destruction of urban renewal, according to the presentation.

The memorial, once approved, will be located on the southwest corner at the intersection of Baxter Street and Finley Street.

The Athens Justice and Memory Project has been working on the Walk of Recognition since September 2020. If the commission approves the concept design, the government can begin to issue contracts related to public art installations.

ACCPD grants

In a March 3 meeting with Sen. Jon Ossoffs office, ACCPD discussed two priority projects that could be completed with the assistance of congressionally directed funding, according to the agenda item. Applications for grants to complete both projects were submitted through Ossoffs office.

If the application is accepted, the grant will provide $75,000 to hire, assign and train an investigator to specialize in crimes committed against the elderly, LGBTQ+ community and other persons as needed.

I really appreciate the police department working with Sen. Ossoffs office to bring this forward. I think it's a position that we need to have here in our county, have needed it for a long time, District 6 Commissioner Tim Denson said.

Another application outlined a proposal for 36 completely electric vehicles and 20 charging ports for a total cost of approximately $2.3 million. ACCPD says that the incorporation of electric vehicles into daily operations would prove distinctive from regional peers, reduce environmental impacts and continue a best-practice mentality within community policing.
Each night during Ramadan, Muslims all over the world gather to break their daily fast at an Iftar meal. On Wednesday evening, students came together in Memorial Hall to break fast as a community at the University of Georgias Muslim Student Association Iftar Night.
Health Editor and Athens Frontline Podcast Host

Simran Kaur Malhotra is the current health editor and a member of the D&I committee. As a pre-med student, she is majoring in anthropology & minoring in global health. Simran is the founder and CEO of UGA Doctors Without Borders. Associated: AHCJ; AAJA
With music and the smell of food filling the air, people pop in and out of different booths that dot the land at the outdoor Brattleboro Area Farmers Market that opened for the season on Saturday, May 7, 2022, and will run every Saturday until Oct. 29.
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Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.
To the editor: Regarding the issue of Brattleboro severing its ties with Rescue Inc. ("Brattleboro, Rescue Inc. to go their separate ways afte
Bruce Baker is a professor at Rutgers Graduate School of Education and Senior Fellow at the Learning Policy Institute. Rebecca Holcombe is a Norwich resident, parent, and former Vermont Secretary of Education. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media.
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State Rep. Seth Bongartz of Manchester is a Democrat representing the Bennington-4 district. State Rep. Scott Beck of St. Johnsbury is a Republican representing the Caledonia-3 district. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media.
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Kris KJ Johnston writes from Brattleboro. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media.
Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media

HARTFORD  A city man taken into custody after a drug sale with undercover law enforcement officers earlier this month was charged by a federal indictment, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.

A federal grand jury in New Haven recently returned an indictment that charged 26-year-old Traevaughnn Morrison with possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, cocaine base and fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon.
Ron Chapple / Getty Image

HARTFORD  A jury found a Hartford man guilty last week in a 2019 shooting that caused life-threatening injuries to a man on Zion Street, the Hartford States Attorney announced Tuesday.

Anthony Cruz, 31, was found guilty of first-degree assault with a firearm, criminal possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit and criminal use of a firearm on April 12, according to Sharmese Walcott, the Hartford states attorney.
In celebration of Earth Day, communities around the northwest corner are holding cleanups and other public activities.

The public is invited to a Zoom program from the Cornwall Library at 4 p.m. April 22. Local Effots to Combat Climate Change will be presented and discussed by a panel including Jim LaPorta of Litchfield Hills Solar, local historian Jeremy Brecher, and Cornwall First Selectman Gordon Ridgway. Registration is required; go to cornwalllibrary.org/events

Barkhamsted

Members of the Barkhamsted Lions Club are again organizing the annual Town of Barkhamsted Community Cleanup, set for Saturday, April 23. The event is open to the public. Interested participants should meet between 8:45-9 a.m. at the Barkhamsted Town Hall parking lot, 67 Ripley Hill Road, in Pleasant Valley to pick up trash bags and protective gloves, light refreshments and team assignment maps.

The club havs organized a community cleanup once or twice a year for decades, members said, to keep the community roadways and river clean of discarded litter and to protect wildlife from discarded trash. This environmental project is part of Lions Clubs International global cause focused on protecting the environment, according to Barkhamsted Lions Club President Dave Roberts.

The event is also supported by the Farmington River Anglers Association, Farmington River Coordinating Committee, Northwestern Regional #7 high school students, Barkhamsted Conservation Commission, Riverton Grange #169, Barkhamsted Senior Center, Northwestern Connecticut Cyber Lions Club, and the Winchester Youth Service Bureau. District Governor Ed Fenton is planning to volunteer as well as District Environmental Chairperson Dani Shapiro.

Participants can self-select into a team for an assigned route to clean between 9-11 a.m. Filled trash bags can be left along the side of the roadway and Lions Judy Doyle and Jerri Morgan have offered to pick these bags up and transport to the local landfill.

More than a dozen high school students are participating for up to five hours to receive their community service credit for graduation. Students are still welcome to sign up.

For more information contact club president Dave Roberts at dave@daveroberts.org or 858-775-9241.

Winsted

Winsteds Friends of Main Street is celebrating Earth Day April 23 with a cleanup day. More than 75 volunteers attended last year.

Individuals and groups can pick up Eco-Friendly trash bags and latex gloves at the Friends of Main Street tent at 9:30 a.m. at East End Park.

Fill up a bag of trash on your street or locations downtown, such as East End Park, Rowley Street, Willow Street, Bridge Street, all along Main Street, the old Rail Trail behind Mad River Lofts to Prospect Street.

At noon, bring filled trash bags to the Public Works truck. Pizza and water will be provided by local restaurants.

Torrington

Friendly Hands Food Bank, 50 King St., Torrington, invites residents to help clean up the food banks grounds and with other projects from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 23. Lunch will be provided.

To RSVP, call Friendly Hands at 860-482-3338.

Litchfield

Litchfield is holding an Earth Day cleanup from 9 a.m.-noon, followed by a celebration at Litchfield High School from 1-3 p.m., April 23.

The keynote speaker is Lynn Stoddard, Executive Director of Sustainable CT. The afternoon will also have family friendly presentations and activities, information on community projects and exhibit booths.

Register for the morning cleanup at litchfieldparkandrec.com.

Bantam

The Aikido Dojo, 725 Bantam Road/Route 202, Bantam, invites residents to protect the earth and feed your soul, try Aikido with a free introductory Aikido class, 10-11 a.m. April 23 at the dojo.

Call 860-567-2527 or email litchfieldaikido@gmail.com to pre-register. Masks, vaccines and a booster, if eligible, are required.
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  Netflix suffered its first subscriber loss in more than a decade, causing its shares to plunge 25% in extended trading amid concerns that the pioneering streaming service may have already seen its best days.

The companys customer base fell by 200,000 subscribers during the January-March period, according to its quarterly earnings report released Tuesday. It's the first time that Netflix's subscribers have fallen since the streaming service became available throughout most of the world outside of China six years ago. The drop this year stemmed in part from Netflix's decision to withdraw from Russia to protest the war against Ukraine, resulting in a loss of 700,000 subscribers.

Netflix acknowledged its problems are deep rooted by projecting a loss of another 2 million subscribers during the April-June period.

If the stock drop extends into Wednesdays regular trading session, Netflix shares will have lost more than half of their value so far this year  wiping out about $150 billion in shareholder wealth in less than four months.

Netflix is hoping to reverse the tide by taking steps it has previously resisted, including blocking the sharing of accounts and introducing a lower-priced  and ad-supported  version of its service.

Aptus Capital Advisors analyst David Wagner said its now clear that Netflix is grappling with an imposing challenge. They are in no-(wo) mans land, Wagner wrote in a research note Tuesday.

Netflix absorbed its biggest blow since losing 800,000 subscribers in 2011  the result of unveiled plans to begin charging separately for its then-nascent streaming service, which had been bundled for free with its traditional DVD-by-mail service. The customer backlash to that move elicited an apology from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings for botching the execution of the spin-off.

The latest subscriber loss was far worse than a forecast by Netflix management for a conservative gain of 2.5 million subscribers. The news deepens troubles that have been mounting for the streaming since a surge of signups from a captive audience during the pandemic began to slow.

It marks the fourth time in the last five quarters that Netflixs subscriber growth has fallen below the gains of the previous year, a malaise that has been magnified by stiffening competition from well-funded rivals such as Apple and Walt Disney.

The setback follows the company's addition of 18.2 million subscribers in 2021, its weakest annual growth since 2016. That contrasted with an increase of 36 million subscribers during 2020 when people were corralled at home and starved for entertainment, which Netflix was able to quickly and easily provide with its stockpile of original programming.

Netflix has previously predicted that it will regain its momentum, but on Tuesday faced up to the issues bogging it down. COVID created a lot of noise on how to read the situation," Hastings said in a video conference reviewing the latest numbers.

Among other things, Hastings confirmed Netflix will start crack down on the sharing of subscriber passwords that has enabled multiple households to access its service from a single account, with changes likely to roll out during the next year or so.

The Los Gatos, California, company estimated that about 100 million households worldwide are watching its service for free by using the account of a friend or another family member, including 30 million in the U.S. and Canada. Those are over 100 million households already are choosing to view Netflix," Hastings said. They love the service. Weve just got to get paid at some degree for them."

To stop the practice and prod more people to pay for their own accounts, Netflix indicated it will expand a test introduced last month in Chile, Peru and Costa Rica that allows subscribers to add up to two people living outside their households to their accounts for an additional fee.

Netflix ended March with 221.6 million worldwide subscribers. The subscriber downturn clipped Netflix's finances in the first quarter when the company's profit fell 6% from last year to $1.6 billion, or $3.53 per share. Revenue climbed 10% from last year to nearly $7.9 billion.

With the pandemic easing, people have been finding other things to do, and other video streaming services are working hard to lure new viewers with their own award-winning programming. Apple, for instance, held the exclusive streaming rights to CODA, which eclipsed Netflixs Power of The Dog, among other movies, to win Best Picture at last months Academy Awards.

Escalating inflation over the past year has also squeezed household budgets, leading more consumers to rein in their spending on discretionary items. Despite that pressure, Netflix recently raised its prices in the U.S., where it has its greatest household penetration  and where it's had the most trouble finding more subscribers. In the most recent quarter, Netflix lost 640,000 subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, prompting management to point out that most of its future growth will come in international markets.

Netflix also is trying to give people another reason to subscribe by adding video games at no extra charge  a feature that began to roll out last year.
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korea has test-fired a new type of tactical guided weapon designed to boost its nuclear fighting capability, state media reported Sunday, a day before its chief rivals the United States and South Korea begin annual drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal.

The 13th weapons test this year came amid concerns that North Korea may soon conduct an even larger provocation. That may include a nuclear test in an effort to expand the countrys arsenal and increase pressure on Washington and Seoul while denuclearization talks remain stalled.

The official Korean Central News Agency said leader Kim Jong Un observed what it called the weapons successful launch. It released a photo showing a beaming Kim clapping his hands with military officers.

KCNA said the weapon tested has great significance in drastically improving the firepower of the front-line long-range artillery units, enhancing the efficiency in the operation of (North Koreas) tactical nukes and diversification of their firepower missions.

KCNA didnt elaborate, but its use of the words tactical nukes suggested the weapon is likely capable of carrying a nuclear warhead that could hit strategic targets in South Korea, including U.S. military installations. The KCNA dispatch didnt say when and where the launch occurred.

North Korea is trying to deploy not only long-range nuclear missiles aimed at American cities but also tactical nuclear weapons to threaten Seoul and U.S. bases in Asia, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.

Pyongyangs purposes likely exceed deterrence and regime survival. Like Russia employs the fear it could use tactical nukes, North Korea may want such weapons for political coercion, battlefield escalation and limiting the willingness of other countries to intervene in a conflict, he said.

Some observers said the weapon showed in North Korean photos suggested it might be a smaller, lighter version of its nuclear-capable KN-23 missile that has a highly maneuverable flight aimed at defeating missile defense systems. Others said it could be a new missile that combines the technical characteristics of the KN-23 and another short-range ballistic missile called the KN-24.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it had detected two launches from the Norths eastern coastal town of Hamhung early Saturday evening.

It said the missiles flew about 110 kilometers (68 miles) at an altitude of 25 kilometers (16 miles) and a maximum speed of Mach 4. South Koreas presidential office said officials have met twice this weekend to discuss the North Korean military activities.

South Koreas military said later Sunday that its nine-day springtime drills with the United States will start on Monday. It said the allies decided to hold computer-simulated command post exercises that dont involve field training after reviewing factors like the COVID-19 pandemic and the allies combined defense readiness.

The exercises could further intensify animosities on the Korean Peninsula because North Korea has previously responded with its own weapons tests and fiery rhetoric.

North Korea has started this year with a slew of weapons tests, including its first flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. homeland since 2017. South Korea recently said it has detected signs that North Korea is rebuilding tunnels at a nuclear testing ground it partially dismantled weeks before it entered now-dormant nuclear talks with the United States in 2018.

A possible nuclear test by North Korea would involve a tactical nuclear warhead, said analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. He predicted that North Korea would push to mount a tactical nuclear warhead on the weapon tested this weekend and deploy such nuclear missiles near the border with South Korea.

North Korea has a domestic imperative to make and perfect weapons ordered by Kim Jong Un last year regardless of what the U.S. does or doesnt do. The test also tells his people that their country is strong despite their apparent economic difficulties, said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at Washingtons Center for a New American Security. One reason for the political timing could be to protest anticipated U.S.-South Korea military drills.

On Friday, Kim attended a massive civilian parade in Pyongyang that marked the milestone 110th birthday of his state-founding grandfather, Kim Il Sung. It appeared the country passed its most important national holiday without a highly anticipated military parade to showcase its new weapons systems.

Kim may still hold a military parade on the April 25 founding anniversary of North Koreas army. But if that anniversary goes without a military parade again, some experts say that might mean Kim doesnt have new powerful missiles to display and that his next provocative step will likely be a nuclear test.

___

Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.
Political opponents and NGOs say that there is no guarantee for fair elections without concrete measures.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks with media during a news conference at the Government Office in Hanoi, Vietnam October 4, 2019

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday that he would not stump for his party in local elections in June and urged authorities to remain neutral during the campaign, an appeal that did little to comfort the beleaguered opposition.

After a spate of violence and harassment directed against aspiring candidates, however, critics and political opponents told RFA that Hun Sen must allow real challenges to candidates from his ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) in the nationwide elections.

Hun Sens comments came during a ceremony for a flood prevention and improvement project in Phnom Penh. He said local officials must work to ensure the June 5 elections are free and fair.

If CPP wins the election, all people can live together. Now we have 17 parties participating in the election, he said. I wont  campaign, but I want to stress that we please dont allow any types of violence during the election process.

Earlier this month, the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, an electoral watchdog, criticized Hun Sen for appealing for votes while on official duty, a violation of the countrys election laws. A CPP spokesman said the prime minister was simply promoting his administrations accomplishments.

Cambodian authorities also barred 100 candidates from the emerging Candlelight Party from participating in the elections. The party, has been gaining steam despite a crackdown against it and other opposition parties.

On Wednesday, Hun Sen said that all political parties should have equal rights during the election, including parties that oppose his government.

I appeal to all places, to allow people to participate in the election so they can vote for their candidates freely, he said.

Hun Sen has made similar statements in the past, but the situation for his political opponents continues to worsen, Thach Setha, vice president of the Candlelight Party, told RFAs Khmer Service.

If he talks without taking any measures against the perpetrators [of violence], it cant guarantee a good election environment free from intimidation and assault, Thach Setha said, noting that many political activists remain in prison.

This needs to end to ensure that the election will be free and fair. Please stop using the court to issue warrants and summons to political opponents, he said.

On Monday, RFA reported that Seam Pluk, president of the National Heart Party, is in hiding after an arrest warrant for forgery of documents for June local elections was issued. Critics said his charges were trumped up amid a government crackdown on the opposition.

Hun Sens appeal Wednesday for fair elections will be ineffective without concrete action, Kang Savang, a monitor with the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, told RFA.

Several NGOs have asked the government to ensure a safe election environment, but the government has so far not acted on their request, Kang Savang said.

If there is only a message without an order toward the local authorities it is not enough, he said.

Opponents of the CPP have been targeted in a 5-year-old crackdown that has sent leaders of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) into exile and landed scores of its supporters in prison.

Cambodias Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP in November 2017 in a move that allowed the CPP to win all 125 seats in Parliament in a July 2018 election.

The June 5 election will decide who serves in a total of 11,622 seats in local districts known as communes across Cambodia.

Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Myanmar's junta chief and the Philippines' outgoing president are not expected to attend the Washington meeting.

This handout photo shows American President Joe Biden (center) taking part in the ASEAN-U.S. Summit on the sidelines of the 2021 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summits held online, during a live video conference in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, Oct. 26, 2021.

Updated at 7:36 p.m. EDT on 2022-04-20

President Joe Biden, keen to showcase American interest in Southeast Asia, has secured a date to celebrate 45 years of U.S. ties with the far-away region, but not all of ASEANs leaders are coming to the party.

Myanmars junta chief, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, wont be welcome because of the military coup he launched a year ago.

And Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who leaves office in June, is also expected to be a no-show. He has not visited Washington during his six years in office that have been characterized by turbulent relations with the United States.

The May 12-13 summit between the U.S. and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is an opportunity for Biden to forge a closer bilateral partnership with ASEAN and counter Chinas influence in the region. The White House is keen to advance its vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The summit will mark U.S.-ASEAN relations, which began in 1977. It will be only the second such summit with Southeast Asian leaders hosted by an American president in the United States. Barack Obama welcomed ASEAN leaders to the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in February 2016.

While next months meeting will therefore carry heavy symbolic value, it will make for some unusual diplomatic bedfellows for Biden.

Cambodias foreign ministry says that Prime Minister Hun Sen  whose government has faced U.S. sanctions for its suppression of democracy  will be there. Cambodia is the current rotating chair of the 10-nation bloc.

Of course, Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen, as the ASEAN rotating chair, will co-chair this summit with the president of the United States, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Chum Sounry told Radio Free Asia (RFA), the parent company of BenarNews.

He was using the honorific adopted by Hun Sen, who has ruled for 37 years. It translates roughly as glorious, supreme prime minister and powerful commander.

But officials indicated that Min Aung Hlaing  who recently awarded himself two of Myanmars highest honors for services to his country despite the current, violent chaos there  wont be invited to Washington.

The consensus among ASEAN is (that) Myanmar should be represented by a non-political representative, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah of Indonesia, which is the blocs coordinator for U.S.-ASEAN ties. He told BenarNews on Tuesday that Indonesian President Joko Widodo plans to attend.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah confirmed that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri will also join the summit. He further noted: I don't think Myanmar should be represented. I am not so sure if Washington invited Myanmar.

However in Bangkok, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the prime minister and ex-junta chief, was considering the journey to the U.S. capital.

In Washington on Wednesday, a State Department spokesperson said President Biden looked forwarding to welcoming ASEAN leaders for the special summit.

"The United States supports ASEANs decision to invite non-political representatives from Burma to high-level ASEAN events. We similarly have decided to invite a non-political representative from Burma to the summit. The regime has failed to make meaningful progress on ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus and should be held accountable," the spokesperson told Radio Free Asia.

ASEAN has been grappling with a 14-month-old crisis in Myanmar, where the Burmese juntas forces have bombed and burned swathes of the country to quell resistance to the militarys overthrow of an elected government in February 2021.

In late March, the junta blocked ASEAN envoy Prak Sokhonn, who is Cambodias foreign minister, from meeting with deposed Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, setting back efforts to forge a political resolution  and backtracking on a commitment the junta chief made to ASEAN to allow access to all stakeholders in the country. That commitment was part of a so-called Five-Point Consensus that ASEAN leaders and the Burmese junta chief agreed to during an emergency summit in Jakarta last April to discuss the post-coup crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN later excluded Min Aung Hlaing from its summit at the end of 2021 because of the junta's failure to deliver on its commitments to the consensus.

On Tuesday, the spokesman for the Myanmar military council said that Myanmar had not been invited so far to the Washington summit, and they would only attend anyway if they had equal representation.

If, as in the past, we could only attend with someone who does not hold political office, we absolutely would not attend any meeting. Our position is to engage only at equal rank, the spokesman, Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun, told RFA.

Myanmar has been subject to U.S. asset seizures and sanctions since the coup  including restrictions levied against Min Aung Hlaing himself.

No such restrictions are faced by Duterte. The Philippines is a U.S. treaty ally, meaning the two nations are committed to each others defense if they come under attack. The U.S. is bound to Thailand by a similar treaty.

But Duterte, who has sought closer relations with China despite recurring disputes in the South China Sea, has sworn repeatedly that he will never go to the U.S. At one time he even called America lousy.

BenarNews asked an aide to Duterte whether that position has changed in view of the upcoming summit, and was told it had not. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment to media about it.

Theres another reason for the Philippine leader to skip the Washington summit: The two-day meeting falls just three days after May 9 elections in the Philippines. It is customary for any Filipino leader to avoid foreign travel during an election season, particularly when the election is for the position they will be vacating.
The confirmation came as the U.S. National Security Council's Kurt Campbell led a delegation to Honiara.

(L-R) Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China October 9, 2019.

China and the Solomon Islands have both confirmed they signed a controversial security pact that has sparked concerns about Chinas rising influence in the Pacific region.

The confirmation came as a U.S. delegation led by the National Security Council Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell was heading to Honiara to discuss regional security issues.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told parliament on Wednesday that the agreement with China was to help with the countrys internal security situation, referring to recent unrest that saw businesses and buildings burned and looted.

The prime minister said the decision will not adversely impact or undermine the peace and harmony of our region.

Hours before that, a Chinese government spokesman said that the pact is part of normal exchanges and cooperation between two sovereign and independent countries and does not target any third party.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Solomon Islands counterpart Jeremiah Manele officially signed the document the other day.

China did not offer an explanation about whether the signed document is the final agreement.

Neither party has revealed any details of the deal, with Sogavare saying it would be disclosed after a "process."

Kurt M. Campbell, the Biden administrations coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, pictured official at the China Development Forum in Beijing, China March 23, 2019. At the time, Campbell was chairman and CEO of a consultancy, the Asia Group. Credit: Reuters. Lack of transparency

Solomon Islands neighbors Australia and New Zealand have repeatedly voiced concerns since a copy of the draft agreement was leaked online in March.

On Tuesday, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Pacific Minister Zed Seselja issued a joint statement saying Australia is deeply disappointed by the signing of the pact.

We are concerned about the lack of transparency with which this agreement has been developed, noting its potential to undermine stability in our region, the statement reads.

Seselja traveled to Honiara last week to urge the Solomon Islands prime Mminister not to sign the deal with Beijing, without success.

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said her country was "saddened" that the Solomon Islands had made the pact.

The U.S. also expressed concern over the lack of transparency in China's security pact with the Solomon Islands, calling it part of a pattern of Beijing offering "shadowy" deals to countries, Reuters news agency reported.

Two top U.S. officials for the Indo-Pacific region - Kurt Campbell and Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs - are currently in Fiji before traveling to Honiara to meet with the island nations leaders.

Campbell said in January that the U.S. has enormous moral, strategic, historical interests in the Pacific but had not done enough to assist the region.

Their trip has been criticized by China as having ulterior motives.

Several senior U.S. officials now fancy a visit to some Pacific island countries all of a sudden after all these years, said Chinese Foreign Ministrys Wang Wenbin, pointing out that the U.S. Embassy in Solomon Islands has been closed for 29 years.

This February, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Fiji to meet with Pacific island leaders, and announced that the embassy in Honiara would be reopened.

The Chinese national flag flies outside the Chinese Embassy in Honiara, Solomon Islands, April 1, 2022. Credit: AP. Military presence

China has maintained that Pacific island countries need to diversify their cooperation with other countries and have the right to independently choose their cooperation partners.

China is always a builder of peace and a promoter of stability in the South Pacific region, Wang said.

A draft copy of the security pact leaked onto social media in late March suggested there would be Chinese logistical hubs or bases in the island nation.

One of the clauses says: China may, according to its own needs and with the consent of Solomon Islands, make ship visits to, carry out logistical replenishment in, and have stopover and transition in Solomon Islands.

David Capie, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, told RFA that the security pact would allow Beijing to set up military bases and deploy troops in the Pacific island nation, marking the start of a much sharper military competition than anything weve seen in the region for decades.

Capie said that the agreement would allow the Peoples Republic of China to deploy police and military personnel to Solomon Islands with the consent of the host government, and potentially provide for refueling and support of Chinese ships.

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said earlier this week that the U.S. is concerned that the agreement leaves the door open for the deployment of Chinese forces on the Solomon Islands.

We believe that signing such an agreement could increase destabilization within the Solomon Islands and will set a concerning precedent for the wider Pacific island region," Price added.

Analysts say a presence of Chinese troops in the Solomon Islands could raise the risk of confrontation between China and the U.S. and its allies, as well as challenge the U.S.-led vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
Soldiers complain that they are too exhausted after winter exercises and political events in April.

North Korean soldiers train in the capital Pyongyang in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korea put its military in a wartime posturemobilizing troops and stepping up army political indoctrination in response to the semi-annual U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises that began this week, sources in the country told RFA.

The exercises are mostly computer simulations and involve cooperation between alliance command posts. But North Korea still views the exercises as a threat to its sovereignty, and its General Political Bureau has ordered the military to be ready for war.

Artillery and other important mission units were instructed to maintain a high state of readiness and conduct frequent inspections on their combat equipment so they could enter battle immediately in the event of a crisis, a military source in the northwestern province of North Pyongan told RFAs Korean Service Tuesday on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

During the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, commanders must not leave the areas under their jurisdiction. Soldiers in the units are prepared to mobilize in a ready state, day or night, he said.

But soldiers are exhausted, having just finished their grueling winter training sessions, where they toil as essentially free labor for the government on the premise of training, and coming off a major holiday full of political events, the source said.

They are angered by the authorities orders to immediately mobilize at a time when they lack fuel and materials, and they say the situation is not realistic, he said.

Authorities want soldiers not only to be ready on the physical battlefield, but also on the ideological battlefield, a military source in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.

From the 19th, political departments in all units were urged to use ideological education classes for high-ranking officials this coming Saturday, and daily mental education hours for soldiers, so that they can propagandize the tension of the current political situation, and confirm their determination to defend our supreme leader, he said, referring to the countrys leader Kim Jong Un.

The General Political Bureau has ordered the Korean Peoples Army newspapers, telecommunications, and the third broadcast within the military to put out intensive propaganda that shows the party and the militarys resolve, and our principled and ruthlessly super-hardline stance, the second soruce said.

Third broadcast refers to government-controlled loudspeakers that transmit messages or instructions to everyone they can reach.

The propaganda must emphasize the need to show the will of tens of millions of people to respond to the U.S.-South Korean war provocations with military action and not just words, the second source said.

In response to the orders  high-ranking officials and the soldiers below them complain that they are already tired from winter training and the various different political events concentrated in April. They wonder whether it makes sense to arm soldiers with the 1950 spirit of defending the motherland when what they want the most right now is adequate rest and enough food to eat, he said.

The source said the propaganda is essentially meaningless.

If you listen to the third broadcast inside the Korean Peoples Army, you will only hear songs on the theme of defending our leader. All day long, he said.

These songs include I will defend Gen. Kim Jong Un with my life, Our weapons dont forgive, and Leader, just give us an order. I dont understand why the authorities are obsessed with ideological education when the joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States happen every year.

The joint exercises will run through Friday, then break for the weekend, resuming April 25 and ending April 28, according to South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Hostilities in the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with an armistice agreement, but North and South Korea are technically still at war as no peace treaty has ever been signed.

Translated by Claire Lee and Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
The highway in the rugged Chittagong Hill Tracts and Coxs Bazar will help border guard work, officials say.

Bangladesh Border Guard personnel keep watch over Rohingya who are stuck in no mans land as they stop them from crossing over to the Bangladesh side of the border in Coxs Bazar, Aug. 27, 2017.

Bangladesh officials on Tuesday announced an extension until 2024 for a road-building project in the remote Chittagong Hill Tracts and Coxs Bazar, saying the improved infrastructure would help combat illegal smuggling across the nearby frontiers with Myanmar and India, among other uses.

An army-run initiative, which was to have wrapped up in June 2021, is being extended to June 2024 and will more than double in price, to 38.6 billion taka (U.S. $448 million), they said.

Bangladeshs southeast has 210 km (130 miles) of land border with Myanmar and 330 km (205 miles) with India. Insurgents, such as the Arakan Army from Myanmar, have slipped across the porous borders, according to an analyst, even attacking Bangladeshi border guards on at least one occasion.

On Tuesday, the National Economic Council Executive Committee, headed by the prime minister, approved the updated proposal for the road system in the hilly and largely inaccessible southeastern region, Shahedur Rahman, the planning ministrys spokesman, told BenarNews.

He said the project, approved at an earlier committee meeting, was supposed to finish by 2021, but would end in June 2024 after the extension approval. The system is to connect all roads along the bordering areas of four southeastern districts and ultimately link with the regions existing road system.

According to a copy of the updated proposal obtained by BenarNews, the roads and highways department is to build a 317-km (197-mile) border road in three districts in the Chittagong Hill Tracts  Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban  and Coxs Bazar district along its frontiers with Myanmar and northeastern Indian states.

The hills and dense forest in the region hamper Border Guard Bangladesh efforts. In 2020, the government for the first time acquired two helicopters for the BGB along the southeastern border.

There is no road in this highly inaccessible and hilly region; our soldiers need to walk at least eight hours to cross 1 km. The distance between two BGB border outposts in this region ranges between 4 and 6 km, depending on terrain, Lt Col. Foyzur Rahman, the BGB operations director, told BenarNews.

Construction of the border road would enable our soldiers to reach one outpost to another very easily and quickly, making guarding the border[s] an easier task. The smuggling of arms and narcotics would stop, he said.

Many security considerations

The original timeline for the road ran from January 2018 to June 2021 and set the project cost at nearly 17 billion taka ($197 million), according to the document. But that deadline passed before the project was finished  the government estimates more than 30 percent of the project has been completed.

The new timeline runs through June 2024 and increases the cost.

A.K.M. Manir Hossain Pathan, chief engineer of the roads and highways department, said his department had been constructing the border road system with assistance from the armys engineering corps.

The border road involved many security considerations which the roads and highways department engineers are not supposed to be involved with. Therefore, we have been implementing the project through the Bangladesh Army, he told BenarNews.

The inaccessible hilly terrain has slowed the implementation of the border road project. Getting machines, construction materials and the engineers and workers [to] the site is a herculean task so the projects deadline has been extended to June 2024, he said.

In addition to the road project, the proposal calls for establishing improved communication links in Rangamati, Bandarban, Khagrachhari and Coxs Bazar districts and establishing government control in the bordering areas through heightening security measures.

Such measures would be used to combat the smuggling of illegal arms, narcotics and human trafficking at the border, it said.

The proposal also says construction of helipads and security enclosures have been added to the original project.

Cross-border infiltration

Separatist groups have taken advantage of the rugged and remote terrain. On Aug. 25, 2015, a group of Arakan Army insurgents from the other side of the Myanmar border attacked BGB in Bandarban district, injuring two soldiers.

The border road would benefit Bangladesh, said retired Maj. Gen. K. Mohammad Ali Sikder, a security analyst.

The terrain along the border in Chittagong Hill Tracts and Coxs Bazar has been very tough and inaccessible. Exploiting this tough hilly terrain, the cross-border criminal syndicates carry out smuggling of arms, narcotics and other contraband while different separatist groups move freely between countries, he told BenarNews.

The members of the Arakan Army very often enter Bangladesh territory from Myanmar as the BGB members cannot guard all the time, and the anti-Bangladesh groups easily cross into Myanmar, he said. After completion of the road, the movement of the criminals and separatist groups would stop.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service.
The shadow government is offering cash for troops who defect with their vehicles.

A reward program offered by Myanmars shadow National Unity Government (NUG) to junta soldiers who defect with jets, helicopters and other vehicles is likely to test the loyalty of the militarys lower ranks, according to former servicemen.

Earlier this month, the NUG announced that it was offering cash rewards of up to U.S. $300,000 equivalent to any soldier who destroys an army, navy or air force assault vehicle or aircraft, or up to U.S. $500,000 to anyone who defects to the opposition along with one.

Naing Htoo Aung, the permanent secretary of NUGs Defense Ministry, said at the time that the rewards program is intended to provide guarantees in life for those soldiers who turn against the junta.

We have learned that there are many soldiers who want to defect from their units and join the peoples forces, he said, adding that the military vehicles are being used to attack the public.

We hope this announcement will encourage them to defect more. We believe the rate of defection will increase every day.

Capt. Kaung Thu Win, a military officer who joined the anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), agreed that rank and file soldiers are likely to jump at such an opportunity, although he acknowledged that it would be difficult for them to abscond with the vehicles intact.

It could be challenging to bring aircraft or fighter jets to another location. For example, fighter jets need a [special] landing strip. The helicopters are also limited in their range, depending on their capacity. Even tanks are difficult to take long distances, he told RFA.

It is more realistic to expect them to destroy them. And they should only receive the rewards if they can show evidence that they have destroyed the vehicles and defected.

According to the NUG announcement, soldiers are eligible for cash rewards equal to U.S. $100,000 for destroying fighter jet fuel tanks, as well as weapon factories and storage facilities.

Repeated calls to junta Deputy Information Minister Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment on the rewards program went unanswered.

Thein Tun Oo, executive director of the Thayninga Institute of Strategic Studies, a group of former military officers from Myanmar, called the offer impractical and unrealistic.

There are several measures in place that make it difficult to steal military vehicles, let alone destroy them. There are hierarchies of command that monitor the members of each unit, he told RFA.

To be frank, this announcement is just for propaganda purposes. When the opposition forces take up arms to fight, they will do anything to defeat the enemy, regardless of whether it is right or wrong. As for whether these tactics will work or not, it depends on their purpose and the impact they have.

Capt. Lin Htet Aung said that regardless of its impact on the outcome of the conflict, the NUGs reward offer will cause soldiers from all levels of the military to question their loyalty to the junta.

This announcement could stir up the members of elite forces. Those who are operating the vehicles will have thoughts to consider. It will also stir up distrust among the members of the military, he said.

The military is already facing a moral crisis and losing loyalty among its members. The top ranking officers will strictly punish any infraction that occurs after this announcement.

According to Pyithu Yinkwin (Peoples Embrace), a group of CDM members made up of former military personnel, nearly 3,000 soldiers have joined the CDM since the Feb. 1, 2021, coup that saw the junta seize power from the democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

Junta tanks take part in an Armed Forces Day parade in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, March 27, 2022. AFP Misuse of public property

In a recent interview, NUG Defense Minister Yee Mon told RFA that the announcement of the rewards program was justified under Myanmars Public Property Act of 1947, which prevents against the misuse of public property.

The junta is currently misusing military facilities, which are public property, to wage violence against and kill the people, he said, adding that the president of a new civilian government would put new laws into place to ensure such violations do not happen again.

Yee Mon responded to critics who doubt the feasibility of NUGs announcement by noting that helicopters dont need landing strips, and suggesting airports will be under PDF control sooner or later to accommodate any stolen fighter jets.

In the meantime, opposition forces  comprised largely of Peoples Defense Force (PDF) paramilitaries  are being armed with factory-made standard arms and IEDs that we made ourselves, as well as weapons bought using a budget of U.S. $34 million, and others seized from junta troops.

We have enough weapons to meet the minimum requirements for the PDF forces, he said, without providing further details.

Yee Mon said that the armed opposition now numbers between 50,000 and 100,000 soldiers from the PDF and other allied anti-junta groups formed into 259 military battalions, as well as fighting units based in 250 townships across the country. RFA was unable to independently verify the ministers claims.

The majority of these groups are working with NUG  and we are ready to defeat the military junta, he said. Now we are working on the next step in terms of surrounding and controlling some towns.

The defense minister said that the NUG has no plans to negotiate with the junta, as long as it upholds an authoritarian system and mindset.

With regards to the future of the military, which is under its control, it is up to their soldiers to decide, he said. They can choose either to completely disband the military or reform it into forces that comply with the command of a civilian government. If the latter, the window for negotiations remains open.

Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Such laws are an existential threat to the freedom of expression in Vietnam, says Amnestys Ming Yu Hah.

Vietnamese activist La Viet Dung holds up a phone with the screen displaying an open letter to Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg suggesting his company may be colluding with communist authorities to scrub out online dissent, in Vietnam's capital Hanoi, April 10, 2018.

An international rights group condemned the Vietnamese governments plan to adopt new regulations to tighten control over social media platforms in the communist one-party country where leaders already have little tolerance for public criticism or dissent.

The planned amendments to existing law will require social media companies like Facebook and TikTok to remove content and services deemed illegal within 24 hours, block illegal livestreams within three hours of notice, and immediately remove content that endangers national security, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Companies that do not comply with the requirements risk having their social media platforms banned in Vietnam, the report said, adding that it is expected that Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will sign the new regulations in May.

The Vietnamese government is finalizing the amendments for June 2013 decree on the management, provision and use of internet services and online information for both domestic and foreign companies and individuals.

The government has been using the decree to ask companies that run popular social media platforms in Vietnam to take down anti-government content.

Human rights organizations expressed concern that the restrictive internet environment in Vietnam will become worse under the new regulations.

In Vietnam, social media, including Facebook, is one of very few places for local people to express their opposition, said Ming Yu Hah, deputy regional director of campaigns in East and Southeast Asia for London-based Amnesty International. They face the risk of being imprisoned for years if their posts are deemed to violate the law.

Such harsh laws are an existential threat to the freedom of expression in Vietnam, she added.

Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter are popular foreign social media platforms in the Southeast Asian country, used by citizens to express their opinions of and dissatisfaction with the government and politics. However, many Vietnamese have been sent to prison for their expressing their opinions via social media.

In March, for instance, RFA reported that a court in Hanoi sentenced independent journalist and activist Le Van Dung to five years in prison for discussing political and socioeconomic issues in livestreamed videos on social media.

Reuters said that Vietnams communications and foreign ministries did not respond to requests for comment. Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc., which owns YouTube and Google, and Twitter Inc. declined to comment. TikTok, owned by Chinas ByteDance Ltd., said it will continue to comply with applicable local laws and would remove content that violates platform guidelines.

For years, the Vietnamese government has demonstrated its desire to control foreign social media platforms via the decree passed in 2013 and a cybersecurity law that entered into effect in 2019.

In November 2020, Facebook announced that it had been forced to increase content censorship as requested by the Vietnamese government, after being threatened with a ban if it did not comply.

The move drew heavy criticism from rights groups that have accused social media companies of putting profits before human rights and the freedom of expression.

Amnestys Ming Yu Hah called on social media companies to protest the forthcoming regulation and put human rights above profits and market access rights.

About 60 million-70 million Vietnamese use Facebook, generating about U.S. $1 billion in annual revenue for its parent company, according to the Reuters report. YouTube has 60 million users in the country, while TikTok has 20 million.

Open letter to Biden

In a related development, more than 40 NGOs and 40 individuals signed an open online letter to U.S. President Joe Biden, calling for him to raise concern with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a U.S.-ASEAN Summit in mid-May about the governments antagonistic policies toward religions that do not submit to government control.

Of particular concern is the intensifying state-directed and state-supported propaganda that promotes hate speech and incites violence against religious and lay leaders with real and deeply disturbing consequences, the letter says.

The letter says organized mobs known as Red Flag Associations have used social media to slander Catholic priests, characterize respected monks of the Unified Buddhist Churchs Sangha as bad forces who distorted the nature of religious freedom in Vietnam, and call on the government to eliminate the Montagnard Evangelical Church of Christ in Dak Lak province.

So far, Red Flag members have enjoyed complete impunity, the letter says. Their messages promoting hatred and violence have rapidly multiplied throughout Vietnams society.

Certain government units also have incited hatred against ethno-religious minorities, including the Department of Public Security of Gia Lai Province, which characterizes Montagnards who have converted to Catholicism as a cult and in December 2020 declared that it had completed the heretical religion.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee singled out the Red Flag Associations as a source of incitement to hatred and violence following a review of Vietnams implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 2019.

In light of this worrying trend, we ask that you communicate directly to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam and urge his government to comply fully with both Article 18 of the ICCPR, which guarantees the right to religious freedom or belief, as well as with the requirement of Article 20 that incitement to violence be prohibited by law, the letter says.

On Monday, a coalition of Vietnamese NGOs and individuals issued an open letter to U.N. member states, asking them not to elect Vietnam to the U.N. Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term.

Among the organizations that signed the letter were the Vietnam Human Rights Network, Defend the Defenders, Assembly for Democracy of Vietnam, Humanistic Socialist Party, the Great Viet Party, Vietnam Democracy Federation, the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam, and Vietnam Democracy Radio.

They noted that Vietnam voted against a U.N. General Assembly resolution on April 7 to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council over its invasion of Ukraine, which has killed thousands of people.

Before looking for membership of the council, the Vietnamese government must improve its human rights record, strictly enforce international human rights conventions on human rights, and contribute to the international community to build a peaceful and prosperous world, the open letter says.

Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
A court in Vietnams Ho Chi Minh City on Monday sentenced 12 Vietnamese to prison terms of from three to 13 years on charges of supporting an exile group accused of attempting to overthrow the government in a trial described by defense attorneys as violating legal principles.

Nine of the cases were drawn from separate parts of the country, jeopardizing standards of fairness in the trial, defense attorney Nguyen Van Mieng told RFA in an interview after the sentences were handed down.

This trial violated legal procedures, as it gathered nine cases from different provinces and cities and then combined them in a single trial, Mieng said. These 12 people had no relationships or links with each other, he added.

Defendant Tran Thi Ngoc Xuan, who received a 13-year prison term and was described by prosecutors as the most active member of the alleged plot, was acquainted with only two of the others brought to trial, Mieng said.

However, she had no close ties with either of them. They simply knew each other and did not work together as members of a team," he said.

Prosecutors had charged the group with carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the government under Article 109 of Vietnams Penal Code and with recruiting others to join the Provisional Government of Vietnam, a U.S.-based opposition group described by Vietnamese authorities as a terrorist organization.

Speaking to RFA, Mieng said however that the defendants had only thought they were joining projects aimed at helping the countrys poor.

In general, these 12 defendants are all poor and not well-educated, Mieng said. Therefore, when hearing from an online source about 18 programs providing land and houses carried out by the U.N. in cooperation with an interim government, they registered their names and encouraged others to participate.

And then they were arrested, he said.

Only Xuan declared her innocence at trial, with the others pleading guilty and asking for leniency from the court, Mieng said. Only Xuan had been able to hire a lawyer, while the other defendants were represented by lawyers assigned by the court, he added.

Xuan, who has already spent two years in pre-trial detention, will now consider filing an appeal of her sentence, which must be filed within 15 days, Mieng said.

Based in Orange County, California, the Provisional Government of Vietnam was founded in 1991 by former soldiers and refugees loyal to the South Vietnamese government that existed before the countrys takeover by North Vietnam in 1975.

The group was designated a terrorist organization by Vietnamese authorities in January 2018 after group members in Vietnam were charged with a plot to attack Tan Son Nhat International Airport with petrol bombs ahead of a major holiday the year before.

At least 18 Vietnamese have been jailed in recent years for alleged involvement with the group.

Repeated attempts by RFA to contact representatives of the Provisional Government of Vietnam for comment have gone unanswered.

Translated by Anna Vu for RFAs Vietnamese Service. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Welcome back to the China In Eurasia briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter tracking Chinas resurgent influence from Eastern Europe to Central Asia.

Im RFE/RL correspondent Reid Standish and heres what Im following right now.

China wont be an economic lifeline for Russia as it grapples with Western sanctions from its invasion of Ukraine.

In fact, as a recent report from RFE/RLs Tatar-Bashkir Service found, fallout from the war could see Chinese investment all but disappear from large parts of the country.

Finding Perspective: Chinese investment has been stalling for years in Russias Bashkortostan -- a Russian republic located some 1,300 kilometers east of Moscow.

While ties remain strong at the top between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, they look far different on the ground in more rural parts of Russia.

RFE/RLs Tatar-Bashkir Service found a litany of projects green lit over the years that exist only on paper and are currently derailed by a range of setbacks -- from budget issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic to local protests over lax environmental standards for investments to sweeping Western sanctions against Russia following the Kremlins invasion of Ukraine.

Western sanctions, which are already showing signs of scaring off Chinese investors from the Russian market, could further impede the already troubled projects in Bashkortostan and other parts of the country that are far-removed from the technology and energy sectors that traditionally attract Chinese capital.

Why It Matters: There are few reasons to be optimistic about Russias economic future.

Beijing has been quietly enforcing Western sanctions and moving cautiously to avoid any violations.

But while China is unlikely to prop up the Russian economy, it is expected to make opportunistic moves -- such as buying up discount oil and acquiring new market space left by Western companies who have withdrawn from the country -- once it becomes clear how to better comply with the sanctions.

As Vsevolod Spivak, an economist from the Russian city of Ufa told my colleagues: The attractiveness of the Russian economy has obviously already fallen. But China is one of the few countries whose government is [willing] to enter the empty niches of our market, despite [the] risks.

Read More

 Despite the economic roadblocks, Chinese officials continue to pump up their warm ties with Russia. Qin Gang, Chinas ambassador to the United States, defended them in a recent op-ed in the National Interest and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng assured Andrei Denisov, Russias ambassador to China that they would continue their strategic coordination.

 Beijing believes that the war in Ukraine serves as a welcome diversion for the United States, which would otherwise have its attention set fully on China, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told the Financial Times.

 While Russian propaganda networks went into overdrive to spread conspiracy theories over atrocities committed by Russian forces in the Ukrainian village of Bucha, experts at the Alliance for Securing Democracy found that Chinese state-run media and officials helped to amplify their efforts.

Expert Corner: War In Ukraine And The Power Balance In Central Asia

Readers asked: Will the war in Ukraine lead to more countries in Central Asia turning away from Russia and toward China?

To find out more, I asked Temur Umarov, a fellow at the Moscow Carnegie Center:

Central Asia is already seeing Russias actions in Ukraine as proof that Moscow is not the source of stability that it was for years, and is instead, a source of risk for the region. So these governments will try their best to diversify their ties and distance themselves as much as possible from Russia, especially when it comes to economics.

When it comes to more sensitive areas, like security and political ties, China is the main alternative that comes to mind, so China will definitely be able to increase its influence and better pursue its interests.

But we also shouldnt overestimate Chinas real influence in domestic politics in Central Asia. This isnt something that can be created overnight. Even if China wants to replace Russia in Central Asia -- which it doesnt -- it doesnt have the tools to do that. China doesnt have the same level of understanding in the region as Russia does and there isnt the same analytical or expert community that has its finger on the pulse of Central Asia.

Do you have a question about Chinas growing footprint in Eurasia? Send it to me at StandishR@rferl.org or reply directly to this e-mail and Ill get it answered by leading experts and policymakers.

Three More Stories From Eurasia

1. An 'Inadvertent Empire'

Chinas outsized sway in Central Asia is the focus of the recently released Sinostan, a new book from Raffaello Pantucci and Alexandros Petersen, who argue that, while the region is becoming more attached to China, it is happening with little central direction from Beijing for how to wield this newfound influence.

What You Need To Know: The inadvertent empire idea was born out of the fact that, when we looked on the ground, we could see that China was the most consequential player, Pantucci told me during an interview, but it was equally clear that there wasn't anyone in Beijing that had a strategic vision.

This characteristic of Chinese power in Central Asia is important to keep in mind as the war in Ukraine changes the political landscape across Eurasia. Russia has traditionally been the main external player willing to step in and deal with the regions problems, especially when it comes to security.

But with the war showing no signs of slowing down, its uncertain if Moscow could continue to play this role, or if it would be welcome to do so by countries in the region. Moreover, it doesnt look like China is eager to supplant it.

The story of China's increased influence will only [grow] now, Pantucci said. But one main question is what happens when problems erupt. I don't know if China would be willing to step up to fix things.

2. Special Delivery

Serbia received a semisecret delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system amid growing Western concerns about an arms buildup in the Balkans, Mila Durdevic from RFE/RLs Balkan Service reported.

What It Means: The arrival of the FK-3 medium range anti-aircraft systems from China comes at a time of high tensions in the region following Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Belgrade has close relations with both Moscow and Beijing and looks to also balance its ties with the United States and the European Union.

But there are fears in the West that the arming of Serbia by Russia and China could encourage the Balkan country toward another war, especially against its former province of Kosovo, which proclaimed independence in 2008.

Serbia is treading carefully amid the war in Ukraine. Belgrade voted in favor of UN resolutions that condemn Russian attacks, but it has refused to join international sanctions against Moscow.

One outcome of this maneuvering, according to the Belgrade Center for Security Policys Vuk Vuksanovic, could be Serbia leaning more heavily on China.

It is an indicator and confirmation that, when all eyes are on Russia and when Serbia is under pressure to lower its ties with Moscow, China has become Serbia's primary partner in the east, he said.

3. The View From Vilnius

My colleague Sashko Shevchenko from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service sat down with Laima Andrikiene, the chair of the Lithuanian parliaments foreign affairs committee, for a wide-ranging interview.

Here are some notable excerpts as the conversation touched on Chinese foreign policy, Lithuanias diplomatic spat with Beijing over opening a Taiwan trade office, and relations between China and the EU.

On The Taipei Trade Office: Lithuania is not going to move backwards, we will move forward, and our representative office in Taipei will be open in the coming months. We already have our premises for our office [and] we are in the process of selecting the person to run that office. So, we are looking forward to our cooperation with Taiwan, our investments and trade, and joint-research in different fields [because] we know that it will be successful.

On Chinas Economic Pressure Against Lithuania: From what I understand, the Chinese are well aware that we did not violate any rules of the [World Trade Organization] or [our] agreements signed with [Beijing]. So the [legal] case about China's pressure against Lithuania, which is tabled by the European Commission on behalf of the European Union, is not only revealing about [China], but about the reality for us and the [EU]. We are ready to cooperate with China, but we will never ever allow China to dominate [us.]

On The Changing Mood About China: If you compare Chinese investment in Lithuania [with] how much Lithuanian businesses have invested in China, [youll see that] small Lithuania invested 10 times more in China than they did in our country. So we were pioneers [and] are again in a way. For years, we were focusing on China, but it was the wrong approachnow we are building Chinese-free supply chains because they are using this tool against us.

Across The Supercontinent

Wind Power: As conversation in Europe shifts to finding alternatives to relying on Russian energy, wind renewables are an attractive option. Although, as my colleagues Milos Teodorovic and Mila Durdevic from RFE/RLs Balkan Service report, that could mean navigating a complex web of Chinese investment.

Broken Bonds: The head of the Russian Academy of Sciences announced that their Chinese counterparts have suspended scientific cooperation and frozen joint projects over sanctions fears, RFE/RLs Russian Service reports.

A Less Great Beyond: Amid a flurry of sanctions against Russias economy, its space industry is also suffering as it is cut off from vital foreign-made components. This could lead to a greater dependence on China, which is already pulling ahead of Russia when it comes to space, Konstantin Sergeev from RFE/RLs Russian Service reports.

Down But Not Out: After Imran Khan was ousted via a no-confidence vote, Pakistan has a new prime minister, Shahbaz Sharif, who has long-standing working ties with Beijing. My colleague Abubakar Siddique looks at whats next for Khan, Sharif, and the South Asian country of 220 million.

The Xinjiang Picket: A Kazakh court fined activist Baibolat Kunbolatuly after he had previously been detained outside the Chinese Consulate as part of long-standing pickets demanding the release of ethnic Kazakhs from internment camps and prisons in Xinjiang, Ayan Kalmurat from RFE/RLs Kazakh Service reports.

One Thing To Watch

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded its growth forecast for China this year to 4.4 percent, well below what Beijing aims to achieve, as widespread lockdowns from COVID-19 and Russias invasion of Ukraine increase pressure on the worlds second-largest economy.

This is the second time that the IMF has slashed its forecast for China in three months and it means that Beijing wont meet its 2022 growth target of 5.5 percent, which could create further challenges for Chinas leadership in a year when Xi is seeking a third term in office.

Thats all from me for now. Dont forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you might have.

Until next time,

Reid Standish

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your in-box on the first and third Wednesdays of each month.
Ukrainian authorities braced for an expected intensification of Russian attacks ahead of the Victory Day holiday on May 9, while officials on both sides said the civilian evacuation of a besieged steel factory in Mariupol had been completed, although the fate of the remaining fighters there is unclear.

Ukrainian officials declared on May 7 that all women, children, and elderly people had been evacuated from the massive Azovstal steel plant that has been under attack for weeks by Russian forces amid the ruins of the port city.

"The President's order has been carried out: All women, children, and the elderly have been evacuated from Azovstal," Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement on social media.



This part of the Mariupol humanitarian mission has been completed," she added without elaborating.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy later said that a second stage of the evacuation would now take place, with the wounded and medical personnel being take out.

He said work would continue on May 8 to secure on all humanitarian corridors to allow those in and around the city who want to leave to get a way out. He added that Kyiv was attempting to get the last fighters out of the steel plant, but that it was extremely difficult.

Fears are rising that a final, bloody showdown between the Ukrainian fighters and Russian troops could ignite if the defenders are not allowed to be evacuated from the factory.

The evacuation of the Azovstal steel mill intensified over the past two days, even as Russia has continued to batter the facility and the strategic city, which is now mainly in ruins.



Russia is seeking to complete its takeover of the region and build a land bridge between Crimea -- which it illegally annexed in 2014  and territory controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.



Mariupol has taken the worst of the fighting in Ukraine since Russian troops were forced to retreat around Kyiv and other cities in the north.

Before the weekend, an estimated 200 civilians had been hiding within the massive steel plant along with an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian defenders.



The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross have desperately been attempting to organize evacuations from the site.

Russian officials also later issued a statement saying that the civilian evacuation of the steel plant had been completed.



The fate of the fighters remains unclear.



Russia, meanwhile, claimed its Iskander missiles destroyed a Ukrainian cache of weaponry that had been supplied by the United States and Europe and that high-precision missiles had destroyed Ukrainian aircraft at airfields in the Artsyz, Odesa, and Voznesensk regions.

Oleskiy Arestovych, a top adviser to Zelenskiy, claimed on May 7 that Ukraine had made battlefield advances in the east, just two days before Russia holds ceremonies to mark Victory Day, the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Russian President Vladimir Putins speech on May 9 will be closely watched to see if he will announce a general mobilization or some other major strategic shift, in a bid to turn the tide of the war, now in its 73rd day.

The top human rights representative of the Council of Europe has deplored Moscows actions in its invasion, saying that every Ukrainian who has suffered human rights violations at Russian hands deserves justice.



"Each of them deserves justice and must not be forgotten," Dunja Mijatovic said in a statement following a four-day visit to Kyiv, adding that the extent of human rights violations was staggering.

In the early weeks after the February 24 invasion, Russian forces were thwarted in their attempts to seize Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, suffering heavy losses of personnel and equipment. Commanders then later withdrew units from areas near Kyiv and repositioned them to the Donbas.

Russias last official tally of its military deaths was 1,351. Western officials, however, say the toll is at least 15,000, and Ukrainian officials claim the tally exceeds 20,000. Zelenskiy said last month that between 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed, though that figure is believed to be an undercount.

Ukraines General Staff, meanwhile, said in its daily assessment that Russian activity was relatively quiet overnight, limited to military reconnaissance and artillery fire.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

Near Izyum, where there has been major back-and-forth fighting, drones were repeatedly detected overflying defense positions, the report said. Kharkiv was also hit by artillery.

Kherson, which is located north of Crimea, well outside of the Donbas, has been contested for weeks now, though Russian forces have claimed control of the region's main city, and a top Russian politician visited Kherson city on May 6.

Russias Defense Ministry said on May 6 that its forces were continuing to advance on positions in the Donbas, and had destroyed an ammunition depot in Kramatorsk and shot down two Ukrainian warplanes.

On May 7, the ministry said its forces hit 18 Ukrainian military facilities overnight, including three ammunition depots near the port city of Odesa. It also said Russian forces destroyed a stockpile of military equipment from the United States and European countries near a railway station in the Kharkiv region.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov was quoted by Russian media as saying that "a heavy concentration of weapons and combat hardware delivered from the U.S. and Western countries, as well as military personnel of the 58th Mechanized Infantry Brigade of Ukraines armed forces, have been eliminated with Iskander operational-tactical missile systems" near railway stations in the Kharkiv region.



It wasn't clear what the weaponry was exactly, or when it might have been delivered and the claims could not be independently confirmed.

Ukrainian military officials confirmed on May 7 that at least four Russian cruise missiles had been fired into the Odesa region and the city's main airport. Local officials said a curfew would be set in the region from 10 p.m. on May 8 until 5 a.m. on May 9.

Ukraine's successes against Russian forces have been due in large part to the major supplies of weaponry provided by the United States and Europe-- weaponry that increasingly includes offensive armaments like heavy artillery, howitzers, and tanks.

Russia has repeatedly warned NATO that its weapons supply convoys could be targeted, but has so far not taken any steps to do that.

Russian forces had been closing in on the last contingent of Ukrainian troops holding out at the sprawling Azovstal steel works factorys extensive tunnels and bunkers in the port city of Mariupol.

Ukrainian officials said on May 6 that several dozen civilians were evacuated from Azovstal, while at least another 50 reportedly left early on May 7 before Vereshchuks announcement that all women, children, and the elderly had left the site.

Separately, the Ukrainian military said on May 7 that it had destroyed a Russian landing ship near Snake Island in the Black Sea, hitting it with an armed drone. There was no immediate comment from Russia.



In mid-April, Russia's Black Sea Fleet flagship, the Moskva, sank near Snake Island after being hit by what was believed to have been a Ukrainian missile. Russia denies a missile strike, saying only that a fire onboard caused the ship to sink.

For the first time since the invasion, the UN Security Council approved a brief resolution expressing "deep concern" about the situation in Ukraine.

However, the text, which was adopted on May 6 with Russias vote, did not mention a war, conflict, or invasion -- as many council members call Russias military action -- or a special military operation as Moscow refers to it.

"The Security Council expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine," it read.

With reporting by AP and dpa
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Thousands of people have been lining up at Kyiv's main post office to buy a stamp honoring defiant Ukrainian border guards on Snake Island. In February, they refused to surrender to the Russian warship, the Moskva, which has since sunk.
Across Ukraine, moves are being made to "de-Russify," with names of streets being changed and statues removed. Three cities have even taken down statues of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. The authorities in Kharkiv, which has been under intense Russian bombardment since late February, are considering similar measures. Local historian and journalist Pylyp Dykan explained why.
Post-Soviet Ukraine's first wartime leader has cited monumental stakes for Europe in the "bloody, difficult, and dramatic" suffering his country is enduring from Russia's all-out invasion.

Ex-Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk also welcomed a crucial shift among Western political mindsets since he came to office in the shadow of Russia's initial aggression eight years ago -- one that he thinks "has turned the tide" in favor of Ukraine and democratic forces in Europe.

In a wide-ranging interview from an undisclosed location in Ukraine with RFE/RL's Georgian Service, Yatsenyuk, who served as prime minister between 2014 and 2016, warned of "very bloody and severe battles" as Russian forces seek control over Donetsk, Luhansk, and other parts of eastern Ukraine seven weeks into the war.

The 47-year-old political veteran also noted that Germany is paying a price for its misguided policies on Russia and said that if Russian President Vladimir Putin succeeds in Ukraine, "Georgia and Moldova will be next."

Yatsenyuk credited a staunch Ukrainian military resilience, a united Western response, and the failings of a "completely corrupted and outdated...so-called modernized Russian military" for thwarting Moscow's initial war plans.

[Putin] was completely convinced that the Western world is fragile, and the response to this kind of brutal aggression against Ukraine [would be] weak, dull, and ineffective."

But he warned of terrible suffering still to come for Ukrainians.

"We have just two options: to win or to lose; to survive or to be exterminated by Russians," Yatsenyuk said.

"I strongly believe that the victory will come," he added, calling Ukraine's defense a "righteous war. I do understand that this is a very bloody, difficult, dramatic route."

Yatsenyuk called the Ukrainian defenses "one of the biggest examples in the contemporary world of really heroic actions" and said the sinking last week of the guided-missile cruiser the Moskva, Russia's Black Sea flagship, is "an ominous and bad sign for Putin."

Moscow and Kyiv said on April 18-19 that Russian forces had launched a new phase of their operations in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has exhorted Ukrainian defenders to fight on as his armed forces cited "intensified offensive operations along the entire line of contact" that has mostly separated Russia-backed separatists from Ukrainian forces in Luhansk and Donetsk since 2014.

Germany has to realize that in the short term, they need to pay the price. And this price is nothing compared with the price Ukrainians are paying."

Russia's Defense Ministry said on April 19 that it had struck more than 1,200 targets and downed a Ukrainian MiG-29, claims that could not immediately be confirmed.

Yatsenyuk cited indications that the Kremlin hoped to achieve any victory by the May 9 anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany that ended World War II in Europe, a date that Russians and Ukrainians commemorated together for decades before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

While he might question official figures showing majority Russian support for Putin or his "special military operation" in Ukraine, Yatsenyuk said he doesn't "distinguish" between Putin and his supporters, whom he described as "the same criminals."

"I don't question the general mood of the Russian people. And the general mood is anti-Ukrainian, anti-Western, anti-freedom. This is the axis of evil. And it's not just Putin, because it wasn't Putin fighting in Irpin or Bucha, killing innocent Ukrainians. It isn't Putin in Mariupol. These are his soldiers. But they are Russians," Yatsenyuk said.

WATCH: Ukrainian soldiers have dug in and are bracing for battle in the eastern Luhansk region as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russian forces have launched their offensive in the Donbas. RFE/RL reporter Maryan Kushnir visited the Ukrainian trenches outside the town of Kreminna on April 18.

The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, said on April 18 that more than 5 million Ukrainians have so far fled their country since the invasion began on February 24. Another 215,000 third-country nationals have escaped Ukraine, according to the UN's migration authority, most of them students and migrant workers.

Death and other casualty figures on both sides are difficult to ascertain amid the ongoing fighting. Ukraine has said that around 3,000 of its soldiers have been killed, while Russia has officially stated that fewer than 2,000 soldiers have died, despite mounting evidence that the number is much greater.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) by April 18 had recorded 2,072 civilian deaths and another 2,818 injured in what many observers warn is a wild underrepresentation, given the lack of access to war zones.

Yatsenyuk, who took office after public unrest ousted a pro-Moscow president and government in Kyiv in February 2014 and served as prime minister until April 2016, predicted that Putin and Russia's tactics would echo their recent military campaigns elsewhere.

He cited the widespread destruction in Grozny, in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya, as well as in Aleppo, where Russian forces propped up Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, and in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, a strategic Black Sea coastal city that had around 500,000 residents before Russian encirclement and the accompanying humanitarian disaster.

WATCH: The port city of Mariupol was home to 400,000 people before Russia's invasion. It has been under siege by Russian troops and under constant shelling for more than 50 days. The city has been reduced to rubble, amid claims by Russia that it now has near complete control. Thousands of civilians are believed to have died and tens of thousands remain trapped in the city.

"In the Kyiv suburbs, in Mariupol, in Chernihiv, in Kharkiv -- the tactics of the Russian military are very clear: to kill everyone and to destroy everything," Yatsenyuk said. "So that's the reason why a supply of lethal defensive and offensive weapons -- and I want to...[emphasize] offensive weapons -- is desperately needed for the Ukrainian military."

International prosecutors have launched war crimes investigations over Russian actions in Ukraine amid widespread bombardment of civilian targets, reports of rape and other crimes, and accusations -- including by U.S. President Joe Biden -- that Russia is committing "genocide" against Ukrainians.

In these dramatic and challenging times, it was so important for the Ukrainian people, and for the people of Georgia and Moldova, to show real unity, to stay as one united front."

Putin on April 18 issued a decree honoring a brigade accused by Kyiv of committing war crimes while it occupied the town of Bucha, where Ukrainian forces who retook the town discovered bound corpses and other evidence of atrocities.

Yatsenyuk welcomed what he said was "a tremendous change in Western politics," also crediting U.S., U.K., and EU support for Kyiv.

"That's what Putin didn't expect. And this was a very big misjudgment on his side," said Yatsenyuk, who took office in 2014 as Russia occupied Crimea ahead of its annexation weeks later, despite widespread international condemnation. "He was completely convinced that the Western world is fragile, and the response to this kind of brutal aggression against Ukraine [would be] weak, dull, and ineffective. The West has changed its policy towards Russia; it has turned the tide."

And while he said his "wishful thinking" suggested the change was "irreversible," he acknowledged "some minor doubts" as a veteran politician.

Yatsenyuk singled out worrying signs like Hungarian ties to Russia -- underscored by Budapest's refusal to join EU-wide sanctions against Moscow and a recently restated commitment to Russian gas and oil imports -- and support in the ongoing French election for "pro-Putin" presidential candidate Marine Le Pen.

He also cited a widely reported snub of a potential visit by German President Walter Steinmeier by Zelenskiy's office, which denied rejecting any request from Berlin to come to Kyiv as the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Polish counterparts were getting ready for a joint visit last week.

"I believe that it would be better for German-Ukrainian relations to have the German president in Kyiv," Yatsenyuk said.

Under ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, experts say, Berlin spent years tempering some of the West's most strident criticism of Moscow and calls for punitive measures in part to keep energy and trade ties open.

Social Democrat Olaf Scholz and his "traffic light coalition" government have pursued a tougher line since succeeding Merkel in December 2021. Scholz has cooperated closely with EU members and Washington to supply weapons and other support to Kyiv since the all-out Russian invasion began.

If Ukraine fails, both Moldova and Georgia will fail. Period."

Merkel and Steinmeier have each publicly acknowledged underestimating the Russian threat.

"German politics has changed dramatically, completely, which is good for Germany [and] is good for Ukraine," Yatsenyuk said, citing German reliance on Russian oil and gas, investment, and even diplomacy. "This kind of policy made Germany weaker, not stronger."

The former Ukrainian prime minister cited the cost in the eyes of the German public of the war in Ukraine and Berlin's past policies.

"Germany has to realize that in the short term, they need to pay the price," Yatsenyuk told RFE/RL's Georgian Service. "And this price is nothing compared with the price Ukrainians are paying."

Now that they've made the "right choice," he said, "they have to execute this choice, to go down this road."

Among EU nonmembers or aspiring members, Yatsenyuk cited efforts by the governments of fellow former Soviet republics Georgia and Moldova to maintain neutrality in the current conflict as "just wrong, period."

Thousands of Russian troops are in both countries -- in Georgia's case to defend separatist bids since a five-day war in 2008, and in Moldova to hold onto a Soviet-era military presence despite Chisinau's repeated requests that Moscow remove them.

Both Tbilisi and Chisinau have formally applied for EU membership, fast-tracking their respective bids when Russian troops flooded across Ukraine's borders nearly two months ago.

"They know the Russian playbook. We all shared the same values," Yatsenyuk said. "And in these dramatic and challenging times, it was so important for the Ukrainian people, and for the people of Georgia and Moldova, to show real unity, to stay as one united front, to impose sanctions against Russia. If Ukraine fails, both Moldova and Georgia will fail. Period."

He cautioned those and other countries against trusting Putin and cited a history of broken promises.

In a speech in the days before launching the full-scale invasion, Putin called Ukraine an integral part of Russia, questioned Ukrainian nationhood and culture, and suggested it had never achieved "real statehood."

In the hours before the attack commenced, he cited the goal of "demilitarization" and "de-Nazification" of Ukraine, the latter a frequent canard in Moscow's years-long effort to delegitimize Ukrainian governments since the 2013-14 unrest that ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.

"Russia never needs any kind of pretext," Yatsenyuk said, "They will always find this pretext."

Written by Andy Heil based on an interview by Vazha Tavberidze.
Ukraine proposed to hold a "special round" of negotiations with Russia in the besieged city of Mariupol after an ultimatum issued by Russia for the surrender of the last troops still resisting in the city expired on April 20.



Chief Ukrainian negotiator and presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said the Ukrainian side is ready to hold the talks without conditions.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

"One on one. Two on two. To save our guys, Azov, military, civilians, children, the living & the wounded. Everyone. Because they are ours. Because they are in my heart. Forever," Podolyak said on Twitter.



Another key Ukrainian negotiator, David Arakhamia, said on Telegram that he and Podolyak "are ready to arrive in Mariupol to hold talks with the Russian side on the evacuation of our military garrison and civilians."



Arakhamia said that he and Podolyak were in constant contact with Ukrainian forces in the city.



"Today, in a conversation with the city defenders, a proposal was put forward to hold direct negotiations, on site, on the evacuation of our military garrison," he said.

There was no immediate reaction from Moscow to the proposal.



Russia said earlier that it had presented Ukraine with a draft document outlining its demands for ending the conflict.



Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the ball is in their court. Were waiting for a response. He gave no details on the draft.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had not seen or heard of the proposal, though one of his top advisers said the Ukrainian side was reviewing it.

Kyiv and Moscow have not held face-to-face peace talks since March 29. Each side blames the other for the breakdown in negotiations, raising fears of a prolonged war.



The fall of Mariupol would be a strategic prize and huge morale boost for Moscow, helping to link territory held by Russia-backed separatists in the east with the Crimea region that Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

The Ukrainian military said earlier on April 20 that Russian forces continuing their assault on the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, where Ukrainian troops and civilians are said to be holding out.

A Ukrainian commander in the Azovstal plant issued a desperate plea for help, saying his marines are "maybe facing our last days, if not hours."

"The enemy is outnumbering us 10-to-1," said Serhiy Volyna from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade.

One of the victims of the intense battle was 91-year-old Vanda Obyedkova, who 81 years earlier had survived the Nazi invasion of Mariupol.

The Chabad.org media website said on April 19 that Obyedkova had died 15 days earlier as she succumbed to a lack of water and basic necessities while hiding in a basement in Mariupol waiting for the fighting to end.

Mama didnt deserve such a death, her daughter Larissa, who risked her own life to bury her mother in a nearby park less than a kilometer from the sea, told the news outlet.

WATCH: Ukrainian soldiers have dug in and are bracing for battle in the eastern Luhansk region as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russian forces have launched their offensive in the Donbas. RFE/RL reporter Maryan Kushnir visited the Ukrainian trenches outside the town of Kreminna on April 18.

Ukraine accused Russian forces of failing to observe a cease-fire agreement long enough to allow large numbers of women, children, and elderly people to flee Mariupol.

Ukrainian officials had hoped to use 90 buses to evacuate about 6,000 of the 100,000 civilians believed to be trapped there. But regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said fewer buses than planned were able to reach Mariupol and fewer people than hoped were evacuated.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the humanitarian corridor "did not work as planned today" and said it was due to the Russian forces' "disorganization and negligence."

There was no response from Russia, which denies targeting civilians and has blamed Ukraine for the failure of earlier attempts to organize humanitarian corridors out of Mariupol.

A group of Russian activist and artists called for a cease-fire before Orthodox Easter. Human rights activist Zoya Svetova, philosopher Mikhail Epshtein, and actor and director Aleksandr Feklistov are among those who signed an open letter published by Novaya gazeta's European edition.

The appeal asks for a cease-fire at least until Orthodox Easter on April 24.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces have repulsed 10 attacks by Russian forces in Donetsk and Luhansk over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military said.

On the diplomatic front, European Council President Charles Michel arrived in Kyiv on April 20 in a show of support for Ukraine.

"In Kyiv today," Michel tweeted under a photograph of him at a train station. "In the heart of a free and democratic Europe."

Michel later met with Zelenskiy.

"There are no words...to explain what I feel," he said during a joint news conference with Zelenskiy, reflecting on visit he made to Borodyanka, northwest of Kyiv. "These are atrocities. These are war crimes. It must be punished. It will be punished," Michel said.

Michel's trip followed visits this month to Kyiv by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.

"You are not alone," Michel said, praising the courage of the Ukrainian people. "We are with you and will do everything which is possible to support you and to make sure that Ukraine will win the war."

Ukraine suspects that Russian troops carried out atrocities in Borodyanka and Bucha, another town near the capital. Moscow has described the allegations as fabricated by Kyiv to justify more sanctions against it.

A recent retreat by Russian forces from towns such as Bucha and Borodyanka have revealed harrowing evidence of brutal killings, torture, mass graves, and the indiscriminate targeting of civilians in the fighting, which Michel said would be met with justice.

"Like Bucha and too many other towns in #Ukraine. History will not forget the war crimes that have been committed here. There can be no peace without justice," Michel tweeted after touring Borodyanka.

After failing to seize Kyiv and other large and strategic cities in its nearly eight-week war, Moscow now says its aim is to capture the full provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, which have been the focus of Russia-backed separatists since 2014.

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden convened U.S. military leaders in an annual White House policy meeting that took on special significance amid the war in Ukraine.



A "variety of topics" were set to be discussed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other senior military leaders, a National Security Council spokesperson said.



Opening the meeting, Biden touted the toughness of the Ukrainian military and said that NATO's unity has shocked Russian President Vladimir Putin.



"They're tougher and more proud than I thought; I'm amazed what they're doing with your help," Biden said. "I don't think that Putin counted on it being able to hold us together."

Russia said on April 20 that it had conducted the first test-launch of its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new addition to its nuclear arsenal.

President Vladimir Putin was shown on television being told by military officials that the missile had been launched from Plesetsk in the northwest and had hit targets on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East.

Putin called the missile "truly unique" and said it would "strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia's security from external threats, and provide food for thought for those who, in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country."

The Sarmat has been under development for years and so the test is not a surprise for the West, but it comes with tensions high over the war.

Russia properly notified the United States ahead of its launch, the Pentagon said, adding that it saw the test as routine and not a threat to the United States.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP
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Hes not a kid anymore, hes a full-grown man. Hes not 5-foot-4 anymore, hes 6-foot-4. Hes a pleasant guy with a quick smile and a friendly greeting, but hes also a killer.

He seems at peace with himself. Time, it appears, is not only a balm for victims but also for those who victimize them.

Charles Andrew Andy Williams. He was the childlike gunman, age 15 by one month, who killed two students and wounded 13 others on March 5, 2001, at Santana High School in Santee.

He became a cause celebre of sorts as a symbol for bullied schoolchildren. However, prosecutors were neither impressed nor persuaded. Neither was the judge. When he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, the court sentenced him to 50 years to life, which means he will be eligible for parole when others of his age are collecting Social Security.

Now, 12 years later, hes willing to talk about that day and what led up to it: what he thought, what he did and why, every step of the way. Because his case did not go to trial, this is the confession we never heard in detail. And because it happened in San Diego Countys front yard, its our right to hear it.

Williams lives today in Ironwood State Prison.

Andy Williams: A murderers reflection from behind bars 12 years after killing two classmates.

His neighbor is a cellmate. This is not a happy way to spend ones youth, or middle age, or old age. It might even be where Williams dies.

Sitting patiently for hours in a prison interview room, he is in his prison blues wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a ready smile. He talks fast and softly, as though wanting to keep as many words in the air as possible before they fall on a listeners ears.

He does not deny his guilt, and agrees he should be punished. He does not plead for sympathy. He says he wants mainly to be understood. He doesnt say so, but I suspect he would also like for the public to see him as a nice guy. He must know that will be a tough sell.

This is Andy Williams story of what turned a wayward boy into a kid killer.

View the photo gallery: March 5, 2001 - Santana High School Shooting remembered

Williams was a child of a divorce, which broke apart his family when he was 3. His mother and half-brother eventually moved away, while he stayed with his father in Brunswick, Md. Brunswick was basically a village, nonthreatening for a young boy denied the comfort of a mothers presence.

He saw his mother infrequently, usually at Christmas, when he would travel to her distant home. He functioned suitably in school, finding approval because of his good behavior and open, joking personality. He developed some disturbing traits as he neared the end of grammar school, but kept them hidden. If he felt depressed or abandoned by being separated from his mother, he also kept that hidden. His father, no one disputes, was supportive and loving.

View the Video Fred Dickey on Santana HS Shooter Part 1

View the Video UTTV talkes to the Santana Shooter

Asked about his early childhood, Williams says: To me, it was normal. It was cool for me. I had loving parents.

In December 1999, at age 13, he moved with his father to Twentynine Palms, a small city in the desert near Palm Springs dominated by a Marine base. It was a conservative environment housing many military retirees, including his grandfather, and was not a place where a kid could escape notice for getting into trouble.

Williams also benefited from the structure and values of his grandparents. In that community, he enjoyed the greatest success of his young life. He participated in eighth-grade activities, made friends, did his schoolwork, professed his Christian faith and was baptized.

But a few months in that nurturing place was all he would be given. His father, a laboratory-animal technician, accepted a job with the San Diego Naval Medical Center. Before relocating, Williams was allowed to spend the summer of 2000 in Maryland with friends. There, the discipline of Twentynine Palms disappeared, foreshadowing what lay ahead in Santee.

He deplaned at Lindbergh Field and traveled to his new apartment-home in Santee in fall 2000 to enroll at Santana High School for his freshman year. What the 14-year-old had kept concealed was that he had gotten into dope in Maryland that summer, and not for the first time. He had experimented with narcotics in Maryland before his drug-free hiatus in Twentynine Palms.

My friends and I started taking pills and going to harder stuff like cocaine. The first time I experienced those, I was 12 years old.

Williams recounts his first experience in Santee. When I flew back from Maryland to Santee, I had some dope on me. I saw a church across the street that I was going to go to, and I thought, I got to get rid of this dope.

However, the very first night I was home, I was smoking a cigarette on the lawn of our apartment complex and this dude came up and he was, like, Hey, man, Im out of drugs, and I got this freakin pipe on me, and I got no dope. I was, like, Thats crazy. I got some dope, but no pipe. Lets smoke dope. And through him, I got to meet the guys who became my friends. The very first night I was there.

Williams quickly fell in with a group of boys who, in an earlier time, would have been called dead-end kids, who would be called losers by other teens and problems by their teachers.

I asked why he didnt seek out the type of friends he had made in Twentynine Palms and adhere to the Christian standards he had embraced there. He simply says, I dont know. I honestly dont know.

He had reached a crossroads in his young life, and he says he did wrestle with his devils  at least a little. When I first went back to Maryland that summer, all my friends were using drugs and I was, like, Dude, I dont want to be around it. I remember praying a lot about it, saying, Lord, Im going to hang out with these dudes now, but when I get to Santee Im going to go to church again.  I never did.

The three guys Williams became closest to were A.J. Gilbert, Shaun Turk and Josh Stevens, all about his age. They spent a lot of time at a nearby skatepark and at each others homes when adults were absent.

Santana High School shooting suspect Charles Andrew Williams at his arraignment in the El Cajon, Calif. courthouse on Monday, March 26, 2001. 15 year-old Williams' attorneys are trying to prevent his being tried as an adult. (UT photo/John McCutchen)  John R. McCutchen

Williams exploited a situation that makes working single parents tear out their hair: For many hours of each day, he was unsupervised and unrestrained from running free.

Williams says the boys drank alcohol and smoked pot at every opportunity. A friends mom had Lyme disease and she, like, she had all kinds of pain pills, and so we were just stealing them and eating opiates all the time.

Did he have an addictive personality? Yeah, yeah I do. But looking back, I think I felt I needed drugs to function. In Maryland, it was just fun, but in Santee, it was like I had to.

At the time, he was a small boy for his age, with a placating manner. He was prey for the bullies he ran with.

He says they punched and kicked him, stole his possessions, even sprayed his pant legs with lighter fluid and set him afire. Beating up on him was fun and easy.

Did he ever fight back? At first, but then I thought if someone comes up and socks me, Im going to be hurt less if I just let it happen.

So he became a clown, hoping that amusing his companions would buy him a reprieve from the bullying. It didnt work. The mystery is why he kept coming back for more.

I dont know. I thought these guys are cool, and I wanted to be cool. Ive always wished I was a little bit braver.

At Santana High, his schoolwork didnt just suffer, it collapsed. Constant truancies and ignored homework marked him as a deadbeat to other students and an exasperation to teachers.

Did his dad know he was hanging around with the wrong kids?

Initially, no, but the more we were skipping school and the more peoples parents would come and complain to him about stuff we were doing, he got the sense that I was probably in a bad crowd.

Did he ever tell his father he needed to leave Santee?

I never had the courage to tell him I was struggling. I didnt want to let him down. I had no idea what to do.

He says he was also bullied at the school. But he was reminded that after the shooting, no teacher, administrator or student on the campus said they ever saw him being bullied.

He counters that bullying goes on all the time beneath the noses of teachers and principals. At school, they would take my money. Id have my backpack ripped off and thrown in the trash can. In high school, if they see a kid not fighting back, they think hes an easy target. I was little and easy, I guess.

Was there anything in Santee or at Santana High that could have made life different?

Absolutely. There were some real cool Christians, like, I always wanted to be a part of. But I didnt want my friends seeing me like that.

Next into his life came Christopher Reynolds, an adult sexual predator who was the live-in boyfriend of Stevens mother.

Williams says Reynolds was the one who bought alcohol and provided drugs for the boys. And, yes, there were strings attached.

He was abusing all of us.

What was he doing?

Hed grab on us and try to kiss us and stuff. If he wanted to grab someones butt, it was, like, whatever, dude.

Is that what he did?

And he did some other stuff.

What?

He would ... he would ... he would grab us and try to do stuff to us.

What did he do?

He would try to masturbate us.

Did he do it to you?

He did it to me one time.

You dont want to talk about that, do you?

(Nervous laughter.) Naaah.

How did that contribute to March 5, 2001?

When something like that happens to you, if youre not willing to stop that, then youll just roll over for anything. That was really hard for me to deal with. If I was  if I was  if I was OK with that, then what am I?

You never told your dad?

No, but he told me later he knew that no 28-year-old is going to hang out with a bunch of kids, but I had told him nothing ever happened.

(Reynolds, now 40, is in Oklahoma serving two consecutive prison sentences totaling 40 years, based on multiple counts of lewd misconduct. He was invited by mail to respond but did not.)

Not long before the shooting, Williams says he and Stevens concocted a scheme to run away to Mexico. They, of course, bragged of their scheme to all their buddies. Later, as the date neared, Williams says Stevens backed out. To save face, he spread the word that Williams was the one who had chickened out. As word spread, Williams became a laughingstock among his friends.

FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2001

The pressure from his misbehavior started to ratchet up. Williams father, probably in a state of great frustration, drove him to school to confront the guidance counselor.

He chewed out the counselor  that when I skipped school, it was the schools responsibility to inform him of it.

The reality was, the school would leave a message on the home recorder noting his absence, and Williams would run home and erase the notice before his father could hear it.

Later that day, Williams, still upset over the counselor encounter, showed up for a class unprepared as usual. He remembered the teacher unloading on him in front of the other students for a lack of effort. It surely wasnt the first time hed been criticized in class, but for some reason, it scraped a nerve. Williams says it also deepened his depression and strengthened a growing urge to commit suicide.

I got out of class and I went and told my friends, This chick yelled at me for a half-hour. I sure wish someone would shoot her. He says it was a threat that he immediately dismissed with ha-ha-ha. He now describes the incident as a verbal, pointless teenage threat on crappy teachers.

However, when he got together with his buddies later, they teased him that he wouldnt carry through with his threat to shoot the teacher because he had backed out on the Mexico run-away with Josh. It was teasing, but it stung. Again, he was the wimp.

SATURDAY, MARCH 3

Saturday was what most kids would consider a dream day. Although Williams was grounded for misbehavior, his father took him hang-gliding as a belated 15th birthday present. When he got home, his dad lifted his punishment to allow him to get together with his buddies.

That night, Williams and a group of friends partied at Stevens house. As the evening drew late, Williams says, he and the others became drunk. He says Josh was angry at something Reynolds had done to him and resurrected the shooting talk.

He went and got a sheet of paper and diagrammed the school. He said what hallway he was going to. He told A.J. (Gilbert) where he was going to go. He told me where I was going to go.

Williams would be stationed in the boys restroom.

Williams says Stevens wanted him to use the .22 revolver in his dads gun case, while Stevens and Gilbert would take two small-gauge shotguns from the case and saw off the barrels for ease of concealment.

Did anybody else know about the plan?

Saturday night, we were telling everybody. Josh was telling everybody because he thought it was cool. I was telling everybody, hoping in the back of my mind that an adult would find out about it (and stop it). But every single person who was told about it seemed like they were encouraging it. Probably about 50 people total, including a couple of adults, knew about it. I think a lot of them didnt take it seriously.

What happened to the diagram?

Josh threw it in the trash.

So, that indicated he was backing out of the scheme?

Yeah.

SUNDAY, MARCH 4

On Sunday afternoon, Williams father took him to Lakeside to look at a condo they were planning to buy and make their new home.

When we first talked about (the move), I said, Awesome. I was getting away from these people. To me, it was like a positive thing. But later in my mind, I thought I was better off dying.

Sunday evening, Williams joined his buddies at a girls house. By that time, he says, Stevens had changed the story and said Williams was the one who bragged about shooting up the school.

With the fresh memory of the Mexico-trip ridicule still burning in his ears, Williams did not back out. He says the Columbine shooting of two years earlier never entered his mind as a template.

Apparently, his resolve wavered, and when he returned home Sunday night, he says he got a phone call from Reynolds, who said Stevens had told him of the school-shooting scheme.

Williams remembers Reynolds telling him, If you dont go through with it, Ill kill you. Williams says he took that threat seriously because of Reynolds intimidating, mesmerizing presence.

Parent of a Santana High School student, Linda Eyler of El Cajon, comforts Nicolle Aldrich, 17, center, and her mother, Terry Adams, right, as Nicolle finds out that four of her friends were injured in the shooting. (Published 03/06/2001)

MONDAY, MARCH 5

Williams didnt sleep well Sunday night. He says he kept thinking about suicide. His last thought of the night was, This is it.

When he awoke Monday morning, it wasnt just another school day.

I got up and accepted that today Im going to die. Im glad its over. I showered. I looked in the mirror. I got the key and opened the gun cabinet. I got out the pistol. I got the .22 bullets and put them on the bed. He found about 40 bullets and took them all.

My whole plan was, Im going to do this and then Im going to die. And so, I was just thinking about suicide the last couple of weeks, and I guess that was the day.

Early Monday morning, Williams says Gilbert knocked on the door to return a bicycle. I told him he could have it because I didnt have any use for it anymore. A.J. said, Im not gonna go through this with you. He went into my room and he seen the pistol and the bullets on the bed, and he said, So youre still going to do it? And I said, This is it for me. And he said, All right.

I put the pistol and all the bullets in my backpack and went out to the bus stop.

We met up with the kids we usually met up with. A.J. was saying, All right, dude, nice knowing you. And we kind of said our goodbyes again. He asked where I was going. I said the boys bathroom, and he was, like, Man, you know most murders happen on a Monday. I told him nobody was going to die.

Williams says he believed .22 bullets were not powerful enough to kill people. He says he had seen them bounce off coffee cans during target practice.

Shortly after 9 a.m., Williams remembers taking his backpack into a bathroom stall and closing the door. He nervously loaded the pistol and opened the door and saw standing beyond the stalls, at the urinals, freshman Bryan Zuckor, 14, and the taller Trevor Edwards, 17, a junior, who was directly in front. He decided he didnt want to shoot anyone he knew, so he closed the door. I felt like, Dude, you either got to go through it or not, but you got to make a decision. And I was, All right, Im going to do it.

The memorial that sprang up in front of Santana High School after the shooting.  U-T file photo

What was in your mind, standing in the bathroom stall?

Like, Im not somebody thats going to hurt people, and I was aware that what I was going to do was going to hurt somebody. But at the same time, I couldnt go back out to my friends  I cant go back out and put myself in a position that theyre going to ridicule me. It was just the easiest way out.

He opened the stall door again and both boys were still there. So I shut the door again, and I thought, Dude, what are you doing? And I thought, I dont have it in me to hurt nobody. And then, for whatever reason, I was like, Im going to open this door again, and if theyre not there Ill pull the trigger. But if it is them, then Im just going to walk out. But when I opened up, I didnt see a tall dude in front of me so I pulled the trigger.

I didnt know it was Bryan. I expected to see a tall person in front of me and a shorter dude to my right, but when I opened up the shorter guy was in front of me and the taller guy to the right.

You put the gun real close to the back of Bryans head before you killed him.

I was about 2 feet away.

What went through your mind at that moment?

Nothing.

Williams continues. I swung around and I shot Trevor. I think it hit him in the neck. He fell, and after about 10 to 15 seconds he asked me why I did it. I told him to shut up.

Did you say that angrily?

No, I was just  that was the only thing I could think of. That was a typical 15-year-old response to everything.

He then wounded student teacher Tim Estes while the few others in the bathroom scattered. As school security officer Peter Ruiz came in to investigate, he was shot three times.

And then what?

I reloaded and I guess I went out a little way and shot at people in the crowd. Then I reloaded again.

In all, Williams believes he reloaded four times and expended almost all of his 40 rounds. He wounded 13 people, staff and students, and killed another student, senior Randy Gordon, 17, whom he did not know.

When the police came, Williams hastily threw down the revolver and surrendered, as they demanded.

SWAT officers check classrooms after a student opened fire at Santana High School, school, killing two people and wounding 13 others.  U-T file photo

He was taken to the sheriffs office and interrogated. He gave as his reason that he was mad at how things were going in his life. He told deputies, I was just, like, screwing up in school and  I didnt want to move again, and my dad kept yelling at me. Hes been bitching at me for a while. And everybody else is being stupid.

He also told deputies that he had not been bullied or even teased, and that neither parent had ever abused him.

Today, Williams says he was ashamed to admit he had been bullied. Asked if he intended to kill people, he told interrogators right after the shooting: I didnt want anybody to die. But if they died, then, oh well.

Not long after the shooting, a forensic psychiatrist diagnosed him with a major depressive disorder.

Andy spent a year and a half in Juvenile Hall, where he was praised as a model inmate and did well in his schoolwork. He was in a controlled, protected environment  perhaps reminiscent of Twentynine Palms.

In August 2002, he instructed his public defender to enter a guilty plea to two counts of first-degree murder. He said he wanted to spare the wounded survivors and the families of the two murdered students the pain of sitting through a trial.

He will be eligible for parole in his mid-60s.

Williams seems to have adjusted well to prison. The guards told me he is not considered a problem, and they are noticeably at ease with him. Hes close to becoming a journeyman brick mason and is two classes short of an associate degree. He hopes to finish a bachelors degree by correspondence.

He is kept in protective custody because he refused to stab another inmate at another prison, he says, a demand made on him by a prison gang. Because of that, for his own safety, he will never be allowed to leave protective custody, which suits him just fine.

He has a girlfriend who has been committed to him for several years. He has even thought of marriage, though lifers are not allowed conjugal visits. His father visits him monthly, and his mother flies in from Georgia at least twice a year.

He is quick to admit that he deserves to be punished  and severely. He thinks the 50-year minimum sentence was too much, considering his youth, but that 20 years would have been too lenient. He believes 30 years would have at least given him the hope of someday having a positive life in society.

Has he ever thought of writing to his victims?

Id like to, not necessarily to explain myself but to pray that everything is going well with them, and to (let them) know how sorry I am.

I feel I owe it to (the victims) not to mess up in here. Ive already made a very bad decision that affected them, and I cant continue to make bad decisions.

Do you know who all 13 of your wounded victims are?

I dont have them memorized, not anymore.

I ask if hes happy, and he says, Reasonably. I have no complaints. But of life in prison, he says: Its, like, it sucks. I hate it. But whatever you make of it, thats basically what it is. It can be miserable if you let it. Its degrees of badness.

Does what you did ever hit you really hard, to this day?

All the time. Like, what the hell did I do?

Do you think of yourself as a murderer?

I think its hard to separate who I am from what Ive done. Obviously, I committed that crime, so youd have to classify me like that, but I dont necessarily think I intended to kill somebody. ... I do know that the people I shot did not deserve to be killed or wounded, and I will never stop regretting that.

Do you dread March 5 coming around?

Not anymore.

Did you for a while?

Absolutely. I wouldnt eat. Id seclude myself from everybody. But after a while, that became just like a shell, you know what I mean? I dont necessarily treat it like its every other day, but 

We can analyze Williams account of March 5, 2001, and say that much of it makes no sense. He says it doesnt to him, either. There are incongruities in his story, so what is the value of reading his words?

Thats an individual judgment. When talking about such crimes, the experts say much but often know little. Angry people can say, Give em the needle.

Sympathetic people can say that we should try to understand the abuse a killer had suffered. To a point, yes, but not to the extent that it makes us diminish the damage done to innocent people.

Another thing we can all do is listen  and despair of our ignorance.

The grown-up Andy Williams is a pleasant guy with no evident antagonisms. But hes in prison. Most cons are the same way while theyre in prison. Anyway, that doesnt tell us why he went off the tracks as a child.

One of his evident problems was that he wasnt aggressive and wouldnt fight. But why should someone have to fight not to be bullied, if indeed, bullied he was?

Williams chose his friends in Santee and became one with them. They were troubled kids.

A.J. Gilbert, 23, died in 2008 while on parole. Shaun Turk, 27, is serving time for murder, in the same prison as Williams. Josh Stevens, 27, is in prison in Florida on a probation violation.

In a reply letter to my prison query, Stevens denies bullying Williams  it was just teasing, he says  and claims the hatching of the plot to shoot up the school was nothing more than idle talk by kids. He insists that no one who heard of it took Williams seriously.

This is an old, familiar theme, but Andy was a latchkey kid  coming home from school to an empty house. He was free to roam, free to get into whatever mischief appealed at the moment.

His father was not a disciplinarian, but isnt permissiveness our parenting philosophy du jour?

Williams turned his youth into a crime story, and helping other children avoid doing the same is our job. All of ours. And we can do that without excusing Williams.

One Internet site lists 115 school shootings in the United States since 1980, and the pace has accelerated over the years. Many of the other school shooters are dead. Williams is alive and available to listen to.

Its only my guess, but I suspect he thought a guy with a gun comes across as really tough. No one punches the dude with a gun, and no one dares ridicule him. This was a way to show everyone the real Andy Williams. He could make his own movie.

Speculation aside, to understand the mind of any person is to walk down a hallway with many closed doors, not knowing behind which is concealed the truth we seek.

We are left to repeat a question: Williams asks, What the hell did I do? Thats right, Andy. What the hell did you do?

Bill Flynn, of Santee, prays in front of the Santana High School sign/makeshift memorial in the front Santana High School on Magnolia in Santee Ca. Flynn had two kids that graduated Santee High, one in 1999, the other in 1997.  U-T file photo

View the photo gallery: March 5, 2001 - Santana High School Shooting remembered
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its approval of a widely used flea-collar pesticide known as TCVP, saying the agency ignored evidence of potential neurological dangers to children.

Tetrachlorvinphos, developed from nerve warfare chemicals used in World War II, was approved by the EPA in 2006 to protect dogs and cats from fleas and ticks. It was challenged in 2009 by the Natural Resources Defense Council, which said it posed particular dangers to children who touched their pets and then put their hands in their mouths. The group cited evidence that TCVP can affect youngsters neurological development and cause mental, physical and behavioral problems.

The EPA agreed in 2016 that the pesticide could cause considerable risks to childrens health, but has repeatedly renewed its approval. After the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reprimanded the agency in April 2020 for endangering the well-being of millions of children, the EPA quickly announced it would not cancel its registration of TCVP, citing a decision by the manufacturer, Hartz Mountain Corp., to reduce amounts of the chemical on the pet collars it sold.

On Wednesday, the Ninth Circuit said the EPA had misstated the evidence, ignored data indicating serious risks, and offered no rational explanation for its decision. The court did not order removal of TCVP from the market but told the EPA to issue a new and reasoned explanation within 120 days.

After seeking answers for more than a dozen years, the Natural Resources Defense Council was justified in expecting a rational, supported, and well-reasoned response from EPA, Judge Ronald Gould said in the 3-0 ruling. EPA, though, did not provide a well-reasoned or reasonable decision.

In response to the ruling, Miriam Rotkin-Ellman, a scientist with the environmental advocacy group, said the EPA has needlessly delayed the removal of these dangerous products and further exposed millions of children to serious, lifelong health risks. ... EPA should prioritize childrens health over the interests of the chemical industry and act quickly to close the door on dangerous organophosphate uses in the home.

There are many safer ways to protect pets from fleas and ticks, said Pete DeMarco, a lawyer for the environmental group.

The EPA said it was reviewing the ruling but did not say whether it would restrict or ban the pesticide. The federal agencys most recent decision to leave the chemical on the market occurred under President Donald Trumps administration, but the Biden administration has defended the decision in court.

In a statement, the agency said, EPA is committed to ensuring the safety of chemicals, including pesticides, and will continue to use sound science in the decision-making process under federal pesticide laws. Pets hold a special place in the hearts of many Americans and any incidents that jeopardize their safety, or the people that care for them, are concerning and should be addressed.

A lawyer for the manufacturer did not respond to a request for comment.

Hartz Mountain is the sole manufacturer of TCVP. The ruling does not apply to other chemicals, but it comes a year after another Ninth Circuit panel ordered the EPA to severely limit or ban the use of another organophosphate pesticide, chlorpyrifos, that was used on many agricultural crops but has also been linked to brain damage in children. The agency responded last August by prohibiting its use on food crops.

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The court noted Wednesday that the EPAs 2020 decision cited a report by Hartz Mountain Corp. that only 0.38% of a treated pet collar weight was dust that would be released onto the pets body and potentially transmitted by touch. But the EPA did not mention a finding in the same report that more than 97% of the dust consisted of TCVP, and the agency actually used a much lower, erroneous number, the court said.

The court said the EPA also assumed that dog owners would trim a Hartz Mountain collar by 20% before fitting it around a dogs neck, reducing the amount of potential exposure. But the agency rejected that assumption in its assessments in 2012 and 2016 and instead assumed the collars would be left intact, the court said.

For good measure, the court said, Hartz advertises collars for dogs with necks as long as 26 inches, but its longest collar is only 27 inches, so a 20% trim would be impossible.

We do not defer to such a highly inaccurate calculation, Gould wrote.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
The family of a man who was tased and fatally shot by a San Leandro police officer two years ago while holding a baseball bat in a Walmart store has sued police and the city for $10 million, saying the officer  later charged with manslaughter  ignored the man's obvious mental problems and needlessly resorted to lethal force.

Although Steven Taylor was still holding the bat, he was bent over after two Taser shots and posed no threat when Officer Jason Fletcher shot him in the chest, his familys lawyers said in a suit filed Friday in San Francisco federal court. It seeks damages against San Leandro, Fletcher and Officer Stefan Overton, who followed Fletcher into the store and, according to the suit, also fired his Taser at Taylor.

The officers provoked and escalated a circumstance that could have been resolved without any harm to Taylor, said the suit, filed by attorney Benjamin Crump, whose clients have included families of others killed by police, such as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and George Floyd. In recent years, the suit said, San Leandro officers have shot seven other individuals who were not holding guns or bladed weapons, but the city has failed to take necessary steps to improve police training and supervision.

In response, San Leandro officials said Tuesday the fatal shooting has led to significant changes in police use-of-force policies and training.

We will defend against this lawsuit, but we have learned from this tragic death and will never forget Steven Taylor and his lasting impact on San Leandro, Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter said in a statement.

Abdul Pridgen, who became police chief after the shooting, said, The death of Steven Taylor was a tragedy that has profoundly affected our department and those we serve.

Fletcher was charged with voluntary manslaughter by Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley, her first criminal charge against a law enforcement officer for a fatal shooting, and is free on bail. San Leandro said he retired from the police force in November 2020, seven months after the shooting. Overton remains on the force.

Police were reportedly called to the Walmart in April 2020 by a security officer who said a man was trying to take a bat and a tent and refused to put them back. Fletcher, the first officer to arrive, saw Taylor holding a bat and, according to the suit, recognized Taylor was suffering a mental health episode and was not threatening him or anyone else.

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The officer grabbed Taylors arm, then the bat but could not pull it away, the suit said. When Taylor backed up a few steps, the suit said, Fletcher pulled out his gun with one hand and his Taser with the other. He fired two Taser shots and, as Taylor stumbled forward, fired his handgun into Taylors chest, causing him extreme pain and agony before his untimely death, the suit said. It also said Overton entered the store after Fletcher and fired his Taser at Taylor.

Fletcher failed to provide Taylor with any reasonable opportunity to comply before using force, made no attempt to de-escalate the situation and did nothing to accommodate the mans obvious mental disorder, in violation of disability laws, the suit said. Taylor was Black, but the suit does not allege racial discrimination.

Stevens two children will always feel the impact of the brutality their father suffered and San Leandro citizens struggling with mental health deserve policies that protect the sanctity of life," Addie Kitchen, Taylors grandmother, administrator of his estate and the lead plaintiff in the case, said in a statement released by her lawyers.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
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San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney defeated former Supervisor David Campos Tuesday in the runoff to win the 17th Assembly District seat in San Francisco, according to early returns.

In vote totals released Tuesday night, Haney captured 38,916 votes, or 63%, to Campos 22,567 votes.

Haney said the margin of victory was about as decisive a victory as you can get.

Its a powerful statement of what it looks like when we actually fight for and listen to and campaign on the things that San Franciscans actually care about, Haney told supporters who jammed Victory Hall bar in the citys South of Market neighborhood.

San Franciscans want us to build more housing. They want us to build more affordable housing, Haney said as the crowd roared. San Franciscans want real solutions to homelessness.

Noting the diversity of the supporters in the room, Haney quipped that some of the folks here probably have never been on the same side of anything before in San Francisco. But you came together for this.

Meanwhile, across the city, Campos remained unbowed.

We may have lost tonight, but the battle for the soul of San Francisco is not over, Campos said in a speech to his supporters at El Rio in the Mission District after acknowledging that he was unlikely to win the election.

Haney will replace David Chiu, who resigned last year after San Francisco Mayor London Breed named him city attorney. Breed endorsed Haney to succeed Chiu. She will now choose his replacement, likely giving her another ally on the board. Haney campaign advisers said they expect him to be sworn into the Assembly in early May, but no dates have been finalized. He is not expected to resign his seat on the Board of Supervisors until that date is set.

Haney and Campos advanced to the runoff after a special February primary election, when they were the top two vote-getters in a four-person field. Haney received just 726 more votes than Campos in that contest, a difference of less than 1% of the total vote.

Turnout Tuesday is expected to be lower than it was in the Feb. 15 race  when the nationally watched school board recall was on the ballot and slightly more than one-third of registered voters cast ballots. Every voter was mailed a ballot in mid-March and in-person voting began on March 21.

Since then, the often-contentious race between two left-leaning Democrats who share many of the same stances, have held the same elected position and have supported each other in past races largely turned on two questions: What is the best way to build housing in ultra-expensive San Francisco, and how should political campaigns be funded?

Haney was seen as being more amenable to building housing quickly. He won the endorsement of the pro-housing group YIMBY Action, which endorsed political newcomer Bilal Mahmood in the February race, saying that it was skeptical of Haneys mixed record on housing until recently. But the organization backed Haney in the runoff, and said it believed he had evolved on the issue.

Mahmood, who later endorsed Haney, was at Tuesdays victory party along with Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton.

Special Election California Special Election 2022: Assembly District 17 Results

Haney  and the independent expenditure groups that supported him  slammed Campos for his 2015 proposal, when he as a supervisor, to create a moratorium on the construction of market-rate housing in the Mission District. (The board rejected it.)

Campos said the moratorium proposal came from his constituents, and he was representing their wishes.

If I had to do it, again, I wouldnt do it, Campos said during the campaign. We need housing of all types, including market-rate housing.

Campos said Haney was more supportive of building housing because he wanted to curry favor  and campaign contributions from the corporate real estate lobby.

Campos wanted to make the race more of a referendum on the corporate funding of politics. He pledged to run a corporate-free campaign in which he did not accept contributions from corporations or corporate political action committees. He said corporate power has prevented California from adopting single-payer health care, which both he and Haney support.

The difference, Campos said, is that while Haney says he supports single-payer, some of its biggest opponents in Sacramento  namely the California Medical Association political action committee, which gave $50,000 to an independent committee that supports Haney  are backing him. (Candidate campaigns are not allowed to communicate with or have any control over independent expenditure campaigns, which operate separately.)

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After the results became clear Tuesday night, Campos fired shots at Haney and his campaign for taking corporate contributions, and called Haney and the YIMBY movement vessels for real estate developers trying to accrue influence.

The fact that money can buy an election does not mean that anything we set out to do was wrong or even misguided, Campos said. We ran a campaign from a point of integrity  We spoke truth to power, unafraid of the consequences.

Haney offered his congratulations Tuesday to Campos and his supporters for their hard work and said he looked forward to working with them.

Haney raised about $1.47 million, compared with only about $946,000 for Campos, whose fundraising beliefs came with a time cost. Campos spent a lot of time  six to eight hours a day, he said  on the phone trying to raise money from individuals.

Haney pointed out that Campos accepted contributions from high-ranking corporate officers, including some affiliated with health care and real estate companies, in essence making his entire campaign about a slogan that he cant even live up to.

Among the couple dozen better-known corporate types who have contributed to Campos are Warren Browner, CEO of the California Pacific Medical Center, who gave him $2,000. Robert Rosania, the founder of the Maximus Real Estate, the force behind the proposed Monster in the Mission housing development that Campos led the opposition to when he was on the Board of Supervisors, gave him $4,900.

Campos said he could be corporate-free even if he accepted campaign contributions from corporate leaders  as individuals.

The difference is that you have individuals who know me and are supporting me because they know who I am, Campos said during the campaign. This isnt the corporation making an investment on a politician with the idea that theyre going to deliver for them.

Haney will have to remain in campaign mode. He will have to run again in the June 7 regular statewide primary election, followed by the Nov. 8 general election. Daniel Anderson, Campos campaign manager, said Tuesday they have not discussed whether Campos will run in June, though he acknowledged hes already on the ballot.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli Andy Picon (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: andy.picon@hearst.com Twitter: @andpicon
Pressure mounted Tuesday on the volunteer group redrawing San Franciscos supervisorial districts to finish its work as soon as possible after failing to meet its deadline last week.

Three people sued the San Francisco Redistricting Task Force in response to the groups delay, which could lead to a judge deciding on new district boundaries. Separately, city lawyers told the task force it must adopt a final draft map when it meets on Thursday.

Task force members narrowly voted last week to blow past the April 15 deadline that the City Charter set for having new districts in place, opting to continue working on shaping the new district boundaries amid intense public scrutiny and political controversy.

Now, the lawsuit raises the possibility that the final map may be picked by a San Francisco Superior Court judge instead of the task force, a step that could have far-reaching consequences for city supervisor elections.

The City Attorneys Office also contributed to the legal pressure Tuesday, publishing an opinion that said the task force must adopt a new final draft map when it meets again Thursday and approve it as the final map, after two additional hearings, on April 28. Lawyers for the city said in the memo that there can be no further delays now that the task force has missed its Charter-mandated deadline.

The legal developments mark the latest twists in an unusually tumultuous process over which neighborhoods fall into which of San Franciscos 11 supervisorial districts. The result could affect the political balance on the Board of Supervisors depending how the lines are drawn.

Todd David, the leader of a San Francisco housing development advocacy group and one of the people who filed the lawsuit, said he was motivated by a desire to defend the democratic process against what he saw as unwarranted political intrusion.

It was very disturbing to me to watch a group of hardworking volunteers be bullied by the extreme NIMBY left, David said, referring to people who oppose development. From a political point of view, nobody loved the maps. It seemed to me that (task force members) did their job.

The map that the task force had prepared to adopt last week was met with outcry from political activists, neighborhood leaders and other residents who viewed it as an attack on progressive representation. They specifically objected to proposals that would have put the Tenderloin and South of Market into different districts while also splitting up the Bayview and Potrero Hill, among other changes.

The suit filed by David, along with plaintiffs Jon Schwark and Drew Min, asks a judge to hold a hearing early next week and adopt a final district map before May 2, the date by which the Department of Elections needs the map to prepare for candidates running in the November election. In addition to the task force, the suit also names the city elections director John Arntz as a defendant.

Jen Kwart, a spokeswoman for the City Attorneys Office, responded to the lawsuit with a statement saying her office continued to advise the task force so that it can complete its work by May 2. She said city officials had not been served with the suit but would review it and respond appropriately.

David said he hoped the task force would sign off on a map of new districts Thursday, rendering intervention by a judge unnecessary. But his suit will remain in the meantime as a safety valve in case the task force continues to delay, he said.

The point of the lawsuit is to get a legal map done as soon as possible, David said. We would certainly come together and have a conversation and would seriously consider dropping the lawsuit if the map is done in a very quick time frame.

Asked if he thought the task force would be able to adopt a final draft map at its meeting Thursday, task force chair Rev. Arnold Townsend said in a text message, We can if we work together.

The task forces decision to take more time to work on the district boundaries was met with praise by progressive leaders who saw the groups earlier proposals as politically tainted. By potentially moving neighborhoods like the Tenderloin out of the districts where they are currently located, the task force would separate communities with long-standing ties and shared interests, diluting their political voices, critics say.

For example, the draft map the task force voted down last week would have left the citys Transgender District  which spans parts of the Tenderloin and SoMa  represented by different supervisors. It also would have done the same to thousands of Filipinos who live in San Francisco, said Raquel Redondiez, director of the community group SOMA Pilipinas.

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If you look at the wealth disparity between the communities they preserved and the communities they broke up, they went after the most vulnerable and marginalized communities, Redondiez said of the draft map.

Redondiez was among more than 20 community leaders who signed on to an April 13 letter denouncing the now-failed draft map as racist, anti-working class, and a blueprint for gentrification.

The task force is in charge of updating the district lines to account for population shifts reflected in the last census. The groups nine members are appointed in equal numbers by the mayor, the Board of Supervisors and the city Elections Commission.

As the task forces deadline neared and controversy around the proposed boundaries escalated, the Elections Commission considered removing its three appointees but ultimately decided against doing so. The commissions move was prompted in part by concerns raised by the League of Women Voters of San Francisco and Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

Alison Goh, the league president, called the next meeting of the task force a positive sign that members really intend to listen to community input.

We really hope the community continues to show up and make their voices heard, Goh said. If any of the community members, especially the most vulnerable, underrepresented folks, feel unheard, this is really the meeting where they need to show up and give comment.

Thursdays task force meeting starts at noon in Room 406 of City Hall.

J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris
Black students who attend racially segregated schools are more likely to drink alcohol and have other behavioral problems than their peers, according to a new UCSF study.

The findings offer some of the first evidence that the de facto segregation in schools, largely tied to neighborhood demographics and common across the Bay Area, leads to significant health and other issues for Black students, and especially Black girls.

What surprises people is that school segregation is not a thing of the past, said Dr. Rita Hamad, UCSF social epidemiologist and senior author of the study. I think this is a public health and education policy issue we need to pay attention to now.

The research, published this week in the journal Pediatrics, looked at data on 1,248 school-age Black children across the country from 1991-2014 who attended school in a district that in 1991 had been under court-ordered desegregation. They compared student health information with the level of segregation in their school districts.

The more segregated that schools were in a given school district, the greater the likelihood Black children had behavioral issues or were consuming alcohol, the researchers found. They tied the inequity in part to issues like higher teacher turnover, comparatively lower funding and other factors found to afflict segregated schools.

The study looked only at segregation between white and Black students, given national desegregation policies focused on the two races. But researchers said school segregation likely has an impact on other races and ethnicities.

I would be concerned that were going to see similar effects, Hamad said.

The study was able to use decades of data from districts previously under federal desegregation mandates, which allowed the researchers to isolate the impact of school segregation from other factors such as poverty or neighborhood characteristics.

Across the Bay Area, tens of thousands of students currently attend segregated schools, including many that are disproportionately Black.

In San Francisco, for example, Carver Elementary is more than 50% Black, with no white students enrolled this year. Malcolm X Academy and Drew Elementary are also about half Black, while the districts overall enrollment of 49,000 students is 7% African American.

All three schools are on the southeast side of the city, which historically has housed more low-income and Black residents than other neighborhoods.

We know that Black families tend to live in lower-value homes because of redlining and past racist practices, Hamad said. By definition you have Black children today going to underfunded schools because of this cumulative racism thats been going on for decades.

In Oakland, 11 schools are more than 45% Black, a significantly disproportionate share, including McClymonds High, where enrollment is 76% Black.

The UCSF researchers also questioned whether racially isolated environments could actually benefit students, reducing exposure to daily, interpersonal racism from white peers or teachers. But the data showed the negatives of segregation and historic or structural racism outweighed any benefits.

Students in segregated schools can experience harsher discipline and a more frequent police presence, which aligns with poorer outcomes for Black youth, the authors said.

Additionally, segregated schools have fewer resources to provide adequate support for childrens mental health and cognitive development, the authors wrote. For example, relative to majority-white schools, segregated schools often have high teacher turnover, less experienced teachers, limited material resources, and crowded classrooms due to an inequitable distribution of school funding, all of which can lead to poorer mental health management among children.

The study did not find, however, that school segregation had an impact on a childs general health, obesity and diagnosis of mental or emotional problems, although data was more limited for these other health effects.

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Residential segregation in the Bay Area goes back decades, stemming from World War II-era policies that restricted where African Americans could live, as was the case with parts of Oakland and Marin County. Other communities were considered sundown towns, where Blacks and other people of color were prohibited in the streets after dark.

Segregation remains embedded in the fabric of the region, according to a 2019 report by the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society.

The Bay Area is visibly segregated at the regional, county, metropolitan, municipal, and neighborhood levels, the authors wrote. African Americans are the most racially concentrated group in the Bay Area, with 75% of the Bay Areas Black residents residing in just 26% of the regions census tracts.

Hamad said the research illustrates a need to address the support available specifically for Black students in racially segregated schools, but also the imperative to have a national conversation about how to reduce such segregation.

She noted that Berkeley and San Francisco are among school districts that have adopted school assignment policies to help address school segregation without using a students race specifically in the process, which would violate state law. While Berkeleys plan using neighborhood demographics has improved school diversity, San Franciscos school choice policy, which offers some students in low-performing census tracts preferred placement, has only exacerbated segregation.

The citys school board is now working on a new assignment process that would use attendance zones, giving families some choice while potentially reducing segregation.

I think there's increasing acknowledgment that this is important, Hamad said. We need to test out lots of different policies.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
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Sutter Health has locked out thousands of nurses across Northern California who staged a one-day strike at 18 facilities this week, and said it will bar them from returning to work until Saturday morning.

The action came a day after 8,000 Sutter health care workers walked off the job Monday amid stalled contract negotiations, prompting Sutter to postpone some patient procedures and hire temporary replacement workers.

The hospital chain said Tuesday that it had guaranteed five days of work for the replacement workers amid the uncertainty of a widespread work stoppage.

When the union threatens a strike we must make plans that our patients, teams and communities can rely on, Sutter said in a statement.

The California Nurses Association, which represents the nurses, called the four-day lockout a completely unnecessary and vindictive anti-union move and said that other hospitals have not locked out employees after one-day strikes.

The union urged Sutter to end its lockout, stating that nurses scheduled to work this week will lose their pay for exercising their labor voice and rights.

One nurse, locked out from her job at Sutters Mission Bernal hospital in San Francisco, said that some temporary nurses told her that they were given no orientation to the unfamiliar workplace.

Its so unsafe, said the nurse, who requested anonymity because she said she worried about losing her job. She said she will lose three days of pay.

The nurses labor contract with Sutter expired in February, and the sides have been negotiating since June.

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Sutter nurses are among thousands of hospital nurses across California who say theyve reached a boiling point two years into the pandemic. Despite being hailed as health care heroes, they say they are exhausted from understaffing and overwork, and angered by offers of raises they consider too small.

At Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital, about 5,000 nurses said they will strike Monday with no end date specified, according to their union, CRONA, the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement. That contract expired in March.

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov
Two Northern California women are facing federal charges for allegedly selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards and phony immunization pellets in a scheme with a Napa naturopathic doctor who has already pleaded guilty in the fraud, authorities said.

Jaimi Jansen, the founder and CEO of Santa Cruz Core Fitness + Rehab, a wellness center in Santa Cruz, sold phony pellets and provided falsified Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 vaccination cards to customers from May 2021 through July 2021, federal prosecutors said in charging documents. Ranna Shamiya, a director of pharmacy at an unnamed Northern California hospital, provided legitimate lot numbers for COVID-19 vaccines for a Napa naturopathic doctor involved in the scheme, according to charging documents filed Tuesday in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California in San Francisco.

The pair worked with Juli Mazi, a licensed naturopathic doctor from Napa who was convicted in early April on charges that she sold fake COVID-19 vaccination cards and fake pellets to her patients. Mazi accepted a plea agreement in February and admitted to wire fraud and making false statements related to health care matters, authorities said in early April.

Shamiya and Jansen each face charges of making false statements related to health care matters.

In May 2021, Jansen met with Mazi and agreed on a plan to sell the pellets and falsify the vaccination cards, prosecutors said. Jansen provided the names and dates of birth for customers who wanted the fake cards and pellets and shared them with Mazi, authorities said. She paid Mazi on behalf of the customers but charged the customers a higher price than she paid Mazi in order to make a personal profit, her charging document reads. Jansen pocketed roughly $14,000 and received a total of $19,500 from the recipients as a result of this scheme, federal prosecutors said.

The pellets that Mazi shipped to Jansen came in large vials which contained doses for multiple individuals, prosecutors said. Federal prosecutors allege that Jansen would then repackage the pellets into smaller vials with individual doses that she would provide to each customer, in addition to a blank, fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination card that claimed they received a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

Shamiya also became aware that Mazi was selling the phony cards and pellets in May 2021 and in the next month, on June 18 and June 27, misused her access to controlled medical information as the Director of Pharmacy... to identify legitimate lot numbers for FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines, according to Shamiyas charging document.

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Shamiya shared those legitimate lot numbers with Mazi, who then created fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards that reflected falsely that Mazis customers received an FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine with a real lot number, when they in fact did not receive such a vaccine, her charging document reads.

If convicted, Shamiya and Jansen face fives years in prison, a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment, according to their charging documents.

Lauren Hernandez (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez
The race to succeed San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney has already begun after his commanding victory in the Tuesday special election for state Assembly District 17.

Mayor London Breed will name someone in the coming weeks to fill Haneys seat on the Board of Supervisors until voters elect a representative to another four-year term in November.

Haney has thrown his support behind his chief of staff, Honey Mahogany, who would be the citys first transgender supervisor if Breed appoints her or she is later elected. Mahogany hasnt declared her candidacy but expressed strong interest in the seat on Wednesday.

Breed is considering a handful of candidates and could make a decision within two weeks. It will be her fourth appointment to an elected office this year after picking three school board members following Februarys recall.

Breeds office was mum on its possible picks Wednesday. Whoever she appoints would have to run for election in November if they want to continue representing District Six on the board.

I know this district and its residents pretty well, and I dont think theres anyone as qualified, talented or capable to represent District 6 residents as Honey, Haney told The Chronicle on Wednesday. Shes the obvious choice and Ive communicated that to the mayor.

Haney said he would support Mahogany in the November election regardless of whether she is appointed by the mayor now.

Mahogany, who is also the chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, all but declared her intention to represent District Six in a Wednesday interview with The Chronicle. She touted her years of work in Haneys office on issues ranging from access to public bathrooms to housing.

Weve been able to do some really incredible work. I dont think that were quite done yet, Mahogany said. I think that theres more to be done, and I would be honored to be a part of that work moving forward.

Mahogany, a San Francisco native, is a co-founder of the citys Transgender District and a former contestant on the reality television series RuPauls Drag Race.

Mahogany said she has been in communication with Breeds office and would be honored to have the appointment to the supervisor seat. But she indicated that she will likely run for election in November no matter what.

Regardless of what the mayor does with her appointment, I have my own plans set in place, and I have a lot of people who are supporting me and an incredible amount of support in the district and across the city, Mahogany said. I dont think an appointment would change anything for me one way or another.

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Haney trounced rival David Campos, a former San Francisco supervisor, in the runoff to fill the Assembly seat vacated by David Chiu when he became city attorney. In vote totals released Tuesday night, Haney got 38,916 votes, or 63%, to Campos 22,567 votes, or 37%.

Haney called his winning margin about as decisive of a victory as you can get.

Its a powerful statement of what it looks like when we actually fight for and listen to and campaign on the things that San Franciscans actually care about, Haney told supporters who jammed Victory Hall bar in the citys South of Market neighborhood.

Campos, meanwhile, projected confidence in the face of defeat at his own victory party at El Rio in the Mission District.

We may have lost tonight, but the battle for the soul of San Francisco is not over, Campos told his supporters.

Whoever runs for Haneys current seat in November will have to compete in the new boundaries of supervisorial District Six that will soon be updated to account for population changes in the most recent census.

The group in charge of drawing those boundaries, the citys Redistricting Task Force, has lately been the subject of intense political controversy. Task force members narrowly voted down a highly contested map that would have removed the Tenderloin from District Six last week, missing a legally mandated deadline and prompting a lawsuit. The group will consider adopting a new final draft map when it meets again Thursday.

Mahogany lives in SoMa, so her ability to run for supervisor would not be affected if the Tenderloin were taken out of the district, though she opposes that possible boundary change.

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Before anyone else can take his seat on the board, Haney must resign, which he said will likely happen the same day he joins the Assembly. The state said he will be sworn in on May 3.

He is therefore likely to remain on the board for an important vote on the fate of JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park expected next week. Haney is a co-sponsor of legislation that would keep 1.5 miles of the road permanently free of cars.

The mayor will appoint his replacement once he announces his resignation. Her spokesman said there is no deadline to do so.

In addition to Mahogany, political consultants and City Hall insiders Wednesday mentioned four names that they said have been considered as possible picks at some point for District Six supervisor.

They are Bilal Mahmood, an entrepreneur who won 22% of the vote in the Assembly District 17 primary in February; Vikrum Aiyer, a deputy director with the American Civil Liberties Union who formerly worked for Postmates and under the Obama administration and now serves on the mayor's Workforce Investment Board; Matt Dorsey, strategic communications director at the San Francisco Police Department; and Rachael Tanner, who was appointed to the Planning Commission by Breed and now serves as its president.

Others could also be considered.

Dorsey declined to comment on whether he had met with the mayor about the appointment or would run in November. The other three did not respond to requests for comment over phone and email. The mayors office declined to discuss potential appointees.

Tuesdays election also starts the clock ticking for officials at the San Francisco Elections Department, who expect to count and report a majority of the votes by Saturday and then certify the election by April 28. The Board of Supervisors then must approve the results. Department of Elections chief John Arntz said the board could possibly vote to approve on May 3.

Chronicle staff writers Joe Garofoli and Andres Picon contributed to this report.

Mallory Moench (she/her) and J.D. Morris are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com, jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench, @thejdmorris
Bill Hutchinson/

San Francisco police said they were investigating a Tuesday night shooting that left a man dead in the Western Addition.

Police responded to a report of a shooting shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday in the 1200 block of Buchanan Street. They found a 30-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds.
Last week, the fight against depression received a welcome boost. According to a new study published in Nature, psilocybin, a naturally occurring compound found in over 200 species of fungi, physiologically rewires patterns of negative thinking in the brain to alleviate depression.

Given that the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25% during the first year of the pandemic, according to the World Health Organization, encouraging news about promising new treatments for mental illness is cause to celebrate. But as with vaccine access before it, African countries may be forced to wait until Western countries meet their demands first, despite the continent having a far more dire need for mental health treatment.

There is a silent epidemic of mental illness ravaging sub-Saharan Africa. One 2021 study found that a stunning 45% of the regions more than 1 billion inhabitants suffer from depression, and a 2020 study found that 22% grapple with post-traumatic stress disorder. By comparison, just 4.7% of the U.S. population suffers from depression, according to a 2020 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey, and a 2016 survey found 4.7% experienced post-traumatic stress disorder. Things have only gotten worse in the pandemic.

Unfortunately, for most people in Africa, little relief is available. The World Bank forecasts that 87% of the worlds poorest will live in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 and already, less than 1% of people with mental illness receive adequate care in low-income countries, a Lancet study said. Cash strapped African governments allocate less than 1% of their health budgets to mental health. Meanwhile, foreign donors gave $49.1 billion in aid to sub-Saharan Africa in 2019, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, but allocated less than 0.3% of that to mental health, a Georgetown University study found. Making matters worse, the cultural stigma around mental illness prevents many from seeking care.

Mental illness can impair all aspects of a persons life. It can hinder the sufferers ability to learn, resolve conflict, be productive, and feel connected to society. They are more likely to be poor, engage in harmful behaviors and die early. Anxiety and depression alone cost the global economy $1 trillion each year and poor mental health overall is expected to cost the world economy $6 trillion annually by 2030, a Lancet study said.

The vicious cycle of poverty and mental health can be stopped, but only if the global community makes a concerted effort to invest in Africas fight against mental illness. That means ensuring Africans have access to both proven mental health interventions as well as game-changing innovations, like psychedelic-assisted therapy, at the same pace as we do here at home.

A growing chorus, from political and business leaders to everyday people, have spoken about the transformational impact that psychedelic-assisted therapy has had on their lives. Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials show astounding results in resolving PTSD, depression, anxiety and addiction. So much so, that the Food and Drug Administration recently designated two psychedelic medicines as breakthrough therapies  treatments that offer substantial advantages over existing options. Moreover, studies show that psychedelic-assisted therapy is highly cost-effective, since these therapies only require a few sessions to be effective. Its no wonder then, that one projection expects the global market for psychedelic medicines to hit $10.75 billion by 2027.

Yet, sub-Saharan Africa, the region with the greatest need, has been excluded. To date, no clinical studies on psychedelic therapy have been conducted in sub-Saharan Africa, while over a hundred have been conducted in North America and Europe. In 2021, Psychedelic Invest said investors poured $730 million into psychedelic medicine companies, none of which have their sights set on the sub-Saharan Africa market. The notoriously risk-averse global aid community has shied away from funding or even discussing psychedelic therapy due to its novelty, unconventionality and associated taboo. All told, this potentially paradigm-shifting therapy is gearing up to benefit only the privileged few.

There is still time to change course. Weve seen multilateral organizations, like the World Bank and Unitaid, broker win-win agreements with drug manufacturers, using strategies such as advance commitments, minimum sales guarantees or voluntary licensing, to secure affordable access to HIV, tuberculosis and other lifesaving medicines in Africa. Similar agreements could be negotiated with companies developing psychedelic therapies  some of which are in the Bay Area.

But making therapies accessible is only part of the solution. Education and culturally adapting therapies to local context will also be needed in order to make their use successful and to ultimately end the stigma around seeking mental health treatment. Research institutions, like the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics and Stanford Psychedelic Science Group could play a role in that process.

A decade ago, many Western governments, including the U.S., endorsed the World Health Organization resolution for global mental health. With cost-effective, psychedelic-assisted therapies on the horizon, these governments can recommit to addressing global mental health by funding the expansion of these and other mental health services in low-income countries.

Psychedelic-assisted therapy is not a silver bullet; it is one of many tools in our arsenal. But by doubling down on what we know is working, piloting breakthrough innovations such as psychedelic-assisted therapy and ensuring access, African nations can begin to ease the suffering that is silently dampening their progress.

Yogesh Rajkotia is CEO of ThinkWell, a global health systems development organization.
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SACRAMENTO  Sam Moss likens the obstacles he faces getting building permits from San Francisco to a self-inflicted wound. Every time the city delays for weeks or months, it sucks up finite funding that could otherwise be used to build more units to combat the citys housing crisis.

Moss, executive director of Mission Housing Development Corporation, a nonprofit builder, said the most frustrating part is that the delays are often due to the subjective findings of city reviewers.

It is always difficult, 100% of the time, Moss said of applying for building permits. Its not tenable, and its one of the many reasons that a new affordable housing building can take up to 10 years.

Moss sentiment is a familiar frustration among California developers, many of whom say long delays getting permits approved for different phases of construction work, such as electrical and plumbing, drive up the cost of building new units and can ultimately kill desperately needed housing projects.

It also highlights how concerns about the difficultly of building new housing in the state loom large at nearly every stage of the process, even long after a project has cleared basic planning and zoning approvals at the local level.

State Assembly Member Robert Rivas, D-Hollister (San Benito County), recently introduced legislation that aims to remove that building permit logjam for housing projects by requiring cities to review a permit application within a set deadline and provide clear application instructions to builders.

He said hes carrying the bill because he worries that unnecessary delays are exacerbating Californias dire housing shortage and making it particularly difficult for developers to secure funding for affordable housing.

These delays lasting months or years can derail a projects financing, Rivas told The Chronicle. In some instances, projects just die altogether.

His measure, AB2234, would require local governments to approve or deny various building permits within a strict timeline: 30 days for small housing projects with 25 or fewer units, and within 60 days for large projects with 26 or more units.

Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle

Supporters of the bill said many cities are already reviewing the bulk of permit applications in less time, but the measure is designed to catch bad actors who take months, or even years, to take action.

Patrick Hannan, a spokesperson for San Franciscos Department of Building Inspection, said it has made a series of operational changes in the last year to speed up processing times and improve customer service.

These efforts have already begun to produce results, he said in an email. For the past two months, 60% of all over-the-counter permit applications were processed within two days, a substantial improvement compared to the previous year.

In addition, AB2234 would require cities and other local jurisdictions to post templates of model permit applications, along with a checklist of the information a developer must provide.

The bill would apply to what planners call postentitlement building permits, which are nondiscretionary and allow developers to proceed with specific phases of construction work, such as pouring concrete or installing electrical wires. Cities review the permits to ensure the work complies with health, safety and building codes.

There is a question, however, about whether the bill would apply to San Francisco because its the only city in the state that has discretionary building permit reviews, meaning permits can be appealed by neighbors.

Corey Smith, deputy director of the Housing Action Coalition, an advocacy group working on the bill, said the measure is intended to apply to all cities in the state. He said bill sponsors have notified city officials they want to amend the measure to ensure San Francisco is included.

State legislators have, in recent years, focused primarily on passing bills that aim to make it harder for cities to block housing projects earlier in the process, during the pre-entitlement phase when plans for a project can often be denied for a host of discretionary reasons, such as design aesthetics or neighbors objections.

Vince Rocha, vice president of housing and community development at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, an economic advocacy group, said lawmakers have made major strides to expedite that earlier phase of the approval process. Silicon Valley Leadership Group is sponsoring the bill, alongside the Housing Action Coalition.

Now, we have a bottleneck in a different place and we want to clear that up, he said. Its happening enough where its impacting a lot of projects.

On Wednesday, the Assembly Committee on Local Government held the first hearing on AB2234 and voted unanimously to approve it. The measure, which now faces a vote in the Housing Development Committee, is opposed by a handful of associations representing local governments, such as the League of California Cities and California State Association of Counties, which warn it would create impractical, shot-clock deadlines.

In a letter to legislators, the associations said the bill would create arbitrary timeframes that fail to account for the complexity or unique circumstances of an individual project, the quality of an application, or the type of permits required.

AB2234 would allow cities to exceed the 30- and 60-day deadline to review permits if they find theres substantial evidence that shows the project might harm public health or safety. The city can then take additional time to review the application.

Under the bill, the deadline to review permits would reset every time the developer submits an updated or reworked application. Such back-and-forth is common as builders make revisions.

Rivas said the bill doesnt prevent cities from rejecting permits if they have concerns. He said the problem isnt always the fault of local governments, either, because developers often dont submit complete applications. He said the bill aims to make the process easier for both permit reviewers and builders by requiring permit templates and a checklist be posted online.

All it does is just add clarity and predictability to the home-building permit process, Rivas said. This crisis were experiencing in the state is much too important.

Its unclear exactly how much new housing California could build by expediting building permit reviews. But Kate Conley, an architect who works on affordable housing in the Bay Area, said waiting for building permit approvals is often the most bloated part of a project timeline.

It definitely makes projects take longer  and time is money, she said. For affordable housing, if we miss a little deadline, its catastrophic.

Dustin Gardiner (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner
A man who received an apology from San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott after being shot in the wrist by police last year is suing the city, claiming that the officer used excessive force and violated his rights of due process.

The suit, filed this week in federal court, stems from an incident last May in which Officer Zachary McAuliffe fired his service weapon while attempting to take 23-year-old Xavier Pittman into custody, whom police suspected of auto burglary.

McAuliffe and other officers at the scene were dressed in plain clothes as they investigated a series of auto burglaries, video footage shows.

In a public town hall days after the incident, Scott issued a rare apology to Pittman, saying the shooting ... quite simply, should not have happened.

Scott also relayed McAuliffes remorse for the shooting, and that the officer said he didnt intend to fire his service weapon.

In the lawsuit, Pittmans attorneys said the shooting was unreasonable and unnecessary, and that their client was unarmed, compliant and in the process of being handcuffed.

Adante Pointer, who represents Pittman, said the lawsuit is intended to ensure the city does right by Mr. Pittman.

As the video shows and the chief has admitted, Mr. Pittman did not deserve to be shot, Pointer said in a statement. This incident underscores the necessity of having all officers, undercover or not, wear body-worn cameras. If not for the surveillance camera in that alleyway wed all be at a loss as to what actually happened.

Jen Kwart, a spokesperson for the City Attorneys Office, said officials are reviewing the complaint and will respond in court. A police spokesperson said the department could not comment on pending litigation and referred to the City Attorneys Office.

On the day of the shooting, police said McAuliffe was investigating reports of five separate car break-ins in rapid succession around the city, and that callers detailed the same license plate number and silver Mitsubishi as the suspects vehicle.

Plainclothes officers were dispatched to trace the suspects and the Mitsubishi, and at about 12:48 p.m., caught sight of them in the area of Jack London Alley near Varney Place, police said.

The officers observed two people standing outside of the Mitsubishi who appeared to be searching and emptying the bags and luggage onto the ground, police officials said.

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Surveillance footage of the incident police released Thursday shows two plainclothes officers charging and then wrestling with one of the suspects.

In a separate video, a male voice can be heard yelling police just before a single gunshot goes off, followed by a person screaming for help.

You shot me! the voice yelled. Im bleeding. ... Im going to die. ... Call the ambulance!

Pittman was treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, and later booked into jail on suspicion of charges including five counts of second-degree auto burglary, conspiracy and possession of stolen property. Police confirmed that Pittman was not armed at the time of the shooting.

The San Francisco District Attorneys Office was still reviewing whether to charge McAuliffe with a crime, according to a spokesperson. Prosecutors referred Pittmans charges back to police for further investigation.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com
San Francisco supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday meant to tighten the rules for how police use DNA stored in city-run databases in an effort to prevent crime victims from having their own DNA used against them in unrelated criminal probes.

The legislation, introduced by Supervisor Hillary Ronen, comes two months after the stunning revelation that San Francisco police had used a DNA profile gathered from a victims rape kit to tie her to an unrelated property crime several years later.

District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who was the first to publicly disclose the practice, ultimately dismissed the womans property crime charges due to potential constitutional violations.

At the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Ronen said there were currently no local laws that regulate the storage or use of DNA profiles in local police databases.

The fact that the Police Departments crime lab has been storing and using victims physical evidence against victims came as a shock to most of us in the city, Ronen said.

We need to clarify that we will never allow this practice ... (and) to ensure that this never happens again.

The Police Departments attempt to use rape kit DNA to link the woman to an unrelated property crime prompted a national outcry from sexual assault victim advocates, who said the practice would cause people to avoid reporting sex crimes to law enforcement, for fear that they might have their DNA used against them in the future.

In March, Santa Clara County officials took pains to point out that county officials were prohibited from using rape survivors DNA to connect them to crimes.

Victim DNA is used to catch rapists  period, said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosenat a news conference at the time. We want to protect victims of sexual assault  not collect evidence from them that could be used against them later. We havent and well never do that.

In an emotional interview with The Chronicle last month, the woman whose rape kit was used to link her to a property crime said the incident made her feel like she was reliving her trauma all over again.

If I cant even trust the police, she said, who can I trust?

The woman, who was granted anonymity to speak with The Chronicle because she was a victim of sexual assault, planned to sue the Police Department.

The Police Department is conducting an audit to determine how many other victims could have been identified or arrested through this practice. Police Chief Bill Scott was supportive of legislation that would end the practice in San Francisco and elsewhere.

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We must never create a disincentive for sexual assault survivors  or any crime victim  to cooperate with police, Scott said in a previous statement.

The crime lab operates a quality assurance database, which held DNA profiles from several categories of individuals  including rape victims  and was routinely tested against suspect DNA found at later crime scenes to ensure that samples werent contaminated.

The ordinance would prohibit police from storing DNA profiles obtained from crime scene evidence  including rape kits  in city-run databases for more than 60 days.

The ordinance does not apply to DNA databases operated by state or federal law enforcement agencies.

Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced legislation in March that would prohibit law enforcement from storing survivors DNA in a searchable database for any purpose not related to sexual assault investigations at the state level.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
Two San Francisco police officers have been arrested and charged with the destruction of evidence during an investigation, according to San Francisco Police Department and the District Attorneys Office.

Officers Kevin Lyons and Kevin Sien of the Tenderloin Station voluntarily surrendered themselves at San Francisco County Jail on Tuesday, four days after a state judge issued arrest warrants, and both face charges of destroying or concealing evidence.

Lyons and Sien both allegedly destroyed evidence on July 3, 2021, while on duty. According to a press release from the District Attorneys Office, employees at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis on Mission Street were searching for missing hotel property in the luggage of a guest who didn't pay for their room and found multiple credit cards, ID cards and drugs believed to be methamphetamines.

The two officers were asked to collect the evidence from the guest  but the DA's Office said they refused, reportedly telling hotel staff that cataloguing the evidence would take too long. Instead, the officers shredded the cards and Lyons, who faces two charges, dumped the drugs down a toilet, the District Attorney's Office said.

Both were reassigned to non-public-facing roles shortly after the incident. It is unclear whether the officers are still employed by the department. (A San Francisco police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from SFGATE.)

These officers undermined their own colleagues, my office, and our criminal justice system as a whole by destroying and concealing the evidence of a crime, simply because they didnt want to take the time to do their jobs, District Attorney Chesa Boudin said in a statement.

In a separate case, a third, retired officer  Mark Williams  faces three charges after he was allegedly found in possession of a Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun stolen from the police department.

Williams was a part-time employee at SFPDs gun destruction unit in August 2021, when the unit was tasked with preparing 22 MP5 guns for destruction, according to the District Attorneys Office. An inventory revealed that one gun was missing  and four days later, Williams reportedly confessed to possessing the weapon.

All three officers are scheduled to be arraigned May 19.

The actions of these SFPD members violate the law and regrettably fall far short of our departments shared values, SFPD Chief Bill Scott said in a statement.
There is no story like it in the annals of true crime. A 7-year-old California boy is kidnapped off the street. Eight years later, he reappears at a police station, shattered but alive. And nearly two decades after that, the boys brother goes on a brutal killing spree in Yosemite National Park.

Bad things happen to everybody, Ashley Stayner says in the new Hulu docuseries Captive Audience, but for our family, it's unreal.

There is no quick way to tell the history of Steven and Cary Stayner, and there is no way to tell it without the stories intertwining.

Steven was born in Merced in 1965, the third of five children in the Stayner family. Their childhood, until his disappearance, was typical of the era. His parents taught him to trust adults implicitly and to respectfully follow their instructions. On Dec. 4, 1972, a strange man approached Steven on his walk home from school. The man told Steven that it was alright for him to pick him up, as Steven's mother had given him the OK. Steven got in the car.

The man was Kenneth Parnell, a convicted child rapist. He soon told the confused Steven that he had legal custody of him; Parnell said the Stayners didnt want him anymore. Within a week of being abducted, young Steven was calling him dad.

Parnell renamed him Dennis Parnell, and moved him around frequently, living for stretches in Santa Rosa and Comptche in Mendocino County, among other spots in California. Steven attended school intermittently, and classmates remembered him as shy and sweet, although he never let anyone drop him off directly at his home. He always asked to be let off at the bottom of the driveway.

On Feb. 13, 1980, with Steven quickly growing into adolescence, Parnell kidnapped another boy, 5-year-old Timothy White, and began abusing him. Although Steven had free rein to escape at any time, hed repeatedly stayed with Parnell, unsure of how to return home or get help. But upon seeing Timmy, Steven knew he had to act. When Parnell left a few weeks later for his job as a night security guard, Steven grabbed Timmy and headed for the road. A passing car picked up the boys and drove them to Ukiah, Timmys hometown, where Steven found a police station.

Bettmann/Bettmann Archive

Timmy, whose face was on the news every day, was immediately recognized as a kidnap victim. But it took police a little while to put together that Steven, who could only partially remember his real last name, was Merceds most famous missing child: Steven Stayner.

Stevens heroism  and his defeat of incredible odds  made him a national sensation. Images of him with Timmy were splashed across every nightly news broadcast. A made-for-TV movie went into production.

The only one who was seemingly unimpressed was Stevens 17-year-old brother Cary. According to interviews revealed on Captive Audience, Cary stressed that Stevens actions were blown out of proportion by the media and that anyone with a conscience would have done what Steven did. He admitted to being jealous of his brothers stardom.

It was a hard period for everyone, though. Steven struggled to readjust to the family he barely knew and chafed against their rules, as Parnell had basically left him to his own devices. The media dogged Steven, even at school, and Stevens father resisted the idea of his son getting help from mental health professionals. But as Steven grew into adulthood, he found some semblance of normalcy. He married and had two kids, Ashley and Steven Jr.

Then, on Sept. 16, 1989, Steven was riding his motorcycle home from work when he was struck by a driver who allegedly blew through a stop. He died from his injuries, devastating the still-healing family once again. Steven was just 24.

John Storey/Getty Images

The worst, if possible, lay ahead.

Some of the most gripping moments of Captive Audience come in episode three, when Stevens now-adult daughter Ashley recalls watching the news of multiple Yosemite murders on television. As a seventh grader who lived in nearby Merced, she was gripped by the brutal slayings of tourists Carole Sund, 42, Juli Sund, 15, and Silvina Pelosso, 16. Carole Sund had taken her daughter and friend Silvina to see Yosemite National Park before Silvina returned to Argentina. The trio shared a room at the Cedar Lodge in El Portal, from which they vanished in February 1999.

The three women had been missing a month when the burned bodies of Carole and Silvina were discovered in their rental car. Then, a letter arrived for police with a hand-drawn map pointing to the location of Julis body, left near the Don Pedro Reservoir. Her throat had been slit.

On July 22, 1999, the decapitated body of Yosemite naturalist Joie Ruth Armstrong was found in a stream by the cabin where she lived. A witness recalled seeing a light blue 1979 International Scout at the scene earlier; they told police, who traced the car to the handyman at the Cedar Lodge: Cary Stayner.

AP Photo/Juli Sund, Carrington Family

Stayner had been questioned and released in the triple homicide, but now the net drew in again. Two days after the discovery of Armstrongs body, Stayner was tracked down at a nudist colony in Wilton and arrested.

While in custody, Stayner agreed to talk to Bay Area TV reporter Ted Rowlands. The confessions rolled out. From the time he was young, he fantasized about hurting women. The girls in the motel room gave him his opportunity; he said he entered their room with the ruse of pretending to check for a leak.

Once inside, he pulled a gun on them and said he wanted their car and cash. He locked the teens in the bathroom while he murdered Carole Sund. He sexually assaulted the girls, then killed them as well. As for Joie Armstrong, hed also met her by chance and learned the woman lived alone in the park. Armstrong fought him fiercely, causing him to sloppily leave behind footprints and tire tracks. Rowlands recalls in Captive Audience that, as a condition of confessing, Stayner demanded Rowlands help him get a TV movie made about his life.

For the Stayners, it was one more unfathomable tragedy. Ashley, who had followed the story on the news every day, remembered her parents sitting her down to tell her that Uncle Cary had been arrested for the murders. The news was devastating; most of the family members interviewed for Captive Audience either declined to talk about Cary altogether or would only speak briefly about the case.

Cary Stayner was found guilty and sentenced to death in 2002. He is currently on death row at San Quentin.

CRAIG KOHLRUSS

The stories of Steven and Cary Stayner are impossible to tell separately. Captive Audience tries  its goal is to help distinguish Steven and his experiences from the horrors that came long after his death. But, for most people, the docuseries will leave many unanswered questions.

Did the trauma of Stevens kidnapping shape Cary in such a way that he became a murderer? Most multiple murderers are a mixture of nature and nurture, born with a predisposition toward violence that turns into action when the wrong combination of environmental factors merge in their childhoods. It could well be that Cary would have always ended up a killer. But with an event so traumatic in his childhood, its hard not to wonder what could have been different for every member of the Stayner family.

I think that a lot of people have their thoughts about my family and who we are as people, Steven Stayner Jr. says early on in Captive Audience, and I think they have it wrong.

They do, no doubt. And its likely that Captive Audience will only elicit more speculation about the Stayners. But anyone claiming to understand their ordeal is wrong; there will never be enough answers to explain how one child survived a nightmare  and the other created one.
HOUSTON (AP) _ Crown Castle International Corp. (CCI) on Wednesday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results topped Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Houston, said it had funds from operations of $812 million, or $1.87 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $1.80 per share.

Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.

The company said it had net income of $421 million, or 97 cents per share.

The operator of wireless communications towers, based in Houston, posted revenue of $1.74 billion in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.7 billion.

Crown Castle expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $7.31 to $7.41 per share.

The company's shares have fallen 5% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has declined slightly more than 6%. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $197.93, a rise of 8% in the last 12 months.

_____

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on CCI at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CCI
This article was first published on NerdWallet.com.

After two years of cancellations, deferments and marathon sessions with airline customer service, many travelers are hoping to book summer trips that actually pan out this year.

I had the month of May 2020 completely off work, says Katharine Ng, an engineering program manager in Los Angeles. Ng planned to visit Europe and Morocco but had to cancel and rebook for the following year, 2021. Those new plans were eventually scuttled because she wasnt yet fully vaccinated by May, and travel restrictions got in the way.

Thankfully, canceling the trips was easy because of the COVID cancellation policies, Ng says. Yet while getting a refund was nice, it didnt scratch the itch for taking an actual vacation.

Many travelers, twice bitten by summer plans gone awry, remain shy of making them again this year. Even the experts have given up trying to predict what twists the pandemic will take next. But regardless of what happens, travelers can maximize their chances of summer travel success with a few simple steps.

Book flights soon

Travel isnt just coming back. Its roaring back.

Were already at 2019 prices for airfare, says Adit Damodaran, economist at Hopper, a travel booking app that tracks airfare trends. Weve already exceeded our initial forecast for prices.

Prices are rising in part because of increased consumer demand, but volatile oil prices may be playing an even bigger role. When the Ukraine conflict caused some travelers to pull back on Europe travel, prices didnt follow suit.

In Europe, demand is decreasing, but prices havent dropped with it, Damodaran says. In fact, they have increased. Airlines could be preemptively adjusting fares for fuel price changes.

Regardless of the cause, airfare costs are unlikely to drop significantly before peak summer travel. So booking sooner rather than later might help you avoid getting priced out of this travel season.

Keep it flexible

The pandemic has ushered in one consumer-friendly change: Most airlines and hotels now offer more flexible booking options. And if the last two years have taught us anything, its that no trip, however well planned, is safe from disruption.

The best way to find flexible booking options depends on a host of factors, but a few simple rules apply.

Avoid basic economy airfare as it doesnt allow changes or cancellations.

Choose hotel rooms with free cancellation. Sometimes these rates are slightly higher than their nonrefundable counterparts.

Read vacation rental policies carefully. Services like Airbnb and Vrbo generally let hosts choose the cancellation policy.

Data from Hopper shows that the number of basic economy bookings made on its platforms dropped significantly in 2021 after airlines introduced more flexible options for other fares. Now, these bottom-of-the-barrel fares make up only 20% of total bookings compared with nearly 40% before the industry change.

Choose destinations wisely

Even if COVID-19 cases drop throughout the spring and summer, it could be some time before all international travel restrictions follow suit.

I was planning a trip to South Korea but I couldnt deal with a seven-day hotel quarantine, says Ng, citing the countrys strictly enforced rules. Ng opted to visit Europe this summer, where such restrictions aren't currently in place. She feels more confident that COVID-related rules wont suddenly change right before or, worse, during her trip.

When choosing a destination, start with the countries that have restrictions that match your risk tolerance and work backward.

Of course, these restrictions can be avoided by sticking to domestic travel, but many travelers are eager to head abroad.

Make a backup plan  or several

Even with all these precautions in place, anything can happen. Another surge, variant or military conflict could upend even the best-laid plans, which is why its important to make a backup.

First, after planning your main trip, consider making a few fully refundable bookings for a second, separate trip. These can be a hedge to ensure you dont have to book everything last minute during peak season. Just dont book airfare unless it is truly refundable  most main cabin fares are refunded as vouchers with the same airline, which arent as good as cash.

Second, sketch out an idea for a third trip, with the intention to book it at the last minute if original plans fall through. This step can help psychologically to avoid losing steam when plans change.

Finally, consider taking multiple shorter trips during the summer rather than one long trip to a single destination. This approach not only protects against potential destination-specific lockdowns, but could also help make up for lost visits during the pandemic.

This article was written by NerdWallet and was originally published by The Associated Press.

Sam Kemmis writes for NerdWallet. Email: skemmis@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @samsambutdif.

The article How to Make Summer 2022 Travel Plans That Actually Happen originally appeared on NerdWallet.
This week lets start with a quote by Albert Einstein. He said, The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking. Put another way, we must change our thinking of the past to realize and facilitate change within our community today.

After the past couple years which impacted many small businesses and communities, it is important we remind ourselves of the real and tangible value small business brings to our community.

Analyst Nick Rokke, of the Palm Beach Daily, recently indicated some astounding small business facts. Small businesses make up 99.7% of U.S. firms. They employ 49% of all Americans and create 64% of all new jobs. Stop, and let those figures sink in.

Prior to the last couple years, the locally owned business environment was generally favorable in most communities throughout the country. Government over time, and more recently with the help of COVID have become less favorable to small business. Even communities incorporating many of the proven tactics such as micro-TIFs, favorable tax rates, fewer regulations, city commitment and other initiatives to assist small businesses, are struggling to survive.

Rokke also points out, with fewer regulations, businesses can more accurately predict the future allowing them to hire more employees and expand. Competitive tax rates allow businesses to keep more of their profits creating a stronger small-medium business base in the community. Micro-TIFs provide targeted funds for targeted areas of your community. City commitment and leaders can instill confidence and support.

Why do I point out the above information? Now is the time for every community in America to focus their efforts inward and determine if their community is doing everything possible to support and build their local business base. Now is the time for your community to double down on efforts to assure small business growth. Now is the time to create an atmosphere of innovation, change, entrepreneurship, collaboration and synergy.

There can be many reasons why this may not be occurring in your community. It may be regional headwinds not seen in other portions of the country, such as being tied to oil prices. It may be local and state taxes coupled with regulation, such as we see in states like Illinois, New Jersey or California stifling growth. It might be a soft labor market where open positions are hard to fill. The list of economic reasons is practically endless.

In spite of the reasons above and others that we could add to the list, each community must take their future in their own hands. Be the future you wish to see.

If taxes are too high, offer tax incentives. If regulations are stifling, reduce regulations making start-ups easy and painless. If you havent taken advantage of micro-TIFs, look into it and see if that fits your community. You might be surprised.

If you have a tight labor market, provide tax incentives for hiring locals in lieu of out-of-town employees. For every issue, there seems to be an excuse. Dont dwell on excuses, seek solutions overcoming your issues through creativity, innovation and a willingness to invest in local people.

Many communities invest major dollars in courting national businesses, not that this is always bad. Evaluate the long-term impact of those dollars on your community. In most cases, the long-term impact is much worse than we can imagine or realize. Not to mention, when times get tough, national chains know no loyalty and will leave.

Most importantly, while investing in small business, simultaneously invest in your downtown and the surrounding area. Not only are your downtowns the eyes into soul of your community, but national statistics also indicate investing dollars into your downtown bring the highest return (ROI) to your community.

When downtowns are left to deteriorate, you can assure other parts of the community will soon follow. You wont see it overnight, it will be like a cancer or degenerative process that slowly infects the body until it is too weak to battle back. On the other hand, I have yet to see a rebuilt and vibrant downtown that hasnt positively impacted the entire community.

Our downtowns are treasures, they link the past, present and future together. They are what drives small business growth throughout the entire community. They are what connects the young, middle aged and the mature. They are the future for those communities seeking answers to a better tomorrow.
For those who dream of tasting freshly made pasta from the small hill town of Gragnano outside of Naples, Italy, or crave the experience of shopping at an Old World-style market selling the finest Italian-made bread, cheese and wine  save your appetite.

Eataly, a global chain of multi-story marketplaces that feature everything from restaurants and cheese counters to cooking schools and wine-tasting classes, is coming to Silicon Valleys Westfield Valley Fair mall.

Its Northern California debut establishes Eataly as a 45,000-square-foot food destination inside the mall where customers can pick up dinnertime groceries while sipping a glass of wine, but also as a place that highlights local producers, according to Adam Saper, business partner at Eataly USA.

Photo courtesy of Manbir Sehmi

Eataly is really an amazing experience for the senses and a place to explore high-quality Italian food. Essentially, we are celebrating Italian culture, but we are not just importing everything. We are importing, oftentimes, Italian savoir faire or know-how and using local ingredients, Saper told SFGATE. We're making gelato with local milk and we're making fresh pasta. It'll be the best place to shop in the Bay Area if you're cooking at home and you want salumi or cheese, both Italian and local.

While Eatalys opening date is still uncertain at this time, Saper said hes hopeful the immersive food hall will welcome guests within the next three months. Once finished, Eataly will house a quick-service cafe on its first floor with Roman-style pizza by the square slice and Italian desserts such as gelato and tiramisu. The second floor will be dedicated to education, whether thats pairing a wine maker from Italy with a California namesake so the two can compare notes or classes on cheese and pasta making.

Eatalys third-floor space will be its largest and is slated to include two restaurants, a full-on marketplace with a high-quality butcher and cheese counter, as well as aisles with Italian imports and locally sourced pantry staples. Saber said parking will also be available on Eatalys third level, making it an accessible grocery stop for customers looking to pick up a quick bottle of wine or fresh-baked loaf for dinner.

Photo courtesy of Eataly USA

Its really the theater of food production. You're seeing the fresh pasta made in front of you. You're seeing the bread made in front of you. You're seeing the salumi sliced by hand. You're seeing tastings. You're seeing the pizza made. We find people and train them to make the recipes in a traditional style and an Italian style that we're bringing over, so we were really training artisans on site.

The Valley Fair mall location marks Eatalys ninth store in North America and its 41st in the world. Saper and his brother Alex were integral in bringing Eataly to New York in 2010 and have watched the high-end food hall expand throughout the country ever since. Saper said he was enamored by his experience at Eatalys flagship store in Torino, Italy, where he enjoyed eating his way through the markets, tasting the freshest cheese and getting to know the local culture through its food. Now, Eataly is slated to hire 300 positions from dishwasher to chef, cheesemonger to cash register operator, to create that same experience in the Bay Area.

Photo courtesy of Eataly USA

The thing that struck me about Italy is there is a love and a pleasure that's taken from great food. Everything with food tastes better with a story  and I don't mean a made-up story. But when you know the story of where your products are produced, where they come from, things taste better, he said. Food is filled with stories, and some of the stories are the best when they come from small producers. Those stories translate to great taste.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  Drugmaker Endo Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay the city of San Francisco $10 million over its role in selling prescription opioids in the city.

City Attorney David Chiu announced the settlement Wednesday, five days before a trial is to begin of the city's claims against other companies in the opioid industry.

Chiu said Endo, the maker of the prescription painkiller Percocet, is to pay $5 million this year and another $5 million over the next decade, with the money being used to fight the opioid epidemic.

The Malvern, Pennsylvania-based company has agreed to nearly $300 million worth of settlements of opioid claims with U.S. government entities since 2019, according to an Associated Press tally. One of them, for $25 million, came just this week with Alabama; that was announced along with about $250 million in agreements between the state and other companies.

An Endo spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

The San Francisco trial is scheduled to open in U.S. District Court on Monday with claims involving the drugmakers Allergan and Teva, distribution company Anda and pharmacy chain Walgreens.

Lawyers for the city are expected to delve into the toll on San Francisco. Last year, Mayor London Breed launched an initiative intended to bring down violence and overdoses in the city's Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods, where about two people a day were dying from overdoses.

One-fourth of the emergency room visits at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital are opioid-related, Chiu said Wednesday.

The companies will likely contend that the opioids they shipped and sold were prescribed legally.

It's among the first wave of federal cases chosen for trial from about 3,000 that were consolidated before a federal judge in Cleveland. Some companies have reached nationwide settlements, but cases involving others are going to trial in courts across the country.

Opioid trials are currently being held in state courts in Florida and West Virginia. Closing arguments in a Washington state case scheduled for this month were recently moved to July. And parties are awaiting a judge's ruling in another West Virginia trial held last year.

Overdoses from prescription and illicit opioids have been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. in the last two decades.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP)  One of two former Sedgwick County sheriffs employees accused of stealing cash, drugs and weapons from the departments evidence unit has been sentenced to a suspended jail term and one year of probation.

Marc Gordon, 47, was sentenced after pleading guilty earlier this month to one count of official misconduct and three counts of theft, all misdemeanors, the Wichita Eagle reported. He was sentenced to a year in jail, which was immediately suspended, and placed on probation for a year. Gordon would be subject to having the jail term reinstated if he fails to abide by the terms of his probation.
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)  A new Kansas fiscal forecast issued Wednesday predicted that inflation will boost state tax collections more than previously expected, intensifying the dispute between Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and the Republican-controlled Legislature over how to cut taxes.

Legislators also are likely to face increased pressure to add new spending to what already is set to be a relatively generous, $22 billion-plus state budget for the 12 months beginning July 1. Even before the new forecast, public school officials are pushing for additional dollars for special education programs.

The forecasters increased their projections for tax collections through June 2023 by $760 million. Their new projections are 4.6% higher than a forecast issued in November for the 2022 budget year that ends June 30 and 3.8% higher for the 2023 budget year. Tax collections had run ahead of expectations for each of the past 20 months.

But J.G. Scott, the head of the Legislature's research staff, and Adam Proffitt, the governor's budget director, said inflation  at its highest level in the U.S. since the early 1980s  is responsible for much of the newly anticipated growth in tax collections. The forecasters include Scott's and Proffitt's staffs, state Department of Revenue officials and university economists.

Really, the big impact on state receipts is really around inflation," Scott said during a Statehouse news conference with Proffitt. "In the short-term, it's really positive to receipts, but it could be really destabilizing if that is a continuing long-term trend.

The new forecast predicts that the fund Kansas uses to pay for general government programs will collect $9.3 billion in taxes for the 12 months ending June 30. The forecast predicts those tax collections will grow to $9.5 billion for the 2023 budget year.

The new forecast came the same day Kelly signed budget legislation that will set aside $500 million to deal with future financial problems, give state employees a pay raise and increase spending across state government.

Lawmakers expect to finish work on the state's next budget after they return April 25 from their annual spring break. However, they're also looking to cut taxes by $1.5 billion over the next three years.

Republican lawmakers are at odds with Kelly and fellow Democrats over eliminating the states 6.5% sales tax on groceries, among the highest in the nation. Even before the new forecast, Kelly argued that the states finances are strong enough that it can eliminate the tax this year.

Democratic lawmakers had a Statehouse news conference after the new forecast to press that point and urge Kansas residents to text photos of their grocery receipts to top lawmakers.

Jon McCormick, president and CEO of the Retail Grocers Association Missouri and Kansas, blamed the tax on groceries for his group losing more than 20 stores in border communities over the past 12 years. He also said that low-income families in those areas often spend money on gas and lunch while driving more than 20 minutes to stores.

Already, stores have closed," McCormick said. "People have to drive further. Weve got inflation.

GOP lawmakers are poised to approve a plan to phase out the sales tax on groceries over three years. Republicans are pursuing other tax cuts as well. House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr., an Olathe Republican, said in a statement that lawmakers should stay the course of paying down state debt, setting aside funds for future emergencies and reducing property taxes.

The spending bill Kelly signed Wednesday includes the bulk of the next state budget aside from money for the state's public K-12 schools. The governor said Kansas can confidently make critical investments in our state, and the 2022-23 budget allows us to continue to improve core services while investing in our future and setting the stage for additional economic growth.

The Legislature opened its annual session in January with its researchers forecasting that the state would end June 2023 with nearly $3.8 billion in cash reserves.

Kelly proposed setting aside $600 million for future emergencies, while GOP lawmakers pursued a proposal to use $1 billion in surplus funds to bolster the state pension fund for teachers and government workers.

Lawmakers are still working on a pensions bill that would put more than $1.1 billion in surplus funds into the pension system.

The measure Kelly signed provides a 5% pay increase for state workers, their first bump since 2018. It would allow the state to increase its payments to providers of in-home services to elderly and disabled Kansas residents and provide $95 million for higher education programs meant to train students for the workforce.

___

Andy Tsubasa Field is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

____

On Twitter, follow John Hanna at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna and Andy Tsubasa Field at https://twitter.com/AndyTsubasaF
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Alert: Police: 5 people found dead in Duluth, Minnesota, home after report of male in mental health crisis
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CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Australias prime minister and his opposition rival clashed heatedly over the country's tumultuous relationship with China on Wednesday in the first leaders' debate ahead of elections on May 21.

The opposition center-left Labor Party has accused Prime Minister Scott Morrisons conservative government of Australias biggest foreign policy blunder in the Pacific since World War II after China and the Solomon Islands announced this week they had signed a bilateral security pact.

The pact has raised fears of a Chinese naval presence on the Solomon Islands, only 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) off the northeast Australian coast.

Morrison said China was to blame for the new threat, not Australia, which is the Solomon Islands' main security partner.

It is a very serious issue, but what I found interesting today was that ... the Labor Party said that this was a policy failure. No, this has happened because China is seeking to interfere in the Pacific, Morrison said.

He said it was odd that the Labor Party was saying it was Australia's fault instead of acknowledging that China was interfering in the region.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese described that accusation as an outrageous slur.

This isnt so much a Pacific step up. Its a Pacific stuff up. This is a major foreign policy failure by Australia, Albanese said. The Labor leader was referring to Australias policy of increased engagement with its island neighbors, which the government describes as its Pacific step up.

The truth is we all know that China has changed. China has changed its posture. Its more aggressive, its more active in the region and we need to understand that and respond to it, Albanese added.

The government has described Labor as weak on China and argues that a Labor government would bend to Chinese economic coercion.

With China imposing official and unofficial trade sanctions against Australia in recent years, the government argues that Beijing wants Labor to win the election.

A conservative lobby group is running ads on the side of trucks depicting Chinese President Xi Jinping casting his vote for Labor.

Labor takes credit for thwarting the governments plan in 2014 to sign an extradition treaty with China. Bilateral relations have since deteriorated, and the government now warns that Australians risk arbitrary detention if they visit China.

Morrison on Wednesday said Labor had accused him of being too strong against China, pointing out to other world leaders how China was attempting to coerce Australia. Morrison said he had also been accused of racism for demanding an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus and for banning flights from China early in the pandemic.

Several experts say both parties are largely united on national security issues and that the government is fabricating differences on China.

Labor has been leading the government in most opinion polls in recent months. The government is seeking a rare fourth three-year term.

Wednesdays debate was hosted by News Corp. in the city of Brisbane in pivotal Queensland state in front of an audience of 100 people who have yet to decide who they would vote for. Albanese was voted the debate winner by 40 audience members, 35 gave it to Morrison and 25 were undecided.
WASHINGTON  This tech billionaire wants to take on Tesla  on the way to the United States Senate.

Dan ODowd, founder and chief executive officer of Green Hills Software, which builds operating services and programming tools for computer systems, announced his bid for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

ODowd simultaneously launched a multimillion-dollar national advertising campaign against Teslas Full Self-Driving technology. The television advertisement, Unsafe at Any Speed, includes videos of Teslas self-driving car malfunctioning.

Elon Musk is pushing Teslas defective Full Self-Driving technology, and its threatening people across the country. The government continues to allow Tesla to put unregulated, dangerous, and defective software on the street in the hands of 60,000 untrained drivers, ODowd said in an announcement launching his campaign. This is a public safety threat and Congress must take immediate action.

While banning the full self-driving technology is his big-ticket issue, he says his main issue is to make computers safe for humanity. He is running as a Democrat.

ODowd challenges incumbent Sen. Alex Padilla, Californias former secretary of state, who was tapped by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill Vice President Kamala Harris seat when she became vice president.

Padilla is favored to win by a long shot. But an intra-party rival in a flush billionaire could cost Padilla some needed votes in a crowded field of candidates.

Padilla will appear on the ballot twice this year: The first time is for a special election to finish this term. The second is for another six-year term starting in 2023. He has about $7.1 million on hand for his campaign, according to his most recent Federal Election Commission filing on March 31, 2022.

ODowd founded Green Hills Software with Carl Rosenberg in 1982 and has served as its president and CEO since.

Through Green Hills Software, ODowd has helped build operating systems for the likes of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Boeing, his campaign said. He founded The Dawn Project in 2021 to push for reliability and security in safety-critical computer systems. Its goal is to replace software in critical infrastructure to ensure it can neither fail nor be hacked.

A Dawn Project study of Teslas fully self-driving automobiles showed that they malfunction every eight minutes on average in city driving.

We did not sign up our families to be Tesla crash test dummies, ODowd said.

ODowd graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 1976 with the Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor that Caltech can bestow on a graduate. He lives with his wife in Santa Barbara; they have two grown sons.


TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP)  The Cherokee Nation has signed an agreement with the National Park Service to allow citizens to gather plants within Arkansas' Buffalo National River to use for purposes including food, crafts and medicine.

The river, located in Arkansas' Ozark Mountains, was established as the country's first national river in 1972.
KIGALI, Rwanda (AP)  A court in Rwanda sentenced a Chinese businessman to 20 years in prison for torture after he was filmed beating a local man last year.

Sun Shujun had been accused of beating his workers in a case that drew attention because he was filmed whipping a man tethered to a pole on the ground.
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ATHENS, Greece (AP)  Inside Greeces Orthodox churches, candles are a symbol of faith and simplicity, slender and traditionally made of beeswax, and placed in large candleholders filled with sand.

Outside, buyers are looking for a wow-factor to go with Easter gifts: They are sold with dolls, watches and karaoke microphones, or fashioned using dyes and molds in eye-catching designs that include beer bottles, smartphones and action heroes.

High-selling designs this Easter include pandemic-themed candles that resemble COVID-19 test kits, vaccination syringes and even red-colored representations of the ball-and-spike shaped virus itself.

This year, the COVID-test candle is definitely our best seller, says Giorgos Souliotis, who runs an online Easter candle store and a seasonal goods store in Athens blue collar Korydallos area, one of the citys most popular outlet for novelty candles.

People like to make light of something that has affected us all so badly. Last year, the top seller was a vaccination syringe-candle, he said.

His store carries more than 100 designs, with candles that resemble ice cream cones, sticks of dynamite, wrenches and kebabs. He works with a team of graphic designers, artists and workshops, the more intricate candles taking up to eight hours to make and selling for up to 20 euros ($22).

Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter this Sunday  with a combination of church and family traditions that Americans might relate to as a fusion of Christmas and Thanksgiving. Its marked with family meals, candlelight church gatherings, fireworks, and gifts to godchildren that must include the Easter candle.

About three-quarters of Greeks have completed their initial vaccination requirements and this years Easter celebrations will go ahead with the fewest restrictions in place since the start of the pandemic. That still includes mask and vaccination mandates at churches and many other shared indoor areas but stores and markets selling Easter goods are open.

We went through two Easters selling goods through our e-shop, but this year its different, Souliotis said. People like to come into the store. Hold the candles and just talk to us  Its much better now.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. rolled out new sanctions on Wednesday against more than 40 individuals and entities accused of evading the ongoing wave of penalties imposed on Russia as punishment for invading Ukraine.

The sanctions include the first set of penalties against a cryptocurrency mining firm in relation to the war.

The Treasury Departments sanctions arm designated the commercial bank Transkapitalbank, which has operations in China and the Middle East.

Transkapitalbank is a Russian privately owned commercial bank which the U.S. says has helped sanctioned clients process dollar payments, by providing an alternative communication channel to SWIFT  the dominant system for global financial transactions.

Treasury also targeted people and companies led by U.S.-designated Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev  the founder of a Russian Orthodox news channel, Tsargrad TV.

Malofeyev was also designated for sanctions in December 2014. Treasury said he was one of the main sources of financing for Russians promoting separatism in Crimea.

In a first, the U.S. government issued penalties against a cryptocurrency mining firm in relation to the war.

Digital currency firm Bitriver AG and 10 of its subsidiaries were included in Wednesday's package of sanctions from Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The United States is committed to ensuring that no asset, no matter how complex, becomes a mechanism for the Putin regime to offset the impact of sanctions, Treasury said in a statement.

Lawmakers and administration officials have voiced concerns that Russia may be using cryptocurrency to avoid pain from the avalanche of sanctions imposed on banks, oligarchs and the energy industry in recent months due to the invasion.

Experts say an increased reliance on cryptocurrency would be an inevitable avenue for Russia to try to prop up its financial transactions, but Treasury officials have rejected the claim that cryptocurrency could be a major driver of sanctions evasion.

Adam Zarazinski, CEO of Inca Digital, a crypto data company that does work for several federal agencies, says he predicts more penalties against cryptocurrency miners and firms could be forthcoming, as oligarchs and sanctioned individuals find ways to offload their money to avoid sanctions impacts.

He added that the sanctions may not have as grave an impact on Bitriver as the U.S. hopes, because even though Bitriver was sanctioned by the U.S. government, "it doesnt actually stop Bitriver from doing business  it can no longer interact with the U.S. financial system, he said.

In a statement that was released shortly after the sanctions became public, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Russias invasion is an assault on fundamental international rules and norms and threatens the core of the international order.

The United States stands resolutely with the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people.

The statement was released in connection with the joint International Monetary and Financial Committee and Development Committee meeting related to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings.
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NORFOLK, Va. (AP)  Dede Robertson, the wife of religious broadcaster Pat Robertson and a founding board member of the Christian Broadcasting Network, died Tuesday at her home in Virginia Beach, the network said in a statement.

Robertson was 94. The statement did not provide her cause of death.

Robertson became a born-again Christian several months after her husband found his faith. The couple, who met at Yale University in 1952, embarked on a journey that included living in a roach-infested commune in New York before Pat Robertson bought a tiny television station in Virginia that would become the Christian Broadcasting Network.

He later ran for president of the United States in 1988, with his wife campaigning by his side.

Mom was the glue that held the Robertson family together," said Gordon Robertson, one of her four children, and the president and CEO of CBN. She was always working behind the scenes. If it werent for Mom, there wouldnt be a CBN.

Adelia Dede Elmer was born in Columbus, Ohio, to middle-class Catholic Republicans. She got her bachelor's degree from Ohio State and a master's in nursing from Yale.

Robertson's future husband was the son of a Southern Baptist, Democratic U.S. senator. Eighteen months after meeting, they ran off to be married by a justice of the peace, knowing that neither family would approve.

Robertson's husband was interested in politics until he found religion, she told The Associated Press in 1987. He stunned her by pouring out their liquor, tearing a nude print off the wall and declaring he had found the Lord.

They moved into the commune in Bedford-Stuyvesant because Robertson said God had told him to sell all his possessions and minister to the poor. Robertson told The AP she was tempted to go back to Ohio, "but I realized that was not what the Lord would have me do ... I had promised to stay, so I did.

Pat Robertson later heard God tell him to buy the small TV station in Portsmouth, Virginia, which would become a global religious broadcasting network. He ran the network's flagship program, the 700 Club, for half a century before stepping down last fall.

In her autobiography, Robertson recalled bridling at staying at home and her husbands refusal to help around the house.

I was a Northerner, and Northern men just generally help around the house a little more, she said. I noticed the further south we moved, the less he did.

Her attitude changed after she had her own born-again experience at a church service, she told The AP. I began to see how important what he was doing really was.

Robertson said that women should not work outside the home while their children are young unless they must. She reared her kids and worked as a nursing professor after they went to school.

She had represented the U.S. on the Inter-American Commission of Women, which was established to ensure recognition of womens human rights. She also served on the board of Regent University, which her husband founded.

Pat Robertson said in a statement that his wife was a woman of great faith, a champion of the gospel, and a remarkable servant of Christ who has left an indelible print on all that she set her hand to during her extraordinary life.
INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP)  A Des Moines man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for the 2018 shooting death of a Cambridge woman.

Jaquarious Scoggins, 22, was sentenced last week after pleading guilty in January to second-degree murder for the death of 25-year-old Mercedes Wathen, the Des Moines Register reported Wednesday.
LEOTI, Kan. (AP)  Evacuations orders have been lifted in a western Kansas town threatened by a fertilizer plant fire, officials said.

Barricades to the town of Leoti had been removed by Tuesday night and those evacuated were allowed to return to their homes, Wichita County Clerk Lynda Goodrich told television station KWCH.

Parts of the town had been evacuated because hazardous materials were involved in the Tuesday afternoon fire at a Nutrien Ag Solutions plant in Leoti, a town of about 1,500 that lies 226 miles (364 kilometers) northwest of Wichita.

A company spokeswoman said Tuesday that no injuries were immediately reported from the fire.

It was not clear by Wednesday morning how many people had been evacuated. Goodrich said a temporary shelter was established at the Community Building in Leoti to help those temporarily displaced.
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JERUSALEM (AP)  Everyone worried this might happen.

In the weeks before a rare confluence of major Jewish, Christian and Muslim holidays, with tens of thousands of visitors expected in Jerusalem for the first time since the pandemic, Israeli, Palestinian and Arab leaders discussed how to calm tensions.

Israel took steps to ease the conditions of its nearly 55-year military rule over millions of Palestinians, lifting some movement restrictions and issuing thousands of work permits. Israeli police said they would work to ensure everyone could pray in peace.

The goal was to avoid a repeat of last year, when weeks of protests and clashes in Jerusalem eventually helped trigger an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers.

It hasn't worked out as planned.

Israel has seen the deadliest string of attacks in years. Its troops have launched arrest raids deep inside the occupied West Bank, triggering gunbattles. Clashes have broken out at a major site in Jerusalem sacred to Jews and Muslims and rockets have been fired from Gaza.

Here's a look at how we got here:

A WAVE OF ATTACKS

On March 22, a Palestinian citizen of Israel killed four people in a car-ramming and stabbing rampage in the city of Beersheba. Shooting attacks by Palestinians over the next three weeks, including in the heart of Tel Aviv, killed another 10.

Israeli authorities said the attackers acted mostly alone, and while Hamas and other militant groups cheered the attacks, none claimed them. Some of the assailants supported the Islamic State group, but there's no evidence it organized the attacks.

Israel launched raids across the occupied West Bank, arresting dozens. Palestinians hurled stones and firebombs, and in Jenin, a longtime militant stronghold, gunbattles erupted.

At least 26 Palestinians have been killed, according to an Associated Press count, including the attackers and many who took part in the clashes. But the dead also include a lawyer and an 18-year-old woman who appear to have been bystanders, as well as an unarmed woman shot dead at a checkpoint.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories to form their future state.

Israel has full control of over 60% of the West Bank, where it has built more than 130 settlements that are home to nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers. The increasingly unpopular Palestinian Authority administers major population centers and cooperates with Israel on security.

___

CLASHES IN JERUSALEM

On April 15, clashes erupted at dawn between Palestinians and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City. The police say Palestinians hurled stones at them and in the direction of an adjacent Jewish holy site, forcing them to move in. Palestinians say they used excessive force.

More than 150 Palestinians and three Israeli police were wounded. Police fired rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades and Palestinians hurled stones and fireworks. At one point, police burst into the mosque itself to arrest suspected stone-throwers inside.

Smaller confrontations have broken out since then, and on Sunday, Palestinians pelted buses with stones just outside the Old City.

A Hamas-led incitement campaign has been waged against Israel, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said this week. Israel is doing everything so that all peoples, as always, can celebrate the holidays safely  Jews, Muslims and Christians.

The sprawling esplanade where the mosque is located is the third holiest site in Islam and the holiest for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because two Jewish temples stood there in antiquity. It lies at the emotional core of the century-old conflict and has been ground zero for several outbreaks of violence.

The Palestinians view regular visits by nationalist and religious Jews under police escort as a provocation and possible prelude to Israel taking over the site or partitioning it. Israeli authorities say they are committed to maintaining the status quo.

The Old City is part of east Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in a move not recognized internationally and considers part of its capital. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state.

Discriminatory policies in east Jerusalem support the expansion of Jewish settlements. Palestinians are systematically denied construction permits, forcing many to build without authorization, risking home demolition. Dozens of Palestinian families are at risk of being forcibly removed from their homes because of a decades-long campaign by settlers to expand the Jewish presence in east Jerusalem.

Jews born in Jerusalem are Israeli citizens. Most Palestinians refuse Israeli citizenship, but those who seek it must go through a long and uncertain bureaucratic process. Palestinians who spend too much time outside east Jerusalem, for work, study or family reasons, can lose their residency and be prohibited from returning. That policy does not apply to Jews.

___

ROCKETS FROM GAZA

On Monday night, a rocket was fired into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip. The military intercepted it and carried out airstrikes. No one was hurt, and no one claimed the rocket  the first to be fired at Israel in months. Two more rockets were fired overnight, the army said Thursday, and Israel carried out more airstrikes.

Israel and Egypt have imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces 15 years ago. Unemployment hovers around 50%, electricity outages last around 12 hours a day, tap water is undrinkable, and Hamas remains firmly in power.

Israel and Hamas have fought four wars since 2008, compounding the misery of the 2 million Palestinians who live in the narrow coastal strip. Gaza has barely started to rebuild after the most recent one, which left more than 250 Palestinians dead, including 129 civilians, according to the U.N. Fourteen people were killed in Israel.

Gaza's woes long predate Hamas, which burst onto the scene in the late 1980s, during the first of two Palestinian uprisings against Israeli rule. The militant group  branded terrorists by Israel and Western countries  does not recognize Israel and has carried out numerous deadly attacks on Israeli civilians over the years.

More than half of the 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza are the descendants of refugees from what is now Israel who fled or were driven out during the 1948 war surrounding its creation.

Around 60% of Palestinians in all three territories are under the age of 30, with little or no memory of the Mideast peace process, which broke down more than a decade ago.

We have a very radicalized generation, said Mkhaimar Abusada, a political science professor at Gazas Al-Azhar University They dont really care if we go to another war with Israel or not, whether its over Al-Aqsa or any other thing.
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (AP)  A police officer was shot in the arm while responding to a domestic dispute outside a gas station in Florida, officials said.

The man's girlfriend called 911 from the restroom at a Circle K station in Pinellas Park on Tuesday night, saying he had threatened her.

Pinellas Park police officer Jacob Derr, 30, arrived at the gas station to talk to the man. But he was shot in the right bicep, shattering the bone and making it impossible to reach his gun, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said during a news conference early Wednesday.

The sheriff said officer KC Gavin arrived and exchanged gunfire with the man in the parking lot. No one was injured in that shooting.

The man carjacked someone at the gas station and drove toward Gavin, but did not hit her, the sheriff said.

The man led sheriff's deputies on a chase and he was arrested some 13 miles (21 kilometers) from the gas station. He is facing two counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and charges of carjacking and fleeing from law enforcement officers, the sheriff said.

Derr was taken to the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, Gualtieri said.

Because Gavin fired a weapon, the incident will be investigated by the Pinellas County Use of Deadly Force Investigative Taskforce, which was formed after the criminal justice protests of 2020. The agencies do not investigate their own use of force cases.
MONROE, Ga. (AP)  Opponents trying to derail a $5 billion, 7,500-job electric truck plant in Georgia dominated a state meeting this week that was meant to gather suggestions on how to design the plant to mitigate any impact on the environment.

The state assumed oversight over the Rivian Automotive project after opponents overwhelmed Morgan County planning and zoning officials. The plant was announced by the company and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in December, and is the biggest single industrial project in state history. The first meeting of one of the oversight committees was Monday in the city of Monroe.

The Irvine, California-based electric vehicle manufacturer announced last year that it would build the facility on a 2,000-acre (809-hectare) site in Morgan and Walton counties about 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Atlanta along Interstate 20. It plans to produce up to 400,000 vehicles a year there. Rivian, which also has a plant in Normal, Illinois, said it hopes to break ground as early as this summer and begin production in 2024.

The state panel, led by John Eunice, deputy director for the state Environmental Protection Division, did not get much cooperation from a hostile crowd that gathered at Athens Technical College in Monroe, news outlets reported. Opposition to the plant has been heavy from Rutledge-area residents who say the plant will spoil their rural quality of life.

Residents criticized the meeting as a sham, saying it's impossible to make meaningful suggestions when there's not yet a plant design and saying the state is only working to get the plant built.

I was sitting at home and I saw my governor get on TV and say Rivian, 2,000-acre plant, coming to Rutledge, Georgia and its a done deal," said Pam Jones.

Many speakers Monday voiced concerns about possible well-water contamination, light pollution, and the disruption of wildlife habitats and farmland for heavy industry.

I dont understand why you are sitting on that side of the table, which is the Rivian side of the table and why youre not sitting over here asking Rivian and Gov. Kemp to explain this environmental project and how its a disaster, said Edwin Snell of Oconee County.

A Rivian executive was present via video conference but did not speak during the hearing.

A spokesperson for Rivian said the meeting was a valuable opportunity for the company to gather input and that the company is committed to sharing details of their plans for the site once they are complete and meet our own high design and environmental standards.

The plant is a subject of contention in Georgia's Republican primary for governor, with former U.S. Sen. David Perdue attacking Kemp for agreeing to the Rivian location without support from neighbors.

Eunice said he does not know when Rivian will file for environmental permits needed to build the facility. He said the division will take public comment on the permits. Monday's meeting was the first of four planned for the site design and environmental committee. The state plans four meetings each with three other committees tasked with examining quality of life, workforce and local business engagement issues.
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A large crowd gathered Tuesday at Midland Center for the Arts to pay their respects to Diane Postler-Slattery and Don Slattery.

Diane and Don died in a plane crash on March 8 in northwest Florida. Diane was the president and CEO of MyMichigan Health. She was active in several local organizations including Midland Center for the Arts, Midland Business Alliance, Alma College and Midland 100 Club, among others. Don was a family man, a pilot with the local EAA chapter and was Dianes main supporter, appearing by her side for fundraisers and charitable causes.

More than 100 people lined up in front of the Center for the Arts shortly before 4 p.m. The polite chatter among colleagues and friends stopped as a procession of cars and emergency vehicles  including an ambulance carrying the cremains of Don and Diane  pulled into the parking lot.

As bagpipes played Amazing Grace, an honor walk took place, with family members carrying the two wooden urns.

Members of Don and Dianes family were in attendance on Tuesday, including their siblings; three children, Michael Fredericks, Michelle Grutzik and Melissa Swihart; and grandkids.

Swihart explained that while Midland is a close-knit community, it welcomed her parents with open arms when they moved here in 2013. She expressed her appreciation for the outpouring of love and support Midlanders have shown the family in the past month. Swihart said that as the family grieves, they are also working to remember and honor the happy memories of Don and Diane.

The celebration of life in Midland will help create those memories.

Were honored the Midland community wants to honor our parents in this way, Swihart said. Even though its been difficult for us, weve been focusing on what our parents have taught us and carrying on their legacy of faith, love, generosity and kindness. Weve found that Midland also embodies that legacy.

The community has been really amazing, Grutzik added. Were just so grateful.

Inside the Center for the Arts, guests filed into the auditorium to greet the family. The urns were placed in front of the stage, surrounded by flowers and pictures of Don and Diane. Small groups congregated in the lobby from 4 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., where there were refreshments, including Don's and Dianes favorite snacks, Snickers bars and M&Ms, respectively.

Renee Doherty, of MyMichigan Medical Center Clare, described Diane as a welcoming and warm person as well as a go-getter who went after her dreams. One of her favorite memories of the couple was when she met with them at a fly-in at the Clare Municipal Airport. At that time, Doherty had just met Diane, but Diane recognized her and called her by name. Doherty, however, mistakenly introduced Diane to her mom by a different name.

(Diane) laughed and she never let me forget it. But she made me feel so comfortable after I did that because I was mortified, Doherty said. She was very down to earth and made me feel comfortable with my own mistake.

Dana Thering of MyMichigan Health explained that Diane had high expectations for herself and her staff but helped the healthcare system because of her drive. However, she knew how to balance her personal and professional lives.

In her last conversation with Diane, Thering was feeling guilty for taking two vacations. Diane eased her worry. She told Thering that while their work in healthcare was important, it wasnt more important than family.

It has helped me very much over the past month, Thering said. Every day, she lived that message. I never met her family, but I felt like I knew them because she talked about them so often.

Diane brought fun into the workplace. A group from the finance department  which worked in the Gerstacker Building, where Dianes office was  shared how Diane changed the culture of MyMichigan Health, making it a positive environment. A regular tradition was Friday Fun, where she would schedule a fun activity for the staff. Events included laughing yoga, derby races, wrapping employees in toilet paper and listing favorite books or vacation destinations on office doors. One time, Diane dressed up as a police officer, handing out $1 fines for messy workspaces.

It was hilarious to see her come around the corner in a different costume, said Julie Skutt.

It can get a little stressful at work sometimes, said Kim Frye. Youre always working and have a lot to do, so she really tried to make sure that we had a break.

She always checked in to see how you were doing, see how your kids were doing, said Jeramie Soderberg She took the time to try to get to know everyone. She was always there for us.

Colleagues and friends of Don and Diane presented remarks during a celebration of life service that began at 6 p.m.

Following Tuesdays service, the couples cremains will return to Wisconsin with the family.
Martin Meissner/AP

BERLIN (AP)  Germany's domestic intelligence agency said Wednesday that antisemitic offenses are continuing to rise and those that come to light are only the tip of the iceberg.

The head of the BfV agency, Thomas Haldenwang, said it is alarming that antisemitic narratives are sometimes embraced by people in the middle of German society, serving as a link between social discourse and extremist ideologies.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP)  Maine Gov. Janet Mills' proposal to place new regulations on electric utilities was in limbo after failing to win enough support in the House.

The bill would bring new accountability to Central Maine Power and Versant Power by establishing new performance measures and adding financial penalties for failure to meet the benchmarks. In extreme circumstances, the utilities could be sold for repeated violations.
BOISE, Idaho (AP)  The Idaho Supreme Court has allowed state lawmakers to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a law they passed earlier this year that would ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.

The court on Monday without comment approved a request by Republican House Speaker Scott Bedke, Republican Senate President Pro-Tem Chuck Winder and the Legislature to take part in the case.

The law is modeled after a Texas law enforced through lawsuits to avoid constitutional court challenges. The law had been scheduled to take effect Friday but was temporarily blocked by the court following a lawsuit by a regional Planned Parenthood organization, which called the law an unprecedented power grab by the Idaho Legislature.

The father, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles of a preborn child could each sue an abortion provider for a minimum of $20,000 in damages within four years after the abortion, according to the law. Rapists cant file a lawsuit under the law, but a rapists relatives could.

The lawsuit was filed late last month by Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, which operates 40 health centers across six states. Planned Parenthood contends, among other arguments, that the law is unconstitutional because it violates the Idaho Constitution requiring separation of powers by eliminating the executive branchs authority and duty to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed.

The lawmakers' request to intervene  with their own private attorneys using taxpayer dollars  noted that an analysis by the Idaho attorney general's office concluded that a court might find the then-proposed law an unconstitutional delegation of the Governor's enforcement power to private citizens and violate the separation of powers under the Idaho Constitution.

Lawmakers also said that when Republican Gov. Brad Little signed the bill, which had passed the House and Senate with veto-proof majorities, he inserted himself into the legal debate by writing in his transmittal letter that he feared the law's novel civil enforcement mechanism will in short order be proven both unconstitutional and unwise."

Because of the analysis by the attorney general's office, and because the law put the Legislature in conflict with the executive branch, the Legislature should be allowed to defend the law, lawmakers argued.

Planned Parenthood's arguments challenging the constitutionality of the abortion law directly implicate the Legislatures authority and, further, place the Legislature in conflict with the Executive Branch and with the prior statements of the Idaho Attorney Generals office," lawmakers wrote. Consequently, the Legislature has its own uniquely situated interests in this proceeding and, therefore, seeks to protect those interests through intervention.

When the state is sued over its laws, it often falls to the Idaho attorney generals office to defend the states views, even in cases where the attorney generals office previously warned lawmakers that the legislation would likely be found unconstitutional. But in some cases, the Legislature has hired private attorneys to represent lawmakers interests in court.

The state has been sued several times in recent history after lawmakers passed laws that were found to be unconstitutional. Idaho has been on the losing end of lawsuits over abortion restrictions, laws targeting transgender residents and laws attempting to restrict resident-led voter initiatives, to name a few, ultimately costing taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees.

In the abortion case, lawmakers said they are prepared to comply with the court's timelines, and their request to intervene wouldn't cause a delay.

The court earlier this month without comment rejected a request by the Roman Catholic Church in Idaho to intervene in the lawsuit.
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TOKYO (AP)  Japan enacted a law on Wednesday formally revoking Russia's most favored nation trade status over its invasion of Ukraine, as Tokyo steps up sanctions amid revelations of Russian military atrocities against civilians.

The stripping of Russias trade status is Japan's latest move against Moscow and is part of a list of sanction measures Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced last month that also include a decision to expel eight Russian diplomats and trade officials.

The revocation of Russias trade status by Japan's Parliament, which takes effect later this month, and other sanctions collectively imposed by other countries, are expected to intensify pressure on Russia, but the moves could also prompt reprisals from Moscow.

The revocation of the trade status applies to tariffs on most imports from Russia, allowing Tokyo to impose higher duties on such products. The measure, however, does not affect imports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas, as well as palladium, a type of rare metal, which had no tariffs before Russia joined the World Trade Organization in 2012 and gained the most favored nation status.

It followed a decision along with the U.S. and other members of the Group of Seven industrialized nations to do so.

Wednesday's parliamentary decision also included a revision of a foreign exchange law to prevent the transfer of virtual currency held by those subject to asset freezing.

Japan is taking a greater role in the international effort against Russia because of its concerns about the impact of the invasion in East Asia, where Chinas military has grown increasingly assertive.

Japan has also frozen the assets of hundreds of Russian individuals and groups and banned new investment and trade, including the export of goods that could be used for military purposes. Japan also announced plans to phase out imports of Russian coal.

On Wednesday, the eight Russian diplomats and officials subject to expulsion traveled from the Russian Embassy in Tokyo on a bus to the city's Haneda International Airport, where they took a Russian government plane home. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed the departure of the eight and their families.

Japan has already faced reprisals from Russia. Moscow recently announced the suspension of talks on a peace treaty with Tokyo that included negotiations over Russian-held islands that the former Soviet Union seized from Japan at the end of World War II.

Japan's trade with Russia is relatively small but has been growing swiftly in recent years, with exports in the fiscal year that ended in March up nearly 40% and imports up almost 70%.
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LONDON (AP)  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is trying to set aside his political troubles and focus on economic ties and the war in Ukraine during a long-delayed official trip to India.

Johnson landed in the western state of Gujarat on Thursday, kicking off a two-day visit that will see him meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday.

Johnson hopes to strike new economic deals between Britain and its huge former colony, and to coax India away from Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Modi has called the situation in Ukraine very worrying and has appealed to both sides for peace. But India has stood back from international efforts to criticize President Vladimir Putin, abstaining when the U.N. General Assembly voted this month to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.

Modi has so far responded coolly to pressure from President Joe Biden and others to curb imports of Russian oil and gas.

India receives little of its oil from Russia, but has ramped up its purchases and bought 3 million barrels of crude last month, just as other democracies tried to isolate Putin with economic sanctions. India is also a major customer for Russian weapons, and recently bought advanced Russian air defense systems.

Johnsons spokesman, Max Blain, said Britain would work with other countries to provide alternative options for defense procurement and energy for India to diversify its supply chains away from Russia.

But he stressed that the U.K. wouldnt lecture other democratically elected governments on what course of action was best for them.

Johnsons office said the two countries will announce new deals on defense, green energy, jobs and science partnerships during the prime ministers trip.

In Gujarat, Johnson plans to announce a series of commercial agreements, including more than 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) in investments and export deals in sectors like software engineering and health that are expected to create almost 11,000 jobs in the U.K., according to a press release from the British High Commission in New Delhi.

As I arrive in India today, I see vast possibilities for what our two great nations can achieve together," Johnson was quoted as saying in the release.

Our powerhouse partnership is delivering jobs, growth and opportunities for our people, and it will only go from strength-to-strength in the coming years, Johnson added.

Britain is seeking to tighten ties with Asian nations as part of an Indo-Pacific tilt to its foreign policy following its departure from the European Union in 2020. Johnson hopes to nudge forward negotiations on a post-Brexit trade deal between Britain and India, one of the worlds fastest-growing economies.

Talks started in January, but the prime ministers spokesman played down chances of a quick deal, saying we dont want to sacrifice quality for speed.

The trip may also provide the British prime minister with a brief respite from a scandal over lockdown-breaching government parties during the coronavirus pandemic.

Johnson was fined by police last week for attending his own surprise birthday party in 10 Downing St. in June 2020, when people in Britain were barred from meeting with friends and family outside the home. It is one of a dozen gatherings in government buildings being investigating by police for possible lockdown breaches in a scandal that has become known as partygate.

On Tuesday, Johnson offered lawmakers in Parliament what he said was a wholehearted apology, but insisted he didnt knowingly break rules and brushed off calls to resign.

The trip means Johnson will miss an opposition-triggered vote Thursday in the House of Commons on whether he should be investigated for allegedly misleading Parliament when he denied violating any pandemic restrictions.

His trip to India was scheduled and canceled twice previously due to developments in the pandemic.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP)  A Southern California jury on Tuesday awarded $1.5 million to the family of a man who was mistakenly declared dead by authorities, resulting in a stranger being buried in the family plot.

A Superior Court jury found the Orange County coroner's office committed negligence and intentional misrepresentation when it declared Frankie Kerrigan dead in 2017.

The office said that Kerrigan, who was 57 at the time, had schizophrenia and frequently lived on the streets, had died that May outside a store in Fountain Valley.

A police officer told the coroner's office that he believed the body was Kerrigan's based on previous contacts and a deputy coroner misidentified him based on Kerrigan's 11-year-old driver's license photo.

Fingerprints from the dead man were sent to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies and turned out to belong to another man, John Dean Dickens, 54. However, the identification code for the prints wasn't checked due to an employee lack of training on a new digital system, a coroner's official testified at the trial.

Authorities handed over a body to the family, who held a Catholic Mass and a burial with an open-casket viewing.

I touched his hair, and I said goodbye, Kerrigan's father, Francis Kerrigan, testified at the trial in Santa Ana.

But a little over two weeks after the family was notified of Kerrigans death, a friend who had been a pallbearer at the funeral called the father to say Kerrigan had shown up at his house.

Kerrigan said he was overjoyed for about a minute" before thinking: Oh my God, there's a stranger in Frankie's grave."

The jury awarded $1.1 million to Francis Kerrigan and $400,000 to his daughter, Carole Meikle.

This is a wake-up call for the county and every single county out there, Kerrigan's father said. It can happen to anybody.

Norm Watkins, who represented the county, said there wasn't any intention to deceive the family and the county will decide whether to appeal the jury verdict.

Dickens, a Kansas native who died of heart disease, was exhumed from the family gravesite and his body returned to his relatives.

Kerrigan is currently living in a hotel and hasn't been told about the verdict, his family said.

James DeSimone, an attorney who represented Kerrigan and Meikle, said Kerrigan hasn't been taking his medication but he is relatively stable, with a roof over his head."

If he has some inclination theres a court case going on, theyre afraid hell just bolt, the attorney said.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)  Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Wednesday vetoed a measure tucked into a spending bill that would have allowed Kansas legislators to reconsider a decision not to join the state pension system for teachers and government workers.

The state constitution gives governors the power to veto individual items in spending bills even while signing them, and Kelly used it to strike what she called an exclusive opportunity for members of the Republican-controlled Legislature that's not available to other public employees.
LOS ANGELES  A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Tuesday sentenced the man convicted in the murder of Jacqueline Avant to 150 years to life in prison, saying he shot a "highly vulnerable" 81-year-old woman in the back and then giggled about it afterward.

Judge Kathryn Solorzano said that after fatally shooting Avant, a well-known philanthropist, Aariel Maynor fired multiple times at an unarmed security guard as he fled the Beverly Hills home. The judge said the 29-year-old career criminal planned the burglary, looking up the home ownership records of Avant's husband, music industry legend Clarence Avant.

"He shot her in the back, indicating she was not a threat to him," Solorzano said.

She sentenced Maynor to 150 years to life for murder, with three-strikes enhancements, plus a consecutive 40 years for his other crimes.

Before the sentence was handed down, Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila played a recording of Maynor in the Los Angeles County jail in which he called a female friend and laughed about the Dec. 1 killing and the publicity surrounding it.

"That's not funny. That somebody's life," the unidentified woman replied.

In the recording, Maynor boasted that he "was all over the news" and wondered, "You think my mama's seen that, though?"

He told the woman in the jailhouse call he expected to get $50,000 from a burglary there that night.

Maynor had pleaded guilty to Avant's premeditated murder as well as the attempted murder of the security guard, possession of a firearm by a felon and two counts of burglary.

Avant's daughter, Nicole Avant, said in a letter to the judge that was read by prosecutor before sentencing that "the only word to describe the state of our family is shattered."

"We are asking the defendant spend the rest of his life prison," the letter stated.

Jacqueline Avant served as president of the Neighborhood of Watts, a support group for child care in South Los Angeles. Her husband advised or produced a slew of hit-making musicians, including Jimmy Smith, Bill Withers, Babyface and Lalo Schifrin. Known as the "Black Godfather," Clarence Avant received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year.

The slaying triggered a public outcry over a new wave of violent crimes in Los Angeles County.

Prosecutors had sought 150 years to life for Maynorwith the three-strikes enhancement, plus a consecutive 43-year term for his other crimes.

Maynor's lawyer, deputy public defender Marcus Huntley, tried to persuade the judge to remove his prior strikes.

But Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon's prosecutors sought to ensure Maynor would not qualify for early release because he has two previous convictions. Though prosecutors did not seek life without parole in his case, Gascon said that "this is a de facto sentence that will result in Maynor spending the rest of his life in prison."

In asking the judge to consider his background, Huntley acknowledged that Maynor will never leave prison. But the judge said his prior crimes were violent. "I don't have any record he has done anything positive in prison," she said.

Wearing a white jail shirt and seated in a wheelchair, Maynor showed no reaction when the recording of him laughing was played for the court or when he was sentenced.

Security video from a neighboring home captured Maynor in dark clothing approaching the Avants' house with the AR-15-style rifle. He told detectives that once inside the home, he was startled by Jacqueline Avant, who yelled at him.

A few minutes later, the camera caught him fleeing and turning around to fire five shots in the direction of the guard, then frantically fumbling to get into his Lexus. He dropped a red glove that would tie him to the crime.

"He shot Jacqueline Avant in the back with a large-caliber weapon and attempted to kill a security guard," Avila wrote in a sentencing memorandum. "If that was not enough, within an hour, he decided to break into another home with the same firearm."

When the burglary at the Avant house failed, Maynor went to a home in the Hollywood Hills and attempted another one. A short time later, he was captured by Los Angeles police in the backyard of that home, where he had shot himself in the foot with the rifle he'd used to kill Avant an hour earlier.

It remains unclear why Maynor targeted the Avants' home or if he knew whose residence he'd broken into.

Maynor was paroled from state prison three months before shooting Avant. According to the sentencing memorandum, he had two prior convictions for robbery and causing great bodily injury. His most recent robbery was committed three years before he killed Avant.

According to a probation report, Maynor was 21 and homeless at the time of his first robbery conviction, in which he shoved a woman to the ground and kicked her in the face in Hollywood.

Los Angeles police arrested Maynor for robbery a second time in 2018, records show. While in jail, he reported suffering from bipolar disorder, among other conditions, and said he had been taking medication to treat schizophrenia.

"It was a horrific, tragic crime, the impact of which continues to traumatize her family and the greater community," Gascon said in an interview Monday of Avant's killing. "I wanted to hold him accountable but at the same time avoid a painful trial for the family. ... Mr. Maynor has been in the system since 12. It speaks to the failure of the criminal justice system. He rated as the highest of most violent offenders in the prison system."


SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)  A man charged with setting a fire that gutted a Northern California Home Depot, prompted hundreds to flee and filled the sky with smoke was trying to cover up a theft of tools, authorities said Tuesday.

Dyllin Jaycruz Gogue, 27, of San Jose, was arrested last Friday. He appeared in court Tuesday and was given a public defender and a June 1 court date to enter a plea. He was being held without bail.

Gogue is accused of setting a fire that began in the lumber section of the Home Depot in South San Jose on April 9. He was trying to create a distraction while making off with a cart full of tools but drove off without taking them, prosecutors said.

The five-alarm fire destroyed the store, causing an estimated $17 million in damage to the store contents. The fire, which took about 100 firefighters six hours to control, sent up a huge black plume of smoke. People in nearby homes and businesses were told to stay inside out of concerns that the smoke might contain toxic chemicals.

The fire burned near hundreds of homes and was so hot that it was seen by satellites, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said at a news conference.

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said the fire erupted on a weekend when the store was full of shoppers and he was thankful that his office is not prosecuting a multiple murder case today.

Miraculously no one was hurt," he said. But it came close  far, far too close  to causing many injuries and deaths.

Gogue allegedly stole items from a Bass Pro Shop before the fire, and he went on to steal from a Macy's store afterward, authorities said.

In addition to aggravated arson, he also is charged with grand theft and petty theft involving shoplifting at six South San Jose stores between last October and April 2.

The new theft charges span from October 2021 to April 2, involving $17,000 worth of items from six South San Jose retailers. He could face a potential life sentence if convicted of all charges, prosecutors said.
SEATTLE (AP)  A 63-year-old man who was arrested by Seattle police Tuesday and booked into the King County Jail was found unresponsive in a holding cell and died soon after he was taken to Harborview Medical Center, officials said.

The King County Department of Adult & Juvenile Detention says the man is the fifth person to die this year while in custody at downtown Seattle jail, The Seattle Times reported.
BILOXI, Miss. (AP)  A Mississippi grand jury has found no criminal fault by law enforcement officers in the shooting deaths of a Black man and his baby after a low-speed highway chase nearly a year ago.

Eric Smith, 30, and his 3-month old son, LaMello Parker, were killed after officers chased Smith on Interstate 10 last May 3. Authorities said Smith was suspected of killing two people, including his son's mother, in Baker, Louisiana, before driving into Mississippi.

News outlets reported the Harrison County grand jury released its report Tuesday.

Videos of the shooting showed law enforcement officers firing more than 20 rounds into Smiths car. Smith died at the scene, and the baby died a day later of a gunshot wound to the back, according to officials.

Mississippi Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell said Tuesday that Smiths actions were violent and reckless and showed no regard for others. Tindell said that at one point, Smith got out of his vehicle, held the baby to his chest and shot at officers.

Although all of the agencies involved took several steps to prevent this tragic outcome, LaMello Parkers life was needlessly taken as a direct result of the violent actions of his father, Eric Smith," Tindell said in a statement.

Activists from multiple groups, including the NAACP, Mississippi Rising Coalition, Black Lives Matter and the American Descendants of Slaves, have been pushing for answers and demanding transparency in the investigation of the shooting deaths.

Col. Randy Ginn, director of the Mississippi Highway Patrol, praised the grand jury's decision but said in a statement that the tragic loss of LaMello Parkers life was unnecessary.

On that day, state troopers and other law enforcement officers went to extraordinary lengths in their attempts to resolve this incident in a peaceful manner," Ginn said. "We continue to grieve for the families of all those involved and will continue to pray for their healing.

The Department of Public Safety usually investigates shootings of or by law enforcement officers. Biloxi Police Department investigated the shootings of Smith and La'Mello because state troopers were among those firing shots. The FBI analyzed evidence, including shell casings collected at the site.

Authorities said Smith had left Louisiana after allegedly shooting and killing the baby's mother, Christin Parker, 32, and her nephew, Brandon Parker, 26, at a home near Baton Rouge.

Smith took the baby and drove into Mississippi, where law enforcement started pursuing him on I-10, according to authorities. Officers used spikes to flatten his tires, and he drove as slowly as 10 mph (16 kph) at times. At one point, Smith drove into the interstate median near an exit.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP)  A Missouri bill passed by the state House on Tuesday would put restrictions on how race is talked about in public K-12 schools.

The GOP-led House on Tuesday voted 85-59 in favor of the bill, with some Republicans opposing the measure. It now goes to the Republican-led Senate.

The legislation would ban schools from compelling students or teaching from saying that individuals, by virtue of their race, ethnicity, color, or national origin, bear collective guilt and are inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, ethnicity, color, or national origin.

The measure also bans schools from compelling students and teachers to affirm that individuals of any race, ethnicity, color, or national origin are inherently superior or inferior.

Students, parents or teachers could file complaints alleging violations of those bans with the state education department or Missouri attorney general.

Supporters argued that the bill is needed to prevent classrooms from being used to indoctrinate children. But critics said the measure could have a chilling effect and might scare educators away from having difficult discussions about race and American history.

Americas history is not squeaky clean," Democratic Rep. LaKeySha Bosley said. We need to be open-minded about that and have the hard conversations and not be scared to talk it through.

Similar language has been advanced in Republican-led legislatures in states including Florida and Mississippi.

The Missouri bill comes as Republicans across the country have been raising money by saying critical race theory is a threat.

Critical race theory is an academic framework that examines how racism has shaped public policy and institutions such as the legal system, and how those have perpetuated the dominance of white people in society.

The Missouri legislation doesn't mention critical race theory but alludes to the concept.

The measure also includes a number of provisions aimed at forcing schools to open their doors more widely to parents or face the threat of funding restrictions or lawsuits.

Parents Bill of Rights Act of 2022" and would require school boards to recognize and affirm the protected right of parents to direct the education of their minor child, among other parental privileges in public schools including the right to visit their child in school.

Republican Rep. Mike Stephens said hes deeply afraid" the provision on parents' controlling their children's education could hamper public education.

This language can wreak havoc in the classroom, Republican Rep. Mike Stephens said. Even though we want schools to be more open and we want the institutions of the public schools to be more open, we still have to have a system that is functional and that is not hamstrung by overkill and overzealous regulations.

Other Republicans disagreed.

I have no problem whatsoever with tipping the scales in favor of the parents, because that's how we communicate that we will work to regain your trust, Republican Rep. Doug Richey said.

Under the measure, schools would be required to notify parents of misdemeanors or felonies committed by teachers and staff. Students could not participate in extracurriculars or field trips without parent permission.

Another section requires schools to publicly share class curricula, teacher salaries and documents used for professional development.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  Federal authorities are taking to the airwaves to call attention to unsolved homicide and missing person cases on the largest Native American reservation in the U.S. as several states are starting to funnel more resources and investigators toward solving such cases.

The FBI on Tuesday announced it's running a 60-second radio ad in the Navajo language to call attention to what family members and advocacy groups have described as a crisis that is affecting Indian Country.

Airing twice a day on an AM radio station broadcasting from the Navajo capital of Window Rock, Arizona, the spot features a plea from the mother of Lee Michael Pahe, who was found fatally shot last summer in Naschitti, New Mexico.

You dont have to understand Navajo to feel the emotion of the mother who speaks about the loss of her son in this ad, Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda of the Albuquerque FBI Division said in a statement. Violent crime affects everyone the same way, and everyone deserves justice."

The radio spot comes as New Mexico implements legislation adopted earlier this year to ensure more effective coordination among law enforcement agencies when it comes to missing Native Americans or unsolved homicides. State Attorney General Hector Balderas has met with victims regarding obstacles to reporting, investigation and other issues that they have experienced.

From Arizona to Wisconsin, many states are taking action to address the crisis. In Washington, for example, officials there recently created a first-in-the-nation statewide alert system.

On the Navajo Nation, which spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, federal authorities hope listeners will come forward if they have any information about Pahe's case or the others the FBI and Navajo Nation law enforcement are investigating.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible for his killing.

Pahe's mother, Sharon Lee-Begay, said her son was married and was a father and that she's relying on the compassion of fellow Navajos in hopes of solving the case.

In March 2020, the FBI field offices in Albuquerque and Phoenix began issuing posters in the Navajo language asking for information about more than a dozen unsolved homicide and missing person cases. They began including audio clips in Navajo with the posters starting last February.
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RALEIGH. N.C. (AP)  North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson endorses Ted Budd for next month's U.S. Senate Republican primary in a new commercial in which he also criticizes the state GOP's former standard bearer, ex-Gov. Pat McCrory.

Robinson appears in an ad from the Club for Growth Action super PAC, which began airing it on statewide television Wednesday, group spokesperson Joe Kildea said.

The committee plans to spend $1.3 million over two weeks running the commercial on TV, Kildea said  part of the $14 million it said it was prepared to spend in the North Carolina primary. The group already has reported spending several million dollars, largely to support Budd and oppose McCrory in the race.

The testimonial by Robinson, a recent rising force among North Carolina Republicans, sticks to themes of other ads associated with Washington-based Club for Growth Action that have portrayed McCrory as liberal.

Now look, I voted for Pat McCrory in the past, but not this time. Pats a nice guy, but hes no conservative, Robinson says in the ad, calling Budd, a current U.S. House member, the principled, conservative choice for U.S. Senate.

Robinson, elected the state's first Black lieutenant governor in 2020, had already announced his endorsement of Budd earlier this month at Donald Trump's rally in Johnston County, where the former president stumped for Budd and other candidates in GOP races he had already backed.

The Robinson ad also repeated recent criticism that McCrory appointed several registered Democrats to the state textbook commission while he was governor.

Robinson, a likely candidate for governor in 2024, has been an outspoken advocate of efforts to limit what conservatives call racial indoctrination or critical race theory in classrooms.

Pat put liberals in charge of state textbooks, Robinson says in the ad.

State law says the governor appoints commission members based on the recommendations of the state school superintendent, who was Democrat June Atkinson during McCrory's tenure as governor from 2013 through 2016.

The governors involvement is basically a formality of following state statute, McCrory said in an interview with WRAL-TV, which first reported on the commercial. Maybe the new lieutenant governor doesnt know that law.

McCrory accused the super PAC of trying to steal this election through deception.

Robinson told the TV station that McCrory could have done more to block the Democratic appointments.

By endorsing Budd, Robinson also had to turn away from formally backing former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker in the 14-candidate primary. The two are friends, both from Guilford County.

It was something I really had to pray about, Robinson told WRAL. It was something I did not take lightly because me and him have been very close.

Walker, McCrory and combat veteran Marjorie Eastman planned to participate in a televised debate Wednesday evening. But as with similar TV debates since February, Budd declined to join his rivals.

The GOP primary winner likely will take on former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, who is the front-runner in the May 17 Democratic primary race, this fall.
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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  New Mexico workplace safety regulators on Wednesday issued the maximum possible fine of nearly $137,000 against a film production company for firearms safety failures on the set of Rust where actor and producer Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in October.

New Mexicos Occupational Health and Safety Bureau said Rust Movie Productions must pay $136,793, and distributed a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set prior to the fatal shooting. The bureau also documented gun safety complaints from crew members that went unheeded and said weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training.

What we had, based on our investigators' findings, was a set of obvious hazards to employees regarding the use of firearms and managements failure to act upon those obvious hazards, Bob Genoway, bureau chief for occupational safety, told The Associated Press.

At a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021, Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins inside a small church during setup for the filming of a scene when it went off, killing Hutchins and wounding the director, Joel Souza.

Baldwin said in a December interview with ABC News that he was pointing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction on the New Mexico set of the Western film when it went off without his pulling the trigger.

The new occupational safety report confirms that a large-caliber revolver was handed to Baldwin by an assistant director, David Halls, without consulting with on-set weapons specialists during or after the gun was loaded. Regulators note that Halls also served as safety coordinator and that he was present and witnessed two accidental discharges of rifles on set, and that he and other managers who knew of the misfires took no investigative, corrective or disciplinary action. Crew members expressed surprise and discomfort.

The Safety Coordinator was present on set and took no direct action to address safety concerns," the report states. Management was provided with multiple opportunities to take corrective actions and chose not to do so. As a result of these failures, Director Joel Souza and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were severely injured. Halyna Hutchins succumbed to her injuries.

Rust Movie Productions said through a spokesperson that it would dispute the findings and sanction.

While we appreciate OSHAs time and effort in its investigation, we disagree with its findings and plan to appeal," said Stefan Friedman. Any appeal would be heard initially by the state's occupational health and safety commission.

Baldwin issued a statement from his attorney, asserting that the safety investigation exonerates Mr. Baldwin."

An attorney for Halls was not immediately available.

The state fine applies to a film with a budget of about $7 million. Baldwin was assigned a salary of $250,000 as an actor and producer and may have put some of that money back into the production.

At least five lawsuits have been filed over the shooting, including a wrongful death suit brought by Hutchins family against Baldwin and the movies other producers. The lawsuit on behalf of widower Matt Hutchins and his 9-year-old son alleges a callous disregard in the face of safety complaints on the set.

James Kenney, secretary of the Environment Department that oversees occupational safety, said the agency dedicated 1,500 staff hours to its investigation, examined hundreds of documents and conducted at least a dozen interviews with cast and crew members.

Investigators found production managers placed tight limits on resources for a small team that controlled weapons on set and failed to address concerns about a shotgun left unattended twice.

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the daughter of a sharpshooter and consultant to film productions, was limited to eight paid days as an armorer to oversee weapons and training, and was assigned otherwise to lighter duties as a props assistant. As her time as an armorer ran out, Gutierrez Reed warned a manager and was rebuffed.

Gutierrez Reed is both a plaintiff and a defendant in lawsuits seeking damages in the fatal shooting. In a statement Wednesday, her attorney highlighted findings that the armorer was not provided adequate time or resources to conduct her job effectively.

Safety investigators also note that the production company did not develop a process to ensure live rounds of ammunition were not brought on set, in violation of industry safety protocols. Safety meetings were conducted, but not every day weapons were used, as required.

Kenney said the separate investigations into possible criminal charges are still underway. The Santa Fe County sheriff and local prosecutors had no immediate comment.

Kenney said his agency received no direct safety complaints from cast or crew prior to the fatal shooting, even though anonymity is offered.

This tragedy, this loss of life, it could have been prevented, and we want people to say something, he said.

Kenney was appointed in 2019 by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a staunch advocate for the film industry who increased a state cap in industry incentives shortly after taking office.

New Mexico competes with non-Hollywood production sites in states such as Georgia, Louisiana and New York. Film productions have flocked to New Mexico in recent years to seize on its diverse outdoor scenery, moderate costs and generous state incentives, including a rebate of between 25% and 35% of in-state spending for video production that helps filmmakers large and small underwrite their work.

___

This story has been updated to correct the state workplace safety fine to $136,793 instead of $139,793.
WASILLA, Alaska (AP)  Sarah Palin isn't used to sharing the spotlight.

In the nearly 14 years since she burst onto the national political scene, the former Alaska governor has appeared on reality television programs, written books, spent time as a Fox News contributor, formed a political action committee in her name and been a rumored White House contender. She more recently revived her status as a conservative sensation with an ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit against The New York Times.

Now, the first Republican female vice presidential nominee is vying for what could be considered a less glamorous role: a member of the U.S. House.

Palin is among 48 candidates running for Alaska's lone House seat following the death last month of Republican Rep. Don Young, who held the job for 49 years. If successful, Palin would be one of 435 members in a chamber where ambition runs deep but legislating is tough, in no small part because of the populist politics that took hold in the aftermath of the 2008 election.

Given those dynamics, it would be easy to dismiss Palin's candidacy as the latest headline-grabbing twist in an unconventional career. Some of her critics have sought to cast her as an opportunist seeking to bolster her brand. The opinion section of the website of Alaska's largest newspaper is dotted with letters to the editor urging Alaskans to reject her run. Some remind readers she left the last major job she had in politics, as Alaska's governor, with about 16 months left in her term.

But in a recent interview with The Associated Press, Palin, 58, dismissed such critiques. She insisted her commitment to Alaska has not wavered and those who suggest otherwise don't know me. She said she is serious about seeking the House seat and doesn't need a launching pad for anything else.

In fact, she said, her unique place in American politics would put her in a stronger position in Washington. Unlike other freshmen lawmakers, she said, she could pick up the phone and call any reporter and be on any show if I wanted to, and it would be all about Alaska.

I love to work, and anyone who is around me, they know," she said. "What Im doing is applying for a job, for Alaskans, saying: Hey, you guys would be my boss. Do you want to hire me? Because if you do, Ill do a good job for you, and I wont back down.

In Anchorage on Wednesday evening, Palin and the youngest of her five children, son Trig, attended the opening of her campaign office. She stopped to talk to reporters before entering the building, which had been the headquarters for Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

Inside, Palin posed for photos with supporters and chatted with several before cutting and serving a cake that featured her campaign slogan, Sarah for Alaska.

I mean, were going to just, you know, stick with the issues and stick with the plans that we have for Alaska, she told supporters at the event. Jobs for Alaskans from the states rich natural resources would be her first priority if elected, she said, and called the state "the Fort Knox of our great Union.

There's only one former governor who is currently a member of the House  Democrat Charlie Crist of Florida. Palin faces several hurdles to get there.

One is navigating elections that will unfold in rapid order. A June 11 special primary will be the first statewide by-mail election. The four candidates who get the most votes will advance to an Aug. 16 special election, in which ranked-choice voting will be used. The winner will serve the remainder of Young's term, which expires in January.

There also will be an August primary and November general election to determine who will serve a two-year term starting in January. Palin is one of 16 candidates so far to have filed for the regular primary.

Some voters question Palin's decision to leave the governor's office, a move she has attributed to an onslaught of records requests and ethics complaints she said were frivolous and had become distractions.

She has spent time out of the state but maintains a home in Wasilla, her hometown and where she got her start in politics.

Well, I'm sorry if that narrative is out there because its inaccurate, she told the AP of the perception she had left Alaska behind. She said Alaska is her home and that she was shoveling moose poop in her fathers yard on a recent sunny day before calling a reporter.

She has regularly voted in state elections since leaving office, according to the Division of Elections.

Im still all about Carhartts and steel-toed boots and just hard work, Palin said, referring to a popular brand of outerwear. I just have been blessed with opportunities and a platform to get out there and tell and show other people the beauty of being an Alaskan.

She mentions Alaskans hunting lifestyles and the importance of responsibly developing the states oil and gas resources. She said she plans to attend events, including this weeks state Republican Party convention.

The contest in Republican-leaning Alaska will do little to change the balance of power in Washington. But the election is being closely watched as a barometer of Trump's connection to the GOP's most loyal voters.

In Wasilla, Trump 2020 or Trump 2024 banners fly from several homes, the few political signs seen so far this election year. Palin said if Trump runs for president in 2024 and asks her to be his running mate, shed consider it, though she said he could choose anyone and they havent had such a candid conversation.

Palin said Trump was among those who contacted her after Youngs death asking if she would be willing to run. She said this is a good time in her life to seek a return to office, politically and personally. Her family life has changed, she noted, with her four older children grown. Her youngest, Trig, is in middle school. Palin was divorced from Todd Palin, her husband of more than 30 years, in 2020.

Palin said she feels like she has nothing to lose in running. After having her political and personal life in the media glare for so long, what more can they say? she said, adding later: To me, its freedom.

Trump has endorsed Palin and has made the state's senior U.S. senator, Lisa Murkowski, one of his top targets this year after she criticized him and voted to convict him during his second impeachment trial.

Even if Palin doesn't win the election, she could emerge as a high-wattage critic of Murkowski, who faces voters later this year. Palin said she disagrees with Murkowski on some of her positions, including her vote to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial. But on issues like resource development in Alaska, Palin said she believed they would be on the same sheet of music.

Palin has perhaps the highest profile among a list of candidates that includes current and former state legislators, a North Pole city council member whose legal name is Santa Claus, and Republican Nick Begich, who got into the race last fall and has been working for months to rack up conservative support.

Begich said he considers the Matanuska-Susitna region, a conservative hotbed that includes Wasilla, as one of his strongest areas. He said he is unaware of any of his supporters defecting since Palin joined the race.

"Everyone that has come to support me remains fully supportive, and thats a strong statement because a lot has changed," he said.

Tim Burney, who lives in Wasilla, said he supports Palin. He said she resigned for the good of the state" after her detractors came at her with guns ablazing.

She just lives right down the road here, and, you know, she grew up here, he said while smoking a cigarette outside the Mug-Shot Saloon after finishing lunch on a recent day.

Her hearts here in Alaska, and I think that shes good for Alaska, he said.

Joe Miller, a former Republican and now Libertarian whom Palin endorsed in two of his unsuccessful Senate races, said Palin would be no ordinary House freshman and would have an extraordinary platform she could use to help Alaska. He said she's the only anti-establishment, truly conservative candidate in the race and that she could be the natural repository for voter angst over economic and other issues.

Holly Houghton, who works as a pharmacy tech, is willing to hear Palin out. Houghton, who was eating a take-out lunch with her son outside a restaurant in Wasilla recently, said she has mixed feelings about Palin and is also considering Begich.

Houghton said she doesnt like how Palin has carried herself in her personal life but also thought she was an excellent governor.

Houghton said she thinks of the Begich family as Democrats and wants to look more closely at Begich. Begich's grandfather, Democrat Nick Begich, held the House seat before Young. His uncle Mark was a Democratic U.S. senator and his uncle Tom is the state Senate's Democratic leader.

Jesse Sumner, a member of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly, said he thinks Begich is a good candidate. Sumner filed to run for the House seat as a joke at the filing deadline, on April Fool's Day. He later withdrew.

He said he doesn't see Palin around town much and that Palin's run seems to be more like it's about the Sarah Palin show than about Alaska.

___

Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  Did New York's Democratic-led Legislature unconstitutionally pass new maps setting congressional district boundaries for the next decade? That's among the questions before a panel of five mid-level appellate judges, who began hearing arguments Wednesday.

A group of Republican voters say the maps are indeed gerrymandered, and have filed a lawsuit in state court asking to have the maps tossed out and to delay the June congressional primaries until late August. They say this would give the state enough time to draw up new maps.

Democrats attorneys say the maps are more than fair to Republicans, who lost their decadeslong control of the state Senate in 2018 but have won some swing districts. Democrats say the new maps protect minority voting rights and reflect population loss in upstate communities once considered Republican strongholds.

Republicans represent about 22% of registered New York voters, and currently hold eight of the state's 27 seats in Congress. But New York now gets one less seat following the 2020 Census, and the new maps would give Democrats a strong majority of registered voters in 22 of the state's 26 congressional districts.

So far this election cycle, courts have intervened to block maps they found to be Republican gerrymanders in North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and a Democratic gerrymander in Maryland. Such decisions have led to delayed primaries in North Carolina, Ohio and Maryland.

The panel of judges in New York is considering several key questions, including whether the congressional map is gerrymandered, whether the Legislature overstepped its authority in drawing up the maps and whether the Republican voters have the standing to sue over the maps in the first place. It's unclear if the judges will release a decision following Wednesdays live-streamed oral arguments in Rochester.

The GOP lawsuit cites computer simulations by election analyst Sean Trende, who found the maps were gerrymandered.

Its every good government group  left, right and center  saying this, said their attorney, Bennet Moskowitz.

Attorney Alice Reiter, representing the state Senate, said the GOP voters dont have enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Democrats gerrymandered the maps. She called Trendes analysis flawed and said no courts have ever tossed out maps based on computer simulations.

I think that the process was along partisan lines, but that is a far cry from any proof that it was partisan intended, she said.

Democrats also say there isnt enough time to change the maps for 2022 races, and say the judges should toss the lawsuit because it doesnt include voters in all districts statewide.

A lower-court judge declared last month that New Yorks new maps were drawn up unconstitutionally and ordered the legislature to quickly redraw them. The judge said the congressional maps specifically were unconstitutionally gerrymandered, and said the legislative maps should also be tossed because lawmakers exceeded their authority when they passed them.

Attorneys for the state Senate, Assembly and Gov. Kathy Hochul appealed the lower-court ruling and said the judge was wrongly limiting the Legislatures power.

An appeals judge this month allowed the lower court judge to hire an expert to draw up alternative congressional district maps in case the disputed ones ultimately get tossed.
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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP)  At least 1,900 children under 5 have died from malnutrition in Ethiopias embattled Tigray region in the past year, according to a study conducted by regional health officials and seen by The Associated Press.

The deaths were recorded at health facilities across Tigray between June last year and April 1. Western Tigray, which is under the control of forces from the neighboring Amhara region, was not included in the survey.

A doctor involved in the study said the true number of child deaths from malnutrition is likely higher as most families are unable to bring their children to health centers because of transportation challenges. Most hunger deaths go unrecorded, he said.

Because we cannot access most areas, we do not know what is happening on the community level, said the doctor, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals. These are simply the deaths we have managed to record in health facilities.

Tigray has been cut off from the rest of Ethiopia since June when fighters from the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, or TPLF, recaptured most of the region as federal forces withdrew.

Banking services, phone lines and road links are all down in the region, a situation the United Nations has said amounts to a de facto blockade.

Ethiopian authorities insist there is no deliberate effort to target Tigrayan civilians. They have urged Tigrayan fighters to surrender.

More than 90% of Tigrays 5.5 million people require humanitarian assistance, including 115,000 children who are severely malnourished, according to U.N. figures.

Civil servants have not been paid in months. Many have run out of cash to buy food and other goods because banking services have been shut down. The children of families living in urban areas are especially at risk of malnutrition, as their parents don't have farmland to grow food, Tigrayan health officials say.

Around 700,000 people in Tigray are in the grip of famine-like conditions due to the obstruction of aid, U.S. officials estimate.

Ethiopias federal government unilaterally declared a surprise humanitarian truce on March 24, an announcement it said would allow aid to flow into Tigray. But nearly one month later, only four convoys of around 80 food trucks have entered the region.

Literally nothing has changed, said an aid worker who recently visited Tigray. We are just seeing a handful of trucks; these trucks are better than nothing but they are not going to feed the millions of people who need aid (in Tigray).

An estimated 2,000 trucks of food must enter Tigray every week to meet the regions needs, a U.N. official said at a meeting in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, on Wednesday, according to the aid worker, who attended. That's a sharp increase from the previous assessment of 600 a week. The aid worker also spoke on the condition of anonymity for safety concerns.

Just 3% of the vegetable seeds and 10% of the fertilizer required for the current planting season have reached Tigray, according to U.N. figures, raising fears of a poor harvest that would deepen the regions hunger crisis.

Some health officials in Tigray say they simply don't have enough supplies to treat many patients they encounter. Some who recently spoke to AP said shortages are so dire that some patients relatives must personally buy medicines from private pharmacies at inflated prices and bring them to the hospital before their family members can be treated.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the war, according to estimates by international aid groups.

But there is little hope for peace talks as Ethiopian authorities have outlawed the TPLF, effectively making its leaders fugitives on the run.
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MOSCOW (AP)  The Russian military said Wednesday it successfully performed the first test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile, a weapon President Vladimir Putin said would make the West think twice before harboring any aggressive intentions against Russia.

The test launch of the Sarmat missile comes amid soaring tensions between Moscow and the West over the Russian military action in Ukraine and underlines the Kremlin's emphasis on the country's nuclear forces.

Russia's Defense Ministry said the Sarmat ICBM was launched Wednesday from the Plesetsk launch facility in northern Russia and its practice warheads have successfully reached mock targets on the Kura firing range on the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.

It said the launch was fully successful, proving the missiles characteristics in all phases of its flight.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that Russia had given the U.S. an advance notice about the launch in line with the New START nuclear arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington.

Russia properly notified the United States under its New START obligations that it planned to test this ICBM," he said. "Such testing is routine. It was not a surprise. We did not deem the test to be a threat to the United States or its allies.

Speaking to senior officials, Putin hailed the Sarmat launch, claiming that the new missile has no foreign analogues and is capable of penetrating any prospective missile defense.

This really unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russias security from external threats and make those, who in the heat of frantic aggressive rhetoric try to threaten our country, think twice, Putin said.

Amid the new Western sanctions that banned the exports of high-tech products to Russia and specifically targeted its arms industries in response to Moscow's action in Ukraine, Putin emphasized that the Sarmat is built exclusively from domestic components

Of course, this will simplify the serial production of the system by enterprises of the military-industrial sector and accelerate its delivery to the Strategic Missile Forces, he added.

The Sarmat is a heavy missile that has been under development for several years to replace the Soviet-made Voyevoda, which was code-named Satan by the West and forms the core of Russias nuclear deterrent.

The Sarmat is the most powerful missile that has the highest range in the world, and it will significantly bolster the capability of the country's strategic nuclear forces, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the Sarmat is capable of carrying hypersonic glide vehicles along with other types of warheads. The Russian military had previously said that the Avangard hypersonic vehicle could be fitted to the new missile.

The military has said that the Avangard is capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound and making sharp maneuvers on its way to target to dodge the enemys missile shield.

It has been fitted to the existing Soviet-built intercontinental ballistic missiles instead of older type warheads, and the first unit armed with the Avangard entered duty in December 2019.

Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the state Roscosmos agency that oversees the missile factory building the Sarmat, described Wednesdays test as a present to NATO in a comment on his messaging app channel.

Rogozin said the Sarmat is set to be commissioned by the military this fall after the completion of its trials, calling it a superweapon.

___

Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP)  A Southern California school district has agreed to pay $13.75 million to settle civil lawsuits over a worker who admitted molesting elementary school students.

The agreement was announced Tuesday by attorneys for 10 former students from Liberty Elementary School in Riverside.

The suits said the Riverside Unified School District ignored or covered up sex abuse allegations against Fernando Figueroa, a technology aide.

Figueroa was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to lewd and lascivious acts involving 11 victims between 2014 and 2017.

The children were molested when they were between 7 and 11 years old, according to Tuesday's statement from the law firm Manly, Stewart and Finaldi.

School district officials didn't immediately respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment on the settlement.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Tennessee is set to execute its first inmate Thursday since the start of the pandemic, planning a lethal injection procedure that has become less common in the state than the electric chair in recent years.

Oscar Smith, 72, is scheduled to die for the 1989 killings of his estranged wife and her teenage sons. The execution using the state's preferred method puts Tennessee on a divergent path from South Carolina, which has been preparing for a rare U.S. firing squad execution. However, South Carolina's Supreme Court put the planned April 29 execution on hold Wednesday, at least temporarily, saying a more detailed order would follow.

In Tennessee, secrecy laws prevent the public from determining just how the drugs for Smiths execution were obtained.

Meanwhile, South Carolina lawmakers have failed to pass a similar law to keep its drug suppliers confidential, despite the urging of corrections officials. Now the state has fallen back on the much older, and less often used execution method. The last U.S. firing squad execution was in 2010.

South Carolina has cited its struggles to obtain lethal injection drugs in recent years, an issue in many states because pharmacies and manufacturers have refused to supply their medications for executions.

Smith has argued he should also be executed by firing squad, reasoning that it is less painful than Tennessee's two options, but his lawsuit was denied.

His execution would be the first of five planned by Tennessee for 2022, resuming its quick, pre-pandemic pace of putting inmates to death. The five pending death warrants tie Tennessee with Texas for the most nationally this year, according to the Washington-based nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.

Smith had been scheduled for a June 2020 execution, one of several dates delayed because of the pandemic.

Smith was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting Judith Smith and her sons Jason and Chad Burnett, 13 and 16, at their Nashville home on Oct. 1, 1989.

Smith has maintained he is innocent. In a clemency filing, rejected Tuesday by Republican Gov. Bill Lee, Smith's legal team claimed problems with the jury in his 1990 trial.

There is one thing I know for a fact," Smith told The Associated Press in a phone interview Monday. "I know where Im going from here. With my faith and belief, Ill be with my savior and my family thats deceased.

His attorneys were denied requests to reopen his case after a new type of DNA analysis found the DNA of an unknown person on one of the murder weapons.

The state has not conducted any executions since February 2020, when Nicholas Sutton died in the electric chair for the killing of a fellow inmate in an east Tennessee prison. Of the seven inmates Tennessee has put to death since 2018  when Tennessee ended an execution pause stretching back to 2009  only two died by lethal injection.

Smith declined to choose between the chair and lethal injection, so lethal injection became the default method.

Tennessee uses a three-drug series to put inmates to death: midazolam, a sedative to render the inmate unconscious; vecuronium bromide, to paralyze the inmate; and potassium chloride, to stop the heart.

Officials have said midazolam renders an inmate unconscious and unable to feel pain. Expert witnesses for inmates, however, say the drugs would cause sensations of drowning, suffocation and chemical burning while leaving inmates unable to move or call out.

In Oklahoma last October, an inmate put to death using the same three-drug lethal injection convulsed and vomited after receiving midazolam. Oklahoma has carried out three lethal injections since, without similar reactions reported.

In Tennessee, Smith's attorneys argued unsuccessfully for the firing squad, pointing to South Carolina giving the greenlight to firing squad executions last month  one of four states to allow that execution method, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Exactly how some states have execution drugs on hand, while others struggle to secure them, is often obscured by state public records exemptions.

A Tennessee Department of Correction spokesperson declined to identify the source of its execution drugs, which can be manufactured or compounded. Documents about the drugs obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request were heavily redacted, removing references to the state's supplier.

Meanwhile in South Carolina, a corrections official said in a recent affidavit that manufacturers and compounding pharmacies contacted by the state refused to provide the drugs.

Though South Carolina has failed to pass additional secrecy for lethal injection suppliers, Idaho recently took that step.

Republican Gov. Brad Little signed legislation banning officials from revealing  even under court order  where they obtained execution drugs.

___

Michelle Liu in Columbia, South Carolina contributed to this report.


As their offensive in Ukraine's east intensifies, some Russians are hoisting a new-old emblem in areas they capture: The Soviet flag. The red banner with that hammer and sickle has reportedly been waved by pro-Russian fighters in the breakaway region of Luhansk and adorned the sides of Russian military vehicles motoring to the front lines.

The intended symbolism is clear - the bloody Russian invasion of Ukraine, in the view of its aggressors, is an act of reclamation and restoration. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who once described the collapse of the Soviet Union as "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century," questions Ukraine's right to even exist as an independent nation. His proxies on state media peddle visions of Russia forging a new union encompassing Belarus and Ukraine. And lurking behind it all is a powerful nostalgia - not necessarily for a life under communism, but for what it meant to belong to a globe-straddling power like the Soviet Union.

Such visions send ripples through the post-Soviet world. A handful of countries once in Moscow's orbit are doing their best to toe a different line. The Baltic states, members of both NATO and the European Union, have flung themselves into the resisting the Russian advance next door; tiny Estonia, for example, has already committed nearly 1% of its total gross domestic product in support of Ukraine's fight. They comprise the spearhead of a galvanized Western response to Putin's war.

But beyond the conflict, there's a deeper disquiet in many other countries that were once in the Soviet sphere. A new report from Freedom House, a Washington-based think tank that tracks democracy around the world, found that only six of 29 countries spanning from Central Europe to Central Asia managed to maintain a "consolidated" democracy, while most others drifted toward authoritarianism or a bleak "gray zone" where the trappings of democracy truss up illiberal or autocratic political project. This is certainly on view in Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently won reelection in a political context widely seen as unfair and stacked against the opposition.

Freedom House marked the 18th consecutive year of democratic decline in this region, a trendline that dovetails with the organization's broader prognostications about the ailing state of democracy the world over. But the countries in question in this report matter as a kind of bellwether: After the end of the Cold War, the pursuit of liberal democracy in many states once under the Soviet yoke captured the imagination of American strategists and observers, and seemed to portend a new, happy era of global politics. That liberal heyday, though, has now clearly passed.

"In this emerging era, liberal democracy no longer prevails as the assumed goal of national political development," the Freedom House report notes. "Increasingly, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia are headed toward two different destinations: the abyss of full-blown autocracy and the gray zone of hybrid governance, where ostensibly democratic structures belie undemocratic practices."

Freedom House deploys a scoring system that rates individual countries on criteria like the integrity of electoral processes, the strength of civil society and the independence of the judiciary. Across the board, it found worrying declines. In autocratic states from Belarus to the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia, "longtime despots stamp out dissent and fortify themselves against perceived foreign and domestic enemies." Meanwhile, even relatively healthy democracies in places like Slovenia and Slovakia have been "buffeted by the corrosive effects of illiberalism and corruption."

At the heart of the storyline is Russia under Putin. Not only has the Russian leader embarked on a ruthless campaign of repression at home, rapidly transitioning what was a "soft dictatorship" into a "raw dictatorship" - as Freedom House President Michael Abramowitz said - but Kremlin influence operations have also played a significant role in undermining democratic governments in Russia's neighborhood. The war in Ukraine, of course, may derail the country's slow, fitful progress toward strengthening its own democracy.

"Ukraine, while not a perfect democracy, was relatively speaking one of the countries that had been doing fairly well in the region in general," Abramowitz said. "Obviously now with the invasion, the future of democracy in Ukraine is very much in question."

Abramowitz added that he his "hopeful that this will be a turning point" - that Ukraine's defiance of the Russian war machine and the Western bloc's newfound unity can embolden action against autocrats and sharpen policies that weaken their oligarchic supporters. But, the report adds, more needs to be done to strengthen democracy internally, including within the European Union, where officials in Brussels struggle to arrest the democratic backsliding in countries like Hungary and Poland.

Similar concerns also exist in Washington, consumed, as it is, by political polarization and its own illiberal assaults on democracy. Some commentators urge Americans to see their politics in line with countries elsewhere. "If the United States seeks to stem the decline of liberal democracy abroad and patch the flaws in our democracy at home, we must treat them as part of a single set of related problems, unimpeded by borders, languages, or religions," wrote Ryan Suto, a senior policy adviser at FairVote Action, which campaigns for electoral reforms in the United States. "That is, support for the rule of law and liberal democracy must be valued in both foreign policy and domestic policy."

Others worry that if Putin emerges from the Ukraine war in any way victorious, it could spell trouble for democracies elsewhere. "The war in Ukraine impacts the American people in the sense that, if Vladimir Putin succeeds, then such people here - those anti-democratic forces - will succeed as well," political theorist Francis Fukuyama said in a recent interview. "I believe they actually pose a real and present danger to American democracy, and if they're not beaten back we could be facing a serious constitutional crisis in this country in 2024."
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP)  Thousands of Bosnian Serbs rallied Wednesday to protest recent decisions of the top international official in the ethnically divided Balkan country.

The Serbs are angry that Christian Schmidt, the U.N.'s high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, suspended a law that declared the ownership of public property by the country's Bosnian Serb entity, Republika Srpska.
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  Former Texas lawmaker Wendy Davis sued Tuesday over the most restrictive abortion law in effect in the U.S., nearly a decade after her 13-hour filibuster of another anti-abortion measure made her an overnight Democratic star.

The lawsuit is the latest attempt to halt the Texas law known as Senate Bill 8, which bans abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. Courts have repeatedly turned back multiple other challenges and kept the law in place since September
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  The idea was presented to Florida lawmakers in a movie house outside Orlando 55 years ago, with Walt Disney, who had died less than two months earlier, helping make the pitch from the screen: Let Disney form its own government and in exchange it would create a futuristic city of tomorrow.

That city never materialized, but Walt Disney World became an economic juggernaut with four theme parks and two dozen hotels, while its government retained unprecedented powers in deciding what and how to build, issuing bonds and holding the ability to build its own nuclear plant if it wanted.

Now, five decades later, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking lawmakers to end Disney's government in a move that jeopardizes the symbiotic relationship between the state and company. The high-profile attack by a politician from a GOP party that has historically championed its ties to business follows the companys opposition to what critics have dubbed the  Dont Say Gay  law barring instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

Republican Rep. Randy Fine, sponsor of the bill to scrap the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as the Disney government entity is known, said it is time for a change.

You kick the hornet's nest, things come up. And I will say this: You got me on one thing  this bill does target one company. It targets the Walt Disney Co., Fine said. "You want to know why? Because they are the only company in the state that has ever been granted the right to govern themselves.

In an email fundraising pitch Wednesday, DeSantis, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2024, put it this way:

Disney has gotten away with special deals from the state of Florida for way too long. It took a look under the hood to see what Disney has become to truly understand their inappropriate influence, the governor's email said.

If Disney wants to pick a fight, they chose the wrong guy, the email added.

Disney, based in Burbank, California, had more than $67 billion in revenue in 2021 and has declined comment on the Florida legislation, which passed the state Senate on Wednesday and is being considered by the House in a special session of the Republican-dominated Legislature. The effective date of the measure would be June 2023, leaving time to develop a compromise short of completely abolishing the district.

Before Reedy Creek became Disney's government, it was a drainage district created to help manage the 27,000 acres (10,926 hectares) that the company secretly acquired parcel by parcel in the mid-1960s.

At first, news accounts speculated that a new and large industrial complex might be coming to the area. Some reports linked it to the Kennedy Space Center about an hour's drive away in Cape Canaveral. Finally, on Oct. 21, 1965, the Orlando Sentinel broke a story with this headline: We Say: Mystery Industry is Disney.'"

A few days later, then-Gov. Haydon Burns confirmed the Disney plan, saying it would be the greatest attraction in the history of Florida.

That would prove true over the decades as metro Orlando became the most visited destination in the U.S., attracting 75 million tourists annually before the pandemic. The metro area, which added Universal and SeaWorld theme park resorts, grew from 305,000 residents in 1970, the year before Disney World opened, to almost 2.7 million residents last year.

In some ways, the Reedy Creek Improvement District was built on a misrepresentation when company officials came to Florida lawmakers with their plans to build an East Coast Disneyland. After the companys first theme park in southern California was built in the 1950s, motels and tourist shops encroached around the property, and Walt Disney wanted to make sure the same thing didnt happen in Florida.

Along with a theme park, Disney officials led by Roy Disney, Walts brother, told Florida lawmakers in 1967 that they planned to build a futuristic city  the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, also known as Epcot.

The proposed city would include a rapid transit system and urban planning innovations, so Disney needed autonomy in the district for building and deciding how to use the land, they said. The futuristic city never materialized, and instead Epcot morphed into a second theme park that opened in 1982.

They said they were going to do one thing and they did another, said retired Rollins College political scientist Richard Foglesong, whose book, Married to the Mouse recounted the formation of Reedy Creek. "In that respect, it was legally infirm. I think that is a factual argument.

Reedy Creek was allowed to build its own roads, run its own wastewater treatment plants, operate its own fire department, set its own building codes and inspect Disney buildings for safety. In the current budget year, the district had $169 million in revenues and $178 million in expenditures.

Reedy Creek essentially runs a midsize city. On any given day, as many as 350,000 people are on Disney World property as theme park visitors, overnight hotel guests or employees. The district has to manage the traffic, dispose of the waste and control the plentiful mosquitoes in a territory once called Mosquito County.

Even though Reedy Creeks primary task is to operate Disney World, it is home to less than 50 residents living in manufactured homes in two tiny communities, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista. The two municipalities were formed to support the legal framework of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which is governed by a five-member Board of Supervisors with four-year terms. The supervisors must be landowners within Reedy Creek, and to qualify, Disney gives them a small piece of land that they must give back once they leave the board.

That's not the only thing Disney has given out over the decades.

Disney has been a major political player in Florida and the country. The Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political campaign spending, reported that in the 2020 campaign cycle, Walt Disney Co. and affiliates made more than $20 million in political contributions to both Republicans and Democrats.

That year, the most recent in which figures are available, Disney-related entities funneled $10.5 million to the America First Action committee, which supports former President Donald Trump. Disney also contributed $1.2 million to support President Joe Bidens campaign.

I think Disney is stuck a bit, Foglesong said. They had tried to play it both ways, making contributions to what you can only call right-wing Republicans. They thought they could have it both ways -- be the company of motherhood and apple pie and fund these reactionary Republican politicians.

___

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Miamicurt
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HONG KONG (AP)  YouTube on Wednesday took down the campaign channel of Hong Kongs sole candidate to become its next leader, John Lee, citing compliance with U.S. sanctions imposed against the former No. 2 official.

Lee had set up a Facebook page and a YouTube channel to promote his campaign, even though he is running uncontested in the election for chief executive on May 8, in which an Election Committee of about 1,500 people will select the city's leader.

The committee is made up largely of pro-Beijing members, including legislators and representatives of different professions and industries in the city.

Lee, who resigned as chief secretary earlier this month to run in the election, had been live-streaming his meetings with media and political figures in the city on both Facebook and YouTube prior to the termination of his YouTube channel.

He is among a group of top Hong Kong and Beijing officials  including current leader Carrie Lam  who were sanctioned by the U.S. in 2020 for undermining the citys autonomy and restricting its freedoms following Beijings imposition of a tough national security law on the semi-autonomous city.

Google, YouTubes parent company, said in a statement that it complies with applicable U.S. sanctions laws and enforces related policies under its Terms of Service.

After review and consistent with these policies, we terminated the Johnlee2022 YouTube channel, it said.

Lee's campaign office said it was disappointed by the decision.

The termination reflects the flagrant hegemonic tactics employed by the U.S. government. Imposing the so-called sanction on Mr. Lee so as to intimidate him will not in any way affect his strong determination to continue to safeguard national security, it said in a statement.

Mr. Lees election campaign will not be affected by Googles decision. Mr. Lee will continue to use his best efforts to reach out to the public to explain his platform and to hear their views through many different means and channels, it said.

A spokesperson for Facebook, now called Meta, said Lee will be allowed to maintain a demonetized presence on Facebook and Instagram, and we have taken steps to prevent the use of payments services." His Facebook page remained accessible Wednesday evening.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Just days before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, President Joe Biden quietly dispatched a team to European Union headquarters in Belgium.

These were not spy chiefs or generals, but experts in reading fine print and tracking the flow of money, computer chips and other goods around the world. Their mandate: inflict maximum pain on Russian President Vladimir Putin, making it harder, if not impossible, for him to fund a prolonged war in Ukraine and denying him access to technologies at the core of modern warfare.

There were intense meetings in February in Brussels, Paris, London and Berlin, often running six hours at a time as the allies tried to craft the details of a historic economic blockade, according to Biden administration officials. Some of the exports the U.S. wanted to ban were met with reluctance by the Europeans, who would essentially be telling their own companies to forgo several billion dollars in annual revenues from Russia.

When there was a deadlock, U.S. negotiators would put Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on the phone.

You can say no now, but when the body bags are coming out of Ukraine, youre not going to want to be a holdout, Raimondo said she told allied counterparts. Do the right thing.

Everyone signed on  and before the invasion.

Raimondo said what ultimately drove the agreement and the fast timeline was the threat of Putin's imminent attack on Ukraine.

We all got religion fast that it was time to band together and stick together, she said. If you cause enough pain, isolate Putin, it will bring this war to an end.

The wealthiest nations in the world  outside of China  are directly confronting Putin on their preferred terms. They have imposed sanctions in which their strengths intersect with Russia's vulnerabilities. Russia is reliant on the U.S., the EU, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan for cutting-edge technologies and investment, so the allies decided to cut Moscow off.

It's a strategic play designed to trap Putin in a downward spiral, as foreign investors pull out their money in response to the atrocities. It's also a remarkable show of unity that could be tested in the coming weeks by the allies' own dependence on fossil fuels.

A group of economists estimated Thursday that EU countries have transferred more than 13.3 billion euros ($14.7 billion) to Russia for oil, natural gas and coal since the war began, essentially funding Putin's war machine.

While the allied talks in the lead-up to the war were critical, the EU was not just waiting around for U.S. direction to act. Bloc members had been consulting for months.

One EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal talks, outlined in an interview as far back as January potential penalties that included the export ban, noting that the EU had held together its coalition on enforcing sanctions since Russia's 2014 occupation of parts of the Donbas region in Ukraine.

But this time, the U.S. and EU responded to Russia's aggression with a novel set of policies to cripple Putin's ability to fight by denying it access to the semiconductors, computers, telecommunications equipment, lasers and sensors integral to war materiel.

This is a supply chain squeeze that will force Russia to raid existing airplanes, tanks and other gear for spare parts  essentially eroding its military and economic capacity. The same U.S. and EU officials dealing with their own supply chain challenges after the pandemic found a way to amplify the problem for Russia through trade regulations.

In a sign of early success, U.S. officials point to the closing of Lada auto plants in Russia and the more than 300 companies that have stopped doing business with Russia. The companies are not just Starbucks, but chipmakers such as Germany's Infineon that said it stopped all direct and indirect deliveries to Russia as well as technical support.

Within days of the invasion, the allies blocked the foreign assets of Russias central bank. Two senior Biden administration officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the strategy planning and spoke on condition of anonymity. said this option was not initially presented to allies out of concern that Russia could move its money ahead of time. They waited to present the asset freeze until the invasion started and the images of bombings and death compelled the Europeans to almost immediately agree.

The freeze rendered half of the more than $600 billion in Putins war chest unusable. While the Russian stock market has been closed and the value of the ruble has plunged, the sanctions are designed so that the financial effects tightens over time. As long as Ukraine is able to hold out with military aid against severe casualties, the sanctions will do more to exhaust Putin.

EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis on Thursday praised the very good coordination among nations and said the sanctions "are biting hard. Russias financial markets are close to collapse." He also noted that the sanctions create costs for the allies, though the price is much less than the consequences of the war spreading.

Yet with every new round of sanctions, the unity of the 27 EU members is tested ever more. If imposing a ban on Russian oil and gas comes up, Germany and Italy, both heavily dependent on Russian energy, will be in a tough spot to contain the drive of several eastern member nations like Poland and the Baltic states that want to hit Putin as hard as possible as soon as possible. The U.S. is less dependent on Russian oil and natural gas, making it easier for Biden to ban those imports earlier this month.

There is also the risk that the sanctions will fail to stop Putin or that Russia can still find ways to bring goods into its economy. Trade data analyzed by ImportGenius show that China supplanted Germany in 2021 as the leading source of exports to Russia  and U.S. officials say that Russia has solicited help from the Chinese government.

On Twitter, Olivier Blanchard, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and now a fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics, equated the sanctions to the bombing of German factories during World War II. Those bombings disrupted the German war machine in ways that made it impossible to prolong an extended fight  and economists had a role in choosing the targets.

For all that has been done, question remain about whether it is enough.

Blanchard recommends expanding the export controls from defense-related production to anything which disorganizes production in the Russian economy. If Russian-made refrigerators need a gasket made in the EU, restricting access to that gasket makes it harder for the Russian economy to function, he said.

Tania Babina, a finance professor at Columbia University who was born in Ukraine, said that sanctions tend not to stop dictators and she warned that Putin might ultimately become even more entrenched unless the U.S. and EU take more aggressive action. She said Europeans need to add sanctions that ban the use of Russian oil and natural gas.

He is going to throw everything to win, will send his grandma to fight if needed, Babina said. He cannot lose Ukraine. That is why it is so paramount to cut off Russias energy export revenues.

But Babina noted that there is another far more chilling cost to the allied strategy of sanctions: Ukrainian lives.

How many people do we let die before Putin runs out of assets? she asked.

___

Associated Press writer Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this report.
WFO LUBBOCK Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, April 20, 2022

_____

FIRE WEATHER WATCH

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Lubbock TX

121 AM CDT Wed Apr 20 2022

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM CDT

THIS EVENING FOR STRONG WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR THE

TEXAS SOUTH PLAINS AND EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE INCLUDING

PARTS OF THE ADJACENT NORTHERN ROLLING PLAINS...

The National Weather Service in Lubbock has issued a Red Flag

Warning, which is in effect from 10 AM this morning to 8 PM CDT

this evening. The Fire Weather Watch is no longer in effect.

* Timing...10 AM through 8 PM today.

* Wind...West at 15 to 20 mph at the 20 foot level.

* Humidity...Near 5 percent.

* Fuels...Critically dry.

* Impacts...Any fires that develop can spread rapidly. Outdoor

burning is discouraged.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions

are imminent or already occurring. These conditions can create

rapid wildfire growth.

The National Weather Service in Lubbock has issued a Red Flag Warning,

which is in effect from 10 AM this morning to 8 PM CDT this evening.

_____

Copyright 2022 AccuWeather
The scene of the conference. (Photo: SGGP)

The Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC), in collaboration with the Representative Office of Universales Almacenes S.A (Cuba), held an Investment Promotion Conference in Mariel Special Development Zone (ZED Mariel) on April 19.



The conference aims to promote cooperation in economy, investment, trade, tourism, and health between HCMC and Cuban localities, and at the same time, create opportunities for enterprises of the two countries to increase trade activities, grasp opportunities from changes in the policy and the benefits of the Vietnam-Cuba Trade Agreement signed on November 9, 2018.



Ms. Cao Thi Phi Van, Deputy Director of ITPC, said that trade and investment relations between Vietnam and Cuba are respectful and constantly developing. In terms of trade, Vietnam is the second-largest Asian trading partner in Cuba. In 2020, the two-way trade between Vietnam and Cuba reached US$102 million. The bilateral trade agreement between Vietnam and Cuba officially took effect in early 2020, contributing to promoting trade exchange and ensuring the presence of Vietnamese enterprises in investment projects in Cuba. The two countries have cooperated effectively in many fields, such as agriculture, oil and gas, telecommunications, education, and health.



Regarding investment, currently, Cuba and Vietnam both have investment projects. Specifically, Cuba has four investment projects in Vietnam, with a total capital of more than $7 million, ranking 81st out of 140 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Vietnam also has four projects in Cuba, with a capital of more than $44 million. Two typical projects of Vietnam in Cuba are the SAVIG floor tile factory, a joint venture between Viglacera Corporation and Prodimat Company of Cuba, and Thai Binh Group specializing in trade, serving as a trade bridge between Vietnam and Cuba.



The HCMC government hopes that through this conference, Vietnamese enterprises will find more investment opportunities in Cuba, a traditional friend who always stands by the Vietnamese people, Ms. Cao Thi Phi Van emphasized.



Ms. Ariadne Feo Labrada, Consul General of the Republic of Cuba to HCMC, said that Mariel Special Development Zone (ZED Mariel) has a special geographical location in the heart of the Caribbean Sea, which is the intersection of main shipping routes in the Western Hemisphere.



The Investment Promotion Conference in Mariel Special Development Zone (ZED Mariel). (Photo: SGGP)



When investing in the Mariel Special Development Zone, investors are guaranteed that their investments cannot be appropriated, except for reasons of public interest or social requirements; the authorization period can be extended by the issuing authority itself; protect investors against third-party lawsuits, under Cuban law and the national courts; remit dividends, profits, or other income related to the investment without paying taxes. Foreigners who are not permanent residents of Cuba may transfer the assets they receive abroad following the regulations of the National Banking System. Especially, in the special zone, the preferential tax rate of zero percent is applied to the return of capital, employment tax, contribution to local development, imports during the investment period, and tax on wholesale activities of goods and services. Besides, the zero-percent tax rate is also applied to profits within ten years, then the tax rate of 12 percent will be applied. Other incentives include a one-stop-shop system for handling all certificates, permits, and authorizations; a team of experts to advise and support investors; allocation of land plots with seven high standard infrastructures funded by the Cuban State; incentives for the production of roof-top solar energy of industrial facilities.When investing in the Mariel Special Development Zone, investors are guaranteed that their investments cannot be appropriated, except for reasons of public interest or social requirements; the authorization period can be extended by the issuing authority itself; protect investors against third-party lawsuits, under Cuban law and the national courts; remit dividends, profits, or other income related to the investment without paying taxes. Foreigners who are not permanent residents of Cuba may transfer the assets they receive abroad following the regulations of the National Banking System.

By Lac Phong  Translated by Thuy Doan
Chairman of the HCMC Peoples Committee Phan Van Mai (R) receives Mr. Ali Akbar Nazari, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran. (Photo: SGGP)

Chairman Mai congratulated the Ambassador on undertaking a new mission in Vietnam and expressed the wish that during the new term the Iranian Ambassador will make efforts to promote the relations between the two countries and between Iran and HCMC particularly.

He affirmed that the municipal government will always create favorable conditions and be ready to coordinate with the Ambassador to complete the task and participate in cooperation programs contributing to the relations between the two countries, especially activities towards the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the two countries' diplomatic relations in 2023.

HCMC will consider the organization of an exhibition promoting trade activities and cultural exchanges between HCMC and Iran. The city always welcomes Iranian investors and creates advantages for businesses to take part in agricultural cooperation programs between the two sides. Additionally, the southern economic hub will support the launch of an air route connecting HCMC and Tehran if the Ministry of Transport approves the project, the citys leader told his guest.

Iranian Ambassador to Vietnam Ali Akbar Nazari hailed Vietnams achievements in socio-economic development and pandemic control and affirmed that Iran places much value on the friendship and cooperative relations with HCMC. He hoped Iran and HCMC will boost cooperation activities, including exchanges and meetings between the two countries at all levels and cultural and tourism promotion programs. At the receiving ceremony, he also sent his invitation to HCMCs leader to visit Iran.

By Thanh Hang  Translated by Kim Khanh
The Tripura government has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NIXI-CSC Data Services Centre to establish an international standard Data Centre here, an official said on Wednesday. National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) and CSE e-governance services Ltd, have floated a joint venture - NIXI-CSC Data Services Centre to set up the proposed Data Centre.

"The state government has signed an MoU with the joint venture company to raise an international standard Data Centre at Indranagar, headquarters of IT Bhavan, on Tuesday", Additional Director of the state's IT department, Bidyot Datta said.

In-charge director of the IT department, AK Bhattacharjee signed the MoU on behalf of the state government and CEO Anil Jain was the signatory from NIXI-CSC Data Services Centre. IT Principal Secretary Puneet Agarwal and head of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), CK Dhar were also present at the MOU signing event.

Datta said the joint venture company will invest Rs 150 crore for setting up the Data Centre while the state government will provide only space.

"NIXI-CSC Data Services Centre will kick start Data Centre by next one or two months even as it will take a year to transform the Data Centre to a world class level", he said.

Under the MoU, the joint venture will allow the state government to host all its data in the proposed Data Centre and it will also provide data to the state free of cost. "The company will charge for data exchange to other government and private players other than the state. The Data Centre will work under the control of the joint venture company", Data said.

The proposed Data Centre, once made operational will generate a lot of jobs for the highly skilled IT professionals in the state. "A sizeable number of IT professionals from the state have been working in cities like Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and abroad. Now, they will get a chance to return home", he said.
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More than two-thirds of directors support a federal anti-corruption body, says a new survey, which has also identified government integrity and trustworthiness as key election concerns.

As political debate flares over a federal integrity commission, a survey from the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) on Wednesday found 72 per cent of respondents were in favour of establishing such a watchdog.

AICD chief executive Angus Armour. Credit:Louie Douvis

While the survey of 1700 directors did not ask further questions on the issue, including on the contentious topic of how such a watchdog should be designed, AICD chief executive Angus Armour said the results came amid patchy levels of trust in government and a focus in the community on accountability.

Im not surprised from the perspective that the level of trust in government varies considerably across the country, Armour said.
Zip Co has said it will be more conservative in its lending and will slash $30 million in costs, as the plunge in buy now, pay later (BNPL) share prices ramps up pressure on loss-making operators to show they can make profits.

Following a period of intense competition among BNPL providers, the Sydney-based fintech on Thursday said bad debts had increased to outside its target range, a similar trend seen at rival Afterpay earlier this month.

Zip Co co-founder and chief executive Larry Diamond. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

The total value of transactions on its platform rose 26 per cent year-on-year, but UBS analysts said this was below market expectations, as Zip reaffirmed its plans to generate profits earlier than previously expected.

Zip, a key local rival to Afterpay, provides short-term instalment loans in Australia, the US and markets around the world. It is trying to disrupt the global credit card market, which is dominated by banks.

While BNPL firms were among the most-hyped stocks on the stockmarket in early 2021, their share prices have collapsed since the second half of last year, as investors fret over the impact of rising interest rates on technology companies valuations, stiff competition and rising bad debts.

Zip shares fell 4.6 per cent to $1.15 on Thursday and so far this year have fallen by about 70 per cent.

Zip co-founder and chief executive Larry Diamond reiterated the company was aiming to accelerate its path to making a profit - something it has previously said it hopes to achieve by 2024 on the basis of earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBTDA).

In the half year results we acknowledged a change in external factors and announced several adjustments to our strategy - with a refined focus on sustainable growth, strong unit economics and fast tracking profitability, Diamond said.

The quarter saw us continue to deliver top line growth and strong revenue margins, while beginning to implement this refreshed strategy.

Read the full story here.
The expected retirement age in Sydney has climbed steadily over the past 20 years but is still up to eight years younger than workers in some of Australias biggest trading partners.

Men in Sydney now aged 45 years are expected to retire at 65.3 years, while women are expected to retire around a year earlier at 64 years, a report by consultancy firm KPMG predicts. Since 2000 the citys expected retirement age for women has risen by 2.6 years, while the increase for men has been 1.4 years.

But men and women in Australia leave the workforce much earlier than in Japan and South Korea, Australias second- and third-biggest export markets respectively. Women in South Korea were expected to work until 72.3 years in 2018, or 8.1 years older than Australian women (South Korean men were expected to retire 7.3 years older than Australian men). Japanese men were expected to work until 71 years, nearly six years older than Australian men (there was a five-year gap for women).

New Zealand workers are also expected to stay in the workforce longer than their Australian counterparts - five years longer for men and two years longer for women. Israel, US and Sweden also have older expected retirement ages than Australia.
On MasterChef they call it a croquembouche. In politics, they call it a leaders debate, but its much the same thing: very hard to get through it without mucking up and afterwards no one is entirely sure what the point was.

Both reality television and actual reality were served up on our screens at the same time on Wednesday night, duelling visions of an Australia where ordinary folk square off to guess what is hidden under the cloche. It may be eggplant or perhaps its an electric car policy, who would know? The key factor is that it passes the pub test.

The first leaders debate came up against MasterChef. Credit:

On that score, the first campaign stoush between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor leader Anthony Albanese was about as exciting as a counter meal at Brisbanes Breakfast Creek Hotel: strictly a big fat steak and three veg.

This was not the only thing to distinguish Skys Brissy broadcast from MasterChef on Ten.
My experience in playing both of these women was with a certain degree of relief, I guess, Anderson says. Listening to Viola talk about the pressure of playing somebody that people are so familiar with in real time ... no matter how you slice it up its absolutely terrifying. Davis quotes the American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson: To be known is to be misunderstood. And as much as we feel like we know Michelle Obama, and I did everything I possibly could to research, I mean everything, still, in those private moments, there is some level of creative decision-making that you have to take. Viola Davis as Michelle Obama in The First Lady. Credit: Something I always say, if someone were to do a biography 70 years from now, and they spoke to everyone who possibly came into contact with me, youd only know 40 per cent of me, Davis adds. Theres just small minutiae [with Michelle] that I can take creative license with and hope that Im not insulting her. Its a fine line. The advantage Davis has is that unlike her co-stars, she had met Michelle Obama before taking on the role.

The first thing you latch onto is the similarities, Davis says. We are both black women. We are both dark-skinned, black women. Thats a very specific journey. But the thing that terrified me was theres a lot of that Im not, and so thats the first thing I had to try to tap into. But what struck me [when meeting her] was her height, and I dont want to say confidence because thats almost reductive, but her sense of worth, her sense of belonging, that seemed like a rooted oak tree. There was nothing about her that felt secondary, that felt like she was the woman behind the man. She absolutely seemed like a person who has a sense of self. Though she did not have a chance to meet her counterpart, Anderson felt able to find her movement and cadence in surviving film of her speeches and interviews. I dont begrudge the fact that she was not on social media, Anderson says, with a smile. There is enough footage thats out there, and so much written about her, and in her own words. In the majority of the interviews people were asking her about her husband, but she gave ... a sense of her personality and her voice and her shyness, Anderson says. She wrote daily columns for 30-odd years and wrote 25 books; theres enough written by her and about her to understand how her mind worked. Anderson was also drawn to Roosevelts sense of duty. She spent every waking minute either spending time with her family or in the service of other people, and I will never be that person, Anderson says. [As an actor] I am so selfish and so self-obsessed. And so, as much acting as I do, as much charity that I spend time at, as much time as I spend with my kids, Im just not that.

Ive had an opportunity to play a lot of very sharp, serious, ambitious, forthright bosses, police officers, Ive had the upper hand as characters in so many of the roles that Ive played, and Eleanor really, really felt that she didnt, Anderson adds. It really was a huge learning curve for her to feel that she had a voice, that she deserved a voice, that she had something to say. Loading Eleanor had grown up feeling that she had a back seat and women should have the back seat. And it wasnt until Franklin had actually started paying attention to and supporting the suffragette movement that Eleanor started to think about that and the fact that maybe it was a good thing that women had the vote. One of the most delicate aspects of the production was nailing down the physicality of both women. As with Andersons work on The Crown, where Margaret Thatchers wig almost earned its own credit, the small touches in the hair and makeup trailer are often the most transformational. Anything helps to catapult you into them, how they wear their hair, what they look like, so you literally can disappear and step into another life, but you know its only a part of it, [and] to tell you the truth of it, the easiest part, Davis says. The harder part is to capture their humanity and especially in a world where everybody feels like they know them.
Christian Marchegiani used to be a high school science teacher at St Gregorys College in Campbelltown. Now he drives trucks.

He left teaching when vaccine mandates were introduced last year because he refused to be vaccinated  he did not think there was enough evidence to prove they were safe or effective  and became an unofficial spokesman for teachers who felt the same way.

Christian Marchegiani left teaching because he refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and he is now a truck driver. Credit:

He declared victory on Wednesday after the NSW government said the mandate would not continue beyond mid-May for most teachers and health workers. The decision comes amid serious shortages of health workers and teachers due to COVID-19.

Ive been inundated with messages. Everyones saying, we did it, congratulations, said Marchegiani, who also taught at St Josephs College in Hunters Hill.
The suspect was taken to the Manly Police Station. Soon afterwards Detective Inspector Prior arrived and the arrested man was taken to the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Branch for interrogation.

Police surrounded the gully in which he was hiding, and after a short chase, closed with him and overpowered and handcuffed him. He told the police that he had ridden through the city on a bicycle obtained at Earlwood and had crossed the Harbour Bridge after having paid the toll.

William Cyril Moxley the man for whom a warrant had been issued in connection with the murder of Frank Wilkinson and Dorothy Denzel at Moorebank near Liver-pool, on April 5, was arrested in Frenchs Forest, near Balgowlah, yesterday after-noon. He made a desperate attempt to escape after he knew the police had seen him.

During the afternoon and evening he was closely questioned by the police. He was taken to a house in Ashfield, where he had lived, and later to the scene of the crime. After about 12 hours questioning by the Metropolitan Superintendent of Police (Mr Mackay), Mr Prior, and other senior detectives, Moxley was charged at the Central Police Station early this morning by warrant that he did feloniously and maliciously murder Frank Barnaby Wilkinson and Dorothy Ruth Denzel at Liverpool on or about April 5. He will appear before the Central Police Court this morning.

Matron Burton, of the Dalwood Babies Home, Frenchs Forest Road, Balgowlah, stated yesterday that a young man knocked at the door about 10 minutes before noon, and asked if he could use the telephone to communicate with the Manly police. He thought he had seen the suspect. After some delay the Manly police station was spoken to, and the man told the police that the suspect had a black beard of a couple of weeks growth. He was informed that the suspects beard would be of a light colour, but he replied that he thought it would be well for the police to investigate, and he arranged to meet the police car about 300 yards from the Dalwood gates. Later he went off with the police to show them the whereabouts of the suspect.

Police found Moxley dozing behind this rock. Credit:Staff photographer

The young man told Matron Burton that he had first noticed the man, who was sitting down, clad only in trousers, with his shirt drying on a rock, a little way off the road, and later he saw him riding slowly along the road on a bicycle, to the front of which was tied a dirty-looking sugarbag. He averted his face when closer scrutiny was attempted, and looked back frequently to see if he was being followed. The young man hid behind a tree and watched the cyclist ride into the scrub. He then ran to the Dalwood Home, and arrived there breathless, with his story.

Police action quickly followed. Detectives Tassell and Newton and Constable Gill were sent to the scene in a fast police car. Accompanied by the informant, they drove along Frenchs Forest Road to where the man had been seen pushing a bicycle down a narrow track into the heavy undergrowth overlooking Bantry Bay.
Council clash

The D.L.P. leader, Alderman J. Thom, called the Lord Mayor, Alderman H. F. Jensen, a crook in an angry exchange at the City Council meeting yesterday. Alderman Jensen said he regarded Alderman Thorn as despicable and accused him of telling a blatant, despicable lie. The council was discussing a motion by Alderman Thom asking council to rescind a resolution voting 2,000 for special civic receptions this year.

Bush attack

The handbag of a woman doctor who was yesterday attacked by a naked man, was found intact today 1,000ft below Wentworth Falls. Dr Joyce M. Richardson, 36, of Canterbury Hospital and Miss Margaret Mort, 41, a physiotherapist from Lidcombe State Hospital, were attacked by the man, who was masked, on the National Pass bush track yesterday. The man ran off with the handbags and two cameras which the women had used to beat him off.

The race game
Masks on public transport and at airports are tipped to be the next pandemic restrictions to go in NSW, after the state wound back a raft of coronavirus rules including abolishing compulsory isolation for close contacts.

Seven-day home quarantine for household contacts will be scrapped from this Friday, with asymptomatic people who live with a COVID-19 case instead asked to take daily rapid tests and avoid high-risk locations such as aged care homes.

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the overhaul to the rules were part of the states plan to co-exist with COVID-19, urging people eligible to receive a booster and flu shot and follow new guidelines.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet at Nepean Hospital on Wednesday. Credit:Rhett Wyman

We want to take a cautious and proportionate approach as we enter the colder months when we know that we might have flu circulating at higher levels, Chant said. We have to coexist with COVID-19, but we cant ignore it.
The WA Liberal Party has rubbished a claim that online petitions promoted by candidates during the federal election campaign were data-harvesting exercises.

Liberal candidates have been posting links to the petitions on their social media pages since March, urging followers to join to fight for a range of community infrastructure including aquatic centres, sporting facility upgrades and CCTV and lighting upgrades.

Scott Morrison announced $1.6 million for Wanneroo BMX Club on Monday while campaigning in Perth. The project was called for in a petition by Pearce candidate Linda Aitken. Credit:James Brickwood

But the WA Greens claim the petitions are insincere because the projects would have already been agreed to as election commitments behind the scenes by the party.

The Liberal Party has made four community-level funding announcements in WA during the campaign, with all four appearing in petitions posted on social media in the weeks and days before their announcement.
Singapore/Jakarta: Indonesias ambassador to Australia has defended Jakartas plan to have Russia at this years G20 summit in Bali, comparing it to Tony Abbott inviting Vladimir Putin to Brisbane in 2014 following Moscows seizure of Crimea and the downing of MH17.

At a cabinet-level G20 meeting on Thursday morning (AEST) in Washington, top finance officials from Ukraine, Britain, US and Canada walked out as Russias representatives spoke.

Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, have called for Russia to be expelled from the Group of 20 major economies over its invasion of Ukraine. Indonesia, which holds the summits presidency this year, is facing the prospect of boycotts if Moscow retains a seat at the table.

Russian President Vladimir Putins forces invaded Ukraine on February 24 and caused widespread death and destruction. Credit:AP

Morrison has been among the most vocal in opposing Putins presence at the world leaders summit in November, saying the idea of sitting around a table with Vladimir Putin  for me is a step too far.
London: Prince Harry says he has a special relationship with his grandmother where they can both tell each other things that they cannot discuss with anyone else.

The Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan dropped in to see his grandmother for a so-called olive branch meeting at Windsor Castle at the weekend in their first face-to-face meeting as a couple with the Queen in more than two years.

Prince Harry sat down for an interview in The Hague where the Invictus Games were held on the weekend. Credit:Television

He told a US television show on Thursday morning (AEST) his surprise visit to the Queen over Easter was to make sure she was protected and had the right people around her, in comments that have threatened to add to the growing rift within the royal family.

The pair also briefly met with Prince Charles before flying to Holland for the Invictus Games for what is the couples first public appearance in Europe together since quitting royal duties.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The House of Parliament will sit in a Central Committee meeting on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.

The Central Committee meeting is scheduled for 10.00 hrs. in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelminastraat #1 in Philipsburg. Professor G. Hoogers will be present

The agenda point is:

Presentation by experts regarding the pros and cons of the draft consensus Kingdom Law Caribbean Reform and Development Agency (IS/547/2021-2022 dated February 11, 2022)

Members of the public are invited to the House of Parliament to attend parliamentary deliberations. All persons visiting the House of Parliament must adhere to the house rules and all health and safety protocols, including the wearing of a mask.

The House of Parliament is located across from the Court House in Philipsburg.

The parliamentary sessions will be carried live on TV 15, SXM Bulletin (Cable TV 120), via SXM GOV radio FM 107.9, via Pearl Radio FM 98.1, the audio via the internet www.sxmparliament.org, and www.pearlfmradio.sx
MARIGOT:--- The CTU is an inter-governmental regional organization, established by treaty by the Governments of the Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 1989. Our work is based on multi-stakeholder engagement and as such we have the Member States and private sector members. The CTU is a source of ICT advice for regional Governments and facilitates the formulation of Caribbean ICT policy and best practices. The Secretariat, hosted in Trinidad and Tobago, represents and advocates for Caribbean ICT positions at international fora. Due to our commitment to our guiding principles of integrity, transparency, accountability, and excellence, the CTU is globally recognized and has attracted globally recognized strategic partners and supporters for its activities.

CTU Projects

The CTU in keeping with its mandate to its member states has successfully conducted several regional projects and collaborations with its stakeholders.

These projects include:

1. CaribIX

2. Reduction in Roaming Charges Declaration sign

3. Spectrum Management

4. Internet Governance

5. Caribbean Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (CARCIP)

6. The Caribbean ICT Policy Rapid Response Imitative  Completed in 2010

How Can We Partner?

The CTU seeks to empower its primary stakeholders (Ministers of Government responsible for ICT) at the national level to drive the processes necessary to advance to 21st Century Government. The CTU is committed to continuing its work to develop its members government-wide area networks (GWANS) while facilitating and coordinating the activities of other stakeholders.

The ultimate goal is to :

 improve the service quality,

 promote transparent and efficient interaction,

 enhance public trust in government, and

 drive better citizen experience.

Please see Secretary-General Taylors bio below.

Mr. Rodney Taylor is a national of Barbados and was appointed as CTU Secretary-General on 1st March 2021. As Chief Digital Technology Officer with Barbados Ministry of Innovation, Science and Smart Technology (MIST), Mr. Taylor led Barbados digital transformation, improving public sector service delivery through the strategic use of innovation, science, and SMART technology. With over 20 years of professional experience, Mr. Taylor has worked with regional governments to develop policies to govern information and communications technology (ICT) and represented the region in many international ICT fora. Under Mr. Taylors vision and leadership, he would continue to work to operationalize the CTUs Caribbean Centre of Excellence, to offer consultancy services to the Members, Non-member States, and Private Sector organizations to advise on 21st Century Governance. Mr. Taylor is an advisor on Internet Governance and is a founding member and former Chairman of the Barbados Chapter of the Internet Society.
~Meetings in Argentina opened many doors for Sint Maarten on an international level~

PHILIPSBURG:--- Right after having represented Sint Maarten at the International Workshop of Scholars and Parliamentarians in Patagonia, Argentina, President of Parliament Grisha Heyliger-Marten attended the EUROLAT General Assembly plenary sessions in Buenos Aires.

The EUROLAT is a multilateral parliamentary assembly, consisting of 75 members from Latin-American and Caribbean regional parliaments, and 75 members of the European Parliament.

During the sessions, formal decisions are taken on operational matters including appointments, the approval of the budget, and the adaptation of resolutions. The plenary sessions of the General Assembly are preceded by committee meetings covering subjects like sustainable development, social development, political affairs, finances, and economic affairs.

According to Heyliger-Marten, the real added value of attending the sessions for St. Maarten lies in the opportunity to meet influential parliamentarians from both sides of the Atlantic in formal and informal settings. As was the case during the Parlatino meetings in March and the workshop in Patagonia earlier this month, I was able to personally explain the challenges St. Maarten and the other Dutch Caribbean islands currently face within the Kingdom according to Heyliger-Marten.

In a press release issued Tuesday afternoon, Heyliger-Marten stated that she was very encouraged and inspired by the understanding and support she received when she pointed out the bottlenecks in the relationship with the Netherlands.

According to a number of senior Parliamentarians that I spoke to from this region and from Europe, the Government of the Netherlands has created a perception of humanity, compassion, and respect for international law. They were therefore astonished when I told them about the intentions of the Dutch Government to pass a COHO law which infringes on the autonomy of the islands, and that the CERD issued recommendations related to this in August of last year, Heyliger-Marten said.

She also updated her fellow Parliamentarians on the status of the petition filed with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance  and Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent.



According to Heyliger-Marten, she also had productive talks with high-ranking representatives of the Central American Parliament, also known as PARLACEN. The PARLACEN is the political institution and parliamentary body of the Central American Integration System.

I am very pleased that both EUROLAT and PARLACEN indicated that they are willing to formally table the issue of the constitutional relationships within the Dutch Kingdom during their next General Assemblies, she stated.

PARLATINO and COPPPAL (The Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America) have both issued resolutions in support of the Dutch Caribbean islands during the past few years. I look forward to the formal support from PARLACEN and EUROLAT for St. Maartens quest for constitutional reform and UN-based capacity building during the course of this year as well, said Heyliger-Marten.

According to Heyliger-Marten, dialogue based on absolute equality is the only way for the Netherlands to engage the Dutch Caribbean in order to bring the required constitutional reform about and ensure that the Kingdom Charter (het Statuut) is finally brought in line with international law.

In June of 2020, I suggested a Round Table Conference for all Kingdom partners as the first phase of dialogue towards constitutional reform. In August of 2021, the CERD also recommended the Netherlands start a dialogue with the Dutch Caribbean islands. And more recently, both Prime Minister Pisas and Aruban MP Mike Eman called for a Kingdom or Round Table conference, Heyliger-Marten stated.

There is no reason to wait. It is now time for activities that will benefit the people of St. Maarten in the long term. As such, I will be dispatching a letter to the Prime Minister regarding the matter of the COHO trajectory, capacity building, and constitutional reform based on the de Graaf and van Raak motions this week, and look forward to a speedy reply and follow-up.

With two IPKOs coming up and the support of international and interparliamentary organizations, I am very hopeful that 2022 will be a year of significant progress for St. Maarten and its Dutch Caribbean sister islands, Heyliger-Marten concluded.


Warning: This double review may contain spoilers.



The latest two episodes of, episode 6, "Two of One," and episode 7, "Monsters," offer one of the widest contrasts between good and bad storytelling. The first, "Two of One," another nicely directed Jonathan Frakes episode, explores the show's characters on a deeper level yet doesn't sacrifice the urgency of the unfolding story. "Monsters" brings that urgency to an almost dead stop.The cast work in "Two of One" is exceptional. One beautifully subtle scene is between Patrick Stewart (Picard) and Penelope Mitchell as his ancestor Renee Picard. Despite the insistence from Watcher Tallinn (Orla Brady) that he keeps his distance, Picard feels it necessary to step in and help Renee in person when her fears are getting the best of her, which would put everyone's missions in jeopardy. The lovely, quiet talk Picard has with Renee (without revealing his identity) about family and facing fear is some of the strongest work from Stewart thus far this season.The second standout in this episode is Isa Briones in one of the episode's final scenes. Watching Kore as she breaks into her father's files and struggles to remember the memories is heartbreaking. When the bombshell drops and the character discovers that she's not human, just one of her father's more successful attempts at making a clone/android, Briones shines. It's a significant revelation with just the perfect reaction from Briones, setting up what is sure to be an excellent confrontation scene between her and her father, Adam (Brent Spiner).Without question, the stars of this episode are once again the dynamic duo that has become Queen Jurati (Allison Pill and Annie Wersching). Watching these two characters battle for the supremacy of Agnes' mind and body has become one of the best reasons to stay tuned in this season. Kudos also to the production team for keeping Wersching's Borg Queen visible by planting her reflection on objects that Agnes stands next to. The Queen takes charge when Agnes needs to create a diversion to help Picard's team. She taps into all of Agnes' fears and inhibitions and has the character cut loose, triggering the endorphins that give her more power. It's a toss-up to decide which was the most effective, watching Jurati grab Rios (Santiago Cabrera) for an enthusiastic kiss or having Agnes steal the spotlight with a killer rendition of the Pat Benatar hit, "Shadows of The Night"! Pill deserves special recognition for using considerable vocal talent to belt the song out.While "Two of One" nails these characterizations without losing the context and integrity of their mission, "Monsters" veers so far off course from the main storyline that it completely smothers the momentum of the previous episode. The episode not only disregards and postpones the importance of Kore's discovery and its implications but also Kore doesn't even appear in the episode. Also almost completely ignored is Agnes (Allison Pill) locked in a battle for supremacy with the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching).Why was such a deep dive into Picard's psyche necessary now? Was this really the time we needed to learn that Picard's mother was seriously mentally ill? Revealing Watcher Tallinn as a Romulan didn't require her journey into Picard's mind. As it was, the story was not told well and ended up being a waste of the guest star James Callis (offame)'s talents. The episode revisits Picard family history with the revelation of Yvette Picard's (Madeline Wise) illness, yet doesn't include Picard's older brother Robert in the story? If the point of this exercise lies in the "more to the story" aspect, then it should have been revealed immediately. Also, showing Tallinn as a Romulan poses more confusing questions, such as why was there a Romulan as a Watcher on Earth during this time? Wouldn't it have made more sense for her to be a Vulcan?With the majority of the episode spent in Picard's psyche, that's not to say there were no other problems in the episode. After beaming onto the ship and discovering that the Borg Queen was trying to totally assimilate Jurati and had locked them out of the ship's operating systems, shouldn't Raffi (Michelle Hurd) and Seven (Jeri Ryan)'s first actions have been to warn the others? And if the Borg Queen had them locked out, how were they so easily able to beam back down to search for her, much less send Rios the device he needed for Dr. Ramirez (Sol Rodriquez) to help Picard.Speaking of Rios and the good Doctor, all the butterfly effect and timeline implications he was worrying about while figuring out how to get the Doctor what she needed made his later actions perplexing. If creating a medical device/procedure to help Picard was going to cause a timeline ripple, what kind of damage will be caused by taking the Doctor and her son Ricardo (Steve Gutierrez) onboard the La Siena?Finally, a quickly recovered Picard (let's not forget he's now an android and heals quickly) turns to his old friend Guinan (Ito Aghayere) for help with Q. It takes until the end of the episode for some movement in the initial storyline. Aghayere continues to impress as young Guinan in a scene where we discover her race is more powerful than the Q in that if they summon a Q, he must come. Both Guinan and Picard are perplexed when Q fails to answer the summons and wonder if something is wrong with him. Immediately, a mysterious stranger at the bar (Jay Karnes) shows up and reveals himself to be an FBI agent conducting a raid. He ultimately arrests Picard and Guinan. Is this another ploy by Q or just a case of the world's worst timing?Hopefully, the next episode will correct the mistakes made in "Monsters" and get back on track to restore the urgency of the mission that Picard and his crew embarked on. What are your thoughts onepisode 6 "Two of One" and episode 7 "Monsters"? Share them in the comments below.
The Good Doctor 5x15 My Way is a transition episode where the show returns to what it always was, moving us and teaching us valuable lessons that stay with us after turning off our TV. Time for a review! Were here for another week!5x15 My Way is a transition episode where the show returns to what it always was, moving us and teaching us valuable lessons that stay with us after turning off our TV. Time for a review!





Here we go!





Glassyyou have a lot to learn. The toxic masculinity that my beloved Glassy gave off in this episode is hard for me to forgive. But I can do it because, in the end, thanks to Morgan, he realized his problem. It's not about not giving (good) advice to a woman, it's about not patronizing her, trying to make it look like she has no idea and that you're an expert on the subject just because you have a penis.





That's how Glassy treated Jordan and Lea and it's not okay. Its the definition of toxic masculinity and Im glad that Glassy, in the end, understood that condescension and believing himself better than them just because he had an idea to improve an already brilliant plan, weren't good at all.





Bullying is horrible. I identified with the harassment that Shaun's patient suffered. He was suffering from such harassment that he preferred to self-harm so that he could stay in the hospital, safe, just a little longer. Fortunately, I didnt suffer physical harassment, my experience was about verbal and psychological harassment, and no one no one was there for me. At first, like the patient at the beginning of the episode, I was embarrassed to tell my parents or any adult who could help me.





Later, when I didit also didn't fix anything and things didn't get any better. As I said, I didn't have anyone. I'm glad Shaun's patient has him.





In another order of things, we must seriously consider a plan against bullying with REAL punishments for bullies because, in most cases, the bullied is the most affected, in many cases having to change schools.





Shaun and Lea's decision to make the documentary seems to be the right one. At first, I didn't like the idea of their wedding becoming a public spectacle (and I still don't like that idea) but it's indeed important for the world to see Shaun's story, not just to help people like him to realize that autism is not a limitation to fulfill their dreams, but for people who dont have autism to understand.





The Good Doctor. We need and deserve to see someone like us on our screens, to feel reflected and understand that, even if the world rejects us, there is nothing wrong with us. Representation matters. In all aspects. And this goes way beyond. We need and deserve to see someone like us on our screens, to feel reflected and understand that, even if the world rejects us,





The Good Doctor 5x15 My Way is a transitional episode, we picked up the rhythm of the show Even though5x15 My Way is a transitional episode, we picked up the rhythm of the show after last week's episode and the show was once again one that moves us with the stories and emotional conflicts of the patients, that have a direct reflection on our favorite characters.





The Good Doctor review ends. We will be back next week with a new one. Stay tuned! This is where ourreview ends. We will be back next week with a new one. Stay tuned!





Agree? Disagree? Dont hesitate to share it with us in the comments below!




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Breeze Airways announced Wednesday that it would expand to Westchester County Airport with eight routes launching in the summer and fall, establishing nonstop service from the startup airlines New York hub to the west coast.

Breezes expansion to Westchester will include daily, nonstop flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Charleston, S.C.; nonstop flights several days per week to Jacksonville, Fla., Norfolk, Va., and Savannah, Ga.; and one-stop, same-plane service several days to New Orleans.

Also Wednesday, Breeze announced nonstop service between Windsor Locks-based Bradley International Airport and Las Vegas, starting Sept. 7.

Current commercial air service from Westchester, which stands just across the state line from Greenwich, extends only as far west as Chicago.

Having lived so close to Westchester airport for many years, I wasted tons of time driving to JFK or Newark to travel to the west coast, Breeze founder and CEO David Neeleman, a serial aviation entrepreneur whose previous launches include JetBlue, said in a written statement.

Now well offer daily flights to the highest-demand markets from New York, with the state-of-the-art Airbus A220 aircraft which pairs unrivaled comfort with 36 first-class, 10 extra-legroom and 80 standard seats  and half the noise footprint of past generations. There is literally no faster or more comfortable way to get from Westchester to the west coast.

Breeze will join seven other passenger airlines serving Westchester: American, Cape Air, Elite Airways, Delta, JetBlue, United and Tradewind Aviation.

Salt Lake City, Utah-headquartered Breeze launched at Bradley last May and announced in February that Connecticuts flagship airport would become one of its hubs, with plans to create more than 200 jobs in the state. Breeze could receive a state grant of up to $1.26 million if it meets its job goals.

So far, Breeze has announced 11 nonstop destinations for Bradley. It is already running flights between the airport and Columbus, Ohio; Norfolk; Pittsburgh; and Charleston. Last month, the airline announced that it would begin in June nonstop service between Bradley and Jacksonville; Nashville, Tenn.; Akron-Canton, Ohio; Savannah; Richmond, Va.; and Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.

We are pleased to be adding West Coast service on Breeze Airways as part of their continued growth at Bradley International Airport, Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, which owns and operates Bradley, said in a statement. It remains a privilege to continue partnering in the significant success and expansion of the airline, and we sincerely appreciate the commitment to our community.

The start dates and price ranges for Breezes new flights from Westchester and Bradley are summarized below:

New routes serving Westchester County Airport (nonstop service, unless otherwise noted; nice, nicer, and nicest refer to price bundles):

Charleston, S.C.  daily flights, starting June 28; Nice from $79, Nicer from $129, and Nicest from $149

Norfolk, Va.  flights on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, starting June 30; Nice from $49 and Nicer from $99

Jacksonville, Fla.  Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, starting June 30; Nice from $79 and Nicer from $129

Los Angeles  daily, starting Sept. 7; Nice from $149. Nicer from $239 and Nicest from $249

Las Vegas  daily, starting Sept. 8; Nice from $149, Nicer from $239, and Nicest from $249;

New Orleans  one-stop service with flights on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, starting June 30; flights on Friday and Monday starting Sept. 9

Savannah, Ga.  Friday and Monday, starting Sept. 9; Nice from $79 and Nicer from $129

San Francisco  daily, starting Nov. 2; Nice from $149, Nicer from $239 and Nicest from $249

New route from Bradley International Airport

Las Vegas  flights on Wednesday and Saturday, starting Sept. 7; Nice from $149, Nicer from $239, and Nicest from $249

pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; Twitter: @paulschott
Masks will no longer be required on state-run public transportation in Connecticut, according to the Department of Transportation.

In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, DOT said it lifted the mandate for CTTransit buses as well as Hartford Line and Shore Line East trains as well as their services and facilities in Connecticut.

But masks are still required on Metro-North trains, under rules from New York State.

Gov. Ned Lamont said at a press event Wednesday morning it was time to make masks optional for the states travelers.

Youve got to keep it simple. Youve got to be clear. This judge out of Florida made it unsimple and unclear, Lamont said. I think in the interest of clarity its time to end the mask mandate for our piece of the transportation system.

The decision followed a ruling by a federal judge in Florida on Monday evening that overturned the nationwide mask mandate to protect against COVID-19 on public transportation.

On Tuesday, DOT said it was keeping the mask mandate in place in the state pending an appeal or overturning of the courts decision. But on Wednesday, the mandate was overturned statewide.

For the last two years, our transit operators have provided masks to the public and enforced mask mandates on public transit, DOT Deputy Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said. Now that the federal mask mandate for public transit is no longer in effect, masking will no longer be enforced, but is still strongly encouraged per current CDC guidelines.

DOT reminded residents, however, that masks are still required on Metro-North trains because the rail system is operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York.

The MTA, which also operates New York Citys subway system, still requires masks on public transit per the New York State Department of Public Health.

The mask requirement on public transit in N.Y. remains in effect for now pursuant to a March 2, 2022, determination by the New York State Department of Health, MTA communications director Tim Minton said in a statement Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, masks were no longer required at the airports in Connecticut, including Bradley and Tweed, the two largest.

abigail.brone@hearstmediact.com
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BRIDGEPORT  The City Council is forging ahead with a plan to hire a half-dozen aides that could eventually add over $500,000 to the municipal budget, but that proponents insist will improve members responsiveness to constituents.

Having staff to do whatever we need them to do, at a moments notice, is very important, freshman Councilman Tyler Mack said in an interview Tuesday following Monday nights 15-3 vote. Two members were absent.

Elected last November to the currently all-Democratic legislative body, Mack, who works for state Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, has helped champion the effort to give the council the power to fund its own support crew.

The amended version of an ordinance proposed last winter and approved Monday clears the way for the establishment of a six-person office of legislative services, with a special project coordinator  a catch-all title within Bridgeport municipal government applied to numerous positions in different departments  supervising five to-be-created aide positions.

In addition, the ordinance sets up a process for the council to also hire on an as-needed basis its own lawyer when a majority of members want a legal opinion independent of the municipal law department, whose head is appointed by the mayor.

According to a cost estimate submitted by Council President Aidee Nieves, just one aides salary and benefits would total $88,616 annually. Nieves said the council may start slow, hiring the supervisor, one-full time staffer and one part-timer instead of all six.

The council is in the middle of the spring budget process, reviewing Mayor Joe Ganims draft fiscal plan for 2022-23 ahead of an early May vote. The legislative budget only contains $90,000 for one position set aside last year but never filled.

It (the ordinance) says, Subject to the allocation of funds and availability of funding, Nieves said Tuesday. We can fund two. We can start with three. We can start with one.

But Councilwoman Maria Pereira, a critic of the plan who cast one of Mondays three no votes, noted Ganims budget is already balanced with millions worth of one-time revenues  $10 million in federal coronavirus pandemic relief; $4 million from the possible sale of Sikorsky Memorial Airport; and $2.1 million in hoped-for additional state aid.

Where, Pereira asked, will the council, in this and in coming fiscal years, find the additional hundreds of thousands of dollars for its own personnel on top of filling a future, $16.1 million budget hole?

Councilwoman AmyMarie Vizzo-Paniccia also voted no. She said Tuesday, I understand many of the council members need assistance with duties and that we all should have support. But, she said, the paperwork the council had to review was vague about positions, responsibilities, financials.

Vizzo-Paniccia also said that while the positions are supposed to go through a competitive personnel process, she is worried the aide openings would wind up being political patronage jobs rather than going to the most qualified applicants.

At one time the council did have a legislative liaison, but for the past decade has gotten administrative help from the City Clerks office, legal advice from the City Attorney, and relied on the mayors office and other departments to provide data and backup materials ahead of votes on matters like the budget, economic development projects and the passage of new local regulations.

The details of the ordinance passed Monday were modeled after the Connecticut General Assembly in Hartford and New Havens Board of Alders, whose members have personnel to assist with research, drafting bills, legal advice, constituent and media relations, and other duties.

Mack said his three-and-a-half year tenure assisting Looney in the state Senate, as well as his nearly five months on Bridgeports council, convinced him of the necessity of establishing a legislative services operation locally.

There are some (Bridgeport) issues that, because I work up here in Hartford, I cant get to right away, he said. Having someone be able to call a constituent  Yes, your case is being handled  right away makes a big impact. Constituents feel like they are being heard and getting their needs met.

Nieves and Councilman Ernest Newton were also vocal backers of the staffing concept. During last years campaigns Nieves and Mack were endorsed by the Bridgeport Generation Now Votes group after pledging to pursue reforms to empower the council and make it more independent of the mayor.

Nieves said while she has some flexibility in her job hours, that is not the case for all 20 council members, some of whom can only turn their attention to their elected responsibilities in the mornings, evenings or during lunch  times that are not necessarily compatible with those of municipal departments with which they interact on behalf of the voters.

With the internet and social media theres an expectation (by constituents) of a response in real, live time, Nieves said. With those expectations, its unrealistic (to expect) council people continue to work on their own. You have to do all of the following-up yourself.

We have the opportunity now (to) get a faster turnaround then when you call the council members, Newton, a budget committee chairman, said Tuesday. We need to do this. We should have done it 20 years ago.

And, Nieves said, some of the new hires can also help council members promote their work on social media or by producing newsletters for their particular neighborhoods.

Some of our council people want to do that but they dont have time or are limited in that technology, she said.

But the liaison office, while costing a small fraction of Bridgeport's roughly $600 million operating budget, is still potentially a big bump in terms of the councils current $343,946 budget. Five aides at $88,616 a piece would total $443,080 without the project manager who, as supervisor, would earn more, bringing that amount to over $500,000.

And that, Pereira noted, is before adding in the untallied costs of office equipment and supplies.

Meanwhile, as reported last week, the council, whose 20 members receive annual expense accounts of $9,000, is simultaneously considering setting aside an additional $40,000 for travel services.

Ive never had one constituent say, Maria, you know what we especially need? A staff for you and the council, Pereira said Tuesday. This is not a priority for the people of Bridgeport.

Pereira is one of the most active council members in terms of working with constituents and researching issues. Some of her colleagues like Newton argue she is able to dedicate more time to elected office because she is not currently employed.

Pereira acknowledged she does not have a job because for a few years she has been dealing with health issues. But, she added, Theres eight or nine other (council) people that dont have full time employment.

Nieves said complaints about the price tag are just an excuse, year and year again, to scare off the council from growing and professionalizing its office.
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HARTFORD  As Connecticut marked the first 4/20 holiday since the state legalized recreational marijuana, a group of cannabis advocates marked another first outside the state Capitol.

We usually dont run out of weed, Christina Capitan said Wednesday.

The 38-year-old East Windsor woman and many of the 50 other people standing along the stretch of Capitol Avenue, have gathered at the same spot every week to protest a bill in the General Assembly that would ban cannabis gifting parties.

Wednesdays midday 4/20 event  named for a code word for marijuana that began decades ago in California  was an opportunity to bring heightened attention to their message. To partake in the celebration. Passing around joints, legally for the first time on this date, the group talked about stopping corporate influence in the cannabis industry.

Were taking stand against the monopolization of the cannabis industry by multi-state operators, said Capitan, who held a megaphone and a sign that read Keep Ur Greed Out My Weed.

At exactly 4:20 p.m., a gathering time every April 20 for pot smokers in many cities, the group was gone and there was no sign of marijuana users in any groups at the Capitol or the surrounding Bushnell Park.

Scott Robbins, of New Britain, said the proposal to ban cannabis gifting, which is awaiting action in the House, is a way for the state to extract revenue from people. The bill includes civil penalties and allows municipalities to regulate cannabis gifting events, in which the product is given away, often along with a purchase of some other product such as a T-shirt.

With marijuana use now legal in Connecticut, the rules for smoking cannabis largely follow the rules for smoking tobacco. The group, for example, was prohibited from smoking on the Capitol grounds, but its legal to smoke on the sidewalk, which is city of Hartford property.

The public consumption parties hosted by the previously underground cannabis community, where growers show off flower specimens, fall under more of a gray area in the law.

Sitting on a table along the sidewalk Wednesday were two marijuana plants, which Gina Sanders, the grower, referred to as advocates for the opposition to the gifting bill.

They come to all the events with us, the 41-year-old Hartford resident said.

After the legislative session, the two female plants will go back into the grow tent, Sanders said. Once they flower and are harvested, the cannabis will be donated to two military veterans.

julia.bergman@hearstmediact.com
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The arrest of Connecticut State Trooper Brian North this week for a fatal shooting in the line of duty more than two years ago marks the first such arrest of a police officer in 17 years.

North was charged with first-degree manslaughter with a firearm Tuesday by the state inspector generals office in the shooting of Mubarak Soulemane on Jan. 15, 2020. He was released on $50,000 bond and is due to appear in Milford Superior Court on May 3.

My initial reaction was that I was shocked because usually when we come across situations such as this, usually officers walk away with no consequences, said Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut State Conference of the NAACP. Weve see this time and time and time again this particular time I was shocked.

Esdaile, who said he had not yet read the full report, said the organization had fought hard for the creation of the inspector generals office, which is now tasked with investigating officer involved shootings and use-of-force incidents. The office was created by state lawmakers in the wake of nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police in 2020.

It seems like we have a little promise here that were starting to move in the right direction Esdaile said, reached by phone Wednesday. I know this is a very dark tunnel for the family, it seems like this is a little light in the tunnel.

Norths arrest is the first time 17 years that a Connecticut police officer has been criminally charged in a fatal shooting while on-duty.

The last officer to face charges in a shooting was Hartford police Detective Robert Lawlor, who was acquitted of manslaughter and assault charges in 2009 in the killing of Jashon Bryant.

In 2005, Lawlor was working alongside an FBI agent in Hartfords North End when he fired into a car driven by Bryants friend. Lawlor claimed the car was driving at the federal agent, and that he thought Bryant had a gun.

The case brought against Lawlor was the only instance an officer was charged in 76 police-related deaths that were investigated between 2001 and 2020, according to reports from the Chief States Attorneys Office.

It was less than a decade before the Bryant shooting that a Connecticut officer was first charged with murder for a shooting in the line of duty.

On Dec. 29, 1998, New Milford police Officer Scott B. Smith chased down Franklyn Reid, who was wanted on a warrant charging him with violating his probation. Smith shot Reid in the back, claiming self-defense because he didnt show his hands and Smith was concerned he was reaching for a weapon. Smith was acquitted of the murder charge, but convicted of manslaughter in the case.

John DeCarlo, a professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven and former police chief for the town of Branford, said charges against Connecticut officers involved in shootings are uncommon.

But I suspect that it will be less rare under the police accountability bill with events like this being examined under a different set of circumstances, he said.

The unfortunate thing is when a cop makes a mistake like this - like an aircraft pilot making a mistake or a doctor making a mistake - it costs peoples lives, DeCarlo added.

Body camera footage from the Soulemane shooting showed North firing at Soulemane seven times through the window of a car as he sat in the drivers seat. The vehicle had become boxed in traffic under an Interstate 95 overpass following a high speed pursuit, after police claimed Soulemane had stolen the car in a carjacking.

North told investigators that Soulemane had a knife in the car during the encounter. Soulemanes family said the 19-year-old New Haven resident had a history of schizophrenia, which may have contributed to his actions leading up to the shooting.

In a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut said Soulemane should still be alive today, but that the arrest of North is a welcome step toward individual accountability.

For two years, Mubarak Soulemanes loved ones have called for police to be held accountable for killing him. No family should ever have to lose a loved one to police violence, let alone have to advocate for police to be held accountable afterward, read the statement from Claudine Constant, the organizations public policy and advocacy director.

Yet far too many families, especially Black families, have been left to grieve loved ones killed by police and never seen the individual police or system-wide actors held responsible, she went on to say. The Inspector Generals report is a thorough indictment of the system that makes it possible for police to kill a young Black man experiencing a mental health crisis and of previous prosecutors excuses for that system.
STAMFORD  An Illinois man charged with bilking an 87-year-old Greenwich woman out of more than $200,000 in a sweetheart scam rejected an offer for a plea bargain from prosecutors that came with no prison time attached during a hearing Wednesday.

Supervisory States Attorney Maureen Ornousky offered Kayode Ogunjimi, 31, a suspended prison sentence and an unspecified period of probation in return for a guilty plea to third-degree larceny.

But under the deal, Ogunjimi would have had to pay restitution of $60,000, according to Ornousky.

Ogunjimi faces a charge of first-degree larceny stemming from what police called a sweetheart scam, in which he allegedly courted the Greenwich woman on social media with fake photos and declarations of love and then swindled her for her savings.

Ornousky said the state only made the offer, which included up-front restitution and reduced charges, because the victim is in need of funds.

That was the reason the state took a lenient vision on this matter, not the nature of the case, he said.

Allan F. Friedman, Ogunjimis lawyer, said during the hearing that his client was reluctant to accept the offer, in part, because the state had failed to provide the 31-year-old with a copy of the footage of his alleged confession.

Friedman also noted that his client was willing to pay up to $100,000 in restitution.

The offer is a suspended sentence and to make restitution; I dont know how hes going to get a better deal than that, other than the state just saying that theyll drop the charges, Superior Court Judge Gary White said.

Thats not going to happen, Ornousky interjected.

Ogunjimi, a resident of Oswego, a distant suburb of Chicago, was arrested in Arlington Heights, Ill., on June 12, 2020, on an arrest warrant out of Greenwich.

At the time, Greenwich police said that they had received a complaint from the victim after she noticed suspicious transfers in her bank account in September 2019.

Police said Ogunjimi struck up a friendship with the victim on the Internet, using the Hangout application, a Google software program, police said. He went by the name of Bernard Slack and spun a tale of working on an oil rig, using a fake photo of a handsome older gentleman to entice his victim, according to authorities.

At some point Slack (Ogunjimi) professed his love for the victim and began asking the victim for money relating to a new business in the amount of $200,000, according to the arrest report. The victim believed Slack and started to send money via wire transfers. This money ended up in Ogunjimis possession.

Ogunjimi, who is free after posting $300,000 bond, is next scheduled to appear in Stamford Superior Court on June 16.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  The North Carolina Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to give a judge another week to work through the latest step in a long-running legal fight over public education spending.

The court's justices granted Special Superior Court Judge Michael Robinson a seven-day extension, which he had requested Tuesday while citing differences between the legal parties over details and numerous documents to review.

Robinson was tasked last month with scrutinizing the November order of another judge who had directed that $1.75 billion be moved from state coffers to carry out two years of a remedial plan to address education inequities.

In particular, the Supreme Court told Robinson to review Judge David Lees order in light of the General Assemblys passage of a state budget that funds some of the plans provisions.

Robinson originally had until Wednesday to report his findings to the justices, who afterward will hear appeals that likely would rule on whether the judicial branch has constitutional powers to order taxpayer-funded spending for education on its own. Republican legislative leaders say only the General Assembly can appropriate state money.

In his extension request, Robinson said hes received a large number of written submissions from legal parties in the litigation such as school districts, parents and state officials, and held a lengthy in-person meeting last week.

The parties also dont agree on how much money is in the new budget law that covers the remedial plan program and on how certain spending should be interpreted, he wrote.

The delay until April 27 was needed to carefully consider the submissions and arguments of counsel and issue an appropriate order containing its findings and conclusions, Robinson added.

The court granted the extension in an order that contained no additional comment. Soon after, Robinson scheduled an online hearing for Friday to ask questions about the disagreements over spending.

The state budget office within Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's administration calculated earlier this month that the two-year budget allocated $958 million that would coincide with portions of $1.75 billion that Lee said should be spent through mid-2023. But an analysis by the legislature's Fiscal Research Division differed on which budget provisions align with the remedial plan and how spending should be counted. While Cooper favored full funding of the remedial plan, he still signed the legislature's budget into law,

The litigation is referred to as Leandro for a plaintiff in the original 1994 lawsuit. Supreme Court decisions in 1997 and 2004 declared there was a constitutionally protected right to obtain the opportunity for a sound basic education and that the state had not lived up to that mandate, especially for students in poor regions.

Since then, judges have been appointed to monitor the case and efforts to address the inequities. The case picked up steam again in late 2019 when an outside consultant declared little progress had been made to comply with the rulings.

Lee ultimately backed a remedial plan that would spend at least $5.6 billion through 2028. But he did not order any spending until budget negotiations between the legislature and Cooper went well into the fall in 2021. A budget agreement was signed a week after his Nov. 10 order.

The remedial plan includes items such as funding improvements to help low-income students and those with disabilities. Theres also increased pay for educators and improvements to child access to prekindergarten.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  Plans to fully legalize marijuana can proceed to the signature-gathering stage, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled, paving the way for two more cannabis plans seeking voter approval.

The high court's ruling late Tuesday comes amid a marijuana boom in the Sooner State after voters in 2018 approved the most liberal medical marijuana program in the U.S. Nearly 10% of Oklahoma's 4 million residents have qualified for a medical-use card, by far the highest percentage in the country.

Supporters of the two separate proposals still need to gather enough signatures to put the plans on the ballot for voters. The plans approved Tuesday, State Question 819 and a companion State Question 818, would amend the Oklahoma Constitution to protect the right of residents age 21 and older to use marijuana. It's part of a nationwide push to legalize the recreational use of cannabis for adults, which 18 states and the District of Columbia have already approved.

Because the two proposals seek to amend the constitution, supporters will have to gather more signatures, about 178,000 in 90 days, for them to qualify for the ballot.

Whether well get on the November ballot this year remains to be seen," said Jed Green, a longtime Oklahoma cannabis activist behind the plans. Were going to push, push and push to get it done, and hopefully we do, but ... we'll get our signatures."

A separate adult-use proposal, State Question 820, already has been cleared by the high court and because it would only amend state statute, requires only about 95,000 signatures. Supporters of that plan can begin gathering signatures on May 3.

Supporters of both proposals say growers in Oklahoma's booming cannabis industry have an eye toward Texas, the nation's largest prohibition state with 29 million residents. New Mexico, which borders both Oklahoma and Texas, already legalized adult use and topped $2 million in sales during its first day of sales earlier this month.

Weve seen success that the tribes have had with casinos along the Texas border," said Michelle Tilley, an organizer behind SQ 820. There's a national market already."
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DILI, East Timor (AP)  East Timor's former independence fighter and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta is set to win the presidential runoff election, according to over 60% of the votes counted Wednesday, defeating incumbent Francisco Lu Olo Guterres for the second time in Asia's youngest democracy.

Official results are not expected until next week, but Ramos-Horta, who led resistance during Indonesias occupation of East Timor, had 61.72% of the votes counted so far. Guterres was trailing with 38.28% and had promised to accept the outcome.

The runoff was held peacefully on Tuesday. Ramos-Horta had a commanding lead in the first round but failed to exceed the 50% threshold for the victory.

Ramos-Horta, East Timors president from 2007 to 2012, and Guterres have blamed each other for years of political paralysis. The two also squared off in a second round in 2007.

Ramos-Horta pledged to reduce poverty, improve health services for mothers and children and create more jobs if he is elected, and vowed to build communication with the governing parties to restore the nations political stability and prevent a more severe economic downturn.

The former Portuguese colony was occupied by Indonesia for a quarter-century and gained independence after a U.N.-sponsored referendum in 1999. Indonesias military responded with scorched-earth attacks that devastated the East Timorese half of the island of Timor.

More than 76% of the votes last month went to resistance-era figures, showing how much they dominate politics after two decades despite younger voices emerging.

The president is responsible for naming the government and dissolving parliament. The incoming president takes office on May 20, the 20th anniversary of East Timors independence.

In 2018, Guterres refused to swear in nine Cabinet nominees from the National Congress of the Reconstruction of East Timor, known as CNRT, a party led by former prime minister and independence leader Xanana Gusmao, who then backed Ramos-Hortas run for president.

Guterres is from the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor, known by its local acronym Fretilin, which had led resistance to Indonesian rule.

Fretilin said that Ramos-Horta is unfit for president, accusing him of causing a crisis as prime minister in 2006, when dozens were killed as political rivalries turned into open conflict on the streets of Dili.

The latest impasse led to the resignation of Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak in February 2020. But he agreed to stay on until a new government is formed and to oversee the battle against the coronavirus pandemic with a $250 million war chest. His government has operated without an annual budget and has relied on monthly injections from its sovereign fund savings, called the Petroleum Fund.

During his campaign, Ramos-Horta declared he would call an early parliamentary election if a new majority  based on the CNRT  couldnt be negotiated among the parties in the current parliament. Many are concerned that calling an election early could inflame tensions.

East Timor's transition to a democracy has been rocky, with leaders battling massive poverty, unemployment and corruption as it continues to struggle with the legacy of its bloody independence battle. Its economy is reliant on dwindling offshore oil revenues.

Turnout in the second round was 71.6%, or 6% lower than in the first round.
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STAMFORD  Brews on Bedford is back on tap.

The beer-sampling event is scheduled for Saturday, June 4 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Latham Park. The Stamford Downtown Special Services District last held the gathering in 2019  before the spread of COVID-19.

Beers from more than a dozen breweries will be available for tasting. Most of the brewers are based in Connecticut, including Stamfords own Lock City Brewing Company and Half Full Brewery. Visiting from out of state will be Cape Cods Devils Purse Brewing Company and the Bronxs Gun Hill Brewing Company.

There will also be live music, lawn games and food from local vendors, according to DSSDs website.

I think its just a great opportunity to interact with your neighbors outside and take advantage of the good weather and the fact that everyone wants to come back out and hang out, said DSSD President David Kooris. COVID is certainly still present, but its not impacting our ability to have fun in the way that it once did.

Kooris noted that breweries, like other businesses, have been facing staffing issues. While most of the breweries taking part in Brews on Bedford will man their booths themselves, some will get a hand from the DSSD.

Getting additional folks to come here when theyre trying to run the brewery as well is a challenge these days, he said. And so we also offer for the breweries who cant staff their own booths, they send the beer, they give us some modest training and then we will staff the actual booth for the brewery.

The businesses participating in Brews on Bedford this year include:

Berlinetta Brewing Company

Best Friends Lunch

Broad Brook Brewing Company

Charter Oak Brewing Company

Devils Purse Brewing Company

Dockside Brewery

Gun Hill Brewing Company

Half Full Brewery

Hog River Brewing Company

Lock City Brewing Company

Merican Mule

New England Brewing Company

New England Cider Company

Partay (Azure Bev Co)

Redding Beer Company

Spacecat Brewing Company

Thimble Island Brewing Company

Tickets cost $30 through April 30 then increase in price to $36. If any tickets are available the day of the event, they will cost $40.

The event is only for those age 21 and older. Photo identification will need to be shown to enter. Pets wont be allowed.

brianna.gurciullo@hearstmediact.com
A Texas judge postponed a defamation awards trial that was supposed to begin on Monday to determine how much money Alex Jones will pay the parents of a slain Sandy Hook boy while three of Jones companies seek bankruptcy protection in federal court.

As soon as I do get a remand (from bankruptcy court) I will be resetting this trial, said Travis County District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble during a Wednesday morning hearing in Austin, Texas  the headquarters of Jones Infowars broadcast and marketing platform. We are going to go to trial as soon as I possibly can.

Guerra Gambles decision comes one day after a Superior Court judge in Connecticut postponed a trial planned for August to determine how much money Jones will pay an FBI agent and eight families who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook massacre, stemming from a defamation suit Jones lost to them last year.

The ruling by the Texas judge means the parents of Jesse Lewis will have to await the outcome of the bankruptcy process. The parents of a second boy slain in the Sandy Hook massacre who also won a defamation case against Jones last year in Texas and were scheduled to have their awards trial next will also have to wait.

Neil Heslin, who along with Scarlett Lewis was preparing for a Monday trial declined to comment about the delay after the judges ruling.

Jones legal and financial troubles have been in the national headlines for a month as his first defamation awards trial approached in Texas. His effort to settle with 19 people in the Connecticut and Texas defamation cases for $120,000 each was rejected. At the same time, he was sued in Texas by four Sandy Hook parents who accused him of transferring millions of dollars from his fortune to shield assets from them at the damages trials.

On Monday, Guerra Gamble ordered Jones and his companies to pay $1 million in legal fees to the parents of two slain Sandy Hook children and a Norwalk native falsely accused of being the shooter in a Florida high school massacre.

Jones made public statements recently in Bridgeport that he no longer believes the massacre of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 was staged, synthetic, manufactured, a giant hoax, and completely fake with actors.

On Wednesday in Austin, Guerra Gamble heard first from the Sandy Hook parents attorney Mark Bankston, who argued the defamation awards trial should begin on Monday regardless of the bankruptcy filings because the effort by Jones attorney to remove the case to federal court was abnormal and dishonest.

As things stand right nowI have a feeling when we walk out of this courtroom they are going to come out with another stunt, Bankston said during a livestreamed conference. They have already shown an extraordinary willingness to go beyond what is honest and forthright to make this scheme work.

Bankston was referring to three Jones controlled businesses that filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday - an action that normally would have delayed the pretrial defamation award cases in Texas and Connecticut, except that Jones himself and another business he controls, Free Speech Systems, were not part of the bankruptcy filing and remained defendants.

On Monday, Jones attorneys filed a separate motion to remove the remaining cases from state court until the bankruptcy process was complete. That prompted Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis to suspend pretrial preparations in Waterbury.

On Wednesday, Jones Houston attorney Andino Reynal said Guerra Gamble should to the same as Bellis, arguing that the disposition of the Jones-controlled businesses in bankruptcy could have an effect on the ability of Jones and Free Speech Systems to pay defamation damages awarded by a jury.

Our position is that (your) jurisdiction disappeared at some point yesterday, Reynal told the judge.

After a 30-minute break, Guerra Gamble agreed.

As a result, all eyes now turn to Texas Southern Bankruptcy Court in Victoria, where the first hearing is planned for Friday.

For some of the Sandy Hook families involved in the Jones defamation cases, it is not the first time a lawsuit has been delayed by bankruptcy.

In 2020, Remington filed for bankruptcy protection after nine Sandy Hook families won a string of pretrial victories in their wrongful death lawsuit. After Remington was sold off to competitors, its insurance carriers settled with the families for $73 million.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342
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A state trooper who shot and killed Mubarak Soulemane while the 19-year-old New Haven resident was seated in a car after a high speed chase has been charged in connection with the fatal shooting.

The decision by the states Office of the Inspector General to charge the officer, Brian North, comes more than two years after the police shooting, and marks the first time in more than a decade that a police officer has been charged in a fatal police shooting.

Norths body camera footage shows the officer firing seven shots from his handgun at Soulemane through the closed window of a car Soulemane was driving during the Jan. 15, 2020 incident. The car had become wedged in traffic just off Exit 43 on Interstate-95 in West Haven.

North claimed in the video that Soulemane had a knife inside the car. Police had pursued Soulemane following an alleged carjacking in Norwalk. Soulemanes family later said he had schizophrenia, and may have been suffering from an episode during the incident.

North was charged with first-deagree manslaughter with a firearm and was released on $50,000 bond. He is due to appear in Milford Superior Court on May 3.

Heres a timeline of how the shooting and investigation unfolded.

Jan. 15, 2020 - Soulemane is shot by a state trooper after an alleged carjacking

Soulemane was fatally shot by North just off Interstate 95s Exit 43 in West Haven on Jan. 15. Soulemane allegedly had carjacked a driver in Norwalk following an alleged incident with a knife at an AT&T store there, then fled from police at high rates of speed along the highway. North said he saw a knife in Soulemanes possession. He fired seven shots through a closed window, killing the 19-year-old New Haven resident.

Jan. 17, 2020 - Soulemanes family reveals he had schizophrenia

Saeed Soulemane said his brother had graduated from Notre Dame Fairfield (high school), battling through the difficulties posed by his mental illness. He was in his second year at Gateway Community College. He was going to turn 20 in July; he was hoping to attend Roger Williams University.

His sister, Mariyann Soulemane, said her brothers mental illness became apparant in 2016. I was amazed at how patient he was  I wish I had his patience, but when that sickness took over his mind, it was like a snap, she said in an interview at the time.

Jan. 17, 2020 - Body cam footage from shooting released

In accordance with state statute, the Connecticut State Police released audio from police radio transmissions, phone calls between Troop G and Norwalk police, and a 911 call. Footage from three separate dash cameras and three separate body-worn cameras was also releeased.

Jan. 21, 2020 - State inspectors take over the shooting investigation

The investigation into North's use of force is reassigned to Middlesex States Attorney Michael A. Gailor and inspectors from the Division of Criminal Justice, rather than state police. "The underlying investigative work has historically been done by the Connecticut State Police, however, it was decided to have Division of Criminal Justice Inspectors conduct this investigation in that the use of force involved a state trooper," the division said in a statement. The investigation had initially been assigned to New London States Attorney Michael L. Regan.

Jan. 25, 2020 - North barred from contact with public during investigation

Until all investigations related to the case are complete, North will not interact with the public or be assigned to a barracks, the Rev. Boise Kimber said after speaking with state officials, adding that he will be on desk duty and will not be permitted to drive a police car.

Jan. 26, 2020 - Rev. Al Sharpton speaks at Soulemanes funeral

You dont have a right to take away his life, and if you do, we have an obligation to stand up and question what happened, Sharpton said at a memorial service Sunday for Soulemane at the First Calvary Baptist Church in New Haven.

Jan. 30, 2020 - Chief State's Attorney releases preliminary report

The report officially said that Soulemane died of multiple gunshot wounds and noted that officers from the West Haven Police Department were on scene at the time of the shooting.

The Soulemane family also met with West Haven officials about city polices role at the scene of the shooting. Police Chief Joseph Perno said between four or five West Haven officers were at the scene to support state police before Soulemane was shot, and then performed first aid after the shooting.

The family also advocated for the city to purchase body cameras.

Jan. 31, 2020 - Rally held by friends and family

We wont let Mubis name be taken over by different headlines in the news, and thats why we are out here today, organizer and friend Kira Ortolera said. Mubi was a good friend of mine. He was a brother, a boyfriend, a friend, a son, a nephew  and we are not going to let him be drowned out.

Feb. 4, 2020 - West Haven mayor says city will explore purchasing body cams

Mayor Nancy Rossi said she would explore the possibility of acquiring body cameras for city police after meeting with the Soulemane family.

Feb. 17, 2020 - State: Trooper who fatally shot New Haven man has choice on release of personnel file

Officials with the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection said the personnel file for North would not be released unless the department, in accordance with a new collective bargaining agreement, is specifically required to disclose it by a court order or North offers his consent.

Feb. 19, 2020 - Attorneys for Soulemane family announce intent to file wrongful death suit

The family is expected to seek $10 million in damages, according to their attorneys.

Jan. 15, 2021 - One year since Soulemanes death

At the one year anniversary of Soulemane's death, family members and members of the community hold a candlelight vigil for Soulemane beneath the I-95 overpass where he was shot and killed. Unfortunately, with his sickness, it held him back a lot. But underneath that sickness still (lay) our Mubarak, a very loving, caring soul, said Mariyann Soulemane, his sister. He had so much more life to live.

Nov. 3, 2021 - Office of the Inspector General takes over investigation

The state's newly-created Office of the Inspector General assumes the investigation into the Soulemane shooting, along with other pending police use of force cases. The office was formed as part of a state law passed in the wake of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, which saw widespread protests throughout Connecticut and the nation.

Dec. 21, 2021 - Soulemane family sues

The Soulemane family files a lawsuit against the city of West Haven, city police officers and state troopers involved in the shooting. The suit seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney fees and costs and any other relief deemed appropriate by the court.

April 8, 2022 - Family says state's investigation is taking too long

Soulemane's family says they want the state to complete its report on the fatal shooting in order to move on. "(I)ts taken too long. Weve been patiently waiting for two years. We want to move on, said Soulemane's mother, Omo Mohammed. The whole family is devastated, and we are still waiting and waiting. ... Were still thinking about it, because there is nothing thats coming out of the state.

April 19, 2022 - North charged with manslaughter

North is arrested after turning himself in to the inspector general at Troop I in Bethany, state police say in a news release. He is charged with first-deagree manslaughter with a firearm and was released on $50,000 bond. He is due to appear in Milford Superior Court on May 3
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Mississippi on Wednesday to announce a program meant to help rural communities get federal funding to create jobs, build infrastructure and improve their economies.

Vilsack and White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice traveled to the Mississippi Delta cities of Clarksdale and Greenwood to discuss the USDA-led Rural Partners Network with community leaders.
Jack Williams Tire Company is selling the 93-year-old family-owned business to Mavis Discount Tire, according to letters sent to Jack Williams employees on Monday.

All store and warehouse employees, as well as some corporate employees, will have the opportunity to become Mavis employees, according to the letter.

Neither Scott Williams, president, CEO and grandson of the late company founder Jack Williams, nor any officials with Mavis immediately returned calls seeking comment.

The letter, signed by Jack Williams Chairman Bill Williams and his wife, Sandi, their son Scott, Bills brother Jason, who is chief strategy officer, and his sister Tracey, company vice president, states that they signed a definitive agreement with Mavis and that the transaction would close on May 9. An integration plan will begin shortly thereafter.

The deal will increase Mavis retail store total to nearly 1,500 nationwide, including 109 in Pennsylvania.

The total includes a few hundred franchised Express Oil and Tuffy Tire locations, according to Tire Business, a tire and automotive services trade newspaper.

According to the letter to employees, Jack Williams Tire matches up well with Mavis, which the Williamses described as the fastest-growing tire and automotive service company in the United States and as having the tools and resources to expand on our success and increase career growth and achievement opportunities beyond what JWTCO could do alone.

We understand there will be many questions and will communicate what to expect between now and May 9, when the business will transition to Mavis, they said.

With a $500 loan from his father, Jack Williams Sr. established Jack Williams Tire Co. in Kingston in 1929. Three generations later, the company has grown to include 39 retail locations throughout northeastern and central Pennsylvania and 12 wholesale warehouses serving Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware. The business sells, distributes and repairs tires and offers other auto services.

The company also operates two specialty shops under the brand Auto Addictions.

It purchased Auto Addictions in 2003 to give customers more opportunities to personalize their vehicles with services like window tinting, mobile electronics, remote starters and performance accessories.

Headquartered in Moosic, Jack Williams Tire was employing more than 800 people when the company turned 90 in August 2019.


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The General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPF) informs on Wednesday, that since the conflict began in the neighboring country, over 750,000 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania.

On Tuesday, during the 24 hour interval, nationwide, 88,586 persons entered Romania through border crossing points, including 7,348 Ukrainian citizens (going up by 11.2% from the previous day).4,371 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania through the border with Ukraine (going up by 17%), and 1,334 Ukrainian citizens entered through the border with Moldova (going up by 36%).Since the start of this conflict and until April 19, at 24:00, nationwide, 751,300 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania.
Northwestern Oradea is celebrating 103 years since "it entrusted its fate to Romania," and it is presently one of the most flourishing cities in the country, stated, on Wednesday, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, in a speech held at the ceremony celebrating the day of April 20, 1919, when Romanian troops entered the city.

"I am honored to be today together with you, at the celebration of a crossroads event in the history of the city and, at the same time, in the history loaded with so much emotion, both at the time, as well as now. 103 years ago, on April 20, on Easter Sunday, the troops of the Romanian Army entered Oradea, to defend the population and free it from tyranny, in the acclamation of Romanians, Hungarians and all the nationalities expecting them here," said the Prime Minister in the speech.The Prime Minister recalled that Oradea "went under the protection of the Kingdom of Romania with a peaceful change of power and without replacing the representatives of the old administration.""In the name of liberty, democracy and peace, multiethnic and multicultural Oradea entrusted its fate to Romania, and presently it is one of the most flourishing cities in the country and I am using this opportunity to once again thank the city's mayors in the past years. (...) Today, the administration and army are meeting once more, symbolically, in Oradea, to recall the emotional day of April 20, 1919, when the civilian and military power, beyond any appurtenance, joined for the good of the community. It is the best moment to recall, with respect and admiration, the names of personalities that distinguished themselves then through altruism, attachment to values and vision: Aurel Lazar, Rimler Karoly, Janossy Gyula, Coriolan Pop, Iustin Ardelean, Roman Ciorogariu and, of course, Traian Mosoiu," said the Prime Minister."I hope in all this period, in which we are going through several crises, the citizens of the city of Oradea, together with the local authorities, continue what they started, develop better and more what they took over and, through solidarity, empathy, generosity and willingness for effort be able to accomplish what they desire since many years ago," said the Prime Minister of Romania.
In Oradea on Wednesday, Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca shot down rumours of Ukrainian soldiers training in Romania, urging the Romanians to be "very careful where they get their information," considering that there is a very complicated security situation going on and there is a lot of fake news.

He was asked about recent allegations by a Russian state official according to which many Romanian mercenaries are fighting in Ukraine."So, there are no such data. I saw that there is also the information according to which the Ukrainian military would be trained in Romania. No way! (...) I am urging you and all Romanians to take into account and also to be very careful where they get their information. There is a very complicated security situation going on and there is a lot of misinformation, fake news, propaganda and we need a lot of discernment when we receive such information," said Ciuca.He added that from his current position he does not want to express his opinions as a specialist in connection with the war in Ukraine, when asked why he never spoke to the Romanians about the war on the northern border of Romania although he was invited to do so."I did not have a direct invitation on this subject, but of course my professional career is the one we know and you know. At the moment, I am holding an office that I would not like to use to present the specific elements related to that subject, because any statement at this level has other connotations in the public space and especially elsewhere in the world. But, I can see that there are a lot of specialists, there are people... analysts who do that and they do it very well," said Ciuca.Ciuca was on a working visit to Bihor County on Wednesday.
Romania's President Klaus Iohannis had a phone conversation with his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev on Wednesday about the situation in Ukraine.

"I had a very good conversation with President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev on the extremely worrying security situation in Ukraine and Black Sea. Romania and Bulgaria will continue to coordinate their efforts to provide consistent humanitarian support to Ukraine and the refugees," Iohannis wrote on Twitter.
As many as 1,107 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 were recorded in the last 24 hours in Romania, down 417 from the previous day, with about 21,500 RT-PCR and rapid antigenic tests performed, the Health Ministry informed on Wednesday.

Of the new cases, 131 were in re-infected patients, who tested positive more than 90 days after the first time they recovered from the disease.Most of the newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in Romania since the previous reporting were recorded in Bucharest City - 275 and in the counties of Cluj - 126, Timis - 104, and Brasov - 48.As of Wednesday, 2,885,221 cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus were confirmed in Romania.- Hospitalisations -As many as 1,439 people with COVID-19, down 115 from the previous reporting, including 89 children, are hospitalised in Romania at specialist care facilities.Out of the total number of hospitalised patients, 233 patients are in intensive care, up five.Of the 233 patients admitted to ICU, 198 are unvaccinated against COVID-19.- Deaths -According to the ministry, another 18 Romanians infected with SARS-CoV-2 - 13 men and five women - are reported dead in the last 24 hours.Out of the total 18 patients who died, 13 were unvaccinated and five vaccinated. One of the vaccinated patients who died was between 50-59 years old, one was between 60-69 years old, two between 70-79 years old and one was over 80 years old.All deaths were in patients with comorbidities.Since the beginning of the pandemic, 65,384 people diagnosed with the SARS-CoV-2 infection have died in Romania.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)  North Dakota's longest-serving state senator resigned Wednesday as head of a powerful panel that oversees the Legislature's business between sessions, just days after a published report that he had exchanged scores of text messages with a man jailed on child pornography charges.

Republican Sen. Ray Holmberg, 79, stepped down from the Legislative Management committee, saying in a statement recent events and discussions have made it clear to me that the interim governing body of the legislature, Legislative Management, does not need to be any part of that discussion.

Holmberg will remain on the panel, but not as its chairman.

No further comments on this announcement will be forthcoming, his statement said.

He had announced in March he would not seek reelection.

The Forum of Fargo reported Friday that Holmberg exchanged 72 text messages in August with Nicholas James Morgan-Derosier as Morgan-Derosier was held in the Grand Forks County Jail. The newspaper cited a jail log it obtained through a records request showing the time and date of the text messages.

Morgan-Derosier was held at the time on state child pornography charges. Holmberg first told the Forum that he had read a newspaper story about the charges, then in a later interview said he had not, the Forum reported.

He told the Forum that his text messages with Morgan-Derosier were related to a variety of things, including patio work Morgan-Derosier did for him. He also said he no longer has the text messages.

Theyre just gone, he said.

Holmberg declined to speak with The Associated Press, and in a text referred all questions to his attorney, Mark Friese of Fargo.

Friese, a prominent North Dakota criminal defense attorney, said Tuesday that Holmberg hasnt been charged with any crime, and there is no indication that he will.

I know he was in the senators employ, Friese said of Morgan-Derosier. The fact that (Holmberg) knew him doesnt say a lot in my view.

Democratic Party Chairman Patrick Hart had called for Holmberg to step down from Legislative Management and to publicly release the text messages.

Holmberg was chairman of the Legislative Management committee four times during his 46-year tenure in the Legislature. The 17-member panel decides committee assignments and choses study topics that often inspire legislation.

Holmberg, a retired school counselor, announced in March that he was retiring from the Legislature, a move that came as a surprise to many lawmakers and others at the state Capitol.

At age 79, the stress of a session and a campaign will only exacerbate a weakened ability to concentrate on the matters at hand and effectively recall events, Holmberg said in a statement at the time.

Gov. Doug Burgum, the state's congressional delegation, state lawmakers and others showered Holmberg with accolades at that time.

GOP Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner said the only thing Holmberg can be accused of at this point is a lapse of judgement. Wardner said he spoke with Holmberg Wednesday, before Holmberg stepped down as the committee chairman.

Wardner would not disclose details of the call.

He sent 72 messages to a bad, bad person," Wardner said. "That's not illegal and until there is more information I think (Holmberg's resignation) is a step in the right direction.

If there is any evidence of any wrongdoing we will act and we will act quickly, Wardner said. Right now, all we have is that it looks bad.

Holmberg also sits on the state's Emergency Commission, which allocates funding and resources in times of an emergency. The commission is comprised of the governor, the secretary of state, the chairmen of the state House and Senate appropriations committees, and the majority leaders of the House and Senate.

Wardner said he would not push to have Holmberg removed from that panel at this time.

Republican House Majority Leader Chet Pollert, the committee's vice chairman, will head Legislative Management until the session begins in January. Pollert also announced earlier that he is retiring.

Pollert said Holmberg's decision to step down as chairman of the committee was the right thing to do.

Sen. Holmberg has his things he needs to deal with and we don't want it to be a distraction from the Legislature, Pollert said.

The state charges against Morgan-Derosier have been superseded by federal charges that include possession and distribution of child pornography and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

Prosecutors allege Morgan-Derosier possessed several thousand images and videos depicting sexually abused children. He also is accused of taking two children under the age of 10 from Minnesota to his Grand Forks home, with the intent of sexually abusing them.

Lawmakers are paid $526 a month and $189 a day during a session or if they meet for a committee hearing. Legislative majority and minority leaders and the chairman of Legislative Management are paid an additional $377 monthly. Holmberg and other committee chairmen also are paid an additional $10 daily during a legislative session and $5 daily for an interim committee meeting.

This version corrects the details on legislative leadership pay.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
ST. LOUIS  Budweiser announced plans Wednesday to help connect pubs, music venues and stadiums around the world to renewable energy.

The effort, called The Energy Collective, is the latest step in a goal to have net zero carbon emissions across Anheuser-Busch AB InBev's supply chain by 2040, according to the company.

The collective has already helped more than 2,000 local pubs in Brazil and Ireland to convert to renewables, and officials said they plan to pilot the program in Colombia in 2022.

"Our bold dream is that every bar, venue and stadium in the world that serves Budweiser would be powered by renewable electricity," Budweiser's vice president of global marketing Todd Allen said in a news release.

Budweiser later said that it would not bring the program to the United States. A spokesperson for the company said "local laws governing the sale and distribution of alcohol vary by market," but did not further explain.

Editor's note: This story was updated with Budweiser comments.

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ST. LOUIS  A century-old bank branch on Natural Bridge Avenue will become a new business services center operated by the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis after Commerce Bank donated the building to the nonprofit.

National Urban League President Marc Morial joined local chapter leader Michael McMillan and Commerce Bank CEO John Kemper on Tuesday to announce the new St. Louis Entrepreneurship and Womens Business Center, which McMillan said should be fully operational by the end of the year. Commerce closed the branch in 2017 after it built a more modern location across Natural Bridge Avenue from the historic structure.

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis mission to empower African Americans and others throughout the region in securing economic self-reliance aligns with Commerce Banks commitment to empower individuals, to strengthen communities and to support our strong region, Kemper said in a statement. Commerce believes small businesses are the heart of a thriving community.

The William T. Kemper foundation and Commerce Bancshares Foundation, among others, are contributing to the project.

McMillan said the Urban League has raised about $600,000 to renovate the building for the small-business center and is looking to raise about $500,000 more to complete the updates. He said he plans to apply for a grant under a recently adopted city program to extend grants to businesses and nonprofits along north St. Louis commercial corridors such as Natural Bridge.

The Urban League will move its existing Women's Business Center, which it operates in Pagedale in partnership with the Small Business Administration, to the new location.

The facility will be the 14th National Urban League-designated entrepreneurship center in the country. It will offer business classes and workshops and help owners apply for contracts and financing with help from a staff of about 10 people.

In the pandemic, some 40% of African American owned businesses either closed permanently or temporarily, Morial told the group of officials gathered on Tuesday. We are pulling out every stop to help business owners get back on their feet, to reopen their doors, to reemploy people, to bring vibrancy back to their communities.

The new location comes less than a year after the St. Louis Urban League chapter moved into its new headquarters  the former Sears location at North Kingshighway and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. It purchased the building from the Roberts brothers in 2020. In January, it also acquired a shopping center just to the east on Aubert Avenue as it builds out a larger campus in north St. Louis.

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ST. LOUIS  In early 2020, COVID-19 patients began streaming into the Barnes-Jewish Hospital intensive care unit where Garrett Ambuehl worked.

Some of the normal support staff were pulled back to limit the risk of exposure, leaving Ambuehl and other nurses with more responsibilities, and less help. They cleaned patient rooms. They wore the same masks for weeks on end. They cared for patients who passed away without family present. And they began quitting.

The tally just kept going up, Ambuehl said. The quality of care, he said, started to dip.

Then he left, too.

The medical ICU on the eighth floor of the Central West End hospital was the first COVID ward at the busiest hospital in the state. And, over the course of the pandemic, as many as 90 of the units 140 nurses and health care workers quit, transferred or otherwise left the unit, according to interviews with nurses and managers who worked there. Eventually, ICUs across the region faced the same relentless wave of patients, and the same demoralizing wave of employee departures.

This is the highest turnover that we have ever seen in nursing, said Denise Murphy, the top nurse in the BJC HealthCare system, which owns Barnes-Jewish. Its not just a BJC or even a regional crisis, its a national crisis.

BJC officials estimated turnover in the ward closer to 75, said it was constantly rehiring, and that patient care remained exceptional. But they also acknowledged high turnover in these high intensity environments.

I had thousands of nurses across the health system every day, not just doing their jobs, but helping people die without their family, Murphy said, choking up as she spoke. This hurts, and I understand why they hurt. I do. And I understand why theyre angry and I understand why theyre leaving. I dont want them to, but ... my God, I understand.

The pandemic hit St. Louis in March 2020. Within weeks, hospitals were caring for nearly 500 people sick with the virus. Hospitals rationed masks and gowns. And for two years, health care workers were hit by unrelenting waves of virus patients. The worst spikes came in the winters. And even when infections receded, the hospitals were still filled with the non-COVID patients whose care had been postponed.

As the crisis dragged on, health systems across the country began to struggle with staffing. Attrition has risen at all of the regions major health systems, officials said.

Ondrea Williams, regional vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer of SSM Health St. Louis, another of the regions largest hospital systems, recalled speaking to a young nurse who worked in a COVID ICU. Over the course of a shift, a third of the patients in the 12-bed unit died. The nurse said she had chosen her career because she wanted to help people, and shed understood that not everyone would survive, Williams remembered. But the scale of COVID-19 was beyond anything she could have expected.

I would liken it to having like a mass casualty almost on a daily basis, Williams said.

Day after day after day.

A crisis hits

Barnes-Jewish, Murphy said, really took the brunt of the pandemic.

The nurses interviewed for this story worked in a 34-bed medical ICU at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The unit was technically two, divided by a small hallway, with 24 beds on one side, and 10 on the other.

Elsewhere on the campus, there are specialized ICUs dedicated to areas like neurology, surgical trauma or bone marrow transplants. This ICU was more generalized, treating patients with ailments from pneumonia to strokes to overdoses to kidney or liver problems.

In early 2020, it became Barnes-Jewish Hospitals first dedicated COVID-19 unit.

The first wave of infections hit that spring. Staff quickly went from treating two COVID-19 patients to dozens.

Nurses worked entire shifts without eating or going to the bathroom. With housekeepers told not to enter COVID-19 patient rooms unless absolutely necessary, nurses even cleaned floors and wiped down counters. At the end of their shifts, some went to hotels, rather than their own homes, to reduce the risk of spreading the virus to their families.

We didnt know what this was, said one former staff nurse in the ICU, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. We didnt know what it would do.

They spent longer stretches of time in patient rooms, when possible, to avoid having to change their personal protective equipment, which was running in short supply. When they needed something, they banged on the door to get the attention of a runner who could bring supplies.

Meanwhile, hospitals had canceled or delayed non-emergency elective procedures, and hospital revenue was dropping, fast.

All three of the regions major health systems scrambled to cut costs, and all three furloughed workers: SSM furloughed about 5% of its workforce without pay for 13 weeks, citing a 50% decline in patient volumes. Mercy said it would temporarily layoff thousands and cut an undisclosed number of jobs. BJC furloughed some workers, cut pay by 10% for some managers and by 20% for executives, said Murphy, the chief nurse executive.

It was a terrible time, Murphy said. But BJC avoided layoffs, and was able to continue peoples health benefits while they were furloughed. Most returned to normal salaries within eight weeks, Murphy said.

We did the best we could, Murphy said.

One day in May of 2020, Melissa Cahill, a former assistant nurse manager, responsible for managing day-to-day operations and staffing in the ICU, received a letter notifying her that her salary would be cut 10%.

Cahills husband lost his job. He received a small severance package, she said, but the family had three kids, and needed to keep up with mortgage payments and other expenses. After work and on the weekends, Cahill started picking up shifts working for the grocery delivery service Instacart.

She didnt feel supported or valued. She often received little or no warning about decisions coming down from leadership.

Cahill said she had every intention of spending the rest of her career at Barnes-Jewish. Instead, in November 2020, she left. She thinks that by that point in the pandemic, about 60 other nurses who worked in the unit had quit.

Cahill is now a manager in a 24-bed cardiac unit at a small, community hospital in Florida.

Unless health systems start doing more to retain nurses, patients will never get the quality of care they had before, Cahill said.

I dont think it is sustainable, Cahill said. The world of health care will never be the same.

A tough equation

Like countless other hospitals across the country, as the pandemic progressed Barnes-Jewish began to lean more heavily on short-term nurses contracted through staffing agencies, often referred to as travel nurses, or travelers.

Travel nurses typically work at hospitals on 13-week contracts. With health systems across the nation competing for the critical help, the hourly rates for travelers rose substantially. As a result, staff nurses were often working alongside travel nurses who made dramatically more money than them.

While Cahill was making $38 to $45 an hour at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, she said, agency nurses were making $140 to $150 an hour.

We needed them, so we had to pay the asking price, said another former assistant nurse manager, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Im not complaining.  But it just seems like theres no incentive for your core staff to stay.

National Nurses United, the largest nurses union in the U.S., contends that hospitals havent done enough to improve working conditions and adequately staff units. The union represents nurses at one local hospital: SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital.

The challenge is the retention, said Marchelle Vernell, a nurse who works in interventional radiology at St. Louis University Hospital, and serves as NNUs chief nurse representative for the hospital.

Vernell said she believes that hospitals need to adequately staff units, listen more to nurses input, and do more to ensure nurses feel appreciated for their dedication.

I dont think we feel valued, Vernell said.

But hospitals are now acting to keep nurses: SSM increased wages for frontline staff last year. The Mercy health system has added loyalty pay, said Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Betty Jo Rocchio. With every great tragedy, theres an opportunity to come out better on the other side, Rocchio said. Nows the time to really listen to what they need.

And in March, BJC invested $50 million in raising nurse salaries across the system. The starting hourly rate for a nurse just out of school rose to $28 from $25.50, BJC said.

Plus, the health system is hiring more workers in roles that can support nurses, like patient care technicians, who perform less technical tasks, like taking vital signs or helping move patients, Murphy said. It is also using more virtual patient monitoring, so one technician can watch 10 patients electronically.

I wish we could have given every one of our nurses triple what the agency was making. I wish we could have done that. Thats not sustainable for a health system or a hospital, Murphy said. Its a tough equation.

People in the industry say the demand and prices for travel nurses are now beginning to decline.

Before COVID-19, a travel nurses hourly rate may have been $70 to $75, though it would vary depending on the position, said Dennis George, CEO of APS, an Overland Park, Kansas-based company that provides support services to hospitals including staffing, consultation and purchasing.

During the peak of COVID-19, the rates were in the $150 to $160 range, he said. Now, theyre more often in the $120 to $140 range, and hospitals are trying to negotiate them down, gradually.

Its all too late for Ambuehl, the Barnes-Jewish medical ICU nurse.

Ambuehl left the hospital in February to become a travel nurse. He said the decision was more related to his personal life than to BJC. But as he got closer to leaving, he felt he needed to speak up in some way.

On his last day at the hospital, he sent an email to BJC officials, urging them to pay executives less and frontline workers more.

Let me be clear, I am not suggesting that a redistribution of excess executive wages would amount to a huge increase for nurses, respiratory therapists, and other bedside staff when spread across the board, he wrote. But it would amount to fairness, and it should certainly happen as the current system is grossly unfair and wildly out of alignment with BJCs purported values.

In a recent interview, Ambuehl said he suspects hospital administrators are hoping the nurses whove left will all come home.

And nurses are holding out, hoping theyll get paid fairly, Ambuehl said. But whos going to win that?

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WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration is removing the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from his position and replacing him with the U.S. attorney in Arizona, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The shakeup comes a little more than a week after President Joe Biden announced he was nominating Steve Dettlebach, who served as a U.S. attorney in Ohio from 2009 to 2016, to run the agency.

In the interim, the administration will put Gary Restaino, the U.S. attorney in Arizona, in charge while Dettlebach's nomination wades its way through the Senate, the people said.

The current acting director, Marvin Richardson, is being demoted to deputy director and will remain at ATF for now to advise Restaino, the people said. The people could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden was making the move under a federal law known as the Vacancies Reform Act, which sets the terms for temporarily filling jobs requiring Senate confirmation.

We of course, are strongly advocating for and pushing for his eminently qualified nominee to be confirmed," Psaki said.

Biden had to withdraw the nomination of his first ATF nominee, gun-control advocate David Chipman, after it stalled for months because of opposition from Republicans and some Democrats in the Senate. The nominee will need a simple majority to be confirmed.

Both Republican and Democratic administrations have failed to get nominees for the ATF position through the politically fraught process since the directors position was made confirmable in 2006. Since then, only one nominee, former U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones, has been confirmed. Jones made it through the Senate in 2013 but only after a six-month struggle. Jones was acting director when President Barack Obama nominated him in January 2013.

The move was first reported by The Reload, which reports on firearms policy and politics.

Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Updated Thursday with news of former prosecutor's first court appearance.

ST. LOUIS  A former Jefferson County municipal prosecutor had sexual contact last year with a woman facing several criminal cases in his jurisdiction, a federal grand jury alleged Wednesday.

The indictment filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis charges James "Ike" Crabtree, 39, with deprivation of rights under color of law and making false statements to the FBI.

During an after-hours meeting with the woman at his courthouse office on March 8, 2021, Crabtree subjected the woman to sexual contact while acting in his role as a municipal prosecutor, the indictment says. Crabtree lied to the FBI in an interview last month when he denied kissing her, taking off some of her clothing and touching her.

Crabtree's lawyer declined comment. Crabtree made an initial court appearance Thursday and pleaded not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nannette A. Baker. The judge released Crabtree on his own recognizance with several conditions including no alcohol or illegal drugs, no contact with the alleged victim, no weapons and he must surrender his passport.

Jefferson County Municipal Court Administrator Molly Jaskiewicz and Jefferson County Conselor Carl "Wes" Yates declined comment.

In a statement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith said, "The United States Attorneys Office appreciates the courage shown by the female victim in this case to come forward and bring this defendants alleged criminal conduct to light.

Crabtree resigned from his position as municipal prosecutor on March 15, county officials said. He was earning an annual salary of $81,226 at the time and was assigned municipal cases investigated by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

Crabtree was hired Feb. 23, 2015.

Missouri's Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel, the body that investigates lawyers, said no public discipline is listed for Crabtree.

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Emery met an undercover FBI employee online last week, the charges say, and eventually told her that he is 48 and works for the federal penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. The FBI employee listed her age online as 18 but told Emery that she was actually 14, charging documents show. After initially balking and raising concerns about being caught by police, Emery on Monday showed up at the purported teen's house in Williamson County, and told FBI agents he was planning to "mess around" with her while her parents were out of town, charging documents show.
Updated Tuesday night with details on charges against a suspect.

ST. LOUIS  The woman stabbed to death last weekend in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood was identified Tuesday as 31-year-old Rodnee Willis.

That same day, a 49-year-old St. Louis woman, Belinda Garcia, was charged with second-degree murder, assault and two counts of armed criminal action in Willis' death and in the wounding of another woman.

Willis died at a hospital after being stabbed in the chest about 3 a.m. Sunday in the 1300 block of Montclair Avenue. Willis lived in that same block of Montclair.

According to police, Willis was stabbed in a dispute over $50 that she allegedly took from Garcia. Another woman, 29, also was cut with the knife trying to intervene in the attack on Willis, police said. She was treated at the scene.

No attorney was listed for Garcia. Court documents list Garcia's address as the 5300 block of Patton Avenue.

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JEFFERSON CITY  Current and former prison guards in Missouri could see the results of a long-running dispute over their wages under a potential settlement agreement being considered by state lawmakers.

As part of an unfolding budget plan, members of the Senate Appropriations Committee approved spending $49.5 million to end a lawsuit brought by corrections officers for unpaid overtime.

Talks have been underway for more than two years after a Cole County jury in 2018 ordered the state to pay $113.7 million to thousands of employees at the Missouri Department of Corrections.

We are in mediation and we think this will get finalized really quickly, state Budget Director Dan Haug told the panel.

In addition to paying the guards, the state was required to install a timekeeping system to better track hours worked by the officers.

The case, which began in 2012, alleged the Department of Corrections did not pay guards for work done once they arrived at their prison.

Most officers are stationed within a prisons security envelope, meaning they have to go through a search and a metal detector, turn over cellphones, tablets and any personal property, and are in uniform and in close proximity to prisoners, or on duty and expected to respond, the whole time.

The guards also spend time each day on exit procedures, communicating with the next shift and taking inventory of weapons, ammunition and equipment in the case of vehicle patrol officers.

At the time of the verdict, the average corrections officer would have received at least $5,000 from the judgment. Guards who have served for a longer period of time could have gotten as much as $34,000.

The case had been sent back to the lower court to fine-tune the monetary award process and had been set for a hearing in June.

The Supreme Court ruling noted that a circuit court judge should review each of the work activities done by the officers to determine when the clock should begin ticking on their pay.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections did not comment on the pending agreement.

The settlement hasnt yet been finalized, so we cant comment on any of the details at this point, said Karen Pojmann.

Attorney Gary Burger, who represents the guards, also declined to comment.

If the money is approved by the House and Senate and signed by Gov. Mike Parson, it would be available in the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The case highlighted a series of big-ticket judgments against prison system administrators, ranging from work conditions to discrimination claims.

In 2017, the total amount paid out of the states legal expense fund was $25 million. An additional $28 million was paid out in 2018, with the 2019 total at $24.2 million.

The cost of lawsuits against the state has been an issue in recent years for state budget writers, who must set aside money for legal expenses rather than steer those dollars into schools, social services and other state programs.

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JEFFERSON CITY  A state-owned building on the north side of St. Louis is being eyed as the new site of a federal halfway house.

Exodus Reentry Villages submitted the lone bid this week to lease Prince Hall, at 4411 North Newstead Avenue, which was built in 1965 as a privately run hospital.

Terms of the proposed lease from Gov. Mike Parsons Office of Administration were not immediately available.

But the plans run counter to an announcement last month that the federal Bureau of Prisons had extended its contract with Dismas House of St. Louis to provide reentry services into 2023.

Dismas House had lost the contract last year after operating the federal program for four decades.

Thomas Utterback, who heads Exodus, said he hopes his bid for Prince Hall puts his not-for-profit back in the mix to provide services for newly released federal inmates.

I sure hope it does, Utterback told the Post-Dispatch Wednesday.

Late last year, the U.S. Department of Justice awarded a contract to Exodus to replace Dismas House, which had run the oldest halfway house in the country after years of controversy.

Initially, the new halfway house was expected to be situated in the former home of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 3225 North Florissant Avenue, in the St. Louis Place neighborhood.

That facility was supposed to open by March 1, housing as many as 160 inmates.

But Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger reported that at least two prospective sites for the Exodus facility were nixed, raising questions about whether it would become a reality.

Utterback said he first needs to get approval from the state to lease the building.

Then we have to go back to the Bureau of Prisons and say, Please, change your mind, Utterback said.

The halfway house will serve inmates from St. Louis and the counties of St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson, plus Madison, Monroe, Jersey and St. Clair counties in Illinois.

The 151,500-square-foot building known as Prince Hall sits on 6.2 acres in a residential area known as the Penrose neighborhood.

The five-story property was constructed in the 1960s as a private hospital, before being taken over by the state as an office and multiuse facility. It was last renovated in 1996, bidding documents note.

The window for submitting proposals for Prince Hall was a short, 10-day span.

City records show the property has been cited in recent years for uncut grass, overflowing garbage containers and inadequate outside lighting.

The Department of Social Services operated a family resource center at the location until 2017, said DSS spokeswoman Heather Dolce.

Dolce added that the state did offer some services through a private vendor at the facility, but that arrangement ended in June 2020.

In 2015, a group proposed using the building as a 10-bed hospital, but the plan didnt materialize.

Dismas House, at 5025 Cote Brilliante Avenue in north St. Louis Kingsway West neighborhood, has been the scene of violence and has been criticized for conditions there, as well as high pay for executives.

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JEFFERSON CITY  The Missouri House gave initial approval Wednesday to an election-year plan to send tax rebates to millions of Missouri residents.

The proposal, which was put on a fast track after the House endorsed a budget plan that left $1.8 billion unspent, needs one more vote in the House before it heads to an uncertain fate in the Senate.

Under the plan, the amount of the rebate would be based on a tax filers total annual income tax bill for 2021. If someone has paid the state $500 or more, they would receive the full credit. If someone has paid $15, they would receive a $15 check.

Married couples who file jointly could receive as much as $1,000.

The overall cost of the plan is $1 billion, plus $2.5 million for the Missouri Department of Revenue to process the checks.

This is an attempt to offset some of the tax burden for the states taxpayers, said Rep. Cody Smith, R-Carthage, who chairs the House Budget Committee.

It gives people back some of their hard-earned dollars, said Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland.

Democrats complained that the proposal leaves out many low-income residents and seniors who pay little or no income taxes.

Almost a third of Missourians wont get a penny, said Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis. Thats seniors on fixed incomes. Costs of living are going up.

Republicans rejected Merideths attempt to amend the legislation to limit the rebates to people who earn under $100,000.

House Bill 3021 is a rushed and poorly conceived giveaway for the rich that deserves the death that awaits it in the Senate, said House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield.

Rep. Dirk Deaton, R-Noel, said low-income Missourians have other options to receive assistance from the state, ranging from food stamps to assistance with utilities. Like other GOP lawmakers, he said the rebates are aimed at working-class residents.

Theres not been a lot of relief for them, Deaton said.

Rebates have become popular among politicians on both sides of the aisle heading into the 2022 election cycle. Illinois, which is controlled by Democrats, has approved a plan to give rebates worth $50 per tax filer and $100 each for up to three children, as well as a property tax rebate worth a maximum of up to $300.

The clock is ticking on Missouri lawmakers to complete the state budget. With a May 7 deadline looming, the Senate is putting the final touches on its version of the spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, said Tuesday that the House rebate plan faces roadblocks in the upper chamber, which is still drafting its version of the budget.

The rebate already is generating a buzz among Missouri taxpayers. A representative of the Department of Revenue told House members last week that people already are beginning to call the department asking about the money.

The legislation is House Bill 3021.

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JEFFERSON CITY  State lawmakers on Tuesday took another step forward on authorizing needle exchanges in Missouri.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder, R-Sikeston, includes dual provisions to support people suffering from drug addiction: legalizing needle exchanges and promoting access to opioid addiction medication.

Rehders legislation, already approved by the Senate, was heard Tuesday afternoon by the House Emerging Issues Committee.

Rehder said her proposal, which has received broad support but failed to pass for several years, is about harm reduction.

Deaths in the St. Louis metropolitan area continue to far outpace any region of the state, the Post-Dispatch reported in March.

Missouri has done a really admirable job of addressing the escalating overdose crisis in the state, but the lack of syringe service programs is a gaping hole in our response efforts, said Rachel Winograd, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

There is no single solution to this overdose crisis, she said. What we do need is a robust ecosystem where we have services that address people no matter where theyre at in various stages of drug use and recovery.

Needle exchange programs allow people to obtain sterile needles for drug use, aiming to reduce the spread of serious infections. Programs usually require people to swap used needles for clean needles.

Addicts who inject drugs are at high risk for contracting viral diseases, notably hepatitis C and HIV.

Needle exchange programs have decreased the incidence of HIV among the population of people who inject drugs by 80%, according to a study published by the Journal of American Medical Association. The programs are especially key in Missouri, Rehder said, which has 13 counties on the CDCs watch list for HIV and hepatitis C outbreaks.

Under the legislation, people involved in operating needle exchange programs would not be held liable for illegally distributing drug paraphernalia.

Only a few needle exchange programs operate in the state. Rehder said the legislation should clear up the gray area such programs operate in and clear the way for more.

Far from encouraging drug use, advocates said at the hearing, these programs, in effect, reduce rates of addiction by connecting people with treatment resources.

The legislation also allows people access to opioid addiction medication without a prescription under a statewide standing order by the Department of Health and Senior Services.

The addiction medication specified in the bill, naltrexone hydrochloride, works by blocking opioid cravings and preemptively negating the effects of the drug.

Whereas Narcan, or naloxone, is administered to treat an opioid overdose after the drug has been taken, people who are concerned they are in danger of relapsing may take naltrexone and are typically protected for about a day.

Advocates noted that naltrexone is non-addictive and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat both opioid use disorder and alcohol use disorder.

The measures received support from several health care and addiction services representatives, who said the proposal would save taxpayer money and lives.

Ill say public speaking is not really my thing, Jon Martin, of the HIV treatment organization Vivent Health, told the committee. But if I hadnt come across people offering very similar services to the ones that were discussing today, I wouldnt be here today. Id be in prison, or likely dead. So Ill take public speaking over those options.

The legislation is Senate Bill 690.

Grace Zokovitch gzokovitch@post-dispatch.com

Grace Zokovitch gzokovitch@post-dispatch.com
JEFFERSON CITY  Religious not-for-profits would be able to tap state funds for security upgrades under a plan that cleared the Missouri Senate Wednesday.

The so-called Faith Without Fear Act, originally sponsored by Sen. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, would authorize state money for security grants to churches, synagogues, mosques and other facilities.

The upper chamber approved the plan Wednesday, sending it to the House for consideration. The measure was added to an unrelated bill dealing with business entities.

The Faith Without Fear Act would establish a grant program to cover 75% of the cost of enhancements such as security personnel and physical upgrades for religious not-for-profits.

The legislation defines a religious not-for-profit as a church, synagogue, mosque or any entity that has or would qualify for federal tax-exempt status as a not-for-profit religious organization under the federal tax code.

The proposal is similar to the Nonprofit Security Grant offered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Leaders in the Jewish community have called for more funding in the aftermath of a hostage standoff at a synagogue in Texas in January.

The Missouri bill limits overall spending on the program to $25 million, with $2.5 million available each fiscal year for the next decade.

Not-for-profits wouldnt be able to tap more than $50,000 each year from the state.

The legislation stipulates the Department of Public Safety would begin to accept grant applications on Oct. 1, if it is signed into law.

Roberts is running for Congress, seeking the Democratic nomination against incumbent U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis.

Passage of the grant program came more than a week after Roberts floated the plan on the Senate floor.

At the time, Sen. Eric Burlison, R-Battlefield, proposed an amendment only allowing grants for facilities that allowed concealed carry on their premises.

That change was removed by Wednesday.

Also left out of the legislation clearing the Senate was a second plan by Roberts, which would authorize a tax credit for donations to refugee resettlement agencies.

The legislation is Senate Bill 968.

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ST. LOUIS  St. Louis police have been understaffed in districts covering downtown and large parts of north St. Louis compared with other areas of the city, a nonprofit-funded analysis found.

The Center for Policing Equity, a nonprofit focused on partnering with public safety agencies to help spur reform, commissioned a review of five years of St. Louis police workload data and presented the city with a potential model for directing more 911 calls to civilians.

In an analysis published Wednesday, the Center for Policing Equity, or CPE, recommended that St. Louis police rearrange officer assignments to create a more equal workload across the city. It also proposed the creation of a civilian position housed outside the police department, a community service officer.

Community service officers could take an estimated 18% of all calls to police, including reports of accidents and parking violations, without a police officer. Such a move, if taken up by St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones administration, would significantly expand the citys current limited use of civilian responders who show up in addition to police on some calls.

One of the reports planners, Hans Menos, vice president of CPEs triage response team, said the nonprofit partnered with St. Louis police and the Jones administration to provide its analysis and recommendations at no cost.

Menos said the CPE team quickly found that debates over officer assignments and workload were a primary concern for residents, officers and city leaders alike.

Everyone had their own diagnosis, he said. Some folks argued there were too many cops. Many said theres not enough, and others said theres a divide in terms of who gets policing. We believe we can use data as a lever for social change, so we wanted to get to the bottom of it.

CPE hired a consultant that specializes in reviewing police staffing, Matrix Consulting Group, to take a look at St. Louis call data from 2016 through 2020 across the departments six police districts.

The department had nine districts for decades beginning in the 1960s. Those were reduced to six under Chief Sam Dotson in 2014 with the goal of balancing workload and reducing crime. But Matrix found significant disparities in service levels and call volumes in the data it reviewed.

The report found officers in District 4 and District 5 were the most understaffed. District 4 covers areas around downtown and the northeast part of the city, including Jeff-Vander-Lou, Old North St. Louis and Fairground Park. District 5 includes the Central West End area along with North St. Louis neighborhoods such as The Ville and Wells-Goodfellow.

In those districts, The calls stack up. The women and men in the police department cant spend as much time on those calls for service as they would like to, said Rob Kenter, senior director of CPEs triage response team, at a March 29 town hall with Mayor Jones.

Matrix concluded the most overstaffed areas were District 2 and District 3, which together cover large portions of South St. Louis.

Understaffed overall

According to the report, about 40% of patrol officers shifts should be spent on activities other than answering calls for service. This allows time for traffic stops, building checks, business interviews, foot patrols and community engagement, or what the consultants called proactive time.

The report found that officers in District 2 and District 3 always averaged at least 30% proactive time, while there were periods in District 4 and District 5 when officers spent virtually all their time on duty responding to calls.

Matrix also concluded that for the call volumes experienced over the past several years, the departments patrol division has been understaffed overall.

Including temporary reassignments, about 380 of the departments 1,200 officers were assigned to patrol duty, Matrix found. The consultants concluded that if calls are not reduced  for example, by diverting some to civilians  the city will need about a 15% increase in officers working patrol.

The report commended the police departments 2020 average response time of 3.7 minutes to the highest-priority calls for emergencies such as shootings, calling it an exceptional level of performance.

In a written response to the report, the police department said it has already begun to adjust its district staffing because of Matrixs findings. But it said it could not share specifics on how patrol staff levels might have changed among districts, citing a confidential Operations Plan.

We agree with these conclusions in the sense that we understand the needs of citizens and the number of calls for service may differ from neighborhood to neighborhood throughout the city, the department said in a written statement. It has also been important to analyze the types of calls for service in determining the number of officers to assign to particular areas. We continue to analyze the recommendations from the Center for Policing Equity, as well as regular analysis by our crime analyst, to most adequately deploy resources in the interest of public safety.

In recent years, some city aldermen have pushed for a reorganization of police staffing.

A 2020 bill passed by the boards Public Safety Committee recommended creating seven police districts, reducing the number of commanders to add to patrol staff and merging the city-run St. Louis Lambert Airport Police Department into the police department.

We have too many white-shirts who do absolutely nothing, the bills sponsor, Alderman John Collins-Muhammad, said at the time, referring to the departments top brass and complaining about the lack of officers in his North St. Louis ward.

The bill had the support of the St. Louis Police Officers Association, but it failed to advance after St. Louis police Chief John Hayden opposed the measure. He said a change in police districts would require an in-depth analysis of the workforce.

Civilian response

Menos said city leaders asked CPE to also commission an analysis on how the city could fulfill a central promise of the mayors public safety agenda: sending the right person to the call.

Matrix identified 19 call categories it recommended that the police department could partially divert to unarmed civilians who would be known as community service officers.

Types of calls the report suggested could sometimes be handled by civilians included accidents, parking violations, illegal dumping, assisting motorists, overdoses and cold burglary, larceny and fraud complaints reported hours after a crime with no suspects on scene.

The report predicted that 40% to 80% of each of those call types could be sent to civilians, based on comparison data from five California police departments that use civilian responses. Those cities include Fremont and Roseville.

The consultant recommended the city launch a program with 15 community service officers.

St. Louis already has a limited Crisis Response Unit, sometimes known as Cops & Clinicians, that launched in January 2021. That unit typically pairs police officers with civilians trained to handle mental health crises and homeless issues, rather than diverting the calls from officers entirely.

Jones has said she hopes to expand the citys civilian response program to eventually include civilian-only responses to some calls.

Mayoral spokesman Nick Dunne said in a statement that the mayor is reviewing the specific recommendations in the report.

St. Louis has already seen how successful alternative response programs like Cops & Clinicians and 911 Call Diversion reduce the burden on officers by connecting the right professional to the right call, Dunne said. We are reviewing CPEs findings alongside the Department of Public Safety to find opportunities to make meaningful changes that help officers focus on their main job  solving violent crime.

Menos, of CPE, suggested that along with freeing up officers, the recommendation could potentially reduce use of force by limiting interactions with armed officers.

The idea is how can St. Louis create a system of care versus a system of punishment, Menos said. When were sending armed people with arresting powers to every problem, we are sending a punitive response. Thats because thats all we have now as an option.

The nonprofit previously published a report in September showing that from 2012 through 2019 St. Louis police officers used force against Black people at 4.3 times the rate of white people per capita in the city.

Other recommendations in Wednesdays report included:

Investing in more youth programs.

Expanding and coordinating domestic violence services.

Mapping environmental factors that contribute to crime.

Establishing a review process for police body camera footage.

Evaluating the practice of responding to calls generated by gunshot detection technology ShotSpotter as high-priority calls.

Jeff Roorda, business manager for the St. Louis Police Officers Association, said police union leadership was reviewing the report, but added that he hoped any large changes to policing would include discussions with rank and file officers.

We just dont understand how the mayor expects to be successful in improving the system we have when she talks to everyone about it except the cops who are out there doing the job, Roorda said in a statement.

Several aldermen said Wednesday that they hadnt yet read the full report. Joe Vaccaro, chair of the boards public safety committee, scheduled a meeting next week for the committees aldermen to discuss the findings.

I have said for years the police department needs a reorganization, said Vaccaro, 23rd Ward. Its too top heavy.

The Board of Aldermen Public Safety Committee will hold a virtual meeting at 11 a.m. Wednesday to discuss the CPE report. The meeting can be viewed on the citys YouTube page. Residents can find a Zoom link for the event at www.stlouis-mo.gov/events.

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  New Mexico workplace safety regulators on Wednesday issued the maximum possible fine of nearly $137,000 against a film production company for firearms safety failures on the set of Rust where actor and producer Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in October.

New Mexicos Occupational Health and Safety Bureau said Rust Movie Productions must pay $136,793, and distributed a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set prior to the fatal shooting. The bureau also documented gun safety complaints from crew members that went unheeded and said weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training.

What we had, based on our investigators' findings, was a set of obvious hazards to employees regarding the use of firearms and managements failure to act upon those obvious hazards, Bob Genoway, bureau chief for occupational safety, told The Associated Press.

At a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021, Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins inside a small church during setup for the filming of a scene when it went off, killing Hutchins and wounding the director, Joel Souza.

Baldwin said in a December interview with ABC News that he was pointing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction on the New Mexico set of the Western film when it went off without his pulling the trigger.

The new occupational safety report confirms that a large-caliber revolver was handed to Baldwin by an assistant director, David Halls, without consulting with on-set weapons specialists during or after the gun was loaded. Regulators note that Halls also served as safety coordinator and that he was present and witnessed two accidental discharges of rifles on set, and that he and other managers who knew of the misfires took no investigative, corrective or disciplinary action. Crew members expressed surprise and discomfort.

The Safety Coordinator was present on set and took no direct action to address safety concerns," the report states. Management was provided with multiple opportunities to take corrective actions and chose not to do so. As a result of these failures, Director Joel Souza and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were severely injured. Halyna Hutchins succumbed to her injuries.

Rust Movie Productions said through a spokesperson that it would dispute the findings and sanction.

While we appreciate OSHAs time and effort in its investigation, we disagree with its findings and plan to appeal," said Stefan Friedman. Any appeal would be heard initially by the state's occupational health and safety commission.

Baldwin issued a statement from his attorney, asserting that the safety investigation exonerates Mr. Baldwin."

An attorney for Halls was not immediately available.

The state fine applies to a film with a budget of about $7 million. Baldwin was assigned a salary of $250,000 as an actor and producer and may have put some of that money back into the production.

At least five lawsuits have been filed over the shooting, including a wrongful death suit brought by Hutchins family against Baldwin and the movies other producers. The lawsuit on behalf of widower Matt Hutchins and his 9-year-old son alleges a callous disregard in the face of safety complaints on the set.

James Kenney, secretary of the Environment Department that oversees occupational safety, said the agency dedicated 1,500 staff hours to its investigation, examined hundreds of documents and conducted at least a dozen interviews with cast and crew members.

Investigators found production managers placed tight limits on resources for a small team that controlled weapons on set and failed to address concerns about a shotgun left unattended twice.

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the daughter of a sharpshooter and consultant to film productions, was limited to eight paid days as an armorer to oversee weapons and training, and was assigned otherwise to lighter duties as a props assistant. As her time as an armorer ran out, Gutierrez Reed warned a manager and was rebuffed.

Gutierrez Reed is both a plaintiff and a defendant in lawsuits seeking damages in the fatal shooting. In a statement Wednesday, her attorney highlighted findings that the armorer was not provided adequate time or resources to conduct her job effectively.

Safety investigators also note that the production company did not develop a process to ensure live rounds of ammunition were not brought on set, in violation of industry safety protocols. Safety meetings were conducted, but not every day weapons were used, as required.

Kenney said the separate investigations into possible criminal charges are still underway. The Santa Fe County sheriff and local prosecutors had no immediate comment.

Kenney said his agency received no direct safety complaints from cast or crew prior to the fatal shooting, even though anonymity is offered.

This tragedy, this loss of life, it could have been prevented, and we want people to say something, he said.

Kenney was appointed in 2019 by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a staunch advocate for the film industry who increased a state cap in industry incentives shortly after taking office.

New Mexico competes with non-Hollywood production sites in states such as Georgia, Louisiana and New York. Film productions have flocked to New Mexico in recent years to seize on its diverse outdoor scenery, moderate costs and generous state incentives, including a rebate of between 25% and 35% of in-state spending for video production that helps filmmakers large and small underwrite their work.

This story has been updated to correct the state workplace safety fine to $136,793 instead of $139,793.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The United States is sending troops belonging to an U.S. based armored brigade to Germany where they will use prepositioned vehicles, weapons and equipment for training exercises. There have long been four of these prepositioned equipment sites in West Europe. Now there is a new prepositioning site, for an armored brigade, in Poland and it is supposed to be ready in 2022. That will mean equipment for two armored and two mechanized brigades will be stored at sites located in Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Poland for units needed in East Europe. Another site in West Europe (Italy) contains equipment for a unit that might be needed in Africa. The Poland storage site makes it possible to fly troops from the U.S. to Poland and have them combat ready in a few days.

These prepositioned sites were created during the Cold War and the equipment largely unused in Europe since the late 1980s. Since 2016 these sites are active again. That means a revival of the REFORGER exercises. The prepositioning of equipment continued after the Cold War ended but the annual troop movement exercises (REFORGER) to use the pre-positioned equipment stopped. Now it is being resumed with at least one brigade a year being sent to Europe to use the pre-positioned equipment for training exercises aimed at defending East Europe against Russia. Just like the Cold War, except then the Russian armies were already in East Europe and it was Western Europe being defended.

This practice of moving troops and equipment as separate entities was a Cold War innovation. To speed the movement of reinforcements from the United States to Europe, in the event of a Soviet attack, or threat of one, two American divisions had one set of equipment in Europe, and another back in the United States, where the divisions were based. In reality this pre-positioning and troop movement plan also served political demands in the United States that some of the divisions stationed there be brought home. The pre-positioning was a politically (to NATO members) acceptable way to withdraw two divisions from Europe. This was done in 1968, but the equipment stayed behind, and was stored and maintained by contractors (local civilians). Starting in 1969 troops from the two withdrawn divisions began flying to Europe each year, firing up the gear, and going out on field exercises. The troops would then return the gear to the storage areas and fly home. These annual exercises lasted until 1988 when the Russian threat was rapidly receding.

The experience gained in all those REFORGER exercises made the army and marines confident that they could apply the concept of prepositioned equipment elsewhere. This also led to the idea, as applied in Iraq from 2004 to 2011 of having the first units to get there to leave their gear behind, if they were being replaced by the same type units, when the troops returned home. This saved a lot of money in shipping costs, not to mention the additional work the troops had to do preparing everything for sea movement. Same deal in Afghanistan and the REFORGER techniques have become standards.

One thing that did change was that there were no longer regular movements of troops each year to use the prepositioned equipment. But there are still REFORGER exercises where the troops are flown overseas, take control of pre-positioned gear and go out and train for a week or two. It is good training and a way to make sure that the pre-positioned material is being maintained properly. The new pre-positioning site in Poland will get regular use because it was found that moving REFORGER units by road or rail from West Europe to Poland or other new NATO members in East Europe was time consuming and complicated by the need to get advance permission from each country that the units passed through.
Pressured by the UN and a new American government, Yemen and the Arab Coalition (Saudi Arabia and UAE/ United Arab Emirates) agreed to another truce with the Shia rebels. These ceasefires are seen as futile because the Shia rebels have violated three such agreements so far and show no interest in change, especially since Iran support is crucial to the maintenance of the Shia military efforts.

The best example of rebel disdain for ceasefire agreements was the 2018 agreement to halt the successful government campaign to take control of the Red Sea port of Hodeida. This is the second largest port in Yemen and the main entry point of foreign aid for Yemenis in Shia controlled territory. Despite UN monitoring, Hodeida was also where a lot of Iranian military aid was smuggled in. In 2018, as government forces were about to drive rebel forces from the Hodeida city and port, the rebels appealed to the UN for a timeout (peace talks). The UN persuaded the Yemen government and its Arab Coalition to halt operations and the rebels signed an agreement whereby they would withdraw their forces from the port area so that government troops could replace them. The rebels withdrew some of their forces then moved them back in and attacked the government troops. Rebels accused the government of violating the agreement. By 2020 it was clear that the rebels never intended to withdraw and the ceasefire deal was revealed as yet another ploy to enlist the UN to assist the rebels in avoiding a defeat. Not only did the rebels maintain their control of areas near the port, but increased their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea while denying that they were responsible. More key UN members came to conclude that the Shia rebels and their Iranian backers were intent on maintaining control of northwest Yemen so the rebels could use Iranian cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as armed UAVs, for attacks on Saudi Arabia. Evidence, often authenticated by UN inspection teams, showed that Iranian-made weapons were being used for more and more attacks against Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as inside Yemen. The Iranian weapons were assembled and launched from rebel held areas in northwest Yemen. That is why the rebels protested the recent increased naval patrols in the Red Sea and especially coastal areas still controlled by rebels.

It was recently revealed that the Saudis forced Yemeni president Hadi to resign because of corruption and general ineffectiveness. Hadi agreed to officially transfer his power to a Presidential Council, whose eight members were selected earlier by the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) in consultation with many prominent pro-government officials. The council is led by Rashad al Alimi, a former interior minister. The other seven members include governors of Marib and Hadramawt provinces, STC (South Transitional Council) leaders, a Suuni tribal leader in the north who has formed an anti-Shia coalition, and several military commanders, including a member of the Saleh family, that ruled Yemen before the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. The council members accurately represent the key pro-government factions in Yemen. All of these members want peace, but without the continued Iranian presence.

The Presidential Council makes it easier for the Saudis and the UAE to negotiate with Yemeni factions, including many Shia ones, to work out a peace deal. The war has dragged on for eight years mainly because Iran got involved and injected religious issues. For most Yemenis the war was about maintaining the cohesion of the nation. For Iran and the Shia rebels its also about religion. T he Iranian religious dictatorship is obsessed with replacing Saudi Arabia as the guardian of Mecca and Medina, the most important religious shrines for all Moslems. Arabs have always controlled these two cities near the Red Sea coast, 780 kilometers north of Yemen Shia territory. Even when the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) controlled the area, they put a proper (descendants of Mohammed) Arab family in charge of Mecca and Medina. The Turks profited from what the many annual pilgrims spent when they arrived. Iran wants to change all that and the Saudis, with the support of most Moslems, oppose Iranian claims.

The main battlefield for control of Mecca is in nearby Yemen, where Iran-backed Yemen Shia rebels began a civil war in 2014 and with Iranian support have survived Saudi efforts to prevent the Shia provinces in northwest Yemen from becoming an Iranian military base area. The Yemen Shia rebels are led by members of the Houthi tribe, which Iran supports because ultimately Shia controlled northwestern Yemen would be ruled by a religious dictatorship with the Houthi tribe providing the hereditary leaders of the Yemeni Shia state.

There are about nine million Shia in Yemen (40 percent of the population) and most belong, like the rebels, to the Zaidi sect that the Houthis dominate. In 2009 only a few hundred thousand Zaidi were up in arms against the government, and not all of them were actively resisting the advancing troops. The Houthi religious leaders, despite their disagreements with Iran over what form of Shia beliefs was superior, accepted Iranian offers of support in regaining self-rule for the Zaidi Shia in Yemen as well as the million Zaidi across the border in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis created this division of Zaidi Shia in the early 1930s as they were establishing the borders for the new kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Before that the Zaidi in the mountains of northwest Yemen had maintained their independence for centuries. The Ottomans left the Zaidi alone as long as there was no interference with Turkish administration of Mecca, Medina and the Red Sea port that brought in pilgrims and cargo.

When the Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1918, the Zaidi created a Shia kingdom led by the Houthi religious and tribal leaders. That ended when the Saudi forces moved south in 1930 to establish the borders of their new kingdom. The Saudis recognized the hill country of what is now northwest Yemen as a good place to put the border. The Sunni majority in Saudi Arabia developed methods that made any Shia uprising, or cooperation with their Zaidi brethren on the other side of the new border, highly unlikely. The Yemen Zaidi lost their autonomy in 1962 as the rest of Yemen finally united as one country. Zaidi resistance to this local domination began small and grew to the point where the goal of full autonomy seemed much closer. What made it even more real were Iranian pledges to support that effort and reunite Yemeni Shia with the Zaidi trapped in Saudi Arabia since the 1930s.

The Iranians convinced many of the Shia Yemenis that getting their autonomy back should be non-negotiable because without that autonomy the Yemeni Shia will be vulnerable to retaliation from all the other Yemeni groups the Shia rebels have harmed during years of civil war. Its an impossible situation for the Saudis because the Iranians want to use Shia controlled areas in northern Yemen as a perpetual base for attacks on Saudi control of Mecca and Medina. The Iranians have also displayed a preference for violating any treaty they enter into and the Yemeni rebels do likewise.

Before the Iranians got involved, the Saudis avoided problems with the Zaidi Shia living in Saudi Arabia by making sure the Zaidi got a share of the oil wealth that had made all Saudis loyal to the kingdom. Some groups (tribes) were more loyal than others and that included Sunni tribes that were on the losing side during the war the Saud coalition fought to create the kingdom. Most Saudis are Sunni Moslems adhering to the very conservative Wahhabi form of Islam. Technically that meant any Shia were not acceptable. The Saudi family were Wahhabis but practical, which is why it became Saudi Arabia. The Saud royal family persuaded the Sunni to at least tolerate the Shia minority among them and much of the oil wealth went to rewarding those who went along with this policy. Down south this tolerance persuaded the Saudi Zaidi to keep the peace. As long as the Yemeni Zaidi did likewise the Saudis tolerated Zaidi from both countries moving back and forth. The Houthi clan disagreed with that agreement and once the Houthi had Iranian support, they were powerful enough to exploit that tolerance in an effort to make the Zaidi autonomous once more. The Saudi Zaidi did not go along with this although many maintained a form of neutrality.

Exploiting religious differences is an ancient excuse for war in the Middle East and has persisted long after the other major religions (Christians and Hindus) accepted that tolerance brought peace. The Saudis and other Gulf Arab states have openly been promoting an Arab Reform Movement for decades as a way to achieve the kind of religious tolerance the Christians and Hindus have achieved. While there are many Sunni clerics who oppose such reform, it is the Iranian religious dictatorship and Sunni Islamic terror groups that are most violent in their opposition to any tolerance and both these groups are active in Yemen.

April 19, 2022: In the south (Aden), the new eight-member Presidential Council was sworn in and pledged to end the war. The ceremony was not announced in advance because Shia rebels have earlier used Iranian cruise missiles against some public events in Aden. Some of the council members had to fly in from the Saudi capital, where they spend most of their time to avoid assassination by the rebels or hostile Islamic terror groups.

April 17, 2022: The United States began using its new anti-smuggling task force known as CTF (Combined Task Force) 153 to patrol the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. The objective is to detect and intercept Iranian weapons, particularly components for ballistic and cruise missiles as well as guided rockets. Some of these shipments are still getting through because the missile and rocket attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE continue, but at a lower frequency because increased efforts by the three existing CTFs (150, 151 and 152.)

April 16, 2022: Yemen government officials told the UN they wanted to continue with the April 2 truce despite repeated violations by the rebels. At the same time the rebels insisted that the new anti-smuggling task force in the Read Sea was a violation of the truce. UN truce observers agree that the rebel violations occur but so far are minor but could escalate and destroy the truce. Rebel criticism of the new anti-smuggling patrol is seen as a good sign and such efforts were not part of the truce.

April 14, 2022: In the southeast (Hadramawt province) ten al Qaeda prisoners overpowered their guards and escaped from a local prison. Apparently, some guards were bribed or intimidated into cooperating. Al Qaeda will often use threats against family members to obtain cooperation from local police or prison guard.

April 7, 2022: Yemens elected president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi resigned from his post as the last and current elected president of united Yemen. Hadi has only briefly visited Yemen a few times since 2015 and spent most of his time in the Saudi capital. This is for Hadis safety, given the number of assassinations going on in Aden, where the Hadi government was moved to in 2015. In addition to being ineffective and generally unpopular in Yemen, evidence of Hadis corrupt practices surfaced recently, prompting the Saudis to demand Hadi resign. The alternative was to lose his safe haven in Saudi Arabia.

Hadi first became president when an interim leader was required after the unpopular and corrupt president Saleh was ousted by the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. In 2012 Hadi was selected by the major Yemeni political factions to serve as president for two years and organize national elections. The Houthi-led Shia coalition, objected to this plan and attacked the capital Sanaa and captured Hadi. They forced him to resign. Hadi later escaped to Aden, his hometown, and renounced his abdication because it was obtained by the Shia threats to him and his family. Hadi still had the support of many Sunni factions but the Shia declared war in the name of cleaning up the corruption that had crippled Yemeni governments for decades.

Then there was the centuries old north-south divide that was last mended in the 1990s. The possibility of a split returned because the UAE has been in charge of security (and aid delivery) in the south since 2015 and has supported the formation of the STC (South Transitional Council). This group is composed of southern tribes that want autonomy but are willing to fight and defeat the Islamic terrorists and Shia rebels first. Aidarous al Zubaidi, the STC leader is seen as more popular in the south than president Hadi. The Saudis and the UAE do not agree on dividing Yemen once more but for the moment it is more convenient to support the STC and efforts to defeat the Iran backed Shia rebels. With Hadi gone and the Shia on the defensive, most Yemenis can cite eight years of fighting and the Shia selling out to Iran as a good reason to make peace. The Shia rebels are now dependent on Iranian financial and military support to survive. Even many Shia factions has openly expressed anger at the Iranian interference.

April 2, 2022: P eace talks between the Saudis and Iran are having more success dealing with the Yemen situation than negotiations between Iran and the Western nations over lifting sanctions. There is a new truce/ceasefire deal in Yemen, which begins today and lasts two months while negotiations continue to achieve a permanent peace. The truce includes a halt to Arab Coalition air strikes and a limited reopening of the Sanaa airport in the rebels-controlled Yemen capital.

Until now efforts to negotiate a settlement of the issues in Yemen and end the eight-year civil war were stalled because of two non-negotiable issues. First, there is the Iranian refusal to give up their presence and support of the Yemen Shia. This is unacceptable to Saudi Arabia and most other Arab states because they can see what happened in Lebanon when the Iranian presence and support of the Hezbollah militia was allowed to persist. The second non-negotiable was calls for partitioning Yemen again. This has been the case in the past and most Yemenis came to believe unity was preferable. With Iran refusing to give up their control of the Shia north, partition is even less acceptable. No one has come up with a viable solution yet but the new ceasefire indicates that there may be a mutually acceptable solution.

March 21, 2022: Israel is an unofficial ally of Yemen. For example, commercial satellite photos showed the extent of a February 16 Israeli airstrike, using six large UAVs, on an Iranian UAV storage warehouse in rural west Iran. Israel has still not officially taken credit for the attack, which the Iranians describe as a fire that got out of control. Iran admitted it was an Israeli attack yesterday. The satellite photos show precise and total destruction of the facility. The warehouse stored hundreds of the large UAVs, which are disassembled and smuggled into northern Yemen where Iran-backed Shia rebels use them to attack Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

PARAMILITARY FORCES AND RESERVES: REFORGER In Poland

April 20, 2022: The United States is sending troops belonging to an U.S. based armored brigade to Germany where they will use prepositioned vehicles, weapons and equipment for training exercises. There have long been four of these prepositioned equipment sites in West Europe. Now there is a new prepositioning site, for an armored brigade, in Poland and it is supposed to be ready in 2022. That will mean equipment for two armored and two mechanized brigades will be stored at sites located in Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Poland for units needed in East Europe. Another site in West Europe (Italy) contains equipment for a unit that might be needed in Africa. The Poland storage site makes it possible to fly troops from the U.S. to Poland and have them combat ready in a few days.

These prepositioned sites were created during the Cold War and the equipment largely unused in Europe since the late 1980s. Since 2016 these sites are active again. That means a revival of the REFORGER exercises. The prepositioning of equipment continued after the Cold War ended but the annual troop movement exercises (REFORGER) to use the pre-positioned equipment stopped. Now it is being resumed with at least one brigade a year being sent to Europe to use the pre-positioned equipment for training exercises aimed at defending East Europe against Russia. Just like the Cold War, except then the Russian armies were already in East Europe and it was Western Europe being defended.

This practice of moving troops and equipment as separate entities was a Cold War innovation. To speed the movement of reinforcements from the United States to Europe, in the event of a Soviet attack, or threat of one, two American divisions had one set of equipment in Europe, and another back in the United States, where the divisions were based. In reality this pre-positioning and troop movement plan also served political demands in the United States that some of the divisions stationed there be brought home. The pre-positioning was a politically (to NATO members) acceptable way to withdraw two divisions from Europe. This was done in 1968, but the equipment stayed behind, and was stored and maintained by contractors (local civilians). Starting in 1969 troops from the two withdrawn divisions began flying to Europe each year, firing up the gear, and going out on field exercises. The troops would then return the gear to the storage areas and fly home. These annual exercises lasted until 1988 when the Russian threat was rapidly receding.

The experience gained in all those REFORGER exercises made the army and marines confident that they could apply the concept of prepositioned equipment elsewhere. This also led to the idea, as applied in Iraq from 2004 to 2011 of having the first units to get there to leave their gear behind, if they were being replaced by the same type units, when the troops returned home. This saved a lot of money in shipping costs, not to mention the additional work the troops had to do preparing everything for sea movement. Same deal in Afghanistan and the REFORGER techniques have become standards.

One thing that did change was that there were no longer regular movements of troops each year to use the prepositioned equipment. But there are still REFORGER exercises where the troops are flown overseas, take control of pre-positioned gear and go out and train for a week or two. It is good training and a way to make sure that the pre-positioned material is being maintained properly. The new pre-positioning site in Poland will get regular use because it was found that moving REFORGER units by road or rail from West Europe to Poland or other new NATO members in East Europe was time consuming and complicated by the need to get advance permission from each country that the units passed through.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2022) - Argo Gold Inc. (CSE: ARQ), (OTCQB: ARBTF) and (XFRA, XSTU, XBER: A2ASDS) ("Argo Gold") has staked copper exploration mineral claims in the Marshall Lake Area located 250 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The four claim blocks cover 50 square kilometres that is prospective for copper mineralization indicated by known sulphide mineralization present in the area Marshall assemblage. (Map 1).





Map 1: Argo Gold copper claims



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3921/120951_345989f9747cfbef_001full.jpg

The SW Claim Block is on the NE -SW trend line of local faults and is possibly down dip of the east dipping F2 fold. The North Claim Block is underlain by the Marshall assemblage, multiple faults, the F1 fold and the gabbroic intrusion associated with known mineralization in the camp. The East Claim Block covers the F2 fold extension associated with the trend of notable VTEM anomalies. The SE Claim Block has historic drill holes intersecting the lithology similar to Marshall Lake including sulphides with 12 historic assessment reports assaying for nickel and copper.

Warren Hawkins, P.Eng, consulting engineer for Argo Gold, is the Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, who has approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release. Mr. Hawkins is independent of Argo Gold as he presently holds no securities of the Corporation.

About Argo Gold

Argo Gold is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company, focused on gold exploration at the Uchi Gold Project in the Red Lake District. Argo Gold added the Talbot Lake Gold Project to its portfolio in June 2020. Information on Argo Gold can be obtained from SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on Argo Gold's website at www.argogold.com. Argo Gold is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (www.thecse.com) (CSE: ARQ), as well as (OTCQB: ARBTF) and (XFRA, XSTU, XBER: A2ASDS).

For more information please contact:

Judy Baker, CEO

(416) 786-7860

[email protected]

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Forward-Looking Information Cautionary Statement

Except for statements of historic fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the CSE. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/120951
FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Treasury building is seen in Washington, September 29, 2008. REUTERS/Jim Bourg/File Photo

By Daphne Psaledakis and David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on dozens of people and entities, including a Russian commercial bank and a virtual currency mining company, hoping to target Moscow's evasion of existing sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The U.S. Treasury Department said it designated a virtual currency mining company for the first time, alongside more than 40 people, and entities led by U.S.-designated Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev.

Treasury can and will target those who evade, attempt to evade, or aid the evasion of U.S. sanctions against Russia, as they are helping support Putins brutal war of choice, Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in a statement.

The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The United States and its allies have imposed several rounds of sanctions https://graphics.reuters.com/UKRAINE-CRISIS/SANCTIONS/byvrjenzmve on Moscow since its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, including targeting the country's largest lenders and Russian President Vladimir Putin himself.

Wednesday's move targets Russia's virtual currency mining industry, reportedly the third largest in the world, sanctioning the holding company of Moscow-based bitcoin miner BitRiver, which operates a data center in Siberia, and 10 of the holding company's Russia-based subsidiaries.

In a statement, Igor Runets, the founder and chief executive of BitRiver, said his company has "never provided services to Russian government institutions and has not worked with customers already targeted by Washington's sanctions."

"These U.S. actions should obviously be viewed as interference in the crypto mining industry, unfair competition and an attempt to change the global balance of power in favor of American companies," Runets said.

The Treasury also put sanctions on Russian commercial bank Transkapitalbank, whose representatives it said serve several banks in Asia, including in China, and the Middle East, and have suggested options to evade international sanctions.

Its subsidiary, Investtradebank, was also designated.

Wednesday's action freezes any U.S. assets of those designated and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.

But Washington issued two general licenses related to Transkapitalbank alongside the sanctions, authorizing the wind down of dealings with the bank until May 20 and certain transactions destined for or originating from Afghanistan until Oct. 20 "in support of efforts to address the humanitarian crisis."

The United States also imposed additional sanctions on Russian oligarch Malofeyev, whom U.S. authorities have long accused of being one of the main sources of financing for Russians promoting separatism in Crimea. He was first designated under the Obama administration in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Justice Department charged Malofeyev with violating sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

"The United States will work to ensure that the sanctions we have imposed, in close coordination with our international partners, degrade the Kremlins ability to project power and fund its invasion," Nelson said.

The U.S. State Department is also imposing visa restrictions on over 600 people in a bid to promote accountability for human rights abuses and violations, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, barring them from traveling to the United States.

Three Russian officials were also hit with visa restrictions over "gross violations of human rights" alongside 17 others hit with restrictions over accusations of undermining democracy in Belarus.

"We will use every tool to promote accountability for human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law in Ukraine," Blinken said.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Chris Gallagher, Doina Chiacu, David Brunnstrom, Andrea Shalal, Alexandra Alper and Hannah Lang; Editing and Heather Timmons, Alistair Bell and Bill Berkrot)
PANAMA CITY, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --

Date and time:Wednesday, May 4, 202211:00 a.m. Eastern Time

Presenting for Bladex:Mr. Jorge Salas, Chief Executive OfficerMrs. Ana Graciela de Mendez, Chief Financial Officer

To participate, please dial:1-800-420-1271 (U.S. Participants)1-785-424-1205 (From outside the U.S.)Passcode: 47922

This event will be webcast live at www.bladex.com

Bladex's First Quarter 2022 Earnings Release will be announced on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 before the market opens and will be available on the Bank's corporate website, along with the webcast presentation.

About Bladex:Bladex, a multinational bank originally established by the central banks of Latin-American and Caribbean countries, began operations in 1979 to promote foreign trade and economic integration in the Region. The Bank, headquartered in Panama, also has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the United States of America, and a Representative License in Peru, supporting the regional expansion and servicing of its customer base, which includes financial institutions and corporations.

Bladex is listed on the NYSE in the United States of America (NYSE: BLX), since 1992, and its shareholders include: central banks and state-owned banks and entities representing 23 Latin American countries, commercial banks and financial institutions, and institutional and retail investors through its public listing.

Contact Information:Investor RelationsE-mail address: [email protected]Tel: +507 210-8563

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/banco-latinoamericano-de-comercio-exterior-sa-nyse--blx-cordially-invites-you-to-participate-in-its-first-quarter-2022-earnings-conference-call-301529649.html

SOURCE Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (Bladex)
CALGARY, AB, April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Frontera Energy Corporation (TSX: FEC) ("Frontera" or the "Company") today announced that its first quarter 2022 results will be released after markets close on Tuesday, May 3, 2022.

A conference call for investors and analysts will be held on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Participants will include Gabriel de Alba, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Orlando Cabrales, Chief Executive Officer, Alejandro Pineros, Chief Financial Officer and other members of the senior management team.

Analysts and investors are invited to participate using the following dial-in numbers:

Participant Number (Toll Free North America): 1-888-256-1007 Participant Number (Toll Free Colombia): 1-800-518-3328 Participant Number (International): 1-647-484-0478 Conference ID: 1655563 Webcast Audio: www.fronteraenergy.ca

A replay of the conference call will be available until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 11, 2022.

Encore Toll free Dial-in Number: 1-888-203-1112 International Dial-in Number: 1-647-436-0148 Encore ID: 1655563

About Frontera:

Frontera Energy Corporation is a Canadian public company involved in the exploration, development, production, transportation, storage and sale of oil and natural gas in South America, including related investments in both upstream and midstream facilities. The Company has a diversified portfolio of assets with interests in 34 exploration and production blocks in Colombia, Ecuador and Guyana, and pipeline and port facilities in Colombia. Frontera is committed to conducting business safely and in a socially, environmentally and ethically responsible manner.

If you would like to receive News Releases via email as soon as they are published, please subscribe here: http://fronteraenergy.mediaroom.com/subscribe.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/frontera-energy-provides-notice-of-first-quarter-2022-financial-results-and-conference-call-301528595.html

SOURCE Frontera Energy Corporation
Exhibit 10.1

PATENT LICENSE AGREEMENT UTA#03-005

THIS Agreement is between the Board of Regents ("Board") of The University of Texas System ("System"), an agency of the State of Texas, whose address is 201 West 7th Street, Austin, Texas 78701, and EluSys Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation having a principal place of business located at 10 Bloomfield Ave., Pine Brook, NJ 07058 ("Licensee").

TABLE OF CONTENTS

RECITALS

1. EFFECTIVE DATE

2. DEFINITIONS

3. WARRANTY AND SUPERIOR RIGHTS

4. LICENSE

5. PAYMENTS AND REPORTS

6. TERM AND TERMINATION

7. INFRINGEMENT BY THIRD PARTIES

8. ASSIGNMENT

9. PATENT MARKING

10. INDEMNIFICATION

11. USE OF NAME

12. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AND PUBLICATION

13. PATENTS AND INVENTIONS

14. ALTERNATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

15. GENERAL SIGNATURES APPENDIX A

RECITALS

A. Board owns certain Patent Rights related to Licensed Subject Matter, which were developed at The University of Texas at Austin ("University"), a component institution of System.

B. Board desires to have the Licensed Subject Matter developed and used for the benefit of Licensee, Inventor, Board, and the public as outlined in Board's Intellectual Property Policy.

C. Licensee wishes to obtain a license from Board to practice Licensed Subject Matter.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and premises herein contained, the parties agree as follows:

1. EFFECTIVE DATE

This Agreement is effective June 30, 2003 ("Effective Date").

2. DEFINITIONS

As used in this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings indicated:

2.1 "Affiliate" means any business entity 50% or more owned by Licensee, any business entity which owns more than 50% of Licensee, or any business entity that is more than 50% owned by a business entity that owns more than 50% of Licensee.

2.2 "Licensed Field" means antibodies that bind immunologically to anthrax antigens.

2.3 "Licensed Product" means any antibodies made or sold by Licensee consisting of Licensed Subject Matter.

2.4 "Licensed Subject Matter" means inventions and discoveries covered by Patent Rights within the Licensed Field.

2.5 "Licensed Territory" means the world.

2.6 "Patent Rights" means Board's rights whether domestic or foreign in information or discoveries in the antibodies disclosed and claimed in the patent application entitled: (1) Recombinant Antibodies for the Detection and Neutralization of the Anthrax Toxin, serial number 10/288,269 filed on November 5, 2001, and (2) the U.S. patent application entitled "Antibodies With Increased Affinities For Anthrax Antigens" inventors Barrett R. Harvey, George Georgiou, and Brent L. Iverson, serial number 10/620,049 filed July 15, 2003. The Patent Rights include all divisions, continuations, reissues, or reexaminations thereof, and any letters patent that issue thereon, which name at least George Georgiou and Brent Iverson as either sole or joint inventors ("Inventors") and which relate to the manufacture, use or sale of anthrax antibodies.

The Patent Rights do not include any subject matter other than the anthrax antibodies or improvements thereof with the exception of claims 47-59 (attached as Appendix A) of serial number 10/288,269, filed on November 5, 2001.

Licensee acknowledges that the Patent Rights do not include technology that may be used for the identification of antibodies and other binding proteins except as specifically recited in claims 47-59 of serial number 10/288,269. Licensee further acknowledges that the Patent Rights specifically exclude any other technology for the identification of antibodies and other binding proteins including, without limitation, Anchored Periplasmic Expression ("APEx") technology and anchor-less library display technology such as Periplasmic Expression with Cytometric Screening ("PEGS").

Licensee acknowledges that one or more of the patent applications referred to herein discloses subject matter that is beyond the scope of the Patent Rights, and that nothing herein will be deemed to grant to Licensee any rights in such subject matter. Licensee specifically acknowledges that this Agreement does not grant to Licensee the right to prosecute patent applications claiming subject matter that is outside the scope of the Licensed Subject Matter.

Licensee agrees that nothing herein will be deemed to grant to Licensee any rights under any other University or System patents or patent applications other than those listed in this Agreement. Licensee further agrees that nothing herein will be deemed to grant any rights in any technology disclosed in the foregoing patent applications other than Licensed Subject Matter.

3. WARRANTY AND SUPERIOR-RIGHTS

3.1 Except for the rights, if any, of the Government of the United States, as set forth below, Board represents and warrants its belief that (i) it is the owner of the entire right, title, and interest in and to Licensed Subject Matter, (ii) it has the sole right to grant licenses thereunder, and (iii) it has not knowingly granted licenses thereunder to any other entity that would restrict rights granted to Licensee except as stated herein.

3.2 Licensee understands that the Licensed Subject Matter may have been developed under a funding agreement with the Government of the United States of America and, if so, that the Government may have certain rights relative thereto. This Agreement is explicitly made subject to the Government's rights under any agreement and any applicable law or regulation. If there is a conflict between an agreement, applicable law or regulation and this Agreement, the terms of the Government agreement, applicable law or regulation will prevail.

3.3 Licensee understands and acknowledges that Board, by this Agreement, makes no representation as to the operability or fitness for any use, safety, efficacy, ability to obtain regulatory approval, patentability, and/or breadth of the Licensed Subject Matter. Board, by this Agreement, also makes no representation as to whether there are any patents now held, or which will be held, by others or by Board in the Licensed Field, nor does Board make any representation that the inventions contained in Patent Rights do not infringe any other patents now held or that will be held by others or by Board ..

3.4 Licensee, by execution hereof, acknowledges, covenants and agrees that it has not been induced in any way by Board, System, University or its employees to enter into this Agreement, and further warrants and represents that (i) it has conducted sufficient due diligence with respect to all items and issues pertaining to this Article 3 and all other matters pertaining to this Agreement; and (ii) Licensee has adequate knowledge and expertise, or has utilized knowledgeable and expert consultants, to adequately conduct the due diligence, and agrees to accept all risks inherent herein.

4. LICENSE

4.1 Board hereby grants to Licensee a royalty-bearing, exclusive license under Licensed Subject Matter to manufacture, have manufactured, use ,sell and offer to sell Licensed Products within the Licensed Territory in the Licensed Field. This grant is subject to the payment by Licensee to Board of all consideration as provided herein, and is further subject to rights retained by Board to:

a. Publish the general scientific findings from research conducted in whole or in part at the University or otherwise within the System related to Licensed Subject Matter subject to the terms of Section 14, Confidential Information; and

b. Use Licensed Subject Matter for research, teaching and other educationally-related purposes.

4.2 Licensee may extend the license granted herein to any Affiliate if the Affiliate consents to be bound by this Agreement to the same extent as Licensee.

5. PAYMENTS AND REPORTS

a. In consideration of rights granted by Board to Licensee under this Agreement, Licensee will pay Board the following: A non-refundable, upfront license fee in the amount of $62,500, due and payable by November 15, 2003;

b. A fee of $150,000 due and payable on the following schedule: i. $50,000 by August 1, 2004 ii. $50,000 by August 1, 2005 iii. $50,000 by August 1, 2006

5.1 All amounts payable here by Licensee must be paid in United States funds without deductions for taxes, assessments, fees, or charges of any kind. Checks must be payable to The University of Texas at Austin and sent to:

The Office of Technology Licensing

The University of Texas at Austin

3925 West Braker Lane, Suite 1.9A

Austin, Texas 78759

ATTN: Director

5.2 Due and payable upon execution of this agreement, Licensee will reimburse Board $15,690.26 for all out-of-pocket expenses thus far incurred by Board. Licensee must pay all future reasonable expenses for filing, prosecuting, enforcing and maintaining the Patent Rights (the "Patent Expenses") within forty five (45) days of receipt of a bill from patent counsel and will copy University on all billing.

5.3 Upon the payment by Licensee of the sum set forth in Paragraph 5.1 (b) (iii) above, Licensee shall obtain a paid-up, worldwide, license under the Patent Rights.

6. TERM AND TERMINATION

6.1 The term of this Agreement is from the Effective Date to the full end of the term or terms for which Patent Rights have not expired.

6.2 This Agreement will earlier terminate:

a. automatically if Licensee becomes bankrupt or insolvent and/or if the business of Licensee is placed in the hands of a receiver, assignee, or trustee, whether by voluntary act of Licensee or otherwise; or at any time by mutual written agreement between Licensee and Board subject to any terms herein which survive termination. which include the balance of the total amount due under 5.1.

6.3 Board may terminate this Agreement at any time if Licensee:

a. is in default in payment offees

b. is in breach of any provision hereof and Licensee fails to cure any such default. breach or false report within thirty (30) days after confirmed delivery of written notice thereof given by Board; or

c. fails to fulfill its obligations relating to Patent Expenses set forth in Section 5.3.

6.4 If this Agreement is terminated for any cause:

a. nothing herein will be construed to release either party of any obligation matured prior to the effective date of the termination;

b. after the effective date of the termination. Licensee may sell all Licensed Products and parts therefor it has on hand at the effective date of termination, if it pays all amounts due as of the effective date of the termination according to the terms of Article 5; and

c. Licensee will be bound by the provisions of Articles 12 (Indemnification). 13 (Use of Board and Component's Name) and 14 (Confidential Information) of this Agreement.

6.5 Upon termination of this Agreement. Licensee at Board's request will return to University all Confidential Information fixed in any tangible medium of expression.

7. INFRINGEMENT BY THIRD PARTIES

7.1 Licensee. at its expense. has the right but not the obligation to enforce any patent exclusively licensed hereunder against infringement by third parties and it is entitled to retain recovery from such enforcement. Licensee must pay Board an amount on any monetary recovery which is a reasonable approximation of the royalties and other amounts that Licensee would have paid to Board if Licensee had sold the infringing products rather than the infringer, after deducting reasonable legal expenses incurred in connection with such enforcement . If Licensee does not file suit against a substantial infringer of a patent within 6 months of knowledge thereof. then Board may enforce any patent licensed hereunder on behalf of itself and Licensee. Board retaining all recoveries from such enforcement and/or reducing the license granted hereunder to non-exclusive.

7.2 In any infringement suit or dispute, the parties agree to cooperate fully with each other. At the request and expense of the party bringing suit, the other party will permit access to all relevant personnel, records, papers, information, samples, specimens, etc., during regular business hours.

8. ASSIGNMENT

Except in connection with the sale of substantially all of Licensee's assets to a third party, this Agreement may not be assigned by Licensee without the prior written consent of Board, which will not be unreasonably withheld.

9. PATENT MARKING

Licensee will to the extent practical and subject to FDA rules and regulations on labelling, mark all products and documentation manufactured or sold by Licensee under this Agreement with a patent notice as may be permitted or required under Title 35, United States Code.

10. INDEMNIFICATION

Licensee agrees to hold harmless and indemnify Board, System, University, its Regents, officers, employees and agents from and against any claims, demands, or causes of action whatsoever, including without limitation those arising on account of any injury or death of persons or damage to property caused by, or arising out of, or resulting from, the exercise or practice of the license granted hereunder by Licensee, its Affiliates or their officers, employees, agents or representatives except where such causes of action are based on the gross negligence or willful malfeasance of Board, System, University, its Regents. officers, employees or agents.

11. USE OF NAME

11.1 Licensee may not use the name of University, System or Board without express written consent.

11.2 Board and University may use Licensee's name in brochures, webpages and other publications in relation to University's intellectual property and commercialization achievements with the prior review and consent of Licensee, which consent shall not be unreasonably or timely withheld.

12. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AND PUBLICATION

12.1 Board and Licensee each agree that all information contained in documents marked "confidential" and forwarded to one by the other (i) be received in strict confidence, (ii) be used only for the purposes of this Agreement, and (iii) not be disclosed by the recipient party, its agents or employees without the prior written consent of the other party, except to the extent that the recipient party can establish by competent written proof that such information:

a. was in the public domain at the time of disclosure;

b. later became part of the public domain through no act or omission of the recipient party, it's employees, agents, successors or assigns;

c. was lawfully disclosed to the recipient party by a third party having the right to disclose it;

d. was already known by the recipient party at the time of disclosure;

e. was independently developed by the recipient; or

f. is required by law or regulation to be disclosed.

12.2 Each party's obligation of confidentiality, nonuse and nondisclosure hereunder will be fulfilled by using at least the same degree of care with the other party's confidential information as it uses to protect its own confidential information. This obligation will exist while this Agreement is in force and for a period of 3 years thereafter.

12.3 University will submit its manuscript for any proposed publication of research related to the Licensed Subject Matter conducted at University in whole or in part or in the System to Licensee at least 30 days before publication, and Licensee will have the right to review and comment upon the publication in order to protect Licensee's confidential information. Upon Licensee's request, publication will be delayed up to 60 additional days to enable Licensee to secure adequate intellectual property protection of Licensee's property that would be affected by the publication.

13. PATENTS AND INVENTIONS

13.1 If University, Board and Licensee agree that any additional patent application should be filed for Licensed Subject Matter, Licensee will prepare and file the appropriate additional patent applications, and Licensee will reimburse patent counsel directly for all expenses incurred in searching, preparing, filing, prosecuting and maintaining same. Board will approve all patent counsel chosen by Licensee, which approval will not be unreasonably withheld. Any transfer expenses will be paid directly by Licensee. Licensee will copy University on all billing.

13.2 If Licensee notifies Board that it does not intend to pay the cost of an application, or if Licensee does not respond or make an effort to agree with Board on the disposition of rights in the subject invention, then Board may file an application at its own expense and Licensee will promptly provide Board a copy of any applications, amendments responses, briefs and other documents in connection with the filing or prosecution of patent applications hereunder for Board's review and approval prior to filing as time and other deadlines reasonably permit, as well as copies of any documents received from any patent office or agent, associate, or attorney in connection with the prosecution of Patent Rights. Licensee will not change, drop or abandon any claim of Patent Rights or file any patent application which may adversely affect University or Board's rights in the Patent Rights or the Licensed Subject Matter or any fees due under this Agreement without first obtaining the written consent of Board, which will not be unreasonably withheld.

13.3 Licensee further agrees that any rights under this section are specifically limited to Licensed Subject Matter. Licensee specifically agrees that it will not seek to gain rights under this Agreement in any technology other than Licensed Subject Matter. Licensed Subject Matter absolutely excludes, without limitation, technology that may be used for the identification of anthrax antibodies including Anchored Periplasmic Expression ("APEx") technology and anchor-less library display technology such as Periplasmic Expression with Cytometric Screening ("PECS").

14. ALTERNATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

14.1 Any dispute or controversy arising out of or relating to this Agreement, its construction or its actual or alleged breach will be decided by mediation. If the mediation does not result in a resolution of such dispute or controversy, it will be finally decided by an appropriate method of alternate dispute resolution, including without limitation, arbitration, conducted in the city of Austin, Texas in accordance with the Commercial Dispute Resolution Procedures [http://www.adr.org/rules/commercial_rules.html] of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitration panel will include members knowledgeable in the evaluation of antibody technology. Judgment upon the award rendered may be entered in the highest court or forum having jurisdiction, state or federal. The provisions of this Article 16 will not apply to decisions on the validity of patent claims or to any dispute or controversy as to which any treaty or law prohibits such arbitration. The decision of the arbitration must be sanctioned by a court of law having jurisdiction to be binding upon and enforceable by the parties.

15. GENERAL

15.1 This Agreement constitutes the entire and only agreement between the parties for Licensed Subject Matter and all other prior negotiations, representations, agreements, and understandings are superseded hereby. No agreements altering or supplementing the terms hereof may be made except by a written document signed by both parties. Nothing contained in this agreement shall be construed as conferring any right by implication, estoppal, or otherwise except as expressly granted herein.

15.2 Any notice required by this Agreement must be given by prepaid, first class, certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed in the case of Board to:

Board of Regents

The University of Texas System 201 West 7th Street

Austin, Texas 78701

ATTENTION: Office of General Counsel

FAX: (XXX) XXX-XXXX

PHONE: (XXX) XXX-XXXX

with copies to:

The Office of Technology Licensing The University of Texas at Austin

3925 West Braker Lane, Suite 1.9A

Austin, Texas 78759

ATTENTION: Director

FAX: (XXX) XXX-XXXX

PHONE: (XXX) XXX-XXXX

or in the case of Licensee to:

EluSys Therapeutics, Inc.

10 Bloomfield Avenue

Pine Brook, NJ 07058

Attention: Vice President of Business Development

FAX: (XXX) XXX-XXXX

PHONE: (XXX) XXX-XXXX

or other addresses as may be given from time to time under the terms of this notice provision.

15.3 Licensee must comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations in connection with its activities pursuant to this Agreement.

15.4 This Agreement will be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the United States of America and of the State of Texas.

15.5 Failure of Board to enforce a right under this Agreement will not act as a waiver of that right or the ability to later assert that right relative to the particular situation involved.

15.6 Headings are included herein for convenience only and will not be used to construe this Agreement.

15.7 If any part of this Agreement is for any reason found to be unenforceable, all other parts nevertheless remain enforceable.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, parties hereto have caused their duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement.

BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM

By: /s/ Juan Sanchez

Name: Juan Sanchez, PhD

Title: Vice President for Research

November 3, 2003

ELUSYS THERAPEUTICS, INC.

By: /s/ Elizabeth G. Posillico

Name: Elizabeth G. Posillico

Title: Vice President of Business Development

Date: October 22, 2003

Appendix A Claims of Serial Number 10/288.269. filed on November 5. 2001

Exhibit 99.1

Heat Biologics (NightHawk Biosciences) Completes Acquisition of Elusys Therapeutics

Elusys becomes wholly-owned biodefense subsidiary of NightHawk

Plans to expand ANTHIM distribution abroad

Durham, NC  April 20, 2022  Heat Biologics, Inc. (NYSE American: HTBX) (to be renamed NightHawk Biosciences), a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on developing first-in-class therapies to modulate the immune system, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Elusys Therapeutics, Inc. a commercial-stage biodefense company and developer of ANTHIM (obiltoxaximab), a treatment for inhalation anthrax. ANTHIM is approved for use in the U.S. and Canada, and under the brand name Obiltoxaximab SFL in Europe and the United Kingdom.

Nighthawk acquired all outstanding shares of Elusys, which will continue to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of NightHawk. No stock or warrants were issued in connection with the acquisition, and Elusys had no outstanding term debt.

The strategic acquisition of Elusys significantly expands the Companys role in the biodefense space, complementing NightHawks RapidVax platform, which is designed to target emerging biological threats. Pursuant to this acquisition, NightHawk also announced it plans to migrate manufacturing of ANTHIM to its planned 500,000 square foot Scorpion biomanufacturing facility in Manhattan, Kansas, which is being constructed to support development of commercial-scale biologics and large molecules.

To date, Elusys has been awarded over $350 million in research and development grants, contracts and procurement orders from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the U. S. Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). Through ongoing, multi-year partnerships with the U.S. government, Elusys has been supplying ANTHIM to the SNS - the governments repository of critical medical supplies for biodefense preparedness.

Jeff Wolf, CEO of NightHawk, commented, We are excited to announce the closing of this transformative acquisition, which provides us with a solid foothold in the biodefense space. Elusys has an established a successful track record collaborating with U.S. government agencies including BARDA, NIH, SNS and DOD. We plan to leverage Elusys existing relationships and distribution channels as a launching pad for RapidVax, our plug and play platform designed for rapid development and delivery of new vaccines. In addition, we look forward to leveraging our new Kansas facility, which will enable us to manufacture these therapies internally and therefore benefit from significant operating synergies, as well as enhanced oversight, quality control, and speed to market. We are also exploring opportunities to expand ANTHIM distribution abroad. This transaction is perfectly aligned with our overall vision to establish a fully-integrated ecosystem to deliver medical innovations faster, better, and more efficiently.

David Lasseter, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, and a member of NightHawks Biothreat Advisory Board, commented, This transaction is extremely timely, given the global uncertainty and unprecedented threats from foreign nations and rogue actors. Anthrax is one of the most significant biological warfare threats facing our country, with real potential for mass casualties. ANTHIM represents a key medical countermeasure for the treatment of inhalation Anthrax.

A special committee of Heats Board of Directors negotiated and approved the transaction and Cassel Salpeter & Co. provided a fairness opinion in connection with the transaction. Blank Rome LLP acted as legal counsel to Heat. Elusys was advised by RBC Capital Markets, LLC. Additional details on the transaction are outlined in Companys Form 8-K, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and will be available on the Companys website.

About ANTHIM

Anthrax is a life-threatening infectious disease caused by Bacillus anthracis. Cases of inhalational anthrax in humans can occur through intentional spread of B. anthracis spores as a biowarfare or bioterrorism agent. B. anthracis spores introduced through the lungs lead to inhalational anthrax, which is deadly in humans.

ANTHIM is a monoclonal antibody that binds to the protective antigen (PA) component of anthrax toxin. ANTHIMs toxin neutralizing activity prevents entry of anthrax toxin into susceptible cells, avoiding further spread of the toxin throughout the body and the ensuing tissue damage that leads to death. ANTHIM is supplied as single-dose vials for IV infusion.

Indications and Usage

ANTHIM is indicated in adult and pediatric patients for the treatment of inhalational anthrax due to Bacillus anthracis in combination with appropriate antibacterial drugs, and for prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or are not appropriate. ANTHIM should only be used for prophylaxis when its benefit for prevention of inhalational anthrax outweighs the risk of hypersensitivity and anaphylaxis. The effectiveness of ANTHIM is based solely on efficacy studies in animal models of inhalational anthrax. There have been no studies of the safety or pharmacokinetics (PK) of ANTHIM in the pediatric population. Dosing in pediatric patients was derived using a population PK approach. ANTHIM does not have direct antibacterial activity. ANTHIM should be used in combination with appropriate antibacterial drugs. ANTHIM is not expected to cross the blood-brain barrier and does not prevent or treat meningitis.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION Including BOXED WARNING

WARNING: HYPERSENSITIVITY and ANAPHYLAXIS

Hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis, have been reported during ANTHIM infusion. ANTHIM should be administered in monitored settings by personnel trained and equipped to manage anaphylaxis. Stop ANTHIM infusion immediately and treat appropriately if hypersensitivity or anaphylaxis occurs.

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Hypersensitivity and anaphylaxis have been reported during the IV infusion of ANTHIM. Due to the risk of hypersensitivity and anaphylaxis, ANTHIM should be administered in monitored settings by personnel trained and equipped to manage anaphylaxis. Monitor individuals who receive ANTHIM closely for signs and symptoms of hypersensitivity reactions throughout the infusion and for a period of time after administration. Stop ANTHIM infusion immediately and treat appropriately if hypersensitivity or anaphylaxis occurs. Pre-medication with diphenhydramine is recommended prior to administration of ANTHIM. Diphenhydramine pre-medication does not prevent anaphylaxis and may mask or delay onset of symptoms of hypersensitivity.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

The safety of ANTHIM has been studied only in healthy volunteers. It has not been studied in patients with inhalational anthrax. The most frequently reported adverse reactions were headache, pruritus, infections of the upper respiratory tract, cough, vessel puncture site bruise, infusion site swelling, urticaria, nasal congestion, infusion site pain, and pain in extremity.

USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS

Pediatric Use: There have been no studies of the safety or PK of ANTHIM in the pediatric population.

To see the complete prescribing information for ANTHIM, click here.

About Heat Biologics, Inc. / NightHawk Biosciences, Inc.

Heat Biologics (to become NightHawk Biosciences) is a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new drugs from discovery through biomanufacturing. The Company leverages its integrated ecosystem of subsidiaries to accelerate the creation of novel therapies that arm the immune system, breaking through barriers that prolong traditional drug development. This empowers us to bring our ideas to life with efficient control, superior quality, and uncharacteristic agility.

For more information on the Company and is subsidiaries, please visit: www.nighthawkbio.com, and also follow us on Twitter.

Forward Looking Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "should," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions, and include statements regarding plans to migrate manufacturing of ANTHIM to the planned 500,000 square foot biomanufacturing facility in Manhattan, Kansas, plans to leverage Elusys existing relationships and distribution channels as a launching pad for RapidVax, leveraging the new Kansas facility to enable Heat to manufacture therapies internally, expected benefit to be derived from significant operating synergies, as well as enhanced oversight, quality control, and speed to market, exploring opportunities to expand ANTHIM distribution abroad and establishing a fully-integrated ecosystem to deliver medical innovations faster, better, and more efficiently. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, the ability to migrate manufacturing of ANTHIM to the Manhattan, Kansas facility, the ability to expand ANTHIM sales beyond the U.S., the ability to leverage Elusys existing relationships and distribution channels as a launching pad for RapidVax , the ability to expand ANTHIM distribution abroad, the ability to derive benefit from operating synergies, as well as enhanced oversight, quality control, and speed to market, the ability to establish a fully-integrated ecosystem to deliver medical innovations faster, better, and more efficiently, whether the combined business of Heat and Elusys will be successful, Heats and Elusys ability to maintain license agreements, the continued maintenance and growth of Heats and Elusys patent estate, Heats product candidates demonstrating safety and effectiveness, as well as results that are consistent with prior results, the ability to initiate clinical trials and if initiated, the ability to complete them on time and achieve the desired results and benefits continuing enrollment as expected, the ability to obtain regulatory approval for commercialization of product candidates or to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements, regulatory limitations relating to Heats ability to promote or commercialize its product candidates for the specific indications, acceptance of product candidates in the marketplace and the successful development, marketing or sale of Heats, developments by competitors that render such products obsolete or non-competitive, and other factors described in Heats annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Qs and any other filings Heat makes with the SEC. Heat can give no assurance that the conditions to the Merger will be satisfied. The information in this presentation is provided only as of the date presented, and Heat undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this presentation on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Media and Investor Relations Contact

David Waldman

+1 919 289 4017

[email protected]

N IGHT H AWK B IOSCIENCES CORPORATE PRESENTATION April 2022 PLEASE NOTE: Heat Biologics, Inc. anticipates transitioning to NightHawk Biosciences, Inc effective May 3, 2022.

This presentation includes statements that are, or may be deemed, forward - looking statements within the meaning of the Priva te Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. In some cases, these forward - looking statements can be identified by the use of forward - looking terminology, including the terms believes, estimates, anticipates, expects, plans, intends, may, could, might, will, should,  app roximately or, in each case, their negative or other variations thereon or comparable terminology, although not all forward - looking statements contain these words. They appear in a number of places throughout this presentation and include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, an alyses or current expectations concerning, among other things, the timing of the opening of our facilities in San Antonino, Texas and Manhattan , K ansas, our ongoing and planned discovery and development of drugs targeting cancer, non - oncology, infectious disease medical countermeasures, our plann ed biosecurity/biodefense initiative, our planned bioanalytics , process development and manufacturing activities, our biologics drug discovery, the strength and breadth of our intellectual property, our ongoing and planned preclinical studies and clinical trials, the timing of and our ability to complete clinical trials and make regulatory filings and obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for our product candidates, our ability to pa rtn er our product development, the degree of clinical utility of our products, particularly in specific patient populations, expectations regar din g clinical trial data, our results of operations, the industry in which we operate and the trends that may affect the industry or us. By their nature, forward - looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events, competitive dynamics, and healthcare, regulatory and scientific developments and depend on the economic circumstances that may or may not occur in the future or ma y o ccur on longer or shorter timelines than anticipated. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward - looking statement conta ined in this presentation, we caution you that forward - looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual result s of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate may differ materially from the for war d - looking statements contained in this presentation as a result of, among other factors, the factors referenced in the Risk Factors section of o ur Annual Report on Form 10 - K for the year ended December 31, 2021, our quarterly reports on Form 10 - Q for the subsequent quarters and our other subsequent fi lings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (collectively, our SEC Filings). In addition, even if our results of operations, financi al condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate are consistent with the forward - looking statements contained in this present ation, they may not be predictive of results or developments in future periods. Any forward - looking statements that we make in this presentation speak only as of the date of such statement, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of th is presentation, except as required by law. 2 Forward Looking Statements

3 Snapshot of N IGHT H AWK Fully integrated biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies that arm the immune system  Key programs targeting oncology, inflammation, and medical countermeasures  Well - capitalized with strong balance sheet NightHawk Bios ecosystem enables agility to innovate and pivot  Ecosystem of integrated companies with efficient control of discovery, preclinical/clinical development, and biomanufacturing  End - to - end development from bench to commercial Major programs include:  Anthim ( obiltoxaximab )  FDA approved best - in - class antitoxin treatment for inhalational anthrax  HS - 110  off - the - shelf cell - based immunotherapy with positive results in NSCLC (Phase 2)  PTX - 35  potential first - in - class immunomodulatory antibody for treatment of solid tumors (Phase 1)  RapidVax   novel vaccine platform designed to a ccelerate time to clinic to combat emerging biological threats

4 Discovery N IGHT H AWK Ecosystem Streamlining Innovative Discoveries to Accelerate Clinical Development Preclinical/Clinical Development Biomanufacturing

Skunkworx Bio Discovery Sciences Biology Drives Innovation  Primary proprietary platform designed to enable rapid selection and validation of novel therapeutics for preclinical development  Additional novel therapeutic targeting and drug delivery platforms under development Unique Hotspot approach based on Pocket Biologics  Novel , highly diverse, proprietary compound libraries used to identify small proteins and human antibodies which bind to critical druggable targets  Advanced computational methods and bioinformatics inform target identification and improve development of candidate therapeutics Located in the New Jersey Bioscience Center - North Brunswick, NJ  Highly selective bioscience incubator in the heart of New Jerseys Research Corridor 5

Oncology and Inflammation Development Heat Biologics  Realizing Immune Potential  Developing first - in - class immunomodulators that realize the potential of the immune system to treat and protect against a wide range of diseases  Proprietary gp96 - based vaccines to re - stimulate the immune systems anti - tumor response  Phase 2 candidate HS - 110 ( vigenpumatucel - L) is an off - the - shelf allogenic cell therapy designed to stimulate immune responses against NSCLC Pelican Therapeutics  Next Generation T cell Immunotherapy for Cancer  Lead candidate, the monoclonal antibody PTX - 35, is an agonist of TNFRSF25 with the potential to shift the balance between inflammation and immunosuppression  In Phase I solid tumors as a potential first - in - class T cell co - stimulator  $15.2 million Cancer Prevention Institute of Texas (CPRIT) grant (the CPRIT Grant) to support development of PTX - 35 6

Elusys Therapeutics Medical Countermeasures Definitive agreement for acquisition executed in December 2021  Sophisticated knowledge and hands - on experience in biodefense biologics  Program Management expertise with government agencies including the NIH, DoD, and BARDA Developer and marketer of Anthim  , best - in - class monoclonal antibody antitoxin for anthrax  For treatment of inhalation anthrax in combination with antibiotics or, and as a prophylaxis when alternative therapies are not available or are not appropriate. Prescribing information: https://anthim.com/  FDA approval in 2016, orphan drug designation  Approved in 2020 as only licensed anthrax treatment in EU, UK, and CA  Orphan drug designation in EU at time of approval Established government partnerships and funding  Received over $250M of non - dilutive development contracts from the NIH, DoD, and BARDA  Completed $70M in procurement contracts to supply Anthim to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (2016, 2018)  Completed first phase of contract for $50 million; HHS options to procure up to $31 million of Anthim by the first half of 20 23 7

Scorpion Biological Services Biomanufacturing and Analytical Labs Designed to provide scale - up GMP process development and biomanufacturing, cell and immuno - assay development, and bioanalytical lab services  Dedicated capacity to accelerate NightHawk preclinical and clinical development efforts  Contract manufacturing and bioanalytical services for external biopharmaceutical companies  Focus on American supply chain for materials and equipment Clinical Scale Facility, San Antonio, Texas  grand opening Q3 2022*  Designed to provide a scalable process development  Production of GMP material to large - scale clinical manufacturing and cold storage facilities Commercial Scale Facility, Manhattan, Kansas  breaking ground Q3 2022*  500,000 sq. ft. state - of - the - art cGMP commercial biomanufacturing facility  48+ bioreactors, ~144,000 liters for biomanufacturing of large - scale biologics 8 * per scheduled timeline

P roduct Pipeline 9 CTA = cancer testis antigen NSCLC = Non - small cell lung cancer CATEGORY PROGRAM MOA (MODALITY) INDICATION IND - ENABLING PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3 APPROVED STATUS Oncology HS - 110 gp96 + CTAs (Cell Therapy) NSCLC End - of - Ph 2 Planning HS - 130 OX40L (Cell Therapy) Solid Tumors Ph 1 Enrollment Complete PTX - 35 TNFRSF25 (mAb) Solid Tumors Ph 1 Enrollment Ongoing Medical Countermeasures RapidVax gp96 + OX40L (Vaccine) Multiple Indications Platform Development Antitoxin ( mAb ) Anthrax Marketed Product

gp96 Platform Overview Activating the Immune System Key gp96 platform features  Leverages gp96s role as a natural molecular warning system  Can be engineered to secrete target antigens bound to gp96 - Ig  Off - the - shelf allogeneic cell vaccine  Scalable manufacturing  Amenable to stockpiling  Broad applications in infectious diseases and cancer Lead product: HS - 110  Completed Phase 2 trial for NSCLC 10

HS - 110 ( viagenpumatucel - L) gp96 - Based Cancer Vaccine Targeting Solid Tumors HS - 110 is a first - in - class, off - the - shelf, allogeneic cell - based immunotherapy  Engineered to secrete a wide range of cancer - associated antigens bound to the immunostimulatory chaperone gp96  Designed to stimulate and facilitate uptake of cancer antigens by antigen presenting cells (APCs), which in turn activate a broad, T - cell medicated immune response against a patients cancer  Worldwide rights available Enrollment complete for Phase 2 NSCLC evaluating HS - 110 in combination with PD - 1 therapy  Positive interim survival data in previously treated PD - (L)1 naive and PD - (L)1 progressor NSCLC patients  Plan to discuss registrational pathways with potential partners Combination of HS - 110 and PD - (L)1 therapies may confer additional survival benefit in multiple cancers  Line extension strategy to include additional indications that have been approved for PD - (L)1 therapies 11

12 HS - 110 Clinical Proof - of - Concept Achieved HS - 110 in Combination with Nivolumab HS - 110 + Nivolumab 1 94% non - squamous and 6% squamous All (N=47) ISR+ (N=28) ISR - (N=19) mOS (months) 24.6 33.6 4.5 Nivolumab 2 Non - squamous BMS Checkmate 057 Study 2 (N=292) mOS (months) 12.2 HS - 110 + Nivolumab 1 at 2 nd line after CPI failure All (N=68) ISR+ (N=52) ISR - (N=16) mOS (months) 11.9 12.1 6.8 Treatment Options 3 at 3rd line after CPI failure Gemcitabine 4 (N=27) Docetaxel 4 (N=25) Chemotherapy 5 (N=28) mOS (months) 7.5 6.8 9.0 Cohort A: Previously treated checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) naive NSCLC patients Cohort B: NSCLC patients whose disease progressed on or following CPI treatment 1 Results as of November 2021 data cut . Subgroup analyses were retrospective ; 2 Trial did not contain a comparative nivolumab - only arm . Nivolumab - only data is historical published data ( Borghaei et al . 2021 . J Clin Oncol) ; 3 Trial did not contain a comparative chemotherapy - only arm . Treatment data is historical published data and not from HS - 110 trial ; 4 C onstatini et al . 2018 . ERJ Open Research ; 5 Schvartsman et al . 2017 . Lung Cancer HS - 110 in combination with nivolumab compares favorably with published data  Well - tolerated in combination with checkpoint inhibitor Two NSCLC settings are under evaluation:  Checkpoint Inhibitor (CPI) naive patients  Patients that progressed after CPI treatment Potential to measure responsiveness  Improved OS in subsets of patients that experienced a dermal injection site reaction (ISR)

PTX - 35 Overview Potential First - in - Class TNF Receptor Superfamily Member 25 (TNFRSF25) Agonist Antibody PTX - 35 targets TNFRSF25 to shift the balance between inflammation and immunosuppression  Context driven T cell responses depending on activation signals and disease setting  Dynamic immunomodulatory properties of TNFRSF25 make it a compelling therapeutic target for context - dependent regulation of T cell responses and immune stability  Favorable safety profile demonstrated in non - human primates Phase 1 trial evaluating safety of PTX - 35 treatment for solid tumors  Anti - tumor activity demonstrated in preclinical colon, lung and breast cancer models  Preclinical data demonstrate anti - tumor activity, expansion of antigen - specific CD8 + T cells and decreased Treg suppression in the presence of tumor antigen (AACR 2021)  Awarded a $15.2M CPRIT grant to fund Phase 1 clinical development Worldwide rights licensed by NightHawk Biosciences 13

PTX - 35 Mechanism of Action Immunomodulatory Activity Dependent on Presence or Absence of Danger Signal 14 TNFRSF25  Recognizes TNF - like ligand 1A secreted by several immune cell types  Highly and constitutively expressed on CD4 + FoxP3 + regulatory T cells Absence of an activating signal, co - stimulation of TNFRSF25 promotes  Expansion of immunosuppressive Treg cells  Treg expression of immunosuppressive markers CTLA4, TIGIT, and PD - 1  Minimal impact on resting CD4 + and CD8 + T cells Presence of an activating signal, co - stimulation of TNFRSF25 promotes  Enhanced expansion of activated CD8 + effector T cells  Increased percent of inflammatory IFN g + Th1 & IL - 17 + Th17 CD4 + T cells  Decreased Treg function characterized by reduced CTLA4 expression

Anthim Overview Best - in - Class Antitoxin for the Treatment of Anthrax Anthim treats & protects against inhalational anthrax disease  Monoclonal antibody that binds protective antigen (PA83) released by bacillus anthracis  Neutralizes anthrax toxin  In combination with antibiotics or prophylaxis when alternative therapies are not available  For complete prescribing information including limitations of use and box safety warning associated with HYPERSENSITIVITY and ANAPHYLAXIS, see https://anthim.com/ US FDA approval in 2016; CA, EU and UK approval as of 2020  Only anthrax antitoxin to have received international licensure Anthim is supplied to the US Strategic National Stockpile  As part of ASPRs objective to diversify supply and acquire products with a longer shelf - life, completed and shipped 2 orders totaling $70M in 2016 and 2018  Completed first phase of contract for $50 million; HHS options to procure up to $31 million of Anthim by the first half of 2023 15

16 Anthim Mechanism of Action Anthim Binds Protective Antigen to Prevent Anthrax Toxin Receptor Interaction

RapidVax  Platform Overview A Customizable Approach to Countering Emerging Biological Threats Novel plug - and - play vaccine platform  Premanufactured gp96 - Ig/OX40L - Ig stockpile - amenable cells - potential to reduce time from identification to immunization  Target antigen sequences transfected into premanufactured RapidVax to rapidly create a pathogen - specific vaccine  Engineered for potential long - term protection via the stimulation of antibody production and immunological memory  Leverages favorable clinical trial safety profile previously observed for the gp96 platform 17

RapidVax  Mechanism of Action Potential to Stimulate Pathogen - Specific Cellular and Humoral Immunity 18

Biothreat Advisory Board Bipartisan Board Providing Counsel on N IGHT H AWKs Medical Countermeasure Initiatives 19 Andrew Weber Jack Kingston Dr. Gregory Koblentz Mark Pryor Former Deputy Asst. Sec. of Defense for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Former Asst. Sec. of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical & Biological Defense Programs Former US Representative, Secretariat of the Alliance for Biosecurity (current) Professor of Biodefense at George Mason University, Expert on Chemical and Biological Weapons Former US Senator, AR David Lasseter Greg Burel Gen. Richard Myers (Chairman) Former Director of the Strategic National Stockpile Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

N IGHT H AWK Highlights Marketed product and robust pipeline of immunomodulators spanning oncology, inflammation, and infectious disease  FDA approved Anthim  ( obiltoxaximab ), best - in - class antitoxin for inhalation anthrax  Multiple biologics advanced from bench to clinic: HS - 110 and HS - 130 (allogenic cell therapies), PTX - 35 (antibody - based therapy)  RapidVax  in development as a novel vaccine platform designed to a ccelerate time to clinic to combat emerging biological threats  Biothreat Advisory Board provides guidance on medical countermeasure initiatives End - to - end ecosystem designed to accelerate the development of discoveries to the delivery of novel therapeutics  Skunkworx Bio unique p roprietary biologics discovery platform and computational approach to drive intelligen t target identification  Heat Biologics and Pelican Therapeutics preclinical and clinical expertise support efficient trial design and execution  Elusys Therapeutics sophisticated knowledge and hands - on experience in medical countermeasures biologics and government funding  Scorpion Biological Services cGMP biomanufacturing and analytical services  500,000+ sq ft commercial facility expansion in pro gress

21 N IGHT H AWK B IOSCIENCES PLEASE NOTE: Heat Biologics, Inc anticipates transitioning to NightHawk Biosciences, Inc effective May 3, 2022.
WASHINGTON  The Air Force has fired the commander of its largest combat camera squadron due to the units poor command climate, service leaders said Wednesday.

Lt. Col. Jamie Humphries of Washington state was relieved as commander of the 1st Combat Camera Squadron on Tuesday following a careful and deliberate assessment of the current command climate, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek wrote in an email.

This decision was not taken lightly and is intended to ensure the squadron has the leadership and management required to foster a positive and productive work environment as the unit conducts its important mission, she said.

Stefanek did not give further details about the climate at the squadron, which is based at Joint Base Charleston, S.C. She said Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, director of Air Force public affairs, made the decision.

Ryder has since appointed Lt. Col. Mindy Yu, a combat camera veteran, as the squadrons new acting commander, the Air Force spokeswoman said.

Humphries took command of the squadron in June 2020, according to the squadron.

Air Force combat command squadrons produce photos and videos in support of classified and unclassified air, sea and ground military operations, according to the squadrons website.

The [squadron] is tasked with providing senior Department of Defense and joint leaders with a directed imagery capability in support of strategic, operational and planning requirements during wartime operations, worldwide crises, contingencies, joint exercises and humanitarian operations, according to the squadron.

There are two active-duty and one Reserve combat camera squadrons in the service.
(Tribune News Service)  The sister-in-law of Air Force Maj. Gen. William Cooley testified in detail Tuesday about what she described as Cooleys attack against her, alleging he pinned her upper body against her car door and groped her against her will after an off-duty car ride in August 2018 in Albuquerque, N.M.

Im scared, the wife of Cooleys brother said in direct testimony during Cooleys court-martial. Im terrified. This is a man Ive known since 1988, so 30 years. I feel like Im having an out-of-body experience.

Im thinking, This is how rapes happen, she said.

The accuser in the case testified that Cooley  a two-star general and former commander of Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base  pinned her against the drivers-side door of her Jeep while they were both inside the vehicle after she gave Cooley a ride, cupping her breast over her clothing and pressing his hand between her legs.

Bill Cooleys attack on me was like an F5 tornado coming into my house, without my knowledge ... without my consent, ruining everything in its path, she said.

Cooley faces one charge of abusive sexual contact with three specifications. If convicted by the judge, an Air Force colonel, Cooley faces dismissal from the service, loss of rank, pay and benefits and up to 21 years of confinement.

The accuser in the case is a civilian woman who does not work for the Department of Defense.

Cooley pleaded not guilty Monday and denied the charges in a pretrial hearing last year. Gen. Arnold Bunch, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, removed Cooley from AFRL command in January 2020 after an Air Force investigation.

Tuesday was the second day of the court-martial but the first day of testimony from witnesses. The trial is at 88th Air Base Wing headquarters at Wright-Patterson.

Cooleys accuser was on the stand for some five hours Tuesday.

Much of the questioning focused on what defense attorney Dan Conway portrayed as inconsistencies between the sister-in-laws report to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and her account of the events of that evening to others.

During direct testimony, the complainant testified that Cooley forced my right hand over his genitals.

I yanked my hand back, she said. I said, Bill, stop. Just stop. 

On cross-examination, Conway focused on that aspect, at one point playing a recording of her more than two-hour interview with an OSI agent.

In the recording, the OSI agent asks her: Did he ever make you, did you touch his (Cooleys) genitals?

Just the fabric of his leg, she answered in the recording.

In court, however, she said: I consider that the fabric of his inside leg and genital area.

Also during direct questioning, Air Force Maj. Abbigayle Hunter, an attorney in the governments prosecution team, asked the accuser why after the events in question she told her husband, an AFRL employee, that we (she and Cooley) kissed.

Cooleys sister-in-law answered that she regretted any intimation or language that portrayed the encounter as in any way consensual.

I regret that to this day, she said.

During cross, Conway focused on her motives and the motives of her husband, accusing them of attempting to make an anonymous report to OSI about what they said Cooley did that night in New Mexico.

You were going to lie to your family, about who reported against Cooley, Conway said to her.

We just werent going to address it, the witness replied. She stated that she wanted Cooley to own the truth.

Observers have said this is the first time an Air Force general officer has been court-martialed.

Cooley requested Monday that his court-martial be heard by the judge instead of a jury, similar to a bench trial in civilian court.

Redirect questioning of the alleged victim by the team of Air Force attorneys is set to resume Wednesday at Wright-Patterson.

The Dayton Daily News does not name those who say they are victims of sexual crimes.

(c)2022 the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio)

Visit the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio) at www.daytondailynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany  People living near the U.S. Armys Baumholder bases can again safely use municipal tap water without boiling it, Birkenfeld district officials said in a statement.

The Idar-Oberstein health department gave the all-clear for the towns of Baumholder and Birkenfeld on Tuesday evening and rescinded last weeks boil advisory for much of the surrounding area. The advisory was prompted by elevated levels of clostridium perfringens bacteria.

Residents of eight Idar-Oberstein city areas and 16 Herrstein-Rhaunen communities are being asked to continue to boil drinking water until repeat lab results can confirm that the water is safe. The results could come as soon as Wednesday, district administrators said.

The water supply at Baumholder installations, including Smith Barracks, Wetzel Kaserne and Clinic Kaserne, is independently treated and has been safe to use normally, U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz told Stars and Stripes on Monday.

The type of bacteria contaminating the water is a leading source of foodborne illnesses and can produce a toxin that causes diarrhea, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The first off-base residents were warned as early as Thursday. They were urged to boil their tap water before drinking it, cooking with it or brushing their teeth with it.

Initially, officials believed that only a limited area would be affected after the bacteria were first detected in a day care center in Sien, the newspaper Nahe Zeitung reported over the weekend. Further testing showed that the presence of the germs was more widespread.

The Army, which maintains a major training ground in the area, chlorinates its water supply, a practice that German municipalities generally dont follow.

In 2016, the potentially lethal E. coli bacteria was discovered in the city of Baumholders water supply, triggering a three-day boil notice in the off-base community.

While officials suspected agricultural runoff to have caused the 2016 contamination, it remains unclear what caused elevated bacteria samples this year.

The Baumholder Military Community is a satellite installation of U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, which is headquartered about 35 miles southeast in Kaiserslautern.
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa  Japanese fighter pilots responded to challenges by Chinese military aircraft during fiscal year 2021 at a pace second only to a record set five years earlier, according to data from Japans Ministry of Defense.

Japan scrambled fighters into its air defense identification zone 1,004 times, including 722 sorties to intercept approaching Chinese drones, fighters, bombers and surveillance planes, according to data released Friday.

Another 266 sorties responded to Russian aircraft and 16 to miscellaneous aircraft, the data said. The identification zone is the buffer used to identify aircraft before they reach a countrys territorial airspace.

In the third quarter, from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, Japanese pilots flew more intercepts than in any quarter since before 2014. The fiscal year in Japan runs from April 1 to March 31.

During fiscal 2016, a peak year for airborne challenges, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force launched 1,168 sorties in response to approaching aircraft, including 851 times for Chinese aircraft alone, the ministry said. A sortie is a single mission by a single plane.

We take this matter seriously and will continue paying close attention, a spokesman for Japans Joint Staff told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday. We are determined to protect our territorial land and airspace no matter what.

Japanese government spokespeople customarily speak to the media on condition of anonymity.

Chinese aircraft are actively gathering information on Japanese defenses, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said at a press conference on Friday.

Chinese aircraft are diversified and sophisticated, he said. China seems to be rapidly promoting the development of drones.

The Air Self-Defense Force flew 725 sorties in fiscal 2020, the ministry said.

Japan released its data as China conducted air and naval training near Taiwan on Friday in response to wrong signals sent by the United States, according to Bloomberg.

A delegation of six U.S. lawmakers, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., arrived in Taiwan on Thursday to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen and declare their support, The Associated Press reported the next day.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China was prepared to take strong measures to safeguard its territorial integrity, AP reported Saturday.

The U.S. supports Taiwan, a self-governing democracy. Since 1979, the U.S. has adhered to a One China policy that acknowledges Beijings view that it has sovereignty over Taiwan but considers the islands status as unsettled.

China regards the island as a renegade province that must eventually be brought back in line, by force if necessary.
The Navy since January has awarded another $308 million in building contracts at Camp Blaz, the new Marine Corps base on Guam, bringing the total spent on the project since October 2020 to $1.5 billion.

Contracts approved in the past month include $106 million to Black Construction Corp., of Guam, to build bachelor officer quarters; $35 million to Gilbane Building Co., of California, for construction of an armory; $36 million to Hensel Phelps Construction Co., of Hawaii, for a warehouse; and $49 million to several businesses for natural resource management projects, according to news releases from Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Pacific.

The Navy awarded two contracts in January and February: $38.7 million to APTIM Construction JV LLC, of Louisiana, to build a police station and $44 million to Environmental Chemical Corp., of California, for a water well field at Andersen Air Force Base.

Blaz is part of an agreement between the U.S. and Japan to relocate some Marine Corps assets from Okinawa. Under the agreement, the Defense Policy Review Initiative, Japan is paying $3 billion to build portions of the base.

Contracts for five more projects, including a public works and maintenance shop and an embarkation facility, are expected to go out for bid later this year, according to the engineering systems commands website. Those projects are estimated to be worth between $275 million and $800 million.

Blaz, the Marine Corps first new base to be activated since 1952, is expected to accommodate 5,000 members of the III Marine Expeditionary Force who are set to move in over the next five years from Okinawa.

Components slated to move to Guam include the command element of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, the 4th Marine Regiment headquarters, Combat Logistics Battalion 4, and elements of Marine Air Control Group 18 and 3rd Marine Logistics Group, said Headquarters Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Andrew Wood in a Tuesday email to Stars and Stripes.

The base will also host two infantry battalions, an aviation logistics detachment and a wing support detachment, along with a mix of rotary wing, tilt-rotor and fixed-wing aircraft, Wood said.

The current program of record develops Guam as a strategic hub that, combined with the Marines stationed in Japan and Hawaii and rotating through Australia, will allow the Marine Corps to maintain a forward presence in the Indo-Pacific region, Camp Blaz spokesman Capt. Anthony Ramos told Stars and Stripes by email Tuesday.
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CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea  The U.S. military command in South Korea will lower its health protection condition in time for its population to sample a wider variety of off-base activities this weekend.

U.S. Forces Korea will move from Bravo-plus to Bravo at 6 a.m. Thursday, the command announced Wednesday in a news release. The change will allow those who are fully vaccinated to visit bars, clubs, adults-only establishments, saunas and karaoke bars.

A person is considered fully vaccinated 14 days after completing a vaccination series approved by the Food and Drug Administration, according to USFK.

Masks are still required of everyone in South Korea, indoors and outdoors; USFK requires masks indoors but not outdoors on U.S. military installations.

USFK will continue to monitor and assess the COVID-19 environment and will make additional adjustments to protect the force and our mission, the new release said.

USFK on Jan. 8 imposed Bravo-plus, which banned off-base activities such as indoor dining and visits to outdoor venues and restricted travel to Seoul to official business only.

The command eased those restrictions through February and March as South Korea loosened its own social-distancing regulations.

USFK on Monday counted its third consecutive week of declining COVID-19 cases. The command reported 326 new infections in the seven-day period ending Monday, down from 524 cases in the previous period.

South Korea reported 111,319 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency update on Wednesday. The April one-day high, thus far, is 286,294 new cases on April 5. The one-day record is 621,187 new cases on March 17.

South Korea did away with a host of restrictions on Monday, including business curfews, a 10-person cap on gatherings and the mandatory, seven-day quarantine for those who test positive for COVID-19.

Japan COVID-19 update

The coronavirus has held on stubbornly in Japan, infecting between 24,000 and 57,000 per day since April 1.

However, the seven-day rolling average of new cases dropped below 40,000 per day on Tuesday for the first time since late March. Tuesdays average was 37,924, the lowest its been since 39,737 on March 25, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Okinawa prefecture, however, continues to battle a high number of infections, according to the prefectural Department of Public Health and Medical Care. The department reported 1,547 new cases Wednesday, and an additional 57 cases within the U.S. military population.

The prefecture is strongly concerned with the spread of COVID-19 among its population of elderly and children, a departmental spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone on Wednesday. Japanese government spokespeople customarily speak to the media on condition of anonymity.

The department is promoting PCR tests at schools and daycares and strengthening its support to elderly care facilities, the spokesman said. Also, we are trying to get more people to receive the booster shots, he said.
Long before Mariupol's Azovstal Iron and Steel Works became a key battleground in Ukraine, it played a dominant role in the port city's economy. As one of the largest metallurgical factories in Europe, it pumped out more than 4 million tons of crude steel annually and provided livelihoods to tens of thousands of people.

But now, amid a devastating war and a weeks-long siege by Russian forces, the sprawling industrial park is no longer producing steel. Instead, the plant and its network of underground tunnels are serving as a shelter and final holdout for thousands of Ukrainian fighters, including many from the Azov Battalion, one of Ukraine's most skilled  and controversial  military units.

As many as 1,000 civilians are also hiding in the subterranean network, Mariupol's city council said Monday in a Telegram message.

Russia's Defense Ministry on Tuesday repeated its demand that Ukrainian fighters inside the facility lay down their arms, giving them a new deadline of noon local time. The deadline passed without any apparent surrender. Ukrainian officials said that Russian forces were bombing not only Azovstal but also nearby residential areas.

Azovstal was originally constructed in the early Soviet era and was later rebuilt after the Nazi occupation of Mariupol between 1941 and 1943 left it in ruins. It now occupies four square miles along the city's waterfront.

"Under the city, there is basically another city," Yan Gagin, an adviser with the pro-Moscow separatist group the Donetsk People's Republic, told Russian state news network RIA Novosti over the weekend.

Gagin complained that the site was designed to withstand bombings and blockades  and that it has an inbuilt communication system that strongly favors the defenders, even if they are far outnumbered.

Sergiy Zgurets, a Ukrainian military analyst, told Reuters that the Russians are using "heavy bombs" in the Azovstal area, given its large size and number of workshops.

Mariana Budjeryn, an expert at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, said the situation in Mariupol looked increasingly "hopeless," based on the information that is trickling out.

"This city got besieged slowly and the area of control under Ukrainian forces choked, as it were," said Budjeryn, who is from Ukraine. "There is probably tactical and security advantage for the defending forces to make their last stand at this large industrial facility. It's like a mini fortress."

A lot remains unknown, she said, including what kind of armaments or access to air defenses the Ukrainian forces have left.

But if Russia were to take the steelworks, it would be a much-needed victory for the Kremlin.

After failing to overrun Kyiv in the war's first days, Russian forces have regrouped in eastern Ukraine with an apparent plan to seize large parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, together known as Donbas.

Mariupol, with a prewar population of about 450,000, is one of the last urban areas of Donetsk that is not fully under Russian control. Capturing it would give Russian forces a land bridge between Russia and Crimea, the peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Azovstal and similar sites in the city are also prime examples of why Donbas and its industrial heritage are so important for both Ukraine and Russia. Mariupol is Ukraine's second-largest port city, and before comprehensive Western sanctions, Russia had a booming steel sector that was valued as the fifth largest in the world.

Donbas is known best for its coal, but Mariupol also had a profitable metal industry. Roughly 40,000 residents were employed at Azovstal and another nearby steelworks owned by the same company, Ilyich Iron and Steel Works, according to Ukrainian steel giant Metinvest.

Together, Azovstal and Ilyich accounted for roughly one-third of Ukraine's crude steel production in 2019, according to tracking from the analyst group GMK Center. That year, steel and related industries contributed 12% of Ukraine's gross domestic product.

Russian forces stormed the smaller Ilyich plant last week. But Metinvest said in a statement to Reuters last week that it would "never operate under Russian occupation."

Taras Shevchenko, director general of Ilyich Iron and Steel Works, said Monday in an interview with the Ukraine 24 news channel that the Russian action in Mariupol was a "deliberate, systematic destruction of industry."

He said the company was assessing the extent of the damage and vowed to restore the metallurgical plants. His remarks were published on Metinvest's website.

Azovstal has seen conflict before. Production at the site began in 1933, but less than a decade later Mariupol was overrun by German troops during World War II, and works were halted amid a dramatic exodus of civilians from the city.

But by 1944, just one year after the occupation ended, work was already underway to rebuild the plant, which soon became a productive and profitable part of the Soviet steel industry.

Seventy years later, steelworkers from Azovstal organized to forcefully retake Mariupol from pro-Russian separatists in 2014. The resistance - in a city where a majority spoke Russian and had often voted for politicians friendly to Moscow - surprised many observers.

Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine's richest man and the owner of Metinvest, has served as a member of parliament for the pro-Moscow Party of Regions. He has been accused of murky underworld dealings  accusations he has long denied  and had a supporting role when federal investigations looked at President Donald Trump's links to Moscow.

Akhmetov turned against the separatists in 2014. This year he refused to back the Russian invasion, and despite a public feud with President Volodymyr Zelensky, he has helped fund the government by making a $34 million advance tax payment.

Ukraine's steel and iron industry declined after 2014, with crude steel production from Azovstal dropping by more than 1 million tons between 2013 and 2015, according to GMK Center. But with new investment in Mariupol, there had been a positive trend for the industry in more recent years. Metinvest had plans for a $1 billion investment in its steel and iron industry sites in the area.

In mid-March, the chief executive of Azovstal said nearby fighting meant the site had been shut down for the first time since the Nazi occupation. Enver Tskitishvili, speaking in a video address from Kyiv, said the shutdown would be only temporary.

"We will return to the city, rebuild the enterprise and revive it. It will work and bring glory to Ukraine the same way it always has," Tskitishvili said. "Because Mariupol is Ukraine. Azovstal is Ukraine."

- - -

The Washington Post's Ellen Francis contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  The first U.S. 155mm howitzers from the latest $800 million military aid package for Ukraine have arrived in Europe as American troops there begin training Ukrainian forces on the artillery, a senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday.

Some  but not all  of the 18 howitzers and 40,000 artillery rounds that the U.S. is sending Ukraine as part of the aid authorized April 13 by President Joe Biden have arrived in Europe as the U.S. delivered another four flights of military aid during the past 24 hours, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In that time, U.S. troops have begun training some Ukrainian forces on how to use the American howitzers, the official said. The training is expected to last about a week."

The official declined to say where in Europe the training is happening, but said it is not occurring inside Ukraine. After completing the instruction, the Ukrainian troops will return to the fighting and teach other troops how to use the American howitzers.

The official declined to say whether the U.S. is sending its M777 or M198 155mm howitzers. Both American cannons are a different caliber than Ukraines 152mm Msta-B howitzers, but they share the same basic outlines, a defense official said Monday.

Both U.S. howitzers can fire up to about 4 rounds per minute, according to the Army.

The U.S. is sending the howitzers after Ukrainian officials asked for artillery, which is expected to play a significant role in Russias new focus on the flat, rolling plains of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, the official said.

We knew from talking to Ukrainians that artillery was going to be a critical need because of the way the terrain lays, the official said. And so we saw early on the Russians were moving artillery [for the battle in the Donbas].

Despite the latest delivery, the Pentagon might need to send more artillery in the future, the official said Wednesday. With 18 howitzers and 40,000 rounds on its way to Ukraine, it amounts to about 2,222 rounds per cannon.

I think you can assume that should there be additional need in the future for more 155 artillery rounds, the United States will be right at the front of the line doing what we can to help get them there, the official said.

Biden on Tuesday told reporters he planned to send Ukraine more artillery as he got off Air Force One after landing in New Hampshire for a public address.

Earlier that day, he also discussed providing more ammunition and security assistance to Ukraine on a video call with allies and partners, including the presidents of France, Poland, and Romania, White House Press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.

Also on the call were the prime ministers of Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy, the chancellor of Germany, and European Commission, NATO and European Council leaders.

Certainly, we will continue to provide them more ammunition as we will provide them more military assistance, Psaki said. There's an ongoing discussion with the Ukrainians about what they need, with Congress about what we can provide.
WASHINGTON  Two uniformed officers with the U.S. Secret Service fatally shot a man Wednesday during an apparent confrontation with an intruder at the Peruvian ambassador's residence in Northwest Washington, D.C., police said.

Authorities said they believe the man had shattered windows at the secluded residence west of Rock Creek Park and was holding a metal stake as he approached officers who had been called by members of the ambassador's family after they heard glass breaking.

D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III said the officers tried to subdue the man with stun guns. When that failed to stop him, Contee said, the officers shot him using their service weapons.

The man, whose identity has not been released, died at the scene. Contee said an initial investigation showed no known connection between the man and the embassy, and police did not know if he had targeted the building or the people inside.

"This is totally out of the ordinary," the chief said.

The incident occurred shortly before 8 a.m. and sent Secret Service officers and D.C. police racing to the gated residence in the 3000 block of Garrison Street NW, in the Forest Hills neighborhood.

Contee said members of the ambassador's family had called the Secret Service, responsible for security and patrols at foreign embassies and their properties, to report a burglary in progress.

The police chief said the Secret Service officers "located an individual who was in the rear of the ambassador's residence. They learned this individual had smashed out several windows."

The grounds encompass about three acres a half mile east of Connecticut Avenue, in woods bracketed by Broad Branch Road. Officials said the large house is surrounded by a fence, but the gate to its long driveway is open. The Embassy of Peru is located near Dupont Circle.

Police said the ambassador and his wife were home at the time of the attack. Peruvian officials could not be reached for comment on Wednesday; though the Embassy of Peru tweeted: "The Ambassador, his family, the Residential staff, and the secret service agents are safe."

Police said the man was described as someone in his late 20s to early 30s. Contee said it was unclear if he got inside the building. The embassy tweeted he had "entered the official residence without authorization."

Wednesday's shooting is being investigated by D.C. police, which examine all fatal shootings by law enforcement in the District. The federal officers who fired were not identified.

Police have not said how many times the officers fired or where on the body the man was struck.

The chief said two Secret Service officers were being evaluated at a hospital, but the reason could not be determined. The Secret Service said no officers were injured.

In 2020, a Secret Service officer shot and wounded a man near the White House who had announced he was armed and made threatening gestures, though they later learned he had been holding only a comb. In 2016, a Secret Service officer shot and wounded a man holding a gun as he walked toward a White House guard booth. In 2013, authorities chased a female driver who they said breached a security barrier at the White House. U.S. Capitol police and Secret Service officers fatally shot her outside the Capitol.
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (Tribune News Service)  For more than 70 years, Sgt. Roy Buddy Charles DeLauters family wondered what became of him after his unit was sent to fight in the Korean War.

Then in 2018, North Korea returned to the United States 55 boxes reported to contain remains of U.S. service members.

On Tuesday, Buddy came home.

Guided by a motorcade of flashing lights, DeLauters casket arrived at Rest Haven Funeral Home in Hagerstown on Tuesday evening. A funeral will be held Friday.

DeLauter was a Smithsburg resident at the time of his death, but his sisters say the family spent about 13 years of his childhood in the Wolfsville area.

DeLauter joined the U.S. Army in 1948, before the Korean War broke out, and went to Japan for training. He was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Chinese Communist Forces launched an attack against the U.S. Nov. 27, 1950, where DeLauters unit was on the east side of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea, according to the POW/MIA agency. The outnumbered 32nd Infantry was forced to withdraw south Dec. 1, but enemy fire and roadblocks made the route extremely treacherous, the agency said in its profile of DeLauter.

He was reported killed in action Dec. 1, 1950, at 21 years old. His family wouldnt learn the details until much later.

The label, missing in action, provided no closure to those who wanted to know the fate of their brother, father and friend.

I always wondered where my dad was, Sharlene DeLauter, 74, of Smithsburg said Tuesday.

She was about 3 years old when her dad went missing. Her sister, Sue, was going on 2.

Sharlene DeLauter grew up watching old war movies, hoping shed catch a glimpse of her father in the footage. As a teen, she remembers the sting that came with hearing other children discuss Fathers Day plans.

Hoping for a miracle, Sharlene DeLauter collected blood samples from two of her fathers sisters roughly 12 years ago and sent them to the Army to keep on file. Shes now encouraging others with missing loved ones to do the same by contacting the missing members military branch.

Scientists got to work after the boxes of remains arrived from North Korea to Hawaii in 2018, according to the POW/MIA agency. One of these boxes reportedly contained remains from the east side of the Chosin Reservoir, and lab analysis revealed they belonged to DeLauter. Scientists used anthropological and isotope analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence, plus DNA analysis, to identify DeLauter, according to a news release from the agency.

Sharlene DeLauter learned in May, after the U.S. Army declassified the information, that another soldier witnessed her fathers death.

DeLauters elder sister, Evelyn Rae DeLauter Eccard, was at the doctors office in January when she got the news that her brother had been found. Sharlene DeLauter was with her, but she was not answering her phone.

Eccard had just been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Sharlenes sister came to meet them and deliver the news about Buddy. Eccard, 93, broke down in tears. They were tears of joy.

This is the best thing thats ever happened, Eccard, of Halfway in Washington County, said on Tuesday.

She remembers her brother as a mischievous young man. They were close, and he wrote her letters while he was away in the military.

He loved music, sang and learned to play the harmonica at 10 years old, according to his obituary. He had a knack for locating four-leaf clovers.

Eccard hoped her brother would be found before she died.

Id been praying for so long, she said.

DeLauter was one of six children  three boys and three girls.

His younger sister, Gladys Jane DeLauter Kline, remembers that their mother watched TV all day when the Korean War prisoners of war were released. She thought it was possible her son could be among them.

We realized he wasnt coming home, said Kline, 91, who lives in the Smithsburg area.

She said its a relief to know her brother was found, one she wishes other members of the family were alive to share. DeLauters parents and brothers died before he was identified. His wife has also died.

Kline kept a wooden carving in her kitchen that her long lost brother made for her. A wooden man, standing about 18 inches high, holds a sign that says, Welcome.

DeLauter was a skilled carpenter, Kline said, like other men in their family. He worked at Brandt Cabinet Works in Hagerstown.

I never thought Id see him in my lifetime come home, Kline said.

(c)2022 The Frederick News-Post (Frederick, Md.)

Visit at www.fredericknewspost.com
Tauranga's Pacific Island Community are banding together to aid the relief in Tonga following the eruption that took place on January 15, 2022.

An initiative is being organised to provide 24 hour rapid response packs that can sustain a person for up to 24 hours and requires little to no cooking or utensils.

The goods are non-perishable and contain a large storage life.

Tongan Minister Rev'd Tu'inamoana Latu attended to karakia over the container and its contents this morning, for the safe voyage directly to Tonga.

The relief has been organised by the Pacific Island Community Trust, and has been funded through donations by other community groups.

Some of the Pacific Island Community Trust team.

One of the groups is Nga Mataapuna Oranga and Te Manu Toroa, who are currently working together on welfare support for Covid-19.

They are supporting the community through providing kai to those who are isolating at home and may not be able to access food.

Calvin Mitch Mitchell, a Kaiarahi with the Whanau Ora team from Nga Maatapuna Oranga, says the packs have been methodically thought through, and have had consideration applied to each packs nutritional value.

Mitch is a former combat soldier who has been deployed twice in conflict zones around the world with the New Zealand Army, as well as providing relief after the Christchurch earthquake of 2011.

Mitch says the packs have a similar design of those found in the defence force, but these are infused with the aroha/love and wairua/spirit of the Whanau Ora team at Nga Maatapuna Oranga.

I wish I had these packs when I was in theatres of conflict to raise my morale, says Mitch.

Kaimahi from Pacific Island Community Trust.

Zita, a manager at Te Manu Toroa says that working in collaboration with Nga Maatapuna Oranga has not only been able to help the Pacifica community, but also strengthened relationships in the wider community.

We are happy to help our whanau in Tonga and support our Pacific whanau here in Tauranga, says Zita.

The Pacific Island Community Trust would like to thank all of those who have helped support this kaupapa, namely Quadrant Shipping and Swire Shipping, as well as Clayton Hamilton who made it possible to access the shipping container.
The team at Tauranga Womens Refuge are yet to meet a woman that wants to end up in a safe house, but for mother and grandmother Jane* that was her reality.

Ten years ago, Jane left an abusive husband with nothing but her two children and a suitcase of belongings to her name.

She reached out to the refuge and spent three months living in a safe house with her children and being supported to start a new life without the fear of violence.

Its nerve wracking not knowing what to do when you are in an abusive situation, but the refuge helped me a lot and were there with me through everything - from going to the police, court cases, getting into a house and furnishing it, says Jane.

I wouldnt know where I would be if it wasnt for them.

Ten years on, as a caregiver at a Bupa care home in the Bay of Plenty, Jane was given the opportunity to give back to Tauranga Womens Refuge through the Bupa Foundation Community Grants programme.

The programme gives Bupa employees the opportunity to apply for up to $10,000 in funding to help an organisation run a project or initiative that aims to make a positive difference in the communities where they live and work.

The Bupa Foundation Community Grants programme, launched in 2019, encourages Bupa employees across New Zealand and Australia to identify, nominate and work with eligible organisations or charities that are making a positive difference in their community.

Grants of up to $10,000 are available to support projects that align with the themes of building mentally healthy and resilient communities and creating a healthy planet for healthy people.

A total of $250,000 was awarded through this programme for projects throughout 2022, with the grants making a direct contribution back into communities where Bupa operates.

At the end of last year, Jane submitted an application for Tauranga Womens Refuge and was delighted to receive a $10,000 grant.

Tauranga Womens Refuge General Manager Hazel Hape says they were honoured to be selected for the grant.

Tauranga Womens Refuge is an independent refuge that has operated since 1980. Its core services are a 24-hour crises line, three safe housing options for victims and/or survivors of domestic violence, community-based advice, information and support, safety alarm systems, and education programmes.

So long as there is violence and abuse happening in our families and communities, then women and children need immediate safety and support agencies who can help them navigate through the experiences, says Hazel.

While the refuge receives some Government funding, Hazel says community grants and public funding are also greatly welcomed.

It means we can think outside the box of other things we can offer that might not be business as usual and arent controlled by Government prescription or outcomes, says Hazel.

Art therapy, including using Lego has been part of the programme. Photo: Supplied.

So far, the Bupa Foundation Community Grant has gone towards running a 10-day holiday programme for children impacted by family violence.

The programme centred around helping the children to expend their physical, emotional and psychological energy, as well as learning team building, communication, self-esteem and problem-solving skills. This was done through Brazilian Jiu Jitsu lessons during the morning, and art therapy, using Lego, in the afternoons.

Programme Facilitator and Advocate, Maree Saunders, says the refuge also plans to use the grant to offer further resources for its impacted women.

We offer a 10-week programme for our wahine, but then they have to go off and survive with the tools that we have given them. There wasnt enough money to have something else for them, so now we have a little bit extra, we hope to have pampering packs and mirimiri available for the mothers that never get that opportunity to do that for themselves, says Maree.

Bupa New Zealand was delighted to have six very deserving organisations selected, including; Tauranga Womens Refuge, Manurewa Marae, Skylight Trust, Upside Downs Education Trust, Graeme Dingle Foundation, and Big Brother Big Sister Rotorua (BBBS).

Bupa has chosen not to identify the employee mentioned in this story in order to respect their privacy. A pseudonym of Jane has been used instead.
An awards dinner to recognise the significant contribution and achievements made in the field of New Zealand aerospace will be held in Tauranga on Saturday evening.

The Bay of Plenty Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society will be holding the awards dinner at Classic Flyers to honour the long term contributions of Brian Hare and Dave Brown.

Usually a national awards dinner would be held to recognise these significant achievements but this year the dinner was cancelled due to Covid-19, says Royal Aeronautical Society Bay of Plenty Branch past president and current secretary Des Underwood.

There are 11 recipients this year, and most of them will receive their awards in the mail.

We figured that the two that we nominated should have a dinner here, with the presentation done by a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

The Bay of Plenty Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society has been operating since 2016 and now has over 50 members.

Were one of six branches throughout New Zealand and the NZ division has been around since 1949. It is part of an international group called the Royal Aeronautical Society that was started in the UK, which has been going for more than 150 years, going back to hot air balloons, says Des.

Des says that the BOP branch and other branches in NZ are parented by the NZ division, which normally has annual awards.

The BOP branch has contributed 15 award nominations since it started. They are not necessarily living here, we once nominated someone from Gore, as there is no branch in Gore. But mostly they are locals.

Guest speaker and award presenter on Saturday night will be David Morgan.

David is the chief pilot for Air New Zealand, says Des. He is a Fellow of the society and he will be presenting the award to Brian.

The Meritorious Service Award is made by the Council of of the NZ Division of the Society and recognises long term contributions and practical achievements in all sections of aerospace in New Zealand. The award takes the form of a certificate, a citation, and a silver medal.

Brian Hare

In a six-decade career in aviation in NZ, this award acknowledges the leadership and drive of Brian Hare, while CEO at Pacific Aerospace Corp (PAC) where he oversaw several significant achievements, including the reactivation of Cresco production line to meet market needs, production of the CT/4E Airtrainer to meet the needs of both the RNZAF and Royal Thai Air Force, and most significantly, the development, certification, production, and sale of the PAC XL750.

Brian Hare

The impact and legacy that Brians business acumen has had on general aviation in New Zealand cannot be underestimated. As an astute businessman, with the courage to take a risk, Brian had an ability to see and deliver on opportunities as they arose.

The tenacity and fortitude required to embark and deliver on a variety of successful programmes is the mark of his character and why Brian Hare is a worthy recipient of the Meritorious Service Gold Award.

Dave Brown

Working around the demands of a career as an airline transport pilot, Dave Brown has developed an exceptional reputation for the dedication he brings to the diverse role as Chief Flying Instructor with Warbirds New Zealand, where he trains and checks pilots to keep Warbird aircraft flying. He also qualifies pilots to fly display routines at air shows in New Zealand. As a qualified test pilot with his own aerobatic displays, his readiness to make himself available to review and approve displays and pilots, and ensure they are safe to fly, forms a vital component to our New Zealand air show and Warbird movement.

Dave Brown. Photo: Toni Williams.

Dave is a committed and respected member of the classic aircraft and air show community and New Zealand Air Show Association, which has contributed to the safety conduct of air shows in New Zealand since it was founded in 2010. As a founding Board member, he has contributed much to the industry in general, from his responsibilities as Chief Flying Instructor Warbirds New Zealand, through to being generous with his time, advice, and levels of experience to those who can benefit from it.

For his exemplary leadership and unswerving dedication to aviation, its safety and the wellbeing of its pilots, Dave Brown is a worthy recipient of the Meritorious Service award for 2021.

Anyone who would like to attend the awards dinner at Classic Flyers on Saturday April 23 at 6pm needs to contact Mike Feisst on email mikefeisst@xtra.co.nz

Tickets to Saturdays awards dinner are also available from Classic Flyers.

Any aviation enthusiast, pilots and engineers are welcome to join the BOP branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society which holds its monthly meetings on the first Friday of each month at Classic Flyers.

To join go to www.aerospacenz.com
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What just happened? In what could be viewed as a sign of the often frighteningly uncertain times we live in, the US navy has shot down a drone using an all-electric laser for the first time. The military branch's Layered Laser Defense (LLD) took down the machine, which was representing a subsonic cruise missile, during tests in February this year.

The LLD weapon, designed and built by Lockheed Martin, is able to take out unmanned aerial systems, fast attack boats, and, using its high-resolution telescope, in-bound air threats.

February's tests were carried out by the Office of Naval Research at the US Army's High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The LLD was tested against a wide range of targets, including unmanned fixed-winged aerial vehicles and quadcopters as well as the high-speed drones that acted as subsonic cruise missile replacements.

The Navy says that laser weapons have several advantages. In addition to identifying and assessing the damage they inflict on targets, lasers can disable sensors or dazzle forces without blinding them. And being all-electric, they require no explosives or propellants, making them safer. Moreover, as long as power is available from the ship carrying them, all-electric lasers offer theoretically unlimited ammo at a cost of around $1 per shot, writes New Atlas.

"The Navy performed similar tests during the 1980s but with chemical-based laser technologies that presented significant logistics barriers for fielding in an operational environment," said Dr. Frank Peterkin, ONR's directed energy portfolio manager. "And, ultimately, those types of lasers did not transition to the fleet or any other service."

While there are currently no plans to put the LLD into action, the US Army intends to field directed energy weapons as part of its short-range defense systems (SHORAD) as early as this year, reports Interesting Engineering.
Forward-looking: When it isn't busy building some of the most advanced silicon out there, Nvidia is exploring ways to improve the chip design process using the same silicon it's making. The company expects the complexity of integrated circuit design to increase exponentially in the coming years, so adding in the power of GPU compute will soon turn from an intriguing lab experiment into a necessity for all chipmakers.

During a talk at this year's GPU Technology Conference, Nvidia's chief scientist and senior vice president of research, Bill Dally, talked a great deal about using GPUs to accelerate various stages of the design process behind modern GPUs and other SoCs. Nvidia believes that some tasks could be done better and much quicker using machine learning rather than humans doing by hand, freeing them to work on more advanced aspects of chip development.

Dally leads a team of around 300 researchers that tackle everything from the technological challenges around making ever faster GPUs to developing software that leverages the capabilities of those GPUs for automating and accelerating a variety of tasks that have traditionally been done mainly by hand. This research team is up from 175 people in 2019 and is set to grow in the coming years.

When it comes to speeding up chip design, Dally says Nvidia has identified four areas where leveraging machine learning techniques can significantly impact the typical development timetable. For instance, mapping where power is used in a GPU is an iterative process that takes three hours on a conventional CAD tool, but it only takes minutes using an AI model trained specifically for this task. Once taught, the model can shave the time down to seconds. Of course, AI models trade speed for accuracy. However, Dally says Nvidia's tools already achieve 94 percent accuracy, which is still a respectable figure.

Circuit design is a labor-intensive process where engineers may need to change the layout several times after running simulations on partial designs. So training AI models to make accurate predictions on parasitics can help eliminate a lot of the manual work involved in making the minor adjustments needed for meeting the desired design specifications. Nvidia can leverage GPUs to predict parasitics utilizing graph neural networks.

Dally explains that one of the biggest challenges in designing modern chips is routing congestion  a defect in a particular circuit layout where the transistors and the many tiny wires that connect them are not optimally placed. This condition can lead to something akin to a traffic jam, but in this case, it's bits instead of cars. Engineers can quickly identify problem areas and adjust their placing and routing accordingly by using a graph neural network.

In these scenarios, Nvidia is essentially trying to use AI to critique chip designs made by humans. Instead of embarking on a labor-intensive and computationally expensive process, engineers can create a surrogate model and quickly evaluate and iterate on it using AI. The company also wants to use AI to design the most basic features of the transistor logic used in GPUs and other advanced silicon.

Nvidia is taking the necessary steps to move to a more advanced manufacturing node, where many thousands of so-called standard cells must be modified according to complex design rules. A project called NVCell seeks to automate as much as possible of this process through an approach called reinforcement learning.

The trained AI model is used to correct design errors until it is completed. Nvidia claims that to date, it has achieved a success rate of 92 percent. In some cases, the AI-engineered cells were smaller than those made by humans. This breakthrough could help improve the design's overall performance and reduce the chip size and power requirements.

Process technology is quickly approaching the theoretical limits of what we can do with silicon. At the same time, production costs rise with each node transition. So any slight improvement at the design stage can lead to better yields, especially if it reduces chip size. Nvidia outsources manufacturing to the likes of Samsung and TSMC. However, Dally says NVCell allows the company to use two GPUs to do the work of a team of ten engineers in a matter of days, leaving them to focus their attention on other areas.

Nvidia isn't alone in going the AI route for designing chips. Google is also using machine learning to develop accelerators for AI tasks. The search giant found that AI can craft unexpected ways to optimize performance and power efficiency layouts. Samsung's foundry division uses a Synopsys tool called DSO.ai, which other companies, big and small, are gradually adopting.

It's also worth noting that foundries can also leverage AI manufacturing chips on mature process nodes (12 nm and larger) to address a lack of manufacturing capacity that has proven detrimental to the automotive industry's operation over the past two years. Most manufacturers are reluctant to invest in this area, as the semiconductor space is highly competitive, focusing on the bleeding edge.

Well over 50 percent of all chips are designed on mature process nodes. International Data Corporation analysts expect this share to increase to 68 percent by 2025. Synopsis CEO Aart de Geus believes AI can help companies design smaller and more power-efficient chips where performance is not a top priority, such as cars, home appliances, and some industrial equipment. This approach is much less expensive than migrating to a more advanced process node. Additionally, fitting more chips on every wafer also leads to cost savings.

This story isn't about AI replacing humans in the chip design process. Nvidia, Google, Samsung, and others have found that AI can augment humans and do the heavy lifting where increasingly complex designs are concerned. Humans still have to find the ideal problems to solve and decide which data helps validate their chip designs.

There's a lot of debate around artificial general intelligence and when we might be able to create it. Still, all experts agree that the AI models we use today can barely deal with specific problems we know about and can describe. Even then, they may produce unexpected results that aren't necessarily useful to the end goals.
What just happened? A month after the company confirmed it had no plans to do so, Netflix has said it is looking at offering lower-priced, ad-supported tiers on its service. The news comes in the wake of Netflix's Q1 financial report that revealed the streamer has lost subscribers for the first time in a decade.

During an earnings call yesterday, Netflix co-founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings said it is "quite open to offering even lower prices with advertising, as a consumer choice."

Back in March, following Disney Plus' announcement that it would be introducing an ad-supported tier later this year, Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann said it wasn't something in the company's plans and that it didn't "make sense" for Netflix to go down the same path many others are taking. Neumann did add, however, "never say never."

The timing of the news comes as Netflix reported it is 200,000 subscribers down since the beginning of the year, something it blames on increased competition, its withdrawal from the Russian market, and its favorite target: password sharing. The second pandemic-era price hike Netflix introduced in January was also an issue, blamed partly on the 600,000 subscribers it lost in the US and Canada.

Hastings admitted to being against the complexities of advertising, preferring the traditional subscription models instead. "But as much as I am a fan of that, I am a bigger fan of consumer choice, and allowing consumers who would like to have a lower price and are advertising-tolerant to get what they want makes a lot of sense," he added.

It will be at least a year before we see ad-supported tiers on Netflix, if not longer. And that assumes it does push ahead with the plans. But given that Paramount+, Peacock, Hulu, and soon Disney+ offer the same options, it seems Netflix is preparing to join the rest of its rivals, though it might be feeling forced into the decision.
Why it matters: Are you one of the many workers who have returned to the office following a lengthy stint working from home during the pandemic? Are you happy about going back? Probably not. A new survey shows that despite what many bosses want you to believe, people prefer working remotely.

Software giant Slack commissioned the Future Forum Pulse survey, which covered 10,000 knowledge workers (those who spend most of their time on a computer) in the US, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and the UK.

The survey results show that around 34% of participants have now returned to the office five days per week, and that's led to employee sentiment dropping to near-record lows. There has been a 2x as steep a decline in work-life balance compared to hybrid and remote workers, 1.6x as steep a decline in overall satisfaction with their working environment, and 1.5x worsening work-related stress and anxiety.

"In the US, work-life balance is at an all-time low and work-related stress and anxiety are at an all-time high since the inception of our survey, an abrupt about-face from the previous quarter," the report said.

While many executives like to extoll the virtues of office work, it seems this is a case of 'do as I say, not as I do.' Non-execs are twice as likely to be working in offices than their superiors, meaning their work-life balance scores are 40% worse, and they are twice as likely to suffer anxiety and stress.

"This discrepancy suggests that while many executives continue to work flexibly, for their employees the flexible work options that provided much-needed balance and relief have been clawed back," the research states.

Worker unhappiness could have an impact on their employers beyond reduced productivity. With 55% saying they would prefer flexible working hours at least part of the time, one in five say they are likely to look for a new job if their company doesn't allow some flexibility. Additionally, knowledge workers who say their employer is not being "transparent about their future-of-work plans" are more than three times as likely to quit this year.

In September, a Microsoft study claimed that working from home threatens productivity and innovation. There was also a survey in January showing many people were so desperate to keep working remotely that they were willing to lose large parts of their salaries and even benefits such as health insurance and paid time off.

Masthead credit: Christina Morillo
An all-sky camera system captured a very unusual fireball, which is estimated to have landed near the eastern shore of Lake Simcoe in southern Ontario.

Usually, when a fireball is spotted, most people tend to make various unproven conclusions. But, for experts, fireballs (meteorites) are essential since they can offer them new details about space.

The latest fireball sighting was captured by the all-sky camera network of the Western University's Physics and Astronomy Department.

But, the meteorite that is detected is not usually because of its speed.

All-Sky Camera Network Captures Unusual Fireball

According to PhysOrg's latest report, the Western University's Southern Ontario Meteor Network (SOMN) was able to capture the meteorite incident on Sunday, Apr. 17.

Also Read: Lyrids Meteor Shower Is Coming, Here's How to Watch It and Take Photos Using Camera or Smartphone

"This fireball was particularly significant because it was moving slowly, was on an asteroidal orbit, and ended very low in the atmosphere. These are all good indicators that material survived," said Denis Vida, a meteorite specialist.

He added that the meteorite was emitting light at just 29 km altitude, claiming that this is another reason why the space object likely survived its Earth atmosphere entry.

Aside from this, Vida explained that meteorites are essential since they can help them understand how the world and other heavenly bodies in the solar system formed.

If you want to see the actual fireball footage, you can view the YouTube video below.

What To Do If You See a Meteorite?

Aerolite Org reported that meteorites worth tons of money if people find their remaining parts.

If they find the whole space rock, they might be even lucky enough to have a great with the companies willing to buy the meteorite.

But, you still need to be careful when picking up the space rocks. Here are the following things you need to do when you find a meteorite:

Don't pick them up using your bare hands.

Use a plastic bag and wrap them in an aluminum coil.

Make sure that the remaining fragments of the meteorite will not chip off when you are transferring it from one location to another.

In June 2020, a massive fireball streak was spotted across the night sky of the southern United States.

In May 2018, Australians saw a falling meteorite that broke into pieces, generating as much as 1.6 kilotons of nuke energy.

For more news updates about meteorites and other space objects, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Live Video of Meteor Cluster Over Hawaii Captured by Subaru-Asahi Sky Camera

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NASA and the Perseverance rover, together with its team, arrived at one of the stages of its mission, and it is in Mars' River Delta. The six-wheeled rover is now beginning its second stage on its expedition on Mars, looking into the then body of water on the planet, investigating the area, and collecting rock samples on the neighbor planet.

NASA Perseverance Rover Arrives at Mars' River Delta

NASA's Perseverance rover arrived at the river Delta on Mars last April 13, and since then, there have been preparations made by the spacecraft up until this point. Its first expedition and excavation mission began last Monday, April 18, and since then, the rover has been drilling holes at the "Three Forks" area, another name for the Delta river.

The rover's primary goal is to extract rock cores from the Delta river, and it would be a part of the Mars Sample Return Campaign that Perseverance would fulfill on its end on the neighboring planet. The rover is at its first stage in the operation, but it will soon bring more extraction missions to recover more samples from the area.

Read Also: NASA's Perseverance in a Rocky Situation Due to Clogged Rocks-What's Next for the Martian Rover?

New Mission for Perseverance at the Dry River

The new mission for the Perseverance is looking at an ancient river that already dried out millennia ago. NASA's focus on Jezero and the regions that surround it is focusing on getting to know the planet, as it will help in future missions and possibly, the humans' first arrival on the Red Planet.

For now, Percy has to collect the rock samples for NASA and bring them in time for its return mission.

NASA's Perseverance Rover

NASA's exploration of Mars does not stop with Curiosity, InSight Lander, and other past rovers that the space agency sent to the Red Planet. The Perseverance's arrival on Mars is a new venture.

Its goal is to study the Jezero crater and the surrounding areas, with its recent discovery already seeing the crater as a previous lake.

Percy had many missions in the past months that collected rock samples from the Red Planet, and its successful operations have already secured these components from Mars. Now, it awaits the next stage of its operations that will concern the transport of these samples to the home planet for its study and analysis by NASA scientists.

The new area to explore is far from its original landing spot and base of operations, but the rover is already there to begin its mission and look for possible traces of water.

If not, discover what happened to the Red Planet, which once held water on its surface a long time ago, making it a discovery that will provide knowledge on other worlds and give an explanation relating to the Earth.

Related Article: NASA's InSignt Mars Lander Showcased this Unique Martian Sunrise and You Should Not Miss It

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 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
To celebrate its 32nd anniversary, the Hubble Space Telescope released a photo that captured a unique group of merging galaxies that will eventually transform into a singular entity.

This eclectic bunch of galaxies is known as the Hickson Compact Group 40 (HCG 40). It includes three spiral-shaped galaxies, an elliptical galaxy, and a lenticular (lens-like) galaxy that are in the process of becoming one elliptical galaxy, according to a statement released by Hubble on Tuesday.

How Galaxies Are Formed

Captured in a "leisurely gravitational dance," this group of five galaxies is particularly isolated in their own small patch of the universe, somewhere in the direction of the constellation Hydra, which is known as the largest constellation in the sky.

Scientists have long been cataloguing more than 100 compact galaxy groups, however HCG 40 stands out as the most densely packed. Hubble believes that compact groups like this may have been common in the dawning of the universe and that "their superheated, infalling material may have fueled very energetic black holes," also known as quasars.

The study of compact groups like HCG 40 helps astronomers and scientists to understand how galaxies are formed.

Hubble further explains that there could possibly be a lot of dark matter within these galaxies, and when they are close together, the matter becomes a big cloud within the galaxies' orbit. Due to its gravitational effects, galaxies receive a resistive force from the dark matter, which leads them to lose energy and fall together.

Their astronomers have also studied these compact groups not just with visible light but also with the use of radio, infrared, and X-ray wavelengths.

"Almost all of them have a compact radio source in their cores, which could be evidence for the presence of supermassive black holes," Hubble officials said.

They added, "X-ray observations show that the galaxies have been gravitationally interacting due to the presence of a lot of hot gas among the galaxies. Infrared observations reveal clues to the rate of new star formation."

Read Also: Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries: Age of the Universe, Pluto's Two Moons, and More

Mutually Attracted Galaxies

It is rare to find single and isolated galaxies in the universe since they tend to form clusters or groups. A system that consists of two galaxies is called a "binary galaxy." For a dozen or more galaxies, are called a "galaxy group." While a larger assembly constitutes a "galaxy cluster."

If members of a group of galaxies are found in a small space, they are likely to interact gravitationally and emerge slowly as one. Hence, they are called mutually attracted galaxies.

The Hickson Compact Group 40 is rather a small, compact galaxy group that is 300 million light-years away from Hydra's direction. It is also one of the 100 catalogued compact galaxy groups by the Canadian astronomer Paul Hickson.

The Hubble Scope Telescope was launched on the space shuttle discovery last April 24, 1990, in pursuit of understanding the evolution of the universe. Despite its age and synchronization issues last year, the telescope remains to be working.

However, NASA is looking forward to pairing Hubble's work with their recently-launched James Webb Space Telescope, which is expected to be finished around June.

Related Article: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Finds A Mini-Jet Dated Thousand Years Ago Near Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole

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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The lack of an iPhone charger is one of the main complaints of Apple consumers. The giant gadget developer announced its decision not to include wired chargers in its iPhone sales way back in 2020.

Many individuals were not happy with the move. But, some of them accepted this change since it is not illegal in many countries.

But, it seems like Brazil is not taking the absence of iPhone chargers lightly. This was seen after a Brazilian judge decided to fine Apple, forcing the company to pay a man around $1,000, as reported by Android Authority.

Lack of iPhone Leads To $1000 Apple Fine

According to Mac Rumors' latest report, a Brazilian customer filed a complaint after he discovered that the iPhone he purchased didn't have any charger.

Also Read: First Full-Screen iPhone To Arrive in 2024! Ming-Chi Kuo Reveals Possible Model and Features

The man filed a lawsuit against Apple. Some individuals may think that Apple will not be affected since the company has been selling iPhones without chargers since 2020.

However, the Brazilian judge handling the lawsuit said that this business activity of Apple is illegal.

"According to article 39 of the Consumer Code (CDC), 'tie sale' is an abusive and prohibited practice in Brazil, so it is not allowed to sell cell phones and charger separately," said Judge Vanderlei Caires Pinheiro.

He added that since tie sale is illegal in the country, Apple needs to pay the stated fine if it wants to settle the lawsuit against it.

Not the First Time

The latest lawsuit against Apple because of its tie sale is not the first one it faced. In 2021, another complaint was filed by the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo.

Officials stated that removing the charger is against the Consumer Law Code.

Because of this, the giant tech manufacturer was forced to pay a $2 million fine.

If you want to see more details about the recent lawsuit of Sau Paulo city against the giant iPhone maker, you can visit this link.

Recently, the Apple iPhone assembler Pegatron halted its production operations because of the continuous Shanhai lockdowns.

On the other hand, Apple's carbon emissions have been reduced by around 13.9 million metric tons, thanks to the company's renewable energy efforts.

For more news updates about Apple and other tech giant manufacturers, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Apple's Privacy Stance is Making Work More Challenging, According to Apple Engineers

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 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Xi stresses enhancing digital gov't construction, advancing fiscal reforms

Xinhua) 08:02, April 20, 2022

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday stressed efforts to enhance the building of a digital government and advance fiscal system reforms at and below the provincial level.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while chairing the 25th meeting of the central commission for deepening overall reform.

The meeting reviewed and adopted several guidelines on the above-mentioned issues, along with other guidelines on establishing a criteria system for the auditing of outgoing officials on the management of natural-resource assets, and enhancing the incentive mechanism for the scientific research community, as well as a work plan on improving financial support for innovation.

Xi stressed efforts to fully implement a national strategy for building China's strength in cyberspace, urging broad application of digital technology in government management and services.

Digital and intelligent operation of the government should be promoted to offer solid support for the modernization of the national governance system and governance capability, Xi said.

On local fiscal system reforms, Xi noted that fiscal relations between governments at and below the provincial level should be straightened out to enable a more rational balance between power and responsibility, a more standardized division of revenue, a relatively balanced distribution of fiscal resources, and stronger fiscal security at the primary level.

He called for speeding up the construction of a unified domestic market, promoting the equalization of basic public services and advancing high-quality development.

On establishing a criteria system for the auditing of outgoing officials on the management of natural-resource assets, Xi said such a system must be scientific, standardized and reasonable to encourage officials to fulfill their responsibilities on natural-resource asset management and ecological protection.

He also urged focusing on the weak links in financial services for sci-tech innovation, and improving the financial support for innovation, so as to ensure the financial system better meets the needs of sci-tech innovation in the new era.

To encourage scientific and technological personnel to reach their full potential and show their capabilities, Xi called for building an innovation ecology that is conducive to the continuous emergence of achievements and effective application of research outcomes.

Li Keqiang, Wang Huning and Han Zheng, who are members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and deputy heads of the central commission for deepening overall reform, attended the meeting.

While providing digital services that are accessible, intelligent and inclusive, the country should give play to the important role of digital technology in economic regulation, market supervision, social management, public services and ecological conservation, according to the meeting.

In building a digital government, the country needs to promote the sharing and use of data in accordance with laws and regulations, and push forward technological, business and data integration, the meeting said.

It also stressed the importance of data security in digital management, calling for efforts to ramp up security management in all aspects.

Since the third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the country has strengthened top-level design for fiscal and tax reform, with the division of revenues between central and local governments further clarified and the reform of the transfer payment system further deepened, the meeting said.

Efforts should be made to clearly define fiscal powers and expenditure responsibilities, clarify the division of revenues, and improve the transfer payment system between governments at and below the provincial level.

The country will further remove local protectionism and market barriers, improve the system for ensuring equal access to basic public services, and increase financial support for old revolutionary base areas, ethnic areas, border areas, and underdeveloped areas, it said.

China has built a system for auditing outgoing officials' management of natural-resource assets, the meeting noted.

Efforts should be made to improve the standards by which officials' decision-making in matters related to resources and the environment are evaluated, and to include the implementation of the nation's major ecological policies in the evaluation indicators, the meeting said.

The meeting also urged efforts to step up building a financial support system for innovation, with focuses on major areas including breakthroughs of core technologies in key fields; the application of advances in science and technology; small and medium-sized sci-tech and innovative enterprises; and high-tech enterprises.

The meeting stressed the need to enhance capacity building in terms of credit services in the sci-tech sector. It also called for improving the direct financing function of the capital market and giving play to the risk-sharing role of insurance and financing guarantee institutions.

More work should be done to ensure the security and stability of industrial and supply chains, and coordinate the financial support for sci-tech innovation with the prevention of financial risks, the meeting said.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Du Mingming)
"I was first in the whole school"... The identity of the woman who walked to the Olympic Boulevard was revealed
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Two small legal practices have moved into downtown office buildings.

The Baton Rouge offices of Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore are now located on the 11th floor of the Chase North Tower, attorney Matt Bailey told the Downtown Development District Board Tuesday. Sprinkle Law Firm has moved into One American Place, said attorney Richard Sprinkle.
Baton Rouge Police Cpl. Reese Jenkins, left, and Cpl. Russell Williams, right, escort a suspect, Earl Lee Johnson, Jr., 35, center, to a BRPD unit parked outside the Violent Crimes Unit headquartered at Louisiana State Police headquarters, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. He is a first degree murder suspect in the killing of Janice David, 34, who was found was found in a car in the parking lot of Sherwood Tower, 3636 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd. shortly before 10 p.m. on Monday night. A Facebook Live video made during the assault on David, who was choked, beaten and stabbed, helped lead police to Johnson's arrest.
Touching his inner musical nerd, House Speaker Pro Tem Tanner Magee took the first step Wednesday in a long cherished personal goal of creating a museum that meshes the civil rights era with New Orleans' position  not Memphis  as the birthplace of rock n roll.

House Bill 889 creates the Dew Drop-Americas Rock and Roll Museum under the state Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. The legislation would require the museums addition to the annual state operating budget to support the museum, its collection activities and scholarship. Accompanying legislation, House Bill 895, would create the LaSalle Cultural Corridor for neighborhood development, which would be anchored by the museum and Dew Drop Inn.

Magee described himself as a nerd when it comes to learning about 1950s New Orleans rock and roll. He was a little taken aback when on a trip, just out of college, he visited Sun Studios in Memphis and heard that Ike Turners Rocket 88 in 1951 was the first rock n roll record, thereby making Memphis the birthplace of the musical style.

This is categorically untrue, said Magee, the Houma Republican who is the Houses second-highest ranking member. Its undeniable that Fats Domino released The Fat Man in 1949.

Did you know whatever happened to the Dew Drop Inn? The list of entertainers who performed in the Dew Drops Groove Room includes Ray Charles, James Brown, Ike and Tina Turner, Little Richard, Sam Cooke and Otis Redding.

With at least a thousand albums in his home and the eye-rolling habit of making his family spend hours in music stores listening to obscure records, Magee said his obsession with Louisiana's rock genre began as a small child when he bonded with his stepfather, an aficionado of Louisianas rock music genre.

Not only Domino, but Lloyd Price, of Kenner, came out with Lawdy Miss Clawdy in 1952. Then theres Hank Williams and Elvis Presleys professional debuts in Shreveport.

Magee also pointed out that Bob Marley credited New Orleans rock music of the 1950s as the basis of reggae. Jamaicans could hear the music because New Orleans clear channel radio at the time could reach the Caribbean island. Musicians adopted New Orleans heavy drumbeat, strong rhythms from guitar, bass and piano with islands musical styles. The sound further evolved when reggae DJ Kool Herc moved from Jamaica to the Bronx in New York City and began the hip-hop music.

All these things that we have in this state and were not telling that story. Were allowing Memphis to take credit for this stuff because after you leave Sun Records, they tell you over and over and over again that they are the birthplace of rock n roll, Magee said. Sun Records famously recorded Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and other musical pioneers in the 1950s and 1960s. It is now a museum in a neighborhood with other attractions.

+2 Little Richard rocked out, recorded hits in Louisiana; see his connections to the state His audiences, including the one at his Baton Rouge show in 1957, could be as wild as the music he made with his band, the Upsetters.

The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

But Louisiana has a habit of ignoring locations that could tell the story to visitors.

J&M Recording Studio on Rampart Street, for instance, was crucial to the development rhythm and blues as well as pressing Dominos records, Little Richards Tutti Frutti, and the music of a pantheon of rock legends in the 50s and 60s. A dry cleaners now occupies the building.

Magee said he recognized that renovations being made to rehabilitate the Dew Drop Inn could serve as a catalyst to create a neighborhood that would give tourists a handful of places to visit within walking distance. The Central City neighborhood also was home to civil rights activists, political movers, and business entrepreneurs.

On LaSalle Street between Washington Avenue and 6th Street, the Dew Drop Inn was a place where African American musicians stayed when they played New Orleans during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s until 1970, when it closed. In Ray, the 2004 bio-pic about Ray Charles, starring Jamie Foxx, the scenes in the hotel took place for real at the Dew Drop Inn. Its nightclub was the only place where Black and White musicians played together during segregation, Magee said.

+6 Iconic Central City music hall Dew Drop Inn to be restored, developer says The Dew Drop Inn, the storied Central City music hall and stopping point for top African-American musicians touring through the Jim Crow South

Dew Drop Inn fell into disrepair for several decades before developers began restoring the facility.

Magee said his hope is for the state to purchase some of the vacant property near the inn to build the museum.

The cost couldnt be calculated, yet, but as a point of comparison, the New Orleans Jazz Museum in the Old U.S. Mint on Esplanade Avenue has an operating budget of $761,441 this fiscal year, including salaries, utilities and other operating expenses.

Other than personal memories of Louisiana music, the members of the House Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs committee asked few questions. Committee Chair Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, asked committee members to speed their comments along so that he could be presiding  he was being awaited in another committee  when the legislation advanced, which it did without objection.
Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, makes an impassioned presentation against the override in the Senate, after the House passed its veto override bill Wednesday, March 30, 2022 at the Louisiana State Capitol, where Republican majorities in House and Senate successfully overrode a governor's veto for the first time against an executive's will since 1991 to ensure Black voters would not have the possibility of electing a second African American to Congress. The Senate voted to override, as well.
It is no coincidence that the two biggest buyout deals in Australian history  the takeover of Sydney Airport and now the proposal to buy the countrys largest private hospital group Ramsay Health  were developed during the fog of COVID.

The $20 billion proposed offer for Ramsay from private equity giant KKR which was confirmed on Wednesday was the culmination of a courting ritual between the parties spanning more than a year.

Sydney Airport was similarly stalked, in that case by a consortium of superannuation investors that had been working behind the scenes for a couple of years.

Hospitals provide a reliable earnings stream. Credit:Simon Schluter

Healthcare and airports rank high among the sectors negatively affected by two-plus years of COVID measures that limited their profitability. But after the lull comes the bounceback, in which frustrated demand can lead to a surge in revenue when facilities are reopened.
When the streaming businesses started and the pricing was in the mid-single digits, there was no room or need because pricing was competitive and low enough, said JB Perrette, the president of global streaming at Warner Bros. Discovery, the new parent company of HBO Max. But content is expensive, and as the pricing for ad-free tiers has gone up  in the high teens level on some of these packages, and even Netflix moving up  it has to be paid for. Loading The number of subscribers for the ad-supported services has soared. By the end of last year, 129 million people used an advertising video-on-demand service, according to Insider Intelligence, a market research firm. By 2025, the firm projects, that figure will rise to 165 million users. Likewise, video advertising revenue shot up 51 per cent last year to $US39.5 billion ($53.6 billion), according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, a trade organisation. Free, ad-driven TV isnt sitting at the kids table anymore, said Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon Studios, which supplies programming to Freevee. Some executives said advertisings arrival was inevitable, as the streaming industrys offerings increasingly mirror what has been available on television for decades: a mix of broadcast, basic cable with commercials and premium ad-free services.

In many ways, we are seeing reincarnation of the last half a century of television for the streaming age, said Perrette, the streaming executive at Warner Bros. Discovery, whose portfolio also includes Discovery+. Some streaming platforms have run ads for years; Hulu has had ads since 2007, adding a commercial-free tier in 2015. The company, which Disney owns, reaches nearly half of all connected television households in the United States, Comscore found last year. With Netflixs growth slowing, many people inside the streaming industry say the companys turn to advertising seems inevitable. The streaming services that are essential are on a very short list, and those that are essential and ad-supported  even shorter, said Josh Mattison, vice president of business operations for Disney Advertising. You do have some pretty rarefied air at the top. For years, brands have wanted to advertise on platforms like Netflix. Instead, Madison Avenue often settled for product placement and the occasional brand partnership.

But with Netflixs growth slowing, many people inside the streaming industry say the companys turn to advertising seems inevitable. The company on Tuesday reported its first fall in subscribers in a decade. I suspect the religion that they currently have about not having ads will change in time, said Jason Kilar, the former chief executive of WarnerMedia, on The Town podcast this month. I say that because offering consumers lower prices is a really, really good strategy. The idea of ads breaking up Bridgerton or Severance may be anathema to some viewers, but it is thrilling to many advertisers. Andrew Essex, a longtime advertising executive who now runs the consulting firm GoingConcern, said the streaming industry is maturing, becoming much more realpolitik, where theyre saying to hell with the user experience  we need revenue, we will explore additional forms of monetisation. Its basically game on. Many companies are trying to expand their reach beyond traditional television, where a shrinking number of must-watch events are drawing softer ratings and an ageing audience.

The financial implications mean that the presence of streaming commercials is fantastic news for anyone in advertising, and ultimately, fantastic news for the US consumer, who cannot sustain 15 paid subscriptions, said Kelly Metz, the managing director of advanced TV activation at the Omnicom Media Group. They need advertising-supported models so that they can balance their bank accounts at the end of the month, she said. Theres a ceiling on what the consumer can practically afford, just like what we saw back in the day with cable television. As more of the services have added commercials, they have become a playground for experimentation with ad formats. In some cases, ads appear based on whether viewers are bingeing or pausing shows. Hulu asks viewers whether they are willing to watch longer ads earlier in their viewing session in exchange for fewer ads later, or whether they are open to sequential messaging across multiple ad breaks. The company is looking into interactive trivia-type ads to run during movies. Loading Peacock worked with several major companies to promote its Fresh Prince adaptation, Bel-Air, which had its premiere in February. State Farm and Unilever created custom commercials that featured Jabari Banks, the star of the show, and aired across NBCUniversals digital and linear channels.
ELIZABETH: A PORTRAIT IN PARTS 

(M) 89 minutes, selected cinemas

YouTube has familiarised us with the concept of the supercut, where someone puts together (for instance) every example on record of Keanu Reeves saying Whoa. There are subtler variations: a skilled editor can go back over a stars body of work, pick out a range of fleeting performance moments and assemble them into a portrait that feels familiar yet new.

Its hard to see Roger Michells film about Queen Elizabeth II as anything but an expression of fandom. Credit:

This is roughly what happens in Elizabeth: A Portrait In Parts, the final big-screen film from the British director Roger Michell (Notting Hill), who died last year. The star in question is Queen Elizabeth II  not quite an actor in the usual sense, but in some respects the ultimate showbiz pro.

Michell, editor Joanna Crickmay and their team must have combed through hundreds or even thousands of hours of footage to find the components of this feature-length montage, which demonstrates among other things just how carefully the Queens every public appearance is staged and rehearsed (often with a stand-in).
Questions sent to the ABC by Christian Porters lawyers during his high-profile defamation case appeared to correlate to confidential information told to his barrister by the friend of a woman who accused him of sexual assault, a court has heard.

Porter, the former federal attorney-general, sued the ABC in the Federal Court in 2021 over an online story published in February that year which said a historical rape allegation had been made against a cabinet minister.

Former federal Attorney-General Christian Porter. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Although Porter was not named in the article, he later identified himself as the minister involved and strenuously denied the claims. He said the ABC article defamed him in a number of ways including by suggesting he brutally raped a 16-year-old girl in Sydney in 1988, when he was 17.

The alleged victim, Kate, took her own life in 2020 before she made a formal statement to NSW Police.
Emergency services were out in force in Victoria, central New South Wales and Queensland as the rain, caused by a huge low-pressure system, swept across the eastern seaboard.

Widespread areas of Australia were awash this morning as floodwaters swirled across three states drenched by heavy rain.

Vast areas of Victoria, NSW and Queensland are under water, thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes and huge stock losses are expected.

In Queensland several people were missing, and many houses were swept away by floodwaters, which peaked at eight metres. In NSW, near Mudgee, a woman drowned after being swept off a motorcycle at a flooded creek crossing.

The Gippsland region of Victoria is in the grip of its worst flood in 20 years. The flooding is on two fronts, on the Avon and Thomson rivers. The Snowy River is also in flood. Road and rail links have been cut.

This will make the 1971 flood look like a trickle, the chairman of the Avon Shire Displan Committee, Mr Bryan Smith, said last night from his office in the Gippsland town of Stratford.

State Emergency Service crews said a train full of people were forced to stop for the night at Sale, and many farmers and motorists were stranded.
After months of shutdowns, restrictions and staff shortages, Matteo Toffano is happy to finally lose the masks in his hot and steamy kitchen.

Health Minister Martin Foley announced sweeping changes to the states COVID-19 rules on Wednesday, including the long-awaited removal of masks for hospitality and retail workers.

Weve been through quite a long journey here in hospitality and knowing that we dont have to wear a mask, especially inside the kitchen, is a game-changer, the executive chef at King and Godfree in Carlton said.

At 11.59pm on Friday, patrons will no longer have to show their vaccination status at any venue and check-ins will no longer be required.
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan is in isolation after a family member tested positive to COVID-19, as the state records 8080 new cases.

In a statement, McGowan said he had taken a PCR test at Rockingham General Hospital, which had returned a negative result on Wednesday morning.

WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced he is in isolation after a family member tested positive to COVID-19. Credit:Peter de Kruijff

I will continue to follow the health guidelines as so many Western Australians have done during this pandemic, he said.

Ill be working from home for the duration of my isolation period as required.
Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong has described Australias inability to dissuade Solomon Islands from signing a security agreement with China as the worst failure of Australian foreign policy in the Pacific in almost 80 years.

This agreement seemingly confirms the Australian governments anxiety about Chinas growing influence in the Pacific islands, and it does raise challenging strategic questions for Australia. But such an alarmist assessment fails to acknowledge that Australias ability to influence Pacific island states has always been more imagined than real.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a diplomatic visit to Beijing in 2019. Credit:AP

Admittedly, the Coalition government has made policy mistakes and has missed opportunities that could have strengthened Australias relationships in the Pacific. This has undercut Australias ability to pursue its strategic interest in being the regions primary security partner.

Perhaps Australias most obvious mistake has been failing to take serious action to address climate change. When speaking in Canberra in 2019, Collin Beck, the Permanent Secretary of Solomon Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, described climate change as a death sentence for the Pacific.
This deal between China and the Solomons was foreshadowed last August  the government was warned, Albanese said. And yet only in recent days did the government bother to send a junior person across to the Solomons. Former foreign affairs minister and Liberal Party deputy leader Julie Bishop called the agreement deeply disturbing and said it could change the dynamic of the region by leading to Chinese military bases in the islands. I believe our foreign minister should be on the next plane to the Solomon Islands to talk with the government to see whats actually been agreed, she told the Ten Network.

Payne said on Wednesday night that this was a very serious decision that Solomon Islands has made. Loading We are deeply disappointed that they have chosen to go down this path, she told the ABCs 7.30 as she defended the government against claims that it had let down its guard. Australia, frankly, has been at the forefront of these discussions about the geostrategic realities that we face in the Pacific. Albanese also confirmed that if elected as prime minister he would personally go to Solomon Islands to discuss the issue directly with Sogavare.

In a key point of dispute, Solomon Islands Opposition Leader Matthew Wale has said he told Australian diplomats about the security talks with China last August but the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a statement late on Wednesday disputing the date of the meeting and saying he did not raise the China deal. Payne responded to the March 24 leak with a statement the next day expressing concern but the government confirmed on Wednesday that she was at a dinner with business figures when Seselja was sent to Honiara. Loading New Zealands Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta held talks in Fiji on March 28. By April 9, the US had decided to send its National Security Council Co-ordinator for the Indo-Pacific, Kurt Campbell, to the Solomons to discuss the deal. Payne was also busy during this period on sanctions against Russia, discussions with Ukraine and a meeting with NATO leaders in Brussels on April 7 that included talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. She was engaged in campaign activity after Morrison called the election on April 10.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings said Chinese ships and aircraft were likely to arrive in the Solomons within weeks because the deal would absolutely lead to a military base. Loading We can expect China to seek to consolidate this development very quickly by actually moving assets there, so we should expect cargo planes to arrive and ships to arrive and theyll be unloading all manner of stuff, he said. Their model is what theyve done in the South China Sea, which is to move quickly and decisively before people are able to gather their thoughts and resist. So I would imagine we would see something happen before we get to our election.

Jennings rejected the key Labor claim that the deal could have been prevented or foreseen in recent weeks when Australias challenges in the Pacific were due to bipartisan neglect over decades. Its frankly absurd that Labor is seeking to blame Chinese bad behaviour on the federal government, he said. Could we have done more after the leak of the document? Yes, absolutely, we should have engaged in more sustained senior diplomatic effort approach the Solomons government and Sogovare in particular. Australian National University emeritus professor of strategic studies Hugh White said it was fanciful to suggest the outcome would have been different if a different person had been sent to the Solomons because China was certain to have a greater influence over time. If theres a war it is significant that China would have a base as close to us as the Solomons but that is a challenge for our defence planners because they would have to make sure we have the capacity to neutralise such a base, White said.
A legislative push allowing COVID-affected businesses to suspend negotiated workplace agreements in favour of less beneficial awards will not be pursued by the Coalition if it returns to government.

The government confirmed it wasnt seeking to revive the abandoned provision of an omnibus bill that sought to suspend the better off overall test in enterprise bargaining for employers hit by the pandemic, or any other revisions to the test that ensures workers receive more than the award.

Industrial Relations Minister Michaelia Cash and Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Fremantle this week. Credit:James Brickwood

Labor ramped up its attack against Prime Minister Scott Morrison after he pledged in recent days to put industrial relations reforms back on the agenda, however, Industrial Relations Minister Michaelia Cash accused the federal opposition of scaremongering.

The suggestion that the Morrison government is trying to cut wages and conditions is completely untrue, Cash, who is also the attorney-general, said.
Victoria was once seen as the jewel in the Liberal crown, the home state of Sir Robert Menzies, Malcolm Fraser, Andrew Peacock, Sir Henry Bolte and Sir Rupert Hamer.

There is now a well-established view among non-Victorian Liberals that the state is a leftist enclave.

Premier Daniel Andrews. Credit:Joe Armao

At the last federal election, for example, the Coalition won just 15 out of 38 Victorian seats (with 47 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote), compared to 23 out of 30 Queensland seats and 11 out of 16 Western Australian seats.

And since the 1982 state election, when Labors John Cain ousted Lindsay Thompson, the Coalition has enjoyed a mere 11 years of government, including seven under Jeff Kennett and four under Ted Baillieu and Denis Napthine.
Singapore: A decade after being unseated, Jose Ramos-Horta is headed back to East Timors presidential palace where he will be in charge of resolving the countrys bitter political feud.

The Nobel Peace laureate and former president romped to victory in a run-off vote against incumbent President Francisco Lu Olo Guterres, securing 62.09 per cent of votes, according to preliminary election agency data.

Jose Ramos-Hortas bid to return to the presidency was endorsed by voters. Credit:AP

The results dont surprise me and my main supporters, given the level of support given to my campaign in the whole country and our own polls in the last few months, even at township level, he told Portuguese news agency Lusa.

Ramos-Horta, who was president between 2007 and 2012, had been only 30,000 votes short of claiming a decisive majority in last months presidential election first round in which Guterres and 14 other candidates were on the ballot.
The plant stretches across more than six square kilometres, a complex of buildings, smokestacks, blast furnaces and stacks of coiled and plate steel, and it has its own port facilities on the Sea of Azov. One of the largest metal mills in Europe, it produced about 4.3 million tons of steel annually before the Russian invasion, with most of it sent by ship to European customers, according to Metinvest, a steel and mining conglomerate owned by Ukraines richest man, billionaire Rinat Akhmetov. The network of underground passages and rooms, which is now pivotal to the survival of the holed-up soldiers and civilians, was originally built to transport equipment among buildings and to access the undersides of ground-level machinery for maintenance, according to Metinvest. There was no planned military use for the tunnels before the war, the company said. The steel mill has been under heavy bombardment, a Ukrainian commander, Lieutenant Colonel Denys Prokopenko, said Monday in a video recorded at the factory. They use free fall bombs, rockets, bunker-buster bombs, all varieties of artillery, both ground and naval for indiscriminate attacks, he said.

Another Ukrainian officer in Mariupol, Major Sergiy Volyna, wrote on Telegram, We are ready to fight to the last drop of blood. Volnya appealed to the United States and its European allies to provide Ukrainian forces with more heavy weapons. We must know that the world has done everything possible for this. The Azovstal factory buildings in Mariupol after fighting. Credit:AP The Russians are trying to establish uncontested control of a swath of territory linking the separatist-held regions of Donbas, in southeastern Ukraine, to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014. The holdouts in Mariupol are the last substantial obstacle left in the region. Russian forces have had the city, a major port, under siege since last month, bombarding much of it to rubble and slowly tightening their grip. The fight over the Azovstal steel plant recalls one of the great struggles of World War II, the battle for the Stalingrad Tractor Factory as Nazi Germanys forces attempted to capture that city. Thousands of German and Soviet soldiers died there, as did many civilians, before the Soviets ultimately prevailed.

Weve seen this movie before, Kagan said. Anytime youre dealing with a sprawling, heavy industrial complex, its going to make a good fighting position for defenders. Ukraines intelligence service wrote in a statement Monday that the Russians were preparing to use 3-tonne bombs on the plant in an effort to raze it completely. Moscow is not deterred by the fact that civilians have taken refuge in the plant, the service said in a statement. A few thousand Ukrainian troops, by Russias estimate, remained holed up at a mammoth steel mill in Mariupol, the last known pocket of resistance in the devastated southern port city. Credit:AP The plant was first established by the Soviet Union in the 1930s and rebuilt after World War II. It is a labyrinth of rail systems, workshops, blast furnaces and warehouses, with many of the buildings made of thick concrete and designed to withstand high temperatures. If Russia succeeds in flattening the complexs buildings, it is not clear how many people hunkered underground might survive. Eventually, though, they would run out of provisions, and the Ukrainians have warned repeatedly that the Russians might use chemical weapons to force them out or kill them.

In the confusion of the siege, it was difficult to get a clear picture of what was happening inside the factory. But according to Yatsura, a number of employees remain there. They had stayed after the invasion began to prepare the complexs bomb shelters and eliminate hazardous materials. Clearing the plant could hold particular symbolic value for President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who has justified his invasion with the false claim that Ukraine is run by Nazis and that he is rooting them out. The plants defenders include members of the Azov Battalion, a force that does include far-right soldiers, some of them foreign, including white supremacists and people who have been described as fascists. Russias siege of the city of Mariupol has been brutal. Credit:AP Capturing the Azovstal plant would also give the Russians better access to the regions railway system and seaport. How long the Ukrainian defenders can stave off the Russian invaders there will depend in large part on how many people are inside and how well sustained they are. Piotr Andryushchenko, an aide to Mayor Vadym Boychenko of Mariupol, said the Ukrainian army had arranged two operations over the past two weeks to bring food to the plant; he did not say how that was accomplished. But the situation will likely grow more dire, he said, as Russian troops have blocked anyone, including civilians, from entering or leaving the city.

These people, many wanted to avoid being displaced or deported, so they found protection with our troops, in the basement of the plant, said Andryushchenko, who, like the mayor, left the city weeks ago. Loading The Russian Defence Ministry said Sunday that its forces had completely surrounded the steel plant and that the Ukrainian forces holding out forbade negotiations about surrendering, citing an intercepted radio transmission. In reality it is not surrounded, Andryushchenko, the aided to Mariupols mayor, said on Monday. For the past few days our troops have been engaged in intense street fighting throughout Levoberezhny, referring to the district around the plant. He said the majority of the fighting was taking place along a main road, called Tahanrozka, that led from the plant to the outskirts of the city. The Azovstal metallurgical plant is seen on the outskirts of Mariupol. Credit:AP

Outside the plant, he said, Russian soldiers were forcing civilians to register for mobile passes at an office close to the line of fighting, about 5 km from the steel plant. The office had been installed last week by Konstantin Ivashchenko, who was recently named the new mayor of Mariupol by the Kremlin-backed separatists. The passes, the existence of which has also been reported by Mariupols police, are required for residents to walk outside. Loading Civilians are required to wear white bands on their arms and legs. Russian soldiers typically wear such bands, he said, raising the possibility that they are intentionally endangering the Ukrainian civilians. This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Mariupol would be the biggest city to be seized by Russia since it invaded Ukraine eight weeks ago in an attack that has taken longer than some military analysts expected, seen over five million people flee abroad and turned cities to rubble. Loading The southeastern port city of Mariupol has endured the fiercest fighting of the war as besieging Russian forces try to take full control. Its capture would be a big strategic prize and would link territory held by pro-Russian separatists in the east with the Crimea region that Moscow annexed in 2014. A few dozen civilians managed to leave the city in the last 24 hours in a small bus convoy, according to Reuters witnesses. Ukraine deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk confirmed on Telegram that four buses of refugees had made it out of Mariupol, and were headed for Zaporizhzhia. Shoigu said that Russia evacuated more than 142,000 civilians from Mariupol, although Ukraine has said that residents were being forced to relocate across the border to Russian territories.

Black smoke billowed from the plant as evacuees queued to get onto buses. Loading Pensioner Tamara, 64, said she was going to stay with her sister in Zaporizhzhia. She was leaving with her husband, daughter, son-in-law and grandson. It is a pleasure ... to leave after this nightmare. We lived in basements for 30 days, she said tearfully. A Ukrainian marine commander, Serhiy Volny, said fighters at the steel works may not be able to hold out for much longer. Zelensky has said an estimated 1000 civilians are sheltering there.

Ukraine was ready for a special round of negotiations with no conditions to save our guys ... military, civilians, children, the living and the wounded, negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter. Kyiv has proposed swapping Russian prisoners of war for safe passage for trapped civilians and soldiers. It was not known if Russia had responded to the offer of special negotiations. Fighters remain holed up in the plant and have ignored an ultimatum by Russia to surrender. Elsewhere in the east, Russias forces had carried out strikes on dozens of military facilities and had shot down a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter near the village of Koroviy Yar, its defence ministry said.

British military intelligence said Russian forces were keen to demonstrate significant success by May 9, known as Victory Day in Russia as it commemorates the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945. Putins air force was providing close support for the offensive in the east where Russian forces were advancing towards the town of Kramatorsk. Analysts say the offensive in the east could devolve into a grim war of attrition as Russia runs up against Ukraines most experienced, battle-hardened troops, who have been fighting pro-Moscow separatists in the Donbas for the past eight years. Biden on Friday (AEST) announced an additional $US800 million ($1.08 billion) in military aid to help Ukraine and he warned that Congress will need to approve additional assistance. The new military package includes much needed heavy artillery, 144,000 rounds of ammunition, and drones for Ukrainian forces in the escalating battle for the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. It builds on roughly $US2.6 billion ($3.5 billion) in military assistance that Biden had previously approved. He also announced that all Russian-affiliated ships would be barred from US ports.

Biden said that $US13.6 billion ($18.4 billion) approved last month by Congress for military and humanitarian assistance was almost exhausted. Next week, Im going to have to be sending to Congress a supplemental budget request to keep weapons and ammunition deployed without interruption, Biden said. The Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile is launched from Plesetsk in Russias northwest. Credit:AP Putin said the first test launch on Wednesday of Russias Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new and long-awaited addition to its nuclear arsenal, would provide food for thought for those who, in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country. The Pentagon described the test as routine and said it wasnt considered a threat.

Russia calls its incursion a special military operation to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine. Kyiv and its Western allies reject that as a false pretext for a war of choice. Loading The Spanish and Danish Prime Ministers were due to visit Zelensky in Kyiv in a show of support on Thursday, following in the wake of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the leaders of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Mariupol, once a prosperous seaside city of 400,000, is now a wasteland where corpses lie in the streets as Russia slams the Azovstal steel plant with bunker-buster bombs, the government in Kyiv said. The deputy commander of the Ukrainian Azov Regiment in Mariupol, Svyatoslav Kalamar, said several bunkers under the plant still held about 80-100 civilians each.
New Mexico: The US state of New Mexico fined Rust Movie Productions its maximum citation of $US137,000 ($148,000) for willful safety failures leading to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last year during the filming of Western Rust.

An investigation by the states occupational health bureau (OSHB) found the production company knew firearm safety procedures were not being followed and demonstrated plain indifference to the hazards, the New Mexico Environment Department said on Thursday (AEST).

Rust set and Alec Baldwin Credit:AP

This tragic incident never would have happened if Rust Movie Productions, LLC had followed national film industry standards for firearm safety, Environment Cabinet Secretary James Kenney said.

Hutchins was killed in October when a revolver being used by actor and producer Alec Baldwin fired a live round during rehearsals in New Mexico. It hit her and movie director Joel Souza, who was injured but survived.


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Border Patrol agents pick up four illegal aliens from Mexico after local deputies intercept their smuggling vehicle, in Brackettville, Texas, on April 8, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

26 Governors Create Border Strike Force In the Absence of Federal Leadership

Twenty-six U.S. governors, all Republican, announced the creation of a Border Strike Force to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations on April 19.

The group of governors signed a memorandum of understanding, pledging to work together to serve as a force multiplier to target cartels and criminal networks financially and operationally.

Together, governors will improve public safety, protect victims from horrific crimes, reduce the amount of drugs in our communities, and alleviate the humanitarian crisis at the Southern Border, the agreement states.

The group includes two border statesArizona and Texasas well as 24 others: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

In the absence of federal leadership, states are partnering together to create the American Governors Border Strike Force to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations by increasing collaboration, improving intelligence, investing in analysis, combating human smuggling, and stopping drug flow in our states, the agreement states.

The governors will coordinate to share intelligence, disrupt smuggling corridors, and assist border states. They plan to focus efforts on targeting cartel finances and border-related crime.

The participating states also plan to review state laws regarding human trafficking, drug trafficking, and transnational criminal organizations to ensure that such crimes are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

For example, Arizona doesnt currently have a state law against human smuggling, while Texas just strengthened its anti-smuggling laws last September.

States can request help from other participating states and state-specific certifications and licenses will be honored among the states. Each state is responsible for its own costs.

The Border Strike Force was announced days after Customs and Border Protection released its March statistics, which show the highest number of Border Patrol apprehensions209,906along the southern border since early 2000.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves wrote on Twitter that were all border states now & were going to protect ourselves.

Despite what the Biden Admin would have you believe, criminals, drugs & human trafficking dont just stay on the border. They make their way to every state, Reeves wrote on April 19.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little accused President Joe Biden of refusing to address the border crisis.

Americas governors are stepping up. Our multi-state partnership is designed to disrupt and dismantle the transnational criminal organizations taking advantage of the open border with Mexico, Little wrote on Twitter on April 19.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said his state has had a similar state-level border strike force in operation since 2015.

What were doing in Arizona works, Ducey said in an April 19 statement. If our entire southern border isnt secure, our nation isnt secure.

Correction: This article was updated to identify Tate Reeves as the governor of Mississippi. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
People walk beneath U.S. flags surrounding the Washington monument on the National Mall near the White House in Washington on Nov. 10, 2020. (Tom Brenner/Reuters)

6 Crises Brought About by the US Political Class: Part 1

The US political class is destabilizing the American republic

Commentary

Widespread news reports over the past several months point to a confluence of at least six cataclysms facing Americans as a direct result of actions taken by the U.S. political class.

A cataclysm is defined as a catastrophe, a momentous and violent event marked by overwhelming upheaval and demolition, and an event that brings great changes.

Part I examines three cataclysms.

Cultural Marxism

Karl Marx sought to destroy the family, individuality, and certain truths such as Judeo-Christian values. His ideological descendants in the U.S. political class are hard at work toward those ends, with cataclysmic implications for traditional American values, culture, and society at large.

Cultural Marxism is on the march throughout the United States in capacities unimaginable just a few short years ago, including so-called critical race theory and transgender activism.

In one of President Joe Bidens first executive orders, he telegraphed an ambitious, whole-of-government initiative that will take a systematic approach to embedding DEIA [diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility] in Federal hiring and employment practices.

The latest result of that EO is the Department of Education pushing a regulation that alters the grant approval process for American History and Civics Education programs in order to support the development of culturally responsive teaching and learning (culturally responsive being a code phrase for DEIA and critical race theory considerations). This is groupthink uber alles.

At the same time, normalizing the LGBTQ-plus agenda has been a policy goal of the Democratic Party for decades, first through support for homosexual marriage and now through administrative state actions to advance the radical transsexual agenda.

As reported by Fox News during a congressional hearing on April 6, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra appeared to express support on Wednesday for taxpayer funds being spent on gender reassignment surgeries on children.

The HHS is now pushing truly revolutionary policies and regulations for so-called transgender adolescents, including Top surgeryto create male-typical chest shape or enhance breasts; and Bottom surgerysurgery on genitals or reproductive organs, facial feminization or other procedures.

A person holds a transgender pride flag in New York on June 28, 2019. (Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images)

Elements of the political class seek to displace the role of parents in order to convey state-approved gender messaging to minor children. The twin pillars of desecration of Judeo-Christian values and destabilization of Americas cultural institutions and basic science are being undermined by elements of the U.S. political class at all levels of government.

Green New Deal

The premise behind the Green New Deal (GND) is that human-generated carbon dioxide emissions have caused all global warming since 1820, that warming has caused all kinds of evolving problems, and that all these bad things can be stopped if we end the use of carbon-based fuels and start paying carbon taxes.

The carbon (and other) taxes are intended to fund massive public investments in carbon-neutral technologies, such as renewable power, clean energy manufacturing, zero-emission transportation, and sustainable farming.

The political problem for environmentalists and GND supporters is that the premise itself has never been proven. A recent report, titled World Atmospheric CO 2 , Its 14C Specific Activity, Non-fossil Component, Anthropogenic Fossil Component, and Emissions (17502018), concludes (emphasis added): Our results show that the percentage of the total CO 2 due to the use of fossil fuels from 1750 to 2018 increased from 0% in 1750 to 12% in 2018, much too low to be the cause of global warming.

Despite the lack of any real proof of a climate crisis, GND goals and concepts infuse all of the Biden administrations whole-of-government effort to tackle the climate crisis in order to achieve an 80 percent clean energy grid by 2030 and a 100 percent clean energy grid by 2035.

The Democrats championed the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Summary, which is stuffed with $500 billion for GND investment priorities.

The $500 billion is merely a down payment on the GND, which is estimated to cost nearly $93 trillion to implement fully. Replacing oil, gas, and nuclear energy sources with green energy substitutes is decades away from being technologically feasible. And for what?

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (2-L) and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry (L) watch as U.S. President Joe Biden signs several executive orders related to climate change, including one directing a pause on new oil and natural gas leases on public land, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 27, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

The Heartland Institute summarizes what the GNDif fully implementedwould mean for the average American: [T]he GND would force every American to replace their gasoline and diesel cars and trucks with expensive short-haul electric vehicles; their gas furnaces and stoves with electric systems; their home, local and state electrical and transmission systems with expensive upgrades that can handle a totally electric economy.

Full GND implementation would lead to economic destabilization by disrupting every sector of the U.S. economy and could only be brought about through government mandates divined by the U.S. political class. A cataclysm to be avoided!

Open Borders

The Biden administration has refused to enforce existing U.S. immigration laws, which has led to a flood of illegal aliens across the U.S.-Mexico border since January 2021. The numbers are staggering: 2 million illegals total in 2021, with over 1 million added so far in 2022.

According to recent news reports, that flood is expected to increase in May: The Department of Homeland Security is bracing for as many as 18,000 migrants per day at the southern border if Title 42 is revoked, according to ABC News. That would work out to over 6.5 million illegals crossing the border in a single year.

Title 42 is a clause of the 1944 Public Health Services Law that the Trump administration used to quickly expel illegal aliens from the United States during the pandemic due to the high probability of them introducing communicable diseases into the country.

The Biden administrations immigration policy amounts to little apprehension at the border with minimal to no public health screening; taxpayer-provided temporary housing in hotels; free transportation, healthcare, legal services, and career and educational services; and instant rubber-stamping of asylum claims on the border. Millions of people are willing to brave the cartels and the human traffickers to take that deal courtesy of Uncle Sam!

Border Patrol agents apprehend and transport illegal immigrants who have just crossed the river into La Joya, Texas, on Nov. 17, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Illegal aliens in great numbers destabilize the country by creating long-term problems that are expensive to solve: communicable diseases, increased crime rates (especially narcotics and human trafficking), welfare dependency, excessive strains on public health and education services, and competition for unskilled jobs.

Concluding Thoughts for Part 1

Induced by the U.S. political class, Cultural Marxism, the Green New Deal, and open borders each conform to the definition of cataclysm: a catastrophe, a momentous and violent event marked by overwhelming upheaval and demolition, and/or an event that brings great changes.

Each by itself is destabilizing the country in a dramatic fashion in terms of significant changes and deleterious effects on the American economy, culture, constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, values, politics, crime rates, law enforcement, institutions, and society in general. All three together present nothing short of a collective existential threat to the American Republic as created by the Founding Fathers. All brought to your doorstep by the U.S. political class, perhaps intentionally.

The second part of this series will examine three other cataclysms that the U.S. political class has jump-started, the damaging effects of which are frequently in the news: communist Chinas penetration of America, the corruption of public education, and the criminalization of political dissent.

Read part II here.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Alabama Reaches $276M Settlement in Opioid Litigation

The state of Alabama on Tuesday reached a $276 million settlement agreement with Endo Pharmaceutical, Johnson & Johnson, and McKesson for their role in exacerbating the opioid crisis.

The settlement will see pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson pay $70.3 million in a lump-sum payment to Alabama state and its subdivisions this year, and Endo Pharmaceutical pay $25 million this year. Drug distributor McKesson will pay out $141 million to the state and its subdivisions over nine years.

The state had accused McKesson of failing to prevent the diversion of opioids for illicit purposes, and the drugmakers of engaging in deceptive marketing practices that downplayed the addiction risks of their painkillers. The companies have denied wrongdoing.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Tuesday that the settlement funds are to be used to remediate the harms caused by the opioid crisis in Alabama.

Marshall said that if the state had remained part of the national lawsuits, it would have received a smaller payment, and the money would have been paid over several years.

These three settlement agreements affirm my decision to decline participation in the national opioid settlements, which did not adequately acknowledge the unique harm that Alabamians have endured and would have redirected millions of dollars to bigger states that experienced a less severe impact, Marshall said in a statement.

Marshall added, Having encountered the utter darkness of the opioid crisis at my own doorstep, this is one of my most meaningful accomplishments as your Attorney General.

The state governments share of each settlement will be deposited into Alabamas General Fund, he said. Alabama also recovered approximately $40 million in attorneys fees and costs for the state and its subdivisions.

The state attorney general noted that Alabama has ongoing litigation against opioid manufacturers Purdue Pharma, Mallinckrodt, and Insys in each of their respective bankruptcy cases.

News of the settlement comes a day after Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $99 million to settle claims by West Virginia that it helped fuel an opioid addiction crisis in the state.

West Virginia is still pursuing claims against Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. and AbbVie Inc.s Allergan in the Kanawha County Circuit Court trial for their alleged role in the crisis.

The state accused the companies of causing a tsunami of addiction.

West Virginia previously reached a $26 million settlement with Endo International Plc., which had also been a defendant in the ongoing trial.

J&J, which no longer sells prescription opioid medications, had sold the branded painkillers Duragesic and Nucynta.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said on Monday that the settlement, which also resolves lawsuits by local governments, would allow the state to quickly fund programs intended to address opioid addiction and its fallout in the state.

The Epoch Times has contacted Endo Pharmaceutical, Johnson & Johnson, and McKesson for comment.

But J&J, which manufactured the pain medications Duragesic and Nucynta, has told Reuters that it no longer sells prescription opioids in the United States and that its past marketing efforts were appropriate and responsible.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the opioid crisis in the United States has led to more than 500,000 overdose deaths since the 1990s. Over that period, there have been three waves outlining the rise in opioid overdose deaths with the third wave starting in 2013 with significant increases in overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, particularly those involving illicitly manufactured fentanyl, the CDC states.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Carl Girouard, 26, is seen in an undated police handout photo received April 14, 2022. (The Canadian Press/HO-Courtesy of SPVQ/Quebec City police)

Arresting Officer Says Quebec City Halloween Stabbing Suspect Was Calm, Co-operative

A police officer who arrested the suspect in Quebec Citys Halloween 2020 stabbing murders says the man was calm and cooperative.

Const. Audrey Boulet told a trial today Carl Girouard was compliant and appeared coherent moments after she arrested him in the early hours of Nov. 1, 2020.

Girouard is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder in connection with the sword attacks on Halloween night 2020.

The judge has told jurors that Girouard admits to the physical acts but will argue he was not criminally responsible at the time of the events because he was suffering from a mental disorder.

Boulet says Girouard refused to identify himself and told her to check his 2006 black Saturn vehicle parked near the Chateau Frontenac hotel.

The jury also heard today from Pierre-Luc Laflamme, a paramedic who tended to Girouard after his arrest, who also described the suspects demeanour as calm following the sword attacks.
Buzzfeed Mates Aurore DuPont-Sagorin and Anna Mazzilli of France pose with a Juicy campervan at the launch of Aussie News Today, as part of Tourism Australia's new youth campaign on Oct. 6, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images for Tourism Australia)

Australias Caravan Association Calls on Political Parties to Invest in the Industry

Australias caravan industry has called on all political parties to recognise the industrys economic potential ahead of the countrys federal election on May 21.

The industry has been adaptive through the COVID-19 crisis and stands ready to continue leading domestic tourism and automotive manufacturing as Australia recovers, reads a statement by Caravan Industry Association of Australia.

Australia has recorded a 30 year high in 2021 for RV production, with a total of 23,931 recreational vehicles manufactured domestically, a 42 percent soar from 2020 and a 11.5 percent increase from 2019, according to data from the Association.

Caravan sales and prices continue to increase amid the pandemic-driven boom, with a higher than ever demand for imported and homegrown recreational vehicles.

Talk to many dealers, importers, and manufacturers and theyll tell stories about how Aussie buyers have been investing their hard-earned travel money on slide-outs and pop-tops instead of Caribbean cruises and family trips to Tokyo Disneyland, wrote an article on caravancampingsales.com.au.

Stuart Lamont, CEO of the Association, said there is no better time for the government to be looking for strategic investments and sound policy agenda into traditional industries, which are looking to invest, develop, and pivot to the new economy.

Caravan and camping in Australia is too often looked at as a comfort recreational activity, as opposed to an economic powerhouse which delivers across manufacturing, retailing, tourism, and affordable housing, Lamont said.

The Association has put forward a four-point policy platform, aiming to generate highly leveraged returns to the Australian recovery in employment, investment, and economic activity.

The policy includes strengthening Australias sovereign manufacturing, supercharging Australian tourism for recovery; future proofing the caravan and camping industry; and improving road safety outcomes.

Caravan and camping are enjoyed by allrich, poor, young, old and offers social and health benefits on top of the economic return through employment and visitor expenditure, Lamont said.

Caravanning retains a strong manufacturing base (despite broader automotive manufacturing largely moving off-shore), while also being the most popular accommodation choice in Australia for holidaying, and the most popular accommodation choice in regional Australia irrespective of the purpose of travel.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock after meeting with their counterparts from France and Britain at the German Foreign Office on January 20, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. (Kay Nietfeld - Pool/Getty Images)

Blinken Signs Agreement on Migration Cooperation With Panama

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken signed a bilateral agreement with Panama on April 19 to create more humane migration as part of a joint focus on illegal immigration.

Good partnerships are crucial if we are to promote safe, orderly, and humane migration, Blinken said.

Blinken flew to Panama on April 19 to co-host an international conference to address the migration crisis emerging from the Darien Gap, a remote stretch of jungle wilderness that joins Panama and Colombia. From this area, thousands of migrants cross into Panama illegally as part of their journey toward the United States.

Blinken met with Panamas President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen and Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes along with 20 other representatives from countries in the Western Hemisphere.

The conference discussed initiatives to address irregular migration and its root causes and provide protection for refugees and asylum-seekers.

A United States Border Patrol agent on horseback faces off with illegal immigrants on the banks of the Rio Grande River at the USMexico border in Del Rio, Texas, on Sept. 19, 2021. (Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images)

Blinkens visit comes at a critical time for the United States. Law enforcement agents at the U.S. southern border are struggling to avoid being overwhelmed by a tidal wave of illegal immigrants, many of whom have passed through the Darien Gap.

While the U.S. delegation visited Panama, the president of the U.S. National Border Patrol Council, Brandon Judd, called the surge of illegal immigrants in the United States an invasion.

He said that more than 200,000 illegal migrants are entering the country every month along miles of unpatrolled U.S.Mexico land border.

In October 2021, an improvised migrant camp that housed upward of 20,000 Haitian, Venezuelan, and Cuban refugees sat on the outskirts of the Darien Gap in Necocoli, Colombia.

Multiple refugees confessed their intentions to cross the treacherous jungle into Panama in hopes of making it to the next stage of the long overland journey with a singular, final destination: the United States.

Haitian migrants cross the jungle of the Darien Gap, near Acandi, Colombia, heading to Panama, on their way to the United States, on Sept. 26, 2021. (Raul Arboleda/Getty Images)

Its the dream. To live in America is a dream, said a Haitian immigrant named Cherimont.

Blinken also met with Panamanian civic leaders on April 19 to host a roundtable discussion targeting corruption, which presents a growing challenge to the regions economic stability.

We must work together to fight corruption at all levels. Only then can we build a society of integrity and transparency for future generations, Blinken said.

The day before Blinkens arrival, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas took a helicopter tour of the area near the Darien Gap.

The total number of migrants crossing the remote jungle into Panama has nearly tripled this year, according to the United Nations. Figures soared to 8,456 in the first two months of the year from 2,928 in the year-earlier period.
Evgeny Lebedev (left) and Boris Johnson at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London on Nov. 23, 2009. (Ian West/PA)

Boris Johnson Did Not Put Pressure on Over Lebedev Peerage, Says Watchdog Chief

No pressure was exerted by the Prime Minister or Downing Street when it came to recommending Lord Lebedev for a peerage, according to a Lords watchdog.

Lord Bew, chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission (Holac), told MPs the assessment for the media mogul, whose father was a former KGB agent, was a unique process that involved security checks.

But he said the committee approved the peerage without interference from Boris Johnson.

Questions have been raised over whether the Prime Minister asked anyone in the security services to revise, reconsider or withdraw their assessment of Lord Lebedev, who owns the Independent and Evening Standard newspapers, ahead of his appointment in November 2020.

MPs voted last month to approve a Labour motion to force ministers to release documents about Johnsons involvement in Baron Lebedev of Siberia being appointed to the upper chamber.

Crossbencher Lord Bew told the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (Pacac) on Wednesday: There was no pressure on this issue from No 10 or the Prime Minister.

Lord Bew, a former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said there was a back-and-forth with security services and a search for clarification, but stressed there was no warning or delay issued about Lord Lebedev.

Block, I think, fits under the heading of warning: No, he said, when asked whether Holac had looked to hold up the peerage.

He added: You can say that we eventually received advice (from security agencies) and we required further elucidation and this went on for some weeks, you can definitely say that.

Does that constitute a pause? I suppose.

He hinted that the watchdog had notified Johnson that Lord Lebedevs appointment could stoke controversy.

We did tell the Prime Minister, as we said in the letter to Sir Keir (Starmer, Labour leader), that we do say about candidates, there are things in this persons career that will lead to negative public comments  we say that quite frequently, he told MPs.

Asked if such a comment was made in relation to Lord Lebedevs case, Lord Bew replied: The fact that we mentioned this point in the letter to Sir Keir when he had inquired to us about this incident, (that) may be something that a reasonable person might comment on and think about.

Russian-born businessman Lord Lebedev has insisted he has nothing to hide amid the appointment row.

The independent crossbench peer has previously acknowledged his father, oligarch Alexander Lebedev, was a KGB officer a long time ago, but denied being a security risk to this country.

Labour has called on Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay to release all relevant information provided to Holac by the Cabinet Office or the Prime Ministers office by no later than April 28.

Lord Bew, during almost two hours of evidence, told MPs that Holac does not know what documents are likely to have to be released but added that while he feared for the loss of confidentiality in any publication, he was confident the committees process had been above reproach.
Breaking Down the Flurry of Legal Filings by Clinton Campaign Associates in Durhams Prosecution of Michael Sussmann

News analysis

In a coordinated legal action between a number of Hillary Clinton operatives and associates, almost two dozen separate documents were simultaneously filed on April 19 in special counsel John Durhams case against former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann.

This sudden flurry of mass filings included responses from former Clinton campaign Chairman John Podesta, campaign manager Robby Mook, Clinton campaign lead lawyer Marc Elias, contractors Fusion GPS, the Clinton campaign itself, and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

The trigger for the flurry of filings was a request by Durham to unseal a number of emails involving the parties. The emails are currently being withheld on very questionable grounds of attorneyclient privilege. Based on the coordinated filings, it appears that a large number of important people associated with the Clinton campaign are very concerned about the information in those emails becoming public.

Based on available metadata, it appears as if most of the individuals involved in Clintons scheme to vilify Trump with claims of Russia collusion were all communicating with each other as that scheme unfolded in real time.

The first person who filed in response to Durhams request was Rodney Joffe, the tech executive who produced data that purportedly tied Trump to Russia. Joffe had been promised a top government job in case of a Hillary Clinton election victory.

Joffe claimed in his filing that his communications should be treated as privileged because they were part of his attorney-client relationship with Sussmann. Joffe was indeed a client of Sussmanns starting in 2015. But, in an unexpected and perhaps unintentional comment, Joffe also disclosed that he had hired Sussmann specifically to advise him how to share sensitive information concerning Trump with government agencieswithout revealing his identity and thereby exposing himself to potential liability.

In effect, Joffe publicly admitted that he hired Sussmann to take information about Trump to the FBI. The problem for Sussmann is that hes been charged with lying about exactly that point. Sussmann claimedin an email to then FBI General Counsel James Bakerthat he wasnt taking the information to the FBI on behalf of any client but instead was merely acting as a good Samaritan.

If Joffe throwing Sussmann under the proverbial bus wasnt bad enough, the next filing was even worse for Sussmann. It came from Clinton campaign operatives Fusion GPS who also want their emails to be withheld from Durham.

In order to obtain the benefit of attorneyclient privilege, Fusion now claims to have assisted Sussmann and his law firm with legal matters.

That claim is demonstrably false as Fusions main roleacknowledged by Fusions owners Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch in their bookwas to conduct opposition research on Trump and seed those stories with the media.

To make matters even worse, Simpson and Fritsch admitted that in writing in their 2019 book Crime in Progress. It appears as if Fusions lawyers didnt read their clients book ahead of their filing. This blunder wont have gone unnoticed by Durhams team.

The next filing came from Perkins Coie, the legal firm for which Clinton campaign lawyers Sussmann and Elias worked in 2016. Perkins didnt want to disclose any of its emails either, but the excuse was a lot simpler. The firm noted that Elias had left the company last year and had taken all of the related files with him.

A separate submission came from Elias himself. Elias, a well-known Democratic Party lawyer, made an argument that essentially mirrored that of Fusion, namely that Fusion was providing Perkins Coie with input that was related to legal advice, and any communications were therefore covered by privilege. Elias failed to address the basic fact that Fusion had been hired to collect and disseminate opposition research to the media. Elias similarly didnt address that Sussmann himself had disseminated Fusions stories to the media, as well as to the FBI, thereby piercing any pretense of attorneyclient privilege.

But the most interesting filing came from Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook. Like everyone else, Mooks main objective was to claim that everything that had been done took place within a legal advice relationship. But unlike the others, Mook didnt actually claim that everything was above board. Instead, he repeatedly asserted that he thought everything was done above board.

In essence, Mooks filing essentially shifted the blame onto Elias and the other Clinton operatives. Mooks apparent refusal to confirm that everything was done legally might end up showcasing Mook as the weak link in the Clinton campaigns efforts to cover up the origins of the Russiagate scandal. This development is something that Durham will no doubt have taken note of.

The overarching problem with all these claims of privilege is that by legal necessity they have to be based on legal advice. If the task at hand wasnt about legal advicesuch as Fusion pushing false stories about Trump to the mediathen there is no attorney-client privilege.

With that backdrop in mind, Fusion GPS claimed in its filing that it was retained by then-partner Elias at Perkins Coie to assist in providing legal advice to its clients, the Hillary for America Campaign Committee and the DNC during the 2016 presidential campaign. As we noted earlier, Eliass own submission mirrored this claim.

But theres a huge problem when we compare these new claims with an Oct 24, 2017 letter from Perkins Coie, which officially detailed its retention and hiring of Fusion on April 11, 2016.

Matthew Gerringer, general counsel for Perkins Coie, noted that Fusion approached Perkins Coie in early March 2016. Gerringer stated that Fusion expressed an interest in its continuation of research regarding then-Presidential candidate Donald Trump, research that Fusion GPS had conducted for one or more other clients during the Republican primary contest.

And it wasnt just Perkins Coie that was saying this. In their 2019 book, Fusions owners told a very similar story, specifically that they had pitched the idea to Elias that they would continue to collect opposition research on Trump on Eliass behalf. There was never any mention from either Fusion or Elias of legal services or legal advice.

Fusion appears to have now twisted the meaning of its engagement, stating that it wasnt really doing opposition research and media outreach, but instead was focused on privileged investigative work and analysis.

There are several problems with Fusions assertion. Dossier author Christopher Steele who had been hired by Fusion to push Trump Russia collusion storiestold a UK court in May 2017 that he was directed by Fusion GPS to speak with a number of media outlets on several different occasions.

Steele testified that in September 2016 he had personally briefed a large number of journalists at Fusions instruction. Those journalists were from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Yahoo News, the New Yorker, and CNN. In October 2016, Steele was instructed once again to speak to the NY Times, Washington Post, Yahoo News, and Mother Jones.

Based on Steeles stories, many of these outlets subsequently published extremely damaging stories about TrumpRussia collusion. None more so than Mother Joness David Corn, who not only put out an article discussing the contents of the dossier just ahead of the 2016 election but also shared Steeles dossier reports with James Baker of the FBI. Notably, Baker was the same person who met with Sussmann in September 2016.

Additionally, there were also multiple communications that took place between the owners of Fusion, Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch, and various corporate media reporters during this same time frame.

In a flurry of conversations on Oct. 5, 2016, Fusions Fritsch reached out to Tom Hamburger of The Washington Post, providing supposed DNS data claiming links between a Trump Organization server and Alfa Bank. Fritsch then provided the same data to Michael Isikoff of Yahoo News. Fritsch also provided NBCs Matthew Mosk with a ZIP file of data in an email containing the subject line: Dude this is huge.

Just a few weeks later, on Oct. 18, 2016, Fritsch wrote to Reuters Mark Hosenball on Oct 18, 2016, telling him Do the F***ing alfa bank secret comms story. It is hugely important

The actions of Fusion at the behest of Elias had nothing to do with legal advice. They did, however, have everything to do with establishing a false narrative, one that had been crafted by these Clinton operatives themselveswhich is precisely why they are now panicking about their emails being released to Durham.

But the flurry of filings wasnt the only major development in the Durham investigation. In a subsequent hearing on Wednesday, a Durham prosecutor told Obama appointee Judge Christopher Cooper that the project to link Trump and Russia through DNS data had actually originated with Joffe. The prosecution stated that Joffes plan was carried out through the help of Clinton campaign agents. Durhams team also revealed that there were meetings between Elias, Sussmann and Joffe during which Joffe was allegedly encouraged to create imprints that would tie Trump to Russia through data.

Its not yet known exactly how Durhams office came to know about the meeting between Elias, Joffe, and Sussmann, but if such a meeting actually did take place, it would completely destroy any pretense that the relationship between these parties had anything to with providing legal services. This discovery also could land Elias and Joffe in significant legal trouble for lying in their filings to the court.

Jeff Carlson Follow Jeff Carlson is a co-host of Truth Over News on Epoch TV. Twitter: @themarketswork.
Britain Targets Moscow Stock Exchange in Bid to Curb Investment in Russia

British authorities plan to rescind the Moscow stock exchanges status in the UK as a recognized exchange, in retaliation for Russias restrictions on foreign investors and in a bid to discourage investment in Russia amid the war in Ukraine.

The move means that investors will not be able to access certain UK tax benefits when trading securities on the Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX), according to an April 19 announcement by the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

As we continue to isolate Russia in response to their illegal war on Ukraine, revoking Moscow Stock Exchanges recognized status sends a clear messagethere is no case for new investments in Russia, Britains Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Lucy Frazer, said in a statement.

The British agency said that the new curbs on investors obtaining certain tax treatments and relief will only apply to future investments in securities traded on MOEX, with existing ones remaining unaffected.

Weve designed the revocation order in such a way that investors should experience no change in respect of their pre-existing investments on MOEXwhich we think is a fair approach and protects the interests of current UK taxpayers, the agency said.

A view of the Moscow Exchange office in Moscow, Russia, on March 24, 2022. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images)

HMRC added that its taking the action alongside the series of sanctions the British government has imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a special military operation to topple the government in Kyiv and incapacitate its military.

The British agency also said that the move comes in response to restrictions imposed by Russias central bank on foreign investors, which led to MOEX banning brokers from selling assets owned by non-residents of Russia, which HMRC said means that MOEX is no longer operating in line with the normal commercial standards expected of a recognized exchange.

Following a two-week consultation period on the revocation order, HMRC said the changes will go into effect if restrictions placed by MOEX on non-resident investors remain in place.

The Epoch Times has reached out to MOEX for comment.

In related moves, Russias central bank said Tuesday that companies registered in Russia that have depository receipts traded on foreign stock exchanges must revoke them by May 5.

The central banks order does not affect companies with Russian roots that have carried out initial public offerings (IPOs) on foreign exchanges.

Russia on Tuesday was ramping up its offensive in eastern Ukraine as it seized a city on the frontline and sought to cement its control of the key port city of Mariupol, which has seen some of the most intense fighting of the war.
The California Department of Public Health in Sacramento on April 18, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

California Bill to Prevent Some Pregnancy Loss Prosecutions Advances

SACRAMENTOA proposed bill that the author said would protect women against criminal prosecution following the death of their baby due to self-induced abortion, miscarriage, or other causes was approved, by a vote of 113, by an Assembly committee on April 19.

As parents experience traumatic situations, they should be supported as they mourn, not criminalized, said bill author Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) during the Assemblys Health Committee hearing. No person should have to endure persecution as they grieve a tragic loss that has happened during their pregnancy.

The bill, Assembly Bill (AB) 2223, would remove the accountability of a mother responsible for miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion, or perinatal death of a baby, according to the bills text.

The bill covers whats known as the perinatal time of pregnancy, which is generally between 22 weeks of pregnancy and seven days after birth, according to the bill analysis.

Wicks said during the hearing that perinatal deaths, as outlined in her bill, would be limited to a pregnancy-related cause.

Existing law requires a coroner to investigate the death of an unborn or newborn babyafter 20 weeks of pregnancyresulting from suspected self-induced or criminal abortion, according to the bill. Except for legal abortions, the coroner must record the conditions and causes of death, which can be used to support a criminal prosecution.

However, the bill, if signed into law, would remove the coroners right to investigate and determine deaths following a self-induced abortion and would prohibit using coroners statements on death certificates to prosecute cases.

Wicks highlighted California women Adora Perez and Chelsea Becker who were imprisoned in 2018 and 2019, respectively, after the loss of their unborn children due to drug use during pregnancy.

To protect peoples reproductive freedom and decision making, AB 2223 will help ensure that no one faces the same trauma, Wicks said.

Hundreds lined up to speak against the bill claiming it would legalize infanticide.

Hundreds more gathered on the state Capitol steps building to protest it.

Protesters gather in opposition to AB 2223 on the southside of the California State Capitol building on April 19, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

About a half-dozen spoke in support of the bill.

One California OB-GYN and member of the California Future of Abortion Council argued that the medical community cant always pinpoint specific causes of fetal and infant deaths.

If the medical community cannot identify the reason for a perinatal loss, why would we expect that the justice system can? Selina Sandavol said. People who experienced pregnancy loss are often experiencing pain, disbelief, and grief, and within this emotional toll now they are forced to fear persecution.

Dr. Sarah Roberts, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of CaliforniaSan Francisco, also spoke in favor of the bill.

Roberts said a study she conducted in the mid-2000s found many pregnant and postpartum women who used alcohol and drugs during their pregnancies feared losing custody of their child.

Mothers didnt go to the doctors while they were using drugs to avoid medical professionals from involving social services either during their pregnancy or after, Roberts said.

These fears are warranted given how often healthcare providers report birthing people, she said.

Others, however, begged for the bill to be defeated.

Were talking about in a sense legalizing murder, because nobody can investigate.  Nobody can determine how this child died, said Jack Hibbs, a Chino Hills pastor, who also identified himself as a survivor of abortion.

Wicks refuted Hibbss claim later during the hearing.

AB 2223 would not prevent authorities from being able to investigate the facts of a newborn childs death, including whether the child was born living and when and how the child died, she said. The bill would only prevent further criminal investigation of the pregnant person in the event that the death was determined to have a pregnancy-related cause.

Dr. Vance Wong, a 31-year OB-GYN in Sacramento claimed that when he first read the bill, he thought it was about preventing the prosecution of pregnant women who unexpectedly lose their baby before birth but was in shock and horror to realize otherwise.

If a gentleman gets his partner pregnant and causes her to lose a pregnancy through an act of violence  he will claim [in] court that [they] cant prosecute [him], Wong said.

The bill will now move forward in the legislative process and will next be heard in the Assemblys appropriations committee.

Brad Jones contributed to this report.
High school student, 17, receives her first Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine administered by Medical Assistants from St. John's Well Child and Family Center at Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles on April 23, 2021. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

California School Districts Respond to States Delay of Student Vaccine Mandate

Local school districts in California are deciding whether to implement the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for K12 students to attend in-person instructions after the state postponed the mandate until at least mid-2023.

The state Department of Public Health announced on April 14 that the state will delay its vaccine mandate for students from July 2022 to July 2023 because the vaccines have yet to be fully approved for children by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but local school districts can set their own protocols.

Currently, Pfizer-BioNTechs COVID-19 vaccine is the only vaccine with full FDA approval for ages 16 and up, though it has emergency authorization for ages 515.

The states two largest districtsLos Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and San Diego Unified School Districteach previously set plans to implement student COVID-19 vaccine mandates later this year.

The Los Angeles Unified has not yet confirmed whether the district is sticking to its plan to require the COVID-19 vaccine for students ages 12 and up this fall.

A spokesperson for Los Angeles Unified told The Epoch Times that the district will continue to review, assess and consult with our medical experts as we remain guided by the prevailing science and updated policies from local, state and federal health authorities.

About 87 percent of eligible LAUSD students are already vaccinated, according to the spokesperson.

If the district upholds its mandate, unvaccinated students will need to enroll in the districts online learning programs for the upcoming school year.

The San Diego Unified announced last week it plans to continue its vaccine mandate for students ages 16 and up, effective as early as July for the districts summer school program.

San Diego Unified Board trustee Richard Barrera told NBC that the district only requires vaccination for students ages 16 or older since the vaccine only has full FDA approval for that age group.

About 80 percent of this age group has been vaccinated, according to Barrera.

In order to attend in-person they must be vaccinated. If not, theyll enroll in the online program Virtual Academy, Barrera said.

Californias other major school districts indicated they are following the states guidelines unless the state mandates the COVID vaccines later.

A spokesperson for the Long Beach Unified School District, the states fourth-largest district, told The Epoch Times it plans to implement any future COVID vaccination mandate for students as directed by the California Department of Public Health, but that the district still encourage[s] vaccination for all who are eligible.

The Corona-Norco Unified School District and the Capistrano Unified School District also confirmed to the Epoch Times that they will not implement a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students unless required by the state health department.

Though the COVID-19 vaccine has not received full FDA approval and the mandate is delayed, California Department of Public Health Director Tomas J. Aragon still urged Californians and their children to get vaccinated.

CDPH strongly encourages all eligible Californians, including children, to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Aragon said in an April 14 statement. We continue to ensure that our response to the COVID-19 pandemic is driven by the best science and data available.

California Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) announced last week he would withdraw Senate Bill 871, a bill he introduced in January that would add the COVID-19 vaccine to the states list of required vaccines for students to attend public K12 schools while eliminating personal belief exemptionmaking the bill stricter than the student vaccine mandate recently postponed by the state.

Until childrens access to COVID vaccination is greatly improved, I believe that a statewide policy to require COVID vaccination in schools is not the immediate priority, Pan said in an April 14 statement.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Public Health Department was not immediately available for comment.

Spokespeople for other major school districts in the state, including the San Diego Unified, Fresno Unified, San Francisco Unified, San Bernadino Unified, and San Juan Unified, were not immediately available for comment.
Californians Rally Against Infanticide Bill

SACRAMENTOOn the steps of the California State Capitol over a thousand people recently gathered in the shadow of the building complex while several California Highway Patrol officers scanned the surroundings for potential threats under the cloudy skies.

We are calling this a lobby day, not a protest, Gina Gleason, director of Real Impact, a Christian activist organization, told The Epoch Times.

Protest is too aggressive for what we are doing.

People rally against Assembly Bill 2223 in Sacramento on April 19, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Many of those attending the rally had driven from Southern California, as well as flown into the Sacramento airport, to rally against the passing of Assembly Bill (AB) 2223.

State Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), who introduced the bill, said at an April 5 Judiciary Committee meeting that the bill is meant to prevent pregnant women from being prosecuted for terminating their pregnancy or losing their baby.

AB 2223 would prohibit holding a personthe mother or a health care providerresponsible for miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion, or perinatal death of a baby based on their actions or omissions related to the pregnancy, according to the state legislative information website.

Although the bill doesnt give a precise definition of perinatal, it commonly entails the time frame between 22 weeks of pregnancy and seven days after birth, according to the committees bill analysis.

Were talking about a bill that will not only terminate a childs life, [but also] post-birth up to 30 days or longer, Pastor Jack Hibbs, of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, told The Epoch Times. The law, if passed, prevents an investigation or an autopsy on why the child died. It is literally unbelievable, and thats why yesterday when I was being interviewed by news crews from Australia, England, and Germany, they could not believe it either.

People rally against Assembly Bill 2223 in Sacramento on April 19, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

[Wickss bill] may be coming from the best intentions, but I am here to tell you in Sacramento that it is not only wrong, it is unlawful regarding our First Amendment, and most importantly, it is a violation of Gods word, Hibbs said.

God is a God of life. Its evident that the things that we enjoy in life are beautiful and precious, and we preserve them; but that youre assuming the position of Godthat you have no right.

Just hours before the demonstration, hundreds attending the rally gathered in a conference area within the Hyatt hotel, adjacent to Capitol Park, to discuss the process of an assembly bill, and a breakdown of the language used to describe AB 2223.

They say they are trying to protect women with this bill, Gleason said. But the bill describes the situation as prenatal death as a result of pregnancy and birth as a pregnancy outcome?

We are urging the senate health committee to help make the right decisions.

Greg Burt, of the California Family Council, a faith-based activist group, said to the large crowd that when he heard the language of the bill, I could not believe how far they have gone.

This is a bill supporting abortions after birth  Its infanticide.

Burt, a former reporter, said though the bill itself does not mention the word infanticide, if passed, it would allow mothers the justification needed to end a childs life after birth for pregnancy-related causes.

Burt said a pregnancy-related cause is ambiguous because it is not defined in the text.

Postpartum depression is an example of a pregnancy-related [cause], meaning that a mother whos depressed could kill her child, and there would be justification to do so, he said.

The Legislative Office Building in Sacramento, Calif., on April 19, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Back on the steps of the California State Capitol, ralliers began to softly sing in sync together Amazing Grace, Jesus Loves the Little Children, and God Bless America.

Some friends and I from church came up here today to oppose this bill together, rallier Vanessa Le told The Epoch Times. People need to be aware of how evil this bill is, and we need to do all that we can to stop it.

We are praying for our lawmakers to have their hearts opened to see the evil in this bill and its prevention of human life.

When several members of Californias faith community approached the steps to speak out against the bill, the volume of the crowd decreased to hear them, as the audio equipment was outfitted for a rally of only 500 people.

Those in favor of passing the bill have been referenced as coming to unsafe conclusions supported by fact-checked sources.

Despite the plethora of fact check articles that have denied and downplayed the stark truth  the chief council for the pro-abortion majority of California State Assembly Committee on Judiciary stated that the perinatal death language could lead to an unintended and desirable conclusion, said attorney Olivia Summers with the American Center for Law & Justice, a politically conservative, Christian activist organization.

The analysis goes on to say the bill may not be sufficiently clear that perinatal death is intended to be the consequence of a pregnancy complication. Thus, the bill could be interpreted to immunize a pregnant person from all criminal penalties for all pregnancy-related outcomes, including death of a newborn for any reason during the perinatal period after birth including a cause of death which is not attributable to pregnancy complications.

The crowd was encouraged to be polite in sharing their grievances with AB 2223 at the 4 p.m. Assembly Health Committee hearing on April 19.
An Air Canada airplane is towed along a runway at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on April 28, 2021. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)

Ottawa Firm on Masks After Mandate Dropped for Travel in US

Canada will not follow the United States in dropping mask mandates for federally regulated public transportation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.



We continue to evaluate and reevaluate based on the science, based on shifting numbers. But when we have announcements to make, we will make them but they will always be grounded in science, Trudeau said on April 19 while making a funding announcement in New Brunswick. I can tell you that our government and Transport Canadas priority is the health and safety of passengers and the workers in the aviation sector. Trudeau said Canadians must balance getting back to the things they love with staying safe from another wave of the virus.

And the best way to do that is to lean in on what science is telling us, what the experts are telling us, and make sure that were moving forward in the right way, he said.

On April 18, a U.S. federal judge struck down the mask mandate for planes, trains and other mass public transit systems that had been imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).



District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle said the CDC rule violated administrative law by not giving proper notice before imposing the mandate in February 2021, and exceeded its statutory authority by regulating travellers within the United States.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra would not comment on the ruling while making an announcement on April 18 in Calgary, but he said the mask mandate will remain in place as the government continues to assess the situation.

Alghabra said the governments decision is based on the advice that we receive from our experts and doctors and based on data, it is proven that masks prevent or reduce the transmission of COVID the virus.

Having said that, these measures areas we said, were always assessing them based on the developing and the evolving science. For now, there is no change in our regulation.

The Biden Administration has not yet indicated if it will appeal the decision, citing the need for the CDC to weigh in beforehand.

The Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disagree with the district courts decision and will appeal, subject to CDCs conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health, said an April 19 Justice Department statement.

Many public health restrictions have been lifted by Canadian provinces and territories in recent months, but Ottawa has not repealed any measures within its purview, such as the vaccine mandate for air and rail travel, and for federally regulated workplaces.
Ron Schuler, a member of the legislative assembly of Manitoba, at the Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on April 19, 2022. (NTD)

WINNIPEG, CanadaRon Schuler, a member of the legislative assembly of Manitoba, was delighted by the Shen Yun performance at Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg on April 19.

It was just amazing, really well-done, he said, I want to thank  the orchestra and all the performers for putting on a fantastic show.

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts is the worlds premier classical Chinese dance company. Through the universal language of music and dance, Shen Yun presents story-based dances depicting heavenly realms, ancient legends, and modern heroic tales spanning 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture.

Mr. Schuler attended a Shen Yun performance in 2010 and was impressed by the companys patented method using a 3D animated backdrop that allows seamless interaction between the background projection and the performers on stage.

Its as beautiful today as it was then. Im always awed by the beauty of it, he said.

I like how [they] incorporated a lot of new ways of doing thingsthe jumping off the stage and then flying into the sky, or putting out the fire.  [Shen Yun] has incorporated a lot of new elements, but the message is always still the same, and I really appreciate that message: It is about freedoms.

Freedom to Believe

Since Shen Yuns inception in 2006, its mission has been to revive the traditional culture of China through music and dance and to share it with the world. The age-old culture has been on the brink of extinction since the Chinese communist regime seized power in 1949. Shen Yun says its performance this year demonstrates China before communism.

Im a big supporter of what [Shen Yun] stands for, Mr. Schuler said. Civil libertiesno matter at what point in time in your civilizationare fundamental. This concert today is all about civil liberties, and having rights, and standing up for what you believe in.

Along with myths and legends from ancient times, Shen Yun presents story-based dances portraying the persecution of Falun Dafa, a meditation discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. In 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a persecution campaign against the spiritual practice, which is also called Falun Gong, and adherents have since been subjected to unprecedented imprisonment, torture, and abuse.

I think [Shen Yun] conveys the message very beautifully, said Mr. Schuler.

[They] really do it in a very loving way. Even some of the scenes that are a little bit tougher, [they] still do it in a very tasteful way.  But the message is clear: that is, religious freedom, civil liberties, which I stand for 100 percent.

One dance piece depicts the crime of forced organ harvesting from Falun Dafa prisoners of conscience in China, which is part of the CCPs persecution campaign.

Reflecting on the human rights atrocities that are being exposed through the beauty of the performance, Mr. Schuler said that these crimes must be denounced.

The Chinese government has a lot to answer for with the organ harvesting thats taking place. I think its just a shameful crime against humanity thats taking place. I think all of us in the West should be disgusted by that and should denounce that kind of behavior, he said.

Whether its a vaccine or whether its organ harvesting,  it is fundamentally your body. I really stand for civil liberties, and thats why I appreciate so much what [Shen Yun is] doing here. It is about religious freedoms  spirituality, and civil liberties.

It Is Very Uplifting

China was once known as The Land of the Divine and Shen Yun presents this culture by drawing upon the Middle Kingdoms Buddhist and Daoist philosophies. As such, the performance often includes spiritually uplifting messages, according to the companys website.

Coming from a very spiritual background,  I appreciate the spirituality, said Mr. Schuler, I like how [Shen Yun] puts it on the forefront and [their] message is very clear, very beautiful. Its a very good message that we need spirituality in our lives.

With regard to pandemic lockdowns and restraints over the past two years, Mr. Schuler noted how important it is for peoples mental well-being to be able to gather and attend performances like Shen Yun.

People are very happy to be out, and its important. We need each other as human beings. We need to see those performances and  we need spirituality, he said.

We have so many mental health problems in our cities, in our communities, and its with spirituality that we can help to get out of those problems. Your government cant help you with mental health issuesthe best way to deal with that is through spiritual means. And the message today was absolutely beautiful.

Im a people-watcher, Mr. Schuler added. The audience was enthralled, they were excited, and they were clapping throughout. I think people really appreciated it.

There was a gentleman sitting next to me. Hes never been to one of these before. I said to him, Wait till you see this show. Afterward, he said, You were so right. It is so beautiful. And yes, it is very uplifting.

Reporting by NTD and Jennifer Schneider.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Capitol Report (April 19): Passengers and Crews Celebrate Ending Mask Mandate

Masking up while traveling is now optional. The change has been met with cheersand also concerns. What does the new ruling mean for you?

Twenty-three on the FBIs terror watchlist were caught illegally entering the United States. Those crossing the southern border are coming from countries all around the world, prompting the question: who is entering our country and is America less safe because of it? Former Texas Congressman and retired Lt. Col. Allen West joins us to discuss.

The White House, feeling the heat for expanding oil and gas leasing on federal lands, is now desperate to message that theyre still dedicated to a climate change agenda. The administration on Tuesday restored environmental regulations that were relaxed under former President Donald Trump.

Have you ever wondered why Big Tech values your data more than you do? Its because they are poised to make billions from it, all while developing a profile of more than just your buying habits. Jane Hoffman, author of the new book Your Data, Their Billions, joins us to discuss.

The White House says its considering additional sanctions on Russia. When are they coming, and is whats currently in place working?

Trump is injecting himself into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, urging the two countries to reach an agreement soon, warning of severe casualties. But President Volodymr Zelenskky doesnt sound optimistic.

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Aerial views of the desert area between the Colorado River and Imperial Valley and the Salton Sea, Imperial Valley, on Aug. 8, 2009. (Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

Chapman University Student Killed in Dune Buggy Crash During Film Shoot

A 29-year-old Chapman University cinematography student was killed in a dune buggy crash during a film shoot in Imperial Valley, California, on April 15.

Peng Wang, a third-year graduate student, was partially ejected from a 2022 Can-Am Maverick UTV in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area located in the southeast corner of California when the vehicle overturned while moving along the side of a sand dune.

Im absolutely heartbroken about this, like all of us at Chapman. This is an incredibly supportive and caring community, and weve all been devastated, Stephen Galloway, dean of Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University, told KTLA.

The Digital Media Arts Center at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., on October 14, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Wang volunteered as a cinematographer on the production with three other students from the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts.

All three USC students involved in the crash survived, with no significant injuries reported.

Our hearts go out to Pengs family, his girlfriend, and the USC students whose film he was working on as a volunteer when the tragedy happened, Galloway said.

Everyone but Wang wore safety harnesses when the vehicle crashed, according to California Highway Patrol (CHP) officials.

Elizabeth Daley, dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, saidin an April 18 statement cited by media reportsthat the school does not tolerate violations of safety protocols and that university officials are investigating the fatal accident.

I am deeply saddened to share that over the weekend, a student from Chapman University who was serving as a cinematographer on a production with [USC film school] students was killed in a vehicle accident, Daley said. Our deepest sympathy is with the family members of the deceased student on this tragic loss. We also send condolences to the Chapman University community.

While the investigation is still ongoing, CHP officials said the students were not under the influence at the time of the accident.

Wang was an award-winning student filmmaker and scheduled to graduate with a masters degree in May 2022.
A view of U.S. military planes parked on the tarmac of Andersen Air Force base on the island of Guam, a U.S. Pacific Territory, August 15, 2017. (Reuters/Erik De Castro)

China Seeks to Project Power, Would Target Guam in Conflict: Experts

Chinas communist regime seeks to eject the United States from the Indo-Pacific and project power beyond its borders, according to experts, who said that the U.S. territory of Guam would be central to any Sino-American conflict.

Chinas goals in the Indo-Pacific are no secret, said Patty-Jane Geller, a policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation.

We know that Beijing is pursuing a force posture that would deny the U.S. from being able to operate in Chinas immediate vicinity and that would also enable Beijing to project power beyond it coastlines.

Geller made the comments during a panel hosted by the Hudson Institute, a D.C.-based think tank. The panel explored the continued strategic importance of Guam, the United States westernmost territory and a key hub for American power projection in the Western Pacific.

Guam is located in the Second Island Chain, which extends from eastern Japan down through the Philippine Sea to Borneo, and is considered vital to deterring the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from attempting an aggressive invasion of the self-governed Taiwan.

Due to the territorys location and vital importance in U.S. geopolitical strategy, it is likely to be a prime target for Chinese military aggression in the event of a conflict, and falls within range of several of Chinas bombers and missile systems.

As such, hardening Guams defenses has become something of a priority for the U.S. military, which is currently working to establish a permanent missile defense system there by 2026, and previously deployed Iron Dome missile defense systems to the territory as a temporary measure.

Geller said that that timeline might need to be truncated, however, given the vow of CCP leader Xi Jinping to unite Taiwan with the Chinese mainland by force if necessary.

She said that the United States had precious little time to further theorize what sort of strategy the Chinese military would employ, or how effectively it would fight, a topic of much speculation given the fact that the Chinese military has not engaged in a full-fledged war since 1979.

We dont want to wait for a war to figure out how Chinas military will work, how theyll fight, Geller said. I think we need to be ready now.

The United States needs to continue [to prepare] for the fight that were seeing China interested in pursuing.

To that end, Hudson Institute senior fellow Bryan Clark said that the United States military would need to ensure that Guam was adequately protected without making it a linchpin to American military victory.

If we put too many eggs in the Guam basket, we open ourselves up to having to be too vulnerable because Guam may not be defensible because of the number of weapons that China can throw at it, Clark said.

Clark added that, if the United States were to be successful, it would need to erode the CCPs planning capabilities in effort to adversely effect its regional military dominance and disrupt its ability to internally support its military.

With that in mind, he said that the United States ability to create uncertainty and surprise among Chinese military leadership and mitigate its ability to amass fires on a central target was crucial to American deterrence efforts.

We face this challenge where were the away team, theyre the home team, and were playing on their field, Clark said of a potential conflict between the United States and China.

They get to therefore plan things out to a degree that maybe we cant do because, as an expeditionary force, we have to be more flexible and carry with us all our own logistics and protection.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech via video for the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference held in Boao, in south China's Hainan Province, on April 20, 2021. (Li Tao/Xinhua via AP)

Chinas Asian Davos and the Moral Bankruptcy of World Elites

News Analysis

Chinas Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) kicked off on April 20. The three-day annual forum hosts world leaders from government, academia, and business in Boao, in Chinas Hainan Province, to promote economic globalization and international cooperation.

Conferences, seminars, and workshops are convened to provide a high-level venue for dialogue and idea exchange in the scope of economic, social, environmental, and related issues, according to the BFA Charter.

Originally founded under Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership in 2001 and holding its first meeting in 2002, the nonprofit organization was incorporated with 26 other Asian countries.

Its stated mission at its founding, promoting economic integration in Asia, has evolved into pooling positive energy for the development of Asia and the world.

This years theme is titled The World in COVID-19 and Beyond: Working Together for Global Development and Shared Future.

It will investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the global shift toward green climate-based policy. According to the BFA, the CCP virus initiated a worldwide refocusing away from the traditional profit motive in economics toward carbon neutrality, low-carbon economic structuring, and sustainable development. A primary emphasis will be on exploring different strategies to reach absolute carbon neutrality.

The following are some of the names of seminars that are taking place: Promote Energy Integration & Build Green World; Building ESG Story for Sustainable Growth; Inclusive DevelopmentEfficiency and Equity; and Digital Economy for Social Good.

If this sounds a lot like the annual Davos Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF), thats because its essentially the same concept. BFA is commonly referred to as the Asian Davos and is openly modeled on the WEF.

This years BFA theme is essentially a circumlocution of The Great Reset, the Davos 2020 theme. Davos 2022 is scheduled to take place next month, beginning on May 22.

The opening of a World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting on the sideline of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 24, 2020. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

This years WEF theme is at least superficially more innocuous than in previous years: Working Together, Restoring Trust. WEF founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab has apparently realized that titling his exclusive gatherings after global schemes befitting a James Bond villain isnt conducive to the elite agenda.

Still, one imagines that it must come as a disappointment for those WEF attendees who rather enjoy the condescending shroud of mystery (and a hint of conspiracy) that their meetings conjure up among us commoners.

Another similarity between the two is that they both feature renowned world leaders, including as speakers and on their boards. The BFA board includes leaders from industries and governments worldwide, such as former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, former Prime Minister of Italy and former President of the European Commission Romano Prodi, and former Prime Minister of New Zealand Jenny Shipley.

The WEF also features similar high-level power players in the international political scene. However, the BFA has one important distinctionit can openly tout its deep and intricate ties to the CCP. Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon from South Korea may be the current chairman of the board for Boao, but Li Baodong (former Chinese permanent representative to the U.N.) is the secretary-general.

Every BFA seminar, including those previously mentioned, features at least one prominent member of the Chinese government, business, or academia. That equates to CCP representation, if not outright leadership, on each panel.

Additionally, the panels are also moderated by media or government representatives of the CCP. This ostensibly ensures that the conversation proceeds in a manner that is either explicitly favorable to the Party or actively steers away from any subject that could cast a potentially less-than-positive light on it.

Curating the image of the CCP and promoting its policies is the actual underlying theme of the entire BFA conference. As if there were any questions about this fact, seminars such as The Belt and Road: A New Practice of Cooperative Development (referring to Chinas predatory economic investment project, the Belt and Road Initiative) explicitly confirm it.

This isnt to say the BFA is any more malicious than the WEF. The central focus of both meetings revolves around the need for greater centralized control to account for global problems that transcend national borders. This usually involves delegating policy decision-making to unelected bodies insulated from any actual accountability over their decisions.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with World Economic Forum founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab, before delivering a speech on the first day of the WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 17, 2017. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

In this way, the BFA and the WEF are similar. But whereas the latter seeks to co-opt the CCP as a tool to help it consolidate its reach and influence, the former explicitly acknowledges the CCPs leading role.

This is an important distinction. The CCP has no risk of actually being controlled by the WEF, but the CCP can utilize the WEF to gain increased relative geopolitical clout for China. The CCP knows what disconnected elites in Brussels and Davos want to hear. As such, China wins favor with language about diversity, equity, and carbon-neutrality while being one of the least diverse or equitable regimes in the world, all the while continuing its construction of coal-fired power plants unabated.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping may talk about globalization, interconnectedness, and the need for greater cooperation with partner countries at Davos, but make no mistake about itat Boao, the CCP is in charge of the show.

Still, this may not actually provide a moral qualm for Western attendees of either summit. Whatever they may be, they are certainly not dumb. Therefore, they must know that China is only superficially committing to abstract moralizing about cooperative goals while pursuing only its national interest.

The goal of the Davos Man or the elites is not to have any tangible benefit in the lives of their fellow countrymen (indeed, they despise the very concept of national boundaries as a reactionary relic of the uncivilized past), but to instead pursue extravagant policy proposals and aggrandize power in their own hands.

The CCP is happy to provide money and cover to help the elites in this goal, knowing that Beijing will reap the geopolitical benefit of increased influence in European and U.S. halls of power.

Meanwhile, Beijing will continue to pursue a policy that is only beneficial for the consolidation of the CCP and the relative weakening of the West. As such, the task of investigating the dynamic between BFA and WEF can provide a useful microcosm for understanding the relationship between the CCP and Western elites in general.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Jacqueline Avant (L) and Clarence Avant appear at the 11th Annual AAFCA Awards in Los Angeles, on Jan. 22, 2020. (Mark Von Holden Invision/AP)

Convict Gets 3 Life Terms for Murdering Jacqueline Avant in Beverly Hills

LOS ANGELESA two-time convict who fatally shot Jacqueline Avant, the wife of celebrated music executive Clarence Avant, during a brazen burglary at the couples Trousdale Estates home in Beverly Hills and later laughed about the slaying while in jail was sentenced to 150 years on April 19 to life in prison for the murder.

Aariel Maynor, 30, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in March to killing the 81-year-old Avant, who was shot in the back around 2:25 a.m. Dec. 1 inside her home in the 1100 block of Maytor Place. He also admitted shooting at a security guardwho was not woundedwhile trying to flee the scene.

Maynor pleaded guilty to one count each of murder, attempted murder, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, and two counts of residential burglary with a person present. He also admitted allegations of using an assault long barrel pistol during the crimes, along with admitting prior robbery convictions from 2013 and 2018.

In court Tuesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathryn Solorzano sentenced Maynor to three life prison terms, saying he will have to serve a minimum of 150 years behind bars. She also added 40 more years for weapons violations.

The judge called Maynor a serious danger to society, noting that Avant was a completely vulnerable victim.

She was caught by surprise in her own home early in the morning, the judge said.

Maynor, who sat in a wheelchair in court, showed no reaction when the sentence was handed down.

During the sentencing hearing, Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila played audio from a pair of telephone calls Maynor made from jail in the weeks following his arrest. In one call, he is heard talking to a female friend, laughing about the shooting and saying, Im all over the news.

In the second call, he bragged to a friend that he would not be facing the death penalty or life without parolethe result of Los Angeles County prosecutors no longer filing special-circumstance allegations.

Im gonna get out of jail, Maynor said on the call, according to the memo. Ill probably do like 20  25, get out, you feel me?

He also bragged that he would be able to obtain a cell phone while in prison, so he could keep in contact with his friends.

Solorzano noted earlier that a report indicated the 2013 robbery for which Maynor had been convicted involved a woman who was kicked in the face and knocked unconscious. She also noted on April 19 that Maynor had been released on parole for the 2018 robbery in September 2021, just a few months before Avants killing.

Avila said earlier that Avant was shot after confronting Maynor, who also fired multiple shots at the couples security guard while fleeing from the home, striking a vehicle. He subsequently broke into a home in the Hollywood Hills area and accidentally shot himself in a foot, the prosecutor said.

Los Angeles police responding to that burglary call found Maynor suffering from a gunshot wound to a foot, according to Beverly Hills Police Department Chief Mark Stainbrook.

Stainbrook said Los Angeles police contacted Beverly Hills police, and detectives collected evidence connecting Maynor to the Avant shooting.

Among the evidence collected was a suspected weapon from the crime, described by police as an AR-15 rifle. Stainbrook said Maynor was on parole and has an extensive criminal record, which bars him from possessing a weapon.

Video from the Avant home showed a shattered sliding-glass door, indicative of a break-in. Avant died at a hospital following the shooting. Clarence Avant, 90, was not injured.

In court Tuesday, Avila read a statement on behalf of the Avant family.

There are no words to describe the cruel and vicious acts of the defendant. We are shattered, according to the statement by Jacqueline and Clarences daughter, Nicole. My mother devoted every cell of her body to help others. To have her life taken so brutally, is devastating.

She added, The grief is immeasurable.

Maynors attorney, Marcus Huntley, told the court during the hearing that his client had a difficult childhood in which he was treated poorly in the foster care system.

His upbringing is how we got to this situation, Huntley said, adding that Maynor understands that he will never leave prison.

According to a prosecution sentencing memorandum, Maynors phone records showed that he specifically researched the Avants and their home address before the burglary.

Clarence Avant is known as the Godfather of Black Music, and has been regularly celebrated by artists such as Jay-Z and Diddy, L.A. Reid and Babyface. He began as a talent manager in the 1950s, worked at Venture Records in Southern California and founded Los Angeles-based Sussex Records and Avant Garde Broadcasting.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in October.

Jacqueline Avant served as president of the Neighbors of Watts, a support group that focused on child care. She was also on the board of directors of UCLAs International Student Center. She was also a member of the board for the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Jacqueline and Clarence Avant have two grown children  Nicole and Alexander. Nicole Avant, a film producer who served as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas during President Barack Obamas administration, is the wife of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. She also served as a co-producer on the Netflix film The Black Godfather, a documentary about her fathers life and career.

The Avant family issued a statement after the shooting saying, The entire Avant and Sarandos families wish to thank everyone for their outpouring of love, support and heartfelt condolences for Jacqueline Avant. Jacqueline was an amazing woman, wife, mother and philanthropist and a 55-year resident of Beverly Hills who has made an immeasurable positive impact on the arts community. She will be missed by her family, friends and all of the people she has helped throughout her amazing life.

Former President Bill Clinton issued a statement calling Avant a wonderful woman, a great partner to Clarence and mother to Alex and Nicole, an active citizen & a dear friend to Hillary and me for 30 years. She inspired admiration, respect & affection in everyone who knew her. We are heartbroken. She will be deeply missed.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Jacqueline Avant was a longtime friend.

I know we use this term a lot, but she was truly an angel in this City of Angels, he said. She and Clarence, Nicole, their daughter, Ive known for many years and Ive seen and witnessed the way their generosity touched the lives and transformed the lives and even saved the lives of so many people in this city and in this country.

District Attorney George Gascon said Avants killing sent shockwaves through our community, prompting fear, concern and a tremendous sense of loss.
A retired carpenter and his daughter from Iowa have pulled off an epic renovation, turning a scrap train caboose into a luxury Airbnb apartment single-handedly.

Jim Dotzenrod, 65, had already completed the restoration of a barn silo, his first Airbnb rental, named Silo on the Ridge, when a family friend saw a 1973 train caboose parked at a metal scrapyard in the spring of 2016. Jim drove the 30 miles to pick it up, keen for another passion project.

Jim had bought a single set of railroad tracks on which to park the caboose, Car No. SOO 124, which set him back $8,000, weighed 52,000 pounds, and measured 8.6 feet by 30 feet.

His daughter Danielle Dotzenrod, 42, told The Epoch Times, It was in good condition, there being no rust, dents, or physical damage. It was just very, very dirty and it smelled strongly of oil. We hauled it to Dads property on a semitruck, and then unloaded it with a crane.

Danielle and her dad, Jim. (Courtesy of Danielle Dotzenrod)

The caboose, Car No. SOO 124, before the six-month renovation. (Courtesy of Danielle Dotzenrod)

Working nights and weekends around his day job, Jim began the six-month renovation with the help of his design-savvy daughter.

The first and biggest challenge was cutting out and removing all of the old iron, said Danielle, who owns a leather company, Behumane, selling leather to brands sourced from regenerative ranches.

Once that was all out, it needed a good cleaning. Dads father was a plumber, so he was able to build the bathroom himself, as well as the kitchen. Then came the painting, and finally the flooring, which is my favorite part.

Dad did most of the real work, and I helped with the design and some small projects, Danielle said. He says I give him lots of what he calls brain strain, but in the end, we are both always happy with how our projects turn out!

Danielle tiled the bathroom and designed the oak flooring inlaid with black tiles, while her father built a platform in the cupola for a raised queen-size bed with stairs, and bunk beds beneath, sleeping four.

To preserve the cabooses authenticity, the pair decided to keep the original hand railing and conductors chairs, which can swivel on their bases to look out the window.

Jim and Danielles specific caboose is known as an extended-vision or wide-vision style, owing to the fact that its cupola projects beyond its body. It was likely used to carry the conductor and brakemen, said Danielle, some of whom would have used the cupola windows to monitor the train.

The father-daughter duo built a bathroom and fully-fitted kitchen with mini cocktail bar for guests. They included air-conditioning, WiFi, a TV, and a beautiful handcrafted deck overlooking the familys horse pasture.

[Its] particularly nice at sunset, said Danielle. My dad also offers carriage rides through the country, or in our local town of Decorah.

The renovation was completed in November 2016, totaling $4,000. CR Station Train Caboose, as its now known, is available for reservations through Airbnb and has already amassed hundreds of 5-star reviews.

Danielle claims hers and Jims biggest reward is the enjoyment that their caboose has brought guests.

She said they both are thrilled with the number of guests whove enjoyed their stay in their caboose.

I think when you grow up in the country, you can sometimes take for granted the natural beauty and the quiet, an appreciation which is never lost on our city guests and is nice to see, she said.

Jim and Danielle keep a guest log in the caboose, and delight in reading notes from guests who have enjoyed barbecuing, a glass of wine on the deck, picking raspberries, or feeding a carrot or apple to their friendly horses.

Guests can also enjoy hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, tubing the Upper Iowa River, and visiting award-winning breweries in the area, said Danielle.

Jim offers guests carriage rides through the country. (Courtesy of Danielle Dotzenrod)

She shared one of her favorite guest anecdotes with The Epoch Times.

We ask that guests do not play with the cats, because farm cats have a job and tame farm cats dont want to work, she said. We had just had kittens, and one lady made a joke to my dad about playing with them. My dad responded that she can play, but then she has to take them home.

The morning she left, she asked my dad if she could have one she had her heart set on, she recalled. He happily agreed. That little farm kitty won the lottery that day!

Jim with the pairs next project, a 1985 Dodge Prospector pickup. (Courtesy of Danielle Dotzenrod)

After the huge success of their caboose renovation, Jim and Danielle are brainstorming their next joint venture. While there are no property projects on the horizon, Danielle did let on, we are restoring a 1985 Dodge Prospector pickup and a 1987 horse trailer to match, for me to horseback ride and camp with.

Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Bright newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter
Democratic-Run Cities NYC, SF, Boston Still Require Masks Despite Judge Order

Several Democratic-led cities, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, are requiring passengers to wear masks despite a federal judges order on April 18 that struck down a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mask rule for travel.

While travelers wont have to wear masks inside Logan Airport in Boston, the citys Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has announced that it will continue to follow CDC guidance and require masks in indoor transportation areas.

The authority is continuing to follow CDC guidelines and will review the court order. We are also reaching out to our federal partners to get further guidance, the authority wrote on Twitter.

In San Francisco, masks are still required to be worn on Muni trains and on Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) trains, BART wrote in an April 20 Twitter post. Officials also told local media outlets that masks are no longer mandated for the Oakland, San Jose, and San Francisco airports.

Face masks are still required at BART while we review our options, BARTs San Francisco office wrote in a Twitter post. We are seeking clarity from the state if there is a state-level mask mandate for transit that we can use to continue requiring and enforcing a mask mandate.

The transit agency also stated that it isnt clear whether the mask mandate will ultimately be rescinded.

We havent made an official determination if a mask mandate will continue on BART, another BART Twitter post reads. Once we make a final determination, we will communicate it. We dont want to say one thing and then immediately change it with little notice. Weve been consistent [with] this since the ruling.

Philadelphia stated this week that it would keep its indoor mask mandate, including for public transportation, intact despite the Florida judges ruling on April 18. The city reinstated its mask mandate on April 18, becoming the first major U.S. municipality to do so, and officials said a small rise in COVID-19 cases warranted the shift in policy.

We are evaluating the implications of this latest ruling and will provide further clarity around masking on transit in Philadelphia when available. This ruling does not impact the citys mask mandate for certain indoor places. James Garrow, a spokesman for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, told media outlets on April 20.

While New Jersey Transit, which operates some trains that go to and from New York, stated that it wont enforce the mask mandate, officials in New York said subway and bus riders will still be mandated to wear face coverings.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) spokesman Tim Minton told media outlets that the subway system was continuing to follow CDC guidelines and will review the Florida court order, meaning that riders have to still wear masks. The MTA also operates Metro-North trains and Long Island Railroad, although it doesnt operate Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) trains.

On April 18, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle issued an order stating that the CDCs mandate was unlawful and violated federal administrative law. The CDC told The Epoch Times that its still reviewing her order and will make a decision on whether to determine whether the mask ruleissued in early 2021is still needed.
People walk past signage for Australian universities in Melbourne's central business district in Melbourne, Australia, on June 10, 2020. (William West/AFP via Getty Images)

Former Pro Vice Chancellor Warns Against Australias Universities Becoming Education Factories

A former pro vice chancellor at Murdoch University has warned about the risk of turning Australias universities into education factories that graduate people with poor skills and critical capability who could be easily influenced by the pervasive woke culture.

Gabriel Moens, who is also an emeritus professor of law at University of Queensland, pointed out that the current education policy, which focuses on expanding universities and TAFE by increasing funding, has taken the process of democratisation too far.

The concern was raised after Labor on April 18 proposed a $1.2 billion investment in education which will create 20,000 additional places at universities and provide free TAFE (Technical and Further Education) courses.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said his Fee Free TAFE plan aims to tackle critical skill shortages in areas such as childcare, aged care, trades and construction, digital and cyber security, resources, and advanced manufacturing.

Labor will end privatisation by stealth, ensuring at least 70 percent of Commonwealth vocational education funding is for public TAFE, he said.

Fee Free TAFE will provide opportunities for school leavers, workers wanting to retrain or upskill, and unpaid carerswho are predominantly womento get back into the workforce.

Albanese also accused the incumbent Coalition government of cutting TAFE and university funding, saying it has led to a drop in the proportion of applicants receiving an offer of a place at university.

The Coalition denied the allegation, saying it has spent $13 billion throughout the pandemic and delivered 220,000 trade apprenticeships, the highest on record.

With the federal election looming, educating Australians is set to be a key issue as the sector recovers from extended COVID-19 lockdowns, significant revenue loss and skills shortages.

However, Moens noted that the democratisation of the education sector has seen universities graduating people with limited and underdeveloped skillssome are even hardly able to read properly.

Universities should only admit people or students who are able to benefit from and contribute to the function of the university, he told The Epoch Times.

The law professor also raised concerns about the woke culture now pervading universities because it has the potential to indoctrinate people who do not have the ability or willingness to think clearly and analytically.

He further noted that TAFE could also adopt the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS), a government loan scheme for eligible students studying at public universities.

Traditionally, [the] Liberals have tended to spend less on universities. However, they may well seek to offer the same as Labor on this occasion, Moens said.

At present, universities have become education factories, not concerned with education but money and quantity, not quality.

Meanwhile, Salvatore Babones, an associate professor at the University of Sydney, said instead of increasing funding to the countrys 38 public universities to increase university places, the government should streamline the way tertiary institutions are run.

Whether or not the number of university places should be expanded is debatable, but if the number of places is to be increased, it is important to do so in a cost-effective manner, Babones said in a release in March.

If Australian universities stopped offering double undergraduate degrees, a significant number of new university places could be created.

Instead of educating more students, universities use the limited pool of government funding to provide more degreesto the same students.
Effort to Repeal Californias Sanctuary State Law Fails in Committee

The proposal to repeal Californias sanctuary state law failed in a state Public Safety Committee meeting on April 19.

Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) introduced Assembly Bill 1708 in an effort to remove the sanctuary state law Senate Bill (SB) 54.

SB 54 was passed in 2017 to make California a sanctuary state by preventing local law enforcement to contact the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about the release of illegal immigrants from jail, in order to limit the federal agencys ability to deport them after release.

Kiley said during the committee meeting that SB 54 of 2017 was sold to favor immigrants in the state and that the bill was also misleading in this regard, however, since it does not concern both legal and illegal immigrants who do not engage in criminal activities.

When you look at what the bill actually did, it  doesnt actually do anything for the vast majority of immigrants, he said. It does nothing certainly for the many legal immigrants who are such an important part of our state, and it doesnt do anything either for undocumented immigrants, so long as they have not violated our criminal laws in addition to violating immigration law.

California Assemblyman Kevin Kiley speaks to reporters at The Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, Calif., on Aug. 4, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Kiley mentioned that the California State Sheriffs Associationan opposer of SB 54warned that the legislation would hinder the abilities of law enforcement and immigration authorities to maintain public safety.

Unfortunately, those predictions have amply and tragically borne out, he said while referencing the recent shooting that occurred on Feb. 28 when David Mora, an illegal immigrant, shot his three daughters and their chaperone in a church before taking his own life.

Mora was released from prison a week before the shooting after assaulting a police officer. However, the sanctuary law prevented local law enforcement officers from informing ICE about his release.

The immigration authorities asked to be notified of his release, but because of this specific policy change that SB 54 put into place  they were not [notified], and then five days later [Mora] went on to commit this very heinous crime, Kiley said.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent stands in Hawthorne, Calif., on March 1, 2020. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

A representative from Crime Victims Uniteda victims rights organizationwas supposed to speak at the committee hearing to support Kileys bill but was unavailable last minute.

Meanwhile, the bill was met with opposition by a speaker with the Asian American Advancing Justice, an immigrant rights organization.

This would require state governments to work with ICE, an agency with a long record of systemic abuse to fill immigration detention centers and carry out mass deportation, Faith Lee said.

Lee further stated the bill would result in immigrants within detention centers serving lengthier sentences.

The bill failed in a 23 vote with Assemblymen Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) and Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) voting in support.
Illegal immigrants from Texas arrive in Washington on April 13, 2022, in this still from video released by NTD. (NTD)

8th Bus From Texas With Illegal Immigrants Arrives in Washington: Governor

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the eighth bus filled with illegal immigrants that were released into his state is heading to Washington, D.C.

Abbott, a Republican, said he will continue to send buses with illegal aliens to the nations capital because he is bringing the border to President Joe Biden, whom he has blamed for a surge in illegal immigration since last year.

We will continue the bussing process every single day for the reason that I think you mentioned earlier on. And that is the Biden administration has been dumping off these migrants by the hundreds in local communities that do not have the ability to take care or deal with, the governor told reporters on Tuesday night.

Those illegal immigrants, he added, are being dropped offand as opposed to them being there in these small communities or the small communities having to spend money dealing with it, we decided to bus them to Washington, D.C.

Earlier this week, Abbott also suggested that he would also send buses to Delaware, Bidens home state. Biden represented Delaware in the Senate for decades, and he owns a home in Rehoboth Beach.

This busing process is going to continue. I want you and the audience to know exactly why were doing what were doing, the Texas governor told Fox Newss Sean Hannity on Monday night. The Biden administration, they were dropping off illegal immigrants just [into] small towns on the border  were not going to allow that to happen.

If his plan to send illegal immigrants to Washington doesnt work, Abbott added that Delaware looks like a great location.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters several weeks ago that Abbotts busing strategy is a publicity stunt. She also questioned his authority.

His own office admits that a migrant would need to voluntarily be transported, and he cant compel them to because, again, enforcement of our countrys immigration laws lies with the federal government, not a state, Psaki said.

It comes as some Democratic Congress members have increasingly tried to distance themselves from Bidens border policies. Earlier this month, the White House announced it would end Title 42, a federal health rule that turned away illegal immigrants due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in late May.

But several vulnerable Democrats signaled they dont support rescinding the policy, or at the very least, theyve demanded that the administration come up with a suitable replacement.

Right now, we have a crisis on our southern border. Right now, this administration does not have a plan. I warned them about this months ago, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who is up for reelection this year, told Fox News earlier in April. Its going to be, to be honest, its going to be a crisis on top of a crisis.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk (C) attends the official opening of the new Tesla electric car manufacturing plant near Gruenheide, Germany, on March 22, 2022. (Christian Marquardt/Pool/Getty Images)

Elon Musk Talks Social Media Policy Amid Bid to Take Over Twitter

Billionaire Elon Musk appeared to share how he would improve Twitters performance on Tuesday amid his bid to take over the company.

The Tesla CEO took to the social media platform to share his philosophy on social media policy, writing: A social media platforms policies are good if the most extreme 10 percent on left and right are equally unhappy.

Musk has offered to buy Twitter at $54.20 per share in cash, which would amount to $43 billion.

The billionaire businessman, who became Twitters largest individual shareholder earlier this month after taking a 9.2 percent stake in the platform, said it was his best and final offer.

Twitters board said last week that Musks offer is under consideration and that it would carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the Company and all Twitter stockholders.

However, the board later announced it was adopting a limited duration shareholder rights plan, a tactic known in the financial world as a poison pill after an unsolicited, non-binding proposal to acquire Twitter.

This would effectively make it more financially challenging for the potential acquirer, and effectively signaled the boards opposition to Musks bid.

Specifically, the shareholder plan will reduce the likelihood that any entity, person or group gains control of Twitter through open market accumulation without paying all shareholders an appropriate control premium or without providing the Board sufficient time to make informed judgments and take actions that are in the best interests of shareholders, Twitter said.

The Epoch Times reached out to Twitter and a Musk spokesperson for comment but received no response.

Musk has been vocal in his criticism of Twitter and has previously questioned its commitment to free speech, stating that he believes it is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.

Speaking at a TED event in Vancouver on April 14, the businessman referred to Twitter as the de facto town square, and stressed the importance of there being an inclusive arena for free speech.

One of the things that I believe Twitter should do is open source the algorithm and make any changes to peoples tweets, or if they emphasized or de-emphasized, that action should be made apparent so anyone can see that an action has been taken so theres no sort of behind-the-scenes manipulation, either algorithmically or manually, he explained.

Twitter has been accused by some Republicans of censoring free speech and minority or politically conservative viewpoints, and shadowbanning users who it deems to have violated its community guidelines or user policies.

The company denies it has censored free speech.

At that same TED event last week, the tech mogul hinted that he has a backup plan if his bid to take over Twitter fails while admitting: I am not sure that I will actually be able to acquire it.

While the entrepreneur did not provide further details regarding his backup plan, he insisted he has sufficient assets to follow through on his bid for the company should it be approved.
Frankie M. Kerrigan with his father Frank Kerrigan. Family members who believed they had buried Frankie in 2017, only to later discover he was in fact alive and the body was misidentified, are now suing the county. (Courtesy of the Kerrigan family)

Family That Buried Stranger Wins $1.5 Million in Case Against Orange County

Family members who believed they buried their relativeonly to later discover he was still alive and the body was misidentified by the Orange County Coronerwere awarded $1.5 million April 19 after a jury found the coroner negligent by misidentifying a deceased body.

Following a three-week trial, jurors awarded the father, Frank Kerrigan, 86, $1.1 million and his daughter, Carole Meikle, 60, $400,000.

The family said that in 2017, Kerrigan received a dreaded call for any parent from the coroner: that said his son, Frankie Kerrigan, had been found dead behind a Verizon store in Fountain Valley, according to Kerrigan family lawyer James DeSimone.

Just two days prior, the Kerrigan family said they had attempted to get Frankie, who battled schizophrenia and was homeless, into supportive housing and medical care.

The father never went to identify the body as the coroners office assured him it was unnecessary as his sons body had been positively identified via state ID and fingerprints, DeSimone said.

But less than two weeks later, the elder Kerrigan was told by a close family friend, who had been a pallbearer at Frankies funeral that he had shown up at his doorstep.

Soon after, the family learned they had buried the body of John D. Dickens, a 54-year-old army veteran from Kansas, who was also homeless.

The Orange County Sheriffs Department, which oversees the Coroners office, declined to comment on the jurys decision.
Guests wear masks as required to attend the official reopening day of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla, on, July 11, 2020. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Florida Senate Passes Bill Revoking Disneys Special Self-Governing Power

The Florida Senate passed legislation on April 20 that would remove the special tax district and self-governing status that was granted to Disney as lawmakers have criticized the company for opposing a parental rights bill.

The chamber, which was called into a special session by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, passed the bill in a 2316 vote. The measure would dissolve Disneys special status within Florida, which allows the firm to self-govern its propertyincluding Disney Worldaround Orlando. Specifically, the measure would dismantle the 50-year-old Reedy Creek Improvement District that allows the corporation to oversee its infrastructure laws, zoning, and even policing.

The Republican-led Florida House will now take up the measure. Disney hasnt issued a public statement on the matter, and its corporate headquarters didnt respond to a request for comment by press time.

A 1967 law passed by Floridas House and Senate created the Reedy Creek Improvement District, but DeSantis recently told legislators that Floridas Constitution generally disfavors laws that provide special privileges to corporations.

When announcing the special session on April 19, DeSantis said lawmakers will be considering the congressional map, but they also will be considering termination of all special districts that were enacted in Florida prior to 1968, and that includes the Reedy Creek Improvement District, although he didnt mention Disney by name. The legislation, if it passes in the House, would also remove privileges from six other special districts in Florida because they were set up before the states Constitution was ratified in 1968.

As the Senate passed the bill on April 20, DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw told media outlets that the move to revoke the Reedy Creek Improvement District wasnt retaliatory after Disney criticized a separate measure that DeSantis recently signed into law.

It was unfortunate that Disney decided to wade into a political debate and attempt to overturn a common-sense law, enacted by a duly elected legislature and signed by a duly elected governor, with the support of the vast majority of Floridians, Pushaw said. In fact, it was Disney that retaliated by publicly vowing to repeal or have the law struck down.

Democrats quickly criticized DeSantiss backing of the legislation and claimed it was tantamount to retribution against Disney. Others claimed that Disney, which employs tens of thousands of people, is a major economic player in the state.

What world are we living in right now? Democratic state Sen. Audrey Gibson asked, according to The Associated Press. Its the freedom state of Florida. If they disagree with the governor, he brings out the Gatling gun.

DeSantis, a Republican, has criticized Disneys public pressure campaign and criticism over legislation that he recently signed that prohibits classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for small children.

Look, there [are] policy disputes, and thats fine, DeSantis told reporters earlier in April. But when youre trying to impose a woke ideology on our state, we view that as a significant threat.

In late March, Disney issued a statement saying that Floridas HB 1557, also known as the Dont Say Gay bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law. Although the law doesnt make any reference to prohibiting saying the word gay, the Dont Say Gay phrase has also been repeatedly used by celebrities, activists, and Democratic lawmakers since the bill was proposed.

Disney, which drew widespread condemnation for the critical comments, also said its dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country.

The firms comment sparked a debate about whether corporations should have the right to political speech following the landmark Citizens United Supreme Court decision decades ago. But as Disney waded into the controversy, some parents groups have said that they would boycott the companys products and theme parks.

The Florida House of Representatives is scheduled to take up the bill on April 21.
Florida Surgeon General Warns Against Child Transgender Procedures

Floridas surgeon general on Wednesday recommended against youth transgender procedures and surgeries while criticizing the Biden administrations backing of those treatments for children.

The federal governments medical establishment releasing guidance failing at the most basic level of academic rigor shows that this was never about health care, Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, said in a statement. It was about injecting political ideology into the health of our children.

According to his office, for children and adolescents who use so-called puberty-blocking drugs, hormone treatments, or surgical procedures, about 80 percent will lose their desire to identify with the non-birth sex while he also noted that during puberty, the pre-frontal cortex of the brain continues to develop until approximately 25 years of age.

There are also potentially irreversible consequences such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, infertility, increased cancer risk, and thrombosis, Ladapo wrote.

State guidelines include discouraging attempts to transition into a non-birth sexincluding pronoun, name, and clothing changes, according to his office. The aforementioned puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and surgeries are also discouraged.

Floridas guidelines came in response to the federal Department of Health and Human Services issuing a report that said so-called gender transitions provide physical and mental benefits for youth and children suffering from conditions such as gender dysphoria.

His office further noted that Sweden, the United Kingdom, Finland, and France are currently evaluating, reviewing, or stopping the treatment of gender dysphoria in children and adolescents.

It comes as a growing number of states have passed or are trying to pass laws that bar gender transition surgeries or drugs for minors.

Earlier this month, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed several measures into law that ban puberty-blocking drugs or hormones for individuals under the age of 18. The law also bars some teachers from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation issues in class.

Alabama is now the only U.S. state to have banned such treatments for minors. Other states have sought to pass similar bills.

After the bills passage, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said this month at a press briefing that Alabamas new laws are an extreme government overreach and will only serve to harm kids. She didnt elaborate.

A recently introduced Tennessee bill would restrict childrens access to hormone treatments, puberty blocker drugs, and other medical procedures.

We have age restrictions on our youth for a number of different reasons that are there to protect them, Tennessee state Rep. John Ragan, a Republican, told The Epoch Times last month. These protections are multifaceted and across the board.
Michael Sussmann in an undated interview. (CNN/Screenshot via NTD) Special counsel John Durham in 2018. (U.S. Department of Justice via AP)

Former Democrat Lawyer Doesnt Want Clinton Tweet Admitted in Durham Case

The lawyer charged with hiding his work for the Clinton campaign from the FBI filed a motion requesting that special counsel John Durham not be able to use a Hillary Clinton Twitter post that made reference to alleged TrumpRussia collusion claims.

Durham wrote last week that he wanted an October 2016 Twitter post from the Clinton campaign that promoted an allegation that there was a secret backchannel between the Trump Organization and a Russian bank. The campaigns lawyer, Michael Sussmann, was charged last year with lying to the FBI by allegedly stating that he wasnt working on behalf of any client when he pushed the Trump-Russian bank claim to then-FBI General Counsel James Baker.

On Oct. 31, 2016, Clinton wrote on Twitter: Donald Trump has a secret server  It was set up to communicate privately with a Putin-tied Russian bank. She later wrote that computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank.

The claims about the alleged secret backchannel between the bank, reportedly identified as Alfa Bank, and former President Donald Trumps business were ultimately refuted by the FBI.

Durham also sought to preserve a Twitter post from Clintons campaign that included a lengthy statement from former adviser Jake Sullivan, who now works as President Joe Bidens national security adviser. This could be the most direct link yet between Donald Trump and Moscow, Sullivan claimed. This secret hotline may be the key to unlocking the mystery of Trumps ties to Russia.

Last week, Durham argued that these Twitter posts are material because Sussmann had communicated with the media and provided them with the Russian Bank-1 data and allegations before articles on the claims were published. He also kept Clinton campaign staff apprised of his efforts while they communicated with the Clinton Campaigns leadership about potential media coverage of these issues.

But Sussmanns lawyers over the past weekend, in court, wrote that the Clinton campaigns Twitter posts about the matter, including the Sullivan one, should not be preserved for Sussmanns trial.

The Tweet, which was posted on October 31, 2016, does not reveal anything about Mr. Sussmanns state of mind over a month earlier, when he purportedly made the alleged false statement, his attorneys wrote. There is no evidence that Mr. Sussmanns meeting with Mr. Baker had anything to do with the Clinton Campaigns broader media strategy.

They responded to Sullivans statement and touting of a Slate story on the Trump-Russian bank claim: First, contrary to the Special Counsels misleading statement of the law, the Tweet is hearsay and it is plainly being offered for the truth: so that the Special Counsel can argue that the Campaigns plan all along was to make a public statement about federal authorities looking into the direct connection between Trump and Russia.

Second, the Tweetwhich Mr. Sussmann did not author, issue, authorize, or even know aboutis irrelevant, prejudicial, and would only confuse and distract the jury from the single false statement charge it must decide, they continued.
A man authorities identified as Jerry Braun rides in an Uber in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (DOJ via The Epoch Times)

Government Charges Man Who Allegedly Boasted About Jan. 6 to His Uber Driver

A man who prosecutors say bragged about the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol to his Uber driver was arrested and charged this month with three counts related to the breach.

Jerry Braun was charged on April 7 with obstruction during civil disorder, violent entry or disorderly conduct, and entering and remaining in a building.

Braun, arrested on April 12, faces up to six years and six months in prison if convicted.

According to charging documents unsealed on April 19, an Uber driver reported picking up a passenger named Jerry about 1 mile away from the Capitol at approximately 7:05 p.m. on the day of the breach. The man was bleeding near his right eye, which appeared injured.

A video recording of the ride obtained by the FBI showed the driver asking Braun about violence at the Capitol.

Well, it started around, right when I got there. I tore down the barricades, the passenger said, according to the FBI.

You did? Why? the driver wondered.

Well, because, so we could get to the Capitol, the passenger said.

Well, howd that work out for you? the driver asked.

Well, it looks like, uh, Bidens gonna be our president, Braun said.

The breach occurred while Congress was certifying the electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election. Joe Biden was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 2021.

A man authorities identified as Jerry Braun outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (DOJ via The Epoch Times)

Federal officers later found records of a JD Braun checking in to a nearby Holiday Inn on Jan. 5, 2021, and checking out on Jan. 7, 2021. A comparison of the California drivers license used during the check-in and the Uber passenger revealed a positive match, according to the FBI.

Agents also found images of Braun on Jan. 6, including one where his pocket held a paper that listed the website www.shotgunshock.com, which online records showed was associated with the Uber account for Braun and a phone number with a listed contact name of Jerry Braun.

Body camera footage from Metropolitan Police Officers at the capitol showed a man identified as Braun pulling a barricade from officers on Capitol grounds and, at one point, holding a long wooden plank. Braun was captured striking multiple times a person with a helmet emblazoned with press.

Braun told officers who executed a search warrant at his home in South El Monte, California, on Nov. 8, 2021, that he was part of the Capitol breach. Asked what he was guilty of, Braun said, everything, according to the FBI.

Text messages from Brauns phone showed he sent a message several days before the breach relating that he was going to fly to Washington for a rally, and that he was shopping for body armor. In a selfie photograph sent after the breach showing Brauns injured face, Braun texted souvenir from DC.

Occupied the capitol, Braun wrote in another text, sent on Jan. 11, 2021. He shared a video that showed people clashing with law enforcement officers.

According to the texts and footage, Braun did not appear to go inside the Capitol building.

Brauns lawyer told The Epoch Times in an email that neither he nor his client have a comment on the charges at this time.

The defendant was released on personal recognizance after a hearing on April 19.

A Department of Justice spokesman declined to comment on the case, including why it took over 13 months to charge Braun. Uber did not return an inquiry.

As of April, prosecutors have charged nearly 800 people in nearly all 50 states with crimes related to the breach.
Hillary Clinton speaks during the New York State Democratic Convention in New York on Feb. 17, 2022. (Seth Wenig/AP Photo)

Hillary Clintons Campaign Moves to Intervene in Case Brought by John Durham

Hillary Clintons presidential campaign is moving to intervene in a case brought by special counsel John Durham against Michael Sussmann, a lawyer who represented the campaign when he brought information to the FBI alleging a link between Donald Trump and Russia in 2016.

At the time, Clinton was the Democratic presidential nominee and Trump was the Republican nominee; Trump went on to win the election.

Federal prosecutors are seeking to compel Clintons campaign, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and Fusion GPS, the firm they hired to conduct opposition research on Trump, to produce documents that the government may want to admit during the trial of Sussmann, who has been charged with lying to the FBI for allegedly claiming he wasnt bringing the derogatory information about Trump on behalf of a client.

The campaign, the DNC, and Fusion have asserted privilege over the documents, which include communications between Perkins Coie, a law firm hired by the Democrats, and Fusion.

However, a claim of privilege, or an assertion that the documents should be withheld because they are attorney-client communications, falls short, Durhams team alleges in a recent filing.

The government does not dispute that [Fusion] conducted opposition research regarding Trumps purported ties to Russia at the behest of the Clinton Campaign and the DNC through a retention agreement with [Perkins], prosecutors said. But in doing so, [Fusion] was not primarily providing or supporting expertise relating to legal advice; instead, it appears that the investigative firms primary, if not sole, function was to generate opposition research materials that the firm then shared widely with members of the media, the U.S. State Department, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), members of Congress, and others.

The opposition research resulted in the so-called Steele dossier, which made a series of unsubstantiated claims about Trump and Russia that special counsel Robert Mueller was unable to prove.

One of the claimsabout a supposed secret channel between Trump and Russias Alfa Bankwas disproven by the CIA in 2017, recent filings in the case revealed.

In the new filings, Clintons campaign challenged the portrayal by prosecutors, arguing that the government is trying to obtain materials that are protected.

Clintons campaign wants to be heard at any hearing conducted on the government efforts to compel production, which it says will help the court decide on the governments motion.

Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta speaks to reporters outside Clintons home in Washington on Oct. 5, 2016. (Andrew Harnik/AP Photo)

The campaign asserts its attorney-client privilege and the attorney-work-product protection with respect to all documents and information under the control of Perkins Coie or any of its consultants, including Fusion GPS and is not waiving any of its privileges, and it opposes the governments motion to compel, John Podesta, chairman of the campaign, told the court in one filing.

In another filing, Robby Mook, who served as campaign manager, said that one of the topics on which Perkins provided legal services and legal advice to the campaign involved fact-finding and research that the campaign conducted regarding Trump.

Although I was not aware during the campaign of any contractors that Perkins Coie engaged to assist it in providing legal services and legal advice regarding this work, I did believe throughout the campaign that whatever work Perkins Coie performed, either through its own professionals or through any contractors it may have engaged to assist it, the work was done for the purpose of providing legal services and legal advice to the campaign, he added.

The campaign and the DNC in February agreed to pay fines after the Federal Election Commission determined they likely violated federal law by misreporting payments to Perkins.

The campaign had said it paid Perkins Coie for legal services while the DNC had described payments to the firm as being for legal and compliance consulting.

Because the money actually went to Fusion for the opposition research, the entities failed to follow a law that requires political campaigns and groups to define the purpose of each payment, according to a complaint, which prompted the commission investigation.

Neither the campaign nor the DNC admitted wrongdoing when paying the fines, though Marc Elias, who was with Perkins Coie until 2021, has acknowledged under oath to the House of Representatives that the money to retain Fusion came from the campaign and the DNC.

Fusion, run by former Wall Street Journal reporters Peter Fritsch and Glenn Simpson, had already filed a similar challenge to Durhams motions, while the DNC moved on April 20 to intervene to assert privilege claims.

In a separate declaration that was partially redacted, Elias told the court that Fritsch and Simpson reached out to him in the spring of 2016 and at some point after that, Perkins Coie engaged Fusion.

Elias recalled thinking that Fusion would help him in his work for the campaign, and that on some occasions, the firms work was distilled and incorporated into my judgments about legal issues, while in other instances, I shared the results of Fusions work with my clients.

Elias told the House Intelligence Panel in 2017 that Fusion didnt provide legal services.

The campaign said an unredacted version of the Elias declaration could be submitted to the court to review behind closed doors, alleging the redactions were made because the material being hidden was itself subject to privilege claims.
Historical Roots of India-China Border Conflict Lie in Mao Zedongs Conquest Designs in Xinjiang and Tibet: Historian

NEW DELHISince the bloody clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the remote Galwan region of the Himalayas in 2020, border tensions between the two neighbors have shown little sign of easing.

The decades-long border dispute finds its roots in the Chinese regimes first leader Mao Zedongs conquest designs in western regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, according to a leading historian on the issue.

Claude Arpi, a French-born Tibetologist now living in India told The Epoch Times that Chinas aggression in the western sector in Indias northernmost Ladakh region started not long after Mao came to power in October 1949 when the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) marched into Tibet and Xinjiang, the two territories that today share a long border with India.

Until then the Chinese were not present on the Indian frontier and it was the Soviets who were monitoring and controlling the borders of East Turkestan, a Central Asian satellite state of the Soviet Union that is today known as the western frontier of Xinjiang, with India, according to Arpi.

By December 1949, the PLA, without artillery and with only a few hundred vehicles provided by the Soviets that had to be abandoned a few weeks in due to lack of fuel and spare parts, had descended on Xinjiang by foot.

The PLA took over the entire Xinjiang and came at the gate of India in two months, Arpi said.

Arpi, an author of two books on the 1962 India-China war and multiple other books on Tibet and the Sino-India territorial dispute, said that its obvious that Soviet leader Joseph Stalin knew of the CCPs operations in East Turkestan but its not clear why the Soviets gave up this territory under their control to the Chinese communists.

They probably thought that Mao would do the dirty work and the Soviet control over these areas could continue as before, he said.

At this time India had a consulate in Kashgar in East Turkestan that it had to close and its consul general had to escape on foot crossing the Karakoram mountains to reach Leh town in Indias Ladakh. It considered this closure as a fait accompli since a revolution had taken place.

The geopolitical placement of Indias northernmost dominion, Jammu and Kashmir in 1947, two years before Mao Zedong took over Xinjiang and came to Indias bordertoday thats Chinas western frontier. (Venus Upadhayaya/Epoch Times)

Aksai Chin

At the junction between India-, China- and Pakistan- controlled territories today, theres an uninhabited cold desert called Aksai Chinalso the only land connection between Xinjiang and Tibet.

By the time the CCP finished its conquest of Tibet in 1951 to 1952, Mao realized that Aksai Chin, the desert area in the north of Ladakh was strategically extremely important for the regimes future.

It was an uninhabited area, nobody could live there, but the Chinese decided to build a road there because it was the easiest way to connect the two new provinces [of Tibet and Xinjiang], said Arpi. Thats how in Aksai Chin todays Chinese Highway G219 came into being. Was surveyed in 1952-53, China started building it in 1954 and it was inaugurated in July 1957.

After marking the road in 1952, the CCP didnt stop there. In 1956 China agreed to a map that gets more or less half of the Aksai Chin and in 1959 it pushed it further south, said Arpi.

India was born as a nation in 1947 and was taken unaware of the Chinese Communist Partys activities in its dominion of Jammu and Kashmir which included the province of Ladakh and hence Aksai Chin.

The Indian administration in New Delhi came to know of G219 on its territory only after an Indian patrol party was detained by the Chinese in Haji Langar in September 1958. Haji Langar was an extreme Indian patrolling point in the north of Aksai Chin; It was also a place where Mecca-bound pilgrims were fed. The 1962 war between India and China ignited after Mao annexed Indian territory and built G219. India was defeated in the conflict and lost the Aksai Chai region in a matter of days.

The Epoch Times has obtained a booklet published by the government of India in 1963 entitled Chinese Aggression in Maps. and its a cartographic description of how without provocation the CCP entered the uninhabited Indian territory of Aksai Chai and how the Chinese claim lines unilaterally continued to change from 1956 to 1962.

The Indian administration in its booklet said the Chinese were claiming boundary lines in Ladakh according to their bargaining convenience and progressively increasing extent of occupation of Indian territory through force.

Arpi said even the international community was taken unaware of the Chinese activities in this desolate part of the world. The Soviet Union might have known, but by that time, it was no more their business, he said.

And after that the 1962 war took place, the PLA pushed south and occupied some other places that they have not vacated to date. China vacated some areas and some didnt vacate. In the end, where is the LAC? said Arpi, adding that Chinas bargaining convenience continues untill date.

The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is a notional line of demarcation between India-controlled territory and China-controlled region. The Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai first spoke about the existence of the LAC during his visit to Delhi in 1960.

Arpi said nobody actually knows the specific position of the LAC; Zhou sent a map of what he considered was LAC in 1962 but it didnt correspond to the reality on the ground in several places.

India and China started the process of exchanging maps only in 2000. Since then they have shared maps only of a central sector called the Barahoti area but nothing has been exchanged on Ladakh where theres a massive military buildup on both sides today.

In 2002, there was a meeting, China brought maps of its own perceptions and India did the same. After 20 minutes China and India took back their maps, probably realizing that the perceptions were too far apart, said Arpi.

It has however to be noted that detailed maps of the western sector have never been exchanged, he added.

Arpi said the Chinese have continued with the same strategy of salami-slicingencroaching on the territory a bit at a timeuntil recently when they tried to grab a few miles in the Himalayan Galwan region to gain a better altitude for a view of the strategic road Indians were building there. It ended in the June 2020 clash, a hand-to-hand fight where the PLA attacked the Indians with metal rods wrapped with barbed wire.

The clash killed 20 Indian soldiers and an estimated dozens of Chinese soldiers, though Beijing has only officially acknowledged a small handful of deaths.

China grabs what it wants or what it needs, whether in Ladakh or in the South China Sea, and then says: Now let us negotiate. But later, nothing happens during the negotiations, said Arpi.

A map shows how the perception of the India-China border in Ladakh or Chinas western frontier has changed and how China consolidated intrusion by building G219 on Indian territory. The road connected Chinas two new territoriesXinjiang and Tibet. (Wikipedia commons)

Negotiations Between Armies

The 2020 conflict in Galwan led to heavy military build-up on both sides of the disputed border, and to ease tensions the two countries militaries started bilateral talks.

But despite 15 rounds of these talks between commanders on both sides little progress has been made. Arpi said its remarkable that for the first time the negotiations involve the army because the branch has better ground perception, and this is important in Ladakh, a high altitude plateau where height means gaining a strategic advantage over the other.

Modi government did a good thing to give the negotiation to the army, to the 15 Corps Commander in Leh. And of course, there is one additional secretary from the Ministry of External Affairs who has attended all these talks. Modern negotiations need to involve all the stakeholders, said Arpi.

When Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi landed in India on March 24, Indias Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said the bilateral ties between the two countries cant be normal until the border tensions persist.

Is it not strange that there has been so much coverage about Ukraine; so much criticism of Putin, but nobody has said anything to Xi Jinping when in May of 2020 he started grabbing land in Ladakh. In that case, it is only because of the Indian Army with the Indian governments support, that the Chinese advances were stopped, said Arpi.

The historian noted that it would be very difficult for the CCP to concede in this dispute because domestically it has promoted disinformation and propaganda about the Galwan conflict, including pointing to India as the aggressor in the clash and covering up the total Chinese casualties.

Today, if Beijing gives back some areas in Depsang [a disputed area in Aksai Chin], itll be known in China. It will be known by the members of the [CCPs] Central Committee, the Politburo, it will be known by the media, and Xi Jinping will lose face. Xi Jinping is not in a position to lose face before Novembers 20th Congress, said Arpi, referring to an important CCP meeting where Xi is bidding for an unprecedented third term in power.

The CCP has also been seizing territory in the South China Sea as well where it is building and militarizing islands, Arpi said. While the West can only make a lot of noise and put sanctions, India is the only country that stood physically, militarily against the PLA, he said.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), right, and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) peak to the media outside of a closed-door deposition on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 29, 2019. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

House GOPers Call on Top Scientist to Clarify Comments About Lab Leak Theory

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and other Republicans called on Dr. Kristian Andersen to clarify earlier comments he made about suppressing the COVID-19 lab leak origin theory.

In an earlier appearance before Congress, Andersen suggested that he had not suppressed information about the lab leak theory; according to the GOP letter released today, those earlier claims may be untrue in view of statements Andersen made to Vanity Fair.

On February 3, 2022, we wrote you regarding apparent attempts to conceal or cover-up pertinent information regarding the origins of COVID-19, specifically the hypothesis that it leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, the letter begins. On February 17, 2022, you responded to our letter and stated that you were not aware of, and [were] not involved in, any effort to suppress any particular theory about the origins of SARS-CoV-2.'

Recent reporting by Vanity Fair brings into question the truthfulness of that response. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1001, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the  legislative  branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully mak[ing] any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation is a crime. We therefore invite you to correct the Committee record, in person, in a transcribed interview at your earliest convenience, wrote the Republican lawmakers.

The Vanity Fair article details how in June 2021, evolutionary biologist Jesse D. Bloom had prepared a draft of a paper suggesting that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic leaked out of the high-level biological research facility in Wuhan, China. Though later information has indicated that this theory is likely true, many in the federal medical establishment were hesitant to admit such a link at the time.

Because Blooms paper contained potentially sensitive information about the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is chaired by Dr. Anthony Fauci, Bloom offered to allow Fauci to read the draft prior to peer review or publication.

Later, Bloom presented the paper to Dr. Andersen in a Zoom call, during which Andersen said he found Blooms research deeply troubling.

Following a reportedly contentious argument over the paper, Andersen approached Bloom with an offer to delete the controversial passages in a way that would leave no electronic trail showing that the paper had been changed. Reportedly, Bloom refused on grounds that neither option was appropriate given the contentious nature of the meeting.

A recent expose by Vanity Fair brings into question the accuracy of your assertion that you did not suppress any theory about the origins of COVID-19 and therefore all previous statements made to the Committee, continued the Republican lawmakers after citing the report.

Dr. Blooms paper was problematic for Drs. Fauci and Collins [who served as the former head of the NIH and also opposed the lab leak theory]who one year earlier had awarded you an $8.9 million dollar research grant since it explicitly advocated for a more thorough investigation of NIH, COVID-19s origin, and did not adhere to the real card-carryingvirologists preferred narrative, the Republicans alleged.

Dr. Bloom said that you took issue with his research suggesting it was unethical to analyze why the Chinese researchers requested the sequences be deleted  you then told Dr. Bloom that you could simply delete or revise the paper in a way that would leave no record that this had been done.'

This incident, if true, contradicts your February 17, 2022 letter and shows that you offered to suppress research about the origins of COVID-19 that did not fit your pre-determined narrative, they added.

Andersen has yet to respond to the allegations, and could not be immediately reached for comment on the matter.
Queen Elizabeth II delivers a speech in the House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster during the opening of Parliament in London on May 27, 2015. (Alastair Grant/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

House of Lords Told to Use Inclusive Language and Avoid Offense Terms Such as Manpower

The House of Lords, a major tenant of British democracy as the second chamber of the UK Parliament, has sent out an Inclusive Language Guide to its members on what words they can use and ones they should avoid.

The House plays a crucial role, in questioning government action and investigating public policy with the power to delay or amend bills.

According to a Freedom Of Information request obtained by The Mail on Sunday, the guidance on how to become an inclusive workplace says that manpower ought to be replaced with gender-neutral workforce and staffing. Synthetic and artificial must also replace the term man-made.

The guide, which is available for all 771 members of the House of Lords and their staff, also asked them to replace the term ladies and gentlemen with one and all, colleagues, and folks.

The news angered some including the historian Andrew Roberts who told The Telegraph that he believed the guidance was sad and somewhat pathetic, adding that the House of Lords, an establishment which was founded in 1801, ought to have remained above such ludicrous faddism.

The Inclusive Language Guide stated that the language you use impacts others around you, if the words and phrases you use are offensive this may exclude certain groups of people based on assumptions; cause distress or embarrassment; reinforce derogatory labels or stereotypes and belittle certain groups of people.

A House of Lords spokesperson told the Mail On Sunday that Parliament strives to be an inclusive workplace where people are valued for the skills and experience they bring. Part of this is providing guidance and information to staff and line managers on inclusivity on an advisory basis.

Appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister, the Lords, who are often life peers, come from a range of backgrounds such as politics, medicine, law, business, science, sports, education, the armed forces, diplomacy, and public service.

The House of Lords is keen to be recognised as a positive, inclusive working environment as part of its 20192022 Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, and the strategic aim of the House of Commons to support a thriving parliamentary democracy.

However in 2021, when a draft of the Ministerial and Other Maternity Allowances Bill referred to pregnant people rather than mothers or women, current member of the House of Lords Lucas said that almost everybody who spoke from all around the House was clear that the use of the phrase pregnant person in the Bill was unacceptable. Consequently, the government was forced to do a U-turn on the language.
Test your understanding of the living world with this simple question. What kind of biomolecule is found in all living organisms? If your answer is DNA, you are incorrect.

The mistake is very forgiveable though. The standard English-language biology education casts DNA (DeoxyriboNucleic Acid) as the master molecule of life, coordinating and controlling most, if not all, living functions. This master molecule concept is popular. It is plausible. It is taught in every university and high school. But it is wrong. DNA is no master controller, nor is it even at the centre of biology. Instead, science overwhelmingly shows that life is self-organised and thus the pieces are in place for biology to undergo the ultimate paradigm shift.

The Mythologising of DNA

Highly respected scientists make very strong claims for the powers of DNA. In his autobiography, Nobel Laureate Kary Mullis called it The King of molecules and The big one. Maybe he read DNA: The Secret of Life, a popular science book that calls DNA the molecule that holds the key to the very nature of living things. Its author should know. He is Nobel Laureate, James Watson, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA. Even institutions have strong opinions when it comes to DNA; the website of the US National Institutes of Health claims Genes are at the center of everything that makes us human.

My edition of The Secret of Life features on its back cover Eric Lander. Lander is the celebrated brains behind modern human genetics. He is also the head of the Broad Institute at MIT. In his blurb, Lander endorses The secret of life trope. Just below him on the jacket is Professor of genetics Mary-Claire King. She writes: This is the story of DNA and therefore the story of life, history, sex, money, drugs, and still-to-be-revealed secrets. According to Prof. King, DNA is life.

The Watson view of genetics dominates education too. The standard US high school biology textbook Life, of which we own the 1997 edition, frames the entirety of biology around DNA, thereby giving it the biochemical status of lifes centrepiece.

Meanwhile, Francis Collins, longstanding head of the National Institutes of Health, has published bestselling books about DNA with titles like The Language of Life and the Language of God. It should be no surprise then that the idea of DNA as a master molecule is one of the dominant ideas of our age.

Some biologists will say that these views are extreme and unrepresentative. They are, and part of this article is to explain why extreme views about DNA dominate the public discourse. But its main purpose is to contrast the portrayal of DNA by virtually all biologists with the narrow scientific treatment they apply to other biological molecules. Our existence also depends on proteins, fats, carbohydrates and RNA (Ribonucleic Acid); but no one says its in my protein. But here is a question: is it any less scientifically preposterous to say something is in my DNA?

To take a ruthless look at that question is thus the purpose of this article. Does DNA have any claim to being in control? Or at the centre of biological organisation?

The answer is that DNA is none of the things Watson, Lander, and Collins claim, and that even the standard nuanced biologists view of life is wrong. This is provable in many ways but mainly by a new science of life that is emerging from almost complete obscurity. This new science explains the features of living beings in productive new ways that DNA-centric, genetic determinist, biology has not, and cannot. DNA is not the language of God. It is not even the language of biology.

Organisms Are Systems

The evidence that DNA is not a biological controller begins with the fact that biological organisms are complex systems. Outside of biology, when we consider any complex system, such as the climate, or computers, or the economy, we would not normally ask whether one component has primacy over all the others. We consider it obvious that complex systems are composed of subsystems, each being necessary for the larger whole. Each subsystem has its specific niche but no one subsystem exerts a privileged level of causation.

The same applies to living organisms. At the level of the physiology of an individual organism we do not apply an exclusive or special causative role to the heart, the liver, the skin, or the brain, because a body is a system. All parts are necessary.

At the smaller biological scales of organs too, distinct cell types maintain, operate, and repair themselves and each other. Similarly, at the cellular level, no one disagrees that organelles and other molecular structures are interacting but independent subparts of the whole.

At the level of macromolecules, however, a curious thing happens. Biologists abandon systems thinking entirely. Instead, we apply the famous central dogma of biology, which is that DNA makes RNA makes Protein (Crick, 1970). This formulation creates an origin story that begins with DNA.

The first mistake of the dogma, however, is to call it central. If an organism is a system, then there is no centre. The second error is that the pathway described is factually incorrect. The pathway should be a loop since the DNA does not come from nowhere: to make every DNA molecule requires proteins and RNA and DNA. More broadly, the synthesis of DNA cannot be done without a whole cell, just as the making of any RNA or any protein also takes a whole cell.

If we wanted to be more accurate still, we would say it takes a whole organism to make each of these components. Even this description would be incomplete, since, undeniably, it takes an ecosystem, including, in the case of humans, a gut microbiota and a food supply. The full formulation of the central dogma is therefore a loop embedded in a web. But the central dogma taught to millions of students every year takes an entirely different intellectual path. It arbitrarily confers on DNA a special place: firstly, by not closing the loop, and second, by placing DNA at its beginning. The central dogma is thus merely a representation formed from arbitrarily constructed boundaries. It is not biological reality.

Geneticists, and sometimes other biologists, make this linear interpretation seem plausible, not with experimentssince their results contradict itbut by using highly active verbs in their references to DNA. DNA, according to them, controls, governs, and regulates cellular processes, while nouns like expression are also commonly used to ascribe functions to DNA. Biologists thus confer activist and willful superpowers on DNA. Ultimately, this can create circular arguments. DNA controls embryonic development or organism health because genes express themselves. QED.

However, there is no specific science that demonstrates that DNA plays the dominant role these words imply. Quite the opposite. For example, a recent publication in Nature magazine posited An emerging consensus that much of the protein constituent of the cell is buffered against transcriptional variation. i.e. is insulated from direct genetic quantitative influence (Chick et al., 2016). This buffering is nicely demonstrated by many experiments. One is the demonstration that the circadian rhythm of a bacterium can be reproduced, in the absence of any DNA, by just three proteins mixed together in a test tube. The rhythm was maintained for three days, even in the face of temperature changes (Nakjima et al., 2005).

Inevitably, any language used to describe DNA will necessarily be metaphorical and be of limited accuracy, but words like govern and control literally invent attributes for DNA (Noble, 2003). A much more precise metaphor for DNA would compare it to the library of Congress, since cells use DNA primarily as a storehouse of information. Consider that biologists could apply more neutral verbs such as use, as in cells use DNA to create proteins. If so, they would have created a very different status for DNA. Only librarians would have T-shirts saying its in my DNA.

If we shed the wild metaphors and the central dogma, a more accurate way to think about biology emerges. If every molecule and every subsystem, regardless of scale, constrains and potentiates the other parts, then there is no need to infer a central controller. We can replace the DNA-centric model of biology with a relational model of complex interplay of feedback systems and emergent properties, of which the library of DNA is just one component. In this model, RNA is simply one of the inputs needed to make proteins and DNA is just one of the inputs needed to make RNA, and so on. Unlike the central dogma, such a proposition is consistent with the known facts of biology.

The formulation encapsulated by the central dogma and by biology textbooks is therefore an illusion. They are a classic case of what microbiologist Carl Woese has called the reductionist fundamentalism. Reductionist fundamentalism differs from simple reductionism in that whereas simple reductionism is a valid scientific method, the former is an ideological preference for a simplistic explanation when a more holistic one is better supported by the evidence. In this case, the assigning of superpowers to DNA to explain observed biological activities when a better explanation would accept that many biochemical events have multiple causes and contributors. Oxford physiologist Denis Noble describes this fallacy as conferring on DNA a privileged level of causation.

If Not DNA, Is There a Molecule of Life?

Many plant-infecting viruses lack DNA. They base their lifecycles on protein and they use RNA as their heritable material.

There are also plant pathogens, called viroids, that lack both DNA and protein. Viroids are thus composed solely of non-coding RNA. Lifeforms can therefore exist without either DNA or proteinsbut there are none that that lack RNA.

Therefore, the answer to the opening question: what kind of biomolecule is possessed by all living organisms? is RNA. RNA stands for Ribonucleic Acid and for many reasons it is a better candidate for being a universal biomolecule than DNA.

RNA and DNA are chemically very similar. Even scientists confuse them, but their modest chemical distinctions confer very different properties. RNA is structurally very flexible (bendy), whereas DNA is highly inflexible; RNA is unstable and chemically reactive, whereas DNA is highly inert. A key difference is the number of chemical modifications that cells are able make to their four bases. In the case of DNA (whose bases are the nucleotides A,C,G and T), just two modifications are possible in most cells. These modifications are called methylation and acetylation. These two modifications alter the properties of DNA bases and they are the primary basis of the fashionable science of epigenetics.

RNA also has four bases (A, C, G, and U). But cells make more than one hundred comparable chemical modifications to them. The roles of these modifications are essentially a mystery, but presumably they help RNA perform its many cellular tasks.

RNA is also misunderstood. In a typical human cell, less than 1% of it makes proteins. The remaining 99% has a huge variety of structural, regulatory, and enzymatic functions. Most biologists though might as well be slaves to the central dogma in thinking that RNA is just the intermediate between DNA and protein. Only recently has RNA begun emerging from the shadow of DNA as a far more interesting molecule.

The deep explanation of these molecular differences is that RNA existed long before DNA. RNA probably predated even the invention of cells. It is enormously old. In consequence, it is so deeply and structurally embedded in living systems that it is very hard to study. Thus the paradoxical reason why we dont know much about RNA is not because it is unimportant, but because, unlike DNA, RNA is too important to cell function to selectively remove at will.

Consequently, to conform with current evolutionary understanding, we should really invert standard teaching and insist that the proper way to think about DNA is that it is a specialised form of RNA. DNA evolved structural rigidity and chemical inertness to make itself a more staid librarian for the safe storing of heritable information.

So, over evolutionary time DNA was chosen as a better librarian (this library metaphor originates with Colin Tudge and his excellent book Why DNA isnt selfish and people are nice); proteins turned out to be superior catalysts of chemical reactions; but RNA is more likely to have been the biomolecule around which life was really built. But RNA is no more a controller than is DNA.

Nor is DNA the centre of evolution

A common explanation for organising biology around DNA, and the one given by the authors of Life, the textbook, is DNAs supposed role in the theory of evolution. For two reasons this explanation is highly questionable, however. Both reasons exemplify pervasive misunderstandings of the theory of evolution. One of these misunderstandings exaggerates the significance of Darwins theory and the second, once again, gives to DNA credit it doesnt deserve.

The first misunderstanding is to assume that evolutionary theory is an explanation of life. Life, however, began long before Darwinian evolution and some of its fundamental patterns (cells, proteins, energy metabolism) emergedso far as we can telllong before DNA became the molecule of heredity (Carter, 2016). This distinction is important. In a textbook about Life, for example, it is important to separate the origin of life from its maintenance so as not to unhelpfully exaggerate (i.e. confuse) what Darwins theory explains; but in conflating the two, Life is only reflecting the misunderstanding of most biologists.

Second, the pre-Darwinian life of cells and metabolism arose thanks to the fact that complex systems have emergent and self-organising properties (e.g. Kauffman, 1993; Carter, 2016). The advent of DNA into these systems allowed Darwinian evolution to accelerate, but it did not eradicate emergent and self-organising properties. Rather, it colluded with them and helped create new ones. This means such properties are the likeliest explanation of large areas of biology. Self-organization proposes what natural selection disposes is how Batten and colleagues quaintly summarise alternatives to standard evolutionary theory which is pretty much rigidly genetic determinist (Batten et al., 2008).

A classic emergent property is the folding of proteins. DNA encodes the linear sequence of amino acids that constitute proteins, but every protein adopts one (or usually more) highly complex three dimensional shape (Munson et al., 1996). These shapes, along with charge and solubility, are largely responsible for a proteins properties. It is habitually, but lazily, presumed that DNA specifies all the information necessary for the formation of a protein, but that is not true. All protein shapes depend also on the integration of multiple sources of information. These sources include temperature, other cellular molecules like water and mineral ions, pH, energy molecules like ATP, protein folding aids called chaperones, and so forth. Beyond this, many proteins have functions, such as to be molecular channels and pumps, that emerge only at higher levels of structure, such as in the presence of other proteins.

Thus DNA specifies proteins and their functions only up to a very limited point. It is possible to disregard all such non-genetic contributions and ascribe to DNA all the properties of a protein or a process (or a whole organism). Most scientists do, but doing so is an ultra-determinist position. It writes emergent properties, such as protein folding, entirely out of the functioning of life. It again confers onto DNA superpowers it does not have.

Emergent properties are only one example of why the relationship between DNA and evolution is much more tenuous than is normally portrayed. Patrick Bateson of Cambridge University, whose perspective is not emergent properties but animal behaviour, explained evolution much more accurately than most when he wrote: Whole organisms survive and reproduce differentially and the winners drag their genotypes with them. This is the engine of Darwinian evolution.

Thus we can explain why Charles Darwin invented his theory of evolution without knowing DNA even existed, because, even for evolution, DNA still is not The big one, but it is standard for biologists to teach that DNA is more important to evolution than any other component of living organisms.

Explaining Genocentric Biology

When Dorothy journeyed to the Emerald City she discovered that The Wizard of Oz was only a common man. He was devoid of magic powers and so could not help her friends. But there was at least something behind the facade. The same is true for DNA.

Most cellular molecules are highly reactive and transient chemical substances. That means they are difficult to extract, and hard to study. So it is with RNA and proteins.

DNA, however, is a much more practical point of intervention in biology. It is stable and robust and simple enough to be isolated on a reproducible basis and copied precisely. With an hour of training, high school students can do it. With a bit more training, DNA can be altered and, in some species, replaced. Hence the alarm over garage hacking of DNA.

This explains, in a nutshell, why our understanding of gene regulatory networks runs far ahead of our understanding of other disciplines of biology. It is because DNA is the low hanging fruit of biology.

Scientific Dissent Around DNA

The human body completely changes the matter it is made of roughly every 8 weeks, through metabolism, replication and repair. Yet, youre still you with all your memories, your personality If science insists on chasing particles, they will follow them right through an organism and miss the organism entirely.

Mathematical biologist Robert Rosen is supposed to have said. And indeed, examine any multicellular organism and concealed under its relatively calm surface are circulatory systems, churning stomachs, lymphatic drainage systems, electrical impulses, biomolecular machines and so forth.

These systems cause every part of an organism to continuously move, contract, twist, vibrate, strain and grow. What defines living organisms, in the final analysis, is their dynamic and animate nature. This is why, when we want to know if an organism has legally died we dont examine its DNA, we measure its heartbeat or brain function. Animate properties require animate components, like RNA and proteins.

Yet by organizing our understanding of life largely around DNA (recall Mary-Claire Kings DNA is life), biologists have curiously chosen the cellular constituent that is probably the least representative of lifes dynamic nature.

For this reason there are dissenters in biology. Some are prominent. Some are not. They all have questioned whether biology is not much more complex and interesting than our present DNA-based framing can make room for (e.g. Kaufman, 1993; Strohman, 1997; Rose, 1999; Woese 2004; Annila and Baverstock 2014; Friston et al., 2015).

These dissenters like to note, for example, the general absence of medico-scientific breakthroughs following the sequencing of the human genome and the ever-more-detailed-analysis-of-tiny-scraps-of-human-DNA (Ioannidis, 2007; Dermitzakis and Clark, 2009; Manolio et al., 2009).

Some go much further in their critiques than others. Carl Woese, perhaps the best known bacteriologist since Pasteur, argued before his death that genetic determinism is a dead end, its vision of biology is spent (Woese, 2004).

There perhaps is no finer example of this than the field of tissue engineering. Tissue engineers claim to have made incredible progress making whole human organs in vitro for transplanting and other medical uses, yet these organs are all non-functional (Badylak, 2016). They dont have blood vessels or immune systems or nerve networks, they are just human cells on an ear-shaped scaffold or a hand-shaped scaffold and so, among their many deficiencies, they are short-lived because they have no regenerative properties.

Many biologists suspect at least part of this paradigm problem, but they rarely act on it. The sole noticeable official response to the obvious fact that organisms are highly complex systems has been to shovel modest funding in the direction of systems biology.

One is bound to note that even this systems biology is rarely the study of systems. Instead, biologists have overwhelmingly used systems biology funds not to further the understanding of complex systems but to scale up and mechanise their reductionism.

Thus no scientific specialism or institution has articulated the profound inadequacy of viewing organisms as collections of gene regulatory networks or moved towards assembling an alternative paradigm (or paradigms) to replace it (Strohman, 1997).

This intellectual near-vacuum is nevertheless being steadily filled by individual scientists, mostly on the margins, with promising, even revolutionary, theoretical developments and experimental findings that explain biological phenomena in ways that transcend genetics.

A Short Guide to Alternative Paradigms of Life

A Helmholtz machine is a sensory device that makes a prediction about reality and crosschecks it against that reality. It then estimates the difference between the two. Bayesian statistics is a mathematical method of doing the same: estimating differences between expectation and reality.

A new theory of neurobiology, called the Bayesian brain theory, proposes that the brain is the biological equivalent of these (reviewed in Clark, 2013). Brains make predictions, measure the mismatches with their expectations and pass those mismatches up to higher neural circuits. These higher circuits repeat the process and if mismatches persist then these are passed on to yet higher mental levels.

The Bayesian brain hypothesis is quite new and predictive neurons might seem superficially improbable, yet the hypothesis appears to explain numerous aspects of brain structure and brain function; for example, how the brain can treat widely different stimuli (visual, sensual, oral, aural, etc.) essentially with the same neural mechanisms and structures. It also appears to show how the brain can integrate action and perception. The theory also provides a substantive explanation of learning: learning is the updating of the predictive model. The Bayesian brain hypothesis may even explain how brains evolved higher levels of consciousness over evolutionary time periods: by adding new layers of prediction.

A particular strength of the Bayesian brain hypothesis is that it corresponds to the actual spatial organisation of neurons in the primate cortex in which ranks of predictive neurons and sensory neurons send signals in opposing directions which lets them cancel each other out (except for the mismatches).

The structure-based predictive learning system proposed by the Bayesian brain hypothesis is of interest here because it relegates detailed genetic explanations of many phenomena, including arguably all consciousness, to the margins (Friston, 2010). Genes and proteins may fill in the details but many of the key elements of brain function: learning, action, and perception, derive primarily from structure alone. I.e., like protein folding, they are emergent properties of organisation.

Emergent properties are equally important in other areas of biology. An example is the vascular system of plants. Trees can transport water from unsaturated sources hundreds of feet into the air. Transpiration, as it is called, requires no energy input. Rather, it takes advantage purely physical properties of hydrophilic xylem tissues (tubes) and the properties of water itself. Without transpiration, which already operates, but only very weakly, in soils, plants could not exceed a couple of inches in height, nor tolerate dry conditions (Wheeler and Stroock, 2008). Thus, the defining characteristic of plants (apart from photosynthesis) is their clever exploitation of a simple physical property of water.

A further example is the arches of the human foot. These are longitudinal and transverse diaphragms composed of bone and connective tissue whose emergent property is both to dissipate forces at impact and operate as springs to transfer energy from impact into forward motion. Arches reduce the energy needed to walk or run.

In the discipline of biochemistry, a recent development is the proposed existence of metabolons. Metabolons are three-dimensional spatial arrangements of enzymes. Metabolons explain how the product of an ostensibly minor metabolic pathway can nevertheless constitute 30% of the weight of a seedling and so drive away pests (Laursen et al., 2017).

A more conventional class of self-organising properties found in biology are homeostatic feedback loops. They too are phenomena largely independent of gene functions with key roles in explaining the activities and properties of living organisms. The three proteins noted earlier that can recreate a bacterial circadian rhythm are just one example (Nakajima et al., 2005).

At more elemental and universal levels of life are unifying theories of cells and metabolism, many of which relate life to the operation of fundamental physical forces. The father of all such theories was arguably Nicolas Rashevsky, who died in 1972. He is survived by his students Robert Rosen and AH Louie. Others include physicist Erwin Schrodinger, author of What is life?; Stuart Kauffman, author of The Origins of Order (1993); Steven Rose Lifelines: Biology beyond determinism (1997); Enrico Coen The Art of Genes (1999); Denis Noble, The Music of Life (2003) and Dance to the Tune of Life: Biological Relativity (2017); and Annila and Baverstock who argue life is the inevitable outcome of the second law of thermodynamics (Annila and Baverstock, 2014; see also Friston et al., 2015). These, and other omitted thinkers, have gone far in assembling the potential raw material for a scientific revolution. One that leaves the framework of gene regulatory networks far behind.

The closest that of any of these theories come to definitively falsifying genetic determinism as a life-concept, however, would be a theory of the origin of life itself that positions metabolism at the centre.

Readers may be familiar with the concept of the RNA world, which is theorised to have predated the supposed modern DNA world. But more convincing than an RNA world, for which there is little evidence, is a new theory, the peptide-RNA world.

The central piece of evidence of the peptide-RNA origin thesis (Carter, 2016) is that the enzyme (called aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase) that nowadays links RNA to proteinsand which therefore connects the RNA world to the protein worldcomes in two basic forms (in all organisms). The evolutionary origin of these two forms (called Class I and Class II enzymes), however, is strangely irreconcilable. Class I and II molecules perform almost identical functions (though with different amino acids) yet have nothing structurally in common. Except for one thing. Their most conserved aminoacids, those at their active catalytic centre, can be derived from opposite strands of the same small RNA molecule (Carter 2016). In other words, the two proteins that let RNA make all modern proteins are derived from opposite strands of a single very primitive small RNA molecule that encoded them both.

The implication of this compelling observation is to intimately link metabolism and replication at a very early stage of lifes origins. RNA was the assembler of primitive proteins and the purpose of those proteins was catalysis, i.e. to guide and enhance metabolism. What the peptide-RNA origin thesis therefore does is to replaces the RNA worldwhich is a replication-first theorywith a metabolism-first theory in that RNA is enhancing a metabolism that already predated it.

DNA and Politics

Human biology is actually far more complicated than we imagine. Everybody talks about the genes that they received from their mother and father, for this trait or the other. But in reality, those genes have very little impact on life outcomes. Our biology is way too complicated for that and deals with hundreds of thousands of independent factors. Genes are absolutely not our fate. They can give us useful information about the increased risk of a disease, but in most cases they will not determine the actual cause of the disease, or the actual incidence of somebody getting it. Most biology will come from the complex interaction of all the proteins and cells working with environmental factors, not driven directly by the genetic code Anand et al., 2008)

This quotation, spoken (but not written), by Craig Venter, the legendary genome sequencer, suggests that even many geneticists secretly appreciate a clear need for alternative paradigms.

At the same time the Venter quote prompts a deep question: How is it that, if organisms are the principal objects of biological study, and the standard explanation of their origin and operation is so scientifically weak that it has to award DNA imaginary superpowers of expression and control to paper over the cracks, have scientists nevertheless clung to it?

Why is it that, rather than celebrating and investing in Rashevsky, Kauffman, Noble, et al., as pioneers of necessary and potentially fruitful and unifying paradigms, have these researchers been ignored by mainstream biology?

What is the big attraction of genetic determinism?

A compelling and non-intuitive explanation for the monomania of biology does exist. It is set out in a second and forthcoming article: The Meaning of Life. It is an explanation that requires going behind the window dressing of science and examining its active and symbiotic relation to power in modern political systems.

Republished from GreenMedInfo.com

References

Anand et al (2008) Cancer is a Preventable Disease that Requires Major Lifestyle Changes. Pharm Research 25: 20972116.

Annila, A and Baverstock K (2014) Genes without prominence: a reappraisal of the foundations of biology. DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2013.1017

Badylak, S (2016) Work with, not against, biology. Nature 540: S55 doi:10.1038/540S55a

Batten, D, S Salthe, F Boschetti (2008) Visions of evolution: self-organization proposes what natural selection disposes. Biological Theory 3: 1729.

Carter, C (2016) An Alternative to the RNA World. Natural History Dec 2016/Jan 2017 28-33.

Chick JM, Munger SC, Simecek P, et al. (2016) Defining the consequences of genetic variation on a proteome-wide scale. Nature 534: 500-505.

Clark A, (2013) Whatever next? Predictive brains, situated agents, and the future of cognitive science. Behavioural and Brain Sciences

Coen, E (1999) The Art of Genes. Oxford University Press.

Crick, F (1970) Central Dogma of Molecular Biology. Nature 227: 5663.

Dermitzakis E.T. and Clark A.G. (2009) Life after GWA studies. Science 326: 239-240.

Friston K. (2010) The free-energy principle: a unified brain theory? Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 127-138 doi:10.1038/nrn2787

Friston K, M Levin, B Sengupta, G Pezzulo (2015) Knowing ones place: a free-energy approach to pattern regulation.

Ioannidis J.P., Non-replication and inconsistency in the genome-wide association setting. Hum Hered, 2007. 64(4): p. 203-13.

Kaufman S (1993) The Origins of Order. Oxford University Press.

Laursen et al., (2017) Characterization of a dynamic metabolon producing the defense compound dhurrin in sorghum. Science 354: 890-895.

Manolio T. et al. (2009) Finding the missing heritability of complex diseases. Nature 461: 747-753.

Mullis K Dancing Naked in the Mind Field. 1998, Vintage Books.

M Munson, S Balasubramanian, KG Fleming et al. (1996) What makes a protein a protein? Hydrophobic core designs that specify stability and structural properties. Protein Science 5: 1584-1593.

Nakajima M. et al., (2005) Reconstitution of Circadian Oscillation of Cyanobacterial KaiC Phosphorylation in Vitro. Science 308: 414-15.

Noble D (2003) The music of life. Biology Beyond Genes. Oxford University Press.

Noble D (2017) Dance to the Tune of Life: Biological Relativity. Cambridge University Press.

Rose S (1997) Lifelines: Biology beyond Determinism. Oxford University Press.

Strohman RC (1997) The coming Kuhnian Revolution in biology. Nature Biotechnology 15: 194-200.

Tudge, Colin (2013) Why Genes are not Selfish and People are Nice. Floris books.

Watson JD (2003) DNA: The Secret of Life. Alfred A. Knopf.

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Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Jada Pinkett Smith arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party during the 94th Academy Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 27, 2022. (Danny Moloshok/Reuters)

Jada Pinkett Smith Speaks Out After Will Smith Slapping Incident

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith issued her first full statement after her husband, actor Will Smith, slapped comedian Chris Rock during the Oscar Awards broadcast.

In remarks on Wednesday, Pinkett Smith claimed her family is focusing on deep healing after the March 27 incident that saw the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences penalize her husband.

Considering all that has happened in the last few weeks, the Smith family has been focusing on deep healing, she said via Red Table Talk, which is featured on Facebook Watch. Days after the slap, the actress shared a vague message on Instagram about healing.

Some of the discoveries around our healing will be shared at the table when the time calls. Until then the table will continue offering itself to powerful, inspiring, and healing testimonies like that of our incredibly impressive first guest, Pinkett Smith also said.

During the incident, Rock, who was presenting an award, make a joke about Pinkett Smiths shaved head, prompting her husband to walk on the stage, approach Rock, and slap him. Will Smith later won a Best Actor award for King Richard.

Rock declined to press charges, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Smith later issued an apology on social media and days later, resigned from the Academy.

This combination of pictures shows actor Will Smith (R) approaching actor Chris Rock during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on March 27, 2022. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

On April 8, the Academy revealed that it would ban Smith from attending the Oscars show for the next 10 years as punishment for the slap.

The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards, Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said in a statement at the time. No other punitive measures were handed down.

The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage, the Academy also said.

In response, Smith apologized again and said, I accept and respect the Academys decision.

Rock, meanwhile, has issued few public comments about the matter. Hes currently embarking on a multi-city comedy tour.
The logo of healthcare company Johnson & Johnson is seen in front of an office building in Zug, Switzerland, on Dec. 1, 2021. (Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

J&J Pulls COVID Vaccine Sales Forecast Due to Low Demand, Supply Glut

Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday rescinded its forecast for sales of its COVID-19 vaccine, as hesitancy in low income countries has led to a glut of supply of a shot once hoped to be the inoculation of choice for the developing world.

The company had previously predicted as much as $3.5 billion in 2022 sales from the single-dose vaccine, but demand has withered.

Still, the company reported strong results for its medical devices business and raised its dividend, driving shares up around 3 percent.

Use of the shot has been weak in high-income countries, hurt by reports of rare, potentially deadly blood clots, production issues, including an accidental mix-up of ingredients by a contract manufacturer, and concerns about efficacy.

J&Js COVID vaccine accounts for about 3% of all doses administered in the United States, and roughly 2 percent of doses in Europe.

Because of the soft demand from Europe and the United States, much of the companys supply has been shipped to lower income countries. As a one-shot vaccine that can be refrigerated for months, many hoped uptake would be better, but executives said it has encountered the same vaccine hesitancy as other manufacturers.

Governments want to act, and what theyre seeing is their populations are just a little bit more reticent than what we see in the U.S. or the G5 with respect to accepting a vaccine, J&J Chief Financial Officer Joseph Wolk said in an interview.

Wolk noted that infrastructure, including refrigeration, has also been a hurdle for getting shots in arms in developing countries.

The World Health Organization has said poorer countries have asked for insufficient doses to meet its goal of vaccinating at least 70% of their populations by the middle of the year.

The vaccine, which is sold at a not-for-profit price, brought in $457 million in the first quarter. J&J recorded vaccine sales of $2.39 billion last year.

Pfizer Inc has forecast $32 billion in 2022 sales from its COVID vaccine developed with BioNTech SE, while Moderna Inc has forecast $21 billion for its shot this year.

J&J also cut both ends of its full-year profit forecast by 25 cents and now expects to earn $10.15 to $10.35 per share. But it blamed the move on currency fluctuations rather than fundamental business issues and raised its dividend 6.6 percent.

With the guidance cut driven exclusively by currency, I think shares are reacting to the forward looking comments, said Edward Jones analyst Ashtyn Evans. J&J discussed accelerating growth in medical technology through acquisitions and also the belief that supply chain issues will improve in the second half of the year.

Other analysts said J&J remains a safe bet within the healthcare sector and that raising the dividend provided predictable income for investors despite vaccine sales woes.

J&J said its medical devices unit should recover this year after pandemic delays in non-urgent surgeries, and it expects above-market growth in its large pharmaceuticals business in 2022, despite falling short of Wall Street estimates in the first quarter.

The company reported pharmaceutical sales of $12.87 billion, well shy of forecasts for $13.6 billion, due in part to low vaccine sales.

Excluding items, J&J earned $2.67 per share for the quarter, beating analysts expectations by 11 cents, according to Refinitiv.

By Manas Mishra and Michael Erman
Vials of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine are seen at a pharmacy in Denver, Colo., in a file photograph. (David Zalubowski/AP Photo)

J&J Suspends Sales Forecast for COVID Vaccine Citing Uncertainty in Demand, Global Supply Surplus

Johnson & Johnson suspended sales forecasts for its COVID-19 vaccine on April 19, citing a global supply surplus and uncertainty when it comes to future demand for the shot.

The company had previously predicted as much as $3.5 billion in 2022 sales from the single-dose vaccine, but demand for the shot has dwindled behind that of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

In its quarterly earnings results on April 19, the company said the move will not impact shareholder earnings.

Johnson & Johnson reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit and also announced a 6.6 percent increase in the quarterly dividend from $1.06 per share to $1.13 per share, which will bring the annual payout to $4.52 per share, up from $4.24.

The companys one-shot vaccine brought in $457 million in global sales during the first quarter of 2022, while the pharmaceutical manufacturer reported $382 million in sales from vaccines outside the United States.

In the United States, J&J gained $75 million from COVID-19 vaccine sales during the JanuaryMarch 2022 period, roughly 25 percent less than what it saw after debuting in the first quarter of 2021.

Pharmaceutical sales overall totaled nearly $13 billion.

Overall, the company posted more than $5.1 billion in net earnings in the first quarter, down 17.7 percent from almost $6.2 billion during the same period in 2021.

Total revenue grew 5 percent to $23.4 billion.

Our first quarter results demonstrate strong performance across the enterprise, despite macro-economic headwinds. I am incredibly proud of Johnson & Johnsons 144,000 employees for their relentless passion and Credo-based commitment to delivering transformative healthcare solutions to patients and customers around the world, said CEO Joaquin Duato.

Looking ahead, I remain confident in the future of Johnson & Johnson as we continue advancing our portfolio and innovative pipeline.

J&J has pledged not to profit from the vaccine. However, in January 2022, the company said that it expects the shot to bring in between $3 billion and $3.5 billion in sales this year, as countries continue to fight variants of the virus.

The companys suspended sales forecast for its vaccine comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last year said that the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, which are both based on messenger RNAor mRNAtechnology, should be recommended to prevent the virus in individuals aged 18 and over, rather than the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Officials cited a higher risk of blood clotting, particularly in middle-aged women, although both the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration claimed at the time that the benefits of administering the J&J shots still outweighed the risks.

J&J said that it now expects 2022 adjusted earnings of $10.15 to $10.35 per share, after previously forecasting earnings of between $10.40 and $10.60 per share.
UKs Johnson Faces Fresh Calls to Resign Over Partygate as MPs Set to Vote on Whether He Misled Parliament

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday fielded a fresh wave of calls for him to resign over lockdown-breaching gatherings as he faced Parliament for the first time after being fined by police.

Meanwhile, House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has given the green light to a debate on Thursday to examine Johnsons statements in Parliament on the gatherings.

Johnson has been mired in the so-called Partygate crisis since Dec. 1, 2021, after it was reported rule-breaking parties had taken place in Downing Street in 2020 during CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus lockdowns when visitations to hospitals and nursing homes were restricted and only a handful of people were allowed to attend a funeral.

Johnson assured Parliament that the alleged parties were work events, and there was no party and that no COVID rules were broken, before more partying allegations dripped through media headlines and led to an internal investigation and a police investigation into at least 12 gatherings in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office. Johnson was allegedly present at six of them.

On April 12, Johnson was fined by the Metropolitan police over a surprise birthday party for him in Downing Street on June 19, 2020.

Apologising in Parliament on Tuesday, Johnson told MPs that he had paid the fine immediately and acknowledged the hurt and the anger in an apology to the British people and wanted to repeat his wholehearted apology to Parliament.

Let me also say, not by way of mitigation or excuse but purely because it explains my previous words in this House, that it did not occur to me, then or subsequently, that a gathering in the Cabinet Room just before a vital meeting on COVID strategy, could amount to a breach of the rules, he said.

I repeat, that was my mistake and I apologise for it unreservedly, he added.

Johnson said he had taken significant steps to change the way things work in his office, adding, it is precisely because I know that so many people are angry and disappointed that I feel an even greater sense of obligation to deliver on the priorities of the British people, and to respond in the best traditions of our country to Putins barbaric onslaught against Ukraine.

Asked if he expects more fines now it has occurred to him what a party actually is, Johnson said he couldnt comment further until the investigation is complete.

Johnson repeatedly apologised as opposition party MPs demanded him to resign while all but one Conservative MP spoke to defend the prime minister, asking MPs to forgive Johnson after his apology.

Conservative MP Mark Harper, a vocal critic of the lockdowns during the pandemic, said he no longer believes Johnson is worthy of the great office that he holds.

I regret to say that we have a prime minister who broke the laws that he told the country they have to follow, hasnt been straightforward about it, and hes now going to ask the decent men and women on this these benches to defend what I think is indefensible, he said.

Previously, 15 Conservative MPs have publicly called for Johnson to resign over Partygate, but the voices have quieted down following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sir Roger Gale, who previously submitted a letter of no confidence to the 1922 committee of all backbench Conservative MPs has said while he had not changed his mind on Johnsons position, he believes a leadership contest is not appropriate in the current situation.

But Harper submitted his letter of no confidence on April 14, saying, We now know that the Metropolitan Police has found that the prime minister broke those laws, and by paying the fine he has accepted their verdict.

Harper told MPs that he strongly supports the government in helping Ukraine and defending our values, but believes its exactly at times like this that our country needs a prime minister who exemplifies those values.

Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle attends a service to honour Sir David Amess at St Margarets church in London on Oct. 18, 2021. (Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Hoyle said he had received letters from a number of MPs, including Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, requesting he gives precedence to consider statements made by Johnson to Parliament on gatherings held in Downing Street and Whitehall during the lockdown.

The speaker said while its not for him to police the ministerial code or determine whether or not the prime minister has committed a contempt of Parliament, it is his role to decide whether there is an arguable case to be examined.

Having considered the issue, having taken advice from the clerks of the House, Ive decided that this is a matter that I should allow the precedence accorded to the issue of privilege, Hoyle told MPs.

Therefore, [Starmer] may table a motion for debate on Thursday, he said.

The ministerial code states that ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation.

Downing Street said the decision to allow the vote on Thursday was a matter for the Speaker.

PA Media contributed to this report.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange supporters hold placards as they gather outside Westminster Magistrates court In London, on April 20, 2022. (Alastair Grant/AP Photo)

Judge Sends Assange Extradition Decision to UK Government

LONDONA British judge on Wednesday formally approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges. The case will now go to Britains interior minister for a decision, though the WikiLeaks founder still has legal avenues of appeal.

The order, which brings an end to the years-long extradition battle closer, comes after the UK Supreme Court last month refused Assange permission to appeal against a lower courts ruling that he could be extradited.

District Judge Paul Goldspring issued the order in a brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court, as Assange watched by video link from Belmarsh Prison and his supporters rallied outside the courthouse, demanding he be freed.

Home Secretary Priti Patel will now decide whether to grant the extradition.

The move doesnt exhaust the legal options for Assange, who has sought for years to avoid a trial in the United States on charges related to WikiLeaks publication of a huge trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.

His lawyers have four weeks to make submissions to Patel, and can also seek to appeal to the High Court.

Assange lawyer Mark Summers told the court that the legal team had serious submissions to make.

The United States has asked British authorities to extradite Assange so he can stand trial on 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse. American prosecutors say Assange unlawfully helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange supporters hold placards as they gather outside Westminster Magistrates court In London, on April 20, 2022. (Alastair Grant/AP Photo)

Supporters and lawyers for 50-year-old Assange argue that he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment protections of freedom of speech for publishing documents that exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. They argue that his case is politically motivated.

A British district court judge had initially rejected a U.S. extradition request on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. U.S. authorities later provided assurances that the WikiLeaks founder wouldnt face the severe treatment that his lawyers said would put his physical and mental health at risk.

In December, the High Court overturned the lower courts decision, saying that the U.S. promises were enough to guarantee that Assange would be treated humanely. The Supreme Court in March rejected Assanges attempt to challenge that ruling.

Assanges lawyers say he could face up to 175 years in jail if he is convicted in the United States, though American authorities have said the sentence was likely to be much lower than that.

Assange has been held at Britains high-security Belmarsh Prison in London since 2019, when he was arrested for skipping bail during a separate legal battle. Before that, he spent seven years inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault.

Last month, Assange and his partner Stella Moris married in a prison ceremony.

By Jill Lawless
LA Community Colleges Will Spend $1.5 Million to House Homeless Students

The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) approved more than $1.5 million to fund a pilot program that helps provide housing for students experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, the district announced on April 18.

The Board of Trustees voted last week to dedicate more than $1,540,408 to house more than 100 students through a pilot program in partnership with local nonprofit organizations.

The students will have access to a clean and safe place to live, food, Wi-Fi and mental health support. Some will also have access to academic tutoring, employment assistance, and financial counseling, according to officials.

Too many of our students are housing insecure and have had their studies heavily impacted by the lack of a safe and quiet place to sleep and study. I thank my colleagues for this Board vote, it is a significant step forward in helping these students meet one of their most basic needs, LACCD Board President Gabriel Buelna said in a statement.

Applications for the pilot program are now open, and students can apply through the websites of its partners: Jovenes, Inc., Los Angeles Room and Board, Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services, Seed House Project, and The Shower of Hope.

According to the district, approximately 68 percent of its students come from low-income families, and 53 percent are at or below the poverty line. The COVID-19 pandemic, high rents, and high cost of living have made housing insecurity an even more critical issue.

A memo from the California Community College Chancellors office indicated that community college enrollment in California continues to decline. The office reported that the students enrollment in fall 2021 has went down 7 percent from the previous year and 20 percent from Fall 2019.

No student should be forced to choose between keeping a roof over their head and pursuing an education, said LACCD Chancellor Francisco C. Rodriguez

The program comes after Senate Bill 330 was signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom in 2021. The bill allows the district to develop a pilot program to build affordable housing for students and employees. It also authorizes the district to partner with nonprofit organizations or private entities to lease real property under certain conditions to develop affordable housing.

The housing agreement runs a full year beginning on April 13, 2022.

LACCD is one of the largest community college districts in the United States. It comprises nine colleges including Los Angeles City College, East Los Angeles College, Los Angeles Harbor college, Los Angeles Mission College, Los Angeles Pierce College, Los Angeles Southwest College, Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, Los Angeles Valley College, and West Los Angeles College.

In a survey conducted in 2020 across LACCD, 13 percent of those who responded said they have experienced homelessness and 55 percent said they were housing insecure in the past year.

We suspect these numbers have only gone higher due to the pandemic, William Boyer, the spokesperson for LACCD told The Epoch Times.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks during question time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on March 30, 2022. (Martin Ollman/Getty Images)

Labor and Coalition Wont Form Government With Independents

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese have said they will not do a deal with independent candidates in the event that their parties fail to win majority government at the May election.

According to the latest Newspoll, nearly one third of voters are likely to vote for independent candidates or minor parties in the upcoming election, with 36 percent saying theyd pick Labor for their primary vote, while that figure for the Coalition is 35 percent.

The combined support for the major parties (36 percent for Labor, 35 percent for the Coalition) is the lowest that Newspoll has ever recorded during an election campaign.

But a hung parliament wont fly for Morrison, who said the livelihoods of small businesses during difficult times would be at risk because of the uncertainty brought by independents.

A vote for an independent is a vote for chaos in the parliament, Morrison told Perth radio station 6PR on April 19.

I would appeal to [voters], dont hand over the parliament to the uncertainty and instability and chaos of independents who dont know which way theyll go.

Australian Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese reacts as Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks during the question time at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Aug. 23, 2021. (Rohan Thomson/Getty Images)

When speaking to a Brisbane radio station earlier, Albanese also rejected the idea of working with independents and the left-wing minor Greens party, saying the centre-left Labor would seek to establish a government in its own right.

There will be no deal with the independents and crossbenches, he told 4BC.

The second week of the election campaign has seen Labor and the Coalition allege that the other party is using fear and misrepresentations to get more votes.

My opponent is running on fear and scare. He did that in 2019, and the truth is he got elected without an agenda, Albanese told reporters in Brisbane.

My agenda is about optimism, is about creating opportunity, is about backing Australian science, is about backing Australian industry and backing Australian jobs.

On his ninth day of campaigning, the Labor leader has pledged to provide $38 million over three years to Disaster Relief Australia, a charity organisation consisting of military veterans.

He has also criticised the prime minister for the way the federal government handled the Black Summer bushfires and the flood crisis in Queensland and northern NSW.

Over the last three years, Australia has watched Scott Morrison refuse to take responsibility and go missing in action when natural disasters have struck, he said.

Nevertheless, Defence Minister Peter Dutton refuted the allegations that Queensland flood victims did not receive as much support as their counterparts in Lismore in northern NSW.
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov takes the oath during a swearing ceremony celebrating his near-total control of the southern Russian province Gudermes, Chechnya, Russia on April 5, 2007. (Dima Korotayev/Epsilon/Getty Images)

RussiaUkraine War (April 20): Top Putin Ally Says Russia Will Capture Mariupol on Thursday

The latest on the RussiaUkraine crisis, April 20. Click here for updates from April 19.

Top Putin Ally Says Russia Will Capture Mariupol on Thursday

A top ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian forces will seize the last main stronghold of resistance in the besieged city of Mariupol on Thursday after Ukraine proposed talks on evacuating troops and civilians there.

Mariupol would be the biggest city to be seized by Russia since invading Ukraine eight weeks ago in an attack that has taken longer than some military analysts expected, seen over five million people flee abroad, and turned cities to rubble.

Before lunchtime, or after lunch, Azovstal will be completely under the control of the forces of the Russian Federation, Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russias republic of Chechnya, whose forces have been fighting in Ukraine, said of the steel plant.

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Ukraine Offers to Hold Mariupol Talks With Russia to Evacuate Garrison, Civilians

Senior Ukrainian negotiators on Wednesday offered to hold special talks with Russia in Mariupol without conditions in a bid to evacuate troops and civilians from the besieged port city.

Negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that the talks could be one on one. Two on two. To save our guys, Azov, military, civilians, children, the living and the wounded.

Ukraine accused Russian forces on Wednesday of failing to observe a local ceasefire agreement long enough to allow large numbers of women, children, and elderly people to flee the city, which has been largely pounded to rubble by Russian forces.

The remaining fighters holed up in a vast steel works have ignored previous ultimatums by Russia to surrender and made clear on Wednesday their stance had not changed.

David Arakhamia, a second negotiator, said in an online post that he and Podolyak were in constant contact with Ukrainian forces in the city.

Today, in a conversation with the city defenders, a proposal was put forward to hold direct negotiations, on site, on the evacuation of our military garrison, he said. For our part, we are ready to arrive for such negotiations at any time as soon as we receive confirmation from the Russian side.

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Biden Hosts Military Chiefs

President Joe Biden convened U.S. military leaders on Wednesday in an annual White House gathering taking on special significance as the war in Ukraine enters a risky new phase and Washington plans more weapons assistance.

A variety of topics were discussed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and senior military leaders, a National Security Council spokesperson said. The event includes a formal West Wing meeting as well as a dinner in the presidents residence with leaders spouses afterward.

While the annual military policy meeting rarely makes news, weighty issues are on the agenda this year, topped by a conflict in Ukraine that officials fear could imperil European security for years to come.

Russia has said it has entered a new stage of its operation and is methodically seeking to liberate the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. Western allies anticipate Russias campaign could last many months, grind to a stalemate and test the battlefield capabilities of Ukrainian fighters.

Opening the meeting, Biden touted the toughness of the Ukrainian military and said that NATOs unity has shocked Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Theyre tougher and more proud than I thought; Im amazed what theyre doing with your help, Biden said. I dont think that Putin counted on it being able to hold us together.

The United States is expected to announce another military aid package for Ukraine in coming days that could match the $800 million pledged last week.

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Russia Tests New Nuclear-Capable Missile

The Russian Defense Ministry reported the first launch of its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile. President Vladimir Putin said this weapon is unique and will make those who threaten Russia think twice.

The ministry said the missile was launched Wednesday from the Plesetsk launch facility in northern Russia and its practice warheads hit designated targets at the Kura firing range on the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.

The Sarmat is a heavy missile, intended to replace the Soviet-made Voyevoda missile which was code-named Satan by the West. Putin and his officials said its capable of penetrating any prospective missile defense.

Putin called this a big, significant event for Russias defense industry. He said the Sarmat will ensure Russias security from external threats and make those who, in the heat of frantic, aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice.

Russia relies on land-based ICBMs as the core of its nuclear deterrent, and is counting on the Sarmat for decades to come.

The U.S. has its own ICBMs, but postponed and then called off an intercontinental nuclear-capable missile test to avoid escalating tensions with Russia.

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Pentagon Comments on Ukrainian Nuclear Warning

The United States doesnt see a need to change its nuclear posture at this point in time, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told journalists on Tuesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed Moscow could use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine during his interview with CNN on April 15.

The U.S. Department of Defense is constantly monitoring nuclear threats to the country and took note of remarks made by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February, when he ordered Russian troops to start their military offensive in Ukraine, Kirby said.

In light of whats going on in Ukraine, and certainly in light of the early rhetoric, we are actively monitoring every single day, the spokesman said.

We have seen no reason to change our strategic deterrent posture, he added. At the moment, the Pentagon remains comfortable that we have the ability, if required, to defend the homeland, our allies and our partners.

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Wimbledon Bans Players From Russia, Belarus

Tennis players from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to play at Wimbledon this year because of the war in Ukraine, the All England Club announced Wednesday.

Prominent players affected by the ban include reigning U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev, who recently reached No. 1 in the ATP rankings and is currently No. 2; mens No. 8 Andrey Rublev; Aryna Sabalenka, who was a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2021 and is No. 4 in the WTA rankings; Victoria Azarenka, former womens No. 1 who has won the Australian Open twice; and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the French Open runner-up last year.

Wimbledon begins on June 27.

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Putin Says Russia Will Work to Normalize Life in Ukraines Donbass

Russia will act consistently to make sure that life in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland normalizes, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.

Speaking at a meeting with members of a state-funded non-profit group, Putin pledged that we will act consistently and make sure (that) life in Donbass normalizes.

Putin said that hostilities in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed rebels have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014, prompted Russia to launch a military operation.

All these eight years, bombing, artillery strikes and hostilities continued there. And of course, it was very, very hard for people, Putin said. The goal of the operation is to help our people living in Donbass.

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Oil Could Surge to $185 a Barrel If EU Bans Russian Crude: JPMorgan

Analysts at JPMorgan have warned that a full and immediate ban on Russian oil imports into the European Union could drive the price of crude up to $185 per barrel.

Natasha Kaneva, Head of Global Commodities Strategy at JPMorgan, said in a note cited by Bloomberg that if the E.U. decides to expand its limited embargo on Russian oil under a new round of sanctions against Moscow, the price of Brent crude could soar by around 65 percent.

JPMorgans dire price prediction comes as energy prices have faced upward pressure in the wake of the RussiaUkraine conflict.

Read the full article here

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Russia: We Await Kyiv Response on Peace Talks

The Kremlins spokesman says Russia has presented Ukraine with a draft document outlining its demands as part of peace talks and is now awaiting a response from Kyiv.

Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters Wednesday that Russia has passed on a draft document containing absolutely clear, elaborate wording to Ukraine and now the ball is in their court, were waiting for a response.

Peskov didnt give further details. He blamed Ukraine for the slow progress in negotiations, and claimed that Kyiv constantly deviates from previously confirmed agreements. The dynamic of work on the Ukrainian side leaves much to be desired, the Ukrainians do not show a great inclination to intensify the negotiation process, he said.

Ukraine presented Russia with its own draft last month in Istanbul, where the two sides held talks aimed at ending the conflict. It has been unclear how regularly the two sides have spoken to each other since then.

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No Surrender in Mariupol as Russian Deadline Expires

A Russian ultimatum to Ukrainian troops in Mariupol to surrender or die expired on Wednesday afternoon with no mass capitulation, but the commander of a unit believed to be holding out in the besieged city said his forces could survive just days or hours.

Thousands of Russian troops backed by artillery and rocket barrages were attempting to advance elsewhere in what Ukrainian officials call the Battle of the Donbass.

In a video, the commander of Ukraines 36th Marine Brigade, one of the last units believed to be holding out in Mariupol, asked for international help to escape the siege.

Russian-backed separatists said shortly before a 2 p.m. (1100 GMT) Wednesday deadline that just five people had surrendered. The previous day, Russia said no one had responded to a similar surrender demand.

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Russia Defence Ministry Seeks Greater Secrecy on Military Deaths in Ukraine

The Russian defence ministry has proposed that relatives of soldiers killed in Ukraine should have to apply to military rather than civilian authorities for compensation payments, imposing an extra level of secrecy around its war losses.

Russia already classifies military deaths as state secrets even in times of peace and has not updated its official casualty figures in Ukraine for nearly four weeks.

In its proposal, the defence ministry asked that the benefits paid to the families of fallen soldiers no longer be overseen by civilian officials but handled by enlistment offices instead. That move is designed to limit the circle of people with information on Russian troops killed in Ukraine, it said.

The proposal appeared on a government legal information website. It was unclear when it would be reviewed by the government.

The ministry said on March 25 that 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed and 3,825 wounded since Moscow launched what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine on Feb. 24.

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Germany Has Not Disclosed All Weapons Sent Ukraine, Minister Says

Berlin has chosen not to make public all the weapons it has sent to support Ukraine, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, adding that Germany would help Kyiv maintain more advanced weapons systems it might buy and train soldiers to use them.

We have delivered anti-tank missiles, Stingers and other things that we have never spoken about publicly so these deliveries could happen quickly, she said at a news conference in Riga with her Latvian counterpart.

Asked whether Germany would be sending its Panzerhaubitze 2000 artillery systemwhich some experts say Ukraine needs to mount a counterattack against Russian forces in its Donbass region, she said Germany would train Kyivs soldiers on using and maintaining more advanced systems which it might obtain from other allied countries or buy outright.

If partners deliver artillery that we can no longer deliver, we will help with training and maintenance, she said.

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Moscow Has Deported 500,000 People to Russia, Ukraine Lawmaker Claims

Moscow has deported 500,000 people from Ukraine to Russia, a leading member of the parliament in Kyiv told European lawmakers on Wednesday, calling on the Red Cross to establish contact with those missing.

Half a million of Ukrainian citizens were deported from Ukraine to the Russian Federation without agreement from their side, claimed Mykyta Poturayev, the head of the Ukrainian parliaments humanitarian committee.

Reuters could not independently verify the figure given by Poturayev, who did not give details or supporting evidence.

Unfortunately there is no opportunity for now even (to make) contact with these people, Poturayev told members of the European Parliament by video link.

Reuters has submitted a request for comment to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The 1949 Geneva Conventions, which define international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in conflict, prohibit mass forcible transfers of civilians during a conflict to the territory of the occupying power, classifying it as a war crime.

Moscow has denied intentionally targeting civilians since invading Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it calls a special military operation and says it is offering humanitarian aid to those wanting to leave.

A Russian government resolution on March 12 listed the whereabouts of 95,909 people across Russia who had left Ukraine, including the two breakaway regions Moscow has declared as independent entities.

A month later, the Russian military said it had rescued 138,014 civilians from Mariupol, as fighting intensified in the besieged city.

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Britain Targets Moscow Stock Exchange in Bid to Curb Investment in Russia

British authorities plan to rescind the Moscow stock exchanges status in the UK as a recognized exchange, in retaliation for Russias restrictions on foreign investors and in a bid to discourage investment in Russia amid the war in Ukraine.

The move means that investors will not be able to access certain UK tax benefits when trading securities on the Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX), according to an April 19 announcement by the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

As we continue to isolate Russia in response to their illegal war on Ukraine, revoking Moscow Stock Exchanges recognized status sends a clear messagethere is no case for new investments in Russia, Britains Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Lucy Frazer, said in a statement.

Read the full article here

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Ukrainian Forces Stop Russian Advance Towards Sloviansk: Presidential Aide

Ukrainian troops have held up an advance by Russian forces from the northeastern city of Izyum towards nearby Sloviansk, Oleksiy Arestovych, a Ukrainian presidential advisor said on Wednesday.

They have focused their forces there, that is where they are trying to advance, but so far they are not succeeding, he claimed in a video address.

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Growing Majority of Swedes Back Joining NATO, Opinion Poll Shows

A growing majority of Swedes are in favor of joining NATO, a poll showed on Wednesday, as policy-makers in both Sweden and Finland weigh up whether Russias invasion of Ukraine should lead to an end to decades of military neutrality.

The poll by Demoskop and commissioned by the Aftonbladet newspaper showed 57 percent of Swedes now favored NATO membership, up from 51 percent in March. Those opposed to joining fell to 21 percent from 24 percent, while those who were undecided dipped to 22 percent from 25 percent.

The March poll was the first to show a majority of Swedes in favor of joining NATO.

Sweden has not been at war since the time of Napoleon and has built its security policy on non-participation in military alliances.

But like Finland, the invasion of Ukraine has forced a radical rethink.

Swedens government is reviewing security policy with a report due before the end of May and the ruling Social Democrats are holding an internal debate on whether to drop their long-standing objection to NATO.

The Demoskop poll, consisting of 1,177 interviews carried out from April 14 to April 19, also showed growing support for membership among Social Democrat voters with significantly more favoring joining the alliance than opposing it.

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Germany Rejects an Assertion by Ukraines Ambassador for More Fighting Vehicles

The German government and military are rejecting an assertion by Ukraines ambassador that the country could spare armored fighting vehicles and deliver them to Kyiv.

Ambassador Andriy Melnyk, who has frequently criticized perceived German slowness on weapons deliveries and other issues, argued that Germanys Bundeswehr uses about 100 Marder vehicles for training and they could be handed over to Ukraine immediately.

But Defense Ministry spokesman Arne Collatz said Wednesday that Germany needs the vehicles for deployments on NATOs eastern flank and for training. He said that a delivery from Bundeswehr stock of heavy material  is not foreseen.

He spoke after the German militarys deputy chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Markus Laubenthal, told ZDF television that the military has wide commitments and needs the weapons systems it has.

Melnyk is also criticizing Chancellor Olaf Scholzs reluctance to commit to direct deliveries of heavy weapons such as tanks.

Scholz faces pressure from parts of his own coalition and Germanys main opposition party to deliver such weapons.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday that Germany is reaching the limits of possible weapons deliveries from its own stocks and will finance Ukrainian purchases of equipment from a list drawn up by the German defense industry. That didnt satisfy critics who have called for direct German deliveries of heavy weapons such as tanks.

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UN Says 5 Million Have Fled Ukraine

The United Nations refugee agency says that more than 5 million people have now fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24.

The Geneva-based U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees on Wednesday put the total number of refugees at 5.01 million.

More than half of the total, over 2.8 million, fled at least at first to Poland. Although many have stayed there, an unknown number have traveled onward. There are few border checks within the European Union.

UNHCR said on March 30 that 4 million people had fled Ukraine. The exodus was somewhat slower in recent weeks than at the beginning of the war.

In addition to the refugees, the U.N. says that more than 7 million people have been displaced within Ukraine.

Ukraine had a pre-war population of 44 million.

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Norway to Donate Air Defense System to Ukraine

Norway is donating about 100 air defense systems to Ukraine with the Scandinavian countrys defense minister saying that the country is depending on international support to resist Russian aggression.

Bjrn Arild Gram said Norway had donated French-made Mistral short-range missile systems which currently are being phased out by the Norwegian Armed Forces, but it is still a modern and effective weapon that will be of great benefit to Ukraine, Arild Gram said.

The weapons have already left Norway which previously has donated 4,000 anti-tank missiles, protective equipment and other military equipment to Ukraine, he added.

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Marine Commander in Mariupol Appeals for Help, Ukraine Tries to Evacuate Civilians

A Ukrainian marine commander in the besieged city of Mariupol said his troops may be able to hold out for only a few hours longer as Ukraine tried to evacuate 6,000 women, children, and elderly people on Wednesday.

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko urged civilians to leave, saying 90 buses were waiting to head into what is left of the devastated city under a preliminary agreement with Russia on establishing a safe corridor.

In a video posted online hours earlier, Serhiy Volyna, commander of Ukraines 36th marine brigade which is still fighting in Mariupol, urged the international community to help evacuate wounded Ukrainian fighters and their families.

This is our appeal to the world. It may be our last. We may have only a few days or hours left, he said, dressed in a camouflage jacket. The enemy units are dozens of times larger than ours, they have dominance in the air, in artillery, in ground troops, in equipment and in tanks.

Reuters could not independently verify the video posted on the Telegram messaging app.

The last fighters are holed up at a vast steelworks in Mariupol and have been issued an ultimatum by Russia to surrender.

Both Boichenko and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk underlined that the agreement on establishing a humanitarian corridor into and out of Mariupol was only a preliminary arrangement.

Previous agreements have collapsed, with each side blaming the other. An attempt by the International Committee of the Red Cross to evacuate civilians also failed.

Given the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Mariupol, this is where we will focus our efforts today, Vereshchuk wrote on Facebook. Given the very difficult security situation, changes may occur during the corridor action.

Mariupol, home to more than 400,000 people before the war, is an important port for industrial and agricultural exports and the site of some of Ukraines biggest metals plants.

Its capture would give Russia full control of the Sea of Azov coast, and a secure overland bridge linking mainland Russia and pro-Russian separatist territory in the east with the Crimea peninsula that Moscow seized and annexed in 2014.

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Zelenskyy Aide Issues Peace-talks Warning

A senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that peace talks with Moscow could be halted should Russian troops seize Mariupol, a strategically valuable port city on the Black Sea.

Speaking during a Tuesday briefing, presidential adviser Alexey Arestovich discussed developments in the conflict, namely Russias latest push to liberate the entire territory claimed by the Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics as their sovereign territory, as well as the prospect of a negotiated settlement to end the fighting.

However, if Russian troops succeed in fully taking Mariupola key port and the second-largest city in the Donetsk Oblastthere may be no peace talks, Arestovych said.

Then our main course of action will be the complete destruction of the enemy, relying on Western aid and the fact that the Russians have no one to get the aid from, the adviser continued.

Having seen some of the heaviest fighting throughout the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Mariupol is now largely under the control of Russian forces, with one of the last major pockets of Ukrainian troops holed up at the citys Azovstal steel plant.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Russian military said it would allow those soldiers to surrender if they laid down their weaponsincluding fighters with nationalist battalions and foreign mercenariessuggesting they exit the facility at noon Moscow time. It later issued another offer, pushing back the deadline while stating that the troops would be permitted to leave along a specified humanitarian corridor, but received no response from Ukrainian officials.

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Russia Accuses OSCE of Spying for Ukraine

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) collaborated with the Ukrainian government in its fight against the Donbass republics and tried to cover up offenses by Ukrainian nationalist forces, Russias deputy representative to the U.N. told a U.N. Security Council meeting on Tuesday.

The accusations came as Dmitry Polyansky blasted Western powers, saying they were being hypocritical regarding the security crisis in Ukraine. The US and its allies pursue their own selfish interests rather than the interests of the Ukrainian people, when they fan hostilities in the East European country, the diplomat said.

We obtained the latest proof of how dirty your tricks are in building a rules-based order when we discovered proof that the OSCE special monitoring mission in Ukraine simply spied for Kyiv instead of recording violations of the ceasefire, he claimed. The official said Russia was collecting more evidence to make the case against the monitors.

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Ukraines Military Gets More Aircraft and Parts to Repair Others, Pentagon Says

Ukraines military has received additional aircraft as well parts for repairs to get damaged aircraft flying again, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

Ukraine has defied expectations of allies and military experts by not only keeping its air force operational nearly two months after the start of Russias invasion but actually repairing aircraft and, apparently, adding to its inventory.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby did not offer details on which countries provided aircraft, but acknowledged new transfers and said Ukraine had more operable fighter aircraft than it had two weeks ago.

They have received additional aircraft and aircraft parts to help them get more aircraft in the air, Kirby told a news briefing, without elaborating.

Kirby said Washington had not provided any aircraft to Kyiv.

We certainly have helped with the trans-shipment of some additional spare parts that have helped with their aircraft needs, but we have not transported whole aircraft, he said.

Still, that might soon change. The United States has announced plans to transfer Russian-made helicopters to Ukraine that had once been intended for Afghanistan.

More than 50 days into the war, the skies over Ukraine are still contested in part due to Ukraines fleet of aircraft and air defenses, including portable, shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles provided by the United States and its allies.

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EU Councils Michel Makes Surprise Visit to Kyiv

European Council President Charles Michel made an unexpected visit to Kyiv on Wednesday, following a trip to the Ukrainian capital by the head of the EUs executive earlier this month to show support for the nation fighting a Russian invasion.

In Kyiv today, Michel, head of the European Council that represents the European Unions 27 member states, said in a tweet with a photograph of him at a train station.

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Japan Formally Revokes Russias Most Favored Nation Status

Japan formally revoked Russias most favored nation trade status Wednesday over its invasion of Ukraine, as Tokyo steps up sanctions amid revelations of the Russian militarys widespread atrocities against civilians.

The stripping of Russias trade status is Japans latest move against Moscow and was part of a list of sanctions measures Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced last month that also included a decision to expel eight Russian diplomats and trade officials.

The revocation of Russias trade status by Japans Parliament, combined with other sanctions collectively imposed by other countries, is expected to intensify pressure on Russia, but the moves could also prompt reprisals from Moscow. The revocation of the trade status applies to tariffs on all Russian imports.

Wednesdays parliamentary decision also included a revision to a foreign exchange law to prevent the transfer of virtual currency held by those subject to asset freezing.

Japan is taking a greater role in the international effort against Russia because of concerns about the impact of the invasion in East Asia, where Chinas military has grown increasingly assertive.

Japan has also frozen the assets of hundreds of Russian individuals and groups and banned new investment and trade, including the export of goods that could be used for military purposes. Japan also announced plans to phase out imports of Russian coal.

On Wednesday, the eight Russian diplomats subject to expulsion were seen leaving the Russian embassy in Tokyo on a bus to the Haneda international airport, where they took a Russian government plane back to their country.

Japan has already faced reprisals from Russia. Moscow recently announced the suspension of talks on a peace treaty with Tokyo that included negotiations over Russian-held islands that the former Soviet Union seized from Japan at the end of World War II.

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UK Says Russian Military Presence on Ukraines Eastern Border Continues to Build

Russias military presence on Ukraines eastern border continues to build, a British military update said on Wednesday, adding that fighting in the Donbass region is intensifying as Russian forces seek to break through Ukrainian defenses.

Russian air activity in northern Ukraine is likely to remain low since its withdrawal from north of Kyiv. However, there is still a risk of precision strikes against priority targets throughout Ukraine, the update, which was posted on Twitter, said.

Russian attacks on cities across Ukraine show their intent to try and disrupt the movement of Ukrainian reinforcements and weaponry to the east of the country, it added.

The Epoch Times could not verify the report.

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New Surrender Deadline in Mariupol as West Promises Ukraine More Arms

After an earlier ultimatum to surrender lapsed and as midnight approached, Russias defense ministry said not a single Ukrainian soldier had laid down their weapons and it renewed the proposal. Ukrainian commanders have vowed not to surrender.

Russias armed forces, based purely on humanitarian principles, again propose that the fighters of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries cease their military operations from 1400 Moscow time on 20th April and lay down arms, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The United States, Canada, and Britain said they would send more artillery weaponry.

We will continue to provide them more ammunition, as we will provide them more military assistance, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said, adding new sanctions were being prepared.

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to announce a new military aid package about the same size as last weeks $800 million one in the coming days, multiple sources told Reuters.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a four-day humanitarian pause in the fighting this coming weekend, when Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter, to allow civilians to escape and humanitarian aid to be delivered.

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Russia Pours in More Troops and Presses Attack in the East

Russia assaulted cities and towns along a boomerang-shaped front, hundreds of miles long, and poured more troops into Ukraine on Tuesday in a potentially pivotal battle for control of the countrys eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.

If successful, the Russian offensive in what is known as the Donbas would essentially slice Ukraine in two. In Mariupol, the now-devastated port city in the Donbas, Ukrainian troops said the Russian military was dropping heavy bombs to flatten what was left of a sprawling steel plant and hit a hospital where hundreds were staying.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Moscows forces bombarded numerous Ukrainian military sites, including troop concentrations and missile-warhead storage depots, in or near several cities or villages.

Those claims could not be independently verified.

In what both sides described as a new phase of the war, the Russian assault began Monday along a front stretching more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) from northeastern Ukraine to the countrys southeast.

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US, Britain, Canada Pledge Artillery for Ukraine

The leaders of the United States, Britain, and Canada pledged on Tuesday to send more artillery weaponry to Ukraine in the face of an all-out Russian assault on that countrys East.

President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acted after they and other allied leaders took part in a secure video call as the Russian invasion reached a new phase.

Asked by reporters during a visit to New Hampshire if the United States would be sending more artillery to Ukraine, Biden replied yes.

In London, Johnson told lawmakers: This will become an artillery conflict, they need support with more artillery, that is what we will be giving them  in addition to many other forms of support.

Trudeau said Canada would be sending heavy artillery and promised to provide more details.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Air Force One the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to providing Ukraine security and economic and humanitarian assistance.

We will continue to provide them more ammunition, as we will provide them more military assistance, Psaki said. She said the United States was preparing another round of sanctions to impose on Moscow.

Tom Ozimek, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report.
Massachusetts Parents Sue School District for Hiding Childs Alternate Gender Identity From Them

A public school district in Massachusetts is facing a lawsuit over its efforts to encourage children to experiment with alternate gender identities at school and hide that information from their parents.

In a complaint filed last week in a U.S. district court, two families alleged that administrators and several employees at Ludlow Public Schools have exceeded the bounds of legitimate pedagogical concerns and violated the parents right to make medical and mental health decisions for their children, as well as their right to preserve family privacy and integrity.

The suing families specifically target Ludlows de facto protocol that parents are not to be notified when their child raise issues of gender non-conformity or transgender status, including when the child asks to be called by preferred opposite sex names and pronouns or to use restrooms designated for the opposite sex, unless the child consents.

Parents Stephen Foote and Marissa Silvestri alleged that this protocol has kept them out of the loop on the mental health issues of B.F., their then-11-year-daughter at Baird Middle School in Ludlow.

According to the complaint (pdf), B.F. in December 2020 disclosed to a teacher, Bonnie Manchester, that she had told a friend that she might be attracted to the same sex, that she was depressed, and that she was unsure about how to ask her parents for help. Manchester notified Silvestri, who then contacted Baird officials to let them know that she was retaining professional help for her daughter, and requested that they should not have any private conversations with B.F. in regards to this matter.

Baird counselor Marie-Claire Foley, however, allegedly ignored the mothers message and engaged in regular communications with B.F., directing the girl to affirm her new gender identity. She also allegedly allowed B.F. to change her name and referred to her in email exchanges as R.F., her preferred male name, all without her parents knowledge.

On Feb. 28, 2021, B.F. wrote an email to Foley, then-Ludlow superintendent Todd Gazda, and all Baird teachers, declaring herself a genderqueer who would use the R name and any pronouns other than it/its. In a reply-all email to the girl and the other recipients, Foley appeared to ask that school staff follow the protocol and keep secrets from the girls parents about the changes.

R is still in the process of telling his parents and is requesting that school staff refer to him as B and use she/her pronouns with her parents and in written emails/letters home, the counselor wrote, according to court filings.

In addition, Foley allegedly referred B.F. to Baird librarian Jordan Funke, who regularly met with students one-on-one to discuss gender identity issues and provide resources promoting exploration of alternate gender identities. Funke had also instructed students to make a video in which they state their gender identity and preferred pronouns. B.F. was among the students given that assignment in 2019 when she ascended to sixth grade.

Silvestri was not aware of the changes until March 1, 2021, when she received a copy of B.F.s email from Manchester. On March 18, Baird principal Stacy Monette told Manchester that she was placed on leave because of inappropriate contact with the parents of a student. Monette officially fired Manchester about a month later, saying that she shared sensitive confidential information about a students expressed gender identity against the wishes of the student.

I did what any teacher would and should do: I told the parents, Manchester told The Epoch Times earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Silvestris and Footes son S.F. is also a student at Baird. According to the complaint, teachers and counselors similarly disregarded the parents intent by engaging in regular conversations with the boy, who had identified as transgender and requested to be called by a female name.

Baird Middle School staff did not notify Foote and Silvestri of these conversations, but instead followed the Protocol to conceal the information from them as they have for B.F., the court filings read.

Parents Jonathan Feliciano and Sandra Salmeron are also listed as plaintiff. They claimed that Ludlow violated their constitution-guaranteed freedom of religious expression because the protocol is being enforced at all schools across the district.

Specifically, the couple argued that the school districts conduct infringes their sincerely held religious beliefs which include respect for parental authority, truthfulness, and adherence to a Biblical understanding of male and female and standards of behavior.

We want to support our students the best we can, Ludlow School Committee Chair James Harrington told state news station MassLive. But we should bring parents to the table and hope they respond in a loving and supportive way as well.

Andrew Beckwith, the attorney representing the families and president of non-profit advocacy group Massachusetts Family Institute, said his clients hope the court will end the protocol and clarify the rights of parents across the state, especially in cases where public schools are interfering with their childrens mental health issues without their knowledge.

In this specific type of case, you have a school affirming a childs discordant gender identity, Beckwith told The Epoch Times. That is effectively mental health treatment intervention that schools are not qualified, competent, and in this case, not authorized by the parents to make.

At any time, parents should always be informed and involved in their childrens lives, he said. Teachers should be working in partnership with parents, not getting fired because they talk to the parents as what happened in this case.
A smartphone with the Meta logo in a photo illustration taken on Oct. 28, 2021. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

Meta Institutional Investors Urge Opposing Re-Election of 2 Board Members

A group representing some of Meta Platforms Inc.s institutional investors urged shareholders of the Facebook owner to vote against the re-election of two of its board members, Marc Andreessen and Peggy Alford.

We believe the lack of independence of board members Peggy Alford and Marc L. Andreessen is undermining the boards ability to adequately oversee the management team and represent shareholders best interests, said Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE) in a filing.

The group of 15 shareholders, including SHARE, the Illinois State Treasurer and Arjuna Capital, instead urged the nomination of new, highly-qualified independent directors, according to the filing.

Peggy Alford, an executive at PayPal Holdings Inc., joined Metas board in 2019, whereas venture capitalist Marc Andreessen has served on the companys board since June 2008.

The shareholders also urged the board to implement certain governance reforms, including eliminating the dual-class structure and separating the functions of chief executive officer and chairman. SHARE added that Metas board did not respond to discuss these matters.

Meta, which is scheduled to hold its annual meeting on May 25, declined to comment.

By Tiyashi Datta
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses the media in Midland, Mich., on May 20, 2020. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)

Michigan Prosecutors Lawyer-Up to Fight Whitmer Abortion Lawsuit

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is asking a county judge to enjoin 13 Michigan prosecutors from prosecuting violators of a state law that criminalizes most abortions.

The 1931 law was made moot when the U.S. Supreme Court, in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, legalized abortion in all 50 states.

But the 91-year-old statute that is still on the books may yet again become the law of the state.

If Roe is overturned, abortion could become illegal in Michigan in nearly any circumstanceincluding in cases of rape and incest. This is no longer theoretical: it is reality, said Whitmer in an April 7 press release.

No matter what happens to Roe, I am going to fight like hell and use all the tools I have as governor to ensure reproductive freedom is a right for all women in Michigan, she said.

According to the press release, Whitmer also asked the Michigan Supreme Court for an expedited ruling to immediately resolve whether Michigans Constitution protects the right to abortion.

If the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to protect the constitutional right to an abortion, the Michigan Supreme Court should step in, she said.

Attorney General Dana Nessel. (Office of the Attorney General of Michigan)

Attorney David A. Kallman of the Great Lakes Justice Center told The Epoch Times, Among other things, Governor Whitmers lawsuit is a direct assault on prosecutorial discretion. Michigan law gives a county prosecutor unfettered and unreviewable discretion to either charge or not charge a person with a criminal offense.

The governor has no authority over Michigan prosecutors regarding charging decisions. By law, she cannot force a duly elected county prosecutor to do anything except to obey existing laws, Kallman said.

Kallman has been hired by Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker and Jackson County Prosecutor Jerry Jarzynka, both Republicans, to represent them in the case.

Jarzynka said in an April 18 press release, I will vigorously defend the right of all prosecutors to be free from political pressure in charging decisions.

He told The Epoch Times he was surprised to find out he was named a defendant in the case and was not quite sure why.

I feel a little bit like David v. Goliath. We are up against a huge law firm with more than 1,000 attorneys, plus the 200 from the Michigan Attorney Generals Office.

But I believe we have righteousness on our side. And I feel passionately about defending a prosecutors broad discretion over when and when not to bring charges.

I am also very thankful for the Great Lakes Justice Center and what they are doing for us, said Jarzynka.

In an April 18 press release, Kent Countys Becker accused Whitmer of once again trying to usurp the normal legislative process  If she wants to change a law  filing suit and looking to the Supreme Court to do it is not the right way.

Becker later told The Epoch Times in a phone interview, I feel like Im getting pulled into a reelection campaign. This suit is just a political stunt to make Whitmer look good to her supporters.

According to Kallman, Whitmers lawsuit is a pre-emptive legal strike to protect women and doctors from being prosecuted under the terms of an existing Michigan law prohibiting abortion except when the womans life is in jeopardy.

He told The Epoch Times, No right to an abortion exists anywhere in the language of the Michigan Constitution, and no Michigan case law suggests otherwise.

Kallman cited as precedent two cases decided since the 1973 Roe decision.

In one case, People v. Bricker, the Michigan Supreme affirmed the existing Michigan abortion statute as constitutional after the first trimester.

In 1997, a Michigan appeals court case, Mahaffey v. Attorney General, affirmed there is no Michigan constitutional right to an abortion.

Kallman said that no case of controversy exists for a court to decide, and none of the 13 defendant prosecutors have ever prosecuted anyone for violating the 91-year-old statute.

No pressing need exists requiring a court to issue an injunction to stop something that is not happening. This case is both frivolous and meritless.

Whitmer is on record backing a petition drive for a constitutional amendment to create a right to abortion in the Michigan constitution. Why is she doing that if the right to abortion is already in the constitution, as her suit contends?

A sign is displayed at Planned Parenthood in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Aug. 21, 2019. (Rick Bowmer/AP Photo)

Kallman said he was also concerned about a lawsuit filed on April 7 by Planned Parenthood in the Michigan Court of Claims against Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

It amounts to another attempt to invalidate the same law. The case is also a sham. Ms. Nessel must be recused from acting as an attorney charged with defending a law that she has publicly stated she will not defend and is advocating that it be overturned by Whitmers suit, Kallman said.

Whitmers office did not respond to a request for comment.

The Michigan Attorney Generals Office does not comment on pending litigation.
In this photo illustration a computer and a mobile phone screen display the Netflix logo in Arlington, Va., on March 31, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

Netflix Loses Subscribers for First Time in More Than a Decade Amid Increased Costs, Competition

Streaming giant Netflix has lost subscribers for the first time in more than 10 years, driven by factors such as increased competition, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and account sharing across non-paying households, the company announced on April 19.

The American subscription streaming service told investors that it lost 200,000 members globally in the first three months of the year, and warned that more losses are expected in the next three months to July.

Netflix had previously forecasted it would add 2.5 million paying customers but the company told investors that it expects to lose 2 million global subscribers in the current quarter.

The last time the company lost members in a quarter was October 2011.

Our revenue growth has slowed considerably, Netflix said in a letter to shareholders on Thursday. COVID clouded the picture by significantly increasing our growth in 2020, leading us to believe that most of our slowing growth in 2021 was due to the COVID pull forward.

Netflix said its decline in membership was due to a combination of factors including macroeconomic weakness and changes to its prices. Earlier this year, the streaming giant announced that it would be raising its U.S. monthly subscription prices by $1 to $2 per month depending on the plan.

A total of 600,000 people stopped its service in the United States and Canada due to the price change, Netflix said.

It also cited its large size, increased competition, and the war in Ukraine, noting that its decision to suspend its service in Russia in the wake of the Moscow-led invasion of Ukraine also cost it 700,000 subscribers.

It also pointed to account sharing across non-paying households, estimating that 100 million are sharing household accounts, including over 30 million in the United States and Canada.

Back in March, Netflix said it plans to implement a new feature that would prevent different households from sharing their account passwords by charging them additional fees, something it has been working on for the past year.

That feature, Netflix says, will allow members who share their Netflix passwords with someone outside of their household to do so easily and securely, while also paying a bit more.

This will costat the lowest pricethe equivalent of about $2 in each pilot country in which the program is being tested, which included Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru.

In its letter to investors on Tuesday, Netflix said it ended the quarter with roughly 222 million subscribers.

Going forward, the company said its plan is to reaccelerate our viewing and revenue growth by continuing to improve all aspects of Netflixin particular, the quality of our programming and recommendations, which is what our members value most.

On the content side, were doubling down on story development and creative excellence, Netflix said in its earnings letter.

Meanwhile, Netflix co-founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings said on Tuesdays earnings call that the company is open to looking into offering lower prices to customers with advertising, something that he was previously against.

Those that have followed Netflix know that Ive been against the complexity of advertising and a big fan of the simplicity of subscription, Hastings said, Variety reports.

But as much as Im a fan of that, Im a bigger fan of consumer choice. And allowing consumers who would like to have a lower price and are advertising-tolerant get what they want, makes a lot of sense.

Following the announcement of subscription losses, Netflixs stock price plunged by as much as 25 percent in after-hours trading.
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden, N.J., in November 2019. The Bishop of Camden presides from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. (Google Maps/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

New Jersey Catholic Diocese Agrees to $87.5 Million Proposed Settlement in Sexual Abuse Claims

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, has agreed to pay $87.5 million in a proposed settlement with 300 survivors who accused members of the clergy of child sex abuse.

The settlement was negotiated amid an ongoing bankruptcy case after the Diocese of Camden filed for bankruptcy in October 2020. The diocese had accumulated mounting debt in the aftermath of abuse victims seeking compensation under the New Jersey Independent Victims Compensation Program.

That programwhich allowed alleged victims of child abuse by diocesan priests of the Roman Catholic dioceses of Newark, Paterson, Metuchen, Trenton, and Camden to file claimsbegan in 2019.

The agreement filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Camden on April 19 is between plaintiffs and the Diocese of Camden, which oversees nearly half a million Catholics in 62 parishes encompassing six counties in southern New Jersey: Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem.

While it still needs to be approved by a U.S. bankruptcy judge, such an approval would make it the largest cash payment by any Catholic diocese in bankruptcy to date in the country, according to attorneys for the plaintiffs in the lawsuits.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, $87.5 million will go into a trust established to compensate survivors of sexual abuse within the diocese and will be paid out over a four-year period.

The settlement also includes maintaining or enhancing the protocols for the protection of children, which were first implemented by the Diocese in 2002, the diocese said in a statement.

In a statement announcing the settlement, Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan said the diocese was pleased with the outcome of the mediation process.

I want to express my sincere apology to all those who have been affected by sexual abuse in our Diocese, Sullivan stated. My prayers go out to all survivors of abuse and I pledge my continuing commitment to ensure that this terrible chapter in the history of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey never happens again.

While specific details regarding the alleged sexual abuse of the roughly 300 victims were not included in the proposed settlement, the incidents occurred from the 1950s into the 1990s, with most cases concerning the 1960s and 1970s, The Associated Press reported.

Abuse survivors who filed a claim in the bankruptcy proceeding could receive $290,000, the victims attorneys Jay Mascolo and Jason Amala said.

More than 40 priests and others who served within the Diocese of Camden have been accused of childhood sexual abuse, although many of the allegations were not investigated because of New Jerseys outdated statute of limitations for abuse survivors, attorneys said in a statement.

Under the previous statute of limitations, abuse survivors only had two years to pursue legal actions against the individual or entity that caused them harm, or up until the age of 20.

However, in 2019 New Jersey expanded that window of time to within seven years from the time they became aware of their injuries or up until they turn 55.

This battle was hard-fought and todays settlement was long-overdueCamden survivors have finally obtained some semblance of justice after suffering for decades, said Jay Mascolo of RAM Law, who is among the attorneys representing the accusers, in a statement.

This moment is a direct result of thousands of survivors courageously coming forward, and the nation-leading reforms that New Jersey passed that made it possible for survivors to finally seek justice, Mascolo stated. We hope this victory encourages others to seek accountability for the abuse they sufferedits not too late for many survivors in New Jersey to come forward under New Jerseys new law.
The Bonanza Creek Ranch, where the film "Rust" was being filmed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Oct. 23, 2021. (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

New Mexico Cites Rust Movie Production For Willful Disregard of Firearms Safety

The State of New Mexico announced on April 20 a nearly $140,000 fine against a movie company responsible for the low-budget Rust production following a months-long investigation into last years shooting death on set.

The New Mexico Environment Departments Occupational Health and Safety Bureau determined the production did not follow industry standards for firearms safety.

The civil penalty is the highest-level citation and the largest fine allowable under state law.

Our investigation found that this tragic incident never would have happened if Rust Movie Productions, LLC had followed national film industry standards for firearm safety, said Environment Cabinet Secretary James Kenney. This is a complete failure of the employer to follow recognized national protocols that keep employees safe.

There were several management failures and more than sufficient evidence to suggest that if standard industry practices were followed, the fatal shooting and serious injury would not have occurred, Kenney said in a video statement.

The company also demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety by failing to review work practices and take corrective action, according to a department statement.

The report concludes that Rust Movie Productions, LLC management knew that firearm safety procedures were not being followed on set and demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety by failing to review work practices and take corrective action, the report stated.

Actor and Producer Alec Baldwin was filming a scene Oct. 21 on the set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico, when he discharged a gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Director Joel Souza was also wounded by the live bullet from Baldwins firearm.

A criminal investigation continues into the shooting, a Santa Fe Sheriffs Department spokesman told The Epoch Times.

It remains an open investigation, said sheriffs spokesman Juan Rios.

Sheriffs investigators are reviewing voluminous information received from the cell phone Baldwin, 63, released to authorities. The actor turned the phone over to authorities in January after sheriffs investigators issued a search warrant.

Its received but its under review, Rios said. Its quite voluminous.

The sheriffs department expects to release more information about the investigation in about 10 days, he said.

One of the last things were waiting for at this point is the results of the testing that was going to be conducted by the FBI on ballistics and on the firearm, Rios said. We have not received that yet.

A spokesperson for Rust Movie Productions, LLC was not immediately available for comment.
NHS Transgender Treatment of Children Bordering on Ideological: UK Health Secretary

British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Tuesday that the way the nations healthcare system currently handles cases of children with gender dysphoria is bordering on ideological.

Responding to a question, Javid told MPs that he shared concerns about the NHS insisting on childrens perception of their own gender as a starting point for treatment, describing the approach as overly affirmative.

The NHS has commissioned a review into its own gender identity services, the Cass Review, with an interim report published last month.

James Sunderland MP raised the findings of that interim report with Javid.

The Cass Review interim report found that to date there is a profound lack of evidence on the best approach to treat gender dysphoria in children, Sunderland told the Commons. Does my right honorable Friend share my concern that in spite of this the NHS insists on making a childs expressed gender identity the start-point for treatment, and my surprise that the NHS has chosen so far not to track patient outcomes, particularly for under-18s?

Javid said that he shared Sunderlands concerns, and noted that is why the Cass Review had been commissioned. He said, It is already clear to me from her interim findings and the other evidence I have seen that NHS services in this area are too narrow; they are overly affirmative and in fact are bordering on ideological. That is why in this emerging area, of course, we need to be absolutely sensitive, but we also need to make sure that holistic care is provided, that there is not a one-way street and that all medical interventions are based on the best clinical evidence.

Currently, the only provider is the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, which has been subject to growing public concern and controversy in recent years.

GIDS has experienced a rapid increase in referrals in recent years with long waiting lists.

The interim Cass Report found that waiting list pressure and lack of consensus resulted in a rapid staff turnover and inadequate capacity to handle cases.

Our initial work has indicated that many professionals working at primary and secondary level feel that they have the transferable skills and the commitment to offer more robust support to this group of children and young people, but are nervous about doing so, partly because of the lack of formal clinical guidance, and partly due to the broader societal context.

The report also noted, Primary and secondary care staff have told us that they feel under pressure to adopt an unquestioning affirmative approach and that this is at odds with the standard process of clinical assessment and diagnosis that they have been trained to undertake in all other clinical encounters.

The government cited the Cass Report when justifying its recent decision not to include transgenderism in a proposed ban on so-called conversion therapy. That decision was criticised by many trans rights activists, by the opposition Labour party, and also by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust that oversees the childrens gender identity service.
Ontario Liberals Promise Handgun Ban

The Ontario Liberals say they will ban handguns within a year of taking power if they win the upcoming election, the partys leader Steven Del Duca on April 19.

Ive had it with Doug Fords open for business policy for guns, Del Duca said in a statement.

The Ford Conservatives are putting the interests of the gun lobby ahead of the Ontario victims of gun crime they swore an oath to protect. The result is handgun violence is spiraling out of control. The choice on handguns is clear, more handguns and gun crime under the Ford Conservatives or a ban on handguns under the Ontario Liberals.

The plan also includes taking advantage of the federal gun buy-back program, involving the province in counter-gun smuggling operations at the border with the United States, and advocating for a national handgun ban.

The Ontario Liberals are currently limited to seven seats in the provincial legislature, but they receive the second most voting intentions (26 percent) after the ruling Ontario Progressive Conservatives (37 percent) in survey numbers released on April 20 by Abacus Data.

Del Duca backs his campaign promise by citing data from the Toronto Police Service (TPS), which says that 49 people have been killed or injured so far in 2022 by shootings and firearms discharges.

More recent TPS data shows the number is now 56, including 15 deaths. In the entire year of 2021, 48 people were killed or injured (11 deaths) by shootings in Toronto, which was lower than the three previous years.

The Ontario Liberals also provided data from Statistics Canada showing that a handgun was used in 61 percent of firearm-related homicides in 2020.

Premier Doug Ford defended his policies on gun issues during a press conference in Thornhill on April 20.

I have been very clear on my stance. Weve put $185 million in fighting gangs and guns. Thats what we need to do is continue to invest, support our police, he said.

Ford said the police know that guns are coming illegally across the border.

But when we catch these people, it goes in front of a JP [justice of the peace], they cant have a slap on the wrist  in two days these guys are running around on the streets. We need to work collaboratively with the federal government to toughen up any gun laws that we have, he said.

Some police officials have publicly testified recently about the banning of certain types of firearms to reduce crime, but they said legal firearms owners are not the ones involved in gun violence.

The issue is not law-abiding Canadians who want to own firearms, Regina police chief Evan Bray told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety on Feb. 8.

The issue really is people who are involved in criminal activity who are obtaining firearms through illegal means, such as cross-border trafficking, theft from legal gun owners, and straw purchases.

Torontos deputy police chief Myron Demkiw also testified at the committee and said that 86 percent of handguns used in crime in 2021 in his city came from the United States.

Data from Statistics Canada shows that the vast majority of individuals responsible for gun-related homicides in 2020 (89 percent) did not hold a valid firearms licence.

There is no Statistics Canada data available showing whether the firearm used in the homicides was legally owned, or if it was used by its legal owner or another individual.

The federal government also wants to address gun violence, recently announcing a $250 million investment in gun crime prevention.

At the same time, it also seeks to reduce gun-crime punishments to address what it calls systemic racism.

The government has presented Bill-C5 in Parliament, a purported anti-racism measure to reduce the proportion of Indigenous and blacks incarcerated by removing mandatory minimum sentences for a number of firearms-related offences, such as robbery with a firearm.
Orbeez Challenge Could Lead to Arrest: Huntington Beach Police

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.The Huntington Beach Police Department is warning against participating in a viral national challenge where juveniles are shooting others with water pellets, leading to injuries.

Called the Orbeez Challenge and now sweeping across the country, the trend started on social media platform TikTok, where kids and young adults are doing drive-by-style shootings using projectile shooters, sometimes known as gel blasters, which are loaded with water beads called Orbeez.

While the trend began as a prank, some have gotten hurt after getting shot with the pellets, leading to welts on their body.

In Huntington Beach, a juvenile was issued a criminal citation in April for battery, a misdemeanor, after they shot someone in the face and body with a launcher gun.

While the gel beads are made out of primarily water, some have been freezing the beads as a way to intensify their effects.

Overall, the department has responded to 56 calls about the challenge. So far, four juveniles have been given citations, according to KTLA.

The Huntington Beach Police Department is making a concerted effort to crack down on these types of incidents, the department said in a statement. This activity could result in misdemeanor, and possibly felony criminal charges, depending on the level of injury sustained by the victim. It could also lead to civil litigation for injury to person(s) and/or damage to private property.

Authorities are encouraging parents to discuss the matter with their children to avoid future incidents.

Those brandishing the weapons also have the potential to cause fear or panic, the department said, since the guns can be mistaken for legitimate firearms from a distance. Some have also painted their launchers black in order to make them appear to be real weapons, authorities said.
An armed police officer stands guard as ethnic Rohingya men gather upon arrival at a temporary shelter in Lhoksukon, Indonesia, on May 13, 2015. (Binsar Bakkara/AP Photo)

Over 500 Rohingya Flee Malaysian Detention, 6 Killed on Highway

More than 500 Rohingya migrants from Burma fled a Malaysian detention center on April 20, with six being killed on a highway while fleeing, a Malaysian official said.

Malaysian immigration chief Khairul Dzaimee Daud said a total of 528 Rohingya escaped from the Sungai Bakap Temporary Immigration Depot in Penang after breaking down doors and barrier grills.

A total of 362 detainees have been rearrested. The search for the remaining detainees is continuing, Khairul said, according to The Malaysian Reserve.

Khairul didnt say what caused the breakout.

Police said six detaineestwo men, two women, one girl, and one boywere killed in a road accident while attempting to cross a highway.

The Rohingya refugees came from Burma, also known as Myanmar, and have been denied citizenship since a Burmese citizenship law was enacted in 1982. Many have attempted to flee to Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia because of a military crackdown in Burma.

Malaysia, which doesnt recognize refugee status, has long been a favored destination for the Rohingya fleeing persecution in Burma or refugee camps in Bangladesh.

According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia, there were approximately 179,000 registered refugees and asylum-seekers in the country as of February 2020, with more than 101,000 being Rohingya, Free Malaysia Today reported.

Since 2020, Malaysian authorities have placed thousands of Rohingya in overcrowded detention camps in a bid to halt the spread of COVID-19.

In March 2020, former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the country could no longer take in Rohingya refugees from Burma, citing a struggling economy and dwindling resources as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We can no longer take more, as our resources and capacity are already stretched, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, Muhyiddin said in a teleconference with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

He urged the UNHCR to speed up the resettlement of Rohingya in Malaysia to third countries and called for more efforts to combat the trafficking of Rohingya, who Muhyiddin said were increasingly at risk for exploitation by militants.

Reuters contributed to this report.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin responds to questions during a House Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington on Sept.29, 2021. (Rod Lamkey/Pool via Reuters)

Pentagons Austin Holds First Call With Chinese Counterpart Amid Rising Concerns Over BeijingMoscow Partnership

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with his counterpart in China for the first time on April 20, after more than a year in his position. The call came amid increasing global concern over the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) partnership with Russia and its continued threats against Taiwan.

Austin requested the meeting with his counterpart, Chinese National Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe, after months of failed attempts to speak with Gen. Xu Qiliang, whos the CCPs highest-ranking general, the Associated Press reported.

According to a statement from the Pentagon, Austin intended for the call to be a follow-up to the virtual meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in March. Biden threatened unnamed consequences during that meeting should Xi support the invasion of Ukraine with material support for Russia.

Secretary Austin and General Wei discussed U.S.PRC defense relations, regional security issues, and Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagons readout states, referring to the acronym for the Peoples Republic of China.

The SinoAmerican relationship has become strained to what is arguably its lowest point amid the Chinese regimes escalating military harassment of self-ruled Taiwan, its continued suppression of ethnic and religious minorities, and newly revealed allegations that the CCP engaged in a series of attempts to stalk, intimidate, and attack U.S. citizens on American soil.

According to the AP, Austin raised concerns with Wei over the CCPs continued campaign of intimidation against Taiwan, in which Chinese military aircraft frequently enter Taiwans air defense identification zone, thus demanding that the Taiwanese military scramble jets in response.

Compounding the tensions is the CCPs relationship with Russia. Although the regime in Beijing has made superficial attempts to distance itself from Russias invasion of Ukraine, it has declared that international financial sanctions against Russia have no legal basis and has worked to shore up trade relations with the nation, even as global leaders warn the CCP of dire economic consequences should it continue on its current path.

A statement from Beijing regarding Austin and Weis call used the occasion to reassert the CCPs claim that Taiwan is part of China and to threaten a further worsening of tensions should the United States not bow to the regimes wishes on the subject.

If the Taiwan issue were not handled properly, it would have a damaging impact on SinoU.S. relations, Wei said, according to a statement published by the defense ministry.

Taiwan has been self-governed since the inconclusive cessation of hostilities in the Chinese Civil War in 1949. It has never been controlled by the CCP. The communist regime has vowed to bring the island under its control, by force if necessary.
Peoples Convoy Protests for 2nd Day in Sacramento

Over a dozen members of The Peoples Convoy gathered outside California Gov. Gavin Newsoms mansion in Fair Oaks, less than 20 miles northeast of the state Capitol, at about 12:30 p.m. on April 20, to protest vaccine mandates and Assembly Bill (AB) 2223.

About six California Highway Patrol officers told protesters to ease off the bullhorn and stop honking their horns. Though the supporters stopped honking their horns after police arrived, one of the protestors continued to speak loudly over the bullhorn.

The day before, more than 100 ralliers from The Peoples Convoy joined over a thousand others, who were protesting AB 2223, at the steps of the state Capitol building in Sacramento.

Protesters gather in opposition to AB 2223 on the southside of the California State Capitol building on April 19, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

AB 2223 was introduced by Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), who said the bill would protect women against criminal prosecution following the death of their baby due to self-induced abortion, miscarriage, or other causes was approved, by a vote of 113, by an Assembly committee on April 19.

But protestorsmembers of The Peoples Convoy includedsay the bill could potentially legalize infanticide.

Mike Landis, lead trucker and organizer of the convoy, criticized state senators and assemblymembers for the lingering state of emergency orders and COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

The Peoples Convoy left Adelanto, California, on Feb. 23 and traveled to the Washington, D.C. area demanding that President Joe Biden give up his emergency powers and end the vaccine mandates.

After spending a few weeks circling the D.C. area, Landis announced in late March the convoy would head back west to California to protest proposed legislative bills the truckers now call The Tyrannical Ten.

I never expected us to be back in California, but here we are, Landis told supporters in Sacramento on April 19.

Landis chastised legislators for putting political and corporate interests above the constitutional rights of Americans.

These people in these buildings here are nothing but puppets on a string for our federal government and the big money of the world. They dont care about you. They dont care about me. They dont care about our kids, he said.

People gather in El Monte, Calif., to show support for truckers partaking in a convoy from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C in protest of mask and vaccine mandates on Feb. 25, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Over the last few months, the mission of the convoy has become about bringing the American people together to demand freedom and stand against tyranny, Landis said.

Its been incredible to see so many people the whole way across the country and the whole way backseeing so many people in their own states starting to stand up. And thats really whats super important: to get people to come together in their states in our hometowns. It starts at home and it filters out to here, Landis said.

Landis chastised lawmakers for imposing lockdowns and business closures during the pandemic, and lingering mask and vaccine mandates.

Everyone says, Oh, what freedoms have they taken? Well, gee, I dont know. I was asked to keep working while I drove a truck at the beginning of this pandemic, if thats what you want to call it. And I couldnt find anything to eat anywhere. But Im supposed to keep going, right? I couldnt use a bathroom, at places [where] we picked up or delivered because God forbid, we have germs, he said.

Its completely stupid.

He urged Californians and Americans to pay attention to the legislation that is being passed and not to let their freedoms slip away.

When they take a little at a time, we dont realize it, he said.  You have to be diligent and watch everything thats going on.

Landis said the convoy plans meet with Canadian truckers when it leaves California.

When we leave Sacramento with the convoy, were going to go meet our brothers and sisters in Canada, he said to cheers from the crowd. Thanks to them for getting this whole ball rolling. If you think that these people in these buildings are afraid of the people coming together, wait till countries come together.
Poland Refuses to Accept and Pay for New COVID-19 Vaccine Deliveries

Poland is refusing to accept or pay for more deliveries of the COVID-19 vaccine under the European Unions supply contract, amid dwindling demand.

The countrys health minister Adam Niedzielski announced the news in remarks on local television on Tuesday.

At the end of last week, we used the force majeure clause and informed both the European Commission and the main vaccine producer that we are refusing to take these vaccines at the moment and we are also refusing to pay, Niedzielski told private broadcaster TVN24.

Poland, alongside other members of the European Union, had been receiving doses of the COVID-19 vaccine throughout the pandemic under supply contracts agreed between the European Commission and vaccine manufacturers such as BioNTech, Pfizer, or Moderna.

Polands biggest supplier is Pfizer. Poland however has seen lower vaccine uptake than most of the European Union, leaving the country with surplus vaccine stock, part of which it has sold or donated to other countries.

Niedzielski said the Polish government triggered a force majeure clause after unsuccessful attempts to renegotiate the contracts. He said the government attempted to spread the 67 million doses it is due to receive this year across 10 years, and to pay only for the doses it has received.

Its a major financial burden, Niedzielski said. Poland is facing serious financial strains related to the influx of refugees.

Indeed, the consequence of this will be a legal conflict, which is already taking place, he said.

The health minister said Poland cannot directly terminate the contract for the supply of vaccines as the parties to the contracts are the European Commission and manufacturers.

The value of the contract for vaccine supplies to Poland up to the end of 2023 with one producer alone was worth over 6 billion zlotys ($1.4 billion), with over 2 billion zlotys of that for supply in 2022.

Pfizer said its agreement over the supply of its COVID-19 vaccine to European Union member states was with the E.U. Commission.

Our discussions with Governments and the details of vaccine deliveries are confidential, it added.

Pfizers partner BioNTech only said that Pfizer was in charge of the commercial relationship with Poland.

A spokesman for the European Commission told a press briefing Tuesday it was aware of the situation.

Member states are bound by their contractual obligations but the commission, of course, understands the difficult position that Poland is in and will continue to facilitate discussion between the Polish government and the company in order to find a pragmatic solution, Stefan De Keersmaecker said.

In Poland, 59 percent of the population has been vaccinated with two doses and 31 percent has received a booster shot. This compares to the E.U. average of 72.5 percent vaccinated with two doses and nearly 53 percent who have received a booster shot.

Reuters contributed to this report.
A police car and a firefighters' truck before the Pniowek coal mine in Pawlowice, southern Poland, on April 20, 2022, where two underground methane explosions killed five people and injured more than 20 early Wednesday. (AP Photo)

Polish Coal Mine Blast Kills Five, Others Trapped in Shafts

WARSAWFive people died and seven were trapped in a coal mine in southern Poland, the prime minister told reporters on Wednesday, in what he said was a terrible tragedy caused by an explosion in the early hours of the morning.

Owner JSW said the methane explosion at the Pniowek coal mine in Pawlowice happened shortly after midnight at a depth of 1,000 metres (3,300 feet). A total of 42 miners were in the area at the time, 21 of whom were transported to hospital, it said.

Morawiecki said rescue workers had been cut off by a second explosion in the mine at around 3 a.m and that a rescue worker was among the dead. He said officials were trying to decide when it would be possible to enter shafts where people were trapped.

We know that five people have died and seven people are trapped, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said. This terrible tragedy shows that the life of a miner is not only a huge effort, but also a great risk.

The whole of Poland has deep compassion and sorrow for what happened, he added.

JSW said 13 teams were involved in the rescue, but that efforts had been put on hold temporarily to allow a dust barrier protecting the rescue base to be rebuilt. It added that the families of the miners affected were being helped by psychologists.

Most of the injured suffered from burns, doctors told reporters.

Shares in JSW were down 1.2 percent at 12:41 GMT.

By Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Pawel Florkiewicz, and Alan Charlish
A Republican prosecutor could decide whether there is sufficient evidence to indict Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, on a growing list of potential charges. Investigations are pointing to alleged tax fraud, money laundering, violation of lobbying laws, and potentially others.

Emerging evidence is showing potential ties between the dealings of Hunter Biden and his father. During a 2013 trip, he took a trip on Air Force Two alongside Joe Biden, when Hunter was trying to set up a Chinese private equity fund. NBC News reports that during the trip, Hunter introduced his father to his Chinese business partner, and Hunter received his business license in China soon after.

In this live Q&A with Crossroads host Joshua Philipp, well be inviting special guest Natalie Winters, an investigative reporter at National Pulse, to discuss these stories and others, and answer questions from the audience.

Subscribe to the new Crossroads newsletter and stay up-to-date!

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A two-time Purple Heart medal recipient and his high school sweetheart whove been married for the last seven years received the wedding theyve always dreamed of.

Through the Old McMickys Farm Mission I Do program, Ivan and Sarah Sears not only got the beautiful ceremony theyd longed for but the farm also arranged for a surprise to honor Ivan with a full Dress Blue Marine Corp Sword Arch Ceremony, according to a statement by the farm.

Ivan and Sarahs love story first sparked when they met as teenagers in high school. Though both of them chose different paths, with Ivan heading to the Marine Corps and Sarah continuing college, they stayed in touch and supported each other during their stressful days.

We were both going through a lot at the time, Sarah said.

One day while Sarah was on her way to work, she received a call from Ivan, who was deployed in Afghanistan, stating that hed been left injured by shrapnel in a blast. Though she was swerving while driving, on hearing the shocking news, she was touched that he thought of calling her first.

During the end of the deployment in Afghanistan, Ivan was faced with yet another injury where he lost both his legs to an IED (improvised explosive device). Sarah learned of this devastating news on social media.

Ivan, who was still on active duty at that time, received two Purple Heart medals and then headed to Texas where he began his rehabilitation for the next two years. During this time, Sarah and Ivans friendship blossomed as Sarah played a huge role during his recovery. They both then became each others rock as they could talk to each other about anything.

After his recovery, Ivan garnered interest in wheelchair racing. With Sarahs support, he competed in the Warrior Games, winning gold and silver medals there, as well as the Invictus Games.

The couple went on their first real date, to the Marine Corps Ball, where Sarah was introduced to Ivans friends and comrades. Things got serious, according to Sarah, when they both attended Ivans best friends Mission I Do wedding at Old McMickys Farm.

In 2014, they had a civil ceremony at the courthouse and longed for a dream wedding, which then became a reality on Jan. 23, 2022, with the efforts of Old McMickys Farms program.

The wedding was not a gift from the farm, farm owner Ralph Zuckerman said in a statement. The gift of the wedding was from Ivan to his bride, Sarah, fully earned by his service to his country.

Everyone in the military helps to protect our families so we thought one of the best ways to show our appreciation was to help them with the wedding celebration they had dreamed of.

The Mission I Do program provides free all-inclusive weddings to active-duty military and veterans and has given nine free weddings so far.

Ivan still remains on active duty, serving in the United States Marine Corps.

Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Bright newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart at the Kremlin on Feb. 22, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

Putin Says Russia Tested Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, Foes Should Think Twice

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on April 20 that his country has tested the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which has been under development for years, but this comes as the conflict in Ukraine reaches its second month.

The nuclear-capable Sarmat, dubbed by NATO and the West as the Satan II, is counted among Moscows next-generation weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, that have been reportedly employed in Ukraine.

In announcing the ICBM test, Putin said in a televised address that it will make Russias enemies think twice. Russias Defense Ministry said via state-run media that the successful test took place at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia, and it was fired toward the Kamchatka Peninsula, located in Russias Far East region.

This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure the security of Russia from external threats, and make those who, in the heat of aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice, Putin said, according to a translation.

Armed with multiple nuclear warheads, the Sarmat missile can hit any target on earth, Putin said. The Defense Ministry has previously stated that the ICBM is designed to evade anti-missile defense systems and is difficult to track.

The Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile is launched during a test at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region, Russia, in this still image taken from a video released on April 20, 2022. (Russian Defence Ministry/via Reuters)

The new complex has the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is capable of overcoming all modern means of anti-missile defense. It has no analogs in the world and wont have for a long time to come, Putin said.

The Pentagon told Reuters on April 20 that Russia properly notified the White House before it carried out the ICBM launch. Defense officials said they view the launch as routine and that it doesnt represent a heightened threat to the United States.

Days after Russias invasion of Ukraine started, Putin said he placed his countrys nuclear forces on a heightened state of alert and cited severe U.S. and Western economic sanctions as one reason why.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on March 14: The prospect of nuclear conflict, once unthinkable, is now back within the realm of possibility.

Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told an Indian broadcaster that Russia isnt planning to use nuclear weapons during the Ukraine conflict.

Another top Kremlin official, spokesman Dmitry Peskov, late last month told the PBS broadcaster that no one is thinking about usingabout even the idea of using a nuclear weapon.

Reuters contributed to this report.
A$AP Rocky performs "I'm Not the Only One" with Sam Smith (R) during the 42nd American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California on Nov. 23, 2014. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Rapper A$AP Rocky Taken Into Custody in LA in Connection to Shooting

U.S. rapper A$AP Rocky was taken into custody in connection to a November 2021 shooting as he arrived from Barbados at the Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday, NBC News reported.

Los Angeles Police Department officers and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained the 33-year-old artist who arrived on a private plane from the Caribbean island.

Police in Los Angeles were investigating Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, for his possible involvement in a Nov. 6 shooting in Hollywood. The victim told police that Mayers and two people approached him with a handgun while he was walking on the street, NBC News reported.

The victim said Mayers shot at him three to four times and a bullet grazed his left hand, the network reported, citing a police report.

A lawyer representing A$AP Rocky and a Los Angeles police spokesperson were not immediately available for comment.

A$AP Rocky received a suspended sentence for his role in a brawl in Stockholm in August, 2019. The rapper and two members of his entourage were convicted of kicking and beating a 19-year-old man after an argument. They had told the court they acted in self-defense.

By Brendan OBrien
Report: Low-Tax States Grow at Faster Pace Than High-Tax States

A newly released report examines the tax burden and economic climate of all 50 states and ranks them, with Utah coming in first and New York coming in last.

The report, released by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), says that cutting taxes, paying down debt and maintaining free market policies have significantly helped states attract new residents.

Americans continue to vote with their feet toward states that have lower tax burdens and value economic competitiveness, said Jonathan Williams, ALEC Chief Economist and Executive VP of Policy. Rich States, Poor States teaches us that states with lower taxes, especially those that avoid personal income taxes, have seen significantly better rates of in-migration than states with high income tax rates.

The report ranked the states for their economic outlook based on a range of variables, including tax burden, the legal system, the minimum wage, the size of government, the role of labor unions, and public debt.

Generally speaking, states that spend lessespecially on income transfer programsand states that tax lessparticularly on productive activities such as working or investingexperience higher growth rates than states that tax and spend more, the report said.

Utah, which has a flat personal income tax, topped the list, followed by North Carolina, then Arizona, Oklahoma, and Idaho. After that, Nevada, Indiana, Florida, North Dakota, and Wyoming filled the 6-10 spots, respectively.

If you believe incentives matter, and I do, state policies have the effect of changing those incentives at both the state and local levels, economist Arthur Laffer said. Those changes in incentives have consequences. This ranking of states is a tried-and-true formula. I think it is a great way of picking winners and giving guidance on how states should be effectively governed.

New York fell at the very bottom of the list, with New Jersey ranked 49th and California 48th. The report ranked Vermont 47th, Minnesota 46th, Illinois 45th, Maine 44th, Hawaii 43rd, Maryland 42nd, and Oregon 41st.

This study has had a big impact on what state officials, governors and legislators are doing, economic expert Stephen Moore said. This is a magic moment for tax reform at the state level. I think even in some of these blue states that have been traditionally very liberal, theyre looking at reforms that could really make their states more prosperous. I think the direction is good, and I think a lot of that direction is a result of the Rich State, Poor State rankings.

By Casey Harper
Elvira Nabiullina, Governor of Russia's Central Bank, speaks during an interview in Moscow, Russia, on June 27, 2019. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters)

Russia Says It Will Not Disclose Banks Linked to SWIFT Alternative: Report

Russias central bank announced Tuesday that it would no longer disclose the names of banks that use its alternative to the SWIFT payment system.

The move comes after several Russian banks were banned from SWIFTthe cross-border payment system operatoras part of measures that came in response to President Vladimir Putins invasion of neighboring Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24. The penalty was designed to isolate Russia from global markets following the invasion.

Russias central bank developed a messaging system, the System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) in 2014. Russian banks affected by the ban could move to Moscows alternative to the SWIFT payments network.

Last year, the central bank was reported as saying domestic interbank traffic could easily be transferred to this platform.

Under the current conditions we have made the decision not to reveal the list of organisations connected to SPFS. Still, this list is available for users of the system, Russias central bank told Reuters in an emailed comment.

The central bank previously published a list of those who use SPFS on its website, but this practice was recently stopped, according to Bloomberg.

Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina told parliament on Monday that 52 institutions from 12 countries are using the countrys alternative to the SWIFT financial messaging service. She said Russias central bank would push to add new members to the system.

Until there was such a threat of being cut off from SWIFT, foreign partners werent in much of a rush to join, but now we expect their readiness to be greater, Nabiullina said, according to Russias state-run news agency TASS.

The central bank said in March that around 400 users were connected to the system, which was set up by Russia after the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, amid concerns that the country could lose access to SWIFT.

Russia called earlier this month on the other BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) emerging economies to extend the use of national currencies and integrate payment systems.

Bloomberg reported late March, citing people familiar with the matter, that India was weighing a proposal from Moscow to use the system, and that the plan involves rupee-ruble-denominated payments.

The central bank has scaled down its public activity, including suspending publication of external debt data and a breakdown of gold and foreign exchange reserves.

Earlier this month, the central bank also announced that it will temporarily stop publishing data on foreign trade on a monthly basis in the first such suspension since 1997.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Medical workers chat at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai on April 15, 2022. (Beibei via AP)

Shanghai Quarantine: 24-hour Lights, No Hot Showers

BEIJINGBeibei sleeps beside thousands of strangers in rows of cots in a high-ceilinged exhibition center. The lights stay on all night, and the 30-year-old real estate saleswoman has yet to find a hot shower.

Beibei and her husband were ordered into the massive National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai last Tuesday after spending 10 days isolated at home following a positive test. Their 2-year-old daughter, who was negative, went to her grandfather, while her nanny also went into quarantine.

The convention center, with 50,000 beds, is among more than 100 quarantine facilities set up in Shanghai for people such as Beibei who test positive for COVID-19 but have no symptoms. It is part of official efforts to contain Chinas biggest coronavirus outbreak since the 2-year-old pandemic began.

Residents show no obvious symptoms, Beibei, who asked to be identified only by her given name, told The Associated Press in an interview by video phone.

There are people coughing, she said. But I have no idea if they have laryngitis or Omicron.

The shutdown of Shanghai, which confined most of its 25 million people to their homes, is testing patience of people who are increasingly fed up with the Chinese regimes zero-COVID policy that aims to isolate every case.

Beibei was told she was due to be released Monday after two negative tests while at the convention center.

Most of Shanghai shut down starting March 28. That led to complaints about food shortages and soaring economic losses.

Anyone who tests positive but shows few or no symptoms is required to spend one week in a quarantine facility. Beibei said she had a stuffy nose and briefly lost part of her senses of taste and smell, but those symptoms passed in a few days.

Residents take a rest at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai on April 15, 2022. (Beibei via AP)

On Monday, the citys authorities reported 23,460 new cases on the Chinese mainlandonly 2,742 of which had symptoms. Shanghai accounted for 95 percent of the total, or 22,251 cases, including 2,420 with symptoms. Yet Beijings official virus figures should be viewed with skepticism, according to experts and residents, who point to the regimes pattern of concealing information thats deemed to be damaging to its grip on power.

At the convention center, residents are checked twice a day for fever and told to record health information on mobile phones, according to Beibei.

Most pass the time by reading, square dancing, taking online classes, or watching videos on mobile phones.

The 420,000-square-meter (4.6 million-square-foot) exhibition center is best known as the site of the worlds biggest auto show. Other quarantine sites include temporary prefabricated buildings.

Clothes are hung on a partitions at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai on April 15, 2022. ( Beibei via AP)

Residents of other facilities have complained about leaky roofs, inadequate food supplies, and delays in treatment for medical problems.

We havent found a place with a hot shower, Beibei said. Lights are on all night, and its hard to fall asleep.

A video obtained by AP showed wet beds and floors due a leaky roof in a different facility in a prefabricated building.

Bathrooms are not very clean at the NECC, Beibei said. So many people use them, and volunteers or cleaners cant keep up.
A resident looks out behind a gate blocking an entrance to a residential area under COVID lockdown in Shanghai on April 13, 2022. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Shanghai Residents Pushed to Their Limits Amid Ongoing Lockdown

Shanghais draconian lockdown has caused chaos, humanitarian disasters, and mounting public outrage. Some Shanghai residents say the collateral damage from the authorities frantic Zero-COVID approach is much worse than the effects of the virus itself.

After 9 p.m. on April 16, Shanghais Pudong government released an online statement addressed to the districts residents that said the virus outbreak remains severe and complicated.

Daily confirmed new cases exceeded 10,000 for four consecutive days, the letter said. It claimed that strict lockdown to achieve Zero-COVID is a scientific decision, and called on residents to adhere to whole-region static management.

If we ever give up, all previous efforts and sacrifices will be in vain, and the price to be paid in the future will be even greater, it said.

The statement was made while the Pudong district had been under lockdown for 20 days, with some neighborhoods being under so-called closed management measures for over a month.

A person looks on from a closed shop next to a neighborhood in lockdown, as people are tested for COVID-19 in Shanghai on March 23, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Shanghai resident Zhao Xin (pseudonym) told The Epoch Times that she believes that the official letter to Pudong residents also served as a public notice to all Shanghai residents.

The core of what is going on is dynamic zero-COVID. When [Chinese vice premier] Sun Chunlan came to Shanghai, she insisted on zero-COVID, despite her seeing all the chaos and disasters in Shanghai, Zhao said.

I just dont believe that they can achieve zero-COVID. By the time there are outbreaks everywhere in China, can the Chinese government still achieve it? Zhao asked.

The latest COVID outbreakdriven by the Omicron varianthit Shanghai in early March which resulted in the authorities announcing a city-wide lockdown on March 28.

View of residential units during a COVID-19 lockdown in the Jingan district of Shanghai on April 17, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Residents in restricted areas have had to undergo numerous rounds of PCR tests, and communities under closed management have had their gates locked. By April 11, the day after Chinese vice premier Suns visit to Shanghai, residents of 7,624 sealed-off communities were forced to stay at home.

Zhao complained that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials are making a fortune from Shanghai citizens suffering.

We were required to go downstairs for nucleic acid testing every two days. They can make a lot of money from these tests, Zhao said.

She mentioned that the test requirements are becoming nonsensical.

The authorities have all kinds of weird arrangements. We are asked to do double testing tomorrow. Such a crazy move We must do a self-test at 8 a.m., and then go downstairs to do a group test two hours later, Zhao said. It is certainly pointless. But we still have to follow this nonsense arrangement to avoid trouble.

Community volunteers wearing personal protective equipment guide residents queuing to get tested for the COVID-19 during a lockdown in the Pudong district of Shanghai on April 17, 2022. (Liu Jin/AFP via Getty Images)

She was also angry about how the Pudong government letter claimed that the pandemic control measures are based on the principle of people first, life first.

From day one of the lockdown, critically ill patients are struggling to receive urgent medical care.

Zhao said a neighbor had a heart attack around midnight on April 15. When he called the emergency number, he was told that they could not dispatch an ambulance and he should go find a hospital by himself. The neighbor kept asking others, What should I do? What should I do?

I am really speechless that Shanghai has come to this point, Zhao said.

Lying Flat

Soaring prices are also a big concern for those in lockdown. According to Zhao, green leaf vegetables used to cost 3 yuan (about 47 cents) a pound, but now the cheapest available is priced at 15 yuan (about $2.35) a pound.

Shanghai is under price regulation, and it is not an absolutely free-market economy. Its suppliers and the upstream of the supply chain must be controllable, she said.

It is very likely that they (CCP authorities) are making money themselves by taking advantage of the current chaotic situation.

A worker in protective overalls stands in the middle of empty streets in a lockdown area in the Jingan district of western Shanghai on April 4, 2022. (Chen Si/AP Photo)

A Shanghai restaurant owner told The Epoch Times that current prices in the city are about five to 10 times higher than usual.

First, there are no droughts or floods. Second, there is no swine fever or bird flu. Third, supply and demand have not changed. So why did prices surge like this? he questioned.

Zhao said that Shanghai peoples patience has reached its limit.

We Chinese emphasize moderation and avoid extreme measures. If you continue the lockdown like this, will everyone fight against this government? Didnt the CCP know that civilians have a limit when enduring these problems?

Now everyone knows that community staff members, those involved in logistics and other aspects, have all chosen to lie flat. We all know that the CCP is just messing around, but we dont really understand what it is for, she said.

Lying flat is a new Chinese term that refers to a lazy and doing-nothing approach.

A man with a mask is seen through a window at his home in a residential area on April 13, 2022, in Shanghai, China. (Getty Images/Getty Images)

Analysts: Shanghai Officials Deliberately Embarrass Xi Jinping

Dong Liwen, chief executive of Taiwans Asia-Pacific Peace Research Foundation, said at a national-level political conference on April 16 that the Shanghai lockdown has caused public grievances.

Dong said it is quite possible that local officials are deliberately trying to embarrass Xi Jinping as the zero-COVID policy was personally issued by Xi. He said that local officials have deliberately implemented extreme measures, making the lives extremely difficult for Shanghai residents, in the name of following Xis directives.

It is just like what happened last year when Xi Jinping ordered to reduce carbon emission, the end result was it was implemented to the point of power shortage in various regions. These local governments are deliberately embarrassing Xi, he said.

Current affairs commentator Zhou Xiaohui shared similar views in an early-April article.

Shanghai officials were likely unhappy with the zero-COVID policy from the central authorities, and they either resisted it or resorted to slacking off in their actions, he said. They all know that there is infighting between Xi Jinping and a faction aligned with past CCP leader Jiang Zemin.

They chose to do nothing so to make the central authorities the target of public anger. There are also grassroots officials who take the opportunity to make money for themselves, he said.
Biological-sex campaigner Katherine Deves has been selected as the Liberal candidate for Warringah on April 5, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. (Katherine Deves/ Facebook)

Silenced in the Name of Wokeness: Growing Support for Embattled Liberal Candidate Katherine Deves

Liberal candidate Katherine Deves, who has faced backlash in the past two weeks for her vocal advocacy against the transgender ideology, has garnered endorsements from some Liberal parliamentarians.

It comes after NSW Treasurer MP Matt Kean and Independent MP Zali Steggall, the latter being Deves rival for the seat of Warringah, called for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to disendorse her for the federal election in May over her past comments on the controversial topic.

Mounting scrutiny during the first week of the election campaign saw Deves shut down her social media and apologise for having called Wear it Purple Day, an annual LGBT+ day for young people, a grooming tactic that pushed for extreme body modification.

In one of her deleted tweets in May, 2021, Deves wrote: They will not stand for seeing vulnerable children surgically mutilated and sterilised, and attached a photo of a teenager who had undergone top surgery.

Kean, who is part of the Liberals moderate faction, told RN Breakfast on April 19, he did not believe Deves would be fit for office and denounced some of her posts as outright bigotry. He argued: We live in a cosmopolitan, multicultural society where people are free to be themselves and thats a fundamental tenet of liberalism.

But NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet on April 20 backed Deves position as he believed girls should play sport against girls and women should play sport against women.

But ultimately, as well, we in public as politicians, in the media, have an obligation in these areas of debate to participate in a way that is sensitive, particularly in areas that are incredibly delicate, and there are strong views on either side of the debate, he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Mark Latham, leader of the right-leaning One Nation NSW branch, on April 19 alleged that the media and Kean are not raising those comments in their attempt to rub her out as a Liberal candidate.

Their agenda is the promotion of transgender, he wrote on his Facebook post. This is a worrying time for our society, with the woke brigade determined to make gender as fluid as running tap water.

While Latham did not support Deves past criticism about men, he noted she was right in speaking up about trans-identified men eroding the hard-fought-for rights of women, especially in girls sport.

Good on her for this commonsense view.

New South Wales One Nation Leader Mark Latham at his book launch for Outsiders  I wont be silenced in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 5, 2017. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

This sentiment is echoed by Northern Territory Country Liberal Party senate candidate Jacinta Price, who warned that Deves was being silenced in the name of wokeness.

If Deves can be silenced then imagine the plight of marginalised women in our nation? she said in a Facebook post on April 18.

She told Sky News on the same day: As conservative women, we are constantly under fire and constantly targeted by the left, constantly being gaslit by the left, attempted to be shoved into some kind of box under a label and silenced.

And I wont have that.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the former Warringah member who lost to Independent Zali Steggall at the 2019 election, praised Deves as a tough, brave person, adding that he very much admires her.

Calls to disendorse Deves have been rejected by Morrison, who asserted he is not going to allow her to be pushed aside as the pile-on comes in to try and silence her.

While Liberal Party state MP Felicity Wilson and Senator Anne Ruston have condemned Deves past comments, Minister for Women Marise Payne remained silent on the controversy and refused to endorse the controversial Liberal candidate.

In an email to Liberal supporters on April 18, Deeves, a mother-of-three, hit back at her critics, stating she wasnt going anywhere.

My opponents, parts of the left media and twittersphere have been unrelenting in calling for me to be disendorsed, because of past statements, her email stated.

I have been bullied in the most vile way and received death threats. Im not going anywhere, as the Prime Minister said yesterday.
A student is dropped off at class by his mother at a school in Pickering, Ont., on Sept. 8, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Cole Burston)

Smoke and Mirrors: Ontario Going Into Election With Same Problematic Sex-Ed Curriculum, Critics Say

News Analysis

In the lead-up to Ontarios 2018 provincial election, the issue of sex education was a hot-button issue, with Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford pledging to repeal the controversial curriculum brought in by the Liberal government of Kathleen Wynne.

Four years later, as the province heads toward another election in June, groups that were concerned about the age-appropriateness of the curriculum say the PC government reneged on its promise.

We, as parental rights activists, would refer to it as the same curriculum [as Wynnes], Jack Fonseca, a spokesperson for Campaign Life Coalition, said in an interview. The sexuality portion of it, the radical sex-ed portion, is the exact same curriculum they just reinstated.

Teresa Pierre, president of Parents as First Educators (PAFE), one of the groups active against the sex-ed curriculum, says parents remain as concerned today as during Wynnes term about the contents in the curriculum, noting however that there hasnt been as much protest due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

John Robson, a history professor at Augustine College and an Epoch Times contributor, says how things have transpired with Ontarios sex-ed saga is an indication of how hard it is to challenge the educational establishment.

Parents have very limited leverage over the system, and the politicians are more or less in agreement with the establishment that its not really the job of parents to educate kids, he said in an interview.

Election Issue

The issue of modernizing sex education in Canadas most populous province has been controversial since 2010, when the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty introduced a new curriculum to update the 1998 one, only to withdraw it due to parental backlash. But the curriculum was reintroduced again by Wynnes government in 2015, and this time it stayeddespite an outcry by parents from various communities, with some even pulling their children from school.

People gather to call on Premier Doug Ford to keep his promise to repeal the controversial 2015 sex-education curriculum at Queens Park in Toronto on Feb. 2, 2019. (NTD)

Wynnes government and proponents of the new curriculum said modernization was needed, especially because of the emergence of technology and social media, and in order to include issues such as consent, online bullying, and sexting. Opponents expressed concern about the age-appropriateness of the topics covered for younger grades, which include masturbation, anal intercourse, oral sex, vaginal lubrication, and the idea that being male or female is merely a social construct.

During the 2018 election campaign, Ford said the Liberals had turned schools into social laboratories, saying they have introduced the sex curriculum based on ideologya curriculum that teaches sensitive topics starting at an early age.

Shortly after winning the election, in the fall of 2018 the PC government brought in an interim curriculum that removed some of the contentious topics but still kept concepts such as gender identity. The interim curriculum was criticized by teachers unions as well as the opposition NDP and Liberals for rolling back the concepts previously included, and different groups took the government to court over the issue. It was also criticized by opponents of the 2015 curriculum for still including some of the more controversial material.

The government launched online public consultations to gather input on a new curriculum. Media reports in late 2018 based on information obtained through freedom of information requests said the majority of the feedback opposed changing the 2015 curriculum. Ford said the process had been skewed by certain groups who flooded the online system at the beginning of the consultations.

The government eventually brought in a new, permanent curriculum in 2019. It covers topics such as online safety, family, and healthy relationships, as well as mental health and concussion. But except for a few changes, the sex-ed content remains more or less the same as the 2015 curriculum.

The new curriculum bumps sexual orientation from Grade 5 to Grade 6, and teaches gender identity and gender expression in Grade 8 rather than in Grade 6. Also new is an opt-out policy, which allows parents to pull their children from classes covering the sex-ed program.

Fonseca says the PC government didnt want to fight the powerful teachers unions and the media, opting instead to cave in.

They said, lets just give them what they want and reinstate it. And thats exactly what they did, he said.

Tanya Granic Allen, a vocal critic of the sex-ed curriculum and mother of five who was a candidate in the 2018 PC leadership race, says the way the government handled the file was a lot of smoke and mirrors.

They said they were going to repeal it, but they were saying one thing and doing another, she said in an interview. [Ford] actually flip-flopped on it.

Grace Lee, a spokesperson for Ontario Minister of Education Stephen Lecce, says Ford listened to the voices of parents by fulfilling his 2018 pledge to repeal, consult, and replace the Liberal governments curriculum.

Parents know their children best, which is why in the revised curriculum, our government introduced an important opt-out option for parents, to ensure that parents rights and choices are respected, Lee said in an email.

Ensuring age-appropriate content along with new content that was not even mentioned in the previous curriculum, such as online safety, consent, concussion prevention, and human trafficking, underscore our commitment to keep students safe in and outside of the classroom.

Going Against the System

For parents not in agreement with the curriculum, Robson says there are many challenges and obstacles to getting the results they seek.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford (L) and Education Minister Stephen Lecce take a tour of a school in Toronto on Sept. 1, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Carlos Osorio)

The system is just set up in such a way that it grinds them down. And if you decided that Im going to fight this curriculum, youd look at the last seven years and say, Its hopeless, I just cant do it, he said.

If you think about this as a parent activist, this all started with a new curriculum in 2015. By the time the Ford administration had brought in its new curriculum in 2019, well if your kid was in Grade 5 when it started, your kid is now in Grade 9. They basically outwaited you. And thats what they do: They know that parent activists come and go because their kids grow up. But the bureaucrats and the teachers and the administrators are there forever.

Robson says that in places like Florida, parents have a lot more leverage as theres a much more vigorous private school system and a political party thats actually on their side.

[In Florida], its intellectually reputable to challenge the sexually radical establishment. But here, in some sense, you have to blame the populace. If we let them do it to us, its really on us in the end.

Florida recently passed a new law that prohibits instruction on sexual orientation from kindergarten through third grade, as well as instruction that isnt age-appropriate.

David Leis, vice-president of the think tank Frontier Centre for Public Policy, says politicians tend to stay on the sidelines unless there is a strong movement of concerned parents and citizens.

Politicians tend to go where the winds are, and where they feel safe, in terms of any public position, Leis said in an interview. And Canadians, lets face it, as a culture tend to be quite respectful people, and verge on silence instead of exercising their voice.

He cites critical race theory (CRT) as an example of another concept being promoted in school systems by ideologues that parents may not be very aware of. Proponents of CRT say the concept is necessary in the fight against racism, while critics say its based on Marxist ideas, interpreting society through a lens of a power struggle between white and non-white people, and promoting actions against the former.

Leis says theres much more awareness among parents in the United States about CRT in schools. Last year, Glenn Youngkin, a Republican running for governor of Virginia on an anti-CRT platform, defeated the Democratic contender Terry McAuliffe, who had said parents shouldnt tell schools what to teach their children.

Virginia is a very good case study, and that is that in Canada, we have emerging groups, but we dont have a strong coalition of parents and educators that are organized to oppose this, Leis says. When that happens, that will change the political dynamic quickly.

Parental Action

The Ontario legislature is currently deliberating a private members bill introduced by an NDP MPP that is centred around the ideas of CRT. Bill 67, dubbed the Racial Equity in the Education System Act, is currently being studied in committee. The Ford government says it hasnt whipped government MPPs on how to vote on the bill.

Students cross the street on their way to school in Mississauga, Ont., April 1, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette)

Bill 67 defines anti-racism as the policy of opposing racism including anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism, anti-Asian racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia, without naming whites, and requires every school board to establish a racial equity plan for all its schools.

Leis says despite its name, the bill is actually reverse racism.

Its about engendering division and hatred for others simply because of their race, ironically, he says. We need more than ever a school curriculum that engages people to succeed in our world, and this type of curriculum takes enormous energy and time away from that objective, and will hurt children.

David Livingstone, a liberal and political studies professor at Vancouver Island University, says that although Bill 67 would make CRT more formalized in the Ontario school system, his impression is that the concept is already prevalent in school systems across Canada.

Some of the CRT material is coming in through the back door, through the professional development sessions [for teachers], he told The Epoch Times.

Livingstone says that compared to Americans, Canadians have more trust in their state institutions, so they tend to be less skeptical and less likely to question what is being taught in schools.

They have accepted, for better or for worse, that what the teachers and what the schools are saying is probably the right thing to do. They have sort of surrendered, I think, too much of that decision-making to the schools, he says.

But he says if more parents were to find out what CRTwhich he says is an American export to Canadais all about, theyd be miffed about it.

With many issues in Canadian school systems, including lowered education scores compared to peer countries, public schools should be focusing on delivering quality education, rather than politicizing young kids, Livingstone adds.

Pierre says many parents are pulling their children from public schools because theyre worried about the concepts being taught.

She says her organization, PAFE, remains active in resisting issues such as the new sex-ed curriculum and CRT in schools, and in getting involved and raising awareness, especially around election time, such as the upcoming school trustee vote in Ontario in the fall.

Theres always the ability to change our systems, like our education policies, and our leaders as well. So theres always the possibility that we can succeed in getting this really removed once and for all, she says.
The SoftBank Group's logo in Tokyo, on May 12, 2021. (Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images)

SoftBank Latin America Fund Loses Key Managing Partners: Bloomberg

SoftBank Group Corp. Latin America Fund managing partners Shu Nyatta and Paulo Passoni looked to depart to start their own venture business focused on late-stage startups in the region, Bloomberg reports.

They expressed their excitement about becoming entrepreneurs acknowledging SoftBanks role in their careers.

The report noted SoftBank looks to promote the LatAm funds third managing partner, Alex Szapiro, who currently holds an operational role, to a more senior position.

SoftBank will also promote Juan Franck, a fund investor in Mexico City.

SoftBank also weighed investing up to $2 billion in the fund.

The departures follow SoftBank COO Marcelo Claures exit following clashes with founder Masayoshi Son over compensation and responsibilities.

Claure created and oversaw the LatAm fund, among other duties, and advocated for its spinoff.

Due to Claures advocacy, the fund had considerable autonomy, including the partners latitude to make their own decisions and compensation structure.

The first LatAm fund was initially slated to invest $2 billion and grew to $5 billion.

The report noted results for the nine months ended December 31, 2021, showed an investment gain of 9 percent, as the Vision Fund and others chalked up substantial losses. Investments in Latin America gained 136.7 billion yen ($1.1 billion), as Vision Fund investments lost 767.7 billion yen.

By Anusuya Lahiri

 2022 The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
The office of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, pictured here in Oct. of 2021, put pressure on the UT Southwestern Medical Center's treatments for transgender youth, said Dr. Ximena Lopez in a court hearing on April 11, 2022. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Texas Hospital Denies Outside Influence Caused Termination of Transgender Program

Hospital leaders tell judge they alone terminated transgender youth treatments

Two hospital leaders have denied that outside influenceincluding from the state governmentled to the termination of the transgender program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in November 2021.

UT Southwestern President Dr. Daniel Podolsky and CEO John J. Warner told a Texas judge on April 11 that they rescinded some medical treatments in November 2021 from their own considerations and not because of third party pressures.

In a letter read by their attorney to Judge Melissa Bellan, Podolsky and Warner said that no entity or individual made or directed them to amend the program.

The decision was made to suspend the initiating hormone treatment for new pediatric patients as it was believed that if they failed to do so, that it would put then entire GENECIS program in jeopardy, the letter stated.

Judge Melissa Bellan ruled on April 14 that the UT leaders must file online depositions within two weeks.

The ruling was part of a legal challenge brought on April 13 by Dr. Ximena Lopez, the former director of the transgender project.

Lopez alleged that outside pressure from the office of Gov. Greg Abbott contributed to the ending of certain aspects of her sex-change program, called GENECIS, in late 2021.

Chelsea Rachel, 32, specifically came to the polls to vote against Greg Abbott on primary day March 1, 2022. Pro-Choice issues were a main concern for her. (Patrick Butler/The Epoch Times)

GENECIS stands for the Gender Education and Care, Interdisciplinary Support.

Lopez filed a 202 petition in March to obtain documents and any communications related to the project. A 202 petition is a legal forerunner of a lawsuit.

She also sought legal approval for UT leaders to be deposed and questioned under oath.

Lopez disputed that account during the hearings, testifying that she was told by hospital leaders that the office of Gov. Greg Abbott pressured hospital administrators to change transgender services for some patients.

In November 2021, UT Southwestern discontinued the GENECIS name and began referring new patients seeking gender-change chemicals including puberty blockers and hormone therapy to other providers.

UT Southwestern said in a statement in November 2021, GENECIS was never a stand-alone clinic and was not closed as has been misreported in the media. The decision to remove the GENECIS program branding was made to provide a more private experience for patients and families.

The Texas Legislature attempted to curtail the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy during the 2021 session but failed to pass a bill.

Misguided Ideology

On February 21, 2022, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a non-binding opinion that called some medical treatments for minors child abuse.

Paxton said that performing certain sex-change procedures on children and prescribing puberty-blockers to them is child abuse under Texas law. The holding comes at a critical time when more and more Texans are seeing the horrors that flow from the merging of medicine and misguided ideology.

Gov. Gregg Abbott followed up Paxtons opinion with a directive on Feb. 22 to the Texas Department of Child and Family Services.

The Office of the Attorney General has now confirmed in the enclosed opinion that a number of so-called sex change procedures constitute child abuse under existing Texas law.

Because the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is responsible for protecting children from abuse, I hereby direct your agency to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of any reported instances of these abusive procedures in the State of Texas, Abbotts letter read.

Since Abbotts directive, nine investigations have been opened but are stalled as court challenges to the policy are in progress.

UT Southwestern Medical Center said it would not comment on pending litigation.
The Starbucks logo is displayed in the window of a Starbucks coffee shop in San Francisco on Jan. 24, 2019. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Starbucks Workers Vote to Unionize at 5 Virginia Stores

The union representing Starbucks Corp. workers has won elections at five stores in and around Richmond, Virginia, it announced on April 19, marking yet another victory for labor activists.

The store on Forest Hill Avenue became the first Richmond location to vote to unionize after workers at the store voted 171 in favor of the union, Starbucks Workers United said.

Four other nearby Starbucks locations followed suit: Midlothian Turnpike and Carmia Way, which voted 223 in favor of unionization; Huguenot Road, which voted 112 in favor; Westchester Commons, which voted 13-8 in favor; and Willow Lawn Drive, which voted unanimously in favor, the union said.

Ballots were mailed to workers at the five stores on March 29, and the votes were counted at the National Labor Relations Board office in Baltimore on April 19, WRIC ABC 8News reported.

A Starbucks spokesperson told The Epoch Times: As we have said throughout, we will respect the process and will bargain in good faith guided by our principles. We hope that the union does the same.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) congratulated the unionization wins after they were announced, writing on Twitter: The movement of workers demanding dignity on the job wins again! Congratulations to Starbucks workers in Richmond on your vote to unionize!

Sanders, who is set to make an appearance in Richmond on April 24 at the Unity Festan event to celebrate and support the organizing efforts of Starbucks workers both locally and nationallyadded: I will see you Sunday!

A string of Starbucks stores across the United States have voted to unionize in recent months, including one in Knoxville, Tennessee, in March 2022, after the first corporate store voted to unionize in Buffalo, New York, in December 2021.

Other stores in Arizona and in Seattle, Washingtonwhere Starbucks is headquarteredas well as a dozen other states have also filed for union elections.

Starbucks has nearly 9,000 stores nationwide.

The union push comes amid complaints from workers at Starbucks stores over increased workload, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and a surge in mobile orders.

Employees have also called for more say in how the stores are managed and how the technology for mobile orders is used, while union organizers want better training and staffing as well as improved pay.

In October 2021, Starbucks announced it was increasing wages for U.S. hourly employees and that by the summer of 2022, those hourly employees would average nearly $17 an hour, with a new range of $15 to $23 an hour for baristas.

The company said it was also making further investments in employee training.

After workers at a Seattle Starbucks store voted unanimously on March 22 to unionize, a Starbucks spokesperson provided an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.

We are listening and learning from the partners in these stores as we always do across the country, the company stated. From the beginning, weve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall union membership in the United States declined by 0.5 percentage points to 10.3 percent in 2021, marking a return to the 2019 rate.
Press Release

April 20, 2022 De Lima hits Malacanang's, DND's knee-jerk reaction to US State Dept HR violations report Re-electionist Senator Leila M. de Lima criticized the knee-jerk reaction of Malacanang and the Department of National Defense (DND) to the 2021 US State Department report on Philippine human rights abuses. De Lima, a social justice and human rights champion, said that their reaction on US report citing "numerous" human rights abuses by Philippine security forces "is a product of their indolent and superficial review of said report." "In their knee-jerk reaction to the State Department report, Malacanang and the DND simply dismissed the entirety of the report, without bothering to notice that a large part of the report was sourced from official Philippine government data," she said. "As such, if the State Department report contains "infirm intelligence", according to Andanar, then Philippine government data must also be the source of this infirmity," she added. In its 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released this month, the US State Department said it found reports on human rights abuses allegedly committed by Philippine security forces, including extrajudicial killings and torture as "credible." Among the "significant" human rights issues in the Philippines that the US State Department mentioned in said report were unlawful or arbitrary killings by and on behalf of the government and non-state actors and torture by and on behalf of the government and non-state actors, to name a few. Acting Presidential Spokesperson Martin Andanar said the Palace considered the report "utterly devoid of bases" while Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said such report is questionable, even challenging the US Sate Department to "provide us with details" to "verify them." If they actually read the report, De Lima noted that "instead of insulting the information-gathering capabilities of the United States, they would find that the report included a scathing portion on rights violations committed by the NPA, such as revolutionary taxation and the recruitment of child soldiers, among others." The lady Senator from Bicol said she expects the Duterte administration to say that it is only rejecting those parts of the report that attribute human rights abuses to state security forces. "But that would be a clear case of cherry-picking," she stressed. "Malacanang cannot ignore the evidence already gathered by other international organizations, such as Amnesty International, which result in the same findings of prevalent human rights abuses, if not crimes against humanity, committed by the Duterte administration." De Lima maintained that the State Department and AI Reports, among many other evidence and information gathering efforts undertaken by international organizations, will only serve to buttress the International Criminal Court (ICC) case against Duterte and his lackeys. "As he nears the end of his term, Duterte, with his Malacanang stooges, must already be so tired of parrying incontrovertible reports of human rights abuses that they are just waiting for it to be over and done with. "But the end of Duterte's term will just be the beginning of their reckoning. The International Criminal Court (ICC) will continue to pursue the case against them for crimes against humanity," she said. It may be recalled that De Lima filed a communication with the ICC in October 2017 to complement the communications submitted by the late Atty. Jude Sabio, and former lawmakers Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV and Gary Alejano against Duterte. The communication included statements of self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato and retired police officer Arturo Lascanas, that they killed people in Davao City upon the orders of then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
Drugs prescribed to strengthen bones can have the opposite effect and lead to devastating consequences, research finds. (Image Point Fr/Shutterstock)

Study Finds Ads for Many Aussie Orthopaedic Surgeons Dont Comply With Guidelines

Research led by the University of New South Wales has found large proportions of online advertising for orthopaedic surgeons non-compliant, with only one-quarter of surgeons compliant with guidelines.

Non-compliance [in our study] was often characterised by unverified claims of reputation and skill, or misleading representations of the benefits of treatment, the authors wrote.

As patients increasingly rely on online health information, it is important that surgeons recognise that misleading information on their websites can have serious implications for informed patient decisions.

Orthopaedic surgeons are clinicians specialised in both surgical and non-surgical treatment of bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons, such as knee and hip joint implants and treatment.

The research team, led by Dr. Sam Adie from University of New South Wales sampled two groups of orthopaedic surgeons for their online advertising compliance.

Eighty-one clinicians with public details were randomly selected from the Australian Orthopaedic Association (AOA) database and 59 surgeons were found through top Google search results by searching the profession with a the name of a major Australian city.

The study found the majority of surgeons in both groups were non-compliant across the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and AOA guidelines.

Further, surgeons found through top search results were more prevalent for non-compliance than members from the AOA.

In total, the team found over 60 percent of the AOA sample were non-compliant in at least one AHPRA guidelines and or AOA guidelines. For clinicians found through Google, 81 percent were non-compliant with AHPRA guidelines and 78 percent with AOA guidelines.

Of concern, the team found that less than one-quarter of surgeons (20 out of 81) in the AOA sample group and only seven out of 59 surgeons in the top Google search results were compliant for both AHRA and AOA guidelines in their online advertising.

The primary area of non-compliance in online media was in the use of deceptive, misleading or superior performance claims; taking up the majority of non-compliance across both groups.

Non-compliance of giving testimonies was also significant across both groups with over half of the Google sample using testimonies in their marketing.

This was concerning as previous studies in the United States have found that inaccuracies and misleading information in online orthopaedic surgery advertisements could lead to negative outcomes for patients.

Additionally, the team noted that the majority of surgeons who were non-compliant for referencing commercial products (51 percent of non-compliance) also failed to disclose commercial relationships (46 percent of non-compliance).

With many surgeons having financial links with the industry, non-disclosure of commercial relationships could lead them to prefer certain products and potentially compromise patient care.

This was especially significant in clinicians making misleading claims on superiority of robotic surgery over standard surgery with 14 percent of AOA members and 29 percent of surgeons in the Google sample making these claims, despite the AOA specifically advising members not to do so.

Increasing patient demand for specific treatments can lead to inappropriate use of health care resources and adoption of novel technologies of still uncertain efficacy, the team wrote.

The authors also expressed concern at the greater prevalence of non-compliance in top Google search group as internet consumption for health information become prevalent in patients.

Patients are most likely to visit the webpages linked with the top ten search results, and view advertising that employ more aggressive marketing strategies, the team noted.

Our findings suggest surgeons must take greater care with the information they publish online, and that the AHPRA and AOA must undertake further steps to enforce compliance with their advertising guidelines.
Suspects Arrested in Connection With Arkansas Teens Kidnapping Being Held Without Bond

Two people suspected of kidnapping 17-year-old Trynytee Case of Arkansas near her workplace in downtown Hot Springs earlier this week were taken into custody on Tuesday, authorities say.

The Hot Springs Police Department announced in an April 20 press release that Tennessee natives Samuel Wayne Bolling, 38, of Nashville and Dayla Diane Ferrer, 19, of Memphis were arrested without further incident at approximately 5:52 p.m. on Tuesday.

Both suspects are facing charges that include kidnapping and aggravated robbery, as well as false imprisonment and battery in the first degree, jail records show.

Bolling and Ferrer are currently being held at the Garland County Detention Centre with zero bond, per the release.

Case, who was at the center of an Amber Alert, was located on Central Avenue in Hot Springs at approximately 3:22 p.m. on April 19 with minor injuries. She was transported to a local hospital for medical assessment.

Omar Cervantes, a local police officer 1st class, told The Sentinel-Record that the victim is doing fine and authorities conducted interviews to further the investigation.

Theyve got her, so were going to obviously cancel the Amber Alert, Cervantes said. The case is still ongoing and were going to get her and get some interviews and make sure we can resolve this whole thing. As of right now, we just want everyone to know she is safe; weve got her.

On Tuesday, Arkansas State Police issued a statewide Amber Alert for Case, a student at Cutter Morning Star High School who worked at Pour Some Sugar on Me Bakery. Detectives found she disappeared late on Monday while leaving the bakery located in Hot Springs.

Police said Case was leaving work on Monday at around 9:15 p.m. when she was allegedly kidnapped by a female stranger, who later demanded $10,000 for her return over the phone, FOX 13 reported.

Case and a co-worker were walking toward their car after finishing work when they were approached by a female stranger, believed to be Ferrer, who explained she was lost and asked them if she could use a cell phone to use GPS coordinates.

During this time, Cases co-worker said she would already move on to get her car from a nearby lot so they could go home together, but after she returned to pick up Case, her student-colleague was nowhere to be found.

The co-worker panicked and immediately called Cases mother, who then called her daughter.

After several attempts, she managed to reach her daughter who said, everything is fine, before a man got on the call and demanded $10,000 for her return, or they would kill and cut up Case.

Police managed to ping the victims phone and discovered that she was seen heading to south Hot Springs before finding her safe.

From NTD News
State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus during a press conference at the State Department in Washington, on June 24, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Tennessee Republican Party Removes Three Candidates From Ballot for US House Seat

The Tennessee GOP has voted to remove three candidates who were vying for a seat representing the states 5th Congressional District.

Republicans voted to boot Morgan Ortagus, Robby Starbuck, and Baxter Lee from the primary ballot, Tennessee Republican Chairman Scott Golden told news outlets.

Golden and the party did not respond to requests for more information.

Ortagus, a State Department spokeswoman during the Trump administration who recently moved from Washington, was just endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Starbuck, a filmmaker who used to live in California, has promoted Trump policies such as strong border enforcement.

Lee is a businessman who has described himself as a conservative outsider.

The vote came after state lawmakers passed legislation that requires congressional candidates to have resided in Tennessee for at least three years to appear on primary ballots.

But Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, returned the legislation to lawmakers without his signature.

The bill became law, but not soon enough to apply to the 2022 primary, the Tennessee Secretary of States Office confirmed to The Epoch Times.

The requirement does not apply retroactively to candidates who met the qualification deadline at noon on April 7,a spokesperson for the office said in an email.

We feel the voters are best able to determine who should represent them in Congress, a spokesperson for Lee told outlets.

Candidates removed from the ballot by the state GOP offered similar arguments.

I believe that voters in Middle Tennessee should pick their representativenot establishment party insiders, Ortagus said in a statement obtained by The Epoch Times. Our team is evaluating the options before us.

Starbuck said in March that hes only been registered with one party before and has only donated to GOP candidates.

Not allowing me on the ballot would disenfranchise a huge segment of our voters in Tennessee, discourage people from engaging in the process and most of all it would reek of the dirty politics that makes so many distrust our elections, he said at the time.

On Wednesday, Starbuck said: Sadly in Tennessee candidates are NOT elected, theyre SELECTED by a tiny group of establishment RINO hacks. Well fight this with every ounce of fight we have. They declared war on TN voters yesterday. Its not about me, its about YOU and Ill fight for your right to vote.

Lee did not respond to a request for comment.

Ortagus and Starbuck both moved to Tennessee in recent years.

The seat they hope to win is currently held by Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.). Cooper is retiring at the end of his current term.

A lawsuit was filed against the legislation that would affect future candidates in federal court after it was passed.

Three residents who say they planned to vote for Ortagus alleged the bill violates the U.S. Constitution, which requires that members of Congress be 25 or older, have been a citizen of the United States for seven years, and must live in the state theyre representing when theyre elected.

Plaintiffs seek damages and a declaration that the provision is unconstitutional so that all qualified candidates who wish to run for Congress in the August 4, 2022 primary election may do so, the suit stated.

Correction: A previous version of this article inaccurately described the bill. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
UK Equality Act Can Be Amended, But Some Argue Trends Are Unlikely to Be Reversed

The government has a plan to tackle racial inequality while building a more inclusive society. But some are questioning how some of the unforetold consequences of the Equality Act can be reigned in.

While the governments Inclusive Britain policy paper has set out a raft of measures that translated the findings from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report into concrete action, critics say that current legislation still creates a new hierarchy of inequality and can even be changed for the better with a few simple legal tweaks.

The new policy followed on from an independent review from Dr. Tony Sewell, the education consultant who chaired the Commission, who concluded that British society was not deliberately rigged against ethnic minorities.

The review was set up by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July 2020 to examine inequality in the UK in the wake of Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests over the death of George Floyd.

Equality Act

Launching the new strategy last March, Minister of State for Equalities Kemi Badenoch told the Daily Mail that the answer to ethnic minority disadvantage is not to get civil servants to read books on white privilege or worry about statues in Oxford colleges.

Brought in under the former Labour Party PM Gordon Brown, the Equality Act came into force in 2010, with the purpose to protect individuals from discrimination and promote a fair and more equal society.

Badenochs report said the government will now aim to strengthen the Equality Acts independent regulator, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), with statutory powers to defend the right to equality and to continue to protect those most vulnerable from discrimination.

The protected characteristics in the Equality Act are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership (in employment only), pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

More recently, the gender-critical views of Maya Forstater, who lost her job at a think tank after tweeting that transgender women could not change their biological sex, were ruled as a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act, according to a judge-led panel. In 2020, a hearing gave ethical veganism protection under the Equality Act 2010.

Hierarchy of Inequality

However, some have argued that protected characteristics create a hierarchy in which some types of offences against members of protected groups are deemed more offensive than others with none.

A spokesperson for Dont Divide Us, an organisation set up to counterbalance and take a stand against the UKs divisive obsession with peoples racial identity, told The Epoch Times that the biggest issue with the Equalities Act is that it creates a new hierarchy of inequality.

The Act has been also been criticised for stunting free speech (pdf) as well as an increase in the number public and private bodies promoting unconscious bias training as well as BAME only internship opportunities. The high salaries of diversity tsars, some often claiming higher wages than the Prime Minister himself, have also come under fire.

In an article for Unherd, author James McSweeney proposed a simple trick to fix what he called the blob of the Equalities Act.

Instead of revoking the Equality Act, the Conservatives should amend it, he said. For example, part 11 of the Act contains clause Section 149 which introduced a public sector equality duty.

This obliged public bodies to encourage persons who share a relevant protected characteristic to participate in public life or in any other activity in which participation by such persons is disproportionately low, he wrote.

Furthermore, Section 149 (pdf) meant publishing measurable equity objectives meaning that every public body had to hire diversity duties. This, in turn, created a situation where the UK now has twice as many Diversity and Inclusion workers per capita as any other country.

Though McSweeney said that these trends are unlikely to be reversed by repealing the Equality Act.

Cultural Forces and Pressures

Professor Frank Furedi, emeritus professor of Sociology at the University of Kent, told The Epoch Times that he believed there were two obstacles to really changing the political landscape in relation to the issues of the Equalities Act.

The prolific author and Spiked columnist said that the judiciary and various institutions that are involved in this are heavily invested in promoting the ideological underpinnings of diversity and whats behind it.

Every time the Government tries to do something it finds that its decisions are in practice are thwarted by the people that are involved in managing this, also there are very strong cultural pressures that promote the Equalities Act and its various manifestations, therefore it cannot be contained simply by passing a law because that assumes that these cultural forces and pressures are somehow going to go away, he said.

Furedi said that the key battle at the moment is a war against the past and the attempt to detach society from its legacy and tradition.

The author added that he thinks this will the frontier of which a lot of battles will be fought in the next couple of years.

At the moment there are people who are aware of this around different parties but the mainstream of the parties is pretty bad on these issues or even when they recognize the problem dont really understand the significance of whats going on here, he added.
Actor Ezra Miller attends the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Justice League" at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on Nov. 13, 2017. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

The Flash Star Ezra Miller Arrested Again in Hawaii for Alleged Assault

Ezra Miller, who is known for starring Barry Allen in the upcoming DC movie The Flash, was arrested in Hawaii for a second time this year, authorities say.

Miller, 29, was taken into custody during a traffic stop at about 1:30 a.m. on April 19, the Hawaii Police Department said in a press release. He was arrested on a second-degree assault charge after becoming violent at a residence in Pahoa.

Police determined that the individual, later identified as Ezra Miller, became irate after being asked to leave and reportedly threw a chair, striking a 26-year-old female on the forehead, per the statement.

Police said the injured woman, who was not identified and had an approximate half-inch cut after being struck by the chair, refused to be treated at a hospital.

Miller was released at 4:05 a.m. that same night after conferring with the local prosecutors office. Police said the investigation is ongoing.

It is not the first time that Hawaii police arrested The Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore actora movie in the Harry Potter spin-off franchise that was released in the United States last week and in which Miller portrays Credence Barebone or Aurelius Dumbledore.

Miller has been the source of police calls in Hilo 10 times since March 7, Hawaii Police Assistant Chief Kenneth Quiocho said, noting that its not clear how long the actor has been on the island, The Associated Press reported.

Most of the police calls were manini incidentsa Hawaii Pidgin term that can mean minor or smallsuch as filming people at a gas station, refusing to leave the sidewalk area of a restaurant, and arguing with people, Quiocho said.

Although on March 28, Miller was arrested at a bar in Hawaii, where police say the Justice League film star yelled obscenities, grabbed a mic from a singing woman, and lunged at a man playing darts.

Ezra Miller in a booking photo. (Courtesy of Hawaii Police Department)

That night, Miller was charged with disorderly conduct and harassment. He was released again from custody after paying $500 bail.

On April 19, the actor appeared virtually before a judge in Hilo to plead no contest to disorderly conduct stemming from the March 28 incident and agreed to pay a $500 fine, Hawaii News Now reported.

On March 29, the day after his first arrest, a Hawaiian couple also filed a temporary restraining order against Miller after accusing him of bursting into their bedroom and threatening them.

The couples order also accused Miller of stealing some of their belongings, including a passport and wallet. A judge dismissed the order on April 13 at the request of the couple.

From NTD News
During the pandemic a widespread use of nanoparticles has been employed for diagnostics, personal protection equipment, prevention, and treatments of diseases. The use of nanoparticles in biomedicine is expected to increase further due to a desire for real-time human health monitoring as seamless human/machine interaction.

The most booming nanoparticles that may rule future lives are graphene-derived products. The novel 2-D material graphene has advantages in mechanical, thermal and electrical properties and is used in wearable sensors and implantable devices whereas the research and development of the oxidized form graphene oxide is used for cancer treatment, drug delivery, vaccine development, ultra-low concentration diagnostics, eradication of microbial contamination and cellular imaging.

Thus far scientific literature on graphene-derived products is mainly focused on the positive aspects. During the pandemic, graphene oxide became known as an unsafe nanoparticle that could be present in facemasks and tests. Meanwhile scientists are questioning possible devastating effects of graphene-derived products on human health and the environment. The hype of graphene-derived products has led to a fast track from product to market release while reliable and reproducible data on cytotoxic and genotoxic effects are still missing.

Graphene Unlimited

In 2010 two researchers, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov from Manchester University received the Nobel Prize in Physics for isolating the one Carbon atom layer derived from graphite present in pencils, by using a kind of scotch tape. The amazing material is the lightest and thinnest versatile substance known to humankind. It is transparent, conductive and selectively permeable.

The C-atoms are tightly bound in a honeycomb (hexagonal) lattice. Based on the qualities of graphene the material is used in many fields varying from electronics to biomedicine. In 2013 the European Commission started a Future and Emerging Technology project, the Graphene Flagship, with a budget of one billion Euros for a period of ten years with 170 academics and industrial partners from 22 countries involved, now owning many graphene products in pipeline.

However, production of high volume and quality graphene (pure, homogenous and sterile) for affordable prices to implement the possibilities of graphene-derived products in daily life is still a challenge, as well as improving standardization and validation of the cellular systems and biological systems to test various forms of graphene for its toxicity.

The EU Graphene Flagship Project acknowledges that there are still gaps to fulfill risk-related knowledge. It is expected that application of graphene will reach maturity in the period 2025-2030. EU-manufactured nanomaterials must fulfill the REACH regulations in order to be authorized for industrial production and commercialization.

A Portal to Human-Machine Interaction

Many politicians and public health experts promote the introduction of technology in healthcare as a major instrument to manage the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases. Moreover, it is thought to be beneficial to decrease costs and fill the gap in shortness of healthcare professionals.

The policy would transfer from a focus on disease to prevention which has led to the idea of a Good Health Pass that could be linked to an ID card and vaccination passport. In this way each person can be instructed when and how to act to prevent disease and stay in good health even when traveling to other countries.

A graphene-based sensor platform with non-invasive and invasive application including wearable sensors for monitoring biophysical, biochemical, environmental signals and implantable devices for nervous, cardiovascular, digestive and locomotor systems is predicted to be of enormous value for implementing Artificial Intelligence.

In the Graphene Flagship project various skin patch sensors based on graphene are developed to empower people to continuously monitor and proactively make safer choices. The first invasive neural interface in the brain with the ability to interpret brain signals with unprecedented high fidelity, producing a therapeutic response adapted to the clinical condition of each patient, is expected to enter clinical trials soon. The innovation is linked to the  1,3 billion EU Human Brain Project to enhance the field of neuroscience computing and brain-related medicine expecting more implantable devices influencing behavior to be developed.

Graphene Oxide and the Human Body

Graphene oxide can unintentionally enter the body through inhalation, dermal contact, and ingestion as it can disperse in many solvents. Toxic effects of GO are dependent on several variables including the route of administration influencing distribution in the body, the dose, the method of synthesis, impurities from the production process and its size and physicochemical properties like oxidation degree.

GO has a high adsorption capacity for proteins, minerals and antibodies in the human body which transforms the structure and form of GO to a bio-corona that can interact with other biomolecules and physiological processes. A difference in biocompatibility was suggested to be due to the differential compositions of the protein corona formed on their surfaces that determine their cell interaction and pro-inflammatory effects.

The many contradictory results from no toxicity to possible long-term serious damage, depending on physicochemical properties and the experimental conditions chosen, ask for a better understanding of its toxicokinetics and mechanisms involved for acute and long-term exposure.

Also, its behavior to biological barriers like skin, blood-brain barrier and barrier of the placenta may vary. Intra and extracellular degradation of GO is mainly orchestrated by macrophages (immune cells) in the different organs. The lung, heart, liver, spleen and intestine are the organs GO is found. In this context it is important to understand the possible risks of the bio persistence in the body and affected cellular membrane integrity, metabolic processes and morphology of organisms. The way in which GO is produced is of key importance for the potential impact on biological systems, biodistribution and excretion by the human body.

Graphene Oxide and the Environment

Irrespective of forms of graphene a great number of studies have demonstrated that graphene affects a wide range of living organisms including prokaryotes, bacteria, viruses, plants, micro and macroinvertebrates, mammals, human cells and whole animals in vivo. The large part of available current literature indicates that graphene-based nanomaterials are cytotoxic.

Although the mechanism of their cytotoxicity has not yet been established, oxidative stress, cellular penetration and inflammation have been most widely recognized mechanisms for graphene based nanomaterials toxicity in aquatic organisms. Unfortunately, there is still a huge gap of information lacking the effect on organ function, metabolic effects and behavior.

One Health

Now that the pandemic has come to an end, striving for One Health has become the priority, focusing on surveillance, vaccine, and drug development using new technology. However, experts and politicians are reluctant on the enormous increase in the biohazard with graphene-derived products that have been released in the environment during the pandemic the past two years.

As GO can be easily transported by air and water from hazardous waste the possible negative aspect of a GO pollution of all living creatures is unknown and cannot be excluded. Enhancing effects of GO on the endocrine-disruptive capacities of Bisphenol A have been observed in adult male zebrafish. Sharp edges of GO that can penetrate cell membranes might facilitate the penetration of microplastics and other unknown substances into organisms.

New diseases may develop by disrupting a worldwide fragile balanced ecosystem necessary for health and all life on earth. This public health risk is growing each day due to a sharp rise in malnutrition as a result of the lockdowns undermining a well-functioning immune system and the ability to degrade or detoxify graphene-derived products.

Evidence-based research and ethical decisions need to be prevalent over an intellectual fast track of GO-derived product production and release. The priority should be better focus on ways to improve availability of sufficient and good nutrition, and prevent the release of inadequately tested products and restore trust in public health.

Republished from Brownstone Institute

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The Palmer Blitz: Should There Be Limits on Political Advertising in Australia?

Commentary

In the 2019 election campaign, billionaire Clive Palmer spent around $80 million (US$60 million) on advertising, including ubiquitous billboards and television and radio ads to promote his United Australia Party (UAP). Although the UAP ran candidates in all 151 electorates, it only received a primary vote of 3.4 percent and failed to elect any of its candidates.

This year, the billboard advertising campaign has been reinstated, and television viewers are again bombarded with advertisements for the UAP.

Zoe Samios and Lisa Visentin recently noted in The Sydney Morning Herald that Clive Palmer spends 100 times more than major parties on advertising, putting him on track to fulfil his promise to run the most expensive election campaign in the nations history.

The advertisements for the upcoming election, that will be held on May 21, focus on the task of regaining peoples freedom, which was a casualty during the COVID-19 pandemic when state leaders adopted oppressive measures, providing for repeated lockdowns, social distancing rules, mask and vaccine mandates, and border closuresall resulting in severe restrictions on freedom of movement.

Especially in Western Australia (WA), now effectively a one-party Labor state following the obliteration of the Liberals and Nationals in the March 2021 election, the governments oppression of freedom of movement has been harsh and enforced ruthlessly by a politicised police force.

Palmer, controversially branded an enemy of the state by WA Premier Mark McGowan, attempted to argue in the High Court that the closure of the WA border during the COVID-19 pandemic was illegal.

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan during a press release at the COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic in Claremont, Perth, Australia on May 3, 2021. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Specifically, he contended that the Quarantine (Closing the Border) Directions (WA) and the authorising Emergency Management Act 2005 (WA) were constitutionally invalid because they violated the section 92 of the Constitution, according to which trade, commerce, and intercourse among the states, whether by means of internal carriage or ocean navigation shall be absolutely free.

However, the High Court held that the burden on interstate intercourse was justified by the non-discriminatory purpose of preventing transmission of the coronavirus. The Court also held that the state measures were proportionate to the objective the State sought to achieve, namely the prevention of the spread of the coronavirus.

One could take issue with the High Courts claim that there was no effective alternative to the closure of the state border. Prof. Augusto Zimmermann has suggested that the Court misinterpreted the Constitution because it overlooked the meaning of the word absolutely.

He opined that the closure of the border unconstitutionally prohibited cross-border movement to Western Australia and not only imposed a direct burden on the freedom of intercourse, but also a discriminatory burden with a naturally protectionist effect, thereby contravening the freedom of trade and commerce also protected under the relevant constitutional provisions.

Another reputable scholar, Prof. Anthony Gray, agreeing with Zimmermanns interpretation in an article published in an influential study on the violation of rights in the age of COVID-19, wrote that it is clearly evident that section 92 of the Constitution represents the vision of a unified, connected nation and that the measures are arguably disproportionate to achievement of their legitimate objective.

Even today, although the WAs state border re-opened on March 3, there are still significant restrictions in place, making it difficult, even inconvenient, for people to travel to the state.

Palmers political advertising blitz raises the question whether there should be limits on spending for political adverting. Those who argue in favour of limiting politicians spending levels believe that unlimited advertising has the potential to influence the outcome of elections, thereby denigrating the process of democracy.

For example, Anthony Whealy, QC, a former Appeal Court judge has described Palmers actions, while legal, as nevertheless obscene and dangerous for democracy.

However, the High Court, in a 1992 judgement, invalidated a federal statute, that prohibited political advertising on television and radio during election campaigns, as an infringement of the implied freedom of communication in relation to political affairs.

Clive Palmer is thus legally allowed to use his wealth for the purpose of attacking what he regards as severe injustices in society. In highlighting the importance of freedom, Palmer is justifiably reminding the electorate of the grave injustices, which were caused by the capricious authoritarian behaviour of state governments, notably in Western Australia.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The Shanghai Model of Pandemic Combat

Commentary

Early last week, the pandemic situation in Shanghai continued to deteriorate. But according to official reports, there was only one serious case. Netizens naturally raised the question: was it worthwhile to lock down the city with a population of 25 million for a single serious case? Public opinion, however, is not expected to have an impact. Local officials understand that the leadership demands strict accountability in the combat of the epidemic; those who perform will be promoted and those who fail to deliver will lose their positions, especially when the 20th Party Congress is approaching.

A few months ago, experts suggested in the media to adjust the zero case approach and consider western countries experiences; but such views were suppressed immediately. Till now, the official propaganda machinery adopts a unified stand, the zero case approach becomes an unshakable state policy. The combat of an epidemic is a scientific medical issue. Most governments recruit experts as advisors, and largely rely on them to explain to the public the necessary policy measures. The Chinese authorities also recruit experts, but they can only toe the government line; they are not supposed to openly deliberate on different options and refer to successful foreign experiences. This is typical politicisation of the issue, and it is related to the leaderships prestige.

Up till the end of last year, Shanghai performed quite well in containing the epidemic, and local leaders boasted of their accurate and concentrated policy programme. Recently, the metropolis has been accused by its neighbours for passing the virus to them. Chinese netizens often try to find a scapegoat for their troubles; not long ago Hong Kong was similarly blamed by Shenzhen.

Chinese leaders accord a high priority to the combat of the epidemic, partly to demonstrate the superiority of their political system, especially its mobilisation power. Besides North Korea, Chinas mobilisation power probably tops the world. On April 3, 2022, over ten thousand medical personnel arrived at Shanghai to help; and on the following day they completed the COVID test for the entire citys population. A few days later, more than thirty thousand medical personnel reached the city from several neighbouring provinces to help. Basic isolation facilities were also promptly set up.

For the people of Shanghai, however, this impressive mobilisation power had not delivered satisfactory services. Under severe lockdown measures, some families could not receive food in time. Families with sick members were worried about their medical supplies. A few patients could not produce satisfactory test records and died because of delays in seeking medical treatment. The most unreasonable arrangement was the separation of young symptomatic children from their parents.

Although the Chinese authorities tried hard to block news of the grievances, international media still managed to produce broad coverage of the Shanghai situation. The image of the Chinese authorities as an effective administration has been considerably damaged. The Indian economist Amartya Sen observed that in the modern era, serious famines had never occurred in democratic countries. This was because their governments accord a priority to the peoples interests, and would not impose dictatorial and unreasonable policies. The Shanghai situation offers a clear counter-example.

In a democratic country like New Zealand, the serious epidemic situation forced the authorities to impose a lockdown on cities like Auckland some months ago. Yet people were still allowed to go to nearby supermarkets to get their supplies, and take a walk within five kilometres from home for an hour every day. The government understands the needs of the peoples psychological health; and this is an important consideration regarding peoples rights.

The Shanghai situation was quite different. After a lockdown of a week or so, some people obviously suffered from mental stress. For the less serious cases, inhabitants loudly yelled in their apartments, and attracted similar behaviour from neighbours. In more serious cases, people fought with staffers implementing the lockdown, and some even went to the streets to curse the Party. Chinese officials refused to acknowledge the problem of mental stress in quarantine.

Politburo member, Vice-premier Sun Chunlan was in Shanghai to take command. On April 2, she announced the upholding of the zero case policy. Then on April 6, she demanded both the normal functioning of the city and the effective containment of the epidemic. Obviously while it was easy to give orders, it was far more difficult to implement them.

In the beginning of last week, the Shanghai authorities announced some relaxations, and the metropolis was divided into three zones. But the relaxation was limited, 60 percent of the population was still in the lockdown zone and could not leave their residences. Only one fifth in the precautionary zone could go to the streets and markets nearby.

It has been suggested that a countrys civility and human rights are best reflected in its prisons. Actually a countrys human rights conditions are quite clearly shown in its combat of a serious epidemic.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talks to reporters as he arrives to the House of Commons for question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 5, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

Trudeau Says Heavy Artillery Coming for Ukraine, but Stays Mum on Details

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isnt going to provide more details about his governments pledge to send a new round of military aid to Ukraineat least not yet.

The prime minister said Wednesday that he doesnt want to outline the specifics of what will be sent, and where the government is getting it from, because of security concerns.

Trudeau said he wants to be careful about what he publicizes about the delivery of military equipment in the context of Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

He said he hopes to share more in the coming days about what is being sent to Ukraine.

People understand that delivery of military equipment in the context of an illegal war by Russia is something that we have to be a little bit careful aboutwhat we broadcast and publicize and what were doing, Trudeau said during a media availability in Kitchener, Ont.

But in the coming days, I certainly hope to be able to share more about what is being sent and what was sent.

Trudeau first announced Tuesday that Canada will send heavy artillery to Ukraine in response to President Volodymyr Zelenskyys request.

Earlier this month, Zelenskyy released a list of equipment he said the Ukrainian military needed to fight Russia, including 155-millimetre heavy artillery guns and ammunition.

The Liberal government has previously dipped into the Canadian Armed Forces inventory to provide lethal aid to the Ukrainian military as it fights a Russian invasion that started in late February and has so far killed thousands of people.

But Defence Minister Anita Anand has suggested the militarys spare inventory is tapped out, and that the governmentwhich set aside $500 million in military assistance for Ukraine in its latest budgetplanned to buy equipment from vendors.

Trudeau said that while the government was pledging more equipment for Ukraine, it would ensure the Canadian military could contribute fully to NATO operations in Europe.

As we support Ukraine, including with military equipment and munitions, we are also making sure that Canada continues to have the capacity to operatenot just to defend Canada but to participate fully in NATO operations as well, he said.
A Metropolitan Police patrol car is parked in front of a a luxury apartment building where Arian Taherzadeh and Haider Ali were arrested for allegedly scheming to get close to Secret Service agents, in Washington on April 7, 2022. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo)

Two Men Accused of Impersonating Federal Agents Indicted on Federal Charges

Two men accused of impersonating federal agents have been indicted on multiple counts by a federal grand jury.

Haider Ali, 35, and Arian Taherzadeh, 40, were indicted in Washington on false impersonation of an officer or federal employee and unlawful possession of a large-capacity ammunition feeding device.

The pair were arrested on April 6 on charges of impersonating federal law enforcementby identifying themselves as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigations special agents, according to court documents.

The case made headlines earlier this month when more than a dozen FBI agents raided a luxury apartment building in southwest Washington. Prosecutors said the two had tricked actual Secret Service officers and offered them expensive apartments and gifts in an effort to ingratiate themselves and integrate with law enforcement agents, including an agent assigned to protect the first lady.

Federal authorities accused the pair of obtaining police weapons and surveillance equipment to pose as federal employees. During the raid, authorities found body armor, gas masks, zip ties, handcuffs, equipment to break through doors, drones, radios, and police training manuals in five apartments in the building.

Several firearms, including handguns and ammunition, and disassembled rifle pieces and sniper scopes were also found by authorities during the search, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the FBI found evidence that they may have been creating surveillance devices.

The pair are accused of claiming to work for the DHS and for working on a special task force investigating gangs and violence connected to the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol building, and giving members of the Secret Service rent-free apartments, iPhones, a drone, other policing tools, and more, court documents state.

An investigation began on March 14 when Taherzadeh and Ali identified themselves as being part of a phony DHS unit they called the U.S. Special Police Investigation Unit, as the U.S. Postal Inspection Service began probing an unrelated complaint of an assault at the apartment building.

The apartment building is known to house many people who work for federal agencies.

Taherzadehs lawyer, Michelle Peterson, argued that he had no intention of compromising the agents and had provided the luxury apartments and lavish gifts because he wanted to be friends with them.

She said her client had previously been licensed in Washington as an unarmed special police officera private guard to protect people or propertyand was also a licensed private detective. In an extensive interview with investigators after his arrest, Taherzadeh said he had made an embarrassing misrepresentation that got out of control.

Alis lawyer, Greg Smith, has argued his client didnt know Taherzadeh was lying about a connection to Homeland Security and genuinely believed he was working on behalf of the government.

Authorities havent yet elaborated on a possible motive.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
UK Bank Warns Over Impersonation Fraud as Cases Soar by 300 Percent

A bank has warned people to be on the alert for scammers as cases of impersonation fraud surge.

TSB said the average victim of impersonation fraud loses 4,000, with household names like Royal Mail, Amazon, and BT being used to lure unsuspecting people into sending money to scammers.

Paul Davis, director of fraud prevention at the bank, said: Households are bombarded with scam calls, texts, and emails every day.

Were urging them to remain suspicious of any unsolicited contact, to avoid falling victim to fraud at a time when the impact would be hardest felt.

Impersonation fraud is an attack in which a criminal impersonates a company, business, organisation, or individual as a key component, and reported cases have soared by 300 percent since 2019.

New industry figures from Action Fraud showed there had been more than 2 billion worth of reported fraud in less than a year.

TSB said that in 2021 more than half of customers transactions to fraudsters by value was due to impersonation fraud.

TSB found more than half of the money lost due to impersonation fraud was from criminals pretending to be from a bank, who claimed their victims account was under attack and money had to be transferred to a safe account.

Authority fraud, when imposters claim to be from official organisations like the police, HMRC, the National Crime Agency, or the NHS, made up 13 percent of the total value lost.

Tech support and phone provider fraud made up 9 percent of losses, TSBs analysis of customer data found, with BT, Virgin, and Sky used most, when fraudsters pretend to offer speed increases or help with software.

Eight percent of the total loss was from swindlers pretending to be from delivery companies like Royal Mail, Hermes, and DPD, while 7 percent was from fraudsters pretending to be from Amazon.

Davis said people should be suspicious of any out-of-the-blue contact, keep their guard up, and not let themselves be easily convinced.

And he said fraudsters thrive on causing panic, so people should take their time and the best way to deal with anything suspect would be to hang up or delete the message.

Bank fraud departments will never ask you to make a transfer, and by dialling 159, people can find out if it really is their bank calling.

TSB is also warning of fraudsters sending emotive texts or email requests for financial help while posing as a relative or friend.

On average, the bank said, family and friend fraud leads to more than 1,200 lost per case.

On Wednesday, the Edinburgh-based bank launched its Tackling Fraud Together report and will be in the UK Parliament to set out the steps it said are needed to stop fraud.

Phil Andrew, chief executive of StepChange, a debt charity that contributed to the report, said: In tough times fraud and financial difficulty go hand in hand.

The pandemic has left many households with little or no ability to cope with financial shocks and, as cost-of-living increases start to bite, its vital consumers are protected from those seeking to exploit financial and other vulnerabilities.
Two polish MiG-29s fly over the air base in Malbork, Poland, on April 29, 2014. (Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine Receives Fighter Jets From Unnamed US Ally: Pentagon

The Department of Defense confirmed that Ukraine has received fighter jets from an undisclosed U.S. ally amid the weekslong Russian invasion.

Ukrainian forces right now have available to them more fixed-wing fighter aircraft than they did two weeks ago, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday. Without getting into what other nations are providing, [Ukrainian forces] have received additional platforms and parts to be able to increase their fleet size.

Kirby did not say what types of aircraft were provided to Ukraine but suggested they were Russian- or Soviet-manufactured. Previously, Ukraines government had asked NATO countries to provide it with MiG-29 fighter planes but previously, such plans were rejected.

Other nations who have experience with those kinds of aircraft have been able to help them get more aircraft up and running, Kirby also told reporters, adding that the United States has not transported whole aircraft to Ukraine.

Initially, Western powers avoided sending Ukraine fighter planes and other heavy armaments so as to not risk escalating the conflict with Russia. Since the start of the Feb. 24 war, the United States has authorized sending hundreds of millions of military equipment, including anti-tank missiles and kamikaze drones, to Kyiv.

A cat walks next to a tank of pro-Russian troops in front of an apartment building damaged during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 19, 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

Additionally, Kirby said Tuesday that the United States would very soon be training a small number of Ukrainian troops on American-made artillery that was approved as part of an $800 million package last week.

Ukraine, meanwhile, said it had so far held off an assault by thousands of Russian troops attempting to advance in what Ukrainian officials call the Battle of the Donbass, a new campaign to seize two eastern provinces Moscow claims on behalf of separatists.

In a video, the commander of Ukraines 36th Marine Brigade, one of the last units believed to be holding out in Mariupol, asked for international help to escape the citys siege.

This is our appeal to the world. It may be our last. We may have only a few days or hours left, said Major Serhiy Volyna in a video uploaded to Facebook. The enemy units are dozens of times larger than ours, they have dominance in the air, in artillery, in ground troops, in equipment, and in tanks.

Russias nearly eight-week-long invasion has failed to capture any of Ukraines largest cities. Moscow was forced to retreat from northern Ukraine after an assault on Kyiv was repelled last month, but has poured troops back in for an assault on the east that began this week.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (R) and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang inspect honour guards during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 9, 2019. (Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images)

US Raises Concern as Solomon Islands Officially Signs Vague Security Deal With China

The United States is raising concern over the vague deal signed between the Solomon Islands and China, citing the unspecified nature of the agreement.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare announced on April 20 that his government has formally signed a security pact with China based on a sovereign decision to broaden its security cooperation with more countries.

In his statement, Sogavare reiterated that the agreement with China wouldnt adversely affect or undermine the peace and harmony of the region.

However, Washington said that the unspecified nature of the security treaty is alarming as it follows the Beijing regimes pattern of offering shadowy deals to countries.

We are concerned by the lack of transparency and unspecified nature of this agreement, which follows a pattern of China offering shadowy, vague deals with little regional consultation in fishing, resource management, development assistance, and now security practices, the White House said.

U.S. Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell is due to arrive in the Solomon Islands in the coming days to speak with Sogavare on the matter.

The United States on April 18 convened a meeting with officials of Japan, Australia, and New Zealand in Honolulu. According to the White House, the officials shared concerns about the SolomonChina security framework and its serious risks to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Australias Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement that Australia was deeply disappointed by the signing of the SolomonsChina treaty and that her government would seek further clarity on the terms of the agreement.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne speaks at the 2022 Munich Security Conference in Germany on Feb. 19, 2022. (Alexandra Beier/Getty Images)

We respect Solomon Islands right to make sovereign decisions about its national security. Our consistently stated view, including from the perspective of Australias national interests, remains that the Pacific family is best placed to meet the security needs of the region, she said.

Australias Pacific Minister Zed Seselja visited Honiara last week and asked Solomon Islands leaders not to sign the pact.

Following the recent development, Australias Labor opposition party blamed the Morrison government for dropping the ball on engagement in the region.

Penny Wong, Labors foreign affairs spokesperson, said that under Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the region was less secure and the risks to Australia far greater.

The government should have acted sooner. We live in a world where the strategic circumstances we face are riskier and more uncertain than in any time since the end of World War II, she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on April 20.

The deal would, in essence, allow the Chinese Communist Partywith the consent of the Solomonsto dispatch police, troops, weapons, and even naval ships to protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects in the island chain.

The location of the Solomon Islands is critical and was the scene of extensive fighting during World War II because of its influence over sea lanes. It would expand Beijings reach beyond the South China Sea to within 1,700 kilometers (1,060 miles) of Australias northern city of Cairns.

Daniel Y. Teng and Reuters contributed to this report.
While its true there is some overlap between the effects of poisonous peptides present in some snake venom and those of SARS-COV2 spike protein, claiming COVID is ultimately derived from snake venom is a poorly substantiated hypothesis.

In an interview Monday with Stew Peters, Brian Ardis, a doctor of chiropractic, attempted to connect SARS-CoV-2, the spike protein or simply the disease process itself known as COVID-19, to the deadly proteins in snake venom.

In the 30-minute, heavily produced video, Ardis did not explicitly state his opinion on whether COVID is caused by a virus or by widely dispersed toxins similar to the poisons in snake bites.

Steve Kirsch, executive director of the Vaccine Safety Research Foundation, took issue with some of Ardis statments.

We agree there is evidence that the virus is similar to snake venom, Kirsch wrote on Substack. But as for the other assertions (such as its a poison spread through the water), Im not buying it.

In a Substack post, Dr. Meryl Nass also disagreed with Ardis, writing, Many statements in the Bryan Ardis video are accurate, but some are definitely not.

Nass, an internist and member of the Childrens Health Defense scientific advisory committee, reminded us that Ardis is correctly pointing out that remdesivir is a dangerous drug that has undoubtedly caused or contributed to many COVID deaths.

As early as November 2020, the World Health Organization recommended against the use of remdesivir, regardless of disease severity, because there was no evidence the drug improved outcomes.

Although the expensive drug was widely reported to be ineffective, its harmful effects were downplayed by mainstream sources.

Nevertheless, remdesivir enjoys unwavering support from our medical authorities and remains the only antiviral remedy available in most hospital formularies for the treatment of COVID.

In the interview with Peters, Ardis pointed out a concerning statement on the remdesivir label:

Risk of reduced antiviral activity when coadministered with chloroquine phosphate or hydroxychloroquine sulfate: Coadministration of Remdesivir (VEKLURY) and chloroquine phosphate or hydroxychloroquine sulfate is not recommended based on cell culture data demonstrating an antagonistic effect of chloroquine on the intracellular metabolic activation and antiviral activity of VEKLURY.

According to Nass, This may be another reason the system does not want patients to receive chloroquine drugs because their use would be a contraindication for use of Remdesivir.

So What About Those Snakes?

Venom from poisonous snakes, such as the cobra and krait, exert their devastating and immediate effects on human physiology by attacking our central and peripheral nervous system and/or our ability to form blood clots.

Antidotes to venom are mono or polyclonal antibodies that target specific proteins delivered through a snake bite.

Ardis used this connection with monoclonal antibodies to argue that because monoclonal antibodies are an effective treatment for COVID and snake venom, COVID (whether caused by a beta coronavirus or not) is tied to the toxic agents in poisonous snakes.

Ardis told Stewart, Monoclonal Antibodies are anti-venom.

However, this statement is not entirely correct. Monoclonal antibodies are specific, synthesized proteins that can bind to one of a myriad of different targets, including active proteins in snake venom.

Anti-venom is a monoclonal antibody. Not all monoclonal antibodies are anti-venom.

The point here is that many proteins may have common effects on our bodies but that doesnt necessarily mean they have a common origin.

Monoclonal antibodies can neutralize the effects of many different peptides. That doesnt mean the targets of the antibodies are related.

Ardis also emphasized that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been critical of the use of monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of COVID.

He made this point in a larger context to allege that our authorities have consistently been blocking effective treatments to prevent recovery.

Yet since the inception of the pandemic, monoclonal antibodies have been an available mainstay of COVID treatment in the immunocompromised and those at high risk for developing severe disease.

Since the rapid emergence of the Omicron variant at the end of 2021, the FDA limited the availability of some monoclonal antibody formulations as it was shown these have a marginal effect against the new strain.

Other Inaccuracies

Ardis accurately stated that snake venom can cause an elevated D-Dimer, a nonspecific finding in patients suffering from clotting disorders.

But this test is elevated not only in patients who have excessive bleeding (as in the case of snake-bite victims) but also in patients who are experiencing increased clotting (deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary emboli, strokes).

The latter is more common with severe COVID. Thus, an elevated D-Dimer level does not necessarily mean COVID is caused by a snake venom-like process.

Perhaps the most provocative claim Ardis made was around the sedation and mechanical ventilation of critical COVID patients.

Because snake venom paralyzes muscles, including the diaphragm (the muscle most responsible for breathing), by blocking the conduction of signals between nerves and muscles, this, in his view, is more evidence that COVID is a snake venom-like illness.

It is true that it was recognized early on that COVID patients had low levels of blood oxygenation yet appeared to breathe comfortably and regularly.

However, this is not representative of nerve paralysis. It is suggestive of a central process, one that involves the brainstem, not diaphragmatic paralysis.

Moreover, our natural drive to breathe is much more dependent on high levels of carbon dioxide in our blood, not low levels of oxygen.

Nevertheless, Ardis accused the medical system of intentionally causing the death of COVID patients by further reducing respiratory drive by using sedative agents like benzodiazepines, narcotics and other drugs required to place patients on breathing machines (ventilators).

He is correct that these drugs are necessary to allow a person to tolerate the placement of a breathing tube in the trachea for prolonged and brief periods.

However once a person is connected to a ventilator, the machine will substitute for the persons lack of respiratory drive.

Summary

Although there is some overlap between the effects of poisonous peptides present in some snake venom and those of SARS-COV2 spike protein, claiming COVID is ultimately derived from snake venom is a poorly substantiated hypothesis.

That said, Ardis description of the toxic nature of remdesivir is worthy of note and should not be dismissed.

Originally published on Childrens Health Defense

 04/19/22 Childrens Health Defense, Inc. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of Childrens Health Defense, Inc. Want to learn more from Childrens Health Defense? Sign up for free news and updates from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Childrens Health Defense. Your donation will help to support us in our efforts.
Watching TV to Be Allowed in Self-Driving Cars in UK Traffic Rule Update

Motorists in self-driving cars will be allowed to watch TV on built-in screens, but the use of mobile phones will remain prohibited, the UK government confirmed on Wednesday.

Transport minister Trudy Harrison said the update to the Highway Codethe UKs rulebook for road userswill be a major milestone in our safe introduction of self-driving vehicles, which she claimed will revolutionise the way we travel, making our future journeys greener, safer, and more reliable.

Following a public consultation on the rule change, the government said its modifying the application of a current rule that prohibits drivers from being able to see non-driving related content on television-receiving apparatus while driving to allow self-driving vehicle users to view information of any sort on the in-built apparatus of their vehicle.

Its because self-driving vehicle users are allowed to turn their attention away from the road as they are not considered responsible for how the vehicle drives as long as the self-driving mode is correctly turned on in valid situations.

The government clarified that viewing contents on in-built infotainment apparatus is allowed because the apparatus is designed to cut out such activities when the vehicle issues a request to resume control and so will assist in managing the drivers attention.

Handheld devices, which do not have the same function, will remain prohibited while driving or stopping in traffic except when calling emergency services or making a contactless payment at drive-throughs.

The update to the Code will make it clear that motorists must be ready to take back control of vehicles when needed.

The new measures were described as an interim measure by the government to support the early deployment of self-driving vehicles.

A full regulatory framework is expected to be in place by 2025.

There are no vehicles approved for self-driving on Britains roads, but the first could be given the go-ahead this year.

The DfT announced in April 2021 that it would allow hands-free driving in vehicles with lane-keeping technology on congested motorways.

Existing technology on the market such as cruise control and automatic stop/start is classified as assistive, meaning users must remain fully in control.

Harrison said the new self-driving technology is developing at pace right here in Great Britain and were ensuring we have strong foundations in place for drivers when it takes to our roads.

In doing so, we can help improve travel for all while boosting economic growth across the nation and securing Britains place as a global science superpower, the minister said.

The development of self-driving vehicles could create around 38,000 new jobs in Britain and be worth 41.7 billion to the economy by 2035, according to the Department for Transport.

PA Media contributed to this report.
We Followed the Directives of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

Commentary

The horrific scenes in Shanghai in the last few weeks, as residents face starvation because of the way Chinas Zero-COVID policy is being enforced, reminded me of my first trip to China over forty years ago, when I ran a conference between Australian and Chinese journalists in November 1981.

Figure 1: A photo of the participants in the Sino-Australian Press Seminar that I organized on behalf of the Australia-China Council and the All-China Journalists Association. Im the young man with a beard in the front row. (Steve Keen)

The seminar itself was a fascinating experience, but the key issue which todays catastrophe brings to mind was a bizarre pair of economic statistics. Just before the Australian delegation departed for Beijing, China announced that light industry output had risen by 17 percent in the previous yearbut heavy industry output had fallen by 7 percent.

This pair of numbers simply didnt make sense. Light industrybicycles, lights, consumer goods in generalrequires inputs from heavy industrysteel, cement, etc. How on earth could light industry rise so much while heavy industry fell? Getting to the bottom of this conundrum was a key objective for the seven Australian journalists who attended this conference.

Our Chinese counterparts at the seminar couldnt give a satisfactory explanation, but the subsequent tour finally provided an answer; one which I believe is relevant to the heavy-handed way in which China is enforcing its anti-COVID lockdown today.

To every question we asked of virtually anyone, the first answer was the quote that headlines this article: We followed the directives of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. If you asked someone what they had for breakfast, thats what theyd first say, before mentioning Congee or Doujiang. This obsequious reply became key to my understanding of the China that Mao created.

The answer to our statistical conundrum was provided by an official whose title was translated to us as the Economic Boss of Shanghai. He gave us that stock standard answer to our question: We followed the directives of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

After it, one of the journalists asked him But what does that mean? He elaborated that the Central Committee sent out a directive to promote light industry. Someone else followed up with So, what did you do? His answer, translated for us by our wonderful guides, remains etched into my brain over four decades later: We stripped heavy industry factories and turned them into light industry.

Good grief. That is no way to manage an economy. Why on earth was that done?

It came down to how one survived a totalitarian regime when one was actually part of it. The Central Committee of the Communist Party was all-powerful, but it was also factionalized. One faction would be dominant, and its orders would be transmitted from its 300 or so members to the 30 million members of the Communist Party itself as a sloganlike promote light industryrather than a detailed set of plans, because communications were primitive, as were the education levels of the recipients of the orders.

These orders would inevitably lead to catastrophes, and the only way that the hapless enforcers of these orders could protect their butts from the inevitable backlash was to carry them out to the letter. Then, if you were to be punished, so would be the people who gave them to youthe dominant faction in the Central Committee itself. As an underling, you would survive, while the consequences of the failure would play out in the endless factional battles within the Central Committee.

So, if the directive was to promote grain, local officials would order the peasants to pull up legume crops and plant grain instead. One year later, there would be bountiful grain, but not enough protein, and children would be born with Kwashiorkor, the protein deficiency diseaseas we observed in Sichuan province on that tour. The consequence of the dominant Central Committee faction being pro-grain was not a balanced emphasis upon legumes, but local officials ordering peasants to dig up legume crops and planting grain instead.

The peasants, who had no choice but to obey the promote grain orders, would rise up when their newborn children paid the consequences, the revolt would percolate up the Communist Party system, the dominance of factions would swap, the new directive would be promote legumes, grain crops would be dug up and replaced with legumes, and a year later there would be a famine.

This crazy cycle of command, catastrophe, and reaction is what ultimately led to Deng Xiaopings pragmatic overthrow of the Gang of Four. But the dominance of the Central Committee remains, and with it, the same excessive adherence to its directives seems afoot in Shanghai. So, because the Central Committee has decided upon a zero tolerance approach to COVID, doors are welded shut rather than locked, and all because the best defense to criticism when the policy causes catastrophe continues to be that We followed the directives of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Figure 2: The Australian journalists stroll through Tiananmen Square in November 1981. (Steve Keen)

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Morgan Ortagus, U.S. Department of State Spokesperson, speaks onstage during the 2019 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City on Sept. 23, 2019. (Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit)

What Happens in Tennessee Does Not Stay in Tennessee

Commentary

What do Sen. Rand Paul, Newsmaxs Sebastian Gorka, Blexits Candace Owens, and country star John Rich have in common?

For that matter, what do former first daughter Ivanka Trump, former Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and fifth-richest person in the world Larry Ellison have in common?

Ill explain, but first allow me to remind you all of what Winston Churchill had to say about democracy:  democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time 

In his book Two Cheers for Democracy, the great novelist E.M. Forster (A Passage to India, etc.) gave it, needless to say, two cheersone because it admits variety, and two because it admits criticism.

Speaking of which, one group that is undoubtedly getting a ton of criticism as I writein fact, I have seen some of it passed around in supposedly confidential, if there ever were such a thing, text messagesis the Tennessee Republican Partys state executive committee (SEC).

The SEC is the group empowered by the state Republican Party to make the final determination of who can, according to established party rules, appear on the Tennessee ballot as a Republican. The Democrats have their equivalent. The Republican committee includes representatives chosen by party members across the state.

A decision made on April 19 concerns the newly redistricted (in favor of Republicans) 5th Tennessee Congressional District that had become the most publicized of all 435 congressional races.

This was because of two potential candidates with national profiles, both having appeared frequently on the Fox News network and other cable outletsformer Mike Pompeo spokesperson Morgan Ortagus and music video director Robby Starbuck (sometimes Robert Starbuck Newsom and sometimes Robert Newsom, depending on the document or venue).

Ortagus was famously given her endorsement by one Donald J. Trump.

As announced by state Republican Chair Scott Golden, Ortagus and Starbuck both were removed from the ballot by an overwhelming vote (13-3) by the SEC on April 19.

Its possible, though I am told it would be a long shot, that they will sue to be reinstated.

Theres morea lot morebut not to make you wait for why I led with those fancy names, Paul, Gorka, Owens, and Rich (among others) rather actively supported Starbuck. In fact, Sen. Paul was said to have been phoning members of the committee at the time of the decision.

Ivanka, Grenell, Pompeo, and Ellison (also among others) backed Ortagus. Grenell had at first supported Starbuck but switched. Ellison went so far as to donate $1 million to an Ortagus PAC, which would have made her congressional campaign probably the most well-heeled in the country.

The Oracle founder had more than a passing interest in Tennessee since the state has given him some $175 million in tax breaks for a new factory hes building in Nashville. It almost seems as if he got off cheap with the $1 million for Ortagus. For Ellison, thats the equivalent to lunch at McDonalds for the rest of us, considering his net worth.

It also may explain why Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee remained silent on legislation overwhelmingly passed by the state legislature that made it a requirement to be a resident of the state for three years in order to run, just as it already is for other offices. Lee, whose allegiance to the states taxpayers isnt always clear, was signaling his disapproval.

The argument against Ortagus and Starbuck (and a lesser-known figure, Baxter Lee, who also was eliminated) comes down basically to issues of carpetbagging and, to be polite, candor. Neither has lived in Tennessee for long; Ortagus just for months. And, though a wealthy woman with a child, she never deigned to put down roots, to buy a place, curiously renting apartments, switching with the redistricting, as if all were a temporary and stepping stone.

With Starbuck, his residency was longer and he, or some entity of mysterious provenance, an LLC, did buy a house, but his timeline was unclear, as were a number of things about Robby.

I have read here in the comments that some say that the SEC is part of the Deep State and this is some kind of plot against the voters. I wish it were, because I believe there is a plot against the voters, but not in this case. In fairness to the committee, most are lifelong constitutional conservatives who found themselves in an unfortunate situation they didnt ask for. They had good reasons to do what they did, including the timeline.

But before I get into this, in full disclosure, I wrote about Starbuck in a highly favorable article for The Epoch Times way back in December 2020, Robby StarbuckA New Kind of Republican Candidate. It was among the first, possibly even the first, article written about him.

I was attracted to Starbuck because he was charismatic and said all the right things on the issues from education to immigration. He continued to do that, especially on education, being particularly concerned, with his wife, about the hyper-sexualization of young children in our schools, a noble cause indeed, in speeches across the state.

I also appear every Thursday at 7 a.m. on the Tennessee Star Report talk radio with Michael Patrick Leahy. He and his reporter Aaron Gulbrandson have done some extensive coverage of this campaign, leading the charge on what they perceive to be carpetbagging on the part of Starbuck and Ortagus.

No one wants more Hillary Clinton-like situations as when the former first lady and presidential candidate-to-be barged into New York state and immediately became its senator.

It was on Leahys show that Starbuck first lied about having voted in Tennessee GOP primariesa logical requirement for being a congressional candidate in the party. It was also a peculiar lie to tell since voting attendance is a public record easily attainable in minutes.

Falsus in uno falsus in omnibus, as they said in English jurisprudence. Robby wasnt false in everything, but he was false in a lot. Hes all over Tennessee talk radio at this moment, accusing everybody of everything and claiming elections here are like Cuba, as he did on Twitter. (Some of Robbys family came from that communist country.) They may be bad, as they are in practically every American state, but our elections are certainly not like Cuba.

But if youre interested in the full case against both candidates, I suggest reading the somewhat snarky but well-researched and elegantly written blog sonsofrockytop.com.

It contains a Robby Starbuck Fact Sheet and a Morgan Ortagus Fact Sheet. I will excerpt some of it here, but, as they used to say in the blogosphere, read the whole thing.

Regarding Robby, some of their content is NSFW. (If you dont recognize that acronym, I suggest you skip it.)

In 2017, Starbuck directed a video entitled Enormous by the gangsta rapper Gucci Mane. It shouldnt be difficult to guess what personal equipment Gucci was referring to in his title given the first few lines of lyrics while watching the near-nude young woman on the screen: Its enormous (yeah)/Throw this bag on you, give this cash to you/ Its enormous (enormous, yeah)/Aw yeah, aw yeah, aw yeah.

Now Im not a prude, but if youre running for office under the mantle of taking sexual education out of the second grade, this isnt a good look, to say the least. The video now has over 4 million views on YouTube. How many of those were children?

It would be highly dangerous for the Republican Party were Starbuck to have been nominated. The redistricted 5th is only slightly Republican-leaning. All a Democratic candidate would have to do would be point out Starbucks obvious hypocrisy with this video (and others that were hidden) and the election would be swung, the redistricting rendered worthless.

On another matter, whether Starbuck, as he claimed, endorsed Trump in 2015, the sonsofrockytop have this to say:

STARBUCKs claim his [Hollywood] career was blacklisted because of his support for President Trump, who he says he endorsed in 2015. STARBUCK has never provided any third-party independent contemporaneous evidence of his claims of support for Trump before 2019. In fact, an FEC search of contributions to Trump going back to 2015 show zero contributions to President Trump by either Robby Starbuck or Robert Newsom identified as Robby Starbuck, etc.

Apparently the first federal contribution Starbuck made in his entire life to any Republican candidate did not come until October 19, 2021, when his campaign (not Starbuck himself) gave $2,000 to someone in Georgia. (Source: FEC.gov).

Theres (much) more at the link. As for Ortagus, the Johnny-come-very-lately Trump supporter, heres only a small sampling:

Ortagus recently had her first fundraiser in Washington, D.C., headlined by anti-Trumper D.C. operatives, including a State Department political employee who called for Trumps resignation on January 7th of last year and who was immediately fired by Trump.

Ortagus worked for Jeb Bush in 2016, where she was a designated surrogate, regularly dispatched to the media to call President Trump disgusting and immature and not worthy of support. (These quotes are backed up by videos at the link.)

Immediately before coming to Nashville last year, Ortagus teamed up in a failed business venture with self-described BFF Samantha Vinograd. Vinograd is a notorious CNN press hack and Obama administration official who repeatedly called President Trump Hitler in her CNN on-air appearances.

So how then did it come to pass that Trump so quickly endorsed Ortagus? The SonsOfRockyTop.com have this to say:

According to very high-placed sources within the Trump organization: Ward Baker [Tennessees Karl Rove in the short version] accompanied Ortagus to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Ivanka Trump. (Ivankas husband and Ortaguss husband are good friends. Both Ortagus and Ivanka converted to the Jewish faith of their husbands, so there is that commonality.) Once at Mar-a-Lago, Ivanka ushered in Ortagus to an unscheduled meeting with her father, telling him that Pompeo recommended her. Impulsively, Trump endorsed her on the spot. Multiple senior aides to Trump were blindsided by the end-around move made by Ivanka.

It also enraged Donald Trump Jr. who was furious at his sisters breach of the long-established protocol for receiving Trumps endorsement and Don Jr. let multiple people know of his anger. By then, the deed was done and any change of course by President Trump would be seized upon by the media. Trump was stuck with Ortagus.

Impulsively is the operative word here. We all do a lot of that. Its what the internet did to us and is what I called, during my blogger days, the politics of the last five minutes.

Trump has been too impulsive in many of his selections, as have all the celebrities mentioned at the top of this article. They didnt do their homework.

We should all do it. They should all recant what they have said. (Senator Paulwhom I admireIm talking to you.)

Meanwhile, Churchill and Forster remain vindicated.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly described the way in which members of the SEC (State Executive Committee) are chosen. The Epoch Times regrets the error.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Smoke from a wind-whipped wildfire rises above neighborhoods on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Arizona, on April 19, 2022. (Sean Golightly/Arizona Daily Sun via AP)

Wildfire in Arizona Forces Evacuation of Over 750 Homes

A rapidly-moving wildfire in Arizona fueled by unprecedented high winds has forced the evacuation of more than 750 homes.

Flames as high as 100 feet (30 meters) raced through an area of scattered homes, dry grass and Ponderosa pine trees on the outskirts of Flagstaff as wind gusts of up to 50 mph (80 kph) pushed the blaze over a major highway.

By Tuesday afternoon, the Tunnel Fire, which was first reported on Sunday afternoon, moved northeast away from the more heavily populated areas of Flagstaff, home to Northern Arizona University, and toward Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, officials said.

The wildfire was 0 percent contained by Tuesday evening.

Fire Management Officer True Brown said the wildfire was being fueled by unprecedented winds.

The fire is rapidly moving in a northeasterly direction with the significant winds that weve experienced today, said Brown, CNN reported. I cannot stress enough how rapidly this fire is moving.

Residents of the Timberline and Moon Crater areas were ordered to evacuate with the assistance of deputies, as the fire moved so rapidly.

The fire was moving so fast many of those officers were in harms way themselves, Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll said Tuesday evening, NBC News reported.

According to Patrice Horstman, chair of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors, the evacuation area houses roughly 2,068 people and more than 1,000 animals.

From this 766 households have been evacuated, said Horstman.

Driscoll said officers received calls about a man trapped in his home, but that firefighters were unable to reach him.

We dont know if he made it out or not, Driscoll said.

Driscoll said authorities wont be able to determine whether anyone was injured in the wildfire until the flames subside.

Coconino County officials said during a Tuesday evening press briefing that about 250 structures remained threatened in the area popular with hikers and off-road vehicle users and where astronauts have trained amid volcanic cinder pits.

Earlier Tuesday, the wildfire shut down U.S. 89, the main route between Flagstaff and far northern Arizona, and communities on the Navajo Nation. The high winds grounded aircraft that could drop water and fire retardant on the blaze.

Arizona Public Service Co., the states largest utility, shut off power to about 625 customers to keep firefighters safe, a spokeswoman said.

About 200 firefighters were battling the flames, but more are expected as a top-level national management team takes over later this week.

Its good in that its not headed toward a very populated area, and its headed toward less fuel, said Coconino National Forest spokesman Brady Smith. But depending on the intensity of the fire, fire can still move across cinders.

Investigators dont know yet what caused the wildfire.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a news release that it had approved a request from Coconino County for federal resources to help battle the wildfire. A Fire Management Assistance Grant will provide federal funding for up to 75 percent of eligible firefighting costs, the release said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
An aerial view shows the P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in China's central Hubei Province on April 17, 2020. (HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)

Wuhan Lab Allowed to Destroy Secret Files Under Partnership With US National Lab, Agreement Shows

The Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China has the right to make a partnering U.S. lab wipe all data arising from their collaborative work, a legal document reveals.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the Wuhan lab and the Galveston National Laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch makes it obligatory for each of the two labs to delete secret files or materials upon the request of the other party.

The party is entitled to ask the other to destroy and/or return the secret files, materials, and equipment without any backups, states the MOU obtained by U.S. Right to Know, a nonprofit investigative research group focused on public health, through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The MOU focuses on promoting research and training cooperation between the two labs. It was signed in 2017 and stays in effect through this October. But the confidentiality terms would remain binding even after the agreements five-year duration expires, the agreement states.

The document broadly defines what materials are to be treated as confidential, opening the door to potentially all documents and data from any collaboration being subject to a deletion request.

All cooperation and exchange documents, details and materials shall be treated as confidential info by the parties, the MOU states.

The WIV has been at the center of growing speculation that the virus that causes COVID-19, which has now killed millions worldwide, may have leaked from the facility. The lab has denied the assertions, but Beijing has blocked international investigators access to data and records from the facility, thus preventing any meaningful review of the theory.

WIV and the Galveston National Laboratory formally declared their partnership the following year to streamline future scientific and operational collaborations on dangerous pathogens, according to a joint announcement in the journal Science.

Experts said the MOU terms about data removal are alarming and can potentially constitute a breach of law.

The clause is quite frankly explosive, Reuben Guttman, a partner at Guttman, Buschner & Brooks PLLC who focuses on ensuring the integrity of government programs, told Right to Know. Anytime I see a public entity, I would be very concerned about destroying records.

You cant just willy nilly say, Well, you know, the Chinese can tell us when to destroy a document. It doesnt work like that. There has to be a whole protocol.

Christopher Smith, a spokesperson for the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), told Right to Know that the lab was built by the National Institutes of Health to help combat global health threats.

As a government-funded entity, UTMB is required to comply with applicable public information law obligations, including the preservation of all documentation of its research and findings.

Representatives of UTMB and the Galveston lab didnt respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

The P4 laboratory of Wuhan Institute of Virology is seen behind a fence during the visit by the World Health Organization team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on Feb. 3, 2021. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Under Scrutiny

The Galveston National Laboratory is one of two university-based, maximum-containment (BSL-4) laboratories in the United States focused on the study of highly infectious diseases and the development of medical countermeasures. It began collaborating with the WIV in 2013, a cooperation that entails training WIV scientists and conducting joint research programs. The then-Galveston lab Director James LeDuc, who retired last year, made multiple trips over the years to WIV.

The Galveston lab was also among the first in the world to receive samples of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly three weeks after LeDuc urged his Chinese counterparts to share the material.

The revelations contained in the 2017 MOU appear to contradict claims from WIV scientists that they would never scrub critical research information.

Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli, who heads the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the WIV, had characterized allegations that her lab would delete such data as baseless and appalling.

Even if we gave them all the records, they would still say we have hidden something or we have destroyed the evidence, she said in a February interview with MIT Technology Review.

Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli is seen inside the P4 laboratory in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 23, 2017. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)

In September 2019, months before several of its researchers allegedly fell ill with COVID-like symptoms, the facility took its main database of virus samples offline.

The Wuhan labs safety standards have also attracted scrutiny since the pandemic originated in the city. Footage from 2017 showed that some researchers from the facility were feeding a bat while wearing only surgical gloves, and at least one researcher wore only a pair of regular glasses and a surgical mask when out collecting bat samples.

Related Coverage Footage of Bats Kept in Wuhan Lab Fuels Scrutiny Over Its Research

In April 2020, the Department of Education opened a probe of Galveston National Laboratorys ties with the Wuhan lab. The Epoch Times has contacted the department for comment.

That same month, LeDuc had asked Shi to review a draft briefing he prepared for the university and the congressional staff investigating the issue.

Please review carefully and make any changes that you would like. I want this to be as accurate as possible and I certainly do not want to misrepresent any of your valuable contributions, he wrote in an email to Shi, which Right to Know obtained. A day earlier, Shi declined to talk with LeDuc over the phone due to the complicated situation, but insisted that the virus is not a leaky [sic] from our lab or any other labs.

Smith, UTMBs director of media relations, had told the investigative group that the information Dr. LeDuc wanted Dr. Shi to review was a description of her research on coronaviruses as he understood it.

In correspondence with others, LeDuc nonetheless acknowledged that he considered a lab accident a possible source of the pandemic.

It is certainly possible that a lab accident was the source of the epidemic and I also agree that we cant trust the Chinese government, he wrote on April 10, 2020, according to another email obtained by the group.
Xis New State-Driven Innovation Strategy Could Be a Disaster for China

News Analysis

China is preparing to turn a nearly 40-year-old industrial development strategy on its head.

Since the early 1980s, Beijings approach to technological and industrial progress was to import it, mainly by entering into joint ventures with foreign firms that provided high technology and startup. Eventually, the Chinese would reverse-engineer the technology and makeand exporttheir own competitive products or services.

Examples of such an industrial approach are numerous: Huawei, Haier, Alibaba, and COMAC (Chinas commercial aircraft company). Some of these ventures have been incredibly successful, transforming China into a leading subcontractor and even an original equipment manufacturer.

The success behind this strategy was an embrace of globalization and a generally hands-off policy on the part of the Chinese central government. Now, however, in line with Xi Jinpings president of everything style of governing, Beijing is about to nationalize and centralize the countrys approach toward next-generation research and development (R&D).

According to a recent article in The Economist, Xi wants to build an incubator state in which the economy relies heavily on government nourishment to guide R&D. He wants the government, not private investors, to decide and dictate R&D priorities and funding.

In particular, Xi and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are pressing the development of so-called fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, cloud computing, and automation, as well as semiconductors and software.

The logo of the artificial intelligence (AI) startup SenseTime is seen at its office in Hong Kong, China, on Aug. 18, 2021. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

At the same time, Xi and the CCP are trying to shift high-tech R&D and manufacturing from the coastal cities to the interior, in keeping with Xis larger campaign of common prosperityredistributing national wealth from the richer east to the poorer hinterlands. He will do so by nurturing the creation of a loyal cadre of startup companies that will carry out the governments development policies.

The Economist rightly calls this strategy a weighty bet for China becoming the global center of innovation over the next decade. It is certainly an approach fraught with risk, especially given Chinas earlier, failed attempts at top-down, state-centric efforts at innovation and cutting-edge manufacturing.

China, for example, has continued to fall short in its efforts to design and fabricate high-end semiconductors, particularly microchips with process nodes of less than 5 nanometers (nm). In fact, there exists a huge gap between current Chinese chip technology and the global state of the art. In particular, China has found it hard to break the 7-nm wall, that is, being able to fabricate chips below that critical threshold.

In contrast, both Taiwan and South Korea already build chips as small as 5 nm or less.

In addition, China has had to import wafer fab technology and machinery, and it is so desperate for semiconductor foundry technology that it even buys used equipment from Japan. Overall, most of Chinas indigenous chip-making technology is old and getting older, as the technological goalposts continue to outstrip Chinese capacities.

Even with imported technology, China can barely supply more than 15 percent of the semiconductors it needs for its high-tech infrastructure. In 2020, for example, the country imported over $300 billion worth of semiconductors, more than it spent on imported oil. China aims to produce 70 percent of its own microchips by 2025, but it is unlikely to meet that target.

According to a recent report by the Institut Montaigne, Chinas inability to manufacture high-end chips will make it difficult for China to truly dominate the digital revolution enabled by 5G infrastructure.

Commercial aerospace is another sector where Chinas state-heavy approach to investment and innovation has resulted in less-than-stellar outcomes. Chinas two largest civilian airliners, the ARJ21 and the C919, are years behind their development schedules, and both have failed to obtain western airworthiness certification. Likely, neither will ever sell outside of China.

Chinas self-developed passenger jetliner Comac C919 is presented to the public in Shanghai, China, on Nov. 2, 2015. (VCG via Getty Images)

Xis new top-down, state-driven approach to 4IR technology innovation may pay off in some instances. The Economist notes the apparently successful efforts of companies such as Baosight and Sangfor Technologies, which deliver high-tech solutions directly to the central government, as opposed to the soft tech of the consumer-internet sector such as TikTok or Tencent. These firms are either directly state-owned or closely linked to the CCP.

However, the more the state controls investments in 4IR R&D programs, and the more it directly picks winners and losers, the more chances there are for waste, abuse, and just plain bad decision-making.

In the first place, giving the CCP more control over the economy will suppress entrepreneurialism and foreign investment. Moreover, it will permit zealous party officials to regain power over economic decisions that had been previously decentralized and privatized.

Above all, CCP party hacks are probably not the best judges of where investments in next-generation innovation should go. In another article, The Economist notes that while tens of thousands of firmsall purportedly on the cutting-edge of 4IR technological developmenthave been stood up in recent years, many are duds or frauds tolerated by officials keen to meet local development targets.

In sum, the same article asserts that a tech industry where the incentives are subsidies and fear, and which is separated from an increasingly globalized system of venture capital, is likely to fall behind the frontier of innovation.

Compounding this problem is the fact that authoritarian governments, particularly ones run by increasingly personalistic dictatorships such as Xis, generally find it difficult to admit mistakes and change course. This tendency to double down on bad policy only further risks Chinas dream of becoming the worlds center for 4IR technological innovation.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
YouTube Blocks Account of Next Hong Kong Leader, Citing US Sanctions

YouTube has taken down the channel of John Lee Ka-chiu, the sole candidate campaigning for Hong Kong chief executive, citing compliance with U.S. sanctions.

Despite running unopposed, Lee began promoting his campaign on YouTube and Facebook. But YouTube, operated by Google, blocked the Beijing-backed candidates channel on April 20 in compliance with U.S. sanctions on Lee.

Google said it complies with applicable U.S. sanctions laws and enforces related policies under its Terms of Service, the South China Morning Post reported.

After review and consistent with these policies, we terminated the Johnlee2022 YouTube channel, the spokesman added.

Former Hong Kong Chief Secretary John Lee arrives at his temporary office in Hong Kong on April 8, 2022. (Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

Lee was among more than a dozen Hong Kong and Chinese officials sanctioned by Washington in 2020 over their role in implementing a draconian national security law that has been used by Beijing to stamp out dissent in the financial hub.

As the citys top security officer, Lee had presided over a clampdown on pro-democracy protesters in 2019 and oversaw the implementation of the Beijing-imposed security law a year later.

In June, Beijing appointed Lee to the citys second-highest post of chief security, becoming the first security official to take the role. He resigned from this post earlier this month after announcing his candidacy for Hong Kongs chief executive. As the only candidate approved by Beijing to run in the May 8 election, he is assured to assume the role.

Lees campaign office expressed disappointment over Googles decision, claiming in a statement that the termination will not in any way affect his strong determination to continue to safeguard national security.

A family member cries and bid farewell to a prison van after an anti-government protester Sin Ka-ho has been sentenced four years for rioting, in Hong Kong, China on May 15, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Since the national security law took effect in June 2020, scores of pro-democracy figures have been arrested or sentenced, have fled abroad, or been intimidated into silence while demonstrations have been banned. Under the law, authorities can punish anything Beijing deems as secession, subversion, terrorism, or collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.

The citys media has also been targeted. A prominent pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily, printed its last edition in June 2021, following a raid on its headquarters and the freezing of its key assets and bank accounts. Two other others, Stand News and Citizen News, were also forced to shutter amid the clampdown.

Beijings ongoing suppression of freedoms in the city has drawn international condemnation.

The differences between Hong Kong and cities in mainland China are shrinking due to ongoing repression from the PRC [Peoples Republic of China], U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in early April.

Beijing will ultimately force many of the citys best and brightest to flee, tarnishing Hong Kongs reputation and weakening its competitiveness, he added.

Hong Kongs position as a free, global financial center will continue to suffer as a result.
Subscriptions have seeped into nearly every consumer industry, from TV to tacos. There are even services that help subscribers cancel all their subscriptions. But one industry has notably lagged: travel.

That could be changing.

The market for travel subscriptions has started to expand and includes cheap flights, airport lounges, luxury accommodations and high-end credit cards.

Subscription models can add a lot of predictability to an industry that can be very spiky, says Amy Konary, vice president at the Subscribed Institute by Zuora, a think tank focused on the subscription economy .

Travel purchases tend to be one-off and transactional. Airline and hotel loyalty programs aim to promote loyalty and benefits, but only those travelers who travel (and pay) a lot can reap the rewards. Subscriptions could turn this concept on its head by offering these benefits upfront.

The subscription model lets you get access to those premium perks by paying directly, Konary says.

Will customers take to this idea? Travel brands are rushing to find out.

SUBSCRIPTIONS TAKE OFF

Alaska Airlines dipped a toe into the subscription waters in March with the launch of its  Flight Pass. For a price that starts at $49 per month, subscribers can book one round-trip main cabin flight every two months for one penny plus about $15 in fees. The catch? The flights must be direct, booked within a limited time frame and, most importantly, fly between particular airports in California, Nevada and Arizona.

Confused?

Communication has been the big challenge, says Alex Corey , managing director of business development and products at Alaska Airlines. Its been hard for people to appreciate that this might not be designed for them. If I went to my favorite store and it didnt meet my needs, Id be like, Hey, make this this way.

Instead of trying to be everything for every traveler, Alaskas subscription has focused on a narrow niche: younger Californians with plenty of wanderlust and schedule flexibility. So far, just under half of subscribers are millennials or Generation Zers, according to Alaska.

Its a niche product, to be sure, but Alaska is confident that it can appeal to a particular kind of West Coast traveler.

Californians travel 3.5 times more within their own state than residents of other states do, says Corey, explaining why the airline chose the state as the proving ground for its idea.

And Alaska focused on the lowest-cost entry point possible, starting at $49 per month to make a flight subscription seem feasible to almost anyone.

We wanted to compete with an Uber ride or a bar tab, Corey says.

CATERING TO NOMADS

On the other side of the price spectrum, the luxury travel platform Inspirato offers a subscription service for vacation rentals and high-end hotels starting at $2,500 per month .

Thats $30,000 per year for the opportunity to book high-end accommodations around the world. That might seem like a huge bill for a vacation budget, but its potentially more reasonable for remote-working nomads looking to travel as much as possible.

Yet Inspiratos subscription, too, comes with a long list of caveats and exceptions. Pass holders may book just one trip at a time, bookings are on a first-come, first-served basis and many rooms and homes are available only during off-peak seasons.

Less spendy digital nomads can choose Selina, a co-living and coworking subscription service that combines the cost of accommodation, office space and dependable Wi-Fi into one monthly bill. Subscribers can bounce between Selinas global destinations and take advantage of surfing lessons, yoga classes and other wellness activities.

These services offer one benefit to potential customers that is difficult to quantify: simplicity. Rather than searching through hundreds of vacation rental listings, subscribers can make one payment per month and choose from a range of vetted options.

Yet simplicity alone wont cut it, Konary says. Consumers are wary of adding another monthly bill to their long list of active subscriptions and need to know theyre getting a good deal.

As weve become more familiar with these models, we have a high bar for what we expect in terms of value, Konary says.

WHATS OLD IS NEW AGAIN

Travel subscriptions arent a new idea. JetBlue Airways introduced an All You Can Jet unlimited flying pass way back in 2009. The promotion received plenty of attention but didnt translate into a sustainable business model.

And successful travel subscription services already exist. Premium travel credit cards offer perks to travelers such as airport lounge access for a yearly fee. And services like TSA PreCheck and Clear let flyers bypass normal security lines.

But a new wave of subscriptions is coming to travel with one big difference  specificity. Instead of trying to be the Netflix of travel, with something for everyone, new services are providing niche offerings to specific demographics.

Not everyone wants to fly within California every other month or take surfing lessons in Belize at a coworking space. But for those who do, these subscriptions could offer a valuable way to travel without the hassle. Or they could go the way of MoviePass.

I do think what were doing is unique, Corey says. I hope it catches on.

____________________________________

This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Sam Kemmis is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: skemmis@nerdwallet.com.

RELATED LINK:

NerdWallet: Is the Alaska Flight Pass even a good deal?
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WASHINGTON (AP)  More than 50 Republicans who once joined a lawsuit claiming the Houses pandemic-era proxy voting was unconstitutional have themselves voted by proxy this year, remotely without showing up.

Across the aisle, Rep. Kai Kahele, a Hawaiian Airlines pilot as well as a Hawaii congressman, has used proxy votes on all but five of this years 125 roll calls. Three of his Democratic colleagues have used the proxy procedure for every vote.

Theyre among 303 lawmakers of both parties who have cast votes by proxy at least once this year, according to an Associated Press look at records that reflect how partisan divisions over voting from somewhere else have moderated.

Overall, 191 Democrats, nearly 9-in-10, and 112 Republicans, just over half, have used proxy votes this year, cast by colleagues present in the chamber.

Of the House Republicans who've voted remotely this year, 54 had once signed onto a 2020 lawsuit that asserted it is simply impossible to ignore the Constitutions requirement that lawmakers vote in person.

That litigation was brought by 160 House Republicans led by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. McCarthy later told colleagues that if they vote remotely they should not be plaintiffs, and ultimately just one remained on the suit with him, Chip Roy of Texas.

The Supreme Court refused to hear the case in January after it was dismissed by lower courts.

Across the aisle, Rep. Kai Kahele, D-Hawaii, has used proxy votes on 120 of this year's 125 House roll calls. His congressional website says he is an active commercial airline pilot with Hawaiian Airlines, flying domestic and international trips on Airbus A330 widebody aircraft.

In a statement, aides said Kahele has piloted three flights this year. Like everyone whos voted by proxy, he submitted a required letter attesting he was unable to physically vote at the Capitol. He cited the ongoing public health emergency.

Due to the threat of COVID-19, Kahele, 48, is concerned for the health and safety of his communities and family, with whom he lives in a multigenerational home, the statement said. A freshman whos expressed interest in running for governor, Kahele has curtailed his travel to the Capitol but not missed a vote and maximizes his time back home by meeting constituents, it said.

The House approved proxy voting on a near party-line vote in May 2020, as COVID-19 began upending everyone's activities. In discordant views on the deadly virus, Democrats called the move a way to keep Congress functioning safely, while Republicans disparaged it as an abandonment of its work.

That first year, seven House Republicans and 175 Democrats used proxies, according to data compiled by the nonpartisan Brookings Institution. And while GOP participation has grown, the procedure remains more heavily utilized by Democrats.

Of the 125 House roll calls so far this year, Republicans voting by proxy have done so an average of 19 times on each, the AP figures show. Democrats have averaged 28 each.

McCarthy has repeatedly expressed a desire to end proxy voting should Republicans win the House majority in Novembers elections, saying its time for lawmakers to show up to work.

Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently extended proxy voting until May 14. The 100-member Senate, far smaller than the House, has not adopted proxies.

The procedure has helped Pelosi, D-Calif., manage her party's narrow majority by making it less likely Democrats will miss votes, even as top Republicans urge their members to vote in person.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, now running for state attorney general, has cast 61 proxy votes this year, the most among Republicans who'd joined McCarthy's lawsuit. Aides did not return messages seeking comment.

Also evolving is why lawmakers have used the process.

Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, took paternity leave after the birth of his second child in Spring 2021. No. 3 House GOP leader Elise Stefanik of New York was at a Florida fundraising event with former President Donald Trump in January.

Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota was among several Democrats at a racial justice demonstration in her state in April 2021 while voting by proxy. That February, Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., was in a group of hard-right lawmakers who voted remotely while at a conservative political conference in Florida that Trump attended.

Cawthorn criticized proxy voting in July 2020, tweeting, Leaders show up no matter how uncertain the times are. The Democrats are cowards for hiding and not showing up to work.

Cawthorn has voted 57 times by proxy this year, the AP's count showed. He did so 69 times in 2021, according to Brookings, his first year in Congress. An aide declined to respond to questions.

Three Democrats have used proxies for every 2022 vote: Reps. Al Lawson of Florida, Lucille Roybal-Allard of California and Albio Sires of New Jersey. Roybal-Allard and Sires are not seeking reelection.

Roybal-Allard's nearly 77-year-old husband is immunocompromised, a statement provided by an aide said. Roybal-Allard is 80.

Spokesperson Erica Daughtrey said Sires, 71, has remained in New Jersey this year, citing health concerns including his age, his wife's surgery and his own upcoming knee replacement.

Lawson aides did not return messages seeking comment.

The 77 proxy votes this year by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., are the most among Republicans. In a statement, she said she is an only child and main caretaker for her 86-year-old mother, who became ill last year.

"Without knowing how much time we have left together I want to be there for her, Salazar added.

Aides to Kahele, the lawmaker and pilot, provided an email exchange in which his staff was advised by House Ethics Committee officials that outside employment was allowed if it didn't interfere with his congressional duties and his earnings met outside income limits.

The email exchanges show Kahele was advised he can vote on issues in which he doesnt have a direct personal or pecuniary interest.

The Honolulu Civil Beat, a nonprofit news organization, first reported in depth about Kaheles voting and airline job.

___

AP data reporter Aaron Kessler contributed to this report.
BOISE, Idaho (AP)  Idahos Republican attorney general candidates sparred over the validity of public health restrictions, the merits of lawsuits challenging the federal policies and other topics during a televised debate Tuesday night.

Incumbent Attorney General Lawrence Wasden is facing former U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador and attorney Art Macomber in the Republican primary on May 17. Wasden, who has served six terms making him the state's longest-serving attorney general, defended his record and said the federal and state constitutions guide his legal decisions.

I read the Constitution and do what it says, Wasden said during the Idaho Public Television debate. I have and will continue to uphold the Constitution, even when it's not politically popular.

Labrador, a trial lawyer who gave up his congressional seat to unsuccessfully run for governor against now-Gov. Brad Little in 2018, said he would leverage his political experience and fight big government overreach.

This job is not just a legal job, its a political job," Labrador said. "I would just be a lot more aggressive

Labrador accused Wasden of being a yes man for the governor, criticizing the attorney general's defense of the governor's emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Idaho statute gives the governor the authority to declare emergencies, Wasden responded.

You dont get to add words, you dont get to take words away, he said.

Macomber, an attorney from Coeur d'Alene, said touted his outsider status, saying Wasden has cozy relationships with the political class. Macomber said called Labrador an establishment candidate who lacks the independence needed for the job.

Macomber said Wasden should have sued President Joe Biden's administration when it paused new oil and gas leases.

But Wasden responded that Idaho has no oil wells and a limited number of gas wells.

We file lawsuits against the federal government when we have a legitimate cause of action, Wasden said, citing his decision to have Idaho join a lawsuit to block a federal vaccine mandate as an example of a legitimate cause of action.

Both Wasden and Macomber questioned Labrador's motivation for running, suggesting he hopes to use the post as a stepping stone to the next gubernatorial race. Labrador, meanwhile, said Wasden had a poor working relationship with the state Legislature.

All three candidates appeared to enjoy themselves, with both Macomber and Labrador pronouncing it a spirited debate and Labrador calling it fun. Wasden had some of the debates most colorful pronouncements, dubbing some of his opponents allegations hogwash or utter nonsense, then citing specific Idaho statutes to refute them.

Debates between the candidates for superintendent of public instruction and secretary of state are scheduled for next week.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)  North Dakota's longest-serving state senator resigned Wednesday as head of a powerful panel that oversees the Legislature's business between sessions, just days after a published report that he had exchanged scores of text messages with a man jailed on child pornography charges.

Republican Sen. Ray Holmberg, 79, stepped down from the Legislative Management committee, saying in a statement recent events and discussions have made it clear to me that the interim governing body of the legislature, Legislative Management, does not need to be any part of that discussion.

Holmberg will remain on the panel, but not as its chairman.

No further comments on this announcement will be forthcoming, his statement said.

He had announced in March he would not seek reelection.

The Forum of Fargo reported Friday that Holmberg exchanged 72 text messages in August with Nicholas James Morgan-Derosier as Morgan-Derosier was held in the Grand Forks County Jail. The newspaper cited a jail log it obtained through a records request showing the time and date of the text messages.

Morgan-Derosier was held at the time on state child pornography charges. Holmberg first told the Forum that he had read a newspaper story about the charges, then in a later interview said he had not, the Forum reported.

He told the Forum that his text messages with Morgan-Derosier were related to a variety of things, including patio work Morgan-Derosier did for him. He also said he no longer has the text messages.

Theyre just gone, he said.

Holmberg declined to speak with The Associated Press, and in a text referred all questions to his attorney, Mark Friese of Fargo.

Friese, a prominent North Dakota criminal defense attorney, said Tuesday that Holmberg hasnt been charged with any crime, and there is no indication that he will.

I know he was in the senators employ, Friese said of Morgan-Derosier. The fact that (Holmberg) knew him doesnt say a lot in my view.

Democratic Party Chairman Patrick Hart had called for Holmberg to step down from Legislative Management and to publicly release the text messages.

Holmberg was chairman of the Legislative Management committee four times during his 46-year tenure in the Legislature. The 17-member panel decides committee assignments and choses study topics that often inspire legislation.

Holmberg, a retired school counselor, announced in March that he was retiring from the Legislature, a move that came as a surprise to many lawmakers and others at the state Capitol.

At age 79, the stress of a session and a campaign will only exacerbate a weakened ability to concentrate on the matters at hand and effectively recall events, Holmberg said in a statement at the time.

Gov. Doug Burgum, the state's congressional delegation, state lawmakers and others showered Holmberg with accolades at that time.

GOP Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner said the only thing Holmberg can be accused of at this point is a lapse of judgement. Wardner said he spoke with Holmberg Wednesday, before Holmberg stepped down as the committee chairman.

Wardner would not disclose details of the call.

He sent 72 messages to a bad, bad person," Wardner said. "That's not illegal and until there is more information I think (Holmberg's resignation) is a step in the right direction.

If there is any evidence of any wrongdoing we will act and we will act quickly, Wardner said. Right now, all we have is that it looks bad.

Holmberg also sits on the state's Emergency Commission, which allocates funding and resources in times of an emergency. The commission is comprised of the governor, the secretary of state, the chairmen of the state House and Senate appropriations committees, and the majority leaders of the House and Senate.

Wardner said he would not push to have Holmberg removed from that panel at this time.

Republican House Majority Leader Chet Pollert, the committee's vice chairman, will head Legislative Management until the session begins in January. Pollert also announced earlier that he is retiring.

Pollert said Holmberg's decision to step down as chairman of the committee was the right thing to do.

Sen. Holmberg has his things he needs to deal with and we don't want it to be a distraction from the Legislature, Pollert said.

The state charges against Morgan-Derosier have been superseded by federal charges that include possession and distribution of child pornography and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

Prosecutors allege Morgan-Derosier possessed several thousand images and videos depicting sexually abused children. He also is accused of taking two children under the age of 10 from Minnesota to his Grand Forks home, with the intent of sexually abusing them.

Lawmakers are paid $526 a month and $189 a day during a session or if they meet for a committee hearing. Legislative majority and minority leaders and the chairman of Legislative Management are paid an additional $377 monthly. Holmberg and other committee chairmen also are paid an additional $10 daily during a legislative session and $5 daily for an interim committee meeting.

___

This version corrects the details on legislative leadership pay.
James Vasquez, a Norwalk resident and U.S. Army veteran who left his job as a contractor behind to fight in Ukraine, said this week that troops on the ground still need heavy weapons.

During an interview on CNN, Vasquez said hes heard weve got tanks on the way, weve got helicopters on the way I havent seen them yet.

I just hope these are true stories, because we really need them, he added.

The 47-year-old former U.S. Army staff sergeant announced in early March he was going to Ukraine to fight during a rally outside Darien Town Hall. Since then, hes been posting regular updates from the ground on Twitter.

Vasquez didnt disclose where in Ukraine he was, declining at one point to even say whether a location he had tweeted about being bombed was a military or civilian target. But he claimed to have footage of the bombing. There are still people that are - innocent civilans - and I dont want to put that out there, because I dont want them to continue bombing this area, he said.

Vasquez said fundraising and donations have allowed fighters to make their weapons as sophisticated as those carried by their Russian counterparts and not just have AK-47s with iron sights.

He had previously tweeted a video which he said was a plea for more modern weapons, including rifle sights, ammunition, anti-tank weapons, grenades and American-style M-16 or M4 assault rifles. In the video, he explained that Ukraine had provided him with a naked weapon AK-47-style rifle, and that he had modified it with sights, rails and an improvised suppressor.

Im going into battle with this, he said, pointing the camera at his body armor, one, two three magazines and one grenade. He said other forces are equipped with weapons firing a more modern ammunition.

Since then, Vasquez said during his interview on CNN that he was starting to see an influx of weapons, ammunition and body armor all the things we need just to fight like gentlemen, really.

Connecticut police departments have also been among the organizations sending donations to help Ukraine in its fight. Several departments collected body armor and helmets, much of it was previously worn but still in good condition. Shipping the gear into Ukraine was organized in part by another veteran, Fairfield resident Alex Plitsas, who had previously run evacuation efforts in Afghanistan, and now had an avenue to get the equipment into Ukraine, where it would likely be used by humanitarian workers, medics and civilians.

In the CNN interview, Vasquez claimed not to have signed up with Ukraines foreign legion, or with the Ukrainian military, but claimed it was no secret he was in country.

I dont think its any secret from here to the U.S. that Im here. Nobody gives me any guff about it though. Theyre happy to have us, thats all I can say about that, he said.

In an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media, Vasquez wife, Tina Vasquez, said he plans to stay in the country for at least two months. She said he has no ties to Ukraine, but believes in the countrys sovereignty.

It's in his DNA. He's a soldier, she said. He didn't want to watch it at home. He asked me if he could go and I told him, yes.

Past reporting by Josh LaBella and Richard Chumney contributed to this report.
Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media

NORWALK  Officials at the state Office of Chief Medical Examiner have identified the deceased man found at the scene of an apartment fire in East Norwalk earlier this week.

Linda Sylvia, the executive secretary at the medical examiner office, identified the man in an email on Wednesday as Joseph Carrol. She did not provide the mans age or residence.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  Gov. Tim Walz sharply criticized the Minnesota Legislature on Wednesday for failing to break its impasse over an unemployment insurance tax increase that businesses are already starting to pay.

The Democratic governor blamed both the Senate Republican and House Democratic majorities, saying it's absolutely ridiculous that they didn't reach a deal soon after the legislative session began in January. He said they need to pick up the pace with the May 23 adjournment coming up in just over four weeks, and said he'll propose a path forward in his State of the State speech on Sunday.

Employers across Minnesota started getting bills for higher first-quarter unemployment insurance taxes soon after legislative leaders failed to agree by the March 15 deadline for heading off an automatic increase.

The increase kicked in because the state must replenish its unemployment insurance trust fund, which has been depleted by the pandemic. The state can tap over $1 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money and the state's $9.25 billion budget surplus to raise the necessary $2.7 billion. But House Democrats have made a tax rollback contingent on Senate Republicans agreeing to $1 billion in hero pay for frontline workers instead of the $250 million target all sides set last year.

Walz said lawmakers could have settled it all back in January.

This should have been the easiest deal in Minnesota political history, Walz said during a visit to a Cub Foods supermarket in north Minneapolis to talk about his tax rebate proposal.

Doug Loon, president and CEO of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, told reporters at the Capitol that his group shares the governor's frustrations.

Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman has said the real deadline is April 30, when the first tax bills reflecting the increase come due.

Walz and Loon both said some companies have already paid those bills. And Walz said he hopes the frustrations of those employers prods lawmakers into a deal.

Loon said the businesses he represents are universally reporting double-digit or higher increases in their unemployment insurance tax bills when they're already struggling to be competitive.

Other states have fixed this. And Minnesota as an outlier state needs to be competitive," Loon said. "If we don't fix this, Minnesota businesses are at a disadvantage.

Walz spoke as the Chamber coincidentally held its annual lobbying day at the Capitol. Loon said around 100 of his members fanned out to meet with their local lawmakers and tell them how the tax increase was affecting them.

They included Frank Soukup, marketing director for Grand View Lodge resort in Nisswa. He said the hike was about 15% for his company, which employs over 850 people during a normal summer, at a time when it and other hospitality businesses are already having trouble hiring enough workers.

Walz went to the supermarket to promote his proposal for income tax rebates to give part of the $9.25 billion budget surplus back to taxpayers. He's dubbed his proposal Walz Checks. It calls for rebates of $500 for single filers and $1,000 for joint filers.

The idea has received a cool reception from the Legislature. Senate Republicans want to use most of the surplus for permanent income tax cuts. House Democrats want targeted tax relief through expanded child care and property tax credits and refunds, plus more spending on education and other programs. Walz is hoping his rebate plan could emerge as a compromise to bridge the gap.

Standing in the produce section, flanked by full grocery carts, Walz said taxpayers could use their rebates to pay for food, diapers, gas, rent or even vacations.

It's go time at the legislative session. It is time to get these things done, Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter said.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)  Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts touted the tax cuts lawmakers approved this year as they wrapped up their session Wednesday.

Ricketts said the $900 million package of income and property tax cuts that the Legislature approved this year delivered the most significant tax relief bill we have ever had in the state of Nebraska. He signed the bill last week.
NEW YORK (AP)  New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he wants the city to promote its impending legal cannabis industry and assist people from minority communities most affected by marijuana-related offenses to become marijuana entrepreneurs.

Adams is set to propose Wednesday that the city spend $4.8 million to reach out to those most impacted by the so-called war on drugs. His plan would help them learn about the industry and set up their new small businesses  things like navigating the licensing process and obtaining financing, among other areas.

Now is the time for our city to make proactive investments to ensure the people disproportionately impacted by the criminalization of these substances can reap the benefits of the new industry, Adams said in a statement.

The mayor, a Democrat and former police captain, has said the legal marijuana industry could be a key driver for the citys post-pandemic economic recovery, along with a revival in tourism, nightlife and people returning to offices.

The announcement coincides with April 20  also known as 4/20  the date known for celebrating marijuana, and a day before neighboring New Jersey begins its own recreational pot sales.

New York legalized adult recreational marijuana a year ago for adults 21 and over. Recreational sales are not expected to start until later this year or early next year as the state sorts out regulations for what's expected to be one of the biggest legal U.S. markets for the drug.

In New York City alone, the industry is expected to generate $1.3 billion in sales in its first year, according to estimates from City Hall.

New York was the 16th state to legalize marijuana for adults, and the second-most populous state after California to do so.

A key theme in marijuana legalization in recent years has been social equity, and New York's laws have built in ways to redress how the justice system locked up a disproportionate number of people of color for drug crimes. That includes the state's goal of awarding half of marijuana licenses to individuals from underrepresented communities. The state has also been expunging some past marijuana convictions.

Adams' plan continues in that vein, suggesting the city help those most impacted by the criminalization of the drug if they now wish to become marijuana entrepreneurs. The city's agencies devoted to small business services, economic development and criminal justice would work together to identify where to target the efforts, launch a public education tour and ad campaign and even help those setting up businesses find real estate to set up shop.

The proposal is part of the mayor's city budget plan that he's set to unveil next week. Along with the rest of the budget, the proposal will be negotiated with the city council and is expected to be agreed upon this summer.

New York City Councilmember Julie Menin, who chairs the council's small business committee, and Councilmember Amanda Farias, who chairs the council's economic development committee, both released statements supporting the mayor's plan to help marijuana entrepreneurs.

Menin said it was of critical importance for New York City to establish the legal pot industry in neighborhoods that were devastated by the war on drugs.

We need to be mindful of marginalized communities that have been disproportionately incarcerated because of punitive marijuana laws, she said.

Adams has separately said, in the absence of much available land in the city, he's exploring the idea of allowing the growing and cultivation of marijuana on the rooftops of the city's public housing buildings. But that idea is likely to run into major roadblocks because the housing is heavily subsidized by the federal government, which still criminalizes marijuana.
There were just 532 people confined in the city on Wednesday, a number that has dropped from more than twice that number three years ago in the city's two jails, according to St. Louis prison data,

Even as some killings in the city went uncounted, a ProPublica investigation found, the homicide rate in St. Louis has fallen. This news comes as St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones delivered the State of the City address Tuesday.

"Has locking people up and locking them out of opportunities made our city a safer place for families?" Jones asked in her speech, while calling for more investment in anti-poverty programs. "Have the gunshots stopped at night yet?"

Meanwhile, according to the Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that tracks criminalization data, Missouri has an incarceration rate of 735 per 100,000 people (including prisons, jails, immigration detention, and juvenile justice facilities). 51,000 people in the state are behind bars, including 32,000 in state prisons.

Each year, at least 128,000 different people are booked into local jails in Missouri, PPI found.

In Illinois, 76,000 people are behind bars, including 41,000 in state prisons, 23,000 in local jails and 9,000 in federal prisons. Each year, at least 173,000 different people are booked into local jails in Illinois. Illinois' incarceration rate is 497 per 100,000 people, below the national average (664) but above other Western countries like the United Kingdom (129), Canada (104) and France (93).

Illinois' incarceration rate is also one of the lowest among neighboring states, lower than Iowa (582), Indiana (765), Missouri (735), Wisconsin (663), Michigan (559), Kentucky (930) and Tennessee (838) and but higher than Minnesota (342).

People of color are over-represented in prisons and jails in Illinois, according to PPI data, with 2,128 Black people per 100,000 incarcerated in the state and 258 white people per 100,000 incarcerated. Among Native Americans, 821 per 100,000 in the state are incarcerated and 472 Hispanics per 100,000.

In Illinois, there are 112,000 people on probation and 28,000 on parole. The Prison Policy Initiative gave Illinois a "D" grade in September for its response to the coronavirus pandemic in prisons, with prisons and jails leading to an additional estimated 47,298 COVID-19 cases in Illinois in the summer of 2020. Illinois "failed to utilize one of the most obvious, and easiest, tools for reducing the prison population," PPI wrote, stopping prison admissions for technical violations of probation and parole.
That release could not be found.
The legend about coffee is that it was discovered by a goat shepherd when he noticed his goats became so energetic after eating berries from a certain tree. He then tried some for himself and felt the rush of energy produced from the caffeine and sugar. Coffee has always been a big deal in Uganda  my late grandfather paid my tuition/fees and that of my uncles and aunties out of, mainly, Coffee. Uganda is currently Africa's leading exporter of Robusta coffee, exporting 6.1 million bags annually. Coffee is Uganda's top-earning export crop. At the moment, the Uganda economy is in such a warped state such that prices of essential commodities have increased, and the government doesnt seem to be in control of anything anymore.

Now, instead of doing anything to combat this exploitative trend, the state has decided to kill off competition in the coffee market, too, as it has done with several other lucrative businesses in the past.

In the wake of Ugandas withdrawal from the International Coffee Organization (ICO); the ministry of finance has given one single company, Uganda Vinci Coffee Company (UVCC), exclusive rights to buy the countrys coffee. The deal gives UVCC the rights to determine the price of the commodity.

It's an utterly ludicrous stance to have taken away price competition yet its absolutely crucial to fiscal policy at any time. The most effective way of attaining competitiveness is to have strong competition. The ultimate goal is to improve the standard of living or income of a country either through higher productivity or lower cost. This implies that competitiveness is not an end but a means to the objective.

It turns out that despite NRMs "free market" rhetoric, the government is strongly in favour of government intervention in the market, as long as the intervention goes in favour of the biggest and most profitable corporations, and against the likes of ordinary people, small and medium sized businesses, and sole traders.

I think different companies should be allowed to buy and sell coffee. The micro-dimension of competitiveness refers to competition among the firms within a nation and its implications in international markets, and the macro-dimension refers to competition among nations. The coffee boom reflects the increasing competitiveness of firms in coffee consuming countries, while the coffee crisis indicates that the standard of living of coffee producers has been adversely affected.

Under the agreement, which also exempts UVCC from all taxes, the company will create the first final product processing plant in the country worth $80 million. I think this was what UVCC used as a bait to get such a lucrative deal. However, when you think about it, the money we make from coffee is enough for us to build, at least, 2-3 regional processing plants every year.

In the midst of this unprecedented chaos, I think there must be some Ugandans hoping to become billionaires out of this. I understand the investor behind the complicated Lubowa International Specialized Hospital, Enrica Pinetti, is the same guy behind UVCC.

As one of the most popular beverages of the world, coffee has been the most highly traded commodity after oil since World War II. This is something the NRM leadership should have invested in so much as soon it came to power, but they instead encouraged people to cut down coffee trees for Vanilla especially in Buganda. Its not too late, they could still do it.

The government mainly needs to do everything possible to help coffee farmers to increase production. The cost of production has been rising in many coffee producing countries according to the International Coffee Organization, while farmers sometimes sold coffee at a price that did not cover costs. This situation is considered as a coffee crisis, which began in 1999. The coexistence of a coffee crisis and a coffee boom is referred to as the coffee paradox in the global coffee-value chain.

We are yet to know why Uganda exactly withdrew from the ICO. The best guess is that it's another part of their ludicrous strategy of distancing themselves from international responsibilities. The global coffee market was relatively stable during 1962 to 1989. It was influenced heavily by domestic government policy and quota agreement from ICO. Before 1990, the main function of the ICO was to assign quota to each individual country according to its past exports or stocks. Since the collapse of the International Coffee Agreement (ICA) in 1989, the ICO plays a role as a forum for intergovernmental cooperation to improve coffee trade among countries and promote a sustainable coffee economy for participants; especially for small-scale farmers in producing countries. The collapse of the ICA led to several producing countries dismantling their centralized marketing systems and started operating in a free market.

The catastrophic consequences of having a largely managed parliamentary opposition are feeding through to make this appalling situation even worse. NUP MPs rarely oppose anything fronted by the NRM in parliament  they leave the hard work to the few FDCs. UPC and DP both seem to holding the boss's bag, too. Uganda political discourse has become terribly diseased.
Phuket tuk-tuk driver praised for offering B100 fare

PHUKET: A tuk-tuk driver in Phuket Town has been praised for offering to take a group of Thai tourists around town for just B100.

tourismtransporteconomics

By The Phuket News

Wednesday 20 April 2022, 09:50AM

Mr Suchart and his tuk-tuk in Phuket Town. Photo: PR Phuket

The news was reported on the main national website of state news agency NNT, following one of the tourists, Phet Yotsawat, posting details of the experience on the Phuket Review Facebook group online on Monday (Apr 18).

Mr Phet explained that he and his friends were walking through Phuket Town looking for a nice place to have something to eat when they walked past the tuk-tuk driver, 54-year-old Suchart Nitiwaranurak.

Mr Suchart asked if they would like to be driven to the various main sightseeing and shopping areas for just B50.

The group were at first suspicious and pointed out that there were five of them, to which Mr Suchart agreed B100 would be enough to hire him for two hours to drive the group around town.

This was very cheap and he sat and waited for us while we were walking around, shopping for souvenirs, Mr Phet posted.

In total, the chauffeured sightseeing and shopping trip lasted three hours, from 1pm to 4pm.

Impressed with the service, Mr Phet and his friends gave Mr Suchart B300 for his time.

Very worthwhile. Recommend [for] people who want to travel with a breakthrough [sic], Mr Phet posted.

Mr Suchart could be found near the fountain roundabout in the city 087-886-7527, he added.

The post by Mr Phet attracted many comments by Thai people praising Mr Suchart for not taking advantage of tourists, a practice that Phukets public transport drivers have become notorious for among even Thai tourists.

Mr Sucharts explanation for offering what in Phuket was a very cheap fare was simple: I want many more tourists, Thai and foreign, to come to travel to Phuket so Phuket will return to be as good as it was before the pandemic.

I took the group to Thalang Rd, Krabi Rd and Khao Rang and to some souvenir shops. I get a little money from the souvenir shop, so B50 to B100 is enough to charge as a fare.

Do not charge too much. That gives us a bad name. If we take what we need to pay for petrol and food, and go home to support our family., tourists will come again, he said.
UWC Thailand alumnus hoping for help in funding sisters exit from Afghanistan

PHUKET: A GoFundMe campaign has been launched on behalf of a UWC Thailand alumnus Nasratullah Elham, originally from Afghanistan, to help 11 members of his family flee death threats to a safe haven in Pakistan.

Wednesday 20 April 2022, 05:52PM

The family is in danger because both of Elhams older sisters (who we will call "Fahima" and "Aliah to protect their safety) have husbands who worked with US forces and the Afghan government to fight for democracy. When the Taliban assumed power in August 2021, anyone who assisted the US or worked with the Afghan government became a target. After receiving death threats for not just the men, but also their families, they decided they must find a way to leave.

Their safety is our greatest concern, but its also more than just their lives that are in danger. My youngest sister is brilliant  she has smashed all the academic records in our family and she wants to be a doctor  but now she is 14 and is no longer allowed to study in Afghanistan, Elham explains.

Farah (not her real name) is one of very few Afghan girls whose father supported her pursuing an education, but that came to an abrupt end when the Taliban assumed power. Six of the minors are Elhams young nieces and nephews.

Elhams family has had to make strategic decisions to separate from one another to protect their most vulnerable. With no specific threats of retaliation looming, his parents and his brothers families will remain in Afghanistan and try to rebuild their lives there. Those in danger have been in hiding while they pursue a path as refugees to Canada, the US, or Europe; but the road is long, and each day they remain in Afghanistan they are in danger.

In the interim they have secured safe passage to Isalamabad, Pakistan, but will not have permits to work while they wait, which is what prompted Elham to begin fundraising for the familys basic needs. The budget to provide for all 11 family members is roughly $1,500 a month. This budget includes Farahs school fees and books to continue her education.

Elham aims to raise enough to last them for 20 months  US$30,000  while pursuing every possible refugee route. The decision to base the budget on 20 months takes into consideration that war in Ukraine means some of the most refugee-friendly countries are waiving many of the visa requirements for Ukrainian refugees, but not for Afghans. This is expected to increase their wait time.

The GoFundMe campaign was created by Elhams host family who he met when he was on scholarship for his last two years of high school at Phukets UWC Thailand International School. He was awarded the scholarship based on his passion for peace and the environment. In fact, Elham has become a powerful voice in the fight for climate change in developing nations.

He was selected from a global pool of thousands to attend the first-ever UN Youth Climate summit in New York, but as an Afghan, his visa was denied. Frustrated and angry, Elham and the school worked to find other ways he could share his message for change. That once disheartening denial resulted in Elhams story being covered by Al Jazeera, Insider, local Thai media, South African radio, and even on a live broadcast for Democracy Now. Recently, his writing on climate change was published in The London Magazine.

Of course these achievements, and his subsequent scholarship to Concordia, will pale in comparison to being able to successfully extract his sisters from Afghanistan. If you are able to help, you can find Elhams fundraiser - click here.

- Samantha Gayfer
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MOMBASA, Kenya (AP)  Devastating floods in South Africa this week, as well as other extreme weather events across the continent linked to human-caused climate change, are putting marine and terrestrial wildlife species at risk, according to biodiversity experts.

Africa has already faced several climate-related woes in the past year: the ongoing fatal floods follow unrelenting cyclones in the south, extreme temperatures in western and northern regions, and a debilitating drought which is currently afflicting eastern, central and the Horn of Africa.

Conservation and wildlife groups say it's critical to protect species from these climate change-related weather events.

Climate change is disrupting ecosystems and affecting the survival and suitability of species to live in their usual habitats, said Shyla Raghav, who heads the climate change division at Conservation International. Massive disruption to ecological stability will occur if adequate adaptation and mitigation measures are not implemented. There is need to incorporate climate proofing of our protected areas. That way we boost natures ability for resilience.

Multiple species, including Africa's famed big-five land animals and other terrestrial and marine life, are vulnerable to significant population loss. Ornithologist Paul Matiku, who heads the biodiversity watch group Nature Kenya, says shifting rainfall patterns and increased temperatures are having serious consequences for bird populations.

"Climate change causes seasonal variability in rainfall, temperature and food for birds. As such breeding aborts and bird populations automatically reduce over time," Matiku said. "Wetland birds are affected by reducing water levels due to droughts. The Sahara Desert gets hotter, and some migratory birds die along their migratory routes due to high temperatures and dehydration." He added that some birds are so weak from taxing migratory journeys that they are no longer breeding.

Ecosystems that thrive along Africas popular white sandy beaches are also particularly vulnerable, according to Ibidun Adelekan, a geography professor at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Africa's coasts are at risk of coral reef ecosystem collapse due to bleaching, potential saltwater intrusion on freshwater aquifers, and more intense tropical cyclones.

Adelekan warned that greater damage to Africa's coastal biodiversity will also have considerable consequences for populations in towns and cities along its shores. Persistent deprivation of terrestrial and marine ecosystems by human actions is leading to increased vulnerability of coastal and island communities to climate impacts, she told the Associated Press.

Her concerns are echoed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who earlier this year cautioned that African coasts with "high proportion of informal settlements and small island states are exposed and highly vulnerable to climate change."

But scientists are hopeful that improved coastal management of marine protected areas and better restrictions on the fishing industry will curb impacts on marine biodiversity.

Our research indicates that the future of coral reefs will be much better if fisheries restrictions and protected areas are applied effectively throughout the region, said Tim McClanahan, a senior conservation zoologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society, who studied over 100 locations in the western Indian Ocean.

While climate change may be outside of local control, the bad outcomes will be reduced if fisheries manage to reduce detrimental impacts on the coral reefs."

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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about APs climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
The U.S. Department of Education has announced steps aimed at bringing student loan borrowers closer to public service loans and income-driven repayment forgiveness by addressing "historical failures" in the administration of the federal student loan programs, according to a press release.

Federal Student Aid estimates that these changes will result in immediate debt cancellation for at least 40,000 borrowers under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program with several thousand borrowers with older loans also receiving forgiveness through IDR. More than 3.6 million borrowers will also receive at least three years of additional credit toward IDR forgiveness, according to the Department of Education.

"Student loans were never meant to be a life sentence, but its certainly felt that way for borrowers locked out of debt relief theyre eligible for," U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

"Today, the Department of Education will begin to remedy years of administrative failures that effectively denied the promise of loan forgiveness to certain borrowers enrolled in IDR plans," Cardona continued. "These actions once again demonstrate the Biden-Harris administrations commitment to delivering meaningful debt relief and ensuring federal student loan programs are administered fairly and effectively."

These actions are aimed at addressing historical failures in the administration of the federal student loan program and supporting student loan borrowers through the pandemic, according to the press release. They are also aimed at addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on borrowers with lower incomes and high debt loads.

FSA reviews suggest that loan servicers placed borrowers into forbearance in violation of Department rules, even when their monthly payment under an IDR plan could have been as low as zero dollars. Department regulations require that borrowers who are facing difficulty making their loan payments get "clear and accurate information" from servicers about their options for staying out of delinquency, including IDR plans, and the financial consequences of choosing short-term options like forbearance.

These findings are consistent with concerns raised by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and state attorneys general, the DoE wrote. A borrower is advised to choose an IDR plan instead of forbearance can get "a reduced payment, stay in good standing and make progress toward loan forgiveness." A borrower instead advised to choose forbearance, particularly long-term consecutive or serial uses of forbearance, can see their loan balance and monthly payments grow due to interest capitalization and led to delinquency or default.

The Department of Education aims to address forbearance steering by conducting a one-time account adjustment to count certain long-term forbearances toward IDR and PSLF forgiveness, increasing oversight of servicers' forbearance use and tracking progress toward IDR forgiveness. The DoE will also conduct a one-time revision of IDR payments to address past inaccuracies and permanently fix IDR payment counting by reforming FSA's IDR tracking.

More than 13% of all Direct Loan borrowers between July 2009 and March 2020 have used forbearance for at least 36 months cumulatively, the department stated. The Department's regulations and servicer contracts have safeguards, including a 12-month limit for any single use of forbearance and a 36-month cumulative limit on discretionary forbearance. Borrowers were often steered or inappropriately placed into long-term forbearances, missing out on progress toward IDR and PSLF forgiveness.

To mitigate the harms of inappropriate steering into long-term forbearance, FSA will conduct a one-time account adjustment that will count forbearances of more than 12 months consecutive and more than 36 months cumulative toward forgiveness under IDR and PSLF later this year.

Going forward, the department stated it will partner with the CFPB to do regular audits of forbearance use and build upon other FSA efforts to improve oversight of loan servicing activities, including stronger accountability provisions in servicing contracts, renewing partnerships with federal and state regulators and clarifying its position on federal preemption of state oversight of loan servicing.

Efforts to revise IDR regulations will produce "substantially more affordable monthly payments for millions of borrowers," the department wrote. The Biden Administration has taken actions aimed at canceling more than $17 billion in debt for 725,000 borrowers and has extended the student loan payment pause several times, "saving 41 million borrowers billions of dollars in payments each month."

The Department of Education has now approved $6.8 billion for more than 113,000 public servants through improvements to PSLF, $7.8 billion for more than 400,000 borrowers who have a total and permanent disability and $1.2 billion for borrowers who attended ITT Technical Institutes before it closed. Another nearly $2 billion was provided to 105,000 borrowers who were defrauded by their school.

Biden has also called for and Congress has included in "bipartisan legislation" a $400 increase in the maximum Federal Pell Grant, the largest increase in the maximum award in over a decade.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  A Mississippi prison violated inmates' constitutional rights by failing to protect them from violence, meet their mental health needs or take adequate steps for suicide prevention, and by relying too much on prolonged solitary confinement, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday.

The department released findings of its two-year investigation of the state's oldest prison, Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. The probe started after an outburst of violence in late 2019 and early 2020 that left some inmates dead and others injured.

The problems at Parchman are severe, systemic, and exacerbated by serious deficiencies in staffing and supervision," the department said in its report.

It said the Mississippi Department of Corrections has been on notice of these deficiencies for years and failed to take reasonable measures to address the violations, due in part to non-functional accountability or quality assurance measures."

Years of MDOCs deliberate indifference has resulted in serious harm and a substantial risk of serious harm to persons confined at Parchman," the department said.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, said 10 homicides and 12 suicides have occurred among inmates at Parchman since 2019.

The department said it found gross understaffing" and uncontrolled gang activity." It also found that insufficient security gave inmates unfettered access to contraband."

Clarke said Mississippi officials cooperated with the investigation, and the Justice Department and the state will work on steps to resolve the problems.

This marks the first time the Justice Department has concluded that a prisons use of solitary confinement violates the constitutional rights of people without serious mental illness," Clarke said in a conference call announcing the findings.

The Justice Department has investigated prison conditions in recent years in other states, including Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas.

The department is continuing to investigate conditions at three other Mississippi prisons: South Mississippi Correctional Institution, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility and Wilkinson County Correctional Facility.

Violence has been a longstanding problem in Mississippi prisons, where many jobs for guards are unfilled. Officials with the state Department of Corrections have said for years that it is difficult to find people to work as guards because of low pay, long hours and dangerous conditions. The state has increased the pay during the past two years.

Before the outburst of violence at Parchman, state health inspections had shown repeated problems with broken toilets and moldy showers. Inmates said some cell doors did not lock, and it was common to see rats and roaches.

Parchman was founded in 1901 on the site of a former plantation. For decades, inmates worked in a farming operation that critics said was akin to slavery. After the outburst of violence in 2019 and 2020, inmates' relatives and others protested outside the state Capitol, calling on the state to shut down the prison.

Burl Cain, a former Louisiana prison warden, became commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections in May 2020 and vowed to improve conditions at Parchman. Since then, the department has moved some inmates to other prisons. Parchman had more than 3,200 inmates in December 2019; it has about 2,000 this month.

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday that he had not read the Justice Department report.

I do know that we have made significant strides at Parchman in the last two years," Reeves said.

He noted that legislators this year gave the Department of Corrections money to hire more prison guards and increase their starting wage.

We, as a state, recognize some of the challenges that exist and are doing everything in our power to very quickly solve those challenges," Reeves said.

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Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus.
ALTON -- Alton firefighters work to overhaul hot spots in an apartment building Tuesday in the 3100 block of Lawn Street.

The fire started in a back bedroom of the Alton unit, then firefighters were called to the bedroom fire about 10:25 a.m. Tuesday and found flames showing from the bedroom window when they arrived.
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LANSING, Mich. (AP)  Republican Sen. Lana Theis opened a Michigan Senate session with an invocation by claiming children are being attacked by forces" that want to indoctrinate them with ideas their parents do not support.

Three Democrats walked out of last week's meeting to protest her apparent reference to how schools address sexual orientation and gender identity and critical race theory. Within days, one who tweeted criticism of the prayer was targeted by Theis in a fundraising email.

Theis called Sen. Mallory McMorrow a liberal social media troll and accused her of wanting to groom and sexualize kindergartners and teach that 8-year-olds are responsible for slavery.

McMorrow responded Tuesday with a forceful, impassioned floor speech that resonated nationwide.

I am a straight, white, Christian, married, suburban mom" who wants every kid to feel seen, heard and supported  not marginalized and targeted because they are not straight, white and Christian," she said.

The salvos were among the latest to draw widespread attention in the country's ongoing culture wars, as conservatives push to make education a political wedge issue. They have said they are trying to prevent grooming," a term used to describe how sex offenders initiate contact with their victims.

What a horrible thing to say to somebody and not care about the consequences, McMorrow told reporters Wednesday.

Theis, who declined to speak after the session, released a statement in which she did not apologize. She again accused Democrats of trying to undermine parents as the primary decision-makers in their child's education.

McMorrow's 5-minute speech found an engaged audience on social media. The video racked up millions of views across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. A tweet thread from McMorrow about her remarks amassed some 74,000 retweets.

Prominent Democrats outside Michigan including Hillary Clinton urged their social media followers to watch, as did political groups such as the pro-Democratic PAC Meidas Touch, the anti-Trump PAC The Lincoln Project and the popular liberal meme page Occupy Democrats.

The video also was shared online by activists, celebrities and journalists including Maria Shriver, Mia Farrow, MSNBCs Joe Scarborough and CNNs Don Lemon.

McMorrow, who said she thought of most of the speech while giving her daughter a bath, said a conservative Christian woman from Texas and a gay man who grew up in rural Indiana were among those who contacted her office to thank her.

Asked why the speech resonated, McMorrow said: "There is a difference between politics and outright hate. I think people are frustrated that elected officials havent done enough to call that out, that maybe Democrats are afraid of talking about religion and faith openly and honestly and calling hate what it is. I think we have to.

Accusations of grooming and pedophilia are straight out of the QAnon playbook, she said, referring to the conspiracy theory. She noted how the debunked pizzagate conspiracy theory ended with real-world consequences when a man fired his assault rifle inside a Washington, D.C., restaurant.

She said she has felt incredibly frustrated that people have been weaponizing religion and Christianity and frankly white, suburban moms and claiming to speak on behalf of all of us. ... They dont.

Both McMorrow, of Royal Oak, and Theis, of Brighton, are up for reelection in different districts. Former President Donald Trump is backing a primary challenger over Theis after a Republican-led legislative committee she sits on determined there was no widespread or systemic fraud when Joe Biden won Michigan in 2020.

Republicans' use of grooming rhetoric comes as one of their own, former state House Speaker Lee Chatfield, is under investigation for allegedly sexually assaulting his future sister-in-law starting when she was a minor.

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Associated Press reporter Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.
For the Telegraph

ALTON  The National Education Association President Becky Pringle will be making a stop on her Justice, Joy, and Excellence tour this Friday, April 22.

Over the past year, Becky has been visiting schools across the country meeting with members and visiting schools. The National Education Association represents over 3 million members across the country and is the largest labor union in the nation. Becky is a middle school science teacher with 31 years of classroom experience, and has distinguished herself as a fierce social justice warrior and defender of educator rights.
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WARSAW, Poland (AP)  After spending weeks with no electricity or water in the basement of her family's home in Ukraine, Viktoriya Savyichkina made a daring escape from the besieged city of Mariupol with her 9- and 14-year-old daughters.

Their dwelling for now is a huge convention center in Poland's capital. Savyichkina said she saw a photo of the home in Mariupol destroyed. From a camp bed in a foreign country, the 40-year-old bookeeper thinks about restarting her and her children's lives from square one.

I dont even know where we are going, how it will turn out, Savyichkina said. "I would like to go home, of course. Maybe here, I will enjoy it in Poland.

With the war in Ukraine approaching eight weeks, more than 5 million people have fled the country since Russian troops invaded on Feb. 24, the U.N. refugee agency reported Wednesday. When the number reached 4 million on March 30, the exodus exceeded the worst-case predictions of the Geneva-based office of the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.

The even bigger milestone in Europes biggest refugee crisis since World War II was reached as Russia unleashed a full-scale offensive in eastern Ukraine that will disrupt and end more lives.

The millions of people who left Ukraine because of the war have left behind their homes and families, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi tweeted Wednesday. Many would do anything, and some even risk going back, to see their loved ones. But every new attack shatters their hopes. Only an end to the war can pave the way for rebuilding their lives.

Ukraine had a pre-war population of 44 million, and UNHCR says the conflict has displaced more than 7 million people within Ukraine along with the 5.03 million who had left as of Wednesday. According to the agency, another 13 million people are believed to be trapped in the war-affected areas of Ukraine.

Weve seen about a quarter of Ukraines population, more than 12 million people in total, ,,,have been forced to flee their homes, so this is a staggering amount of people, UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told The Associated Press.

More than half of the refugees, over 2.8 million, fled at least at first to Poland. They are eligible for national ID numbers that entitle them to work, to free health care, schooling and bonuses for families with children.

Although many of have stayed there, an unknown number have traveled on to other countries. Savyichkina said she is thinking about taking her daughters to Germany.

We hope we can live there, send children to school, find work and start life from zero, she said inside the vast premises of the Global EXPO Center in Warsaw, which is providing basic accommodations for about 800 refugees.

If everything goes well, if the children like it first of all, then we will stay. If not...," Savyichkina said.

Further south, Hungary has emerged as a major transit point for Ukrainian refugees. Out of more than 465,000 who arrived, some 16,400 have applied for protected status, meaning they want to stay. Many are members of the ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine.

Hungarys government says it has provided around $8.7 million to several charitable organizations and is giving subsidies to companies that employ Ukrainians granted asylum.

In March, a non-governmental organization, Migration Aid, rented an entire five-story building in Budapest, a former workers' hostel, to provide temporary accommodation for people escaping the war in Ukraine. It has helped some 4,000 refugees so far.

Tatiana Shulieva, 67, a retired epidemiologist who fled from Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine and wants to travel on to Egypt, said the night she spent in the hostel was like a fairytale after having sheltered in a basement for weeks to escape constant shelling.

Neighboring Romania has received over 750,000 refugees from Ukraine. Oxana Cotus, who fled the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv with her four small children, initially decided to go to Denmark but ended up in Bucharest because she speaks Romanian and didn't want to be far from Ukraine.

She praised the help she received from the International Red Cross in helping her relocate and get settled.

The European nations hosting refugees say they need international help to manage the challenge, especially now as Russia has intensified attacks in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

If we have a second wave of refugees, then a real problem will come because we are at capacity. We cannot accept more, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski told The Associated Press.

About 300,000 war refugees are in the city of some 1.8 million, most of them staying in private homes, Trzaskowski said. Warsaw residents expected to host refugees for a few months, but not indefinitely, he said.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was in Lviv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, visiting a refugee center made of mobile modules that the governments of Ukraine and Poland jointly built to house displaced individuals who do not want to leave Ukraine.

Organizations for refugees say the best help would be for the war to stop.

Unfortunately, without an immediate end to the fighting, the unspeakable suffering and mass displacement that we are seeing will only get worse, UNHCR's Mantoo said.

Data from Poland show that some 738,000 people have crossed back into Ukraine during the war. Some of them shuttle back and forth to do shopping in Poland, while others return to Ukraine to check on relatives and property, electing to either stay or depart again depending on what they find.

More than half of the refugees from Ukraine are children, according to UNHCR. Thousands of civilians, including children, have been killed or wounded in shelling and air strikes.

Mantoo called the outpouring of support and the generosity shown to arriving Ukrainian refugees has been remarkable.

"But what is important is that it is sustained and that it is channelled across to ensure that refugees are enabled to receive that support while the fighting continues, while they are unable to return home, she said.

____

Amer Cohadzic in Sarajevo, Justin Spike in Budapest and Nicolae Dumitrache in Bucharest contributed to this report.

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Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine and of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
WFO AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, April 19, 2022

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SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING

The National Weather Service in Austin San Antonio has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for...

Southern Kinney County in south central Texas...

Northern Maverick County in south central Texas...

* Until 330 PM CDT.

* At 237 PM CDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line

extending from near Brackettville to 10 miles north of Quemado,

moving east at 35 mph.

HAZARD...Quarter size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Damage to vehicles is expected.

* Locations impacted include...

Brackettville, Spofford, Anacacho, Darling, Fort Clark Springs and

Laughlin AFB Aux Field.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a

building.

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IVY GOODMAN, Stonington, Girls, Lacrosse, Senior; Goodman scored 12 goals and had 13 assists in three games. Her seven assists in the Bears win over Waterford established a school record. She surpassed the 50-goal mark for the season in Stoningtons victory over Ledyard.

DEAN PONS JR., Westerly, Baseball, Senior; Pons, a senior, struck out 14 batters in the Bulldogs five-inning win against Wheeler School/Rocky Hill. Pons had an assist on the remaining out, throwing out a runner on a groundout. Pons allowed just one hit and walked only two.

KATIE PIERCE, Wheeler, Girls, Lacrosse, Sophomore; Pierce scored five goals and the Lions beat Griswold to earn their first victory of the season. Wheeler avenged an earlier loss to the Wolverines this season with the 15-4 victory.

WEEKO THOMPSON, Chariho, Girls, Track Sophomore; Thompson, a sophomore, bettered her school record in the discus at the Classical Classic meet. She finished first in the event and also won the shot put.

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Press Release

April 20, 2022 Dispatch from Crame No. 1248:

Sen. Leila M. de Lima on Malacanang's and DND's reaction to the 2021 US State Department report on PH human rights abuses 4/20/22 Malacanang's and the Department of National Defense's reaction to the 2021 US State Department report on human rights abuses in the Philippines is a product of their indolent and superficial review of said report. If they actually read the report, instead of insulting the information-gathering capabilities of the United States, they would find that the report included a scathing portion on rights violations committed by the NPA, such as revolutionary taxation and the recruitment of child soldiers, among others. Part of the data used by the State Department came from the DND-AFP and other Philippine government agencies, as they are fully cited in the report. Are Malacanang and the DND saying that this State Department report on abuses committed by the NPA is also not true? Are they saying that the data on CPP-NPA abuses sourced by the State Department from the AFP is also a product of "infirmed intelligence-gathering" by the US, as described by Palace spox Martin Andanar? In their knee-jerk reaction to the State Department report, Malacanang and the DND simply dismissed the entirety of the report, without bothering to notice that a large part of the report was sourced from official Philippine government data. As such, if the State Department report contains "infirm intelligence", according to Andanar, then Philippine government data must also be the source of this infirmity. Of course, the Duterte government can always say that it is only rejecting those parts of the report that attribute human rights abuses to state security forces. But that would be a clear case of cherry-picking. Malacanang cannot ignore the evidence already gathered by other international organizations, such as Amnesty International, which result in the same findings of prevalent human rights abuses, if not crimes against humanity, committed by the Duterte administration. As he nears the end of his term, Duterte, with his Malacanang stooges, must already be so tired of parrying incontrovertible reports of human rights abuses that they are just waiting for it to be over and done with. But the end of Duterte's term will just be the beginning of their reckoning. The International Criminal Court (ICC) will continue to pursue the case against them for crimes against humanity. The State Department and Amnesty International Reports, among many other evidence and information gathering efforts undertaken by international organizations, will only serve to buttress the ICC case against Duterte and all those responsible for human rights violations under his regime. ### (Access the handwritten version of Dispatch from Crame No. 1248, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_1248)
Consumers are set to be better protected from fake online reviews and subscription traps under new planned measures to crack down on rogue traders.

These include making it 'clearly illegal' to pay someone to write or host a fake review, as well as making it easier for consumers to opt out of subscription services.

In a bid to protect consumers, websites hosting fake reviews will be criminally liable unless they take 'reasonable steps' to check the reviews are genuine, ministers said.

Ministers say 'consumers deserve better' following new laws say websites hosting fake reviews will be criminally liable unless they take 'reasonable steps' to ensure reviews are genuine

The proposed laws mean businesses small and large will need to outline steps taken to stop reviews misleading customers.

Plans to crack down on fake reviews also includes measures for clamping down on cartels and other practices that stifle competition, and giving new powers to the Competition and Markets Authority.

The new rules also require pre-payment schemes, such as Christmas savings clubs, to safeguard customers' money through insurance or trust accounts, offering better protection to customers paying for goods and services in monthly instalments.

The move would mean customers are protected even if the company goes bust, such as the collapse of Christmas savings club Farepak in 2006, where thousands of customers were hit.

Fake reviews will be tackled by consultation on a new law against commissioning someone to write or submit a fake review, hosting consumer reviews without taking reasonable steps to check they are genuine and offering or advertising to submit, commission or facilitate fake reviews.

Consumer Minister Paul Scully said: 'We're making sure consumer protections keep pace with a modern, digitised economy.

'No longer will you visit a five star-reviewed restaurant only to find a burnt lasagne or get caught in a subscription in which there's no end in sight.

'Consumers deserve better and the majority of businesses out there doing the right thing deserve protection from rogue traders undermining them.'

The CMA has estimated that 23billion a year of consumer spending is now influenced by online reviews  equivalent to around 900 per household, with an additional 60 a year spent on unwanted subscriptions.

Under new rules, businesses must provide clearer information to customers before they enter a subscription contract.

Businesses will be required to send reminders that free trials or introductory offers are coming to an end and must ensure consumers can leave a contract in a 'straightforward, cost-effective and timely way'.

The new laws also mean the CMA, instead of a court, will be able to award compensation to consumers and directly impose financial penalties worth up to 10 per cent of global annual turnover or up to 300,000 in the case of an individual.

Citizens Advice director of policy Matthew Upton said: 'With pressure piling on household budgets, it's good to see action that'll make it easier for people to protect their cash.

'The measures to deal with subscription traps are particularly welcome.

'We hope these will help bring unscrupulous traders to book and stop shoppers being duped by underhand tactics.'

Meanwhile, CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli added: 'This is an important milestone towards strengthening the CMA's ability to hold companies to account, promote fair and open markets, and protect UK consumers.

'The CMA stands ready to assist the government to ensure that legislation can be brought forward as quickly as possible, so consumers and businesses can benefit.'
Shares in a major Covid-19 vaccine maker Oxford Biomedica have tumbled after it warned revenues are set to fall this year due to weaker levels of vaccine production.

Oxford Biomedica shares plunged 14.7 per cent to 5.45 on Wednesday, making it the second-largest faller on the FTSE 350 Index behind Anglo-Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk.

This happened even though the gene and cell therapy business declared it had made over 100 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine over the past two years, an achievement that has led to phenomenal financial growth.

Revenue drop: Pharmaceutical firm Oxford Biomedica forecasts overall revenues shrinking this year, though it believes they will remain 'significantly ahead' of 2020

Annual revenues at the FTSE 250 company climbed 63 per cent to 142.8million in 2021, more than double their pre-pandemic volumes and significantly offsetting a drop in sales from licences, royalties and milestones.

As a result, the group rebounded from a net loss of 6.2million in 2020 to a 19million profit last year, albeit this was also due to the boom in income far outpacing the increase in raw material and employment costs.

Oxford Biomedica began producing the Covid-19 vaccine at an 84,000 square foot facility in Cowley, Oxfordshire, known as Oxbox, following an 18-month supply agreement that it struck with AstraZeneca in September 2020.

It subsequently announced that it would expand the manufacturing plant thanks to an investment of over 50million from India-based Serum Life Sciences, which acquired a 3.9 per cent stake in return.

Yet the contract with AstraZeneca is about to conclude, and manufacturing of the vaccine has been put on hold whilst discussions on extending the agreement are taking place.

Because of this, the business forecasts overall revenues shrinking this year, although it believes sales will remain 'significantly ahead' of 2020.

Huge output: Over 100 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine have been made by the gene and cell therapy business over the past two years

It also expects to post an operating loss due to higher research and development costs and the integration of Oxford Biomedica Solutions, a US-based venture that it co-owns with Homology Medicines.

Just under 100million was invested by the group to take an 80 per cent stake in the newly-created subsidiary, as well as 37million of working capital, in order to expand its presence into the US market.

This business will focus on developing adeno-associated virus vectors, a method for introducing genetic material into cells to treat certain human diseases.

Oxford Biomedica anticipates the division contributing about $25million of revenues for the first 12 months of the multi-year supply agreement with Homology.

Dr. Roch Doliveux, the firm's chair and interim chief executive, said: '2022 will be another important year as we execute on our strategy to become a global viral vector leader, providing life-changing therapies and vaccines to patients.

'With the outsourced vector manufacturing supply market growing rapidly, we see significant potential to build upon our success with lentiviral vectors and expand the scope of our innovative process development and manufacturing to all classes of viral vectors.'

Doliveux became the acting CEO in January when boss John Dawson stepped down after more than 13 years in charge of the group, which was spun off from Oxford University in 1995.
A tough start to 2022 for Netflix investors is set to worsen, with the streaming giant's market dominance waning amid increased competition and cost pressures among households, analysts warn.

Netflix shares plummeted 25 per cent in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the firm revealed its first net decline in subscribers in 10 years and forecast the loss of another 2million users in the next quarter.

Shares fell by another 35 per cent in early US trading on Wednesday, bringing 2022 losses to 62.6 per cent by 3.30pm BST.

Netflix recorded its first decline in subscriber numbers since 2011 in the first quarter

A near-10 per cent rise in revenues to 6billion and profits of 1.2billion in the three months to 31 March was not enough to prevent a share price slump prompted by a 200,000 decline in subscriber numbers  a key metric analysts say investors should focus on.

The first-quarter subscriber decline was its first since an 800,000 loss in 2011 and came as a shock to investors as the company had forecast an increase of 2.5million for the period.

While Netflix would have seen a modest net gain in subscribers if it hadn't lost 700,000 as a result of its Russian exit, the firm admitted growth is slowing and there is evidence that this trend will worsen.

In the UK alone, 1.5m UK households cancelled streaming services over the first three months of the year, with more than 500,000 of those citing 'money saving', according to data firm Kantar.

Meanwhile just 3 per cent of homes subscribed to a new service, down from 4.2 per cent in the same period a year earlier.

Mark Crouch, analyst at eToro, said: 'Households in the US and Europe, Netflix's two most important regions, are struggling with a once-in-a-generation cost-of-living crisis which has resulted in belt tightening.

'The streaming game has [also] never been more competitive, with Disney+ and Amazon Prime now established, and a raft of new services that have just launched or are about to launch.'

New shows like Inventing Anna were not enough to draw in more subscribers than left the platform during the quarter

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, noted that Netflix will not be alone among rivals in facing a slowdown in subscriber numbers, but it does currently lack the back catalogue of popular content and alternative revenue streams that Amazon Prime and Disney+ enjoy.

With an operating margin target of around 20 per cent, bolstering revenues will therefore become an area of focus for Netflix.

Hewson explained: 'Netflix has said it is looking at cracking down on password sharing which it estimates is being abused to the tune of an estimated 100m+ households using another household account.

'The biggest challenge going forward will not just be a more intensive landscape competition wise, but also the rising cost of living, as well as starting to hit critical mass in some of its key markets.

'Disney, Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime are [also] expected to come under similar scrutiny in the days ahead, although at least on their part they have other revenue streams to fall back on.

'Netflix has no such buffer and will be hoping that it remains the consumer streaming option of choice, as the squeeze on the consumer intensifies.

'As investors digest yesterday's surprise earnings miss, the altogether bigger question is, have we hit peak Netflix?'

Equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Laura Hoy also highlighted Netflix's move into gaming as a potential revenue driver.

However, she said content spend, which hit $3.6billion in the first quarter, will be a key metric for the streaming giant's bosses this year.

Better to be a user than a Netflix investor Chief investment officer atBlue Whale Capital Stephen Yiu: As people were forced to stay at home, Netflix was seemingly a beneficiary of lockdown, and share price exuberance took hold. However, we see it more of a temporary pandemic winner as the fundamentals of the company did subsequently not hold up to scrutiny. The high cost of production of its own commissioned series and films, and the issues surrounding password sharing have been played out in the latest share price fall. Combine this with increased competition from Amazon Prime, HBO Max and Disney Plus to name a few, Netflixs proposition arguably did not warrant its over-inflated share price and holders will now be looking at a c.60% write down since the start of this year alone. Looking forward, as inflation takes hold and consumers cut back on their discretionary spend, individuals will become more selective over which streaming services to use or else cancel their subscriptions altogether, further eroding the investment case for Netflix. Netflix is a great service, but like many companies, we believe it is better to be a user rather than an investor.

Hoy explained: 'The group spent over $17billion on content last year, and that's likely to be a minimum for this year's spend.

'Protecting profits is high on management's priorities with an aim to keep margins over 19 per cent, but as revenue growth stagnates, it's difficult to see how the group will continue to grow its user base without succumbing to eyewatering content costs.

'Its name has become synonymous with addictive TV. This is something the group's leaning on to reaccelerate revenue growth.'

But head of equity research at Freetrade Paul Allison said while hit shows are becoming more important for subscriber growth 'the 'meh' release slate in the first quarter, which included shows like Inventing Anna, didn't do enough to tease viewers into the subscriber base'.

He added: 'The firm is raising prices across the board to generate enough cash flow (which is currently negative) to maintain an entertaining line-up of shows.

'As the streaming wars have intensified and the industry has matured, it's likely that viewers will continue to chop and change their subscriptions to keep a lid on their total TV bill.

'This makes producing quality content and hit shows more important than just a massive array of choices, which served Netflix well during its penetration growth stage.

'Investors should keep a keen eye on the upcoming releases to get a sense of subscriber growth in the coming quarters if they are to avoid future nasty subscriber growth surprises.'
Credit Suisses woes just keep on coming. The troubled lender, which has been involved in a string of scandals, has now been forced to set aside another 566million to cover its ever-growing legal headaches.

First there was a spying episode, which culminated in a car chase across Zurich as a former Credit Suisse executive tried to evade a private investigator.

Then the banks chairman Urs Rohner was accused of perpetuating racist stereotypes at his 70th birthday party.

Credit Suisse, which has been involved in a string of scandals over the last few years, has now been forced to set aside another 566m to cover its ever-growing legal headaches

Not long after, Credit Suisse began haemorrhaging cash due to its connections with Greensill Capital and Archegos Capital, both of which collapsed.

And early this year new chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio, who was brought in to clean up the lenders reputation, was ousted after breaking lockdown rules to attend Wimbledon.

Now, the increase to its legal war-chest will force Credit Suisse to book another loss for the first quarter of 2022, after it swung into the red at the end of 2021.

The latest setback comes as a further blow to investors. Shares in Credit Suisse have tanked 37 per cent since the start of 2021, falling another 1.8 per cent yesterday.

The bank said 485million of the latest provisions were due to developments in previously disclosed legal matters, all of which originated more than a decade ago.

It declined to reveal what these were, but just last month it lost a case against one of its former customers, Georgias ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.

A Bermuda court ruled that Credit Suisse would have to pay Ivanishvili more than 383m, after one of the banks former employees took money out of his account to help fund a lavish lifestyle.

The gloom continued for Credit Suisse investors yesterday, as the bank said it would also take a 162million hit from setting aside more money to cope with souring loans as economic conditions worsen.

And it will book 283million of losses due to the fall in the share price of Allfunds Group, a business which it owns part of.

The only silver lining was that the hit caused by the collapse of Archegos, a hedge fund which Credit Suisse had lent heavily to, was 138million less severe than first thought. It lost around 4.2billion in the scandal. And the bank said it would also make 130million in real estate gains.

Early this year chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio, who was brought in to clean up the lenders reputation, was ousted when it emerged he had broken lockdown rules to attend Wimbledon

But those gains are small consolation to shareholders. Over the past five years, the banks shares have slumped by 49 per cent, wiping around 14billion off its value. The lender is now facing an uphill slog to restore its tattered reputation.

Horta-Osorio, the former chief executive of Lloyds Bank, had been roped in for exactly that reason.

The Portuguese banker was seen as a safe pair of hands to restore Credit Suisse to its former glory.

But instead, Horta-Osorio ended up drawing yet more unwanted attention when it emerged that he had broken UK lockdown rules last summer.

Various political forces were at play when Horta-Osorio was ousted, the Mail understands.

The 58-year-old felt that factions within the bank had never been open to an outsider attempting to make his mark on the close-knit world of Swiss private banking.

Horta-Osorio has been replaced by Axel Lehmann, whose CV reads like a list of Switzerlands top financial institutions. But he will have a tough time turning around Credit Suisses fortunes.

ISS and Glass Lewis  two influential advisory groups who help shareholders decide how they will vote at companies annual general meetings  have told investors to vote against a motion which may absolve top brass at the bank from their role in recent scandals such as Archegos and Greensill.

Glass Lewis said Credit Suisse had suffered significant financial and reputational damages through its exposure to the default of the Archegos fund and the Greensill fund, and told shareholders they could reasonably hold the board and executives accountable for the identified deficiencies in the companys risk and control framework.

With those words ringing in their ears, Credit Suisses board will be bracing for next weeks annual meeting to be a bruising affair.
The Times News has teamed up with area clergy to share Words of Comfort daily in our print edition and online at TimesNews.Net. Any member of the clergy whod like to get involved can contact Carmen Musick at cmusick@timesnews.net.
Buck Ryan is a journalism professor and director of the Citizen Kentucky Project of the Scripps Howard First Amendment Center at the University of Kentucky. Email buck.ryan@uky.edu.
Long-time Kingsport Mayor Dennis Phillips has been named Chief Executive Officer to lead the new collaborative economic development group, NETNHub.
After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic keeping tourists away, South African resorts along the popular eastern Indian Ocean coastline were hoping for a bumper Easter weekend.

But torrential rain last week triggered floods and mudslides, killing more than 440 people, knocking out power and water supplies and covering the beaches in and around the main port city of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, with debris.

Some hotels had a third of bookings cancelled and others were forced to close during what is normally the second-busiest time of the year. Provincial authorities say they were expecting around 360,000 arrivals, but got less than half of that.

Tourism remains a big employer in a country with over 30% unemployment. read more

Coming out of COVID  we needed the tourists back, we were getting there, but these rains caused havoc, financial planner Eugene Naidu told Reuters in his wrecked holiday home in the town of Umdloti, near Durban, where the walls were smeared with waist-high mud.

Africas southeastern coast is on the front line of seaborne storm systems that are being worsened by global warming, as it pushes up temperatures in the Indian Ocean, and scientists predict storms will get much worse in coming decades.

Naidu used to rent out his apartment on Airbnb and Booking.com and was fully booked in December and January. He said people like him could stand to lose a monthly income of 20,000 rand ($1,340) from holiday rentals.

Everyone in his building left on the day the mudslide started, apart from one elderly resident who had to be saved by a sea rescue team, he said.

A construction vehicle was still shifting piles of mud on the Umdloti beachfront on Tuesday, and Durbans deserted North Beach was littered with rubbish and mangled branches.

Anthony Leeming, chief executive of hotel and resort chain Sun International (SUIJ.J), which owns a lodge and casino in KwaZulu-Natal, told Reuters business was a lot quieter than usual.

We had hoped for a lot better Easter. It was unfortunate, he said. Were certainly hoping this will not have a long-term impact.

SOURCE: REUTERS
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COLONIE  Plug Power will now supply Walmart machinery with green hydrogen power.

The Latham manufacturer reached a long-term agreement with the multinational retailer to provide it up to 20 tons of liquid green hydrogen per day that will be used to power material handling trucks, such as forklifts, across its U.S. distribution centers.

The deal is one of Plug Powers first green hydrogen supply contracts. A Plug Power spokesperson said it is the "biggest green hydrogen deal to date in North America," without disclosing how much the company would profit from it in an email to the Times Union.

It will deliver the clean energy source using its fleet of liquid transporters that it gained from acquiring Applied Cryo Technologies.

Plug Power produces green hydrogen through water electrolysis  using electric currents to catalyze chemical reactions  with electricity from zero-carbon sources.

Walmart first started working with Plug Power in 2012 when it launched a pilot program. The superstores green fleet has increased to include 9,500 machines since then and is growing as it continues taking strides to decarbonize its operations.

Plug Power has worked toward creating a green hydrogen production network across the globe to address climate change for years but has yet to make a profit from its efforts.

"We have the building blocks needed to build the green hydrogen ecosystem and are assembling a global team and global partners to lead. This is just the beginning of what is predicted to be over a $10 trillion industry," the spokesperson wrote.

News of the agreement came about one day after Plug Power announced two new board members were joining the team.

The board appointed Jean Bua, previously the chief financial officer at NetScout Systems, and Kavita Mahtani, a former chief financial officer at HSBC, who will both join the audit committee. Plug Power's spokesperson said it was not a result of two people leaving the board.

Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh said the two bring decades of leadership in key areas, including global financial operations, compliance and strategy implementation.

Jean and Kavitas counsel and expertise will bring new energy to our board and strengthen Plugs commitment to enhancing our overall operations to better serve our employees, customers, and shareholders, he said in a news release.

The company recently fired its accountant, KPMG, after it made errors on financial filings that slightly underreported revenue causing its stock to drop and shareholders to sue. Plug Power corrected those mistakes and is still forging ahead with business.

Looking toward the future, Plug Power hopes to produce 70 tons of green hydrogen per day by the end of 2022. The company said it is on track to produce 500 tons per day in North America by 2025 and 1,000 tons per day globally by 2028.

The agreement with Walmart has been critical to its growth.

Walmart has been an early adopter of innovative hydrogen and fuel cell technology for over a decade, and our hydrogen-powered solutions offer a tool to enhance productivity improvements for Walmarts operations, Marsh said.

We are honored to expand our relationship with Walmart and realize our shared vision for a green hydrogen future.
Following Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, global outrage prompted American investors and businesses of all sizes to flood out of Russia. As companies continue to divest from the Russian market, some countries neighboring Russia have been eager to attract Western investors. Kazakhstan, a strategically significant Central Asian country, has lobbied extensively to attract foreign funds, but the behavior of its kleptocratic officials and government corruption have raised alarm bells for many investors.

Situated between China and Russia, Kazakhstan has been recognized since the Soviet era for its uniquely powerful position and wealth of natural resources. Not only does the country produce over 40% of the world's uranium, but its also Central Asias largest oil exporter. For years, these resources and their associated investments have served as Kazakhstans lifeline.

Despite its war chest of resources, greedy oligarchs known for siphoning off stolen assets have stopped Kazakhstan from fully integrating itself into the global market. However, in recent years, Kazakh leaders have worked overtime to rehabilitate the nations image on the world stage. Kazakh President Kassym Jomart-Tokayev has promised to root out systemic corruption and rapidly modernize the Central Asian country. In support of this effort, his administration established Kazakh Invest, an organization dedicated to promoting business opportunities to foreigners. Most recently, the Kazakh government has urged members of Congress to support a bill that would grant them permanent normalized trading relations (PNTR), a preferential trading status that would encourage American investment in Kazakhstan.

Related: 5 Things Investors Need to Know About the International Entrepreneur Program

Despite the Kazakh governments public campaign to attract foreign investors, some commentators and analysts are still skeptical that the countrys leaders are serious about instituting real reform. Manfred Stamer, a senior economist at trade credit insurer Euler Hermes, highlighted how security issues continue to present serious risks to foreign firms working in Kazakhstan. Following political unrest that sparked violent protests across the country, Stamer told The Wall Street Journal that such an event reminds investors of the risks of doing business there. You must expect that this isnt a one-off. Similarly, Ed Chow, a former Chevron executive, remarked, if you are a Western oil company, your risk profile may have just changed.

Other experts have raised serious concerns about the persistent government and judicial corruption thats proven difficult to uproot. The United States State Department warned that despite institutional and legal reforms, concerns remain about corruption, bureaucracy, and arbitrary law enforcement. IntegrityRisk, a financial consulting watchdog, cautioned that Kazakhstans compromised legal system and corrupt bureaucratic gatekeepers make doing business in Kazakhstan risky. And there are countless examples to give credence to these concerns.

In 2013, for instance, a Swedish arbitration panel ruled that the Kazakh government had illegally seized assets from Tristan Oil  a company backed in part by the American investment fund, Argentem Creek Partners. It awarded $500 million to Tristan Oils owners, but Kazakhstan has continued to fight tooth and nail, using all means possible, to keep the funds from being disbursed. In February 2022, an Italian Supreme court decision recognized the Award again, paving the way for further enforcement efforts. The fight will likely go on until Kazakhstan decides to recognize its obligations  with the new regime yet to comment on whether they intend to settle.

Also in 2013, World Wide Minerals Ltd (WWM), a Canadian company, alleged that Kazakhstan had unfairly confiscated and forcibly sold its local assets. After a tumultuous court battle, WWM was finally awarded $40 million in damages in 2020. Kazakhstan had resisted payment for seven years.

The American investor, Devincci Sarah Hourani, founder of the Caratube International Oil Company, experienced a similar ordeal in 2017. After a lengthy legal battle with Kazakh authorities, Hourani was awarded over $39 million for the unlawful expropriation of its oil contract rights by Kazakhstan. The Washington, D.C.-based International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) found that Houranis oil business had had its contract unlawfully terminated by the Kazakh Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and Consolidated Contractors (CCC).

If Kazakhstans government is serious about attracting long-term investments from the West, it will need to implement fundamental changes, and that starts with taking anti-corruption seriously and honoring agreements with foreign investors. Until then, U.S. investors should rethink the risk of doing business in Kazakhstan.

Related: Vietnam's Electronics Industry Appeals to Foreign Investors

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ALBANY  Gov. Kathy Hochul's campaign released its first TV ads Tuesday, focusing her message on tax cuts, investments in public schools and public safety, items typically associated with the more moderate flank of the Democratic Party and, to an extent, aligned with core tenants of the state's Republican Party.

The decision to release her first TV ads in the campaign cycle comes as some of her competitors have been pounding the airwaves, including U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-Long Island, a firm moderate who has flooded the New York City media market. New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a Working Families Party progressive, has been less aggressive in his media buys.

State Republican Party nominee U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-Long Island, has released his own share of TV commercials as well as Republican Harry Wilson, a relative newcomer to the race.

Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has also bought his own share of TV commercials as he continues his image-boosting campaign while he looks to clear his name of sexual harassment allegations. The state attorney general's office found Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, but Cuomo has seized on the fact multiple district attorneys concluded the alleged conduct did not support criminal charges.

Hochul's campaign said the round of multi-media ads is an eight-figure campaign expenditure.

"Gov. Hochul is running to keep making progress on the issues that matter to all of us," the campaign said in an email to supporters Tuesday.

The primary ad, a minute-long spot, highlights Hochul's efforts to "crack down on illegal guns," hire more teachers for public schools and cut taxes for middle-class families.

"Kathy Hochul, a governor who works as hard as you do," the campaign ad says.

The middle-class tax cut in the state budget has been a policy state Republicans have been pushing for years. Republican leadership have also geared their messaging toward cracking down on public safety. Schools, particularly choices for parents to send their children to publicly-funded charter schools, is also central to the party's campaign messaging.

The state's efforts to combat illegal guns picked up in last year's budget, when lawmakers agreed to call gun violence a public health crisis. By the summer, Cuomo declared a state of emergency around gun violence. And by the time Hochul was sworn in as governor in August, she expedited emergency money that was intended to get anti-gun violence funding out the door quicker. Hochul recently extended the state of emergency on gun violence.

Hochul fought for changes to the state's bail laws during budget negotiations over the last month. The changes to the bail laws, albeit relatively modest compared to the initial proposed changes, were not included in the TV ad.

Also not included in the ad was Hochul's initial pick for lieutenant governor, Brian Benjamin. The former Harlem state senator resigned last week after being indicted on federal bribery and corruption charges. Hochul directed Benjamin to spearhead her criminal justice efforts, particularly on illegal guns. She recently said Benjamin will be replaced in the role he held leading an interstate task force created to address the flow of illegal guns.
Cart & Cafe has been hiding in plain sight on Columbia Turnpike since June 2019. Sandwiched between a smoke shop and Sals Barber, just past the Stewarts before Columbia Tae Kwon Do in East Greenbush, is a squat brick building, its windows plastered from the inside with paper signs and taped receipts. Those who stopped to explore the spice racks early on discovered an unexpected bonus: a dine-in restaurant out back. Im partial to back-of-the-bodega operations like this, where you order from hand-corrected menus, sometimes unsure of ingredients or names, and tuck into plates as shoppers weave between aisles.

Even if you saw Indian Groceries in red capitals on the Cart & Cafe sign, you likely missed & Kitchen in pale green script beneath. When the lockdown forced the closure of the restaurant portion in 2020, owner Raghu Sriperambudri shifted to online orders and UberEats delivery. Clearly word has spread. I have Columbia County friends who regularly make the drive. Steady business brings good news: Cart & Cafe is moving to a larger space about a mile up the road  with a date projected for mid-May  and where the market will have 52 dine-in seats as well.

Sriperambudri chose his current location as a pilot to test interest on the Rensselaer side of the river. Without the restaurant tables, he expanded the grocery through the back, where youll find shipping pallets piled high with sacks of rice, lentil and chestnut flour. The glass coolers are filled with blocks of paneer cheese, Desi yogurt drinks and salted buffalo milk butter. Shelves are tightly packed with puffed semolina pani puri, chat papda and coconut in grated, shredded, sweetened, natural or powdered form.

Spices hold particular appeal in neat rows. In New York City, chefs rely on the legendary spice selection at Kalustyans; here, at least, you can buy spices in bulk: garam masala whole spice mix, and large bags of cumin seed, turmeric or black peppercorns for a few dollars. I pick up Soan cakes and flaky Soan Papdi with pistachios and almonds and then spy Dairy Milk chocolate, Bourbon biscuits and PG Tips tea  all beloved British staples in India or the U.K.

A woman pops out of the kitchen to gather fresh hot peppers for the mirchi bajji that come battered in chickpea flour with a lentil dal. I placed my order in person so I have 20 minutes to spend peering into cool cases and reading the price lists for mango and betel leaves laid flat on paper towels. There are open baskets of okra and snake gourds, trays of karela, guava, lauki squash, green mangoes, garlic and valor beans. Sriperambudri and his family came to New York from Hyderabad in southern India, and its his family in the kitchen cooking dishes from home like biryani, idly (steamed lentils and rice) and fried methu vada. In the south, its common to find Chinese dishes, which Sriperambudri calls Ch-Indian rather than Indo-Chinese, explaining the latter is a fine-dining term while Ch-Indian reflects street food. You can order curries and pair them with egg noodles, fried rice or a Shanghai chile paneer.

A half dozen UberEats drivers collect orders while I wait. Once home, Im impressed by the careful packaging, with containers plastic-wrapped against leakage and hand-labeled so bowls are easily claimed. Laid out in a kaleidoscopic spread we dive into tubs of basmati rice, creamy spinach palak paneer with more kick than usual upstate, meaty bones that clunk in a hot Gongura goat curry, its unique flavor from red sorrel leaves, and the vivid orange of butter chicken in silky tomato and butter sauce.

There are crisp hand-formed samosas (four to an order), the long mirchi bajji battered hot peppers with a milky cashew sauce, golden dosa in crepe-like folds, fluffy naan, sweet coconut and almond Kashmiri naan, and butter-crisped chapati bread to top with chutneys, sop through sauce and complete any carb-lovers dream. Hariyali chicken kebab is marinated in mint, cilantro, garlic and yogurt; the Andhra-style nellore fish pulusu is tangy and highly spiced. Overall sauces scale spicier than many restaurants around here, but its a heat easily cooled with cucumber raita and mango or cilantro-lime chutney.

In its current location, Cart & Cafe is worth a visit to explore the pantry shelves, but its not sized to handle volume walk-ins. Best to order online or through UberEats and prepare for its May relaunch when you can dine-in up the street.
TANNERSVILLE  The New York City agency that controls the city's reservoirs in the Catskills reversed course on a plan early Wednesday that could have tripled the cost of pumping septic tanks in the mountainous region.

The Department of Environmental Protection unilaterally decided in February to cut the amount of septic waste it accepted at its wastewater treatment facilities in the Catskills from 71,000 gallons a week to 26,000 gallons a week. The DEP had been accepting septic waste from Catskills residents and municipal septic districts since 2016 as part of the memorandum of understanding between the DEP and Catskills communities that allows NYC to purchase lands in the region to protect its Catskills reservoirs.

DEP Deputy Commissioner Paul V. Rush wrote Wednesday to the Catskill Watershed Corporation, which runs the septic waste program, saying the DEP  at least for the time being  would again accept the full amount of waste.

The DEP wants to work with Catskills communities to study septic disposal in the region, according to the letter, and to also explore how non-DEP wastewater treatment plants could accept more waste.

The letter comes after the DEP officials met with Jason Merwin, the watershed corporation's executive director, on Monday.

Assemblyman Chris Tague, whose district includes Greene County, embraced the decision, which he called "very important" for the county.

"I think they made the right decision," he said. "I'm glad two entities of government can work together to do something that will benefit the people."

However, Tague said the issue was not put to rest.

"I'm sure that it's going to come back around," he said. "I think this is an easy quick fix, and I think [the DEP and the CWC] are going to have to continue to meet and come up with what they're going to do in the future."

The day before the DEP reversed course, Merwin said the reduction was implemented in part so the DEP could compost septic waste after it was treated at wastewater treatment plants instead of putting it in landfills.

Merwin said he was in favor of the environmental goals of the project, but opposed to its sudden implementation. Residents would have to pay to get their septic waste hauled all the way to Albany County, potentially prompting fewer people to do so and impacting drinking-water quality.

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Greene County legislator Greg Davis said the city would have been "cutting their own throat" if the reduction had continued.

"If you have septic failures, it's not going to improve New York City's drinking water," he said.

DEP reservoirs in the Catskills provide most of New York City with drinking water, as well as 1 million people in the southern Hudson Valley.

Davis was part of a unanimous vote Monday by a committee of the Greene County Legislature opposing the reduction. The resolution stated it would jack residents' costs for pumping a septic system from a little more than $300 to $1,000.

The resolution also stated the DEP had reneged on its obligations and violated the memorandum of understanding.

The Catskills have a long history of opposition to New York City's actions in the region stretching back to when the city forcibly removed the residents of 11 Ulster County communities and burned their towns to make way for the construction of the Ashokan Reservoir in the 1910s.

Since the moratorium of understanding, the DEP had bought up nearly 200 square miles of the Catskills to protect its reservoirs. Catskills officials have chafed under the land-buying program, and are demanding NYC replace the direct ownership with leases held by the towns.
A fire in Dutchess County that scorched 38 acres of private land and required two days to be completely put out was caused by a brush fire that violated the states burn ban, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

There was a call over for a mutual aid response, said DEC forest ranger Cameron Sweeney. When I hear mutual aid, that usually means its going to be a good size fire.

When he arrived at Valley Farm Road in the Town of Washington on April 14, five to six fire departments were already on the scene, as well as 50 to 60 first responders. Between 20 and 25 acres were already burned at the property before a passerby, who saw a column of smoke, called 911.

Sweeney said the homeowner didnt report the blaze, most likely because the person didnt realize how significant it was.

The area was fairly hilly, said Sweeney. Where the person was burning brush, they were trying to take care of the areas in front of them without realizing it was spreading pretty rapidly over the hill.

Heavy rains rolled through, which helped head off the fire from growing any larger. The fire didnt cause any structural damage, but it did torch neighbors yards.

Ive seen garages and cars lost to neighbors burning brush in their property and it escapes, said Sweeney. It does happen, and it happens often.

Sweeney returned over the next two days to mop up hot spots. The fire was officially declared out on April 16, two days after it started. The 82-year-old homeowner was issued tickets for violating the states burn ban, which is in effect through May 14.

The states burn ban prohibits residential brush burning form March 16 to May 14 and has been enforced annually since 2009 to prevent wildfires during heightened conditions each spring. A $500 minimum fine is levied for the first offense.

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I think when most people think of wildfires, they think of the dead heat of the summer, said Sweeney. But this springtime, its much more common to have some good acres burned because there are no leaves on the tree yet, so the sun can beat down on last years leaves  mix that with wind, you can get significant fuel sources that will light up very quickly.

According to the DEC, open burning of debris is the single-largest cause of spring wildfires in New York State. In 2020, a brush fire consumed about 150 acres on Breakneck Ridge. The DEC stresses avoiding wildfires to protect wildlife and to assure that first responders can be available for other emergencies rather than brush fires.

The incident occurred during a week in which two other wildland fires, both in Ulster, also transpired on April 15. In the Town of Olive, a fire caused by downed powerlines burned four acres of land and was declared out until the next day. In the Town of Wawarsing, a fire spread across 12 acres and also required a full day to be completely put out.
Its often said that hip-hop is a young mans (or womans) game. Tell that to Frank Thompson.

The 45-year-old Guilderland residents music career is thriving. After spending most of the last decade releasing music on his own independent label, both he and the label have been signed to a deal by major label Universal Music. He just dropped a project as an NFT, issued a single with legendary rapper Jadakiss and has a track with Fat Joe on the way. And this is to say nothing of his thriving Troy-based luxury clothing boutique, Trap Sole Kitchen, which recently helped him become a brand ambassador for FUBU.

All things considered, the artist who records under the moniker P. Gutter is having a moment.

I want to be the blueprint of somebody whos figured it out, he said. I try to do something notable every year. Im always adding to my abilities; Im never taking away.

Ive had to figure out a way to be more than an artist, otherwise its just a set-up, Thompson added. Its not just about having a studio and making music for your friends. You have to circumvent a lot of the expectations to truly put yourself in position to succeed and help out others.

The Universal deal isnt Thompsons first connection with a major label. As an upstart Albany MC, his self-released debut CD drew the attention of, and subsequent deal, with Slip-n-Slide Records, then-home of hip-hop stars Rick Ross, Trick Daddy and Trina. A couple years after that, he was signed by Island Def Jam and had a three-year stint on the imprint.

Thompson is proud of these successes, but it wasnt until he left Def Jam in 2013 and went independent that he felt that his career really began to take off.

The first step in this upward trajectory was starting his first business, the online-based Home Baked Clothing Company, in 2014. Within a year, the line was being picked up by retailers and Thompson had more secure income. This economic freedom allowed him the ability to create music for its own sake and not for the purpose of attracting major label support.

The goal in the studio was to get the attention I wanted from consumers, radio and labels, I wanted them to like the music I was creating, Thompson noted. Creating streams of income that had nothing to do with music gave me the freedom to create music that had more meaning to me about my real-life experiences, lessons I learned and wanted to pass on to others, the music I really wanted to make.

I had my own sound and had to find my own voice and a message that was consistent; thats the growth that took a long time, he continued.

For the next five years, Thompson developed his industry connections and released music, both his own and that of other developing talent, on his own imprint. Just before the start of the pandemic, his label was picked up by a larger independent one, Real Life Music based in Wichita, Kansas. At the start of this year, Real Life, its artists and various sub-labels were picked up by Universal Music.

The Universal deal has come at a moment when Thompsons reputation started to earn him plaudits from the gritty, New York City MCs that inspired him. Last year, he reached out to Jadakiss, one of his idols, to collaborate.

Oftentimes, it takes financial remuneration for an independent artist to land a high-profile feature on the level of Jadakiss. But to Thompsons delight, Jadakiss opted to work with him simply because he enjoyed his work as P. Gutter. In February, their track Money Talks was officially released and the impact of it has been immediate, leading Thompson to other high-profile features.

Its always been on my bucket list, Please let me work with Jadakiss, Thompson said. Because I was solidifying my relationship with (longtime Jadakiss producer) Vinny Idol, I became part of that (musical) bloodline. Because of that musical relationship and the fact its more about legacy than clout for him, Jada accepted me. I was shocked and flattered.

Before Money Talks came out, I just put up a snippet on Instagram and Fat Joe contacted me, he recalled. He reached out and was like, That Jadakiss track is crazy. I like your sound and understand why he worked with you. He congratulated me on the song and suggested working together.

The Fat Joe track will appear on P. Gutters LP thats scheduled for release later this year. Between the stacked roster of contributors on the record and the benefits of being signed to Universal, Thompson is feeling good about the future of his musical pursuits. But hes also looking forward to the opportunity the Universal deal offers for his ability to continue using his own label to develop new talent.

As an independent label picked up by a major, the path becomes that much easier; youre still really doing the same things you were doing on your own but theres more funding and bigger platforms, he explained. The Universal deal isnt just about releasing my music; it becomes part of their system and infrastructure that can be used in movies and other projects (of theirs).

Im also truly in a position to help out a ton of artists, Thompson continued. If people sign to my label, theyre signed to Universal. I can help offer a realistic goal of being successful to someone who takes the time and does what they can to improve. If you can show that youre a person of integrity and can be trusted, you can get the right relationships with the right people. It takes a while, but I can help make the path easier.
BOISE, Idaho (AP)  Two Idaho men have been sentenced to jail time and banned from hunting for years after pleading guilty to poaching a grizzly bear near Yellowstone National Park.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game said in a press release that Rex Baum, 79, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in connection with the female grizzly's death last year. He was ordered to serve 3 days in jail and was banned from hunting for a decade. Baum's son, Jared Baum of Ashton, was sentenced to 30 days in jail and banned from hunting for life after pleading guilty to a felony in connection with the incident.
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HONOLULU (AP)  Ezra Miller was arrested on suspicion of assault early Tuesday, the second time the actor known for playing the Flash in Justice League films has been arrested in Hawaii in recent weeks.

Miller became irate after being asked to leave a get-together at a Big Island home and threw a chair, hitting a woman in the forehead, according to a news release from the Hawaii Police Department.

The woman refused treatment for a half-inch (1.3-centimeter) cut on her forehead, police said.

Miller, described by police as a 29-year-old visitor from Vermont, was arrested during a traffic stop and released pending further investigation.

About twelve hours after Miller's arrest, the actor appeared via Zoom for a court hearing for an arrest last month at a Big Island karaoke bar.

Miller pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct and was ordered to pay a $500 fine and stay away from Margarita Village in Hilo.

Miller was also charged with harassment after police said the actor grabbed a mic from a singing woman and lunged at a man playing darts.

Miller was aggravated by a rendition of the Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper ballad Shallow, Hawaii Police Assistant Chief Kenneth Quiocho said.

As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped the harassment charge, along with an unrelated traffic charge.

Miller received a traffic citation after police were called to a dispute in downtown Hilo last month where Miller was uncooperative, refused to leave the area and obstructed a sidewalk, Quiocho said.

Millers Hawaii attorney didnt immediately return a message seeking comment on the latest arrest. Another lawyer and a Miller representative also didnt immediately respond to messages requesting comment.

There was no mention of the latest arrest during the court hearing.

Big Island attorney Francis Alcain had requested Tuesdays court hearing, previously scheduled for next week, be moved up. Alcain said in a court filing his client has various time sensitive work obligations in California and/or New York, and needs an earlier hearing to resolve this matter.

The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote.

The day after Miller was released on $500 bail for the karaoke bar arrest, a Big Island couple filed a petition for a temporary restraining order, claiming the actor burst into their bedroom and threatened them. A judge dismissed the case last week after an attorney for the couple requested it.

William Dean, an attorney for the couple, declined to say why his clients no longer wanted to pursue a restraining order against Miller.

Judge M. Kanani Laubach applied Miller's bail to the $500 fine, leaving a $30 fee to pay.

Miller also has a key role in the third installment of the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

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This story has been corrected to show that the injured woman refused treatment for a cut.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency has started its third five-year review of PCB cleanup in the Hudson River, a move that may reignite the dispute between New York state and federal officials as well as General Electric Co. over the health of the river and what should be done about it.

New York officials have in the past maintained that more dredging may be needed to fully eliminate potentially toxic PCBs, especially in the upper Hudson above Troy. But GE has disagreed and the EPA said more information is needed.

During their second five-year review, completed in 2019, the EPA concluded that more data from fish tissue needed to be gathered before deciding if the cleanup has been adequate.

Because the Hudson River is a Superfund site, reviews are mandated every five years to ensure environmental cleanups are working as intended and have protected human health and the environment.

As we continue our work to monitor and assess the upper Hudson, move forward with the Hudson River floodplain investigation and evaluate how best to assess the lower Hudson, EPA is committed to continuing to fully engage our state and federal partners, EPA Regional Administrator Lisa Garcia said in a prepared statement.

The latest study will also look at PCB removal in floodplain areas along the upper Hudson as well as fish tissue.

Back when it was allowed, GE between the 1940s and 1970s discharged PCBs into the Hudson from its two former capacitor plants in Fort Edward and Hudson Falls.

But as worries about toxicity increased, the dumping ceased and the EPA in 2002 ordered the company to dredge approximately 2.65 million cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment from a 40-mile stretch of the river between Fort Edward and Troy.

The dredging took place between 2009 and 2015.

Lowering PCB levels in fish tissue was the key objective of the dredging.

Advocates at the Riverkeeper environmental group, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and other groups back in 2016 argued that more cleanup was required in the upper Hudson.

The job is not done, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said at the time. We definitely wanted more dredging, said Chris Bellovary, a staff attorney with the Riverkeeper group.

That dispute led to a 2019 lawsuit in which DEC opposed the EPAs conclusion that GEs dredging work was completed.

The state lost that lawsuit but the court concluded more dredging might be needed if new information becomes available.

Thats one of the reasons why the five-year studies are important.

Currently the DEC is doing its own research and agency officials said they will comment when the latest five-year study is completed, probably next year.

"DEC will continue to engage EPA and the community through the Community Advisory Group and, upon release of the five-year report later this year, DEC will provide comments following our thorough review," the agency said in a prepared statement.

GE still maintains their dredging in the upper Hudson is essentially completed.

The comprehensive dredging project GE completed in the upper Hudson in 2016 removed the vast majority of PCBs. Since then, as part of our continuing cooperation with EPA, GE has collected voluminous data on water, sediment and fish to help the regulatory agencies assess the results of the cleanup. We are proud of our contribution to a cleaner Hudson and will continue to work with EPA, New York state and local communities on other Hudson-related projects, including the study of environmental conditions in the floodplains and the cleanup of our plant sites, the company said in a prepared statement.

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One issue is the speed with which the upper Hudson has recovered after the dredging. Bellovary said the dredging has improved the rivers health but not as fast as the EPA had predicted.

Pete Lopez, a former EPA administrator who is now executive director of policy advocacy and science at Scenic Hudson, agrees. His group is calling for a restoration dredge of the upper Hudson.

The whole purpose is to reduce damage to wildlife and to speed up the recovery, said Lopez.

Lopez and Bellovary both noted that the state Department of Health still has an advisory against consuming too much fish from the Hudson.

Environmentalists will also be interested in another aspect of this third five-year study since it will look at the lower Hudson River, or the tidal portion between Troy and New York City, as well as the upper Hudson.

What were really pushing for at this point is an investigation of the lower river, said Bellovary.

Scientists will examine water and sediment samples as well as fish tissue from three species he said: black bass, yellow perch and channel catfish.

And while the EPA anticipates the third five-year review report will be completed by spring 2023, it will likely take longer to develop statistically valid conclusions about overall PCB levels in the fish, said Bellovary and the DEC.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU
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FAIRFAX, Va. (AP)  Actor Johnny Depp scoffed at the notion during court testimony Wednesday that his constant quarrels with ex-wife Amber Heard would ever prompt him to hit her, and insisted on cross-examination that her allegations devastated his career.

Violence isn't necessary, Depp said from the stand during his libel lawsuit against Heard, his second day of testimony. Why would you hit someone to make them agree with you?

Heard has accused Depp of physically and sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions before and during their brief marriage. The former Pirates of the Caribbean star sued after Heard, who is also an actor, made an indirect reference to those accusations in an op-ed piece she wrote for The Washington Post.

Depp addressed Heard's accusations in detail Wednesday. Heard has said the first time she was assaulted was when Depp slapped her in 2013 after she made fun of a tattoo he had  one that used to say Winona Forever when he was dating the actress Winona Ryder that he altered to Wino Forever after they broke up.

It didn't happen, he said of the alleged assault. Why would I take such great offense to someone making fun of a tattoo on my body? That allegation never made any sense to me.

Later, he addressed an alleged assault on a private plane flight in 2014 from Boston to Los Angeles. Heard has said Depp became blackout intoxicated and assaulted her on the plane ride.

Depp testified he took two oxycodone pills  an opiate to which he admits he was addicted at the time  and locked himself in the plane bathroom and fell asleep to avoid her badgering.

Depp testified he drank only a glass of Champagne as he boarded the plane. But according to evidence introduced at a similar trial in England where Depp sued a British tabloid  a lawsuit he lost  Depp texted his friend, actor Paul Bettany, and referenced drinking half a bottle of whiskey, a thousand Red Bull vodkas and two bottles of Champagne before the flight.

Depp also discussed a violent argument in 2015  shortly after they were married  in Australia that resulted in the tip of his middle finger being cut off. He said Heard was irate that Depp's lawyers had asked her to sign a post-nuptial agreement.

He said she threw two vodka bottles at him, the second of which exploded where he had placed his hand on a basement bar, severing the finger to the point where bone was exposed.

I dont know what a nervous breakdown feels like, but thats probably the closest Ive ever been, he said.

Depp said he began to write on the walls in his own blood to recount lies in which he had caught Heard.

Depp told hospital doctors he had injured himself, and contemporaneous text messages introduced as evidence refer to Depp injuring himself. Depp testified he lied about the cause of the injury to protect her. Heard's lawyers have said the laws of physics don't support Depp's story and they will introduce evidence to prove that.

Depp also gave a graphic description of a final fight as the couple drifted toward divorce, accusing Heard and her friends of pretending that he was assaulting her. Soon after, Heard sought a restraining order and was photographed with marks on her face.

He testified that Heard was on the phone with a friend shouting, Stop hitting me Johnny! even though he was standing nowhere near her.

The fight had started as Depp said hed realized it was time for the couple to split. The argument intensified, he said, as Depp accused her of leaving human fecal matter on his side of the bed in the penthouse theyd shared. He said Heard kept denying it, blaming it on their small dogs, but he was convinced she was lying.

Depp met Heard on the 2011 film The Rum Diary. The two married in 2015 and she filed for divorce a year later.

Depp said things began to change in his marriage when he felt that he was suddenly just wrong about everything in Heards eyes.

The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote.

Violence would often ensue, sometimes with a slap or a shove from Heard or his wife throwing a television remote control or a glass of wine in his face, Depp said.

There were times when I would just go and lock myself in the bathroom or a place where she couldnt get to, Depp said.

Depp said he used drugs and drank alcohol as a way to cope with Heards abuse and said she was also a heavy drinker. Depp said he at one point stopped drinking to try to save the relationship, but Heard refused to abstain.

Depp sued Heard after she wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post in which she referred to herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse.

She never mentioned Depp by name, but Depp's lawyers said it was a clear reference to accusations Heard made in 2016 when she sought a restraining order against him.

Depp said the accusations and the article contributed to an unfairly ruined reputation that made him a Hollywood pariah and cost him his role in the lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise.

He said he was pulled from the franchise just days after the Post piece ran. On cross-examination, Heard's lawyer pointed to evidence that Disney made that decision months before the article's publication.

Heard's lawyers say the article is accurate and doesn't defame him. They say Depp's ruined reputation is due to his own bad behavior.

Depp was cross-examined only briefly at the end of the day Wednesday. Cross-examination will continue Thursday.

___

Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia.
VENICE, La. (AP)  A Louisiana hunting guide has pleaded guilty to harassing duck hunters and shooting their decoys.

The 32-year-old local guide from Buras was trying to make the other duck hunters leave public land in Venice so he could hunt there, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement spokesman Adam Einck said in an email on Tuesday.

It is public land, so it is first come first serve and the duck hunters he harassed were already set up in that area, Einck wrote.

A judge sentenced the man on April 12 to pay a $1,075 fine, a $200 civil penalty to the department, and restitution for the decoys, the department said in a news release on Tuesday.

He was arrested on Dec. 26, 2021, and pleaded guilty April 12 to illegal discharge of a firearm, criminal damage to property, and harassment of persons lawfully hunting, the statement said.

The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote.

Agents arrested him after getting a complaint from duck hunters in Venice on Dec. 26. They also were given a video of the man driving his boat at high speed into a decoy spread, verbally harassing the hunters and pulling a loaded pistol and shooting the decoys.

In addition to the fines and restitution, the man was ordered to take anger management classes and placed on one-year active probation and one-year inactive probation. He also was barred for one year from acting as a hunting guide on land owned or administered by the Plaquemines Parish government.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Rapper A$AP Rocky was taken into custody Wednesday morning at Los Angeles International Airport in connection with a shooting in Hollywood last year, authorities said.

The performer, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was detained on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement Wednesday.

Mayers, 33, was wanted in connected with a Nov. 6, 2021 shooting after an argument escalated, authorities said. Mayers is accused of firing a handgun at an acquaintance, who sustained a minor injury and later sought medical treatment, police said.

Mayers and two other men ran after the gunfire, police said.

Mayers' RCA Records publicist and attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

TMZ and NBC News first reported the arrest and details of the 2021 shooting.

Mayers had been photographed days earlier in Barbados with Rihanna. The high-profile celebrity couple announced in January that they were expecting their first child together. They haven't revealed the due date.

The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote.

Mayers released his last studio album four years ago and like Rihanna has become as known for fashion trendsetting as he is for music. He was the focus of international attention in 2019 after being detained for nearly a month in Sweden following a street brawl. He was found guilty of assault and given a conditional sentence that meant no additional time in jail.

__

Associated Press Writer Ryan Pearson in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
ALBANY  A nurse practitioner alleges a Queensbury doctor made unwanted sexual advances toward her under the guise of showing her a medical technique in a Dutchess County hotel room, then tried to buy her silence.

In a federal lawsuit, the woman contends she was fired from her job at Total Care & Rehabilitation Medicine in Queensbury as retaliation. Her lawsuit said the doctor, Ehab Kodsi, the medical director of the facility, offered her a pay raise and an Apple Watch in exchange for dropping the complaint, according to court papers filed by her Albany attorney, Michael Conway.

The 35-year-old plaintiff, a married mother from Albany County, said she trusted Kodsi, a 56-year-old Colonie resident who has been licensed to practice medicine since 2006. Through his attorney, Kodsi denied the allegations.

The woman alleged Kodsi first manipulated her into staying in the same hotel room, then used his display of the medical technique "as a pretext to sexually assault me," according to a news release issued by the firm of Conway, Donovan & Manley in Albany.

"I was in shock and sickened," she said in the release.

The lawsuit accuses the doctor and the practice of unlawful discrimination, hostile work environment, sexual assault, sexual harassment, retaliation, battery and constructive discharge based upon the plaintiffs sex and gender in violation of federal civil rights law.

The woman, who began working for Kodsi in early 2021, said the incident took place in late October 2021 when they attended a seminar held by the New York State Pain Society at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. The lawsuit said that before they left for the trip, Kodsi made the woman uncomfortable by rubbing her shoulders to discuss medical techniques.

The lawsuit said Kodsi insisted the woman and he share a single hotel room even after she offered to pay for her own room. Kodsi allegedly made several inappropriate remarks during the walk to the seminar.

After they returned to the hotel, according to the lawsuit, Kodsi told the woman he was suffering since grade school with a sore muscle issue. He placed his back to the woman and insinuated she should apply pressure to it. Then Kodsi told the woman he noticed she had been experiencing shoulder tightness the day before. He offered to help her with it.

"In the course of demonstrating this 'medical' technique, Dr. Kodsi began grabbing and rubbing (the woman's) shoulders with his hands and then began to massage his way down her back," the lawsuit said.

The woman told Kodsi she did not need the help because she was not experiencing pain. Kodsi, however, said he still wanted to show her how he could relieve pain in large muscle groups by using his elbow, the lawsuit stated.

"At that time, Dr. Kodsi, without consent, lifted the waist of (the woman's) pants and began to pull them down," it stated.

Terrified, the woman told Kodsi she was not in pain. He nevertheless moved on to massage the top of the woman's buttocks, her hamstrings and calf muscles, then asked her to roll over to check her shoulders. The woman "felt she had no choice based upon Dr. Kodsi's position as her supervisor and employer, and his continued insistence that he was demonstrating a legitimate 'medical' technique," the lawsuit said.

While checking the woman's shoulders, the doctor lifted up her shirt. He then moved a hand up her abdomen, lifted her bra and slid his hand onto her left breast, the lawsuit alleged.

The woman "grabbed his hand, pulled it out from under her shirt and asked what he was doing," the lawsuit said. "Dr. Kodsi then became very defensive, stammered for a response and said this should be standard practice with every patient, again continuing the ploy that he was demonstrating a medical technique."

The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote.

The woman locked herself in the hotel bathroom and called her husband, who made arrangements to pick her up. Kodsi  who on the ride to the seminar had rejected the woman's request for time off and benefits  changed his tune, the lawsuit said.

He offered to buy her an Apple Watch, grant her time off, benefits and a raise, the lawsuit said. The next day, she filled out a statement with Hyde Park police and did not go to work the next week.

Kodsi, the lawsuit said, left three messages on the woman's cellphone and text-messaged her nine times, offering to increase her pay, benefits and time off  an offer that in context of the alleged behavior is tantamount to "an admission of wrongdoing," the complaint stated.

The woman filed a complaint with the state Office of Professional Medical Conduct, as well as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Kodsi on Wednesday referred questions to his attorney, Kevin Luibrand.

Dr. Kodsi refused last November to pay almost a half million dollars to avoid threats to ruin his reputation, which is exactly what the lawyers press release today attempts to do," Luibrand said in an email. "It will have the opposite effect because Dr. Kodsi denied the allegations last fall and now, and he will fight this lawsuit with all he has.

In July 2009, an audit from the office of state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that Total Care & Rehabilitation Medicine had overcharged the state $248,202 for 4,633 claims. It was part of what DiNapoli's office described as an effort to examine whether medical providers were complying with reimbursement requirements under the New York State Health Insurance Program.

At the time, Kodsi told the Times Union he had just bought the business that March from a Saratoga Springs chiropractor. Kodsi said he had worked at the business since 2007, but the reporter's call was the first he had heard of an audit or overcharging issues.
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ALBANY - The leader of an educators union wants everyone to mask up on SUNY campuses until the end of the semester.

Fred Kowal, president of United University Professions, proposed the idea to Interim Chancellor Deborah Stanley Tuesday.

Out of an abundance of caution, I would favor SUNY requiring mask-wearing in enclosed settings until the end of the semester, he said. On students, I think the concern I would have is I would hate to have students over the next few weeks contract COVID and then return home ... and exacerbate the situation.

He noted that infection rates are rising sharply throughout the state. New York is the sole state in the U.S. with multiple counties at high risk of COVID-19. While certain parts of the state are at higher risk than others, Kowal said a blanket policy would help.

This will slow the spread, he said.

He added that its not a huge request. My hope would be, have a few weeks of mask-wearing, he said.

He argued thats the best way to handle an endemic virus.

There is a sense of people wanting to be done with COVID, which is a very human response, he said. In my mind, being done with COVID means we have to treat it like an endemic virus, and that means every now and then going back to mask-wearing. And then when things get better, we dont have to wear them.

The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote.

Many private colleges throughout the country have announced a return to mask mandates in the last few days. They include the University of Rochester, Cornell University in Ithaca and Columbia University in New York City. In each case, officials said they want to get through the end of the semester and need to be worn indoors, particularly in classrooms and lab settings. Columbia specified that masks cant be made of cloth.

But SUNY administrators for each university are allowed to decide whether masks should be required on their campus.

At UAlbany, masks were dropped on March 28, one week after spring break, due to updated Centers for Disease Control guidance and a significant decline in COVID-19 cases within the UAlbany community, said Kevin C. Wilcox, the campus COVID-19 safety officer, in a campuswide announcement.

SUNY New Paltz dropped its mask requirement on March 14 after President Donald Christian predicted the rule would remain in place until the end of March. In his explanation of the change to the faculty, staff and students, he wrote, The new guidance from SUNY gives campuses flexibility to evaluate pandemic conditions and make a decision on masking to suit the needs of their communities. They are directed to consult with local health departments and assess transmission rates on campus and in the surrounding community before making any changes to existing mask policies.
Since the establishment of Earth Day in 1970, April has been a time to celebrate the environment. Pandemic life has further focused community interest in natural resources and outdoor recreation. Yet the tiny village of Castleton-on-Hudson is embroiled in a decades-long struggle to safely open its Riverfront Park for activities such as nature study, fishing, birdwatching, kayaking, and peaceful enjoyment of river views.

Castleton is a small, walkable community perched on the east bank of the Hudson River just seven miles south of Albany, part of the town of Schodack in Rensselaer County. It has an old-time intimate flavor, quality schools, solid public services, a charming library.

Unfortunately for Castleton, the active Amtrak Rensselaer/New York City corridor bifurcates its Main Street from the riverfront. Commuter trains barrel 18 times a day at speeds exceeding 100 MPH, sounding multiple high-decibel horn blasts to ward off possible accidents at the two local commercial crossings.

Castleton acquired the three-quarter-acre plot meant to become Riverfront Park through a 1994 Municipal Agreement with the state Department of Transportation. It also acquired the promise from DOT to provide safe pedestrian access across the tracks. Since then, various options for safe crossing have been floated. A pedestrian tunnel under the track is not considered structurally viable. In 2009, DOT proposed a 30-foot pedestrian bridge over the tracks. The village declined, concerned about the budgetary impact of maintenance costs.

The DOT bridge offer was reintroduced, with the same design, in 2021. A coalition of village residents, concerned about the utility and aesthetics of an overbearing bridge structure for the small park, are pressing for consideration of newer technologies for safe grade-level pedestrian crossing. In Illinois and San Clemente, California, Amtrak and state transportation agencies have installed at-grade crossings with automatic magnetic gates. These newer technologies are considered safe, inexpensive, and harmonious with local landscape. However, DOT has steadfastly refused to discuss such options with village officials.

As Earth Day 2022 approaches, the old DOT promise has yet to be fulfilled. The large and pricey bridge is the only option on the table, DOT insists. Village residents are divided  some say take the bridge, just to get it done so we can build the park and enjoy the river. Others want to continue to advocate for the more pleasing, newer designs for safe at-grade crossings. Frustrated village officials continue to seek consensus within the community and with the state.

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But to this longtime resident, its beginning to feel like a familiar stalemate, rooted in a lack of vision and open dialogue. Riverfront Park continues to sit, overgrown and inaccessible. The challenge of safe access across the railroad tracks exists in small communities up and down the Hudson River. Why not look into solutions that are affordable and working well in other parts of the country? New York state should be doing better.

Susan Megna lives in Castleton-on-Hudson.
Xenophobia is the fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners or anything foreign or strange, according to the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology 1966. We hear on the news that some in the Republican Party are xenophobic. Their behavior exhibits xenophobia including fear of the immigrant. As we know, our country is becoming more diverse every year. In the not too distant future, people of color will outnumber white people.

Looking at xenophobia, I wonder if some Americans feel fear of the Republican Party. I do. The xenophobic behavior of former President Donald Trump, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Sen. Lindsay Graham of S.C., Ginny Thomas, Fox News host Tucker Carlson and more are aggressively trying to take down our Democracy.
NEW SCOTLAND  The suspect in the slaying of 35-year-old Philip L. Rabadi of New Scotland is scheduled to be returned to Albany County and arraigned in New Scotland Town Court on Thursday afternoon.

Jacob L. Klein, 40, a physician assistant who grew up in Cobleskill and has recently had a residence just south of Roanoke, Va., is accused of killing Rabadi in his Miller Road residence on the morning of April 13. Klein had allegedly stalked and monitored Rabadi and his wife, 29-year-old Elana Z. Radin, who is also a physician assistant, for two days prior to the homicide.

Police said Klein had a prior relationship with Radin but it ended several years ago. They said Radin was not aware that Klein was in Albany County last week or that he had allegedly been stalking the couple.

Klein was arrested Friday evening by police and federal agents as he drove across the Virginia border from Tennessee. He has been held at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority in Abingdon, Va., since his arrest. He was arraigned in a local court there this week and waived extradition to New York.

Klein emerged as a person of interest in the slaying of Rabadi, who was a physician assistant at St. Peter's Hospital, in the wake of the homicide. The victim was found bound and stabbed multiple times in his residence several miles south of Albany.

Klein spent much of his childhood in Cobleskill. A former schoolmate of Klein's at The Albany Academy, who asked not to be identified, said that growing up Klein was known as "Larry" or "Lawrence," which is his middle name. The former schoolmate said Klein had commuted from Schoharie County to the private school in Albany for seven years and had graduated in 1999.

Rabadi, who was a surgical physician assistant and began working at St. Peter's Hospital in 2019, is from Albany and attended Guilderland High School, where he was a top athlete and well-liked student, according to some of his former classmates. He graduated from the University at Albany and Albany Medical College, where he had been an honors student.

Klein had rented a vehicle at an Enterprise car-rental business on Central Avenue and apparently used that vehicle to surveil the couple's residence and also to visit St. Peter's Hospital, where both Rabadi and his wife worked, according to Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple.

The sheriff said Klein drove to Albany three days before the murder. After covertly stalking Rabadi's wife, he waited until she left for work at St. Peter's Hospital early Wednesday morning and went to the couple's residence, Apple said. Ring and Nest cameras of neighbors captured footage of part of the confrontation when Rabadi opened the front door at about 7:30 a.m., he said.

Radin had left the residence to go to work at St. Peter's around 6 a.m. that morning.

A source briefed on the investigation said that as Klein confronted Rabadi, the resident appeared to react as if a weapon was brandished before he retreated into the house with Klein behind him. Police recovered a handgun from the glove box in Klein's vehicle when he was arrested just after 6 p.m. on Friday.

Rabadi did not show up for his shift at the hospital around noon that day and when he could not be reached, his wife called 911, Apple said.

She and Rabadi's father arrived at the house about the same time as a sheriff's deputy, and they were "right behind" the deputy when she found Rabadi's body in the garage, he said.

Rabadi was bound and deceased at the time they discovered his body, with injuries that included multiple stab wounds to his upper body and head injuries.

Klein allegedly drove away from the residence and returned the rental vehicle that morning just before 10 a.m. at the Enterprise business at 900 Central Ave. On Thursday, license-plate readers in Virginia showed him traveling in that state in his vehicle. He returned to his residence and federal agents kept watch on him overnight Thursday, according to a person briefed on the investigation.

On Friday, investigators continued undercover surveillance of Klein, largely based on tracking his mobile phone, and initially thought he was fleeing as he drove into Tennessee. But later that day, Klein, who had stopped in Memphis, began driving back toward his residence in Virginia.

Radin has ties to the Syracuse area and she attended the SUNY College of Medicine in Brooklyn, graduating in 2016  a year after Klein had graduated from the same school. They had a personal relationship for several years, but it's unclear whether they met while attending medical school or became acquainted during their medical careers.

Klein is a military veteran with no prior criminal record. He previously worked as a physician assistant in California and upstate New York, including at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson. He has ties to the Cobleskill area and central New York, and also previously lived in Southern California, according to public records.

The Times Union first reported Friday that police sources said video evidence, witness accounts and other evidence placed Klein in the Albany area, including at the New Scotland residence, on the morning Rabadi was killed.
ALBANY  U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi on Tuesday called on Gov. Kathy Hochul to delay appointing a new lieutenant governor in the wake of former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin's recent resignation following his indictment on federal bribery and campaign finance charges.

Suozzi, D-Long Island, who is among the Democratic gubernatorial challengers gearing up for a crowded June primary, contends Hochul should appoint the lieutenant governor candidate who emerges victorious from the Democratic primary  or wait until the final outcome in the November election.

"Kathy Hochul has disqualified herself from appointing a new lieutenant governor," Suozzi said. "She picked the lieutenant governor who she knew, and who everybody knew, had ethical problems; and she continued to defend him until he was arrested right under her nose."

Suozzi contends Hochul has "created a culture of corruption with secretive meetings, pay-to-play, abuse of state aircraft and insider deals that resulted in the billion-dollar tax giveaway for the Buffalo Bills. Now, she and her henchmen are trying to pressure the ... former lieutenant governor to move out of New York state so she can rig the system and put in another unvetted insider."

The aggressive statements from Suozzi come as state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs this week said they are exploring ways in which Benjamin's name could be supplanted from the primary ballot. One of the ways that could be done is if Benjamin moves to another state.

If Benjamin moves out of New York, ending his ability to be the state party's nominee, the party would then have to turn to its committee on vacancies to select a replacement for the Democratic ticket.

Hochul's office and her campaign referred to the governor's statements at a news conference Tuesday when she said she is "looking at all the options" when asked if she would nudge Benjamin to move out of New York.

"I am well aware of all of the authorities given to the governor of the state of New York and one of them is selecting the lieutenant governor and I intend to do that," Hochul said.

Earlier this week, the Buffalo News reported that the House Ethics Committee has extended its investigation of allegations that Suozzi may have failed to disclose stock transactions in violation of congressional rules. The rules, in part, are intended to prevent members of Congress from engaging in insider trading as a result of information they receive in their official roles.

"That's the same thing that it's been since September; it's just working its way through the process," Suozzi said of the investigation. "Every year, I filed an annual financial disclosure of every single one of the stock transactions that my broker does. My broker has complete control; I have no discretion whatsoever over any stock transactions."

Suozzi said that for five years he had filed annual financial disclosure forms that detailed all of his stock transactions.

"After five years they said, 'Oh, in addition to doing the annual disclosure you're supposed to do a periodic disclosure within 45 days of every stock transaction," he said. "We said that we didn't think we were required to do that because of the fact that every transaction is controlled by independent brokers. ... We immediately corrected that and have filed all the forms."

Two Democratic lieutenant governor candidates running are Ana Maria Archila, the running mate of gubernatorial candidate Jumaane Williams, who is New York City Public Advocate, and New York City Councilwoman Diana Reyna, who is Suozzi's running mate.

Reyna characterized the party's efforts to remove Benjamin's name from the ballot as "outrageous ... Albany deal making at its worst."

"This election year is a choice between the same old Albany corruption, or new leadership," she added in a statement. "Let the people decide who the next (lieutenant governor) will be, just like they will get to decide who their next governor is."
Drug stores in Kansas City confrontsa street level threat that seems to be getting worse amid the current recession and rising local desperation.



Here's something else to worry about whilst you're getting hemorrhoid cream . . .



Police learned the men targeted not just one, but a total of four stores in what police have described as a coordinated effort. Now the question is if federal authorities will get involved.



In the video above, the men walk in, one of them stays at the front of the store as a lookout and the other three head straight to the pharmacy.



"Somehow they were able to get in the locked door immediately, went to where the promethazine and codeine were stored, filled up backpacks and their arms and quickly left," Grandview Police Capt. Ryan Sharp said.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
The novelty of today's stoner celebration has mostly warn out because even mainstream media is no longer afraid to mention that this battle in the "war on drugs" has been lost.

REALITY CHECK . . . MARIJUANA IS NOW MORE WIDELY AVAILABLE THAN BUBBLE GUM AND AMERICANS ARE JUST BIDING THEIR TIME UNTIL ITS LEGAL!!!

Still . . .

WEED LAW ARE CONFUSING AROUND THE KANSAS CITY METRO WITH STRICT PENALTIES IN SOME PARTS OF TOWN AND A MORE LAISSEZ-FAIRE ATTITUDE FROM PROGRESSIVE POLITICOS IN KC PROPER!!!

Remember a move in 2018 that came in handy for many during pandemic lockdown: Jackson County will no longer prosecute marijuana cases



Again, this legislative push still comes with risks.

Even the Mayor's advocacy is conditional yet enthusiastic . . .



Like it or not Mayor Q has garnered more progress on weed laws than any other politico in KCMO history . . . However, he encourages locals to celebrate responsibly today . . . And assures us that he doesn't partake in today's holiday.



Meanwhile the party continues . . .

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Americans celebrate unofficial 4/20 cannabis holiday with events, discounts, social media posts Americans flocked to social media and public spaces on Wednesday to celebrate 4/20, an unofficial holiday dedicated to smoking and celebrating marijuana. Social media users across multiple platforms rang in the holiday by posting pictures of their marijuana and smoking accessories, and many called for the legalization of the drug nationwide.

4/20: JoCo increasing patrols, looking for impaired drivers OLATHE, Kan. - The Johnson County Sheriff's Office will have more units on the streets searching for impaired drivers during "4/20." April 20, synonymous with marijuana use, is also known as a marijuana holiday.

KCPD, Northland prosecutors announce new operation targeting illegal THC vape cartridges KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department and prosecutors in the Northland have announced a new operation targeting the sale of illegal vape cartridges containing THC at businesses in the area. The operation has been named "Operation Delta-Free Youth," and the goal is to remove the THC vape cartridges from store shelves, according to a release from Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd.

Organizers say a recreational marijuana petition has the signatures to head to the ballot in Missouri A group pushing a constitutional amendment that would make recreational marijuana legal in Missouri says it has collected enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot but it plans to gather thousands more signatures.Legal Missouri 2022 announced Tuesday it has 200,000 signatures supporting the amendment, KMOV-TV reported.The group wants

420 Flower Fest in Grandview on 4/20 First-Ever "420 Flower Fest" To Feature Certified Medical Cannabis Experts, Live Music, Hot Rods, Food Trucks, and a Chiefs Hall of Famer. April 20th or "4/20" has long been celebrated as a smoking party holiday in the cannabis community. However this year, the first-ever 420 Flower Fest puts the focus on the medical benefits of cannabis.

Gladstone man sentenced for marijuana trafficking, illegal firearms KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Gladstone man who was injured in a shoot-out when his drug-trafficking customers tried to rob him has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute marijuana, including selling marijuana near a public school, and illegally possessing firearms. Carreon L.

Brands, Celebs And Organizations Celebrate Marijuana Holiday 4/20 Amid Push For Federal Legalization - Marijuana Moment The unofficial marijuana holiday known as 4/20 has arrived again. And as more states have moved to end prohibition, more brands, celebrities and organizations are feeling emboldened to lean into the occasion with cannabis-centric deals, quips and campaigns. From food companies like Ben & Jerry's and Domino's to nonprofits such as the ACLU to celebs [...]

'The Pope Of Pot' Details A Long Career Reporting Around Cannabis With Cameos From Hunter S. Thompson, Ice Cube And More Legendary magazine journalist Mike Sager has so far lived a life most people can only dream of. Some of that is detailed in his latest release, The Pope of Pot , which is a collection of stories and essay's from the writer's travails in and around the weed world.

Developing . . .
In what was essentially his last day on the job, the Chief shares a dire warning for our cowtown as he concludes his 34 years of service.



Real talk . . .

KANSAS CITY SUFFERS WORSENING POLICE STAFFING SHORTAGES THREATENING PUBLIC SAFETY!!!

The situation is actually much worse than most residents understand. Some of our smarter readers understand that so much negativity directed toward law enforcement, OBVIOUSLY, has a direct impact on rank & file officers that this town DESPERATELY needs.



Here's a parting thought worthy of consideration . . .

Chief Smith announced March 25 that he would officially retire on April 22. In the interim, as a national search begins for Smiths permanent successor, Deputy Chief Joseph Mabin (who has said he will not apply for the position) will step up to oversee the KCPDs remaining 1,145 or so officers and 500 employees.



Since taking up the role of chief in August 2017, Smiths KCPD had 1,387 officers on staff at its peak. Now, the atrophy within the ranks is evident. Twelve officers left the KCPD in March alone, adding to a shortage that continues to cause all sorts of logistical problems for the departments collective 911 call response efforts.



I dont see any end in sight. We had two officers leave last week. Two of them just left, they just got out of policing altogether. Were losing a lot of officers between the three and five year range in particular, Smith said.



The shortage in officers forces the departments six patrol divisions to sometimes share officers. At their busiest, the department faces citywide blackoutswhen police officers are at full capacity working on existing 911 calls and therefore cannot answer another call until the current one is finished.



What we have now is a very scattered approach. The first car available goes to the most important call thats in the queue, Smith explained. And, as I have said, our 911 calls in the call center continue to rise. They dont go down.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

KCPD Chief Rick Smith explains staffing challenges his successor will face In making the final rounds of his nearly five-year tenure as Kansas City's Chief of Police, Rick Smith spoke at the South Kansas City Alliance at the KCPD South Patrol Station, April 11, to discuss the staffing and recruiting shortages that will soon become the burden of his eventual successor.

KCPD Chief of Police Rick Smith describes current state of department as 'challenging' KANSAS CITY, Mo. - While attending his final Kansas City, Missouri, Board of Police of Commissioners meeting as Chief of Police on Monday, Rick Smith spoke on the state that the city's police department is in. According to Smith, who will retire as chief on Friday, it's currently a challenging time for the department and policing in general.

Who should be Kansas City's next police chief? Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas criticized outgoing police chief Rick Smith last week over his decision to disband the missing persons cold case unit. Lucas talks about the effects of that decision and the search for a new police chief after Smith steps down Friday.

KCPD Chief Rick Smith addresses Board of Police Commissioners for final time KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After 34 years with the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, Chief of Police Rick Smith is retiring on Friday. As he retires, Smith believes the number one thing the police department needs is support from the community and the board.

Developing . . .
Tonight's big question . . .

WILL KANSAS CITY TAKE OFF COVID MASKS FOREVER OR IS THIS JUST A TEMPORARY PAUSE?!?!



Only time will tell, but for now, nobody can deny the joy felt by so many as locals abandon face coverings for the moment . . .



"Shortly after a federal judge struck down the Centers for Disease Control's mask mandate for public transportation, all major airlines at Kansas City International Airport announced they would drop their mask requirements."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

At KCI, travelers range from elated to anxious about an end to mask mandates Travelers at Kansas City International Airport reacted with a mix of confusion, concern, and some excitement after the removal of mask mandates on airplanes. On Monday, a federal judge struck down the Centers for Disease Control's mask mandate for public transportation.

KC travelers react to judge's ruling on ending US transit mask mandate After a federal judge's decision to strike down a national mask mandate, masks are now optional on airplanes, trains, and buses. For some, it's great news."It is the best thing," said Christy Russell, who flew into KCI Airport Tuesday morning.But others still want to mask up."We wanna protect ourselves, if we wanna wear masks, we'll wear masks," said Johnny Thomas, who is visiting Kansas City from Houston, Texas.

Even better . . .

PETE MUNDO WAS ON FIRE TODAY REGARDING THE SORDID TOPIC OF COVID MASK RULES!!!

Take a listen if you haven't already . . .

Developing . . .
None of this info is secret, a surprise or anything that most residents don't already know.



However . . . Check public radio sharing more than a bit of scary prose and beating their Neo-liberal war drums (lulz) on the topic of a nearby military base . . .



With tank columns moving from western Russia into Ukraine and Beijing muscling up as a military superpower, the new Cold War taking shape puts a new spotlight on the plane. The B-2s home in western Missouri again could be a launching pad, and a target, if a dreaded world war broke out.



They may be hard to spot on radar, but chances are youve seen a B-2 bomber soaring over a stadium. Its top and bottom have smoothly undulating surfaces, yet its profile from below is all sharp angles. That distinctive shape, along with a delicate-but-radar-absorbing skin, makes it essentially invisible to an enemy.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
Conservatives across Missouri are celebrating legislation that brings more state control into classrooms.



Here's a peek at progress in pushing back an education trend amid a torrent of nationwide media debate AND the politics of public education . . .



The legislation would ban schools from compelling students or teaching from saying that individuals, by virtue of their race, ethnicity, color, or national origin, bear collective guilt and are inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, ethnicity, color, or national origin.

The measure also bans schools from compelling students and teachers to affirm that individuals of any race, ethnicity, color, or national origin are inherently superior or inferior.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
As long as homeless camps and other problem sites persist . . . This town would better off burning money dedicated to cleanup.



Here's a peek at the Sisyphean trash crisis that continues . . .



The city spends roughly $2 million a year on clean up and has many more resources. Of course, the pandemic affected this city function just like everything else.



"Litter cleanup, trash cleanup has also decreased because of the pandemic," Maggie Green, a city spokesperson, said. "The same resources that were used to clean up alongside our highways, for example, were not available as much during the pandemic."



The city says they'll have more resources in the coming year, like more bulky item pickups and neighborhood cleanup days. The city will allocate $600,000 starting in May to fund partnerships that will hire people to pick up trash along the streets and highways.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Items people illegally dump have changed, but problem still the same in KCMO KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City officials are waiting on the results of an audit that started last September to look at how well they're addressing illegal dumping. The auditor's office said the report should be published by the end of April. The last time such an audit took place was 1996.

The Great Kansas City Cleanup is Friday and Saturday The citywide Great Kansas City Cleanup will be held Friday, April 22, and Saturday, April 23, as the entire city celebrates Earth Day. Neighborhood associations, community groups, students, city staff and dozens of businesses will volunteer at litter and trash pickup events across the city, with support from multiple city departments such as KC Parks, Public Works, Neighborhood Services and KC Water.

Family calls for action after homeless camp, illegal dumping raises safety concerns KANSAS CITY, Mo. - David Clay and his family living in Northeast Kansas City, Missouri, say they are fed up with a homeless camp that has brought unwanted interactions and trash to their community.

Developing . . .
You dont need to sit in traffic: your weekly roundup of Ontario highway closures for new and ongoing construction in Toronto, including North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke.
Todays coronavirus news: Biden toils to put pandemic behind him; Shanghai allows millions out of homes as virus rules ease

Meanwhile, Newfoundland and Labrador residents say theyre frustrated by the lack of free rapid tests when other provinces make them widely available at no cost.
The Flanders Mobilidata program and a consortium of smart mobility industry partners led by Be-Mobile are implementing a cloud platform that connects intelligent traffic lights in the Flanders region of Belgium and enables information to be exchanged with road users.

The TLEX cloud platform, produced by the Dutch company Monotch, is at the heart of the Mobilidata system and will eventually exchange millions of items of data every minute. The data exchange at approximately 250 intelligent traffic lights in Flanders will be a major step towards safer, smoother, more comfortable and sustainable traffic in Flanders by the end of 2023.

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Monotch is rolling out the TLEX platform as a subcontractor of the Mobilidata consortium. The current installation is a continuation of a system that already connects more than a thousand intelligent traffic lights in the Netherlands.

Some 15 years ago, as I was just starting out as a researcher, I came across this concept of smart traffic lights that exchange data, says Wim Vandenberghe, senior advisor ITS at Mobilidata. Despite all international research efforts in this field, there was only one country in the world that had actually rolled this out on a large scale to the day-to-day lives of road users: the Netherlands, via the Talking Traffic program. The fact that Flanders, thanks to the Mobilidata program, is now rolling out smart traffic lights and at the same time further developing the technology, is a world-class achievement we can be very proud of.

Mark Walker, project manager, Monotch adds: Commissioning of the Traffic Light Exchange (TLEX) is a significant step in the development of smart mobility for Flanders. It enables the secure and reliable exchange of information between road users and traffic lights which can be used to make the transport system safer, more efficient, and more environmentally sustainable.

The Mobilidata program was launched by the Flemish public authorities Agency for Roads and Traffic, Department of Mobility and Public Works, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Agency and the Department of Economy, Science, and Innovation. The program is coordinated by strategic research centre imec and receives additional financial support from the European Union (Connecting Europe Facility, CEF).
The opposition is calling for an audit of the Childrens Authority before any more funds are allocated to it.

Speaking at the UNCs weekly Sunday press conference, Senator David Nakhid condemned the revelations of the investigation into reports of child abuse at childrens homes.
The Russian Federation has accumulated almost all its combat-ready forces on the territory of Ukraine and near its borders.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said this in a video address, Ukrinform reported.

"Almost all combat-ready forces of the occupying army are currently on the territory of our state and in the border areas of Russia. They gathered almost everyone against Ukraine and almost everything that is capable of fighting us," the head of state said.

Therefore, according to Zelensky, in this confrontation and defense, the whole world sees how Ukrainians oppose the Russian army, which was considered the second- or third-most powerful in the world.

"And the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces resist, and how bravely all our people defend themselves, shows that the Ukrainian army has long deserved to be higher than the Russian one in global rankings," the President stressed.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying key infrastructure facilities, conducting massive shelling of residential areas of Ukrainian cities and villages using artillery, multiple rocket launchers and ballistic missiles.

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Russian invaders set up four military bases in the temporarily occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region.

"The situation on the ground is very difficult because people are waiting for the humanitarian convoy and there is a lot of concern about the security situation. Russian troops set up the fourth military base in the town: one of them is based directly at the airport that was captured and fired on the first day of the war, and three more  in the territory of industrial enterprises that are also located in the town," Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov said during the nationwide telethon, Ukrinform reports.

He noted that the Ukrainian authorities were unable to send a humanitarian convoy to Melitopol for the fifth day in a row due to the escalation of hostilities.

On February 24, Russia launched a new phase of the eight-year war against Ukraine  a full-scale offensive. The enemy massively shells and bombs peaceful Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages. The Armed Forces, the Territorial Defense Forces and the entire Ukrainian people are effectively resisting Russian troops and inflicting heavy losses on them.

Photo credit: 

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France is ready to become a guarantor of Ukraine's security after the war with Russia is over.

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, this was reported by Reuters, citing a French presidential adviser.

"Our country is ready to provide security guarantees. It would be military supplies so that it can deal with a new attack or, possibly, guarantees that would see us get involved if Ukraine is attacked in a way where we could assess how to assist it," the French official said.

These guarantees would look more like the defense clause the EU currently has among its members, rather than a defense mechanism similar to NATO's Article 5, the French official said.

The system of future international security guarantees for Ukraine was one of the topics discussed during talks between the leaders of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Japan, the EU and NATO on Tuesday.

Other topics included further military, financial and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, as well as the involvement of a wider range of states in the anti-Russian coalition.

On February 24, Russia launched a new phase of its eight-year war against Ukraine - a full-scale offensive. The enemy has been shelling and bombing peaceful Ukrainian cities, towns and villages. The Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Territorial Defense Forces and all people of Ukraine are effectively resisting Russian troops, inflicting heavy losses on them.
Russian troops are regrouping in order to continue their offensive toward the town of Lyman in the Donetsk region.

According to Ukrinform, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported this on Facebook.

"The enemy is trying to continue their offensive operations in the eastern operational zone in order to establish full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. They continue to launch missile and bomb strikes on the military and civilian infrastructure throughout Ukraine," the post reads.

In the Volyn and Polissia areas, Russian troops did not conduct any operations.

According to the General Staff, the threat remains of Russian aircraft launching missile and bomb strikes on facilities across Ukraine using the territory, airfields and airspace of Belarus.

Units of the Belarusian armed forces continue to carry out tasks to protect their border with Ukraine in the Brest and Gomel regions. Positions and observation posts are being equipped.

In the Sivershchyna area, there are no signs of the enemy forming a battle group to resume offensive operations. The enemy is protecting a section of the Ukrainian-Russian border in this area.

Measures are being taken to equip strongpoints in the areas bordering Ukraine.

In the Slobozhanshchyna area, the enemy is regrouping and replenishing its reserves, continuing to partially block and shell the city of Kharkiv.

In the Izium direction, the invaders attempted to launch an assault towards the villages of Sulyhivka and Dibrivne.

According to the General Staff, the enemy is attempting to conduct air reconnaissance of the directions of the assault using Orlan-10 UAVs.

In the Donetsk and Tavriya directions, Russian troops continue to shell the forward positions of Ukrainian defenders and search for weaknesses in Ukraine's defense lines along the entire line of contact.

Fighting continues outside the settlements of Kreminna, Torske and Zelena Dolyna.

It was established that the enemy is regrouping for an assault towards the town of Lyman. The enemy is also trying to advance deep into Popasna.

After the Russian invaders' attempt to storm the settlements of Rubizhne and Sievierodonetsk, about 130 wounded Russian servicemen were taken to the local hospital in Novoaidar. Their exact number is being clarified.

In the Donetsk direction, the enemy conducted assault operations near Marinka.

The invaders are concentrating their main efforts on taking control of Mariupol, continuing their assault in the area of the Azovstal plant.

The enemy carries out operations outside the settlements of Velyka Novosilka, Rivnopil and Storozheve.

In the Southern Bug area, Russian troops are concentrating their main efforts on keeping control of their positions, while shelling the positions of Ukrainian defenders and conducting hostilities outside Oleksandrivka.

According to the General Staff, in the future, the invaders will continue to fire on the positions of Ukrainian defenders and conduct hostilities in order to reach the administrative borders of the Kherson region.

Due to heavy losses, Russian troops withdrew a battalion tactical group of the 237th Guards Tank Regiment of the 3rd Motor Rifle Division of the 20th Combined Arms Army of the Western Military District from the Kharkiv region to its permanent base in Soloti, Belgorod region, to restore its combat capability.

In the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Ukrainian defenders repulsed ten attacks by Russian invaders, destroying 12 tanks, one artillery system, 28 armored vehicles and two vehicles.

A Ukrainian Air Force grouping hit nine air targets of the enemy in the past day, including an aircraft, a helicopter, six drones of various types and a cruise missile.
Japan plans to treble loans to Ukraine from $100 million to $300 million.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said this in a video call with U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders, Ukrinform reports, citing Reuters.

"Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a video call with U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders that Tokyo now plans to extend $300 million in loans to Ukraine, up from an original offer of $100 million," the news agency said, quoting the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Earlier, the Japanese Defense Ministry said it would send to Ukraine a batch of nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) suits and masks, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles, to help the country fight off a Russian invasion.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said earlier that Ukraine had agreed to receive 13 billion yen in financial support from the Japanese government and also signed an agreement for 500 million Canadian dollars in support from Canada to finance the country's primary needs.

Photo: Kyodo
The enemys objective is to push Ukrainian forces beyond the administrative borders of Donetsk Region and Luhansk Region and maintain the so-called land corridor to the temporarily occupied Crimea before May 9, 2022.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Defense Ministry Spokesman Oleksandr Motuzianyk in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Now their objective is absolutely clear: to push Ukrainian forces beyond the administrative borders of Donetsk Region and Luhansk Region and maintain a land corridor to the temporarily occupied Crimea. This is the victory the Russian leadership will try to sell to their society, Motuzianyk told.

Meanwhile, Russia would not stop on this.

Apparently, in the future they will try to develop an offensive in other regions as well, namely in Kherson Region, to capture as many areas as possible. Now the enemy is preparing for this, gathering forces and consolidating positions within the captured frontiers. But, this will depend on the results of hostilities in Donetsk Region and Luhansk Region, Motuzianyk explained.

In his words, Russian troops will attempt to encircle Ukrainian military units.

It is a tactics of the Russian army  to encircle units in the main directions, fully or partially, restrain forces, block the possible ways of logistics supplies and destroy them. They like to report on creating the so-called cauldrons. Our task is to prevent them from doing so, Motuzianyk noted.

In recent days, Russian troops have intensified offensive actions in eastern Ukraine. The number of missile and artillery strikes along the combat line increased. Thus, according to Motuzianyk, the key battle for Donetsk Region and Luhansk Region has started.

In fact, a broad offensive of the Russian army in eastern Ukraine should have started, sooner or later. It is important to understand that Ukrainian settlements in eastern Ukraine are small and large fortresses, which are now bravely keeping the defense and preventing the enemy from seizing the entire country. Hence, the battle for Donbas, without exaggeration, is a decisive battle for Ukraine, Motuzianyk stressed.

A reminder that, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops are shelling and destroying the key infrastructure facilities, launching missile and air strikes on Ukrainian cities and villages, torturing and murdering civilians.

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Russia is trying to increase the number of troops by four-five times to conduct an offensive in eastern Ukraine.

Oleksandr Motuzianyk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, said this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

"According to all the rules of offensive operations, the attacking side must have at least three times as many troops. However, given the current combat actions, the current level of weapons, equipment, aviation capabilities, this advantage should be at least four-five times greater. This is exactly what Russia is trying to do now, Motuzianyk said.

According to him, for this purpose the enemy is moving weapons and military equipment to Ukraine from the central and eastern regions of Russia.

In addition, there is a covert mobilization, active recruitment for high financial remuneration of former combatants in Syria, Afghanistan, and Chechnya.

It is also known about attempts to mobilize people living in temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Most of these people often never held weapons in their hands.

"That is, everything is being done to gather such a group. But whether Russia will manage to do it - time will tell," the spokesman said.

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De Lima slams attack vs Ka Leody and team, members of the Manobo tribe

Re-electionist Senator Leila M. de Lima called for a swift and serious investigation into the shooting incident that left at least five people injured during an activity of presidential candidate Leody de Guzman's team with Lumad farmers in Bukidnon last April 19.

De Lima, a social justice and human rights champion, said she hopes for the immediate recovery of all those who were injured.

"I strongly condemn the recent attack by a paramilitary group on Ka Leody and his team and members of the Manobo tribe. We pray for the safety of his team, the IP community, and the recovery of those who were injured. Kailangang imbestigahan agad ito at parusahan ang may kagagawan," she said in a Tweet.

The Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) confirmed that several gunshots were fired against the camp of De Guzman when they visited the ancestral land of the Manobo tribe in Quezon, Bukidnon.

De Guzman said that he and the senatorial bets were safe but farmers group organizer Nanie Abela, who was right beside him, and a leader of the Manobo-Pulangiyon tribe were grazed by bullets. Reports confirmed that three more others were hurt.

Reportedly, the protest action by the Manobo-Pulangiyon IP community was against the alleged land grabbing of their ancestral land.

According to De Guzman's camp, the IP community claims to have been forced to leave their ancestral domain of about 900 hectares by a large corporation linked to the incumbent mayor of Quezon.

The lady Senator from Bicol said such incident should not be ignored not only to ensure accountability, but to avoid more violence.

"Kapag pinagkikibit-balikat lang ang mga ganitong krimen, lalong lumalakas ang loob ng mga nasa likod ng karahasang ito. Panahon man ng eleksyon o hindi, walang puwang para mamayagpag ang dahas at pananakot. Laging dapat manaig ang pananagutan, kaayusan at hustisya," said De Lima.
Norway will send about 100 Mistral air defense missiles to Ukraine.

The head of the Ukrainian Presidents Office, Andriy Yermak said in a Telegram post, Ukrinform reports.

Norway has decided to send about 100 Mistral air defense missile systems to Ukraine, according to the country's Defense Ministry. And there will be fighter jets from the Allies," Yermak wrote.

He added that the Ukrainian government is working and "everything will be Ukraine."

As Ukrinform reported, AeroVironment, a world leader in multidisciplinary robotic systems, announced it will donate more than 100 Quantix Recon unmanned aerial vehicles to Ukraine.

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Social Policy Ministry of Ukraine Maryna Lazebna and Representative of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ukraine, Karolina Lindholm Billing signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at expanding their partnership and cooperation to provide people internally displaced due to the war with greater access to social services and cash assistance to meet their basic needs.

Ukrinform reports this with reference to the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

UNHCR said that since the Russian invasion began, 12 million people  more than a quarter of the population of Ukraine  were forced to flee their homes. More than 4.9 million people have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries, making this the fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II. A further 7.1 million people have been displaced internally within Ukraine.

This war has led to so much suffering, and displacement on an unprecedented scale. The needs are huge and growing by the minute. The Ukrainian government was fast to adapt its social protection programmes and IDP registration to respond to the emerging needs. But a crisis of this magnitude needs everyones support. This partnership will further strengthen our collective efforts to help displaced people access assistance and services, and rebuild their lives wherever they have found safety in the country, Karolina Lindholm Billing said.

It is noted that one of the ways UNHCR supports displaced people in Ukraine is through its multi-purpose cash programme. This programme, which is aligned with and complementary to the Governments and Ministry of Social Policys social assistance programmes, is being rolled-out in all the oblasts hosting large numbers of displaced people.

The Government of Ukraine and the Ministry of Social Policy strongly leads in the provision of different forms of assistance to people impacted by the hostilities, and UNHCR is grateful for the excellent cooperation extended to ensure that the support and assistance provided by our humanitarian organization complements and reinforces the national programs, Lindholm Billing stressed.

Due to the signed memorandum, UNHCR will also contribute to the further development of the national legal and policy framework on social protection by providing legal and other advice, including on international practices, and support the capacity of social protection departments around the country to service the higher number of persons in need of social services due to the war.
During the past 24hrs, pyrotechnic units of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine have eliminated explosive items at 10 sites in Luhansk region.

Read also: Number of enemy attacks on Luhansk region growing

The State Emergency Service said this in a Facebook post, Ukrinform reports.

"During the past 24 hours, on April 19, pyrotechnic workers checked more than ten addresses in the city of Lysychansk, where there were exploded and unexploded items," the report says.

As Ukrinform reported, a group pyrotechnic workers of the State Emergency Service destroyed 1,745 explosive devices, including one aviation bomb, in the past 24 hours.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying key infrastructure facilities, conducting massive shelling of residential areas of Ukrainian cities and villages using artillery, multiple rocket launchers and ballistic missiles.

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Germany wants to end imports of Russian energy resources in the shortest possible time and already has a clear plan to cut off coal and oil imports from Russia.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said this in Riga on April 20 after talks with her colleagues from the three Baltic states, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

Baerbock stressed that security in Europe means getting rid of dependence on Russia, especially in energy policy.

"I state clearly that Germany will also completely give up imports of Russian energy resources, including imports of coal by the end of the summer. Oil imports will be halved by the summer and will be at zero by the end of the year," she said.

According to her, Germany will then end imports of natural gas according to a single European plan. The fact that the EU will completely cut off Russian gas imports will be a manifestation of the strength of the European community, Baerbock said.

She said she would prefer to get rid of gas dependence "better today than tomorrow." Baerbock acknowledged that it was in this area that Germany had "made mistakes in the past", including by increasing its dependence on Russia due to the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. However, now, in her opinion, it is necessary not to look for the culprits, but to draw the right conclusions as soon as possible and do what should have been done eight years ago - to give up Russian gas.

"Our European response to Putin's war of aggression must be to strengthen European sovereignty, and not just in matters of energy," she said.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying critical infrastructure and residential areas of Ukrainian cities, towns and villages using artillery, multiple rocket launchers, ballistic missiles, and air bombs.

The EU has imposed five packages of economic and individual sanctions on Russia and its officials and is preparing the sixth package of sectoral sanctions, which could cover Russian energy imports, including oil imports.
Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya has criticized the UN Security Council for its impotence in resolving the crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

That's according to Ukrinform's correspondent in New York.

Since January, the Security Council has held more than a dozen meetings on the Russian aggression against Ukraine, Kyslytsya said. "We all value our time, so let me ask you  how do our meetings influence those who occupy a seat that the Charter still allocates to another, already defunct, entity?" he said, referring to the provision that the USSR, not Russia was given the status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Kyslytsya also said that these meetings do not affect either the security situation on the frontline or the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

He stressed the importance of providing assistance to Ukraine at the bilateral level.

"Are you ready to relegate the role of the Security Council in addressing the worst security crisis on the European continent since the Second World War to discussions only?" the ambassador said.

He urged the Security Council to "seriously address the issue of how to solve the problem of Russia's dubious presence in this chamber that impedes the Council's effectiveness in exercising its primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security."

According to Kyslytsya, the Security Council's inability to influence Russia's war against Ukraine is due to the fact that "the Security Council continues to pretend that Russia is a full and legitimate permanent member."

In his opinion, the role for this body will not change "if an answer is not found soon."

The UN Security Council on Tuesday discussed the humanitarian situation in Ukraine caused by the Russian invasion.
On April 20, 2022, Verkhovna Rada Deputy Chairperson Olena Kondratiuk and the female heads of Parliament of EU countries will pay a visit to the Dorohusk-Yahodyn checkpoint on the Polish-Ukrainian border.

They are also planning to visit refugee hubs in Chelm, Lublin Voivodeship, and near Warsaw, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The war in Ukraine has a female face, Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Elzbieta Witek stated at a briefing in Warsaw.

In her words, women and children are those who are suffering the most from the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine. More than 2.8 million Ukrainian refugees have fled to Poland since the Russian invasion started, and they need to receive humanitarian and psychological aid.

According to Witek, the female heads of Parliament of EU countries are mothers and grandmothers themselves, and can understand the role of the Ukrainian women, their suffering, tortures faced within the occupied territories, and uncertainty about the need to flee abroad, escaping the war.

Witek noted that Poland and other EU countries should provide Ukrainian women and children with as much aid as possible, so that the Ukrainian men, who are now heroically defending their country and the entire Europe, would not have to worry about their loved ones.

Witek stressed that, during that visit, the female heads of Parliament of EU countries would discuss the further aid that the EU could provide to Ukraine and Ukrainians in different aspects.

According to Witek, Ukraine cannot lose this war. Otherwise, Putin will not stop and move forward.

We must make every effort to help Ukraine and stop the war there, Witek added.

The female heads of Parliament from Poland, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain, as well as Verkhovna Rada Deputy Chairperson Olena Kondratiuk, are expected to take part in this visit.

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Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba has met with President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev in Sofia today.

Kuleba wrote about this on his Twitter account, Ukrinform reports.

President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev received me in Sofia today. We discussed ways to restore peace and development in the Black Sea region. We also agreed on the need to strengthen supply chains for agricultural products in order to sustain global food security, Kuleba wrote.

As Ukrinform reported, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba is on a visit to Bulgarias capital of Sofia. Yesterday, Kuleba met with Prime Minister of Bulgaria Kirill Petkov. The foreign minister of Ukraine also met with his Bulgarian counterpart Teodora Genchovska.

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| By Alex Likowski

University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, has appointed leading heart, vascular, and lung physician-scientist Mark T. Gladwin, MD, as the new dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and vice president for medical affairs. The selection was made following a rigorous national search and is effective Aug. 1, 2022. Gladwin is the Jack D. Myers Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPSOM) and founder of the Pittsburgh Heart, Lung, Blood, and Vascular Medicine Institute.

I could not be more pleased to announce Dr. Gladwin as the next dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Jarrell said. I am confident he will continue to enrich the legacy of our School of Medicine and position our world-class institution to meet the challenges of the future.

Mark T. Gladwin, MD

I am very honored to have been selected as dean of one of the most prestigious medical schools in the country, said Gladwin, who also serves as associate dean for physician-scientist mentoring and associate vice chancellor for science strategy, health sciences, at UPSOM.

Everything I learned during my visit to UMB furthered my desire to join the University of Maryland School of Medicine, he continued. I was already well aware of its reputation for excellence in education, research, clinical care, and community outreach. I look forward to listening to and learning from UMB faculty, staff, and students as we continue the crucial work of carrying the schools mission forward in Baltimore, around the state, and around the world.

Extensive National Search

Gladwins appointment follows a comprehensive search process led by a committee that included faculty, staff, and administrators, as well as student representatives. The committee sought the best candidates to lead the school in its academic and clinical missions, to work closely with the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), and represent UMSOM effectively with its many stakeholders, especially those in the Baltimore community.

Dr. Gladwin is an exceptional choice to lead the School of Medicine, said Claire M. Fraser, PhD, Deans Endowed Professor of Medicine, director of the Institute for Genome Sciences, and chair of the search committee. I'm extremely excited and looking forward to Dr. Gladwins arrival. The search committee was impressed by not only his experience, but also his vision for the future of medicine and the role of the medical school in today's society.

Being the leader of the School of Medicine is a challenging, multifaceted job, added search committee co-chair Roger J. Ward, EdD, JD, MSL, MPA, provost and executive vice president, and dean of the University of Maryland Graduate School. With his wide range of experience, it was evident to the committee that Dr. Gladwin will excel in every aspect of what this job entails.

One of the two student members of the selection committee, Aishwarya Iyer, an MD/PhD student in the School of Medicine and president of the University Student Government Association, agreed. I thought his research portfolio was phenomenal, she said. He comes from a really strong institution and has a lot of experience managing his position very well and very efficiently. I am excited to welcome this new dean.

Key Focus on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

As dean, Gladwin will be responsible for sustaining a culture that embodies UMBs core values and promoting and enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at UMSOM while leading advances and innovation in the areas of education, research, and clinical care.

Throughout his career, Gladwin has been committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, informed by a lifelong commitment to the care and development of new treatments for patients with sickle cell disease. As department chair, he created a new vice chair position for diversity and inclusion with significant financial resources to create and administer new and innovative programs. Working with the vice chair and residency director, he developed specialty tracks that aimed to attract accomplished underrepresented minority faculty into the research residency, linked to scholarship programs with novel micro credential MBA and MPH training opportunities, financially supplemented with T32 and philanthropic support, Burroughs Wellcome Foundation physician-scientist incubator support, and departmental investments.

He established an underrepresented minority advisory committee, consisting of underrepresented minority faculty leaders at all levels, who work together to identify challenges and provide insight, expertise, and a forum for improvement. Under his leadership, the Department of Medicine has aggressively recruited, retained, and promoted fellows and faculty who are underrepresented in medicine, and recruited a diverse leadership team at the divisional and vice chair level.

History of Accomplishment

Born in Palo Alto, Calif., and raised in the U.S. as well as Ghana, Mexico, and Guatemala, Gladwin earned his bachelors and medical degrees from the University of Miamis six-year honors program in medical education. He completed his internship and chief residency in internal medicine at the Oregon Health Sciences University, followed by a critical care medicine fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, and a pulmonary fellowship at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Gladwins career has included serving in the roles of physician-scientist, clinician, educator, and academic leader at two institutions, the University of Pittsburgh and NIH. At both institutions, he was consistently promoted to greater responsibility and leadership, building new programs and improving existing ones. At NIH, he served as critical care fellow, senior research fellow section head for the Sickle Cell Nitric Oxide Therapeutic and Vascular Therapeutics sections, director of the functional genomics core, and chief of the Pulmonary and Vascular Medicine Branch of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

In 2008, Gladwin was recruited to the University of Pittsburgh to serve as chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine (PACCM) and the inaugural director of the Vascular Medicine Institute. He assumed the role of department chair in 2014, overseeing more than 800 faculty (including 120 PhD faculty and an additional >170 advanced practice providers) and combined clinical and research revenues approaching $300 million. During his tenure, the department's NIH funding increased by more than 25 percent, and has been ranked in the top 10 funded departments of medicine in NIH funding for the last four years, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.

At the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Gladwin worked to establish clinical programs to increase patient access to quality care and supported the development of signature programs in clinical analytics, telemedicine, e-consultation, critical care, specialty and hospitalist services, and multidisciplinary Clinical Centers of Excellence across 10 divisions. As the Department of Medicine chair, he also supported the development of a long list of research centers of excellence, including in aging, vascular biology, the microbiome, metabolism, mitochondrial biology, antibody therapeutics, and sickle cell research, the latter of which has been a focus of Gladwins own research for more than 20 years. Gladwin credits his leadership success to careful listening and fact finding, the recruitment and partnership with strong leaders, the use of analytics to measure performance and provide feedback, and the thoughtful alignment of incentives to galvanize stakeholder support and sustainability.

Research Impact

From a research standpoint, Gladwin has published more than 470 manuscripts since 1996, which have had a significant impact on the fields of vascular and nitric oxide biology. His work is cited more than 5,000 times per year with an h-index of >120 (data from Google Scholar). Among his major scientific discoveries is the finding that the nitrite salt is a biological signaling molecule that regulates physiological and pathological hypoxic responses, blood pressure and flow, and dynamic mitochondrial electron transport. He characterized the role of hemoglobin and myoglobin as signaling nitrite reductases that regulate NO production under hypoxia. His seminal publication on this topic in 2003 has been cited more than 1,800 times and is listed by Nature Medicine in its top 10 Classic Collection. This work has led to the development and licensing of intravenous, oral, and inhaled nitrite as a human therapeutic.

In addition to studies of nitrite, he characterized a novel mechanism of disease, hemolysis-associated endothelial dysfunction. This work has described a state of resistance to nitric oxide in patients with sickle cell disease, malaria, transfusion of aged blood, and other hemolytic conditions, caused by scavenging of nitric oxide by hemoglobin that is released into plasma during hemolysis. These studies translated to clinical and epidemiological descriptions of a human disease syndrome, hemolysis-associated pulmonary hypertension.

Most recently, his laboratory has pioneered the use of recombinant neuroglobin and heme-based molecules as antidotes for CO poisoning, and this work resulted in the formation of a company, Globin Solutions. From a clinical research standpoint, Gladwin has a long history of leadership of translational projects and programs, having served as a principal or associate investigator on more than 50 human subjects protocols and holding at least 10 FDA INDs for the use of investigational therapeutic medications. He has served as PI on major multicenter phase II clinical trials, including the DeNOVO trial of NO therapy for acute pain crisis in patients with sickle cell disease, the Walk-PHASST trial of sildenafil for pulmonary hypertension secondary to sickle cell disease, and the current STERIO-SCD and SCD-CARRE trials evaluating new treatment approaches for patients with sickle cell disease.

Gladwin is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), the Association of Professors of Medicine (APM), and the Association of American Physicians, and has served on the ASCI and APM councils. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, American Heart Association, Association of American Physicians (AAP), and Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute. He has received numerous academic awards including the U.S. Public Health Service Achievement Award, the NIH Directors Award for Mentoring, the NIH Clinical Center Directors Award for Science, the NIH Merit Award in recognition for accomplishments in both basic and clinical sciences, and the Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishments from the American Thoracic Society. He was named an American Heart Association Distinguished Scientist and was recognized as Distinguished Professor at the University of Pittsburgh 2014.

A Passion for Education

A central passion of Gladwins is to train the next generation of physicians and scientists in translational research. He has trained students at all levels and has been very successful at mentoring these trainees to independent careers in academic medicine. His publications include more than 150 with current or past trainees as first author.

Im beyond ecstatic that Dr. Gladwin will be the new dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said Andrea R. Levine, MD, assistant professor at UMSOM who served a pulmonary, allergy, and critical care fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center with Gladwin in 2018. Dr. Gladwin was instrumental in recruiting me to Pittsburgh where he personally served as my research, clinical, and professional mentor. He was foundational in my becoming the doctor, physician-scientist, and the person I am today. He taught me how to be a critical care doctor. I cannot wait to see the impact he has on the growth and development of the University of Maryland School of Medicine including the students, trainees, and faculty.

Engagement with UMB Community

The search process at UMB included a series of town halls where members of the community gathered to listen to the leading candidates present their views on various topics and to ask questions afterward.

During Gladwins Feb. 14 town hall presentation, A Perspective on Values and Vision for Academic Medical Centers, he discussed his values; challenges and opportunities for progress in medical education, research, and clinical care; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and his initial priorities for UMSOM.

I am delighted to join your successful institution, he said. I think that the first thing that would be the absolute top priority for me on day one will be to listen and learn. I look forward to hearing all about the science, the successes, and challenges of all the research, clinical, and training programs. I understand the challenges our physicians and all health care workers face, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, and appreciate the needs of the communities and patients that we serve. So, first and foremost, I intend to be a student, and will invest and put enormous effort into knowing the faculty, students, community, and health care needs of the state, and engaging our campus in facing our many generational challenges in medicine.

Growing Partnership with Medical System and Medical Center

Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA, president and chief executive officer of the University of Maryland Medical System, which works closely with UMSOM in research, education, and clinical practice, said he was eager for Gladwin to come on board.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine is a foundational partner for the University of Maryland Medical System and collaborating with our scientist-physician colleagues makes it possible for our system to be a differential resource in providing exceptional care to the communities we serve across the state, Suntha said. Together, we deliver cutting-edge clinical care, educate the physicians of tomorrow, and innovate the cures of the future, and under Dr. Gladwins leadership, I look forward to growing and deepening the ties that have been the foundation of our successful partnership."

Added Bert W. OMalley, MD, president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), UMMCs partnership with the UM School of Medicine is one of the bedrocks to our unique brand of compassionate, discovery-based care. We welcome Dr. Gladwin to Baltimore to help continue building on that strong tradition.

UMSOM: Among Top Echelon of Medical Schools

Over the past two decades, UMSOM has emerged among the top echelon of medical schools in the nation  with recordbreaking growth and accomplishments. In research, total funding increased dramatically from $323 million in 2006 to reaching historic levels approaching $600 million in 2020. Clinical revenues have more than doubled since 2006 to $350 million, with UMSOM faculty physicians now providing outpatient and inpatient care to more than 1.5 million patients each year. Clinical practice locations have expanded across the state  growing from six to 62 locations.

UMSOMs global footprint has expanded to research and treatment facilities in more than 30 countries around the world. UMSOM has become a hub of innovation with 576 scientific disclosures, 130 U.S. patents issued, 228 foreign patents issued, 205 technology inventions licensed, and 33 start-up companies formed.

In education, UMSOM launched an overhaul of the entire medical education curriculum, called the Renaissance Curriculum, which was successfully and fully launched amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With construction of its new 430,000-square-foot Health Sciences Research Facility in 2018, UMSOM expanded its footprint of academic and research space to 15 buildings and nearly 2.5 million square feet. Overall, UMSOMs reputation has never been stronger. The school now ranks among the top 10 public medical schools in U.S. News & World Report, and among the top 20 percent among all medical schools in the nation. More than half of its academic departments now rank in the top 20 according to the Blue Ridge Medical School Research Rankings.

During the past two years, UMSOM has gained unprecedented prominence on the world stage. The school played an integral role as a leading institution in the global COVID-19 response in research, testing, and therapeutics, conducting among the first clinical trials for the two leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates as well as trials for the pediatric vaccine and the mix and match booster study. UMSOM conducted more than a million COVID-19 tests across the state of Maryland, and UMSOM researchers were awarded $32 million in grants for COVID-19-related research.

In January of this year, UMSOM gained widespread national and international attention when surgeons performed the historic first successful transplant of a genetically modified porcine heart to a human, a major breakthrough that was heralded by the medical and scientific community for its transformative role in changing the future of organ transplantation.

Jarrell announced in August 2021 that a national search would begin for the next UMSOM dean to succeed E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president for medical affairs and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor. Reece announced in March of that year that, after 16 years of leadership, he will transition from his role as dean and return to the UMSOM faculty as director of a new Center for Advanced Research, Training, and Innovation and will co-direct the UMSOM Center for Birth Defects Research.

On behalf of the School of Medicine, Im delighted to extend heartiest congratulations and a warm welcome to Dr. Gladwin on his decanal appointment, said Reece. Im most pleased to pass the baton to him and look forward to his leadership in the years to come.
| By Alex Likowski

Mark T. Gladwin, MD, to Lead University of Maryland School of Medicine

Acclaimed physician-scientist, clinician, and academic leader set to begin August 1

University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, has appointed leading heart, vascular, and lung physician-scientist Mark T. Gladwin, MD, as the new dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and Vice President for Medical Affairs. The selection was made following a rigorous national search and is effective August 1, 2022. Dr. Gladwin is the Jack D. Myers Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPSOM) and founder of the Pittsburgh Heart, Lung, Blood, and Vascular Medicine Institute.

Mark T. Gladwin, MD

I could not be more pleased to announce Dr. Gladwin as the next dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Jarrell said. I am confident he will continue to enrich the legacy of our School of Medicine and position our world-class institution to meet the challenges of the future.

I am very honored to have been selected as dean of one of the most prestigious medical schools in the country, said Dr. Gladwin, who also serves as associate dean for physician-scientist mentoring at UPSOM, and associate vice chancellor for science strategy, health sciences, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Everything I learned during my visit to UMB furthered my desire to join the University of Maryland School of Medicine, he continued. I was already well aware of its reputation for excellence in education, research, clinical care, and community outreach. I look forward to listening to, and learning from UMB faculty, staff, and students as we continue the crucial work of carrying the Schools mission forward in Baltimore, around the state, and around the world.

Extensive National Search

Dr. Gladwins appointment follows a comprehensive search process led by a committee that included faculty, staff, and administrators, as well as student representatives. The committee sought the best candidates to lead the school in its academic and clinical missions, to work closely with the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), and represent UMSOM effectively with its many stakeholders, especially those in the Baltimore community.

Dr. Gladwin is an exceptional choice to lead the School of Medicine, said Claire M. Fraser, PhD, Deans Endowed Professor of Medicine, director of the Institute for Genome Sciences, and chair of the search committee. I'm extremely excited and looking forward to Dr. Gladwins arrival, Fraser continued. The search committee was impressed by not only his experience, but also his vision for the future of medicine and the role of the medical school in today's society.

Being the leader of the School of Medicine is a challenging, multifaceted job, added search committee co-chair Roger J. Ward, JD, EdD, MSL, MPA, provost and executive vice president, and dean of the University of Maryland Graduate School. With his wide range of experience, it was evident to the committee that Dr. Gladwin will excel in every aspect of what this job entails.

One of the two student members of the selection committee, Aishwarya Iyer, an MD/PhD student in the School of Medicine and president of the University Student Government Association, agreed. I thought his research portfolio was phenomenal, she said. He comes from a really strong institution and has a lot of experience managing his position very well and very efficiently. I am excited to welcome this new dean.

Key Focus on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

As dean, Dr. Gladwin will be responsible for sustaining a culture that embodies UMBs core values and promoting and enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at UMSOM while leading advances and innovation in the areas of education, research, and clinical care.

Throughout his career Dr. Gladwin has been committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, informed by a life-long commitment to the care and development of new treatments for patients with sickle cell disease. As department chair, he created a new vice chair position for diversity and inclusion with significant financial resources to create and administer new and innovative programs. Working with the vice chair and residency director he developed specialty tracks that aimed to attract accomplished underrepresented minority faculty into the research residency, linked to scholarship programs with novel micro credential MBA and MPH training opportunities, financially supplemented with T32 and philanthropic support, Burroughs Wellcome Foundation physician-scientist incubator support, and departmental investments. He established an under-represented minority advisory committee, consisting of under-represented minority faculty leaders at all levels, who work together to identify challenges and provide insight, expertise, and a forum for improvement. Under his leadership the Department of Medicine has aggressively recruited, retained, and promoted fellows and faculty that are underrepresented in medicine, and recruited a diverse leadership team at the divisional and vice chair level.

History of Accomplishment

Born in Palo Alto, Calif, and raised in the U.S. as well as Ghana, Mexico, and Guatemala, Dr. Gladwin earned his bachelors and medical degrees from the University of Miamis six-year honors program in medical education. He completed his internship and chief residency in internal medicine at the Oregon Health Sciences University, followed by a critical care medicine fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, and a pulmonary fellowship at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Dr. Gladwins career has included serving in the roles of physician-scientist, clinician, educator, and academic leader at two institutions, the University of Pittsburgh and the NIH. At both institutions, he was consistently promoted to greater responsibility and leadership, building new programs and improving existing ones. At NIH, he served as critical care fellow, senior research fellow section head for the Sickle Cell Nitric Oxide Therapeutic and Vascular Therapeutics sections, director of the functional genomics core, and Chief of the Pulmonary and Vascular Medicine Branch of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

In 2008, Dr. Gladwin was recruited to the University of Pittsburgh to serve as Chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine (PACCM) and the inaugural Director of the Vascular Medicine Institute. He assumed the role of Department Chair in 2014, overseeing more than 800 faculty (including 120 PhD faculty and an additional >170 advanced practice providers) and combined clinical and research revenues approaching $300 million dollars. During his tenure the Departments NIH funding increased by more than 25%, and has been ranked in the top ten funded Departments of Medicine in NIH funding for the last 4 years, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research

At the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Dr. Gladwin worked to establish clinical programs to increase patient access to quality care and supported the development of signature programs in clinical analytics, telemedicine, E-consultation, critical care, specialty and hospitalist services, and multidisciplinary Clinical Centers of Excellence across 10 divisions. As the Department of Medicine Chair, he also supported the development of a long list of research centers of excellence, including in aging, vascular biology, the microbiome, metabolism, mitochondrial biology, antibody therapeutics, and sickle cell research, the latter of which has been a focus of Dr. Gladwins own research for more than 20 years. Dr. Gladwin credits his leadership success to careful listening and fact finding, the recruitment and partnership with strong leaders, the use of analytics to measure performance and provide feedback, and the thoughtful alignment of incentives to galvanize stakeholder support and sustainability.

Research Impact

From a research standpoint, Dr. Gladwin has published more than 470 manuscripts since 1996, which have had a significant impact on the fields of vascular and nitric oxide biology. His work is cited more than 5,000 times per year with an h-index of >120 (data from google scholar). Among his major scientific discoveries is the finding that the nitrite salt is a biological signaling molecule that regulates physiological and pathological hypoxic responses, blood pressure and flow, and dynamic mitochondrial electron transport. He characterized the role of hemoglobin and myoglobin as signaling nitrite reductases that regulate NO production under hypoxia. His seminal publication on this topic in 2003 has been cited more than 1800 times and is listed by Nature Medicine in its top ten Classic Collection. This work has led to the development and licensing of intravenous, oral, and inhaled nitrite as a human therapeutic.

In addition to studies of nitrite, he characterized a novel mechanism of disease, hemolysis-associated endothelial dysfunction. This work has described a state of resistance to nitric oxide in patients with sickle cell disease, malaria, transfusion of aged blood, and other hemolytic conditions, caused by scavenging of nitric oxide by hemoglobin that is released into plasma during hemolysis. These studies translated to clinical and epidemiological descriptions of a human disease syndrome, hemolysis-associated pulmonary hypertension.

Most recently, his laboratory has pioneered the use of recombinant neuroglobin and heme-based molecules as antidotes for CO poisoning, and this work resulted in the formation of a company, Globin Solutions. From a clinical research standpoint Dr. Gladwin has a long history of leadership of translational projects and programs, having served as a principal or associate investigator on more than 50 human subjects protocols and holding at least 10 FDA INDs for the use of investigational therapeutic medications. He has served as PI on major multicenter phase II clinical trials, including the DeNOVO trial of NO therapy for acute pain crisis in patients with sickle cell disease, the Walk-PHASST trial of sildenafil for pulmonary hypertension secondary to sickle cell disease, and the current STERIO-SCD and SCD-CARRE trials evaluating new treatment approaches for patients with sickle cell disease.

Dr. Gladwin is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), the Association of Professors of Medicine (APM), and the Association of American Physicians, and has served on the ASCI and APM councils. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, American Heart Association, Association of American Physicians (AAP), and Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute. He has received numerous academic awards including the US Public Health Service Achievement Award, the NIH Directors Award for Mentoring, the NIH Clinical Center Directors Award for Science, the NIH Merit Award in recognition for accomplishments in both basic and clinical sciences,, the Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishments from the American Thoracic Society, was named an American Heart Association Distinguished Scientist, and was recognized as Distinguished Professor at the University of Pittsburgh 2014.

A Passion for Education

A central passion of Dr. Gladwins is to train the next generation of physicians and scientists in translational research. He has trained students at all levels and has been very successful at mentoring these trainees to independent careers in academic medicine. His publications include more than 150 with current or past trainees as first author.

Im beyond ecstatic that Dr. Gladwin will be the new dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said Andrea R. Levine, MD, assistant professor at UMSOM who served a pulmonary, allergy, and critical care fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center with Dr. Gladwin in 2018. Dr. Gladwin was instrumental in recruiting me to Pittsburgh where he personally served as my research, clinical, and professional mentor. He was foundational in my becoming the doctor, physician- scientist, and the person I am today. He taught me how to be a critical care doctor. I cannot wait to see the impact he has on the growth and development of the University of Maryland School of Medicine including the students, trainees, and faculty.

Engagement with UMB Community

The search process at UMB included a series of town halls where members of the community gathered to listen to the leading candidates present their views on various topics and to ask questions afterward.

During Gladwins Feb. 14 town hall presentation A Perspective on Values and Vision for Academic Medical Centers, he discussed his values; challenges and opportunities for progress in medical education; research, and clinical care; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and what his initial priorities would be for UMSOM.

I am delighted to join your successful institution, he said. I think that the first thing that would be the absolute top priority for me on day one will be to listen and learn. I look forward to hearing all about the science, the successes, and challenges of all the research, clinical, and training programs. I understand the challenges our physicians and all health care workers face, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, and appreciate the needs of the communities and patients that we serve. So, first and foremost, I intend to be a student, and will invest and put enormous effort into knowing the faculty, students, community, and health care needs of the state, and engaging our campus in facing our many generational challenges in medicine.

Growing Partnership with Medical System and Medical Center

Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA, president and chief executive officer of the University of Maryland Medical System, which works closely with UMSOM in research, education, and clinical practice, said he was eager for Dr. Gladwin to come on board.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine is a foundational partner for the University of Maryland Medical System and collaborating with our scientist-physician colleagues makes it possible for our System to be a differential resource in providing exceptional care to the communities we serve across the state, Dr. Suntha said. Together, we deliver cutting-edge clinical care, educate the physicians of tomorrow and innovate the cures of the future, and under Dr. Gladwins leadership, I look forward to growing and deepening the ties that have been the foundation of our successful partnership."

Added Bert W. OMalley, MD, president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), UMMCs partnership with UM School of Medicine is one of the bedrocks to our unique brand of compassionate, discovery-based care. We welcome Dr. Gladwin to Baltimore to help continue building on that strong tradition.

UMSOM: Among Top Echelon of Medical Schools

Over the past two decades, UMSOM has emerged among the top echelon of medical schools in the nation  with record-breaking growth and accomplishments. In research, total funding increased dramatically from $323 million in 2006 to reaching historic levels approaching $600 million in 2020. Clinical revenues have more than doubled since 2006 to $350 million, with UMSOM faculty physicians now providing outpatient and inpatient care to more than 1.5 million patients each year. Clinical practice locations have expanded across the state  growing from 6 to 62 locations.

UMSOMs global footprint has expanded to research and treatment facilities in more than 30 countries around the world. UMSOM has become a hub of innovation with 576 scientific disclosures, 130 U.S. patents issued, 228 foreign patents issued, 205 technology inventions licensed, and 33 start-up companies formed.

In education, UMSOM launched an overhaul of the entire medical education curriculum, called the Renaissance Curriculum, which was successfully and fully launched amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. With construction of its new 430,000-square-foot Health Sciences Research Facility in 2018, UMSOM expanded its footprint of academic and research space to 15 buildings and nearly 2.5 million square feet. Overall, UMSOMs reputation has never been stronger. The School now ranks among the top 10 public medical schools in U.S. News & World Report, and among the top 20 percent among all medical schools in the nation. More than half of its academic departments now rank in the top 20 according to the Blue Ridge Medical School Research Rankings.

During the past two years, UMSOM has gained unprecedented prominence on the world stage. The School played an integral role as a leading institution in the global COVID-19 response in research, testing, and therapeutics, conducting among the first clinical trials for the two leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates as well as trials for the pediatric vaccine, and the mix and match booster study. UMSOM conducted more than a million COVID-19 tests across the state of Maryland, and UMSOM researchers were awarded $32 million in grants for COVID-19-related research.

In January of this year, UMSOM gained widespread national and international attention when surgeons performed the historic first successful transplant of a genetically-modified porcine heart to human, a major breakthrough that was heralded by the medical and scientific community for its transformative role in changing the future of organ transplantation.

Dr. Jarrell announced in August 2021 that a national search would begin for the next UMSOM dean to succeed E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president for medical affairs, the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor, who announced in March of that year that, after 16 years of leadership, he will transition from his role as dean and return to the UMSOM faculty as director of a new Center for Advanced Research, Training, and Innovation and will co-direct the UMSOM Center for Birth Defects Research.

On behalf of the School of Medicine, Im delighted to extend heartiest congratulations and a warm welcome to Dr Gladwin on his decanal appointment, said Dr. Reece. Im most pleased to pass the baton to him and look forward to his leadership in the years to come.

For more information, contact Executive Director of Media Relations Alex Likowski at alikowski@umaryland.edu or 410-292-3925.

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 46 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs, and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.3 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic, and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has nearly $600 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 students, trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System (University of Maryland Medicine) has an annual budget of over $6 billion and an economic impact of nearly $20 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity (according to the Association of American Medical Colleges profile) is an innovator in translational medicine, with 606 active patents and 52 start-up companies. In the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of the Best Medical Schools, published in 2021, the UM School of Medicine is ranked #9 among the 92 public medical schools in the U.S., and in the top 15 percent (#27) of all 192 public and private U.S. medical schools. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu.

About the University of Maryland, Baltimore

Founded in 1807, the University of Maryland, Baltimore is Marylands only public health, law, and human services university, dedicated to excellence in education, research, clinical care, and public service. UMB enrolls more than 6,700 students in six nationally ranked professional schools  medicine, law, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, and social work  and an interdisciplinary Graduate School. The university provides more than $40 million each year in uncompensated care to Maryland citizens, and receives more than $667 million in extramural research funding annually. For more information about the University of Maryland, Baltimore, visit www.umaryland.edu.
April 20 2022

South Lanarkshire Council has been presented with revised plans for a phased residential-led regeneration of the former University of the West of Scotland campus in Hamilton.

Hamilton Green is being led by First Endeavour in partnership with the university to deliver a hotel, 286 homes, a care home and an energy centre.

Updated documents prepared by Halliday Fraser Munro illustrate how the proportion of affordable housing at the former campus could be upped from 25 to 46.5%, predominantly in the form of high-density apartments with a small number of houses also provided.

Summarising their plans the architects wrote: "Materials were carefully considered to create a modern and consistent architectural character to give Hamilton West a better sense of identity. Local materials are used where possible, in line with the low & zero carbon strategy."

The 7.5-hectare site stands to the south of the civic centre and will host a linear central civic space running north to south as the 'backbone' of gridded development to either side and connecting onward to the town centre.

New routes and landscaping will be introduced to improve accessibility and integrate with Almada Street, Craig Street, Bothwell Road and Beckford Street which border the site.
Warsaw, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Apr, 2022 ) :Five people were killed and seven more are missing following two gas explosions at a coal mine in southern Poland on Wednesday, the country's prime minister said.

The company in charge of the Pniowek mine, JSW, said the first explosion took place shortly after midnight at a depth of 1,000 meters (3,280 feet).

There were 42 miners in the area of the blast and many suffered burns.

A second explosion occurred while rescue workers were assisting the victims of the first.

One of the dead is a rescue worker, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.

"The words catch in one's throat because we now know that five people are dead and seven are still trapped inside the mine galleries," Morawiecki told reporters.

"There are also more than 20 people in the hospital with severe burns," he added, speaking on a visit to the mine.

Poland, which relies on coal for most of its power, has experienced several other mining accidents in recent years.

Two men were killed and two others injured when an underground wall collapsed at the southern Myslowice-Wesola mine last year.

In 2018, five miners were killed in an earthquake that struck the Zofiowka mine, also in the south.
Warsaw, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Apr, 2022 ) :Four people were killed and seven more are missing following a gas explosion at a coal mine in southern Poland on Wednesday, officials said.

"One of the miners injured by the methane explosion at the Pniowek mine has died in hospital," the company in charge of the mine, JSW, said on Twitter.

"That is the fourth victim of today's mining disaster." Polish deputy prime minister Jacek Sasin tweeted that rescuers were still looking for seven other people.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki expressed his condolences and will travel to the area.

The company said earlier that 21 people had been injured and also spoke of two explosions.

It said a first blast occurred shortly after midnight at a depth of 1,000 metres (3,281 feet).

There were 42 miners in the area where the explosion happened and many of them suffered burns.

A second explosion occurred while rescue workers were assisting the victims of the first blast.

Poland, which still relies on coal for the majority of its power, has seen several other mining accidents in recent years.
(@FahadShabbir)

Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman on Wednesday took charge of the Climate Change Ministry

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Apr, 2022 ) :Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman on Wednesday took charge of the Climate Change Ministry.

On the occasion, Minister Sherry Rehman said, "Climate Change is a very important and serious issue, particularly in developing countries such as Pakistan. So far approximately 80% of the urban population lack access to clean drinking water. Pakistani cities rank highly on the air pollution score in the world and one in ten deaths amongst children under five are caused by air pollution and 128,000 people die from airborne particulate matter yearly in Pakistan. What we have seen so far are headless climate change ministries that fail to blip on the federal government's own policy radar. We need to rethink our policies and coordinate priorities quickly", said a news release She continued, "First and foremost, a policy roadmap beyond planting trees is needed. At the same time public awareness and community buy-in is crucial if we are to combat climate change as a nation. We need the Ministries' priorities and policies to be up and running to focus on all key challenges, particularly the terrible damage caused by waste and pollution of all resources; behaviour change needs messaging, in language that should also be easily accessible by the common citizen. Our population needs to be made aware of the ever-increasing danger we face at the hands of climate change. We as a society don't really understand that Pakistan will be threatened by even deeper social instability than it faces today without a public plan that focuses on action. Climate action is not just about planting trees, but much more. Pollution of our water and air, temperature rise , have caused incalculable costs to the country, to its soil, to its people and exposed us to disease and vulnerability.

Whilst the potential cost of climate inaction is varied, the estimated consensus is a shocking $3.8 billion annually. It is a painful irony of climate change that those least responsible for the problem are often the ones most exposed to its ravages. Global climate change has been partly caused by greenhouse gas emissions by industrialist countries. Pakistan contributes only 6% of the world's emissions, yet is one of the countries consistently ranked amongst the most vulnerable to the harmful effects of climate change. Environmental pollution, air pollution, smog eradication, water scarcity, public awareness and a number of other key issues are among our policy priorities." When speaking about the water crises she stated, "Pakistan is primarily dependent on the Indus River system as it supports 90% of our agricultural industry.

It is immensely affected by climate change, resulting in frequent flooding. We rank third in the number of countries facing severe water shortages. Our four major crops i.e. cotton, wheat, sugarcane and rice are all water-dependent. A number of challenges await the ministry in this regard and our focus will be not only on policy reform but also on increasing awareness so that the general public is aware of steps that they can take. Pakistan has been water-stressed since 1981 and the UN predicts we will be water-scarce by 2025. The water crisis is an issue that affects everyone. We must make positive large scale and small scale changes that will eventually lead to a more positive impact on the environment. " On the topic of pollution, she said, "Air pollution has been one of the more prominent fallouts of overall climate degradation, particularly in Pakistan, where city centers become routinely choked with smog and thick layers of visible smoke. These consist of greenhouse gasses such as Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O) and particulate matter that combine in a lethal mix. The adverse implications for health cannot be emphasized enough. An AQI of between 100 and 150 poses a potential risk to children and people with heart and lung disease; Islamabad is currently at 104. In Pakistan, one in ten deaths in children under the age of five is caused by air pollution. Approximately 128,000 Pakistanis die annually from air pollution-related illnesses. The eradication of these threats needs to be of utmost importance."When speaking of energy conservation she stated, "The effects of our negligent energy conservation methods are clear when we look at the current energy crisis Pakistan is facing. We derive 64% of our energy from fossil fuels and only 4% from renewable sources. A number of efficient initiatives need to be taken."She concluded by saying, "We must consider the extreme potential of social destabilization that compounding vulnerabilities pose to the future, both immediate and medium-term. It is unfortunate that for 3.5 years our former government only focused on the Billion Tree Project. We are not abandoning the tree plantation project, however, our policies need to be more than that if we are to improve the quality of life. I will be presenting a climate change policy to the cabinet and advocating strongly for instituting a climate change council within 100 days which will maximize policy communication, input and coordination amongst the provinces on this existential risk to our country and its future."
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2022) China and the Solomon Islands have signed a framework agreement on security cooperation, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday.

"As approved by the governments of China and Solomon Islands, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade Jeremiah Manele, on behalf of the governments of China and Solomon Islands respectively, officially signed the inter-governmental framework agreement on security cooperation between the two countries the other day," Wang told a briefing.

The agreement seeks to enhance "social stability and long-term tranquility in the Solomon Islands," he said, stressing that China-Solomon Islands security cooperation is not targeted at any third country, serving the common interests of the South Pacific region.

"The two sides will conduct cooperation in such areas as maintenance of social order, protection of the safety of people's lives and property, humanitarian assistance and natural disaster response, in an effort to help Solomon Islands strengthen capacity building in safeguarding its own security," Wang added.

On Monday, the Unites States raised concerns over a draft China-Solomon Islands security accord, with US State Department spokesman Ned price pointing to "the broad nature of the security agreement," which may enable China to deploy its military forces in the country. The agreement, he said, could stir up instability in the Solomon Islands and "set a concerning precedent for the wider Pacific Island region."

The US State Department also announced that later this week two high rank US officials, Kurt Campbell and Daniel Kritenbrink, will travel to the Solomon Islands to transmit Washington's concerns over China's rising activity in the region and similar concerns expressed by US allies in the South Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand.
The European Union is not planning to abandon the digital coronavirus certificate just yet, although most countries have lifted sanitary restrictions related to COVID-19, European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand said on Wednesday

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2022) The European Union is not planning to abandon the digital coronavirus certificate just yet, although most countries have lifted sanitary restrictions related to COVID-19, European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand said on Wednesday.

"It (validity period of certificate) would normally come to an end at the end of June, we have proposed to prolong it one more time simply because we do not know how the epidemiological situation will develop over the next months, in particular in autumn," Wigand told a briefing, adding that it is important to be prepared and have this useful tool ready, especially given the possibility of new variants of COVID-19 emerging.

The certificate has greatly facilitated safe travel within the EU and supported the tourism sector, Wigand added.

Since last July, the EU has been operating a system of digital coronavirus certificates. The document is issued to those with full vaccination, a recent negative PCR test, or successfully recovery from COVID-19. The system of certificates was originally introduced for one year. In total, about 1.7 billion certificates were issued, used in 60 countries.
Germany is committed to providing long-term support to Ukraine's defensive capabilities, which will span months and even years, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2022) Germany is committed to providing long-term support to Ukraine's defensive capabilities, which will span months and even years, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday.

"We are talking not only about three weeks, but we are talking also about three months, three years. Germany can make a greater contribution here, that is why we have allocated one billion Euros ($1.09 billion) to ensure that Ukraine can buy more advanced systems that can (give a long-lasting boost to Ukraine's defense) and for which we can provide appropriate training," the minister said at a press conference in Riga.

Baerbock also noted that Germany was avoiding making rash promises and remained grounded in its real abilities when pledging support to Ukraine.

"We should be truthful about what can be done at the moment, be creative in supporting others, so that we do what we can with unwavering conviction and up to our full potential not just in the weeks to come, but in the months and even years ahead," the minister said.

On Wednesday, Baerbock traveled to Riga to meet with her Baltic counterparts. The foreign ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Germany discussed the conflict in Ukraine and the shifting security situation in Europe.

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. In response to Russia's operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow, which includes airspace closures and restrictive measures targeting numerous Russian officials and entities, media, and financial institutions.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

TEL AVIV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2022) Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone amid security tensions, the Israeli presidential press office said.

"The telephone call was held in connection with the request of the President of Turkey to speak with President Herzog in the context of security tensions in recent days. The conversation was held in a good and open spirit," the statement said.

Herzog said that "contrary to false reports, Israel is trying to maintain the status quo and freedom of religion, especially during this period, so that representatives of all religions - Jews, Muslims and Christians - can safely celebrate their holidays.

"

Erdogan expressed "concern and pain" in connection with the events of recent days and stressed that the status quo in holy places is very important for the Muslim world.

The sides agreed to maintain constant contact.

The security situation in Israel has deteriorated in recent weeks. Since mid-March, 14 residents of the country have become victims of attacks and terrorist acts. In recent days, serious riots have taken place on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2022) Kiev has attracted about 7,000 foreign mercenaries from 63 countries since the beginning of the Russian special military operation, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"The collective West supports Ukrainian nationalists, supports them not only with weapons, but also with personnel, supplying mercenaries there, their own extremists nurtured in various parts of the world. In total, since the beginning of the special operation, the Kiev regime has attracted to Ukraine about 7,000 foreign mercenaries from 63 countries," Zakharova told a briefing.

She added that most of the mercenaries, recruited through the Ukrainian embassies, come from Poland, the United States, Canada, Romania and Georgia, while there are a number of countries that actively oppose this.
(@FahadShabbir)

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2022) Germany supports the countries of Eastern Europe in supplying Soviet-made weapons to Ukraine amid Russia's special military operation, but believes that such deliveries do not make the country a party to the conflict, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday.

"We support those partners who can promptly supply Soviet-made weapons. In this case, we guarantee compensation (for the weapons) so these countries can deliver supplies quickly. At the same time, I want to make it clear that we, in the government, are unanimous that supplies of weapons will not make us a party to the conflict," Baerbock said at a press conference in Riga, broadcast by the German Foreign Ministry.

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.

Western countries had been arming Ukraine for months prior to the Russian operation. Ukraine has now asked the European Union and the United States for more weapons, including air defense and anti-missile systems, fighters, mortars, and automatic weapons.
ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2022) Turkey has no intentions to infringe on Iraq's territorial integrity, and the recently launched anti-terrorist operation is aimed only at ensuring Turkey's border security, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

On Monday, Turkey initiated a cross-border anti-terrorist operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, saying the PKK formations were planning a large-scale offensive. Ankara dispatched 42 task forces, consisting of 654 soldiers, to identify and neutralize PKK militants in the border regions. Iraqi presidential office stated that the Turkish operation undermines the country's national security.

"Why doesn't the Iraqi side worry about PKK terrorists on its territory? We are not violating the territorial integrity of Iraq; we have no such intentions. We will ensure the security of our borders, the security of our citizens, we will fight terror," Cavusoglu told a briefing.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated on Monday that Turkey remains committed to fighting PKK "until terrorism ceases to be a threat to the country, region, and all of humanity." As of Tuesday, 26 PKK militants were killed in northern Iraq, with the operation still ongoing, according to the defense ministry.

On Tuesday, Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit condemned Turkey's military operation against Kurdish groups, pointing out that Ankara's military activity would exacerbate tensions in its relations with Baghdad.

The military conflict between Turkey and PKK began in 1984 and entered one of its deadliest phases in 2015. PKK military bases are located in the northern part of Iraq and are targeted by the Turkish armed forces. Erdogan said earlier that since July 2015, 6,000 PKK members have been killed in Turkey and 6,900 outside the country's borders. Turkey has lost more than 1,200 military personnel in this confrontation.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemns the recent explosive attacks on schools in the Afghan capital city of Kabul in which more than 20 people were killed, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2022) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemns the recent explosive attacks on schools in the Afghan capital city of Kabul in which more than 20 people were killed, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.

"The Secretary-General condemns the deadly attacks on schools in Kabul. He extends his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a swift recovery to those injured. Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools, is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law," Dujarric said during a press briefing.

Earlier on Tuesday, a local source told Sputnik that an explosion occurred at the Abdul Rahim Shahid High School in the capital's Dasht-e-Barchi district. Six people were killed in the attack and dozens injured, the source said.

Another explosion occurred earlier on the territory of the Mumtaz school in the western part of Kabul. The combined death toll from the attacks has exceeded 20 individuals, the1TV news broadcaster reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

No group or individual has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks.
(@FahadShabbir)

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st April, 2022) US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin received his Polish counterpart, Mariusz Blaszczak, in Washington to discuss ongoing security assistance for Ukraine during Russia's special military operation and Poland's military modernization plans, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.

"Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Baszczak in Washington to discuss ongoing security assistance efforts for Ukraine and ways to continue to advance the U.S.-Poland defense relationship," Kirby said in a statement. "The two leaders also discussed Poland's robust defense modernization plans, agreeing to work together to help the Polish military become one of the most capable in Europe.

"

The two agreed to closely coordinate in advance of the NATO defense ministerial and the Madrid NATO summit in June, according to the statement.

On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested help in defending themselves from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Ministry of Defense said the operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger.
The United States will explore reviving the migration accords with Cuba during the upcoming talks with the Cuban delegation on Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2022) The United States will explore reviving the migration accords with Cuba during the upcoming talks with the Cuban delegation on Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.

"I don't want to get ahead of the dialogue between the United States and Cuba but as everyone knows, we have had migration accords with the country of Cuba for many, many years," Mayorkas said. "Those were discontinued and we will explore the possibility of resuming that."

The review of the migration accords is a reflection of the United States' commitment to legal, orderly and humane pathways so individuals, including Cubans, do not take to the seas in extraordinarily perilous journeys to reach the United States, Mayorkas added.
BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2022) French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen will face off in a crucial prime-time debate on Wednesday night that might swing the presidential election either way, an expert told Sputnik.

Millions of French are expected to be glued to the screens to watch the two finalists. The debate will be their only face-to-face encounter ahead of this Sunday's runoff after an inconclusive first round had Macron's lead over Le Pen in the single digits. Polls currently put the centrist at 55-56% against Le Pen's 44-46%.

Pierre-Antoine Plaquevent, a Parisian author and political analyst with the Strategika think-tank, said many experts believe the televised duel will be a make-or-break moment for the candidates, while some were of the opinion that its effect on voters would fade away in a matter of days.

"For me, the debate mostly reinforces the opinion and the sociological perception of the voters for each candidate and does not represent such a game-changer. Still, many experts believe  and it is possible  that the debate can really make the next president and 'turn the tables'," he admitted.

The first round of voting had an abstention rate of 28%. Macron and Le Pen will try to woo the undecided and supporters of candidates who dropped out after the first round, in particular the far-left voters of third-place Jean-Luc Melenchon.

"Still, 16% and more will vote for Le Pen and 46% of his voters are undecided. Will the call for a 'cordon sanitaire' around Marine Le Pen function this time? That is an important question. Many voters on the left and right seem to be engaged in an anti-Macron crusade and in this case the victory for Macron is not a done deal," Plaquevent said.

Thierry Mariani, a member of the European Parliament from Le Pen's National Rally, told Sputnik that the far-right leader was gearing up for a rematch this Wednesday after losing to Macron by a wide margin in 2017.

"Marine Le Pen, who was personally wounded by the failed debate of 2017, is preparing herself for the debate and resting at home. I am sure she will erase the bad impression left by the 2017 debate," he said.

Plaquevent said Le Pen was perceived as too aggressive and less credible on the euro and economic issues than the younger Macron during their first face-off five years ago. A candidate who loses their temper is generally considered as having lost the debate. For example, Nicolas Sarkozy won in 2007 after Segolene Royal famously admitted that she was angry.
(@FahadShabbir)

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2022) Officials from the US administration "endorse" all the texts of articles on the websites of CNN and Bloomberg and agree on all the nuances associated with the spread of anti-Russian fakes, a diplomatic source told Sputnik.

"The leadership of CNN and Bloomberg has been taken by the throat by the White House. Now both of these US media, and previously key elements of US neo-liberal propaganda, have completely merged with the administration. John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg, has now become almost a staff member of the National Security Council," the source said.

"The texts of articles on the websites of CNN and Bloomberg are endorsed by White House officials, and this order has only become tougher after the start of the special operation in Ukraine.

The timing of publications, style, accents  literally everything is coordinated. The ban on anti-Russian fakes has now been lifted 'from above,' and rabid Russophobia has become the main the specialization of these 'respected representatives of the fourth power,'" he added.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russophobia has become unprecedented and is already becoming the political ideology of a number of states. Russian President Vladimir Putin also stated that discrimination against everything connected with Russia was progressing in the West. According to him, the works of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Rachmaninov disappear from posters, Russian writers and their books are banned.
The Secretary General of the United Nations joins Pope Francis' call for a 4-day Holy Week humanitarian pause in the Ukraine war, on the occasion of the current Orthodox Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday.

By Robin Gomes

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday appealed for a pause in the Russian assault on Ukraine, in order to be able to open a series of humanitarian corridors to reach those hit hard by the war.

Hope of Easter

For Orthodox Christians who follow the Julian calendar, Holy Week this year began with Palm Sunday, 17 April, and will culminate in Easter on 24 April, the most solemn feast of all Christians that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus from death.

Easter is a season for renewal, resurrection and hope. It is a time for reflection on the meaning of suffering, sacrifice, death  and rebirth. It is meant to be a moment of unity, he told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.

Save lives. Stop the bloodshed and destruction. Open a window for dialogue and peace and keep faith with the meaning and the message of Easter.

On the contrary, This year, Holy Week is being observed under the cloud of a war that represents the total negation of the Easter message, Guterres said standing in front of the Knotted Gun sculpture, symbolizing non-violence.



Horrors of war

He lamented that the intense concentration of forces and firepower of the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine makes this battle inevitably more violent, bloody and destructive.

The onslaught and terrible toll on civilians we have seen so far could pale in comparison to the horror that lies ahead. This cannot be allowed to happen, the UN chief stressed, adding, Hundreds of thousands of lives hang in the balance.

The Secretary-General pointed out that many good-faith efforts by many parties to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine have failed.

Listen to UN Secy-Gen, Antonio Guterres.

Need for humanitarian corridors

According to Guterres, the four-day humanitarian pause during the Holy Week for Orthodox Christians, beginning on Holy Thursday and running through Easter Sunday, 24 April, would provide the necessary conditions to meet two crucial imperatives.

First, safe passage of all civilians willing to leave the areas of current and expected confrontation, in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

I am calling for a 4-day Holy Week humanitarian pause beginning on Holy Thursday and running through Easter Sunday, April 24th, to allow for the opening of a series of humanitarian corridors.

Second, beyond humanitarian operations already taking place, a pause will allow for the safe delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid to people in the hardest-hit areas such as Mariupol, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk.

With more than 12 million people in Ukraine deprived of food, water and supplies to treat the sick or wounded, the UN chief described the humanitarian situation as dire. The UN fears this figure could swell to 15.7 million, or 40 percent of people left in the country.

Silence the guns

For all these reasons, I call on Russians and Ukrainians to silence the guns and forge a path to safety for so many at immediate risk. The four-day Easter period should be a moment to unite around saving lives and furthering dialogue to end the suffering in Ukraine, said Guterres.

I call on Russians and Ukrainians to silence the guns and forge a path to safety for so many at immediate risk.

The UN chief concluded with a call to all champions of peace around the world to join his Easter appeal, in order to save lives, stop the bloodshed and destruction, open a window for dialogue and peace, and keep faith with the meaning and the message of Easter. (Source: UN News)
Whats known about the proposed humanitarian corridor possibly opened to allow women, children, and the elderly out of the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol? Plus, what dangers are posed by the materials Russian troops took from the Chernobyl nuclear plant?
Coming Up on Africa News Tonight:  Former Botswana President Ian Khama who skipped the Southern African country last October to live in South Africa claiming his life was in danger, Wednesday was charged with 13 counts of unlawful possession of firearms.  Zimbabweans traveling to neighbor South Africa are being denied entry as authorities claim many COVID-19 vaccination cards are fraudulent.  For this and more, stay tuned to Africa News Tonight !
Join veteran journalist Hayde Adams on Straight Talk Africa every Wednesday as he and his guests discuss topics of special interest to Africans, including politics, economic development, press freedom, health, social issues and conflict resolution.
Closing the economic divide in the hard-hit industrial Midwestern United States could dampen the fervor of anti-democratic populism, a new working paper suggests.

Populism is ascribed to political movements that embrace an us-versus-them mentality. Battles are often fought along socioeconomic, ethnic or communal lines.

"When communities are in decline, when residents are anxious about their own futures and the futures of their children, when the younger generation has left, there is a great feeling of frustration, of anxiety, of ill ease about losing status and a changing world," says John Austin, principal author of the report. "And the populists, of both left and right, prey on these attitudes and anxieties."

The American Midwest was once an economic powerhouse with thriving steel, oil, aviation and auto industries. But globalization and technological change shuttered many of those factories, leaving struggling communities with far fewer high-wage unionized jobs. Some studies suggest economic grievances, often stemming from an erosion of earning potential and living standards, are behind the rise of populism in the United States.

"Left-wing populists definitely prey on the same resentment and anxieties about a changing world as right-wing populists, but the left-wing populists offer a policy solution: 'Let's soak the rich, get you free health care, free college, a decent wage.' That's their solution," says Austin, director of the Michigan Economic Center and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

"Right-wing populists offer a culture war: 'Don't trust the government, immigrants or someone else who's getting theirs (opportunities and benefits) at your expense. They're the cause of your community distress.' And the right-wing populists also encourage anti-democratic behaviors: 'Don't trust the press. You can't trust the government. We can't trust our own institutions,'" he says.

Samuel Abrams, a professor of politics and social sciences at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, sees the right-left divide differently.

"My sense is that populism on the right often seeks to retain our institutions and hearken back to some sense of what that institution may have been," says Abrams, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. "The flip side is, if you look at the rhetoric on the left, my sense is that it's not about preserving institutions, it's about destroying institutions. It's not about saving them at all, and I tend to see a lack of proposals on the left of what would replace these institutions."

The report finds that some Midwestern communities are on the rebound because they've been able to exploit their local assets.

"Their economic development approach is, 'We have to grow our own new future based on who we are," Austin says. "It's not about chasing factories to come in, and it's not about giving tax breaks to get folks to move to town. It's about looking around and investing in and leveraging whatever assets you have and building from within."

That can mean growing local universities and research institutions, revitalizing downtowns to make them more walkable and livable, and investing in schools, the arts and recreation.

"Those investments in quality of life and play have much stronger impacts on a community's employment growth and population growth than do traditional business-friendly measures like 'Let's cut taxes and lower regulation and hope that that will attract some industry or some investment,'" Austin says.

The problem, according to Abrams, is that voters aren't necessarily rational about what they need, often embracing wholesale a set of ideas on the left or the right rooted more in ideology than practical concerns.

"So, yes, you could absolutely transform these heartland communities. I think it would be very powerful to do that, and I think that would go a long way," Abrams says. "But we then still have to deal, again, with this ideological polarization.  If you look at a lot of the rhetoric of the populist movement right now with immigration, defense, a lot of xenophobic (attitudes)  you can make people wealthy or more comfortable, but it's not going to change that."

Data from the 2020 presidential election between incumbent Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden show that some Midwestern cities and counties that experienced economic growth shifted toward the Democrats, away from Trump's brand of populism and toward Biden's center-left views.

But, in Abrams' view, economic resurgence can only do so much.

"I do think there'll be some change if we can enhance economic stability and help people feel less exposed to economic change," Abrams says. "But there are also numerous examples of where you can find Trump supporters and populists, on the left and the right, where it has nothing to do with money and it has everything to do with ideology."
About 6,000 Ukrainians have been granted humanitarian visas in Australia. The visas will allow the Ukrainian refugees to work and study for up to three years.

For Inna Ilienko and her 8-year-old son, Andrey, fleeing their home in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was the start of tortuous journey to safety in Australia.

"To cross the border with Slovakia, then from Slovakia to Poland, and from Poland to Austria , and from Austria to Australia. In Australia, I feel very safe, very safe."

"These are stories that we all heard from our grandparents fleeing the Red Army in 1945, and to be honest, they were childhood stories for us," said Andrew Mencinsky of the Ukrainian Council of New South Wales, which is helping to resettle those displaced by the war in Europe.

"It was like 'oh, my God I cant believe how you lived through that.' And now hearing about people going through that again. It's heart rending. It's unbelievable."

But Australia's decision to grant humanitarian visas to Ukrainians has been criticized by campaigners who say it ignores the plight of other asylum seekers. The government rejects that claim, insisting its policies give priority to the most vulnerable.

But Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition is not convinced.

"It is very, very opportune for the government to respond to the plight of the Ukrainians, but (it) is a very, very selective compassion," he said. "The wars that Europe is involved in, the wars that Australia has been involved in that has created the refugees from Iraq, from the Middle East, from the situation in Africa - there is a very different attitude to them. Weve got fortress Australia. The fences are up for the vast majority of people who desperately need help."

The government in Canberra says it will welcome more refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine and has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has denounced "Russias brutal, illegal and unjustified invasion" of Ukraine.

His government has sent missiles and armored personnel carriers, as well as humanitarian aid, to Ukraine.
On this edition of Straight Talk Africa, host Hayde Adams and her guests discuss what it takes for young people to run for political office in Africa. Guests include Ayisha Osori, director of the Executive Vice President's Office at Open Society Foundations, Temi Ibirogba, sub-editor at The Republic, Maria Byrd, a correspondent for Channels TV and international affairs analyst Calvin Dark.
Officials in Sri Lanka have pledged to investigate a clash between police and anti-government protesters Tuesday that ended with the death of a protester.

Protesters had blocked a railway line in the town of Rambukkana, located about 90 kilometers northeast of the capital, Colombo, and had blocked a fuel tanker from crossing tracks when they were confronted by police, who opened fire to disperse the crowd.

At least 13 other demonstrators were injured in Tuesdays confrontation. Several policemen were also reportedly injured in the clash.

The South Asian island nation is struggling under the weight of heavy debt and declining foreign reserves that have created critical shortages of medicine, food and fuel that have led to several hours of power blackouts a day and led to rising fuel and transportation costs. The COVID-19 pandemic has also ground Sri Lankas vital tourism industry to a halt, dealing an additional blow to its economy.

Demonstrations have broken out across Sri Lanka over the last few weeks, with protesters demanding the resignations of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sri Lankas central bank has suspended all foreign debt repayments as it negotiates with the International Monetary Fund on a loan restructuring program.
The United States will explore the possibility of resuming migration accords with Cuba, senior officials said ahead of U.S.-Cuba talks this week on migration concerns.

"We have had migration accords with the country of Cuba for many, many years. Those were discontinued, and we will explore the possibility of resuming that, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Wednesday at a press conference in Panama.

That is a reflection of our commitment to legal, orderly and humane pathways so individuals including Cubans would not take, for example, to the seas, which is an extraordinarily perilous journey, he said.

U.S. officials said they have seen a significant increase in irregular and undocumented Cuban migrants headed to the United States, both via land and maritime routes. Cubans currently rank as the second-largest group arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Cuba faults US

Cuba said U.S. government sanctions and an earlier decision to close the U.S. consular section in Havana are among the reasons for a surge in irregular Cuban migrants and those who seek dangerous routes to U.S. soil.

In March, Washington said it resumed limited visa processing for Cubans to facilitate diplomatic and civil society engagement and family reunions.

The U.S. Embassy in Havana has begun limited immigration visa processing. Its consular section will continue to provide essential services for American citizens and limited emergency nonimmigrant visa processing. The U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana, will remain the primary processing location for Cuban immigrant visa applicants.

Mayorkas and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken were in Panama for a summit with officials from more than 20 countries to discuss migration and other regional issues.

Panama has become a transit point for migrants seeking to come to the United States. The meetings came as the U.S. has been dealing with rising numbers of undocumented migrants trying to cross the border from Mexico.

Blinken has called for more regional cooperation on migrants and refugees.

The top U.S. diplomat said the U.S. and Panama have signed an arrangement aimed at increasing bilateral cooperation to help stabilize communities that are hosting migrants and refugees, creating more legal pathways to reinforce safe, orderly and humane migration, and mitigating root causes of irregular migration by growing economic opportunity.

This is the second one we've made. The first was with Costa Rica. We hope to announce more in the coming weeks and months, said Blinken.

Migrants 'vulnerable'

Tuesday, Blinken said finding a solution to the irregular migration issue was a priority for the U.S. He spoke during an official reception in Panama City after he and Mayorkas arrived in the capital.

Migrants are vulnerable to exploitation of all kinds, Blinken said. Many are children, and their fates, their futures, are highly uncertain. We have a responsibility, a shared responsibility, to look out for them.

The Biden administration has promised to address the underlying causes of migration and said it will give $1.2 billion in assistance to Central American countries.

In June, the U.S. will host the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles to continue regional discussion and further cooperation on these issues.

The gathering in Panama came after COVID-19 health restrictions were eased in the U.S., ending a policy, known as Title 42, that limited asylum grants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The pandemic-era emergency health order is scheduled to end May 23, giving U.S. officials time to prepare for what they expect will be an increase in migrant arrivals at the border. Some critics warned it also would bring more illegal immigration to the border.
A court in Rwanda has sentenced a Chinese mining engineer to 20 years in prison after he was found guilty of tying his workers to a tree and whipping them.



A Chinese citizen was convicted Wednesday in Rwanda on charges of torture, according to Rwandan media reports.

Last year, a video circulated online showing Sun Shujun, the Chinese national, flogging two Rwandan workers, who had been tied to a tree.

Shujun said the two men had stolen minerals from his company, Ali Group Holdings Ltd,, Rwandas KT Press reported.

The Chinese Embassy in Kigali condemned the unlawful acts in a statement at the time, according to local media.

This is not the first time Chinese nationals working in Africa have been accused of abusing their local workers. In Zimbabwe in 2020, a Chinese coal mine owner shot and wounded two local workers after they complained about wages they were owed.
In a good month, the Russian-language news site Slavic Sacramento averages around 50,000 readers. But when Russia invaded Ukraine, that figure tripled.

Founded in 2014 and catering to a large Russian-speaking community that has set up home in Sacramento, California, and in other American cities, Slavic Sacramento covers a mix of local and national U.S. news, as well as events back home.

"There is a niche audience [in California] that speaks the Russian language, that doesn't read or watch American news," said editor-in-chief Ruslan Gurzhiy.

These are people "who oftentimes feed themselves with disinformation and misinformation" from Russian-sponsored media, Gurzhiy told VOA.

Since its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russia has sought total control over news coverage, issuing laws and directives to local media on how to cover the war and forcing the few remaining independent outlets to shut down or go into exile.

And while Kremlin-backed outlets have been dropped in the U.S. and barred across the European Union, they still have a hold in Russian and Spanish-language markets.

That's where outlets like Slavic Sacramento come in.

"I noticed that [state-controlled] channels like Russia Today and Channel One Russia are overwhelming," Gurzhiy said, as he explained the drive to provide more independent coverage.

Born in Belarus to a Belarusian mother and a father from Crimea  the Ukrainian region later annexed by Russia  Gurzhiy moved to the U.S. with his family more than 20 years ago.

The 40-year-old identifies as Ukrainian-Belarusian-American.

While Gurzhiy has a small team working with him in Sacramento, he relies on a network of journalists and military officials in Ukraine to report on the conflict and to counter what he calls Russia's systematic disinformation campaign.

"It's really challenging for us because we want to make sure that our coverage remains objective, and so we verify everything that comes from Ukraine, because just like how Russia has a lot of disinformation, it's wartime and Ukraine has some too," he said.

For that end, Gurzhiy and his team in California reach out to multiple sources for every story.

Blocks to news

Slavic Sacramento's efforts haven't gone unnoticed in Russia. In the first days of the war, the country's media regulator, Roskomnadzor, blocked access to the website in Russia along with several other news networks, including VOA's Russian service, the BBC and others.

But the website continues to reach readers in Russia.

"About 10 percent of our current readership comes from Russia despite the ban, because I published a story about a VPN [virtual private network] service, so I think people are using that proxy to access our website," Gurzhiy said.

WATCH: How Audiences in Authoritarian Countries Can Bypass Censorship

Back in California, Gurzhiy says, he has received threats via social media over his coverage on the war and previous reporting on corruption in Ukraine.

He is also fighting a 2018 defamation lawsuit over the outlet's reporting on alleged misuse of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

"I have many local enemies among the diaspora community in California who've been threatening me a lot  threatening to destroy my business," he said.

"The funny thing is that one side says I'm a Ukrainian agent, while the other calls me a Russian agent," Gurzhiy said. "Other people even say that I'm an FBI agent, and so it's really hard to work in this community."

Videos about war

Still, the coverage is popular, with Slavic Sacramento's Facebook page gaining more than 70,000 new followers.

Part of that success is due to its livestreams about the war.

Vitaly Ataev Troshin, a Russian journalist based in Los Angeles, California, has been a leading contributor to those videos.

Originally from Moscow, the 33-year-old has been living in the U.S. for six years. In addition to his collaboration with Slavic Sacramento, he broadcasts videos on his own social media accounts.

"I go to Ukrainian rallies, I bring guests from different backgrounds, I try to diversify as much as possible to show my audience in Russia that we are able to talk with Ukrainians," Troshin told VOA.

Unlike Slavic Sacramento, Troshin's target audience is primarily in Russia.

"I try to tell people who watch my videos to see what is going on next door in Ukraine," he said. "Sometimes they don't believe me, they go against me."

For these livestreams to be effective, Troshin occasionally conducts high-profile interviews.

This month he hosted Konstantin Borovoy, a liberal Russian politician and former member of the Russian parliament (Duma), to discuss the situation in Ukraine. In another livestream, he brought on the Russian actor Aleksey Panin.

Before he left Russia, Troshin in 2014 founded a bimonthly newspaper called New Moscow, named after a territory incorporated into the Russian capital.

He still manages the publication and its online version from Los Angeles, and uses it to publish news about the war.

"We're checking the information about who has died or been captured in Ukraine right now from the Russian side," he said. Many people in Russia "don't know that these [soldiers] have left the country to go fight the Ukrainians."

"I know it is against what the government is saying, but I can't just skip it because these are my people, they are from my city," Troshin said.

Publishing such news in Russia is risky.

Moscow in March passed a law that carries a 15-year prison term for those found to have spread what it deems false news about the military. Authorities have already charged journalists and activists under the law.

Troshin is planning to visit Russia in the summer, but doesn't know what awaits him.

"I don't know what [Russian authorities] will do to me when I go back, but I live here now and I see what is going on," he said.

"When I go back to Moscow, I will continue to talk about what's happening [in Ukraine]. I can't just sit home, close my door and windows and ignore the fact that people are dying."
Ukraine said Wednesday there was a preliminary agreement in place with Russia to evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol, while Russia again demanded the remaining Ukrainian troops there give up.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the deal for a humanitarian corridor would allow women, children, and the elderly to leave.

"Given the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Mariupol, this is where we will focus our efforts today," Vereshchuk added in a Facebook post.

Vereshchuk had reported three consecutive days of not being able to establish any humanitarian corridors in the country.

Russia set a Wednesday deadline for Ukraines fighters to surrender in Mariupol, the latest in a series of ultimatums that Ukraine has rejected. A Tuesday deadline passed with Russia saying no Ukrainian troops accepted the offer to surrender in exchange for safety.

The developments in Mariupol came as Russia continued to add to its military presence in the strategically important Donbas region. Britains defense ministry said Wednesday fighting in the region is intensifying as Russian forces tried to break through Ukraines defenses.

"Russian attacks on cities across Ukraine show their intent to try and disrupt the movement of Ukrainian reinforcements and weaponry to the east of the country, the ministry said.

European Council President Charles Michel made an unannounced visit Wednesday to Kyiv, the latest show of support from European leaders who have traveled to Ukraine in recent weeks.

In the heart of a free and democratic Europe, Michel tweeted.

Hours earlier, Norways defense ministry announced a shipment of about 100 Mistral air defense missiles to Ukraine. A ministry statement said Norwegian forces were phasing out their own use of the missiles, but that they are a "modern and effective weapon" that will be useful for Ukrainian forces.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said U.S. President Joe Biden and the leaders of Britain, Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, NATO, Poland, and Romania spoke Tuesday about providing more ammunition and security assistance to Kyiv.

Psaki said the United States is also considering imposing more economic sanctions this week.

There could be, she said in response to that question. I think that we're still ... making, doing considerations, and running a process for additional sanctions, but there are some under consideration, yes.

Biden said NATO allies agreed Tuesday to release 240 million barrels of oil a day for the next six months, a move he said would help deny [Russian President Vladimir] Putin the ability to weaponize energy resources against American families and families in Europe and around the world.

Donbas offensive

Russia declared Tuesday that it had launched its new offensive for control of eastern Ukraine with the bombardment of targets across the Donbas region, but Ukraine said it was defending the territory and repulsing some of the initial attacks.

"Another phase of this operation is starting now," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, adding that Moscow's goal was the "complete liberation" of the Donetsk and Luhansk territories in the east.

In Washington, a senior Defense Department official called the new Russian military operations a "prelude" for bigger ones, saying, "There's a real possibility that this could go on for a while, because both sides can be fairly dug in here, and be dug in fairly well."

The official said Ukraine is outmanned numerically compared to the Russian forces, but "that doesn't mean that they don't have advantages of their own or the ability to actively defend themselves," with weapons being "replenished every single day."

Some segments of the $800 million U.S. tranche of military aid that Biden approved last week have already arrived in Ukraine.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday that the United States is sending military aid in response to the situation on the ground.

"You tailor each package based on the fight that they're in and what's going on at the time, he said. You also have to tailor your packages on what they can absorb on their end.  It would be irresponsible for us not to do it that way,"

Luhansk's governor said the eastern city of Kreminna is now "under the control" of Russian forces, which could allow Russia to advance on Kramatorsk, capital of the Donbas region.

But Ukraine said it had repulsed seven different Russian attacks in several battles, destroying 10 tanks and 18 armored units.

The U.S. Defense Department estimated that Russia has already sent 11 more battalion tactical groups into Ukraine, about 8,000 to 11,000 more soldiers.

The Donbas region includes Luhansk and Donetsk, two cities that are already partly held by Russian-backed separatists, along with Mariupol to the south.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
Russia launched new attacks Wednesday on the embattled Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, even as local officials tried to create a humanitarian corridor for women, children and older adults to escape west to the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia.

Moscow's forces bombed the sprawling Azovstal steel plant, where the last Ukrainian fighters were holed up and ignoring Russian demands to lay down their arms and surrender.

More than 100,000 people were believed trapped in the city on the north coast of the Sea of Azov, where 400,000 lived before Russia invaded the country February 24.

"The conditions there are truly horrific," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a diplomatic conference in Panama. He underscored that attempted humanitarian corridors to allow Mariupol residents to escape "have fallen apart very quickly."

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said there was a preliminary agreement to open a humanitarian corridor through which women, children and older adults could leave, and Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko urged residents to take advantage of it.

"Do not be frightened, and evacuate to Zaporizhzhia, where you can receive all the help you need  food, medicine, essentials  and the main thing is that you will be in safety," the mayor said in a statement.

Russia estimates that a few thousand Ukrainian troops remain holed up in the steel plant. Kyiv's forces have ignored several Russian demands to surrender and exit the plant's labyrinth of tunnels and bunkers.

The fight over Mariupol is part of a broader Russian offensive to take control over mostly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine, home to coal mines and heavy-equipment factories vital to Ukraine's economy.

But Ukraine, buoyed by new shipments of arms from the U.S. and its Western allies, has vowed to not give up the region and is engaged in heavy warfare with the Russians.

U.S. Defense Department analysts say the battle for the Donbas region, where fighting has been ongoing for eight years, could last for months more.

U.S. President Joe Biden last week approved an $800 million shipment of more weaponry for Ukraine and now is expected to announce another package in the coming days that will include additional artillery. Canada and the Netherlands also said they would send more heavy weapons.

The developments in Mariupol came as Russia continued to add to its military presence in the strategically important Donbas region. Britain's Defense Ministry said Wednesday that fighting in the region "is intensifying" as Russian forces tried to break through Ukraine's defenses.

"Russian attacks on cities across Ukraine show their intent to try and disrupt the movement of Ukrainian reinforcements and weaponry to the east of the country," the ministry said.

European Council President Charles Michel made an unannounced visit Wednesday to Kyiv, the latest show of support from European leaders who have traveled to Ukraine in recent weeks.

"In Kyiv today. In the heart of a free and democratic Europe," Michel tweeted.

Hours earlier, Norway's Defense Ministry announced a shipment of about 100 Mistral air defense missiles to Ukraine. A ministry statement said that Norwegian forces were phasing out the missiles but that they were a "modern and effective weapon" that Ukrainian forces would find useful.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a four-day cease-fire in Ukraine beginning Thursday to coincide with Orthodox Christians' observance of Holy Week.

Guterres also said he has written to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, asking them to meet with him in their respective capitals as he seeks a diplomatic solution to the war.

Data from the U.N. refugee agency Wednesday showed that 5 million Ukrainian refugees have now fled the country because of the war and another 7 million have been displaced within the country.

U.N. Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Kelly Clements told the U.N. Security Council that an estimated 13 million more people were in the hardest hit areas of Ukraine, many of whom were "unable to move and difficult to reach with aid safely."

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.


Hundreds of Ethiopians reportedly have been been lined up for days outside the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa this week in hopes of being recruited to fight for Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine. But the embassy has dismissed claims it is recruiting foreign fighters and says the Ethiopians are there to show their solidarity with Russia.

Witnesses say the embassy is not bringing the hopefuls inside but say staffers have come outside to take documents.

Feleke Gebrekidan was among the Ethiopians who have spent long hours waiting outside the embassy. He has military experience, he said, having served in the Ethiopian military for over a decade.

He said the would-be recruits are former members of the Ethiopian army, who do not have jobs at the moment. Having heard that the Russian embassy is currently recruiting, he said he and other came with their credentials. He said he even brought the clearance he received after serving in the military.



Feleke said he has been at the gate of the embassy for three days but has not managed to get inside. He said he plans to come back and try again.

Tewodros Sime, who lives next to the Russian embassy in Addid Ababa, said he is not happy to see his fellow citizens volunteering for the war.

Why would I fight on behalf of a foreign nation? he asked. I was so angry when people poured in for registration to the embassy. Many did not show up when the Ethiopian ministry of defense was calling [men] to join our army. They are now bowing for Russians and I am so sad about it. We should prioritize peace in our country.

Some of the volunteers are motivated by economics. They are desperate to get a job, even a potentially deadly job overseas, because they are unemployed.

Also, most Ethiopians see Russia as a friendly nation politically. In the 1980s, Ethiopia was under communist leadership, and there are thousands of Ethiopian military personnel who were trained in what was then the Soviet Union.

Maria Chernukhina, the press attache for the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa, speaking to VOA, acknowledged that some of those in line are carrying documents but said that this reflects their own willingness and hope. She said the Russian embassy is not recruiting people for any purpose, as that would not comply with its responsibility as a diplomatic mission.

Since the war began, she added, Ethiopians have been calling and emailing the embassy to voice their solidarity with Russia. Chernukhina said the line outside the embassy is also part of that.

Contacted by VOA, the Ukrainian embassy in Addis Ababa declined to say anything about the lines. The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Jose Ramos-Horta appears to be on his way to his second tenure as president of East Timor after Tuesdays runoff election.

Preliminary results released Wednesday by the countrys election commission show that, with more than 60% of all votes counted, the 72-year-old Ramos had a commanding lead, with just over 60% of the vote, while incumbent President Francisco Lu Olo Guterres had just over 37% of the vote.

Ramos-Horta won more than 46% of the vote in last months first round of voting, failing to get more than the 50% needed to avoid the runoff. President Guterres only won 22.1% of the vote.

The runoff was a contest between two of East Timors prominent independence figures. Guterres led guerrilla forces during Indonesias brutal 25-year occupation, while Ramos-Hortas efforts to reach a peace deal with Indonesia earned him a share of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with compatriot Carlos Belo, the Catholic bishop who openly spoke out about atrocities committed by Indonesian forces.

East Timor has been mired in years of political and economic instability since gaining independence from Indonesia in 2002. The latest crisis stems from Guterress refusal to swear in several Cabinet ministers from the National Congress of the Reconstruction of Timor Leste party, better known by its acronym CNRT.

Ramos-Horta came out of retirement to challenge Guterres, whom he accused of violating East Timors constitution. Former president Xanana Gusmao, the head of the CNRT, endorsed Ramos-Horta.

If current results hold, Ramos-Horta -- who first served as president from 2007 to 2012 --- will be sworn in on May 20, the 20th anniversary of East Timors independence.
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

Recap of April 20:

FIGHTING

* Russia's latest ultimatum to Ukrainian fighters holding out in Mariupol expired on Wednesday afternoon with no sign of mass surrender.

* Russia assaulted cities and towns along a boomerang-shaped front hundreds of miles long and poured more troops into Ukraine in a potentially pivotal battle for control of the countrys eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.

* The Russian defense ministry has proposed that relatives of soldiers killed in Ukraine should have to apply to military rather than civilian authorities for compensation payments, imposing an extra level of secrecy around its war losses.

* Ukraines former prime minister says his country must win the conflict with Russia or be exterminated.

* Russia said on Wednesday it had conducted a first test launch of its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new and long-awaited addition to its nuclear arsenal which President Vladimir Putin said would make Moscow's enemies stop and think.

HUMANITARIAN

* In less than two months since Russian troops started the war in Ukraine, 5 million Ukrainians have left their country and 7.1 million are displaced internally the largest conflict-related internally displaced population in the world.

* Moscow has deported 500,000 people from Ukraine to Russia, a leading member of the parliament in Kyiv told European lawmakers on Wednesday, calling on the Red Cross to establish contact with those missing.

DIPLOMACY

* Ukraine is ready to hold a "special round of negotiations" with Russia in the besieged city of Mariupol without any conditions, negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted on Wednesday.

SANCTIONS

* The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on dozens of people and entities, including a Russian commercial bank and a virtual currency mining company.

* The European Union is preparing new measures to prevent Russia from evading sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.

The latest developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT:

9:15 p.m.: A Russian sports coach spoke out against the war in Ukraine and twice tore down a pro-invasion Z sign from the door of a school in the Siberian village of Buryatia. Valery Yakovlev said he didnt like children being programmed with pro-war symbols. Harutyun Mansuryan reports for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

8:07 p.m.: When news that the guided-missile cruiser Moskva had sunk off Crimea reached Tamara Grudinina, nearly 9,000 kilometers to the east, she sent a text message to a number belonging to the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet asking about the whereabouts of her son, Sergei, 21, a sailor serving on the fleet's flagship. She said she received a response: "Your son has gone missing. We are sorry." Grudinina still doesn't know what happened to her son. And she's far from the only parent wondering what happened aboard the Moskva on April 14. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has this story.

6:55 p.m.: According to Newsweek, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the reportedly successful test launch Wednesday by the Russian military of the nuclear-capable Sarmat ICBM, which he claims is able to evade all modern anti-missile defenses. "This truly unique weapon will force all who are trying to threaten our country in the heat of frenzied, aggressive rhetoric to think twice," he is said to have quipped in televised remarks following the launch.

5:50 p.m.: As Russia doubles down on its war in Ukraine, the countrys humanitarian needs are growing exponentially. Trouble is, U.S. charities are seeing a slowdown in donations at the same time. VOAs Veronica Balderas Iglesias looks at how these nonprofits and their volunteers are adapting.

5:00 p.m.: A Ukrainian woman who survived the Nazi occupation of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol has died while hiding in a basement during Russia's siege of the port. Chabad.org said 91-year-old Vanda Obyedkova, an active member of Mariupol's Jewish community and a Holocaust survivor, died in a basement "freezing and pleading for water" in early April after being trapped in the city for weeks during intense shelling by Russian forces. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has this story.

4:12 p.m.: Ukraine is ready to hold a "special round of negotiations" with Russia in the besieged city of Mariupol without any conditions, negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted on Wednesday. He said the talks could be "one on one. Two on two. To save our guys, (the far right) Azov (battalion), military, civilians, children, the living and the wounded."



4:08 p.m.: The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on dozens of people and entities, including a Russian commercial bank and a virtual currency mining company, hoping to target Moscow's evasion of existing sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury Department said it designated a virtual currency mining company for the first time, alongside more than 40 people and entities led by U.S.-designated Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, Reuters reported.



4:01 p.m.: Tom Birkhoff was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and adopted by a U.S. family over 15 years ago. But now that his home country has been attacked by Russia, he started a donation drive to help Ukraine. Birkhoff sends needed goods and raises money which he sends to his childhood friend for distribution in Kharkiv. VOAs Nina Vishneva has the story.

3:35 p.m.: With Moscows war on Ukraine nearing its third month and Russia increasingly feeling the bite of Western sanctions, numerous Cold War-era terms are creeping back into everyday life in ways that may have many Russians wondering what they were so nostalgic for. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has collected a partial list of words, phrases, and concepts that many thought had been left behind in the world of 1984, but which have made a striking comeback.



3:28 p.m.: Ukraine accused Russian forces on Wednesday of failing to observe a local ceasefire agreement long enough to allow large numbers of women, children and elderly people to flee the besieged city of Mariupol, Reuters reported. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the humanitarian corridor "did not work as planned today." She wrote on Facebook that "due to the lack of control over their own military at the place, the occupiers were unable to ensure a proper ceasefire," adding that due to their own disorganization and negligence, the occupiers could not provide the timely transport of people to the meeting point where dozens of our buses and ambulances were waiting." Russia did not immediately respond to Vereshchuk's remarks.



3:17 p.m.: Hundreds of Ethiopians reportedly have been lined up for days outside the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa this week in hopes of being recruited to fight for Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine. But the embassy has dismissed claims it is recruiting foreign fighters and says the Ethiopians are there to show their solidarity with Russia. Some of the volunteers are motivated by economics. They are desperate to get a job, even a potentially deadly job overseas, because they are unemployed. VOAs Gelmo Dawit has this story.

Ukraines military has increased the size of its fleet of fixed-wing aircraft after receiving spare parts and repairing damaged aircraft, the Pentagon said. Ukraine has defied expectations of allies and military experts by not only keeping its air force operational nearly two months after the start of Russias invasion but actually repairing aircraft and, apparently, adding to its inventory. On Tuesday Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Ukraine had received additional aircraft as well as parts, but clarified on Wednesday that no fixed-wing aircraft had been provided so far to Ukraines military, Reuters reported.



2:46 p.m.: Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby provided a readout of a meeting between Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Blaszczak in Washington Wednesday. They met to discuss ongoing security assistance in Ukraine, amongst other things. Secretary Austin commended Poland on the important role it continues to play to help the Ukrainian people resist Russias invasion and seek refuge from violence, according to a statement.

2:34 p.m.: Russia said on Wednesday it had conducted a first test launch of its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new and long-awaited addition to its nuclear arsenal which President Vladimir Putin said would make Moscow's enemies stop and think. Putin was shown on television being told by the military that the missile had been launched from Plesetsk in the country's northwest and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula in the far east. The Sarmat has been under development for years and so its test-launch is not a surprise for the West, but it comes at a moment of extreme geopolitical tension over the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.



2:21 p.m.: A Ukrainian woman who survived the Nazi occupation of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol has died while hiding in a basement during Russia's siege of the port. Chabad.org said 91-year-old Vanda Obyedkova, an active member of Mariupol's Jewish community and a Holocaust survivor, died in a basement "freezing and pleading for water" in early April after being trapped in the city for weeks during intense shelling by Russian forces. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has this story.



2:13 p.m.: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Ukraines Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko walked out of a Group of 20 meeting Wednesday as Russias representative started talking, The Associated Press reported. Several finance ministers and central bank governors also left the room, according to an official familiar with the meetings, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the event was not public. Some ministers and central bank governors who attended the meeting virtually turned their cameras off when the Russian representative spoke, the person said.

1:40 p.m.: About 6,000 Ukrainians have been granted humanitarian visas in Australia. The visas will allow the Ukrainian refugees to work and study for up to three years. But Australia's decision to grant humanitarian visas to Ukrainians has been criticized by campaigners who say it ignores the plight of other asylum seekers. The government rejects that claim, insisting its policies give priority to the most vulnerable. VOAs Phil Mercer reports.

1:13 p.m.: Ukraines president said a major Russian offensive was beginning across the south and east of the country. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published this photo essay of what photojournalists witnessed on April 19-20.



12:52 p.m.: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has written to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asking them to meet with him in their respective capitals, as he seeks a diplomatic solution to the war. The secretary-general said: at this time of great peril and consequence, he would like to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine and the future of multilateralism based on the Charter of the United Nations and international law, Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. Dujarric said there has been no reply yet, VOAs U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer reported Wednesday.

12:33 p.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he had not seen or heard about a document that the Kremlin said it had sent to Ukraine in connection with peace talks. Earlier Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was waiting for a response after it had handed a document to the Ukrainian side, Reuters reported.

12:19 p.m.: Several Ukrainian celebrities and social media influencers have been banned from entering Russia for 50 years, the Kyiv Independent reported Wednesday.

12:11 p.m.: Japan enacted a law on Wednesday formally revoking Russias most-favored nation trade status over its invasion of Ukraine, The Associated Press reported. Tokyo stepped up sanctions amid revelations of Russian military atrocities against civilians. The stripping of Russias trade status is Japans latest move against Moscow and is part of a list of sanction measures Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announces last month that also include a decision to expel eight Russian diplomats and trade officials.

11:58 a.m.: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that "illegal" restrictions on Russian companies by Western states ran counter to World Trade Organization rules and told his government to update Russia's strategy in the WTO by June 1. Speaking at a government meeting on the country's metals industry, Putin said that Western countries had banned Russia from buying components needed to produce rolled metal, steel sheets and other products. Earlier on Wednesday Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian metals companies were facing "hostile attitudes" from what Moscow calls unfriendly countries, and that Russia would come up with a plan to combat this. Reuters reported.

11:46 a.m.: A photographer with Agence France-Presse traveled to the Ukrainian town of Irpin, outside the capital Kyiv, and captured images of fresh graves to bury those killed during Russias invasion.

11:32 a.m.: The U.N. World Food Program says it is scaling up delivery of food aid into previously inaccessible areas of Ukraines conflict but too many areas remain out of reach. The World Food Program estimates nearly half of the countrys population of 44 million is worried about finding enough to eat. Among them, it says, are some six million people in desperate need of food and cash assistance. VOAs Lisa Schlein has this story.

11:03 a.m.: Montenegro said on Wednesday it had banned Russian state-controlled media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik as part of sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine, following in the steps of the EU that the small Balkan state hopes to join. The European Union banned the two outlets last month over what it called their "systematic information manipulation and disinformation" over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.

10:51 a.m.: Tennis players from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to play at Wimbledon this year because of the war in Ukraine, the All England Club announced Wednesday. Wimbledon begins June 27. Ian Hewitt, Chairman of the All England Club, said in a statement, We recognize that this is hard on the individuals affected, and it is with sadness that they will suffer for the actions of the leaders of the Russian regime. Wednesdays move signals the first time a tennis tournament has told players from Russia and Belarus they are not welcome, The Associated Press reported.

10:32 a.m.: Israels defense minister on Wednesday authorized the supply of helmets and vests to Ukrainian rescue services after speaking with his Ukrainian counterpart, an official Israeli statement said, signalling a shift in Israels position on providing such equipment. A mediator in the Ukraine-Russia crisis, Israel has condemned the Russian invasion but has limited itself to humanitarian relief, Reuters reported.

10:14 a.m.: Ukraines former prime minister says his country must win the conflict with Russia or be exterminated. In a wide-ranging interview from an undisclosed location in Ukraine, ex-Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who held office between 2014 and 2016, warned of "very bloody and severe battles" as Russian forces seek control over Donetsk, Luhansk, and other parts of eastern Ukraine seven weeks into the war. Vazha Tavberidze with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has this story.

9:31 a.m.: India is expected to reduce shortages of wheat on global markets created by the war in Ukraine as overflowing warehouses help it step up exports. Although India is the worlds second biggest wheat producer after China, it has been a small exporter, selling wheat mostly to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and some Middle Eastern markets. But as supplies from Russia and Ukraine are threatened by the war, India is eyeing markets across Africa and Asia. VOAs Anjana Pasricha has this story.

9:24 a.m.: Moscow has deported 500,000 people from Ukraine to Russia, a leading member of the parliament in Kyiv told European lawmakers on Wednesday, calling on the Red Cross to establish contact with those missing. "Half a million of Ukrainian citizens were deported from Ukraine to the Russian Federation without agreement from their side," said Mykyta Poturayev, the head of the Ukrainian parliament's humanitarian committee. Reuters could not independently verify the figure given by Poturayev, who did not give details or supporting evidence. Reuters has submitted a request for comment to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

9:09 a.m.: Israel is willing to host a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Russian news agency TASS reported Wednesday. The Israeli Ambassador to Russia, Alexander Ben Zvi, said in an interview with TASS, that it is ready to do so. "However, they (Putin and Zelenskyy) need to make a decision," he said. Israel would consider it "a great honor" to host possible talks between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents. "We will be happy to host such a meeting in Jerusalem," Ben Zvi told TASS.

8:58 a.m.: The Russian defence ministry has proposed that relatives of soldiers killed in Ukraine should have to apply to military rather than civilian authorities for compensation payments, imposing an extra level of secrecy around its war losses. Russia already classifies military deaths as state secrets even in times of peace and has not updated its official casualty figures in Ukraine for nearly four weeks, Reuters reported.

8:42 a.m.: In less than two months since Russian troops started the war in Ukraine, 5 million Ukrainians have left their country and 7.1 million are displaced internally the largest conflict-related internally displaced population in the world, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency, or UNHCR. The war in Ukraine has triggered one of the fastest-growing displacement and humanitarian crises ever, Babar Baloch, a UNHCR spokesman, told VOA.

8:34 a.m.: A growing majority of Swedes are in favor of joining NATO, a poll showed on Wednesday, as policy-makers in both Sweden and Finland weigh up whether Russia's invasion of Ukraine should lead to an end to decades of military neutrality, Reuters reported. The poll by Demoskop and commissioned by the Aftonbladet newspaper showed 57% of Swedes now favored NATO membership, up from 51% in March. Those opposed to joining fell to 21% from 24%, while those who were undecided dipped to 22% from 25%. The March poll was the first to show a majority of Swedes in favor of joining NATO.

8:29 a.m.: The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, traveled to Ukraine Wednesday on an unannounced visit, to show support for the country as it battles Russia. He traveled to the town of Borodyanka outside the capital Kyiv, and toured the devastation left behind after Russian forces left the area, saying that war crimes have been committed, the Kyiv Independent reported.

8:26 a.m.: Ukrainian troops have held up an advance by Russian forces from the northeastern city of Izyum towards nearby Sloviansk, Oleksiy Arestovych, a Ukrainian presidential advisor said on Wednesday. "They have focused their forces there, that is where they are trying to advance, but so far they are not succeeding," he said in a video address. Arestovych also said that Ukrainian forces in the besieged city of Mariupol have been holding out, despite persistent Russian attacks on the Azovstal steel plant, Reuters reported.

8:17 a.m.: The European Union is preparing new measures to prevent Russia from evading sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics told a news conference on Wednesday.



8:10 a.m.: The governor of Ukraines eastern Luhansk region says that infrastructure in the cities of Popasna and Rubizhne, as well as several surrounding villages, was destroyed and that electricity, gas and water wont be restored until the end of the war, the Kyiv Independent reported Wednesday. Russia recently renewed its military offensive in Ukraines eastern regions.

7:53 a.m.: Berlin has chosen not to make public all the weapons it has sent to support Ukraine, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, adding that Germany would help Kyiv maintain more advanced weapons systems it might buy and train soldiers to use them, Reuters reported. "We have delivered anti-tank missiles, Stingers and other things that we have never spoken about publicly so these deliveries could happen quickly," she said at a news conference in Riga with her Latvian counterpart.

7:41 a.m.: Ukraines Armed Forces says that it has received spare parts and components, but no new aircraft from allied partners, The Kyiv Independent reported Wednesday.

7:35 a.m.: Russia's latest ultimatum to Ukrainian fighters holding out in Mariupol expired on Wednesday afternoon with no sign of mass surrender, Reuters reported. Russian-backed separatists said shortly before the Wednesday deadline that just five people had surrendered, a day after Russia said no-one had responded to a similar surrender call. Ukraine has vowed never to surrender in Mariupol. Russia was hitting the last main Ukrainian stronghold, the Azovstal steel plant, with bunker-buster bombs, Kyiv said. Ukraine says hundreds of civilians are sheltering beneath the factory. Ukraine announced plans to send 90 buses to evacuate 6,000 civilians from Mariupol on Wednesday, saying it had reached a "preliminary agreement" with Russia on a safe corridor.

6:57 a.m.: Russia assaulted cities and towns along a boomerang-shaped front hundreds of miles long and poured more troops into Ukraine in a potentially pivotal battle for control of the countrys eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories, The Associated Press reported Wednesday. If successful, the Russian offensive in what is known as the Donbas would essentially slice Ukraine in two. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said Moscows forces bombarded numerous Ukrainian military sites, including troops concentrations and missile-warhead storage depots, in or near several cities or villages. Those claims could not be independently verified.

6:34 a.m.: U.S. President Joe Biden will convene top U.S. military leaders on Wednesday in an annual White House gathering that takes on special significance as the war in Ukraine enters a risky new phase and the United States plans more military aid, Reuters reported. A "variety of topics" will be discussed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and senior military leaders, a National Security Council spokesperson said. While the annual military policy meeting rarely makes news, weighty issues are on the agenda this year, topped by a conflict in Ukraine that officials fear could imperil European security for years to come.

6:21 a.m.: On Wednesday, Russia issued one more ultimatum to Ukrainian forces in the besieged southern port city Mariupol to leave the steel factory where they have been holed up, or face deadly attack. But the Ukrainian commander in Mariupol told The Washington Post: We will not lay down our weapons, and said that his soldiers may be facing our last days, if not hours.

6:15 a.m.: The number of Ukrainian refugees who have fled the country since Russia invaded in late February has surpassed 5 million, according to data from the U.N. refugee agency. More than half have gone to Poland.

3:10 a.m.: Ukraine and Russia reached a preliminary deal to establish a route to evacuate women, children and the elderly from the besieged southern city of Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. "Given the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Mariupol, this is where we will focus our efforts today," she added in a Facebook post.

2:30 a.m.: Norway's defense ministry announced a shipment of about 100 Mistral air defense missiles to Ukraine. A ministry statement said the Norwegian army is phasing out its use of the missiles, but that they are a "modern and effective weapon" that will be useful for Ukrainian forces.

2:00 a.m.: Britain's defense ministry said fighting in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region "is intensifying" as Russia continues to build its military presence in the region and try to break through Ukraine's defenses. "Russian attacks on cities across Ukraine show their intent to try and disrupt the movement of Ukrainian reinforcements and weaponry to the east of the country."

1:30 a.m.: Norway's defense ministry announced a shipment of about 100 Mistral air defense missiles to Ukraine. A ministry statement said the Norwegian army is phasing out its use of the missiles, but that they are a "modern and effective weapon" that will be useful for Ukrainian forces.

1:27 a.m.: Russias deputy ambassador to the United Nations rejected a request by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres for a four-day cease-fire during Orthodox Easter holidays, according to The Washington Post.

12:05 a.m.: Russia issued an ultimatum for the remaining Ukrainian troops in the southern city of Mariupol to surrender on Wednesday. Ukraine rejected previous demands of giving up the city, and Russia said a Tuesday deadline passed with no Ukrainian troops laying down their arms
A majority of Americans continue to support a mask requirement for people traveling on airplanes and other shared transportation, a new poll finds. A ruling by a federal judge has put the government's transportation mask mandate on hold.

The poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that despite opposition to that requirement that included verbal abuse and physical violence against flight attendants, 56% of Americans favor requiring people on planes, trains and public transportation to wear masks, compared with 24% opposed and 20% who say they're neither in favor nor opposed.

Interviews for the poll were conducted Thursday to Monday, shortly before a federal judge in Florida struck down the national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit. Airlines and airports immediately scrapped their requirements that passengers wear face coverings.

The Transportation Security Administration stopped enforcing the mask requirement, and the Justice Department announced on Tuesday that it will not appeal the ruling unless the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determines it's still necessary.

The poll shows a wide partisan divide on the issue. Among Democrats, 80% favor and 5% oppose the requirement. Among Republicans, 45% are opposed compared with 33% in favor, with 22% saying neither.

Vicki Pettus, who recently moved from Frankfort, Kentucky, to Clearwater, Florida, to be near her grandchildren, said she enjoys the view of Old Tampa Bay but doesn't like the "very lackadaisical attitude" by Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, about masking. She said she will continue to wear her mask to protect against the coronavirus, including around her 55-and-older home community and on the plane when she travels to Kentucky in a few weeks.

"Especially in a plane where that air is recirculating," said Pettus, 71, an independent who leans toward the Democratic Party. "I think people are really dumb not to wear their mask. But, hey, that's their decision, and if they want to get sick that's fine. I'm not going to."

But Kriste Lee, who works in sales in South Florida, can't wait to fly mask-free the next time she travels next month.

"I really wish I was on a plane when they made that announcement," said Lee, 47. "I would have been dancing up and down the aisle."

The continued support among Americans overall for mandating masks on transportation comes even as worries about COVID-19 are among their lowest points of the past two years. Just 20% now say they're very or extremely worried that they or a family member will be infected. That's down slightly since 25% said the same a month ago and from 36% in December and January as the omicron variant was raging. Another 33% now say they are somewhat worried, while 48% say they're not worried at all.

Count Betty Harp, of Leitchfield, Kentucky, as among the "very worried" and not because she's turning 84 next month. She said she takes care of her large house and yard by herself, does a lot of canning and is in "fantastic health for my age." But she's lost a lot of friends and family to the virus, which has killed nearly 1 million people in the United States.

"I know COVID is still here. It's still around," said Harp, who described herself as a Republican-leaning independent. "I think we should all be wearing masks for a little while longer."

In another AP-NORC poll conducted last month, 44% of Americans still said they were often or always wearing face masks outside their homes, though that was down significantly from 65% who said that at the beginning of the year.

The latest poll also shows about half of Americans favor requiring masks for workers who interact with the public, compared with about 3 in 10 opposed. Support is similar for requiring people at crowded public events such as concerts, sporting events and movies to wear masks.

On these, too, there are significant partisan divides. Seventy-two percent of Democrats favor requiring people attending crowded public events to wear masks, while among Republicans, 25% are in favor and 49% are opposed. The numbers are similar for requiring masks for public-facing workers.

Lee, who said she doesn't "do politics," wondered aloud why people are complaining about the judge's ruling and said nobody is stopping anyone from wearing masks if they want to.

"We all have our beliefs and obviously different views," said Lee, who is unvaccinated. "Mine are definitely different from the people who are angry and upset."

Employed Americans are divided on whether people working in person at their own workplaces should be required to wear masks. Thirty-four percent say they're in favor of that requirement, 33% are opposed and 33% are neither in favor nor opposed. Among workers who are Democrats, 48% are in favor and 18% are opposed. Among workers who are Republicans, 53% are opposed and 18% are in favor.

Mike Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, said messaging over the mask mandate would have been more effective if it required N95 or KN95 respirators, which are more effective at preventing transmission of the virus.

"But you have actually created a real challenge with yourself with the public who are now being selective if not outright angry about these mandates," said Osterholm, who added that he will continue to wear his N95 mask on planes.

The AP-NORC poll of 1,085 adults was conducted April 14-18 using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.


New York and New Jersey firefighters are gathering gear from colleagues across the United States to help their counterparts in Ukraine stay safe. Some volunteer firefighters also are collecting unused ballistic vests and helmets to send. Nina Vishneva has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Alexander Barash, Natalia Latukhina
A Gallup poll released Tuesday shows that Americans' worry over unauthorized immigration is near a two-decade high ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, with Republicans and Democrats increasingly polarized on the issue.

From March 1-18, Gallup surveyed 1,017 people living in all U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Forty-one percent said they worry "a great deal" about illegal immigration  the highest proportion since 2007, when 45% of respondents said they were concerned "a great deal" about the issue.

About 60% said they worry at least "a fair amount" about illegal immigration.

According to the Gallup polling, Democrats and Republicans have been moving in opposite directions when it comes to opinions on immigration.

Since 2006, Democrats have grown less concerned about illegal immigration. Only 18% of people polled last month said they are concerned "a great deal" about the issue while 44% said they are "not at all" concerned.

The reverse is true for Republicans, with 68% saying they are "a great deal" concerned about illegal immigration. Although that figure is down from 76% in 2021, it is up considerably from 29% in 2001.

"Only 5% of Republicans are not concerned at all.  overall percentage worried either a great deal or fair amount has expanded from just over half of Republicans in 2001 to nearly nine in 10 today," Gallup says.

The survey was conducted before the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced its decision to end Title 42 expulsions  a pandemic-era emergency health order that allowed immigration authorities to quickly expel migrants at the border, including those seeking asylum.

Title 42

Since the Biden administration announced that Title 42 would end by May 23, Republicans have warned the halt will bring even more illegal immigration to the border.

While some Democrats celebrated the end of Title 42, others have raised concerns about how the administration will handle any further surges of arrivals at the border.

Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Michigan Senator Gary Peters, a Democrat, said, "Unless we have a well thought-out plan, I think it is something that should be revisited and perhaps delayed. I'm going to defer judgment on that until I give the administration the opportunity to fully articulate what that plan is. But I share  concerns of some of my colleagues."

For more than a year, the Biden administration kept in place at the U.S. southern border the Trump-era policy that allowed the United States to quickly expel migrants to their countries of origin or Mexican border towns.

On April 1, the administration announced the policy would end May 23, giving U.S. officials time to prepare for what they expect will be an increase in migrant arrivals.

A considerable number of border apprehensions in March were due to record arrivals of migrants from Ukraine, Cuba, Colombia and Nicaragua, per DHS data released this week.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) data, Title 42 has been used in most of the estimated 2 million expulsions of migrants from Brazil, Central America, Haiti, Mexico and Colombia since March 2020. Other asylum-seekers from South America have been rapidly blocked at ports of entry under the policy.

In March, U.S. border officials registered 221,303 migrant encounters. Of those, 109,549 were expelled. The rest could have been detained, allowed to seek asylum or paroled into the United States, among other options.

In February, there were 164,973 encounters with 91,513 expulsions.

CBP also reported a 28% rate of repeat border crossings in March.

Although much attention has been given to unauthorized crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border, a fiscal year 2021 report from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shows that 684,499 people overstayed their visas  or 1.48% of nearly 50 million visitors to the U.S.

"In other words, 98.52% of the in-scope nonimmigrant entries departed the United States on time and in accordance with the terms of their admission," the DHS report says.
The prime minister of the Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare, has told parliament that a wide-ranging security pact it has signed with China will not undermine peace and stability in the region. However, the United States, Japan, New Zealand and Australia have expressed concern.

A draft of the deal leaked online said it would allow China to send armed forces to the Solomon Islands to protect Chinese investments. Chinese warships would also be permitted dock on the islands.

The archipelago is 2,000 kms northeast of Australia.

Its prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, told parliament in the capital, Honiara, that under the agreement China will not build a military base in the island nation.

Mr. Sogavare rejected efforts by Australia  its biggest aid donor  to stop the deal.

Canberra is concerned it will allow Beijing to establish a military presence within Australias traditional sphere of influence.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne says she was deeply disappointed the security accord had been signed.

She told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that regional solutions to problems were the best approach.

We firmly believe that the Pacific family is best placed to meet the security needs of our region and we have consistently said that, and, more importantly we have demonstrated that whether it is through the very significant exercise of the regional assistance mission to the Solomon Islands, or even more recently our response to the unrest in the Solomon Islands with our partners in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea and Fiji at the end of last year, she said.

Australia led a multi-national peacekeeping force to quell ethnic unrest in the Solomon Islands between 2003 and 2017.

Confirmation of the security deal between the governments in Honiara and Beijing has put regional security at the center of Australias general election campaign.

The opposition Labor leader Anthony Albanese insisted that the Australian governments diplomatic failures would allow China to establish a military presence in the region for the first time.

Beijing said the pact would help it respond to natural disasters and maintain "social order."

A high-level American delegation will go to the Solomon Islands next week.

The United States said it will re-open its embassy in Honiara, which has been closed since 1993.
The Somali government and a U.S. company are locked in a dispute over the validity of an oil exploration agreement reached in February in Istanbul.

Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed, Somalia's minister of petroleum and mineral resources, and Richard Anderson, chief executive officer of Coastline Exploration Ltd., signed the agreement. But in separate statements, Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmaajo, and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble rejected the deal, declaring it "null and void."



Both leaders cited government decrees and directives banning all ministries and government agencies from signing agreements with foreign governments and organizations until ongoing parliamentary elections are finalized. The elections are expected to conclude next month with the election of a new president.

In addition, the government has instructed Attorney General Suleiman Mohamed Mohamud to investigate the contract and take appropriate legal measures.

The government's position is that the agreement is in contravention of a presidential decree dated August 7, 2021, and a Council of Ministers directive on December 6, 2018. The mandate of the current legislative and executive branches expired more than a year ago. The government said correct procedures have not been followed; therefore, the agreement is "null and void," according to a February 21 letter sent by the Foreign Affairs Ministry to Coastline Exploration and obtained by VOA.

Anderson disagrees with the letter and disputes the government's interpretation of the legality of the agreement.

"I won't go into the legal details of the analysis, but we believe quite firmly that our PSAs (production-sharing agreements) we signed are legally valid and that they're in full effect," he said in an interview.

VOA asked Anderson why the company ignored the Somali president's decree and a letter from a joint parliamentary committee on natural resources that instruct government agencies not to enter agreements during the election period.

"We did not ignore anything," Anderson said. "Before we signed the PSAs in February, we consulted with the ministry and with the SPA (Somali Petroleum Authority), and we were assured that both the president and PM were aware of the process and they were fine with the signing."

He admitted Coastline Exploration did not directly communicate with either the president or the prime minister, but said the minister of petroleum and members of the SPA assured them that both leaders were aware of it. Ahmed, the petroleum minister, refused repeated VOA requests for an interview for this report.

In an interview with VOA in February, Ahmed said the president knew about the signing, but the presidential palace denied his claim.

Agreement details

Providing details of the agreement for the first time, Anderson said it was a "fair deal" for Somalia.

"There is a 5% royalty that comes right off the top. Profit is split 50-50. There is a 30% income tax on whatever profits the contractor  i.e., Coastline  makes," he said. There are various other financial benefits for Somalia in the agreement, he added.

According to Anderson, all the terms of the PSAs, including the profit-sharing percentage, are fixed for its 30-year term and will not change during the life of the contract.

Somali oil experts criticized the agreement. Jamal Kassim Mursal, former permanent secretary of the Somali Petroleum Ministry, said the agreement was "unfair."

"A fixed oil royalty rate of 5% and a fixed gas royalty rate of 3%, government share becomes 59.8%," he said. "However, if prices fall to $70 a barrel, government share stands at 50%. Any price below $70, government loses money to the contractor. Sixty dollars a barrel, government share becomes just 42%."

Mursal said other key terms such as the discount rate, the R-factor (ratio of cumulative revenues to cumulative costs), the cost recovery ceiling, the exploration period and capital gains determine the overall government take.

"So, we cannot say it's fair," Mursal said.

"The fact that all was done in secret itself makes it unfair. Current government term has ended, and the two statements from the office of PM and president stated no government official signs a contract up until new government is installed. So they do not have a mandate to sign such a deal."

Last year, the Somali government was warned of entering oil agreements by the Financial Governance Committee (FGC), a group of experts comprising the Somali Finance Minister, parliamentarians and a member of the World Bank.

In an advisory, the FGC said it identified two main concerns in the government's approach to oil and gas contracts: incomplete compliance with the government's legal framework, and inadequate protection of the state's financial interests.

"Incomplete compliance significantly raises the risk of future legal and/or compensation claims against FGS (Federal Government of Somalia), while inadequate protection of FGS's financial interests risks poor value for money over the lifetime of awards that may last for 40 years or more," said the advisory obtained by VOA. The signed agreement was for 30 years.

The FGC also said no PSAs should be signed until an extractives industries income tax is enacted. No such law has been enacted in Somalia.

Coastline Exploration, founded in 2018, has contractual possession of Soma Oil & Gas, a company that collected seismic data off Somalia's shore.

Soma Oil & Gas was previously investigated by the United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office but was later cleared of wrongdoing because of "insufficient evidence." Some of the board members of Soma Oil & Gas, including Anderson and Alexander Djaparidze, a Russian billionaire, are board members of Coastline Exploration.

"I want to tell everybody upfront that we are not corrupt. We don't need to be corrupt," Anderson said. "No Somali government official has ever asked me to make any kind of illegal payment. It has never happened. I would also like to stress that no Somali politician is a shareholder of Coastline. We are independent of the government."

He confirmed that Coastline paid for the flights to Istanbul and hotels for members of the Somali delegation, who flew to Turkey to sign the agreement.

"I want to make very clear before we do anything and pay anything that has anything to do with anybody in the government of Somalia, it's always reviewed by our anti-bribery and corruption council before we make any such payments or any such commitments," Anderson said.

"This was reviewed by them, and they determined that it was, you know, that it was fine under U.S. law and under Somali law, again out of convenience."

Anderson said he was confident that the investigation by the Somali attorney general would find that Coastline had complied with Somali law, and that Coastline would be cleared to start work.

This report originated in VOA Somali Service's "Investigative Dossier" program.


Some of the worst flooding in South Africas history has left more than 400 people dead and some 40,000 displaced, dealing a devastating blow to the eastern city of Durban, which has a seaport that has also been badly affected.

With the port not fully functioning, there are supply chain concerns and China  South Africas biggest trading partner  and other nations, are likely to see their imports and exports disrupted.

Earlier this week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster because of the flooding  which he blames on climate change but which some critics blame on poor infrastructure and the fact that most of the people affected were living in makeshift shacks in informal settlements.

Ramaphosa stressed the importance of quickly fixing the situation at the port, saying, The Port of Durban  which is one of the largest and busiest shipping terminals on the continent and which is vital to our countrys economy  has been severely affected.

The road to the port, which handles some 13,000 heavy vehicles a day, has been severely damaged, he added.

On Tuesday, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan Pravin Gordhan visited the port, which has reopened, and concluded it would take more a week to clear some backlogs. The rail network to the site had been affected by landslides and still needs to be repaired, he said, adding that 9,000 containers have accumulated at the port and would be cleared in the next nine days.

Logs and debris also ended up in the harbor due to the floods, which he said had disrupted shipping.

One of the countries likely to be affected by problems at the port is China, said Cobus van Staden, senior China-Africa researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs.

In relation to the situation in Durban, its very serious for the whole of China-Africa trade, rather than just for South Africa; this is because of the centrality of Durban port to Chinese exports, he told VOA.

About 20 percent of total China-Africa trade goes out through Durban and this includes resources like cobalt, copper and lithium coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe particularly, he added.

Maersk, the worlds biggest container line, halted operations at the port last week and told VOA by email its warehouse had been affected and was still not operational. While vessel operations had resumed, the company said problems with road access were affecting all cargo entering or leaving the terminal.

We continue to assess the damages and monitor the situation as it evolves, customers are being updated daily on the progress and the contingency plans so that we may get the supply chains moving again as quickly as possible, it said.

Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist for the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, told VOA he thought it would take some time before activities at the port were back to normal.

Theres been great devastation by these excessive rains and its a major risk to commerce and all goods: automobile, agriculture and other sectors of the economy that are dependent on trade, he said.
A U.S. study released Tuesday shows that during the surge of the COVID-19 omicron variant, hospitalization rates of unvaccinated children ages 5-11 were twice those of children who had received shots.

The study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at nearly 400 cases in 14 states between mid-December and late February.

Among the 397 children who were hospitalized with COVID-19 during the omicron wave, 87% were unvaccinated, the study found.

The average length of hospital stay for unvaccinated children was three days, compared with two days for vaccinated children with COVID-19.

The vaccinated children who were hospitalized did not require high degrees of breathing support such as nasal oxygen tubes or mechanical ventilation, according to the CDC.

The omicron variant set records for coronavirus infections in the United States in January, causing more infections than the original SARS-CoV-2 strain of the virus and an increase in hospitalizations among those younger than 18.

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine had been authorized by U.S regulators for children ages 5-11 before the omicron surge in October.

During the omicron surge, unvaccinated children in the age group had a hospitalization rate 2.1 times higher than vaccinated children, according to the study.

According to CDC data, only 28% of children between 5-11 are fully vaccinated, amounting to about 8 million nationwide.

The study also found that hospitalization rates among children in the age group were higher during the omicron wave than during the delta wave.
Turkish authorities jailed a journalist on Tuesday pending trial after he announced hackers had stolen personal information from government websites and shared some of it with him, including President Tayyip Erdogan's ID card, as proof, his lawyer said.

The independent journalist, Ibrahim Haskologlu, posted the announcement on Twitter, illustrating it with a partially obscured photo of what he said was Erdogan's ID.

His lawyer, Emrah Karatay, said his client was arrested on a charge of illegally obtaining and disseminating personal information due to his social media posts.

In his Twitter posts last week, Haskologlu said that a group of hackers had contacted him two months ago and told him that they had obtained Turks' personal information from government websites.

As well as sharing the purported photo of Erdogan's ID, Haskologlu also published an image of what he said was the ID card of Hakan Fidan, head of Turkey's National Intelligence Agency. Most of the information on the cards was concealed.

"The reason for his formal arrest was that he did not notify prosecutors," Karatay said, adding that Haskologlu had warnedvarious authorities but no action was taken.

"He thought he had to warn people as a journalist and posted these. Now he's arrested - that's all," Karatay said, adding that police had searched Haskologlu's house when they detained him last night.

Istanbul police was not immediately available for comment.

Broadcaster NTV said the interior ministry had filed a complaint about Haskologlu after his posts, prompting an investigation by the Istanbul prosecutor's office.

Turkey is one of the world's top jailers of journalists and mainstream media is controlled by those close to Erdogan's government. Turkey's government denies accusations by human rights groups that it muzzles the media.
Turkey's robust stance against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine is becoming an impetus to improve relations with the United States, a NATO ally.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unequivocally condemned the invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, Ankara has sold  in the face of Moscows criticism  Turkish-made drones that continue to take a deadly toll on Russian forces. Ankara also closed access to the Black Sea to most Russian warships. Washington praised all these moves.

Asli Aydintasbas, a senior fellow of the European Council, said Turkeys stance offered an opportunity for a reset in U.S.-Turkish relations.

Its certainly introduced a level of stability and engagement that wasnt there before the Ukrainian war," Aydintasbas said. "The Biden administrations policy seemed to be social distancing, somewhat of a cold shouldering of Erdogan, based on Turkeys authoritarian lurch and also because there were so many outstanding issues in the bilateral relationship.

Framework for better ties

Senior American diplomats have made several visits to Turkey since the start of the Ukrainian conflict, with a framework announced last month to enhance ties.

Relations between the NATO allies have been deeply strained, in particular over Erdogans close relationship with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 missiles triggered American sanctions, barring Turkey from purchasing warplanes. Ankara is seeking an easing of the sanctions to purchase American F-16 fighter jets, Aydintasbas said.

"Turkish officials that I have spoken [with] feel you need to give us something to continue the bilateral cooperation," Aydintasbas said. "So, F-16s [sales] meet that purpose. The Turkish air force already run with this F-16. There are plenty. But over the past few years because of existing sanctions, theyve not been able to maintain or find spare parts and replenish their fleet. I think F-16s is a good formula for both sides.

Analysts say Ankara is increasingly concerned about its aging jet fighters given that its neighbor and rival Greece is engaged in renewing its defense forces.

Erdogan has raised the fighter jet purchase in conversations with U.S. President Joe Biden.

Hurdles in US Congress

But Aaron Stein, director of research at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a research organization in the U.S., warned that the defense sales face a serious obstacle.

In terms of congressional support for arms sales to Turkey, there is still cause for pessimism," Stein said. "Key members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, [Robert] Menendez and [James] Risch, have been both on the record very recently, saying that unless Turkey transfers out of the S-400, things like the F-16 sale will be unlikely if not impossible.

"Now things could change. The Biden administration could put considerable pressure on these senators, but we will see.

Erdogan is ruling out any removal of the Russian S-400 missiles. Resolving the impasse is expected to top Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's agenda when he visits Washington next month for talks with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The Pentagon says U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had a phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wednesday, the first such contact between the two defense chiefs since President Joe Biden took office.

In a statement, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Austin spoke with Republic of China National Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe as a follow-up to the recent call between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Secretary Austin and General Wei discussed U.S.-PRC defense relations, regional security issues and Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon statement said, referring to the Peoples Republic of China.

A senior defense department official, speaking on background, told reporters that Austin had no expectations of a major breakthrough on key issues with Wei during the roughly 45-minute call. The official said the two spoke on a secure telephone link that was established in 2008 by the Pentagon and China's Ministry of National Defense.

Both Austin and Biden have been outspoken critics of Chinas policies since Biden took office. Both have repeatedly criticized China for military provocations against Taiwan, and Biden has accused Beijing of human rights abuses against ethnic minorities and efforts to squelch pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong.

U.S. and Australian concerns were raised about an apparent security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands. A draft of the agreement, released online, shows it includes a provision that could allow Beijing to send armed police and soldiers to the islands, as well as base its navy ships off the Solomon coast.

Australia and the United States fear Beijing would establish a military presence in the islands, located less than 2,000 kilometers from Australia. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman who announced the agreement Tuesday dismissed the concerns and accused the U.S. and Australia of "deliberately exaggerating tensions.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters.
Photo: Todd Williamson/Getty Images for Art of Elysium

A highly publicized court case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is currently under way in Virginia. In the ongoing legal battle, Depp is suing Heard for $50 million for defamation, with Heard countersuing for $100 million, following abuse allegations from Heard and a 2018 Washington Post Opinion piece. The exes will take the stand to testify in the culmination of a yearslong legal battle. Joining them will be a bevy of high-profile witnesses including Elon Musk and James Franco. Below, we break down the circumstances that led to their current dispute, starting from the day they met as co-stars in 2009.

2009

The actors meet as co-stars on the set of The Rum Diary, a film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompsons novel of the same name. Depp plays Paul Kemp, a journalist who encounters Heards character, Chenault, before the two begin a passionate affair behind the back of Chenaults fiance. Depp is still in his long-term partnership with Vanessa Paradis; the couple share two kids, Lily-Rose Depp, 22, and Jack Depp, 20. In 2009, Heard is arrested for allegedly physically assaulting her partner, Tasya van Ree  however, the charges against Heard are dropped after van Ree claims that cops misinterpreted the incident.

2012

Although Depp and Heard are ambiguous about their relationship status a few years after their initial meeting, court filings indicate that they began dating at the end of 2011 or the start of 2012. Heard calls it quits with her partner that year. After 14 years together, Depp and Paradis decide to end things, which Depp then discusses in a 2013 Rolling Stone piece, in which he states that relationships are very difficult.

2015

Depp and Heard marry in a private ceremony at their L.A. residence. After the first, more understated nuptials, they wed again in a more extravagant setting on Depps private island in the Bahamas. Weve been together for a long time now, so its been a fairly organic process, Heard tells Elle after their wedding. I have a fiercely independent spirit. Later in 2015, the couple are caught violating Australias biosecurity laws after they bring their dogs, Pistol and Boo, into the country illegally.

#ICYMI: Amber Heard's engagement ring is the rock that sunk the Titanic: http://t.co/wsdO2fQXG6 (Photo: Getty) pic.twitter.com/nbarVpDpOF  USA TODAY Life (@usatodaylife) September 5, 2015

2016

Heard reportedly arrives in court with a bruised face after filing for divorce from Depp on May 23, 2016. She claims that Depp caused the injury by throwing an iPhone at her. The judge grants her a temporary restraining order against Depp after she made a domestic-abuse complaint on May 21. However, an LAPD spokesperson states that their investigation into the May 21 claim bore no evidence of a crime. During this month, Heard also provides court filings that allege that the Fantastic Beasts actor often assaulted her while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. He has a short fuse, she said. He is often paranoid and his temper is extremely scary for me as it has proven many times to be physically dangerous and/or life-threatening to me.

In August, Depp and Heard settle their abuse case out of court. As part of their divorce, Heard receives a settlement of $7 million, which she says she will donate to charity. The exes release a joint statement saying, Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain.

2017

The couple finalizes their divorce. Heard keeps Pistol and Boo, and Depp retains possession of his island in the Bahamas as well as his collection of motorcycles and cars. A non-disparagement clause  which prevents Depp and Heard from speaking negatively about their marriage or ensuing divorce  is inserted into the settlement.

2018

Heard writes the Washington Post op-ed that sets off the series of lawsuits and countersuits that persist still. Although she doesnt mention Depp by name, the op-ed is the center of his 2019 defamation suit for $50 million, in which Depps representatives allege that Heard was a perpetrator of abuse, not a victim.

2020

Depp sues the Sun and its executive editor, Dan Wootton, over a 2018 article in which Depp is labeled a wife beater. The U.K. libel trial wraps on November 2, ruling the publications use of the phrase substantially true.

2021

Depp is denied an appeal against the Sun. Following the outcome, he is removed from the next installment of Fantastic Beasts and replaced with Mads Mikkelsen.

2022

The trial begins in a Fairfax, Virginia, courthouse on April 11. Opening statements from Heards attorneys open with the accusations of abuse, including horrific claims of physical and sexual assault. In his own testimony, Depp states that he pursued the defamation case to clear his name for his sake of the truth.
Photo: Mona Shafer Edwards / BACKGRID

Blac Chynas $100 million defamation claims against the Kardashian family, accusing them of killing her reality show Rob & Chyna, will finally be presented to a Los Angeles jury this week.

The planned ten-day trial comes five years after Chyna filed her lawsuit against the Kardashian-Jenners. With Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Rob Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner, as well as Chyna and Ryan Seacrest, on the witness list, the testimony in the downtown Los Angeles courtroom is expected to be explosive.

Chyna (real name Angela White), 33, filed the $100 million defamation case in 2017 and alleged in court papers that Rob was an abuser intent on destroying her after she left him. Chyna said that in revenge, the Kardashian-Jenner family became a media predator, slut-shaming her on social media and killing her hit television show, which had already begun filming a second season, according to her complaint. The Kardashians have since ended their relationship with the E! Network, with the last episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians airing in June 2021, and transitioned to a new reality series on Hulu called The Kardashians, which debuted last week. Heres how the trials main characters got here.

Lets start with Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna: Whats their history again?

Rob and Chyna began a romantic relationship in January 2016 and got engaged three months later. In June, E! green-lit the couples reality show Rob & Chyna, ordering six hour-long episodes as well as a special featuring the couples daughter, Dream, according to Chynas court papers. Dream was born in November 2016. (Chyna already had a son, King Cairo, now 9, with her ex Tyga, who was then dating Kylie.) A month after Dream was born, Rob announced on social media that the couple had split, saying Chyna left me. Rob then posted a series of naked pictures of Chyna, accusing her of being unfaithful on Instagram and Twitter. In July 2017, Chyna filed for a restraining order against Rob, asking the judge to order him to stay away from her and to stop him from cyberbullying her and posting or distributing private, intimate, or sexually explicit photos of her.

Three months later, Chyna sued Rob and his whole family. In her lawsuit, she claimed that Rob & Chyna had stellar ratings and that she was told E! was moving forward with a second season even though the couple broke up. She was later informed that E! would not be renewing the show. In her court papers, she accused the Kardashians of intentionally interfering with E!s decision to sign the show for a second season by contacting network executives and demanding they not proceed with it.

Chyna, accusing the family of conspiring to kill the continuation of the reality show, pointed in her court papers to one episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians in which the family meets to discuss whether Rob & Chyna should continue to be filmed. She accused the family of defaming her in the press and damaging her reputation.

Chyna alleged that after she obtained a restraining order, Rob and Kylie retaliated by filing their own lawsuit against her, accusing her of assault, battery, and trying to extort the family for money. (That lawsuit was dismissed in February.) Chyna has a separate revenge-porn case against Rob, Kim, Khloe, Kylie, and Kris that she filed in October 2017 and is set to go to trial May 2, accusing Rob of posting her private nude photos on his Instagram account to his 9 million followers without her consent, which caused her to suffer mental pain and suffering, humiliation, and emotional distress. Rob, in court papers, denied that he posted the images without Chynas consent and that they caused her mental pain and suffering, humiliation, and emotional distress.

So how did the Kardashian family respond to these lawsuits and claims?

The Kardashians responded in court papers in 2020 that Chynas claims that they defamed her and intentionally interfered with her contract were based on the unfounded contention that they lied to E! when they communicated their concern for the safety and wellbeing of the defendant because Chyna violently attacked him. They assert that it was indisputable that Chyna did attack Rob and that they were deeply concerned for his safety and well being.

During an alcohol and drug fueled rampage, Chyna violently attacked Rob, strangled Rob with an iPhone charging cord, repeatedly struck him with her fists and a metal rod and threw a chair at Robs car as he drove off to escape her attack, according to their court papers.

They accuse Chyna of breaking down a door and say Kriss boyfriend, Corey Gamble, had to pull her off Rob. They claim that after Chyna obtained a restraining order against Rob, it prohibited her from having any contact with Rob, making it physically impossible for her to perform in the series.

No couple = no show: According to the court papers, that was the testimony from E! and Bunim-Murray Productions witnesses.

The Kardashians also state in court papers that Chynas talent agreement granted E! only the option and not the obligation to engage Chyna for additional seasons at the time of their alleged tortious conduct and that E! had not exercised written notice to engage Chyna for a second season. They maintain they cant be held liable for making true statements and statements based on their opinions.

Who is expected to testify in court?





A lot of familiar faces and a few executives from E! More potential witnesses are expected to be called:

Blac Chyna

Kris Jenner

Kylie Jenner

Khloe Kardashian

Kim Kardashian

Rob Kardashian

Corey Gamble

Ryan Seacrest (executive producer of Rob & Chyna)

Adam Stotsky (president of E!)

Ashuanna Ayers (Chynas former agent)

Frances Berwick (vice-president at NBCUniversal)

Damla Dogan (former vice-president at E!)

Demondre Edwards (former director of business and legal affairs at E!)

Farnaz Farjam (vice-president at Bunim Murray Productions)

Where do things stand now?

On April 2, Blac Chyna posted a statement on Twitter that she was planning to re-focus to her attention on Kris, Kim, Khloe, and Kylie to stand up for my legal rights and to be an example to my kids that whats right is right, whats wrong is wrong. And what they did was so wrong.

She said in the statement that she was thankful a jury will be able to hear what really happened behind closed doors  the lies that were told and the damage that was done.

Chynas statement foreshadowed a hostile courtroom. In opening statements on April 19, Blac Chynas attorney, Lynne Ciani, said the Kardashian family conspired to cancel Rob & Chyna by telling E! Network executives to do so. The Kardashians attorney, Michael Rhodes, countered those claims by stating Chyna had violently attacked and threatened Rob so his family was only acting out of concern for Robs safety. Rhodes said that despite the fact that the relationship between Chyna and Rob was irrevocably broken, Chyna was still determined to hold on to being part of the show and the family.

This relationship was fraught with problems and the network was very worried, Rhodes said, according to People magazine. They were acting against their own financial interest to protect someone they loved.

But the fireworks between the two sides started even before opening statements began on April 19 when Chynas mother, Tokyo Toni, 50, went on Instagram Live and blasted the Kardashian familys appearance in court during jury selection. Rhodes later informed the judge about Tokyos posts and that he worried about his clients physical safety with her in the courtroom, according to the New York Post.

Ms. Jenner was worried about her physical safety, Rhodes told the judge. He added that trying the case is hard enough with high-profile clients but even harder when he has to worry about his clients.

Chynas attorney agreed that Toni should not be in the courtroom and she has since not been present for the proceedings.
Phase four is the Marvel Cinematic Universes freak era, confirmed. Wanda manifested two children with her android husband on WandaVision. Loki kissed his own variant in Loki. Now, on Moon Knight, Marc Spector has been cucked by his alter, Steven Grant. Yet somehow, thats not even the third-strangest thing in the fourth episode of the Disney+ series. Moon Knight is swinging for the fences with only two episodes left to go, so lets bust some tombs and get into it.

The bulk of the episode concludes the fetch quest that has dominated Moon Knight thus far: find Ammits final resting place. Layla fights off some men with her weapon of choice  fireworks  and in the morning, she and Steven drive right to the secret location of the tomb. It turns out that Ammits tomb is also Alexander the Greats infamous lost tomb because the ancient pharaoh was Ammits avatar. Underground, the dynamic duo encounters very spooky reanimated Heka priests that make the jackals look like puppies. Steven retrieves Ammits ushabti from inside the body of Alexander the Great, and for a moment, it looks like theyve won.

Oh, and Steven and Layla kiss, and Marc punches himself (a.k.a. Steven) in the face. This development has been building for weeks as Layla reconnects with her former lover via his geeky alter. Its difficult to describe this love triangle without being glib. From Laylas perspective, it would be a dream if your ex-husband woke up with an entirely different personality. But that is not exactly whats happening from a mental-health standpoint, and its not fair to Marc or Steven to say so.

Steven may tell Layla about Marcs plan to give Steven the body and Khonshus plan to make Layla the next avatar, but hes no saint. Hes telling her Marcs truths, not his own. Its a lot easier to spill someone elses secrets, especially when doing so benefits you. Still, Layla has good reasons for being attracted to Stevens honesty. She learns in this episode that not only did Marc watch while his partner killed her father, but the whole reason they met in the first place is because he sought out the daughter of the man he couldnt save. Shes been in the dark for years. Thats extremely shitty. Its like a reverse Dear Evan Hansen. He was welcomed into a grieving family and lied about not knowing the person they lost. Sincerely, no thank you!

When Layla learns the truth about her fathers death from Arthur Harrow, she goes to confront him. Steven gives the body to Marc so that they can talk. But before they can work things out, Harrow and his followers confront them. He tries to bond with Marc because, as Khonshus previous avatar, he also knows what its like to be free from the moon gods influence. Marc starts a fight, but the fight doesnt last long. Harrow shoots him point-blank in the chest. I cant save anyone who wont save themselves, he says. Pardon?

Marc falls into an underground moat and tumbles down into an abyss. He then wakes up groggy in a psychiatric hospital where Layla, Stevens co-worker Donna, and Stevens living statue friend Crawley are fellow patients, Harrows followers are nurses, and Harrow himself is a doctor. Various paraphernalia around the hospital, like cupcakes and a Rubiks Cube, recall previous episodes. Not only that, but on television is a corny film called Tomb Buster  think Indiana Jones and The Mummy with a heavy hand on the white-savior narrative  about the fictional Dr. Steven Grants Aztec exploits with his teenage sidekick Rosser and the lunar god Coyolxauhqui. Has all of Moon Knight been taking place in Marc Spectors imagination?

Its all been happening in your head and youre actually a patient in an asylum is a time-honored trope seen in films like Shutter Island and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and especially favored in genre television. In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode Normal Again, a demon tries to make Buffy believe that she is institutionalized and all of her slayer memories are delusions. Similar plots happen in Ash vs. Evil Dead, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Charmed, Doctor Who, The Magicians, Red Dwarf, Joan of Arcadia, and more. Its such a popular trope that it is deconstructed in the Curriculum Unavailable episode of Community.

For Moon Knight specifically, this is based on Moon Knight volume eight, a 2016 run of the Marvel comic from writer Jeff Lemire and artist Greg Smallwood. In it, Marc Spector wakes up in an asylum run by Ammit (spelled alternatively Ammut in the comic and under the guise of a psychologist named Dr. Emmet) and is told that he has imagined his vigilante life. He sees Ammut trying to turn New York City into New Egypt with jackals and gods everywhere. But everyone else sees orderlies, cops, and the subway. There is even a meta moment in issue No. 6, in which Steven Grant is a producer on a Moon Knight movie for Marvel Studios, shot by rock-star cinematographer Roger Deakins. It is a deliberately vague and disorienting comic, so were probably meant to be confused at this point in the television adaptation.

Fortunately, the sedatives wear off pretty quickly, and Marc remembers being shot by Harrow. He takes off down the hallway and hears screaming coming from a sarcophagus in a spare room. Marc opens the sarcophagus, and inside, amazingly, is Steven. In the chaos, all conflict is forgotten. They hug! This is the first time theyre meeting face-to-face in the flesh  the longed-for moment! Now, how is this happening? Theres no time to figure that out. They gotta get out of this hospital. Marc and Steven attempt to escape the hospital, pass another shaking sarcophagus in another room, and run directly into  how do I put this  a hippo.

Said hippo is, in fact, the Egyptian goddess Taweret. She is played/voiced by Antonia Salib. Taweret is the goddess of childbirth and fertility. Remember Lost? Remember that giant foot statue on Lost? That was originally a statue of Taweret. Its not clear what the cheerful goddess is up to. Shes not traditionally a member of the Ennead. But with her arrival, Moon Knight went from weird, to weirder, to weirdest  I cant wait to see what happens next.

Out of Orbit

 Alexander the Greats tomb actually has been missing for about 1,800 years, by the way.

 If I need a recipe for a protein shake or something, Ill call you has to be the sassiest thing Steven has said to Marc. These two need to borrow the marriage counselor from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Maybe, with Layla, they can be Disneys first throuple.

 That second shaking sarcophagus is Jake Lockley, the third named alter in Marvel comics, right? It has to be Jake. Im already pissed that we arent getting as much screen time with him as we should be.

 If Im putting the pieces together correctly, the night that Laylas father Abdullah died is also the night that Marc became Khonshus avatar. It feels like we should see this night in a flashback before the series is over  the clocks ticking.

 For what its worth, Ammit is also sometimes depicted as part hippopotamus like Taweret, and the two goddesses are seen as parallels. Taweret brings life, and Ammit takes it away. They could be sisters!

 The lamps swinging in the hospital probably arent a reference to the musical Hadestown, but Im going to pretend they are. We did just see the MCUs first Greek gods in the Thor: Love and Thunder teaser, after all.

 Theyve talked about it enough. If we dont get to see Layla become Khonshus avatar, even temporarily, and summon a Moon Knight suit of her own, what have we even been doing here?
Press Release

April 20, 2022 Drilon defends constitutionality of vetoed SIM Card Registration bill Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon on Wednesday defended the constitutionality of the vetoed SIM Card Registration bill as he underscored that the measure contains no constitutional infirmity, specifically the provision that merely mandates the use of one's real name and registered SIM card in creating social media accounts. "I am confident that the provision that we worked hard for in order to prevent trolls, fraudsters, scammers and online bullies from hiding behind fake names is constitutional and can withstand judicial scrutiny," Drilon said in a statement. "The measure is constitutional. The bill does not in any way limit speech. It does not curtail one's ability to post on social media. This is not designed to suppress any particular message," Drilon stressed. The bill only requires the use of one's real name and registered SIM card in creating social media accounts, he emphasized. "Even a freshman law student can tell that that provision would not violate any constitutional right. They should review their Constitution," the senator said. He added: "Is it a prior restraint on free speech? No, it is not. You can still post anytime, anywhere and whatever you want to post. Does it even regulate the time, place or manner of posting? It definitely does not." The bill also contains numerous safeguards to ensure privacy, Drilon underscored. Section 9 of the bill provides for the confidentiality clause which mandates that "any information obtained in the registration process described under this Act cannot be disclosed to any person." The disclosure may only be done in compliance with any law obligating the PTE or social media provider to disclose such information in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act. No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012; in compliance with a court order, legal process, or other government regulatory, or enforceable administrative request for information; in compliance with Section 10 of the bill; or with the written consent of the subscriber. Drilon also dismissed allegations that the inclusion of social media is a rider and a last-minute insertion. A rider is violative of the constitutional provision requiring that a bill passed by the Congress shall embrace only one subject which shall be expressed in the title thereof. The constitutional prohibition precludes the insertion of riders in legislation, a rider being a provision not germane to the subject matter of the bill. In this case, according to Drilon, the bill does not embrace more than one subject as the title itself is clear on this: "An Act to Eradicate Mobile Phone, Internet or Electronic Communicated-Aided Terrorism and Criminal Activities, Mandating for this Purpose Ownership Registration of All SIM Cards for Electronic Devices and Social Media Accounts." The title itself not only reasonably sets forth the metes and bounds of the legislation, but its purpose as well, he added. Moreover, Section 4 of the law is very clear: sim card and social media registration was mandated in "order to deter the proliferation of SIM Card, internet, or electronic communication-aided crimes, such as but not limited to: terrorism, text scams, unsolicited, indecent or obscene messages, bank fraud, liber, anonymous online defamation, trolling, hate speech, spread of digital disinformation or fake news."
Sun lights up Pantheon entrance on Romes birthday.

Rome's birthday, known as Natale di Roma, falls on 21 April, and this year the city marks 2,775 years since its legendary founding by Romulus in 753 BC.

One spectacular event that occurs in Rome's birthday is the Dies Natalis phenomenon at the Pantheon.

Each year on this date the midday sun enters the oculus of Rome's Pantheon and creates a disk of light that centres perfectly on the entrance doorway.

#NataleDiRoma2022 | Il Ministero della Cultura celebra il 2775esimo anniversario dalla fondazione di #Roma. Rivedi il video del #MiC sul passaggio di luce dall'oculus del @pantheon_roma che ogni #21aprile, a mezzogiorno, illumina il tempio di Agrippa: https://t.co/A2UtQI8xiZ pic.twitter.com/bW5it0WIxp  Ministero della Cultura (@MiC_Italia) April 21, 2022

At that exact time, the emperor would enter the temple, his body bathed in the intense golden sunlight.

In 2020 Italy's culture ministry released a video of the phenomenon which it described as "one of history's first great special effects."
Venice to charge tourists entry fee from 2023.

Tourists travelling to Venice will have to reserve their visits to the city's historic centre from this summer, the mayor Luigi Brugnaro announced on Monday.

"Tourism starts again", tweeted the mayor, as crowds of tourists thronged the canal city over the Easter weekend, peaking at 160,000 visitors on Saturday.

Brugnaro described the move as "the right way" to manage the city's tourism better, stating: "We will be the first in the world [to introduce] this difficult experiment."

The new booking system will come into effect this summer and in 2023 Venice will introduce an entry fee for day-tripper tourists arriving in the lagoon city.

Venice has decided to postpone the contentious entry fee system "given the two years of pandemic and suffering" for those in the hospitality industry - tourism councillor Simone Venturini told Corriere del Veneto newspaper on Tuesday - "We will use the next few months to fine-tune the booking platform."

The reservation system would require tourists to book online their visit to the city where, on arrival, they would enter via electronic turnstile gates at key access points, such as at the train station and St Mark's Square.

Local residents would be exempt from the booking system but not those coming from the surrounding Veneto region who would not, however, be required to pay any entry fee.

The reservation site along with details about how it will work are set to be presented in the coming weeks, Corriere del Veneto reports. It will start on an "experimental basis", said Venturini, who added that "adjustments and additions" would be required.

The system will automatically register residents and tourists staying in hotel accommodation but other visitors will have to enter their information on the booking website, reports the Corriere.

The entry fee proposal was first raised a few years ago by Mayor Brugnaro who said the system would tackle over-crowding and "hit-and-run" tourism.

Figures have not been finalised however before the covid pandemic the city council said that it planned to levy the entry fee, which would vary initially from a 3 standard daily rate to 6 on busier days, rising to 10 in the peak summer season.

The plan remains a source of contention among those living and working in Venice.

As Italian newspaper La Stampa put it last year, supporters of the proposal say it would treat Venice with the respect associated with a museum, while critics say it would turn the lagoon city into a theme park.

Photo credit: Stanislav Samoylik / Shutterstock.com.
Festa della Liberazione is marked with a public holiday in Italy.

Italy celebrates Liberation Day, known in Italian as Festa della Liberazione, with a national public holiday each year on 25 April.

The occasion is held in commemoration of the end of the Fascist regime and of the Nazi Germany occupation during world war two, as well as the victory of Italy's Resistance movement of partisans who opposed the regime.

Formed in 1943, the partigiani comprised a network of anti-Fascist activists, from diverse backgrounds including workers, farmers, students and intellectuals, across Italy.

Together they united in armed resistance against the Nazi occupation and the Fascist regime, making their struggle both a war of liberation and a civil war.

The date of 25 April marks the day in 1945 when a nationwide radio broadcast calling for a popular uprising and general strike against the Nazi occupation and Fascist regime was announced by the National Liberation Committee of Upper Italy (CLNAI), a political umbrella organisation representing the Italian resistance movement.

This announcement - made by partisan and future president of Italy Sandro Pertini - resulted in the capture and death of Fascist leader Benito Mussolini, who was shot three days later.

The first uprising and liberation took place in Bologna on 21 April 1945, followed two days later by Genoa, then Milan on 25 April, and Turin and Venice on 28 April.

All of northern Italy was liberated by 1 May, with the advance of the Allied forces, leading the occupying German forces to surrender officially on 2 May.

The Festa della Liberazione also represents a significant turning point in Italy's history, paving the way for the referendum of 2 June 1946 when Italians voted in favour of a republic and against the monarchy which had been discredited during the war and whose members went into exile.

Designated a national holiday in 1946, the Festa della Liberazione remains a divisive day in Italy, coming under attack each year from politicians on the right who refuse to celebrate the event.

In addition to the closure of schools, public offices and most shops, the day is marked traditionally by parades across the country, organised by ANPI, the National Partisan Association of Italy.

These events are marked with speeches, the laying of wreaths at monuments and tombstones honouring the women and men who fought in the Resistance, and the singing of Bella Ciao, the anthem of the anti-fascist resistance.

In late 2019 Italy announced plans to establish the Museo Nazionale della Resistenza, a national museum dedicated to the Italian Resistance movement, in Milan.
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We want our governments to be creative in solving intractable problems. But the new British policy of sending asylum seekers 4,000 miles away to Rwanda doesnt count as the innovative answer to people-smuggling that Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel claim. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Patel has faced constant criticism over her failure to tackle the problem of migrants crossing the English Channel. She announced a pushback policy last year to forcibly turn back dinghies carrying migrants  the final, dangerous leg of harrowing journeys for most of them. It proved ineffective and was shot down by Parliaments Joint Committee on Human Rights. The deaths of 27 migrants in one tragically failed crossing last year laid bare the broader failings of the governments policy.

So just before the long Easter weekend, Johnson announced a deal with Rwanda to eventually take tens of thousands of asylum seekers arriving by boat to Britain. Early reports spoke of a pilot plan that would target single males for deportation and suggested their asylum applications would be processed offshore. The actual program is far more draconian. Any adult asylum seeker will be forcibly deported to Rwanda, where they wont have the right to apply for U.K. asylum but must try their luck with Rwandas system.

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The furor the Rwandan plan has created seems partly by design. It helps deflect attention from the police fines being issued to Johnson and others in the government for breaking Covid lockdown restrictions. And the more noise the opposition makes about how unfairly the government is treating poor migrants, the easier it is for a rather embattled prime minister to convince voters that it has, as the Brexit slogan promised, taken back control over Britains borders.

Clever politics doesnt always make good policy, though. And its not even clear the government has gotten the politics right.

Its not just opposition Labour Party members who are critical. Former Prime Minister Theresa May said the deal failed to meet the bar on legality, practicality and efficacy. Andrew Mitchell, a Conservative lawmaker and former international development secretary, called it impractical, ineffective and expensive. Jewish leaders and the Archbishop of Canterbury have denounced the plan.

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The goal, as Johnson laid out, is to disrupt the business model of the people smugglers. Time will tell, but there is no good evidence that such policies will deter some of the worlds most vulnerable people from making that short but perilous journey. As one Afghan asylum seeker who escaped via that route noted, the people smugglers will continue to be persuasive. Those who manage to cross will immediately be criminalized (since they are denied any legal route to asylum), with many forced into effectively slave labor to survive.

The initial costs to the U.K. taxpayer  120 million pounds ($156 million)  will be but a small down payment on a program more likely to run into the billions. At those levels, it will be hard to argue that money isnt better spent on more humane policies for tackling the problem onshore.

There will certainly be a legal challenges, too. The deportation policy, like the governments stalled immigration bill, discriminates against asylum seekers on the basis of how they arrive in the country, while international law designates refugee status on the basis of the threat of persecution.

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Its success depends not only on the goal of deterrence being achieved, but also on the humane treatment of those who are deported. Israel famously sent asylum seekers to Rwanda as part of a voluntary program; many of them ended up with traffickers and faced other abuses and indignities. Israels supreme court shot down its expulsion plan and in April 2018, Israel suspended its policy of deportations of African asylum seekers. Denmark has also been pursuing an offshoring arrangement with Rwanda though the U.K. got to the finish line first, which makes you wonder what else is in that deal.

While Australias ultra-tough policy still wins votes, its offshore processing centers have seen deaths, suicides and inhumane treatment. They have been criticized by the United Nations, which says it violates the UN convention against torture and by the international criminal court. The Australia Supreme Court ruled the Papua New Guinea processing center illegal. (Former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has advised the government on its asylum policy and appears in a Home Office video promoting it.)

Whatever the imperfections of the current system, the danger here is that one kind of people trafficking will be replaced with another. The U.S. experience with deportation  where migrants are often painfully bound and often suffer abuse  offers a cautionary tale too, as a University of Washington Center for Human Rights study of deportation flights has shown.

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For all the positive change since a genocidal civil war in the 1990s, Rwandas human-rights record leaves much to be desired. Rwandan security forces shot and killed a dozen Congolese refugees in 2018 during a protest over food rations. The U.K. government has raised concerns about Rwandas human-rights record  including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions and lack of free expression; Rwandans have even been granted asylum in Britain.

If not this policy, then what, ask government ministers? One answer is real reform of the asylum system so that applications can be processed in an orderly and timely manner and asylum seekers treated humanely as they wait. Britain ranks below Sweden, the U.S., France and Germany in the number of refugees it takes, but asylum seekers in the U.K. face appalling wait times and often inadequate living conditions. They are also denied the right to work, which makes them dependent on the taxpayer and fuels some of the public discontent.

The government should amend the new immigration bill as the House of Lords requests and build legal routes for those determined to come. Any solution will also require better cooperation with France, where relations have varied from cool to practically hostile since Brexit.

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The government may be surprised to find that its dog-whistle policy doesnt get the response its counting on. Sunder Katwala, director of the U.K.-based think tank British Future, thinks the public will find the policy distasteful rather than a sign the government is finally cracking down on illegals.

War, climate change and other forces are creating more migrants and refugees, for which there are no easy answers. No doubt developed countries need to do more with aid and education to reduce the factors pushing migrants to leave their homes. But the trend toward externalization  shifting the problem offshore to some developing country so they are out of sight and mind  is a pernicious erosion of an ancient right and one that has been enshrined in international law since 1948. And that seems to be the governments direction of travel.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

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 Brexit Makes a Terrible Migrant Situation Worse: Lionel Laurent

 Priti Patel and the Britain that Says No!: Adrian Wooldridge

 Why Putin Unites Extremists on Both Left and Right: Ian Buruma

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Therese Raphael is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

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Some of the most consequential changes come upon us silently, almost without notice. The world is in the midst of one right now: Our doctrines of nuclear deterrence are obsolete and in desperate need of an update. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Some history: One of the most famous early concepts in deterrence theory was the doctrine of Mutual Assured Destruction, or MAD. Its logic was laid out by Thomas Schelling (a former doctoral advisor of mine), who won a Nobel Prize in economics in large part for his ideas on nuclear strategy.

The MAD doctrine is easy to explain: If they destroy us with nukes, we destroy them, thus creating a form of deterrence.

Sometimes Schelling is portrayed as an advocate of MAD. But he had an uneasy relationship with the doctrine. The basic dilemma was simple: Say the Soviets launched their nukes at the U.S. during the Cold War. Would a U.S. president have made the situation worse by destroying the Soviet Union in response? That would have shifted the final outcome from Much of North America is destroyed to Much of North America and Europe is destroyed, and the resulting nuclear winter is much worse. If Britain and France retaliated with their nukes  or if China, India and others entered the conflict  it would have been even worse.

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Given that the U.S. loses that war no matter what, would it have retaliated in such a situation? To bring the question to the present day: Would the U.S. retaliate with a huge missile launch against a full nuclear attack?

Maybe. Or perhaps probably. But does anyone know for sure?

All it takes is one nuclear-armed maniac to decide the U.S. is not credible about retaliation in such situations. However unlikely that scenario may be, MAD has to fail only once to be an utter disaster. Or perhaps the nuclear-armed maniac is the president of the United States (or a nuclear submarine commander), striking unilaterally at a major enemy, expecting no retaliation.

The 1964 movie Dr. Strangelove features a Soviet doomsday device programmed to retaliate automatically if it detects an incoming attack, thereby institutionalizing MAD. A problem arises when a deranged U.S. general orders a plane to stage a nuclear attack against the Soviet Union, causing the movies protagonists to race to prevent catastrophe. Matters do not end well. Thomas Schelling was an adviser to that movie. Its safe to say that, in the long run, he understood MAD was an unstable solution.

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Another problem with MAD was the risk of a data accident. Stanislav Petrov, a Soviet air defense commander, in 1983 disobeyed orders and refused to launch a retaliatory nuclear strike against the U.S. It turned out that the supposed American attack was a Soviet data error, and Petrov possibly saved the world from destruction. Good for him  but such episodes have made it harder to feel good about MAD, which relies on human accuracy and judgment.

In the immediate postwar era, following the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was commonly believed that another world war would follow a nuclear one. Since the 1960s, nuclear weapons have largely receded from the public consciousness. Nonetheless, nuclear war was very much a thinkable concept, however horrible it might have been.

Gradually, the use of nuclear weapons shifted into the unthinkable category. The longer the time since the actual use of nuclear weapons, the stronger the norms against the use of nuclear weapons. The decision to use them came to be seen as a choice that would upset everything about the international world order. Even a dirty bomb, which might not kill a lot of people, was morally classified as unthinkable  although potentially deadlier raids with conventional bombs were not.

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Following the 9/11 attacks, an earlier generation might have expected the U.S. to use at least tactical nuclear weapons against al Qaeda in Afghanistan. But the U.S. did nothing of the sort, not wanting to upset the well-established norm. Did the U.S. really want a world in which it would be acceptable for Russia to use tactical nukes in, say, Chechnya? Schelling himself, in his remarks and presentations, increasingly stressed the importance of norms in thinking about nuclear weapons regulation.

Thus the world moved almost imperceptibly toward an approach to nuclear deterrence that was fundamentally different from MAD. The MAD doctrine is based on fear. The norms doctrine is rooted in a kind of complacency  namely, the expectation that any state with nuclear weapons has a meaningful stake in the world order. MAD is a doctrine of perceived insecurity. The norms doctrine is one of perceived security.

From the vantage point of 2022, it is clear that the norms doctrine, while it served useful functions for decades  just as did the MAD doctrine  has its limitations. The most obvious is that norms tend to weaken and eventually collapse.

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Once the use of nuclear weapons became classified as unthinkable, political actors tried to extend that designation to other kinds of weapons. In doing so, they weakened the concept of unthinkability. The broader category of weapons of mass destruction, for example, was also supposed to be unthinkable. Yet Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein used them against Iran in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. This led some countries to support Iran, but Saddam remained in power until former President George W. Bush led the war against Iraq roughly two decades later.

In 2012, former President Barack Obama told Russian President Vladimir Putin that they should agree that chemical weapons should not be deployed in Syria, as that would constitute a red line. Syria went ahead and used them, and there was no major kinetic U.S. military response, thereby erasing that red line and possibly others.

The pattern is evident: Once the category of unthinkable weapons is created, it is expanded so much that it loses its credibility. Politicians tend to spend down the reputational capital that their predecessors build up.

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Another problem with the norms doctrine is that, sooner or later, there is value in breaking a norm  precisely because the norm was successful.

Think back to your high school. Your teachers probably set up behavioral norms that most everyone followed. That left room for a rebel who dared to defy those norms, if only for attention and to signal non-conformity.

With nuclear weapons, its not as if Putin or some other political rebel would use a bomb to make a point or to seem cool. Rather, Putin has been finding it useful to threaten the West and NATO with possible nuclear weapons use. If enough scary threats are issued, the use of nuclear weapons no longer seems unthinkable. And as the unthinkability norm erodes, eventually someone  Putin or not  may use nukes.

Finally, as mentioned above, the norms doctrine assumed the major nuclear powers all had a stake in a status quo. The Soviets made trouble in Nicaragua and other places, for example, but at the end of the day, they were not looking to overturn the entire apple cart. That wont always be the case. Some leaders may seek to overturn or at least revise that world order.

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These days there is the risk that Putin, facing defeat in Ukraine and an untenable situation domestically, might entertain the use of nuclear weapons to change what is otherwise an impossible dynamic. In such a scenario he would have no stake in the ex ante status quo, since that would be unlikely to allow him to die peacefully in his sleep.

The new doctrine in such situations may best be described as Escalate to de-escalate. Imagine Putin using a tactical nuclear weapon out of desperation, perhaps in the hope that some of the coalition against him will collapse or weaken. In that case the deployment would be followed by a dictate to negotiate on terms more favorable to Russia. Putin might think the use of nuclear weapons would give him at least some chance to escape his impossible situation.

This isnt panicky doomsaying. Some Kremlin insiders say they share the fear voiced by the CIA, which recently suggested that Putin may be tempted to use small nuclear weapons. Such talk, even if accurate, further normalizes the notion that the use of nuclear weapons is not unthinkable after all.

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The ongoing evolution of both nuclear and conventional weapons further blurs the distinction between the two and undercuts the notion that nuclear weapons are somehow special. On the one hand, conventional weapons are becoming more powerful. On the other, battlefield nukes can be more precisely targeted and therefore less generally destructive. A lot of the rest of the world  especially parts that have been bombed from the air or otherwise attacked  has already stopped seeing nuclear weapons as so special. As the Cold War recedes from memory, that trend is likely to continue.

Israel, an assumed but unacknowledged nuclear power, is in many ways a leading indicator of warfare trends, and it offers yet another example of how nuclear deterrence is evolving. Two developments are worth noting, both extensions of earlier trends but nonetheless reaching new extremes.

The first might be called warfare by any other name. For instance, since 2017 Israel has carried out more than 400 airstrikes, typically directed at Iranian or Iranian-supported forces in Syria, with some in Lebanon and Iraq. It also seems true that Israel has used drones to carry out strikes within Iran, and Iran sometimes retaliates (it sent missiles to take out Mossad offices in Iraq, for instance).

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These mutual attacks have become institutionalized on both sides. Israel is even reputed to have a hotline with Russia to ensure that Israeli attacks in Syria do not kill Russian troops.

These attacks are not typically big news in the U.S., and no one (yet?) goes around saying that Israel is openly at war with Iran. Yet arguably Israel is openly at war with Iran  its just that no one says so too loudly.

Countries seem increasingly able to classify attacks as intermediate events of less than full urgency, avoiding the need for a major immediate escalation of deterrence. The U.S., Russia and Russia-affiliated agents have led many thousands of cyberattacks against one another, for example, which is a kind of war. Yet the important point is that no one regards these attacks as literal acts of war.

Such an ability to look the other way is useful in the moment. But over time, is it stable? The risk is that quite a few countries are de facto at war with each other, yet no one ever quite admits it, and so those conflicts continue and escalate slowly. It seems naive to believe they will remain contained forever  and the gradual nature of the escalation may render it all the more likely.

The second Israeli development is Prime Minister Naftali Bennetts announcement of Israels new Iron Beam system, which is supposed to use lasers to knock down incoming drones. Bennett notes the system has been successfully tested, though it remains an open question how far it is from being practically meaningful. Still, if better defenses against drones are possible, then they are also possible against missiles  and they will change the calculus of nuclear deterrence.

If you can rapidly vaporize the missiles headed your way, a first strike, nuclear or otherwise, becomes thinkable once again. The forthcoming retaliation from your enemy might not penetrate your defenses enough to destroy you. Even if these defensive systems are years away, the countries lagging in this technology race will see them coming, and they may decide to engage in their preferred military actions sooner rather than later. Why wait until the odds have turned against you?

In other words: Better defenses, which are inevitable, will start the problem of nuclear deterrence all over again.

The lessons of these developments, taken as a whole, are disturbing. We used to think of nuclear deterrence as a problem that, once all major countries had enough weapons to kill each other many times over, had been solved. That was wrong. Any doctrine of nuclear deterrence is set in a particular political and social context and is relative to a particular set of expectations. As it turns out, each generation needs to reinvent successful nuclear deterrence for itself.

Are we up to the task? Is it even on anyones political agenda? We will find out, I suspect, soon enough.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Tyler Cowen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of economics at George Mason University and writes for the blog Marginal Revolution. His books include Big Business: A Love Letter to an American Anti-Hero.

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Do we dare hope for Yemen? A truce called at the start of the month has now held for three weeks, far longer than any previous cessation of hostilities. The United Nations envoy to the country, Hans Grundberg, who brokered the deal, has told the Security Council that there is a chance to steer Yemen in a new direction.

Yemenis will be grateful for even the slimmest of chances. The people of the Middle Easts poorest country have endured war for nearly seven years. The United Nations reckons nearly 400,000 have died as a result, and more than three million have been displaced from their homes. More than 24 million people, or 80% of the population, need humanitarian assistance, and 2 in 5 people are at high risk of starvation.

The wider world has long since stopped paying much attention to the unfolding catastrophe. Even before the war in Ukraine came to dominate the headlines, the fighting in Yemen  which pits an Iran-backed rebel militia known as the Houthis against the government, backed by a Saudi Arabia-led coalition  had been consigned to the inside pages.

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A country that gets little attention inevitably gets little aid. The UN has been unable to raise the money needed to alleviate Yemeni suffering. Its latest appeal for donations raised less than a third of the target.

The outside powers involved in the conflict have canceled each other out. After his two predecessors paid only lip service to the need for peace in Yemen, President Joe Biden suspended U.S. military support for the Saudi-led coalition. But Iran used this as an opportunity to increase its assistance to the Houthis, who ramped up their rocket and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

That the warring parties agreed on a truce when the world wasnt watching may, counterintuitively, be the best reason for optimism. Outside pressure can be an important factor in ending conflict, but it is so much the better when the combatants have independently concluded that it is in their interest to stop fighting.

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The Saudis recognize that they need to get out of a quagmire that has cost them tens of billions of dollars and earned them international opprobrium. The Yemeni government, in exile since the rebels took the capital Sanaa in 2014, realizes it cannot return in a military triumph. And the Houthis, having experienced their first major loss of territory earlier this year, seem to have accepted they cannot achieve complete domination of the country by force of arms.

All these things have been obvious to outside observers for several years. Belated as it is, the acknowledgement of these realities by the principal protagonists is good not only for Yemen but also the wider world.

Among other things, it removes a persistent threat to the supply of fossil fuels at a time when much of the global economy is struggling to cope with the loss of Russian oil as a result of the war in Ukraine. Only last month, the Saudis warned that their exports could be disrupted by continued Houthi attacks on the kingdoms oil infrastructure. An interruption in Saudi and Emirati supplies would send oil prices, already sky-high, into the stratosphere.

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So, quite apart from humane considerations, most of the world has a vested interest in the success of the truce. That includes the Biden administration, which should additionally be glad that it didnt have to expend much diplomatic or political capital to get the protagonists to this point. Better yet, there is no need for U.S. intervention in the next phase of peace-making: Best to let the UN take point on the whole exercise.

The first test of the truce is whether it lasts the full two months agreed by all the parties. The UNs Grundberg will have to use that time to get them around a table to negotiate a formal ceasefire, upon which they can begin to discuss an armistice and post-war arrangement of power. (See here for the distinctions between these terms.)

The process will undoubtedly be protracted and contentious, and all sides will need to help things along with gestures of good faith. The Saudis and Emiratis have already shown some by pressing Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to hand power to a governing council. The Houthis, having refused to talk to Hadi, must now reciprocate by agreeing to negotiate with the council.

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For good measure, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pledged $3 billion in aid to begin the repair of Yemens wrecked economy. That sum perfectly plugs the gap in donations sought during the latest UN appeal. Under the terms of the truce, the Sanaa airport will be reopened for commercial flights, which should allow some emergency aid to be flown in. The port of Hodeidah will also be opened for shipments of much-needed fuel.

Trickier compromises lie ahead, including the exchange of prisoners and the ending of the Houthi siege of the southwestern city of Taiz, where the rebels may have to cede battlefield gains.

There is always the possibility that the truce will end without any progress and the fighting will resume. The Houthis used a 2018 UN-brokered pause in the fighting around Hodeidah to rest and re-arm, eventually taking the port nearly a year later.

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And finally, theres a risk that the Houthis patrons in Tehran will lean on them to return to the battlefield. Iran would gain doubly from a resumption in hostilities. Its traditional enemies, the Saudis, would continue to bleed resources. And any spike in oil prices would allow the Islamic Republic to squeeze more revenue from its own sanctions-limited exports.

So theres a great deal that could yet go wrong in Yemen. But, at long last, theres at least the prospect of something going right.

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Bobby Ghosh is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering foreign affairs. A former editor in chief of the Hindustan Times, he was managing editor of Quartz and Time magazines international editor.

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Rooted in its campaign for a united Ireland, Sinn Fein was long an outsider in politics due to its links with the Irish Republican Army. With the conflict in Northern Ireland largely over following a 1998 peace deal, the movement has reinvented itself to appeal to a new generation of voters. It now stands a chance of becoming the biggest party in both the north and south of the island, making its demand for a referendum on unification harder to ignore.

1. What is Sinn Fein?

The party, whose name means Ourselves Alone, was created amid the campaign for Irish home rule at the start of the 20th century. After the Catholic south won its independence from Britain in 1921, Sinn Fein continued to oppose Britains hold on the mostly Protestant north. It only began to seriously contest elections south of the border in the 1980s under a strategy known as the Armalite and the Ballot Box. (The former is a gun manufacturer). Today, its a broadly center-left party that campaigns for higher government spending, better housing and increased taxes on the rich.

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2. What role did it play in the north?

During the conflict known as the Troubles, Sinn Fein was seen widely as the political wing of the republican movement that also included the Provisional IRA, though it never formally confirmed the association. The fighting was triggered by street protests in 1968 and claimed about 3,500 lives through to the Good Friday agreement. Sinn Feins leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness helped to negotiate the peace deal and moved into government in Northern Ireland.

3. How popular is Sinn Fein today?

Its been the biggest nationalist group in the norths power-sharing assembly since 2003, and opinion polls suggest it will overtake the Democratic Unionists as the largest party in an election on May 5. If it does, Sinn Fein could get to choose the regions first minister for the first time since the Good Friday accord, a seismic shift in a region historically dominated by parties loyal to Britain. South of the border in the Republic of Ireland, Sinn Fein has moved from fringe to mainstream after doubling its vote between 2007 and 2016. In 2020, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail -- the two parties that have largely dominated Irish politics since the states foundation -- had to form a coalition to keep Sinn Fein out of power.

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4. Why the surge in support?

Wrangling over how to keep trade flowing with EU-member Ireland after Britains departure from the European Union has made Northern Irelands position within the U.K. a major issue once more, playing into the partys key message. Brexit has also sown discord within Sinn Feins arch-rival the DUP, which has lost voters to other unionist parties and centrists. The May 5 election could help to determine the regions final post-Brexit arrangements as the assembly gets to vote on the issue in 2024 and has the power to scrap the status quo altogether. In the south, Fianna Fail and Fine Gaels support for each other since 2016 has allowed Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald to present herself as the only true agent of change. The party is especially popular among younger voters who were hit hardest by a housing shortage and have little memory of the Troubles.

5. What are Sinn Feins key policies?

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Sinn Fein wants planning to begin for a referendum on reunifying the island. In Northern Ireland, its also campaigning on a promise to help voters deal with the soaring cost of living. In the republic, it wants to freeze residential rents and increase government spending on new homes. It plans to abolish property levies, close corporate tax loopholes, ensure the rich contribute more in tax and cut the official age of retirement.

6. What does it mean for a united Ireland?

Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, only the British government is supposed to call a vote on unification if its seen as likely to pass in the north. There would then need to be a vote in the Republic as well. Its not clear that growing support for Sinn Fein reflects increased enthusiasm for a united Ireland: Only 32% of people backed the idea in an April poll for The Irish News, with 48% opposed. Significantly, more than half of those polled would be against unification if it meant paying higher taxes.

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After a judge overturned a CDC mandate that U.S. airlines require passengers to wear masks on airplanes, the TSA immediately stopped enforcing masking in airports. One viral video even showed a flight attendant walking down an airplane aisle asking people to throw their masks away. But with Covid cases on the rise again, what does mask-abandonment mean for public health? Even if you dont have to wear a mask on a plane, should you?

These questions are still frustratingly hard to answer. While science has brought us great advances in pharmaceutical interventions such as vaccines and Covid treatments, its provided little new information about the value of non-pharmaceutical interventions such as masks.

We know far less than we should about the Covid-19 risks associated with flying or the benefits of requiring cloth and surgical masks. We do know that people decrease their own risk of getting sick when they wear an N95 respirator while around other people. Reducing your own risk also protects others, since you cant give anyone Covid-19 if you never get infected.

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But far too little attention has focused on measuring the impact of public health measures. American public health officials simply decided that mandating face coverings would be our primary non-pharmaceutical intervention, under the assumption that we needed something to protect people while re-opening the economy. But that was an assumption  and one that hasnt been rigorously tested.

Several attempts at controlled trials showed a small benefit for universal masking with surgical masks  a 10% reduction in cases. Harvard medical professor Edward Nardell says theres good data showing surgical masks in a hospital setting reduced transmission of TB  not Covid  by about 50%. Its a different situation, but he thinks its reasonable to assume surgical masks masks help somewhat but dont render a risky situation safe.

In a recent interview, University of Minnesota epidemiologist Michael Osterholm pointed out that mask mandates may give people a false sense of safety. Theres little data on the benefit of cloth masks, and those are the masks that lots of people have been wearing on planes. Worse, lots of passengers remove their masks for large portions of a fight while they eat or drink. If the array of loose-fitting masks most people wear arent stopping airborne transmission, people might be taking more risks than they realize.

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Air flow is good on airplanes, so the risks arent nearly as bad as being in a similar-sized stuffy room full of other people, but there is some danger. Harvards Nardell said hed recommend people who are at higher risk, or just especially cautious, wear a fitted mask such as an N95. This isnt easy to wear for a long flight, and youd have to avoid the snacks and drinks  so that should figure into decisions that high risk people need to make about whether to take an overseas vacation or a local road trip.

Not all high-risk conditions are alike, so its a good idea to consult your doctor before booking a flight, said Leonard Marcus, co-director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard University. That would be a good idea even with the mask mandate, though he thinks the end of the mandate will make flying somewhat more risky. He also said airplane masking doesnt have to be all black or white; for example, at times when cases are low, vaccinated people might make a reasonable choice to take off their mask to eat and drink. However, he said right now U.S. cases are edging upward and we could see a new surge with new sub-variants of omicron BA.2.

Its not too late to learn more about the impact of masking and of different types of face coverings. Controlled studies werent possible during mask mandates. Now researchers could gather data on volunteers who sign up for masked or unmasked flights.

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This is not a good time to scale back on research and mitigation efforts. Vaccines didnt end the pandemic as hoped, and new variants continue to pose new threats. Scientists and public health officials should be doing more, not less, to learn how to keep people safer. We need more free tests, more help with getting immune-compromised people antiviral drugs, more nudges to get older people boosted and more scientific research on which activities and situations pose the biggest threats.

Experts I interviewed earlier in the pandemic said they saw no downside to universal masking and a potential upside, so it seemed reasonable to do it even without much data. Its ridiculous that two years in, we still dont have the data we need to know how valuable masking is  or isnt. Covid is here to stay, and it could be a great benefit to us all to know what helps and what doesnt.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Faye Flam is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and host of the podcast Follow the Science. She has written for the Economist, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Psychology Today, Science and other publications.

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Corporate bosses could always count on Singapores culture of obedience to herd small investors into lowball mergers or take-private deals. No longer. Shareholders are fighting back, with real estate investment trusts emerging as the battleground for activists to take on managers. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Its a welcome development. REITs pool investors money and raise debt to own property. They pass on most of the rental revenue and gains on sales  after maintenance expenses, management fees, property levies and interest costs  as dividends. To the citys wealthy but aging population, these tax-efficient investment vehicles have an intuitive appeal.

But Singapores favorite asset class has a governance problem. By wielding outsize influence on the managers of trusts  which are often privately owned operations  REIT sponsors are able to push an agenda that may not always be in the best interests of minority investors. Yet, thanks to activists like Swiss value investor Jan Moermann, such maneuvers are no longer guaranteed to win.

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In December 2020, Moermanns Quarz Capital Management Ltd. and Hong Kong-based Black Crane Capital persuaded shareholders to vote down the proposed all-stock merger of Sabana Shariah Compliant Industrial REIT with ESR-REIT, a larger rival. ESR Cayman Ltd., a Hong Kong-based owner and developer of logistics assets, controls the manager of ESR-REIT while being the largest unit holder in Sabana REIT. The manager of Sabana, which owns warehouses and other industrial properties, had recommended to investors that they accept the offer even though it was 25% below the book value of their shares.

From South Korea to India, shareholder activism in Asia has tended to run into nationalist outrage-mongering. Singapore is different. While a questioning culture may be new to the island-state, openness to foreign money and ideas is ingrained. Which is why the first defeat of an undervalued Singapore REIT merger became a watershed, emboldening even local investors to adopt a somewhat more confrontational stance.

After two trusts linked to Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte. announced a S$4.2 billion ($3.1 billion) tie-up last December, David Gerald, the president of the citys two-decade-old Securities Investors Association, shot off a press statement, asking the manager if unit holders of Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust wouldnt be better served by only considering a merger at an offer price above net asset value. Following Moermanns activism and Geralds letter, Mapletree Commercial Trust  the acquirer  added a pure-cash option to the all-scrip and scrip-plus-cash menu, effectively sweetening its offer.

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Going beyond special situations such as buyouts and mergers, activist investors are shining a light on the process by which a REIT manager in Singapore arrives at any financing decision, scrutinizing it for its potential to add or destroy value. To that end, Moermann is once again engaged in a war of words with Donald Han, the chief executive officer of the manager of Sabana Industrial REIT. (It has dropped its Shariah Compliant tag so it can own industrial properties that dont necessarily follow Islamic principles.)

The manager wants shareholders to approve a dividend reinvestment plan, issuance of new shares, and appointment of Charlie Chan, a former Credit Suisse Group AG trader, as an independent director. Quarz, the second-largest investor in Sabana, says in a YouTube video that it has serious doubts about Chans independence as he has had financial dealings with ESR Cayman, the REITs controlling shareholder, in the past.

Besides, according to Bloomberg data, Chan is the fifth-largest shareholder of Aims Apac REIT, a rival to Sabana in which ESR Cayman again owns the biggest stake. Han has responded by saying that Chans dealings with ESR Cayman took place before it became a sponsor of Sabana. Chan told the Business Times that hes just a shareholder in Aims Apac, and not a kingmaker.

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Moermanns team is also asking shareholders to vote against the proposed equity dilution. As one of Singapores more lightly leveraged REITs, Sabana can always raise additional debt. In an e-mail reply to my questions, Han said that while the trust has substantial headroom to borrow, its crucial to have more options available in order to act on new opportunities should they arise.

So far, however, Quarzs advice to Sabana shareholders has been on the money: Since the merger fell through, the stock has given a total return of 44%, the third best among all Singapore REITs. And while the manager may be right about the need to scale up the trust, it wont hurt to improve its track record of extracting value from existing assets. Sabana sold a six-story data center for S$99.6 million in cash in January 2019. Two years and a renovation later, 9, Tai Seng Drive had won a certificate for environmental-friendliness and was valued by the new owner at S$280 million.

Han says that data centers require high capital expenditure to develop and specialized expertise  which Sabana didnt have  to manage them. Additionally, a Singapore government moratorium on new data centers in 2019 altered the demand-supply situation, a development that the REIT manager couldnt possibly have foreseen. The sale proceeds were used, among other things, to add a new retail and F&B component to the trusts flagship technology park. However, Quarz says the per square foot cost of this enhancement was even higher than building a new mall on Orchard Road, Singapores main shopping district.

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Whatever the outcome of the April 26 shareholder meeting, Quarzs advocacy has already led to an improvement in how intermediaries report the votes of investors in respect to the shares in their custody. The citys one proxy rule used to present a distorted picture of shareholders intention by preventing banks and brokers from submitting two separate aggregate values of for and against votes by their customers. The usual practice was to simply report the difference in the winning sides favor. Now that custodians have to supply both values in the proxy form, dissent in M&A situations has a fairer shot at success.

Next year will mark the 10th anniversary of a penny-stock scandal that sapped the confidence of Singapore investors. Over the past decade, the stock market has seen daily turnover shrink at a compounded annual rate of 1%. REITs have been a rare bright spot, and shareholders are doing their bit to protect its sheen: The increasingly keen contests over everything from price to proxy suggests that the city-states polite investors are no longer pushovers. But regulators have a role, too. Making REIT managers more accountable to all unit holders  and not just the sponsor  is the obvious next step.

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Andy Mukherjee is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies and financial services. He previously was a columnist for Reuters Breakingviews. He has also worked for the Straits Times, ET NOW and Bloomberg News.

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It has been eight decades since the Battle for Guadalcanal was fought between Allied Forces and the Japanese Imperial Army. Today, the Solomon Islands are again at the center of a Pacific power game  one that pits the U.S. and its strategic partners against their latest adversary, China. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight News that the Peoples Republic and the Solomons had signed a framework agreement on security cooperation was met with significant unease Tuesday in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, where officials fear it could pave the way for a Chinese naval base in the Pacific. (The World War II fight over Guadalcanal, the Solomons main island, was sparked by Tokyos decision in 1942 to move in troops and laborers to construct an airfield, which would have given Japan an advantage in the Pacific theater.)

That Beijing has come out on top of this latest tussle for maritime influence indicates Australias 2016 policy of re-engagement with its Pacific neighbors  and a $1.5 billion infrastructure fund established two years later  has been found wanting. Last weeks visit by Pacific Minister Zed Seselja to the Solomons seems to have done little to persuade the government that Canberra was serious about its support. Solomons opposition leader told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he had warned Canberra about the pending military deal as early as August last year and got nowhere.

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Canberra has long been guilty of treating its island neighbors poorly  using them as expensive prisons for refugees and asylum seekers as part of its deeply criticized offshore detention regime, or neglecting the urgent and impending climate crisis thats literally lapping at islanders doors. In 2015, then-immigration minister and now defense minister Peter Dutton was caught on a hot mic joking about the impact of rising sea levels on island nations. (At the time, he was with Scott Morrison, whos now prime minister.)

A White House delegation due to arrive in the Solomons in the coming days  led by National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell, in a tour that also includes, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Hawaii  also looks like it has come too late. A draft proposal leaked last month indicated China could make ship visits to, carry out logistical replenishment in, and have stopover and transition in Solomon Islands, with Chinese forces to be used to protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects in Solomon Islands.

The U.S. warned the deal would leave the door open for the deployment of Peoples Liberation Army troops to the Solomons, which lie about 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) off Australias east coast and sit on a key shipping route linking Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the U.S. It sets a concerning precedent for the wider Pacific Island region, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday.

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Australia and the U.S. have been scrambling since the news of the security agreement was leaked, notes Natasha Kassam, a former Australian diplomat in China and the Solomon Islands who is the director of the Lowy Institutes public opinion and foreign policy program. And they have their work cut out. Many Pacific island nations have expressed concerns that Western countries only pay attention to them when China is a factor, serving as a reminder that last minute interventions are no substitute for long-term and sustained dialogue, Kassam said.

Solomon Islands officially broke ties with Taiwan in 2019. The decision split its political leadership, with the opposition, arguing that relations with Beijing could compromise land rights, rule of law and cultural heritage. Tensions came to a head last November with an outbreak of anti-China violence in the capital, Honiara. Beijing sent police advisers to the archipelago; Australian peacekeepers were also deployed, and they will remain on the ground until December 2023.

For its part, China said Pacific countries should diversify their foreign relations, and criticized the U.S. response to the deal. Deliberately hyping up tensions and provoking confrontational blocs wins no support and attempts to obstruct cooperation with China is doomed to fail, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Tuesday.

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Beijing has long been increasing its influence in the Pacific through both formal and informal channels, Hayley Channer, a Canberra-based senior policy fellow at the Perth USAsia Center, tells me. Last years riots in the Solomons opened the door for China to propose a security pact like this  but this agreement goes much further than just protecting Chinese citizens. It would be a way for the PLA to project power closer to Australian shores, which is why Australia and the U.S. are concerned, Channer says.

Coming just weeks out from Australias May 21 federal election, the China deal is a blow to Morrison, whose conservative government is under pressure from the Labor Party. It caps a tumultuous few years for relations between China, on one hand, and Australia and the U.S., on the other. A trade war that started during the administration of President Donald Trump hit Australia  the most China-dependent economy in the developed world  hard. Canberras decision to ban Huawei Technologies Co. from participating in its 5G network and the passage of anti-foreign-interference laws worsened relations.

Canberra shouldnt get mad, Channer says. It should get even, by convincing Pacific Island countries that what Australia and its allies have to offer  whether thats defense cooperation, economic aid or critical infrastructure  is more compelling. But first, the allies have to get their act together. Otherwise, Chinese influence will just move from one island in the Pacific to another.

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More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Djokovic Debacle Exposes Australian Xenophobia: Ruth Pollard

 U.S. Tries Chinas Salami Slicing to Defend Taiwan: Hal Brands

 Chinas Navy Is Setting Sail for the Atlantic: James Stavridis

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Ruth Pollard is a columnist and editor with Bloomberg Opinion. Previously she was South and Southeast Asia Government team leader at Bloomberg News. She has reported from India and across the Middle East and focuses on foreign policy, defense and security.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

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Headline numbers for ASML Holding NV look bad, but what they really show is a global powerhouse struggling to handle its own unassailable popularity. The Dutch maker of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment forecast second-quarter revenue 10% below analyst estimates. Distraught investors, whove already driven the stock down 21% this year, ought to take a chill pill. While its not great that more than 500 million euros ($541 million) in sales is left on the table for the June period, part of that shortfall is due to clients own impatience.

Chipmakers including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Samsung Electronics Inc. and Intel Corp. rely on ASML for the most advanced manufacturing in the world. Its top-of-the-line machine, using extreme ultraviolet light, costs around $150 million and the company is able to produce just 55 units per year. But customers dont want to wait, and theyre pushing the Veldhoven-based supplier to move faster.

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As a result, around 800 million euros of sales are being pushed back to subsequent quarters due to a quirk in the companys business model. Before revenue is recognized, a piece of gear must be built and tested in its own factories. But in response to clients haste, ASML has started shipping and installing systems directly at client fabs before all the verification is finished. Called fast shipments, this process pushes back the date at which customers might formally accept delivery, and thus the timeline for revenue recognition. For the full year, however, the companys sales growth target of 20% remains unchanged.

This recent surge in fast shipments points to the simple fact that supply cannot meet demand. Recent lockdowns in China have made the situation worse because components needed for ASMLs equipment cant be made or shipped. A January fire at a factory in Berlin, by contrast, was a mere interruption that barely derailed output. Inflationary pressures, staff shortages and hiring, and even the logistical challenges of diverting around Russian and Ukrainian airspace are all taking their toll on margins. The total cost could wipe 200 million euros off earnings this year.

But the company has a plan. Or at least, it thinks it does. In a statement Wednesday, ASML said it would revisit our scenarios for 2025 and growth opportunities beyond. What that means is surveying its own suppliers to see how feasible it is to boost capacity beyond projections the company gave even a quarter ago. While semiconductors are a fast-moving sector, chip equipment is forecast years in advance with very technical and complicated supply chains.

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Bullishness from big names like TSMC and Intel, coupled with more nations  including China and the U.S.  deciding they want to bolster their own technological sovereignty has convinced ASML that demand will remain strong through to the end of the decade. All thats left for the Dutch giant to do now is prove to clients, and investors, that it can ramp up quickly enough to meet the challenge.

More From This Writer and Others at Bloomberg Opinion:

 Why the TSMC Juggernaut Shows No Signs of Slowing: Tim Culpan

 Europe Wants to Reshore But Its Complicated: Rachel Sanderson

 Chinas $150 Billion Chip Push Has Hit a Dutch Snag: Alex Webb

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Tim Culpan is a technology columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. Based in Taipei, he writes about Asian and global businesses and trends. He previously covered the beat at Bloomberg News.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

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It was her roommates idea, and at the time it seemed like a good one. She said, Lets do edibles and watch Cats,  says Sarah, a 26-year-old audiovisual producer from Louisville. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The big-screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webbers famous feline musical had been making news for all the wrong reasons, causing a gleeful feeding frenzy of criticism. As a cinematic fiasco, Cats became alluring in unintended ways: Sarah and her roommate decided that the movie could be worth their while, with the right preparations.

So, they each ate a chocolate candy infused with 5 milligrams of cannabis. They didnt feel anything after a while, so they smoked a bit, too.

The pair arrived at the theater and settled into their seats.

Im feeling kind of okay at that point, Sarah says, like maybe I can get through this. Then, just as the first frame of the movie came up, I feel, like, a spot on the center of my forehead light up and start tingling, and it radiates throughout my whole body.

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Uh-oh.

And I was like, Oh, God, can I do this? 

To be clear, The Washington Post does not endorse illicit drug use. And for most people, Cats is unnerving enough sober. It tells the story of a group of singing, dancing alley cats who compete for the chance to go to the Heaviside Layer, a metaphor for death and rebirth into the next of their nine lives. Critics have described the movie adaptation  which features a parade of superstars (Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden and others) rendered as uncanny human-cat hybrids  as a feverish drug dream, a bad trip. It is expected to lose as much as $100 million, according to Variety.

But those reviews have been a siren call for people who believe they know how to salvage an irretrievably weird movie, at least for themselves: by doing drugs first.

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Hundreds of people told The Post their stories about seeing Cats while high  some on marijuana, others on psilocybin mushrooms, LSD and other mind-altering substances.

Here are their reviews:

The most incredible cinematic experience of my life.

The most terrifying experience of my life. I swear to God my soul escaped me.

Cried both times. Planning on going two more times.

Vomited four times but ultimately understood the film on a deep level.

Had a panic attack in the middle of it . . . right after Taylor Swift sang Macavity. 

When Judi Dench turned and looked me directly in the eyes to let me know that a cat is not a dog, I was terrified.

It was unclear, on balance, whether getting high made Cats better, or much, much worse. Certainly, it seemed to raise the emotional stakes. One person reported bursting into tears before the film even started, during a trailer for Trolls World Tour.

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Recreational marijuana is legal in 11 states and the District, and a number of the people interviewed for this story asked that their full names be withheld  either because marijuana was not legal in their state or because they worried about professional repercussions. But going to Cats stoned seemed to be something people were doing, and sure enough, an open call on Twitter yielded a deluge of testimonials.

Annaliese Nielsen, who owns a cannabis brand in Los Angeles, used a strain of weed calibrated for relaxation, but found herself unable to relax in a dark theater illuminated by the ghastly cat face of Corden. Im 36 and announced, Im scared! to my fellow moviegoers at least seven times, says Nielsen, who called the film a special kind of evil.

Charlotte Clymer, 33, an LGBTQ activist in Washington, ate THC-infused gummy candies before her screening, and also found the movie terrifying. Three-quarters of the way through the movie, she says, I was like, I hope I dont hate my own cats when I get home. 

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Raina, a 25-year-old from South Carolina, also ate gummies. She could not get past the mismatched proportions of the cats in the film. Sometimes they were cat-sized, sometime they were human-sized, and sometimes they appeared to be the size of mice.

She made it 10 minutes, she says, and then I went to the AMC bathroom and threw up.

Soon after the tingling feeling started in her forehead, Sarah, the 26-year-old from Louisville, realized that she and her roommate had made a miscalculation. The humanlike cats (catlike humans?) were grotesque. Sarah couldnt stop staring at their feet. Er, paws. No, hands. Where their fur ends and their human hands start, it would move in a weird unnatural way, she says. At one point, Jennyanydots, the cat played by Rebel Wilson, eats dancing cockroaches who have human faces, in a horrifying scene.

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I felt like I was losing my mind, Sarah says. I was just concentrating on taking deep breaths.

But then there are the people for whom Cats under the influence was positively moving.

I was so delighted, says Kat (yes, her real name), a 32-year-old in Los Angeles. I was like, Is this genius? Is this the best thing I have ever seen? 

I had a realization partway through that I am the only person in the world who understands Cats,  says Kate, 31, a medical researcher in Chicago, who soon found herself plotting a Cats-based doctoral thesis while still in the theater: She would examine the class dialectic of 1930s London (when T.S. Eliot wrote the poems that inspired Cats), the late 80s heyday of Webber and police brutality in 2019.

It doesnt sound as groundbreaking now, Kate says, but please remember I was very stoned.

In New York, a 26-year-old man named Ryan, who messaged The Post while still high on the edibles he took for that evenings screening, expressed his lust for a particular cat I would love to do bad things to me. (It was Munkustrap, played by chiseled ballet dancer Robbie Fairchild).

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In Michigan, a 33-year-old man named Zachary, also on edibles, wrestled with his own attraction to the cat version of Swift. (Her face still looks like Taylor Swift, he tells The Post  and also, it seems, himself. But no, shes a monster.)

A 40-year-old Washingtonian named Danielle found herself confounded  first in an academic way, then in a giggling-uncontrollably way  by the below-the-belt anatomies of the creatures on-screen.

In Seattle, a 26-year-old teacher named Dan ate a 20-milligram THC caramel and popped on his headphones to see if Cats would sync up with Pink Floyds The Dark Side of the Moon, like The Wizard of Oz is supposed to do, according to stoner lore. If you spin the album twice, Dan reports, McKellens performance of Gus: The Theatre Cat aligns perfectly with The Great Gig in the Sky.

In Los Angeles, a 23-year-old actor named Davis, who went to the movie with some friends, took a huge hit of amyl nitrite (i.e. poppers) at a key moment. It was literally as Jennifer [Hudson] screams out, Touch meeeeee, its so easy to leave meeeeeee, the poppers for all three of us kicked in, he says. I felt myself hit the Heaviside Layer like Grizabella, the glamour cat.

Could Cats, dead on arrival with critics and mass audiences, ascend to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn as a stoner classic? Theres talk that the movie could be the next Rocky Horror Picture Show, a cult film from 1975 that still inspires audiences to dress up as the characters and yell at the screen. On Twitter, someone posted video of an audience member in a cat suit dancing along to the credits. Some theaters, like the Alamo Drafthouse, are hosting rowdy screenings of Cats where people  many in various states of inebriation  are encouraged to yell at the screen. Other screenings not explicitly designated as rowdy are becoming communal experiences nonetheless  or, perhaps, mass trauma events.

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One Cats viewer who ate a THC-infused caramel, a 43-year-old Tony-award-winning Broadway producer in New York, described a bonding experience with other attendees in the sparsely populated theater: Just like, okay, were doing this together, this is a thing that is transpiring, and we are bearing witness.

The precise moment when he punctured the looking glass happened toward the end of the movie, following the kidnapping of Old Deuteronomy, played by Dench. When Mr. Mistoffelees, the magician cat, conjured Judi Dench back, and she sang his tune for the 900th time, he says, I lost touch with what we understand is reality. At that point, the rest of the audience was in gales of laughter as well, and then it was just a slide down the chute of hysteria to the end.

When they left the theater, there was just silence, no one had words, says the Broadway producer. No one could name what had happened to us.

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Maryland Del. Talmadge Branch (D-Baltimore City), majority whip for more than a decade, withdrew his candidacy for another term in office late Friday, about two hours ahead of a deadline for candidates to file to run. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Branch, who has been a member of the House of Delegates since 1995, had filed in February, declaring his intent to seek another term. But he opted Friday to withdraw. An East Baltimore resident, Branch represented the 45th District, and had served as majority whip in the House since 2007.

In a news release, Branch called serving in the General Assembly the greatest privilege of my life.

I am gratified and blessed for the opportunity to have worked on behalf of the people of this great state, and to have served the past three years working alongside my daughter, he said. Ive held a front-row seat to Maryland history and Im extremely thankful.

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His daughter, Democratic Del. Chanel Branch, holds another of the three 45th District seats. She and fellow incumbent Del. Stephanie M. Smith, also a Democrat, have filed to run to keep their offices. Also running are Democrats Jackie Addison, George Johnson and Caylin Young.

Republican Antonio Barboza will face the winners of the July 19 primary in the November general election.

Branch, who made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2020, has been a mainstay in the House of Delegates, previously leading the Legislative Black Caucus and serving as vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

As majority whip, Branch worked behind the scenes to make sure Democrats passed key bills and overrode gubernatorial vetoes. Branch coordinated more than a dozen deputy whips who worked with him to persuade members to vote with party leaders.

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During his campaign to replace the late Democratic U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Baltimore in 2020, Branch told the Baltimore Sun that he was motivated to push for crime- fighting legislation after his 22-year-old grandson, Tyrone Ray, was fatally shot in 2017 outside a convenience store in Northeast Baltimore. Branch argued successfully the next year for $3.6 million to expand the Safe Streets violence prevention program to at least 10 neighborhoods across the city.

Branch said he delayed making his decision to withdraw official, calling it bittersweet.

You kind of know that the time is now, but at the same time you kind of hate to let it go, he said.

Branchs late withdrawal stood out Friday amid an otherwise uneventful filing deadline for state election officials. The deadline, typically in February, was twice delayed amid legal battles over redistricting. The fight also forced the delay of Marylands primary from June 28 to July 19.

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That battle was largely quieted when the Maryland Court of Appeals rejected a challenge to a General Assembly-approved map of state legislative districts. Multiple lawsuits from Republican politicians and voters were unsuccessful in arguing the map violated provisions of the states constitution. The ruling allowed the new districts for electing members of the General Assembly to go into effect.

Jared DeMarinis, director of candidacy and campaign finance for the Maryland State Board of Elections, said the filing deadline was the quietest he could recall in his tenure. Candidates had extra time to make up their minds on whether to run, he said.

[The legislative] session is over. Its so late this year, DeMarinis said. This is by far the slowest and the least festive of them all.

Still, some straggling candidates made moves Friday. State Del. Jay Jalisi filed to run for state Senate in District 10, which includes a portion of Baltimore County. Incumbent Sen. Delores G. Kelley is retiring.

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Jalisi, a Democrat who also ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2020, was publicly reprimanded by his House of Delegates colleagues in 2019 for an ongoing pattern of bullying and abusive workplace behavior.

Jalisi will face Democratic Del. Ben Brooks; Lawrence Williams, who ran for the position in 2018; and Stephanie Boston, a repeat candidate for the position who most recently lost a bid for the post as a Republican in 2018. Boston is currently a registered Democrat.

Republican William Newton is running unopposed.

Other candidates formalized their plans earlier last week. On Thursday, Laura Neuman, the former Republican county executive for Anne Arundel County who launched a potential run for governor as a Democrat, decided to drop out of the race. Neuman had announced her intention to run in January, but never filed the paperwork to appear on the ballot. Shes now endorsed Comptroller Peter Franchot for governor.

 Baltimore Sun

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Judge: Suit against Greene can proceed Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight A federal judge ruled Monday that a group of Georgia voters can proceed with their legal effort to disqualify Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) from running for reelection because of her alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. Free Speech For People, a national election and campaign finance reform group, filed the challenge in March with the Georgia secretary of states office, alleging that Greene, who has built a reputation as one of former president Donald Trumps most fervent supporters, helped facilitate the violent insurrection aimed at preventing Congress from confirming Joe Bidens win.

The organization also filed a similar lawsuit on behalf of North Carolina voters to prevent Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R) from running for reelection because of his alleged role in the storming of the Capitol but was initially unsuccessful.

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The challenges claim that the lawmakers actions violate the 14th Amendment, which states that no one can serve in Congress who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress  to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.

Greene, 47, filed a lawsuit earlier this month requesting that a judge block Georgia officials from enforcing the state law being used by Free Speech For People in its challenge.

Judge Amy Totenberg of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia denied Greenes request for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order.

While expressing her disappointment with the lawsuit, Greene suggested Monday night on Fox News that Republicans could look into retaliatory efforts to disqualify Democratic lawmakers from reelection.

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 Eugene Scott

Killer of philanthropist gets 190 years in jail

A parolee who murdered 81-year-old philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, the wife of a legendary music executive, was sentenced Tuesday to 190 years in a California prison.

Aariel Maynor, 30, pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in Los Angeles Superior Court last month and admitted that he used an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle to shoot Avant in her Beverly Hills home on Dec. 1 and fired several rounds at her security guard as he fled.

Avant was married to Clarence Avant, a Grammy winner known as the Godfather of Black Music for mentoring and helping the careers of artists including Bill Withers, Little Willie John, L.A. Reid, Babyface, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Maynor shot Jacqueline Avant in the back when she surprised him after he broke into the couples house during a burglary attempt in which he hoped to steal $50,000, prosecutors said. After fleeing the scene, he broke into a home in the Hollywood Hills and then accidentally shot himself in the foot as he was leaving.

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Prosecutors said Maynor had searched for information on Clarence Avant and the couples address the day before the killing.

 Associated Press

Snowstorm leaves over 250,000 without power: More than a quarter of a million homes and businesses in the Northeast were without power Tuesday after a spring storm packing powerful winds and heavy, wet snow swept across the region. The storm left more than 190,000 homes and businesses in New York state and another 47,000 in Pennsylvania without power. Another 32,000 customers in Maine and Vermont were also without electricity, Poweroutage.us reported.

 Reuters

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Amber Heard is an actress and ambassador on womens rights at the American Civil Liberties Union. I was exposed to abuse at a very young age. I knew certain things early on, without ever having to be told. I knew that men have the power  physically, socially and financially  and that a lot of institutions support that arrangement. I knew this long before I had the words to articulate it, and I bet you learned it young, too.

Like many women, I had been harassed and sexually assaulted by the time I was of college age. But I kept quiet  I did not expect filing complaints to bring justice. And I didnt see myself as a victim.

Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our cultures wrath for women who speak out.

Listen to broadcast journalist Connie Chung read a letter to Christine Blasey Ford, acknowledging publicly for the first time that she was sexually abused. (Video: Kate Woodsome, Danielle Kunitz/The Washington Post)

Friends and advisers told me I would never again work as an actress  that I would be blacklisted. A movie I was attached to recast my role. I had just shot a two-year campaign as the face of a global fashion brand, and the company dropped me. Questions arose as to whether I would be able to keep my role of Mera in the movies Justice League and Aquaman.

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I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.

Imagine a powerful man as a ship, like the Titanic. That ship is a huge enterprise. When it strikes an iceberg, there are a lot of people on board desperate to patch up holes  not because they believe in or even care about the ship, but because their own fates depend on the enterprise.

In recent years, the #MeToo movement has taught us about how power like this works, not just in Hollywood but in all kinds of institutions  workplaces, places of worship or simply in particular communities. In every walk of life, women are confronting these men who are buoyed by social, economic and cultural power. And these institutions are beginning to change.

We are in a transformative political moment. The president of our country has been accused by more than a dozen women of sexual misconduct, including assault and harassment. Outrage over his statements and behavior has energized a female-led opposition. #MeToo started a conversation about just how profoundly sexual violence affects women in every area of our lives. And last month, more women were elected to Congress than ever in our history, with a mandate to take womens issues seriously. Womens rage and determination to end sexual violence are turning into a political force.

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We have an opening now to bolster and build institutions protective of women. For starters, Congress can reauthorize and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act. First passed in 1994, the act is one of the most effective pieces of legislation enacted to fight domestic violence and sexual assault. It creates support systems for people who report abuse, and provides funding for rape crisis centers, legal assistance programs and other critical services. It improves responses by law enforcement, and it prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ survivors. Funding for the act expired in September and has only been temporarily extended.

We should continue to fight sexual assault on college campuses, while simultaneously insisting on fair processes for adjudicating complaints. Last month, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos proposed changes to Title IX rules governing the treatment of sexual harassment and assault in schools. While some changes would make the process for handling complaints more fair, others would weaken protections for sexual assault survivors. For example, the new rules would require schools to investigate only the most extreme complaints, and then only when they are made to designated officials. Women on campuses already have trouble coming forward about sexual violence  why would we allow institutions to scale back supports?

I write this as a woman who had to change my phone number weekly because I was getting death threats. For months, I rarely left my apartment, and when I did, I was pursued by camera drones and photographers on foot, on motorcycles and in cars. Tabloid outlets that posted pictures of me spun them in a negative light. I felt as though I was on trial in the court of public opinion  and my life and livelihood depended on myriad judgments far beyond my control.

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I want to ensure that women who come forward to talk about violence receive more support. We are electing representatives who know how deeply we care about these issues. We can work together to demand changes to laws and rules and social norms  and to right the imbalances that have shaped our lives.

Read more:

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Russias invasion of Ukraine is one of the most documented wars ever. (The Post)

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In fact, its not so much the story of Joseph Haffmann, the seldom-seen jeweller played by the legendary Daniel Auteuil, as his assistant, Francois Mercier (Gilles Lellouche). The idea is brilliant.

The result is a powerful movie that wanders far from the play - but not so far that we cant see its origins. No helping that: it is the story of a Jewish man cooped up in a basement in Paris during the war, as German troops march outside. The claustrophobia is built in, in that sense.

The play on which this movie is based, by French actor Jean-Philippe Daguerre, was first performed in 2016 in Avignon and went on to win four national theatre awards. In a generous gesture, Daguerre then handed it to Fred Cavaye, an old friend, to make a film and gave him full licence to change what he wanted.

In the first act, Haffmann persuades his wife to take their three children to the free zone, hoping they can make it to Switzerland. He will follow in a few days. Before leaving, he sells his shop to his right-hand man Mercier - complete with deed of sale - with the understanding that hell give it back after the war, when Haffmann returns. Mercier readily agrees, although his timid wife Blanche (Sara Giraudeau) is appalled. Hes using you, she says. Yes, and were helping to save his family, responds the thoroughly decent Mercier, whos longing for a chance to shine as a jewellery designer. Haffmann comes back that night: the escape routes are already closed. He ends up hiding in the cellar, as his employee becomes the new boss.

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If reversal of fortune were the only idea, the film might have failed, but its just the beginning. Cavayes rewrite looks at the whole notion of collaboration, a thorny subject in a country that not only allowed, but assisted the deportation and murder of almost 75,000 French Jews. The films concentrated portrait of three individuals under stress leads us to wonder what wed do in this situation. The answers are neither sentimental nor comforting for a French audience.

Cavaye directs with sinister efficiency, cranking the discomfort, and making us squirm. The film is in widescreen ratio and most of the interiors are shot handheld, which is in itself disagreeable, but Cavaye employs a subtle trick. The street shots are mostly smooth, the camera secured. Its an effective way of enveloping us in the tension of the characters within the house.

With this cast, its hardly necessary to say the performances are superb. Cavaye pushes the ending too hard, but by then, you may be too invested in the characters to care.
In a few days, Australias leaders will stand solemnly, heads bowed, to honour the nations war dead on Anzac Day. They should hang their heads in shame.

Australians fought and died to prevent a hostile power from establishing a base in Solomon Islands in World War II.

Chinas deal with the Solomons comes just days before Anzac Day is marked in Australia.

Now we discover that a hostile power has established a political foundation for military patrolling and a potential base in Solomon Islands.

China has stolen a march on Australia, a 4000-kilometre advance from its nearest existing military base, without firing a shot. Merely by signing an agreement with Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.
Zoe Dwojacki never expected to end her 18th birthday celebrations in tears, but the high school student got the fright of her life when the hot air balloon she was travelling in was forced to make an emergency landing on a Melbourne residential street.

Dwojacki was one of a dozen passengers on board the balloon, which was forced to land near an apartment building on Tiuna Grove at Elwood about 7.20am after experiencing technical difficulties, apparently because of a faulty valve.

We always see the hot air balloons in the morning and think they are very beautiful, Dwojacki said.

My mums boss had a good experience, so we booked the same company.
The licensee of a secret Perth New Years Eve party shut down by police for breaching COVID-19 restrictions has been warned he may face a hefty fine and time behind bars, after pleading guilty in court on Wednesday.

Vinod Parihar, 41, was the approved manager at The George in Perths CBD on the night of the event and allegedly helped co-accused Farooq Latief, 25, organise the party that was in breach of a direction under state of emergency laws.

Vinod Parihar has pleaded guilty to being involved in organising the New Years Eve party at The George which breached COVID restrictions. Credit:Holly Thompson

Partygoers were discovered by police without masks, dancing and drinking behind blackout curtains and locked doors, contrary to snap restrictions that had forced last-minute cancellations on most other New Years Eve events.

Both men were charged with two counts of failing to comply with a direction, but only Parihar has entered a plea, with Latiefs case adjourned to May 11.
Most of us want to adhere to the idea that each federal election is an even contest, with both sides having an equal chance of victory, at least in principle.

The contestants stand on their respective records, issue their policies, and voters make up their minds based on what they see.

Most of us want to adhere to the idea that each federal election is an even contest, with both sides having an equal chance of victory. Credit:James Brickwood and Alex Ellinghausen

Thats what we like to think. What if its no longer the case?

Im not suggesting theres anything crooked in our election machinery or architecture. But it does seem theres mounting evidence that voters have entrenched perceptions of the major parties that give one side a decisive, inbuilt advantage.
On Wednesday night, the two men vying to govern Australias 26 million people debated in front of a tiny fraction of them on Sky News, which is a bit like trying to win the Eurovision song contest by appealing to San Marino.

The background to the Peoples Forum was a campaign filled with sniping, gaffes and precious few new ideas  whereas the backdrop to the debate was a wall of News Corp logos, because Australian democracy is now a media companys marketing opportunity. It was novel, however, to see a Courier-Mail logo without a headline criticising Anthony Albanese underneath.

It was pleasant to spend an hour watching our leaders genuinely addressing the people theyre supposed to represent. Credit:Jason Edwards

Before it began, Paul Murray told us how strong Scott Morrison had been all over the country, and that the opposition leader had yet to make a case for change, while Peta Credlin spoke wistfully of the strong, substantive policy focus Tony Abbott brought in 2013.

But once the two leaders were able to speak for themselves, it was engrossing  and moderator Kieran Gilbert was impressively even-handed. Its a pity more people couldnt have watched; the debate was the highlight of the campaign so far, albeit much as a vending machine full of stale chips is welcome at 3am.
Weber State Celebrates 52nd Annual Earth Day

April 20, 2022

OGDEN, Utah  Sustainability has always been a priority at Weber State University, and faculty, staff and students are working to ensure those efforts continue campuswide. April 22 marks the 52nd anniversary of Earth Day, and WSU is celebrating its ongoing sustainability efforts.

Sustainability Practices and Research Center (SPARC) Director Alice Mulder said the actions of governments, businesses and communities around the world, including higher education institutions, are necessary to address climate change challenges.

These last two years of the pandemic have shown us that when people come together to address a common challenge, they can rise to the occasion and address the issue through adaptation, improved tools and the implementation of science-based solutions, and in the longer term, make the world a better place for all.

New and Ongoing Sustainability Efforts:

Carbon Neutral Goal

In 2007, Weber State set its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Since then, the university has reduced its electricity consumption by 37%, natural gas consumption by 48% and total greenhouse gas emissions by 63%. In the process, WSU has saved more than $18.5 million in energy costs in the last 12 years, and over $7,500 on water costs in fiscal year 2021. This has all been accomplished while adding 697,800 square feet in new and renovated buildings to the WSU campuses. The university is set to reach carbon neutrality, 10 years ahead of the original goal.

Sustainability Summit Held Virtually

In March, WSUs Intermountatin Sustainability Summit was held for the 13th year. The theme, Reshaping Our Future, allowed participants to explore ways to help solve climate and sustainability challenges and invited them to engage in innovative thinking for a sustainable and equitable future. The virtual event featured two keynote presentations and more than 55 locally and nationally renowned speakers.

Worldwide Climate and Justice Teach-In

At the end of March, Weber State was one of three Utah institutions to participate in the Worldwide Climate /Justice Teach-In, a Solve Climate by 2030 Initiative. Initiated by the Graduate Programs in Sustainability at Bard College in New York, the goal was to engage 1,000 communities. The campus and broader community attended five sessions during the day, which featured more than one dozen faculty giving short presentations on climate change issues and solutions. Resources for including climate change topics in classes were also shared with faculty.

Campus-Wide Green Department Certification Program

WSUs Green Department Certification Program engages more than 90 WSU campus offices and departments in various efforts to make the university more sustainable. Participants in the voluntary program assemble a Green Team and earn points by selecting from a wide range of sustainable strategies, such as reducing energy consumption, reducing waste and transitioning office purchases to environmentally friendly products. Points achieved determine certification at the bronze, silver, gold or green levels.

Ground Source Field

The university has finished construction on its third ground-source field, which is designed to provide all of the heating and cooling energy for the new Noorda Building for Engineering, Applied Science & Technology, as well as provide supplemental energy to campus. The ground-source field runs water through 190 wells dug approximately 350-feet deep, taking advantage of the earths constant underground temperature. Weber State uses water to heat and cool buildings; thus, the pre-heated or pre-cooled water reduces energy costs, making it a key part of the university's carbon neutral strategy. The field will begin full operations in fall 2022.

Classrooms

During the year, faculty applied to have a sustainability attribute or SUS added to their course, indicating a focus or inclusion of sustainability content in some way. Over 70 classes now have the SUS attribute, representing disciplines from all colleges. The connection to sustainability across disciplines is evident in classes including anthropology, economics, physics, nursing, interior design, English, math and chemistry.

Empower Northern Utah Program

Last fall Weber States Empower Northern Utah program helped over 270 northern Utah households increase the energy efficiency of their homes. The program provided hundreds of discounted and no-cost smart thermostats and over 1,100 high-efficiency LED light bulbs at no cost. The program was designed to empower residents to lower their carbon emissions and utility bills through easy efficiency upgrades.

Water Conservation

In 2014, two professors and their students conducted a water awareness study across WSU's Ogden campus. Their findings showed that with Utahs impending drought, Weber States water usage and practices needed more attention. This study led to the creation of a campus water conservation specialist, the implementation of new water practices and the formation of the Water Council, which worked with the specialist to write the Water Action Plan. Together, they set a goal to reduce campus water usage 30% by 2025. Weber State achieved the goal four years early by installing weather sensitive irrigation systems across campus, new toilets certified by the Environmental Protection Agency and using waterwise plants and xeriscaping to lower water usage. For more information, visit this link.

OGX Wildcat Shuttle

To lower water use across Ogden campus, many areas that once utilized landscaping have been replaced with xeriscaping  a landscaping style that requires little to no irrigation. The biggest xeriscaping project to date is the OGX Wildcat Shuttle, which is set to begin operations in fall 2022 and will utilize over 90% xeriscaping and waterwise plants along the bus line.

Renewable Energy in Action

Additional completed renewable energy projects at Weber State include two ground source fields that help heat and cool campus, a 550 killowatt solar array covering an entire parking lot, and a seven-acre solar field that supplies the energy needs to the WSU Davis campus in Layton. These projects are a vital part of helping the university reach its carbon neutral goal.

In reflecting on the year, Mulder noted, The international meetings on climate in December last year (COP 26) underscored the need for action from all sectors now. At Weber State, we are acting on our commitment to work toward sustainability and address climate change. We have found practical and economically beneficial pathways to meet our goal of carbon neutrality by 2040, a decade ahead of our original target date.

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.
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Last night a little hell was raised at the Arts Theatre in the heart of the West End as fans and special guests gathered under one roof to celebrate the official opening night of Bonnie and Clyde.

Described as "an excellent production firing on all cylinders" in our WhatsOnStage review, the musical features a book by Ivan Menchell, music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics by Don Black.

Prior to the press night performance, we caught up with the creative trio to get their thoughts on their show's long and winding road to the West End.





The cast of Bonnie and Clyde on opening night

 Craig Sugden





Bonnie and Clyde debuted in San Diego way back in 2009, ahead of a Broadway transfer in 2011. Fast forward over a decade and we're finally here at the show's first West End run. What does this mean to you?

Ivan Menchell: I'm feeling equal parts terrified and excited. But I'm really thrilled to be here. We've been here all through previews. We've been working on the show with [director] Nick [Winston]. We've done some re-writing. We've added a song. There are quite a few differences from the New York production.

Don Black: As you say, it's taken us over ten years to get here. It's thrilling for us. It's thrilling because we know it works here [in London]. And we're very excited. We really are. I know people say that, but we really are. We don't say that lightly. We work very hard and we hone these things. We had dinner last night and we were saying how proud we are of this production.

Frank Wildhorn: I just can't believe that you're interviewing us and this is the first interview in the West End in my career with us together. The whole thing is kinda larger than life and wonderful and we're all very proud.

Frank, can you take us back to how this whole musical originated?

FW: Bonnie and Clyde started when I was running a division of Atlantic Records. I think it was around 2008 and we were doing a project called "The Romantics" and I sent Don a list of titles  people who we could write about. It was a song cycle project. And he picked Bonnie and Clyde.

DB: Yes, there was a whole list of literary classics.

FW: And we wrote three songs and made a demo and the reaction to it was fantastic! Everybody asked: "Why are you stopping at three songs? There's a show here!" And that was the original birth of Bonnie and Clyde.

DB: When you choose a subject, it's always best to go for something that's unlike anything you've written before. I had never written about gangsters and Texas and that was the appeal for me. After I'd done Sunset Boulevard, I was asked if I would be interested in Greta Garbo, but it's the same story so I declined. But the idea of Bonnie and Clyde as a musical was so original.

And what appealed to you about the project, Ivan?

IM: Well, at first, Jeff Calhoun, the Broadway director, brought the show to me and I didn't want to write it. I really didn't think I was able to write this thing. But then I discovered a book that was written by Bonnie's mother and Clyde's sister and it contained a lot of the letters that they wrote back and forth. I got to see the intimacy of the story  the love between them. When I saw that, that's when I felt that I had a way in. I could find a way to tell a story of the circumstances that led to who they were; not just to celebrate what we all already knew about Bonnie and Clyde.





Frances Mayli McCann and Jordan Luke Gage at the opening night of Bonnie and Clyde

 Craig Sugden





As you're the undeniable experts, how would you describe Frances Mayli McCann and Jordan Luke Gage's portrayals of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow?

DB: They're both wonderful because they make you laugh and they make you cry.

IM: They have insane chemistry. I believe they've worked together before. They're also really close friends and that has given them such a beautiful chemistry onstage. They really do have such deep affection for each other and I think they trust each other implicitly which enables them to take great risks in the roles.

FW: They're so great! They're young and they have that vitality and that energy and I think they kick ass! Jordan can hit those fantastic notes and Frances is a star! She owns this part and she owns it in a wonderful way.

What can UK fans expect from this new staging of your musical?

IM: I think London audiences can expect to see a very unusual romance. When I first started working on this show, I said that it was more about sex than violence and I think that you're really going to see that.

DB: They can expect an exciting night out that will also move them. It's a touching show and they'll certainly be smiling.

FW: I agree. Don's the man with the words. I'm just the tune!

IM: I have to say that this production is pretty extraordinary. It's fulfilled a lot of my wildest dreams and a few that I didn't even know that I had. It's really incredible what they've accomplished here in the way that they're telling the story. I think fans of the show are gonna be really happy with it.





The cast of Bonnie and Clyde on opening night

 Craig Sugden





Tickets for performances through to 10 July 2022 are available below.
An existing space at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights has become a new home for local artistic statements.

An existing space at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights has become a new home for local artistic statements.

The museum announced its new Community Corridor on Tuesday, a main-floor space near its classrooms area, and is accepting submissions for art or projects until May 13, with plans for its first official exhibition scheduled for July.

The museum hopes the Community Corridor will allow the museum to amplify messages about human rights from artists, students or groups whose voices have gone unheard.

"We do hope to see a variety of groups coming in. This is really about building a relationship with the community, building trust with the community," says Chandra Erlendson, the museums director of Indigenous relations and community engagement.

"Its not a traditional exhibition space but its a very inviting, visually appealing space for this kind of interaction."

We do hope to see a variety of groups coming in. This is really about building a relationship with the community, building trust with the community.  Chandra Erlendson

The Community Corridor location has odd aspects that have made it a challenge for showing art.

It is dominated by a large concrete wall, and since hooks cant be fastened to it, works must be hung on a wire, restricting how heavy they can be.

Lengthy exposure to sunlight from a bank of windows opposite the wall can also damage paintings and photographs.

In New Beginnings, a series of photographs by young newcomers to Canada that is using the corridor space, the pictures are reprinted as a collage on four white corrugated boards that are light enough to be hung on the wire while keeping the original photographs away from the rays and heat of the sun.

The Community Corridor concept has been in the works since 2018 when the space hosted the National Story Blanket, an installation that represented future visions for Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth.

Weve literally had hundreds of requests by communities wanting to present their ideas, whether those are rightsthemed, artsbased programs or student work.  Chandra Erlendson

Erlendson says plans to unveil the space in 2020 had to be put on hold, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Weve literally had hundreds of requests by communities wanting to present their ideas, whether those are rights-themed, arts-based programs or student work," she says.

The pandemic hasnt been the only difficulty the CMHR has faced in the past two years though. An external investigation revealed in August 2020 the museum suffered from a culture of racism that had gone unaddressed by management for years.

A year later, a further report by Winnipeg lawyer Laurelle Harris found a culture of discrimination continued to affect the museums Black and Indigenous employees.

"This project is not born out of that and is not a response to it," Erlendson says. "But I do think it is quite timely and it works well, and we have taken into consideration some of the things we have learned from those recommendations of the Harris report."

Alan.Small@winnipegfreepress.com

Twitter: @AlanDSmall

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TORONTO - Canadian musician Jerry Doucette, whose rock hit "Mama Let Him Play" crossed over to the United States and smooth "Nobody" planted his band Doucette in the yacht rock movement of the late 1970s, has died at 70.

Jerry Doucette is seen during a performance in an undated handout photo. Doucette, whose smooth hits "Mama Let Him Play" and "Nobody" planted his band Doucette in the yacht rock movement of the late 1970s has died at 70. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Dee Lippingwell, *MANDATORY CREDIT*

TORONTO - Canadian musician Jerry Doucette, whose rock hit "Mama Let Him Play" crossed over to the United States and smooth "Nobody" planted his band Doucette in the yacht rock movement of the late 1970s, has died at 70.

His wife, Maggie, confirmed that the Juno-winning artist died Monday of cancer at a hospice in Delta, B.C., surrounded by family.

"He was a damn good dad to a family of five and he was a great grandfather of 10," she said in a phone interview.

"He loved playing guitar and he would play it in the house and make it loud, if he wanted to."

Doucette was born in Montreal and raised in Hamilton, picking up a guitar at age six and later starting his own band. He then moved to Vancouver and joined the Seeds of Time before playing in the Rocket Norton Band.

His own act, formed under his name, launched several years later and rose to popularity with their 1977 album "Mama Let Him Play," which saw its titular single climb onto the Billboard Hot 100.

In a statement, his family said the idea for the song's title was inspired by a comment from Doucette's father, who worked shifts and often returned home from work to hear his son practising guitar. Despite his wife urging their son to be quiet so her husband could rest, he said: "Mama, let him play."

The album was certified platinum in Canada the following year, meaning it sold more than 100,000 copies.

In 1979, the band Doucette won the Juno for most promising group of the year, the same year they released "The Douce is Loose," featuring the Canadian hit "Nobody."

Over the years, Doucette opened for Meat Loaf and gained a reputation for helping other young musicians.

"Colin James crashed on his couch for a couple of weeks when he was just coming up," remembered Leanne Campbell, a former publicist and friend of the family.

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"He was just generous, funny and loving  just a really lovely guy."

Doucette released five albums and continued performing until 2018, when he announced on social media he was leaving the music industry.

"Health issues and the desire to spend more time with my sweet Maggie and our family, including 10 grandchildren, has convinced me to retire," he wrote.

"Keep listening to Canadian artists and keep supporting live music venues  they're the lifeblood of our industry ... Mama, let them play."

Doucette is survived by his wife of 43 years, five children and 10 grandchildren.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2022.
A wellspring of young Canadian musicians will forever owe a debt of gratitude to the late Doris McLellan, the humble daughter of a fishmonger and lifelong chief telephone operator for the Hudsons Bay Company.

A wellspring of young Canadian musicians will forever owe a debt of gratitude to the late Doris McLellan, the humble daughter of a fishmonger and lifelong chief telephone operator for the Hudsons Bay Company.

An avid supporter of the arts, McLellan (nee Motriuk) faithfully attended Womens Musical Club of Winnipeg concerts with her sister Daisey, a nurse, until her death at age 86 in 2002. The local benefactor with deep roots in Winnipegs North End left a generous bequest to the club that launched the WMC McLellan Competition in 2006, held biennially in collaboration with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

Brooke Towle Photography Greg Lewis, a violinist from Thunder Bay, Ont., is a finalist for the WMC McLellan Competition.

A cash prize totalling $20,000, generated in interest from the bequest, is divided among three finalists culled from a months-long, rigorous series of preliminary, semifinal and final rounds.

The finals, featuring the WSO led by maestro Daniel Raiskin, will be presented tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institutes Jubilee Place. This is the competitions first "finals" round since 2018, with the April 2020 concert cancelled owing to the global pandemic.

"Its a lovely, very Winnipeg story of how an ordinary person can make a significant impact," says Belle Meiklejohn, who currently serves as the competitions convener, during a telephone interview.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Winniepg cellist David Liam Roberts won the prestigious Michael Measures Prize in 2021.

"This competition is so important to these young musicians because there are not many opportunities to play with an orchestra. When I contact potential jurors across the country, everyone is already very aware of what we do. Were not just a little secret out here in Manitoba."

Would McLellan be proud of her legacy, which has helped nurture the careers of such Canadian notables as cellist Juliana Moroz, pianist Paul Williamson, sopranos Sydney Clarke and Andrea Lett, trombonist Keith Dyrda and violinist Joshua Peters, among so many others?

"I think Doris McLellan would be very honoured to know of the thought and care that have gone into not only the development of the competition, but its continual running," Meiklejohn says. "Theres no question she would be proud of these gifted young artists, making the music she loved so much."

This years finalists reflect on their own musical journeys, and what it means to be taking the stage as soloists tonight:

DAVID LIAM ROBERTS, CELLIST

For Winnipeg-born cellist David Liam Roberts, 22, tonights concert will be particularly poignant, as he shares the stage with his former teacher, WSO principal cellist Yuri Hooker.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES David Liam Roberts studied with WSO principal cellist Yuri Hooker.

He chose his work, Schumanns Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129, primarily for its luminous second movement, Langsam, which begins with the soloist weaving his sound around the principal cellists in an intimate, heartfelt duet.

Currently completing his four-year program at Torontos Glenn Gould School, Roberts  who was named one of "Canadas 30 Hot Classical Musicians under 30" by CBC in 2019 and who received the Canada Council Michael Measures Prize in 2021  relishes the opportunity to pay musical homage to his mentor.

"Its a very special moment in the piece and its just the most beautiful, romantic music. Im really excited for that personally," Roberts says during a telephone interview from Toronto, before acknowledging the impact Hooker has had on his professional and personal life.

"Yuri has had a very important role in my development as a cellist, and has shaped me fundamentally into the artist that I am today," he says. "I owe him a lot of gratitude, as he gave me all the tools I needed to play the cello at a professional level. He also provided me with guidance as an artist that not many students get from their teachers, and thats been priceless."

The concert also marks his premiere performance of the work he had originally been slated to perform in March 2020 with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra. The concert was cancelled during the first-wave lockdown of COVID-19.

"Its actually very similar to the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in that its through composed, so theres no breaks between the movements. That makes it pretty tricky to memorize and requires a lot of stamina to get through," he says. "Schumann wasnt mentally well near the end of his life, and the third movement is also really disjointed at times. But I think its also one of the finest pieces Schumann ever wrote."

Supplied Winnipeg mezzo-soprano Geneva Halverson started out as a pianist but switched to voice after suffering injuries.

Roberts  who now fills in regularly with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and is planning to pursue an artist diploma at the Glenn Gould School  is, like Lewis, marking his sophomore appearance as a McLellan finalist, placing second during the 2018 competition.

He is looking forward to reuniting with the WSO  his last appearance took place last June, when he played a pair of double concertos with Hooker  as well as performing as featured soloists with his close friend and colleague Lewis, planning to "hang out" this week with his musical chum.

"Im looking forward to being back in Winnipeg, and am grateful to have such a supportive arts community here," says the cellist. "Its going to be a very special night."

GENEVA HALVERSON,

MEZZO-SOPRANO

Opera is in Geneva Halversons blood and bones. The Winnipeg-born mezzo-sopranos great-grandfather, renowned German bass-baritone Emil Hack, performed regularly with the Leipzig Opera before being drafted into the army. He perished during the Second World War at age 32; the 31-year-old Halverson is keenly aware of carrying his torch.

Lauren Desberg Photography Violinist Gregory Lewis has performed at Carnegie Hall.

"He was a very energetic and dynamic performer who used to belt out songs at the local pub after opera premieres," says Halverson, who keeps a black-and-white photograph of Hack close by for inspiration. "Being able to continue his path, because he never got to finish his, means the world to me."

Halverson began studies at the University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music as a piano major until sidelined by pesky overuse injuries. After switching to voice, the versatile artist professes a penchant for "trouser roles," those male character roles strikingly sung by mezzo-sopranos wearing, well, trousers.

"I feel the most freedom whenever I sing these roles," the artist reveals. "Sopranos and mezzos usually get all the glitz and glamour and ballgowns, but Im not really comfortable with that. So trouser roles are my own version of glamour, and I feel incredible singing them."

One of Halversons favourite selections tonight is Stefanos aria from Gounods Que fais-tu from Romeo and Juliette, describing the character as a "total wingman."

Two excerpts from Mahlers searing Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children) are especially poignant, Halverson says, in light of the war in Ukraine, in which even the youngest, most innocent generations are being mercilessly slaughtered.

However, the soloist quickly assures there will also be lighter fare, including Mozarts Non so piu cosa son from Le nozze di Figaro and Nacqui allaffanno from Rossinis La Cenerentola, to balance the program.

Supplied Doris McLellan

Asked what the audience should expect from tonights performance, Halversons answer is swift and sure: "I would like listeners to feel transported, because Im going to take them to lots of different places."

GREGORY LEWIS, VIOLINIST

Thunder Bay, Ont.-born violinist Gregory Lewis, 25, recalls being swept away by the lush romanticism of Mendelssohns Violin Concerto in E minor after being introduced to the iconic work by a prospective teacher exploring his interest in learning the fiddle. He was three years old.

"Ive had a lifelong relationship with this piece," Lewis says over the telephone from his New Haven, Conn., home where he is currently completing his doctor of musical arts degree at Yale University following prior studies at the Colburn School. "This teacher told my parents that I should start listening to this list of concertos, and recommended the Mendelssohn.

"Ive loved it my entire life and purposefully waited to learn it until I was a little older so that I could do the piece justice."

Lewis, a graduate of the U of M Desautels Faculty of Music  where the self-described intensely "goal-driven" artist began his bachelor degree at age 16  started tackling the piece in earnest last fall.

Tonight his long-held dream comes true, as he marks his debut performance of the piece with a professional orchestra.

"Its so expressive, so vocal, but then has these moments of sheer brilliance," Lewis says when asked what initially drew him to the soaring piece. "It has the most gorgeous opening and finds that perfect balance between melody and virtuosity."

The multi-award winning musician  who took home second prize during the 2016 WMC McLellan finals  has performed extensively across North America and Europe as a solo, chamber and orchestral musician, including at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City, and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

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Still, the artist with five siblings boasts humble roots, earning his performance chops as a youth by busking every Saturday morning at farmers markets in Thunder Bay. He describes the experience as being "incredibly lucrative," allowing the then-11-year old aspiring musician to purchase his first full-sized violin to the tune of $10,000.

He sings the praises of his finalist colleagues, including cellist David Liam Roberts, with whom he performs in the Zyra Trio along with the 2020 McLellan winner, pianist Paul Williamson. Hes keenly looking forward to performing for Winnipeg listeners again.

"It always feels like coming home every time Im here," Lewis says. "Its such a privilege, and is so exciting to play with an orchestra like the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, so it should be a really fantastic evening."

The 2022 WMC McLellan Competition Finals will be presented tonight at 7:30 p.m. at MBCI Jubilee Place. For tickets or further information, visit wfp.to/mclellan.

All COVID-19 protocols will be observed (mandatory masks, proof-of-vaccination status and ID), with tickets ($30 -$15) available online or at the door (cash only).

holly.harris@shaw.ca
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP)  Heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist town Tuesday, ripping through two-dozen structures and sending residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee.

Smoke from a wind-whipped wildfire rises above neighborhoods on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Arizona, on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Authorities issued evacuation orders for a couple hundred homes. (Sean Golightly/Arizona Daily Sun via AP)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP)  Heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist town Tuesday, ripping through two-dozen structures and sending residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee.

Flames as high as 100 feet (30 meters) raced through an area of scattered homes, dry grass and Ponderosa pine trees on the outskirts of Flagstaff as wind gusts of up to 50 mph (80 kph) pushed the blaze over a major highway.

Coconino County officials said during an evening news conference that 766 homes and 1,000 animals had been evacuated. About 250 structures remained threatened in the area popular with hikers and off-road vehicle users and where astronauts have trained amid volcanic cinder pits.

The county declared an emergency after the wildfire ballooned from 100 acres (40 hectares) Tuesday morning to over 9 square miles (23 square kilometers) by evening, and ash rained from the sky. The fire was moving northeast away from the more heavily populated areas of Flagstaff, home to Northern Arizona University, and toward Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, said Coconino National Forest spokesman Brady Smith.

Its good in that its not headed toward a very populated area, and its headed toward less fuel, Smith said. But depending on the intensity of the fire, fire can still move across cinders.

Smoke from a wind-whipped wildfire rises above neighborhoods on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz., on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Homes on the outskirts of Flagstaff were being evacuated Tuesday as high winds whipped a wildfire, shut down a major highway and grounded firefighting aircraft. (Sean Golightly/Arizona Daily Sun via AP)

Authorities wont be able to determine whether anyone was injured in the wildfire until the flames subside. Firefighters and law enforcement officers went door to door telling people to evacuate but had to pull out to avoid getting boxed in, said Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll.

He said his office got a call about a man who was trapped inside his house, but firefighters couldnt get to him.

We dont know if he made it out or not, Driscoll said.

Various organizations worked to set up shelters for evacuees and animals, including goats and horses.

The scene was all too familiar for residents who recalled rushing to pack their bags and flee a dozen years ago when a much larger wildfire burned in the same area.

This time was different, right there in your backyard, said Kathy Vollmer, a resident.

Smoke from a wind-whipped wildfire rises above neighborhoods on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz., on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Homes on the outskirts of Flagstaff were being evacuated Tuesday as high winds whipped a wildfire, shut down a major highway and grounded firefighting aircraft. (Sean Golightly/Arizona Daily Sun via AP)

She said she and her husband grabbed their three dogs but left a couple of cats behind as they faced what she described as a wall of fire.

We just hope they are going to be OK," she said.

Earlier in the day, the wildfire shut down U.S. 89, the main route between Flagstaff and far northern Arizona, and communities on the Navajo Nation. The high winds grounded aircraft that could drop water and fire retardant on the blaze.

Arizona Public Service Co., the state's largest utility, shut off power to about 625 customers to keep firefighters safe, a spokeswoman said.

About 200 firefighters were battling the flames, but more are expected as a top-level national management team takes over later this week.

The fire started Sunday afternoon 14 miles (22 kilometers) northeast of Flagstaff. Investigators dont know yet what caused it and have yet to corral any part of the blaze.

Smoke from a wind-whipped wildfire rises above neighborhoods on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz., on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Homes on the outskirts of Flagstaff were being evacuated Tuesday as high winds whipped a wildfire, shut down a major highway and grounded firefighting aircraft. (Sean Golightly/Arizona Daily Sun via AP)

Ali Taranto rushed to Flagstaff from Winslow, where she works at a hospital, on Tuesday to check on a property she owns that was threatened by the wildfire. She also was getting messages to check on a neighbor who she found didnt have access to oxygen while the power was out and didnt have the strength to manually open her garage door to evacuate.

Taranto said the neighbor was disoriented and gasping for air when she reached her. Firefighters in the area helped get the garage door open and the neighbor to the hospital, she said. Taranto was looking for a shelter for the neighbors two dogs.

By the time Taranto left the area, the highway into Flagstaff was shut down and she had to drive an extra two hours back home. At least two other neighbors didnt evacuate, she said.

To see flames several yards away from your property line and to hear the propane tanks bursting in the background, it was very surreal, Taranto said. Ash falling down. It was crazy.

The wind is expected to be a challenge the rest of the week, along with warmer-than-average weather and low humidity, the National Weather Service said.

I dont see any significant decreases in wind, I dont see any big bump ups in humidity and, at this point, were not really expecting any precipitation either, said meteorologist Robert Rickey.

Red flag warnings blanketed much of Arizona and New Mexico on Tuesday, indicating conditions are ripe for wildfires. Residents in northern New Mexicos Mora and San Miguel counties were warned to be ready to evacuate as wildfires burned there amid dry, warm and windy conditions.

The National Interagency Fire Center reported Tuesday that nearly 2,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel were assigned to more than a dozen large wildfires in the Southwestern, Southern and Rocky Mountain areas. Scientists say climate change has made the U.S. West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

Elsewhere in Arizona, firefighters battled a wildfire in a sparsely populated area of the Prescott National Forest about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Prescott.

Cory Carlson, the incident commander with the Prescott National Forest, said late Tuesday afternoon the high winds have been the biggest challenge, sending embers into the air that sparked new spot fires near State Route 261, along with the demand for crews at other fires.

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We do have a lack of resources," he said. Theres a lot of fires in the region.

Some areas were evacuated, and a shelter was set up at Yavapai College. Carlson appealed to residents to abide by evacuation orders.

The cause of the 600-acre (2.4 square-kilometer) wildfire was under investigation.

In southern Arizona, a principal highway route between Bisbee and Sierra Vista reopened Tuesday after being closed for about eight hours due to a brush fire in the hills overlooking Bisbee.

___

Associated Press writer Paul Davenport in Phoenix, Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, contributed to this report.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  An Ohio doctor accused of ordering excessive amounts of painkillers that led to multiple patient deaths at a Columbus-area hospital was acquitted of 14 counts of murder Wednesday following a weekslong trial.

FILE In this file photo from Feb. 28, 2022, Dr. William Husel, left, and defense attorney Jose Baez stand during Husel's trial in Columbus, Ohio. A jury on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 acquitted Husel in the deaths of multiple hospital patients. Husel was accused of ordering excessive painkillers for patients in the Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System. (Barbara J. Perenic/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, Pool, File)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  An Ohio doctor accused of ordering excessive amounts of painkillers that led to multiple patient deaths at a Columbus-area hospital was acquitted of 14 counts of murder Wednesday following a weekslong trial.

Dr. William Husel, 46, was accused of ordering the drugs for patients in the Mount Carmel Health System. He was indicted in cases that involved at least 500 micrograms of the powerful painkiller fentanyl.

Prosecutors said ordering such dosages for a nonsurgical situation indicated an intent to end lives. Husel's attorneys argued he was providing comfort care for dying patients, not trying to kill them.

FILE  In this file photo from April 11, 2022, former Mount Carmel physician William Husel , right, holds the hand of his wife Mariah as hewalks down the Franklin County Courthouse steps after closing statements in his 14-count murder trial, in Columbus, Ohio. A jury on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 acquitted Husel in the deaths of multiple hospital patients. Husel was accused of ordering excessive painkillers for patients in the Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System.(Doral Chenoweth/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, File)

Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook told jurors before the start of deliberations that they could also consider lesser charges of attempted murder. They deliberated for six days.

Husel would have faced a sentence of life in prison with parole eligibility in 15 years had he been found guilty of just one count of murder.

Prosecutors presented their case beginning Feb. 22 and put on 53 prosecution witnesses before resting on March 29. Those witnesses included medical experts who testified that Husel ordered up to 20 times as much fentanyl as was necessary to control pain.

Husel gave enough fentanyl to some patients to "kill an elephant," testified Dr. Wes Ely, a physician and professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University.

Mariah Baird, wife of former Mt. Carmel physician William Husel, listens during the reading of a verdict in her husband's murder trial on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. A jury on Wednesday acquitted Husel, accused of ordering excessive amounts of painkillers that led to multiple patient deaths at a Columbus-area hospital following a weekslong trial. Husel was accused of ordering excessive painkillers for 14 patients in the Mount Carmel Health System. He was indicted in cases that involved at least 500 micrograms of the powerful painkiller fentanyl. (Doral Chenoweth/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, Pool)

Other prosecution witnesses included medical experts, Mount Carmel employees, investigators, and family members of all 14 patients.

By contrast, defense lawyers called a single witness  a Georgia anesthesiologist  to testify that Husels patients died from their medical conditions and not Husels actions. The defense rested on March 31 after one day.

The age of the patients who died ranged from 37 to 82. The first patient death was in May 2015. The last three died in November 2018.

During closing arguments April 11, David Zeyen, an assistant Franklin County prosecutor, told jurors that regardless of how close a patient is to death, its illegal to speed up the process.

Husel's attorney Jose Baez during a remote news conference after the verdict repeated his assertion that prosecutors didnt produce "a shred of evidence" to back up their claims. He called Husel an "incredible doctor" who with his family are "incredibly relieved the nightmare is over."

"Im deeply saddened William had to go through this," Baez said.

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The Franklin County Prosecutors Office released a brief statement that concluded: "We accept the jury verdict."

Husel was fired by the Mount Carmel Health System. It concluded he had ordered excessive painkillers for about three dozen patients who died over several years. He was initially charged with 25 murder counts, but the judge agreed to dismiss 11 of those counts in January.

Husels colleagues who administered the medications werent criminally charged, but the hospital system said it fired 23 nurses, pharmacists and managers after its internal investigation and referred various employees to their respective state boards for possible disciplinary action.

Mount Carmel has reached settlements totaling more than $16.7 million over the deaths of at least 17 patients, with more lawsuits pending.

One patient, 82-year-old Melissa Penix, was given 2,000 micrograms of fentanyl and died a few minutes later. Dr. John Schweig of Tampa Bay General Hospital testified for the prosecution that Penix "definitely was not terminal, nor was continuing medical care futile."

"She was a fighter," said Penixs daughter, Bev Leonhard, of Grove City, according to The Columbus Dispatch. "She didnt deserve to die the way she did."
Michigan's Democratic governor wants a nuclear power plant on Lake Michigan to stay open and she's asking the federal government to pay for it.

President Joe Biden walks to a motorcade vehicle after stepping off Air Force One, Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Biden is returning to Washington after promoting his infrastructure agenda in New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Michigan's Democratic governor wants a nuclear power plant on Lake Michigan to stay open and she's asking the federal government to pay for it.

But the owner of the Palisades Power Plant says it's too late  the plant will be shut down in May as scheduled.

The Biden administration on Tuesday launched a $6 billion effort to rescue nuclear power plants at risk of closing, citing the need to continue nuclear energy as a carbon-free source of power that helps to combat climate change. The Department of Energys civil nuclear credit program is intended to bail out financially distressed owners or operators of nuclear power reactors.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wrote to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm Wednesday to say the state will support a compelling application to the program and she intends to do everything she can to keep the plant open.

Today, we have a new path forward to save Palisades, secure hundreds of good-paying jobs, empower regional economies, and help us fight climate change by generating clean energy, she wrote.

Palisades' owner, Entergy, said in response to the letter that their focus remains on the safe and orderly shutdown of the facility in May, though they'll continue to talk with qualified nuclear plant owners or operators who may want to purchase and continue operating Palisades.

Palisades is licensed to operate until 2031, but is scheduled to shut down because of operating losses and the expiration of a power purchase agreement. A dozen U.S. commercial nuclear power reactors have closed in the past decade before their licenses expired, largely due to competition from cheaper natural gas, massive operating losses due to low electricity prices and escalating costs, or the cost of major repairs.

Entergy said it can't operate the plant past May because it did not order new nuclear fuel, and employees there are transferring to other parts of the business or retiring.

The new program is the largest federal investment in saving financially distressed nuclear reactors. Taxpayer and environmental advocates, including Friends of the Earth, say billions of tax dollars should not be spent to support the nuclear industry when doing so wont solve the climate crisis.

While Department of Energy is taking some precautions, its still acting like it has an obligation to burn federal dollars that would be better spent on solar, wind and energy efficiency," said Sarah Lutz, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth. "Secretary Granholm is shortsightedly banking on an energy option that will tie us to fossil fuels and dangerous emissions. Propping up failing nuclear reactors rather than pursuing a fair transition for workers and communities is not the way to secure energy independence or a sustainable grid.

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Owners or operators of nuclear power reactors that are expected to shut down for economic reasons can apply for funding to avoid closing prematurely. The first round of awards will prioritize reactors that have already announced plans to close.

Another energy company, Constellation, announced plans in August 2020 to close four reactors in Illinois, at the Byron and Dresden nuclear plants, but reversed those decisions after Illinois' governor signed climate legislation into law in September that provided hundreds of millions of dollars to keep plants open.

A Constellation spokesperson said Wednesday that though none of their plants are eligible during this initial award cycle because they're not on the verge of closing, they'll assess whether they can apply in future rounds. Bill Gibbons said they greatly appreciate the support and urgency reflected in the new program.

California is slated to close its last remaining nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, in 2025. Officials there think they can replace it with new solar, wind and battery storage resources, though skeptics have questioned whether Californias all-in renewable plan can work in a state of nearly 40 million people.

The California Public Utilities Commission has said it would likely take seismic upgrades and changes to the cooling systems, which could cost more than $1 billion, to continue operations at Diablo Canyon beyond 2025. When asked if it will seek any federal funding to keep operating, PG&E, which operates Diablo Canyon, said Wednesday that as a regulated utility it's required to follow the energy policies of the state and the state has not changed its position regarding the future of nuclear energy in California at this time.

PG&E spokesperson Suzanne Hosn added that the plan to retire Diablo Canyon was introduced in 2016 and approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, the state legislature, and governor in 2018.
LONDON (AP)  A British judge on Wednesday formally approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges. The case will now go to Britains interior minister for a decision, and the WikiLeaks founder still has legal avenues of appeal.

An image of Julian Assange is projected onto a building in Leake Street in central London on Sunday, April 10, 2022, to mark three years since his arrest and detention in Belmarsh prison while the United States continues with legal moves to extradite him. Assange, 50, has been held in the high security prison in southeast London since 2019 on a series of charges related to WikiLeaks publication of a huge trove of classified documents more than a decade ago. (Victoria Jones/PA via AP)

LONDON (AP)  A British judge on Wednesday formally approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges. The case will now go to Britains interior minister for a decision, and the WikiLeaks founder still has legal avenues of appeal.

The order, which brings extradition closer, comes after the U.K. Supreme Court last month refused Assange permission to appeal against a lower courts ruling that he could be extradited.

A judge at Westminster Magistrates Court issued the order in a brief hearing, as Assange watched by video link from Belmarsh Prison. Home Secretary Priti Patel will now decide whether to grant the extradition.

The move doesn't exhaust the legal options for Assange, who has sought for years to avoid a trial in the U.S. on charges related to WikiLeaks publication of a huge trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.

His lawyers have four weeks to make submissions to Patel, and can also seek to appeal to the High Court.

Assange lawyer Mark Summers told the court that the legal team had serious submissions to make.

The U.S. has asked British authorities to extradite Assange so he can stand trial on 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse. American prosecutors say Assange unlawfully helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.

Supporters and lawyers for Assange, 50, argue that he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment protections of freedom of speech for publishing documents that exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. They argue that his case is politically motivated.

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A British district court judge had initially rejected a U.S. extradition request on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. U.S. authorities later provided assurances that the WikiLeaks founder wouldnt face the severe treatment that his lawyers said would put his physical and mental health at risk.

In December, the High Court overturned the lower courts decision, saying that the U.S. promises were enough to guarantee that Assange would be treated humanely.

Assanges lawyers say he could face up to 175 years in jail if he is convicted in the U.S., though American authorities have said the sentence was likely to be much lower than that.

Assange has been held at Britains high-security Belmarsh Prison in London since 2019, when he was arrested for skipping bail during a separate legal battle. Before that, he spent seven years inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault.

Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed.

Last month, Assange and his partner Stella Moris married in a prison ceremony.
FARGO, N.D. (AP)  A majority of people in the United States continue to support a mask requirement for people traveling on airplanes and other shared transportation, a poll finds. A ruling by a federal judge has put the governments transportation mask mandate on hold.

FARGO, N.D. (AP)  A majority of people in the United States continue to support a mask requirement for people traveling on airplanes and other shared transportation, a poll finds. A ruling by a federal judge has put the governments transportation mask mandate on hold.

The poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that despite opposition to that requirement that included verbal abuse and physical violence against flight attendants, 56% of those surveyed favor requiring people on planes, trains and public transportation to wear masks, compared with 24% opposed and 20% who say they are neither in favor nor opposed.

A new AP-NORC poll finds Americans are somewhat more likely to support a mask mandate for people traveling on planes and public transit than for those at crowded events or for workers interacting with the public.

Interviews for the poll were conducted last Thursday to Monday, shortly before a federal judge in Florida struck down the national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit. Airlines and airports immediately scrapped their requirements that passengers wear face coverings, and the Transportation Security Administration stopped enforcing the mask requirement.

But the Justice Department said Wednesday it was filing an appeal seeking to overturn the judges order. That notice came minutes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked Justice to appeal the decision, saying "an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health."

The poll shows a wide partisan divide on the issue. Among Democrats, 80% favor and just 5% oppose the requirement. Among Republicans, 45% are opposed compared with 33% in favor, with 22% saying neither.

Vicki Pettus, who recently moved from Frankfort, Kentucky, to Clearwater, Florida, to be near her grandchildren, said she enjoys the view of Old Tampa Bay but doesn't like the "very lackadaisical attitude" by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, about masking. She said she will continue to wear her mask to protect against the coronavirus, including around her 55-and-older home community and on the plane when she travels to Kentucky in a few weeks.

A traveler makes their way through a security ID and ticket check at Love Filed in Dallas, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. The major airlines and many of the busiest airports dropex their requirements after a Florida judge struck down the CDC mandate and the Transportation Security Administration announced it wouldn't enforce its 2021 security directive. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

"Especially in a plane where that air is recirculating," said Pettus, 71, an independent who leans toward the Democratic Party. "I think people are really dumb not to wear their mask. But, hey, thats their decision, and if they want to get sick thats fine. Im not going to."

But Kriste Lee, who works in sales in South Florida, cant wait to fly mask-free the next time she travels next month.

"I really wish I was on a plane when they made that announcement," said Lee, 47. "I would have been dancing up and down the aisle."

The continued public support overall for mandating masks on transportation comes even as worries about COVID-19 are among their lowest points of the past two years. Just 20% now say theyre very or extremely worried that they or a family member will be infected. That's down slightly since 25% said the same just a month ago and from 36% in December and January as the omicron variant was raging. Another 33% now say they are somewhat worried, while 48% say theyre not worried at all.

Count Betty Harp, of Leitchfield, Kentucky, as among the "very worried" and not because she's turning 84 next month. She said she takes care of her large house and yard by herself, does a lot of canning and is in "fantastic health for my age." But she's lost a lot of friends and family to the virus, which has killed nearly 1 million people in the United States.

"I know COVID is still here. It's still around," said Harp, who described herself as a Republican-leaning independent. "I think we should all be wearing masks for a little while longer."

In another AP-NORC poll conducted last month, 44% of those surveyed still said they were often or always wearing face masks outside their homes, though that was down significantly from 65% who said that at the beginning of the year.

The latest poll also shows about half the people favor requiring masks for workers who interact with the public, compared with about 3 in 10 opposed. Support is similar for requiring people at crowded public events such as concerts, sporting events and movies to wear masks.

On these, too, there are significant partisan divides. Seventy-two percent of Democrats favor requiring people attending crowded public events to wear masks, while among Republicans, 25% are in favor and 49% are opposed. The numbers are similar for requiring masks for public-facing workers.

Lee, who said she doesn't "do politics," wondered aloud why people are complaining about the judge's ruling and said nobody is stopping anyone from wearing masks if they want to.

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"We all have our beliefs and obviously different views," said Lee, who is unvaccinated. "Mine are definitely different from the people who are angry and upset."

Employed people are divided on whether those working in person at their own workplaces should be required to wear masks. Thirty-four percent say theyre in favor of that requirement, 33% are opposed and 33% are neither in favor nor opposed. Among workers who are Democrats, 48% are in favor and 18% are opposed. Among workers who are Republicans, 53% are opposed and 18% are in favor.

Mike Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesotas Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, said messaging over the mask mandate would have been more effective if it required N95 or KN95 respirators, which are more effective at preventing transmission of the virus.

"But you have actually created a real challenge with yourself with the public who are now being selective if not outright angry about these mandates," said Osterholm, who added that he will continue to wear his N95 mask on planes.

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,085 adults was conducted April 14-18 using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  The Minnesota Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear a challenge by environmentalists over portions of a lower court ruling involving a key permit for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  The Minnesota Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear a challenge by environmentalists over portions of a lower court ruling involving a key permit for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals in January reversed a 2018 decision by state regulators to issue PolyMet Mining Corp. a water quality permit for the project. It sent the case back to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for further proceedings.

That was a win for environmentalists, but they're challenging other parts of the ruling. One prong involves the agency's decision to issue the permit without setting specific effluent limits on mercury and other pollutants.

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They also faulted the appeals court for not imposing consequences for the agency's alleged effort to dissuade the federal Environmental Protection Agency from submitting critical written comments during the water permit review process.

It is so important that Minnesota agencies be held accountable when they circumvent laws that were meant to protect the integrity of the regulatory process, said Paula Maccabee, counsel for WaterLegacy, one of the three parties that asked the Supreme Court to step in.

The other petitioners are the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and the Fond du Lac band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The high court also granted an EPA employees union, local administrative law professors, government watchdog groups and well owners permission to file friend-of-the-court briefs in the case. A date for oral arguments has not been set.

Minnesotans were shocked to learn that our state agencies suppressed EPA employees concerns about the water pollution permit issued to PolyMet and kept them out of the public record," said Kathryn Hoffman, the center's CEO. "At the Minnesota Supreme Court, MCEA will make the case that these violations of Minnesota law and rules resulted in a fatally flawed permit that doesnt protect our water or the people downstream.

PolyMet spokesman Bruce Richardson issued a statement saying, "We believe that on review the Supreme Court will affirm the Court of Appeals carefully reasoned decision.

The Supreme Court's order is just the latest step in a long legal battle. Several other key permits that PolyMet needs also remain tied up in litigation or the regulatory process.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  New Mexico workplace safety regulators on Wednesday issued the maximum possible fine of nearly $137,000 against a film production company for firearms safety failures on the set of Rust where actor and producer Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in October.

FILE - This aerial photo shows the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., on Oct. 23, 2021. On Wednesday, April 20, 2022, New Mexico workplace safety regulators issued the maximum possible fine against a film production company for firearms safety failures on the set of Rust where a cinematographer was fatally shot in October 2021 by actor and producer Alec Baldwin. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  New Mexico workplace safety regulators on Wednesday issued the maximum possible fine of nearly $137,000 against a film production company for firearms safety failures on the set of Rust where actor and producer Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in October.

New Mexicos Occupational Health and Safety Bureau said Rust Movie Productions must pay $136,793, and distributed a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set prior to the fatal shooting. The bureau also documented gun safety complaints from crew members that went unheeded and said weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training.

What we had, based on our investigators' findings, was a set of obvious hazards to employees regarding the use of firearms and managements failure to act upon those obvious hazards, Bob Genoway, bureau chief for occupational safety, told The Associated Press.

At a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021, Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins inside a small church during setup for the filming of a scene when it went off, killing Hutchins and wounding the director, Joel Souza.

Baldwin said in a December interview with ABC News that he was pointing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction on the New Mexico set of the Western film when it went off without his pulling the trigger.

The new occupational safety report confirms that a large-caliber revolver was handed to Baldwin by an assistant director, David Halls, without consulting with on-set weapons specialists during or after the gun was loaded. Regulators note that Halls also served as safety coordinator and that he was present and witnessed two accidental discharges of rifles on set, and that he and other managers who knew of the misfires took no investigative, corrective or disciplinary action. Crew members expressed surprise and discomfort.

The Safety Coordinator was present on set and took no direct action to address safety concerns," the report states. Management was provided with multiple opportunities to take corrective actions and chose not to do so. As a result of these failures, Director Joel Souza and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were severely injured. Halyna Hutchins succumbed to her injuries.

FILE - The Bonanza Creek Ranch, where the film "Rust" was being filmed, appears in Santa Fe, N.M. on Oct. 23, 2021. On Wednesday, April 20, 2022, New Mexico workplace safety regulators issued the maximum possible fine against a film production company for firearms safety failures on the set of Rust where a cinematographer was fatally shot in October 2021 by actor and producer Alec Baldwin. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Rust Movie Productions said through a spokesperson that it would dispute the findings and sanction.

While we appreciate OSHAs time and effort in its investigation, we disagree with its findings and plan to appeal," said Stefan Friedman. Any appeal would be heard initially by the state's occupational health and safety commission.

Baldwin issued a statement from his attorney, asserting that the safety investigation exonerates Mr. Baldwin."

An attorney for Halls was not immediately available.

The state fine applies to a film with a budget of about $7 million. Baldwin was assigned a salary of $250,000 as an actor and producer and may have put some of that money back into the production.

At least five lawsuits have been filed over the shooting, including a wrongful death suit brought by Hutchins family against Baldwin and the movies other producers. The lawsuit on behalf of widower Matt Hutchins and his 9-year-old son alleges a callous disregard in the face of safety complaints on the set.

James Kenney, secretary of the Environment Department that oversees occupational safety, said the agency dedicated 1,500 staff hours to its investigation, examined hundreds of documents and conducted at least a dozen interviews with cast and crew members.

Investigators found production managers placed tight limits on resources for a small team that controlled weapons on set and failed to address concerns about a shotgun left unattended twice.

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the daughter of a sharpshooter and consultant to film productions, was limited to eight paid days as an armorer to oversee weapons and training, and was assigned otherwise to lighter duties as a props assistant. As her time as an armorer ran out, Gutierrez Reed warned a manager and was rebuffed.

Gutierrez Reed is both a plaintiff and a defendant in lawsuits seeking damages in the fatal shooting. In a statement Wednesday, her attorney highlighted findings that the armorer was not provided adequate time or resources to conduct her job effectively.

Safety investigators also note that the production company did not develop a process to ensure live rounds of ammunition were not brought on set, in violation of industry safety protocols. Safety meetings were conducted, but not every day weapons were used, as required.

Kenney said the separate investigations into possible criminal charges are still underway. The Santa Fe County sheriff and local prosecutors had no immediate comment.

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Kenney said his agency received no direct safety complaints from cast or crew prior to the fatal shooting, even though anonymity is offered.

This tragedy, this loss of life, it could have been prevented, and we want people to say something, he said.

Kenney was appointed in 2019 by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a staunch advocate for the film industry who increased a state cap in industry incentives shortly after taking office.

New Mexico competes with non-Hollywood production sites in states such as Georgia, Louisiana and New York. Film productions have flocked to New Mexico in recent years to seize on its diverse outdoor scenery, moderate costs and generous state incentives, including a rebate of between 25% and 35% of in-state spending for video production that helps filmmakers large and small underwrite their work.

___

This story has been updated to correct the state workplace safety fine to $136,793 instead of $139,793.
NEW YORK (AP)  New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he wants the city to promote its impending legal cannabis industry and assist people from minority communities most affected by marijuana-related offenses to become marijuana entrepreneurs.

FILE  New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks during the press conference at Harlem Hospital after the shooting of a New York City Police Department officer, in Harlem, Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, in New York. There were unrelenting crises in his first month: a fire ripped through a high-rise apartment building, killing 17 people; a baby was wounded and shot in the face; an officer was wounded and shot in the head; two other officers were fatally shot while responding to a call. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura File)

NEW YORK (AP)  New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he wants the city to promote its impending legal cannabis industry and assist people from minority communities most affected by marijuana-related offenses to become marijuana entrepreneurs.

Adams is set to propose Wednesday that the city spend $4.8 million to reach out to those most impacted by the so-called war on drugs. His plan would help them learn about the industry and set up their new small businesses  things like navigating the licensing process and obtaining financing, among other areas.

Now is the time for our city to make proactive investments to ensure the people disproportionately impacted by the criminalization of these substances can reap the benefits of the new industry, Adams said in a statement.

The mayor, a Democrat and former police captain, has said the legal marijuana industry could be a key driver for the citys post-pandemic economic recovery, along with a revival in tourism, nightlife and people returning to offices.

The announcement coincides with April 20  also known as 4/20  the date known for celebrating marijuana, and a day before neighboring New Jersey begins its own recreational pot sales.

New York legalized adult recreational marijuana a year ago for adults 21 and over. Recreational sales are not expected to start until later this year or early next year as the state sorts out regulations for what's expected to be one of the biggest legal U.S. markets for the drug.

In New York City alone, the industry is expected to generate $1.3 billion in sales in its first year, according to estimates from City Hall.

New York was the 16th state to legalize marijuana for adults, and the second-most populous state after California to do so.

A key theme in marijuana legalization in recent years has been social equity, and New York's laws have built in ways to redress how the justice system locked up a disproportionate number of people of color for drug crimes. That includes the state's goal of awarding half of marijuana licenses to individuals from underrepresented communities. The state has also been expunging some past marijuana convictions.

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Adams' plan continues in that vein, suggesting the city help those most impacted by the criminalization of the drug if they now wish to become marijuana entrepreneurs. The city's agencies devoted to small business services, economic development and criminal justice would work together to identify where to target the efforts, launch a public education tour and ad campaign and even help those setting up businesses find real estate to set up shop.

The proposal is part of the mayor's city budget plan that he's set to unveil next week. Along with the rest of the budget, the proposal will be negotiated with the city council and is expected to be agreed upon this summer.

New York City Councilmember Julie Menin, who chairs the council's small business committee, and Councilmember Amanda Farias, who chairs the council's economic development committee, both released statements supporting the mayor's plan to help marijuana entrepreneurs.

Menin said it was of critical importance for New York City to establish the legal pot industry in neighborhoods that were devastated by the war on drugs.

We need to be mindful of marginalized communities that have been disproportionately incarcerated because of punitive marijuana laws, she said.

Adams has separately said, in the absence of much available land in the city, he's exploring the idea of allowing the growing and cultivation of marijuana on the rooftops of the city's public housing buildings. But that idea is likely to run into major roadblocks because the housing is heavily subsidized by the federal government, which still criminalizes marijuana.
WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Two methane explosions at a coal mine in southern Poland killed five people and injured more than 20 early Wednesday, the Polish prime minister said. Seven others were missing.

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Two methane explosions at a coal mine in southern Poland killed five people and injured more than 20 early Wednesday, the Polish prime minister said. Seven others were missing.

The first blast took place shortly after midnight about 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) under the surface at the Pniowek mine in Pawlowice, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters outside the mine's office building.

Morawiecki said a rescue operation was launched immediately, but a second explosion occurred about three hours after the first, and communication was lost with some of the rescuers.

The operation was suspended due to the resulting fire and dangerous conditions. Experts were evaluating the possibility of resuming the rescue mission.

The mine, close to the Czech border, is operated by the Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa, or JSW, mining company. Prosecutors have opened an investigation.

More than 20 people, including rescuers, were hospitalized with severe burns, the prime minister said. Doctors at the Siemianowice Slaskie hospital, which specializes in treating burns and victims of mining accidents, said some of the patients have life-threatening injuries, including burns to their lungs and large areas of their bodies.

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Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said that one of the 5 dead had been among the 11 injured who were brought to the Siemianowice hospital in most serious condition. Other injured people were taken to other hospitals in the region.

Rescue workers were are among the victims of the explosions, Morawiecki said.

A tragedy happened here today, he said as he offered sympathy to the families and stressed the dangerous nature of coal mining work.

Poland relies on its own and imported coal for almost 70% of its energy, drawing criticism from the European Union and environmental organizations concerned about CO2 emissions and climate change.

Most coal mines are located in the southern Silesia region. Many are at risk of explosions from the sudden release of methane.

The government recently announced it would end coal imports from Russia by May. The action is part of Poland's drive to wean off dependence on Russian energy sources, but also comes in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
MONROE, Ga. (AP)  Opponents trying to derail a $5 billion, 7,500-job electric truck plant in Georgia dominated a state meeting this week that was meant to gather suggestions on how to design the plant to mitigate any impact on the environment.

MONROE, Ga. (AP)  Opponents trying to derail a $5 billion, 7,500-job electric truck plant in Georgia dominated a state meeting this week that was meant to gather suggestions on how to design the plant to mitigate any impact on the environment.

The state assumed oversight over the Rivian Automotive project after opponents overwhelmed Morgan County planning and zoning officials. The plant was announced by the company and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in December, and is the biggest single industrial project in state history. The first meeting of one of the oversight committees was Monday in the city of Monroe.

The Irvine, California-based electric vehicle manufacturer announced last year that it would build the facility on a 2,000-acre (809-hectare) site in Morgan and Walton counties about 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Atlanta along Interstate 20. It plans to produce up to 400,000 vehicles a year there. Rivian, which also has a plant in Normal, Illinois, said it hopes to break ground as early as this summer and begin production in 2024.

The state panel, led by John Eunice, deputy director for the state Environmental Protection Division, did not get much cooperation from a hostile crowd that gathered at Athens Technical College in Monroe, news outlets reported. Opposition to the plant has been heavy from Rutledge-area residents who say the plant will spoil their rural quality of life.

Residents criticized the meeting as a sham, saying it's impossible to make meaningful suggestions when there's not yet a plant design and saying the state is only working to get the plant built.

I was sitting at home and I saw my governor get on TV and say Rivian, 2,000-acre plant, coming to Rutledge, Georgia and its a done deal," said Pam Jones.

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Many speakers Monday voiced concerns about possible well-water contamination, light pollution, and the disruption of wildlife habitats and farmland for heavy industry.

I dont understand why you are sitting on that side of the table, which is the Rivian side of the table and why youre not sitting over here asking Rivian and Gov. Kemp to explain this environmental project and how its a disaster, said Edwin Snell of Oconee County.

A Rivian executive was present via video conference but did not speak during the hearing.

A spokesperson for Rivian said the meeting was a valuable opportunity for the company to gather input and that the company is committed to sharing details of their plans for the site once they are complete and meet our own high design and environmental standards.

The plant is a subject of contention in Georgia's Republican primary for governor, with former U.S. Sen. David Perdue attacking Kemp for agreeing to the Rivian location without support from neighbors.

Eunice said he does not know when Rivian will file for environmental permits needed to build the facility. He said the division will take public comment on the permits. Monday's meeting was the first of four planned for the site design and environmental committee. The state plans four meetings each with three other committees tasked with examining quality of life, workforce and local business engagement issues.
Lynx Air has landed in Winnipeg.

Lynx launches inaugural sale Click to Expand Travellers can get 50 per cent off all base fares on Lynx Air flights to and from Winnipeg Richardson International Airport if they book before Friday. The sale is to commemorate Lynxs launch in the prairie city.  Gabrielle Piche

The new airline, which touts itself as "ultra-affordable," first touched down at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport Tuesday morning.

"We did the numbers and decided this was a good place to come to," said Merren McArthur, Lynx Airs CEO and one of the passengers on Lynxs first flight into Winnipeg (from Calgary).

"Its a really busy hub  the centre of the prairies, the gateway to the west Its got a lot of cultural attractions."

Winnipeg fares begin at $59. To start, Lynx is offering twice-weekly flights to both Calgary and Vancouver.

Beginning May 5, it will launch twice-weekly flights from Winnipeg to Toronto and will double its Calgary-Winnipeg connections.

The Calgary-based company began designing its network around October last year, McArthur said.

"Were going where airfares are too high, or where theres not enough services," she said. "The combination of those drove our decision to fly to Winnipeg."

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Nick Hays, CEO of Winnipeg Airports Authority, says the city will see more options going forward.

Still, Lynx Air joins lower-charge carriers like Swoop and Flair Airlines by stationing in the prairie city.

"A lot of our business model is about keeping things really simple, and airlines are very complex operations to run," McArthur said.

This means no food, coffee or tea for purchase on board. Water is available.

Instead, travellers are encouraged to bring their own food or buy in the airport, McArthur said. People flying within Canada can bring foods like sandwiches, granola bars and apples in their carry-ons and checked luggage. They can also bring up to 3.4 oz. of non-solid foods  think yogurt and peanut butter  in containers in a clear plastic bag.

Lynx Air prices Click to Expand Below are samplings of Lynx Air ticket prices, as of Tuesday, for one adult. The figures dont include additions like priority boarding and checked bags.  A one-way flight from Winnipeg to Toronto on May 15 cost $79.01. A round trip, from May 15 to 22, cost $164.11.

 A one-way flight from Winnipeg to Calgary on May 15 cost $69. A round trip, from May 15 to 22, cost $138.

 A one-way flight from Winnipeg to Vancouver on May 17 cost $59. A round trip, from May 17 to 24, cost $158.01.

"The more you keep it simple, the less complexity and costs you have," McArthur said.

Customers choose their flight services a la carte style, paying extra for priority boarding and advanced seat selection.

Lynx Air currently has three planes and will add two more before summer, McArthur said. The company plans to grow its fleet to at least 46 Boeing 737 aircrafts through the next five to seven years.

The carrier will hit 10 Canadian destinations, which also include Victoria, Kelowna, Edmonton, Hamilton, Halifax and St. Johns. None are currently available via direct flight from Winnipeg, but the city will likely see more Lynx traffic in the future, McArthur said.

"We dont have any plans for fuel surcharges," she said, regarding the recent spike in oil prices.

Such costs fluctuate all the time, and its a constant challenge for airlines, she added.

"(Ticket) prices are going to go up as you get to summer, because its such a high demand period," McArthur added.

The Winnipeg Airports Authority has noticed plenty of bookings for the upcoming months, according to Nick Hays, the organizations CEO.

"I think what were seeing is just so much pent-up demand for travel since the pandemic," he said. "There is a light at the end of the tunnel."

Restrictions continue to roll back. Several American carriers arent requiring face coverings on domestic and some international flights; the change follows the U.S. transit authority saying it wont enforce mask wearing.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Lynx Air CEO Merren McArthur touched down in Winnipeg on Tuesday to announce the arrival of Canadas newest ultra-affordable airline.

Travellers are still required to wear masks on Canadian flights.

Hays called Lynx Air coming to Winnipeg "exciting" and said the city will "see a lot more connectivity and options going forward."

In March, WestJet announced a plan to resume near pre-pandemic service levels in the city. The Calgary-based business owns Swoop.

Lynx Air isnt hiring in Winnipeg, but it has outsourced a local company to handle its check-ins and aircraft management, McArthur said.

The airline began as Enerjet, a charter business that announced in 2018 itd transform into a commercial discount carrier.

Lynx Airs services started April 7 in Calgary and Vancouver.

 with files from The Canadian Press

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  Proponents of legalizing medical marijuana in Wisconsin made their case Wednesday at a public hearing on a Republican bill that's getting its first airing under the GOP-controlled Legislature, the latest sign of movement toward loosening the state's pot laws.

MADISON, Wis. (AP)  Proponents of legalizing medical marijuana in Wisconsin made their case Wednesday at a public hearing on a Republican bill that's getting its first airing under the GOP-controlled Legislature, the latest sign of movement toward loosening the state's pot laws.

The bill only got a hearing after the Legislature had adjourned for the year, meaning the soonest the idea could be acted on is next year.

Supporters of full legalization called the hearing a stunt. But Republican supporters said they were trying to start a conversation and introduce another bill next year based on feedback they receive.

Polls have consistently shown broad support for both medical and recreational marijuana legalization in Wisconsin. But Republicans, who have had full control of the Legislature since 2011, have repeatedly blocked any efforts to loosen the law.

The only other time a medical marijuana bill got a public hearing was in 2009, when Democrats had majority control of the Assembly. That bill did not pass.

Frustrated marijuana legalization proponents have watched all four of Wisconsin's neighboring states loosen their laws, making Wisconsin an island of prohibition. Recreational marijuana is legal to Wisconsin's north in Michigan and to the south in Illinois. Both Minnesota and Iowa allow medical marijuana.

Eighteen states have fully legalized marijuana.

The strongest advocates for full legalization say the Republican-backed bill falls far short of what is needed.

We cannot settle for half-baked, insufficient legislation that is nothing more than a political ploy to give folks false hope on the prospects of cannabis legalization here in Wisconsin," Democratic Sen. Melissa Agard, a proponent of full legalization, said in a statement ahead of the hearing. She planned to testify against the bill.

We must put our efforts behind full cannabis legalization, Agard said.

Bill sponsor Sen. Mary Felzkowski, a Republican from Tomahawk, insisted that her goal was not to allow for legalizing recreational marijuana, but to give people another treatment option.

Who are we to tell you if you cant have a drug or a natural product to help you out, said Felzkowski, a cancer survivor who said her doctor supported medical marijuana as an option.

Rep. Pat Snyder, the lead sponsor in the Assembly, noted that 37 other states  both under Republican and Democratic control  have already legalized medical marijuana.

I dont know why were so behind the times, he said.

Snyder pushed back against those who want full legalization, saying that would never pass the Republican-controlled Legislature. However, both he and Felzkowski said medical marijuana is different.

Medical marijuana is not a partisan issue, Felzkowski testified. This is an issue for all of us.

The Wisconsin Medical Society, which represents doctors in the state, issued a statement calling the proposal premature given a lack of research into marijuana.

Until science can determine which elements in grown marijuana are potentially therapeutic and which are potentially harmful, any medical marijuana program is at best a pale imitation of true medical therapies developed through scientific research, said the medical society's lobbyist Mark Grapentine in the statement.

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This session in Wisconsin there were bills from Democrats and Republicans that would legalize medical marijuana, from Democrats that would also legalize it for recreational use, and a bipartisan measure that would decriminalize the possession of marijuana.

All of those measures died when the Republican-controlled Legislature adjourned its session in February.

Felzkowski's bill is limited. For example, it doesnt allow smoking medical marijuana, a concession she said she made to address concerns some had about secondhand smoke. She also has said not allowing smoking would garner more support from Republican lawmakers. The Democratic medical marijuana bill would have allowed smoking it.

Her bill also allows for medical marijuana to be prescribed for a limited number of medical conditions, but she said she was open to broadening who would be eligible.

The hearing was scheduled on April 20, also known as 420 Day, an annual day of celebration of marijuana. Felzkowski said that was a coincidence and she picked Wednesday for the hearing because it was when most people were available.

I'm sorry, I was totally clueless on what 420's reference was, maybe that shows my age, Felzkowski, 58, said ahead of the hearing. My staff said, Yes, we thought you knew. I'm just a little bit older and not up on the reference."
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  The idea was presented to Florida lawmakers in a movie house outside Orlando 55 years ago, with Walt Disney, who had died less than two months earlier, helping make the pitch from the screen: Let Disney form its own government and in exchange it would create a futuristic city of tomorrow.

Joe Fowler, 75, a retired Navy admiral, points out the spot being prepared for the Disney World project near Orlando, Fla, May 2, 1969. The idea was presented to Florida lawmakers in a movie house outside Orlando, Florida 55 years ago: Let Disney form its own government and in exchange it would create a futuristic city of tomorrow. (AP Photo/Jim Kerlin)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  The idea was presented to Florida lawmakers in a movie house outside Orlando 55 years ago, with Walt Disney, who had died less than two months earlier, helping make the pitch from the screen: Let Disney form its own government and in exchange it would create a futuristic city of tomorrow.

That city never materialized, but Walt Disney World became an economic juggernaut with four theme parks and two dozen hotels, while its government retained unprecedented powers in deciding what and how to build, issuing bonds and holding the ability to build its own nuclear plant if it wanted.

Now, five decades later, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking lawmakers to end Disney's government in a move that jeopardizes the symbiotic relationship between the state and company. The high-profile attack by a politician from a GOP party that has historically championed its ties to business follows the companys opposition to what critics have dubbed the  Dont Say Gay  law barring instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

Republican Rep. Randy Fine, sponsor of the bill to scrap the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as the Disney government entity is known, said it is time for a change.

You kick the hornet's nest, things come up. And I will say this: You got me on one thing  this bill does target one company. It targets the Walt Disney Co., Fine said. "You want to know why? Because they are the only company in the state that has ever been granted the right to govern themselves.

In an email fundraising pitch Wednesday, DeSantis, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2024, put it this way:

Disney has gotten away with special deals from the state of Florida for way too long. It took a look under the hood to see what Disney has become to truly understand their inappropriate influence, the governor's email said.

If Disney wants to pick a fight, they chose the wrong guy, the email added.

Disney, based in Burbank, California, had more than $67 billion in revenue in 2021 and has declined comment on the Florida legislation, which passed the state Senate on Wednesday and is being considered by the House in a special session of the Republican-dominated Legislature. The effective date of the measure would be June 2023, leaving time to develop a compromise short of completely abolishing the district.

Before Reedy Creek became Disney's government, it was a drainage district created to help manage the 27,000 acres (10,926 hectares) that the company secretly acquired parcel by parcel in the mid-1960s.

At first, news accounts speculated that a new and large industrial complex might be coming to the area. Some reports linked it to the Kennedy Space Center about an hour's drive away in Cape Canaveral. Finally, on Oct. 21, 1965, the Orlando Sentinel broke a story with this headline: We Say: Mystery Industry is Disney.'"

A few days later, then-Gov. Haydon Burns confirmed the Disney plan, saying it would be the greatest attraction in the history of Florida.

That would prove true over the decades as metro Orlando became the most visited destination in the U.S., attracting 75 million tourists annually before the pandemic. The metro area, which added Universal and SeaWorld theme park resorts, grew from 305,000 residents in 1970, the year before Disney World opened, to almost 2.7 million residents last year.

In some ways, the Reedy Creek Improvement District was built on a misrepresentation when company officials came to Florida lawmakers with their plans to build an East Coast Disneyland. After the companys first theme park in southern California was built in the 1950s, motels and tourist shops encroached around the property, and Walt Disney wanted to make sure the same thing didnt happen in Florida.

Along with a theme park, Disney officials led by Roy Disney, Walts brother, told Florida lawmakers in 1967 that they planned to build a futuristic city  the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, also known as Epcot.

The proposed city would include a rapid transit system and urban planning innovations, so Disney needed autonomy in the district for building and deciding how to use the land, they said. The futuristic city never materialized, and instead Epcot morphed into a second theme park that opened in 1982.

They said they were going to do one thing and they did another, said retired Rollins College political scientist Richard Foglesong, whose book, Married to the Mouse recounted the formation of Reedy Creek. "In that respect, it was legally infirm. I think that is a factual argument.

Reedy Creek was allowed to build its own roads, run its own wastewater treatment plants, operate its own fire department, set its own building codes and inspect Disney buildings for safety. In the current budget year, the district had $169 million in revenues and $178 million in expenditures.

Reedy Creek essentially runs a midsize city. On any given day, as many as 350,000 people are on Disney World property as theme park visitors, overnight hotel guests or employees. The district has to manage the traffic, dispose of the waste and control the plentiful mosquitoes in a territory once called Mosquito County.

Even though Reedy Creeks primary task is to operate Disney World, it is home to less than 50 residents living in manufactured homes in two tiny communities, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista. The two municipalities were formed to support the legal framework of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which is governed by a five-member Board of Supervisors with four-year terms. The supervisors must be landowners within Reedy Creek, and to qualify, Disney gives them a small piece of land that they must give back once they leave the board.

That's not the only thing Disney has given out over the decades.

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Disney has been a major political player in Florida and the country. The Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political campaign spending, reported that in the 2020 campaign cycle, Walt Disney Co. and affiliates made more than $20 million in political contributions to both Republicans and Democrats.

That year, the most recent in which figures are available, Disney-related entities funneled $10.5 million to the America First Action committee, which supports former President Donald Trump. Disney also contributed $1.2 million to support President Joe Bidens campaign.

I think Disney is stuck a bit, Foglesong said. They had tried to play it both ways, making contributions to what you can only call right-wing Republicans. They thought they could have it both ways -- be the company of motherhood and apple pie and fund these reactionary Republican politicians.

___

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OTTAWA - Canadians can now give cash or Aeroplan points to help bring Ukrainians fleeing the war with Russia to safety in Canada.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser speaks during a news conference with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, Wednesday, April 6, 2022 in Ottawa. Fraser announced a new fund where Canadians can give cash or Aeroplan points to bring Ukrainians fleeing the war with Russia to safety in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA - Canadians can now give cash or Aeroplan points to help bring Ukrainians fleeing the war with Russia to safety in Canada.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says the goal is to pay for flights to bring at least 10,000 Ukrainians and their families approved for travel to Canada.

These would be on top of targeted chartered flights to bring Ukrainians to Canada announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this year.

More than 54,000 Ukrainians have already been approved to come to Canada for three years while they decide on their next steps.

Donations started being accepted Wednesday, but details about how eligible Ukrainians can access the money won't be available for a few weeks.

The program will be managed by Miles4Migrants, a United States-based charity that uses donated frequent flyer miles to help people impacted by war who have legal approval to travel, but cannot afford airfare.

The organization will help Ukrainians book commercial flights to Canada using donated funds or Aeroplan points on a first-come-first-served basis.

Miles4Migrants expects people will be able to start boarding flights as soon as next month.

At a press conference in Enfield, N.S., Fraser said the corporate partnership with Air Canada is "one of the most effective and efficient ways for people to possible travel to Canada," particularly since Ukrainians have spread out across Europe since fleeing their country.

"I would be hard pressed to find a more effective or efficient way to help as many people as possible," he said.

Fraser said it's a better system than offering cash directly to people who are thinking about coming to Canada, since they may change their minds and use the funds for other things.

Air Canada has donated 100 million Aeroplan points to the effort  the equivalent of about $2 million. The Shapiro Foundation, a U.S.-based charity focused on refugees, announced it would match donations from Canadians up to the equivalent of 50 million Aeroplan points, or approximately $1 million.

Several other airlines, including Southwest, United and Delta, have partnered with Miles4Migrants so people can use their airline rewards points to fund flights for Ukrainians to new safe havens.

The Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto will also collect cash donations, which will be distributed to sponsor displaced Ukrainians.

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress raised the idea of allowing people to donate their travel points in March, as the government announced plans to bring people into the country temporarily to wait out the war.

National executive director Ihor Michalchyshyn said the announcement is a step in the right direction, but the implementation will be the most important factor.

While the government has announced several steps to support Ukrainians who wish to come to Canada, including income supports and short hotel stays for newcomers, many of those programs have not rolled out yet.

That's leaving those seeking refuge with big expectations that are not realized when they arrive, Michalchyshyn said.

"Announcements are great, but the next step is to have a quick implementation, and that's where we're still waiting on a number of key items," he said.

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In some instances, people are not able to access provincial health care, for example, he said.

Meanwhile, the government is working on providing chartered flights for Ukrainians who've been approved to come to Canada, but the logistics are difficult because people who have fled Ukraine have spread far and wide in the meantime, Fraser said.

The minister said the government is expecting the results of a survey of approved applicants this week that will give the government more information about where people are and how many are actually planning to come to Canada.

"Once we have a better understanding of where people are, when they want to travel and where they want to go, it will allow us to plan logistics of charter flights more effectively," he said.

The government has not given a specific timeline about when the chartered flights will take off.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2022.
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the circumstances in Afghanistan are "heartbreaking" but Canada is facing challenges in processing refugees trying to flee the war-torn country.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks outside a family home in Kitchener, Ont., Wednesday, April 20, 2022. The Canadian Press/Peter Power

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the circumstances in Afghanistan are "heartbreaking" but Canada is facing challenges in processing refugees trying to flee the war-torn country.

Trudeau, whose Liberal government promised to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees in Canada, said Wednesday the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban is making the situation "unbelievably difficult."

"As might be imagined, the Taliban are not exactly being helpful in terms of bringing people out of Afghanistan to Canada," he said at a media availability in Kitchener, Ont.

"We continue to work with partners in the region and with allies around the world."

Afghans who risked their lives to support Canada's military mission, along with Canadian veterans who worked closely with them, have criticized the government's refugee program for being slow and mired in red tape.

The Veterans Transition Network, a group working to help Afghans who assisted the Canadian Armed Forces, announced earlier this week it was winding down evacuation operations.

Executive director Oliver Thorne said "bureaucratic hoops" to getting the proper paperwork are causing a bottleneck, and he called on the Canadian government to resume consular services in Afghanistan.

Retired major-general Denis Thompson, who sits on the network's board, said about 700 Afghans eligible to come to Canada are stuck in Pakistan because they don't have an exit visa from that country.

He urged Canada to negotiate with Pakistan to change the exit visa requirements. Those talks should have begun much earlier, he said, before Pakistan began going through recent political upheaval.

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said Trudeau is "deliberately missing the point."

"Former Afghan interpreters are asking for his government to reduce documentation restrictions and provide them with one-time travel documents to demonstrate that they are approved to come to Canada," she said in a statement.

The layers of bureaucracy create major barriers for people who had to burn many of their documents to avoid being targeted by the Taliban, she said.

Kwan said people with travel documents have been able to reach a third country, but many of their inquiries to the Canadian government have been met with silence.

"Time is not on their side, and the Liberals are looking for excuses to justify their inaction."

Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative immigration critic, wrote on Twitter: "#ClearTheLiberalBacklogs."

Kwan also said the Liberal government is ignoring calls to extend the exceptional immigration measures offered to Ukrainians to Afghans as well.

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During a recent parliamentary committee meeting, Afghan interpreters who have made it to Canada told MPs their family members fleeing the Taliban deserve the same treatment as Ukrainians escaping from Russian troops.

Ghulam Faizi accused the government of making "fake promises'' about the arrival of their loved ones, not one of whom has made it to Canada under a special program set up to bring them here.

Trudeau has said the situations are very different. In Ukraine, refugees are being helped by neighbouring countries, while in Afghanistan, the Taliban government is interfering with their ability to be processed, he has said.

The prime minister said Wednesday his government remains committed to welcoming 40,000 Afghans, including interpreters and others who worked with the Canadian military, as well as providing humanitarian support to Afghanistan.

So far, more than 10,600 Afghan refugees have arrived in Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2022.
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn't going to provide more details about his government's pledge to send a new round of military aid to Ukraine  at least not yet.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks about housing after meeting privately with two families in Kitchener, Ont. on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn't going to provide more details about his government's pledge to send a new round of military aid to Ukraine  at least not yet.

The prime minister said Wednesday that he doesn't want to outline the specifics of what will be sent, and where the government is getting it from, because of security concerns.

Trudeau said he wants to be careful about what he publicizes about the delivery of military equipment in the context of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

He said he hopes to share more in the coming days about what is being sent to Ukraine.

"People understand that delivery of military equipment in the context of an illegal war by Russia is something that we have to be a little bit careful about  what we broadcast and publicize and what we're doing," Trudeau said during a media availability in Kitchener, Ont.

"But in the coming days, I certainly hope to be able to share more about what is being sent and what was sent."

Trudeau first announced Tuesday that Canada will send heavy artillery to Ukraine in response to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's request.

Earlier this month, Zelenskyy released a list of equipment he said the Ukrainian military needed to fight Russia, including 155-millimetre heavy artillery guns and ammunition.

"If we had access to all the weapons we need, which our partners have and which are comparable to the weapons used by the Russian Federation, we would have already ended this war," Zelenskyy said in the text of an address posted online Tuesday.

The Liberal government has previously dipped into the Canadian Armed Forces inventory to provide lethal aid to the Ukrainian military as it fights a Russian invasion that started in late February and has so far killed thousands of people.

But Defence Minister Anita Anand has suggested the military's spare inventory is tapped out, and that the government  which set aside $500 million in military assistance for Ukraine in its latest budget  planned to buy equipment from vendors.

Trudeau said that while the government was pledging more equipment for Ukraine, it would ensure the Canadian military could contribute fully to NATO operations in Europe.

"As we support Ukraine, including with military equipment and munitions, we are also making sure that Canada continues to have the capacity to operate  not just to defend Canada but to participate fully in NATO operations as well," he said.

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Trudeau spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden and other NATO allies on Tuesday, one of several meetings this week focused on the war in Ukraine, including one for G20 finance ministers and central bankers.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tweeted Wednesday afternoon that Canada and "a number of our democratic partners" walked out of the G20 meeting when Russia, which is a member of the group of nations, "sought to intervene."

Among those in the picture put out from Freeland's feed were U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem, Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, and Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank.

"This weeks meetings in Washington are about supporting the world economy  and Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine is a grave threat to the global economy. Russia should not be participating or included in these meetings," Freeland tweeted.

"The worlds democracies will not stand idly by in the face of continued Russian aggression and war crimes."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2022.
While experts say humans should not ruffle their feathers over avian flu, bird-to-bird transmission remains a risk, especially at local baths and feeders.

While experts say humans should not ruffle their feathers over avian flu, bird-to-bird transmission remains a risk, especially at local baths and feeders.

Spreading via infected bird secretions, a bald eagle was Manitobas first case, placed in the care of the Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre before it died. The animal centre has since decided to stop admitting species susceptible to carry and transmit the virus, including waterfowl, gamebirds, shorebirds, and corvids.

All other avian species will be subject to a strict 30-day quarantine, rigorous medical examinations, and testing while any "non-admit" species will be euthanized "to protect others."

"To be the most cautious, were suggesting that people take their bird baths and bird feeders down, and call if you see anything that looks suspicious," said Zoe Nakata, executive director at the Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre.

"We know that its quite rare for songbirds to get infections from avian influenza, but it does happen Any time theres humans artificially encouraging certain species to congregate, theres a chance of infection."

Alternatively, the government of Canada is suggesting birders hang their feeders in low-risk areas and sanitize the structures thoroughly. Nakata also stressed the importance of being aware of the types of birds that frequent feeders.

"Based on what were seeing in North America, as close as Minnesota and North Dakota, there have been crows that have been identified and have fallen to this infection," said Nakata.

"So I would say just keep a very close eye on which species are feeding at your feeder and definitely disinfect them every 48 hours."

With rigorous cleaning and care, many local birders are holding on to their feeders and maintain songbirds are not the problem.

"The biggest concern, of course, is the poultry farms," said Sherrie Versluis, owner of the Preferred Perch wild bird specialty store. "But when it comes to the wild birds, there have been cases of it being found in raptors, like hawks and owls and some shorebirds, like ducks and gulls. But so far, there has not been any deep concern regarding songbirds."

Versluis believes "everybody is just erring on the side of caution," and local birders should keep their feeders up, as long as they follow proper cleansing protocols.

"Often birds poop on fallen birdseed, so its dirty, and thats when diseases can start," said Versluis, arguing "the biggest culprit of backyard birding issues is poor quality seed mixes."

"Birds then dig through the seed mixes to find something worth eating and they end up throwing the seed all over the ground again."

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Debra Vandekerkhove, a local bird enthusiast, is taking precautions against the flu but is "more concerned with the cross-contamination and lack of inspections of factory bird farms."

Vandekerkhove has three different stations for bird feeders and three other individual stations, to prevent cross-contamination. She uses a bleach solution to clean her feeders in the stations, before drying and isolating them for up to three days.

Active feeders are fed differently based on their location on Vandekerkhoves property to prevent cross-contamination.

"I wear disposable gloves and have specific shoes only for walking to the feeders and back to the garage, where they are not used," said Vandekerkhove. "Its difficult to keep up with rotating bird feeders so I am using a lot of small cardboard boxes placed selectively around the property and then disposing of them every day, replacing them with a fresh little box."

Wildlife Haven also recommends local birders replace this years feeders by planting "bird-friendly" native plants in backyards. Not only do plants such as milkweed, sunflowers, and Virginia creeper attract a variety of songbirds but are good alternatives for other wildlife, like butterflies, the centre said.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca
A combination of blizzard shutdowns and a weekend bookended by federal holidays has left Winnipeg, Brandon and other parts of southern Manitoba with no mail delivery for the past week.

A combination of blizzard shutdowns and a weekend bookended by federal holidays has left Winnipeg, Brandon and other parts of southern Manitoba with no mail delivery for the past week.

Against the backdrop of weather forecasts predicting more flurries over the next few days, Canada Post is currently digging itself out from the mountain of mail it has been left with.

Matthew Aitken, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers in Winnipeg, said Canada Post not only stopped the delivery of mail here starting last Wednesday, it also shut down its sorting plant near Winnipegs airport.

That is unprecedented, Aitken said Tuesday as letter carriers in the southern part of the province began deliveries for the first time in a week.

Postal workers are going to be facing a huge backlog for sure not delivering the mail is a crisis for some folks.

Aitken said he expects there will be overtime work available for any postal worker who wants it.

Letter carriers will manage their increased volumes this week so they arent injured or overworked by the end of the day, he said.

Many businesses heeded forecasters warnings of likely historic snowfall amounts Wednesday and Thursday, deciding to shut down operations.

As much as 30 cm of snow was dumped on Winnipeg. Blowing snow in rural areas resulted in numerous highways being closed.

And, unlike a regular calendar week when mail delivery would have started again the following day, that wasnt possible because it was Good Friday, followed by Easter Monday, a day off for most government and bank employees. And there is no regular mail delivery during the weekend.

Not too many years ago, a week with no mail delivery would have been devastating for businesses of all sizes, but the heads of local chambers of commerce say technology now means they are no longer as reliant on bills and payments going into physical mailboxes.

Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said probably the last time mail was delayed this long was during the April blizzard in 1997, which led weeks later to the Flood of the Century.

Back then there would have been some effect on business with no mail delivery, Remillard said.

With digital invoices and bill payment, so much is done electronically now.

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Chuck Davidson, president and CEO of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, agreed saying he hasnt received any calls from members grumbling about the days long lack of mail delivery.

Im not sure how big of an issue it is today, Davidson said.

Even a large mail customer such as Manitoba Hydro, which has more than 600,000 customers using electricity and almost 300,000 using natural gas, wasnt bothered by the delay.

Hydro spokesman Bruce Owen said Canada Post warned them in advance the bills for about 25,000 customers were not going to be picked up last Thursday because of the storm.

Owen said those customers would receive their energy bill one day later than usual. There should still be ample time for these customers to pay before the due date.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Flood forecasters are keeping close watch on a potentially significant amount of snow and rain headed towards southern and central Manitoba, with the Red River Valley set to record its second wettest April in more than 70 years.

Flood forecasters are keeping close watch on a "potentially significant" amount of snow and rain headed towards southern and central Manitoba, with the Red River Valley set to record its second wettest April in more than 70 years.

Fisaha Unduche, executive director of the provinces hydrologic forecasting centre, said moderate to major flooding is possible in the Red River basin, following last weeks snowstorm and an incoming Colorado low.

If the forecast is accurate, April will be the second wettest month in the Red River Valley since 1950, only eclipsed by April 1986, Fisaha Unduche said. (Wayne Glowacki / Free Press files)

"We are currently monitoring another significant weather event that could bring 40 to 80 millimetres of precipitation," Unduche said Wednesday, noting the rain and snow mix is expected to begin Friday and last through Sunday.

"The weather models do not fully agree on the amount, location and intensity of this precipitation event, but there is a very high confidence that most southern and central Manitoba basins could receive up to 40 to 50 mm precipitation."

Impacted basins are forecast to include the Red, Souris, Pembina and Roseau.

The spring flood risk was previously downgraded, but that was before last weeks Colorado low which dumped roughly 30 centimetres of snow on Winnipeg, and as much as 82 cm on Onanole, south of Riding Mountain National Park.

If the forecast is accurate, April will be the second wettest month in the Red River Valley since 1950, only eclipsed by April 1986, Unduche told reporters at a news conference on the southern grounds of the Manitoba Legislative Building, adjacent to the Assiniboine River.

There is plenty of uncertainty, but the latest forecast suggests the precipitation could fall as up to 50 mm of rain and 30 cm of snow. Localized areas could see up to 80 mm of precipitation by April 24.

Precipitation, surface run off and subsequent snowmelt as temperatures rise could lead to overland flooding occurring in some parts of the southern basins, depending on the intensity of rainfall, Unduche explained.

The southwest part of the province is most likely to see overland flooding based on the forecast.

The Assiniboine and Red rivers are likely to experience peak flows in late April or early May, said Unduche. For the Red River, peak flows will likely occur between April 30 and May 7.

Depending on where rain and snow falls, peak flows of 55,000 to 75,000 cubic feet per second are possible between Emerson and the floodway inlet in south Winnipeg.

Graphic: Today's James Avenue water levels Posted: 6:04 PM Oct. 9, 2019 Water levels in Winnipeg are measured in feet James, the level above the normal winter ice level as measured at a gauge on the Red River east of James Avenue in the Exchange District, just downstream of The Forks where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet. Zero feet James is the baseline winter ice level on the Red River at James Avenue. This is the baseline for measuring river levels in Winnipeg. Read Full Story

This would be on par with water levels in the springs of 2011 and 2020, said Unduche.

"In other words, levels could rise from what they are today within the valley by 13 ft. to 17 ft.," he said. "These flows, if they occur, could create moderate to major flooding within the Red River Valley."

Within Winnipeg, Unduche said the Red River could peak at between 17 and 19 ft., with the Red River Floodway and Portage Diversion in operation. On April 9, the river crested at 18.55 ft. at James Avenue.

As of Wednesday, the Red River was just above 14 ft. at James Avenue.

The floodway could begin operating again as early as May 1, Unduche said.

For the Assiniboine River, Unduche expects moderate flooding between the Shellmouth Dam and Portage la Prairie, where the diversion is likely to be used again.

The same is expected for the Souris River between the U.S. border and Wawanesa, and eastern regions including Roseau River, Rat River and Whiteshell Lake areas.

There is a low risk of spring flooding in northern Manitoba and for the provinces lakes. In the Interlake, where ice jam-related issues remain a concern, there is a moderate flood risk, dependent on rainfall.

Most communities are protected from a one-in-200-year flood or a flood of record, said Unduche, noting the province is not near that level.

JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwnuik delivers an announcement on the flooding forecast in Manitoba Wednesday outside the Legislative Building.

"The chance of having property damage or those kinds of issues in Manitoba will remain very rare. But if we see heavy intensity rainfall, that will create overland flooding, and it could happen anywhere," Unduche said.

"Those kind of high intensity rainfalls you only know after the fact, unfortunately," he said. "But we prepare for all those events."

Johanu Botha, head of the provinces Emergency Management Organization, said his team will be watching for municipal road closures following the weather system and will be prepared to communicate changes to the public.

"Well be in response phase this weekend, related to the weather system, and then the flood response, we will have to monitor and see," Botha said.

Updated forecast flows and levels across the basins will be available as the system continues to develop in the coming days, according to the province.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

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WRZESNIA, Poland  The horses watch with cursory interest as three-year-old Timur Mykholevskiy tries to scramble over the lower planks of a fence that leads away from the pen. Its a valiant effort, but the boys legs are too short to quite carry him over, so he wriggles and grunts and finally stretches his hand towards two visiting reporters.

WRZESNIA, Poland  The horses watch with cursory interest as three-year-old Timur Mykholevskiy tries to scramble over the lower planks of a fence that leads away from the pen. Its a valiant effort, but the boys legs are too short to quite carry him over, so he wriggles and grunts and finally stretches his hand towards two visiting reporters.

Ukrainian Refugee Crisis Winnipeg Free Press photojournalist Mikaela MacKenzie and writer Melissa Martin in Krakow, Poland. Posted: 4:13 PM Apr. 7, 2022 As the world watches in horror the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and as Manitobans prepare to open their arms to refugees, the Free Press has sent writer Melissa Martin and photographer Mikaela MacKenzie to Poland to report on the largest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War. Read Full Story

"Help me," he commands, in clear-as-a-bell English.

His mother, Alina Mykholveska, laughs. Shes been teaching him a little English, she says, to prepare him for his new life in Winnipeg. Hes soaked it up the way children always do a new tongue, which is to say, exuberantly: "Sing the ABC song," she says, and as he pipes into the melody, his face spreads into a cheeky grin, shaded by a cap emblazoned with a Maple Leaf.

Nearby, Alexander Leontiev watches, with a wry and tender smile.

"You know, I make a gift for him, that hat," he says, pointing to the boys distinctly Canadian ball cap.

Its not surprising. Theres no mistaking where Leontievs from, as he strolls around Wrzesnia. He wears an Old Navy sweatshirt with a big red CANADA logo. He drives an SUV dotted by Maple Leaf decals and flags. Around his neck he wears a lanyard, holding a credential bearing a tiny Canadian flag, part of the logo for UPC International Humanitarian Assistance Group.

The acronym stands for Ukraine, Poland and Canada. The organization, though, is a little smaller than that.

"Its just me," he says, and laughs.

Thats not exactly true, but the non-profit is his endeavour. Since arriving in Poland just days after the war started, Leontiev has been largely based here, a town about 260 kilometres west of Warsaw. In normal times, it has just 28,000 people; but since the refugees from Ukraine started spilling into this region, Leontiev estimates the population has nearly doubled.

Hes brought many of those people here himself. His own mother is here, and his mother-in-law, and his sister, staying in a sleek new apartment donated by a local businessman. When a friend of his late father fled bomb-ravaged Chernihiv, Leontiev brought him to Wrzesnia, too.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Max and Kate Shebanova, with Alina Mykholevska and Timur, on the farm theyre staying at just outside of Wrzesnia.

Then there was the day he got a call from a friend in Winnipeg, a relative of Mykholveska and her little boy, Timur. They had fled from Vinnytsia, in western Ukraine; Leontiev drove to Warsaw, picked them up and took them back to this ranch a short drive from Wrzesnia  pronounced "Zheshnia"  which the owner has opened for more than 30 refugees.

Its a nice place for the kids, Leontiev thinks, one of many such idyllic havens in Poland. Its set up for summer camps, with bunk beds and a cosy communal kitchen. The horses are docile and friendly, and curious goats cavort around their pen. Its good for the refugees mental health, Leontiev says, to spend time with nature and animals like this.

"What my people have seen, and what they feel, I understand that I just should help them," he says, after climbing back into his SUV and hitting the road back towards Wrzesnia. "They have broken psychology. And again, I cant believe that in 21st century, we have centre of Europe, war. I cant believe that. Its crazy."

Hes quiet for a moment, but then an abrupt change of subject: "When are you going to come visit us in Pinawa?"

This is a love story, in a way, about a love of land and of people, stretching from Pinawa to Ukraine.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Since arriving in Poland just days after the war started, Alexander Leontiev has been largely based in Wrzesnia.

For instance: from the moment Leontiev laid eyes on Pinawa, he was in love. In love with the trees, the water, the bears that amble through the forest, the fresh Whiteshell air that greets him every morning. And he was in love with the fish that swam through the river nearby, and throughout Manitoba: once, he caught a 137-centimetre sturgeon on Lake Winnipeg.

"It was like dreaming, I cant sleep for one night after that," he says. "I sent a picture to all my friends. Sometimes twice."

That was exactly the kind of life Leontiev hoped for when he moved his family to Canada in 2018.

The move was something of a dream. Hed grown up in Odesa, born to a Russian-speaking Jewish family that traced its roots back to the Ephrussi clan that was, in the 18th and 19th centuries, one of the wealthiest in the Black Sea port city. As a young man he moved to Wrzesnia to start a business importing light fixtures.

By the time he was nearing 40, though, he was ready for a change. He and his wife visited Canada for the first time in March 2018, going first to Cambridge, Ont., where his son planned to attend university. Within days, the couple were meeting with an immigration lawyer, who advised that their best bet for moving to Canada was to buy a business.

"Step by step it was green light for us. I really feel that someone, somewhere, help us."  Alexander Leontiev

So they spoke to a friend from Ukraine, who now owns an Esso in Rosenort, and flew to Manitoba to get the lay of the land. They started browsing businesses for sale on Kijiji. One caught their eye almost immediately: the Pinawa Motel, a quaint 11-room lodge popular with tourists and ice fishers and anyone who wants to spend time in the Whiteshells nature.

From that first visit, Leontiev says, Pinawa felt "like paradise." The motel purchase came together relatively quickly.

"Step by step it was green light for us," he says, and he points at the sky. "I really feel that someone, somewhere, help us."

The couple had no experience with the hotel business, but they embraced it anyway, making friends in town and running an active Facebook page to promote Pinawas various delights. Their daughter, now 11, loved the town and her teachers, so that was nice. And they began to discover, to their bemusement, just how much Manitoba could feel like Ukraine.

For instance, he says, they thought it was funny how theyd keep meeting people with "typical North American" first names, but Ukrainian surnames. And sometimes when he drives down Highway 59, he looks out at the land and for a minute, it feels as if hes back home. The scenery is the same as in Ukraine, he says, the same fields and trees and sky.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS On March 6, Leontiev flew to Warsaw, eager to start getting his family out and getting more humanitarian aid in.

"Unfortunately right now, they have just broke this (Ukraines landscape), these Russian idiots," he says. "But its very similar."

And Leontiev was at home in Pinawa the day the war started. It was a normal sort of night, about 8 p.m. He was relaxing on the couch, drinking a beer and chatting with his wife, when he got a text from a friend in Ukraine. He read a single word, a code word they had agreed on in case the war started. In that moment, Leontievs heart broke.

"I was shocked," he says. "And after, it was like news coming, coming, coming every second. It just was crazy."

In the frantic hours that followed, he contacted all of his friends, and all his family. He begged them to get out of the country and get to Poland, where hed help them make their way to Canada. What he wanted to do, above all, was go fight. It was too painful just watching it happen, he says; but his wife was firmly against that idea, so he looked for other ways to help.

That effort began in Pinawa. At first, they raised money for Ukraine via the motels Facebook page; when Leontiev decided to go to Poland directly, more support came in. An elderly man from town, who was born in Canada but speaks Ukrainian, gave them $200, and pledged to give more of his pension. The town rallied to hold fundraisers and donate to Leontievs cause.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Leontiev and friends formed a umbrella organization as UPC International Humanitarian Assistance Group.

On March 6, he flew to Warsaw, eager to start getting his family out and getting more humanitarian aid in.

As soon as he landed, what he saw left him shaken. Hed come of age in the 1990s, in post-Soviet Ukraine: "Believe me," he says, "I saw a lot of st in this life, huge." But none of it frightened him more than what he witnessed at the Warsaw airport that day: shocked refugees filling up the concourse, fleeing the war in a land that he loves to this day.

"I never seen so many people inside," he says. "It was people with grey face. Clear eyes, like empty. And was noise around, like wolves in the night. It was so scary. It was the same, like scene from this (Oscar-winning Holocaust drama) Pianist movie. I saw it, I cant believe it. I just wanted to wake up. It was really scary."

From Warsaw he flew to Krakow, where he hired a car to take him to the Slovakian border and pick up his mother and his niece. Then he retreated to Wrzesnia, where he still has many friends from his days importing light fixtures. ("Real friends," he clarifies. "Not like, just, Hi, hello how are you? Its real friends.") He started searching for places for his family to stay.

"It was all hands on deck here," says Jan Spilliaert, one of Leontievs friends in Wrzesnia. "Thats how it started, and he had the big luck that he found a guy whos a developer of apartment units, so they found a nice place the places that we see, theyre not always interesting. If they look stty, we dont want to put refugees there. It doesnt make sense."

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Leontiev walks down the main pedestrian street in Wrzesnia, where it helps that everyone seems to know him.

With the help of Spilliaert, a document translator and the honorary Belgian consul for the region, Leontiev began laying the groundwork for his next steps. He bought the SUV and covered it with Canadian flags. They formed an umbrella organization as UPC International Humanitarian Assistance Group, and made connections with others doing aid work nearby.

It helped that everyone seems to know Leontiev in Wrzesnia. On a walk through the towns stately main street, he pops into a photography store, where the owner has taken thousands of identification photos for Ukrainians free of charge; into a real estate office, where staff "help like crazy" in all sorts of ways; into a warehouse filled with toys and clothing for refugees.

They got more people into housing. They helped gather bundles of blankets and diapers to load onto trucks and send to Lviv. Doing all this, the days passed quickly, though the work was briefly interrupted when his Canadian permanent residency was approved. He had to return to Manitoba to complete it; after just 10 days at home, he flew back to Poland.

So that kept him busy, and from sinking too deep into the news of the war; but sometimes, it hits him.

"I cant believe that it happened," he says. "Even after almost two months, I cant believe. Its impossible."

"In my blood: Jewish, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Turkish and something else that I dont remember. And my wife: Russian, Polish, Jewish, Moldovan. And my kids, right? Its a cocktail. And they tell me that Im a Nazi. Im Nazi."  Alexander Leontiev

Along with that disbelief, there was anger. He tried to wrap his mind around how a full-scale invasion could happen, tried to wrap his mind around what it cost in Ukrainian lives. Around his neck, he wears a gold Star of David on a chain; he pulls it out as he thinks about one of Vladimir Putins original stated goals, the "de-Nazification" of Ukraine.

"In my blood: Jewish, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Turkish and something else that I dont remember," he says. "And my wife: Russian, Polish, Jewish, Moldovan. And my kids, right? Its a cocktail. And they tell me that Im a Nazi. Im Nazi."

He shakes his head, frustrated. "Idiots."

That one-quarter Russian in his background was also, until recently, in his life. Every summer, for years, his relatives from Russia would travel to Odesa, where theyd visit together, go out to restaurants and relax on the beach. He has not had any contact from them since the war started, he says, and his family hasnt either. Not a text, not a call, not an email.

Will he even be able to continue a relationship with them, once the war is over?

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Leontiev and his family have not had any contact with his Russian relatives since the war started, he says.

"No," he says emphatically, before the question is even finished. "Its over. For what? Why? They leave me, they leave my family, my kids, my people. And we would just continue (as family)? No, no, no."

These frustrations also strike closer to home. In Winnipeg, he says, some diaspora members have suggested people should now speak only Ukrainian. Leontiev bristles at that idea: those people should come to the border themselves, he says. They should look at the refugees coming from the most war-damaged regions of the east, which are heavily Russian-speaking.

They should come, he says. Come tell those kids and old women theyll only help the ones who speak Ukrainian.

"Those guys who talk about only Ukrainian speaking, Im interested," he says. "You guys live in Canada. Two official languages. So how you can make it different between Russian-speaking Ukrainians? Whats the difference? Im worse Ukrainian, or what? Its not normal."

Its not normal. Those are words he reaches for, over and over, to describe his grief and his anger, especially towards Russian soldiers and the Russian public that broadly supports the war. "Its not normal," he says, about the mounting evidence of war crimes committed against civilians. "Its not normal" to drop bombs that kill children, or support sending more.

Whats interesting is they think we just forgive them. We will just forget it. Why? And how?  Alexander Leontiev

"Whats interesting is they think we just forgive them," he says. "We will just forget it. Why? And how?"

He shakes his head again. "I never forgive them. Never."

In Poland, many Ukrainians we met believed that the country will emerge stronger after the war. Leontiev isnt so sure. Think of the damage, he says, and how long that will take to restore. Itll be 20 years, he thinks, and right now Poland is helping Ukraine a lot, and so are countries such as the United States, but that wont last forever.

Surely, though, he finds hope somewhere, or at the very least, something to help him keep going.

"Hope?" he says slowly, as if testing an unfamiliar word on his tongue, and for five seconds he says nothing else.

"I dont know," he says at last. "I just try to do something for my friends, for my relatives, for my people. Just because I can."

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Leontiev enters a hostel, which is providing a place to stay for Ukrainian refugees in Wrzesnia.

Still, the story is unfolding. That morning, he was happy to report, the latest shipment of humanitarian aid from Wrzesnia reached Lviv. The next day, he was going to take Alina Mykholveska to give her fingerprints for her Canadian visa. At home in Pinawa, neighbours are planning more fundraisers, including a concert by a popular Elvis impersonator on May 28.

And all over the world, in every place Leontiev has called home, people are helping. At the end of this month, hell fly back home, but this time he wont return to Pinawa alone: his relatives from Odesa will be with him. And as he talks through his frustration with the war and the response of the United Nations, he stumbles onto a word hed struggled with before.

"I really hope that world will start changing," he says, and then it clicks. "You ask me about hope? I hope the world changes."

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca
Eric Redhead has decided to run for a seat in the Manitoba legislature under the NDP banner, saying hes achieved his goals as chief of a northern First Nation.

Eric Redhead has decided to run for a seat in the Manitoba legislature under the NDP banner, saying hes achieved his goals as chief of a northern First Nation.

"I have accomplished everything I have set out to accomplish as chief and I thought maybe this is the time to step in and fill the huge gap that was created by the passing of Danielle Adams," said Redhead, chief of Shamattawa, in an interview with the Free Press Wednesday.

Eric Redhead / Facebook I thought with the experience Ive had during my tenure, as chief and council and front line health-care worker and single father, would resonate with citizens of Thompson and the riding, Eric Redhead said.

Adams, a New Democrat who was elected MLA for Thompson in 2019, died in a crash on Highway 6 last December. A byelection has to take place no later than June 7.

"I thought with the experience Ive had during my tenure, as chief and council and front line health-care worker and single father, would resonate with citizens of Thompson and the riding," Redhead said. "I thought I could be that voice for them."

He resigned as the acting grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs last week and will step down as chief of Shamattawa on May 11. The byelection is expected to be called May 10.

During his time as chief, the First Nation 744 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg got a new water treatment plant after dealing with boil water advisories for as long as Redhead can remember. Shamattawa built, in one year, a record 26 new houses, and now has an NHL-sized rink.

"The youth have very little to do in Shamattawa," said Redhead who has four children - two of whom live with him and two who are with their mother in Winnipeg.

"A little bit of structure would go a long way. We have a high suicide rate and I firmly believe that idle time is the worst for any youth and children. Theyre going to fill it with, usually, not good things," said Redhead, whose resume includes Thompson hospital nurses aide and working in crisis and suicide intervention.

As chief, he splits his time between Shamattawa, Winnipeg and Thompson, where he lives with his school-age kids. If elected as the MLA for Thompson, he will have more time to spend with them and a new set of governing priorities.

"Highways are a priority," said Redhead, noting Adams death raised concerns about northern highway conditions.

"Child care is a priority. As a father in Thompson with my children I know the struggle of not being able to find spaces. That, for me, hits close to home. Also, as a front-line health care worker, I know the impact that the (Progressive Conservatives) have had on the health care system," said Redhead.

"Its unacceptable the cuts that were made. The foot care clinic that was cut, the hot water issue at Thompson General." The main hospital for the north has been without a consistent supply of hot water for weeks due to supply chain issues holding up a part needed for repairs, the Northern Health Region has said.

"Its a health care facility, for crying out loud," said Redhead.

The Progressive Conservatives havent formally announced their candidate.

"We are looking forward to a strong PC candidate representing our party in Thompson, and we will be making an announcement in the near future."

Thompson Chamber of Commerce president Charlotte Larocque announced on social media that she was asked to run for the PCs in a campaign starting May 10, and asked "can I count on your vote?"

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The Liberals have said they wont enter a candidate in the byelection, which by law must be held within 180 days of the seat becoming vacant.

Redhead is the second NDP candidate. Oswald Sawh, who announced he was running in March, dropped out this month, saying "it was not the right time for me."

In an interview Monday, the former Thompson city councillor and executive director of the Thompson Neighbourhood Renewal Corp. said he dropped out because he has too many commitments. He denied it was because his name showed up on the list of donors who gave $250 or more to Progressive Conservative Premier Heather Stefansons fall leadership campaign. Sawh is listed as giving $250 to Stefanson, who narrowly defeated former federal Conservative cabinet minister Shelly Glover.

"I dont have much to say except Ive done donations throughout the years," Sawh said. "I believe people should be engaged in the process."

He did not donate to Glovers leadership campaign, he said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Theres a reason why the federal government is reluctant to boost health-care transfers to the provinces beyond its existing funding formula: it gets virtually no political credit for handing over more cash to provincial governments unless theres at least an appearance of strings attached.

Theres a reason why the federal government is reluctant to boost health-care transfers to the provinces beyond its existing funding formula: it gets virtually no political credit for handing over more cash to provincial governments unless theres at least an appearance of strings attached.

Thats been the reality of federal funding for health care in Canada since the beginning of medicare. Provinces run health care and pay for most of it. They agree to follow the terms of the Canada Health Act in exchange for a shrinking financial contribution from Ottawa. Provincial premiers are happy to take the cash, but balk at any federal "intrusion" on how to spend it. The federal government is eager to fund health care but isnt satisfied with its role as a mere broker of money. Federal politicians want their contributions to be visible to the public, like the recent child-care agreements they signed with the provinces.

And so the dance begins, as it does almost every year around this time: the provinces claim the federal governments contribution to health care continues to shrink and Ottawa says its willing to talk about more funding, but only if it can get value for its money.

British Columbia Premier John Horgan went as far as saying over the weekend that Ottawa should hold off on its new national dental program until it provides sustainable funding to the provinces for existing health-care services.

Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson reiterated last week that Ottawa is paying only 22 per cent of the cost of health care, and its not enough. The premiers want Ottawa to cover at least 35 per cent of the cost.

MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson reiterated last week that Ottawa is paying only 22 per cent of the cost of health care, and its not enough.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland have both said in recent weeks that simply throwing more money at health care isnt the answer. While they are prepared  perhaps  to offer more cash, they want assurances the money will result in better care.

Its hard to blame them, after billions of dollars in additional health-care funding over the past 18 years did little to improve outcomes. At the same time, some provinces  including Manitoba  have been cutting taxes, suggesting maybe they dont need the money, after all. The Stefanson government announced $166 million in tax cuts in last weeks provincial budget, while increasing core health-care funding by only 1.6 per cent.

Still, trying to attach strings to new federal health-care dollars is a mugs game. Ottawa tried it in 2004 under then-prime minister Paul Martin, who famously claimed that his 10-year deal with the provinces (which included six per cent annual funding increases) would "fix health care for a generation." It didnt.

Under the 2004 "health-care summit" deal, provinces agreed to establish wait-time benchmarks for procedures such as orthopedic and cataract surgery in exchange for higher transfer payments. Trouble is, the benchmarks were just that  benchmarks. They werent enforceable and, practically speaking, they couldnt be. So nothing really changed.

Under the 2004 healthcare summit deal, provinces agreed to establish waittime benchmarks for procedures such as orthopedic and cataract surgery in exchange for higher transfer payments. Trouble is, the benchmarks were just that  benchmarks.

After Stephen Harper took over as prime minister in 2006, he honoured the Liberals 10-year deal and even extended it by two years. After that, Trudeaus Liberals adopted a formula based on annual increases tied to nominal GDP, with a minimum increase of three per cent.

Is Canada ripe for another 2004-style health-care deal, one with higher annual transfers and loose conditions attached, so Ottawa can get its political credit? Perhaps. Would it change much? Probably not.

A more sensible arrangement would be for the federal government to transfer tax points to the provinces, where Ottawa reduces its taxes and allows the provinces to raise theirs by a commensurate amount to pay for health care. That way the level of government doing the taxing could be held directly accountable for the money it collects and spends. They did a version of that in the 1970s when the cost of health care began to rise. The federal government still refers to that tax-point transfer when calculating its "share" of health-care funding.

A more sensible arrangement would be for the federal government to transfer tax points to the provinces, where Ottawa reduces its taxes and allows the provinces to raise theirs by a commensurate amount to pay for health care.

The downside for Ottawa is that it would get little, if any, political credit after the tax points were transferred. The federal government would much prefer the bells and whistles of another health-care summit. Thats probably what Canadians are in for once Ottawa is ready to talk about renewed health-care funding.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca

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Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson says she has no issue with health authorities funnelling millions of dollars to private nursing agencies, after more than $36 million was spent covering chronic staff shortages in the past fiscal year.

Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson says she has no issue with health authorities funnelling millions of dollars to private nursing agencies, after more than $36 million was spent covering chronic staff shortages in the past fiscal year.

"Im more concerned about Manitobans getting the care they need when they need it," Stefanson said in response to questions from the Free Press following an unrelated press conference at Assiniboine Park.

The Free Press has reported that agency nurses cost provincial health authorities an average of $3.3 million a month during the first 11 months of the 2021-22 fiscal year.

"Whatever we need to do to ensure we can expedite (the delivery of health care), thats what were going to do," Stefanson said.

"We want to make sure that nurses are there when we need them."

MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Whatever we need to do to ensure we can expedite (the delivery of health care), thats what were going to do, said Premier Heather Stefanson.

The premier skipped question period Tuesday to attend a news conference for the Toba Centre for Children and Youth, in which she announced $2 million for its capital campaign. The organization, which works with victims of abuse, plans to open a new facility at Assiniboine Park, located in Stefansons constituency.

In her absence, Deputy Premier Cliff Cullen and Health Minister Audrey Gordon answered opposition questions about the governments growing dependency on agency nurses.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew said the governments reliance on private-sector workers displays a lack of fiscal responsibility; agency nurses cost Shared Health a flat rate of $65 an hour, while nurses in the public health system are paid between $38 and $47 an hour.

Over the past two years, spending on agency nurses increased by 38 per cent, to just under $40 million in 2021-22 from $25 million in 2019-20.

In 2017-18, the first fiscal year under the Tory government, the province spent $13.3 million on agency nurses.

"Thats $40 million that could have been used to hire nurses in the public system. Not only does this cost more, it disrupts the care that patients receive," Kinew said.

DAVID LIPNOWSKI / THE CANADIAN PRESS Manitoba Opposition NDP Leader Wab Kinew, centre, said the governments reliance on private-sector workers displays a lack of fiscal responsibility.

Cullen pointed to the $7.2 billion the his government has budgeted to spend on health care this year and said the province is recruiting nurses and doctors to Manitoba.

"Were going to make sure that Manitoba nurses are there for Manitobans when they need them," Cullen said.

Challenged by NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara to justify spending close to $40 million on agency nurses, Gordon shot back, saying the former NDP government should have taken corrective action; she blamed the NDP for not doing more to add nurses to the public health system when it was in government.

"In the last few years of the NDPs government, they spent over $46 million on agency nurses," Gordon said. "Why did the NDP government in their 17 years in government not see that $46 million that was going to agency nurses required a strategy to address hiring nurses."

"Were going to make sure that Manitoba nurses are there for Manitobans when they need them."  Deputy Premier Cliff Cullen

The health minister did not speak to reporters following question period and her press secretary said Gordon had to be in the house to debate the budget.

Asagwara and Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said the reliance on private-sector nurses will continue to choke the health-care system while lining the pockets of corporations.

In the short term, Asagwara said staffing hospitals and personal care homes with agency nurses will mean patients and families will suffer; but in the long term, the reliance on agencies will push more workers out of the public system.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS In the short term, NDP MLA Uzoma Asagwara said staffing hospitals and personal care homes with agency nurses will mean patients and families will suffer; but in the long term, the reliance on agencies will push more workers out of the public system.

"Ultimately, nurses are fed up with this government not listening to them," Asagwara, a former nurse, said. "What you have now are nurses saying that they dont want to work under this government, they dont want to deal with the conditions this government has forced upon them."

Lamont described the Progressive Conservatives spending on agency nurses as "stepping over a dollar to save a dime" that will cost the province more in the long run.

"Its not good for these communities who are affected, its not good for our health-care system, and ultimately its not good for the nurses," Lamont said.

"There are people who want to work here, who want to work as nurses, but this government seems to be doing what it can to actually avoid hiring people into the public system."

 with files from Carol Sanders

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca

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THE Manitoba government will fund eight supportive housing units for parents in the process of being reunited with children in the care of Child and Family Services.

THE Manitoba government will fund eight supportive housing units for parents in the process of being reunited with children in the care of Child and Family Services.

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The units will be located at 26 Gaylene Pl. in Fort Garry and funded through an annual subsidy provided by the government to property owner S.A.M. Holdings.

Our government is committed to working with non-profit housing partners to collaboratively develop and retain affordable housing units for Manitobans, Families Minister Rochelle Squires said in a press release.

Investing in culturally appropriate housing options that offer additional tenant support is a crucial element in ensuring children and their families are supported during the reunification process.

Supportive housing services and tenant assistance will be provided by Makoon Transition Inc., an Indigenous-led family reunification program. The organization offers support for parents with legal issues, banking, medical and dental care, and long-term addiction and mental-health treatment, according to Makoons website.

The province sold 26 Gaylene to S.A.M. Holdings in 2018 and entered into a 25-year subsidy assistance agreement to guarantee 88 affordable housing units, with 32 for tenants in the Makoon program.

Total funding for the 32 transitional housing units will cost the government $595,226.
Some rural students in Manitoba have missed nearly three weeks of instruction in 2021-22, as a result of stormy conditions and frigid temperatures.

Some rural students in Manitoba have missed nearly three weeks of instruction in 2021-22, as a result of stormy conditions and frigid temperatures.

In addition to COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions, families and staff members who live and work in public school divisions outside of the Perimeter Highway have been challenged by a spike in snow days.

Repeated school cancellations, which are typically announced around 6 a.m. any given weekday, have forced caregivers to make last-minute child care arrangements, limited learners face-to-face learning time, and prompted educators to cram their curriculums.

The average annual number of weather-related school closures between 2004-05 and last year ranged from 1.2 to 5.4 days, according to the education department.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Vehicles emerge from the blowing snow on the Trans-Canada Highway in February.

This year, the provincial average  a figure that takes into account the total number of schools that have experienced at least one shutdown as a result of cold weather conditions  has reached eight days.

"I cant believe were having another storm. Im done with storms," said Jerret Long, chief executive officer and superintendent of Lord Selkirk School Division, before a Colorado low started moving into the province last week.

At the time, Long called the existing weather and temperature-related closure tally in the division located northeast of Winnipeg  11.5  "unbelievable." That record-breaking figure has since risen to 13.5.

Pembina Trails pleased with remote learning test Calling its emergency remote operations during last weeks storm a successful trial, Pembina Trails School Division wants to share lessons learned from a test drive of the 21st-century approach to education. The metro division in south Winnipeg stood alone in pivoting to e-learning April 13-14, as opposed to canceling classes outright as Winnipeg, Seven Oaks, Louis Riel, St. James-Assiniboia and River East Transcona did. As forecasts of a treacherous blizzard started to make headlines, Pembina Trails requested its employees bring home their work technology in the event blustery conditions shuttered in-person classes before the Easter long weekend. click to read more Calling its emergency remote operations during last weeks storm a successful trial, Pembina Trails School Division wants to share lessons learned from a test drive of the 21st-century approach to education. The metro division in south Winnipeg stood alone in pivoting to e-learning April 13-14, as opposed to canceling classes outright as Winnipeg, Seven Oaks, Louis Riel, St. James-Assiniboia and River East Transcona did. As forecasts of a treacherous blizzard started to make headlines, Pembina Trails requested its employees bring home their work technology in the event blustery conditions shuttered in-person classes before the Easter long weekend. In an email April 11, superintendent Ted Fransen told staff members to anticipate a shift to remote learning. At the time, meteorologists estimated 30 to 50 centimetres of snow would hit Winnipeg as a Colorado low weather system made its way up through the Prairies. Remote learning is not something you can do on a whim. Its absolutely dependent on having some time to prepare  and we did, Fransen told the Free Press, after in-person classes resumed this week. If the storm hit Wednesday morning without any warning, it wouldve been a very different situation. While Fransen acknowledged attendance varied between cohorts in the division, he indicated some teachers reported 100 per cent attendance to virtual classes last week. The value of lead time is a key takeaway from this pilot, he said, adding with sufficient notice and access to technology, a remote learning stint unrelated to COVID-19 is a viable option for emergency learning.  Maggie Macintosh Close

As metro Winnipeg superintendents recorded the first city school storm-related closures in 25 years, many of their rural colleagues tallies had already reached double digits.

Interlake has closed its K-12 buildings for an average of 2.61 days per year over the last 18 academic seasons due to either inclement weather or extreme cold. There have been 13 closures to date in 2021-22.

Lord Selkirk, Seine River, Sunrise, Red River Valley, and Hanover districts have each recorded at least 13 such closures this year. In Lakeshore, classes have been cancelled on almost 15 occasions.

Citing her frustrations, Elizabeth Botterill said she has purposefully not kept track of the number of days her Grade 6 daughter has had to stay home from Oakville School because of blustery conditions.

"Im absolutely concerned about the education loss on top of the already existing losses to their education standards from COVID," she said, adding she worries about progress in all subjects but especially mathematics.

One of her questions for upcoming school conferences is how the elementary building in Portage la Prairie School Division  which has documented more than two weeks worth of weather-related closures in 2021-22  is tackling catch-up for students as a result of continuous disruptions.

In an email, superintendent Todd Cuddington indicated a 20-year record for school bus cancellations in Portage this year, coupled with significant absenteeism due to COVID-19, has resulted in "significant loss in instructional time."

The consensus is the safety of children and drivers must always come first, even if closures cause other stresses, said Rod Brownlee, a trustee who oversees the school board.

"Teachers do their best to get everybody in and caught up and stuff, but that number of days (14 cancellations) is just crazy," said Brownlee, a retired teacher in Portage.

The long-time trustee noted the reality of limited connectivity in rural communities makes the prospect of successful emergency remote learning impossible.

Hanover superintendent Shelley Amos echoed those comments Tuesday.

While the southeastern Manitoba division facilitated remote learning on a cold-weather day (a shutdown caused by temperatures reaching either -35 C or 10 degrees colder, with wind chill taken into account), Amos said classes have been canceled because of 12 different weather-related issues this year.

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Effective distance education requires planning time and sudden storms do not often allow for such arrangements, she said.

Despite the high number of closures, Amos said teachers are well-equipped at this point in the year to figure out what outcomes each student still needs to meet.

In a statement Tuesday, a provincial spokesperson acknowledged this winter has been "more extreme than previous years," but indicated rural and northern schools have significant experience in planning to meet curricular outcomes during condensed school years.

A total of 196 K-12 school days are scheduled in Manitoba in 2021-22.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie
Its generally bad form to quote another journalist, but Stewart Lees day job is standup comedian, so we can make an exception just this once. Writing in The Observer last Sunday, Lee offered a summary of Britains Conservative government as its 12-year reign stumbles towards its close.

Opinion

Its generally bad form to quote another journalist, but Stewart Lees day job is standup comedian, so we can make an exception just this once. Writing in The Observer last Sunday, Lee offered a summary of Britains Conservative government as its 12-year reign stumbles towards its close.

The Conservative politicians making headlines last week, he wrote, were "a child molester, a serial adulterer and compulsive liar, a handsome but morally bankrupt financial whiz-kid, and a bully who sends immigrants to Rwanda."

"Thats less like a government and more like a special team of convicted criminals given their freedom in exchange for accepting an impossible mission behind enemy lines in a 1970s Italian-funded war film. Operation Dynamite Bastards!!!!"

Imran Ahmad Khan, a Conservative MP, resigned after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy, but the real story was that another Tory MP, Crispin Blunt, a former justice minister, condemned his conviction as "an international scandal, with dreadful wider implications for millions of LGBTTQ+ Muslims around the world."

The "serial adulterer and compulsive liar" was, of course, Prime Minister Al "Boris" Johnson, still refusing to deny he has more children than the seven he admits to by various mothers. But it was the "compulsive liar" part of the indictment that was getting more attention last week.

That really was a legal matter. For more than a year the Conservative government has been haunted by "Partygate," an ongoing scandal about numerous drinks parties at the prime ministers combination home and office, No. 10 Downing Street, even when the entire country was in COVID-19 lockdown.

The rules at the time, publicized by Johnson himself on national television, said no more than two people from different households could be together indoors except for work reasons. However, the parties at Number Ten were almost weekly: birthday parties, leaving parties, Thank-God-Its-Friday parties. There was even a drinks fridge in the office.

Revelations about these parties trickled out one by one starting about a year ago, each denied by Johnson both to the public and in Parliament (where deliberately lying is a resigning offence). Eventually the police got involved, as these were criminal offences, and the first fines were handed out to Johnson and other senior Conservatives last week.

The police are dealing with the offences one at a time, drip-feed, and Johnson is due for up to five more fines. He is also going to have to brazen it out for lying to Parliament, and while the Conservative majority there will save him for the moment, his party has irretrievably lost faith him

The "handsome but morally bankrupt financial whiz-kid" is Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister), who was universally seen as Johnsons chief rival and possible replacement  until he fell from grace a couple of weeks ago. He, too, has been fined for the parties, but his bigger problem is his personal finances.

First it came out that Sunaks wife, an Indian heiress, has been exploiting a tax loophole to avoid paying British taxes on her dividend income of US$15 million a year. All she had to do was declare she didnt intend to stay in the UK permanently  which may be true, because it then came out that Rishi and she had both kept their U.S.-issued green cards.

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That ends Sunaks prime ministerial ambitions  and then theres the "bully who sends immigrants to Rwanda," Home Secretary Priti Patel. She announced the plan last week while handing a US$156 million down payment to Rwandan dictator Paul Kagame for taking asylum seekers off Britains hands.

Its probably illegal, and Patel doubtless realizes it wont ever really happen. Shes just throwing some red meat to the racist and anti-immigrant voters who played a big part in putting Johnson & Co. into power in the last election. But she hasnt solved the bigger problem, which is what to do about Johnson. Nobody has.

Johnsons popularity in the party and in the country has collapsed, and even his recent sub-Churchillian posturing in Ukraine has done nothing to restore it. But following the decline of Rishi Sunaks star, the Conservatives have no other candidate who will tickle the electorates fancy. Moreover, Johnson certainly wont go without a fight.

The likeliest outcome is stalemate: an unpopular government heading into a cost-of-living crisis with no visible strategy and two years to go until the next election. They had no policy beyond "Brexit," which no longer inspires even its former enthusiasts, and their enemies fondest wish is that Johnson stays in office until that election rolls around at last.

He probably will.

Gwynne Dyers new book is The Shortest History of War.
Its unthinkable that the provincial government would not take immediate action if a commercially sold food or beverage was contaminated and killed 407 Manitobans.

Its unthinkable that the provincial government would not take immediate action if a commercially sold food or beverage was contaminated and killed 407 Manitobans.

Yet 407 Manitobans died in 2021 of drug overdoses, many of them because the drugs were tainted. Some of these lives could have been saved if Manitoba provided supervised consumption sites, where theres a chance poisoned drugs could be detected before its too late.

Despite millions invested in mental-health and addiction services, Manitoba's opioid-related death toll is growing A recovering fentanyl user in Winnipeg shows paraphernalia used to consume the drug. (Joe Bryksa / Winnipeg Free Press files) Posted: 8:12 PM Apr. 15, 2022 Tracy Sandersons world has been torn apart by opioid addiction, even though shes never touched the deadly drugs. The Winnipeg grandmother lost her 27-year-old stepdaughter Melissa to suicide in 2008, a tragic end to a life destroyed by opioid addiction. Read Full Story

Unlike Manitoba, five other provinces have risen above the erroneous assumption that establishing sites where drugs can be tested and safely ingested amounts to an endorsement of drug abuse. Officials in these provinces followed expert advice on the most effective way to reduce the escalating number of overdose deaths. In other words, they followed the science.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put it this way last week in Edmonton, when he commented on the rise in drug poisoning in Alberta: "We know science-based, community-based solutions are a huge part of it; thats why as a government we continue to push for safe consumption sites."

The prime ministers comments should resonate with the Progressive Conservative government of Manitoba, which has to date refused to discuss supervised consumption sites, much to the frustration of health-care workers and specialists in addictions.

Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS We know science-based, community-based solutions are a huge part of it; thats why as a government we continue to push for safe consumption sites, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the rise in drug poisoning in Alberta.

Its not as if the province refuses to help addicts. The current government has spent $58 million on mental-health and addiction services since 2019, investment that includes the establishment of four treatment clinics for people who want to quit drug abuse. They get counselling and other supports, including prescriptions for medication to dull their cravings.

During this time, however, overdose deaths in Manitoba have continued to rise, from 200 in 2019 to 372 in 2020 and 407 in 2021. Judging by the surging death toll, its not enough to have recovery clinics only open to users ready to quit. Manitoba needs a safe place for users to confirm the purity of their drugs with trained staff on hand in case of medical problems.

The importance of testing drugs has become increasingly important during the pandemic, when the closure of the Canada-U.S. border dried up Manitobas traditional supplies of illicit drugs from the U.S. In this void, some local drug sellers began mixing their versions with ingredients in dangerous combinations. In 2021, 38 people in Manitoba died after overdosing on a new combination of fentanyl and etizolam, a sedative prescribed for anxiety and insomnia.

In 2021, 38 people in Manitoba died after overdosing on a new combination of fentanyl and etizolam, a sedative prescribed for anxiety and insomnia.

No one consents to taking a potentially lethal combination of drugs. But in Manitoba, theres no easy way to test street drugs to determine ingredients.

Since the days of former premier Brian Pallister, who displayed an unbending opposition to the concept, proposals for supervised consumption sites in Manitoba have been a non-starter with the provincial government. His successor, Premier Heather Stefanson, seems determined to continue this tunnel vision, recently refusing to respond to City Coun. Sherri Rollins request to discuss a harm-reduction approach that includes supervised consumption sites.

If the Manitoba PCs were open to learning more about supervised consumption sites, they would likely find the long-term goal is the same as the government-endorsed recovery clinics  help addicts get clean. The trained staff at supervised consumption sites help addicts in a long-term way; they try to build relationships of trust with the users and guide them to appropriate resources when theyre ready to quit.

Supervised consumption sites are already finding success in Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. In Manitoba, however, the governments blinkered outlook needs to be widened to acknowledge theres more than one way to help drug users.
In the wake of the U.S no longer enforcing its mask mandate on domestic flights, local travellers were left to ponder Canadas next move.

In the wake of the U.S no longer enforcing its mask mandate on domestic flights, local travellers were left to ponder Canadas next move.

Some passengers reportedly removed their masks mid-flight Tuesday, after the Biden administration announced face coverings would no longer be required on American public transit (including airlines and trains). The move followed a ruling by a Florida U.S. district judge that called the COVID-19 control measure unlawful. The administration may yet appeal the ruling.

Meanwhile, Canada doing the same wouldnt be a bad thing, Dwight Bell said while waiting at in the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport to catch his flight to Calgary.

"My first response was: really, what is that going to do for us here? How are people going to react to it?" he told the Free Press.

"Personally, I think its a good thing. It should be the individuals choice."

Bell said he formerly travelled to the United States a few times a year, and wasnt particularly concerned about the end of its mask mandate.

Should Canada do the same, his decision on whether or not to mask up on local flights will depend on how hes feeling, Bell said. If hes sick, he might don a mask, but noted he doesnt have to wear a mask in most day-to-day interactions.

"Im pretty flexible, too. If somebody feels unsafe, if Im sitting beside someone on a plane and they ask me if I mind putting it on, Im kind of OK with that at the same time."

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS (Masks are) a preventative measure and that is really good, because anything can happen. It is good for us to be on the safe side, said Gyanendra Raj Rai.

Gyanendra Raj Rai, also waiting at the airport Tuesday, said hes a bit more apprehensive about the decision south of the border.

"(Masks are) a preventative measure and that is really good, because anything can happen. It is good for us to be on the safe side," he said.

He was off for a visit home to Nepal  a regular trip for him that requires more than one connecting flight.

"If I could travel without the mask, that would be more comfortable for me," he said. "But because of this pandemic, I dont have any objections to abiding by the rules and the law."

The Trudeau government said Tuesday theres no imminent plan to follow the American example.

"There is no change to the current policy in Canada," wrote Valerie Glazer, a spokeswoman for federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.

"We will base any decisions on the use of masks during travel on the latest public health advice, to ensure the safety of our transportation sector."

The Conservative party argued Canada ought to follow suit, with transport critic Melissa Lantsman tweeting: "We are further and further out of step with the (world)" for maintaining both mask and COVID-19 vaccinations for travellers.

The current federal regulations require any flight within Canada, or those operating to or from Canada, to have passengers wearing masks when they arent eating or drinking. That doesnt apply to foreign flights crossing over Canadian airspace or transfer flights Canadians take after reaching another country.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ayo Makanju said he wont be wearing a mask on domestic flights in the U.S., and if the same changes come to Canada, hell do the same.

Some American labour unions had complained the mask mandate meant flight attendants had enforce the extra rules. The airline division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees has instead argued mask mandates lower the risk of cabin crew catching COVID-19, and has worried the U.S. dropping its rules will make it harder for Canadian flight attendants to enforce the domestic rules.

A study from the International Air Transport Association has estimated passengers could be as much as three times more likely to catch COVID-19 during a flight since the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron strain in December. The hybrid COVID strain XE (the newest variant of Omicron) is said to be even more transmissible, and several cases have been identified in Canada.

There are still a number of restrictions Ottawa would likely have to do away with before dropping masks, including testing and vaccination requirements (depending on the province), while in the U.S., many such requirements had already been axed, Winnipeg Airports Authority vice-president Tyler MacAfee said.

"Weve seen a very different approach to the pandemic in the U.S. versus Canada, where travel restrictions were here much longer," he said.

"So I think the changes were seeing in the U.S. is something were certainly keeping an eye on, but theres still a number of factors that were looking at here in the Canadian system to get back to where we were pre-pandemic."

While the WAA is waiting on an "eventual" end to the domestic flight mask mandate, its not something the organization is actively calling for, MacAfee said.

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Tuesdays news inspired "mixed feelings" in Ayo Makanju, who was travelling to Atlanta from Winnipeg.

"Peoples health matters a lot. Its a good thing that people, they want to get rid of the masks, but then they say another variant is one the way, so its mixed feelings. Some people arent happy about it," he said.

Makanju said he wont be wearing a mask on domestic flights in the U.S., and if the same changes come to Canada, hell do the same. However, he wont get rid of masks entirely: should he or people around him be sick, hell put one on.

"Ill go by the government regulations, whatever the government says."

 with files from Dylan Robertson

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russian forces tightened the noose around the defenders holed up Wednesday in a mammoth steel plant that represented the last known Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol, as a fighter apparently on the inside pleaded on a video for help: We may have only a few days or hours left.

A member of security forces gives first aid to an injured man following a Russian bombing of a factory in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, April 19, 2022, killing at least one person and injuring three others. Russian forces attacked along a broad front in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday as part of a full-scale ground offensive to take control of the country's eastern industrial heartland in what Ukrainian officials called a "new phase of the war." (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russian forces tightened the noose around the defenders holed up Wednesday in a mammoth steel plant that represented the last known Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol, as a fighter apparently on the inside pleaded on a video for help: We may have only a few days or hours left.

With the holdouts coming under punishing new bombing attacks, another attempt to evacuate civilians trapped in the pulverized port city failed because of continued fighting.

Meanwhile, the number of people fleeing the country topped 5 million, the Kremlin said it submitted a draft of its demands for ending the war, and the West raced to supply Ukraine with heavier weapons to counter the Russians' new drive to seize the industrial east.

With global tensions running high, Russia reported the first successful test launch of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sarmat. President Vladimir Putin boasted it can overcome any missile defense system and make those who threaten Russia think twice," and the head of the Russian state aerospace agency called the launch out of northern Russia a present to NATO.

The Pentagon described the test as routine and said it wasn't considered a threat.

A police officer checks the body of a woman killed during a Russian bombardment at a residential neighborhood in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Russia ratcheted up its battle for control of Ukraines eastern industrial heartland on Tuesday, intensifying assaults on cities and towns along a front hundreds of miles long in what officials on both sides described as a new phase of the war. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

On the battlefield, Ukraine said Moscow continued to mount assaults across the east, probing for weak points in Ukrainian defensive lines. Russia said it launched hundreds of missile and air attacks on targets that included concentrations of troops and vehicles.

The Kremlin's stated goal is the capture of the Donbas, the mostly Russian-speaking eastern region that is home to coal mines, metal plants and heavy-equipment factories. Detaching it would give Putin a badly needed victory two months into the war, after the botched attempt to storm the capital, Kyiv.

The Luhansk governor said Russian forces now control 80% of his region, which is one of two that make up the Donbas. Before Russia invaded on Feb. 24, the Kyiv government controlled 60% of the Luhansk region.

A woman walks next to a damaged building after a Russian bombardment in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Russia ratcheted up its battle for control of Ukraines eastern industrial heartland on Tuesday, intensifying assaults on cities and towns along a front hundreds of miles long in what officials on both sides described as a new phase of the war. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Gov. Serhiy Haidai said the Russians, after seizing the small city of Kreminna, are now threatening the cities of Rubizhne and Popasna. He urged all residents to evacuate immediately.

The occupiers control only parts of these cities, unable to break through to the centers, Haidai said on the messaging app Telegram.

Analysts say the offensive in the east could devolve into a war of attrition as Russia runs up against Ukraine's most experienced, battle-hardened troops, who have fought pro-Moscow separatists in the Donbas for eight years.

The body of a man is covered by a tarp from a damaged truck following a Russian bombing of a factory in Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine, on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Russian forces attacked along a broad front in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday as part of a full-scale ground offensive to take control of the country's eastern industrial heartland in what Ukrainian officials called a "new phase of the war." (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Russia said it presented Ukraine with a draft document outlining its demands for ending the conflict  days after Putin said the talks were at a dead end.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the ball is in their court, were waiting for a response. He gave no details on the draft, and it was not clear when it was sent or if it offered anything new to the Ukrainians, who presented their own demands last month.

Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy said he had not seen or heard of the proposal, though one of his top advisers said the Ukrainian side was reviewing it.

A member of security forces gives first aid to an injured man following a Russian bombing of a factory in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, April 19, 2022, killing at least one person and injuring three others. Russian forces attacked along a broad front in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday as part of a full-scale ground offensive to take control of the country's eastern industrial heartland in what Ukrainian officials called a "new phase of the war." (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Moscow has long demanded Ukraine drop any bid to join NATO. Ukraine has said it would agree to that in return for security guarantees from a number of other countries. Other sources of tension include the status of both the Crimean Peninsula, seized by Moscow in 2014, and eastern Ukraine, where the separatists have declared independent republics recognized by Russia.

In devastated Mariupol, Ukraine said the Russians dropped heavy bombs to flatten what was left of the sprawling Azvostal steel plant, believed to be the city's last pocket of resistance.

A few thousand Ukrainian troops, by the Russians estimate, remained in the plant and its labyrinth of tunnels and bunkers spread out across about 11 square kilometers (4 square miles). Zelenskyy said about 1,000 civilians were also trapped there.

A serviceman of Donetsk People's Republic militia walks past damaged during a heavy fighting mosque in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Taking Mariupol would deprive Ukraine of a vital port and complete a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, seized from Ukraine from 2014. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)

A Ukrainian posted a video plea on Facebook urging world leaders to help evacuate people from the plant, saying, "We have more than 500 wounded soldiers and hundreds of civilians with us, including women and children.

The officer, who identified himself as Serhiy Volynskyy of the 36th Marine Brigade, said: This may be our last appeal. We may have only a few days or hours left." The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified.

The Russian side issued a new ultimatum to the defenders to surrender, but the Ukrainians have ignored all previous demands.

An interior ministry sapper checks the body of a Russian soldier as he searches for unexploded devices, in the village of Moshchun, close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

All told, more than 100,000 people were believed trapped with little if any food, water, medicine or heat in Mariupol, which had a pre-war population of over 400,000.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the latest effort to open a safe corridor for women, children and the elderly to escape failed because the Russians did not observe a cease-fire. Many previous such agreements have fallen apart because of continued fighting.

A Zelenskyy adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter that he and other Ukrainian negotiators were ready to hold talks without any conditions to save the lives of trapped Mariupol defenders and civilians. There was no immediate response from Russia.

A woman walks next to the body of a man killed during a Russian bombardment at a residential neighborhood in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Russia ratcheted up its battle for control of Ukraines eastern industrial heartland on Tuesday, intensifying assaults on cities and towns along a front hundreds of miles long in what officials on both sides described as a new phase of the war. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned of horrors yet to be revealed in Mariupol, given the death and destruction left behind in Bucha, near Kyiv, after the Russians retreated.

We can only anticipate that when this tide also recedes from Mariupol, were going to see far worse, if thats possible to imagine, he said.

Mariupol holds strategic and symbolic value for both sides. The scale of suffering there has made it a worldwide focal point of the war. Mariupols fall would deprive Ukraine of a vital port, complete a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, and free up Russian troops to move elsewhere in the Donbas.

Ukrainian soldiers walk on a destroyed bridge in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

As Russia continued to funnel troops and equipment into the Donbas, Western nations rushed to boost the flow of military supplies to Kyiv for this new phase of the war, which is likely to involve trench warfare, long-range artillery attacks and tank battles across relatively open terrain.

U.S. President Joe Biden was set to announce plans Thursday to send more military aid to Ukraine, according to a U.S. official.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Biden will detail his plans to add to the roughly $2.6 billion in military assistance the administration has already approved. Canada and the Netherlands also said they would send more heavy weaponry.

Refugees from Ukraine stay inside a vast accommodation center set up at the Global EXPO exhibition hall in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. The United Nations refugee agency says that more than 5 million people have now fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24. The Geneva-based U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 put the total number of refugees at 5.01 million. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Also, a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon's assessment of the war, said the training of Ukrainian personnel on American 155 mm howitzers has begun in a European country outside Ukraine, and the first of 18 promised such weapons began arriving on the continent.

Putin, meanwhile, boasted that the Sarmat missile has no equivalents in the world. The Sarmat is intended to eventually replace the Soviet-built missile code-named Satan by NATO as a major component of Russia's nuclear arsenal.

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It will make those who, in the heat of frantic, aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country think twice, the Russian leader said.

Volodymyr Lukyanovych, 63, cooks his dinner outside his house after his building was destroyed by Russian shelling in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Citizens of Irpin are still without electricity, water and gas after since the Russian invasion began. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Looking for a path to peace, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requested meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy in their capitals to discuss how to stop the fighting. The U.N. received no immediate response.

___

Associated Press journalists Mstyslav Chernov and Felipe Dana in Kharkiv, Ukraine; Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine; and Robert Burns and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report, as did other AP staff members around the world.

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Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
The first Bacon Fest takes over Loggers Field in La Crosse on Saturday, and tickets are sold out.

The River Valley Media Group has partnered with Festival Foods, Farmland Bacon and Copeland Park & Events Center to bring Bacon Fest to La Crosse on May 7.

A highlight of the event will be the official Bacon Eating Contest, sponsored by Festival Foods and Farmland Bacon. Fifteen contestants will compete to see who can consume the most bacon in five minutes. The winner will receive a trophy, and bragging rights as the first-ever Bacon Fest Bacon Eating Champion.

VIP and general admission tickets are sold out.

General admission gates open at 1 p.m., and ticket holders receive one free sample from all food vendor booths. .

Food vendors will gather at Loggers Field, offering samples of their best bacon dish or overall bacon in this family friendly event, with trophies awarded to vendors in each category. There will be a Fans Favorite division, as voted on by all attendees as well as a Judges Choice in each category as voted upon by a panel of local judges.

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The second man to have pleaded guilty to the armed robbery of two Lake Delton businesses in July 2020 was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to 11 years in prison.

In fashioning a sentence for Deon L. Brown, District Judge James Peterson said he needed to determine how much worse is Browns character and conduct than co-defendant, Cortez Thurmond, who Peterson sentenced last month to 8.5 years in prison.

Only Brown, 29, of Zion, Illinois, carried a firearm into the Alpha Red Studio and Gifts of the World store where he struck one woman on the back of the head with a handgun and another shopper in the mouth, according to court documents.

The blow to the back of head required several stitches. The only violence occurring during the Alpha Red robbery consisted of Brown grabbing an employee by the hair, pointing a gun to the side of her head and shoving her into a chair.

Peterson said the injuries werent extremely serious, and they healed long before the effects of the terror the victims experienced faded.

The woman, who received stitches, said she still has nightmares, a rapid heartbreak and pure fear when she thinks about the robbery, Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner wrote the court.

Making his conduct worse was the Brown didnt need to use the gun became the witnesses werent resisting, the judge said.

Brown told Peterson that he now understands that he didnt need to use the gun to commit the robberies but he needed money for drugs and violence was how he had got what he wanted.

Brown and Thurmond cased the businesses before robbing them, which Peterson called calculated for someone so desperate for drugs.

Also, this was Browns second armed robbery conviction and sentence and Peterson asked him why he didnt get the message from that prior offense.

Prison in Illinois is different; they lock you up with animals like me but there arent any programs ... that just make you worse off, Brown said.

While being sober and detained in the Dane County Jail for the past 18 months, he said he had access to a laptop and obtained some educational certificates but not a high school equivalency degree.

Peterson recommended Brown receive drug, educational and vocation counseling while in federal prison. After prison, Brown will be on supervised release for three years and be responsible with Thurmond, of North Chicago, Illinois, for restitution of $2,555 to Gifts of the World. The Alpha Red Studio didnt request restitution.

William Ginsberg, Browns attorney, asked for a sentence of nine years and two months, saying that the store video showed an almost imperceptible touch of the gun to a shoppers head.

While all armed robberies are considered violent offenses, the fact that the physical injuries werent terribly serious should be considered a mitigating factor, Ginsberg argued.

Under the advisory sentencing guidelines, Brown faced up to 11 years in prison, which Wegner recommended.

Ginsberg argued that Brown using a gun and being on probation at the time of the robberies are already factored into the guidelines, which begin at nine years and two months, and is the prison term Ginsberg recommended.

Brown and Thurmond continued to rob business in southeast Wisconsin and Lake County, Illinois, before being arrested in Kenosha in September 2020.

They have been indicted in federal court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin for those robberies. Peterson said didnt factor those pending charges in sentencing Brown.
The city of Portage has a new mayor, and the City Councils two new members got their first taste of being elected officials Tuesday night taking their seats in the council chambers.

Portage Mayor Mitch Craig was sworn in at City Hall along with newly elected Alds. Karen Melito and Susan Bauer Frye. Re-elected Alds. Chris Crawley and Eric Shimpach were also sworn in Tuesday as part of the councils annual business meeting.

Council members were assigned to committee and given a short orientation on being an alderperson.

The City Council presides over five major committees: Finance/Administration, Human Resources, Legislative and Regulatory, Municipal Services and Utilities committees, and the Park and Recreation Board. These committees are made up of council members and serve a number of functions.

For example, the Finance/Administration Committee is charged with making financial decisions across the city, such as debt management and preparing the budget.

There are also a number of other governing bodies that are made up of combinations of alderpersons and citizen members. A number of these committee had openings that Craig did not appoint anyone.

Ald. Mike Charles asked Craig when those positions would be filled.

They will be filled in the next week, Craig responded.

One of committees that will be doing a lot of work this year is the ad hoc American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding Committee. This committee made up of Portage Finance Director Jennifer Becker, city staff members, Ald. Dennis Nachreiner and several citizen members.

This committee will meet and discuss recommendations for what Portage will do with the $1.1 million in ARPA funds. The committee wont make decisions for how the ARPA dollars are spent but rather offer recommendations to the City Council.

Before the new mayor and alderpersons took the oath of office, the council gave recognition to officials who are no longer serving on the City Council.

Outgoing Alds. Mark Hahn and Jeff Monfort were presented with certificates of appreciation before the new alderpersons were sworn in.

Hahn served as alderperson for District 2 for six years. Monfort served as alderperson for District 5 for eight years.

Thank you for your dedicated service, said outgoing Mayor Rick Dodd.

Before adjourning the first part of the meeting, the council voted and approved a resolution in appreciation of Dodds service to city of Portage.

The resolution outlined Dodds time spent as alderperson for 12 years before serving as mayor from 2016 to 2022. City Clerk Marie Moe read the resolution.

Mayor Dodds vision to grow the city was evidenced by businesses retained and expanding new businesses along with bringing in new businesses, Moe said.

Those businesses include Loggerhead Deco, Asphalt Paving Systems, Dollar General and WCCU Credit Union.

At last weeks meeting, Ald. Dennis Nachreiner thanked Dodd for his time as mayor and alderperson.

I would like to recognize Rick tonight, Nachreiner said. He has spent years as mayor and city alderman. He has devoted a terrific amount of time to Portage. I appreciated everything youve done in that time. I believe youre leaving the city in a better place than when you found it.

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The earliest use of tobacco plant leaves being lighted to inhale the smoke is lost in time. Archaeological research has found, however, that tobacco was used by native peoples in the Americas as early as 12,500 years ago. Tobacco had already long been used here by the time European settlers arrived and took the practice back to their countries where it quickly became popular. The natives used tobacco in pipe ceremonies, in sacred ceremonies, and to seal treaty agreements.

The leaves of the tobacco plant were also used for medicinal purposes. It was said to ease the pain of a headache, earache, and to shorten colds and a cough. The natives also used it as currency to trade with the colonists in the 1620s.

Farmers in America began using Cuban seed to grow cigar-grade tobacco in both Maryland and Connecticut before the Revolutionary War in the 1700s.

Tobacco was first grown by Wisconsin settlers in 1844, in Walworth County. After the Civil War in the 1860s, the popularity of cigar smoking in the state increased. With the influx of German immigrants in the mid-1800s, also came the demand for the stogies.

Tobacco can only be grown on rich, fertile soil; however, the downside is that it depletes the nutrients. At the time of its introduction, the leaves were being sold for from 4-10 cents  68 cents to $1.70 todayper pound. The average wage for unskilled labor in the mid-1800s was $1 a day.

In 1885, Wisconsin was a leading tobacco growing state with some 16,000 acres grown by about 4,000 farmers. It took 900 man-hours per acre to produce, harvest and prepare the tobacco for market.

By 1900, cigars were considered a social stable staple and were primarily consumed by men as a stress reliever.

Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, a consummate smoker of up to 20 cigars a day, once said, If smoking is not allowed in heaven, I shall not go.

In 1902, there were seven cigar factories in Sauk County, including those in Baraboo, Reedsburg, Prairie du Sac, Sauk City, and Kilbourn  now Wisconsin Dells. By 1939, only one small factory existed in Glenville, near Baraboo, operated out of the home of Walter Kaufman.

Most of these Sauk County factories were one-man operations, some having an apprentice or two. It was noted that in 1902, more than 725,000 handcrafted cigars were produced in Sauk County.

The production of hand-rolled cigars is rather complicated and time consuming. The dried leaves are baled and wrapped in burlap. From there, they are moistened by misting or being placed in a room with high humidity. Then the stems from the leaves are removed and it is sorted by tobacco type. Next, the different types of leaves are blended to make a bunch. A bunch consists of three or four varieties which are folded and then broken to achieve the right length. Next, it is hand-rolled around filler leaves and placed in a mold and pressed for 30 to 45 minutes. After leaving the mold, the cigar goes to the roller, who rolls the outer wrapper leaf around the bunch. He cuts the wrapper leaf to the correct size and wraps it in a spiral manner. Tree sap may be used to help seal the wrapper leaf. Finally, the finished cigars are packed into heavy cardboard boxes ready to be sold.

Hand-rolling is considered to be a highly skilled craft which takes years of practice to perfect.

In the early 1900s, the public began changing their consumption of tobacco products with the introduction of cigarettes.

By 1945, the hand-rolled cigar factories were a thing of the past, being replaced by machines that did the same job much more efficiently.

Bill Schuette has served on the board of directors at the Sauk County Historical Society since 1993. He lives in rural Loganville.
After years of rejecting efforts to legalize medical and recreational marijuana, several Republican lawmakers on Wednesday promoted a medical cannabis measure  but with session over, theres almost no chance legislators pass the bill this year.

Rallying in support of full legalization for years, some Democrats said the legislation doesnt go far enough to legalize a drug that most Wisconsinites want to see accessible and regulated. No Democrats have formally signed on to support the bill.

The Republican bill, SB 1034, is only meant for people with serious conditions, bill author Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, said before the Senate Insurance, Licensing and Forestry Committee hearing. She referenced a 13-year-old girl whose serious medicinal condition could be ameliorated with medicinal marijuana.

It breaks my heart that we sit here and deny her a possible cure, she said.

The measure would extend to people with conditions including Crohns disease, glaucoma, cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

It was the first time in Wisconsin that a Republican-majority Legislature granted a public hearing for a marijuana bill. Its also the first time since 2009 that a marijuana bill received a public hearing.

A 2022 Marquette Law School Poll found 61% of Wisconsinites, including 51% of Republicans, want marijuana to be fully legalized. A 2019 Marquette Law School Poll found 83% of Wisconsinites said medical marijuana should be legal.

But the hearing came after the legislative session ended for the year because Republican leadership said the bill was introduced too late, Felzkowski said. Felzkowski and bill author Rep. Patrick Snyder, R-Schofield, said they would reintroduce the bill in January regardless of who the governor is.

The measure would permit only non-smokable forms of marijuana. A patient seeking eligibility in the program would need a written recommendation from a physician, physician assistant or certified advanced practice nurse prescriber.

We cannot settle for half-baked, insufficient legislation that is nothing more than a political ploy to give folks false hope on the prospects of cannabis legalization here in Wisconsin, Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison, said in a statement. We must put our efforts behind full cannabis legalization.

Felzkowski said recreational marijuana was a different issue that would require a separate measure.

This is a starting framework, she said, adding that she is open to amending the bill to include more medical conditions.

Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, thanked the Republican authors for the measure but said the legislation saddens her because it doesnt propose full legalization, a tool that she said could lower incarceration rates for Black Wisconsinites. One of every 36 Black Wisconsinites is in prison, the highest rate in the nation.

Under the measure, people convicted of controlled substance offenses would not be able to grow, transport or distribute cannabis.

In Wisconsin, I know that the most dangerous thing about cannabis is the fact that it remains illegal, Agard said at the hearing, adding that the bill doesnt address racial disparities.

Felzkowski said racial disparities need to be addressed but that her medical marijuana bill is not the place to address them.

GOP compromise

The measure marks a step toward compromise for Republicans, who removed legalizing recreational and medical marijuana from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers 2021-23 budget proposal.

Everything that we move forward is a win. Its not a loss.  Getting this going right now is a win, Felzkowski said later in the hearing.

Opposed to the bill, the Wisconsin Medical Society in a statement said research into marijuanas properties was sparse and that the legislation is unfortunately premature at this time.

If passed, the bill would put Wisconsin together with 37 states that permit medical marijuana, including states with Republican legislatures and governors and neighboring states Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.

In the past decade, Republican lawmakers have rejected several Democratic bills that would have legalized recreational marijuana.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said in April 2021 that hes not comfortable with Wisconsin becoming a rogue state, legalizing marijuana before the federal government does.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, who indicated his support for medical marijuana in the past, may also be on board.

Ive always been supportive of medical marijuana when done the right way, he said in January.

The public hearing fell on April 20, an unofficial holiday for cannabis consumption, something Felzkowski previously claimed she didnt know. The date is a reference to 4:20, the time of day a group of California students in the 1970s would meet to smoke weed, which over the years caught on as marijuana slang.

I was totally clueless on what 420s reference was, Felzkowski said before the hearing. Maybe that shows my age. My staff said, Yes, we thought you knew. Im just a little bit older and not up on the reference.

Bill regulations

Federal laws prohibit medical and recreational marijuana, though legislation known as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment has prohibited the Justice Department from spending money to interfere with the implementation of state medical cannabis laws.

Under the bill, a Medical Marijuana Regulatory Commission would regulate the medical marijuana program.

Under the program, medical marijuana patients would then be able to access cannabis products stocked by wholesalers who would be subject to a 10% state excise tax. It would be available to some minors.

The bill would require licensed producers, processors and laboratories to operate in an enclosed, locked facility, and they could not have past drug convictions. It would also require them to sell directly to medical dispensaries  not directly to patients  a requirement that would likely close the door on small-time producers as well as patients producing marijuana for their own use.

Under current state law, first-time marijuana possession is punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail, while local governments are allowed to establish their own penalties for possessing small amounts of the plant. Subsequent offenses are a felony.

Madison has decriminalized possessing small amounts of marijuana in private and most public spaces, though dealing the drug is still subject to penalties.
Five luminaries to be honoured at #WitsGrads

Wits University is proud to announce the start of the April graduation season where 5 593 students will be capped between 19 and 29 April 2022.

Wits will award honorary doctorates to human rights luminaries Dr Frene Ginwala, Mr Charles Nupen, Justice Navi Pillay, Justice Moloto and governance expert, Dr Suresh Kana. Wits current Chancellor, Dr Judy Dlamini will also graduate.

The April cohort comprises of undergraduate degree holders who, having completed their last two years under pandemic conditions, are particularly notable for their perseverance and resilience.

I would like to congratulate the graduands who are being capped and those who have supported them on their journey of intellectual discovery, says Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Zeblon Vilakazi. Having walked a difficult path, these graduands have the honour of becoming Wits alumni at a historic time in the life of the University. Wits University turns 100 this year and I urge our graduands to advance the public good and to change society for the better.

Wits Chancellor, Dr Judy Dlamini, also graduates this season with a postgraduate certificate in education.

The University will also confer honorary doctorates on five distinguished individuals this graduation season: Judge Navanethem Navi Pillay, Judge Bakone Justice Moloto, Dr Frene Ginwala, Dr Suresh Kana, and Mr Charles Nupen.

Honorary doctorates are awarded for outstanding contributions to society and the five Wits honorary graduands have all made profound and significant contributions for good in South Africa, says Vilakazi. South Africa is a markedly better country and a global player because of their efforts.

Biographies of honorary graduands

Justice Navi Pillay will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws at 09:30 on 20 April 2022. This is in recognition of her groundbreaking contributions in law, justice, and human rights, and for smashing the glass ceiling for Black women on a global stage.

Pillay is a distinguished and renowned South African jurist and advocate for human rights. However, it is in her work on international criminal law and international human rights that she has achieved global recognition. She has served in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Criminal Court, and as the 5th United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, appointed by former UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon. Pillays appointment was not without controversy as the US initially opposed the appointment based on Pillays strong commitment to womens rights and abortion. She played a critical role in developing jurisprudence on freedom of speech and hate propaganda, as well as on rape and genocide.

Justice Bakone Justice Moloto will be bestowed with an Honorary Doctor of Laws at the 13:30 graduation ceremony on 20 April 2022. This is in recognition of a life devoted to the pursuit of justice locally and abroad. In South Africa, Moloto served in the Land Claims Court that deals with claims by people who had been dispossessed during apartheid.

Moloto served the global community with distinction as a judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). He is the only South African to sit as a judge on the ICTY, recognised as the most successful international criminal tribunal in recent years. Those appointed to this position are required to be of high moral character, impartiality, and integrity, and were elected by the General Assembly of the United Nations from a list submitted by the Security Council. Molotos career at the ICTY culminated in his sitting as one of three judges in the trial of the Butcher of Bosnia, Ratko Mladic.

Moloto was a student activist who faced expulsions at university. He was also banned by the government under the Suppression of Communism Act. In his early days, he led the Legal Education Centre established by the BlackLawyers Association and played a considerable role in the professionalisation of black lawyers and in finding opportunities for graduates to complete their articles.

Dr Frene Ginwala will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws on 21 April 2022 in absentia. Ginwala is well-known in South African politics for her role pre- and post-democracy. Ginwala was persistent in her work to raise awareness about human rights violations in South Africa under apartheid. She realised the power of the media and the importance of alternative voices to counter the brutal regime.

Whilst in exile in Tanzania, Ginwala founded and acted as the editor of a monthly journal, Spearhead, and was later appointed as the editor of The Standard, Tanzanias English paper. She continuously waged a war against apartheid through her work published in major international media such as The Economist, The Guardian and on the BBC. She worked with and provided safe passage for comrades leaving and returning to South Africa. As the first Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa, from 1994 to 2004, Ginwala presided over the countrys first democratic parliament and managed difficult conversations between contending parties.

Dr Suresh Kana will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Commerce degree on 22 April 2022 at 09:30. Kana is a key contributor to institutional governance and accountability in South Africa and is amongst the countrys most honoured chartered accountants. The former CEO of PwC, he joined Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) in 1976and qualified as a chartered accountant in 1979. Despite persistent racial prejudice at the time, he became the first black professional to be admitted as a partner, at just 31 years of age. In 1996, he was appointed by the Minister of finance to serve on the Boards of Appeal of thePension Funds Act, the Unit Trust Control Act, the Stock Exchanges Control Act, and as a member of the Government Accounting Standards Board.

In 2014, the Minister of Trade and Industry appointed Kana as Chair of the Financial Reporting Standards Council, the body responsible for setting accounting standards for public companies and state-owned entities in South Africa. Kana was recently elected as Chairman of the King Committee after serving as a member of this committee for more than a decade. With an interest in human rights, the rule of law, constitutionalism, and judicial independence, he serves as a trustee of the Constitutional Court Trust.

Kanas expertise has steered critical global social justice organisations  he is Chairman of the audit committee of the United Nations WorldFood Programme, amongst many other local and international roles.

Mr Charles David Nupen will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree at 13:30 on 22 April 2022. Nupen has played a pivotal role in the development of South Africa's system of dispute resolution both as a practicing attorney and through the creation of key dispute resolution institutions. At a time of heightened industrial conflict under apartheid, he laid the foundations for successful mediation and went on to establish South Africa's first national public dispute settlement agency, the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). Based on his experience at the CCMA, he assisted in the establishment of national dispute settlement agencies throughout southern Africa and other parts of the world. He has dedicated his working life to the resolution of conflict.
A teacher of the Confucius Institute for Chinese Medicine at University of Western Cape introduces Chinese tea to visitors at Groot Constantia wine farm in Cape Town, South Africa, on April 19, 2022. An educational partnership between China and South Africa on Tuesday brought Chinese tea culture to Cape Town's Groot Constantia, the oldest South African wine farm, to promote exchanges of cultures and celebrate UN Chinese Language Day. [Xinhua/Lyu Tianran]

CAPE TOWN, April 19 (Xinhua)  An educational partnership between China and South Africa on Tuesday brought Chinese tea culture to Cape Town's Groot Constantia, the oldest South African wine farm, to promote exchanges of cultures and celebrate UN Chinese Language Day.

Making tea and wine share similarities that they both need dedication, hard work and craftmanship, therefore the Confucius Institute for Chinese Medicine at University of Western Cape holds a tea event at a winery to boost exchanges of the two cultures, said the institute's director Zeng Liren, while making Chinese green tea for visitors.

The UN Chinese Language Day is observed on April 20 every year since 2010, celebrating the language's contribution to the world while encouraging more people to learn it.

April 20 marks the Guyu, Grain Rain or "Rain of Millet" in Chinese. The Guyu is sixth of the 24 solar terms in the traditional lunar calendar, the day when farmers start sowing.

Zeng, who is also a tea expert, explained that tea farmers in China produce one of the highest quality green tea around Grain Rain, which is another reason for the tea event.

The organizer provided Chinese tea of five major categories, including fresh green tea, and also introduced tea knowledge and the programs the institute offers. It also showcased ethnic costumes during the event.

"You can taste tea here today or go for lovely wine tasting, or have lovely food paring here, so it just adds to culture experience. I think it is a good idea," the winery's marketing assistant Karen Woodcock told Xinhua.

It's a lovely culture event, she said, adding that the linkups between the east and west as well as South Africa and China has been centuries.

The long-serving staff member of Groot Constantia said the wine farm, established in 1685, wants to keep itself authentically South African, but would like to add knowledge of the Chinese culture, which is part of its history, as its manor house has a lot of Chinese furniture and artifacts.

She also hoped more wines from the winery to be exported to China.

"During tasting it (tea) they told us about additional values, quality, background history and I found it was very interesting. And I think it reflects everything on Chinese culture as well, so I must say the whole experience, the tea tasting, is lovely, absolutely divine," said 21-year-old Dylan Matthew Smith from University of Stellenbosch, outside Cape Town.

Across South Africa, various activities have been planned for this year's Chinese Language Day. They were hosted by Chinese Embassy in South Africa and organized by Chinese language organizations.

A teacher of the Confucius Institute for Chinese Medicine at University of Western Cape prepares Chinese tea for visitors at Groot Constantia wine farm in Cape Town, South Africa, on April 19, 2022. An educational partnership between China and South Africa on Tuesday brought Chinese tea culture to Cape Town's Groot Constantia, the oldest South African wine farm, to promote exchanges of cultures and celebrate UN Chinese Language Day. [Xinhua/Lyu Tianran]

(Source: Xinhua)
Weather Alert

...LAKE WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...South winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph expected. * WHERE...Southwest Indiana, southeast Missouri, western Kentucky and southern Illinois. * WHEN...Until 6 PM CDT this evening. * IMPACTS...Strong winds and rough waves on area lakes will create hazardous conditions for small craft. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Boaters on area lakes should use extra caution since strong winds and rough waves can overturn small craft. &&
Campaign urging people to be responsible around coastal wildlife in Wales launched by RSPCA and police

A campaign to stop people behaving irresponsibly near marine animals such as seals, dolphins and nesting birds is being launched across in Wales.

Operation Seabird is a joint campaign between the RSPCA, all four Wales police forces  North Wales Police, South Wales Police, Gwent Police and Dyfed Powys Police  and other partner organisations such as Natural Resources Wales.

The operation aims to raise awareness and educate people about how vital it is not to disturb the mammals and birds of Britains coastal areas and to enjoy watching them from afar.

The first action day saw RSPCA officers patrolling areas in Colwyn Bay and Abersoch with North Wales Police officers.

Common disturbances to wildlife include speedboats, kayaks and paddleboards deliberately getting too close to seals, dolphins and cetaceans.

This often causes stress to the animals and can result in the females suffering spontaneous abortions or babies being abandoned by their mothers.

Other issues include dogs off leads disturbing nesting birds or seals, litter including plastic rings severely injuring seals, wild camping beach barbecues and camp fires causing significant damage on the beach, and quad bikes or 4x4s vehicles riding over nesting areas.

The RSPCA said there have been incidents where beachgoers have got too close to wild animals for the sake of a selfie.

Users of boats and other watercraft can also cause severe injury to some marine mammals if they collide with them while trying to watch them.

RSPCA inspector Andy Broadbent  who will be patrolling on the first action day on 14 April  said: We want people to enjoy watching our marine wildlife but this should be done at a safe and sensible distance without disturbing the animals.

Every year, the RSPCAs wildlife centres have to treat and rehabilitate a wide range of wildlife  including seals and seabirds  which have been injured or orphaned due to human disturbance.

While last year, we may remember Wally the Walrus who visited Pembrokeshire for a long period of time. It was really concerning when we had reports of some people trying to get close to him by using jet skis or paddle and surf boards.

It wasnt in his best interest and we always urge people to act responsibly when they see any marine animal.

If people have concerns about an animal, they should keep their distance and contact the RSPCA helpline on 0300 1234 999 (daily 7am-10pm).

Operation Seabird is urging people visiting Britains coastline to:

maintain a significant distance from wildlife, both at sea and around the coast;

never get close enough to touch animals or take selfies;

read signs and stick to paths;

keep dogs on leads where instructed to do so and keep dogs under control at all times.

As the holiday season begins, high visibility patrols by the RSPCA, local police forces and wildlife groups will target coastal areas where people and animals interact, such as beaches with seal colonies, dolphins swimming offshore or sites with nesting seabirds.

Sergeant Liam Jones of the North Wales Police Rural Crime Team said: Op Seabird Cymru seeks to engage key partners to work with the police throughout Wales to educate those people who use our coastal areas and seas and to enable them to enjoy our wildlife safely and without disturbance.

Over the years we have seen an increase in people using our coastal areas and being unaware of the effect that they can have on coastal birds and mammals if they act irresponsibly.

A disturbance can have a devastating effect on certain species and their habitats and with simple education and engagement we can help prevent it from happening.

Dog attacks can kill seals, as well as posing a risk to the dogs themselves from bites that can become infected from the bacteria that live inside a seals mouth.

Seal pups disturbed by curious people will move off into the sea, using valuable energy which they need to survive and grow. Birds such as little terns travel thousands of miles to breed in very specific UK coastal points.

They have one annual chance to nest and produce young, but if disturbed this opportunity is lost, and due to their ground nesting habit they are particularly vulnerable to dogs, and careless feet.

Andy added: While our beautiful beach and coastal areas are great to have fun in, they are natural habitats and breeding grounds for many native and migratory animals, including several species on the endangered list.

We humans share this space, and we can easily and unwittingly cause disturbance, fear, and distress.

For many tourists it can be surprising and exciting to see marine mammals, including seals and their pups which will normally rest on the beach at various times of year, as well as ground nesting birds which are usually resident between March to September.

But as tempting as it is to approach them, we would respectfully ask that everyone stays at a distance and keeps their dogs on leads and under control. 

Our message is to Observe, Dont Disturb as people visit Britains wonderful coastline.

Anyone who has witnessed a significant disturbance of wildlife and their habitats should contact the Police on 101.

For concerns about the welfare of an animal, please contact the RSPCAs helpline on 0300 1234 999.
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Thirty-six children ages 0-17 have now died of COVID-19 in New York City since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, according to data updated by the city last week. Seven of these children have died in 2022 and one in the last week.

Children and their caregivers arrive for school in New York, Monday, March 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

The latest child death was not worth mentioning by the citys billionaire-friendly Democratic mayor, Eric Adams, or by the major newspapers and media outlets. No warning was issued that children remain vulnerable to this disease. And no pledges were made to protect them and the rest of the population, much less active measures taken by a single politician in this Democratic Party-dominated state and city to stop a new wave of COVID-19 from spreading throughout the city.

Rather, headlines have focused on Adams law-and-order campaign, especially the brutal clearing of homeless encampments by the police and the fallout from the subway shooting on April 12 by a mentally unstable man, which injured almost 30 people but killed no one. The mayor has vowed to double the number of police officers in subway stations and has called for a slew of repressive measures including everything from increased internet surveillance to tougher sentencing for crimes.

For a city that has lost over 40,000 people to COVID in the last two years, there has been a remarkable lack of official notice or media discussion of the fact that over the last two weeks, according to data collected by the New York Times, there has been a 48 percent increase in the daily average of new COVID cases and a 25 percent increase in daily deaths from the disease.

Eleven people in the city died of COVID-19 on April 18. While the official test positivity rate as measured by the city is at 4.76 percent, this figure is deceptive. Many New Yorkers now use home tests which have been distributed en masse by the city. Not only do these rapid tests often give results less reliable than PCR tests, but the results are also seldom reported to any city or state authority. Nevertheless, some areas of Manhattan such as the Financial District and Lincoln Square are now registering a 15 percent positivity rate. This follows the same pattern as that of the Omicron surge in December, with wealthier areas of Manhattan peaking first.

Over 80 percent of cases that are sequenced are from the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, which is even more contagious than the original variant.

The citys health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, could only lamely state on Friday: In the next few days, likely by early next week, were going to be entering a new level of risk, moving from a low-risk environment to a medium-risk environment on the basis of cases. This statement is purely for public relations purposes. The mild designation is almost certainly an understatement.

In the four months since the peak of the Omicron surge, Adams and the states Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul, have overseen the dismantling of almost all COVID mitigation measures. Most notoriously, in March Adams rescinded the masking mandate for children over 5 years in schools as well as the indoor vaccination mandate.

New York City Health + Hospitals folded up its contact tracing program, which was inadequate to begin with, but presumably provided some information about the spread of the disease.

Broadways 41 theaters have extended their mask mandate until May but have rescinded the proof of vaccination requirement as of April 30.

Some partial mitigation measures have been taken in the city with the recent rise in cases. Columbia University, for example, reimposed its mask mandate in classrooms last week and other institutions, such as New York University (NYU), continue to require masking in areas where attendance is mandatory, such as in classrooms, though not in the student center. NYU students have told the World Socialist Web Site that there has been an increase in voluntary mask-wearing by students out of fear of the renewed spread of the virus.

Anecdotal evidence shows that students in some schools are masking and in others are not. Educators, for the most part, have continued masking but are forbidden to ask their students or colleagues to do so. School reporting of positive cases, concealed and undercounted by the Department of Education (DOE) at all periods of the pandemic, is practically nonexistent now.

One educator told the World Socialist Web Site of hearing a parent call in to her principals office to report that her child was sick with COVID, but no announcement was made to the faculty, staff or other parents. Testing in schools, a sham which the Democratic city administration used to show artificially low positivity rates in schools, has also largely ceased.

Some reports in the media have calculated as much as a 40 percent student absentee rate in New York City public schools, although the DOE has not confirmed this.

Meanwhile Mayor Adams has chosen not to fight a court-ordered injunction against his decision to drop the mask mandate for preschoolers. No doubt the rising caseload and the opposition it has generated was also a factor in Governor Hochuls decision to keep a masking mandate on the Metropolitan Transportation Authoritys (MTA) subways, commuter rails and buses after a federal judge struck down mask mandates on airplanes and other forms of public transportation on Monday. Also on Monday, the ride-share company Uber, widely used in New York City, announced that it was rescinding its mask mandate.

Adams himself announced on April 10 that he contracted COVID-19. As of Monday, after only eight days of isolation, he began attending in-person events. On April 2, he attended the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington D.C., a maskless, mass infection event that sickened a swath of Democratic Party leaders. Some observers noted that Adams was almost certainly infected with the virus in the days before his announcement, during which he appeared maskless at large events.

Despite the threats to their own health and that of the whole population, New York Democratic Party politicians remain firm in their policy of mass infection. On Sunday, in response to questions about rising positivity rates in the state, Hochul told the media: Im going to protect the health of New Yorkers, but Im also protecting the economy  Im not going to shut it down again, you can count on that.

With the relaxation of mandates after the Omicron surgewhen the mayor said nothing and did nothing about the massive spread of the virus in the schoolsNew York City is now even more vulnerable to the disease than it was four months ago. The state and federal suppression of COVID statistics and the general silence of the media on the human toll of the virus are an effort to make this phase of the pandemic invisible.

Educators, parents of students in school, medical professionals and many other workers in the city, however, have learned something in the last two years: distrust of the pronouncements of the Democratic Party politicians and corporate media is high. Many on social media have noticed increased illnesses and have reported themselves, their children and friends testing positive for COVID-19. Concern is widespread.

One New York educator tweeted, Turns out dropping the mask mandate was pure stupidity. My students and fellow staff members are getting sick like crazy ... including me.

Many educators are raising the alarm. Another tweeted: Spending the first morning of a much needed break texting with other parents, wondering if were going to have to pull our kids out of school again this year after the break because @NYCMayor & NYC DOE have zero plan or on-ramps to school covid mitigations as cases surge.

A parent posted on Reddit: My kids school has a 80%+ vax rate and more than a 1/3 of the class has gotten COVID this school year. I know since omicron, even the vax kids are getting it.

A special needs pre-K teacher spoke anonymously to the WSWS on conditions in her school in the aftermath of Omicron.

Our safety is not being prioritized in the way that I feel like it should be because we are the people that are taking care of everybody's children and educating everybody's children. I just do not feel like teachers are being recognized for the risks that we are putting ourselves at and how stressful it is to be doing our job and then you have a kid who is sneezing, and you do not know, does this kid have COVID?

There are no procedures in place to try to figure that out. There is not enough testing and there is not enough contact tracing. We do not even have an isolation room at my school so when a kid is sick, they are usually sent back to the classroom to wait for a parent to pick them up. The nurses are not trained to isolate the kids. Nothing like that goes on.

Just as they have learned to reject the lies that come out of the Democratic Party politicians mouths, educators, parents and students, along with all New York Citys working class, must draw political conclusions about the high risk of allowing the capitalist class to stay in power. This is not only because of COVID, but because of the potentially even more dangerous conflagration that is being fanned by NATO and the US in Ukraine. The International May Day online rally sponsored by the World Socialist Web Site will mark a significant turn in world politics and be a milestone in the fight against COVID-19.


MPs are to vote Thursday on whether British Prime Minister Boris Johnson should be investigated for misleading parliament over the partygate crisis.

Earlier this month the Metropolitan Police fined Johnson, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Johnsons wife Carrie for breaching pandemic lockdown restrictions by attending at least one drinks party. Police have so far issued more than 50 fixed penalty notices in the course of investigating 12 events held in Downing Street and Whitehall in 2020 and 2021.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson waves to the media as he leaves 10 Downing Street for the House of Commons to make a statement about Downing Street parties during the coronavirus lockdowns in London, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Johnson had told MPs he had not broken any laws, insisting last December that all guidance was followed completely over COVID restrictions.

Yesterday, after discussion with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and receiving letters from other opposition MPs, Parliaments Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle announced he had granted their request that a vote be held on an investigation. Hoyle said, Ive decided that this is a matter that I should allow the precedence accorded to the issue of privilege. Therefore, [Starmer] may table a motion for debate on Thursday.

Hoyle said that what happens next is determined only by parliaments procedural rule book, Erskine May. MPs will vote only on whether the matter of Johnsons lawbreaking should be referred to the Commons Privileges Committee. The committee, were the vote passed, would consider if Johnson was in contempt of parliament by knowingly misleading MPs. That process if triggered is expected to take months, involving calling witnesses, including the prime minister, and would end with a report to be voted on in parliament. The Privileges Committee has an-built majority from the ruling Conservative Party.

Thursdays vote will be held in Johnsons absence, as he will be in India on a scheduled trip to discuss defence and trade ties.

Everyone knows that it essentially serves as a vote of confidence in Johnsons premiership, which is why there is virtually no chance of him losing it.

Despite the widespread opposition of the population, with a petition calling for the resignation of Johnson and Sunak reaching nearly half a million this week, only nine Tory MPs out of 359 have come forward in recent months to announce that they have no confidence in Johnson. ITV News estimated that in February, at the height of the partygate crisis but before Russia invaded Ukraine, at most 20 MPs were prepared to back a no confidence vote in Johnson, but this number has reduced since some MPs have subsequently withdrawn their submissions.

Those sections of the Tory Party grouped in the rabidly right-wing COVID Recovery Group and others with close ties to the military are satisfied that Johnson has listened to and implemented their main demands that 1) all COVID restrictions be lifted to facilitate the unfettered operation of the corporationswhich Johnson did on February 24; and 2) that he act fully in line with the US firstly in provoking Russian President Putin into invading Ukraine and then in backing Ukraine to the hilt as war broke out.

With MPs back after the Easter break, Johnson was addressing parliament yesterday for the first time since he was fined. He offered with all humility a wholehearted apology, his first of dozens during the debate. He denied misleading parliament, saying he had made a mistake in thinking a gathering in the cabinet room, just before a vital meeting on COVID strategy, could amount to a breach of the rules.

It was now time for everyone to move on to the fundamental issue: waging war. He had an even greater sense of obligation to deliver on the priorities of the British people, and to respond in the best traditions of our country to Putins barbaric onslaught on Ukraine.

Tory MPs responded with fervour in backing Johnson. Just one, Mark Harper, was prepared to declare no confidence in him. The mood was summed up by Sir Edward Leigh, who declared that the only leader who should be removed was Vladimir Putin. David Morris declared, This Prime Minister is leading the world against Putin.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson (left) accompanied by the Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer (second left), the Home Secretary Priti Patel and the Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle (right) pay their respects to the Conservative MP Sir David Amess after he was stabbed to death at Belfairs Methodist Church, ,Leigh-on-Sea, Essex on October 15, 2021. (Credit: Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10Downing Street/FlickR)

Starmers response showed how Johnson and the Tories have managed to remain in office, despite overseeing the COVID deaths of over 190,000 Britons during the last two years. He called Johnson dishonest and for him to step down. But his main concern was to lavish praise on Johnsons opponents, real and imagined, in the Tory Party and to demand this age-old institution of British imperialism rule in the national interest.

Starmer declared, As ever with this Prime Minister those close to him find themselves ruined and the institutions he vows to protect damaged. Good ministers forced to walk away from public service. The chancellors career up in flames. And the Leader of the Scottish Conservatives rendered pathetic.

Johnsons crime for Starmer was to bring parliament into disrepute. He warned Tory MPs, The more people debase themselves, parroting his absurd defences, the more the public will believe all politicians are the same. All as bad as each other.

He then made his central appeal, There are many decent, honourable members on the benches opposite They know the damage the prime minister is doing. They know things cant go on as they are. And they know it is their responsibility to bring an end to this shameful chapter.

Tory MPs had to Put their conscience first, put their country first and remove the prime minister from office. Bring decency, honesty and integrity back into our politics. And stop the denigration of everything that this country stands for.

Starmers insistence that Johnsons fate can be decided only by Tory MPs is because he is resolutely opposed to any action being taken outside the safe channels of parliament. Under no circumstances must the working class be allowed to intervene to seal Johnsons fate, and that of a government responsible for social murder on a mass scale, which is dragging everyone into the abyss of a world war.

There can be only one outcome to any removal of Johnson by his own party, if they decide on such a course to safeguard their electoral fortunes: his replacement by an even more right-wing figure such as Foreign Secretary Liz Truss or those leadership candidates closest to the military, including Tom Tugendhat, Tobias Ellwood or Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. Such a figure would have only one remitstepping up Britains role in backing the US war offensive against Russia and China and escalating the class war at home.

Yesterdays appeal by Starmer for an orderly change of leadership confirms that the Tories and Labour operate as a single de facto party of austerity, herd immunity and war. That is also why he enjoys the backing of the warmongering liberals in the Guardians editorial office.

On Sunday, the Guardians online edition published a column by John Harris headlined, Tories for the good of the nation, save your party from this moral void. Harris opined, For any Conservatives who remain genuinely conservative, that ought to be an urgent reason to get rid of their leader and at least attempt to reconnect their party with coherence, sense and the basic responsibilities that come with power if consciences once again stir and a few Tories start to move, the rest of us ought to quietly cheer them on.

Fellow Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland warned that Johnson should go because his premiership was threatening the successful pursuit of war. Johnsons defenders say he must stay in office because of Ukraine. In fact, the war for that country, and the wider struggle it has come to represent, make it all the more urgent that he go.
The World Socialist Web Site spoke to a critical care nurse in rural Alabama, David, about his experience throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, during which he has worked in multiple states.

In this testimony to the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic, David describes the inadequate response to the pandemic from the hospital level to the federal government, the consequences of which are felt by both patients and healthcare workers. He discusses conditions in the hospitals, for-profit health care and the psychological impact of the pandemic upon front-line workers.

Alabama, with a population of 4.9 million, has recorded 1.3 million official COVID-19 cases and 19,502 deaths and has the third-highest per capita death rate from COVID-19 in the US.

Emma: Can you describe your position as a critical care nurse and what your job entailed both before and during the pandemic?

David: Critical care and intensive care units are synonymous. We deal with a broad range of patients  heart arrhythmia patients, ventilated patients, and post-op surgical patients. We work with patients who have had brain, heart and vascular surgery. We handle a variety of different medicines and drips, usually involving hemodynamics and supporting blood pressure.

During COVID, we got the worst of the worst. Early in the pandemic, a COVID patient regardless of status came to the ICU. Later it changed, and the stable patients were put onto the floor, while ICU would get patients with respiratory problems that looked like they would or had already progressed.

Normally, the ICU standard across the US is a 2:1 patient ratio where every nurse has two patients. But with COVID, this quickly went to three or four patients per nurse, and that was a lot to deal with. The little hospital here tried to keep ratios down, but staff started getting sick and we started running short.

Eventually we reached a point where the administration was telling staff that if they tested positive for COVID, its OK for them to continue working if theyre working with COVID patients. They encouraged them to keep working while infected. It was ludicrous.

Even when I was working in a larger hospital which had more staff available, they encouraged staff who were infected with COVID to work. Or, if they had to be out, they would call them back in after a couple of days or tell them to come back as soon as they were symptom free. At one point, over 130 staff were out with COVID.

You stated that turnover is very high among nurses. Can you explain why and elaborate on what conditions are like for nurses?

To me, nurses are viewed as dispensable by the administration. Turnover is extremely high. Nursing school and actually working on the job are two totally different things. School doesnt prepare you for the reality of what youre getting into. Ive talked to a lot of young nurses, even before COVID, who realize that this wasnt what they signed up for.

There is a wide chasm between the staff and hospital administration. The hospitals are basically economically driven, and the administration is hammered to save money every which way they can in order to make money for the hospital. They want to keep wages low, and if they can get away with not adequately staffing the units, theyll do that. Whatever it takes.

Every hospital advertises that our patients come first but its not true. The bottom dollar is number one. I figured out long ago that the healthcare system in the US is a sham. Its all about money for the pharmaceutical and insurance companies to the detriment of staff and patients.

There is widespread dissatisfaction among nurses, especially in the cities. In larger cities with multiple hospitals, nurses will just rotate from hospital to hospital. Theyll work in one hospital for a year or two, then get fed up and leave for another hospital. But then they just walk into the same problem, just in a different environment.

If patients realized what went on behind the scenes, it would shock and frighten them. It leaves them in a precarious situation, especially when the hospital is short-staffed. The patients dont know how many patients are in the unit or how many were taking care of. There is also a very dangerous trend I see that when nurses are in orientation, the administration is pushing to get them off orientation and on to a full patient load as soon as possible. This is especially dangerous in an ICU.

How have conditions changed since you have been a nurse?

The work environment has deteriorated, I would say. The gap between administration and nurses on the floor has widened. Maybe I wasnt aware when I first started, but I think thats always been the case.

Health care is even more economically driven today than 16 years ago. The insurance companies are telling hospitals how to treat patients. Theyll say, we wont pay for this or you can only keep them here for so many days. The hospitals are pushing to get patients out because the insurance companies are pushing the hospitals to get them out. Its a mess top to bottom.

How would you say the hospitals have handled the COVID-19 pandemic? Are they more or less prepared than they were two years ago to handle another surge?

I would say for the next wave, things are status quo, as compared to the very beginning when all the rules and protocols kept changing very rapidly. I dont see that theyre ramping up capacity or any more prepared than they were before. My opinion is if a really serious wave came, and we were flooded with sick patients again, we would be in the same boat with staff shortages across the US.

Ive said it many times. From hospital administration all the way to the White House, the response has been a farce from day one. We could have done more, its that simple. In Alabama, when it first started in the spring of 2020, there was a brief shutdown of restaurants, schools, elective surges, etc. It lasted maybe two weeks, and during that time the cases dropped dramatically.

I still cant get over the stupidity of the reasoning, but as soon as the cases dropped, the politicians and media said, Well, were out of the woods, and reopened everything. They turned it loose again. Immediately within two weeks, we were flooded in the hospitals.

You said that it seems like every worker in the hospital contracted COVID at some point. How has the pandemic affected health care staff overall?

From what I pick up and hear, I would say it is startling the number of nurses who need antidepressant medication or who have needed to go to therapy.

Ive never been in combat, but I felt like I was in a war zone surrounded by disease and death. At first, I was hesitant about the vaccine. But when you have 5 people in a small town ICU dying within 24 hours, I decided I needed to get vaccinated.

Were working more than what were supposed to. Thirty-six hours is normal, now we work 48 or more hours per week. At the worst of the pandemic, it felt like we went into a strange place that wed never get out of. One day dragged into the next.

We are overwhelmed, sleep-deprived, and you cant get away from it. I would come home, undress in the carport, wash the dirty clothes, head straight to the shower, try to sleep, wake up and go back and do it again. Even when you lie down to sleep, you hear the hospital noises and alarms going off. Youre thinking about so-and-so patient, and that they will probably be dead the next day.

A nurse I work with said, We didnt go through this for administration. We went through it for each other. That sums it up. I stuck in there because of the people I work with. We were not supported by the hospitals, but we supported each other. Psychologically and mentally, it has been very difficult. Some talk about wanting to leave the profession, while some have moved on to other nursing jobs that are not in the front line (ICU), in case of another wave.

Youve worked closely on the front lines with COVID patients. What are your experiences with the disease itself?

Before COVID, youd monitor blood oxygen saturation, and the doctors wanted it greater than 90 percent. Even the low 90s was something to keep an eye on. During COVID that changed. I never thought I would see a day when doctors were happy if O2 was greater than 80 or greater than 75.

The BiPap* patients would run for days and days with stats in the low 80s, 70s, essentially hypoxic. I called them COVID-crazy because they were not getting enough oxygen to the brain and would act out of control. We would have to heavily sedate and restrain them. The disease was literally torturing them. They would develop pneumonia, and the lungs would fill with fluid. Its a horrible disease.

*BiPap is a noninvasive ventilation machine used to assist breathing.

I have also seen Long COVID. I know a nurse in her early 40s who got COVID early in the pandemic and ended up being ventilated. She lived, but when she came back to work, I could tell for months afterwards that from a mental standpoint everything was kind of slow, like she was in a fog. Its been almost two years. Shes back to functioning and seems normal now, but it took a really long time.

Another guy, he was younger too, in his 30s, I thought he would die but he pushed through. He still has lung problems, though, and gets breathless real easily. His lungs arent what they were before, and he was someone who was in normal health and a nonsmoker.

I know you have followed the developments with RaDondaVaught. What are your thoughts?

Im not really surprised that the hospital tried to cover it up in order to avoid a lawsuit. I guarantee her superiors, including the charge nurse, up to the unit manager, all the way up the line, were scared for their own skin, so everybody was trying to hush it up. She seemed to do the right thing by reporting it, but they wanted to keep it quiet. When it was brought to light, they threw her under the bus.

Im disillusioned with the extreme lengths they went to to prosecute this woman. It is very disturbing. The whole thing was a tragedy. Its tragic that this lady lost her life, and tragic this woman is going to jail on top of the turmoil shes going through because of the mistake she made. The District Attorney has ties to the hospital; thats a conflict. The whole thing is a cover-up.
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 79, based in Toronto, Ontario, has been thrown into crisis after the locals president, David Mitchell, was forced to resign by the national CUPE office. Mitchell allegedly accepted under-the-table money from Local 79 Vice President Jason Chan. Local 79 is the largest local in CUPE, which is in turn Canadas largest trade union with over half a million members in health care, education and municipal services.

Jason Chan and David Mitchell (Credit: CUPE Local 79)

Mitchell helped Chan acquire a lucrative position on the board of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) Sponsors Corporation. OMERS is the pension fund for municipal and provincial employees with over 500,000 active and retired members. Chan is the representative of CUPE Local 79 on the OMERS board.

The allegations came to light after an OMERS investigation into Chan found he was allegedly providing part of his $46,000 retainer for sitting on the board to David Mitchell. Chan claims he did nothing wrong, refusing to resign from his position as VP of Local 79 and from the seat on the board of OMERS, despite the requests from the CUPE national office that he do so.

The Toronto Star quoted an anonymous member of CUPE Local 79 who said that Mitchell helped Chan get on the board because of his background in finance. According to his LinkedIn profile, Chan received a Bachelors degree in Business Administration, specializing in Finance, from York University. He went on to get a certificate in Accounting from Ryerson University and has worked as an accountant for the city of Toronto since the spring of 2008. He has been a director for OMERS since spring 2018.

Both Chan and Mitchell apparently saw no problem with their scheme. The whole thing began to unravel early this year, when Chan refused to continue under-the-table payments to Mitchell. In an email to the Star, Chan claimed he was paying Mitchell from his own pocket and not with the OMERS retainer.

Chan explained to the Star that the OMERS retainer gave him a higher salary than Mitchell. Mitchell complained to him that the vice president should not be making more money than the president. Chan grudgingly agreed to give some of his money to Mitchell to preserve the hierarchy of the union. Chan confessed Mitchell threatened to take him to small claims court to get some of the retainer after Chan refused to make more payments.

David Mitchell, a city of Toronto employee and now former president of CUPE Local 79, has been a member of Local 79 since March 1989, according to his LinkedIn profile. This is a man who is a creature of the union bureaucracy, and it shows.

The CUPE Local 79 scandal reveals the kind of people who occupy positions within the union bureaucracy in the public and private sectors. Both Chan and Mitchell possess zero ethical standards when it comes to advancing their own personal financial and career interests through the corporatist trade unions.

Corruption and unethical practices are rife throughout the union bureaucracy. Unifor, Canadas largest private sector union with over 300,000 members, was shaken by a kickback scandal involving its longtime president, Jerry Dias, who resigned last month after it was revealed that he had accepted a $50,000 payment to encourage employers of workers represented by Unifor to purchase COVID-19 test kits from a specific manufacturer.

The Unifor and CUPE corruption scandals express the nature of the unions as corporatist entities with intimate ties to the corporate elite and municipal, provincial and federal governments. They function as gatekeepers of capitalism, policing the class struggle and enforcing the demands of corporations onto the rank-and-file membership. Their upper echelons are populated by privileged middle class bureaucrats who look after themselves and other members of the club, while selling out rank-and-file workers in concession-filled contracts. They are handsomely compensated both legally and otherwise for services rendered to the ruling elite.

This process has been decades in the making. Over the past 40 years, the unions have emerged as the key institutions for suppressing the class struggle. Their top officials have integrated themselves fully into the pro-employer collective bargaining and labour relations systems, taking full advantage of the substantial financial rewards accruing from their corporatist ties to the state and big business.

This development culminated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when all the unions, including Unifor and CUPE, sabotaged workers protests and job actions against dangerous working conditions. Declaring that strikes by workers against the return to COVID-infested workplaces were illegal, union bureaucrats worked hand in glove with the federal and provincial governments to reopen the economy at the cost of tens of thousands of lives.

The fact that a scandal has gripped CUPE is of particular significance given the tendency among Canadas pseudo-left and other progressive layers to portray it as one of the more left and militant unions. Whereas Unifor has unabashedly developed close political ties with the Liberal Party in Ontario and at the federal level over recent years, expressed most clearly in Diass emergence as an effective adviser to the Trudeau government prior to his fall from grace, CUPE cultivated a more independent image.

Politically, it tended to back the pro-austerity New Democrats in election campaigns and played a less prominent role in the anybody but Conservative campaigns that have become the mechanism through which Unifor, the Ontario Federation of Labour, and other so-called labour organizations drum up support for the big business Liberals during election campaigns. CUPE bolstered its supposed radical stance with bogus references to the NDPs long abandoned claim to be a party of labour, the better to cover its endorsement of the NDPs pro-imperialist and anti-worker politics.

The portrayal of CUPE as some kind of alternative was always a fraud. When the Liberals and New Democrats announced their confidence-and-supply agreement last month, which will allow the Trudeau government to wage war abroad, build up military spending and continue its public spending austerity, the entire trade union bureaucracy applauded the arrangement as a significant step forward.

CUPE has imposed concessions-filled contracts and sold out strikes no less ruthlessly than its counterparts in Unifor, the USW, UFCW and many more. Last November, CUPE sabotaged a strike by over 22,000 New Brunswick public sector workers for better wages and benefits at the very point where it was starting to generate public support and could have been turned into a direct political struggle against the pro-austerity Higgs government.

In April 2021, CUPE bowed to anti-democratic back-to-work legislation imposed by the Trudeau government to smash a strike by 1,100 dockers at the Port of Montreal. The Trudeau governments explicit backing for the employers allowed them to maintain a brutal scheduling regimen and draconian disciplinary process that has seen dozens of militant workers fired over recent years.

At the outset of the pandemic, CUPE Local 79 and Local 416 divided Torontos outside and inside workers from each other in contract negotiations to impose sellout deals just weeks apart. Despite being in a legal position to strike, Local 416 extended the strike deadline before ramming through a rotten agreement concluded with the city at the 11th hour of talks.

The record of CUPE and the union bureaucracy as a whole underscores the urgent necessity of workers making a clean break from these rotten organizations. They must build new workers organizations in the form of rank-and-file committees. These committees must be independent of and in opposition to the financial oligarchy who control the government, the unions and the media.

Rank-and-file committees must be democratically controlled by the workers themselves and fight for demands based on what workers actually need for a comfortable standard of living, not what the bosses claim they can afford. To wage such a fight, workers must unify their struggles with those of their class brothers and sisters across Canada and internationally for a global counter-offensive to seize control of the vast wealth hoarded by the super-rich and place it at the disposal of the majority of the population, the working class, to meet its democratic and social needs.
Multiple high schools were blockaded across Paris Tuesday morning to oppose both Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, who are standing in the French presidential runoff on April 24. These blockades follow demonstrations throughout France over the weekend and the occupation of many French universities last week in opposition to the two extreme-right candidates.

In central Paris, the Louis Le Grand, Lamartine, Henri IV, Fenelon, Balzac, and Lavoisier high schools were all blockaded by students. A number of other schools throughout the capital closed in order to avoid confrontations with student protesters. Jaures high school in the Paris suburb of Montreuil was also blocked by students.

Multiple universities remain closed in Paris amid further fears from the French government that last weeks occupation movement could rapidly spread. The Nanterre and Sorbonne universities have remained closed from the end of last week. University of Paris-8 in the working class suburb of Saint-Denis, where students had planned a general assembly for Tuesday, was closed by the administration on Tuesday morning. The University of Paris-1 moved courses online, a decision it claimed was to ensure individuals safety.

The largest high-school blockade was at Louis Le Grand, where hundreds of students gathered to block the school entrance. The high school is across from the Sorbonne university in Paris Latin Quarter. When police arrived at Louis Le Grand in the afternoon, students from other schools nearby joined that blockade to protect them. Students blockading the school chanted, screw the National Front [referring to the former name of neo-fascist candidate Marine Le Pens National Rally party].

Nina, a high-school student from another Paris area high school who had come to help defend the blockade of the Louis Le Grand high school from the cops, spoke to the WSWS.

She said, We came to block the schools because we wanted to support students who were protesting last week. Many of us are 15 and 16, so we cant vote or even make a blank vote. However, this election threatens us so this is the only way we can make our voice heard. Many of our teachers and school administrators even support us and encourage us to fight for our rights and against fascism, but it is difficult for them to state this openly.

She explained why students from schools around Paris came to join the blockade at Louis Le Grand: We came down here to defend the students at Louis Le Grand. My school was closed because we blockaded it this morning, but then the police turned up here and we organized with other students in the area to come here to help them.

Nina pointed to the violent police removal of students in the Sorbonne last week, saying: This is the reality in France. The police act like this all the time. Of course they may try to do this to us soon but we are determined to keep fighting.

Protesting high school students have every reason to expect a violent police intervention. In November 2020, the French police violently suppressed high school blockades against the reopening of schools during the pandemic. Fifteen- and 16-year-old students who were protesting a policy of mass infection carried out by the government, which was forcing teachers and students back into classrooms where the virus spread rapidly, were attacked by police using tear gas.

Asked about the prospect of either candidate winning the presidency, Nina said, Under both candidates our futures look very bad. I cant imagine five years under either, under both the climate and discrimination will get even worse. As high school students we see Macron trying to make us pay for university. I want to go to university and [publicly-funded] universities are one of the best things about France.

Asked about both candidates policies against Muslims, she said: Macron and Le Pen are both attacking Muslims in France. Many of our friends are from Muslim families and both candidates threaten them. We are all the same, race just doesnt make any difference. [Pointing to a Tunisian friend in her group] He is just as French as I am but he and his family have to worry about being sent back to Tunisia. Having so many different people is another of the best things about France.

Asked about how to move the struggle forward, Nina said, This is the beginning of our fight against whoever wins. We need a revolution. We have had one before in France, and now we need one again.

The growing struggle of French youth against both reactionary candidates underscores the correctness of the Parti de legalite socialistes call for an active boycott of the second round of the election. Workers and youth must be mobilized, armed with a perspective for irreconcilable opposition to both Macron and Le Pen, and build independent action committees to coordinate the struggle. This is the only way to prepare for the confrontation that will inevitably emerge between the working class and the next president after the election, whichever it is.

These protests also underline the traitorous nature of Melenchons refusal to engage in any political struggle against Macron and Le Pen, despite winning millions of votes and enjoying massive support among youth. Millions of people voted for him to mark fundamental opposition to the policies of both Macron and Le Pen. However, in an interview with BFM-TV on Tuesday night, Melenchon announced his campaign to become the next Prime Minister of either Macron or Le Pen. This is a statement that Melenchon can subordinate himself to either one of the two.

This underlines the necessity for the youth to fight for the construction of new revolutionary working-class organizations outside the orbit of bourgeois politics. In their struggle against a Macron or Le Pen presidency high-school and university students must reach necessary conclusions. To oppose Macron and Le Pen the youth must make a decisive turn to the working class, the only force in capitalist society capable of implementing a socialist programme, and to the Parti de legalite socialiste.
As the eight-week war in Ukraine entered a new and more explosive phase, the Biden administration announced plans for a further package of arms assistance to the Zelensky government, and Delaware Senator Chris Coons, a close ally of Biden, called for discussions on taking the next step of direct US military conflict with Russia.

Speaking last Thursday at an event at the University of Michigans Ford School of Public Policy, Coons said: We are in a very dangerous moment where it is important that on a bipartisan and measured way we in Congress and the administration come to a common position about when we are willing to go the next step and to send not just arms, but troops to the aid in defense of Ukraine. If the answer is never, then we are inviting another level of escalation in brutality by Putin.

Coons added that the Biden administration should consider sending in US troops if Russia uses chemical weapons or if some sort of accident leads to the death of US service members in the region. There will almost certainly be an incident in which Putin goes too far, Coons said, referring to an alleged use of chemical weapons or attacks on the pipeline of Western arms going to forces loyal to Kiev.

The Delaware senator, who holds the seat once held for 36 years by Biden, appeared on CBS News Face the Nation program on Sunday. Host Margaret Brennan asked if he was urging President Biden to set a red line. He responded by saying: If Vladimir Putin  is allowed to just continue to massacre civilians, to commit war crimes throughout Ukraine without NATO, without the West coming more forcefully to his aid, I deeply worry that whats going to happen next is that we will see Ukraine turn into Syria. He added, Putin will only stop when we stop him.

Coons, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is the first senator to publicly urge that Congress and the president consider sending US troops into Ukraine. Given Coons role as a virtual proxy for Biden in the Senatehe intervened on behalf of the White House to end the Senate trial in Trumps second impeachment without calling a single witnesshis intervention must be seen as a trial balloon for a further escalation to the point of direct military conflict with Russia, carrying with it the dire threat of a nuclear world war.

On Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki officially distanced the Biden administration from Coons talk of sending US combat troops into Ukraine. Senator Coons is a close friend of the presidents and the administration, and we must respectfully disagree with his proposal, she said. The president has no plans to send troops to fight a war with Russia. He doesnt think thats in our national security interests.

Coons, for his part, clarified his remarks in a tweet. Im not calling for US troops to go into the war in Ukraine, he wrote, and then implied a need to prepare to do precisely that, saying the US must be prepared to respond if [Putin] escalates further in his war crimes against Ukraine.

The next day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, interviewed by the India Today TV channel, announced a new phase in the war in Ukraine. Russias defense ministry reported that high-precision air-based missiles had hit 13 Ukrainian positions and other air raids hit 60 military assets in towns in the eastern region of the country.

The Ukrainian government reported intensified military activity in the eastern region, from the city of Kharkiv in the north to Mariupol in the south. President Zelensky said in a video message, Russian forces have started the battle for the Donbas that they have been getting ready for a long time.

Further stoking the war, President Biden confirmed on Tuesday that a new package of military assistance for Ukraine was being prepared, including more artillery. At a press briefing, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby declined to give details of the program, which is said to match the $800 million in assistance provided last week.

The US aid package announced on April 13 included 18 howitzer systems, the first artillery platforms of that caliber to be provided to Ukraine. The Pentagon also provided 40,000 artillery rounds from Army and Marine stockpiles. Kirby reported that US military personnel would be training Ukrainian soldiers outside of the country on how to use the howitzers.

The comments by Senator Coons vindicate the warnings made by the WSWS that Bidens statements accusing Russia and Vladimir Putin of war crimes and even genocide were deliberately calculated to condition public opinion for an escalation of the US-NATO military operation into a direct and open conflict with Russia. This would risk a nuclear war that could kill tens or even hundreds of millions of people.

While there are constant demands for more US military aid to Ukraine, a report on CNN Politics notes that the Pentagon has few ways to track the anti-tank, anti-aircraft and other weaponry once it has been handed across the border. The report says that this is a conscious risk the Biden administration is willing to take.

With the new round of assistance bringing US military aid to Ukraine since the start of the war to nearly $3 billion, CNN quotes an unnamed defense official as saying that the Biden administration factored in the risk that some of the shipments may ultimately end up in unexpected places.

In previous proxy wars the unexpected places where US military hardware has ended up have included reactionary and criminal militia groups and illegal international arms traders. According to the representative of the Pentagon, given the nearly insatiable short-term needs of Ukrainian forces for more arms and ammunition, the long-term risk of weapons ending up on the black market or in the wrong hands was deemed acceptable.

This aspect of the war highlights the extreme recklessness of both the desperate and bankrupt oligarchic regime in Russia, the outcome of the Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union, and US-led imperialist NATO alliance. The latter, driven by Washington, deliberately provoked the Russian invasion with the aim of inflicting a strategic defeat and destroying Russia as an obstacle to US global hegemony.
Nurses and support staff at Trinity Health Muskegon are in a struggle against low pay, short-staffing and excessive overtime, after being without a contract since 2019. The 1,700 workers at the hospital belong to Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Michigan.

Trinity Health Mercy workers demonstrated in January to demand a fair contract. (Credit: SEIU Facebook page)

The union held a rally on January 17 to publicize the lack of a contract, setting a deadline of January 31 for Trinity Health Muskegon to reach an agreement with the union. When the deadline passed with no agreement, the union held a vote February 4-7 to authorize informational picketing. The union issued a statement saying workers are prepared to authorize their bargaining committee to do what is necessary to win a fair contract.

But since the beginning of February, there have been no contract bargaining updates posted on the SEIU website. The union Facebook page had nothing to say about the contract struggle until the end of March. At that time, the union unveiled a petitioning campaign to beg Trinity for better working conditions and higher pay. They are asking state legislators to give statements of support and asking members of the community and healthcare workers to sign the petition.

An Emergency Department technician, Marissa Aney, described on the SEIU Facebook page the situation facing workers: We have a great team, but we are constantly working short-staffed and being asked to do more including cleaning rooms and lab work. We provide so much to our medical teamEKGs, splints, braces, helping doctors set up chest tubes and central lines, CPR, and more. Despite the value we provide, Trinity Health wants ED techs to take a pay cut. Thats not right. Trinity needs to make a competitive offer that respects how much we put into our work each and every day.

The union petition reads: Im standing with Mercy Hospital workers for a fair contract. Mercy Hospital workers are calling on Trinity to recognize and respect their sacrifices by offering a fair contract. Our healthcare workers are fighting for fair wages, adequate staffing, and better working conditions to ensure they can provide the quality care our patients deserve. Now they need their community to stand with them in solidarity and support their contract fight.

Trinity Health is classified as a nonprofit hospital chain, although it controls vast financial resources, with operating revenue of more than $20 billion, as a result of multiple mergers among Catholic hospital chains, including the western Michigan-based Mercy Health Care, which operated the Muskegon facility.

Nonprofit status means Trinity pays no local, state or federal income taxes. Nonprofits hospitals originally held this status because they were funded through charitable contributions, with physicians volunteering to treat patients. Their purpose was to serve poor patients who could not pay for care.

Obviously, the situation is different now. An article in Planet Moneys newsletter by Yale School of Public Health economist Zack Cooper detailed his research into what nonprofit hospitals do with their profits. He found: They funnel much of the profits into cushy salaries, shiny equipment, new buildings, and, of course, lobbying. In 2018, hospitals and nursing homes spent over $100 million on lobbying activities. And they spent about $30 million on campaign contributions.Its suggestive to me that this was in a sense a quid pro quo.

Cooper described health care spending as a piggy bank for political influence. Trinity Health is a member of the Michigan Heath and Hospital Association, which spent $374,800 for candidates during the 2020 election to look out for hospitals interests.

The Medical Economics website noted, Those would-be tax dollars go into seven-figure executive salaries, boondoggle retreats, extravagant galas, private jets, billboard ads, skyboxes, offshore bank accounts, and to fund special interest lobbyists.

The New York Times reported that from 2005 to 2015, average chief executive compensation in nonprofit hospitals increased by 93 percent. Nurses saw an increase of only 3 percent. Nurses and other hospital staff are being worn to the bone to make hospital executives millionaires. Trinitys director, president and CEO, Michael Slubowski, took in $2,866,730 last year, while Robert Casalou, the Michigan Regions president and CEO, made $1,579,544.

These huge capitalist institutions serve the elite and their political representatives, the Democratic and Republican parties. Trinity Health reported their nationwide system had an excess of revenue over expenses for fiscal year 2021 that totaled $3.9 billion, with their investment portfolio performing very well, in addition to cost-cutting measures.

The SEIU Healthcare Michigan has its own stake in not rocking the boat. Public records show that in 2020, President Andrea Acevedos total compensation was $138,026; Executive VP Kenneth Haneys was $103,415; and Executive VP Scott Holidays was $101,877 (Office of Labor Management Standards, April 8, 2021). These incomes are more than twice the average nurses pay at Trinity Health Muskegon.

The union is telling nurses and support staff that their petitions can convince Trinity management to give up some of the lucrative revenues that go up the more Trinity exploits employees. The SEIU is organizing petitions and getting glib statements from politicians so it looks like theyre doing something. What theyre actually doing, as theyve done in other hospital workers struggles, is divide health care workers and help Trinity and other hospital bosses impose more brutal conditions on nurses and support staff.

For example, at Beaumont Health, where the SEIU represents about 1,000 support employees, the union organized rallies, including a demonstration at Beaumont CEO John Foxs house. In February 2020, the union signed a deal which it described as a victory, for a 5 percent raise over three years, including 1.5 percent in each of the first two years and a 2 percent raise in year three.

At least 207,000 healthcare workers nationally are covered by the more than 400 labor agreements set to expire this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Law. Hospital management want to make sure that the short staffing, overwork, long hours, low pay and more does not boil over into a mass struggle by health care workers. The SEIU tries to prevent any struggle from taking place and if one breaks out, sabotages it.

Nurses and support staff need to organize a rank-and-file committee to take the struggle against Trinity Health into their own hands. Negotiations must be open to all members to see what is going on. Currently, whatever discussions are taking place go on behind their backs.

A rank-and-file committee can link the struggle of health care workers at Trinity to those of 5,000 nurses at the University of Michigan Health System, whose contract expires June 30. University of Michigan Health-West has formed a cardiac care joint venture for heart surgery with Mercy Health and Michigan Medicine, and plans have been going forward this year.

But there are different unions at U-M and Trinity, the Michigan Nurses Association and the SEIU, and they keep the workers separate even when the bosses are getting together to better combine their vast financial resources and operations.
Internal FBI documents published last week by the government transparency group Property of the People have revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for years, routinely violated the democratic rights of millions of people in the United States by monitoring their private social media accounts even if they were not suspected of any criminal activity.

Protesters march to the 3rd Precinct Monday, April 19, 2021, in Minneapolis as the murder trial against the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd advances to jury deliberations. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

The documents, known as Situational Reports or sitreps were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by Property of the People and shared with reporters for Rolling Stone magazine. While the reports are revealing, they do have large sections blacked out.

The reports show that FBI employees were/are monitoring private social media accounts and specific hashtags on the largest social media platforms, such as Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

The information included in the reports covers a three-year span, from 2019 through 2021. Sitreps from the summer and fall 2020, following the police murder of George Floyd, show that the FBI tracked protest organizers accounts in Seattle, Washington and Minneapolis, Minnesota. While Property of the People and Rolling Stone have only reported on FBI documents covering those two cities, there is no doubt similar reports were drawn up for every major US city.

More extensive and detailed analyses are no doubt compiled by the FBI on a regular basis. But even the limited release under the FOIA reveals blatant disregard for the democratic rights of the population and underscores the central role of the special armed body in capitalist society as an enforcer of bourgeois class rule, not an impartial protector of the democratic rights of all.

The documents revealed that the FBI has teams dubbed social-media exploitation, or SOMEX teams, that comb through social media accounts for information on peaceful protests, including meeting times, locations and participants. Potential targets of surveillance include anyone suspected of being involved in or present at locations of lawful protests [who] are part of an organized effort associated with anti-government-anti-authority extremism, militia extremism, racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism, or violent gangs.

The agency distributes information gleaned from accounts they monitor to local police departments which is then assimilated into police databases, in the process painting a target on anyone named in the reports as a potential extremist, Black Lives Matter, anarchist, or antifa agitator.

That the FBI violates the constitutional and democratic rights of workers and left-wing elements as a daily practice will not come as a surprise to our readers. However, the revelation that the FBI has been engaged in mass surveillance of social media accounts, including specific hashtags, Facebook groups and private media accounts for years, directly contradicts testimony offered by FBI director Christopher Wray and FBI assistant director of counterterrorism Jill Sanborn before Congress last year, following Trumps failed coup.

Attempting to explain why the FBI was not prepared to intervene to stop the attack on the Capitol by right-wing militias, or issue widespread warnings beforehand, in two separate hearings, both top FBI officials claimed that the FBI had specific policies that prevented the organization from monitoring social media accounts prior to the attack on the Capitol.

As reported last year by the World Socialist Web Site, during a March 2021 hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar took as good coin Wrays claims that the FBI could not foresee the attack on the Capitol because they had insufficient intelligence and no informants within any of the far-right organizations.

Speaking of the Proud Boys, Klobuchar pontificated: There must be moments, if only we could have known, if we could have infiltrated this group and found out what they are doing. Do you have those moments?

Beside the fact that it was known at the time Klobuchar made these comments that chairman of the Proud Boys, Henry Enrique Tarrio, was a prolific FBI informant, subsequent reports have established that the FBI, Capitol Police and the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police were monitoring right-wing paramilitaries communications in real time on January 6, 2021 and were well aware of their plan to storm and occupy the Capitol in furtherance of Trumps coup prior to the attack.

Following Trumps failed coup, it has also been revealed that social media companies, such as Parler, sent the FBI reports they had made compiled of specific threats they saw regarding the January 6 certification. In one warning forwarded to the FBI prior to the attack, a Parler user called on fascists to come to D.C. on January 6 to take on Antifa and start eliminating people.

The documents blow apart Wrays claims that the FBI failed to prevent the attack on the Capitol because of a lack of intelligence and the Bureau respecting the constitutional and the democratic rights of fascist militia groups too much to follow their activities online. They also show the FBIs role in promoting the lie advanced by Trump and his Republican sycophants that the amorphous antifa is a violent and dangerous terrorist group while modern-day Brownshirts, such as the Proud Boys, are a patriotic fraternity.

In a June 5, 2020 Seattle sitrep, the FBI specifically named an Instagram users private account for simply organizing a peaceful protest in support of Black Lives Matter. In the same report, the FBI observed that Proud boys and 3%ers will be present during the 6/7 BLM protests, in civilian clothes.

In contrast to the peaceful protest organizer, the FBI did not name any suspected Proud Boys handles. Instead, the report reiterates Proud Boys talking points, stating that the Proud Boys consider themselves a patriotic fraternity. All races are represented within the Proud Boys.

Among the tools used by the FBI to monitor social media, at the cost of $5 million a year, Rolling Stone reported, is software called Babel X, which is sold by a company called Babel Street. Per a recent article by Fedscoop, Babel Street is led by Jeffrey Chapman, a former Treasury Department official. ... Chapman was a White House aide and intelligence officer at the Department of Defense, according to LinkedIn.

In a statement announcing a new contract with Babel Street, the FBI wrote earlier this month, [t]he tool shall be able to gather information from the following mandatory online and social media data sources: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Deep/Dark Web, VK, and Telegram, as well as SnapChat, TikTok, Reddit, 8Kun, Gab, Parler, ask.fm, Weibo, Discord, and additional fringe platforms, and other encrypted message platforms.

In procurement documents, the FBI said ... the system should be able to continuously monitor sources, wrote Fedscoop.

Commenting on the FBI reports, Ryan Shapiro, executive director of Property of the People, told Rolling Stone, The documents bring into relief three consistent truths about the FBI.

One: At its core, the FBI is a political police force that primarily targets the left while ignoring or outright enabling the far-right. Two: FBI spokespersons lie like they breathe. Three: The Bureau shamelessly exploits national crises to expand the already dystopian reach of its surveillance.

The domestic intelligence agency is aided in their efforts to oppress the working class by the Republican and Democratic Party alike. Ignoring the demands of millions of workers and youth who risked police violence and arrest to march for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Hannah Fizer, Andres Guardado and all victims of police violence, Biden and the Democrats have purged all talk of defunding the police following the 2020 election.

Instead, appealing to their Republican colleagues and billionaire backers, Bidens 2023 budget proposal, the WSWS wrote recently, features ...a substantial increase for domestic police repression.




In an hour-long prime-time interview on BFM-TV last night, Jean-Luc Melenchon, the former presidential candidate of the France insoumise (LFI) party, called on the French people to elect him as prime minister in the June legislative elections. He pledged to serve as prime minister under whichever of the two presidential candidates wins in the April 24 runoff, incumbent President Emmanuel Macron or neo-fascist Marine Le Pen.

Melenchons announcement that he will serve under either of the two extreme-right candidates is a slap in the face to the nearly 8 million people who voted for him. Millions backed Melenchon to express their hostility to both Macron and Le Pen, notably Muslim workers threatened both by Le Pen and Macrons own Islamophobic anti-separatist law. Yet Melenchon, instead of trying to marshal opposition to the next president, made clear he would collaborate with the next president, even if this president is a neo-fascist.

This points to the significance of the call by the Parti de legalite socialiste (PES), the French section of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), to build a movement in the working class to reject both candidates, boycott the election, and prepare the struggles to come against the next president. The PES alone is arming workers and youth with a perspective for an irreconcilable struggle against both reactionary candidates.

Melenchon is objectively in an extremely powerful position. He won the support of voters under 35, carried the working class districts of Frances major cities, and won 10 of Frances 16 largest cities. If he tried to rally his voters against both Macron and Le Pen, calling for them to engage in strikes and protests, he could rapidly shut down the French economy. Such an action, carried out in opposition to NATO war threats against Russia and official inaction on the COVID-19 pandemic, could have a vast global impact, as did the May 1968 French general strike.

Melenchon, however, aims not to politically mobilize but to politically suppress his voters, making clear that they should resign themselves to a far-right presidency that will enjoy the political support of the presidential candidate for whom they voted.

Melenchon cynically tried to present this ultra-reactionary policy as a militant struggle. He claimed that he is asking French voters to massively vote for LFI, which currently is leading in races for 105 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly, so that LFI could form a government and name Melenchon prime minister. I will be prime minister not by the grace of Mr. Macron or Mrs. Le Pen, but because the French people will have wanted this, he said.

When BFM-TV interviewer Bruce Toussaint asked him under which presidential candidate he would agree to serve as prime minister, Melenchon replied, That is a rather secondary issue. Asked again by Toussaint whether he would really serve under a neo-fascist president if Le Pen won in the polls, Melenchon indicated that he would, saying, Vox populi, vox dei.

Melenchon told Toussaint that his views on neo-fascism had changed and become far less hostile than they were 50 years ago, at the foundation of the far-right National Front (today the National Rally of Marine Le Pen) in 1972. He said, At the very beginning of the struggle against the National Front, I took a very harsh position. Inspired by the past, I said that we should not accept them... Now the question is not posed that way for me. It is posed in the sense that fundamentally [Marine Le Pen] carries with her a vision of France which means that it is fundamentally another France. It is not the France in which we are.

Melenchon indicated that his differences with Le Pen are concentrated on the question of the rights of people born on French soil to automatically receive French citizenship, and on whether to organize a referendum on banning the Islamic veil in France.

The extremely limited character of the disagreements Melenchon claims to have with neo-fascism makes clear that Melenchon himself has travelled far to the right. He is part of a deeply reactionary consensus in the French ruling class in favor of totally abandoning the struggle against COVID-19 and participation in a NATO war with Russia in Ukraine. Indeed, Melenchon did not even mention the pandemic in the BFM-TV interview, though around a thousand people die of COVID-19 each week in France.

Melenchon was also silent on how Macron has plunged the state deep into debt during the pandemic to finance bank bailouts that massively enriched the financial aristocracy, with the 500 wealthiest individuals in France increasing their wealth by 40 percent in the year after the launching of the bank bailout plans. This made French public debt surge to around 115 percent of Frances gross domestic product.

On the war in Russia, where forces in the media have repeatedly accused Melenchon of complicity with the Kremlin, he reassured BFM-TV that he supports NATO. He recalled that on the morning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine he criticized Moscow and claimed that Russia bears sole responsibility for the war.

It is only in this context that one can evaluate the few demagogic promises made by Melenchon. He noted that Millions of people are caught by the throat in this country, pledged to cap natural gas prices and increase the minimum wage to 1,400 monthly, and proposed citizen-initiated referendums as in Switzerland. But one cannot finance a meaningful increase in workers living standards while wasting countless billions of euros on bank bailouts and war.

The defense of fundamental social rights requires a determined assault on the privileges of the super-rich, the impounding of public funds that they have pilfered, the end of the war, and a struggle to stop mass deaths from COVID-19. But it is absurd and false to claim that one could implement such policies as a prime minister answerable to a President Macron or Le Pen.

This is why the PES calls for an active boycott of the second round, to steel workers and youth for a struggle against the reactionary presidential candidates and unify them in a class-based opposition to the next president. It is now clear that this call places the PES in direct opposition not only to Macron and Le Pen, but also to Melenchon. In the name of a positive re-evaluation of neo-fascism, Melenchon is extending political support to both reactionary candidates.

Moreover, it makes clear the opposition between the PES and not only Melenchon, but all the bankrupt parties that Melenchon is proposing to unify in a so-called Popular Union. He told BFM-TV that the Greens, the Stalinist French Communist Party and the Pabloite New Anti-capitalist Party (NPA) could all join the coalition he is proposing. The NPA has already responded positively to Melenchons call, issuing a Letter of the New Anti-capitalist Party to the Popular Union declaring that we are happy about the initiative you have taken, and concluding, We must meet in the coming days.

Melenchon is not seeking to unify the left in struggle. He is seeking to regroup a coalition of bankrupt petty-bourgeois parties that support imperialist war and mass infection with COVID-19, and are clearly prepared to sanction alliances with neo-fascism.

Under these conditions, the PES again calls for an active boycott of the second round and states that the PES is the Trotskyist alternative to the pseudo-left that must be built.
Julian Assange has been issued with a formal extradition order for the first time. The case has now been sent to British Home Secretary Priti Patel to give the final sign-off on whether the WikiLeaks founder should be sent to the United States.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seen in a prison van traveling to Westminster Magistrates Court in London, Friday, Dec. 20, 2019 (Credit: AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Assange is being pursued for charges under the Espionage Act with a potential life sentence for his work as a journalist exposing the war crimes, human rights abuses and diplomatic intrigues of the U.S. and its allies.

A short hearing took place Wednesday morning at Westminster Magistrates Court, where Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring explained, I am duty bound to send your case to the Secretary of State for a decision on whether or not you should be extradited.

Goldspring was directed to make this decision by the High Court, which last December upheld a U.S. appeal against an original ruling not to extradite. The original ruling was made on the strictly limited grounds that doing so would be oppressive given Assanges mental health and risk of suicide. The High Court held that assurances offered by the US about his treatment, exposed as worthless by his lawyers, removed that risk, and directed the lower Magistrates Court to reverse its decision.

Assanges legal team sought to challenge this ruling at the Supreme Court but were rebuffed, despite the High Court certifying that they had raised a point of law of public importance.

According to the Extradition Act (2003) which governs the process, Assange now has four weeks (to May 18) to make representations to Patel before her decision is announced, during which time he will continue to be remanded in Londons Belmarsh maximum security prison, where he has now been held for more than three years.

That decision is a foregone conclusion. Patel, who carries out the governments authoritarian agenda with the demeanour of a gangster and the satisfaction of a true sadist, will enjoy nothing better than handing Assange to the U.S. She is a leading figure in a Brexiteer cabinet whose foreign policy is based on a slavish commitment to an alliance with Washington in order to lever the interests of British imperialism. Her boss, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, congratulated the police in his capacity as then-foreign secretary on their illegal seizure of Assange from his place of asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in April 2019.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange supporters hold placards as they gather outside Westminster Magistrates court In London, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Assanges legal team have been preparing an extensive appeal against the extradition, which Goldspring confirmed yesterday wont be heard until the Secretary of State has made her decision under the Act. The World Socialist Web Site summarised its key points in an earlier article:

They argue that Assanges extradition is being illegally sought for a political offence, barred by the US-UK Extradition Treaty; an abuse of due process; in breach of Article 3 (inhuman and degrading treatment), Article 5 (unfair detention), Article 6 (denial of fair trial), Article 7 (retroactive justice) and Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights; based on a misrepresentation of facts; and being pursued for ulterior political motives.

There is no guarantee that the High Court will agree to hear this appeala danger made more concerning by the actions of the Supreme Court. Assange could therefore be on a plane to the U.S. in just over a months time.

Speaking outside the court, Assanges wife Stella Moristhey were married in Belmarsh prison last monthcommented, Today was a formality but I still felt sick to my stomach about what happened. A magistrate signing an order to send Julian to the United States. The UK has no obligation to extradite Julian Assange to the United States. In fact, it is required by its international obligations to stop this extradition.

WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said, 16 months ago, this court decided that extraditing Assange would be a risk to his life, would be a death sentence. Now this court has been ordered to issue that death sentence.

The clear and present threat to Assanges life makes more urgent a serious consideration of the type of campaign which must be waged in his defence.

Also present outside the court was former leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn. He told the crowd he hoped Patel would reflect on the importance of her office, on the importance of the decision that she is required to make reflect on, what is a democracy other than the ability of journalists to do their job, to ask the strong questions of politicians and those that make decisions? What is a democracy but protecting that right to speak, that right to know, that right to assemble, that right to be an activist?

Such an appeal will fall on deaf ears. Patels views on democratic rights are not a secret; they are there for all to see in the viciously reactionary Nationality and Borders Bill and Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill now passing through the Houses of Parliament under her authority. She is now overseeing plans to ship asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Assanges supporters must reject Corbyns soporifics and at this eleventh hour turn to the building of a mass movement in the international working class which alone can force his release by his captors.

Whether the WikiLeaks founder is granted his appeal, or the case reaches the United States, the substance of the American governments baseless and reactionary allegations will be exposed in courtthe High Court in the UK, or before the grand jury empanelled in the U.S.

The fight for Assanges freedom means politically challenging not only the Tory government and the Biden administration, but all those who have worked to enforce his isolation. In the UK this encompasses the Labour Party, the trade unions and the broad milieu of pseudo-left, identity politics, and liberal organisations, and publications such as the Guardian, that joined in the slander campaign against him. The case must be made anew among the millions of workers and youth internationally who look on Assange as a hero for the stand he has taken against the war crimes of the US and its allies.

Under conditions in which the NATO powers are escalating their de facto war with Russia in Ukraine, plunging billions into severe economic hardship and starvation and threatening a third world war fought with nuclear weapons, Assanges opposition to war and commitment to the truth and journalism free from state co-option are more necessary than ever. The defence of the WikiLeaks founder is a major front in the struggle against the censorship and propaganda servicing the war drive.

The World Socialist Web Site and the Socialist Equality Parties pledge to redouble their efforts to build this campaign as part of a wider fight for a socialist anti-war movement.
Vicecanciller Luis Enrique Chavez presidio, junto a su homologo argentino Pablo Tettamanti, la V reunion de la Subcomision de Asuntos Politicos Peru-Argentina, oportunidad en la que revisaron los principales temas de la agenda bilateral y regional. ?????????? pic.twitter.com/p0Bb23CJ6Z
From 6 to 13 April 2022, students from 34 countries with a range of educational backgrounds participated in the 25th edition of Model WTO in St. Gallen and Geneva, Switzerland.

Model WTO is an intensive six-day negotiating exercise in which the students, each acting as a representative of a WTO member, work together in negotiating committees to produce a final ministerial declaration.

The topic for Model WTO 2022 was the WTO and sustainable food systems. Participants debated the role of trade in achieving global food security and nutrition, while addressing related climate and environmental sustainability challenges. Through different committees, they looked at reliable food supplies, the environmental footprint of food trade, fair food trade, food standards and trade facilitation measures, and repurposing farm subsidies. During the negotiations, participants benefited from the support of the WTO Secretariat and the WTO delegations they represented.

At the closing ceremony on 12 April in Geneva, the participants were praised for their enthusiasm and excellent results. Ambassador Clare Kelly, New Zealand's Permanent Representative to the WTO, lauded the quality of the declaration the participants had negotiated. She highlighted the need for new ideas to deal with the current global food crisis and shared New Zealand's experience in developing a sustainable agriculture system, pointing to the role of the WTO in supporting this ambition at the global level. Ambassador Kelly concluded: Model WTO is an important and great experience for the next generation. I hope to see many of you back.

WTO Head of External Relations Bernard Kuiten stressed the importance of experiencing how difficult it is to reach agreement on a set of very challenging issues. He also expressed appreciation for the time students had taken from their courses in order to participate in the event. Having witnessed the negotiations, he said: What I saw was drive, dedication and commitment to finding clever multilateral solutions. I echo Ambassador Kelly in hoping to see you as part of the future of WTO, whether as delegates or otherwise.

The WTO is a strong supporter of Model WTO because the event provides tomorrow's generation of decision-makers with the opportunity to enhance their understanding of the multilateral trading system and to experience at first hand the dynamics of trade negotiations.
YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian community in Australia will hold a march for justice on April 24  the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, in the Sydney and Melbourne Squares. The marches will be held jointly with the representatives of the Greek and Assyrian communities.

Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia Hayk Gayserian told Armenpress that the purpose of the upcoming march is to urge the Australian authorities to recognize the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks perpetrated by Turkey.

Our goal is to deliver to the Australian authorities that recognizing the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks, perpetrated by Turkey in 1915, is an important and strong necessity for our communities. Like more than 30 countries, international organizations, the different states of Australia have also recognized the Armenian Genocide, and the government of Australia should also do that, Hayk Gayserian said.

He informed that this years April 24th march will also touch upon the current situation in Artsakh. It will be presented in a context that the actions of Aliyevs administration against the people of Artsakh are the continuation of the same genocide.

Those actions have been done against Armenians because Turkeys crimes are still left unpunished. We consider this impunity the main reason that countries like Azerbaijan and Turkey are trying to carry out such actions against Armenians, the ANC Australia Executive Director said.

The commemoration events will continue also on April 26. A commemoration event is scheduled that day, during which members of the Parliament of Australia will deliver speeches. There will be representatives from the two major political parties of the country. They will call on their government to recognize the 1915 genocide. The event will be held online. Ombudsman of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan will also deliver a speech on the impunity of the genocide which affected the people of Artsakh.

Asked what is the probability that the government of Australia will recognize the genocide of Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians, Hayk Gayserian said there is progress and they will continue the works on this direction. At this stage the situation is that the Parliament of Australia adopted a resolution, calling on the government to recognize the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks. The Australian Parliament had its say on the issue of the Genocide.

The Parliament represents the whole society, therefore we can state that the people are ready for the recognition, it remains for the executive power to do that. It either should follow the call of its people and recognize the Genocide or become the subject of the dictatorial leadership of Turkey, which is exerting external pressure on the Australian government, he said, recalling the 2021 April 24th speech of the Australian PM where he talked about the 1915 events, the deportation of Armenians without using the term genocide. According to Gayserian, its the time for the next step.

Hayk Gayserian said Australia is on the eve of new elections. The elections of the Federal Parliament will be held on May 21, the incumbent PM tends to be re-elected. According to him, the elections are an occasion to touch upon the issue of the Genocide, although there could be reasons between the leadership and the opposition.

Of course, our call must be to use the term genocide in the commemoration speeches. If the April 24th speeches do not address the Genocide as we expect, we will clarify the positions of the two parties on this matter from April 24 up to the May 21st elections. Armenians will vote in favor of those who are ready to recognize the genocide of Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians, Hayk Gayserian said.

Interview by Anna Gziryan
YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Podcastle company is nominated in three categories at the 2022 Webby Awards, also known as the "The Oscars of the Internet."

Podcastle Inc. Chief Operating Officer Arsen Hambardzumyan told ARMENPRESS that their competitors include global tech giants Adobe and Canva.

Podcastle enables users to conduct remote interviews without downloading any apps or tools, create, edit and enhance podcasts with a free online audio editor, remove background noise and enhance speech in a few clicks, edit audio by editing text or convert text to speech with realistic voice skins.

Podcastle is nominated in the Best Creative Production Software, Best Use of AI & ML and Best User Interface categories. The winners will be chosen from 14,000 nominees in two rounds: online voting and then by a panel of judges comprised of 2000 experts.

Imagine an Armenian actor getting the Oscar. Its the same for the Internet Oscars. Wed greatly promote our small country. Weve shared the links to the voting on our Facebook account and our website, people can vote for us online by following the link, registering on the Webby website  which takes just 15-20 seconds, Hambardzumyan said.

We saw that people had a problem with becoming podcast hosts. They had to buy rather expensive microphones, get audio-editing trainings, they had to have a platform for downloading and broadcasting. This is a lengthy phase that people avoid. But we offer a platform that doesnt require downloading. You just have to sign up in our web platform and easily get what you want by studying the machine learning tools that we use, Hambardzumyan said.

Podcastle offers its tools for free with some limitations. But only $12 a month will enable users unlimited access.

Podcastle was founded 1,5 years ago and consisted only of 4 team members. Now, the company employs 40 people thanks to the investments they received.

We got our first investment in 2020. Back then it was difficult to attract investments. Investors would search Armenia online, theyd see that we are at war and would decide not to make investments. Nevertheless, albeit with difficulties, we were able to attract 2 million dollars in investment, which helped us to expand our team. Then we had our second investment of 7 million dollars, Hambardzumyan said.

Podcastle founder Artavazd Yeritsyan said that together with Krisp co-founder and CEO Davit Baghdasaryan and Krisp co-founder and President Artavazd Minasyan they launched the BigStory VC Venture Fund to support startups, moreover not only with funds but also with knowledge and experience.

Interview by Karine Terteryan
Canadian air fares are on the rise, new Statistics Canada data show. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

Getting ready to book a long-awaited vacation? You may have to brace for higher prices.

Canadian airfares are on the rise, new Statistics Canada data show, as increased travel demand pushes airlines to hike fares.

Statistics Canada data released on Wednesday show that air transportation prices increased 8.3 per cent between February and March.

"Strong demand for domestic travel and trips to the United States during the March break contributed to higher prices this month," StatCan said.

Fare data provided by Cirium, an aviation data company, show that the average price of a one-way fare for flights within Canada in January this year shot up by 18 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Cirium data also shows that the price of a one-way ticket from Toronto to New York was up 41 per cent in January 2022 versus to pre-pandemic levels, while a one-way fare from Toronto to Fort Lauderdale increased 20 per cent for the same period. One-way ticket prices from Vancouver to Calgary rose 41 per cent in January 2022 from January 2019, while tickets from Toronto to Vancouver were up 17 per cent, and Toronto to Montreal flights roses 27 per cent.

Airlines around the world have boosted capacity in recent months as travel demand returns to levels not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Air Canada recently flew more than 100,000 passengers in one day for the first time since the pandemic, another sign that the airline's recovery is underway.

The increased demand, combined with higher jet fuel prices in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is putting upward pressure on fares.

In a recent note to clients, National Bank Financial analyst Cameron Doerksen wrote that fares are on the rise for Air Canada and that hiking fares is an option for the airline as it grapples with surging jet fuel prices.

"Based on the lowest published one-week advanced fares, our indices (indexed to 2015) for Air Canada have shown some positive trends in recent weeks with fares generally higher than the same period in 2019," Doerksen wrote in the note last week.

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"Given robust demand recovery, over time, we believe Air Canada will be able to offset higher jet fuel prices through higher fares."

Many airlines are offsetting increased fuel costs with higher fares. Bob Cummings, the new head of WestJet's ultra-low-cost subsidiary airline Swoop, says the ongoing spike in jet fuel prices will have to be passed on to passengers  at least in part  even as competition ramps up among discount carriers.

"We're always adjusting, almost real time, to those market forces when input costs go up. And they really do need to be passed through in order for the company to be financially healthy," Cummings said this week.

Glen Hauenstein, president of U.S.-based carrier Delta Air Lines, said on the company's quarterly conference call last week that the airline has not seen any backlash to the increased fares.

"We haven't seen a lot of resistance to the price points that we have in market, and our goal is to have reasonable price points in market up to the day of departure," Hauenstein said.

"My advice to travellers is to book early and be flexible if fares are your most important attribute."

With files from The Canadian Press

Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
The Flash star Ezra Miller has been arrested for the second time this year.

The actor, who is currently in Hawaii, was arrested for second-degree assault at a private residence. The Hawaii Police Department shared: "During the course of their investigation, police determined that the individual, later identified as Ezra Miller, became irate after being asked to leave and reportedly threw a chair, striking a 26-year-old female on the forehead, resulting in an approximate half-inch cut." The police added that Miller was released and is pending further investigation.

Prior to the recent incident, Miller was arrested last month at a bar in Hilo, Hawaii. The police announced at the time: "On Sunday, March 27, at 11:30 p.m., South Hilo patrol officers responded to a report of disorderly patron at a bar on Silva Street. During the course of their investigation, police determined that the man, later identified as Ezra Miller, became agitated while patrons at the bar began singing karaoke." The statement further read: "Miller began yelling obscenities and at one point grabbed the microphone from a 23-year-old woman singing karaoke (disorderly conduct offense) and later lunged at a 32-year-old man playing darts (harassment offense). The bar owner asked Miller to calm down several times to no avail."

The Flash is currently slated to hit theaters in June 2023. Miller also plays Credence Barebone/Aurelius Dumbledore in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, which was released earlier this week.
Ezra Miller

Ezra Millers reign of terror continues in Hawaii as The Flash actor was arrested for the second time in a little under a month, this time for second-degree assault.

Miller was arrested on Tuesday at around 1:30 in the morning after they were asked to leave a private residence in the district of Puna. Miller reportedly became angry, throwing a chair at one of the women present.

Read more

During the course of their investigation, police determined that the individual, later identified as Ezra Miller, became irate after being asked to leave and reportedly threw a chair, striking a 26-year-old female on the forehead, resulting in an approximate half-inch cut, according to a news release, per CNN.

They were arrested just a few weeks ago for disorderly conduct and harassment after throwing a rage fest in a local karaoke bar. While there, Miller allegedly grabbed the microphone from a woman after disliking her rendition of Shallow by Lady Gaga, and lunged at a man playing darts. At the time of their arrest, they had been reported to the police at least ten times over the course of their stay on the island.

With a third incident in tow, this now becomes a string of off-kilter behavior. Both arrests join a restraining order that was issued against Miller after they allegedly burst into a couples hotel room, accosted them, and stole their belongings. Even more frightening, the male victim says Miller, entered the bedroom of the petitioner(s) and threatened them by saying I will bury you and your slut wife.

The Flash is still scheduled for a summer 2023 release, but presumably, there will not be any more Miller-attached releases after that. Warner Bros. Discovery has reportedly held an emergency meeting concerning Millers behavior, so well have to wait and see the outcome of this latest arrest.
YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of his official visit to Russia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the State Duma and met with the Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin.

The latter welcomed the Prime Minister's official visit to Russia, underlined the fact of the continuous development of the Armenian-Russian allied relations. "I know that you had fruitful talks with the Russian President, based on the results of which an important joint statement was adopted," Volodin said, emphasizing that the visit of the Prime Minister of Armenia is a special event in the further expansion of bilateral relations. The Chairman of the State Duma also attached importance to the strengthening of inter-parliamentary ties, adding that there is a close dialogue in this direction. According to Mr. Volodin, the existing mutual trust between the two countries gives a good opportunity to further develop ties.

Prime Minister Pashinyan thanked for the warm reception, noting that such contacts give a new impetus to interstate relations and cooperation. The Prime Minister of Armenia also attached importance to the strengthening of inter-parliamentary cooperation and active dialogue. "We had a fruitful discussion with President Putin, we adopted a joint statement," Nikol Pashinyan said, adding that they reached an agreement on a number of important issues, including the security of Nagorno Karabakh, the unblocking of regional infrastructure, and delimitation and demarcation processes of the Armenian-Azerbaijan border.

During the meeting the interlocutors exchanged views on the activities of the Armenian-Russian interparliamentary commission, the holding of the sitting of the CSTO Interparliamentary Assembly in Yerevan, the activities of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh and other issues.
Writer, director of "54" and "Mid-Century Moderns," Mark Christopher

Making a movie, under the best of circumstances, is hard. No one knows that better than Mark Christopher, yet his experience hasn't soured him on the process.

You hear the joy in his voice when he speaks of Ralph Waite (Papa Walton) coming into an audition and blowing him away, or when he talks about the time Cloris Leachman jumped into his arms when he saw her for a part.

You may not be familiar with Christopher's name, but odds are that sometime in the last 25 years, you've seen his feature film writing/directorial debut. But you haven't gotten to see the film he set out to make.

Until now.

The early years

In the early 1990s, Christopher, who now splits his time between Palm Springs and Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, was in his final year of graduate school at Columbia University. He had planned to study film writing, but because of the reception to his first two short films, he ended up in the directors' program.

"For my final-year film, I wanted to do what I called a 'disco American Graffiti,'" Christopher said.

Through a conversation with famed writer Paul Schrader ("Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull"), who Christopher had met through his first short, "The Dead Boys Club," he got the idea to set the film at Studio 54. Schrader suggested the film be seen through the prospective of a young bartender at the club.

Director Mark Christopher rehearses with cast members for the debut of his play, 'Mid-Century Moderns,' at the Desert Rose Playhouse in Palm Springs, Calif., on April 5, 2022.

"I wanted it [to be] about the young kids ... not the rich and famous," Christopher said. "I wanted to make it about the kids who worked there, to bring you in through the back door, because most of us are not rich and famous and fabulous and beautiful. I wanted to show the club through the eyes of these kids."

As Christopher worked on drafts of the script, Schrader read them and gave feedback. At the time, Christopher's second short film, "Alkali, Iowa" was doing the festival circuit and winning many awards. It was during this period of success that he finished a new draft of "54."

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"You did good," Schrader said after finishing it.

Christopher knew it was time to get the screenplay out into the world. Due to the success of "Alkali, Iowa," Christopher was introduced to Jonathan King, who worked at Miramax. King and Miramax loved the script and wanted to bring it to the silver screen.

An unexpected pivot

During the next two years, several rewrites and casting took place. Once those key steps were completed, "54" finally went into production.

While filming, the cast, mostly unknowns when hired, took off. But that's also where their problems began. Christopher had written a gritty drama about a bisexual bartender drawn into a world of vices to which he willingly succumbs. The character of Shane O'Shea, played by rising star Ryan Phillippe, was not written as a particularly nice guy. He does several opportunistic things to get what he wants. The film was a realistic depiction of the hedonistic disco era, filled with sex, drugs and backstabbing.

But when Harvey Weinstein, the head of Miramax at the time, laid eyes on the gritty $8 million film, he saw it as a potential cash cow due to the new, unexpected star power of the cast.

First, Weinstein demanded that 40 minutes of the initial 100 minutes be cut.

"He was known as Harvey scissor hands," Christopher said. "We had all been warned about working with that man. Man, woman, child, we were all warned  unless maybe if you had bad representation  about what a nightmare it was working with him, but I was young and ambitious and thought everything would be fine ... [but] he's a monster as everyone now knows."

Scenes depicting the central characters' bisexuality, unlikeability, and his seedier side were excised. The film's budget ballooned to $13 million to cover reshoots. Contractually, Christopher was forced to film 30 minutes of additional material which reframed the main character by giving him a heterosexual love interest, thus heavily impacting the plot.

Cast members rehearse for the debut play, "Mid-Century Moderns," by Mark Christopher, at the Desert Rose Playhouse in Palm Springs, Calif., on April 5, 2022.

Neve Campbell, who had a relatively minor role in the original cut, became a much larger part of the movie as Phillippes' love interest, while Breckin Meyer and Salma Hayek, the other two leads, lost some screen time and had to reshoot updated scenes. Weinstein also took a hatchet to Sherry Stringfield's role.

The most devastating part for Christopher was the excision of a kiss between Meyer and Phillippe's characters. The kiss was key to the plot and spoke to the lead's identification as bisexual.

"Literally the day he (Weinstein) told me he was cutting that, he was going downstairs to jump in a car and go uptown to win a GLAAD award," Christopher recalled. "I told GLAAD what was going on and they still gave him the award."

Weinstein's version of "54" premiered on Aug. 28, 1998, to a critical beating. Stephen Holden of the New York Times noted, " The movie might have worked ... it feels like a crudely patched-together collection of notes for a project that got lost on the cutting-room floor."

Holden had hit on the movie's central problem: Most of the original film was on the cutting room floor. To add insult to injury, Christopher was contractually obligated to keep quiet. He could not tell the press that they were not seeing the film he had written and directed, they were seeing what Weinstein had done to it.

Christopher had sold a realistic, gritty, unabashed portrayal of the hedonistic 70s, told through the eyes of a character whose need for acceptance and fame gave him an excuse to be truly unlikeable, and watched as it was gutted and turned into a generic love story set against the background of glitter that was Studio 54. This version of the film sits at a 15% out of 100 on the film aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, with a 29% audience approval rating.

One positive that most critics agreed upon was the outstanding performance of Mike Myers as Steve Rubell, the nightclub's shady owner. Christopher had fought to get Myers, mostly known as a broad comedian at the time.

"That character is written as comic/tragic," he said. He knew Myers could handle the comedy. He also had faith that Myers could tap into the character's tragic aspects.

Finding redemption

In December 1997, Christopher screened the original cut of the film.

"Somehow, don't ask me how, the New York Critic's Circle got ahold of my cut and were set to nominate Mike and more of us for awards," Christopher said. The association pulled the nominations when Weinstein's cut hit theaters.

Opportunities that had been offered Christopher were rescinded, and he was put in "director jail" as he puts it.

Flash forward 25 years. Weinstein is a convicted rapist being held at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles. Miramax, having been sold by Disney in 2010, has new leadership, and you can rent "54: The Director's Cut" on VOD.

"Jonathan King and I had pretty much been trying to get a director's cut made since Weinstein sold the company," Christopher said. "I put together a director's cut that made it into Outfest in 2008. Don't ask me how they got it, but they got a copy."

Christopher said tickets sold out faster to that screening than any other in Outfest history.

While Rotten Tomatoes does not have a separate review site for the director's cut, 1398 watchers on Amazon Prime have given the director's cut 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Cast members Christine Tringali Nunes, left, and Gary Powers rehearse for, 'Mid-Century Moderns,' at the Desert Rose Playhouse in Palm Springs, Calif., on April 5, 2022.

When Christopher and King told this to the new regime at Miramax, the official director's cut became a thing. Zanne Devine, then head of Miramax, knew the story of the Weinstein cut and wanted to get a director's cut out. Christopher was given a budget and told not to go one penny over.

"Thanks to the wonderful Nancy Valley, my post-production manager, and David Kittridge, my editor of the director's cut, and Jonathan King, of course ... we brought it in."

The film screened at The Berlin International Film Festival in 2015 and was a massive hit.

While Cristopher notes there was footage that could not be found, this version represents about 92% of his original vision.

"Hey, 92% is better than 10%," he said, letting out a hearty chuckle. The original footage that was restored to make the director's cut was located just before it was set to be destroyed.

Apparently, there are also several unofficial cuts that were released in various countries. Christopher found out that when Weinstein realized what a mess he had made, he began slowly, and without Christopher's knowledge, putting chunks of the original footage back in the film and sending those cuts out.

Persistence pays

Despite all of this, Christopher still loves directing.

Cast members Carlos Garcia, standing left, James Owens, Christine Tringali Nunes, sitting left, and Dana Adkins rehearse with director Mark Christopher for the debut of his play, 'Mid-Century Moderns,' at the Desert Rose Playhouse in Palm Springs, Calif., on April 5, 2022.

"Directing comes easily to me. It's very natural for me. I love camera work. I was a photographer and an actor before I became a writer, and directing brings it all together."

These days, Christopher's focus is an original musical. "Mid-Century Moderns," which he created with producing partner Dan Gelfand, that debuted April 20 at The Desert Rose Playhouse.

"That process was really helpful to me as a writer and director. It taught me a lot about the script," Christopher said. He ended up recording one of these readings, and then sent the tape to The Desert Rose's artistic director, Robbie Wayne. He loved it.

After years of rewriting and workshopping, the first production was ready for desert dwellers to enjoy.

But why a musical? Christopher said he wanted to fill a perceived void  there had never been a quintessential "Palm Springs musical." Not a musical about Palm Springs itself, but the feel of Palm Springs. He based the lead on his cousin in Milwaukee, now in her 80s, his mom and his sisters.

Set in 1966, right before the big wave of women's liberation movements, the musical is a fun, joyful piece that has something to say.

"Woman in the Midwest were so held down by men," he said of that time period. "They had to break through."

Cast members Christine Tringali Nunes, back, James Owens, on the ground, director Mark Christopher, center, and Carlos Garcia rehearse for, 'Mid-Century Moderns,' at the Desert Rose Playhouse in Palm Springs, Calif., on April 5, 2022.

The show follows Marian Popecky (Christine Tringali Nunes) and her journey from frump to fabulous. And the set design will reflect this transformation, because The Desert Rose is giving the small show a big, beautiful production. Of the six actors, four are cast in multiple roles, which the show jokingly acknowledges.

"It's a show that speaks to a lot of people," Christopher said. "Above all, it entertains. It's an incredibly fun show to come to when you're in Palm Springs, because it is in love with Palm Springs, but it's not about Palm Springs."

Originally scheduled to premiere before COVID-19 hit, the show was postponed until February 2022. During the Omicron surge, it was delayed yet again.

"It was crushing when we got pushed because of Omicron, but I'm just really happy with the April dates," he said.

Written and directed by Christopher, The show is a homegrown affair using local crew and actors. Along with the above mentioned Tringali Nunes, the show stars Robbie Wayne, Dana Adkins, Gary Powers, James Owens, Carlos Garcia.

"My hope is the show will have a long run ... I'm looking for a 'The Fantastics,'" he said with a laugh. "That ran in a small theater in my neighborhood in New York for 25 years. That would be ideal."

Cast member Carlos Garcia, left, lifts Christine Tringali Nunes as director Mark Christopher watches during rehearsal for the debut of his play, 'Mid-Century Moderns,' at the Desert Rose Playhouse in Palm Springs, Calif., on April 5, 2022.

Giving back to his community

In addition to stage directing, these days, Christopher's other focus is teaching.

His first higher education job, teaching a creative producing class at Carnegie Mellon University Los Angeles, was a fluke. But he ran with it, and went on to teach at Columbia University, Drexel University and Chapman College.

"After Martha Coolidge (director of "Valley Girl" and "Real Genius") was injured in a horse riding accident, Chapman College gave me some of her directing classes," Christopher said. After teaching at several institutions, Christopher decided he wanted to teach in his own community.

Now, he teaches on-camera acting at College of the Desert. The class is a hybrid directing/acting class where you not only learn the process of building an engaging on-camera performance, you also learn how to direct actors for on-camera work. Having taught the class virtually the past couple years, he is pleased to be back with his students, in person, this semester.

"There is an exterior aspect to acting for the stage. What your body does on the stage is incredibly important," he said. "In film, it's an inside job. It has to all be internal so that it comes out in your eyes and on your face."

Director Mark Christopher works with choreographer D.D. Starr during rehearsal for the debut of his play, 'Mid-Century Moderns,' at the Desert Rose Playhouse in Palm Springs, Calif., on April 5, 2022.

No matter your age, Christopher said, if you're interested in acting, it's never too late.

"Cloris Leachman was originally cast as 'Disco Dottie' in '54.' Due to scheduling issues, she could not film the part and Ellen Albertini Dow stepped in," Christopher recalled. "She was an amazing force and an incredible inspiration. She started acting in her late 70s and had an amazing 20-year career. She is the ultimate 'it's never too late.'"

A lesson learned

The experience Christopher had making "54" and watching as it was taken from him is still a painful one. It seriously affected the trajectory of his career. But he went through it, learned from it, and, as few of us get to do, rectified the problem with his director's cut, which you can now watch from the comfort of your home.

"Actors have to be willing to make mistakes, or they will never find the truth of what the are trying to do. The camera will not allow you to mask the truth. You have to tell the truth" Christopher said.

Substitute the word "people" for the word "actor" and that statement is something we can all learn from.

Kevin Mann is a Desert Sun intern who writes about arts and entertainment. Email him at kmann1@palmspri.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs director gets redemption after Weinstein tanked his film
By Andrea Shalal and Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank has resumed work on three projects in Afghanistan focused on health, agriculture and livelihoods, but will maintain a hold on some $150 million for education projects, two sources familiar with the decision said Tuesday.

The multilateral development bank had put all four projects, valued at around $600 million, on hold in late March, citing its deep concerns over the Taliban's ban on girls attending public high school.

Group of Seven partners and other major donors to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) will meet to discuss the country's mounting economic and food security problems on Friday during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the U.S. Treasury announced on Monday.

Some multilateral organizations, including the IMF, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the Islamic Development Bank, will also take part, one of the sources said.

When it halted work on the four programs, the World Bank noted that its policies required all ARTF-financed activities to support access to - and equity of services for - women and girls in Afghanistan.

Officials decided to "resume preparations" for the three non-education projects, valued at around $450 million, given the deepening economic crisis in Afghanistan worsened by rising food and energy prices triggered by Russia's war in Ukraine, one of the sources said.

Russia calls its actions "a special military operation."

The World Bank last week issued a dire outlook for Afghanistan's economy, noting that per capita income had fallen by over a third in the last four months of 2021 following the seizure of power by the Islamist Taliban as U.S.-led foreign forces withdrew.

It said around 37% of Afghan households did not have enough money to cover food while 33% could afford food but nothing more.

When it agreed to free up ARTF funds for new projects to be implemented by U.N. agencies, the World Bank had stipulated that it expected a "strong focus on ensuring that girls and women participate and benefit from the support."

The Taliban has unraveled gains in rights made by women during the last two decades, including restricting them from working and limiting their travel unless accompanied by a close male relative. Most girls were also barred from going to public school beyond seventh grade.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Jonathan Landay, Editing by William Maclean)
At 16, Alabama Barker is the newest brand ambassador for Pretty Little Thing. And while many are praising the teenager for the partnership, others claim that she's too young.

The daughter of musician Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler recently shared on social media news of her business venture, posting a photo from a photo shoot inspired by Y2K trends.

Alabama Barker receives criticism for her Pretty Little Things partnership. (Photo: Getty Images)

"I'm SO excited to finally announce I am @prettylittlething's newest Brand Ambassador Stay tuned" Alabama captioned her photo. She added in a brand statement: I have been a long-time buyer and love how inclusive the brand is."

Travis's fiancee Kourtney Kardashian showed her support by commenting on Alabama's post with hearts. Others also took to the comment section to congratulate the teen.

"I think they found the perfect girl for their brand," one person wrote. "Well deserved queen," commented another.

And while one person praised Alabama for being the "Youngest to f***ing do it," some critics found their way to the comment section of the brand's post to say that the 16-year-old influencer is too young for the gig.

"Cute looks, just doesnt seem age appropriate," one person wrote in response to a slideshow of photos that people said look inspired by Paris Hilton, Barbie and The House Bunny.

Another commented, "She's soo beautiful, but all that make up on her just makes her look soo much older [than] she is. She looks like she 28."

Others agreed that the short skirts paired with heels and knee-high boots seemed to be too much for a 16-year-old.

The criticism isn't new for Alabama, who has encountered negativity since gaining popularity on TikTok and Instagram. In February, the teen addressed hate comments in a TikTok video that's since been deleted. In it, she responded to similar negativity about her age and her looks. "Yes, I am young," she said, while clarifying that she's "not a normal teenager" as a result of her father's celebrity.

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Former ambassadors for Pretty Little Thing include Kourtney and her sister Kylie Jenner.

Video: Alabama Barker addresses social media hate

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Whether you're looking to get the most for your money or are simply running low on time in your busy schedule, Walmart makes it easy to get the items you need in one location. More than 230 million customers run to the mega-retailer each week for everything from groceries and electronics to household essentials and clothing, according to Statista. But if you're one of the many who rely on Walmart for your shopping needs, there's an urgent new warning from the Food&Drug Administration (FDA) that may affect one of your recent purchases. Read on to see which item sold by the world's largest retailer could pose a serious health hazard.

RELATED: Dollar Tree Just Recalled More Than 1 Million of This Product.

Walmart keeps customers alerted to safety issues related to the products they sell.

Products that go to market today are subject to strict requirements to protect the public and keep them out of harm's way. But even with regulations in place, safety hazards can sometimes only be discovered once an item has gone on sale. Walmart's sprawling inventory often makes it the focus of such warnings, with several recent recalls affecting products sold by the retailer in an effort to keep shoppers safe.

On Feb. 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a food safety alert notifying consumers that it was "investigating two separate Listeria outbreaks linked to packaged salads" produced by Dole and Fresh Express sold at Walmart and Kroger under the Marketside brand. And last month, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced it had recalled Sakar International's Dimensions Bluetooth Speaker Helmets sold online at Walmart.com due to failure to comply with the federal safety standard for bicycle helmets.

Certain produce sold at Walmart across 18 states is now being recalled.

In the latest warning to customers, World Variety Produce, Inc. announced on April 19 that it was voluntarily recalling some cases of organic zucchini it had distributed to Walmart stores across 18 states. The affected items were sold under the Organic Marketside brand name in 2-count clear overwrap trays with the UPC 6-81131-22105-4 and case lot number 38706503.

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The notice warns that the recalled produce was sent to select Walmart stores in Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin.

RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter.

The recall was issued after testing uncovered a serious health hazard.

According to the FDA, the zucchini recall was issued after routine testing discovered potential Salmonella contamination. The notice warns that healthy people who accidentally ingest the bacteria can often experience fever, diarrhea that can be bloody, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. However, they warn that in rare cases, salmonella poisoning can "result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis, and arthritis."

The agency also cautions that the bacteria can be especially dangerousand potentially fatalfor young children, frail or elderly people, and anyone with a weakened immune system.

Here's what you should do if you purchased the recalled produce.

The FDA warns that anyone who may have purchased the recalled zucchini is "urged to destroy and dispose of " the produce immediately. The agency's notice says that any customers with questions can contact World Variety Produce by calling 1-800-588-0151 on weekdays between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. PST.

RELATED: If You're Using Either of These Hand Sanitizers, Stop Immediately, FDA Warns.
Two people from Minnesota were arrested Thursday following a pursuit that started north of Mansfield and wound through four different South Dakota counties.

The pursuit started at 4:12 p.m. when a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper attempted to pull over a 2015 Ford Edge that matched the description of a stolen vehicle in Minnesota, said Tony Mangan, public information officer for the South Dakota Department of Public Safety. He said the trooper attempted to pull over the southbound vehicle approximately 3 miles northeast of Mansfield on U.S. Highway 281.

Instead of stopping, the driver of the Ford Edge, Hunter Kantz, 21, of International Falls, Minn., led the state troopers and deputies from Spink, Brown, Faulk and Edmunds counties on a pursuit that ended when the vehicle broke down in a farm field, Mangan said.

He said he did not have details on the length of the pursuit or where the farm field was, but said when a trooper arrived at the car, it was unoccupied.

Spink County State's Attorney Vic Fischbach said speeds reached 110 mph during the pursuit and that it ended in Faulk County.

Both the driver and passenger, Jasmine Benge, 20, of Monticello, Minn., were found in a nearby structure and were taken into custody without incident, Mangan said. Both were taken to a hospital in Faulk County for treatment of minor injuries, he said.

Charges against the two men arrested are pending, Mangan said.

FIschbach said the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks was called in as backup.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: 2 arrested following four-county pursuit Thursday
OLDWICK, N.J., April 20, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Please replace the release dated April 18, 2022, with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions.

The updated release reads:

AM BEST ASSIGNS CREDIT RATINGS TO ASCOT SURETY & CASUALTY COMPANY

AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a+" (Excellent) to Ascot Surety & Casualty Company (ASCC) (Parker, CO). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The entity is being added as a member of the Ascot Group Limited, with the group rating supported by the stable credit profile of and ongoing backing of the ultimate parent, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

The ratings of ASCC reflect Ascot Group Limited members balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as their adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

ASCC is fully integrated into Ascot groups operations and management as it follows the same operating model and risk profile. Additionally, ASCC is of strategic importance to the groups entrance into the U.S. surety market, as well as to provide the group with a U.S. Department of Treasury Listing and the necessary licensing.

Ascot Bermuda Limited (Bermuda), as well as Ascot Insurance Company and Ascot Specialty Insurance Company (both headquartered in New York, NY), are operating subsidiaries of Ascot Group Limited.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Performance Assessments, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments.

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AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2022 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220418005574/en/

Contacts

Billiah Moturi

Financial Analyst

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5509

billiah.moturi@ambest.com

Erik Miller, CFA

Director

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5187

erik.miller@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey

Manager, Public Relations

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159

christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Jim Peavy

Director, Communications

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644

james.peavy@ambest.com
SHENZHEN, China, April 20, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On 11 April 2022, VOOPOO launched its new product for the year, the ARGUS GT II. With its 200W high power constant output, IP68 rating and volcano crater design, ARGUS GT II brings a more innovative experience to users worldwide.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220417005034/en/

The story of VOOPOO and Spark Your Life (Graphic: Business Wire)

Everest Zhao, CEO of VOOPOO, said, "VOOPOO continues to pioneer innovation and experiment with new technologies. We believe that the new ARGUS GT II will also bring a different high-end experience to our customers."

Perfect for adventurous cloud chasers who want an experience thats as powerful outdoors as it is in, the ARGUS GT II follows in the footsteps of the successful launch of the ARGUS GT. It also improves on its predecessor with a powerful 200W max output, USB Type-C 3.0A connector for super-fast charging, and a top-fill design for easy and mess-free refills.

The ARGUS GT II is a strong double-layer waterproof, dust-proof, antifreeze and anti-collision mod that can easily deal with extreme temperatures  from minus 20 to 60  without a drop in performance. Its also as hard and durable as volcanic rock.

VOOPOOs newest offering also features its signature GENE TT 2.0 technology, with an upgraded advanced chip that supports Smart, RBA, Turbo and Temperature Control modes.

The top-fill design isnt the only thing thats new. The new MAAT tank has a unique volcano crater design, which improves direct airflow rate by 60% and drains condensation to the bottom of the tank, allowing faster and more powerful vapour production and a leak-proof experience.

The birth of VOOPOO

In 2014, at a time when the electronic atomization industry was nearly silent, Scott Zhao and Everest Zhao, the founders of VOOPOO, with their keen market insight, ploughed deep into the field of chip industrial and jointly set up ICCPP (VOOPOO's parent company) and dedicated themselves to providing chip technology solutions for the electronic atomization industry through GENE chips.

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At that time, when working overseas, the founders found that international customers did not recognize the "chip" because it was not a final product that could directly reach the consumer. Even though the performance of GENE chips has been optimized, other design aspects of the service provider's product were not in place, such as process and design, which ultimately failed to bring a quality product experience to the user. With this in mind, ICCPP believed that the ultimate goal was to serve the customer and user experience well and began to think about transforming to create its product brand.

In 2017, Scott Zhao and Everest Zhao, once again, made the great decision to take the company globally by creating a new brand logo - VOOPOO - and eventually branding the product as VOOPOO. Through three easy-to-pronounce, worldwide letters "V", "P" and "O", they carry on the spirit of "earthshaking innovation" promoted by the founder.

The initial letter "V" stands for "Victory", meaning that VOOPOO relies on technological innovation to lead the industrys healthy development and share the results of innovation with users through its products. The letter "P" stands for "Produce", meaning creativity, which is the brand personality of VOOPOO. VOOPOO is a positive and never-ending attitude towards life. To reflect the attributes of the atomization industry, VOOPOO has created an original artistic design for the two letters "O", which form an infinite figure, resembling the shape formed by the user gulping vape in the air, but also with an original design rich in symmetry, highlighting VOOPOO's infinite possibilities and future creation.

Like the VOOPOO slogan - SPARK YOUR LIFE means to create infinite possibilities, which also complements the infinity symbol logo. VOOPOO hopes to bring the world not only products but also the spirit and dream of exploring infinite possibilities, breaking through the so-called constraints and shackles, and bringing more beautiful possibilities to everyone's life.

Dreams - creating infinite possibilities with technology

Chip and atomization, VOOPOO's two wheels running at the same time

Innovations in user experience have led the industry to enter the "age of technological innovation", which increasingly requires the integration of chips and atomization technology.

VOOPOO has once again seized this opportunity with great sensitivity.

As an innovator in the development of chip technology in electronic atomization, VOOPOO has formed a series of chips such as GENE.Fan, GENE.Fit, GENE.Pod, GENE.Trio, GENE.AI, and GENE.TT, creating a complete and mature system of chip technology development.

The concept of platforming is a great achievement in the field of chips and a leap forward in VOOPOO's atomization ecological platform, which covers the TPP, PNP, and ITO atomization platform. By achieving a high power performance experience, multiple compatible atomization experience, the ultimate rich taste experience, it provides users with a variety of taste exploration.

A global technology innovator

VOOPOO has a global presence

Founded in 2017, VOOPOO is a VAPE technology brand integrating R&D, production, sales, and brand operation, with a business covering more than 70 countries and regions around the world, including North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific, with six branches set up worldwide, focusing on deep localized operations in the US, UK, Indonesia, Canada, and other countries and regions, achieving coverage of 100,000 offline outlets worldwide. It is dedicated to providing users worldwide with innovative, high-quality, and diversified product experiences.

VOOPOO is based in the field of electronic atomization but continues to go beyond electronic atomization, diversifying its business, constantly challenging new systems, and being an "innovative company" that "others have not done". As VOOPOO's slogan connotes, there are no boundaries, create unlimited possibilities and a better life for users, bring sustainable business development for the industry, and create more positive value for the world.

WARNING: This product may be used with e-liquid products containing nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220417005034/en/

Contacts

CompanyShenZhen Woody Vapes Technology Co., Ltd.

Contact Person: Wind Chen

Email: wind.chen@voopoo.com

Website: https://www.voopoo.com/

Telephone: 0086-18718743237

Location19/F, Block A, Coolpad Building, High-tech Industrial Park (North Zone), Nanshan District, Shenzhen
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp claimed the abilities of Thiago Alcantara were possessed by only a few players in the world after the midfielder delivered a masterclass against Manchester United.

Faced with a passive, almost disinterested opposition in the middle of the park, the Spain international, who also played a starring role in the first half of Saturdays FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City, had the run of Anfield on Tuesday evening and used it to devastating effect.

The 31-year-old had 129 touches, completed 105 passes at an accuracy rate of 96 per cent (100 per cent for long-ball accuracy), created three chances, won seven out of nine duels, regained possession four times and made two interceptions in the hosts 4-0 rout.

Hes a good player. We have to keep him fit, Klopp told the BBC.

He has rhythm now, which helps with these kind of situations to really be in the right spaces, the right little turns, finding the right passes.

You dont have five million players like this on the planet  only a few who see things earlier than anyone else and have the technical ability to not only see it but get the ball there as well.

It was a top game from him.

Klopp added on Sky Sports: He is a world-class player. He can be pretty dangerous with and without the ball so, from our point of view, there is really nothing to moan about.

Football is outstanding, but his counter-pressing was mad. That makes the full package. I couldnt respect it more.

When Thiago arrived at the club in September 2020 he was hailed as the missing link which would propel the Reds to the next level.

Who gets your vote for our #LIVMUN Player of the Match?   Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 19, 2022

However, the midfielders integration into the team was disrupted as he caught coronavirus soon after signing and a knee injury in the Merseyside derby in October ruled him out for more than two months.

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It was to have a lingering effect for the remainder of the campaign and, even this season, it has taken him a while to find his top form but since the turn of the year he has, arguably, developed into an even better player in Klopps system than he was at Bayern Munich.

In the last 13 months Liverpool have lost just one match in which Thiago has started  the Champions League last-16 second leg at home to Inter Milan  and his influence continues to grow.

Thiago played with his slippers on was former Reds midfielder Don Hutchisons assessment of his performance against United on the BBC Radio 5 Lives Football Daily Podcast.

Thiago has added a physicality to his game since joining Liverpool (Mike Egerton/PA)

After throwing himself into tackles and chasing down opponents, Thiago, who has often not completed games but has added a physicality to his game since arriving on Merseyside, was replaced in the 80th minute  but not for the reason expected.

He ripped his pants. No, shorts afterwards he told me, Klopp said. I didnt get that. I thought it was something else, but obviously that was fine.

He didnt want to come off! He wanted to stay on the pitch  I like the desire behind that. He played a proper game.
Richard Pierce speaks to his attorney on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, during the opening day of a cold-case murder from 1975. Pierce faces a murder charge as well as disinterment of a corpse at the Door County Justice Center in Sturgeon Bay, Wis.

STURGEON BAY - No trace of Carol Jean Pierce has been seen for more than 46 years, but the Door County District Attorney's office believes enough evidence exists to convict her then-husband of murder.

However, the defense said without a body, a murder weapon or other physical evidence, the state won't be able to meet its burden of proof.

That was the gist of opening arguments Tuesday morning in the jury trial of 86-year-old Richard G. Pierce, who is charged with first-degree murder and disinterment of a body in his wife's disappearance.

Carol Jean Pierce, or her body, hasn't been seen or heard from since Sept. 5, 1975. At the time, Richard Pierce was stationed with the U.S. Coast Guard in Sturgeon Bay and living with Carol Jean in a trailer in the city. He was due to retire about two weeks after Carol Jean's disappearance was reported, moving with Carol Jean in his trailer to Michigan.

An image of Carol Jean Pierce is displayed on a television for the jury, Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at the Door County Justice Center in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. Carol Jean Pierce has not been seen for more than 46 years.

Pierce, whose address is listed in court records as in Jackson, Michigan, was arrested in 2018.

In his opening argument, Assistant District Attorney Nick Grode said there was no indication Carol Jean Pierce would simply run away and disappear without a trace. He said she frequently wrote to her family members about what was happening in the couple's lives, and as Richard's retirement date grew closer, she wrote often about plans she was making once the couple moved out of Sturgeon Bay and back to Michigan. He said Carol Jean wrote a check for insurance for their trip to Michigan the day she disappeared.

Grode also noted Carol Jean left all of her possessions behind, including her purse and several items she was especially fond of, including a stereo and record collection, her 1970 Chevy pickup and a cat.

He said she also wrote about saving enough money, 35 cents at a time while doing laundry, to buy Richard a warrant officer's ring as a surprise gift for his retirement.

"You're going to hear a variety of witnesses, a variety of law enforcement officers," Grode told the jury. "You're going to hear from a criminal intelligence analyst, a witness from the Social Security Administration. All will tell you they've searched all these records, and none can find any trace of Carol Jean Pierce."

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Grode also said a former neighbor of the Pierces is scheduled to testify that Carol Jean told her she believed Richard was going to kill her at some point.

Closing his statement, Grode talked about the use of dogs trained to detect human remains through scent on Pierce's property in Cheboygan, Michigan, in 2018. The dog picked up such a scent on six places on the property.

"My goal is not to give you a one-sided bias. My goal is to give you the truth," Grode said. "And the truth is, on Sept. 5, 1975, the defendant murdered Carol Jean Pierce."

In her statement, Pierce's attorney, Kate Zuidmulder, said that Grode's opening remarks were theories, not a presentation of evidence. She said the criminal justice system rests on two important points: the presumption of innocence and burden of proof on the prosecution.

Zuidmulder said Wisconsin has three levels of proof depending on the type of case, and for a murder trial, the state needs to meet the highest burden of proof for the jury to return a guilty verdict: proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

"The state has come up with a speculative, even fanciful argument," Zuidmulder told the jury. "They have the burden to establish every facet necessary to prove guilt. (Grode's opening argument) was a story, not evidence. You are the ones who will judge innocence."

Zuidmulder said the jury has to consider not only the evidence presented but also a possible lack of evidence, relating to Carol Jean or her body never being found. She added that contrary to Grode's portrayal, Carol Jean had a history of running away, divorcing her first two husbands after short marriages and relinquishing custody of a 5-year-old son from the second marriage.

"You're going to need to know, if Carol Jean is deceased, how did she become deceased?" Zuidmulder said. "She'd previously abandoned members of her family to start a new life. ... You need to remember this is a person who, when circumstances changed, she left people behind."

RELATED: Sturgeon Bay murder case from 1975 with no body is going to trial April 19

RELATED: Former Sturgeon Bay Coast Guardsman accused of murdering wife to return to Door County Jail

FOR MORE DOOR COUNTY NEWS: Check out our homepage

Woman's brother testifies

Following the opening arguments, the first day of the trial featured more than four hours of testimony from one witness  Brian Fillion of Michigan, Carol Jean's younger brother by 7 years.

The questions the attorneys asked of Fillion mostly centered on the issue raised in the opening arguments about whether Carol Jean Pierce stayed in touch with family members and was looking forward to Richard's retirement, or instead wasn't that close to her family and had a history of making impulsive decisions.

Much of the testimony was based on letters and cards Carol Jean wrote, mostly by hand, and sent to her (and Fillion's) mother, who kept them in a file box Fillion found after their mother died in 1989. Fillion also testified about a meeting with Richard Pierce a few months after Carol Jean disappeared.

Grode had Fillion read excerpts from letters and cards from his sister where she wrote in the year before she disappeared about how busy she was with preparations for her and Richard's move to Michigan, such as plantings on the lot where the trailer would go and making new curtains for it.

Asked by Grode if Carol Jean ever mentioned running away in any of the letters he read, Fillion said no.

But in cross-examination, Zuidmulder seized on a letter Carol Jean wrote July 18, 1974, in which she congratulated her sister on having a baby while noting she hadn't been told about it beforehand. That was followed by Carol Jean writing, "I stay away from people as much as possible due to the fact that the more people, the more family, the more hurt," and "I prefer not expressing my feelings, thoughts or desires to anyone. That way no one knows what I am thinking."

Answering Zuidmulder, Fillion said he didn't know the status of Carol Jean's relationship with their sister at the time given the tone of the letter. Fillion said it was possible Carol Jean was angry at her but he couldn't say for sure.

"There are families that are huggy-kissy. Our family was not like that," Fillion said. "That doesn't mean we didn't care for each other."

Zuidmulder followed by referring back to a letter written Jan. 10, 1975, in which Carol Jean told her mother to beware of Fillion and their sister coming to the mother for a handout after their aunt had died, then asking if one could assume Carol Jean didn't trust her siblings.

"There was never trust issues," Fillion responded before admitting, "I didn't know everything about her, that's true, but she didn't know everything about me."

Zuidmulder then focused on two letters Carol Jean wrote in July and August 1975, within a month and a half before her disappearance. In the first, she wrote she wanted to sell the Michigan property; in the second, she reiterated she wanted to sell the property so she didn't want to accept a job offer in Cheboygan. Zuidmulder said Carol Jean also indicated she wouldn't be able to call or write for a while.

"Do you find that inconsistent?" Zuidmulder asked Fillion.

"No," Fillion said.

Fillion had testified in January 1976, about four months after his sister vanished, he visited Richard Pierce and his new wife at their Cheboygan home.

He said in the eight hours he was there, they never talked about Carol Jean except toward the end, when he asked Pierce if he had any idea what happened to her. Fillion said Pierce turned away a little, then said no with what he described as a sheepish look on his face.

Under cross-examination, Fillion said he had no reason to suspect Pierce in his sister's disappearance until that point.

"The way he gave me the answer caused me to think about it," he said.

Zuidmulder noted an email Fillion sent to an investigator of his sister's case in 2004 in which he called Carol Jean headstrong, impulsive and unpredictable, but Fillion told Zuidmulder he didn't know anything Carol Jean would have done to cause him to write that.

Zuidmulder asked Fillion if he carried a bias in the case.

"Yeah, I have a little bias. My sister's been gone over 17,000 days," Fillion said, not calmly.

Zuidmulder then asked Fillion if he would do or say anything in order to get Pierce convicted, if he would change previous statements to cast more suspicion on Pierce. Fillion said he wouldn't knowingly do so.

"You would try but you couldn't guarantee it?" Zuidmulder asked. "Yeah, that's fair," Fillion said.

But on redirect, Grode asked Fillion if he would lie to make up evidence against Pierce.

"I'm not going to sit here and change my statements," Fillion said. "I'm not gonna lie."

The trial is scheduled to run for 16 days over four weeks in Door County Circuit Court Branch 2 in front of Judge David Weber, Tuesdays through Fridays through May 13.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-741-7952, 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County cold-case murder trial for missing Carol Jean Pierce opens
Concerns for the mental wellbeing of farmers prompted a partnership between the Center for Dairy Excellence, Center for Beef Excellence, Center for Poultry & Livestock, PA Beef Producers Working Group, and Penn State Extension Dairy and Livestock Teams to offer a free workshop via Zoom on April 26. The program is open to all members of the agriculture industry. Attendees will learn how to spot mental stress and where those experiencing it can get help.

Need help? Mental health crisis resources are available for Pocono residents

Wayne County was once home to more than 1,500 dairy farms. Today, fewer than 50 remain.

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, financial challenges, farm or business problems and the fear of losing one's farm are top contributors to the mental health of farmers.

The cost of getting help, combined with the combined with the embarrassment and stigma of needing it, may act as barriers preventing farmers getting the help they need to manage their stress and mental wellbeing.

Local groups are teaming up to help farmers and many others in the agriculture industry identify and manage the more mentally taxing parts of their profession this month. The Center for Dairy Excellence is partnering with the Center for Beef Excellence, Center for Poultry & Livestock, PA Beef Producers Working Group, and Penn State Extension Dairy and Livestock Teams to host a free workshop on Tuesday, April 26.

The program will be held virtually via Zoom.

Starting at 10 a.m., those attending the workshop will learn what specific stressful situations in the ag industry can harm mental health, as well as how to identify signs of stress in themselves and other farmers. Training will also include how best to approach someone experiencing stress, how to offer them assistance, and which resources are available to help them.Most ag industry professionals are frequently on farms and in contact with producers every day, so they are tuned into when times are challenging and producers might be struggling. Typically, ag industry professionals are trained in production agriculture and not human health and well-being, said Dr. Ginger Fenton in a press release. The goal of these workshops is to help prepare ag industry professionals to recognize stressful situations and to be better equipped to provide tools and resources to share with farmers in times of need.Fenton is a Dairy Extension Educator at Penn State Extension and one of the presenters at the workshops.

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"These workshops are ideal for anyone who is in contact with livestock producers and is concerned about their mental wellness and overall well-being." Fenton wrote in the release. "This might include lenders, ag agency personnel, nutritionists, inspectors and regulatory staff, veterinarians, educators, consultants, agronomists, and other ag industry professionals or farm family members."To register for the workshop, visit centerfordairyexcellence.org/workshops or call 717-346-0849.

CommentaryStress Awareness Month: Manage your stress for a healthier life | My Turn

AgriStress Helpline offers farmers mental health services

On February 11, 2022, the PA Department of Agriculture (PDA) announced the AgriStress Helpline, a new, free service available to help farmers cope with mental stress.Our agricultural community faces unique challenges. Farmers often work alone, live where they work and encounter pressures of changing markets, unpredictable weather, business transitions and legacy, said PA Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding in a press release announcing the service. These stressors can weigh heavily on individuals and families, but help is available. The AgriStress Helpline is a tool to connect farmers to mental health resources and healthcare professionals. We want folks to know that its ok to ask for help.The help line is available 24 hours each day, seven days a week. Farmer are encouraged to call 833-897-2474 (AGRI) to get mental health assistance.There can be a stigma around seeking help for mental health issues and we need to make farmers aware of all of the tools available to them, said Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Rick Ebert in a press release. This helpline will provide another resource for farmers to reach out to trained professionals and get the assistance they need.According to PDA, Some indicators of declining mental health for agriculture professionals include:

Decline in care of crops, animals, and farm

Deterioration of personal appearance

Withdrawing from social events

Increase in farm accidents

Change in routine

Increased physical complaints

Increase in alcohol use

Giving away prized possessions

The AgriSafe Network an agriculture minded group of health professionals and educators looking to "reduce health disparities found among the agricultural community" relates one's mental health to another piece of farm equipment which is necessary to continue a farming operation."Ignoring signs that your farm equipment is not working properly can lead to more expense, down-time, and equipment loss." Their website, agrisafe.org, says. "Ignoring signs that your mental well-being needs a tune up can also result in less time running your production, increased healthcare expense, and may eventually spillover to other parts of your life, including farm workers and those that you work so hard to care and provide for."

According to the AgriSafe Network fact sheet, 20% of any population, including farmers and ranchers, have mental health complications. The fact sheet likewise notes that prolonged periods of stress can negatively impact mental wellness, potentially leading to depression and anxiety disorders, substance use disorders and self-harm.Some indicators that a person may be at risk or self-harm include:

Talk of Suicide or a heavy focus on death

Changes to eating or sleeping

Stopping or hoarding medication

Increased use of drugs or alcohol

Withdrawing from friends and family

Aggressive or disruptive behavior, or increased irritability

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, do not hesitate to call 1-800-784-2433 (1-800-SUICIDE) or 1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK)

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Farmer mental health training at Wayne County Penn State Extension
YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. The cooperation of Armenia and Russia on the inter-parliamentary level has a rather successful course of development, the Chairperson of the Federation Council of Russia Valentina Matviyenko said during a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Matviyenko thanked Pashinyan for supporting the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation.

The inter-parliamentary commission is successfully working. From the Russian side the commission is led by Federation Council Deputy Chairperson Yuri Vorobyov, who is very responsibly fulfilling his work. They will travel to Yerevan tomorrow to hold the already 34th session of the commission, she said.

Matviyenko also underscored the productive work of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and thanked the Armenian lawmakers.

Matviyenko added that they developed friendly relations with Armenian Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan.
Apr. 20The state Senate's budget proposal to give the University of Hawaii a $275 million funding increase comes with strings attached, including a $100, 000 pay cut for the UH West Oahu chancellor and eliminating the positions of communications director and director of the Office of Equal Employment.

The 24 "provisos " dictating how some of the money for UH can be spent are unprecedented in the modern era, said Kalvert Young, UH's chief financial affairs officer, who previously served as director of the state Department of Budget and Finance.

"The Senate version would be the most prescriptive and specific I've seen, " Young said. "It's been an evolution that's been occurring over the last three to five years."

The Senate version of House Bill 1600 would eliminate more than 90 positions across the entire system of seven community colleges, three four-year campuses and UH Board of Regents.

At the same time, the Senate plan calls for 128 new hires and funding for research that UH never requested, Young said.

"There's a lot of funding for things that UH didn't ask forfor UH to do studies on prison reform, cultural heritage, DOE (Department of Education ) master planning, highway construction on the Big Island, " he said. "They've added positions in certain campuses that we didn't ask for, primarily in the community colleges : landscapers, security guards, janitors ... positions for lecturers, additional personnel for building and ground custodians, administrative support, food sciences faculty."

In a message to the UH community on Tuesday, Young wrote, "It makes little financial sense to reduce approximately $2.4 million of funding for positions while also adding more than $274 million to the operating budget. Since the position cuts are not for financial reasons, this action can appear to be targeted and punitive in purpose."

State Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, who chairs the Senate's Ways and Means Committee, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Tuesday night that the Senate's budget plans for UH are intended to hold the university accountable and accommodate Senate bills introduced this session, such as proposals to hire more nursing instructors and several studies that align with state priorities, such as the effects of so-called sand "burritos " on beach erosion.

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The proposed $100, 000 pay cut for UH West Oahu Chancellor Maenette K.P.

Ah Nee-Benham reflects the time that she actually spends on campus, Dela Cruz said.

Asked about criticisms that the Senate is too involved in UH personnel and operational issues, Dela Cruz said, "The main thing is we want accountability, we want transparency, we want the president and the regents to do their jobs. We want to make UH more relevant in what the state's trying to accomplish."

Neal Milner, a political analyst and former UH political science professor who at one time served as the UH ombudsperson, said that even though voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment granting UH autonomy in 2000, state senators, in particular, continue to try to "micromanage " staffing and operations.

He called the relationship between the Senate and UH "terrible."

"It's in the state Constitution, but autonomy has always been trench warfare : You fight for a little thing, you lose, you win, " Milner said. "The concept has never been accepted by the Legislature, especially in the Senate where there is personal animosity. This is clearly a kind of outrageous attempt to micromanage the university and totally ignore the sort of autonomy that the university, by constitutional rule, is supposed to have in order to govern itself. ... This (budget proposal ) is clearly a slap in the face. They're saying, 'We're giving you more money, but you're going to have to follow the rules as we see them.'"

The House version of the state budget also calls for extra money for UH : an increase of $129.4 million, compared with the Senate's proposed increase of $274.9 million.

But the House version does not go into the level of detail included in the Senate version, which fails to explain spending priorities, according to Young.

"Why the Senate would want to hire a janitor at Honolulu Community College is not articulated, or why the Senate wants to get rid of Dan (Meisenzahl, UH director of communications ) or why the chancellor at UH West Oahu only deserves a salary of $145, 000, " Young said.

Both the House and Senate versions will head into conference committee meetings that have a deadline of April 29 to come up with a compromise.

Rep. Sylvia Luke, chair of the House Finance Committee, declined to provide a theory behind the Senate proposal or to describe the relationship between the Senate and UH.

"The budget is a negotiation between the House and the Senate, " she said. "Over the next two weeks we're heading into conference to work out the differences."

Asked about UH autonomy, Luke said, "Even with the constitutional provision of the amendment, funding is a statewide concern. Funding still remains within the purview of the governor and the Legislature. Regarding specific dealings within the university, we have tried to honor UH's goal toward autonomy."

Last month the UH Manoa Faculty Senate passed a resolution, "Finding Inappropriate Legislative Actions Undermining University Governance and Free Speech, " that was pointedly aimed at state Sen. Donna Kim, chair of the Higher Education Committee, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

The Faculty Senate alleged that Kim "has repeatedly introduced legislation to usurp the decision-making authority of the UH Board of Regents, UH administration, and UH faculty "; "pushed the elimination of a tenured faculty member's position " in the 2021 legislative session ; and this year introduced a bill "that attempted to alter tenure and transfer managerial authority over the university from the Board of Regents to the legislature."

The legislative session began in January with a tense two-hour hearing by the Senate committees led by Dela Cruz and Kim where then-UH football coach Todd Graham, athletic director David Matlin and President David Lassner were grilled about an athletic program that lawmakers perceived to be in disarray after more than a dozen players left.

Current and former players and family members testified about alleged mistreatment under Graham.

"The first thing David Lassner said was, 'Essentially, you're pulling a fast one on us. You said there couldn't be any oral testimony, ' then they called in people with grievances, " Milner said.

During the session, Senate bills directed at UH also would have stripped the UH president of oversight of the community colleges and created a separate community college board of regents ; removed the procurement powers of the UH president ; required UH regents to approve salaries above $200, 000 for UH coaches ; and given regents the authority to hire and fire UH athletic directors and coaches.

All the bills appear dead.

No matter what happens with UH's budget, Milner expects tension to continue between the Senate and UH.

"The Senate has always been more than willing toin its words'oversee the university, '" he said.
Apr. 20Six Vietnam veterans who died alone with no one to claim them were finally honored at an interment ceremony at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton Tuesday.

Thomas Stenzel, a Vietnam veteran and resident of Kennesaw, was among those who attended the funeral to pay his respects to the former servicemen.

There is a sense of brotherhood, Stenzel said, that veterans feel for other veterans, even those they haven't met, especially when they die without a family to honor them.

"Today was an opportunity to honor some veterans who died alone or had been forgotten," he said.

The veterans honored Tuesday were Sgt. Samuel T. Sharpe, Spc. Vernon R. Grob, Spc. Russell Cooper, Pvt. Joseph Donald Adair, Airman Bruce T. Birkland and Cpl. Noah Myrick. The veterans all died between the years 2005 and 2020 and did not have immediate family to tend to their service or burial.

The veterans' remains were first displayed at the Georgia Memorial Park Funeral Home in Marietta where Tommy Burnes, a resident of Marietta and bagpiper-for-hire, played while the remains were transferred into hearses before police escorted the funeral procession to the Canton cemetery.

Once everyone had arrived at the cemetery, Kaite Hedden, a student at Pike County High School in Zebulon, sang the National Anthem to begin the ceremony.

Guest speaker Col. Richard White, who served in the U.S. Army Airborne and is now the director of the Board of Georgia Military Veterans Hall of Fame, addressed the crowd and spoke highly of the forgotten veterans, commending them for their service and expressing disdain for how they died alone.

Throughout the rest of the ceremony, there were eulogies; a reading of the veterans' names; flag presentations by the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps Honor Guards; three rounds of fire by the Marine Corps League Ceremonial Rifle Team; the playing of "Taps" by William Hall, a bugler with Bugles Across America; and a poem entitled "We Will Find You" by Charlie Tritto, read by John Newport, the Missing in America Project's Georgia Coordinator.

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The ceremony was made possible by the efforts of the Georgia chapter of the Missing in America Project, a national organization founded in 2007 that works to recognize forgotten veterans by locating, identifying and interring them with the military honors they earned through their service.

Newport, a retired Master Sgt. in the Marine Corps and resident of Woodstock, said the organization's mission means a lot to him because of his military experience.

"These six veterans we have here today died alone, basically," he said. "When you're a military person, it becomes very personal when our veterans have no one to take care of them when they die, no one to hold their hand. So, we brought them home today."

According to Newport, his organization finds the unclaimed remains of veterans by contacting coroners' offices, funeral homes, police departments, city morgues, etc.

The organization's assistant coordinator for Georgia, Dallas Johnson, discovered the veterans who were honored Tuesday.

Johnson has no military experience, but she has a "patriotic spirit" and was inspired to get involved after she discovered the organization in 2019, she said.

So far, the Missing in America Project has found 27,107 unclaimed cremated remains from all around the country. Nearly 6,000 of these veterans have been identified and a little over 5,000 have been honored with an interment ceremony.
A file photo of Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R)

Australia, New Zealand and the US have raised concerns on security in the Pacific, after China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands.

The deal was signed this week, fuelling fears China may seek to build a naval base in the Pacific nation.

The Solomon Islands had rebuffed last ditch efforts by Australia - its biggest aid donor - to stop the deal.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said the pact would not "undermine peace and harmony" in the region.

The Solomon Islands leader added that the pact was not aimed at traditional allies but "rather at our own internal security situation".

He did not disclose the pact's terms, but insisted it was made "with our eyes wide open, guided by our national interests".

A leaked draft of the agreement, which was verified by the Australian government, said Chinese warships would be permitted dock on the islands and that Beijing could send security forces "to assist in maintaining social order".

The islands have been rife with social unrest in recent years and in November the Australian government sent personnel from its defence forces to help quell deadly riots in the capital Honiara, sparked after protesters stormed parliament in a bid to topple Mr Sogavare.

A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry confirmed on Tuesday that the final agreement had retained the provisions on "maintaining social order".

'The worst failure of Australian foreign policy'

Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Pacific Minister Zed Seselja called the freshly signed deal "deeply disappointing", saying they were "concerned about the lack of transparency with which this agreement has been developed".

"Our consistently stated view, including from the perspective of Australia's national interests, remains that the Pacific family is best placed to meet the security needs of the region," they said in a joint statement.

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Australia's Labor opposition called it the "worst failure of Australian foreign policy in the Pacific" in 80 years.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison - who is currently campaigning for re-election, in part on a platform of national security - denied that the pact was proof that his government had bungled its diplomacy with the Solomon Islands.

He added that he could not have gone around "telling leaders in Pacific islands what they should and shouldn't do".

But Mr Morrison said his country would not have a "submissive relationship" with China, which he said had made "all sorts of promises" to Pacific nations.

"We've always stood up to China because it's in our interests," Mr Morrison told reporters on Wednesday.

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, similarly said the country was "saddened" that the Solomon Islands had made the pact.

The Solomon Islands had earlier last month confirmed it was drafting a security deal with China.

This particularly concerned Australia, which is just 2000km (1,400 miles) south of the Solomon Islands. It has seen years of escalating tensions with China

Map showing countries in the Indo-Pacific region

The news comes days before US National Security Council official Kurt Campbell is due to arrive in the Solomon Islands for high-level talks.

The US has said it will re-open its embassy in the Solomon Islands, which has been closed since 1993.
Janet Esquivel, left, Yulianny Gonzalez, and Emely Abarca pose for a picture together Monday, June 7, 2021, during their Davis High School graduation ceremony at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
Thousands of Israelis marched to a dismantled settlement deep in the occupied West Bank and called for it to be rebuilt
What you need to know about changing mask rules
Another day, another round of eye-rolling over a public figure being accused of using inexcusable racial or ethnic slurs.

This week, its longtime state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler.

As youd expect, Kreidler apologized profusely after The Seattle Times and Northwest News Network carried stories detailing allegations from a handful of his staffers that his language and behavior were offensive to people of Mexican, Chinese, Italian and Spanish descent, and to transgender women.

But Kreidler  like so many before him  should know better.

The 78-year-old Democrat has been Washingtons insurance chief since being elected in 2000. Hes also served terms in the Legislature and Congress.

Beyond that, hes a grown-up, for crying out loud. How could anyone have thought such behavior was OK?

Kreidlers apologies were prompt and predictable:

Words matter and I know they can have a lasting impact on the people who hear them, regardless of my intent, he said in a statement his office issued Monday.

It pains me deeply to think that the careless words I have used in the past  even if infrequent  could have hurt someone. I am sorry for any pain I have caused and for taking attention away from the accomplishments and efforts of the people I work with here.

Fellow Democrats didnt seem particularly sympathetic.

Gov. Jay Inslee, Attorney General Bob Ferguson and state Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski condemned such behaviors  though they allowed that theyd never heard Kreidler use inappropriate language themselves.

However, Podlodowski said in prepared remarks, its clear his behavior toward others has been inappropriate, disturbing and unacceptable for an elected official of any party on numerous occasions.

And, she added darkly, Its time to reevaluate whether Mike can still serve the people of Washington state with their full faith and trust.

Other Democrats expressed their disappointment and said they hoped Kreidler would take the steps necessary to do better.

What are those steps?

In Kreidlers case, hes promising to get some diversity-awareness training. In fact, he told his staff in an email, he and his offices entire executive team will undergo the training in the coming months.

Kreidlers about halfway through a four-year term to which he was elected in 2020. The vague timing and details on this promised training of his leave us questioning whether that might be too little too late.

While we thoroughly support diversity-awareness training, we find it incredible that anyone in public office  much less someone with a background as extensive as Kreidlers  still needs help figuring out whether racist slurs are acceptable.

The word they always use in the prepared apology statements is disappointing. That doesnt cover it, though. Unacceptable comes closer.

Weve been talking about diversity in this country for decades. There just arent any excuses anymore.
MOSCOW, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. Russia is interested in developing the cooperation with Armenia, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said during the meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Armenpress correspondent reports from Moscow.

Welcome to the government headquarters. Your official visit is very important for the further development of our friendly and allied relations that link Armenia and Russia. This year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries and the 25th anniversary of the treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual support with Armenia. As a result of yesterdays talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, you have reached large-scale agreements on the strengthening of the bilateral cooperation almost in all directions that exist on the agendas of our countries. The Russian Federation will take all measures for the implementation of the decisions made at a high level, the Russian PM said.

PM Mishustin said Russia is in the first place among Armenias foreign partners and investing countries. He praised the fact that last year the trade turnover between the two countries increased by almost 13%, reaching 2 billion 600 million dollars, and in January and February 2022 it increased by 42% compared to the same period of 2021, comprising 430 million dollars. Russian investments in Armenias economy amount more than 2 billion dollars. We are interested in the development of the bilateral cooperation, the implementation of new projects in areas such as energy, mining industry, transport infrastructure, pharmaceutics, agriculture and digital technologies, Mishustin said, adding that the inter-governmental commissions of the two countries deal with such initiatives.

PM Mishustin also proposed to accelerate the process of signing a new economic cooperation program between the inter-governmental commission of Armenia and Russia. Under conditions of illegal sanctions imposed against Russia by non-friendly countries, of course, it is important to more actively use the national currencies in the bilateral trade, develop the industrial cooperation and create new opportunities for trade, he said.
[April 20, 2022] SolomonEdwards Receives a Significant Growth Capital Investment from Renovus Capital Partners SolomonEdwardsGroup, LLC (SolomonEdwards), a national professional services firm, today announced that it received a significant investment from Renovus Capital Partners (Renovus). The capital infusion follows a period of record-setting growth for SolomonEdwards as it continues to drive its expansion. SolomonEdwards will use the capital to make additional investments in its team and delivery capabilities, and accelerate its planned expansion as a platform company. Founded in 1999 by CEO Ed Baumstein, SolomonEdwards has been a national leader in strategy execution. With expertise and experience, SolomonEdwards provides solutions for complex situations delivered by exceptional people in the areas of Accounting & Finance, Banking & Financial Services, Business Transformation, Governance & Regulatory Compliance, and Transaction & Regulatory Advisory Services. "To be a platform company for Renovus is both a privilege and an honor," said Ed Baumstein, Founder, President, and CEO of SolomonEdwards. "We're grateful for the confidence in our past and excited for what we can build together in the future." "I believe that 'who' you bring into your business is about having a cmmon vision, a great cultural fit and business benefits for all involved parties. I am extremely confident that SolomonEdwards and Renovus align on all three areas and are equally focused on bringing value to the marketplace. SolomonEdwards will immediately benefit from Renovus Capital's investment with the additional resources to help grow the business," said Baumstein. Jesse Serventi, Founding Partner at Renovus Capital Partners, notes that, "We are excited to partner with the management team at SolomonEdwards to build upon their market leading position. Ed and his team have done a great job growing the business thus far and we are excited to support them in further expanding the SolomonEdwards platform. They have exceptional leadership, infrastructure, and processes in place. We believe this platform allows for substantial opportunities to grow the company's business organically and through the acquisition of new service areas and geographic markets." "We invested in SolomonEdwards because of its strong track record of success in solving mission critical challenges for its clients. SolomonEdwards' differentiated services, exceptional relationships, and client-first service mentality are unparalleled in the space, and we're excited to be their growth partner," said Lee Minkoff, Principal at Renovus. About SolomonEdwards SolomonEdwards is a national professional services firm focused on strategy execution. By providing exceptional people for complex situations, we deliver subject matter expertise, apply proven project delivery models, and design custom solutions. We focus in the areas of Accounting & Finance, Business Transformation, Governance & Regulatory Compliance, and Transaction & Regulatory Advisory Services. For more information, please visit www.SolomonEdwards.com. About Renovus Capital Partners Founded in 2010, Renovus Capital Partners is an investment firm specializing in the Knowledge and Talent industries. Renovus, based in the Philadelphia area, manages over $1 billion across several investment vehicles. The firm's current portfolio includes over 20 U.S. based businesses specializing in education and training, B2B healthcare services, technology services and professional services. Renovus typically partners with founder-led businesses, leveraging its industry expertise and access to debt and equity capital to make operational improvements, pursue add-on acquisitions and oversee strategic growth initiatives. More information can be found at www.renovuscapital.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220419006148/en/

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MOSCOW, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. The 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations of Armenia and Russia is a good occasion to analyze the past cooperation path and outline the future actions, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said during the meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Moscow.

In his remarks Pashinyan said that he is in Russia with quite a full agenda and informed that he already held productive meetings. Particularly, he mentioned the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during which important agreements were reached and a broad range of issues relating to the inter-state relations were discussed.

Nikol Pashinyan said Russia is Armenias key trade partner, adding that the trade-economic indicators are registering growth. He highlighted the effective cooperation both in the bilateral format and within the Eurasian Economic Union.

We have quite a rich experience in energy sector, we have an intensive plan for jointly developing that field. There are concrete programs also in transportation and other areas. We agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin to make the inter-governmental council the main platform where the agreements reached in economy, energy and other areas will be implemented, PM Pashinyan said, stating that the ministries of the two countries are cooperating quite well.

The PM said new challenges emerge nowadays, but added that there are also opportunities that should be used for finding new solutions.
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Michelin has announced that from this year it will be looking for the best restaurants not only in Budapest, but also in rural Hungary, the Hungarian Tourism Agency (MTU) tells the Budapest Business Journal.

The nationwide Michelin Guide will be published in the second half of the year and will collect and award the best Hungarian restaurants in different categories.



The dynamic development of Hungarian catering, successful foreign and domestic media appearances and quality Hungarian ingredients have all contributed to putting rural Hungary on the gastronomic map. with outstanding offerings now available nationwide.



This is one of the reasons why Michelin is now evaluating not only restaurants in Budapest but also in the countryside.



"It is a great honor that this year Michelin is producing a nationwide guide of the country (National selection of Hungary) and we are grateful that our restaurants and chefs can be part of this special attention and appreciation", said Zoltan Guller, CEO of the Hungarian Tourism Agency, on the occasion of the announcement."



Hungary currently has 20 Michelin awards (stars or plates), which could rise further with the addition of a new rural venue or venues.



The National selection of Hungary is also an excellent image-building opportunity, which will attract even more gastronomic tourists to Hungary, MTU says.
President Janos Ader has convened the inaugural session of Hungarys new parliament for May 2, the presidents office said.

Under Hungarys constitution, the inaugural session of the new parliament must be held no later than 30 days after the parliamentary elections.



The session will be opened by the president who will put forward a nomination for the countrys next prime minister, to be elected with a simple majority of the votes.



The inaugural session will also elect a parliamentary speaker, the deputy speakers and the notaries in a secret ballot.



Afterwards, the heads of the National Election Office and the National Election Committee will present their reports about the April 3 general election and the formation of the parties parliamentary groups will be announced.



In the election, the ruling Fidesz-KDNP alliance secured 135 seats in the 199-seat parliament, translating into a two-thirds supermajority.



The united opposition comprising the leftist Democratic Coalition, conservative Jobbik, green LMP, the Socialist Party and the liberal Momentum and Parbeszed parties secured 57 seats.



Radical party Mi Hazank won 6 seats, while the ethnic German minority will be represented by a single lawmaker.
YORK  With four York County motorgrader seats sitting empty right now, because of employees leaving and no one wanting to take the jobs, a debate was held this week among the county board members as to whether mid-year/mid-budget raises for road department employees should take place.

I just wanted to report to you that we are down four employees in the roads department right now and we had a person who was coming on at $18 an hour but then he found another job for $27 an hour and took that instead, Commissioner Bill Bamesberger said to his fellow county board members during their regular meeting. We need to do something. There is plenty of money in the budget and we have to make this work. We have 1,100 miles of roads in the county and we need to keep them maintained. We need to get the salaries up for road department workers, in order to keep and get people. I just wanted to open this up for discussion. We just have to do something.

Bamesberger proposed the starting wage of $18.50 be bumped to $20 an hour and all roads department employees be given a $1.50 an hour raised to start immediately.

I talked with Harvey (York County Highway Superintendent Keim) as we work through this what we can do for all our employees, and thats been my stumbling block in that this wage increase is not being presented for all the employees and this is only for one department, said York County Commissioner Chairman Randy Obermier. And we know that as the fiscal year still have two months in it, there would be departments that cannot financially handle raises such as this right now because of other issues that have happened this year.

We are down four people right now and one person is talking about retirement, which would make five, Keim said.

In talking with others in the community, our struggles are no different than anyone else, as everyone is trying to pay employees as much as they can and still stay in business. But we need to treat all the employees the same, Obermier said.

The elected officials can set the wages of their employees in any way they want within their budgets, Bamesberger responded. We dictate the wages for the roads department, which is a big difference. We have got to give them more money and train them better.

We just approved wages six months ago, we debated the number put before us and approved the set wages for the fiscal year, Obermier said. So if the cost of living keeps going up, we just keep giving wages increases every six months? And do you think $1.50 would even make a difference?

I think going from $18.50 to $20 would help, Bamesberger said. We need people and we have to do something. We do have our ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds  we got $1.3 million this year and well get $1.3 million next year. Weve talked about giving out pandemic work bonuses, which we never did, and the roads department is very important.

I talked with Kelly (County Clerk Turner) about that and she had a good point in that a lot of employees came to work every day during the pandemic as well, said Commissioner Jack Sikes.

Looking at this $1.50 raise an hour, that would come to about $114,000 a year, so one penny (on the levy) could generate those funds, Bamesberger said. I dont see any problem adding a penny to the levy because I assume valuations will increase. The elected officials got $2,500 raises per year, this year, but we pay our maintainer operators $20,000 less than them a year?

How much of the road budget is for personnel? Commissioner Kurt Bulgrin asked.

Its crowding about half, if I remember correctly, Keim said.

I think we need an incentive to hire and keep what we have because we are losing too many people, Bamesberger said.

You talked about the struggle with staffing for the roads department, Bulgrin said. Are we having the same struggle in other areas?

Obermier said some people have resigned their positions in different departments within the courthouse in the last few months  some have been replaced, some have not.

But we also have to remember we are in the middle of a budget that we lock ourselves into for a year, Obermier said.

Typically, wages and salaries are set during the budget process for the entire fiscal year. The current fiscal year doesnt end until the end of May and the budget for the next fiscal year will not be established until September.

I guess thats the area where I struggle, Bulgrin said. I think theres a need at the road department, but we are approaching the end of the fiscal year. I also wonder if we make it hard for people to meet the requirements? Should we look at the benefit package for everyone? Im just not ready to act today, not until we look at all those options and ideas.

So you are fine not having more employees in the roads department? Bamesberger asked Bulgrin.

Thats now what Im saying, Bulgrin said.

Yes, you are, Bamesberger responded.

If you walk into Walmart, there is a sign that says they are hiring at $16 an hour, Sikes said. And those people dont need a CDL (commercial drivers license) or requirements. Crazy or blind, they get paid the same as our road workers.

And there is enough in the roads departments budget to do the increases, Bamesberger said.

Grotz noted that this matter was on the agenda two weeks ago but was continued to this meeting so all board members could be attendance. At that time, when it was on our last agenda, there were calls from people asking why we are talking about wage increases now. As you said, Randy (Obermier), we are tied to a budget. Im sympathetic to the fact that yes, we need to do something. But my issue is when we take that leap.

Ill make a motion we adopt a raise of $1.50 now and then another $1.50 in the next year and then another $1.50 in the year after that, Bamesberger said with Sikes giving it a second.

I think we realize the need, Bamesberger said. We are down four people and we are losing people to other places because we are not paying enough.

Would you be open to amending your motion? Grotz asked Bamesberger. I dont see a commitment for all three steps (for three consecutive years) passing. I just was wondering if you would consider thinking about that.

Going three years out ties the hands of future boards that you and I will not be on, Commissioner Bulgrin said to Commissioner Bamesberger.

You are right, Bamesberger responded.

They asked Keim if doing the $1.50 raise, now, without future raises built in, would be sufficient and he responded, $1.50 to finish out this year would be a lot better than nothing.

It was noted that the $1.50 raise would not phase out at the end of the fiscal year  it would continue on as the new wage.

The motion was amended by Bamesberger for all road department employees to get a $1.50 an hour raise now and then future raises could be negotiated for the next budget year.

Keim also noted this raise would be for everyone in the roads department except himself.

Ill stick with the point I made, Obermier said. Unless we talk about all the county employees, Im not on board.

You are looking at it wrong, Bamesberger said to Obermier.

I can look at it any way I want, Obermier said to Bamesberger. And when I get calls on this, Ill send them all your way.

Let them call, Bamesberger said.

We dont see eye to eye on this, Obermier said.

No, we dont, Bamesberger responded.

Regarding an immediate $1.50 an hour raise for road department employees only, Bamesberger and Sikes voted yes. Obermier, Bulgrin and Grotz voted no.

In the future, I would like to see us do something with our federal dollars in giving bonuses to all the county employees -- $4,000 per employee, excluding elected officials, Sikes said, noting elected officials are excluded by law from receiving bonuses from the ARPA funds.

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YORK -- Fertilizer pricing is top-of-mind for many involved in agriculture in Nebraska, so it is a great time to ask: are corn growers getting the maximum for nitrogen use efficiency? Are there management practices that could reduce nitrogen leaching, and thereby save farmers money as well as safeguard the groundwater supply? A research project from the University of Nebraska Lincoln in partnership with the Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District is looking for insights on nitrogen use in the past and present in the district and its long-lasting impact.

Its a chilly spring morning in a cornfield near Bradshaw, Nebraska, where a strong wind whips last seasons dried husks through the air. Jacob Maslonka, water resources technician with the Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District, picks his way through the corn stubble to meet with a pair of researchers from the University of Nebraska. A motor rumbles loudly as the team drives collection tubes one after another into the soft soil of the field. The plastic tubes are encased in a metal sheath that is pressed into the ground with a drill rig mounted on the back of a pickup. When each sample tube is drawn back up, its full of dark earth  and information. The tubes are removed from the metal casings, capped, and labeled with collection data for later analysis of chemicals present as well as soil type and other characteristics.

The cropland that Maslonka and the others are standing on is the property of a cooperating producer who has agreed to be part of a study that will examine the nitrate load in the vadose zone across the district. The collaboration between the NRD and the university will involve collecting shallow and deep soil samples from up to 120 locations across the district over the next three years. These samples will be compared to samples from a similar study of the district conducted in 1998. The data collected will be coupled with reporting from the participating producers about historic and current land management practices in the fields where the samples are collected. The results will give researchers insight into current nitrate levels, the movement of nitrate in the vadose zone, practices that are impacting nitrates in the vadose zone, and the future of groundwater quality in the district.

The vadose zone, also known as the unsaturated zone, is the soil between the crop root zone and the water table. Nitrogen from fertilizer can leach below the root zone beyond the usable range for crops to absorb, accumulating in the vadose zone. This is particularly true in instances of over-application of fertilizer. When more fertilizer is applied than is needed by the crop or is applied too early to be used fully by the crop, the situation is primed for leaching. Over time, that nitrogen moves through the soil profile and ends up in the groundwater. The time it takes the nitrogen to reach the groundwater supply varies, based on soil type, precipitation/irrigation and depth to water.

Not only does leaching represent a lost investment for the producers, but it also creates a contamination challenge for residents, as most Nebraskans drinking water comes from groundwater (rather than surface water) sources. Consuming water with elevated levels of nitrate can lead to adverse health outcomes including birth defects, and may be associated with some kinds of cancer.

Remediating for nitrogen in groundwater is becoming an expensive problem for many rural Nebraskans. (A 2018 article from The Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization, estimates that every $1 spent on prevention of nitrate contamination is worth $27 of remediation for the problem.) The cost for nitrogen remediation in drinking water is disproportionately high for rural residents, who typically have a lower median household income in addition to a smaller population base to defray the cost of municipal water improvements. In small towns, improved water systems can cost hundreds of dollars per person per year if new water treatment facilities must be constructed or additional wells drilled.

According to a 2019 study published by UNL faculty members on nitrogen use efficiency in Nebraska corn production, nitrogen leaching occurs more frequently when corn is grown continuously, rather than in rotation with other crops; where soils are sandier; where less efficient methods of irrigation are used; and when fertilizer is applied 100 percent pre-plant instead of 50 percent or more applied in-season.

In the Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District area, a few of these factors loom large. Many acres are farmed continuously with corn and a significant percentage of producers in Phase II and III management areas, where nitrate levels in water are higher, apply all of their nitrogen pre-plant (though this number has decreased somewhat in the last two years). On the plus side, soils tend to be less sandy than other parts of the state and more than half of irrigators utilize center pivots (instead of less efficient methods of irrigation such as furrow).

The Upper Big Blue NRD recommends a number of practices that can improve producers nitrogen use efficiency including chemigation and split application of fertilizer, as well as soil health practices such as no-till, crop rotations, and cover crops. Implementing the five principles of soil health can increase soil organic matter, as well as help soil retain moisture  meaning the system would need less fertilizer as well as less irrigation and thus be less likely to be a source of leaching.

The current vadose zone study will provide valuable insight to the movement of nitrate through soils in the district and into the water supply, as well as which practices are working when it comes to best managing this problem. Its a matter of human and environmental health, as well as one of financial health. Better practices will reduce the amount of nitrate in drinking water; they will also benefit producers, who may lose part of their investment due to leaching. While high fertilizer prices and supply chain challenges are causing added stress for the ag community, its the opportune moment to equip farmers with information to help them make wise decisions with regard to nitrogen use, as well as soil health practices that could reduce their dependence on conventional fertilizers.

A vadose zone study was recently conducted in the Hastings area by the same team from UNL that is conducting the current study in the Upper Big Blue NRD. The study drew samples from 32 locations and tested them against samples from the same locations five years later to see the rate of change of nitrate levels in the soil. The conclusion of that study was that current management practices in the Hastings area are not slowing the rate of increase of nitrate in the vadose zone. Lead researcher Dr. Dan Snow reported that while some samples reflected declines in soil nitrogen over that five-year period, most saw an increase. The average change across all locations was a 30 percent increase in nitrate-nitrogen in the soil. The highest level of increase was beneath gravity irrigated cropland. Increases were also seen in high density livestock feeding operations.

These findings suggest that the problem is not only historic overuse of fertilizer but a continued need to improve nitrogen use efficiency and nutrient management in the Hastings area.

Beyond the Hastings area, there has been a steady increase in nitrogen concentration in groundwater samples across the district. While there have been decreases or plateaus in some areas of the district, there has been an overall increase of 54 percent across the district in the last 20 years. Half of the district is now in a Phase II or Phase III management zone, meaning additional management is required due to the increased level of nitrogen in the groundwater.

Researchers with the current study of the vadose zone will collect samples for the next three years. Results will be analyzed throughout that time and will be first communicated to individual landowners. The aggregated information will be released to the public in 2024 and beyond.

This study is not meant to further regulations about nitrogen use, said Maslonka. Instead, he hopes the study will examine if there are strategies for stopping or reversing the problem. This study is an update on previous research but taking a current look at what the nitrate situation is in our district. The study will also look at the concentrations of manganese, uranium, selenium, and arsenic in the soil, which could be indicative of a water quality problem in the future.

Its nice to know if your practices are working or not, Maslonka added, noting that his hypothesis is that good management practices have slowed the rate of nitrogen contamination in the vadose zone and groundwater supply locally. Management practices are better today than they were 50 years ago, but we need to continue to improve and be vigilant, he said. I hope this study will help farmers see the benefits of good management practices and it will encourage them to try new things on their land in the futureWe dont want to mess up their yield goal or balance sheet, but we want to show the value of the adoption of practices that reduce or reverse the rate of nitrogen leaching into the soil.

If anyone has questions or are interested in participating in the vadose zone study, they can contact Maslonka at jmaslonka@upperbigblue.org.
Dearest friends across the board, thank you for all your love and support these intense days and moments. The children thoroughly enjoy opening mail, we have been greatly blessed and humbled by all your contributions.

Surely, Daniel, the father of my six little children was the love of my life, and much more deeply so, than I could ever tell. Never, in a hundred years would I have chosen to not have him. I admit, there were times I wondered what God has in store for him. Like the times he would so fondly speak of heaven, and how he cant wait to grow older, so hed get closer to heaven. Then there were those times where he said, I want to stay here to care for you all, but if God would take me home, He would most certainly take care of you all! Theres no doubt, I know He would take care of you!

Still, I didnt know, he didnt know; certainly, for the deep love he had for each of us, he wouldve done all in his power to stay with us.

There are so many things Id like to share with you all this morning, but for a lack of space, Ill pick several aspects, then next week Ill be sharing more of the actual events of that one and only Monday.

You know how passionate he was about family and doing all he could for his family in future years. Thus, his vision of planting over 1,000 chestnut trees was born. Last fall was an all-time blast as we all worked together as a family. Now this spring when Daniel purchased a big track hoe, it was to all of our delight, especially to the little boys. After several weeks of working on clearing the edge of our 85-acre woods, definite progress could be seen, he was getting ready for his little family to help him plant more chestnuts. But while working on removing trees with his backhoe and chain saw, there was a freak accident, causing him to be pinched between a giant tree and the hoe.

There were few things we enjoyed more as a family, then only two days before he went to be with Jesus, he took all of us out to the chestnut field with our little antique tractor and a small trailer he had made. There were happy shouts of delight as the children ran hither and yon, putting extra ties on tree shelters that had come loose, and doing whatever needed to be done to keep things in good shape. Several times, Daniel beamed at me where I sat on the trailer holding Joshua. He knew how much I relished these times. Life is just about too good! I told him.

Now I look at so many, many little things we did as a family or discussed as a couple, that I will forever be thankful for, such as our weekly date that last week. Our usual 30 minute date, stretched to more than double that time, as I sat on the floor by his feet, as he told me many things that were on his heart, and his vision for various aspects of life.

Then there was the devotional he shared on Sunday night at our hymn singing (the evening before he went to heaven). I could tell that the subject on his heart lay heavy upon him as he told me what he plans to share about. You know in Jeremiah 17, verse 8, it talks about trees planted by the waters, and how they do not shrivel up and dry out when their roots go down deeply into the rivers of waters. And the verse right before that explains that trust and hope is what it takes to make those roots go down deep...

That evening just before the singing started, he would go to his office time and again, to pray and meditate. Half an hour into the singing, he got to his feet. Looking across the people gathered there, I could see the conviction in his eyes, and the passion in his heart. It came from deep within. I listened intently, ...you know, I tried to come with something that compares with trusting God, thus allowing our roots to go down deep. There was nothing that I could come up with that even closely resembles the deep absolute trust we can have in our Lord.

Little did I think Id find myself in a hospital in Evansville the following day, as he hung between life and death. Little had I imagined how Id grasp to these words. Still today, little am I able to really grasp the wonder of Gods provision, as we do just that - trust. His provision has no end.

Never before in our lives have we cried so much and never before have we seen him so faithful.

Thank you for your ongoing prayers and support- it all makes a difference! Ill leave you with Daniels all-time favorite, underground ham casserole. When our dear neighbors hosted the viewing with 850 people, and the funeral the following day with a count of 700. Underground ham casserole was one of the dishes served, I was filled with emotion. Imagine eating underground ham casserole (which I used to call Daniels love language) without Daniel! But then of course, it was so healing as well. Underground ham casserole is like a ham and mashed potato casserole; it is called "underground" because the ham is buried under a layer of mashed potatoes.

Yes, the children and I talk about Daddy a lot, jotting down things he said and did, into a special tablet, as a keepsake of our beloved Daniel.

HAM and MASHED POTATO CASSEROLE

 2 cups diced ham

 2 tablespoons butter

 1 /4 cup onion

 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

 1 can mushroom soup*

 1 cup melting cheese such as Velveeta

 1/3 cup milk

 2 quarts mashed potatoes

 1/2 bacon bits, opt

Instructions

1. Combine ham, butter, onions, and Worcestershire sauce and saute till onions are soft.

2. Put in a baking dish and spread evenly.

3. Heat soups, cheese, and milk.

4. Pour over ham. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

5. Put potatoes on top of ham mixture.

6. Sprinkle bacon bits on top and bake 20 minutes longer.
Ferrari has unveiled the new 296 GTS supercar. The new supercar is the open-top sibling of the hybrid supercar 296 GTB. It is to be noted that the new 296 GTS also holds the title of being the fourth plug-in hybrid model from the automaker, preceded by SF90 Stradale, SF90 Spider and 296 GTB. The revelation of the new car will be followed by the unveiling of the first-ever SUV by the Italian carmaker named Ferrari Purosangue SUV.

Being the convertible version of the 296 GTB, the supercar gets minimal design changes to accommodate the opening roof. The rear end of the car has been modified, with re-sculptured buttresses and a more noticeable step between the roof and the characteristic 'aero bridge' that spans the car's width. There's also a new window at the bottom of the engine cover, and the rear screen can be adjusted for cabin comfort when the roof is down at high speeds.

As per the claims, the opening and closing of the car's rooftop take only 14 seconds. Moreover, the company claims that the process of opening and closing can even be done when the car is moving at a speed of 45 kph.

Also read: Royal Enfield Meteor 350 being offered with 3 new colour options, check paint schemes here

The road-legal convertible 296 GTS carries the same power source as the GTB, i.e., it is powered by a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 producing 664 hp and paired with an electric motor giving out 166 hp giving a total power output of 830 hp and peak torque 740 Nm. This power translates to a top speed of more than 330 kmph. In addition, the power output can take the car from 0 to 100 kmph in 2.9 seconds.

The GTS, like the coupe, can be taken on tracks with the more track-oriented Assetto Fiorano package, which includes Multimatic adjustable shock absorbers, carbon fibre aero and trim pieces, and various weight-saving measures, as well as high-performance Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres.

There is no official announcement on the entry of the Ferrari 296 GTS into the Indian market. However, Ferrari might start accepting bookings for the 296 GTS soon.

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You've probably watched aircraft landings in movies, documentaries, and even in real life and pondered why the plane usually lands on its back wheels rather than its front. Why do pilots opt to land the plane on its back wheels? What is the rationale behind this decision? Is it a rule, or does it serve some purpose? Today, we will clear up the mystery and explain why an aircraft lands on its back wheels.

In order to understand this, you need to know where the centre of gravity is located. The "main landing gear" and the "nose landing gear" are two different types of landing gear on modern aircraft. To avoid a dramatic tilt, aircraft must land on the wheels closest to their centre of gravity.

Located at the aft, which is close to the aircraft's centre of gravity, the main landing gear (rear landing gear) bears the weight and impact of the aircraft during landing. The nose gear is the front of an aeroplane and can sustain 15 percent of its weight and is used on the ground to direct the aircraft.

The final approach speed of a Boeing 737-800 is dependent on a number of factors, however, the majority of Boeing 737-800 operators adhere to a set norm. Boeing 737-800 operators usually use Flap 30 rather than recommended Flap 40 setting while landing because it lessens the stress on the flap mechanism, consequently extending its service life by many years.

Short runways and airports with a steep approach path are often the only places where Flap 40 is employed. Flap settings may be affected by the weight of the aircraft, with bigger loads necessitating higher approaches and a faster landing speed than usual.

A Boeing 737-800's landing speed may be affected by factors like wind direction and flap settings. The VREF speed is typically 1.3 times the stall speed of the aeroplane. It means 130-150 knots for a Boeing 737-800. During an emergency, pilots may have to dump fuel to reduce the plane's weight, which might put stress on the landing gear.

Landing gear pressure may be alleviated by raising the nose of the aircraft, which increases the angle of attack on the wings and, therefore, slows the plane down. The main landing gear wheels will hit the runway first, followed by the nose gear wheels.

Also read: Shocking video shows passengers desperately holding plane door as it opens mid-air

When a plane's nose gear touches down first, it's easy to see what may go wrong. Southwest Airlines Flight 345 is an excellent illustration of this. A flight from Nashville International Airport (BNA) to LaGuardia (LGN) made an emergency landing on July 22, 2013. The jet landed first on its nose gear. The plane's nose gear collapsed due to aircraft weight and force of impact, causing the plane to go off the runway.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) later discovered that the captain had increased the flap setting from 30 degrees to 40 degrees 56 seconds before landing. Furthermore, the NTSB found that many of the co-pilots who had worked with the captain of the Southwest Airlines Flight 345 in the past had expressed their dissatisfaction with the captain's performance.

Southwest terminated the pilot's employment and ordered the first officer to complete further training, but refused to identify the individual. Unfortunately, the plane's electronics sustained extensive damage and was declared a total loss.

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The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has recently allowed 100 percent of passenger capacity in domestic and international airports after the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. However, several airports in the country have reported long queues during peak hours of flight operations.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture submitted its reports in the parliament during the just concluded budget session and recommended non-intrusive screening entry inside the airports.

"The Committee during its deliberations with the Ministry has often pointed out that in a few of the airports, there are long passenger queues during peak hours. In view of the government guidelines for avoiding public gatherings in the context of the prevalence of the Covid-19 pandemic, more steps may be taken to resolve the issue," the report of the parliamentary panel said.

Also read: Qatar Airways, IndiGo reactivate codeshare partnership as India resumes international flights

"The Committee also notes that the Ministry proposes to increase the number of flights. The Committee observes that at most of the airports in the country, Door Frame Metal Detectors (DFMDs), Hand Held Metal Detectors (HHMDs), and physical frisking are done on a random basis," the report further said.

The Committee believes that the present system of DFMD or HHMD, besides being obsolete technology, is intrusive on the privacy of passengers. "In this context, the Committee recommends that in addition to steps taken to ease queues, the Ministry may also expedite its proposal for the installation of Full-Body Scanners at airports, which would enhance the technology of frisking of passengers and lead to faster clearance of queues at frisking points.

Besides, the number of frisking counters may also be increased at airports and adequately trained personnel should be posted to man these counters effectively," said the report. In view of the increasing crowd at airports across the country, the parliamentary panel in its report suggested introducing biometric facilities and retinal scanners for the identification of passengers to avoid crowding.

Also read: Indian Railways announces online ticketing system for National Rail Museum

"Ministry should explore the feasibility of biometric screening of passengers at airports, using tools such as facial recognition, fingerprint, and retinal scans which are presently being used at many airports worldwide. The Committee desires that the Ministry may examine the feasibility of retinal scans for frisking passengers, as the retinal scan data of most of the domestic passengers are available in the Aadhaar database," the report said.

"Biometric security is non-intrusive and faster than conventional screening, which leads to a faster screening of passengers and leads to less crowding at airports and is therefore being introduced in many airports abroad. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the global best practices for biometric scanning and screening of passengers should be introduced in the country," it added.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday (April 18) expressed confidence about India's aviation industry getting back to the normal pre-pandemic level. The aviation industry of India touched over four lakh domestic passengers in a day on April 18.

Terming the development as "historic" Scindia, while speaking to ANI, said, "It was a very difficult time in the previous years due to the covid pandemic. We have seen over 3.7, 3.8, and 3.9 lakhs passengers in a day over the last 10 days. I'm confident that travelling--both domestically and internationally, in India is coming back strong."

(With inputs from ANI)

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YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. On April 20, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan held a phone conversation with the Foreign Minister of Peoples Republic of China Wang Yi, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release.



The interlocutors referred to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and China, emphasizing the tangible world carried out through that period for the establishment and development of bilateral relations in political, trade and economic, humanitarian and other directions. The sides expressed their readiness to resolutely strengthen and deepen the Armenian-Chinese relations.



The utilization of the potential in the field of economic cooperation, the promotion of investments, development of infrastructures and addressing of logistic challenges was underlined. In this regard the need for the process of unblocking transport and economic infrastructures was highlighted.



Presenting Armenias position on the establishment of peace and stability in the region, Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the importance of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in different directions, as well as the role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship in the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The viability of the internationally accepted existing format, as well as promotion of the peace process was emphasized.



The interlocutors exchanged views on the issues of mutual interest within international and regional agenda.
Night flight operations will begin at Srinagar and Jammu airports, which have received authorisation from the authority for night parking facilities. According to officials at both airports, 'Go Airlines' will park two A-320 NEO aircraft each in Jammu and Srinagar.

"This is to ensure that late night and early morning take-offs are hassle-free. It is for the first time that these airports will have night parking facilities for aircraft." G8 flight number 1019 will leave Delhi at 6.30 p.m. and arrive at Jammu airport at 8 p.m. Likewise, G8 flight 1020 will leave Jammu airport at 7.30 a.m. and arrive in Delhi at 9 a.m.

Similarly, G8 flight number 5011 will leave Delhi at 7.05 p.m. and arrive at Srinagar airport at 8.35 p.m. G8 flight number 5022 will leave Srinagar airport at 7 a.m. and arrive at Delhi airport at 8.35 a.m.

Also read: Vietjet to operate six flights between India and Vietnam from April 29

The Competent Authority has accorded approval for night parking permission of two A-320 NEO aircraft for five months starting April 6.

"In case `Go Airlines` fails to utilise the allotted night parking permission within stipulated five months, and requests for further extension of time, the approval will be subject to levy of penalty of Rs 5000 per day per aircraft plus applicable taxes", said order by AAI.

On April 13, Srinagar International Airport handled 16,110 passengers, comprising 8,178 passengers who arrived on 50 flights and 7,932 passengers who departed on 50 flights.

"Last week, Srinagar airport set a new record by operating 102 flights on Monday. As many as 7,305 passengers arrived on 51 flights. Likewise, 7,895 passengers departed on 51 flights," the official said.

"Over 1.8 lakh tourists visited the Valley in March. This is the largest number of tourists to have visited Kashmir in the last ten years," they added.

With inputs from IANS

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New Delhi: Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday said that Bhutan has shown a keen interest in adopting the Delhi government`s Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum (EMC) framework in their schools.

An orientation meeting with officials from Bhutan`s education department was held on Tuesday in the presence of dignitaries from the nation.

Speaking about the collaboration with Bhutan, Sisodia said, It is good to see that a movement to integrate an entrepreneurship mindset among school students is gaining momentum. It is a matter of great pride for the Delhi Government that the Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum will now reach students beyond the borders of India."

Sisodia also said that the collaboration will further strengthen the bilateral relationships between the two countries and will give Delhi an opportunity to learn from the revolutionary ideas of Bhutan`s Education department in the field of student assessment, inclusive education and curriculum design, as well.

The Deputy Chief Minister further added that the Delhi Government has been learning a lot from Bhutan ever since the launch of the Happiness Curriculum.

"We are deeply inspired by the Bhutan Government and the importance that they give to the happiness of Bhutan residents. Drafting of the EMC was the second step of our Happiness Curriculum with a goal to develop a happy and economically sound nation, he said.

The officials of the Bhutan Education Department said that they have recently launched Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum in their schools in 2021. According to the officials, they saw a great opportunity to learn from the model of the Delhi Government`s EMC and the world`s largest student-led startup program Business Blasters.

Impressed with the EMC framework, the Officiating Director of the Department of Curriculum and Professional Development in the Ministry of Education of the Royal Government of Bhutan, Wangpo Tenzin said, Covid-19 has been devastating for all of us and has taught us lessons of uncertainties. In such a situation it is important for us to teach our children to become professionally sound and prepare them to beat any challenge in life."

With a belief that a curriculum like EMC will help Bhutanese students to improve their skills, thought processes and ideas such that they can support themselves and the country, Tenzin said, "Adoption of the Delhi Government`s framework for EMC will make our children economically well-informed. I strongly believe that this collaboration will be an opportunity for Bhutanese teachers to learn about pedagogical practices to successfully inculcate an entrepreneurship mindset among students in the country.

During the orientation meeting with the education department officials of Bhutan, Director Education Himanshu Gupta presented an overview of the EMC framework and explained the model of Business Blasters.

The Business Blasters programme was launched for Delhi government school students of classes 11 and 12 in September 2021. Its purpose is to inculcate the belief in children that whatever work they do, they should do it with an entrepreneurial mindset.

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NEW DELHI: The man arrested for allegedly supplying arms to the accused in the violence in Jahangirpuri that erupted during a Hanuman Jayanti procession was arrested after a brief encounter by the Delhi Police, said news agency ANI.

ANI quoted DCP Outer North Brijender Yadav as saying, Arms supplier from Jahangirpuri nabbed after a brief encounter, he was injured in the police encounter. He has more than 60 previous cases.

Delhi | Arms supplier from Jahangirpuri nabbed after a brief encounter; injured in the police encounter. He has more than 60 previous cases. More details awaited: DCP Outer North Brijender Yadav  ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2022

It may be noted that the Delhi Police has arrested Ghulam Rasool alias Gulli for allegedly giving a pistol to an accused in the Jahangirpuri violence that erupted between members of two groups during a Hanuman Jayanti procession on April 16.

Meanwhile, National Security Act (NSA) has been slapped on five culprits involved in the clashes, top government officials said.

NSA has been imposed against Ansar, Salim, Imam Sheikh alias Sonu, Dilshad and Ahir for their involvement in the Jahangirpuri violence, officials said.

The situation turned tense in the northwest Delhi`s Jahangirpuri soon after stone-pelting and chaos ensued following clashes between members of two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in the evening.

The FIR, registered on the complaint filed by a police officer at the Jahangirpuri police station, mentions that there was a peaceful Shobha Yatra procession to mark Hanuman Jayanti and an argument escalated.

It led to stone-pelting. So far, 24 people have been arrested and two juveniles detained in connection with the incident that left nine people injured including eight police personnel and one civilian, informed DCP north-west Usha Rangnani.

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New Delhi: Private sector RBL Bank on Wednesday said it has finalised the name for regular MD and CEO and forwarded it to the RBI for approval. The Board at its meeting held on Wednesday accepted the recommendations of the nomination and remuneration Committee, RBL said in a regulatory filing.

The bank, however, did not disclose the name selected for the position.

It further said the name has been forwarded to the RBI for its approval as per the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

Last month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had granted an extension of three months to its interim MD and CEO Rajeev Ahuja.

Last year in December, in a sudden turn of events, the board of the bank had sent the then MD and CEO Vishwavir Ahuja on leave and elevated Rajeev Ahuja as the interim chief to take care of the day-to-day operations.

Vishwavir's sudden departure was seen as a result of an RBI communication to the bank on December 24, 2021, appointing its Chief General Manager Yogesh K Dayal to the board of the private sector lender in an unusual move. Also Read: Apple iPhone 13 Mini for free! Heres how to get smartphone at zero effective price

Rajeev in his first interaction with media and investors on December 26, 2021, had said the bank was financially sound and had full support from its board of directors and the RBI. Also Read: Campus Activewear IPO: Issue date, price band, and all you need to know about public issue

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Even after the continuous surge in prices of electric vehicles, the buyers around the world are lining up to purchase EVs. Experts noted that environmental concerns are pushing more buyers to choose EVs over petrol-diesel cars.

This year, the EV demand has stayed strong even as the average cost of lithium-ion battery cells soared to an estimated $160 per kilowatt-hour in the first quarter from $105 last year. Costs rose due to supply chain disruptions, sanctions on Russian metals and investor speculation.

For a smaller vehicle like the Hongguang Mini, the best-selling EV in China, the higher battery costs added almost $1,500, equal to 30 percent of the sticker price. But gasoline and diesel fuel costs for internal combustion vehicles have also skyrocketed since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Also read: Assam youth develops a theft-proof electric cycle, can run 60 km on single charge

Manufacturers from Tesla to SAIC-GM-Wuling, which makes the Hongguang Mini, have passed higher costs on to consumers with double-digit price increases for EVs. Andy Palmer, chairman of Slovak EV battery maker InoBat, says margins in the battery industry are already wafer thin, so "rising costs will have to be passed onto carmakers."

Vehicle manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz will likely shift increases to customers if their raw material prices keep rising. "We need to keep margins," Chief Technology Officer Markus Schaefer said.

Global EV sales in the first quarter jumped nearly 120 percent, according to estimates by EV-volumes.com. Chinas Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto delivered record EV sales in March. Tesla delivered a record 310,000 EVs in the first quarter.

DIFFERENT KIND OF TIPPING POINT

There is a different kind of tipping point that we seem to have hit  an emotional or psychological tipping point among consumers, said Venkat Srinivasan, director of the Center for Collaborative Energy Storage Science at the U.S. governments Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago. He said "more and more people would buy EVs notwithstanding the cost of the battery and the vehicle."

Also read: Implement biometric screening at airports to reduce long queues: Parliamentary Panel

This spike in battery costs could be a blip in the long-term trend in which technology improvements and growing production pushed costs down for three straight decades. Industry data showed that the $105 per kilowatt hour average cost in 2021 was down nearly 99 percent from over $7,500 in 1991.

Experts say battery costs could stay elevated for the next year or so, but then another big drop is probably in store as big-ticket investments by automakers and suppliers in mining, refining and battery cell production, and a move to diversify raw material sources, tip the balance from shortage to surplus.

British battery company Britishvolt is due to launch battery production at a 45-gigawatt-hour plant in northeast England in 2024. Chief strategy officer Isobel Sheldon said the advice the company is getting from raw materials suppliers is dont fix your prices now, wait for the next 12 months and fix the prices then because everything will be on a more even keel. This over-securing of resources should be behind us by then, she said.

Also read: China-specific Audi urbansphere concept unveiled, previews future of mobility

DEMAND BEATS SUPPLY

The industry has long been awaiting the battery cell cost threshold of $100 per kilowatt-hour, as a signal EVs were reaching price parity with fossil-fuel equivalents. But with gasoline prices soaring and consumer preferences changing, that may no longer matter as much, analysts say.

"EV demand in China and other markets is going up faster than people thought -- faster than the supply of materials for EV batteries," said Stan Whittingham, a co-inventor of lithium-ion batteries and a 2019 Nobel laureate.

Concern about the environment and the climate also has motivated buyers, especially younger ones, to choose EVs over those that burn fossil fuels, said Chris Burns, chief executive of Novonix, a Halifax-based battery materials supplier.

Also read: WATCH: Shocking video shows passengers desperately holding plane door as it opens mid-air

Many young people entering the market are making buying decisions beyond simple economics and are saying they will only drive an EV because they are better for the planet, Burns says. They are making the plunge even though it would be cheaper to drive a gas-powered car.

I dont think we will stop seeing reports trying to show a trend in battery prices down towards $60 or $80 a kilowatt-hour as aspirational targets, but it is possible that those may never get met, he said. However, it doesnt mean that EV adoption will not rise.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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NEW DELHI: The third episode of 'Moon Knight' ended with Konshu being imprisoned in stone thanks to his manipulation of the night sky. Meanwhile, Marc and Steven are left without powers and without access to the Moon Knight suit.

Steve refuses to let Marc be back in control of their body, which presents him and Layla with problems. The show has yet to officially diagnose Marc, though references to him being unwell have been made and the obvious presence of at least one alter personality.

In the climax of the episode, Layla and Steven are being hunted by Arthur and his men in the long-lost tomb of Alexander the Great. Steven lets Marc out briefly, only for him to be shot by Arthur and to fall, dramatically, into a pool of water.

When he wakes, Marc is near catatonic, strapped to a wheelchair in a brightly lit, white room in a mental hospital. A fellow unnamed patient approaches, and as Marc looks up at her we see it is in fact Layla. Also there is Donna, Steven's boss from the British Museum and Arthur Harrow.

#moonknight episode 4 spoilers

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LIKE WHAT IS HAPPENING pic.twitter.com/Hd4dBgNWLU  zach (@civiIswar) April 20, 2022

However, he isn't Arthur Harrow, but Marc's psychologist. Marc is in a mental hospital, presumably for his dissociative identity disorder. Heavily sedated, Marc glances around the office and sees Arthur in sandals, as well as the familiar cane. There are also Egyptian statues all over the office, and a drawing of Khonshu himself.

The doctor approaches Marc and tells him that the high dosage of medication has been given because of his destructive behaviour and refusal to admit that he is sick and needs help.

The way the show has begun to bend reality is finally tantalising for audiences. Right from the beginning, the series hinted that the lead character himself is not aware of his own actions and what is happening around him. However, this remains the most intriguing episode of Marvels Moon Knight so far

Directed by Mohamed Diab, Moon Knight is streaming on Disney+, with new episodes airing every Wednesday.

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Agartala (Tripura): After Mizoram, cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) have been detected in Tripura`s Animal Resources Development Department (ARDD)-run government breeding farm located at Devipur under Sepahijala district, top sources in the department told ANI requesting anonymity. A team of experts from Agartala`s disease investigation Centre reached the farm and formed rapid response teams to handle the situation.

"On April 7, three samples were sent to North Eastern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory for testing. On April 13, last we received the PCR report that confirmed that all the samples were positive. Even the symptoms of the pigs now sheltered on the farm also indicate that the contagious disease has already entered the farm. Another report that was supposed to come from Bhopal`s National Disease Diagnostic institute is yet to reach Tripura," a senior official in the Animal Husbandry Department run disease investigation laboratory said.

Primarily, the source said, the farmworkers have been advised to deal with the disease. "We have formed two task forces comprising ten people in each of the groups. The teams will be led by a veterinary officer and they will directly report to the panel of nodal officers. In charge of ARDD`s Disease Investigation laboratory Dr Mrinal Dutta and SDM Bishalgarh have been included in the team of nodal officers," the source added.

In the first phase, 8 feet by 8 feet graves had been dug up to bury the infected pigs after mass execution. Besides, all the pigs are being reared in a private capacity.

"Initially pigs available within the one-kilometre radius of the farm will be executed and buried to contain the spread of the disease. We are trying to confine the disease within the farm and its peripheries so that the virus does not spread across the state," said the sources.

On being asked about official confirmation, sources said, according to the process, the laboratory authorities will write a letter to the government of India and the Centre will communicate the matter to the Chief Secretary. "All the further proceedings can only be carried out once the official letter reaches the state government," he added.

According to officials, a total of 63 mature pigs died due to unknown reasons which raised an alarm. Before the outbreak, there were 265 mature pigs and 185 piglets in the pig shed of the farm.

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Following the Russian regime's recent invasion of Ukraine, the global wests leadership responded with a strong package of sanctions. Without any doubt, the hardest hitting of these sanctions was Russias removal from the SWIFT global banking network. However, some commentators have criticised the move alleging that it may disrupt the globalisation process. In this post we will examine what the implications of Russias removal from SWIFT mean for global trade, for India, and whether the time has come to re-imagine the global banking network.

What Is SWIFT?

Founded in 1973 in Brussels, The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication was born out of early recognition of the emerging trend for telecommunicative bank transfers. Initially consisting of 239 banks from 15 countries, the SWIFT network soon rose to become the world's dominant interbank messaging system that underpins international money transfers. Today the SWIFT network operates in over 200 countries, helps carry 40 million interbank messages each day, and facilitates the processing of trillions of dollars of international money transfers each year.

SWIFT has become one of the backbones of the global banking industry and membership is essential for any institution that wishes to partake in the world's financial marketplace. Put simply, without access to SWIFT, Russian banks cannot send money across borders and neither can their customers.

Therefore, Russia's abrupt removal from the network immediately threw the nation's banking system into disarray, sent the Ruble plummeting and threatened to force Russias multinational companies out of business.

Some of the consequences of this were perhaps not immediately obvious. When the decision to expel Russia from SWIFT was announced, some Russians were shocked to find that their Paypal accounts had either been frozen or closed. This is because even non-bank institutions and non-bank providers for international money transfers, that rely on SWIFT are prevented from transferring money to or from Russia. This includes household names like Paypal as well as more niche fin-tech providers like Revolut.

Impacts on India

Russias removal from SWIFT has resulted in both direct and indirect consequences for the Indian economy. The two nations have a very sizable bilateral trade relationship and in the financial year 2021-2022, trade between the two amounted to $9.4 billion. Without an efficient, reliable and cost-effective way to transfer money between them, that trade will eventually wilt.

The trickle-down ramifications may also be felt by many ordinary Indians. India is reliant upon Russia for its imports of crude oil, petrol gold and precious metals, coal and fertiliser. This means that unless other trading partners are found and fast, supplies of these essential goods will eventually dry up, hitting Indian industry and potentially even agriculture. Russia is also Indias largest supplier of arms and the very notion of losing access to 60-70% of its imports just as the world seems to be drifting towards armed confrontation, should already be causing sleepless nights in the mess halls of Dehradun.

Finally, the local economies in states like Goa are heavily dependent on Russian package tourists. Following Russia's removal from SWIFT, visitors from Russia were no longer able to pay for their holidays bringing an abrupt end to Goas tourist season - bad news for a state already struggling to recover from the COVID pandemic.

Moving SWIFTLY on - Is It Time for An Alternative?

Russias removal from SWIFT has already caused some to question the fairness and long term viability of the network. Indeed, some of the staunchest critics of the move are pointing out that over-reliance on SWIFT ultimately leaves countries at the mercy of the networks controlling interests.

But what exactly are those controlling interests? SWIFT is a member-controlled cooperative headed by 25 independent directors but there is no denying that the political and financial clout of the US can exert some real influence over its decision making. It is for this reason that both Cuba and Iran have long been blacklisted from SWIFT and are unlikely to even be considered for admission in this generation.

The former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan wrote in a recent essay that If used too widely, sanctions could reverse the process of globalisation that has allowed the modern world to prosper and he does have a point - overusing expulsion from SWIFT would eventually erode all trust in it. Of course, it does need to be borne in mind that the invasion of sovereign countries by neighbouring superpowers perhaps does far more to disrupt globalisation and mutual prosperity than the consequent financial sanctions ever could. Furthermore, allowing rogue states to use SWIFT would also invite a loss of trust in its sanctity.

There are already a few workarounds to SWIFT even if there isnt a ready-to-go, full-blown alternative in place. Perhaps anticipating its eventual estrangement from SWIFT, Russia launched its own System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) back in 2014. Whilst so far only 200 financial institutions have joined up, Russia is now trying to get its remaining allies to sign up and use it for international money transfers. Perhaps more interestingly though, China launched CIPS in 2015; by the close of 2021 CIPS was processing transactions worth around $12.68 trillion, had attracted 1,280 financial institutions and established a presence in 103 countries and regions.

That said, if ones criticism of SWIFT is that it lends an unfair amount of political and economical power to Western superpowers, then surely the solution cannot be to simply replace the network with one underwritten by other, less democratic, superpowers.

Bringing our focus squarely back to India here, being dependent upon a global banking system controlled by China would not be in the national interest.

Decentralisation Fund Transfers

If there is ever going to be a fully veto-proof financial processing system that it would have to be completely decentralised. So far, the only competent example of fully decentralised processing technology seems to be Blockchain, the tech that underwrites BitCoin and most other cryptocurrencies. And indeed, whilst Russian citizens may have had their Paypal accounts closed, they are still able to send or receive payment in Bitcoin.

It may be that a decentralised payment network emerges in the coming years that will eventually replace SWIFT and all of its pretenders. Indeed, many may even be looking to India to facilitate this as the spearhead of the Non-Aligned Movement. However, it is difficult to imagine the central banks of the world taking this lightly, and any such network would probably undergo a difficult teething process. Just as several governments have previously threatened to make Bitcoin illegal, some may be tempted to ban their currency from being traded on any decentralised network, or even ban their citizens from using it.

Final Thoughts

There is no denying that SWIFT has been weaponized and deployed against Russia. Still, whilst this has attracted some criticism, allowing Russia to remain in SWIFT would have attracted far more as it would effectively have been enabling a business as usual approach to global finance, ignoring the painful realities of war.

Rather, the controlling interests behind SWIFT have calculated that allowing Russia to remain a user, would only have prolonged the war in Ukraine. Aside from the questionable morality of this, it must be remembered that a prolonged war in Europe ultimately means bad news for the global economy including India.

Under the current status-quo, isolating members of SWIFT is going to happen from time to time. Doing so will always cause some economic damage but thus far there is no evidence to suggest that the SWIFT sanction is going to be overused. In conclusion, whilst there are going to be economic and trade impacts on India like the ones we are seeing now, the reality is that India is far better off inside the SWIFT system than it is outside of it.

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New Delhi: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday (April 20) condemned the demolition of illegal constructions in the Jahangirpuri area of Delhi and said these are targeted. Owaisi alleged that the bulldozer is targeting the Muslims only and the community is undergoing collective punishment.

Talking to ANI, Asaduddin Owaisi said, "Legally, a new bulldozer procession has been taken out. Muslims are undergoing collective punishment... be scared of a poor's curse. You demolished the shops in front of the Mosque, why not in front of Temples? This is a targeted demolition...I condemn it,"

"I'm grateful that the Supreme Court took notice of it and gave an immediate stay, but they still didn't stop. These people are calling the public Bangladeshi and Rohingya. They are Indians," he added.

Owaisi further said, "I've said this before, the bulldozer will work on Ansar, Ahmed but not on Arjun, Ajay. That's the difference. Ansar remains Ansar even if he's in BJP or AAP... this demolition is vigilante justice... Polls will come and go but what about those who came on roads during Ramzan?"

(With ANI inputs)

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New Delhi: Razing the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP headquarters using bulldozers will free the country from communal violence and riots forever, the AAP said on Wednesday, slamming the saffron party for the demolition of several structures in Delhi's Jahangirpuri. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party alleged that it was the BJP that had engineered clashes between two communities in Jahangirpuri during a Hanuman Jayanti procession last week as well as other such incidents of violence in various parts of the country during Ram Navami.

With the sole motive of triggering communal violence and riots, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got Rohingyas and Bangladeshis "illegally" settled in different parts of the country in the last eight years, the AAP alleged. Similarly, BJP leaders and officials of the saffron party-ruled civic bodies in Delhi got Rohingyas and Bangladeshis "illegally" settled in the national capital over the last 15 years, it alleged and demanded that the houses of these leaders and officials should also be demolished using bulldozers.

"The BJP is saying violence, riots and hooliganism will stop by running bulldozers and removing encroachments. But actually, the BJP itself is engineering hooliganism, violence and riots not just in Delhi, but across the country," Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi said in a video message. She alleged that Shah and the BJP were behind all the recent incidents of communal violence in various parts of the country during Hanuman Jayanti and Ram Navami celebrations. "Bulldozers should be run on the BJP headquarters and on the residence of Amit Shah. After this, riots will not take place in the country," the Kalkaji MLA said.

  Amit Shah   Bulldozer  ,        BJP              BJP List ,    ?    -         -@AtishiAAP #BulldozeBJPHQ pic.twitter.com/zxs3Das1gJ  AAP (@AamAadmiParty) April 20, 2022

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged that the BJP has been engineering violence as it has not done anything worth talking about in education, healthcare and other sectors. "The BJP has created an atmosphere of anarchy in the country. You will get to know where the next riot will take place if the BJP gives a list of the areas where it has got Rohingyas and Bangladeshis settled illegally," he told reporters.

The remarks of the AAP leaders came after bulldozers razed several structures in Jahangirpuri during an anti-encroachment drive conducted by the BJP-ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) amid a heavy deployment of paramilitary and police personnel until the authorities received "a written order" from the Supreme Court to stop it.

The apex court stayed the anti-encroachment drive and also agreed to hear a petition challenging the civic body's action allegedly aimed against those involved in Saturday's communal clashes in the area. The anti-encroachment drive, however, continued for an hour and a half in the area in northwest Delhi even after the court directed the authorities to stop it. A civic official, requesting anonymity, said the drive continued due to the absence of a written order from the Supreme Court and it was stopped as soon as the order was received.

Lashing out at the saffron party over the anti-encroachment drive, AAP's chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "The BJP government at the Centre got Rohingyas and Bangladeshis illegally settled in different parts of the country in the last eight years. The state governments could not have done it as only the Centre can bring them inside the country." He said the BJP should disclose where all it got Rohingyas and Bangladeshis settled illegally.

"We believe that the BJP has got them settled at various places with the sole motive of engineering riots, using them," the AAP MLA added.

Earlier, AAP leader Amanatullah Khan alleged that the NDMC had scheduled the anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri as Shah and the BJP want to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of Delhi.

In a video message on Twitter, the Okhla MLA said the demolition of houses belonging to members of "a particular community" only to "harass" them during the holy month of Ramzan on the pretext of an anti-encroachment drive will further spoil the atmosphere in the area.

He appealed to the Union home minister and BJP leaders to refrain from resorting to such a move. "Such cheap politics will ruin the country if not stopped in time," Khan, who is also the Delhi Waqf Board chairman, said.

Jahangirpuri witnessed violent clashes, including stone pelting, arson and firing, between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession on Saturday. Eight police personnel and a local resident were injured in the clashes. "The atmosphere in the country has already been vitiated and efforts are being made to make it worse. Amit Shah and the BJP want to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of Delhi," Khan said. "Just four days ago, there was a riot in Jahangirpuri. An order has now been issued to run bulldozers on houses in the area and harass the members of a particular community in the name of an anti-encroachment drive," he added.

Questioning the timing of the move and the BJP-led Centre's intention behind it, Khan said the civic body could have taken up the anti-encroachment drive later, "if it is legal". "It is the holy month of Ramzan. What is your compulsion that you are going to demolish the houses of people, as you did in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, in the name of launching an anti-encroachment drive in an area hit by rioting just four days ago and when the tempers are yet to cool down? This is not right. I appeal to Amit Shah and all the BJP leaders to refrain from resorting to such actions and vitiating the atmosphere of Delhi," Khan said.

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YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. The Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia (UMBA) and the China Foreign Trade Center signed an agreement on cooperation on April 20.

Under the agreement, the sides will aim at establishing mutually-beneficial relations in the business sector between the two countries and enhance lasting cooperation, implement joint projects, namely organizing the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair).

UMBA President Arsen Ghazaryan and China Foreign Trade Center Deputy Director-General, Deputy Secretary-General of the Canton Fair Ye Jijiang signed the agreement at the event.

The signing of the agreement will enable to more comprehensively explore and study and advantages of the Chinese market, the opportunities for enhancing bilateral cooperation and increasing mutual trade turnover, according to Arsen Ghazaryan.

Despite the difficult times related to various circumstances, we must try to strengthen and deepen our economic relations as much as possible, said Yu Yi, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Canton Fair.

Yi said that Armenian products are highly valued in the Chinese market and that direct cooperation with Armenian colleagues and the agreement will boost bilateral partnership expansion.
New Delhi: Kerala Health minister Veena George on Tuesday (April 19, 2022), while reacting to the Centres claim that the state was not sharing daily Covid data with them, accused the government of spreading misinformation.

While talking to the reporters, the Kerala Health minister presented a series of digital evidence of daily emails sent to the Centre as per the prescribed format.

Kerala government has been sending out COVID-19 data regularly since 2020, said Health Minister Veena George rejecting the Centre`s claims of not providing daily Covid-19 reports.

Allegations that Kerala government is not giving Covid-19 data to the Centre are absolutely wrong. We've been sending data since 2020 and continue to do so. It's just that we've stopped publishing daily bulletin in the state; have been sending mails, said Kerala Health Minister.

Veena George also slammed the government for sharing the official letter sent to the state in the media and called it a publicity stunt.

It was unfortunate that the official letter sent to the state was leaked to the media and given publicity at the national level, she added.

We are giving daily (COVID) report to National Surveillance Unit in the format suggested by Union Govt; quite unfortunate that a responsible person from Union govt is sending a letter to Principal Secy stating that Kerala is not giving data to the Centre: Kerala Health Minister pic.twitter.com/VnSjqUhKmU  ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2022

Earlier, on April 18, the Centre has asked Kerala to provide updated Covid-19 data daily and noted that the state reporting figures after a gap of five days have skewed India's key pandemic monitoring indicators such as cases, deaths and positivity rate.

Daily and diligent reporting of data is critical to arrive at a meaningful understanding of the pandemic situation and will help not only in tracking and monitoring but also in defining the strategies and plans at the Centre, state and district levels, Join Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said in a letter to Kerala's Principal Secretary of Health Rajan N Khobragade.

"It has been observed that Kerala has reported its state-level Covid-19 data after a gap of five days (since April 13). This has impacted and skewed the status of India's key monitoring indicators like cases, deaths and positivity. India has reported a 90 per cent increase in new cases and 165 per cent increase in positivity in a single day," Agarwal said.

Agarwal added that daily and diligent reporting of data is critical to arrive at a meaningful understanding of pandemic in the districts, state and national level and ensure that any anomalies, surge or emerging trends can be captured in a timely manner.

"This is especially relevant as it is a highly infectious disease and also has an associated risk of emergence of new variants. Quick and continuous update of data will assist in India's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and will help not only in tracking and monitoring but will also in defining the strategies and plans at the Centre, State and District level," the letter stated.

"You are, accordingly, requested to ensure that daily updation of required details is undertaken by the state to the Union Ministry of Health," the letter stated.

Kerala has reported 213 Covid-19 deaths in a span of 24 hours, according to data updated at 8 am on Monday.

According to the Union Health Ministry, Kerala reported 213 deaths in a span of 24 hours, out of which one death was reported on April 17 while 62 were designated as Covid-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court and remaining 150 deaths were reported from April 13 to 16.

(With PTI inputs)

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New Delhi: Amid a rise in coronavirus infections in the national capital, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will meet on Wednesday (April 20, 2022) to discuss the prevailing situation.

The authority is likely to take a call on reimposing the fine for not wearing face masks at public places, as per PTI reports. DDMA meeting comes as Delhi is witnessing an uptick in Covid-19 cases.

The DDMA meet will be chaired by the Delhi Lt Governor today at 11 am, and is likely to hold discussions on hybrid mode of education-- online and offline classes -- for schools.

Earlier, on Tuesday, Delhi recorded 632 fresh cases of Covid-19, however, the number of hospitalisations are very low and deaths due to Covid are negligible.

The DDMA may reconsider its earlier decision to lift the fine on not wearing face masks in public places as a lot of people have stopped using them despite the increase in infections. The health department of the Delhi government, in an order on April 2, had said that fines will not be imposed for not wearing face masks in public places.

However, with a rise in number of cases, experts have suggested that wearing of face masks be strictly enforced to prevent spread of the virus.

"Imposition of fine for strict enforcement of face mask use is highly likely as neighbouring towns including Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon have done so in view of rising cases," said a senior government officer.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said on Monday that the Covid situation was not alarming in Delhi although cases were rising. The number of hospitalisations were low and the government was keeping watch on the situation, he had said.

Meanwhile, the Centre has written to five states, including Delhi, with higher contributions to the country`s Covid-19 caseload and a higher positivity rate. The Union Health Ministry has advised all states to continue monitoring the spread of infection and undertake the required steps for prompt and effective management of Covid-19.

It has advised the states to continue the five-fold strategy of "test-track-treat-vaccination and adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour", with particular emphasis on wearing masks in crowded places.

(With agency inputs)

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In a big decision, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has announced that the families of Punjab Police jawans killed on duty will get a compensation of Rs one crore.

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal had promised this during the Tiranga Yatra in Pathankot. Moreover, the Police Welfare Fund has also been increased from Rs 10 crore to 15 crore.

Addressing the policemen from the digital platform of Punjab Police, the Chief Minister also assured the police personnel that there would be no interference in the work of Punjab Police.

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Shopian: Army Commander rewarded doctors and locals of Shopian hospital for saving the life of soldiers last week.

General officer command (GOC) 15 corps Lt Gen. DP Panday today visited the district hospital Shopian in South Kashmir, where he met the doctors posted in the hospital and locals of the Shopian area who saved the life of several army soldiers.

An army vehicle had met with an accident last week in Shopian during an anti-terror operation in the area and several soldiers were injured.

The locals of the area immediately came to the rescue and shifted the injured soldiers to Shopian district hospital where doctors treated them and saved the life of several soldiers. Although three soldiers had lost life in that accident the life of many were saved by the prompt help of locals and doctors of Shopian district hospital.

Valleys army Commander GOC 15 Corps visited the hospital today to thank these doctors and locals of the area for standing with the army during the fight with terrorists. GOC presented the gifts and wish them well for the future.

GOC while talking to reporters said that people from all walks of life should work shoulder to shoulder with forces for establishing peace and eradicating terrorism. Am here to thank the doctors and locals who helped at the time of the accident, I believe saving lives is tougher than killing someone.

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New Delhi: Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday (April 20, 2022) attended the inauguration ceremony of Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

While addressing the crowd at the event, Ghebreyesus in Gujarati said, "I am privileged to come to the land of Mahatma Gandhi.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesusalso, in his address, also highlighted that long-term strategic investments along with government support are crucial for fostering innovation in the field of traditional medicine.

Long-term strategic investments with government commitment needed to support innovation ecosystem for medicine in general and traditional medicine in particular, said WHO DG Tedros Ghebreyesus.

Areas of focus--long term strategic investments&gvt commitment needed to support innovation, innovators &gvt to develop traditional medicine in sustainable way,when bringing traditional medicine to market must make sure communities that gave this knowledge also benefit: Dr Tedros pic.twitter.com/rnY3vxCbQ5  ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2022

Innovators, industry and government need to develop traditional medicine in sustainable, environmentally sensitive and equitable manner, WHO DG added.

WHO Director-General added that it is must that while bringing traditional medicines in markets we must ensure communities that nurtured and passed on this knowledge also benefit from their development.

The event was also attended by PM Narendra Modi, Mauritius PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel and Union AYUSH Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

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New Delhi: The Delhi Police slapped the stringent National Security Act (NSA) on five persons arrested in connection with the April 16 Jahangirpuri violence and arrested two more people, including a man for allegedly supplying a pistol to an accused.

Among those booked under the NSA are Ansar, the alleged "main conspirator" behind the violence, and Sonu, who was seen in a video opening fire during the clashes, said a PTI report. The other three are Salim, Dilshad and Ahir who are facing charges under the NSA for their alleged involvement in the violence, the police reportedly said.

Meanwhile, heavy police deployment continues in Jahangirpuri area to maintain law and order in the city. Encroachment drive will reportedly be done on illegal construction in the area today and on 21st as MCD has asked for 400 personnel from Delhi Police to handle law and order during this period.

On Tuesday, the police said that a man named "Gulli" has been arrested for allegedly supplying a pistol to an accused of the Jahangirpuri violence. Besides Gulli, Dilshad has also been arrested in the case. They are both residents of Jahangirpuri.

Asked if any of the accused has links with the Popular Front of India (PFI), a senior police officer told PTI that the investigation is in the initial stage and all angles are being probed, adding "The investigation is in its initial stage and if there is any link with PFI or if it was part of any criminal conspiracy or it was a pre-planned act, the crime branch unit of the Delhi Police is investigating the matter from all angles. A detailed and thorough investigation is being done by the investigation teams."

Notably, multiple purported videos of the Jahangirpuri violence has emerged which are being analysed by the Crime Branch team to identify the more culprits. In one such purported video, several people were seen coming from behind the procession. Some of them were also seen brandishing swords.

Sophisticated pistol recovered from accused arrested for firing gunshots

Delhi Police on Monday recovered a sophisticated pistol from the 28-year-old man arrested for allegedly opening fire during the Jahangirpuri violence on April 16.A case has been registered against the accused, Sonu alias Imam alias Yunus, under section 25 of the Arms Act.

"One sophisticated pistol was recovered from Sonu alias Imam alias Yunus`s possession in connection with Jahangirpuri violence case. A case under section 25 Arms Act has been registered," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) North-West, Usha Rangnani informed. As per the DCP, the accused has disclosed that he had fired from his pistol near Kushal Chowk during the incident.

A video that the police said is circulating on social media, showed Sonu in a blue kurta opening fire during the incident.

Earlier on Monday, a team of police personnel had gone to Sonu`s house for search and examination. "A video was being circulated on April 17 on social media showing a man (in blue kurta) opening fire during the violence in Jahangirpuri area on April 16. A police team had gone to his house in CD Park road in his search and for examination of his family members," said Rangnani.

Hansraj Hans appeals political parties not to support criminals irrespective of religion

BJP MP from North-West Delhi Hans Raj Hans on Tuesday said that the party leaders met Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana to discuss the Jahangirpuri violence and urged to take strict action against the culprits.

He told ANI, "The meeting with the Delhi Police Commissioner was very successful. We are very satisfied with the work of the Delhi Police. The role played by Delhi Police is commendable. On the day of violence, many police personnel were injured."

"We are thankful to the God that no one died that day. In the name of religion and politics, people are killing each other. Life of a person is not so cheap; it is very expensive," he was quoted by ANI as saying.

Hans further urged all the political parties to not support the culprits, adding "I also request to all the political parties not to support any particular religion. The culprit can be of any religion and if he is the culprit then he should be punished. If he is innocent, then definitely support him but if he is guilty then don`t support him and work without worrying about vote bank politics."

Replying to Congress leader Digvijay Singh`s statement, the BJP MP said, "Digvijay Singh is sitting idle for many days, so he has become frustrated. They should appreciate that both the central government and Delhi police are engaged and we will do whatever we can to keep our country peaceful. We have to save this country from communal tensions. Politics is not everything, we have done that all our life. They (Congress) know that they will not come to power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not let them (Congress) return to power."

The FIR, registered on the complaint filed by a police officer at the Jahangirpuri police station, mentions that there was a peaceful Shobha Yatra procession to mark Hanuman Jayanti and an argument escalated. It led to stone-pelting.

Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana on Monday informed in a press briefing that 14 teams of police are investigating the Jahangirpuri violence case. He said that a close watch was being maintained on the social media platforms and assured legal action against those attempting to spread misinformation.

Notably, clashes broke out between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession at Jahangirpuri on Saturday, leaving eight police personnel and a local resident injured. According to police, there was stone-pelting and arson during the clashes and some vehicles were also torched.

According to police, 25 people have been arrested and two juveniles apprehended in connection with the clashes.

(With Agency Inputs)

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Election strategist Prashant Kishor, who has contributed to delivering some of the most glorifying electoral wins for Indian politicians like Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, has decided to get into the ring once again, this time with Congress.

According to reports, Prashant Kishor is set to join the Congress in the coming days and has already met the senior leadership, including Party President Sonia Gandhi, thrice in one week.

Sources say that the purpose of these meetings is to ascertain the roadmap ahead for Congress in the coming election and decide on Kishors formal entry into the party.

Prashant Kishor's joining Congress, which has already been called a sinking ship and dead horse by its opposition due to the embarrassing performance in the polls over the years, is no ordinary news and may prove to be a turning point for the age-old party.

Zee News spoke to experts to understand the impact, repercussions and meaning of the Prashant Kishor- Congress partnership in the Indian political scenario.

Will Prashant Kishors entry into the Congress gain them electoral wins?

According to senior political analyst and DU professor Geeta Bhatt, Congresss weakness lies not in their polls strategies and alliances but in their failure to provide a robust leadership, a model of governance and an ideological base that can attract people towards them. Congress does not need to bring in a political strategist or any big name in the party to bring those changes, it needs to be done within the party.

Prashant Kishors strongest pursuit is preparing strategies, he sure can help form a better plan for approaching the election but thats not what the Congress lacks, so his entry into the party is not going make any significant impact on their wins or the public opinion about them, said Bhatt.

Congress needs a change in leadership, shift from the dynastic politics and most importantly need to clarify their ideological standing which can helo voters understand them as a party. Simply getting Prashant Kishor on board would not resolve these issues. Congress has a crisis within the party and no new entrant can change these, Bhatt added.

Prashant Kishor- a successful poll strategist but not a successful politician

Weighing in on Kishors political journey so far, political expert Geeta Bhatt said that one needs to understand the difference between a strategist and a politician and whether Kishor has proven to be a decent political strategist, his run as a politician has not been impressive.

We must understand that being a poll strategist and a politician are two very different ball games and while he has been a fairly successful strategist but he has not been able to deliver as a politician very well, added Bhatt.

For the unversed, Prashant Kishor joined Nitish Kumars JDU in 2018 and was offered the Vice President position. However, the political journey came to an early end when Kumar expelled Prashant Kishor from the party two years later in 2020.

Prashant Kishors role in the Congress and The Resistance- Challenges involved

Congress has been facing tough resistance within the party from the veterans for the longest time and Prashant Kishors entry into a party as a full-time politician means he comes with some high political ambitions, which a bigger and significant role in the Congress leadership.

This might not go down well with the senior leaders who have already spent enough time building the party and can give rise to more resistance, which at this point is disastrous for Congress, said, Bhatt

It is very much possible that Congresss partnership with Kishor may worsen the partys position. However, it is highly unpredictable to say things with certainty in politics but his entry is sure going to give rise to friction, more dissent and resistance within the party, which is no good news, Bhatt added.

Prashant Kishor and Congress- a rocky history

It must be noted that Prashant Kishor has already partnered with Congress in 2017 as a political strategist and helped them form a Maha Gatbandhan during the UP assembly election. However, Kishor pulled out of that partnership right before the election.

Similarly, in the 2022 UP Assembly Elections, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had held meetings with Kishor to get him on board but it didnt happen. So, Congress and Kishor share a shaky history already.

Will Prashant Kishor- Congress partnership impact BJP?

About the Congress-Kishor partnership impact on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party base, Bhatt says she doesnt see any huge effect on the standing of the saffron party.

I feel the post-2014 scenario has been more performance-based rather than a party-centric approach. This means Congress will have to come out as an alternative to the BJP, which can only happen on how they present a model of governance and not just bring an individual on board.

Similarly, political analyst Vishal Mishra also believes that Prashant Kishor joining Congress would not have any impact on BJPs standing in the present political scenario.

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday urged Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to ensure that industrialists are not disturbed by some agencies.

Though the chief minister did not name any central agency she made it obvious that her apparent dig was in response to recent income tax raids and Enforcement Directorate actions against a number of top firms, and drew applause from a section of the industrialists present at the Bengal Global Business Summit, where she was speaking.

Banerjee, while concluding her speech at the summit, said, Through the governor I want (to) tell, if you don't mind, Governor sir (that you speak) on behalf of all industrialists as they cannot open their mouth. We want all help from the central government. (In the next) Governor's conference please raise it. Please see industrialists are not disturbed through some agencies.

The governor, who inaugurated the summit, had earlier profusely praised the Chief Minister in his address. Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress chief, had earlier too been vociferous against the Centre, alleging misuse of two agencies  Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED)  for political reasons.

Among recent cases, the Income Tax department had raided an auto major, a charter airline and realtor. While a multinational chain marketing firm recently had its assets attached by the enforcement directorate.

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An engineer was allegedly duped of Rs 9 lakh by a fake call centre on the pretext of giving him a job with an annual package of Rs 42 lakh, police said on Wednesday.

On April 15, the cyber cell of Gurugram police arrested 22 people, including nine women, who were allegedly running the 'call centre' from Udyog Vihar, Phase 5.

They are involved in duping hundreds of job seekers to the tune of at least Rs 1.25 crore in the last six months, police said.

Satpati, who is a resident of Hyderabad and has studied M-tech from an IIT, was among the many victims.

He was allegedly cheated by the gang last year, following which he registered a complaint with the police in his home city, police said.

The cyber cell police of Gurugram contacted Satpati after going through the bank account transaction of the accused operating the call centre, they said.

I had applied for a job on a website, 'Placement.Com', after the caller took my information and assured me of giving a good job. They took Rs 9 lakh in total for registration, interview and verification of documents, on the pretext of a package of Rs 42 lakh in an MNC, Satpati said.

When I found myself duped, I had registered a case against the fraudsters in Hyderabad. Now that the fake call centre has been caught by the Gurugram police, I reached here to record my statement with the cyber crime police, he said.

The cyber police team is investigating all the accounts of the accused.

Police said efforts are being made to contact the other victims as well.

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New Delhi: A day after the Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting on the coal and power crisis in the country, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that only eight days of coal stocks are left in the country.

Rahul said, "Eight years of big talk has resulted in India having only eight days of coal stocks."

He asked the "Centre to switch off the bulldozers of hate and focus on the power plants in order to prevent the loss of small scale industries leading to more job losses".

"Modi Ji, stagflation is looming. Power cuts will crush small industries, leading to more job losses. Switch off the bulldozers of hate and switch on the power plants!" tweeted Gandhi.

The Congress leader also shared a picture quoting PM Modi's announcement on June 18, 2020, to auction 41 coal mines for commercial mining in order to make India self-reliant in energy by reducing imports. He compared it with the current coal crisis situation in the country.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held a meeting with Power Minister RK Singh, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav amid reports of ongoing coal and power situation across the country.

The meeting was held in the wake of several states warning of a possible power crisis due to the shortage of coal supply to power plants, officials said.

There are reports of depleting coal inventory of domestic thermal power plants in 12 states like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Jharkhand and Haryana which are facing power cuts ranging from 3 to 8.7 per cent.

In the first fortnight of April 2022, domestic power demand reportedly hit a 38-year high for the month. While there was a 1.1 per cent power shortage in October 2021, this shot up to 1.4 per cent in April 2022.

Union Power Minister R K Singh has blamed the steep rise in the prices of imported coal on the Russia-Ukraine war. This is because of the inadequate availability of railway wagons to transport coal.

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YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. Vice Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan received today Ambassador of the Netherlands to Armenia Nico Schermers, the Parliaments press service said.

The sides discussed the current situation and the challenges in the region. Ruben Rubinyan presented the current situation and humanitarian problems in Artsakh caused by the latest actions of the Azerbaijani units.

The Vice Speaker of the Parliament of Armenia expressed gratitude to the partners of the Dutch parliament for the adoption of resolutions condemning the 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh in 2020 and its consequences.

The process of democratic reforms in Armenia was also touched upon during the talk. Ruben Rubinyan said the Armenian authorities will be consistent with the implementation of the reforms.

The sides also discussed issues relating to deepening the Armenian-Dutch inter-parliamentary cooperation, the necessity for mutual visits and the implementation of joint programs in a parliamentary platform.
The State Bank of India has invited applications for 11 specialist cadre officer positions. Candidates who are interested can apply online through the SBI's official website at sbi.co.in.

Online applications are underway and the deadline for submission is May 4.

SBI recruitment vacancy details:

Vice President & Head (Contact Centre Transformation): 1 post

Senior Special Executive Program Manager Contact Centre: 04 posts

Senior Special Executive Customer experience, Training & Scripts Manager (Inbound & Outbound): 02 posts

Senior Special Executive Command Centre Manager: 03 posts.

Senior Special Executive- Dialler Operations (Outbound): 01 post.

SBI recruitment application fee:

Candidates with general/OBC/EWS status must pay Rs750 for application fees and intimation fees (non-refundable). Application fees are waived for SC/ST/PWD candidates.

Direct link to apply, click here.

SBI SCO Recruitment 2022: How to apply

Visit the official website of the State Bank of India at sbi.co.in.

Click "Careers" on the homepage.

Select "Current Openings"

Select "Apply Online"

Register yourself

Fill out the application form

Upload documents

Pay the application fees

Download the application form and print it out for your records.

Click here for a detailed notification.

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Colombo: The police in Sri Lanka on Wednesday (April 20, 2022) said that curfew will continue in the southwestern region of Rambukkana where one person was killed and 13 others were injured in violence after the police opened fire at unarmed anti-government protestors demonstrating against the latest fuel price hike.

At least three of the 13 hospitalised protesters at Rambukkana, some 90 kilometers northeast of Colombo, were critical at the Kegalle hospital, according to officials. Fifteen police personnel have also been injured.

Police chief Chandana Wickremaratne told reporters that the police curfew imposed in the area would continue.

Protesters got violent yesterday and blocked the railway track. They were demanding fuel at the old price having waited in the fuel queue for a long time, he said.

When the police arranged two fuel bowsers, the protesters took out the battery of one of the vehicles, blocking the railway track, Wickremaratne said.

The police used minimum force by firing tear gas, the police chief said.

The death of a protester was the first during the ongoing protests over the worst-ever economic crisis in the country's history.

Top bureaucrat of the public security ministry Jagath Alwis said the protesters tried to set on fire a fuel tanker having 33,000 liters of fuel.

The police were forced to open fire to prevent the bowser being set in flames by the protesters.

Alwis said a three-member probe committee has been appointed to probe if the police had used excessive power in opening the fire at protesters.

The embassies of the US, the EU and the UN resident coordinator have issued statements condemning the police shooting.

The latest fuel price hike on Monday night triggered street protests in many areas on Tuesday.

Oil entities in the island nation have been hiking the price regularly due to the shortage of fuel.

Meanwhile, the trade unions have collectively said that they would launch a black protest to force the resignation of the government for bungling on the ongoing economic crisis.

We would hold a picketing campaign wearing black, the teachers' trade union boss Joseph Stalin said.

On Tuesday, the federation of university teachers staged a walk in solidarity with the main anti-government protest being held at Galle Face at the entry to the presidential secretariat.

The Galle Face protest enters its 12th day on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka is grappling with unprecedented economic turmoil since independence from Britain in 1948. The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.

The island nation is witnessing large-scale protests against the government's handling of the debt-ridden economy - the worst-ever economic crisis in the country's history.

Protests demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his Sri Lanka Podujana (Peramuna)-led government have intensified as shortages continued and prices soared.

Last week, the Sri Lankan government said it would temporarily default on USD 35.5 billion in foreign debt as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine made it impossible to make payments to overseas creditors.
New Delhi: Apparently, a video of a robbery that took place at a hardware store in Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh, caused a social media sensation where the robber entered the store with the intention of stealing items and while doing so he started dancing. Anshu Singh is the owner of the hardware shop in Chandauli market where this incident occurred, and it occurred in the early hours of April 16, 2022.

The thief, as shown in the video, entered the store without much fuss and took away what he could find at the cash register before he noticed the CCTV cameras installed at the store. This did not deter him, instead, he started dancing as soon as he spotted it.

Police have filed a case against the alleged perpetrator and are currently on the hunt for this 'dancing thief'. Since the thief carefully covered his face with a cloth, it is hard to see his face in the viral video.

Check out the video here:

Thief started dancing inside the shop after stealing from a hardware shop in Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh. Did he loot a big amount or did his phone rang? pic.twitter.com/mBKQPKiWWu  I Love Siliguri (@ILoveSiliguri) April 19, 2022

Read also: IMD predicts light rainfall in Delhi till April 22, temperature to drop - Check complete prediction here

Anshu Singh discovered the broken shutter the next morning after he reached his store, and immediately after entering the store, he noticed the missing cash. When he reviewed the CCTV footage, he discovered this bizarre video.

As a result, the Chandauli police were notified and they're currently looking into the issue

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Mumbai: Benchmark indices bounced back on Wednesday after falling for five straight sessions, with the Sensex climbing 574.35 points, helped by buying in Reliance Industries and recovery in Infosys, TCS and HDFC twins.

A largely positive trend in global equities also helped the benchmarks get back on their feet.

Halting its five-day fall, the BSE Sensex jumped 574.35 points or 1.02 per cent to finish at 57,037.50. During the day, the index rallied 753.36 points or 1.33 per cent to 57,216.51.

The NSE Nifty surged 177.90 points or 1.05 per cent to 17,136.55.

"With support from recovery in beaten-down HDFC stocks and the IT sector, the market countered yesterday's selloff. Foreign investors are pumping out funds in large quantities while support from DIIs is helping the market to partially balance the pressure," according to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, UltraTech Cement, Maruti, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, TCS, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Bharti Airtel, HDFC and Dr Reddy's were among the major gainers.

In contrast, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel and ITC were among the prominent laggards.

Both the benchmark indices had closed in the red for the fifth straight session on Tuesday. Sensex had lost a hefty 2,984.03 points in five sessions, while the Nifty shed 825.70 points.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai settled lower, while Tokyo ended with gains.

Markets in Europe were trading higher in the afternoon session.

Stocks in the US had ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.89 per cent to USD 108.2 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree, offloading shares worth a net Rs 5,871.69 crore on Tuesday, according to stock exchange data.
Fairfax: Actor Johnny Depp returned to the stand Wednesday for testimony in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, a day after he denied her allegations of domestic abuse.

Depp took the stand in Fairfax County Circuit Court after nearly three hours of testimony on Tuesday.

Most of his Day 1 testimony focused on his descriptions of a difficult childhood, his rise to fame as an actor after an aborted music career and his early relationship with Heard after meeting her on the 2011 film 'The Rum Diary.'

He has yet to address in any detail the turbulent years of their brief marriage, and her accusations that he physically and sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions.

Depp sued Heard after she wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post in which she referred to herself as a 'public figure representing domestic abuse.'

She never mentioned Depp by name, but Depp and his lawyers said it was a clear reference to accusations Heard made in 2016 when the couple divorced and she sought a restraining order against him.

Depp said the accusations and the article contributed to an unfairly ruined reputation that made him a Hollywood pariah and cost him his role in the lucrative 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie franchise.

Heard's lawyers say the article is accurate and does not defame him. They say Depp's ruined reputation is the result of his own bad behavior, including drug and alcohol abuse.

On the stand Tuesday, Depp called the accusations of drug addiction 'grossly embellished,' though he acknowledged trying every drug known to man and that he started abusing medication at age 11 when he snuck his mother's 'nerve pills.'

His testimony Tuesday featured long, stream-of-consciousness responses to his lawyer's questions, often wandering well beyond what he was asked.
Actor Johnny Depp testified on Tuesday that he never struck his ex-wife Amber Heard and was challenging her accusations in a $50 million defamation case to correct the public's perception and stand up for his children.

Speaking softly and slowly for nearly three hours, Depp said in a Virginia courtroom that it was a "complete shock" about six years ago when Heard "made some quite heinous and disturbing" allegations that he became violent during their relationship.

"Never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms. Heard in any way, nor have I ever struck any woman in my life," said Depp, who wore a dark suit with his hair in a ponytail.

"I felt it my responsibility to stand up not only for myself in that instance but stand up for my children," the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star said. His two children from a previous relationship were in high school at the time.

"It's very strange when one day youre Cinderella so to speak, and then in 0.6 seconds youre Quasimodo," added Depp, who is set to return to the witness stand on Wednesday, when he is expected to face a cross-examination from Heard`s legal team.

Depp, 58, alleges Heard, 35, defamed him when she penned a December 2018 opinion piece in the Washington Post about being a survivor of domestic abuse. He filed a $50 million lawsuit against Heard in 2018.

The article never mentioned Depp by name, but Depp lawyer Benjamin Chew told jurors it was clear Heard was referencing the Hollywood leading man.

Attorneys for Heard, also an actor, have argued she told the truth and that her opinion was protected as free speech under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. In opening arguments, Heard`s attorneys said Depp physically and sexually assaulted her while abusing drugs and alcohol.

A state court judge in Fairfax County, Virginia, is overseeing the trial, which is in its second week and is expected to last for six weeks.

On Tuesday, Depp`s lawyers asked him about his movie career and his early interactions with Heard on the set of 2011 film "The Rum Diary." Depp described her at that time as sweet, intelligent and funny.

The actor also detailed his parents` tumultuous relationship.

Depp said his parents frequently argued and his mother physically abused her children.

Depp said his father never fought physically with his mother but punched a wall as many as three times, once breaking his hand. His father left the family when Depp was 15, the actor said.

By that time, Depp had "done all the drugs I was aware of," he said. He said he became addicted to opiates after he was injured on the set of the fourth "Pirates" film but recovered from that dependency.

Depp said Heard "grossly embellished" his substance use. "A lot of it is just plainly false," he said. "I think it was an easy target for her to hit."

Heard watched the testimony with little expression while Depp spoke, occasionally tilting her head or jotting notes.

Less than two years ago, Depp lost a libel case against The Sun, a British tabloid that labeled him a wife beater." A London High Court judge ruled he had repeatedly assaulted Heard and put her in fear for her life.

In the U.S. case, Depp and Heard both submitted long lists of potential witnesses they may call, including Heards ex-boyfriend and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk and actor James Franco.

Depps lawyers have said they filed the case in Fairfax County, outside the District of Columbia, because the Washington Post is printed at a facility there. The Washington Post is not a defendant in the case.

The United States is a difficult forum for libel plaintiffs, especially public figures like Depp, who must prove by clear and convincing evidence that Heard knowingly made false claims.

Heard, known for roles in "Aquaman" and "Justice League," has brought her own libel claim against Depp, saying he smeared her by calling her a liar.

Heard`s counterclaim, seeking $100 million in damages, will be decided as part of the trial.
New Delhi: Veteran actor Neetu Kapoor sent heartfelt wishes to her son Ranbir Kapoor's in-laws, Soni Razdan and Mahesh Bhatt, on the occasion of their 36th wedding anniversary.

Taking to her Instagram Story, Neetu shared a picture of her daughter-in-law Alia Bhatt's parents and wrote, "Happy anniversary samdhan and samdhi ji, love and hugs."

Ranbir's sister Riddhima Kapoor Sahni also shared a picture of the couple and wrote, "Happy anniversary," with a red-heart emoticon.

Earlier in the day, Soni also marked her 36th wedding anniversary with her husband Mahesh by sharing a love-filled social media post.

Razdan, 65, posted two pictures featuring herself with Bhatt, on her official Instagram handle.

Sharing the pictures, the `Yours Truly` actor wrote, "Age cannot wither her nor custom stale her infinite variety. This quote about Cleopatra could well apply to our marriage as well. Happy Anniversary old chap. Cheers to many more fun times ahead."

Soni and Mahesh got married on April 20, 1986. The couple shares two daughters Shaheen and Alia.

Alia recently tied the knot with Ranbir in an intimate wedding ceremony at the latter's Bandra residence 'Vastu'.

For the unversed, Mahesh Bhatt is also a father to actor-director Pooja Bhatt and Rahul Bhatt, who he shares with his ex-wife Kiran Bhatt.
New Delhi: Actor Ram Charan, who was last seen in SS Rajamoulis magnum opus RRR, is currently busy shooting for filmmaker Shankars yet-untitled upcoming trilingual film in Amritsar. The movie is dubbed as RC 15 and also stars actress Kiara Advani. Sharing photos on his Instagram, Ram shared with his fans that he spent an afternoon with the soldiers of the Border Security Force (BSF) in Khasa, Amritsar. He shared in his caption that he heard their inspiring stories of sacrifices and dedication. Apparently, the superstar also had his personal chef, who accompanied him to Amritsar from Hyedrabad, prepare a hearty meal for all the soldiers of the campus.

Sharing photos of his time spent with soldiers at the camp, Ram Charan captioned his Instagram post, Inspiring afternoon spent listening to stories, sacrifices & dedication of the Border Security Force at the BSF Campus, Khasa Amritsar.

Check out the photos:

In the photos, the RRR actor can be seen having lunch with the soldiers. On the plate, one could spot South Indian delicacies such as idli, vada and sambar.

Actress Kiara Advani, who is also in Amritsar, earlier shared a photo of herself with folded hands in front of Golden Temple and simply wrote, Gratitude.

Check out her photos:

Ram and Kiara have joined hands together for a film for the second time. The two had earlier worked together in Vinaya Vidheya Rama. However, Ram Charan and Kiara Advani are collaborating for the first time with filmmaker Shankar.

In July 2021, Ram had met Shankar at his residence in Chennai ahead of the official announcement of this project. Sharing photos of the same on Instagram, Ram had written, Had a fabulous day in Chennai yesterday ! Thank you @shanmughamshankar Sir and family for being such great hosts. Looking forward to #RC15. Updates coming very soon (sic).

RC 15 is expected to be an action-thriller. The film will have music by S.S Thaman.
New Delhi: In what could be good news, the Central government has increased the deadline for availing of complementary healthcare insurance for Covid-19 frontline workers by another six months of 180 days from April 19. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced the extension of the insurance scheme, known as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP), on Tuesday (April 19).

The health ministry said in its statement that the scheme has been extended to continue providing the safety net to the dependents of health workers who are deputed to take care of Covid-19 patients.

The Central government had launched PMGKP on March 30, 2020, to provide a security cover to workers battling Covid-19. The scheme offers an assurance to the families of 22.12 lakh healthcare providers.

The scheme covers community health workers and private health workers who may have been in direct contact and care of Covid-19 patients and may be at risk of being impacted, the ministry noted.

Under the policy, a cover of Rs 50 lakh is provided to healthcare workers helping in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. As of now, 1,905 claims have been made under the scheme from the families of health workers, who died while performing Covid-19 duty, have been settled, the ministry said.

Further, on account of the unprecedented situation, private hospital staff/retired/volunteer/local urban bodies/contract/daily wage/ad-hoc/outsourced staff requisitioned by states/central hospitals/autonomous hospitals of central/states/UTs, AIIMS & institute of National Importance/hospitals of central ministries drafted for the care of Covid-19 patients are also covered under the PMGKP, the ministry statement noted.

It is important to note that the government has extended the PMGKP policy by another 180 days.

Heres the complete list of workers covered under PMGKP:

- Private hospital staff

- Retired/volunteer/local urban bodies workers

- Contract/daily wage/ad-hoc/outsourced staff requisitioned by states/central hospitals/autonomous hospitals of central/states/UTs. Also Read: Netflix to introduce lower-priced streaming plans: Heres all you need to know

- AIIMS and Institutes of National Importance/hospitals of Central Ministries drafted for Covid-19 care. Also Read: Elon Musk willing to hike personal Twitter investment to $15 billion: Report

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New Delhi: As lakhs of farmers are now waiting for the latest update on 11th installment of PM KISAN, the eKYC deadline has been extended for a little more time.

Government had earlier extended eKYC deadline till 22 May 2022. However, the latest update on the official PM Kisan Website now shows that the last date to update eKYC is 31 May 2022. eKYC is MANDATORY for PMKISAN Registered Farmers. (Also read: Corona Kavach Policy gets 6-month extension, check policy details)

Deadline of eKYC for all the PMKISAN beneficiaries has been extended till 31st May 2022, says the PM KISAN official website.

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme was launched by PM Modi in 2019. The Scheme aims to provide income support to all landholder farmer families across the country with cultivable land, subject to certain exclusions.

Under the Scheme, an amount of Rs 6000 per year is released in three 4-monthly instalments of Rs 2000 each directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. In a financial year, PM Kisan installment is credited thrice through --Period 1 from April-July; Period 2 from August to November; and Period 3 from December to March.

Here is how to add name PM KISAN beneficiary list

- Visit official website of PM KISAN at www.pmkisan.gov.in

- Go to Farmers Corner.

- You will find the section in left corner of the home page of www.pmkisan.gov.in

- Tap on the New farmer registration option.

- Fill the details in the registration form.

- Now click on the Submit button.

- Your beneficiary application form will be submitted online.

ln the beginning when the PM-KISAN Scheme was launched (February, 2019), its benefits were admissible only to Small & marginal Farmers' families, with combined landholding upto 2 hectare. The Scheme was later on revised in June 2019 and extended to all farmer families irrespective of the size of their landholdings.

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YEREVAN, 20 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 20 April, USD exchange rate down by 1.62 drams to 469.21 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.26 drams to 509.33 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.11 drams to 6.07 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.38 drams to 612.55 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 90.94 drams to 29627.82 drams. Silver price up by 2.59 drams to 390.94 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.
San Francisco: The Google Pixel 6 series appears to be suffering from another bug as some Pixel owners have reported that their phones are failing to ring when there is an incoming call.

According to Android Central, the Google Pixel 6 series never seems to run out of bugs and the latest one appears to be a major source of concern, especially for users who rely heavily on phone calls all the time.

The device apparently declines calls at random without your knowledge, the report said.

According to a growing number of users who have taken to Reddit to voice their complaints, their Pixel 6 and 6 Pro automatically reject some phone calls from their saved contacts without even ringing their devices.

"At least 4+ times a week, I will have someone telling me they tried to call me but I have no missed call notification. When I check my call log, it says the call was declined which obviously I did not do. My phone is usually face up on my desk or table when this happens and I do not even see the call come through," a user wrote on Reddit.

What makes matters worse is the lack of a missed call notification. To the surprise of affected users, their call log displays a history of attempted calls that were marked as declined, even though no phone call went through on their screen.

The tech giant is yet to comment on the matter.

The problem persists even after turning off every possible setting that could affect phone calls, including Do Not Disturb and Wi-Fi calling.

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New Delhi: Online streaming platform Nextflix could soon launch more affordable streaming plans in a bid to revive its subscriber growth. Such lower-priced packages, if launched, will be supported with ads in what could be a major change for the company that has always shied away from the ad-supported model, according to media reports.

The move comes on the heels of Netflix losing about 200,000 paying customers in the first quarter of 2022, the first such decline for the company in a decade. The company is expecting a further drop in the number of subscribers in the ongoing quarter.

In a call on Tuesday (April 19) with Netflix investors, Co-Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings highlighted the potential for advertising. According to the companys official report, it could lose more than 2 million subscriptions in the next quarter.

While sharing the strategy for over the next year or two, Hastings said, "but think of us as quite open to us offering even lower prices with advertising as a consumer choice."

Hastings added, "Those that have followed Netflix know that Ive been against the complexity of advertising and a big fan of the simplicity of subscription. But as much as I`m a fan of that, I`m a bigger fan of consumer choice. And allowing consumers who would like to have a lower price and are advertising-tolerant get what they want, makes a lot of sense."

Hastings also pointed out, "I don`t think we have a lot of doubt that [the ad model] works. Im sure we`ll just get in and figure it out -- as opposed to test it and maybe do it or not do it." Also Read: Redmi 10a affordable smartphone with 5,000 mAh battery launched in India: Price, specs

As of now, Netflix hasnt come up with a complete plan for its ad-supported model. Therefore, the pricing of such a subscription isnt out yet. Having said that, we may have to wait for a few quarters to get a complete picture of how Netflix mitigates the negative growth of its userbase. Also Read: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be extradited to US, orders UK court

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New Delhi: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has issued a warning regarding the fall armyworm, which continues to pose a challenge to the worlds food security.

UNs Food and Agriculture Organization revealed that this worm has spread to 70 countries including India so far, and generally attacks 80 types of plants, including maize and rice. The organisation stated that the fall armyworm destroys the entire crop produce.

Experts believe that nations should come up with rescue and prevention plans before it is too late.

According to the information issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about $12 million has been spent to control this pest.

Fall armyworm can cover a distance of 1 thousand kilometers in a night in search of its food and ays about 1 thousand eggs in its life span of 4 to 5 days. The presence of this worm in maize plants, which is its main food, can be fatal.

This worm is mainly found in America, but reports suggest that it reached Nigeria in 2016. In a very short span, it spread to 44 countries in Africa and caused great harm.

Fall armyworm destroyed 70 percent of the jowar crop there and then shifted to vegetables. Notably, India produces 20 metric tonnes of jowar annually and of not enough measures are taken to stop this worm, it can spread throughout the subcontinent ina short span of time, further worsening the food situation in the nation.

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Newly appointed Finance Minister of Pakistan, Miftah Ismail, has revealed that former Prime Minister Imran Khans helicopter commute between his Bani Gala home and the PM Secretariat cost Pakistani Rs 550 million to the national exchequer in three years and eight months, Samaa TV reported.

Khan used a helicopter to travel to his office almost every day when he was in power, and the money was spent on the fuel consumed by the chopper.

Khan had faced criticism when he started to use helicopter for daily commute, shortly after coming to power. However, Fawad Chaudry, who was the Information Minister in Khan`s cabinet, had claimed at the time that it would cost Rs 55 per km.

Ismail said he had documentary evidence to back his claim.

The Finance Minister also said that the erstwhile PTI government left a huge circular debt of Rs 2,500 billion in the power sector and had created Rs 1,500 billion circular debt in the natural gas sector.

Ismail also said that he is comfortable working with State Bank of Pakistan Governor Reza Baqir, who was appointed by the Imran Khan government.

The minister said the government needs to revive the IMF programme to avoid economic crises and may also borrow money from Saudi Arabia.

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Incidents of violence against Sikhs in Pakistan are reportedly on the rise with the concerned authorities merely acting as mute spectators which has caused much resentment among the community leaders .

Police were yet to find the whereabouts of the missing first Sikh police officer of Pakistan Gulab Singh that another incident of attack on Sikhs in Nankana Sahib has shocked the community and left them traumatized.

In the latest incident, Dilawar Singh, son of the former president of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, his relative Palae Singh, and one more Sikh were thrashed and beaten by a gang of Muslim land mafia in Nanakana Sahib.

A terrified Dilawar Singh, in a video message, where he is seen attending to his relative in the hospital raises a question mark on the so-called freedom of the minorities in Pakistan.

We are raising slogans of azadi, azadi, and azadi, but there is no azadi, our land is being occupied by mafia and for past ten years we are being made victim, instead of taking any action against the accused, the Evacuee Trust Property Board, local civil and police administration is helping them and not us, we are just presented as turbaned jokers  he alleged in the video.

He said his family along with his maternal uncle owned 5.5 acres of land in Kot Sant Ram area which was forcibly occupied by the Muslim land mafia and they attacked them while they were harvesting the wheat crop.

A few days ago Gulab Singh who had been raising the issues of various wrongdoings by the authorities had gone missing from Lahore and to date the whereabouts of Gulab Singh are not known.

When asked about this , the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh termed the injustice and excesses on the minority Sikhs in Pakistan as unfortunate.

Quoting media reports about Pakistan's first Sikh police officer Gulab Singh Shaheen's disappearance by an intelligence agency, he said it was an act of repression of minorities.

Dhami said that in the past too, there had been reports of injustice and excesses on minority Sikhs in Pakistan, which made it clear that Sikhs there are insecure.

"The matter of the disappearance of Gulab Singh Shaheen to an undisclosed location has caused fear among the Sikhs in Pakistan and the Pakistan government should immediately clarify about his whereabouts", said Harjinder Singh, adding that if the news about missing of Gulab Singh was correct then nothing could be more unfortunate than this.

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New York: India on Tuesday (April 19, 2022) stressed on the importance of the United Nations Guiding Principles of Humanitarian Assistance and reiterated its call for immediate cessation of violence and hostilities in Ukraine.

Speaking at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Ukraine`s humanitarian situation, India`s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, R Ravindra said: "Humanitarian action must always be guided by the principles of humanitarian assistance. i.e., humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. These measures should never be politicized."

He further said that India continues to remain deeply concerned at the worsening situation and reiterates its call for an immediate cessation of violence and hostilities.

"We have emphasized right from the beginning of the conflict the need to pursue the path of diplomacy and dialogue. When innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option," the country`s Deputy Permanent Representative said at UNSC.

We continue to emphasise to all member states of UN that the global order is anchored on international law, the UN Charter and respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states: Ambassador R Ravindra, India's Deputy Permanent Rep at UNSC meeting on #Ukraine (19.04)  ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2022

Furthermore, India supported calls urging for guarantees of safe passage to deliver essential humanitarian and medical supplies including through the establishment of permanent humanitarian corridors.

"We hope the international community will continue to respond positively to the evolving humanitarian requirements," R Ravindra said.

India has been sending humanitarian supplies to Ukraine and its neighbours, which include medicines and other essential relief materials.

"We are providing more medical supplies to Ukraine in the coming days ahead," Ravindra said.

The impact of the situation is being felt beyond the region with increasing food and energy costs, especially for many developing countries. It is in our collective interest to work constructively, both inside the United Nations and outside, towards seeking an early resolution to the issue.

India also noted the findings of Secretary-General`s Antonio Guterres`s Global Crisis Response Group Task Team issued last week and welcomed their recommendation for exempting purchases of food by World Food Programme (WFP) for humanitarian assistance from food export restrictions with immediate effect.

India also said that the energy security is equally a serious concern and needs to be addressed through cooperative efforts.

Speaking about the safe return of about 22,500 Indians from Ukraine, India`s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN noted that the country India has ensured the safe return of about 22,500 citizens from Ukraine.

"We initiated Operation Ganga involving 90 flights. We have also assisted nationals from 18 other countries in that protest. We are deeply appreciative of the facilitation rendered by the authorities of Ukraine and its neighbouring countries in ensuring their safe return," he said.

India continued to emphasize to all member tides of the UN that the global order is anchored on international law, UN Charter and respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states.

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The Armenian community in Australia will hold a march for justice on April 24  the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, in the Sydney and Melbourne Squares. The marches will be held jointly with the representatives of the Greek and Assyrian communities.

April 20, 2022, 10:03 Australian-Armenian community to hold marches for justice on Genocide Remembrance Day

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 20, ARTSAKHPRESS: Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia Hayk Gayserian told Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia Hayk Gayserian told Armenpress that the purpose of the upcoming march is to urge the Australian authorities to recognize the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks perpetrated by Turkey.

Our goal is to deliver to the Australian authorities that recognizing the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks, perpetrated by Turkey in 1915, is an important and strong necessity for our communities. Like more than 30 countries, international organizations, the different states of Australia have also recognized the Armenian Genocide, and the government of Australia should also do that, Hayk Gayserian said.

He informed that this years April 24th march will also touch upon the current situation in Artsakh. It will be presented in a context that the actions of Aliyevs administration against the people of Artsakh are the continuation of the same genocide.

Those actions have been done against Armenians because Turkeys crimes are still left unpunished. We consider this impunity the main reason that countries like Azerbaijan and Turkey are trying to carry out such actions against Armenians, the ANC Australia Executive Director said.

The commemoration events will continue also on April 26. A commemoration event is scheduled that day, during which members of the Parliament of Australia will deliver speeches. There will be representatives from the two major political parties of the country. They will call on their government to recognize the 1915 genocide. The event will be held online. Ombudsman of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan will also deliver a speech on the impunity of the genocide which affected the people of Artsakh.

Asked what is the probability that the government of Australia will recognize the genocide of Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians, Hayk Gayserian said there is progress and they will continue the works on this direction. At this stage the situation is that the Parliament of Australia adopted a resolution, calling on the government to recognize the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks. The Australian Parliament had its say on the issue of the Genocide.

The Parliament represents the whole society, therefore we can state that the people are ready for the recognition, it remains for the executive power to do that. It either should follow the call of its people and recognize the Genocide or become the subject of the dictatorial leadership of Turkey, which is exerting external pressure on the Australian government, he said, recalling the 2021 April 24th speech of the Australian PM where he talked about the 1915 events, the deportation of Armenians without using the term genocide. According to Gayserian, its the time for the next step.

Hayk Gayserian said Australia is on the eve of new elections. The elections of the Federal Parliament will be held on May 21, the incumbent PM tends to be re-elected. According to him, the elections are an occasion to touch upon the issue of the Genocide, although there could be reasons between the leadership and the opposition.

Of course, our call must be to use the term genocide in the commemoration speeches. If the April 24th speeches do not address the Genocide as we expect, we will clarify the positions of the two parties on this matter from April 24 up to the May 21st elections. Armenians will vote in favor of those who are ready to recognize the genocide of Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians, Hayk Gayserian said.
Russian law enforcement should investigate misinformation being spread about the countrys potential use of nuclear arms, said Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on an extract from Minister Sergey Lavrovs interview on nuclear arms, that was misinterpreted by a number of channels on Telegram, Tass informs.

April 20, 2022, 12:36 Russian diplomat calls for probe into fake news about potential use of nukes in Ukraine

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 20, ARTSAKHPRESS: "This issue, by the way, should be explored by law enforcement. We have every possible legislation, <...> that enables law enforcement agencies to look into the story as far as the law being violated is concerned, that is Russian laws. This is fake news, <...> that concerns not just our countrys security, since nuclear arms are mentioned," Zakharova said during a live broadcast by Sputnik radio on Wednesday.

First of all, the measures should not target the sources who spread misinformation on the extract, but rather action should be taken against the developers and customers of this news, Zakharova stressed. "Someone has been manufacturing these materials, and there must be someone who designed the concept. I think it would be correct and timely to look into the entire chain," the diplomat explained.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier in an interview with India Today that Russia was not considering the use of nuclear arms in Ukraine, where conventional weapons only would be used.
Israel confirms its readiness to host a possible meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi said in an interview with TASS.

April 20, 2022, 14:42 Israel ready to host possible Putin-Zelensky meeting

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 20, ARTSAKHPRESS: "Certainly," he said in response to a question. "However, they (Putin and Zelensky) need to make a decision," the envoy added.

According to him, Israel would consider it "a great honor" to host possible talks between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents. "We will be happy to host such a meeting in Jerusalem," Ben Zvi noted.

He also pointed out that the delegations of Russia and Ukraine could also hold meetings in Jerusalem. "What was done in Turkey can also be done in our country," the Israeli ambassador said.

Alexander Ben Zvi continued saying that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Russian President Vladimir Putin maintain regular contact with each other.

"Indeed, they are in regular contact with each other," he said. "I cannot say when exactly their next [contact] will take place," the envoy added.

Putin and Bennett have held several telephone conversations since the beginning of the year. In addition, the Israeli prime minister made a brief visit to Moscow in early March. The two leaders discussed the situation around Ukraine.
Russia is specially focused on the agreements reached by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia regarding the unblocking of economic and transport connections in South Caucasus, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

April 20, 2022, 16:18 New infrastructure routes to contribute to peace and stability in South Caucasus  Russian PM

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 20, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: I am sure that the creation of new infrastructure routes will ensure stable development of the region and will contribute to strengthening of peace and stability for the benefit of all countries in the South Caucasus. Russia will continue providing humanitarian assistance to Armenia, PM Mishustin said.

Mishustin added that thanks to the Russian Rapid Response Center, conditions are now being created in Nagorno Karabakh for the return of residents to their home as well as restoration of infrastructures.
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan of Armenia on Wednesday held a phone conversation with FM Wang Yi of China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia informed.

April 20, 2022, 17:45 Armenia, China express readiness to deepen relations

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 20, ARTSAKHPRESS: The interlocutors referred to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and China, emphasizing the tangible world carried out through that period for the establishment and development of bilateral relations in political, trade and economic, humanitarian and other directions. The sides expressed their readiness to resolutely strengthen and deepen the Armenian-Chinese relations.
[April 20, 2022] Spyder, Inc. announces new CTO Spyder, Inc's new CTO Mike Upright promises to bring transformative change to the insurance and wealth management industry! FORT SCOTT, Kan., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Effective April 1, Mike Upright has joined Spyder, Inc., a Saas software company based in Fort Scott, Kansas. Previously, Mike was the technology leader for an insurance-based disability claim company serving veterans. Mike's guidance and leadership made it possible for his previous firm to launch a successful IPO. Mike is an accomplished Information Technology Leader delivering years of experience, expertise, and achievements in driving innovation, change, organizational transformation, and technology strategy. Mike brings experience and expertise with specific focus on leadership of technology innovation while driving business transformation, building high performing teams, processes and relationships that are instrumental in driving revenue results and generating new innovations. "Soon everyone will learn about why Spyder Storage is the storage solution for today and the future!" says Mike Upright "For a tech company like Spyder, Inc, the position of CTO is a vital and important one" says Spyder CEO Nedra Barr. "With technology and business transforming every day, sometimes at lightning speed, technology officers are expected to develop and implement ingenious strategies on time and on budget. Consequently, aligning these plans with organizational goals is what a technology leader does best. We are excited to have such a strong dynamic technology leader in Mike. Mike's expertise and leadership will be key to our success." Mike has already begun the process of designing a product roadmap for Spyder's multi cloud document storage solution with the important features to be released over the next 90 days. "It's exciting to work on such a transformative solution as Spyder Storage" says Mike Upright. "Soon everyone will learn about why Spyder Storage is the storage solution for today and the future! The fact that every client gets a primary and a secondary backed up cloud of all of their documents is amazing and highly needed in the age of ransom and cyber-attacks. Security is at the forefront of everything we create at Spyder. Every one of us has lost important documents in our pasts. Spyder Storage is in the cloud, and with a secondary backed up cloud, you won't lose access to your important documents again. What a big relief for businesses. With the average cost of a ransom attack being $4M per IBM, we want to make certain we are helping protect companies' important documents." Mike lives in sunny St Augustine, Florida. The oldest established city in the United States. Mike has a wife Carrie, three adult children and one granddaughter. About Spyder Spyder is a fast-moving, forward thinking, Saas software company providing enterprise solutions designed to solve security and compliance concerns. Our initial target markets are insurance and financial services. Spyder offers a cyber computer/device protection solution for field forces and a multi cloud document storage solution that is 17a4, HIPAA, and GDPR compliant. This solution provides clients ransom protections and backed up clouds. Spyder never wants their clients to lose their important documents. Based in Fort Scott, Kansas Spyder is a mission-driven firm that believes in bringing new technology jobs to support the revitalization of rural southeast Kansas. Please visit us at www.spyderloop.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/spyder-inc-announces-new-cto-301528918.html SOURCE Spyder, Inc.

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London's Westminster Magistrates' Court has issued an order for the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring announced at a brief hearing on Wednesday.

April 20, 2022, 17:46 London court issues order for WikiLeaks founder Assanges extradition to US

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 20, ARTSAKHPRESS: British Home Secretary Priti Patel will now handle the extradition case against Assange, who faces 175 years in prison in the US on charges of leaking classified information. Even if the home secretary grants Assanges extradition, his defense team will still have an opportunity to file an appeal with the High Court.

"I am duty bound to send your case to the Secretary of State for a decision on whether or not you should be extradited," the judge told Assange who watched the hearing via video link from Belmarsh Prison. "Having sent your case to the Secretary of State, you have the right to appeal to the High Court. If you exercise your right to appeal, it wont be heard until the Secretary of State has made her decision under the Act," he added.
Formula One has relocated some 800 miles from Bahrain to Jeddah for the build-up to the second race of a season that currently comes with more questions than answers.

Can Red Bull rectify the fuel problems that saw neither of their drivers finish the opening race? Can Ferrari back up their one-two or was Bahrain another false dawn? And is there a quick fix to Mercedes problems?

The two evening practice sessions today will go some way to answering those questions, with qualifying tomorrow giving even greater clarity.

Red Bull had gone into Bahrain as the team to beat, world champion Max Verstappen the benchmark after winter testing. And yet they shifted from one Middle East country to another with a lot of head scratching.

At the time, the reasoning for the double DNF was down to issues with fuel pumps, both of which failed in quick succession. There were various conspiracy theories that Red Bull had simply run out of fuel in the battle to have as little weight on board their cars as possible.

Will it be Charles Leclerc vs Max Verstappen round two at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix? (Getty Images)

But the team have since dispelled that rumour, got to the bottom of the problem and do not expect a repeat. In a statement today, the team said: Both cars suffered lack of fuel pressure.

Correct amount of fuel in both cars but a vacuum prevented the pumps from drawing fuel. Weve taken the necessary steps to correct this issue and we expect no problems this weekend.

Which brings into play the second question, regarding Ferrari. In the Bahrain paddock, the team were ecstatic after a first win since the Singapore Grand Prix in 2019, also the scene of their last one-two.

Team principal Mattia Binotto tried to temper that success by pointing out it was just one grand prix and there is a development race to be run and won against Red Bull primarily and, in theory, Mercedes when they get their act together.

The Ferrari engine looks quick and reliable, as evidenced by high finishes by Alfa Romeo and Haas, powered by the same engine as the factory team.

Story continues

Much has been made in the build-up to Saudi Arabia about simmering bad blood dating back to Charles Leclerc being denied victory at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix following an aggressive move by Verstappen. But the Dutchman laughed off suggestions there was still lingering ill-feeling between the pair.

I never speak about these things with other drivers, he said yesterday. Ive lost wins as well and its not the end of the world, you move on. Charles is one of the most talented drivers in Formula One and he will win many more races.

We are just good competitors and we like racing. I think you saw that when were battling hard [in Bahrain] and it was all good.

A battle between the pair is again anticipated at the front of the field this weekend, with Red Bull adamant they can turn the tables a week on from their first double DNF since the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

George Russell admits that Mercedes are no closer to finding a quick fix for their problems (REUTERS)

Mercedes own fortunes flipped on their head in Bahrain with a third and fourth place that never looked to be in the offing. A week on, it looks likely to be another weekend of adversity despite positive noises from the teams Brackley headquarters.

Andrew Shovlin, the teams head of trackside engineering, pledged to bring absolutely anything they can to Jeddah in the hope of a quick fix. For a team that have typically left no stone unturned in their quest to be top dogs, they have been consigned to working race by race at the moment in a bid to find answers to their lack of pace.

Speaking in Jeddah, George Russell suggested his Mercedes team were no closer to finding those answers but said: If anyone can overcome these issues, I am sure Mercedes can. For now, it looks likely to be a repeat of Ferrari v Red Bull and Leclerc v Verstappen.
It is sometimes thought that in colleges and universities, tenure guaranties lifetime employment. Although tenure implies a high degree of security, it is not absolute. Tenured professors can lose their jobs for incompetence, plagiarism, failure to perform their duties, committing a crime, or sexual harassment. Its more accurate to say a tenured professor cannot be fired without cause and a formal investigation.

On an unspoken level, tenure is compensation for professorial pay significantly less than that in business, law or finance. Tenure also represents a reward for the many years of apprenticeship involved in getting a Ph.D. Officially, however, tenure protects academic freedom. A tenured professor cannot be fired because the college president, or a dean, or a group of students, faculty or alumni do not like the profs ideas, or research, appearance or attitude. This is the core of tenure.

Tenure is held to the institution, not the academic department. So, a tenured professor of German who one day finds that no students have signed up for their courses still has tenure in the college. Perhaps the instructor is qualified to teach some other subject  math, for example. More likely, the college will offer the instructor early retirement, or a severance arrangement. Of course, if the college goes bankrupt and closes, tenure ends with the institution.

Occasionally, tenured faculty have been outrightly fired. It happened years ago at Bennington College in Vermont. The college was restructuring and wanted new faculty. The faculty sued and won, but it took time, and the modest compensation made some wonder if it had been worth it.

Tenure is being challenged in many schools today on the grounds that many tenured profs are unproductive, publish little or nothing, and inspire few students. They are deadwood.

Many college and university presidents and deans are former professors, and understand tenure, but the boards of trustees of these institutions are drawn from the worlds of business and industry and are skeptical. Why shouldnt a college be run more like a business? they wonder. Trustees live in a world where high-powered executives can be fired in 15 minutes over the phone  at night. Trustees have no tenure; why should pipe-smoking profs in tweed jackets, or female profs in Dior tops, or bohemian profs in workman shirts and ratty jeans enjoy such job security  and long vacations?

For academic departments, tenure is a way of retaining star professors on their faculty  and luring away others from lesser institutions. Tenured professors seldom leave their jobs except for tenured positions on other, more prestigious schools. Today, colleges grant tenure tracks to their strongest (and most popular) departments: computer science, economics, business. A department like history or English might be favored if it is historically strong and if it draws students to the college.

The main qualification for tenure is publication of scholarly articles and books. Teaching counts, but if a job candidate has an impressive list of publications, she will probably be hired even if she has a strong foreign accent. Diversity is important.

Usually, tenure is a three-step process. After two years at the college, the young assistant professor has a first review of their teaching and publications, if any. A second review comes two years later, and a third review at the end of six years, when the tenure decision is made. If they do not receive tenure, they have a year to look for another job. Routines differ at different schools; at some, there is only one review.

Once tenured, the diligent scholar will advance through the ranks of assistant and associate to that of full professor. No school can afford too many tenured faculty, however. Their collective salaries are expensive, and a heavily tenured school will be unable to hire new talent or offer tenure to the young talent it already has.

Is there an alternative path to a professorship other than running the Ph.D. gauntlet? Yes: Writing a book that is recognized as being important and authoritative in your field. Roger Shattuck had a B.A. when he published in 1958 "The Banquet Years," a study of literature, painting and music in France at the turn of the 20th century. Shattuck spent most of his academic career at the University of Texas at Austin. Such instances are rare.

(This is the first of two articles on tenure in higher education.)

Ed Rossmann lives in Aurora and has been an educator most of his life, including 17 years in high school.

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AUBURN  After communicating with the owner of a property occupied by a smoke shop at the center of different legal issues, the city of Auburn is expecting eviction proceedings to move forward for the business.

Auburn Smoke Shop, 67 Franklin St., was discussed at the Auburn Nuisance Abatement Committee's meeting Wednesday morning. The smoke shop had been the focus of various criminal investigations over the last few months, including an armed robbery Dec. 31, and several complaints from neighbors. Law enforcement reported discovering over 18,000 illegal items, including untaxed cigarettes, flavored vaping products and marijuana, after a search warrant was executed at the establishment in February.

A hearing regarding the business was originally set to be held at Wednesday's meeting of the nuisance committee, which reviews complaints about properties within Auburn and works with city agencies to address concerns. Different options would have been available to the abatement committee if it had declared the shop to be a nuisance, including ordering the building's closure, suspending a business license or revoking a certificate of occupancy.

The hearing was not held, however, because of recent communication the city has had with the building's owner.

Auburn Assistant Corporation Counsel Nate Garland said Wednesday that he spoke with a representative with Auburn-Franklin Ventures LLC, the Rochester-based entity that owns 67 Franklin St. and leases space to the smoke shop.

"I informed him that it was my opinion that his company was in legal jeopardy of allowing a public nuisance to be maintained on the property that his company owned," Garland said. "This individual then informed me that he would be willing to commence a eviction proceeding based on the facts that I shared with him."

Garland then recommended to the nuisance committee  consisting of Auburn City Manager Jeff Dygert, Auburn Police Chief James Slayton and Auburn Fire Chief Mark Fritz  that police records related to recent events at the smoke shop be obtained, redacted if necessary and released to the property owner. Garland said he believes the city's nuisance chapter allows for the release of such records to the property owner "once an eviction proceeding is contemplated or commenced."

"That is, I think, the next step in the process, rather than holding a hearing on this, and this committee requiring certain remedies take place, I think it probably is most prudent to allow the property owner to exercise their remedies at law," he said.

That said, Garland added that he would defer to Slayton on releasing the appropriate police records but said, "certainly, that is my opinion." Slayton said those records are public knowledge, so they can be released to the property owners. Slayton made a motion for that information to be given to the property owner. The committee unanimously agreed.

After the meeting, Garland said that after learning "that the property owner was motivated to commence an eviction proceeding," he recommended to the nuisance committee that the planned hearing be adjourned and not held.

Garland said the city expects an eviction process to move forward, "and if not, we will certainly revisit the issue if there's a hold-up and some hitch in that."

The Auburn Police Department said in March that arrest warrants for evading $10,000 or more in cigarette taxes were out for Zakarya H. Alharbi, the property manager for the shop, and Mohamad A. Algamal, the shop's owner. Later that month, Alharbi, of Newburgh, and Algamal, of Syracuse, separately turned themselves into the APD five days apart later from one another. Both were given appearance tickets for Auburn City Court, the APD said at the time.

Earlier in Wednesday's meeting, Dygert asked if anyone in the audience wanted to speak regarding 67 Franklin St., but no one stepped forward. Slayton mentioned the arrests made for Alharbi and Algamal. Fritz said the fire department had been to that address once since the last nuisance committee meeting, noting that on April 19, a fire inspector accompanied a city code enforcement officer for a reinspection "based on previous violations noted."

A representative of Auburn-Franklin Ventures LLC declined to comment to The Citizen on Wednesday.

Speaking with The Citizen Wednesday afternoon, Algamal said he and Alharbi, his business partner, did not receive notice from the city about the hearing, and added he and Alharbi would have liked to have been given notice so their lawyer could have been at the meeting to represent them. Algamal also said he hadn't heard from Auburn-Franklin Ventures about an eviction, and the smoke shop is open.

Algamal also added that "we're not hurting" anyone and that "we're not bothering" anyone. He also said customers have been coming into the shop to get CBD products for medical purposes, such as dealing with pain.

Staff writer Kelly Rocheleau can be reached at (315) 282-2243 or kelly.rocheleau@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @KellyRocheleau.

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Members of a unit that patrols Native American lands along the U.S.-Mexico border can now become Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents.

President Joe Biden signed a bill authored by U.S. Rep. John Katko that would allow the Shadow Wolves, which combat drug smuggling and human trafficking on Tohono O'odham Nation land in Arizona, to be reclassified as ICE special agents after completing the necessary training. It also requires the Department of Homeland Security and Government Accountability Office to study how to expand the Shadow Wolves program.

Katko, who is the ranking Republican member on the House Homeland Security Committee, explained that it is difficult to recruit and retain Shadow Wolves because of limited pay and the lack of upward mobility.

"This effort will improve Shadow Wolves officers' ability to stop illicit activity on tribal lands and allow the officers to be reclassified as special agents," he said. "Homeland security affects every American in every state across the country. We must use every tool at our disposal to secure our border and ensure the security of our homeland."

According to an ICE fact sheet, the unit was given the Shadow Wolves name because they hunt "like a wolf pack." They patrol the Sonoran Desert and use traditional means and technology to track drug and human smugglers.

Congress created the unit in 1974. From 2010 to 2020, ICE says the Shadow Wolves were involved in 437 drug and immigration arrests, seized more than 117,264 pounds of drugs, 45 weapons, 251 vehicles and $847,928 in U.S. currency.

Katko's bill received bipartisan support in the House, where it passed by a 387-33 vote on March 8. It passed by unanimous consent in the Senate before it was sent to Biden for his review.

Katko credited U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema for pushing the bill through the Senate. Sinema, an Arizona Democrat, sponsored the Senate version of the measure.

"Every day, Shadow Wolves carry out a difficult and dangerous mission under increasingly challenging circumstances," Katko said. "At a time when border encounters are at an all-time high, and deadly drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamine continue to pour into American communities, the Shadow Wolves are crucial in the fight against drugs and human traffickers."

Biden signed the bill on Tuesday. In a brief news release announcing that the legislation has been signed, the White House thanked several members of Congress and senators, including Katko, for their leadership.

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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Conservatives in Cayuga and Onondaga counties did not endorse Julie Abbott to challenge Democratic state Sen. John Mannion in the 52nd Senate District.

But in an unusual move, the state Conservative Party ignored the local recommendation and authorized Abbott, R-Skaneateles, to run on its ballot line.

Because the 52nd district crosses county lines  parts of Cayuga and Onondaga counties are in the district  the state party's executive committee has the final say. Jerry Kassar, who chairs the state Conservative Party, told The Citizen he interviewed Abbott for an hour and a half. After that exchange and assurances from state Senate GOP leaders, he felt the party should endorse Abbott.

"Leaving the line blank there is a real, real benefit to the Senate Democrats and all their policies," Kassar said. "Julie is a serious candidate with a lot of potential, a history of vote-getting, a recognizable name and I'm very comfortable that she will be competitive, make the Conservative Party proud and hopefully end up in Albany."

Conservative Party leaders in Cayuga and Onondaga counties are unhappy with the decision.

Cayuga County Conservative Party Chairman David Pappert said after both county committees interviewed Abbott, neither was comfortable allowing her to run on the party's ballot line. One factor in the decision was Abbott's responses on questionnaires when she sought the Conservative line for her Onondaga County Legislature bids.

According to Pappert and Onondaga County Conservative Chairman Bernie Ment, Abbott stated her support for abortion rights, opposes cutting federal funding for sanctuary cities and supports red flag gun laws  the Conservative Party opposes abortion, supports slashing federal funding for sanctuary cities and supports gun rights.

Regarding Abbott's pro-choice position and support for funding Planned Parenthood, Ment told The Citizen, "Is that not a red flag against the Conservative ideal?" Pappert said his committee was "quite shocked" at her abortion stance.

"We want voters in Cayuga County and Onondaga County to know that when you vote for a Conservative-endorsed candidate, they ought not to be in support of those types of things," Pappert added.

But Abbott's views did not prevent her from running on the Conservative line in 2021 when she was reelected to represent the Onondaga County Legislature's 6th district. She did not have the line when she first ran in 2019.

In an interview with The Citizen, Abbott described herself as "socially moderate."

"I'm a female. I have children. I care about all people, regardless of sexual orientation, skin color and wealth level," she said. "If that is offensive to people, then so be it."

If she defeats Mannion, she said she will have a voting record and then "actions speak for themselves."

With local committees rejecting Abbott, a potential primary challenger emerged. Justin Coretti, an Auburn attorney, filed petitions to force a Conservative primary. However, his petitions arrived after the April 11 deadline. A state Board of Elections spokesman confirmed that the petitions were filed late and are expected to be ruled invalid by commissioners at a May 2 meeting. He could appeal that ruling in court.

While it appears that Abbott will have the line without opposition, there are individuals on both sides who are unhappy with how this played out.

Abbott accused local party leaders of sexism. She believes she was treated differently because she is a woman. Pappert thinks it was a "hostile act" by the state party to override the recommendation made by the local committees.

There may be unsettled issues related to the endorsement, but Kassar supports Abbott. He said he spoke with Chris Kendall, who is a regional vice chair and leader of the Madison County Conservative Party, and Kendall told him he supports the state party's decision.

When the state executive committee voted to back Abbott, Kassar said there was no opposition.

"Since I knew she would be running against Mannion, who has an 18% rating from the Conservative Party, I thought this all lined up as the right thing for the state party to do versus having a blank line," he said.

Mannion, D-Geddes, is running for a second term in the newly drawn 52nd district. The district is comprised of 10 towns in Onondaga County and part of Syracuse, along with the city of Auburn and towns of Owasco and Sennett in Cayuga County.

Democrats have a 17,000-voter advantage over Republicans in the new district. The Conservative Party has 3,714 active voters, according to the state's enrollment numbers.

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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Beijing (Gasgoo)- On April 19th, Li Auto released its first ESG Report (Environmental, Social, and Governance), demonstrating the auto startups contribution to the environment and the society in the past year.

Photo credit: Li Auto

According to the report, a Li ONE plug-in hybrid electric vehicle produces 236.1 g of carbon dioxide per kilometer, summing up to 35,415 kg of emission during its full life cycle. To further its determination to the carbon neutrality goal, the automaker plans to launch high-voltage pure-electric vehicle models starting 2023.

New product indicates innovations. In 2021, Li Auto has poured in RMB3.29 billion ($514.13 million) into R&D of next-generation range extension system, high-voltage battery-electric platform, full-stack ADAS, and intelligent cockpit solutions.

Last December, Li Auto successfully completed the OTA3.0 update to its Li ONE users. The update includes its full-stack self-developed NOA and AEB functions, ensuring users a safer onboard experience. By doing so, Li Auto has officially become the third auto brand that holds full-stack NOA R&D capabilities worldwide.

By the end of the year, 1,171 of Li Autos patents were authorized, and 494 trademarks were approved.
All of Chinas major automotive groups achieved month-over-month sales growth in March, but compared with the same month of last year, not all of them had sales increase.

Among all the nine traditional automakers Gasgoo listed based on official sales data, Changan Auto had the largest sales increase versus the previous month while Dongfeng Motor Group Company (Dongfeng Group) was the only one with a single-digit sales rise. But monthly sales of SAIC Motor, Dongfeng Group, Great Wall Motor (GWM), JAC Group fell from a year earlier with JAC having the steepest decline.

GAC Group and BYD are the two which had a two-digit increase in both month-over-month and year-over-year changes.

Last month, GAC Group sold 227,471 new vehicles, ranking third among the nine groups. GAC Honda and GAC Toyota were still main sales contributors of the group even though the two joint ventures sales saw fluctuation in the past year because of automotive chip supply shortage. In the third month of this year, GAC Hondas monthly sales jumped 21.46% year over year to 76,883 units while the joint venture with Toyota reported a year-over-year growth of 41% to 97,006 units.

GAC AION is enhancing its presence in the group. After a two-month sales decrease, the new energy vehicle arms monthly sales surpassed 20,000 units for the first time in March to 20,317 units, driven by the AION Y whose monthly sales amounted to 9,501 units.

But monthly sales of the other two joint ventures of the Guangzhou-based group, namely GAC FCA and GAC Mitsubishi, fell sharply in March. Notably, GAC Mitsubishi only sold 1 new vehicle last month. The company said it was due to such factors as production line retooling, chip supply shortage and the longer shipping period.

BYD had outstanding sales performance in March when the company stopped producing traditional oil-fueled vehicles and focuses on battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. With 104,878 vehicles sold last month, BYD ranked fifth, surpassing Geely Auto and GWM, and became the first Chinese brand to sell over 100,000 new energy passenger vehicles in a single month.

Apart from BYD, whose monthly NEV sales more than quadrupled in March, Geely Auto and GAC Group also achieved substantial NEV sales growth. And for some automakers, the segments sales performance showed a sharp contrast to that of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. For example, SAIC Motors March sales declined 10% from a year ago, but its monthly NEV sales jumped 19.61% to 74,509 units.

So did JAC Group. The Hefei-based company sold 21.6% fewer vehicles than the same month of last year, but its monthly battery electric passenger vehicles rose 55% year over year.

The surging sales of the NEV segment showed that the segment was little affected by the price hike spree in the month. According to the China Passenger Car Association, in March and April, automakers are delivering the orders placed before the price hike, so there was no immediate effect on March sales. Besides, many automakers set a grace period for the price increase, encouraging consumers to place orders before the price increase takes effect.

Will the price increase and sporadic COVID-19 cases cast a shadow on NEV sales in the future months? Probably not. The segment will maintain high-speed growth for this year will be the last year for NEV subsidies and such cities as Shanghai will not grant NEV license plates to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles from 2023 on, according to analysts of Gasgoo Auto Research Institute.

In terms of sales in the first quarter of this year, only SAIC Motor sold more than 1 million new vehicles while another three groups quarterly sales exceeded 500,000 units. Geely Auto, GWM and JAC Group sold fewer vehicles when compared with the same span of the previous year. BYD occupied the sixth place on the list, but the Shenzhen-based company had the highest increase from a year ago.

BYD has built a sizable lead in NEV sales in the first quarter, and SAIC was a distant second. The others all had quarterly NEV sales of fewer than 100,000 units. Changan Auto didnt reveal its NEV sales data for March and the first quarter.

We also compiled a list of local automakers which had revealed its export/overseas sales data. Among the five players on the list, SAIC Motors sales in overseas markets jumped 44.9% year over year to 171,875 units. The Shanghai-based automaker said that its products and services have covered more than 80 countries and regions and aims to lift its annual sales in European markets to over 100,000 units this year.

In the first quarter of this year, MG brands global sales reached 135,000 units and became one of the top 10 brands in eighteen countries, including Australia and New Zealand.

Chery Holding and JAC Group also reported double-digit growth in first-quarter export volume.
US high-level visit to Solomon Islands aims to nullify China security pact, uses region as hegemonic fulcrum

By Xu Keyue, Shan Jie and Bai Yunyi (Global Times) 08:31, April 20, 2022

After Australia failed to sway the Solomon Islands to thwart the security agreement with China, senior US officials plan to travel to the country this week in an attempt to nullify the already signed security pact, which will be a rare high-level visit with pressure by the superpower.

White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell and the State Department's top official for Asia will travel to the Solomon Islands, the White House said on Monday, amid "concerns" that the Pacific island country is making a security pact with China, according to Reuters.

Observers pointed out that the "concerns" expressed by the US and Australia over the security pact showed that they use the South Pacific region as an "arena" for competition with China and try to contain China's peaceful development. They predict that the US and Australia may increase military cooperation and civilian investment in the Solomon Islands and other South Pacific countries to counter China's rising influence, but history shows that US promises are often hard to deliver and such cooperation rarely delivers real benefits to ordinary people.

Campbell's visit comes after Washington has warned the Solomon Islands several times over the security pact with China, and Australia made several threats under the name of "concern" and sent senior officials to the island nations.

Yang Honglian, senior researcher of the Pacific Islands Research Center at the Liaocheng University, based in Fiji, told the Global Times that in the US' and its follower Australia's Cold War mentality, South Pacific countries have always been, and must be, their "backyard."

They believe that controlling the island nations through military deployment can maintain their influence in the region, so they speculated China would also take the same step even if China does not have any military activity in the region. They have been hyping a "possibility" and "sense of urgency," trying to guide the local sentiment to be more wary of China, Yang said.

China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele officially signed a framework agreement on security cooperation between the two countries, the Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Tuesday.

"The US Embassy in Solomon Islands has been closed for 29 years. The most recent visit to Fiji made by a US Secretary of State was 37 years ago. Several senior US officials now fancy a visit to some Pacific Island Countries (PICs) all of a sudden after all these years. Are they doing so out of care for PICs or do they have ulterior motives? " asked Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on Tuesday.

"Sensationalizing an atmosphere of tension and stoking bloc confrontation will get no support in the region. Attempts to meddle with and obstruct PICs' cooperation with China will be in vain," Wang noted. Rather than becoming someone's backyard or pawn in a geopolitical confrontation, Pacific island countries need diversified external cooperation and the free choice of their cooperation partners, Wang stressed.

The signing of the security agreement provoked a hysterical reaction from Washington after it witnessed the inability of Canberra to change the cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands, said Chen Hong, president of the Chinese Association of Australian Studies and director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University.

The US and its "agent" in the Asia-Pacific region - Australia - repeatedly put pressure on the Solomon Islands. "This is not only interference in the internal affairs of the Solomon Islands, but also a provocation to China's diplomacy," Chen told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The expert noted that Washington sees the South Pacific region as an important "fulcrum" against China as it has sought to further push forward its Indo-Pacific strategy through the region and to put pressure on China over the South China Sea and Taiwan. "But we see that the Solomon Islands has upheld its sovereignty, independence and right to make its own decisions, demonstrating political wisdom and determination. This is why the US now leaves Australia aside and intervened more directly in the region," Chen said.

"Australia wants the Solomon Islands to just follow what it says. But it's the US behind all this pushing," Frank Sade Bilaupaine, policy consultant at the Foreign Policy Advisory Secretariat at the Solomon Islands Government, told the Global Times in a previous interview.

He pointed out that the security cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands "came about because of the riots in Honiara for the past years and Chinese businesses were always the victim."

"So the Solomon Islands government views it as since we have diplomatic relations, maybe China can assist in building the capacity of the Solomon Islands police," he said.

As a normal exchange between two independent sovereign states, the security cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands is in the common interest of the Solomon Islands and the South Pacific region, a spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry reiterated.

The cooperation is devoted to strengthening the Solomon Islands' capacity to maintain national security, including social order, protection of people's lives and property, humanitarian assistance, and natural disasters response, Wang said.

"China has always insisted its eyes are firmly fixed on mutual economic progress - a win-win situation - rather than military contest or a zero-sum game," said George Balau, a local scholar in the Solomon Islands who published an article in the Solomon Star newspaper recently. "In other words, China is asking that Australia and the US set aside their Cold War mentality to prevent unnecessary stand-offs based on assumptions of strategic malevolent calculations."

The cooperation is welcomed by the local Chinese community.

A Chinese businessman based in Honiara told the Global Times that the Chinese community greatly supports the cooperation on security. He said that the police in the country lack professional training and their equipment is outdated. "We hope their police force can improve after cooperating with China."

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Hefei Gotion High-Tech Power Energy Co.,Ltd. ("Hefei Gotion"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gotion High-Tech, and Zhejiang Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group ("GCV") have signed a strategic cooperation agreement under which the former will offer the latter around 126,000 sets of power batteries between 2022 and 2024, Gotion High-Tech announced on April 20 via its WeChat account.

GCV, Hefei Gotion signing agreement; photo credit: Gotion High-Tech

Per the agreement, the power batteries to be procured from Gotion High-Tech will be used in the vans, light trucks, and range-extended electric vehicles under GCV.

The cooperation between Gotion High-Tech and GCV can date back to 2019, when both parties inked a framework agreement. Over the past several years, the duo have made joint efforts to conduct projects related to all-electric van, full-electric light truck, rang-extended light truck, as well pure electric bus.

In November, 2021, Gotion High-Tech joined hands with Farizon Auto, one of the brands under GCV, and other 10 enterprises to co-build the China Zero-carbon Land transport Alliance, aiming to jointly bolster the development of China's logistics industry regarding zero-carbon, intelligence, and operational efficiency.

For the first quarter of 2022, Gotion High-Tech recorded a power battery installed capacity of 2.57GWh, accounting for 5.01% of the countrys total volume and ranking 4th among power battery makers in China.

GCV is a commercial vehicle manufacturer wholly controlled by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. It has three brands at present, namely Farizon Auto, Hanma Technology, and Ou Ling Auto.


Beijing (Gasgoo)- On April 19th, Baidus autonomous driving arm Apollo opened up its comprehensive C-V2X platform 2.0 to the transportation and auto industry, completing the companys open platform spectrum from autonomous driving to C-V2X.

Photo credit: Apollo



The C-V2X platform is called Kailu (meaning open road in English). Kailu is a full-stack open system of software and services, including a roadside software platform, roadside reference hardware, and a cloud service platform. With basic functions like perception, prediction, and maps, Kailu provides technical and integral specifications for equipment and hardware enterprises.

Kailu platform; photo credit: Apollo

Moreover, Kailu is able to further its data-sharing ability by building on the DAIR-V2X open-source data set. Combining with Baidus broad user contact in the automobile terminal, Kailu can also share its scenario resources.

Kailu holds the comprehensive technological achievements that Baidu accumulated in the C-V2X field since 2016. It offers full-stack architecture to developers within the industry, and help them reduce R&D cost, and improve efficiency.

In the meantime, hardware and equipment companies can adopt Kailus standardized channels, realizing de-fragmentized construction and lowering the cost of roadside construction.

Baidu Apollo believes that by opening up the platform, it will help accelerate the intelligent and connected development in China.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicles Group (GCV), the commercial vehicle (CV) business unit of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is considering a public listing as an independent unit and is planning to introduce external investors, according to a local media outlet.

After being reached for a comment by the media channel, an inside person at GCV said there has no information that could be disclosed now.



GCV has three brands at present, namely Farizon Auto, Hanma Technology, and Ou Ling Auto. Founded in 2016, Farizon Auto was the first CV brand in China to focus on the development of new energy vehicles. It works on developing urban CVs based on the e-GAPF power systems, and long-ranged CVs powered by clean methanol fuel. The company is dedicated to offering a full range of new energy CVs including buses, lights trucks, heavy trucks, and vans. Besides, Farizon Auto has already formed three car-building architectures, namely, the GLA, the GHA, and the GMA.



Hometruck; photo credit: Farizon Auto



In November 2021, Farizon Auto drew the attention of many industry insiders by unveiling its next-generation smart new energy semi-truck, the Hometruck, with production and first deliveries planned for early 2024. The automaker said the models architecture can carry a number of powertrain options including range extender, methanol hybrid and pure electric with battery swapping option.

Hanma Technology was established in 1970 and for the past half-century has been developing heavy-duty vehicle chassis, powertrains, commercial vehicle parts, heavy specialized vehicles, new energy commercial vehicles, passenger cars, and other vehicles. In 2020, GCV acquired 15.24% stake in Hanma Technology to become the latter's controlling shareholder and raise the shareholding ratio to 28.01% in May 2021.

Ou Ling Auto is a new sub-brand under GCV based in Zibo, Shangdong. It offers two product series, light duty trucks and specially modified vehicles.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Ningbo Shanshan Co., Ltd. (Shanshan), a Chinese lithium battery materials supplier, announced on Tuesday it intends to make a capital increase to its sub-subsidiary, Shanghai Shanshan Lithium Battery Materials Technology Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Shanshan), through its wholly-owned subsidiary and four strategic investors.

According to Shanshans announcement, the four investors are BYD Company Limited (BYD), Ningbo Meishan Bonded Port Area Wending Investment Co., Ltd. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of CATL), Amperex Technology Limited, and CNPC Kunlun Capital Company Limited.

On the same day, all parties signed an agreement for the strategic investment in Shanghai ShanShan.



Shanghai Shanshan's manufacturing base; photo credit: Shanshan



Shanshan stated the wholly-subsidiary, Ningbo Shanshan New Energy Technology Development Co., Ltd. (Ningbo Shanshan New Energy) and the four investors plan to plow a total of 3.05 billion yuan ($478.72 million) in Shanghai Shanshan, and subscribe for 305 million yuan ($47.872 million) of the registered capital newly increased to Shanghai Shanshan.

In this transaction, BYD and CATL's subsidiary plan to invest 150 million yuan ($23.543 million) and 300 million yuan ($47.087 million) respectively. They will subscribe for 15 million yuan ($2.354 million) and 30 million yuan ($4.709 million) of Shanghai Shanshan's newly added registered capital.

Upon completion of the capital increase, the registered capital of Shanghai Shanshan will be increased to 1.182 billion yuan ($185.522 million) from 877 million yuan ($137.651 million). Shanshan will still be the controlling shareholder, but its shareholding ratio in Shanghai Shanshan will drop to 87.08% from 89.99%.

Shanshan said the capital increase will help Shanghai Shanshan improve its asset and liability structure, lower financial costs, enhance capital strength, so as to provide capital supports for the business expansion of anode materials business.

Founded in December 2014, Shanghai Shanshan primarily engages in the R&D, production, and sales of the anode materials and carbon-graphite materials for lithium batteries.
POMPANO BEACH, Fla.M.D. Science Lab, makers of the Swiss Navy brand, plans to celebrate the second annual International Lubricant Day on April 22 with its own social media campaign.

Using lubricant can enhance sensations and can help make sexual activities more comfortable and pleasurable. There are research studies that back this up. But somehow there are still people out there who believe that using a personal lubricant is unnecessary or that its use is stigmatized. Were hoping that sponsoring International Lube Day will allow people to see lubricants in a fresh, new light, said Briana Watkins, ACS, M.D. Science Labs VP of sales and marketing.



International Lubricant Day is meant to engage consumers and encourage them to talk about lube, discuss their favorite types, and share their recommendations with their closest friends.

Consumers trust their friends and we want them to also trust in the healthy aspects of personal lubricants. We suggest asking your closest friends for their lubricant recommendations. This one suggestion is incredibly important! Did you know that according to research, 85 percent of small businesses get customers through word of mouth? said Watkins. Word of mouth recommendations create trust.

To help start conversations, Swiss Navy created a coloring page here.

We encourage people to share their masterpiece on social media, tag us, and include #InternationalLubeDay. Lets get these healthy conversations started! said Watkins.

To visit Swiss Navys B2B Resource Center, go to www.b2bswissnavy.com.

For more information on all the newest products from Swiss Navy, contact [email protected] or visit swissnavy.com.
Hundreds of residents are under evacuation after a fast-moving, wind-fueled wildfire whipped through 6,000 acres northeast of Flagstaff on Tuesday, destroying dozens of structures.

The blaze, dubbed the Tunnel Fire, first started Sunday afternoon. The acreage remained in the double digits throughout Monday and into Tuesday until high winds quickly caused the fire to swell to 100 acres by noon. Officials said it hit an estimated 6,000 acres by 5 p.m., with no containment. Flame lengths were up to 100 feet high, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The fire grew substantially due to high winds, eventually pushing the blaze across Highway 89.

Its blowing hard, and we have ash falling on the highway, said Coconino County sheriffs spokesman Jon Paxton.

During a press conference Tuesday night, Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll acknowledged that the rapid events had taken a toll on nearby residents.

"I think we all realize what a difficult day this has been for many," Driscoll said. "We expected or anticipated this for the last several years and have been able to dodge that until today."

All areas both east and west of Highway 89 and north of Campbell Avenue remained under evacuation Tuesday evening, as well as Moon Crater farther to the east.

The Antelope Hills area east of Highway 89 remained on "SET" status, with officials urging residents to prepare for a possible evacuation.

Highway 89 northbound is closed at milepost 425, while the southbound lanes are closed at milepost 435. Forest Road 544 is also closed.

Driscoll estimated that "dozens" of homes had likely been destroyed, but they were unable to get into the area to get an official count as the fire was still too dangerous.

The county will attempt to identify and notify the owners of any of the destroyed homes in the coming days.

He noted that there were multiple reports of people stuck in their homes and at least one home fire crews weren't able to reach. Some also chose to stay despite evacuation orders.

Officials are committed to getting people back into their homes as soon as safely possible, Driscoll said.

The area, however, will likely remain closed for the next 48 hours.

More than 2,000 homes are located in the area and an estimated 700 were already under evacuation Tuesday -- along with more than 1,000 animals.

An estimated 200 personnel are working to contain the blaze.

Forest officials were unable to explain how the fire progressed since it was first reported Sunday and why resources weren't called in sooner. One resident questioned how a small fire grew to 6,000 acres barely a day and a half later.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. A team will go in within the coming days to attempt to determine the cause and how exactly it progressed.

Current firefighting resources include five hand crews, 15 engines and three dozers. Air tankers were ordered to help contain the blaze in the early afternoon, but they were grounded due to high winds. True Brown, fire management officer for the Flagstaff Ranger District, said they're constantly reassessing when it will be safe to get back in the air.

A Type I incident management team has been ordered, officials said, and Personnel, assets and resources from the team are expected to arrive over the next two days.

The blaze appeared to be moving northeast away from the more heavily populated areas of Flagstaff, toward Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and volcanic cinders, said Coconino National Forest spokesman Brady Smith.

Its good in that its not headed toward a very populated area, and its headed toward less fuel, he said. But depending on the intensity of the fire, fire can still move across cinders.

Fire and law enforcement agencies that were knocking on doors to warn of evacuations Tuesday were forced to pull out to avoid getting trapped by the flames, Paxton said. Arizona Public Service Co. shut off power to about 625 customers to keep firefighters safe, a spokeswoman said.

Ali Taranto rushed to Flagstaff from Winslow, where she works at a hospital, to check on a property she owns that was threatened by the wildfire. She also was getting messages to check on a neighbor who she found didn't have access to oxygen while the power was out and didn't have the strength to manually open her garage door to evacuate.

Taranto said the neighbor was disoriented and gasping for air when she reached her. Firefighters in the area helped get the garage door open and the neighbor to the hospital, she said. Taranto was looking for a shelter for the neighbor's two dogs.

By the time Taranto left the area, the highway into Flagstaff was shut down and she had to drive an extra two hours back home. At least two other neighbors didn't evacuate, she said.

To see flames several yards away from your property line and to hear the propane tanks bursting in the background, it was very surreal, Taranto said. Ash falling down. It was crazy.

The strong winds were expected to continue overnight before decreasing in the coming days, according to Brian Klimowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bellemont. Winds were expected to decrease to 15 to 20 miles per hour with gusts upwards of 25 miles per hour. Another system was forecast to move into the area later in the week, again bringing strong winds.

Fire isn't new to this area, either. The same communities were hit by the Schultz Fire in 2010 and the fire is currently burning throughout that burn scar.

With this experience, the county has already declared a local state of emergency and requested both state and federal resources, Coconino County Supervisor Patrice Horstman said.

"This is the time, as we've done in the past, for neighbors to help neighbors," Horstman said.

As fire season seems to start earlier and earlier, fire officials are gauging not if, but when, they will close the forest.

Coconino National Forest land was closed for a portion of the summer during two of the last three years due to high fire danger.

"I think that's probably going to be a new normal for us going forward," said Matt McGrath, district ranger for the Flagstaff Ranger District.

It's likely this is just the start of what will be an unprecedented fire season.

"We're prepared for this year to be similar to the past several, which have been difficult," McGrath said.

A Tunnel Fire call center has been set up at 928-679-8525. For ongoing updates, visit coconino.az.gov/tunnelfire.

The Tunnel Fire was just one of several blazes burning throughout northern Arizona Tuesday. Nearly all of Arizona was under a Red Flag Warning Tuesday with high temperatures, low humidity and strong wind gusts throughout the state.

Also Tuesday, officials urged residents of the Government Prairie area to prepare for a possible evacuation due to a wildfire near Parks. That blaze was contained at five acres early in the evening.

The 750-acre Crooks Fire also triggered evacuations of several small communities south of Prescott in recent days.

In southern Arizona, a principal highway route between Bisbee and Sierra Vista reopened Tuesday after being closed for about eight hours overnight due to a brush fire in the hills overlooking Bisbee.

The National Interagency Fire Center reported Tuesday that nearly 2,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel were assigned to more than a dozen large wildfires in the Southwestern, Southern and Rocky Mountain areas. Scientists say climate change has made the U.S. West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

Reporter Bree Burkitt can be reached at 928-556-2250 or bburkitt@azdailysun.com. The AP's Felicia Fonseca contributed to this report.

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Sunday, April 17

On this date in 1911, Sarah Bernhardt performed at the Tucson Opera House.

On this date in 1894, the business district of Jerome, then the largest mining camp in Arizona, was completely destroyed by fire.

On this date in 1913, an air blast, generated by the fall of 3 million tons of capping in the Miami mine, killed seven miners. The blast blew ore cars up to 100 feet (30.5 meters) .

On this date in 1930, 17 stills, 2000 gallons (7,571 liters) of mash and 40 gallons (151.42 liters) of whiskey were confiscated by Greenlee County officers.

On this date in 1931, a government order was issued for the extinction of the wild horse herds in the Coconino National Forest.

Monday, April 18

On this date in 1924, the Chiricahua National Monument was established.

On this date in 1924, 1,600 motorists were stranded at points of entrance to Arizona because of the embargo on all vehicular traffic due to a hoof and mouth quarantine. The occupants of 115 cars at Needles threatened to overpower Arizona border guards, and the governor ordered the National Guard readied for duty.

On this date in 1931, construction began on an Army Airways Operations Building at Fly Field in Yuma.

Tuesday, April 19

On this date in 1859, Fort Mojave was established.

On this date in 1884, Henry Chee Dodge was appointed head Chief of the Navajo Tribe by Agent Riordan.

Wednesday, April 20

On this date in 1825, Charles Poston, Father of Arizona, was born.

On this date in 1877, the town of Globe was founded.

On this date in 1920, a gasoline shortage forced many stations to close.

On this date in 1927, the town of Globe celebrated its 50th anniversary with 50,000 people, including Gov. George W.P. Hunt who had first entered Globe in 1881, riding a mule and seeking his fortune.

On this date in 1931, funeral services were held for Mrs. Helen Duett Hunt, wife of Arizona Gov. George W.P. Hunt.

Thursday, April 21

On this date in 1877, John Clum, with Clay Beauford and his Apache Police Force, arrested Geronimo and 13 other Apache renegades at Ojo Caliente, New Mexico.

On this date in 1904, Edward Tewksbury, the last survivor of the Graham-Tewksbury feud, died.

On this date in 1917, an agricultural conference meeting at the University of Arizona was startled when Dr. A.E. Vinson recommended slaughtering 25,000 wild burros and grinding the meat to make bologna.

On this date in 1928, Maricopa and Pima counties battled over their boundaries before the State Supreme Court.

Friday, April 22

On this date in 1919, the government opened its case in the Phoenix trial of two Cocopah Indians charged with the killing of their tribal medicine man who failed to halt a flu bug.

On this date in 1919, contracts were signed by Pima and Pinal County authorities and the U.S. Forest Service for the construction of a road from Oracle to Soldiers Camp in the Catalina Mountains.

On this date in 1920, prominent society and club women started a boycott on potatoes to protest the price. Housewives in Phoenix were called and asked to support the boycott and tell five friends to do the same.

On this date in 1938, the head of the Maricopa County Highway Safety squad was tried in Tempe Justice Court on charges of reckless driving.

Saturday, April 23

On this date in 1850, Yuma Indians attacked the ferry at the Yuma Crossing. Fifteen people were killed and three reached safety on the west coast.

On this date in 1886, fire destroyed a block of business buildings in Phoenix. The town had no fire department or water works.

On this date in 1919, U.S. Marshals raided two underground stills located in an abandoned mining shaft near Jerome.

On this date in 1919, The Arizona Daily Star reported that tests and experiments were to be conducted for the first time concerning the use of airplanes to spot forest fires and transport firefighters.

On this date in 1983, Buster Crabbe, a former Olympic swimming gold medalist who went to star in movies such as Tarzan the Fearless, Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers in the 1930s and 1940s, died of a heart attack at his Scottsdale home at age 75.

On this date in 2010, Gov. Jan Brewer signs SB1070, a bill that requires local police officers to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are illegal immigrants, into law.

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Officials said the Tunnel Fire has grown to more than 19,700 acres as of Wednesday afternoon.

The wind-driven fire, which first started Sunday before growing dramatically Tuesday, forced the evacuations of hundreds of households northeast of Flagstaff.

All areas both east and west of Highway 89 and north of Campbell Avenue remained under evacuation Wednesday morning, as well as Moon Crater farther to the east.

The Antelope Hills area east of Highway 89 remained on "SET" status, with officials urging residents to prepare for a possible evacuation.

Highway 89 northbound is closed at milepost 425, while the southbound lanes are closed at milepost 435. Forest Road 544 is also closed.

6:15 p.m.: It's still not clear how many houses have been destroyed, but numerous stories of lost homes and calls for assistance have appeared on social media in recent days.

Anyone interested in helping those impacted by the Tunnel Fire should contact the United Way by texting UWNAZRESPONSE to 41444. Donations will be used to support families with immediate needs and as they rebuild and return to their homes.

All people evacuated from the Tunnel Fire should contact the county's call center at 928-679-8525 to provide their addresses and contact information so that the team can communicate directly with them regarding re-entry and the status of their home. An assistance center is also set to open at 2176 N. Vickey St. Thursday morning to connect those impacted with any needed resources.

6 p.m.: Brian Klimowski, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bellemont, explained that the next few days will stay windy and breezy with low humidity, creating conditions ripe for rapid wildfire growth. The conditions are expected to continue into Thursday night, especially in the Doney Park area.

Rain and cooler temperatures forecasted for late this week could provide much-needed relief as soon as Friday. Unfortunately, Klimowski said those conditions will again be accompanied by stronger winds with gusts up to 50 mph. Things should be a bit lighter over the weekend with 15 to 25 mph winds shifting to the north. The windy conditions are forecasted to return next week, as typical of spring in Flagstaff, and it will likely continue throughout the rest of the season.

"Folks we have entered our fire season," Klimowski said. "And it's going to be a long one this year."

5:30 p.m.: A community meeting is being held at Sinagua Middle School. A livestream of the meeting can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/CoconinoCounty/videos/344718760973754.

3 p.m.: Fire personnel remain focused on the Timberline neighborhood, fire information officer Dick Fleishman said.

Small fires, known as "spotting," were observed in the area at around 11 a.m.

"But now there is spotting everywhere," Fleishman said.

Fire crews have also detected gas leaks in the neighborhood. Fresh smoke could be seen pluming from the neighborhood as winds picked up in the afternoon.

Rather than being thoroughly burned, Fleishman said that the Timberline area is more of a "mosaic," with many unburned houses remaining.

"A lot of it was spot fires, lack of people doing some kind of defensible space," Fleishman said, "and some of it is just plain damn unlucky."

Sunset Crater National Monument is also within that burn area. Monument social media reported that the visitor center was spared and culturally significant items safely evacuated, but that fires continue nearby and the monument has been "burned in its entirety."

Over the day, the Tunnel Fire has extended north and east. It measured an estimated 19,712 acres.

2:30 p.m.: The National Weather Service in Bellemont has issued a Red Flag Warning for Thursday, with strong winds and low relative humidity expected in portions of northern Arizona from Seligman to Flagstaff to Springerville and northward.

Affected areas include locations near Buffalo Pass, Doney Park, Grand Canyon, Holbrook, Page, Tuba City, Williams, Winslow and more.

The forecast calls for southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph., and temperatures in the upper 60s

2 p.m.: The Coconino National Forest has issued a reminder that no drones are allowed in and around the fire area. If a private drone is spotted in the area, all aircraft support will be grounded, which can be detrimental to firefighting efforts.

Noon: A community meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. for those who have been evacuated at Sinagua Middle School, 3950 E Butler Ave. The meeting will also be streamed live.

Those who have been evacuated should call the Tunnel Fire Call Center at 928-679-8525 so that the County may collect contact information to use as the situation develops.

11:30 a.m.: Wednesday's strategy for the Tunnel Fire is to "anchor and flank" and continue to focus on protecting structures in the residentially dense Timberline neighborhood, explained Jerolyn Byrne of the Flagstaff Fire Department.

Bulldozers are digging line west of the fire's origin. Air support tactics are being developed, said Byrne, but several Type 1 incidents in the region are expected to be requesting similar assistance.

"We don't have an update on air support at the moment," said Byrne.

Personnel are not being deployed at the fire's front, which is currently northeast of Moon Crater.

"We don't have resources to do a direct attack in front of the fire at this time," Byrne said.

The Northern Arizona Type 3 team currently deployed with a Type 1 team inbound from the Pacific Northwest. The set up of a fire camp is being coordinated through the City of Flagstaff and Coconino County.

The fire's progress will continue to be monitored as it approaches unincorporated parcels east of Moon Crater, and residents of this area should look for continued updates on evacuation orders.

10 a.m.: Anyone interested in helping those impacted by the Tunnel Fire should contact the United Way by texting UWNAZRESPONSE to 41444.

9 a.m. Wednesday: Sheriff Jim Driscoll estimated during a briefing Tuesday night that "dozens" of homes had likely been destroyed, but they were unable to get into the area to get an official count as the fire was still too dangerous.

Current firefighting resources include five hand crews, 15 engines and three dozers. Air tankers were ordered to help contain the blaze Tuesday but they were grounded due to high winds. True Brown, fire management officer for the Flagstaff Ranger District, said they're constantly reassessing when it will be safe to get back in the air.

A Type I incident management team has been ordered, officials said, and personnel, assets and resources from the team are expected to arrive over the next two days.

Strong winds were again expected Wednesday. Much of Flagstaff will likely see wins ranging from 15 to 25 miles per hour with gusts upwards of 25 miles per hour, according to Brian Klimowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bellemont. It's an improvement from Tuesday, but still dangerous for fire crews.

Reporter Bree Burkitt can be reached at 928-556-2250 or bburkitt@azdailysun.com.

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Multiple areas northeast of Flagstaff are under evacuation Tuesday as the fast-growing Tunnel Fire whipped through an estimated 6,000 acres, fueled by high winds.

All areas both east and west of Highway 89 and north of Campbell Avenue are under evacuation, as well as Moon Crater.

The Antelope Hills area east of Highway 89 should be prepared for a possible evacuation.

US 89 northbound is closed at milepost 425. Southbound is closed at milepost 435. Forest Road 544 is also closed.

Officials said the Tunnel Fire scorched an estimated 6,000 acres about 15 miles northeast of Flagstaff as of 5 p.m., according to a U.S. Forest Service press release. The fire grew substantially due to high winds, eventually pushing the blaze across Highway 89.

An estimated 200 personnel are working to contain the blaze. Officials were unable to confirm whether any homes had been destroyed, but noted that numerous structures are threatened within the Doney Park area.

The fire was reported Sunday afternoon and the cause remained under investigation Tuesday.

6 p.m.: Representatives from Coconino County, Coconino County Sheriffs Office, and the Coconino National Forest will be holding a media briefing at 7 p.m. to speak about the fire and evacuation notices, as well as take questions. We'll have more details after the press conference.

5 p.m.: The fire has grown to an estimated 6,000 acres with 0% containment, according to a release from the Coconino National Forest.

Current firefighting resources include five handcrews, 15 engines and three dozers. Air tankers were ordered to help contain the blaze in the early afternoon, but they were grounded due to high winds.

A Type I incident management team has been ordered, officials said. Personnel, assets and resources from the team are expected to arrive over the next two days.

A media briefing is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Arizona Daily Sun will continue to provide updates as additional information becomes available.

3:45 p.m.: Officials confirmed the Tunnel Fire has swelled to approximately 2,000 acres. No additional details were immediately available.

3:30 p.m.: Coconino County has established a call center for the Tunnel Fire at 928-679-8525.

2:30 p.m.: The wind is expected to be a challenge the rest of the week, along with warm weather and low humidity, the National Weather Service told The Associated Press.

I don't see any significant decreases in wind, I don't see any big bump ups in humidity and, at this point, we're not really expecting any precipitation either, meteorologist Robert Rickey said.

2:15 p.m.: High Country Humane officials said the evacuation of the animal shelter went "perfect."

"We had a tremendous response from the neighbors. They showed up in spades. We got all the animals out in about 45 minutes," Jody Cook of High Country Humane said.

Cook said the fire disrupted power to the shelter around noon. He told the Arizona Daily Sun he thinks the fire may have reached homes.

"I've heard three propane takes explode," Cook said.

2 p.m.: The areas around Moon Crater and Antelope Hills east of Highway 89 are now on "SET" status and should be prepared for possible evacuation.

1:45 p.m.: Multiple officials confirmed the Tunnel Fire jumped Highway 89 near Girl's Ranch Road.

1:10 p.m.: Reporter Sean Golightly reported extreme winds whipping northeast from the Timberline neighborhood as smoke billowed over Highway 89.

It was hard to tell which was thicker, the dust or the smoke. Coconino County Sheriff's deputies blocked the roads into numerous neighborhoods, including Kevin's Way and Copeland, as lines of trucks and personal vehicles evacuated the area.

White smoke could be seen frothing up from the forest, with intermittent columns of black spouting above rooflines.

Curtis Chance was ready to evacuate with his personal belongings, computers and cats.

"If the wind shifts directions, we're getting out of here," he said while watching smoke fill the western sky.

1 p.m.: An emergency evacuation shelter will open at Sinagua Middle School, located at 3950 E Butler Ave., at 1:30 p.m., according to CCSO spokesman Jon Paxton.

All pets, including household and large animals, can be taken to the Coconino Humane Association, 3501 E. Butler Ave. Officials urged residents not to take animals to High Country Humane because the area is preparing for a possible evacuation.

12:50 p.m.: US 89 northbound is closed at milepost 425. Southbound is closed at milepost 435. Forest Road 544 is also closed.

12:15 p.m.: CCSO spokesman Jon Paxton said it's unknown how many people are under evacuation. CCSO was working on establishing a shelter for those impacted by the fire.

11:30 a.m.: Resources on scene include three Type 1 handcrews, two dozers, two water tankers and seven engines. The fire is 0% contained and its cause is under investigation.

Nearly all of Arizona is in a Red Flag Warning for Tuesday, with high temperatures, low humidity and strong wind gusts hitting most of the state. According to the National Weather Service, winds in Flagstaff will gust up to 45 mph this afternoon, with a high near 70 degrees.

On Saturday, Forest Service personnel responded to the 52-acre Cochrane Fire about 5 miles east of Doney Park. It was contained within a few hours.

Given the wildfires sparking across Arizona, the U.S. Forest Service urges people to refrain from any behavior that may accidentally start a wildfire. Drivers should avoid dragging chains and driving vehicles over dry vegetation and recreationists should be very cautious with campfires. Make sure campfires are fully extinguished before leaving the scene and avoid tossing cigarette butts into areas that may ignite.

Residents and visitors must remain vigilant to help prevent fires, said Randi Shaffer, deputy public affairs officer for the Coconino National Forest.

If the community helps us out by abiding by fire restrictions and practicing best fire practices when restrictions aren't in effect, it'll make it easier on us, she said. We'll definitely have less of a fire season if we have less human-caused wildfires.

The Kaibab National Forest announced the cancellation of a controlled burn originally set for Wednesday due to fire-ripe conditions.

Crooks Fire

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for Arizona residents near Mount Union, about 10 miles south of Prescott, officials said.

The Yavapai County Sheriffs Office issued the order Monday after a wildfire began at about 10 a.m. It said on its Facebook page that an evacuation center has been set up at Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley.

The U.S. Forest Service said in a statement that the fire has burned about 500 acres in rugged terrain filled with brush, ponderosa pine and mixed conifer, which are trees with cones and needle-like leaves.

Department officials said fire crews, engines and aircraft have been working to suppress the flames and that smoke may be visible from surrounding towns and areas, including Chino Valley, Mayer and Prescott Valley.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Fire near Bisbee

A principal highway route between two southern Arizona cites reopened Tuesday after being closed for about eight hours overnight due to a brush fire in hills overlooking Bisbee.

U.S. 80 was reopened around 6 a.m. after being closed Monday evening near Mule Pass Tunnel, the Arizona Department of Transportation said.

The highway is the principal route between Bisbee and Sierra Vista.

No structure damage was reported and the Cochise County Sheriff's Office said the fire's perimeter had been secured and a pre-evacuation notice for about 15 homes had been lifted.

No information was immediately available on the fire's size or how it started.

"Ready, Set, Go" explained Officials ask residents to remain ready for evacuation during the wildfire season.This includes assembling an emergency kit that includes water, food, pet foods, medication, personal items and other important belongings. Make plans for what you will do with pets or livestock in an evacuation occurs. Keep up to date on local news, weather watches and public health recommendations.When a set status is declared, residents should consider voluntarily relocating to a shelter or with family or friends outside the impacted area.Grab your emergency kit and start arranging to relocate pets and livestock. Be prepared to possibly leave your home for up to a week or more.This might be the only notice you receive as emergency services cannot guarantee they will be able to notify everyone if conditions deteriorate rapidly.Evacuate immediately when a go notice is issued.Follow instructions from emergency personnel, stay on designated evacuation routes and avoid closed areas. If residents choose to ignore this, emergency services may not be able to assist any further.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Arizona Senate hopefuls had raised more than $61.5 million by March 31, led by Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., whose almost $39 million in campaign contributions was the second-highest in the nation among Senate candidates this cycle.

The latest reports from the Federal Election Commission show that Kelly had raised and spent more than his six challengers combined. But experts are still calling the Arizona race a toss-up, with Kelly grappling with a Democratic president whose sinking poll numbers could hurt his campaign and attract millions from outside Republican groups that see Arizona as winnable.

Kelly obviously will have no shortage of money, and he should have a huge edge on whoever his eventual opponent is, said Kyle Kondik, the managing editor for Sabatos Crystal Ball, at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

However, money is far from everything in modern elections, and Kelly should be facing a difficult political environment, Kondik said in an email Monday.

Kondik pointed to groups like the Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican political action committee that said Monday it has reserved $14.4 million in advertising in Arizona to start running in September, after the primary election. The Arizona buy is part of $141 million the PAC said it will spend this fall on Senate races in seven states.

That sort of spending will help offset what is currently a sizable fundraising lead for Kelly, who one analyst said is showing no signs of slowing down.

According to the FEC, Kellys campaign donations as of March 31 trailed only Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., who raised a stunning $67.6 million so far in the 2021-22 election cycle.

Kelly had spent just under $17 million and had about $23.2 million in the bank, according to his FEC filing. His challengers, by comparison, reported raising $22.6 million and spending $11.5 million as of March 31.

Republican Jim Lamon leads the challengers with $13.8 million raised  but $13 million of that amount was a loan that the candidate made to his own campaign.

Blake Masters was next among the GOP hopefuls, with $3.8 million raised and $2.3 million in the bank. But Masters has the support of his former boss, billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel, who put up $10 million for the Saving Arizona PAC, which was created to support Masters candidacy.

Former Arizona National Guard Adjutant Gen. Mick McGuire reported raising just over $2 million with half of that still in the bank. Attorney General Mark Brnovich was the only challenger who had spent the bulk of what he raised, spending more than $2 million of the $2.5 million raised so far.

Brnovich cannot expect to get a boost from former President Donald Trump, whose backing will likely separate a candidate from the crowded GOP pack and has been eagerly sought by most of the Republicans. Trump said Monday that he will be making an Arizona Senate endorsement in the not-too-distant future, but he dedicated the majority of his statement to repeating complaints about Brnovichs handling of the 2020 election investigations.

The campaign offices of Lamon, Masters, Brnovich and McGuire did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

Jacob Rubashkin, a political analyst with Inside Elections, said that outside funding, like the Senate Leadership Fund, will help Kellys eventual challenger. But that help will not come until after a party nominee is chosen, while Kellys campaign said in a statement Monday that it started advertising in February and has released two ads so far.

Rubashkin called Kelly a strong fundraiser in the Democratic Party who is setting the pace for incumbent fundraising this particular cycle and is showing no signs of slowing down. But he said the current political climate favors Republicans, with President Joe Bidens struggles during his first year in office creating a hole for Democratic senator incumbents that is too deep to get out of, even with tens of millions of dollars in donor money.

Biden had a 41.8% approval rate nationally, according to the latest compilation of polls by FiveThirtyEight, and an even lower 40% approval rate in Arizona, where 55% disapproved, according to a March 30 poll by OH Predictive Insights.

But Mike Noble, the managing partner at OH Predictive Insights, said that while the environment is bad for most Democrats, Kelly is an exception. He said the firms latest polling shows a generic Republican beating a generic Democrat in three races it is tracking, but that Kelly is leading against a generic Republican.

Whether you agree with Mark Kelly or not politically, he has proven to be out-of-this-world in his fundraising prowess, and itll be key to his reelection, Noble said in an email Monday.

But Rubashkin said Kelly will need to keep pressing if he hopes to win reelection.

At the end of the day, if you ask most people in this business, Would you rather have the money or the national environment?' he said, these days, most people would tell you theyd rather have the national environment.

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With the start of Ramadan, I began watching the third season of the Egyptian TV serial Al-Ikhtiyar, or The Choice, a series that chronicles Egyptian political events over the last decade.

The leaks that appear at the end of each episode, and in fact the whole series, reminded me of an article that appeared in the newspaper Al-Watan in October 2013 headed Sinai National Security Adviser: Morsi fled to Gaza and leaked Security Plans to Terrorists.

In the article, journalist Osama Khaled conducted an interview with major-general Sherif Ismail, national security adviser for Sinai during former president Mohamed Morsis rule. Ismails position gave him access to confidential and classified information. At one point, Ismail had no other option but to resign after he realised that working under certain conditions was a betrayal of Egypt.

This is my take on the interview, which was conducted in Arabic. Some details have been omitted for brevity, but the translation maintains the integrity of the interview. Any bracketed information is mine and is there for clarification.

Ismail starts off by talking about the Muslim Brotherhoods agreement with the Americans and the Israelis to liquidate the Palestinian cause by abandoning part of Sinai and annexing it to Gaza so as to facilitate Israels disposal of the Gaza crisis without giving up any of its land.

He comments on the war on terror in Sinai in 2013, saying that the fallout in Sinai today is the upshot of the missteps of the previous regime. Todays operations are corrective measures to fix these missteps.

He then goes on to explain the moves Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood took in Sinai. Morsi released 580 prisoners who had served only half their time, even though they had all been sentenced in cases related to terrorism, insurgency, the arms trade, and drugs. Although Ismail and the security apparatus voiced their concerns over Morsis intention to release these convicts, Morsi went ahead with it anyway.

Morsi also culled the polices ability to retaliate against those crossing into Egypt, something which according to Ismail gave Hamas and other extremist groups the freedom to manoeuvre in Sinai.

On a weekly basis, about 350 Palestinians entered Sinai illegally via tunnels. The presidents instructions were to let them return to Gaza without pursuing any legal action against them. Thats what we did: we simply returned them to Gaza via the border crossings, Ismail said.

He went on to explain the gravity of the situation. Allowing the Palestinians to cross into Sinai was a national security issue  a direct violation of Egyptian authority. Furthermore, Hamas had stored weapons in Sinai and conducted training exercises for Palestinians and Bedouin. Ismail also recorded joint training exercises with Islamist groups from Gaza such as Al-Jihad Al-Islami, Geish Al-Islam, and Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis.

All these groups forgot about their differences and agreed on one principle: to create a terrorist state in Sinai. This is why Hamas permitted them to travel through its territory on the condition that they did not conduct any operations from within Gaza against Israel.

The violence had stopped after Egypt brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas, allowing both to enjoy a long truce. But these groups began to train in Sinai, turning it into a ticking timebomb ready to explode at any moment.

However, the Egyptian presidency did not do much when they were told about these aberrations, Ismail said. Not only did it refuse to conduct any operations against these groups, but it also disclosed the information to the groups in Sinai so that they could correct their bearings.

When Khaled asked Ismail why the army or the police did not react to such events, Ismail said that the army did not act unless instructed to do so. Both the army and the police were subjected to a plot to diminish their capabilities at the time. The government had ignored requests for armaments and vehicles to be used to enforce security and pursue militants and to protect police units themselves. Restrained and unable to act, the army and police were incensed by such actions.

Ismail also confirmed that Safwat Hegazi, the then Muslim Brotherhood leader who visited Sinai often, had played a critical role in ground operations and in the bombing of pipelines (supplying Jordan and Israel with gas). Mohamed Al-Zawahiri, leader of a Salafi jihadist group and brother of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, was captured in Al-Arish, only to be released the same day by a specific order.

Ismail resigned in protest because of two particular incidents. The first was when the presidency aborted the Eagle Operation, an Egyptian counterattack against the killers of 16 Egyptian soldiers in Rafah close to the border with Gaza. Then, Morsi sent a delegation to the area. The fact that Magdi Salem, other Islamist group members, and ex-convicts were among the members of the delegation enraged the security apparatus in Sinai as a whole. They were not qualified to negotiate in the name of Egypt and excluded the army and police force, he said.

The second incident was when Brotherhood leader Khairat Al-Shater established a company called Palestinian Egyptian in Cairo to oversee 70 tunnels crossing from Gaza into Egyptian territory and giving him monopoly control over illegal routes into and out of Gaza.

Ismail then realised that his reports to the presidency were being utilised against Egypt instead of protecting it. He could not continue to work for a regime that was working against his country.

In the interview, he goes on to explain why Morsi ousted field-marshal Tantawi and general Mourad Mowafi. The latter had provided a dossier on Islamist terror operations in Sinai that reported on the increase in the number of terrorist cells in Sinai and the spread of weapons, training camps, and Islamist courts. It also warned that Sinai had become a goal for terrorists from all the Arab countries.

Ismail said that after the Brotherhood took power in Egypt it tried to paralyse the security apparatus. It retired 600 major-generals from the police and shrank the role of state security, refusing to provide it with the necessary arms.

That is in addition to the meeting that took place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Cairo between Al-Shater and the leader of the Iranian National Guard with a view to creating a similar militia group in Egypt that would answer to the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood was thus working towards destroying the nation in order to build another that fitted its ideology.

Ismail said that after Morsi escaped from the Wadi Al-Natroun Prison, he went to Al-Arish where he stayed with former deputy governor and Brotherhood member Adel Qatamesh. Then he headed to Gaza via the tunnels. When the dust settled, he returned to Egypt.

Morsi wasnt alone on this trip to Gaza. Morsi entered Gaza with Ayman Nofal [the leader of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas], who coordinated with the Brotherhood office in Al-Arish. Bedouin and Salafi, those who had earlier stormed the prisons and the police stations, and assisted them in crossing into Gaza, Ismail said.

My understanding of what Ismail says regarding events in Sinai is that they constitute acts of treason. When a man of Ismails standing uncovers the cataclysmic situation in Sinai at that time, there is no room for doubt or second-guessing.

* The writer is the author of Cairo Rewind on the First Two Years of Egypts Revolution, 2011-2013.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
Officials with probation and drug court services in Gage County discussed their programs and shared statistics with the Gage County Board of Supervisors this week.

Ashley Griess, chief probation officer, presented the annual report during Wednesdays County Board meeting.

Griess oversees the first judicial district, which includes Fillmore, Gage, Jefferson, Johnson, Nemaha, Otoe, Pawnee, Richardson, Saline, and Thayer Counties.

As probation chief, Griess oversees a staff of 44 employees in six office locations throughout the district.

We know that both in the youth and adult world that individuals comes to us, and there might be some barriers," she said. "Whether those barriers are financial, transportation, we want to help those individuals be successful. We really work to help bridge those gaps of those barriers so they are able to access those services that they need.

In 2021, 1,161 clients were served by the probation office. In Gage County, there were 58 juveniles and 293 adults for a total of 351 individuals receiving services.

The department utilized $560,297 in state dollars to service juveniles in the district, and $266,739 for adults.

The office serves under three district court judges and six county court judges.

For adults, 81% of participants did not have a criminal offense within three years of completing probation. For juveniles, the department reported an 82% success rate of not committing a crime within one year.

Chris Reece, Drug Court Coordinator, said problem solving courts nationwide are on the rise as an option to incarceration.

She estimated that Nebraska Drug Court programs save $2.6-$9.7 million in tax dollars each year, and graduation rates for drug court programs in Nebraska meet or exceed national drug court completion rates.

The programs focus on non-violent felony drug offenders who are high risk to reoffend or have high needs.

The Wilber drug court, which was primarily supported by Gage and Saline counties, began in 2007, Reece said. It was one of the first drug courts in Nebraska. The drug court in Auburn is a relatively new drug court. It was started in 2019 and we just had our first graduating class. We graduated six people in January.

The program lasts at least 18 months, and can reach a maximum of 36 months for some participants.

Drug court programs consist of weekly, bi-weekly or monthly court appearances to review progress.

The program also features drug and alcohol program involvement, employment services, home visits, random drug tests, and group services.

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Beatrice Community Players straddles many lines in its squat brick buildingbetween old and new, small and large, art and business.

For Jamie Ulmer, the Managing Artistic Director at Community Players, balance is key.

Thats the million dollar question, Ulmer said. What does the community want to see, and what does the community need to see?

Last week, Beatrice Community Players unveiled the show list for the theater groups upcoming season. Ulmer said a committee of community members ultimately choose what plays make it onto the stage. In the selection process, Ulmer said the committee weighs several factors.

Im overall just really incredibly excited about the variety of shows weve selected for next season, he said. Not only in the regular season, but the Stage Door season has great variety in it as well. It has this terrific mix of small shows and then we have these big, big musicals that will cast 30 to 40 people in them.

Ulmer said, as the world begins to unknot itself from the COVID-19 pandemic, hes looking forward to really getting the community re-engaged in the shows.

We have a lot of creative momentum going on right now, he said. We are very happy we emerged from the pandemic hopefully with a lot more energy, a lot more focus We really want the local community to be involved. Community is our first name, and community comes first for us.

A newly released audience survey put on by the Community Players found that Beatrices share of the audience dropped from 58% to 31.6% since the last survey. Community Players conducts those surveys every four seasons, though this one was postponed a year and a half due to COVID-19. Members of 48 communities responded to the survey.

The survey also showed signs of the theaters economic impact in Beatrice, with 72% of patrons making an additional purchase in Beatrice outside of the show. They spent an average $42.59 per person.

Expanding that out to the pre-pandemic attendance numbers, this means CP audiences spend approximately $233,000 in addition to their ticket purchases, the survey study reads.

Ulmer said art organizations like Community Players lend an air of constancy to a community.

Resources like this are what make a community livable, he said. A hundred and some years ago, when all these towns in the Midwest were founded, one of the first things the town founders did was build an opera house. It wasnt because they loved opera. It wasnt because they love the symphony. It was because establishing that your community has culture and art indicates that your community has permanence. Its going to last.

Community Players will show three Stage Door productions alongside the regular season shows. Tyler Rinne, the associate artistic director who overseas Stage Door shows, said the separate committee for Stage Door had to strike a balance of its own in accounting for the number of youth performers.

The shows are really different from each other, Rinne said. They stand alone and complement each other They will really show the range of our performers."

Stage Door shows include Singin in the Rain, JR. in July, Happily Ever Before in November and The NeverEnding Story in May.

The Community Players regular season will show Ordinary Days in September, Four Old Broads in October, A Christmas Story: The Musical in December, Murder on the Orient Express in February, Puffs in March and April and The Music Man in June.

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A federal oil lease sale is planned for North Dakota in June after the Interior Department scrapped plans for one anticipated in the first quarter of 2022.

A series of court rulings and decisions from federal officials have thrust lease sales into an on-again, off-again status for the past year, during which time no sales have occurred in North Dakota. The sales function like an auction, with companies that place winning bids securing the right to drill for oil within federally owned minerals.

The Interior Departments Bureau of Land Management had planned for a lease sale during the first quarter of 2022, but it nixed those plans in the wake of a court ruling earlier this year. Then last week, the Biden administration announced it would resume lease sales across the nation, citing a different court order. But the upcoming sales will make less acreage available and implement higher royalty rates.

The acreage made available in the lease sale planned for North Dakota is essentially a ditto of what would have been on the table in the first quarter, State Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms said. The minerals tend to fall along Lake Sakakawea in western North Dakotas Bakken oil fields.

The tracts ready for lease in North Dakota are prime acreage, Helms said.

The June 28 sale includes minerals in both North Dakota and Montana. The BLM has cut the total acreage available in half, relative to the sale that had been scheduled for the first quarter of 2022, with the entirety of the cuts falling in Montana. Just over 3,400 acres are available between the two states.

The Biden administration is increasing the rate at which oil producers must pay royalties to the federal government to 18.75% for new leases, up from 12.5%. The move follows a federal review of the royalty program and is meant to ensure fair return for the American taxpayer and on par with rates charged by states and private landowners, the Interior Department said in a statement last week.

The upcoming sale is expected to take place after a 30-day period in which the public can issue protests over any parcels slated for lease.

Helms told reporters Tuesday that state officials were just beginning to have conversations about how the announcement about the June sale might impact the states lawsuit over federal oil leasing. The state took the federal government to court over the matter after President Joe Biden halted leasing upon taking office in early 2021 and sales in North Dakota stopped. State officials have long wanted to see leasing resume.

Helms said its our intention to move forward with the lawsuit, but he said he could not speak further about it. The latest development in the case occurred earlier this month when Federal Magistrate Judge Clare Hochhalter issued an order spelling out deadlines for next steps the parties involved in the case can take.

Reach Amy R. Sisk at 701-250-8252 or amy.sisk@bismarcktribune.com.

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A 72-year-old Helena man who was convicted of raping and sexually assaulting children was sentenced Tuesday to 225 years in prison.

Guy L. Parker was sentenced to two concurrent 100-year sentences for two counts of sexual intercourse without consent with a victim under age 12. He will be ineligible for parole for the first 25 years of these concurrent sentences and must submit to monitoring if he is ever released.

He was sentenced to an additional 100 years for attempted sexual intercourse without consent with another victim under age 12. He will also be ineligible for parole for the first 25 years of this sentence, which will run consecutive to the others.

Parker was sentenced to another 25 years for sexually assaulting a third victim younger than 16. This sentence will run consecutive to the others.

He was also ordered to register as a Level 2 sex offender, submit to DNA testing and pay $8,032 in restitution. He received credit for 412 days served in jail.

Parker was arrested in 2021 after a complainant reported that her young child had received inappropriate Snapchat messages from him. Screenshots obtained by a deputy show that he told the child she was the most beautiful girl in the world and said I love our nightly chats.

The complainant reported that there was a wound on another childs private parts after the victim stayed with the defendant. During forensic interviews, the children reported that they had been molested by Parker.

The family of the victims reported to a detective that Parker had access to other children who would also stay at his home. He reportedly built a special area in his shop for children to spend the night.

During his sentencing hearing Tuesday in Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Kathy Seeleys courtroom, the mother of one of the victims said the situation has been very difficult for her family and her child.

I know that all of these families in here would like to see justice be served for our girls, and not only for our girls but to protect the rest of the community from this predator," she said.

A spokesperson for the families of the victims told Parker he will never be able to shed his identity as a child molester.

May you suffer each day rotting in your cell, she said. And remember, you wear a brand now. Not a name. The only identity you have is child molester.

A witness for the prosecution testified that Parker assaulted her when she was a teenager and he was in his 30s in the 1980s. She said Parker was a substitute teacher and the pastor of her church in Oklahoma at the time, and she lost her religious faith and self-esteem because of what he did.

I think we would all be naive to believe that I was the first assault he committed or that these three girls were the last, she said.

Judge Seeley said Parker exhibited predatory behavior by inserting himself in the lives of families to gain access to their young children, and his sentencing was met with applause from the audience in the courtroom.

This is very dangerous behavior for the community, Seeley said.   I dont want him out on the streets."

Editor Jesse Chaney can be reached at 406-447-4074, or find him on Twitter: @IR_JesseChaney.

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For the first time since 2019, the Atomic Circus will be taking place at Montana State University Billings.

A fun, multimedia chemistry show designed for kids, this family-friendly event features chemistry experiments, interpretive dancers, and live music. The annual event is brought through collaboration between MSU Billings and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

Shows are free and open to the public at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 22, and 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 23. They will take place in Petro Theatre on the university campus.

In addition to the public shows, all fifth-grade students in Billings Public Schools will attend the Atomic Circus Experience on April 21 and 22, where they will take in the Atomic Circus show, STEM workshops, and campus tours.

We are so excited to be working with School District 2 again this year, says Matt Queen, professor of analytical chemistry. We get to expose these students and attendees to the wonders of science and the possibilities of higher education.

Learn more about the https://www.msubillings.edu/chps/aces/atomic-circus.htm.

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A panel of federal appellate judges has upheld a ruling dismissing a lawsuit brought by the state of North Dakota and several western counties that could have resulted in new roads built through parts of the Badlands.

Conservationists welcomed the decision, saying it protects some of the most pristine parts of the Badlands from traffic and, potentially, oil development.

Badlands Conservation Alliance President Connie Triplett said she was quite delighted by the ruling.

I think its a really serious win for the Badlands, for the long-term integrity of those areas that are still roadless and considered suitable for wilderness, she said.

Three judges from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the states and counties claim is barred by a 12-year statute of limitations that passed years ago. Their ruling upholds an earlier decision by U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland, who dismissed the matter in 2017.

The case began a decade ago when Billings, Golden Valley, McKenzie and Slope counties sued the federal government. The state followed with a suit of its own later in 2012, and the court consolidated the two cases. Together, the cases sought to claim rights to section lines in the Little Missouri National Grassland, which comprises much of the Badlands, and other areas that collectively make up the Dakota Prairie Grasslands.

The federal government argued in court documents that the states and counties unprecedented claim would establish public highways across thousands of miles of section lines that run through the Dakota Prairie Grasslands, national grasslands administered by the U.S. Forest Service.

Section lines are grid lines used in land surveying and mapping, and they are generally spaced 1 mile apart, according to the ruling. The federal government argued the state and counties claimed more than 4,500 miles of right-of-way easements affecting more than 27,000 acres of public lands managed by the Forest Service.

The question at the center of the case was whether the Forest Service gave notice to the state and counties that it believed it had the power to restrict access to the section lines within the grasslands. The circuit judges said the agency gave sufficient notice by publishing a series of travel plans and public notices in the 1970s and 1980s restricting motor vehicle access within parts of the grasslands. The Forest Service also erected signs, distributed travel maps, and planned patrols to implement its plan, the ruling says.

Thus, we conclude the statute of limitations as to North Dakotas quiet title action began to accrue more than 12 years before it brought this suit, and its claim is time-barred, the ruling states.

North Dakota had argued that its claim is not barred by the statute of limitations, saying that Hovlands decision disregarded federal laws requiring the Forest Service to recognize certain rights and that the travel plans and public notices were insufficient. The state said section lines are considered public roads and cited an 1866 federal law granting rights of way for the construction of highways over public lands. The Dakota Territory accepted that offer, and the provision became a state law when North Dakota entered the union in 1889.

The state or counties could appeal last weeks ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. Liz Brocker, a spokesperson for the attorney general's office, said, "We are considering the ruling." Danielle Bettencourt, an attorney representing the four counties involved in the case, did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

The Forest Service also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The circuit judges who heard the appeal are Steven Colloton, Bobby Shepherd and Jane Kelly, who authored the opinion issued last week.

The Badlands Conservation Alliance was not a party in the lawsuit, but its members have followed the case closely, and the group filed a brief supporting the federal governments position.

Triplett said that if the ruling went the other way and more of the Badlands were opened to roads, those areas could lose their designation as suitable for wilderness and, one day, see oil development. Much of the Little Missouri National Grassland has already been leased by oil companies, she said.

Theres no particular reason every last acre has to be drilled, she said.

Reach Amy R. Sisk at 701-250-8252 or amy.sisk@bismarcktribune.com.

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PIERRE, S.D.  A board that investigates complaints against South Dakota officials is scheduled to take up a pair of ethics complaints against Gov. Kristi Noem in May.

Noem had until last Friday to respond to complaints alleging she misused state airplanes for personal use and that she improperly interfered with a state agency that was evaluating her daughters application for a real estate appraiser license.

Neither Noem nor members of the South Dakota Government Accountability Board would say whether Noem responded by the deadline, the Argus Leader reported.

Noem has insisted she has done nothing wrong.

The board is scheduled to discuss both complaints at its May 2 meeting in Sioux Falls.

The board keeps the details of the complaints secret unless it decides they warrant a public hearing. In the past, it has dismissed complaints without requiring the targeted officials to respond to them.

Assistant Attorney General Katie Mallery, who serves as the boards liaison, said Noem's April 15 deadline remained in place, though she declined to say whether any response or responses were received by the board.

Noems spokesman, Ian Fury, said the confidential nature of the boards work prohibits him or the governor from answering questions related to the complaints.

Members of the Government Accountability Board, which was created in 2017, are appointed by the governor with consent of the state Senate. Noems lone appointment on the board, retired South Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice David Gilbertson, has been abstaining from voting on complaints involving her.

Noem is accused of repeatedly using state-owned airplanes for personal travel since taking office in 2019. She has also faced repeated allegations that she abused her authority to give an advantage to her daughter, who'd been struggling to become certified as a state real estate appraiser through the Department of Labor and Regulation.

Former director of the state appraiser certification program, Sherry Bren, abruptly retired in March 2021, months after a closed-door meeting with Noem and her daughter.

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Julian Assange's handover to the U.S. awaits approval from the U.K.'s interior minister, Priti Patel, after a magistrate authorised his extradition Wednesday. If she signs it, he can appeal her decision to England's High Court.

Scores of people protesting against Mr Assange's extradition gathered outside the court, carrying placards reading "Don't extradite Assange".  Mr Assange's legal team claimed that classified documents published by Wikileaks, which related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, exposed US wrongdoing and were in the public interest.

Assange is accused of "espionage" over Wikileaks' publishing evidence of U.S. military misconduct leaked to it by a U.S. service membera blatantly political prosecution complicated by Assange's high-profile partisan involvement in the 2016 U.S. election and credible allegations of sexual assault. Facing extradition to Sweden on those allegations, Assange jumped bail and fled to London's Ecuadorean embassy, where he remained for seven years until being removed and handed to police in 2019.
In an interview (video below), candidate for Michigan Governor, Pastor Ralph Rebandt, said "The bible should be the basic textbook and scripture, I mean in schools." Yes, he did.

He also said he would remove all the "pornography" from schools (didn't they just do that with math textbooks?). And that's where he set his own trap.

Obviously unbeknownst to him, he was speaking to Good Liars prankster Jason Selvig, who immediately pounced on the religious man's hypocrisy. "Somebody was telling us about a book that had two daughters getting their dad drunk and having sex with them," Selvig said, referring to Genesis 193037.

Selvig has used this line of reasoning with other fascists hiding behind Christianity, but they were clueless when he dropped the bible reference. Pastor Rebandt, on the other hand, immediately caught on. "I knew you were going that way. That's a good point."

And yet, even with the point taken, Rebandt continued on about pushing the bible on young children. And the more he tried to clear up Selvig's "misinterpretation" of the pastor's "reasoning," the more confused he became.
A Big Lie garbage peddler named Jim Marchant promises to end gasoline taxes to trick Nevada voters into electing him as Nevada Secretary of State.

"END the Gas Tax and HELP local Nevadans out at the pump. VOTE for Jim Marchant in 2022 and get gas prices back down!" tweeted Marchant.

END the Gas Tax and HELP local Nevadans out at the pump. VOTE for Jim Marchant in 2022 and get gas prices back down! pic.twitter.com/Kzib2Nsujw  Jim Marchant (@VoteJimMarchant) March 28, 2022

As Raw Story points out, Nevada Secretary of State can't do anything about gasoline tax prices. But they are responsible for overseeing elections in the state, making Marchant an especially dangerous choice.

Marchant is a Trumper conspiracy theorist who believes the 2020 election was stolen by a planetary cabal that manipulated voting machines. He is one of several loud-mouthed conspiracy enthusiasts nationwide running for offices that will be in charge of elections, the better to make sure that the next time Trump runs for president, his glorious victory will not be deprived merely because of some extraneous technicality like failing to have enough votes. Lately Marchant has been barnstorming rural Nevada counties to tell them George Soros has secretly infiltrated their election systems so  Trump's huge victories in their counties in the last two presidential elections were illegitimate? Just kidding, that's not Marchant's "point." He's merely trying to discredit democracy any way he can because that's popular with Republicans and he wants to win an election while we still have them.

The real reason Marchant is running for Secretary of State is to help Trump steal the next election, which is why he's using a blatant lie to fool voters into supporting him. Gasoline tax prices are set by the state legislature, not the Secretary of State, so Marchant's promise to help reduce those taxes is a complete fraud.
A gentleman couldn't help but brag to an Uber driver who picked him up from the Capitol on January 6, 2021. When asked if the mob at the Capitol had been violent all day, the passenger, who only went by the name of "Jerry," said, "Well, it started around right when I got there  I tore down the barricades."

When the driver asked why he did that, Jerry said, "Well, because, so we could get to the Capitol."

After dropping off Jerry at a hotel in Arlington, Virginia, the Uber driver tipped off the FBI. But with only a first name, physical description (white beard, fresh wound near his right eye), and dash cam footage of their conversation, it took 15 months to arrest him. And he admits he is guilty of "everything."

From The Washington Post:

With only a first name and footage from the car's camera, agents reviewed reservation records at a Holiday Inn in Arlington, Va., where Braun had been dropped off after the Capitol siege. He had checked in as "JD Braun" and provided an address in South El Monte, Calif., court records state.  Bauers said federal agents found several Internet images of "an individual with a white beard, wearing a black face mask covering his nose and chin, black sunglasses, a black beanie hat, black gloves, and a dark colored jacket with a hood." Enlarging such photos provided the next clue: a piece of paper reading "shotgunshock" and "Ask For JD," court records show. Shotgun Shock has sold motorcycle air suspension systems for 20 years. Investigators matched the business's email address with the one Braun used for his telephone and Uber accounts,according to the complaint.  One video showed Braun in the Capitol's restricted area "physically struggling with law-enforcement officers using a barricade," Bauers wrote. Another video showed Braun in an altercation with a journalist, wielding what appeared to be an eight-foot-tall wooden plank, according to the affidavit. "BRAUN extends the wood plank and physically strikes [the photographer] and appears to be taking photographs with a camera," the affidavit reads. "BRAUN and the photographer appear to exchange words. BRAUN then strikes the photographer with his left hand, and subsequently strikes the photographer once more with the wood plank."  When agents asked Braun during the search whether there was anything he wanted to tell them, he responded with a single word: "Guilty," he told the agents. "When asked what he was guilty of, BRAUN responded, 'Everything,' " according to the affidavit.

Braun faces three charges, including "violent entry or disorderly conduct, obstruction during civil disorder, and entering and remaining on restricted grounds."
Reports of low morale and soldiers looking to quit the Russian war effort continue. Apparently expecting to be paid what you were told will get you killed in the Russian armed services.

Daily Beast:

"According to Ukrainian intelligence, yesterday in the Pologovsky district Russian troops started to rebel: Russia's soldiers didn't want to fight because they have not received their promised payouts. [Ramzan] Kadyrov's men brutally killed three of the instigators of the riot who were ready to lay down their weapons and head home," Arefyev wrote.

No further details were provided on the brigade said to be involved in the riot, but Chechen troops have widely been seen as playing the role of "enforcers" during the war, and many survivors of the Bucha massacre outside Kyiv said the mass execution of civilians only began after Chechen troops were sent in to replace Russian soldiers there.

Authorities in nearby Dnipro reported similar instances of Russian troops rebelling. In a statement Wednesday, the Dnipro City Council said intercepted phone calls revealed Vladimir Putin's troops plotting to shoot their own commanders.
D'Youville University is offering full tuition, room and board to 10 Ukrainian college students a year starting this fall, D'Youville President Lorrie Clemo announced Wednesday.

D'Youville has already accepted one student, Yaroslav Malynych of Lviv, who will be studying chemistry here starting in September.

D'Youville also has forged a relationship with Mariupol State University, which has been largely destroyed during the Russian invasion and hopes to rebuild in Kyiv, and hopes to bring some of its students to attend D'Youville this fall.

Since reaching out to educators in Ukraine, D'Youville has identified 30 students whose plans for higher education have been interrupted by the war.

"Though welcoming 10 students a year may seem like a humble offering, it's a start that we hope will encourage other universities to also welcome Ukrainian students" to help the country rebuild in the future, she said.

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Vice Premier of the State Council Han Zheng will attend the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 and related activities upon invitation in Boao, Hainan on April 21.

CCTV: President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 virtually upon invitation and deliver a keynote speech. Vice Premier Han Zheng will attend the opening ceremony and related activities upon invitation. Can you share Chinas expectation of this annual conference?

Wang Wenbin: The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2022 will be held online and offline from April 20 to 22. The opening ceremony will be held on April 21.

As the once-in-a-century changes keep evolving, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, and geopolitical turbulence is unfolding, countries are facing an arduous and tortuous task of achieving economic recovery and sustainable development. In this context, the theme of this years conference The World in COVID-19 & Beyond: Working Together for Global Development and Shared Future reflects the international communitys shared aspiration for defeating the coronavirus at an early date, jointly promoting economic development, upholding solidarity and cooperation and improving global governance. As the host country of the Forum, China looks forward to having in-depth discussions with all participants under this years theme to pool wisdom, build consensus, and contribute to promoting common development of all countries and creating a brighter future.

AFP: Solomon Islands Prime Minister said that his countrys security deal with China was signed a few days ago. Can the foreign ministry share any details of how and when the signing took place? You also mentioned yesterday that the security cooperation between China and Solomon Islands is open and transparent. When will China be making the signed version of the deal public?

Wang Wenbin: On your first question, I already gave my answer yesterday. As I said, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade Jeremiah Manele, on behalf of the governments of China and Solomon Islands respectively, officially signed the inter-governmental framework agreement on security cooperation between the two countries the other day.

On your second question, China and Solomon Islands will act according to customary international practice on the basis of consultation.

CRI: According to the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), Chinas trade with the other 14 member states of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership expanded 6.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022, accounting for 30.4 percent of Chinas total foreign trade. In the same period, Chinas trade with countries including the ROK, Malaysia and New Zealand recorded double-digit growth. Do you have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is an important milestone in East Asian economic integration and marks a major step in promoting global trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. In addition to preferential tariff treatment, RCEP sets a benchmark for economic and trade rules in Asia-Pacific in terms of rules of origin, customs procedures and inspection and quarantine, giving a strong boost to regional economic integration with a higher quality and at a deeper level.

Since its entry into force three months ago, RCEP has played an important role in and made tangible contributions to boosting regional countries economic recovery, prosperity and development and maintaining peace and stability in the region. It has delivered benefits to companies and people in all participating countries. This has been commended by people in all sectors from countries in the region.

China is a champion for the signing and entry into force of RCEP and a participant in its high-quality implementation. Going forward, China will work with other parties to actively participate in the mechanism building of RCEP and jointly promote and improve its implementation. In this way, we will make new contributions to supporting the multilateral trading system, building an open world economy and promoting the strong, balanced, sustainable and inclusive growth of the world economy.

Al Jazeera: Recently, Israels incessant attacks on the Al Aqsa mosque, a holy site in Islam located in Jerusalem, have led to casualties. The attacks show no signs of abating. Whats Chinas view on this? Does China believe Israels actions infringe on the Palestinian peoples human rights, violate international law and negatively impact the Middle East peace process? The world is sympathizing with the Ukrainian people, but little attention has been paid to the Palestinian people who are being killed by Israel. Could China play a substantive role in the current situation?

Wang Wenbin: China is deeply concerned about the escalating violence and conflict between Israel and Palestine recently, especially the tensions in Jerusalem. We oppose any unilateral attempt to alter the historical status quo of Jerusalem and hope relevant parties can stay calm, exercise restraint and prevent the situation from getting out of control.

China holds that the Palestinian question should not be marginalized, still less forgotten, and the injustice lasting for over half a century should not continue. Chinas position on the Palestinian question is consistent and clear. We have been playing a constructive role in its resolution. Last year, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi put forward a three-point proposal for the implementation of the two-state solution. We call on the international community to direct more attention and input to the Palestinian question. The international community, major countries in particular, should face up to the crux of the Palestinian question and work on Palestine and Israel to resume peace talks at an early date, so as to realize peaceful coexistence. China will not cease its support for the just cause of the Palestinian people until the Palestinian question is resolved.

Reuters: Was the signing between China and Solomon Islands moved forward so it can be completed before the US delegation including Kurt Campbell arrive in Solomon Islands?

Wang Wenbin: I already elaborated on Chinas position on relevant issues yesterday. Let me stress this once again: China-Solomon Islands security cooperation is open, transparent and inclusive, and does not target any third party. It proceeds in parallel with and complements Solomon Islands existing bilateral and multilateral security cooperation mechanisms.

Hubei Media Group: It is reported that far-right political party Stram Kurs (Hard Line) recently organized anti-Islam rallies in multiple places across Sweden and burned the Quran, which has triggered an outrage among the Muslim community. Large-scale unrest broke out in many places, resulting in the vandalism of public facilities and injuries of many people. Some Islamic countries have summoned Swedish envoys to protest. Do you have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: We have noted the relevant reports.

China always opposes extreme behavior of attacking different religious beliefs and instigating conflicts between civilizations. Freedom of speech should not be used as an excuse to incite racial or cultural discrimination and create division in society. No civilization is superior to others. They are different only in feature and geographical distribution. We advocate replacing clash of civilizations with exchange of civilizations. We oppose discriminatory rhetoric against certain religion and civilization.

It is hoped that Sweden will draw a lesson from the matter and earnestly respect the religious beliefs of Muslims and other minority groups, protect their lawful rights and interests, and square their words of respecting and protecting freedom of religious belief with actions.

Dragon TV: Sri Lanka has requested emergency financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stave off an economic crisis. We noticed that China has decided to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to help Sri Lanka cope with the current difficulties. Can you offer more information on that?

Wang Wenbin: China and Sri Lanka are close neighbors enjoying traditional friendship. With mutual understanding, mutual support and mutual assistance, we have set an example of friendly coexistence and mutually-beneficial cooperation between countries different in size. China has always supported Sri Lankas socioeconomic development.

At present, Sri Lanka is faced with economic difficulties. The Chinese side has announced that it will provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka. We will continue to offer support and assistance to the best of our capability to help Sri Lanka reinvigorate its economy and improve peoples livelihood. We believe that the Sri Lankan government and people can surely overcome the temporary difficulties and realize socioeconomic stability and development.

AFP: You mentioned that foreign ministers of China and Solomon Islands signed the security deal recently. Because you mentioned yesterday also that the Chinese foreign minister had not made a visit to the other side. Could we clarify if the Solomon Islands foreign minister then came to China to sign the deal? Could you provide any further details on this front?

Wang Wenbin: China and Solomon Islands maintain smooth communication and exchange. If there is information on any exchange of visit, we will release it in a timely manner.

Global Times: According to reports, Chinas National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center alerted countries on cyberattacks by the US government and released a related report yesterday. It exposed the cyber weapon Hive used exclusively by the US government, cyberattack platforms deployed around the world, multiple jump servers and VPN channel placed in countries like France, Germany, Canada, Turkey and Malaysia. Does China have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: China is gravely concerned over the irresponsible malicious cyber activities of the US government. We urge the US side to explain itself and immediately stop such malicious activities.

The report released by the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center points out that if existing international internet backbone network and critical information infrastructure contain software or hardware provided by US companies, it is highly likely that various types of backdoor could be installed, making them targets of US government cyberattacks wherever they are.

For some time, in the name of enhancing capacity, the US has been trying to cajole relevant countries, especially Chinas neighbors, into cybersecurity cooperation with it. It even pursues the so-called Forward Deployment of cyber military forces. Will such cooperation open backdoor for malicious US cyber activities? Will it be used by the US to instigate geostrategic rivalry? Relevant countries will judge for themselves.

Phoenix TV: On the signing of the security agreement between China and Solomon Islands, Spokesperson of the US National Security Council Adrienne Watson issued a statement on April 19 saying that the US, Japan, New Zealand and Australia shared concerns about this security framework agreement and its serious risks to a free and open Indo-Pacific. Do you have any response?

Wang Wenbin: China and Solomon Islands conduct security cooperation on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, openness and transparency, to help Solomon Islands maintain social order, tackle natural disasters and carry out humanitarian aid. The cooperation is not targeted at any third party and does not replace existing bilateral and multilateral mechanisms of Solomon Islands security cooperation. I dont understand how our cooperation poses serious risks to the US.

If the US line of argument is followed, does that mean the Pacific Island countries can only carry out security cooperation with the US and its few allies? Does that mean cooperation with other countries are deemed threats? Does the US see the Pacific Island countries as independent and sovereign states or its dependencies? Is the US seeking to develop equal-footed relations with the Pacific Island countries or control them? All these are questions for the US to answer.
News industry veteran Mike Connelly, who has been the editor of The Buffalo News for nine and a half years, will retire next month.

President and Publisher Tom Wiley said Wednesday that a national search will be conducted to find Connellys successor. Deputy Managing Editor Denise Jewell Gee will serve as interim editor, Wiley added.

At The News, where he succeeded Margaret M. Sullivan, Connelly led the newsroom through transitions in a rapidly changing business. That included, Wiley said, building a digital-first publishing schedule and adapting to the challenges of covering Covid-19.

In addition, The News was acquired about two years ago by Iowa-based Lee Enterprises. The News is one of Lees largest newspapers.

Connelly said Wiley is committed to finding a way to grow the business. Earlier this year, for example, The News launched an expanded section focused on the changing regional economy, Buffalo Next.

I really think great things are going to happen here, Connelly told the newsroom on Wednesday.

Connelly, an enthusiastic storyteller shaped by his early years at The Wall Street Journal, brought that same approach to The News.

In fact, when Connelly arrived in Buffalo as the seventh editor in The News history, he accompanied each reporter on a drive around the area to learn about their beat.

The hardest part about leaving is all of you, Connelly told newsroom staffers. The work we have done together has been remarkable. And I have loved every moment of it.

Before arriving in Buffalo, Connelly was the executive editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. There, he led a newsroom that won a Pulitzer Prize and was a finalist two other times.

Under Connelly, The News has continued its commitment to watchdog and enterprise reporting that held officials accountable, from breaking the abuse scandal within the Buffalo Catholic Diocese to shining light on the insider trading of Rep. Chris Collins.

In 2015, in fact, The News was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in the breaking news category for its coverage of the November 2014 snowstorm.

Mike really elevated this newsroom, through a very tough time, said longtime investigative reporter Lou Michel. We didnt always agree, but he did what he had to do, and he really brought a better organizational structure. And he knows journalism, so Im proud that I had the opportunity to work for him.

That commitment to in-depth journalism will continue after Connelly departs, said Gee, who joined The News in 2007 as a reporter before advancing through the editor ranks.

Thats our core mission, she said. We stay focused on that.

Connelly, who over the course of a more than 40-year journalism career also worked at Congressional Quarterly Inc., The Baltimore Sun and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, plans to remain in Buffalo until the end of June before settling in Florida.

Its time, personally, and Im excited about the future, said Connelly, who turns 65 next month. He told the newsroom his final day at The News will be May 6.

Jon Harris can be reached at 716-849-3482 or jharris@buffnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByJonHarris.

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An East Aurora man pleaded guilty this week in a case involving a physical altercation with a state trooper after a traffic stop two years ago, the Erie County District Attorney's Office said.

The stop happened at 8:52 p.m. April 18, 2020, on Center Street, near Holland Glenwood Road in Colden.

During the stop, Chaz M. Brzezicki, 33, got out of his car and punched a trooper in the face, prosecutors said.

During the altercation, the trooper struck Brzezicki with a flashlight while Brzezicki had the trooper in a chokehold. Brzezicki was taken into custody when additional law enforcement arrived.

Brzezick was pulled over after passing the trooper on Center. The trooper smelled alcohol and marijuana when approaching the vehicle and saw a marijuana pipe in the Brzezicki's lap, prosecutors said.

Brzezicki pleaded guilty Monday before State Supreme Court Justice Paul Wojtaszek to second-degree assault and driving while intoxicated, according to the District Attorney's Office. He's scheduled to be sentenced July 7.

Reach Aaron at abesecker[at]buffnews.com or 716-849-4602.

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Warning: Graphic content. Includes scenes of violence and profanity

"Get him, get him, get him," a Buffalo police officer can be heard yelling in footage from a police body camera that shows a suspect being stunned by a Taser gun.

The video was released to local media organizations Tuesday by Police Commissioner Joseph A. Gramaglia, who said it shows the officer doing precisely what he was trained to do during an April 14 arrest of a Buffalo man who was tased before being taken into custody by Buffalo police and U.S. Marshals near West Utica and Brayton streets in the city's Elmwood-Bryant neighborhood.

"I think it showed a successful conclusion of an incident where the United States Marshal Service was looking to take an individual into custody for an indictment warrant, alleging rape in the first degree, a forcible rape out of Niagara County," Gramaglia told reporters during a news conference in the lobby of Buffalo Police Department headquarters following the release of the video.

Gramaglia said he released the body camera video following several inquiries by local news outlets.

"In our continuing efforts to be as transparent as possible, we wanted to release that video," he said.

The roughly two-minute-long body camera footage opens with an officer pointing a bright-yellow Taser from behind a fence. He yells to his fellow officers attempting to subdue the suspect, "I got a taser on him," before yelling at the suspect, "Get on the ground; I will tase you, so get on the ground."

The officer repeats the command and adds, "Stop resisting commands." The officer tells the suspect to get on the ground several more times before yelling "Taser, Taser, Taser," as the video shows a shirtless, shoeless man in shorts with blood on his legs lying on the ground, surrounded by police.

"Get him, get him, get him," the officer yells.

"We saw the Taser used as it was designed," Gramaglia said.

"The officer gave a command, as he was taught to do. The individual personnel that were engaging did their best to back away from him so that the Taser could be deployed. You also heard the officer yell, 'Get him, get him, get him,' " the police commissioner said.

"What they're taught to do while the Taser is engaged, while the person is being subjected to the Taser, is for the officers to move in and take him into custody. Because the Taser stops after five seconds, the individual can fight from that point on again, and then you've got to start over again. So that 'Get him, get him, get him" was part of his training to say get on him and get the handcuffs on him while he's, hopefully, been incapacitated," Gramaglia added.

'Less-than-lethal tool': After delays, Buffalo ramps up Taser training in effort to avert deadly police encounters The city is spending close to $1 million to roll out the program over the next six years to equip more than 500 officers with the devices.

The police commissioner said his department has a sufficient number of the recently distributed Taser guns.

"They're shared by officers. They're not individually assigned to the officers. So we have 20 per district. That's enough to cover the amount of officers that would be working a shift," Gramaglia said.

Prior to the scene captured on video, Gramaglia said the suspect, 27-year-old Victor Cramer-Williams, fled through a window, and leaped across several rooftops in his attempt to elude police, before Cramer-Williams jumped from the roof of a garage and injured his leg.

"He made quite a leap off the roof, but he also made a run down the driveway. So the officers, at that time, would not have known (that he was injured)," Gramaglia said.

He added that Cramer-Williams continued to fight even though he had an injury.

"Had he dropped from the broken leg and collapsed there, then he would have been taken into custody, first aid would have been rendered, and we would have moved on from that point," Gramaglia said.

Instead, Cramer-Williams continued to fight, the commissioner said.

Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia addresses residents' concerns at town hall meeting "There are a lot of guns flowing in this community, and our problem right now is not just guns, but ghost guns," Gramaglia said, addressing one resident's concern about the city's burgeoning gun violence.

"He was tased a second time by another officer without deploying the probe, but it's called a dry stun. We actually brought the Taser gun right to his body and shocked him a second time which then enabled the individuals to get the handcuffs on him, and that ended the engagement," Gramaglia said.

Officers also recovered a loaded handgun that Cramer-Williams allegedly tossed at the scene. He was additionally charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration,

He also was taken to Erie County Medical Center for treatment of his injured leg.

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After Jennifer Kumpf resigned from the union, she said she received a letter from union President Philip Rumore stating she could drop her membership at any time, but she had signed a card with "maintenance of dues language."
Buffalo Public Schools officials on Tuesday denied allegations made by a former building engineer that engineers did not follow the proper procedure for sampling for lead in school water systems.

The Urban Think Tank and We the Parents organized a news conference Tuesday morning to air the allegations. Interim Superintendent Tonja M. Williams attended with two staff members familiar with the testing. School officials said they are taking the allegations seriously, but they insisted that proper protocol was followed.

"When we hear concerns, we do not push them under any rug," Williams said.

James Reid, who retired in 2019, made the allegations at an April 2 forum sponsored by the Urban Think Tank with prospective School Board candidates. School Board President Lou Petrucci said he reached out to the School Board regarding the issue late last year.

New York State required school districts to test every faucet and fountain in every school for lead contamination in 2016, and again five years later.

There were stringent requirements, and water had to be in the pipes for at least eight hours, and not more than 18 hours, before samples were taken.

"We are not just making it up on the fly," said Yvette Gordon, director of safety and health for the district. "We have done all the things we are supposed to do."

Reid contends that building engineers were told by the district to use "pre-stagnation flushing" before collecting the water samples. Flushing the pipes by turning on faucets and fountains before samples of water is prohibited, because the water must be laying in the pipes for at least eight hours.

The result was that testing did not reveal the true levels of lead in faucets and drinking fountains, according to Reid.

But Gordon said that was not true.

"We are not allowed to do that before testing," she said. "We are not going in and doing that kind of flushing."

Valencia Howard Sease, senior chemist for Buffalo Public Schools, said when there were levels exceeding the benchmark, parents were notified in a letter. Depending on where the faucet with high levels was located, either a sign was posted warning against drinking the water, the faucet or fountain was placed out of service or new hardware was installed.

Urban Think Tank President Bishop Michael Badger and Samuel Radford, co-chairman of We the Parents, said they brought the issue up because it came from a credible source. And they also want to make sure that children who may have been exposed to lead are tested for it.

Radford introduced Franchesca Gidney and Tiffany Devonshire, directors of Buffalo Clinical Testing Lab Corp. They announced their lead free initiative, and said their company operates a mobile testing lab and will test any child in Buffalo for free. The company sponsors the initiative with the Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc., and the BLM Legal Defense and Education Fund.

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If ignorance really were bliss, Western New York would not be having the disputes that are now filtering down to school board races in the debate over whether kids get educated or indoctrinated.

And make no mistake: That is the choice.

After all, what gets taught in schools  at least in public schools  is not handed down on stone tablets from on high. Education policy is developed by human beings, some of whom now mirror critics elsewhere who want to instill a more anti-science, anti-government, pro-1950s agenda in the areas public schools.

But in their rebellion against expertise, at least credit them for being open about their goals as they recruited candidates ahead of this weeks filing deadline for next months school board elections. They dont hide the fact that they sprung up in opposition to school mask mandates, remote learning and, in the case of at least one local organizer, efforts to educate students about the reality of white privilege.

Also give them some credit  at least so far  for how they are pursuing their desired changes: through the electoral system. As a spokesman for Western New York Students First recently told The Buffalo News, we want the whole community to be part of this board of education process.

As the embodiment of democratic principles, rather than a call to violence, that much is commendable.

But make no mistake: It also is a challenge.

The beauty of America is that groups like that have every right to peacefully try to impose their agenda. The danger  also inherent in a democratic republic  is that they may well succeed, particularly in a democracy as lazy as ours.

A 2020 Pew Research Center analysis ranked the United States 30th out 35 developed nations in terms of voter turnout as a percentage of the voting age population in each countrys national election. Theres no reason to think we fare much better in local elections such as school board races, which often draw so little interest that seats go uncontested.

That is the ideal environment for reactionaries who, like nature, abhor a vacuum.

Coating themselves in a patina of grassroots governance, groups like Western New York Students First bill themselves as part of a movement around democracy and education. Similarly, the Fight for Your Family Initiative is raising funds for school board candidates in Orchard Park and Hamburg  again, a time-honored practice in the best political system money can buy.

But while all of that sounds noble on its face, it severely tests English philosopher John Miltons maxim that truth will always best falsehood in a free and open encounter. The 2016 presidential election and reactions to the Jan. 6 insurrection have already shown that Milton was much too sanguine. The May 17 school board elections may further prove that he was unduly optimistic.

When Fight for Your Family says its goal is to get freedom-loving folks elected and ensure that American values are upheld and exalted in our school, it doesnt require much reading between the lines. Started by an Orchard Park gym owner who sued over Covid-19 capacity restrictions and who also took exception to how a teacher delved into Americas racist past, its website claims to want to teach kids HOW to think, not WHAT to think.

But once you proscribe information vetted by a vast majority of experts because it doesnt fit your political beliefs  whether on the nations sordid racial history or the best ways to stop a fatally infectious disease  youve already dictated what kids will be taught to think.

Its a movement much more insidious than open insurrection, but just as dangerous, as the demand to Follow the science morphs into the question, Follow whose science? It would dictate school policy  whether on safety protocols or what is taught in the classroom  based on who can scream loudest at board meetings and get their backers to the polls.

Citing just enough of their own experts  and in an open society, there will always be professional outliers on any subject  they would dictate public policy for all students to suit their ideology, regardless of what the preponderance of the evidence says.

Yet we stand in danger of exactly that kind of takeover because it is always easier to stir up people to be against something than to be for something. Those mostly content with how education has been handled can sit blissfully complacent while those energized by pandemic safety protocols, critical race theory or some other made-up threat will swarm the polls.

That is the challenge for the rest of us.

With energy and anger on their side and apathy on the other, Milton wont stand a chance. And neither will Western New Yorks kids.

Seeing groups like this mobilize in plain sight to set education back decades is like watching a wreck unfold in slow motion before your eyes, and feeling helpless to stop.

But as informed and forewarned voters, we are not helpless to stop it.

Heaven help us if we dont.

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Beverly Whitehead, a career administrator at DYouville College and a mother of three, was playing a slot machine at the Buffalo Creek Casino a few weeks ago when she slid off her chair and fell, unconscious, to the floor. Her heart had stopped.

It was the evening of March 26. Ambulance medics inserted a breathing tube and rushed Whitehead, 62, to Buffalo General Medical Center, where her three adult children were gathering.

The children say that with their mother still unconscious, doctors initially told them she had been stabilized but her life would change. She would probably need a pacemaker and help in the home whenever she could be released.

The next day, however, a new team of doctors was less hopeful, and on March 30 they stunned the family. The doctors explained that Beverly Whitehead had gone too long without oxygen on March 26, despite the breathing tube. She was brain dead, her children were told, with no hope of recovery.

The State Court of Appeals ruled almost 40 years ago that a person may be deemed legally dead when the brain ceases to function, even if a heartbeat and breathing are maintained by artificial means.

The doctors told the Whitehead children that their mother would be disconnected from life support on April 1, just two days later. The family went to court and, so far, has stopped that from happening.

We are not naive, but we want to be hopeful for our mother, said Winter Whitehead, one of Beverlys two daughters. She needs time.

The hospital, however, is pressing on. Its lawyer filed papers telling State Supreme Court Justice Dennis E. Ward he should reverse his order to keep Beverly Whitehead connected to life support indefinitely.

Ms. Whitehead is in fact dead, the lawyer wrote.

This is obviously a very unfortunate situation, said Michael P. Hughes, Buffalo Generals senior vice president and chief administrative officer.

We have done everything reasonable to accommodate the family since this started, he said. To date, there has been absolutely no medical proof submitted to the court which refutes or calls into question our medical determination of the patients current status.

Beverly Whiteheads children  Eric, a firefighter, Jaime, a corrections officer, and Winter, a drug-court case manager  have little positive to say about Buffalo General. They complain that after the doctors deemed their mother brain dead, the staff began treating her with indifference. Bathing become less frequent. Nurses snapped at them when they visited.

When the three realized they would have to turn to the legal system to keep their mother connected to life support, the hospital moved the goal posts on them, they say.

Hospital staff, the three say, first told them life support would remain connected if a lawyer for the Whiteheads sent a letter stating a court order was being sought. A lawyer produced the letter, and the hospital waited hours before telling them it would not suffice, the Whiteheads say.

With precious time lost, the Whiteheads pressed another lawyer, Ralph C. Lorigo of West Seneca, to obtain the court order. He did so on April 1.

They gave us unrealistic barriers that they thought we couldnt meet that we did meet, Jaime Whitehead said of Buffalo General.

Buffalo Generals Hughes described it this way: Once we became aware of the familys objection to our providers determination of brain death, we gave them time to obtain a lawyer and go to court.

The larger fight, however, began when the Whiteheads sought a second medical opinion on their mothers state  from a doctor not under the Kaleida Health umbrella. Lorigo said that has exposed the real issue: The hospital wants to remove life support without allowing a second, outside opinion.

I am shocked at that, to be honest, said Lorigo, who also said he has never been involved in a case like this one. You would think you would have every right to a second opinion, and a second opinion by someone of your choice.

The family selected Dr. William Coplin, a neurologist who practices at South Buffalo Mercy, and asked that he be allowed to examine Beverly Whitehead. The hospital objected in court papers by saying Coplin lacks privileges to practice at Buffalo General, and the judge cannot order the hospital to give him privileges.

Buffalo General has 45 neurologists on staff if the family wants a second opinion, wrote the lawyer, Michael J. Roach. Hughes told The News that Coplin has yet to apply for privileges. "We provided the names of 45 neurologists with Kaleida Health privileges that they could have approached for a second opinion. To our knowledge, they failed to do so, Hughes said.

Beverly Whitehead's children said they learned early on that her collapse at the casino wasnt the only time her heart stopped on March 26. It stopped three more times at the hospital, they said. Further, a doctor told them her breathing tube was likely inserted too deep to be effective.

State law requires hospitals to have a policy for determining a death that involves the irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem." Buffalo Generals policy involves a series of tests and the completion of a form called the checklist for determination of brain death for adults.

On March 30, Buffalo Generals Dr. Lucy Campbell checked the boxes stating, among other things, that the patient was in an irreversible coma, had no spontaneous respirations, no cough reflex and her pupils did not react to bright light. But the form requires that all boxes be checked, and Campbell did not check the box that asked if "reasonable efforts" were made to tell the patient's decision-makers of an intent to determine brain death, which might explain why the Whiteheads were so stunned by the news.

On April 2, after the court order kept Beverly Whitehead on life support, Dr. Jamie Nadler went through the same checklist, this time checking all the boxes. Nadler, who had recently been named Kaleida Healths chief quality officer, also concluded Whitehead was brain dead.

There also had been two transcranial Doppler tests that found no brain activity. And an apnea test determined Beverly Whitehead could not breathe on her own, the hospitals records show.

Still, the patients three children lack trust in the hospital. They learned, as the hospitals lawyer later acknowledged, that they were informed their mother was brain dead before the apnea test was conducted. Further, Jaime Whitehead said she saw her mothers toe curl when her feet were being bathed and took a video, which she showed The News. Though the toe's movement could be passed off as an involuntary reaction known as posturing, it makes the three even more desperate for a second opinion from an outside doctor.

Seeking a compromise, they suggested that their mother be transferred to a neutral facility, such as a nursing home or another hospital, where their neurologist can examine her. Winter Whitehead said she contacted a number of possibilities, and an Elderwood facility appeared as likely. But moving Beverly Whitehead was easier said than done.

Lorigo explained that she will have to be medically prepared for transport, the receiving facility typically wants to examine the patient first, and Buffalo General would have to initiate the transfer, because one facility cannot simply take a patient from another. However, there are limits to what Buffalo General is willing to do.

There was never any representation we would make an affirmative referral," Hughes told The News, "since we wouldnt be referring a legally and clinically deceased person to a long-term care facility.

This is where the situation surrounding Beverly Whitehead stands now. It's at loggerheads, with her family hoping the judge orders her transferred to allow for a second opinion.

Shes an elegant, professional woman. Shes a mother of all mothers, Winter Whitehead said. Its just not enough time. She needs time.

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'Time for Malaria to Buzz Off' Says New GFA World Report

Mosquitoes more lethal than 'sharks, wolves, lions, crocodiles and snakes combined,' says report for World Malaria Day, April 25





TIME FOR MALARIA TO BUZZ OFF: Mosquito-borne malaria kills a child somewhere every 2 minutes. GFA World's (www.gfa.org) new report Malaria, It's Time to Buzz Off! (https://www.gfa.org/press/malaria/)  released for World Malaria Day, April 25  spotlights the new vaccine that could help finally eradicate the disease worldwide.



NEWS PROVIDED BY

GFA World

April 20, 2022



WILLS POINT, Texas, April 20, 2022 /Standard Newswire/ -- A long-anticipated vaccine breakthrough could mean the end is in sight for one of the world's most deadly diseases, a new report by global humanitarian agency GFA World (www.gfa.org) suggests.



Mosquito-borne malaria is responsible for more than 400,000 deaths worldwide annually, roughly equivalent to wiping out the population of Miami every year, says the report Malaria, It's Time to Buzz Off! (https://www.gfa.org/press/malaria/)



The report  coinciding with World Malaria Day, April 25  says the disease that's rampant in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia kills a child somewhere every 2 minutes, making the tiny mosquito more deadly than "sharks, wolves, lions, crocodiles and snakes combined."



But now that could change with the first-ever approval of a vaccine for widespread use by the World Health Organization (WHO). Calling it "the 'buzz' millions around the world have been waiting to hear," the report describes the new 4-dose vaccine as a "game-changing development."



By last October, 2.3 million shots-in-arms were administered to children in the 3-nation vaccine trial covering parts of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi in Africa. The vaccine  30-plus years in the making  reduced cases of severe and deadly malaria by 30%, notes the report.



Malaria and Changing Climate

The encouraging news, at long last, of an effective vaccine comes after a study by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine suggested changing temperatures could eventually cause a dramatic increase in malaria cases.



A staggering 8.4 billion people could be at risk from malaria and dengue fever by the end of the century if rising temperatures "were to go unchecked and the world's population continues to ramp up," the report cites scientists as predicting.



Changes to weather patterns "could cause a northward shift of the malaria-epidemic belt into North America, northern and central Europe, and northern Asia if temperatures heat up," the report goes on, "placing populations in the developed and largely malaria-free nations of the West at risk."



Malaria Missionaries

Organizations like GFA World fight malaria in even the most remote locations, such as the mountains of South Asia. Driven by their belief that "every life is precious to God," the agency's local missionaries climbed a mountain on foot to deliver lifesaving mosquito bed nets and malaria medicine to isolated villagers.



"From the day they brought the medicine and nets, not a single person in that community died of malaria," said GFA World founder K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), whose organization's local missionaries have given out more than 1.3 million mosquito nets in communities across Asia. "This truly shows people that God cares about them."



China: A Malaria Success Story

Last year, after a 70-year battle against the disease, China was declared malaria-free  the first country in the Western Pacific region in more than 3 decades to rid itself of the disease. During the Vietnam War, "more Chinese soldiers died from malaria than bullets in the mosquito-ridden jungles," the report says.



"China has shown us it's possible to obliterate malaria from the world's most populated country," the report continues. "And now, with an effective vaccine, the end is finally in sight around the globe."



GFA World (www.gfa.org) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.



SOURCE GFA World



CONTACT: Gregg Wooding, 972-567-7660, gwooding@inchristcommunications.com


Gov. Kathy Hochul is nominating Erie County Personnel Commissioner Timothy Hogues to a top job as the state's head of the State Civil Service Commission.

That would make Hogues the first official from Western New York to gain a high-level position in state government since Hochul, a Hamburg native, assumed the reins as governor in August.

He will receive a $200,000 salary in his new post.

Former City of Buffalo Comptroller Mark Schroeder currently serves as the state's Department of Motor Vehicles commissioner, but he was appointed under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

"New Yorks exemplary civil servants deserve leadership that is equally qualified and committed to the work of the State," Hochul said in a statement. "With his wealth of experience and passion for public service, Timothy Hogues will be an extraordinary leader for the Commission, and I look forward to working with him as we continue to solve the States most pressing challenges."

His nomination is subject to confirmation by the State Legislature. Assuming he is confirmed by the State Senate, he would take over the commissioner's job that was last held by Lola Brabham, who left the position to serve as president of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities.

"Im excited for the opportunity," Hogues said Wednesday. "Ive been in public service for some time now. I think the thing thats made me most prepared has been my varied background."

Hogues has served as Erie County's personnel commissioner since 2019 and previously served as the commissioner of the county's Senior Services Department. As head of the Personnel Department, Hogues has authority over roughly 4,500 county employees who work directly for county government and is responsible for setting policies, supervising hiring, providing services and overseeing and investigating internal personnel issues.

In addition, the county's Personnel Department is responsible for providing Civil Service and personnel support for more than 130 appointing authorities and 24,000 employees countywide. That includes Civil Service support for many county towns, villages and school districts, Hogues said. The Personnel Department also provides support to the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library system and Erie County Medical Center.

Hogues served one term as an Erie County legislator in 2012 and 2013 and worked as an operations administrator in the private sector before that.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said he is disappointed to lose Hogues, whom he has known for more than a decade, but he has assured the governor's appointment staff that Hogues is an outstanding choice.

He described Hogues as a level-headed person who takes the time to think through situations and make a decision based on facts.

"Hes willing to listen to other people," Poloncarz said Wednesday. "He trusts his staff to do the right thing and give him the information he needs."

Hogues said he learned of the state's interest in him earlier in the year but only recently received word that he was Hochul's choice to assume the top position with the State Civil Service Commission.

The commission is responsible for setting civil service regulations and a host of bureaucratic responsibilities associated with government employee qualifications, hiring, retention and pay. Hogues would serve as both a commissioner  of which there are three  as well as president of the commission. By law, not more than two of the three commissioners can be members of the same party.

He said he expects to learn a lot more about civil service needs and priorities across the state if he is appointed. He also believes in making employee recruitment and retention a priority and creating opportunities to promote a diverse workforce. He also said that in the post-pandemic era, he'd like to help set the best path forward to create balance for employees in regard to working from an office and from home.

Hogues said he expects his Senate confirmation hearing to be held in late May or early June. If confirmed, he said, he looks forward to learning more from others already with the Civil Service Commission.

"I think theres probably a great crew there to help me out," he said.

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Overdose deaths have risen sharply each year since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, with opioid-related deaths in Erie County last year rivaling the all-time one-year high for overdoses set in 2016. While the opioid drug crisis runs a distant second to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is once again a rapidly rising public health concern after years of pre-pandemic declines.

But the state and region will soon be receiving millions of dollars that will be earmarked toward addiction prevention and treatment as a result of a pharmaceutical lawsuit settlement, Attorney General Letitia James said Tuesday during a video news conference with Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.

James had reached settlements last year with major pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors of opioid painkillers, which had been marketed as safe even though they were later found to be addictive. Of up to $1.5 billion in settlement money coming to New York, James said Tuesday that Erie County will receive its first installment of $8.3 million this year. Buffalo will receive $582,000.

"This is just the first payment," Poloncarz said of the $1.3 million the county is expected to receive this month. "There will be many more to come for years now."

As reported in January, Niagara County is receiving $683,000 from the state's settlement Allergan made last month. Previously, Niagara County received about $11 million from settlements with four other pharmaceutical companies.

Overall, Western New York counties will receive $12.8 million this year in lawsuit settlement funds, James said. The region will receive up to $75 million, in total, over time as part of these settlements.

Niagara County accepts settlement from opioid manufacturer Niagara County will pocket $683,000 from a state settlement with Allergan, one of several drug manufacturers the state sued over the costs of the opioid overdose epidemic.

How that money will be spent is another question.

After the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, overdose deaths surged. Social isolation and limited access to drug treatment and Narcan were blamed for contributing to the increase in deaths, with more people not getting support or help from family and friends, using drugs alone and dying before help could arrive.

But many in the public health community expressed hope that once vaccines became widely available and imposed community shutdowns were lifted, as they were in 2021, the overdose surge would fall.

That has not happened.

Instead, Erie County has reported 286 deaths for last year  all but two of which are confirmed deaths due to opioid-related drug use. That falls just 15 cases shy of the all-time high for opioid drug overdoses countywide, set more than five years ago.

Anne Constantino, president and CEO of Horizon Health Services, said that the ability for drug users to remain socially isolated and engage in high-risk behaviors remains high. The opportunity to use opioid drugs alone, particularly drugs containing fentanyl, or mix drugs with alcohol, remains a deadly combination, she said.

At the same time, the number of people coming for addiction treatment services at Horizon remains low compared with pre-Covid years.

"We talk about isolation being the enemy of addiction. Its also the enemy of mental health," she said. "This is long-term pipeline stuff. Once youve created a misuse habit or addiction, thats not going to be easily resolved."

Constantino is one of the people from Western New York tapped to serve on the state's Opioid Settlement Board, to advise the state how these settlement dollars should be spent. That board has not yet convened, she said.

"Im really looking forward to the opportunity to weigh in," she said, adding that the money should be directed toward core, evidence-based services that can help many, instead of pet projects that serve only a few.

She also said she looks forward to seeing an open and transparent process for how that money winds up getting distributed.

Poloncarz and Mayor Brown said Tuesday they have not yet decided how the lawsuit settlement money will be allocated. The county's Opioid Task Force will work on a plan for distributing the county's portion, Poloncarz said.

"We want to ensure that we get the best bang for the buck," he said.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday spoke with his Chinese counterpart for the first time since becoming Pentagon chief more than a year ago, breaking a communications impasse that American officials saw as increasingly dangerous amid concern that Beijing might provide military support for Russia's war in Ukraine.

Austin, who calls China the U.S. military's leading long-term challenge but has been forced to focus heavily on Russia this year, requested the telephone conversation with Gen. Wei Fenghe after months of failed effort to speak with Gen. Xu Qiliang, the highest ranking uniformed officer in the Communist Party military structure.

Austin wanted to talk to Xu because, as deputy chairman of the party's Central Military Commission, which controls the Peoples Liberation Army, Xu is more influential than Wei. But Beijing insisted on sticking to protocol and having Austin talk to Wei, who officially is his counterpart as defense minister but ranks below Xu in the hierarchy and has less military operational clout.

Austin's predecessors had typically spoken with Wei, mostly recently on Aug. 6, 2020, when then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper raised with him a U.S. request for greater transparency on the origins of COVID-19 and other issues.

Austin had no expectation of a major breakthrough on key issues with Wei when he made the call on a secure telephone link that was established by the Pentagon and China's Ministry of National Defense in 2008, according to a senior defense official who was involved in the arrangement and spoke on the condition of anonymity in advance of the call.

In a brief statement after the call, the Pentagon said Austin and Wei discussed U.S.-Chinese defense relations, regional security issues and Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. It offered no details.

The defense ministry in Beijing provided a slightly more detailed account. It said Wei expounded his solemn position on the Taiwan issue and stressed that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. It is a fact and reality that no one can change.

The two men exchanged views on maritime and air security issues, the ministry said, adding that Wei conveyed to Austin that China demands that the United States stop military provocations at sea and not use the Ukrainian issue to discredit, frame, threaten and pressure China.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported that Wei told Austin that China hopes to establish sound and stable relations. It quoted Wei as saying the United States should not underestimate China's determination and capability.

Austin intended the call, which lasted about 45 minutes, as a follow-up to President Joe Biden's video call with President Xi Jinping on March 18 in which he laid out stiff consequences the Chinese would face if they provided military or economic assistance for Russias war in Ukraine. The White House gave no indication that Biden received any assurances from the Chinese leader.

For years Washington has portrayed China as seeking to reshape the international order to better assert its national interests and to build enough military strength to eventually supplant the United States as the dominant power in Asia.

In Wednesday's phone call, Austin echoed Biden's messages on the importance of managing U.S.-Chinese strategic competition, including in the nuclear, space and cyber arenas, and improving crisis communications between the global powers, the senior defense official said.

Austin also raised U.S. concerns about what Washington views as Chinese military provocations against Taiwan, the island democracy that Beijing has insisted must ultimately be united with the Chinese mainland, the official said. He also expressed U.S. concerns about Chinese activities in the South China Sea and the East China Sea and raised U.S. worries about North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The long-strained U.S.-China relationship may have reached a new low with the Russian invasion. At times, Beijing has sought to distance itself from the conflict but avoided directly criticizing Moscow. At other moments, Beijings actions have been provocative, including amplifying unverified Russian claims that Ukraine ran chemical and biological weapons labs with U.S. support.

American officials have expressed concern at the prospect of a Moscow-Beijing alliance of authoritarian states. In February, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the friendship between their counties has no limits, although it remains to be seen whether the subsequent Russian invasion of Ukraine has cooled Xi's interest in closer ties.

The Biden administration's first high-level meeting with Chinese officials came in March 2021 when Secretary of State Anton Blinken and Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, met in Anchorage, Alaska, with their Chinese counterparts, who surprised their American hosts by complaining about a litany of issues.

Since then, there has been a succession of phone and video calls between Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi but relatively few in-person meetings. Those calls have been dominated largely by issues of the day including the situation in Afghanistan, Russias invasion of Ukraine, North Korea and Iran. Blinken has yet to visit China, and the most senior U.S. diplomat to travel to the country has been Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington and AP writer Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show the Chinese generals name is Fenghe, not Fenge.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Every April, right around Earth Day, we see stories of multinational corporations pouring millions of dollars into new technology to fix climate change.

While the climate crisis is certainly an all-hands-on-deck emergency, we should not be narrowly focused on technology as our sole path.

There are terrifying reports about the existential threat of climate change coming out all the time. But it was rampant capitalism that created the conditions that led to the climate crisis. To fight climate change, we need to use technology as a tool, not a solution.

Climate change hits communities of color and low-income communities first and worst. The machines of industrialization were deliberately placed in these communities, locking in pollution and harming residents health. Technology cant solve that. Community-led policymaking can.

Against these overwhelming challenges, communities have identified creative ways to tackle climate change. Our work at the Greenlining Institute over the past three decades has shown that when communities lead, results follow. Weve worked in coalitions to advance community-led solutions to climate change, creating models for climate action across the globe.

Government responses to environmental racism and redlining tend to be siloed and top-down, with limited community engagement. Transformative Climate Communities, a Greenlining Institute initiative, helps build healthy and resilient communities, empowering them to fight climate change.

Our transportation system is the largest source of air pollution in the United States, with environmental and health hazards hitting low-income communities of color the hardest.

Towards Equitable Electric Mobility, another Greenlining Institute Project, brings together advocates and community leaders to advance state and local level policies and programs that foster a more sustainable and just transportation system, as has happened in Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, Virginia and Michigan.

When programs that promote the use of alternatives in transportation are designed to maximize environmental and economic benefits for historically underserved communities, they work better for all communities

We can accelerate progress, innovation and, yes, even technology, to tackle climate change. But without equity at the center, we stand to replicate the harms of the fossil fuel economy.

If we start with the voices and priorities of people most impacted, we can withstand the climate disasters heading our way, and advance an ambitious long-term climate agenda.

This year, were celebrating our 52nd Earth Day. Lets get this one right.

Alvaro Sanchez is vice president of policy at the Greenlining Institute.
Confused about Covid? Its not surprising, given the nature of the virus, the limitations of science and the wretched politics that have permeated the effort to tame the pandemic.

Cases are rising as masks come off and Omicron subvariants race through the state. But hospitalizations are stable.

In some places, mainly in the Northeast, mask mandates are being reinstituted. Yet, on Monday, a federal judge struck down the mandate requiring masks to be worn on airplanes and other modes of public transportation.

The ruling was based not on science but law: The judge concluded that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which instituted the rule, lacked the authority. Prominent airlines promptly made masks optional. It wont take long to see if airplane trips become superspreader events, as this months Gridiron Dinner in Washington, D.C., was.

At the high-profile dinner  the first since 2019  more than 70 people were infected, including members of Congress, White House officials and journalists. It was, as an opinion piece in USA Today claimed, a public health disaster. Still, none of those infected seems to have become seriously ill.

Nor did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was infected at a different gathering. She was reported to be asymptomatic. Two years ago, someone of her age  shes 82  could well have ended up in a hospital, isolated and laboring to breathe.

This, no doubt, counts as progress. As promised, Covid-19 vaccinations and boosters are protecting against serious illness and death. As expected, though, the disease remains well entrenched.

Omicron and its subvariants are more easily transmitted than its previous versions, but so far cause less serious illness. Together, those factors mean local health care infrastructures are less likely to be overwhelmed, as some were earlier in this pandemic, sometimes with tragic results.

Still, the moment feels about as confusing as any during the pandemic, though one in which catastrophic illness or death seems a more remote possibility. That, at least, makes it less stressful. Thats probably good.

The asterisk  its a large one  is that risks remain. People are still dying from Covid-19. The country will soon surpass 1 million Covid deaths. Some of them will be unvaccinated. Others may be only partly protected by immunizations because of underlying medical conditions or other factors. Some may be infected by people who refuse to do their part  who arent vaccinated, who wont wear a mask where it still might be wise, who dont accept that their freedom comes with responsibilities.

That behavior is part of the reason that our progress through the pandemic reads like a stock market chart during a financial crisis, with improvements followed by setbacks. Perhaps that was inevitable.

Covid-19 is a challenge like no other seen in a century. Not only is the virus lethal, but it arrived at a litigious period of American life, made worse as social media, misinformation and other corrupting influences unleashed punishing levels of self-absorption.

The Me Generation was an insult earned by baby boomers, but if it was bad in the 1960s and '70s, its worse now. Millions of Americans not only refuse to be vaccinated, but take mask requirements to court. Its all about them and their right to reject the self-evident demands of public health.

So it goes. On Tuesday, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority lifted mask mandates for buses, Metro Rail and its airports. Amtrak officials announced on Monday that masks would no longer be required for riders but said they were nonetheless welcome and remain an important preventive measure against Covid-19.

That advice perhaps best sums up where we are now and where, eventually, we had to be. The pandemic appears to be easing into the endemic that has been long predicted. Emergency powers, as previously held by Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, are appropriately ending and mandates are falling. But infections are once again rising. The word superspreader remains fixed in the American lexicon.

That leaves people with the confusing task of evaluating their own safety and that of those around them. Be careful, be thoughtful and be well.

  

Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing.
Oh, for shame, Mayor Byron Brown and Kathleen Peterson, Broadway Market director. What a cruel trick you have played on those seeking traditional Easter fare at the Market this year. With all the hoopla surrounding the re-opening we were post-pandemic delighted to renew our annual pilgrimage. Theres just nothing like the mouth-watering foods that make an Easter meal complete.

Imagine our disappointment and frustration when we discovered that there is no longer any permanent bakery in the Market and the offerings this year were provided by pop-ups or temporary stalls. We arrived at the Market on Thursday and discovered there were no traditional Easter bakery goods for sale, or if they had some meager offerings they were completely sold out. The butchers were there, the butter lambs on parade, decorated eggs, pierogis and chocolates abounded. But, where, oh where were the famous Broadway Market cupcakes, the placek, the carefully carved rye bread cross rounds, the poppy seed rolls and most of all, where were the beautifully decorated lamb cakes? Nowhere. There was not a crumb to be had.

Combing through past news articles and video snippets Peterson blithely explained away the departure of the last Polish bakery in the Market and said a new one would be forthcoming. Its been more than two years. At the very least, how about alerting customers in advance about the total absence of traditional baked goods so that they could have planned? Instead of news conferences, press releases and feel good stories how about some honesty?

A last-minute scramble out to the suburbs and stops to various grocery stores yielded almost everything that was needed, at exorbitant prices. But, there will be a large empty spot in the middle of the dining room table this year. Sadly, there wasnt a lamb cake to be found.

Its great that the Market is open and people are able to shop. But Mayor Byron Browns great news rings hollow for this family.

Ann K. Lupo

Buffalo
According to a 2020 report from an organization called Mapping Police Violence there were 121 killings from traffic stops by police in 2020. In addition, a disproportionate amount of those killed were people of color. In fact, the report stated that it was four times more likely those killed were of color other than white from a traffic stop.

The most recent incident of a shooting by a police officer stopping the car of a man of color occurred on April 4 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Patrick Lyoya was killed after a traffic stop. He and the police officer struggled on the ground, following a foot chase. He and the police officer, who can be heard on video demanding Lyoya release the officers Taser, struggled. An independent autopsy confirmed Lyoya was shot in the back of the head by a Michigan police officer while facedown on the ground, according to the Associated Press.

I believe that the killing was a senseless event that would not have occurred if the officer had not chased him. He could have scared the heck out of the driver by shooting one shot of his gun into the air or into the tire of the mans car. The loud gunshot may have stopped the mans running. Even if the man didnt stop, what did it matter? The officer had his car. Eventually, they would have caught him and charged him with driving with an illegal license. By the officer running and catching this man the inevitable occurs, a fight where someone or both of them would be hurt or killed.

The bottom line is that there was an unnecessary death of a man who may have committed a minor car infraction of an illegal license and punishable by a fine or taking away a drivers license. When are police departments going to instill in their officers at all costs on any minor infraction to avoid a physical confrontation, even if it means the accused escapes?

Joseph Borzelliere

East Amherst
I read, with sadness, of the impending auctioning of the Como Restaurant; sadness, not because it has the best Italian food in this area, which it does, or because of memories of getting engaged over the veal scallopini. Waitressing at the Como taught me what it meant to really have to work hard for your money, as well as instilling a lifelong work ethic that I believe I carried through in all my jobs since those days. The work taught me how to politely deal with and respect all people, no matter how you were treated.

The auction failed last week, so maybe the Como will remain what it has been: a restaurant catering to families. It has always been run by the Antonacci and Colucci families and has always treated its staff like family, albeit sometime dysfunctional family.

The Como in Niagara Falls will remain open after unsuccessful online auction Real estate broker Louis Rizzo said Saturday the Colucci and Antonacci families "did not get a successful bid" during the 48-hour auction, which opened Monday.

I met MaryRose Antonacci while in college and she remained my dearest friend until her passing too many years ago. She introduced me to her wonderful family, that I still consider almost my own, along with the Damon Runyon type characters that worked or were regulars at the Como.

Nick, Marys father, ran the kitchen and was there every day, in his uniform of a short-sleeved white shirt and black checkery-plaid slacks. Nick had a set line for every waitress like no wonder your husband left you (when the waitress was happily married) or mine which was I told your mother Id keep an eye in you, but who knew it would be for this long. I stayed at the Como long after college, working part time to supplement my income. This enabled me to pay off my student loans quickly. I would tell Nick I was giving the Como what should have been the best years of my life. He just laughed, but I meant it. Nick tried to be tough, but it wasnt in him. He truly cared about his staff.

Mario, his brother, ran the bar, along with Dom Colucci, his brother-in-law. Mario always worked at a frenetic pace while Dom moseyed along. Both seemed to get the same amount of work done, just with quite opposite styles.

Adeline Colucci, Nick and Marios sister, ran the front of the house. A beautiful, petite woman with the strength of Hercules, she kept things in order and never let waitresses or customers get away with anything. No one wanted to be hugged by Adeline for fear she would unintentionally break your ribs in the course of a squeeze. Adeline treats you like family and has a heart of gold. I will always want her on my side.

There were so many characters at the Como. Rosa, with a heavy Italian accent, although she was born in Schenectady, worked behind the stove. Annie, the elderly waitress, who originally worked with Pa, the old man (Francesco Antonacci), called everyone Dolly. She had her own station and her own customers. Everybody knew Annie and wanted her as their server. There was Rose, called Shuffles because of her labored walk, who would only work the bar. There were many more characters.

Nick used to say he had dreams that the front page of the Niagara Gazette had an expose blaming the Como of old age abuse because of the average age of his waitresses. Many were "lifers" at the Como. They chose to remain in the family.

There are so many stories to tell, but as Adeline always said: I would write this story, but no one would believe it.

I would.
(Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

Tottenham's Cristian Romero has had a wasted round trip to South America after Argentina's request to overturn his suspension for tomorrow's match against Ecuador was dismissed by FIFA.

Romero was called up by Argentina last week, despite being suspended for both their World Cup qualifiers this month after September's game against Brazil was abandoned for not following international match protocols.

Romero served the first of his two-match ban for Friday's win over Venezuela but the Argentine FA (AFA) had hoped the centre-half would be able to feature in Ecuador in the early hours of Wednesday morning (UK time), pending an appeal.

However, FIFA confirmed on Monday that Romero remains suspended, along with team-mates Emiliano Buendia and Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa, and Giovani Lo Celso, who is on loan from Spurs at Villarreal. That trio also joined up with the squad last week and are now in the same predicament.

Romero has now returned to London and is expected to resume training with Spurs on Tuesday.

Back in September, the Premier League quartet travelled to Sao Paolo to face Brazil, allegedly in breach of the country's Covid regulations at the time, which barred arrivals from the UK who were not Brazilian citizens or permanent residents.

Spurs were frustrated by the AFA's decision to select Romero this month, particularly as Argentina had already qualified for the Qatar World Cup, but the club was powerless to prevent him from travelling.

Cristian Romero will remain suspended for Argentinas World Cup qualifier in Ecuador (Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

The situation is the latest difficulty the club has faced over international call-ups of their South American players this season.

Romero was sidelined for nearly three months after suffering a hamstring injury on Argentina duty in November, while after the September break he, Davinson Sanchez and Lo Celso missed two Spurs matches while training in Croatia to avoid being forced into quarantine on returning to the UK.
By Azernews





By Ayya Lmahamad

In the midst of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Europe is looking for alternatives to Russian gas. In light of such events, as well as the potential for Azerbaijani gas exports and the implementation of large-scale projects, it is possible to say that Azerbaijan may become a good alternative and a lifeline for Europe in terms of gas supplies.

Against the backdrop of recent events, Azerbaijan's geostrategic importance as a source of energy supply to Europe has already increased. Many European countries have expressed an interest in purchasing Azerbaijani natural gas.

Nowadays, Azerbaijan has become an important player in ensuring Europes energy security. With the completion of the TAP (Trans-Adriatic Pipeline) construction on December 31, 2020, Azerbaijan began commercial gas supplies to Europe via the Southern Gas Corridor. Last year, TAP transported 8.1 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe. By late 2022, Azerbaijan plans to increase gas supplies to Europe to 9.1 billion cubic meters, and in 2023 the volume of gas supplies is expected to reach 11 billion cubic meters.

Thomas Hegglin of the Swiss Gas Industry Association recently stated that in the event of disruptions in the supply of Russian gas to Europe, Switzerland will also have to reduce its consumption, stressing that one of the most important alternatives for Switzerland is Azerbaijani gas.

Hegglin noted that the shortage of Russian gas cannot be compensated for in Europe in full, at least not in the short term and without reducing consumption. In this regard, he stressed that Switzerland would still have an advantage as it will be able to continue receiving gas from Azerbaijan.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, during his official visit to Baku, noted that Albania and Azerbaijan have agreed on further steps in the energy field. He stated that they discussed the issue of gas supplies to Albania. In this regard, he noted that a technical team will start dealing with this issue soon.

Moreover, Serbian Mining and Energy Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlovic mentioned that Serbia plans to start receiving natural gas from Azerbaijan from September 2023.

Azerbaijan is also discussing the possibility and prospects of supplying natural gas to Moldova and Romania.

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio stated that Azerbaijan has expressed its readiness to increase energy supplies to Italy. It is worth noting that Azerbaijan is the largest supplier of crude oil to Italy and now thanks to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline it is the third-largest supplier of gas.

There are different ways to deliver gas from Azerbaijan to Europe. It can go through the Southern Gas Corridor, and there are also some refinements, such as Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria, which should be completed by the end of June.

Today, the final work on the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), which will transport natural gas from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria, is in full swing. It should be noted that Azerbaijan and Bulgaria agreed to supply 1 billion cubic meters of gas per year through the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector beginning in 2021. However, because the IGB is still under construction, Azerbaijani gas is delivered to Bulgaria via the Kulata-Sidirokastro interconnection point. Currently, the country receives only one-third of this volume.

The consumers from Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia will also be able to use Azerbaijani gas through the Ionian-Adriatic pipeline in the future, which will become the northern branch of TAP.

Additionally, the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline, designed to bring Turkmen gas to Europe, was brought back on the agenda now.

It is worth noting that Azerbaijan is now planning to increase its use of renewable energy sources. In this regard, by generating electricity with renewable energy sources, it will be possible to export more gas volumes to the global market, allowing for an additional inflow of foreign currency into the country's economy.

Azerbaijan has the potential to become a good alternative for Europe in terms of gas supplies due to its large amount of gas reserves, track record as a reliable energy partner, and implementation of large-scale energy projects.
K92 Mining Inc.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- K92 Mining Inc. (K92 or the Company) (TSX: KNT; OTCQX: KNTNF) announces that it will release its 2022 first quarter financial results before the North American trading markets open on Monday, May 16, 2022.

Conference Call and Webcast to Present Results

K92 will host a conference call and webcast to present the 2022 first quarter financial results at 8:30 am (EDT) on Monday, May 16, 2022.

Listeners may access the conference call by dialing toll-free to 1-800-319-4610 within North America or +1-604-638-5340 from international locations.



The conference call will also be broadcast live (webcast) and may be accessed via the following link: https://services.choruscall.ca/links/k92mining20220516.html

About K92

K92 Mining Inc. is engaged in the production of gold, copper and silver at the Kainantu Gold Mine in the Eastern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea, as well as exploration and development of mineral deposits in the immediate vicinity of the mine. The Company declared commercial production from Kainantu in February 2018 and is in a strong financial position.

The Company commenced an expansion of the mine based on an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment on the property which was published in January 2019 and updated in July 2020. K92 is operated by a team of mining company professionals with extensive international mine-building and operational experience.

On Behalf of the Company,

John Lewins, Chief Executive Officer and Director

For further information, please contact David Medilek, P.Eng., CFA at +1-604-416-4445

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (forward-looking statements), including, but not limited to, the impact of global supply chain and financial market disruptions as a result of the ongoing crisis due the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19); projections of future financial and operational performance; statements with respect to future events or future performance; production estimates; anticipated operating and production costs and revenue; estimates of capital expenditures; future demand for and prices of commodities and currencies; estimated mine life of our mine; estimated closure and reclamation costs and statements regarding anticipated exploration, development, construction, production, permitting and other activities on the Companys properties, including: expected gold, silver and copper production and the Phase 3 Expansion of the Kora deposit. Estimates of mineral resources are also forward-looking statements because they constitute projections, based on certain estimates and assumptions, regarding the amount of minerals that may be encountered in the future and/or the anticipated economics of production, should mining occur. All statements in this news release that address events or developments that we expect to occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, although not always, identified by words such as expect, plan, anticipate, project, target, potential, schedule, forecast, budget, estimate, intend or believe and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions will, would, may, could, should or might occur. All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made.

Story continues

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our ability to control, that may cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, without limitation, public health crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic; changes in the price of gold, silver, copper and other metals in the world markets; fluctuations in the price and availability of infrastructure and energy and other commodities; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; volatility in price of our Common Shares; inherent risks associated with the mining industry, including problems related to weather and climate in remote areas in which certain of the Companys operations are located; failure to achieve production, cost and other estimates; risks and uncertainties associated with exploration and development; the fact that a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability has not been prepared for the Kainantu Mine; uncertainties relating to estimates of mineral resources including uncertainty that mineral resources may never be converted into mineral reserves; the Companys ability to carry on current and future operations, including development and exploration activities; the timing, extent, duration and economic viability of such operations, including any mineral resources or reserves identified thereby; the accuracy and reliability of estimates, projections, forecasts, studies and assessments; the Companys ability to meet or achieve estimates, projections and forecasts; the availability and cost of inputs; the price and market for outputs, including gold, silver and copper; inability of the Company to identify appropriate acquisition targets or complete desirable acquisitions; failures of information systems or information security threats; political, economic and other risks associated with the Companys foreign operations; geopolitical events and other uncertainties, such as the conflict in Ukraine; compliance with various laws and regulatory requirements to which the Company is subject to, including taxation; the ability to obtain timely financing on reasonable terms when required; the current and future social, economic and political conditions, including relationship with the communities in jurisdictions it operates; and other assumptions and factors generally associated with the mining industry.

Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance, and actual results and future events could materially differ from those anticipated in such statements. All of the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements.

Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actual results to differ materially from those that are anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date such statements are made, and we expressly disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.




Paramount Global is making Nickelodeon content free to Ukrainian refugees.

The American film and TV company is launching the initiative to provide comfort to families who have been forced to leave Ukraine because of the Russian invasion, enabling [families] to continue feeling at home by watching their favourite cartoons, even if abroad.

Nickelodeon will introduce Ukrainian-language versions on YouTube for select shows, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Blaze and the Monster Machines and Paw Patrol, perThe Hollywood Reporter.

Paramount are also launching Nickelodeon Ukraine Pluto TV, a commercial-free Ukrainian language channel airing Nickelodeon shows. The channel will be available across Europe, including in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Hungary, the Nordics, Spain, France, Italy and Middle East/North Africa, the company said.

The news comes in addition to a recent $1m (768,000) donation from Paramount to support humanitarian organisations helping families flee Ukraine.

Paramount also plan to provide humanitarian organisations more than $2.5m (1.9m) in free advertising across channels in the US to [educate] global audiences about the heroic work they are doing during these challenging times, Paramount said.

A Ukrainian language version of Paw Patrol is also being made available (Nickelodeon)

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Paramount halted its operations in Russia in March, affecting the theatrical releases of The Lost City and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Publishing subsidiary Simon & Schuster have also paused new book licensing and translation deals.

Paramount CEO Bob Bakish told staff: Since the beginning of this crisis, our teams across the world have been working around the clock to determine the best, and most importantly  safest  ways we as a business can show our support for all those impacted.

Bakish added: The safety and security of employees and all those who work with us is, and will always be, our top priority. We continue to offer specialized support services to hundreds of staff, freelance and fixed term employees in Ukraine, Russia, and Poland whose lives are being impacted by this crisis.

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.
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A community of students striving to reach their career goals while empowering others to do the same is what makes the Mayor's Youth Employment Program's (MYEP) new ambassador program so special. Tylan Deams, who initially participated in MYEP during the height of the pandemic, was overjoyed when she finally got to meet her fellow ambassadors in person during the High School Youth Roundtable with the Department of Education and White House COVID-19 Response Team in October 2021.

Deams is currently a student at Charlotte Teacher Early College with a burning desire to become an educator. Her hope is to initially become a biology teacher, then a biology professor. "I woke up one day, and I really wanted to be a teacher. It's something that you kind of feel and kind of know," she recalled. Participating in MYEP and the Ambassador program allows her to gain new skills while building a network of people who want to see her win.

In the summer of 2020, she participated in the Virtual Pathways option offered by MYEP and was placed with Bank of America. "I love that they're giving an opportunity to the youth to work in higher up jobs," Deams said. During this summer experience, she was tasked with working on a lot of spreadsheets with the goal of creating a faux app to solve the problems associated with said spreadsheets.









The following summer, determined to gain experience in her career of choice, she was placed with Freedom School Partners, a non-profit that prioritizes learning throughout the summer to prevent loss, in an in-person role. "I really enjoyed it. I loved all my co-workers. I actually still talk to them today. It was such as fun experience. I made so many friends. It was more project-based, so we made bottle rockets and lava lamps. I loved every single second of it and couldn't have been more appreciative," she said.



Deams was also able to get a head start on what teacher life may look like for her. One day while eating with the students, she didn't want her fruit snacks. This lead some students to ask if they could eat them. "I said yes, if you can spell the word 'science.'" From that point on during lunch, students would say "Ms. Tylan, Ms. Tylan, can we please do a spelling bee for snacks?" So, she made sure to pack extra snacks for them to eat!

She maintains the same passion for students as she does teachers. "I'm a huge advocate for education and teachers," she said. "I met with the superintendent and a few other educational leaders about teachers' pay and how to retain students in my program, so getting a chance to meet with the Secretary of Education was like my dream at that point," Deams shared.





Now, in her current role as a MYEP Ambassador, she works to increase the number of students participating in MYEP while encouraging retention amongst previous participants. Deams markets the program at her school, which includes posting signs in-person and messages via the school's social media, assisting those who want to enroll, and sharing information as much as possible. She even created a YouTube video to provide answers to frequently asked questions that was shared within her school.

To learn more about the MYEP Ambassador Program visit www.charlottenc.gov/myep for details.






A historically inclined Chippewa Valley event is back for another season.

The Past Passed Here is set for May 12-15 at Marshall Park in Chippewa Falls, an event that takes attendees back in time more than 150 years into Chippewa Countys living history.

This award-winning event is open to the public from 3 to 6 p.m. May 12-13, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on May 14, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 15. Admission fee is $5 or $15 per family, with children ages 5 and under admitted free.

This field trip has been a favorite for many years because students are involved in several hands-on activities and feel that they are getting a firsthand experience of life in the early days, said Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District community liaison Janel Seaholm. Students were not able to attend over the past two years due to the pandemic and a great deal of enthusiasm has been generated knowing students will get this authentic experience again.

Attendees of The Past Passed Here will be able to explore dozens of authentic French fur trade-era re-enactor camps and participate in hands-on camp activities and games. Tours of the Mobile Lumberjack Museum, where patrons can try their hand at logging camp skills, will also be offered.

To top off the event, old-fashioned food and live music will be included to increase the sense of immersion into a bygone era.

The event was created to provide a full day field trip for fourth-grade students who have been studying Wisconsin history. To date more than 9,400 students have spent a day in camp participating in hands-on activities.

The event augments their curriculum and allows them to experience local living history. This event incorporates historic clothing, tents, tools and activities into interactive presentations that seek to give participants a sense of stepping back in time.

For more information visit chippewacountywihistoricalsociety.org.

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WARSAW, Poland (AP)  After spending weeks with no electricity or water in the basement of her family's home in Ukraine, Viktoriya Savyichkina made a daring escape from the besieged city of Mariupol with her 9- and 14-year-old daughters.

Their dwelling for now is a huge convention center in Poland's capital. Savyichkina said she saw a photo of the home in Mariupol destroyed. From a camp bed in a foreign country, the 40-year-old bookkeeper thinks about restarting her and her children's lives from square one.

"I don't even know where we are going, how it will turn out," Savyichkina said. "I would like to go home, of course. Maybe here, I will enjoy it in Poland."

Keep scrolling for scenes from the refugee crisis in Ukraine

With the war in Ukraine approaching eight weeks, more than 5 million people have fled the country since Russian troops invaded on Feb. 24, the U.N. refugee agency reported Wednesday. When the number reached 4 million on March 30, the exodus exceeded the worst-case predictions of the Geneva-based U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

The even bigger milestone in Europe's biggest refugee crisis since World War II was reached as Russia unleashed a full-scale offensive in eastern Ukraine that will disrupt and end more lives.

Ukraine had a pre-war population of 44 million, and UNHCR says the conflict has displaced more than 7 million people within Ukraine along with the 5.03 million who had left as of Wednesday. According to the agency, 13 million people are believed to be trapped in the war-affected areas of Ukraine.

"We've seen about a quarter of Ukraine's population, more than 12 million people in total, ,,,have been forced to flee their homes, so this is a staggering amount of people," UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told The Associated Press.

More than half of the refugees, over 2.8 million, fled at least at first to Poland. They are eligible for national ID numbers that entitle them to work, to free health care, schooling and bonuses for families with children.

Although many of have stayed there, an unknown number have traveled on to other countries. Savyichkina said she is thinking about taking her daughters to Germany.

"We hope we can live there, send children to school, find work and start life from zero," she said inside the vast premises of the Global EXPO Center in Warsaw, which is providing basic accommodations for about 800 refugees.

If "everything goes well, if the children like it first of all, then we will stay. If not...," Savyichkina said. Full story here:

***

MORE COVERAGE OF THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:

***

PHOTO GALLERY

Amer Cohadzic in Sarajevo, Justin Spike in Budapest and Nicolae Dumitrache in Bucharest contributed to this report.

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This week, I am very happy to present my interview with the veganic farmer and activist Jimmy Videle. In 2014, Jimmy and his wife, Melanie Bernier, started a vegan organic market farm, La Ferme de lAube, in Boileau, Quebec, where they now live with their five rescued cats. In the past, Jimmy worked and consulted on eleven vegan, organic, and permaculture farms in Hawaii, Mexico, Central America, South America and Quebec. He is currently a consultant and volunteer with A.U.M. Films & Media (the producers of the documentaries Cowspiracy, What the Health, and others) and the Animal Protection Party of Canada. In this interview, Jimmy speaks about veganic farming and the practices that he and Melanie use at La Ferme de lAube. He tells his story of becoming vegan, describes the importance of farming veganically, and discusses what needs to be done to help spread veganic farming methods across North America and around the world. In research that Jimmy conducted for the Humane Party of the United States in 2018, he found that vegan organic farming was 2.2% more productive per acre when compared to growing crops using conventional methods. However, in a study published in 2019, Jimmy wrote that vegan organic agriculture can be 4198% more productive per acre than animal agriculture. This is due to the fact that animal agriculture uses a vast amount of land for grazing and growing feed crops to feed the animals who are exploited and killed by that industry. With a global shift to veganic farming, we could rewild much of the land that is currently used for agriculture. This was such an inspiring interview. Thanks to Jimmy for being a guest on the show! Links: La Ferme de l'Aube's website: https://www.lafermedelaube.com/ La Ferme de l'Aube on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lafermedelaube/ Jimmy's research: https://humaneherald.org/publications/ The Always for Animal Rights blog: https://alwaysforanimalrights.blogspot.com
From pickleball to nerf battles and reading, the Columbus Family YMCA will have a plethora of healthy activities available for children and families to enjoy.

The Columbus Family YMCA is hosting the free Healthy Kids Day event from 9-11 a.m., Saturday, April 30, at its facility, 3912 38th St. The event is for kids of all ages and is open to the public.

The activities and more planned include: archery, pickleball, animals on display, a fire truck from the Columbus Fire Department, outdoor happenings with Nebraska Game and Parks, nerf battles with Youth and Families for Christ and a reading corner. Guardians of the Children Heartland Chapter are displaying its motorcycles and providing information about the organization. There are also door prizes and snacks available as part of the festivities.

There are going to be a lot of things for families to do together, said Columbus Family YMCA Youth Director Nicole Ripke.

Healthy Kids Day is an initiative created by the YMCA 30 years ago as a way to encourage and teach children and families about the importance of mental and physical health. Its a nationwide event held every year on April 30.

Its important for kids to find ways that they can be active, said Ripke. Not every kid or person wants to go run or lift weights  some people do and thats awesome  but there are lots of different ways for kids to move their bodies and grow and develop.

The event isnt only about physical health, Ripke said, noting there are areas for reading and drawing.

We encourage kids to keep their brains growing, active and healthy, she said.

Columbus Family YMCA Wellness Director Jen Brownlow said the events longevity shows how vital it is for families and children to remain healthy.

Brownlow said she hopes the occasion is a time to help kids learn about how to make healthier choices.

Everybody needs help on how to be healthier, she said. So bringing everything together to one celebration, its where we can learn about healthier snacks and healthier lifestyles. Its huge because it helps everybody. Everybody is going to take something away from it.

 With it being all one and together, it makes it a little simpler. Theres so much to read and so much you see on TV that sometimes you can be overwhelmed with the information. This is a time where all that information can be at one (location).

Ripke said Healthy Kids Day is a good way to kick off the summer.

As a community we want kids to be healthy, she said.

Andrew Kiser is a reporter for The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at andrew.kiser@lee.net.

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The Team Europe Partnerships Portal is online

The Team Europe Partnerships Portal (TEPP) is a new platform that will support partner countries in finding innovative and effective tools to achieve their Sustainable Development Goals, and build inclusive and sustainable societies among all Team Europe actors. The TEPP is now live and ready to use at the following link: Team Europe Partnerships Portal (europa.eu). Don't hesitate to share it among your professional networks!

Background

The TEPP supports partner countries in finding innovative, effective and efficient tools that can help them achieve their Sustainable Development Goals.

The platform creates a bridge between members of Team Europe and partner countries, supporting the emergence of partnerships, and provides key information about Team Europe providers of services and expertise available in the EU. It also provides information on assistance available in the EU's priority sectors, and includes a "matchmaking" tool to bring together supply and demand for expertise and assistance.

An external feasibility study funded by DG INTPA took place in 2021, with the CoR being involved through a focus group. It pointed towards a closer relationship between LRAs and EU delegations, where a shared portal could be a positive future step. This view was shared by DG INTPA, including with a view to preventing duplication of similar services on different platforms.
By Azernews





By Laman Ismayilova

The International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation intends to expand international cooperation.

President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Gunay Afandiyeva has recently held a series of meetings with international partners.

Gunay Afandiyeva discussed the possibilities of joint work with the head of the Baku Yunus Emre Institute.

She spoke about the foundation's activities and projects aimed at promoting the history and culture of the Turkic peoples.

The foundation also conducts a lot of scientific research and publishes books on various topics.

The President of the Foundation stressed that the Yunus Emre Institute, which operates in different countries, is an important network in conveying the Turkic culture to the international community.

Touching upon the expansion of bilateral ties, International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation and the Baku Yunus Emre Institute, Gunay Afandiyeva stressed the importance of joint projects.

The head of the Baku Yunus Emre Institute Selcuk Karakilic stressed that the foundation has done valuable work to study and protect the material and cultural heritage of the Turkic world.

In conclusion, Selcuk Karakilic expressed his hope that the partnership between Baku Yunus Emre Institute and the foundation would make significant contributions in the future.

The meeting continued with an exchange of views between the parties.

President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation also met with the Kazakh Ambassador to Azerbaijan Serzhan Abdykarimov at the headquarters of the organization.

At the meeting, Gunay Afandiyeva stressed that strengthening the cooperation of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation with Kazakhstan, a founding state of the organization, is of particular importance for it.

The President of the Foundation expressed confidence that within the framework of joint steps, cultural ties between the organization and Kazakhstan will further develop.

She underlined more ambitious projects aimed at widely studying and popularizing the rich culture and history of the Turkic world will be implemented with the approval of the foundation's budget and the formation of the organization's secretariat at the international level.

The Kazakh Ambassador Serzhan Abdykarimov highly appreciated the multifaceted efforts of the Foundation in the direction of strengthening unity between the Turkic peoples, and deepening cultural ties of the Turkic world.

He touched upon topical issues related to the final approval of the foundation's financial budget.

Serzhan Abdykarimov stressed the importance of partnership with the foundation in the fields of promoting cultural values and celebrating anniversaries of the great personalities of Kazakhstan and the Turkic world as a whole.

The meeting continued with an exchange of views on plans for 2022.

Initiated in 2012, Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation focuses on preservation of Turkic heritage in member countries as well as conducting projects in collaboration with partners in third countries.

The Foundation provides assistance in the protection, study and promotion of Turkic culture and heritage through supporting and funding various activities, projects and programs. It carries out its activities in cooperation with TURKSOY and the Turkic Academy.

Cooperation Council of the Turkic Speaking States (CCTSS) is an intergovernmental organization, which aims at promoting comprehensive cooperation among Turkic Speaking States.

The organization was established by the Nakhchivan Agreement, which was signed at the Turkic Summit in 2009.

In order to fulfill the objectives and tasks of the CCTSS, the organization has been divided into the following structures: Council of Heads of States; Council of Foreign Ministers, Senior Officials Committee, Council of Elders, Secretariat, Coordination Committee, Representation Office of the Turkic Council in Budapest.
Last week, the publisher of Bad and Boujee: Toward a Trap Feminist Theology pulled it from distribution after critics raised concerns about the white authors qualifications to write on the books stated topics of the Black experience, hip-hop music, ethics, and feminism.

Among those critics was author Sesali Bowen, who coined the concept of trap feminism years ago. At its core was how people attempt to celebrate Black women without talking about their lived experiences. Things like copying the aesthetics of musicians such as Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion without giving them attribution or linking it to their lives.

Bowen says she wanted to emphasize these women because they are often talked about without ever being talked to.

So she was taken aback when earlier this year, white academic Jennifer Buck released a theology book on trap feminism. While Bowen first introduced the concept of trap feminism nearly a decade ago, she said Buck did not approach her while researching Bad and Boujee. The idea of talking about Black women, but not directly engaging with them about their lived experiences, gets to the core of why Bowen first felt the need to label this era and concept of trap feminism.

Bowen coined the term in 2014, taking its name from a hip-hop genre that originated in the South. Trap is slang for a house where drugs are sold and the music references street life, violence, poverty and many of the experiences Black people face in the South.

Buck is an associate professor of practical theology at Southern Californias Azusa Pacific University, a private, evangelical Christian college. Her book features a Black woman on the cover and throughout references the lived experiences of Black women, according to the books online description. She did not respond to the L.A. Times requests for comment on the fallout.

Bowens 2021 book Bad Fat Black Girl: Notes from a Trap Feminist summarizes the niche topic: Trap feminism says that Black girls who have ever rocked bamboo earrings, dookie braids, Baby Phat, lace fronts, or those who have worked as hoes, scammers, call-center reps, at daycares, in retail, and those who sell waist trainers and mink lashes on Instagram are all worth the same dignity and respect we give Michelle Obama and Beyonce.

Bowen shared a recent exchange she had with Buck over Instagram.

After a few messages, Bowen wrote to Buck, I think more than anything I would like to know what brought you to this research, why you thought you were the best person to do it, and why its not in conversation with folks who have been doing trap feminist work for years?

She says she hasnt heard back.

I think I was just shocked at the lack of awareness, if you will. I think it was just disheartening, Bowen told the L.A. Times about the whole ordeal.

Bowen has a masters degree in gender studies from Georgia State University; she understands the process of academic research. She says if Buck had Googled trap feminism, her work would have come up. Instead, Buck cited Bowens work in a footnote in her book.

I think the fact that Jennifer Buck does not have the lived experience that makes her the person to write about trap feminism or Black feminism is honestly just the salt in the wound, Bowen said. Now were also dealing with issues around cultural appropriation, culture vulturing and just kind of like cultural voyeurism that is just icky, you know. Its just cringe and I hate that we are still doing this in 2022.

In a separate Instagram exchange with Christian writer Jo Luehmann, Buck explained her research process.

I did this research directly interviewing women running trap with a research team of primarily black women. Everyone was paid well  those who helped me conduct the research and those interviewed, Buck wrote. I will also add: I believe anti-racist work is the work of white people to do, which includes hiring and elevating black voices and all historically marginalized voices in doing theology.

Author Chanequa Walker-Barnes joined a chorus of voices on Twitter decrying Bucks approach to this topic within Black culture. One of Walker-Barnes first books was published by Wipf and Stock Publishers, a Christian publishing house, which also released Bad and Boujee this February.

Its not that White scholars cant write about Black women, but it has to be done with extreme care, a whole lot of cultural sensitivity and humility, and in relationships of accountability with Black women, Walker-Barnes wrote on Twitter. And it would probably need a Black woman editor.

Wipf and Stock announced on Friday that it would pull Bad and Boujee from distribution.

We humbly acknowledge that we failed Black women in particular, and we take full responsibility for the numerous failures of judgment that led to this moment, the publisher said in a statement. Our critics are right: we should have seen numerous red flags, including but not limited to the inappropriateness of a White theologian writing about the experience of Black women (the issue of cultural appropriation is pervasive, from cover to content), the lack of Black endorsers, and the apparent lack of relationship with Black scholars, especially those who originated the trap feminist discourse.

Bowen said Bucks silence is the least trap feminist approach to this controversy.

I want to call it kind of a psychological violence, if you will. Professor Buck starts this sstorm and then to just turn away from it, Bowen said. She has refused so far to engage in this conversation that she has started. Thats not what trap feminism is all about. Because a trap feminist can fight her battles, be accountable and hold people accountable.



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Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images

The Department of Justice may appeal a ruling striking the mask mandate on planes and transit.

The DOJ added that TSA would enforce the mandate until May 3, and the appeal will depend on the CDC.

Several US airlines have already dropped the mask requirement on board.

The Department of Justice said it will appeal a federal judge's decision to strike down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's face-mask mandate for planes and public transit if the CDC assesses that the mask mandate should remain.

"The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health," DOJ spokesman Anthony Coley tweeted on Tuesday. "That is an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve."

On Monday, Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a Trump-appointed judge struck down the mask mandate for planes and mass transit, saying in her ruling that the CDC overstepped its powers with the initial guidance.

"Our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends," she said in the ruling.

In Coley's Tuesday statement from the DOJ, he said that before the district court's decision on Monday, the CDC had said the order would stay in place while it assessed "current public health conditions" and that Transportation Security Administration planned to "extend its directive implementing the order until May 3 to facilitate CDC's assessment."

"If CDC concludes that a mandatory order remains necessary for the public's health after that assessment, the Department of Justice will appeal the district court's decision," Coley said.

Several US airlines, such as American, Alaska, United, Delta, and Southwest, dropped their requirement after the ruling, making mask usage optional, while train systems like Amtrak followed suit. Many passengers were informed of the policy change mid-flight.

The requirement was put implemented by the Biden administration in February 2021 and had been extended multiple times.

Read the original article on Business Insider
On 21 March 2002, Hartlepool prison officer John Darwin went out in his canoe. When he missed his shift at work and didnt return home, the alarm was raised and there was a huge search operation. He was a missing person, presumed dead. Little did the police know, John had actually faked his own death, with the help of his wife Anne, so that they could claim the life insurance money.

The couple lied to their two sons and the world. In 2007, after trying and failing to start a new life under a fake name in Panama with Anne, John turned up at a police station in London, claiming he had amnesia. The story exploded, and John was soon known as Canoe Man, but the pair were caught out when a member of the public found a photo online of the couple in Panama, taken in 2006. They were both convicted of fraud and sentenced to more than six years in prison.

Now, ten years on from Johns initial disappearance, ITV is dramatising the story in a new four-part seriesThe Thief, His Wife and the Canoe, with Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan playing the couple at the centre of the scandal. Read our interview with Dolan about portraying Anne here.

The ITV series ends with Anne leaving prison and going to a halfway house in Leeds  but where are the Darwins now?

Anne separated from John just before she was released from prison. I hadnt realised how much John manipulated me until I was in prison. I had to see a psychologist to finally help me see things in a different light," she told The Guardian in 2016.

Until then Id always had his voice in my head. Finally, when it faded away, I could then make decisions for myself and I realised that I didnt have to depend on him. I could cope on my own.

In 2011, when Anne was released, John reportedly sent her a photograph of herself with a copyright symbol on it, to imply she was his property. They eventually divorced, with John citing unreasonable behaviour.

John Darwin and his second wife Mercy (Jamie Wiseman/ANL/Shutterstock)

Soon afterwards, Anne decided to tell her story. In 2016, she released a memoir, Out of My Depth. The blurb for the book reads: After years of remaining silent, Anne Darwin finally reveals the truth behind the crime that tore her family apart.

Story continues

Read more: What is fact and what is fiction in The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe?

Anne also got a job with the RSPCA using the qualifications she gained in prison. The proceeds from her book went to the RNLI and the RSPCA.

She is now retired and living alone in the north of England. She is reconciled with her two sons, Mark and Anthony, who had previously disowned her, and is a part of her grandchildrens lives.

John, meanwhile, remarried in 2015. He moved to Manila in the Philippines, where he helps his second wife, Mercy, run a market stall. She is 23 years younger than him.

In a recent development that, like the original story is stranger than fiction, John has reportedly gone to Ukraine to fight against the Russians. Mercy told The Mirror: He will have a bullet proof vest and good life insurance, good for me.

The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe begins on ITV at 9pm on Sunday 17 April.
100 years  April 20, 1922

In the storm wave which swept sections of this state and was a gale of considerable violence in Illinois, Indiana and parts of Arkansas, a great deal of damage to property resulted and the loss of two lives has been reported in this state, while many have been injured.

The fire early Wednesday morning on the roof of the Miles Day home on West Main gave our newly organized volunteer fire squad an opportunity to demonstrate their speed in arriving on the scene of danger, but little else, as the blaze was quickly extinguished it having gained but small headway.

Prosecuting Attorney R. H. Davis last Saturday issued an information in the court of Judge I. J. Pirtle against Lee Darnell charging him with having collected $788.37 on a government bond interest coupon to which he had forged the name of J. S. Berryman of Piedmont. Darnell was a barber here for a number of years and his wife is the daughter of Bent Rhodes. Through his wife he inherited some money a few years ago and then entered a medical school where he spent several terms. It is likely he failed to pass the required state examinations, since during the last year he was arrested and fined in Wayne County for the illegal practice of medicine.

Geo. Kirtley, who has been working in Willesville, Ill. for many months, returned home last week on account of the nation wide coal strike.

At a meeting of Board of Curators of Marvin College, held last week in St. Louis, Mrs. Ruth Barns was unanimously elected president of the institution for the coming year.

75 years  April 24, 1947

According to a press release from the state headquarters of the March of Dimes, Madison County contributed $910 to the fund.

A thief or thieves smashed one of the big plate glass windows Sunday night or early Monday morning in the Hill Sporting Goods store on South Mine La Motte avenue and removed a .38 caliber Colt revolver which was on display. Sheriff Paul Rose and Troopers Sheible and Murphy are investigating the incident. A half-brick was thrown through the lower half of the window with considerable force. A large hole resulted and it was an easy task to remove the gun.

The cloudiness and taste that has appeared in the city water recently is due to placing the new water plant into operation. This does not mean that there is anything wrong with the water coming from the new plant; the water as it leaves the plant is perfectly clear and has no disagreeable odor nor taste. However, when the soft water from the plant mixes with the hard water from the wells, a chemical reaction takes place.

An advertisement by the Chamber of Commerce, appears in The Democrat-News this week. The advertisement, headlined "Shall Fredericktown Have A Modern School System," has been signed by approximately 200 people who are interested in seeing the increased school levy pass at next Wednesday's election.

50 years  April 20, 1972

Stormy weather was the rule, not the exception, last weekend. Early Friday morning a severe electrical, wind, hail and rain storm struck the general area. Fredericktown property was saved from most of the damage but roofs took a blasting and there was some sleepless citizens early Friday.

East Main Street merchants continue to ponder the question of making that thoroughfare more attractive to business, more accessible and more decorative. A meeting of 10 merchants Wednesday night with Mayor C. J. Whitener studied various aspects. The "mall" or strolling street has about been abandoned from the standpoint of closing the area to parking. In fact, diagonal parking is now being studied as a means of making more parking space available.

In a surprising move the city council voted not to enter an azalea float this year. The council cited time and finances as the two primary reasons.

The R-6 Board of Education, Marquand-Zion Schools, has awarded the contract to the C. A. D. Construction Co. of Dexter to build the new elementary school and music room addition.

Calling all single women. Now hear this. Madison County is loaded with single men. Bachelors abound in the local area to the extent that there are, according to the official count, some 125 of them parading around unattached for every 100 single women.

25 years  April 23, 1997

Hail and heavy rain came down Sunday night, but it was strong, gusting winds which damaged trees and at least one building in Madison County. At approximately 10 p.m., Sunday night, wind blew a section of the metal roof off of the garage at Black River Electric Cooperative on Highway 72 East.

Somewhere between 15 and 20 Marquand-Zion students and others are suspected in the vandalism which occurred at the school late Thursday night and early Friday. Custodian Garrett Denman arrived at the school at approximately 7 a.m., Friday morning. According to R-VI Superintendent Duane Schindler, the vandalism was contained in the main high school building and specifically in the hallways and English, Science and History classrooms. Most of damage consisted of books being taken out of lockers and thrown about the school.

Brothers Gene Holliday of Fredericktown and Gerald Holliday of Farmington have been hunting mushrooms for a long time, and have found some big ones, but nothing like this. While hunting in Madison County, the location is a secret, Thursday, the brothers collected over 200 prime morel mushrooms, but one of them really stood out above the rest. The mushrooms generally average about 2-3 inches tall, but the Hollidays found one which measured 11 and a half.

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East Ozarks Audubon Society (EOAS) recently installed a new bird blind in the Crouch Sanctuary at Engler Park, replacing an older blind, built in the fall of 1992, that was taken down in September.

"The old blind was constructed of oak and had served its purpose for many years but was looking shabby and needed to be replaced," said EOAS member Ann Blanchfield. "We had repainted the old blind a few years ago but that only delayed the inevitable decision to replace the old blind with a new one.

In May 2021, EOAS ordered a prefabricated Cardinal brand custom building through Beyond the Backyard of Farmington and it was delivered by Cardinal Buildings of Carrier Mills, Illinois, in August.

"The new building was funded by a very generous grant from the Centene Charitable Foundation," Blanchfield said. "Their grant made the project possible, and we are very grateful for their assistance.

"Joyce Adams was our local Centene contact. She met with us at the old blind, listened to what we hoped to accomplish and then helped us navigate the grant process."

According to Blanchfield, the city of Farmington was helpful in the entire process of installing the new blind.

"Parks and Recreation Director Bud Norman helped at every step along the way," she said. "He met with us at the old blind to discuss our plans and was present when the building was delivered and directed the preparation of the new site.

"A couple of city employees  Kevin Amonette and Sammy Cowley, and perhaps others we are unaware of  did an excellent job clearing the site, preparing a base of gravel and crushed rock, and installing gravel pathways near the new blind. The Cardinal employee who delivered the building Illinois told us that the site preparation was 'as good as [he] had ever seen.' So, kudos to the Farmington employees who helped us along the way.

"Our own EOAS members and spouses put in many hours researching and discussing the options for the blind; drawing up plans; speaking to Centene and Farmington city employees; and deconstructing the old blind."

Blanchfield mentioned that studies show being outside in nature contributes to physical and emotional wellbeing, as well as reduces blood pressure and heart rate.

"A bird blind lets you enjoy birds and other wildlife up close without scaring them away," she said. "It is a great way to contemplate nature and enjoy the beauty of birds with little equipment. We're hopeful that the citizens of Farmington and surrounding communities will enjoy our new bird blind for many years to come."

Kevin R. Jenkins is the managing editor of the Farmington Press and can be reached at 573-783-9667 or kjenkins@farmingtonpressonline.com

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By Azernews





By Sabina Mammadli

The Azerbaijanis worldwide, who played a pivotal role in the country won in the 44-day war with Armenia, will soon come together in the cultural capital Shusha.

As outlined by President Ilham Aliyev, courageous protests of compatriots living abroad against the insidious provocations of the enemy and anti-Azerbaijani circles during the Patriotic War, their selfless service in conveying the truth about Azerbaijan to the world community have made a sizable contribution to the November 2020 victory.

The Shusha-based event is expected to draw 400 diaspora representatives from 65 countries. The preparations for the congress are nearing completion. The congress participants will first visit Baku's Alley of Honors, then the Alleys of Martyrs I and II before departing for Shusha.

Following the official opening ceremony, there will be a report on the activities of the State Committee on Work with Diaspora, discussions on "Challenges facing the Azerbaijani Diaspora in the post-war period", and "Contributions of the Azerbaijani Diaspora to the restoration and reconstruction of Karabakh".

History of World Azerbaijani Congress

Any country's diaspora reflects its power, diversity, and strength. The formation of the Azerbaijani diaspora began on February 1, 1949, with the establishment of the "Azerbaijan Culture Circle" in Ankara, Turkey. In 1956, Saleh bay Sheykhzamanli founded the "Azerbaijan Society of America" in the United States.

World War II marked the beginning of a new era in the history of the Azerbaijan Diaspora. Because of the number of Azerbaijanis taken hostage during the war and those who had to flee to Europe for various reasons after the war, the number of our compatriots living abroad increased dramatically during that time period. Then came the repressions, which resulted in an increase in the number of Azerbaijanis living abroad.

National leader Heydar Aliyev played an indispensable part in the formation of the Azerbaijani diaspora.

Heydar Aliyev worked hard in the 1970s and 1980s to preserve the people's historical memory, develop culture, and popularize Azerbaijan around the world. The formation of the Azerbaijan Cultural Relations Society with the assistance of Azerbaijanis living abroad (the society "Veten" (Motherland)) served to unite compatriots and their relationships with the Motherland. Heydar Aliyev, the country's leader, paid special attention to the expansion of scientific-intellectual potential. Hundreds of Azerbaijanis were able to further their education in the USSR's progressive educational institutions as a result of his efforts.

Heydar Aliyev's speech in Moscow on the January 20th tragedy sparked the organization of all Azerbaijanis around the world.

In addition, in November 2001, Baku hosted the I Congress of World Azerbaijanis. The Congress was significant in terms of uniting all Azerbaijanis living abroad around a common goal: the concept of a single Azerbaijanihood, and it laid the groundwork for a qualitatively new stage in history of the Diaspora movement.

The "State Policy Regarding Azerbaijanis Living in Foreign Countries" law, which was passed in December 2002, identified a priority area and legal principles in this field.

Speaking at the First Congress, the national leader described it as a landmark event in the history of independent Azerbaijan, as well as the history of Azerbaijanis all over the world.

"I want to say it again from the bottom of my heart: each person's nationality is a source of pride for him. I have always been proud, and I am proud today to be an Azerbaijani," he said in his speech.

Following congresses

This is not the first World Azerbaijanis' Congress held in the aftermath of a significant historical event. There appears to be a pattern in this regard. Thus, the previous, fourth congress was held in June 2016, just two months after the successful April battles, which laid the groundwork for future victory and, to some extent, began to change the aura surrounding the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

To give a brief history of these congresses, they were previously held every five years, but the 44-day war and subsequent developments forced a slight change in the schedule this time. There was active work for six years. Thus, 14 coordinating councils covering 31 countries have been established over the past four years, and 18 Azerbaijani houses have been established in 12 countries around the world, including Estonia, Poland, Hungary, Germany, Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia, and Greece. Azerbaijani "Karabakh" schools have been established abroad at the initiative of First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva, teaching over 250 children in their native language.

As mentioned above, 2001 was a very important year in terms of the formation of Azerbaijani diaspora organizations. After the first congress, in 2002, the State Committee for Work with Azerbaijanis Living Abroad (now the State Committee for Work with the Diaspora) was established. Over the past years, the number of diaspora structures has increased. If during the first congress there were a little more than 200 of them, then by 2016, that is, by the World Azerbaijanis' Fourth Congress, Azerbaijanis were already united in 462 organizations.

President Ilham Aliyev stated in his speech at the IV Congress about the Diaspora's tasks that not only the older but also the younger generation of the Diaspora should be connected with Azerbaijan, primarily through knowledge of their native language.

During the congress, the president focused particularly on the issue of unity.

"I really want the diaspora organizations operating abroad to hit one point, to consolidate. In this case, they will become even stronger; respect for them will increase in society. If the public of foreign countries sees that Azerbaijani diaspora organizations do not get along with each other, they act against each other, that will not be good. There are a few cases like this. But today I would like to touch on this topic from this rostrum and note that unity is the main issue," President Ilham Aliyev said.

Significance of fifth World Azerbaijanis congress

The activity of the diaspora during the Patriotic war was especially notable. Approximately 200 rallies were held in over 30 countries around the world, with tens of thousands of our compatriots and friends of Azerbaijan taking part. Azerbaijani communities went to great lengths to inform the world about the truth about the war. Some 300 diaspora organizations in more than 50 countries sent statements and appeals to heads of state, members of parliament, and international organizations, which were also invaluable.

The fact that the fifth Congress coincides with the large-scale reconstruction of our liberated lands is significant both historically and symbolically. It is also known as the Victory Congress.

The main topics of discussion will be the tasks confronting the Azerbaijani diaspora in the postwar period, as well as the Azerbaijani diaspora's contribution to the restoration and reconstruction of Karabakh. Notably, these are the most pressing issues on the minds of Azerbaijanis around the world today.

First Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijan State Committee on Work with Diaspora Valeh Hajiyev has shared that the congress will be held from April 22 through April 23

"The congress in Shusha will become the Victory Congress. Important decisions will be made that will determine the activities of the diaspora at this forum, organized in the cultural capital of Azerbaijan and the Turkic world," Hajiyev said.

President Ilham Aliyev's purposeful activity, leadership, resolute defense of our national interests, and well-thought-out and determined policy made this a reality.




A woman faces multiple felony charges this week after allegedly forcing her way into a home and firing a gun into the ceiling. The woman is also accused of drug possession after police reportedly found a significant amount of meth and drug paraphernalia.

Rebecca Lynn Pickett, 35, of Potosi, has been charged in Washington County with four counts of unlawful use of a weapon, first-degree burglary, two counts of armed criminal action, and possession of a controlled substance.

According to a probable cause statement from the Washington County Sheriff's Office, on Sunday, Pickett went to an address on Knob Road during a dispute about car keys and spoke to a man residing at the home.

The man reportedly told police that a friend of his showed up at the house, and he told her to leave before she entered the residence. The man said that Pickett told him she wasn't going, so he shut the door. He said she came into the house anyway, armed with a pistol, and began threatening him and another person present.

The report states that Pickett then fired one round from the pistol into the roof of the residence.

An investigator later spoke with the other person at the home. She reportedly recalled that "Becca Bone" stormed into the house with a gun and knife. The woman also said that "Becca" fired the gun into the ceiling, according to the statement.

Police recovered a single 25 auto shell casing from the residence's living room and noted that there was also a visible hole in the ceiling of the dwelling.

The report further states law enforcement units later conducted a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle on Route O. Pickett was a passenger in the car and was pulled out of the vehicle at gunpoint. Both Pickett and the driver were detained to continue the investigation.

The report states Pickett agreed to speak to police about what had occurred and said she had gone to the residence because of an argument over car keys. The woman then allegedly admitted to firing a weapon inside the home.

Pickett reportedly granted a deputy consent to search and explained how to get to the weapon. The weapon was identified as a Raven Arms Model MP-25, 25 caliber semi-auto pistol.

The driver of the vehicle stopped by police was arrested on active warrants, and the car had to be impounded per department policy. A deputy conducted an inventory of the vehicle before impoundment and reportedly located a red and black container in the same compartment as the loaded firearm. A clear plastic bag with a white crystalline substance was allegedly inside the red and black container. The deputy reported that he believed the white substance to be methamphetamine based on his training and experience.

The report states that there were also multiple empty plastic bags located inside this red bag and numerous hypodermic needles. The other plastic bags reportedly had visible residue. The deputy noted in the report that he believed the amount of methamphetamine product and residue found was more than personal usage amounts.

The report further states the deputy located a medication organizer commonly used by the elderly populace. Inside the medication organizer, under the day "Sunday," was more crystalline substance identified as methamphetamine. Also inside the organizer, under the day "Saturday," were 30 prescription pills. The medication was identified as Aripiprazole through a pill identifier and is commonly used for antipsychotic purposes.

The deputy searched the vehicle further and reportedly found multiple pocket knives, one of which was located near the narcotics and the firearm. The report states deputies located a tube located on the passenger side floorboard. The tube was reportedly burnt on one end and appeared to have a white residue on the inside. The deputy reported that based on training and experience, he knew that these items are commonly used to snort methamphetamine.

The deputy contacted a detective with the Potosi Police Department, who conducted a TruNarc test on the large amount of crystalline substance recovered. According to the TruNarc report, the substance was positively identified as methamphetamine. The substance reportedly weighed 3.1 grams.

Pickett was booked at the Washington County Jail, and a $150,000 bond was set in the case.

A review of Pickett's criminal history showed she has previously been arrested in Missouri for possession of a controlled substance, an ordinance violation for assault, and second-degree tampering with a motor vehicle.

Court records state the woman has prior charges from 2019 in the State of Washington for theft of gasoline and county code violations.

The criminal complaint filed in the case indicates that Pickett faces a potential sentence of 79 years in prison if convicted of the charges.

Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com

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During the Park Hills City Council meeting this month, one newly elected council member and three re-elected members were sworn into office following the election earlier in the month. After inducting the newly-elected city officials, the council selected a new mayor pro tem and chose representatives to area boards.

Park Hills voters cast their ballots on April 5, electing Carl Courtois to serve Ward 1. Stacey Easter was re-elected to serve Ward 2, and Adam Kell and Steve Weinhold were re-elected to represent Ward 3 and Ward 4 respectively.

Park Hills City Clerk Terri Richardson administered the oath of office in the elected officials.

Members of the council elected this month will serve two-year terms ending in 2024.

Before the previous council adjourned for the last time, Mayor John Clark presented outgoing Ward 1 Councilman Michael Adam Bowers with a plaque, expressing appreciation for his years of service to the city. Bowers decided not to seek re-election after eight years in his Ward 1 position.

"We appreciate his service, his humor, and him keeping us on our toes, and all the things that come with that," the mayor said. "Adam, I'd like to congratulate you and thank you for your service to the Park Hills City Council."

Clark noted that Bowers had done a tremendous job leading the efforts to pass Proposition SWIM, which was approved by voters this month with a 72% margin. Prop SWIM will allow for a new aquatic facility to be constructed in Columbia Park.

"We're appreciative of that, and every time we swim in that pool, we'll think about you," Clark added.

In the new council's first meeting, one of the priorities was the election of a mayor pro-tem.

Most cities do not have a position of vice mayor but rather appoint a person from the city council to act as president pro-tempore, also known as mayor pro-tempore, in the absence of the actual mayor. The position is commonly referred to as president pro tem or mayor pro tem.

Mayor Clark opened up the floor for pro tem nominations, and Ward 3 Councilman Adam Kell nominated Ward 4 Councilman Weinhold for the position. Ward 3 Councilwoman Cindi Penberthy nominated Ward 2 Councilwoman Easter for president pro tem.

Clark then polled the council, and Easter was chosen as president pro tem, receiving six votes to Weinhold's two.

The mayor moved on to appoint Weinhold as the council's representative on the Planning and Zoning Commission with unanimous approval from the other council members.

Next, Clark appointed Penberthy as the council's representative on the Flat River Senior Aid Association Board. The council unanimously accepted the mayor's appointment.

The council approved the mayor's appointment of City Administrator Mark McFarland to the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission. McFarland noted that he and the mayor had previously represented the city at the regional planning commission meetings. The mayor opened the floor to another council appointment to the commission, and Courtois was accepted for the duty.

Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com

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An Albany man is suspected of multiple crimes, including rape, strangulation and child pornography.

Albany police officers arrested Tiawan Denai Richards, 20, on Thursday, April 14 on suspicion of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, strangulation and rape.

Richards was arraigned in Linn County Circuit Court on Friday, April 15 on one count of first-degree rape, one count of strangulation, three counts of third-degree rape and three counts of using child in display of sexually explicit conduct.

According to court documents, the first-degree rape and strangulation charges are said to have occurred on or between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31 and involved the same victim. The rest of the charges are said to have stemmed from incidents occurring on or between Sept. 1 and March 31.

Court documents allege the rape victim was under the age of 16. The documents also say Richards allegedly encouraged a child to participate or engage in sexually explicit conduct with the intention of observing or recording it on three separate occasions.

During Richards arraignment, Linn County Circuit Court Keith Stein set the defendants bail at $75,000 and appointed Joseph Elwood as his defense attorney.

The next court hearing in the matter is scheduled for April 25.

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Big changes are coming to the Lebanon Fire District.

Two long-time veterans are leaving the district in May: Battalion Chief Nick Tyler, 43, and Division Chief Jason Bolen, 47. The two have a combined 48 years of fire service experience.

Fire Chief Joseph Rodondi said in a news release announcing the departures he was proud of both men and the way they served the Lebanon community.

Heading home

Tylers last day will be May 6. Later in May, hell be stepping up as fire chief of Sweet Home Fire & Ambulance District. Tyler will be replacing outgoing Chief Dave Barringer.

The thing Im most looking forward to about returning to Sweet Home Fire is being home, Tyler said in an email. Being given the opportunity to lead my home town department is very special to me. The members of Sweet Home Fire are amazing firefighters, EMTs and paramedics. I feel very fortunate and humbled for this next chapter in my career.

Tyler moved to Sweet Home in 1991 and has been with the Lebanon Fire District since 2007. He said he always wanted to be in public service and after serving in the Navy, he enrolled at Linn-Benton Community College for the schools criminal justice program.

He started in Sweet Home as a volunteer firefighter and within a year was a part of the districts intern program. He was later hired full time.

After about three months of being a volunteer firefighter, I fell in love with it, Tyler said. I talked to my wife and switched gears and started pursuing my degree in Emergency Medical Services to become a paramedic.

In 2007, Tyler decided to join Lebanon Fire District where he was hired as a firefighter/medic. He later worked as an engineer/medic, and in 2015 was promoted to lieutenant. In 2017, he was promoted to battalion chief.

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What attracted me to Lebanon was the ability to gain more experience as a firefighter, he said. Being a larger organization in a larger community, there was more opportunity to work on a fire engine, run more calls and develop as a firefighter.

A defining moment in his career, Tyler said, was when he was promoted to lieutenant and put in charge of a multimillion-dollar federal grant. He said this opportunity helped him to grow professionally and improve his leadership skills.

Now, hell take those leadership skills to a new job closer to home. But hell remember his years in Lebanon fondly.

I will miss the people of Lebanon Fire District the most, he said. I have spent the last 15 years working and living with them. They are like family to me.

A new challenge

Bolen is moving a little farther away from home: Hes heading to Bend where he has accepted a deputy chief role with Bend Fire & Rescue. Hell be the departments new fire marshal. His last day with LFD is May 5.

Stepping up into a larger department (although it is the same role) is going to be challenging for me, Bolen said. If you're not challenging yourself, you kind of get stagnant and, not that I'm stagnant here, but I want to I want to continue to push I've been like that my whole life.

Bolen grew up in Santa Barbara, California, and moved to Lebanon to live with his parents when he was 19. He was on academic probation at the time and lost his financial aid at the college he was attending. He joked that its hard to go to school on the beach.

Within a few weeks of living in Oregon, he had started volunteering as a firefighter with LFD in 1994.

No day is ever the same here, Bolen said. And then you can help people in some of their worst times,  so that was appealing to me. Doing something good for my community was appealing to me.

Bolen rose through the ranks over the last two decades. He started working part time for $4.25 an hour. After completing his EMT and other trainings, he was hired full time. He tested at multiple fire departments all over the state but ended up right where he already was.

He said Lebanon has been a great place to learn and grow. During his time in Lebanon, he also served as a city councilor. He met his wife in Lebanon and has raise their two kids here too. The city means a lot to him both personally and professionally.

Whether it were fires, traffic accidents or medical issues, hes seen it all. And now, hes taking more than 20 years of experience with him to his next endeavor.

It was slow at first and then all of a sudden, you blink your eyes and you're one of the old guys, he said. You go from asking questions to having people ask you questions.

Bolen was promoted to engineer/medic in 2005, to lieutenant in 2009 and to his current position as division chief of fire and life safety in 2016. He also serves as fire marshal.

Although hes moving to a bigger city, hes not going to forget the impact this small town had on him any time soon.

I was 19 years old when I came here and didn't know what I wanted to do and didn't know what my life had in front of me, Bolen said. And I never would have guessed it would have been this. So little Lebanon has given me a lot.

"And I'm really thankful for it.

Going forward

According to the news release from LFD, a replacement process for Tyler's position is being developed and Deputy Fire Marshal Ken Foster will serve as interim fire marshal. Engineer Candace Hedding will be interim deputy fire marshal as of May 1.

The fire district will have a combined farewell event for Tyler and Bolen from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, May 5 p.m. at the MBVA Event Room, 550 Main St., Lebanon. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

Maddie Pfeifer covers public safety for Mid-Valley Media. She can be contacted at 541-812-6091 or Madison.Pfeifer@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter via @maddiepfeifer_

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Spring has sprung, and it seems like a lot of things are getting high  the pollen count, COVID-19 cases and mid-Willamette Valley locals.

Its April 20, and that means the air is going to smell awfully skunky today. Every year on 4/20, people rejoice by lighting one up with their friends, especially at 4:20 p.m. to ring in the celebration.

But why 4/20? Some say that was the police code for when teenagers were caught smoking marijuana. Others attribute it to five California teenagers who would smoke the stuff at 4:20 p.m. after practice.

Whatever the real origin story is, 4/20 has become a stoner jubilee  red eyes, full bowls, cant lose.

Four-twenty is like marijuana businesses Christmas, said Christina Jancila, owner of the Corvallis dispensary and pizzeria Marie Janes Cannabis Connection.

Reefer madness in the mid-valley

When the pandemic first hit, Jancila said, her sales went through the roof. People were stuck at home, stressed and needing something to take their minds off things.

But while her flower was selling out fast, COVID-19 unfortunately put a damper on her annual 4/20 celebration for two years in a row, which normally includes free tattoos at a shop next door, balloons, pizza, swag and unbeatable marijuana deals.

Jancila brags of having the best deals in town, selling one ounce for $24 and two for $40.

She opened her shop in 2017, and knows the environment better than the corporate stores, she said, so competition isnt an issue for her. And while college students make up a large segment of the population in Corvallis, the success of the dispensary depends on those who live here year-round.

Locals are the bread and butter of the business, Jancila said.

Marie Janes 4/20 celebration is back in full swing this year, with prerolls for $1, 1/8ths for $4.20 and free tattoos by 99 Tattoo Studio.

Jancila is not the only one who pulls out all the stops on 4/20, however.

Daniel Lareau, who opened The Green Room with his father as a medical dispensary in 2014, offers 20% off all flower not only on 4/20, but throughout April.

Going to a dispensary on 4/20 is like grabbing a beer on St. Patricks Day, Lareau said. Im always surprised at how many people show up.

The Green Room, located at 2521 NW Ninth St. in Corvallis, has since expanded to two more stores in town, Green Room South at 1665 SW Third St., and Green Room Campus at 111 NW 16th St.

While its true that Corvallis is one of the most weed-friendly spots in the mid-valley, with 17 recreational dispensaries for a population less than 60,000, the marijuana industry is booming in Linn County as well, with 22 retail spots spread across five towns.

Bruce Baby is a self-proclaimed world famous budtender at the first ever dispensary in Lebanon, Modern Forest. Hes been with the shop since it opened in 2017 and has helped cultivate the family vibe the store is known for.

Were pretty hoppin, he said, showing off the nearly 100 strains of weed the store will sell on 4/20.

Baby has watched the clientele transition from mainly older folks who buy weed for pain to people of all ages and backgrounds. He said around 150 people visit the store every day, which says a lot for the town of around 17,000.

Oregon is one of the few states that allows people to grow cannabis in limited quantities, so Modern Forest sells small plants for customers to add to their home grows. One wall of the store is proudly lined with photographs of customers who created their own weed wonderland, thanks to the start the dispensary gave them.

I think theres a lot of education going on and a lot more people are willing to try it, Baby said. People are realizing that its not as wild as they made it out to be.

Joanna Mann (she/her) covers education for Mid-Valley Media. She can be contacted at 541-812-6076 or Joanna.Mann@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter via @joanna_mann_.

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Efforts to restore the historic Shimanek bridge on Richardson Gap Road to its former glory are now underway.

Work on the covered bridge began on Monday, April 18 and closed surrounding roads, which are expected to reopen around October when the project wraps up. The area is home to a temporary work bridge along Thomas Creek for the time being, west of the existing bridge.

Humble beginnings

With a 130-foot, 6-inch wooden span and three precast concrete approaches span on the south end, the Shimanek is the longest covered bridge in Linn County at 225 feet in all.

Painted barn red with louvered windows, it's the fifth bridge to overlook Thomas Creek and stands out from its peers with its bright colors and relative youth compared to older bridges in Oregon.

Here's what we know from local historians and archives: The first bridge is believed to have been built as early as 1861, while the first documented covered bridge was built in 1891 for $1,150. Legend has it that the 1891 bridge had a two-hole toilet built into the foundation  a luxury not found at the current covered bridge.

In 1904, the county rebuilt the bridge, only to have it wash out in November 1921. Its replacement, the third covered bridge, stood until 1927, when high water damaged the piers, and the span was replaced.

Trees blew against the fourth covered bridge during the Columbus Day Storm of 1962 and following the resulting damage, Linn County restricted the bridge to a 2-ton load limit with single lane traffic.

That bridge was destroyed soon after and the site was without a bridge until the present-day Shimanek Bridge was completed in 1966.

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The restoration work

As it nears its 56th birthday, the Shimanek is in need of repairs, including new siding and a wooden truss to replace what's been marred by rainwater and decay.

The Linn County Bridge Maintenance Department has maintained the Shimanek over the years since it was last rebuilt. Earlier this year, the county contracted restoration work to two private contractors.

A subcontractor, Eugene-based Oregon Woods Inc., will perform the rehabilitation work on the historic bridge span. That includes adding new steel-backed timber bridge rails and a cedar shingle roof.

Contractor Marcum and Sons LLC of Redmond will work on the bridge's concrete approach spans and foundations, which include installing new supports, paving the approach spans and riprap rock inside the new piers to protect it from flooding.

Local love

One of eight covered bridges remaining in Linn County, the Shimanek bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Historical records show Oregon was home to some 600 covered bridges a century ago. Today, 50 of them remain. A half-dozen are still standing a 30-minute drive away from Albany.

The Shimanek's aging wooden beams and fading coat of paint tell a story, according to Jerry Russell of Salem.

Russell, a retired state auditor who inherited his passion for covered bridges from his parents, sees the structures as engineering marvels.

"It's just a marvel that they could build these bridges and that they are still standing today after all these years," Russell said. "I'd love to have seen how these these builders built them back in those days."

The former president of the now defunct Covered Bridge Society of Oregon, Russell has volunteered his time documenting covered bridges for the National Archives.

For history buffs like George Kramer, Oregon's covered bridges are about more than getting from Point A to Point B.

Kramer, a historic preservation consultant who's advised and sat on historical commissions around the state, sees the bridges as a priceless gateway to the past.

"Nobody travels to Oregon from around the world to take pictures of a concrete span, despite the fact that, as a bridge, it does an admirable job," Kramer said. "If you value history, character and aesthetics, there is a lot to recommend about covered bridges."

There are ways of rebuilding and repairing covered wooden spans that honor their history and keep the public safe, Kramer said.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has developed a number of repair methods for covered bridges. Those include "glulam timber" or glue-laminated timber which bonds layers of solid wood lumber using high-strength adhesive to increase their capacity and retain their original character.

In 1998, the aging timber floor beams supporting the Shimanek's deck were replaced with glulam timber, and it's kept the bridge up for decades. The bridge's steel supports are intended to make the bridge more crash resistant to boot.

With any luck, visitors to Linn County may see the Shimanek bridge standing for a few decades more.

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By Azernews





The State Border Service has prevented over 8 kg of drugs and 780 psychotropic substances from being smuggled into Azerbaijan from Iran, the service has reported on its website.

The incident occurred in the service area of the Horadiz border detachments border post near Fuzuli regions Boyuk Bahmanli village at about 1200 on April 18.

The border guards discovered an unattended white package between the bushes while inspecting the border area. During the inspection, some 8.2 kg of drugs (6.5 kg of marijuana, 1 kg of heroin), as well as 780 methadone-40 psychotropic pills were discovered in the package.

The case is undergoing the necessary operational and investigative procedures.

Border protection and search operations are underway to ensure reliable protection of the state border and combat drug trafficking and psychotropic substances.

As Iran borders both Afghanistan and Azerbaijan, drugs are traditionally smuggled in from Afghanistan into Iran and then into Azerbaijan. Given Azerbaijan's geographical location, drug traffickers attempt to smuggle drugs into European countries along the Balkan route via the country.

After the restoration of its territorial integrity, Azerbaijan is taking steps to ensure the safety and restoration of order in the liberated lands. One of these measures is to halt the flow of drugs in the region that was previously controlled by Armenia's illegal regime in Karabakh.

Armenia used Karabakh and the surrounding seven regions for illegal activities such as arms and drug trafficking during its 30-year occupation of Azerbaijani territories. Despite the fact that Azerbaijan repeatedly raised the issue with international organizations, Armenia continued in the same vein, creating all of the necessary conditions for the illegal cultivation, production, and distribution of narcotic substances.

Azerbaijan closed the drug trafficking route from Iran to Armenia and then to Europe that used to pass through Jabrayil region.

After Azerbaijan regained control of the 130-km section of the state border with Iran, which had been under Armenian control for 30 years, the country closed the drug trafficking route from Iran to Armenia and then to Europe.
Todd Saliman, who is seeking to become the next president of the University of Colorado, laid out his plan for changing how Coloradans view higher education institutions during a public forum Tuesday at CU Denver.

Saliman said building and regaining trust across the state will help address and improve his five core "buckets": education and student succession; research; diversity, equity and inclusion; connecting to the community; and health care.

"I want our campuses to be the best and what does that mean in terms of those five buckets?" Saliman said. "It means CU reflects the diversity of our great state."

Saliman, who was named interim president in June and is the sole finalist in the school's presidential search, said this means the system's four campuses are a place where people of all races, religions and political ideologies can come together and grow.

He said this applies to students as well as faculty and staff members.

We need to "attract more people to our student population, to our faculty and to our staff to reflect our great state," Saliman said. "We actually have to have a community where they feel they belong. Not welcome, because that implies they're a guest."

Saliman said making each campus more inviting to all and giving people a sense of belonging will help increase funding to higher education. He said Colorado receives nearly $1 billion less in public funds compared to other states.

Changing the perception and narrative surrounding higher education would benefit all students, staff and faculty members, as well as all Coloradans, Saliman said.

He said his vision is only achievable by changing the way the school does its outreach, and he emphasized the importance of listening to Coloradans' needs and concerns.

He said he hasn't made changes to the school's outreach since becoming interim president because he didn't want to change something and then have someone else modify it several months later.

"I've been waiting honestly because it might not have been me (picked as the finalist)," Saliman said. "That other person might have had a different vision for how to communicate to Colorado, so we've (pressed pause) a little bit. ... Now I'm ready to embrace that work and engage in that outreach."

Anthony Maes, a music business major at CU Denver, said he appreciated hearing Saliman talk about his vision.

"He said a lot of changes will not be effective immediately, but over time will be very effective," Maes said. "We've heard this all before, but I think this time it might be more affective. But we'll have to see."

The university's board named Saliman the finalist last week. The search began with 39 candidates, including 13 women, 26 men and 13 Black, Indigenous and people of color, according to the university.

Ten of these candidates were selected for interviews before Saliman was named the finalist.

Saliman has worked for the university for 10 years, serving as its chief financial officer and vice president for government relations and strategy since 2012.

He served in the Colorado House of Representative from 1995 to 2003 and then served in Cabinet-level positions for Govs. Bill Ritter and John Hickenlooper.

The board is scheduled to vote on Saliman's appointment next week. If named president, he will oversee around 65,000 students at campuses in Boulder, Denver, Aurora and Colorado Springs.
An official welcome ceremony has today been held for President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, who arrived in Azerbaijan for an official visit.

A guard of honor was arranged for the Kyrgyz President in the square decorated with the national flags of the two countries.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev welcomed Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov.

The chief of the guard of honor reported to the Kyrgyz President.

President Sadyr Japarov saluted the Azerbaijani soldiers.

President Ilham Aliyev and President Sadyr Japarov reviewed the guard of honor.

The state anthems of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Azerbaijan were played.

Members of the Azerbaijani delegation were introduced to President Sadyr Japarov, while members of the Kyrgyz delegation were introduced to President Ilham Aliyev.

The guard of honor marched in front of the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov to the accompaniment of a military march.

The presidents posed for official photos.




Local youth dies in mishapFuneral services will be today at 3 p.m. at Marvin Chapel Church of Magnolia for William Jackson Lashley. Lashley, 17, of Marianna was killed instantly Saturday morning when a tractor overturned on him while he plowed a field six miles south of Marianna on a farm belonging to Jack Minchew. The tractor bogged down and, in an attempt to get the tractor out, Lashley apparently tried to loosen the plows and the tractor turned over backwards on him. Sheriff Roy Roberson of Marianna and Daniel Barnes, deputy sheriff of Alford, investigated the accident. Jackson County Floridan, Tuesday, April 19, 1960

Harrison wins sales contestHarrison Chevrolet Co. of Marianna has been declared the winner in a district sales campaign for February and March, according to an official of the firm. Participating in the Take Dixie in 60 contest were dealers in Alabama, Tennessee and Northwest Florida. Those from Harrison Chevrolet attending todays awards presentation in Birmingham are salesmen Ed Mears and Henry J. Stevens, and managers J.W. Kelly and C.C. Harrison Jr. Jackson County Floridan, Tuesday, April 19, 1960

Quincy pair electrocutedTwo men were electrocuted early Monday on a nearby farm when the pipe they were laying touched a high voltage wire. They were George Rudd and Buddy Lovejoy, both of nearby Greensboro. The two were killed instantly. Jackson County Floridan, Tuesday, April 19, 1960

Clayton boy still unable to testifyThe investigation of a double-slaying in Chattahoochee was delayed Monday when police were unable to get any information from a 4-year-old eyewitness. Gadsden County Sheriff Otho Edwards said he questioned the boy, but was unable to learn anything new because of the childs critical head injuries, which were sustained when he was beaten and left for dead by the attacker who hammered his mother, Maggie Mae Clayton to death and then beat to death a younger brother. Before losing consciousness, the boy allegedly accused 50-year-old Negro handyman Sie Dawson of beating me and mother. Dawson is being held without charge at an undisclosed jail for investigation. He has denied knowledge of the double murder. Jackson County Floridan, Tuesday, April 19, 1960

Follow @JCFloridanNews on Twitter.
Many argue they protect and add value to a product through provenance and quality guarantee  think Scotch whisky. However some believe they can be restrictive and limit innovation  again, think Scotch. Nevertheless it is far easier to edit an existing GI than it is to establish a new one, particularly when the reputations of existing brands are at stake.



The British colonisation of Barbados in the 17th century was largely driven by the sugar craze in Europe, but following the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 and the decline of the sugar industry, it was rum production that took over as the islands most popular commodity.



Originally the local sugar mills made just pot-stilled rums, until German engineer George Stade built the West Indies Rum Refinery in 1893  later renamed the West Indies Rum Distillery (WIRD)  which introduced the column still to Barbados. From the 1930s onwards the exports of Barbados rum began to pick up and to this day WIRD is responsible for the majority of the islands rum production.



In 1996 the RL Seale company, one of WIRDs biggest customers at the time, opened the Foursquare Rum Distillery where it now produces its namesake brands as well as other rums including Doorlys. Alongside these two producers are Remy Cointreaus Mount Gay, the oldest commercial rum distillery in the world, and St Nicholas Abbey, a small-scale producer launched in the 2000s.



With just four distilleries on the island, an all-inclusive and productive GI should, in theory, be a straightforward development, but this is far from the case. In late 2019, Mount Gay, Foursquare and St Nicholas Abbey proposed their own GI to the Barbados government, which, according to its regulations, would force WIRD to remove Barbados from some of its rum labels.



Barbados is the birthplace of rum, so it is important that all distilleries using the Barbados rum name adhere by the rules and are transparent when it comes to how their rum is crafted, says Mount Gay MD Raphael Grisoni.



There is no restriction against making non-compliant rums, but they would not bear the Barbados rum GI name and seal. Rum distilleries across the world look up to Barbados as the industry leader and it is imperative that we continue to be transparent with how our rums are made and stick to those rules within which each distillery can express their style.



The GI will help the Barbados rum reputation differentiate from non-genuine products, like some today that blend with other provenance rum, add sugars to round the taste, flavour to accentuate vanilla or other flavour profiles, and use rum distilled in Barbados and aged abroad. We open ourselves up to the possibility of having any brand use Barbados rum in their name, which will detract from over 300 years of rum-making expertise.


Vietnam will reduce coal-fired power supply by two-thirds between 2025 and 2045 and increase renewable power supply to account for more than half of the total.

All localities have expressed agreement with the Ministry of Industry and Trades latest version - Power Development Plan 8  which was announced earlier this month. The ministry is required to complete its final draft of the plan and submit it to the government by the end of this month, Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has said.

The plan includes targets to bring down the ratio of coal-fired power supply from 29.3 percent in 2025 to 9.6 percent in 2045, when the country is set to have a total supply of 401,556 megawatts from all sources.

This means coal-fired projects under construction will still be completed, but no new plant will be approved.

Hydropower will also see its ratio reduced from 27.2 percent in 2025 to 9 percent in 2045.

Renewable energy, comprising mostly of wind and solar power, will see its ratio increase from 23.7 percent in 2025 to 59.5 percent by 2045.

Offshore projects are set to account for zero percent of supply by 2025 but will rise to 17 percent by 2045.

Solar power farms will see its ratio more than double from 8.9 percent to 19.4 percent.

The industry ministry also eyes a gradual transition from liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects to hydrogen power over 20 years. By the 10th year of their operation, the government wants LNG plants to have 20 percent of their capacity coming from hydrogen power.

The latest development plan aims to maximize the reduction of coal-fired power sources in order to meet the countrys commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the industry ministry told the government in its report.

Carbon emissions are set to hit 175 million tonnes by 2045 and fall to 42 million tonnes by 2050.

The plan will also increase power independency and reduce the need for energy imports, the ministry said.

Power imports are set to see their ratio decrease from 4.5 percent of total supply in 2025 to 2.8 percent in 2045.

The industry ministry estimates an investment of $141.6 billion to implement this plant, with transmission accounting for nearly 10 percent.

It wants to increase power transmission from the central and southern regions to the northern region starting 2030.
Financial constraints are one of the reasons why Vietnamese have restricted access to health care services, especially for chronic diseases that require long-term treatment.

A scientific seminar "Towards ensuring a financial mechanism for people's health care in Vietnam" was hosted by The Health Economic Research and Assessment Center (HERAC) of Vietnam Medical Association on March 12.

According to experts, Vietnam is currently classified as a middle-income country, with a GDP per capita of $2,800 and an annual health expenditure per capita of $151.

Financial constraints are one of the reasons why Vietnamese have restricted access to health care, especially for chronic disorders that require long-term or lifelong treatment, including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and high-cost cancer medicines.

Vietnam is on track to achieve universal health care by 2025, with 95 percent of the population covered by health insurance, providing the foundation for a long-term health system capable of reaching universal coverage and other health-related sustainable development targets.

To reach this goal, synchronous solutions involving public and private partners may be necessary, allowing for the development of sustainable payment methods that take into account the income of the population, affordability of the health insurance fund, and the country's economic development infrastructure.

Participants at the seminar "Towards ensuring a financial mechanism for peoples health care in Vietnam". Photo by Novartis

Dr. Dang Viet Hung, director of Health Insurance Department under the Ministry of Health, said that nowadays, social health insurance includes not only insurance but also welfare, serving as a safety net for all Vietnamese. The Health Insurance Fund is also included in the prime minister's instruction to assist in macroeconomic management.

"We are encouraging additional health financing for social health insurance in a variety of forms and solutions including direct support for employers; supplementary health insurance based on social health insurance; health insurance, or private insurance regulated by market regulations and subject to insurance business law; insurance packages, other management care; cumulative personal financial insurance," said Hung.

Dr. Dang Viet Hung, director of Health Insurance Department, MoH. Photo by Novartis

Dr. Nguyen Khanh Phuong, Institute of Health Strategy and Policy, Ministry of Health, proposed strengthening the link between social and commercial health insurance based on international experience, concretizing the goal of increasing health insurance coverage for the entire population.

Phuong evaluated the connection potential by exchanging and connecting data between health insurance participants, and health insurance medical facilities; developing supplementary health insurance (additional benefits in terms of expenses and services), and assisting and sharing experience in health insurance pricing and assessment.

Rachel O'Neale, CEO of Pharmaceutical Organization Head, Novartis Vietnam, said that Novartis employs science, technology, and innovation to save and improve lives with the vision of reimagining medicines.

"We are dedicated to working with the Vietnamese government and health facilities to find solutions that improve patients' affordability," O'Neale added.

The seminar "Towards ensuring a financial mechanism for people's health care in Vietnam" is a forum for experts, researchers in health finance, health insurance, and hospitals to share their knowledge and ideas.

The seminar was attended by over 100 medical experts to find solutions to the issues associated with maximizing financial solutions, particularly the ability to integrate public and private health insurance into universal health care.

This is a part of seminar series on medical financing and the application of medical technology assessment in health policy planning that HERAC expects to host throughout 2022 with the sponsorship of Novartis Vietnam and others.
Ambassador Marc Knapper emphasized Wednesday that the U.S. and Vietnam have deepened cooperation on many strategic issues and it's time to upgrade the bilateral relationship.

"Upgrading the relationship with Vietnam to strategic partnership is a priority, not just for myself but the U.S. government," Knapper said at a press conference in Hanoi, responding to a VnExpress International query about what he sees as the priorities during his tenure.

He said that in 2023, when the U.S. and Vietnam will celebrate 10 years of their comprehensive partnership, it would be great if this is upgraded to the next level, but he did not want to make any predictions.

It's up to bilateral conversations to figure out how and when both sides could achieve the goal, he said, reemphasizing that the U.S. was hopeful that the "two countries can get it done as soon as possible."

He noted that U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris had mentioned her governments strong desire to upgrade the relationship when she visited Vietnam last year.

The U.S. believes that upgrading it to a strategic partnership will not only be an accurate reflection of the kind of work the two sides are doing together, but also open the door to much deeper and broader cooperation between two countries.

Knapper said the U.S. and Vietnam were working together on issues that are basic to the well-being of both nations.

"If that's not strategic cooperation, I'm not sure what it is."

Knapper said the U.S. was very committed to working with Vietnam to strengthen its maritime security and maritime domain awareness capabilities.

The U.S. has given two Coast Guard cutters to Vietnam, a clear expression of the nation's interest in this regard, he added.

"We are prepared to transfer a third Coast Guard cutter," he said, without elaborating.

Vietnam and the U.S., two former foes, normalized relations in 1995.

Milestones in the bilateral ties included the U.S. fully lifting the lethal arms ban on Vietnam during President Barack Obama's visit in May 2016, and sending aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to Da Nang in March 2018, marking the biggest U.S. military presence in Vietnam since the Vietnam War ended in 1975.

Bilateral trade has surged from $450 million in 1994 to $111.56 billion in 2021.
Myanmar has failed to meet people's travel demands two decades after its motorbike ban. Indonesia has had to abandon the idea. What about Vietnam, then?

To ban or not to ban motorbikes? This has become an increasingly debated topic these days. Amongst all the pros and cons, we should also look at what other countries have done to see how a similar ban would work  or not work - in Vietnam.

Myanmar became a pioneer in banning motorbikes when it implemented the policy in the former capital of Yangon in 2003. The ban, applied to downtown areas, would fine motorbike riders K20,000 (US$10.81) for their violations and their vehicles could be seized.

On the bright side, the number of traffic accidents and the snatching of valuables by people on bikes have dropped significantly thanks to the ban. But there are other sides that cannot be ignored.

For one, traffic has gotten much worse. The average traveling speed in downtown Yangon has reduced from 38 kph to 10 kph after the ban, studies have found. The average time for road delivery in Yangon is 50 minute, against 32 minutes in Myanmars second largest city, Mandalay.

The motorbike ban has forced citizens to rely on public transport, but the city's bus system has never been able to handle the demand. If you've ever gone on a bus in Yangon you would know what I mean.

Nearly two decades have passed since the motorbike ban was implemented in Yangon, but its problems never went away. Myanmar has never applied the ban in any other major city.

Indonesia's Jakarta shares many similarities with Hanoi and HCMC. The capital city also issued a motorbike ban, but was forced to abandon the policy because of insufficient infrastructure and public transport capacity.

In contrast, Chinese cities like Beijing or Shanghai have very efficient public transport systems; and coupled with multi-lane, multi-layer roads, they help ensure smooth traffic for cars. Public transport alone already accounts for 50 percent of the population's travel demand, and it is natural that the number of motorbikes is dwindling and a ban on the two-wheelers might have some practical value.

Banning motorbikes however isn't the only solution to improve traffic systems. Taiwan has twice the population density as Vietnam, at around 688 people per square kilometer, along with higher rate of motorbike ownership (67 motorbikes for every 100 people compared to Vietnam's 50). Even with such high motorbike and population density, Taiwan's traffic jams are never as bad as Vietnam.

Let's take Taiwan's capital Taipei. The average annual income of its residents is around $30,000, yet they use motorbikes, mostly. Before 2000, traffic jams in the city were as bad as in Hanoi and HCMC these days, but the problem was greatly mitigated thanks to proper traffic planning.

It is not necessary to completely shut motorbikes out of our lives. There are so many other ways to solve our traffic problems, simply by reorganizing spaces and resources. A motorbike ban is simply a way to deal with a symptom, it is not a cure. And there is no guarantee that it will even get rid of the targeted symptom. And there is no guarantee that Vietnam will succeed where Yangon and Jakarta have failed.
The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea continues to prioritize weapons and ballistic missile programs at the expense of regional and international security - as well as the Korean people, said U.S. Special Representative for the DPRK Sung Kim.



Speaking to reporters in Washington, Kim noted that Pyongyang has conducted thirteen ballistic missile tests since the beginning of 2022, and at least three of those were intercontinental ballistic missiles. The DPRK government deploys its limited resources to fund its illegal weapons programs even as the humanitarian situation in the country has grown increasingly dire, said Special Representative Kim. Pyongyangs actions pose a serious threat to regional stability.



In the face of the DPRKs violations of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, the United States, along with its allies and partners, is responding with efforts to counter the military threat and constrain the progress of the DPRKs missile programs, while at the same time keeping open the door to diplomacy  all with the goal of a complete de-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula.



In March, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command ordered intensified surveillance and reconnaissance collection activities in the Yellow Sea. It enhanced readiness among U.S. defense forces in the region to help ensure our allies security. The Command also conducted a carrier-based air demonstration in the Yellow Sea to show U.S. resolve and commitment.



In addition, the U.S. announced several new actions to help prevent the DPRK from accessing foreign items and technology to advance its prohibited weapons programs. Several individuals and entities were sanctioned, as well.



The United States also raised the DPRKs ballistic missile launches at the UN Security Council. While Russia and the PRC have blocked efforts to produce a UN public statement, the U.S. is working with a growing group of like-minded countries to draw attention to the DPRKs irresponsible behavior. We need to hold [Pyongyang] accountable, said Special Representative Kim.



Most importantly we want to make clear to the DPRK its only viable path forward is through diplomacy, he declared. We harbor no hostile intent towards the DPRK. This administration is willing to listen to the DPRKs full range of concerns and address difficult topics, but this can only happen through dialogue.
The repercussions of an armed conflict, no matter how long or how widespread it may have been, can drag on for decades. Explosive remnants of war pose a deadly hazard to people even during daily activities. They are a threat to livestock and limit agricultural production. At the same time, loosely secured small arms, light weapons, and munitions, may easily end up in the hands of the lawless, and raise the prospects of rising criminality. The result is regional instability and a hindrance to prosperity.



The United States is the worlds single largest financial supporter of conventional weapons destruction, said State Department Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Bonnie Jenkins. In 2021 alone, the United States funded conventional weapons destruction in 62 countries with more than $265 million. With this funding, our Conventional Weapons Destruction programs have accomplished a great deal. For example, they  returned more than 140 million square meters of land  for safe and productive use around the world.



Many such accomplishments are highlighted in the 21st annual To Walk the Earth in Safety Report, released on April 4 by the State Departments Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.



Where local farmers once potentially risked their lives every time they visited their fields, many now can enjoy their harvests of bananas, cashews, coffee, and rice, as well as improved livestock grazing and water access after U.S. support helped survey and safely clear landmines and explosive remnants of war, said Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Jessica Lewis in her introduction to this years report. U.S. funded programs have helped increase agricultural output in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, promoted other food security efforts in Zimbabwe, and enhanced socio-economic development in Colombia.



In Latin America and the Caribbean, U.S. assistance makes it more difficult for drug traffickers, criminal gangs, and terrorists to obtain weapons from poorly secured stockpiles.



U.S. support helps South and Central Asian countries secure weapons and ammunition stockpiles, thus promoting peace and security, and strengthening economic ties in the region.



And in Iraq, Lebanon, and Libya, the United States is funding survey, marking, and clearance operations of ISIS-emplaced explosives, so displaced families can return to their homes.



Conventional weapons destruction remains an important investment in regional stability, security and economic opportunity. The United States is committed to making post-conflict communities safer and setting the stage for their recovery and development.
Tanzanians urged to learn Chinese language as a bridge to opportunities

Xinhua) 08:53, April 20, 2022

Students from the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) show Chinese calligraphy during a UN Chinese Language Day celebration in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on April 19, 2022. The government of Tanzania on Tuesday urged citizens to learn the Chinese language which it described as a bridge to opportunities, including employment. (Photo by Herman Emmanuel/Xinhua)

DAR ES SALAAM, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The government of Tanzania on Tuesday urged citizens to learn the Chinese language which it described as a bridge to opportunities, including employment.

Deputy Minister for Information, Communication and Information Technology Kundo Mathew said learning the Chinese language provided employment opportunities in Chinese companies operating in Tanzania.

He was speaking at the UN Chinese Language Day celebration held at the Chinese embassy in Tanzania jointly organized by the Chinese embassy, the China Culture Center in Tanzania and the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM). UN Chinese Language Day is observed annually on April 20.

Mathew, an alumnus of Hunan University in China between 2004 and 2009, who pursued a bachelor's degree in engineering in computer technology, said learning the Chinese language was a motivation for getting employed in Chinese firms. He recalled the memory when he was studying in China, saying that the Chinese people are hospitable, modest and hardworking and that these characters have been a good influence on him.

He also expressed his expectations for the young Tanzanian students who are studying the Chinese language, saying that "I wish you study hard, try to get the chance to study in China one day, and serve your country with real capabilities after graduation."

Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the UDSM Bernadeta Killian pledged to continue cementing cooperation with the Confucius Institute in making sure that the Chinese language is spoken by as many Tanzanians as possible.

"With the continuous deepening of the cooperation between China and Tanzania in trade, economy and people-to-people exchanges, the demand for Chinese language talent in Tanzania is on the increase," said Chen Mingjian, the Chinese ambassador to Tanzania.

About 20,000 students are learning the Chinese language in Tanzania at present, and the Confucius Institutes at the University of Dar es Salaam and the University of Dodoma have started to confer bachelor's degrees in the Chinese language to Tanzanian students, said Chen.

Many Tanzanian students have the plan to study in China in the future, and these are the fruits of China-Tanzania cooperation in education, said the Chinese envoy. "We look forward to seeing more aspiring young Tanzanians learn and master the Chinese language."

Dozens of Tanzanian students learning the Chinese language showed their rich knowledge of the Chinese language and culture by participating in various games relating to Chinese listening, reading, and writing skills. Several students and alumni sang Chinese songs, played Chinese Kung Fu and performed comic dialogues at the event, featuring the theme "To learn the Chinese language and jointly build the bright future for Tanzania and China."

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
By Azernews





Engineer and sapper units from the Azerbaijani and Turkish armies are conducting joint tactical and special training exercises with modern equipment, Azerbaijans Defence Ministry reported on April 19.

The sappers study the tactical and technical aspects of mine detectors, as well as theoretical information about how to utilize them, in line with the theme of the training sessions, the ministry said.

They used mine detectors to practice exploring the terrain and detecting and neutralizing mines and unexploded ordnance at the specially built engineering camp.

Azerbaijan and Turkey cooperate in a variety of military fields, including the demining of Azerbaijans liberated territories, where Armenia planted mines during 30 years of occupation.

Armenia deliberately and constantly planted mines on Azerbaijani territories, in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, thereby being a major threat to regional peace, security and cooperation.

Azerbaijan's engineer and sapper units had previously been supplied with MEMATT (Mechanical Demining Supply) equipment manufactured by Turkey's ASFAT company, which is part of the Turkish National Defence Ministry. The equipment is extremely effective in clearing mines and unexploded ordnance from settlements and arable lands.

Furthermore, the armed forces of the two nations periodically hold joint drills to boost military personnels combat skills, as well as to enhance interaction between the troops.

The drills also aim to improve interaction and combat coordination between the servicemen during operations, as well as to develop commanders' military decision-making and unit management skills.

Azerbaijani servicemen will take part in the Efes-2022 multinational drills to be held in Izmir, Turkey in May-June, the Defence Ministry reported earlier.

Military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey first emerged in 1992, with an agreement signed between the Azerbaijani and Turkish governments on military education and weapon equipment and deals to help strengthen the bond between the two nations.

On June 15, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed the Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations, during Erdogans first official visit to Shusha, eight months after Azerbaijans victory in the war with Armenia in 2020. The document focuses on defence cooperation, promoting regional stability and prosperity, and establishing new transportation routes.

The Azerbaijani parliament has approved the Shusha Declaration signed with Turkey on June 15, 2021.

It affirms joint efforts by the two armies in the face of foreign threats. The declaration also pledges joint efforts for the restructuring and modernization of the armed forces.

Moreover, the two nations affirm to encourage the execution of joint projects with the aim of developing capabilities in the field of sea, air, and space.




ELKO  Unused or expired medication can present safety concerns for families with small children who may accidentally ingest the drugs. Also, unused medication may be misused by friends or family members with substance use disorders or by curious adolescents.

Elkos Prescription Drug Roundup gives area residents a secure, environmentally friendly way to dispose of unused medication. On Saturday, April 23, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Elko County Sheriffs Office will collect unused medication in the parking area behind the Elko Area Chamber of Commerce, 405 Idaho St.

No personal information is collected. It is best to remove prescription labels or other personal information from containers.

Elkos PACE Coalition, a substance use prevention and education organization, will provide information about prescription safety and distribute DeTerra home medication disposal pouches.

PACE will also provide free naloxone kits upon request. Naloxone is an inhaled agent that blocks opioid receptors and can stop an opioid overdose. It has no negative side effects, even if mistakenly administered.

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Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (R) receives Speaker of the Indian lower house Om Birla in Hanoi on April 20. (Photo: VNA)

Speaker Birla congratulated Vietnam on its successes gained under the Party General Secretarys leadership, expressing his respect for the hosts enormous contributions to the strong development of bilateral parliamentary ties.

He affirmed that India considers Vietnam a pillar in its Act East policy and Indo-Pacific Strategy, noting as the two countries share interests and vision on regional and international issues and also boast long-time connectivity in history and culture, they hold much potential for continuing to strongly develop their relations.

The visiting Speaker underlined the countries coordination in international affairs and asked for stronger cooperation in defence - security, trade, energy, tourism, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Welcoming Speaker Birla and the Indian delegation, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong viewed their trip to Vietnam this time as highly important, particularly when the two sides are marking the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties this year, which will help cement their comprehensive strategic partnership.

He shared his guests view on the traditional relations that boast many similarities and mutual support, appreciating Indias aid for Vietnam in COVID-19 response.

Agreeing with the Speakers proposals for cooperation reinforcement, the Party leader asked both countries to keep working together and sharing experience so as to further enhance the comprehensive strategic partnership.

They should continue discussing, consulting, and coordinating with each other at international parliamentary forums, sharing viewpoints on regional and international issues, and contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world, he recommended./.
Visitors to the exhibition (Source: baoquocte.vn)

The exhibition is taking place at the headquarters of the Truth National Political Publishing House in Hanoi on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of Cubas Giron victory (April 19).

The nearly 50 publications displayed also feature Cuban heroes, as well as the nation and culture of Vietnam and its foreign policy. They include two books by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nguyen Phu Trong on Vietnams national construction, which were published in Spanish.

The exhibition helps Vietnamese people, especially youths, understand more about Cubans, thus fostering the bilateral relationship.

Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Orlando Hernandez Guillen suggested Vietnam further share its experience in Doi moi (reform) and national construction and development with the Caribbean nation./.
Vietnamese spices being showcased at a trade fair in Italy in September 2021. (Photo: VNA)



Vu Kim Hanh, chairwoman of the Business Association of Vietnamese High Quality Products, said localities and firms in the spices and seasoning industry had devised production recovery plans, turned to advanced technologies, diversified products, and capitalised on recent free trade agreements Vietnam has signed to bolster exports once COVID-19 is brought under control.

According to the Trade Promotion Agency, Vietnams agricultural sector and the spices and seasonings industry have enjoyed a remarkable transition, turning the country into a global supplier of those products.

Trade promotions and technical support have helped firms surmount difficulties and develop by producing more added value items, according to Hanh.

Vietnamese firms have also worked to gradually meet more stringent requirements by foreign partners, and are able to provide high-quality and safe added value products.

Among Vietnamese spices, peppercorn has gained a foothold in the international market and accounts for a lions share of exports.

Demand for peppercorn and other spices is on the rise while global exports have been declining due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, whose fallout includes skyrocketing logistics fees.

Dh Foods Joint Stock Company has signed a deal with the USs Heritage Beverage Company making it the exclusive distributor of its speciality spices in that country, and plans to ship 10 containers this year starting in the third quarter.

Its general director, Nguyen Trung Dung, hopes that Heritage will help his company conquer the Asian food market in the US, which is valued at 40 billion USD and serves 30 million people of Asian origin, including three million from Vietnam.

It is estimated that more than 80 percent of supermarkets have Asian food stalls.

Saudi Arabia is one of the largest importers of Vietnamese spices.

The Middle Eastern nation consumes many kinds of spices, mainly imported, including from Vietnam.

But Middle Eastern people have a habit of seeing, touching and feeling products before ordering them, and so businesses should send samples to customers first.

Photo: congthuong.vn

They should also send their goods to the Trade Office for display at the showroom for Vietnam's export staples.

Bui Trung Thuong, Vietnam's trade counsellor in India, said that countrys annual imports of flavourings and spices were worth 1.4 billion USD, with pepper accounting for 120 million USD. But only 20-30 million USD worth of pepper was imported from Vietnam, he said.

To increase exports to India, he said businesses should step up the use of technology and study the spices from other countries available in the market to make products that better meet the tastes of customers.

With its tropical weather and diverse range of eco-systems, Vietnam is rich in spices, including many special and popular ones such as cinnamon, anise, pepper, cardamom, and chilli.

It is one of the leading exporters of a number of spices such as peppercorn, of whose global exports it accounts for a whopping 90 percent.

Vietnamese products are becoming better thanks to improved technology at all stages from cropping and harvesting to processing and packaging.

Vietnamese photographer wins prizes at international photography contest

Local photographer Bach Ngoc Tu claimed a number of prizes at Spring Clicks Circuit 2022, an international photography contest held in Montenegro, reported the Voice of Vietnam.

A photo by Bach Ngoc Tu wins two gold medals at Spring Clicks 2022

The Spring Clicks Circuit was held this year to honour artistic works in four categories, namely nature, open colour, open monochrome, and people. It attracted a range of professional and amateur photographers from 65 countries from across the world.

Bach Ngoc Tu, a Vietnamese photographer born in Quang Ninh province, grabbed two golds, one silver, one bronze, two honorable mentions, as well as two certificates of exhibitions on nature and people.

The contest is held under the sponsorship of world photograph organisations, including FIAP, PSA, FSM, GRADAC PGI, VICTORY P.W, FK OHRID, FSS, and FKK CACAK.

The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on May 10 in Montenegro.

Hue Imperial Citadel to open night street zone from April 22

A night street zone around Hue Imperial Citadel City, a UNESCO-recognised World Cultural Heritage, is set to be officially launched on April 22 at Ngo Mon Square, reported the Voice of Vietnam according to the Hue City People's Committee and the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre.

A night street zone around Hue Imperial Citadel is expected to open as of April 22

Following several postponements caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the night street zone will open from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. every Friday and Saturday.

Organisers say the night street is anticipated to offer guests the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Hue royal space through unique art programmes. Coming there, visitors will also explore traditional craft products and Hue cuisine at various stalls located throughout the zone.

Vo Le Nhat, chairman of the Hue City People's Committee, said the night street zone will span across the August 23 Road and Le Huan street on a pilot basis, as well as connecting to other areas in the Hue Imperial Citadel. They include Tinh Tam Lake - Hoc Hai Lake, the Tang Tho Lau (Library), the Tran Binh Dai - Mang Ca garrison area, the Ngu Ha River, and the Thuong Thanh - Eo Bau space.

The local government will provide free admission to the Hue Museum of Royal Antiquities at No 3 Le Truc street in Hue City from April 17 to the end of May 17.

Throughout the year visitors will be exempt from entrance fees to tourist attractions at the Hue ancient citadel relic complex during the Lunar New Year, Thua Thien-Hue liberation day on March 26 and National Day on September 2.

Local authorities expect the launch of the night street zone will boost the nighttime economy and contribute to reviving the local tourism industry which has been seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

School attendance reaches 99.57 percent post-COVID-19

As of April 18, school attendance had reached 99.57 percent after all schools were reopened post-COVID-19, reported Vietnam News Agency according to data from the Ministry of Education and Training.

Illustrative photo. (Source: VNA)

All cities and provinces have developed scenarios and sufficiently prepared for the school reopening to ensure educational quality and the students safety.

The ministry has requested schools to flexibly offer catch-up lessons that fit each specific group of students and the local pandemic risk level.

Schools have also been urged to make the most of the time when the students are at school to provide core lessons to avoid putting more pressure on them./.
At the SP-ITC port in HCM City - Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

The General International Logistics (GIL) will provide three shipments per week between SP-ITC port and Cai Mep port in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

GIL's barge services will help connect Vietnam's exports with key markets in North America and Europe through SP-ITC and Cai Mep ports.

Every week, there are four long-distance shipping routes of CMA CGM arriving at Cai Mep port - the main gateway in the southern key economic region.

According to Adeline Franger Chouraqui, General Director of CMA CGM Vietnam, CMA CGM is one of the leading corporations in the transport and logistics market and has 30 years of operational experience in Vietnam. Services provided by CMA CGM help connect Vietnam with key markets around the world, with 72 ship arrivals each week.

The official launch of the barge service to transport goods between the two leading gateway ports in the southern key economic region will provide Vietnamese businesses with an economical and environmentally friendly shipping method, she said.

This is a concrete step that demonstrates CMA CGM 's commitment to providing efficient, flexible and sustainable transportation solutions to customers, she affirmed.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Chuyen, Chairman of the ITC Board of Directors, said ITC is one of the leading private shipping and logistics enterprises in Vietnam.

ITC owns a fleet with a combined capacity of over 300,000 DWT, and operates SP-ITC international port - the only container port in Vietnam that can serve shipping services to Australia, the US and the Middle East.

ITC is also a provider of barge transport services with a large capacity in the region, he added.

According to Chuyen, GIL will inherit the strengths and experience of both CMA CGM and ITC to develop into a logistics leader in Vietnam./.
Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai receives Iranian Ambassador Ali Akbar Nazari. (Photo: hcmcpv.org.vn)

He also asserted that the city will facilitate the establishment of a cooperative relationship with Bahan City, adding he hoped that Iran will create favorable conditions for city businesses to bring Vietnamese agricultural products to Iran and promote travel between Ho Chi Minh City and Iran.

Expressing his belief in the Iranian Ambassadors successful working term in Vietnam, he suggested the ambassador have many activities to promote cooperation programs, contributing to the development of cooperative relations between Iran and Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City.

Ambassador Ali Akbar Nazari expressed his honor to be welcomed by the Chairman of the City People's Committee, while appreciating Vietnam's control of the COVID-19 pandemic with a vaccination rate ranking 6th in the world; and its remarkable contributions at multilateral forums, contributing to ensuring world security and safety.

Talking about the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Iran (August 4, 1973 - August 4, 2023), Ambassador Ali Akbar Nazari wished that Ho Chi Minh City would facilitate the establishment of cooperative relations between Ho Chi Minh City and Bahan City in many fields in the coming time, such as trade and investment cooperation.

He also suggested supporting the implementation of trade fairs for studying the Iranian market; and opening direct flights from Iran to Ho Chi Minh City, thereby contributing to promoting trade and investment between Vietnam and Iran./.
The two leaders agreed to increase exchanges at all levels, continue to effectively implement the action programme to deploy the strategic partnership for 2021 - 2023, as well as cooperation mechanisms such as the political consultation and the joint committee for economic cooperation, and prepare for the 50th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Italy diplomatic ties and 10 years of their strategic partnership in 2023.





Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the phone talks with his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi on April 20. (Photo: VNA)

They noted with satisfaction that after nearly two years since the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect, bilateral trade had recorded encouraging results. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it reached 5.6 billion USD in 2021, up 20 percent from the previous year.



PM Pham Minh Chinh spoke highly of Italys inclusion of Vietnam on its list of priority countries for trade and investment cooperation in the post-2020 period, affirming that Vietnam will create the best possible conditions for Italian businesses to expand investment in the Southeast Asian country.

He called on Italy to soon ratify the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and urge the EU to remove the yellow-card warning against Vietnams seafood products, and recognise Vietnams vaccine passports, while providing favourable conditions for Vietnamese goods, especially agricultural and food products, and seasonal fruits, to enter the Italian market.

Agreeing with his counterpart on the proposals to further deepen the strategic partnership, PM Draghi pledged that the Italian government will push the parliaments ratification of the EVIPA.

He noted Italian firms want to continue investing in Vietnam in the fields of renewable energy, infrastructure, water resources management, and innovation.

PM Pham Minh Chinh thanked Italy for its active coordination in dealing with the recent scam facing some cashew nut exporters in Vietnam. In reply, PM Draghi said his country would look into the case and has ordered relevant agencies to prevent the hand-over of cashew nut containers.

On this occasion, PM Pham Minh Chinh sent his sincere thanks to the Italian PM, Government, and people for their timely supply of over 2.8 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for Vietnam via the COVAX Facility.

During the talks, the Vietnamese leader highlighted the countrys strong commitments made at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) regarding greenhouse gas emissions and converting to a green and circular economy with the aim of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

He asked Italy, as an important member of the G7 and the EU, to help Vietnam access finance and technology to cope with climate change, digital transformation, and develop a green economy and renewable energy.

The Italian PM highly valued Vietnams commitments at COP26, noting that his country is ready to assist Vietnam in equitable energy transition.

The two PMs agreed that their countries will coordinate closely at multilateral forums, including the UN, UNESCO, the Asia - Europe Meeting (ASEM), and the ASEAN - EU framework.

Besides, they also exchanged views on international and regional issues of shared concern, including the East Sea and the importance of peaceful resolution of disputes on the basis of international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

PM Pham Minh Chinh invited his counterpart to pay an official visit to Vietnam in the near future. The Italian leader accepted the invitation with pleasure and also invited PM Chinh to visit his country when possible./.
Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai receives Iranian Ambassador Ali Akbar Nazari. (Photo: SGGP)

He also asserted that the city will facilitate the establishment of a cooperative relationship with Bahan City, adding he hoped that Iran will create favourable conditions for city businesses to bring Vietnamese agricultural products to Iran and promote travel between Ho Chi Minh City and Iran.

Expressing his belief in the Iranian Ambassadors successful working term in Vietnam, he suggested the ambassador have many activities to promote cooperation programs, contributing to the development of cooperative relations between Iran and Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City.

Ambassador Ali Akbar Nazari expressed his honor to be welcomed by the Chairman of the City People's Committee, while appreciating Vietnam's control of the COVID-19 pandemic with a vaccination rate ranking 6th in the world; and its remarkable contributions at multilateral forums, contributing to ensuring world security and safety.

Talking about the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Iran (August 4, 1973 - August 4, 2023), Ambassador Ali Akbar Nazari wished that Ho Chi Minh City would facilitate the establishment of cooperative relations between Ho Chi Minh City and Bahan City in many fields in the coming time, such as trade and investment cooperation.

He also suggested supporting the implementation of trade fairs for studying the Iranian market; and opening direct flights from Iran to Ho Chi Minh City, thereby contributing to promoting trade and investment between Vietnam and Iran./.
Lao newspapers on April 18 and April 19 published many articles praising Vietnam-Laos relations. (Photo: NDO)

The articles have emphasized the tradition of solidarity and mutual assistance from the period of struggle against common enemies to the period of national construction and defense, as well as the cooperation in investment and trade between Vietnam and Laos today.

On April 18, on the front page of Pasaxon Newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, had the article "Upholding the struggling spirit of the Lao-Vietnamese people". The article mentions the solidarity and closeness between the peoples of the two countries, and the shoulder-to-shoulder cooperation of Vietnamese volunteers with the Lao army and people in the struggle for national independence.

On April 19, Socio-Economic News published an article assessing trade cooperation between Vietnam and Laos. The article said that, despite being heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, trade between the two countries still has many bright spots and develops constantly.

According to the article, from 2018 to 2021, the trade turnover between the two countries reached USD4.5 billion. In particular, in 2021, the two countries' trade turnover made remarkable development, reaching USD1.37 billion, an increase of 33.32% compared to 2020, exceeding the target set by the Governments of the two countries and the highest within 10 years. The article attributed such results to the special relationship between the two countries. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the two Governments have taken timely and effective measures to promote cooperation and support economic development and mutual trade.

On April 18, the Lao press also published articles about the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos, highlighting events to celebrate the Vietnam-Laos and Laos-Vietnam Friendship and Solidarity Year, especially the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations (September 5, 1962 - September 5, 2022) and the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Laos-Vietnam Amity and Cooperation Treaty (July 18, 1977 - July 18, 2022).

The Lao press reported on the content of a seminar held by the Supreme People's Procuracy of Laos on the relationship between the two countries, highlighting the values and achievements that the two Parties, States and peoples of the two countries have achieved. The article asserts that these achievements are partly due to the support and cooperation between the two countries from the period of struggle for national independence to the period of national construction and defense.

Lao scholars have affirmed that the relationship and cooperation between the two countries has always been a decisive factor in all victories of the revolutions in the two countries. The relationship that the two countries have built today needs to be protected, nurtured and developed in depth, for the common interests of the two parties, the two States and the two peoples./.
By Azernews





An Azerbaijani serviceman was wounded in a mine blast in liberated Kalbajar on April 19, the Prosecutor General's Office told local media.

Azerbaijani armys overtime serviceman Aykhan Jamalzade was hospitalized following the mine explosion, the report added

It was noted that the Kalbajar military prosecutor's office launched criminal proceedings into the case under Azerbaijani Criminal Code Articles 29 and 120.2.12.

Despite the fact that about 18 months have passed since the 44-day war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the latter's land mines continue to endanger human lives in the liberated lands.

Armenia spared no effort to plant land mines on Azerbaijani territory, not only during the 30 years of occupation but also on the eve of their return following the trilateral statement, in order to cause human casualties.

Almost every day, there is news of civilians or military personnel being injured or killed as a result of mine explosions in Azerbaijan's liberated lands.

This fact demonstrates that Armenia is continuing its mine warfare against Azerbaijan's both civilian and military people. It should be noted that approximately 80 percent of the mine maps submitted by Armenia to Azerbaijan are incorrect.

Armenia appears to be committing war crimes by concealing the locations of landmines, allowing more innocent people to be killed.

Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev earlier described as accurate only 25 percent of minefield maps provided by Armenia.

"They planted mines instead of trees in our territories. Both soldiers and civilians were killed and injured in the blasts. Unfortunately, only 25 percent of the mine maps provided by Armenia were useful," Hajiyev said.

The Azerbaijani regions liberated from Armenian occupation in the second Karabakh war in 2020 are the most mine-littered area in the world.

Armenia deliberately and constantly planted mines on Azerbaijani territories, in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, thereby being a major threat to regional peace, security and cooperation.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Russia-brokered ceasefire agreement on November 10, 2020, to end 44 days of fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.
Cabinet denounces agreement with Russia on cooperation in creation and operation of rocket, space and rocket technology

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has denounced the agreement with the Government of the Russian Federation on cooperation in the field of creation and operation of rocket, space and rocket technology.

The corresponding decision was made at a government meeting on Tuesday, representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnychuk said on the Telegram channel.

The agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Russian Federation on cooperation in the field of creation and operation of rocket, space and rocket technology was signed on February 8, 1995.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered major threats to global food and nutrition security, and if food prices stay this high for a year, global poverty could go up by more than 100 million, World Bank Group President David Malpass said at the U.S. Treasury's event on "Tackling Food Insecurity: The Challenge And Call To Action."

"Let me say a few words about our response. We expect to launch an overall surge in our financial support in coming weeks. Funding for food security will be an important component," he said.

"Our package of support - including Ukraine, countries hosting refugees, and developing economies suffering collateral economic shocks - is in the range of $50 billion dollars in the current quarter of 2022 and should reach about $170 billion in the 15 months through June 2023," Malpass said.

He said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered major threats to global food and nutrition security. In the near-term, there has been a pronounced spike in the prices of key food staples, including wheat and wheat substitutes. Second, future harvests may be reduced due to higher energy and fertilizer prices.

Malpass said that global food and fertilizer prices were already on the rise prior to the war. Food and nutrition insecurity were also rising, he said. The reasons are many, including: growing demand, combined with supply chain disruptions, currency devaluations, climate change impacts, and a rise in fragility and conflict.

"The deepening of the crisis in the last two months is directly linked to the terrible war being waged by Russia on Ukraine, and the costly financial, shipping, and logistical hurdles now faced by agribusinesses and importers," Malpass said.

He said that the World Bank sees a deepening of the crisis in the following numbers: The World Bank food price index reached an all-time high, rising 11.5% in March, a year-on-year increase of 37%. Fertilizer prices also surged in March, up nearly 20% since January. The cost of urea has tripled since January 2021. We also see a shift in relative prices, with food prices going up more than CPI. Projections show this trend continuing.

According to Malpass, to be successful, both advanced and developing countries will need to increase market access by reducing export and import restrictions and relieving price controls. Central elements of the WBG response include: encouraging food producers, enabling market access and private sector investment, and protecting the most vulnerable population through well-targeted and cost-effective cash transfers.

"The tragedy unfolding in Ukraine must not be compounded with another tragedy - a global food crisis. To prevent it requires speed, supply enhancement, market access, and close coordination," the WBG president said.
Govt approves United24 procedure for using official accounts for donations in support of Ukraine  PM

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the procedure for using official accounts for donations in support of Ukraine "United24," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said.

"In order to strengthen the defense capability and priority measures to restore the liberated territories, Ukraine will attract charitable funds in support of our state within the United24 project. The government has approved the procedure for accumulating and spending funds coming to Ukraine as charitable assistance," Shmyhal said on the Telegram channel.

According to him, the document clearly defines which accounts are official and which public authorities can spend these funds.

"Such a mechanism will allow us to quickly raise funds to meet the needs of our Armed Forces, healthcare, as well as priority measures to restore the economy and damaged infrastructure in order to quickly restore life in the de-occupied territories," the prime minister said.
The Trust Fund for Solidarity with Ukraine will start operating on May 5, President of the European Council Charles Michel has said.

"We are determined to do everything we can in order to support Ukraine, because we want the victory of Ukraine, and that's why we use all the possible tools in our hands. Of course, the financial support is very important. We have the occasion with the president to do more in details. That is why, we have decided it a few weeks ago, after talk held by phone with the president, to launch this Trust Fund for Solidarity with Ukraine. In the following days, it will be May 5, it will be the starting point, with an international donor conference. It will be organized together with Poland, Sweden and with the support of the European Commission, all member countries, and also with the support of many international actors," Michel said at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday.

He said the EU is also working closely with international organizations such as the IMF, the World Bank and others to ensure that the EU can mobilize funds in support so that Ukraine can pay social allocations.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called on residents of the temporarily occupied territories not to cooperate with the occupiers, which will allow them to return to normal life faster.

"In the south of our country, the invaders are trying to demonstrate at least something that can be presented in Russia as the readiness of Ukrainians to cooperate with Russian structures," he said in a video message on Tuesday evening.

"It looks pathetic. After 55 days of war, the occupiers managed to drag over to their side only some of the outcasts. The situation is quite understandable - Ukrainians in all regions of our state support Ukrainian national unity. They support our national statehood," Zelensky said, stressing that "I am grateful to all residents of the temporarily occupied cities, temporarily occupied communities  Kherson, Kakhovka, Melitopol and all our other communities  for this clear position."

"No cooperation with the occupiers! No support for collaborators! The more principled we are, the more principled you are, the sooner normal life will return," he said.
The United States continues to consider options for new sanctions against the Russian Federation, it is possible that such measures can be taken as early as this week, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.

"There could be I think that we're still doing considerations and running a process for additional sanctions, but there are some under consideration, yes," she said, answering a journalist's question about whether the United States could announce additional sanctions against Russia this week.

Psaki also announced the results of a video conference between US President Joe Biden and Western allies, which discussed Russia and Ukraine.

"They also discussed their respective diplomatic engagements and their coordinated efforts to continue to impose severe economic costs to hold Russia accountable," the White House spokeswoman said. She said that the leaders agreed to continue to closely coordinate their efforts, including working with and through the G7, EU, and NATO.

The leaders reiterated their commitment to continue providing security, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in its time of need.
The Ministry for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories says that almost 300,000 civilians have already been evacuated through humanitarian corridors.

"During the war, Ukrainian government proposed more than 340 humanitarian corridors. The occupiers agreed on about 300, in fact, 176 happened. The reason is the enemys regular violations of the silence regime, as well as the delay and seizure of evacuation buses, humanitarian cargo," the ministrys press service said.

The Ministry of Reintegration notes that in Donbas - due to intensive shelling - humanitarian corridors did not work.

"The occupiers refused to open them from Mariupol, including from the Azovstal plant: for women, children and other civilians, despite yesterday's appeal from the Ukrainian authorities," the report says.

At the same time, the department noted that work on the opening of humanitarian corridors does not stop, in particular, negotiations are underway to open them in Kherson and Kharkiv regions.
will extend the loans provided to Ukraine from $100 million to $300 million, Western media reported, citing a statement by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Kisida said that propping up Ukraine's economy is an "urgent task."

Earlier Tuesday, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said that Tokyo would provide Ukraine with masks and hazmat suits to be used against chemical weapons, as well as drones for surveillance use. The cargo will be shipped on commercial flights as soon as it's ready, he added.
By Azernews





By Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and European Union (EU) Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar discussed the current regional situation and the fulfillment of accords reached in Brussels on April 6.

During the meeting, the parties also exchanged opinions on the steps taken to normalize relations, including the implementation of the agreements reached at the Brussels meeting on April 6 of the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders, held with the mediation and participation of the EU Council President Charles Michel.

Further, the parties stressed the importance of progress in the normalization process for ensuring peace and security in the region. They also highlighted the significance of the start of the process of delimitation between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the preparation of a peace agreement, the continuation of humanitarian steps and the opening of all transport communications.

It should be noted that the relations between Azerbaijan and EU are evolving. EU has taken a more active role in the region and has accepted the realities of the post-conflict period.

The final communique issued in Brussels on April 6 did not include the term Nagorno-Karabakh, conflict and Minsk Group, which signifies just that.

The European Union remains committed to continuing its engagement toward sustainable peace and stability in the South Caucasus.??

Notably, the EU supports the demining of Azerbaijan's territories that were occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years. For this purpose, the European Union (EU) has allocated 2.5 million for mine clearance in the Karabakh region.

The EU and Azerbaijan have cooperation in different fields of economy.

The EU invested over $21.5 billion in Azerbaijans economy from 2012 to 2021. Azerbaijans trade turnover with the EU amounted to $9.3 billion last year, which is 38 percent of the countrys foreign trade. The Delegation of the European Commission to Azerbaijan was opened in Baku in February 2008.

Azerbaijan started commercial gas supplies to Europe through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) on December 31, 2020.

A joint statement on energy cooperation with the EU was signed more than 10 years ago. The EU-Azerbaijan energy cooperation had reached a new level and is still ongoing within the framework of the Southern Gas Corridor. The EU places a high value on energy supply diversification, and the Southern Gas Corridor is particularly important in this regard. In 2021, European countries purchased 8.2 billion cubic meters of gas, with an increase in volume expected in the coming years.
Tuesday, Ukrainian defenders in the area of responsibility of the operational-tactical group Skhid (East) repulsed three attacks of the aggressor, destroyed 30 personnel and 13 pieces of enemy equipment.

"In the area of responsibility of the operational-tactical group Skhid, the Russian fascist troops continued to carry out offensive actions. So, on April 19, Ukrainian soldiers repelled three enemy attacks. As a result of the fighting, 30 personnel were destroyed; two tanks; eight armoured vehicles/infantry fighting vehicles; two aircraft equipment; one helicopter," the message posted on Facebook says.
According to heads of government of the Netherlands Mark Rutte and Belgium Alexander De Croo, the European Union should play a leading role in the restoration of Ukraine after the hostilities, European media reported on Tuesday following the meeting of the two prime ministers.

Rutte said that the he restoration (of Ukraine) may be an opportunity to help it in the fight against corruption, in ensuring greater freedom of the press, in strengthening the rule of law.

According to De Croo, if the EU leads the restoration of Ukraine, this phase can be used to help the country in its European aspirations.

At the same time, both prime Ministers believe that the European Commission should prepare specific proposals.

The media note that the European Commission is currently studying the prospect of creating a fund that would help finance the restoration of Ukraine.
The leaders of the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union have announced their intention to continue humanitarian, financial and military support to Ukraine.

They made the relevant statements following a video conference on Tuesday.

Thus, Prime Minister of the UK Boris Johnson said that Ukraine needs to more artillery weapons.

"This will become an artillery conflict, they need support with more artillery, that is what we will be giving them in addition to many other forms of support," Johnson told lawmakers.

He said that during the call with U.S. President Joe Biden he proposed to "strengthen and fortify Ukraine to the point where Russia will never dare to invade again".

In turn, President of the European Council Charles Michel said that during the conference the need for further humanitarian, financial and military aid to Ukraine was discussed, and that The EU will develop Ukraine Solidarity Fund for immediate support and reconstruction of a democratic Ukraine.

At the same time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU plans to further tighten sanctions against Russia and increase financial and security assistance to Ukraine.

"World leaders firmly stand together in support of Ukraine. We will further tighten our sanctions against Russia and step up financial and security assistance for Ukraine. Thank you the President of the United States for convening this important call," Von der Leyen said on Twitter on Tuesday.

According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, "the leaders condemned Russia's current assault along the front line in eastern Ukraine, including with heavy shelling which is causing even greater human suffering."

"The leaders stressed that President Putin must end the war immediately, and they agreed on the importance of imposing even higher costs on Moscow until he does so. The Secretary General updated his colleagues on work to reinforce NATO's deterrence and defence, stressing that NATO will do whatever is necessary to protect and defend all Allies. He also briefed the other leaders on Allies' work to provide Ukraine with further military, economic, and humanitarian aid," NATO said in a press release posted on its website.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany is studying the list of weapons requested by Ukraine and plans to "find out what can be supplied quickly." "The lists include anti-tank weapons and air defense weapons," Scholz told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday following a video conference.

According to him, weapons that the Ukrainian army already knows how to use should be supplied. At the same time, the chancellor stressed that the possibilities of the FRG to supply arms were "almost exhausted." Scholz also said that NATO would not interfere in the conflict in Ukraine.

At the same time, during the call, the issue of diversifying energy supplies to reduce the dependence of Western countries on Russia was also discussed.

Participants in the conversation said that they are ready to work on diversifying supplies, thus reducing dependence on Russian supplies, Rome said in a press release following the video conference.

The leaders of the United States, Italy, France, Germany, the UK, Canada, Japan, Poland, Romania, as well as the leaders of the EU and NATO Secretary General joined the call.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the weapons that will be supplied to Ukraine by its Western partners on time will save the lives of thousands of people.

As the Head of state noted, almost the entire combat-ready part of the Russian army is now concentrated on the territory of Ukraine and in the border areas of Russia.

"They drove against Ukraine almost everyone and almost everything that can fight us. Therefore, in this confrontation, in this defense, before the eyes of the whole world, we are really opposing the army, which was considered the second or third in power. And the way our Armed Forces are holding on, the way our entire nation is boldly defending itself shows that the Ukrainian army has long deserved to be higher than the Russian one in global rankings," Zelesnky said in his video address on Tuesday evening.

According to him, if Ukraine had access to all the weapons it needs, which our partners have and which are comparable to the weapons used by the Russian Federation, we would have already ended this war. "Would have already restored peace and liberated our territory from the occupiers. Because the superiority of the Ukrainian military in tactics and wisdom is quite obvious, " he said.

That is why, the president added, that in literally every contact with the leaders of the democratic world, in all negotiations, in all interviews he says that "it is unfair that Ukraine is still forced to ask for what its partners have been storing somewhere for years."

"If they have the weapons that Ukraine needs here, needs now, if they have the ammunition that we need here and now, it is their moral duty first of all to help protect freedom. Help save the lives of thousands of Ukrainians. If we had received what we are getting now in the first week of the war [weapons], the benefit for Ukraine and for freedom in Europe would be greater, I am sure. And if we get what some partners plan to hand over to Ukraine in the coming weeks right now, it will save the lives of thousands of people," Zelensky said.

"I hope that the partners will hear this thesis and understand that every day matters. Any delay in helping Ukraine gives the occupiers an opportunity to kill more Ukrainians," the president added.
President of the European Council Charles Michel announced that he arrived on a visit to Kyiv.

He made the corresponding entry on his Twitter page on Wednesday. "Today in Kyiv, in the heart of a free and democratic Europe," he wrote.

He accompanied the recording with a photo taken on the platform of the Ukrainian railway, where he was met by representatives of Ukrainian authorities and the EU representative in Ukraine Matti Maasikas.
Commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Volynsky has called on foreign states to carry out the procedure for removing military and civilians from their besieged city of Mariupol, Donetsk region, to a safe place.

"We appeal to world leaders to help us. We are asking to apply the extraction procedure to us and take us to the territory of a third state," Volynsky said in a video message posted by journalist Natalia Nahorna on Facebook on Wednesday night.

According to him, together with Mariupol military garrison there are more than 500 wounded soldiers and "hundreds of civilians, among whom there are women and children."

At the same time, the brigade commander stressed that "this may be our last appeal," since the garrison "may have only a few days or hours left." "The enemy's grouping exaggerates us tenfold. They have dominance in the air, in artillery, in groups operating on land, in equipment and tanks. We are defending at one facility, at the factory, where the military of the Mariupol garrison and civilians trapped in the war are located," he said.

"We ask you to provide us with security on the territory of a third state," Volynsky summed up.
More than 578 children were injured in Ukraine as a result of the fullscale armed aggression of the Russian Federation, as of the morning of April 20, the official number of dead children has not changed  205, the number of wounded has increased - 373, the Prosecutor Generals Office (PGO) reports.

These figures are not final, as work is underway to establish them in the places of active hostilities, in the temporarily occupied and liberated territories, the PGO said on its Telegram channel.

According to juvenile prosecutors, the most affected children were in Donetsk region  118, Kyiv  108, Kharkiv  91, Chernihiv  57, Kherson  43, Mykolaiv  40, Luhansk  36, Zaporizhia  25, in Kyiv  16, Sumy region  16, Zhytomyr  15.

It became known that on March 15, in the village of Stara Buda, Buchansky district, Kyiv region, as a result of the shelling of a family's apartment building, two children aged 6 and 8 were injured, who were forcibly transported to Mozyr (Belarus) by the Russian military on the same day.

On April 18, a 16-year-old teenager was wounded as a result of shelling of a residential area in the village of Berestove in Bakhmutsky district of Donetsk region.

Due to the bombing and shelling by the armed forces of the Russian Federation, 1,141 educational institutions were damaged, 99 of them were completely destroyed, the Prosecutor General's Office also noted.
The invaders shelled 12 settlements of Donetsk region over the past day, the police documented the war crimes of the Russian Federation, according to the page of the National Police of Ukraine in Telegram.

"As a result of the strikes, civilians were killed, there are wounded. At least 30 civilian objects were destroyed - residential buildings, a school, a kindergarten, enterprises, shops, a railway line," the report says.

The cities of Mariupol, Avdiyivka, Novohrodivka and the village of Orlovka in Pokrovsky district, the cities of Vuhledar, Maryiynka and the town of Blahodatne in Volnovakha district, the cities of Kramatorsk, Mykolaivka, the villages of Rubtsi and Pryvillia in Kramatorsk district, and the city of Toretsk were subjected to shelling.

"The enemy fired at the civilian population with missiles from Grad multiple rocket launchers, tanks, heavy artillery," the report says.

The police opened criminal proceedings under Article 438 (violation of the laws and customs of war) and Article 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
In Eurojust, more than 100 members of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine discussed cooperation and further actions to collect evidence and bring the perpetrators to justice, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova said.

"A meeting of the JIT on Russian war crimes in Ukraine was held in Eurojust. We coordinate efforts for the common goal of bringing Russia to justice. Today, more than 100 participants in this process have gathered: members of the JIT from Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland, representatives of countries that have launched their national investigations into the war in Ukraine and interested states represented in Eurojust," Venediktova wrote on her Facebook page.

She expressed gratitude to Eurojust President Ladislav Hamran for such a platform of fruitful cooperation. "We also once again received clear signals and real steps to support EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders," the prosecutor general said.

Also, according to her, it is important for Ukraine to participate in the coordination meeting of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, whose team continues its independent investigation in Ukraine.

"At a closed session, we discussed in detail with our colleagues in the JIT the issues of cooperation and further joint steps. Like Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland began large-scale work to obtain testimony from Ukrainian refugees, collect photo and video materials and other evidence," the Prosecutor General said.

She focused on the fact that the presence of representatives of the JIT countries during the conduct of investigative actions directly on the territory of Ukraine is extremely important. "This will greatly enhance our ability to collect evidence of Russian atrocities on our land," Venediktova said.
The leaders of the United States, Italy, France, Germany, Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Poland, Romania, as well as the leaders of the EU and NATO during a 90-minute video link on Tuesday also discussed the issue of guarantees of Ukraine's security after the war with Russia, Reuters has reported.

According to Reuters, the representative of the French president said that the allies discussed how to provide security guarantees to Ukraine after the war, if it is not part of NATO and its automatic protection mechanism (Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty).

"Our country [France] is ready to provide security guarantees. It would be military supplies so that it can deal with a new attack or, possibly, guarantees that would see us get involved if Ukraine is attacked in a way where we could assess how to assist it," the French official said.

According to him, these guarantees would look more like the defense clause the European Union currently has among its members, the French official said, rather than a defense mechanism similar to NATO's Article 5, which triggers automatic military support if a member is attacked.
By Azernews





Umayra Taghiyeva, the head of the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry's National Hydrometeorological Service, has stated that international organizations should take action in response to Armenia's pollution of the Okhchuchay River, which connects Armenia and Azerbaijan, local news sources have reported.

She made the remarks during a media tour of the liberated Zangilan region.

To recap, the ministry has repeatedly urged the international community to intervene to stop Armenia's ongoing ecological terror against Azerbaijan.

Tagiyeva said that the ministry regularly updates international organizations on the situation and publishes data on the river's contamination levels.

Armenia regularly pollutes the Okhchuchay River with heavy metals. The highest levels of pollution were recorded from January through March and from June through August. A high concentration of pollutants in Okhchuchay was found mainly in its upstream near the border with Armenia, Taghiyeva stressed.

She emphasized that excessive levels of heavy metal contamination devastate the ecological and biological richness of the river.

According to the results of average annual studies, in the upstream of Okhchuchay (Burunlu village), the content of ammonium exceeded the maximum allowable norm by 3.4 times, manganese - by 3.1 times, iron - by 1.5 times, nickel - by 5.5 times, cadmium - 3.4 times, and molybdenum - 1.9 times, Taghiyeva underlined.

The wastewater from Armenia's copper-molybdenum facilities, Gafan and Gajaran, has polluted the river. Without treatment, wastewater is dumped straight into the river, resulting in heavy metal contamination, Taghiyeva explained.

She added that 58 monitorings were conducted to assess the river's condition between 2021 and 2022.

"The samples were taken from three different directions of the river. More than 150 water samples and more than 180 samples of bottom sediments were taken. On the basis of these samples, a physical and chemical analysis was carried out, she said.

Taghiyeva underlined that the analysis discovered that the level of river pollution is 5-7 times higher than the norm.

Unfortunately, its pollution continues today. The level of heavy and other metals in the water is currently also 5-7 times higher than the norm," she added.

Taghiyeva stated that the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry will install 10 automatic hydrometeorological stations, which will be equipped with special sensors, on the Basitchay, Okhchuchay, Bergushad and Araz rivers in Karabakh.

"The stations will automatically continuously determine the level of river pollution online. Both international organizations and local structures will be able to receive information online about the level of river pollution with their help," Tagiyeva said.

The Okhchuchay River, an 83-kilometer-long left tributary of the Araz River, has a basin area of 1,175 square kilometers. The river begins on the Zangazur ridge's Gapidzhig mountain (3,285 meters).

The river flows through liberated Zangilan into the Araz River, with the majority of it located in Armenia's Syunik region (Azerbaijan's historical Zangazur region).

Because of transboundary water flows, approximately 70 percent of Azerbaijan's groundwater resources are formed in neighboring countries. The transboundary river Okhchuchay, which serves as a collector of industrial waste in Armenia, is constantly polluted by waste from the Gafan and Gajaran mining industries.

These industrial wastewaters are discharged into the river untreated, which occasionally increases the level of pollution. As a result, these water resources are deemed unfit for use on Azerbaijani territory. Furthermore, Okhchuchay flows into Araz, the second largest river in the South Caucasus, and pollution has a direct impact on its quality and water reserves.

Azerbaijan had previously urged responsible companies to halt operations at the Zangazur copper-molybdenum plant in Armenia's Syunik region due to the environmental disaster caused by the latter.

It should be noted that the plant's main shareholder is Germany's Cronimet Mining Company, which massively pollutes the transboundary Okhchuchay River.

On April 12, President Ilham Aliyev stated at a meeting dedicated to the results of the first quarter of 2022 that a special report on Armenia's environmental terror against Azerbaijan was prepared and adopted a few years ago by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

He stated that the rivers in Azerbaijans Karabakh were occupied and mercilessly exploited by Armenians.

The catastrophe of the Okhchuchay River is before the eyes of the world now. We have raised this issue, he said.

Noting that when he raised the issue, Azerbaijan was promised that the company responsible for the disaster would come and clean it up, he emphasized that a year has passed and no proposals have been received.

Cronimet is the company that contaminated the Okhchuchay River. It is a large company, and according to some foreign media, it had an illegal business relationship with representatives of Serzhik Sarkisyans former junta regime using corruption schemes. Together they operated the copper plant there, he said.

Aliyev noted that the preparations for a legal claim in this regard with the involvement of international experts are underway.

Armenias three-decade occupation of Azerbaijani territories extensively damaged the ecosystem, wildlife and natural resources in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Armenians also resorted to large-scale acts of ecological terror in regions they had to leave under the trilateral November peace deal that stipulated the return of Azerbaijans occupied territories.

The clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan escalated for the second time in 2020 after Armenia's forces deployed in the occupied Azerbaijani lands targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions, causing casualties among civilians and the military. In the early hours of September 27, Azerbaijan launched a counter-offensive operation that lasted six weeks. The operation resulted in the liberation of Azerbaijan's occupied lands.

A Russia-brokered ceasefire deal that Azerbaijan and Armenia signed on November 10, 2020, brought an end to the 44-day war between the two countries. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it had occupied.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, at a meeting in Sofia, discussed ways to restore peace in Ukraine and development in the Black Sea region.

"President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev received me in Sofia today. We discussed ways to restore peace and development in the Black Sea region. We also agreed on the need to strengthen supply chains for agricultural products in order to sustain global food security, " Kuleba said on Twitter Wednesday.
The aggressor focuses its main efforts on the capture of Mariupol, and the enemy is also fighting in the areas of some settlements in Donetsk direction, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports.

"In Donetsk direction, the enemy conducted assault operations in the area of the settlement of Maryinka. The enemy focuses its main efforts on the capture of the city of Mariupol, continues its assault operations in the area of the Azovstal plant. The enemy is fighting in the area of the settlements of Velyka Novoselka, Rivnopol and Storozheve," reads a message posted on Facebook on Wednesday morning.

The aggressor did not commit any active actions in Volyn, Polissia and Siverske directions.

In Slobozhanske direction, the enemy continues the partial blockade of Kharkiv and the shelling of the city.

In Izium direction, the enemy tried to advance in the direction of Sulyhivka, Dybrivne.

In Donetsk and Tavrycheske directions, the occupiers continue to conduct military operations in the areas of the settlements of Kreminna, Torske and Zelena Dolyna, shelling the positions of Ukrainian troops. Also, the aggressor is regrouping in order to further advance in the direction of Lyman settlement.

"The enemy is trying to make an offensive in order to advance deep into the settlement of Popasna. About 130 wounded enemy servicemen were taken to the local hospital in Novoaidar after the attempts of the assault by the Russian occupiers in Rubizhne and Severodonetsk. The exact number is currently being specified," the General Staff reports.

In Pivdenny Bug direction, the enemy is shelling the positions of Ukrainian troops and is fighting in the area of the settlement of Oleksandrivka.

"In the future, the Russian occupiers will continue to exert a fiery influence on the positions of our troops and conduct military operations in order to reach the administrative borders of Kherson region. Due to heavy losses, the occupiers withdrew the battalion tactical group of the 237th Tank Regiment of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Combined Arms Army of the Western Military District from Kharkiv region to the point of permanent deployment (Soloty settlement of Belgorod region) to restore combat capability," the General Staff said in a statement.
Residents of Ukraine should comply with the ban on visiting forests in almost all regions of Ukraine, since mines and unexploded ordnance planted by Russian occupiers may be located on the territory of forestry.

The corresponding warning was published by head of the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine Yuriy Bolohovets on Facebook on Wednesday.

"Yesterday, in Kyiv region, two of our employees were driving a car through the territory of the forest fund to the forestry for loading and exporting timber products. But while driving along the forest road, they came across an anti-tank mine. A strong explosion. The driver died, the second person is in the hospital," he told the details of the incident in Irpin, Kyiv region, where on April 19 a truck was blown up.

"Every day, foresters risk their lives. Even knowing every forest path, such tragedies still happen. Therefore, I appeal to everyone! Today it is still very dangerous to visit territories liberated from orcs. Take care of yourself," Bolokhovets said.

As reported, on April 19, in the Stoyanka microdistrict of the city of Irpin, a truck was blown up by a mine, its driver died.

According to Bolohovets, in Ukraine at the beginning of April, 600,000 hectares of forest land, six regional departments of the State Forest Resources Agency, 17 enterprises of the department and 136 forestries were in the combat zone with the Russian invaders.

The forestry enterprises of Sumy region were subjected to the greatest destruction from the invasion of the Russian Federation troops, since almost all the forestry enterprises of the region were either in the zone of active hostilities or in the occupied territories.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has promised that Germany will help Ukraine with military instruction and maintenance of military equipment.

"While other partners supply artillery, we will help with training and maintenance [of military equipment]," the minister said at a press conference in Lithuania on Wednesday.

She said that the German government, "according to the Bundeswehr, can no longer supply weapons from its own reserves," so it plans to turn to the industry for the supply of spare parts and "further material."

In addition, Germany intends to appeal to NATO partners who have "Soviet-style weapons" that can be supplied to Ukraine, the Foreign Minister said.
With the participation of prosecutors of the Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine (PGO), the court granted permission for a special pretrial investigation against former MP Illia Kyva, the press service of the PGO reported on Wednesday.

It is noted that Kyva is currently on the international wanted list and is suspected of public calls for a violent change of power, encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, high treason and propaganda of war (Part 3 of Article 10). Part 3 of Article 110, Part 1 of Article 111, Article 436, Part 2 of Article 436-1 Criminal Code of Ukraine.

"According to the investigation, the former MP, while on the territory of the aggressor state, took part in one of the propaganda shows on Russian television. He publicly called on the top leadership of the Russian Federation to forcibly change the constitutional order and seize state power in Ukraine. The suspect offered to physically eliminate the President of Ukraine and other state officials, and also publicly called for an aggressive war on the territory of our country," the message published on the Telegram says.

It clarifies that the pretrial investigation of criminal proceedings is carried out by investigators of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI).

At the same time, the name of the suspect is not indicated in the text of the message, but the publication is accompanied by a photo of the former MP from the parliamentary faction of the political party Opposition Platform  For Life Illia Kyva.

As reported, on March 15, the Verkhovna Rada deprived Illia Kyva, a member of the Opposition Platform  For Life political party, of the powers of an MP.
Russia is carrying out engineering arrangement of positions and observation posts opposite Chernihiv and Sumy regions, Spokesperson for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Andriy Demchenko has said.

"We are recording armed provocations carried out by Russia on the Ukrainian-Russian section of the border with a consistent accusation of this precisely on the Ukrainian side. In addition, we observe that on the other side of the border, in certain directions opposite Chernihiv and Sumy regions, the enemy is carrying out engineering arrangement of positions and observation posts. Individual movements of military equipment were also noted in the Russian border area," Demchenko said at a briefing at the Ukraine media center in Kyiv on Wednesday.

The spokesperson said that as part of the resumption of control over the state border within Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions, from where the defenders of Ukraine expelled the occupiers, the border guards went to all areas. At the same time, he said that at the moment, reconnaissance activities in the border area, engineering arrangements are ongoing, observation points and control posts are being created, as well as other specific places for serving as border guards.

"Due to the continuation of Russian aggression, the classical border protection does not occur, since there remains the danger of mining the area, the work of sabotage groups and shelling by the adjacent side. In particular, our squads have already recorded the shelling of the enemy using Hailstones on the territory of Ukraine, the fire was launched from the territory of Russia in the direction of Sumy region. In Chernihiv region, one day, the enemy fired mortars three times from the territory of Russia opposite the state border, and the shells hit near the village of Senkivka, and an enemy drone was constantly circling over the area," Demchenko said.

According to him, separately in the direction of Senkivka, a group of people with weapons was found by a border patrol, who tried to enter the territory of Ukraine. "The fire was opened on the unknown, after which they retreated," he said.

The spokesperson said that reconnaissance and search groups continue to find caches with weapons and ammunition that were left by the Russian military, and shells.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, in a phone conversation with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, discussed the threats to Ukraine, the right to self-defense and the importance of humanitarian assistance from Israel.

"Had a phone conversation with Minister of Defence of Israel Benny Gantz. We discussed existential threats to Ukraine and the right to self-defense. Among other things, the importance of humanitarian aid from Israel's side has been discussed. Thank you for the support!" Reznikov said on his Twitter.
UN data on civilian casualty from war in Ukraine increases by 120 over day

Civilian casualties from February 24, when Russia started the war against Ukraine, to 00:00 on April 19 amounted to 5,121 civilians (4,966 in the report a day earlier), including 2,224 killed (2,104), the Office of the High Commissioner UN Human Rights said on Tuesday.

The daily summary traditionally states that the increase in figures in this update compared with the previous update should not be attributed to civilian casualties that occurred on April 19, as during these days OHCHR also corroborated casualties that occurred on previous day, however, the increase in the number of deaths is the second largest the largest during the entire war.

"OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration." the UN said in the document.

According to it, this concerns, for example, Mariupol (Donetsk region), Izium (Kharkiv region), Popasna (Luhansk region), and Borodianka (Kyiv region), where there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties. These figures are being further corroborated and are not included in the above statistics.

"Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes," the UN said.

According to confirmed UN data, 631 men, 383 women, 61 boys and 42 girls killed, while the gender of 70 children and 1,037 adults has not yet been determined.

Among the 2,897 wounded were 59 girls and 64 boys, as well as 157 children whose gender has not yet been determined.

Compared to the previous day, according to the UN, three children were killed and three more were wounded.

OHCHR said that in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as of midnight on April 20, there were 746 (660) killed and 1,078 (1,070) wounded in government-controlled territory, and 79 (79) killed and 325 (320) wounded in territory controlled by self-proclaimed "republics."

In other regions of Ukraine under government control (in Kyiv, as well as in Zhytomyr, Zaporizhia, Kyiv, Sumy, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions), the UN recorded 1,399 (1,365) killed and 1,494 (1,472) wounded.

The UN said in the report that, according to the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, as of 08:00 am on April 20, 205 (205) children were killed, 373 (367) were wounded.
Ukraine, chairing the Energy Community in 2022, during the 63rd meeting of its permanent high-level group in Vienna, proposed to tighten sanctions against the Russian Federation in the energy sector and take a comprehensive approach to achieving Europe's energy independence from the energy of the aggressor country, the Ministry of Energy said.

"Some of the proposed steps include replacing Russian hydrocarbons with supplies from other sources, including increasing the use of liquefied natural gas and oil tanker supplies, agreeing a nine-month deadline for refusing Russian oil, which will give suppliers from other countries the opportunity to enter into contracts with European customers and increase production, as well as phasing out Russian nuclear fuel," the ministry said on its website on Wednesday.

According to the report, Yaroslav Demchenkov, the Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine for European Integration, who took part in the meeting, also noted the expediency of applying the "Iranian model" of sanctions against gas transported to Europe via pipelines. This model assumes that payment for the resource will be kept on special European accounts until Russia stops aggression and compensates for the losses.

For his part, Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, noted that Ukraine had submitted a proposal to the Energy Community to introduce a ban on the purchase, import, transfer and transportation of energy products produced or processed in Russia.

"Today we took advantage of the opportunity of the presidency of the European Energy Community, which Ukraine received in 2022, and formally submitted to this organization a proposal to introduce a ban on the purchase, import, transfer and transportation of energy products generated or processed in Russia," he said in a statement on Telegram on Wednesday evening.

According to him, the matter concerns all oil and oil products, coal and other types of solid fuels, liquefied natural gas.

Yermak explained that now the Energy Community, on the basis of Ukraine's proposal, must make a decision and send it to all participating parties.

"Ukraine sets before the EU and countries such as Georgia and Serbia an ambitious but quite realistic task to stop funding the army, the state apparatus and propaganda of Russia - everything that supports the aggressive actions of this state, including the war in Ukraine," Yermak pointed out, adding that "Russia should be deprived of resources for the war and economically crushed."

In addition, the Ministry of Energy noted that during the meeting, a new package of EU acts was considered for adoption in the Energy Community, covering a number of market and system grid codes regarding the rules for the functioning of electricity markets and their coupling, requirements and fundamentals for managing energy systems.

A number of delegated EU regulations on energy labeling were also considered and certain aspects of the implementation of the Energy Community roadmap for decarbonization were discussed, including issues of an emissions trading system and monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions, the report specifies.
An international group of experts, created on the initiative of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who analyze the real impact of the sanctions restrictions applied against Russia, will present the Action Plan to strengthen sanctions against Russia.

The plan will be presented on Wednesday, April 20, by the co-chairs of the expert group, Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak and Director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, former National Security Adviser to the President of the United States, Ambassador Michael McFaul, the press service of the President of Ukraine said.

"This document contains recommendations for the international democratic community on a set of further economic measures aimed at forcing the Russian leadership to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible and to maximize the cost of aggression for Russia," the office said.

It is noted that the plan is focused on ten key areas of sanctions policy, including the recognition of Russia and Belarus as state sponsors of terrorism, and the armed forces of Russia as a terrorist organization, a complete ban on Russian energy exports, expansion of sanctions against the financial sector of Russia and Belarus, strengthening of transport and insurance sanctions, as well as the expansion and strengthening of trade embargoes and personal sanctions.

The plan also notes the importance of introducing secondary sanctions and synchronizing the efforts of the countries of the democratic world in the sanctions policy.

"This document will become the basis for our government's further work to increase sanctions pressure on Russia. We will offer our partners this list as a basis for coordinating the imposition of sanctions. By the way, the document contains a provision on the synchronization of sanctions pressure from democratic countries," Yermak said.

He expressed his gratitude to the expert group for its high efficiency and encouraged to continue the work.

"We need a quick implementation of all the proposed proposals and a thorough assessment of their effectiveness," Yermak said.
By Trend

Moscow hosted the twenty-third meeting of the Intergovernmental Kyrgyz-Russian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Humanitarian Cooperation on April 14, Trend reports citing Kabar.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic, the meeting was chaired by First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Arzybek Kozhoshev and Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexei Overchuk with the participation of representatives of interested ministries and departments.

The sides noted the positive dynamics in the development of cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Russia in the field of healthcare. The importance of the ongoing work on the mutual recognition of vaccination certificates against a new coronavirus infection was especially emphasized.

During the meeting, joint consultations of specialists from the compulsory medical insurance funds of both countries were discussed on the issue of organizing medical care for non-working family members of migrant workers at the expense of compulsory medical insurance, as well as vaccination. Consultations are planned to be held in the first half of 2022.

The sides also exchanged views on the creation of a BSL3 biological laboratory in the Kyrgyz Republic. It should be noted that the Kyrgyz Republic opposed the implementation of this project.

Following the meeting, the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation agreed to continue developing cooperation in the field of healthcare, including by expanding direct ties between medical, scientific and educational organizations.

The sides also decided to continue to build up cooperation on issues of joint research, prevention and response to infectious diseases within the framework of Russian initiatives to promote international development.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with President of the European Council Charles Michel during his visit to Kyiv the strengthening of sanctions pressure on Russia.

"Today we discussed the direction where the EU can help us even more to stop this barbaric war against our civilian population. The first is the maximum increase in sanctions pressure. I would like to do everything to deprive Russia of the opportunity to finance this shameful war," Zelensky said at a briefing with the President of the European Council in Kyiv.

The head of state personally thanked President Michel and the entire European Union for the previously introduced five sanctions packages against Russia, while noting that they are not enough to stop Russia from financing the war.

"Unfortunately, some things, we believe, have not been completed by these sanctions, and they need to be analyzed in more detail and still be introduced. Still, a little more is not enough to stop the financing of this by Russia," the president said.

According to Zelensky, Ukraine is waiting for the EU to adopt the sixth sanctions package against Russia as soon as possible.

"We call for a complete energy embargo, including imports of oil and gas. Oil should definitely be included in the 6th package. Without it, we believe that the package will not be powerful. It will be empty. We must finally include all Russian banks in the list of those banks that are disconnected from SWIFT. Including Sberbank and Gazprombank. And we need to put an end to this direction of the sanctions policy. It is necessary to block the accounts of all Russian state-owned companies, directing their funds to restore Ukraine," he said.

"Every Russian civil servant and their families should feel the power of the sanctions and the consequences of their personal support for the war against Ukraine," Zelensky said.

He also thanked the European partners for their significant contribution to supporting the defense capabilities of Ukraine. "I am grateful for the allocation of EUR 1.5 billion within the European Peace Facility to finance the military needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We agreed to use these funds as efficiently as possible so that Ukraine receives the weapons that it now needs at this time," the president said.
The European Commission will provide an opinion on Ukraine's possibility of obtaining the status of a candidate member of the EU by the end of June, after which the European Council will be able to start a discussion on this issue, President of the European Council Charles Michel said.

"We will have the opinion of the Commission by the end of June. And it will be my responsibility to assess when I can put this point on agenda of the European Council, to make sure that we have a political discussion, a dialogue, to make progress in this path. But I want to say that I feel very strong support in order to make sure that we can provide concrete support to Ukraine in your choice to follow the EU path on your future," Michel said at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday.

He stressed that Ukraine demonstrates commitments to democratic principles and freedoms every day.

"You do not fight only for the future of the children of Ukraine. We know that you fight for European fundamental principles and values," Michel said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is ready for any format of exchanging its civilians and servicemen blocked by Russia in Mariupol for Russians.

"We are ready for various formats of exchanging our people [in Mariupol] for Russian people, the Russian military, whom they [Russia] left behind. And they left the corpses, and they threw the wounded people. Therefore, we are ready for the sake of our people, as military and civilians for any exchange format," Zelensky said at a briefing with the President of the European Council in Kyiv.

Answering a question about the situation in Mariupol, the head of state said that it was getting worse.

"Unfortunately, so far we cannot achieve a positive result there. Our soldiers have hundreds of wounded people in their hands. Protecting civilians with their backs, they die. There are about a thousand behind our soldiers in Mariupol, as far as I know, but I do not know for sure how many civilians are alive at this time," he said.

According to Zelensky, he would like to say now that everything will be simple and tomorrow the military and political leadership will help the Ukrainian defenders and civilians of Mariupol, but this cannot be said yet.

"I do not know when we will be able to unblock Mariupol. All our servicemen in Mariupol want our victory, unblocking the city. They are not going to surrender to the enemy," the president said.

He also said there are two ways to unblock Mariupol, Western help with weapons or a diplomatic way.

"The first is serious assistance with weapons, which we are counting on. And they [the defenders of Mariupol] are counting. The second way is diplomatic. So far, Russia does not agree to this, no matter what public signals it comes out and says that ready," he said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to receive him in Moscow and Kyiv, UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric has said on Wednesday.

During a press briefing, Dujarric said that yesterday afternoon, separate letters were handed over to the permanent missions of Russia and Ukraine. In these letters, the Secretary General asked President Putin to receive him in Moscow, and President Zelensky to receive him in Kyiv.

He said Guterres would like to discuss with the two presidents urgent measures to establish peace in Ukraine, as well as the future of multilateral relations.

Earlier this week, the UN Secretary General called on Russia and Ukraine to stop hostilities during Holy Week from April 21 to April 24.
The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine has published a collection of leaflets and publications on chemical security risks to help civilians take care of their safety in the conditions of ongoing hostilities.

Military campaigns in such an industrialized country as Ukraine bear serious risks of incidents with the release of toxic chemicals, endangering people and the environment. Interruptions in work of enterprises, targeted or accidental hits of industrial facilities in the course of combat or as a result of air and rocket strikes  these factors increase chemical security risks immensely, said Ambassador Henrik Villadsen, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.

An assessment produced by Ukrainian State Emergency Service in 2018, mentioned that 655 facilities across the country stored more than 216,000 tons of dangerous chemicals. Research on the environmental impact of hostilities in Donbas, performed with the support of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator, highlighted severe chemical security concerns, as more than 500 major interruptions of work for enterprises in the eastern part of Ukraine were recorded between 2014 and 2017.

The awareness-raising materials include a leaflet, Chemical Incidents. Leaflet on Risks and Safety Measures that provides generalized guidance on safety measures related to accidents with toxic substances. Four other leaflets contain specific guidance for occasions of release or spills of most widespread chemicals  ammonia, mercury, chlorine and nitric acid. They also contain practical advice on administering medical assistance in such cases. In addition, the Co-ordinator is organizing a webinar for journalists to help them better understand the risks in this context.

The collection also contains publications, created specifically for the training of emergency response personnel, which will also be the basis for further production of awareness-raising materials and as a useful source of information for local authorities and other civilian services in planning measures in response to possible emergencies.

These materials, updated according to the recent developments, were developed by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator with the financial support of the European Union, United States of America, and Germany as one of the projects activities aimed at enhancing chemical safety and security in Ukraine.

This newsitem is published here.
In a phone call with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Sunday, Jordanian King Abdullah II expressed his countrys solidarity with Egypt in face of terrorism.
As the EU poises to mark its anniversary on Monday, it is morphing into a more muscular global actor, a transformation accelerated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Thousands of people on Saturday mourned the death of a Coptic priest who was murdered in Alexandria on Friday night.



Priest of the Church of the Virgin Mary and Mar Boulos Arsanios Wadid was stabbed to death on Thursday while he was walking along the Mediterranean Corniche in the Sidi Bishr district.

A 60-year-old male suspect was arrested by police.

Wadid, 56, was taken to Mustafa Kamel Military Hospital in Sidi Gaber, but he succumbed to his injuries, the Church of the Virgin Mary and Mar Boulos said.

The prosecution ordered the detention of the assailant for four days pending investigations, a statement by the prosecution said on Friday. It added that a court had ordered the suspect be given a medical examination in a public hospital specialised in the treatment of mental illnesses. The man allegedly said during his interrogation that he suffered from a mental illness that makes him lose control over his actions.

During his interrogation, the defendant confessed to intentionally killing Wadid, but later said he had arrived in Alexandria a few days earlier in search of work and stayed overnight on the streets, claiming that the knife in his possession was just for self-defence. He also claimed that he was not aware of what he was doing on the day of the incident until he was arrested.

He said he started suffering from mental disorders 10 years ago after which he was admitted to a mental health hospital to receive treatment, and that he sometimes loses control of his actions, the statement added.

The prosecution said it heard the accounts of 17 eyewitnesses, inspected the crime scene, reviewed surveillance cameras in surrounding areas, and received autopsy reports from the Forensic Medicine Authority and the Alexandria Poison Centre. The results conclusively showed that the cause of death was a stab in the neck.

Three surveillance cameras showed parts of the incident and the ensuing panic by those who were at the scene of the crime, however, the stabbing itself was not visible on the recordings.

Other circulated video clips and photographs attributed to the incident, the victim, and the accused were collected by the prosecution for further investigation.

The prosecution added in the statement that it was conducting an investigation with the defendants family as part of the procedures it was taking in the case.

It also took blood samples from the suspect to ascertain if he was under the influence of drugs when he attacked the priest, the statement said.

In a statement, the church eulogised this blessed father who committed his life to God, and gave his life today to him in an honest martyrdom.

Pope Tawadros II, the patriarch of the See of St Mark and leader of Egypts Coptic Orthodox Church, bid farewell to a virtuous priest and an active servant.

Also on Friday, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb extended condolences to Wadids family, Pope Tawadros II, and the Coptic people following the incident.

Al-Tayeb, the leader of the Sunni Muslim worlds top religious institution, condemned the incident and stressed that killing a soul is considered one of the major sins in Islam that result in Gods wrath and punishment, according to a statement.

He quoted the Quranic verse whoever killed a soul, except for a soul slain, or for sedition in the earth, it should be considered as though he had killed all mankind; and that whoever saved it should be regarded as though he had saved all mankind.

Al-Tayeb also called on everyone to be aware that this murder and similar incidents pave the way for religious wars between people of the nation, adding that Egypt survived these types of wars thanks to God Almighty and its people as well as its leaders.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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In his weekly sermon on Wednesday, Head of Egypts Coptic Orthodox Church Pope Tawadros II mourned Coptic Priest Arsanios Wadid who was murdered in Alexandria last Friday, demanding authorities work on maintaining societal peace especially concerning religion issues.

This week, we felt a great pain for the attack on the Archpriest Arsanios Wadid who he was among the popular priests who served the church greatly, we look to God and know that God witnesses everything, and we are surely waiting for the investigations currently undergoing which we have to be gone thorough, Pope Tawadros II.

The pope added that he hopes the investigations results would be made public.

Egypts Public Prosecution on Sunday ordered the detention of the man accused of murdering the 56-year-old priest of the Church of the Virgin Mary and Mar Boulos in Alexandria for four days pending investigations.

A criminal court ordered the suspect placed under medical examination in a public hospital specialised in the treatment of mental illness to investigate claims he made during his interrogation that he suffers from a mental illness that made him lose control over his actions, the Public Prosecution posted on its Facebook page Friday evening, adding that it was still investigating the incident.

During his weekly sermon at Anba Bishoy Monastery in Wadi Al-Natroun, Behaira governorate, Pope Tawadros II also demanded that the authorities responsible for maintaining peace in society, especially on religious matters" monitor what is being published in the newspapers or broadcast on TV channels or on social media as well as what is spread about cases of disappearance or abduction of Egyptian Christians.

This needs transparency regarding the sensitivity of the issue; it negatively impacts the solidarity and unity of the nation, he said, stressing that the matter needs serious attention.

In the past few days, three controversial incidents involving reports of discrimination against Christians went viral on social media.

The first incident involved an alleged abduction of a Christian woman who appeared in a video clip saying that she converted to Islam.

The second incident involved a Christian woman and her child who were reportedly not allowed to eat in a famous koshary chain in Cairo in the wee hours before Ramadans Iftar.

The third involved a huge public outcry among both Muslims and Christians after Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper published - in print issue and the online edition - a fatwa by a radical conservative Syrian sheikh forbidding the serving of food to infidels and eating in public during fasting hours in Ramadan.

Following the outcry, Al-Masry Al-Youm removed the online version and issued an apology to readers.

The Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR), which regulates non-state press and media in Egypt, summoned the newspapers legal counselor to discuss the fatwa story which caused incitement and supports discrimination among the citizens, a statement by the the council read.

I know that the security authorities have exerted good efforts in many cases and foiled the negative impacts that come from them, and I hope this will be the case here, Pope Tawadros II said.

We live together in the new republic whose renaissance is led by his excellency President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi with all the officials in all sectors, but this new republic is not only projects and achievements, which we are all happy with of course, but it is also renewing the mind and thought with education and correcting concepts and upgrading the people culturally, he said, adding it is important to encourage coexistence and true citizenship.

Safeguarding the national unity is the most precious thing we have in Egypt, the pope said.

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Egyptian cotton products carrying a new trademark known as Nit have recently been exported to Turkey, Italy, and Denmark.

The new mark will be used for products of the Cotton and Textile Industries Holding Company (CTIHC). It was developed by the Egyptian Cotton Hub (ECH), a company created and owned by the CTIHC specifically to market and sell the products of affiliate companies and open new markets locally and abroad for their products.

Earlier this month, the ECH carried out its first export operations under the new brand, with a total 86.5 tons of yarn sent to Turkey in addition to 78,000 home textile pieces sent to Denmark and Italy.

Massive investments are being pumped into CTIHC affiliates, with the aim of developing the companies and the whole sector with it, General Manager of the ECH Khaled Raafat told Al-Ahram Weekly.

According to Raafat, between LE21 and LE24 billion will be allocated for new machinery, new buildings, specialised business software, and new staff. There will be new marketing and sales operations for the whole group of companies.

We export, we sell to the local market, and we sell online, Raafat said, adding that exporting was a top priority because the whole country was going in that direction.

Nits first shipment was limited to yarns, Raafat said, pointing out that its ready-made garments will be launched locally first and then exported in a later phase.

The ECH plans to open its first store under the name Nit in Korba, and it will launch a stand in the Debenhams store in the Cairo Festival City Mall in May. Nit will be more visible when we open more stores, Raafat said.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Public Business Sector last month said the interiors of the stores have already been designed in cooperation with professional designers. The layout has been designed by an Italian company and the new collection is by an Italian designer, Raafat said.

The first collection made of 100 per cent cotton will comprise bed sheets, linens, towels, bathrobes, and table napkins. Raafat said the companys vision was to be a global and regional cotton industry leader within five to 10 years.

The main objective is to reinstate the status of Egyptian cotton in the global market, he emphasised.

Massive investments are being pumped into the development of the spinning and weaving sector, with the aim of increasing production capacities and manufacturing high-quality products. However, in order for that to happen, the sector is facing challenges such as changing peoples mindsets and bureaucracy, Raafat said.

He also believes that the current international crisis is an opportunity in disguise. The ECH, being a local manufacturer that relies on local raw materials, has an advantage over other firms, he said. Egypts proximity to its export markets also works in its favour, he added.

Nit is an entirely new concept in which private-sector executives are managing a public-sector business in order to promote Egyptian cotton, CTIHC board member Marie Louis Bishara, a fashion designer and CEO of the Bishara Group and president of the Apparel Export Council of Egypt, told the Weekly.

Egypt will become the number one supplier of cotton worldwide once again and will export the finest and most luxurious cotton in the world, she said.

She lamented the fact that many local apparel manufacturers depend on imported fabric because there is no vertical integration in the industry. Imports have been affected by supply chain disruptions as well as higher shipping rates, she added.

But the Export Council is trying to fix supply chain disruptions, and it provides export opportunities by liaising with the relevant authorities in different countries, connecting exporters and traders locally and globally.

It is currently collaborating with entities like the EU and the Swiss Federation of Textiles to promote Egyptian exports around the world.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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By Trend

President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed a law on joining the Framework Agreement on Simplification of Procedures for Cross-border Paperless Trade in the Asia-Pacific region, Trend reports citing Arzuw News.

The main purpose of this UN Framework Agreement is to promote the development of cross-border trade in the region as a whole and to simplify paperless (digital) trade in particular.

Furthermore, this agreement concerns digital trade and promotes the development of innovative measures to simplify trade and e-commerce.

Employees of the Customs Service of Turkmenistan have completely switched to electronic customs declaration. This became possible as a result of the integrated system ASYCUDA WORLD (Automated system for customs data), developed by (UNCTAD) and simplifying the verification of documents at customs.

The program was implemented within the framework of the agreement on technical cooperation between the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), as well as with the active assistance of UNDP in Turkmenistan.
Egypt is looking to capitalise on its resources and boost gas exports to Europe, reports Mai Ghandour

Egypts natural gas exports are anticipated to reach 7.5 million tons by the end of the 2021-22 fiscal year, with the country capitalising on its resources to increase its gas exports to Europe.

The total amount of Egyptian liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports reached 3.5 million tons during the first half of the current fiscal year, which means that natural gas exports will jump by roughly four million tons during the second half of the year.

In December, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek Al-Molla told Reuters that Egypts capacity of natural gas exports has maxed out at about 1.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) from its two terminals, adding that natural gas production was stable and currently ranging between 6.5 and seven bcf/d.

Each one million tons of liquefied natural gas is equivalent to 48.7 bcf.

After an eight-year hiatus, Egypts Damietta gas liquefaction plant resumed production last year, which, taken together with the Idku plant, have a combined production capacity of 1.6 million tons per year. The Damietta plants main shareholder is the Italian energy company Eni.

In March, Eni pledged to pump more than 14 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of additional gas to the global market and mitigate Europes energy crisis by leveraging established alliances with producing countries, including Egypt, according to a press release.

We are increasing our gas production and will send everything we have discovered to Italy and southern Europe, Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi announced.

As Italy decided to cut back on imports of Russian gas, Eni struck an export deal with Egypt with the aim of providing LNG shipments to be exported via the Damietta plant to Italy and Europe.

The agreement will see Egypt increase local gas production in the short term and exploit its gas reserves while intensifying exploration.

After achieving self-sufficiency in natural gas in 2018, Egypt has planned to use its proximity to Europe to become a major supplier of LNG to the continent, which is transitioning away from other fossil fuels.

European countries gas consumption exceeds 550 billion cubic metres, of which Russia satisfies 40 per cent with about 200 billion.

However, Egypt only became self-sufficient in gas in 2018. Currently, natural gas production stands at 66 billion cubic metres per year, of which 62 billion is consumed locally. With only four billion cubic metres available, what Egypt has to offer is limited.

Egyptian gas exports to the European continent ranged around two million tons in 2021, up from just 270,000 the previous year, according to data from S&P Global Platts.

According to a report by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), opportunities for potential gas exporters in North Africa, namely Algeria, Egypt and Libya, are long-term solutions if Europe engages more actively to resolve current tensions and facilitate pipeline access.

Chevron, a majority shareholder in Israels two biggest offshore gas reservoirs, is planning to pipe two to 2.5 billion cubic metres more gas per year to Egypt.

The news comes as Israel plans to boost its natural gas exports to Egypt by as much as 50 per cent by the end of the month, deepening energy ties and helping Egypt to realise its goal to become a regional energy hub.

The new exports will be transferred through a pipeline traversing Jordan. Israel currently exports five billion cubic metres of gas each year to Egypt via a pipeline that connects southern Israel to the Sinai Peninsula. This is liquefied in Idku and Damietta for export.

The added volumes from Chevron will push forward plans to consolidate regional resources for export to bigger markets such as Europe.

Intensifying exploration and production in the deep waters of the Aphrodite, Tamar, and Leviathan Fields, along with Egypts Zohr Field, will increase production in the region as a whole and can be exported to Europe after liquefication in Idku and Damietta.

When we talk about a hub, it makes no difference where the resources come from. Whether I am exporting or importing or locally producing, the criteria is the net result, Amira Al-Mazni, an independent LNG regulation advisor and director of the Gas Regulatory Authority Board, told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Egypt has the aspiration to become an oil and gas hub, and it is achieving real progress in this direction, she added.

Nevertheless, Egypt does not currently have the capability alone to be an alternative to Russian gas for Europe. It needs to increase production and intensify exploration to participate in meeting the European need for gas, and this increase needs huge investments, estimated at tens of billions of dollars.

Investments in research, development, and production in the gas sector are estimated at $1.6 billion in the current and next year, a small sum compared to the huge investments pumped into other countries in the region.

Nevertheless, Al-Mazni explained, Egypt will use the liquefaction capacities of both the Idku and Damietta plants to process gas from members of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum. Besides the Leviathan and Tamar fields in Israel, there are also agreements to bring Cypriot gas to Egypt for liquefication and export, implying that the forum may be the solution.

Talking about whether Egypt can fill the Russian gap for energy, Al-Mazni said that it can help and be part of the solution, but its not a substitute. Theres no single source that can fill the gap of the Russian exports because of the huge volumes.

When it comes to the Forum, this looks like a potential substitute for a major portion of the Russian gas being sent to Europe. However, time is not on its side. This gas is still underground, not yet produced or connected to Europe.

In order for it to reach Europe, there needs to be the infrastructure in place and this could take three to five years at least.

There isnt one single alternative to Russian gas, but Europe needs to diversify its supply sources, Al-Mazni said, explaining that Russian gas comes through existing pipelines, is cheaper than other sources, meets the specifications of the European countries, and is readily available and abundant.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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The decision of both the EUs General Court and Swiss prosecutors to unfreeze assets of late president Hosni Mubaraks family triggered a lot of questions

On 6 April, the General Court of the European Union announced it would cancel the EU Councils 2018, 2019, and 2020 extensions of the decision to freeze the assets of Hosni Mubaraks family  his wife Suzanne, sons Gamal and Alaa and their wives Heidy Rasekh and Khadiga Al-Gammal, Gamal Essam El-Din reports.

The court also ruled the EU must pay legal costs incurred by the Mubarak family, and that the unfrozen funds would be made available after the expiry of the 70-day period for appealing the courts decisions.

The freezes were initially adopted in 2011 and were intended to assist the Egyptian authorities recover misappropriated state-owned assets. In this context, said the General Courts website, the EU froze the assets of a number of prominent Egyptian figures, including Mubarak, his wife, and two sons and their wives, following his ouster after 30 years in power, said the website.

The sanctions were annulled on the basis that the council failed to adequately verify observance of the rights of the defence, and the right to effective judicial protection in respect of the Egyptian proceedings that formed the evidential basis for the sanctions.

The EU General Courts judgement clearly shows that the decision unfreezing the Mubarak familys assets is due to inconsistent legal procedures and the Egyptian authorities failure to cooperate in a way that would help substantiate charges against the Mubarak family. said Gamal Zahran, a professor of political science at Port Said University.

Carter-Ruck, a British law firm that specialises in libel, privacy, international law and commercial disputes, was part of the Mubaraks legal team and issued a statement following the EUs General Court ruling saying it confirms the unlawfulness of EU sanctions imposed on former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and his family.

In oral submissions before the court in September 2021 the EU Council confirmed there were violations of fundamental rights in two specific Egyptian proceedings it had previously relied on to impose sanctions, said the statement, without giving further details.

The courts decision was welcomed by the Mubarak family as a complete vindication. Alaa, the late presidents older son, tweeted in English on 6 April that in a new decision today, the EU General Court has provided further unequivocal judicial acknowledgment that restrictive measures imposed on president Mubarak and his family by the EU Council were unlawful from the outset, ending a decade-long legal battle.

Younger son Gamal subsequently issued a statement saying the family has already received a substantial payment from the EU Council to refund legal costs, and we expect to get more funds.

He also wrote that he has asked lawyers to explore legal avenues to compensate the family for damages caused by the EU Councils unlawful measures against it.

Within a week of the ruling, Swiss prosecutors dropped an 11-year investigation into alleged money laundering and organised crime linked to persons close to late president Hosni Mubarak.

The office of the Swiss attorney-general said in a statement on 14 April that despite numerous inquiries, and having transferred 32 million Swiss francs to Egypt in 2018, the office of the attorney-general must now accept that the investigation has been unable to substantiate suspicions that would justify the indictment of anyone in Switzerland or any forfeiture of assets.

It added that the proceedings against five suspects who are members of the Mubarak family will therefore be abandoned, and the assets still under seizure (amounting to 400 million Swiss francs, or LE7.8 billion at the current exchange rate) will be released.

Again, Mubaraks two sons, Alaa and Gamal, hailed the decision as a complete exoneration of the family. Gamal Mubarak issued a statement in English saying it validates the position we have held all along following more than a decade of intrusive investigations, sanctions, and mutual legal assistance proceedings.

Alaa Mubarak tweeted on 14 April that the Swiss federal prosecutor after 11 years completely exonerates Alaa and Gamal Mubarak and confirms the legality of all their activities and related assets, and investigations reveal that all assets owned by them were fully declared to relevant Egyptian authorities. Alaa also said the decision of the Swiss prosecutors means that he and his brother Gamal were acquitted of all financial corruption charges previously brought against them.

Zahran believes the Swiss decision is the result of unfruitful cooperation between the Egyptian and Swiss prosecution authorities. It is clear from the Swiss attorney-generals statement that repeated inquiries for supplementary information on the case sent to Egyptian authorities received no answer and so the investigation was unable to substantiate suspicions said Zahran.

The office of the attorney-general of Switzerland had been conducting an investigation into suspicions of money laundering and supporting organised crimes in connection with events surrounding the 25 January Revolution 2011. The complex and extensive criminal case initially involved 14 suspects, including Mubaraks two sons, and 45 legal entities which, as third parties, hold assets that have been seized.

The suspects, most of whom held important economic positions in Egypt, were suspected of having laundered funds in Switzerland that had been obtained from corrupt financial transactions.

Between 2012 and 2019, the office of the attorney-general of Switzerland sent numerous requests to Egyptian authorities seeking information on the status of prosecutions and judicial or criminal proceedings being conducted against persons implicated in the Swiss proceedings. As this information was not received, mutual legal assistance proceedings could not be completed.

Fakhri Al-Fiqi, chairman of the Egyptian parliaments Budget Committee, estimates that as much as $132 billion was smuggled from Egypt to European banks, many of them in Switzerland. The UK Times reported that Mubaraks sons maintained six secret accounts with Credit Suisse worth 232 million Swiss francs.

Zahran says it was expected that Mubaraks two sons would welcome the unfreezing of their assets in Europe, but they still have to explain how they acquired these huge sums of money.

I think most Egyptians would want to know how Mubarak and his family were able to amass such an eye-watering fortune.



*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Ethiopians have attempted to assault Egyptian monks and defaced an Egyptian flag drawn on the door of Deir El-Sultan Monastery in Jerusalems Old City on Tuesday, according to the Coptic ME Sat channel.

Footage taken by St. Marks Coptic Orthodox Channel ME Sat and shared by the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Centre (COCC) on Tuesday evening showed a number of Israeli policemen gathering at the monastery and the large Egyptian flag on the door stained with grey paint.

However, it was not clear from the footage if the involved persons were Ethiopian monks or pilgrims to the holy land.

The ownership of Deir El-Sultan monastery, which is located on the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City, has been in dispute for decades between the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

The monastery, where Ethiopian and Egyptian monks have lived for decades, had been owned by the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria since the 7th century AD.

The Coptic Orthodox Church regained the ownership of the monastery in the 12th century AD during the era of Salahudin Al Ayubi, the Ayubid sultan of Egypt and Syria, after he reclaimed the city of Jerusalem from the Crusaders.

Copts remained in control of the monastery until 1970 when Israeli authorities handed its control over to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church after police changed the monastery's locks and gave them the keys.

Israeli Supreme Court issued a verdict on 16 March 1971 based on the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church's documents ruling that Deir Sultan was owned by the Egyptian church.

The ruling came three years after Israeli occupation authorities expelled Coptic monks from the monastery after the 1967 War and handed it over to Ethiopian monks.

On 5 November 2018, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church issued a statement claiming ownership of the disputed monastery and attacking the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church.

In response, the Egyptian church issued a statement distancing itself from Ethiopian church's "unjust accusations, offensive insults and historical inaccuracies about the ownership and possession of Coptic Deir Sultan," insisting on the need to abide by the 1971 Israeli court verdict.

Last year, Ethiopian monks also raised the Ethiopian flag on a tent that they set up at the monastery amid protestation by Egyptian monks.

Israeli authorities eventually removed the Ethiopian flag and tent after interference by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv.

What happened last year happened this year too; at the beginning of the holly week, we found them erecting a large flag on their tent, Father Antonios El-Orashalimi  secretary of the Coptic Orthodox Archdiocese of Jerusalem  told ME Sat on Tuesday, adding that the Egyptian flag was then painted over.

He added that the monastery reported the incident to the Israeli police, but said that they only acted hours after the report.

This is a place of worship, not a place for flags; placing an Ethiopian flag means that you want to prove that the place is of an Ethiopian identity and it is not  with the recognition of everyone and the Israeli High Court  an Ethiopian monastery, he affirmed.

Negotiations between the Israeli police and the Ethiopian monks are currently underway to persuade them to remove their flag, El-Orashalimi said, adding that the Egyptian monks will also remove the Egyptian flag immediately afterwards.

In December 2018, the Coptic Orthodox Church appointed a team of international lawyers to restore its legitimate ownership of the monastery a month after the Egyptian Church underscored its claim to the place of worship.

In October of the same year, Israeli security forces assaulted Egyptian Coptic monks and arrested dozens of people during protests against an Israeli decision allowing Ethiopian monks to restore parts of the monastery.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the dominant religious group in Ethiopia, with nearly 50 million members.

The Ethiopian church had been administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church from the first half of the 4th century AD until 1959, when it was granted autocephaly with its own patriarch by Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria.

Relations between Egypt and Ethiopia have soured in recent years over the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which Cairo fears will threaten its Nile water supply if filled and operated without a legally binding agreement.

In January 2015, Abuna Mathias, patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, visited Egypt to smooth relations between the two countries, where he met with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb and Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II.

Meanwhile, Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, visited Ethiopia in September of the same year to participate in the Feast of the Holy Cross.

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Five European countries called Tuesday for an end to clashes in Jerusalem following a weekend of violence surrounding the holy site of Al-Aqsa Mosque, in a joint statement issued after an emergency closed-door UN Security Council session.

The United Arab Emirates and China did not join the statement, despite being among the countries that called the meeting.

"Violence needs to stop immediately. Further civilian casualties must be prevented as a priority," the statement by Ireland, France, Estonia, Norway, and Albania said. "The status quo of the holy sites must be fully respected."

The meeting comes after days of violence in and around Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, where 170 Palestinians were left wounded at the weekend.

The five European countries condemned "all acts of terrorism" and rocket fire Monday from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel.

The Israeli Air Force responded on Tuesday with strikes in the Palestinian enclave, the first in three months.

"The deteriorating security situation highlights the need to restore a political horizon for a credible peace process," the countries' statement said.

The UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland reiterated in a statement his calls to avoid any provocation that would heighten Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

The emergency Security Council session was requested by the UAE, Norway, France, Ireland, and China.

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A UK court on Wednesday issued a formal order to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face trial over the publication of secret files relating to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The decision now rests with interior minister Priti Patel, although Assange may still appeal within 14 days of any decision to approve the extradition.

The ruling Wednesday by a magistrate in central London brings the long-running legal saga in the UK courts closer to a conclusion.

But Assange's lawyers have until May 18 to make representations to Patel and could potentially launch further appeals on other points in the case.

"No appeal to the High Court has yet been filed by him in respect of the other important issues he raised previously," his lawyers Birnberg Peirce Solicitors said in a statement last month.

"That separate process of appeal has, of course, yet to be initiated."

Assange was last month denied permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court against moves to extradite him to the US, where he could face a lifetime in prison.

Washington wants to put him on trial in connection with the publication of 500,000 secret military files relating to the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In January last year, the 50-year-old Australian appeared to have won a reprieve on the grounds he was a suicide risk if he was kept in solitary confinement at a maximum security US facility.

But the US government appealed, and at a two-day appeal hearing in October its lawyers pointed to diplomatic assurances that Assange would not be held in punishing isolation at a federal supermax prison, and would receive appropriate care.

Jail wedding

Assange appealed that ruling and, in January, two judges allowed him to apply to the country's highest court on "points of law of general public importance".

But the court refused permission to appeal, saying the application "didn't raise an arguable point of law".

The case has become a cause celebre for media freedom, with Assange's supporters accusing Washington of trying to muzzle reporting of legitimate security concerns.

Assange is wanted to face trial for violating the US Espionage Act by publishing military and diplomatic files in 2010.

He could face up to 175 years in jail if found guilty, although the exact sentence is difficult to estimate.

He has been held on remand at a top-security jail in southeast London since 2019 for jumping bail in a previous case accusing him of sexual assault in Sweden.

That case was dropped but he was not released from prison after serving time for breaching bail on the grounds he was a flight risk in the US extradition case.

Assange, who married his fiancee Stella Moris in jail last month, spent seven years at Ecuador's embassy in London to avoid being removed to Sweden.

He was arrested when the government changed in Quito and his diplomatic protection was removed.

Moris last month called on Patel to block the extradition, saying: "This is a political case and she can end it."

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Egypt is currently negotiating with an international automaker to produce electric-powered three-seater vehicles in order to replace three-wheeled auto-rickshaws  locally known as tuk-tuks  Minister of the Public Business Sector Hisham Tawfik announced on Wednesday.

The electric-powered three-seaters will be able to manoeuvre smoothly in narrow roads similarly to tuk-tuks, Tawfik noted, adding that they will also rely on clean energy and will be equipped with tracking systems to maintain the security and safety of citizens.

Tawfik made the announcement during a meeting with the government committee tasked with setting rules for replacing tuk-tuks with small, safe, and civil passenger cars.

Nearly five million tuk-tuks are currently operating in Egypt, according to unofficial estimates.

Tuk-tuks appeared for the first time in 2006 in Egypt as a cheap and an alternative means of transportation for millions of Egyptians nationwide, but remained unlicensed - and unsafe - for years.

During the meeting, Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea  who heads the committee  reviewed a group of alternative models for tuk-tuks, especially those that run on clean energy, according to a statement by the trade and industry ministry.

Furthermore, Gamea said that offers have been submitted by the ministries of Military Production and the Public Business Sector to provide alternative vehicles for tuk-tuks in cooperation with a number of local and international manufacturers.

The proposed alternatives should be environmentally friendly and easy to move like the current tuk-tuks, in addition to adhering to the traffic licensing system and providing safety factors for passengers, she pointed out.

Gamea also asserted that the new vehicles must meet all standard specifications, including all the technical requirements to facilitate the production process for manufacturers and licensing procedures.

In November 2021, Egypt halted the import of manufacturing components for tuk-tuks - including the base, chassis, and engine - pending the passing of legislation to legalise the status of vehicles countrywide by granting licenses to vehicles that meet the state-imposed technical requirements.

The government also established financing mechanisms for those wishing to replace their tuk-tuks with a gas-powered minivan.

In April 2021, tuk-tuks were included in a wider vehicle replacement initiative with the aim of preserving the environment and making use of the countrys plentiful natural gas production.

In 2014, the country issued a long-awaited presidential decree modifying the states traffic law no. 66/1973 to license tuk-tuks and owners.

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Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Abul Gheit denounced on Tuesday attacks carried out by Turkish troops as part of military operations in northern Iraq.

Related Turkey launches new offensive against Kurdish rebels in Iraq

A reliable source at the pan-Arab body said that the Arab League chief affirmed that such attacks violate Iraq's sovereignty and flout international law.

It added the Turkish aggression fuels tension in Iraqi-Turkish relations, calling on Ankara to put an end to its violations and respect the sovereignty of Iraq and the good neighborliness principle.

Iraqi Presidency confirmed on Tuesday, that the Turkish operation breach Iraqi sovereignty and threat National Security, indicating that the repetition of these operations is unacceptable.

The Presidency of Iraq said on Tuesday it is following with great concern the ongoing Turkish military operations within the Iraqi borders in Kurdistan region, and considers them a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and a threat to Iraqi national security, said the spokesman for the Presidency of the Republic in a statement, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

The spokesman added: "The repetition of Turkish military operations inside the Iraqi borders in Kurdistan region and without coordination with the Iraqi federal government despite previous calls to stop them and hold talks and coordination around them is unacceptable," noting that "at a time when we emphasize strengthening positive relations with Turkey on the basis of common interests, and resolving security issues through prior joint cooperation and coordination, but unilateral security practices in addressing outstanding security issues are unacceptable, and Iraqi sovereignty must be respected."

He continued: "The decision of the official Iraqi state and its unified foreign policy is based on Iraq's refusal to make its land a field of conflicts, an arena to settle score or violating its sovereignty and threatening its security and internal stability," noting that "Iraq refuses to be a starting point for aggression and threats against any of its neighbors."

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A Russian national operating alongside Malian soldiers was killed on Tuesday by a roadside bomb in the center of the conflict-torn Sahel state, an army document and officials said.

A Malian army unit accompanied by a "Russian advisor" struck an improvised explosive device near the town of Hombori, according to a military memo seen by AFP late Tuesday.

One Russian advisor died after being airlifted to the central town of Sevare, the Malian army memo said.

The death marks the first confirmed fatality of what in Mali are officially described as Russian military instructors.

The United States, France, and others say the instructors are operatives from the Russian private-security firm Wagner.

Mali's army-dominated government denies the claim.

An official at a hospital in Sevare, who asked not to be named, confirmed the death and said the Russian was in his 30s.

An elected official in central Mali, who also requested anonymity, said that he had "learned of the death of a Wagner agent".

Mali is ruled by a military junta that seized power in a coup in 2020.

It initially promised to restore civilian rule, but it ignored an earlier commitment to West Africa bloc ECOWAS to stage elections in February this year, prompting regional sanctions.

The junta's friendship with Russia has also worsened friction with France, a traditional ally.

France, which intervened in Mali in 2013, decided in February to withdraw its forces in the country after a decade-long fight against jihadists.

Vast swathes of Mali lie beyond government control due to the brutal conflict, which began in 2012 before spreading to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.

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Ahead of their first concert since the start of Russia's invasion, members of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra voice hope that their music will heal troubled souls and help boost Ukrainian culture.

Some of the orchestra's musicians fled the country to the sound of Russian bombs, others remained in Ukraine but had to leave their homes and have been playing only to their families or in bomb shelters.

The concert at the Warsaw Philharmonic on Thursday will start a European tour for the orchestra.

"Our concerts are truly a cultural mission," Oleksii Pshenychnikov, a 22-year-old second violin in the orchestra, told AFP during a break in the rehearsals.

"In Ukraine, we say there is a 'cultural front', meaning it is not escaping from the war, it is another aspect of the war," Pshenychnikov said.

The men in the orchestra have been granted special dispensation from Ukrainian authorities to leave the country as martial law is in place in Ukraine and fighting age men are not normally allowed to leave.

The exemption only lasts until the end of the tour and its Italian conductor Luigi Gaggero said he hoped other venues will come forward to offer to host the orchestra "maybe until the end of the war".

Gaggero, who had himself been due to travel to Ukraine on the day the conflict began, said the process of rehearsing together had been invigorating for musicians forced to spend long weeks apart.

"They do not just feel nostalgia for a job, they feel nostalgia for the very reason of their existence, which is music. It is like the air they breathe and they can finally breathe again," he said.

Several of the musicians are travelling with their whole families and loved ones left behind are on everyone's minds as the conflict intensifies in southern and eastern parts of the country.

- 'Transmitting our pain' -

The rehearsals are accompanied by therapy sessions.

Participants were sceptical about the idea at first, but organisers said more and more are taking part.

"Music, particularly being able to practise my violin, has helped me to get away from the terrible reality," said Elizaveta Zaitseva, 25.

"Now I can live again in my own world, the one I am used to, the world of music," said Zaitseva, who studies in Nuremberg in Germany.

Thursday's concert will include the works of Ukrainian composers Maxim Berezovsky, Myroslav Skoryk and Boris Lyatoshynsky as well as a piece by Polish composer Henryk Wieniawski.

"It is unfortunately because of the war but our culture has a big opportunity" to make lesser-known composers known in the West, Zaitseva said.

"Europe will become much richer if it discovers the richness of Ukrainian culture."

Speaking at the Warsaw Philharmonic, where the walls are decorated with stark images of the ruins of post-war Warsaw, Zaitseva said she hoped that the music she plays could "access people's souls".

"Through music and art we are speaking to the soul, we are transmitting our pain and our wishes, our hopes into people's hearts through music," she said.

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The Thanaweya Amma (high school) final exams for the academic year 2021/22 will be postponed for two weeks, starting on 26 June instead of 11 June and ending on 21 July, Minister of Education Tarek Shawki said in a press conference on Wednesday, without mentioning the reason behind the postponement.

Exams for subjects whose scores are not added to students total grades  including religious education, national education, economics, and statistics  will be held on 20-21 June, Shawki said.

The Thanaweya Amma exams will be in paper form and will be answered on bubble sheets, Shawki said.

Tests will comprise multiple-choice questions and will not have any essay questions, which will allow for fully electronic exam grading, he added.

Students will not be allowed to enter the exam halls with textbooks or tablets, the minister said.

The exams for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) high schools are scheduled to take place from 20 June till 23 July.

As for visually-impaired students, Thanaweya Amma exams will be conducted from 20 June till Tuesday 19 July, Shawky added.

Final exams for grade 10 and 11 students, or students of the first and second stages of high school, will be held in morning and evening shifts and will be taken in both paper and electronic formats, Shawki said.

Final exams for grade 10 will be held from 11 to 25 May, while exams for grade 11 students will start on 12 May and end on 26 May.

Egyptian students abroad will be able to take exams through an electronic platform provided by the ministry starting 7 May, Shawki said.

Students abroad who cannot access the platform can print the exam and send it back via email to the relevant exam monitoring committee.

This does not apply to students enrolled in schools that teach the Egyptian curriculum in some countries, known as the Egyptian track schools, Shawki said.

Students abroad who wish to join the Egyptian education system after returning to Egypt will have to take placement tests, he added.

Over the past few years, Egypt has introduced changes to the Thanaweya Amma exams, with the aim of eventually replacing the decades-long system of memorising for tests. The new system will involve student-centred teaching and competency-based learning.

The passing rate for the Thanaweya Amma exams in the 2020/2021 academic year  which was attended by roughly 650,000 students  was 74 percent, a significant decrease from the 81.5 percent of the previous year.

As a result, the minimum grades required for admission into Egyptian public universities for the 2021/22 academic year  including the most desirable faculties, such as medicine and engineering  saw a considerable drop for the first time in decades.

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By Trend

The Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) will not implement the decision to ban the export of four Iranian agricultural products, including, tomato, eggplant, potato and onion, the Spokesman for the IRICA, Rouhollah Latifi said, Trend reports citing the administration.

On April 19, the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture Jihad sent a letter to the Iran Customs Administration to temporarily ban the export of the mentioned four agricultural products.

However, the Iranian parliament's economic committee objected to the decision, arguing that the ban would result in a number of reasons, including losses for farmers. As a result, the decision was annulled.

According to Latifi, the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture Jihad has changed its decision addressed to the IRICA, and currently, the export of the mentioned products is not banned.

The spokesman added that the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad may replace the ban on the export of these products with an increase in duties.
The US Defense Department on Wednesday retracted its claim Ukraine had been supplied with more aircraft, saying only parts had been delivered to enable Kyiv to put more jets into the fight against Russia.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby retracted his statement from Tuesday that Ukraine had received fighter jets from an unnamed ally, after weeks of speculation that a neighboring country might provide Russian-made MiG-29s to add to the Ukrainian air force's capabilities against the Russian invaders.

While fixed-wing aircraft have been offered by an unidentified country to bolster Kyiv's defenses, "they have not received the whole aircraft from another nation," Kirby told reporters.

"I was mistaken. They have not received the whole aircraft from another nation," Kirby said of his Tuesday claim.

"That said, Ukrainians have received through the United States coordination and provision enough spare parts and additional equipment such that they have been able to put in operation more fixed-wing aircraft in their fleet than they had even two to three weeks ago," he said.

Separately, a senior US defense official said the parts supply has enabled Ukraine to add 20 previously inoperable jets to its active fighter fleet.

Since early in the war which began on February 24, Ukraine has asked for more aircraft, especially MiG fighters which its pilots are trained to operate.

Three NATO countries -- Poland, Bulgaria, and Slovakia -- have those jets in their fleets.

But the NATO alliance has been cautious, concerned it would be seen as taking a direct role in the fight against Moscow's forces and risking expanding the conflict beyond Ukraine's borders.

Meanwhile, the senior defense official said 14 US howitzers that Washington said last week would be provided to Ukraine were now being delivered to the region, along with ammunition for them.

Around 50 Ukrainians are being trained outside of Ukraine to operate them, the official said.

"They will get trained on how to use the howitzers and then they'll be able to go back into Ukraine and train their colleagues," the official said.

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Turkey on Wednesday accused some of its NATO allies of wanting the war in Ukraine to last longer in order to weaken Russia.

"There are countries within NATO who want the war to continue," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told CNN Turk in an interview.

"They want Russia to become weaker," Cavusoglu said, as talks between Ukrainians and Russians appear to have stalled after the last face-to-face meeting in Istanbul last month. They had been due to continue online.

He did not name any country directly.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Ukrainians were "withdrawing from what there have already been agreements on".

NATO member Turkey has supplied Ukraine with combat drones but has shied away from slapping sanctions on Russia alongside Western allies.

But since Ankara enjoys good relations with Kyiv and Moscow, it has been mediating for an end to the conflict and offered to host a leaders' summit.

Turkey has twice hosted direct negotiations between the two sides, on March 10 between the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers in the southern city of Antalya and on March 29 between the two sides' negotiators in Istanbul.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said the central government in Baghdad supported Turkey's latest offensive against outlawed Kurdish militants in northern Iraq.

The Turkish leader's comments came a day after Iraq summoned Turkey's ambassador to Baghdad to lodge a formal protest against Erdogan's latest military campaign.

Turkey's armed forces have reported the death of two soldiers and dozens of Kurdish militants since the launch Sunday of their third offensive in northern Iraq since 2020.

Erdogan told a parliamentary meeting of his ruling party that both Baghdad and the leaders of the autonomous Kurdish region based in Erbil supported Turkey's ground and air assault.

"I thank the central government in Iraq and the regional administration for their support to our fight against terror," Erdogan said.

"I wish success for our heroic soldiers involved in this operation, which we are carrying out in close cooperation with the central Iraqi government and the regional administration in northern Iraq."

Officials in Baghdad are publicly voicing displeasure over the Turkish military push into the mountains of northern Iraq, and later on Wednesday, the government dismissed Erdogan's claims.

"We promise that everything the Turkish side keeps saying regarding any coordination or agreement with the Iraqi government is not true," foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahhaf said, quoted by state news agency INA.

The foreign ministry on Tuesday said Iraq handed the Turkish ambassador a "firmly-worded note of protest" urging its northern neighbor to "put an end to acts of provocation and unacceptable violations".

Some analysts believe that Iraqi leaders -- while lodging formal protests -- are privately happy that Turkey is trying to punish fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The group is recognized as a terrorist organization by both Ankara and its Western allies.

The PKK has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

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Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi offered his sincerest condolences to his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa over the victims of floods that have recently hit the eastern coastal city of Durban, causing heavy casualties and property damages.

In a phone call on Tuesday, El-Sisi asserted to Ramaphosa his full confidence in the ability of South Africas government and people to face the repercussions of these floods, Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Rady said.

El-Sisi emphasised Egypts support for South Africa in these difficult circumstances and its readiness to provide any aid and assistance South Africa may need as part of its persistent relief and humanitarian efforts.

South Africa has declared a national state of disaster in the wake of the floods in Durban and the KwaZulu-Natal province, which have killed at least 448 people, destroyed about 4,000 homes, and caused the displacement of more than 40,000 people, according to AP.

During the phone call, the South African president expressed his thanks and appreciation for El-Sisis nice gesture, adding that this affirms the keenness of Egypts government and people to strengthen the principles of fraternity, solidarity, and support as per the distinguished relations the two countries share.

Ramaphosa also stated his countrys keenness to revitalise and develop its cooperation with Egypt, especially in light of Cairos active role in Africa and its relevant efforts, which are meant to achieve the African peoples aspirations for stability and development.

Furthermore, the phone call touched on ways to proceed with the current momentum witnessed in various areas of bilateral cooperation, the presidential spokesperson said.

Additionally, the two sides exchanged views on regional files of common interest as well as the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on Africa.

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Muslim nations  according to astronomical calculations  will celebrate the three-day Eid El-Fitr starting Monday, 2 May, said the President of Egypts National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG) Gad El-Qady on Wednesday.

In a statement El-Qady said that in Cairo and in all the Islamic and Arab capitals and cities the crescent will not be spotted at sunset on 29 Ramadan  Saturday, 30 April  and hence Monday will be the 30th of Ramadan.

According to Islamic tradition, Eid El-Fitr begins when the new moon can be spotted with the naked eye, indicating the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan, which is either 29 or 30 days long, according to the lunar calendar.

The official announcement is expected to be made by Egypt's Dar El-Iftaa, the main authority responsible for issuing religious edicts, after observing the crescent moon of Shawwal, the 10th month in the Islamic calendar, on 29 Ramadan.

The crescent sighting is a religious ceremony that has been observed by all Muslim countries for centuries. If the crescent is spotted after sunset in any place in the country, this indicates the end of the Holy month.

In recent years, however, many Muslim-majority countries, including Egypt, have been depending on astronomical calculations to define the start of Islamic lunar months, though crescent sighting remains a tradition, especially in Ramadan.

Earlier this week, Egypt's cabinet announced that the period between Saturday 30 April and Thursday 5 May will be a paid holiday, marking both Labour Day, which falls on 1 May, and Eid El-Fitr.

Eid El-Fitr is one of two major religious holidays in Islam, along with Eid El-Adha, which falls on the 10th day of Dhu El-Hijjah, the 12th month in the Islamic calendar.

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MP Farid El-Biaddi, a member of the leftist-oriented Egyptian Social Democratic Party, announced in a statement on Wednesday that his party's deputies have voted against the balance sheet of the state's 2020/21 budget.

"The balance sheet of this budget, which was approved by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, was rejected and voted down by our party's MPs," said El-Biaddi.

El-Biaddi said the balance sheet of the 2020/21 budget showed that the government has been heavily involved in "foreign borrowing."

"What is much worse is that reports issued by watchdog institutions show that large amounts of foreign loans were not efficiently used or were a matter of corruption practices," said El-Biaddi.

Figures released by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on Monday show that Egypt's foreign debt rose to $145.5 billion at the end of the second quarter of the current fiscal year, from $137.4 billion at the end of the same period of FY 2020/19.

The CBE's figures show that most of Egypt's foreign debt  or $132.7 billion out of a total $145.5 billion  is long-term, compared to $125.9 billion during the same period of FY 2020/19.

As for Egypt's short-term loans, CBE figures show that they reached $12.8 billion at the end of the second quarter of FY 2021/20, compared to $11.480 billion during the same period of FY 2020/19.

Finance Minister Moahmed Maait told MPs on Tuesday that the government of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has formed a committee to study the issue of foreign borrowing and restrict it to very narrow limits.

"The committee will be headed by Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said and will make sure that foreign borrowing is directed to only spending on strategic national projects," said Maait.

El-Biaddi also indicated that the government's report on the 2020/21 budget contained a lot of incorrect figures and statistics.

"For example, the report claimed that total spending on social protection programmes and subsidies had increased by more EGP 1.8 billion than was originally allocated by the budget to reach a total of EGP 338.9 billion," said El-Biaddi, adding that "it is good that the government earmarks greater allocations for social programmes and subsidies, but reports submitted by watchdog institutions like the Central Auditing Agency agree that actual spending on social programmes and subsidies under 2020/21's budget had already decreased by 20 percent to reach just EGP 263.9 billion."

El-Biaddi also said that "many other figures cited by the report on spending on sectors of education and health in the 2020/21 budget contradict figures cited by supervisory and watchdog institutions."

El-Biaddi explained that the report on the 2020/21 budget show that the government's decision to devalue the Egyptian pound to reach an economic reform programme with the IMF has negatively impacted the lives of millions of poor, low and average-income citizens.

"The government promised poor citizens that it would compensate them, but nothing happened and what is much worse is that it again resorted to devaluing the pound last month to borrow again from the IMF and that this would be again at the expense of poor and limited-income citizens," said El-Biaddi.

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Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, summoned Amir Hayek, Ambassador of the State of Israel to the UAE to protest events in Jerusalem and Al Aqsa Mosque, the state news agency WAM said.

Al Hashemy informed Hayek of the UAE strong protest and denunciation of the events taking place in Jerusalem and Al Aqsa Mosque, including attacks on civilians and incursions into holy places that resulted in the injury of a number of civilians.

Al Hashemy stressed the need to immediately stop these events, provide full protection for worshipers, respect the right of Palestinians to practice their religious rites, and halt any practices that violate the sanctity of Al Aqsa Mosque. Moreover, she expressed concern over the escalation of tension that threatens stability and security in the region.

Furthermore, she underscored the need to respect the custodial role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan over the holy sites and endowments in accordance with international law and the historical situation at hand, and not to compromise the authority of the Jerusalem Endowment Administration and Al Aqsa Mosque.

More than 170 Palestinians were injured in clashes with the Israeli police in the last several days, according to the Associated Press.

At least 25 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and 14 people inside Israel by Palestinian attackers in the last two weeks, also according to an AP count.

Al Hashemy stressed the need to foster an appropriate environment that would allow a return to serious negotiations aimed at achieving a just and comprehensive peace and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with legitimate international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

Tensions have run high in recent days, during the confluence of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover.

Palestinian protesters and Israeli police have clashed at a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site, known to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

Five European countries called Tuesday for an end to clashes in Jerusalem following a weekend of violence surrounding the holy site of Al-Aqsa Mosque, in a joint statement issued after an emergency closed-door UN Security Council session.

"Violence needs to stop immediately. Further civilian casualties must be prevented as a priority," the statement by Ireland, France, Estonia, Norway, and Albania said. "The status quo of the holy sites must be fully respected."

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The global rise in food prices is a major challenge for Egypt amid supply chain disruptions and the Russian war in Ukraine, Deputy Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Paolo Mauro told Ahram Online during a press briefing.

Mauro added that Egypts debt to GDP ratio is expected to accelerate to 94 percent before starting to decline over the medium term to 80.7 percent in 2027.

This decline will take place if the budget attains a primary surplus of two percent and the government is able to finance its borrowing at a reasonable cost, he stated.

Mauro asserted that food security is another major challenge Egypt is facing among other food and oil importing countries, especially that Egypt is a large food importer.

He added that the discussions the IMF is holding with Egypt pave the way for the country to receive a fresh loan that is expected to mitigate the severe impacts of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and preserve the countrys s gains from the first wave of reforms, especially those relating to the budget and macroeconomic indices performance.

Director of the IMFs Fiscal Affairs Department Vitor Gaspar noted that food importers, including Egypt, are vulnerable to the increasing food and energy prices and their implications, adding that this hike constrains these countries' fiscal space and push up the debt levels.

According to the Fiscal Monitor report, Egypts total revenue is expected to rise to 21.4 percent of GDP in 2022 and 2023, up from 20 percent in 2021, hitting 24.5 percent in 2024 before slowing down to 21.1 percent in 2027.

Amid the ongoing challenges, the report projected Egypt's general expenditure to widen to 28.2 percent of GDP in 2022 before de-accelerating to 26.7 percent over the medium term.

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The government is diversifying international suppliers and providing additional incentives to local farmers in efforts to manage rising wheat prices in the wake of the conflict in Ukraine.

Egypts Ministry of Agriculture announced last week that it was adding India to the list of countries from which it could source wheat in a decision that came following visits by Egyptian agriculture and pest-analysis officials to port facilities and farms in India.

The addition is part of government efforts to diversify wheat supplies following disruptions because of the war in Ukraine. According to Reuters, India is heading for a record wheat harvest this year thanks to favourable weather conditions in the major wheat-growing areas.

More than 80 per cent of Egypts wheat imports originate from Russia and Ukraine. While supplies from Russia have continued to come through, the blockades of Ukrainian ports have prevented shipments from leaving and pushed exporters to send their crop abroad by rail.

Egypt has enough wheat to cover the next 2.6 months worth of consumption, Cabinet Spokesman Nader Saad said earlier this month. These stocks will soon be replenished by the new harvest that takes place in April in new areas reclaimed from the desert, said Salah Abdel-Meguid, former head of the wheat research department at the Agricultural Research Centre.

In the rest of the country, the harvest takes place between mid-May and mid-June.

Domestic and imported wheat is needed to produce the subsidised bread from which more than 70 million people benefit.

Besides India, Egypt is also reported to be contemplating wheat imports from Pakistan, Mexico, Argentina, and the US. While there are plenty of sources of wheat internationally, price is a determining factor, Abdel-Meguid told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Since Egypt requires some 13 million tons of wheat imports, higher prices mean a bigger hard-currency bill for the country. Egypts is the worlds largest wheat importer. The US department of agricultures Foreign Agriculture Service forecasts Egypts wheat imports in 2021-22 at 13.2 million tons.

While the harvest of the domestic crop is imminent, there is still a need to secure further stocks for next year. The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) last week made its first international wheat purchases since the war in Ukraine broke out, buying 350,000 tons of wheat from France, Russia, and Bulgaria at more than $450 per ton, the highest figure in nearly six years.

Besides seeking wheat from new destinations, the government is encouraging local farmers to deliver as much wheat as possible. While it has increased the price per ardab of wheat (150 kg) by LE65 to between LE865 and LE885, Abdel-Meguid said it could do better.

He hopes it will raise the delivery price to LE1,000 per ardab to encourage farmers to deliver more of their harvest. Another determining factor will also be to pay farmers for their crop straight away, he added, as in previous years there were instances when payments were delayed, leading to complaints from farmers.

High-quality Egyptian wheat is mixed with imported wheat to improve the overall quality and used for the bread subsidy programme.

Hisham Al-Naggar, CEO of the Daltex Corporation which cultivates wheat in newly reclaimed areas, agrees that the delivery price should not be less than LE1,000 per ardab if the government wants farmers not only to deliver their crop, but also to keep cultivating wheat in the next season.

He said he understood the dilemma and the pressure that higher wheat prices are placing on the government budget, but said that a higher delivery price would be a good investment that would encourage farmers to cultivate larger areas of wheat in the future.

While the government bought wheat at last weeks tender price of above LE8,000 per ton, it is will be paying local farmers around LE6,000.

The government currently spends LE51 billion to subsidise around 270 million loaves of bread produced daily, a statement by the Ministry of Supply issued in February said. Reforming the subsidy system is on the government radar, however, and officials have said that the price, which has stood at LE0.05 per loaf for decades, needs to increase.

The government has said it subsidises each loaf by LE0.65, and officials have mentioned possible moves to introduce targeted cash transfers instead. However, some economists have warned that continuing the bread subsidies is important to protect the poor from hunger.

In March, the minister of finance said that higher wheat prices would cost the budget an additional LE12 to LE15 billion. The figure is estimated to be much higher now, following the runaway prices witnessed at the latest GASC tender last week.

The government hopes to collect six million tons of wheat from local farmers this year, up from 3.6 million in 2020. It is also implementing strict rules on wheat deliveries, saying that it expects a minimum delivery of 12 ardab per feddan from farmers and threatening legal action against those selling their crop outside the system.

It also said violators would be deprived of subsidised fertilisers and other forms of support. The owners of large farms who deliver at least 90 per cent of their production will receive subsidised fertilisers for summer crops, it said.

This year is ideal for wheat cultivation, Abdel-Sayed said, adding that he expects the average yield to range from between 19.5 to 20 ardab per feddan, which would mean one million tons of extra crop and could mean a bumper crop of 10 million tons.

The US Department of Agriculture Foreign Agriculture Service forecasts Egypts wheat production in the marketing year 2021-22 to reach nine million metric tons, up by 1.12 per cent over the 8.9 million in the previous marketing year.

It attributed the rise to an increase in the total area harvested to 1.4 million hectares, up from 1.39 million the year before.

Abdel-Meguid hopes for a successful harvest season this year, but he also warned that there could be wastage of up to 25 per cent of the crop during the harvest and in the bread-manufacturing process.

The future of Egyptian wheat cultivation lay in the newly reclaimed areas, where, with proper investment, productivity per feddan could reach as high as 22 ardab, he said.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), a multilateral financial firm, has become the first Mena financial institution to receive a solicited sustainability rating from VE, part of Moodys ESG Solutions.

In its report, Moodys ESG Solutions noted that the A2 assigned to Apricorp is based on its capacity and willingness to integrate ESG factors into its strategy, operations, and risk management, which were formalised in its ESG policy framework.

Commenting on the rating, Dr Ahmed Ali Attiga, CEO of Apicorp, said: I am proud that Apicorps extensive work in mainstreaming sustainability across its operations has been recognised with this A2 Sustainability Rating. Having such a reputed, independent, third-party assessment of our progress positions us as an exemplar for best practices in ESG integration and a prime enabler of green financing to achieve a balanced, responsible energy transition across the Mena region.

Continued future growth

Notably, Moodys reported that Apicorps share of project financing in renewables and other areas of climate finance has increased over the last three years by 10 percentage points to reach 13%, indicating continued future growth.

The near-term progress is buoyed by its successful debut green bonds in 2021, which aligns with its strategic dedication is to combat climate change through its lending and financing practices.

With good governance and its energy transition agenda, Apicorp developed new protocols to oversee its green financing work, including establishing a cross-functional green bond committee to ensure that projects funded through its green issuances are properly aligned.

Sustainable and inclusive development

The rating reflects Apicorps commitment to sustainable and inclusive development. Our green bond issuance, for example, enables us to provide new avenues for investment in projects that further the accessibility of safe, affordable, and renewable energy sources for communities. Furthermore, these projects will be governed by globally benchmarked ESG standards in terms of climate change mitigation, sustainable use of water resources, the transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention and biodiversity preservation, Dr Attiga added.

Moodys assessment also points towards an advanced performance in the companys non-discrimination and diversity practices, borne out in a sustained rise of women in management positions, which has increased by 20 percentage points from 2018 to 2020 to reach 24%.

The report also comments on Apricorps performance in corruption prevention, which is noted as advanced, with comprehensive commitments and internal controls to prevent fraud and business ethics risks.

The report stated that Apicorps formalised corporate governance framework covers all recommended features in different Board-related charters, HR policy, and risk management charter. -- TradeArabia News Service
Al-Ahram Weekly reports on this weeks discussions on human rights between leading EU and Egyptian officials.

Following a meeting with the European Unions Special Human Rights Representative Eamon Gilmore who paid a three-day visit to Egypt this week, Moushira Khattab, president of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), issued a statement on 14 April saying that human rights in Egypt face challenges as well as promising opportunities.

During his 11-13 April visit to Egypt, Gilmore met with Foreign Minister and Chair of the Supreme Standing Committee of Human Rights Sameh Shoukri, Assistant Foreign Minister and head of the Technical Secretariat of the Supreme Standing Committee of Human Rights Khaled Al-Bakli and other officials.

Gilmore reported he had held intensive talks with members of the National Council for Human Rights, the National Council for Women, the National Council for Disabilities, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, civil society organisations, human rights defenders, and individuals with an interest in the Egyptian human rights environment.

While pointing that in his meetings with Egyptian officials he welcomed the publication of Egypts National Human Rights Strategy 2021-26, Gilmore stressed that had drawn the attention of officials to reports of the ill treatment of detainees.

I raised individual cases of allegedly mistreated detainees, and also sought clarification on Egypts commitment to review the death penalty for certain crimes, Gilmore said.

I also held extensive discussions on the application of the NGO law and its bylaws, and received assurances that case 173 had been closed and that consequential travel bans and asset freezes are being lifted.

In case 173  known in Egypt as the foreign funding case  a number of international NGO workers were handed down prison sentences in 2013 ranging between 1-5 years.

Gilmore said he would provide feedback on his visit to the EUs High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel. I also intend to follow up on the visit through further engagement with Egyptian officials, and I really appreciate the frank and constructive engagement I have had in Egypt over the past three days, he said.

A day after Gilmores visit ended, the EU issued a statement voicing concern over the death of economist Ayman Hadhoud in a psychiatric hospital.

In recent days reports have emerged that Hadhoud was the victim of a forced disappearance. His family say they were only notified of his death on 9 April, a month after he had died.

Hadhoud, 48, was a co-founder of the Reform and Development Party led by political activist and Deputy Chairman of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat. The party issued a statement on 13 April saying Hadhoud had recently exhibited many unbalanced behavioural patterns.

On Monday Rawya Mokhtar, a member of the parliamentary group of the Reform and Development Party, said the party had submitted an urgent statement asking the government for an explanation of the death of Hadhoud.

I ask that a fact-finding committee be formed to investigate the truth about the internal conditions of psychiatric hospitals in Egypt, particularly after the mysterious death of economic researcher Ayman Hadhoud in one of these hospitals, said Mokhtar.

Journalist and independent MP Mustafa Bakri told Al-Ahram Weekly that despite the prosecution-generals statement on Ayman Hadhouds death making it clear that he died from a heart attack while at the Abbasiya psychiatric hospital, some people have tried to portray the case to show as one of forced disappearance.

Bakri, nonetheless, said that due to conflicting reports about Hadhouds death, he supported Mokhtars request that a fact-finding committee be formed to look into conditions in psychiatric hospitals and the circumstances of Hadhouds death.

According to a prosecutor-general offices statement on Monday an autopsy confirmed that Hadhoud died due to chronic heart disease, and the report of the Forensic Medicine Authority stated that the body of Hadhoud showed no signs of injury indicating criminal activity, violence, resistance, or any suspicious activity.

Hadhouds brother Omar is reported to have said that his brother had been suffering psychological and nervous problems caused by financial troubles and the illness of his sister, but had postponed treatment. Omar added that his brother had previously suffered twice from psychological episodes like the one leading to his arrest in February.

According to a statement issued by the prosecution on 12 April, the late economic researcher was arrested on 6 February after he was reported by a building guard in Zamalek for attempting to break into an apartment. The guard said Hadhoud was displaying erratic behaviour at the time.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Al-Ahram Weekly reports on the latest exchange of official visits between Egypt and the US.

Developments on the Palestinian front were the focus of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisis Saturday meeting with a delegation from the US Congress led by Senator Richard Shelby.

Al-Sisi underlined Egypts commitment to reaching a just and comprehensive solution that guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people, and stressed the importance of maintaining constant communication with Congressional leaders and other US officials to facilitate coordination on issues of mutual concern, said Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Radi after the meeting.

Radis words succinctly describe the purpose of last weeks meeting between Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington. The regular exchange of visits, said Shoukri, targets the boosting of bilateral strategic relations.

The strategic partnership between Egypt and the US over four decades has been mutually beneficial there is much more work for both of us to do to further strengthen the relationship and also to deal with the various challenges, he said during a joint press conference.

Tarek Fahmi, political science professor at Cairo University, said Shoukris visit, like his previous trip to Washington in November 2021, would have focused on pressing files, and in the case of the latest trip have included developments in Jerusalem after Israeli police raided Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday.

It is significant, says a diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity, that the meeting failed to produce any kind of denouncement of Israeli practices let alone calls for a return to the peace process. Although Blinken said during the Negev summit last month that conditions must be created for negotiations on a two-state solution, no action has been taken to translate this into action, the diplomat continued.

Rakha Hassan, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, was unsurprised at the outcome. The Biden administration has said it supports a two-state solution but has done nothing to translate that support into action, he said.

The talks of Shoukri and Blinken included Libya, and the measures taken by Cairo to complete the transitional phase, after the US, says Fahmi, finally realised the important role Egypt plays.

They would also have addressed Egypts position on Iran after Cairo declined to sign up to any alliance at last months Negev summit, and on Ukraine. According to Fahmi, there were fears in Washington that Egypt would support Russia in its war.

Climate change was also on the agenda, as Egypt prepares for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), scheduled to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh in November. Shoukri met with David Thorne, the senior adviser to US special presidential envoy for climate, during the visit.

In February, Shoukri and John Kerry, the presidential envoy for climate, launched the US-Egypt climate working group during Kerrys visit to Cairo. The group aims to enhance bilateral and multilateral climate goals ahead of COP27.

Last month, Shoukri and Kerry highlighted the importance of activating the climate working group at the earliest opportunity.

Human rights would also have been discussed after the issue was also raised during the launch of the Egypt-US strategic dialogue in November last year.

Blinken said then that Egypt had more work to do on human rights. Shoukri responded by saying human rights must be balanced with other considerations, and emphasised the importance of stability. He referred to positive development in the file of human rights, highlighting the development of Egypts national strategy for human rights in Egypt, and the recent decision to cancel the state of emergency.

On the sidelines of his visit, Shoukri met Robert Malley, the US special envoy to Iran, to exchange views on the situation in the Middle East. He also participated in a roundtable discussion at the Middle East Institute, discussing strategic ties, Egypts view on regional issues and challenges, and its regional and international role.

Last week marked the centennial of Egypt-US diplomatic relations, established in 1922.

There is a lot of history but, I hope, a lot of good history we can actually make together in the months and years ahead, Blinken said during a joint press conference.

To mark the occasion, Blinken handed Shoukry two official letters as a gift from the US, one a letter recognising Egypts independence from US President Warren Harding to King Ahmed Fouad, the second a letter from US State Secretary Charles Hughes to congratulate Egypts prime minister Abdel-Khalek Tharwat Pasha on independence.

The Egypt-US Strategic Dialogue was launched in the mid-1990s, but came to a halt in 2009 before resuming again in 2015. Last Novembers session was the first since 2015.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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At least three people were killed and 21 were injured in new Russian shelling on Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv Tuesday, local authorities said.

The announcement came a day after strikes on the city, which lies close to the Russian border, killing five people.

"At the current time in Kharkiv, three people have unfortunately died," regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said on Telegram.

He also told Ukraine's Hromadske television that 21 people were injured in the strikes Tuesday in four different residential areas.

"The intensity of the shelling of Kharkiv has increased," Sinegubov said, asking residents to take shelter and not go outside.

The governor of the eastern Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said later on Tuesday that three civilians were killed by Russian shelling: one in Kramatorsk, one in Avdiivka and the third in Blagodatnoye.

"Five civilians were also wounded, including a child," Kyrylenko said on Telegram.

Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city that had nearly 1.5 million inhabitants before Russia invaded in late February, saw heavy fighting at the start of Moscow's offensive but always remained under Ukrainian control.

Ukraine fears the city could be a major target in a new Russian offensive, which President Volodymyr Zelensky said had begun Monday.

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Russia is assaulting cities and towns across Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland in what both sides call a new phase of the war after losing about 25% of the combat power it sent into Ukraine, according to Pentagon estimates.

Capturing the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region would give President Vladimir Putin a badly needed victory, slicing Ukraine in two and depriving it of key industrial assets.

The Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said air-launched missiles destroyed 13 Ukrainian troops and weapons locations while artillery hit 1,260 Ukrainian military facilities and 1,214 troops concentrations over the last 24 hours.

The claims could not be independently verified.

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Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

Mariupol officer warns facing 'last days'

A commander in the strategic port city of Mariupol's besieged Azovstal power plant issues a desperate plea for help, saying his marines are "maybe facing our last days, if not hours".

"The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to one," Serhiy Volyna from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade says.

New planes

The Pentagon says that Ukraine recently received fighter planes and parts to bolster its air force while declining to specify the number of aircraft and their origin.

Kyiv has asked its Western partners to provide MiG-29s, which its pilots already know how to fly, and a handful of Eastern European countries have.

Donbas offensive

Russia says its forces have carried out dozens of air strikes in eastern Ukraine as part of a new offensive in the Donbas region that had been expected for days.

Moscow says the strikes targeted Ukrainian positions in parts of the Donbas as well as in towns close to the eastern frontline.

"We are gradually implementing our plan to liberate the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics," Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu says, referring to eastern Ukraine's two rebel regions, which Moscow has recognised as independent states.

Fighting in Mariupol

Fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces is "ongoing" in Mariupol, Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, says.

Russia earlier on Tuesday called on Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to "immediately" lay down their arms in a new ultimatum.

Russian forces are believed to have gradually pushed their way into the city, pinning Ukrainian troops down to giant factories near the port, which are equipped with vast underground tunnels.

Biden talks with allies

US President Joe Biden holds a virtual meeting of allies to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

The videoconference brings together the leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Romania, Poland, Italy, Canada and Japan.

The United States and the European Union have reached a "broad consensus" on the need to increase pressure on Russia through new sanctions, the Italian government says after the talks.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says after the meeting that Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible for war crimes in Ukraine that have already left thousands of civilians dead.

Easter truce call

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounces Russia's fresh offensive in eastern Ukraine and calls for a four-day truce to mark Orthodox Holy Week.

"Hundreds of thousands of lives hang in the balance," the United Nations chief says, adding a truce would allow safe passage for civilians to flee the eastern war zone and for humanitarian aid to be delivered to the hardest-hit areas.

New US arms delivery

The first shipments of a new US military aid package have arrived at Ukraine's borders to be handed over, a senior Pentagon official says.

The package includes 18 155mm howitzers for the first time, as well as 40,000 artillery rounds, 200 M113 armoured personnel carriers, 11 Mi-17 helicopters and 100 armoured multi-purpose vehicles.

Growth hit

The "seismic" impact of the war in Ukraine is spreading worldwide, causing the IMF to sharply downgrade its 2022 global growth forecast to 3.6 percent, 0.8 points lower than in January.

The latest World Economic Outlook shows Ukraine suffering a 35 percent collapse this year, while Russia sees a drop of 8.5 percent.

Diplomats expelled

Russia says it is expelling 36 diplomats from Belgium and the Netherlands in retaliation for similar measures taken against its envoys in the two EU countries.

Nearly 5 mn have fled Ukraine: UN

More than 4.9 million Ukrainians have fled their country following the Russian invasion, says the UN's refugee agency.

The UNHCR says 4,980,589 Ukrainians have left since Russia invaded on February 24 -- a figure up 46,174 on Monday's total.

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An adviser to Ukraine's president has challenged Russia to conduct an urgent round of talks in Mariupol.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Twitter that he and other Ukrainian negotiators are ready for any format of negotiations to save the lives of Mariupol defenders and civilians trapped in the city.

He tweeted that ``we're ready to hold a ``special round of negotiations'' right in Mariupol. One on one. Two on two.''

Podolyak said that Ukraine is ready for talks without any conditions ``to save our guys, Azov, military, civilians, children, the living, and the wounded. Everyone. Because they are ours. Because they are in my heart. Forever.''

There was no immediate response from Russia to Podolyak's offer.

Mariupol has faced a Russian siege and relentless bombardment for seven weeks, and the last remaining Ukrainian defenders are currently trapped at a giant steel mill encircled by the Russians. They have rejected the Russian ultimatum to surrender or get killed.

Zelenskyy said up to 1,000 civilians could be trapped at the Azovstal steel plant.

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Over a million Ukrainians have returned to their country since Russia launched its devastating invasion at the end of February, a spokesman for Kyiv's border force said Wednesday.

"From that period of time, 1.1 million of our citizens entered Ukraine," border official Andriy Demchenko said at a press conference.

He added that "almost five million people" crossed the Ukrainian border in both directions since war with Moscow erupted.

Demchenko did not specify how many of those returning had earlier left the country in connection with the war.

He also said more than 2,000 people were arrested for attempting to cross the border illegally.

The United Nations said Wednesday that more than five million Ukrainians have fled the country since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion.

UNCHR, the UN refugee agency, said 5,034,493 Ukrainians have left since February 24, the day Putin launched his offensive.

"Eight weeks into the conflict, we are at five million and counting, with five million unique stories of loss and trauma," said deputy UNHCR chief Kelly T Clements.

It is Europe's fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.

The amount of people returning to the war-torn country has triggered some warnings from authorities.

Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko earlier this month told residents of the city who fled had the conflict not to return home yet as Russia was still targeting the capital with missile strikes.

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About 1,000 civilians are trapped at a steel mill in Mariupol along with Ukrainian soldiers, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.

``Behind the backs of our guys in Mariupol there are around a thousand civilians, including women and children,'' he said after talks with European Council President Charles Michel.

Zelenskyy added that Russia has stonewalled Ukraine's attempts to negotiate a safe exit for them. ``We are open to different formats of exchange of our people for Russian people, Russian military that they have left behind,`` he said.

Ukraine also has tried to get Russia to agree on a humanitarian corridor to evacuate the 120,000 people who Zelenskyy said to remain under siege in Mariupol.

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Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed on Wednesday with UK Minister for South Asia, North Africa, the UN and the Commonwealth at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Lord Ahmad boosting British investments in Egypt and the issue of human rights in the country.

In a meeting in Cairo, Shoukry affirmed Egypts aspiration to enhance British engagement in giant development projects in Egypt and the exploitation of promising Egyptian investment opportunities, a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs read.

Shoukry, who is also president-designate of the 2022 UN Climate Conference (COP27), highlighted to Lord Ahmad the Egyptian national efforts regarding transitioning to a green economy and this steps significance, especially in light of Egypts scheduled hosting of the conference in November.

Egypt is gearing up to host the climate summit this year with ambitions to turn climate change-related pledges to action and ensuring that developing countries receive the required funding to face climate change.

Late in March, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson affirmed in a phone call with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi the UKs keenness to continue cooperating with Egypt in its efforts to confront climate change and any measures it takes to boost the economy.

El-Sisi told Johnson that Egypt will adopt a comprehensive and impartial approach during its presidency of the conference to build on the success achieved by last years COP26 and ensure that the conference achieves positive results that support international climate action.

Human rights, bilateral cooperation

The top Egyptian diplomat highlighted to Lord Ahmad Egypts achievements in human rights as part of the countrys National Strategy for Human Rights.

He also reviewed with the British minister the relevant Egyptian efforts to uphold the principles of citizenship and equality, promoting the values of tolerance and renewing religious discourse within the framework of efforts to combat extremism.

The meeting underlined the importance of holding the first partnership council between Egypt and the UK under the co-chairmanship of Shoukry and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in order to further enhance bilateral cooperation and hold talks on a host of issues of mutual interest, the statement said.

Shoukry also welcomed the UK's decision to lift a travel advice for the southern part of South Sinai governorate, noting that this will contribute to increasing the tourist inflow from Britain, said the spokesman.

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One thing is for sure, they are getting tired of the restrictions. Asked how they buy food, 56.7 percent of respondents said they go to offline venues like supermarkets, while only 26.3 percent keep using online delivery. Even among young people, who are thought to be more comfortable with online shopping, 49.3 percent favor going to the stores and only 26.4 percent to shop online.

Pollster Tillion Pro surveyed the spending patterns of 5,111 people between 20 to 60 to analyze the way Koreans eat, dress and shelter amid the "new normal."

A year has passed since the coronavirus pandemic hit Korea on Jan. 20, 2020 and the unprecedented reaction across the world has changed all aspects of people's lives.

One 43-year-old working mother with two children said she bought 80 percent of her groceries and other daily necessities online in the early phase of the pandemic. But a year later, she buys 80 percent of those products offline. "I realized that the quality products I bought online varied too much," Chung said.

Others go to superstores not just to buy necessities. "I like to move around, but gyms are closed and it's not easy to go outside due to the freezing weather," said a 45-year-old office worker. "Superstores are the only places I can go to get some air."

Another 45-year-old office worker said, "You might be able to find a wide variety of products online, but there are products you need to go to offline stores to buy. When that need arises, I put on a mask and make a quick trip to the supermarket."

Some 42.5 percent of respondents said their living expenses decreased over the past year, while 33.5 percent said it increased. What was especially noteworthy was that older people tightened their purse strings more than younger ones.

Among respondents in their 60s, 48.3 percent said their spending declined, compared to 44.9 percent of respondents in their 50s, 40.6 percent in their 40s, 40.4 percent in their 30s and 38.2 percent in their 20s.

So why did young people save less? One 29-year-old who lives alone in Seoul said, "In my age group there's just very little spending you can cut down on. My expenditures declined because I stopped going to the gym, but then I spent more money ordering food. There are only so many corners I can cut."

Prof. Kim Si-wol at Konkuk University said, "Younger people tend to live alone and their spending is concentrated on basic needs like food and rent. That means they have little room to reduce spending."

Some 47.7 percent said that they saved most money in leisure and travel. As global air traffic ground to a standstill, most people were left stranded at home.

One 25-year-old office worker said, "Two years ago, I spent W5 million on vacations in Australia and Southeast Asia, but this year I spent pretty much nothing on overseas travel" (US$1=W1,100).

"I also spent practically nothing on clothes since I mostly work from home wearing my sweats," he added. He used the money saved to buy stocks for the first time, snapping up W2 million worth of Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor shares.

Spending on clothing and cosmetics also plummeted, 60.2 percent of respondents said. But spending on home appliances increased to make lockdown more bearable.

One in four people said they got a new computer or laptop due to telecommuting and online classes. A 50-year-old housewife bought a dozen household appliances last year, including a robot vacuum cleaner, two bidets, a massage chair, an induction oven, a dishwasher and a TV. "I started spending more time at home and ended up watching home shopping channels that fueled impulse buying," she admits.

Will spending habits return to the old normal after the pandemic ends? Prof. Lee Jun-young at Sangmyung University said, "Declines in overseas travel and growth in sales of household appliances may be temporary phenomena, but other areas of business will see long-term effects. People got a taste of telecommuting and mobile shopping, which will end up becoming indispensable parts of our lives."
Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, is undertaking a week of intensive research and testing on over 30 flights to test operational efficiencies, technology and procedures that will reduce carbon emissions.

In an expansion of its ongoing sustainability flight testing regime, the week-long programme, coinciding with Earth Day on April 22, includes over 20 commercial flights operating across Etihads network to test contrail avoidance technologies in partnership with Satavia, a UK-based green aerospace company.

The airline will also operate up to 13 dedicated EcoFlights testing a range of flight and engine optimisation initiatives, with successful trials to be incorporated into regular scheduled operations. Each of these flight tests will be operated on Etihads fleet of fuel-efficient A350 and 787 aircraft, spearheaded by the Etihad Greenliner, and Etihads newest aircraft, the Sustainable 50.

Real world testing

Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said: Etihad has demonstrated its commitment to sustainability over the last three years, leading the industry through real world testing and application of technology and processes that provide incremental environmental benefit every time we fly.

The tests were conducting this week are just the latest initiatives in our long running and comprehensive sustainability programme, because for us, sustainability is a priority every day, not just once a year when its convenient and expected. The results we develop will add to the body of work and knowledge base weve built to support the aviation industry on its journey to decarbonisation.

The bulk of tests conducted over the week are part of a year-long partnership with Satavia to enable contrail prevention, integrating atmospheric modelling with operational flight planning to prevent contrail formation.

Aircraft contrails

Aircraft contrails, or condensation trails, are clouds made up of aircraft-generated ice crystals, which cause a net surface heating effect globally by trapping atmospheric heat. Contrails cause up to 60% of aviations total climate impact, the equivalent to two percent of all human impact.

Dr Adam Durant, CEO of Satavia, said: Our understanding of contrails rests on decades of atmospheric science, which can now be combined with high-performance computer modelling to identify contrail formation zones and optimise flight plans for contrail prevention.

Following these tests, we will work with Etihad to quantify the climate benefit arising from contrail prevention on a flight-by-flight basis. This will lay the groundwork for future conversion into tradable carbon credits incentivising widespread adoption of contrail prevention across the aviation sector.

Software solution

In contrast to many green aerospace initiatives, contrail prevention is a software solution that can be implemented in the near-term through technical integration with flight operations.

By working with Satavia to implement contrail prevention in day-to-day activity, Etihad is taking the lead on an important issue facing the entire industry, said Douglas. We have to think about aviations indirect, non-CO2 effects as well as direct climate impacts, and contrail prevention is the key to making swift progress in this field.

In addition to contrail avoidance R&D flight tests, Etihad will operate up to 13 dedicated EcoFlights, following six previous sustainability focused operations since 2019, including the EY20 Sustainable Flight from London to Abu Dhabi in October last year, which reduced carbon emissions by 72% compared to a similar flight in 2019.

Test and trial

These flights will further test and trial operational initiatives to evaluate and confirm learnings from past ecoFlights for flight path optimisation, including optimised climb and continuous descent, optimal departure runway, last minute engine start-up, single engine taxi procedures network wide and fight deck technology solutions.

In parallel to the research and testing flights, Etihad is also publishing its first Sustainability Report. To be released on Earth Day 2022, this publicly-available report documents the previous two years of the airlines sustainability efforts  from ground-based electric tractors, to airspace efficiency improvements, and even to experimental test-flying with NASA and Boeing. With two years of progress towards reducing the impact on the planet from its operations, Etihad is well on the way to achieving the ambitious sustainability commitments.

In January 2019, Etihad announced its goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and halving net emission levels by 2035. It has since gone on to form the industrys most comprehensive, cross organisational aviation sustainability initiative, spearheaded by its Greenliner and Sustainable50 programmes in partnership with Boeing, Airbus, GE and Rolls Royce.

Through these programmes, and Etihads ongoing research and testing initiatives such as EcoFlights, Etihad encourages and invites partners from across the aviation sector to join and test sustainability initiatives on scheduled 787 and A350 operations. The results are then processed and validated, with the most sustainable initiatives used as a base for improving the performance of the global airline community.-- TradeArabia News Service
China says it has signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands that has raised concerns among Australia and the United States of a growing Chinese influence in the South Pacific.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing Thursday that the agreement was recently signed by Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Wang said the purpose of the new pact is to "promote social stability and long-term peace and security" in the Pacific archipelago and would not target any third party.

A draft of the agreement emerged on social media late last month after the Solomon Islands confirmed it was negotiating a deal with Beijing. The draft included a provision that could allow Beijing to send armed police and soldiers to the Solomons, as well as base its navy ships off the Solomons coast.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a "wholehearted" apology Tuesday for attending parties that were banned during COVID-19 lockdowns. However, he did say he didn't know he was breaking the rules.

Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak have been under investigation for 12 parties at both 10 Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, some of which were attended by the ministers and their staff.

Police said some 50 people could face fines or other penalties over the parties. The political opposition in Britain has called for Johnson's resignation over the scandal. This week, there will be a parliamentary debate and vote on whether to censure Johnson.


China will launch three more astronauts to its newest space station in June after the latest crew returned this weekend following a six-month stay in orbit, an official said Sunday.

The crew of the Shenzhou 14 capsule will spend six months on the Tiangong to add two modules to the station, Hao Chun, director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, told a news conference.

China's ambitious space program launched its first astronaut into orbit in 2003, landed robot rovers on the moon in 2013, and on Mars last year. Officials have discussed a possible crewed mission to the moon.

The core module of the Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace, was launched in April 2021. Plans call for completing construction this year. The Wentian module will be launched in July and the Mengtian module in October, Hao said.

Near the end of the Shenzhou 14 crew's mission, three more astronauts will be launched aboard Shenzhou 15 for a six-month stay, Hao said. He added that the two crews would overlap for three to five days, marking the first time the station has six people aboard.


The U.S. lifted a travel ban to Korea on Monday, switching the travel advisory from the highest level -- "do not travel" -- to the lowest.

The State Department made its own decision independently of the advisories of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said last week that its travel advisory levels "will no longer automatically correlate with the CDC COVID-19 travel health notice level."
KYODO NEWS - Apr 20, 2022 - 15:20 | Feature, All, Japan

A restaurant in a city east of Tokyo run by a Russian mother and daughter is planning to hire evacuees from Ukraine as a way to help people get back on their feet and express opposition to the war there.

Anastasia and Daiana Stetsyuk, aged 40 and 20 respectively, operate Russian restaurant Matreshka, which opened four years ago in the city of Chiba and serves home cuisine including borscht.

"Although (the evacuees) may be still feeling anxious after coming to Japan, we'd like to do whatever we can to help," said Daiana, whose mother was born in the populous city of Khabarovsk in Russia's Far East and came to Japan for work 20 years ago.

Anastasia's father is Ukrainian and she has relatives and friends in the country, which has been under attack by Russia since February.

After the Russian invasion began, she spent days in shock. When she learned evacuees were coming to Japan in around late March, she began making calls to hire them on the restaurant's social media accounts.

So far they have had exchanges with more than 10 people and directly met four about potential work, with most of them women in their 30s or 40s. Among them were individuals in Japan for the first time and those who have lost people to the invasion.

"We avoided touching on painful subjects, and gave them positive information about what kind of support they can get," Daiana said.

Individuals working in the kitchen need no Japanese ability. If issues including those concerning working visas can be cleared, they intend to hire as many people as they can.

The restaurant also sells bento lunch boxes at supermarkets and runs a food truck.

On social media, Daiana has been subject to messages written in Japanese telling her to "go back to Russia," but as she has continued to put out messages of support, so too has she received words of encouragement.

Although Daiana was advised by relatives in Russia to refrain from making statements for fear she would attract the authorities' attention, she remains passionate. "It's a situation where we don't know if Ukrainian people can survive. I have to do what I can now."

Related coverage:

Japan mulls "quasi-refugee" status for people fleeing conflicts

Japan firm donates 1,000 interpreting devices to help Ukrainian evacuees

Russian wayfinding sign at station in Tokyo uncovered after criticism
KYODO NEWS - Apr 20, 2022 - 22:54 | All, Japan

Japan is considering a cash handout program of 50,000 yen ($390) per child for low-income households as part of the government's economic package to cushion the impact from rising prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, sources with knowledge of the plan said Wednesday.

The package would also include more subsidies for oil wholesalers to bring down retail gasoline prices, and financial assistance to struggling smaller firms and to livestock farmers hit by higher feed costs as the war in Ukraine has sent grain prices surging, the sources said.

The government is weighing expanding the already implemented 100,000 yen cash handout program for struggling households that have been exempt from residential tax payments due to low income since this month.

The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito is speeding up work to bridge their differences as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida aims to announce details of the relief package possibly next week.

A major sticking point is how the envisaged package will be funded as the LDP has resisted calls from Komeito for drafting a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year that began this month.

Kishida, who heads the LDP, has said the use of reserve funds in the state budget will do. The government and the LDP want to funnel over 2 trillion yen from the 5.5 trillion yen in reserve funds for the relief package, according to the sources.

The secretaries general of the ruling parties will seek to resolve the funding issue, Komeito chief Natsuo Yamaguchi told reporters after visiting Kishida at the prime minister's office on Wednesday.

The 50,000 yen cash handout program, likely using about 200 billion yen in the reserve funds, is designed to support each child aged 18 and younger from a single-parent family or a household that has been exempt from residential taxes due to low income, according to the sources.

The measures are meant to address growing concern about the negative impact of rising energy and food prices on households at a time of an anemic economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The yen's sharp fall has also aggravated the pain for resource-poor Japan as a weak yen inflates import costs.

To mitigate the impact of higher fuel costs that threaten to cool consumer sentiment, the government is planning to raise the amount of subsidies for oil wholesalers from the current 25 yen per liter, the sources said.

The cash handout plan, although limited in scope, could still be taken by critics and opposition lawmakers, as a cash splurge ahead of the House of Councillors election, expected in July.

An earlier idea in the ruling coalition to give cash handouts to older people hit by a fall in public pension benefits was scrapped in the face of similar criticism.

The government and the LDP-Komeito coalition are leaning toward the view they can gain public support as long as the target of cash handouts is limited to struggling households and child-rearing families, the sources said.
By Kanna Nakamura, Hiyori Inagaki, Satoe Matsumoto and Misa Ogawa, KYODO NEWS - Apr 20, 2022 - 15:50 | Feature, All, Japan

A Vietnamese woman who came to Japan as a technical trainee and feared being forced to return home when she became pregnant, was arrested for allegedly abandoning the bodies of stillborn twins she gave birth to while alone at home.

Le Thi Thuy Linh was sentenced in January to three months in prison, suspended for two years. She has appealed to the Supreme Court, claiming the verdict would have been different had the judge known the plight of foreign trainees.

The 23-year-old may have been found guilty because she is a technical trainee, her defense counsel asserts, while the point of legal dispute was whether she had left the bodies without burial -- an illegal act regarded as corpse abandonment -- or was preparing to bury them.

Her isolation during childbirth highlights the predicament of many foreign interns working at companies and farms in Japan under the government-sponsored technical training program, her defense counsel said. Such workers are mostly supervised by Japanese intermediary organizations.

"If the judge who wrote this decision had understood how much I and other technical trainees suffer and how we are afraid of our employers and supervising entities, the result would be different," Linh said in a written message to a press conference that her defense team held in Kumamoto, southwestern Japan, in February.

The team said its campaign seeking her acquittal has garnered more than 80,000 signatures of support.

Linh began working from 2018 at an orange farm in Kumamoto Prefecture and became pregnant in the summer of 2020.

While Japanese law prohibits detrimental treatment of pregnant workers, Linh had heard nothing about it from the farm nor the intermediary that introduced her to the workplace.

She was also aware that a number of trainees had been forced to return home due to pregnancy.

As her family relied on her remittances, she could not return home. An abortion drug she bought online did not work. On Nov. 15, 2020, she gave birth to twin boys who did not breathe.

Naming the boys "wise" and "vitality" in Vietnamese, Linh wrote a letter saying, "I'm sorry, my twin babies. Please sleep peacefully." She placed the letter along with their bodies, which she wrapped in towels, in a cardboard box that she sealed with tape.

Linh put the box in another that she also sealed and placed it on a shelf.

She was arrested on Nov. 19 after she mentioned the stillbirths at a hospital.

During her trial, Linh's defense team argued she kept the bodies at home with the intention of burying them and so did not abandon them.

The Fukuoka High Court dismissed the defense argument, ruling Linh had sought to hide the bodies because she placed them in sealed boxes after concealing her pregnancy in an effort to continue working in Japan.

Her actions hurt religious sentiments and feelings regarding mourning the dead, the court said.

After the ruling, lawyer Hiroki Ishiguro, who leads the defense team, said Linh sealed the boxes so the twins would not "feel cold," when she was close to her limits physically and mentally after giving birth and bleeding heavily.

"Is it appropriate to view it as disrespectful of the dead?" he asked.

With the case set to be considered by the top court, the defense team is concerned about whether a male-dominated bench would be able to understand the burdens of childbirth. Only two of the court's 15 justices are women, and five of the 15 try each case.

The defense team solicited opinions about their client's behavior, asking whether it was disrespectful of the dead, from mothers, obstetricians and religious activists as well as visitors to its website and submitted them to the court on April 11.

According to nonprofit organization YWCA Kumamoto, which supports technical trainees, maternity-linked harassment is not uncommon.

One woman received an angry message from an intermediary organization and was deprived of her home after revealing she had become pregnant, according to the nonprofit that quoted her as saying, "I was treated like an object."

YWCA Kumamoto's Yukiko Kaikita said, "Being treated as a criminal after an isolated childbirth, is it only the woman's fault? It's also a matter of gender inequality in Japan. Linh-san was made to bear the burden of what Japanese society has left unresolved."

To prevent foreign trainees or students from becoming isolated during pregnancy, staffers at intermediary organizations, municipal governments, Japanese language schools and other entities need to offer support, said Sophia University professor Masako Tanaka during an online seminar in February for such staffers.

In a "survey of immigrants in Japan" conducted between June 2020 and September 2021, 18 percent of 290 female respondents reported being informed of restrictions before coming to Japan, such as having to return to their home countries if they became pregnant, while 19 percent of 161 women with partners had had unwanted pregnancies, she told the seminar.

Tanaka said the entities should overcome language barriers through collaboration with other groups, while adding the problem stems not only from language but the difficulty of accessing safe contraception and abortion services in Japan.

Contraceptive pills and intrauterine devices are not easily available in Japan, while morning-after pills require a prescription and cost between 6,000 yen ($46.6) to 20,000 yen.

In addition, there are too few medical interpreters and drugs obtained on the internet can cause side effects.

Linh's case highlights "a serious problem regarding reproductive health and rights," Tanaka said, adding that addressing such issues would serve not only foreign residents but all women in Japan.

The technical training program for foreign workers is problematic in itself, said Shoichi Ibusuki, who co-heads a liaison group of lawyers dealing with problems faced by foreign trainees.

There were 354,104 foreign trainees in Japan as of the end of June 2021, of whom 42 percent were women, according to the Justice Ministry.

A total of 637 women stopped working under the program due to pregnancy or childbirth between November 2017 and December 2020, and only 11 of them had returned to work, a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry survey showed.

But the 637 women were only the tip of the iceberg as other reasons are often cited when reporting to the government, even if the trainees were forced to return home due to pregnancy, Ibusuki said.

"I am also consulted about such pregnancies and the number is abnormally high. No matter how many times the Justice Ministry says in a notice that they are free to conceive or deliver, they are repeatedly forced to return home," he said.

"Small and medium-sized firms as well as some large companies in Japan routinely fire women due to pregnancy. It's more crude for trainees who are in a weaker position. It's double discrimination for being a foreigner and a woman," he said.

Ibusuki said he knows of cases in which brokers sending trainees to Japan ban pregnancy, childbirth or even contact with Japanese to prevent romantic relationships.

Trainees tend to endure their conditions as they are often from poor countries or regions, incur debts to finance the high program enrollment fees levied by brokers in their home countries and are eager to send money home, he said.

"To help change the painful situation of trainees, I'd like the Supreme Court to declare me innocent," Linh said in her message to the press conference.

Ibusuki said the intern program is a "hotbed of slavish and human trade-like labor," calling for an alternative system for Japan to accept foreign workers.

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KYODO NEWS - Apr 20, 2022 - 12:35 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

A man who claims to be one of the leaders of the Japanese arm of U.S. conspiracy cult QAnon was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of forcing his way earlier this month into a venue offering coronavirus vaccinations for children in Tokyo, police said.

The arrest of Hiroyuki Kuraoka, 43, is the latest in a string of arrests involving people believed to be members of the YamatoQ group, which is strongly opposed to COVID-19 vaccinations.

Kuraoka was arrested on suspicion of trespassing after he forcibly entered a medical clinic in the capital's Shibuya Ward used as a vaccination site for children for more than an hour from around 9:30 a.m. on April 7.

The Tokyo police did not disclose whether Kuraoka has admitted to the charge.

On that day, roughly 10 YamatoQ members, including Kuraoka, barged into the clinic, shouting, "Vaccination is a crime" and demanding to talk to the clinic's director, according to the police.

Four people believed to be members of the group were arrested on the spot on April 7.

The group has been waging a campaign against COVID inoculations in various parts of Japan, holding rallies and saying the coronavirus does not exist. In March, they disrupted vaccinations in sites including Tokyo Dome.

The group alleges it is unlawful to administer shots to children when vaccines are still under clinical trial.

They are also protesting what they say is a lack of transparency about the composition of coronavirus vaccines and what they allege are their dangers.

YamatoQ says on its website that it is the Japanese wing of QAnon, a movement spreading internet conspiracy theories in support of former U.S. President Donald Trump. The movement is said to have gained followers in many countries.

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Japan mulls 4th vaccine shots for elderly, chronically ill patients

Hundreds of Japanese still contesting Donald Trump's election defeat

Tokyo court disrupted by hundreds of maskless anti-vaxxers
KYODO NEWS - Apr 20, 2022 - 05:28 | All, World

Leaders from the United States, Japan and the European Union agreed Tuesday to continue providing swift support to Ukraine as Russia begins a renewed military offensive in the eastern part of its neighboring country, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told his counterparts during a video call that the Japanese government will increase the amount of its loans to be extended to Kyiv to $300 million from $100 million, saying that propping up Ukraine's economy is an "urgent task."

The hour-long call, proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden, took place after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday he believes Russian troops have begun the "battle for Donbas" to take control of the eastern region of Ukraine after retreating from around the capital city, which they failed to seize.

The leaders expressed deep concern that civilian casualties could further increase as Russia also continues its attack on the southeast port city of Mariupol -- a key area that links the eastern Donbas region containing pro-Russian separatists with Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

The White House said the discussion was on coordinated efforts to impose "severe economic costs to hold Russia accountable." The United States is considering additional sanctions, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.

Asked separately if the United States will be sending more artillery to Ukraine, Biden said, "Yes."

Last week, the Biden administration announced an additional $800 million in weapons, ammunition and other aid, raising the total U.S. security assistance commitment to Ukraine to more than $2.5 billion since the assault began in late February, according to the State Department.

Kishida explained to his counterparts during the videoconference that Japan will provide Ukraine additional defense equipment -- protective masks and clothing against chemical weapons -- as well as commercial drones for surveillance purposes, based on requests from Kyiv.

In March, Japan decided to offer bulletproof vests to Ukraine, a rare delivery of defense equipment to a warring party. As such a move is restricted in the Asian country upholding a pacifist Constitution, the government had to revise its guidelines on the transfer of defense equipment to make the shipment possible.

According to the White House, the leaders committed to continued close consultation, including working with and through the Group of Seven industrialized nations, the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The video call's participants were the leaders of the G-7 -- Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the EU -- as well as Poland and Romania, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 20, 2022 - 22:03 | All, Japan

The assembly of a western Japan prefecture on Wednesday voted down a bid by its government to host a casino resort, leaving now only two other candidate sites and dealing a further blow to the country's plan to stimulate the economy through the gambling industry.

The rejection by the Wakayama prefectural assembly is the latest sign of lost momentum in the central government's push to construct so-called integrated resorts comprising a large hotel, conference rooms and gambling areas.

The project had already been shaky due to a graft scandal involving one of the key politicians, COVID-19 pandemic-induced procedural delays and withdrawals of foreign operators since Japan legalized casinos in 2018 as part of efforts to boost tourism and regional economies.

Under Japan's law, up to three casino resorts are allowed. With Wakayama out of the race, only Nagasaki Prefecture, the city of Osaka and Osaka Prefecture -- backed by their assemblies -- are expected to submit formal applications to the central government for the right to host a casino resort in the 2020s.

Yokohama, near Tokyo and the second-largest city in Japan by population, withdrew its bid last September due to concerns about gambling addiction and the deterioration of public safety.

The Wakayama assembly had to approve the bid before it was sent to the central government by April 28. Wednesday's vote saw 22 members against the plan and 18 in favor, amid concern over whether the prefecture neighboring Osaka can secure the initial investment of about 470 billion yen ($3.7 billion).

Wakayama Gov. Yoshinobu Nisaka told reporters the rejection came as "a bitter blow" given the work put into making the plan the "ultimate jumpstart" for the prefecture's economy.

The envisaged resort on an artificial island in the city of Wakayama was to have attracted about 6.5 million visitors annually, with an estimated economic impact of around 350 billion yen.

Clairvest, a Canada-based IR investment company, was to mainly start operating the resort possibly in the fall of 2027.

Nagasaki Prefecture, whose assembly approved the bid Wednesday, has teamed up Casino Austria International Japan to build a casino resort on the site of Huis Ten Bosch, a theme park in Sasebo. The economic ripple effect is estimated at around 330 billion yen a year.

Meanwhile, the Osaka prefectural and municipal assemblies approved last month a plan to build a casino resort on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay, in partnership with MGM Resorts International and Orix Corp. The project is estimated to bring around 1.14 trillion yen annually in total economic benefits to the Kinki region centering on Osaka Prefecture.

Japan's top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference Wednesday he would "refrain from commenting on the situation of individual local governments" but stressed that "IRs are an important initiative for Japan to become a developed tourist destination."

The Japanese government originally planned to accept formal applications from candidate sites starting in 2021 but postponed the proceedings due to the pandemic.

The situation was also exacerbated by the 2019 arrest over a graft scandal and conviction later on of Tsukasa Akimoto, a former ruling party lawmaker who was active in making casinos legal in Japan.

Pandemic-hit foreign casino operators have also pulled out from making a foray into the Japanese market, touted by global casino operators as one of the potential countries for opportunities to expand. Among them was Las Vegas Sands Corp.

The casino project has also sparked concern over gambling addiction. As countermeasures, the government has decided that people living in Japan will be charged a 6,000 yen entrance fee for casinos and the number of visits restricted, while foreign visitors can enter free of charge.
InterContinental Hotels Groups (IHG) voco Riyadh and voco Al Khobar hotels are offering a distinct Ramadan nights experience to guests throughout the holy month with elaborate iftar and suhoor buffets.

voco Riyadh and Al Khobar aim to offer a phenomenal experience for both its residents and guests, reflecting vocos high-end luxurious standards, which the brand is known for the world over.

Guests of voco Riyadh can enjoy Ramadan nights at three different venues within the hotels. The main space is the Ramadan tent called Bait Al-Qamar, offering a grand buffet with live cooking stations and a variety of authentic Saudi dishes such as gursan, jeraish, bukhari rice, kabsa, harees, margoog, haili kubaibah, and hininy.

Lebanese and Middle Eastern delights

The Naya restaurant serves popular Lebanese and Middle Eastern delights, including hot and cold mezze (appetisers), grills, desserts, and other specialties.

Meanwhile, Anardana is a haven for Indian cuisine lovers, serving everything from tandoori grills, a variety of biryanis, exotic flavours and rich Mughlai gravies with chicken and mutton, such as Murgh Tikka Masala.

Exclusively, Acacia serves traditional Italian delicacies - from salad, appetisers, soups, and pastas to several types of pizzas. A variety of main course dishes and desserts is available. The restaurant's Italian risotto is especially popular among its guests.

Outdoor dining

Guests fond of an outdoor dining experience can enjoy a selection of tapas snacks and freshly made cocktails on the hotels terrace, which is home to a swimming pool as well as a fountain.

Whether one prefers the tranquillity of the early morning hours or the fun and thrill of watching a match on a large screen on the terrace, the outdoor experience is one of a kind and is sure to be memorable. The area is open from 8 p.m. to 2:30. a.m.

For a sumptuous culinary experience with friends and family, Horizon restaurant at voco Riyadh and Al Khobar offers the perfect place for iftar and suhoor that reflect the essence of the holy month of Ramadan. Horizon serves a holistic dining experience featuring an extensive variety of Saudi, Asian, Levantine and international dishes.

Similarly, guests of voco Al Khobar will be treated to the most popular Lebanese dishes through the Naya corner, while the most popular Indian dish will be served through Anardana corner.

A special occasion

Motasem Allaf, regional General Manager of IHG Group and voco Riyadh, invited guests to enjoy their Ramadan nights at the hotel, saying: "At voco, we want to offer our visitors a unique Ramadan experience that is not limited to a traditional buffet; we want it to be a special occasion that brings family and friends together through an unparalleled iftar and suhoor experience."

He said the hotels professional chefs have taken it upon themselves to prepare unique dishes from freshly sourced ingredients to meet all tastes and demands. Be it grilled meats and seafood, or distinctive desserts such as cakes, baklawa, kunafah, or mamoul, there is something for everyone here, he said.

Raffi Torikian, General Manager of voco Al Khobar, said guests can enjoy a wide choice of international restaurants - all in one place  at the hotel.

Customer service

We are looking forward to providing voco Al Khobars guests with a unique and comprehensive experience and superb customer service, which will make their experience at voco Al Khobar like no other, he added.-- TradeArabia News Service
KYODO NEWS - Apr 20, 2022 - 17:55 | World, All, Japan

South Korea's incoming Foreign Minister Park Jin acknowledged Wednesday that a bilateral agreement signed with Japan in 2015 over wartime "comfort women" is official, hinting how the new government, led by President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol, would approach history issues with Tokyo.

The two countries signed a deal in December 2015 to put an end to the historical feud over women who worked at wartime Japanese military brothels against their will. However, the current Moon Jae In government that came into office in 2017 described it as "seriously flawed," causing bilateral ties to sink to the lowest point in years.

"The agreement on 'comfort women' is an official one, and the current Moon Jae In administration also acknowledges it. The most important part is joint efforts from South Korea and Japan to recover the honor and dignity of the victims," Park told reporters.

Wartime issues stemming from Japan's 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula have overshadowed ties between the Asian neighbors, both U.S. allies.

Park's remarks came ahead of the dispatch to Japan of president-elect Yoon's delegation for talks over bilateral issues and cooperation with Japanese lawmakers, diplomats and business leaders.

Japan's top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said in Tokyo that the agreement settled the issue of comfort women "finally and irreversibly" and stressed the need to keep a promise between the two nations.

"We need to further ties based on our friendly and cooperative relationship that has been built since the 1965 normalization of ties," Matsuno said. "We have expectations for incoming President Yoon Suk Yeol's leadership."

Based on the 2015 accord, Japan paid 1 billion yen ($7.8 million), and the money was distributed through a foundation to former comfort women and the families of those who died.

In 2019, however, the foundation was dissolved after the Moon administration concluded that the deal, reached under a previous government, failed to properly reflect the women's wishes.

Regarding Yoon's delegation visiting Japan from Sunday ahead of his inauguration on May 10, Park said its meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is still being arranged.

Kishida, who was Japan's foreign minister at the time of the 2015 pact, has expressed hope to meet in person with Yoon.

The dispatch of the seven-member delegation, however, has stirred concerns among South Korean civic groups, as it includes Lee Sang Deok, who negotiated the 2015 deal with Japan.

"South Korea's incoming government should go to the discussion table with Japan after sincerely listening to the victims and public opinion," the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan said in a statement released Tuesday.

The civic group also expressed worries that Yoon would try to quickly settle the row with Japan without fully considering the former comfort women's sentiment for the sake of "normalizing" and "recovering South Korea-Japan ties."

Related coverage:

South Korea president-elect to send team to Japan for policy talks

Japan seriously considering high-level dialogue with South Korea

Japan rejects South Korean protest over school textbooks' descriptions
Giant pandas, which first came to the United States 50 years ago, are "a symbol of a new start in U.S.-China relations," retired U.S. career diplomat Chas Freeman has recently told Xinhua during a virtual interview. #GLOBALink





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Chinese products become more popular during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan thanks to their good quality and reasonable prices, according to residents in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service




ANKARA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday urged his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog not to allow "provocations and threats" against the status and spirituality of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

In a Twitter post, Erdogan said he held a phone talk with Herzog to discuss regional issues and bilateral relations, especially the events caused by "some Israeli radical groups and security forces in Palestine."

Erdogan said he told Herzog that he had been "very upset" about the Palestinians being injured or killed in the incidents in the West Bank and the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem since the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in early April.

These incidents caused by radicals every year "hurt consciences and cause justifiable reactions" in the entire Islamic world, he said.

The tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been rising in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the past weeks, especially on Friday when the Jewish festival of Passover began.

Some 200 Palestinians have been injured in a recent wave of clashes in East Jerusalem, mainly at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which is holy to both Muslims and Jews. Scores of Israeli have also died in a spate of deadly attacks in Israel.

The phone talk came amid the reconciliation efforts made by Israel and Turkey, whose ties were strained in 2010 when a Turkish-led flotilla attempting to break Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip clashed with Israeli forces, leaving 10 Turks on board dead.

In 2018, Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador to Turkey after the United States moved its embassy to the disputed holy city of Jerusalem.

On March 9, Herzog paid a visit to Ankara, during which Erdogan said he "clearly expressed Turkey's sensitivity on the issue of Palestine." 
BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese lawmakers on Wednesday voted to adopt a law on futures and derivatives to better protect investors' interests and develop the futures market in favor of the real economy.

The law, to take effect on Aug. 1, 2022, was approved at a session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

China's financial derivatives market, one of the largest in the world, requires a law specifically made for its regulation, said Li Zhengqiang, a researcher at the University of International Business and Economics.

China's futures market posted record-setting trading volume and turnover in 2021, which stood at 581.2 trillion yuan (about 90.8 trillion U.S. dollars) and over 7.5 billion lots, respectively, data from the China Futures Association showed. 
Residents shop at a market in Mariupol on April 19, 2022. Ukraine and Russia have reached a preliminary agreement on establishing a humanitarian corridor to evacuate women, children and the elderly from the embattled city of Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Wednesday. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)

KIEV, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine and Russia have reached a preliminary agreement on establishing a humanitarian corridor to evacuate women, children and the elderly from the embattled city of Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Wednesday.

Mariupol's residents will be evacuated to Ukraine's southern city of Zaporizhzhia through the Berdyansk town, which is controlled by Russian forces, Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram.

Meanwhile, Vadym Boichenko, mayor of Mariupol, said on national television that Ukraine hopes to send 90 buses to the besieged city to evacuate about 6,000 women, children and elderly people. 

Residents walk past damaged buildings in Mariupol on April 19, 2022. Ukraine and Russia have reached a preliminary agreement on establishing a humanitarian corridor to evacuate women, children and the elderly from the embattled city of Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Wednesday. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)

Residents walk past damaged buildings in Mariupol on April 19, 2022. Ukraine and Russia have reached a preliminary agreement on establishing a humanitarian corridor to evacuate women, children and the elderly from the embattled city of Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Wednesday. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)

A resident walks past damaged buildings in Mariupol on April 19, 2022. Ukraine and Russia have reached a preliminary agreement on establishing a humanitarian corridor to evacuate women, children and the elderly from the embattled city of Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Wednesday. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)

Residents walk past damaged buildings in Mariupol on April 19, 2022. Ukraine and Russia have reached a preliminary agreement on establishing a humanitarian corridor to evacuate women, children and the elderly from the embattled city of Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Wednesday. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)

A resident walks past a damaged building in Mariupol on April 19, 2022. Ukraine and Russia have reached a preliminary agreement on establishing a humanitarian corridor to evacuate women, children and the elderly from the embattled city of Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Wednesday. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)
Afghan security members stand guard outside Abdul Rahim Shahid school near the site of two blasts in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 19, 2022. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

According to locals, the first blast occurred outside the school when students were coming out and the second blast came when people gathered to help the injured ones from the first blast.

KABUL, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The war-weary Kabul residents once again were shocked by twin blasts that targeted a school in Dasht-e-Barchi area in Police District 18 as six persons, obviously school children, were killed and 11 others injured on Tuesday.

The twin blasts took place at 10:00 a.m. local time. According to locals, the first blast occurred outside the school when the students were coming out and the second blast came when people gathered to help the injured ones from the first blast.

Confirming the deadly incidents, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said on his twitter account "In the two blasts that happened next to Abdul Rahim Shahid school at 10:00 a.m. local time today in Police District 18, six countrymen were martyred and 11 others sustained injury."

Afghan security members stand guard outside Abdul Rahim Shahid school near the site of two blasts in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 19, 2022. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

The victims, according to Zadran, belonged to the Shiite Muslims, a major religious minority sect living in the war-torn Afghanistan.

However, eyewitnesses without giving their names said that three blasts occurred and two of them targeted Abdul Rahim Shahid and the third blast attacked Mumtaz learning course.

The number of casualties, according to the eyewitnesses, is higher than reported as more than 22 injured persons have been taken to hospital.

An Afghan security member stands guard outside Abdul Rahim Shahid school near the site of two blasts in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 19, 2022.(Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

The blasts indicated continuation of instability in Afghanistan, Kabul resident Abdul Azim told Xinhua.

Azim said the war in his country was practically over with the collapse of the U.S.-backed government and the pull-out of foreign forces in August last year.

However, Azim believed continuation of militancy in the form of bomb blasts means insecurity in the country.

"Targeting Shiite community clearly speaks of enemies' conspiracy to keep on conflict in the country," an eyewitness said, declining to be named.

School and educational centers had in the past been attacked in Dasht-e-Barchi area and the hardliner Daesh or Islamic State outfit claimed responsibility.

Condemning the twin blasts, Kabul residents have urged the government to take measures to ensure security of citizens.
BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, president of the People's Republic of China, chairman of the Central Military Commission and director of the Central Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, presided over the 25th meeting of the commission for deepening reform on Tuesday. Five documents were adopted at the meeting. They include Guidelines on Building a Digital Government, Guidelines on Further Promoting Fiscal System Reforms at and below the Provincial Level, Guidelines on Establishing Sound Index Systems for Auditing and Appraising Leading Officials on Their Responsibility for Natural Resource Assets before They Leave Office, Work Plan for Optimizing Financial Support Mechanism for Innovation during the 14th Five-year Plan Period (2021-2025), and Guidelines on Improving Incentive Mechanism for the Development of Science and Technology.

While chairing the meeting, Xi stressed the importance of fully implementing the national cyber development strategy, extensively applying digital technologies to government management and services, and enabling the government to function in a more digital and smarter way, thus offering solid support for modernizing China's system and capacity for governance.

Fiscal relationship between governments at and below the provincial level should be straightened out for a more rational balance between power and responsibility, more standardized revenue division, relatively balanced distribution of fiscal resources and stronger fiscal security at the primary level.

Efforts are needed to accelerate the construction of an integrated national market, ensure equitable access to basic public services, and boost high-quality development.

Following the principles of abiding by laws and rules, being fair and objective, making sound identification, ensuring a correspondence between power and responsibility and holding to account on a permanent basis, we will establish a sound, standard, rational audit and evaluation index system to ensure leading officials fulfill their responsibilities for natural resource assets management and ecological conservation and environmental protection.

We should focus on the weak links in financial services for science and technology innovation, and improve the financial support system for innovation, so as to better adapt the financial system for the needs of science and technology innovation in the new era.

It is crucial to develop cutting-edge technologies, focus on economic growth, meet the country's critical needs, and ensure people's security and health. We will inspire scientists and researchers to commit themselves to their mission, concentrate on research and create value. We will foster an innovation ecosystem that encourages scientific and technological breakthroughs and facilitates their application. By doing so, science and technology personnel can tap their full potential.

Li Keqiang, Wang Huning and Han Zheng, who are members of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and deputy directors of the Central Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, attended the meeting.

The commission pointed out, building a digital government is an important measure to innovate governance ideas and methods, and is of great importance to transforming government functions and building a law-based, clean and service-oriented government.

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has made a series of major arrangements to advance the national cyber development strategy and the national big data strategy, achieving progress across the board. It is essential to uphold and strengthen overall Party leadership throughout all our efforts to build a digital government, and maintain the right political direction.

We will make meeting people's aspirations for a better life the ultimate goal of building a digital government. Our digital service system should be universal, accessible, smart, convenient, equitable and inclusive so that the public can make fewer visits to government departments to get things done with the help of data.

Through digital reform, we will better transform government functions, and coordinate the intensive development, connectivity and interaction of e-government service systems in all fields and sectors. We will give full play to the role of digitalization in supporting the government in economic adjustment, market supervision, social management, public services and ecological conservation and environmental protection, so that we can build a well-coordinated and effective system for digital performance of duties.

We will apply systems thinking and put in place a sound and standardized system for building a digital government. We will promote effective data sharing and orderly development and use of data in accordance with laws and regulations, coordinate the integration of technologies, operations and data, and ensure better coordinated management and services across different levels, regions, systems, departments and operations.

We will never drop guard when it comes to data security, accelerate the establishment of a comprehensive security system for a digital government, and see that the security management responsibilities are fulfilled.

Since the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in 2013, we have been strengthening the top-level design for the reform of the fiscal and tax systems, further promoting the reform for defining administrative authorities and spending responsibilities between central and local governments, clarifying the distribution of revenue between them and advancing the reform of the transfer payments system, stressed the commission. A fiscal relationship between the central and local governments featuring clearly defined powers and responsibilities, appropriate financial resource allocation and greater balance between regions is taking shape.

The commission called for adherence to the Party's centralized and unified leadership, adding that, under the framework of the revenue-sharing system between the central and local governments, the basic principle of improving the fiscal relationship between governments must be abided by. Administrative authorities and spending responsibilities between governments at and below the provincial level should be clearly defined, so should the revenue relationship between those governments. The system of transfer payments between them should be improved, the mechanism for adjusting their fiscal systems refined, and their fiscal management standardized.

By improving the fiscal systems, regional protectionism will be eliminated, market barriers removed, and support mechanism and standards system for constantly promoting equitable access to basic public services improved. Fiscal support for old revolutionary base areas, border areas, ethnic minority areas and under-developed areas will be increased, regional support policies improved, and a long-term mechanism for ensuring county-level governments' basic funding established.

Risk prevention responsibilities of local governments at all levels must be fulfilled, a long-term mechanism for preventing and defusing hidden debt-related risks should be improved, any increase in hidden debt must be halted, and illegal bond issuance and fund raising strictly dealt with. Financial discipline must be tightened up, financial order maintained, and accounting oversight improved.

The practice of auditing natural resource assets under their auspice when leading officials leave their posts, which was piloted in 2015 and applied nationwide in 2017, has served as a strong institutional tool for promoting ecological conservation, according to the meeting.

Work should be done to improve the assessment standards on officials' decisions concerning resources and environment, as well as on the supervision of their performance. Progress on the implementation of the CPC Central Committee's important arrangements, such as natural resource protection, the red lines for ecological protection and farmland protection, pollution and carbon emissions reduction, and the designation of river and lake chiefs, should be included in the evaluation criteria.

The weight of indices and methods of assessment should be set up in a systematic way, highlighting the guiding role of key indicators such as the quantity of natural assets in physical terms and the quality of ecological environment, as well as obligatory resource and environmental indicators set in national plans.

The index setting must be scientific and precise, and regional disparities in terms of natural resource endowment and functional zoning should be taken into account.

While its scope and content being standardized, the auditing should be based on lawfully verified facts to ensure that its findings stand the test of time. By integrating various mechanisms, audit results will be made an important reference for the performance assessment of officials, as well as their appointment, removal, reward or punishment.

Effective measures should be taken to ensure the authenticity, accuracy and integrity of relevant materials and data, while those who cheat in resource and environmental data must be strictly held to account.

The commission stressed the need to improve the financial support system for innovation at a faster pace. Efforts should focus on key areas such as making breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, the application of scientific and technological advances, the sci-tech and innovative small and medium enterprises, as well as new- and high-tech enterprises. The supply-side structural reform in the financial sector should be deepened, while loan services for the science and technology sector promoted. Development and policy financial institutions should play a larger role in serving scientific innovation within the defined scope of their duties, and financial institutions in the banking sector should enhance their capacity in serving enterprises undertaking major national tasks in scientific innovation. The direct financing function of the multi-level capital market should be improved, the risk-sharing role of the insurance and financing guarantee institutions should be enhanced, and more external assistance be extended to the financial sector to help support scientific innovation.

We must keep in mind the worst scenarios and adhere to a problem-oriented approach, focus on safeguarding the security and stability of industrial and supply chains, strike a balance between financial support for scientific innovation and financial risk prevention, and see that the risk control responsibilities of relevant parties are fulfilled, the meeting said.

Incentive measures are important for promoting scientific and technological innovation, playing a major role in tapping potential and unleashing vitality for innovation, according to the meeting. We will encourage science and technology personnel to reinforce patriotism and dedicate themselves with greater purpose and sense of responsibility to boosting China's strength and self-reliance in science and technology at a faster pace.

Both material and intellectual incentives should be provided, to reward, in particular, those groups and individuals who keep in mind the country's immediate and long-term needs and make great contributions to scientific and technological progress, economic and social development, and national strategic security.

New mechanisms for organizing and managing research projects will be employed to ensure that our science and technology personnel can concentrate their time and energy on doing research and innovation without distraction.

Support for young scientists and engineers will be increased to give them more opportunities to take on greater responsibilities, so that a favorable atmosphere will be created for young sci-tech talent to come to the fore.

Mechanisms for steadily providing funding to scientific and technological research will be refined to ensure continued support for research personnel so that they can fully commit themselves to basic research and public-interest research.

At the same time, we will place equal emphasis on providing incentives and imposing constraints, and set up an effective constraint and oversight mechanism.

Members of the commission attended the meeting and leading officials of relevant central authorities were also present. 
Photo taken on March 11, 2022 shows the scenery of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

Malaysia should seize opportunities to upgrade trade ties with major partners like China as RCEP came into force in the Southeast Asian nation in March.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia must seize opportunities to upgrade trade ties with major partners like China as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into force for the Southeast Asian nation on March 18, said a renowned expert in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Among the opportunities for the country are diversification away from goods to services especially with regard to Malaysia's biggest trade partner China, Oh Ei Sun, principal adviser for Malaysia's Pacific Research Center, told Xinhua in an online interview.

Oh pointed out that volumes of commodity trade between China and Malaysia are already huge, therefore both sides should put more effort into improving the quality, upgrading bilateral trade in services and the use of digital tools to boost trade through RCEP.

Speaking of trade in services, he highlighted the cooperation and exchanges in education sector between the two countries. "I'm happy to see that, for example, over the past few years, there are more and more Malaysian students going to study in China and Chinese students coming to Malaysia to study."

Oh also said the COVID-19 pandemic had been an effective lesson for many countries, including Malaysia in demonstrating the importance of digitalization and the need to change mindsets and attitudes to take advantage of RCEP and new trade opportunities.

The Petronas Twin Towers are seen in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

He said while Malaysia was no stranger to international trade, the Southeast Asian nation must strengthen its basic trading mechanisms and institutions, for foreign investors who are trying to invest in Malaysia, to take advantage of RCEP provisions.

"Traditionally, I think Malaysian businesses, even though we do a lot of foreign trade, but sometimes we are more reactive. When there are foreign traders who would like to do business with us, we would react to them. But we need to (act) more proactively, and when travels are allowed, go to other markets within the RCEP framework to try to explore new business opportunities there. We must make the first steps ourselves instead of reacting to others' proposals," he said.

Oh also noted that with China's economy in a full upswing, Malaysia and other RCEP members stood to make their own gains and fuel the post-pandemic recovery of their respective economies and to further deepen the economic integration among member states.

Under the framework of RCEP, economic development in one member state could also have its trickling down effects on other economies, Oh said, adding that as China is picking up its pace in booming its economy, some of these other RCEP member states, Malaysia included, but more broadly, the Southeast Asian countries could be deeper, broader and closer partners to China.

Signed in November 2020, the RCEP groups the 10 members of the ASEAN, as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, covering roughly 30 percent of the world's gross domestic product and population.
URUMQI, April 20 (Xinhua) -- China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Tuesday held a video conference jointly with the Chinese Embassy in Oman to share information on the region's social and economic development with its Omani guests.

At the conference held in the regional capital of Urumqi, Nurem Simayhan, deputy chairman of the regional government, said that no terrorism case has been reported for five consecutive years in Xinjiang. He said that the sense of fulfillment, happiness and security of people of all ethnic groups has been continuously enhanced.

Chinese Ambassador to Oman Li Lingbing delivered a video address. He said that certain Western anti-China forces trying to label Xinjiang as a region of "genocide," "forced labor" and "religious oppression" intend to use Xinjiang to split China and hinder China's development and progress.

Cotton farmer Reheman Yunus in Yuli County said via video link that with the aid of a large-scale seeding machine, he was able to sow seeds and lay plastic mulch and drip irrigation tubes on his 530-mu (about 35.3 hectares) cotton field in just two days. After the cotton sprouts, the village cooperative regularly sends drones to spray pesticides, he said.

"Last year my cotton yield was more than 430 kilograms per mu, and my total income exceeded 1.1 million yuan (about 172,000 U.S. dollars)," he said.

Abduhabir Tursongmamat is the imam of a mosque with a history of more than 900 years in Hotan County. He said via video link that in recent years, the government has renovated the mosque, equipping it with air conditioning, firefighting facilities and drinking water, and reconstructing the washing rooms and installing flushing toilets.

The mosque has been expanded to an area of nearly 3,200 square meters and can accommodate hundreds of worshippers, he said.

Abduhabir Tursongmamat said that during the ongoing Ramadan, Muslims in Xinjiang carry out traditional religious activities such as fasting and praying.

We warmly welcome everyone to visit Xinjiang and experience its harmony, stability and vigorous development, Nurem Simayhan said. 
Chinese ambassador to U.S. warns against using Ukraine crisis to mess up U.S.-China relations

Xinhua) 09:15, April 20, 2022

WASHINGTON, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang has warned against using the Ukraine crisis as an excuse to mess up U.S.-China relations, saying that doing so serves no good to anyone now or in the future.

In the signed article published in The National Interest magazine on Monday, Qin said while the bilateral relationship between China and Russia has achieved great progress in the last three decades, the two countries are not allies, and their relationship doesn't target third countries.

The U.S.-Russia relations, however, "are sliding into a new Cold War," Qin said, "which is not in the interest of either China, the United States, or Russia, and is not what China wants to see."

"After all, a worse Russia-U.S. relationship does not mean a better China-U.S. relationship, and likewise, a worse China-Russia relationship does not mean a better U.S.-Russia relationship, either. More importantly, if the China-U.S. relationship is messed up, that does not augur well for Russia-U.S. relations or the world," he said.

"Disturbingly, as the crisis continues, some people are wielding the stick of sanctions against China to coerce the renunciation of its independent foreign policy of peace. Some are clamoring about a 'Beijing-Moscow Axis' in a dangerous misinterpretation of China-Russia relations, asking China to bear responsibility for the crisis. Some are linking Taiwan to Ukraine and playing up the risks of a conflict across the Taiwan Strait. Still others, for all the lessons that should be learned, are fanning up misunderstanding, confrontation and insecurity in Asia-Pacific, without a modicum of care if this region might follow in the footsteps of Europe. These words and actions are not helpful to resolving the crisis or ensuring the stability of China-U.S. relations. Dragging everyone down does no good to our future generations," the ambassador said.

"Differences in perception of the crisis do not justify groundless accusations or pressure and should not hinder our joint efforts to end the crisis," Qin said, calling on China and the United States to "take a long-term view and have pragmatic and constructive dialogue, coordination, and cooperation for what comes our way outside and after the crisis."

"In this way, we can bring about an arrangement for lasting peace and stability in Europe acceptable to all parties; properly resolve other global hotspots; prevent and address the crisis' impact on the global economy and trade, finance, energy, food, and industrial and supply chains; and minimize the losses for the economy and people's livelihood," the diplomat said.

Ending the unwanted conflict as soon as possible "is more important than everything else" now, Qin said of the situation on the ground in Ukraine, adding that "there must be not only an end to this war, but also a fundamental answer to lasting peace and stability in Europe."

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presides over the closing meeting of the 34th session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee in Beijing, capital of China, April 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) concluded its 34th session Wednesday in Beijing.

At the closing meeting, lawmakers voted to adopt a law on futures and derivatives, a revised Vocational Education Law, and a decision to remove Wang Menghui from the post of minister of housing and urban-rural development.

President Xi Jinping signed three presidential orders to promulgate the laws and the decision.

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the closing meeting.

Lawmakers passed three bills on the electoral rules for the 14th NPC, and ratified a revised agreement on regional anti-terrorist structure between the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the International Labour Organization's Forced Labour Convention, 1930, and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957.

They also approved a report on deputy qualifications and passed personnel-related bills.

Addressing the closing meeting, Li called for solid efforts in organizing the elections of deputies to the 14th NPC.

Stressing the importance of the work of the people's congresses, Li called on lawmakers to rigorously perform their duties and spare no efforts in fulfilling the historical missions of the 13th NPC.

Li chaired a meeting of the Council of Chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee before the closing meeting and presided over a lecture for lawmakers after the closing meeting. 
You might know that China's southernmost province of Hainan is famed for its tasty, traditional desserts. So, unsurprisingly they are served to attendees at the Boao Forum for Asia. We headed to Qionghai in Hainan to find out how this international conference is whipping up sweet success for the local service industry!

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Turkey has said that at least 26 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were "neutralized" and one Turkish soldier was killed during its operation in northern Iraq.
BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- For millennia, Chinese statesmen, scholars, and intellectuals have discussed the primary issue in governing the country, or the "matter of the most fundamental importance to the country."

Conclusions have ranged from rituals, military affairs to bringing in sound policies and talented officials. For President Xi Jinping, the answer is simple -- happy lives for the people.

During an inspection tour of the southern province of Hainan last week, he visited the home of Wang Bohe, a villager from the Li ethnic group, and took part in the tea leaf frying process in his tea workshop.

These home visits have occurred many times during Xi's domestic inspection tours.

In 2013, Xi visited a Miao ethnic minority village nestled in the mountains of Hunan Province. There, he walked into Shi Qiwen's home and asked about food and crops of the household.

When he was a young man, Xi spent seven years in Shaanxi's Liangjiahe, a poor village at the time. After witnessing the hardship of people's lives in the barren mountains, Xi resolved to become a public servant and do some good for the people.

"I am aware of the people's biggest concerns, such as education, employment, income, social security, healthcare, old-age security, housing and the environment," Xi has said. As the country's leader, he urges officials at all levels to constantly hold in their hearts the interests and concerns of the people, and regard the benefit of the people as their highest career accomplishment.

"You are so busy with your work but still make time to see us. We are so grateful," Wang Deli, a resident of a rural mountainous village in Guangxi, said when he received Xi in his home in the spring of 2021.

"That is exactly what I am busy with," Xi replied. "People's happy lives -- that is the matter of the most fundamental importance to the country." 
BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Winter wheat yields in north China can be better predicted by a new hybrid forecast model powered by machine learning, according to a study by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

China is the world's largest wheat producer and consumer, as such, accurate yield forecasting is a top concern for researchers. The new hybrid model proposes an approach that combines machine learning and dynamical atmospheric prediction.

Developed by Chinese and American scientists, the new model was applied to north China over the subseasonal-to-seasonal period.

As an emerging statistical model, machine learning can better describe the non-linear relationship between input and forecast and has obvious advantages in yield forecast compared with a linear model.

The results of the study indicate that the hybrid model generally outperforms conventional models, with one metric that tells how far the prediction values are from the real values, decreasing by 30 percent to 55 percent compared with conventional models.

The results also showed that the new model achieved the best prediction result three or four months in advance of the harvest season.

The study demonstrates that the coupling of machine learning and dynamical atmospheric prediction is a useful tool for yield forecast, which could provide support to agricultural practitioners, policy-makers, and agricultural insurers.

The study was published in the journals Remote Sensing, Weather and Forecasting, and Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters. 
Students from the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) show Chinese calligraphy during a UN Chinese Language Day celebration in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on April 19, 2022. The government of Tanzania on Tuesday urged citizens to learn the Chinese language which it described as a bridge to opportunities, including employment. (Photo by Herman Emmanuel/Xinhua)

DAR ES SALAAM, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The government of Tanzania on Tuesday urged citizens to learn the Chinese language which it described as a bridge to opportunities, including employment.

Deputy Minister for Information, Communication and Information Technology Kundo Mathew said learning the Chinese language provided employment opportunities in Chinese companies operating in Tanzania.

He was speaking at the UN Chinese Language Day celebration held at the Chinese embassy in Tanzania jointly organized by the Chinese embassy, the China Culture Center in Tanzania and the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM). UN Chinese Language Day is observed annually on April 20.

Mathew, an alumnus of Hunan University in China between 2004 and 2009, who pursued a bachelor's degree in engineering in computer technology, said learning the Chinese language was a motivation for getting employed in Chinese firms. He recalled the memory when he was studying in China, saying that the Chinese people are hospitable, modest and hardworking and that these characters have been a good influence on him.

He also expressed his expectations for the young Tanzanian students who are studying the Chinese language, saying that "I wish you study hard, try to get the chance to study in China one day, and serve your country with real capabilities after graduation."

Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the UDSM Bernadeta Killian pledged to continue cementing cooperation with the Confucius Institute in making sure that the Chinese language is spoken by as many Tanzanians as possible.

"With the continuous deepening of the cooperation between China and Tanzania in trade, economy and people-to-people exchanges, the demand for Chinese language talent in Tanzania is on the increase," said Chen Mingjian, the Chinese ambassador to Tanzania.

About 20,000 students are learning the Chinese language in Tanzania at present, and the Confucius Institutes at the University of Dar es Salaam and the University of Dodoma have started to confer bachelor's degrees in the Chinese language to Tanzanian students, said Chen.

Many Tanzanian students have the plan to study in China in the future, and these are the fruits of China-Tanzania cooperation in education, said the Chinese envoy. "We look forward to seeing more aspiring young Tanzanians learn and master the Chinese language."

Dozens of Tanzanian students learning the Chinese language showed their rich knowledge of the Chinese language and culture by participating in various games relating to Chinese listening, reading, and writing skills. Several students and alumni sang Chinese songs, played Chinese Kung Fu and performed comic dialogues at the event, featuring the theme "To learn the Chinese language and jointly build the bright future for Tanzania and China." 

A student from the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) performs during a UN Chinese Language Day celebration in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on April 19, 2022. The government of Tanzania on Tuesday urged citizens to learn the Chinese language which it described as a bridge to opportunities, including employment. (Photo by Herman Emmanuel/Xinhua)
People visit the first International Summit on BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) Applications, in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Sept. 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Chen Sihan)

BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- China-developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is boosting the country's mobile phone industry by enhancing product performance.

Mobile phones equipped with the BDS-3 short message communication function will soon be available in the consumer market. It will help expand the application and function of smartphones and effectively ensure the safety of people's lives and property, according to the China Satellite Navigation Office.

This also demonstrates BDS' ability to deeply integrate with a variety of other industries, such as telecommunication, transportation, disaster prevention and mitigation, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and power supply.

BDS has achieved a comprehensive breakthrough in mass consumption represented by its extensive application in smartphones and smart wearable devices, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

In 2021, the number of China-made smartphones with BDS application support reached 324 million units, accounting for 94.5 percent of the country's smartphone shipment that very year, showed statistics from the NDRC.

BDS ground-based augmentation messaging has been applied in smartphones, with meter-level positioning capabilities, the NDRC said.

The world's major chip makers, including component providers for smartphones, can provide products that widely support BDS.

In China, BDS has also shown its worth in sustaining key service industries of the country's socioeconomic sphere. By the end of 2021, more than 7.9 million road transport vehicles nationwide had been installed with BDS, and around 8,000 BDS terminals were in use on the country's railway network.

BDS can also serve the medical health, epidemic prevention, remote monitoring and online service sectors nationwide.

A carrier rocket carrying the last satellite of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, June 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Hu Xujie)

On July 31, 2020, China officially commissioned BDS, opening the new BDS-3 system to global users.

The BDS can provide diverse services and powerful functions. Globally, the system can provide positioning, navigation and timing, global message communication, and international search and rescue services.

In the Asia-Pacific region, its services include regional short message communication, precise point positioning, satellite-based augmentation and ground-based augmentation. 
UNITED NATIONS, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The fundamental way to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is to put an early end to the conflict, China's permanent representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun said on Tuesday.

"We call on Russia and Ukraine to adhere to the general direction of dialogue and negotiation, continuously narrow differences, and accumulate conditions for a ceasefire," Zhang told the Security Council meeting on the humanitarian issue of Ukraine.

On the protection of civilians, Zhang said that every effort must be made to reduce the harm to civilians caused by conflict.

"China once again calls on all parties to the conflict to exercise maximum restraint, strictly abide by international humanitarian law, protect civilians and civilian facilities, and facilitate evacuation and humanitarian assistance operations," said the envoy.

"The parties concerned should strengthen communication on humanitarian issues, and conduct coordination and cooperation on issues such as opening humanitarian corridors and organizing the safe evacuation of personnel," he added.

China appreciates the fact that the neighboring countries of Ukraine have provided "safe havens and humanitarian assistance," he said.

Speaking about sanctions, the envoy said, "We must pay attention to and eliminate the negative impact of sanctions."

"The vast number of developing countries that are not parties to the conflict have paid a heavy price for it. This is neither fair nor reasonable. The international community should strengthen coordination to keep food and energy supplies and prices stable, and avoid unnecessary export restrictions," Zhang said.

He pointed out that "arbitrary freeze of foreign exchange reserves of other countries also constitutes a violation of sovereignty, and is tantamount to weaponizing economic interdependence."

He called for an early end to such practices as they "undermine the foundation of world economic stability and bring new uncertainties and risks to international relations." 
LOS ANGELES, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Denver, capital city of Colorado, has become the fifth city in the United States and the first outside California to offer an official apology for past wrongs against Chinese and other Asian immigrants.

At a special event titled "Reclaiming our Past, Building our Future: City of Denver's Chinatown Apology" held on Saturday, Michael Hancock, mayor of the city, read the official apology letter for the devastating effects of the 1880 anti-Chinese riot in the historic Chinatown of lower downtown Denver that decimated a once thriving Asian American community.

"We know that to heal our community we must be willing to face and address things we have avoided, apologize for wrongs we have committed and follow through with actions that are true to ongoing positive change. This is just the beginning," Hancock tweeted Monday.

The letter recalled the first group of Chinese immigrant workers who suffered from race discrimination when they arrived at Denver in 1869 and had to live in Chinatown, which was one of several geographical ghettoes created in the city to confine its "undesirable" residents.

Moreover, there were also discriminatory practice at that time, including some in the form of restrictive covenants in housing deeds along with "gentleman's agreements" to prevent "Orientals" from living and working other areas in the city. As a result, Chinese immigrants were forced to live in substandard housing and work in limited occupations.

"Yet, irresponsible government reports at the time regularly condemned it as a den of inequity and its inhabitants as conveyors of social diseases. Tragically, the anti-Chinese riot of October 31, 1880, nearly destroyed Chinatown, killed Look Young, a young laundryman, and wounded hundreds of others," the letter read, noting the city police force failed to protect its Chinese residents and courts failed to punish the murderers after the riot.

"While the city cannot erase past injustices against Chinese immigrants and the Asian American and Pacific Island communities, the city owes them a long-overdue apology - an admission of the wrongs committed and its failure to correct them is a first step towards recognizing and honoring their contributions and can contribute to racial reconciliation," it said.

"It will also serve to educate those who are ignorant of this shameful chapter in Colorado's history and hopefully bring some closure to the families whose loved ones suffered racial violence and abuse," the letter added.

The city announced in the letter that it would take measures to deal with the continued consequences of past violence and "discrimination such as the recent surge in anti-Asian hate crimes across the nation," including supporting the establishment of an Asian Pacific Historic District and an Asian Pacific American community museum.

In May 2021, the San Francisco Bay Area city of Antioch became the first U.S. city to offer a formal apology to Chinese immigrants and their descendants for the race discrimination in history. Then, the city of San Jose in September, Los Angeles in October and San Francisco in February 2022 followed the move. 
Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, holds a video conversation with Malawi's parliament speaker Catherine Gotani Hara at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Li Zhanshu and Malawi's parliament speaker Catherine Gotani Hara held a video conversation on Wednesday. During the discussion Li called for strengthening bilateral pragmatic cooperation.

Li, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said that Malawi is an important cooperative partner of China in Africa. China is ready to work with Malawi to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state and push forward development.

Li pointed out that China supports Malawi independently exploring a development path suited to its conditions and is willing to continue to mutually support each other on issues concerning their core interests and major concerns.

China hopes to strengthen practical cooperation with Malawi in various fields, actively dovetail their developing strategies, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation in areas including infrastructure construction, agriculture, health care, education and culture, Li said.

The NPC is ready to continuously deepen cooperation with the Malawian Parliament and make positive contributions to the development of bilateral ties, he added.

Hara said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties between Malawi and China, bilateral relations have made great progress. Malawi firmly adheres to the One-China policy.

She thanked China for its support and assistance to Malawi in economic and social development and the fight against COVID-19.

The Malawian Parliament would like to strengthen friendly exchanges with the NPC and contribute to promoting bilateral friendship, Hara said. 

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, holds a video conversation with Malawi's parliament speaker Catherine Gotani Hara at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
ANKARA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Turkey's recent cross-border operation into northern Iraq solely aims to maintain the country's border security.

"Our aim with the operation, dubbed Claw-Lock, is to both clear the Iraqi lands from the terrorist organization and to ensure the border security of our country," Erdogan told the country's lawmakers.

He said Turkey "does not have eyes on anyone's territory."

Erdogan thanked Iraqi authorities for their support in Turkey's fight against terrorism in Iraq.

Erdogan also vowed to conduct further military actions against Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria.

The Turkish military on Monday launched a new ground and air offensive against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. The military campaign targets PKK's shelters, bunkers, caves, tunnels, ammunition depots and headquarters in the Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan regions, Turkey's Defense Ministry said.

Turkey regularly conducts cross-border operations on PKK bases in northern Iraq despite despite Iraq's repeated condemnation of Turkey's violation of its sovereignty.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades.

Ankara sees the YPG as the Syrian branch of the PKK. 
U.S. President Joe Biden attends an event on fighting "ghost guns" crimes at the White House in Washington, D.C. April 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The almost complete Republican opposition to Democratic priorities, including gun rules, has hobbled a party with razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate, says ABC.

NEW YORK, April 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democrats have spent years pledging to address the gun violence that plagues communities across the country, but a surge of mass shootings over the weekend that left dozens wounded and two dead served as a reminder of how little they have accomplished since taking control of Washington 15 months ago, reported ABC on Tuesday.

"The struggle for the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress to enact any meaningful legislation to enhance gun safety reflects how the party's ambitious agenda has been frustratingly stunted by internal squabbling, the persistence of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine," said the report.

Police work at a nearby street after a shooting took place at a subway station in Brooklyn, New York, the United States, on April 12, 2022. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

The almost complete Republican opposition to Democratic priorities, including gun rules, has hobbled a party with razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate, according to the national broadcaster.

"In an already difficult election year, the inaction threatens to further undermine the coalition of young people, women, voters of color and independents who helped deliver Joe Biden the presidency in 2020 and will be needed again if Democrats are to hold control of Congress," said the report.

In the meantime, more Americans are dying from gun-related injuries than ever before. In 2020, the most recent year for which federal data is available, 19,384 people were killed in gun homicides, a 35 percent increase from the previous year and the largest one-year increase in gun homicides on record, it added. Enditem.
UNITED NATIONS, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Mali officials block human rights representatives from investigating a three-week-old military operation that claimed 200-plus lives amid reports most victims were civilians, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.

"Our human rights colleagues are telling us that they are extremely concerned that the authorities in the country have still not granted UN human rights investigators access to the village of Moura," said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

During an operation more than three weeks ago, Malian Armed Forces, reportedly accompanied by foreign military personnel, allegedly carried out summary executions and multiple other serious rights violations, Dujarric told reporters at a regular briefing.

"Our colleagues tell us that the exact death toll is still unclear, the Malian army has acknowledged that it killed 203 fighters from 'armed terrorist groups' and arrested 51 people in what they say was a 'large-scale' military operation in the area," he said. "The Office for Human Rights says that preliminary information suggests that most victims were actually civilians."

UN human rights representatives reported that the Malian transitional authorities had opened an investigation into the operation, the spokesman said. He added that the humanitarians call on the transitional authorities to ensure the inquiry is timely, thorough, independent, and impartial. The rights office stressed the need for investigators to provide prompt, safe and unhindered access to the area.

The UN Human Rights Office said an independent on-the-ground investigation is critical and that time is of the essence to ensure accountability and prompt and effective justice for the victims. 
BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday held phone talks with Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili over the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Noting that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Georgia, an important year of inheriting the past and ushering in the future, Wang said the two countries should draw on the successful experience of the development of bilateral relations, and make plans for bilateral cooperation in the next 30 years.

China and Georgia should continue to uphold the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, make overall plans for, coordinate and advance bilateral relations from a strategic, long-term and comprehensive perspective, promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, deepen practical cooperation, and push forward the sound, stable and sustainable development of bilateral relations, he said.

Georgia has an important geographical location, unique history and culture, as well as huge development potential, Wang noted, adding that China is ready to strengthen communication with Georgia in international affairs, jointly promote peaceful development, safeguard international fairness and justice, and uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law.

China speaks highly of Georgia's consistent support on China's core interests and major concerns, and appreciates Georgia's adherence to the one-China policy and its opposition to "Taiwan independence" in any form, Wang said.

He said China respects Georgia's independent choice of its development path, and welcomes its accession to the Global Development Initiative at an early date.

For his part, Darchiashvili thanked China for its strong support on Georgia's economic and social development, especially for its assistance in providing anti-pandemic supplies and vaccines.

Noting that Georgia is located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Darchiashvili said practical cooperation between Georgia and China enjoys broad prospects.

Georgia always attaches great importance to developing relations with China, and is ready to take the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to deepen practical cooperation in such areas as economy and trade, strengthen coordination on international and regional issues, and lift bilateral relations to a new level. 
ANKARA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Turkey issued an arrest warrant for 44 people suspected of involvement in the money transfer to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), semi-official Anadolu Agency reported Wednesday.

The investigation was based in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir and targeted the PKK's financial structure, after claims of irregularities involving bidders from pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) municipalities.

The money gathered by these municipalities from bidders was allegedly transferred to the PKK after the 2019 local elections, the agency reported.

The investigation covers six provinces, and the suspects included the deputy chair of the Diyarbakir Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Last week, Turkish authorities issued an arrest warrant for 91 people, including members of the HDP, on suspicion of being PKK members and linked with acts of "financing terror."

The Turkish government blames the HDP for being a political front for the outlawed PKK. The party, which has 55 seats in the 600-member parliament, denies any links to the PKK.

Turkish authorities earlier arrested several mayors of the HDP municipalities as part of terrorism-related investigations. More than 45 HDP mayors were replaced with government-appointed officials since the 2019 local elections in which the party won 65 municipalities.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades. 
MOGADISHU, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan troops serving under the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) wrapped up a two-day training Tuesday on the protection of civilians during military operations.

The AU mission said the training, which covered international humanitarian law, aimed to reinforce their knowledge and skills on their obligation to protect civilians while undertaking operations in the Area of Responsibility (AoR).

"We are focusing on several modules of protection, including general protection, child protection, and women protection, but of course, we are also going to cover IHL (International Human rights Law) in the discussion," ATMIS protection officer, Gloria Jaase said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

The 31 newly deployed officers, among them three females, attended the training conducted in Kismayo in the southern part of Somalia.

"We have taken our officers through the guidelines of protecting civilians as established by the African Union for peace support operations. We have also taken them through the legal frameworks guiding them on protecting civilians," Jaase said.

Under international humanitarian law, armed forces are required to protect the civilian population from dangers arising from military operations, with people with specific needs, such as children, women, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and displaced people, requiring special attention.

Tom Obonyo, one of the participants said that the course was beneficial and served as a refresher to remind them of their primary responsibility to ensure the protection of civilians.

"We are very grateful to attend this course on the protection of civilians in this operational area. As the main actors in this operation, we need to get this particular knowledge, (especially) protection of women and children, and the lessons will go a long way in assisting us to conduct our operations," Obonyo said. 
ADDIS ABABA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission has announced a solidarity fund to support South Africa following recent devastating floods there.

Moussa Faki Mahamat expressed "his full solidarity and renewed his sincere condolences" to the affected families, the government and people of South Africa following the deadly floods, according to an AU statement issued late Tuesday.

Floods in the Kwazulu-Natal province of South Africa left hundreds of people dead and caused massive destruction of homes and infrastructure.

Faki announced a donation of 150,000 U.S. dollars from the AU Emergency Fund in support of the South African government's response and rescue efforts.

"The chairperson reaffirms the unwavering support of and solidarity with the people and government of South Africa during this difficult time," the statement said.

South African officials said on Sunday that the number of people killed in flood had risen to 443, and that 63 others remained missing, as the KwaZulu-Natal province experienced heavy rains that damaged roads, homes, schools, electricity poles, and many government infrastructure.

According to local officials, the flooding was among the worst the province has experienced. 
ADDIS ABABA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations family in Ethiopia on Wednesday marked the Chinese Language Day with an aim to promote Chinese language and culture by promoting linguistic and cultural diversity.

The Chinese language commemoration event, which was co-hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in collaboration with the Chinese Mission to the African Union (AU), was held virtually due to COVID-19 concerns.

Oliver Chinganya, Officer in Charge(OIC) of UNECA, and Director of the Division of Statistics, said the celebrations acknowledged the day as an important part of the United Nations's promotion of multilateralism, cultural multilingualism, cultural and linguistic diversity, and the equitable use of the UN's six official languages.

"Chinese is the language of education, knowledge acquisition, science, politics, international relations, and business. The UN Economic commission for Africa has been offering Chinese language courses to staff members to broaden their linguistic horizons," he said.

The celebration event featured presentations on the Chinese language and culture, traditional Chinese dance and personal experience of Chinese culture and language by African youth, traditional Chinese music, Tai Chi performance as well as presentation on Chinese calligraphy.

Participants emphasized that the Chinese Language Day celebration event could be seen as an important platform in creating awareness of the Chinese language in particular and Chinese culture in general to the rest of the world.

Chen Xufeng, Charge d'Affaires of Mission of China to the AU, said in line with the ever-growing demand for Chinese language across the world with growing numbers of Chinese language students, some 16 African countries have already incorporated Chinese language in their education system.

"Chinese language, written in Chinese characters, embodies the wisdom of Chinese civilization. It plays an active role in facilitating people around the world to learn Chinese culture and social development," Chen said.

The Chinese language is one of the six languages of the United Nations. The other five are Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

Ma Jianfei, Director General of Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) of China, on his part emphasized the huge significance of bolstering China-Africa ties in the education sector, with particular emphasis given to linguistic studies.

"Language exchange has always played a fundamental and leading role to China-Africa cooperation in various fields; and tens of thousands of Chinese learners and graduates have become the backbone of building Africa and facilitating the China-Africa friendship," he said.

The United Nations family in Ethiopia annually commemorates the Chinese Language Day in line with the decision by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) back in 2010 to mark the Chinese Language Day on April 20.

The decision envisaged celebrating multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six of the UN's official working languages throughout the organization's structure and activities.

April 20 was chosen as the Chinese Language Day to pay tribute to Cangjie, a mythical figure claimed to have invented Chinese characters. 
NAIROBI, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Wednesday launched a mobile app to provide real-time sign language interpretation services in Kenya as part of efforts to promote social and economic inclusion.

Maureen Mbaka, chief administrative secretary in the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology (ICT), Innovation and Youth Affairs, told journalists in Nairobi, Kenya's capital, that the assistALL mobile app will bridge the communication gap between deaf persons and third parties in the health, higher education, judicial system, government services and finance.

"AssistALL is also creating employment opportunities for sign language interpreters who have the potential to earn a consistent income as the app brings them closer to their customer base without having to consider the logistics of travel," Mbaka said.

Statistics indicate that there are currently more than 260,000 people with hearing impairments in Kenya.

Mbaka noted that the mobile app will provide benefits to persons with disabilities because with as little as 30 shillings (about 26 U.S. cents) one can access a sign language interpreter.

She revealed that for corporate and professionals, mobile technology will allow them to access deaf consumers who have in the past not been considered during business planning.

Luke Muleka, the chief executive officer of Signs Media which developed the mobile app, said that the technology will revolutionize how the deaf participate in the socioeconomic development in Kenya by enabling them to live independently. 
JAKARTA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Jose Ramos-Horta leads the presidential run-off in Timor Leste, according to the country's Election Commission Secretariat on Wednesday.

With 98 percent of the total votes already counted, Ramos-Horta has garnered 72.74 percent of the votes while his rival Francisco Guterres got 27.26 percent of the votes.

The presidential run-off was held on Tuesday.

In the first round of the presidential election held in March, Ramos-Horta got 46.5 percent of the votes, followed by Guterres with 22.1 percent.

The run-off was held as no one of the two frontrunners gained more than the 50 percent threshold. 
Assyrians, Greeks and Armenians to Hold Marches on Genocide Remembrance Day

The Armenian community in Australia will hold a march for justice on April 24 -- the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, in the Sydney and Melbourne Squares. The marches will be held jointly with the representatives of the Greek and Assyrian communities.

Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia Hayk Gayserian told Armenpress that the purpose of the upcoming march is to urge the Australian authorities to recognize the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks perpetrated by Turkey.

"Our goal is to deliver to the Australian authorities that recognizing the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks, perpetrated by Turkey in 1915, is an important and strong necessity for our communities. Like more than 30 countries, international organizations, the different states of Australia have also recognized the Armenian Genocide, and the government of Australia should also do that", Hayk Gayserian said.

He informed that this year's April 24th march will also touch upon the current situation in Artsakh. It will be presented in a context that the actions of Aliyev's administration against the people of Artsakh are the continuation of the same genocide.

"Those actions have been done against Armenians because Turkey's crimes are still left unpunished. We consider this impunity the main reason that countries like Azerbaijan and Turkey are trying to carry out such actions against Armenians", the ANC Australia Executive Director said.

The commemoration events will continue also on April 26. A commemoration event is scheduled that day, during which members of the Parliament of Australia will deliver speeches. There will be representatives from the two major political parties of the country. They will call on their government to recognize the 1915 genocide. The event will be held online. Ombudsman of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan will also deliver a speech on the impunity of the genocide which affected the people of Artsakh.

Asked what is the probability that the government of Australia will recognize the genocide of Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians, Hayk Gayserian said there is progress and they will continue the works on this direction. At this stage the situation is that the Parliament of Australia adopted a resolution, calling on the government to recognize the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks. The Australian Parliament had its say on the issue of the Genocide.

"The Parliament represents the whole society, therefore we can state that the people are ready for the recognition, it remains for the executive power to do that. It either should follow the call of its people and recognize the Genocide or become the subject of the dictatorial leadership of Turkey, which is exerting external pressure on the Australian government", he said, recalling the 2021 April 24th speech of the Australian PM where he talked about the 1915 events, the deportation of Armenians without using the term genocide. According to Gayserian, it's the time for the next step.

Hayk Gayserian said Australia is on the eve of new elections. The elections of the Federal Parliament will be held on May 21, the incumbent PM tends to be re-elected. According to him, the elections are an occasion to touch upon the issue of the Genocide, although there could be reasons between the leadership and the opposition.

"Of course, our call must be to use the term genocide in the commemoration speeches. If the April 24th speeches do not address the Genocide as we expect, we will clarify the positions of the two parties on this matter from April 24 up to the May 21st elections. Armenians will vote in favor of those who are ready to recognize the genocide of Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians", Hayk Gayserian said.
KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The 2022 Annual Conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) will kick-start key discussions on post-pandemic recovery and boost efforts by countries that are emerging from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, said a renowned Malaysian expert in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Drawing attention to this year's theme "The World in COVID-19 & Beyond: Working Together for Global Development and Shared Future", Oh Ei Sun, principal adviser for Malaysia's Pacific Research Center, said the theme accurately captured the sentiments of many countries including Malaysia, which are just recovering and adapting to the post-pandemic world.

He also said the BFA comes at a particularly advantageous time as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has come into force, giving participating economies the opportunity to tap into China's vast market to accelerate their own economic recovery and growth.

"The Boao Forum for Asia traditionally has been a forum for both policymakers as well as business communities, as well as some of those think tanks, intellectuals ... to come together, to come up with suggestions and proposals so that each of these participating countries would be able to better coordinate their economic policies," he said.

Oh said this is especially important for countries among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, some of which are on a low-tide of economic development but are now keenly aware of the benefits of rapid digitalization, having drawn important lessons from the pandemic.

He also noted that this renewed interest would see Chinese e-commerce platforms play a greater role in regional trade and Chinese companies have an invaluable opportunity to better understand Southeast Asian markets, consumers and to localize their products to tap into these consumers.

"Most of us during the lockdown period in our respective countries during the pandemic would have made use of these electronic commerce platforms. There are various major Chinese electronic platforms, which are performing and also trying to establish themselves in Southeast Asia," he said.

"And most of them have met with quite a resounding success but I think when they work together with some of their local counterparts, that would add in local ingredients and local contents to their offerings. And very often, that would make sure that your business takes off even further," he added.

Oh, who will deliver a speech at BFA 2022, said that the interaction between RCEP and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would be a hot topic, as many RCEP members are also BRI partners who are longing for a faster post-pandemic recovery.

Oh believed that RCEP would bring a new momentum to the development of BRI as both complemented each other by promoting the free flow of capital, facilitating trade, improving communication and transportation, and increasing people-to-people exchanges.

"A large number of Southeast Asian countries benefited from the initial projects of the Belt and Road Initiative. And now that RCEP has entered into force, we would look forward to learning more (about) how the BRI and RCEP would interact with one another and hopefully that could bring new momentum to how the Belt and Road Initiative continues to connect China with the rest of Southeast Asia," he said.

The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) will hold its annual conference from April 20 to 22 in Boao, a coastal town in southern China's island province of Hainan. Attendees will gather and discuss the post-pandemic development agenda for Asia and the world. 
Timor Leste presidential candidate Jose Ramos-Horta is seen before speaking to the media in Dili, Timor Leste, April 21, 2022. Nobel Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta garnered 62.09 percent of the total votes in Timor Leste's presidential run-off as all the votes have been counted, according to the country's election administration body on Wednesday. (Photo by Amori Zedeao/Xinhua)

JAKARTA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Nobel Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta garnered 62.09 percent of the total votes in Timor Leste's presidential run-off as all the votes have been counted, according to the country's election administration body on Wednesday.

Ramos-Horta's rival Francisco Guterres got 37.91 percent of the total votes.

The presidential run-off was held on Tuesday.

In the first round of the presidential election held in March, Ramos-Horta got 46.5 percent of the votes, followed by Guterres with 22.1 percent.

The run-off was held as no one of the two frontrunners gained more than the 50 percent threshold.

The ballots had been completely counted as of Wednesday evening, according to the official website of the election body. But the official declaration of the winner has not been made so far.

Ramos-Horta, one of Timor Leste's founding fathers and the country's former president, is backed by the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction Party. Meanwhile, Guterres is endorsed by the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor Party.

Around 75 percent of the nearly 860,000 eligible voters cast their ballots in Tuesday's poll. 

Timor Leste presidential candidate Jose Ramos-Horta speaks to the media in Dili, Timor Leste, April 21, 2022. Nobel Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta garnered 62.09 percent of the total votes in Timor Leste's presidential run-off as all the votes have been counted, according to the country's election administration body on Wednesday. (Photo by Amori Zedeao/Xinhua)

Timor Leste presidential candidate Jose Ramos-Horta speaks to the media in Dili, Timor Leste, April 21, 2022. Nobel Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta garnered 62.09 percent of the total votes in Timor Leste's presidential run-off as all the votes have been counted, according to the country's election administration body on Wednesday. (Photo by Amori Zedeao/Xinhua)
Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela (1st R) congratulates the new Foreign Minister Ian Borg (4th R) in the presence of President George Vella (2nd R) during a swear-in ceremony in Valletta, Malta, March 30, 2022. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua)

VALLETTA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela on Wednesday appointed his 24-member cabinet of ministers and junior ministers, which includes four newly elected parliamentarians.

The new cabinet has "a mix of youth and experience," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement minutes before a long ceremony, during which they took their oath of office in the presence of President George Vella.

According to the statement, the new cabinet is charged with implementing the electoral program, whose main goals are a "more beautiful Malta, equal opportunities and better quality of life."

Chris Fearne remains health minister. The new Foreign Minister is Ian Borg after Evarist Bartolo failed to get elected.

The new Justice Minister is newcomer Jonathan Attard, replacing Edward Zammit Lewis, who also failed to get elected. Another newcomer, Jo-Etienne Abela, will be minister for active aging. Silvio Schembri retained the economy ministry; Clayton Bartolo will continue as tourism minister; Clifton Bartolo will remain education minister; and Clyde Caruana will keep the finance portfolio. The Maltese island of Gozo will remain under the remit of Clint Camilleri. 
A sign supporting Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is seen outside Westminster Magistrate's Court in London, Britain, April 20, 2022. Britain's Westminster Magistrate's Court issued a formal order on Wednesday to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face espionage charges.

The decision on whether to approve the extradition now rests with British Home Secretary Priti Patel, although Assange's lawyers may still appeal within 14 days against any decision that approves the extradition. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

LONDON, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Westminster Magistrate's Court issued a formal order on Wednesday to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face espionage charges.

The decision on whether to approve the extradition now rests with British Home Secretary Priti Patel, although Assange's lawyers may still appeal within 14 days against any decision that approves the extradition.

"In layman's terms, I am duty bound to send your case to the Secretary of State for a decision," said chief magistrate Paul Goldspring after he issued the extradition order.

Last month, Britain's Supreme Court denied Assange permission to appeal against a High Court decision to extradite him to the United States.

Assange, 50, is wanted in the United States on allegations of disclosing national defense information following WikiLeaks's publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked military documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars a decade ago, which included an Apache helicopter video footage documenting the U.S. military gunning down Reuters journalists and children in Baghdad's streets in 2007.

He has been held at south London's high-security Belmarsh Prison since 2019. He married his long-term partner Stella Moris, a lawyer, in the prison last month.

The U.S. request to extradite Assange from Britain is politically motivated, Moris said last December.

The U.S. extradition request for Assange is retaliation in disguise, and this constitutes yet another example of the United States encroaching on other countries' sovereignty, Moris said.

"The United States is abusing its real power, its ability to get others to do what it wants because of its might, in order to silence him, because he has embarrassed parts of the United States," Moris said then.

Lawyers for the United States said earlier that Assange would be allowed to transfer to Australia, his home country, to serve any prison sentence he may be given. 

A sign supporting Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is seen outside Westminster Magistrate's Court in London, Britain, April 20, 2022. Britain's Westminster Magistrate's Court issued a formal order on Wednesday to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face espionage charges.

The decision on whether to approve the extradition now rests with British Home Secretary Priti Patel, although Assange's lawyers may still appeal within 14 days against any decision that approves the extradition. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

A supporter of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is seen outside Westminster Magistrate's Court in London, Britain, April 20, 2022. Britain's Westminster Magistrate's Court issued a formal order on Wednesday to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face espionage charges.

The decision on whether to approve the extradition now rests with British Home Secretary Priti Patel, although Assange's lawyers may still appeal within 14 days against any decision that approves the extradition. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
MOSCOW, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Russia announced that it successfully test-launched a Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday at a time when Moscow-West tensions have sharply escalated over Ukraine.

The missile was fired from a silo at 15:12 Moscow Time (1212 GMT) at the Plesetsk state test cosmodrome in northwest Russia's Arkhangelsk region, the country's Defense Ministry said.

The training warheads reached a given area at the Kura test ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula and the tasks were completed in full, it said in a statement.

After the test, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the new missile complex has "the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is able to overcome all modern means of anti-missile defense."

Sarmat will strengthen the combat potential of the Russian Armed Forces, protect Russia from external threats, and "make those who, in the heat of frenzied and aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country think," he said in an online meeting with top defense officials. 
LOS ANGELES, April 19 (Xinhua) -- A total of 34 people were shot in Los Angeles in a "troubling week," local media reported Tuesday citing Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department Michel Moore.

The police chief told the Los Angeles Police Commission that 23 of the shootings happened within a "remarkably small area" last week in the second-largest city in the United States, according to City News Service, a regional wire service covering Southern California.

"The problem that we have throughout Los Angeles is too many guns in too many hands," Moore was quoted as saying by the news outlet.

So far in April, 70 people have been shot in Los Angeles, up from 55 during the same period last year. There have been 107 homicides so far in 2022, while at this point in 2021 there were 109. While the number has decreased slightly in 2022, Moore said, it still represents a 37 percent increase over a two-year period, City News Service reported.

Violent crime has increased 7.1 percent year-to-date, with 575 additional violent crimes reported, primarily aggravated assaults, street robberies, and commercial robberies, the news outlet reported, citing Moore.

Over 23,000 people have died or been injured due to gun-related incidents in the United States so far this year, according to a database run by the nonprofit research group Gun Violence Archive. 
Niger: At least 80 people have been killed and more than 60 have been kidnapped by bike-borne gunmen in predominantly Christian villages in Nigeria's southern plateau state. This incident is being told of Sunday, April 10, 2022. According to media reports, more than 115 houses have been destroyed in these attacks in Christian villages like Kukawa, Kyaram, Yelwa, Dadda, Gyambawu, Dungur, Wanka, Shuwaka, Gwammadaji and Dadin Kowa in Nigeria.

It has also been told in the report that in this attack in Nigeria, hundreds of people from Christian villages, leaving their burning houses, somehow escaped for their lives. The report said a mother and her children ran overnight for five hours to reach the neighboring Bauchi state safely, in order to somehow save their lives. At the same time, Muslim Fulani terrorists are being considered responsible for this attack. At the same time, it is also being said that the government of the country has closed its eyes on these atrocities.

The report quoted an eyewitness as saying, 'It is a miracle of God that they survived the massacre and were not killed by any wild animal.' Media reports claim that Fulani Muslims, because of their nomadic lifestyle, have attacked Christian farming communities in search of pasture.

Iraq summons Turkey envoy in protest at Kurdistan over military offensive

PM Modi gave new name 'Tulsi Bhai' to WHO Chief, PM was happy to hear Tedros Ghebreyesus's Gujarati.

North Korea's military parade seems imminent, suggests satellite imagery
SEOUL: according to satellite imagery reported by US news outlets on Wednesday, North Korea appeared to be making final preparations for a military parade with a significant number of troops ahead of another key milestone next week.

According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), more than 12,000 troops gathered in a plaza of Pyongyang's Mirim Airfield earlier this week. As per media reports, it used commercial satellite imagery provided by Planet Labs.

The region is recognised as the secretive North's customary parade training venue, complete with a duplicate of Kim Il Sung Square, where such an event is performed, complete with goose-stepping soldiers and a display of significant weapon systems. The satellite imagery was captured on Sunday, a week before the North Korean People's Revolutionary Army (KPRA), an anti-Japanese guerrilla group, commemorates its 90th anniversary.

The presence of a sizable audience at Kim Il-sung Square is remarkable, indicating that the North's parade preparations are nearing completion.

On April 17-18, several individuals were observed there, with temporary tents built up, according to RFA. A report based on satellite pictures taken on April 17-18 showed a large gathering of people forming formations with red flowers in the square, according to Voice of America.

South Korea to set up task force on new US-led economic framework

US nuclear envoy arrives in South Korea for talks

South Korea, U.S in discussions to hold Yoon-Biden summit around May 21
It is said that they are lucky in whose house daughters are born. The birth of daughters in a house is said to be the birth of Lakshmi. But what to do Even today there are some people in the world who considered daughters a burden. Pakistani actress, Sahiba Afzal's name is also included in this list.

Sahiba Afzal has made controversial remarks about daughters. Sahiba is also being trolled a lot because of her statement. Not only social media users, but Pakistani celebs are also not shying away from condemning Sahiba. Now what kind of rhetoric has Sahiba finally started about the daughters, which is being talked about so much. know.

Which statement of Sahiba created a ruckus?: Celebrity couple Afzal Khan and his wife Sahiba Afzal appeared with their two sons on Nida Yasir's Sahari show Good Morning Pakistan. Here Sahiba said strange things while endorsing sons. She said she never wanted daughters. Sahiba has said lucky that she does not have a single daughter. Instead, they have two sons. Reacting immediately to his wife's statement, Afzal Khan has said - When I see the beautiful bond of my partner Shaan Shahid and Saud Yousuf with their daughters, I also feel like getting that experience. I've always wanted to have a daughter.

After which Sahiba has said - I don't want to have a daughter because women in the world do not have any autonomy in their choice and so they always get to fear their own fate. I've always wanted a son. I am thankful to Allah that he did not give me a daughter because daughters face a lot of pressure. They can't live their whole lives in their own way. First the pressure of the parents, then the husband. They have no desire of their own. Girls have no life of their own.

Sahiba getting trolled: Another video of this interview is fast going viral on social media where Sahiba has said what kind of daughter-in-law she wants for her sons. In the video, Sahiba says that for her sons, she needs a tall, fair and slim girl. Mehnaaz, the wife of actor Moammar Rana, reacted to Sahiba's statement. Mehnaaz posted on social media and wrote- Daughters are Rahmat and Rahmat is never a burden. In the second post, Mehnaaz writes - The woman is Lucky whose first child is a daughter. I'm lucky to have two daughters.

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Arab Writer and Assyrian Politician Define Ways to Confront Genocide

The Middle East region in general, the Levant (Iraq - Syria - Lebanon) and Kurdistan in particular, are facing difficult challenges and the most dangerous stage in the history of this region.

This region includes diverse and different peoples, nationalities and religions, this diversity and instead of being a blessing turned into a curse, as the greedy forces in the region and its wealth worked to bring about division between these peoples and religions by taking advantage of the rule of racist nationalist parties for these countries at the expense of other nationalities and components and sectarian fighting took place in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and others.

Sectarian, national and ethnic conflict remained in these countries in light of the political and religious forces in the region feeding this fighting until the application of the theory of the democratic nation and brotherhood of peoples in northern and eastern Syria, which is being fought after it proved its effectiveness in resolving historical crises in the region.

The success of the experience of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria hit the goals of all the regional powers as Turkey was unable to complete its project of control and achieve the Milli Pact that aims to control the region, in addition to the fact that the Kurdistan Democratic Party in southern Kurdistan disappointed its hopes of extending its influence is to Rojava. It is also concerned about the experience of the Autonomous amid the exposure of the corruption of the Barzani family.

The model of the democratic nation and the brotherhood of peoples removed from the hands of Turkey and other powers the option to cause fighting between these peoples. In response, the Turkish state began launching simultaneous attacks on the Guerilla forces, which is the first point from which the theory of the democratic nation was launched, and in the north and east of Syria the successful experiment in this framework.

The Turkish occupation state announced, at dawn on Monday, the start of genocide attacks in the Zab, Avashin and Metina regions, and the announcement came three days after the visit of Masrour Barzani and a delegation from the Democratic Party to Turkey.

Simultaneously, the Turkish occupation intensified its missile and artillery attacks on Zarkan, Tal Tamr and Ain Issa in northern and eastern Syria.

Arab-Kurdish unity is a safety valve for both sides

The Egyptian writer, journalist and expert on Turkish affairs, Mohsen Awadallah, stressed "the necessity and inevitability of the union of the peoples of the region with its various components, including Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Armenians, and various religious and ethnic components in the face of Turkish or Iranian."

He added: "There is no solution in the face of these Turkish interventions in particular, except for the Arab-Kurdish unity in particular is a safety valve for both parties."

He explained that "when Turkey and Iran before it succeeded in creating a kind of gap in relations between Arabs and Kurds, these powers were able to achieve their plans and divide the spheres of influence in the region, and therefore if we want to cut off the influence of these Turkish or Iranian interference, we have nothing but to return the thing to its origin and return the Arabs and the Kurds to a people united by a common history and extended relations and roots that go deep into history."

How did Turkey succeed in perpetuating the dispute between the Kurds and the Arabs?

The Egyptian writer and journalist spoke about the methods of the dominant powers, led by Turkey, to perpetuate the dispute between the peoples of the region, saying: "In order to be able to achieve its plans and impose its influence in the Middle East and the countries of the region, it sought to control through, first, the sabotage between the Arabs and the Kurds, it distorted the image of the Kurds." Completely with the Arabs, and we have seen generations of Arabs who know nothing about the Kurds except that they are agents and atheists and want to divide the Middle East. This is Turkey's view, which unfortunately succeeded in consolidating and spreading it among the Arab people.

He added in the same context: "On the other hand, the Arabs, in the eyes of the Kurds, became aggressors and occupiers, all of them Saddam Hussein, all of them Ba'athists and bloody ones, and this hostile view that Turkey succeeded in creating between the two parties had the greatest impact on Turkey succeeding in achieving its goals according to the theory of divide and rule and therefore when these two peoples unite, the Turkish presence will end."

The Union of Arabs and Kurds threatens Turkish influence

Mohsen Awadallah referred to Turkey's concern about the compatibility of Arabs and Kurds, saying: "Turkey knows that the union of Arabs and Kurds threatens its interests and survival, so it sought to disperse this force and even divided the Arabs internally, and it has strong relations with a particular faction, whether it is the Brotherhood, Islamic currents, or supporting countries It, like Qatar, then entered into hostility with countries such as Egypt and the Gulf states, then returned again to reconcile with the Gulf countries and is trying to reconcile with Egypt, and therefore it is moving according to a purely pragmatic policy that has no other concern but to extend the Turkish influence in the region.

He added: "Therefore, we must first be aware of the real goals of the Turkish plans in the region and that they cannot bring good to the region and that they seek to achieve the Milli pact and restore the rest of the lands of what was called the Ottoman Empire. If the Arabs are not aware of this fact, the Ottoman dream will come true again."

There are more points of agreement than points of disagreement

On how peoples unite, Awadallah said: "It requires that we start a new page in relations, search for common relations that unite us. A historical legacy that includes many factors of agreement, and unfortunately the occupying countries have sought to deepen the points of disagreement, the least of which are in exchange for dwarfing the common points of agreement.

He added, "Therefore, if we are serious about preserving the peoples of this region, we must start together a new page based on cooperation, brotherhood and love, away from any national, racial or religious chants or slogans. We are all brothers in humanity, we are all children of Adam and Eve."

The theory of the democratic nation is enough to bring down all schemes

The Egyptian journalist, speaking about the theory of the democratic nation, said: "The unity of the peoples of the region according to the theory of the democratic nation and Syrian model in particular, this would bring down all Turkish plans. The Autonomous Administration in particular presents a unique model in the Middle East that brings together all peoples, ethnicities and religions under one umbrella is the Autonomous Administration, the democratic nation and the brotherhood of the peoples. There is no difference between a Yazidi and a Muslim, Sunni or Shiite, Alawi, Kurdish, Arab, all of them are brothers and sons of this Syrian homeland.

He added, "This theory alone is the ideal solution to the Syrian crisis that has eluded the world and which the world does not want to find a solution for more than 10 years."

He continued, "Therefore, if the peoples of the region succeed in overcoming differences and implementing the democratic nation project, I think that Syria will return to a democratic state, a free state, a strong federal state that accommodates all its peoples. The experience for the whole region leads to a dwarfing of the Turkish role throughout the Middle East."

A member of the Central Committee of the Assyrian Democratic Party, Johnny Hormuz, in turn spoke first of the Turkish attacks, saying: "Turkey's hostile position is not new or urgent in Syria, as it is one of the most important and most interfering countries in Syrian affairs, and one of the most important reasons for the continuation of the crisis and the complexity of the political scene during the period The war imposed on the Syrian homeland through its support for terrorist factions and forces or by direct intervention in some areas, as is now in the north and east of Syria, specifically in the Jazira region, which is subjected to Turkish bombardment and the forces supported by Ankara, to occupy large areas and make a demographic change that achieves its ambitions and colonialism and guarantees it in the coming days a greater and deeper influence and influence.

He added: "In order to bring down this project and these goals, it was necessary to take preventive measures to stand in the face of these challenges, which have become a permanent danger to all the people of the region, including Arabs, Kurds and Assyrians, by unifying the word and political position among all components of the region and not enabling them to create an incubating environment. its armed terrorist factions, despite the fact that some are drawn to this distorted ideology that seeks to destroy the region and kill and displace its sons.

Turkey divides society to achieve its goals

The Assyrian politician also spoke about Turkey's methods of entrenching the fighting between peoples, saying: "It was clear in all the areas that these Turkish-funded and directed factions entered by highlighting and showing themselves as the defender of a component of the Syrian people and targeting other components as they do now in North and East Syria to create national and sectarian conflicts and divide society to make it easier for it to achieve its goals.

Steps and working mechanisms for the union of components

The Assyrian politician laid out steps for the union of peoples, saying: "This matter needs steps and real mechanisms of action stemming from a political will that believes that the unity of the sons and peoples of the region is based on a true and solid basis and genuine participation in decision-making and participation in shaping the region's future, security and civil peace and consolidating the principle of democracy and justice It is the first building block and the right step to move forward in unifying these components."

At the end of his speech, the Assyrian politician Johnny Hormuz summarized these steps by saying:

Respecting the privacy of each component and its full right to exercise its political work, manage its social and military institutions, and guarantee its rights through procedures and laws that preserve these rights.

Developing relations and confidence-building measures between political parties and among the peoples of the region.

Full cooperation and coordination between all political and popular forces to maintain civil peace.
Mumbai: Police have arrested two people for trying to take his car under the influence of alcohol in the security convoy of Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth in the country's financial capital Mumbai. Police said on Wednesday that the incident happened at 1.50 pm on Monday, when the convoy of Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth was moving towards the Bandra Worli Sea Link from the Western Expressway Highway.

Police said that a traffic police constable posted on the north side of the road had stopped the movement of the convoy to pass, but two people sitting in a car started blowing the horn. Both of them have been identified as Akash Anil Shukla (24) and Santosh Ginde (22). Police said that Akash Shukla, the driver of the vehicle, started moving forward and continued to blow the horn and tried to enter the route of the Prime Minister of Mauritius. Along with this, he also tried to intimidate the police officers.

When the police officers tried to stop the duo from moving forward in the car, the youth abused them and started making videos on their mobile phones, while Shukla stepped on the accelerator and crushed the police officers and entered the convoy. Tried. When the car tried to move towards Sea Link, the police stopped the car and arrested both of them. He was taken to Bhabha Hospital where medical tests confirmed that he was intoxicated.

Jobs for the posts of Specialist Officers in PNB, apply like this "

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Home  Society  Reform  Should Nepal make online education a norm? What does it take anyway?

For Kiran, a part-time social studies high-school teacher in Kathmandu, the past few months have really been boring. After a gap of nearly two years, he again has to wake up in the wee hours, study for an hour, have a quick breakfast and leave home as early as other family members are not even awake.

The past two years were fun in a way thanks to the online education practices. You could teach all the classes from the comfort of your bed, Kiran, who does not want to be identified by his second name here, complains, But, it didnt last long.

Kiran thinks schools and colleges in Nepal, at least in Kathmandu and other urban centres, should adopt online education as a norm now as it is already proven possible. Further, its easy for both teachers and students. On the institutional side, it reduces the cost, he says, What made you drop the online education system again?

The Covid outbreak in early 2020 affected almost every sector in Nepal. It made people change their lifestyles. It changed the way of working in every sector. The education sector also moved online with most academic institutions from different parts of the country hosting virtual classes. They also conducted the exams and ECAs online, triggering people like Kiran to feel the way they do today.

Consequently, there have been some discussions on making online education the regular method of teaching rather than the occasional one. Educationists and stakeholders are positive about the proposal but stress some reforms are essential.

Prospects of the new pedagogy

A screenshot of an online class for the TU management stream.

Educationist and former head of the Department of Education at Tribhuvan University, Bidya Nath Koirala, is positive about the proposal of making online education a norm for educational institutions.

We must immediately launch the online classes on a regular basis. The new generation is well literate with technology, and the online classes can be an effective method for them to make things understandable, says Koirala.

Online education technology can give the students access to the global context.

Koirala, nonetheless, believes to make the virtual classes effective, the teachers should mainly focus on their teaching methodology. They should avoid the lecture method that is implemented during physical classes.

He urges the teachers to explore the features on the virtual platforms that would make the classes productive and effective. Koirala also has seen teachers who have run the online classes effectively. Those teachers are well known and well literate on the ways to make the virtual classes productive.

People complain course structures that Nepal has been practising are not online-friendly, but Koirala contradicts it. He says, It is up to the teachers to make the existing courses online-friendly.

Institutionalisation efforts

Tribhuvan University central office. Photo: Shankar Giri

It is true that online education does not have a long history in Nepal. But, thanks to Covid, you cannot argue that it is completely new and the society is not friendly to it.

Moreover, the oldest university in the country, Tribhuvan University started conducting online classes in 2015, informs Ganga Ram Gautam, the chief of the Open and Distance Education Centre at the TU.

Even before the pandemic, the university used to run some classes under two programmes virtually: master in English and master in mathematics. Post-pandemic, it has been expanded to over 15 programmes regularly.

The online classes at TU run either every day or once or twice a week, depending on the course and syllabus.

According to Gautam, virtual classes are progressive and productive, but there are yet two main challenges.

There are still many students and teachers who are not friendly with technology and virtual methods, says Gautam. Likewise, in many parts of the country, there is no proper broadband connection which is depriving many students of online education.

The notion of blended pedagogy

Representational image. Photo: Pexels/ Rodnae Productions

Educationist Laxman Gnawali, also the chairperson of the School Management Committee at Kathmandu University, also agrees with Koirala regarding the operation of online classes.

Moreover, he talks about blended pedagogy to address the concerns raised by Gautam.

The students should be involved in both online and physical classes, says Gnawali. Since the online classes alone cannot all address all the courses, the physical classes also should be conducted in parallel.

Blended classes ease the learning activities, he adds.

Furthermore, Gnawali urges the concerned bodies to provide training to teachers and students to make them well-literate about online classes. He wants both the students and teachers to be friendly with features that are available on virtual platforms.

Students and teachers both should know about the features of virtual platforms that are concerned with animation, video, interactive quizzes and all other features that would make the online education systems vibrant and productive, says Gnawali.

With that, he also advises the concerned authority to work on the development of IT infrastructure and make all the needy students access the learning devices.

It means teachers like Kiran can hope for their wishes to come true in the next few years.
Home  Technology  Gadget  Vivo Y33s in Nepal: The phone might be okay, but the current market is unlikely to favour

Vivo Y33s is the latest addition in the Y series of the Vivo smartphones. The phone was officially released along with the mid-ranger Vivo V23 5G and a budget smartphone Vivo Y01.

Yet, Vivo Y33s is not exactly a new model from Vivo. The phone was already launched in the international market last year and has only recently made its way to Nepal.

The phone offers a larger resolution camera along with a slim and thin design. It also offers a good battery backup along with a decent charging feature. There are also multiple photography features on the phone for quicker and better photography. Vivo Y33s also features game boosting technology for gamers out there. Overall, the phone might be good in itself, yet a tough market competition in Nepal in the price range might not favour this latecomer.

Lets find out more about the phone.

Specifications

Dimensions Height: 164.26mm

Width: 76.08mm

Thickness: 8.00mm

Weight: 182 grams Display 6.58-inch IPS LCD Sim Dual sims Resolution 1,080*2,408 pixels OS Android 11, Funtouch 11.1 Chipset MediaTek Helio G80 (12 nm) GPU Mali-G52 MC2 Storage 128GB SD card slot Dedicated slot RAM 8GB Camera Front: 16MP, f/2.0

Rear: 50MP, f/1.8, PDAF

2MP, f/2.4 (depth)

2MP, f/2.4 ( macro) Sound Loudspeakers

3.5mm headphone jack Battery 5,000mAh, Li-Po, non-removable

Fast charging 18W Sensors Side-mounted fingerprint sensor

Accelerometer

Ambient light sensor

Proximity Sensor

E-compass

Side-mounted Fingerprint sensor

Gyroscope sensor Colours Mirror black, midday dream Price Rs 29,999

Design and display

Photo: Vivo

Vivo has been consistently providing elegant designs on its smartphones and Vivo Y33s is no exception. The phone has a glass front with a plastic back and a plastic frame. The phone offers a pleasing finish on the back that holds a rectangular camera panel. It has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor which is also the power button of the phone.   

The phone weighs 182 grams and is 8mm thick. It is available in two colour options: mirror black and midday dream, both reflecting the beauty of their own.

Photo: Vivo

On the front is a 6.58-inch IPS LCD water-drop notch display. It has a resolution of 1,080*2,408 pixels. With a screen-to-body ratio of 90.6%, it offers more space for the view. Furthermore, the phone also has a built-in blue light filter that prevents harmful blue lights and reduces the problem of eye strain on the users. There is also a facewake feature to unlock the phone.

Cameras

Vivo Y33s features a triple camera setup on the back and a single selfie shooter on the front. The main 50MP camera on the back is accompanied by a couple of 2MP depth and macro sensors. On the front is a 16MP camera for selfies and videos.

The camera features on the phone include night mode (front and rear), portrait, photo, video, panorama, live photo, slow-mo, time-lapse, pro, DOC, and 50MP.

Both cameras on Vivo Y33s can record videos at [email protected] 30fps only. The cameras feature EIS for stable videos.

Performance and storage

Photo: Vivo

Vivo Y33s runs on Funtouch 11.1 based on Android 11. The phone is powered by MediaTek Helio G80 (12 nm) chipset while the graphical duties are handled by Mali-G52 MC2.

The phone features some performance-boosting features like ultra game mode and hyper-engine game technology that enables dynamic management of CPU, GPU and memory, delivering sustained performance and longer gameplay. There is also a Multi-Turbo 5.0 feature that is said to enhance data connection, system processor speed and power-saving performance.

Photo: Vivo

For the storage, Vivo Y33s has an 8GB RAM onboard coupled with 128GB of internal storage. Both RAM and internal storage of the phone can be expanded. Vivo Y33s features extended RAM 2.0 technology, with which the phone can use idle ROM storage and expand the RAM by 4GB. For the expansion of storage, there is a dedicated microSD card slot on the phone and the user can expand the storage up to 1TB.

Battery life, connectivity and others

Photo: Vivo

Vivo Y33s feature a 5,000mAH non-removable li-po battery. The battery can be charged with an 18W fast charger. The battery life should be enough to last through a day even with maximum usage time.

The phone features a dual sim system and also supports dual-band wifi.   Furthermore. It has Bluetooth 5.0 and supports GPS, OTG and FM Radio. melbet The phone uses a USB Type-C cable for charging and connecting the phone with other devices.

There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack on the phone for audio connectivity.

Overall, notable features on the phone include:

50MP camera

Extended RAM feature

Sleek design

Big battery backup

EIS feature

Eye autofocus

Hyper engine Game technology

Ultra game mode

Multi-turbo 5.0

Facewake

The price of Vivo Y33s in Nepal is Rs 29,999 for the 8/128GB variant.

Verdict

In this price range, Vivo Y33s competes with the latest releases from Samsung, Realme and Xiaomi. As mentioned earlier, Vivo Y33s was released last year in other parts of the world and only made its way here this year. This is a great disadvantage to the company.

Although the phone offers a beautiful design, it lacks many features when compared to the smartphones of similar prices released this year. Samsung has Galaxy A23, Realme has the Realme 9i and Xiaomi has the Redmi Note 11 in a similar price range to Vivo Y33s.

The newly released smartphones have updated and faster processors, more efficient chipsets, better camera performance and even better displays. Yet, it would be an enormous challenge for Vivo to compete against the best in the market.
(Adds details from spokesperson)

NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) - Asset management firm T. Rowe Price plans to close to new investors its Emerging Europe Fund starting from May 9, it said in a regulatory filing this week, after marking the fund's Russian securities down to zero last month.

The $30 million fund, which invests at least 80% of its assets in stocks of companies located in European emerging markets including Eastern Europe and Russia, was down about 83% in the first three months of this year, according to a fact sheet on the T. Rowe Price website.

"Effective at the close of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, May 9, 2022, the fund will close to new investors and new accounts," T. Rowe Price said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

Investors who already hold positions in the fund may redeem their shares or continue to buy additional shares.

"This decision was made in the best interest of the fund's current shareholders and in light of current geopolitical events and market volatility", a T. Rowe Price spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday.

Last month, T. Rowe Price said Russian securities held in the fund's portfolio would be valued effectively at zero after Western sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

The move followed an announcement by index provider MSCI that it would remove Russian securities from its MSCI Emerging Markets Indices starting from March 9.

"Russian securities were recently removed from the funds benchmark index, which has made the Russian equity market largely uninvestable. Russian equities that continue to be held in our fund have been valued effectively at zero", said the spokesperson.

Except the Emerging Europe Fund, T. Rowe Price emerging markets fund had very little exposure to Russian securities and the majority of its funds had no Russian exposure whatsoever, the spokesperson added.

The United States, Britain, Europe and Canada announced sanctions on Russia - including blocking certain banks' access to the SWIFT international payment system - in the wake of the invasion, which Moscow calls a special military operation.

Several global investors have announced last month they were cutting their positions in Russia. (Reporting by Davide Barbuscia; Editing by Leslie Adler, Bernard Orr)
3D Systems Inc.

ROCK HILL, S.C., April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) announced today it will host an Investor Day on Monday, May 16, 2022 in Detroit, MI. President and CEO Dr. Jeffrey Graves and other members of the executive and senior leadership team will discuss 3D Systems differentiated solutions, market opportunity, and strategy for growth. The presentations will begin at 12:00 p.m. ET.



In-person attendees must be registered; if you are interested in attending, please email investor.relations@3dsystems.com.

The presentations will be webcast live and available on the Investor Relations section of our website at investor.3dsystems.com.

About 3D Systems

More than 30 years ago, 3D Systems brought the innovation of 3D printing to the manufacturing industry. Today, as the leading Additive Manufacturing solutions partner, we bring innovation, performance, and reliability to every interaction - empowering our customers to create products and business models never before possible. Thanks to our unique offering of hardware, software, materials, and services, each application-specific solution is powered by the expertise of our application engineers who collaborate with customers to transform how they deliver their products and services. 3D Systems solutions address a variety of advanced applications in healthcare and industrial markets such as medical and dental, aerospace & defense, automotive, and durable goods. More information on the company is available at www.3dsystems.com.

Investor Contact: investor.relations@3dsystems.com

Media Contact: press@3dsystems.com




High frequency, direct freighter capacity from Nova Scotia to Air Canada Cargo's global network

Editor's Note: Some video b-roll of a Boeing 767-300ER freighter is available for download and use here.

MONTREAL, April 20, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada and Air Canada Cargo today operated the first dedicated freighter flight into Halifax Stanfield International Airport using the second Boeing 767-300ER to enter service. The addition of this aircraft will allow Air Canada Cargo to start high frequency, direct freighter capacity from Halifax to Air Canada Cargo's global network, including service to Frankfurt, Cologne, Istanbul, and Madrid, starting in May.

Air Canada's Boeing 767-300ER freighter receives a water cannon salute on its first arrival into Halifax on April 20, 2022 (CNW Group/Air Canada)

Today's flight from Toronto arrived in Halifax with freight coming from around Air Canada's global network and destined for Atlantic Canada. It will be loaded up with fresh lobster, fish, aerospace parts, and pharmaceuticals for its journey back to Toronto, from where those goods will be shipped to their final destinations around the globe.

"We have always enjoyed a long-standing and strong bond with Atlantic Canada and the Nova Scotia community, and we are thrilled to introduce direct freighter capacity to the market. Atlantic Canada's economy has experienced important growth in the last few years, with increased demand from North America, Europe, and beyond. Nova Scotia is a key element of our growth strategy and Halifax being one of our first Canadian markets with the freighters further emphasizes the importance we place on our partnerships in the community. We are pleased to increase our support to the robust and growing trade sector in the region," said Jason Berry, Vice President, Cargo at Air Canada.

"Having stronger air links opens the door for more trade and investment in our province. It means we can build on the already strong relationship with our trading partners and create new ones," said Premier Tim Houston. "This is an important step forward for many of our businesses who will benefit from this exciting growth of Air Canada's freighter network."

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"This exciting Air Canada Cargo expansion will increase capacity at Halifax Stanfield, providing Nova Scotia businesses and industries with more opportunities to ship their products efficiently by air," said Joyce Carter, President & CEO, Halifax International Airport Authority. "We are thrilled with Air Canada's continued investment in Halifax and look forward to their future growth to meet the needs of communities across the region."

The new service to Halifax complements Air Canada Cargo's regular freighter service to Latin American cities.

Atlantic Canada Schedule from Toronto

To Halifax: Five flights per week starting today

European Schedule from Toronto Starting in May

To Frankfurt: Two flights per week

To Cologne: One flight per week

To Istanbul: One flight per week

To Madrid: Three flights per week

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline, the country's flag carrier and a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking from the independent U.K. research firm Skytrax, which in 2021 also named Air Canada as having the Best Airline Staff in North America, Best Airline Staff in Canada, Best Business Class Lounge in North America, as well as an Excellence award for its handling of COVID-19. Also in 2021, Air Canada was named Global Traveler's Best Airline in North America for the third straight year. In January 2021, Air Canada received APEX's Diamond Status Certification for the Air Canada CleanCare+ biosafety program for managing COVID-19, the only airline in Canada to attain the highest APEX ranking. Air Canada has also committed to a net zero emissions goal from all global operations by 2050. For more information, please visit: aircanada.com/media, follow Air Canada on Twitter and LinkedIn, and join Air Canada on Facebook.

About Air Canada Cargo

Air Canada Cargo is an award-winning provider of air cargo services. It is Canada's largest air cargo provider as measured by cargo capacity, with a presence in over 50 countries and self-handled hubs in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, London, and Frankfurt. As the dedicated air freight division of Air Canada, Air Canada Cargo offers reliable air freight lift and connectivity to hundreds of destinations across six continents using Air Canada's domestic and international passenger flights, cargo-only flights with its fleet of Boeing 767-300ER freighter aircraft, and trucking services. For more information, please visit: aircanadacargo.com

Sign up for Air Canada news: aircanada.com

Media Resources:

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Northampton, MA --News Direct-- AllianceBernstein

Transitioning to a net-zero carbon economy* is vitally important, and corporate bonds will play a critical role in the transition. To support that journey, sustainable investors should monitor the carbon impact of the corporate bonds in their portfolios. But theres a lot more to understanding a bond portfolios carbon footprint than conventional metrics can show.

Start with Simple Metrics

Initially, investors need simple straightforward reporting that can help them grasp how their portfolios are impacting the climate. A number of providers, including MSCI, have created a range of carbon footprint metrics that compare a portfolios carbon characteristics with a benchmark.

For bond investors, the most relevant metric is the weighted average carbon intensity of a portfolio. This measures the portfolios carbon footprint in terms of the volume of carbon dioxide emissions per value of sales (tons CO2e /US$ mil.).

The metric has several benefits: its applicable across asset classes, is simple to calculate, doesnt need the market cap or sales data required for other (equity ownership-related) measures, and it can be expressed in two numbersa score for the portfolio and a score for the benchmark.

Recognize the Limitations

Inevitably, a metric that is so simple and concise has some constraints. For one, it is only a snapshot in time. That means it cant look forward to allow for companies carbon-reduction plans. For instance, it penalizes heavy users of fossil-fuel energy such as utilities, even if they have a well-considered strategy to transition to renewable energy sources.

Secondly, it cannot capture the nuances of carbon use. The GHG Protocol distinguishes between direct (Scope 1) and indirect sources of carbon emissions (Scopes 2 and 3). The distinctions depend on whether a company emits the carbon itself as an intrinsic part of its business (such as manufacturing) or as a user of energy (heating or cooling) or further up or down the supply chain (distribution or business travel). Providers of conventional climate data and metrics can reliably measure Scope 1 and 2 emissions but are only starting the complex task of factoring in Scope 3.

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Lastly, existing carbon intensity reporting tools do not differentiate between carbon footprints from conventional bonds and those from green bonds or other ESG-labeled bonds. These structures raise capital either for specific green projects via a green bond issue, or to support firm-wide carbon-use reduction via sustainability-linked bonds targeting key performance indicators (KPIs).

In short, the weighted average carbon intensity metric captures basic facts but cannot provide insight into the intentions or responsibility of the companies in a portfolio. And in particular, it makes no allowance for whether companies have committed to specific climate mitigation targets as part of their business strategy.

Recognize that Progress to Net-Zero Carbon Needs Commitment

Bond investors who seek to support the transition to a net zero-carbon economy need deeper insights into the direction of their portfolio emissions and the intentions of the underlying issuers. After all, a successful transition needs companies to be committed to decarbonizing their businesses and to planning well ahead.

We believe that a sustainable bond portfolio should focus on investing in companies with a demonstrable commitment to future carbon reduction and well-considered strategies to achieve their goals.

To support this objective, we developed an analytical approach that can provide more forward-looking information with better insight.

Identify the Key Sustainability Issues

Starting with MSCI data, we disaggregate a portfolios weighted average carbon intensity score so that we have visibility at the issuer level. Then, issuer by issuer, we analyze each security, asking two key questions.

First, is the issuing companys strategy aligned with recognized carbon-reduction targets? To answer this, we draw on independent research from third-party providers to help us verify and assess each companys forward-looking carbon-reduction plan. While there are potential differences in methodologies among third-party providers, the result is a picture of companies degree of alignment with the Paris Agreement: that is, plans and supporting evidence for limiting carbon emissions to a warming level of well below two degrees Celsiuspreferably 1.5 degreesby 2050.

We can also see which companies carbon reduction strategies are in line with a warming level of two degrees, align with the Paris Pledges, are unaligned with the Paris Agreement or have no suitable disclosures.

Second, how are companies financing their transition to net zero carbon? We think that issuing green bondsor other ESG-labeled bonds with specific targetscan be a compelling way for companies to execute their transition plan. For some industries at an earlier stage in their decarbonization journey, it may make sense to issue sustainability-linked bonds. These structures commit companies to decarbonize without regard to external factors and so help to lessen the odds of a change of course. For instance, in the oil and gas industry, an increase in hydrocarbon prices makes further exploration and production more attractive and risks eroding carbon-reduction plans.

In the Display above, we illustrate the results of this significantly more comprehensive and forward-looking analysis for a sustainable strategy.

In this example, the sustainable portfolios weighted average carbon intensity is about half that of the benchmark. Further, the portfolio includes far more green bonds than the benchmark and has much greater exposure to companies with specific climate-reduction commitments.

Look at the Wider Picture

Its important to stay aware of the wider picture and continually question whether conventional analysis adequately reflects reality.

Because Scope 3 emissions cover such a wide range of possible sources (and because companies do not calculate or disclose them in a consistent way), its hard for conventional metrics to capture the full picture. For example, some issuers in the retail industry refer only to goods transport costs as scope 3without taking account into the broader footprint of their supply chain. But for most industries, scope 3 emissions represent the bulk of the carbon footprint. We allow for this when building sustainable portfolios for our clients.

Similarly, its important to be aware of carbon reductions that merely dismantle the east wall to repair the west wall. A Brazilian auto manufacturers plan to switch vehicles from high-emission diesel to ethanol may look like a big winuntil we factor in the resulting environmental cost from deforestation in the Amazon basin.

Be Clear About the Journey

Investors should be clear about the key milestones as well as the end goal of a companys carbon-reduction journey. We tend to be skeptical of decarbonization strategies that rely on hypothetical future technology advances or incorporate a large amount of carbon-offset purchases. And we think investors should prefer science-based targets. The International Capital Markets Association Climate Transition Finance Handbook 2020 lays out some useful minimum standards, which will likely be developed further in future editions.

Lastly, we think investors should push for ambitious targets and look for continuous improvement to align with net-zero carbon by 2050. Engagement with companies management is key to understanding their progress.

The transition to a net-zero carbon economy is a huge and developing topic. The data, the level of detail, and the science behind carbon reduction are all evolving. Some basic metrics have created a sound platform, but investors will need to stay alert to new insights and be ready to adopt new analyses to better understand their bond portfolios carbon footprint.

* A net-zero carbon economy is defined as an economy that aligns with 1.5-degrees Celsius of warming by 2050 as outlined by the Paris Agreement.

The views expressed herein do not constitute research, investment advice or trade recommendations and do not necessarily represent the views of all AB portfolio-management teams and are subject to revision over time.

MSCI makes no express or implied warranties or representations, and shall have no liability whatsoever with respect to any MSCI data contained herein.

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Zambia's debt troubles will be the biggest headache for the new Chinese ambassador to Lusaka, who arrived on Sunday with a promise to "strengthen the friendly ties the two countries have enjoyed over the years".

Du Xiaohui is China's 16th ambassador to Zambia since diplomatic ties were established in 1964. His predecessor, Li Jie, held the position from 2018.

Du said the "all-weather friendship" between China and Zambia "has stood the test of time and is deeply rooted in the hearts of the two peoples".

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

In a statement posted on the embassy website, the new envoy and his colleagues pledged to uphold the spirit of China-Africa friendship and continue to contribute to South-South cooperation and world peace.

Du's arrival coincides with Zambia's latest monetary crisis, as it waits for private lenders and the world's 20 wealthiest nations to decide on its application for debt relief under the G20's common framework.

The G20 finance ministers will meet this week during the International Monetary Fund's spring meeting to discuss the global economy, including the progress of the debt relief scheme.

In 2020, Zambia became the first African country in the pandemic era to default on US$3 billion dollar-denominated bonds.

According to a recent Fitch Ratings report, Zambia has not serviced the bulk of its outstanding external debt since failing to make a Eurobond interest payment in October 2020.

Lusaka then said it would stop servicing all of its external debt, excluding some priority project loans, and applied for debt relief.

Zambia is in the process of restructuring about US$15 billion of external debts as a precondition to secure US$1.4 billion in IMF loans. Chinese lenders make up more than US$6 billion of the amount, spent on mega projects including airports, highways and power dams.

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Stephen Chan, a professor of politics and international relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, said one-third of Zambia's external debt was owed to various Chinese banks and agencies.

"A high-level Zambian delegation to China seemed not to have met with a warm reception among financial quarters in Beijing. But it also seems the Zambian approach was naive and not mindful of cultural niceties and nuances," he said.

"That being the case, the new Chinese ambassador to Zambia will be a major instrument for bridge-building. But what is needed is some Chinese-specific negotiating expertise on the part of the Zambians."

The debt issue reportedly featured during Zambian Foreign Minister Stanley Kakubo's visit to China in March, which included talks with his counterpart Wang Yi in Tunxi, in the eastern province of Anhui.

Wang said the two sides should make "persistent efforts to strengthen cooperation in traditional fields such as mineral development, and expand cooperation in emerging fields such as modern agriculture, processing and manufacturing industries, and renewable energy".

Yun Sun, director of the Stimson Centre's China programme in Washington, said one of the key issues for China-Zambia relations was debt, as Zambia struggled to repay Chinese loans.

But Zambia was not the only one and the ambassador was not the ultimate decision-maker on these issues, Sun said.

David Shinn, a professor at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, said debt and China as a source for military equipment, especially aircraft, would be among Du's top issues.

Some of Zambia's loans are to pay for Chinese military equipment. A 2020 study by Jyhjong Hwang, a China-Africa researcher at Ohio State University in the US, placed Zambia as Africa's largest recipient of Chinese loans for military procurement - with US$600 million advanced to Lusaka between 2000 and 2017, from a total of US$1.5 billion.

Most of the money, which funded the procurement of aircraft for the Zambian Air Force, came from China Eximbank, state-owned aerospace and defence giant Aviation Industry Corporation of China, and China Poly Technologies.

Other diplomatic movements in Africa include the departure of China's ambassador to Gabon Hu Changchun, and Rao Hongwei, who served as envoy to Rwanda. Their African Union counterpart Liu Yuxi has also recently left his posting.

Before leaving Rwanda in March, Rao recounted the highlights of his diplomatic term since 2017 to local media, including a visit to the country by President Xi Jinping.

Rao said 15 agreements signed during the visit were being translated into projects and outcomes. He also said Rwandan agricultural products, including coffee, tea, dried chilli and stevia were now accessible to the Chinese market.

"More Chinese enterprises are in Rwanda to invest in high value-added manufacturing industries like electric motorcycles, bamboo production and ICT."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2022 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2022. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Northampton, MA --News Direct-- Musim Mas

April 19, 2022 /3BL Media/ - Palm oil is the most widely-consumed and efficient vegetable oil. Its application ranges from food products to cosmetics and even industrial uses. To produce it sustainably, leading palm oil producers commit to No Deforestation, No Peat, and No Exploitation (NDPE), sustainability certifications, and Traceability to Plantation (TTP).

To advance knowledge-sharing on palm oil sustainability, on 29 to 30 March, palm oil majors Musim Mas Group and Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food jointly hosted their second supplier workshop and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) in Langsa, and Kuala Simpang, Aceh. It was attended by 55 participants, consisting of representatives of supplier mills, local traders and farmers, government officials, and civil society organizations (CSO).

Collaborative workshops allow palm oil companies to reach out to a wider group of suppliers beyond their supply chain. It is vital that all stakeholders, including farmers, local government, and civil society organizations, recognize and support such efforts. Partnerships in priority landscapes are essential to push for the industrys transformation at scale.

The workshop covered three crucial topics  NDPE, TTP, and Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification. Through the sessions, participants were able to gain insights into the importance of NDPE compliance and ISPO certification for the long-term sustainability of their business. The impact of NDPE compliance on the acceptance of Indonesian palm oil products in the global market was also discussed in the workshop. In addition, discussions revolved around building transparency and good communications to enable joint efforts towards NDPE compliance.

The first session introduced the NDPE Policy and its importance as a foundation for ISPO certification and how NDPE is a global requirement. The session also covered current deforestation monitoring systems and how grievances are managed.

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In the second session, the focus was to introduce suppliers to the ISPO certification system and the benefits of ISPO certification for companies and smallholders and define the correlation between achieving ISPO certification and complying with NDPE Policy. ISPO certification is key to increasing access to the global market.

The last session underlined the importance of TTP to ensure NDPE compliance, allowing the identification of precise sourcing areas. The session also explains deforestation monitoring using satellite monitoring systems. Suppliers were encouraged to monitor deforestation on their own using publicly accessible platforms.

At the end of the workshop, Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food and Musim Mas also sought better insights into Aceh suppliers' perceptions and commitment to the NDPE Policy and their plan toward ISPO certification. Through an FGD session, participants shared their perspectives and found a common agreement that all stakeholders  not limited to companies and smallholders  must work hand in hand to achieve the industry's sustainable goals.

"The enthusiasm shown by the participants reflects how important it is to hold workshops in the production areas. Workshops are a key element of our "Aceh Strategy" of contributing to sustainable agricultural production in Aceh. Such workshops enable engagement on the NDPE concept and how it can translate into action by mills, local traders, and farmers. The discussions were very open and lively, which shows the trust built during the workshop. We were happy to work again with Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food in the important landscape that is Aceh. We believe palm oil companies should collaborate for deforestation and exploitation-free supply chains." - Olivier Tichit, Director of Sustainability, Musim Mas.

The joint workshop with Musim Mas is manifestation of our commitment to support the palm oil industry transformation in sustainability. Not only were we able to socialise the NDPE requirements, but it is an opportunity for us to listen and engage our stakeholders to address their challenges in implementing sustainable practices. Our hope is that this activity can open up opportunities for further in-depth programmes to support our supply chain to implement Good Agronomy Practice (GAP), Best Management Practice (BMP), and acquiring certification both for companies and smallholders.  Wahyu W. Wijayanti, Head of Traceable and Transparent Production, Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food.

__________________________________________________________________________________

About Musim MasHeadquartered in Singapore, Musim Mas is one of the world's largest integrated palm oil corporations, with operations in every part of the supply chain across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Our global workforce pursues innovative and sustainable developments, ensuring product quality, safety, and efficiency as the industry evolves.

As one of the most prominent players in the industry, it aspires to be a responsible leader in the industry's evolution, driving a new era of sustainability with innovation. To that end, we take active steps to go beyond industry-recognized sustainability standards and will continue to step up in response to critical industry issues in our quest to contribute to a more sustainable industry and equitable world. Read more about Musim Mas sustainability efforts at this link.

About Sinar Mas Agribusiness and FoodSinar Mas Agribusiness and Food operates under Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), one of the leading palm oil plantation companies with a total planted area of 536,013 hectares (including plasma smallholders) as at 31 December 2021, located in Indonesia. Its integrated operations focus on the technology-driven production and distribution of an extensive portfolio of palm-based products.

Founded in 1996, GAR was listed on the Singapore Exchange in 1999 and has a market capitalisation of US$2.3 billion as at 31 December 2021. Flambo International Limited, an investment company, is currently GARs largest shareholder, with a 50.52 percent stake. GAR has several subsidiaries, including PT SMART Tbk which was listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 1992.

As an integrated agribusiness, GAR delivers an efficient end-to-end supply chain, from responsible production to global delivery. In Indonesia, its primary activities include cultivating and harvesting of oil palm trees; processing of fresh fruit bunch into crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel; refining CPO into value-added products such as cooking oil, margarine, shortening, biodiesel and oleo-chemicals; as well as merchandising palm products globally. GARs products are delivered to a diversified customer base in over 70 countries through its global distribution network with shipping and logistics capabilities, destination marketing, on-shore refining and ex-tank operations in many countries. GAR also has complementary businesses such as soybean-based products in China, sunflower-based products in India, as well as sugar businesses.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Musim Mas on 3blmedia.com

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Industry Research

Customer Feedback Software is mainly classified into the following types: cloud-based and Web based products. Cloud based product is the most widely used type which takes up over 80% of the global market. Besides, it has a wide range of applications, this report classified them into large enterprises (have above 300 employees) and SMEs. And large enterprises segment is the most widely used area which took up about 70% of the global total.

Pune, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  Final Report will add the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on this industry. 

Global " Customer Feedback Software Market " Research Report gives an important analysis of available states with the best statistical data points, certified emotions, definition, meaning, SWOT analysis, and the most recent advancements globally. Estimates are also provided based on an appropriate set of assumptions and practices. The study considers the income created by this report's sales as well as the advancements achieved by distinct application areas. The evaluation report investigates and gives data based on advertise segments such as geologies, applications, and industries. The study gives a dashboard overview of major organizations like HubSpot, Zendesk, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey and others, covering their effective marketing methods, market participation, and recent breakthroughs in both historical and contemporary contexts.

Get a Sample PDF of report @ https://www.industryresearch.biz/enquiry/request-sample/19858974

About Customer Feedback Software Market:

Customer feedback software is used to support users or enterprises to communicate with clients, automate tasks, and collect customer feedback proactively.

SurveyMonkey, HubSpot, Trustpilot, Qualtrics, Zendesk, Yotpo, etc. are the major companies in the global Customer Feedback Software market. The top 5 took up about one-half of the global market.

North America is the largest region of Customer Feedback Software in the world and took up over 40% of the global market, while Europe and Asia Pacific are about 35% and 15% respectively.

Customer Feedback Software is mainly classified into the following types: cloud-based and Web based products. Cloud based product is the most widely used type which takes up over 80% of the global market. Besides, it has a wide range of applications, this report classified them into large enterprises (have above 300 employees) and SMEs. And large enterprises segment is the most widely used area which took up about 70% of the global total.



Market Analysis and Insights: Global Customer Feedback Software Market

The global Customer Feedback Software market size is projected to reach USD 3292.8 million by 2027, from USD 1367 million in 2020, at a CAGR of 12.7% during 2021-2027.

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Corporate profiles include important information such as company reviews, products, and services, financial data sources, as well as current programs and developments. Overall, the report provides a comprehensive overview of the Customer Feedback Software global market, which will help industry players, equipment manufacturers, and current players looking for expansion opportunities, new players as they grow older. Finding opportunities with other partners to support their strategy makes their business based on current data, and future prospects.

Target Audience of Customer Feedback Software Market:

- Manufacturer / Potential Investors

- Traders, Distributors, Wholesalers, Retailers, Importers, and Exporters.

- Association and government bodies.

List of Key Players in Customer Feedback Software Market Report are:

HubSpot

Zendesk

Qualtrics

SurveyMonkey

Bazaarvoice

Trustpilot

Yotpo

Clarabridge

EKomi

PowerReviews

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A recent study by Customer Feedback Software Market provides an overview of market segmentation by product, application, and geography. The study also contains an in-depth examination of the industry's growth drivers, restraints, supply and demand risk, market attractiveness, BPS analysis, and Porter's five force model. The study then investigates the market's development state and prospective Customer Feedback Software Market design all over the world. Similarly, it categorizes the Customer Feedback Software market by type and application in order to completely and comprehensively investigate and uncover market features and opportunities.

On the basis of Product Type, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share, and growth rate of Customer Feedback Software Market types split into:

Cloud Based

Web Based

On the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share, and Customer Feedback Software market growth rate with applications, including:

Large Enterprises

SMEs

The evaluation also focuses on worldwide corporate executives in the Customer Feedback Software global market, covering firm history, product photographs, and descriptions, licensing, production, price, pricing, pricing, and contact information. The structure, volume, and value of the Customer Feedback Software market are examined at the global, regional, and company levels in this report. This research analyses historical data and future prospects to summarize Customer Feedback Software worldwide worth.

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Five Important Points the Customer Feedback Software Market Report Offers:

Benchmarking : It includes functional benchmarking, process benchmarking, and competitive benchmarking

Market Assessment : It involves market entry strategy, market feasibility analysis, and market forecasting or sizing

Corporate Intelligence : It contains custom intelligence, competitor intelligence, and market intelligence

Strategy Analysis : It includes analysis of indirect and direct sales channels, helps you to plan the right distribution strategy, and understand your customers

Technological Intelligence : It helps you to investigate future technology roadmaps, choose the right technologies, and determine feasible technology options

Key Questions Answered in This Report:

How has the global Customer Feedback Software market performed in the previous years (2016-2021)?

What is the forecast assessment of the Customer Feedback Software market for 2022-2027?

What are the major drivers in the historical (2016-2021) and forecast periods?

What are the major constraints in the historical (2016-2021) and forecast periods?

What are the major demand indicators of the Customer Feedback Software market?

What is the degree of competition in the global market?

What are the major events and developments taking place within the global industry?

Get A Sample Copy Of The Customer Feedback Software Market Report 2022-2027

Reasons to Purchase:

Get useful marketing research and an entire understanding of the worldwide market and business environment.

Abatement by assessing production processes, key problems and solutions.

Acknowledge the driving and restraining forces of the market and their impact on the worldwide market.

Study the market strategies employed by large companies.

Understand future prospects and market prospects.

Additionally, to plain structured reports, we offer inquiries tailored to your specific needs.

Key inclusions of the Customer Feedback Software market report:

COVID-19 effects on growth figures.

Statistical analysis pertaining to market size, sales volume, and overall industry revenue.

Organized mentions of major market trends.

Growth opportunities.

Figures showcasing market growth rate.

Advantages and disadvantages of direct and indirect sales channels.

Insights regarding traders, distributors, and dealers present in the industry.

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What Report Exactly Offers to the Buyers?

To gain insightful analyses of the Customer Feedback Software Industry and have a comprehensive understanding of the global market and its commercial landscape.

Market methodologies that are being involved by driving particular organizations

Get a detailed representation of the Customer Feedback Software Market.

The assessed growth rate, together with Customer Feedback Software Industry size and share over the forecast period 2022-2027.

Major Points from TOC:



1 Report Overview

1.1 Study Scope

1.2 Market Analysis by Type

1.2.1 Global Customer Feedback Software Market Size Growth Rate by Type: 2016 VS 2021 VS 2027

1.2.2 Cloud Based

1.2.3 Web Based

1.3 Market by Application

1.3.1 Global Customer Feedback Software Market Share by Application: 2016 VS 2021 VS 2027

1.3.2 Large Enterprises

1.3.3 SMEs

1.4 Study Objectives

1.5 Years Considered



2 Global Growth Trends

2.1 Global Customer Feedback Software Market Perspective (2016-2027)

2.2 Customer Feedback Software Growth Trends by Regions

2.2.1 Customer Feedback Software Market Size by Regions: 2016 VS 2021 VS 2027

2.2.2 Customer Feedback Software Historic Market Share by Regions (2016-2021)

2.2.3 Customer Feedback Software Forecasted Market Size by Regions (2022-2027)

2.3 Customer Feedback Software Industry Dynamic

2.3.1 Customer Feedback Software Market Trends

2.3.2 Customer Feedback Software Market Drivers

2.3.3 Customer Feedback Software Market Challenges

2.3.4 Customer Feedback Software Market Restraints



3 Competition Landscape by Key Players

3.1 Global Top Customer Feedback Software Players by Revenue

3.1.1 Global Top Customer Feedback Software Players by Revenue (2016-2021)

3.1.2 Global Customer Feedback Software Revenue Market Share by Players (2016-2021)

3.2 Global Customer Feedback Software Market Share by Company Type (Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3)

3.3 Players Covered: Ranking by Customer Feedback Software Revenue

3.4 Global Customer Feedback Software Market Concentration Ratio

3.4.1 Global Customer Feedback Software Market Concentration Ratio (CR5 and HHI)

3.4.2 Global Top 10 and Top 5 Companies by Customer Feedback Software Revenue in 2020

3.5 Customer Feedback Software Key Players Head office and Area Served

3.6 Key Players Customer Feedback Software Product Solution and Service

3.7 Date of Enter into Customer Feedback Software Market

3.8 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion Plans



4 Customer Feedback Software Breakdown Data by Type

5 Customer Feedback Software Breakdown Data by Application

6 North America

7 Europe

8 Asia-Pacific

9 Latin America

10 Middle East & Africa

11 Key Players Profiles

12 Analyst's Viewpoints/Conclusions

13 Appendix

Detailed TOC of Global Customer Feedback Software Market @ https://www.industryresearch.biz/TOC/19858974

About Us:

Market is changing rapidly with the ongoing expansion of the industry. Advancement in technology has provided todays businesses with multifaceted advantages resulting in daily economic shifts. Thus, it is very important for a company to comprehend the patterns of market movements in order to strategize better. An efficient strategy offers the companies a head start in planning and an edge over the competitors. Industry Research is a credible source for gaining the market reports that will provide you with the lead your business needs.

CONTACT: Industry Research Biz Phone: US +1 424 253 0807 / UK +44 203 239 8187 Email: sales@industryresearch.biz Web: https://www.industryresearch.biz




By Charles Foster, Postdoctoral Research Associate, UNSW Sydney

Shutterstock

In his 1989 book Wonderful Life, evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould famously argued that, if we could replay the tape, life on Earth would evolve to be fundamentally different each time.



https://images.theconversation.com/files/458730/original/file-20220419-1... 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458730/original/file-20220419-1... 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458730/original/file-20220419-1... 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458730/original/file-20220419-1... 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458730/original/file-20220419-1... 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">





George Romanes





Was he right? Convergent evolution, in which similar features evolve to perform similar functions in distantly related organisms, offers an excellent model in which to run Goulds thought experiment.

One classic example of convergent evolution is the independent evolution of wings and flight in insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats. Another is live birth (or viviparity), which has evolved independently from egg-laying more than 150 times in vertebrates (animals with backbones).

To understand how this happened, we studied the genes involved in pregnancy and live birth in six different live-bearing species. We discovered that, despite broad similarities in the anatomy and physiology involved, each species used a completely different set of genetic tools to give birth to live young.

Is live birth controlled by a universal set of genes?

In nearly all live-bearing vertebrates examined so far, changes to the gestational tissues and biophysical processes during pregnancy appear remarkably similar.

Some common elements of the process are:



https://images.theconversation.com/files/458731/original/file-20220419-1... 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458731/original/file-20220419-1... 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458731/original/file-20220419-1... 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458731/original/file-20220419-1... 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458731/original/file-20220419-1... 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">





Modified from an image by Basile Morin, CC BY





The changes that occur during pregnancy and birthing must be mainly controlled by genetics, and we know that the expression of genes changes during pregnancy in different live-bearing animals.

However, the generality of these changes is less clear. For example, are the same genes used during pregnancy in mammals and fish? Or are similar outcomes driven by entirely different genes?

Thats what we set out to discover in our study, newly published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Queensland and James Cook University.

Measuring gene activity during pregnancy

An animals development is controlled by its genes, its environment, and an interaction between the two.

Not every gene within an animal is always active. Genes are switched on (or expressed) when needed, and then switched off again when no longer needed.

Gene expression levels naturally vary over time as an animal interacts with the environment and undergoes physiological changes, such as those associated with pregnancy. Using a technique called transcriptomics, we can take snapshots of these changes in gene expression as they occur.

To investigate the genetic changes occurring in the uterus during pregnancy in different species, we collected samples or used existing data from six live-bearing animals: the Australian sharpnose shark, three species of Australian lizards, the gray short-tailed opossum, and the brown lab rat.



https://images.theconversation.com/files/458732/original/file-20220419-1... 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458732/original/file-20220419-1... 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458732/original/file-20220419-1... 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458732/original/file-20220419-1... 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458732/original/file-20220419-1... 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">





Charles Foster, Author provided





Sampling this wide range of animals allowed us to determine whether the same gene expression changes occur during pregnancy across species in which live birth evolved independently.

Our work is the first quantitative study into the genetic basis of live birth at such a broad evolutionary scale.

There are many different ways to grow a baby

We expected to find many of the same genes used during pregnancy to support the growth and survival of embryos in each of the live-bearing species we sampled.

This hypothesis seemed logical, given the many similarities in anatomical changes during pregnancy across live-bearing vertebrates, along with qualitative findings from previous research.





Read more:

This lizard lays eggs and gives live birth. We think it's undergoing a major evolutionary transition





Instead, we found there was no one set of live-bearing genes utilised during pregnancy across our sampled range of animals. In other words, evolution has converged on similar functions for successful pregnancy but those functions have been achieved by recruiting different groups of genes.

Despite not being what we expected, this finding also makes sense. Different animal lineages may have different toolboxes of genes to draw from, due to their unique evolutionary histories.

A genetic toolbox can be thought of as a broad class of genes that perform similar basic functions. Over the long timescales of evolution, different genes from this ancestral toolbox can be recruited to carry out the same physiological functions in different animals.



https://images.theconversation.com/files/458733/original/file-20220420-2... 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458733/original/file-20220420-2... 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458733/original/file-20220420-2... 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458733/original/file-20220420-2... 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458733/original/file-20220420-2... 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">





Camilla Whittington, Author provided





For example, developing babies require access to a supply of amino acids for successful development. In many species these amino acids are transported from the mother to the fetus across the placenta via solute carrier genes.

We identified more than 75 different solute carrier genes in the combined genetic toolbox of our study species. However, each species recruited different genes from the toolbox to transport amino acids during pregnancy.

Rethinking live birth

Our findings force us to rethink the idea that the cross-species similarities in live birth are controlled by the same genetic changes.

We can also consider our results in the context of Goulds thought experiment about replaying the tape of life.

Was the evolution of live birth predictable? It depends on how you look at it.

Large-scale similarities, such as the anatomy and functions of the uterus, seem predictable. They appear to have evolved repeatedly to solve the biophysical challenges of successful pregnancy.

However, our results show this predictability does not extend to the underlying genes.

Charles Foster has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council, and is currently employed via funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (Australian Government Department of Health) and the University of New South Wales.

Camilla Whittington receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the University of Sydney.

James Van Dyke receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources.

Originally published in The Conversation.
He might secretly be the worlds richest person, but Russian President Vladimir Putin is also the worlds greatest value destroyer.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that Putins barbaric invasion of Ukraine will lower world economic growth by eight-tenths of a percentage point this year and two-tenths next year. That might not sound like a lot, but given the size of the world economy, it amounts to about $935 billion in lost output, roughly equivalent to zeroing out the entire economy of Turkey or the Netherlands. The toll could easily top $1 trillion if the war drags on or escalates.

This is the destruction caused by one man demanding the ruination of a large, peaceful and productive country. Its not an unstoppable virus, a complex financial contagion or an unforeseen natural disaster. The cost of Putins fanaticism is obviously acute in Ukraine, which is suffering thousands of deaths and hundreds of billions of dollars of damage to civilian infrastructure. But Putins war is raising the cost of fuel, grain and other vital products literally everywhere. It will cost lives and lower living standards in dozens of nations nowhere near the battlefields.

Financial markets have adjusted to Putins mayhem, which is both good and bad. Its good because a resilient global economy lumbers forward. Sanctions on Russia have forced workarounds in the markets for oil, natural gas, and other Russian minerals and products that are now in limited supply or wholly unavailable. Five million Ukrainian refugees in Europe and elsewhere  many displaced by Putin deliberately  are straining relief systems. The risk of a broader war between Putin and the NATO alliance is real and terrifying. Yet markets are patching themselves up and a Putin recession seems unlikely.

[Follow Rick Newman on Twitter, sign up for his newsletter or send in your thoughts.]

It's bad because functional markets may relegate Russias violent crusade to background noise and blunt the urgency for all nations that seek prosperity to defeat Putin, now. The United States and many nations in Europe and elsewhere have hit Russia with tough sanctions that will hinder its military power, over time. But those sanctions could go further, and they havent mainly because some European leaders feel they cant shut off Russian energy imports without damaging their own economies too much. Some Western nations also fear that giving Ukraine advanced weaponry, such as tanks and fighter jets, might lead Putin to strike back directly at the donor countries.

Story continues

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the construction site of the Amur launch complex for Angara rockets at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Region, Russia April 12, 2022. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS

Yet the West is now at a point where it can bear the risk and cost of confronting Putin, or face him down later at multiples of the present cost.

The time is ripe to beat Putin

There may never be a better opportunity to defang Putin. Russian forces spectacularly failed to capture Ukraines capital, Kyiv, and impose a puppet government. They retreated from central Ukraine in disarray, exposing vast holes in a military looted from top to bottom, like the entire Russian economy. Old, neglected equipment broke down routinely. Undisciplined troops employed lazy tactics. Broken supply lines left units short of food and fuel. Intercepted phone calls revealed panicked Russian conscripts desperate to escape and, in some cases, refusing to fight. In southern Ukraine, coastal defense troops sank the Russian navys Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, destroying a $750 million fighting platform with two missiles costing perhaps a couple million dollars. Putins military may be more vulnerable than at any time during his two-decade rule.

Despite that, Russian forces now seem to be launching a new campaign to carve off as much of eastern and southern Ukraine as they can get. At some point, Putin may seek a peace settlement that leaves Russia in control of whatever territory it can take and keep.

There can be no peace with Putin. The Ukraine invasion is at least Putins fourth attempt in 15 years to take neighboring territory with force and kluge together some remnants of the old USSR. Putins territorial gains to date would seal off Ukraines access to ports on the Sea of Azov, and he probably aims to capture Ukraines Black Sea coastline as well, leaving it no seaports to the outside world. If Putin could accomplish that, he would have military force on the border of tiny Moldova, where he also has territorial ambitions. Moldova isnt a NATO member, but it borders Romania, which is.

Russian missile strikes deep into western Ukraine, just miles from the border with NATO-member Poland, show Putin is willing to cut it close and risk an errant attack on a NATO member, which would oblige the alliance to respond. Nobody should assume Putin would stop in Ukraine, if the war ends with Russian territorial gains. Hed continue to claw for turf and military advantage. Chinas communist rulers, meanwhile, are watching closely, to see if democratic powers have the mettle and attention span to stop the sort of aggression they may someday attempt in Taiwan or other parts of Asia.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a joint news conference with European Council President Charles Michel after their meeting, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine April 20, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

The Western goal at this point should be a complete Ukrainian victory, with all Russian forces out of the country. Leave Putin in power in Russia; regime change is a reckless goal. NATO shouldnt send troops, but Western nations should supply everything short of that and maximize the economic pressure on Russia, to end Putins medieval adventurism once and for all.

On April 19, a Stanford University working group published a list of several dozen specific recommendations for cutting off the cash Putin uses to fund his military. The ultimate goal should be a complete ban on Russian oil, coal and natural gas products, Russias main source of capital. Since that would be difficult for some nations to do quickly, interim measures could include tariffs on Russian energy products that would force Russia to cut the underlying price to remain competitive, reducing the proceeds going back to Russia. Importing nations could also require energy payments be held in escrow accounts until the Ukraine war ends. The Stanford group also calls for designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, which would trigger other types of sanctions.

As for military aid, Eliot Cohen of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies argues that the United States should boost the value of materiel support for Ukraine from several billion dollars to tens of billions, and include heavy weapons that could be decisive on the battlefield, such as tanks and artillery. The Biden administration is moving in that direction, but Cohen, writing in the Atlantic, says the pivot is too slow, given that decisive action is urgently required to tip the balance between a costly success and a calamity.

The fastest way to help Ukrainian forces is with more Soviet-style equipment they already know how to use. Most of this would have to come from eastern and central European nations such as Poland, Lithuania and the Czech Republic, which are already sending some such weapons. The U.S. role is to facilitate delivery and help these nations backfill donated equipment with newer systems, covertly if necessary. Western defense contractors surely wont object.

Every path involves risk. If Europe and the United States put everything they have into ejecting Russian forces from Ukraine, Putin could lash out with chemical or biological attacks or even a nuclear strike of some kind. But if he succeeds even partially in Ukraine, he could do the same thing later, when hes closer to NATO borders. Tighter limits on Russian energy imports would be tough on European nations such as Germany and Italy that cant readily replace the energy. But better to do it on their own terms now, than to let Putin dictate the terms later. Nobody wants to bear the cost of Putins war, but there will always be another Putin war and the cost will only go up.

Rick Newman is the author of four books, including "Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman. You can also send confidential tips.

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Tesla head Elon Musk talks to one visitor as he arrives to to have a look at the construction site of the new Tesla Gigafactory near Berlin Maja Hitij/Getty Images

Elon Musk could set aside up to $15 billion of his own cash to buy Twitter, the New York Post reported.

Despite his wealth, Musk needs financial support from banks or other investors to finance such a large deal.

He'll also have to contend with Twitter's "poison pill" defense.

Elon Musk is reportedly scrambling to pull together his acquisition bid for Twitter.

According to a New York Post report on Tuesday, which cites two unnamed sources, Musk may be willing to set aside up to $15 billion of his own money to help finance a buyout.

He's also asking Morgan Stanley to help him raise another $10 billion in debt, the New York Post reported, with an eye to launching a tender offer in about 10 days. The New York Times separately reported Wednesday that Morgan Stanley is helping Musk drum up debt rather than equity financing for his bid to begin with. A filing with the SEC last Wednesday confirms the bank is advising Musk.

The billionaire, whose net worth is at $261 billion as of Wednesday according to Bloomberg's estimates, is likely to need considerable financial support to pull together such a large deal.

Some big buyout groups have declined to provide equity to Musk, reported the Financial Times on Wednesday, naming Blackstone Group, Vista Equity Partners, and Brookfield Asset Management.

Among their reported concerns are Twitter's long-term growth and profitability prospects, and Musk's maverick persona. The billionaire has aggressively tweeted about his plans for the platform, including loosening content moderation and not paying board members.

Other institutions are considering stumping up debt or preferred equity financing, the newspaper added.

Some investors, such as Apollo Global Management and Thoma Bravo have expressed interest in participating in a bid for Twitter, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week.

Musk hasn't publicly detailed how he plans to finance his proposed purchase of Twitter. The Tesla CEO made an unsolicited offer to buy Twitter outright at $54.20 a share, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on April 14, valuing a potential deal at $43 billion. He claimed on April 15 that he has sufficient assets to fund the buyout without giving further detail.

Story continues

Musk and Tesla did not immediately respond to Insider's queries. A Morgan Stanley spokesperson declined to comment.

Blackstone Group and Vista Equity Partners did not immediately respond to Insider's queries. A Brookfield Asset Management spokesperson declined to comment.

Even if Musk does manage to put together a formal bid, he still has to contend with Twitter's "poison pill", a defense mechanism the board put in place to prevent any investor from acquiring more than 15% of the company.

Once an investor, such as Musk, crosses that threshold, the plan would allow all other shareholders as of April 25 to exercise the rights to buy a portion of Twitter's shares at an exercise price of $210, with an eye to diluting the bigger investor's stake.

Musk is currently Twitter's biggest individual shareholder, after building up a stake in the company equating to 9.1% of the firm.

Read the original article on Business Insider
TORONTO, April 20, 2022 /CNW/ - Fidelity Investments Canada ULC today announced the April 2022 cash distributions for Fidelity's suite of High Dividend Factor ETFs, Fixed Income ETFs and Monthly High Income ETFs.

Fidelity Investments Canada ULC Logo (CNW Group/Fidelity Investments Canada ULC)

Detailed in the tables below, unitholders of record as of April 27, 2022 will receive a per-unit cash distribution payable on April 29, 2022.

Fidelity ETF Name Ticker Symbol Cash Distribution Per Unit (C$) CUSIP ISIN Payment Frequency Exchange Fidelity Canadian High Dividend Index ETF FCCD 0.05664 31608M102 CA31608M1023 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity U.S. High Dividend Index ETF FCUD/ FCUD.U 0.06413 31645M107 CA31645M1077 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity U.S. High Dividend Currency Neutral Index ETF FCUH 0.06312 315740100 CA3157401009 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity U.S. Dividend for Rising Rates Index ETF FCRR/ FCRR.U 0.04143 31644M108 CA31644M1086 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity U.S. Dividend for Rising Rates Currency Neutral Index ETF FCRH 0.04084 31644P101 CA31644P1018 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity International High Dividend Index ETF FCID 0.12784 31623D103 CA31623D1033 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity Systematic U.S. High Yield Bond ETF FCHY 0.08641 31615L105 CA31615L1058 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity Systematic U.S. High Yield Bond Currency Neutral ETF FCHH 0.08828 31615M103 CA31615M1032 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity Canadian Short Term Corporate Bond ETF FCSB 0.03269 31608N100 CA31608N1006 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange

Fidelity ETF Name Ticker Symbol Cash Distribution Per Unit (C$) CUSIP ISIN Payment Frequency Exchange Fidelity Systematic Canadian Bond Index ETF FCCB 0.03792 31644F103 CA31644F1036 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity Global Core Plus Bond ETF FCGB/ FCGB.U 0.05179 31623G106 CA31623G1063 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity Global Investment Grade Bond ETF FCIG/ FCIG.U 0.04720 31624P105 CA31624P1053 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity Canadian Monthly High Income ETF FCMI 0.02703 31609T106 CA31609T1066 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity Global Monthly High Income ETF FCGI 0.03169 31623K107 CA31623K1075 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange

About Fidelity Investments Canada ULC

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At Fidelity, our mission is to build a better future for Canadian investors and help them stay ahead. We offer investors and institutions a range of innovative and trusted investment portfolios to help them reach their financial and life goals.

As a privately-owned company, our people and world class resources are committed to doing what is right for investors and their long-term success. Our clients have entrusted us with $203 billion in assets under management (as at April 14, 2022) and they include individuals, financial advisors, pension plans, endowments, foundations and more.

We are proud to provide investors a full range of investment solutions through mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, including domestic, international and global equity, income-oriented strategies, asset allocation solutions, managed portfolios, sustainable investing and our high net worth program. Fidelity Funds are available through a number of advice-based distribution channels including financial planners, investment dealers, banks, and insurance companies.

Read a fund's prospectus and consult your financial advisor before investing. Exchange-traded funds are not guaranteed; their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Commissions, management fees, brokerage fees and expenses may all be associated with investments in exchange-traded funds and investors may experience a gain or loss.

Find us on social media @FidelityCanada

SOURCE Fidelity Investments Canada ULC

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2022/20/c9736.html
G2 Goldfields Inc.

TORONTO, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- G2 Goldfields Inc. (G2 or the Company) (TSXV: GTWO; OTCQX: GUYGF) is pleased to provide further information regarding the Companys ongoing exploration at its 19,200-acre OKO-AREMU Project, Guyana. The Company has completed 127 holes totalling 30,224 metres, the majority of this drilling at the Oko Main Zone (OMZ). G2 has identified a further seven target areas for exploration whilst it continues to expand the high-grade gold mineralization discovered at the OMZ.



Oko North-West (ONW)

This area lies approximately 4 km northwest of the OMZ. The area is characterized by considerable evidence of mining by artisanal miners as well as surface sampling of exposed veins, some with significant values. G2 has completed an 11-hole (1,426 metre) first pass reconnaissance drill program at ONW which has tested multiple target areas along a 500m strike. Logging of these holes has indicated sheeted veins within a silica-sericite alteration halo adjacent to discrete east plunging dilational zones. Assays are pending from this initial drill program.

Aremu West Drilling

G2 is currently drilling targets in the western end of the historic Aremu vein system. The Aremu vein system consists of nearly twenty steeply dipping auriferous quartz veins spread over a distance of approximately 4 km in a deformation zone, known as Aremu shear zone. The high-grade gold mineralization is located mainly in the brecciated quartz-carbonate veins with hematite staining and pyrite. Low-grade gold is hosted in black graphite schist with quartz veinlets and stringers.

At the eastern end of the Aremu deformation zone lies the historic Aremu Mine which produced 6,488 oz from 14,632 tons of ore (15.6 g/t Au) in the 1906 - 1911 period. The Companys immediate target for investigation is located at the western end of this 4 km structure and is known locally as the Shepherd Vein. Artisanal miners have sunk two shallow shafts in the area and have exposed a 1.5m wide quartz vein hosted in carbonaceous sediments very similar to the OMZ. The Company plans a total of four holes in this area.

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OMZ Resource Estimate

The Company has engaged Micon International Limited to prepare a NI 43-101 compliant independent resource estimate for the OMZ area. This initial estimate is the first of several planned for the area as drilling continues to delineate and expand the three main shear zones that host the bulk of mineralization. This maiden estimate will focus on gold mineralization between surface and 350 metres vertically below surface, where all zones remain open to depth. G2 has received the initial result and is currently compiling the data to be released the week of April 25th, 2022.

Dan Noone, CEO, stated, The Oko Main Zone is an orogenic-type gold deposit located within the Cuyuni Basin. As demonstrated at the Aurora Mine, currently operated by Zijin Mining, we expect the OMZ to have considerable depth potential. Upcoming drilling at the OMZ will target the down-plunge extension of Shears 3,4, and 5 to a depth of 750m - 800m.

Mobilization of 3rd Rig

G2 has mobilized a third larger diamond drill rig to expedite its exploration campaign in the Oko district. This larger rig has the capacity to drill to down hole depths of 1500m and will be used to expand the Oko high-grade zones to depth.

Boaz Wade, V.P. Exploration, commented, We are excited about the exploration potential across the Oko-Aremu district, where the Companys extensive land package overlies a highly prospective greenstone belt that contains the OMZ deposit. Multiple targets have been identified across the district and field programs inclusive of drilling are currently being executed to advance them. The district contains an extensive occurrence of surface working with coherent geochemical anomalies, and we remain confident about the potential for future discoveries.

About G2 Goldfields Inc.

The G2 Goldfields team is comprised of professionals who have been involved in the discovery of more than 7 million ounces of gold in Guyana and the financing and development of Guyanas largest gold mine (RPA, 43-101, Technical Report on the Aurora Gold Mine, March 31, 2020). The Oko Main Zone discovery is the initial fruit of the application of this extensive in-country experience. Ongoing exploration within the 17km long Aremu  Oko trend has generated multiple drill targets, similar in geological setting and scale to Oko Main. The Aremu  Oko district has been a prolific alluvial goldfield since the rush of the 1870s. Modern exploration by the G2 Goldfields team has begun and continues to reveal the exceptional potential of this district.

All scientific and technical information in this press release has been prepared under the supervision of Dan Noone (CEO of G2 Goldfields Inc.), a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Noone (B.Sc. Geology, MBA) is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists.

For further information please contact:

Dan Noone

CEO

+1.416.628.5904

Email: news@g2goldfields.com

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words expect, anticipate, continue, estimate, may, might, will, project, should, believe, plans, intends and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information and/or statements. Forward-looking statements and/or information are based on a number of material factors, expectations and/or assumptions of G2 Goldfields which have been used to develop such statements and/or information, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although G2 Goldfields believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and/or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements as G2 Goldfields can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. In addition to other factors and assumptions which may be identified herein assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: results from planned exploration and drilling activities; future plans for operational expenditures; the accuracy of the interpretations of exploration and drilling activity results; availability of financing to fund current and future plans and expenditures; the impact of increasing competition; the general stability of the economic and political environment in which G2 Goldfields has property interests; the general continuance of current industry conditions; aboriginal matters; the timely receipt of any required regulatory approvals; the ability of G2 Goldfields to obtain qualified staff, equipment and/or services in a timely and cost efficient manner; the ability of the operator of each project in which G2 Goldfields has property interests to operate in a safe, efficient and/or effective manner and to fulfill its respective obligations and current plans; future commodity prices; currency, exchange and/or interest rates; and the regulatory framework regarding royalties, taxes and/or environmental matters in the jurisdictions in which G2 Goldfields has property interests. The forward-looking information and statements included in this news release are not guarantees of future performance and should not be unduly relied upon. Such information and/or statements, including the assumptions made in respect thereof, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and/or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information and/or statements including, without limitation: risks associated with the uncertainty of exploration results and estimates, currency fluctuations, the uncertainty of conducting operations under a foreign regime, exploration risk, the uncertainty of obtaining all applicable regulatory approvals, the availability of labour and/or equipment, the fluctuating prices of commodities, the availability of financing and dependence on the management personnel of the Corporation, other participants in the property areas and/or certain other risks detailed from time-to-time in G2 Goldfields public disclosure documents (including, without limitation, those risks identified in this news release and G2 Goldfields current managements discussion and analysis). Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Corporation does not undertake any obligations to publicly update and/or revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of additional information, future events and/or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy and / or accuracy of this release.




After record-breaking 2021 performance, firm positions itself for ongoing growth through series of new hires and internal promotions

WINNIPEG, MB, April 20, 2022 /CNW/ - IG Wealth Management ("IG") today announced several recent appointments and promotions to the firm's senior leadership team that are designed to strengthen the organization and position it for ongoing success after a record-breaking 2021.

IG Wealth Management (CNW Group/IG Wealth Management)

"I'm confident that the recent addition of exceptional senior industry talent we've made, coupled with the proven team of highly energized individuals who are assuming expanded leadership roles, will accelerate our success and momentum," said Damon Murchison, President & CEO, IG Wealth Management. "Leveraging the combined expertise of our leaders, we are well positioned to deliver best-in-class financial planning as well as investment, banking and insurance solutions to enhance our clients' financial well-being and help them reach their goals."

All individuals below will report to Mr. Murchison:

Annamaria Testani

Annamaria Testani recently joined IG as Head of Client Experience from National Bank Investments. Based out of Montreal, Quebec, Ms. Testani will drive the implementation of IG's client and advisor experience, business planning, distribution communications and sales effectiveness.

Philip Petursson

Philip Petursson was appointed as IG's new Chief Investment Strategist. Mr. Petursson, formerly at Manulife Investment Management, will serve as IG's senior lead on investment strategy, the global economy and capital markets and will provide insights to the firm's network of advisors. He will also act as IG's principle spokesperson on market trends and investment related topics.

Christine Van Cauwenberghe

Christine Van Cauwenberghe, formerly Vice-President, Tax & Estate Planning, was appointed to Head of Financial Planning and will lead a team responsible for the delivery of IG's integrated offering, driving financial planning advice and strategies and advancing IG advisors' skills, processes and knowledge.

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Mark Kinzel

Mark Kinzel will continue to serve as Vice -Chair, IG Wealth Management and Head of Sales and Distribution, responsible for IG's sales organization. Mr. Kinzel oversees multiple teams responsible for driving sales and performance, new client acquisition, advisor talent acquisition and retention strategies along with pursuing growth opportunities.

Brent Allen

Brent Allen, formerly Senior Vice-President, Financial Services Distribution, was appointed to Head of Strategy and Business Operations. Mr. Allen will be responsible for identifying and leading strategic initiatives aimed at driving revenue and business improvement.

Todd Asman

Todd Asman will continue in his role as Head of Investment Solutions, responsible for driving the overall performance of all products, subadvisors and partners and ensuring clients receive investment solutions that align with their financial goals. In addition to his current responsibilities, Mr. Asman's role will also include accountabilities via IG's Wealth Planning Specialist Network and a new wholesaling team.

Alana Riley

Alana Riley, formerly Senior Vice-President, Financial Services (Western Canada), was appointed to Head of Insurance, Mortgage and Banking. Ms. Riley will be responsible for leading the strategic direction of insurance, banking and mortgage product development, Insurance and Mortgage Planning Specialist Networks, and partner performance.

"All these individuals are industry leaders with strong reputations and proven track records of success. They are exactly the type of group we want in place to drive our business strategy and implementation going forward," concluded Mr. Murchison.

About IG Wealth Management

Founded in 1926, IG Wealth Management is a national leader in delivering personalized financial solutions to Canadians through a network of advisors located across Canada. In addition to an exclusive family of mutual funds and other investment vehicles, IG offers a wide range of other financial services. IG Wealth Management has $116.3 billion in assets under advisement as of March 31, 2022 and is a member of the IGM Financial Inc. (TSX: IGM) group of companies. IGM Financial is one of Canada's leading diversified wealth and asset management companies with approximately $268.3 billion in total assets under management and advisement as of March 31, 2022.

SOURCE IG Wealth Management

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2022/20/c3087.html
An independent autopsy by nationally known pathologists Werner Spitz and Michael Baden is expected to add gravity to any civil cases that might be filed following the shooting death of Patrick Lyoya.

Spitz, a 95-year-old professor of pathology, and Baden, an 87-year-old physician, could play key roles in legal proceedings, while the Michigan State Police also investigate the death.

The pathologists' findings were released Tuesday. The conclusion: Lyoya, a 26-year-old Black refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was shot in the back of the head with a large-caliber bullet and died within seconds of the gunshot.

Attorney Ben Crump, left, forensic pathology expert Dr. Werner Spitz and attorney Ven Johnson speak during a news conference in Detroit on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. The three talked about the independent autopsy performed on Patrick Lyoya by Spitz.

The case is significant, because, like the George Floyd death in Minneapolis, Lyoya's death was captured on video. It also is one of the latest deaths in which a Black person is killed by a white police officer.

An initial autopsy was conducted by Kent County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Stephen Cohle, who announced his report would be completed as soon as the toxicology and tissue test results are in, but not publicly released until the Michigan State Police investigation was concluded.

Both pathologists have extensive experience and credentials, and have testified in cases for decades.

Werner Spitz, famed Detroit doctor

German-born Spitz, who was at the Tuesday news conference at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, is credited with working on the assassination investigations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

Forensic expert Dr. Werner Spitz testifies in the trial of Casey Anthony, talking about autopsy results of the remains of Caylee Anthony at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Fla., on June 18, 2011. Anthony, 25, was charged with killing her daughter Caylee in the summer of 2008.

He also testified at the trials of Casey Anthony and Phil Spector, and the civil trial of O.J. Simpson, and has been a consultant on the investigation of the death of JonBenet Ramsey.

He started his studies at Geneva University in Switzerland, attended the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and immigrated to America in the late 1950s.

Read more:

Grand Rapids police release video of officer fatally shooting Patrick Lyoya

Lower bond denied for parents in Oxford shooting case; trial could begin in October

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The former medical examiner in Wayne and Macomb counties has long offered opinions on cases that swirl with conspiracy theories.

He wrote "Spitz and Fisher's Medicolegal Investigation of Death: Guidelines for the Application of Pathology to Crime Investigation," and his son, Daniel Spitz, is the chief medical examiner for Macomb County.

Dr. Werner Spitz, the deputy chief medical examiner from Baltimore, is shown after testifying during the second day of a hearing on a petition to exhume the body of Mary Jo Kopechne for an autopsy, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Oct. 21, 1969. Dr. Spitz took the stand and testified that an autopsy on the body would not prove anything. Kopechne died when the car, driven by Senator Edward Kennedy, plunged off the Dike Bridge into the channel between Chappaquiddick Island and Martha's Vineyard, Mass.

As recently as 2013, Spitz said that Kennedy was hit by two bullets when he was assassinated, the autopsy was botched, and Lee Harvey Oswald was, indeed, the lone gunman.

Michael Baden, HBO series host

Baden, who also is tied to high-profile deaths, has been on TV as host of HBO's "Autopsy" series, which examines forensic case studies.

In this Sept. 7, 1978 file photo, Dr. Michael Baden, New York City's chief medical examiner, appears before the House Assassinations Committee in Washington, with the coat that President John F. Kennedy wore the day he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. On Aug. 16, 2019, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly asserting that Baden performed Jeffrey Epstein's autopsy in 2019. Epstein's lawyers asked the well-known pathologist to attend the autopsy. He did not perform it.

He was the chief medical examiner of the city of New York in the late '70s, investigated the Kennedy assassination and testified in the Simpson trial.

As recently as 2019, the Washington Post called Baden a "celebrity pathologist," and noted he was hired by relatives of Jeffrey Epstein, a politically connected financier who appeared to have committed suicide in jail, to offer opinions on the death.

Dr. Michael Baden, right, speaks as Brown family attorney Benjamin Crump, left, holds a diagram produced during a second autopsy done on 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 18, 2014, in St. Louis County, Mo. The independent autopsy shows Brown was shot at least six times.

According to the Post, Baden was a a self-described "troublesome kid" with contrarian tendencies. He went to City College of New York and then medical school at New York University.

Baden has written a book, "Unnatural Death: Confessions of a Medical Examiner," and estimates that he has performed more than 20,000 autopsies.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Werner Spitz, Michael Baden hired to autopsy Patrick Lyoya's body
ION Geophysical Corporation

HOUSTON, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) announced today that it has been awarded a five-year contract by Brunei Shell Petroleum Co. (BSP), a joint venture between the Government of Brunei and Shell, for a digital solution to manage Marine Logistics. The solution will be delivered utilizing the MarlinTM software suite and will include vessel monitoring, berth management, and visual reporting tools for material supply workflows. The solution will digitize a number of manual processes and will also interface with existing tools, enhancing BSPs ability to make informed decisions whilst managing its fleet of more than 70 vessels servicing over 200 offshore structures.

Processes such as planning, scheduling, routing, tracking of arrivals and departures, and automating port calls, function with multiple manual processes and systems across various of the marine logistics teams, demonstrating how powerful digitizing and streamlining the workflows are. Through the ability to share and visualize information for the entire operating area in a single system across teams, QHSE and operational efficiencies are improved, which can lead to reductions in fuel consumption, emissions, and BSPs overall carbon footprint.

We are thrilled to be able to embark on this journey with BSP, to see them become a leader in digital integration of Exploration and Production Marine Logistics, said Stuart Darling, Senior Vice President of IONs Software group. With every engagement, our goal is to demonstrate excellent service quality; we are delighted that our solution was chosen as part of a competitive tender process. By working closely with BSP over the next five years, we intend to leverage Marlins robust, cloud-based infrastructure, to digitize as many workflows as possible to ensure BSP reaps maximum value from their investment.

About ION

Leveraging innovative technologies, ION delivers powerful data-driven decision-making to offshore energy and maritime operations markets, enabling clients to optimize investments and results through access to our data, software, and distinctive analytics. Learn more at iongeo.com.

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The information herein contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements may include information and other statements that are not of historical fact. Actual results may vary materially from those described in these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the risks associated with the timing and development of ION Geophysical Corporation's products and services; pricing pressure; decreased demand; changes in oil prices; agreements made or adhered to by members of OPEC and other oil producing countries to maintain production levels; the COVID-19 pandemic; the ultimate benefits of our completed restructuring transactions; political, execution, regulatory, and currency risks; the outcome or changes, if any, of our consideration of various strategic alternatives; and the impact to our liquidity in the current uncertain macroeconomic environment, including the war in Ukraine. For additional information regarding these various risks and uncertainties, see our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed on February 12, 2021, and our Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021, and September 30, 2021, filed on May 6, 2021, August 12, 2021, and November 3, 2021, respectively. Additional risk factors, which could affect actual results, are disclosed by the Company in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its Form 10-K, Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks filed during the year. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements.

CONTACT: Contacts ION (Investor Relations) Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mike Morrison, +1 281.933.3339 mike.morrison@iongeo.com Vice President, Investor Relations Sharon Wang-Stockton, +1 281.933.3339 sharon.wang-stockton@iongeo.com




LITTLETON, Colo., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers will be able to make no-fee cannabis purchases using CanPay, the largest legitimate payment network for cannabis merchants and consumers, at six leading New Jersey recreational retail stores when recreational sales launch there on April 21, 2022.

CanPay logo (PRNewsfoto/CanPay)

CanPay provides an easy-to-use app that allows consumers to pay for purchases at cannabis retailers with a simple debit from their checking account using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network. Merchants with a compliant bank account at a CanPay-approved financial institution may join the CanPay network quickly and easily.

"If you're looking to buy cannabis products in the new recreational market in New Jersey, CanPay is the way to do it," said Dustin Eide, CEO of CanPay. "With instant activation for most, the service is fast and free for consumers to use and much safer than cash  benefits that more than 100,000 consumer members of the CanPay community have come to understand. For additional convenience, recreational consumers can even prepay with CanPay for their online orders at participating stores."

The dispensaries, which previously were only permitted to sell cannabis for medicinal use, were recently approved for recreational sales to any adult over 21 years of age by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. The first six New Jersey recreational dispensaries accepting CanPay are: The Apothecarium locations in Maplewood and Phillipsburg, The Botanist locations in Egg Harbor Township and Williamstown and Curaleaf locations in Bellmawr and Edgewater Park.

With more than half a billion dollars in transparent transactions and more than 800 participating merchant locations across 31 states, CanPay is the leader in legitimate payments for the cannabis industry.

About CanPay

CanPay offers a payment solution for the state regulated cannabis industry and other emerging markets. CanPay started with one goal  to bring traditional and legitimate electronic payment solutions to highly-regulated industries. We've spent years learning about the unique challenges that face consumers and retailers in these industries and used that experience to design CanPay as the stable payment solution they can rely on. With over 20 years of industry experience, the CanPay team of payments professionals is building a proprietary network of consumers, retailers, financial institutions, and specialized technology providers that make payments at regulated businesses just like payments everywhere else. For more information, visit https://www.canpaydebit.com.

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Cision

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SOURCE CanPay
SEOUL, South Korea, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kingston Technology, a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, announced its channel partnership with Intech&Company, Inc., the premium IT product, solution and service provider. Intech&Company, Inc. will become the one of the primary distributors of Kingston's DRAM memory products, and provide high quality and performance memory solutions to users of the South Korea market.

Kingston Announces Channel Partnership with Intech&Company, Inc (PRNewsfoto/Kingston Technology)

Kingston has always aimed center stage for launching high performing products and pushing the industry standards ever further. Committed to delivering end Kingston Technology was ranked top third-party DRAM module supplier in the world for 18 consecutive years, and in 2020, Kingston retains its number 1 position with an estimated 78.02% market share on $13.2B (USD) revenue. Leveraging 35 years of Kingston engineering, testing, manufacturing and an established reputation in the PC gaming hardware market, Kingston debuted its high-performance gaming line, Kingston FURY, in 2021, and was leader in the launch of high performing DDR5 memory products.

Kingston's distribution network spans 175 locations worldwide, the partnership with Intech&Company, Inc. is the latest milestone of Kingston's persistent endeavor in South Korea. Intech&Company, Inc. has focused on electronic parts distribution and technical support since its establishment in 1981. For the last 40 years, it has steadily extended its business with an emphasis on providing hardware and software solutions to its loyal customers, and with the distribution of Kingston products, Intech&Company, Inc.will expand and strengthen their component product offerings.

"Our channel partners have been one of the biggest growth drivers for Kingston; and we are proud to initiate our partnership with Intech&Company, Inc. as our national distributor partner in South Korea," said Kingston. "With their understanding and invaluable expertise of the local market's needs, we are confident that Intech&Company, Inc. will help take Kingston's memory business to newer heights in the coming years."

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Product Information

Kingston ValueRAM (KVR)

Competitively priced ValueRAM memory delivers high performance, providing the ideal choice for worry-free PC and laptop upgrades. Designed and tested to meet JEDEC industry standards, ValueRAM is compatible with the latest motherboard chipsets and backed by 100% testing, with limited lifetime warranty and legendary Kingston reliability.

Kingston FURY

Kingston FURY is Kingston's leading high-performance, enthusiast and gaming memory and storage solution. Whether it is pro-gamer seeking extreme speed and performance or gaming enthusiast looking for affordable overclocking solutions, Kingston FURY can provide their systems the upgrade they need and want with modules in DDR5, DDR4 RGB and non-RGB, and DDR3. Kingston FURY Renegade is perfect for gamers looking for cutting-edge performance and low latencies; Kingston FURY Beast offers cost-effective performance boosts for gaming, video editing, and rendering; Kingston FURY Impact is the powerful SO-DIMM performance boost for laptops, NUCs and other small form-factor PCs. The latest and advanced Kingston FURY Beast DDR5 memory brings superior speed advancements for next-gen gaming platforms, utilizing Intel XMP 3.0 and ready for AMD Ryzen with speeds up to 6000MT/s.

Kingston's DRAM products, including Kingston FURY DDR4, DDR5 and Kingston ValueRAM (KVR) memory, will be available at the below retail and etail locations.

Kingston Retail/Etail List Drcrom Dongcom PC Ry MIND PC MONSTAR PC Sin Seong Jo 52PC SYSTEM ElecSmith Trialversion Commaeng.com Green com CompuRy

Kingston can be found on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KingstonAPAC

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/KingstonAPAC

About Kingston Technology

From big data, to laptops and PCs, to IoT-based devices like smart and wearable technology, to design-in and contract manufacturing, Kingston helps deliver the solutions used to live, work and play. The world's largest PC makers and cloud-hosting companies depend on Kingston for their manufacturing needs, and our passion fuels the technology the world uses every day. We strive beyond our products to see the bigger picture, to meet the needs of our customers and offer solutions that make a difference. To learn more about how Kingston Is With You, visit Kingston.com.

About Intech&Company, Inc.

Intech&Company, Inc. is as a premium IT product, solution, and service provider, it has focused on electronic parts distribution and technical support since 1981. For the last 40 years, it steadily extended its business by cooperating with various worldwide brand and now they support hardware such as INTEL, ASUS, LENOVO, TOSHIBA and also support software such as Microsoft, AHNLAB and SMARTCAD etc. Intech&Company, Inc. operated two branches, one is Wonhyo branch and the other is Nonhyeon branch in Seoul, and expanded its business and established the Busan branch in 2011. Since then, Intech&Company, Inc. have sequentially contracted with LENOVO, TOSHIBA, AHNLAB, Panduit, ASUS, TYAN, UNIDOCS, SMARTCAD, and Humax and continued to expand their businesses, achieving sales of about 470 billion won in 2021

Kingston and the Kingston logo are registered trademarks of Kingston Technology Corporation. IronKey is a registered trademark of Kingston Digital, Inc. Kingston FURY and the Kingston FURY logo are trademarks of Kingston Technology Corporation. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Kingston Technology
By Dawn Chmielewski and Tiyashi Datta

(Reuters) - Netflix Inc said inflation, the war in Ukraine and fierce competition contributed to a loss of subscribers for the first time in more than a decade and predicted deeper losses ahead, marking an abrupt shift in fortune for a streaming company that thrived during the pandemic.

The company said it lost 200,000 subscribers in its first quarter, falling well short of its forecast of adding 2.5 million subscribers. Suspending service in Russia after the Ukraine invasion took a toll, resulting in the loss of 700,000 members.

Wall Street sent Netflix's stock tumbling 26% after the bell on Tuesday and erased about $40 billion of its stock market value. Since it warned in January of weak subscriber growth, the company has lost nearly half of its value.

The lagging subscriber growth is prompting Netflix to contemplate offering a lower-priced version of the service with advertising, citing the success of similar offerings from rivals HBO Max and Disney+.

"Those who have followed Netflix know that I've been against the complexity of advertising, and a big fan of the simplicity of subscription," said Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. "But, as much as I'm a fan of that, I'm a bigger fan of consumer choice."

Netflix offered a gloomy prediction for the spring quarter, forecasting it would lose 2 million subscribers, despite the return of such hotly anticipated series as "Stranger Things" and "Ozark" and the debut of the film "The Grey Man," starring Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling. Wall Street targeted 227 million for the second quarter, according to Refinitiv data.

The downdraft caught other video streaming-related stocks, with Roku dropping over 6%, Walt Disney falling 5% and Warner Bros Discovery down 3.5%.

Hastings told investors that the pandemic had "created a lot of noise," making it difficult for the company to interpret the surge and ebb of its subscription business over the last two years. Now, it appears the culprit is a combination of competition and the number of accounts sharing passwords, making it harder to grow.

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"When we were growing fast, it wasn't a high priority to work on," Hastings said of account-sharing in remarks during Netflix's investor video. "And now we're working super hard on it."

GRAPHIC: Netflix earnings https://graphics.reuters.com/NETFLIX-RESULTS/010010K54FB/Netflix-earns-flat.jpg

CONFLUENCE OF EVENTS

Netflix's first-quarter revenue grew 10% to $7.87 billion, slightly below Wall Street's forecasts. It reported per-share net earnings of $3.53, beating the Wall Street consensus of $2.89.

While the company remains bullish on the future of streaming, it blamed its slowing growth on a number of factors, such as the rate at which consumers adopt on-demand services, a growing number of competitors and a sluggish economy. Account-sharing is a longstanding practice, though Netflix is exploring ways to derive revenue from the 100 million households watching Netflix through shared accounts, including 30 million in the United States and Canada.

This confluence of factors resulted in Netflix reporting losing customers for the first time since October 2011, catching Wall Street by surprise.

"They suffered from a combination of approaching saturation, inflation, higher pricing, the war in Ukraine and competition," said Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter. "I dont think any of us expected that all to happen at once."

The world's dominant streaming service was expected to report slowing growth, amid intense competition from established rivals like Amazon.com, traditional media companies such as the Walt Disney and the newly formed Warner Bros Discovery and cash-flush newcomers like Apple Inc.

Streaming services spent $50 billion on new content last year, in a bid to attract or retain subscribers, according to researcher Ampere Analysis. That's a 50% increase from 2019, when many of the newer streaming services launched, signaling the quick escalation of the so-called "streaming wars."

Netflix noted that despite the intensifying competition, its share of TV viewing in the United States has held steady according to Nielsen, a mark of subscriber satisfaction and retention.

As growth slows in mature markets like the United States, Netflix is increasingly focused on other parts of the world and investing in local-language content.

"While hundreds of millions of homes pay for Netflix, well over half of the world's broadband homes don't yet -- representing huge future growth potential," the company said in a statement.

Benchmark analyst Matthew Harrigan warned that the uncertain global economy "is apt to emerge as an albatross" for member growth and Netflix's ability to continue raising prices as competition intensifies.

Streaming services are not the only form of entertainment vying for consumers' time. The latest Digital Media Trends survey from Deloitte, released in late March, revealed that Generation Z, those consumers ages 14 to 25, spend more time playing games than watching movies or television series at home, or even listening to music.

The majority of Gen Z and Millennial consumers polled said they spend more time watching user-created videos like those on TikTok and YouTube than watching films or shows on a streaming service.

One market observer said Netflix's stock has benefited from expectations of perpetual growth.

"Today's report shows that there is a limit to that long-term bullish thesis," said David Keller, chief market strategist at StockCharts.com.

(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles, Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru, and Noel Randewich in Oakland, Califiornia; Editing by Peter Henderson and Lisa Shumaker)
STOCKHOLM, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The shareholders of Haldex Aktiebolag (publ) are hereby invited to attend the Annual General Meeting to be held at 15:00 on 24 May 2022. Location: Elite Hotel Stockholm Plaza, Birger Jarlsgatan 29, Stockholm Registration from 14:30

A. RIGHT TO ATTEND THE GENERAL MEETING

Shareholders who wish to attend the general meeting must

i. be included in the share register maintained by Euroclear Sweden AB, on 16 May 2022, and

ii. notify the company of its intention to attend the general meeting by 18 May 2022, by:

Mail: Haldex AB, Notice AGM, Box 507, 261 24 Landskrona, Sweden;

Telephone: +46 418-47 60 00; or

E-mail: ir@haldex.com.

On giving notice of the attendance, the shareholder must state the shareholder's name, address, telephone number and personal identity number (or corporate identity number) and where applicable, the representative or advisors (not more than 2).

In order to participate in the annual general meeting, shareholders with nominee registered shares must request their bank or broker to have their shares owner registered with Euroclear Sweden AB. Such registration must be made by 18 May 2022. The registration can be temporary.

Powers of attorney, certificates of registration and other authorization documents must be available at the general meeting and are preferably provided to the company no later than 18 May 2022 to facilitate the entry at the general meeting. The power of attorney must not be older than one year, unless it is stated in the power of attorney that it is issued for a longer period of time (not more than five years from the effective date). A proxy form is available on the company's website, www.haldex.com/en/corporate.

B. AGENDA

Proposal for agenda

Opening of the general meeting and election of chairman at the general meeting. Drawing up and approval of the voting list. Election of two persons to verify the minutes. Determination of whether the general meeting has been properly convened. Approval of the agenda. Presentation of the annual report and the audit report and the consolidated financial statements and the audit report on the consolidated financial statements. Resolutions on Determination of the number of directors and auditors. Determination of fees to the directors. Determination of fees to the auditor. Election of directors and chairman of the board Election of auditor. Approval of the board of directors' Remuneration Report 2021. Resolution on the establishment of a long-term bonus program. Confirmation of 2021 LTI allotment. Proposal by a shareholder regarding the establishment of an integration institute. Closing of the general meeting.

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Proposals

Item 1: Election of chairman of the meeting

The Nomination Committee proposes that the Chairman of the board of directors, Hakan Karlsson, to be elected Chairman at the Annual General Meeting

Item 7c: Resolution for allocation of the company's profit according to the adopted balance sheet

The board of directors proposes that no dividend will be paid and that the general meeting resolves that the accrued profits will be carried forward.

Item 8: Determining the number of board members and auditors

The Nomination committee proposes that the board of directors consists of six members elected by the Annual General Meeting and proposes that the company have an auditing company as auditor in accordance with the Audit Committee's recommendation.

Item 9: Determining on fees to the directors

The Nomination Committee proposes the following fees to the board of directors for the period until the next Annual General Meeting:

a. SEK 770,000 to the Chairman of the board and SEK 330,000 to each of the other directors of the board appointed by the Annual General Meeting and who are not an employee of the company;

b. SEK 100,000 to the chairman of the audit committee and SEK 50,000 to each of the other members of the audit committee; and

c. SEK 50,000 to the chairman of the remuneration committee and SEK 25,000 to each of the other members of the remuneration committee.

Proposal a) involve a 10% increase all other proposals involve unchanged fees.

Item 10: Determining on fees to the auditor

The Nomination Committee proposes that fees to the auditor be paid in accordance with approved invoices, for the period until the next Annual General Meeting.

Item 11: Election of directors and Chairman of the Board

The Nomination Committee proposes that the following individuals are elected as directors of the board for the period until the next Annual General Meeting:

a. re-election of Hakan Karlsson, Stefan Charette, Viveka Ekberg, Catharina Modahl Nilsson, Detlef Borghardt and Dzeki Mackinovski; and

b. re-election of Hakan Karlsson as Chairman of the board of directors.

Item 12: Election of auditor

The Nomination Committee proposes a re-election of the auditing company Ohrlings PricewaterhouseCoopers AB (PwC) in accordance with the audit committee's recommendation. PwC has announced that PwC intends to appoint the authorized public accountant Eric Salander as the principal auditor

Item 13: Approval of the Board's Remuneration Report 2021

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting approve the board of directors' remuneration report on remuneration to senior executives in 2021.

Item 14: Proposed resolution on the establishment of a long-term bonus program

The board of directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to implement a long-term bonus program (the "LTI Bonus") in accordance with the terms and conditions set out below.

Preparation and administration of the LTI Bonus

Haldex's remuneration committee has prepared the proposal for the LTI Bonus in consultation with external advisors and major shareholders. The LTI has been discussed at board meetings during the fourth quarter of 2021 and first quarter of 2022. The board of directors or the remuneration committee shall be responsible for preparing the detailed terms and conditions of the LTI Bonus in accordance with the terms and guidelines resolved on by the annual general meeting.

Objectives of the LTI Bonus

The main objective of the LTI Bonus is to, by promoting a common interest between the participants and Haldex as well as creating conditions to retain key competences, strengthen Haldex's financial development. The board of directors believes that the LTI Bonus will have a positive effect on the group's long-term growth as well as the participant's long-term commitment to Haldex's development through a long-term shareholding in Haldex and will thus be beneficial to both the shareholders and Haldex. The long-term objective of the LTI Bonus is reflected in the agreement with the participant of the LTI Bonus.

Participants and bonus levels

Participants in the LTI Bonus are up to 26 key employees, including members of the executive management, in Haldex, as selected by the board of directors. On the main terms and conditions presented herein, the participants will receive a cash bonus that they will use to purchase shares in Haldex. The maximum bonus amount payable to each participant corresponds to 60% of the relevant participant's annual, gross base salary. The bonus amount will be determined by the level of fulfilment of the performance criteria, as per below.

Main terms of the LTI Bonus

The LTI Bonus shall be governed by the following main terms and conditions:

The LTI Bonus is vested during the calendar years 2022 and 2023 (the "Vesting Period") and is conditional upon, among other things, the fulfilment of certain performance criteria and that the participant is employed by the Haldex group, in accordance with the main terms stipulated herein and the specific terms which will be included in the agreement with the participant.

The participants undertake to purchase shares in Haldex for the full net of tax amount of the cash bonus. The share purchases will take place on the stock exchange where the Haldex shares are listed and at the price per share that the shares are currently traded for at the time of the acquisition, why the share purchases will be made at the market value.

The LTI Bonus will not result in any dilution of the existing shareholders' shares in the company as the participants acquires shares that are already traded on the stock exchange. This also means that Haldex does not have to take any measures to ensure delivery of the shares to the participants.

The participants must in general be employed by the Haldex group during the entire Vesting Period, i.e. January 1, 2022  December 31, 2023, to be eligible for the bonus. If a participant has been employed during the Vesting Period, the bonus amount shall be reduced pro rata the employment period. A participant who has terminated his or her employment during the Vesting Period shall not be eligible for the bonus.

The participants may not dispose of the shares until, at the earliest, January 1, 2026.

To ensure an effective administration of the LTI Bonus, Haldex has contracted a share plan administrator. Via the administrator, the participants will be able to acquire the shares in Haldex and, as of January 1, 2026, dispose of the shares.

Performance criteria for LTI Bonus

In addition to the other conditions, in order for a cash bonus to be made payable to the participants, two performance criteria must be met during the calendar year 2022. The level of fulfilment of the performance criteria will determine the cash bonus amount. The two performance criteria are:

Return on capital employed (ROCE), which represents 70% of the total award; and Operating profit, which represents 30% of the total award.

The level of fulfilment of the performance criteria is measured against the budget approved by the board of directors for 2022.

Timing of the share acquisition

LTI Bonus is constructed so that at the expiry of the Vesting Period, i.e. during 2024, the board of directors shall assess the level of fulfilment of the performance criteria in the calendar year 2022 as well as whether the other conditions for LTI-Bonus have been fulfilled. Thereafter, the bonus amount is paid out and shares can be acquired. The shares will thus be acquired in 2024, the year after the expiry of the Vesting Period. The reason why the share acquisition takes place earlier than three years from the conclusion of the LTI Bonus agreement is that the participants shall be able to take part in the shares' value development in the coming years. The participants undertake not to sell the acquired shares until after December 31, 2025 at the earliest. As a result, the program as a whole is ongoing for a longer period than three years.

Cost of the LTI Bonus

In addition to the bonus amounts being paid out, the costs for the LTI Bonus consist of regular personnel costs associated with cash compensation and an administration cost for the administrator's handling of the LTI Bonus. The costs will vary depending on the level of fulfilment of the performance criteria and the participants' salary and tax domicile. According to initial calculations, Haldex's costs for the bonus are estimated at between SEK 624 million. The administrator's costs for the administration of the LTI Bonus consist of an annual fee that will be recurrent throughout the years that the administration is ongoing.

Administration of the LTI Bonus

The detailed terms and conditions of the LTI Bonus shall be decided by the board of directors or the remuneration committee, but shall remain within the framework of the terms and guidelines resolved on by the annual general meeting

It is proposed that the board of directors shall be entitled to make other adjustments to the LTI Bonus, if it so deems appropriate, if changes occur in Haldex, its operation environment or the market that results in a situation where the conditions for the participants' share acquisitions becomes unreasonable. Any such adjustments shall only be made in order to fulfil the main objectives of the LTI Bonus.

Majority requirements

Resolutions passed by the annual general meeting in accordance with the board of director's proposal item 14 are valid if supported by simple majority.

Item 15: Confirmation of 2021 LTI allotment

At the 2021 annual general meeting, a long-term incentive program for the CEO was approved (the "2021 LTI"). The 2021 LTI included a right to, under certain conditions, acquire Haldex shares against a pre-defined strike price (the "Options"). Pursuant to the terms of the 2021 LTI, the CEO were to acquire the Qualifying Shares and Options were to be granted not later than 31 July 2021. However, these conditions where not fulfilled on time. The CEO acquired 16,000 Qualifying Shares in the end of December and will be granted 48,000 Options on or about 28 April 2022. The Options will expire unless approved by the Annual General Meeting. The board of directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to approve the grant of the Options on the terms and conditions of the 2021 LTI, which shall continue to apply for the 2021 LTI and the Options.

Additional information

For additional information regarding the 2021 LTI, please refer to the proposal set out in the notice for the 2021 annual general meeting available at: https://www.haldex.com/globalassets/corporate/pressreleasesdocuments/2021-en/3955473-notice-of-annual-general-meeting-in-haldex-aktiebolag-publ/notice-of-annual-general-meeting-in-haldex-aktiebolag-publ.

Majority requirements

A resolution regarding item 15 is only valid if supported by shareholders holding not less than nine tenths (9/10) of the votes cast as well as the shares represented at the general meeting.

Item 16: Proposal by shareholder

Shareholder Tommy Jonasson proposes that the annual general meeting resolves that "the board should participate in the establishment of an integration institute for the region Oresund (Landskrona  Copenhagen) and, for this purpose, allocate 10 000 000 (ten million) SEK of the company's profit".

C. MISCELLANEOUS

Documents

The notice, financial statement, the complete proposals for resolutions, the auditor's statement, the Nomination Committee's proposals, as well as other documents, will be available at the company's office in Landskrona and on the company's website www.haldex.com/en/corporate no later than three weeks prior to the general meeting and will be sent upon request to shareholders stating their address. The documents will also be available at the general meeting. The Annual Report 2021 is available on the company's website and will be distributed to the shareholders who have ordered it.

Right to request information

Shareholders attending the general meeting have the right to request information according to Chapter 7, Section 32 of the Swedish Companies Act. Shareholders who wish to submit questions in advance may send them to Haldex AB, Att: Jenny Bostrom, Box 507, SE-261 24 Landskrona, Sweden or by e-mail to ir@haldex.com by 18 May 2022. Such information will be made available at the company or on the company's website as well as be sent to the shareholder requesting the information.

Shares and votes

As per the day of this notice, the total number of shares and votes in Haldex amounts to 48,637,567. Haldex holds 11,705 shares in treasury as per the day of this notice.

Processing of personal data

For information on how personal data is processed in connection with the general meeting, please see the integrity policy available on Euroclear Sweden AB's website: www.euroclear.com/dam/ESw/Legal/Privacy-notice-bolagsstammor-engelska.pdf

For further information, please visit, www.haldex.com/en/corporate or contact

Jean-Luc Desire, President & CEO

Linda Carlsson, Head of Legal

Jenny Bostrom, Investor Relations Manager

E-mail: ir@haldex.com

Phone: +46 418 47 60 00

Landskrona in April 2022

Haldex Aktiebolag (publ)

The board of directors

About Haldex

Over 100 years of powerful innovation gives Haldex unsurpassed expertise when it comes to braking systems and air suspension systems for heavy trucks, trailers and buses. We live and breathe our business with the goal to deliver robust and technically superior solutions which is founded in a deep insight in our customer's reality. Through focusing on our core competences and the passion we all share, we achieve the agility and flexibility that the market demands. Innovative collaborations aren't only the core of our products, but our philosophy. Our 2 000 employees, spread out across four continents, challenge the conventional on a daily basis in order to secure that the products we deliver create a unique value to our customers and the end users. We are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and have a turnover of approx. 4.6 billion SEK.

This document is an unofficial translation of the Swedish original thereof. In the event of any discrepancies between the versions, the Swedish version shall prevail.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/haldex/r/notice-of-annual-general-meeting-in-haldex-aktiebolag--publ-,c3549083

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/1432/3549083/1566229.pdf Notice of AGM 2022

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SOURCE Haldex
PayU, the fintech business controlled by Prosus with operations in 50+ countries -- it's been described as the PayPal of emerging markets -- announced a double-deal today to expand its presence in Latin America. The company has acquired Ding, a mobile payments platform; and it has led a $46 million investment into Treinta, a financial "superapp" aimed at small businesses. Y Combinator alum Treinta, which launched only 18 months ago, has 4 million customers.

Notably, both are based in Colombia but provide services across the Latin America region. For PayU and Prosus, the deals are significant for two main reasons.

First, they are helping Prosus tap into what continues to be a fast-growing market. The company quotes figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce that estimate Colombia alone to have the fifth largest e-commerce market in Latin America, which as a region is projected to reach 260.2 million digital shoppers by the end of 2022, overtaking the U.S., with $167.81 billion in purchases.

Second, the move speaks to how PayU and Prosus are looking to add more diversification to its investment base. It's a development that's interesting considering its proximity to Prosus reevaluating investments in other regions, specifically the currently-pariah state of Russia, including a $770 million write-down in March of its investment in social network VK. (Note: Prosus's CEO confirmed in March that it is keeping for now its domestic operations going there, which are formed of Avito and PayU in Russia.)

"Our recent activity in Colombia reflects PayU's desire to provide seamless online and cross-border transactions for merchants and consumers," said Mario Shiliashki, Global CEO of PayU's payments division, in a statement. "These are just two examples of how we are providing useful products and services to millions of people in their daily lives. PayU has helped to facilitate the evolution of online payments in Colombia since 2011 and we are proud to be extending our services to promote financial inclusion for SMEs in both Colombia and globally.

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Digging into the individual deals, Ding is the operating name of Tecnipagos, which itself was a spinoff from CredibanCo, a payment services provider in the country that has been around for 50 years. It looks like Ding had never had any outside funding prior to getting spun out and scooped up.

The financial terms of the Ding acquisition -- it was first reported earlier this month, before it closed -- are not being made public, but they may be in future financial statements from Prosus. Prosus itself was listed in 2019 by South African multimedia conglomerate Naspers as a separate, public company that contained all of Nasper's tech businesses, which includes PayU and other e-commerce and fintech investments, as well as a significant holding in China's Tencent. Prosus has a current market cap of $152 billion -- a figure largely boosted by that Tencent stake.

PayU describes Ding as a payments app, providing businesses that use it with facilities to accept payments by debit card, credit, and QR Codes, and other methods. It also provides the ability to sell phone recharges, pins, digital content and more.

Mobile phone credits in itself is a significant business, and often one that goes hand-in-hand with more general remittance services. Mobile phone credits are used for more than just making calls in emerging markets (the phones become a proxy for bank accounts in many developing markets where traditional banking services are expensive or underdeveloped). Oftentimes money that is sent from friends or family comes in the form of mobile credits. This paves the way for PayU to develop more remittance services around Ding, and potentially extend its existing remittance operations to Ding's customer base.

The Treinta investment, meanwhile, is a $46 million round along with participation also from LionTree Partners, Ethos VC, TEN13 and other undisclosed investors. Treinta had previously participated in a Y Combinator batch, and backers of the company in its $14.3 million in seed round in 2021 included YC, Levels Up Ventures, Outbound Ventures, Luxor Capital, Mango.vc, Goodwater Capital, Soma Capital, First Check Venture, Houston Angel Network, FJ Labs, Commerce Ventures, Rhombuz Ventures, Acacia Venture Partners and Evening Fund.

Treinta -- which means "thirty" in Spanish -- is not disclosing its valuation, and PayU also declined to comment on the figure.

The startup has only been around for 18 months and it says that it already has some 4 million SMB customers in 18 countries.

Treinta itself is tapping two trends that are big in fintech at the moment. The first involves a wave of fintech businesses building "all in one" platforms, where customers might come for one specific service -- financing, or invoicing, or current account services, for example -- and are being upsold to related offerings, which themselves are built around a wider dataset that the fintech is building about that particular customer. These services often bring in technology behind the scenes from third parties, using APIs to embed those white-label products and brand them as their own.

The second is Treinta's focus on small businesses -- a cornerstone of the global economy, yet one that has been traditionally underserved by technology. Treinta estimates that there are some 50 million small businesses (it describes them as "microenterprises") in Latin America, with some 90% of them yet to adopt any kind of tech at all to manage their finances, so it's a large potential market.

PayU, as a provider and builder of fintech solutions, will be able to leverage Treinta as a channel for getting its own customer-facing tech deeper into the market in Colombia and the rest of Latin America, but Treinta will also become another retail channel for PayU's under-the-hood technology.

By acquiring and investing in businesses like Ding and Treinta, both global and local SMEs are able to expand their business within LatAm, providing the best payments service with the consumer experience first in mind," said Francisco Leon, PayU's CEO for Latin America, in a statement. "We are very excited to expand the reach of Treinta and Dings innovative solutions, particularly as these services are fully aligned with our strategic goal of creating a world without financial borders.

While a lot of PayU's activity has been in Asia and emerging markets in Europe, Latin America will be a big focus in coming months it seems. A spokesperson tells us that PayU plans to make further investments in the region this year.

Updated with the link to the correct Ding -- a payments app in Colombia that offers, among other things, mobile top ups; not the mobile top-up business of the exact same name that provides services in Colombia.
In a collaboration with The Michael J. Fox Foundation, de novo study finds PreciseDx's technology can accurately diagnose Parkinson's disease in living patients prior to severe onset of symptoms

NEW YORK, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PreciseDx, recently spun out from the Mount Sinai Health System in New York, NY, is the only Cancer Risk Stratification company to provide patient-specific risk information through the analysis of morphology features. The company today announced its AI-enabled digital pathology technology can accurately diagnose Parkinson's disease (PD) in living patients prior to severe onset of symptoms.

Diagnosing Parkinson's disease is challenging at all stages due to variable symptoms, comorbidities, and mimicking conditions, with definitive diagnosis only coming postmortem. This groundbreaking study found that PreciseDx's AI-enabled technology is able to facilitate a conclusive diagnosis of Parkinson's, providing critical information for earlier treatment.

"These findings show the potential for technology to aid in diagnosis of Parkinson's disease," said Jamie Eberling, PhD, Senior Vice President of Research Resources at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF). "Objective diagnostic tools, especially early in disease, are critical to drive care decisions and to design trials toward better treatments and cures."

MJFF partially funded the AI analysis and sponsored the study that provided the data (the Systemic Synuclein Sampling Study).

The PreciseDx study applied the company's AI algorithms (Morphology Feature Array) for the IHC detection of -synuclein within peripheral nerves of salivary glands [i.e., peripheral Lewy-type synucleinopathy (LTS)], along with quantitative feature extraction using morphology features to accurately distinguish LTS in early-stage Parkinson's disease biopsy specimens based upon expert pathologist annotation of the training samples. Following training, the algorithmic test was validated using a separate set of confirmed biopsy specimens.

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PreciseDx's AI Morphology Feature Array was able to detect Parkinson's pathology in image patches from biopsy samples with 99% sensitivity and 99% specificity as compared to expert annotated ground truth. The AI edged out the human pathologist with an accuracy of 0.69 versus 0.64 in the prediction of clinical Parkinson's disease status.

PreciseDx's MFA approach to feature extraction and analysis enables new algorithms to be developed and validated against clinical endpoints. This is extremely valuable to create new diagnostic tests, accurate and reproducible diagnosis, prognosis, patient selection of therapy for a wide range of conditions.

"Traditionally, pathology grading systems look at a few morphology components to make a diagnosis. Unlike any human-powered grading method, PreciseDx's AI Morphology Feature Array (MFA) can examine thousands of different features and leverage those relationships between them," said John F. Crary, MD-PhD, a Professor in the Departments of Pathology, Neuroscience, and Artificial Intelligence & Human Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "This industry-changing study has shown that we need to revitalize the way we think about pathology and lean into using AI to detect diseases more accurately, such as PD. This enlightens the industry to a direct case study into how computational pathology can truly advance medicine in terms of accurately identifying and detecting diseases."

"We look forward to working with PreciseDx as it explores the potential of utilizing the AI platform in pathology across multiple diseases, including Parkinson's," said Erik Lium, PhD, President, Mount Sinai Innovation Partners and Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Innovation Officer, Mount Sinai Health System.

The cancer risk stratification technology is based on intellectual property developed by Mount Sinai faculty and licensed to PreciseDx. Mount Sinai and Mount Sinai faculty have a financial interest in PreciseDx. Mount Sinai also has representation on the PreciseDx Board of Directors, which includes Dr. Lium.

To view the full study, visit: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35164870/

About PreciseDx

PreciseDx is the only Cancer Risk Stratification company to provide patient-specific risk information through the analysis of morphology features, enabling better and more personalized treatment and outcomes. Clinical teams can rely on PreciseDx for unmatched insights and actionable intelligence in determining the best treatment for each patient. Combining the power of artificial intelligence with its proprietary Morphology Feature Array, PreciseDx creates disease-specific assays that deliver new levels of pathology information and insight on each patient's risk profile and likely outcomes to aid in treatment decision-making. To learn more about PreciseDx, visit https://precisedx.ai/

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest academic medical system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. We advance medicine and health through unrivaled education and translational research and discovery to deliver care that is the safest, highest-quality, most accessible and equitable, and the best value of any health system in the nation. The Health System includes approximately 7,300 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 free-standing joint-venture centers; more than 410 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked in U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of the top 20 U.S. hospitals and among the top in the nation by specialty: No. 1 in Geriatrics and top 20 in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Neurology/Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology/Lung Surgery, Urology, and Rehabilitation. Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital is ranked in U.S. News & World Report's "Best Children's Hospitals" among the country's best in four out of 10 pediatric specialties. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked among the Top 20 nationally for ophthalmology. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report's "Best Medical Schools," aligned with a U.S. News & World Report "Honor Roll" Hospital, and No. 14 in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding. Newsweek's "The World's Best Smart Hospitals" ranks The Mount Sinai Hospital as No. 1 in New York and top five globally, and Mount Sinai Morningside as top 20 globally, and "The World's Best Specialized Hospitals" ranks Mount Sinai Heart as No. 1 in New York and No. 4 globally and the Division of Gastroenterology as No. 3 globally. For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Media Contact:

Alyson Kuritz

alyson@0to5.com

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SOURCE PreciseDx
Samsung Canada

Available exclusively through the Samsung Health Monitor app

Galaxy Watch4 New Features

A set of advanced features to fit you and your lifestyle

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Samsung Canada is encouraging users to reach their wellness goals with advanced health monitoring tools, made available in Canada through the Samsung Health Monitor app. Designed to conquer better living every day, the Galaxy Watch4 Series is now equipped to help categorize and track a wide range of new and recently released health and wellness offerings.



Cutting-edge wellness features include BioActive Sensor technology and Advanced Sleep & Continuity SPO2, offering some of Samsungs most advanced health and wellness capabilities to date. Insights from the BioActive sensor, which measures Optical Heart Rate and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis, can be seen on the app so users can monitor their heart rate and blood oxygen level1.

Also, new blood pressure monitoring2 and electrocardiogram (ECG)3 features  which, together, are the first in Canada launched on a smartwatch, will be available to help complete an expansive suite of tools for monitoring fitness and overall wellness on the Samsung Health Monitor app4 through the Galaxy Watch4 Series.

The needs of todays smartwatch user is continuously evolving. With this new software update, Samsung is providing access to meaningful data and insights to support Canadians in advancing their health and wellness goals, said Raj Doshi, Head of Mobile Business, Samsung Canada. We are excited to introduce these new features and innovations as part of our wider commitment to redefining holistic wellness.

This offering has been combined with previously released features, including the Body Composition5 measurement tool, which provides users with an understanding of their general wellness and fitness, with key measurements like skeletal muscle mass, basal metabolic rate, body water and body fat percentage. Whether a user is looking to get active, or is focusing on a unique improvement journey, data from the Samsung Health Monitor app and useful tips and reminders allows them to make informed decisions about their wellness.

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With a suite of advanced features to fit you and your lifestyle, the Galaxy Watch4 Series is a powerful companion that's built to keep your life on track while making a stylish statement wherever you go. In addition, Galaxy device continuity allows users to access their insights into their overall wellness across different devices including select Galaxy smartphones and tablets.

Blood Pressure Measurement

The Galaxy Watch4 Series measures blood pressure through pulse wave analysis, which is tracked with the Heart Rate Monitoring sensors. Users can simply tap it to measure their blood pressure at their convenience and see results on their Galaxy smartphone Samsung Health Monitor app.

Electrocardiogram Monitoring

The new electrocardiogram feature on the Galaxy Watch4 Series works by analyzing the hearts electrical activity, classifying it as either a Sinus Rhythm (a normal, regular heartbeat) or AFib (when the heart beats irregularly)6. Users who reeceive and AFib reading are encouraged to consult with their qualified health professional to address any questions or concerns. Being able to monitor heart health on a regular basis allows users to be more informed on their overall health.

Availability

Users must have the Samsung Health Monitor app installed on their Galaxy Watch4 Series device and their Galaxy smartphone7 to take blood pressure and electrocardiogram measurements. The Samsung Health Monitor app update will be available on the Galaxy Watch4 Series starting April 20, 2022. For more information, visit Samsung Canada Newsroom or Samsung.ca.

###

About Samsung Electronics Canada Inc.

Samsung Electronics Canada inspires Canadians to reach their full potential through a transformative ecosystem of products and services that deliver innovation and distinct design to every aspect of their connected lives. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, and wearable devices, tablets and digital appliances. In 2022, Samsung was ranked as one of Canada's "Most Reputable Companies" in Leger's Corporate Reputation Study. Dedicated to helping make a difference in the lives of Canadians, Samsung's award-winning corporate giving initiatives support public education and health-related issues in communities across the country. To discover more, please visit www.Samsung.ca.

Follow Samsung Canada at facebook.com/SamsungCanada, or Instagram @samsungcanada or Twitter @SamsungCanada.

CONTACT:

Aneesha Singh

North Strategic

Tel: 867-336-2206

Aneesha.singh@northstrategic.com

1 The Blood Oxygen (SpO2) feature is not intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease. Intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only. Availability of this feature may vary by market. Please consult a medical professional for advice.

2 Blood pressure feature only to be used by adults 22 years and older. Intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only. Not intended for use in detection, monitoring, diagnosis, treatment of any medical condition or disease. The measurements are for your personal reference only. Please consult a medical professional for advice. For accurate BP readings, a calibration is required every 4 weeks by BP monitor &arm cuff.

3 Intended to create, record, store, transfer, and display a single channel electrocardiogram (ECG), similar to a Lead I ECG for adults 22 years and older. The ECG feature is not intended to replace traditional methods of diagnosis or treatment. The ECG feature is not intended for users with other known arrhythmias. If an irregular heartbeat or atrial fibrillation is detected, consult a doctor. If you experience symptoms of a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular conditions, do not rely on the notification of the device and consult a doctor. Follow the instructions for use. If symptoms persist, worsen or change unexpectedly, talk to your health professional.

4 A Galaxy Watch and Samsung Galaxy smartphone are required to use Samsung Health Monitor app. Supported watches: Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch4 Classic. Supported smartphones: Samsung Galaxy smartphone with Android 7.0 OS version or higher.

5 The Samsung BIA is a body analyzer that uses bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) technology to track body composition based on weight, body fat, body mass index (BMI), skeletal muscle, body water, and basal metabolic rate (BMR) measurements. This feature and related software are not intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease. If you have any questions the Samsung BIA or medical condition, contact a medical professional. Availability of this feature may vary by market.

6 The ECG recording or Samsung Health Monitor app never looks for signs of a heart attack. It is not intended to replace traditional methods of diagnosis or treatment.

7 The blood pressure and electrocardiogram measurements are only functional with a compatible Samsung device that has the Samsung Health Monitor app installed and Galaxy Watch4 Series devices with the Samsung Health Monitor app installed.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2631ee59-7c10-4a78-9902-e657db1f8839




DEVILS LAKE  Law enforcement across the state will have extra patrols enforcing speed limits and removing aggressive drivers from the road as part of the Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine enforcement campaign April 22  May 22.

In 2021, nearly 27% of motor vehicle fatalities in North Dakota were speed-related. Speeding and/or aggressive driving is defined as speeding, driving too fast for conditions, following too close, or operating a vehicle in a reckless, negligent or aggressive manor.

North Dakotans should take personal responsibility while traveling by obeying all posted speed limits and driving according to road conditions. Remember to plan ahead and allow extra time when traveling so everyone can make it to their destination safely.

Excessive speed is a major contributing factor to serious and fatal motor vehicle crashes within our county, said Benson County Sheriff Ethan Rode. Speeding is deadly. Follow the posted speed limit so that all of our community members can make it home safely to their loved ones.

This campaign a vital part of the Vision Zero strategy to eliminate motor vehicle crash fatalities and serious injuries on North Dakota roads.

Visit the North Dakota Crash Memorial Wall to view memorials built on the hope of preventing another death on North Dakota roads.

This article originally appeared on Devils Lake Journal: Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine enforcement campaign April 22  May 22
ReportLinker

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New York, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Top 20 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Companies Report 2022" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06269253/?utm_source=GNW



The Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market Report 2022-2032: This report will prove invaluable to leading firms striving for new revenue pockets if they wish to better understand the industry and its underlying dynamics. It will be useful for companies that would like to expand into different industries or to expand their existing operations in a new region.



Recent Activities in the Global Market

 On 11 Jan 2022, Northrop Grumman UK Ltd has reaffirmed its commitment as a military friendly employer supporting the UK military personnel, reservists, veterans and their families, signing the Armed Forces Covenant.

 Lockheed Martin is actively collaborating with Microsoft on 5G.MIL solutions to rapidly advance reliable connections for U.S. Department of Defense systems capable of spanning air, land, sea, space and cyber domains. Through a new corporate agreement, the two companies will test how to effectively expand and manage 5G networking technology for Joint-All Domain Operations (JADO) defense applications using Microsofts 5G and Microsoft Azure services for Lockheed Martins Hybrid Base Station, essentially a military-grade ruggedized multi-network gateway and cell tower in a box.

 The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has awarded Pratt & Whitney, a Raytheon Technologies business, a contract for a ground test demonstration program for a novel architecture using a rotating engine detonation concept to be jointly executed by Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Missiles & Defense, and Raytheon Technologies Research Center.



What Are These Questions You Should Ask Before Buying A Market Research Report?

 How is the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems market evolving?

 What is driving and restraining the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems market?

 How will each Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems submarket segment grow over the forecast period and how much revenue will these submarkets account for in 2032?

 How will the market shares for each Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems submarket develop from 2022 to 2032?

 What will be the main driver for the overall market from 2022 to 2032?

 Will leading Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems markets broadly follow the macroeconomic dynamics, or will individual national markets outperform others?

 How will the market shares of the national markets change by 2032 and which geographical region will lead the market in 2032?

 Who are the leading players and what are their prospects over the forecast period?

 What are the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems projects for these leading companies?

 How will the industry evolve during the period between 2020 and 2032? What are the implication of Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems projects taking place now and over the next 10 years?

 Is there a greater need for product commercialisation to further scale the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems market?

 Where is the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems market heading? And how can you ensure you are at the forefront of the market?

 What can be the best investment options for new product and service lines?

 What are the key prospects for moving companies into a new growth path? C-suite?



You need to discover how this will impact the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems market today, and over the next 10 years:

 Our 256-page report provides 189 tables and 145 charts/graphs exclusively to you.

 The report highlights key lucrative areas in the industry so you can target them  NOW.

 Contains in-depth analyse of global, regional and growth

 Highlights for you the key successful trends, changes and revenue projections made by your competitors



This report tells you TODAY how the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems market will develop in the next 10 years, and in-line with the variations in COVID-19 economic recession and bounce. This market is more critical now than at any point over the last 10 years.



Forecasts to 2032 and other analyses reveal the commercial prospects

 In addition to revenue forecasting to 2032, our new study provides you with recent results, growth rates, and market shares.

 You find original analyses, with business outlooks and developments.

 Discover qualitative analyses (including market dynamics, drivers, opportunities, restraints and challenges), cost structure, the impact of rising Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems prices and recent developments.



This report includes data analysis and invaluable insight into how COVID-19 will affect the industry and your company. Four COVID-19 recovery patterns and their impact, namely, V, L, W and U are discussed in this report.



Market Segment by Sensor Technology

 Staring Sensors

 Scanning Sensors



Market Segment by System

 Targeting System

 Electronic Support Measure

 Imaging System



Market Segment by Technology

 Uncooled Technology

 Cooled Technology



Market Segment by Platform

 Naval

 Air

 Land



Market Segment by Imaging Technology

 Hyperspectral

 Multispectral



In addition to the revenue predictions for the overall world market and segments, you will also find revenue forecasts for 4 regional and 20 leading national markets:

 North America Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Outlook

 Europe Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Outlook

 Asia Pacific Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Outlook

 LAMEA Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 Market Outlook



The report also includes profiles and for some of the leading companies in the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032, with a focus on this segment of these companies operations.



Leading companies and the potential for market growth

 Airbus

 Apie Group

 Aselsan A.S.

 BAE Systems plc (England)

 Boeing

 CONTROP Precision Technologies

 Cornings

 Elbit Systems Ltd. (Israel)

 General Dynamics Corporation (America)

 Hensoldt

 Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd

 Kollmorgen

 L-3 Harris Technologies Inc. (America)

 Leidos Holdings Inc

 Leonardo S.p.A (Italy)

 Lockheed Martin Corporation (America)

 ManTech International

 Moog Inc

 Northrop G

 Raytheon Technologies Corporation (America)

 Rheinmetall

 Rockwell Collins, Inc.

 Saab AB (Sweden)

 Teledyne FLIR

 Textron Inc

 Thales Group (France)



Overall world revenue for Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 in terms of value the market will surpass US$xx million in 2022, our work calculates. We predict strong revenue growth through to 2032. Our work identifies which organizations hold the greatest potential. Discover their capabilities, progress, and commercial prospects, helping you stay ahead.



How the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 Market report helps you?



In summary, our 256-page report provides you with the following knowledge:

 Revenue forecasts to 2032 for Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 Market, with forecasts for Sensor Technology, systems, technology, platform, Imaging Technology each forecasted at a global and regional level discover the industrys prospects, finding the most lucrative places for investments and revenues

 Revenue forecasts to 2032 for 4 regional and 20 key national markets  See forecasts for the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 market in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and LAMEA.

 Prospects for established firms and those seeking to enter the market including company profiles for 25 of the major companies involved in the Top 25 Military Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) Systems Market, 2022 to 2032 Market.





Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06269253/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Key Insights:

The U.S Secret Service seizes more than $100m in cryptos from cybercriminals.

This week, U.S government agencies warned of more North Korean cyberattacks following Aprils Ronin Hack.

The U.S government has ramped up its fight against cybercriminals with new tasks forces tackling cybercrime.

This year, cybercrime is back in the spotlight. Russias invasion of Ukraine and North Koreas missile funding programs have given governments cause for concern.

Last month, news of the Lazarus Groups involvement in this years Ronin attack highlighted how effective cyberattacks are in funding government military hardware.

Linked to the state government, the Lazarus Group is a North Korean cybercriminal syndicate that was behind Aprils Axie Infinity hack. Aprils hack was the largest ever, with cybercriminals getting away with $625m, including 173.6k ETH and 25.5m USDC.

The increase in cybercriminal activity has led to U.S government agencies actively pursuing cybercriminals.

The U.S Secret Services Joins List of Agencies Combatting Cybercrime

Overnight, news hit the wires of the U.S Secret Service joining other government agencies to tackle cybercrime.

According to a CNBC report, the U.S Secret Service targets illicit digital currency transactions.

Assistant director of investigations David Smith reportedly said,

Agents and analysts actively track the flow of Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies on the blockchain, similar to old-fashioned surveillance.

Smith added,

When you follow a digital currency wallet, its no different than an email address that has some correlating identifiers. And once a person and another person make a transaction, and that gets to the blockchain, we have the ability to follow that email address or wallet address, if you will, and trace it through the blockchain

According to the report, the Secret Service has seized more than $102m in crypto since 2015.

The Secret Service investigated 254 cases that involved Russian and North Korean cybercriminals and a case collaborating with the Romanian National Police.

Story continues

According to the report, investigators have found that thieves will transfer stolen crypto into stablecoins. To track the money flow, they are watching the market.

Smith concluded by saying,

Because, you know, the criminals, theyre humans too. They want to avoid some of that market volatility associated with some of the major coins.

In addition to the well-publicized task of protecting presidents, the Secret Service is also involved in financial and cybercrimes investigations.

The latest news follows this weeks government warning of the threat of more North Korean cyberattacks.

The U.S Sounds the Alarm Bell over Anticipated Rise in Cyberattacks

This week, U.S government agencies issued warnings of the threat of more North Korean cyberattacks.

On Tuesday, FX Empire reported on the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issuing a joint alert with the FBI and the U.S Treasury Department.

According to the alert, cybercriminals focus on organizations in the blockchain technology and cryptocurrency industry. These include cryptocurrency exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.

In March, the FBI created a new Virtual Assets Unit in response to a spike in cybercriminal activity.

With the FBI Virtual Assets Unit, the Secret Service, and other agencies targeting cybercriminals, crypto seizures from illicit activity could surge this year.

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

More From FXEMPIRE:
Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation

A new report warns extreme heat is set to cause devastating climate-related suffering in Canada, that if left unchecked, will surpass the 595 heat-related fatalities reported by British Columbia's coroner in 2021, and 86 lives lost in Quebec in 2018

WATERLOO, Ontario, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New guidance to address irreversible extreme heat, developed by the University of Waterloo's Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation in consultation with over 60 national experts, profiles steps to protect Canadians who may otherwise fall victim to lethal heat.

While urban areas are hotspots of global warming, the report highlights three red zones in Canada that will be hardest hit by extreme heat: valleys between the West Coast and the Rocky Mountains in B.C., prairie communities bordering the U.S, and north of Lake Erie through the St. Lawrence River Valley in Ontario and Quebec.

"Warming and more intense extreme heat will be present for decades to come," said study co-author Joanna Eyquem, managing director of Climate Resilient Infrastructure. "If an extreme-heat event coincided with an extended electricity outage  with no fans or air conditioning running  loss of life could easily jump to the thousands."

The new guidance outlines 35 practical actions to reduce risks from extreme heat, categorized into three types:

Behavioural : support changes that include watching over the most vulnerable, such as regular checks on the elderly and those with pre-existing respiratory illnesses, and facilitating access to cooling shelters

Nature Based : use nature to help us stay cool, such as expanding the tree canopy and natural habitats within urban areas, and

Buildings and Infrastructure: design and retrofit buildings to include passive cooling  that does not require electricity  alongside traditional air-conditioning.



Individuals, property owners and managers, and communities all have a role to play, by taking action themselves and supporting and encouraging others to act.

Story continues

Vulnerable groups such as the elderly, those who live alone, and those with fewer financial resources will require targeted support. Heat is also an inequality issue  marginalized or racialized communities are even more vulnerable.

"I see extreme heat in a different category than all other climate perils," said study co-author Dr. Blair Feltmate. "Extreme heat is more than inconvenient, it's potentially lethal. If we don't prepare for extreme heat, those who are vulnerable may die."

To help accelerate Canada's progress in preparing for a hotter future, the report asks decision-makers to:

recognize extreme-heat events as natural disasters

provide Canadians with more information on how to reduce heat-related risks before a heat event

harness public and private climate finance to maximize win-win situations. For example, targeting tree-planting programs designed to reduce urban-heat-island effects while simultaneously storing carbon, and

build heat resilience into home inspections and valuation appraisals

Extreme heat is the ultimate Code Red for Canada's changing climate. Preparedness in anticipation of unprecedented heat  that threatens all Canadians  should top Canada's adaptation agenda.

Contact details:

Ryon Jones

Media relations manager

University of Waterloo

226-339-0894 | @uwaterloonews| uwaterloo.ca/news

Joanna Eyquem

Managing Director, Climate Resilient Infrastructure, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation

University of Waterloo

514-268-0873 | joanna.eyquem@uwaterloo.ca

Dr. Blair Feltmate

Head, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation

University of Waterloo

226-339-3506 | bfeltmate@uwaterloo.ca

For Insights from Subject Matter Experts Please Contact:

Dr. Peter Berry

Senior Policy Analyst and Science Advisor to the Director, Health Canada

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo

613-716-6880 | peter.berry@hc-sc.gc.ca

Chris Ballard

Chief Executive Officer

Passive House Canada

647 325-4777 | chris.ballard@passivehousecanada.com

Dr Melissa Lem, MD, CCFP, FCFP

President-Elect, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

Clinical Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine

pamela@cape.ca

Dr. Celine Campagna

Researcher, Climate and Health

Institut national de sante publique du Quebec

medias@inspq.qc.ca

Marieke Cloutier

Head of Division

Office of Ecological Transition and Resilience

Ville de Montreal

514 546-7065 | marieke.cloutier@montreal.ca

Elliot Cappell

Former Chief Resilience Officer, City of Toronto

416-254-9848 | elliottcappell@gmail.com

Dr Remi Charron, P.Eng.

Technical Research and Education, BC Housing

Associate Dean, New York Institute of Technology

778-231-7888 | rcharron@bchousing.org




Latest Expansion into the Rio Grande Valley Underscores Zoho's Commitment to Transnational Localism by Delivering Region-Specific Business and Community Investment

Zoho's McAllen Office

A look at the outside of Zoho's new office in McAllen, TX

McAllen, Texas, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zoho Corporation, a leading global technology company, today announced the opening of a new office in the city of McAllen, Texas. Currently home to 25 employeeswith plans to double headcount by next yearthe McAllen office will continue to support the local community and economy by providing new employment paths and business opportunities in the tech sector. Current McAllen-based employees were hired recently. This is Zoho's third office in Texas and the first that is located in the Rio Grande Valley. Establishing an office in McAllen demonstrates the company's ongoing commitment to bringing value and service to markets and residents located outside of congested and expensive metropolitan cities around the world.

"We see people move from smaller cities and towns for opportunities, which often forces them to leave their hometowns, their families and community, and where they put down roots, because the 'best' jobs are typically located in large, expensive cities. It's an incredibly difficult decision to make for most people," said Raju Vegesna, Chief Evangelist at Zoho. "That's why at Zoho, opening offices like in McAllen is important to us. It brings opportunity to people, not the other way around. This gives individuals the power to maintain, support and giveback to the community and lifestyle they most cherish, all the while having access to a great job that can support both."

Zoho analyzes several factors before opening any new office, including quality of life for employees, safety, healthcare, cost of living, strength of the local education system, and most importantly, culture. These were primary drivers behind the company's decision to move its US headquarters to Del Valle, Texas, and open the New Braunfels office. McAllen easily checks all these boxes as well, with its high availability of talent, multiple colleges, growth potential, and distinct cultural identity that resonates with the Zoho culture.

Story continues

The city of McAllen and Zoho have worked closely beginning in 2021. Since then, the company has partnered with city leaders to grow its presence and impact on the surrounding community, ultimately demonstrating a strong use case for Zoho's Transnational Localism effort.

For the City of McAllen, working with Zoho to provide excellent job opportunities for our local residents will not only boost the quality of life for them, but also our entire community. This is a win-win for us all, said McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos. As McAllen continues to work with our institutions of higher learning to educate our workforce and diversify the types of jobs available in our city, companies will continue to see the value of opening offices right here in McAllen.

"It is rare to see city officials and local economic development teams strive to improve the local community by bringing jobs," Vegesna continues. "Working with the city of McAllen has been a breath of fresh air and it is their passion towards improving the community and bringing jobs to the valley that drove us in this direction. We hope to see this collaboration continue and we hope to be an asset to this amazing community."

Zoho is actively hiring in two of their Texas offices in McAllen and New Braunfels. Those interested in applying can find open positions here.

Attachment

CONTACT: Ariel Rhodes Zoho Corporation ariel.r@zohocorp.com Veronica Yunes Zoho Corporation (956)-324-0452 veronica.y@zohocorp.com




A vote at the 7th Congressional District Republican convention left some conservatives in Spotsylvania County fuming.

The flashpoint of the conventionheld April 9 at Caroline County High Schoolwas a vote to amend the report of the nominations committee and add James Manship as a candidate to compete against Prince William County resident Ben Hazekamp for chairman.

The motion needed support from two-thirds of the 178 delegates to pass. It fell short with only 48%, and Hazekamp was declared chairman.

The decision angered supporters of Manship and Spotsylvania Supervisor David Ross, a candidate for the 7th District Republican primary and hopeful challenger to Democrat Abigail Spanberger for the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He used the decision as campaign material, sending an email requesting $2,900 from each of his supporters to Stop the Steal because the Establishment will do anything for power.

In the email, Ross, who was a delegate at the convention, claimed he led over the half of the delegates to walk out in protest over the steal. He said his demonstration was not in support of Manshipalthough he touted him as the more conservative, America First candidatebut it was a complaint about the process.

The nominations committee met the morning of the convention and considered both Manship and Hazekamp, and found reasons to be concerned about nominating Manship. In reviewing Manships paperwork, it was determined he was previously registered to vote in Fairfax County in the 8th Congressional District.

He recently moved to Spotsylvania, and transferred to the 7th District on Feb. 22, which was after the deadline, according to the committee. Manship, a George Washington impersonator, said he registered to vote in Spotsylvania on Feb. 9. His filing claimed he was registered on Feb. 14. The committee ruled that statement was false.

Committee members noted that an internet search of Manship turned up 25 interactions with law enforcement ranging from speeding tickets to a guilty plea for second-degree assault. It also included a conviction for trespassing. Manship doesnt dispute the findings and noted that many of them were thrown out of court.

There was a petition from the office of the Attorney General in 2012 requesting that Manship be barred from practicing law in Virginia because he was accused of impersonating a lawyer on multiple occasions. The committee found no ruling on the matter. Manship said he won the case.

I was helping people who couldnt afford lawyers, but I never said I was a lawyer, Manship said.

The committee also presented an email from Manship that told convention chaplain Michael Hirsch, a Fredericksburg-area pastor, that he gives a bad name to Republicans and pastors. The e-mail referred to Hirsch as tar baby, which is a known derogatory term for Blacks.

Hirsch is white.

Like in Brer Rabbit childrens book, if one touches the Tar Baby, one gets tarred, Manship wrote to Hirsch. Michael, for now, you are the Tar Baby!

Manship said he wasnt using the phrase in a racist way.

If anybody is not racist, Im that person, he said. I spent over eight years pro bono getting a Black Army veteran who was innocent out of prison. Ill have my civil rights record stand up against anybodys.

Ross said he had no knowledge of those remarks from Manship or his background, and insists his disdain for the result of the convention is strictly about process and not in support of Manship.

I hadnt even heard of that, Ross said of Manships comments. I think there were emails sent back and forth. My issue was with the process, not with the candidates. That process brought 178 people to Caroline County to vote on a Chair. It wouldve been great to have some discussion about whatever these issues are.

Ross said conservatives in Spotsylvania and Stafford County remain upset about the denial of Manship, who said he plans to contest the ruling to the 7th District and later appeal to the State Central Committee.

The King George County Republican Committee took exception to Ross conclusion that the event was rigged.

Bob Stevenson of KGRC Public Relations wrote that the email Ross sent out reflects poorly on the KGRC. Ross email called the 7th District Nominations Committee five RINOs or Republicans In Name Only.

The nominations committee is made up of one representative each from Caroline, King George, Madison County, Prince William County and Spotsylvania.

In votes called for during the convention, all of our KGRC delegates voted unanimously in opposition to Mr. Ross claims of illegitimacy. We are not RINOs, Stevenson wrote. As the convention progressed, it became suspicious that there was a preplanned organized plot to take over the convention and force a result that was minority held and counter to the majority position.

Taft Coghill Jr: 540/374-5526 tcoghill@freelancestar.com

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A man already awaiting trial for murder picked up an extra charge Friday after police say he pummeled another inmate in a Stafford County courthouse holding cell.

Tarik Shiggs, 22, is charged with murder and a firearms offense in connection with the Feb. 21 slaying of 25-year-old Christopher McDuffie. McDuffie was shot multiple times in the courtyard between apartment buildings at Garrison Woods in North Stafford.

Shiggs was awaiting a related court proceeding Friday in Stafford General District Court when Deputy T.K. Phillips saw him assaulting another inmate in the holding cell, Sheriffs Maj. Shawn Kimmitz said. He hit the other man repeatedly and stopped only after being threatened with a taser, police said.

Shiggs was charged with assault and battery, a misdemeanor that pales in comparison to the charges Shiggs was already facing.

The other inmate was treated for minor injuries, police said. The victim did not offer any explanation for what may have motivated the attack.

It also remains unclear why McDuffie was shot. Shiggs was apprehended in South Carolina following the slaying and was extradited back to Virginia.

A preliminary hearing on the murder charge is scheduled for Tuesday in general district court.

Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Hello again, and welcome to spring (?)

It certainly has been a different April than I was hoping for. Maybe the temperatures during the weekend will be more along the lines of my expectations. I was looking forward to putting my winter coat in the attic, but its still by the front door for now.

Also by my front door is the activity calendar for Keene Memorial Library.

We have activities for both kids and adults planned throughout each month. If you dont have one, you can check out our website (fremontne.gov/library) to download your very own copy or stop by and ask at the desk.

This Friday is another edition of the ever-popular Storytime. The theme this week is all about sheep. Those wooly, lovable farm animals are so cute and fluffy in illustrations, and often get up to some fun hijinks. Kids can create their own pasture full of these adorable animals with the craft afterward.

Saturday its time for the grown-ups to enjoy a little movie time.

Well be showing a 2021 film which follows a single mother raising a young man and trying to explain his past, her relationship with his father and why circumstances are the way they are. As the young man faces various struggles in life, she reads him segments of a journal his father left him before passing away on how and why he has to handle various circumstances in life. (Due to licensing restrictions we cannot mention the title but you can call for more information  402-727-2694).

The film is rated PG-13 and stars Michael B. Jordan with Chante Adams. Directed by Denzel Washington, you may get a little misty-eyed during this experience. The movie starts at 2:30 pm, and runs two hours and 11 minutes.

And finally, we want to welcome you at Sundays special event  an author presentation and book signing by Jonis Agee. Ms. Agees The Bones of Paradise was selected as the One Book One Nebraska title for 2022. It is a multigenerational family saga set in the unforgiving Nebraska Sandhills in the years following the massacre at Wounded Knee  an ambitious tale of history, vengeance, race, guilt, betrayal, family, and belonging, filled with a vivid cast of characters shaped by violence, love, and a desperate loyalty to the land.

Since the library is normally closed on Sunday, doors will open at 1:30 p.m.; Ms. Agee will speak at 2 p.m. There will be time for some Q&A/book signing followed by a brief Friends of the Library Annual Meeting.

This event is free and open to the public  you do not need to be a member of the Friends to attend. Ms. Agee appears courtesy of funding from Humanities Nebraska.

Laura England-Biggs is the Director at Keene Memorial Library.

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FILE - Travelers queue up in long lines to pass through the south security checkpoint in Denver International Airport, Wednesday morning, June 16, 2021, in Denver. The federal requirement to wear face masks on airplanes and public transportation is scheduled to expire next week, and airline executives and Republican lawmakers are urging the Biden administration to let the mandate die. The fate of the rule  and consideration of an alternate framework of moves to limit the spread of COVID-19  was under discussion Monday, April 11, 2022 within the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Alan Gottlieb is editor of Denver-based public education watchdog boardhawk.org. Gottlieb covered Denver Public Schools as a newspaper reporter in the mid-1990s, worked as an education program officer for The Piton Foundation and co-founded Education News Colorado and Chalkbeat.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office and Manitou Springs Police Department identified four law enforcement deputies and officers involved in the shooting of a man they allege shot at them in Manitou Springs last week.

Deputies Daniel LeBaron and Ronnie Hancock and Officers Jeff Schuelke and Harold "Levi" Hoover deployed their guns on April 11 after responding to a call about someone menacing others with a gun in the 900 block of Manitou Avenue.

Law enforcement said the suspect, identified by the El Paso Coroner's Office as 67-year-old Wilford Robert DeWeese of Cape Canaveral, Fla., shot "at least once" at deputies and officers. An El Paso County sheriff's K9, Jinx, was struck and killed.

At least of the police officers and the sheriff's deputies returned fire, striking DeWeese. Life-saving efforts were unsuccessful, and he died at the scene.

LeBaron and Hancock have been employed by the Sheriff's Office since 2013. Schuelke has been with the Manitou police department since December 2019, Hoover since August 2017.

All four were placed on administrative leave, according to their agency's policies, and the Colorado Springs Police Department will investigative the officer-involved shooting.
Barry Morphew, the husband charged nearly a year ago with killing his still-missing wife, Suzanne, walked out of a Fremont County courtroom in Canon City on Tuesday morning, April 19, 2022, a free man, just nine days before his first-degree murder trial was supposed to start. Eleventh Judicial District Judge Ramsey Lama granted a prosecutorial motion to dismiss the case without prejudice, in order to conduct further investigation.

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CANON CITY  After months of uncertainty, including a change of venue, musical chairs with two judges, and the dismissal of 14 of 16 expert witnesses, the question of what happened to Chaffee County resident Suzanne Morphew will not be brought to a Colorado courtroom as scheduled.

Barry Morphew, the husband charged nearly a year ago with killing his still-missing wife, Suzanne, walked out of a Fremont County courtroom in Canon City on Tuesday morning a free man, just nine days before his first-degree murder trial was supposed to start.

Eleventh Judicial District Judge Ramsey Lama granted a prosecutorial motion to dismiss the case without prejudice, to conduct further investigation. "This is still an active investigation," Lama told a stunned courtroom.

In a motion filed 15 minutes before Tuesday's hearing began, the prosecution team led by District Attorney Linda Stanley contended it did not have enough evidence to obtain a conviction without clear knowledge that Morphew's wife is dead.

"In a case such as this, the most influential fact of consequence is whether or not Suzanne Morphew is deceased," prosecutors wrote in their motion, adding that they believe they know where her body is, but that they can't excavate it in time for trial, which was to begin April 28, because the area is under 5 feet of snow.

After the defense requested two breaks to do legal research on the motion, the high-profile case that has been followed by national press and scores of internet websites was dismissed for lack of evidence by its prosecution team, confounding friends and family of Suzanne Morphew.

The air in the courtroom was so tense, a service dog toward the back of the room whined as if to comfort people observing the proceedings.

Barry Morphews family, including the couples two adult daughters, Mallory and Macy, who have not missed a hearing and have stood by his side, hugged their father after learning of the turn of events and cried.

Mallory and Macy were scheduled to testify as key witnesses in the trial, as they were on a camping trip Mother's Day 2020 and alerted neighbors that their mom wasn't answering their texts.

We miss our mom dearly and we know our dad didnt have anything to do with it, Mallory Morphew said in speaking to the judge after he granted the dismissal.

A tearful Macy Morphew echoed a thought her sister said, Were thankful we can go on with our life and just take time to heal, she said. We wish wed been treated better.

Lead defense attorney Iris Eytan on Tuesday accused media outlets of implying Morphew is guilty.

He still is presumed innocent, and he is innocent," Eytan said in speaking after the dismissal.

Suzanne Morphew's three siblings, speaking via the court's Webex teleconferencing system, said they agree with the judge's decision to grant the motion to dismiss without prejudice, which leaves open the possibility to refile.

"I think it's proper, because I think further investigation needs to be done," said her brother Andrew Moorman who also said he was "sorry for all the problems this has caused" among relatives.

"We're looking forward to finding our sister and bringing her home for a proper burial," said David Moorman, another brother. "We plan to see this through to the end."

With the ruling, Morphews $500,000 cash bond was released, his ankle monitors removed, his passport is returned to him, and jury summonses were revoked for about 1,000 people.

"Thank you," Morphew called over his shoulder in response to reporters asking if he had anything to say, as he left the courthouse with his daughters to get in his pickup truck.

Still pending is a voter-fraud case against him in Chaffee County that carries a felony count of forgery.

Morphew is accused of illegally mailing a ballot cast for Donald Trump in Suzannes name in the November 2020 election. Barry Morphew had not signed the ballot in his wifes name, but there was a signature on the witness line, according to the Chaffee County clerk. Morphew told investigators I just thought, 'give him another vote.' She would have voted for him anyway.

In an order filed April 8, Lama chastised the prosecution for being "reckless" and missing deadlines but refused to dismiss the case.

Former Adams County District Attorney Bob Grant said there is a chance that Stanley, the district attorney, could refile the case if Suzanne Morphew's body is found.

"If they find a body and additional evidence develops against the defendant, they should be able to refile although there are constitutional speedy trial issues the DA will have to overcome," Grant said. "If there isn't anything that hasn't made it to the press, dismissal seems like the right move."

The prosecution has said in court that it doesn't have a clear idea of how Suzanne Morphew was killed. There was no blood and no sign of struggle at the Morphew home when investigators went inside on the evening of May 10, 2020. Prosecutors believe Morphew drugged Suzanne with a tranquilizer dart, killed her and then hid her body near the couple's million-dollar home in mountainous terrain west of Salida.

The prosecutions case has been on shaky ground since Lama dismissed 14 of 16 of its most critical expert witnesses, including a cellphone data analyst, a DNA specialist and an expert who investigated the movements of Barry Morphew's truck on that Saturday night and into the early morning Sunday.

Suzanne Morphew disappeared after 2:07 p.m. May 9, the day before Mothers Day 2020. Investigators say that this is the last known moment that she was alive, as that's the time stamp on a final proof of life photo of herself in a bikini to her lover, Jeff Libler's phone. That day, the couple, who had been having a two-year affair, had sent 78 text messages to each other, which ended after the photo was sent. Morphews phone was never recovered, but investigators were able to extract messages from other peoples phones and from her iCloud account.

Her bicycle with blue decorative pedals was found tossed in a ravine near the family home and investigators discovered her turquoise bicycle helmet just less than a mile away to the west just off U.S. 50. Evidence photos show the helmet, a bright blue dot lying in dried grass.

Grant could not recall a murder case in which no body was found that was filed without solid physical evidence or a confession.

Ive been waiting for the smoking gun since I first read about the case, or even a nonsmoking gun, Grant said. "Of course, countless cases have been dismissed on the eve of trial when DAs realize they don't have the horses to convict."

The prosecution was planning to call 72 witnesses, according to court testimony, including Barry Morphews employees, neighbors of the couple and Suzanne Morphews family and close friends, some of whom she confided her unhappiness with her spiraling marriage.

Thousands of hours went into the investigation into Susanne Morphews disappearance. There have been 134 search warrants executed in this case.

There have been extensive searches in the Arkansas River, forests, abandoned mines and under concrete slabs  amounting to about 70,000 man-hours, according to Eytan.

"Today is the first day the prosecution has ever stated that (finding the body) would be a consideration," she said. "They've stated a body is irrelevant until now."

Adding to the uncertainty, investigators in the case could not agree as to whether there was enough probable cause to arrest Barry Morphew when they did. Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director John Camper was so concerned, he called Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze and asked him to hold off until they were able to gather more evidence.

Tuesday afternoon, the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office released a statement stressing its dedication to Suzanne Morphew's unsolved disappearance: "While we are disappointed in the delay of the proceedings, we remain unwavering in our commitment to this investigation and the ultimate prosecution of Mr. Morphew. I stand behind the strong work of the investigators within the Chaffee County Sheriffs Office and the many law enforcement agencies involved and the strong case we have built. Above all else, we remain dedicated to seeking justice for Suzanne and her family.

Morphew was taken into custody on May 5, almost a year to the date of when his wife disappeared. He was held in jail for more than four months before being released on bail on Sept. 17.
More than 1 million Coloradans with nonviolent criminal records could have their records automatically sealed under a bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday.

Senate Bill 99 would implement an automatic sealing process for nonviolent criminal records. This would apply to those who are eligible to request record sealing under the current system, meaning they have finished their sentence, completed a required waiting period, and have not committed another criminal offense.

Senators passed the Clean Slate Act, 33-1, sending it to the House. Sen. Jim Smallwood, R-Parker, voted against the bill without comment.

Holding people back from securing work and housing because of old records is extremely costly and fiscally irresponsible, said bill sponsor Sen. Dennis Hisey, R-Colorado Springs, during a committee meeting.

The bipartisan-sponsored bill was championed as a way to increase Colorados workforce by removing a barrier to employment, education and housing for residents with criminal records. This comes as Colorado and the nation are experiencing a pandemic-induced labor shortage. In July 2021, 7.7% of jobs in Colorado were unfilled  an all-time high, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About 1.125 million Coloradans with criminal records are eligible to apply for sealing but have not, according to state estimates. Bill supporters said many dont pursue record sealing because the current process is difficult and expensive, involving filing a petition with the court and paying a fee. Under the bill, those Coloradans could have their records sealed without taking any action.

The bill also would prohibit employment and housing discrimination based on the contents of a sealed criminal record.

Nearly three dozen local businesses are backing the bill, including Goodwill, Home Depot, JPMorgan Chase and the fair-chance employment platform Honest Jobs. Honest Jobs founder Harley Blakeman said he was forced into homelessness at 16 years old and briefly went to prison for a nonviolent drug charge  a record that often overshadows his honors graduation from Ohio State University's business school only five years later.

I graduated unemployed top of my class. Four months after graduation, I was being rejected for assistant manager positions at fried chicken restaurants, Blakeman said during a press conference in support of the bill. This follows you, and theres nothing you can do about it.

Supporters of the bill also argue that automatic record sealing would lower crime. They cited a 2020 Harvard Law Review study that concluded that people who have gotten their criminal records sealed or expunged are less likely to reoffend, and they pose a lower crime risk than the general population.

Under the bill, district attorneys could object to automatic record sealing for non-drug felonies by filing notice to a court. The court could deny record sealing based on a victims concern or a media outlets need to access records.
Randy Bishop was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of 27-year-old Thomas Anthony Faircloth in 2019, the 4th Judicial District Attorney's office tweeted out Tuesday.

Bishop was found guilty of first-degree murder for shooting and killing Faircloth, who was homeless, outside his tent. Faircloth's body was found Nov. 2, 2019, in a vacant lot at Powers Boulevard and Galley Road with suspicious injuries, according to previous reporting by The Gazette.

Officials with the District Attorney's Office said that additional charges are pending against Bishop.

In November 2019, police rammed Bishop's car and he was taken to a hospital at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central. He later escaped a CT scan and stole a detective's handgun, according to police. While Bishop allegedly struggled with the detective, two shots were fired in the hospital. Police say no one was injured.

Police said Bishop stole a car at the hospital. Officers encountered Bishop again Jan. 11, 2020, but he was able to evade them, shooting at police officers and wounding one, police said. He was eventually arrested Jan. 26.

For several months, the killing of Faircloth went without an arrest or charges. That was until in March 2020, when it was announced that Bishop was charged with first-degree murder.
China, Ghana pledge to enhance cooperation

Xinhua) 09:24, April 20, 2022

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday talked with Ghanaian Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey over phone, with both sides calling for building a closer relationship.

Noting that China attaches great importance to the traditional friendship with Ghana, Wang said bilateral relations have been consolidated and developed under the guidance of the two countries' heads of state.

In particular, since the outbreak of COVID-19, China and Ghana have supported each other to overcome difficulties, and their friendship has been further enhanced, Wang said.

China highly appreciates Ghana's adherence to the one-China principle and believes that both sides will continue to deepen political mutual trust and jointly preserve the China-Ghana friendly cooperation, Wang said.

Noting that the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is a leading mechanism for the win-win cooperation between China and Africa, Wang said China and Ghana should synergize their cooperation with the nine programs for cooperation between China and Africa in order to deliver outcomes of the forum.

China will always be a trustworthy partner in the development and revitalization of Ghana and Africa, Wang said.

Wang said that China congratulates Ghana on its appointment as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council from 2022 to 2023 and is glad to see Ghana play a more active role in international and regional affairs.

China has set up the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative under the UN framework to support the economic recovery of developing countries after the COVID-19 pandemic, Wang said, adding that Ghana is welcome to join the group, so as to pool greater strength for accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

China's vote in the United Nations will always belong to developing countries and African brothers, Wang said, calling for more coordination to jointly uphold international fairness and justice, oppose hegemonism and power politics, and safeguard the overall interests of the two countries and other developing countries.

For her part, Botchwey said Ghana cherishes the friendship with China and firmly pursues the one-China policy.

Ghana admires China's development achievements and President Xi Jinping's outstanding leadership, she said, adding that China's development has provided very useful inspiration to African countries.

Especially after the outbreak of the pandemic, African countries have come to realize that the world is not fair and its development is not balanced, and China is Africa's true and reliable friend, Botchwey said.

Ghana appreciates China's strong support for Ghana's economic and social development and looks forward to continuously carrying out practical cooperation under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, she said.

As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and the rotating chair of the Economic Community of West African States, Ghana is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with China on international and regional issues, so as to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and build a fairer and more just world, Botchwey said.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Declan Horgan remembers his first dinner service down to the plating.

I did a rack of lamb, brown sugar and mustard glaze with black pepper, he recalled. Sauteed green beans with trimmings off the lamb, made something that resembled Dauphinoise Potatoes.

Not bad for a 7-year-old.

Horgans culinary journey, which began in Dublin, Ireland, more than 30 years ago and has included stops on primetime television, recently reached Fredericksburg. Last month, he joined Rebellion Bourbon Bar + Kitchen as its new culinary director and executive chef.

Were thrilled to welcome Chef Horgan to the team, Rebellion co-owner Joel Griffin said in a statement. Hes a great match for our vision for Rebellion Bourbon Bar & Kitchen and brings extensive operational and leadership experience.

Horgan, 45, will split his time between Rebellions William Street location and Leesburg, where Rebellion will soon open a three-floor concept with a members-only cigar lounge on the top floor.

The latter will serve as a laboratory of sorts; Horgan will develop new recipes, which hell then photograph and discuss with Rebellion Fredericksburg kitchen manager Matt Matter over the phone.

The excitement comes from all of the experience he has, Matter said. So many people would be starstruck, but hes just a regular guy who wants to teach us as much as he can.

Horgan has only been on the job for a month, but he plans to eventually overhaul everything from portion size to the cutlery.

This menu for me, right now, is very male orientated, Horgan said. Its more big burgers and sandwiches, and its not really got a female influence on it. Im changing that.

Exhibit A: a beetroot salad with lemon-thyme flavored goat cheese thats been rolled in panko bread crumbs and deep fried, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and served on a bed of peppery arugula.

Other additions include buffalo cauliflower with a tempura breading, and taco fries, which replace poutine on Rebellions happy hour (36 p.m.) menu.

The restaurant, which is named for the 18th-century Whiskey Rebellion, offers 160 varieties of the stuff, and Horgan has plans to use them in everything from sauces and glazes to dry-aged beef.

Horgan traces his earliest inspirations to his maternal grandmother, who would make traditional Irish dishes like grilled lambs hearts and rosti whenever she babysat him.

There was never a case of Im not eating that, I dont like broccoli, he said. I ate everything. My mother had every cookbook under the sun, so I got to try all different types of flavors from a very young age.

The potato didnt stray far from the root on that one; much to his girlfriends chagrin, Horgan maintains a collection of more than 400 cookbooks, an impressive feat considering he left behind some 700 volumes when he came to the United States in 2015.

Through his father Denis, an angler on the Irish national team, Horgan learned how to butcher all manner of wild game. Berry-picking trips to the rural Irish County Kerry doubled as a lesson in foraging for flat cap mushrooms.

Subconsciously, I was always studying food, he said.

Culinary school, then, was a no-brainer. Horgan excelled during his two years at the DIT School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology in Dublin before working in some of the citys most esteemed eateries.

In Horgan, Rebellion is getting more than a seasoned, classically-trained cheftheyve hired a celebrity. His TikTok (chefdeclanhorgan) has more than 24 million views, and hes amassed legions of followers on Instagram, where he also posts cooking videos.

On St. Patricks Day, Horgan was invited to appear on the Today show. Wearing a black chefs smock bearing the Rebellion logo, he showed viewers how to prepare corned beef and cabbage with gnudi gnocchi.

Horgans popularity surged as a result of his performance on the television series Hells Kitchen with Gordon Ramsey. On season 21 of the show, which aired last year, Horgan advanced all the way to the finals, ultimately finishing third in the competition. He was the first Irishman to appear on the show.

Horgan admits that he never expected his star turn, which has reverberated outside of the kitchen.

Unbelievable, he says. Opportunities have fallen in my lap.

He has an endorsement deal with The Ridge wallet company, and pulled one out of his pocket as proof. Horgan has also secured deals with a kitchen uniform company and Guinness, the company known for its quintessential Irish Stout.

Horgans life has changed substantially since those first meals, prepared with humble Irish ingredients. His personality has not.

Ive always been this way, he says. Even when Im on TV, Im the exact same way. People like me, people dig me, people think Im actually an alright dude.

And I dont [mess] around. I tell you it straight, if its bad I just tell you straight. I dont mean offense by it, but I think people like that about me as well.
REIDSVILLE

Have you ever tried rock-wall climbing? Or perhaps your family would revel in canoeing together on Lake Hazels serene waters, catching glimpses of turtles sunning and fish flipping out the lakes depths. And hikes can be lively when families search out natures treasures.

These are just some of the fun family activities on the agenda for the annual Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Education Centers Open House on May 1. Activities get underway at 2 p.m. and conclude at 6 p.m.

Everyone is excited about this years open house since it was canceled the past two years because of COVID-19, said Camp Director Stacy Burns.

Other scheduled events for the day are games on the ball field and a display that chronicles the centers history.

The open house is an ideal way for families to spend an entertaining afternoon, Burns said, noting that camp staff will be on hand to supervise safety for all activities, including canoeing and rock climbing.

Refreshments and camp souvenirs will also be available for purchase.

Considered North Carolina 4-Hs premier camping institution, the event center is nestled at 804 Cedar Lane on nearly 200 acres of forest land with lakes, streams and fields. The property is located off Salem Church Road behind the Chinqua-Penn Plantation on Wentworth Street.

The outdoor retreat and education facility, given to the citizens of North Carolina in 1964 by Penn, is considered by many to be Rockingham Countys hidden gem.

Penn designed the Swiss-style A-frame chalet cabins after homes and buildings she saw on one of her visits to Switzerland. She oversaw every detail of the planning and construction phases.

When the center was completed to her satisfaction, she donated it to North Carolina 4-H in honor of her late husband, Jefferson Penn. The camp is now owned and operated through N.C. State University.

Thousands of young people have benefited from the life-changing summer camp and school field trip experiences since then. Campers need not be 4-H-ers to attend the six-day summer camp programs, which begin June 19, Burns noted.

Meanwhile, she invited people of all ages to come out and enjoy an afternoon of fun during the open house.

It is a great opportunity for families to enjoy an afternoon of good, clean outdoor fun without the interruptions of electronic media, Burns said. With the arrival of spring, this is the perfect opportunity to explore the woodlands and revel in the warm, fresh air

For more information, contact Burns at stacy_burns@ncsu.edu or call her at 336-349-9445. Follow the Facebook event page at www.facebook.com/events/771227820502797 for up-to-date details.
DANVILLE, Va.  Virginia Health Commissioner Colin M. Greene visited Chatham last week as health leaders from two districts gathered to review the response to COVID-19 and cast an eye toward emerging from the pandemic.

Staff members from the Pittsylvania-Danville and Southside health districts met Friday to go over the coronavirus response over the last two years and put in place goals for the future.

Since the virus started infiltrating daily life in March 2020, 25,091 infections and 476 deaths have been logged in the record books for the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District. The case count likely underestimates the true number of people infected since not everyone sought out an official test when they became ill.

The reoccurring message of the event was teamwork.

During the last two years our team of a few has done so much for so many with so little, Dr. Scott Spillmann, director of both health districts, said as he kicked off the meeting.

Greene also spoke and answered questions from staff members.

Spillmann discussed how the health team transformed and grew from the COVID-19 response, a news release stated. Workers had many stories about how the two districts pitched in over the last two years, including things like filling in at vaccination clinics and testing events and assisting with paperwork to distributing COVID-19 information and social distancing signage.

The discussion then moved to whats next for both districts as workers shift back to pre-pandemic duties.

For a while now we have been concentrating on treating people, Spillmann said. Now its time for us to return to focusing on caring for their health.

Spillmann hopes they can now get back to caring for the whole health of the community. Both districts offer a variety of community health services to prevent disease, promote healthy lifestyles and protect our community from environmental and other hazards, the release stated.
REIDSVILLE  Scott Potter, a Reidsville native and pharmacist at Walgreens in Reidsville for the past 12 years, spoke to the Reidsville Kiwanis Club recently about trends in the pharmaceutical industry.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Potter pointed out that when he was coming through school, most pharmacy students were male. Today, though, pharmacy schools are seeing lots of successful women.

He also reminisced about Reidsvilles long-time pharmacists who have passed away, such as Bill Post, Hunter Gammon and Phil Link And Potter paid tribute to retired local pharmacist Andy Gaster.

Today, it is a totally different landscape, said Potter, noting when pharmacy students graduate they are typically in heavy debt for their education.

On the topic of COVID-19, Potter reminded club members that it is very important to get the first two vaccine shots, plus the two booster shots. He cautioned that with time, immunity wanes, making the boosters a necessity. And he anticipates that COVID-19 boosters will be annual offerings just like flu shots in the coming years.

Potter took questions from the club members on a number of health-related questions about the latest pneumonia vaccine which came out recently. Another was regarding the two-dose shingles shot, now a lifetime shot.

Some were concerned about muscle soreness with the use of statin drugs that mitigate high cholesterol, but Potter pointed out that the drug benefits were far greater than the soreness they may cause.

The Kiwanis Club meets each Thursday at noon at the Main Street Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. Lunch is provided by Cafe 99 and visitors are welcome.
American oligarchs mirror the Russian oligarch system in that their enormous wealth controls the power of the vote through massive media campaigns full of lies and deception. Their goal is to steal democracy from we the people; a theft exacerbated by the Supreme Court decision Citizens United from a highly politicized Supreme Court packed by the enormous wealth and power of the oligarchs and their lackeys in Congress.

Its their money and power that selects who gets chosen for appointment when their lackeys control the senate as McConnell did during Merrick Garlands nomination.

The Heritage Foundation controls the selection process. This elitist foundation has long strangled American democracy. The system is about power and control verses democracy. Nowhere is the oligarch system more evident than here in Illinois in the governors race. Richard Irvins oligarch, Ken Griffin #20 million, Bailey, Richard Uihlein $1 million, and Jesse Sullivan $11 million. Out-of-state donors including Chris Larsen, CEO of Ripple in San Francisco, who donated $5 million.

American oligarchs are more than individuals like Ken Griffin, the Mercer Family, Sheldon Adelson, and the Koch Brothers. Often they are organizations funded by corporate elites. Groups like the National Chamber of Commerce and their affiliates, Association of Manufacturers, Right to Work Foundation, the Pharmaceutical Industry and hundreds more.

They hide their dark money to the GOP to subvert democracy. They are literally buying your democracy and your voice in American policy. They are controlling your lives in the workplace, at home, and in public; your access to healthcare, even your right to vote. Their extremist puppets have drafted more than 400 bills to limit access to the ballot box nationwide. They are shredding your constitutional rights in their lust for power and the rule of law.

Mike Griffin, Decatur

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The South Fork Utility District (SFUD) in Bristol, Tennessee has yet to reschedule its board of commissioners meeting a week after postponing it, but it turns out its next meeting may be its last, as SFUD could be ordered to merge with a neighboring utility district.

The district opted to reschedule the meeting after an investigative report alleging potential mismanagement and questionable payment practices was released to the public April 7.

The district is working to reschedule the meeting, but there were no specifics to be released Tuesday, according to public relations professional Tony Treadway, who has sent out two releases on behalf of SFUD this month.

The investigative report from the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury (COT) revealed that South Forks district manager Garry Smith may have violated state law when, from May 2018 to June 2021, he and businesses in which he had ownership interest collected more than $1.6 million in payments from SFUD and its two previous entities  the Holston Utility District and the South Bristol-Weaver Pike Utility District.

The report has led to numerous calls for Smith and the districts five-person board to resign their positions.

Sullivan County Mayor Richard Venable and Tennessee state Sen. Jon Lundberg have both voiced support for resignations. If board members do not resign, they could be removed by the Utility Management Review Board.

On April 14, Mike Dunavant, chief investigative counsel for the COT, wrote the states Utility Management Review Board requesting that it begin the process to remove South Forks board members. Under Tennessee law, the review board may hold a contested hearing to determine whether the commissioners should be removed due to misconduct, neglect or failure to fulfill fiduciary responsibility.

Dunavant wrote that the COTs Division of Investigations finds the initiation of the review boards ability to remove commissioners necessary and warranted due to substantial investigative findings involving numerous potentially unlawful conflicts of interest, purchasing practices, questionable expenditures and supporting documentation practices.

But that may not be necessary if the utility district follows the recommendations of the review board and merges with the Bristol-Bluff City Utility District. According to the agenda of the April 28 meeting of the review board, the review board staff is recommending the board order SFUD to voluntarily merge with the Bristol-Bluff City Utility District, or conduct a feasibility study into the potential merger.

If South Fork decides not to merge with the other district, hinders the merger, or if the merger is determined to be unfeasible, review board staff will initiate proceedings necessary to remove commissioners from their positions.

Board staff is not confident that the continued operation of South Fork Utility District as a sole utility is in the best interest of the roughly 3,400 customers that it serves, the agenda states.

The agenda also makes it clear that District Attorney General Barry Staubus has not yet decided to take criminal action in the matter; however, last month Staubus wrote the COT Division of Investigations stating he is considering civil action against Smith to remove him from his position with the district and to recoup amounts paid on illegal contracts.

Prior to making that decision, Staubus asked the COTs Division of Investigations to formally request the review board move to expel the South Fork board members.

On Monday, SFUD customer Keith Lunsford began a petition for the removal of four board members. On Tuesday he said he had nearly 100 signatures from South Fork customers.

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HURLEY, Va.  Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., visited flood-ravaged Hurley, Virginia, on Tuesday where he met with local government officials and nonprofit leadership, who led him on an informational tour of the flood relief and reconstruction efforts taking place across Hurley over the past eight months.

Stephanie Stiltner, a resident of Hurley and one of three homeowners Kaine visited during his time in the area, described what the flood that struck the town last August was like and how the aftermath has impacted the community.

The lady that lives above me, she actually rode her refrigerator out of her house down the creek, and you could hear her screaming, but you couldnt see. We sat on our porch til 10 oclock that night, and we were rescued, Stiltner said. We were very blessed. We came down, and we had a house standing when nobody else did, and the further you go with this holler, the worse youre going to see. Anybody I see here, I would say theyre all survivors.

Kaine explained that visiting Hurley, Virginia, is vital because it allows him to get a more complete picture of the ongoing relief and reconstruction efforts, which then permits him and his colleagues, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-9th) the knowledge they need to better advocate for the community still working to recover.

Sen. Warner and I and Congressman Griffith battled for the emergency designation. We got a partial yes, but not for businesses and individuals. So we went back into battle and got another partial yes, but there's timing issues, and the state is considering funding, Kaine said. I knew if we came down and spent some time [in Hurley], I would learn [about] it [the flood] in a way that may be more effective than just from a call or a Zoom call.

Bob Peterson, a project manager of the Huntington, West Virginia, District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, briefed Kaine about the Buchanan County Project, through which the Corps is offering residents in flood risk areas two options. The first is a flood-proofing agreement, and the second is the acquisition of their land for demolition.

Its a completely voluntary program. We're not forcing anybody to do anything, Peterson said. As of today we have 54% participation, which is kind of concerning because we want to make sure that people at least apply.

Currently the Buchanan County Project has received 114 applications for flood proofing, 40 of which have been accepted and 20 that are in progress. In terms of acquisition and demolitions they have received 153 applications, all homeowners who apply for acquisition and demolition are provided with a fair market value appraisal of their land.

Among the structures that have been identified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as being at risk of flooding are the Buchanan County Technology and Higher Learning Center and Hurley High School.

We [the engineer corps] determined that the least-cost alternative to make to the Career Technical Center would be to build a ringwall, Peterson said. For Hurley High School, we determined the least-cost viable option was relocation.

As an alternative, the Buchanan County School Board is looking to consolidate the Buchanan County Technology and Higher Learning Center with Hurley High School.

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Not long ago in this very space, we suggested that Gov. Glenn Youngkins flouting of Virginias Freedom of Information Act requirements was a lawsuit waiting to happen [March 30, Virginia earns F on FOIA test].

In Youngkins mere three months in office, the new governor has refused to hand over hundreds of pages of documents requested by news outlets. We called it, Its like hes daring the press to take him to court.

Not that it took great powers of prognostication to predict, but just two weeks later, here we are. The lawsuit demands that the governors office cough up all documents related to his ill-conceived tip line, an email address set up that allows concerned parents to complain directly to Youngkin about Virginia public school teachers and lesson plans that they find upsetting.

Parties to the lawsuit include The Associated Press, Axios, CNN, NPR, USA TODAY, The Virginian-Pilot, The Washington Post and more.

To refresh, the tip line is a key component of the governors vague and troubling assault on divisive concepts that attempts to restrict how Black American history gets discussed in classrooms.

Youngkin continues to stick by his claim that the feedback sent in through the tip line equates to working papers that are exempt from FOIA law. Soon hell get to take this argument over to the judicial branch for test flights.

This matter should never have gotten this far. The tip line itself is at best a farce  supposedly, its been flooded with sarcastic tips by incensed opponents  at worst a tactic that calls to mind such humanitarian organizations as the Stasi, East Germanys secret police in the time before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Any number of city and county attorneys could have advised the governor that claiming a FOIA exemption for this terrible idea would only lead to legal headaches and public embarrassment.

What a tremendous waste of the states time, money and energy.
At a camp in Hickory this week, LGBTQ teens are learning to process difficult emotions.

The young people are working on mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness, said Hannah Alligood, a licensed clinical social worker from New Directions Counseling Services. The camp currently has nine teens attending with a capacity of 25 slots.

Alligood said distress tolerance skills help kids cope through crisis moments. Emotional regulation skills focus on taking care of ones self and knowing how to deal with intense emotions. One example Alligood gave of emotional regulation skills is to not avoid certain tasks because of stress.

When we become anxious, when we become overwhelmed, a natural response to stress is to push away or to avoid (the thing causing stress), Alligood said. That is a habit that actually compounds our stress overall.

Interpersonal effectiveness skills teach kids active listening, validation of others and assertiveness. Alligood said the academy is different because it will use group engagement and interactions to reinforce the concepts being taught to give the kids a chance to practice, create conversations and apply the skills in real time.

People, who are not seen and accepted for who they authentically are, struggle with depression, shame and isolation, Alligood said. Those things make these kids at greater risk for suicide.

Teens felt the negative mental effects the COVID-19 shutdown had on LGBTQ youth.

OUTright Youth serves LGBTQ adolescents across Catawba, Caldwell, Alexander, Burke and Lincoln counties, OUTright Youth Executive Director Anna Gray said. Since the center serves kids from five counties, many of the teens do not attend the same schools and only see their friends at the center, which also had a major impact during the shutdown, she said.

Gray said she saw the effects the pandemic had on the children who come to the center. She said many kids are not out at home and were staying in unsupportive situations.

Before the pandemic, OUTright Youth was a place where kids could go three times a week to be among other members of the LGBTQ community in their age group. It was a place they could relax and feel safe, but the pandemic took that away until recently, Gray said.

Its been a very devastating and tragic time for our kids. It was hard for OUTright to make the decision to have to shut down during that time, because we understood the importance of OUTright, Gray said. This isnt just a playtime for these kids. Its truly the only opportunity some of these kids have to be themselves in a safe and affirming place. Its been really hard. Its been tough. I think theres long-lasting effects from it, which is another reason that this academy is so crucial for our kids.

In January, the center opened one day a week. Gray said she is hopeful the center will be able to open up full-time soon.

You can almost instantly see the relief, when they know that they have walked into a space thats a safe place, Gray said. Theyre surrounded by other youth who are like them. They get those two hours to relax, to take a deep breath, to enjoy themselves, to meet other people without fear of judgment and without fear of being made fun of for whatever reason. It is crucial for these kids to have a safe and affirming place.

The camp is called the Wise Minds Skills Academy and concludes on Friday. New Directions Counseling Services, PLLC, partnered with OUTright Youth of Catawba County to operate the camp. The camp is free to teens who attend OUTright Youth.

LGBTQ youth live with constant fear of oppression or physical violence. Not just from random people, but from people in their daily lives, such as teachers and family members, Alligood said. That is why kids within the LGBTQ community are considered a vulnerable population, she said.

The 2019 North Carolina Child Health Report Card said gender and sexual orientation can have significant impact on suicide risk, because of social discrimination. In North Carolina, 16% of high school students in 2017 reported seriously considering suicide. Of the students who reported considering suicide, 12% were heterosexual students, and 43% were gay, lesbian or bisexual students, according to the report card.

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April 16 - 30 is designated as the North Carolina Litter Sweep by the NC Department of Transportation. It is one of two periods each year when local volunteers are encouraged to participate in efforts to remove litter from our states roads and highways. If you would like to get involved or need supplies  bags, vests, and gloves, contact the local NC DOT maintenance office at (828) 468-6280 to get geared up to pick up litter.

The Catawba Cleanup Crew is a local volunteer group committed to cleaning up litter from Catawba County roads and highways. In 2022, the group has conducted 15 cleanup events, with 90 volunteers participating, and has removed over 280 bags of trash, plus a wide variety of debris including tires and car parts.

Recently, the Catawba Cleanup Crew took on the challenge of cleaning up Highland Avenue NE from Springs Road to Old Highway 70 (3.7 miles). Over the course of two different Saturdays and part of a Sunday, 15 volunteers removed 57 bags of trash from that section of highway. You may want to drive through the area this week to enjoy the view before it gets trashed again.

Our next cleanup events, scheduled during Litter Sweep 2022 are:

Airport Road/Airport-Rhodhiss Road, meeting at the Hickory Regional Airport at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 23.

21st Street Drive SE, meeting at Sweetwater School at 9 a.m. on Saturday April 30.

If you would like more information about the Catawba Cleanup Crew, look for us on Facebook or email tbyrd_65@hotmail.com

Todd Byrd

Hickory
The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoards Dairyman.

Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, is appointed to new Wisconsin Agricultural Export Advisory Council (WAXC) as a dairy representative. In this role, Vincent will help guide the initiatives created through the Wisconsin Initiative for Agricultural Exports (WIAE), a collaborative project between Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) to promote the export of Wisconsins agricultural and agribusiness products.

Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin is dedicated to deepening and strengthening partnerships with the states processors to elevate products and drive sales, and this council will provide a platform to amplify export initiatives, says Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (DFW). Ninety percent of Wisconsins milk is made into award-winning Wisconsin cheese and 90% of that cheese is sold outside of Wisconsin. The quantity and quality of Wisconsins dairy processors is an invaluable strategic advantage.

Vincent is an established executive skilled in globally transforming and growing businesses and brands with international experience at Miller Brewing International and Finland-based Fiskars Brands. Through his professional experiences he has provided strategic input and advanced the mission of Wisconsin Agricultural Export Advisory Council. In his time at Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, Vincent has inspired regeneration in Wisconsins dairy marketingadvancing Wisconsin dairy promotion in global markets.



Chad is a visionary leader and has significantly transformed Dairy Farmers of Wisconsins brand positioning through high-level strategic direction, says Suzanne Fanning, Senior Vice President of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, Through the elevation of Wisconsins dairy heritage came Proudly Wisconsin Cheese and Proudly Wisconsin Dairy which bring a new level of global renown and focus to Wisconsin, solidifying our position as the State of Cheese.

This initiative aims to boost the export of dairy, meat, crop and other agricultural products by 25% by June 2026. The council will meet at least twice per year, and the first council meeting will take place at 9 a.m. on May 4, 2022, at the WEDC headquarters, 201 West Washington Avenue, Madison, WI 53703. These meetings are open to the public and are expected to have virtual attendance options.



Dairy Industry Representatives:

Chad Vincent, CEO, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin  2022-2025

Ryan Wucherer, Director of Global Sales, MCT Dairies  2022-2023

Jeff Schwager, CEO, Sartori  2022-2024

Wisconsin agricultural exports reached an all-time high of $3.96 billion in 2021. Through the WIAE, DATCP is working collaboratively with WEDC to build on that momentum by promoting Wisconsin agricultural products in the international marketplace. Visit www.wisconsindairy.org to learn more about Wisconsin cheese exports and for more information on WIAE visit DATCP website.


URBANA  Illinois Cottage Food Law allows food entrepreneurs, local producers, and home cooks to sell non-potentially hazardous homemade foods and drinks to the public.

Prior to 2012, those foods had to be prepared in a licensed commercial kitchen, an expensive option for those running a small business.

Demand for locally produced food and a growing cottage food industry has spawned statewide conversations around food entrepreneurism, resulting in the Home-to-Market Act, a set of legislative updates to the Cottage Food Law. The amendment, which went into effect Jan. 1, gives owners the opportunity to grow their business by expanding the direct-to-consumer venues through which they can sell.

Before this legislation passed, food operators could only sell homemade foods through farmers markets. Now, direct-to-consumer sales avenues also include fairs, festivals, public events, order pickup from the operators home or farm, delivery to customer, and online sales within the state.

Its an exciting time to be in the cottage food industry, says Mary Liz Wright, University of Illinois Extension nutrition and wellness educator.

Significant Cottage Food Law changes resulting from the Home-to-Market Act include:

Point-of-sale avenues outside of farmers markets.

Buttercream icing no longer prohibited.

Clarification for acidified and fermented foods.

Regulations and certification processes have become more standardized and consistent.

Wright and fellow Illinois Extension educator Jenna Smith have been instrumental in helping to refine these changes that promote innovation while retaining safe food preservation practices that minimize the risk of exposing the public to foodborne illnesses.

The two educators have been working closely with members of nearly 40 organizations and state agencies, including Illinois Stewardship Alliance and Illinois Department of Public Health, to balance food safety recommendations with opportunities for local entrepreneurs to grow and thrive.

Our role is to protect the health of the most people possible, says Wright. As proposals and suggestions around Cottage Food Law surface, we evaluate them against research-based food preservation guidelines.

Wright says that the laws focus has shifted since its 2012 inception. Instead of publishing a finite list of approved foods, it focuses on identifying 14 groups of potentially hazardous, prohibited foods that pose a greater risk of transmitting foodborne illness. This keeps public safety at the forefront but leaves the door open for entrepreneurial business growth.

In the cottage food community, the artisan spirit is truly impressive, says Smith. The laws are there to protect those food innovators, as well as the public.

View a complete list of prohibited cottage foods on Illinois Extensions website: go.illinois.edu/CottageFoods.

Other foods may be permitted under certain circumstances, which may include recipe testing at a commercial lab, acidifying low-acid products, providing a written food safety plan to the local health department, or maintaining product refrigeration throughout transport and holding.

Food operators are encouraged to reach out to their local health department or Illinois Extension office for guidance and clarification when in doubt.

Anyone preparing or packaging food for a home-based food operation must complete an American National Standards Institute accredited Certified Food Protection Managers course and exam. Once certified, the operator must register with their local health department, which requires filling out an application, listing the foods intended for sale, and paying any applicable fees.

Wright says that some health departments do not charge a registration fee, but those that do are capped at $50.

Visit Illinois Extensions Cottage Food Operator checklist for more information about preparing for a new cottage food business at extension.illinois.edu/cottage-food/checklist

Illinois Extension leads public outreach for University of Illinois by translating research into action plans that allow Illinois families, businesses, and community leaders to solve problems, make informed decisions.

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CASEY  Clark County is scheduled to host the annual Midwest Open Geocaching Adventure and more than 500 visitors Friday through Sunday.

Midwest Open Director Jesse Tuttle, who is from Cincinnati, said geocaching is a worldwide scavenger hunt using smartphones, global positioning systems and the Geocaching app to find hidden containers holding a logbook or paper. He said participants sign their geocaching nickname and log their find using the Geocaching app.

Tuttle said he enjoys geocaching because it's a great opportunity to discoverer "wonderful and hidden locations" that he might pass all the time but never knew were there. He said Midwest Open organizers were drawn to Clark County by Casey's "Big Things in a Small Town" attractions, which include a mixture of world record holders and other giant objects.

"We learned about them a couple years ago from a geocaching event and have wanted to host an event here ever since," Tuttle said of the "Big Things."

Tuttle said the Midwest Open will encompass all of Clark County. He noted this event is the world's largest annual geocaching competition, with nearly a dozen different activities available for free, and most with prizes.

All of the Midwest Open activities are available for free to the public. Tuttle said the best way for community members to learn about the events is to attend a geocaching informational meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Martinsville Agricultural Fairgrounds' arts exhibit hall, directly behind that community's giant horseshoe. He said they have more than 500 households registered to attend the Midwest Open.

The "Visit Clark County Illinois" tourism page on Facebook reported this week that many people will be visiting the area this weekend for the geocaching event.

"Many of the hotels are already completely booked. We are expecting it to be very busy at restaurants, parks and businesses," Clark County tourism officials posted. The Clark County Sheriff's Office posted that it welcomes the visitors and reminds them to use public properties for geocaching, not to trespass on private properties.

More information is available at https://mogageo.com/.

Contact Rob Stroud at 217-238-6861.

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CROWN POINT  A Gary woman admitted Monday to helping hide a gun her boyfriend used to murder two teenagers in 2020 inside a Calumet Township home, court records showed.

Dawn "Mama D" Carden, 43, pleaded guilty to assisting a criminal and dangerous control of a firearm, both level 5 felonies, in connection with the Oct. 16, 2020, shooting deaths of 18-year-old Elijah Robinson and his friend Maxwell Kroll, 17.

If Lake Criminal Court Judge Salvador Vasquez accepts Carden's plea agreement, she could face a sentence of one to 12 years in prison.

Defense attorney Nicholas Barnes and Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Jacquelyn Altpeter were expected to argue the length of Carden's sentence at a hearing set for May 26.

Carden also remained charged in U.S. District Court in Hammond and could face additional prison time if convicted of making a false statement to purchase a firearm. She's pleaded not guilty in her federal case, which is scheduled for trial starting July 11.

A Lake Criminal Court jury convicted Carden's co-defendant, Alvino S. "Vino" Amaya, 37, on March 3 of two counts of murder.

Altpeter said during the trial Robinson and Kroll were two kind, caring teenagers who also were very naive.

"They were caught in a world that they should never have been a part of," she said. "They were surrounded by firearms, drugs and dangerous people."

Amaya and Carden knew the teens, because they worked at a fast-food restaurant with Carden's son.

Carden admitted in her plea agreement she and Amaya thought Robinson had taken a missing firearm, which belonged to Carden and her son.

Amaya and Elijah D. Robinson, who is not related to the victim Elijah Robinson, went to the teens' home Oct. 16, 2020, and executed them, Altpeter said during trial.

Afterward, he went to Carden's residence in the 700 block of Ralston Street in Gary and said, "I just (expletive) killed them," referring to Kroll and Robinson, Carden's plea agreement states.

Carden and Amaya discussed hiding the gun he used in a storage bin at a storage unit, records state.

Later that day, Carden helped Amaya by renting a storage unit in her father's name at Nearby Self Storage in Gary, according to the plea agreement.

Lake County sheriff's Detective Cory House was monitoring text messages and obtained a search warrant for the storage unit, according to trial testimony.

Police recovered a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic handgun from a bid hidden inside the storage facility, and a firearms examiner concluded it had fired the spend cartridge casings found at the crime scene.

Amaya's sentencing hearing was set for April 29.

Elijah D. Robinson pleaded guilty to one felony count of residential entry and could face a sentence of six months to 2 1/2 years. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss his other charges, including murder, in exchange for his cooperation. He's scheduled to be sentenced June 28.

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Q: I need to renew my conceal carry permit. What is the address and phone number where the renewal application goes?  J.E.

Answer: Conceal carry permits for handguns are handled by county sheriffs offices. In Forsyth County, the Forsyth County Public Safety Center is located at 301 N. Church St., Winston-Salem.

Renewal applications for concealed handgun permits are accepted in-person on a first-come, first-serve basis with no appointment necessary.

You must submit your renewal application no more than ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of your permit, according to the FCSO website.

The hours that permits applications and renewals are accepted are 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. The office is closed on county holidays.

There are also limited appointments. To find out when an appointment is available, go to the online calendar at https://forsyth.cc/Sheriff/ccwr.aspx. That site also has more information about permits.

It may take 60 to 90 days after the date that the application is received to process it.

After the application is approved, the applicant will receive a call from an auto-dialer at the number provided on the application. The applicant must then pick up the permit and provide proper identification.

If the application is denied, the applicant will be notified in writing why it was denied. An applicant may appeal the denial, revocation, or non-renewal of a permit by petitioning the chief district court judge.

The Permits Unit does not provide application status over the phone, according to the website.

To get status updates email permits@fcso.us or appear in person at the Forsyth County Public Safety Center.

The renewal application fee is $80 and includes the notary fee. You can pay by cash, credit, or debit cards. A processing fee will be charged.

There are four forms for the renewal application that must be completed. They are available for download on the sheriffs office website.

Failure to renew an existing permit prior to the expiration date may result in requiring a new firearms safety certificate, according to the website.

You can also email permits@fcso.us for more information. If you do email, include your full name, date of birth, and North Carolina drivers license or ID number.

VFW honor guard needs volunteers

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Honor Guard needs volunteers to help render military honors for deceased veterans from all branches of the military.

The honor guard also is active with color guard missions at schools, churches, retirement centers and other civic events.

Uniforms and transportation are provided.

Members must be honorably discharged from military service.

For more information or to volunteer, call Cliff Harris, quartermaster, at 336-403-8756, or email clifhar@windstream.net.

Coin show

Occasionally, SAM gets a question about coins. On Saturday, youll be able to get questions answered and see some cool things.

The Eagle Coin Club of Lexington will have a coin show from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the J. Smith Young YMCA event center, 119 W. Third Ave., Lexington.

More than 20 dealers are expected.

Admission is free. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information, contact David Fine at dbfine06@windstream.net or 336-267-3638 or Joe Pochowicz at jep4368@gmail.com or 336-225-7030.

Email: AskSAM@wsjournal.com Write: Ask SAM, 418 N. Marshall St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101

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Come to the table

I have no intention of calling anybody names, and Im against bullying, but Im not convinced that these medical experts and permissive parents who are giving children permission to live as another gender are right. God gave them their gender for a purpose. We cant just change things we dont like about ourselves, not if they are contrary to reality.

I realize this is a complex issue, one with no easy answers. It may require years of therapy and prayer to straighten out.

I also realize that none of these children are undergoing gender-change surgery and I resent that conservative legislators are acting as if they are. Its already illegal for minors to have such surgery. All these legislators are accomplishing is theyre making themselves look ignorant. That doesnt help.

God and reality must be the factors that determine how we act.

But conservatives like me are rightly disturbed that these exceptional children are being accepted and, to our way of thinking, promoted, as if theyre just normal and we should go along without blinking. Both sides need to come to the table and work for answers that dont violate cultural norms or the word of God.

Kevin Fields

Winston-Salem

Forsyth Tech benefits

Its Community College Month. As chair of the Board of Trustees at Forsyth Technical Community College, I want to share how Forsyth Tech impacts our community. Community colleges across our nation are the lifeblood of economic success for the areas they serve.

For more than 100 years ago, community colleges have served more underrepresented populations, people of color and lower-income students than their four-year counterparts.

Community colleges also provide critical training for a plethora of essential jobs that we could not live without. Forsyth Tech trains: electrical lineworkers, nurses, plumbers, welders, HVAC technicians, various kinds of mechanics, electricians, horticulturalists, firefighters, paramedics and more. If something is on fire, your power is out, youre sick, your car breaks down, your air conditioner breaks or any other life happens situation arises, it is likely that a community college graduate will be the one to help you.

Community colleges also provide options for high school students to earn college credit through Career & College Promise and Early or Middle Colleges. The Early College of Forsyth was ranked one of North Carolinas top 15 high schools.

At Forsyth Tech, you can also learn a fun new skill like microbrewing, take a pickleball class or earn a shorter workforce credential to boost your current job skills.

I hope youll join me in continuing to uplift and support Forsyth Tech for all the ways your community college supports and transforms our communities for the better.

Paul Wiles

Winston-Salem

A painful war

I know this letter cannot stop a war.

I know that the Russian leader who has killed so many innocent Ukrainian people who did nothing to Russia will not see this letter, but it is so painful to see a president of a country sending out troops to do his dirty work.

Why cant this guy be stopped and arrested for the war crimes? I know we do not want to have World War III and have other countries destroyed and people killed, but enough is enough!

I do wonder at times why we have to have war and to allow death on children and elderly people. No war is good for anyone. One of the hardest things to think about is how people who inflict pain with bombs can sleep at night, then wake up and continue do more destruction. All I can say is please stop hurting and stop this war.

One more thing: Vladimir Putin needs to be taken out to the war zone to see what his evil mind has done.

P.S. Our country had a former president do harm to our country and to the very thought of democracy!

James Fleming

Clemmons

Math books

No matter how many math books Florida bans, 81 million will always be more than 74 million.

Ned Herbert

Winston-Salem
Virginia Keifer is known as the namesake of Virginia's Travelers Cafe, which she bought in 1978, but her restaurant career goes back many years before that.

Keifer, who died Saturday at the age of 87, grew up in a family of restaurant owners.

Both her mom and brother owned restaurants in Lincoln, and she started frying hamburgers at age 10 at her mom's first restaurant near 12th Street and Cornhusker Highway.

In 1948, Keifer's mom bought the Arrowhead Cafe at 27th and Vine streets, and Virginia started working there when she was 13.

"That's where I really learned about waiting tables and all the facets of cooking," she told the Journal Star in a 1995 interview.

She took a few years off in her 20s after getting married and having kids and then in 1965 bought her first restaurant, a steakhouse on West O Street that she renamed Herm's Cafe.

Keifer sold Herm's in 1970 and was planning to buy her brother's restaurant, but she instead bought a cafe at 27th and Orchard streets, which became Virginia's Restaurant. In 1978, she bought a restaurant-motel-gas station at 3820 Cornhusker Highway and turned it into a family restaurant called Virginia's Travelers Cafe. She ran both restaurants for a year before concentrating solely on the new one.

"She's just always been in the restaurant business," said daughter Darlene Blackford.

Just as Keifer had worked in her mother's restaurants, her eight children were expected to work in her cafe.

"It was a daily thing," Blackford said. "We just knew we had to go to work."

Keifer retired in 2000 after one of her sons, Mike Von Busch, agreed to take over the business. It's still going strong today under the ownership of Mike's son Mark.

After retiring, Keifer focused on her family, Blackford said. She loved to take her grandchildren camping and both host and attend garage sales, where she relished in finding trinkets for family members.

She also was very committed to her faith and was a founding member of Belmont Baptist Church.

"She was just an amazing woman," Blackford said.

Three years ago, when city officials unveiled a plan to beautify Cornhusker Highway and eliminate some adjacent railroad crossings that appeared to target Virginia's for relocation, Keifer testified at a public hearing in front of the City Council, and the audience clapped when she was done.

Blackford said her mom was shocked at the attention she got and that people knew who she was, but Blackford wasn't.

"I said, 'Mom, you're a legend in this town.'"

In addition to Blackford, Keifer is survived by her seven other children: Pauline Clark, Sherry Burback, Ernest Von Busch, Michael Von Busch, Rodney Von Busch, Bill Zessin and Dwayne Zessin.

Funeral services are 10 a.m. Wednesday at Roper and Sons Midtown Chapel, 4300 O St.

Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.

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WAHOO  Hailey Nice had just met the young couple who had moved from Lincoln.

She'd noticed Kayla Matulka and Kolton Barnes unloading boxes at the old Malmo schoolhouse converted into a home May 1, 2020, as she and her kids delivered May Day baskets around the Saunders County town.

But the pandemic had kept them from meeting until July 12, a Sunday.

By then, Matulka's 11-year-old son and Nice's 7-year-old son had started hanging out together, riding bikes around the small town 6 miles northwest of Wahoo.

That Sunday, Nice said she and her husband shared a couple of beers with Matulka and Barnes while the kids played on a trampoline and swing set nearby.

The couple seemed so happy, Nice would tell the dispatcher three days later, after she discovered Matulka dead in her bedroom and called 911.

At Barnes' murder trial Tuesday, Nice wiped tears as she listened to audio of the call, where she'd told the dispatcher as she waited for deputies to arrive that Kayla's leg was cold to the touch, and she just wanted "to go hug her babies."

Nice recounted how the couple had talked that Sunday about plans for an October wedding and about work on the house.

Then, at about 9:30 a.m. the next Wednesday, Matulka's son, Jayden, and her 6-year-old daughter, Kinsley, came over, saying they couldn't find their mom or Kolton. Nice made them breakfast, turned on a movie and called their mom. When Matulka didn't answer, Nice left a voicemail and a text to say where the kids were.

A half-hour later, she said, Jayden wanted to see if his mom and Barnes were back yet, so he rode a scooter home and came back about 10 minutes later looking sad.

"What did he say?" Assistant Attorney General Sandra Allen asked Nice.

"That his mom was dead," she said.

Nice thought maybe she'd misheard him, so she asked him to repeat it.

Nice took the kids to her mom's home nearby, then went to check the house at 236 Bowen Ave., hoping the boy was wrong about what he'd seen.

There was evidence the garage door had been kicked in, and when she got to the bedroom, something blocked the door. Inside, she saw the mattress wasn't fully on the bed like it should be.

"And then Kayla was on the ground between the bed and the dresser," Nice said. "She was gone."

Deputies found the couple's dog, Diesel, dead in the room, too, stabbed to death like Matulka, who also had been strangled.

In opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors painted Barnes as a controlling fiance who wouldn't take no for an answer when his bride-to-be tried to break it off that night.

He'd texted her, threatening to kick down doors if she wouldn't let him in.

"What went on after these texts? That's the crux of this case," Assistant Attorney General Corey O'Brien said. "And the state will contend the only person capable of doing what happened to Kayla is Kolton Barnes."

He said Barnes initially denied going inside after returning from the Malmo bar, but a camera at the house across the street showed him coming and going several times, and during a break in an interrogation, he could be heard saying under his breath: "Dear God, please forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt her."

Barnes' attorney, Matt McDonald, of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, said when the state was giving its theory of the case, "they don't know. They were not there."

He described a chaotic relationship where Matulka struggled with mental health problems and self-medicated with illegal drugs. He said she died with methamphetamine in her system, along with clonazepam, marijuana, alcohol and MDMA, and she'd huffed laughing gas that night.

McDonald said when Barnes came home he found Diesel dead and Matulka in a corner, "crazed out of her mind" with a knife in her hand.

"And she comes at him," the defense attorney said. "Kolton did not have time to think. He reacted."

Barnes is accused of first-degree murder and six other felonies, including two counts of child abuse, cruelty to an animal, tampering with evidence and two weapons charges.

The trial is set to continue Wednesday.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSpilger

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In Abidjan, Ivory Coast, a 14-year-old girl crawls on the ground.

For disabled people in poverty like her, getting around is difficult. Some use sticks as crutches or have family members carry them. Wheelchairs, after all, cost several hundred dollars.

So, when Keith Larsen arrived to give 120 wheelchairs to the disabled of Abidjan, the girl could hardly contain her excitement.

She beamed in a photo Larsen snapped. She could now keep up with other children. Thanks to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Rotaract Club and Lincoln Downtown Rotary No. 14, more people in her community could travel with ease.

Larsen visited Ivory Coast on March 16 to hand out wheelchairs on behalf of the clubs. The trip lasted six days and included a large celebration hosted by Abidjan Lagune, the Rotary Clubs partner in Ivory Coast.

At the celebration, Abidjan Lagune presented heartfelt sentiments  mostly in French, Larsen said.

After the party, Larsen and other club members went around Abidjan for three days, handing out wheelchairs and meeting families. One of the memorable people he met, he said, was a young girl whose wheelchair was so worn down it no longer had wheels.

Seeing her, Larsen said, reminded him why this cause was so important.

Its still an icon for me  the idea of a wheelchair without wheels, Larsen said. That spoke to my heart more than anything else.

The life-changing project was six years in the making and began with a UNL Rotaract Club member from Ivory Coast named Konan Blaise Koko.

Koko contracted polio as a young boy, and without a wheelchair, his mother had to carry him to school every day. When he came to UNL on a Fulbright scholarship in 2015, he finally received his first wheelchair. It was then Koko realized what a difference that could make.

In 2016, Koko called on fellow Rotaract Club members to help raise money for his new cause: giving disabled people back home the same mobility.

My first priority was to get my dream realized by helping people back in my country, Koko said.

The Rotaract Club began fundraising and reached out to other clubs, including Rotary No. 14, which is when Larsen, a 35-year member, got involved.

Together, the clubs began reaching out to other Rotary clubs, hosting bake sales and bussing tables at restaurants to raise funds.

By 2020, the clubs had finally raised enough money to send $20,000 worth of wheelchairs to Ivory Coast. Thanks to the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to providing wheelchairs to the disabled around the world, the clubs had to pay only half for each wheelchair  about $150.

The wheelchairs arrived last September, and six months later, Larsen handed out 30 of them to those in need.

As of now, 90 wheelchairs are still awaiting recipients.

Koko couldn't attend the celebration because hes currently pursuing a medical degree in Canada. However, seeing the photos of his community members receiving their wheelchairs makes him emotional.

Im so thankful to them, Koko said. Theyve gone beyond my expectations.

And while dozens more people in Ivory Coast are able to get around, Larsen said the work is not yet done. Now, Ivory Coasts Disability Association is asking for more help, though this time, it needs something different.

Nobody's asking for more wheelchairs, Larsen said. The Disability Association wants to build low-cost wheelchairs every day."

Larsen said the association hopes to one day have a facility where it can repair and build wheelchairs. The project will cost about $140,000 to complete  drastically more than the $10,000 it receives from the government each year.

So the Rotary clubs are raising funds again, trying to impact lives in the same way they did for Koko.

"When our hearts are in a project like this, we must keep trying," Larsen said. "This is our way to give hope to the thousands of people in Ivory Coast who need wheelchairs."

Reach the writer at jthompson@journalstar.com

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Gov. Pete Ricketts heaped praise on the Legislature on Wednesday as it completed its 2022 session, describing its work product as "historic  with generational impact."

"One word  Wow!" the governor exclaimed as he opened his farewell remarks to state senators upon completion of a 60-day session that began on a cold January day.

"What fantastic work you have done," he said.

The ceremonial end to the session unfolded before busloads of students from Minden and Hastings, who viewed the proceedings from the gallery.

Ricketts, in his final farewell address to the Legislature as his eight years in the governor's office begins to wind down, praised senators for enacting "the most significant tax relief bill we have ever had."

And he pointed to investment in potentially game-changing water projects, including proposed construction of a 4,000-acre lake between Lincoln and Omaha along with development of a South Platte River canal and reservoir system to secure and transport water from the river into the state from Colorado in accordance with terms of a century-old agreement between the two states.

Ricketts said designation of funding to help revitalize North Omaha and South Omaha could have "a generational impact."

This year's investments were fueled by an influx of hundreds of millions of dollars of federal pandemic recovery assistance.

Ricketts pointed to Speaker Mike Hilgers of Lincoln, Revenue Committee Chairwoman Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn and Appropriations Committee Chairman John Stinner of Gering for special praise.

The governor said he had "a wonderful working relationship" with Hilgers, saluted Linehan for leading the way on tax relief and said Stinner has done "a phenomenal job" in managing the state budget during his tenure as chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

The tax package will provide additional property tax relief while decreasing state income taxes for most individuals and businesses in the state, Ricketts said.

The state's reaction to the coronavirus pandemic helped pave the road to the state's current success, he said.

"While other states were shutting down, you came back (to Lincoln) and did the people's work," he told the senators.

This Legislature also made "historic investments in public safety," the governor said, including setting aside $175 million for potential construction of a new state prison to replace the aging State Penitentiary in Lincoln.

Ricketts has urged construction of the new prison.

Wednesday was the last day for 13 lawmakers who either are term limited or opted not to seek reelection. Each of them took the podium to give thanks to their families and staff, and to reflect on their time in office.

Several senators also offered guidance for future legislative sessions.

Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln said the Legislature needs to find a way to take better care of its staff.

Legislative farewell Wednesday was the last day for 13 lawmakers who either are term limited or opted not to seek reelection. District 4: Robert Hilkemann, Omaha District 12: Steve Lathrop, Omaha District 18: Brett Lindstrom, Omaha District 20: John McCollister, Omaha District 24: Mark Kolterman, Seward District 26: Matt Hansen, Lincoln District 28: Patty Pansing Brooks, Lincoln District 34: Curt Friesen, Henderson District 36: Matt Williams, Gothenburg District 40: Tim Gragert, Creighton District 44: Dan Hughes, Venango District 46: Adam Morfeld, Lincoln District 48: John Stinner, Gering

Though Hansen did not reference it, tumult surfaced in the Legislature in February when it emerged that former Sen. Mike Groene had taken pictures of a female staff member. Groene, an outspoken and at times gruff conservative lawmaker, resigned within days of the news breaking. Ricketts appointed Mike Jacobson of North Platte to serve the term vacated by Groene.

In a report published earlier this month, an attorney hired by the Legislature to investigate the incident made six recommendations for addressing workplace harassment and other personnel policies. The topic will likely factor into future work at the Legislature.

Others encouraged their colleagues to look beyond the Capitol when weighing priorities.

Sen. Curt Friesen of Henderson, while pleased lawmakers approved recovery efforts in North and South Omaha, encouraged lawmakers in future sessions to consider improvements for rural Nebraska.

"We have to think of the whole state," Friesen said.

Sen. John McCollister of Omaha urged senators to vote for bills based on their merit, rather than their political party, and encouraged more negotiating across party lines.

"Compromise isn't a dirty word," McCollister said.

In his own remarks that brought an end to the 2022 legislative session, Hilgers pointed to individual achievements by state senators.

Hilgers said completing the task of legislative and congressional redistricting in a special session in September paved the way for the 2022 Legislature's "smashing success."

The Speaker called the roll of senators at the end of his remarks in a gesture designed to give each individual recognition prior to adjournment.

World-Herald reporters Martha Stoddard and Erin Bamer contributed to this report.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon

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A key lawmaker said Tuesday that Nebraskas search for companies to administer pieces of the $1.8 billion Medicaid program appears to be steering clear of the problems that plagued a major child welfare contract.

State Medicaid officials issued a request for proposals Friday from companies interested in managing the care of some 347,000 Nebraskans through at least 2028.

The winning bidders will take over from the three companies that currently manage physical and behavioral health care and pharmacy services for almost all Medicaid patients in a program called Heritage Health. The three include Healthy Blue, Nebraska Total Care and United HealthCare Community Plan of Nebraska.

State Sen. John Arch of La Vista, the chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee, said he has been encouraged by the process so far. He said officials are following a different path from the one that led to a problematic 2019 contract with Kansas-based St. Francis Ministries.

St. Francis got the job of managing Omaha-area child welfare cases by underbidding the contract, then negotiated a 55% boost in payments when financial shortfalls nearly forced its Nebraska operations to shut down. Meanwhile, the private nonprofit never met contract terms or complied with state laws limiting caseload sizes. The contract has since been terminated.

Overall, I think the state did learn a lot with the St. Francis contracting problems, Arch said.

For the Medicaid managed care contracts, the state has put more emphasis on quality and performance rather than cost, he said. Companies can compete by offering various value-added services, which go beyond what the state requires.

The new contracts will require companies to add dental benefits, along with physical health, behavioral health and prescription drugs. Currently, Nebraska has a separate contract for dental care management. In addition, state Medicaid officials said they will increase payment rates for dental providers and remove the annual limits on dental benefits for adults.

Contractors also will be required to use a common provider credentialing service, so doctors and other professionals will not have to submit documentation to multiple entities.

State Medicaid Director Kevin Bagley said the changes grew out of listening sessions held across the state in January for Medicaid providers, patients and others.

Fostering consistency between our health plans in regard to provider credentialing and service delivery was a common theme we heard in many of these sessions, as was finding ways to improve access to dental services, he said. We hope these new additions to Nebraskas next managed care contracts make positive progress in improving the member and provider experience.

Officials plan to announce the winning bidders in August, with the contracts set to start on July 1, 2023.

Heritage Health does not cover nursing home care and other long-term support and services for the elderly and people with disabilities.

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday endorsed Sen. Mike Flood's candidacy for Nebraska's 1st District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, with the expressed expectation that he will be part of a new Republican majority in 2023.

"This is early, early" for a Chamber endorsement, Ashlee Rich Stephenson, the organization's senior political strategist, said during a telephone call.

"Based on his record, his business experience and his vision, this is a smart move for us," she said.

"Mike Flood is such a skilled legislator. He knows how to get things done. He has the ability to cross the aisle. We think he will be effective."

Issues that are particularly important to the Chamber include taxes, job creation and energy security, Stephenson said.

"We believe it is more than very likely that Republicans will take control of the House" after this November's general election, she said. Democrats currently hold a narrow majority.

Flood will be matched against Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln, the Democratic nominee and a legislative colleague, in a June 28 special election to serve the remaining six months of former Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry's term.

Nebraska voters will select a congressman or congresswoman to represent eastern Nebraska's 1st District for the following two years in the Nov. 8 general election, choosing from party nominees selected in the primary election.

Flood and Pansing Brooks are front-runners to advance from the May 10 primary.

Fortenberry resigned from the House seat he has held since 2005 after his conviction on federal charges that he made false statements to the FBI about illegal foreign contributions to his 2016 reelection campaign. He is scheduled to be sentenced in Los Angeles on June 28.

Flood, a former Speaker of the Legislature, returned to the nonpartisan legislative body in 2021 after being term-limited out of office upon completing two consecutive terms in 2013.

Responding to the Chamber endorsement, Pansing Brooks said: "As a small-business owner, business lawyer and member of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce for over 35 years, we have been helping businesses in Nebraska grow and thrive.

"I am gratified to have strong support from many business leaders across this district," she said, and "I will continue to be a strong leader for economic growth, jobs and wages as this district's first congresswoman."

Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon

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Heres a sampling of things we love this week:

Loving our home

We here at Hot Takes believe every day is Earth Day. But April 22 is the OFFICIAL Earth Day 2022. To celebrate, do something nice for our planet  its the only one we have until we start colonizing Mars; therefore, we should do everything we can to sustain it. Pick up trash off the sidewalk, recycle your plastic water bottles and turn off the lights when you leave a room. You can find out more at earthday.org.

The Pringle Nature Center, located inside Bristol Woods County Park at 9800 160th Ave. in Bristol, is hosting Earth Day @ Pringle! from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 23. Stop by to learn how to protect trees and pick up a FREE tree seedling. Pringle is also hosting its first Invasive Species Workday of the year on Saturday. Visit pringlenc.org/events for more details.

Celebrating with Rita

Has it really been 10 years? Wow. The University of Wisconsin-Parkside is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for the Arts and Humanities (affectionately known as The Rita). To mark The Ritas first decade, the public is invited to a celebration from 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday. Highlights include a 2 p.m. theater demonstration of the upcoming show She Kills Monsters and a 3 p.m. performance by the Parkside Range a cappella group. For more details about the April 24 event, see Page 14.

Another brick in the wall ...

Brit Floyd  which bills itself as The Worlds Greatest Pink Floyd Show  has a new show for 2022, with highlights from The Wall, The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Division Bell. But wait! Theres more! Diehard Floyd fans will also hear a 23-minute note-for-note performance of the song Echoes, written 50 years ago for the 1971 album Meddle. You can also expect lasers, inflatables and a sparkling light show. Brit Floyd performs Friday night, April 22, at the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, Ill. Tickets for the 8 p.m. show start at $37.50-$99.50 (plus fees) at geneseetheatre.com. Brit Floyd also performs Saturday night, April 23, at Milwaukees Riverside Theater. Tickets are $55 for the 8 p.m. show at pabsttheatergroup.com.

All the worlds a stage

Saturday is Talk Like Shakespeare Day, in honor of the Bards 458th birthday. As you go about your business on April 23, make sure to sprinkle in plenty of terms like thee, thou, come hither, prithee and the ever popular wherefore art thou Romeo? Willy would be so proud! Saturday is also World Book Night, so grab something good to read as you snuggle under the covers. We dont recommend anything by Stephen King, unless you want nightmares.

Pizza, pizza!

The world  or maybe just a few of us  cheered when we heard the news that Taco Bell is bringing back its Mexican Pizza. Its a simple concept  beef and refried beans are nestled between two pizza-styled shells that are topped with diced tomatoes, a three-cheese blend and pizza sauce. But somehow that Taco Bell magic makes it all work. And before you gripe that this isnt authentic Mexican food, remember 1) this is from the folks who also gave the world the Cheesy Gordita and something called a Quesarito and 2) if its covered in cheese, who cares? The Mexican Pizza returns to the menu on May 19, and rumor has it, new variations will also be offered.

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RACINE  How do you celebrate 91 years of life and adventure?

The Racine Youthful Offender Correctional Facility answered that question Wednesday for a longtime volunteer and teacher.

Staff members and residents of RYOCF threw a surprise birthday party on Wednesday for Sister Lois Aceto, a 91-year-old volunteer who has been with the facility since its opening in 1998.

Sister Aceto has lived a life full of accomplishments. From receiving a bachelors degree from the now-defunct Dominican College in Racine in 1962, to spending 17 years doing missionary work in Bolivia, which included opening a new boys home in the city of Tarija.

She has been in the sisterhood of the Dominican Ministries for more than 65 years, and a member of the Racine ministry for more than 29 years. Sister Aceto, who said her actual birthday is April 21, teaches conflict-resolution and restorative justice classes at RYOCF on Wednesday mornings.

Shes also the author of the book Journeying toward Justice, in which she reflects on her decades of teaching and ministry work.

Faculty and staff of the facility surprised Sister Aceto as she walked into work Wednesday morning with a birthday greeting. She was honored with gifts, cards and drawings from the residents of the facility.

Nirdip Dulai, security director of RYOCF, then gave her a certificate of Dedicated Volunteer Recognition certificate and a plaque in recognition of her many years of service to the RYOCF.

Sister Aceto also was presented with a cake from O&H Bakery. She is known at the facility for her sweet tooth.

Sister Aceto blessed the crowd that gathered to honor her and shared a few stories about her travels and experiences in Bolivia.

She ended her speech with this advice: Remember to always be happy, healthy and holy.

RYOCF provides care and custody of male offenders, ages 18 through 24, who have been committed to the state Department of Corrections through the adult courts. Its mission, according to the DOC website, is to provide effective security, meaningful programs and accessible, quality health care.

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Any belief the annual Mifflin Street Block Party would be a masked, socially distanced affair after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic was quickly brought to reality Saturday.

Several thousand revelers turned up to the 400 and 500 blocks of West Mifflin Street and surrounding streets for the springtime tradition held two weekends before UW-Madisons commencement ceremony.

But with COVID-19 an ongoing threat, making sure Mifflin attendees follow the local health departments coronavirus rules was a top priority for the day, Madison Police Officer Gracia Rodriguez said in the late morning when there were only a few hundred partygoers.

Its a beautiful day, Rodriquez said. Its been different throughout the years, but our primary goal today for the Police Department is for everyone to be safe out here if theyre engaging in activities in Mifflin.

By the middle of the afternoon, though, Madison police officers, who were among the few in the area wearing face masks, had their work cut out for them.

Dozens of officers blocked the alleyways between houses on the 500 block of West Mifflin and West Dayton streets, where hundreds were partying in backyards, denying others from joining the crowd in an attempt to get compliance with the city-county public health departments coronavirus restrictions.

Public Health Madison and Dane Countys current COVID-19 order has no capacity limit on outdoor gatherings, so long as people maintain 6 feet of distance  a task that was nearly impossible Saturday. Indoor gatherings are capped at 150 people, and masks must be worn when not actively eating or drinking.

Leading up to the unsanctioned party, Madison police reminded area residents that violating the rules could result in a fine of at least $376.

As of 7 p.m., Rodriguez said only four citations had been written for disorderly conduct, violating a prohibition on glass containers and open intoxicants on public streets. Police were also investigating reports of damage to property, she said.

Continued tradition

The return of Mifflin this year continues a tradition dating back more than 50 years that originally began as an anti-Vietnam War demonstration in 1969 and has morphed throughout the decades into a giant party.

Ian Buchanan, 27, a former UW-Madison student, described this years gathering as surprisingly tame compared with previous years when the crowd could swell into the tens of thousands, but added the police presence was about the same.

Ellie Lourdes, a UW-Madison junior, was hanging out at her neighbors house in the 400 block of West Mifflin Street, where crowds were significantly smaller than the busier 500 block.

She said shes fully vaccinated against the virus and was not as concerned about COVID-19 because of the protection inoculation brings. But Lourdes said she wore a mask when walking through busier parts of the block party.

With a stay-at-home order in place last year, Mifflin took a year off in 2020 as partygoers were threatened with fines and potential disciplinary action from UW-Madison. Whether students could be disciplined this year by the university for breaking public health rules remains to be determined.

UW-Madison sanctioned nearly 1,400 students this academic year so far for public health violations. The most common consequence has been a reprimand, which is usually paired with whats called a public health sanction that includes an educational requirement.

University spokesperson John Lucas said a message shared with all students earlier in the week encouraged them to continue following public health rules in the final stretch of the semester, particularly as a recent negative test or proof of vaccination is required to participate in the graduation ceremony.

He said UW-Madison partners with police and Public Health on all city citations of students, which are shared with the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards for follow-up.

Almost real

UW-Madison junior Kalie Whitehorse said she felt comfortable with the block party because students are required to take a coronavirus test every few days and many are vaccinated against the virus.

I feel like everyones being pretty safe, she said early in the day. I know were keeping it pretty low-key, because they did threaten us with a health citation if were not following social distancing guidelines.

As a freshman in 2019, the Mifflin Street Block Party fell on a day it was snowing and freezing cold, the 21-year-old Whitehorse said, and last years event didnt happen.

This is like my first almost real Mifflin, she said. Hopefully my senior year will be like a full real Mifflin without snow, without restrictions.

Ryan MacConnachie, a junior studying actuarial science, was attending his first Mifflin Street Block Party. As a freshman, he said he didnt know about the event and spent the day watching a Super Smash Bros. video game tournament instead.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring scuttled any chance to attend in his sophomore year. MacConnachie said he was a little nervous to attend this year, but added he gets his second dose of the vaccine next week.

This year it was more people than I expected, just cause of COVID, he said. I was just making sure to keep my distance.

State Journal reporter Shanzeh Ahmad contributed to this report.

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The deputies shot the person, who was not identified, at a field near Highway 33 in the town of Scott on Sunday afternoon, the Wisconsin Department of Justice said.
Pecatonica School District Superintendent Jill Underly will be the next state superintendent, bringing to an end a contentious race for Wisconsins top education position.

Underly, who had heavy backing from Democrats and teacher unions in an officially nonpartisan election, defeated former Brown Deer School District Superintendent Deborah Kerr by double digits, according to The Associated Press, which called the race at 9:26 p.m.

Heres my promise to every family, student and Wisconsinite, young and old, regardless of who you voted for: I will always do whats best for our kids, Underly said during a press conference. We have a long road ahead of us but Im ready to get to work on day one and build a stronger, more equitable public education system that provides every child, every day, with a world-class public education system they deserve.

Underly edged out Kerr in a seven-way primary in February but had raised more than $1 million since the beginning of February, with the majority coming from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Kerr had raised about $71,000 during that same period, with large amounts from Republican donors.

The two had sparred over private voucher schools, returning students to in-person learning during the COVID pandemic and transgender athletes. Kerrs campaign manager and lawyer quit shortly after the primary after Kerr, who is white, tweeted about being called the N-word in high school. Both campaigns accused the other of improperly using their public email accounts.

But the campaign leading up to the election may prove to have been the easy part.

Long road ahead

As the winner in Tuesdays contest, Underly will be tasked with pushing the Department of Public Instructions budget proposal through the Republican-controlled Legislature; closing one of the widest racial achievement gaps in the nation; advising districts on how to spend at least $2.2 billion in federal pandemic-related stimulus funds; overseeing a growing private school voucher system; and charting a path forward for more than 400 public school districts altered by COVID-19.

Underly said she plans to work with the governor and Legislature by assembling a bipartisan team to advocate for policies that strengthen public schools.

She also said the biggest issue shell face as the new state superintendent is to make sure all public schools are open in the fall. The state superintendent does not have the power to order schools to reopen to in-person learning, but Underly promised to provide support to each district as they plan for the coming school year.

She suggested school districts may choose to begin the 2021-22 school year in August  state law sets the start date in September unless districts obtain a waiver  or extend the school day to help make up for lost learning time due to the pandemic. She committed to providing resources to districts to support students social and emotional well-being.

Working with the Legislature to fix public school funding, expanding access to full-day 4K, and teacher recruitment and retention are also among her top priorities, she said.

Moving on

Kerr said she was disappointed, but she congratulated Underly and wished her success in her new role. Regarding whats next for Kerr, she said shes unsure.

Im going to take a couple of days to downshift, because I just retired from Brown Deer School District and I ran a campaign, she said. I know God has a plan for me and I dont know what that is yet, but Im going to stay engaged and continue to fight for all of the kids in Wisconsin.

Current state Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor declined to comment on the campaign to replace her. But in remarks to members of the Legislatures budget committee earlier Tuesday, she urged lawmakers to restore the states one-time commitment to fund two-thirds of the cost of education, which Underly said she supports.

Former Governor Tommy Thompson first made this commitment in an effort to equalize the financial resources available to school districts by decreasing the reliance on property taxes, Stanford Taylor said. It is an important commitment by the state to return to this promise.

Stanford Taylor was appointed to superintendent in 2019 by Gov. Tony Evers, her predecessor who was elected governor in 2018 after winning the superintendent seat three times. She did not seek election this year.

During her time as state superintendent, her administration called on school districts to include greater focus on phonics in their reading programs; worked with public libraries to increase broadband access to enhance remote learning; sought to expand access to free meals for children under 18; and won a federal grant to aid in expanding student mental health services, among other initiatives.
1. Yes. If inflation remains high and interest rates rise, the economy will be a major factor.

2. Yes. If the nation goes into a recession, it will be the issue on the minds of most voters.

3. No. Inflation will likely moderate by then; if so, the economy wont be a major issue.

4.No. All the turmoil involving Russia and Roe v. Wade will probably take center stage.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say how the economy will play with voters at this point.

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KEARNEY  Volunteers are invited to help pack meals for the Haiti Health Promise Packathon 9-11 a.m. or noon-2 p.m. Saturday at Kearney Catholic High School, 110 E. 35th St.

Roger Hoffman and Bob Easton, both of Kearney, founded Mission II Haiti that repairs wells for Haitians. They are looking for service groups and community members to join them for two hours to pack meals.

Volunteers expect to pack 50,000 meals to ship to Milot, Haiti, a town just 10 miles south of Cap-Haitien on the northern coast. The area is serviced by Hopital Sacre Coeur, a 200-bed hospital in operation since 1968.

Last year, Haiti Health Promise, formerly known as The CRUDEM Foundation, sent more than 500,000 meals into the region. This years goal is to surpass 1 million meals. Volunteers are needed to help pack the rice, beans, dried vegetables and vitamin powder that make nutritious meals available to many people on the brink of starvation.

Register online at www.classy.org/event/kearney-packathon/e397898. Every penny of donations goes directly to purchase and to ship the food to the hospital for distribution.
KEARNEY  Kristen Majocha has been selected as the new senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Chancellor Doug Kristensen made the announcement Wednesday, following a national search.

Majocha is currently dean of the College of Social Sciences and Human Services and College of Education and Liberal Arts at California University of Pennsylvania. She will replace Charlie Bicak, who is retiring after serving in the position for 13 years.

Pending presidential and University of Nebraska Board of Regents approval, she will begin at UNK on July 1.

A U.S. Navy veteran and first-generation college graduate, Majocha has served in her dean role since 2018. She earned a bachelors degree in communication from Slippery Rock University and a masters degree in communication and doctorate in rhetoric from Duquesne University.

She oversees three campus locations and more than 250 faculty and staff. Her focus on student success led to improved rates of retention and persistence by 7%, graduation by 4% and retention of international students by 50%. She actively works with faculty and government to create pathways that ensure student support and develop responsive academic programming.

Majocha is a champion of the teacher-scholar model, where faculty research informs the classroom, students participate in research opportunities with their teachers, and the results inform best practices in the job market. Her leadership style is steeped in the servant-leader model, and she completed the Penn State Academic Leadership Academy and Jenny Blooms Appreciative Administration program.

In previous roles, Majocha played a key part in developing Pennsylvania Western University, and she previously served as assistant vice president of academic affairs and director of international program support and services at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.

The senior vice chancellor for academic affairs is the chief academic officer at UNK, overseeing three academic colleges, general studies and Graduate Studies and Academic Outreach, including UNK Online. The position also oversees the library, Academic Resources and Institutional Research, assessment, Sponsored Programs and Research, International Education, registrar and academic programs such as undergraduate research, honors and Thompson Scholars Learning Community. Additionally, they serve as liaison to the Higher Learning Commission and OneIT.
KEARNEY  A Ravenna man is charged with three felonies for allegedly assaulting a pregnant woman.

Fernando Contreras, 47, of Ravenna is charged in Buffalo County Court with two counts of felony third-degree assault on a pregnant woman and one count of assault by strangulation or suffocation of a pregnant woman. The alleged incident happened on April 6.

Records detailing the incident were sealed at the request of deputy Buffalo County Attorney Mike Mefferd, who cited the document contains confidential information.

Contreras was arrested on a Buffalo County warrant on April 12, and is being held at the Buffalo County Jail on a $150,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court in May.
Please join us for a very special presentation this week about the historic Shivers family who resided in Vernon County. The program will be held Thursday, April 21, at 1:30 p.m. inside the library lobby.

The presentation will focus on Ashley Shivers (who grew up in Cheyenne Valley near Hillsboro before migrating to La Crosse to become a barber) his brother, Thomas Shivers (who remained in Cheyenne Valley as an innovative farmer) and Thomas son, Algie Shivers (who was instrumental in building the round barns in the Vernon County area). The Enduring Families Project in La Crosse has wonderful re-enactment videos that will be shared throughout the presentation. One of the two speakers is Barb Stanek who is a descendant of the Shivers family. She and other descendants have given presentations on PBS, as well as in the Hillsboro Schools for inclusion in their school curriculum about local Hillsboro history. Stanek will provide additional historical information about the Shivers family and her life in Cheyenne Valley, including information about the annual reunion of descendants of the Cheyenne settlers. The Cheyenne Settlers Heritage Society has a goal to raise funds to build a gazebo in the Cheyenne Valley area as a further tribute to the early settlers of this unique community.

The second presenter will be Denise Christy Moss. Moss is a retired English, speech and theatre teacher from Milwaukee High School of the Arts. Since moving to the La Crosse area, she has been the producer of The Enduring Families Project, a theatre project which brings to life, stories of 19th century African Americans who lived in the La Crosse area and its surrounding community. The Cheyenne Valley region was a unique community that thrived during this period. It was important to tell the story of one of its prominent families... the Shivers Family. The Enduring Families Project has, as its financial sponsor, The La Crosse County Historical Society.

Friends of the McIntosh Memorial Library are planning an adult bus trip! While the final details of the trip are still being worked out, we can give you some basic information. The daylong adult bus trip will take place Thursday, June 16. The bus will depart the library around 8:30 a.m. The trip details and registration information will be announced before the end of April.

We still have space available if youre interested in our rubber cut stamp art class for adults. Intended for beginners, the class is scheduled for Tuesday, April 26, at 6 p.m. inside our program room. During the class Librarian Maggie will teach you how to carve your own stamp. A suggested stamp design is a leaf, or you are welcome to design your own. Due to space and supplies, the class size is limited to eight people. Register by stopping by the library or calling the circulation desk at 608-637-7151, extension 6.

To stay up-to-date on everything happening at the library, like the Viroqua Library page on Facebook, visit our website at www.mcintoshmemoriallibrary.org, or visit us in person at 205 S. Rock Ave. in Viroqua.

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This week, April 17-23, is National Volunteer Week. The Vernon County Historical Society is powered by volunteers, and we thank all of them for their efforts to preserve and promote our countys history. History matters to contemporary life, and our volunteers make it possible for Vernon County history to be shared with others.

From the volunteers who keep the lights on and the floors clean to the volunteers who give museum tours and history programs, all of the Vernon County Historical Societys volunteers help strengthen our community by making our history more accessible. We are especially grateful for all of the volunteer help that weve received during the past two pandemic years. Thank you, volunteers!

This week is also Earth Week, culminating in Earth Day on April 22. Wisconsins own U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson helped to establish the first Earth Day in 1970. That first Earth Day inspired the Clean Water Act, passed by the U.S. Congress two years later, in 1972. The Clean Water Act is intended to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nations waters.

You can learn much more about water at the upcoming exhibit, Great Lakes Small Streams: How Water Shapes Wisconsin. This travelling exhibit from the Wisconsin Historical Society will be at the Vernon County Museum from Monday, May 2, through Friday, May 27. It will be set up in the museums first-floor, wheelchair-accessible conference room, and will be available during the museums regular public hours of Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m., or by appointment.

The exhibit touches on fishing, erosion, drinking fountains, wild rice, and shipping, among many other ideas. Well supplement the travelling exhibit with objects from our own collection, including a water cooler from the Sag City School and a 1962 map of flood control proposed improvements to the Kickapoo River basin.

The opening of this special exhibit will be celebrated with a party at the museum on Tuesday, May 3, beginning at 7 p.m. Food and drink will be served, and all of the exhibit halls will be open, including the new water exhibit. Be sure to take advantage of these special hours to tour the museum.

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A proposal to form a neighborhood child care program with the School District of La Crosse using federal COVID-19 relief funds wont be voted on by the La Crosse County Board until June to allow for more review.

The board voted Tuesday night to postpone the vote until June 16, giving them two months to work on the issue that has drawn pushback from some in the child care sector and community.

The proposal, which was officially pitched to the board last week by Superintendent Aaron Engel, would use about $711,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act to install two child care centers with the school district that would aim to serve staff members and impoverished families.

In addition to a desire to catch new board members up to speed on the ARPA process and projects which they have newly inherited, supervisors cited concern they received from existing child care providers in the community about the proposal.

We need to look at a better way of coming up with a solution for the children of our county and our parents of our county. By just moving this resolution to the next, we are not taking care of the businesses that do take care of our children today, supervisor Jack Pogreba said.

While a large group of community members attended Tuesdays meeting, they werent allowed to speak per meeting rules.

Some supervisors shared anecdotes from constituents and child care providers theyve spoken to in the last week, many of them struggling to fill capacity and hire employees because of wage competition, and some are no longer making a profit, but essentially acting as a service to families. Others were worried that the districts child care program would steal employees from existing daycares.

They have some darn good ideas, supervisor David Hundt said of the people hes heard from. I think the whole board ought to have an opportunity to listen to these girls ... Lets set up a meeting and let these girls give us their spiel, because its pretty good.

Several supervisors appeared to disagree with Hundts use of the word girls to describe the child care workers.

Supervisor Dan Ferries suggested using ARPA funds to support established businesses so they could increase salaries and attract more employees.

The county board has gone through a lengthy process to navigate how it would spend its roughly $23 million in ARPA funding. The board initially voted several times to narrow down its top priorities for the money, task forces were then formed and spent several months on brainstorming projects. The board then voted earlier this year on eight broad spending categories and is now going through the process of spending the money on actualized projects.

This project with the school district would still leave about $2.6 million left to be used on other child care projects.

Supervisor Randy Erickson argued against postponing the vote, saying there was already enough consideration on the project, and chair Monica Kruse said the project was vetted many times.

I would argue that a lot of thought has been put into this already, Erickson said. He was the only supervisor to vote against the postponement.

Supervisors largely agreed that more time was needed and that child care was a complex and necessary issue to tackle. Supervisor and state Rep. Steve Doyle said that child care is the number one crisis in the state.

Frankly, there is not enough money to solve this problem. That entire $23 million is not going to solve this problem, county administrator Steve OMalley said.

Between now and the June meeting, supervisors will meet for its advance meeting, which is essentially a retreat for the board to become more acclimated with each other and the processes. Officials are hopeful this venue can help new members learn more about the ARPA process and its projects and ideas can be shared.

Several officials urged that more public engagement happen in the meantime on the issue, and there were suggestions to hold a special meeting between county officials and leaders in the child care industry, as well as supporters of the school districts child care proposal.

The school district said it was hopeful to launch this child care program by the beginning of the next school year, and county officials indicated this postponement shouldnt hurt that timeline.

In addition to the school board project, the board also postponed spending ARPA dollars to boost its Neighborhood Revitalization Acquisition and Demolition Program until June, for the same reasons to allow new supervisors to learn about the projects and process more.

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Congregation Sons of Abrahams annual Holocaust Remembrance service will be held next week, with a keynote speech, music and honoring of the 2022 Wegner Leaf recipient.

The event is free and open to the public, and will run from 5:45 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 28 at Congregation Sons of Abraham, 1820 Main St.

Gregory Wegner, UW-La Crosse history professor emeritus, will deliver a keynote address, Never Again? Hitler, Stalin, Putin and the Ukraine, discussing the impact of the Hitler regime on the Jewish community in Ukraine and that of the Great Famine in 1930s Soviet Uakraine, which led to millions of deaths. These tragedies serve as a historical foundation for Vladimir Putins ongoing propaganda campaign and the impact of Nazi propaganda on current developments.

Olena Belka, a La Crosse resident and native of Odessa, Ukraine, will be recognized with a Wegner Leaf  which honors inspiring individuals or groups who impart Holocaust education  on the Congregations Tree of Life. Belka, who was interviewed for two recent Tribune articles about the invasion of Ukraine, advocates for freedom of religion and freedom of movement for all. Belka is collaborating with a synagogue in Odessa to serve meals to Ukraine refugees fleeing to Poland in addition to feeding local residents and orphans.

Music reflective of Holocaust remembrance and the plight for peace and freedom will be provided by acapella quintet Fifth Chamber. Selections will include Song of Galilee, Shenandoah, The Hasidic Kaddish, and Leonard Cohens Hallelujah.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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A decade ago, UW-La Crosses ROTC Eagle Battalion was in danger of being disestablished.

On Wednesday, it was recognized as the best ROTC battalion in the Midwests Third Brigade  which comprises 42 military science programs in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

This is a huge day for our program. This will be long remembered as the year we won the MacArthur Award, said Lt. Col. Erik Archer, chair of UWLs Military Science Department. Im OK foot-stomping that and being proud of that, because it was earned. Its not a short-term thing. The power and the potency of this award is that it was earned through the long game. This award is for our cadets because theyve done incredible things.

Archer attributes the Eagle Battalions success to its 70-plus cadets, who have strong grade point averages and physical training scores, and consistently make time for competitive summer training and community service.

He also credits department faculty for molding and inspiring the cadets, and university leadership for its continued support of the program.

Chancellor Joe Gow said the award should be a point of pride for not just the Eagle Battalion, but the university as a whole.

Its a joy to watch the program and see the students on campus and the pride they take in the Eagle Battalion, said Gow, noting that the battalion includes students from Viterbo and Winona State universities as well. It really is special for me personally to be the person from UW-L to say how proud we are to have the Eagle Battalion on our campus.

U.S. Army Cadet Commander Col. Adam J. Lewis, who oversees battalions in the Midwests Third Brigade, said the award has added meaning given the state of the Eagle Battalion several years ago.

During one particularly down year, he noted, the battalion commissioned just nine officers. In recent years, that figure has doubled.

There were dark days, and there were questions on the Army side and the university side about whether this was going to work, Lewis said. The evidence speaks for itself. Folks dug in and dug themselves out, and here you are today. The future looks very, very bright.

More than awards or public praise, Archer is impressed by the sense of family and camaraderie that has developed within the battalion in recent years.

The takeaway of today is the culture that makes this all possible, he said. Thats the gasoline that allows the machine to keep running.

That sentiment is echoed by Battalion Commander Jake Ryan, whos about to wrap up his senior year.

Being a part of the Eagle Battalion has been a deeply formative experience, he said  one that has required a lot of work, but has given him so much more in return.

This is a reflection of all the cadets in the program and the work they put in day in and day out, he said. Its a lot to balance, being a student along with all the work we do as cadets in the community. Its amazing what weve been able to accomplish, and this award truly shows that.

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russia assaulted cities and towns along a boomerang-shaped front hundreds of miles long and poured more troops into Ukraine on Tuesday in a potentially pivotal battle for control of the country's eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.

If successful, the Russian offensive in what is known as the Donbas would essentially slice Ukraine in two and give President Vladimir Putin a badly needed victory following the failed attempt by Moscow's forces to storm the capital, Kyiv, and heavier-than-expected casualties nearly two months into the war.

The eastern cities of Kharkiv and Kramatorsk came under deadly attack. Russia also said it struck areas around Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro west of the Donbas with missiles. Multiple explosions were heard early Wednesday in the southern city of Mykolaiv, the regional governor said. A hospital was reported shelled earlier in the nearby town of Bashtanka.

In Mariupol, the now-devastated port city in the Donbas, Ukrainian troops said the Russian military dropped heavy bombs to flatten what was left of a sprawling steel plant and hit a hospital where hundreds were staying.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Moscow's forces bombarded numerous Ukrainian military sites, including troop concentrations and missile-warhead storage depots, in or near several cities or villages. Those claims could not be independently verified.

In what both sides described as a new phase of the war, the Russian assault began Monday along a front stretching more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) from northeastern Ukraine to the countrys southeast. Ukraines military said Russian forces tried to "break through our defenses along nearly the entire front line.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian military was throwing everything it has into the battle, with most of its combat-ready forces now concentrated in Ukraine and just across the border in Russia.

They have driven almost everyone and everything that is capable of fighting us against Ukraine, he said in his nightly video address to the nation.

Despite Russian claims of hitting only military sites, they continue to target residential areas and kill civilians, he said.

The Russian army in this war is writing itself into world history forever as the most barbaric and inhuman army in the world, Zelenskyy said.

Weeks ago, after the abortive Russian push to take Kyiv, the Kremlin declared that its main goal was the capture of the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years.

A Russian victory in the Donbas would deprive Ukraine of the industrial assets concentrated there, including mines, metals plants and heavy-equipment factories.

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagons assessments of the war, said the Russians had added two more combat units, known as battalion tactical groups, in Ukraine over the preceding 24 hours. That brought the total number of units in the country to 78, all of them in the south and the east, up from 65 last week, the official said.

That would translate to about 55,000 to 62,000 troops, based on what the Pentagon said at the start of the war was the typical unit strength of 700 to 800 soldiers. But accurately determining Russia's fighting capacity at this stage is difficult.

A European official, likewise speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military assessments, said Russia also has 10,000 to 20,000 foreign fighters in the Donbas. They are a mix of mercenaries from Russia's private Wagner Group and Russian proxy fighters from Syria and Libya, according to the official.

While Ukraine portrayed the attacks on Monday as the start of the long-feared offensive in the east, some observers noted that an escalation has been underway there for some time and questioned whether this was truly the start of a new offensive.

The U.S. official said the offensive in the Donbas has begun in a limited way, mainly in an area southwest of the city of Donetsk and south of Izyum.

Justin Crump, a former British tank commander now with the strategic advisory company Sibylline, said the Ukrainian comments could, in part, be an attempt to persuade allies to send more weapons.

What theyre trying to do by positioning this, I think, is ... focus peoples minds and effort by saying, Look, the conflict has begun in the Donbas, Crump said. That partly puts pressure on NATO and EU suppliers to say, Guys, were starting to fight now. We need this now.

President Joe Biden is expected to announce a new weapons package in the coming days that will include additional artillery and ammunition, according to a U.S. official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said his country will send heavy artillery to Ukraine. And Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told Zelensky that the Netherlands will send more heavy weapons, including armored vehicles.

Western arms have played a key role in enabling the outgunned Ukrainians to hold off the Russians.

Associated Press journalists in Kharkiv said at least four people were killed and three wounded in a Russian attack on a residential area of the city. The attack occurred as residents attempted to maintain a sense of normalcy, with municipal workers planting spring flowers in public areas.

An explosion also rocked Kramatorsk, killing at least one person and wounding three, according to AP journalists at the scene.

In Bashtanka, an unspecified number of people were wounded when Russian forces shelled the hospital, destroying the reception area and the dialysis unit, the head of the regional council, Hanna Zamazeeva, said on Facebook. Bashtanka is about 70 kilometers (40 miles) north of Mykolaiv.

Eyewitness accounts and reports from officials have given a broad picture of the extent of the Russian advance. But independent reporting in the parts of the Donbas held by Russian forces and separatists is severely limited, making it difficult to know what is happening in many places on the ground.

Military experts said the Russians' goal is to encircle Ukrainian troops from the north, south and east.

Key to the campaign is the capture of Mariupol, which would deprive Ukraine of a vital port and complete a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, seized from Ukraine in 2014. It would also free up Russian troops to move elsewhere in the Donbas.

A few thousand Ukrainian troops, by the Russians estimate, remained holed up in a sprawling Mariupol steel plant, representing what was believed to be the last major pocket of resistance in the city.

Russia issued a new ultimatum to the Ukrainian defenders to surrender Wednesday after a previous ultimatum was ignored. The Russian Defense Ministry said those who surrender will be allowed to live and given medical treatment. There was no immediate response from the Ukrainian troops, but they have repeatedly vowed not to give up.

Instead, the deputy commander of the Azov regiment, who was among the troops remaining in Mariupol, said the Russian military dropped heavy bombs on the steel plant and hit an improvised hospital. We are pulling people out from under the rubble, Sviatoslav Palamar told Radio Liberty.

Serhiy Taruta, the former governor of the Donetsk region and a Mariupol native, also reported the bombing of the hospital, where he said 300 people, including wounded troops and civilians with children, were sheltered.

The reports could not be independently confirmed.

Zelenskyy said the Kremlin has not responded to a proposal to exchange Viktor Medvedchuk, the jailed leader of a pro-Russia party, for the Mariupol defenders.

Associated Press journalists Mstyslav Chernov and Felipe Dana in Kharkiv, Ukraine; Danica Kirka in London; and Robert Burns and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report, as did other AP staff members around the world.

Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Russia assaulted cities and towns along a boomerang-shaped front hundreds of miles long and poured more troops into Ukraine on Tuesday in a potentially pivotal battle for control of the countrys eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.

If successful, the Russian offensive in what is known as the Donbas would essentially slice Ukraine in two. In Mariupol, the now-devastated port city in the Donbas, Ukrainian troops said the Russian military was dropping heavy bombs to flatten what was left of a sprawling steel plant and hit a hospital where hundreds were staying.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Moscows forces bombarded numerous Ukrainian military sites, including troop concentrations and missile-warhead storage depots, in or near several cities or villages.

Those claims could not be independently verified.

In what both sides described as a new phase of the war, the Russian assault began Monday along a front stretching more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) from northeastern Ukraine to the countrys southeast.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian military was throwing everything it has into the battle, with most of its combat-ready forces now concentrated in Ukraine and just across the border in Russia.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:

 Russian forces are attacking along broad east front, Ukraine says

 Displaced people from across Ukraine seek shelter in Lviv apartment building

 Yellen to see Ukraine PM, avoid Russians at global meetings

 Global finance meeting focuses on war-driven food insecurity

 UN chief urges 4-day Easter pause in fighting in Ukraine

Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

UNITED NATIONS  U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling for a four-day halt in fighting in Ukraine, starting Thursday to coincide with Orthodox Christians Holy Week observances.

Noting that Orthodox Easter is coming amid an intensifying Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, the U.N. chief said Tuesday that the need for a humanitarian pause is all the more urgent.

Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya called on Russia to heed Guterres call.

But Russian deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said Tuesday he was a bit skeptical about the idea.

Guterres said the goal is to allow for evacuating civilians from current or expected areas of confrontation and or getting more humanitarian aid into desperately needy places such as Mariupol, Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson. More than four million people in those areas need assistance, Guterres said.

The proposal comes after the U.N. recently helped to foster a two-month truce in Yemens civil war, halting fighting as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began.

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden is expected to announce a new security assistance package in the coming days that will include additional artillery and ammunition, according to a U.S. official.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said details of the latest package are being finalized.

Last week, in anticipation of Russias offensive in eastern Ukraine, Biden approved an $800 million package including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery. The U.S. has sent about $2.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russian invaded.

Asked by reporters whether hed be sending more artillery, Biden said Yes.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said providing more ammunition and security assistance to Ukraine was discussed by Biden and other allied leaders during a video call on Tuesday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italy Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson took part in the more than 80-minute call.

 Aamer Madhani contributed to this report from Washington.

OTTAWA, Ontario  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will send heavy artillery to Ukraine.

Trudeau says hes been in close contact with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Canada is very responsive to what Ukraine needs. He says there will be more details on the pledge in the days to come, and that Ukrainians have fought like heroes.

Canadas government has also hit 14 more Russians with sanctions for their close ties with President Vladimir Putin, including his two adult daughters.

BERLIN  The International Atomic Energy Agency says direct phone communications between the decommissioned Chernobyl power plant and Ukraines nuclear regulator have been restored.

Ukraine informed the Vienna-based U.N. nuclear watchdog on March 10 that it had lost direct contact with the plant, the site of the 1986 disaster. Russian forces seized Chernobyl at the beginning of the invasion on Feb. 24 and withdrew on March 31.

The IAEAs director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said Tuesday that this was clearly not a sustainable situation, and it is very good news that the regulator can now contact the plant directly when it needs to.

Grossi plans to lead a mission of IAEA experts to Chernobyl to conduct nuclear safety and radiological assessments, deliver equipment and repair the agencys own remote monitoring systems there.

WASHINGTON  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged world finance leaders Tuesday to get concrete as they look for ways to combat a global crisis over food insecurity that's getting worse due to Russias war in Ukraine.

This threat touches the most vulnerable people the hardest  families that are already spending disproportionate amounts of their income on food, Yellen told fellow finance leaders during a food security meeting convened with members of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. People on every continent are impacted.

Failure to feed the worlds population risks not only starvation, but also social unrest and cross-border political upheaval. Among the proposed solutions: reducing export restrictions, relieving price controls and subsidizing small farmers.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday issued a carve-out to sanctions against Russia to allow agricultural transactions and trade related to humanitarian aid and access to communications.

Russia and Ukraine produce a third of the worlds wheat supply. The loss of commodities due to the war has resulted in soaring food prices and uncertainty about the future of food security globally, especially in impoverished countries. With fertilizer and natural gas costs exploding, leaders expressed concern that countries could turn inward and restrict trade to protect their populations, indirectly hurting more vulnerable countries that face even worse food problems.

David Malpass, president of the World Bank, said his organization will provide $17 billion per year to strengthen food security, and develop a 15-month crisis response package of $170 billion, that will address the pandemic, refugee resettlement and other issues alongside food supply.

KVIV, Ukraine  Russia is assaulting cities and towns across Ukraines eastern industrial heartland in a new phase of the war after losing about 25% of the combat power it sent into Ukraine, according to Pentagon estimates.

Capturing the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region would give President Vladimir Putin a badly needed victory, slicing Ukraine in two and depriving it of key industrial assets.

The Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said air-launched missiles destroyed 13 Ukrainian troop and weapons locations while artillery hit 1,260 Ukrainian military facilities and 1,214 troops concentrations over the last 24 hours. The claims could not be independently verified.

WASHINGTON  The U.S. militarys assessment of Russias renewed offensive in the Donbas region of Ukraine is that it has begun in a limited way, mainly in an area southwest of the city of Donetsk and south of Izyum.

When people say the offensive has begun, thats what theyre referring to, and were not pushing back on that notion, a senior U.S. defense official said.

The official said the Russians are taking actions to improve their ability to sustain combat operations in the Donbas and to prepare for what we believe will be larger offensives in the future.

The U.S. estimates that the Russian military has lost about 25% of the combat power it sent into Ukraine at the start of the war, so theyre refitting ground combat units for insertion into Ukraine. The official said the Russians added two more battalion tactical groups in the past 24 hours, for a total of 78. Thats up from 65 last week.

 AP Military Writer Robert Burns contributed to this report.

BERLIN  Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany will continue to enable weapons deliveries to Ukraine, with one possibility being systems from eastern European nations that would be easily and quickly usable.

Scholz has faced increasing pressure from within his own governing coalition and the main opposition party to deliver heavy weapons such as German Leopard tanks.

But Scholz said Germany and its partners in the Group of Seven industrial nations have concluded it makes more sense to send in systems already used in Ukraine, such as the Soviet-era weapons some NATO partners still have.

Western partners would help those countries with replacements.

After conferring with U.S. President Joe Biden and other Western leaders on Tuesday, Scholz said all of us will continue to support Ukraine, financially and also militarily.

The Kremlins diplomats are doing more online dirty work as governments and social media companies try to suppress Russias state media and the disinformation it spreads about the war in Ukraine.

Russian embassies and consulates are prolifically using Facebook, Twitter and other platforms to deflect blame for atrocities while seeking to undermine the international coalition supporting Ukraine.

With hundreds of social media accounts on every continent, Russias diplomatic corps acts as a global propaganda network, tailoring claims for each nations audience.

Tech companies have responded by adding warning labels and removing Russias diplomatic accounts from its recommendations and search results. But they remain active, as their diplomatic status provides more protection from moderation.

Each week since the beginning of the war these diplomats have posted thousands of times, gaining more than a million engagements on Twitter per week, said disinformation researcher Marcel Schliebs at the Oxford Internet Institute.

PRAGUE  Czech authorities have launched a preliminary investigation into possible war crimes committed in Ukraine during the Russian invasion.

Pragues High Public Prosecutors Office that oversees the investigation said Tuesday that the initial information from Ukraine shows signs of war crimes, according to international law.

The office said the purpose of the investigation is to secure evidence from witnesses and victims who have arrived to seek refuge in the Czech Republic. The Czechs coordinate their effort with the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation.

The investigators are focusing on suspected use of banned and illegal means and methods of warfare.

KHARKIV, Ukraine  Associated Press journalists in Kharkiv say at least four people were killed and three others wounded in a Russian attack on a residential area.

The attack on Tuesday happened as residents attempted to maintain a sense of normalcy in the eastern city, with municipal workers planting spring flowers in public areas.

Kharkiv is near the front lines and has faced repeated shelling from the Russian forces. Earlier on Tuesday, a regional governor in Kharkiv said 5 civilians had been killed and 17 wounded in the past 24 hours.

Also on Tuesday, an explosion rocked the eastern city of Kramatorsk killing at least 1 person and injuring 3, according to AP journalists at the scene.

 By Mstyslav Chernov in Kharkiv; Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine

MOSCOW  Russia said Tuesday it is expelling 15 diplomats from the Netherlands and an unspecified number of Belgian embassy staff in response to the expulsion of Russian diplomats by those countries.

The Russian Foreign Ministry says it has ordered 14 employees of the Dutch embassy in Moscow and one from the consulate in St. Petersburg to leave the country.

We expected Russia to take reciprocal measures. Nevertheless I regret this step. We are now going to see what the consequences are of the fact that so many colleagues have to leave Moscow and Petersburg, Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Wopke Hoekstra said.

That follows the Netherlands expelling Russian diplomats last month. Dutch authorities said they expelled 17 and alleged they had been using diplomatic cover to work as spies. The Russian Foreign Ministry said a total 18 people with diplomatic status were expelled from its embassy in The Hague, a trade mission in Amsterdam and the Russian representation at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which is based in the Netherlands.

The ministry added that the Belgian ambassador had been notified that embassy staff would have to leave by May 3, without saying how many people were affected. The ambassador of Luxembourg was summoned for an official protest after the small Western European nation expelled a single Russian diplomat this month.

LONDON  British officials say the next phase of the war in Ukraine is likely to be an attritional conflict that could last several months.

A senior U.K. national security official briefed the Cabinet on Tuesday, as Russia ratcheted up its battle for control of the eastern Donbas region.

Prime Minister Boris Johnsons spokesman said the official told ministers that Russias greater number of troops was unlikely to be decisive on its own against fierce Ukrainian resistance.

The official told Cabinet that there are signs Russia has not learned the lessons from previous setbacks in northern Ukraine, with evidence of troops being committed to the fight in a piecemeal fashion and some soldiers and units refusing to fight.

Johnsons spokesman, Max Blain, said the prime minister had told Cabinet that Ukraines position remained perilous, with Russian President Vladimir Putin angered by defeats but determined to claim some sort of victory regardless of the human cost.

MOSCOW  The Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya says he is certain that the Russian forces will uproot the last remaining pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the key port of Mariupol within hours.

Ramzan Kadyrov said on a messaging app channel that the Russian troops will finish off the Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol on Tuesday and take full control of the giant Azovstal steel mill, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the city.

Ukrainian troops have defended the strategic port on the Sea of Azov for seven weeks despite the Russian blockade and relentless barrage that flattened most of the city.

The Azovstal plant, which covers the territory of about 11 square kilometers (over 4 square miles), offered Ukrainian defenders a strong fighting position thanks to its sprawling network of underground tunnels and depots.

Kadyrov, whose forces have taken part in the fighting in Mariupol, has repeatedly made blustery comments about the citys inevitable fall.

ANKARA, Turkey  Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says he plans to speak with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts as part of Turkeys efforts to halt the conflict.

Cavusoglu told reporters that Turkey was also talking to P5 nations  the United States, China, France, Russia and the U.K.  and other countries about possible security guarantees for Ukraine, adding that Kyivs request for guarantees similar to Article 5 of the NATO treaty hadn't found support, especially among Western countries.

If there can be no guarantees (similar to) NATOs Article 5, then what options are there? We are taking care of such these details, Cavusoglu said. We must be prepared for the possibility of a cease-fire.

He was speaking during a joint news conference with Hungarys foreign minister in Ankara.

NATO-member Turkey, which has maintained its close ties to both Russia and Ukraine, has hosted a meeting between the two countries foreign ministers as well as talks between the two negotiating teams last month.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said he hopes to bring the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to the negotiating table.

MOSCOW  Russias defense minister has accused the U.S. and other Western nations of supplying Ukraine with weapons so that it continues fighting until the last Ukrainian.

Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday at a meeting with the top military brass that Washington and its allies are doing all they can to drag out Russias special military operation in Ukraine.

He noted that the growing supplies of foreign weapons clearly signal their intention to provoke the Kyiv regime to keep fighting until the last Ukrainian.

Shoigu said that the Russian military has consistently implemented the plan to fully liberate the Donetsk and Luhansk peoples republics.

Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years in the mostly Russian-speaking region eastern industrial heartland, Donbas, that includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. They have declared two independent republics that have been recognized by Russia.

SOFIA, Bulgaria  Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says security for his country also means security for Bulgaria and all other Black Sea countries.

We are fighting not only for our safety," Kuleba said after talks Tuesday with his Bulgarian counterpart, Teodora Genchovska. "We are fighting for you too, so that you never have to face the tragedy of Russias attempts to affect and damage your country.

Kuleba expressed understanding that many in Bulgaria have emotional and historic links to Russia.

But now its different  destroying, killing, torturing, raping," he said. "This is not a Russia that deserves sympathy and understanding. I want everyone to understand that.

No details of the talks have been disclosed, but media reports alleged that Kuleba may ask for a stronger engagement of Bulgaria in Ukraines defense from Russias aggression. Along with Hungary, Bulgaria is the only EU member that has so far been reluctant to send weapons to Kyiv.

During his unofficial visit to Sofia, Kuleba will also meet Bulgarias President Rumen Radev and Prime Minister Kiril Petkov.

MOSCOW  The Russian foreign minister says that Moscows campaign in Ukraine is entering a new stage.

Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Indian television broadcast Tuesday that the operation is continuing, and another phase of this operation is starting now.

Lavrovs statement follows Ukrainian statements that Russia on Monday launched an offensive in the countrys eastern industrial heartland, Donbas. Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years in the mostly Russian-speaking region and have declared two independent republics that have been recognized by Moscow.

Lavrov emphasized that the Russian operation is aimed at the full liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics.

AMSTERDAM  Automaker Stellantis says it is suspending production in Russia because of the impact of sanctions and logistical problems.

Stellantis was making vans in Russia under the Peugeot and Citroen brands at a factory in Kaluga which it shared with Mitsubishi. The Japanese manufacturer suspended its production there earlier this month.

Stellantis said Tuesday it wanted to ensure full compliance with international sanctions and protect its employees by suspending production. The company had previously warned the Kaluga factory was running low on parts. Many automakers with operations in Russia have struggled to import the components they need since the invasion of Ukraine began.

Based in the Netherlands, Stellantis is the worlds fourth-largest automaker with brands including Chrysler, Jeep and Fiat. It previously stopped vehicle shipments to and from Russia last month.

Russian authorities have criticized companies which shut down their operations, and warned they could take steps to put production facilities under state control.

MOSCOW  The Russian military has made a new demand to the Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol to lay down their arms.

Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev gave the Ukrainian troops holed up at the giant Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol until midday (0900 GMT) Tuesday to surrender.

He said that those who surrender will keep their lives.

Ukrainian troops who have defended the city for seven weeks have ignored such previous offers. The Azovstal plant, which covers the territory of about 11 square kilometers (over 4 square miles) is the last major Ukrainian pocket of resistance in Mariupol, a strategic port on the Sea of Azov.

Earlier Tuesday, Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the Russia-backed separatists in the Donbas region, said that assault groups had moved into Azovstal in a bid to uproot the Ukrainian troops following bombing and artillery barrage.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Sometimes 50% are odds worth taking.

Aurora Hospital patient Tom Jozsi would certainly agree.

Last month, when the Antioch resident underwent a procedure to remove a tiny metal piece from his right lung, the predicted outcome wasnt a sure bet.

But in the hands of Dr. Abdul Hamid Alraiyes, pulmonary interventionalist at Aurora Medical Center, aided by cutting edge robotic technology, a 50% chance of success turned into 100%.

The surgical drama began March 18, when Jozsi, 60, had a routine dental exam near his home in Antioch, Ill. As his dentist finished filling a tooth, Jozsi accidently breathed in a small metal pin released from a dental tool.

The dentist thought at first I might have swallowed it, but realized it had gone down my windpipe, said Jozsi in a recent interview at Aurora Medical Center, Kenosha.

Because hed had been given a local anesthetic, Jozsi didnt feel anything at the time. It soon became apparent that he had not swallowed the bit, but aspirated it into his airway.

Jozsi went to the emergency room at Lindenhurst, Ill., hospital where X-rays did not detect the location of the piece. A subsquent CT scan confirmed it had fallen to the bottom of his right lung.

He was transferred to another area hospital where a bronchoscopy  a procedure that looks directly at the airways in the lungs using a thin, lighted tube  was performed in hopes of removing the item.

Jozsi said: I looked at the doctors eyes and even with his mask on could tell it wasnt good news. My first words to him were, You didnt get it, did you?

Fortunately for Jozsi, the surgical staff knew of Alraiyes and his capability at Aurora Medical Center and its recently acquired latest generation robotic technology.

They sent me the CT scan and I confirmed that the only way to get the item out was by using smaller tools that would be more precise and able to reach down into the lung, Alraiyes said.

Alraiyes set a consultation with Jozsi for Monday, March 21, and successfully removed the 2-centimeter metal piece the next day during a 90-minute outpatient procedure.

Time crunch

Moving quickly was critical, explained Alraiyes. The fact that the dental tool had been in the patients mouth presented the enhanced danger due to the high concentration of bacteria in the human mouth. Having that item embedded in the lung could have led to infection and abscess and led to a critical situation, he said.

The equipment used for the procedure was the Ion Endoluminal System, which was purchased by Aurora Medical Center last summer.

Alraiyes, previously affiliated with Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Zion, Ill., was brought on to work with the machine along with pulmonary specialist Dr. Hasnain Bawaadam.

This machine was made to reach further into the lung for small lesions we werent able to sample before and to try to detect them in the earliest stages of cancer before they get bigger in size, Alraiyes said.

A new application

Since the equipment became operational in September, the doctors have used the system on dozens of cases, but using it to retrieve an object from a lung was not one of them.

Explaining the system, Alraiyes said: This machine takes data from (CT) images and uses artificial intelligence to build a picture (of the lungs) in 3-D. Then it uses a GPS-like guidance system for us to direct a 3.5 mm (bronchoscope) through the windpipe to biopsy the lesion.

Under normal circumstances, the bronchoscopes needle-like tip suctions a small sample of tissue for diagnosis and treatment.

In this case, however, instead of collecting tissue, Alraiyes was planning to use the tool to grab the metal tip and draw it out of Jozsis lung.

In his consultation with Jozsi, Alraiyes said there was there was no guarantee that the procedure would work.

These procedures involve muscle memory but because we hadnt yet used the machine in this way I told Tom there was a 50% to 60% chance of it being successful.

But circumstances and skill aligned in everyones favor.

In our luck and Toms luck, however, the metal bit had landed with the sharp part pointing away from the tissue. So when we tried to grab it we grabbed it by the sharp end so could pull it out without it scratching the surrounding tissue which can lead to bleeding or a collapsed lung, Alraiyes explained.

It wasnt all smooth sailing because as they began to draw the bit out, the team was met with resistance because tissue had already begun to close around the piece with a small infection.

But it was worth it in the end, Alraiyes said. Had we not had the Ion system at our disposal, Tom would have had to undergo major surgery involving a cut between the ribs and removal of a wedge of the lung.

Expressing his relief and gratitude to the team, Jozsi said, I was never so happy as when I woke up in the ER and Dr. Alraiyes came into the room and even with a mask on I could there was a smile under that mask. He said he got it and shook a pill container with it in it.

Its amazing that this machine did this and that it wasnt even designed to do it, Jozsi said.

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Madison East High School teacher Cesar Martinez told his students in a college prep program geared toward low-income students two years ago that if they all got into college, he would take them on a field trip to Washington, D.C., for their senior year trip.

In December, acceptances began to roll in from UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, Morehouse University, the University of North Carolina and the University of Maryland, among others, and as of this month, all 16 of Martinezs seniors in the AVID program have been accepted into higher education institutions.

But the pandemic threw a wrench into Martinezs plan to fundraise, and as of Tuesday the cohort was $19,500 short of its $20,000 goal to cover lodging and transportation for the trip.

Martinez set up a GoFundMe page for community members to donate at go.madison.com/east-avid. Students have also begun to sell snacks to classmates to raise money and plan to hold a car wash once the weather warms.

Its been a blessing, he said. Now, senior year, seeing things come full circle and seeing students decide where they want to go to college, thats the good stress that you want in your life as a teacher.

But the fundraising dilemma has created a different kind of stress.

The deadline to purchase plane tickets for the class is mid-May, Martinez said, and if the class doesnt meet its fundraising goal by then hell need to figure out another way to transport his students to the nations capital.

Usually, senior AVID trips head somewhere local, like the Wisconsin Dells, but to motivate his students, who were sophomores at the time, to begin thinking about college, Martinez opted to let the class decide where they would travel to and when as a group.

The best place they can all think of is D.C. to celebrate Juneteenth, he said.

Students plan to take part in Juneteenth celebrations scheduled in the city and to immerse themselves in history by visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Museum of African Art, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Mary McLeod Bethune House and the Lincoln Memorial.

Juneteenth represents the end of our nations most horrific act and the turning over of a new (leaf), Favor Olubi, a member of Martinezs AVID senior class, wrote on the GoFundMe page. Taking a trip to the nations Capitol to celebrate freedom in its purest form would be an incredibly profound experience, but taking that trip with the very small group of people that weve had the opportunity to grow with for four years is even more.

AVID, which stands for Advancement via Individual Determination, is an in-school academic support program for students in grades 9-12 to prepare them for post-secondary education. Students in the AVID program remain together as a cohort throughout high school, and the programs goal is to level the playing field for minority, low-income and other students without a college tradition in their families.

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Convict Gets 3 Life Terms for Murdering Jacqueline Avant in Beverly Hills

A two-time convict who fatally shot Jacqueline Avant, the wife of celebrated music executive Clarence Avant, during a brazen burglary at the couples Trousdale Estates home in Beverly Hills and later laughed about the slaying while in jail was sentenced April 19, to 150 years to life in prison for the murder.

Aariel Maynor, 30, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in March to killing the 81-year-old Avant, who was shot in the back around 2:25 a.m. Dec. 1 inside her home in the 1100 block of Maytor Place. He also admitted shooting at a security guard  who was not wounded  while trying to flee the scene.

Maynor pleaded guilty to one count each of murder, attempted murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm, and two counts of residential burglary with a person present. He also admitted allegations of using an assault long barrel pistol during the crimes, along with admitting prior robbery convictions from 2013 and 2018.

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In court, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathryn Solorzano sentenced Maynor to three life prison terms, saying he will have to serve a minimum of 150 years behind bars. She also added 40 more years for weapons violations.

The judge called Maynor a serious danger to society, noting that Avant was a completely vulnerable victim.

She was caught by surprise in her own home early in the morning, the judge said. Maynor, who sat in a wheelchair in court, showed no reaction when the sentence was handed down.

During the sentencing hearing, Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila played audio from a pair of telephone calls Maynor made from jail in the weeks following his arrest. In one call, he is heard talking to a female friend, laughing about the shooting and saying, Im all over the news.

In the second call, he bragged to a friend that he would not be facing the death penalty or life without parole  the result of Los Angeles County prosecutors no longer filing special-circumstance allegations.

Im gonna get out of jail, Maynor said on the call, according to the memo. Ill probably do like 20  25, get out, you feel me?

He also bragged that he would be able to obtain a cell phone while in prison, so he could keep in contact with his friends.

Solorzano noted earlier that a report indicated the 2013 robbery for which Maynor had been convicted involved a woman who was kicked in the face and knocked unconscious. She also noted Tuesday that Maynor had been released on parole for the 2018 robbery in September 2021, just a few months before Avants killing.

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Avila said earlier that Avant was shot after confronting Maynor, who also fired multiple shots at the couples security guard while fleeing from the home, striking a vehicle. He subsequently broke into a home in the Hollywood Hills area and accidentally shot himself in a foot, the prosecutor said.

Los Angeles police responding to that burglary call found Maynor suffering from a gunshot wound to a foot, according to Beverly Hills Police Department Chief Mark Stainbrook.

Stainbrook said Los Angeles police contacted Beverly Hills police, and detectives collected evidence connecting Maynor to the Avant shooting.

Among the evidence collected was a suspected weapon from the crime, described by police as an AR-15 rifle. Stainbrook said Maynor was on parole and has an extensive criminal record, which bars him from possessing a weapon.

Video from the Avant home showed a shattered sliding-glass door, indicative of a break-in. Avant died at a hospital following the shooting. Clarence Avant, 90, was not injured.

In court, Avila read a statement on behalf of the Avant family.

There are no words to describe the cruel and vicious acts of the defendant. We are shattered, according to the statement by Jacqueline and Clarences daughter, Nicole. My mother devoted every cell of her body to help others. To have her life taken so brutally, is devastating.

She added, The grief is immeasurable.

Maynors attorney, Marcus Huntley, told the court during the hearing that his client had a difficult childhood in which he was treated poorly in the foster care system.

His upbringing is how we got to this situation, Huntley said, adding that Maynor understands that he will never leave prison.

According to a prosecution sentencing memorandum, Maynors phone records showed that he specifically researched the Avants and their home address before the burglary.

Clarence Avant is known as the Godfather of Black Music, and has been regularly celebrated by artists such as Jay-Z and Diddy, L.A. Reid and Babyface. He began as a talent manager in the 1950s, worked at Venture Records in Southern California and founded L.A.-based Sussex Records and Avant Garde Broadcasting.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in October.

Jacqueline Avant served as president of the Neighbors of Watts, a support group that focused on child care. She was also on the board of directors of UCLAs International Student Center. She was also a member of the board for the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Jacqueline and Clarence Avant have two grown children  Nicole and Alexander. Nicole Avant, a film producer who served as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas during President Barack Obamas administration, is the wife of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. She also served as a co-producer on the Netflix film The Black Godfather, a documentary about her fathers life and career.

The Avant family issued a statement after the shooting saying, The entire Avant and Sarandos families wish to thank everyone for their outpouring of love, support and heartfelt condolences for Jacqueline Avant. Jacqueline was an amazing woman, wife, mother and philanthropist and a 55-year resident of Beverly Hills who has made an immeasurable positive impact on the arts

community. She will be missed by her family, friends and all of the people she has helped throughout her amazing life.

Former President Bill Clinton issued a statement calling Avant a wonderful woman, a great partner to Clarence and mother to Alex and Nicole, an active citizen & a dear friend to Hillary and me for 30 years. She inspired admiration, respect & affection in everyone who knew her. We are heartbroken. She will be deeply missed.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Jacqueline Avant was a longtime friend.

I know we use this term a lot, but she was truly an angel in this City of Angels, he said. She and Clarence, Nicole, their daughter, Ive known for many years and Ive seen and witnessed the way their generosity touched the lives and transformed the lives and even saved the lives of so many people in this city and in this country.

District Attorney George Gascon said Avants killing sent shockwaves through our community, prompting fear, concern and a tremendous sense of loss.
PVJOBS Hosts Culinary Training and Career Info Fair

The community is invited to learn about culinary apprenticeship training and job placement assistance in the hospitality industry

PVJOBS is set to host a special informational session for the community to discuss the organizations culinary apprenticeship program and job placement services in the hospitality industry.

The informational session will take place from 10 am to 2 pm on Friday, April 29 at the PVJOBS headquarters located at 4112 S. Main Street in South Los Angeles. The event is free and open to community residents, particularly those who are interested in pursuing a culinary career.

The informational event is being held to educate individuals about the eight-week culinary apprenticeship program offered by PVJOBS. The PVJOBS staff will also discuss their services in providing job placement assistance to those who complete the culinary apprenticeship program.

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Were inviting our community to this informational event to introduce them to the culinary field and educate them about how they can pursue a sustainable career in the hospitality industry, said PVJOBS Executive Director Mary Taylor. Through this event, well share how weve created a pathway for our residents to get the training they need to help them get placed in a career-track culinary job.

Along with the informational session, the event will conduct a raffle for those in attendance. Raffle winners can receive a $100 gas card or an array of gift cards. PVJOBS participants who are already enrolled in one of the organizations job programs can receive a free gift card (while supplies last) for their guest if they bring one.

PVJOBS partnered with several sponsors to support the event, including the Los Angeles Hospitality Training Academy, Conrad Los Angeles, and Mobil Corporation. For more information about the event, please call PVJOBS at (323) 432-3955.

PVJOBS (Playa Vista Job Opportunities & Business Services) is a 501c(3) nonprofit public benefit corporation that works to provide at-risk youth, adults and veterans with job training and employment opportunities. Since forming in 1998, PVJOBS has overseen more than 8,000 job placements for Los Angeles most heavily impeded community members.

PVJOBS partners with community-based organizations, public agencies, private developers, contractors and construction unions to help realize its mission of providing career-track employment opportunities to at-risk individuals.
Via email, I learned of this notable new letter sent from coalition of public policy organizations, business groups and criminal justice reform advocates calling upon Prez Biden to use his clemency power on behalf of certain marijuana offenders. Here is an extended excerpt from the letter:

Thank you for taking a strong leadership position in support of criminal justice reform in the United States. The protests and civil unrest that dominated the news following the murder of George Floyd revealed historic levels of mistrust and eagerness for bold new leadership. Our system is in urgent need of reform, and we appreciate the goals outlined by your administration.

President Biden, we urge you to clearly demonstrate your commitment to criminal justice reform by immediately issuing a general pardon to all former federal, non-violent cannabis offenders in the U.S. In addition, all those who are federally incarcerated on non-violent, cannabis-only offenses for activity now legal under state laws should be pardoned and their related sentences commuted. Cannabis prohibition ruins lives, wastes resources, and is opposed by a large majority of Americans. Two out of every three states in the U.S. have abandoned the federal governments blanket prohibition and now provide safe and regulated access to cannabis for adults and/or those with qualifying medical conditions. And Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has showcased the important role of clemency in achieving justice and equity with cannabis reforms through his recent work pardoning or expunging nearly half a million prior cannabis convictions.

Criminal histories related to cannabis can be particularly harmful for individuals, despite the change in laws in many states. Convictions can seriously limit job opportunities, housing, and educational options. Long after a person has gone through the legal system, the baggage of the war on marijuana continues to undermine that persons life and diminish their prospects. It is past time for the harm to stop.

In November 2019, during a Democratic Primary Debate, you stated: I think we should decriminalize marijuana, period. And I think everyone  anyone who has a record  should be let out of jail, their records expunged, be completely zeroed out. You now are in a position to do just that through a categorical pardon grant. Such grants are hardly unprecedented. Presidents from both political parties have taken such action when circumstances warranted it. In 1974, President Ford signed a proclamation granting conditional pardons to the Selective Service Act violators who did not leave the United States. In 1977, President Carter issued categorical pardons to all Selective Service Act violators as a way to put the war and divisions it caused in the past.

While the war on cannabis impacts individuals of all races, a disproportionate number who enter the criminal justice system are people of color. On your first day in office, you signed an executive order rightly stating that, Our Nation deserves an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda that matches the scale of the opportunities and challenges that we face. Today, the long-term harm of cannabis prohibition in communities of color throughout the country is profound. As we look to solutions to provide healing, the dangerous policing tactics that were developed to execute the war on marijuana, including no-knock warrants and other aggressive tactics, shock the nation and have led us to historic levels of mistrust. When a large majority of Americans no longer believe cannabis should be illegal, aggressive enforcement tactics quickly lose support. A general pardon of all former and current federal non-violent cannabis offenders would be the kind of grand, ambitious, and impactful action that would effectively signal to marginalized communities that their suffering is seen and that the government seeks to remedy their harms.
China says it has officially signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands.

The deal has raised concerns among observers in Australia, the United States and other countries. They are concerned about Chinas growing influence in the South Pacific Ocean area.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin spoke to reporters about the agreement Thursday in Beijing. He said the agreement was recently signed by Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Wang said the purpose of the agreement is to promote social stability and long-term peace and security in the Solomon Islands. He said it would not target any third party.

An early version, or draft, of the agreement appeared on social media in late March. At the time, the Solomon Islands confirmed it was negotiating a deal with the Chinese government in Beijing. The draft included a provision that could permit China to send armed police and soldiers to the Solomon Islands. It would also let China base its navy ships off the coast of the islands.

The draft agreement led to concerns in Australia and the U.S. that China would establish a military base in the Solomon Islands. The island group is less than 2,000 kilometers from Australia.

Zed Seselja is Australias minister for the Pacific. He traveled to the Solomon Islands capital, Honiara, to ask Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare not to sign the agreement.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang dismissed the concerns about the security deal in his announcement Tuesday. He accused the U.S. and Australia of "deliberately increasing tension. He added that such efforts would fail.

Prime Minister Sogavare has said the agreement will not include the establishment of a Chinese military base.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is sending a delegation to Honiara this week to discuss the agreement. The delegation will also discuss reopening a U.S. embassy there. The group is being led by Kurt Campbell, the White House Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink.

The Associated Press reports that the U.S. delegation also plans to visit Fiji and Papua New Guinea on the trip.

Im Jill Robbins.

Mario Ritter Jr. adapted this VOA News story for VOA Learning English with additional materials from The Associated Press.

____________________________________________________

Words in This Story

promote n. to help (something) happen, develop, or increase

provision n. something that is done in advance to prepare for something else

deliberately adv. in a way that is meant, intended, or planned

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The popular social media service TikTok has become a source for information on the war in Ukraine for many of its users.

But some researchers worry that the app often misleads its 1 billion users worldwide. That is because much of what is appearing on TikTok is unconfirmed.

Jessica Brandt is the policy director for the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. She said, Those [videos] can be used to enlighten folks on what's really happening on the ground. But she added, They can also be taken out of context and used to mislead or to disinform. We see all of that happening in this conflict.

TikTok is not the only social media service that has the power to misinform young people about the war in Ukraine. Ryan Locher is a student at American University in Washington. He puts videos and other material on TikTok. He has more than 18,000 followers. Locher told VOA that he has seen a number of false stories on the Russia-Ukraine conflict gaining support on other popular social media apps.

I see it on Twitter, obviously on TikTok, he told VOA. It is very easy to pick up where these people are coming from.

Student outlooks

Locher said he has seen pro-Russian TikTok users spreading conspiracy theories meant to explain the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Those theories include reported bioweapons laboratories in Ukraine and Ukrainian links to Nazi extremists.

Some false information aims to mislead, Locher said. He also suggested that other material comes from peoples past beliefs affecting their attempts to understand the conflict.

Andriana Markiv is a Ukrainian citizen studying at American University in Washington. She said, Not all of it [misinformation] comes from a place of hatred; sometimes the people spreading fake news genuinely dont know.

However, Markiv said some users post false information to create controversy  and traffic  on social media services. They do it to get likes and comments, she added.

But misinformation about the war is upsetting to many Ukrainians.

I call my family and I hear them crying and then I go on social media and see people saying that this war is Ukraines fault or spreading pro-Russian propaganda. I try to go past that because it is hard, Markiv said.

Chinese ownership

TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. For this reason, some worry it serves as a tool for China to influence the opinions of people around the world.

Matthew Lee is a student at American Universitys School of International Service. He does not use TikTok.

We see in Chinese social media like a lot of nationalist stuff being said, a lot of pro-Russian stuff being said, and because of how tightly they control everything, it's hard to say whether it really is real people or folks that the Chinese government pays to say things, Lee told VOA.

Some researchers believe that this is part of a larger goal by the Chinese government to use information to fit its policy goals. This could relate to the war in Ukraine or other political goals around the world.

Brandt of The Brookings Institution commented on Chinas efforts to shape opinions. She said those efforts are becoming more assertive and I think they'll only continue to grow.

Im Gregory Stachel.

Ali Siddiqi and Lori Rampani reported this story for Voice of America. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

app (application)  n. a computer program that carries out a specific job

folks  n. (pl. informal) people in general

obviously  adv. used to emphasize that you are talking about something that is easy to see, understand, or recognize

conspiracy theory  n. a theory that explains an event or situation as the result of a secret plan by usually powerful people or groups

fake  adj. not true or real

genuinely  adj. sincere and honest

controversy  n. argument that involves many people who strongly disagree about something: strong disagreement about something among a large group of people

stuff n. (informal) used to refer to something when you do not need to name exactly what it is

assertive  adj. confident in behavior or style

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South Koreans may soon become at least one year younger in age.

Yoon Suk-yeol is set to become the countrys next president next month. He has promised to end the countrys special method of calculating age.

In the Korean system, all babies are already one year old the day they are born and get a year older every January 1. That means a child born December 31 would turn 2 years old the next day.

This traditional method of age calculation was once widely used across East Asia. But other countries long ago changed to the more internationally accepted system.

It is not fully known how the traditional method developed. One theory says the system is meant to recognize the life of a fetus. Others say the system comes from ancient, numerical systems that did not include the idea of zero.

South Korea in the past has attempted to move away from the traditional way of calculating age. But those efforts often led to misunderstandings.

As a result, South Korea now has three methods for calculating age. South Koreans must learn for themselves what method relates to which law or administrative process.

Since the 1960s, South Korean official documents and laws have used the international system, in which babies are born at age 0 and add a year every birthday.

However, in social settings, many South Koreans continued to calculate their age using the traditional method.

There is also the so-called, year-age method, in which babies are born at 0 and gain a year every January 1. This method is used to decide school grades and when males must perform their required military service.

According to a January public opinion study by Hankook Research, 71 percent of South Koreans support ending the traditional age system.

Those born later in the year often feel left behind, especially as children. That is because they are placed into classes at school with much older, more advanced students. This can add even more pressure to South Korea's highly competitive school environment.

Lee Yun-chul helps run an eatery in the northeastern province of Gangwon. She said her son, who is 9 years old according to the traditional system, is seen as a slow learner at school.

But hes not actually slow," she said. "He was just born later [in October], compared to the other kids in his year-age group.

For Korean males, those who are born later in the year must complete their required military service many months earlier than others. Although the difference may seem small, it can affect important education or job-related decisions.

Most recently, many South Koreans became frustrated after health officials used differing age standards for coronavirus vaccinations. As a result, many people were required to show proof of vaccination even though they were in an age group that could not yet get vaccinated.

Yoon made ending the Korean age system a major campaign promise.

Under Yoons proposal, international age would become the single standard for all legal and social purposes in South Korea. The effort would likely take some time to put in place.

Though similar attempts have failed in the past, experts say Yoons proposal may succeed. The experts note the change has support among both major political parties as well as the South Korean public.

Im Ashley Thompson.

William Gallo reported this story for VOA News from Seoul. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

calculate - v. to find (a number, answer, etc.) by using mathematical processes

advanced - adj. far along in a course of progress or development

frustrated - adj. very angry, discouraged, or upset because of being unable to do or complete something
Ukraine says Russia sent thousands of new soldiers into its eastern Donbas region on Tuesday. Regional leaders say they are trying to evacuate civilians and hold on to key cities.

In a video speech Monday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia has been preparing to take over the region for a long time.

Zelenskyy continued, saying a large part of the Russian army is centering its efforts on an attack in the region. The Donbas includes two provinces, Luhansk and Donetsk along with the coastal city of Mariupol.

If Russia takes over control of the region, it will connect Russia with the Crimean Peninsula, an area it took in 2014.

Russias foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, confirmed another stage of this operation is beginning. Defense minister Sergei Shoigu said Russias plan is to liberate the provinces in the border area.

In Mariupol, Russian soldiers told the last Ukrainian fighters remaining in the area to give up their fight or be killed.

Zelenskyy, however, said his nations soldiers will keep fighting. We will defend ourselves, he said.

In addition to the fighting in the east, Ukrainian regional governor Maksym Kozytskyy said three missiles hit military targets in the western city of Lviv. Another missile, he said, hit a car repair shop. Lviv is only 60 kilometers from Poland and has not been hit as hard as other parts of Ukraine in the war, which started in late February.

Lviv is an important target as it is one of Ukraines main transportation centers. Western nations are sending aid into Ukraine through the city.

In a recent call, Russian president Vladimir Putin said economic restrictions put in place by Western nations have failed.

Putin said the strategy of economic blitz has not worked.

Western officials, however, said the restrictions on business with Russia, known as sanctions, have deeply hurt the economy.

United States President Joe Biden spoke with allies Tuesday to discuss what the White House called continued support for Ukraine and efforts to hold Russia accountable for the war.

Nearly 25 percent of Ukraines 44 million residents have been forced from their homes due to the fighting.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reports by Reuters, AFP, and The Associated Press.

Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page.

Words in This Story

region  n. a part of a country that is separate from another part of a country in some way

evacuate v. to remove someone from a dangerous place

coast  n. the land along a sea or ocean

peninsula  n. a piece of land almost entirely surrounded by water

stage  n. a particular point in time, or step in a process

liberate  v. to free a person or a group who is being controlled by someone else

strategy  n. a careful plan or method for achieving something

blitz  v. a fast and powerful effort